《Eternal Thief》
Chapter 1 - Prologue-Golden Sky World
The Golden Sky World,
The sky of this world was not blue, rather it was golden, so the name given to it was ''Golden Sky''.
There were billions of life forms living in this vast world and there were further categorized into different races or species.
However, between these many races, there are ten races at the top of the food chain of Golden Sky World. The top three of them were ''Rank First Devils'', ''Rank Second Demons'', and ''Rank Third Ancient Hunters''.
Among these top ten races, Rank Fourth was ''Humans''. Humans are known for their cunning nature and intelligent mind, they were second in Intelligent after devils.
Humans were born with bottomless ambition, they always want more no matter how much you gave them, they will never be satisfied with it. For hundreds of thousands of years, humans try to overthrow the top three races and wanted to be the master of this world, but failed miserably.
Because Humans are inferior to the top three races in many aspects, like their bodies are not as ''powerful and born with supernatural abilities like the Demons, or tough minds and ''Blood Memory Heritage'' of the Devil ns, and they didn''t even have the ''elemental bloodlines'' of the hunters.
Humans have always been on bad terms with other races because of their desire for power. They will never ept being inferior to other races. The things that drag them down were that they didn''t trust each other and fight and scheme among themselves.
They''re not very united like other races and only show unity when some immense crisis was upon them. That''s the biggest reason for the Human race''s inferiority.
There are ten big Continents in Golden Sky World. Each continent is distributed between the top ten races ording to race strength, or it''s ranked. The biggest continent is under the control of the Devil race and so on.
The fourth Continent of the Golden Sky World is called Azure-Winds Continent.As the name suggests, this Continent is famous for its azure winds. On this Continent live humans.
Human civilization differs from other races.
Humans distribute the power structure at different levels. They organized thend of Azure-Wind into four levels and wastnd.
In the wastnds roams bloodthirsty beasts, and it was also home of the humans lowest in status quo.
The other four levels of thend are called Low-Level Lands, Middle-Level Lands, High-Level Lands, and Royal-Level Lands, respectively.
There are many Cities in low-levelnds, and they control wastnds.
In middle-levelnds are Kingdoms, they control the Low-Level Lands.
In high-levelnds are Empires, and they control the Middle-Level Lands.
In the Royal-levelnds reside the Ancient Sects, they have countless years of history.
They control all the Empires, or one could simply say the whole Azure-Wind Continent.
This is a very strict heritage system established up by the Ancient Sects that humans have been following for many years. If anyone tries to go against it, no matter if it''s a city or kingdom or even an empire, they will be destroyed by the power above them before the ancient sects could even lift a finger.
Ancient Sects are true overlords of this Continent. No one dares to provoke them, everyone treats them with the utmost respect and even if they are on the right and sects are in the wrong, they dare not to point it out.
The distributions of thends are based on the Wordily energy called ''Qi''density or quality level.
''Qi'' is miraculous energy. If someone has a method to utilize it then this Qi can help one to gain mysterious supreme abilities, a long lifespan, the ability to fly, and many other things that are impossible for a mortal to do.
No one knows where this Qies from or who gave it its name. But as long as they remember, they called utilizing the Qi ''Martial Cultivation'' and one who used the Qi in its body a ''Martial Cultivator''.
The higher the level of thends is, the denser would ''Qi'' be.
The density of the Qi ys a huge role in cultivation speed. That''s why everyone wants to go to higher-levelnds, so they could be stronger than others because, in this ''World of Cultivation''w of jungle rules, Power means everything here, and the strong trample the weak.
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Fourth-levelnds are also known as the Lands of cities.
Cities distributed in 3-star, 2-star, and 1-star respectively. 3-star is lowest, where 1-star is highest. Furthermore, low-levelnds were divided into Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northernnds of cities.
Northern and Westernnds are thends of Wastndians or simply put it was the area where wastnd was. Everyone calls the people who live there ''Wastndians''.
In the Easternnds of Cities, there is a 2-star city near a bank of a beautiful river. There are rows of colorful flowers near the riverbank making its exquisite scenery and the scent of flowers was drifting in the air with a light wind.
River-Flower City is the name of the city that is located beside the beautiful riverbank.
River Flower City hasrge city walls and a big bronze city gate that''s only open for important and rich people. Formoners, there was a small gate beside the big gate for them to enter and exit the city.
The city was divided into two regions, the outer region, and the inner region.
In the outer region, mostlymoners and mortal lives. However, in the inner region live the nobles and ''martial cultivators. The City Lord Mansion was also in the inner region of the city.
Life was far tougher for poormoners in this world. They had to work hard to earn their living. Some of them even be ves of nobles just to stay alive. In nobles'' eyes, they were just like animals with intelligence; they didn''t pity them who told them to be born like this right?
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In the outer region of River-Flower City.
In the most barren part of the city was located slums.
People who didn''t have money to buy a decent house can always buy cheap huts here.
The area of slums was filled with uneven roads with trash scattered everywhere. No onees here to clean this ce regrly. That''s why shelter here is so cheap.
In a small muddy valley of slums, there was a small rundown hut made of scrap metals. There were some holes in the roof of the little hut.
In this rundown-hut lives someone who''s going to change the entire structure of the Golden Sky World one day!
Chapter 2 - Ace White
River-Flower City, Outer region, slums area.
Inside a small, rundown hut, there was a broken stove. Beside it were two clean y bowls, and inside them were y spoons. Other than that, there were some ragged clothes neatly arranged in the hut''s corner.
In a different corner of the hut, on the floor,y a little girl in a cocoon of nkets, and despite being tightly wrapped in two nkets, she was still shivering as if she was lying on a block of ice. It seems like she has a terrible cold or fever.
Since her face didn''t cover with nkets, one could see her cute features. She looks only seven or eight years old, with snow-white skin. Despite being ill, her face was a feast for the eyes. Her face was oval, with a sharp thin little nose, hollow cheeks, and cherry-like perfect lips. Her tightly shut big eyes and dark light eyebrows were frowning at this moment.
All of this doesn''t matter because currently, herplexion was so pale there seems to be no blood in her, like a ghost. She''s clearly in an extremely weak state.
Suddenly the hut almost broken door crack opens and a little boy with a height of 1.7 meters enters in a hurry. He was thin and looked extremely weak by his pale face. Despite his extreme paleplexion, his dark blue eyes were like the starry sky, and he was very handsome. If not for his tattered clothes and skinny body, many girls would''ve been charmed by him.
He quickly approaches the sick little girl and sits beside her. He examines her condition with his skinny hands. After checking her condition, his brows tightly frown forming dark lines on his pale forehead. He seems to be quite anxious at this moment.
He gently takes the little girl in his embrace and softly whispers in her ear, "Little sis, how are you feeling? Look, big bro,e back with medicine for your cold. It will go away this time as soon as little Alina will take it!" His voice was feeble, but it was filled with concern and love.
As he said that, he hurriedly takes out the medicine from his pocket. It was wrapped in rough paper packing. When he opens the rough packing, two small smooth ck pillse to view. These pills look like ck pepper.
Little Alina, that was almost unconscious, heard her big bro voice, and slowly she opens her eyes with extreme difficulty. A pair of beautiful blue watery eyes were revealed, but s, they were dull and blurry because of her weak state.
Alina speaks with a trembling and feeble voice, "B...b-big B-bro Ace!" Her voice was weak, but there was a hint of love and happiness in it.
It thrilled Alina to see her big bro holding her in his embrace. But she was so weak that she could only say big bro with all her strength.
Seeing her like this, Ace felt extremely heartbroken and sighed in sadness.
Ace gently stock her ck hair and smiled faintly. He didn''t want to show Alina his painful expression. He took one of the small ck pills and fed her with extreme care.
After making sure she swallowed the pill, he said faintly with a smile on his face, "Little Alina going to be alright in no time with this alchemy medicine. Just rest and big bro will take care of you until you''ll be healthy again, okay."
Ace was reassuring her, or maybe himself. It doesn''t matter since he was quite anxious about her. She was his only family in this vast world, and he will let nothing happen to her until he lives!
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[Let go A Couple of years In Past]
''Ace white'' his parents give him this name because they think this name sounds good to hear and easy to remember by others.
Unfortunately, his parents went missing in wastnds when he was only four years old. They were Low-level Cultivators doing hunting in wastnds for a living. Since they didn''te back for almost a year, the city officials dere them dead.
Little Ace lived with his Grandparents when he heard the news of his parent''s death. He mourned for months after finding out about this heart-shattering news. Seeing him like this, his Grandparents were also very heartbroken.
The shock of his parent''s death started to settle down after some time. He slowly epted that his Dad and Mom would nevere back, so his grandparents were everything for him, and he cherished them dearly.
However, their living conditions begin to decline after one year of his parents'' death. When they were still around, they didn''t need to worry about the food or clothing, but now that they were gone, things changed quickly.
After three years of his parents'' death, little Ace turns eight this year when another tragedy befalls him. His grandma passed away from an extreme fever. He cries for a long time with his old grandpa beside him. After his grandma, his grandpa can''t take the grief of her departure with his old heart. He became ill and passes away four months after her.
Now little Ace was alone in this heartless world. He worked as a dishwasher in the same restaurant where his grandma used to work before her death. The owner simply took pity on the poor little alone boy.
After the trauma of his grandparents'' death, he became a silent child and rarely speaks to anyone else. He has no friends of his age. When he watches other children with their parents, he would cry in his house at night alone, where no one can hear or soothe him.
Two years pass in a sh.
In two years, little Ace became somewhat tall, but hisplexion was very skinny. He still works as a dishwasher for some copper coins in the same restaurant and earns his meals. From his emotionless eyes, he seems like a mature person despite his young and tender age.
Time has left a deep scar on his little heart. He has even forgotten when thest time he was smiling.
On one chilly night, he was walking home after his work when he heard someone''s cry from a dark valley. From the voice, one could tell that it was the voice of a small child.
Ace frowns a little and immediately puts his guard up and vigntly took small steps toward the small valley!
Chapter 3 - Little Alina
Ace moves toward the dark valley vigntly. Cries of a child keeping from the valley from time to time again.
When Ace reached the valley, it was dark. He only saw a little silhouette in the valley''s corner with the dim light of the moon. When he hears the crying voice wasing from the little silhouette, he rxes a little and slowly walks towards it.
By hearing the mellow voice, Ace guesses this child is probably a little girl.
The little girl hears footsteps approaching her and immediately bes alert. She stops crying and looks at the owner of footsteps with her teary yet intelligent eyes. She bes scared after thinking someone is approaching her with bad intentions. She suppresses her fear and tension and starts clenching her small fist.
The little girl is ready for a fight!
Ace didn''t see clearly but he could vaguely see the little girl stop crying and clench her fist as if she would fight him if he approaches her. He couldn''t help but admire her courage.
''She looked like four or five years old by her height and voice.'' Ace guess with a hint of interest in his eyes.
Even with dim moonlight, the valley was still quite dark, so he couldn''t see her appearance. Ace walks a little closer and stops two meters away from the little girl because he didn''t want to scare her any further.
Ace lightly said to the little girl, "I don''t have any bad motives and I''m only here because I heard your cries. Where are your parents? Do you got separated from them?"
Ace asks as gently as possible just to not scare her, but his voice was a little hoarse as if he didn''t speak for a long time, and the little girl didn''t answer him either.
''It seems she''s afraid of me.'' Ace smile bitterly. He also didn''t expect her to talk with a stranger in this kind of ce, either.
IF it was him in her shoes, he would''ve done the same or he might''ve yelled out loud for help long ago. This little thing was still quite brave to stand silently there and let him speak first without yelling in fear.
"Look, it iste at night and there might be some bad guys near. If you don''t want to get caught by them, go to your parents'' or house. It''s extremely dangerous to be here by all yourself." Ace earnestly warns her, He didn''t want her to be kidnaped by those thugs around the area.
Ace has been crossing this area for almost four years and knew just how dangerous this area was. Once he was caught by thugs when he was passing here and after finding out that he was dirt poor, they only beat him up and let him go. He didn''t dare to imagine what would they do to this little girl.
Since he has already warned her now, it was her choice to listen or not. Ace turns around and began walking towards the exit of the valley.
When the little girl hears his warning and somehow she could tell this person didn''t have any evil intention. She bes less vignt and when she saw this person was about to leave. Panic appears on her face and she became afraid after thinking about something.
"W-wait". The little girl call in her childish mellow voice
When Ace heard her voice for the first time, he was little stun and think in bewilderment, ''How can someone''s voice be so beautiful''!
It was quite normal for him to think like this since he never even talk with anyone, much less a girl of his age.
Ace turns around and nce at her again. The little girl notice his stare and said faintly, "I don''t know where my parents are and what they look like."
When Ace hears her lovely voice again, he bewilders for a second and asks softly, "Then why are you in this kind of ce and crying alone by yourself?"
Hearing Ace''s question, the little girl suddenly remembers something and starts crying again as if someone hit her. When Ace saw her crying again, he feels little pain in his heart that has been gone cold for a long time.
"What happens?" He quickly asks her in confusion.
The girl said while crying weakly, "I''m Hungry!"
When Ace heard this, it stunned him for a moment, and unknowingly, a smile creep out on his face. ''She''s just a child after all.''
"I have food in my house if you have nowhere to goe with me." Ace didn''t know why he said that but seeing a small child like her in this situation he couldn''t help but think of himself for all those years ago.
Maybe Ace saw his old innocent self in her. He didn''t know nor did he have the answer. But for some peculiar reason, he just wants to help her.
The little girl immediately stops crying after listening to Ace''s offer. She deeply looks at the person in front of her. She couldn''t see his face, but from his voice and stature, she could easily guess that he''s also young, and seems sincere.
In the end, she was still an innocent little girl so when she thought that he''s sincere with the offer, "Ok let''s go!" She agrees to go with him.
It''s not like she can''t protect herself if things go awry.
Ace has a sigh of relief when she epts to go with him because after exchanging some words with her, he didn''t want to leave her alone in this pce. Now that she epts his offer, Ace felt relief for some reason.
Ace didn''t want to stay here for long and he turns around and walk toward the exit of the valley. The little girl follows behind him.
When they came out, dim moonlight was shining on the street and both of their faces be obvious.
Ace was a little curious and couldn''t help but turn around to look at the little girl''s face. But when he saw her face, it bewitched him.
Her face was oval with milky-white skin, a sharp thin nose, hollow cheeks, and thin cherry lips. Her big watery blue eyes were shining like stars and her long ck falling hair wasplimenting her pale skin perfectly. She was like a sculpture carved by a divine artisan.
Ace was instantly captivated by her otherworldly cuteness and his heartbeat races, ''She so cute'' This is the only thought thates to his mind.
The little girl also looks back at Ace. The handsome face of the little boy also overwhelmed her, especially his dark blue eyes like a starry sky. He was a little skinny, but nothingness, he was handsome.
Suddenly their eyes met and time was as if its stop. Both of their faces redden and they quickly avert their gazes. The atmosphere between them bes a little awkward after that.
Ace quickly began walking toward his little house to hide his embarrassment. The little beauty hurriedly follows behind him. She also didn''t know what happened, but that was not something good that she knows.
Ace was walking silently in front but his heart was still pounding and a sudden thought surface his mind as he said to break the strange mood, "What is your name?"
The little girl answers after some consideration, "Alina!".
''Alina huh, good name.'' Ace thinks as he feels delighted for some reason.
After some hesitation, the little girl finally asks back, "What''s yours?"
"Ace!" He answers without even thinking.
After some time, they reach Ace''s house. It was a normal size house and the only thing that his parents have left for him. He opens the door, and the inside was extremely neat & clean. He''s living alone in here for three years now.
A little boy like him, who survives alone until now, was proof of his unyielding and clever nature.
"Come in." Ace said to Alina as he enters the house.
Alina follows him inside after a brief hesitation.
Ace makes some special dishes for himself and little Alina for dinner. He learned to cook from his grandma when she was alive, and now he was an excellent cook himself. He also has saved some ''silver coins'' with all these years of work and since he lives alone, Ace spent little on himself. So, he could afford to feed her one or two good meals.
(Money System in Lands of Cites or Low-Level Lands: 1 Ruby Coin = 100 Gold Coins, 1 GC = 100 Silver Coins, 1 SC = 100 Bronze Coins)
When little Alina saw those warm dishes on the table, she salivated. Her stomach growls and can''t hold herself back any longer. With little care for Ace, who was watching her from the side, she ate crazily.
He couldn''t help but smile. ''She seems like a little hungry ghost''
After dinner, Ace was about to go to wash the empty tes when he saw little Alina was looking at him with a strange gaze as if he was her father or something. He finds it quite amusing and cute. Before little Alina looks at him like he was a wolf who''ll eat her alive. But now she looks more cheerful and friendly than before.
She said with a cheerful smile, "Thank You Big Brother Ace!" Her smile was very cute to look at.
Ace feels warm in his little heart when she calls him Big Bro. How long has it been since he feels like this?
Looking at the innocent little girl, his eyes feel hot when he touches them. There were tears in them. Maybe they were because of all those years of loneness or he finally found someone to talk to he didn''t know. He was just happy for the first time in many years.
He quickly clears moist from his eyes and said with a warm smile, "You''re wee. You can stay here as well if you like."
Little Alina bes extremely happy to hear this because she has nowhere to go. And this Big Bro seems quite a pleasant person. Most importantly, he cooks delicious food.
"How do you get into the city if you didn''t have parents or any other rtive?" Ace finally asks a serious question.
''Howe a little girl came to the city with no harm and those guards at the city gate didn''t even stop her if she was alone?'' Ace was very confused about this matter. That''s why he asked her directly.
When she heard the question, She seems to remember something and her eyes get teary as she spoke in a dejected tone "I was living with my old grandpa in the forest but yesterday when I was ying in the forest old grandpae to me and said he has something to do so we have to leave the forest and take me in this ce called a city.
"After wee here, he drops me in that valley where we meet early, and before leaving, he promised to me. He''lle back after taking care of the important business and I have to wait for him there obediently." As she recalls what has happened today, she cries again.
Ace was intelligent and could make some guess what had happened after. ''It seems that Old Grandpa has abandoned her or he meet with some trouble doing something. So that''s how little Alina was left alone.''
After crying for some time, little Alina fell asleep. She was extremely tired after her ordeal.
For an entire week, he and Alina would go to the same dark valley and wait for her old grandpa to return, but he never returned. Alina became sad, but she slowly epts that her grandpa has abandoned her or he was going to do something important somewhere else.
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That''s how in Ace''s lonely life came a little sister. He was very fond of her.
After some time, little Alina opens up to Ace, and she considers him as a real Big Brother.
Ace always takes care of her and told her stories and yed with her. Ace bes happy again as he spends more time with Alina.
Finally, in his bitter life, springes again in the face of Alina, and the scars from the past heal. That''s how a year passed in happiness and joy.
But by the start of winter, little Alina got sick. First, it wasn''t serious, with some medicine she could get healthy again. But after a week, her illness acts again, and it is much worse this time.
Ace grows terrified of this as his childhood trauma begins to act and he panicked because his parents and grandparents leave him one by one and now his little sister also fell ill. How could he take it easy?
''If something happens to her...'' He didn''t dare to imagine something like this, so he did everything he could to cure her strange illness.
However, after four months, her illness didn''t go away. It was very strange sometimes it would act and sometimes it would show signs of curing. But no matter what kind of medicine he feeds her, they just couldn''t work.
Many doctors check Alina''s condition and they all say, ''it was just a cold and she will be better after taking some medicine.''
But Ace has a terrible feeling about this and thought it was not the case of a simple cold and something was wrong with her. After mulling over it for some time, Ace finally makes a hard decision.
He sells his parents'' house for 10 gold coins! Since normal medicine was not working, Ace bought ''Alchemy Pills!''
Alchemy pills were made by Almighty ''Alchemists''who were profound in the way of Wondrous Medicines.. But those alchemy pills were very expensive. That''s why he makes this tough decision to sell his parents'' house!
Chapter 4 - Ill Steal From Heaven Itself!
[Present]
Today Ace goes toward the Alchemy Shops in the outer region pill market to buy alchemy pills for Alina.
Ace bought two ck alchemy pills from a famous alchemy shop with eight gold coins. Since he knew little about the pill market after asking around, he found this shop and bought pills from here.
Now he only left with one gold coin after he purchased a rundown-hut in the slums for one gold coin. He was determined to save his little sister, no matter the cost.
In a hurry, little did Ace notice shimmering disdain in the shop owner''s eyes when he bought those two ck pills. After Ace left the shop owner''s lips move upwards, he smirks cunningly and scornfully.
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After feeding Alina that ''ck Alchemy Pill'', Ace lets her rest for the night.
Early in the morning, Ace wasn''t able to sleep in anxiety. He was like this for three days now. He checks Alina''s condition for the tenth time again, but to his dismay, there is still not even the slightest bit of improvement in little Alina''s illness.
Ace assumed something was amiss with those ck Pills because before selling his old house, he inquiry about these alchemy pills and knew just how miraculous these pills made by alchemy were. These pills can even heal the illness much worse than his sister''s, but this pill is still not working on her. He was unconvinced about these alchemy pills will also not work on Aline like other medicines as well.
Ace went back to the pill market again. However, this time he will go to another not-so-famous pill shop of the outer region pill market.
Ace spotted a little pill shop much meek than thest pill shop and went inside. There was an old man, seemingly in his sixties, sitting in a long chair behind a small counter. He has white short hair & a long white beard on his wrinkly face.
When the old man saw Ace''s skinny appearance and then little tattered clothes on his body, he instantly knows he was a poor kid. The old shop owner was a kind-nature person, so he didn''t chase him away immediately.
He asks with a benevolent smile on his face, "Little brat, what do you want?"
Seeing the old man''s kind smile and his friendly way of speech, his tight nerve loosens a bit, and he spoke respectively to the old shop owner.
"Sir, yesterday I bought these alchemy pills from a famous alchemy shop near here for my ill sister. But it isn''t working on her illness at all. Can Sir, please inspect this pill and tell me if it''s not what she needs and requires some other pill." As Ace made his request, he takes out that remaining ck pill from his pocket and shows it to the old shop owner.
The old man smiled kindly after hearing Ace''s little request and he took the ck pill from his hand and examine it seriously. The old man takes a little whiff of his old nose and his smile instantly froze.
He looks at the ck pill gravely first and then at little Ace, who was nervously waiting there with both hands clenched together.
''Sigh...'' Old Man sighed in pity as he looks at Ace and feels quite bad for this poor little boy.
Ace saw the old man''s grave expression and his heart nearly jump out of his chest because he knew something was extremely wrong.
After a moment of silence, the old man said grimly, "This is a ''fail pill'' meaning it has no healing or curing ability in it. Simply put, it''s just a piece of trash. Sigh."
When Ace here this he thought the world around him turn dark and he nearly lost his sentience. But he forces himself to remainposed because he could tell that old fat face bastard has duped him and he can''t do anything about it, so this tension would only harm him more. He can''t afford to fall into depression at a time like this when his sister''s condition was still unknown.
''That fat bastard!'' Ace curses that fat shop owner millions of times in his heart since he can''t do anything to him other than curse silently.
Ace takes a deep breath and suppressed his boiling anger. Ace could guess this old man is a very kind-hearted person. He appraises the pill, asking nothing from him. Because Ace knew if it was someone else in the old man''s shoes, he would''ve kicked him out of the shop the moment he asks that kind of question or asks forpensation.
Because no one wants a poormoner like him to step into their shops. Mostly rich merchants, especially in the pill market, disdain the poor andmon people like him.
"Sir, thank you for your kindness. I''ll remember this favor in my heart." After sincerely said those words to the old man.
Ace instantly bows deeply after that as he asks with a pleading but resolute voice, "Can Sir, tell me what kind of pill I need to cure my little sister''s illness!"
Ace wanted to know what kind of pill will cure his sister''s ailment and, most importantly, its price! Since he has already lost his money that he won''t be getting back, even if he reports it to the city guard post, he has to raise the money by some other method.
The old man bes astonished and moves by Ace''s determine eyes and his firm attitude. "From your description, the illness of your sister resembles ''Nerve Cold Illness''. It''s a rarely seen condition, so you need a ''Nerve Heating Pill'' to cure it. It is a very expensive pill. It will cost you 1 Ruby Coin!"
(1 Ruby coin = 100 gold coins)
When little Ace heard the cost of this Nerve Heating Pill, he nearly copsed there. ''It''s too damn expensive!''
Even if he had his 10 gold coins, he would''ve still missing 90 gold coins. It was an impossible amount for a poor person like him, even if he sold himself!
Ace asks while clenching his teeth, "Sir, Can this pill be able to cure my sister''s illness?" He asks for confirmation onest time.
The old man nodded after seeing Ace''s firm determination because if it was some othermoner just after hearing the price of one ruby coin, he would have fallen into despair already. However, this little boy''s willpower is on another level.
The old man replies while grinning broadly, "I stake my Gale Galos name in it. This pill can cure your sister''s illness ny-nine percent!"
When Ace sees the old man, Gale grinned at him he felt at ease. He nodded seriously and turns around, leaving the old man Gale Alchemy shop.
While Ace was going back to slums, he saw that fatty bastard shop, and see that fatty was smiling ear to ear as he was counting gold coins.
''You''ll suffer heaven''s retribution one day!'' Ace grinds his teeth in anger and curses him more fiercely in his heart. He wishes he could steal that shameless fatty gold coins.
Just as he was cursing and thinking about stealing from that fatty bastard, he reaches his home,
Ace just opens the door of the hut when he saw Alina trembling even more and understood her condition was worsening. He rushes to her side and quickly hugs her tightly. She was freezing when he hugs her.
Alina was suffering from extreme cold when she felt warmth and immediately know her big bro was back. A weak smiles bloom on a fairy-like face and she feels a little better.
Ace''s eyes fill with tears when he saw Alina''s weak smile and thought faintly.
''Life is extremely unfair to me. First My parents, then My Grandparents, and now my only little sister is going to leave me like them.''
"NO!" Ace shouts out loud subconsciously.
He muttered softly, "I didn''t want anyone dear to me to even dies again!"
His voice soared, "I want to fight against this unfair life, I want to fight against this unfair corrupted world, I want to even fight against this damn unfair HEAVEN itself!"
In the end, there was nothing but bitterness and resentment left in his heart.
"Just give the damn power and I''ll fight you all who wanted to steal my sister from me!"
His mind was in a mess after seeing Alina''s peaceful expression as if he was watching those icy bodies of his grandparents all those years ago. All the frustration, pain, and loneness that was hidden deep in his heart for all those yearse out like a tidal wave.
Right, when he was denouncing and challenging the unfairness of everything, a strange thought surfaces in his mind, it was just a silly thought. It was so silly and out of this world that heughs with tears flowing from his eyes.
He thinks,
''Everyone is stealing from me. What If I have a power that can help me to steal from anything, even Heaven itself!!?''
''Even if I would be a criminal of Heaven, even if I would be a criminal of Ages I would still steal from you all if it means happiness of my dear ones!''
''I would steal everything, from this life, these detestable people, and this unfair High-Heaven!!''
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Suddenly the Golden sky of the Golden Sky World became pitch ck and everything fell into darkness with not a speck of light left. As if Darknesswas here paying a personal visit to this small world.
This sudden ckness rmed every race in the World. Everyone thought a cmity was going to befall them.
Abruptly, inky lightning clouds formed in the back sky. One could vastly view the shing lightning and heard loud thunderps now and then. It was an enchanting sight to behold.
This scenario rmed every top Expert of the Golden Sky World.
The inky clouds form a huge dark hole with lightning encircling it or a pitch-ck portal with lightning as a source of energy. No one knows what that huge thing was, but everyone only has one thought in their minds and that was, ''A disaster is about to descend.''
However, out of everyone''s expectation, a single Dark Blue lightning descends with a thundering roar.
Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmm....
A thunder boom echoes everywhere across the world.
Something even more absurd happens, that Dark Blue Lightning didn''t fade like normal lightning and instantly darts towards a specific direction like a shooting star, but it was more clear for everyone to see. It was as if this dark blue light has a life of its own.
It turns into a beam of dark blue light and it was so fast that it disappeared in a sh.
Everyone was bbergasted by this sudden turn of events because after that beam of light vanished from everyone''s view, the dark sky and clouds return to normal as if nothing has happened.
No one knows what that strange lightning was, but since it was a world of cultivation, they instantly think that it was a Heavenly Treasure that falls from Heaven.
Some Top Experts of every race headed towards the light''s direction. But the light was so fast no one was able to catch or chase after it.
Itsst direction was towards the Human continent, the Azure Wind Continent.
Top Sects of the Azure Wind continent were included in all this and when the experts of the ancient sects realized wasing in their direction, they immediately be happy, but they also couldn''t catch up with that beam of dark blue light,
It quickly disappears towards the lower-Level Lands.
________________
Meanwhile River-Flower City in slums area.
After a burst of his emotions, Ace was finally calm down and felt quite ridiculous after thinking of his absurd concept of stealing from Heaven itself.
''No one can steal from Heaven.'' Ace sighed helplessly.
A beam of dark blue light swiftly enters the River-Flower City.
Its direction was shockingly towards the slums area. It was so fast that no one noticed its arrival. In a sh, it enters slums and its target was a rundown Hut with holes on its roof.
It stops and hovers above the Hut roof as if it were observing the little boy inside who was crying and cursing heaven while holding a little beautiful girl in his embrace.
The beam of dark blue light shes and it directly enters the boy''s head. Its trace of existence disappears like it never existed.
The little boy was none other than Ace.
He was just about to go out to look for a way to collect a Roby coin when he suddenly felt being hit by a melting iron road and felt this head split apart.
He faints on the spot. Thest thing Ace remembers before fainting was hearing a sweet crispy voice in his head saying:
"The Instation began....!"
Chapter 5 - Eternal Thief System
After 12 hours of deep slumber, Ace open his heavy eyelid with some difficulty. He was still in a stupor because of yesterday''s incident. However, the next moment, the pain faded.
When that pain was finally gone, Ace strangely feel refreshed for some unknown reason.
Ace remembers what has happened yesterday when a sudden pain attacked him and he fainted after that.
''That was strange. Did I get Punished by Heaven for spheming it?'' Ace whiffled his head as he smiles wryly, ''Maybe it was from the stress after all I didn''t sleep for three days.''
Ace quickly get rid of that ridiculous notion because if Heaven was so openhanded to even punish him, then this world didn''t have any evil.
While assuming about what has urred, Ace caught the sight of his sleeping little sister, that was sound asleep in his embrace. Yet, her body was still icy cold. Ace''s expression instantly darkened when he thought about One Ruby Coin he needed to earn as soon as possible for that pill.
(1 Ruby Coin = 100 Gold Coins)
Ace was about to get ready to go out into the city and find some task with high pay. He has some idea where he should go to earn one ruby coin.
"I have to go outside the city for hunting!" mumble Ace to himself.
Ace was just about to get up from the rug when he hear a familiar yet unfamiliar icy voice in his head.
"[Instation Complete!]"
Ace was frightened and nearly jumped when out of nowhere he heard the sweet yet crisp voice of ady.
He hurriedly looks around himself but no one was there except Alina. Ace holds her firmly and keeps searching his surrounding vigntly as if he was facing an enemy. But no matter how much he looks no one was there.
Ace abruptly remembers the voice he hears was the same voice he heard before he loses consciousness. ''What is this voice and where is iting from?''
''Am I haunted by a Ghost?!'' when he thought of a Ghost he became pale with fright.
Ace has heard plenty of stories about ghosts and evil spirits from the restaurant owner where he works. That old restaurant owner always tells his grandson stories about ghosts, like once a ghost possessed a kid, and then eats his soul. Ace always heard these kinds of stories with great interest and now he was extremely afraid of ghosts and evil spirits.
He was going to chant some prayers that he once heard from the Old Restaurant Owner when the emotionless voice buzzed in his head again.
"[Congrattion, the Eternal Thief System selects you as a Host!]"
"What in the hell??!" He was going to swear out loud but force stop himself because he was holding Alina in his one arm and he didn''t want to shake her.
Ace immediately starts chanting the old owner''s prayers in his head like crazy, ''o gidieli dkkdiek dkiel'' Even he didn''t know what these words meant, but he heard the old restaurant owner say when you see a ghost just chant them and the ghost will be gone forever.
In ten seconds, Ace didn''t hear the voice, and he thought that the restaurant owner''s chants were working. He bes a little smug and was just about to celebrate his grand victory against thedy ghost when thedy''s voice sounded again in his head.
"[Host current Privilege is at Level 0. The details about ''Level 0 Privilege'' are about to transfer into host brain!]"
"[Transfer Begin! Please brace yourself host.]"
This time the voice didn''t sound emotionless as before. It sounds like it''s chuckling at Ace''s simplicity.
Ace was scared out of his wits after hearing this ''ghostdy voice'' again and was just about to run from the hut with Alina in arms when abruptly he felt something drill into his brain.
Ace instantly hold his head because of extreme pain but he didn''t scream because Alina was still close to him. Even in this extreme pain, he was still thinking about his little sister''s well-being. Ace''s teeth were clenched tightly. This pain was just like yesterday''s, but this time, it wasn''t intolerable.
After ten-second, the pain subjugated and was finally gone. Ace regains his senses again. He didn''t care about anything right now, because this was his only chance to escape. He stands up with some difficulty but his expression was determined. He would take his little sister out of this ''ghost house'' to safety, no matter what.
Ace''s heavy steps halted when he feels something foreign in his brain and the moment his focus was shifted on that foreign part, it converts into strange memories. These strange memories became Ace''s.
Ace was very confused about this sudden turn of events. ''Didn''t ghost supposed to eat souls and possess the bodies?''
Those foreign memories settled, and now he can appraise them.
Ace didn''t know why he tapped into those memories, but a voice deep inside kept telling him to see what it was and when he did. Ace was startled at first, but the next moment he bes astonished, and his astonishment turns into hysteria.
Ace was so shocked that he nearly forgets about his worries and his ill Little Sister who was still in his embrace. After some time, he regains his sense. Ace nce around his surrounding fiercely as if he was confirming something. After making sure that there was no one in or outside the hut, he finally rxed a little.
After fully calm down, his emotions set down beside his sister. But no matter what he does, he can''t calm down his wildly pounding heart that was beating like a crazy drum.
Ace didn''t dare to believe in those absurd memories, but deep down he wanted to confirm and truly wish that all of it was true. That''s why he first check his surroundings, because if these memories were real then he didn''t dare to imagine what would he do.
Ace takes a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Status!"
The moment he said that world something unimaginable happens, a transparent ck block begins to forms in front of Ace''s eyes. When it waspletely formed it was ck but there was silver strange markings imprint on it and on top of that ck transparent block was engrave dark blue markings that were glowing in golden color. The ck block is called a ''Panel''.
These markings were anguage that was foreign to this world and it''s called the ''Ancient Language of Gods''.
Now, only Ace can read it or understand it in this entire world because he learns it with his Level 0 privileges memories. He can even speak it as if he has been learning it from birth.
After seeing the status thing was real, Ace starts felt extreme happiness and immense relief. If it wasn''t for his sister and worried about his surrounding areas, he would''veughed like a maniac.
He calms down. But there were tears of happiness in his eyes as he read status.
______________________________________
[Eternal Thief System]
[Main Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human {No Bloodline}]
[Heaven: 1st Heaven Mortal Sky Heaven]
[Cultivation Level of 1st Heaven (Martial Cultivation): Mortal]
[EXP: 0/50]
(EXP= Experience Points)
[Soul Cultivation: Mortal]
[SP: 0/20]
(SP= Soul Points)
[Thief Points (TP): 15]
[Current Mission: 0]
_________________________________
When Ace sees his status, it stunned him because there were so many details. Then he looked at the top right corner of the main panel. There was a silver symbol that was. glowing. It looks like a cape. It was his status panel symbol.
Then his focus turned to the 3rd column of his status and was extremely confused by the word ''1st Heaven''.
''Was there more heavens?'' He wondered. ''The name of the first heaven is Mortal sky heaven.''
Ace couldn''t help but think that he was just a frog in the well. He never even went outside of the River flower City and now he suddenly learns the Grand name of Heaven itself. It was a very special feeling.
As he was looking at his other status columns, he saw his Cultivation Status and smile bitterly. He was just a mortal.
When he saw Experience Points and Soul Points, he was confused,
''What are these for?'' Ace transmitted his voice in his mind. This a method tomunicate with the system treasure he found in memories.
"[EXP and SP are amounts of Qi required for the host to reach the next level of cultivation.]"
Ace wasn''t afraid of this icy voice anymore because he was the master of this treasure called System. However, what kind of treasure it was he does not know. But this system even knows about heaven''s name. ''This system treasure is not from this world'' This was his conclusion.
''How do I collect this EXP and SP then?''
System answer again but different this time,
"[Host has to find out by himself.]"
Ace was dumbfounded by the answer. He asks a different question this time after some thinking, ''Then what are Thief Points (TP)?''
This was the only status that was not 0 for the start and he even had 15 of them. He was thrilled about this, but there was a ''thief'' word there in it and he felt uneasy for some reason.
"[Host can earn Thief Points (TP) after every sessful Honorable Thievery. Thief Points are the currency of System.]"
''What do mean by Stealing or Thievery? Do you want me to be a Thief and since when did robing someone be Honorable? Do you break yourself?'' Ace was bewildered.
He was just 12 years old, but he never did anything immoral like stealing. Even if he was poor, he will never do this kind of thing. Now, this ''Treasure'' telling him to steal and it even dares to say it''s ''Honorable'', he nearly went frantic.
"[Host carefully read the name of System.]" It said, giving no further exnation.
Now that Ace was calm down, he Focuses on the top of the Transparent ck Panel. On there were written only words In Dark Blue Color with a golden glow, "Eternal Thief System". Those words were extremely dominated and there was some kind of power hidden in them.
When Ace read the full name of this System Treasure, there was also ''Thief'' in there, he rubs his eyes and saw it again making sure he didn''t make any mistake but no matter how many times he saw it there was still ''Thief'' there.
Ace''s happiness at obtaining a supreme treasure was instantly gone in smoke. Because he knew he was in some kind of trouble....!
Chapter 6 - First Mission
Ace knew he was in trouble because he didn''t have any choice in this matter now since he can''t throw this System Treasure away he didn''t even know where it was hiding.
Ace knew that this ''System'' was in his body though because every time its voice sounded in his head and only he can see the panel or hear it. He also thinks that this ''system treasure'' would not harm him because he was the system''s ''Master''!
The fact was, his life will not be normal anymore!
Ace thinks of anothermanding word that can control the system and thought, "System Shop."1
The Transparent Panel change into another one and the on the top right a new symbol glowed in silver. It was like a cart.
__________________________
[System Shop]
[Avable Skill Books]
[Avable Cultivation Technique]
[Avable Weapons]
[Avable Pills]
________________________
Four glowing options in silver appear on the panel. There was a symbol of a ''Book with a nk eye'' for ''skill books'', a ''Round Pill with nine circles'' for ''Pills'', a ''cross swords'' for ''weapons'', and as for techniques, there was a ''book with a coin engrave on its cover''. In front of every option was their name in thenguage of ''ancient gods''.
Ace bes a little excited after reading all the options and hurriedlymunicates with the system through his mind, "Show me Avable Pills".
It filled his heart with anticipation and excitement, because if this system is some kind of supreme treasure, then it should have some extraordinary abilities. Maybe he can heal his sister without that pill.
The glowing screen change again.
_______________________
[System Shop]
[Avable Pills]:
[Basic-Level Healing Pills: 1Can heal any serious Injury and Disease below ''Heavenly Qi River Realm'']
{Price: 25 Thief Points (TP) Per Pill}
[Basic-Level Heaven Qi Recovery Pills: Can instantly recover Heavenly Qi]
{Price: 10 Thief Points (TP) Per Pill}
[Lowest-Level Heaven Stealer Pills]
{Price: 150 Thief Points (TP) Per Pill} {5 Pills Avable}
__________________
When he saw the description of the Basic Healing Pill and its use, Ace bes so excited that was going to jump with happiness, he didn''t even see another word.
He didn''t know what that Heavenly Qi River Realm was and even if he knows he wouldn''t even care about it, because his eyes were fixed only on those three words ''Heal any disease''.
He hurried demands loudly, "System gives me a Basic Healing Pill Now!"
But he only gets an emotionless answer,
"[No Enough Thief Points (TP)]"
"WHAT!" He was just going to curse the system when he suddenly remembered about Thief points.
Ace took another nce at the system shop panel hurriedly and finally spots a prize column of whole 25(TP) right below the Healing Pill. He only has 15 (TP). There were also other pills, but he didn''t know what they''re used for and didn''t care at all so he ignored them.
Ace finally calms down a bit and thought grimly, ''Do I have to steal to earn Thief Points (TP)? No, I have to do that. It''s better than earning 1 Ruby coin and I still didn''t know if that Pill will work or not. Although that Old Gale gives grantee and he seemed to be a nice person but I can''t trust anyone but myself.''
He takes a deep breath and asks calmly, "System, tell me what things I have to steal to earn thief points (TP)."
"[Missions given by the system and any kind of Honorable Thieveryies]"
Ace hurriedly see the Mission Column on his main panel but there was currently "0".
"How will I get missions?"
"[Missions will trigger based on a host life''s special events and when some special conditions satisfy the criteria set by the system.]"
Ace became speechless, "How the hell I''m supposed to trigger these life events?" He yells in his mind furiously, ''This system is no help at all. It just spouting bullshit''.
Just as he was about to give up on the idea of doing a mission, he hears the system''s sweet voice again.
"[A New Mission is Avable!]"
"What didn''t it say it only triggered by some bullshit events?" Ace mutter in confusion.
But then he bes happy with this immediate coincidence, ''I can finally earn Thief Points (TP) without doing the robbing stuff.''Ace thinks happily as he opens the ''Mission Panel'' in excitement.
It was a hand holding a coin symbol.
_____________
[Mission Panel]
[Revenge Mission: Steal All the Treasure from Shop No. 8 in River Flower City Outer Region Pill Market. Let that Fat Shop Owner know an Honorable Thief can''t be cheated.]
{Rewards based on Host Performance}
{Days Left: 7}
{Mission Failure Punishment: Death}
____________
Ace was extremely happy when he saw the mission, but when he finally saw what the mission was, his joyous expression changed to an angry one.
''W-what it wants me to steal from that fatty shop just for revenge??! I admit I want to smash that bastard shop with stone and steal his gold coins. But I just said that in anger it''s not like I want to do it, Even I want to do it, how the hell am I supposed to do it. The Outer Pill Market security is tight at night and every shop has its security.'' Ace mull over it angrily.
He angrily saw the mission panel, then his eyesnded on the Rewards section.
''Performance?''
Confused by the reward, his eyes go down on time section, ''7 Days huh even if it was 70 days I can''t do it no matter what!''
When Ace''s eyesnded on the punishment section, he was a pause for a moment, then he started rubbing his eyes to confirm if he saw nothing wrong. Ace saw again, but there was still a "Death" word there. He even waves his hand to see if the panel screen had dust on it but his hand had gone through it.
After confirming it was the word "DEATH".
Ace nearly had a stroke and he couldn''t take it anymore. He cursed this ck-hearted system as he bark, "HONORABLE THIEF YOUR MOOOMMM!!!!"
Ace was so angry and terrified that his eyes turned bloodshot and even forget about Alina right next to him.
Alina was jolted awake by Ace''s scream and ask in a weak voice, "W-what h-happened!?" She was still in a stupor state and didn''t know what happen to Ace, but she was quite worried about him.
Ace was shock awakened from his mad-like mental state when he heard little Alina''s worried voice and he quickly reassures her, "N-no-nothing happens. Big bro was just scarred by a rat!"
When little Alina heard his silly excuse, she smiles weakly just as she wanted to say something but no words came out because she faints while smiling.
When ace saw this, his anger and fear faded like smoke and he quickly holds little Alina in his arm and said in a panicked voice, "Little sis! Alina!" No matter how much he calls or shook her, she didn''t answer him.
Ace felt a surge of anxiety raising over him because Alina''s body temperature was dropping and he could feel extremely cold in his hand just by holding her with nkets.
He forgets about the death punishment that the system has given him a moment ago and said in a begging tone, "System, please give me that pill and I will rob whoever you told me to just give it to me right now!."
He was even ready to sell his soul to the devil, much less a trifling robbery. But he was destined to disappoint.
"[Rewards can only be given on Missionpletion.]" system response emotionlessly.
Ace''s breathing bes rigid after hearing the answer, ''Will I lose her like everyone?''
Just as he was going to plead again with everything he has system spoke again,
"[But System can diagnose this Girl for 1 Thief Point (TP).]"
Ace bes silent when he hears this and thought angrily, ''She can''t give me TP but wants it instead!??'' Ace grinds his teeth and said, "DO IT!"
At least it was much better than Old Gale''s diagnosis that he just randomly guess and Ace also wanted to see this thing''s capabilities as well. If it was a supreme treasure, then he didn''t mind bing a thief!
A dark blue light shone in Ace''s eyes and he was surprised because he can see information floating on Alina''s head. It was exactly like his status panel.
___________________
[Alina Silver]
[Race: Hunter (Ice Elemental Bloodline)]
[Cultivation Level: Qi Gates Realm {1st Gate}]
[Weak state: She is currently going through her bloodline awakening. She needs an ''Extreme Ice Qi Pill'' to sessfully awaken her elemental bloodline. But if she didn''t get any ''Extreme Ice Qi Pill'' she will die in 3 days.]
___________________
When Ace saw her status, he waspletely dumbfounded by this and bark out loud, "You are saying she is not human and a legendary hunter who lives on Blood Continent?!!"
''Blood continent'' was where the Third Rank Race of the Golden Sky World ''The Hunters'' live and it was much bigger than the Azure Wind continent of the Human Race.
Ace was very confused at this moment, ''How a hunter appeared in River Flower City. The funniest thing is a hunter bes my little sister.'' Acement and ispletely taken over by this sudden truth.
Ace saw she was also a cultivator and didn''t know what realm this Qi Gate was, but when hepares it with his mortal status, it was something extraordinary. He couldn''t help but look back at unconscious Alina profoundly.
''She didn''t even tell me her full name.'' Ace sighed and be extremely calm after seeing her status.
Ace has some thoughts about her identity first and presumes that she wasn''t normal from start. Because how could a little girle to the city and remain unharmed and even ept the offer of going to a stranger''s house instantly? However, he never would''ve dreamed that she was not even a human altogether.
Maybe the reason for him not to question her before was that he was alone in this world and she filled a deep hole in his heart.
''So she didn''t have that ''nerve cold disease'' either. It is her Hunter Bloodline that was awakening. Doesn''t that mean that the ''heart heating pill'' would also not have worked on her either?'' His expression darkens even more after thinking about it. If not for the system, he would''ve killed her with his ignorance.
Ace spoke with a calm yet serious expression, "System, I know you''re not from this world and I also know you chose me for some special reason and you even have so many abilities that even I didn''t know about them yet. But I know you need me and I need you. So just tell me do have that Extreme Ice Qi Pill or not!"
Now was not the time for him to worry about himself he only has three days, and this all-knowing ck-hearted system was his only light in this darkness.
"[Yes.]"
"How much"? Ace closes his eyes.
"[30 Thief Points (TP)!]"
Ace opens his dark blue eyes that were now shimmering with determination.
Acey unconscious Alina on the rug. Then he stood up and open the hut door and head out. His destination was the Outer reign Pill market!! Decription.NOTE: Now whenever Ace is going tomunicate with the system I''m going to use ( " Quotation mark and stylish front) instead of ( '' Apostrophe).. So it will not mix in with his simple ''thoughts and thinking''.
Chapter 7 - Thiefs Skill Scout!
Alchemy Pill Trading was maybe the biggest industry in the entire world. Because Alchemy Pills are used for many things, such as healing grave injuries rapidly, curing unmanageable diseases, and most importantly for cultivation. Legend has it some of the mystical alchemy pills can even resurrect the dead!
Alchemy Pills were divided in ranks, the same goes for Alchemists who made them.
There are Eight known Grades of Alchemists in these lowernds below royalnds. But in thends of cities, there were hardly any ''Third Grade'' Alchemist. There are only ''Fist Grade'', also known as ''White Alchemist'' and ''Second Grade'' or ''Green Alchemist'' avable in low-levelnds.
In River-Flower City there was only a single White Alchemist and he lives in the inner region of the city in City Lord Mansion like some Kings.
Alchemists were treated like rare treasures in this world because only one person in a million has the talent to be a real alchemist. They were treated like rare gems, especially in ces like Land of Cities where even a ''White Alchemist'' was rare like Phoenix Feathers.
River Flower City was only a 2-Star city, and it has a White Alchemist and that alone gives the city very high standing even among 1-Star cities. The reason for the alchemist being here was unknown, though.
In the outer region of the city, the Pills were made by Novice Alchemists and even they were treated with respect and because of it; they were quite an arrogant bunch. A novice can easily practice alchemy if they had a form of a low-level or ''Half-White Grade'' pill and required medicinal herbs.
Just by selling those low-level pills to these alchemy pill shops, one can easily earn enough money to buy more materials. Even their failed pills were sold for quite some money. That''s why even a novice alchemist didn''t put anyone in its eyes.
___________
Ace reached the outer region pill market in a hurry.
Ace was gloomy as he was thinking about Alina''s ''special condition'' and, ''How the hell I''m supposed to rob that swindler''s shop?!?''
Ace loiter around that Fatty Shop as he slowly observes him from some distance. He notices that Fatty treated everyone differently. He didn''t see anyone''s appearance and only looked at their clothes with that he judge them if they were poor or rich.
If they wore high-quality clothing, then he would treat them like they were his father. But if someone like him with tatter clotheses, he looked at them with disdain and didn''t even listen to what they need and gave them ''ck'' or ''Trash Pills'' just like he did with him.
Ace clenches his teeth in anger after noticing this and his heart bleeds just by thinking of being cheated by that bastard of 8 Gold Coins! He controls his seething anger as he thought of a scheme to test the waters.
He hurriedly looks around and saw a cloth shop near. He goes to the clothes shop; there was a youngdy inside the shop. She was fair and beautiful, with a good slim figure.
"Wee Customer." ir Aaron was an 18-year-old girl. She often came to her Dad cloth shop to help him sometimes.
Today is one of those days. When she turns around to greet a new customer, she saw a young skinny boy looking around curiously. The boy''s face was very attractive. If it wasn''t for his tattered clothes and his skinny figure, she would''ve thought that he was some rich family Young Master.
Ace was looking for clothes when he hears a crispy voice of a youngdy. He turns around and saw a beauty was looking at him with a hint of curiosity in her eye.
"Do you want to buy clothes or are you just looking around?" ir asks with a smile on her face. The little boy was looking at her embarrassedly and she finds it quite amusing.
"I-I want to buy clothes." Ace said tensely. Since he hardly bought clothes for himself before so he was quite nervous.
He never talks to a girl before except Alina and if he didn''t see her level of beauty before, he would think ir was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He was now immune to it.
"What type do you prefer?" ir asks while smiling. However, inside she was startled by this boy''s clear eyes as if he was seeing a normal girl.
Ace looks around, and he saw ck attire. That attire was simple and had only some silver embroidery on it. "I want that ck Attire." Ace pointed his finger as he said.
ir looked in the direction that Ace pointed, "That ck attire price is 10 Silver Coins."
"So expensive!" Ace muttered to himself.
Ace takes a deep breath and half-heartedly takes out a gold coin from his pocket. That was thest gold coin left. His heart was bleeding; he never thought that just a single Attire would cost him 10 silvers!
When ir saw a trembling gold coin in Ace''s hand, she giggles while receiving his gold coin. "If you want to change it here, there is changing room on the rear, or do you want me to pack it for you?"
"I''ll change it here." There was a clear pain of losing money in his voice.
"You can change first then, and I''ll get your dues in meantime." She gives the new Attire to Ace and left to retrieve his ny silver coins.
Ace quickly grabs the attire and goes towards the changing room. After some time, ir returns with 90 silver coins in a pam-size money pouch. Momentster, Acees out from the changing room in his new ck Attire.
When ir looks at Ace in his new clothes, she was stunned there ''So handsome''. That was the thought of ir when she saw him now. He didn''t look like the beggar like before. Even with his skinnyplexion, he looks like someone with a status no one can tell this young boy was dirt poor from his look.
When Ace looks at ir, he thought she looks silly. "Is that for me?" he points at the small pouch in her hand.
ir awakes to Ace''s voice from her daze. She quickly cleans her drool from her lips and replies in a panic as her face reddens, "Yy-Yes!" And Give him a pouch with silver in her hands.
Ace receives the money pouch and hung it around his waist. Now he looks like some rich kid from a prosperous family. He was just turn around to leave the cloth shop when he hears ir''s voice from behind.
"W-what is your name, little brother?" There was a deep blush on her cheeks.
Ace looks back at her confusingly, ''Why is she so polite now?''
He still answered "Ace White." And leave the shop in a hurry.
ir mumbles in a low voice, "Ace, huh. They say ''clothes make men'' It seems it''s true." And her blush deepens.
Ace was proceeding toward that fatty shop with his hands folding behind his back, simr to some arrogant rich kid. He observed before many of them acting this way, so he also copied them.
Billy Bill was famous for his cleverness and shrewd nature in the pill market of the outer region. He was one of the richest shop owners in the outer region. Butmoners also know him by another name and that was ''Billy the Swindler''.
Because Billy didn''t have an ounce of morality in him, if he saw you are poor, he will cheat you one way or another. He disdains those poormoners whoe to his shop and will cheat them while thinking that he was collecting some interest from them for dirty his clean floor.
Today was just like another normal day of work for Billy, and he was happy doing business in the morning. He even cheats a weak-looking woman whoes to buy a healing pill.
Billy was about to close his shop to eat his lunch when he saw a young boy in a ck Attire was walking towards his shop. He quickly judges him by his clothes like he always does.
''Hmm, his clothes look expensive, and the way he walks and his arrogant attitude, he is a big fish.'' He hurriedly stopped closing his shop and go to greet this ''big fist'' himself with a broad smile on his fat face.
"Wee young master in this poor fatty shop."
Rich people called him fatty Billy, and he didn''t mind it. As long as the other party has money, he didn''t even mind them calling him a fat dog.
The young man in ck robes was, of course, Ace.
When fatty Billy greets him with a hideous smile, his anger increases by few levels because Billy didn''t even recognize him who he cheated on two days ago. He wanted to break his teeth with a punch but held his anger in his heart.
He was acting like a rich kid now, so he has to act like them. He snorted, "Fatty, I heard about your shop here sold good quality Pills so I''m here to check if it is true or false."
Billy''s smile widens as dark lines appear on his face after hearing Ace, "Young master is polite but you didn''t hear wrong my little shop Pills are No.1 in whole outer region market, I can grantee it with my life." Billy thumped his chest and his whole body wobble.
Ace wanted to murder this shameless bastard after listening to his bullshit. He inhales deeply to calm his boiling anger.
"I''m not here to buy at this moment. I only came here on behalf of my family. If your shop has good quality pills, we will buy them in bulk." Ace stated as he suppresses his urge to kick Billy on the balls.
It stunned fatty Billy as he became extremely happy. ''He couldn''t be from the inner region, right?'' Billy assumed, but he didn''t dare to ask because if this boy was really from the inner region, then if he displeases him, he will die and no one even knows about it.
Billy tested Ace. "Yes, yes, young master, follow me. I''ll show you our finest Pill Collection."
He takes Ace to the rare of the shop but there was only a wall, nothing else. Ace became confused and about to say something when suddenly he saw Billy taking a thin little rectangr shape crystal from his pocket.
It was shiny blue and there were mysterious marking engrave on it. Then Billy sweeps this strange thing in front of the empty wall. Ace thinks this swindler has gone frantic when something miraculous happens. The empty wall disappeared and a white door appeared out of thin air.
Ace was bbergasted by this and his heart turns cold because he was here to scout and collect as much information about the shop, however, Ace didn''t even imagine that there was a mysterious door here. He gravely thinks of the system''s mission and thought about the rewards were based on his performance. This means If he didn''t steal important things he will get only shit!
Now Ace finds out that he has to open this door that he can''t even see with eyes. How could he not feel despair and anxiety?
At this moment Ace heard system voice in his mind,
"[Target in range! Did the host want to scan the target?]
{Cost: 2 Thief Points}"
''What?'' Ace didn''t know what this was all about but when he saw 2 TP he think in resentment, ''She is robbing me again. I didn''t even earn a single TP but I keep spending it. Just who''s the actual thief here?''
He transmitted his voice in mind, "Scan the target."
His remaining TP drop from 14 to 12.
"[Scanning Start¡ Complete in 10 Seconds.]"
When Ace and system were talking only a second pass, Fatty was noticing Ace''s reaction from the start and when he saw only a frown appear on his face and then he bes calm the next moment, he bes even more sure about his guess.
Billy didn''t dare to dy anymore and quickly opened the secret door with the same rectangr crystal and gesture to Ace, "Young master, please."
Ace enters the secret room. He saw two big bulky men standing there and both of them were weaponized. ''They are even guards in here.''
Ace looked around. There were two big shelves on each corner of the hidden room, and on those shelves were ced rows of shining bottles, and inside them were colorful pills. He never saw this many pills before and they differed from the ck pill that this bastard sells himst time.
Furthermore, after taking some breath here, Ace felt his body feeling refreshed and his mind was clearer, ''So that what real alchemy pills look like.'' He was truly amazed.
"Young Master, what do you think of my little collection? They''re all Half-White Grade Pills." Fatty Billy said with pride and he looks fatter than before.
(Lower Grade than White Grade.)
When Ace heard half white grade, he was inwardly shocked because he has some idea that any of these pills can be sold at the price of 10 ruby coins 1minimum and there were hundreds of them.
''This bastard is filthy rich!'' (1 Ruby= 100 Gold.)''
Chapter 8 - System Stop
Ace calms his nerves and acts arrogantly, "Hmm, not bad, not bad at all. I''ll immediately report back to my family and they will usiblye here tomorrow to purchase all your pills. Now, I shall take my leave."
Ace didn''t wait for Billy''s response and leave the secret room slowly. Ace pretends he has seen this kind of scene many times before, so Billy won''t suspect anything.
Just as Ace presume when Billy saw him leave after just taking a nce around all the doubts he has about Ace''s identity vanished and reflected, ''Only a family from the inner region can pay for all these pills and if I form a rtionship with this brat family, I can go to the inner region and move my business there!''
Billy snapped out of his daydreaming when he saw Ace was about to leave the shop. He chases after him to respectfully escort him out himself and bid farewell with a wide smile on his fat face.
Ace has just left the shop when a system voice buzzed in his mind,
"[Scan Complete.]"
Ace''s eyes shimmer with expectation after hearing the system notification because he was at a dead end now and didn''t know how to rob this shop with that mysterious door and those two guards around. Just that door is giving him a tremendous headache. So he was expecting good news from the system.
Ace quickly exited the pill market before opening the notification panel, which has an ''envelope'' like a symbol. All the notifications of the system can be seen here.
_______________________
[Notification Panel]
[Target''s scanning report]
[Total worth: Converting ording to the current money system = 20,000 Ruby Coins worth of Pills, 2084 Ruby coins.
Security: 1 Trash Illusion and lock Array, 2 normal Mortal Warriors, and 1 Lowest-Level treasury.
Evaluation: Impossible to rob with host current skills.]
_______________________
Ace was speechless after seeing this report and cuss the system, "Thank you very much for your ''motivation'', you money-grubbing scoundrel!"
''That rich bastard'' He Also curses Billy next after seeing his wealth. Ace was truly perplexed by the number of Ruby coins and never would''ve thought that this shop was worth this much.
''That fatty swindler makes this much money by cheating countless people!''
Ace''s guess was utterly right because Fatty Billy did cheat lots ofmon people who can''t do anything to him and he would never offend someone with status and power. That''s why he is known as a shrewd business owner in the pill market.
''So that secret door called illusion array and those two guards aren''t cultivators? Well, that''s good news at least.'' He continues to think with a gloomy look on his face.
Ace returned with a grave expression and after seeing unconscious Alina, ''Well I''ll die in seven days even if I didn''t take the chance and Alina would also die in three days.'' He bes determined again. He has to seed, no matter what.
Abruptly, Ace remembered he hadn''t checked the system shoppletelyst time because he was in a hurry and only checked the ''Pill Shop'' not the other shops. He still has 12 TP left, so he opens the shop, hoping to find something there.
"System Shop." Murmured Ace softly with full of anticipation.
_________
[System Shop]
[Avable Skill Books]
[Avable Cultivation Technique]
[Avable Weapons]
[Avable Pills]
______________
Ace saw the familiar ck panel again, "Show me Avable Cultivation Technique!"
He has never seen a real cultivator except for Alina before, much less a cultivation technique, and if not for the memories that give him some obscure idea about it, Ace didn''t even know what cultivation was. He only knows thatmon people call them ''Deities'' and some even worship them.
In Ace''s mind, he was about to see a ''deity technique and was excited.
___________
[Avable Cultivation Techniques]
[Heaven Stealer Technique {1st Vol}]
{Price: 100 Thief Points (TP)}
[Dual Shadow Swords Basic Technique]
{Price: 10 Thief Points (TP)}
____________
"So expensive!" The price of these techniques did not surprise Ace, since they can help someone be a ''deity''. Ace still spoke annoyingly. "System why is ''Heaven Stealer'' so expensivepared to the other technique?"
This system was a true thief just like its name and he''s sure of it after seeing this prize. He also remembered that Heaven Stealer Pill, both have the same name, and both were expensive as well.
"[The Heaven Stealer Technique is a special Technique for host Only the host can cultivate it and it''s tailor-made for a Thief.]"
After getting an icy answer from the system Ace mutters, "Specially made for a Thief huh, well I don''t have the thief points now and I don''t want any swords technique as well since it won''t be easy to learn in three days. What I want is a method to break that shop security. Open Skill Panel."
__________
[Avable Skill]
[Stealth: Free]
{Description: An Basic skill for a thief once learned no one will be able to spot you,
Warning: Cultivators with 1 whole cultivation realm above you will be able to spot you.}
[Pick Pocket: Free]
{Description: Hand movement skill so fast that no one can see your hand movement, excellent for earning quick money.
Warning: Cultivators with 1 whole cultivation realm above you will be able to sense your skill.}
[Silent Steps: Free]
{Description: A Basic skill of thief. As the name suggests, no sound will be made even while walking. Once mastered, one can even walk on water with no sound.
Warning: Cultivators with 1 whole cultivation realm above will catch you.}
[True & False Eyes Basic: Free]
{Description: A must-have skill for Thief. A Thief''s principal weapon is his eyes and his sharp senses. Because a good thief can recognize or smell rare treasures from miles away and if a thief can''t even recognize a rare treasure, how can he be a thief?
Warning: Never use it on anything powerful than you.}
[Treasure Opening Hands {Basic Art}: 10 Thief Points]
{Description: Open or disable any low-level arrays with your hands. It''s a must-have art for thieves to open treasuries,
Warning: Don''t open any ''1st Grade Treasures''}
______________
This time Ace said nothing because he was in a daze after looking at so many "FREES". He rubs his eyes to check if he saw it wrong, yet it was free like free!
"Hahaha, so you have a conscience after all." Aceughs out loud suddenly his face was filled with happiness while nodding his head in satisfaction like an idiot.
"Give me every skill avable, especially that Treasure Opening Hands you can have 10 TP!" Ace said while smile delightedly. After reading every skill description, he finally realized that system didn''t send him to his death. These ''solutions1'' were always avable to him, but he was so anxious about Alina that he didn''t even notice them.
After he gave hismand, the 12 TP became 2 TP and all kinds of information enter his brain like before. However, this time he didn''t feel any pain, rather he feels refreshed.
Five minutester, all the information about those five skills transfer into his brain and he remembers every one of those skills special stances, and how to practice them.
When Ace opens his eyes, his dark pupils were golden. He saw the world has be clear like never before. He saw Alina and notice the same vague status above her head likest time when the system made him spend a TP. However, it was not as urate as of the system status because he can only see her cultivation and race nothing else.
Although, the next moment, Ace suddenly felt a sharp pain in his eyes and screamed, "Ahhh!" He kneels on the ground with both hands clutching his eyes. The golden color in his eyes vanishes, and they return to normal as well.
"[Warning: Host is not a cultivator so host only has a very limited amount of Qi inside your body and your meridians are still closed. The system''s advice is to first learn how to control your Qi with other skills before using True and False Eyes. If you overdraw your limited amount of Qi, you can die as a result.]"
Ace finally realized what has happened to him andes to his sense.
But the moment he regains his sense, he feels exhaustion and extreme hunger. Ace had a feeling that if he didn''t eat anything, he would surely die because of this Qi depletion.
It was already evening, and he didn''t eat any lunch today, so he quickly headed towards some meat stalls and buy some meat and other ingredients. After cooking meat quickly, he ate like a hungry ghost.
Now Ace didn''t dare to try those skills anymore because of the lingering fear from before. He could only activate it because, for some reason, that skill is easy to understand.
Ace wasn''t surprised by this since he simply thinks that those skills were basic and anyone could learn them like him. He took the system''s advice and practice controlling that Qi thing first. Then try studying skills again.
"Show me Weapons Panel." He was hoping to get another ''free'' from thisst panel as well.
____________________
[Avable Weapons]
[ck de Swords Set (1 Short, 1 Long): 30 Thief Points}
[2 Face Mask: Price: 80 Thief Points]
[Invisible Bead: 50 Thief Points Per Bead] {5 Avable: 1 Time Use item, Duration: 1minute}
________________
Meanwhile, Ace saw the prices of the weapons and hurriedly closes the panel, they were just too damn expensive.
If he could buy that Invisible bead, his chances of sess would go up a level. But this damn money-grubbing system only gives him 1 for a whopping price of 50 TP and that was also 1-time use only for one darn minute!
Ace quickly forgets about weapons for now and focuses on his ''free'' skills. He waits till night and then goes outside.
There was an open Park near the slums, this was the only Park in this remote region of the city. But it was not well maintained and only poor kids yed here in the morning.
Ace was currently trying his Silent Steps skill, this time as per system warning he tries to control his limited amount of Qi and seeds after trying for few times.
After gaining a little hang of his Qi, he practices stealth until midnight.
Practicing for few hours, Ace felt extremely exhausted. He dragged his exhausted body all the way home and eats some leftovers from the evening and fell into a deep sleep.
In the morning Ace open his eyes today. He feels different from before he felt renewed. Little Alina was still the same as yesterday, but looking paler than before.
''I have to do it tonight!'' Ace has already decided.
Last night, he practiced with two skills until his Qi was drained. He quickly goes out and bought more meat. He suddenly felt that if he doesn''t eat meat or other things with a high level of nutrition, he will die of exhaustion. And he was right because Ace wasn''t a cultivator yet, so he only has a negligible amount of Qi like any other normal person.
Moreover, Ace didn''t know that the skills he practices were the ultimate skills on their basic level, so he needs more Qi than others. If it was someone else, that person might''ve died long ago just by practicing stealth.
After eating two to three pounds of meat in his breakfast, he goes toward themon market again and bought a bag, a dirk, a full-body ck dress with a hood, and a pitch-ck mask. This much shopping cost him 40 silver coins.
After his little shopping, he does some practice with his silent steps skill because it was very hard to master and this was the crucial skill he going to use the most in tonight''s foray! skills
Chapter 9 - First Thievery!
Outer Region of River Flower City in the middle of the night.
Pill markets in the outer region remainedpletely open and running like usual because the alchemy pill trade will never stop no matter what the circumstances or time were, especially for the cultivators.
In a dark valley near Fatty Billy''s shop, a pair of dark blue eyes observed the lit shop coldly in the dark. Ace was here watching the shop for an hour now because he thinks that every shop closes at midnight just like in other areas of the city.
Ace thinks that it will be easy for him to invade the shop when it''s close, but he didn''t imagine that the pill market in the middle of the night was like the day. If he has known this he would''ve made more adjustments to his n.
''What to do now?'' He was quite depressed by the current situation.
''I only have one day left I have to do it no matter what I have to do it.!!'' Ace encourages himself and calms his nerves. He continues to look around for any new ideas but nothinges to mind.
___________________
In Fatty Billy shop,
Fatty Billy was in an extremely sullen mood because yesterday a ''rich kid'' from the inner region (in his opinion) came to his shop and ''promise him'' that he woulde with his family and purchase his pills.
It was clearly a golden opportunity for him to befriend a family of the inner region. But to his dismay that brat neveres and that made him extremely furious. He even beat his servants for no good reason.
It''s already the middle of the night and business was slow so Billy was getting bored and sleepy. He simply decided to take a nap like he always does this time around. Billy didn''t even have a shopkeeper because he didn''t trust anyone but himself when it''se to money. That''s why he manages the shop himself and closes it in the middle of the day some time for rest.
In the valley, Ace was silently waiting for any possible opening or any chance, he was observing Billy''s shop and his every move like a hawk. He was there for some time now and saw that Billy was gettingzy and even bobbing some time.
''Just a little bit more!'' Ace thought with full of expectation.
Suddenly, he saw Bill closing his eyes and this was the opportunity. This was his only chance and after waiting restlessly for five minutes he finally made his move.
''Now or never!'' After taking a deep breath Ace activates his stealth skill. Ace felt a mysterious power or Qi begin to circte in his whole body and his figure begins to be transparent and slowly faded into the darkness.
After going in stealth Ace begin to active his second-most important skill the silent steps. He felt the Qi making his feet extremely light like feathers.
Ace darted towards the shop like an arrow, he was extremely cautious of his surroundings. Holding his breath, he reached the shop''s entrance and sessfully entered it without alerting Billy.
Now that Ace was in the light of the shop if someone saw him with a little bit more focus they will be able to locate him because his stealth was not perfect yet.
As he enters the shop fatty Billy''s eyes were closed and one can hear some snortsing from his mouth. ''This bastard fall asleep good.'' Ace thought happily.
Ace directly went to the rear of the shop with his silent steps. He saw there was nothing besides a normal wall, one couldn''t even imagine that there was a secret door right here.
Ace stop using his two skills after reaching the wall, one could see beads of sweat on his head. It was extremely tiring to use both skills at the same time when he wasn''t even a cultivator. He didn''t have time to take a break and directly activates his third skill True and False eyes.
Ace pupils turn golden and suddenly gleaming grey vertical lines on the walle to his view. By connecting these vertical lines one could vaguely see an outline of a door. Strangely there was a little ''dark hole'' between one part of these grey lines. It was right at the middle right corner of the hidden door.
Ace wasn''t surprised by this dark hole because he knew this is a w in the array. He simply ced his index finger directly on the dark hole position and with a thought activates the skill, Treasure Opening Hands, ''First form of treasure opening ''Finger Key''.
There was a total of five forms in this skill and ''Finger Key'' was the first. Ace was barely able to master the second form with extreme difficulty. Maybe he was desperate to save Aline so he didn''t notice his unusual speed of learning these skills.
The moment the skill was active, his index finger became metallic, and a mysterious pattern appeared on his whole index finger. The moment those patterns appeared on his finger it began to insert into the dark hole like a key.
In his mind information about this array structure begun to appear. Ace wasn''t fazed by it in the slightest because he already knew it would going to happen and after getting the information about this array he subconsciously begins to move his finger mysteriously.
''click''
With a mild voice, the door formed in front of Ace.
''So that how this skill feels when it works, it simply mysterious!'' Ace''s forehead was filled with tiny beads of sweat but there was clear excitement on his pale face as he thinks.
Since the ''illusion array'' was already disabled, it didn''t take long before he opens the ''lock array'' with ''Finger Key'' as well.
Ace hurriedly grabbed the door handle and slowly open it without making any sound. The door crack opened and the crack he peeks inside.
Inside the hidden room, Ace saw those two worries were sleeping in corner of the room like logs. ''They''re also sleeping looks like luck is on my side.''
Sleeping at this time was typical for those two guards because no one dares to steal from fatty Billy. The biggest reason for that was no one knows where his treasury was, and even if someone knows they have to deal with this illusion and lock array first because the moment someone touches it the rm would go off and everyone would be alert. That''s why those two were sleeping without even caring for the security of this room.
Ace was special though, he has skills from the system. No one can imagine that with his true and false eyes he can see ws in the array and even he sees them no one would''ve believed that he has a skill like Treasure Opening Hands too. He was a perfect thief with these skills.
Ace slowly enters the room and saw those two muscle brains sleeping without even care about their surroundings. He coolly passed them and active his true and false eyes again. After scanning the entire room, he finally caught sight of what he was looking for.
''Oh, so that''s where the treasury was hidden''. Ace saw in the down right corner there was a little jagged wall there and hurriedly goes there.
Ace reached the irregr wall with extreme caution and squatted there, after confirming again that those two idiots are still snoring he ces his two fingers on the empty uneven corner of the wall.
Just like before he saw grey lines forming a little door of a treasury but this time there were two dark holes between grey lines. Ace ces his two fingers on two dark holes, ''Treasure Opening Hands second form ''Two Fingers Keys.''
As soon as he activates the skill his index and mid fingers be metallic and begin to enter in dark holes like before. However, this time a new type of pattern was form on them. Just likest time he felt information about this lock array was flowing into his brain.
Ace mysteriously moves his fingers, each of his fingers was doing different kinds of movements. This was quite the scene to behold, and one could see mysteries of Treasure Opening Hands'' second form.
After 4 seconds pass,
''tinggg''
A sharp noise resounded in the deathly silent room.
Ace was in a deep trance-like state when he heard this sound it wasn''t that loud but in silence, it was quite loud. Hisplexion was ashen and had a near heart attack, he quickly looks towards those two sleeping guards but they were still sleeping.
''It seems like they didn''t hear anything. Sigh'' Ace has sight of relief.
Acee swiftly shifts his attention towards the open little door of the treasury. He lightly opens it without making any sounds. He saw inside of the treasury was fill with shining red color Ruby coins.
Ace had never seen this much money before in his entire life. There were more than 2000 Ruby Coins there. Because Billy believed that today he would meet with ''rich inner region family'' so he quickly shifted his assets here to shows off his wealth and even bribe them to take him in the inner region. However, that gives benefits to little Ace instead, there were more than 4000 Ruby coins inside the treasury.
Ace grabs the string bag from his back after opening its string, he smoothly begun to collects ruby coins excitedly. After two minutes of ''hard work'' he collected every single coin, he''s not going to leave even a single coin for that swindler.
Now that he collect all coins in this little treasury there were only two red bottles left. Ace didn''t think much of them because they also seemed like all those other pill bottles inside this room. But little did he know that these two Pill Bottles were more valuable than fatty Billy''s entire wealth.
After cleaning the treasury Ace felt he was dreaming, he never imagined that one day he would steal from someone and steal this big of wealth at that it was all like an impossible fantasy.
Ace didn''t dwell on it for long since the mission was notplete yet and begin to moves towards the shelves. He gradually filled his bag with all the pill bottles inside the room and it became quite heavy.
It was packed with pills and coins Ace think that he was in an illusion, ''I''m rich!'' he thought frantically.
Now that thievery was finished it was time to escape, Ace slowly left the hidden room while those two idiots were still sleeping.
''I wonder what would that Swindler do with them when he finds out about this foray.'' Ace couldn''t help but wonder. He closes the treasury door like before with ''ting'' the illusion and lock array active again.
Now was only the main door left between him and riches.
Ace''s face was pale as a ghost and his breathing was rough, sweat was dripping from his face and his clothes were almost drenched in it. This entire thievery put quite a strain on his little body and if not for his willpower he would''ve fallen right here and now.
Ace grit his teeth and active his stealth again with his current condition he can only use this skill and even that was like a flickering candle. He moves towards the main entrance as mildly as possible, now that his bag was full he got slower and his energy was almost used up. If any misshape happens now he was doomed.
Fatty Billy was still sleeping soundly and was having a dream of the inner region when he heard his shop door was open just now. He thought that it was just a customer so hezily opens his eyes. With his hazy eyes, he saw there was no customer there at all.
What he saw was a fully ck clothes-wearing person even his face was fully ck. Fatty was still in a sleepy state so rub his eyes to see more clearly. But the ck clothes person was the same and he was now running for some reason.
Fatty Billy face turn pale with fright and screams on top of his lungs "GHOSTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!"
His voice was so loud that nearby shop owners also got frightened and quicklyes out of the shops to see what has happened when they also saw a ck clothing person running in the direction of the inner region.
Their faces were the same as Billy and someone yells in horror, "S-someone quickly go and find a shaman and asks for his help there is a loose ghost loitering around here go quickly!!!"
The whole outer region pill market was thrown into turmoil.
Fatty Billy was the most frightened of the bunch because he saw the ghost exiting his shop. He quickly goes towards his hidden room to get his guards here for his own protection. He hurriedly waved his key card on the hidden door and enter that hidden room. When he saw those two sleeping like idiots his face turns dark as charcoal and became extremely angry.
"You twozy bastards get up quick there is gho¡" Billy was just about to say ''ghost'' when his vision abruptly fell on the extremely empty. Yes, it was empty!
Fatty Billy felt the world was spinning around him and his vision turns dark, he drops on the floor with a ''thud''.
The two guards open their drowsy eyes when they saw Billy on the floor and his fat face was pale without any trace of blood and they quickly go to him and ask hurriedly "Boss what happened?"
"Look around and tell me what did you see?" Billy said in a hoarse voice. He was hoping for a miracle and thought that he was so afraid of the ghost that his eyes were ying tricks on him. That''s why he asked them for confirmation.
When those two guards heard his question, they were very puzzled as they turn around to look but they also think it was very empty here. Yes empty! Their face also became pale and their knees turn into jelly, they also drop to the floor like Billy.
"Bo-boss did y-y-you move pills away?" The tall one asks fatty with a trembling voice.
"I''ll fucking move your mom now I''ll move your sister with her as well I''ll fucking move your entire family!" Fatty bark and started cursing like a dog that was on the verge of going berserk.
Suddenly Billy thought of something and his heart skip a beat. He stopped kicking those two idiots and run towards the corner of the room. He quickly took out a red key card with a pattern on it. He waves the key card to the uneven wall and opens the little treasury and just like he thought it was also empty!
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA GONE ALL GONE EVERYTHING IS GONE!?!" Billyughs like a lunatic as the fat on his body tremble up and down. His entire wealth has been gone in smoke just like that.
"H-how the hell this happens you two were fucking with each other''s when someonepletely empties the entire room??! Just w-who in the hell did it damn it¡." Fatty howls like a madman at those two idiots when he remembers that ck ghost.
"Q-quickly go now and find that ck-clothed person for me. He''s definitely the one who stole my wealth go quick. I-if you two return empty hand I''ll fucking chop you in million pieces, goooooooooooooooo!!!" Billy shrills angrily as his eyes were bloodshot.. He nearly choked to death in anger.
Chapter 10 - Alone Again
Ace very carefully steps outside the shop''s main door when suddenly his stealth wears off like some curtain. Ace''s figure is revealed and now anyone can see him.
''I Knew it, my Qi runs out damn it!'' Ace swears at his bad luck when Fatty Billy also opens his closed eyes because in panic he opens the shop''s door promptly.
''RUN!''That was the only thought that came to Ace''s mind at this moment and he sprinted crazily.
Ace was just at the corner of the street when he heard Billy''s shrill scream fill with terror from behind.
"Ghossssssssssssssssttttttttttttttttt."
''What where??!'' Ace was startled and quickly looked but there was no ghost, he was very afraid of ghosts.
''Oh, he means me.'' Ace thought of himself as he looked at the full-back get-up, he definitely looked like a ghost.
Ace''splexion was ashen but he still sprints even faster. Other shop owners also came out by the time he was exiting the pill market and some of them saw him. They also start screaming like idiots.
Ace ran towards the inner region direction because he didn''t want others to think he came from the outer region. He wanted to mislead everyone. After running for five minutes, he turns around and saw there was no one following him. He quickly changes his direction and takes a big circle around the area.
Now Ace was heading towards the direction of slums. On his way, he first goes to that rundown Park and headed into a hidden area from everyone''s outlook. No one can find it easily and the kids didn''t y around here either. He quickly finds a lite mark on the ground that he leaves this morning and hurriedly starts digging the marked area.
After some moments he dug out a foot-deep hole in the ground. Inside the hole was a little string bag, Ace quickly open it, and inside was a new set of clothes that he bought today. He changed into these new clothes.
This wasn''t just any random hole it was his escape ne. Ace''s n was if hepletes today''s mission he woulde here and hides the loot here until everything''s cools down. But if he would''ve failed then he would escape and stille here for destroying the pieces of evidence.
Thankfully hepletes his mission sessfully although he still gets spotted in the end, he escaped without any hurdle.
After changing his clothes he buried the bag full of pills and coins with his ck clothes and filled the hole carefully. Subsequently, Ace makes sure the area was clear and there was no trace of digging left. He nodded and quickly left.
No one would''ve imagined that in this barren ce buried a bag worth more than 24,000 Ruby coins.
After the deed was done and everything went ording to Ace''s n, relief wash over him and he suddenly felt extreme exhaustion and feebleness. After all, He was under intense pressure this whole time. Now he just wants to go home and cure Alina as soon as possible.
''Everything is finally over.'' Acements and sighs deeply as he slowly headed to his home.
Ace was just about to enter the slums area when he heard quick footsteps approaching. He didn''t panic just keeps his head down and continue walking.
"Hey, Brat! Stop right there!" Ace heard a loud yell from behind.
Ace immediately stop moving and turn around and saw two men with big build approaching him. One was tall and the other was short,
''It''s those two idiots.'' Ace thought with a hint of astonishment sh past his eyes.
Yes, they were Billy guards after getting betting and cursing from Billy they were searching that ck ghost high and low like some madman. But they didn''t even find his shadow much less the whole person.
"Brat quickly tells us if you saw a ck clothing person passing here or not!" The short one asked quickly with a dangerous expression.
"No sir I didn''t see anyone I wasing from my work, in the way here I didn''t see anyone wearing ck clothes." Ace answer calmly with politeness, he knew if he didn''t answer them he''ll be in trouble so he answered as respectfully as possible.
"Useless trash! Get out my sight!" The tall one was in a very bad mood after getting a beating from Billy and after hearing an answer he didn''t want to, he kicks Ace in the abdominal viciously.
''Bang''
The kicknded on Ace''s abdomen and he was in a very weak state, to begin with so he was sent flying after receiving the vicious kick. He wasn''t able to block it and even if he can, he didn''t dare to reveal his skills.
''Thudd''
Hended on the ground a few meters away from those two idiots.
''cough cough''
Ace cough some blood and nearly fainted from the kick impact but he endured the pain and keeps his head as he trembles.
"Let''s go we didn''t have time to waste on this trash, if we waste any more time and didn''t find that ghost Fatty will kill us both." The short one said as he pulls the big one with him and they left quickly.
''Well, you two are dead for sure alright.'' Ace sneered, his trembling was instantly stopped after those two left, but he was having difficulty standing up.
''I think something is broken inside.'' Ace smiles bitterly. After standing he starts walking like a cripple.
After half an hour of bitter walk, he finally saw his little hut.
A smile crept out on Ace''s pale face and was just about to open the door of the hut when he saw that something was not right because the door was already open a little.
"Alina!!" Ace forgets about his injury and his exhausted body, he yells as he hurriedly opens the door and saw that the hut was empty and those two nkets that were supposed to be on Alina were neatly folded, arranged on a corner of the hut.
When Ace saw this he can''t endure the shock and he was injured and exhausted, to begin with, and now Aline''s disappearance gives him a huge mental blow as well.
''thud''
Acended face-first on the floor with his eyes rolled upwards as he fainted on spot.
___________
Outside of River flower city.
Currently, two silhouettes were moving in the dim light of the moon at very fast speeds like the wind. By the looks of it, one silhouette seems little, and the other was tall and sturdy.
They were moving in the forest and moving towards upper-level regions of the Azure Wind Continent.
Suddenly the small silhouette stops moving and a beautiful little girl reveals herself in the moonlight.
Her little face was perfect without any w on it, she seems like a divine doll made with white jade. But currently, her beautiful blue eyes were red and tears were flowing down from them. It seems like she was crying for some reason.
"Grandpa Can we not leave like this, Big Bro will be worried sick if he didn''t find me and look for me around." Said''s the small girl while crying, her gentle voice was filled with grievance.
She was certainly Alina, after Ace left this evening toplete his mission she was still hanging between the border of life and death because of her blood awakening. But today her long-lost grandpae back to find her. He gives her a shining white pill with some kind of beautiful patterns on it and her condition change in an instant because her bloodline awakening was sessful.
Her ck hair was now turned in silver color it was a sign of ''Ice Elemental'' Hunter''s bloodline has been awakened and she looks more elegant with it.
"Princess I finally made contact with your parents they were very worried about you. We have to make haste, living human territory as soon as possible. And you left a note and money for that kid he will live well for rest of his entire life with princess grace." Said the old man beside her, he was acting like some servant in front of Alina as he calls her princess.
"Bu-but he is my big brother and he takes care of me of all these years, I can''t even say goodbye to him. We might never meet again ever." Said Alina while crying in grief. She wants to tell Ace why she was here and who she was but this Grandpa or hers never agrees to her request so she could only write a short note for Ace and leave with him hastily. Her heart was filled with bitterness
"Mortals and Immortals can never live together." Said the old man coldly with disdainful eyes.
If it wasn''t for encounters a strong enemy that day and because of it he has to go into hiding he would never allow the princess to be ''molested'' by that lowly tramp.
Alina looks onest time at the city or directly at the boy who always takes care of her like some princess. Even if he was poor he never let her felt any difort and call her ''Lil Sis'' gently with full of love.
''Thank you for everything and I''m sorry Big Bro Ace!'' Alina thought while tears dripping from her milky face and turn around entering the forest.
After they both drifted away like silver smoke.
________________________
When Ace was unconscious, the outer region of River Flower City was in an uproar.
The news of someone has stolen Pill Shop Owner Billy Bill''s entire wealth under his nose spread like wildfire and reached everyone''s ears. News of this caliber was bound to spread like wildfire; even the Inner region of the city gets the news.
"Hey did you hear, someone disable the illusion array without any sound and key card, he even opened a 1-start treasury in minutes? People say he was a ck ghost and he disappeared like smoke no one can catch him."
This kind to talk was everywhere in the city. People give the thief title of ''ck Ghost Thief'' and every shop owner was afraid of ck Ghost. They were afraid that ck Ghost will pay a ''visit'' to their shop next. Everyone tightens their security around their treasuries because they were afraid and if that isn''t enough they even hire more guards.
On the other hand, Billy was still searching for the ck Ghost like a mad dog. Even the outer city guardpost got involved in the search but they didn''t find any trace of ck Ghost like he never exists, he has vanished in thin air.
Fatty Billy was going mad over this; he even killed those two idiots'' guards after they failed to finds out ck Ghost trace.
Billy also heard from nearby shop owners that ck Ghost has escaped in the direction of the inner region of the city that night. That''s why he was even more angry and helpless because he can''t do anything to the inner region. He tries to report this to outer city guards but they chase him away like some random dog.
Now he can only vent his anger on people around him.
___________________
The inner region of River flower city was two times bigger than the outer region.
Inside a luxurious fifteen-story building, on the top floor of the building.
A young handsome man wearingvishing clothes that weren''t even seen in the outer city. Currently standing in front of the window while reading something on the paper in his hand.
"ck Ghost huh, disabled a half-star illusion and lock array without any sound and array crystal card, and even opened a 1-Start treasury assumingly in minutes. Interesting how very interesting, Find him he might be a useful pawn for us." Said the young man whit a warm smile on his face. But there was no one around to hear him however, the paper in his hand had already vanished.
He warm smile be dark and greed shimmer in his cold eyes as he drinks some wine while watching the city from the top floor of the building.
"A thief ay, Well this is also good I won''t be bored anymore.." He chuckled and closed his eyes savoring the taste of wine.
Chapter 11 - Rewards
River-Flower City, the slums area, inside a rundown hut.
A young boyying on the floor face down like he was dead. He was of course Ace.
Ace opens his heavy eyelids, his eyes were hazy as much as his mind after he fainted for three whole days. After this deep slumber, he finally regains his strength. He felt pain in his abdominal it was clear that he''s still injured but a lot better than before.
Ace felt intense hunger the moment he regains some sense. However, he didn''t care about it because Alina was still missing and he has to find her, or she might die because no one was clear about her condition other than himself.
Ace quickly tries standing and was about to seed when his internal injury act and fell on his butt in pain. Ace grunts while grits his teeth and was just about to give it another try again when he suddenly saw a ck pouch and a folded paper beside those two neatly arranged old nkets.
Thest time Ace didn''t see that little pouch and paper, maybe he was exhausted or shock by Alina''s disappearance. Now that he was clear-headed he easily finds them.
''What are those?'' Ace gradually approached them confusingly. He picked up the ck pouch and little paper.
The ck pouch was pam-size just like any other money pouch, he opens the little pouch and instantly shock because inside were shinning Ruby Coins and they were ten.
''Where did so much moneye from?'' Ace didn''t care about it and quickly opens the little folded paper, on it was very beautiful writing it was Alina''s:
"Big Bro Ace I''m so sorry that I have to go with my grandpa in hurry. He came to pick me up and said, he was going to takes me to my parents. But don''t worry he gave Alina a beautiful white pill and after eating it I''m all better now. So don''t be sad without Alina ok! You have to take care of yourself Alina wille back sometime in the future to find Big Bro when Alina grew up. I''ll miss you, Goodbye your Alina!"
Ace read the note that Alina left for him and his nerve finally loosen and he sighed in relief. He spotted and felt some rough spots on paper, ''Was she crying while writing?''
Unknowingly two stems of tears also flow on Ace''s face as he thought. ''So she left to reunite with her parents. Well, that''s also good. This also means that grandpa of hers knows about her awakening of bloodline and he also has that special pill. Maybe he was also a hunter.''
Ace was very intelligent, with so few clues he now has some idea what has happened.
''But why didn''t she said goodbye to me personally, it''s not like I would''ve stopped her from going.'' Ace was extremely puzzled by this fact. ''If she''s alright that what matters the most.'' He sighed there was a hint of loneliness in his eyes.
Now Ace waspletely calmed as he stares at the ck pouch with ruby coins. ''Well, she did leave me quite some money. If it was before I would''ve lived my entire lifefortably with this much money. Although, now heh..'' Ace chuckles softly.
After cing the money bag in his pocket Ace was going to find something to eat when he saw there was a bumpy spot between those nkets meaning something was there. He lifts them and saw there was another small piece of paper below a stone.
''Why is this hidden here? If not for this stone I would never notice it." Ace grabbed the small paper and open it with some expectation in his eyes.
Inside was totally different writing from Alina:
"Brat doesn''t dare to tell anyone about Alina or you''ll die, and most importantly forget about her you will never see her again in your entire life, you two are from different worlds!"
That was the only sentence inside the paper. The words used were quite strong if Ace has his former mentality he would''ve been quite heartbroken after reading it but now.
Ace read the sentence and heughs out loud, "Hahaha two different worlds huh, well if it was before your words would have some meaning, but now just wait for me you old goat I want to see your face when I meet you in your own home." Ace dered with a sneer on his face.
In an instant, that old grandpa of Alina has turned into an ''old goat'' in Ace''s mind after reading his harsh words.
"This geezer was most likely to be the reason for Alina didn''t say goodbye to me by herself. Just you wait old goat I''ll show you just who lives in different worlds." Ace snorted in anger but there was clear happiness in his voice as well.
___________________
After reading little Alina''s farewell letter he became untroubled because now he has a new goal and that was to be strong so he could meet Aline one day in her own home. He will give her and that ''old goat'' a huge surprise.
Ace quickly goes towards the market and buys the most expensive meat he could find. He was rich so he didn''t have to spend like a poor person anymore. Afterward, he received some superficial treatment from a local doctor and returned home.
Ace felt quite invigorated after eating five pounds of meat.
"So that''s how it feels to be rich." Ace murmured to himself because he was having a hard time believing that he was the same person five days ago.
"System shows the rewards that I received after Iplete my mission." Ace said while smiling ear to ear, it was time for receiving his rewards of hardbor and he was quite excited about it.
Ace saw a familiar ck panel form in front of his eyes this was the ''Mission Panel'' with a hand holding a coin like symbol,
________________
[Mission Panel]
[Revenge Mission: Steal All the Treasure from Shop No. 8 in River Flower City Outer Region Pill Market and let Fat Shop Owner know that an Honorable Thief can''t be cheated by anyone]
[Status: Complete]
"[Scanning Host Performance]
{1.2.3¡100% Complete}
[Result: Low-Level Performance]
[Rewards will be 2X for the first 3 Honorable Missions]
[First 2X Reward will be given now]
[2X Reward: {EXP =100}, {Soul Points (SP) = 50}. {Thief Points (TP) = 150}]
[Rewards have been added to host status.]
_______________
This time Ace didn''t bicker with the system because he knew he messed up in the end and nearly got caught by those two idiots.
If it was someone else with a brain, not those two idiots they would be suspicious of him and caught him for interrogation.
''Well, these rewards are also not bad.'' Ace thought.
"System what are these 2X rewards mean?" Ace asked with a puzzled face.
"[First three Honorable Missions are for the host to learn the art of Thievery, so this is a kind of gift from system to encourage the host to work hard in future. Thereby for the first 3 missions, your rewards will be double.]"
''So if I got the mission to rob someone really rich my rewards will be double. That great as well.'' Unknowingly Ace has started to think like a thief. "System open my Status!"
_____________
[Eternal Thief System]
[Main Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human {No Bloodline}]
[Heaven: 1st Heaven Mortal Sky Heaven]
[Cultivation Level of 1st Heaven (Martial Cultivation): Mortal]
{EXP: 49/50} {51 Extra}
(EXP= Experience Points)
[Soul Cultivation: Mortal]
{SP: 19/20} {31 Extra}
(SP= Soul Points)
[Thief Points (TP): 152]
[Skills: 5]
[Cultivation Technique: 0]
[Current Mission: 0]
_____________________
Ace saw his status with a smile and nodded his head in satisfaction when he saw 152 TP.
However, when he saw his EXP and SP his smile froze, he asked the system hurriedly "System why aren''t I''m leveling up I even have extra points but they didn''t add up? You aren''t broken are you?"
He started to panic because without system help, he has no hope of seeing Alina ever again in his life.
"[EXP and SP represent the QI-capacity of host body and soul. Consider your body like a water-ss, if it has more space it will be able to hold more water and if it''s full it will overflow. So that''s why you can''t absorb more QI if you don''t have more space. System Rmend for Host to buy the Cultivation Technique, it will help host body to build more space for QI and this way you will level up.]"
The system gave a long exnation for the first time. Ace was also amazed by this, he asks another question because the system was being generous today.
"So cultivation techniques are for use to make more space insides our bodies for Qi?" he asked
"[You can put it that way.]"
"Then what is a skill? Aren''t they are like technique as well?" it was another one of Ace''s Biggest Questions.
"[Skills are for controlling the Qi. QI is like an open river inside your body, it will flow if you create a path for it but it will flow until it became empty so you have to block the path you open. The skill is like a water-gate it can control the flow of water however you wish.]" Another long answeres from the system.
Suddenly the fog on Ace''s mind lifted "So when I first activate the True and False eyes identally, it was like I made a path for the river to flow and I couldn''t control it so my Qi became empty right." Ace asked happily as if he solved some big question.
"[Yes]" system agrees with his statement.
Just as he was about to ask another question he heard system cold voice in his mind again,
"[System can only answer two of host questions after the first mission wasplete so your next question will cost you Thief Points.]"
When Ace heard it he frowned. He has so many questions he wanted to ask but he didn''t know that he will get only two questions and even that after a mission. If he knows about it before he would''ve asked something more important.
''Thief Points are more important.'' Ace thought while nodding.
At least now he knows that the cultivation techniques are a must-have thing if he wants to be strong. He opens his Technique panel.
________________
[Avable Cultivation Techniques]
[Heaven Stealer Technique {1st Vol}]
{Price: 100 Thief Points (TP)}
[Dual Shadow Swords Basic Technique]
{Price: 10 Thief Points (TP)}
__________________
"System what is different in these two techniques in the store are they not for the same thing?" Ace has to ask this because one was prise at 100 while the other was only 10.
"[2TP]" system emotionlessly voice sounded in his mind.
"Just take it." 2 TP are nothing if he could save 90 TP.
"[Yes those two are very different Heaven Stealer 1st volume can only be cultivated by Host and it is made especially for a thief. Moreover, it has both ''Martial 1''and ''Soul'' cultivation techniques. While Dual Shadow Swords is a Basic form of weapon cultivation technique it is for Host to train in the weapon, not for body and soul.]"
Ace was astonished by this answer. ''If it has both techniques and only I can cultivate it then that prize is reasonable.'' He mused, ''I should buy both of them I also didn''t know how to use weapons as well.''
Ace bites his lip and said in a mosquito voice, "Give me both Heaven Stealer Technique and Dual Shadow Swords!"
As he said those words with every bit of energy he has. With just onemand his TP became [150TP] to [40TP]. His heart was bleeding.
''My precious Thief Points!'' Ace wanted to cry right now. Body Cultivation
Chapter 12 - Cultivation Techniques For Thief!
Ace pays ''110 TP'' for both techniques and Just like before information about both techniques began to drill into his brain. Memories after memories enter his brain, after five minutes he opened his eyes.
''Is this really a cultivation technique just for a thief?'' Ace thought in a daze. He never saw any cultivation technique before but after seeing Heaven Stealer he was convinced that this system was not from this world.
Because if someone wants to cultivate this technique they can''t use normal Worldly Qi and has to absorb ''Heavenly QI''.Heavenly Qi is Qi that no one can use or more importantly ''Heavenly Qi'' is off-limits to every being. However, this technique can make it possible by stealing it from heaven itself, it was a taboo-like technique.
That''s why Ace was so stunned after getting the memories about ''Heaven Stealer Technique.
''If I want to cultivate this technique then I have to steal from heaven. Worthy of its name ''Heaven Stealer'' and technique tailor-made for a thief, I can also choose not to cultivate it but I''ll definitely miss a chance to be extraordinary!'' Ace mused while still in a stupor.
If he chose this path there will be no turning back again because in memories Ace finds that the practitioner of this technique is called ''Heaven''s Stealer''. It will be the enemy of Heaven and it has to face its wrath every time it wanted to advance in a major cultivation realm.
Ace suddenly remembered that day when he dered that ''if I have some kind of power that allowed me to steal I''ll steal from Heaven itself!'' he grinned when he remembered his childish words.
That time he was extremely anxious and said those words in anger. However, he never imagen that he would hold that kind of power in his hand and so soon at that. Now, he just has to pick if he wanted to use it or not.
Ace begins toughs haughtily, "Hahaha Heaven you steal my Love-Ones from me and I can''t do anything about but time has changed, now I have the power to steal from you so why am I hesitating for? From now on you Heaven and I Ace are ENEMIES!!!" He dered arrogantly.
A Heaven''s Stealer was going to be born!
Ace calms down after he makes his life''s biggest choice. He starts reading memories about Heaven Stealer Technique seriously.
"Heaven Stealer Technique Vol 1 It is divided into two parts one for body1 and one for the soul, the system didn''t lie about it." Ace mutters while continue reading the memories,
"First part is called ''Heavenly crystal body'' it is like this world martial cultivation system, the difference is it used Heavenly QI instead of worldly QI. Cultivation is divided into ''Eight Large Realms'' and all Eight of them have their own small realms.
"The first Realm of cultivation is ''Heavenly Gates''1 also knows as self-opening realm, it has five small realms; ''Heavenly Skin, Heavenly Muscles, Heavenly Bones, Heavenly Organs, and Heavenly heart''.
"With every self-gate open, I''ll be able to store more amount of Heavenly Qi. At the peak of the Heavenly Gate realm, my meridians would open. This is so interesting this whole cultivation is fascinated." Ace reads with full of enthusiasm, as he praises this cultivation.
"So Lil-Sis has already opened the 1st gate when I saw her statusst time. I have to work hard if I want to meet her in the future." Ace felt little pressure but became even more determined.
"Second part of Heaven stealer technique Vol 1 is called ''Heavenly ck Wind Soul'', It''s a soul cultivation technique and didn''t have any realms like martial cultivation. However, it has ''Five Soul Forms''.
"First I have to form a ''Formless Wind Soul Core'' and after thates five color forms of ''Soul Wind'', ''Yellow Form, Orange Form, Red Form, Golden Form, and ck Form''."
Ace takes a deep breath of cold air after reading the full 1st Volume of Heaven stealer technique. This 1st volume is enough for him to stands at peak of this world.
After the excitement from Heaven Stealer Technique lowers a bit, he starts reading Dual Shadow Swords Technique with full attention.
"Hmm? It only has a single part called ''Basic Shadow Sword Intent''and it only has four realms. ''Sword as Arm 1st realm, Sword of Finger 2nd realm, Sword in Mind 3rd realm, and Sword intent of Shadow'' final realm. Well, that is what you can except for a 10 TP technique." Ace was somewhat disappointed in this technique after going over Heaven Stealer first.
But little did Ace know that if words of a technique, that can teach you a ''weapon intent'' and not just any intent but shadow intent gets out it will be a bloody war. Because you can''t learn weapon intent from just reading much less an element-type intent.
Because ''weapon intent''es naturally no one can teach it. So Ace has this miraculous technique yet he still says he was disappointed by it if words get out every top expert in the world will faint in anger.
"Well, it can still teach me the basics of how I can use Qi with dual swords so it is worth the price. I also need dual swords to start practicing this technique. The system has them but they are expensive I can still do without them. I can just buy some from the weapon market it''s not like I don''t have any money. But I have to save my Thief Points (TP) for an emergency." Ace finished making his final decision.
After a whole evening of excitement Ace finally starts to calm down. He eats his dinner early because he was going to start his cultivation of the Heaven Stealer technique tonight.
It was already night time so there was silence everywhere.
Ace calm his mind and closed his eyes. As he closes his eyes he starts to recite the Heaven Stealer technique 1st part ''Heavenly Crystal Body'' scripture in his mind.
''Body is the foundation of every living being, but heavens made everyone''s body with many ws because it didn''t want them gain power that can pose a threat to it. It steals from everyone, it steals their right to gain strength from birth, it steals their right to live long lives then it steals their life itself, the biggest thief of eternity is high heaven itself. My unwillingness will cut open the path that leads to its hidden treasuries, I will draw the power from its hidden treasures that it steals from others, and make it became my evesting power! I will steal from it I will steal until I be eternal¡.''
Ace recite in his heart he couldn''t help but move by Heaven Stealer scripture. They were only truth in them and no false, they were like knives to heaven because they reveal Heaven''s dirty secrets.
After Ace starts cultivating the Heaven Stealer technique he fell into a trance-like state. An unknown time pass, suddenly ck color mist starts to fill the area surrounding Ace. This ck Mist was actually the Heavenly Qi.
Heavenly Qi was ck because it was stolen Qi from heaven itself!
People say if you stole from someone you will curse by heaven but what if you stole from heaven? You will definitely hunt down by every being that is connected to heaven and Heaven Stealer technique was a taboo technique precisely for that reason.
If you use it you will get the Heavenly Qi and became stronger than others, but you will also get Heaven''s cursed every time you try to break into a higher realm, you''ll have to face the Heavenly Punishment.
Heaven will try to kill you every time you want to get stronger. Because if you get the Heavenly Qi you''ll be perfect like no other being, That''s why Heaven didn''t allow anyone with this kind of power to exist.
The moment that ck mist or Heavenly Qi touches Ace''s body it starts to pour in his skin and begins to circte in his meridians channels. Now Ace is truly a real Heaven''s Stealer!
At that moment an inky eye form in the darkness of night it was big enough to cover the entire Golden sky world''s starry-sky. That eye looked coldly in the direction of ck Heavenly Qi, after seeing that it was just a mortal ant and it vanished.
After the eyes vanished from Golden sky world, a dark blue eye form on Ace''s forehead. Ace didn''t realize it and didn''t even feel anything. That dark blue eye looked coldly in the direction of that eye where it vanished not long ago. It also vanished in Ace''s forehead the next moment.
Ace didn''t realize that he''s already marked by heaven as a mortal enemy and now it will try to kill him at any cost every time it gets the chance.
Ace was currently feeling like he was flying in the sky because of Heavenly Qi. His entire body was being washed by Heavenly Qi. A ck soot-like substance starts pouring out of his skin. That substance was impurities of his body.
This was one of the benefits of Heavenly Qi; it can purify the body and make it perfect.
Ace was immense in cultivation and didn''t notice the passage of time. After 10 hours the sun was rising and the sky starts to lit up.
Inside the small hut. Ace looked like a ck wax statue right now. He cultivates the whole night and still didn''t open his eyes. Until he heard a sweet cold voice,
"[Congrattion Host! on Opening the 1st Gate of Heavenly Gates. the Heavenly Skin Gate sessfully, Your Martial Cultivation Level has been updated.]" Martial Cultivation(Qi Gates in Normal Worlds Cultivation system)
Chapter 13 - Weapon Market
Ace heard system notification and snap out of his deep cultivation state and the next moment a rotten smell attacks his nostrils, he nearly throws his stomach out.
''Where did this rotten wax-like thinge from? Is it because of cultivation?''
Ace quickly runs towards the water source outside. He has to wash for quite a long time before that smell goes away.
After bathing, Ace feels his senses have be somewhat sharper than before. He can now hear small sounds of insects around and see more clearly around twenty meters. His body is also much sturdier, he was much stronger than those idiots at least.
''This is how cultivation feels like huh. I can feel my skin is absorbing Heavenly Qi on its own now and I didn''t felt extreme hunger like before. This is quite convenient actually.'' Ace felt excited after feeling his new prowess.
"System shows me my status!" He transmitted in mind eagerly.
________________
[Eternal Thief System]
[Main Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human {No Bloodline}]
[Heaven: 1st Heaven Mortal Sky Heaven]
[Cultivation Level of 1st Heaven (Martial Cultivation): Heavenly Gates {1st Heavenly Skin Gate}]
{EXP: 50/1000}
[Soul Cultivation: Mortal]
{SP: 19/20} {31 Extra}
[Thief Points (TP): 40]
[Skills: 5]
[Cultivation Technique: 0]
[Current Mission: 0]
_____________________
"My soul cultivation level is still at ''0''. I have to practice it this time." Ace mumbles to himself.
''Let''s head towards the weapon market first to see if I can get a good swords pair there, I need them to cultivate the Dual Shadow Swords.'' Ace heads out after deciding his direction. But first, he goes towards the slums park where the loot was hidden to withdraw some ruby coins because he knows weapons were quite expensive especially the ones he needs.
It was very early in the morning so no one was around the park. Ace quickly dug out the bag and withdraw 1000 ruby coins from it, and put them in the ck pouch that Alina left him. He quickly hid the bag there again and left hurriedly.
_______________
The weapon market of the outer region was the second-biggest business market after the pill market. The weapon market mostly deals with normal worriers and some novice cultivators. Because mostly worriers and cultivators like using weapons. It gives the weapon market as much value as the pill market.
Normal weapons were made by normal cksmiths but weapons for cultivators were made by ''Qi Crafters''.
''Crafters'' held the same status as Alchemists. Crafters were also rare but not as much as alchemists. If you know how to control your Qi you can be a novice crafter.
Crafters have ranks like alchemists but different their skills measured by stars from 1 to 9. 1-Star is lowest and 9 are highest,
Weapons created by crafters can withstand and release the Qi of a cultivator, the more Qi a weapon withstands the higher its star rank will be.
In a 2-Star City like River-Flower City, there was only a 2-Star Qi Crafter present and he gets the same treatment as the white rank alchemist. As for 1-star crafter they were present in the inner region of the city, they were few but all of them work for big families.
The outer region only has novice crafters.
_____________
Ace reached the weapons market.
Ace didn''t eat anything so first he goes towards a nearby restaurant and orders dishes that he likes. As he was eating when he heard people talking.
"Hey did you hear about the ck Ghost that rob swindler Billy shop? But Billy still couldn''t find him anywhere no matter how much he searches high and low. Yesterday he even kills four men just because they have the same height as the ck Ghost."
"Well he''s been killing anyone who he suspects to be ck Ghost for some days and it''s getting worse with each passing day. But most of the people believe that ck Ghost is someone from the inner region and that''s why Billy''s at his wits end because he can''t do anything to inner region peoples."
"I have to admit that ck Ghost person has really some guts and skill, he steals Billy''s wealth under his damn nose hahaha."
"You said damn right, the peoples he cheated were extremely happy when they heard the news. Some even called ck Ghost their hero and some poormoners are calling him ''Hero of Justice'' haha." Said another man whileughing,
"What do you think will ck Ghost strikes again?"
"Well, no one knows the answer. But some people hopping for him to strike against other people like Billy. You know everyone has tightened their security because they''re afraid of ''ck Ghost paying them ''visit'' next hahaha."
Ace bes stunned when he heard their conversation, ''They calling me ''ck ghost'', haha not a bad name for a thief, But that bastard fatty is killing innocent people because he can''t find me.''
Ace''s frowned and was furious after thinking about Billy''s baseless killing. After all, he was just a 12 years old boy, and he never would''ve thought his thievery can involve the innocent.
''If I had the chance I''ll avenge them and do something for them.'' Ace vows in his heart.
After eating his fill, Ace starts heading towards the weapon market. As he enters the market he saw many good build and tall men, they were currently roaming around the weapon shops and selecting suitable weapons for themselves.
Ace''s aim was not a normal weapon because he knew they can''t withstand his Heavenly Qi. He wants a 1-Star weapon or a half-star weapon at least.
In the deeper part of the weapon market, there were not many people here like the outer part of the market. Ace look at the shop in front of him, its name was ''Coal Weapon Shop''. He goes inside the shop and saw rows of shining weapons.
''Beautiful'' was the thought thates to his mind when he saw those rows of weapons.
"Boy, did you lost your way here?" A loud and heavy voice sounded in the shop.
Ace looks around and spotted a tall muscr ck middle-aged man with a serious look on his face. He was Coal the owner of this shop.
Ace saw Coal and his serious face and speak respectfully, "Sir I''m here to select a weapon for myself."
"What kind of weapon do you want?" Coal gets straight to business.
"I want a pair of swords one short and one long, capable of withstanding QI." Ace also didn''t beat around the bush and tell Coal his requirements.
The suitable weapons he needs to practice his Dual Shadow swords technique was a Pair of Long and Short Swords.
"You are a cultivator?" For the first time on Coal''s serious face an expression of astonishment surfaces.
Cultivators were not rare in the weapon market, but cultivators as young as Ace were notmon here. They were either in the inner region of the city or in 1-Star Cities. That''s why Coal was surprised.
"Yes sir." Ace answer with little pride, it was his first time telling someone of his little achievement.
"Well it is rare to see a cultivator of your age here but doesn''t get too prideful, in big cities, there are many like you and even in our inner region, there are many young and talented people like you. So never get prideful because there''s always someone above you." Coal berate with a serious face his previous surprised expression was long gone.
"Thank you! I''ll remember sir teaching." Ace didn''t show any displeasure because he could tell that Coal didn''t have any hidden attention or disdain towards him. Coal was just teaching him like a senior and that''s why he thanked him politely.
''He is right, even my Lil Sis who is many years younger than me was at the 1st Gate of Qi Gates realm and now that her bloodline is awakened she must be more powerful. So I can''t be arrogant with just this little achievement.'' Ace considered earnestly.
"Not bad boy your attitude is right for cultivation, remember never get arrogant no matter what, or when someone stronger crushes you like an ant you will never be able to stand again. Now let''s go I''ll show you sword pairs. It''s quite rare for someone to used dual swords style nowadays so I didn''t have many sets only three sets are avable and all of them are half-star rank. In the outer region, you can only find half-star weapons. If you want a better one go to the inner region." Said Coal coolly and start moving towards his workshop at rare.
Coal starts to like Ace for his humble attitude so he gave him some advice. If it were someone else he would never even bother to say an extra word.
Ace followed Coal in his workshop.
Coal quickly grab three long and slim wooden boxes from the corner of the workshop. He opens the boxes one by one. When every box was open shining swords giving a sharp and cold feelinge to view.
"These red color swords set are called fire twin swords prize 500 ruby coins. This set is called sharp edge twin swords 300 ruby coins. And thisst set is called ck raptor pair it can cut metal like butter and the best between these three sets prize of 900 ruby coins." Coal gets straight to point with introduction and price.
Ace saw the sets inside the wooden boxes. He could tell they were not normal pairs of swords. He sends a bit of Heavenly Qi towards them to see which one can withstand it. When Heavenly Qi made contact with them they immediately start trembling. Coal also notices this and bes stunned.
''This kid is not a normal one!. Coal inhales a breath of cold air.
Ace was disappointed, these pair of swords can''t withstand his Heavenly Qi for long. "Sir I will buy this raptor pair." This set can withstand his Qi for the longest of three.
"Ok take the case and follow me to the counter you can pay there." Coal turns around after giving Ace an order.
Ace didn''t mind and grabbed the case with the raptor set following after Coal.
At the main shop, Ace paid 900 ruby coins. He was just about to leave when he heard Coal''s pressing voice "Boy I can tell these pair of swords can''t withstand your power so find a suitable one for yourself as soon as possible. It is also good for your cultivation as well because those who cultivate weapons didn''t change them daily. Remember a weapon is like a life to a warrior if it breaks during the battle he will die."
Coal gave a piece of rare advice to someone and headed back towards his workshop like he didn''t care about Ace anymore.
Ace thinks about what Coal said and couldn''t help but agree with him in this, ''I''ll buy those swords in system''s shop next time when Iplete my mission.''
Ace lightly bow towards the workshop where Coal has vanished. Now he considers him a teacher who gave him advice.
After he returned to his little hut. Finally, he has a pair of swords to practice the dual shadow swords technique.
It was time to cultivate again!
Chapter 14 - Soul Cultivator!
It has been one month since the incident of ''ck Ghost''.
Billy wasn''t able to find the despicable thief and in the end, lost his mind. He killed almost a hundred innocent people.
In the end, citizens can''t take it anymore and gather together outside of the outer city guardpost to protest against Billy.
Guardpost of the city maintains thew and order of the entire outer region so they had no choice but to act because they also can''t ignore this type of behavior. If Billy kills in secret then there was no problem, but he was killing people in broad daylight!
The families of victims were infuriated and their eyes bloodshot as they protest outside the city guardpost. Atst, themander of the guardpost gave in and arrest Billy.
This is how one of the richest people in the outer region Billy Bill meets his doom. He was once known as an intelligent businessman but even he lost his mind and became a madman after losing his wealth. Such a tragedy
_________________________
Slums area of River-Flower City,
Ace has changed a lot in a single month. He became taller and his skinny figure was somewhat gone and be a little muscr, He looked even more handsome and a little mature.
In one month, Ace practices his Heaven Stealer technique in the morning and practices his other skills and Dual Shadows Swords Technique at night time in the rundown park.
Ace still can''t master the Dual shadow Swords Technique first realm, because he didn''t understand what it means by ''Sword as an Arm'' and only gain little mastery over it. Now he finally understands just how hard this technique was. But he didn''t get dishearten and continue to practice.
On the other hand, his 5 basic skills were improved by arge margin.
Today was just like another day, Ace has his eyes closed and reciting Heaven Stealer Technique ''ck Wind Soul Scripture''.
''Soul is the core of every myriad being, it contains their conscious and evesting will. Heaven makes the soul the weakest part of every being because the soul is a key to reach Heaven''s secrets! It didn''t want anyone to glimpse into its secrets nheless I shall make my soul like the wind of emptiness and drift for eternity until I uncover Heaven''s secrets...''
In one month Ace didn''t manage to form the Formless Wind Soul Core of the ''Heavenly ck Wind Soul Technique'', as he did instantly with the ''Heavenly Crystal Body Technique'' on his first try.
With just that one can imagine how hard it was to cultivate the soul.
Although today Ace feels different, he was in deep meditation state when he grasps something and suddenly a tremor runs through his mind. He feels the space between his eyebrows trembling and bing hot. The very next moment he feels something forming out of nowhere between his eyebrows.
Ace feels sharp pain but he grits his teeth and endures. Inside his head, a space was forming in the ce between eyebrows with dark formless mist. This was the ''Heavenly Soul Qi''! The difference between the Soul and Martial Qi was it cannot be seen by naked eyes only ''Soul Cultivators'' has the ability to see the ''Soul Qi'' or High-Level Martial Cultivators can feel it.
The space forming only takes a minute and afterpletion, it was ten cubic metersrge and waspletely ck. After space was stabilized something, even more, fascinated happened. Inside the empty dark space in the center, a little globe of white transparent mist begins to form. The globe of mist was colorless and only the size of a fist. After that globe of mist stabilized it begins to spin clockwise in the center of his newly formed ck space. It was like a peaceful moon in the dark sky
The moment that globe starts to spin Ace''s whole body jolted and despite his eyes being closed he was able to ''see'' and feel 10 meters area around him clearly. Because he has finally formed the Formless Wind Soul Core or a ''Soul Core''.
Soul Core has granted him ''Heavenly Sense''and ''Soul Sense''.
With Heavenly Sense Ace can even see through walls and detect any hidden enemy within the range of ten meters, nothing can hide inside the field of his Heavenly Sense. The more powerful his soul cultivation bes the more his ''Heavenly Sense'' would grow.
That''s why practitioners chose to cultivate soul because it can give a lot more supernatural ability than martial cultivation. However, one can''t cultivate in the body if they cultivate in the soul because this is thew set by Heaven,
It is thew of Heaven that if you want something then you have to give up on something as well. That''s why if you want to cultivate in soul you can''t cultivate in body and the same rule applied to Martial Cultivators they can''t cultivate their souls either.
However, thisw didn''t apply to Heaven Stealer Technique because it can help cultivate both Body and Soul simultaneously. If Ace finds out about it he would definitely go mad with happiness.
At this moment Ace was using his Heavenly Sense unknowingly when suddenly the newly form space between his eyebrows tremble and vomits a mouthful of blood as his eyes sprang open. His face became pale as a ghost.
"System what happens?" Ace asked weakly.
"[Congrattion host for achieving small sess in ck wind soul technique. You have formed the ''Formless Wind Soul Core''! Your soul cultivation level has been updated]" System gives him an update.
"That not what I''m asking! I''m asking why did I get shocked?" Ace was speechless by this because even he knows about the forming of the Soul Core.
"[Just like Martial Qi in Body, the soul also has Soul Qi for Soul. Just now, Host has overdrawn his Soul Qi while using Heavenly Sense.]"
"It''s just like when I have overdrawn my martial qi when I was using true and false eyes, huh, and Soul also has Soul Qi and my soul qi is Heavenly Soul Qi no less. I can now see anything in ten meters area around me, it''s like my personal space." Ace mulled over it and be excited. "Status!"
______________
[Eternal Thief System]
[Main Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human {No Bloodline}]
[Heaven: 1st Heaven Mortal Sky Heaven]
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Gates {1st Heavenly Skin Gate}]
{EXP: 50/1000}
[Soul Cultivation: Formless Wind Soul Core]
{SP: 30/100}
[Thief Points (TP): 40]
[Skills: 5]
[Stealth Basic {Middle-level}
Silent Steps Basic {Middle-level}
True & False Eyes Basic {Low-level}
Treasure Opening Hands [Basic Art] {3rd Form}
Pick Pocket {Low-level}]
[Cultivation Technique: 2]
[{Heaven Stealer Technique Volume 1}, {Dual Shadow Swords}]
[Thief Points (TP): 40]
[Current Mission: 0]
______________________
After seeing his progress of the month, Ace nodded in satisfaction, his hard work was not in vain.
''Without EXP and SP, my progress will not halt but it will be quite slow so I need a mission or some other way to earn EXP and SP.'' Ace mused because he could tell after practicing the Heaven Stealer Technique that he can progress without EXP and SP but it will take him a long time to achieve a breakthrough. EXP and SP were like elixirs or pills to him the more he has the faster he progresses.
''I can''t do mission here anymore enough innocent peoples have been killed already. I should sneak into the inner region and try robing those rich bastards.'' Ace starts to prepare after he decided to go into the inner region.
Ace was now confident about stealing from anyone in the outer region. But he wouldn''t do that because he was observing Billy for the full month and saw innocent people getting killed each day. He was nning to kill Billy after forming the soul core, but s he was toote and now Billy has been arrested already. He can''t get revenge for all those innocent people.
Now Ace would steal from those nobles of the inner region and they can''t me these outer regionmoners for it. That''s why he was going to sneak into the inner region tonight.
If he wanted he could just show his status as a cultivator and enters the inner region without any problem. But he didn''t want because if he goes in this way, he has to register himself to the city lord mansion. By doing it his records will be open for anyone to see because he was a resident of this city and anyone can find about him with little research.
If someone investigates him, they will find out that he was just a poor little kid without any guardians and who worked at a restaurant as a dishwasher for five years.
Then how will he exin bing a cultivator all of a sudden? And most importantly where did he get the cultivation technique from? He can always say that his parents left one for him because they were also cultivators. But he''s not doing it because Ace didn''t want anyone to know that he was in the inner-city.
Also, in this way Ace can rob anyone and no one will ever know where the robber came from. If he was going there to do thievery why not go like a thief too.
Ace collects his bag full of pill bottles and ruby coins, and of course ''ck Ghost'' outfit from the hidden hole. He changes into the ''ck Ghost outfit'' and hung his bag behind.
His raptor pair swords were tied on his waist with a belt. He waspletely ck only his eyes were visible through his mask eyes hole.
''Outer region my home I''ll see you again next time. Mom, dad, grandpa, and grandma, I''lle in the future to pay my respects after I be strong and make you guys feel proud in the underworld.'' Ace says his goodbyes to his parents and grandparents'' graves and heading towards the inner region of River Flower City.
This is the beginning of a Legendary Thief journey!
Chapter 15 - Sneak Inside Inner-Region!
Inner Region Gate of River Flower City was a huge bronze gate and the only way to enter into the inner region of the city. Anyone who wants to enter the inner region they have to be a cultivator and show their identity as a noble.
It was the middle of the night and the inner region''s gate was being tightly watched by strong cultivators guards.
People were going in and out after showing their identity proof. It was a crystal identity card, by wavering it in front of the big stone beside the gate it shows the personal information of the holder. Anyone can get one from their birthce and any faction they have an affinity with. But this crystal identity card cost 10 ruby coins to make and people like Ace didn''t get any in their lifetime.
That''s why Ace didn''t want information on him to get recorded here so he can be like a ghost no one will ever know who he was or where he came from.
At this time, not far from the inner city gate, Ace was waiting for a chance to sneak in when he spotted a man looking around and smile foolishly at anyone he sees.
''You''re the one!'' After selecting the target, Ace active stealth and vanished into the darkness of night.
Ace was no longer a rooky like before anymore. In stealth, no one can spot him anymore if their cultivation realm was not higher than him but the limit was still in Qi Gates''s realm because his mastery over this skill was still at middle-level.
There were four levels of mastery for the system''s basic skills, Low, Middle, High, and Perfection.
Ace follows that man with his silent steps even nearby people and the ''Second Gate'' cultivator''s guards didn''t notice him following that man from behind. The moment the gate opens Ace uses the silent steps to limit and became like a gust of wind, vanished inside the inner region.
No one noticed that a thief has sneaked into the inner region.
After entering the inner region Ace took a random direction and run aimlessly. First, he finds a barren ce and takes cover behind a wide tree. Ace takes out a new set of clothing from his bag and changed his ''ck Ghost outfit''.
After changing his clothes, Ace looked at the ''ck Ghost outfit'' and lit a fire with some dry woods nearby. Then he throws the ck outfit in the burning mes.
''ck Ghost is dead now! No one will connect him with a new thief of the inner region hehe.'' Ace chuckled while watching the outfit and mask turn into ashes and scatter in the air with gusts of wind.
After dealing with the ''ck Ghost'' matter Ace takes a random direction again because he didn''t know areas of the inner region.
It was already nighttime but there were lights on the brode streets and many people were strolling here and there. The lights wereing from a strange ss in a long pole Ace had never seen this kind of thing before. it was definitely different from the outer region.
Ace was quite curious but also tired after using all those skills so he asks a passing-by person politely, "Sir do know where can I find an Inn here?" He decided to spend the night in an Inn and exploring the inner region in the morning.
This person didn''t seem to mind Ace''s question because it was normal for people toe here for visits. "Just head in the same direction as this street and you''ll find an Inn after twenty minutes walk." The person replied indifferently and mind his own business afterward.
"Thank you." Ace thanked the man and didn''t dwell there either.
After fifteen minutes a big building afares to his view because of all the lights and with his sharp eyes, he can even see this eyecatching building from a mile away.
Ace speeds up his pace and reaches the big building, it has surprisingly 10 floors. Now that he sees clearly, there were small radiant stones in a ss box attached around this building the lights wereing from them. Ace never saw this kind of stone in the outer region nor this kind of huge building.
A wooden signboard of ''Holyday Inn'' was lit with those strange light stones.
Ace enters the Inn and saw a beautifuldy in herte twenties was sitting behind a counter desk. When she saw Ace with a bag on his back she smiles broadly and greets him.
"Wee to Holiday Inn, how I may help you, Sir?" She said smilingly in her sweet voice.
"I want a room." Ace answers indifferently while acting like an arrogant rich kid.
"What kind of room sir wants we have two kinds of rooms. Second ss Room 10 silver coins with no special services and First ss Room for 10 gold coins with the best service and we will serve Sir with the meat of a wild beast and special wine." Thatdy introduces with a smile.
"What''s a wild beast?" Ace asks in puzzlement, he never heard of this kind of meat before after all, he was what nobles called themoners'' a country bumpkin''.
Ace ate every type of animal meat avable in the outer region. But he didn''t hear about this beast meat before and it also cost 10 gold coins, one has to know that normal animal meat cost only 50 bronze coins per pound.
"Wild Beasts are found in the wildness outside of the city they aren''t normal animals they can cultivate like humans and be ''Demonic Beast'' so their meat contains Qi. Furthermore, that what normal cultivator eats in their daily life." Thedy replies while smiling but one can see a tiny frown on her beautiful fair face.
''Where did this country bumpkine from? He didn''t even know about a wild beast, is he trying to flirt with me and wasting my time?'' She thought irritably.
Other people might not be able to notice changes in her mood but Ace can because of soul cultivation he could sense her mood was changing.
Ace smile wryly, but he really didn''t know about these wild beasts. His knowledge of this world was extremely obscure.
''Well if that''s what normal cultivators can eat then I can eat it too and see if it tastes better than beef.'' Ace snorted in his heart.
Cultivators can live without eating but that was after they reached a particr higher realm. The early cultivators like Ace have to eat because their Qi reserves were limited and they can only draw little power from the world with their meridians closed.
However, Ace was different in this regard as well he can live for a whole month without eating anything because his Qi was Heavenly Qi. He eats daily for the sake of eating.
"I''ll take one with rent of 10 gold coins. Here 1 Ruby coin it will be enough for 10 days right?" Ace takes a ruby coin from his pocket and ce it on the desk in front of thatdy who was thinking while frowning.
She snapped out of her daze after hearing Ace''s voice and seeing a shinning ruby coin on the desk she said with a wide smile ster on her face, "Yes. It''ll be enough for 10 days. I''ll immediately go and get the key for sir''s room."
"This key is for room No.103 on the 3rd floor. If you need anything please contact me I''ll be here at any time. Your meals will be delivered by maids three times a day. Happy stay sir" She handed over the key to Ace and sends a servant to escort him to the room.
After entering the room Ace sighs in astonishment, "This room is really big, at least five times bigger than my old hut." For him, this room was really luxurious.
Ace put his bag and raptor swords pair wooden case down in the corner of the room,
''I have to deal with these pills first. I wonder if someone will buy them without noticing anything.'' Ace wanted to sell these pills from Fatty Billy''s shop for ruby coins.
Seemingly Ace can''t use these pills. When he tries he only tastes the bitter vor of herbs nothing else. He concluded it was because of Heavenly Qi.
Just as Ace was about to start his daily routine of cultivation, he senses someone was approaching his door. He instantly rais his guard and use Heavenly Sense he saw there was only a maidservant with a tray in her hand. He quickly rxes and has a sigh of relief.
Just as he seen a light knocked rang in the room and a sweet voice sounded, "Sir I''m here with your dinner."
Ace opened the door with a smile on his face. He received the tray of dishes from the maidservant, "Thank You."
The maidservant was astonished, no one had ever thanked her in all her years of working here because Nobels and especially Cultivators are all arrogant bunches they would never thank a mortal maid like herself.
She was still astonished by this young boy''s early behavior when Ace took out a ruby coin from his pocket and ce it in her hand. "Here buy something good for your kids with it." Ace said with generosity.
Ace was still acting like a rich young master but he didn''t know even rich people didn''t give a ruby coin to a maidservant as a tip.
The maidservant was stunned by Ace''s huge tip and panic as she quickly rejects, "S-sir I-I can''t take it, just a silver coin would be sufficient. And I didn''t have any kids I''m single!"
When she said that she blushed heavily. But Ace didn''t notice her blush and insist, "Just take it if you didn''t have any kids then buy something for your parents." Ace closed the door without waiting for an answer.
That maid held the ruby coin in her hand absent-mindedly and after some moment she tightly clinched ruby coins in her hand and left with tears in her eyes. Maybe it was a coincidence or luck but she really needed this kind of money at this moment.
Ace didn''t think much of the early encounter and starts enjoying the roosted wild beast meat. As he eats he feels this meat contains 100 or even 1000 times more energypared to normal meat.
"Thatdy didn''t lie about Qi in this meat and it''s more delicious than beef. No wonder cultivators only eat this kind of meat." Ace mumbles like some silly child and enjoys his meal.
After finish eating Ace started to cultivate his martial cultivation since he just achieves a breakthrough in his soul cultivation.
Chapter 16 - Selling The Loot!
Night pass; was a sunny morning and a normal day for inner region residents but Ace was the start of his new journey.
Ace eats his breakfast provided by the Inn and starts his exploration of the inner region. He received a map of the inner region from that receptiondy.
After studying the map for while Ace decided to go towards the main market of river flower city''s inner region. The inner region didn''t have separate markets for pills and weapons and this is the only market in the entire inner region.
The inner-city was divided into many territories by different noble families, most of the inner region was under these families'' control. That''s why it only has a single market that was controlled by all the noble families together. Any family that owns property in the inner region or inner-city is called a noble family.
Ace was going there to sell these half-white grade pills.
The Main Market of the Inner Region was bursting with activities. Many merchantse here from outside of the city to sell their goods and buy River-Flower City specialties. It was after all a two-star city.
Inside the central part of the main market, this ce is the busiest area of the entire market. There was a big fifteen-story tall building here and it was quite a famous one at that. Its name was ''Kelby Pills & Weapons'' shop. It was famous because this shop was owned by the Kelby family one of the top three noble families of River-Flower City.
Kelby family has a history of 100 years and is also a family of cultivators. That''s why they control a big portion of the inner-city areas and no one dares to mess with them inside the city.
Ace was currently standing in front of the ''Kelby Pills & Weapons'' shop. When hees to the main market he asked around about shops that deal with the pill business and he finds about the ''Kelby Pills & Weapons'' shop.
It was one of the biggest shops here that bought pills from outside merchants and most importantly they didn''t ask about where the goods came from or any personal information about their customers. That''s why Ace chose this shop to sell off his loot.
When Ace enters the shop, he didn''t even have a chance to look around when a beautiful youngdyes in front of him and speaks with a smile, "Dear customer what kind of business do you have? Are you selling for buying?"
She didn''t beat around the bust and asked him directly because it was quite crowded in the shop so it seems she was in hurry to deal with others.
"I want to sell my pills." Ace answer with a grimace when he saw the big crowd here. He didn''t want many people to see his face.
"Dear customer you havee to the right ce! Please follow me to the second floor there a master appraisal will appraise your pills'' quality and gives you a fair price for them." Said the youngdy with a smile.
She was working here for many years and can judge someone who there dealing with just by their appearance and demeanor. ''He seems to be from a one-star city a bumpkin. Hmph!'' She scoffs in her heart and added Ace to her list of bumpkins.
If Ace was someone from the inner region or of a higher status, his clothes wouldn''t be this old fashion and made from normal material. Anyone could tell that he was poor or not from a high-end city. And his biggest mistake was he should never tell what kind of goods he was selling right from the start. He should''ve waited to find a quiet ce first and then shows his hand.
Well, what can poor Ace do? He wasn''t a shrewd merchant and quite young and inexperienced. He recently became rich and didn''t know how to handle wealth, no matter how careful he was, he was bound to make mistakes.
The second floor of the shop wasn''t crowded as the first floor.
The youngdy takes Ace to a small counter desk there was an old man with grey hair sitting behind in a wooden chairfortably.
"Master Matthew this gentleman wants to sell pills here, can you please appraise them and give a fair price." Said thedy as she winks at the old man that only he notices and exactly knows what it means was.
However, Ace instantly notice something amiss when she gave her a signal because they can''t hide their disdain from his ''Soul Sense''.
It was the second sense he receives after forming the soul core, ''Soul Sense''. It''s an innate ability and continuously stay active. It helps Ace detects the soul fluctuations of others, with it he can feel changes in other party mood or consciousness and detect enemy with malicious thought ten meters around himself.
''It seems something is not right with these two and this soul sense is quite remarkable!'' Ace thought grimly and was ready if something happens he would escape.
This old man was one of many appraisal apprentices of this shop and everyone called him ''Master'' because of his old age and show some respect to an elder, he wasn''t actually a master appraisal.
When old man Matthew receives the signal he immediately knows that this kid was a bumpkin and he didn''t have to be serious while dealing with him.
"Haha of course I''ll give this little brother a fair price. Little brother show me what kind of pills did you want to sell." Matthew said while smile like an elder who was talking to his junior.
If Ace didn''t notice hidden disdain in his eyes he would''ve thought this old man was quite a nice person. Now he didn''t buy his honey words but he can''t just leave now and was already here so he chose to show him pills first and see what he does.
"Here are 107 half-white grade pills in this bag you can check and give me a price." Ace opened the string bag and let the old man sees the pill bottles inside.
Master Matthew bes speechless because he thought there would only be 2 or 3 pills in this brat''s hand but Ace takes out 107 of them. The youngdy was also stunned and take a deep breath of cold air.
Old Matthew became serious after finding out the number of pills. ''I can''t let this deal slid!'' With this kind of deal, he can get a promotion and go to the higher level floor of the shop.
The youngdy has also the same thoughts as the old man, "Dear customer please sit here and I''ll bring ice tea for you." She said with a spacious smile and hurriedly left to bring ice tea for Ace.
"Yes, you can wait here while enjoying the ice tea it tastes quite good and I will appraise these pills'' quality and give you a fair price. Don''t worry I''ll be fair with the price." Master Matthew said sincerely this time andmences opening the bottles to appraise the pills inside.
Ace was amused by those two fellows'' 180-degree attitude changes. Since they were being honest this time he wasn''t going to be polite anymore and sitfortably in a chair and begin to wait for the final result of the appraisal.
After some time that youngdy alsoes with a ssic tea set in a tray between her hands. She serves Ace a cup of ice tea.
Ace smells the unique fragrant that give him a feeling of cold and takes a small sip. A cold yet warm vor spread in his mound and he couldn''t help but praise out loud, "Good tea!"
Ace never even drink a normal tea before much less this expensive one, he was being shameless here. But this tea does taste quite refreshing and it even has Qi in it. He was even thinking of buying few kilograms of this tea. He was a foodie after all.
While Ace was enjoying the ice tea, Old man Matthew was appraising the pills one by one.
Suddenly he opens a lid of a red-colored pill bottle and a thick aroma of Qi enters his nostrils. Matthew felt like his Qi was starting to circte faster inside his body. He quickly closes the lid and scans his surrounding hurriedly, when he saw that no one is paying attention to him, he became a little rxed.
But Matthew was extremely wrong about this conjecture of his because Ace''s soul sense was locked on him from the very start, and this huge soul wave or change in his mood didn''t go unnoticed from Ace''s soul sense. Only Ace didn''t know what that old man find in that pill bottle so he just stays put and keeps observing him with his soul sense.
Matthew didn''t know that Ace has already noticed the pill because of his exciting consciousness. The old man did his best to controls his breathing and put the red bottle on the side like all of the other pill bottles and pretend as nothing has happened.
Master Matthew looks in the bag and yes he finds another red bottle like thest one. He quickly grabs it and this time he didn''t open its lidpletely just a tiny bit.
The same kind of aroma enters his nose. He quickly closed the lid and ced it with another red bottle excitedly. He searches with his eyes if there was another bottle of the same kind but there were only 2 of them so he was a little bit disappointed.
After 15 minutes master Matthewplete his appraisal and called Ace over to finalize the price with him.
"Little brother I have appraisal all of your pills and they are all half-white grade like you said. Hence I''ll give you the same prized as we give our regr customers because you bought this big business for us and that shows your sincerity. There is a total of 107 pills, 52 of them are healing pills price 100 ruby coins for each pill, 30 QI pills price 200 ruby coins each, and 25 minor gate opening pills 500 ruby coins each. With a total of 23,700 ruby coins. This is the fairest price you can get in the whole main market." Said Master Matthew confidently he really gives him a fair price but there was also deeply hidden slyness in his old eyes.
Ace knew that these pills were worth this much from start but he could feel this old man was hiding something from him and it has to be about those 2 red bottles. He was not that na?ve kid that was once swindled by Billy anymore and already learned from his mistakes.
"Make it 23,500 Ruby coins I need these two healing pills for myself therefore I''m not selling them." Ace grabbed those two red bottles and put them inside his pocket. He didn''t give that sly old man any chance to refuse.
Chapter 17 - Greed!
When Matthew saw Ace grabbing those two pill bottles he loses his calmposure and instantly yell, "NO!"
Matthew was about to attack Ace when he forced himself to stop in his tracks because he finally remembers standing in Kelby Pills & Weapons shop. Because of his loud yell, everyone around starts to take notice.
"What? Don''t tell me, I need your permission for selling my things? Did Kelby Pills & Weapons'' shop treat its customers like this?" Ace take advantage of this situation and raised his voice while questioning Matthew.
Just as Ace anticipated, everyone around them starts to look towards old man Matthew with questionable gazes and begins whispering something to each other.
That attendant also panicked, ''This old man never does this kind of thing what happens? He''s acting like an idiot!''
"N-NO, NO! It was just a misunderstanding you can do anything with your things. I simply didn''t feel well so I lose myposer. Everyone I apologized to let you all see me in this state I hope that everyone can forgive this old man''s rudeness." Matthew bowed towards everyone apologetically.
''This brat is a cunning one. If he didn''t hurriedly grab those pills I would''ve never behaved like a moron! He tricked me into acting rashly and now I can''t do anything while he can take those pills away. But how the hell did he notice?!'' Matthew grinds his teeth in frustration and was right about Ace outwitting him acting like way.
Now Ace can leaves safely with those ''suspicious pills''.
"It''s was just a misunderstanding and we thought there would be a good show to watch, what a letdown. Everyone let''s mind our own business." Said someone who was watching with chuckles, and after hearing him all others chortled as well and start minding their own business again.
"Haha, little brother these pills all are yours so it is your design to sell them or not. So just sell what you want and take what you didn''t want to sell. We have no objection." Old Man Matthew turned to Ace and said as heughs dryly that looks quite ugly.
"Oh don''t worry I only need these two healing pills for myself. I''m selling all the other pills to you." Ace replied with an innocent smile as if he didn''t do anything.
"Go and report this transaction to upper floors and get 23,500 ruby coins for our little brother here. I''m not feeling quite well at this moment so I''m going to retire for today." Old Man Matthew left towards the upper floor of the building in a hurry with an obnoxious face.
''Why is he going that way?'' Thought the young attendant but couldn''t find an answer. She didn''t settle on it and quickly fetch Ace''s dues.
"Here is Ruby Crystal Card; your 23,500 ruby coins are in it. You can use it like normal currency or withdraw your coins from anywhere innds of cities." Said the young attendant while giving Ace a white a little slim square crystal card white in color, on it, there were 23,500 written in red.
Ace heard of these crystal cards before, they can be used anywhere in 4th Level Lands, so he wasn''t shocked by it and ept the white card.
After taking care of his business, he quickly left because he knew that the old man was not good and up to no good.
_______________
Old man Matthew was going to the upper floors of Kelby Pills & Weapons shop''s building in a hurry.
Matthew just entered the 3rd floor when a man blocked his way, though, and mock him disdainfully, "Old Man where are you going in such a hurry, slow down or you might die of exhaustion. Hehe."
This man''s face was not so attractive and looks rather ordinary with short ck hair, he was Apprentice Alchemist Caleb. He was extremely arrogant because he was Apprentice Alchemist at the age of 26. That''s why Kelby Family put vast resources into him and wanted to groom a White Alchemist out of him.
However, bing a white-ranked alchemist was not so easy. That''s why Kelby''s family settles Caleb in this shop so he could get some experience and make pills for the shop while at it. It was a form of practice and he can improve his alchemist skill rather fast this way.
Yet, all this care, parsed, and easy-to-earned resources made Caleb utmost arrogant and now he didn''t put anyone in his eyes. He didn''t listen to anyone except the Kelby family higher-ups and their direct descendants and always like to y around.
"Young master Caleb, this old man has something very important to do so please forgive this old man to not entertain you." Said Matthew respectfully but there was clear hostility in his eyes because of Caleb''s early curse, but s he can do nothing.
"Hmm? Something important huh tells me what it is and I''ll decide if it is important or not." Caleb grimaced after listening to Matthew. If he remembers correctly this old man was very respectful and now he was showing displeasure openly, ''Something is not right.''
"Young master please just this once can you not be like this? It is important enough to report it to the Shop owner himself." Said old man Matthew while sighing in frustration, if it was someone else he would''ve pped them thousand times now already.
"YOU!!" Caleb was just about to re up at this rude old guy but think about it more carefully, ''What could be that important to report it to the shop owner himself? He even offends me for it. Well, I have to see for myself then.''
"Let''s go I''ming with you and if it was not as important as you said it is, hehe, you know what will happen when I''m in bad mood right?" Caleb smiled gloomily and go with Matthew.
They reached the fifteenth floor in minutes.
The fifteenth floor of this shop was very beautifully decorated with expensive jade and marble. One can see the inner region city while standing before the window here and enjoying the city''s beautiful view at night.
Currently, a young man with ck hair, pale skin, and luxurious clothes was sitting in a chair beside the window and watch the bursting market with a frown on his handsome face.
"What does it mean you couldn''t find him anywhere? Is he was a ghost? Did you search every area of the outer region?" The young man speaks gently but there was clear anger in his voice, he didn''t lose hisposure.
"Yes young master I even search in slums but there were onlymoners who lived there. It seems after that ''ck Ghost'' person robbed that fatty''s shop he leaves the city. He might be afraid of getting caught and escaped afterward."
There was a kneeling figure in front of the young man. It wore ck full-body light armor, no one can see its figure clearly with that armor and a ck fox mask was on its face. One could only saw its hazel eyes through that mask''s eyes holes. From its voice was beautiful to an extreme and please to ears, it was the voice of a young girl.
"ck Fox I''m not angry because of you, It''s just that it''s such a shame that I wouldn''t be able to gain a new pawn and most importantly find that ck Ghost person''s secrets." Said the young man in disappointment. One could see intense greed when he talks about ck Ghost''s ''secrets'' in his eyes.
Anyone who can open a 1-star treasury in minutes has to have some mysterious secret on him and he wanted only that secret from the start. As for epts him as a pawn that was ''ck Ghost'' choice. If ck Ghost epts to be his tool, he will take care of him but if not, he will do what he always does to his enemies ''kill without mercy''.
The young man was still thinking about ''ck Ghost'' secrets when he heard approaching footsteps and stated calmly, "You can go first and see if they''re still any trace left from ''ck Ghost. I still don''t think a guy with skills like him will run away this easy."
After receiving her orders ck Fox vanished like smoke.
"Young master Asher, Caleb is here to pay you a visit with Old Matthew." Caleb''s loud voice resounded in the silent room.
This young man''s name was ''Asher Kelby'' the oldest son of the current Head of Kelby Family and probably the next head of the Kelby family. He was known as a cultivation genius because he has already opened the 3rd Gate of Qi Gates realms. He was intelligent, calm, and ruthless.
That''s why he was the shop owner of the biggest shop of the Kelby family. He didn''t spare his enemies even if they were just mortals he would kill them just to get rid of any future problems.
"Come in," Asher said in a neutral tone.
"Young master this old man want to report something urgent." Said Caleb as he pointed at Mathew beside him while smiling. He wasn''t arrogant like before even he was afraid of this ruthless young master.
"Hmm? Speak." As if he was not interested in both of his visitors, Asher was still looking outside of the window.
"This old man greets the young shop owner. I want to report; I saw 2 white ranks Qi Pills a boy''s hand, who seems toe from a low-level city or outside of the river flower city..." Matthew respectively repeated everything that happens he didn''t dare to hide anything from Asher. "That boy was too sharp and I failed in the end." He finished his report but his miss that part where he wanted those pill for himself.
"Where is he now?" Asher turns around and looked at the old man''s eyes undeviatingly. There was a greedy glint in his eyes just like when he was talking about the ck Ghost.
White ranked pills were rare in the 2-star city. Most of them were in the hand of the city lord and even white grade alchemist was in the city lord mansion. and Ace has 2 of them on him, even he didn''t know this right now.
Even Caleb was bewildered by old man Matthew''s encounter, ''If I have those white ranked pills I can reach white ranked faster!'' Caleb greedily thought but he can''t do anything. Now Asher knows about those white rank pills he can just forget about them because Caleb knew he won''t be able toy his hands on any of them.
The moment Matthew told Asher about them, they be his property.
"After dealing with him I came running straight to young shop owner to report," Matthew told Asher respectfully.
"Caleb takes this old guy and Two of my guards. I need those pills as soon as possible. If you can''t get those pills you two should disappear as well. Moreover, make sure no one will know about those pills except us three. is that clear?" Asher warns them coldly as his eyes turn cold and emit thick killing intent towards Caleb and Matthew.
"Yes, we will get those pills no matter what!" Both of them said simultaneously. Drops of sweat were running on both of their faces and their backs were also drenched in a cold sweat.
''How the hell did I get involved in this shit..'' Caleb cursed his bad luck.
Chapter 18 - Second Mission!
Ace exit the Kelby shop quickly and headed straight to the clothing shop nearby. He knew these pills are not normal, and that old man wants them badly.
However, after finding out Ace was not easy to deal with he would definitely report this to his superiors, and take revenge on Ace for getting in his way. If he can''t have those pills then he would not let Ace have them either.
Ace''s conjecture was absolutely right; if Matthew were to seed he would''ve escaped the city. Because these two pills were worth almost 100,000 ruby coins and he could get a high price in any auction of 1-Star City and could live a happy life with this much wealth.
But s Ace gets in Matthew''s way and he wasn''t a cultivator, hence he could only screw Ace over by telling Asher about those pills to get his revenge.
Ace bought new robes from a clothing shop and change into them. He has just exited the shop when he spotted Old Man Matthew with three others persons beside him.
They were clearly looking for Ace. Those two tall and muscr men were Asher personal security guards and Caleb was also between them sulking.
Ace gets a dangerous feeling from those two men and hurriedly turns around to escape quietly. Except Matthew''s old eyes were like a hawk and he recognizes Ace even in new robes. How could he forget this rascal who ''steals his pills''?
"Look that guy wearing blue robes and a long mat-hat! He''s the one! Quick chase he starts to run!" Matthew cries in rm.
''This Old Goat!'' Ace vituperates Old Matthew while running between the masses,
Ace has no choice but to use silent steps now. This was daytime and his stealth would not work like nighttime. Therefore, he could only depend on silent steps. After using silent steps, he bes like breeze and vanished into the mob.
"Where did that brat go?" Caleb shouts in exasperation while keeps looking around searching for Ace''s tracks.
"I don''t know he was too fast." One of Asher''s guards said he was a 2nd Gate cultivator and the most powerful in this group.
"What do you mean too fast? Are you telling me that brat is stronger than you?!" Caleb bark in rage his life was on the line after all. If they can''t find Ace, he didn''t dare to think about the consequences of displeasing Asher.
"I''m afraid ''yes'' he is stronger than us I can tell after seeing his speed." The second guard answered in frustration, they also didn''t want to upset Asher.
"What do we do then?!" The most afraid of them all was Matthew who wants to see Ace in despair the most. But now after seeing him escape like the wind, Matthew begins to regret his decision of telling Asher and bought a cmity on himself.
"Let''s search the whole ce if we can''t find him we''re dead!" Snapped Caleb in a panic and they all started to search like mad dogs.
Ace stop running in an alleyway, he was panting wildly. He has used the silent steps for a quite long time to escape the old man''s party.
''I''m not done with you old goat! Just you wait, I''ll show you just how deeper the grave truly is!'' Ace was busy cursing Old Man Matthew when all of sudden a transparent ck Panel emerges and shines in front of his eyes.
Ace heard system sweet voice before he could understand what has happened.
____________
"[A new mission has been issued!]"
[Mission Panel]
[Honorable Thief''s Dignity: Someone is trying to steal from a thief and this is uneptable. Consequently, the host has to show the despicable stealer who''s the real thief is! The host has to empty the whole Kelby Family Treasury! The honor of a thief is in your hand Host!]
{Rewards based on Host Performance}
{Job mission will be granted right after the hostpletes this mission.}
{Time Left: 2 years}
{Mission Failure Punishment: System will find another host with thief''s dignity!}
________________
"What?!? Another mission and who is this Kelby family? Aren''t these people from that Kelby shop as well?" Ace grumbled and has a grave expression on his face.
Ace didn''t imagine that he would get a mission like this and this mission didn''t seem that simple as thest one. He could tell just by the time limit of 2 whole years. Even the mission to rob Billy''s shop only gave him 7 days.
''Thief dignity huh, I guess you are right I''m the thief here yet they want to rob me.'' Ace pondered as heughs bitterly.
''Well first I have to escape this market from those four goons, then I can find out about this Kelby family. I have 2 years so It won''t be too hard, I hope.'' Ace encourages himself.
As Ace waits to restore his depleted Qi, he quickly takes out a red pill bottle from his pocket. These pill bottles were the main reason for all these events. He opens the lid of the red bottle and sniffed it just like Matthew.
The moment the pill aroma enters Ace''s nostrils he heard system voice in his head, "[Lowest Grade Pill Detected: Can be converted into 10 EXP]"
A ck littlebel emerges on top of the pill in the bottle.
"What?!!" Ace wasn''t even surprised by the second mission but this really gave him a huge shock.
Ace was always worried about how he could get EXP and SP without doing a mission but he can''t find a way. No matter how much he asked system it won''t tell him. Now all of a sudden Ace saw this sudden notification he became speechless.
"System why didn''t you tell me that I can covert pills into experience points before??! I could''ve converted those pills I just sell into experience points!??" Ace was pretty annoyed with this ck-hearted system.
"[Those pills were trash pills they can''t be converted into EXP.]" System emotionlessly answered as if it didn''t care about Ace''s anger.
"What do you mean by trash pills?! They were half-white grade pills for hell''s sake!! And this pill is a White Grade Pill!! Are you crazy calling it the lowest grade pill??" Ace wanted to swear at the system right now but held himself back. It was his fault for not checking everything thoroughly.
Ace eats a random pill before but it didn''t work on him and after simply thought that since he cultivates with Heavenly Qi he can''t use these normal pills. But he never would''ve thought that there were white ranked pills in his loot much less he can convert them into experience points (EXP).
''Where did that Fatty get his hands on these pills?'' Ace was extremely puzzled by this. Even in the inner region, these pills can bring cmity to anyone who possesses them if they don''t have the background just like Ace.
Yet, a normal shop owner of the outer region has two of them it was rather shocking. Little did Ace know that Billy finds these pills buried in his house wall. Even he was shocked about this and in his excitement, he turned the whole house into rubble, but he didn''t find any more pill bottles. As for how they got there even Billy didn''t know. He was nning to bribe these pills to some inner region family and enter the inner region but s it has profited Ace in the end.
''If white rank pills can convert into EXP, then didn''t this means upper-grade pills too can be converted into EXP?'' Ace mused and bes quite excited. He has finally found a way to earn EXP without doing missions.
"Since these two pills can be converted into 20 EXP then just convert them! That greedy old bastard wants them so bad then let''s give him ''white grade pills''." Ace sinisterly mutters and form an evil n to teach that old clown a small lesson.
"[Conversion isplete!]
[20 EXP has been added to your status.]"
[EXP: 70/1000]
As Ace EXP increased he could feel his Heavenly Qi restoring at a fast pace. Those two red pill bottles were now empty and pills inside turn into dust, they were converted into EXP.
''Now time to teach that old fool a lesson.'' Ace grins evilly.
After done with his ''surprise preparation'' Ace goes back in the direction of Matthew and quickly spotted them. The four of them were still desperately searching for him like mad dogs.
Ace quickly ces those two red bottles in the middle of the street carefully. Ace yells on top of his lungs, "OH MY GOD SOMEONE HAS LEFT WHITE GRADE PILLS IN THE MIDDLE OF STREET!"
After screaming he active his silent steps and ran towards the hotel direction where he was staying, he has to escape now or he won''t get any more chance of escaping unnoticed.
Ace''s voice rang like thunder, even from a mile away people heard him clearly.
When White grade pill sounded the entire market be deathly silent.
Old man Matthew also heard Ace''s voice and his eyesnded on 2 red bottles in the middle of the street. Just Like him, Caleb and all other people present eyes also settled on two Red bottles.
Caleb loudly roars before anyone could grab those bottles, "Everyone those two White Grade Pills belong to my Kelby Family. They were stolen this morning by a little thief and we were searching for them all day. If anyone doesn''t believe me you all are wee to confirm from young master Asher those were his pills."
As expected when everyone hears Kelby Family name they stopped moving, but when they heard ''Young master Asher'' they face became pale they know what kind of person this Asher was, an extremely ruthless person.
If those Pills were really his, it''s not worth it to risk their lives for mere pills.
Chapter 19 - Enemy At Door!
Seeing everyone was stopped in their tracks Caleb nodded in satisfaction. He has to use Asher''s name or those pills would have caused a huge bloody fight. People might not know him but they know who Asher exactly was.
"Haha, You jest young master Caleb how can we take young lord Asher''s belonging? I congratte you on finding young master Asher belonging. Give my regards to his farewell." A well-informed person quickly identified Caleb and concluded that it was really Asher Pills and quickly escaped the scene.
"Yes! How could we take Lord Asher''s things? We also congratte Young Master Asher to finds his Pills. Farewell!" Everyone begins to say some words as they quickly escape.
Ace also saw this scene from afar and hisplexion darkened. ''This young master Asher is also from Kelby Family and it seems they aren''t easy to deal with. This mission is not going to be as simple as I think it would.'' He vanished in the midst of mor.
_____________
After watching everyone escaping the scene like flies Caleb moves towards the red bottles with hands behind his back. He became arrogant again and rx after seeing no one dare to mess with ''him'' and not fight for white grade pills.
Caleb grabs both of the red bottles in his hand and smiled ear to ear like some child who just got a new toy.
"Old man Matthew did you find that little rat?" Caleb questioned Matthew about Ace with a wide grin.
"No, I''m afraid that little brat runs too fast, he must''ve chosen to abandon these pills and escape with his life." Old Man Matthew said he was also beaming with joy. ''Brat let see if you dare to behave arrogantly in front of your elders again, haha.''He finally gets his ''revenge''!
"Well, we get the pills so that little rat didn''t matter anymore. Let''s go and report back to young master Asher, we can''t let him wait." Caleb said in a hurry and quickly began to return towards the Kelby shop.
__________________
Currently inside Kelby shop, on the 15th floor.
Caleb and Matthew were smiling like idiots in front of them were Asher sitting in a chair and between them was a white jade table. On the table were ced two red shinning Pill Bottles.
Caleb and Matthew were expecting huge rewards for theirbor. Especially Matthew he always wanted to be a floor manager but he didn''t have the capability but now he has contributed two ''white ranked pills'' and that''s why he was on cloud nine.
"You did the right thing to use my name. Did you open these Pill Bottles?" Asher asks coolly. He seems calm outside but inside he was very happy after obtaining the two ''white grade pills'' without much of an effort.
"We didn''t dare to touch your belonging young master." Both of them said at the same time.
Asher was very satisfied with this kind of attitude. He also didn''t like others to touch his ''belongings''.
Asher lifted the red pill bottle from the table and open to see the ''white grade pill''. When he opens the lid there wasn''t a pill aroma that enters his nostrils. He smells something ghastly rotten and disgusting. Asher''s faces color changes from white to blue and throws red color pill bottle instinctively.
''Cheeee''
The ss bottle shattered and whates inside was extremely little ck ''pills''.
When Caleb and Matthew saw his reaction they didn''t understand what happened but when they saw those ''little ck pills'' their face became rigged and all blood circting within their bodies stop with fear.
Matthew hurriedly kneels and starts banging his head in front of purple face Asher.
"Y-YOU CALL THIS ''RAT SHIT'' WHITE RANKED PILLS!!!??" Asher roar in extreme humiliation. He never touched anything dirty in his entire life and was an extremely neat and clean person.
However, now someone has dared to ''give him rat shit'' to smell! How could he not lose his mind and became extremely enraged? Worse of all things, he was seen doing the most disgraceful thing of his life by others. This was unforgivable!
Asher didn''t know who did this to him, but he does know who give him this ''rat shit''.
"You can bang your head in the afterlife. DIE!" Asher didn''t give Matthew a chance to plead for mercy and send a kick towards Matthew''s head with the full power of his cultivation base.
''Bang''
How could a mortal like Mathew endure a cultivator kick? His head explodes like a watermelon and died because of his greed.
When Caleb saw Matthew''s head bing meat pasta he nearly throws out his stomach. But held it back because the devil was now coldly looking at him. He instantly kneels with an ashen face.
"I want 500 half white grade pills this month if you can''t get it done then you can join this old man in the underworld! If anything happened here leak even a little bit remember I didn''t torture someone, for a long time. Now Scram!" Asher threatened Caleb with thick killing intent emanating from his whole body.
Asher can''t kill him like this no matter how much angry he was, he would not kill a goose whoy golden eggs like that and only given him an impossible mission that was not easy toplete.
''500 half white grade pills will teach this arrogant bastard a lesson, he was going out of hands day by day. It will put a leash on him.'' That was Asher''s actual thoughts.
"YES! Thank you for showing mercy young master, I''ll not disappoint you again." Looking at Asher''s piercing cold eyes Caleb didn''t have any choice but to gives in. His life was more important than his pride and this was his fault in the first ce.
''I should''ve checked those pills! Shit! He''ll work me to death!'' Caleb cursed Asher in his heart while escape from the 15th floor. He has to start working immediately if he didn''t want to end up like Matthew.
After kicking Caleb out. Asher saw thatst red pill bottle on the table. His anger reached a new level and bark, "ck Fox!"
"Yes, young master!" ck Fox appears like a ghost.
"You saw it right?" Asher was angry but he didn''t yell at her like Caleb.
"Yes!" ck Fox nodded her head. No one can see her face but in her amber fox-like eyes, a peculiar glint appears.
Asher became, even more, angrier but she was his best subordinate and he can''t just punish her for this it wasn''t her fault, to begin with.
"I WANT that scoundrel alive no matter the cost. Go find him for me and bring him here, I want to let him know the consequences of ying with fire." Asher order coldly while grinding his teeth in anger.
Asher hates that rascal to the bone who he didn''t even know. After all, if it wasn''t for him how could a glorious young master of the Kelby family like him have to smell ''rat shit''. He can''t find peace until he tortures that dirty bastard!
"I''ll go now and investigate him for you young master." ck Fox said as she vanished again. But this time her voice was not emotionless anymore there was a hint of delight in it, though in anger Asher didn''t notice it.
_______________
After sessfully escaping from the main market Ace was finally back to the Inn. He dragged his exhausted body to his room and threw himself on the soft bedding.
''It was a crazy day. Well, I got a mission out of it and a difficult one at that. But I really want to see that young master Asher''s face when he opened those pill bottles and see my ''special present'' and not those white grade pills. hahaha. That old fool will also be punished by him after all he was the one who tells that Asher fellow about those pills.'' Aceughs while musing about the special gift he sent.
But little did Ace know that Matthew was already dead and Asher was currently bloody for him. If he knows what kind of person Asher was he wouldn''t be this rxed right now.
"I''ll have to find information on this Kelby family tomorrow and made my n ordingly and proceeds carefully." Ace just mumbles when he heard a light knock on the door.
''thud thud''
"Sir I''m here to deliver your dinner." A mellow yet charming voice sounded in the room.
Ace didn''t think much about it and was going to open the door when he suddenly stopped in his tracks because he has this strange feeling that something is fishing going on here.
He clearly remembered the voice of the maidservant from yesterday, the one he has given a ruby coin as a tip.
''She was also the one who delivered my breakfast this morning. Then why is she''s not here now? Did they change her?'' Ace''s brain starts to work at full speed. He was getting a bad feeling from his soul sense and the soul sense warning was not to be taken lightly.
He was about to use his heavenly sense when the door lock, ''click'' opened without the key. The door slowly starts to open.
Ace knew the enemy has invaded his room because of the carelessness that came with his sess after sess and he let his guard down.
Now he had to pay the price!
Chapter 20 - A Crazy Girl!
Seeing the door open Ace swiftly leaps towards the corner of the room where his swords were. He quickly grabbed the two swords and was ready to fight with the ''great enemy'' who invaded his room.
However, after some time no explosion or huge army came from the opened door. ''Are they waiting for me to made the first move?'' Ace thought gravely.
Ace elected to jump out of a window and escape in the darkness. He was confident in escaping without a scratch. But halt his movements because he heard footstepsing from the open door and it was only one person.
A graceful figure enters Ace''s room.
Just by seeing this kind of figure one could tell it was ady. She was 1.8 meters tall and wearing a ck Qipao 1with a short slit which exposes her long snowy leg. This dress perfectly matched her sexy figure. especially the two big peaks on her chest, they look like they might burst out of her dress at any movement.
Her long ck hair was like a waterfall. Merely it was a real pity that one can''t see her face because she was wearing a ck fox mask. But her gorgeous foxlike hazel eyes were twinkling like stars.
Her white delicate hands were holding a tray with Ace dinner.
The Fox Mask-wearing girl was actually Asher''s top subordinate ''ck Fox''. But she wasn''t wearing her armor and this disys her sexy characteristics. If Asher sees her now he would be bewildering because even he didn''t see ck Fox like this before.
ck Fox was actually a ''gift'' or simply a ve given to Asher by his mother. His mother was from the Grant Family, the second-ranked family of the inner region. That''s why Asher''s position was high in Kelby Family and no one dares to mess with him, plus he was talented himself. When he received ''ck Fox'' all those years ago even at that time she was wearing ck armor and this fox mask was on her face. She was like an emotionless puppet.
Asher''s mother only told him; not to try taking off her masked ever, so he never really cares about it much. Since she was talented and get the ''jobs'' done and that''s what matters the most.
______________
ck Fox gracefully enters Ace''s room while holding the tray of dishes in her milky hands and closed the door with invisible vigor. She ced the tray on a wooden table and she sits in one of two chairs around the table.
"You should eat first or it will get cold." Her voice was like warm wind in cold winter, very pleasant to the ears.
Ace was bbergasted by this sudden development and dumbfoundedly watch this fox maskdy. He nearly let go of his sword after hearing her beautiful voice there was some kind of bewitching power mix in it and Ace think she was not an enemy. But he quickly sobers up because of his soul sense and most importantly that ck Fox Mask was giving his soul sense a gloomy feeling.
"YOU! Who are you exactly and what do you want?" Ace points his sword tip at her mask. ''She''s dangerous!''
A surprise glint shed past her eyes after seeing Ace wasn''t affected by her mind skill.
"You can eat first then we can talk." ck fox said naturally as if it was her own room and this time didn''t use her skill again.
"Just said what you want and leave, don''t force my hand." Ace threatened.
"Hmm. I know the infamous ck Ghost of the outer region is not easy to deal with. Hence I''m not here to pick a fight with you. I''m only here to form an equal partnership." ck Fox stated honestly while cing her hand under her chin.
A tremor ran through Ace''s body after hearing the ''ck Ghost'' name and his heart turn cold.
''How did she find out!!?'' This was the only question in his mind right now.
Ace was extremely sure about carefully hiding and cleaning his tracks. But this mask-girl exposed him two days aftering into the inner region. This was a huge blow to his self-esteem.
Ace tightens his grip on his sword hilts and is about to attack by using the Dual Shadow Swords Technique when the mask-girl timely raised her snowy hand in the air and speak innocently, "Look I don''t even have any weapon. You aren''t going to attack a harmless girl like me right? And don''t worry your secret is safe with me only I know about it."
When Ace heard this he forces himself to calm down and ease his grip on his sword hilts a bit, but he didn''t put away his swords.
"I don''t know what you''re talking about and I never heard of this named before." Ace calmly retorted but his heart was thumping like crazy.
Ae didn''t know how this girle to this conclusion, but she didn''t have any evidence of him being ck Ghost. Even if things go south he was confident in his escaping abilities. He didn''t escape till now and still talking to her because he didn''t sense any malicious intent or hidden intention from her soul fluctuations.
"Hihihi, You hide your traces quite well even I didn''t find any information about you first, and you even sneak into the inner region without alerting anyone. I must say I''m quite impressed by your abilities. But you make a huge mistake and that was you sells your spoils to Kelby Shop. Meaning you go to the same person shop who was investigating you." She giggles while pointing out Ace''s mistake.
"I don''t understand." Ace sighs deeply and drops the act. He could sense this girl has some solid evidence on him. Moreover, she has no hostility towards him so he asks her to exin herself clearly.
Ace was quite perplexed now, even if he goes to Kelby Shop this didn''t mean anything because so many people make some kind of deals like him daily.
"It''s like this when you stole from that fatty, Asher was already on your tail. He is an extremely greedy and ambitious person when he heard you opened a 1-Star treasury without alerting anyone and even disable an illusion array. He grasps that you have some kind of treasure or secret skill and wanted that skill for himself. That''s why he ordered me to search for you. But you were too good at hiding your trails and even I who is good at finding people can''t find any trace of you. But I do investigate what you steal from that Fatty''s shop." ck fox and giggles like a kid who just solve a great mystery.
"So you''re saying, youe to this conclusion by the numbers of pills I robbed from Billy? No this is not it! I ate one of the pills before therefore the number was no the same. Could it be the nature of pills?" Ace was very smart and instantly find many loopholes in her exnation and apparently, it was not enough to reveal he was the ck Ghost.
"You are right it was not the number of pills nor was their nature but..." ck Fox''s foxlike eyes flicker mysteriously before she continues, "Can you exin your identity as Ace White? Who should be in outer region slums now but how could he be in the inner region without anyone knowing about it?" She shoots questions at Ace like arrows.
''Sigh''
Acemented, "What makes you think; a meremoner can be ck Ghost?"
Ace puts down both swords and sits opposite ck Fox. and starts eating. He surrenderspletely before this maskdy. If she really wanted to harm him or covet his secrets she just has to tell Asher he was here and didn''t even need to tell him he was ck Ghost. Asher woulde here with an army because he hated Ace to bone after what Ace did.
"I guess it because only your little hut in slums was empty. When I asked around your neighborhood they said strangely for a month you always stay inside the hut and didn''t go to your work either. Your little sister mysteriously vanishes a month ago and after you as well. First I think you were just a random pitiful kid who was searching for his missing sister and didn''t put much attention on you.
"But after what you did to Asher today and Caleb described your appearance I immediately connect the dots and here I am paying you a friendly visit. Hihi." ck Fox chuckles vigorously. She watches Ace eating his dinner who didn''t seem like the person that was about to attack her a few moments ago.
"I must say I''m impressed. Now tell me why didn''t you tell Asher? Didn''t you work for him?" Ace asks while keeps eating. He was secretly absorbing the Qi while talking and his soul sense was solely locked on ck Fox. If he senses even a little bit of hostility from her he would escape.
"I''m was working for him until I find you this morning and finally see a ray of hope." ck Fox''s eyes shimmer excitedly as she looked at Ace''s handsome face.
"What do you mean ''ray of hope?" Ace was bewildered.
"I always wanted to be a thief just like you." Back Fox''s foxlike hazel eyes begin gleaming like stars.
"W-W-WHAT?!" Ace nearly choked on food when he heard her words. "Y-you Are you Crazy!?" Chinese Style Dress.
Chapter 21 - Black Fox
"Why are you yelling? You''re also a thief. Humph!" ck Fox''s beautiful eyes narrow as she snorts, clearly offended by Ace''s reaction. She wasn''t acting like her usual cold demeanor.
Ace takes a deep breath and calms down. He knew from the start that this girl wasn''t normal but also didn''t imagine she was crazy as well.
Who wanted to be a thief if they have a second choice? Like himself at the beginning, he didn''t want to be a thief but with this system, didn''t have any option but to choose this road. Now things have changed and Ace didn''t dislike being a thief, on the contrary, he was grateful towards the system for giving him this chance to be someone extraordinary.
"Why?" Ace wanted to know just why she wants to be a thief.
"My mother was a thief and from the Shadow Devil n. One of the top ten ns of All-Devil Continent." ck Fox replied with some pride in her voice, but there was also a hint of deep sorrow in her eyes.
"Y-you''re a DEVIL?" Ace thinks this world was going crazy.
A real devil was right in front of him! How could he not think it was crazy?
First, Ace discovers someone for the number three race of this world a Hunter who happened to be his adopted Lil Sis, and now he meets someone from the ''Devil Race'' that was the Number One Race of this world.
"No silly let me finished first. My mother was a shadow devil but my father was a human. I''m a half-shadow devil and half-human." ck Fox clear Ace''s misunderstanding.
"And why are you telling me this?" Ace was startled. It was probably a great secret but she was telling him like it was nothing.
"I think for working together we should trust each other. Since I know about you, you should also know about me." ck Fox nodded seriously to herself as she wraps her hands around her big chest and looked even more attractive.
"So you''re a half-devil and half-human. Wait! What this has anything to do with forming a partnership with me?" Ace was perplexed.
"You''re so silly! Just let me exin first." ck Fox told annoyingly.
''She''s unmistakably a crazy girl.'' Ace thought in frustration but didn''t say or show it to his face. Because he was afraid she would start saying something meaningless again.
"So my father was a human and my mother was a devil. He saved her from human cultivators when she was being chased and attacked by them. After that incident, they fell in love." She starts her story again from the start.
Ace didn''t speak this time he also finds it quite interesting because it was very rare for a devil to fell for a human. Devils never mate with other races it was an extremely rare case.
"After they made their decision to stay together forever. They settled in a 1-Star city because there, they will be safe and live peacefully and no one would be able to find about my mother''s identity as well as my father''s past.
"However, two yearster after I was born. A group of cultivators came, they were not from thends of cities. They were searching for my father because before my father meets my mothers he was a high-ranking officer of some great power but he betrays them and runs away with my mom.
"But they still find him in the end even in this barren ce with some kind of strange treasure. My mom has no choice but shows her origin of the shadow devil n and because of it, they find out about my mother''s secret.
"They were four of them and they all as strong as my father. After bitterly fighting one of them was killed by my father. Seeing my father killing one of their men, the two who were fighting with my mother use a treasure to sneak attack my father. But my mom saw it first and use her body to block it. That treasure was poisonous and my mother died after getting hit by it.
"My father saw my mom getting hit by the poisonous attack and died and madly fights to avenge her and he killed the one who uses that poison attack. But another one sneaks attack him from behind.
"My father fights an intense battle against both of them but in the end, those two men have some kind of strange ability and they escape from my father with their life. But father was also gravely injured and he fell in deep despair after losing my mother.
"He quickly takes me here to river flower city to seek shelter from his friend. After one month we arrive here, my father''s wounds were almost healed. But he was afraid that those two men wille back again. He also wanted to take revenge on that power behind them because they killed my mom, so he left me behind with his friend and said he wille back after a year.
"After my father''s departure, I was left alone here. But my father''s friend takes care of me for a year and a half time, sadly he was not a kind-hearted person and has ulterior motives though.
"After one and half years he thinks my father died while seeking revenge. Thus, he was not afraid anymore and sells me to Grant Family young Miss. He sold me to her for some Ruby coins." Shadow fox finished her story and became extremely distressed while talking about her parents especially her mother''s unfortunate death.
Ace has a nostalgic expression on his face after hearing her tragic story.
''Her past is more painful than mine.'' Ace thought morosely,
"So why did you find me?" Ace softly asked he didn''t look at her with hostility like before.
"After that man sold me to L Grant who''s also Asher''s mother. She first wanted me to be Asher''s maid after she seeing my appearance and give me training.
"I was just four years old but I''m a haft-devil and I had extremely high awareness since I was young that how I remember those events clearly. However, I was afraid of others abandoning me after my mother''s death and my father''s disappearance moreover, that man sold me after. Therefore, I did what L told me to and start learning how to be a good maid.
"But when I turn 7 years old my shadow devil n ''Blood Memory Heritage'' begins to awaken. I gain memories of some skills and cultivation techniques from my shadow devil lineage, I was confused at that time and tell about these memories to L.
"She didn''t believe me first but when I show her one of the lineage skills she immediately takes me to her family head and told him everything. That old man was extremely knowledgeable and immediately guessed that I''m a devil because in this world only the devil possesses the blood memories heritage.
"He wants my lineage memories and I was na?ve so I told him everything. But my memories were iplete and he finds out he can''t cultivate my devil n skills or technique. He does some test and discovered I''m not a pure-blooded devil and loses interest in me." ck Fox''s eyes turn cold as she continued.
"Iter found out that when a devil turns 7 years old it starts to inherit memories from their ancestors through blood this is what they all called Blood Memory Heritage, Exactly what kind of memories they got it solely depends on the devil''s blood density.
"That''s why devils are the No.1 Race of this world they didn''t need any techniques or skills they just need the density of their bloodline to be high and they can even awake their ancestor''s full memories of cultivation. But I was only half-devil and that''s why my skills and techniques were iplete." ck Fox bes dejected in the end.
Ace didn''t know what to say after hearing the ck Fox story. He felt pain in his heart for this girl and felt an unknown feeling he never experiences before.
"Grant family head lose interest in me after confirming that I''m an only half devil. But he didn''t let me roam around freely, after I showed him my skills he knows I was a natural-born Assassin and very dangerous because I''m a shadow devil.
"Hence, he nted this ck mask on my face. It is like a ve mark but much more advance. ve marks can control a person with force but if that person were to be too powerful the ve mark will shatter. But this mask is like a high-level ve mark. It can''t be undone by normal means and that''s why Ie to you to form a partnership. Only you can help me!" ck fox touches her mask it was a vicious curse and she always wanted to escape from these people''s clutches but was powerless to do so.
"So, you want me to finds out a method to undone this ve mask?" Ace now has some idea why she wanted to form a partnership with him. He was still a little confused ''why him'' though?
"I don''t want you to find a method... Because I already know how to undo it. I only want you to get it for me." ck Fox mysteriously answered.
"Where is it then and what will I get after getting it for you, since it''s an equal deal you have to give me something, right?" Ace was sympathizing with her but it didn''t mean he would risk his life for sympathy.
"I prepare MYSELF!" ck Fox giggles as she performed a more seductive posture to show her fine curves.
"Stop joking around and tell me seriously or I can''t help you." Ace retorted while breathing hard. He nearly falls from his chair after hearing ''Myself'' and sees her sexy posture. His heart was beating fast for some reason, he never felt this kind of feeling before.
"NO! I''m serious! Didn''t I say before I always want to be a thief like you? After you free me from this hell hole I''ll be your partner in crime and join you to be a great thief." Dered ck Fox and it seems she was dead serious about bing a thief.
"You know what you are crazy! Why would you want to be a thief and if you want to be one you can be one but ALONE" Ace bark in frustration, he simply can''t deal with this crazy girl anymore.
"The reason is very simple my mom was also a great thief. When my father found her she was escaping after failing her job. She used to tell me stories of her adventures and how she stole from bad guys who bully innocent people. I was fascinated by her stories at that time and always wants to be like her. I''ll be a Great Thief who stole from bad guys." ck Fox foxlike eyes were shining like stars when she told her ''grand goal'' to Ace.
Ace nearly swore out loud after hearing her words!
Chapter 22 - Partnership With A Devil!
"Your mother was a thief and you want to be like her?" Ace repeated her words in bewilderment.
"Yes. That''s been my dream since young but after I be a Grant Family ve my life didn''t belong to me anymore. They train me to be an Assassin after discovering my special abilities. I didn''t have any choice but to obey their order. After my training wasplete, L Grant gives me to her son Asher Kelby to do his bidding.
"He was adored by both his Father the current head of Kelby family and his grandfather the head of Grant family also L''s father. He was also the one who nted this ve mask. That''s why he let me go to Asher''s side, knowing I can''t do anything because I had this mask on my face." ck Fox''s eyes turn cold while mentioning Kelby and Grant''s family, she resented both families to bones. How could she not be? It was because of them she was living as a ve all these years.
"But if you are bound by this ve mask then how can you resist the orders and seeks my help?" Ace asked in puzzlement.
Even if Ace was new in the cultivation world he clearly knew how ve marks work. The bearer of this mark can''t resist their master control. Thus, if this fox mask was really more powerful than the normal ve mark it would be night impossible for her to resist Asher''s will.
ck Fox said gravely. "This is because one of my lineage skills that no one knows about, I can bypass this mask control with it. But it can''t help me get rid of it, if they find out about this skill they will kill me."
"YOU?! Are you an idiot? Are you not afraid of me telling them your biggest secrets? What if I sold you out to save myself from Asher or kill you right now to shut your mouth after that no one will ever know about my secret." Ace continues gloomily, "As for Kelby and Grant''s family, I can hide or even leave the city, and you know exactly that I''m capable of doing it. So why are trusting me so much!?"
Ace didn''t know her or she wasn''t his rtive or anything important either. Then why was she telling him her secrets one after another like it was nothing it made him quite uneasy. Because this girl was by no means a fool, she finds his hidden identity with so few clues.
"Heh heh, You would never do it because you are like my mother, you robbed that fatty because he was an evil person and always bully the poor. You even helped those innocent people''s families who were killed by Billy in his madness. You give all those dead people families 10 ruby coins without letting them know. But do you know? They all know it was the ''ck Ghost'' who help them when no one was listening to their pleading.
"They called you a Hero of justice. My mother was also this kind of thief. She always stole from rich and bad peoples and helps the needy when no one wanted to help them." ck Fox nostalgically said as she remembered her mother''s words and her stories even now because she was her Hero.
Her father always scolds her mother not to tell her this kind of story, but she never listens to him and always tells her about her great adventures and achievements.
ck Fox still remembered her mother telling her about the variety of thieves, "Remember Eva there were three types of thieves. First, those who stole for poor and rich peoples alike, whether they were good or bad. The second type is those who stole from only the weak because they are cowards who run from the strong and bully the weak. The third type was the rarest those who only stole from evil people and help the weak." That was thest thing she told ck Fox before her tragic death.
"Your mother was really a good person and I can''tpare with her." Ace sincerely said without hiding his awe for that great thief.
Eva giggles after seeing Ace''s goofy face, "That''s why I wanted to find you and form a partnership. Because you are a loyal person and you will not do something so shameless to sell yourrade for saving your own neck." She has deeply investigated Ace before she makes her decision to form a partnership with him.
"Tell me how can I free you from this ve mask and about Kelby''s family strength I want to know all about it," Ace asked, he wanted to help her if he could but more importantly wanted toplete his mission.
Now Ace has some idea what kind of family Kelby truly was after hearing her story. A number three family of the whole inner region and he has to empty their treasury in two years. He nearly cursed the system.
"Oh, your next target was the Kelby family looks like I didn''t misjudge you. You really are a ''kind-hearted thief'' just like my mother." ck Fox was relieved after confirming her assumption about Ace being a ''kind-hearted thief''. In her eyes, he was going to ''Judge'' Kelby family the ck-hearted family who treats her like a ve and do all kind of evil deeds.
Ace''s face flushed when he heard ck Fox''s words. He wanted to rify her misunderstanding but was afraid that she would beat him if he told her he wanted to do robbery for his own selfish purpose.
''She has definitely some screws loose in her head.'' Ace nodded and decided to let her be.
Ace was not the 3rd category thief he was actually a new type of thief, that robbed others to get stronger. It was that simple.
"Cough... cough" Ace Cough twice to hide his embarrassment. "Listen? Can you not talk about this and just simply tell me how can I helped you get rid of this mask and in return, you can give me all the information on the Kelby family."
Ace gave in, he didn''t want anything from this crazy girl anymore. If she can just give him information about Kelby''s family security or even helped him get in there, he was happy with just that.
"Humph. First, you have to form a partnership with me and we will be a team from now on. Then like a real team, you will help your partner first then do official business together." ck Fox snorted clearly dissatisfied with Ace forgetting something so important this quick.
''What official business?? That''s a mission from the system!!'' Ace really wanted to yell this but held himself back.
''Sigh'' Ace sighs helplessly, "Fine we will form a team and I''ll help you first but if your skill is not enough or you slow me down, I''ll escape and leave you behind. Now tell me how can I help you!!!" There was clear frustration in his voice.
"See that wasn''t so difficult. I promise you that I will not slow you down and always follow your order. Since you''re the team leader name our team first." ck fox said excitedly, she was looking at Ace with great expectations.
"What team leader? And why do we need a name??" Ace asked hurriedly he didn''t like where this conversation was going.
"Since you''re more skilled than me in thievery and you already ''famous thief'' you will be our team leader and in future, our team will be famous in whole worlds so we should have a magnificent name that will stuck fear into bad guys hearts." Exin ck Fox while imagining their glorious future with gleaming eyes.
''She is definitely a madcap.'' Ace nodded while smile bitterly.
"Fine fine! I''ll be the leader but for the name of the team let''s talk about it in the future when we be famous or something like that." Ace didn''t even want to form a team much less name it so he just said random things to assure ck Fox.
"You are right we will decide on a name when we be famous." ck Fox seriously nodded in agreement.
Just as he expects, ''She totally buys it!''
"Now we are team and partners so we should introduce ourselves. My name is Eva Jude and you can call me Eva from now on." ck Fox or Eva introduced herself while advancing her snow-white hand towards Ace.
"Ace White just call me Ace, not the team leader." Ace smile wryly as he shakes her delicate hand.
Ace didn''t know his forced-formed team will shatter the entire piece of the Golden Sky World in the future.
"Ok Ace. Now you have to help your partner." Eva tittered, it was clear she was quite happy.
"Just tell me already!" Ace was on verge of going insane and didn''t even want to know about Kelby''s family anymore. He only wants to know how to solved her problem and shut her annoying mouth. Because in Ace''s eyes she talks too much!
But if Asher sees her talking like this, he would think that this was someone else in the ck fox mask. Because she never said more words than she needed. She only answered if you ask her questions and bes mute after answering the question. This was how the usual ck Fox behaves, Coldly!
But in front of Ace, she acts like a spoiled child and why she was doing this even she didn''t know. She just felt close to Ace for some strange reason the moment they meet.
"OK! I''ll talk stop annoying me." Eva annoyingly said after seeing Ace was going to explode anytime.
''YOU''RE THE ANNOYING ONE HERE!'' Ace roll his eyes and retorted in his heart.
"If you want to help your ''precious partner'' you have to infiltrate Grant Family''s treasury!" Eva sounds like a little girl who was quite excited about her big adventure with her team leader of course.
"W-WHAT?!?" That night the whole Inn heard a shrill scream fill with regret and resentment.
Chapter 23 - Infiltrating Grant Family!
Ace wanted to cry but no tears flow. he was regretting now. He should''ve escaped from here the moment the room door was opened and should''ve run far away from Eva. But s, there was no medicine of regret in this world.
Now he already promised her so he will help her. His parents and grandparents always teach him to never break his promise or go back on his words.
''That Kelby family was already difficult to deal with and now I have to rob the Grant family as well. If I robbed even one of them the other will be on high alert. It''s not the outer region after all, and Eva will be in trouble if I robbed Kelby''s family first, that Asher will definitely notice something and maybe be suspicious of Eva.'' Ace thought gravely, ''She is irritating but she is a kind-hearted and straightforward girl. She even tells me about her biggest secrets I can''t abandon someone who put their trust in me.''
Ace was in a predicament because if Eva didn''t tell him about her past and secrets, he would''ve already chosen to do the system''s mission. Besides, he didn''t want to admit it but it was his first time making a ''friend'' in little life.
"Why are you perspiring like rain? We can rob both families at the same time if you want to rob the Kelby family that much." Eva said softly after seeing Ace acting so silly, she finds it quite amusing though.
"How can we rob them both?!" Ace demands instantly, If he can he didn''t want to rob anyone of them.
"My mom once told me how she robbed three treasuries at the same time!" Eva told Ace proudly about her mom''s achievements as if it was her own.
"Tell me about it." Ace ignored Eva''s who was acting haughtily like a peacock and urge her to tell the whole story.
Ace wasn''t an expert thief and was a new bud in this domain. He can rob one of the big families here but two at the same time was a near-impossible task for him with his current skills. Thus, if Eva''s mother was really a great thief then her experience was very precious helpful to him.
"Listen carefully," Eva earnestly begins to tell Ace.
After two hours,
Ace''s eyes were shining like stars after listening to Eva''s story and were amazed by the way thievery can be done. He was now fully convinced; Eva''s mother was really a Great Thief and he learned a lot from just by this one tale.
''Which fool says being a thief is easy? Too much nning is needed just for single thievery. In my opinion, being a thief is even harden than ascending heaven.'' Ace mused bitterly but there was a particr thrill in his eyes.
"First we have to select a target, you can do that and I will be going to infiltrate the Grant family. If we do this we have to tend extremely carefully, if we make a mistake even a little we are finished. I can always escape but you will die as a result so remember to be very cautious." Ace reminds her gravely.
Ace didn''t consider Eva an outsider anymore because she was helping him more than he asks for and unknowingly he really starts to treat her like a teammate.
"Don''t worry about it. The most important task will be done by you and that made you the core of this n. You have to be careful more than me." Eva said with a light chuckle.
She has also noticed Ace''s change in attitude and feels genuine concern from his voice. She was very happy about it. After all, she did all this to win Ace''s trust and honestly wanted to form a team with him. Because her mon once said to her, "A great thief needs a great partner." Therefore, Ace was the perfect partner for her, he was smart, has great skills, loyal, and trustworthy. She also has to admit he was ''somewhat handsome'' as well.
That''s why she told the truth from the beginning because she knew a person like Ace would never abandon or betray a true friend. Furthermore, she vaguely felt very close to him and put all her trust in him for some unknown reason and that faithes directly from her blood and soul!
Eva didn''t dwell on this strange inexplicable feeling and think it was just because she meets a thief like her mom. All her attention was on the n of robbing both families who treated her like ves for many years, finally, it was time for her sweet revenge.
She was excited and afraid at the same time. Excited because her dream was bing true and can finally be like her mother, and afraid because she didn''t want her team with Ace to break with any mishaps.
"You should go first and report to Asher. He can be a huge hindrance to our n so we should get rid of him as soon as possible." Ace said with an evil smile on his face.
"Okay! I''ll see you tomorrow." Eva faded like smoke after look at Ace onest time.
"She does have some skills." Ace smiled lightly.
___________________
In the morning at Kelby shop top floor.
"You can''t find him?!" Asher''s angry voice resounded on the entire top floor.
"Yes! He was remarkably quick to escape the city after getting rid of Caleb''s party. After my investigation, I found that the inner gate guards see a person with the same features leaving the inner region." A cold yet sweet voice answer. She was Eva or right now ck Fox, she was wearing her usual full-body ck armor and her eyes were as cold as ice. She looks nothing like the lively girl who meets Acest night.
"That fraud run away after he does this to me, damnable! I can''t sleep in peace until I torture him. Go and find where he came from, just find anything!" Asher bark while grinding his teeth in anger. He determines and will not stop until he finds Ace.
ck Fox emotionlessly said, "I already did and it appears he was from the Red-Mountain City."
"What!? Red Mountain City." Asher''s face turns ashen because he clearly knew where this city was but the actual problem was Red Mountain City was a 1-Star City! Meaning arge size city where he can''t mess around wantonly.
"Are you certain that brat was from Red Mountain City?" Asher asks uncertainly.
"Yes I already checked twice and he is apparently from the red mountain city." Answer Eva coldly.
Asher didn''t even think about ck Fox can lie to him. Because she was with him for five years and never lies to him or failed her mission even once. She was like a machine that never gets tired or disobeys orders. That''s why he trusted her blindly. It never urs to him that this was Ace and Eva''s n to lead him in the wrong direction and make sure he didn''t get in their way.
Asher pulls a long face and bes extremely frustrated. He was having a hard time believing that someone has escaped his grasps and the person was who makes him smell rat shit! This was his greatest humiliation of life and he can''t even get revenge now it made his anger reached a new level.
But he can''t go to a 1-star city just to get revenge, right? Even if he goes there where can he find him in that big city? He didn''t even know how his mortal nemesis looks like only Caleb knows.
Eva spoke when Asher was about to swallow his disgrace and give up on vengeance, "I also find this note from where he was staying." She gave a white folded paper to Asher.
This small paper was going to be thest straw that broke the camel''s back!
Asher brows tightly frown and received the paper, "How''s was my GIFT? Hehehe!" Those words were filled with ridicule and scorn.
"DAMNABLE BASTARD!!!" Asher explodes furiously, his handsome face turns ck as charcoal and veins pop out on his forehead as if they going to explode anytime. He knew exactly who wrote this letter just by these disdainful words.
"ck Fox! Go and request help from my grandfather. I want that bastard no matter the cost. Even if I have to go to hell myself." Asher roar with a face full of hatred. He finally loses his reasons and never even thought that Ace nned to send him out of the city.
"YES!" Eva vanished after receiving Asher''smand, ''Idiot.'' She mocks Asher in her heart.
___________________
Meanwhile, when Asher was blowing his top, Ace was heading towards the Grant family territory.
Suddenly a gust of wind passed him and a little piece of paper appears in his empty hand. He didn''t surprise by this because he knew this was ck Fox.
Ace read the little note and snicker sinisterly, "That idiot really believed it, just like Eva said he would." In the letter was a report on Asher''s current actions. After reading he sends a little heavenly qi in the letter and it turns into fragments.
''It''s my turn I guess.'' Ace activates stealth and vanishes into Grant''s family territory.
Grant family was ranked second in the inner region because they have an expert at the peak of Qi Gates realm, just half step away from reaching Qi Foundation Building Realm. He was Asher Grandfather the current family head of the Grant family Rn Grant.
Qi Foundation Building Realm was the next realm after Qi Gates ream. Only the City Lord was in this realm and because of it his family the Layton Family were ranked first in the inner region.
Ace was currently standing in front of a rundown building.
It was the servant area of the Grant family. All the servants live in this old building. Grant Family didn''t allow servants to go outside of their territories because in Grant family eyes they were not people they were mere ves.
Ace hurriedly went inside the building he knows security isn''t tight here, who cares about the security of ves? So, if one can pass through all the family checkpoints and reach the servants'' area there is no security at all.
Ace enter the old building,
The inside was clean but there was some strange smell inside. Ace saw rows of rooms and all the doors have no locks. One can enter as he wishes. This is the treatment Grant''s family gave to their servants, they treat them like animals.
Ace felt rage, he didn''t think noble families of the inner region were worse than the outer region. At least in the outer region, they didn''t treat humans like animals. Actually, they did it just that he didn''t know about it yet.
He suppressed his seething anger and quickly goes to the upper floor. Here were fewer rooms than on the 1st floor but these rooms were without any doors and inside were young boys. But their condition was worse than death they were wounded all over their bodies some didn''t even have limbs.
These boys were ''sparing partners'' for young masters of the Grant family. They have only one job and that is to get beaten. They were like living dummies that helps Grant family younger generation to test their skills. If they died during ''sparing'' no one will care. They will be reced by new ones. There were insignificant stones to sharpen the younger generation of Grant''s family.
Ace was here to became a ''Sparing Partner''.
Chapter 24 - Grant Family
Grant Family, Servant Building on the second floor.
Ace saw those seriously injured and lifeless boys not much older than him. He felt intense ferocity in his heart and really wanted to get justice for them but s he wasn''t strong enough.
This was the true face of the cultivation world where strength is supreme.
Ace swallows the rage and moves forward deep into the 2nd floor. All these doorless rooms were upied by at least two boys, when they saw Ace with their lifeless eyes they didn''t react at all, because almost every day new ''sparring partner'' will be delivered. So they didn''t think about Ace much, he was just another unfortunate one.
Grant Family captures these boys from Wastnds, Wastnds were the lowest levelnds of the entire human continent. Therefore, no one cares if the Grant family treats those wastndians like ves.
These young boys were personally selected by elders of the family and if they find something was not right with their identity they would kill them without any second thought. But in all these peaceful years they bezy and their selection became less meticulously.
Because of it, Ace infiltrates this servent building and bes a ''sparing partner''. He finds an empty room and sits in a corner.
He closed his eyes and begin to ponder over the Dual Shadow Swords technique, he has two years toplete the system mission and in meantime, he needs to get stronger. He has to reach higher levels in his skills and techniques, especially in Dual Shadow Swords it was the hardest to master.
The stealth and silent steps were only stepped away from perfection since they were his most important skills. He also needs to level up the True and False eyes without this mysterious eye skill he can''t locate the hidden traps or arrays. And of course, he didn''t forget about the final two forms of treasure opening hands, without it he wasn''t a true thief.
But in his grand scheme this time the most important skill was Pick-Pocket. When Ace thought of Pick-Pocket he couldn''t help but grin mysteriously.
_________
In the evening Ace open his closed eyes because he heard footsteps of three men approaching.
After five minutes'' three mene outside Ace''s room and one of them eximed, "Hmm? Why is there still a person without any injuries here?"
Ace heard this startling voice and finally saw three armored men, they were clearly guards of this servant building who were goofing off when Ace enter the building.
"Hey, little shit was you hidingst time when we were selecting ''sparing partners''?" The second one condemns sinisterly. His name was Am.
"He was luckyst time to escape our hand but this time he can''t escape. Hehe!" Laugh the third one evilly, his name was Luman.
"Little rat since you''re perfectly fine you can be ''sparring partner'' of Third Young Miss today, and you have quite a good face so she will definitely ''treats'' you well. Haha" the who eximed first snickers darkly, he was Julo.
"Take him with others. Let see if you can live to see tomorrow after getting Third Miss ''care''." Order Julo to Am behind him.
"Let go little shit." Ames to Ace and was going to grab him forcefully but Ace stands on his own and starts to walk towards the other two guards nonchntly.
"Oh aren''t we full of energy? Let see if you can still even stand after ''practicing'' with Third Young Miss." Julo smirk at Ace and starts to select others ''sparing partners'' and didn''t pay Ace any more attention.
After selecting 10 boys with Ace being one of them. Except for Ace all of them were wounded and has scars on their faces, one of them was shivering visibly while another one was crying his eyes out.
"Only ten?" A dissatisfied voice sounded from outside of the building.
"Head Butler these ten were the only bunch left who can even walk properly. Look we event find a fresh ''piece'' for Third Young Miss to y with." Answered Julo respectfully as he pointed his finger towards Ace who seemed impassive. His previous domineering face was reced with a courteous one.
This person standing outside the servant building has a small and chubby stature, he was a middle-aged man with a short ck beard. His name was Kn Grant and he was the Head Butler of Grant family east district.
Grant''s family territory was quite big and it was impossible to monitor all of the territories of the family with little manpower. So the whole Grant Family territory was divided into four districts. East, west, south, north district. Each district has one Protector at peak of Qi Gates Realm and one Head Butler. In the center of all four districts was the main Mansion of the Grant family. In the main Mansion lives, Family Head and his family. These four family districts were divided between the elders of the family.
Head Butler Kn was here to find new ''sparing partners'' for east district young masters. But all of the other ''sparing partners'' were gravely injured. Because those youngsters didn''t hold back at all, if they were in good mood they would at least spare their life. But if they were in bad mood these wastndians boys would be beaten to death just to vent their anger.
"New batch isn''t here yet?" Ask Head Butler Kn with clear frustration on his chubby face.
Julo politely answered, "Not yet head butler but I ensure you that it will arrive tomorrow morning."
"Fine, I''lle tomorrow then." Head Butler Kn sighs helplessly.
"Yes, we will specially select good ones for you head butler." Am thumps his chest while giving grantee to the Head butler.
Kn nodded his head in satisfaction and turn toward ten ''dummies'' and said, "You nine will be delivered to others young masters while you in perfect condition will follow me."
Kn takes Ace and the other nine were taken away by other servants whoe with him towards the east district of the Grant family.Ace was scanning the surroundings curiously while walking with Butler Kn.
East district was the biggest district of the Grant family, and people who live here all held a very high position in the Grant family.
After walking for 5 minutes Ace spotted a beautifulrge house, he saw a beautiful garden with colorful flowers outside. Ace was observing the flowers when an angry yet soft voice sounded, "Kn, where is my sparring partner!?"
"Boy it seems your luck is not very good, it seems Third Young Lady Gracie is angry for some reason." Kn sniggers darkly while he looked at Ace as if he was a deadman.
As Kn was talking to Ace, the house closed-door st opened and a little girl about 5 feet tall with a slender figure,e out. She was Gracie Grant Third Miss of Grant''s family. She held quite a power in Grant''s family because she was the niece of Rn Grant. She has a remarkably willful personality.
When Kn saw Gracie was storming towards him with a long face, he quickly grabs Ace''s hand and move him in front of himself and quickly said, "Young Miss look this is the ''sparring partner'' I bought for you today, and he isn''t injured at all. He also has quite a face."
Gracie heard Kn''s words and finally shifts her gaze towards Ace. Even she was stunned for a moment after seeing his handsome face especially those shinning dark blue eyes; that gave him an unknown charm, with pale skin and long inky hair Ace looks like some young prince.
Gracie has to admit maybe he''s the most handsome boy she ever saw. She quickly hides her surprised expression and acts like she didn''t move by this sparring partner at all. However, from Ace''s soul sense how could she escape? He immediately notices a change in her mood.
"Hmph! What can I do with this little white sheep? He can''t even withstand a single strike from me." Gracie snorted and act like she was still in bad mood.
Kn didn''t have Ace''s soul sense as cold sweat begins to form on his forehead and quickly said in a panic tone, "Y-young Miss don''t look at his face, He is after all from wildness and his body has to be strong if he wants to survive in wastnds." He was afraid that she would want him to be her ''sparring partner'' today and hurriedly begin to exin about wastndians.
It was true that if someone wants to survive in wastnds one has to be a hunter. One could not live in wastndsfortably like people in the city. They have to hunt for food and fight with those wild demonic beasts to live. That''s why they have naturally strong bodies. If not for the poor quality of Qi in wastnds and other strange reasons these wastndians would''ve ruled thends of cities long ago.
Just because of it they didn''t have any strong experts and these strong families captured their youngsters wantonly. Some use them to be stepping stones for their young generation like the Grant Family, and others use them as high-quality ves.
It was also a mystery why the wastndians never has any Qi Foundation Realm Cultivator.
Chapter 25 - Thiefs Skill Pick-Pocket
Gracie snorted as she rolls her eyes at Head Butler, "Humph! We''ll see about that after I try. Since you bought him here already, I''ll forgive you for beingte. Now go and don''t disturb me, I''ve learned some new skills that I want to practice." she enters her house after giving Kn an unfriendly nce.
Kn pretends to not see anything and quickly warns Ace, "You have to follow Young Miss'' every order if you want to live. Don''t displease her in any way, now go."
Ace ignores Kn''s warning and follows Gracie with his head down. However, they both didn''t notice an astute glint sh past his eyes, ''I didn''t think; this Gracie would deliver herself to me this early and so easily.'' He thought gloatingly.
Gracie saw Ace following her attentively and couldn''t help but nodded in satisfaction after seeing this ''respectful''d. Because most of the wastndians would stare at her with hatred and resentment when they firste here.
"Mhmm, A ve should behave just like this." She mutters loudly to aggravate Ace, but he only grins coldly.
She opened a door and Ace saw a big open space in the back of her house. There were sharp swords marks on the ground and rows of weapons were arranged on the side. It was clearly her personal training ground.
Gracie said indifferently, "Quickly don''t waste my time and pick any weapon and attack me with everything you have."
Ace didn''t move and meekly said, "May I speak few words with Third Lady first?"
Gracie frowns as she knitted her brows after hearing Ace''s request, but didn''t attack him immediately. she only smiles darkly and said, "Speak but if I don''t like what you said, I will cut your tongue so you can''t speak anymore."
Ace pretends as if he didn''t see her dark smile and said respectfully, "Young Miss here''s a thing; ever since I was little, I can use a special skill."
When Gracie heard Ace''s words her eyebrow raised a little, she didn''t think this barbarian of wastnds can use a special skill. Moreover, she didn''t feel any strong Qi in Ace''s body, he was clearly a mortal so how could he use a skill?
Gracie can''t feel Ace''s cultivation base because of Heavenly Qi, only someone with two major cultivation realms higher than Ace can feel his true cultivation base. Others would only think of him as a normal mortal.
That''s was also the reason why Ace was not worried about others finding out about his status as a cultivator because someone with two whole realms higher them Ace can''t be founded in 2-Star City or even in 1-Start City easily. Of course, he finds out about this after paying Thief Points to the system while gritting his teeth, when he was anxious about this fact.
Furthermore, it''s not like mortals can''t learn or use the skills, it''s just they these kinds of characters were extremely rare and all of them were geniuses among geniuses.
''Could it be this barbarian is a genius?'' Gracie promptly shook her head, ''How could someone from wastnd be a genius? Maybe he was just lucky.'' This was the only exnation.
However, Gracie was still hooked and said yfully, "Mmm, A ''special skill'' you say? Fine show me and if it isn''t something special you know what''s going to befall on you."
Ace hurriedly shook his head, as if he was panic, "Young Miss I didn''t dare to use it on you and only need some other person to show it to you."
Ace was showing fear towards Gracie and also probing her character to see if he could really move forwards in the next step of his n with her or not.
Gracie loss her patient and rebuke angrily, "Now use it already, it doesn''t matter if it''s me or someone else because if I didn''t like what I see, you are dead!"
Ace quiver a little acting like he was afraid and hurriedly close his eyes and begin to use ''Pick Pocket''. The moment the skill is active, a formless thread shots from his finger straight towards Gracie''s waist like an arrow.
Gracie didn''t seem to notice that formless thread and stand still in her ce waiting for Ace to use his skill. When the formless thread touches her waist, it suddenly disappeared and in Ace''s hand appears a small yellow pouch.
Ace knew this would happen so he wasn''t shocked by this but what happens next thoroughly shocks him when heard a sweet voice in his mind that he didn''t hear for quite some time,
"[Pick Pocket seed. Host steal 2 trash grade pills and 100 ruby coins.]
{Rewards: 0 Thief Points}"
Ace was bergasted by this unexpected system announcement, "You''re telling me if I can pick someone''s pocket, I get TP as a reward?!" He shouts in his mind dumbfoundedly because he didn''t know he can earn TP with this skill.
Ace was just acting ording to his n and didn''t know that pick-pocket has this kind of use. This skill was his weakest because he didn''t practice it much however, recently he has found out that this skill was not a normal skill at all. Because this skill can be used with the ''Soul Qi'' as well.
Actually, it works more perfectly with Heavenly Soul Qi than Heavenly Qi, because he didn''t have to be close to the target and can use this skill from afar.
Just like now, he has to active pick-pocket with his Soul Qi, and the moment his soul Qi touch''s the target it instantly takes the target''s most important belongings and sends them to Ace''s hand directly. The most astonishing thing was the target can''t notice it at all.
Ace found this peculiar side of this skill when he was getting used to his Heavenly Sense. He discovered; he can use the pick-pocket within his Heavenly Sense Range by using soul qi. He was very happy at that time, but he didn''t imagine that this skill can help him collect TP.
Ace calms his excited heart because he was in front of Gracie and didn''t want her to find something was wrong with his acting.
When Gracie saw the little yellow pouch appear in Ace''s hand her eyes went wide and nearly pop out of her eyesockets with shock. She subconsciously touches her waist and bewitches because she didn''t find her yellow money pouch. Because it was already in Ace''s hand.
Before she could recover from her shock Ace quickly spoke first, "Mydy this one apologized for his offense but the Young Lady was the one who gives hermand so this lowly one can''t disobey her. I hope Young Miss can show some grace and forgive this small person offense."
Ace bows lightly and politely give her yellow pouch back to her. He was shivering a little as if he was afraid she would kill him so he was begging for mercy first.
Gracie finally snapped out of her trance and quickly took her yellow pouch from Ace''s hand and stare angrily at him, "YOU! You... dare to steal from me.... and now you dare to beg for forgiveness? T-tell me how you do it... and teach me that skill, then I''ll think about not punishing you!" She wasn''t angry at all, on the contrary, she was very excited.
''If I learn this kind of skill, with it I can steal from others without them knowing anything.'' These were her actual thoughts.
Ace was expecting this so he quickly answered with a panicked face, "Y-young Lady, i-it is not that I don''t want to teach you, it''s just that I can''t teach you or anyone at that. This is a skill that I learn unknowingly even I don''t know how I can do it. This skill came to me when I was five years old."
Gracie''s face fell and angry surfaced on it after she heard Ace reply, "Then why did you show it to me if you can''t teach it to me?? Do want to steal from me?!" She grips her sword''s hilt more strongly. If Ace didn''t tell her a reasonable answered she would attack him without holding back.
Ace told her his ''original motive'' with a horrified-sicken face, "Young miss I didn''t want to steal from you! I showed it to you because I''m not good at fighting and after I came here, I saw all those other ''brothers from wastnd'' conditions. I was afraid of death so I thought that if I showed enough value, I can be spared from this fighting and live a little easy life from all those ''brothers'' in that building." He shook his head vigorously as he exins his real ''purpose.''
As expected Gracie seems to calm down a bit after she heard Ace''s exnation because it was extremely reasonable; if he wants to live, then he has to show his worth,
Gracie also didn''t suspect any lie in Ace''s answer either. Because she, herself has already killed more than ten wastndians.
Gracie finally calms down and said in a deep voice, "Then what your mean is; you can steal from others and give those things to me. In return, you want better treatment from those other ves? Do you think you are in a position to negotiate with me?!"
"Who said I give my stolen thing to Young Miss? If I got caught no one knows where their stolen things are, right? And no one knows I can speak did they, young miss?" He respectfully smiled at Gracie after he said those meaningful yet meaningless words.
Gracie was astounded by Ace''s cunningness. ''Is he saying he will be mute in other people''s eyes and give all those stolen things to me, and no one knows? But if he betrays me, and spills the beans I will be in huge trouble. So how can I trust him?'' She mused.
Ace quickly spoke as if he read her mind, "Young Miss you can nt one of those ve marks on me!"
Once again Gracie was startled by Ace''s decisiveness.
Chapter 26 - The Plan!
Listening to Ace''s words, Gracie deeply looked into his eyes and asked meaningfully, "Do you even know what ve mark is?"
Ace ponder for a while before answering considerately, "Yes. I heard little about it in the wastnds. I only know; branding with a ve mark means surrendering your free will and forever stay loyal to the person who holds the ve contract. I also personally saw a mysterious red color mark on the people''s forehead on the first floor. I should be the ve mark, right?"
Ace actually didn''t know all this; it was all the information Eva gave him beforeing here.
Branded with the ve mark was also a part of their n and this kind of trashy ve marks will not work on him because of his soul cultivation. That''s why he said without any hesitation and it was the easiest way to win Gracie''s trust.
Gracie didn''t surprise by the fact that Ace already knows about the ve mark but what was she really surprise about was Ace''s will to live. In her eyes, this guy was actually showed her his secret skill and even wanted to branded by ve mark, just so he could live. This really fascinates her and made her look at this ''barbarian'' in a new light.
"Fine, I''ll allow you to be my personal servant and let you live better than any one of those in that shitty building. But you have to prove yourself first." Gracie mysteriously smiled and continued, "I''ll be attending a family meeting in a month if you can steal all those participants'' money pouches without anyone finding out. Then you can be my personal servant and I will even reward you. What do you think?"
Gracie smiled sweetly at Ace as if she was looking at a sheep who was about to get ughter. She concealed the most important part of the information from him, that was this wasn''t just any random meeting. It was the Meeting of Grant Family''s Younger Generation and it was quite a big event.
To test Ace''s'' special'' skill limit and see if he really can steal from all those contestants without alerting them, Gracie didn''t tell him the whole truth. Furthermore, if he failed, she''ll kill him swiftly so no one can investigate this matter, but if he seeds, she will make a huge profit without even lifting a finger.
Besides, if everything goes smoothly then she''ll just pretend to be a victim like everyone else, and no one will ever know that she was the mastermind behind the thievery. Most importantly, she''d gain a ''Master Thief'' as a ve.
"I''ll act ording to Young Miss arrangements. But this humble servant has a personal request." Ace requests politely, he wasn''t surprised by this ''test'' at all. He knew from the start; winning the trust of this arrogant Third Miss of the Grant Family would not be a walk in the park.
"Hmm?" Gracie knitted her brows tightly after hearing Ace. But she didn''t rebuke and asked coldly, "Tell me if this request is reasonable, I think about it."
"I just need a space for training my skill because I never used it on multiple people before and most importantly I''m not a cultivator." Ace''s tone bes even more respectful, "I also don''t want to fail Young Miss mission, that''s why I need to train hard so I can serve with my full potential in a month!"
Gracie mull over it for a while before speaking, "It seems you don''t want to go back to that shitty building, So be it, you can live here in the open and practice all you want." She smiles darkly, "However, you''re not allowed in my house or if you even take even half a step outside my training ground, you''re dead!"
After warning Ace, she turns around walks back to her house leaving him behind.
Since Gracie makes a ''great deal'' with Ace she was in no mood of training anymore and decided to y outside because she was in a very good mood.
As Ace watched Gracie leave him alone, ''The second phase of the n isplete this easily and it is sooner than we anticipated.'' He thought joyously.
In Ace and Eva''s scheme, Gracie was very important. Their n was, Ace would be a ''punching bag'' for quite some time and after showing his unnatural abilities to endure the ''beating'' he will be given to a stronger young miss or master to be their ''sparring partner''.
Eventually, Ace would meet his main goal and that was Gracie Grant!
Eva selected her because she was extremely willful and never listen to others except for her father and even her mother can''t control her. Moreover, she was extremely greedy and would take whatever she likes from others. She bullies others no matter who they were,
If Gracie encountered someone strong she would use her status or father status. But even with all these powers backing her, she can''t take or act wantonly in front of two persons and they were both 1st and 2nd Young Masters of Grant''s family.
Ace and Eva decided to use her greed to manipte her actions. Ace would show her his unnatural pick-pocket skill and she would not be able to resist the temptation of stealing the precious things from others. Especially from the second rank young master who she hated the most but can''t deal with.
However, this n was supposed to take some time to set in motion, but who would''ve thought, on the very first day Ace meets his target! Therefore, he strikes immediately and baits Gracie with the pick-pocket skill.
Except for that one-month test part, Ace''s n seeds in the end and that''s what matters the most.
Now, he just has to train the pick-pocket to a higher level to pass Gracie''s test. Furthermore, after discovering; the pick-pocket would give him thief points, Ace was really going to practice it seriously.
Unknowingly this skill has be his main priority because to get things from the system he needed TP and only knows this one method to earn TP excluding missions.
Actually, it was very easy to earn TP, he just has to steal things and can earn Thief points. But he never does that before and when he used pick-pocket to steal Gracie''s money pouch, Ace finally realized what he has to do to earn TP.
Furthermore, this skill was unexpectedly a Soul skill. Soul Techniques and Soul Skills were rarest in Golden Sky World. Even Devil Race that possessed the mostplete heritage of cultivation in this world didn''t have many soul cultivators.
Ace used heavenly sense and saw Gracie leaving the house, but didn''t go inside. Because she might''ve left some trap or order, someone, to watch him. Since his soul senses were not strong enough he can''t scan the whole house.
Ace didn''t care about Gracie anymore and ced those weapons 10 meters away from him and starts using Pick Pocket. Just like what happened to Gracie the moment his Soul Qi thread touched a weapon, it vanished and reappeared in his hand. It was as if space is being manipted by this skill but Ace didn''t understand it too well yet so he keeps practicing it like a madman.
____________
Graciees back at night.
She enters the house and snugly sits in a chair before saying carelessly. "How was he?"
There was no one around but suddenly a man appears from the training ground, he didn''t open the door and directly passes through it as if he was incorporeal.
He gets on his knee and answers respectfully, "Youngdy that brat only practice, all this afternoon and evening. After some rest, he starts practicing again and was still practicing like a madman just an hour ago. I think he used all his qi."
"Hmm, not bad, not bad. It seems he is serious about what he said and didn''t lie to me. Go and give him beast meat and a nket as a reward. Keep an eye on him, he''ll be living in the training ground for a month and if he seeds in his task, you will get a new subordinate to y with Yahir." Gracie said coolly.
Yahir was Gracie''s personal bodyguard that was personally assigned by her father. He is at the 4th Gate of Qi Gates realm. If Ace were to move around carelessly, he would have been attacked by Yahir instantly. But Ace just does his training diligently and was seen by Yahir as a hard worker. That is why Yahir has a good impression of Ace now.
Yahir emotionlessly said, "Yes Young Lady I will follow your will."
Ace wasying on the ground panting like crazy. He gave his all today and still didn''t understand pick-pocket enough to raise its level. But he feels that he can do it within a month.
Nheless, he was feeling hungry but wasn''t worry about it too much. After all, if Gracie was as greedy as Eva describe her to be, she would not let anything happen to Ace until she finds out if he was useable or not.
Just as he was thinking about food, a fragrant smell enter his nostrils. He quickly looked around and saw a man wearing blue clothes wasing towards him with a tray in his hand.
It was an old man in his fifties with grey long hair and a wrinkled face. He was Yahir. Grace personal bodyguard.
When Yahir saw Ace was looking at him, he smiles kindly like a senior who was going to meets his junior for the first time.
Yahir ced the tray on the ground and said while smiling warmly, "You worked hard today for mydy, and here is your reward. If you keep working like this, she will no mistreat you. But if you betray her trust or make a mistake then I''ll be the first one toe after your head." When Yahir said that his eyes turn icy cold as he emits a thick killing intent.
Ace shivers when he feels Yahir killing intent, ''Just how many people did this old man has killed?!'' He was shocked and afraid by this old man. Still, he nodded his head stiffly, and that killing intent vanished like it never exists before and Ace finally could breathe.
Yahir smiled again after seeing Ace nodded and leaves the tray there before leaving.. Clearly, he was only here to give Ace a warning nothing else.
Chapter 27 - Grant Family Meeting
Ace begins to live in Gracie''s training group from that day on.
However, it causes a hugemotion in the Grant Family.
Like, Head Butler Kn was quite appalled by this sudden turn of events because he didn''t expect; Gracie would take a liking to this ''barbarian'' and she even let him lived in her ''house''.
Everyone was astounded by this news because they know Gracie''s personality very well and she would never do things that didn''t give her any interest. Consequently, everyone starts to investigate this ''barbarian'' that Gracie epted. They couldn''t find anything about him though.
Those elders who were supposed to keep watch over wastnd''s ves didn''t know anything about Ace. Because those elders have be toozy after a long period of peace in the family.
Only, now did this new development transpires after Gracie showed liking towards a wastnd boy and they have to give aplete report on him to higher-ups. But they can''t find anything on him after they search their half-done records.
Nevertheless, This notion didn''t even cross their minds that someone would be daring enough to infiltrate Grant Family with this kind of method.
The most agitate amidst the Grant Family higher-ups was, of course, Caden Grant, Gracie''s father.
Caden took this matter truly seriously because he doted on Gracie the most and was worried about her safety. Yet, when he finds out there was no information at all on that punk, he blew his top and punishes those indolent elders with ferocity.
After discovering that there was no information on that punk, Caden summoned Gracie and order her to kick Ace out of her house because he was suspicious.
But Gracie didn''t listen to him at all and protest by saying, "I''m going to brand that barbarian with a ve mark after he passes my test in a month." She assured him with; Yahir keeping an eye on Ace all time.
After seeing Gracie''s confidence, Caden could only sigh helplessly, ''I spoiled her too much. Well, what can a mortal ve do? Maybe I''m acting too overprotective here.'' His eyes were filled with fatherly love when he looked at Gracie''s pouting face.
In the end, Caden didn''t object anymore and approve of her request to kept Ace as a servant. But he was extremely puzzled by the fact, ''Why did she want that ''barbarian'' as a personal servant?''
Whenever he asked the reason, she just smiled mysteriously. Eventually, he gave uppletely, now he can''t investigate Ace personally, right? Since it was beneath him with his ''noble status''.
------------
Ace didn''t know, Gracie epting him in her ''house'' has caused so much turmoil. He was solely concentrating on Pick-Pocket right now.
Even if Ace knew about it, he wouldn''t care at all. Because Eva assured him again and again; when the family investigates him Gracie would definitely protect him and won''t open her mouth. Because of selfishness and the perks that he would bring her.
As Ace practices this skill, he finds out, it was easy to understand with his Formless Wind Core. This was also the advantage of a soul cultivator, they can practice Soul Skills with ease. and Ace was a Heavenly Soul Cultivator at that.
--------
One month passed in a sh.
Today was the day of the Grant Family Younger Generation Meeting.
Every two years thispetition originate among East, West, South, and North District youngsters between the age of 12 to 18.
Thispetition determined the ranking of the Grant Family''s youngsters. by measuring their cultivation bases.
The Top 10 would get many benefits and resources from the family. The person within 3rd to 10th rank, can gain the best resources of the family and gets 10 half-white grade Qi Pills every month that can help cultivate faster.
First and Second Ranks would also gain all benefits but the most precious prize for them was; they can learn the only Low-Level Qi Mortal Grade Skill that the Grant family possessed. It was extremely precious and the biggest secret of the Grant Family.
Only the top two can learn the skill and only for two days. If they can gain something from it that''s their luck and if not that''s also their bad luck. Because to memorize Low-Level Mortal Grade skill one has to be at Qi Gates realm Peak!
Skills are divided into Normal, Mortal, Warrior, Master, and Mysterious Grades. All the grades are further divided into Low, Middle, High, and Absolute levels.
As for skills Above Mysterious Grades they were all in the hands of Ancient Sects!
A 2-Start City like the River-Flower city only has 2 Low-Level Mortal Grade Skills and one of them was in the city lord mansion while the second one was in the hands of Grant''s family head, Rn Grant!
Normal Grade Skills can be consideredmon because they can be found even in 3-star cities.
However, Warrior Grade Skills were all monopolized by Kingdoms. If they even get the news that skill of warrior level was in the hand of a lowly city, that would be considered treason, and that city, as well as every single living being in it, will be erased from existence.
That''s why these youngsters of Grant''s family yarn for this low-level mortal grade skill day and night. Even those elders didn''t have permission to touch it and always wanted to learn it, but Rn won''t let them, He only gave authorization to those who showed value to the family.
Moreover, no one even knows the name of the skill. It was the top-secret of the Grant Family.
---------
Ace was currently walking behind Gracie ceremoniously looking like a loyal servant. He was holding a long bag in his hand and In it were two beautiful long swords.
Gracie was walking towards the meeting venue. Actually, she didn''t need Ace to carry her swords but Ace insists on it because he needed this bag to put all those stolen goods.
When Gracie hears this reason she quickly agrees to it and gives Ace a long string bag she even picked another sword just because that bag was looking too empty with only one sword. Ace was happy about it, now no one will suspect anything.
After some time, Ace saw a big open fielding into his view that bursting with activity.
It was the venue for Grant Family Younger Generation Meeting.
The Grant Family was after all the second rank family of the inner region so thispetition brought together many different powers. These important characters hade here to watch thepetition between juniors of the Grant family!
Thepetitive spirit amongst the junior members of the family was at a boiling point from the excitement, after seeing all these people came here to watch their ''grand performance''!
The meeting was held in a wide field in the evening. Several guests were bustling about.
Some of the Family Heads from various other families came because of Grant''s family fame and power. But no one came from the City Lord''s Family due to theplicated rtionship between them.
In the wide field of the Grant Family, numerous members from the junior generations of various inner region families had been gathered. Although these bouts between them were going to be grand and intense, everyone''s focus was currently on a grand stage that was set in the center of the venue.
Gracie turned around before she enters the venue and whispered to Ace, "You only have to steal from participants of thepetition. Don''t alert those high-level guests especially the Family Head and Elders. If they find out about it you will die before you know it!" She didn''t wait for Ace''s answer and enter the venue.
Ace''splexion was dreary, he didn''t think this little test of Gracie would be in this kind of exploding spot and felt he has been duped by this, Shorty!
''This going to troublesome!'' Ace deemed gloomily.
After entering the venue, Ace saw a big grand stage in the center, and on the center of the stage was a Pir on it ce a white crystal ball. That crystal ball was the size of an adult human head.
Around the grand stage were posh seats and only old-looking and some middle-aged men were sitting in them. They all were wearing luxurious clothes and drinking some kind of wine while chatting with each other casually. He could tell that they were all important figures just by the high qi fluctuations around them.
Gracie directly goes towards the juniors area of her family.
There were only ten seats there and everyone was standing behind them. When those youngsters saw Gracie they instantly shut their traps because they were quite afraid of annoying this little devil.
Gracie scorned after seeing everyone''s vignt gaze and sit in the third seat from the right. Besides her were two seats where two young men were sitting. The one who sits in the first seat with an expressionless yet handsome face was Felix Grant and the one who sits beside Felix was Ruben Grant who has an ordinary face with a duskyplexion.
Felix was ranked Number One in the previous meetings and also the Grant Family''s best talent of this Generation. More importantly, he was the youngest son of Rn Grant.
On the other hand, Ruben was ranked second in the previous meeting and Gracie was third.
Gracie detests Ruben because he always teased her as ''No.3 Sister'' whenever he saw her. Therefore, she avoids him most of the time. Furthermore, she can''t do anything about it because he has excellent talent in cultivation and he was favored by Family Head and also Felix good friend. Even her father was helpless against him.
This year Gracie has turn 18 and this is herstpetition. Consequently, she was determined to beat Ruben this time around. The same goes for Felix and Ruben. These three alwayspeting with each other''s but Felix never let any one of them overtake him in these years.
Gracie was about to greets Felix when she hears a hugemotion from the crowd and turned around to see what happened.
Ruben who was also going to teased Gracie bes serious.
A 1.8-meter tall middle-aged man with dark brown long hair and a fine face enters the venue haughtily. He was wearing luxurious silk robes with beautiful golden embroidery. He nonchntly walks toward the stage and set in the most eye-catching seat in the center.
He didn''t even bother to greet anyone and sits in the golden chair while closing his eyes. Yet, no one dares to show any displeasure or angry expressions. They were even smiling broadly after seeing that man''s arrogance because he was the current Head of Grand family, Rn Grant!
Beside Rn was a man who was not as tall as him but wasn''t short either. His face resembles Rn''s greatly and sat on the seat right next to Rn''s.
He was Gracie''s Father and Rn''s younger brother, Caden Grant.
Rn swiftly gestures with his hand while his eyes were still closed, it was a signal!
Everyone understands what that gesture means; the Meeting was finally about to start!
Chapter 28 - Soul Threads
Recognizing Rn''s signal, no one dares to make a sound anymore.
In this taciturnity, an old man in his sixties walking towards the center of the stage came into everyone''s view. He was an elder of the Grant family Ezekiel Grant.
Ezekiel has a mild smile on his old face while greeting everyone in the venue, "Ladies and Gentlemen wee to my Grant Family Meeting of the Younger Generation. Let''s start the evaluation process right away." He didn''t dare to spout useless nonsense and directly start the meeting because Rn didn''t like wasting time.
Rn seldomly shows his face because he was always focusing on cultivation and wanted to reach the Qi Foundation Building Realm as quickly as possible. Most of the time these kinds of matters were handled by Caden. But this time, it was his youngest son, Felix''sst meeting therefore he attended this event.
That''s also why so many important characters came this time, to show their loyalty and support.
It was all because Rn was the second strongest man after the City Lord in the River Flower City! Once he breakthrough into the next realm, he would be an existence, at the same level as the City Lord.
Many families who can''t curry favor with the Layton Family came here to jump on Grant Family ship while Rn was still weak.
Ezekiel address loudly, "Let me exin the rules to everyone quickly. First, only the youngsters at the age of 18 and below can participate in thepetition. Second, every junior will get only signal chance to evaluate by this ''White Cultivation Measuring Crystal''."
As he said he pointed towards the white crystal beside him. This ''White Cultivation Measuring Crystal'' can measure cultivation below Qi Foundation Building Realm.
"Third after the evaluation, the top 3 to 10 rank participants can challenge First and Second Ranked but only single times! If anyone can beat participants in the first or second rank, they can take their ces and loser can''t challenge the winner." He dered distinctly.
"There is a total of Forty-Two participants in this meeting. We will start from the youngest of these forty-two participants." Ezekiel announced as he shifts his focus towards participants.
A little boy who seems to be 12 years old starts to walk towards the stage nervously under everyone''s curious gazes. He was clearly the youngest of them all.
This little boy moved towards the white cultivation measuring crystal tensely. This was his first meeting.
Ezekiel said in a soothing tone, after seeing the Boy''s nervousness, "Boy don''t worry, just ce your hands on The Measuring Crystal and pour your Qi in it. After we''ll see what your cultivation level is, Now go!"
That little boy take a deep breath and ced his hands on the crystal, and pour his Qi. The next moment something magical happened, the white transparent crystal suddenly starts to shine brightly and a single little gate begins to form. That gate was light yellow in color.
"1st Gate of the Qi Gates Realm, Low!" Ezekiel announced while nodded in satisfaction.
Ezekiel calls with a smile, "Next!"
This cultivation measuring crystal can change into five different colors gate that symbolizes Qi Gates Realm Five Self-Gates. The Yellow Color for 1st Gate, Orange for 2nd Gate, Green for 3rd Gate, Brown for 4th Gate, and Golden for 5th Gate.
As for Low, Middle, and High that depends on the color depth. The brighter your realm gate is the higher your final evaluation.
Since the measuring crystal just showed a light yellow gate it meant this body just recently open the 1st Gate. If he was close to breakthrough or at the peak of 1st Gate the color that crystal shows would be the brightest yellow.
The little boy smiled with pride, after all, he was only 12 and already a cultivator. He was not here for the prize and only here to show off his talent.
Ace saw all of it and was quite fascinated by that white crystal. He didn''t think one can measure cultivation just like that as well. Now, he really wanted to go to the stage and test his own Heavenly Cultivation! He wanted to see if that thing can measure heavenly qi or not.
One has to know after all his efforts, Ace was now at the peak of the 1st Gate of Heavenly Gates. He just needs some experience and insight to open the 2nd Gate.
Ace wasn''t amused by that toy anymore and was ready to begin his ''work'' after watching the next participant was heading towards the stage.
When everyone''s attention was focus on that participant, Ace closed his eyes.
Swiftly, formless fine threads of Soul Qi begin to eject from each finger of his right hand. These threads were dancing around his finger like puppet strings. He maniptes these strings with Soul Qi and like arrows, these five strings shot towards the standing participants besides the stage.
No one can see or sense these threads if they aren''t soul cultivators or their martial cultivation base is higher than Ace by two whole realms.
Ace called these fine threads, ''Soul Threads''.
Soul Threads were formed by his formless wind soul core!
Of course, he got this brilliant idea from the pick-pocket skill.
Since the pick-pocket skill can form One Qi Thread and move it with Qi as well. Ace tries to form these threads with soul Qi and he seeds effortlessly. it was like these threads were just mere random tricks that he can perform with the Heaven Stealer Technique anytime.
Ace was awed by the Heaven Stealer Technique that the system gives him, it was like he can do anything with it as long as he can imagine it.
All the ''Soul Threads'' wrapped around five contestants'' waists.
Ace instantly activate the mid-level pick-pocket skill that he practiced all this month. Pick-Pocket''s instantly active but this time it didn''t form any new thread and was directly engaged on those already formed soul threads.
Just like that, the soul threads vanished and Ace felt the bag in his hand be a little bit heavy.
He grins widely, ''It''s too damn easy this way!'' He was happy since he robbed five people at the same time without any quandary and no one even notices him.
After his firstpletion, Ace became like some professional thief, and whenever a new participant moves towards the stage, he would take advantage of these disturbances and steal!
After two hours every participant except Gracie, Felix, and Ruben were done with their cultivation measuring test.
Ace was a little listless since soul threads take quite a toll on his soul and mind, although his eyes were shining brightly as he was looking at the system''s ck panel.
========
"[Pick Pocket Seed]
[Host Steal: 62 trash grade pills (half white grade), and 12,184 ruby coins.]
{Rewards: 12 Thief Points (TP)}"
[Thief Points (TP): 52]
========
Ace spends 2 hours stealing all these and now only Felix and Ruben were left. He was a little perplexed and didn''t use his skill on them. The reason was he was afraid they would notice something since they were closest to him.
"Number three sister now it''s your''s turn," Ruben speaks for the first time with a tantalizing tone. Since Caden was here he can''t tease her too much.
"Humph!" Gracie only grunted vexedly and move towards the stage. She didn''t even nce at him.
Ezekiel didn''t dare to treat Gracie like all the other juniors and quickly escort her by himself. She has an extremely high status in Grant''s family and besides, a very bad reputation of being unruly.
"Young Miss please," Ezekiel gestured respectfully.
All the audience went silent, they also know who this young girl was.
Caden smiles gently after seeing Gracie appearing on the stage. She was his only child and he was very fond of her. That''s why he always spoiled her and didn''t punish her for her blunders.
Gracie didn''t greet Ezekiel like others, she didn''t even seem to notice him. She only looked towards her father and smiled sweetly.
She suddenly turns around and smiles coldly towards Ruben.
Ruben was started and a very bad feeling arose in his heart after seeing that stiff smile.
Gracie slowly ced her hands on the crystal and pour her Qi.
The Cultivation Measuring Crystal begins to glow and a Light-Orange Gate was formed. "2nd Gate of Qi Gates Realm, Low! Congrattion miss on reaching the 2nd Gate at such a young age." Ezekiel announced loudly.
"This young miss of Grant''s family really is a genius."
The crowd also begins to exim in shock.
"Master Caden congrattion on having such a talented daughter!"
Those family heads sitting beside Caden start to congratte him warmheartedly.
"You All are too the kind, that little girl works hard on her own I didn''t do much." Caden smiled ear to ear as he replied. He straightened his chest with a face full of pride.
Opening the 2nd Gate of Muscle was very difficult if you didn''t have a solid base. Some people will open the first gate early but will be stuck at this point for years.
If someone can open the second gate in 3 to 4 years after the first gate, that person considers a genius in thends of cities.
Ace saw all thismotion and reflected disdainfully, ''My little sis has already opened the 1st Gate when she was only 7 years old and I know for sure, she has already breakthrough after her bloodline was awakened. These people here are all narrow-minded.''
Ace was thinking about his little sis when his soul sense that was locked on Roben and Felix tingle. He instantly senses Ruben''s emotions became somewhat unsettled and was looking for just this kind of opportunity.
He quickly sent a soul thread towards Ruben''s waist and use the pick-pocket.
Ruben didn''t notice anything because his mind was messed right now for some reason.
======
"[Pick Pocket Seed]
[Host Steal: 7 trash grade pills (half white grade), and 4904 ruby coins.]
{Rewards: 2 Thief Points}"
[Thief Points (TP): 54]
======
Ace directly heard the system voice in his head.
He didn''t show his delight and stand in his position like a status, he was now only a single step away frompleting Gracie''s mission.
Only Felix was eft but Ace didn''t want to do it because Felix was Rn Grant''s son. Furthermore, this Felix was too calm and very alert of his surroundings. He didn''t show any opening.
Ace was confident in stealing Felix''s money pouch but, it would definitely alert Rn and the Grant Family in the future. And this would be quite troublesome for him.
Since he has robbed all the participants, those elders would unquestionably investigate this unnatural event. But if he steals from the Family Head Son, it was possible that Rn would take action himself.
That''s why he determined to wait for Gracie toe back and asked her if he could spare Felix.
Gracie walks back to her spot with her head high like some arrogant peacock. She sits nonchntly beside Ruben and said meaningfully, "Former number two brother it''s your turn. Heh, Heh!"
When Ruben hears, ''former'' his face muscle twitch uncontrobly and a tremor runs through his body!
Chapter 29 - Storage Space Treasure!
Ruben didn''t dare to tease Gracie or he was not in the mood anymore, because he knows what was going to happen after seeing her result just now. He takes a deep breath and with a gloomy expression begins to walk on the stage.
Ezekiel saw Rubening and was about to greet him like Gracie but stop in his tracks because he noticed Ruben''s stiff mug and only said politely, "Young Master, please."
Ruben forcefully calm his wavering emotions and ced his trembling hands on the crystal and pour the Qi.
The Cultivation Measuring Crystal begins to change and A Brightest Yellow Color Door is formed.
''Sssi''
When Ezekiel saw this, he sucks a breath of cold air. Now, he understands why Ruben''s face was like charcoal and didn''t want to say it. But s, he has to, "1st Gate of Qi Gates, High!"
The crowd mored after hears this, especially Grant''s family juniors and elders alike.
They exim because this was the first time that ranking has changed from the start of the meeting. And the change was also happed in second and third position!
"Didn''t they say Ruben was more talented than Gracie why he was weaker than her?" Asked someone in crowed in low voice.
"He was winning the second rank forst two meetings but it seems he hit a bottleneck in his cultivation this year." Answer someone knowledgeable.
All the crowd was bursting with the same kind of discussion.
On the stage, an elder was sitting behind the seats of Rn and Caden. He was currently clenching the chair arms tightly, they were some cracks on them; it seems he was quite angry.
He was Ruben''s father and 3rd ranked elder of the Grant family Milok Grant.
Milok''s rank was only below Caden and Ruben was his pride and joy. Since Ruben even manages to win Felix''s friendship and that''s how Rn''s attention as well. Milok was quite satisfied with all his son''s achievements.
Milok''s rtionship with Caden was always sour. That''s why he encourages his son to suppress Gracie and make crakes between Felix and Gracie''s rtionship, and Caden could do nothing to him openly because of Felix and Rn.
However, now Ruben has lost his second position to Gracie.
That''s why Milok was in an extremely sullen mood because he always eyeing Caden''s position and now he has no choice but changes his ns.
Milok was mulling, when a sneering voice enters his ears from the front, "Third Elder my condolence."
It was obviously Caden, who was looking back at Milok with a wicked smile on his face.
Milok long beard quiver a litter and nearly vomit blood in anger. ''This Bastard!'' He cursed in his heart.
Milok was after all an old fox and forcibly controls his anger and said with a force yet ugly smile, "Master Caden I''m very happy about little Gracie''s performance and she finally defeats that arrogant brat this will teach him a lesson."
Those other guests sitting around them didn''t dare to say anything, they didn''t want to offend either of them.
Cadenughs heartily when he saw Milok ugly face and didn''t press the matter anymore. He knew this sly old fox and his ways very well. If Milok saw the situation is against him, he would even call a donkey his father just to get out of it.
Gracie saw Ruben wasing back with an ashen face and felt her mood bing quite good. How could it not be? This guy always teased her and didn''t show her respect at all. Yet, this time she beat him fair and square. She had a lucky breakthrough this year, that''s how she managed to open the second gate.
Even if Ruben challenged her, she would defeat him with ease, she was a stage higher than him after all.
"New ''Number Three'' brother will you challenge me?" How could Gracie let this chance slip by to humiliate Ruben this easy?
Everyone bes silent after she asked Ruben and their focus was shifted on Ruben.
Even Felix who didn''t show any emotion was looking at this scene with amusement.
Ruben bes pale as a ghost, with all this attention on him. He really wanted to challenge Gracie but before exiting the stage, he saw his father''s special signal. Milok was clearly telling him to stand down.
Milok knows that odds were not in his favor if Ruben challenge Gracie, he would lose even more miserably. That''s why he signals Ruben to not challenge her.
"H.ha.haha." Rubenugh dryly and said with a forced ugly smile, "How can I challenge little sister Gracie? Since we are family, we shouldn''t fight with each other."
He was grinding his teeth in anger. If not for his father he would''ve challenged her already, so could only sit silently like a beaten dog.
The crowd was very disappointed they thought that it would be very amusing to watch the fight between two top juniors of Grant''s family. But Ruben chickens out in the end.
Gracie was also speechless by Ruben''s shamelessness and wanted to beat him up, but it was not the ce for it. Now that she was stronger than him, she would not let him live in peace and take her sweet time avenging the grievance of years.
"Oh, thank you ''number three brother''." She ignored him again.
Ruben bes more enraged when he hears ''No.3''. But s he can do nothing now just like Gracie all those years ago. He knows his life was going to be miserable from now on.
Ace curiously saw all this from behind Gracie. This was his first time seeing this kind of situation.
Ace clearly saw how Ruben was behaving arrogantly in front of Gracie just a few moments ago when he thought he was stronger than her. But now, when Ruben discovered he can''t beat her; he immediately begins behaving submissively.
''This is what it means to be strong and powerful.'' He thought and couldn''t help but be awed by this cultivation world and most importantly Human Nature.
Ezekiel onlyments after seeing all this and again speaks loudly. "Now that we know Young Master Ruben didn''t want to challenge Young Miss Gracie. We can move towards our final contestant of this meeting." He was just about to call Felix regally when he felt a powerful pressure.
Ezekiel was rmed and thought it was an enemy attack but he simply can''t move. However, the pressure vanished the next moment, and drench with cold sweat Ezekiel turn around when he saw Rn has finally opened his eyes and looking at him expressionlessly. He quickly escapes the stage because he knew what Rn was going to do.
Everyone bes puzzled when Ezekiel escaped like a mouse who just saw a cat. But the next moment, no one dares to speak because of Rn standing up.
When everyone saw this, those who were sitting immediately stand as well. No one wants to displease Rn.
Rn didn''t nce at anyone and slowly walk on the grand stage.
Rn''s eyes suddenly locked in the participant''s area. He was expressionlessly looking at Felix.
Felix saw Rn''s and smiled for the first time, seeing his father was looking at him. He knew his father would evaluate his children on theirstpetition by himself. This is how Rn shows affection.
"Come!" Rn''s thunderous voice resounded in the venue.
No one dares to make a sound because they knew Rn was calling for Felix and didn''t want to die by ruining this moment for father and son.
Felix smiled broadly as he walks towards the stage. He was truly happy because his father didn''t forget this was hisstpetition. His mother was dead and his big sister was already married. Even his elder brother who he admires the most has gone with his nephew somewhere.
Everyone''s focus was on Felix and Rn except for one person and that was Ace!
The stage was only ten meters away from the participants'' area and Gracie was in the very front and the moment Rn walk in the center of the grand stage he came into Ace''s soul sense range.
The moment it happened, the system voice buzzed in Ace''s head, and a ck panel appears. He was bewildered by it because,
=======
"[System detects a Storage Space treasure!]
[Did you want to mark it by using 2 TP?]"
=======
Ace was baffled by this and transmitted in mind confusingly, "System what is this Storage Space treasure?" Even this name was unique to him.
"[1 TP Required for the answer.]"
Since he has earned quite some TP recently, he said without care, "Take it." His 54 TP be 53 and the system''s voice sounded again,
"[Storage Space treasures are used for storing non-living things like weapons, currency, pills, and other treasures. Simply put, it is like having a secret space fused within a finger ring, you can store the whole mountain inside that little ring if you haverge enough space. Some storage space treasures can also store Living-things inside them like humans, living beasts, living medicine herbs, and other things alike. It is like a portable treasury. To form a storing space inside a treasure you need to be a Rune Crafters.]
[The system only detected a ring of the lowest level; it is not even stable. It was clearly made by a novice Rune Crafter and will be destroyed after 5000 years.]"
Ace heard system exnations on these storage space treasures and be astounded. He didn''t even imagine that there was something this legendary even exist in this world.
''If I can have this storage space treasure, didn''t this means I don''t have to carry this bag around and I can also put these stolen goods and my weapons inside the ring. It is really like a portable treasury. But how can this kind of treasure appear here and who has it?''
"System marked that treasure!" Ace really wanted this storage space treasure. Because with it he can do missions or thieveries with ease.
As he transmitted his voice the TP bes 51.
He saw a ck little panel appearing on someone''s hands. It was a blue ring on the finger of a man''s left hand.
But when Ace saw who the owner of this ring was hisplex turn ashen because it was non-other than Rn Grant!
Chapter 30 - Thievery!
Ace''splexion was gloomy after seeing Rn wearing the blue storage ring. He really wanted that ring but Ace''s reasons force him to stay calm.
All thismunication with the system only takes a few seconds.
Now, Ace begins to think with lightning speed when he abruptly remembered something and be pale just by thinking about it.
He recalled Eva''s words, ''When Rn take this mask out of thin air, I was surprised by it!''
Ace didn''t pay much attention to it at that time, he simply thinks it could be a secret skill or something like that. Particrly now, the story was totally different because he knew about the existence of the storage ring!
''If Eva was right and he took out that mask out of thin air then didn''t it mean, what I''m looking for is also in that ring?'' Ace reflected andes to a scary conclusion. He takes a deep breath and calms his pounding heart.
If Ace''s guess was right then Rn would most likely keep the most important things and treasures of the Grant family in that storage ring. And if he could steal that storage ring, that means his mission will beplete and he will be able to get out of here right now. Furthermore, he didn''t need to go to the main mansion of the Grant family to search for their treasury either.
Furthermore, what If he didn''t find that ''thing'' in the treasury of the Grant family?
At that time, he has to go after Rn, and to find Rn in his own house was not difficult but he has to go through all types of security and traps. However, right now he was just standing right in front of him.
Now, Ace was having an internal conflict and can''t make his final choice,
''If I strike now, I can leave the Grant family. But if I can''t find that ''thing'' in Rn space ring Eva would be in trouble and if I can''t find that ''thing'' in the treasury either¡ I''m 90% sure that Rn has that ''thing'' in that ring because no one wants to put this kind of precious stuff in the treasury that someone else can open. Sighs...'' Ace sighed helplessly.
Although the next moment, Ace''s eyes begin to shine brightly and focus the soul sense solely on Rn. He finally made a choice.
If Ace noticed even the slightest bit of change in Rn''s soul wave he would strike without any hesitation!
_________________________
On the stage, Felix has already standing in front of ''White Cultivation Measuring Crystal'' beside his father.
Rn said in amanding tone, "Start!"
Felix didn''t linger and put his hands on the crystal and pore the Qi. The crystal begins to shine brightly and a dim green color gate formed.
Third Gate of Qi Gate Realm!
The mob eximed in astonishment because it was very difficult to find someone of Felix''s age who opened the 3rd Gate in thends of cities.
Moreover, everyone knows that only Asher has reached the 3rd stage of the Qi Gates realm at the age of 20 in the entire River-flower city and is recognized as the top genius of the entire city. But now there was another one emerge and he was even younger than Asher.
The most crucial point was both of them were Rn''s Son and Grandson. Now, if Rn reached the Qi Foundation Building realm in near future, and with talents like Rn and Ashen at the mix, Grant''s family will definitely rise above the Layton Family.
''Nephew let see if you can still act arrogant in front of me when you''ll see me next time.'' Felix imagines while smiling after seeing everyone''s reaction.
His own nephew Asher always looks down on him because he was younger and weaker. Felix always wanted to suppress him and beat Asher into submission. Now he has shown more talent than his nephew and even surpassed him.
Now even his father who always praised his nephew has to acknowledge him.
Rn was really amazed by this sudden pleasant surprise. He didn''t expect that his son has already surpassed his talented grandson who he was very fond of. He felt gratified and blessed by heaven at this moment.
A smile creeps out on his expressionless face for the first time as he thought ''Two talents in a single generation, heh. No one can stop the rise of my Grant family now!''
The way Rn looked at Felix also changed and his gaze bes gentler. He gave Felix the same position as Asher in his heart.
"GOOD GOOD! You didn''t disappoint me, Your Father! And proved that my Grant family is a den of geniuses. Everyone I announced that this year''s meeting is ended with my son Felix as the winner. Nevertheless, please stay because there going to be a banquet tonight in celebration of my son''s great achievement!"
Rn announced with a rare smile on his face and everyone starts to cheer.
All the elders of the family smiled gleefully, they didn''t dy either and quickly begin the preparation for the banquet.
Caden saw his big brother in good mood ande to him with a thick smile on his face, "Congrattion big bro you have two ''dragons'' now."
"Hahaha, You''re too polite Caden!" Rnughs heartily hearing Caden''s words.
Rn patted his shoulder happily with his left hand when his smile suddenly stopped because he saw his hand wascking something.
Yes! it was empty! His storage ring was gone!
Caden saw his big brother''s expression and a very bad feeling arouse within, ''But why?'' before he could think any further, an intense pain stirs from his shoulder.
"ahhhhhhhhhhhhh"
All the cheering stopped with Caden''s sudden painful wailing.
But before anyone could figure out what transpired, they heard Rn''s thunderous roar filled with killing intent.
"Juuuuuuustttt WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DAREEEEEEEEE???!!!"
Unknowingly Rn has crushed Caden''s shoulder bone in panicked. Even if he knows he didn''t care at all because his eyes were solidified on his index finger.
There was supposed to be a ''blue ring with beautiful pattern'' there, but now it was gone and only a slight white mark of it left. His mind was in utter turmoil and because of it he loses control of his endowment and released the full aura of Quasi Qi Foundation Building cultivation-based. The pressure was so huge, one could felt even a hundred meters away.
Caden was in the eyes of the storm and almost lost his life. He couldn''t take the pressure and used his cultivation of peak Qi Gates realm and shrill in pain, "BROTHER YOU!??"
Rn snapped out of it by Caden''s piercing shriek and see his hand was drenched in Caden blood. He quickly loses his grip and Caden fell on stage with a painful groan. He was lucky that Rn didn''t use his Qi or his shoulder might''ve been torn apart from his body.
"Wh...what happened?!" Caden quickly eats a healing pill and after his pain decreases a bit he asked with a worried expression on his pale face.
He has never seen his brother lose his calm like this before especially in public ces. But now he was almost looking like a madman, he was apletely different person.
''It''s GONE.''Rn thinks with a hint of horror and panic in his bloodshot eyes.
Yet he forces himself to calm down and controls his emotions but he didn''t lower the pressure of his cultivation base.
Everyone on stage was shivering in fear.
The whole venue was deathly silent.
The atmosphere bes chilly with Rn killing intent at its peak. No one knows what happened but no one wants to find out because they were afraid that Rn would kill them in anger even if they breathe loudly.
"LOCKDOWN! THE ENTIRE AREA!!" Rn roar loudly.
Those guarding elders felt the pressure on them was gone and quickly follow Rn''s order.
Now no one can go out without Rn''s permission.
"I just want everyone to show me their hands and their belongings and they can go after that!" He tantly stated.
Everyone bes angry but they didn''t dare to disobey. They could tell by his frantic expression that he would kill anyone who didn''t cooperate.
"Everyone on stage shows me your hands and anything that can hold things inside!" Rn starts with those on the stage first because they were closest to him.
Everyone''s expression turns ugly but they could do nothing. One by one everyone showed him their hands and their money pouches.
After checking every person Rn would always ce his hand on their forehead and closed his eyes. He was actually sensing the storage ring since that ring was bond to him, he could sense the storage space ring if it was near him.
Rn was checking everyone when he heard Felix''s unexpected voice, "Father my money pouch is gone!"
Felix voiced could be heard by everyone in this silence. Everyone bes startled they start to check their money bags.
"Mine is gone too!!"
"My as well! Damnit!!"
"What is happening??? Who dares to steal here?!"
Everyone was shocked by this strange turn of events because only participants'' pouches were stolen and nobody else.
Gracie has almost forgotten about Ace after seeing her father injured and didn''t pay any attention to him. She didn''t know why her Uncle was doing this, but after she heard everyone''s rming cries, she immediately thought of someone.
Gracie even forgets about her father and quickly looked behind but Ace was nowhere. Her face bes deathly pale and she started to tremble uncontrobly because there was arge bagying behind her chair. She didn''t dare to check that bag because if what she was thinking is true then she''s dead!
Ruben was agitated because his money bag was also gone missing, suddenly he noticed Gracie''s pale face because he was sitting right next to her. He thought her money bag has also been stolen and feel a little better after thinking he wasn''t alone.
But when he saw Gracie was looking behind herself, he also looked there confusingly. He only saw a long bag there and after seeing that bag he remembered there was a boy who was carrying it this evening and was not here anymore.
"Sister Gracie where is that boy?" Ruben''s voice echo in the silent area like a morning bell.
Everyone''s attention included Rn turns towards Gracie and Ruben instantly.
Gracie''s jolt awakened from Ruben''s sudden voice.
Gracie wanted to kill Ruben now. ''Did this rascal have to be so loud!!'' she cursed him but s now she could do nothing about it.
Everyone was looking at her and she was also suspecting that her uncle''s rage has something to do with Ace''s disappearance. If her uncle finds out about her schemes, she shivers after just thinking about the consequences of it.
Rn was a sly fox no matter how much he was freaking out right now, Gracie paled expression was not right in his view.
Even Caden who was still healing his wound knows his daughter was hiding something and it was not a good thing in this kind of situation.
"RUBEN!! Who is ''that'' boy?" Rn calls loudly.
Chapter 31 - Escape!
Ruben was so shocked and resentful, he wanted to cry right now. How could his causal word draw Rn''s attention?. He was so afraid that he thought he had done something wrong and quickly answer, "Fa...family Head sister Gracie was with her servant when she came and now, he is missing!"
Ruben was anxious that no one would believe him, so he quickly grabs the big bag that wasying on the ground. However, the bag was open, and the movement Ruben picked it up colorful money bags start to drop like rain on the ground.
Everyone saw this scene and they were shocked silly by this sudden development. All the participants saw those money bags and they cried in rm one after another,
"That is my money bag!"
"That one with flower pattern is mine!"
"That ck and white was mine I can even tell what''s inside it!"
Everyone began to yell, Ruben was bewildered by this and he also spotted his money bag in the pile. He immediately took it from the pile and opened it and saw inside were his things.
"Sister Gracie YOU!?" Ruben looked at Gracie in shock.
Rn was so happy seeing this he couldn''t describe it in words. He runs towards Gracie at full speed. Caden quickly followed behind Rn because he knew Gracie has done something she shouldn''t have and if Rn didn''t find what he was looking for then he would definitely punish her. He was afraid Rn would harm her in his anger so he was ready to be her shield and ept punishment on her behalf.
Gracie was shivering in her spot in fear and anxiety. Now, she had to tell Rn everything truthfully if she wanted to live.
Rn didn''t question Gracie at all and quickly snatched the bag from Ruben and stats to search like a maniac for his ring. After searching every inch of the bag, he still could find the ring.
Now he finally looked at Gracie coldly and all of sudden a mountain-like pressure begin to press down on her. She fell on her knees and can''t even breathe because of that horrible pressure.
"Brother at least gives her a chance to exin!" Caden calls in panic seeing Rn''s using full pressure of his cultivation on his daughter.
Rn take a deep breath and said to Gracie in a threatening voice, "Tell me everything if you hide even a little, I will forget you are my niece!!!"
"Gracie tells your uncle the truth, he would never harm you." Caden wasforting her or himself.
"I-I...I, he was from wastnd and one month ago head butler¡." She starts to tell how she meets Ace and how he slowed her his special skill. She even confesses that she was the one who wanted him to steal from all the participants.
"I was blinded by greed! Please forgive me, Uncle, Father!" Gracie pleads for mercy. She somewhat knew that bastard has screwed her over by leaving that bag behind.
When Rn, Caden, and everyone heard her story they were astonished by this boy. Just when did someone like this appear in the wastnd and have this kind of skill?
"Unfilial Daughter!" Caden''s howl, he was trembling with anger. Now he finally understands why she didn''t tell him when he asked her about that boy. He was also regretting, he didn''t investigate enough and let that boy stay by his daughter''s side. Furthermore, he was angrier at Gracie''s thievery n,
If she would seed and only robbed the participants that would not be any problem for him to solve. But that boy somehow stole something from Rn and that thing was very important!
The most frustrating thing was that boy was now gone!
Learning from Gracie''s about Ace''s special skill, Rn instantly knows that boy is the one who stole his space ring. But he was extremely perplexed and astonished by the fact, ''How did he know that was a space ring and how the hell he steal it under my nose!!?''
Rn didn''t have time to waste so he coldly stated, "5 years in the dungeon and 50 whip strikes every month for five years. What do you think brother, Caden?"
Rn coolly looked towards Caden after announcing Gracie''s punishment. Gracie was still his niece so he can''t kill her. But he can''t forgive her blunder.
"I have no objection." Caden didn''t want this, but she has be too willful and she even ns thievery. By doing so she hides important information about an outsider from family and now all this has resulted.
''Maybe I''m not a good father and now she turns out like this.'' Caden sighs sadly.
Gracie hear her uncle''s punishment and quiver in fear, she could live in the dungeon but those whip strikes were not aughing matter. Because receiving whips from someone one gate above her and for 5 years every month at that she would die from pain! She immediately looked hopefully with tearing eyes towards her Father for rescue. Yet hepletely agrees with her uncle!
"It was all that son of bitch fault!!" Gracie''s shrill scream resounded in the entire venue and she fainted with anger and resentment.
People around couldn''t help but pity Gracie, it was clear that the boy n all of this and used Gracie''s greed to trap her. But s now she has to spend her 5 years in the dungeon.
"Only 15 minutes has passed search all the area of family territory, if you still can''t find him search the entire City. I don''t care who that boy was and where he came from, search for anything rted to him. Also, those who were in charge of servant building and those elders who were supposed to watch the wastndians will be punished without mercy." Rn announced sharply and quickly begins to search, he has to find that ring no matter the cost!
________________________________
Fifteen minutes earlier.
Ace was watching Rn''s like a hawk while using his soul sense at maximum potential. He has been using his soul qi and mentally tired but in the face of a storage space treasure, he didn''t care.
The moment Felix''s cultivation gate begins to forms, Rn''s soul wave flickers slightly.
Right at this moment, a soul thread shot towards Rn''s finger! Ace was very careful not to alert Rn. Since Ace''s soul core was still colorless a Qi Formation Cultivators can sense soul threads if they concentrate using their Qi and Rn''s was not far away from that step either.
The soul thread was sessfully wrapped around the ring on Rn''s finger. Ace takes a deep breath and waits for the perfect moment. But suddenly remembered something and he sends another soul thread towards Felix.
When Felix''s result was clear for everyone to see Ace noticed, Rn has finally let his guard down! He quickly active the Pick-Pocket and the next moment Felix''s money bag was inside that long bag and Rn Ring was on his finger.
Ace bes excited ''I get The Ring. Heh!''. He didn''t even hear a system voice in excitement. ''Now is not the time to celebrate I have to escape first.''
He quickly looked around and everyone has the same kind of expression as Rn. He took advantage of themotion and it was alreadyte evening.
Ace uses stealth and disappeared into the crowd but he left the full bag of these stolen goods behind for Gracie. Because he wanted everyone to knows that all this was Gracie''s n.
He has seen all those innocent wastnd boys who were always begging for their life but Gracie always killed them in ruthless ways. He didn''t want her to escape by saying she didn''t know anything and that''s why he left that bag there as evidence.
''She can''t find her way out of it now, once Felix or Ruben notice.'' He thought while escaping.
In five minutes, he was already in front of the main gate of the Grant family and there was still no one chasing after him. Since it was a family meeting today the security was tight but for Ace it was nothing. No one notices him leaving.
Ace was using silent steps and was heading towards the Kelby family.
Now considering he has alerted the Grant family already. He has to find Eva andplete the system''s mission.
Eva has told him before that she is staying in her little cottage inside the Kelby family territory.
Since Asher has gone with his uncle to ''Find Ace''. There he didn''t need Eva because her skill was not enough in 1-Star City so he ordered her to keep searching for clues on ''ck Ghost''.
Grant and Kelby''s family territories were close to each other. At full speed, Ace has already reached the Kelby family Gate in five minutes and he enters like a shadow.
Kelby''s family security was not as tight as Grant''s family. It was also at this time, Rn has started searching the Guests'' belongings.
Ace remembered where Eva has told him to find her in the Kelby family after their n was set in motion.
Ace saw special marks that Eva has left behind on trees, only he can notice these marks because they were specifically for Ace. He followed those marks and saw a little cottage in an open field. It was very simple but much better than his old hut.
He didn''t even need to go inside because a graceful figure emerges behind him. Ace already noticed and smile while turning around.
She was obviously Eva.
"Eva let''smences our n we didn''t have much time." Ace said with a smile
Eva''s fox-like beautiful eyes shine when she heard Ace.
Chapter 32 - Thiefs Space!
"You were only there for one month and you already seed in our n this quick?" Inquiry Eve suspiciously while narrowing her lovely eyes.
The n that was supposed to take at least one year just to set in motion was nowplete in a month. This was simply unbelievable for Eva.
Ace ignores her questioning gaze and hastily asks her, "Just tell me this; when Rn nt this mask on your face, did the contract vanished after he drips your blood on it, in his left hand?" If this was true then Ace has seeded in his quest to free Eva, but if not then he has somehow gone back to Grant''s family again.
"Yes! it was like he was using some kind of secret skill. He simply takes this mask and item ve contract out of thin air. But why are you asking this out of blue?" Eva was confused.
"Hahaha. Then this means, I seed! It seems luck was with me this time." Aceughs delightfully. He has to thanks the system if not for it he would''ve never found out about this space ring existence and even alert the Grant family after infiltrating their treasury.
Eva looks around at Ace but she didn''t see any bag or other staff with Ace. Besides, he was perspiring profoundly and his face was a little pale.
''He''s empty-hand, did he hit his head?'' Eva worriedly thought about her ''team leader'' and said with a hint of anxiety in her eyes, "But you didn''t have any bag of holding, where is the item ve contract?"
Ace was breathing heavily but there was a wide smile on his face, "Hehehe. I''ll tell you after we clean Kelby''s family treasury. It has already been fifteen minutes since I steal Rn''s ring he should''ve already started searching for me. We didn''t have time to waste, where''s the treasure? I''ll be right back and then we''ll leave this city." Ace''s grin mysteriously and wanted to give her a big surprise afterpleting the system''s mission.
Eve looked at Ace''s pale face with concerns but his eyes were full of vitality so, she trusts him and told him where the treasury was located.
Kelby''s family territory wasn''t as big as Grant''s family. They only have one main mansion and two other districts under their control so it wasn''t hard for Ace to remembered all the details.
"Don''t rm the family head of Kelby family he''s a peak of Qi Gates realm expert," Eva reminds Ace warily.
"Don''t worry even that Rn couldn''t find me what that old guy can do?" Ace snorted and vanished in the direction that Eva gave him.
The main mansion of the Kelby family was big and always protected by the elders of the family. It was where the main family lives.
Ace was hiding behind a tree and observing the big mansion of the Kelby family.
He didn''t see anyone guarding the gates of the mansion but he could sense two powerful experts hidden nearby with his soul sense.
''Hmm? They are weaker than that elder who was hosting the meeting of the Grant family. it seems they''re at the 4th gate of Qi Gates.'' Ace quickly guess their cultivation base byparing them with Ezekiel.
Ace didn''t have much time to waste because he knows if Rn didn''t find him in Grant''s family territory, he would ask for the help from Kelby family, and at that time they would also be alert as well. He has to do it quickly and without anyone noticing it.
He used stealth and silent steps with his True and Fales eyes simultaneously so he could see hidden traps as well as notice those two experts'' sudden movements.
Ace enters the mansion through the hidden passage that Eva told him about without alerting those two experts.
Inside the mansion were quiterge and there wasn''t anyone here except for the attendants and the main family.
Ace remembers and followed Eva''s instruction and go towards a white pir that was beside the stairs. When he gets closed the pir, a panel pop out that he didn''t see for a while and heard the system''s voice,
========
"[Target in range!]
[Did the host want to scan the target?]
{Cost: 10 Thief Points}"
========
Ace snorted and ignore the system. Since he already knows everything about the treasury what is the point of wasting the thief points?
He active Ture and false eyes and saw a strange mechanism on the pir. It was like Billy''s shop hidden doors but more advance.
Just like before he saw mysterious grey lines and a dark hole between them. He quickly active treasure opening hand second form ''two fingers as key''and arrange his metallic fingers on the hole.
The hole vibrates a little and his finger started to sink in it. With a light ''shhe'' sound, the illusionary array disables and the pir shows a hidden door.
Ace fully activates his heavenly sense and confirms that they were no one behind this door. This door was not some simple door because Ace could seeplex grey lines on it and it will not be open by simple means after all the whole treasury of the Kelby family was probably behind this door.
This array on the door was not an ''Illusionary Array'', it was a ''Locking Array.''
After finding the ''dark hole''1 position of the ''locking array'', Ace close his eyes and begun to use the third form of treasure opening hands ''Pattern Key''.
Ace three fingers started to turn silvery and a strange symbolic pattern surface on them. He ces his silvery finger on the locking array ''w'' or dark hole.
With a little vibration, his finger sinks in it, and a light ''papp'' sound rang, which means the door was opened.
Ace quickly open the door and saw an underground passage.
After confirming with his heavenly sense that there was no one, he went in. With silent steps, he reached the end of the pathway in seconds.
At the end of the pathway, he saw a silver color door that was probably made of some special metal and the treasures were unmistakably behind this silver door!
''The treasury of Kelby family!.'' Ace''s heartbeat races as he was filled with excitement.
Ace used the true and false eyes and this time he saw two little dark holes in the silver door array. He now has some idea that the more powerful or wless the array is the ck holes would be hard to find and unlock as well.
Now he has to use the fourth form of the treasure opening skill ''Lock-Eraser Key''.
Acemences operating the skill with both of his hands, His pams turn silvery and a single golden mysterious symbol started to form in the center of his pams. The golden symbol looks like a spike with tiny needles around it.
Ace has practiced this skill the most after pick-pocket and was a little bit away from mastering the fifth and final form.
He ces, both pams on dark holes and the moment it happened the silver door tremble a little and the dark holes mysteriously started to spin.
Ace felt the golden symbol started to suck his Heavenly-Qi wildly and his face started to turn paler.
The ''locking array'' on the silver door crack opens after twenty seconds.
Ace was panting and exuding profoundly because he was drained after using the fourth form ''Lock-Eraser Key'' together with his eye''s skill. Furthermore, he was continuously using Soul Qi form this evening that put arge burden on his mind and body.
''I should be able to escape with my remaining Qi.'' Ace deemed weakly as he gradually opened the silver door.
When the silver door opens, a strong medicinal aroma enters his nose and Ace felt his mind be a little clear. He immediately knew there wererge numbers of alchemy pills in here and high-quality ones at that.
As Ace enters the treasury, his eyes brighten with glittering lights. He saw rows of shinning weapons and shelves of colorful pill bottles.
But he didn''t have much time left to appraise all of this, he quickly looked at the blue ring excitedly on his finger and questioned the system, "System tell me, how can I use this storage ring?"
Ace didn''t bring anything with him since he has this storage ring. He was thrilled about using this legendary storage ring.
"[If a Storage Space Treasures has owner then it is also bound by the owner''s ''Qi Mark''. Until the owner died or removes the ''QI Mark'' of its own free will, no one can see inside or use the storage space treasures. The system has already deducted 1 TP on its own since the host seems to be in a hurry]" System answered but this time its voice wasn''t emotionless but a hint of yfulness was mix within.
But Ace didn''t notice it at all because he was dumbfounded and started to panic after hearing; he can''t use the storage ring without killing Rn. He didn''t even bring a bag after getting his hands of the space ring in excitement. Now how the hell he was suppose to bring all these treasures out? IN HIS HAND?!!
"[A free suggestion for the host, check the message panel.]" System voice rang in his head but this time it was emotionless and cold like always.
Ace snapped out of it by system voice and finally remembered that he has received some kind of notification when he steals the storage ring but he was in hurry to escape and didn''t pay much attention to it at that time.
Now that system points it out for him, he remembers about it and quickly opens the massage panel.
=============
[Message Panel]
[Pick Pocket seed]
{Host Steal}
{Lowest-Grade Storage Space Treasure: 1},
{Lowest-Grade Pills (White-Ranked pills): 393},
{Low-Grade Pills (Green-Ranked pills):102}.
{Middle-level Low-Grade Pills (Blue-Ranked pills): 3},
{Lowest-Grade Weapons (1-Star): 44},
{Low-Grade Weapons (2-Star): 8}
{Middle-level Low-Grade Weapon (3-Stars):1},
{Techniques and skills of Lowest-Level (Mortal-Level): 4 Techniques, 9 Skills},
{Techniques and skills of Low-Level (Warrior-Level): 2 Techniques, 4 Skills},
{Ruby Coins: 12.4 Million},
{Qi-Stones Trash-Grade (Low-Level): 98,762},
{Low-Grade ve Contracts (2-Stars): 3}
{Medicinal Herbs and Metal Ores of Low-Grade (Green-Ranked, 2-Stars): 87 Herbs, 52 Metal Ores},
[Rewards: 653 Thief Points]
[Thief Points: 703]
=============
Ace didn''t dare to believe what he just saw!
He rubs his eyes to check again, but that huge list was still there. That huge amount of TP was still there as well. He forgets that he was currently standing inside the treasury of the Kelby family as excitement fills his heart andughs like a looney.
"I''m Rich! That old guy hides his wealth well, he even has these Pill, weapons, techniques, and even currency of upper-levelnds. Where the hell did, he gets this from?" Ace mutter joyously but there was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.
Ace wasn''t a brat of the outer region anymore. He has read an old book about Kingdoms and knew they used Qi-Stones as currency. He also knows these Warrior-level skills and techniques were monopolized by them and if they find out that Grant''s family has so many of them, they would probably annihte the whole River flower city down to thest chicken in fury.
''That bastard surely robbed someone from a Kingdom or he finds this ring somewhere.'' He thought grimly, and his guess was extremely urate.
Many years ago, Rn finds an expert of a Kingdom. That expert was gravely injured.
Rn was about to help him when he noticed him using the storage ring from afar. He was quite knowledgeable and he read about these legendary storage treasures in his family secret records. These space treasures were managed by upper-levelnds just like skills. But one can get a storage ring if he has connections and Qi-Stones.
Rn took advantage of the situation and killed that man and take the storage ring and all of his belonging in it. Rn even burned his body to ashes and leave no trace behind so no one can trace it back to him.
That''s why Rn was so panicked at that time when the storage ring vanished. He thought the Kingdom whom the cultivator he had killed, tracked him down and want to avenge their dead member.
But when he discovered, his ring was only stolen by a little boy of wastnds, he has a sigh of relief and starts to search for Ace before someone could figure out his biggest secret.
Ace calms down and notices another message below this big list.
=======
[Congrattion! The special conditions have been satisfied!]
[Host now has a storage space treasure and more than 500 TP]
[Now Host can unlock System''s new function!]
[Thief''s Space of 10 Cubic Meters]
======= ws or Defects in an array.
Chapter 33 - All Gone!
Ace was bewildered by this particr notification and suddenly delight surfaces on his face, "System doesn''t this mean I don''t need this space ring anymore and you can store my items for me! Are you also a storage space treasure?"
Ace thought that he finally figures out what kind of treasure system was, but not after hearing the system''s hostile answer.
"[No! The system is not a mere storage space treasure! Do you want to open Thief''s Space function or not?]" System rebuke in an emotionless voice.
Ace guesses that he has angered the system by calling it a space treasure. Hence, he quickly changes the topic, "How can I open this Thief''s Space?" He asked in full of excitement and expectation.
Just a mere thought about getting his own storage space make his blood boil.
"[A storage space treasure of any rank and 500 Thief Points are required to unlock the Thief''s Space.]"
"So Expensive!" Ace growls out loud as his voice was filled will grievance.
He was finally feeling like a rich man, seeing all these spoils and especially 700+ TP. But now this ck-hearted system wanted his 500 TP all at once!
Even that Heaven stealer pill that was the most expensive thing in the system shop only cost 150 TP. How could he not be grieved by it?
"DO IT!" Ace''s said in a mosquito voice. He felt his heart was bleeding after seeing his TP turned from 703 to 203. He quickly cheers himself up after thinking about this thief''s space function.
=======
"[Congrattion! Your ''Thief Storage Space'' of 10 cubic meters has been unlocked!]
[For next upgrade: You need 1000 TP and two storage space treasures of any ranked, to further increase the thief''s space by 40 cubic meters]
[Thief''s Space can only store Non-Living Beings]
[If the host wants to store Living-Beings inside: You need to upgrade it with 10 Low-Grade storage space treasures and 5000 TP]"
=======
System cold voice transmitted inside Ace head.
The Blue space ring on his finger suddenly turns to dust and all of sudden, his soul began to feel agitated.
After a moment pass, he suddenly felt; something new that was now part of his soul, and it was a baffling feeling.
A piece of new information appeared in his brain at this moment and with a thought, a yellow old book appeared in his hand.
This was the skill book that was stored in the blue ring before and now all the other things that were in the storage ring were inside his Thief''s Space! With just a thought that book vanished from his hand and reappeared inside his ten cubic meters dark thief''s space.
''All those TP were worth it! But to upgrade this space I have to spend quite some TP it''s simply too expensive; well this space is big enough for now.''
After getting the hang of the system''s new function, Ace quickly focuses on the current task at hand and quickly starts to do his ''job''.
Ace didn''t know what he was taking but he was storing anything thates to contact with his hand.
Since he has all those treasures from Kingdom, he didn''t expect much from this treasury of the mere Kelby family.
After running around tirelessly, he finally cleans the entire room that was glittering with treasure five minutes ago.
After watching this ''clean'' empty room, he nodded in satisfaction, ''Mission Complete! Time to escape.'' He quickly closed the silver door and run towards the exit.
Aftering out of the white pir''s hidden door, he closed it, and that array was active again and it bes a white pir again.
No one will be able to tell without going inside; the treasury was already emptied!
Ace exits from the hidden door. After sessfully escaping from the mansion he heads straight towards Eva''s cottage to pick her up and leave this city.
He didn''t want to leave his birthce but without doing it he couldn''t be strong and meet with his little sister.
Ace quickly approach Eva''s cottage and she was already waiting for him outside the door anxiously.
"Did you seed?" Eve asked him hastily with concerned eyes.
Ace grinned broadly and answer "Just who do you think I am? I''ll tell you about the detailster first we have to leave the city. It is going to be a hugemotion tomorrow. Hmm? Your bag seems quite heavy it will slow you down let me take care of it."
Finished saying he touched the big bag in Eva''s hand and store it inside his Thief''s Space.
Eva was about to decline his offer when she saw her bag was disappeared in thin air. It was the same scene that she saw Rn doing all those years ago and it left a deep impression on her mind that''s why she still remembers it.
But now Ace was doing the same kind of thing. She was startled and ask in bewilderment, "YOU! HOW?!"
Before she could inquire any further Ace quickly said "I''ll tell you everything after we leave this city now let''s go, we didn''t have much time."
He used silent steps again and runs towards the main gate of the Kelby family. He didn''t use stealth fully because Eva could not follow him with the stealth at its peak.
Eva has too many questions, but Ace was in a hurry so she could only follow him and askter.
They left Kelby''s family with ease and head towards the inner region gate.
That night two silhouettes disappeared into the forest outside of River-Flower City. Before disappearing one of those two figures stopped moving and turns around to see the Beautiful City onest time. It smiled and said, "I''ll be back." And disappeared inside the vast forest.
---------
After five minutes Eva and Ace left the Kelby family, Rn''s figure appeared outside the Gate of the Kelby family.
Rn didn''t look like his normal calm and aloof self. He was disheveled and panting heavily.
He has searched the entire Grant Family and couldn''t even find Ace''s shadow. Then he has no choice but toe here to seek help from his son inw the current family head of the Kelby family. It was disgraceful but he could not think of any other way.
He didn''t want others to find out about that storage ring. If this secret were exposed, he will be dead with his entire family or maybe with the entire city.
Kelby family has a special treasure that can find a person by their unique smell. He has that big bag in his hand that Ace holds this morning, this was hisst chance and he has to seed no matter the cost.
Rn directly enters the gate and head straight towards the main mansion of the Kelby family.
Those gate guards be startled by this sudden intruder and are about to raise the rm when they saw Rn''s face, they quickly recognize him and let him pass.
Rn quickly appeared outside of the big mansion and was about to charge into it when he felt two Qi were locked on him.
"Hmph!" He snorts coldly and released the pressure of his cultivation base.
Those two elders were immediatelye from hiding and bow to Rn, "We greet Master Grant please forgive our previous offense."
Rn didn''t have time for a chat and shout, "L! Sumyan! Come out and see me right now!"
Rn directly called the family head by his name and those two elders smile wryly on the side. Only he has the guts to call him like that if it was anyone else, they would''ve died by now.
Rn used his cultivation base to amplify his voice and the entire area was rang with his sound. The gate of the mansion opens and a man in histe thirties walks out with a beautiful woman beside him.
She resembled Rn a little but she was more charming. She was Rn''s daughter L Grant and Asher''s mother. The man beside her was the current family head of the Kelby family and Asher father Sumyan Kelby.
Sumyan could see Rn was not looking so good by his paleplex and his hair was a tangled mess. He immediately asked, "What happened to you?"
Beside him, L also saw her father''s condition and asked anxiously, "Father why are you looking like this? Did something happen?"
Rn saw his daughter worried expression and couldn''t help but felt little warmth in his heart. But he quickly remembered that if he didn''t find that brat he and his entire family would be exterminated!
"It is like this¡." He quickly exined the events that unfold today, "He stole our n mortal grade skill, and I need to find him before he escapes somewhere else. Sumyan lends me your n ''All direction Compass'' and after I find that brat, I can lend my family mortal skill to Kelby family for 6 months." He quickly changed his space ring with mortal grade skill, since it was really in it, he wasn''t telling any lie.
Sumyan eyes glow when he heard Rn promised. Even those elders who were standing on the side grasps.
Sumyan always wanted to learn that skill but Rn never let him. But now he was offering it for 6 whole months how could he not be agreed with him?
"Hahaha, father inw we are family since that bastard dares to steal from you it means he steals from me. Let''s go inside and I fetch that Compass for you from the treasury." He didn''t wait for Rn''s agreement and quickly proceed towards the treasury. He was afraid Rn would change his mind and go back on his words.
L snorted after hearing her husband''s shameless words. She knew him more than anyone else. He would not do anything until he saw benefits in it.
She ignored him and said to Rn in a gentle tone, "Fathere inside and rest for a while that little ve can''t run far, we will find him with the all-directionpass. He can''t escape."
L said confidently because that ''all directionpass'' can even find someone from miles away not to mention that it was night impossible in their eyes to imagine that the thief can escape the city in due time.
Rn rxes a bit after hearing her guarantee and epts her offer and head inside.
Since those two elders were already here L invites them for some tea politely and they ept the offer. Anyway, they also wanted to find that brat or more urately that mortal-grade skill.
Rn and those two elders have just entered the mansion when they heard Sumyan shrill screams like a dog who was about to die,
"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Everyone was rmed and quickly followed his voice and enter the white pir. They quickly advanced towards the silver door and enters the treasury.
Inside they saw Sumyan was lying on the ground while his face was twitching continuously and he keeps muttering like some madman, "All gone! all gone! all! gone! all gone!"
L saw her husband first and anxiety fills her face, she was about to ask him what happened when she noticed that the treasury was empty.
Yes, it was EMPTY!
She didn''t even make a sound and her eyes roll upwards and she fainted on the spot from this huge trauma.
Those two elders and Rn also saw all this and were stunned silly.
"I-Is this really a treasury?" Rn shutter for the first time in his life.
That night a piece of big news that shatters the entire River Flower city peace spread. Someone has robbed the Grant family of their mortal-grade skill and it was most likely that the same person has plundered the entire Kelby family Treasury!
Even City Lord Mathieses out from his seclusion cultivation after hearing this unexpected news!
Chapter 34 - Slave-Contracts
After leaving the River-Flower city, Ace and Eva heading in the western direction. Since all the big cities are in the west!
They were going to the Red-Mountain City that was somewhere between the western and eastern low-levelnds!
Red-Mountain was also the closest 1-Star city around River-Flower City and most importantly no one from Grant or Kelby family would dare to move freely in a 1-Star city. Red-Mountain City was five days travel away from the River-Flower City.
They traveled tens of miles in the forest at full speed because they were afraid of those two families sending reinforcements after them.
Considering, Ace was almost out of Qi after all he did today, he and Eva travel for six hours before finding an empty cave to rest for the night.
After hiding their tracks and closed the cave entrance carefully. Eva lit the fire in the dark cave.
"Give me my bag I packed some rations." When Ace was doing his ''job'' Eva backpacked everything she could for travel.
Ace was panting heavily while leaning against the wall of the cave, hisplexion was not quite good because of overdrawing his Qi.
''I outdid myself today,'' He smiles bitterly when he heard Eva''s charming voice and snaps out of his thoughts. He quickly takes Eva''s bag out from his thief''s space.
Eva saw Ace take her bag out of thin air and again overwhelmed by it, she forgets about ashen Ace and asked like a curious child, "Now, tell me quickly! How can you do things like Rn?"
Ace was hoping to recover a bit first but seeing her acting like a child, he swiftly recalled that she was a chatterbox, and if he didn''t tell her about storage space treasures she would pester him to no end.
''Sigh'' He sighed helplessly and tells her, '' "It is like this today in the meeting I saw Rn...."
Ace tells her about what happened today while Eva listens with twinkling eyes.
After fifteen minutes Ace''s story was finally finished and he didn''t care about Eva who was bbergasted and looking at him like he was some kind of monster. He starts to eat the cooked meat like a wild animal.
"YOU! You really did all this in half an hour?" She points her trembling finger at Ace while she eximed in shock.
Their original n was after Ace sessfully wins Gracie''s trust he would make Gracie somehow spills the beans about the Grant Family''s treasury. He can''t scout with the system because it only worked with his mission targets.
After Ace gets the information, he would inform Eva. They have the advantage of Eva knowing about the Kelby family''s hidden treasury so Ace didn''t have to worry about it.
Once he confirms the position of Grant''s family treasury,
Ace would act and plunder the entire Grant''s treasury. He knows treasuries can''t be open regrly, and if they emptied Grant''s family treasury without anyone noticing it no one knows when the treasury would be open. In meantime, they would have already hit the Kelby Family''s treasury andplete their task to plunder both families.
That''s was their original n but Ace has done all of this in half an hour and he even gets a legendary item like storage space treasure. How could Eva not be stunned silly?
"FO whaf? (So, what)" Ace answered smugly while eating.
"Humph! slow down or you might choke to death." She puffed after seeing Ace''s pleased face.
However, Eva has to admit this twelve-year-old guy has just robbed two of the most powerful families of a 2-star city in half an hour. She secretly admires him in her heart. "Tell me how do you find out about Rn space ring and how did he get it?"
"I don''t know how he gets it but one thing is clear, he can''t buy these things like space ring and all these techniques even if has the wealth. My guess is he finds this space ring on the corpse of someone from a kingdom. As for how I find out about that space ring ''Hehe'' that''s a trade secret." Ace grin mysteriously.
Furthermore, before Ace has some doubts about the system, but after the system gave him a storage space like Thief''s Space like it was nothing and he even has the option to upgrade it. He was sure now that this system hase from outside of this world!
And he would never tell anyone about the system, not even his little sister. It''s not like he didn''t trust Alina it''s just that he didn''t want to bring her any troubles.
Because if one day someonees looking for his secrets or the system they might have some kind of heaven-defining treasure. Hence, he decided that he would never tell anyone about it.
"Fine fine! I know you have your own secrets so, I won''t ask again. Now give me the contract so I can get rid of this cursed mask." Eva was displeased seeing Ace acting all mysterious and finally give up. She just wanted to free herself from this mask now.
Ace didn''t dy either and take out three thin stone tes. There were mysterious patterns engraved on them. These stone tes were item ve contracts.
ve marks were the weakest forms of a ve contract, they were normally used on mortals and some of weaker Qi Gates realm cultivators. ve marks can be nted on someone by taking their blood on ve contracts and if one isn''t strong enough they can''t resist.
But Eva''s mask was a higher-level ve contract, it was an item ve contract. It was a set of one item and one contract together. She was a devil so she can''t be bound by those normal ve contracts even if she was not strong.
However, Rn has found this item ve contracts in that space ring. They were especially used on Qi Foundation Building realm or other races with special abilities. He thought that since Eva was a half-devil she will be strong in the future that''s why he nted this ve item on her so he could control her in the future. If she wanted to free herself from this item ve contract she has to break through into ''Qi River Realm'' a realm above Qi Foundation Building Realm!
"Which one is yours?" Ace showed her those three stone tes
Eva''s eyes brighten when she saw those ve contracts. She quickly points towards one in the center on this contract was a mysterious pattern that looked like a fox, "That one! Give it to me!" Eva said excitedly.
Ace didn''t say anything and give the contract to her, because he also wanted to free her since he considers her his ''first friend''.
Eva quickly grabs the contract, and then she used her full power to shatter the stone te with the fox-like engraving. The moment the stone te shatters the mask that tormented Eva for all these years begins to crack and shatter.
When the mask on her face was shattered Eva''s face was revealed for the first time in many years. Ace saw her face and was instantly bewitched by it.
Eva had an oval face that was clear of any impurities. Her skin was creamy and tender, and unexpectedly, she was in no way inferior to little Alina!
A mature breathtaking beauty! With a charming smile on her face, she was looking at Ace with her fox-like hazel eyes, and her graceful figure starts to exude an imposing manner. Along with the power coursing in those eyes of hers, she could easily have been mistaken as an aloof otherworldly being.
Ace nearly forget to breathe after seeing Eva''s charming face. Before he thought that only Alina could have this kind of face when she would mature but now seeing another beauty on the same level as Alina he was mystified.
Eva saw Ace was drooling while he was looking at her like a fool. A smile bloom on her beautiful face. But there were also tears in her eyes. ''I''m finally free from this cursed.'' She thinks as she clears the tears from her eyes.
"Why are you gawking at me like an idiot? Didn''t you see any beautiful girl before?" Eva teases Ace as she giggles.
Ace snapped out of his daze and quickly notice a droll on his lips and he blushed. He was having a hard time just looking away from Eva''s face. ''She is really beautiful.''
Ace suddenly felt a strange feeling in his body. But before he could find out he felt Eva''s power was rising rapidly and be serious.
Eva also feels her cultivation starts to increase at a rapid pace. She has only opened the second gate of Qi Gates in all these years. Now in an instant, 3rd gate was already opened, and her cultivation was still rising!
4th Gate of the Qi Gates! But it still didn''t stop here.
In seconds Eva''s aura skyrocket and she opened the 5th Gate!
Eva''s cultivator finally stopped at the Peak of Qi Gates Realm! She was only a single step away from entering the Qi Foundation Building Realm.
"Th....this, what happened?" Eva was bewildered.
Chapter 35 - Job-Mission & Unexpected Rewards!
Ace was also overwhelmed, he didn''t expect that she could reach the same level as Rn in instant. "I think it has something to do with that ve mask." He makes a wild guess.
"My thoughts exactly." She was agreed with Ace.
They were right!
It has happened because the scariest thing about these item ve contracts is they would never let their hosts to breakthrough into ''Qi River Realm''. The ve item on the host body would always be sucking on their Qi continuously and make it extremely difficult just to break through to a small realm much less a whole full realm.
But if somehow the host of the item manages to break through into the ''Qi River realm'' the ve item would release all the ''Qi'' that it stole from its host for all those years and self-destruct on its own. And the host of the ve item would turn into meat paste with the ve item itself!
Rn wasted this precious item ve contract from a Kingdom on Eva so he could control her, but even he didn''t know that this item has been sucking more than half of Eva''s Qi in all these years.
That''s was also the reason she was still stuck at the 2nd stage of Qi Gates Realm even after she was a half-devil.
Now the contract has been lifted so all that Qi that was stored in that mask for years was given back to Eva and she reached the peak stage of Qi Gates''s realm in one step.
Furthermore, since Eva was a half-devil, she doesn''t have any bottleneck in her cultivation until she reached the Qi River Realm!
Eva thought emotionally, ''I think this is the reward I get after all my years of suffering!'' Now she was truly free.
Ace was still staring at Eva''s charming face, he couldn''t help but deem, ''Having a powerful beauty like Eva as a team member isn''t a bad thing at all.''
Ace was daydreaming when Eva''s focus shifted on him again, and he quickly looked away in panic and blush a little as if he was caught doing something wrong.
Eva tittered seeing Ace''s silly expression and said, "You should eat first, I''m going to cultivate because of the sudden increase in my power, and I think I awoke some new memories of my devil lineage. Therefore, don''t disturb me and stop peeping at me from the corner of your eye if you want to look then just look it not like I''m stopping you. After all, even I didn''t see how I look now after all these years and you are the first person to see me, but from your expression, I think my face is not that bad."
Eva chortled as she teases Ace, whose face has be redder after getting caught red-handed.
Ace force himself to shift his attention on his meal from Eva''s face. He was feeling a strange kind of sensation today that he was very confused about. ''Why did I act like an idiot. It''s not like I didn''t see this kind of beauty before.'' He starts to eat again and Eva sits on the corner of the cave while muttering something. She was cultivation her devil n cultivation technique.
After finishing his meal, he feels a lot better. He suddenly remembers something and quickly transmitted in his mind eagerly, "System Iplete my 2nd mission so where are my rewards?"
He has gained more than 500 TP by coincidence and now he haspleted his mission perfectly so he was expecting great rewards. Especially that job mission, he was curious about it the most.
The ck mission panel appears in front of Ace''s eyes.
=======
"[Staring the evaluation process]"
[Mission Panel]
[Honorable Thief''s Dignity: Someone is trying to steal from a thief and this is uneptable. Consequently, the host has to show the despicable stealer who''s the real thief is! The host has to empty the whole Kelby Family Treasury! The honor of a thief is in your hand Host!]
[Status: Complete]
[Scanning Host Performance] {1.2.3¡100% Complete}
[Result]
{Performance Rating: Average}
[Rewards will be 2X for the first 3 Missions]
[Second 2X Reward will be given now]
[2X Reward]
{EXP =5000}
{Soul Points (SP) = 2000}
{Thief Points (TP) = 850}]
[Rewards have been added to host status]
========
[Second Reward: Job mission has been given]
[Job Mission: Host has to do honorable thievery at a city lord''s mansion of the No.1 City in the Low-Level Lands. (Lands of cities)]
[Rewards]
{Thief Panel will be unlocked}
{Shop will be updated}
{Other rewards based on Host Performance}
[Time: 5 Years.]
[Punishment on failing: System will stop working for 50 years]
==========
Ace viewed all this information and listen to the system in excitement, but when he heard his performance was only rated as Average he was dumbfounded and questioned the system in anger, "Why ''Average''!? This time I didn''t even get noticed by anyone!"
=======
"[System will consider this first free question of the host.]
[System evaluates the host performance ording to the Thievery Criteria set by the system.]
[No doubt, the host did an excellent job by doing his mission diligently. However, the host has forgotten to do the most important thing in both of his mission.]
[That is the host didn''t leave his Honorable Thief''s Name behind! A thief''s honorable name is like a second life. If the other party didn''t know who robbed them how could they spread your fame throughout the world?]
[If the host would''ve left his name on the scene, the system would evaluate host performance a level higher.]
[Secondly, the host didn''t steal everything. The treasury door, its array, and the traps are all considered treasures inside the treasury. Consequently, the host cannot get any higher evaluation. Lastly, there are not all the mistakes that the host has made but the system can only tell you ording to your 0-level authority. If the host wants to know more, upgrade your authority level.]"
========
The system gives Ace a long yet passionate exnation.
Ace bes inarticte after hearing all this nonsense, ''She wants me to leave my name so they can spread my fame? Bullshit! It''s more like they will spare no effort to hunt me down! And I even have to steal that big door and that array as well now? First, I have to know how the hell I''m supposed to detach them without anyone catching me first, and even this is not enough to give me a perfect rating!?''
He nearly blew his top and swore out loud. He didn''t want to bicker with the system, since he didn''t know when it would take his precious question away so he endured.
Ace could only calm down after seeing all those bountiful rewards.
''Where is this No. 1 city? Well, I will find out soon enough when I reach Red-Mountain city. And what is a thief panel.'' Ace''s face turned grave when he thought about this job mission.
He really wanted to ask the system but he didn''t want to waste his precious question. He questioned after some deliberation. "System tell me where youe from?"
"[Host has not enough authority.]"
"Then why do you choose me?" This question was in his mind for a very long time.
"[Host has not enough authority.]"
"Then why a thief of all professions?" This was another one of the most important questions that he always wanted to ask.
Ace somewhat knew for a fact that the system can cultivate him into anything, he can be an alchemist or crafter or even a rune crafter that he hears from the system that time. He even can be a powerful warrior with all these mysterious skills and especially with the Heaven Stealer Technique. But why a Thief?
He didn''t expect any answer from the system about this question either, but unexpectedly system answered,
"[A thief is free and can do whatever he wants. He isn''t bound by any regtions of society or he has to follow any rules of a nation. If he is strong enough he isn''t even bound by thews of heaven itself! So why be an alchemist or a crafter when you can just take those things made by them with a mere thought? Why be a warrior when you can just steal your enemy''s everything and be an even worse nightmare for them? Why fight in light when you be a Sovereign in Darkness?]
[Remember well host a Thief is FREE!]"
Ace instantly fell into a trance-like state after hearing system words he didn''t expect that a thief can be described in such a way it was like a barrier has been broken and his cultivation starts to advance.
After 10 hours, Ace finallye back to his senses and felt his muscles can resonate with Qi just like his skin. He could even feel his bones were also undergoing a tremendous change.
''I''ve entered the 3rd Gate of the Heaven''s Gates realm in one night! I think it was because of experience and some kind of mysterious power in system words that made me understand the Heaven Stealer Technique more deeply. A thief is Free huh..'' He remembered with a simper on his face.
Chapter 36 - I Want Everything!
Ace transmitted, "Show my status."
========
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human {No Bloodline}]
[Heaven: 1st Mortal Sky Heaven}]
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Gates {3rd Heavenly Bones Gate}]
{EXP: 450/5000}
[Soul Cultivation: Yellow Wind Soul Core]
{SP: 999/1000} {Extra: 1031}
[Thief Points (TP): 1053]
[Skills: 5]
[Stealth Basic: {High}
Silent Steps Basic: {High}
True & False Eyes Basic: {Middle}
Treasure Opening Hands [Basic Art]: {4th Form}
Pick Pocket: {Middle}]
[Cultivation Technique: 2]
[{Heaven Stealer Technique Volume 1}, {Dual Shadow Swords}]
[Current Mission: 1]
========
Ace was astonished by his status and quickly used his heavenly sense, and to his surprised, now he could see or sense 30 meters of the area around him.
''I didn''t expect that my soul cultivation would go up as well. And ording to the system, my soul is already equaled to the Heavenly Foundation building Realm!'' Ace became ecstatic just thinking about the Heavenly Foundation Building Realm. This was really an expected surprise.
Ace forms soul threads on his fingers and now each finger could form two threads, also they were not colorless anymore now they were yellow.
This was the Heavenly Soul Qi after he forms the yellow wind soul core of the ck wind soul technique! But only Ace could see it or another soul cultivator who was a whole realm above him!
After testing his Soul Cultivation for some time, he shifts his attention elsewhere.
Now he has more than one thousand TP he couldn''t help but smiled ear to ear, and said: "System open the shop!"
Ace can now buy other things from the system shop,st time he didn''t have many TP''s so, he didn''t pay much attention to the shop''s other items. But now he has more than enough''
========
[{System Shop}]
[Avable Skill Books]
[Avable Cultivation Technique]
[Avable Weapons]
[Avable Pills]
========
Ace saw one by one; the Skill book has not been changed and the same goes for technique and pills. Ace open weapons panel.
=======
[{Avable Weapons}]
ck de Swords Set: 1 Short-Sword, 1 Long-Sword
{1st Grade Weapons}
{Price: 30 Thief Points}
---
Two-Face Mask
{Average Illusionary Formation Item}
{Price: 80 Thief Points}
---
Invisible Bead: 5 Avable
{One Time Use for one minute}
{Price: 50 Thief Points Per Bead}
======
Ace saw this time the weapons descriptions have been changed and Grads have appeared in front of them except invisible bead. He was astonished and asks the system, "System what is this first-grade and formation mean?"
He was quite perplexed because he knows even those Blue-Ranked alchemy pills and 3-Star weapon were only low-grade levels in system evaluation. Now he saw first-grade emerged in system''s shop and he never even heard about ''Formation'' before.
"[3 TP Required.]" System asked in an emotionless voice.
"Take them." Ace said annoyingly, he was still no used to this.
"[There are 9-Grades of ''Alchemists'', ''Crafters'', and ''Rune Crafters'' in entire Mortal Sky Heaven.]
[1st to 9th Grade Alchemists can create pills from 1st to 9th Grade.]
[Same goes for Crafters they can create weapons from 1st to 9th Grade]
[As for the Rune Crafters,1st to 9th level Rune Crafter can engrave ''Runes'' on any object included weapons and pills. These runes are called ''Rune Symbols'' and they are also divided between nine grades.]
[Rune Symbols are the essence of Rune Crafting. An ''Array'' can only contain 9 Rune symbols. After the array came the ''Rune Formations''. A formation can contain more than 9 rune symbols and it is much powerful. And how many rune symbols can one engrave are depend on the material.]
[As for what is above the 9th Grade, the host has to upgrade his authority to know about this information. The system can only give this much information with host current authority level.]"
Ace felt a brand-new world has been open to him after hearing this new information.
His heartbeat raced because if these weapons and formations are as powerful as the system describes them to be doesn''t that mean he can be invincible if this world; didn''t even have a 1st-Grade weapon? He didn''t even hear of rune crafter before much less about this formation! But now he saw a formation item in the system shop for sale and that item was only for 80TP. He asked in excitement, "System than how is this ''1st Grade Weapons'' listed in this world?"
"[ording to system analysis of host memories and knowledge, 1st Grade Weapons should be above 9-Star weapons. The host didn''t have much knowledge about this world power order, that''s why the system can''t answer this question with 100% uracy.]"
Ace only heard, ''above 9-Start weapons'' and said promptly, "System I want to buy EVERYTHING!" He was afraid that the system would change the weapon shop since he now knew, what it means to have treasures of this level.
"[Purchased has been sessful. Everything has been delivered to host Thief''s Space.]"
[Thief Points (TP): 690]
Ace didn''t care about 360TP since he has spent them on 1st Grade treasures.
He quickly checks his thief''s space.
Inside, with all those stolen goods in the corner appeared a set of beautiful pitch-ck double-edged swords. The short-sword was 1-feet long and 2-inches wide while the long-sword was 3-feet long and 3-inch wide.
Besides the sword set was a half ck and half white mask on its edges was engrave more than nine rune symbols, it was clearing a formation.
Lastly, there were five grey small beads filled with mysterious rune symbols!
Ace bes extremely happy seeing all these Grade items. He really wants to test them now especially those two ck swords. He felt some kind of connection with them for some reason.
Eva was still cultivating while her eyes were tightly closed, Ace thought for some time and decided to test these swords while traveling this forest. It was filled with ''Demonic Beasts'' after all.
He takes out the ck and white mask after he gave up on the idea of testing the swords. The moment he touched the mask the information of how to use it was transmitted into his brain by the system. He was quite impressed by this mask after he read all the information.
This mask can change his face into two different persons. He just has to select the target and let the mask formation scan it. After, the mask formation will create the illusion of the same face. This formation can even fool Qi River Cultivators!
''With this mask, I don''t have to be afraid of Gannt or Kelby family even if I go back to River-flower city now. But since I''m on my new journey and with this new job mission I have to travel towards the upper-level cities. At least with this mask in new ces I can always hide my face and do my mission with another face. Hehehe,'' He grins evilly after thinking about the advantages of the two-face mask.
He put the mask back into his thief storage space and after clearing his thoughts he starts to cultivate his dual shadow swords. His heavenly qi has already been replenished after he breakthrough into the 3rd Gate of Heavenly Gates.
Ace''s soul and body have already experienced a breakthrough in cultivation so he was focusing on dual shadow swords. It was his only technique that he still can''t cultivate properly no matter how much he tries but Ace has a firm heart and did not give up because he knows this technique can be his life-saving technique if he sessfully cultivates it.
____________
After two hours.
Ace was cultivating his shadow duel swords technique the whole time but he still didn''t make any progress, and he was depressed about it.
Eva opens her beautiful eyes after her full night of cultivation and now she was looking more like some fairy. She smiled after seeing Ace frowning face and said in her charming voice, "You didn''t seem happy about something?"
Ace was awakened by Eva''s mild voice and saw her smiling face. He couldn''t help but admire her face when he saw it again. He said with a forced smile, "No it''s nothing serious. On the other hand, you seem quite happy about something did you get something amazing in your memories?"
"Yes, I get two new skills and they''re quite powerful so I need some time to master them. But don''t worry it won''t affect our journey. Let''s continue our voyage to Red-Mountain City." Said Eva.
They begin their journey again.
Ace said as they passed trees, "I didn''t see any demonic beasts in our way did they not live in this forest?" He wanted to test his swords but he couldn''t find any beasts to test them so he asked Eva since she was more knowledgeable than him.
"They are many high-Level demonic beasts here but they''re deep in the forest we''re just about to enter their territories." Eva answer in a serious voice.
Ace bes serious after hearing her, he knows what these demonic beasts are capable of they aren''t just any normal Qi Beasts that he eats.
They were Demonic Beasts of Beast Race.. Beast Race is No.5 on the ranking of races in the Golden-Sky World just below the Humans!
Chapter 37 - Dual Shadow Swords Technique!
Beast Race is the most ancient race of the Golden-Sky world. It is even ancient than Devil Race. The beast race was actually the true inhabitant of this world. But one day other races start to emerge out of nowhere.
Thispletely enraged the beast race the true ''masters'' of this world and a huge war broke out. No one no how this great war ended but it did clearly not end in the favor of the beast race. Because in the end the entire world split into ten pieces and the beast race who were supposed to be the true owner of this world was ended up in the fifth rank.
But to this day the best race was still found all over the world. The demonic beast was a branch of the beast race that lived in the Azure-Wind continent. They can cultivate like beast race but they cannot transform into human form after they reached a threshold like True Beast Race.
--------
Ace and Eva were now deep into this vast unknown forest.
They were still rtively far before reaching the Red-Mountain City and needed to travel at least four more days to reach their destination.
In this region of forest, the demonic beasts frequently roamed.
This was the first time Ace has been so far away from River-Flower City, his heart was somewhat excited but also vignt.
Eva was also very excited. She did travel before with her father, but she didn''t remember much about that journey, she was very young at that time. And her mother was just passed away so, it wasn''t a pleasant memory.
While traveling on the dirt road, Ace suddenly noticed some movements behind him. He operated his Heavenly Qi and gathered it at his feet and was ready to activate silent steps so that he could quickly dodge or attack at any time.
"Eva something is approaching us! Get ready for the battle! If we can''t defeat it then I''ll buy you some time to escape..." He has just warned Eva about the danger.
''shua shua shua''
When he saw a big Tiger with a horn wasing towards them at high speed. He had not expected that he would encounter a demonic beast this early after they just enter this part of the forest.
The expression in the Horned Tiger''s eyes was very dull and filled with murderous intent. One could tell that he was here to hunt for his ''meal''.
As soon as the tiger appeared Ace took out a set of inky swords from his thief''s space.
Ace felt as if they were part of his arm the moment he held those swords in his hands. He didn''t have time to understand that feeling because that horned tiger has already leaped towards Ace at full speed.
The horned tiger''s attack was although simple but at the same time was also quick and ruthless. At the moment it leaped, two ck lights flickered in Ace''s eyes, Heavenly Qi released from his whole body, as Heavenly Qi suddenly poured into his swords.
The long-sword burst out with a mysterious aura and Ace shed his sword in a circr motion, a long arch congealed from Heavenly Qi appeared in the air, it quickly swooped towards the iing horned tiger, like a ck beam of light. The moment that beam touched the horned tiger,
''chheeee''
The horned tiger didn''t even have a chance to understand what has happened because he saw that his left and right-side vision starts to be distant. That was thest thing the Horned Tiger see before its eyes became noticeably sluggish and lost their luster and he split into two halves. Dead!
That horned tiger in front of the sword beam of Heavenly Qi that was being generated from the Dual Shadow Swords Technique was like butter being in front of a hot knife. Its body was easily cut down in half with just a sweep of the sword sh!
Only with the help of a powerful and profound technique like Dual Shadow Swords was it possible to congeal Qi into something tangible!
In this life and death situation Ace hasprehended the first realm of the Dual Shadow Swords technique ''Sword as Arm.''
All of this happened within few seconds, Eva didn''t have a chance to react and help him. When everything was over, Evaes to her senses she saw a huge tiger wasying on the ground in two pieces.
She hurriedly moves close to Ace who was standing in a trance while holding two swords. "Are you ok?" She asked him with concern.
Ace didn''t notice Eva''s arrival because he was in an enlightened state. ''So that''s what it means by ''Sword as Arm.'' He hasprehended the first realm in this life and death situation and mostly with the help of these two swords. ''Without these two swords, I can''t imagine how long would it take me to understand the true meaning of this technique. Now I know why I felt that feeling the first time because these swords were made for the Dual Shadow Swords Technique.''
Ace was still in a daze when he felt something soft was touching his face and he heard Eva''s anxious voice, "Hey! Are you ok or not? Do you need any medicine pills I have some in my bag!" She was panic after seeing Ace didn''t reply to her and she ce her hand on his face to check if he was alright.
"I''m fine don''t worry, I just have an insight on my technique. Sorry to make you worried for nothing." He said in embarrassment after seeing her so worried about him, he felt slightly warm in his heart as it was rare for someone else besides his family or sister to care about him. ''She''s really nice to me.''
"Humph! You scared me for nothing. Since you''re fine then tell me what was that technique and where did you get these amazing swords. Did you get them from Rn storage ring?" Since Ace was alright, she rxed and starts to question him like some curious child.
Ace smile lightly after seeing Eva returning to her usual self.
He retrieved something from his thief''s space. It was a blue 1-feet long and 1-inch wide single edge short sword. There were two blue gems on its hilt. It was clearly a sword for women.
"Here this sword is a 2-Star weapon. I find it inside Rn''s storage ring, this is for you. Use it until we reached the city since it is dangerous in this region of the forest. Once we reach there you have to give it back because we can''t show this kind of weapon in open." He gives that short sword to Eva.
Eva''s eyes instantly brighten seeing the beautiful short sword. She didn''t hear Ace''s warning and quickly grabs the sword and stars to swing it around to test it.
A short sword is very suitable for her Shadow-Devil n''s skills. She smiled after she checks the sword and said, "You don''t have to worry about me I can hide this sword with my new skill that can change my appearance, it can even change treasure appearance. It''s an illusion skill of the Shadow-Devil n."
Eva wave her hand and Qi starts to form a blue mist, this blue mist enveloped that swordpletely. After a moment the mist faded and that sword turns into a normal-looking sword.
Beside her, Ace exims after seeing this skill and couldn''t help but think, ''It is more useful than my two-face mask.''
But when he used true and false eyes, he saw the normal-looking sword turn into its original appearance. ''It appears she didn''t master this skill to its full potential. it can only deceive early Qi Foundation Building realm cultivator.''
Eva didn''t know that Ace has already checked her skill true prowess. She wrapped her hands around her big chest and said haughtily, "What do you think of my ''Shadow Deception Skill''with it I can even change my appearance and don''t have to be afraid of the Qi River Realm cultivators after mastering my skill to the perfection. For now, it can only work against the Early-stage Qi Foundation Building realm. But it''s enough in Red-Mountain City."
Ace was bewildered after seeing Eva showing her beautiful curves. He quickly looked down while he replied with a slightly redden faced, "Y-yes! It is a very good skill!" To not embarrass himself further he starts to collect the big tiger meat that was now into two pieces.
He didn''t notice that Eva''s eyes be even gentler while she was looking at him. She thought emotionally while she tenderly looked at him, ''After you have done all these things for me and free me from my nightmare. You didn''t even blink when you said you''ll cover for me. You are really an honest and caring person. Now only you are worthy of knowing everything about me and I will show my true self only in front of you, as for others I''ll be a true Shadow-Devil!''
Eva makes her resolve.
Ace notices a change in Eva''s mood but didn''t pay much attention to it, since he thinks it was because of the new sword he gives her. He was just done collecting all the meat of demonic Horn-Tiger when he hears the system''s voice in his mind,
"[You have killed a demonic beast of 2nd Gate. You have earned 10 EXP]"
[EXP: 460/5000]
Chapter 38 - Red-Mountain City! (Part 1)
Ace nearly jumps from the sitting position in delight. He didn''t dare to believe what he just heard and ask system in excitement, "System are you telling me that I can earn EXP by killing these beasts?"
"[Yes! If host kills any living being with QI or Soul QI, the host can earn EXP and Soul Points.]" System answered his question without asking for TP for the first time in a while.
He nearly cries from the happiness he thought that system has finally changed its ''wicked'' ways for the better and asked again, "Did this mean I can ask any question and you won''t ask for TP anymore?"
"[NO! Since host finds this method on his own, system answer this question for free.]" She crushed his happiness in instant.
Ace thought weirdly, ''Why didn''t I feel shocked by this anymore.''
Overall he was thrilled after making this discovery about EXP and SP. He looked at the dense forest and his eyes twinkle, ''You all are now my EXP! Hehe''
------
Ace and Eva travels in the forest for 10 days.
The reason for the dy in their journey was Ace''s obsession with demonic beasts. Every time he sees or even felt the presence of a demonic beast if it was at Qi Foundation Building realm he would escape with Eva. But if that beast was only at the realm of Qi Gates realm he would always hunt it down. He has even killed a peak-level Qi Gate beast with Eva''s help.
Because of these continuous battles, his improvement in his technique and skills were massive. He finally understands the meaning of being a weapon cultivator.
''The more I fight the more I can understand the weapon technique and improved my skills quickly.'' He thought gleefully.
Eva''s skills also improved with her lineage inheritance memories and a little bit of Ace helps. She always saw him fight using his Dual Shadow Swords technique and learn a lot about how to use qi with swords just by watching him, she admires him even more after seeing him in action.
Today they finallye out of the vast forest extension and saw a high red mountain peak in distance.
That peak was the Red Mountain Peak and the 1-Star Red mountain city was situated on that mountain peak.
Ace couldn''t help but grin after seeing the Red mountain in distance. But he was even more pleased about something else and that was his EXP!
[EXP: 2010/5000]
Since he has killed many higher-level demonic beasts he has earned quite a lot of EXP.
Ace also finds out that if he killed a demonic beast a small realm above him he could get more EXP. When he killed that peak-level demonic beast he earned 100 EXP in one fell swoop. Furthermore, every time he gains EXP, his Heavenly Qi bes denser.
But he still felt it was a shame that he didn''t get any SP in his whole journey. He has already reached the peak of Yellow Wind Core and he already has sufficient SP to break through to the next level. But the problem was he has to gain insight on it first before he can break through to the next Soul Cultivation Realm.
"Ace look there''s a carriage!" Ace was still deep in thought when he heard Eva''s sweet and exciting voice. He also saw a carriage in the distance which was slowly moving forward on an avenue. ''This must be an avenue that led to Red-Mountain City since these types of roads were only built near a big City.''
Ace be excited after seeing this carriage on the avenue because he knew they weren''t too far away from the city.
"It seems like we already enter the territory of the Red-Mountain City. You should get ready." He said to Eva in a knowing tone.
Eva smiled sweetly after hearing his meaningful words and a blue mist form around her goddess-like face. After a moment her beautiful facepletely changed into another simple face. She lookspletely different from before.
This was Ace''s n to make her changed appearance before entering the city. After all the experience in his home city, he was afraid that with looks like Eva she would definitely attract the attention of others and not in a good way either. She still looks beautiful but not as much as before.
Ace beamed seeing her changed appearance and said, "We don''t have any identity crystal that''s why we have to sneak inside. I''m confident that I can sneak inside without any problem but I''m worried about you."
"Humph! Don''t worry my Shadow Devil n''s technique isn''t inferior to yours." She retorted with a puff, but inside she was quite happy after seeing him worried about her.
Ace didn''t say anything justughed. After traveling with her for ten days he knew better than anyone that if someone underestimates her just because she''s was a seventeen years old girl then they have a lot of paining in their way.
After 30 minutes of walking Ace stared at that avenue in the distance, he was vaguely able to seerge walls at the peak of the mountain and the Red Mountain City Huge Gate which was not too far away from him.
-------
The red mountain was just like its name suggests it waspletely red in color. There was a legend about its red color, people of the city tell the stories about the evil cultivator who used to live in this mountain and he kills thousands of people here for his cultivation technique.
Blood flows in this mountain like a river and it turned crimson because of the curse of the innocent.
But many people didn''t believe in this tale because if this mountain was cursed then why the hell this city is a 1-Start City?
Many people believe that this mountain has some kind of mysterious natural treasure that''s why it turns into red color.
Many people including the cultivators wanted to solve this mystery but they can''t because if they wanted to search for the treasure they have to go inside the City Lord Mansion territory.
The City Lord Family has upied half of the entire mountain peak and no one was allowed to trespass into their territory if they value their life that is. Because to this day whoever even step inside the territory of the City Lord Mansion unnoticed that person will nevere back. It was like they would all vanished in thin air.
After those ''curious and greedy'' people who wanted to search for treasures saw all those people vanished theypletely gave up on their curiosity or greed.
Some stubborn and angry people who think that the City Lord was hiding a great treasure ''alone'' wanted to report this to their overseer Kingdom or some stronger 1-Star city but no matter how much they report or try other methods the Kingdom will never act and it seems that it was even proacting the entire city from others city as well.
After that, everyone gave uppletely, and the Red Mountain''s treasure became an unsolved, untouchable mystery.
____________________________
Ace and Eva stopped at the edge of the avenue which was situated near the forest. After resting for a little bit, they put on ck robes with hoods that Eva has prepared before their departure, after all, they were going to invade a 1-start city.
Although the night was dark, a gentle silver-white moonlight shone upon thend. This gentle pale aura allowed people not to be engulfed in utter darkness.
In the pale moonlight, two silhouettes were silently moving towards the tall and prosperous city.
Red-Mountain City was vast and surrounded by thick walls.
Ace looked at the endless wall and the moat outside of the City. Many people were going in and out of the enormous city gate, and many soldiers stood on the city wall.
Next to the gate were many guards, they were clearly cultivators who were checking the others people''s identity.
Ace scan those guards with true & false eyes and saw they were a total of ten guards, three of them were at peaks of the Qi Gates realm, and others were only at the fourth or third gate respectively.
"Wait for the chance and follow me closely don''t fall behind or we have to go into the forest again." Ace chortled as he whispered to Eva in a joking way to reduce the pressure on them a bit.
Eva didn''t say anything she also knew that she at the peak of the Qi Gates was still inferior to Ace who was only at the 3rd Gate.
Ace''s eyes were fixed on the people who were going inside the gate and thoseing out of it.
Ace also noticed with his soul sense that those guards were rxed and didn''t do their job that seriously. They only check their identity crystal with the big stone, collect the entry fee, and didn''t pay much attention to them afterward.
Suddenly, he spotted one big luxurious carriage followed by two small carriages moving towards the gate.
Ace saw those guards have abandoned their posts and start to head towards that luxurious carriage in a hurry.
"Now!" Ace single Eva with his hand and used stealth and silent steps, and like a loose arrow drift towards the unguarded city gates.
Chapter 39 - Red-Mountain City! (Part 2)
After Ace move, Eva also used her special skill and followed him closely. She was astonished by the fact that she has to use her full power just to keep up with him.
Everyone saw those guards going towards the carriage and stop moving they didn''t dare to enter the city without those guards'' permission because it was a crime and if they get caught then the punishment was very terrible. That''s why those guards abandon their posts because they knew no one would dare to break the rules.
But no one notices two silhouettes sneak inside the city when everyone''s attention was on thatvishing carriage.
''Seed''. Ace thought joyfully. He looks behind and saw Eva has also traversed the gate with him and beamed. He starts to move in a random direction, he wanted to go far away from the city gate before stopping.
After they stop moving they saw lively streets were covered with smooth bricks and were full of pedestrians, such a scene was clearly rare in a 2-star city like River-Flower city.
They quickly get rid of their ck robes and start to move around the city.
Ace has finally arrived inside of Red-Mountain City. He curiously looked around. Before, he had thought that River-Flower City was quite big and lively, but now, he discovered that he was a frog in a well. He did not know just how vast this 1-star City was, but he knew that it was many timesrger than River-Flower City.
Ace saw many people were gathering in front of a long wall.
"Let''s go there and see what is happening." Eva walks towards the long wall. She was quite curious about this big city and she wasn''t as vignt as Ace after crossing the city gate.
He followed her and went over the wall, they found that a lot of information was put up on that wall. They were either giving some directions or some kind of other information. On top of everything, there was also a map of the entire city indicating some inns, well-known stores, city lord''s mansion, and cultivation family''s directions¡
The map itself was very detailed, Ace soon found where the important ces were on the map. Another thing that had caught Ace''s attention was that there was information regarding the buying and selling of items, looking for missing persons or items, and recruitment offers for various jobs. This was to help people who were new to Red-Mountain City.
They swept through the myriad of information. Eva pointed in a specific direction on the map and said to Ace, "Let''s go to this Inn, it''s the best inn of the entire city!"
She wasn''t reserved at all when she said that because she knows that Ace was rich after he robbed two of the most powerful families of a 2-Star city and he even got a storage ring. So, he can afford anything in this city.
"Let''s go, I also want to see how grand a 1-Star city is." Ace smiled, he wasn''t a stingy person, and since he has millions of Ruby Coins he didn''t mind spending some.
They followed the map''s direction and quickly reached the grand hotel of the city. It was a big ten-storyvishing building.
Ace was a little surprised by this it was really deserved its reputation as the best Inn in the entire city.
They both entered the Inn and get two of the most luxurious room in the hotel for an entire month. Ace pays 20,000 ruby coins since he has the money he didn''t feel much by this amount but those people around him clearly shocked by his wealth. Because by looks of his clothes he didn''t look rich at all even thedy at the reception was stun.
Ace didn''t mind all this since he was already inside the city no one would think that he has sneak inside. And all these hotels didn''t check for information on their customers since most of them were usually cultivators they can''t afford to offend them.
Ace move towards his room with Eva, they both were staying on the same floor and their rooms were also nearby. If something happened they can easily find each other.
Entering his room, Ace saw all these luxurious items inside and bigfortable bedding. He couldn''t help but felt the fatigue of all his missions and this journey, he was sleeping on the floor for at least one and half months. Because when he was in Grant''s family he didn''t get to sleepfortably.
But when he thinks about something he felt all of the stress go away in smoke because now he was finally alone and can turns all those pills inside his thief''s space into EXP! He didn''t do it because he was with Eva all the time in wildness and didn''t want to show her anymore of his secrets.
She didn''t ask him about how he gets all these mysterious abilities before but she also knows the truth about his background. That''s why he didn''t want to show her anymore and still had his guard up against her a little. But he still hopes that she wasn''t this kind of person and it was all in his head.
Ace sits calmly and transmitted eagerly, "System convert all the lowest grade pills (white grade pills) into EXP!"
Other than white ranked pills he wanted to keep those Green and Blue ranked pills for an emergency.
======
"[System detects 756 Lowest-Grade pills in host Thief''s Space]
[Are you sure you want to convert all of them into EXP?]"
======
Ace be astonished by these numbers he didn''t expect that the Kelby family treasury would give him more white grade pills than Rn''s storage ring. He didn''t even check all those treasures of the Kelby family since he thinks that they were not as valuable as Rn''s. but now he was thinking of sorting them out after this.
"Yes." He answered without any hesitation.
=======
"[System has converted 756 lowest-grade pills into 7560 EXP.]
[Congrattion Host on Opening the 4th Gate of Heavenly Gate.]
[Host status has been updated.]"
=======
Ace was very happy seeing all the EXP but after hearing about opening the 4th gate he bes confused because he was clearly in the 3rd gate.
Before he could inquire about it he felt his Heavenly Qi start to surge. His organs start to absorb the Heavenly Qi at a high pace. He quickly closed his eyes and start to cultivate the Heaven Stealer''s Crystal Body technique.
After three hours Ace open his eyes, he has finally stabilized his cultivation at the 4th Stage of Qi Gates. ''The gate of organs really has been opened!'' It was a pleasant surprise.
"System why did I able to breakthrough directly into 4th gate and without encountering any bottleneck?" He was distracted by the fact because he has just breakthrough ten days ago, this kind of speed in cultivation is unheard of.
"[Host has already formed the Yellow-Wind Soul Core in soul cultivation, it is equal to Heavenly Foundation Building realm, that''s why host didn''t encounter any bottleneck.]" System answered emotionlessly.
"Are you telling me; I''m able to breakthrough directly into Heavenly Foundation Building Realm as long as I have enough EXP? Then what about if my soul cultivation is equal to Heavenly River realm?" He asked frantically.
"[Yes! Host guess is right as long as your soul or body cultivation is higher than others, you can directly breakthrough into that same realm. Because the Heaven Stealer technique is basically one technique and this is also the advantage of cultivating both soul and body at the same time.]"
The system confirmed it!
Ace takes a deep breath of cold air, he finally understands why this technique was taboo and it has too many advantages and only one disadvantage.
Like when he reaches the Foundation Building Realm he will be facing the heavenly punishment and he has to withstand both body and soul punishment at the same time. He thinks it was a very low price to pay for the technique. Although, he won''t understand it until he faced it.
"Now I only need EXP to Build my Heavenly Foundation! It seems like I need to start my journey towards the most powerful city of the entire 4th levelnds as soon as possible. I need to gather information tomorrow, first I have to find where that city is and how long will it take me to reach that city. I only have five years toplete my job mission." Ace mutter under his breath as he nned his next course of action.
He takes a look at his EXP status.
[EXP: 4470/10,000]
"System if I convert all the pills inside my storage space how much EXP will I get?" Since he can now break through to the next realm without any problem, he wanted to enter directly into the Heavenly Foundation Building realm as soon as possible.
"[Host can convert them into 4080 EXP.]"
''I still can''t open the 5th Gate of Heavenly Gates even after I convert all of my pills..'' He sights but after a moment a wicked smile creeped out on his face.
Chapter 40 - Kindness
After resting for the night, Ace was feeling refreshed. All his fatigue from the journey has vanished.
Now he was ready to explore the city. He goes towards Eva''s room and knocks on her door since they were together and she was also a member of his team, it would be rude for him to not take her with him.
Evaes out wearing a white dress with a beautiful flower pattern on it. She was still in her disguise but no matter how much she hides her true appearance she can''t hide her nation toppling figure.
She smiled seeing Ace and said charmingly, "I was just about to look for you but youe for me instead."
"I wanted to explore the city and find some information so I thought it would be more convenient to take you with me since you were an expert on gathering information back home." He spouts some random nonsense while his eyes were unknowingly wandering around Eva''s sexy body.
Eva didn''t mind his impolite gaze and said while beginning to walk. "Let''s go! We should take a stroll around this city marketce. I also wanted to see this city''s customs and other interesting things."
Ace didn''t say anymore and walk beside her. He was also nning to go to the market and see if he can find what he was looking for.
They both exit the inn and go in the direction of the city market.
After walking for some time, they finally reached a crowded ce. It was the biggest market of Red-Mountain City. They were numerous shops of weapons, herbs, medicine pills, clothes shops¡.
Eva''s eyes were shining brightly after seeing all those beautiful clothing especially armors for females. She loved wearing light armor because she was used to them from a young age and now she felt ufortable if she didn''t wear one. Ace has already given her a 2-Star weapon so she only wanted a new set of full-body armor.
While Eva was checking all those clothes and armor shops, Ace has noticed something strange. He saw in this big market more than 80% of people didn''t have any big bag or other stuff for holding things. He only saw little palm-size colorful bags were hanging around their waist and all those who had them were also all cultivators.
Ace finally couldn''t hold his curiosity and stop moving in front of a small bookstall. Eva saw him going to the small bookstall and also followed in confusion.
A middle-aged woman was standing in this stall, she was the owner. When she saw Ace and Eva were stop in front of her small stall she smiled kindly and asked, "Youngd, what kind of book do you need?"
After seeing that woman smiled kindly Ace nostalgically remembers an old aunty that was his neighbor in slums.
She was poor just like him and had a little kid but her husband was killed by someone from the inner region because he identally touched that nobleman''s clothes. She was just a powerless lowly woman so she didn''t get justice all at. On the contrary, she got beaten because she wanted to get revenge on someone from the inner city. After making peace with the fact that she can''t avenge her husband she gave up and starts to work just to raised her little kid.
Ace was just shifted from his old parent''s house in the slums at that time. Thatdy often gives him and Alina some food after she heard about they were orphans. She was feeble but was very kind-hearted. When Ace left that hut in the slums he leaves behind 300 Ruby Coins for that old aunty.
Ace has nostalgic look in his eyes after seeing hisdy and said politely, "I wanted to buy some books on the information of Cities, like which is the strongest city in the entirend of cities."
He didn''t want to buy anything first but after seeing her resembling that old aunty, he didn''t want to disappoint her for some reason.
That mid-age woman smiled wide hearing Ace talk to her politely. He was her first customer and it was her first time that someone has talked to her this respectfully here. "I have three books of this kind and one of them even has a rough map of thend of cities. If you want to buy a more detailed map you should go towards the ''City Herbs & Weapons'' Shop it is the biggest shop in the market and controlled by the city lord''s family." Since he was respectful towards her, she gave him a suggestion kindly.
Ace nodded his and said while smiling, "I want to buy these three books and I''ll go to that shop because aunty suggests it to me."
She felt a little warm in her heart after he said that, "You can have these books, they''re not that expensive just consider it a gift from your aunt." She wraps those books and gives them to Ace.
Ace was going to decline her offer but seeing her gentle smile and sincerity from her voice and soul he can''t make himself hurt her kind feeling. After he thought of something he epts the books politely.
Thatdy smiled broadly after seeing him epting her precious books, if not for her difficulty she would''ve never sold them. But giving them to Ace for free she was happy about it.
Ace asked her about something that was the main point of him stopping at this small stall, "Aunty I was curious about something, why do most of the people have those small colorful bags hung on their waist?"
She didn''t mind his question after all this was the question that most of the people usually asked who were not from a 1-star city. She said while smiling, "Those bags are storage bags that can store objects without Qi in them, they aremon in 1-star cities and quite expensive. You can also buy them in that shop I mention before, I only know this much about them."
Ace bes astonished by this new information. He didn''t think he could find something like this here. He thought that only space storage treasures can store objects inside them and they were all controlled by a Kingdom level power, but he didn''t expect that there''re also these storage bags.
''Since they can''t store objects with Qi in them it must be the reason that they can be bought by ruby coins in 1-Star Cities. I have to get one it will be perfect camouge for my thief''s space. I don''t have to carry this useless bag and pretend all the time.'' He thinks.
"Thank you, aunty! I''ll be going now you take care of yourself if I was still around the area I''ll visit you again. Farewell." He doesn''t want to dy her business anymore and head in the direction of the shop that she suggests. He wanted to buy this storage bag as soon as possible.
Eva didn''t say anything when he was having a conversation with thatdy but when she heard about storage bags she also bes excited and said to Ace cutely, "Hey! I want one too!"
Ace couldn''t resist her eager beautiful eyes and nodded helplessly. ''You''re the old one here!''
________________________________________
Thatdy saw both of them leave her little stall and sight. ''Looks like I still won''t be able to make any money today. And Mloi illness is getting worse day by day. But I can''t make myself take money from that littled he was the same age as my Mloi and he was so polite. Did I have to sell my body after all just like that bastard said?''
''Sighs''
She was just thinking about a bastard when she saw there was a small bag under the other side of the stall that was no far away from her feet. She bes astounded by it because it was the bag that Ace was caring with him. ''How does it appear here from thatd''s hands?''
She didn''t think much about it and wanted to grab that bag and look for Ace to give it back to him. But before she could grab it and look for him she saw a note that was written on the back of the bag.
''Aunty this is also a small gift from nephew don''t reject it!''
She smiled after reading this note and mutter softly, "That brat! He must be a legendary cultivator since he was able to leave this bag and note without me noticing it."
She didn''t expect that a boy she was calling d'' was a cultivator and he even wants to buy those old books from her. ''But why?''
She grabs the bag and felt it was quite heavy. She opens it to check just what was inside it and saw that bag was filled with glittering ruby coins. ''OH LORD HEAVENS!!'' she exims in shock.
She wasn''t that poor after all she lives in a 1-Star city but she was selling all her husband''s old collection of books because her daughter has be ill and her husband suddenly went missing some years ago. She spends almost all of her husband saving to search for him but it was all in vain.
These books were his only memories left now but she was forced to sell them because of her ill daughter. These books were old and till now no one has bought even one. Ace was first toe to her small stall and wanted to buy these old books. But after seeing him this polite to her and called her ''aunty'' she felt close to him and decided to give him these books for free. It was an unknown act of kindness from her heart.
But she didn''t expect him to return her kindness by giving her thousands of ruby coins that she needed desperately and she can''t even thank him in person. Tears start to fell from her eyes as said towards the direction where Ace has vanished, "Thank you for showing this kindness to me and my daughter we''ll never forget about it ever!"
Chapter 41 - City Herbs & Weapons Shop
Ace and Eva were currently heading towards the City Herbs & Weapons Shop.
After some twists and turns, they finally saw a big 10-story building. There was a big signboard in front of the shop ''City Herbs & Weapons'' Shop was written on it. It was a shop that was directly controlled by City Lord''s family, the Casen Family.
Before entering the shop, Ace saw a familiar luxurious carriage was parked outside of the shop. It was the same carriage he saw outside of the city yesterday, and because of this carriage, he and Eva were able to get inside the city unnoticed.
Eva also recognized that carriage the instant she saw it, "Should we leave ande back on another time?" She asked him in low voice. She didn''t want to get into any trouble with this kind of person.
Ace also saw from afar that the shop was almost empty and only some guards and attendants were present. ''Is it because of the owner of the carriage?'' he thought for a moment and was about to agree with Eva''s suggestion of leaving.
When he saw a beautiful youngdy with blonde hair wearing a luxurious grown walk out of the shop following her were some maids. She didn''t even notice her surroundings and nonchntly enters the carriage with her maids behind.
After she enters her carriage the guards who were standing outside the shop hurriedly form two lines around the carriage and the carriage starts to move towards the exit of the market.
"She''s not simple at all!" Acements on seeing the blond hair girl. Because he could sense her cultivation was at the early stage of the Qi Foundation Building realm. There are four stages of the Qi Foundation building realm Early, Mid, High, and Peak.
That girl was around the same age as Eva''s or a little older than her, but she was already at the early stage of the Qi Foundation building realm.
Eva''s senses were not as high as Ace and she didn''t have his true and false Eyes or soul sense so she didn''t know why he said those words. And she thinks that he wasplimenting that blonde girl''s beauty. She felt displeased for some reason and puffed while saying "Humph! See enough? Let''s go to that shop."
She didn''t give him any chance and starts to march towards the shop''s entrance while ignoring him.
Ace bes confused after seeing her acting this way, ''What happen to her?'' He thinks and chases after her. Now that carriage was gone the customers begin to enter the shop again.
They enter the big shop and head straight towards the counter where an old man was sitting. That old saw both Ace and Eva were young and smile like a senior while saying, "How can I help you?"
Eva says in an impolite tone before Ace could say a single word. "Do you sell storage bags and soft armor for females here?"
Ace was helpless after seeing her acting this way, he could sense that she was in a bad mood for some reason and let her do what she wants for time being.
The old man saw Eva''s dominating attitude and smile knowingly towards Ace and said, "Yes we have all the things you need especially storage bags only our shop sells them in the entire city. You can head towards the fifth floor after you show a million ruby coins, this is the rule of our shop."
Ace was amazed by this rule because one million ruby coins were a lot in River-Flower city, and here they have to show them just to go on upper-level floors of the shop. One has known that he only got five million ruby coins in that Kelby family treasury and even Rn''s wealth came from a Kingdom level expert.
Eva didn''t say anything and only look towards Ace with angered-filled eyes. Ace didn''t dy anymore after seeing her fierce eyes and take a Yellow crystal card from his pocket. On the card were 1Million and a symbol of the ruby coin was engraved.
This was the ruby crystal card that used to carry a big amount of money.
That old man didn''t say anything after seeing that ruby crystal card in his hand and wink towards an attendant. She quicklyes forward, "Honorable customer please follow me."
They both followed the attendant towards the upper floors and reached their destination on the fifth floor of the shop.
The fifth floor of the shop was much grande looking than the first floor. There were rows of shelves here and on them were all kinds of shining weapons, armors, and pills..., one could see them through the ss.
Evapletely forgets about her temper when she saw all those armors. She wanted to steal all of them but quickly forget about it after thinking, ''We''ll only steal from bad guys!''
Ace wasn''t much impressed by all those treasures because he already saw all those treasures from the kingdom. They were only one-star weapons and white-grade pills here.
An olddy was sitting behind the counter, she was the floor master of the fifth floor and her cultivation was at the peak of Qi Gates Realm. She saw Ace and Evaing on her floor and said expressionlessly, "What do you need?" she didn''t like talking much and only care for important guests and in her eyes, Ace was not important at all so she gets straight to business.
Ace didn''t mind her attitude he was here for shopping not for gaining anyone''s respect. But Eva was different from him and said in displeased manner, "Did your shop always greets their customers this way?"
That olddy didn''t even flinch and said in disdain, "You may leave if you''re here for wasting my time."
"YOU!" She was going to quarrel when she felt Ace''s hand firmly holding her shoulder. He didn''t want to make a scene and said while smiling, "We want to buy two storage bags and a 1-Star Armor for my sister."
That olddy didn''t pay attention to Eva anymore and said in an ordering tone, "Go fetch the storage bags he wants."
The girl who bought Ace and Eva here, hurriedly leaves after receiving her order she knows too well just how much rude this olddy was and no one can do anything about it because she is a member of the Casen Family.
"You can choose any armor from this floor." She said to Ace.
Ace didn''t say anything and wink towards Eva who was fuming with rage. She takes a deep breath and shot a fearsome gaze towards that rude olddy. After calming down a bit she ignores that nastydy and starts selecting armor for herself with Ace.
They were many types of armor here on disy but all of them were too shy and She didn''t like them so she chose a full body soft armor for female in ck color.
Ace was also looking around without any interest, he has some armors way better than these on disy but they were all heavy armors, and his skills were mostly focusing on speed so he can''t wear them nor Eva. He wanted to sell them all once he reached a Kingdom for Qi-Stones since he has more than enough ruby coins.
Ace was just about to shift his gaze elsewhere when he notices a ck hood in a disy of armors. It was a hood with a dark-blue pattern and his eyes sparkle, "I want that ck hood as well." He said to the rude olddy.
After some time, the servant girlse back with two little green bags in her hand. She didn''t hand them to Ace directly and gave them to the olddy. She also took that ck soft armor and hood from the disy and ce them on the counter in front of the olddy. "Anything else?" She asked Ace in an emotionless voice.
"NO!" Eva answer before Ace could in an annoying manner.
"Two storage bags, and two 1-Star soft armors. One Million Ruby coins." She directly told them the collective price.
Ace raised his eyebrow after hearing the price, one million was not much for him but the way she was talking to them in stars to get on his nerve and looked towards that olddy waist and there was a ck storage bag hanging. He got a good idea to teach her an unforgivable lesson.
"This is your one million." He gave that one million crystal card to thatdy and grab those storage bags and armors. He didn''t give Eva any chance to say anything, he held her smooth hand and drag her towards the exit of the floor.
After leaving the shop Eva below in anger, "Why don''t you let me teach her a lesson?"
She was confident in her skills and wants to fight that old hag, and after they can just escape the shop unharmed. But he didn''t let her do as she ''n'' and that''s why she was now furious.
"Just take this and don''t draw too much attention towards us." Ace ignore her angry face and gave her a ck storage bag while smiling.
She was about to argue with him when she saw that ck storage bag and be confused, "Didn''t we buy green color bags?"
"Hehehe, do you believe me if I say that this storage bag is old hag''s?" Aceugh as he gave that storage bag to Eva.
"REALLY!" She quickly received that bag from Ace and saw inside were four million ruby coins crystal cards, some clothing and other stuff for a woman, and a 1-star whip. Since these 1-Star weapons cannot contain Qi and only work when someone supplies them with Qi they can be store inside the storage bag.
"How did you do that?" She asked him while eximing.
"It''s a trade secret." He raised his shoulder and said with a smile.
He used soul thread and pick-pocket to robbed that old hag. Now his heavenly sense can reach 30 meters so it was easy to robbed someone like that old hag. He didn''t get any TP since there was only a single weapon and money. That''s why he decided to give them to Eva so he can be ''free'' from being her ''bank''.
Eva bes notably happy and didn''t mind Ace anymore and starts to store her things inside the storage bag.
After some time, Ace realized that he should''ve never given her that money because after getting ''rich'' Eva wanders around the whole market for the entire evening and buy anything she likes.
But they didn''t know that unknowingly Ace has robbed the sister of City Lord and alert someone they shouldn''t have!
Chapter 42 - Brewing-Storm
Following, Ace and Eva''s departure, in the City Herbs and Weapons shop there was a huge uproar inside the shop.
Someone steals a storage bag of Sh Casen the sister of the city lord and the individuals under the suspicion were two teenagers. She makes a huge fuss about this because she said that in her storage bag were millions of ruby coins and a peak 1-Star weapon that she treasures dearly.
That day only two of them were gone to Sh''s floor therefore, she could only suspect them.
Everyone sneers at this im and someugh at her secretly because Sh was a peak Qi Gates expert and ording to her she didn''t feel any Qi from both of them. But no matter how much they disagree with her or made fun of her they didn''t say it out loud.
This incident got quite some poprity because no one dares to mess with Casen Family inside the Red-Mountain City.
Sh was quite an arrogant person and never suffer this kind of loss on her own turf and the most disgraceful thing was about this is she suffered at the hands of some brats. That''s why she didn''t want to tell anyone about it first, but she just can''t take this sitting and watch those two damn scoundrels roam freely.
She knows everyone wasughing at her in secret but she can do nothing to them, it was all her fault. That''s why she even used her brother''s power in her rage and made a wanted poster. She was going to issues an arrest warrant with Ace and Eva''s portraits on the poster.
She didn''t even know how they looked like because she didn''t pay much attention to them like all other ''unimportant personnel'' and those two portraits were made ording to the description of that attendant.
------
This incident didn''t only get attention from normal people but it attracts the attention of a Qi Foundation Building level expert. It was not the city lord because he was running an errand this expert.
That other Qi Foundation expert was none other than that beautiful blonde girl that Ace saw this morning!
Currently in a luxurious Courtyard inside the Casen family territory. A blonde hair girl was holding sheets of paper in her jade-like white hands.
On her left hand were the portraits of both Ace and Eva, which was a wanted poster that will be issued by the City Lord''s mansion very soon.
But on her other hand there was also another wanted poster there was also Ace''s but Eva''s face was not there because there was a ck Fox Mask Girl portrait in this wanted poster!
That blonde girl''s eyes were twinkling like stars when she saw that Ace''s face was matching the other portrait. "Are you sure this boy appears right after we leave that shop?" Ask the girl to a maid who was currently kneeling there.
"Yes! Princess Dulce, ording to the information provided by the Casen Family the timing is the same." Answer the maid politely.
"Heh heh. I can''t believe that the famous ''Thousand Hands Ghost'' of River-Flower city was here and he''s so arrogant that he didn''t even change his appearance. He even robbed the sister of City Lord Quentin in their own shop in broad daylight. And here I was searching for him in that little barren city." Dulceugh joyously, but herugh was very sinister and now her beautiful face didn''t appear beautiful at all.
Even that maid starts to trembles seeing Dulce''s evil smile.
"Go bring those ves here, and order that old bag to not post these wanted posters without my permission. Now we don''t want our prey to be alert, would we?" She orders her maid while giggling.
That maid didn''t dare to dy even for a second and quickly run toplete her order.
"I really wanted to see how will you react after seeing the big gift I prepared for you ''Thousand Hand Ghost''. This will teach you a lesson not to be too arrogant in the future. Hehehe, it''s not like you''ll live to see the future." The darkughter of a witch sounded from the courtyard of the Casen family that night.
--------
Ace and Eva were both oblivious that their identities have been found out by Dulce. It was not their fault to be carefree because in their mind they only robbed a worker of a shop and it''s not a big deal.
Even if things go south they can always escape using their unnatural skills.
Ace was, after all, still a twelve and half-year-old boy and didn''t know that with continued sess and victory, came a lethal poison called Arrogance!
One has to be very careful not to be blinded by it or it can even blind even a deadly snake. The snake thinks no one can kill it because of its venom and he''s invincible in thend. But when an eagle suddenly strikes from the sky above, even that arrogant snake can do nothing but to be a mere food for that eagle.
Ace thinks no one would being here from the River-Flower city this quick and the time the news of him reached the Red-Mountain city he''ll be long gone.
But a variable urs differently from his prediction. A girl who he has seen the first time this morning has already found his true identity, and he didn''t even know about it.
Dulce has already stop Sh from posting the wanted posters of Ace and Eva.
Now only the news was spreading around the city, and no one knows how those two teenagers look like. Even if Ace knows of this he will not be alert by only news. Now the enemy was in the dark and he was in the light.
-----
After Ace returned to the inn. It was already dinner time; the ck clouds were forming in the sky and winds were howling outside. "It seems it''s going to be a stormy night." Said Ace while he was eating dinner with Eva.
"Yes, my mother used to say whenever a stormes something bad would happen somewhere," Eva said frowningly, she was also looking outside of the window towards the dark sky. There was also deep sorrow in her eyes when she mentions herte mother.
"Well, it would be bad for all those shops for sure that you emptied today." Ace didn''t want to see her sad so he made a joke about her shopping spree that she has done today.
Even he was afraid of going out with her now.
"Humph! It was their fault for only having so little stuff for sale. Well, I still wanted to buy some things but my two storage bags got full. ''Sighhhh''." Eva sighed regretfully.
"We should''ve bought two or three more bags, but now that we robbed that old hag, we can''t go there again. But she would be going crazy about her storage bag right about now, right?" Eva giggles delightfully, "Hehe...hehe, I wish I could see her face."
Bullets of sweat start to form on Ace''s forehead when Eva said she still wants to ''buy more'', She bought more than two storage bags worth of clothes and other girly stuff, he has to give her another storage bag. She even shopped for him and all those things were inside his storage bag and it was almost full. One has to know that the space inside the bags was 5 Cubic meters and she had full them in half a day. ording to the system, these storage bags were trash grade and they can only maintain space inside them for 10 Years.
''I should pretend to be ill tomorrow.'' He made an important ''decision'' in his heart. He didn''t want to be her ''shopping partner'' anymore.
After eating dinner, they both left for their room. Ace sighs of relief after he thinks he was finally free from Eva''s ''evil clutches''.
Ace sits on bedding and takes out some new and old books from this thief storage space and begins to reads those books.
Staring from those books he gets free from that aunt today. He smiled after thinking about her, ''I wonder if her anxiety was because of the money. I hope, with all those ruby coins she''ll be able to solve her problem. I''ll visit her before leaving the city.''
Ace has felt thatdy''s anxiety with his soul sense that''s why he left all those ruby coins.
After clearing his mind, he read those books about the Lands of Cities, (Level 4 Lands in Azure-Wind Continent) and othermon knowledge about the Azure-Wind Continent.
"So, where we humans lived is called the Azure-Wind Continent and it''s divided into 4 Levels ofnds {Royal, Empire, Kingdom, and City} and a wastnd."
Ace has some idea about Level 4nds and little information on a kingdom from Eva but he didn''t know about the name and the ssification of the entire continent.. He did hear about Devil, hunters, and Blood Continents from the restaurant owner where he used to work as a dishwasher because that owner likes collecting the stories about those top three races of the world.
Chapter 43 - A Tragedy! (Part 1)
''Hmm? Why isn''t it mention any cultivation level above the QI River realm? It seems they wanted to hide this information from all others people of thend of cities.'' He became confused reading all the books and concluded.
Ace knows about all the realms because of the system. Now he knows somemon sense about this world.
''They didn''t even allow to let anyone from the wastnds in the cities, they called all those wastnds peoples sinners. But why? What they have done to get treatment like this?'' This was his first time reading about it.
But even in the books, it didn''t mention the reason for why all those people called the sinner. It was as if all the information was erased, or no one wanted to write about it.
''If a city-level power wanted to go to the kingdom levelnds they need a kingdom level power to ept them as a country of their kingdom, and that City has to be able tomand a minimum of ten 1-Star cities. Even after that, they have to pass a special test of the Kingdom. It''s only mentioned about this, not the test itself. But these old books hold quite some information, even these new books didn''t have this kind of detailed information. I guess it was my luck to stop at that aunty stall.'' He became fascinated by all this new information that he reads in those books.
''The current strongest city of the entirends of cities are ''The New Moon City''. And it is quite far from here. I need to travels for six months on foot to reach there and ording to this map that forest we crossed is called the moon forest. We have to cross it again and this time go into the deeper parts to reach the New Moon City. Well, I guess we need to leave this city after this month. It will take only two of us almost a year to cross the moon forest if we didn''t want to get into trouble with the demonic beast. But this is also good I can gain experience points while in the wildness and build the Heavenly Foundation before reaching the city.'' Ace mused while making his ns.
"System convert all the pills in my thief storage space into EXP!" Ace transmitted his excited voice in his mind.
He needs only a little EXP for opening the Fifth Gate of the Heavenly Gates.
He bought two million worth of white-ranked pills from the market today and now he was ready to open his final gate of the Qi Gates. After that, he would only need to gather enough EXP to build the Heavenly Foundation. That''s why he was excited after seeing he would go to the wildness very soon.
=====
"[System has converted all the pills into 6000 EXP.]
[Congrattion Host on Opening the 5th Gate of Heavenly Gate.]
[Host status has been updated.]
[EXP: 470/20,000]"
=====
Ace didn''t hear the system''s voice because the Heavenly Qi was surging like a tide wave inside his body. He closed his eyes and start to recite the Heaven Stealer technique.
-------
In the territory of Casen Family, Inside the Courtyard of Dulce.
Behind Dulce were standing two middle-aged men and one old man. Their heads were down it was clear that they were in a lower position than Dulce.
One of the middle-aged men has thick eyebrows and the other was bald, they both were Dulce bodyguards. The old man has long silver hair he was the City lord of the Red-Mountain City Quentin Casen.
There was four-figure kneeling in front of Dulce. They were wearing tatter clothes and there were wounds all over their bodies. It seems they were being tortured beforeing here.
If Ace were here he would be shocked to see two of these four persons because they were Asher Kelby and Rn Grant!
Yes, they were Asher and Rn both grandson and grandfather in an extremely sorry state. Beside them were another man Sumyan Kelby, andst of them was the ''former'' City Lord of the River Flower City Mathies Layton!
All the heads of the top three families of the River-Flower city were here. But they were not looking like grand and dignified figures at all. Their conditions were grave especially Rn''s and Asher''s.
--------
It''s all happened fifteen days ago when Asher was in Red-Mountain searching for Ace like a mad dog.
He was the best talent in the entire city and someone has humiliated him for the first time in his life how could he give up so easily? Even if this was 1-Star City he didn''t put anyone in his eyes especially someone young.
Just like another day, Asher starts his search for Ace and coincidently he bumps into Dulce that day.
Dulce was just strolling around the city without her carriage. She was very grateful, to begin with, and when Asher saw her appearance he was instantly attracted by her beauty.
He never sees anyone as beautiful as her in the entire River-Flower City. But if he ever knows that ck Fox that was always beside him was like a celestial fairy in front of Dulce, he would directly curse Rn his own grandfather for ruining such a beauty.
But he saw Dulce first and lost his calm. He didn''t even see all those guards with her and directly asked her like a gentleman, "Miss I would like to know if you fancy a meal with this little one."
Dulce thought that it was quite amusing to see someone even dare to hit on her in this barren ce. She signaled her guards who were about to attack him to stop and said with a smile, "Of course I''ll love to but only if you can beat one of my personal guards."
Asher saw disdain in Dulce''s eyes and think that she was looking down on him.
In his eyes, it was her honor to get him even asked like a gentleman if it was his city he would''ve directly taken her as a bed warming maid. He said after suppressing his anger. "Hahaha, I''m afraid that I would kill Miss guard identally after all I can''t control my strength whenever I spar with someone."
Dulce raised her eyebrow after hearing Asher''s arrogant words, even she didn''t dare to say such a thing to an unknown person with all those guards around.
Those two Qi Foundation Building bodyguards now also wanted to torture him seeing him talking like this to their Princess.
She said in a gentle tone but there was a hint of anger in her voice, "Baldy carefully break his legs and don''t kill him identally, I want him to beg for forgiveness."
Asher''s handsome face turns red in fury after hearing her words. Those guards and his uncle that were sent here with him by Rn also wanted to attack but Asher raised his hand and said with a sinister smile, "Hahaha, it seems all the people of this city wanted to humiliate me one way or another."
He immediately put Dulce on the same level as Ace in his most hated person list.
It was still in the center of the streets when all this transparent. Quite the crowd was gathering together to see just what was happening. Some of them start to cheer for Asher to starts the fight already.
That Baldy attack the moment Asher said those words and released his aura of Qi Foundation Building realm.
Asher''s face instantly bes disorderly and deathly pale after the pressure descends on him. He immediately felt that the pressure was a hundred times more than his grandfather''s.
But now the arrow has already left the bow. A punch wasing straight towards his chest. If that punch from the Qi Foundation expertnded on him he would be cripple for his lifetime.
Asher quickly released his cultivation of Forth Gate and he used a mortal level skill. It was the skill of the Grant family.
Since he was the most talented youth in the entire city his grandfather wasn''t stingy with him and let him learn the skill of the Grant family even if he was from the Kelby family. "Iron Hammered Fist".
Asher shout and his fist start to be solid like an iron hammered. This was the mortal-level skill.
But in front of a Qi Foundation Building realm, he was just an ant. But his timely used skill at least saved him from being a cripple. Only his arm was broken.
Baldy had a strange look in his eyes, and Dulce''s aura begin to raise after seeing the skill that Asher just used.
Asher could feel that this girl that he was nning to ''kidnap'' was even stronger than that Baldy and be even paler.
He was regretting being such a moron now. He finally understands why his grandfather warns him not to provoke anyone from the one-star city. But he was foolish and hit an iron wall this time.
Asher was thinking about begging for forgiveness when he heard Dulce voice filled with murderous intent,
"WHERE DID YOU LEARN THIS SKILL?"
Chapter 44 - A Tragedy! (Part 2)
Dulce was the fourth Princess of the ''Golden Hammered Kingdom''.
She was in thends of cities to observe the New Moon City promotion test and evaluate it. She was busy visiting the cities under the New Moon City to finalized if all the conditions have been met for the promotion test.
New Moon City was under the territory of their kingdom and if any city wants to be a country of their kingdom it has to be strictly checked because they want only strong countries. That''s why the Princess herself was here to check and observe everything personally.
That''s what everyone thinks at least.
Red-Mountain City was one of the cities under New-Moon City and thest city that Dulce was checking. She deliberately chose this city forst. Because she has another motive toe here.
Before her goal would beplete there were still some days remain. So, she was strolling around the city because she was bored.
Unexpectedly she bumps into an idiot (Asher) who doesn''t want his life. First, she wanted to kill him but after seeing his arrogance she changes her n and decided to torture him.
But when she saw him using her Kingdom Mortal-Grade Skill it provokes her murderous intent. It was only a low-level skill but it was still her Kingdom''s skill so she wanted to find out where he learned that skill in this kind of barren ce.
If not for that ''Thing'' here she would''ve nevere personally and witnessed her kingdom''s skill.
The crowd around them has be too big so she takes Asher into custody. She used a Green-Ranked Pill ''Utter Truth Pill''. This pill can even force the cultivators of Qi Foundation Building Realm to answer any question truthfully even if they didn''t want to.
Asher tells everything about the skill. After knowing where the true culprit was she didn''t dy and leave for River-Flower City to Kill the entire Grant family for their ''capital crime''.
But when she enters the city she heard about the stories of ''Thousand Hands Ghost'' and how he robbed both families on the same day.
She bes fascinated and curious about that little thief. She soon finds out that the thief has vanished after he robbed both families. they were still searching for him and the entire city was on lockdown.
Asher was also with her and when he saw Ace and ck Fox''s portrait and hear about what they has done to both of his families. Hisplex bes extremely ugly. He immediately knew that ck Fox and Ace has tricked him into going out of the city.
Now he finally understands why he can''t find that little bastard even after searching for so many days because he wasn''t there in the first ce.
''I can''t believe that they both tricked me so easily.'' Asher thought bitterly and grind his teeth in rage after thinking about how his most trusted aid has betrayed him for that boy who was also the reason for this disaster.
Dulce ignore Asher who was fuming with anger. She immediately enters the inner city. With her two bodyguards beside her, she was the most powerful person inside this city. She easily reached the Grant family and Rn who was still searching for Ace high and low was captured by her like a rat.
She gave Rn who was beaten like a dog the Utter Truth Pill.
After the pill takes effect Rn starts to tell the truth about how he killed an expert from a kingdom because of his greed and his storage ring. He even tells all the names of the techniques and skills that were inside the storage ring.
Asher didn''t believe what he heard, even those Grant family elders who wereying on the ground after getting beaten has only one thought and that was ''We''re all Dead''.
Dulce''splex turns ugly after she heard the truth because the expert Rn killed was from her Kingdom. She read some reports that some experts were once dispatched to kill a traitor but they nevere back alive. She didn''t expect that one of them has meets his end in hands of this trash.
"You know what you have done right and the consequences of killing someone from my Kingdom. You even practice the techniques and skills without permission from us. Now the storage ring is in the hand of a little thief and all the skills and techniques are in his possession. I hereby dere that the Grant family execution and the entire River-Flower City will be raised to rubbles and every living being inside the city will be killed without mercy.
"Captured the city lord and that Kelby family Head as well they can be used as ves. After killing everyone check every corner of the city I want that so-called ''Thousand Hands Ghost'' alive." She gave hermand in a dominating voice.
This was the consequence of turning against the rules that were set by the people in power. No one can break them if one didn''t have the power.
Rn thinks that since it was in a two-star city no one would evere here and carefully controls the skill that he shows in public. He just wanted to reinforce his family''s power with that mortal grade skill, when the timees to fight for the position of the city lord they would be his greatest asset. He didn''t even tell the skill name to anyone. He only let his most trusted subordinates learn it.
But he never would''ve imagined that a little boy would steal his ring under his nose. The funniest thing was it was not the boy who alert the kingdom but the culprit was his own grandson who was apple of his eye.
Even if he has that ring, he would still get caught by this young girl because of his idiot grandson.
After Dulce gives her order, the massacre of the entire River-Flower City begun!
___________________________________
Present Day. Inside Dulce Courtyard,
"Gentlemen from the River-Flower City, oh I should be called it former River-Flower City now. well whatever, look at this young handsome boy portrait it was just made today." Dulce giggles as she showed them Ace''s portrait.
All four of their heads were low, and their eyes were listless. They didn''t have the energy to even blink their eyes. The four guards who were standing behind them grab their hair and straight their heads so they can see the portrait.
They all grunt in pain when their heads were move. The first reaction of all four of them when they see Ace''s face was not much. But after some time they start to think that the face was looking extremely familiar, especially Asher, Sumyan, and Rn.
They finally remembered this face because this was the face they see countless times in their nightmares and it was all because of this face that they were in this kind of situation. They all think of tortured the owner of this face millions of times and drink his blood and eat his flesh.
Kn was the first one to react and there was extreme hatred, grievance, and killing intent in his listless eyes he screams on top of his lungs, "IT''S HIM! THAT THIEF BASTARD!"
Just like Kn, Asher and Sumyan start to curse out loud. They didn''t know how they got the energy but their fists were clenching tightly and they were grinding their teeth in hatred.
On the other hand, Mathias was very calm and he didn''t curse like others and there was no hatred in his eyes at all, on the contrary, there was surprised, reverence, and a peculiar look, but there was not a shred of hatred. But his expression was hidden extremely well and no one can see it.
Everyone knows that he didn''t talk much. Even when his whole family being ughter in front of his eyes he never uttered a single word.
Even Dulce thinks that his old man has gone mad after seeing all his city being destroyed so she didn''t pay much attention to him all this time.
"Ok gentlemen, now you see your city little rising star is here and I''ll give you a chance to get your revenge. We''ll start the show tonight and you all are the opening actors." Dulce said as she ps her hands together. She gives them four healing pills with a double mysterious pattern engraved on them, they were green-grade pills.
They all eat those healing pills and their wounds start to heal at an rming rate. This is the power of Green Grade Pills.
Except for Mathias the others, three were in high spirits they didn''t even think about running because they didn''t even have any ce to run.
They just wanted to avenge their families or wanted to take Ace into the underworld with them. They were ready to be killed or kill this time but they were determined to capture that thief!
The storm was finally ready!
Chapter 45 - Immense Crisis!
After four hours, Ace open his tightly closed eyes.
He had sessfully stabilized his realm at the peak of Heavenly Gates''s realm. He has finally opened thest Heavenly Self Gate, The Gate of Heart.
He could feel that his whole body had be lighter. The Heavenly Qi was pouring in his whole body meridians smoothly like a stream of a river. The opening of meridians was the sign of the Gate of Heart. His other senses were now ever sharper.
While assimting the Gate of heart, he also started to absorb the Heavenly Qi in his meridians.
It was the middle of the night and the city was silent. But the weather was the whole other story outside were raining cats and dogs. One could hear the deep rumbling noises of the lightning, now and then.
Outside of the inn where Ace was staying. The entrance was already surrounded by many guards. On the avenue, two luxurious horse carriages were moving. Because of the weather Ace didn''t notice this disturbance at all.
Dulce chose to strike now specific for this reason, ''He would never saw iting.''
She heard quite some stories about him and she knew he was very skilled at escaping. That''s why she bought all these elite guards.
These luxurious horse carriages stopped just before the entrance of the Inn. There were many guards around the carriages but only one carriage belonged to the Dulce whereas the others belonged to the City Lord. They were here for the same purpose and that was to capture Ace alive. Dulce was very interested in his skills just like Asher.
Ace was still training in his room, he indeed didn''t notice all themotion because of the weather but he was only staying on the second floor of the Inn.
Since he had just breakthrough he was in peak condition, the moment he felt a little bit of movement on the first floor with his keen soul senses. The very moment he active his heavenly sense to see what was happening when he saw all those guards outside at the entrance. He immediately woke up and rush toward Eva''s room.
"They''re here for us!" Ace concludes after seeing all those guards because when he active his Heavenly Sense he felt two familiar soul signatures.
This ''Soul Signature''was an innate active skill like soul sense, he could record a person''s special soul aura or soul signature with his heavenly sense the moment he meets them or they were in his range of soul sense. He gained this special ability when he formed the yellow wind core. He found out about this ability this very morning when he used his Heavenly Sense on Sh and steal her storage bag.
That''s why the moment he senses two of the familiar soul signatures he immediately knows they were here for him. His heavenly sense was locked on the first floor. He saw a bald man and four cked caped men wereing towards the second floor at high speed. They will be here in one or two minutes.
"We have to escape before they reached here." Ace didn''t even knock on Eva''s room and with a shake of his hand the door locked was broken easily.
Eva was cultivating when she here the BANG of the broken lock. She was jolt awaken by it and nearly escaped a serious injury. This invokes her killing intent and she was going to attack the person who was responsible for it.
But when she saw it was Ace and he has a grave expression on his face, she swallowed her anger and asked, "What happened? Don''t you know when someone was in a deep state of cultivation they can''t be disturbed or the consequences would be too severe?"
"I''m sorry, but I have to do this because someone ising for us and they''re strong, maybe even in the Qi Foundation realm." Ace said gravely and he was feeling guilty for doing this but the situation was not in their favor right now so he can only apologize to her and make it up to herter.
Eva''s face turned pale after she hears him, she knows too well just how powerful Ace''s senses were. She quickly stood up and said, "We should escape from this window."
Ace nodded his head in agreement and open the window of Eva''s room. Some guards were standing outside but if they want to leave those guards can do nothing but helplessly watch them leave safely.
Ace and Eva were now at the peak of the Qi Gates Realm so the jump from the second floor was nothing but an ant bit to them with their strong bodies. Before jumping both of them active their stealth skills.
Baldy with the other four ck-caped men reached the second floor and directly go towards Ace''s room. But when they reach his room it was empty.
"That bastard escape again!" said one of the ck cape men, it was the voice of Rn.
"Escaped?" Baldy sneers in contempt hearing Rn''s words.
"You lowly peasant didn''t know just how powerful is a Kingdom-level power. Didn''t Princess find out where that rat was hiding in an hour? So, just shut the hell up and only followed the order that was given to you by Princess." Badly said in a cold voice and begins to check the other rooms.
The silent Inn bes very noisy because Dulce has given the order to other guards, "Turn this entire Inn upside down and capture that little thief no matter the cost." Even City Lord was with her so how could anyone dare to disobey her order.
When everyone was searching for the thief inside the Inn. The thief has already escaped the parameter of guards.
Ace and Eva had only escaped forty meters when they bumped into a strange invisible barrier. The moment they contacted the invisible barrier it starts to shine like a sun. The dark rainy sky around the Inn turns into a day because of that intense light.
Ace''s face change color from white to blue and he wanted to swear badly. He didn''t know what this strange barrier was but he does know that he was traped and in a deep crisis. It was his first time encountering this kind of grave situation.
From the stars of his journey four months ago he always seeds in his mission and escaped without a scratch. He unknowingly bes arrogant and careless. He always thought that he could escape anything with help of his skills and system until now.
No matter what skill he used he can''t even find a hole in that barrier like he always does after using his True & False eyes skill. It was because the skilled efficiency was not high enough or the skill itself was not enough.
This time Ace panic. He finally has a taste of despair and his hands start to shake a little. It was his first time after bing a cultivator that he loses his calm like this. "Is this the end?" He mumbles softly.
Ace''s mind was in a mess when he felt a warm softness on his trembling hand. He looked beside him Eva was holding his hand tightly and looking in his eyes as she says gently, "We''ll escape from here and after that, you have to go on shopping with me, alright?"
Eva''s gentle voice awake him from his panic state and he calms down a great deal. He couldn''t help but feel blessed to have someone like her beside him in this situation. ''If there is a next time I''ll not make this kind of mistake.'' He made an oath in his heart.
At this time, he suddenly remembers a ck face. He remembered a man named Coal, and his words. {"Remember boy never get arrogant no matter what or when someone stronger than you tamper on you like an ant, you will never be able to stand again."}
(Note: He met him in the outer region weapon market.)
Ace takes a deep breath andpletely calms down. He finally understands the meaning of those words.
He was about to look for an escape route when a voice rang in the vacancy. Now because of the barrier''s light, everyone could see clearly. And Ace only now notice the rain was not falling in the area around the Inn as well.
"What a touching Scene I want to ''Cry''!" A sliver of ridicule could be felt in this beautiful voice.
Ace and Eva turned around and saw the bold and powerful soldiers standing outside the Inn. Of course, the most striking were the two, horse carriages.
"Who are you and what do want with us?" Ace asked while he was scanning the invisible barrier with his heavenly sense. He wanted to buy some time by talking with this girl.
He was scanning the invisible barrier when he heard the system voice inside his mind,
"[Host has been trapped inside a {Lowest-Grade Formation Barrier}. With Host''s current level of power, it is impossible to break this formation.]
[The system suggests: To find the power source of the formation or the formation te that is controlling the formation. The system has already deducted 20 TP on its own since Host is busy.]"
[Thief Points (TP): 670]
Chapter 46 - Sky Like Despair!
The sound of the system was like some angel voice in Ace''s ears at this moment. He finally understands what this barrier was and what he needs to do to break it.
''But how the hell a formation appeared in this kind of ce?'' Ace grimaced.
One has to know that the formation was not something that a city should have, ''Someone from a Kingdom is targeting me!'' His senses were extremely sharp and with little clues, he quickly guessed just what kind of a power he was dealing with.
Ace was distracted by the system for a moment but he quickly focused on the carriage. Because of the formation barrier, the rain has stopped falling inside the area of the barrier, and the two carriages doors were begun to open.
From the carriages inside, two people got down. The one with the robust body was the City Lord Quentin. He had a very small white beard on his old face, wearing a golden robe and adorned with shiny gold ornaments.
The other was Dulce. A girl with blonde hair and a graceful figure, with a gentle smile, she was wearing a green skirt. When she saw Ace and Eva those clear like water eyes suddenly glittered with a slight shimmer.
"Let me introduce myself, my name is Dulce Golden and you must be the infamous thief of Rive-Flower city ''Thousand Hands Ghost'' right?" Dulce swept past Ace with her two eyes as she introduces herself.
Both Ace and Eva be astonished after seeing who the owner of this carriage was, it was the same blonde girl they saw outside of the city herbs and weapons shop.
After hearing Dulce''s sentence, Ace bes a little confused first because he didn''t know who this ''Thousand Hands Ghost'' was but after he heard River-Flower City''s name his heart tightens. He finally understands why this girl was targeting him and Eva.
"Yes!"
On Ace''s face, there was no fear. Although he was facing a noble figure from a Kingdom, he was still very calm. He could see that Dulcee prepared and knew who he truly was so, hiding his identity as a thief anymore was meaningless. He also felt Dulce and two men standing behind her, their strength had reached the Qi foundation building realm, especially that old man whoes out from the other carriage, he was more powerful than the early-stage Qi foundation building realm.
"You quite fearless even in this situation. Not like the thief that I heard about who can only escape after doing his deed." Dulce said in disappointment, after seeing Ace was not reacting as she had imagined.
Ace didn''t say anything and he was still searching for the power source of this formation just like System suggests. He didn''t know what a formation te was but it was definitely in the hands of this girl.
After all, who in their right mind would give this kind of thing that can control this kind of formation to someone else?
At this time, a group of people from the crowd rushed out and pointed at Ace as they cursed, and it was evidently clear from their ck hooded-capes on their bodies that they were Baldy party who was searching for Ace inside the Inn moments ago.
"Little bastard! I''m going to kill you after I torture you for all your pathetic life." One of them said grimly with cold eyes filled with killing intent. He reveals his face it was Rn.
Ace bes surprised after hearing this voice and when he sees the face of Rn, he bes shocked. ''What is he doing here?''
All of them reveals their faces when Ace saw their face he was even more surprised, he didn''t know who the other three were but seeing their outfit was matching Rn''s they were also from River-Flower City.
Ace didn''t recognize the other three but Eva does she lived inside the for many years so she was quite knowledgeable especially about Kelby and Grant family. "The middle-aged man is Sumyan Kelby, the head of Kelby Family, beside him is Asher Kelby, and, the other old man is Mathies the City Lord of River Flower City." She whispered.
Ace''s eyebrows were continuously moving up and down after Eva revealed the three men''s identity. He has enmity with both Kelby and Grant''s family if they were the ones who were helping Dulce he could understand it but what the hell is the City Lord himself doing here.
Dulce saw Ace''s confused expression and guess what he was thinking, she was waiting for this exact moment. "You seem to be confused about why a city lord of the city was doing here abandoning his city. Let me enlighten you, the Rive-Flower City is no more. Meaning it was destroyed Ten Days ago."
Ace''s face bes extremely pale as if there was no blood left. Despair filled his eyes as he forgets that he was currently trapped inside the formation and asks Dulce in a trembling voice, "H-HOW? NO, IT''S IMPOSSIBLE!"
Even Eva was shocked after hearing this, she didn''t care about that city much because she didn''t have any good memories about it, all of the memories she had about that city only held pain.
But Ace was different from her and that city was where he was born and his whole family grave was also in that city. He has very strong emotions attached to that ce no matter how much he has suffered in there that was still a ce he called home.
If this news was really real, Ace would fell into deep despair and be vulnerable.
This was the exact thing Dulce was aiming for from the start. She was extremely clever and a schemer. She didn''t know if he was from that city or not, but if there was the slightest chance he was from there then he would definitely fell for her schemes. She wanted to break his fighting spirit that why she left those four alive especially the city lord.
She saw Ace''s expression and smile broadly, ''After all my guess was not wrong. Those idiots didn''t even think that ''how can a thief suddenly appear out of thin air and an extremely young one at that,he definitely has some big secret. Who wants that trash ring anyway?''
She thinks happily, this was her real goal from the start. She wants Ace''s secret, not the storage ring.
Since a secret can make a little boy this powerful than what about her? That''s why she wastes so many resources just to search for him back then but she didn''t find him in that city. She thought that he has escaped and she would never be able to take his secret for herself.
But when she got the report of someone robbing Sh, she immediately investigates this matter. After finding out that it was the same thief she bes extremely excited. She even used a precious ''Light Barrier Formation'' just to make sure he would not run away and she seeds in the end.
"If you don''t believe me you can ask your former city lord. Not a signal person remains alive except from these four or I should say six after counting you and that girl." Dulce giggles as she points her finger towards Mathies.
Ace looked towards Mathies there was little hope in his eyes. He didn''t want this to be true. Mathies saw Ace''s hopeful eyes and a peculiar glint sh past his eyes. He takes a deep breath and said, "She''s telling the truth about the River-Flower City being destroyed. No one left alive except us and she''s the one who destroyed the city and kills everyone."
Ace''s eyes turn bloodshot and he roars at Dulce in rage after Mathies confirms her im, "WHY!?? THEY WERE ALL INNOCENT PEOPLE!"
"Heh, Innocent? They get what they deserve. They''re some rules that you lowly ves can never break. That ve killed one of my kingdom''s people and practice our skills and techniques ording to the rules they deserved to die." Dulce scoffed as she pointed her finger towards Rn.
Her words were like sharp daggers that directly stab Ace''s heart. In his eyes she didn''t seem beautiful at all, he could only see a ruthless bitch.
"AHAHAHA!! THEN WHAT ABOUT YOU WHO SHOULD PUNISH YOU?"
Ace''s words were filled with murderous intent, the majority of the crowd couldn''t help but have shivers run down their spines hearing his ear-piercingughter.
Dulce wrinkled her brows, her face filled with anger, she said with a cold smile, "Punished me? I''m afraid it won''t be you because you don''t have the power and even if you have the power so what? You can never do anything to me I''m a princess of a Kingdom and you''re just a ve of a Kingdom the moment you''re born here! Even if I annihte half of thend of cities no one will punish me, you know why? Because of the status and power, I represent! In a Kingdom''s eye, all of you are just THRALLS!"
Eva felt extreme pain in her heart after seeing Ace in this state and felt burning rage hearing Dulce''s ruthless words. She wanted to kill her right at this moment.
Even Rn, Asher, Sumyan, and the crowd including Quentin felt rage burning inside their heart after they heard Dulce''s words. But what can they do but swallow their anger and stand there like idiots?
"GOOD, VERY GOOD SO THIS IS THE REAL FACE CULTIVATION WORLD?! AS LONG AS I HAVE POWER I CAN DO ANYTHING??!"
Aceughs like a lunatic as he said those words but tears were flowing through his eyes as they bepletely ck. This was the first time he wanted to kill someone this bad.
All of the sudden, a cold ck smoke arises from Ace''s body.
In the sky, thunder starts to rumble after that ck smoke emerges from Ace.
Even Dulce could feel that this smoke was not normal she cold feels extremely cold sensations from that smoke. Everyone including Dulce felt the sudden rapid drop in the temperature of the atmosphere. Some guards with weak cultivation even start to shiver.
"Hurry attack him he using some kind of dangerous skill!" She shouts in a panic this was not in her calction. She didn''t think this little thief has this kind of card up his sleeve.
Quentin with Dulce''s personal bodyguards attacked the moment they hear hermand because even they could tell something was extremely wrong with Ace.
Eva panic as well she was the closest to Ace and the ck smoke almost freeze her hand that Ace was holding. She endures the pain but she didn''t let go of his hand.
Ace didn''t know what was happening around him he has just one thought in mind and that to kill Dulce and annihte her entire kingdom to avenge all those innocent people of River-Flower City. He only hears System voice in his mind,
"[Hidden conditions have been satisfied!]
[The host can now open the other Four Hidden Gates of Heavenly Gates with 600 TP]"
In System''s voice, there was excitement.
Chapter 47 - Hidden-Gates Of Darkness (Part 1)
Ace''s mind was in chaos right when he heard System''s voice. There was some kind of mysterious power in that voice, he immediately regains his senses. But his eyes remain pitch-ck and the ck smoke didn''t vanish either.
He felt extreme coldnessing from his body like he was in the depth of a frozenke. He could feel something wants to burst out of his body like there was a mysterious power that wanted to be free from its shackles.
He didn''t have time to think what it was because he saw three powerful experts of the Qi Foundation realm wereing towards him with killing intent. With a thought two ''Grey Beads'' appear in his hand.
They were invisibility beads!
Ace ce an invisibility bead in Eva''s hand that was very cold because of him and said, "Quickly shatter this bead!"
Eva''s hand almost froze but when she saw Ace regain his calm and give her a grey bead she didn''t dy and quickly do as she told and shatter that bead instantly with Ace.
The moment they shatter the grey beads a grey light enveloped them and they vanished in thin air.
Everyone saw this and exim in shock because All this happen in seconds and Dulce''s force didn''t have time to react before Ace and Eva vanished in front of everyone''s eyes.
The three experts were about to reached Ace when he vanished with Eva but they didn''t stop and released their aura of Qi Foundation realm. Around their fists, Qi starts to form like they were wearing the gauntlets of Qi.
This is the manifestation of Qi one can only do this after they can reach the Qi Foundation Building Realm. They wanted to attack the spot where Ace was standing before disappearing with full power. If he was still around that spot he would be gravely injured.
''Boooomm''.
Three fists werended on the spot where Ace was standing just a second ago but they meet with only dust and an empty void.
Dulce''s face turned extremely ugly when she saw this and said in anger, "Find them! They can''t breach this barrier! They must be somewhere in this area surrounding the barrier, and that strange treasure won''tst forever. They will appear sooner orter we just have to find and capture them the moment they will appear. They''re just two rats in a big cage."
Dulce order everyone to search for them and if they spot them they have to immediately report. She didn''t expect Ace to have that strange bead that can even help him escape three Qi Foundation experts even she can''t feel that coldnessing from Ace anymore.
She was now more determined to capture Ace and take his secrets for herself.
-------
Inside the Inn on the fifth floor in an empty room, two persons appear out of thin air they were Ace and Eva.
Eva has a curious expression on her face she was fascinated by those two grey beads miraculous power of invisibility. They can escape with ease even with all those experts presents right in front.
But that invisible power onlysts for a single minute. As much as she wanted to inquire about the origin of those grey beads she can''t because Ace''s body was still releasing that ck cold smoke and his eyes were ck.
He was giving a feeling of extreme chillness, he wasn''t looking like a human at this moment.
"I know how you''re feeling right now! But we have to find a way to escape from that strange barrier before they find us again. After we escape if you want we can seek revenge for all those innocent people and I''ll help you with it." She said in a worried tone while trying to console him.
Ace was still feeling deep grief and pain. The images of Coal, that aunty, and her son, the restaurant owner where he used to work, those streets of the city¡ were appearing in his mind. He will never be able to see all those people, his home ever again, they were all gone.
''Sigh...''
He sighs after heard Eva''s words. He has to find a way to escape here before avenging them all. "I''m fine just give me some time to calm down." He said to her and sits down in the corner of that room.
He also saw the ck smokeing out of his body and system message. He transmitted his voice inside his mind, "System what is happening to me and what are these four hidden gates?"
"[Host has awakened the innate attribute of the "Heaven''s Stealer" [Darkness],1 by feeling true despair.]
[This was supposed to happen when the Host would be encountering the first Heavenly Punishment. But it seems that unknowingly host has touched the minorw of [Darkness] and that is [Despair]. Because of it, the host can now open the Four Hidden Gates of Darkness that was forming inside your body from the first day you start to steal the Qi from Heaven.]
[Without opening these Gates of Darkness host will never be able to build a Heavenly Foundation of Darkness.]"
Ace didn''t notice the excitement in the system''s voice because he was only feeling deep coldness nothing else.
His mind was extremely calm and he asked calmly, "[Darkness] and [Despair] huh, you telling me it is my choice to form Foundation of Darkness or just a Heavenly foundation?"
"[From the moment Host chose to learn and practice the Heaven Stealer Technique you chose the road that leads to Darkness.]
[The Qi that the Host steals from Heaven is called Primordial Qi and ites from its personal treasury, which is a Primordial Void.]
[Because this Primordial Qi can help anyone be as powerful as Heaven itself, it never allowed anyone to take that Primordial Qi and for eons, this Primordial Qi has been growing in quantity. But that Primordial Void is dark with no speck of light there, and now eons after the Primordial Qi itself has be Dark as Primordial void.]
[That''s why Host has formed these gates of darkness the moment you start using this Dark Primordial Qi.]"
The system didn''t ask for any TP for all this mind-breaking information.
Ace take a deep breath of cold air, now he finally understood why this ''Heavenly or Primordial Qi'' was ck.
''So, I was always in the path of [Darkness] from the start.'' Heughs at his ignorance, but when he remembered Dulce''s words of contempt towards the life of amoner the coldness in his eyes deepen.
"Even Heaven that controls everything is unfair towards everyone, much less a mere moral-bitch like her (Dulce). System, you have emotions I felt the moment you start talking about Primordial Qi and I don''t know what you want with me, and I don''t care anymore as long as you can give me the power to protect everyone I hold dear. I will do your bidding even if you want me to y the Heavenly King." Ace cold voice transmitted in his mind. He finally felt the emotion of the system.
The system didn''t say anything as if it didn''t care and Ace also didn''t have enough time to inquire further about it so he said while his pitch-ck eyes shine darkly, "Open the Gates of Darkness let the [Darkness] be my eternal Acolyte."
He knows from now on the darkness will be the closest to him or it already is in face of the system!
=======
"[Confirmation received, System has deducted 600 TP and the Opening of the Gates of Darkness has begun.]
[Plese brace yourself host]"
=======
Veins starting to pop out all over Ace''s body the moment system voice range in his mind.
After a moment he fell from his sitting, his hand and legs begin to twist. He was currently feeling pain worse than death.
The ck smoke enveloped his entire body like a cocoon, one can only see a glob of ck smoke, not Ace''s body anymore.
Eva panicked the moment she saw him fall and hurriedly move to pick him up but the ck smoke has already enveloped his body and she can''t get closer to him. The temperature of the room starts to fall at a rapid pace.
Inside the smoke globe, Ace felt his blood was turning extremely cold, it was changing like all his body whenever he opens a Heavenly gate, and now all the blood inside his body starts to absorb the Heavenly Qi and the crimson color of his blood has more deepen almost turn ck.
But this time the Qi inside his meridians were not like vague ck butplete pitch ck, it was the Qi of Primordial Darkness!
"[The 6th Gate, Blood of Darkness has sessfully open.]"
He didn''t have time to hear System''s voice because after his ''Darkness Blood Gate'' the space between his eyebrows starts to tingle. He called it the ''Mind Space''. This space was formed because of his soul cultivation and in this space was his Yellow Wind Soul Core.
The Soul Core was currently floating in the center of his mind space. It was like a glob of yellow cloud. But suddenly Qi of Darkness starts to enter his mind space and space starts to turn ck from its white transparent state.
That''s wasn''t the end, the space starts to expand and so was his soul core. He didn''t know how much time has passed but after the expansion of his mind-space stopped it changedpletely.
Now it was like a dark sky and in the center of this dark sky was a big yellow soul core, it was like a sun that was illuminating the entire ''Dark Mind Space''.
"[The 7th Gate, Mind of Darkness has sessfully open.]" Only Laws will be written like this!
Chapter 48 - Hidden-Gates Of Darkness (Part 2)
Ace was on the verge of copsing.
The pain that wasing from the opening of two hidden gates simultaneously was unimaginable. He wanted to make it stop many times but whenever he remembers that his home was destroyed and countless innocent people have died in that bitch hands, he would grind his teeth and persist.
''Two more''He thought while clenching his teeth.
He was feeling extreme pain when he suddenly felt his heartbeat was bing extremely show it was on the verge of stopping.
Inside his inner heart, Qi of Darkness (ck-Smoke) starts to enters, and inside of his heart starts to turn vague ck. He didn''t feel any pain from it on the contrary he feltfortable as the Qi was moving inside his inner heart. By opening the fifth gate of heart he has only opens his outer heart with Heavenly Qi and he didn''t feel like this before.
"[The 8th Gate, Inner-Heart of Darkness has sessfully open.]"
Ace was finally feeling somefort when the ck smoke around him starts to enters his abdomen he groans in pain and felt a chill all over his body. This ck-Smoke was merging with the Heavenly Qi inside his body and forming a whirlpool, it was like a forming of a ck hole.
After some time, all the smoke was sucked inside that mysterious whirlpool. After his Heavenly Qi1 merging with that ck smoke in his abdomen its create Darkness Qi, and that ck whirlpool was filled with Darkness Qi.
The most fascinated thing Ace notice about that ck whirlpool was, it was converting all the Heavenly Qi inside his body into the Qi of Darkness rapidly.
He was now out of that globe of smoke and his eyes have turned back to normal.
========
"[The 9th Gate, Gate of Primordial Darkness has sessfully open.]
[Congrattion Host! You have formed the Void of Primordial Darkness.]
[All the skills rted to Darkness have been reached perfection.]
[Host status has been updated.]"
========
System sweet voice transmitted inside his mind.
"Hmm? That ck whirlpool inside my abdominal is called Void of Primordial Darkness? And what was that ck smoke that can even create this kind of thing?''" He asked the system with his thought.
But before Ace could hear System''s answer he felt two soft hands on his face and there was hot water dripping on his face. He bes confused and saw just where that water wasing from when he saw Eva crying face, that water was her tears.
"Nothing happened to you right??? I was so scared that I would lose you too just like my father and mother." She said while tears were flowing from her eyes, there was relief, happiness, and gentleness in her beautiful eyes as she was looking at him.
Ace felt touched after he saw her crying for him and a little warm spread in his cold heart. He holds her hand and said softly, "I''m fine it was just some strange issue with my cultivation technique. So, don''t worry about me."
Eva finally had a sigh of relief after she saw him turning into normal and hearing his assuring words. "Don''t make me scarred again or I''ll never forgive you ever." She said as she looked directly into his eyes.
He nodded his head, Ace smiled after seeing her like this he nearly forgets that there was still someone with him all this time who never left him.
He stood up and heard system voice,
"[Yes, that is the Void of Primordial Darkness or you can call it the Dark Void. It can convert host Primordial (Heavenly) Qi into Darkness Qi and it is the essence of Crystal Body that Host cultivates. That ''Smoke of First Darkness'' was a gift from System for host achievement!]
[The system was supposed to give it after Host felt the minorw of [Despair] with the help of Heavenly Punishment but Host did it on his own!]"
Ace nearly cursed at the system after he hears that, "This is not rewarding at all if you were going give it to me from the start!''" He transmitted his angry voice inside his head. But like always there was not a reply.
"Show me my status." He said while he was getting used to his new prowess.
=========
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human {No Bloodline}]
[Heaven: 1st Mortal Sky Heaven]
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Gates of Dakness {Complete}]
{EXP: 0/50,000}
[Soul Cultivation: Yellow Wind Soul Core]
{SP: 999/1000} {Extra: 1031}
[Thief Points (TP): 70]
[Skills: 5]
[Stealth Basic: {Perfection}
Silent Steps Basic: {Perfection}
True & False Eyes Basic: {Middle}
Pick Pocket: {High}
Treasure Opening Hands [Basic Art]: {4th Form}]
[Cultivation Technique: 2]
[{Heaven Stealer Technique Volume 1}, {Dual Shadow Swords (1st Realm)}]
[Current Mission: 1]
==========
Ace saw his status and nodded in satisfaction. Only his EXP changed and he needs to collect 50,000 now but he didn''t care. His skills rted to Darkness have reached perfection that was what he was ecstatic about the most. ''That pain was worth it.''
"How much time has passed since wee here?" Ace asked Eva in a calm tone.
After opening Gates of Darkness, his aura haspletely changed and now he seems calmer than before, and he was giving off a feeling of a bottomless dark abyss.
"Only two to three minutes have passed since wee here." She replies in a daze. If Eva didn''t see all the suffering Ace had gone through she would''ve thought he was apletely different person after seeing the deep look on his eyes,
Furthermore, she felt even closer to him for some reason and this feeling was not vague anymore either. But she can''t put her finger on the exact reason for this.
''Hmm? I felt like years has passed inside that ck smoke and only two or three minutes has passed?'' He deems in bewilderment. But he quickly shifts his gaze outside of the window.
Everyone was searching for them with everything they had, seeing all those guards and especially Dulce carriage Ace eyes turn cold. He wanted to find out just how powerful he was after bing probably the first 9th Gate cultivation of this world or maybe the entire Mortal Sky Heaven''s!
"You stay hidden and I''ll go find a way out of here." He said to Eva.
Eva didn''t want to leave him alone and wanted to go with him when she saw Ace was showing her a Grey Bead in his hand.
"I''ll be fine with this bead. You take one as well if anything goes wrong used it for escaping. I have more than enough for me." He said with a warm smile as he ced an invisibility bead in her soft hand.
She finally nodded her head and gave in after seeing the mysterious bead in his hand.
Ace didn''t dy any further and left the room. "It''s time for the hunt." His eyes were filled with killing intent as he mutters those words.
------
Outside of the Inn.
Inside Dulce Carriage, Dulce was feeling very uneasy for some reason.
She saw Ace emitting that mysterious ck smoke and that strange treasure bead, she was feeling something was amiss. This was not in her calction at all. She even starts to regret her decision to toying with Ace instead of capturing him from the beginning.
She suddenly felt that cold sensation again and that wasing from the Inn upper floors, since she was outside of the Inn she can''t pinpoint the exact location of that coldness but she could tell that wasing from the Inn.
"Inside... he''s inside!" Dulce holler, "Go and capture him for me! If he dares to resist kill that girl and break his limbs, I want him here in five minutes don''t test my patience!"
"You four ve go with them don''t dare to try any tricks. Let me tell you those four healing pills were poisonous and if you don''t get cure in ten hours you all will die painfully!" She said to Mathies and the other three from River-Flower City in a vicious tone.
Mathies and other smiles bitterly hearing her words and finally understand why did this vixen give them those precious green ranked pills so generously. She would never let anyone who could cause her trouble in the future be left alive.
They all including Dulce''s guards, the city lord, and the fifty elites'' guards enters the Inn after Dulce gave her order and only a few guards remain beside her.
------
Inside the Inn, Ace was on the third floor when he senses the moment on the lower floors. After the opening of Mind of Darkness Gate, his range of Heavenly Sense has increased from 30 meters to 50 meters. He was feeling wonderful right now.
With his perfection level, stealth, and cultivation of 9th Gate of the Heavenly Gates realms even peak stage Qi Foundation Building realm experts can''t pinpoint his location anymore. Only Qi River realm experts were able to locate him.
Two ck swords appear in his hands as he smiled coldly.
He was set for hunting! (Primordial Qi = Heavenly Qi)
Chapter 49 - A Sudden Truth!
The Grand Inn of the city was empty after themotion Dulce made and all the customers including the owner of the Inn was now standing outside. They didn''t know what was happening but they didn''t dare to utter a single word because they saw just how this young girl was ordering around the city lord like a servant.
Ace was moving while his stealth was active. Even in the light, one could only see a blur moving around the floor. These were ''silent steps'' in perfection mastery. He was as fast as peak level Qi foundation building realm.
Ace saw few guards were heading towards his way he stopped moving and hide his presence with stealth.
A moment after five armored guardse to his view. Ace moved simr to lightning.
Dark aura started to surge into his swords, he shes with lightning speed, and a dark horizontal beam carrying vigorous and tyrannical darkness power hacks towards the five armored guards'' necks simultaneously.
This sudden fierce attack left those guards simply no time to dodge. That ck beam simply passed throughs their necks like a hot knife into butter.
First, they didn''t know what was transparent with them and wanted to alert others about Ace''s position, but after a second Blood spilled from their necks, and the next moment five heads with wide-open eyes were rolling on the floor dye it red with blood.
"[You have killed 5 cultivators in 5nd Gate of Qi Gates realm. You have earned 500 EXP.]"
[EXP: 500/50,000]
"Just so-so!" Ace faintly said as saw those five heads rolling on the floor coldly. He finally understands just how powerful he has be after opening the four hidden gates of darkness, and his HD-Qi 1was more powerful than Heavenly Qi.
Ace didn''t stay here for long because there five were only the fragment of therge force that was currently inside the Inn.
More guards wereing towards him and this time with them Ace sense many strong presences, ''Qi Foundation Experts.'' He thought as he faded inside an empty dark room.
------
"Look! Five corpses of our brothers!" A loud rming voice of a guard rang inside the hallway.
Everyone saw five headless corpses were lying there on the bloody floor. Everyone''s face turns pale including Rn, Sumyan, and Asher, and a chill runs down their spine.
They wanted to kill Ace the most because ording to them he was the main reason that they were in this situation. But after seeing five headless corpses of 5th gate realm elite guards they finally understand just how powerful Ace truly was. Now there was dread in their eyes.
Mathies was rtively calm after seeing that bloody scene. From the start, he didn''t want to capture Ace for some reason.
"Those five didn''t die too long ago probably only two or three minutes have passed. He should be here somewhere! Search every single room! Don''t engage in a fight with him he''s too strong for you all. If you saw him just shout out your position. We have the numbers advantage." Said Baldy in a grave voice.
Even he a Qi Foundation realm expert was feeling some pressure after seeing those five clean-cut heads.
Everyone swallows their dry saliva and starts searching extremely carefully.
But no matter how much they search they can''t find Ace. What they find now and then were new corpses of guards!
Ace didn''t go after the Qi Foundation realm experts he was going after those Qi Gates realms, elite guards. It was like Ace was chipping away their weak forces first.
Quentin''s heart was bleeding after seeing all those guards'' corpses. These Elite Guards were personally nurtured by him and they were supposed to show their worth in the ''Special Test'' of New Moon City promotion but now almost half of them were gone! How could he not be furious after seeing this?
"Little bastard shows your face if you have guts!" Quentin howl angrily in the hallway.
Now everyone was sticking together, only twenty-seven out of fifty guards were remain after ten minutes and they didn''t dare to vent alone in these dark rooms any further.
In their mind, that guy was supposed to be a petty thief but he was more like a professional assassin.
-------
Ace was listening to Quentin''s angry roar and sneer after he hears that old bastard''s shameless words. He was alone and that old geezer wanted him to expose himself in front of all those experts, ''NO Thank You Very Much''.
He has killed quite some guards, and he noticed that everyone was sticking together now, and hunting them one by one was almost impossible. But those idiots were so scared they didn''t dare to leave this floor alone now even those Qi Foundation realm experts were sticking together.
He was quite confident to kill that old guy who was barking just now and was the strongest of them all. But with all those guards and Qi Foundation realm experts together he would be seeking death by going out in the open.
He was just thinking about what to do next when he saw the door of the room open a person enters the room and he was alone. His eyes turn cold and he was just about to attack him when that person spoke in a low voice, "If you''re here please hear this old man out I''m not your enemy!''
Ace didn''t believe that old man first but he could feel that this old man didn''t have any killing intent or bad intention towards him.
He hesitates a little but when he saw the face of that old man he bes astonished because it is the former city lord of the River-Flower City Mathies Layton!
Mathies sighted as he thought it was another failure and he was about to leave when a chill run down his spine and froze on the spot because from behind a sharp de edge was ce on his throat.
"What do you want with me? You have ten seconds." Ace whispered.
Cold sweat was dripping from Mathies''s forehead, he didn''t expect Ace to be this skilled, he can even sneak up on a Qi Foundation realm expert like himself.
Mathies inhaled deeply and said in a faint voice, "I know your father ''Owen White''. As for how did I figure out who you are that is because your face is almost identical to what your father show me that time and you resemble him as well, especially your dark blue eyes I can never forget them they were the same as your mother''s ''Ste White."
Mathies felt the sword on his throat quiver a little when he said those names and finally, that sword edge was removed and a young manes in front of him it was Ace.
Ace has a look of nostalgia and confusion on his face, two vague faces appear in his mind they were the faces of his parents.
It has been too long since thest time he saw them and heard these names. He was only four years old when he heard the news about their death in wastnds.
But why did this city lord know about their names? Even he didn''t know much about them he only remembers that they were low-level cultivators and his grandparents didn''t tell him about their past either.
Mathies see Ace''s troubled face and guess what he was thinking and said, "I know you have too many questions like how I know your parents and why didn''t I help you when you were alone and many more. But I can''t tell you anything because even I didn''t know much about your parents. I meet them Nine years ago in wastnds. They were wounded quite badly at that time and were hunted around by their enemies.
"It was only a coincidence and I wanted to help them but their enemies were far too strong for me to handle. I think they can see through my nature especially your mother with her dark blue eyes. After they make sure I''m not an evildoer they only tell me their names and asked me to look after their son. Your father used some kind of mysterious skill to show me your appearance in my head and after that, he mysteriously sends me far away from that ce to save my life.
"If he wants he could''ve just let me die there it was after all my fault for being at the wrong ce at the wrong time. But he didn''t do that, he even entrusts his son to me and used hisst bit of power to send me away. This kindness I''ll never forget.
"After returning to the city I try searching for you in the inner region for quite some time but failed. At that time, I think that they would''ve been escaped from their enemies with their prowess and take you away with them, and stopped my search. But who would''ve thought that you were inside the city all this time and you even be this powerful by relying solely on yourself!
"I was quite shocked when I saw your portrait after you robbed that old goat and his son-inw. I was quite ashamed of myself at that time after thinking about, you should really go through extreme hardship that it even forced you to be a thief." Hements as he finished his story. (NOTE: It was actually [Heavenly Darkness Qi] but it was too long so I simplify it into HD-Qi)
Chapter 50 - Fighting Dulce!
Acement hearing the whole story of Mathies. He was having a hard time believing that his parents were so mysterious and powerful.
But with his powerful soul sense, he could tell that Mathies was telling the truth but there was still something he was hiding.
''Why are they''re in River-Flower city if they were so strong and have a poor lifestyle. Even grandma and grandfather didn''t tell me anything about it.'' He thought in dismay.
Suddenly he remembered Eva''s story of her parents. His mind begun to work at lightning speed. ''Are they being in the same kind of situation as her parents?''
It was a mystery that he can''t solve because he didn''t have any clue. He wanted to ask more but he heard footsteps approaching the room.
He sighed and suppress his urge to ask more and said to Mathies in a deep voice, "I don''t know much about my parents'' secrets either and I''m grateful to you that you tell me all this. But we didn''t have much time to talk we have to escape first."
Mathies nodded in agreement and said while his expression turns solemn, "Dulce is alone outside with only ten guards, you should take this chance and find a way to her. I''m poisoned and can''t hold more than seven or eight hours you have to get her storage ring. Everything we need is inside that ring."
Ace''s eyes turn cold as he heard Dulce''s name and nodded. He was still grateful to Mathies for telling him about his parents and to repay this favor he wanted to save him.
He opens the window and jumps outside. He wanted to take this chance and takedown Dulce and get revenge for all those innocent people.
Mathies saw him leave from the window and a crafty light shed across Mathies''s eyes but it vanished as soon as it appears. Because he saw Rn wasing towards this room and left quickly as well.
--------
Inside her carriage, Dulce was waiting for fifteen minutes now and her face was filled with violence and anxiety. She would hear some noises now and then, but can''t tell the exact situation inside.
The feeling of uneasiness was also getting stronger every passing minute.
Suddenly she felt outside of the carriage has be extremely silent. She opens the door wanted to see what was happening outside when she saw only the corpses of guards.
Her face turns ashen and she quickly takes out a sword from her storage ring. This sword de was red and was giving off the feeling of fire, there were four red-gems were engraving in a mysterious pattern on its hilt, a 4-Star weapon!
Shees out of the carriage for the fight. Her pride didn''t let to call for reinforcements, because in her eye the target was only a petty thief. and she was a Mid-Level Qi Foundation Building realm expert. On top of that, she was a princess of the Kingdom.
"So, what if you take down these trashes! You didn''t know your ce! Surrender and I will only nt a ve item on you. You can be my third personal bodyguard and I''ll let that girl apany you as well! You can''t win this fight!" She said loudly, she was feeling uneasy but she can''t show this to her enemy.
"ve item heh? How do we know I can''t win this fight? Until I try, right?" Ace''s cold voice sounded in Dulce''s ears with a chuckle from behind.
She swiftly turns around and ten meters away from her was standing a handsome boy with two pitch-ck swords in his hands. She felt a thick murderous aura from Ace.
"Only you? I was hoping for you toe to your sense but it seems you can''t be saved and want to rebel against your owner! Let me show you just how high heaven truly is!" Dulce said as she rushed towards Ace.
Dulce''s steps were very light, it was simr to superficially treading only using the tip of the toes. Not only was it fast, but she carried herself with graceful and strong momentum.
Dulce saw Ace motionlessly standing there, his whole body was full of openings. When she saw Ace trying to predict her steps from her footwork skill, she curls her lips in a sneer, ''Na?ve!''
She leaped into the sky like a butterfly, the sword in her hand starts to move, and a swarm of shes full of Qi form after images overflowing from the top of the sky and surged towards Ace. Vigorous Qi shook the air with ear-piercing swords noise, obviously, Dulce''s sword and footwork were impressive.
Ace didn''t imagine this kind of attack and at that moment, he simply couldn''t escape the countless sword shes. He didn''t think this weak-looking girl would know such an overbearing skill.
Ace HD-Qi 1starts to flow in his two swords and he used his own sword technique. He shes his long swords horizontally and shorth sword vertically. A huge ck cross was formed in the air from HD-Qi and both attacks shed together.
"Sha, Sha, Sha"
In a blink of an eye, the sh of both swords was stopped. Dulce because of her cultivation and powerful skilles on top and Ace''s body was sh a few times from her attack.
Ace was shocked seeing wounds on his body, even his HD-Qi wasn''t able to stop that attackpletely. This was probably his first time getting injured after he starts cultivation. He bes even more serious. He thinks that now he has opened nine gates he should be enough to take down this arrogant bitch but he was na?ve.
''She''s different from all others.'' He thought.
Actually, he didn''t know that Dulce has opened 6 Gates before she builds her Qi foundation. The royal families of 1st Grade Kingdoms have methods to open Six Qi Gates and those methodse from ancient sects!
Ancient sects have controlled thesends for countless years and they didn''t want to lose control. So, they only give less powerful and iplete techniques to build a weak foundation to all the power of low-levelnds.
By making these techniques iplete and create holes in the foundation of these powers, they can never rebel again sects ever!
Because one can also build a foundation by opening three Qi Gates as well but they will never be able to progress again. All those people in thends of cities can only build a foundation of Five Gates and can only reach the Qi River realm in their lifetime with extreme difficulties. That''s was also the reason why these cities can control the huge wastnds because they didn''t have a method to open even Five Qi Gates.
This information was tightly controlled by these sects. They only gave the methods to open Seven Qi Gates to a 1st Grade Empire, and methods to open six Qi Gates to 1st Grade Kingdoms. This way no kingdom can ever rebel against empires, and empires can never reveal their fangs against sects.
If Ace knows about it he will hate all the sects. But he has opened Nine Hidden Qi Gates and they aren''t just any hidden gates they were Primordial Darkness Gates!
Even those sects'' prodigies can only open Eight Qi Gates.
He was the strongest in Qi Gate Realm.
People like Dulce with six gates foundation can only press him in mid-stage of their realm, they can''t kill him.
Dulce''s face turn ugly after seeing him only injured a little from her strong attack. She didn''t expect that she can find an opponent in this barren ce and he didn''t even reach the Qi Foundation Building realm yet, on top of that he was just a twelve years boy!
She was going to used her full power this time because before she didn''t want to kill him identally and wanted to interrogate him about his secret.
But now she felt extreme humiliation and this invoke her killing intent, seeing he escaped from her first attack if this news were to spread to the kingdoms she would be aughing stock ofnd of kingdoms.
Ace saw dulce has be serious, if they were alone and how much he hates her, he would definitely fight her to death. But it was not the case right now because after themotion that was made by the collision of their attacks Dulce guards have been alerted and like Ace, they had jumped from the flood to reach here quickly.
"One day I''ll destroy your entire Kingdom just you wait!" Ace said with killing intent and active his stealth.
By using his silent steps, he was too fast for Dulce. He escaped sessfully from her and he has again entered the Inn.
Dulce felt she might explode from anger when she saw that brat escaped from her grasp again. But she was no match for his speed at all and stomp her feet in anger.
Suddenly her focus turned towards all those people standing not too far away, they were all the customers and the owner of the Inn.
She nearly forgets about these people because of Ace. Only now did she realized that they were spectators present here and these peasants see her begin humiliated by Ace. Her eyes turn cold after thinking about it.
All those people were watching the whole scene transparent in front of them and shock to see that little boy fight equally with a princess of the kingdom.
They wanted to cheer for that boy but they wanted their life so they just pretend that they were not here and didn''t see anything. But now that crazy princess was looking towards them with cold eyes and their faces turn ashen.
Baldy and Dulce another personal guard finally arrived at Dulce''s side. When they see the aftermath of the fight and cuts of swords on the wet ground they''re face be pale like other spectators. ''That boy can fighter her highness and even escape alive?'' that was the thought of both of them.
Dulce sees both of their faces and guessed their thoughts, "Kill all those ves, and If I hear any of this from anyone you''re both dead!" She orders and warns them coldly.
Both of them shiver and nodded like crazy in agreement.
Dulce didn''t say anything and she slightly shakes her finger to ce the sword in hand inside her storage ring. But the sword didn''t disappear as she thought. She bes confused and looks towards her storage ring to see if there was a problem.
But when she saw her ring finger it was Empty!
"YOU SCOUNDREL THIEF!" Dulce explodes in anger as she convulsed a mouthful of blood. (Heavenly Darkness Qi= HD-Qi)
Chapter 51 - Unexpected Wealth!
"Why are you standing here like fools quickly capture him! That scoundrel steal my storage ring!" Dulce hissed at her bodyguards in anger. Her visage reddened with fury.
They both felt wrong after Dulce scold them, ''Didn''t you just said to kill these ves first?'' They wanted to shout this but didn''t dare after seeing Dulce ferocity. They quickly chase after Ace.
Dulce in her rage forgets about all those spectators and follows both of her guards inside this time. She was a princess of the kingdom and never suffer this kind of humiliation in her life.
She always acts like an aloof otherworldly being, and here everyone looks at her with reverence and worshiping gaze in these barrennds.
Even in her home no one ever dares to speak loudly in her presence. But now a little thief dares to mess with her and even dare to fight her, on top of that he steals her storage ring right under her nose.
If it wasn''t for the fact that Ace can''t open or take her things inside the storage ring without killing her or she removes her ''Qi Mark'' on the ring of her own free will, Dulce would''ve definitely lost her mind from anger.
Because there were just too many important and precious things inside that ring and even the thing she came here for was inside!
That''s why she was going in herself, to retrieve her storage ring as soon as possible.
Now she didn''t want to interrogate him anymore, all she wanted was to kill him most painfully, and wash her humiliation and calm all the burning hatred in her heart.
--------
Ace was currently inside a first-floor room. He was looking at the brown storage ring in his hand. His eyes shine brightly.
This was his goal from the start. if he failed to kill Dulce in five minutes then he would take her storage ring only and escape!
She was so distracted by him that Dulce didn''t even notice her ring taken away from her when she was thinking about his prowess.
After opening 9th Heavenly Gate, his soul threads have also be more sneaky and powerful. Even he was amazed and marvel by the proficiency of his self-created skill.
"I didn''t have time she will notice her missing storage ring soon. I have to quickly find that formation te and get rid of this barrier." He mutters under his breath.
Ace was about to search for the formation te inside the storage ring when he suddenly remembered something that he almost forgets about in a moment of urgency.
''I can''t open it without killing her, Shit!'' He cursed in his mind as he finally remembered the system''s words about storage space treasures.
Before he could curse his bad luck further he heard a cold voice in his mind,
=======
"[Pick Pocket seed]
{Host steal}
{1: High-Level, Low-Grade Storage Space Treasure} (4th Mortal Level-Runes)
{21: Middle-Level, Low-Grade Storage Space Treasure} (3rd Mortal Level-Runes)
{41: Low-Grade Storage Space Treasure} (2nd Mortal Level-Runes)
{5: Lowest-Grade Storage Space Treasure} (1st Mortal Level-Runes)
{1: Grade-1, 1000-Years Blood Rose} (Above 9-Star or Golden-Ranked)
{40,009: Lowest-Grade Pills} (White-Ranked pills)
{10,092: Low-Grade Pills} (Green-Ranked pills)
{5932: Middle-level, Low-Grade Pills} (Blue-Ranked pills)
{1021: High-level, Low-Grade Pills} (Azure-Ranked pills)
{8: Low-Level, Middle-Grade Pills} (Purple-ranked pills)
{7653: Middle-level, Low-Grade Weapon} (3-Stars)
{34: High-level, Low-Grade Weapon} (4-Stars)
{Techniques and skills Lowest-Level (Mortal-Level): 21 Techniques, 184 Skills},
{Techniques and skills Low-Level (Worrier-Level): 9 Techniques, 48 Skills},
{Techniques and skills Mid Low-Level (Master-Level): 1 Technique},
{Ruby Coins: 140.4 Million},
{Qi-Stones Trash-Grade (Low-Level): 12 Million},
{Qi-Stones Lowest-Grade (Middle-Level): 998,000},
{Qi-Stone Low-Grade (High-Level): 50,22},
{Formation te Lowest-Level (1st Mortal Ranked Runes): 1}
{ve Contracts: 172}
{Medicine Herbs and Metal Ores: 20,093 Herbs, 1546 Metal Ores}
{Rewards: 10,890 Thief Points}
[Thief Points:10,960]"
========
Ace was currently looking at the panel of the system in a daze.
As he read his eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. He didn''t believe his eyes and think that system has been broken and showing wrong numbers and words. But no matter how much he checked with different methods the numbers remain the same.
''I''m freaking RICH'' He nearly scream out loud.
"That vixen is way too rich!" Ace said in a daze. He finally understands the wealth of a kingdom princess.
"But now all these things are mine! You''ll definitely split blood from anger once I escape here, but it''s a pity that I won''t be able to see your ugly mug myself at that time." Aceughs evilly as he thought of Dulce''s angry face.
Just all those storage rings inside that Dulce''s ring were enough for making him smile ear to ear.
Because with this many storage rings he can upgrade his Thief Storage Space. He can now even convert all those pills into EXP, and with all those pills if he wants he can establish his foundation now. But when he remembered the risk involved with it he gave up on the idea.
The icy voice of the system awakes him from his sweet dream.
He saw on top of the transparent ck main panel there were many grey-out pentagons.
Each pentagon was engraved with a different silver rune symbol. But not all of them were grey, five of them were shining with a golden light around them and the symbols on them were sparkling with silver dots.
These five pentagons of symbols were [Status Panel], [Mission Panel], [Notification Panel], [System Shop], and [Thief''s Space] each had a different kind of rune symbol representing them.
Whenever Ace opened some kind of new function of the system, the pentagon with the rune symbol representing the same function starts to shine with a golden light around them from their grey state.
After that Ace can easily open or see that function with just a thought.
Right now, a symbol that resembles a ''Coin'' was shining with blue light. This was the symbol of Thief''s Space. Ace opens the panel with a thought just like he always does.
=======
[Thief''s Space]
"[System detects enough storage space treasures to upgrade thief''s space.]
[Upgrade Menu]
[Storage Space Treasures: 68]
[Two Storage Space Treasures with 1000 TP: 40 Cubic Meters Extra Non-Living Being Thief''s Space]
[Storage Space Treasure {Low to High-Level Low Grades}: 63]
[Ten Storage Space Treasures of Low-Grad with 5000 TP: Unlocked the Living Being function of Thief''s Space and 100 cubic meters of Space]
[Warning: If host unlocked the living begin storing function of the thief''s space then the non-living begin function would be deleted by the system.]"
=======
He saw the thief panel with all the information about his things inside the thief''s space. He saw a new upgrading function was added to the panel and read all this.
Ace was having a hard time deciding what to do after reading the new function and how will it work. He wanted to open this storage ring as soon as possible and only by converting the other low-grade storage rings into his own thief''s space would he''ll be able to do it.
He was in a dilemma, if he chose to only spend 1000 TP then the system would take only those ''trash storage rings'' (Lowest Grade) from inside, and by doing it the system would have to open this ring. After that, he can do whatever he wants with the ring and save the 4000 TP as well.
Ace silently considers the pros and cons of this and finallyes to a decision. "System open the Living Being storage function!"
[Thief Points: 5960]
He saw his TP drops by half but he didn''t care about them after thinking of the advantages of the Living Being storage function.
======
"[The function has been activated.]
[90 Cubic Meters also has been added]
[Thief''s Space has been upgraded into Living Thief''s Space]
[Now the host can store limited living being, and any non-living being inside as long as the space is big enough]
[Warning: Old upgrading ns have been deleted after the host reached the maximum limit of the storage space he can get with his current level of authority.]
[New upgrading ns will be avable after the host upgrade his authority.]"
=======
Ace saw the symbol that resembles a ''Coin'' was not empty in the middle anymore but there a strange creature type rune appeared in the middle of the coin. He guesses it was a symbol of a living being so he didn''t pay much attention to it.
He wanted to ask some questions about how he would be able to upgrade his authority but remember he was still inside the nest of the enemy.
Now the ring no longer blocks his Qi since the Qi Mark of Dulce has been erased by the system.
He didn''t even have the time to check his new storage space.
With a thought, Ace saw the big space inside the ring and it was clearly much bigger than his old thief''s space.
He quickly notices a white stone te with many rune symbols shinning on it. He immediately guesses what it was and quickly takes it out of the storage ring. He ces the ring and white formation te inside his own thief''s space. And quickly leave to fetch Eva.
The escape was almost in his grasp.
Chapter 52 - Escape! (2)
Dulce was desperately searching for Ace when suddenly she felt like someone has stuck her with a huge hammer in the back of her head.
She instantly fell to the floor. She tried to rise back to her feet quickly, but the pain was too severe. vomited out a puddle of blood.
Her bodyguards begun to panic seeing her vomiting blood. They thought that Ace has sneak attack her and quickly starts to manifest Qi and ready to protect her with their life.
Pain starts to fade after some time and Dulce finally regains her sense.
Her face was ashen after what just happen. She knows exactly just where this immediate pain hase from. A vein popped out from Dulce''s temple, "T-That thief has somehow erased my Qi-mark from storage ring!"
A tinge of astonishment shed on Baldy''s face as he mutters under his breath, "T-that impossible! He can''t do that, n-nobody can!"
Dulce clenched her jaws so tight, her gums were in danger of injury. As she berated him loudly, "You think I''m telling lies?!"
''Even I don''t understand this how can someone erased a Qi-Mark from a 4-star storage treasure without killing the owner? Is he from an ancient sect?'' The moment that notion surfaces in her mind she promptly shook her head.
If he was really from an ancient sect he would never have to steal from all these lowly cities and her.
Because the wealth of an ancient sect disciple can even rival the first-grade empire!
They didn''t need to steal, they all were extremely arrogant and proud beings. They even considering to these lowernds beneath them much less stealing.
''That thief must have something amazing on him, that can even open storage space treasures. I must take it no matter the cost!'' Dulce thought gravely but there was intense greed in her eyes.
"Search separately if you see him fight him to the end! Buy as much time as you can until help arrives. If anyone dares to flee I''ll kill that person myself in the cruelest way!" She gave hermand and start searching madly.
After her Qi Mark was forcefully erased from the storage ring Dulce was in a weak state but she didn''t care. All in her mind was Ace''s mysterious secret!
---------
On the fifth floor in the room where Eva was hiding. It has been fifteen minutes since Ace has left and she was worried sick about him.
But she can''t go look for him because even she knows that she''ll only get in his way so she can do nothing but pray for his safety.
Suddenly, she hears somemotion outside but she didn''t dare to move towards the window, what will happen if she gets spotted? She was strong but she can''t fight or escape Qi foundation building realm experts without Ace.
The door starts to open slowly and Eva snaps out of her thoughts. She holds the hilt of her sword tightly and was ready to battel if needed.
"Eva!" A whispering voice sounded in the room.
No matter how low the voice was she would never forget who this voice belongs to. She quickly abandons her hiding spot and runs towards the owner of the voice.
Ace was vigntly looking around the room to see if Eva was still here or she changed her hiding stop. He has searched the entire floor or maybe the whole building if that was the second case.
Before he could use his heavenly sense to search for her, a shadow emerges from the room and move towards him, she throws herself into his embrace. He could''ve dodge but with his soul signature ability, he knew who this was so he didn''t dodge.
Ace felt Eva''s soft body and her warmth. The air was change and filled with her fragrance, it was like fresh roses. Ace didn''t have time to enjoy all this because Eva was looking at him gently with tears in her beautiful eyes.
"You make me so worried!" Comin Eva softly. Even with her fake face, she was looking extremely cute.
Watching her acting like even in this situation Ace smile helplessly, but he felt warm inside and said while holding her, "I''m fine and I even find a way out of here."
"Really? Let''s go then why are you wasting time taking?" She said with a charming smile. She was enjoying his embrace though.
Ace shook his head helplessly as he beamed at her, "Fine but you don''t have to do anything this time around."
Eva be confused after hearing him and was about to ask what he meant by those words. When she felt Ace Qi on her hand and thest thing she remembered after that was, darkness.
Ace has put her inside his thief''s space. This was the main reason he decided to unlocked this function so he can safely put Eva inside and she didn''t have to face any danger while he escapes from here.
But this thief''s space has its limitation as well as he can only put a single living humanoid begin inside. If he wants to put another he has to upgrade thief''s space to 1000 (Cubic Meters). He learns it from the system when he asked if he can put Eva and Mathies both inside without any problem.
After learning about this he chose Eva over Mathies because he still didn''t trust Mathies, he was still hiding something about his parents from him, and that is why he can''t bring himself to trust himpetently.
Mathies was not like Eva who trusts him blindly and tells everything, she was his first friend and wanted to face danger with him in this kind of situation, even it means death.
Hence, Ace didn''t want to put her in danger just because he was appreciative towards Mathies.
After he put Eva into his thief''s space he moves towards the third flood to find Mathies. Time was extremely tight, he didn''t want Dulce to figure out that he already has the method to open her storage ring and escape from here unnoticed.
Little did he know that she already knows about it because storage rings were made by unique mortal-level space runes formation and if you serve the connection with the owner forcefully the owner would felt it just like Dulce.
Rn didn''t find out about it because his storage ring was made by a novice rune crafter with just five runes symbols who was still learning about runes symbols and that storage ring was the lowest quality.
But Dulce''s ring was the highest grade storage ring that you could ever find in the Land of Kingdoms and made by a 4th ranked mortal rune crafter!
Kingdom and Empires have three grades. First Grade is this highest and third is the lowest. You could only find rune crafters in the 2nd Grade Kingdom or higher.
Rune Craters have 9-Mortal Ranks. Only the top five 1st Grade Kingdoms have Rank 4 Mortal Rune Crafters. And every single one of them treated as a nation a treasure.
Ace didn''t know about this because Land of Cities didn''t have the permission to disclose this information to the masses only city lords of cities like new moon city that was about to reach the rank of a country have the right to know about it.
Mathies was still pretending to search. He enters an empty room when he felt someone was standing behind him. He turns around and saw it was Ace and smile. "Do you seed?"
He could tell that Dulce was inside the Inn and was heading in this way after hearing themotion of guards.
"Let''s go we don''t have time to waste." Ace enters the room and heads straight towards the window and jumps from it without looking back at Mathies.
Mathies didn''t dy and dlyply with Ace''s order and jump after him.
Outside was wide open and no one was guarding the area. Because Dulce has ordered every single person to search Ace in panic without thinking he would escape from outside like before.
Ace saw the bright barrier and take out the formation te from his thief''s space. Mathies was astounded after seeing a formation te with mysterious symbols.
After Ace pours his Qi into the te it starts to shine and Ace felt a torrent of information about how to use this formation appear in his mind. It was the work of the system!
This was his first time seeing this kind of formation and be surprised seeing all that information.
''This formation can even trap a Qi River realm expert for an hour.'' He thought excitedly and finally know the wonders of formations.
The formation te starts to hover in Ace''s hand and suddenly the huge barrier suck inside the te and the sky turns cloudy again as the rain starts to fall heavily.
Ace and Mathies didn''t stay there and quickly escape in the direction of the city gate.
--------
Dulce has just reached the third floor of the building when she saw the rain starts to fall outside. Her forehead began to crease further in a frown after thinking about what just happened.
"H-he escape?" mutter Dulce in bewildered.
Dulce''s ferocity was so strong that she was feeling faint. She never thought that such a would happen. She has lost to a petty thief!
"I''M NOT DONE WITH YOU RASCAL THIEF!!!!" She vomits blood and faints with anger after roaring.
Her anguish howl shocks the entire Inn.
This incident is going to be the greatest blemish of her life.
Chapter 53 - Blood Rose!
Dulce open her drowsy eyes lightly and saw a beautiful ceiling. She first felt extremelyfortable and warmth of the soft bedding and smile unknowingly, But the smile soon disappeared the next moment and was reced by violent rage.
"Where am I!?" She yells loudly and quickly stood up.
She clearly remembered what has happened before she fainted and her blood begun to surge in anger. ''That scoundrel thief escapes from my hands and he even has the ''legendary'' herb that father and second uncle want.''
When she thought of her father, her face turns white as a ghost. She has made a huge blunder this time around.
She was in the red mountain city to harvest the ''Blood Rose''. Her father the King, only know this was a ''legendary'' medicinal herb above golden grade medicinal herb, and it was called the Blood Rose.
They didn''t know its medical effect because it was her uncle who found and told them about it in the first ce.
The Golden Hammered Kingdom stumble upon this Blood Rose hundred years ago with pure luck.
At that time the Red Mountain City name was only Mountain City and it was only a 3-star city. Because the mountain was not red it was normal. The mountain turns red hundred years ago in one night.
After it turns red there were quite an uproar and rumors starts to spread all over thends of cities, the rumors even reached the 1-Star Cities. Like someone has massacred the entire city and dyed the mountain red with blood. Or there was a rare natural treasure growing here.
Even the city lord of that time was rm by this sudden urrence of red color, even he thinks some kind of treasure was borne here and it was a cmity to a 3-star city.
Because if there was really a natural treasure here his city would be destroyed just to keep its existence a secret. But nobody finds anything no matter how much they searched. Everyone thinks it is just a natural phenomenon so they gave up. The city lord also has a sigh of relief.
The golden hammered kingdom was after all one of the top ten kingdoms of middle-levelnds and its territory was quite huge, so they didn''t pay any heeds to this barren ce much less a 3-star city like a mountain city.
But then the second prince of the golden hammered kingdom who was a Blue Grade Alchemist of the kingdom, like to travel around thends and explore ancient ruins.
From one of the ancient ruins, he finds an old red scroll. The scroll was made from a powerful demonic beast hide and it was in ancient writing of devils.
Thenguage of devils was notmon here, but some people still learn it after all the devils once rule the Azure Wind Continent. But a hero emerges from the ranks of humans and he unites the entire human race. He was the first to fight for the rights and freedom of the human race. He ims the entire continent from devils after a bloody war. At least that is what the story was.
After the human race im this continent there were many ancient records, runes, and secret realms that devils left behind. That''s why it was not impossible to find someone who was well versed in devilnguage.
After tranting the ancient writing, the second prince learns about the process of creating an extremely rare legendary medicine herb. It can only be born after thousand years on a special kind of soil that was dyed in the blood of millions of innocent people, called the ''Blood Rose''.
The blood submerges in special soil gave only birth and mature a single ''Blood Rose'' it would never be able to give birth to the second.
It was a pity that he only finds how to create the herb and its name, no further information about its use was given in that ancient writing. He only knows that this medicinal herb was above golden ranked and called it ''Legendary Herb''.
When that second prince of the golden hammered kingdom learns about the Blood Rose he be astonished and thinks it was day-impossible to fulfill all those conditions. Just finding the special soil was a fool''s dream.
It was also happened to be the time when the rumors about the red mountain start to spread. The rumors reached the second prince''s ears since he likes to travel a lot. He first didn''t pay much attention to it and one night suddenly remembered in the ancient scroll it was written the Blood Rose after birth, it would hide deep underground and the red soil would also absorb in the underground to mature it.
Only when the time of its maturity came it would start to emerge from the underground and bloom in hundred years after that. The red soil starts to surface and dyes thend around it in red as well. These were the signs of Blood Rose blooming.
The moment this thought ur in his mind, he quickly goes straight to his first brother who was now the current king of the kingdom. They had a very good rtionship and the matter was too big for him to handle alone.
The second prince tells everything about the ancient scroll and mountain city rumors. The first prince was no fool and he also came to the same conjunction as his second brother.
They quickly discuss and chose to ry this information to their father the former king and the former king was also agitated after learning this and immediately gave the order to investigate that city.
It was only a guess but if there was really a ''legendary herb'' on that city then they can easily exchange it with any ancient sects for a disciple slot or maybe it can help their peak expert to breakthrough into the next realm and they might be an empire. There were countless possibilities.
The Golden Hammered Kingdom investigates this ''suspicious'' city secretly and finds a well-hidden old concealing formation on the mountain peak.
It was also because of this concealing formation that no one from thend of cities finds the unmatured Blood Rose.
After the kingdom confirms the existence of the herb, they quickly shut the rumors and start to support the city from the shadows to protect it from other kingdoms.
After hundred years of wait, the Blood Rose was finally going to bloom and Dulce''s second uncle wanted toe in person to harvest it. But the King stop him because he was afraid that spies of the other top kingdoms might get wind of it.
Because a big event wasing and everyone was on their guards against each other. If they made any sudden or reckless move they would alert others instantly. If the Blood Rose exposed even the empires would get involved in this so he doesn''t want to risk it.
In the end, the king sends his clever daughter Dulce to personally harvest the Blood Rose. He could have sent any one of his three sons but they were not as bright as his daughter.
Dulce received her father''smand and finally understand why they were protecting that little city for all these years. Because the secret of the Blood Rose was only known to the Former King, the Current King, and the former Second Prince.
Now Dulce knows about it as well. She used her schemer mind and carved the whole n to safely retrieve the Blood Rose without alerting anyone. The New Moon City wants to be a country and she makes them ept the Red-Mountain city as subordinate power.
This will justify hering here in the disguise of an examiner.
That is the whole reason, a city like Red Mountain City was New Moon City''s subordinate city. But it does have the capability because all these years to protect the Blood Rose the Golden Hammered Kingdom spends quite resources on the city lord''s family and now they''re on par with any of New Moon City''s subordinate cities.
Dulce chose toe here in thest but there were still some days before Blood Rose bloomedpletely and, in these days, the whole Ace incident transpired.
Just a day before she gets news of Ace, she harvested thepletely bloomed Blood Rose and was nning to go back to the New Moon City if she didn''t get any news on Ace after a week.
But who would''ve thought that she would find him the very next day?
She thought that heaven was rewarding her for her efforts. In the end, it was retribution instead.
The thief she was so confident in capturing just a couple of hours ago was now gone. And he even takes all her wealth that she has collected by murde¡ ahem, ''hardship''.
On top of the most important thing, the Blood Rose was inside her storage ring and if her father finds out about it she would be taking a trip to hell.
"Badly, Liook!" She yells as she called her bodyguards.
The door of the room opens and Baldy and Liook enter in a hurry.
"How long have I been unconscious?" Demand Dulce coldly.
"Two hours." Answer Baldy nervously while his head was low.
Dulce re and became even angrier. "Where is that thief do you capture him or not?"
Beads of sweat start to form on Baldy''s bald head as he answers timidly, "N-no princess we''re still searching the city. There is something we find while we''re searching for him. The city lord of River Flower city is missing and we can''t even find his dead body. We assume that he has run away with that runt."
"Useless trash!! Everyone is trash here!" Dulce exploded at Baldy with a face warped with anger.
At this rate, she might really die from anger.
She stomps her feet in anger and anxiety just thinking about the whole incident.
Greed has truly blinded her reasoning and now she was in huge trouble if she didn''t find the culprit!
Chapter 54 - Sneak Attack!
To the west of the Red-Mountain City few miles away was the biggest forest of thend of cities, the Moon Forest.
Moon Forest was divided into outer, inner, and core regions.
Most mortals and low-level cultivators only travel between the outer region of the moon forest and no one dare to vent any deeper.
Because in the inner region the weakest demonic beast was the peak of the Qi Gates Realm and the core region was the deadliest!
Right at the moment, two silhouettes were moving in the outer region of the moon forest at fast speed on the dirt road between trees. From the direction, they were going towards the inner region of the moon forest.
It will still take them one to two months before they''ll reach the inner region with their current speed.
These two silhouettes were obviously Ace and Mathies.
After they escape from Dulce''s trap, fleeing the city was child y for both.
Ace didn''t want to stay in the city any longer because he knew Dulce would definitely going to search for him like a mad bitch. After all, he has stolen all her treasures and he was feeling quite good about it there was not a sliver of guilt in his heart.
Mathies was moving right beside Ace and was astonished to see that he can match evenly with his Qi Foundation realm speed with ease. He was having a hard time epting it,
''His parents definitely left some amazing techniques and skills or even those legendary treasures for him.'' He thought as a peculiar light shed past his eyes.
Mathies knows better than anyone just how much powerful Ace''s parents were when he met them all those years ago. Certainly, they can''t leave scraps for their own child, right?
But little did he know that they truly didn''t leave anything for him and what he was today all because of that mysterious system.
They fled for six hours and finally have a sigh of relief, they were finally far away from the city and Dulce.
Ace was panting right now because he has killed almost all the elite''s guards and even battel with a Qi foundation realm expert like Dulce, who was stronger than anyone because of her Six Qi Gates Foundation.
And after he escaped from the city he was continuously using hi Qi for running now he was exhausted. If he didn''t have opened the four gates of darkness he would be long run out of Qi.
But he was marvel at his Qi recovery rate, that Dark Void1 inside his abdominal was continuously sucking the Qi of heaven and converting it into HD-Qi.
Ace guessed that he could recover in an hour with this speed of recovery and thanked the system for this powerful reward.
Ace was just deep in thought while catching his breath, and was just about to release Eva from his thief''s space when he felt a cold sensation from behind and a chill run down his spine. He felt goosebumps rising all over his body and his soul sense starts to ring like bells it was a warning that he was in grave danger.
He didn''t have time to turn around to see the situation, Ace quickly react and try to dodge whatever wasing with a sidestep but he was toote and a sharp cold de pierce through this left shoulder de.
His momentary response saves his heart from getting pierced but he still gets wounded.
Strong Qi that wasing from the cold de was pumping into his body through the wound, if not for his HD-Qi uniqueness his body might''ve exploded from the powerful Qi.
Ace calms his mind and ignores the throbbing paining from the wound and uses the silent step to escape the de. His HD-Qi was still fighting with the foreign Qi inside his body.
To Ace''s astonishment the next moment, the Dark Void began to suck the foreign Qi and the Qi turns into HD-Qi. This was another ability of the Dark Void that he didn''t know and wonder if this mysterious void has more uses.
Ace didn''t have time to reflect over Dark Void because he heard an unexpected voice when he escapes the de and turns around. He knew who this voice belongs to the moment he heard it.
When Ace turns around he saw Mathies was holding a long sword with his blood was dripping on the ground from its de. He saw Mathies was looking at him in shock and dread.
"H-h...how did you escape the outburst of the Qi Foundation realm ''Manifestation Qi? N-no a body of Qi Gates Cultivator can''t hold against it." Mathies said while shuttering as he looked at Ace with horror as if he was seeing a ghost.
Ace''s heart turns cold the moment he saw Mathies was holding the weapon and when he heard Mathies''s words.
He finally understands that he has just escaped certain death because of the HD-Qi and Dark Void, if even one of them were missing he would be a cold corpse right now.
Actually, even if he didn''t have any of them he would still be able to expel the Qi with Heavenly Qi. It was just that he didn''t encounter and fight with the Qi Foundation realm expert so his knowledge was deficient.
"Why did you sneak attack me? I thought you were with me?" Ace asked coldly, rage was bubbling up inside him.
He wanted to know just why this old guy did this. He didn''t think that Mathies would''ve harbor ill-intention towards him so his guard was down and he didn''t use his full soul sense on him either that time because of the exhaustion. But the moment Mathies saw the opening he attacked with a sure-kill move.
Mathies knows his cover was blown and he loses his only chance to strike a fatal blow. He calmed his wildly beating heart and said with a deep sigh, "When I first saw your portrait I was quite shocked back then, and finally realized that you were still in the city all these years. At that time, I want to genuinely find you and tell you about your parents. I want to repay the graciousness for saving my life.
"However, I can''t find you just likest time and think this time you really left the city to save your life. I me myself for my ipetence. But the after two days that vixenes and start a massacre she killed my whole family, my wife, children, grandchildren¡" Killing intent starts to emit from Mathies''s eyes as he mentions his family.
"I wanted to kill that whore entire family to avenge my family but what can a pawn like me do? We all lived in thend of cities the lowest levelnds and all the upper-levelnds think of us as mere ves, they didn''t even allow us to possess proper resources to be powerful. Our destiny was in their hands the moment we were born here!
"I lose all the hope and be an empty husk until I saw you doing all those miraculous things. I saw hope to avenge my family. You even opened a storage ring and broke a legend. Then ites to my mind that it was because of you that all my family was dead and because of you my city has be rubble." He stair venomously at Ace.
"So, I decided to kill you and take your secret for myself. But you were just too bizarre and I was uncertain of sess. I waited for the perfect moment and finally find an opening a moment ago when you were exhausted. But who could''ve thought that even my sneak attack wasn''t able to kill you!" Mathies said with frustration in his voice.
Mathies was very confident in his skills but Ace has counter it and now he has to fight him head-on. But he was not discouraged like an old fox because he thought that Ace was still fighting with his Qi that he released with his attack and was in a weak state. And after his big and hateful speech, he would definitely hesitate to attack him.
After listening to Mathies reason Ace sighed, he thinks if he was in Mathies position he would definitely hate the person who was responsible for his misery. But Ace didn''t feel any grief at all from Mathies soul what he felt was greed, envy, desire¡ these kinds of emotions that he felt from Dulce, Grace, Asher, ¡
''He wants my secret just like others but his acting skill is top-notch though. If I didn''t have my soul sense, even I would''ve believed him.'' Ace mocked, if what Mathies says was all true he would''ve let him go.
But he has doubts about him from the start when he gave him iplete information about his parents and after he senses his true feeling and heard his opposite words, he concludes,
''This guy is an old fox through and through and far more dangerous than that vixen!'' (Void of Primordial Darkness)
Chapter 55 - White Crown!
Ace said as he sighs deeply, "It seems like I was truly na?ve."
Two ck swords emerge in his hands and his Qi pours in the swords. The dark Qi starts to leak from the pitch-ck des like haze.
Mathies grimaces deeply as he saw Ace takes out his weapons and for some reason, he felt extreme dread from those two swords from the bottom of his heart. ''He didn''t act like I think he would.'' Think Mathies as he holds his sword hilt tightly.
The truth was when he saw Ace fell in despair and me himself when Dulce tells him about the destruction of the city. At that time, Ace was vulnerable and if Dulce takes that chance to strike she would''ve seeded in capturing him but she decided to toy with him like her other victims and she pays the price in end for her vanity.
Mathies scoffs at her idiocy in his head that time.
That''s why Mathies takes his time to give a sorrowful speech first, he wanted to attack him mentally to make Ace hesitate to attack him and that would be his chance to take him down. He was not like Dulce and the whole other level of schemer from her. He was confident in his acting skills and the ability to control his emotions, but this time around his skills seem to be failed.
He was observing him from the moment heid his eyes on him and after his analysis, he concluded that Ace was inexperienced and na?ve. And he has never been wrong before in his analysis of someone.
But Ace has somehow gained the ability to remain calm in the face of desperate situations after the Dulce incident. He was apletely different person, not like before when he loses his calm easily.
Little did he know that Ace has soul sense and he can feel his inner self emotions.
Mathies can hide his emotion on the surface but he can''t do that with his soul because he wasn''t a soul cultivator.
Now Ace was calmer because he already touched thew of [Despair] once and his mentality has undergone a drastic change. And Mathies was like an open book when Ace solely focused on him.
Mathies still wanted to try something else to make his chance of winning higher but he saw Ace has vanished. There was still dark and because of the clouds, it was as dark as it could be.
Cultivation can vaguely see in darkness when they reached the Qi foundation realm and their sense be much sharper than any mortal, they can even hold their breath underwater for ten hours straight. That''s why Mathies can move around freely but he misses the details about Ace can also move freely and much better than him in dark.
Ace never has proper education much less on cultivation and he also didn''t know about the details of what can a human do in specific after he cultivates. He only knows how to read and write because of his grandparents'' teaching.
Mathies panicked and said as he raises his hands in surrender, "We didn''t need to fight I admit my mistake!" He didn''t want to fight an opponent that he can''t even see or sense. And Ace can sneak up on him without even him noticing before. So, he decided to wait and find another opportunity.
Ace was in his stealth and heard Mathies words but he didn''t stop. ''Empty words.'' He despises.
He didn''t want to expose himself to his old fox anymore after seeing his backstabbing and scheming nature. He was thanking his decision to keeping Eva inside the thief''s space until now and didn''t show that old fox anymore of his secrets.
Otherwise, Mathies would''ve be more alert and hide like venoms snakes. When he got the chance, he would strike the moment when he was in a difficult situation and Eva would be in danger as well because of his idiocy and naivety.
But Ace didn''t know Mathies showed his true colors exactly because of Eva! He didn''t saw him taking that girl with him and in his mind, Ace has abandoned her. Moreover, he was poisoned and Ace didn''t give him an antidote that''s why he thought Ace wanted to kill him as well.
However, that was not the case at all, it was just that Ace has forgotten about the poison! If Mathies asked him Ace would''ve given him right at that moment. It is just that his motives were not pure from the start and that poison only made those desires intense.
But now Ace was very appreciative towards Mathies for showing his true colors so soon and gave him a lesson to never trust anyonepletely. Besides, he would never let an incident like River-Flower city happened again as long as he lives.
Ace was moving with silent steps as he saw Mathies has raised his hand but didn''t let his sword go, his eyes turn sharp as he brandishes the long swords and shed towards Mathies sword holding hand.
Mathies felt a cold and sharp sensationing from his back and quickly wave his sword backward vertically.
''chee'' ''kaachha''
Mathies did manage to connect the attack with Ace''s sword but the moment that ck de touched his sword, the sword cut in half like butter andnded on his chest. A deep cut appeared and blood gushes out from it.
Mathies didn''t even know what happen and why his 3-star sword would cut in half like it was made of paper. Dulce gave him this sword to capture Ace and he knows it was really a 3-star weapon. But now it was cut in half easily and he starts to doubt that Dulce has yed him.
Ace didn''t stop here because the cut was not deep enough to take Mathies life and again decided to go in stealth.
After killing so many elite guards sneakily in the Inn Ace has finally found his fighting style. His skills were made for fighting in dark and silently not in a frontal assault. As long as the opponent is not stronger than him by a huge gap he could easily kill them sneakily.
Mathies has a taste of Ace''s newfound understanding of his skills and technique. He felt horrified after being cut by his Qi because he felt Ace Qi was not normal at all it was cold but at the same time it gives him a feeling of emptiness like he was alone in a dark ce with no sliver of light.
Mathies somehow suppressed Ace''s Qi that was making him numb, he was after all a Qi Foundation expert. But just he was about to say something to get himself out of this situation a chill run down his spine because a ck de wasing towards his neck like a grim riper scythe.
Ace didn''t want to drag this fight because his HD-Qi was limited and he was still exhausted so he decided to end Mathies. In his view, Mathies was extremely weak for a Qi Foundation realm expert or he was just too powerful for a Qi Gates realm practitioner.
"STOP! I know very important information about your parents!" Shouts Mathies in horror, this was his final trump card for getting out of this situation. Now he finally understands just how much he underestimate this little thief.
The moment he said those words he felt a cold sharp object was touching his throat. It was a ck de that emitting a ck aura from its sharp edge.
If he was a secondte in uttering his head would be flying right now. He was drench in sweat and he gulps nervously, he nearly dies. Now he understands what it means by ''power can ovee any scheme''.
Ace was looking at Mathies in eyes coldly while his sword was still on Mathies''s throat, "Tell me everything if you even speak a single lie you''re dead." He said coldly.
He also wanted to know theplete truth about his parents and decided to hear Mathies out. If Mathies tells him everything truthfully, he didn''t mind sparing him. He wasn''t a cold murder in the end. If not for Mathies vile character Ace would''ve never brought himself to kill Mathies in the first ce.
"I-I''ll speak the truth just don''t kill me." Said Mathies with dread in his voice. He could tell Ace was dead serious.
Ace only stare at Mathies deeply and didn''t say anything like he was telling him ''you better be''. He didn''t retract his sword from his throat either.
Mathies could only sigh helplessly after seeing Ace was not reacting to him and finally decided to tell him everything it was after all his life that was hanging on a thread right now.
"The things I told you before were true but I didn''t tell you that when your father used his power to send me away before vanishing I heard your mother yell that time, she was clearly referring to her enemies." Said Mathies slowly, he was still looking at Ace to see his reaction but to his dismay, Ace didn''t even flinch after hearing his word.
Mathies only felt the de was starting to press in his throat and because of that ck aura his skin starts to cut like jelly and blood starts to flow.
He didn''t dare to y riddle anymore and said quickly, "I-I heard her shouting ''White Crown!'' before I was sent far away from that ce. I-I swear I''m telling you the truth. As for what I have done it was because I was awed by them after seeing their prowess and wanted to possess that kind of power myself. I just want to be someone strong to protect my family. That''s the whole reason I wanted your secret but I was wrong greed truly blinds me, I¡!"
Before he could finish his words, something passes through his throat with lightning speed and he didn''t even feel what happened. Thest thing he saw before his view gets dark was Ace''s serene face.
Mathies''s head was rolling in the soil with his eyes wide open in disbelief, horror, surprise, and hatred.
Chapter 56 - Qi Soul Manifestation Realm!
Ace was emotionlessly looking at Mathies skeptical face on dirt. After a moment he takes a deep breath and finally averts his gaze.
Ace could tell that Mathies spoke the truth about ''White Crown'' but the rest was utter nonsense. Mathies still tries to portrait himself as a righteous person but Ace knows the moment he starts to spout nonsense and try to deceive him again.
That old fox seems to didn''t even care about his dead family at all. So, he simply didn''t hear any more nonsense and sent him on his way.
"I''ve changed." Mutter Ace under his breath as looks at the dark sky.
Maybe because of the gates or darkness or after seeing the cruelty of men he finallyes to terms with his heart that he has to be ruthless while dealing with his enemies.
Mathies try to backstab him and ever after he gave him a chance he still harbors malicious intent towards him. Ace finally understands the meaning of those words he once heard from his grandma ''World Respects the Strong and disdain the weak!''
That time he was young and didn''t understand them clearly but now he finally knows just what exactly that means. If he was strong enough did Dulce still dare to mascara his hometown or craving his secrets? Did Mathies dare to scheme against him and try to kill him for his own selfishness? Definitely not!
Ace sighs as he thinks about this and shook his head lightly. He was just about to tend his wound when he heard the system''s voice,
"[You have killed an Early Stage Qi Foundation Building Realm Clone. You have earned 1000 EXP.]"
[EXP: 5020/50.000]
Ace was stunned after reading this and ask quickly, "System what do mean clone didn''t I kill a living begin?"
"[10 Thief Points required for the answer.]"
"Just take them." Ace said grumpily.
''It starts again!'' He thought as his faces turn dark. He previously thinks that after he opened the gates of darkness, the system was answering his question without asking for payment but he was utterly wrong.
"[Cloning or Self Clones can be made by special cultivation techniques, secret skills, rune crafting or some races has the innate ability to made clones from birth.]
[The host has just killed a clone of a Qi Soul Manifestation Realm cultivator that was made by a special cultivation technique. But this technique was clearly a basic-level soul-splitting clone technique and a wed one at that.]
[Because after analysis system concluded that the main body can''t see, feel or experience anything that the clone felt until the clone die. And clone wasn''t even aware of its own existence as a mere cultivation clone. It has Emotion defects as well.]
[Now that the clone has been destroyed all the experience he''s been through for his entire life would directly transfer into the main body.]"
Ace was bbergasted by the consequential information and given the scare of his life. He cursed his bad luck a thousand times.
He couldn''t help but shiver a little as he turns around to see the headless corpse on the ground and now he felt dread by looking at it. He has unknowingly killed a clone of a ''Qi Soul Manifestation'' realm cultivator!
No matter how ignorant Ace was, he clearly knows the cultivator realms of this world and he never even heard or read about this realm before.
The only information known to the public about the cultivation realms were Qi Gates, Qi Foundation Building, Qi River, Qi River Core, and Qi Soul.
Even empires didn''t know whates after Qi Soul because just reaching the Qi Soul realm was enough to put an empire into the top 2 positions in the entire high-levelnds!
But Ace clearly knows whates after Qi Soul and that was exactly the Qi Soul Manifestation Realm!
Therefore, what does it mean by a Soul Manifestation realm expert? It simply means someone from Ancient Sects!
Ace was beginning to sweat profoundly, "I you know why didn''t you tell me??!" He asked gloomily to the system. He felt like he has been swindle pretty badly by the system.
"[Host never asked.]"
"YOU!" He became speechless and nearly had a stroke.
If he knows this was a clone of someone this powerful and by killing it, he would rm the main body, he would think hundred times before doing it. He could''ve just escaped and leave Mathies here.
"System can the main body of that person get the information about me as soon as it died and can hee here like through his clone?" He asked nervously as his imagination runs wild. If that was true he didn''t know if he could escape someone this powerful.
"[Not possible with this kind of technique. He can only get the information after a week minimum and he will suffer the bacsh from the technique because the clone was killed and it didn''t die naturally. So, the host didn''t have to worry about his safety for now, at least.]" This time it was a yful voice.
"What do mean for now? He wille for me sooner orter but he wille!" Ace sighed again and again in frustration. He has shot himself in foot this time around.
His secret was just too big for anyone to know and somehow he has even rmed a cultivator of some ancient sect.
Ace shook his head in dismay and decided toy low and tend carefully from now on.
Even if that Qi Soul Manifestation realm expert was from an ancient sect that doesn''t mean he can find him in this big continent easily.
If not for the system notification he didn''t even know about this matter but now that he knows he would never let his guard down easily.
''Let''s see what happened in the future but if I be strong enough even that expert came I''ll let him know why the flowers are so red." Ace grunted as he smiled.
After today''s experience, he has be sharper and a little bit experienced.
He began to search for some cave to change his clothes before releasing Eva. Because she would be worried about him if she saw his condition. A smile form on Ace''s face when remembered Eva and felt warm inside.
In this world, she was the only person that he trust the most besides his little sister.
Ace wanted to go to River Flower city first to see the current city condition but he decided against it because Dulce cany a trap there as well and after he finds out about the clone thing he was not in the mood of wasting time anymore he has to be strong quickly.
Ace finds a calve in the outer region of the moon forest. He changed his tatter clothes into a new set and star fire.
With a gesture of his sleeve on the empty sheet of silk emerge a fairy-like sleeping beauty out of nowhere.
The girl was dressed in ck robes, and her hands were ced gracefully on her abdomen. Just by look at her slender, delicate figure, one could tell that she was a piece of art especially her well-rounded big chest. There was a hint of glossy redness on her lips, making her appear seductive. She had an impably beautiful oval face.
Perhaps it was due to the contrast with her ck dress, her skin gave off a luster reminiscent of snow. Her nose was curved in a shapely angle, and her lips glistened alluringly. Her delicate lower jaws and her slender neck further entuated her moving face, making it hard for anyone to resist her charms.
She was Eva, without disguise of course.
Ace has seen her face many times but no matter how many times he saw this goddess-like face he would never be able to take his eyes away from it easily.
Especially her chest that give him, some particr kind of strange hot feeling whenever he saw it.
Eva''s closed eyelids vibrate as she slowly opens them. Her fox-like eyes were open, they were a hint of confusion in those beautiful shining eyes. She looked around at the unfamiliar environment confusingly.
She clearly remembers being inside a dark room of the Inn but this was not a room at all and there was warmthing from somewhere. She turns her head and saw the fire was lit and Ace was looking at her with a grin.
"Where are we?" She asked Ace in a stupor.
"Inside the Moon Forest." Ace said with a beaming smile. His fatigue lesser quite a bit after seeing Eva and taking with her.
She snapped out of her daze by hearing Ace''s words. "But how did we escape and what did you do to me did you take advantage of me?" She asked him with a suspicious gaze.
Ace be speechless after hearing this and shook his head quickly and exin, "I put you inside a storage space that can store living beings. And NO, I didn''t take advantage of you!" He didn''t hide the living storage space from her because she never lies or hide anything from him. So, telling her about his little secret was not a big deal.
"You were unconscious the whole time?" He asked in puzzlement. Since he didn''t know about how it feels like to be in storage space.
Eva bes astonished after hearing about the living storage space. She didn''t hear about this kind of thing before not even from her mother who in her mind was like an all-knowing being.
"Yes, it was like I was in a strange dream but there was only dark in that dream nothing else." Answered Eva as she remembered how it was in the storage space.
Ace was taken aback by this discovery. He didn''t have time before to check the living storage space before and he has many fantasies about it like a child.
Previously he thinks that the storage space should be like the outside world and he could build afortable house inside to live but now his little dream was shattered by Eva in instant.
He tries to go inside the storage space to check but now it urred to him that he can''t get inside the storage space himself since it was not a tangible treasure, he can only store others.
He sighs with disappointment as he thought.. ''It seems I have to find a tangible living storage space treasure to build a house.''
Chapter 57 - Evas Bold Move!
Ace was still in deep thought when he heard Eva beautiful voice,
"Hmph! You face the crisis alone again, and that was not what we agree upon. You even promised me!" Said Eva while pouting as she turns her head around. She was clearly displeased and angry because of what Ace dose.
Anger adds even more charm to her ravishing beauty and Ace was bewitched by her for a moment, "I-I admit I was wrong but there was no time to consider we were surrounded and I thought it was more convenient to escape for me alone and I also don''t want to put you in danger."
Ace''s face reddens as he said that, he was clearly telling lie about escaping alone. If he tells her about Mathies incident she would definitely pester him to no end so he didn''t tell her about it. But he does tell truth about not wanted to put her in jeopardy.
Eva saw Ace redden face from the corner of her fox-like eye and huff, "Hmph! I''m not talking to you anymore you are a trickster."
Ace smiled helplessly after seeing her acting like a spoiled child and an idea pop into his head he quickly takes out a white ring with mysterious symbols from his thief''s space. This was a storage ring that was in the collection of Dulce''s treasures.
ording to his guess, this ring should be equal to a 3-star weapon since he didn''t know about the rune crafter''s ranks.
Because the system alwaysbels those stolen goods ording to its own high standards and he wondered if these world treasures were just of low quality.
He didn''t know that all the best treasures were found in royalnds though.
"Here this a real storage ring and this is a hundred times better than Rn''s, considers it my apology gift." Said Ace while he held out his hand to give her the ring.
Eva''s eyes lit up the moment she hears Ace''s words and quickly looked at the white ring in Ace''s hand. She was going to grab it in excitement when she stops her hand because she remembers something that''s her mother told her once.
"Here put it on my index finger and I''ll forgive you." Said Eva gently as she presented her delicate right hand to Ace while heavily blushing for some reason.
Ace''s eyebrows raised a little because of this particr request. But he didn''t think much and do as she said he put the ring on her soft silk-like index finger.
Eva''s heartbeat quickened as she saw the white ring and even her neck turn red. She looked at Ace shyly for some unknown reason with her beautiful eyes, the way she was looking at him has changed somehow.
It was as if she can''t take it anymore and she quickly stand up and run gracefully out of the cave as if she has done something wrong and didn''t dare to face Ace.
Ace was startled and didn''t know what happened to her but she starts to act strange he could tell with his soul sense, it all happens when she made that strange request. He shook his head and think she should have something important to do alone so he didn''t chase after her.
But Ace didn''t know that he has done something quite big unknowingly and it cannot be undone anymore. If he knew what has happened here he would''ve shouted at her in panic, ''Are You CRAZY!!??''
Eva finally stops running beside a close water source to their temporary ''housing''. Sun was already starting to rise and the dark clouds start to clear away.
Eva was looking at the slowly rising sun while she holds the ring on her finger with her other hand.
Suddenly that ring vanished in her finger mysteriously and the next moment it appeared again. It was still crystal white but the pattern on it has changed somehow!
Eva seems to know what has happened and didn''t look rmed by this.
She only nce at the new ring and strange emotion bubble up in her heart and looked behind and saw Ace was not chasing after her, "Idiot!" He mumbles softly as she blushes.
She was looking ever more breathtaking in this dim light but no one was here to enjoy the view.
After she gets control of her chaotic emotions she returns to the cave and saw Ace was sleeping like a log. Maybe because he didn''t chase after her or he was smiling while sleeping having a good dream Eva felt anger.
But it suddenlyes to her mind what he has done and suffers terrible news like the destruction of his hometown. So, her anger quickly vanished and she sits beside him and starts to brush his hair gently with her soft hand as she was looking at him tenderly with a gentle smile on her face.
Somethinges to her mind and she starts to shake her head like crazy and her face turns as red as a strawberry. ''It''s all this rascal fault to make me think about all this stuff and sleep on our first n...'' She promptly stops her train of thought.
But she didn''t know that Ace was fully alert and if he felt an unknown soul signature have entered the cave he would''ve definitely awake but the person was Eva and he didn''t feel a sliver of bad intension from her so he keeps pretending to be sleeping and let her touch him, on the contrary, he was enjoying it.
Ace felt deep in slumber for the first time in many days because of Eva''s presence.
-------
Far, far away from the low-levelnds were Royal Lands also known as Lands of the Ancients.
The density of the Qi here was thousands of times denser than any other lowernds on the whole continent because the royalnds were in the center of the Azure-Wind Continent.
In an unknown mountain of the royalnds, at the peak of the mountain was filled with cloudy green mist, this mist was not ordinary but it was Qi because the density of the Qi here was so thick it turns into a form of cloudy mist.
Surrounded by this cloudy mist was an Abode in the center of the mountain peak.
It was as if an immortal was lived here in peace. This abode seems simple and normal at first sight, but if one sees it carefully, one will notice many strange symbols engraved outside on the abode walls.
Inside the abode was dark but one could vaguely saw a crossed leg sitting silhouette like a status. No one knows how long it was sitting in this position but there was not a single sign of breathing or movementing from its body.
Suddenly a green light conjured out of thin air and enter between that silhouette eyebrows.
''pppucpp''
The moment it happens the closed eyes of the status like silhouette shot open and he vomits a small puddle of blood.
His facees to light and it was filled with lite wrinkles, his hair was ck, and he has a small beard on his wrinkled face. He seems like a man in his fifty''s but his eyes were as bright as zing fire and filled with life.
But because of that green light, hisplex has started to turn pale, and even more, wrinkles were appearing on his face, he bes somewhat like an old man in his sixties.
"W-WHO JUST WHO DARE TO KILL THIS OLD MAN CULTIVATION CLONE??!!?"
He roared like an angry lion and all the mountain peaks tremble with his anger. The cloddy mist starts to create cyclones and lightning sparks here and there because of that old man''s power.
He was the exact cultivator whose clone [Mathies] was killed by Ace a week ago in moon forest.
The old man was fuming with fury and hatred for the culprit who messes with his special ''sacred technique'' that he was cultivating for hundreds of years. Abruptly, foreign memories start to enter his brain.
He saw the whole life of Mathies and bes astonished as he keeps looking at the memories. At the end of the memories, he bes shocked when he sees Ace performance and him killing his clone at the very end.
His breath bes rigged after seeing all these events, but he was a sly old fox that has lived for almost a thousand years and quickly calm down.
But his eyes were shining like torches as a sinister smile creep out on his old face. Before he was looking like a peaceful buddha but now this smile was currently looking like a wicked demon.
"White crown, ehh. It seems like they''re still as sneaky as ever, and it looks like that pup was left alone by those two experts so no one can find ore after him. But he has some ground-breaking secret that they were left with him for safekeeping. Maybe white crown was after that secret too." He frowned deeply as he mutters.
He knew exactly what white crowns represent!
"But this clone was utterly an idiot! He has even managed to fool those two but he ends up died in the hands of a brat that wasn''t even in Qi Foundation Realm what an utter disgrace to my name!"
"Well he only has my 10% intelligence so I can''t expect more from him but now I have to create a sacred clone again toplete my cultivation technique. Just why the hell this technique has so many strange requirements!"
"I can''t go after him with this kind of situation, it seems like I have to take control of that clone if I want to capture that brat." Mumbles the old man as a cold glint shed past his eyes before he closed them again!
Chapter 58 - Shadow Abyssal Devil!
The next day Ace open his eyes and he felt refreshed like never before after this deep peaceful sleep. He was about to get up from his lying position when he felt a weight on his right shoulder, he confusingly turned his head and saw Eva''s face was resting on his shoulder.
She was looking at him with her bewitching eyes while smiled charmingly.
Ace was taken aback by this sudden development. Her unique refreshing fragrant was in the air and Ace couldn''t help but think if he was feeling refresh because of it.
His eyes subconsciouslynded on her perfectly shaped red cherry-like lips, he could feel her breathing on his cheeks. He felt his arm was between something soft and warm, he saw Eva was wearing a tight blue dress with short cleavage. He witnessed a deep line there and Eva''s hands were wrapped around his arm. His arm was touching her soft peaks!
His heartbeat raced and his blood boil.
When he saw Eva''s mature slender hot figure, he felt his body was on fire and his face turns red and he felt a strange desire rising from the bottom of his heart.
Ace never felt like this before not even when he huge little Alina in all those years together.
Ace has a strange feeling that if he didn''t distance himself from Eva right now he would do something bizarre that he shouldn''t have and let her down because of it.
So, he frees himself from her grip and quickly gets up, and with quick steps, he escap¡ ''ahem'' exits the cave.
His education in this department was iplete because no one would ever tell a kid this kind of stuff, right?
Moreover, he bes alone when he was extremely young and after that, he never has a friend because of his silent and reserved nature. Only when he meets Alina did he start to feel like a normal kid again but that wasn''tst long as well because of her ''illness''. And no one wanted to waste their time on a poor worthless kid.
That''s why Ace was still a pure kid from the heart.
Eva clicks her tongue after seeing Ace escaping like a frightening cat. ''Didn''t that book say all the men are the same and they would never let go of a chance like this when a girl gives ''hint'' herself?'' Thought Eva in frustration. Because she knew about her nation-destroying features.
But the next moment she giggles because she thinks Ace was special and even in this situation he was still acting like a gentleman and control himself.
''Well I can''t make ''it'' too easy for him, right?'' So, I won''t do this anymore what if he thinks I''m that kind of girl?'' Eva blush heavily as she looked at her sexy dress, she suddenly thought about her strange and bold behavior.
She also didn''t understand just why she would be like this bold around Ace. But one thing was clear and that was it happening because of her Half-Devil lineage.
Ace was washing his face and calming his nerves. He takes a deep breath and couldn''t help but think about the beautiful sight that he witnesses just now.
''sighs''
''Why did I run away like an idiot its not like she was doing something bad to me?'' He thought weirdly.
Since he didn''t know the answer, Ace decided to sort out his loot that he didn''t have a chance to because he was in hurry at that time so it was a good thing to distract himself.
He opens the main panel of the system and he sent his thought on an envelope-like symbol on the dark panel. It was the symbol of the notification panel. The dark panel changed and the panel open. In this panel, he can see all the previous notifications of the system.
Since he knew about the amount of the storage space treasures because of the thief''s space upgrade he didn''t check them and move on.
Finally, he saw something strange that he previously missed,
[Grade-1 Herb, 1000-Years Blood Rose: 1]
"1st Grade?!!" Ace was rmed and subconsciously scream. He rubs his eyes to see if he didn''t see wrong but there was still ''Grade-1'' there!
He became excited how could he not be?
Because ording to his observation until now, not even a single treasurees close to being a ''True Grade'' treasure. And now out of nowhere, he finds one in this kind of ce.
Ace''s breath quickens as asked, "System what is this Blood Rose?"
If this is a grade one then he strikes it rich this time around. However, he was very confused about how Dulce was able toy her hand on this kind of treasure.
"[5 Thief Points for appraisal.]"
It was like someone has poured a cold bucket of water on him,
Ace clenches his teeth as he said, "YOU! Just take it." He suddenly wanted to strangle someone really bad.
=========
[Thief Points: 5945]
"[Blood Rose Decryption: An ancient herb born from ''Ancient Abyssal Soil'' that was drenched in millions of innocents living beings.]
[Effect: Able to increase the density of any Abyssal Devil''s bloodline lineage.]
{6 Life Phase}
1. 100 Years {Increase the bloodline density 5%}
2. 1000 Years {Increase the bloodline density 15%}
3. 10,000 Years {Increase the bloodline density 30%}
4. 100,000 Years {Increase the bloodline density 50%}
5. 500,000 Years {Increase the bloodline density 75%}
6. 1,000,000 Years {99% Bloodline density, and Awakening of the Royal Abyssal Devil''s Bloodline}
[Current Life Phase: Second Phase, 1000 Years {Increase the bloodline density 15%}]
[Method of Use: Any Devil with Abyssal Bloodline can eat it directly or Host can also convert it into 100,000 EXP or 10,000 Soul Points]"
=======
Ace''s eyes were wide open as he saw the appraisal of the system. He takes a deep breath of cold air.
This information was too much for him to take even with his newfound mentality.
After he calms down Ace begun to consider, ''System called it an ancient herb means it is very rare. But this herb is only useful to a devil with an abyssal bloodline and by the looks of it, this herb can even awake something called Royal Abyssal Bloodline if it reached the sixth phase of its life. But the most important thing is I finally found out that I can convert the herbs in EXP or SP as well!''
The more Ace thinks the more excited he bes. He finally found another way of gaining experience. It never urred to him that if he can convert the medicine pills into EXP then the herbs that made those pills can be turned into EXP as well.
A grade one herb was giving him a hundred thousand at once and he can even have a choice to convert it into SP as well. One has to know that he didn''t even gain any soul points besides the missions and this was his first time seeing something can be converted into soul points as well.
"If Eva has this abyssal bloodline this herb would''ve helped her a lot but it''s a shame that she''s a half-shadow devil." Mutters Ace under his breath. If this herb can be of any use to Eva he would''ve given it to her without a second thought but it was a pity that it isn''t.
He wanted to convert it into SP since they were extremely rare to collect. He has other pills and many medicinal herbs as well so he has more than enough to break through into the next realm.
The reason for his breakthrough dyed was because he has a strange feeling that it was not the right time. He trusts his instinct and didn''t convert any pills into EXP for time being.
He was just about to give hismand when something rare happened,
"[System has a suggestion rted to Blood Rose for the host.]"
Ace was astonished after hearing the system voice and it was not a cold voice like always, "Tell me about it." Said, Ace.
"[Host new thief''s space is extremely suitable for any creature or medicinal herb that rted to [Darkness]. It can help living creatures awaken their true bloodline in hundreds or thousands of years if they stay inside, it all depends on the creature''s true lineage and bloodline density. Or medicinal herbs can be nurtured at high speed inside the thief''s space, but the host has to spend Thief Points and this function is currently unavable.
"[Same goes for that halfling girl, she can also awake her true bloodline in hundred thousand years if she remains inside host''s thief''s space and even that can help her to reach only sixty percent! She will never be able to reach the true heights of her bloodline. Moreover, she didn''t have a lifespan of a hundred thousand years.
"[But with this Blood Rose it changed because it is very rare to mature this kind of herb between heaven and earth. This is a heavenly treasure for any abyssal devil and the abyssal devil didn''t exist in the first heavens. The system also didn''t know how this rare herb appears here.
"[Host can feed this Blood Rose to that halfling and with 5000 TP seal her inside your living thief''s space for twenty to thirty years. Her bloodline is rted to shadow and [Shadow] is one of thews of [Darkness] and Abyssal Bloodline is also rted to [Darkness].
"[Normally you cannotbine two bloodlines but with host thief''s space and her only half-shadow bloodline it''s possible and she can be a rarest ''Shadow Abyssal Devil''. It is an extremely rare species of Devil n.
"[This was an option only given to the host because she is bonded to you otherwise the system would not have given this suggestion.]"
Ace was bewildered hearing the system suggestion. He didn''t dare to believe what he just heard!
Chapter 59 - Evas Choice
After some time, Ace gradually picked up on the situation.
"What kind of bond are you talking about?" Ask Ace in confusion.
He was having a hard time believing that the system would give this kind of information for free because there was just too much that the system has revealed to him.
Like his thief''s space''s true potential and its true use. Now he even knows about its future function. So, this bond must be something extraordinary.
"[When that halfling willingly asked for the host to put on the ring on her index finger, she has done an ancient ritual of devil n. This ritual can only be done by devil n members and they have to do it willingly.
"[Simply put, by putting that ring on her finger you have bond her soul with you. Meaning, if you die she will die as well but since you''re not aware of this ritual if she dies you''ll live.
"[It is kind of a marriage ritual in the devil n all the pairs of lovers can to do this because after doing this they can never betray each other and it represents their eternal love for each other, but it is more like a life and death contract that can never be undone.
"[She made this kind decision mostly because you have opened the gates of darkness and she has feelings towards you before as well, but after opening your hidden gates of [Primordial Darkness] this feeling amplified by many folds.
"[Because she is a creature of [Darkness] and all creatures of [Darkness] will feel closer to you because of [Charm] that is an innate ability of [Darkness]. And unknowingly her feeling towards you be so great that she made the biggest decision of her life]"
Ace was bbergasted by this sudden news. He starts to sweat profoundly because this shock was too much for him to take. He only has one thought in his mind right now, ''That girl has gone super crazy! Wait, if that was a marriage ritual of devil n doesn''t that mean she''s my wife now?''
Marriages at the age of twelve were the custom in the mortal world so he was not against it.
But he quickly throws that thought out of his mind because this matter was not about simple marriage it was about her life and death.
If she has told him about it, he would definitely not agree to it no matter what, because in his opinion it was like a life and death ve contract.
What Ace guess was close to the truth because the devil n has stopped doing it long ago. The reason for this was very simple because there was a huge loophole in it and that was if one person was willingly doing this ritual and the other was not, then it was not less than a ve contract.
Devils are just too proud being, they can''t just hand their life to another person carelessly, right? So, only those who are truly in love with each other''s do this ritual, but even that was rarely seen because who wanted their lover to die with them?
Eva was too rash with her decision because of Ace''s power of primordial darkness!
She begins to love him because of what he has done for her. However, the moment she meets him right after he opens his hidden gates she was feeling even closer to him and she simply decided to give herself to him without a second thought.
Maybe she would do the same thing if she was given more time who knows?
This was one of the innate powers of [Primordial Darkness] ''[Charm]'' no being with darkness can resist it no one!
The more Ace''s power grows the more he gets control over [Darkness] and more of his [Charm] grows.
Ace was now ming himself for all of this and think that it was all his fault that Eva has made this kind of rash decision. The system has clearly said that this can''t be undone anymore.
"It''s all your fault for not telling me in the first ce!" Cursed Ace at the system.
After some time, Ace was calm down and he starts to think about just what has Eva done and be gloomy. Didn''t this mean he has her life in his hands right now? If he dies she will as well.
Somehow, he felt warm and worried in his heart after thinking about how that silly girl has given her life to him like it was nothing, it was mostly because of that [Charm] thing but it has only amplified her feelings that she already harbor for him. He could easily tell this because of his soul sense.
Ace finallye to terms with himself and decided.
''Now that I have a ''w-wife'' I can''t treat her, stingily right? I have to tell her about this evaluation process and make herply with me.'' Thought Ace as he head back to the cave.
Eva was trying to cultivate with her eyes closed, but she simply can''t concentrate because of what she has done. Every time she thought about this she bes confused at first but quickly shook her head because she didn''t regret anything.
She loved Ace from the moment he freed her and he even put his life in danger because of her many times. Which girl didn''t want to be protected like a princess and wants her man to spoil her, and Ace has done everything.
It''s just that she can''t bring herself to tell Ace about their ''marriage''. It was just too quick and she was somewhat ashamed to tell him about it. So, she simply decided to tell him when their rtion made some progress.
"Hmph! It''s all that blockhead fault to make a girl do this kind of thing." She muters with a huff as she pouts cutely.
Ace has just entered the cave and with his high senses, he heard her clearly. His face reddens and keeps walking like he didn''t hear anything.
But in his heart he really wanted to yell at her, ''It''s was your crazy idea and you didn''t even tell me about it!''
Eva also found out that Ace has returned and she keeps pretending to cultivate but her face turns red after she thinks about what has happened not too long ago and her heartbeat reached breaking point!
''Having a wife as beautiful as hers didn''t seem like a bad thing and it more like a blessing in disguised.'' Ace couldn''t help but wonder on his own about this after he saw her beautiful face and flowers bloom in his heart.
But he quickly suppresses that though because it was just too awkward to bring himself to think about it. After all, his grandmother once told him that it was very disgraceful to let a girl confess her feeling to you so you have to take the lead. At that time he didn''t pay much attention to this but after hearing Eva''s words he could tell his grandma was right.
''Proper education is really important I guess.'' Ace made a vow to properly educate himself this time around, his knowledge is too shallow.
Little did he know there is not a single correct book exists in the love department.
"Ahem, Eva we need to talk about something." To lessen the awkwardness in the air he coughs lightly.
Eva opens her fox-like eyes after hearing Ace''s voice. The moment she saw him, her gaze bes even more tender, "What do you want to talk about?" She gently said in her charming voice.
Ace couldn''t help but think again after he saw her beautiful eyes and hear her voice, ''Definitely blessing in disguise.''
Ace quickly circte his HD-Qi and instantly calm down this was the marvel of HD-Qi he found when he was fighting with Mathies. It helped him a lot to remain calm in face of danger. He never would''ve dreamed that he has to use it to remain calm in front of this devastating beauty or his wife.
"It is like this I found this heavenly treasure for devil n in Dulce storage ring it called Blood Rose..."
"As for how do I know about its uses and how do I have this kind of storage space I can''t tell you about it, it''s not like I don''t want to tell you or I don''t trust you, it just that this secret is too dangerous for anyone to know so I hope you can understand."
Ace tells her about the whole situation and the evaluation process that the system has told him about. He didn''t dare to mention the ''marriage'' because it would''ve made things awkward between them.
In the end, he still couldn''t bring himself to tell her about the system because after this was just too dangerous for anyone to knows, and technically she was his wife after all so how could he bring himself to put her in any danger. It was already enough that she has given her life to him without hesitation.
Eva was hearing his words with interest but the more she heard the more she be shocked by them, in the end, she waspletely in bewilderment.
After Ace ended his exnation she snapped out of her stupor and said while shuttering, "I-is th-this Blood Rose ca-can really help me be as s-strong as you said?"
"Yes! With this you can no longer be half-devil you can be a full-fledge devil and eventually most powerful of any other devil in this world." Said Ace with a faint smile.
He didn''t tell her about the 1st Heaven either because it would be too much for her to take. She might even think that he has gone mad.
"That means I will be able to protect you? If yes, then seal me!" She said without any sliver of hesitation in her beautiful eyes.
Ace was startled because this was not the kind of answer he was expecting from her.
Chapter 60 - Sealed!
Ace didn''t expect her to give this kind of answer because in face of temptation like ''power''. She didn''t ask about how powerful she''ll be or when she will get the Blood Rose and begun her evaluation, what she asked was if she''ll be able to protect him after gaining this power.
Ace was looking straight into Eva''s bewitching eyes, there was not a sliver of doubt, malice, scheme or lie in those deep starry sky-like eyes. They were as pure as the ocean and her words wereing straight from her heart.
Ace felt the finalyer of barer between them melt away by her heartfelt words and couldn''t help but felt a new kind of emotion for her. That was the same type of emotion that he felt for Aline ''love''.
He couldn''t stop himself from loving this kind of girl no matter what, because he never meets someone so pure and direct before.
She never tells lie or hide anything from him before and even stand beside him in extreme danger. Now in front of power she still wanted to used it to protect him not for herself.
Ace move closer to Eva they were only a few inches from each other. Ace moves his hand towards Eva''s right hand where she was wearing the same storage ring that he put on yesterday. He holds her soft hand in his own as he looked straight into her breathtaking eyes.
Eva''s heartbeat races wildly as Ace grabbed her hand without any hesitation, but she didn''t resist and let him hold it. She even forgets about the evaluation and finds herself drowning in his dark blue eyes.
"You don''t need to protect me, on the contrary now it is my duty to protect you with my life. So, just sleep without worried and when you''ll awake I''ll give you a grand wedding." Ace said without even thinking twice and made a promise to her.
He didn''t know where he gets the courage from but he just said whates to his heart.
In his heart, she deserved this much at least after what she has done and even tied her life with his. even if it was because of that [Charm] thing or not, he would not treat her like before anymore and take full responsibility.
Eva''s heart skipped a beat when she heard Ace''s promise. She didn''t expect these kinds of bold words from this ''idiot'' mouth. Unknowingly tears start to fell from her eyes but there was extreme joy in her heart. It was as if a huge burden was lifted from her heart.
"What? Are you proposing to me?" She smiled beautifully as she said in a yful tone. She wanted to tease him.
"Yes!" Ace said without any hesitation as he smiled back at her. He knew just what kind of nature this girl has.
Eva was stunned after hearing his unusual response and blushed.
"I ept for now! But after I wake up and you have any other girl at your side t-then I won''t marry you! Hmph!" At first, her voice was gentle but in the end, her aura starts to change as she warns him in a cold voice. This tone was the same as the tone she used to talk with Asher or anyone else before meeting Ace.
Ace started to sweat after hearing her words and he could tell she was telling him the truth. He never heard her talking with him in this tone before, he even wanted to bring up the marriage to tell her ''You''re already mine''.
However, he couldn''t since he didn''t want her to feel embraced, and she was looking remarkably happy so he could only smile bitterly and only pray for those girls who will be meeting this devil in the future.
Since the atmosphere between them be normal again Ace has a sigh of relief. Because he could feel from this morning Eva was acting strange and her emotions were in a mess.
Maybe it was because of what she had done and can''t bring herself to face or tell him, but now that he has proposed to her directly she has be like before again.
Eva was feeling very cheerful after what Ace has done. She said as she holds his hand, "I didn''t know you were so bold, to even directly ask me for marriage." She giggles.
"And who was the one who agree in an instant?" Ace tease her back since he was not afraid of hurting her or crossing the line anymore.
Eva blushed after hearing Ace, she didn''t expect him to be this shameless and tease her back. Normally she was the one teasing him all the time but now he was teasing her back.
"Y-you''re shameless. I won''t talk to you anymore. Hmph!" She said with a huff as she turns her face to another side. But she was still looking at him from the corner of her eyes.
They both talk and tease each other and time passed without them knowing it was already midnight. It was time to say goodbye.
Ace takes out a fully crimson Rose from his thief''s space.
It was fully bloomed and in the center of its flower was a crimson bead it was like a gem. The moment the Blood Rose emerges it starts to emit a thick killing aura. With this aura, one could vaguely have an illusion of millions of wailing innocent souls. This herb was very sinister.
Eva faces color change and her mood bes gloomy because she didn''t expect this kind of thing to exist in disguise as a medicinal herb. She simply thing that this was just a normal medicinal herb but just its aura gave her the chills in her spine. She was really supposed to eat this thing?
Ace''splexion was also not better than Eva''s, He never sees this herb before because he thinks by doing so would deplete its effects. He simply decided to take it out when it would be time to seal Eva. Now even he was having second thoughts if he should really let her eat this thing or not.
"System is it really ok to let her eat this thing?" Ace transmitted his voice inside his mind.
"[Yes, this is a natural safety mechanism that will automatically kick at the moment someone touched it. After sensing this aura no one will dare toe close to it or eat it. If this was apletely matured blood rose this aura would be so thick that the host can''t even get closer to it much less touching it. But it would not change that halfling nature in any way. She''ll be the same after her evaluation process.]"
Ace has a sigh of relief, in this world, he only believes the systempletely.
"Don''t worry about this aura is to scare away others from eating it. You can eat it without any worries."
Eva nodded her head she knew Ace would never harm her so she takes the Blood Rose from his hand. The moment she touched it she felt a strange desire rising within her body. It wasing from her devilish blood.
Eva felt in trance and without Ace''s instruction she pluck that red gem-like bead from the center of the blood rose on her own. The moment she plucks that red bead the murderous aura vanished and the blood rose begun to wither. Within seconds it turns into dust.
She wanted to say something to Ace before she got sealed away. However, Eva''s blood was boiling, it was as if she can''t take it anymore and directly put that crimson bead into her mouth.
Ace was observing Eva from the side and saw her doing everything on her own like she knows this before. The moment she eats that red bead her eyes turns crimson and he heard system voice,
"[Host can now seal her with 5000 TP]"
Ace wanted to say goodbye to her because he knew it would be a long time before they''ll meet again but seeing Eva has already lost herself he could only seal her without saying anything.
The moment he touched her she enters his thief''s space and because the system has taken his 5000 TP an inky cocoon form around Eva.
The cocoon was inky but on its was a strange red pattern. It was Ace first time finding and witnessing the power of TP.
"[Evaluation process has started please wait plenty. Now the host cannot store anymore humanoid being inside his thief''s space until host upgrade his thief''s space.]"
[Thief Points (TP): 945]
Ace didn''t care about TP since they were used on his wife but after seeing Eva turning into a cocoon he couldn''t help but already starts to miss her. It was just moments ago that they were talking and teasing each other lovingly.
''Well it''s not like she''s has gone away, she''s with me.'' Ace smiled gently after thinking this. It was already night so he decided to start his journey tomorrow.
Now that he was alone in this cave it seems quieter without Eva, Ace decided to continue sorting the treasures in the Dulce storage ring to distract himself.
Since he was distracted because of Eva''s matter but now he has all the time in the world.
Little did Ace know that system has helped him in creating a being that has been already extinct from the face of heaven and earth long, long ago!
Chapter 61 - Cultivation Arts
The inner region of the moon forest was extremely dangerous for any Qi Gates realm cultivators to travels alone. Even some groups can''t cross this region safely if they don''t have any Qi Foundation Building realm experts protecting them.
There was a waterfall in the boundary between the inner and outer regions of the moon forest.
Currently, a tall figure was bare-chested sitting on a stone under the waterfall cross-legged, and his eyes were closed. He was resembling a sculpture. It seems like he didn''t feel any pressure from the heavily falling water. This bare-chested figure was obviously Ace.
It has been three months after Ace has sealed Eva.
Now he has turned thirteen years old and he has somewhat lost his childish look. He looked more matured and handsome especially his pale skin and hollow cheeks with a perfect jawline. With his dark blue eyes in the mix that gives him ady-killer look.
He was taller than before nearly six feet tall, and his weak skinny body has long be tone. One could even see every muscle on his body clearly, it was as if some divine artist has carved those muscles with extreme care. However, those tone muscles were in no way delicate, on the contrary, they were filled with explosive power like an ancient beast.
Ace open his closed eyelids as he murmured, "Still not enough to build my foundation."
For three months he has been fighting with all the demonic beasts that came in his way and were trying to figure out the perfect time to break through into Heavenly Foundation Building Realm. He even fights with five early Qi foundation building realm demonic beasts but no matter how much he kills, he still has the same feeling as three months before.
Now Ace was trying different methods that were written in all the cultivation-rted books that he found in Dulce''s storage ring.
One thing that was worth noticing is that his knowledge has grown by leaps and bounds. Whether it was about low-levelnds below royal-level or the cultivation realms up to Qi River Core realm, he has all the knowledge that only royalty of a top ten kingdom would possess.
It was all because of Dulce''s habit of carrying these informative books in her storage ring. She was extremely talented and she likes to be well informed in any aspect. But now from her habit Ace has profited quite well and he was not ignorant anymore.
"Well if meditation is not enough should I try life and death battle again?" Mutter Ace seriously.
He was doing all this because he has read in one of the books that when a cultivator wasn''t ready or his Qi Gates Realm was still shallow he would face situations like Ace. They called it a ''Realm Wall''.
One has to break this ''realm wall'' to steps into the next realm and the more powerful one''s foundation the more powerful the realm wall be. And clearly Ace has opened nine Heavenly Gates, so his realm wall was not something that any other cultivator has ever imagine before.
If Ace wanted he can still enter the Heavenly Foundation Building realm with EXP easily because his soul was equal to a Qi foundation realm cultivator this ''realm wall'' doesn''t exist for him at all.
But he didn''t dare to do this because he can''t put his finger on it but he knew if he enters this realm before he satisfied some kind of condition he would die. This feeling wasing from the Dark Void and he didn''t dare to underestimate this Dark Void because it was a part of his body and all his meridians were connected with it.
After three months he was some idea about this Dark Void it was like a second heart but it didn''t pump blood but the HD-Qi in his whole-body meridians and with this Dark Void he can control his HD-Qi like never before.
Simply put this ''Dark Void'' was like the main heart of his martial cultivation, and Ace has a strange gut feeling that this void has more function than just converting Heavenly Qi in HD-Qi and absorbs other Qi to convert into his own. It was a mystery that he has to solve on his own.
The life and death method was extremely simple and very effective, one has to continuously put one''s life in danger, and if the chancees one could get his chance to break the realm wall in a life and death situation.
Ace was trying this method for three months but he was strong enough to overwhelm any early Qi Foundation demonic beast so he didn''t get what he wanted.
Now he was trying mediation and wanted to enlighten himself like the article that was written in a famous book but it was also a lost cause.
So, he was quite annoyed about this situation and wanted to try that life and death method again. It was more effective than this because with this at least his skills kept improving.
Especially his Dual Shadow Sword technique he could feel that he was closer to breaking into the second realm.
He even creates a sword art ''Dual Swords Mirage''afterbining all the sword skills that he has collected till now.
Cultivation arts were like skills they have the same levels as skills. But the difference between them was an ''Art'' has more than a single move in it and a skill only has a single move. That''s why to make it easy for all cultivators to understand a name ''Cultivation Art'' was founded. As for who founded it no one knows as long as the cultivation exists ''Cultivation Arts'' exist as well.
Besides, Ace possessed a cultivation art from the start and that was Treasure Opening Hands, which has five different variations!
Ace has a top technique rted to swords but until now he didn''t have any skills rted to it so when he starts to read all those skills books he finds out that he can''t learn them because of his special Qi. But he soon found out that he can use those stances and move in his own way.
After some difficulties and pondering over his life and death experiences, he creates ''Dual Swords Mirage Art''.
He named it because it was made on the foundation of a warrior-level skill ''Butterfly Mirage des'' that he found in Dulce''s ring. This was the same skill that she used in their fight against him in the start.
Ace was quite impressed by it at that time so he decided to try breaking this sword skill and build a new one with all the supplementary skills that he possessed. To his surprised, he thought that it will be an impossible task to create something like an art, but with his understanding of Dual Shadow Swords, he can easily understand these ''basic swords skills'' like they were nothing.
Ace finally understand just how profound this sword technique truly was, with the only understanding of the first realm of this technique he has created a sword art equal to a Low Master Grade Skill, that was only be found in an empire.
The moment he creates this art his understanding of the dual shadow swords reached a new level and he finally found a way to cultivate this technique faster. That was to absorb more knowledge of swords technique or skills and apply that knowledge and used it with dual shadow swords.
If anyone knows that he has created a sword art not a skill then the whole cultivation world would be frightened silly by it because Ace is not even in the Qi foundation realm and he has already achieved a feat like this.
One has to know that all those skills and especially arts are made after many years of hard work and only geniuses among geniuses can create their own skills and arts. And here a thirteen years old has created a sword art in three months even those ancient sects would be willing to fight to the death with each other just to get Ace into their sects.
But s no one knows and Ace would never reveal his potential or show his prowess carelessly after what has happened.
Ace stands upon the stone and with a high jump, he leaps in the air beforending on dry ground, after dressing up in casual ck robes.
His eyes were shining like stars as he watches the inner region of the moon forest. He was hopeful of finding a way to break through there.
"I still have toplete my mission so I can''t waste much time in here, Just that it''s a real pity that I can''t go into the core region of the forest with the time I have left. Maybe I might''ve found some rare opportunity there. Well, no worries like they say ''If fate is not agreeing what would a mortal do?'', Heh" Ace smiled broadly all his worries vanished in thin air.
He was ready for the final junction of his journey, the inner region of the moon forest.
Chapter 62 - Core Region Of Moon Forest
Inside the inner region of the moon forest.
Ace was moving at a fast speed. It has been six months since he left the red mountain city and starts his journey towards New-Moon City the number one city of thend of cities.
He was still six or seven months away from reaching New-Moon City.
In his whole six months of journey, he improved by leaps and bounds. He fights with all kinds of demonic beasts and he was almost invincible here.
Ace felt freedom in this wildness because here he didn''t have to guard against anyone, there are no schemes or malice here. He can do anything without worrying about the consequences. Most importantly he can cultivate and improve his skills at an astronomical rate.
He was at the Nine Gate of Qi Gates realm because he still couldn''t find the ''special condition'' that he needs to fulfill to enters the Qi Foundation Building realm. And he was quite depressed about it.
''cii cii''
Ace heard some movement in front but he didn''t slow down at all. With a thought, ck de Swords Set appeared in his hands. In his right hand appeared a long ck sword and in his left hand appeared a short ck sword.
''First move of the ''Dual Swords Mirage Art'' ''Hundred Shadows Mirage!'' The moment Ace thought about this move HD-Qi starts to pour into both swords and from both of those des, HD-Qi began to rise like smoke.
Ace both hands move in front of his chest and both swords connected in ''/'' shape. The HD-Qi starts to rise the moment both swords connected and Ace didn''t dy either. He shed both swords at the same time and suddenly a single ''/'' sh turn into a hundred ''/'' shes and directlynded on the ground in front. Dirt started to raised because of this powerful attack.
This was the first move of his self-created Dual Swords Mirage Art hundred shadow mirage. Ace has designed this art especially for his dual swords and it was also quitepatible with his weapon technique Dual Shadow Swords.
On the ground when the dust settles there was the corpse of a big lizard demonic beast its whole frame has changed and it was already cut into many pieces because of his attack. It was hard to tell just what kind of species it was when it was alive. Just by the damage that Ace''s attack has caused one could tell his sword art was not ordinary at all.
"[You have killed an Early Stage Qi Foundation Building Realm Demonic Beast. You have earned 500 EXP.]"
[EXP: 45,100/50.000]
''sigh''
Ace sighs deeply as he saw the system notification. Even that early-stage Qi foundation realm demonic beast was killed in one move.
That was the reason Ace was frustrated the most because he can''t find any challengers at all now and because of this he can''t do this life and death method as well.
He nearly killed almost fifty early-stage qi foundation and hundreds of peak Qi Gates realm demonic beasts but they were all easily killed. He didn''t encounter any mid-level demonic beast in the past three months.
Once he thought that collecting the fifty thousand EXP without pills or medicinal herbs would be impossible but aftering here he found out that it was not the case at all. This forest was filled with EX... ''ahem'' demonic beasts.
Now, just by looking at his EXP, he was wondering if he should stop hunting these demonic beasts because if his EXP reached the required EXP amount he would have to build his foundation at that time. But he didn''t want this to happen at least not until he fulfilled the ''condition''.
He even tries asking the system about it but he gets nothing from it either.
"Should I go towards the core region?" Ace muttered under his breath.
Toplete his mission, he got five years and he still got more than four years left. So, Ace beginning to have second thoughts.
After seeing the rough map of the moon forest, he guessed that if he goes directly towards the new moon city he will reach it in six months at his speed but if he goes towards the core region of the moon forest the whole trip would take approximately two years in his estimate.
Because the core region of the moon forest was not drawn on the map and only information of it was avable and strangely no one has gone there for almost fifty years.
Kingdoms didn''t pay much attention to this ce and here no one was strong enough to dive deeper into the moon forest especially in the core region. It is said that there were only mid-stage or even peak level qi foundation realm demonic beasts exist there, but it was not aplete truth. Because for decades no one has ever returned alive from there no even a peak level qi foundation realm cultivator.
That''s why Ace was still in a dilemma. ''To go or not go.''
As for returning in two years, it was the time that he has estimated after seeing an old map of the moon forest.
After pondering on it for some time determination shed past Ace''s eyes and he changes his direction towards the north of the moon forest. He was going straight towards the core region of the forest and the most dangerous part of the forest.
Ace made his decision based on his skills and needs. His skills were all at the perfection stage except his true and false eyes.
That skill was just too profound and he still didn''t manage to take it to perfection.
Dual shadow swords technique was also on the verge of breakthrough it was just that something was missing he was stuck in it as well.
In Ace''s view this forest was much safer than any city out there because he can always run without worrying about anything, but in those cities he life was even more in danger.
Ace needed power more than anything because he needed to protect himself no matter what. The reason for this was extremely simple because now Eva''s life was tied with his and he can''t afford to lose her and only by bing powerful he can ensure it. That''s why he decided to go into the core region to find a way for a breakthrough.
Four monthster.
Ace was currently standing on a tree and looking at the thick white mist that was surrounding the depth of moon forest. This mist was like a line between the inner and core regions of the moon forest.
In four months, he didn''t kill any more demonic beasts because he didn''t want to take the risk and only practice his cultivation and skills. But his training didn''t go in vain just a week ago he finally manages to Perfected all the five basic skills that he got from the system when he first started his cultivation journey.
Ace was very excited at that time.
However, all his excitement dies down after reaching here because that thick white mist was giving him chills in the spine.
Ace''s soul cultivation was not for just show and if he was getting warning by his sharp soul sense that''s mean this ce is extremely dangerous.
But Ace didn''t back down and with extreme caution, he active his stealth and merge with surrounding, now no one can detect him even in light.
Ace carefully utilizes his silent steps and without making any sounds he enters the white mist.
The more Ace goes deeper inside the mist the more his soul sense tingles in rm. He even active his Heavenly Sense because with it he can ''see'' around thirty meters clearly even in this thick mist. So, if something dide that thing can never sneak upon him.
Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead because he was using his Heavenly Soul Qi together with his HD-Qi and two skills and it was too exhausted on him even with his Nine Darkness Gates opened.
After fifteen minutes of walking, he finally saw the white mist started to be thin, and finally, he saw the end of the mist.
Ace carefully exited the white mist and be stunned after what he saw on exiting.
In front of him were tall towering grey trees forest, they were thousands of them and all of them were more than a hundred meters tall and tens of meters thick and there was not a single leaf on those grey trees.
The strangest thing was it was dark in here there was no sign of light like the inner region.
If not for Ace''s excellent night vision that he gets after he opened four hidden gates of darkness he would be blind right now.
''This ce is creepy.'' That was the thought thates to his mind seeing the core region of the moon forest.
Ace was on high alert after entering this ce. He never felt this kind of sensation before that this ce was giving him. It was cold and sinister at the same time.
He thinks of returning first but abruptly halted in his steps because he suddenly felt the dark void react to something in that grey tree''s forest!
Chapter 63 - Grey Tree
Ace didn''t dare to believe what he just felt so he hurriedly circte his HD-Qi with the help of Dark Void to confirm what had just happened.
But to his disappointment, the Dark Void was tranquil and he didn''t have any kind of strange feeling like before. It was like that feeling was just an illusion.
However, Ace''s senses were never wrong before especially after he formed the Yellow Soul Core of the ck wind soul. Therefore, the feeling he felt before was definitely real. But the question was just what happened and why isn''t the Dark Void reacting anymore?
Ace finally made up his mind as he saw that gloomy grey trees forest. He''s going for hook or crook this time.
Since there weren''t any leaves on those grey trees the gaps between them seem like dark roads or mazes. No one knows where these roads lead to because there was not a single record about this kind of tree in the books that Ace possessed. But Ace was about to find out soon.
He rests for a while because using Soul Qi is more taxing than using HD-Qi because his body was still at the Heavenly Gates realm while his soul was equal to a Qi foundation realm. His body took quite a toll because of soul qi.
After resting for two hours he was finally at his peak state and ready for any danger that he would encounter in that forest.
This time Ace didn''t use his heavenly sense because if he used it in the start he would be exhausted to face any danger. He was going to depend on his innate soul sense.
This core region of the moon forest waspletely dark and because of the dark Ace''s stealth here was very potent.
By only using silent steps and stealth he enters the forest of grey trees. He was extremely careful and was making sure not to touch those trees identally. He was only moving between them with extreme caution.
As he goes deeper and deeper the gloomy feeling begun to be stronger. If not for the Dark Void that was absorbing Heavenly Qi even in this kind of environment and providing him HD-Qi he would be long run out of Qi.
Ace was feeling cold all over his body as he goes deeper into the forest and couldn''t help but think if there was some kind of iceke here. But after walking for an hour he didn''t find anything but these trees around him.
He even stops using his skills because he was only wasting his Qi and he didn''t find any tangible danger here only his soul sense was giving him warnings continuously.
Another hour past but he was still between these trees and they were just no end to them. Suddenly Ace saw a strange marking on the dirt like an arrow and was shocked by it because this marking was left behind by him so he coulde back if he gets lost.
However, now seeing that marking in front of him he guesses that he was already lost in this maze of grey trees. These damn trees were so weird that he can''t even tell what was different between these trees because they all seem the same. It was like he was in a huge illusion maze.
Ace wasn''t worried about his ration though, since he has killed so many demonic beasts and with huge thief''s space and all those storage rings, he has stored plenty of meat to sustain himself for two to three years if he eats two times a day as for water he has found a small bottle in Dulce''s storage ring that can only store tons of water.
He was quite astonished by this storage bottle and couldn''t help but marvel at the strange things that he wasing in contact with because he has be a thief. Because if he wanted this kind of treasures he has to be a rich person and most importantly he has to have connections in empires to get these kinds of treasures.
This was the biggest advantage of being a thief you just have to steal from a rich prince or princess of any big power and you''ll get everything you need for survival in this world of cultivation.
Presently, It has been a week since Ace was stuck in this dark maze of trees. He can''t find a way forward and he can''t find a way backward either.
Ace didn''t lose his calmness even in this situation and didn''t panic. He tries different methods like using his true and false eyes, try cutting those trees¡
But his basic skills were ineffective here and when he tries cutting those grey trees he found out the instant he touched them they turned into grey ashes and scatter in wind. It was like they were made of ashes.
Ace even bes numb to that gloomy feeling and cold. He finally understands why didn''t anyone has evere back from this ce in years it was mostly because of this tree maze.
Since nothing was working he was simply sat there and watch those trees quietly.
''Is this some kind of formation like Dulcie''s?'' He couldn''t help but think like this because he was trap here for a week and no matter what he tries he can''t find a way out.
It was like a formation in his mind because he has read Dulce''s books and there was a single book on formation as well. It didn''t tell you how to make it, but it gave the basic introduction of what a formation was capable of and some legendary formations can even create illusions like reality and can trap someone for their lifetime.
Ace smile bitterly as he shook his head. How can someone create a formation of this magnitude in this ce it was just in his head.
Since he was already trapped here he decided to stay calm and something mighte up like that feeling that he once had with his dark void. But now even he began to think that it was an illusion shown by his mind to lessen his desperation of gaining power.
Ace takes out a ck palm-sized pouch from his thief''s space. This was the same pouch that Alina has left for him with ten ruby coins in it on her departure.
He always carries this pouch with him and sometimes takes it out and remembered that little beauty nostalgically.
Ace saw the ck pouch and smiled, "I wonder what Lil Sis is doing right now. Maybe she''s still a brat that likes to y pranks on me a lot, she would be doing the same with her parents now right?" Ace murmured to himself.
Ace store the ck pouch inside his thief''s space and take out apass. It was golden colored and there was only a single point on it that was currently spinning on the ss-like metal of thepass.
"Even this thing didn''t work, so much for the top treasure of Kelby family." Snorted Ace.
This was the exactpass that Rn wants to find him with.
Ace finds out about it in a record book of the Kelby family that he steals with all these treasures since he has more free time in his hands.
Considering nothing was working he decided to practice cultivation again.
Before that he practices his skills one by one, it has be his habit.
Finally, in the end, Ace raised his finger, yellow threads begin to gush out from his finger like water in the fountain they were a total of ten threads these threads were soul threads.
Ace didn''t practice this skill much since it has no use in wildness but today he wanted to see just how many threads can he make after his breakthrough.
Ace nodded in satisfaction and was about to retract them.
"Hmm?" When he notices something extremely unusual.
Normally these soul threads were made from soul Qi and aren''t corporeal. They exist between reality and space. So, without Ace control, they were lifeless and the wind can''t blow them, but strangely right now they were wavering like normal threads in the presence of wind.
Moreover, they all were flickering in the same direction not randomly!
Ace was astonished by this sudden development, He never would''ve dreamed that there was something that can move his soul threads without his will.
It was like he detects a bright light in dark and he quickly begins to follow the direction that these soul threads were flickering towards.
As he followed soul threads direction he found that the grey trees were growing in numbers like they were forming a wall to prevent him from going in that specific direction.
But Ace was determined to get out of here. If he stayed and remain cautious he would be trapped here forever and die eventually. He will fight his way out here no matter what.
Since these trees were only paper tigers Ace simply ignore them and pass through them as they turn into ashes right after. Finally, after walking for twenty minutes the number of these annoying trees started to decrease.
In the end, Ace finally crosses that maze andes into a huge clear field.
He saw in the center of the field was a grey tree but they were thousands of leaves on it and they were glowing in white color and thousands of white glowing strings were attached to those glowing leaves.
Each leaf has a single white string attached with it and those strings scatter through the entire sky like a, dyed the dark sky with a white glow.
That grey tree was like some central point of a spider nest with thousands of webs attached to it.
It was a shocking yet magnificent spectacle.
Chapter 64 - Elemental Orbs
Ace never would''ve imagined that the end of the tree maze was something this shocking. It was like he was witnessing some kind of a legend in reality because he was only from low-levelnds and didn''t have much knowledge of these kinds of wonders of the cultivation world.
Ace didn''t dare to act recklessly anymore because he could tell that this grey tree was not like those ''ash tress''. It was clearly real.
He enters in stealth the moment he sees that huge tree and with extreme caution moves in the open field around the tree.
Since he didn''t know what kind of being that tree is he would not act rashly. First, he would scout the area around it to see if there was any kind of trap or dangerous beast here.
After an hour, Ace has scouted the whole field and didn''t find anything abnormal only that grey tree was the abnormality here.
However, he did notice something and that was after every ten minutes that hugebyrinth of those white strings glows brighter for an instant. It was like those white threads were alive and beating in a strange rhythm like a heart.
Slowly but surely the interval between those threads was getting faster and faster.
''Something is not right here!'' Deemed Ace gravely. He has activated stealth to the fullest and didn''t dare to move from his hiding spot anymore.
Ace was feeling that his soul sense was giving him a grave warning like never before. If he made even a little bit of mistake he would die here without a doubt.
Suddenly, the huge web of glowing strings started to dim and the glow in them started to fade until it vanishedpletely.
''Crak, crak, crrrrrkk''
Cracks began to form in the grey tree surface like an eggshell. As if something was moving inside the wide tree and wanted to burst out.
''thhhllll''
All of sudden, a grey hand appeared from the cracks while it made a huge sound.
crrllkkkk''
Finally, as if the tree surface can''t hold the thing inside anymore it tore open the tree and a huge twenty-meter wet body emerged from inside.
Half of its body was humanoid; its upper half of the body was like any human and it waspletely grey. But on its head were a single horn and its face has no nose or mouth but only eyes there were more than twenty beastly eyes on its face.
It has only two shoulders but there were four hands attached to its forearms. Its upper body was like any human, but there were four legs and a sharp spear-like tail from its torso. From its whole body was dripping some kind of white liquid substance like it has bathed into it not long ago.
Ace was currently hiding in the open field with his stealth and saw that hideous-looking creature creep out from the tree just like it has given birth to something.
He became horrified because that thing was giving him the chills like never before and the pressure thating from its body made even him who was almost five hundred meters away from it hard to breathe.
Ace wanted to escape the moment he saw that thing and run as far away from it as he could. But his soul sense was warning him that if he moves even a muscle that creature would find him that instant.
Even he can run, he simply can''t since he didn''t know the way out of this damn ce. If not for his soul threads he wouldn''t be able to find his way here, to begin with.
''The only being that can detect me while I was still in the stealth has to be in Qi River realm!'' Ace bes ashen and cold sweat begins to flow on the side of his face the moment this thought surfaced in his mind.
Because even if he was as powerful as a middle stage qi foundation realm expert and with his perfected skills he can evenpete against high stage qi foundation realm experts and escape with his life if things go south.
But in front of the Qi River realm, he was nothing but a child.
If that creature was really a Qi River-level demonic beast or something else, he was doomed!
That thing can easily toy with him and he can do nothing to protect himself.
If not for his stealth being boosted by the dark atmosphere, that creature would be able to spot him the moment it appeared.
Ace was still thinking about a way to escape this ce when he felt the same kind of agitated feeling from his Dark Void when he enters this ce!
Ace was rmed because he felt that the Dark Void was reacting to something in that torn open grey tree.
For the first time, Ace finally shifted his gaze from the creature to the tree. He saw there was a white substance flowing from the open exterior of the tree. However, inside the empty tree space, there was a hovering white palm-sized orb.
The orb was still, and peaceful floating like there were nothing that can faze it.
Ace finally understand to whom the Dark Void was reacting, that white orb was the culprit!
Even his HD-Qi begun to spike the moment Aceid his eyes on that floating orb.
''Just what is that thing? Even the feeling that I was getting of being stuck in the Qi Gates Realm has vanished for some reason because of that orb.'' He thought in astonishment.
This was the most shocking thing that Ace found aftering to this ce. Because he could feel from the depth of his soul that the moment he gets that orb is the moment he will enter the Foundation Building Realm!
''But why this thing is so important to build a foundation and without it, I''ll die?'' Ace even forgets about that creature after finding out about the way to enter the higher realm.
He was very perplexed right now because of all the shock he gets from this discovery when system sweet yet cold voice range in his mind,
========
"[System has detected {Nature''s Light Elemental Orb} in the area around the host!]
[All the conditions have beenpleted. The information of hidden part of the {Heaven Stealer Technique Vol .1 Heavenly Crystal Body} has been revealed.]
[Hidden Part: Heavenly Crystal Body Technique method of breakthrough into higher realm required one who cultivates the technique to find, {Eight Elemental Orbs of Nature}. Those nature''s elemental orbs are orb of {Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Metal, Lightning, Light, Darkness}]
[How to use Elemental Orbs: When one finds any elemental orb, one has to consume them at the moment of breakthrough. One can consume elemental orbs at any random sequel. But remember this, one can only consume the orb of darkness at the very end of the Crystal Body technique final realm not before.]
[Elemental Orb: Formed in the extreme specific element environment. Only the orbs of light and darkness formed in the opposite element environments because the light is born in darkness and darkness exist within the light.]
[Warning: The ce where these elemental orbs formed are filled with dangerous traps of nature because these orbs are formed after hundreds of thousands of years and possessed vague intelligence. The moment they sense sudden changed in their specific element environments or something break all the traps of nature, they will release their guardians the moment they sense danger.]
[Orb Guardians: They were born with the elemental orbs from the beginning of their birth. The older the elemental orbs are the more powerful their natural-born guardians will be. Every elemental orb has a different kind of guardian. The orb guardians have the same element as the elemental orb.]
[Note: Only a single elemental orb exists at a time and if someone else already has one then the next elemental orb will only form after the existing one was used or destroyed.]
========
Ace was bbergasted by this long information and be extremely shocked. He nearly forgets to keep his calm and his skill active.
Ace was feeling extreme anger and disappointment; they were not towards the system that didn''t give him this information before but he felt them for himself.
Because he first thinks that he can enter the upper realms with just enough EXP and after gaining insights into that realm. With this, he can be strong extremely quickly.
However. Reality struck him hard and now he found that it was not the entire case and easy as he thinks. Because even after having the EXP and insight almost for a whole year he didn''t dare to enter the upper realm.
He was finding it hard to believe first but every time he wanted to do it and made up his mind, his soul would always begin to shake in fear and he was finally sure after that it was a death sentence to him if he does notplete a ''special condition''.
Now he finds out the exact ''special condition'' he felt like he has fallen from the high sky straight into the lowest abyss!
Chapter 65 - Element Qi
''The way to power is never easy. Huh.'' Ace finally calm himself because it was not the time to me himself for his ignorance.
"System didn''t you say before that I was supposed to get Dark Void in heavenly punishment? Didn''t that mean I was able to break through into the Foundation Building realm without even opening hidden gates? Then where did these elemental orbs came from?''" Transmitted Ace.
Now he was having doubts about the system as well.
No matter how much ignorant Ace was, he was by no means an idiot. Things were not going on the same way that he has imagined, most of the part was his fault but there were still things that he had no control over like the system.
Ace finally starts to pick up loopholes in the system''s previous exnation.
"[System did say that before the host was deemed to get the Dark Void when he faced the heavenly turbulence. But the host has surpassed the system''s expectation and get the Dark Void and open the hidden gates of darkness on his own.]
[If the host gets the Dark Void between heavenly punishment like the system has predicted then you were supposed to collect five elemental orbs of {Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, Darkness} after entering the Heavenly River Realm and open the normal or half-hidden part of the heavenly crystal body. With that host would''ve been able to form a Heavenly Crystal Body.]
[However, the host was able to get the Dark Void before he reached Foundation Building Realm and open the true hidden part of Heavenly Crystal Body. Now, the Host has to collect eight elemental orbs at every realm because of your outstanding performance. With eight elemental orbs host can now form a Perfect Heavenly Crystal Body.]"
System''s cold voice buzzed in his mind.
Ace was speechless first and smiled bitterly. He was ttered after hearing the system calling him outstanding, but it didn''t lift his sour mood because this sudden achievement was as much of a cmity as a blessing. Before he was supposed to collect five elemental orbs but now he needed eight how can he not be depressed?
''Well with dangeres benefits as well. I wonder what is different in perfect and imperfect Crystal Body.'' Ace wonder as his fighting spirit raised after thinking about the benefits he will get.
Ace has a sigh of relief. His doubts towards the system vanished and he finally understands the system has always given him true information it was just that he was not sharp enough to connect the dots on his own. But what can he do system is not something he can understand or predict that easily.
Ace was now, even more, determined to be powerful andplete this ''Perfect Heavenly Crystal Body''.
So, what if he had to found three more elemental orbs, and so what if he has to be stuck in a realm because of this? He will be strong enough to search any ce in this world and he will steal these elemental orbs one way or another. This was his new resolved and resolution.
Ace''s mental fortitude has raised another level after going through all this ordeal.
All the big revel and talk with the system in mind only take ten seconds in the real world.
Ace was calm and collective like never before.
He saw that guardian was still standing at its spot with its many eyes were still closed as if it was waiting for something.
Suddenly, the floating orb of light that was still just a moment ago starts to spin slowly while emitting a white mist, and that open gape in that grey tree begun to close as if it was healing.
Ace nearly cursed out loud after seeing this, ''I should''ve expected this much from it or it won''t be worthy of being the treasure that was so important toplete heavenly crystal body.''
He reflected in frustration, ''How can a treasure that was so important for heaven stealer technique this easy obtain?''
He can do nothing to watch this helplessly since that guardian was standing there like a statue, if he even moves a bit that Qi River realm guardian would instantly be able to lock on to his position.
This is the true terror of Qi River realm experts they can easily sense the flection of Qi in the atmosphere fifty meters around them. It''s like a degraded version of Ace''s soul sense. It was not easy to sneak up on an expert of the Qi River realm.
Ace was five hundred meters away from the guardian but he was still in Qi Gates''s realm the disturbance he made in Qi by using his skills was like a bell ring in absolute silence. That''s why he was helpless and only used his stealth since it was a hiding skill it didn''t make any disturbance in Qi around the atmosphere.
The gape of the tree was quite big since the guardian was almost thirty meters tall but it was still filling at fast face it would bepletely closed in a single minute. After that, the Elemental Orb will be extremely hard to get.
Ace was racking his brain for a solution to his problem. If he waits here and lets that orb to raised its ''shield'' then that guardian would be free to search for him and at that time he would be in big trouble. He simply can''t beat that thing even if he tries everything he had.
''Hmm? Wait a moment! This will work!'' ''Ace nearly jumped in joy as a thought came to his mind.
The next moment a grey bead appears in his hand.
Yes, this was the invisible bead that can help him be invisible for one minute. After using this bead to escape from Dulce. He has three left. Since Eva didn''t use her she gives it back to him because she knew this bead was miraculous and it can save Ace''s life in a difficult situation.
Ace knew that this invisible bead can help him escape any expert below royal levelnds because it''s a 1-Grade Treasure, and if not for its limited number of time he would be invincible in these low-levelnds. At least that is what he imagined.
But s he has already used two to them once and he only has three so he will have to save them in a life and death situation where his enemy was as strong as that guardian.
''I only have one minute. I have to make it quick.'' Thought Ace while he crushed the invisible bead in his hand.
All the trace of Ace''s existence vanished. Even that powerful guardian can''t tell where Ace was even if Ace sneaks on him.
But Ace won''t do that because he was not sure if he can kill this thing in one hit so he won''t be too greedy and only take what was ''his''.
Ace quickly activates silent steps as he shoots towards the healing grey tree, like an arrow. Now the disturbance in the Qi was neglected to him because of the invisible bead but as he got closed to the guardian the pressureing from it be stronger.
That guardian''s eyes were closed but he was releasing the full pressure of his cultivation base. The moment someone''s made a move he would crush them with everything it had.
Ace''s movement was bing slower as he was going closer and closer to the elemental orb.
A hundred meters away from the guardian it has only ten seconds but Ace was gasping. ''To damn strong!'' this was the thought that came to his mind after reaching this point.
But he didn''t stop since the time was not on his side. If that gap waspletely closed he would be doomed.
After thirty seconds Ace was ten meters away from the guardian and twenty meters away from the grey tree that was getting closer to its final phase of healing.
Only half the time left.
However, something unexpected happens, the guardian whose eyes were closed just a moment ago snapped open. They werepletely white, they were nothing but white eyeballs.
A white Qi emerges from the guardian the moment he opened his eyes and pressure around him increased tenfold. It was as if the guardian has sense something amiss and his safety instinct kick in.
The guardians only live to protect the elemental orbs and they have many supernatural abilities. It was not easy to fool them even with a treasure like an invisible bead.
Ace was horrified after seeing that thing white eyes and white Qi. The pressure on him increased so much that he felt he was under a mountain it was getting harder to breathe.
''So, this is the ''Element Qi'' that was only Qi River cultivation possessed after entering this realm.'' Ace thought weakly his body was on verge of copsing.
Every cultivator possessed a special element attribute and this attribute bes obvious in the Qi River realm. They called it ''Element Qi''.
Element Qi is a hundred times more powerful than normal Qi.
Ace Qi of Darkness has also a Dark Element in it and it was far, far more powerful than any normal element. However, he was not using it at its full potential.
He was only using its power to one percent and even that was because the dark element was mix in his HD-Qi from the start.
Ace didn''t know how to utilize the element Qi at all it was only possible after he reached the Heavenly River Realm.
Chapter 66 - Spotted In The End!
Ace''splex was ashen because of this sudden change in the area around the guardian. If not for his strong willpower he would''ve copsed by now.
The light element Qi was oozing out from the orb guardian like smoke. Its aura and pressure were skyrocketed because of it and Ace was no longer able to move forward.
The only relief was that the guardian didn''t seem to find Ace''s position even after using his unique element Qi of light. Moreover, the guardian was still standing in its position but his aura was not getting weaker because it seems to be on high alert and waiting for his aura to react to something.
This is how powerful and alert the guardians of the elemental orbs were. The moment they even sense a sliver of threat to the elemental orb even if that were just their institution they would react instantly.
Right now, this guardian was feeling something wrong with the current situation and that feeling wasing straight from the vague consciousness of the light elemental orb.
Because the light elemental orb first sense that something has broken into its core area after oveing the natural traps and that is why it released its guardian to deal with that intruder.
It could sense the intruder''s existence because this whole area was filled with the roots of the grey tree and the light orb was connected to the grey tree, it was like the light orb fortress.
However, the trace of the intruder suddenly vanished in thin air like he never exists before just a couple of seconds ago. That''s why it gives a strong signal to the guardian to be on high alert.
Ace was having a hard time breathing with all this pressure of light Qi and he can''t even move a muscle.
''I only have twenty seconds lefts!'' Thought Ace gravely.
However, nothing seems to work right now he was stuck here on this spot. If he didn''tplete the task or escape in time he would be dead at the moment his invisible bead effect ware offs.
The pressure was like a mountain and the Light Qi was as if it has life and wanted to enter his body through its pores so it could destroy him from inside. This was the terror of element Qi and Qi River realm cultivator.
Even if you didn''t saw your opponent you can simply release your element Qi and if the opponent is weaker than you it will lock on the target.
''My Qi is running out as well and without it, I can''t withstand this pressure and fight this troublesome Element Qi. What to do¡'' Ace was at his wit''s end when suddenly something came to his mind.
He quickly stops fighting the light qi and lets it enters his body. Before the Light Qi could do anything, Dark Void starts to devour it like it was its meal.
Ace has made a huge gamble this time. He remembered the experience with Mathies Qi and thought that if the Dark Void can devour his Qi then it should be able to do the same with this element Qi as well.
Ace wouldn''t normally do this but right now he didn''t have any choice in the matter because if he didn''t do this he would be dead anyway, and if he takes a risk and it paid off then he would have a fighting chance at least.
If dark void won''t able to devour that element qi his position would be instantly locked on by that guardian. Moreover, his meridians would be destroyed because of the power of the element qi.
However, his gamble has paid off and the dark void didn''t let him down.
Ace felt the pressure on him has almost vanished after the dark void starts to devour the light qi and convert it into his HD-Qi.
''Worthy of being a gift from the system.'' Ace was delighted after this since the pressure was now neglected he can move smoothly again.
Only ten seconds lefts.
Ace moves at his full speed towards the fast healing grey tree. The gap was almostpletely healed and the elemental orb was hazily visible. He has to move fast.
Ace finally crossed the guardian that was standing there like a tower. He didn''t dare to breathe loudly what if he alerts it?
No matter what. that thing was still in Qi River Realm and if he was found out by it no matter what he does, nothing will work in the face of absolute power.
The elemental orb felt the gap of the tree has finally been closed and it stop releasing the white color mist. The intruder didn''te close to it but it was still unable to find its presence. This was the first time that something like this has happened in its hundred thousand years of existence.
Throughout the years If anyone came here, it could easily deal with them in that illusion tree maze. They would die after running out there supplies ormit suicide because of loneness. But this time someone has managed toe this far and that''s why it was so alert and released it, guardian, immediately. However, in its process of ''healing its ''fortress'', the enemy has vanished in thin air. It was very strange.
Right at this moment when the elemental orb stop spinning, like an arrow a hand enters the tree space through the tiny bit hole that was about to get closed and grab it.
Before the elemental orb could signal its guardian, it felt that its connection with the grey tree and the guardian was cut off for some strange reason and that hand was also nowhere to be seen anymore.
It was still floating peacefully in darkness like it always has but this ce was even darker than the tree space. It keeps on trying to contact the guardian but nothing seems to work. It tries to release its white mist again but it didn''t work either it was as if it has trapped in an isted cage where it could do nothing but stay put and wait for the ughter toe.
Ace has finally made it in time and before the tree gap is closedpletely he throws caution to the wind and grabs the elemental orb. The moment he touched it with a thought he sends it inside his thief''s space.
Ace was finally thanking his decision to open the living storage space before. If he didn''t have this space he can''t store this orb in normal storage space treasure. Since it has a conscious it considers a living being.
After sending it inside his thief''s space he finally rxed he knew that the orb can do nothing after he sends it inside his thief''s space because the system is too powerful so this little orb was doom to be his stepping stone.
=======
"[System has detected Light Elemental Orb in host thief''s space.]
[All the condition has beenpleted.]
[Do want to start the process of absorbing it into the Dark Void and start the first {Heavenly Thunder Punishment of Body and Soul}?]"
=======
System cold voice sounded in Ace''s mind.
''shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkk''
But before Ace could reply, a piercing howl rang in the area that nearly turns his soul to dust.
The guardian has sensed his connection with the elemental orb got cut off just now and used its most powerful long-range attack to fish out the culprit behind the disappearance of the light orb.
Because, if the elemental orb got consumed or destroyed the guardian of the orb will be parish as well. It is like a lifeline of the guardian and the moment you cut the lifeline it would be the same as taking its life.
The effect of the invisible bead also ends at this moment but Ace can do nothing because his soul was currently dismayed since he was so close to the guardian. Because of it, his mind ispletely nk. He was like a sitting duck there.
Ace yellow soul core inside his mind senses immense danger and begins to spine on its own. It released a huge amount of yellow color soul Qi. Soul Qi circtes inside his body and he finally starts to regain his consciousness.
The first thing he saw a grey w wasing straight towards his head. If it connected his head would explode like a watermelon.
Ace was spotted by the guardian the moment his invisible bead effect wore off.
Ace didn''t even have time to activate his skills. With a thought, a silver shield came between his head and the iing w.
''boommmmm''
The impact cause ripples in the air and Ace was sent flying like a broken kite and crashed against the grey tree. The silver shield turns into pieces. It was a 3-star treasure.
On the other hand, Ace was not in optimal condition either.
''pppuppii''
Ace vomits a lot of blood it forms a small puddle on the ground there was his teethes mix in it. His face was almost unrecognizable because that attack nearly crushed his head.
If not for the thief''s space effect and he could summon weapons one foot around his body he would be dead right now.
That silver shield has taken almost ny percent attack for him!
Chapter 67 - Desperate Situation Call For Desperate Measures!
Ace didn''t have time to check his condition because that guardian was getting ready for another attack and by the look of it this time that thing is going to use its Element Qi.
Ace quickly takes his dual swords out and with some difficulty, he stands up straight. Since the damage was done to his soul as well he was not in the condition to face even a Qi Foundation realm expert much less such a monster.
But he would not be going down without a fight even if its means facing this monster.
However, Ace has a strange thought at this moment, ''This thing didn''t have a mouth then how did it scream? And how the hell a scream causes my soul to shock such a degree?''
Ace was very confused about this because even if he was closed to the guardian this shouldn''t affect his soul so why does he take direct damage to the soul?
If not for his soul cultivation being at the same level as a foundation-building realm cultivator he would still be in that nk state and died long ago.
''Could this thing be a Soul Qi user just like me?'' A scary thought surfaces in this mind.
Ace has never encountered any cultivator or demonic beast that used Soul Qi so he has no idea how a soul cultivator fight or their attack method. But if his conjunction was true then he was in more danger right now.
Because he didn''t know how to defend against a soul cultivator and by the looks of it his dark void can''t devour soul Qi either. Because if the dark void can really absorb the soul Qi his yellow wind core wouldn''t have to react on its own. And he would not fell into a nk state this easily.
Before Ace could analyze the situation any further he saw the guardian who was gathering its white element Qi in its hand suddenly white strings starts to rise from it and those white strings directly prate all its eyeballs.
The moment this happened Ace''s entire mind space shocked and this time on his yellow wind core a little crack appeared. His mind space nearly split in half. If not for his wind core he would''ve died by this unfamiliar and sudden attack.
Ace ''Mind Space'' was actually his ''True Soul''. It was just that because of the Heaven Stealer special effect his soul has turned into Mind Space that can contain Soul Qi and the soul core of the ck wind soul technique.
So, the damage that he just sustains was directed on his true soul, and to protect it the yellow wind core directly takes the attack for his true soul. That''s how he manages to survive this vicious attack.
This is the true marvel of the ck Wind Soul Technique it will protect the soul of Heaven''s Stealer until something shatter this soul core first that was formed from the technique.
He knows this because this mind space was directly connected to his life.
Since his body contains the Heavenly Qi, just like this his mind-space contains the Soul Qi. Didn''t this mean this ''Mind Space'' was actually his True Soul that contains his soul cultivation? He figures it out after his mind-space expands like his Qi of the body because of hidden gates of darkness.
''puuppp''
He vomits more blood and now his eyes were barely open anymore. His face was covered in blood and his nose was almost torn off.
''This is unmistakably a soul attack!'' Ace judged weakly.
He never would''ve imagined that a soul qi user would be this powerful that it just needs to stand still and the target wouldn''t even know how to block its sudden attacks.
Ace didn''t know that the light element has a natural affinity with soul Qi and light element user even if they didn''t cultivate in soul their Light Qi has a natural ability to harm souls. But it was not as scary as a real soul cultivator. However, it can still decide the course of any deathly battle between cultivators.
Typically, the light element cultivators are extremely rare and they are all treated like gems even in ancient sects. Because a normal element cultivator is hard to nurture into a soul cultivator however a light element user is easy to nurture into soul cultivators.
Soul Cultivators were treated like gems because they are unpredictable and they can attack anyone from long range and even if they were not powerful enough they can easily create an opening by simply attack someone who was in its life and death fight.
That''s why if some power manages to nurture a strong soul cultivator they can easily turn the tides of important battles. Besides the soul cultivator has many more abilities.
But they have an obvious weakness and that is their weak bodies because the more they cultivate their soul their bodies would remain the same and only made ant-like progress. A Qi River realm soul cultivator body would be as strong as a First Gate Cultivator of Qi Gates Realm.
However, this guardian didn''t have this weakness because it was born with the elemental orb and the orb has nurtured its body for a hundred thousand years. Its body was as strong as a mid-foundation building realm body cultivator.
Ace''s yellow wind core was damaged because of the guardian''s two soul attacks and it was very hard for him to even keep his awareness right now.
It seems he was doomed to die here but what can he do? If he used invisible bead that beast can simply use that strange howl again and since he didn''t know how to defend against soul attack he would still take damage.
Ace suddenly has a grave idea to escape this situation, but this would also put him into an even more dangerous situation.
He was in a desperate situation anyway and to get a single chance to live he collect his resolution.
"I would take you to hell with me if this is thest thing I do!" Cursed Ace at the guardian that was looking at him with deep killing intent in its white eyes.
"System start the heavenly punishment for ME!" Ace roar as he looks at the dark sky. There was unwillingness in his eyes but also a strong resolve to live.
This is hisst resort and he knew by doing this he was closing the final door to life. Because even if he never faces the heavenly thunder punishment before he has some idea just how powerful that is, after hearing that this punishment was supposed to help him felt thew of [Despair].
But what can he do if he not takes this final risk he would be dead anyway so he was not willing to die alone he would take this thing with him.
Moreover, If was all because of this thing that he was pushed this far to even made this kind of choice.
======
"[Process of absorbing the Nature''s Light Elemental Orb has begun.]
[Warning: The Heavenly Thunder Turbulence will descend during the process of absorbing the elemental orb.]
[System rmends finding an isted ce or the Thunder Turbulence would take the living five hundred meters around host as an enemy as well and will do anything to destroy them!]
[The first form of Thunder Turbulence of Body and Soul ''White Despair Thunder'' will descend in two seconds!]"
========
Ace sighed heavily as he muttered after hearing system notifications, "It''s finally time to face my first heavenly punishment and its name is so gloomy I wonder if it''s really is the thunder of despair."
But soon that heavy expression changes into a cold smile as he shifted his focus towards the guardian who was getting ready for another soul attack.
"Enjoy the show bitch! Heh," Ace mocked weakly.
The guardian was currently feeling quite confused because that little ant in its eyes has survived its two strongest soul attacks and one direct attack. And that ant is currently smiling at it. This greatly infuriates it and it was about attack again when it felt an extreme change in the atmosphere.
The guardians were extremely sensitive to the change in the elements around them and that''s how they will find the intruders who wanted to take the orbs. So, this sudden change in the dark element causes the guardian to stop in its tracks because it could feel this change was very dangerous.
But before it could find what has happened the guardian felt his life was started to slip away from its huge body. It immediately knew that the ant has somehow begun to absorb the elemental orb.
It didn''t have time to find the hidden danger because if the orb absorption were toplete he would be dead anyway. So, it ignored the warninging from its instincts and at high speed, leaps towards Ace.
Just a moment ago, Ace felt that a strange Qi entering the pores of his body at high speed and directly enters the dark void. He felt like this Qi was extremelyfortable and his damaged soul core began to heal at a breakneck pace because of this particr Qi.
One has to know that the injuries on the souls were extremely hard to heal. And Ace''s soul was filled with the Heavenly Soul Qi, consequently to heal his soul was even more difficult.
It was the Light Elemental Orb ''Element Essential Qi'' that was currently healing his damaged yellow wind soul core.
Chapter 68 - White Despair Heavenly Thunder!
Ace felt his soul was recovering rapidly because of the absorbance of the orb''s element-essential qi and recover some of his strength.
Ace HD-Qi started to boil in his meridians and he instantly active silent steps to evade the uing guardian who has leaps towards him and it was like it was flying at high speed all its sharp handsbined in front, it looks like a spearhead with monstrous power behind it.
Last time Ace was caught off-guard because of the soul attack and hit by the guardian sudden attack when he was in a muddled state. However, this time Ace waspletely sober and he can still evade physical attacks, especially since this guardian body was not as powerful as a Qi River realm cultivator.
Besides, it seems like this thing has panic about something and was in hurry to end him so it didn''t use its soul attack and directly used physical attack to end him quickly. Further, it seemed that powerful soul attack took some time to activate or thest two soul attack was already its limits.
''shhhuuuu''
By a hair, he evades the attack of the guardian and quickly runs to the opposite direction Ace was striving to make some distance between them.
That guardian seems to be a little surprised by how Ace who was looking lifeless just a moment ago was able to move like this now. But it didn''t care because it could sense that the ''element essential Qi'' of the elemental orb was depleting at a fast pace.
It was just about to turn around to used a soul attack this time when the empty and silent sky of the moon forest''s core region started to be noisy. All of a sudden temperature started to drop.
The guardian felt extreme danger and immediately after that, a huge pressure descend on it like a huge mountain and because of this huge pressure, it can''t move its body anymore. It struggles but it was all in vain. This pressure has locked it into its ce.
Ace''s condition was the same or even worse than the guardian''s because he was wounded and his soul was still in a healing process when this huge pressure lock on him.
However, Ace stand strong and didn''t fall on the ground because of the mountain-like pressure. ''Is this pressureing from heavenly punishment?''
''This pressure is much stronger than that thing, but my body is resisting it to some degree. Is it because of the Heavenly Qi?'' Thought Ace intensely.
He felt like his unique Qi was helping him resist this pressure and that was how he still standing right now or he would be fell on the ground long ago and can''t even move a finger.
If Ace know that no one can move in heavenly punishment before he would instantly choose to go through it first without hesitation. So, it could lock that monster in one ce and let the heavenly punishment deal with it and he will somehow cross this punishment because he has heavenly qi.
Ace now thinks that some random lightning would strike after seeing he can move a little bit and guardian can''t, but very soon he will find out just how na?ve his thoughts were.
Suddenly, the dark sky of the core region seems real but it has no stars and moon one could tell it was not real and some kind of natural phenomenon.
''Errr, crrakk,''
Cracks began to appear in the ''sky'' and suddenly it shatters like ss!
It was like something has hammered it and shatter the dark dome of the core region.
Rays of light enter the dark core region of the moon forest for the first time in thousands of years.
Ace was startled by this, ''It seems like outside is still daytime.'' He thinks because he didn''t see any light here from the moment he entered. He has no idea about how time was moving outside.
It was like he was in a huge dark cage and someone has tear opened it with force.
''So, this is how strong can a nature trap be. It is like the entire core region of the moon forest was this elemental orb domain and nobody can find their way out oncee inside.'' Ace thought gravely.
If this was true then he was in huge trouble because he still needs to find seven more orbs and just this first one has given him the deadliest time of his life. And he was still not out of danger yet.
However, Ace''s focus quickly shifted towards his body because the Dark Void has started to greedily absorb Heavenly Qi at a high scale and pumping it to Ace''s meridians and entire body. It was like he was in a deep ocean of Heavenly Qi. Even his injuries begun to heal because of it.
Even space started to tremble as all the Heavenly Qi within hundreds of miles began to gather towards Ace, his surrounding Qi bes practically Heavenly Qi. It was so dense that it could be seen with the physical eye like a ck mist.
The strangest thing was the dark void wasn''t converting the Heavenly Qi into HD-Qi it was devouring the heavenly qi like a bottomless hole. All the heavenly qi was entering inside and no one knows where this huge amount of heavenly qi was going.
''RUBLE!''
Before the dark void could absorb anymore Heavenly Qi it supplies was cut off by something unknown and Ace hear a huge rumble above his head as he snapped open his eyes to see the source of this rumbling.
However, the moment he saw above his head his face turns ashen and became horrified.
Because the originally sunny and cloudless sky moment ago has now turned dark, with pitch-ck inky clouds. Thunder rumbled and white lightning shed in them.
Everything within hundreds of miles wentpletely dark.
It was like Ace has returned into the core region again but it was now darker.
"Is this the Heavenly Punishment?! How the hell I''m supposed to endure punishment from this thing??!" Ace waspletely horrified and couldn''t help but curse out loud, "System are you sending me to my death even that monster was cuter in front of that huge forming thunder cloud???!!"
Before Ace has some idea but now it was finally confirmed just where the hell that huge pressure and what has stopped the heavenly qi around the area, it was all happening exactly because of those inky clouds or descending of the ''Heavenly Punishment''.
He saw that all those ck clouds were like a huge whirlpool, and the whirlpool''s center was right above himself!
That whirlpool looked like nothing more than a huge ck eye focusing expressionlessly on him. At the same time, a terrifying destructive will pushed down upon him and it was way more powerful than before''s pressure. The previous pressure seems like a child in front of this will.
Ace immediately realized that he was now unable to move even an inch. He was unable to even blink.
''I''m doomed!'' This was the only wild thought in his mind right now.
Ace saw more and more inky clouds gather in the sky. The white lightning within the sky gradually converged at the center of the ck clouds like it was concentrating at a single point.
"Is that collection of lightning going strike me?!" Even if Ace was na?ve, he didn''t dare to take that strike head-on. He madly struggled to somehow free himself.
But it was as if his whole body was being pressed by a huge mountain. Despite his best efforts, his body merely trembled continuously. The ground beneath his foot started to crack.
Ace couldn''t help but tremble in fear. He tried shifting his body but he felt as if a whole mountain was crushing him from every direction. Even after using his heavenly qi he was only able to make very small movements and was simply unable to dodge anything.
The inky clouds in the sky were bing increasingly thick, and the lightning was bing more and more concentrated in the center.
Suddenly, the rumbling sky becamepletely silent. A white bolt of lightning several feet wide, it was no longer lightning it was pure ''Destructive Thunder'' and it shot straight down from the center of the ck clouds.
However, this thunderbolt target was not Ace it shot towards the orb guardian who was standing still in its ce helplessly like Ace. Its Qi was not heavenly qi like Ace so he can''t even move a single finger. The white thunderbolt power seeming to want to destroy and exterminate every living being in its path.
Ace watched as that terrifying white thunderbolt descended. He felt an endless destructive will and despairing from it.
The white despair thunder finally strikes straight into the guardian''s head full of eyes.
"BOOOOOMMMMMMM!!"
A huge booming sound rang in the vacancy and hundreds of meters of ground crumbled as that one thunderbolt create a huge crater.
Ace has made quite some distance from the guardian before he was locked on his current spot, but even after that he was caught in after-shocked by the thunderbolt and he vomited two consecutive mouthfuls of blood.
Ace was horrified after seeing this and finally understand the true terror of angry Heaven.
Before he didn''t pay much attention to the risk of using the heaven stealer technique and stole from heaven. He thought that the benefits were just too great and enduring the heavenly punishment now and then would be worth it.
However, now he finally knows that the prize of using the heaven stealer technique was this deadly.
Ace saw the towering-like guardian body in the center of the crater, its body was charred all over, and he could even see grey flueding from its eye sockets that have turned into meat pasta now.
The mighty guardian of the Qi River realm has died in a single thunder strike of Heaven.
''Rumblllleeeee''
Ace snapped out his dazzled state after he hears a huge rumble even stronger than before.
He trembly look above and saw even more lighting was concentrating in the center of the whirlpool.
It seems like thest bolt was to clear any obstacle between Ace and Heaven.
Now that the ''hindrance'' was out of the way, it was finally time to punish Heaven''s Stealer!
Chapter 69 - Heavenly Punishment!
Ace waspletely horrified and rm seeing just how powerful that first thunderbolt was. It even killed that monster like an ant. And by the looks of it, the next condensing thunderbolt appears even more powerful than thest one.
''If I knew this was about to happen I would''ve made some kind of preparation or find some treasures that can block thunder. Well even if I know the treasure that can block heavenly punishment are not easy to find.'' Ace thought bitterly.
Ace quickly calms himself because now is not the time to fret over his past mistakes. He has to somehow seed in this deathly trial.
The inky clouds were even more lit in the center thanst time and it was ready to destroy Ace with every ounce of its might.
Ace quickly shouts in his mind, "System give me five... NO! Ten basic healing pills and Ten basic Qi recovering pills now!"
=======
"[Basic Healing Pill: 25 TP for each pill]
{10 Pills = 250}
[Basic Heavenly Qi Pill: 10 TP for each pill]
{10 Pills = 100}
[{Total: 350 TP}]
[Host has a sufficient amount of TP.]
[The purchase has been sessful!]
[The pills are delivered into host thief''s space.]"
[Thief Points (TP): 595]
======
Ace didn''t think that he would be using these pills in this kind of situation.
He clearly knew that system pills were not ordinary at all, even these basic pills are more precious than any pill in high-levelnds.1
However, Ace can only use these system''s pills, ordinary pills can only give him EXP or SP they have no other effect on him.
More importantly, except for ''Heaven Stealer Pill'' other pills didn''t have any limit on their quantity. So, he didn''t buy them in bulk as he did with the weapons.
Besides, ''Heaven Stealer Pills'' were expensive. Ace thinks he didn''t need them for the moment so he was saving them for the perfect time because of their limitation.
That''s why for the first time he bought these basic pills because he knows without them he would be dead without any doubt.
With a thought, two green pills appeared in his hand from the thief''s space.
One has golden circles it was the healing pill and the other have ck circles on it this is the Heavenly Qi Pill. They were mysteriously glowing and a light mist was oozing from them. This glow means golden grade alchemy pill and mist only appeared on quasi-first grade pill!
Only the alchemist who was about to break into the first-grade alchemist rank can create these kinds of pills.
Ace didn''t have time to admire these priceless pills and he throws them in his mouth but he didn''t swallow them. It was for the exact moment when he would be in grave danger then he would consume them, and he hopes they could help him in this situation.
After doing this he looked above and the thunder was going strike any moment.
Ace still didn''t feel assure so he took out all the weapons in his thief''s space. They were not any used to him and he was thinking about disposing of them after he reached higher levelnds.
However now, they can be his meat shield. They can''t block the attack fully but at least they can weaker it to some extent, right?
Ace knows he has no time to waste and quickly pours HD-Qi into his dual swords. A huge amount of Qi darts out from those two ck des.
That huge amount of Qi begun to turn into a huge crude cauldron shape as it devours those thousands of qi weapons. After that qi cauldron was filled with weapons, it starts to hover above Ace''s head. It was like a multyer shield, that was made of swords, spears, halberds, war hammers, shields, sabers...
Ace finds this method to manifest his Qi in his year of training. Since he can''t manifest his qi out his body at this moment, Ace found he can do it with his first-grade weapon.
Ace can easily create shapes with Qi and control them with his mind with this method. However, since he was not in the foundation building realm this was quite taxing on his body and mind.
"crrrrcrrrrcc!"
A thundering boom rang and a thick white thunderbolt st down straight at Ace like an arrow.
Ace has just created his ''shield'' when the thunderbolt falls. He saw this bolt was wider than thest one and apparently more powerful as well.
He holds his sword hilts firmly and channels all qi into his swords.
"Booooommmm!"
The thunderboltnded straight on the ''shield'' but like paper that ''shield'' turn into ashes. They were probably more than a thousand 2-star and hundreds of 3-start weapons in that cauldron and even some 4-star weapons.
Ace has put all his ''weaponry wealth'' into this ''shield'' and it was turned into ashes like it was nothing.
Ace''s heart would definitely bleed if he was not upying right at this moment.
Since the ''shield'' was broken or turn into ashes the white despair thunder''s next target was obviously Ace.
''chechhhhhhee''
This time, however, his dual swords shed with the thunderbolt but after some time Ace simply can''t take a huge pressure and destructive forces of the white despair thunder.
The thunderbolt manages to break hisst defense andnded in his chest.
It starts to wreak havoc in Ace''s body. Ace felt like he was in the pits of hell right at this moment. His whole body and organs were burning inside out and all he could feel was piercing pain and despair, nothing else.
''This is the end I guess!'' This was the thought in his heart before he finally gave up.
At this moment when Ace lost all hope to live, the dark void that was stopped devouring the heavenly Qi because of the heavenly punishment awakens and begun to operate again and this time its target of devouring was white despair thunder!
Ace felt the ghastly pain began to lessen bit by bit and he regain his senses.
But his condition was not so good. He quickly takes out two more pills from his thief''s space and swallows them. Thest two pills were used and without them and dark void he would be dead by now.
After regaining his senses Ace saw his body was charred all over, and he could even smell his own flesh roasting. He was unable to shake that bolt in the slightest. He had been essentially powerless.
This made him feelpletely dispirited. In front of that thunderbolt, he felt that he waspletely insignificant.
Ace didn''t settle on it for too long because he could feel that dark void has again stopped. After all, it seems the whit despair thunder was finished. But he still didn''t get any HD-Qi. If not for the Heavenly Qi Pill he would be run out of Qi long ago.
"Just why is it not working like normal? And that elemental orb was also being absorbed in it even now. Just what the hell is the system doing?!!!" Ace swore weakly.
He was feeling extremely frustrated right now nothing seems to work the proper way. But the news that the dark void can devour that lightning was very good for him. However, the pain was not something that he can handle for long.
Just he was in mulling over his grave situation, the heaven seems to sense that the previous bolt was not enough to take this ant down and it didn''t give any chance to Ace for recuperating.
With a thunderous roar, two white thunderbolts descend this time.
Ace wanted to curse heaven for being this ruthless to send two bolts this time. But he didn''t have time because the bolts were already reaching him.
This time Ace didn''t do anything and the thunderbolt descends on him.
''Boooommm''
Ace felt even worse than before however he grinds his teeth and endure.
This time, however, he felt the feeling of despair was even stronger than before. It was like this strange ''will'' wanted him to lose his own will to fight and surrender himself to heaven.
It wanted him to rest for eternity and pay the price for opposing heaven with his soul being shattered and his existence been erased forever.
Ace finally understands just what true despair is but he didn''t give in he keeps himself remembered that his life was bond with Eva''s and he still needs to find his little sister. After that, he still didn''t solve the mystery of his parents so he remains strong in the face of despair and that strange ''will''.
It was as if his determination has fueled the dark void, it starts devouring the thunderbolt even faster.
Ace finally felt the pain lessen and he quickly throws two more pills in his mouth. These pills were truly marvelous the healing pill was healing his internal and external wounds by the heavenly thunderbolt and the qi pill was providing him with arge amount of heavenly qi.
"Hahaha! You can do nothing to me now I will endure to thest moment but I will never surrender to you! Not even in my grave!" Ace roared whileughing as he looked at the inky clouds fiercely.
He was angry right now because he was pushed around all day, first by that monster and now by heaven as well.
How could he not curse at this moment? If not for his dark void he would be dead after receiving the first strike.
It was as if heaven has heard him and it was infuriated by his disrespectful words and the inky clouds began to gather a huge amount of lightning.
"Crap! Me and my big mouth!" Ace wanted to cry right now. Land fo Empires
Chapter 70 - Light Element Qi
Ace can now endure the heavenly thunder because of the dark void however, he can''t bear the intense pain any longer.
He was mentally exhausted and his physical condition was also not optimal anymore. The system''s pills can help him recover but they can''t recover his mental sluggishness.
But Ace can''t back down right now, because Ace knew if he loses his will to fight then even the dark void can''t save him.
The power of despair was just too great. If you lose your will in the face of despair then nobody can save you to fall into despair!
Ace take a deep breath and looked at the inky clouds above and grunt, "You think I''m afraid of you? Then bring it on I''ll show you just how powerful this ant in your eyes truly is!"
It was as if heaven has heard him and thunderous booms rang in the sky of the moon forest. One could hear them even in the outer region of the moon forest.
Some passing by cultivators startled and think that some powerful demonic beast was roaring in anger they quickly sprang to run.
Ace saw three thunderbolts shoot toward him this time and they almost looked like thunder swords. However, there was something different about them and that was they were half translucent.
''Heavenly Soul Punishment!" Ace immediately guess and felt that now he was doomed.
Because dark void can absorb heavenly thunder that was harmful towards his body and meridians it can''t absorb soul qi. Now he was on his own.
"Boooommmmm"
The swords like thunderboltsnded on him and Ace felt his body was melting inve and that was not the end even his ''True Soul'' (Mind Space) was rock like a boat in the middle of a storm.
The translucent heavenly thunder infiltrates his mind space and started to wreak havoc.
His soul core started to protect his mind-space by fighting with heavenly thunder. It was still damaged because of the guardian.
The heavenly thunder attacks his soul core as it keeps resisting it.
Ace felt this time his life was truly going to end because he simply can''t take this soul attack. He didn''t have any means to protect his soul from others much less from heaven itself.
He finally understands just how dreadful soul attacks truly were.
It was like a blessing he never encounters any human with soul cultivation but this blessinges to an end today.
After a moment cracks begin to appears on the soul core and for the first time, his mind-space begins to crack.
Ace could still endure all this pain but the damage on ''true soul'' was not something he could sustain at his level. The moment a crack appears on his ''true soul'' he felt something broken in him.
''Thud''
Ace fell on the charred ground his eyes were rolled upside and his body was roasted ck. He was unrecognizable. Blood wasing from his mouth, ears, nose, and eyes sockets.
There was no sign of breath and pulseing from him.
Thest thing Ace remember before losing his consciousness was a foreign voice that was telling him to stop his futile resistance, and surrender his soul and the pain will over.
However, he only gives one reply before he fell and that was, "NEVER!"
Ace didn''t know he heard the voice of that ''strange will'' that he felt before in his moment of despair. He was able to hear it because he was between the border of life and death.
Moreover, the owner of this voice will be his biggest nemesis in the future.
After Ace fell on the ground lifeless the inky cloud started to scatter and moments after itpletely vanished and the sunny sky restore as well as if nothing has happened.
Because of the heavenly punishment pressure, the dome of the core region that was made by nature to protect the elemental orb was now shattered.
It will never be restored because the elemental orb was taken by Ace. However, that fog remains and in ten to twenty years it will also disappear, this core region of the moon forest will be restored to its original condition like before the orb was born.
But that ck craters will remain the same because they were made by heavenly thunder and thunder holds only power of destruction, no life will ever form in this area.
After many years someone will see these craters and think they were a legendary beast reside here and a legend will be born. Moon Forest then will be known as the first forbidden area ofnd of cities.
The core region was now empty and silent, the maze of trees also vanished after the orb was taken and no demonic beast was here because they dread that fog in the entrance and never enters the core region so only Ace charred body wasying there in the center of the ck pit.
The peace has returned to the core region again.
At this moment, System''s voice rang in Ace nearly dead mind,
=======
"[Congrattion Host for sessfully crossing the first form of Heavenly Punishment!]
[Nature''s Light Elemental Orb ''Element Qi'' absorption has also beenplete.]
[Special Reward: Light Element Qi]
[Process of building the Foundation of Heavenly Darkness ismencing!]"
=======
The silent air surrounding the core region began to vibrate and a huge amount of ck qi rushed towards Ace''s body.
The dark void was begun to revolve at high speed and create a huge suction force.
All the Heavenly Qi began to enter Ace''s abdominal and dark void swallow all this Qi greedily at an extraordinary pace.
It was like a bottomless abyss and that seemingly can devour all the Qi of this world and still won''t be satisfied by it.
Suddenly, a cracked orb appeared from Ace thief''s space it was the elemental orb that was now looking like a marble that will be shattered with just a gust of wind. It was not radiant like before.
The orb floats on Ace''s forehead and suddenly as if a mysterious power emits a little pressure the floating orb shattered into millions of white particles.
But those white particles didn''t blow by the wind as if something was controlling them and were directlynded on Ace''s forehead between his eyebrows and get absorbed in Ace''s skin. Not a single particle escapes this absorption and all these ''light element particles'' enter his mind-space directly.
Ace''s mind space was currently at a shattering point and his yellow wind soul core was barely in one piece. The heavenly thunder was still attacking the soul-core to shatter it and with it, Ace''s True Soul would also be shattered.
This will be his true death of body and soul.
However, the moment those white particles appeared they begin to explode like little firecrackers and turn into huge light elemental soul Qi.
Suddenly his mind space that was turned ck after he opened the gate of mind started to turn white and the cracks also began to close with light soul qi.
These white particles that were left after the elemental orb was sucked dry were the ''Light Soul Qi Particles''.
Originally these soul particles were supposed to be scattered around the world and after one of these particles would give birth to another Light Elemental Orb.
However, the system has directly sent them into his mind space. Here they can only be part of his ''true soul'' and he will have light soul Qi. Meaning the light elemental orb will never appear in Golden Sky World after today.
The white despaired thunder (Heavenly Thunder) sense this sudden change and leave the soul-core and directly charged to attack the white soul qi particles. But the light soul particles simply explode and all the light soul qi began to merge with his mind space.
The soul core also received the light soul qi and it rapidly turns into its formerplete form. But it was even bigger than before and they were a white hue around its yellowish core.
The explosion of these particles didn''t harm Ace''s soul but the heavenly thunder began to scatter and it also turned into thunder particles in the explosions. Since the heavenly thunder can''t replenish itself it was doom to turn supplement for Ace''s true soul as well.
Slowly the heavenly thunderst bit of will perished and with all the white particles it gets absorbed into Ace''s true soul.
Before Ace''s mind space was fifty cubic metersrge however after merging with light soul particles it was now hundred cubic meters and his yellow wind core was also gotten bigger and sturdier. The mind space has turned into grey as well from its previous ck appearance.
Now Ace''s heavenly sense and soul sense could cover fifty meters area around him and his Heavenly Soul Qi limit has also been raised to the next level. But most importantly he will be able to use Light Element Qi.
Ace will find out in the future just how much of a blessing this truly was!
Chapter 71 - Foundation Of Heavenly Darkness!
Even after Ace ''True Soul'' returns to its normal state and bes more powerful he still was in aa because the shock he sustains was too great.
But this didn''t stop his dark void to keep devouring the heavenly qi at all. The density of Qi in thend of cities was quite low however, the dark void didn''t seem to be fazed by it either because it was drawing Qi from heaven itself.
Suddenly, cracks began to appear on the dark void and Ace''s Qi Meridians, because they were both connected. The cracks spread slowly but the devouring of heavenly qi didn''t stop a bit. The next moment it was as if the dark void couldn''t take it anymore and finally shattered with Ace''s Qi meridians!
Ace''s whole body jolt by this sudden shock and ck blood began to flow out of his orifices.
Qi Meridians are like roads inside the body these roads were pathways for Qi to circte inside the body smoothly. Without these pathways, the body can''t use or store Qi.
It wasmon knowledge that if someone''s qi meridians were to destroy, they would be cripple for life and never be able to cultivate again. And till this day not a single person can heal their cripple meridians.
Some higher-ups of the empire-levelnds believed that the ancient sects have a way to heal destroyed Qi meridians but that method was too costly even for an ancient sect!
Since Ace Qi meridians were just destroyed didn''t this mean he be a cripple for life and all his cultivation that he aplishes till this day vanished in thin air?
But the strange thing was that even after his meridians were destroyed, his nine qi gates were still there, which means he was still a cultivator of the Qi Gates realm.
It''s just that no qi meridians were connected to those gates to draw qi from heaven.
Just as the dark void shattered something else revel itself, it was like a dark curtain was lifted.
Apletely new dark void reveals itself however, it was much smaller than before and it was radian darkly.
If the old dark void was like a palm-size ball this one was the size of a fingernail. This was not the end the fragments of the old shattered dark void started to form a space in his abdomen around his new dark void.
This new space was like the mind space but it was hundred cubic metersrge from the start and the dark void was in the center of this space.
This is the ''Martial Space''forming after his body cultivation broke through for the first time just like his mind space. But this was not his true soul,
The moment this new space formed and the new dark void reveal itself the heavenly qi stop entering his body and a huge amount of HD-Qi began to flow in Ace''s whole body.
But there was a little white lightning mix in this HD-Qi. This was the heavenly thunder that the dark void has devoured before.
Anywhere the new HD-Qi flows in Ace''s body new Qi meridians form in the ce of old ones. But this time the Qi Meridians were not transparent anymore they were pitch ck and more refined than his destroyed meridians.
Qi Meridians also has many different and special types, it is just that it was rare to even find a single soul in the entire continent with it! And these forming meridians inside Ace''s body were the Primordial Darkness Meridians!
Ace would found out the benefits of these meridians in the future.
Whenever someone broke through into the Qi Foundation Building realm, their Qi Gates that were open in the Qi Gates realm would be turned into ''tes''. Moreover, these tes would get reinforced or baptism from the pure Worldly Qi.
They called these tes ''Foundation tes'' and this pure ''World Qi''es straight from the ''world''s will'' itself and would help build a strong foundation te.
How much you''ll get the ''World Qi'' depends on the qi gates that you opened in the first realm of the cultivation. It is a type of recognition from the ''world''s will'' you live in as well.
Cultivator with five foundation or Qi tes would get only single baptism, meaning only a single Qi te would turn into a Perfect te with a single crack on it. And all the other four tes would turn into cracked tes with nine cracked on each.
Six Gates would get three baptisms. The eight gates would get five baptisms and no one knows what would happen at the ninth gate because they didn''t even know this gate exists in the first ce.
Five tes means Cracked Foundation, Six tes means wed Foundation, Seven means Complete, and Eight means Perfect foundation in the golden sky world.
Ace primordial darkness meridians were finally finished forming and now he didn''t have a sliver of heavenly qi in his meridians, only pure HD-Qi was flowing inside his whole-body meridians channel.
Finally, the dark meridians began to connect with his nine open heavenly qi gates.
Ace''s first five gates were not dark like his hidden gates of darkness however, at this moment the other five gates began to turn pitch ck as well like his hidden gates.
The dark gates started to vanish from their positions and slowly one after another they appeared in his abdominal where the new dark void was floating in his martial space peacefully while suppling the HD-Qi in Ace''s body.
The nine dark gates surround the dark void in a circle and the dark void released nine dark blue qi chains and those chains are connected to one dark gate each.
The moment this happened the gates started to turn into inky tes one after another.
This was forming of the foundation tes however the difference was Ace foundation tes were forming independently without any worldly blessing whatsoever. Because no one was qualifying to bless him only heaven has the right but it would rather kill him than give him ''anymore'' of its blessing.
Moreover, Ace didn''t need anyone''s blessing because he was a heaven''s stealer and heavenly qi was the biggest blessing he could ask, on top of that he has the advantage of the system.
Ace''s final gate turns into a ck te and shockingly all the nine dark tes were perfectly formed, there was not a single scratch on them.
All nine foundation tes were floating around the dark void with a single dark blue chain attached to them moreover, white lightning would spark on those inky tes now and then.
This was the true Heavenly Foundation of Nine Heavenly Gates!
However, this was not the end from those dark blue chains, dark blue qi started to enter the foundation tes and different kinds of dark blue runic symbols started to be engraved on the dark tes forming different scriptures on every single te.
If Ace was conscious he would be shocked to see these engraving scriptures because these were the full cultivation method of ''Heaven Stealer Martial Cultivation''that was being engraved on his foundation pirs right now.
After the technique was fully engraved on his foundation tes the writing vanished and they all returned into their clear dark state as if nothing happened. The ck chains also returned into the dark void.
The foundation tes and the dark void finally returned to their peaceful nature but now all the dark meridians, dark foundation tes, and martial space were connected with Ace''s dark void.
Void of Primordial Darkness (Dark Void) has be like a core of his martial (Body) cultivation now if it gets destroyed everything is over but it was night imposable. Ace will find out about this in the future and be astounded by this.
Outside of Ace''s body. The moment his new meridians were formed his body started to heal at astonishing speed.
In the end, when the heaven stealer technique was engraved in his foundation tes Ace waspletely healed his skin was giving a healthy glow and one would think he was sleeping peacefully if they see him now.
Only his charred and bloody clothes were telling the true story.
At this moment system''s sweet and emotionless voice sounded in his mind,
======
"[Congrattion Host on building the Foundation of Darkness!]
[Host has reached the Early Stage of Heavenly Foundation Building Realm.]
[Rewards: 500 Thief Points]
[Host status has been updated.]"
=======
But Ace still didn''t regain his conscious he was in deep slumber. It was a blessing that in the core region there was not a single demonic beast or he would have be their food.
Just like that two years have passed after Ace fell into a deep slumber.
It was a sunny day like always and nts were born in this vast core region of the moon forest in two years.
Two years ago, it was just a barren ce with a dark and cold environment so no life can bear here easily but after the heavenly punishment has shattered the dark ''sky'' life has finally returned here.
Inside the core region central area, a young man''s naked body was lying in a huge ck crater. But there was not a single speck of dust on his body as if he was protected by some invisible barrier. He was 1.9-meter-tall with white skin and long ck hair. His toned body was carved with sharp muscles.
Appearance-wise he was extremely handsome with his sharp chin and hollow cheeks. But his eyes were closed as if he was sleeping tranquility.
He was obesely Ace.
Two years have passed since he fell in deep slumber. He still didn''t region his consciousness. But his body was growing normally and sturdier than a normal human boy,
Ace was turned fifteen and his childishness has vanished from his handsome face. He has turned into a young man.
Since Ace was entered into foundation building realm he didn''t need to eat as long as he has enough qi in the atmosphere. Dark void was always supplying his body with HD-Qi so he would not be dead until the dark void spot its task.
Suddenly Ace closed eyes sprang open. Dark current shed past them the moment he opens his eyes!
Chapter 72 - No Time To Waste!
"Am I still alive?" Muttered Ace as he looked around and saw the ck crater, disbelief filled his eyes.
"How?" But no was here to answer his question.
He saw himself naked and overwhelmed by seeing how much he has grown in his ''sleep''. For him, it was like a moment has passed since he lost his consciousness. This change in his body was a huge shock.
Ace quickly open the system panel and saw series of system notifications on the notification panel. After reading all the new information he was rmed and next moment excited.
"Hahaha, it seems luck was on my side!" Ace roar as heughs out loud.
Ace excitedly gets up from the ground and drees up in a white robe.
''Hmm? These clothes are too short I need to buy new ones.'' Ace smirked as he thought about how much his body has changed.
He quickly closes his eyes and uses his heavenly sense to examine his new inner self.
Ace was startled to see his new dark meridians they were on a whole other dimension than his old ones. His HD-Qi was flowing like a free river in his whole body through meridians pathways.
Ace feels that with these meridians of darkness he was far more powerful than anyone in the Foundation Building realm.
After checking the qi meridians his focus turned to martial space that was connected with his dark meridians. It was like a huge ck transparent glob and in the center of it was a new dark void surrounded with Dark Foundation tes. Now and then white lightning would spark on them.
''Those tes should be foundation tes and there is not a single crack on them and they were not like the foundation tes that I read in the book. And the dark void is also much smaller than before well it is more powerful so it''s a plus.'' Ace was moved after checking his new inner self.
"System what is this ck transparent space?" Asked Ace.
Since he didn''t know where this space came from because he was unconscious when his heavenly foundation was created.
"[Martial Space]
[After reached the qi foundation realm every cultivation steps into the true path of cultivation and every marital cultivation will form this space with pure worldly qi. Since the host is a Heaven''s Stealer, the host martial space is perfect and form from old dark void fragments.]
[Martial Space is the core of every cultivator, destroy it and they will be crippled for life.]"
Ace was shocked after he heard this new information because they didn''t give this kind of information in that manual of the qi foundation realm.
He didn''t dwell on it since he now knew what it was so Ace said in an excited voice, "Status!"
=======
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human {No Bloodline}]
[Heaven: 1st Mortal Sky Heaven]
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Foundation Building {Early-Stage}]
{EXP: 0/500,000}
[Soul Cultivation: Yellow Wind Soul Core]
{SP: 999/1000} {Extra: 1031}
[Skills: 5]
[Stealth Basic: {Perfection}
Silent Steps Basic: {Perfection}
True & False Eyes Basic: {Perfection}
Pick Pocket: {Perfection}
Treasure Opening Hands [Basic Art]: {5th Form}]
[Cultivation Technique: 2]
[{Heaven Stealer Technique Volume 1}, {Dual Shadow Swords}]
[Thief Points (TP): 1095]
[Mission(s): 1]
[Job Mission: Host has to do honorable thievery at a city lord''s mansion of the No.1 City in the Low-Level Lands. (Lands of cities)]
[Rewards]
{Thief Panel will be unlocked}
{Shop will be updated}
{Other rewards based on Host Performance}
[Time: 14 months left.]
[Punishment on failing: System will stop working for 50 years]
========
Ace''s excited face turns serious after he read the mission time. Now he knew he was unconscious for more than two years and he didn''t have any more time to waste.
Because it would take him five to six months to reach the new moon city.
After closing the status panel. He looks around and like an arrow sts towards the fog.
Ace''s speed was so fast that even he couldn''t believe that he has be so strong.
''With this speed, I can reach there in three months. Heh, let me test my limit this time.'' Aceughed widely as tangible ck qi started to appear under his boots and his speed increased ten-fold instantly.
This is the manifestation of qi now he didn''t need to use his weapon to manifest his qi. He can do it with just thought like this was the most natural thing to do.
The fog that gives him the trouble first didn''t even faze him this time and he crosses the core region of the moon forest in ten minutes.
After confirming his position, then he starts his journey towards the new moon city at top speed since he has no time to waste.
---------
Three monthste, a silhouette appeared outside of the western moon forest.
Ace was looking at the clean path and grin broadly. He was rushed all the way and really cross the moon forest in three months at his top speed. He didn''t tangle with any demonic beasts since they can''t give him a fight anymore.
Ace takes the road that was probably heading toward the direction of new moon city because in the west side of thends of cities were only top cities were located.
The reason was very simple because the Qi density here was ten times denser than all thend of cities. After all, the west side was a border betweennds of kingdoms and cities. So, only the top cities have the right to remain here.
The very next day Ace spotted a caravan of five old carriages pulled by hours. They seem to be going in the same direction as him as he decided to prob some information from them since he has waste almost three years in wildness.
Ace was wearing a simple robe and if not for his handsome appearance he looks just like anymoner. He elerates his pace and reached the caravan but before he could greet them two muscr men shoot out of the carriage with spears in their hands.
"Halt!" Shout one of the spearmen.
Ace immediately stops and but he didn''t seem to be afraid of them because with his true and false eyes he saw the strongest person in the caravan was at the peak qi gate realm cultivator.
But since he was not here to cause trouble he simply raised his hands and said with an innocent face, "I''m only here to ask sirs if you are also going to the new moon city?"
The two spearmen looked at Ace''s appearance and saw he was only a young man and since they both were third gate realm cultivators they didn''t sense any qi from his so they thought he was really telling the truth and rx their stance.
"New moon city? that city and its subordinate cities got promoted one year ago and now all the people of those cities have been long shifted to the Golden Hammered Kingdom since they were under their judicial."
"And on the new moon city old territory was now located Luminous City the former number two city and now number one."
Both said one after another since Ace didn''t look dangerous they decided to give him an exnation.
Ace frowned but he didn''t lose his calm when he heard the new moon city has already gone one year ago and cursed the heaven in his heart since he was unconscious because of heavenly punishment.
If he just came a year ago he would''vepleted his mission now what was he suppose to robbed a kingdom-level power? NO! he simply can''t because he didn''t have time to go in thends of the kingdom.
"So, boy where are you from? You didn''t even know this big event you''re not from western citiesnds?" An aged voice sounded from the carriage. It was clearly an old man.
Ace snapped out his daze and reply politely with force smiled, "Sir is right I''m not from westernnds. I came from easternnds and wanted to visit new moon city it''s a pity that the city is long gone."
Ace didn''t lose hisposure and wasn''t afraid that they would find it difficult for a youngster like him to cross the vast moon forest alone.
As expected all of them gasps in shock and looked at the youngster more carefully but no matter how much they prob with their qi he simply seems ordinary, even that old man who the most powerful didn''t find anything strange about him.
They were about to inquire further when Ace decided to retreat and think about what to do now since his target was gone. He active his silent step and vanished like wind.
New shocking gasps sounded in the area and one of the spearmen asked in a trembling voice, "E-elder t-that youngster..."
Before he could finish his word, the elder voice sounded again but this time it was grave, "Don''t speak anymore! Someone of his age and if he really is at that realm we didn''t have the right to talk about him and forget about all this we never saw anyone!"
Beads of sweat were forming on both of their foreheads as they shout in unison, "Understood!" and start their journey again.
"Grandfather, why are you so nervous?" A sweet voice resounded inside the carnage where the old man was sitting.
"Little girl stops investigating and don''t ask about this event again." Retorted the old man towards the little girl as he closed his eyes.
''Just where the hell that youngster came from, is he from an empire?'' Thought the old man gravely.
Chapter 73 - New Target!
Ace watched the caravan leave calmly from distance and transmitted his voice in mind, "System you heard what those men say right? What should I do?"
"[Host the mission is to perform honorable thievery at the number one city of the low-levelnds! Meaning any city that is number one is your target. It doesn''t matter if that city be number one today or tomorrow.]"
Ace felt relieved after he heard this, he also thinks this first and that''s why he confirms with the system as well.
Now he has a new target: Luminous City!
If he wanted he could''ve just tag along with that caravan of carriages but he decided against it. Since he was here to robbed the city Ace didn''t want to drag someone unnecessarily.
That''s why he showed them his silent steps so they could think of him as a higher-levelnds inhabitant and scared them to keep his existence a secret.
Ace hasprehended the most and only important rule of this cultivation world and that is ''Power''. If you have it you can do anything and no one will dare to stand against you and if you didn''t then even a mortal would push you around like a ve.
He keeps going in the same direction and three days he spotted a towering city gate. It was much grander than any city gate he has ever seen in his journey. From outside one could vaguely see rows of colorful buildings.
Ace was astonished by this big city sight and immediately guess that this should be the Luminous City.
He saw guards at the peak of qi gates realm standing guard and checking the identity crystal cards of visitors. They were collecting toll from them and let them pass after verifying and record their identities in big red crystal.
This time Ace didn''t wait like he always does to find a distraction and directly use stealth and silent steps to enter the city without any hitch whatsoever.
Those guards didn''t even feel his wind. This was the terror of a qi foundation realm expert they cane and go as they pleased. And no qi foundation expert would go through such means to enter a city if they didn''t have any ulterior motives like Ace.
After entering the city his vision fell on the crowded streets and beautifully carved houses and other buildings. This was his first time seeing these types of structures. The most eye-catching thing about these structures was on every single one of them was carved a symbol like a lion with wings.
This piqued Ace''s curiosity, he saw this kind of symbol being used before especially on every building in the city. s, no one could answer his question so he decided to explore the city first since it was still daytime.
Ace saw many interesting and new things here in this city like, he saw an auction house and gambling den. These kinds of businesses were not normal in the eastern part of thends of cities.
The most interesting thing he found here was mortal lives between cultivator like it was normal and the cultivators didn''t dare to bully them for some reason. It was nothing like the easternnds of cities where mortals were treated like ants.
Ace spotted a big imposing building and there were words carved on the wood nk that was hanging on top of the building. "Luminous Library".
He finds it strange after seeing this because he heard that libraries were like a luxury that only the kingdom level power could create so he was shocked to see that this city has dared to create a library here.
After some consideration, he decided to check this out since he was already here.
He reached the door and was about to open it when a light shone from the door. And it opens on its own.
Ace was startled by this, ''This is new.''
Without any hesitation, he enters the library and saw huge shelves inside and thousands of books neatly arranged in rows.
He dazes by this sight. It was his first time seeing these many books in a single ce.
"Young man, did you lose your way here? Do you know you justmitted a crime!" An old imposing voice sounded from the side.
Ace snapped out of his daze and turn his head to see the source of this old voice when he saw an old woman in her sixties was sitting on a chair behind a wooden counter.
Shockingly he felt high Qi ripples around her and used his eye skill. Just as he thought she was in the early foundation building realm just like him.
Ace calm down and replied politely, "I''m new in this city just saw this library here, I heard that libraries are only found in kingdoms so I was curious. I wonder which crime Imitted?"
The old women saw Ace''smon clothes and find it amusing. ''A strange boy.'' She thought because if it was someone else as young as him they would''ve piss in their pants after hearing theymit a crime.
"Oh, if that the case I''ll not punish you for your crime and only charge you with ''fine''. What do you think?" Smiled old woman as if she was being kind to him. But deep in her eyes was an evil smirk.
Ace''s soul sense was not just for show and saw through her kind act, but he didn''t show any emotion in his face and asked politely, "What kind of finedy wants if I may ask?"
The old woman was a little shocked by his calm demeanor this time but she was also an old fossil and remain calm, "Since you being so polite to this old woman I''ll tell you what crime youmitted. You enter the property of Luminous Kingdom without any invitation. Is this crime big enough? Now, pay Ten million ruby coins as fine!"
Ace was a little startled after he heard this and he thought of something, ''If this city is really under Luminous kingdom, then why is this city name is also Luminous? What is going on? No one would dare to use a Kingdom name like this.''
Ace didn''t dwell on this and didn''t say much since he was a trespasser here so it was his fault in the first ce to not inquiry much about it first. He simply takes a blue crystal card of ten million ruby coins from his pocket and ces it on the table.
He was most likely the richest person in thends of cities so ten million was nothing from him.
"Thanks, you for being lenient. I''ll take my leave now." Finish saying, he turns around and leaves without waiting for the old woman''s reply.
The old woman was shocked to see this youngster taking out ten million like at was candy from his pocket and leave in such a manner.
''Did I ask for too little? No impossible amoner like him should never be able to fork out this amount like cabbage. Did I offend someone closed to Grand Prince?'' Think old woman in worry.
But now that young man was gone and she can''t take her words back either so she could only pray that this was all just in her head and that youngster was just a rich idiot.
Ace exited the library and he was just taking few steps outside when he saw a young man waving his hands towards him. Ace looked around and saw there was really no one beside him so he points his finger at himself and looked at the young man.
The young man seems to know what Ace''s signal means and quickly nodded.
Ace finds it strange he was new in this city and his first interaction with that old woman was not very pleasant. Now, this boy wase out of nowhere, but he didn''t reject the young man''s invitation and go to him.
"Hey, brother how did escape from that old hag hands?" Ask the young man in a hushed tone.
Ace immediately knew he was asking about that old woman. Now that Ace looks at the young man carefully, he was half of his size and normal looking with ck eyes and hair. The most unordinary thing about this young man was a fingernail size mole on his nose tip.
"I paid the fine and she let me go." Ace find this young man interesting for some reason so he decided to answer his question.
"WHAT? Since when did they start to take a fine there? Bro, you get duped by that old hag. How much did she rob you?" Ask the young man in frustration, it was as if he was the one who got robbed by the old woman, not Ace.
Ace finds this young man more amusing and replies with a smile, "Ten million ruby coins."
"WHAT??!!" The young man''s eyes almost popped out of his sockets when he heard the amount.
"S-seriously? T-ten m-million not thousand?" Shattered the young man with his eyes was wide open in disbelief.
Ace nodded with a grin.
Chapter 74 - New Information! (Part 1)
"Y-you just give her ten million ruby coins?" The young man shuttered as he thought the world is spinning around him.
Ace felt quite amused by this and nodded again.
The boy takes a deep breath and calm himself down and said, "Bro, you shouldn''t have done this, I admit that there are rules about not going inside but there is no such punishment as fine. Much less ten million fines!"
"Well now that I already give away the ''fine'' I can''t get it back, can I?" Ace asked with a smile.
"You''re right that old hag is not easy to deal with even this p¡ ahem. Where are my manners I keep asking you questions and didn''t even introduce myself? My name is Bill" Bill first wanted to say something but he quickly changes the topic as if he didn''t want to say it anymore.
"Asher." Ace didn''t want to use his name so he just used a name that came to his mind first.
Asher was undoubtedly his first enemy who wanted his secret from the start and Eva was also his subordinate first but s he should be dead by now because he knew Dulce''s nature well.
Bill didn''t think that someone would use a fake name here so he continues, "Asher you should be new in this city right or you wouldn''t go there."
Ace also wanted to find some information about this and this Bill seems to rather amusing person so he decided to ask him.
"Yes, I just came here a few hours ago and I didn''t know much about this city. Can you tell me why is a library doing here?" He asked.
Bill approached Ace before because of his personal issue and after seeing themon clothes he wanted to lend him a hand if he was in trouble. But when he heard him saying that he just gives away ten million ruby coins to that old hag he felt anger on her but he can do nothing about it so he has to let go.
After he decided to befriend Ace since he seems a good person and the same age as him. And most importantly he was definitely rich. So, in Bill''s eyes, Ace was qualified to be his friend.
"First, we need to get out of here, since we are friends let''s go to ''Jade Pavilion'' it is the best restaurant in the wholends of cities it''s my wee treat to brother Asher." Bill started to walk towards the direction of this jade pavilion happily. He was feeling quite pleased with himself as he thinks that he has finally made a friend.
Ace''s eyebrow raised slightly when he heard ''best restaurant in the wholend of cities'' and he frown when he heard ''friend''. But he didn''t say anything since he didn''t know anyone here and this Bill seems to be quite knowledgeable.
So, he followed after Bill to check this restaurant out because he was quite fond of good food and for years he was eating roasted meat of demonic beasts and he was tired of it now.
After walking for fifteen minutes he finally saw a luxurious building in golden color. There were fifteen floors on it and ''Jade Pavilion'' was written on it in silver words.
Even Ace finds this building a little too exaggerated. It was too damn eye-catching and grand, now he really wanted to find out if this jade pavilion really is best out there or not.
Bill saw Ace''s reaction and puff his chest a bit and felt proud of himself. Since Ace was his friend he would not treat him stingily. Win proud expression he enters the building with Ace.
"We need a VIP room." He orders an attendant who seems to know him and she quickly takes both of them to the upper floors.
Ace saw this and think that his new ''friend'' was quite famous.
That attendant takes them to the third floor where a total of ten private rooms and each one of them was decorated with jade and expensive ornaments. The inside of the building was, even more, exaggerating the outside.
They enter one of ten rooms when a jade table andfortable chairs were ced in the center and the air inside was quite refreshing and fill with a mild fragrance that was quite pleasing.
Ace felt for the first time that he has a lot of money and he never even enjoy this kind of thing, he was constantly doing his missions and running around aimlessly. He wanted strength and think that solitude is the only key to that, he never thinks that life can be amusing if one has the heart to enjoy it.
He remembers the day he spends with Eva shopping and her beautiful smile. He felt he was happy at that time but now he was alone and finally understand the pleasure of having someone apany him for the first time.
"Hey? Why are you dozing out?"
Bill''s voice rang and Ace snapped out of his memories. He saw him sitting on a chairfortably and looking at him in confusion. Ace didn''t shake his head and sit in front of Bill.
"Bring out your best dishes and jade wine this is my friend and he is new in the city so I want to treat him to the best delicacies, do you understand?" Bill told the attendantzily.
"Yes, young master I''ll immediately pass yourmand to the manager!" She quickly left after that.
Bill shift his attention to Ace who was watching him with a calm smile. ''This guy is not normal.'' Thought Bill happily.
He felt even more pleased with himself that he made this kind of friend. He wasn''t afraid about Ace would kill him because in his eye he didn''t do anything to offend him moreover, he was rich himself so Ace was not greedy ''probably''. And thest reason he treated a stranger like this was that he was quite a big shot himself. This city was like his personal backyard well it is another story that no one treats him with the respect that he rightfully deserves.
"Now that we are bothfortable I''ll answer your question. You heard of Luminous Kingdom?" Ask Bill to Ace.
Ace nodded his head, he just heard of it from that old hag today.
"Good, then it will be easy for you to understand. This Luminous Kingdom is ranked fourth in thend of Kingdoms or middle-levelnds. Don''t to find it strange to this city using the name of this kind of power? Well, let me tell you this city is not actually normal, because in every generation a Prince of the Luminous Kingdom lives here for 150 Years.
"This city has no governor or city lord and everything is under that prince''s control. That is why its name after the kingdom and a library were built here in the honor of the very first prince thates here to live eight hundred years ago.
"That prince was the crown prince of Luminous kingdom at that time and he was the most cherished son of the King but for some reason even I don''t know why that prince lives his whole life here and even discarded his crow prince title. Since then, a new prince woulde here in every generation and the old prince would give this city to him.
"That''s why the Luminous Kingdom symbol a winged lion was used in every house and building of the city, it was a symbol to represent the will of the Luminous Kingdom that no one should ever own anything in this city. That''s why no n dare to fight for the number one position in the city even if the prince didn''t cultivate no one can kill him or the kingdom would tter the enter westernnds of cities in vengeance."
Ace was shocked after he heard that, this is really a piece of big news for him who wanted to rob this city. He thinks that it would be easy this time since he has be a foundation-building realm expert.
However, the situation is grave and muchplicated than he imagined because this city is too strange and there is too much at stake here. He didn''t want to be the reason for the whole westernnd''s demise just like the river flower city.
Bill saw Ace''s grim expression and think that he was afraid after hearing this big of a secret so he quickly said, "Don''t worry it''s an open secret and no one wille after you even if you tell anyone just don''t talk about it openly."
"Then this city is currently the one city in the whole low-levelnds and I read that every city in top position has to take a trial in hundred years. It even gets destroyed or be a province of the kingdom to give a chance to lower position city." Ask Ace quickly, he read it about in Dulce''s collection of personal books but that book didn''t give much detail.
Bill frown and said, "You know a lot about the customs, well you are right about it but do you know why this custom was made? And who said that city would be a province? It''s all bullshit to encourage the low-levelnds.
"Since you''re my friend let me tell you the whole truth, the city and its subordinary cities will promote to move into province of a kingdom. Then the city lord of the number one city would be given a rank of noble and the city included its helpers would be a part of a county in a prefecture.
"As for the hundred years trial and top ten cities of the westernnds that were also only part of a bigger truth."
Chapter 75 - New Information! (Part Two)
Ace''s face darkens a little after hearing Bill''s exnation.
If Bill was telling the truth doesn''t that mean those powers were deceiving all thend of cities? Furthermore, it also seems that Bill was not just a random young noble because of his profound knowledge.
Bill smiled smugly as he nced at Ace, he was very satisfied seeing Ace''s reaction.
His fingers tapped gently on the table, and he continued, "Didn''t you find it strange that the top ten cities of low-levelnds are under top ten kingdoms? Why not other kingdoms why only top ten powers?"
Ace was startled and immediately thought about this and Bill was right, Ace finds it also strange now that Bill points it out for him.
"Young master Bill your knowledge is clearly far greater than mine so please enlighten me." A peculiar look shed through Ace''s eyes, but his expression remained unchanged.
Bill felt even more proud of himself after he heard Ace praised and think that he was finally winning Ace''s friendship. He was just bragging in front of Ace with his deep knowledge that only he possessed because of his background. He didn''t think someone could do anything with all this ''unnecessary'' information.
However, this new ''friend'' of his seems quite interested in history and ''useless secrets'' of upper-levelnds so he thought this is his chance to win Ace over just by bartering this worthless knowledge, and he would finally have a well-to-do friend of his age. He will not feel isted anymore.
Furthermore, Bill thinks that Ace''s calm demeanor is very much to his liking and he didn''t seem like a bad person either. Because he gave ten million to that old hag just to stay out of trouble and this is greatly simr to him.
Bill was also giving away his power and belongings to others just to stay away from troubles. So, he thinks that he finally found a person simr to himself.
"Hahaha, Asher my brother you''re far too kind, and don''t call me young master it sounded distant just call be Bill we''re friend after all." Bill said with an amicable smile, "Let me tell you what I know, the top ten cities will chance every hundred years and next in line will promote to a rank higher and the sequence is absolute.
"It is like this if the number one city got promoted to middle-levelnds then the next in line will be promoted to number one meaning the number two city. The number three city will never be able to jump its rank and be the number one city.
"Because this is a ''thousand-year cyclew'' created by Empires. Every kingdom will control a single ranked city ording to its ranks. The number one city will promote to the kingdom territory that was controlling it from the shadows after hundred years trials and failure in the ''hundred years trials means destruction!
"After that kingdom turn is over they will control the new number ten city and pushed to thest position. Then they''ll have to wait for thousand years for the number ten city to be number one again. For thousands of years, this sequence keeps repeating itself and this will be continued until thisw is eradicated.
"The new moon city that just got promoted was under the control of rank fifth kingdom the Golden Hammered Kingdom and now that the city got promoted, its Luminous Kingdom turn that is ranked fourth. And the golden hammered is now pushed to thest position it has to wait for thousand years to swallow a new city.
"As for why this kind ofw exists even I don''t know, I only know that it was a custom that is being followed for thousands of years without any obstacle at all no one ever dares to try breaking it. As far as I could tell thisw makes the top ten kingdoms stronger from the bunch and never give the lower-level kingdom any chance for revolt at all.
"The strangest thing is the locations of the top ten cities will never change, as you can see at this location was locate the former new moon city one year ago but now the luminous city is on its exact position. We can move our buildings with arrays that were built in every ranked city but we can''t change thesends positions.
"Now the question is will luminous city will get promoted and the ''Prince Curse'' will broke in hundred years? Even I don''t know."
Bill finished his exnation and in end, there was a hint of sorrow and little expectation in his eyes. As if he wanted this city to get promoted.
Ace was stunned and fell deep in thought after he hears about this astonishing information.
Now he has some idea of the power structure in upper-levelnds. Like you can''t disobey the upper-levelnds even if you''re number one in lowernds. Or why would the first ranked kingdom wait to strengthen their kingdom for thousand years and give the lower-ranked kingdoms any chance at all?
Because ording to Ace the low-levelnds were a huge pie and in every hundred years a new powerful city will emerge with other powerful subordinary powers and a kingdom would easily reinforce their forces with them.
That''s why it was clearly aw set up by a huge power that no one can defy and didn''t dare to try it either.
Ace knew power is everything in the world of the cultivation and there are no absolute rules if you don''t have the power to make others follow them.
Ace didn''t want to dwell on this for long since it didn''t concern him and the most important thing now was how toplete his mission. This city structure of power is quiteplicated and since it''s the city rule by a prince of a top-ranked kingdom its defensive measures would be top ss as will not like the normal cities of low-levelnds.
"Young master Bill you really open my eyes and I''ll make sure to never disclosed this information to anyone." Ace said with a smile on his face.
Ace finds Bill quite humorous and na?ve like his past self. He could sense loneliness from his soul and a deep yearning for something. That''s why he didn''t want to get too close to him or he might drag this na?ve guy into his affairs.
So, he decided to vanish after this meeting.
Bill smiled broadly after hearing Ace''s words, ''He really is different from those mongrels.''
"Hahaha, brother Asher let''s not talk about it anymore and call me Bill I insist. And by the way why are you here?" Ask Bill as he smiles.
"I''m was here for some business of my family and also wanted to visit the new moon city but I didn''t think that the moment I reached this city it will change into the luminous city." Ace reply as he sighs fakely.
"Well, what can we do? It must be fate that we meet here and I can guarantee you that the luminous city is more beautiful than the new moon city. Let me tell you something interesting." Billughs as he starts to gossip, "This time in the hundred-year trail a princess came herself to oversee the trail herself. Do you believe it?"
Ace raised his eyebrow a little and killing intent shed past his eyes when he heard this because he clearly knows who this princess was it ought to be Dulce.
"Oh, is that so why would shee here personally?" Ace asked smilingly and didn''t show his sneer.
"I don''t know but what I know is that when she returned after her visits from new moon subordinary powers she went on a killing spree and nearly massacres the new moon city. If not for the city lord being at the Qi River realm all the city would''ve raised to rubbles. This news shocked and angered all the ranked cities and even middle-levelnds." Bill frowned as he recites this big incident.
Everyone knows that the princess of the Golden Hammered Kingdom is known for her smartness and scheming nature. Since she came here personally everyone was paying close attention to low-levelnds and think that something is fishy going on here. But when she starts the unusual massacre everyone thing that she has gone mad or something possessed her body.
Even Dulce''s father the King be shocked after he hears his intelligent daughter''s deed and immediately sends the grand prince his younger brother to investigate the matter.
However, when hees here and finds out the original problem, the rumor has it he beat Dulce ck and blue and drag her back to the kingdom.
After that Dulce''s fate was unknown.
Everyone thinks that this is just a bullshit rumor and no one believes it. After the big incident, the trails wereplete smoothly and new moon city got promoted.
Strangely, the grand prince instantlyes back and goes towards the east after that incident.
That grand prince was exactly the alchemist that found the Blood Rose all those years ago.
For some reason when Ace heard this he felt extremely happy about Dulce and Golden Hammered Kingdom''s misfortune.
He sneers in his heart and thinks, ''They deserve it.''
Chapter 76 - Jade Pavilion
Bill was going to continue when a knock resounded in the private room and he said casually, "Come in!"
Five beauties enter the rooms in a row, in their fair hands were trays full of aromatic dishes. They gracefully arranged those dishes on the table one by one with a radiant smile on their faces.
Between setting the dishes those beauties ''wink'' toward Ace with a tingle of blush on their faces. He was extremely handsome and Bill seems like some toad hunkering in his presence.
Yet, s Ace was like a rock and didn''t even blink at their ''special signal'' because in his viewpoint these girls were extremely averagepared to Eva. It was like he was immune to these ''beauties.''
Ace''s central focus was on those delicious-looking dishes. After all, he was traveling in the wild for years and only eat roasted meat, and even before never smells or saw food this good before. He salivates for the first time after he bes a cultivator!
On the other hand, Bill narrows his eyes as he bes disconcerted and a little angry after observing; those beauties looking at only Ace like some prey and ignoring him like he was some stone in the presence of a crystal.
''This Young Master is the most outstanding genius ofnds of cities and they dare to ignore me! Unforgivable!''
Bill takes a nce at Ace and saw himpletely ignoring those five ''blind'' girls and be even more ashamed.
Bill pulls a long face while saying, "You five can go now and send some male servants to bring Jade Wine." After, he thought proudly, ''Since you dare to ignore this young master see how I deal with you. Hmph!''
Subsequently, receiving Bill''smand those five maidservants re daggers at Bill first and left grudgingly after taking a final glimpse of Ace''s handsome face. This tode didn''t even give them any chance to serve this Suave Young Master, how could they not be resentful?
Bill pretends to not notice those five beauties'' hostile re and cough to hide his embarrassment before saying, "Brother Asher please help yourself. These dishes are made by 3rd Qi Gate realm demonic beast and taste best while still hot." He introduces those steaming dishes to Ace, "This is your brother''s treat so don''t be shy."
Ace also didn''t stand on ceremony either and begun to eat. After taking a bite his eyes widened a little and a hint of delight sh in his eyes, ''This vor is out of this world! They deserve their reputation as the number one restaurant of thends of cities.'' He devours the meat even faster.
Bill grin broadly, watching Ace''s delightful expression and felt it was worth it to bring his new friend here. ''No one can resist good food after all. Heh.''
After they were done eating, Ace has a blissful expression on his face. He never eats something this good before and really enjoys it.
''From now on I should enjoy these kind delicacies more since I have so much wealth. What is the point in being constantly on edge? Just like the system said I''m a free thief!'' Ace considered seriously and begins to understand what it truly means to be ''free''!
Ace was deep in thought when Bill ps his hands and the door open, two manservants enter with a tray of a white transparent wine bottle and wine cups.
Bill''s eyes instantly brighten seeing the wine bottle, "Leave the wine bottle and scram!" He didn''t care about those manservants at all.
Those servants didn''t mind Bill''s blunt tone and do as he says. It was very normal after all they were in the number one restaurant of thends of cities so almost all the customers who can afford to eat here were arrogant to the extreme.
Ace grimaces a little but didn''t say anything, he can''t expect to everyone be like him, right?
Bill didn''t notice Ace''s frown since all his focus was on the white wine bottle that looks like jade. "Brother Asher this is the jade wine! Only VIPs can order this wine and you can only get one bottle on the third floor. If you want to drink more of this you have to go to the higher floors. But I can''t since my cultivation isn''t enough." He said regretfully.
Ace''s eyebrows lifted a little hearing this. He didn''t think, just to drink wine one has to be a VIP and was astonished by this restaurant''s way of dealing with different kinds of people. Now he was quite interested in this wine.
Bill quickly open the wooden lid of the wine bottle and a sweet aroma spread in the air. Ace sniff the aroma and felt a hot feeling arouse.
Bill pours clear crystal-like wine in two crystalline wine cups, "Brother Asher this cup is in your wee." He picks a cup and gestures toward Ace.
Ace didn''t reject Bill''s courtesy and pick the other cup, "Thank You."
Both of them drink at the same.
The wine enters Ace''s mouth and a strong sweet yet sour vor explodes within, "Good Wine!" He couldn''t help but praise this wine even he never drinks wine before.
"Hahaha, Brother Asher really knows the taste of good wine. Let me pour you another cup." Billughs heartily and filled Ace''s cup again.
Ace didn''t reject it and drink again. He was really enjoying this wine, they were Qi in it but for Ace only taste matters since this Qi can''t affect his cultivation. Even if it can, it would be neglected since he''s a Heavenly Foundation Realm Cultivator!
After a few cups, Bill''s face was bright red and his eyes were a little hazy, he was drunk even with his Peak Qi Gate cultivation. On the other hand, Ace waspletely sober this wine does not affect him because of his HD-Qi.1
Ace looked at the empty bottle of wine and felt little regret since he can''t enjoy that strong taste anymore. He saw Bill waspletely drunk and smile, ''This guy is not bad.''
Ace ps his hand like Bill and those two manservants enter again, "Where''s the bill?" He asked.
Those two saw this handsome young manpletely fine after drinking the jade wine and were surprised by this, but they didn''t dare to dy and one of them take a palm-size paper slip and handed it to Ace respectfully while saying, "Young master your total bill is 40,000 Ruby Coins."
Ace was a little surprised, forty thousand for a meal was not a small amount at all. He saw that paper slip and on it was a detailed ount. ''That wine alone cost twenty-five thousand ruby coin. Heh, What an extravagance.''
"B-brother Asher what are you doing?? It''s my treat!" Bill quickly said it seems he was a little sober up now. After all, he was a cultivator.
Ace smiles and pays the bill with a hundred-thousand ruby crystal card, "Don''t worry you did treat me with all these delicacies, and to show my gratitude let me pay." He didn''t give Bill any chance to reject and signal those two to take it.
Bill wanted to oppose but was still drunk so it was already toote. After the payment was done they both left in toe.
Bill was nowpletely sober, "Brother Asher you didn''t take me as a friend at all." He was quite bitter and ashamed.
"Don''t worry you can pay next time." Ace chuckles lightly. He didn''t care about Bill''s remonstrance.
"You''re really not like all those overbearing mutts. Sigh¡'' Bill sighs helplessly. He can''t see through this friend of his.
"It''s alreadyte I should get going. Let meet again if fate permits." Ace said with a smile. It was time to leave maybe he won''t be able to see this na?ve guy again. He still didn''t consider Bill a friend but not an outsider either.
Bill didn''t think much of it, since Ace was still in the city he can find him anytime, "Farewell Brother Asher, I hope we''ll meet again."
Ace take another road and vanished between the masses.
''What a peculiar fellow.'' Bill recalled with a chuckle and be on his way as well.
--------------
After Ace and Bill left the Jade Pavilion, on the top floor of the building.
There was only a huge hall on the entire floor and was quitevishing at that. The whole floor was decorated with jade and expensive marble.
In the center was a red jade round table with beautiful patterns. Around it was only four chairs.
Currently, two middle-aged men withvishing robes were upying two chairs.
"Why did the Pavilion Master summon us here at such short notice?" The middle-aged man with a long beard mumbled confusingly.
"What''s the hurry, Colton? Don''t tell me you''re dissatisfied?" The middle age with a deep scar on his left cheek sneers at Colton. It was clear these two didn''t get along.
"You dare to nder me, Wes?!" Colton was a short temper person and on top of that didn''t get along with Wes.
Therefore, after seeing Wes smirking face he was going to attack when he felt a mountain-like pressure. His heart jolt and quickly stands down.
Even Wes shut his mouth and his face turn ashen after feeling that mountain-like pressure.
However, the next moment that huge force vanished, and a graceful figure walk into the grand hall. Heavenly Darkness Qi
Chapter 77 - An Ancient Sect!
A veil-woman with a remarkable figure elegantly walks into the grand hall. Her silk-like hair was falling like a waterfall, she was wearing tight azure robes that showcase her hourss figure. She was giving the feeling of aloofness.
But on her perky chest, there was a small peculiar embroidery on Azure Robe and the same kind of pattern in arger size was also in the back. This pattern was of a ''Silver Pill inside the Golden me''!
Both Wes and Colton didn''t dare to look at this veil woman''s fairy-like figure with ill intent and when they saw that ''me Pill'' symbol, there was a hint of terror in their eyes.
This woman was the Pavilion Master of the Jade Pavilion Restaurant and her ''Azure me Pill Robe'' represented an ''Azure'' or Fourth Grade Alchemist!
There were Eight Distinguished Gades of Alchemists below the Royal-Level Lands.
White and Green Grade Alchemists can be discovered in Low-Level Lands.
Blue and Azure Grade Alchemists in Middle-Level Lands.
Purple and ck Grade Alchemists in High-Level Lands.
Silver and Golden Grade Alchemists were like legends below royal-levelnds, they can only be found in Ancient Sects.
Alchemists were very rare especially Blue Grade ones, even in Empires they were treated with respect and in Kingdoms, their status was equal to a King!
As for the me Pill Pattern, it symbolized the me Pill Organization! If anyone wanted to be recognized as a ''true'' alchemist they had to join this organization or no one will consider them an alchemist even if they could produce Golden Prade Pills!
One can find branches of this organization only in the top ten Kingdoms of middle-levelnds. As for the high-levelnds, this organization was all over it.
One might wonder why only after joining this organization one considers a true alchemist and why not join any other organization? Well, the answer to this is very simple, there simply didn''t exist any!
Because The me Pill Organization is created by an ancient sect, The Soul me Sect! And if someone wanted to contest against an ancient sect, they simply courting death!
Soul me Sect is a sect of Alchemists and Rune Crafters and almost all the alchemy and rune crafter talents in Azure-Wind Continent wanted to join this sect. Because It was not easy to find high-grade techniques and skills of these two domains easily especially Rune Crafters. Their techniques and skills were even scarce than Alchemists.
Now, this Jade Pavilion Master was a Blue Grade Alchemist and can create Fourth Grade or Four Circle Pills, and most importantly, she was an alchemist acknowledged by the Pill me Organization! With this kind of status alone even the Emperors of Empires have to give her some face.
Those two middle-aged men also know this and that''s why they answer her summoning as quickly as possible. They both were big short of the Luminous City but in front of this Pavilion Master, they were nothing but drudges.
The reason for her being here was a mystery because she abruptly appears a year ago when New Moon City got promoted and she reced the old master of the Jade Pavilion.
Everyone was appalled and scared out of their wits after finding out a Blue Alchemist recognized by me Pill Organization hade here to be the owner of a mere restaurant. And only then did the higher-ups of the city discovered that the Jade Pavilion was a business of me Pill Organization!
Furthermore, restaurants with the same name were spread almost in every city below royalnd.
This gives them even bigger trauma and only then did the Grand Prince reveals; this restaurant was build here when the Luminous City was founded.
Now, every big shot of the city knows about the terrifying background of this restaurant and even more scary new Owner! Besides, this Pavilion Master was also a Qi River Cultivator and only the Grand Prince was a Qi River Cultivator in the whole city.
The Pavilion Master didn''t even nce at those two horrified clowns and indifferently sit in one of two empty chairs. She closed her gem-like watery eyes after sitting as if she didn''t notice or stop these two early squabbled.
Just as the Pavilion Master closer her eyes when the door of the grand hall creak opened and a handsome 1.8 meters tall man in histe thirties enters with a smile ster on his face. His eyes were full of energy and his long ck hair was flickering. He has a majestic aura around him, he was the Grand Prince of the city Dion Luminous!
Even this Grand Prince1 of the Luminous Kingdom has toe here after her summoning!
Dion was also the sixth generation ''Cursed Prince'' and has to spend 150 years before he could leave this hell hole. Meanwhile, his responsibility was to train the next-generation cursed prince who happened to be his nephew but he didn''t have good feelings toward him.
Dion''s life here was ck and white until this beautiful Pavilion Mastere. He fell for her at first sight even if he didn''t see her face just by looking at her other features he could tell she was not ordinary at all.
After that, he begins courting her relentlessly, he didn''t care about her status since he was stronger than her which gave him some courage. Although she always ignores him, this didn''t discourage Dion, and he tries even harder to impress her.
Today she summons him and Dion came like storm winds, smiling ear to ear. He even found his dull nephew who he didn''t like but since he was in a very good mood he gave him some pocket money.
However, now seeing those two ''old'' fellows'' sitting beside his heart goddess Dion''s smile vanished and his eyes turn sharp.
''They dare toe between us! It seems I have to pay them a personal visit. Hmph!'' Dion takes a mental note while smile grimly at Colton and Wes.
''He''s also here??'' This thoughtes in both Colten and Wes''s minds. Nheless, their tighten hearts loosen a bit, and were very happy since they were quite ufortable and frightened sitting with this terrifying woman alone.
But their joy spontaneously turned into bitterness after seeing his cold eyes and grim smile. They didn''t know whether tough or cry because they know this Old Guy fell in love at this age and was extremely narrow-minded when ites to Pillion Master. Now, they could only pray; he could understand theirplicated situation.
Since the Pavilion Master was present Dion didn''t dare to show his displeasure and smile warmly at her even if her eyes were close. "Pavilion Master summoned this Prince at such short notice, I wonder if Pavilion Master miss me?"
Colten and Wes roll their eyes at some time as they snorted disdainfully in their heart, ''You didn''t even know her name. So why are you being so shameless?''
On the other hand, they truly admire this lovesick guy''s guts. He might be the only one who dares to tease a Blue Alchemist from Pill me Organization! He simply ying with death.
Pavilion Master finally opens her beautiful watery eyes and narrows them into a slit, since her face was half-covered with a thick veil no one can see her facial expressions clearly, but the look she gave Dion was icy cold.
Dion sits in the final empty chair around the jade table while still smiling genially as if he didn''t notice that lethal re, this fellow was truly brazen. If not for his cultivation being higher than her she would long ago beat him ck!
The Pavilion Master decided to ignore this lecherous fellow and said solemnly, "I summon all of you here because I just receive a report about, why did Dulce Golden behave like an imbecile at hundred-year trails and why did Vance Golden beat his most cherished niece." Her mild voice was pleasant to the ears.
Nevertheless, the room atmosphere bes solemn after she tells them the reason for her abrupt summons, even Dion''s amusing face turns serious. Because this sudden event one year ago was actually quite odd and big.
Everyone was curious about this especially the top Ten Kingdoms since they all keep a tight eye on each other every single move.
Anyone with a brain can tell there was definitely something fishing about that event of hundred years trails, But the Golden Hammered Kingdom conceal it too well and no one could find anything about it.
This Pavilion Master also came here after this exact incident and this makes it even more mysterious in everyone''s eyes. That''s why everyone''s expression in the room turns grave.
Pavilion Master approved after seeing everyone''s serious expressions and continued, "I know this because Vance Golden contact me through me Pill Organization and tell me everything himself¡" An ambiguous glint shed past her eyes.
Those three fellows swallow their saliva because they clearly knew Vance; he is also a Blue Alchemist! Also, it wasn''t strange for these two alchemists to know each other.
"He told me¡" She takes a deep breath before saying, "There was an Herb higher than Golden Grade in Red Mountain City Blood Rose!" Even she''s having difficulty believing herself!
"WA...WHAT?!" Everyone gasps in unison and inhales a deep breath of cold air! Former Generation Prince.
Chapter 78 - Pavilion Master!
Pavilion Master was quite pleased after seeing those three dumbfounded faces and continued, "Yes, a herb higher than Golden Grade! But regrettably, it was stolen from Dulce by a petty thief and that''s the whole reason for the event one year ago."
Her tone was serious but there was a hint of humor mix within. Because she was actually happy about Vance''s misfortune.
Vance was quite egotistic and didn''t ce anyone in his eyes because he was a peak azure grade alchemist. Some people even believe that he''s at the juncture of breaking into Purple Grade!
This Pavilion Master also came here because of the rumor about Vance being able to break into purple grade and most importantly the power behind her got an inside intelligence directly from the Golden Hammered Kingdom royal family one year ago. It was about the emergence of a mysterious herb that can help the Golden Hammered Kingdom lep in the sky with one step!
If the Golden Hammered Kingdom really manages to get that ''legendary'' herb they could''ve easily exchanged it with an extensive amount of cultivation resources and any high-grade techniques and skills from the organization!
And what differ a Kingdom from an Empire? Exactly techniques and skills! But s they meet with misfortune in the end.
Aftering here Pavilion Master face another problem and that was no matter how much the power behind her tries it can''t find anything more from the Golden Hammered Kingdom. Thus she finally decided to directly talk with Vance and see if she could fish in troubled water.
After a whole year her effort that arrogant old man finally gives in and told her about the Blood Rose! When she heard the truth from Vance she didn''t believe it or dare not to actually.
But after some deep investigation, the power behind her verified it and she finally epted it.
Now she and Vance decided to ally to search for that thief and that''s why she tells these three goons about it. It is not like she can''t do it without them it is just to show Vance her ''sincerity''.
As for the Luminous Kingdom finding out about it, she wasn''t afraid at all, since she could control these three idiots'' actions easily and this whole city was under the watch of the power behind her nothing could go out or in without their knowledge.
While Vance wasing here that thief portrait and as for their alliance, she didn''t put Vance in her eyes because he was nothing in front of her background. What truly bothers them was Pill me Organization because they can''t kill a blue alchemist of the organization easily.
In the end, she decided after getting her hands on that little thief portrait she''s going to use her power''s fullwork of information without Vance finding out and take that Blood Rose before vanishing for good.
She has the full support of the power because with that herb she might get a chance of going into me Pill''s headquarters that was in the number one empire under Soul me Sect!
"S-stolen?!" Dion gasps in bewilderment.
A little thief dares to steal from a princess of the kingdom this news was really quite unexpected.
''This thief might have some kind of secret!'' This was the thought of everyone in the room.
Especially the Pavilion Master because Vance told her everything about the event with Dulce three years ago. ''Seem like I can get a bonus after coughing that little thief.'' She thought somewhat erratically.
What would happen, If she knows about that thief has just enjoyed a meal and wine in her pavilion? Maybe she faints from anger.
"I summon you all here because tomorrow Vance Golden would arrive with the portrait of that thief and I want all of your help and the cities under you."
She first looked at Wes and Colten, "I know you two have also some cities in western and easternnds I want your full power and in return, I promise; you can be city lord of the second and third-ranked cities!"
Wes and Colten''s eyes widen and nearly pop out of their sockets when they heard her promise and they were so stunned their breath be irregr. Because this was their dream and now someone was offering them how could they not be moved?
Even Dion was shocked by this offer because he knew even his kingdom can''t do this. ''She''s not as simple as I thought!'' Outside he seems like a yful idiot but he was very sharp.
The pavilion master nodded in satisfaction seeing those two reactions and finally turn to Dion, "As for you I can end Luminous Kingdom''s ''Descendent Cursed Punishment!''."
"Y-YOU! H-how did you know this name???!" Dion lost all hisposure and abruptly stand up as he points his trembling finger at Pavilion Master, there was deep fear and disbelief in his widely open eyes.
She simple sneer under her vile before saying disdainfully, "What? You don''t want it?"
Those two on the side are also overwhelmed by Dion''s reaction, they knew him for many years and never see him acting like this before. They are also curious about this ''Descendent Cursed Punishment'' now.
Dion force himself to calm down and quickly said, "I ACCEPT!"
He didn''t even think before agreeing to her because only the royal family of his kingdom know about ''Descendent Cursed Punishment'', and if this woman knows about it then it means she really has a way to end this fiendish punishment.
The pce master wasn''t surprised by Dion''s response and coldly said, "Since you all agree to my conditions, I don''t want any of this information getting out of this hall. I''ll contact you again very soon, now you all can go."
Those three didn''t say anything and were left bbergasted.
After this little conversation, they were quite afraid of this unfathomeddy. Even Dion didn''t dare to tease her anymore and forget about every fantasy he has about her.
As for silently leaky the information or taking that herb for themself, they didn''t dare to think about it because they can''t handle this kind of precious treasure if someone like her knows about it.
They were quite satisfied with the conditions that she already offers them. Especially Dion just the thought of leaving this hell hole makes his blood boiled.
The grand hall finally returns to its peaceful state and the Pavilion Master sits alone.
"Aren''t you going too far by offering the end of Descendent Cursed Punishment, my dear Zelda?" A charming mature voice of women resounded.
Zelda was the name of Pavilion Master and she wasn''t surprised by this sudden voice at all.
Zelda said mildly, "Aunt La don''t tell me you don''t want our family to soar and this legendary herb is the only way."
Since she didn''t know what grade came after golden grade this herb was legendary!
Suddenly a graceful figure shed and appear beside Zelda, Her face was covered with a white muslin, revealing a pair of youthful and attractive eyes.
"Sigh¡ You little brat! You already knew the answer that''s why you dare to promise that scoundrel. Hmph! He dares to tease you many times you''re letting him off too lightly even giving him freedom." La was clearly displeased by Dion. After all, he dares to tease her beloved niece this whole year if not for she can''t show her prowess in public she could p that scoundrel to death long ago.
Zelda''s joyful eyes turn icy when she heard Dion''s name, "Don''t worry after we are done finding that little thief you can help me get my revenge." She giggles like a little girl.
La sighed helplessly seeing her still acting like a little girl from all those years ago, but her eyes were filled with gentleness and love, "You little brat, you know I can''t say no to you." She chuckles, "But that thief isn''t easy to find in this bignd of cities."
"Don''t worry aunt where can he go? By Vance''s story, he is just a peak qi gate realm ant, humph! That Dulce is a disgrace to all the kingdom to even got robbed by an ant." Zelda snorted in full of disdain.
It''s not like she was looking down on a thief it''s just that she can''t imagine being robbed by someone from the lower realm cultivator much less someone from this deste ce!
La waspletely agreed with her, "You are right. But I still can''t put my finger on how the hell did that thief escape a formation?" She was very puzzle, "Vicon even said he was able to battle Dulce into draw even if that was in the moment of carelessness."
"She''s clearly exaggerating to hide her embarrassment and escape punishment. How can someone from this barren ce know about formations?" Zelda clearly didn''t believe Vicon.
"I hope you''re right. Let''s see the face of that little thief tomorrow." La stroke Zelda''s hair lovingly.
"I''m looking forward to it.." Zelda snickered.
Chapter 79 - Wealth Seeking!
Meanwhile, Ace wasfortablyying in a room of Inn that he found after sauntering around the city for a while. This Inn was not eye-catching and quite low key just like ''him''.
"Finally, I can sleepfortably after three years." Ace mumbles.
The next day.
In the morning, Ace opens his eyes. He was full of vitality and all his fatigue of the long journey had vanished after a good night''s sleep.
''Let eat something first then I''ll collect the information."'' Ace mused with enthusiasm.
After eating his fill, Ace buy a map of the Luminous City and find where Prince Manor was located and decided to scout the territory.
Ace stroll around the bursting city, even in the morning it was quite busy. He finally reached his destination in thirty minutes.
In front of him was a big bronze gate surrounding by thick walls and guards. Ace could easily sense the guards encircling the walls were at the Peak Qi Gates and even senses Qi fluctuations of two Early Qi Foundation Experts on the other side of the bronze gate.
''This is not going to be easy.'' Ace grimaced after seeing the tight security, ''So, this is the level of security of the number one city.''
Ace was truly perplexed. He didn''t that this level of security was only at the Luminous City because it was a city established by a Kingdom and quite a powerful one at that. If he knew he would surely swear at Heaven.
Ace didn''t try to go inside since he has no idea about theyout of the manor''s territory and elected to observe from afar. He has some idea how to infiltrate Prince Manor but he wasn''t sure if he should use it or not.
It has been hours now since Ace is watching the manor from shadows. He didn''t find anything, it was extremely silent and no one wasing out or going in like it was a ghost manor. If not for all those guards'' soul waves he might''ve thought it was empty.
Suddenly the tightly shut manor gate creak open and avishing carriage pulled by four horses came to Ace view.
Inside the carriage, he senses two peak qi gates experts and one 3rd gate cultivator and there were also three mortals, as one of them was managing the carriage.
''Finally! By the look of it, this carriage belongs to some noble and that person might be inside. I should tail it.'' Ace quickly followed the carriage. No one saw him or sense his presence with the stealth, he was like a phantom.
After following the carriage for fifteen minutes Ace wasn''t tired at all. That carriage stopped in front of a towering building that looks quite ordinary.
Ace didn''t think much of it and saw an average-looking young man exiting the carriage grandly. He was wearing a blue silk robe with the symbol of the Luminous Kingdom embroidered with golden threads.
Ace''s eyes lit up seeing that silkpants. He was searching for someone just like him. He saw that young man entering the building alone and followed him inside. No one detected a shadow following behind the young man.
An old man was sitting behind an old wooden desk. Ace was in stealth standing right behind the young man and heard their odd conversation.
"I want five this time old man!" Young Man said to the old man with a knowing smile on his face.
"You almost broke twost time! If you want five you have to pay double." That Old Man speaks in a non-negotiable tone.
"Fine. Money is the only thing I don''tck." That Young Man didn''t try to barter and throw a crystal card toward the old man.
Ace cast an oundish look at that young man, ''Don''t tell me this idiot still y with toys at this age?''
Ace was after all still fifteen years old who never left his home before and live in slums for twelve years of his life. No matter how much he went through even crossing the heavenly punishment, he still didn''t see the true color of this world. Consequently, his thought process was still kind of naive. But that was also going to change very soon!
Ace thought that this guy has really weird hobbies at this age and looked at the old man even more strangely, ''Why did this Old Guy''s emotions be depressing and resentful when he talks about broken toys?''
Ace thought these two were retards but when he saw the amount on the crystal card that the young man just handed to the old man he was astounded because that was a 500,000 Ruby Coins crystal card!
''What kind of toys is so expensive? Really a silkpants.'' Ace''s interest was finally piqued.
After receiving the payment, the Old Man stood from his chair and walk towards the back door beside the desk. The Young Man follows him and of course Ace was behind them.
The old man was a peak qi gate cultivator but he didn''t notice Ace''s presence.
After the back door open, there were red lights illuminate the pathway that was going downwards.
Ace followed them curiously, ''This is quite some ce for putting toys alright.''
However, Ace''s humorous expression turns ghastly when he reached the end of the pathway because there were cages and inside were trembling young girls, and some of them were only ten years old! They all had beating marks and deep scars on their bodies they were clearly torture to the extreme, this was his first time seeing this kind of hideous scene.
"Here, select any five and you''re not allowed to kill anyone or you''re banned forever!" The Old Man gravely warns the Young Man whose eyes were shimmering with an ominous glint.
That Young Man darklyughs, "Hehe, Old man you know me for some time did I ever kill anyone?"
"I know you that''s why I''m warning you. The supply of girls is quite shorttely so I won''t tolerate your wanton ''limbs cutting'' anymore even if you give more money. I have a business to run here." Scoffed old man.
"Fine, fine, don''t ruin my mood with your nonsense." That Young Man began to select five girls gleefully.
Ace''s eyes turn icy cold after hearing their conversation and seeing those innocent sobbing girls. He didn''t want to interfere and involve himself in these kinds of affairs ever since he goes through the ordeal with Dulce. But now that he saw it already, he can''t just ignore these animals. He was not a saint but he wasn''t a heartless viin either.
Ace gloomily watches that young man selecting five little girls between ten and twelve and grinning sinisterly while watching them desperately cry as if he was enjoying their struggle.
''This psycho!'' Ace''s fury reached its peak but still hold himself back.
"Go to room number 3." The old man said while opening a door beside the cages.
The young man enters with the girls like it was natural, it was clear he had been here many times before.
Now that Ace notices this room he senses many new soul signatures in that pathway. There were twenty rooms and almost all of them were filled. His expression turns graver because he could hear the wailing of young girls and pleasurable roars of men.
A thick killing intent fills Ace''s eyes and couldn''t take it anymore. Two pitch-ck swords appear in hands.
The old man and the young man suddenly felt they were deep inside an iceke and abruptly turn around. They only saw two ck beams shed past their throats and the next moment their heads were rolling on the floor.
Their eyes were wide open with disbelief and unwillingness especially the young man who wasn''t even twenty yet. Those two didn''t even dream that they would die just because this guy was searching for a target and identally saw all this. In the end, he couldn''t even control himself.
Ace didn''t stop here and like a grim ripper enter the pathway fill with rooms. Ace manifest Qi des with HD-Qi around him and like lightning sent them inside those rooms and one after other cold headless bodies drop.
Ace retracts his Qi while sighing again and again, in the end, he still did it and kill all those unknown animals but he didn''t regret it not in the least bit. ''They all earned it!''
On the other hand, those girls were all dumbfounded, they never thought someone would save them and kill all those bastards who torment them in every way possible.
One of the brave girls said while shuttering, "T-thank y-you for sav...saving us big b-brother." Seeing her others also followed and thanked Ace while crying.
Their eyes were filled with hot tears and gratitude.
Ace sighs sadly seeing all these pitiful girls, "Where are your parents? Did they take you away from them?" He asked while looking at all those girls. They were thirty-three of them and every one of their condition was worse than the other.
"My parents sold me to that old devil." A sixteen years old looking girl speak sadly while crying.
"My parents pass away and my uncle sold me here."
"My¡"
Ace didn''t know what to say after hearing these girls'' tragic pasts. He suddenly remembers Eva''s story when her father friend sold her to L Grant and felt even more poignant for all of them.
very wasmon in the golden sky world hence even if he wants to he can''t save all those ves.
''Everyone seeks and lived for all kinds of wealth even if they have to trade their souls for it or even ce oneself in danger.. What a phenomenal Race Humans truly are!'' Acement and felt deep sorrow in his heart.
Chapter 80 - Two-Face Mask
Ace was perplexedly looking at all those girls'' teary yet hopeful eyes. He knows precisely what they meant but he couldn''t just bring them with him, because he was a loner and his ''profession'' wasn''t a team-friendly one either.
''Singh...''
Sighted, Ace looks at all those headless corpses and send soul treads towards them, and within moments collect all their storage bags,
Ace didn''t get any thief points since you can''t steal from the dead.
Collectively there were more than fifty million ruby coins considering everyone here was a rich pig and that old man''s wealth alone was more the thirty million.
After sorting out the items, Ace browse the girls and point his finger at one of them and ask, "What your name?"
This girl was the most beautiful of the bunch. When Ace pointed at her, she was a little bashful and nervous but still answer him shyly, "Em-Emmie."
Ace look at shy Emmie, she was the oldest in the group and also a 1st Qi Gates cultivator. Moreover, he could sense she has a very strong soul, that''s why he picked her.
A blue storage ring appeared in Ace''s hands and he filled it with a hundred million ruby coins and all those ''useless'' stolen techniques and skills and Alchemy Pills.
Considering he can''t use all those techniques and books, he decided to give them to these needy girls. Moreover, he already remembered all of them in his long journey. As for the pills, he only gave them all the white-grade ones, since pills were his experiences, and even if he gave them higher-grade pills they simply can''t use them yet. As for weapons, he didn''t have any and money was just a number for him.
Ace also giveaway his self-created simplified version of the system''s stealth skill!
Because system skills can''t be taught to anyone; once he tried to teach Eva but failed. He created it after he awake from his slumber and wanted to give it to Eva when she awakes but these girls need it more.
''I can always create more for her.''
Ace didn''t know his concepts can anger all those old monsters of sects to death!
Since Ace already saved them he would make sure they stay safe or what is the meaning of him saving them if they get captured again?
Ace ced the storage ring in Emmie''s rough hand and solemnly ask, "Here this is a storage ring since you''re a cultivator you can use it with Qi, never use it in front of others or it will be a disaster! There are ruby coins and cultivation techniques and skills inside. I also put some pills within, that will be enough for all of your to cultivate into Qi Foundation Realm. Now, I want you to take care of all your little sisters. Can you do that for me?"
Emmie was extremely shocked, she thought she''s in a dream. She heard about those legendary storage rings because her parents were cultivators before they died in an enemy''s hands and that person was also the one who sold her to that old viin.
"I-I''ll take care of them!" Emmie solemnly nodded with a face fill with tears. ''He''s so nice, even gifting us all these legendary treasures.'' She was very grateful and somewhat know; this big brother can''t take care of them, it was already very magnanimous of him to save them all, much less giving a storage ring away like it was nothing.
Ace signed in satisfaction, seeing Emmie resolve and gratified, "Now wait for here until nightfall, after I leave you can go to this ce. Remember never to show your weak side or cry in front of anyone understand? If someone¡" He takes out the city map and exins to Emmie and all the other girls where to travel.
Now, he could only teach them what he knows and could only pray they could survive this cruel world.
"There is a skill book called the ''Shadow Cloak'' in the ring. It can help you hide from any 4th Gate cultivators. I''ll exin it to you all, use it well." Ace describes the self-created skill thoroughly and gives a lecture on how to hide. All those girls learned earnestly, especially Emmie.
After teaching everything he could, Acee to the headless corpse of the young man who wase here in thevishing carriage of the prince manor and sighed regretfully.
''I want to inquiry about who he was and just want to lock him up for time being, but kill him in the end. Well, he deserved it.'' Acement and smile bitterly but since the deed was already done what can he do.
Now he can only bite the bullet, a half ck and half white mask emerge in his hand. It was precisely the two-face mask that he purchased from the system store years ago.
It was decisively the time to use it!
Ace looked at the two-face mask profoundly. He was unwilling to use this mask first because it can only save two faces. But this city prince manor''s security level was giving him a headache and he also didn''t know itsyout, therefore he finally decided to use this mask.
That was also the whole reason for him to follow this dead young man. He wanted to ''borrow'' his face and only kidnapped him first to scout the prince manor safely. After he was done scouting, he would''ve released him but s his fellow was too sinister and killed by Ace because he can''t control his nerve.
Now that he was already dead Ace can use his identity freely but the problem was he didn''t know this guy''splete information. However, this change was too good to let go so he decided to take the risk.
Ace pour Qi into the ck and white mask and the formation runes on it begin to shine brightly. That bright light envelops the head of the dead young man and his headless corpsepletely. In the next few moments, the light begins to dim and finally faded.
The mask half white side waspletely gone and rece it was the half face of that dead young man and other-half side was still ck.
Ace was astounded by this. He only knows, he has to scan the full body of whoever face he wanted to ''borrow''. But this change in the mask was new to him.
Since the scanning wasplete Ace decided to check the effects of this mask. He ces the cold mask on his face and suddenly,
======
"[Two-Face Mask detected]
[Do host want to change appearance into the profile save in white slot?]"
======
Ace was surprised for a moment hearing system sudden voice but still said, "Yes."
A white light enveloped hisplete body. Suddenly, the height and structure of his whole body begin to change from outside. This was the work of formation engrave in the mask that can create a perfect illusion.
One could only see the illusionary appearance of the other party if their cultivation is below Qi River Core Realm and such is when they solely focus on Ace''s face by using Qi. This is just how powerful the illusion formation on that mask was.
After the white light faded Ace''s handsome face waspletely gone and rece it was the face of that young man whose cold headless corpse wasying on the ground. Even Ace''s cultivation aura was the same as him.
======
"[Two-Face Mask is active]
{Warning: Please watch out for the River Core Cultivators. They can easily see through your mask}"
=======
"Ahhhhh!"
Ace was scanning the system''s warning when an rming scream suddenly resounded from behind and he immediately turns around to see what happened.
Ace saw Emmie was standing behind him with a face full of horror and she was trembling while watching him with hatred and panic in her beautiful eyes.
"What happened?" He inquired in confusion. ''Why is she so afraid of me all of sudden?''
''Y-you! Where is big brother?! What did you do??" Emmie collect her courage and roared like a brave lioness. Just like Ace taught her. ''Never show your fear!'' But she was still shivering in fear.
Ace finally understood why this brat be so vignt all of sudden and smile wryly it was his fault after all. "System turn off the mask."
Suddenly his face begins to crack and a half-human face and half-ck mask reced it. His figure returned to his actual height and slender self. He takes off the two-face mask and smiles at Emmie who was standing dumbfounded there.
"S-so magical! Big brother can even change his face. Wow!" Emmie exims while pping her hands and all her fear were gone in smoke Her eyes were shimmering with adoration and awe for Ace. She was after all just fourteen years old girl and since Ace has saved them all he was her savior and most importantly an idol.
Ace scratches his face in embarrassment after seeing Emmie''s worshiping eyes. It was a white lie if he said he wasn''t feeling good to be worship by this little girl.
''Cough''¡
Ace coughs to hide his reddening face and embarrassment, "I-it was nothing."
His voice turns stern again, "We already been here for five hours and it should already be dark outside. Do you remember what I teach you?"
Emmie''s face also turns grave and slightly sad, "Yes! Emmie remembered everything big brother told us. After you leave we''ll set this ce on fire and escape towards themoner region of the city and find a low-key ce to stay." She recalls before continuing, "We''ll only leave themoner region after we be strong enough to protect ourselves."
Ace nodded in relief, hearing Emmie remember everything, and thought gratifyingly. ''She would be a great leader for this group of brats.''
Although Ace overlooks, he was a brat himself!
Chapter 81 - A Free Thief!
Ace stated softly, "Very Good! Now I''m leaving take care of yourself and your sisters." Ace chortles jokingly, "Don''t get caught again or I save you all in vain."
Emmie''s eyes begin to tear up hearing Ace was about to leave and threw herself in his arms, "B-big brother will...will we be able to meet again?" She asks while holding her tears, she didn''t want Ace to see her cry. She wanted to be brave just like him.
Ace didn''t dodge her hug since he considers her as a sister and stokes her head, "Who knows maybe we will or not. But be strong and brave, you have to protect your sisters! Don''t let me down. All right?" He looks into Emmie''s eyes and said earnestly with a smile.
Emmie nodded and promise honestly.
"Don''t alert your sisters, they''ll make a fuss. Take care of yourself. Farewell!" Ace deeply looked at Emmie onest time and ce the mask on his face. He turns around while bing the young man again.
Tears begin to drop from Emmie''s face as she watches Ace walking in the dark corridor, "A-at least tell me w...where to look for you if I want?" She calls while sobbing.
Ace didn''t turn around and only his chuckling voice sounded in the dark passage while he vanished, "Heh, heh, I''m just a free thief!"
Emmie mumble in a trance, "A Thief?!"
Ace didn''t know; many years from now he''ll see this group of brats again and at that time he would vomit blood!
----------
Ace exit the building as the young man.
He was wearing his own robes since the young manvishing robes were drench in blood. He only takes his storage bag and inside was only his Identity Crystal Card and ruby coins nothing else. He at least found out the name of this young man was, Javier Weston.
''These Identity Crystal Card are quite handy.'' Ace was quite amazed.
As for clothes Ace thought of making a random excuse but aftering out he discovered it was irreverent. Because those two peak qi gate realm guards seem to know why Javier was here and they even disdain him. They didn''t care about his sudden change of clothes. They were only here to protect him because of his father''s status.
''It seems this guy is loathed by many, he deserved it though.'' Ace sneer, it was only making things easy for him.
Just like Javier, Ace enters the carriage casually with arrogance. Inside were quite capacious and two beautiful maids were waiting for him. He felt deep fear from their soul for Javier.
''Just how rotten were, You?'' Ace bes even more assured that killing the real Javier was the right thing to do.
After Ace or Javier enter the carriage it begins to head towards the prince manor.
Meanwhile, after the carriage vanished, the building that was famous for being a torture house was set ame and no one knows who did this good deed. The city guards only found charred headless bodies in the burned ashed rubble.
No one knows the identities of these charred corpses and it became a mystery.
But some knowledgeable fellow knows, all these corpses belong to the nobles of big families because only those sick rich bastards came here to torchers young girls.
This building was also under the protection of a noble household before so no one dares to mess with them however now someone has killed everyone. Everyone thought that person really has mountain-like guts and has to be quite powerful to kill peak qi gate realm shop''s keeper.
In the end, no one spoke, even that noble household who protect this building all these years. Since this shady business has alreadye to light, they didn''t dare to investigate the matter or their prestige would go down to the gutter. Therefore, everyone decided to abandon those corpses and left the matter as it is.
After all, everyone wants to maintain their status.
Besides, no one notices a group of young girls sneak into themoner district of the Luminous City that night!
---------
Inside thevishing carriage, Ace was looking at the two frightened maids. One of them was even shivering a little. He sighed lightly and said, "Tell me what''s my status in the prince manor?"
Since the real owner of this face was already dead he can only ask his servants. He only knows about Javier''s name, birth, and his background from the identity crystal card nothing else.
Those two maids be even more afraid because this psycho has many weird fetishes and always likes to torment others included them. He didn''t even have a sliver ofpassion in him and treated everyone like toys that he can break anytime he wanted.
They thought it was his new fetish and one of them promptly answer, "Y-young Master, you''re the son of the prince manor Head Butler, Braxton Weston."
''Head Butler, huh, seem like this cuckoo was not of a lower status.'' Ace bes pleased and said, "What did I call my father and mother, and how''s our rtionship?" He has to understand some basic information about Javier or they might suspect him.
One of the maids instantly replies, "You call your father ''Old Man'' and mother ''Old Woman''. You''re rtion with both of them¡" She looks at Ace with fearful eyes. She was afraid of not ying his ''game'' correctly and getting beating afterward.
"Speak!" Ace raised his voice.
"Y-yes. You didn''t get along with them well because of your elder brother." She quickly spills the beans and begins to shiver.
Ace raised his eyebrow after hearing this. This psychopath didn''t even get along with his family, it was no wonder he has this kind of mindset and like tormenting others.
''Did I chose the wrong face?'' Ace knit his brows after thinking; this idiot has just too many misgivings.
If he didn''t y his part well someone might be specious of him and has to escape before he could find the treasury of the price manor. He has be Javier because he wanted to rob the prince manor, not to clean this scum mess.
Those two maids saw Ace or rather Javier frowning face and instantly got on their knee and begin to undress while shaking like dry leaves in the wind.
"What are you two doing?!" Ace was rmed and snapped out his thoughts by this sudden development.
Those two maids were bewitched by this and one of them timidly spoke, "We are preparing to receive our punishment just like young master teach us."
Ace curse that sick bastard and quickly stop them, "You don''t need to do this anymore, just act normally."
Those two maids be even more startled and thought, ''You''re the one who not acting normal.'' But since it was the order of young master how could they not obey? They thought he was ying some new kind of game again. Nheless, since he wasn''t beating them it was good news for them.
Ace saw how much happy they be after listening about no punishment andmented again. ''Just which hellhole did I throw myself into.''
Ace continued asking some basic things about Javier and those maids answer happily. They like this new game very much with no punishment.
After half an hour the carriage finally enters the tightly secure prince manor.
Ace scan the spacious surrounding and couldn''t help but marvel. There were really two early-stage qi foundation realm experts in security.
The carriage slowly stopped outside a vi and those two guards open the door for Ace. He acts nonchntly like Javier and exits the carriage with those two happy maids.
Those guards were shocked after seeing the happy faces of those two girls and strangely nce at Ace, ''Did he turn over new leaf?''
Ace pretends to not notice those two weird stairs and enters the vi. From those girls, he knew it was the vi of Weston Family and Javier''s home.
Weston Family only has four people included Javier, other than this family only servants live in this bigvishing vi.
Ace just enter the vi when a jeering voice sounded, "Oh if it isn''t my little cuckoo brother. How many did you torture today?"
Ace turn around saw a young man quite resembling Javier with a smirk on his face, ''He should be this scoundrel brother Keith Weston.'' He swiftly identifies this young man.
This Keith was quite talented and the apple of his father''s eye, while Javier was sourness of his eye. Ace heard from those maids that Javier always wanted to stomp on his brother''s face and after seeing his jeering smile he know why. This guy was too damn arrogant!
Ace coolly replies, "What it has anything to do with you?"
Keith didn''t even blink at Ace''s response because Javier never respects him. "Just don''t get caught or father might disown you." He snorted and knew Javier''s fetishes very well so he leaves after mocking him like always.
''One idiot down.'' Ace has a sigh of relief.. He was afraid; this family might suspect him so he was ready for anything.
Chapter 82 - Searching For Treasury
Ace reached Javier''s room without encountering any Weston. He dismissed those maids who be even happier and leave, well it was more like they escape.
Ace was speechless by this and could only smile wryly. He looks at the luxurious room and was amazed by this Silkpantsvishing lifestyle. He quickly changes his clothes with Javier''s and looks in the big mirror in the room.
Ace was taller and leaner than Javier but this two-face mask has created perfect illusion and even his height was hidden under the illusion, no one can see his true appearance if they''re not River Core Cultivators.
Ace or Javier''s dinner was delivered to his room by a servant who also seems quite terrified of him. ''It seems this family didn''t like this guy at all, they didn''t even eat with him. Heh, good for me though.'' He enjoys the meal with good wine.
At midnight, the prince manor was extremely silent, only guards were wide awake and protecting the manor with their hearts. But little did they know a thief was already wandering around the territory of prince manor like it was his own backyard.
Ace was amazed by just how big his prince manor territory was. He was wandering around for an hour now and still didn''t find the end of it. Suddenly, he felt the presence of ate-stage qi foundation expert and be alert.
This was his first time sensing this powerful expert here, he decided to go towards him since his stealth was imprable below Qi River Realm after, he built the perfect heavenly foundation!
Ace saw a huge manor in the distance and the Qi wave of that powerful expert wasing from exactly there. ''This is Prince Manor. Thatte foundation expert is hidden somewhere between the gate and manor.''
After his soul core was reform by elemental orb remains, he could feel his soul cultivation at the juncture of breakthrough and he was just missing something very crucial before forming the next color soul core. It was just a pity he didn''t know what it was.
However, his Heavenly and Soul Senses reached a whole new level. Now with the flow of wind, he can sense the change of Qi fluctuation in the air from two hundred meters away. Although, the actual range of his senses was still fifty meters.
At this moment Ace''s irises turn golden because he uses True & False Eyes.
With the eye skill operating the ordinary-looking gate turns extraordinary. There were many runes symbols around the prince manor and Ace instantly knew they were trapping arrays.
''Why is there so much security in his damn ce!'' Ace was really frustrated and decided to retreat for the night. He already finds the position of the manor and it would not be a wise move to try infiltrating it without knowing where the treasury was hidden.
Ace once thought that since this guy was from a kingdom, he definitely has a storage ring so why did he need any treasury to store his treasure? But then he suddenly remembered something and concluded;
It has be a custom or habit of every race''s powerhouses; having a big treasury to show off their wealth, power, and status to the masses. By doing so, they let the others watch helplessly first, and when they finally envoke everyone''s ambition to possess the same kind of wealth and power. Just by granting them what they want they can easily control the masses with their greed and desire!
After all, why would everyone want status for? Of course, for control over power and wealth. Because if they only want power why the hell they needed these statuses for? When they can just cultivate peacefully in solitude.
After that time, Ace never be afraid or anxious about the future. There will always be treasuries until one abandons its greed to control others and most importantly avarice for wealth!
The more one bes powerful the more they wanted to control others and the best way for doing it was also Wealth!
Ace returns to Javier''s room and though while lying on thefortable bedding, ''Should I use Weston Family status and go in the manor tomorrow? Nah, if were them I would never let this rotten egg roaming around my house.'' He was still pondering how to find that darn treasury!
----------
Meanwhile, inside the Jade Pavilion Grand Hall.
Zelda was gracefully sitting in a chair while calmly watching a grey-haired old man with a peculiar look in her eyes.
This old man has the air of an old schr around him. The most astonishing thing was this old man was wearing an Azure Robe with me Pill Mark just like Zelda!
He was Vance Golden an Azure Grade Alchemist and also the Grand Prince of Golden Hammered Kingdom. Furthermore, he was the one who discovered The Blood Rose a hundred years ago!
Hundred years ago, Vance was a young man full of vigor and very talented in alchemy. He became a Blue Alchemist at the age of twenty-four and hail as the most talented alchemist in thends of kingdoms.
However, the splendor didn''tst long because even after ten years he can''t break into the ranks of Azure Grade Alchemists. Thus, he decided to roam around thends to find his chance for a breakthrough.
After traveling around for years, he finally found an old rune of the devil n and got some benefits from it, and manage to break through into Qi River Realm as well as into the Azure Grade!
Additionally, in that rune, he found the record about the Blood Rose and even found the legendary herb. He was so excited at that time; he evenughs in his sleep.
But there was still time for the herb to mature so he simply decided to tell his brother about it since their rtionship was quite great. After, they easily control the whole red mountain city and secret within.
Moreover, if he got promoted his family would also reap the benefits so there were almost zero chances of his brother backstabbing him since he wasn''t an alchemist. Furthermore, even if the king kills Vance, he simply can''t bear the wrath of the Pill me Organization because they have a method to finding out who killed their people even if someone used assassination.
That''s what makes the organization so dreadful and no one dares to pick on its people anymore. They have eradicated an entire empire once just because a prince dares to assassinate a Blue Alchemist to make it clearer; a sect-made organization wasn''t one to trifler with.
As for hundred years period, for Qi River Realm Cultivators, hundred years were half of their life spam because cultivators of Qi River Realm can prolong their life span for hundred years!
That''s why Vance waited for hundred years so he could get his hands on the legendary herb and exchange it with a method for entering into the higher realm. If he were to seed their kingdom might have a chance to be an empire and he could easily enter the purple grade alchemist with the help of m Pill Organization. Most importantly, his life span would go up to five hundred years!
But s, all his dreams were destroyed by a little thief!
First, he wanted toe personally but the time was chaotic, and decided to go with his big brother the King n to send Dulce here. He was very confident and proud of his talented niece so he wasn''t worried much.
However, when Vance heard the news of the Blood Rose robbery, he vomits arge amount of blood and fainted on the spot.
That''s why hees here full of fury and beat Dulce ck and blue without holding back anything. But he can''t kill her since she was still his brother''s daughter and he himself care much for her. Therefore, after beating her, he drags her back himself andes back to find that rascal thief!
Yet, even after a whole year, he can''t find anything and that makes him extremely vex and he almost starts genocide in thends of cities just like Dulce. But he forced himself back because he knew a legend and that even made him tremble in fear.
In the end, with gritting teeth Vance decided to ept Zelda''s help and share the blood rose with her after finding it.
It made him hate that thief to bone marrow. How could he not? If not for him, all of this would never even happen in the first ce!
Zelda saw Vance''s face that was as dark as charcoal and wanted tough at this old guy''s misfortune but for sake of ruing that thief''s portrait held herself back.
But how could Vance an old fox who lives for more than a hundred years didn''t see the ridicule in Zelda''s eyes? This made him, even more, vex and his face fell.
''Hmph! Still wet behind her ears, If not for that scoundrel of a thief I would never even speak with this girl!'' Vance grinds his teeth in hatred.
Chapter 83 - A Thief Has Thousands Faces!
Zelda saw Vance''s face color switch between blue and ck and know she unknowingly hit a bloody nerve so she quickly said, "Master Golden, please control your anger. You have to be clear-headed if you want to find that viinous thief."
She wasn''t afraid of offending him but he was a huge help to her since her Aunt La can''t show her face in public. Moreover, if those other powers find out that she was in this ce where even birds didn''t shit, they would immediately send their investigators.
Vance take a deep breath and finally suppressed his raging temper. He knew she was right if he loses hisposure how could he find that despicable thief?
"It was indeed this old man''s fault for showing such a repulsive sight to Miss Green me. Please forgive old me." Vance was indeed furious but even he didn''t dare to scold this ''Green me''.
The reason was very simple, she pop out of nowhere five years ago and be one of the youngest Azure Alchemists of the Pill me Organization. No one knows her real name, background or ever see her real face before and only called her ''Green me''.
Even if she was young, her background was absolutely scary because whoever, Alchemists or other high-level officers alike, tries provoking her almost everyone disappeared without any trace. The scariest part was, even the Pill me Organization didn''t investigate this peculiar phenomenon.
That''s why every alchemist of the organization was now afraid of this dark star and stay as far away as possible from her.
Vance was also one of those who didn''t want to mingle with this woman but he was at his wit''s end and finally resign to his fate.
"You don''t need to be this curtsied with me. I know what you been going through."
Zelda didn''t remain on this and directly ask, "Master Golden, I was wondering why can''t you find that thief until now? Is it possible that he was not from low-levelnds?"
Vance sighs helplessly, "I also don''t know, but from our source, it is confirmed. That thief was originally from a 2-Star City that my foolish niece destroyed after finding out about him."
This source of his was of course remnants of River flower city, the Kelby father and son, included Rn Grant!
Since Ace has taken away Dulce''s storage ring, the three poisoned kin didn''tst long without the antidote. But before their death, Dulce extracted all kinds of information out of them about Ace that they know.
Dulce was indeed a bitch but she in no way an idiot. She knew, her father and uncle won''t forgive her. Especially her uncle and that''s why she collects all the information she can on Ace to escape grave punishment. And she seeded in the end.
"But let me tell you this." Vance didn''t let Zelda speak and proceeded gravely, "That little thief was only 13 or 14 when Dulce encounter him and he managed to escape after stealing the formation te from her. It is clear that he knows about rune symbols!"
Zelda finally narrowed her beautiful eyes because a Rune Crafter was even rarer than alchemists. The reason for that was because only a soul cultivator or someone with the Light Element Qi can be a rune crafter!
"You must be jesting with me, Master Golden. Even you know that rune crafters are like phoenix feathers in the whole Azure-Wind Continent. And even if you''re conjecture is true; don''t it ever ur to you that a rune crafter didn''t need to be a thief? He just has to show his talent to Pill me Organization and they would train him with every resource they have." Zelda said with full of contempt.
''This old guy really lost his mind after losing the blood rose. If a soul cultivator or even light cultivation techniques really begin to emerge in this barren ce then we won''t be able to sleep in peace.'' Zelda leer at Vance.
"You have a point Miss Green me. I apologized for my ignorance." Vance waspletely agreed with her on this, "Now let''s discuss business, shall we?" He didn''t beat around the bush.
Zelda''s eyes shed with brilliance hearing those words.
------
The very next morning,
Ace opened his drowsy eyes, he was feeling refreshed and full of energy.
After few moments those two maids came to serve him but he refused outright since he wasn''t used to this kind of treatment.
Now those two maids really begin to wonder that this was really that psycho who always abused them from the moment he opens his eyes every day. But since it was in their favor theypletely overlooked it.
Ace eat breakfast in the room and was again amazed by thisvishing way of living. If it wasn''t for his goals and the longing to be powerful he would definitely live like this.
''What should I do about the problem of the treasury?'' He grimaced, just thinking about this riddle gave him a huge headache.
This Javier was a rotten egg and he was sure of it that he was quite famous in the prince manor as well. But now he was Javier and this kind of fame was a very big problem for Ace.
''Sigh...''
He sighed helplessly, ''I should meet with this idiot father and see if I can get inside the manor.''
Ace outlined what he should do to reach his goal for a while and head outside.
Ace enter the hall of the vi and spotted a middle-aged man with a chubby build and short beard, who was reading something while tightly knit his brows.
''Braxton Weston!'' He rapidly identified who this middle-aged man was, he was the head butler of prince manor and Javier''s father Braxton Weston.
Ace didn''t dare to be careless in front of Braxton and act like Javier as good as he could and enter the hall haughtily.
Braxton heard footsteps and look in the direction and saw Javier wasing towards him with a face full of vanity. His eyes turn cold and released the pressure of Early Foundation Realm to shot Javier down a peg.
After all, he was his father, and Javier disying arrogance in his presence was clearly displeased him but s he always does this so he was somewhat used to this routine.
Ace felt the pressure, ''Too weak.'' He mocked in his heart but show an awful face as he scream, "Old Man do you want to murder your own son?!"
''A thief has a thousand faces. Is this what it meant?'' Acement in his heart, he never speaks with someone like this before but to pretend to be like Javier he could only be like him. This is also a kind of learning for him.
"You, unfilial son! Is this how you speak with your father??" Braxton bellow furiously.
Those servants around them didn''t seem new to this kind of scene, it was clear this is a daily thing for them to witness.
"Fine, Father! Can you please stop showing off now? I''m almost crushed here!" Ace sarcastically retorted.
Braxton sighed helplessly and retrieve his pressure. No matter how much rotten Javier was a tiger would never eat his cubs even if that cub appeared to be a dog.
Ace has a sigh of relief secretly, ''He didn''t suspect anything.''
Braxton coldly said before Ace could, "You better not go in that shady building anymore since it turns into ash and I don''t want anyone to find out that you were one of their regrs!"
How could Braxton didn''t know what his own son was doing in all these years but what can he do? Javier''s character was rotten to the core, he was doing all this outside of the prince manor was already a blessing so he let him be.
But now that everything hase to light how could he let his bastard sully his reputation?
Ace knew what Braxton mean by this and was inwardly pleased about it, ''It''s seemed they escape without any hitch.''
But how could he show his satisfaction in front of Braxton, Javier smug face instantly turn ugly, and said, "I don''t know what you''re talking about!"
He exits the vi in anger just like how real Javier would''ve reacted after hearing this news.
Braxton grunted, "At least he knows how to read the mood." He began to read again. "Someone stolen from a top ten kingdom? This person''s guts if high as heaven. But these rewards are really tovishing even this old me is temper by them." He mumbles softly.
In Braxton''s hand was a portrait of a young man between the age of 12 and 13 and he was extremely handsome and below was a slogan.
++++++++++++
"This thief has stolen something very important from the Golden Hammered Kingdom. Anyone who can find him or give urate information on this thief will be rewarded with; Hundred Million Ruby Coin and a Warrier Grade Skill."
+++++++++++++
This wanted poster was released just this early morning and by now this thief''s face was presumably seen by every person in the westernnds!
Chapter 84 - Young Prince!
Ace exited the Weston Vi and decided to stroll around the prince manor territory since he wasn''t able to scout itpletelyst night. Furthermore, he was in a good mood after fooling Braxton.
''The weather is quite good for a stroll.'' He coolly walks while enjoying the beautiful scenery and cozy weather.
Ace suddenly spotted two young men with a pile of papers seemingly in a hurry. They wereing from the manor''s direction and he couldn''t help but wonder about those papers. Just a while ago he also saw the same size of paper in Braxton''s hands.
''Just what is in this paper about?'' His interest was piqued.
"You two fellow brothers please wait." Ace shouted at those two young men.
Those young men were in a hurry because their mission was to post these wanted posters throughout the city. But when they spotted Javier was walking towards them cold sweat broke out and theirplexion turn horrible.
They clearly know this young master ''fame'' and are afraid of offending him so they stop and pray that he could let them walk away without any ominous demands.
Ace saw those two ashenplexions and sigh inwardly. He has somewhat used it now and asks, "What are these papers?" Since those papers were upside down he can''t see what was on them.
Those two didn''t dy and quickly give a wanted poster to Ace and said one of them before escaping, "Young Master, this a wanted poster of a thief and the order came right from the Grand Prince, to post them all around the city. So, we have to leave, Please forgive our rudeness, farewell."
Ace didn''t stop them and turn the wanted poster curiously to see just who this thief was that even Grand Prince was taking note and even posting these posters around. After all, he was also a thief, and encountering another one made Ace''s a little bit enthusiastic.
But when Ace saw the picture on the wanted poster all the colors on his face drain because it was him three years ago!
Although, he was now mature and change from all those years ago, however, it was no doubts him!
Ace''s breath bes a little rough but he still controls his emotions and reads the entire slogan below his picture. Ever since he built the foundation of darkness Ace had better control over his sentiment and was quite calm and collective. But hisplexion turns quite ugly after reading the rewards.
He mutters gravely, "It''s that bitch fault! But why is this Grand Prince is involving himself into this?"
Ace easily trace it back to Dulce since she was the only one who saw his face that night and her kingdom name was in it that confirmed his guess.
''I should''ve killed her there and then at all cost!''
But s, he wasn''t powerful enough to do so and the time was also not in his favor on that day.
Ace takes a deep breath to soothe his nerve and chase after those two young men. He has to find out just how many people know about this and this Grand Prince''s role in all this.
"Hey, you two stop right there!" Ace wasn''t in good mood anymore and right now he was somewhat using the harsh tone just like Javier.
Those two flutters a bit as they swiftly stop in their tracks, ''We''re dead!''
"Javier! You Sick Pervert who hell do you think you are? Stopping someone from doing the important mission, are you revolting against the prince manor!?" An enraged roar sounded at this moment.
''This voice?'' Ace was jolt stop by this voice and quickly turn around to see the owner of it and when he was who it was disbelief filled his eyes and almost felt this world was mocking him.
"Why are you here?" Ace yelp abruptly.
There was standing a normal-looking young man with ck eyes and hair. There was a fingernail size mole on his nose tip. How could Ace forget about this fellow this was Bill that he meets and dine with just two days ago!
Bill was confused by this idiotic question of Javier and snorted, "What do mean why I''m here? This Prince lives here! This is my fucking house. You two go don''t listen to this sick fuck anymore."
Ace was bewildered by this and suddenly understand everything by Bill litterment, ''This guy is the young prince!??''
It was even bigger news than him being wanted!
Because Ace knew the Grand Prince live here with a Young Prince that was supposed to be his sessor but he didn''t dream that this happy-go-lucky guy was the prince of a kingdom like Luminous!
Ace quickly control himself and again be like Javier but there was still clear shock in his eyes.
Those two young men have long been escaping after receiving confirmation from the young prince and even this sick guy can''t do anything to them now.
"Y-You''re a prince?" Ace couldn''t help but ask again for confirmation.
Bill frown, "Did you head kick by a donkey? You didn''t even recognize this Prince and not even greet me?"
"Oh, my apologies Prince." Ace was still not clear-headed after receiving so many shocks and finally slip!
Bill''s eyes widened, "Yo¡ you really apologies??"
Ace instantly know his mistake and cursed his stupidity. He quickly makes an arrogant face and said sarcastically, "Do you really believe that I would say that to a shorty brat like you??" He insults Bill with whatever came to his mind first and felt a little sorry about it.
Bill begins to tremble after hearing ''Shorty Brat'' this is his biggest taboo and no one dares to scold him like this and all the doubt about Javier vanish and turns into fierceness. He even forget about what he was going to do.
"JAVIER! Say it again if you dare!"
Ace knew he has somewhat offended this guy and felt even more sorry about it but he can''t expose himself, "What will you do kill me? The son of Head Butler?" Now he could only use the status of Braxton to make Bill back down.
Just as he expected Bill instantly pacifies a bit hearing about Head Butler. Although he was a prince, his status was not equal to one and he can''t even punish a mere butler''s son openly.
"Fine, You Win!" Bill has learned when to back down and know he can''t get even with Javier inside the prince manor.
Ace didn''t want to talk with Bill like this since he didn''t want to sh with him and wanted to go somewhere where he could get more information about this wanted poster.
But suddenly Ace has a strange thought when he looked at Bill''s stiff face and senses Bill''s gloomy mood. ''Forgive me.'' He has to confirm something!
Ace asked haughtily while waving his own poster at Bill, "Do you know where this poster came from. The rewards are quite to my liking." He licks his lip passionately to show he was very interested in the rewards, not the person.
When Bill saw the poster, Ace felt Bill''s soul be chaotic and anxiety fill his face. Ace was quite astonished by it.
"I-I don''t know shit about a petty thief." Bill was clearly a little panicked first but still said, "And you want the rewards? Just don''t die first now fuck off! This prince has other matter."
Bill didn''t wait for Javier''s answer, he was not in the good mood from the moment he saw this wanted poster.
Because he knew who the young man was from the moment heid his eyes on the portrait, especially those dark blue sky-like eyes. This was his new rich friend that he made just two days ago, Asher!
Bill was very shocked by this and thought this was some other person but when he looked carefully this was really his new mysterious friend. He thought this was some kind of joke destiny is yed on him and nearly has a stroke. He didn''t talk much with Ace before but clearly knew he wasn''t a bad person either.
Bill truly felt that this guy is different from others and that''s why he was going outside to find Asher before anyone else and even help him escape the city safely. After all, he calls him a friend and Bill takes this quite seriously but just so happened be encounter Javier in his way.
Ace didn''t stop Bill anymore and let him leave. He wanted to confirm exactly this! Because he knew if anyone who could recognize him would be Bill!
Because Bill was the only one who interact with him for the longest and knew Ace was in the Luminous City at this moment. He wanted to see if this guy would open his mouth and sell his friend for wealth.
But Ace clearly felt Bill was anxious after seeing his wanted poster. This made Ace felt some warmth in his heart and his impression of Bill be quite better.
But now was not the time to dwell on it, he has to find out the gravity of this situation andy low for time being.
It was also a blessing that he already changed his face or someone might''ve really recognized him!
Chapter 85 - Famous Throughout The Land Of Cities!
Meanwhile in the Jade Pavilion Grad Hall,
Five people were sitting around the jade table.
They were Zelda, Vance, Dion, Wes, and of course Colton.
"How''s the distribution of wanted posters going?" Vance asked agitatedly.
Dion answers coolly, "Don''t worry Master Golden, right about now every city in the westernnds has the poster of that littler thief. As for the easternnds, it will take some time."
Zelda chimes in at this moment, "Easternnds have already received the wanted poster. Therefore, you guys just focus on westernnds."
Everyone take a deep breath and looked at her shockingly. This women''s background is really scary.
One has to know that it will take almost three months to travel between western and easternnds at the top speed of a carriage pulled by demonic beasts. But she has somehow done it in a single night, how could they not be wary of her?
The most astonished of them all were Wes and Colten. This was their first time sitting between all these esteemed figures.
Vance speaks firmly at this moment, "I appreciate everyone''s help, especially Grand Prince. But I think we''re underestimating that thief even now. Do you think he can''t change his appearance?"
"I know what Master Golden is thinking but he can''t escape from our grasps with me here, I can assure you." Zelda guarantees with full of confidence.
Actually, Zelda has not told the entire truth, the power behind her has already covered the entirends of cities and the moment that thief appeared, he would fell into an inescapable trap! Even if he changed his appearance they had treasures that can see through any disguise below Qi River Realm.
In their eyes, that thief was only a Qi Gates Cultivator, and even if he disguise it won''t be at the level of a Qi River because it was almost impossible to this kind of disguise treasure appearing here of all ces.
Hence, Zelda was not worried at all. Every city was currently being browsed with that treasure and that power was confident in finding that thief in ten days.
And when that happened before anyone notices; that thief would have already vanished with Zelda in tow.
Vance didn''t speak anymore, because he knew, now he was at the mercy of this mysterious Green me. But he was not a pushover either and watching her every single move.
The moment Vance finds this girl was deceiving him he would use his full power to take her hostage and threaten that mysterious power. He got nothing to lose now since he was at the end of his life. If he can''t live anymore what is the point of being extremely cautious?
As for the Golden Hammered Kingdom, he didn''t bother anymore.
Living is more important for him than anything else even if he has to sacrifice everything that he once holds dear!
This is also how most humans react when they saw death awaiting, even those hot-blooded ones would waver in the face of absolute death!
-------
In the evening Ace finally, return to Javier''s room in dismal.
Ace has investigated what he could do the whole day and find out that his wanted posters have spread around the whole westernnds.
Everyone is talking about him and wanted to hunt him down because the alluring warrior-grade skill is unrestrainable!
Because the warrior grade skills are almost impossible to find in thend of cities and whoever has it would turn into history!
Yet, now a kingdom itself is giving it how could those families not be excited? Even those high and mighty families begin to search for him wholeheartedly like Ace was a precious treasure!
Furthermore, Ace also assumed that two of the top ten kingdoms were looking for him right now and form an alliance. That''s could only mean one thing; the Luminous Kingdom also knows about the Blood Rose!
However, Ace didn''t know even more terrifying power was searching for him because his scope of reasoning was still low.
Yet all this pressure gave him a thrill from the bottom of his heart for some reason. he does not know why but he was excited at this moment. His mentality has long been undergone an immense change from the moment he experience the power of Heaven himself.
Now all these worldly trials were just stepping stones for him to be more powerful! He didn''t want to be helpless likest time in face of heavenly punishment anymore, he wanted to fight against it and show he was not an ant!
Ace looked at the stars in the sky andment, "Life of a thief is not easy. But I like it! Even heaven is my enemy what this bunch of mortals are? Do you all want to find me because of a mere first-grade herb? How about I steal from this ce and give you all a pleasant surprise?"
A sudden dark current shed past Ace''s eyes.
"A thief should also have a heart and soul of a thief. I''m the darkness and darkness is me, even heaven steal so what if I steal? A Thief''s Soul is key and heart is the door¡"
Ace fell into a trance, he suddenly begins to whisper Heaven Stealer Technique, ck Wind Soul scripture.
Ace was enlightened at this moment! He finallyprehends thest part of ck Wind Soul that was stopping him from entering the next realm.
Inside his true soul, the yellow wind soul core begins to revolve at high speed and shine brighter like the sun.
After a moment its yellow hue begins to change and slowly it starts turning darker! This was the sign of a new soul core appearing!
Ace felt a huge surge of Soul Qi inside his true soul and that qi form a vortex right above the soul core that has begun its transformation. That vortex sucked a huge amount of Heavenly Soul Qi and pour it into the soul core.
After five hours, the transforming of the soul core was finallyplete and the yellow soul core was now bright orange.
He has finally formed the Orange Wind Soul Core and it is equant to the Qi River Realm of martial cultivation!
However, the transformation wasn''tplete yet, his true soul begins to expand and so did his other senses. After expanding for two hundred and fifty meters this transformation was alsopleted.
Now the Orange Soul Core was rotating slowly inside Ace''s true soul and emitting an ocherous haze.
Ace opened his eyes and felt the world has be clearer and more colorful. He could feel his senses now expanded to 250 meters and his heavenly soul qi was now orange in color.
=======
[Congrattion Host!]
[You have formed the Orange Wind Soul Core!]
[Due to Host martial cultivation is too low, the Host can not use the Element Soul Qi of any Kind!]
[Your soul cultivation status has been updated]"
=======
Ace frown seeing this notification and asked, "What do you mean I can''t use any Element Qi, did I have more than one element qi?"
"[Yes, the host has more than one element soul qi. However, the host is currently in the early stage of the Heavenly Foundation, and using Heavenly Soul Qi of Element is harmful to the host body that is why it is sealed.]
Ace was amazed because he didn''t know if someone can have two types of elements qi but he never heard of it. Since he can''t use it, he didn''t mind it that much and focus on the other thing.
Every time he broke through to a new soul cultivation realm he got some kind of innate ability. The first time, he got Soul Sense and Heavenly Sense. The second time he got the Soul Signature ability.
Now he breakthrough for the third time and it was time for the new ability but before he could figure it out,
"[Soul Probing is also sealed because of Host insufficient cultivation!]"
It was as if someone has poured a bucket of cold water on him and he roar in his mind, "Then why the hell I break through for?! If I can''t even use it???!"
"[Host can now cross stages by using only EXP!]" A jaunty voice rang inside his mind.
Ace immediately remembered the benefits of having higher soul cultivation!
However, he said suddenly, "Who are you? You''re not the system, right?" He finally gets a chance to talk with this mysterious voice that woulde abruptly and disappear after!
Before Ace didn''t have the skill to tell the difference between the system voice but now he was a soul cultivator equal to a Qi River Martial Cultivator.
Moreover, he knew just how heaven-defying the system truly was and this voice clearly wanted him to find its existence or with his meager cultivation how could he discovered it. Whoever was inside the system, it has to be some terrifying existence!
Some moments passed but no replye from the system. Ace knew he has no control over the system and could only give up the idea of talking with this mysterious voice. But he wasn''t discouraged by it in the least bit.
''One day I''ll find out just who you really are and what''s your goal is!'' Ace sworn!
Chapter 86 - New Ability: Soul Probing!
After cultivating for five hours, Ace didn''t feel any exhaustion.
He felt full of energy but he has noticed something very serious, whenever he tried to use his soul qi he felt a little difort in his true soul!
''Is this why the system sealed my soul cultivation? It seems having a big gap between my body and soul is really not a good thing.'' Ace thought.
He didn''t feel like this before because the Qi River Realm was a major turning point for any cultivator; at this realm, one reveal their element and that almost decided what path a cultivator would take in the future.
But Ace still didn''t know what his element was but has some idea what it be.
''Since the is the issue of the gap in cultivation why not just shorten it down?'' Ace smirked and transmitted, "System how many experience points would I get after converting all the Pills and Medicinal Herbs inside my thief''s space?"
Before he can''t cross stages without understanding the realm but now that he was already equal to a Qi River Soul Cultivator, the bottleneck didn''t exist for him anymore.
He was going to use everything he had to shorten the gap between his soul and martial cultivation.
=======
"[System is calcting¡]
[All the herbs and pills in thief''s space can be converted into 950,000 EXP]
[Did you want to proceed with the conversion?]
========
''I can only breakthrough into mid-stage with this much EXP. Well, it better than nothing.'' Ace said without any hesitation, "Convert them all."
======
"[Conversion Complete!]
[950,000 EXP has been added to Host status]
[Congrattion host on reaching the Middle Stage of Heavenly Foundation Building]
[Host status has been updated]"
======
Swiftly, Ace felt a huge amount of Heavenly Qi pouring inside his body but not from the outside but the Dark Void!
He was shocked by this because whenever he used EXP, Ace knew the Qi came from the system but now Dark Void was providing it. He didn''t anticipate such a change would transpire after he built the Heavenly Foundation.
He didn''t have time to dwell on it because the huge amount of Heavenly Qi begins to circte in his meridians.
After nine cycles the Qi retune in the dark void where it converts into the HD-Qi.
The tidal wave of inky Qi directly enters the nine dark foundation tes surrounding the dark void. Those dark tes begin to expand rapidly.
When every bit of Qi was absorbed by those tes they have expanded by fifty percent! If those nine tes were fifty square meters before, now they were a hundred square meters.
This is the end of Ace''s smooth breakthrough into the Middle Heavenly Foundation Stage. It was also Ace''s first time witnessing the dark void in action and it''s important to him! It has be his martial cultivation core.
Ace finally opened his eyes and a deep current shed past them as he breathe out turbulent air.
''I can now kill those Peak Qi Foundation Experts within ten moves and one hit if I sneak attack them.'' Ace thought and even he was stunned just how overbearing his prowess was.
But when he remembered about the elemental orbs and the heavenly punishment he frowned and thought it was extremely normal to possess such power when there was this kind of huge price to pay. He wasn''t a na?ve kid anymore.
"Status!"
======
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human {No Bloodline}]
[Heaven: 1st Mortal Sky Heaven]
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Foundation Building {Middle-Stage}]
{EXP: 450,000/1,000,000}
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core]
{SP: 1030/100,000}
[Skills: 5]
[Stealth Basic: {Perfection}
Silent Steps Basic: {Perfection}
True & False Eyes Basic: {Perfection}
Pick Pocket: {Perfection}
Treasure Opening Hands [Basic Art]: {5th Form}]
[Cultivation Technique: 2]
[{Heaven Stealer Technique Volume 1}, {Dual Shadow Swords}]
[Thief Points (TP): 1095]
[Mission(s): 1]
[Job Mission: Host has to do honorable thievery at a city lord''s mansion of the No.1 City in the Low-Level Lands. (Lands of cities)]
[Rewards]
{Thief Panel will be unlocked}
{Shop will be updated}
{Other rewards based on Host Performance}
[Time: 10 months left.]
[Punishment on failing: System will stop working for 50 years]
========
Every time Ace saw his growing status he would always feel content but this time he felt gloomy instead.
The first reason was the growing EXP especially SP that jump from thousand to one hundred thousand in one go! He clearly knew just how hard it was to find SP because he only encounters the Blood Rose that give him the option of 10,000 SP and that was also a grade one herb!
The second reason was of course the time left for the job mission.
''I have to take risks now.'' Ace sighed when he heard the system''s voice again.
"[Soul Probing 10% Power has been unsealed!]"
"Isn''t this the ability name that I obtained after forming the Orange Soul Core and was sealed by the system?" Ace knit his brows while mumbling, "Is it open because I reached the middle stage? Doesn''t this mean I can unlock more if I reached the higher stages!"
Ace instantly grabs the crux of the matter and bes eristic.
"System what is this soul probing exactly?" Ace directly asked because he didn''t have any time to waste on finding out about it right now.
"[50 TP]"
"Why don''t you rob me directly??" Ace was rendered speechless seeing the system returning to its old ways and be even more ruthless.
"[System only asked for thepensation ording to host question importance.]" System justified itself with an emotionless voice.
"Fine, you win! Take them and tell me." Ace knew he can''t win this fight.
[Thief Points: 1045]
After receiving the TP system voice rang in Ace mind,
=====
"[Soul Probing: The ability to Prob someone''s memories randomly without them even knowing. Only work on someone with a weaker soul than the host.]
[Warning: If the host use soul probing on someone with a whole realm higher or stronger soul, the host will experience a terrible bacsh.]
[Currently, the Host can use only 10% of soul probing prowess that means the host can only Prob someone''s soul at Qi Gate Realm for an hour. Any more and the host will experience a huge bacsh and true soul would take direct damage since the host is not in Heavenly River Realm.]"
=====
Ace was truly rmed by this new ability and stunned after hearing the grave warning of the system in the end.
"I¡Isn''t it too overpowered if I can read someone''s memories even at random?" Ace mutters as his eyes sparkled with excitement. "I just need this right now! System are you helping me while pretending to be ignorant?"
He didn''t receive any answer but didn''t care about it either.
Even with this one-hour limit, this soul probing was going to help him find that hidden treasury location, and he has already decided to whom he was going to use it.
After Ace''s big breakthrough in soul cultivation, he understands more what it truly meant to be a thief and he was going to do something big this time.
This thing going to shatter the peace of entire Middle-Levelnds and cause a ripple in the High-Level Lands!
------
For the next fifteen days, Ace practice the soul probing on those two maids and didn''t go around to search for the treasury anymore.
He also heard the news about his own manhunt now and then, which was bing intense day by day.
However, no one was able to find any clues on that thief even after fifteen days and everyone thought that this little thief was long been fled from thends of cities.
Some families even begin to search the wastnds but to no avail.
The most depressed of everyone was obviously not Vance Golden it was Zelda and her Aunt!
Vance on the other hand was feeling quite good seeing Zelda''s depressed every day and enjoying himself in Jade Pavilion.
He was dismal for a whole year and now seeing someone else in the same position, how could he not be happy? And that person was also the famous genius of Pill me Organization, Green me! This was just like having a cherry on the top of the icing.
At this moment inside Jade Pavilion,
"Aunt, do you think that thief has fled in thend of kingdom somehow?" Zelda ask eagerly from La who was sitting beside her while her eyes were closed.
L didn''t open her eyes but said gravely, "Not possible. You know if that thief is born here he can''t go outside no matter what without ''their'' approval. And getting approval from ''them'' is impossible without winning the hundred years trails."
Zelda clearly knew what La mean and retorted in frustration, "But that scoundrel isn''t even in thends of fallen! How can you exin this!?"
L finally open her beautiful eyes and a huge pressure appear all of sudden, "DON''T EVER SPEAK THAT NAME AGAIN!"
Zelda''splexion turns ashen when she recalls what she just said in the moment of heat. "I¡ I-I understand. It was not on purpose."
"Silly girl, don''t lose your tranquillity like this in the future or our whole n might get destroyed!" L also didn''t mention it again and said softly, "As for that little rat, I don''t know which hole he was hiding in but we can''t find any trace. We even scan every chicken in every city with Truth Seeing Mirrors."
La was also frustrated and know this time they have truly encountered a troublesome opponent and he was only fifteen or sixteen years old at that.
This was truly infuriating!
Chapter 87 - Treasury Location!
One month has passed since the manhunt of the little thief begin but no one was able to find even a trace of him.
Now, the passion was dying down, and everyone assumed that the thief was not from thends of cities, and many had given up on the rewards already.
The power behind Zelda also stop wasting their resources to find a ghost, after all, it was not easy to search on the scale of huge low-levelnds.
Zelda even received the order for going back to her post within a month when the new Pavilion Master of Jade Pavilion will arrive.
Vance in end also gave up and me all this on Dulce and decided to punish her himself after going back. But he still didn''t leave, he was waiting for Zelda to leave first because there was a chance she could found out that thief after he leave.
One thought doese to Vance''s mind and that was to exchange the information about the legendary herb with Pill me Organization, but he was still debating over it.
Wes and Colton weren''t so depressed about this situation because they weren''t losing anything and Zelda evenpensate them with a Low Warrior Grade Skill.
Dion was the one who feeling the most pain since he won''t be leaving this hell hole any time soon. He was so mad that he even punished Bill his nephew for using the manor guards to find some random person without his approval.
That unknown thief was now famous throughout thend of cities and even gain a popr name after a whole month, "Slippery Rat!"
As for the person in question he was enjoying his meal while scowling heavenly.
"Those bastards are calling me ''slippery rat'' just because they can''t find me? I''ll give you all idiots a big surprise this time around. Just you all wait!" Ace was not happy with this new nickname of his.
When he found out this name he ''greeted'' the whole nine generations of that person''s ancestors whoever came up with it. He like ck Ghost and Thousand Hands Ghost though.
"Well, I better find that treasury now that I finally get the hang of soul probing." Acepletely understand the new ability within a month by practicing on those two pitiful maids.
Now he knows almost everything about them especially Javier with their memories. He can now y Javier even more perfectly. He even fools his mother.
But the time of this ability was still an hour that''s why it takes him a month topletely grasp it.
Ace waited for midnight and finally sneak outside Javier''s room. He was heading towards the dungeon where the prince manor kept all those criminals who break rules and one who received punishment.
He was going there because his target of soul probing was none other than the young prince and his ''friend'', Bill Luminous!
Ace felt quite bad about it first but when he found out, that na?ve guy was secretly searching for him to help him escape but was punished instead.
Afterward, Ace found out that Bill''s reputation was not good here and everyone treated him inadequately just because he wasn''t ruthless and decisive like his uncle! Bill was a carefree person and kindhearted and just wanted to live his life freely but end up here.
From that day Ace didn''t felt any trouble by robbing this prince manor anymore. Bill even received punishment for his sake, a person he didn''t even knowpletely, and by just following his own heart.
Ace wanted to free him but was powerless because if even the wind of him reached those morons that he was here they would do everything in their power to capture him. Hence, he could only let it be for the time being.
A heavily guarded building came in Ace view. He felt soul waves of early foundation realm experts from five hundred meters away. This was the advantage of having powerful soul cultivation.
Ace didn''t decrease his speed and enter the guarded building without even care. Those didn''t felt even wind of his and stay still like before.
Ace stealth has be more powerful after he entered the middle stage of Heavenly Foundation and these early-stage qi foundation experts are nothing in his eyes now.
There were many low-level traps but Ace passed them like it was nothing and enter the deeper level of the building.
A potent smell enters his nostrils as he goes downwards and he spotted rows of iron cells. Ace scan with his soul and finally found Bill''s soul signature.
When Ace reached thest cell in the left row, he saw Bill was sleeping while snorting, ''This idiot.''
Ace smiled wryly but he was relieved on seeing him fine. But he suddenly spotted somesh marks on Bill''s face and his face fell. ''That guy didn''t even spare his own nephew.'' Rage filled his eyes.
Ace clearly knew the difference between friends and foes. And now he considers Bill his friend because of what he did for him.
He was here to prob his memories and want to find the treasury from them but seeing Bill scars Ace can''t bring himself to do it.
''I''m still too soft.'' Ace smiled bitterly before taking out the formation te from the thief''s space and lock the area around within the barrier. No one woulde at this hour but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Ace didn''t think he would use this formation like this, after setting the formation he released a little bit of his cultivation pressure solely on Bill.
Bill was having a nice dream of beauties when he felt a mountain fell from the sky and his eyes sprang open. But that pressure instantly vanished after he awake. He looked around vigntly to see if his uncle sent someone to torture him, but the cell and its surroundings were empty.
One has to know those iron bars were not normal even an early qi foundation building expert can''t break them easily much less a guy like Bill who was at the peak of the sixth qi gate.
Bill suddenly saw a figure appearing out of thin air outside the cell and his pupil shrunk in horror. ''Is this an assassin of that organization?'' His view of this world was more boarded than Ace''s and instantly thought of a terrifying organization.
But when Bill saw the face of this figure in the dim light he was bbergasted because it was other than Javier!
"Y-you¡ who ex¡exactly are you??" Bill mustered up his courage and ask with a trembling voice. He knew this guy can''t be that sick bastard because this kind of skill isn''t something anyone could possess even in thend of kingdoms.
Ace grins broadly and takes off the two-face mask and retune to his usual handsome self.
Bill''s eyes nearly pop out of his sockets when he saw Javier turned into his ''lost friend'' Asher! He rubs his eyes and saw Asher was beaming at him and somewhat understand what was going on here.
Bill smile wryly while speaking, "Brother Asher I''m truly ttered if you''re here to see your friend."
Ace was a little startled by Bill''s strong control over his emotion and couldn''t help but praised him.
"Young Prince, truly know me well." Ace didn''t deny it since he was really there to see him but not like this first.
Bill felt somewhat embarrassed, "I didn''t know it was you that time. I was truly worried for nothing. I made a fool out of myself." He bitterly said since Ace can change his appearance and hide this deeply he didn''t need his help at all.
"Hah, don''t say that I truly appreciate whatever you''ve done." Ace smile.
Bill took a deep breath and seriously asked, "I know this is me being ungrateful and out my boundary. But I couldn''t help but wonder, why is my uncle and that old geezer from Golden Hammered was looking for you like mad dogs? Just what did you steal?"
Ace suddenlyughs seeing Bill''s curious face.
"If I told you I steal a herb higher than the golden grade, will you believe me?" He smiles mysteriously.
Bill sucks a breath of cold air, "So that why everyone is going crazy over it." He was not an idiot and knew only this type of thing can make his uncle crazy.
"Then why are you here in this city and you even change your appearance as that sick fuck. Tell your friend I''ll help you if I can." Bill was very sharp and connect the dots. He even offers his help without thinking twice, since Ace was here he wasn''t here for just chitchat.
Ace truly praised this guy''s intelligence and wonder why he end up like this but still said as his expression turn grave, "I''m here for plundering the Prince Manor''s treasury! Now, can you tell me where the treasury is? Even if I''m robbing your own hoses?"
Bill looked deep into Ace''s eyes, "Damn, you''re aren''t joking." He eximed andugh all of sudden, "Hahaha, Brother Asher, you''re asking me if I can help you p that old geezer face or not. The answer is of course yes!"
"The treasury of prince manor was in the¡" Bill grin widely and Ace holds his breath,
"Luminous Library!"
Chapter 88 - Going In The Luminous Library Again!
Ace nearly fell, discovering the location of the treasury, ''It''s on that damn ce.'' He smiles bitterly because he was barking up the wrong tree all along.
Bill imagine what Ace was thinking andugh, "Heh, heh, Brother Asher I know what you''re thinking, even I was shocked when I heard about it."
"But don''t look down on it just because it was outside of the prince manor." But his expression turns grave the next moment, "I didn''t know the treasury exact location since that old geezer didn''t trust me much. But I know for sure, once a Qi River Cultivator tries to find it and only get himself killed in the end."
Ace''s eyes narrowed into slits hearing this grave information, "I''ll take my chances. I have to seed no matter what." He stated firmly.
Back down just because of this, you must be jesting, he can''t afford to lose system for fifty damn years!
Bill saw the strong resolve in Ace''s eyes andment, ''If I have his courage wouldn''t I...''
"Since Brother Asher already made up his mind I''ll not stop you, it will, I''m being disrespectful towards you." Bill sighed, "But please be careful just entering the library sneakily is night impossible because of a formation."
Ace nodded and didn''t continue on this topic, it was already enough that Bill has given him this much information, and was very grateful.
"Do you want to get out? I can help you escape the city if you don''t want your status as the young prince anymore that is." Ace joke.
Bill knew this guy can really help him do this, "I wish. But I can''t thisnd of cities isn''t big enough for me to be free. After all, it''s just a prison for fallen." He sighs with regret.
Ace pupil shrink, this was his first time hearing this term, and couldn''t help but asked, "Prison for fallen what does it means?"
"I know you used a barrier formation to lock this ce but I can''t really tell you since even I don''t know the whole truth. But I can''t talk about it either because those old monsters in ancientnds will instantly know about it."
"But I can only give you a warning, thisnd of cities is nothing but a prison and if you wanted to break out of it you need to cross a deadly formation that is between thends of cities andnd of kingdoms."
"And to this day no one ever manages to do it. If you''re born here then that formation will be even more deadly!" Bill was a happy-go-lucky person but while talking about this taboo topic even his face turns gloomy.
Ace was stunned because this was his first time even hearing about this. He always thought he could travel to thend of the kingdom just like he did with east and west. But if things were really the case then his whole n of exiting thend of cities grandly was nothing but a pipe dream.
"Is there is no way of leaving thends of cities?" He promptly asked Bill.
After all, Ace''s whole future depends on it.
Bill pounder over it for a bit before saying instantly, "There is actually, hundred years trails."
Ace''s face fell, did he have to wait for a hundred years?
''No, wait. How did Alina and that old goat sneak here if there is no way out?'' Ace suddenly remembered Alina and her grandpa. ''There is a way out. I just have to find it!''
"Brother Bill thanks for everything. I''ll remember this huge favor and repay it anyhow. I need to leave now." Ace earnestly thanked Bill.
Bill smile heartedly hearing Ace calling him Brother for the first time.
"Don''t mention it. Just remember to p that geezer hard." Billugh out loud.
"Of course, I''m nning on giving everyone a pleasant surprised, just wait for my good news." Ace grin broadly.
Ace retrieve the formation barrier and everything was normal. He was about to leave before he turned around and asked, "If I found a way out of this ce do you want me to fetch you?"
Bill''s eyes brighten but dim the moment, he waves his hand, "No need. I''m here because of my mother''s safety, if I leave they won''t spare the Luminous Kingdom as a whole."
Ace sighed and leave, he heard from Bill about that Prince Cursed and know he can''t help him right now.
But he can''t right now doesn''t mean he won''t in the future. Yet, he didn''t say it because he doesn''t want to give Bill false hope since the journey ahead was filled with dangers and unknown.
Bill watched Ace vanished without trace and mumbles, "I wonder if he is really able to escape. I for once really wish he could and bring a huge storm there." He chuckles lightly. "Well, that greedy hag is about to fell in a deep shit-pit. Man, I''m looking forward to seeing her face."
He was going to sleep again when he saw a folded paper on his bedding and opened it. Inside was a name, "What an arrogant name for a thief. Well, I expect nothing less from my brother." Billughs as he turns that paper into dust.
------
Ace returned to Javier''s room and couldn''t help but chuckled remembered the conversation with Bill. ''He is a good person but I still didn''t give him my true name.''
Past traumas aren''t easy to dissolve. He still didn''t trust Billpletely
"Whatever, I guess I''m going to meet that old hag who swindles me again very soon." Aceughs sinisterly as he retires for the night.
In the morning, Ace gets ready to go in the luminous library again but as Javier.
He first goes to Braxton and asked, "Old Man, I want to go in the Luminous Library, is there any problem?"
Since it has been a month, Ace was now used to behave like Javier.
''This rascal wanted to go in the library? Now, this is new.'' Braxton frowned deeply but still replied, "You can go and gain ess to the first floor with my identity crystal card. But why should I give it to you?"
Ace knew this guy was a tough nut to crack and said, "I know you''re thinking I''m doing something shady with your identity crystal. But I''m really going there you can even send ''Big Log'' with me."
Braxton raised his brows he knew Javier called Keith, Big Log. But he would never travel with him and now he was even asking for him just to go in the library?
''Did he turn over new leaf?'' Braxton was somehow felt happy and said while taking his crystal card from the storage bag, "Here I trust you this time if you really do as you told me then I have no problem with you going in the library."
Javier snorted while taking Braxton''s identity crystal card as he leave towards the carriage stand.
Braxton saw Javier leaving and said coolly, "Keep an eye on him. If he used my name to do something suspicious broke his legs and drag him back instantly."
"Yes" A voice sounded but no one was there.
Ace nonchntly enters the carriage andfortably sits in the seat. He had long been felt an Early Qi Foundation Expert was following his carriage but didn''t care.
He knew Braxton would never leave a person like Javier alone with his identity crystal card.
Half an hourter the carriage stopped outside the luminous library.
Ace saw the familiar Library and mused, ''When Ie in this city I enter in this ce and also meet Bill outside this ce. And now when everything ising to an end I came back here. What a mysterious thing fate truly is.''
Ace had already used true and false eyes but wasn''t able to see anything. It was clear that this skill has reached its limit.
''This mission is just too important without it the store will never be upgraded.''
He entered the Library just likest time since the protective formation was only active at night or when the library was closed.
The door was opened and Ace spotted the old hag again. He also detected a storage ring now that he was clearer-headed thanst time and really wanted to steal it from her to teach her an unforgettable lesson but control himself for time being.
The old hag saw Javier enter arrogantly and frown a little, "What do you want brat? Do you know you''re trespassing?"
''Same old dialogue.'' Ace''s disdainfully scoff in his heart.
"Here." Javier snorted and throw Braxton''s identity crystal card to the old hag.
The old hag was enraged, seeing Javier was showing a temper but still catch the crystal card just to see who this overbearing brat was before dealing with him.
"Oh, you''re Braxton son and rotten one I supposed. Since you have this identity card I won''t teach you a lesson. You can go to the ''servant'' floor. Don''t dare to go up on the higher floor. It is only for the Royal or you''ll die a horrible death."
She ridicules Javier while saying the first floor is a servant floor and nonchntly pulls a formation te that controls the entire building formations from her storage ring in front of Ace.
This was the biggest andst mistake she ever made in her entire life!
Chapter 89 - Scouting The Library!
This olddy''s name was Aspen Nash, she was a noble of the Luminous Kingdom appointed to protect the Library. This task was always given to Nash Noble Household for centuries.
This Aspen didn''t want toe here but end up offending a higher noble of the Nash family and appointed in this barren ce.
First, she was quite unwilling but aftering here she soon found there is no one above her and only Grand Prince can order her around, but even he didn''t care about what she doses and leave her alone.
This made Aspen fell in love with this ce she can do anything and defraud anyone who isn''t important to Grand Prince. She began to live her life to the fullest and didn''t want to go back anymore.
Now it has been already ten years and she was living a carefree life; her duty was only to protect this ce and no one dares to mess with the Luminous Kingdom so even this was just afortable job for her.
That''s why she used the formation te so carelessly in front of others.
Moreover, she is a qi formation realm expert herself and wed Foundation One 1at that! And here there were only five formation tes experts. This made her even more lighthearted.
But now she did it in front of a Heaven''s Stealer!
Ace''s eyes shimmer when he saw this old hag was taking the formation te from her storage ring so carelessly.
''What an idiot.'' Ace thought ecstatically, now he didn''t have to think of a way to pass the formation!
Aspen pour qi into the formation te and a stairway appeared that leads to the upper floor of the library.
She ced the formation te back in the ring and coolly said while waving her hand at Javier, "Go, follow the stairway. It will lead you to the ''servant'' floor. Remember don''t go upwards and you only have two hours."
Ace ignores Aspen''s mockery as he steps on the stairway. He was quite astonished because all those books that he saw after entering the library were merely an illusion! Now that he was on the stairway the illusion has vanished.
His heart sank, ''Even true and false eyes can''t see through this illusion!''
Ace knew his basic skills is reaching their limits and he needed more powerful skills if he wanted to get out of here safely and only bypleting this mission he can do that.
He steps on the first floor, there were twenty towering bookshelves, that were filled with books. He never saw this many books before but he wasn''t interested in them.
Because Ace knew these books didn''t hold any importance since eve servants were allowed on this floor.
Ace looked at the stairway that was going to the higher floor gloomily, he can''t go up since he can''t see any traps here with the True and False Eyes.
''Well, it''s not like they would store some important information in thisnd of cities.'' Ace concluded.
It wasmon sense, who would store some hidden information in this ce, right? But Ace didn''t know the reason Luminous Kingdom ''Descendent Cursed Punishment'' was exactly in this Library!
Just as Ace was thinking about how should he proceed further, he heard a notification that he was waiting for all this month,
=======
"[Target in range]
[Did the host want to scan the target?]
{Cost: 40 Thief Points}"
=======
Without any further dy, Ace said, "Do it."
"[Scanning Start¡ Complete in 120 Seconds.]"
[Thief Point(s): 1045]
Ace was excited and eagerly wait for two minutes. He knew this report going to decide the course of his whole path he''s going to take in this thievery!
=====
"[Scan Complete.]"
[Notification Panel]
[{Target''s Scan Report}]
[Total worth: Host has to find himself.
Security:
1: Middle-Grade Illusionary Formation (5th Ranked Mortal Runes)
1: Middle-Grade Attacking Formation (5th Ranked Mortal Runes)
1: Middle-Grade Detection Formation (5th Ranked Mortal Runes)
1: Middle-Grade Trapping Formation (5th Ranked Mortal Runes)
1: Middle-Grade Lock Formation on Middle-Grade Treasury (5th Ranked Mortal Runes & 5-Star Weaponry)
1: Mid-Level Middle-Grade Lock & Detection Formation on Middle-Grade Treasury (6th Ranked Mortal Runes & 5-Star Weaponry)
Evaluation: Host has 30% chance of session]
======
Ace nearly had a stroke seeing all those formations and cursed, ''Why don''t you guys put more formations? After all, it''s just a treasure in thend of fucking cities!''
''This is a huge disaster!'' He knew system evaluation was extremely urate.
He really had only thirty percent chance of seeding and even that is, if he could obtain that formation te from, Aspen!
"System why not give me something that can help me break in at least the front door." Ace transmitted gravely. All these formations and these shitty rune symbols were getting on his nevertely.
"[Host already has this kind of treasure.]"
Ace was astonished because he wasn''t hopeful of getting any help from the system but it did actually. ''I already have?''
He thought deeply and suddenly something came to his mind and eagerly asked, "Are you talking about the invisible beads?"
"[Yes]"
Ace was quite confused at this moment and couldn''t help but retort, "These invisible beads have limi¡ wait a moment."
It was as if someone has stuck him a hammered, ''There is no limitation on them nor any warning in their use when I bought them.'' His heartbeat raced, ''And I wasted three of them just for escaping! I deserved to be struck by lightning.''
Ace cursed himself for his ignorance, he finally understands the true terror of those five beads.
Because the system always warn him every time it gave something with limitation to him. But it never warns him about those beads even when he was facing that elemental guardian. This means those beads can be used in any kind of situation for escape and anything!
Only that it came in his mind just too damnte when the system pointed it out for him!
''I only have two left and I know how to use them!'' Ace was quite ecstatic at the moment and all the tension was gone in smoke, "System tell me in the future will there be more invisible bead?"
No answer came.
Ace didn''t mind it in the least bit. Since has two hours to waste he decided to read something random.
-------
At the entrance of the Library, Aspen holding a small mirror while frowning.
In this mirror was the image of Javier who was strolling around the first floor like it was his own backyard.
This mirror was connected with the ''All Detection Light Formation'' with it one can see what was happening on every floor of the library.
Aspen waszy but she didn''t dare to overlook her duties that much. Since someone was here it was her duty to watch what that person was doing all the time.
After all, this ce was where the treasury was hidden and also something that can help the Luminous Kingdom end this cursed punishment!
They only open this library for higher-ups of the luminous city is because they didn''t want to arouse any suspicion.
After all, if you protect something with everything you had, everyone would think there is something very important in your possession. This was, even more, the case when a power like the Luminous Kingdom was protecting it!
Even Zelda didn''t know about the whole truth behind the Descendent Cursed nor Dion who wanted to escape from here.
Only the Luminous King of every generation would know the real truth and he has to send his firstborn here when they turned fifteen. It was happening for more than eight hundred years now.
''Is this brat being only here to mess around?'' Aspen thought as her expression turn a little ugly.
She knew on the first floor there wasn''t anything interesting but there were many normal skills and even some half-grade mortal techniques.
That''s what a library of power represents!
But now Javier was just casually strolling around like these books were trash in his eyes.
Aspen wanted to kick him out but held herself back because that Braxton was quite closed to Dion and she didn''t want her carefree andfortable life to end. So, she didn''t pay any attention to that ignorant brat anymore and decided to take a nap.
Two hours passed in a sh,
Javier causally exited the first floor and saw Aspen was looking at him coldly. He didn''t even blink and said, "Give it back."
Aspen wanted to p this bastard so bad but knew she can''t since he didn''t do anything wrong and with resentment in her eyes, she throw the identity crystal back.
"Brat don''t let me find you outside." She coldly threatens.
Javier who was about to exit the library turn around and smiled mysteriously, "Oh, I''m going to find you very soon. Don''t run away at that time!" He didn''t wait for her reply and exit the library.
Aspen was bbergasted by this nonsense of Javier and bark, "What do you mean, darn brat!"
Javier sneered as he enters the carriage and leaves dumbfounded Aspen behind. Five tes means Cracked Foundation, Six tes means wed Foundation, Seven means Complete, and Eight means Perfect foundation in the golden sky world.
Chapter 90 - Beginning Of Thivery!
From the Luminous Library, Ace goes straight to the busy market of the Luminous City. He bought some ''important stuff'' for his big thievery and returned to the Weston Vi in the evening.
Ace was in good mood, he has finallypleted everything he needed to and scout the entire library as well.
Now was the time to leave the Weston Vi. He didn''t like it here but they didn''t treat him that badly except for all those ridicules and contemptuous eyes.
And it was not a bad experience for his first time posing someone and he somewhat even enjoyed it. Maybe he bing more and more like a real thief, who knows.
However, before leaving for good, Ace gave those two guinea pigs¡ ahem, maids some good fortune. They truly serve him well in this one month and even helped him train his soul ability.
He knew they were both sisters and orphans, that''s why he left them ten million ruby coins and a secret letter with it. With it, they can live the rest of their life happily.
As for Javier, he didn''t care because he knew everyone would be happy, not sad because of this rotten egg disappearance.
After everything was taken care of, Ace wait for the night.
At night, outskirts of the Prince Manor territory,
A silhouette was moving like a phantom towards the tightly close tower-like manor gates. It was obviously Ace.
Ace has changed into an inky hood with a silver lining on it. This was the same 1-Start Armor Hood that he bought in the red mountain city with Eva. He didn''t have time to use it before but now was definitely the perfect time.
This one-start hood was nothing to Ace but since he bought it with Eva and it was hisst thievery in thend of cities he whores it, just for the sake of it.
Besides, he has already changed Javier''s appearance to his handsome self. But a fully ck mask was on his face. He couldn''t help but nostalgically remembered his first thievery four years ago and smile lightly.
As for doing thievery with Javier''s face, Ace didn''t do it because he simply think it wasn''t worth it and the biggest reason for it was the system!
On hisst thievery, the system has told him little about how it evaluates his performance, and didn''t want to lower his grade just because he used another face other than his own.
After all, the system has clearly said it wanted him to be famous not someone else!
Now, Ace was standing a hundred meters away from the exit gate and thinking, should he open it or just jump off the wall.
In the end, he chose the second. The walls were three hundred meters high but for a mid-stage heavenly foundation cultivator like him, it was nothing.
Ace saw the surrounding from the tall wall as the cold wind brush past him. It was the middle of the night but outside was sill lit with the moonlight andmps polls.
He truly enjoys this peaceful view.
''Sighs¡ In the end, I have to leave this city as well.'' Acement while sighing heavily.
Ace truly didn''t like the part where has to flee the city after thievery but he knew he can''t stay here even he wanted to because thisnd of cities was not enough for him anymore.
Ace wanted to experience the outside world and experience more marvels of the cultivation world.
This tinynd of cities was just a fragrant of the humongous Golden Sky World and stepping stone for Ace.
But first, he had toplete the mission!
Watching the beautiful city onest time, Ace jumped. Hended like an agile cat and didn''t feel a thing.
No one notices him leaving even with this much security. If Dion know he would definitely kill all those guards in anger.
After leaving the prince manor Ace didn''t waste any more time and head straight in the direction of Luminous Library with an evil smile on his face. ''Old hag I hope you''re doing well.''
In half an hour, Ace was standing outside of the library, watching it with his starry sky-like dark blue eyes behind the mask.
His pupils turn golden as he used the true and false eyes skill but didn''t find anything because this skill was not enough to see these formations. He sighted ''I truly need new skills.''
But he didn''t faze by it as a yellow pam-sized ball appeared in his hand. This yellow ball is called an Explosion Bomb!
It wasn''t anything special in the cultivation world as it can''t even leave a scratch on a Peak Qi Gates Cultivator and only mortals used it inrge fights. It was quite easy to find and Ace bought quite a few different varieties of these fascinated bombs.
Ace was after all a normal mortal for twelve years of his life and knew quite a lot about these kinds of stuff. He didn''t think all those boring stories of the restaurant owner came in handy one day.
Ace''splexion darken when he thought about the restaurant owner''s face and all those workers, whom he used to work with and treat him somewhat nicely. Now everything was destroyed and he can''t see them or that city surrounded by beautiful flowers again.
His hatred for Dulce reached a level higher!
Ace quickly calm himself and return to this usual self.
He looks coldly at the silent library while lit the string attached with the explosion bomb ame. It was his first time using this ''toy'' so he didn''t know just what kind ofmotion it would make.
He was quite worried though, what if its sound didn''t wake that old hag and make here out? Did he have to use an invisible bead in the end?
After all, Ace did all this just because he didn''t want to waste those two remaining beads here, now that he knew just how potent they truly were. They were like two life to him now.
Ace throws the bomb outside the library gate and hides nearby, watching the string bing shorter and shorter with anticipation.
eeepp''
The ame string finally enters the yellow bomb.
''Booooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmbbbbbbbbbbb''
A huge booming sounded rang in the silent area as it creates powerful ripples in the air.
Dirt was flying everywhere as Ace saw all this with rm. Cold sweat breaks out when he remembers why that owner didn''t let him test it inside the show and even cursed at him.
If he really tests it inside the shop and that shop was full of these things, it would''ve definitely blown away hundreds of meters of the area around it.
''I should be careful with these things in the future. I don''t want to rm the whole city now.'' Ace nodded seriously while taking a mental note.
Nheless, the explosion bomb really did the trick and the whole area around the library was rm because of it.
"Damn it! Who dare to use explosives inside the city and in this hour!?"
"Fuck that damnable bastard! I nearly peed my pants!"
"But your robe is already wet?"
"Shut the fuck up! Do want to die??"
¡.
''Cough¡.''
Ace heard this kind ofmotion and was quite embarrassed about it. He pretends as if he didn''t hear anything and only focused on the library that is still silent.
''Should I use that orange one?'' Ace thought.
He was about to take the big gun out when the library gate open and an old woman stomp outside with an ugly face full of fury.
"WHICH DAMNABL SCOUNDREL DARE TO RUNE THIS OLD LADY SLEEP??!" Aspen howls with hatred.
She was sleeping like log while having a nice dream when she heard a piercing explosion just outside of the library.
First, she thought it was an enemy attack and was scared shitless but when she finally snapped out of her drowsy state, she remembered this was the luminous city, not the kingdom. Who will dare to attack this ce?
Her fright turns into fury as she came out to teach that rascal a lesson. But found nothing except for cursesing from different directions just like hers.
"Who dares to mess outside the luminous library???? Don''t let me found you or this is thest thing you have ever done. YOU Wrenched Rascal!" Since Aspen can''t find the culprit she cursed some more with an ugly mug.
All those guards who wereing here to investigate the matter hurriedly turn back when they spotted Aspen because they knew she was bad news. It was also the same case for those who were cursing a while ago.
They somewhat knew the person probably did all this just to piss her off and she was mostly the one who offended them first. After all who in their right mind blow the explosion outside the library?
Well, she was quite famous around the area from the name of Old Mountebank.
Aspen was about to swear again seeing those damn guards escaping without investigating the matter when a light cold voice enters her ears from behind.
"Do as I said or die!"
Chapter 91 - Towards The Treasury!
Aspen felt icy killing intent from behind and a sharp de edge on the back of her neck. She wanted to release the aura of her cultivation base but felt a teau-like pressure from behind!
"I seem you don''t want your life." That cold voice rang again. "So be it."
Aspen''s heart turns cold because she knew the other party was not kidding around anymore and that sharp cold de began to press on her neck!
Now, she knew that person behind her is far more powerful than her and she will definitely die if that de moves.
"D-don''t, d¡don''t!" Aspen panic and in the end submitted helplessly, "I surrender!"
The de didn''t move anymore as the voicemand again, "Nice choice. Let''s go inside the library."
Aspen knew she had offended this guy somehow as she slowly enter the library with an ugly yet frightened face and resentfully thought. ''Just which bastard isn''t afraid of luminous kingdom?!''
The voice owner was obviously Ace. This was his grand n of entering the library without requiring to use the invisible bead by simply taking Aspen as a hostage.
And it worked quite well since this hag didn''t take her job seriously and was carefree as a chicken, this was bound to happen.
Besides Ace wanted her space ring but he can''t open it without killing Aspen. This thought was quite alluring but he didn''t since he need someone to spread his fame!
Ace knew she would choose life over death and no one would evene to this ce easily, this gave him all the night to do whatever he wanted to do.
After all, who dare to steal from the kingdom like Luminous, right?
As Ace and Aspen enter the library with Aspen in front, the door was closed.
Ace didn''t show her his face and coolly said, "Give me your storage ring with Qi Mark removed of course."
Aspen''s face fell hearing this, all these years she was the one who was robbing the other no other way around.
But this bastard dared to demand her whole storage ring without leaving her anything, even she wasn''t this cruel. In her frustration, it didn''t even ur to her mind that this thief knows about storage rings and qi marks.
"W-we can talk about it¡" But the de started to press again before she couldplete her sentence. "Fine¡ you win!"
Aspen skeptically removed her precious storage ring from her finger with a quivering hand and removed Qi Mark with it. Before she could give it to that scoundrel thief it vanished!
"Hmm, nice ring." Ace was ecstatic holding Aspen''s storage ring in his hand.
===
"[Pick Pocket seed]
[Rewards: 200 Thief Points]
[Thief Point(s): 1245]
====
This made Ace even more pleased, "Since youply with my requests so splendidly, I''ll spare your little life."
Aspen was quite shocked when her ring disappeared without even her noticing, but when she heard that taunting voice she grits her teeth so hard as her jaw was on the verge of injury.
She never hated someone so much in her life before, but s she was just so weak that she can''t even see that person''s face.
Aspen thought that this thief will leave after taking her storage ring and at that time she will go directly to the prince manor to report her grievance to the grand prince and hunt this bastard down. And she was quite confident in doing it.
Because of the formation te inside the storage ring! That formation te was after all the key to this library formation and Grand Prince has a way to locate it that''s why she wasn''t worried about it being stolen.
Even if Aspen loses her position after reporting this but she will take this thief down who stole everything from her!
Aspen was fantasying about how she''s going to enjoy whipping this bastard after finding him when he speaks again, "Where are the treasuries hidden?"
She was shocked hearing this because this question means this thief wanted to rob the entire library and somehow know about the existence of the treasury!
If that was really the case then this guy was the biggest retard in her eyes, "You wanted to rob from the Luminous Kingdom?"
Ace nonchntly said, "So what if I did? Just speak I don''t have time to waste."
Now that he has the formation te he can simply search the upper floors but this will take some time and he didn''t want to take risks. He was speaking arrogantly but his soul sense was working at its peak.
If he found any suspicious movements, he will make her lock the entire ce down. All these formations were not just for show. It was another story this hag didn''t use them to see the outside of the library and came out like an idiot in her anger.
Aspen sneered, "Don''t go ahead of yourself, because even I can''t open the treasury, only Grand Prince can."
She couldn''t help but think this guy has some screw loss and believed it the next moment since only an idiot would dare to rob her and think about stealing from the Luminous Kingdom.
"Are you speaking or not?" Ace was quite annoyed now.
Even he knew that Grand Prince would not give the likes of her the method to open the treasury. He can''t deal with all these annoying formations but when it came to locks as long as they were not graded one, it was his bread and butter with treasure-opening hands.
''Certainly a retard!'' Aspen assumed, "Just go on thest floor and the treasury is behind the only shelf there."
Since he wanted to die this bad Aspen was happy toply. That treasury has an rm formation that will go off when someone touched the lock formation without the key!
Once that rm goes off Dion would be alert at that moment because he has the Key and this guy would be dead! A sly smile creeped out her face unknowingly.
Ace felt Aspen''s mood lighten a bit but he didn''t know why because he could tell this hag was telling the right position of the treasury, "And where is the second treasury?"
Aspen was astonished and said confusingly, "What second? There is only one treasury here."
Ace frowned because from her soul fluctuations Aspen was telling the truth but he believed the system scouting ability more. ''Did that Grand Prince hide the second treasury from others?''
He soon nodded his head because it was the only feasible exnation.
Now that Aspen has told him about everything he wanted to know he didn''t need her anymore and knock her unconscious.
Ace take out the same formation te from Aspen''s storage ring that was entirely green with mysterious patterns engrave all over it.
The moment he touched the formation te,
"[Did host want the information about how to control this formation te for 5 Thief Points?]"
''I didn''t hear this notificationst time I got the information about Dulce''s formation te.'' Ace was surprised but still said, "Yes."
He didn''t hear it because the system simply didn''t ask for it.
Just like always, foreign information begin to drill in Ace''s brain but he didn''t feel a thing.
After ten seconds Ace''s eyes were shimmering with excitement, ''I wonder if I can learn this Rune Crafting one day.'' He thought ecstatically, he was quite moved by this rune crafting after seeing what can all these mysterious formations do.
But it wasn''t the time to awed by it, Ace pours Qi in the formation and the stairway to the upper floors emerges just like he witnesses in the morning.
Ace step on the stairway and reached the first floor. He didn''t stop, with the formation te twinkling in his hand he easily reached the second floor.
On the second floor, there were only three bookshelves, Ace did want to read these books since they were on the second floor and protected by the formation, they had to be precious.
Ace simply store the whole bookshelves insides his thief''s space and move to the third floor.
On the third floor were only two old-looking three meters tall bookshelves that has old and dust-filled, books.
Ace didn''t fret as he store them inside the thief''s space. He didn''t know even Bill can''t enter this floor because these books hold some astonishing secrets about low and middlends and only the Grand Prince can learn them.
From here there was no stairway upwards as if the third floor was thest floor of the library. But Ace knew better than anyone that all this was just a fa?ade because he had the formation te.
Ace pour more Qi inside the formation te as it begins to shine brilliantly.
The next moment an old stairway appeared out of nowhere that leads to the final floor of the library.
This is also the very floor where the Treasury of the Luminous City was hidden!
Chapter 92 - Where Is The Second Treasury?
Ace enters the fourth floor with eyes full of anticipation.
The fourth floor of the library was quite mundane, there was a wooden table and chair. And a small bookshelf that only has five old books.
Ace quickly stores the books inside the thief''s space and scans the wall behind the bookshelf that looks like a rusty old wall. Just as he thought he didn''t find a thing!
''This formation te is also not connected with the treasury formation just like that old hag said.'' Ace thought gravely. ''This is a problem, I can''t find loopholes without true and false eyes, how I''m supposed to use treasure opening hands?''
Because treasure opening hands can only be used when he saw ws with true and false eyes. These two skills were made for each other and with even one of them missing the other was useless as well.
Before Ace thought since this was a locking formation he would be able to find ws with true and false eyes but these formations were just too profound.
Now he was just this door away frompleting the mission but can''t open it. This made him quite frustrated!
Actually, it wasn''t Ace''s fault that his skills were powerless so soon, it was just that these treasuries here are made by an empire-level power! It''s may not look like it but this ce is just too important for the Luminous Kingdom and how they get their hands on these treasuries, was a mystery.
Moreover, if he even tries to touch that wall to examine it the rm formation would go off and the grand prince would race here at full speed at that moment.
No matter how confident Ace was, he wasn''t when facing a Qi River realm expert. Hisst experience with a Qi River has almost got him killed and doesn''t want to take any chance with them either.
''Did I had to rob the Grand Prince now?'' Ace thought gravely but quickly shook his head, ''If they even get the news I was in the city and wanted to rob the treasury it will be night impossible for me to remain here much less infiltrate this ce so easily again.''
Ace knew he was now riding the tiger''s back. Once Aspen report his presence or he killed her to shut her mouth the security level would definitely be raised by it. Grand Prince might be highly alert because of it.
If that were to happened Ace wasn''t confident enough toplete the mission in reaming time.
He was trulying here full of spirit and confidence toplete the mission tonight but end up kicking a hard ce.
This gives him another lesson to never act so quickly and check every minor detail before doing thievery of this magnitude. Well, what can he do? Ace wasn''t a real thief or didn''t know the true way of thievery, he was learning with errors.
''Did I have to leave in the end aftering so close?'' Just as Ace was on the verge of giving up a yful voice buzz in his mind,
"[Host can simply take the whole treasury. If you can''t open it now, it didn''t mean you can''t open it in the future.]"
Ace felt a huge fog has been lifted from his mind when he heard his, ''Why didn''t I think of it!''
But the next moment all his excitement die down, "I can''t do that the moment I touched the wall the rm would go off. Besides if I want to take the treasury, I have to take the entire floor!"
Ace wanted a further exnation because he knew this wasn''t the system''s voice and another one that he has been hearing now and then.
However, no further answer was given as if Ace has to find the rest on his own after the hint.
Ace smile bitterly because he knew now he was on his own, but just that little clue was enough for opening many further possibilities for him. He begins to think at high speed while examining the whole floor.
''Right where is the second treasury?'' This suddenly thought came to his mind but quickly shook his head, ''I can''t even open this one how the hell I''m supposed to open the other? Now I just have toplete the mission somehow.''
Ace has already given up on the second mysterious treasury that even Aspen didn''t know where it was. He would be happy just by taking this treasury somehow.
Suddenly a thought surfaces his mind as he quickly opens the system''s report and begins to check something hastily. It was as if a curtain has been lifted from his eyes.
''Why didn''t I think of it at that time, it was always there!''
Ace''s eyes sparkle brightly as he looked at the rusty old wall. He takes a deep breath and forwards his hand towards it. If what he thinks was really the case then all this was very simple!
The moment his hand touched the wall, it vanished and a deep thirty cubic meters empty area appeared!
There was nothing there and how could there be? Because a thirty cubic meters metallic box appeared in Ace''s thief''s space at this moment!
This was excitedly treasury of the Luminous City Prince''s Manor!
After seeing the treasury appearing in the thief''s space, Ace was so thrilled he wanted tough out loud.
All this happened because Ace has finally noted a very important point of the scout report and that was the formation was on a middle-grade treasury!
It simply means it wasn''t a part of the entire floor and a different tangible object! This means he can simply take it if he hasrge enough storage space.
Ace finally understand what that hint means as he cursed his foolishness to not be able to notice this particr point and didn''t think of taking the entire treasury!
Furthermore, no one would''ve even thought that someone has this big of a space to take an entire treasury, and even if had one they can''t store this treasury inside because something is living inside!
However, Ace was a rarity among rarities, not only did he haverge enough storage space he even has living storage space! If even one of the factors were to miss he would never be able to store the treasury.
Ace looked at the empty area happily but quickly calm down because he didn''t open the treasury by disabling the formation and even touched it. That''s mean the Grand Prince would being here soon and he had to escape now!
But before leaving Ace takes out his own wanted poster and ce it on the empty table while grinning evilly.
Ace quickly reached the entrance of the library where Aspen was still unconscious.
He ces the formation te in her hand, he wanted to take these formations with him but can''t because they were not like Dulce''s barrier formation. And that te was nothing but junk without them so he decided to ''give it back.'' well, it was more like he was digging a grave for Aspen.
Ace quickly leaves the library with a racing heart as he heads straight to the city gates, just like he always does!
In ten minutes, the city gates were in his view.
''I''ve finally seeded.'' Ace thought excitedly when suddenly a horrifying pressure descends on the entire city out of nowhere!
Ace''s pupils shrink as his eyes narrowed into slits because he never felt this kind of pressure before. It not he can''t move in this pressure since it was quite far from him, besides in front of heavenly punishment pressure this was nothing for him.
It was just that Ace had a feeling that something is watching him through this pressure and stealth wasn''t enough to protect him!
''Not good!'' Ace felt his soul sense give him a grave warning just like when he encounters the Orb Guardian but it was more critical!
He has been located!
With gritting teeth Ace take out the invisible bead and crushed it!
Because Ace felt if he didn''t use this bead he will never be able to escape this city. The moment Ace crushed the bead the sensation of being watched vanished and he quickly cross the city gate.
Ace only had a minute to escape the range of this unknown aura. He used only silent steps with the full power of his cultivation base and head straight west, towards the border of thend of cities and kingdoms!
In thirty seconds, Ace was feeling the pressure but it was vague and he knew he was almost outside of the range of that terrifying being.
''Is that a Qi River Core Cultivation?'' He couldn''t help but think oddly, ''Just what the hell is the deal with that city.''
After the minute of invisible bead was over Ace was finally outside the field of that expert.
He looked back with curious eyes just to see how far he was from the city and nearly forgets to breathe after what he saw!
Chapter 93 - Sky Stealer
The exact moment Ace touched the formation of the luminous library treasury. Inside Jade Pavilion''s private room Dion frowns his eyebrows as he takes a grey crystal card with mysterious patterns on it.
This was the key card of the luminous city''s treasury! But this grey card was sparkling brightly a moment ago and suddenly returned to its dormant state.
Dion knows what that shine means, it means someone is messing with the treasury!
''Did that old witch lose her mind?'' Dion instantly thought of Aspen but quickly threw that notion out of his head, ''That old witch didn''t have the guts to do it. But why is this key returned to its dormant state after a moment of warning? Was it a false rm?''
Dion first thought that it should be some minor problem but frown after thinking that formation on the treasury was not so simple and if the rm goes off that means someone is not right there.
In front of Dion was sitting non-other than Vance Golden!
They were here because Dion wanted to discuss something with Vance and they were just sitting there when the formation key gave Dion a warning.
Vance was very knowledgeable, seeing the crystal card in Dion''s hand he instantly knows this was a Key Formation, Crystal Card. But wasn''t interested in the treasury of this barren ce so he didn''t think much of it.
Dion also didn''t put this treasury in his eyes that''s why he carelessly take the key card in front of Vance. After all the important stuff was inside his storage ring. Furthermore, who dares to rob the city under his kingdom''s protection?
"Master Vance please give me a moment, I think there is a trivial problem." Dion politely apologized.
Vance coolly said, "Don''t worry about this old man you can check in peace."
Dion smile as he takes out a formation te, it was an exact copy of Aspen''s!
With it, Dion can check the situation of the library anytime he wanted to if he was in the range of the formation that is. But the range of that formation was quite big so he didn''t have any trouble seeing the situation inside the library.
At this time Ace has already left the library.
When Dion saw Aspenying there motionlessly while holding the formation te between her hand, his eyes narrowed.
''Something is not right.'' He quickly checks the upper floor and his expression turn shock to ugly and in end, it was as dark as charcoal.
Because first, Dion saw every floor except the first floor''s books included shelves are missing and when he saw the fourth floor was missing its entire treasury, his eyes nearly popped out their sockets.
"W-WHO¡WHO DARE??! WHAT AUDACITY!!" Dion can''t control his emotions seeing the entire library empty and bark out loud in ferocity.
Vance saw Dion''s ugly mug full of fury and was quite shocked by his howl, "What happened, Grand Prince?" He was also rmed.
Dion and Vance were on the fourteenth floor, when Dion roar angrily it even reached the fifteenth floor and even Zelda and La were alert by it.
With La''s power, she and Zelda appeared outside of the private room where Vance and Dion were meeting. But one can only see Zelda, La was still hidden.
At this moment another fiery yet astonished voice resounded, "IT''S HIM!! IT''S UNMISTAKABLY HIM"
Vance saw Dion''s expression changed between violence and excitement when he roars and could help but promptly asked, "What you''re talking about? Who ''him''?"
Vance couldn''t help but think, ''Is he gone mad or something?''
Dion can''t help but yell out loud with emotion, "THAT THIEF! IT''S THAT THIEF WE''VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR! Heaven truly opens its eyes. Hahahaha." He even forgets about the missing treasury!
Vance''s calm expression instantly turn rapturous and filled with excitement and eagerness. He anxiously asked, "W-where is he??"
He wanted to snatch that formation te but someone else beat him in it.
Dion''s joyous expression was somewhat sour when he saw someone has snatched the formation te from his hands and wanted to attack when he felt a pressure hundred, no, thousands of times strong than his own.
Even Vance didn''t dare to utter another word after feeling this pressure and see the beautiful person in a veil standing there holding the formation te with horrified eyes.
''Qi River Core Realm Expert! But how the hell this kind of existence appeared in this ce?'' Vance''s experience wasn''t shallow and instantly guess the power level of this veiled woman since his brother was himself a step away from reaching Qi River Core Realm.
Vance and Dion''s eyes instantly shift on Zelda who was curiously yet with excited eyes standing behind that terrifying woman.
Vance''s face fell even more, if this woman was with that girl and really at this terrifying realm then his chance of obtaining the Blood Rose instantly reached rock bottom!
''I have to fight with her if this is thest thing I do!'' He was ready to bet his life on the line for Blood Rose.
On the other hand, Dion has different thoughts, ''Now that thief has finally appeared, I can assuredly be freed from this damn ce.'' He was just happy about leaving his darn ce.
When La and Zelda heard Dion''s saying the thief is finally here, La couldn''t control herself and instantly appeared while snatching the formation te from Dion.
She looked the same thing as Dion with bewilderment and when she saw the fourth floor almost half empty area and remain of the treasury.
''This¡ How could some have this big of a space to store the entire treasury?'' La instantly noticed the main strange yet extraordinary point that Dion overlooked in excitement.
The next moment her eyesnded on the wanted poster of Ace that they spread all over thend of cities just a month ago. On top, it was written few words,
+++++
Want to catch me, a Great Thief?
Tsk, tsk, you''re too green for that!
Try in another hundred years.
And remember this Great Thief''s name:
''SKY STEALER''
+++++
This was Ace''s great exit act.
First, he wanted to use the name of Heaven''s Stealer but refrain from it because this name is too damn arrogant and he knew it is bound to have a shocking history behind it.
That is why he chose the Sky Stealer, it was arrogant as well but earthlier. He did all this to get rid of that ''Slippery Rat'' title and most importantly to raised the system''s evaluation.
Since his wanted posters were all over thend of cities it doesn''t matter to him if people search for him more passionately because this picture of him is old and no one sees his change and mature appearance except for Bill.
As for this name not reaching the masses Ace wasn''t worried about it either because he already takes care of it before the beginning of the thievery.
"Sky Stealer," La mumbles softly as a cold glint shed past her eyes.
She was a little angry now because this was a kind of p on everyone''s face who were searching for him and an arrogant act of provocation in La''s eyes.
This little thief was retaliating and openly taunting them while stealing from the Luminous City and insolently leaving behind this note on his wanted poster.
One had to know the power behind them spend quite some resources in finding him but failed in the end. And now out of nowhere he pops up and ps their faces this feels like a poisonous ant bite.
Eight minutes have passed since Ace steal the treasury of the luminous city.
La coolly threw the formation te back to Dion who was smiling like an idiot, he caught the formation te and ask, "What instruction did the Lady has for this prince?"
Dion knew the real in charge of the whole matter was this terrifying woman and Zelda was just the front. With her here how could that thief will able to escape?
Vance who was sweating profoundly also speak with a forced smile, "This old man also waits for the Lady''s instruction."
He knew he can''t beat her in a frontal confrontation but can find that thief first! But first, he has to leave this room.
Zelda also saw all this and her aunt''s cold eyes, she knew La was furious and didn''t say anything. But inside she was quite curious to find just what that thief did to piss her aunt off.
"Little niece, go and order all the men to lock down the entire city with our barrier formation!" La indifferently said, "And I''ll search for him. I also wanted to see just how great this self-proim ''Sky Stealer'' truly is."
La gave her order and instantly vanished.
Zelda didn''t dy as she quickly leave toplete the task.
Dion and Vance smile wryly. That thief piss that terrifying woman and he was in for it now.
La instantly appeared outside of the Jade pavilion as five strange dark rings appeared in her white soft fingers, and close her eyes.
Spontaneously, a huge formless aura began to spread in the surroundings and covers the entire city in a minute!
She finally felt a strange aura moving at high speed towards the city gate, ''Heh, finally found you, little rascal.''
But before she could chase after him it suddenly vanished!
Chapter 94 - Biggest Heist Of Low Lands’ History!
La was bbergasted by this sudden turn of events and pour even more qi in those strange dark rings. But no matter how much she searches she can''t find that strange Qi wave again.
Suddenly a strange uneasiness appeared in her calm heart and quickly sprint towards the area where she felt that Qi first time. In seconds she reached there be couldn''t found anything strange.
At this moment a huge dome-like barrier appeared around the whole luminous city that locked itpletely. Now no one can go out ore inside the city without La''s order.
It was the handy work of Zelda, they have quite a few powerful helpers here and since the search for the thief was stop just a few days ago they have even spare. That''s why this barrier has appeared instantly.
La deeply looked at the tightly shut city gate and knit her brows tightly. ''Is he escape before I caught up? No, some petty thief can''t possess this kind of skills.''
But quickly discard the notion, ''Besides no one can escape my ''Apparition Wave Rings''! It must be my imagination. I should keep searching. Now that the city is locked let''s see where that thief can escape!''
La quickly forget about that strange Qi Wave and thought it was just her being too concerned. Because those rings in her hands were a 7-Start weapon and it was also engraved with 6-Mortal Runes Symbols!
How could someone here have this kind of skill to render this kind of treasure useless? That''s why La didn''t even check the outside city herself and only give a few peak qi foundation realm experts order to scout the area.
La''s main focus was still the city, she wanted to teach that arrogant thief a painful lesson for provoking her with those infuriating words.
This whole night, the luminous city was bursting with activates.
The residents of the city saw a shining transparent dome on the city and think it was some kind of natural phenomenon since most of the people here were mortals.
But soon everyone finds out that something big has happened because strange ck clothes men came out of nowhere and go into every house and search every nook of it.
This was not the end after checking the house they scan everyone with a golden mirror and after confirming their identity crystals they simply leave with gloomy eyes.
Dion was also searching for the thief after all his freedom depends on it, he didn''t even go to the library to punish Aspen who was now scared shitless seeing the entire treasury gone. Dion leave that matter forter, that thief was more important though.
Vance was also searching franticly because seeing all those ck cloth men all around the city he knew if he wanted to find that thief first he had to be more careful and do it before anyone else. He even borrowed that golden mirror from Zelda who give it away casually.
Zelda knew the city was now under their control and this old man can''t escape so she didn''t have any objection to using this old man as well to search for the Blood Rose and that thief. Besides this mirror has a location array engrave on it so she was worried even less.
La on the other hand continuedly using her treasure but still didn''t find any suspicious Qi Wave and a trace of panic could be seen in her eyes.
''Just which hole that rascal crawl into!'' She thought in impediment.
When the whole city was bursting with activity the only person who was enjoying the wine was Bill!
Bill has been released from prison just an hour ago and go straight to find Javier but found he was missing and instantly guess his friend is gone and felt somewhat sad.
But when he heard the news that the entire city was on lockdown and everyone is searching for someone Bill instantly guess that Ace has struck and even sessfully escape all those old geezers.
Heughs at that time and begun to drink like crazy, if not for its looks quite suspicious he would''ve gone to the jade pavilion for celebration.
Bill grin widely when he remembered Ace little note that he left for him before he leaves,
+++++++
''My thief name is ''Sky Stealer'' if possible just spread it as far as you can.''
+++++++
''Don''t worry brother Asher I''ll make sure everyone knows about this name.'' Bill thought while grinning.
-----
When everyone was going crazy over the whole luminous city situation and finding the thief with their different motives in mind, far, far away from the low-levelnds.
Inside a luxurious golden chamber, a handsome young man wearingvishing robes in his twenties was sitting crossed-legged with eyes tightly closed like a peaceful statue.
He has a sturdy tone built with long ck hair and his pale face was very handsome, but suddenly his eyes sprang opened and he deeply frowned. His eyes were full of fiery vigor but there was a hint of fury in them as if he was infuriated for some reason.
He quickly exits theving chamber and goes towards another room not so far away from his own and said, lightly, "Father, you son here has something very important to report."
An aged peaceful yetmanding voice resounded from the room, "Enter."
That young man quickly enters the room, inside was pitch ck without even a trace of light and no one could see if there was someone here or not.
But the young man didn''t seem to be fazed by it and quickly said, "Father my connection with them ----- is broken somehow."
"Hmm?" That aged voice seems to be surprised by this quite a bit, "Those ants didn''t have guts to revolted again after I teach them a lesson eight hundred years ago"
The aged voice owner seems to remember something before saying, "You can go there and investigate the matter yourself since you''re not a kid anymore. It will also be a kind of experience for you."
The young man didn''t dare to disobey and quickly agree to it, "I will not disappoint you, Father."
"Good, remember ----- is very important for you ining Thousand Years Hunting Selections. If anyone dares to even look at it kill them without mercy!"
"I understand"
After the young man left two glowing beastly eyes sprang open in the dark chamber as a whispering noise rang, "Even my connection with it broken. But how is that possible, should I go investigate myself?"
---------
Three days passed in shed and the Luminous City finally unlocked and return to its daily routine. But the peace didn''tst long because a piece of shocking news was revealed to the public.
A thief has robbed the whole treasury of prince manor and shockingly that thief was the same thief whose wanted posters were quite famous one month ago!
Everyone thought that this thief''s guts have reached heaven to dare to even steal from a kingdom. This thievery mark as the biggest heist of the low-levelnds!
From some unknown source the name of the thief also knows to the public, ''Sky Stealer'', and no one knows who was the person who spread that name but it gains quite poprity in hours and now everyone knows about the Young Sky Stealer.
On the other hand, the group that was searching for the thief was quite depressed and gloomy.
Especially La, even after showing herself can''t find that thief and those words left behind by that thief be stabbing knife in her heart and the name sky stealer engrave in her memories as his appearance!
She vowed to find that rascal and returned the humiliation thousand folds.
Dion ends up bing the biggest loser because he loses the entire treasury under his damn nose. This was a huge blow to his reputation and everyone wasughing at him in secret. Well, he didn''t know what wasing for him in the future because he has lost something he shouldn''t have!
Vance finally gave up every hope and simply decided to return to the kingdom and exchange some resources with the information about the thief and that scroll he possessed about Blood Rose.
This was hisst resort and with it, he would gain some benefits but also let that thief matter in the hands of Pill me Organization! It will also quail some hatred in his heart.
After all, possessing a legendary herb was not easy especially if there is an organization like Pill me, out there. He never reports this because he wanted the whole benefits by giving the real thing to them and this was the same case for Zelda as well.
But contrary to Vance, Zelda didn''t give up nor did the power behind them because blood rose aside just that thief''s skills and that space treasure in which he stored the entire treasury with those big sleeves was enough to keep them going.
Another mass search of the entire westernnds begun with it and La did it herself this time. Because they knew for sure that thief can''t escape from the lownds!
Chapter 95 - Rewards Of Third Misson!
Ace looked at the bright domed with a shocking expression that has appeared on the city and this wasn''t the end.
After that barrier was set, many ck-cloaked men with ck masks on their faces appeared out of nowhere and circle the whole city!
The weakest of them was the Early Stage Qi Formation while the strongest of them was at the Qi River!
''This is on a whole other level than Dulce''s formation barrier!'' Ace thought gravely because he could feel that the power of that barrier is at the same level as the library''s formation!
''First, that powerful foreign aura and now this barrier just who are these people?'' Ace''s eyes turn sharp, ''Are they also after Blood Rose?''
Ace didn''t know who these ck clothes men were but by the powerful Qi Wave around them, he knew they were not from thend of cities!
''I''ve avoided a disaster!'' Ace deemed because if he was inside that barrier it would be night impossible to escape.
And after sensing that strange aura he knew there was a terrifying existence inside that city who can search for him with that strange aura and he was helpless in front of it without the invisible bead!
This gave Ace the chills and he escaped at full speed as he vanished in wildness.
Since there were Qi River Realm Cultivators between those men he has to go as far away from here as possible before they started to search the surrounding of the city.
Ace run with the silent step at full speed for ten hours straight, it was already dawn and his advantage of darknesse to an end with light.
Now anyone in the Empty River Stage of Qi River Realm can sense him with little difficulty as for River Depth Stage Cultivator, for them Ace was very easy to find.
Qi River Realm has Five Small Realms or Stages. They are Empty River, River Depth, River Source, Flowing River, and Complete River respectively.
Ace has sense one River Depth Stage cultivator in the group of those ck men and that''s why he wanted to go as far away from it before they expand the range of their search.
After ten hours of continues running, he has put quite some distance between himself and Luminous City.
Ace wasn''t looking tired but sweat was dripping from his chin and his breathing was a little rough. He can run for three straight days but stop because it was time to reap the rewards of hisbor!
He was in desperate need of new skills and with all those powerful men as an enemy he felt the tension even more.
Ace found a spot quite well hidden between trees and long wild grass and settled to rest here.
After making sure that he was well hidden, Ace transmitted his enthusiastic and excited voice inside his mind, "System begin the evaluation!"
A ck transparent mission panel appeared and words began to appear on it while Ace heard the system emotionless voice,
======
"[Staring the evaluation process]"
[Mission Panel]
[Job Mission: Host has to do honorable thievery at a city lord''s mansion of the No.1 City in the Low-Level Lands. (Lands of cities)]
[Status: Complete]
[Scanning Host Performance] {1.2.3¡100% Complete}
[Result]
{Performance Rating: Good}
[Rewards will be 2X for the first 3 Missions]
[Third 2X Reward will be given now]
[2X Reward]
{Experience Point(s) = 500,000}
{Soul Point(s) = 50,000}
{Thief Point(s) = 15,000}]
[Rewards have been added to Host status]
---
[Special Rewards]
{Thief Panel has been unlocked}
{Shop has been updated}
======
Ace was quite astonished seeing the rating has reached the Good Grade because he didn''t steal the second treasury. Nheless, he was ted about it since this gave him extra Points especially SP, which are not easy to find.
Furthermore, Ace saw on top of the system''s main panel a new pentagon icon was unlocked. It has a hooded silver rune symbol that was shining with a golden light around it and the hooded symbols on it was sparkling with silver dots just like the other five pentagon icons.
''It has to be that Thief Panel!'' Ace guess and wanted to open it when the system''s voice buzzed in his mind,
======
"[Thief Panel and Updated Shop will be avable in an hour]
[Please wait in meantime]"
=====
After the notification, the [Thief Panel] and [System Shop] pentagon icons dim down instantly.
Ace frown a little but didn''t rebuke, since it was only an hour he can wait.
Since he can''t see those new functions at this moment Ace wanted to restore his Qi but before he could do that, his soul sense tingled with rm!
He quickly goes in stealth and held his breath because that was the soul wave of an Empty River Stage Expert!
Ace used his Heavenly Sense to saw the area and was horrified after finding there were the same group of ck men leading by a Qi River Expert and many Qi Foundation Experts.
Ace''s face fell, ''How in the hell did they caught up this quick!''
After La didn''t find any suspicious Qi wave in two hours, she finally takes notice of that strange Qi Wave again that she felt at the start and vanished the very next moment.
She quickly dispatched ten teams leading by a Qi River Realm Expert to search the wildness. Those teams were very profound in their task especially for searching, they had many treasures that can found someone trace that was not easy to find with naked eyes.
Now Ace was beginning to take these ck cloth men seriously because it was his first time that someone has caught up to him after he escape the city and they were all very powerful.
If he even makes a tiny mistake those guys would found him and that time he would alert the others as well.
So, he had to be vignt and quickly leave this area because that group was only two hundred meters away from him.
With his heavenly sense active Ace retreat with silent steps without making any sound. He suddenly saw that Qi River Cultivator taking a strangepass from his storage ring and begin to scan the area carefully.
Ace''s heart sank because he didn''t know what thatpass was but since a Qi River Cultivator was using it, it has to be extraordinary.
Ace hold his breath like a statue and stop moving, he didn''t want to take the risk of moving with that thing around.
He suddenly felt a strange Qi Wave around but it wasn''t as strong as thest one. However, it can detect him!
''Do I have to use thest bead as well?'' Ace thought gloomily because he knew once that guy find his Qi Wave he can''t escape him.
Suddenly a thought came to mind.
The Qi River mask man was called Shadow Finder because he was an expert at finding people.
Shadow Finder used this Shadow Detection Compass that was bestowed on him and other teams to find that thief. It was a Ranked 4 Mortal Rune Array Treasure that can detect even a Deep River Cultivator!
One can see just how serious La was in finding that thief.
Suddenly Shadow Finder see a little light dote in thepass metallic screen and spoke coldly. "Come out I know you''re behind that tree!"
He released the full power of his cultivation because he didn''t know if this was that thief or someone else but he won''t let them escape. If he finds anything suspicious he would even kill that person.
Because La made it clear if that thief retaliates kill him and bring his corpse back!
An ordinary-looking young man appeared behind from tree with a terrifying face as he said while shuttering, "I-I don''t¡ have any valuables. T-they were already¡ been robbed by other b-bandits."
That ordinary young man was Ace in Javier''s disguise. He has changed his clothes long ago and with Javier''s injured face he looked like somemoner that was lost in this wildness and been robbed by bandits.
"Boy, are you calling us bandits?" Someone behind Shadow Finder coldly looked at Javier.
Javier begin to tremble while he said timidly, "I-I, no, no. Your clothes just look like so¡so¡"
Before he could finish, Shadow Finder take a golden mirror andmand, "Look into it!"
Ace''s heart sank, ''Just how many treasures do you guys have!''
But he still looked in that mirror nervously, if his disguise were to blow then he can only fight his way out of here.
The golden mirror shines brightly for ten-second but his face reflection still didn''t change and Ace sighed in relief secretly.
"Let''s go he''s not him."
After Shadow Finder confirm Javier''s face was real and he also could tell this pitiful guy was just a third gate realm brat so lost interest in him since he didn''t have time to waste.
Shadow Finder left with his group of men leaving dumbfounded Javier behind. As for killing him? It was simply beneath them especially Shadow Finder who was quite aloof because of his background.
Ace confirmed that the group was left and finally had a sigh of relief....
Chapter 96 - Updated System Shop
Ace''s was depressing as he escapes the area and kept Javier''s face for the time being. Since they can''t see through the two-face mask, it was nothing but good news for him.
He continued his journey towards the border of lownds at full speed before someone else even stronger came after him, especially that terrifying aura''s owner (La).
Ace was moving at full speed for an hour when he heard the system''s voice that he had been desperately waiting for.
====
"[New function Thief Panel is ready for use.]
[System Shop has updated.]"
====
Ace was ted as he quickly finds a hiding spot and, with shimmering eyes, opens the system''s main panel.
"System, show me the shop first!" Ace excitedly order because he needed something right now that can help him in this journey, this thief''s panel wasn''t important right now.
======
[System Shop]
[Avable Skill Books]
[Avable Techniques]
[Avable Weapons]
[Avable Pills]
======
"Let''s see if there are any new techniques first."
======
[Avable Techniques]
[Soul Words {Despair Manual}]
{Price: 50,000TP}
[Heavenly Rune Crafter: Foundational Manual]
{Price: 5,000TP}
[Heaven''s Stealer Disassembler Manual {First Vol}]
{Price: 100,000TP}
=====
Ace inhales a breath of cold air, seeing these three new techniques all at once. But his face instantly darkens when saw two of their sky-high price.
"System, aren''t you being too shameless with those autocratic prices?" He demands an exnation.
But sadly, no answer came, and it made him even more irritated. But he knew there was no point in bickering with the system and looked at the one technique that he can buy at this moment and ignore the others.
He''s keepsing in contact with these rune symbols from the beginning of his cultivation journey, and this time he almost failed because of them. He hated them but also wanted to learn and understand them.
Now, the system gave him precisely the manual for learning the Rune Crafting, and it was Heavenly Rune Crafting at that!
He didn''t know the difference between the two, but he will learn it wholeheartedly.
Ace instantly wanted to buy it but held himself back because of his TP limitation and wanted to check everything first before deciding to buy the things that he needed right now.
After all, he has all the time in the world to purchase everything after he escapes this ce.
"Now, let''s see the weapons. I hope there are more invisible beads."
=====
[Avable Weapons]
[Heaven''s Stealer Disassembler Gloves]
{Unknown Grade}
{Price: 100,000TP}
---
[Hundred-Face Deception Mask]
{Grade-2 Rune Item}
{Price: 50,000TP}
---
[Random Teleportation Life Coin]
{3 Avable: 1 Time Use item}
{Price: 30,000TP Per Coin}
=====
Ace nearly had a stroke seeing the Weapon section of the system shop.
''Too damn expensive, and there aren''t more invisible beads either.'' Ace thought dejectedly, he wanted to curse at the system for being this ck-hearted but knew it was pointless.
But one thing caught his attention, and that was this Heaven''s Stealer Disassembler Manual and Gloves. They both have the name of Heaven Stealer in it, which means his technique and these new items were connected.
Besides, the gloves'' grade was also unknown, that alone makes it quite alluring in Ace''s mind.
Ace wanted to inquire about it but knew the system would take his precious question for it and since he can''t buy them at this moment, he leaves them for the future.
The other thing was that Life Coin was the same as the invisible beads, with no warning or grades. But he can''t buy any of these things, so Ace simply moved to the Pill Section.
========
[Avable Pills]
[Grade-1 Healing Pills]
{Price: 1,000TP, Per Pill}
---
[Grade-1 Heaven Qi Recovery Pills]
{Price: 500TP, Per Pill}
---
[Low-Grade Insight Pills]
{Description: Instantly Raised any skill proficiency by a single stage}
{10 Pills Avable}
{Price: 5,000TP, Per Pill}
---
[Low-Grade Heaven Stealer Martial Pills]
{5 Pills Avable}
{Price: 150TP, Per Pill}
[Not for Sale at this moment!]
---
[Middle-Grade Heaven Stealer Martial Pills]
{5 Pills Avable}
{Price: 10,000TP, Per Pill}
[Not for Sale at this moment!]
========
Ace saw the pill section after a long time, he was amazed because two first-grade pills have appeared and a brand-new pill that can raise the skill stages instantly! This pill is an enormous help for him.
And of course another Heaven Stealer Pill but a grade higher one.
He never used the Heaven Stealer Pill because he didn''t know what it does, but also its limitation. That''s why it was unmistakably precious, so Ace was saving it for a difficult situation.
However, now a high-grade pill has appeared with the old one still there, and there is a ''martial'' word that has appeared with that, not for sale tag.
This made Ace quite curious and finally use one free question on this pill and also confirm his guess.
Because the system didn''t tell him before, even with TP now that he has two free questions, he used one on it.
"System, what is the use of this pill and why does the martial word appear with them now?"
"[Heaven Stealer Martial Pill used when the host encounters a bottleneck. It can help the host to break into the next small realm instantly.]
[Low-Grade Pill can help the host in Heavenly River Realm, while the Middle-Grade Pill can help the host in Heavenly River Core Realm.]
[As for the reason for the name change, host prowess was too low before and even if the host wanted to buy that pill, the system would not sell it. Now that the shop has updated, the true pill name has appeared with an additional tag.]
[And host guess it right. There is a Heaven Stealer Soul Pill as well, but it is locked at this moment.]"
Ace''s eyes shimmer ecstatically when he finally knew just how heaven-defying those pills truly were.
Ace never encounter any bottleneck to this day because his soul cultivation was always higher than his martial cultivation. But what if this lead didn''tst in the future? Then these pills can help him in both soul and martial cultivation.
Ace suppressed his excitement and finally move on to the Skill section of the system shop that he has been wanted to look at the most.
========
[Avable Skill]
[Heartless Stealth Art]
{Price: 2,000TP}
{Description: A stealth art divided into three different stages}
[Breathless Stealth: No one will find your Qi Waves below Qi River Core]
[Pulseless Stealth: Invisible in Martial Sense of Qi River Core Cultivators]
[Heartless Stealth: Invisible in Martial Sense of Qi Soul Cultivators]
{Warning: Cultivators of Qi Soul Manifestation Realm will spot you instantly with Martial Sense.}
---
[Misperception Sky Steps Art]
{Price: 2,000TP}
{Description: A movement skill divided into four different stages}
[Camouge Steps: For Fight]
[Lightning Steps: For Speed]
[Misperception Steps: For Fooling Perception]
[Sky Steps: Ability to step on sky]
{Warning: Cultivators of Qi Soul Manifestation Realm will intercept you.}
---
[Soul Shattering Eyes]
{Price: 3,000TP}
{Description: A Soul Skill, able to see through deceptions, illusions and see ws in rune symbols. Also, able to arouse fear in other being hearts after reaching perfection}
{Warning: Useless against Grade-2 illusions and Qi Soul Manifestation Cultivators}
---
[Soul Piercing Bullets]
{Price: 1,000TP}
{Description: A basic soul attack skill}
{Warning: Never used it on some with more powerful soul than yours}
---
[Soul Guardian Barrier Art]
{Price: 4.000TP}
{Description: A soul protecting art that is divided into two stages}
[Soul Barrier: Able to defend against Soul Cultivators of Qi River Realm]
[Soul Guardian: Able to defend against Soul Cultivators of Qi River Core Realm]
{Warning: Helpless against any Soul Cultivators of Qi Soul Realm and above}
========
Ace''s heart instantly raced when saw all the new skills and read their information ecstatically. The more he read, the more prominent his hysteria and enthusiasm be especially when he saw three soul skills.
He desperately needs soul skills right now because he never saw a soul skill here before.
In the end, he was bbergasted, and his eyes shone hysterically seeing all these terrifying skills because every one of their limits is Qi Soul Manifestation Realm, except for Soul Guardian Barrier.
It simply means if he perfected every one of those skills he''ll be invincible below royalnds because it was almost night impossible to find a Qi Soul realm expert, much less a Soul Manifestation one!
''Now we''re finally talking.'' Ace quickly looked at his total thief points.
[Thief Point(s): 16,240]
"System, I want to buy every skill!" Without hesitation, Ace transmitted his voice in mind with impatience shone on his face.
=====
"[Purchased has been sessful]
[Information of all the skills is transferring now¡]"
[Thief Point(s): 4,240]
======
A huge torrent of information enters Ace''s brain at this moment, and he felt just a little ufortable. his soul cultivation of Qi River wasn''t just for show after all.
After a minute, the information of every single skill was in his brain, clear as day.
Ace wanted to instantly start learning those peerless skills, but stop himself because there was still the Thief Panel left, his exclusive reward from the third mission!
Chapter 97 - Thief Panel
Ace inhales deeply before he transmitted, "Thief Panel."
He was looking forward to this mysterious panel''s purpose and its effects. After all, something that is the reward for a mission has to be remarkable.
A dark transparent panel appeared in front of Ace''s eyes while the hooded symbol shine brightly, the thief panel has appeared!
====
"[Congrattion Host for unlocking the Thief Panel Function]
[Beginning the calction¡.]
[Calction Complete!]
[Please Chose Your Thief Name for proceeding]"
====
Ace was startled, ''This is different.'' But he still said, ''Sky Stealer'' in ancient godsnguage and the dark panel instantly changed.
====
[Thief Name has been saved]
{Please note you can change it only after raising your Thief Rank}
---
[Thief Title has been unlocked]
[Title: Disciple of Darkness has been added to your thief panel.]
{Disciple of Darkness: Able to raise the proficiency of skills rted to darkness by one level instantly}
---
[Novice Thief Symbol has been unlocked]
[Thief Symbol: Dark Owl has been added to thief panel]
{Dark Owl: A novice thief''s symbol that will emerge on ces the moment host does an honorable thievery
Benefits: A thief symbol can be summoned in fights it will give the host a temporary boost in cultivation as well as some of the creature''s abilities.
Warning: A Symbol summons time depends on the thief''s fame. Without thief fame reaching a certain threshold the summoning can''t be done.}
---
[Thief Panel has setpletely]
[Host can see Thief Panel now]"
=====
Ace''s eyes were open wide after seeing the many benefits of this overpower thief panel, and quickly looked at the real deal.
=====
[{Thief Panel}]
[Job {NOT Changeable}: Thief]
[Thief Name: Sky Stealer]
[Thief Title: Disciple of Darkness]
[Thief Rank: Novice]
[Thief Fame {Host and Symbol}: NONE]
[Thief Symbol: Dark Owl]
{Summoning Symbol: unlocked at the Poprity Level Fame}
[Job Mission: 0]
----
[{Thievery Count Section}]
[Low-Level Thievery: 3]
[Middle-Level Thievery: 0]
[High-Level Thievery: 0]
[Thievery needed to reach next Rank: 500 Low-Level Thievery]
=====
Ace was smiling ear to ear while looking at the thief panel. He was truly on cloud nine right now.
Because this thief panel gave him an edge and most importantly meaning to the thievery. He didn''t know there are so many benefits just to be famous as a thief.
Just that symbol summoning is very alluring because Ace knew that Dark Owl is some kind of terrifying existence after all only powerful beings are qualified to be a symbol in the system.
Furthermore, that thief title was alone overpowered because, with it, he can learn the darkness-rted skills instantly even if only at the low level, but this means he can use them instantly!
But one thing he was confused about is the thievery count and level of thieveries because he clearly remembered stealing from more than forty plus people, but the system only counts it three and even that is in the low-level thievery column.
"System, how does this Thievery Count work?"
Ace finally decided to use hisst question on this thievery count section because he has to know how the system judges these thievery levels. After all, that fame status depended on the thieveries he does, and make the symbol more famous was the top priority.
"[Thievery counts are the number of thieveries that host dose on different levels of scales.]
[Like the Low-Level Thieveries will be count when the host at least steal something worth 200 Thief Points and more, missions excluded]
[Middle-Level Thieveries will be count when the host steal at least something worth 50,000 Thief Points]
[High-Level Thieveries will be count when the host steal at least something worth 100,000 Thief Points]
[To give the host more motivation the system will reveal an extra piece of information, the thief rank is directly connected with the unlocking of new thief symbols!]"
Ace''s heartbeat raced when he heard thest part, it was not the system''s emotionless voice, but he didn''t care since he can''t talk with it no matter how much he tries.
Now he knows the clear criteria of the thievery count section, while resolve shone in his eyes. He was truly determined to rob more people with storage rings now because they can give him a minimum of 200TP!
====
[The title Disciple of Darkness has been active]
====
Ace was just puzzled about this exact thing, like when that title is going to take effect when the system''s voice rang in his mind.
Ace felt he has gained something and fell into trance.
He only possesses one skill that is rted to darkness, and that was Heartless Stealth Art.
It has three stages and, every stage is divided into four levels of proficiency: Low, Middle, High, and Perfect just like the basic skills.
At this moment, Ace has instantly gained insight and low-level proficiency in the Heartless Stealth Art first stage the Breathless Stealth!
Ace was sitting in a tree when he instantly vanished. it was still daytime, but he waspletely invisible right now and the Qi Waves around him were almost non-exist!
Now if any Empty River or River Depth cultivators scan the area with their element qi they would find nothing of Ace!
Ace finally opened his eyes as a dark current sh past them, he could sense more amalgam into the surroundings, and his lips curl upwards.
''Now I don''t have to worry about those Qi River cultivators in that ck cloth man''s group!'' Ace smile ear to ear as he thought.
"Status!"
=====
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human {No Bloodline}]
[Heaven: 1st Mortal Sky Heaven]
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Foundation Building {Middle-Stage}]
{EXP: 950,000/1,000,000}
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core]
{SP: 51,030/100,000}
[Skills: 7]
Heartless Stealth Art: {1st Stage: Low}
Misperception Sky Steps Art: {None}
Soul Shattering Eyes: {None}
Soul Piercing Bullets: {None}
Soul Guardian Barrier Art: {None}
Pick Pocket: {Perfection}
Treasure Opening Hands [Art]: {5th Form}
[Cultivation Technique: 2]
[{Heaven Stealer Technique Volume 1}, {Dual Shadow Swords}]
[Thief Point(s): 4240]
[Mission(s): 0]
========
Ace grins, seeing his improved status. His three basic skills have been removed and reced with the new powerful skills as if the system didn''t count old skills anymore.
Well, Ace wasn''t fazed by it and begun his journey again.
Now that he had the new improved stealth, he can travel and rest without care for those goons searching for him. But he was still very vignt because he didn''t forget about that terrifying aura owner (La).
If that persone after him, he would be dead!
----------
Three days pass in a sh. Ace was now quite far from the Luminous City and slowly reaching his destination, the Low Sky Changing Border!
The low sky changing border was the boundary between Low and Middle Lands. It''s called sky changing because the golden sky that was vague in the lownds would be more vivid when one step in the middlends.
And the sky will keep bing definite golden with every higher border you would cross and enter the highernds. Some people believed this phenomenon urs because of the Qi Density in the Azure Wind Continent, but no one can prove that theory.
The low sky-changing bored is a month''s journey away from the luminous city position.
Anyone could go there and for centuries, some adventurous people of lownds would step in the boundary between the low and middlends to see the vast world.
They would seed, but no one knows their fate afterward. No one is ever toe back from there to this day, though.
Since the public of lownds didn''t know about the existence of that terrifying formation, their loved ones still believes they were alive and just roaming the vast continent.
However, they were simply going in their deaths, but no one ever tell them or even stop them. This secret is only known to the city when it was about to get promoted into the kingdom.
The hundred years trails were the key to leave this enormous cage and even those trails were deadly, only the top ten kingdoms know what those trails were.
Those promoted cities will tell no one about it because they didn''t have memories of it, this is the strangest thing of all.
Ace''splexion was gloomy after finding out this tremendous secret in the top floor books. He felt somewhat sad for all those people who go to the border with big dreams and hope to be something great and make a name for themselves.
But they were unknowingly going in their deaths!
If he didn''t hear it from Bill and read those secret books, Ace would be one of those people.
He didn''t know why this formation or cage was built here, but he knows something is here that someone not wanted toe out at all costs.
Ace finally understands the actual purpose of those mysterious trials. They were held because taking some people out from here gave false hope to those who wanted to leave from here.
He felt disgusted by it andpassion for these lownd peoples.
Unknowingly, a little seed of hatred has been nted into Ace''s heart for higher-levelnds!
Chapter 98 - Sky Changing Pass
Ace was moving at lightning-like speed, but his movement was a little rumpled as if he was learning to run.
This was the Misperception Sky Steps Art, Lightning Steps.
This art is not like the heartless stealth that can only be learned in a strict order.
This art is built on three unique movement patterns, and only after learning these three stages,plete one can gain the ability to fly and learn the final fourth stage.
It means Ace can learn three stages at the same time or understand any stage first before learning the others.
That''s why he chose the lightning steps first, because this is for speed, and he only needs speed right now. With silent steps as the foundation in four days, he was very close to low-level, lightning steps.
As for other skills, he was only practicing the Soul Shattering Eyes other than Lightning Steps. And this skill was quite cumbersome to learn because he had nevere in contact with a soul skill before.
But to his amazement, he didn''t find it any more difficult than Pick Pocket when he learns it and was confident of gaining insight within a month.
Besides, he wanted to buy that rune crafter manual but didn''t have enough thief points and this make him quite annoyed.
Now, he wasn''t interested in those city treasuries because they can''t give him many TP, and second, those ck cloth men were searching for him like mad dogs all over the ce.
In this week, he encounters over three different groups of them, but he escaped easily. But this gave him even more pressure and was afraid if that mysterious expert woulde after him.
That was also the reason for him learning the lightning steps first, and it didn''t disappoint him either. Even with notpletely grasping it his speed was three-fold faster than silent steps and was confident in reaching the low sky-changing border in ten days.
------------
Meanwhile, in the Luminous City.
La and Zelda were sitting in the Jade Pavilion. The atmosphere was as gloomy as it could be because even after an entire week, they still didn''t find any trace of that so-called Sky Stealer.
They even failed to find that person who spread that name because whoever it was, he knew that slippery thief and at some point, came in contact with him.
If they find him, they could probably find important information on that thief like his real name and more vivid appearance because in that wanted poster he looks only about 12 or 13, and it was not enough of a reference anymore.
La herself search miles around the luminous city, but thisnd of cities was big and there is more territory to cover. That is why she was aimlessly searching in all directions and return dejectedly one day ago.
Zelda''s situation wasn''t any better than her aunt''s, because she supervised the search of the whole luminous city and didn''t even leave the prince''s manor but didn''t find any abnormality.
Well, except for the missing second son of prince manor''s head butler. She took note of it instantly because he vanished on the same day as the thievery has happened.
But when she discovered Javier''s masochist nature and the deeds he has done in the past.
She loses interest in him and even felt disgusted to even remember that kind of person and think he even deserved death. Because even if she despises all thosemoners here, she wasn''t a masochist to torture young girls.
Braxton knows Javier''s nature but he was still his son, so he searches for him even with all those ck masks men roaming around the city.
Dion was depressed and almost on the verge of insanity because that thief has used his city to show everyone that he wasn''t afraid of them and p hard on their faces.
Now his reputation is in the sewer, and he even found out everyone was calling him Grand Ass Prince behind his back!
Dion even killed Aspen in his rage. Everything happened because she can''t even protect the formation te and even gave the information on the treasury to that thief.
The happiest about it was, of course, Bill. Because he has a bone with Aspen before, and she ever cheated him once knowing that he was the future ruler of this city.
That''s why Bill was always wanting to find some evidence on her to bring her down, and in finding that proof, he meets Ace. And he thinks it was the best thing that ever happen to him after hee to this deste ce.
But he was quite low-key and never showed his joy openly because he knew his friend has offended many powerful figures and if they connected him to Ace, he will torture to death!
That''s why he spread the name Sky Stealer himself secretly and never entrust this task to anyone and was sessful in the end. Now everyone knows about the sky stealer and the historical thievery of lownds!
"Aunt, do you think that rat has escaped in the Middle Land?" Zelda asked in frustration.
Because it was the only usible exnation after even La couldn''t find him.
Speaking of which, she still calls Ace a rat because if she calls that vile thief, Sky Stealer, it would be equal to epting their defeat, and she would never admit it.
La''s eyes were filled with resentment and violence as she said, "We checked a hundred times and confirm that thief was born here! It is simply impossible to leave! And suppose even if he wasn''t born here if he wanted to leave, he needs the Sky Changing Pass!
"And you know, only royalties of top ten kingdoms possess three of them each! None of those passes are missing, or we''ll be the one to know of it first!"
Zelda had to admit her aunt had a point because without this sky-changing pass even her aunt would be dead the moment she steps between the border of anynds!
Especially the low and royal levelnds!
No one knows why the border here was as strong as thends of the ancients, but no one dare to investigate it. Because whoever does that individual entire n eradicate in a single night!
Some influenceable figures only know that this lownd true name wasnds of fallen, but this was also a taboo to call it that and only knew little of its actual history.
"This time we even manage to find more information that Dulce gives about that thief because we underestimated that thief before and ignore her story." La''s eyes shimmer as she continued, "Dulce, told that thief has opened her storage ring without killing her, and she also would never remove her qi mark on that ring."
Zelda was bbergasted hearing this and quickly retorted, "But that''s impossible! She must exaggerate things!"
A soft sigh sounded as La speak, "I also think this, but we can''t overlook anything about that thief anymore."
Zelda takes a deep breath before saying with a glint of horror shed past her eyes, "Then if it''s true, then do you think he''s from that legendary ce?"
La''s eyes also show a hint of fear as she shook her head, "I don''t think so because someone from that ce can''t be a thief. These things here were just junk to them."
Zelda has a sigh of relief because if her guess was true, then they''re simply chasing after a dragon and courting death!
At this moment, a maid enters the grand hall and respectfully reports, "Pavilion Master, someone called Shadow Finder requesting an audience."
Zelda coolly said, "Let him in."
After some moments, a slender man wearing ck robes and a mask enter. It was precisely Shadow Finder that Ace encounter in the wildness a week ago.
Shadow Finder coldly said, "I have something important to tell."
It did not offend Zelda because this guy''s nature was cold and said, "Speak freely."
Shadow Finder didn''t speak immediately and take out Javier''s portrait that was current in every city guard''s hand because of Braxton.
Zelda instantly knew who this disgusting fellow was, and her brows knit tightly into a frown. But she said nothing and wait for Shadow Finder to exin first.
On the other hand, La watched this curiously in the shadows.
"I meet this guy in the wildness four days ago." Shadow Finder said coldly.
Zelda''s eyes turn sharp, and La emerges at this moment.
"What do want to say? Speak more clearly!" La said coldly, but in her heart, there was an unknown expectation to bloom.
Shadow Finder quickly bows towards La. He didn''t dare to treat her coldly like Zelda and said respectfully.
"Reporting to the sixthdy, I meet this guy in the wildness and he seems like some bandits have robbed him.
"It was also my ipetence that I didn''t inquire any further and leave, but I think this person is suspicious because if he was the same person he would be back by now, but he didn''t!"
Chapter 99 - The Problem!
La asked in a deep voice, "Did you check with the Demolishing Disguise Mirror?"
It was the same golden mirror they used to search the entire city.
"Yes, I use it and found nothing suspicious." This also confused shadow Finder because no one below Empty River can escape the Demolishing Disguise Mirror.
Moreover, he also probed that boy cultivation, and he was only at the third gate. It was also possible that he was killed in the wildness; it was filled with demonic beasts.
However, Shadow Finder couldn''t help but shake this strange feeling that he had when he saw that boy''s eyes. At that time, he thought it was he being paranoid, moreover; he was in a hurry and ignored that vague feeling.
But aftering back to the city, when he saw this boy poster in a guard''s hand, he instantly felt that feeling again. This gut feeling never failed him before and is also the reason for his name. That''s why hee straight here to report.
La also know this guy was very sharp and never spoke without thinking, and she had nothing to lose either, so she responded, "Which direction did you find that boy?"
Shadow Finder politely replied, "To the west of Luminous City."
La''s eyes instantly gleam with a strange light. "Sky Changing Border is also in the west direction, right?"
Shadow Finder was very sharp and knew what La was implicating here. "Yes. I also think if that guy is that thief, he would certainly go there."
Zelda scoffed at this moment. "He''s going to his death, and here I thought he was brilliant. This means he is from this deste ce."
Shadow Finder wasn''t agreed with Zelda and retorted politely, "I think thedy is still underestimating that thief."
Zelda''s eyes turn cold and going rebuke when La stop her and breathed, "Continue."
He didn''t seem to notice Zelda''s resentful eyes and continues, "First, my reason for suspecting that guy is; one month ago we searched almost all lownds but Prince Manor!
"Second, they were a sudden fire in a building one and half month ago and many nobles have died there, but no one investigates that matter because of the shady business, and it will expose many.
"But one thing that everyone overlooked is this Javier also used to go in that building and on that very day of fire he goes there and even returned. I think if we investigate this, we''ll find even more clues.
"Last but not least, that thief is very skilled in his work, so we should assume that he had stumbled upon some kind of inheritance here and that''s why he''s able to change his face into someone else and even fool ours demolish disguise mirror."
La was now a little stunted, and Zelda was also amazed after hearing Shadow Finder conjecture because his every point was on the spot. And he even dug out the things that everyone overlooked after justing back to the city.
"Truly worthy of the name shadow finder!" La couldn''t help but praise him, "We don''t need any more investigation. We waste too much time and if he''s skilled, then he''ll reach that ce in a month minimum. We''ll immediately go towards the Low Sky Changing Border."
La also found Shadow Finder''s exnation very urate, and she felt closer to capturing that thief than ever. She wanted to fly over to the border, but she can''t, so she had to hurry there.
Furthermore, if that thief ignorantly steps into that ce, she will forever lose Blood Rose and his secrets that why she didn''t even investigate and make her move without a second thought.
"Aunt, there is a problem." Zelda breaks La''s excitement at this moment.
La''s eyes narrowed as she asked, "What problem?"
------------
"Two more days and I''ll reach the border." Ace was moving like lightning as he thought happily.
In eight days, he has finally reached the low-level mastery of Lightning Steps and was quite closed to mastering the Soul Shattering Eyes as well.
But the more he is closer to mastering the Soul Shattering Eyes, the more his soul hurts. It was the same feeling when he tries using the soul probing for longer than an hour.
His martial cultivation is getting in his way again!
This made Ace quite frustrated because he assumed that soul-shattering eyes, even low-level mastery, can only be freely used when he reached the Qi River Realm!
But he wasn''t even at the peak of the foundation building realm, and he didn''t know where he would be able to find the next elemental orb!
This shifts his focus on the EXP but to his dismay, these Qi Gates Realm demonic beasts only gave him 1 EXP and Early Stage Foundation demonic beasts 10 EXP!
As for higher-level demonic beasts, they weren''t easy to find here.
This made Ace swore at the system in full of resentment and anger.
That''s why Ace decided to just focused on his movement art and tried the Soul Piercing Bullets because it was a basic soul skill and hope it won''t give a bacsh like soul-shattering eyes.
One more day passed,
Ace always travel at night and practicing his skills in the morning because he had an advantage at night and the heartless stealth was even more powerful at nighttime.
At this moment, Ace was moving while using lightning steps when his soul sense was instantly rung in rm!
Ace''s face fell because after entering the first stage of heartless stealth, only someone at the River Source Stage can rm his soul to sense this much!
''What is someone at this level doing here!'' His face sour, ''Is it that expert that I felt in the city?''
Before he had any chance to hide, a startling yetmanding aged voice resound in the silent area, "Hmm... Who''s there? Show yourself or this old man, consider it a hostile action!"
The owner of this old voice was none other than Vance Golden!
After giving up on Blood Rose and that thief,pleting and decided to exchange the information about Ace and Blood Rose with the Pill me Organization. He left the city immediately after that.
He was traveling at high speed because he was afraid that Zelda would think of the same and exchange the information before him.
Vance was just a day away from the border when he found someone is moving at high speed that was almost equal to his own!
This makes him quite surprised, and that''s why he speaks first before attacking this mysterious expert.
After all, at this moment, the lownds were crawling with La''s people, and it would be a disaster if he offended one of them unknowingly.
But to Vance surprised a boy seemingly in his teens emerge from the darkness and what made him even more bbergasted was that boy cultivation!
He was only a third qi gate cultivator and fear was clear on his face.
Vance couldn''t help but ask, "What are you doing at a ce like this?"
Ace saw Vance''s old wrinkled face but didn''t dare to show any suspicious movement because the surrounding aura makes his soul sense terrifying.
This also clear his suspicion of this old man being a real River Source Stage Cultivator of River Core Realm!
Ace act like frightening Javier and speak, "I¡I-I was spared from my group an¡and end up here."
Speaking of which, Ace''s acting skill improved quite a lot after he yed Javier, but he still wasn''t a professional when it came to hiding hisposure.
The eyes are the mirror of the soul and reflect everything that seems to be hidden; and like a mirror, they also reflect the person looking into them and that was indeed the case for Ace as well. The two-face mask can form an imprable illusion, but it can''tpletely hide Ace''s eyes.
This was also the exact reason of Shadow Finder''s suspicion to arouse and now Vance, an old man of more than a century-old, also felt this peculiar point.
He could tell by looking that this young man was frightening, but his eyes were as calm as water that''s what tick him off.
Besides, that speed just a moment ago made this vague feeling even more strong and an abrupt though surface in Vance''s mind, ''Something is not adding up here.''
Ace was observing Vance''s soul waves all this time and felt this old man has be suspicious of him somehow. This was not good news for him.
''Why didn''t this mask has the function of increasing the cultivation realm!'' Ace wanted to cry right now because he could tell just what had caught this old man''s attention and that was his low cultivation!
This was also a big w of the Two-Face Mask. It can only change a person''s cultivation to the level it has recorded. It can''t increase or lower the cultivation base.
If it has that capacity, Ace would''ve changed his cultivation to the empty river core and that would justify his speed a moment ago, but sadly, he can''t!
Chapter 100 - Found YOU!
If it was any other time, Vance would''ve ignored these little details and didn''t even bother to talk with the people of this barren ce much less with a third gate brat.
However, Vance was quite dispirited for more than a year and keep being defeated by that cunning thieving bastard and this makes him take notice of every detail around him.
And this fellow in front of him was nothing but suspicious!
''What is the chancing of me getting to bump into that rat?'' Vance thought bitterly and knew it was almost night impossible, but he couldn''t help but think this way.
Vance might give up on the surface, but in his heart, he still wanted to find Ace. Now, he would kill a hundred innocent then letting that scoundrel live!
Vance saw Javier''s frightening face and his eyes turn sharp. ''Let''s try our luck, shall we? If I was wrong, I just killed an insignificant ant.''
''Not good.'' Ace''s heart sank because he could sense Vance is going to attack, and it was also a kind of test.
The surrounding temperature rose at a tremendous pace as Vance''s aura skyrocket!
Ace wanted to stand still but when he saw crimson qi gathering around Vance''s hand, his heart jolt because that crimson qi was the fire element qi!
''This mad old man wanted to use element qi of Qi River realm on a third gate junior???'' Ace cursed, but he didn''t have time to think anymore because Vance has already sent a zing palm directly towards his head.
Ace''s eyes also turn cold. This old man was just too vicious!
Ace didn''t know who this guy was and what he wanted. But one thing was clear, he didn''t want him to live just because of some mere suspicion.
He quickly activates lightning steps with full power and hurriedly dodges the uing palm with lightning-like movement.
''wooosshhhh''
Just by a hair, Ace manage to evade that palm, but he knew that old didn''t use his full power, or he might''ve lost an arm!
Vance was startled first, but the next moment his eyes shone venomously, "Hahaha¡, only that mysterious thief can pull something like this in the entire lownds!"
Ace''s face behind the mask fell and finally understand just what this old man was after. ''Is he also with that group??''
He wanted to persevere but heard Vance''s voice filled with excitement, "You''re him, right?!?"
Ace pretend to be confused and breathed, "I don''t know what you''re talking about."
Vance''s grin bes wide with joy. "Oh, you didn''t know? Then how did you dodge my attack even when you''re weak like an ant?"
Ace take a deep breath and knew this old guy was difficult to fool. It was useless to try talking now, and he thinks of a way out of this situation without revealing too much since Vance still had his doubts about him.
But the gap in power between him and Vance was just too great. It was almost suicide try fighting with him. His only option was to the lightning steps because it is the only skill that can outrun this old man if he didn''t use stealth with it.
Because whenever he uses two skills simultaneously, ten percent will decree the power of each skill. That''s why Vance was able to sense and caught up to him so quickly before because he was using breathless stealth with lightning steps together.
But first, he had to make this old man a little powerless somehow, and it doesn''t matter if he exposes himself by doing so.
"It was a lifesaving skill of my predecessors." Ace calmly said.
Vance sneered as he said hatefully, "Still wanted to pretend? Good, very good, you truly are stubborn, just as my niece describes you to be!"
Javier''s face didn''t show any expression and speak any further, as if he didn''t know what Vance was saying, but real Ace frowned.
"What? Did you already forget about Dulce? The same girl who destroyed your hometown, and also the same girl who you rob!" Vance''s voice was filled with hatred in the end.
Ace finally knows just why this old man is so hellbent on finding him, ''Golden Hammered Kingdom!'' A hint of killing intent shed past his eyes.
How could he forget that bitch? He vowed to destroy her entire kingdom one day to avenge river flower city.
Vance still didn''t get any reaction from Javier''s, but he didn''t give up. "I''m also from the golden hammered kingdom, and you could also say I was the one who sent Dulce here."
Ace could feel this old man was gathering his qi into his finger, ''Cunning bastard.''
He had some idea what this guy was nning and instantly used lightning steps to sprint at full speed and pull some distance between himself and Vance instantly. Because staying in one ce was too risky.
Vance was shocked, he was going to use a powerful formation barrier simr to Dulce''s and lock this ce so that guy can''t escape.
Because he wasn''t sure how that little fellow pulls a speed almost equal to his, but would not take any chances.
If his guy was truly the actual thief and not just a random guy who just possessed a real lifesaving skill, then he can''t let him escape either after he found him by luck.
Besides, he didn''t use his full strength before just for the sake of not killing him instantly because if this guy was not Ace, then his skill was alone, not bad of apensation.
Vance didn''t dy and quickly chase after Javier.
Ace was observing Vance and instantly felt the old guy''s speed was equal to his own. His expression was ominous, but he''s not going to just sit there and let Vance capture him so easily.
Besides, Ace held an advantage now!
It stunned Vance because no matter how much he chases, he can''t lessen the distance between them, and what makes him truly confused was Ace''s speed wasn''t decreasing at all.
Because if he was really at the third gate, then this life-saving would long be exhausted his qi, but he didn''t seem too tired at all.
Vance''s eyes sharpen because before he has some doubts, but now his conjecture was bing stronger. This guy was not normal as it seems.
Since Vance wasn''t able to catch up normally, this didn''t mean he didn''t have any other methods at all. ''I should use Azure Agility Pill.''
Vance was an azure alchemist, which alone give him an immense advantage over other normal cultivators. He had abandons of pills that he refine himself and all were high-quality ones.
He sends little qi in his finger as he wanted to take this azure agility pill out of the storage ring. But to his surprise, the pill didn''t appear.
Vance''s expression finally change and quickly looked at his ring finger where a white storage ring was just a couple of moments ago.
Now, on his ring finger was nothing. The storage ring had been stolen, and he didn''t even feel it!
There was a strange dark bird mark has appeared where his ring was, but he didn''t have time to ponder over it andpletely ignored it.
Vance''s face fell, and his eyes turn bloodshot because there is only one person in the entire lownds who can steal the storage ring under his damn nose and that was, "SKY STEALER! I FINALLY FOUND YOU!!!!"
Ace heard Vance''s furious yet excited voice from behind and instantly knew this old man has finally found out about his stolen storage ring.
Ace decided to steal the ring the moment he found out this old man wanted to kill him. He takes advantage of the moment Vance was busy probing him and uses the soul threads to pickpocket his storage ring.
By doing this, Vance would be a tiger without teeth, and Ace finally overruns Vance.
And Ace''s analysis was right because, without the pills and his treasures, Vance can only use the Qi he had and can''t recover with restoration pills. This gave Ace a tremendous advantage over him.
But at this moment Vance didn''t seem to realize it as his mind was filled with resentment and enthusiasm for founding out Ace.
"You bastard, give everything back you stole, and I might torture you less!" He roared.
Ace was speechless hearing Vance''s merciful'' words and sneered disdainfully, "You''re just like that bitch, too damn honest!"
He continued to use the Lightning Steps without even care for Vance, who seem on the verge of exploding in anger.
"I''ll make you regret even being born in this world!" Thick blood veins pop out on Vance''s forehead as he ground his teeth in hatred.
It was just too damn frustrated; he could finally find that thieving bastard, and he was just in front of him, but he can''t catch him now.
Vance''s facial expression was hysterical, but he wasn''t going to let that thief escape even if it means tiring himself to death!
Chapter 101 - Not Your Servant!
Ace disregarded Vance''s threats and continue to run. He was afraid that Vance would attack him with some kind of skill while moving and was on high alert because of it and ready to evade at any moment.
But after two hours, except from time to time threatening and cusses, nothing elsee from that old man and Ace felt quite weird about it, ''Is this guy a retard?''
Ace''s reaction was very normal because he can use multiple skills simultaneously from the beginning of his cultivation and never fight with anyone stronger than himself or saw someone using two or more skills at the same time.
However, now that he finally encounters an opponent who was almost invulnerable for him to fight but that invincible opponent was not using anything and just chasing him while using his qi.
Ace couldn''t help but wonder, ''Is there some kind of limitation on him using over one skill?''
He didn''t know if his guess was true or not, but didn''t want to test it and simply continue to run. But if this was the case, then it is nothing but good news for him.
Vance''s face was as dark as charcoal because, even after two hours, Ace wasn''t slowing down a bit. This gave him a great shock. ''Just what is his secret?'' He wondered.
He took notice of the other things besides Blood Rose and this give birth to intense greed in his heart. If he could capture Ace alive, all the secrets on Ace would be his to take with Blood Rose included!
Six more hours pass and the game of cat and mouse continues.
Ace was now sure there is truly some kind of restriction on using skills, and this made him quite relieved. He was curious about finding out just what this restriction truly is but wasn''t mad enough to ask the guy who was pursuing him like a mad dog.
Ace had to admit a cultivator of Qi River Realm was not to be underestimated because he was finally feeling a toll on his body by using lightning steps for eight hours straight while the old guy seems to only using his pure qi to keep up with him.
This also means Vance didn''t know any movement skills or Ace might''ve been caught long ago. Nheless, Vance wasn''t seemed tired, well, except for his face that almost seem on the verge of insanity.
Vance''s shock has turned into humiliation because even after eight hours, he can''t catch up to that thief that was weaker than him. If this were to spread to the middlends, his reputation would go straight to the sewer, and he would be aughing legend.
But what can he do that thief was just too damn strange, now he finally understands why that cunning rascal stole his storage ring because, without it, he can''t restore his depleting qi or use any of his treasures or pills!
This was truly infuriating him, but he wasn''t panicked about it since Ace was moving toward the sky-changing border, and once he reached it, he would have nowhere to run anymore!
Vance was not an idiot; to tell Ace about the truth of that border, or he might change the direction and outrun him, so he controls his temper and chases after him with patience.
He can still chase after him for six straight days like this, much less for ten hours, well if Ace can still keep up, that is!
Vance still hope to intercept Ace before reaching the border because he wasn''t sure if that terrifying power behind La would watch that ce or not. But he was sure they would intercept him if they found out about the thief''s location.
In the end, ten more hours pass, and Ace didn''t slow down a bit like he has Qi equal to his own and terrifying movement skill.
Ace was also a little surprised because for ten hours Vance spoke nothing or cursed at him like before and quietly chasing after him. He wonders if that old codger was cooking something, and it has to be rted to sky changing border.
If it was before, he might''ve not known, but he clearly understands the meaning of going there for the natives of the low-levelnd.
Ace can still change his direction but didn''t because he was certain, if he goes back then he might also bump into those ck cloth men, and he will not take any chances with them.
Especially with that terrifying being present within their ranks.
That''s why he was going straight to the border and see if he could use ''that'' in there and escape this old geezer. But if he nned to fail, then he has a backup n ready just in case.
The sun was rising. Ace saw the sky was bing more golden as he was approaching the sky changing border.
But sadly, he can''t enjoy the scenery with Vance around and keep advancing.
Vance also saw the change in the sky and sighed heavily as his expression turn grave as he looked at the surroundings vigntly to see if there were any of those ck clothing men around.
Ace also felt Vance''s nervousness and was confused by it, but he can''t figure it out no matter how much he thinks and kept his focus on the current business.
At this moment, Vance finally broke the silence, "Little thief, you can''t escape from here and only go to your death if you move any further. Give me back my storage ring and the things you stole from Dulce and everything in your possession, and I''ll let you go."
He was trying to coax Ace into stopping before he bumps into La''s people and if Ace stops, he would capture him and escape the lownds quickly. As for sparing him, heh, he would never do that.
Ace also know this old guy''s words were empty and didn''t decrease his speed at all.
Vance sighed helplessly and killed anyone if he encountered La''s people. They won''t know it was him and assume it was all that thief in the end. Well, at least he hopes that would be the result.
At this moment, Ace spotted a huge clear field, miles away, and the sky above that lush field was also much brighter golden than lownds. ''Is that the border between low and middlends?'' He wondered as expectation shone on his face.
Vance saw the change in the sky between the low and middlends, his reaction was depressing, much different from Ace because he knew that was nothing but an illusion! Even he didn''t dare to go on that lush-looking beautiful in.
Because the Sky Changing Pass can work in the specific area that was known as the Life Gate and beside this life gate, anywhere is death, nothing else!
"Little guy listens to this old man and stop before you regret your own choices!" He yells again. But to his dismay, Ace didn''t seem to care about his ''kind'' warning at all.
Ace didn''t care because he knew what was there and at this moment something happened that even Vance didn''t assume!
"If I were you, I would listen to him." A beautiful voice drifted in the air and with this melody-like voice descend a weighty oppression force!
When Ace felt this tremendous pressure, "Th... this!" he instantly felt a familiarity with it as if he felt this particr force before.
''That mysterious expert!'' Ace finally remembered and his morals hit rock bottom as hisplexion turn ashen because he finally remembered just where he felt that terrifying force before.
Vance''s expression was even uglier because just by that voice, he knew who the person was. "H-how is she here so quickly?"
He mused loudly as despair sh on Vance''s face.
Vance couldn''t help but think bitterly. His luck was just too terrible for these past two years because he first lost the blood rose then he wasn''t even able to find that thief.
But when he could finally find that thief, he fails to capture him. Now that he was finally closer to achieving that, someone else had arrived, and he knew he can''t beat her no matter what he does.
Vance notice Ace''s speed has decreased because of that terrifying pressure, yet it didn''t affect him.
"Master Vance, please capture him before this little rascal goes straight to his death. I''ll be there in few moments." That meld voice sounded again.
Vance smile wryly because he could guess thatdy would not make it in time and Ace would step into the border when she arrived. That is why she uses her pressure to slow Ace down, not him.
Now Vance can easily capture Ace, but he has to hand Ace over when that womanes and this was not good news for Vance.
However, at this moment, mad resolve sh on Vance''s face as he yells loudly, "I''m NOT your servant!" And he immediately stopped!!
Chapter 102 - Low Sky Changing Border
When that force descends on Ace, his speed decreased, and knew he can''t reach the sky-changing border before Vance would capture him.
And when that voice resounded again, Ace knew those two knew each other and quickly take thest invisible bead out from his thief''s space.
He was just going to crush it when he heard Vance yell.
"I''m not your servant!"
Ace couldn''t help but look back at the old man who has been chasing him like a mad dog for the entire night has suddenly stopped!
Vance also looked profoundly into Ace''s eyes before moving his lips. "Escape!"
Ace was astonished but didn''t have time to mull over it and under that pressure, he uses his full power to increase his speed even if it was a tiny bit.
"Vance, YOU!" At this moment, that beautiful voice sounded again, but this time there was clear wrath in it.
Ace didn''t know the moment he looked forward, a devilish smile creep out on Vance''s old face as he scoffed in his heart, ''If I can''t have it then you all can forget about it either!''
Vance knew he can''t beat this mysterious veil woman, and she might kill him just to keep his mouth shut. That''s why he let that thief go to his death.
By doing this, Ace would turn into ashes and no one will ever have Blood Rose or that thief''s secrets. If she didn''t get manage to capture Ace, she may not kill him.
After all, killing an Azure Alchemist of Pill me organization for just a dead thief is not worth it. Just by this, one can imagine how shrewd this old man truly was.
It was just pitying that thief will take his storage ring with him, but he didn''t care since it wasn''t his actual wealth and Zelda would also get only Ace''s dust.
On the other hand, Ace knew this old man was not kind enough to let him leave like this, and he wanted him to die by encouraging him to go into that area.
But now he had no other choice since he could feel that pressure increasing at a tremendous pace, that''s mean that terrifying existence is closing in at a breakneck pace!
He was just half a mile away from the boundary line of low and middlends.
Ten miles away, a silhouette was moving like a blur and its speed was almost fifty times faster than Ace.
This was none other than La!
Ten days ago, when Zelda points out about Vance, she instantly rushed over here alone and with her cultivation base. She was indeed very fast and reach just in the nick of time.
She used her apparition-wave rings to finally discovered Ace and was astonished because she saw that thief wasn''t alone; he was being chased by Vance. And what surprised her most is Vance can''t catch up to Ace, even with his prowess!
La also didn''t sense Ace''s true cultivation and was dumbfounded by sensing him being at the third gate. Because he was using the speed equal to a River Source Cultivator.
''This made little sense!'' She instantly shot that notion out of her head as her eyes turn sharp. ''This thief has a terrifying secret on him!''
When La saw she won''t be able to make it in time before that thief would step into the formation and Vance didn''t able to stop him either. She finally uses the Apparition Wave Rings to amplify her voice and also advises Ace.
But not only Ace didn''t stop, but even Vance didn''t listen to her order and stop instead of capturing Ace.
This truly infuriate her, but she was helpless to do anything and could only increase her speed and hope her false martial sense could slow Ace down before she caught up.
Everyone thinks she was Qi River Core cultivator, but it wasn''t true because her real cultivation was at the Peak of Qi River Realm and only a single step away from entering the Qi River Core.
But thisst step was akin to cross a sea just by swimming!
Yet, despite being only in Qi River Realm, she can use vague Martial Sense or False Martial Sense and by amplifying it with those ck rings.
Cultivators possessed Martial Sense when they enter the Qi River Core Realm. As for False Martial Sense, it only has five percent of actual martial sense prowess.
A Peak Qi River Cultivator like La can form a false martial sense, but that''s only if she satisfied some special conditions like she had to possess a seven-te or perfect foundation!
That was also the reason for Ace''s confusion and couldn''t figure out if this expert was a Qi River Core Cultivator or not.
Because he knew the martial sense was too terrifying, and it can instantly lock him on the spot if he didn''t have countermeasures for it. However, this force was only able to agitate him and find his presence from a huge distance, not like the Martial Sense he knew.
Ace was now only six hundred meters away before he steps into the formation.
He heard that beautiful, yet solemn, voice again. "You stop right now, or you''ll die! Let me tell you in front of you is only an illusion and once you cross the boundary of the lownd, it will kill you and turn you into ashes!"
Ace only snorted and didn''t stop because he already knew. But he can''t just let that terrifying woman capture him. Once that happened, his life would be over!
Vance frowned upon hearing La revealing this secret to Ace but was overjoyed the very next moment when Ace didn''t believe La and continues to move.
La''s eyes were dismal when she saw Ace moving without even heeding her warning and ignoring her. "You stop right there, and I''ll spare you!" She yells again.
She was only two miles away from Ace now.
Ace was only two hundred meters away before he enters the boundary and speak for the first time while scoffing, "As if I would ever believe someone from highernds!"
La''s eyes were filled with intense killing intent, and at this moment she quickly takes out a milky white crystal-like stone from her storage ring. She ces that milky stone in her right hand where ''Apparition Wave Rings'' were.
Abruptly, a huge dark aura released from the rings, and the pressure increased a hundred folds!
Vance instantly fell to the dirt group by this pressure, and cold sweat was running on his ashen face.
La has just used a Peak-Level Qi Stone!
Qi stones have many functions, and one of them was to increase the power of special Rune Treasures! And La''s rings were one of those specific treasures.
These Peak Qi Stones were quite rare, and that is why La''s heart was dripping blood when she used it on a petty thief!
But to her dismay, she saw Ace''s speed is only decreased a little and aside from that Ace was still moving without difficulty. She bewildered looked at those rings and could help but think if they were broken.
Yet, Vance was lying on the group, gasping for breath, this mean those rings were working just fine. But Ace was unaffected by them for some reason!
Ace felt the enormous increase in the force but only sneer because this pressure was nothing in front of heavenly punishment. This decreased his speed, but it wasn''t able to stop his steps.
He was only fifty meters away now and La began to panic for the first time because that thief was just too bizarre and nothing seemed to faze him.
"Stop right now and we can negotiate!" La''s voice was filled with bitterness.
Ace keep running as if he didn''t hear La''s soft voice.
At this moment, Ace was only ten meters away from the boundary.
Suddenly, his eyes turned white as soul qi begin to surge in them. Ace has activated soul-shattering eyes!
He felt intense pain in the mind space the moment the skill was active, but he only grits his teeth and keeps focusing on the greenery in front of him.
This skill was not at the low-level proficiency but was almost there, it was just that Ace didn''t practice it, since it had a terrible bacsh. But now was not the time to worry about that.
The moment his eyespletely turn white, the beautiful scenery in front of him turns into barren and gloomynd.
This was also Ace''s only n to find the way out of this formation because every formation has ws.
This skill was easily spotted the ws in the formation that were not second grade and Ace knew even a grade one formation was like a heavenly treasure in this world. How could they use this kind of formation here?
But what left him dumbfounded was there was a huge sky-like light barrier between the border of low and middlends.
Just how the hell did he suppose to locate any w in that humongous barrier?!?
Chapter 103 - Mysterious Thief Symbol
It was the first time Ace saw a formation of this magnitude. Nheless, he was happy because he can now see where the formation was with his new eye''s skill.
''That woman is approaching closer and closer. I have to hurry!''
Ace pours more heavenly soul qi into his eyes and the formation barrier bes clearer, but the pain in his soul also bes more intense as bloody tears gush from his eyes. He knew he can''t hold much longer before the soul skill would stop operating.
Finally, Ace discovered a vague dark hole fifty meters on the right side and, with no hesitation, dash in that way.
La was now only a mile away from Ace when she noticed him stopping ten meters away from the formation and her spirit instantly lifted and thought that rascal had finallye to his senses.
On the other hand, Vance''s heart sank because if she captured Ace, La would kill him!
But to both of their astonishment, Ace move again and this time he didn''t seem to stop.
La uses every ounce of her cultivation base and shortens the distance at a tremendous pace, but she was stillte in the end because, at this moment Ace, both hands shine in a golden hue as a mysterious symbol appeared on both of his hands.
With golden hands in front of him, Ace instantly change towards the barrier and the next moment vanished!
A couple of moments after, La stopped at the spot where Ace has vanished with eyes full of uncertainty and defeat because what Ace did, in the end, waspletely out of her understanding. He didn''t turn into ashes and just vanished, it was indeed strange.
The lush scenery was still there, but no trace of Ace left even with her false martial sense. La didn''t find any mark on him!
La looked at the illusion gloomily and knew that thief is most likely dead, and she can''t even retrieve his corpse!
In the heat of the moment, she didn''t even think about those golden hands much and with cold eyes looked at Vance, who was dumbfounded looking at the ce where Ace has vanished.
Vance instantly shiver as he notices that icy cold stare and knew he was in for it now!
----
When Ace spotted the w, he instantly rushes there as he used the fifth form of treasure opening hands while praying; this formation would not be a first-grade formation!
''Lock Tearing Key!''The moment he activated the fifth form his both hands be golden as an ancient key-like symbol appeared on his fingers and in the center of his palms.
While gritting his teeth, he finally touches the barrier and was immediately ted because a tear appeared in the barrier, and he instantly enters with no hesitation.
This formation barrier was not a grade formation, but only a quasi-grade formation barrier that even Qi Soul Realm Cultivation can''t cross.
But Ace has two essential skills to pass this terrifying formation barrier, and this gave him the edge that he needed to enter the formation!
After Ace entered, the tear instantly close and Ace felt that woman''s pressure finally lifted, but he didn''t dare be careless because he knew that he only enters the front door and still has crossed the whole formation.
But first, he needed some rest because he used the soul-shattering eyes way too much and now his eyes were bleeding as intense pain in his true soul was almost killing him.
He removed the two-face mask. His actual face was painted red, as his eyes were almost listless.
''This is just the beginning, and I needed to use the soul-shattering eyes to find a way out of this strange ce.'' Ace thought bitterly as he looked around.
There was nothing but darkness and an old smell filled the air and terrifying silence. As if no one has stepped to this ce for thousands of years.
Before his eye skill was deactivated, Ace hazily saw the empty area was filled with mysterious patterns and didn''t dare to walk around carelessly.
Ace didn''t know why, but he felt something is very sinister about this ce that gave him the chills. He calmed his racing heart and focus on his soul recovery.
Now that he was inside the barrier, no one woulde after him, not even that terrifying woman. This gave him some relief as he closed his eyes to recuperate.
---
Outside the border''s formation barrier,
Two days have passed since that thief ''death'' and every one of La''s power included Zelda hase here.
All of them were camping a mile away from the position where Ace enters the sky-changing border.
At this moment, inside a luxurious camp, the atmosphere was as forlorn as it could be.
La''s eyes were filled with killing intent as she was looking at the bloody man in front of her.
It was none other than Vance Golden!
At this moment, he looks nothing like his old schrly self. His face was thrashed pretty badly. It was clear La didn''t hold back when taking ''care'' of him.
But she didn''t dare to kill him because just as Vance predicted, now that thief is gone, she would not provoke Pill me Organization so easily. Before she could''ve just shown the organization, the Blood Rose and Vance dead would be forgotten, but not now.
She has already used quite some resources in searching for that thief and only gets his dust in the end. And now, by killing Vance, she can''t afford to pay the ransom of an azure alchemist to the organization!
That''s why he was still alive and only received ''some'' beating.
Zelda''s eyes were also showing intense fierceness as she said angrily, "Aunt, what you wanted to do with this old guy?"
La takes a deep breath as she calmed her intent to kill Vance before speaking. "What can we do? Just heal him and let him go." There was a hint of frustration and helplessness in her sweet voice.
Zelda nearly blow her top hearing her aunt, but she knew they really can''t afford to offend the organization right now.
Shadow Finder, who was also in the camp as well as nine other Qi River Realm Experts who were dressed just like him, speaks at this moment.
"Sixth Lady, may I speak with Master Golden first before we set him free." Everyone''s eyes shifted to him.
La narrowed her eyes as she said, "You may."
Shadow Finder walk towards Vance in everyone''s curious gazes and asked coldly, "Master Golden, how did you lose your storage ring, and did that bird-like mark appeared after that thief steal the ring?"
Vance''s eyes sh with hatred, hearing Shadow Finder''s words that stab in his heart like sharp knives.
Vance didn''t hate La because he simply can''t afford to! First, he didn''t know who these people were and only knew about this famous Green me, and even she was surrounded with fog of mysteries.
Second, he can''t get even with them. So, he was just happy they even let him live and only hated that ''dead'' thief!
Vance weakly said, "I didn''t know how he did it and yes, this bird mark appeared after my storage ring was stolen."
Speaking of which, he didn''t inquire about the sky-changing pass because Shadow Finder knew you cannot store the sky-changing pass in the storage ring for some reason and that''s why everyone carried it in the old fashion way.
"Interesting." Abruptly a dagger appeared in Shadow finder''s hand as he cut Vance''s finger with that strange ckbird mark!
"AHH, Y-YOU!!?" Vance cries in pain as he looked at Shadow Finder''s cold eyes hatefully.
Everyone in the camp was astonished because they knew this guy would never do anything meaningless and curiously studied the clean-cut finger on the ground.
Shadow Finder didn''t faze by Vance''s odious eyes as he takes out a green pill with a purple circle on it.
"Eat it and your injuries will heal, included your sliced finger." He said coldly as he gave the pill to Vance.
Vance was dumbfounded because that pill in Shadow Finder''s hand was a Purple Grade Restoring Pill!
He was an alchemist himself and knew the purple circles only appeared after when a purple grade alchemist creates a purple grade pill!
It was his dream to be a purple alchemist, but the threshold between azure and purple grade was just too big for him to cross in his lifetime.
Vance didn''t reject the pill and instantly swallowed it. He didn''t know what this mad guy wanted by doing all this, but this pill can help him regrow his finger. After all, only purple grade restoration pills can restore little limbs like fingers.
In everyone''s questioning eyes, Vance''s injuries and his finger healed at the speed that naked eyes can see.
At this moment, something happened that left everyone dumbfounded, included Shadow Finder.
When Vance''s finger finally grow back, the bird mark from the sliced finger disappeared, and it again appeared in the same ce where it was before.
On Vance''s newly regrown finger!
Chapter 104 - A New Funcation Of Thief Panel
After two days, Ace''s tightly shut eyes finally opened. Hisplexion was still pale, and his eyes were hazy.
''These soul damages are truly cumbersome to heal!'' Ace smile bitterly. ''It would still take me a week or two before my soul fully recovered.''
Even after two days, the bacsh on his true soul from using the soul-shattering eyes still didn''t mendpletely, but his body was fully healed.
But there was an even bigger problem in front of him at this moment and that was this formation between low and middlends, where he was currently trapped, well, kind of.
With his excellent night vision, Ace examined the surroundings but found nothing, except old dirt. Nothing was there, no life or skeletons that he imagine there would be.
Because before him, many adventurous fellows try to cross it, but Ace knew they all died a horrible death, and that''s why he was expecting a graveyard full of bones inside the formation. Yet, there was nothing.
However, Ace didn''t dare to move from his ce because before his eye skill was stopped, he saw a vast web of strange symbols scatters throughout this old ground.
If he unknowingly steps on those symbols, he would be disintegrated at the very moment, just like the illusion barrier behind him. He could only enter because of treasure opening hands fifth form.
''If I knew the rune crafting, I might be able to understand something here.'' Ace sighed weakly when he thought about rune crafting.
But the very next moment, his dull eyes shimmer as he quickly opens the notification panel to check something with a face full of eagerness and expectation.
"Yes, it is there!" Ace utters ecstatically.
He finally remembered that he pick-pocket that old geezer''s storage ring!
At that time, he didn''t have time to pay any heed to the system voice. Now he had all the time in the world to check what he gets from that old man.
That means he will get TP for it and since that old man was from a kingdom and a River Source Expert, his wealth can easily rival Dulce''s or perhaps even exceed her!
As for how he''s going to open that ring, that wasn''t his concern because he needed just enough TP for buying that manual in the system''s shop!
A transparent ck panel appeared at this moment,
=======
[Notification Panel]
[{Unseen Notification}]
[Pick Pocket sess]
{Host steal}
{1: Low-Level, Middle-Grade Storage Space Treasure} (5th Mortal Level-Runes)
{14: High-Level, Low-Grade Storage Space Treasure} (4th Mortal Level-Runes)
{87: Middle-Level, Low-Grade Storage Space Treasure} (3rd Mortal Level-Runes)
{105: Low-Grade Storage Space Treasure} (2nd Mortal Level-Runes)
{251,766: Low-Grade Pills} (Green-Ranked pills)
{55,283: Middle-level, Low-Grade Pills} (Blue-Ranked pills)
{20,334: High-level, Low-Grade Pills} (Azure-Ranked pills)
{65: Low-Level, Middle-Grade Pills} (Purple-Ranked pills)
{14: Low-Level, Middle-Grade Weapon} (5-Stars)
{288: High-level, Low-Grade Weapon} (4-Stars)
{Techniques and skills Low-Grade (Warrior-Grade): 43 Techniques, 153 Skills},
{Techniques and skills Mid Low-Grade (Master-Grade): 3 Technique, 13 Skills},
{Qi-Stones Trash-Grade (Low-Level): 203 Million},
{Qi-Stones Lowest-Grade (Middle-Level): 43 Million},
{Qi-Stones Low-Grade (High-Level): 2.1 Million},
{Qi-Stones Mid-Level, Low-Grade (Peak-Level): 22}
{Formation Barrier te Middle Grade, (5th Mortal Ranked Runes): 2}
{ve Contracts: 2,672}
{Medicine Herbs and Metal Ores: 1,1 Million Herbs, 13,546 Metal Ores}
{Rewards: 32,000 Thief Points}
[Thief Point(s): 36,240]
---
[Host has stolen treasures worth 32,000 TP]
[One Low-Level Thievery has added to Thievery Count]
[Low-Level Thievery: 4]
=======
Ace could help but inhale deeply. ''This old man''s wealth is truly not trivial! Just who was he?'' He wonders.
Because this was the biggest TP reward he ever got from the system and that old man has to be someone of a prominent position in the golden hammered kingdom.
But the next moment he throws that thought to the back of his head and simply didn''t care anymore.
Since that old man was someone from the golden hammered and also the one who sent that bitch here, he deserved to be robbed by him.
However, if he knows that the old man is an Azure Alchemist from the Pill me Organization and this storage ring was not his actual wealth, Ace would take that old goat more seriously.
But Ace didn''t even know about the organization, much less what the actual wealth of an Azure Alchemist means. If Ace knew, he might make alchemists the prime target of his thieveries from now, no.
That''s also why Vance didn''t care about this storage ring that much because this was only his ten percent wealth, and his actual wealth was in the organization!
One can imagine by this just how wealthy an alchemist can be!
Ace felt it was a pity since he can''t open this ring or else just the EXP of these pills and medicinal herbs inside were enough to help him cross at least two small stages!
Nevertheless, he was thrilled about this big tally of TP that he received and was about to open the system shop when the system''s voice buzz in his mind,
=====
"[System has detected storage ring stolen by the host.]"
[Since it is counted as low-level thievery in Thief Panel, it can be opened with 100TP]
[Do you want to open with 100TP?]
[Yes/No]
=====
Ace was stunned, he didn''t dare to believe what he just heard and quickly saw the transparent ck panel in front of him.
When he read for three-time, he finally believed that he can now open the storage rings without killing the owner!
"System, is this also a function of the thief panel?" He had to confirm it.
"[Yes]"
"Hahaha, not bad, not bad." Ace praised the system for the first time in a while. "Open it and transfer everything in my thief''s space. Sort it neatly, ording to the sections for unique treasures I created!"
======
"[100TP deducted]
[The Storage Ring is now opened]
[The system has also sorted everything in the Thief''s Space ording to Hostmand.]"
======
Ace quickly scan the thief''s space and saw glittering treasures systematically arranged inside.
The most eyes catching on them all were that big treasury of luminous city and a mountain of dazzling Qi Stones!
He didn''t even step in the Land of Kingdoms, yet his wealth alone rivals any 2nd-Grade Kingdom!
Ace''s eyes were twinkling brightly as he saw the small mountain of glittering pills as well as the medical herbs!
He wanted to quickly convert them into EXP, but first, he does what he was going to before the system''s sudden interference.
"System, I want to buy [Heavenly Rune Crafter: Foundational Manual] and one [Random Teleportation Life Coin]." Ace transmitted thoughtfully.
He wanted the Rune Crafter Manual because he was hoping to find something useful that can help him escape this ce.
He didn''t want to use soul-shattering eyes like before unless he wanted a critical injury to his true soul. If that happened, Ace didn''t know how long would it take to heal it since didn''t have any method to heal soul injuries quickly at this moment.
As for the life coin, he simply decided to buy it because there was a word LIFE in it, and it has no limitation, just like the invisible beads. Since he was in this dangerous ce, it might save his life at some critical point.
Besides, he can''t buy anything else besides these two with his TP at this moment.
Speaking of which, he didn''t use the invisible bead here because its effects only remain for a minute, and he didn''t know just howrge this formation truly is. Besides, he won''t use it unless it was a life and death situation since it was also hisst bead.
=====
[35,000TP deducted sessfully]"
[Thief Point(s): 1,140]
---
[The information of the Heavenly Rune Crafter: Foundational Manual is now starting to transfer into the host''s brain.]
---
[Random Teleportation Life Coin is now activated.]
[Life Coin: 1]
[Description: It will be used automatically when the system detects any life-ending danger to the host''s life.]
======
A huge torrent of information enters Ace''s brain, but this time it was painful, just like the first time when he received the information from the system. It was because his soul was still not fully recovered.
Ace gritted his teeth as he endured the intense pain.
The pain finally faded after an entire minute. The information of this single manual was quiterge, and it takes Ace an entire hour to process and arrange everyst bit of it.
His eyes finally open, there was a hint of excitement in them as well as shock.
''This heavenly rune crafting is truly heaven-defying!'' Ace thought ecstatically.
As for the life coin, since it was in the hands of the system to activate it, he was assured of his safety andpletely forget about it.
His entire focus was on the rune crafting at this moment because he finally found a way to leave this damn ce without injuring his soul.
But Ace knew it would not going to be that easy!
Chapter 105 - Heavenly Rune Crafting
Ace scan through the manual of the Heavenly Rune Crafter calmly.
The Heavenly Rune Crafting was heavenly because after learning it, Ace can use the Heavenly Soul Qi for rune crafting as well as normal worldly qi.
If he would''ve learned any local methods for rune crafting, he simply can''t be a rune crafter because his soul qi was heavenly soul qi!
Ace finally understands just how beneficial soul cultivation truly is and feels quite blessed to begin a soul cultivator. Because without soul qi no one can be a Rune Crafter and only soul cultivators can possess soul qi.
The heavenly rune crafter foundational manual was divided into five separate parts. Each part was very important and linked to the other and with missing even one, rune crafting was impossible.
The first part was the Runic Eyes, a foundational eye technique for a Rune Crafter. It was divided into three levels, Runic Manifest Eyes, Runic Analysis Eyes, and Runic Evaluation Eyes.
After mastering all three levels, one can see, analyze, and appraise the rune symbols. Without this kind of technique, it is impossible because they were made of the soul qi.
It was not like Ace''s true and false eyes or the soul-shattering eyes that can find ws in the rune symbols, arrays, and formations. It was a true rune crafting technique.
Eyes techniques were the essence of rune crafting and without learning one, you are just blind in this field. Every rune crafter has one special eye technique for rune symbols.
One has to know in this entire continent only ancient sects have skills for crafting. Or Pill me Organization in lowernds! This is just how rare and important soul qi users were.
The second part was the technique for controlling the soul qi, called the Runic Soul Maniption Technique,which has twelve levels.
The techniques for controlling soul qi were used to skillfully control the soul qi while crafting the rune symbols. Because rune crafting was a very delicate process, and just by a tiny bit of mistake, the entire array or formation would be ruined!
The third part was Basic Myriad Rune Symbols Encyclopedia.As the name suggests, it was aplete encyclopedia on every basic or foundational rune symbol and its structures.
The fourth part was Basic Myriad Runic Structural Encyclopedia.
In this encyclopedia, there wasplete instruction on how tobine different basic rune symbols into arrays or formations, the materials needed, and information on how much qi control one needed to crafter a basic rune symbol perfectly!
The final and fifth part was the Heavenly Rune Crafting technique. When one master the first four basics, this technique is used for crafting and it has twelve levels.
Perception, Control, Comprehension, Structure, and Crafting was the five-foundation principal of Rune Crafting.
Last but not least, there were twelve tiers describe in the foundational manual of Rune Crafter before Grade One. Just like this world nine mortal ranks of rune crafters.
Tier-1 Rune Crafter is the lowest, while Tire-12 Rune Crafter is the highest.
As for the grade one rune crafting, the foundational manual didn''t have any information about this grade. It was, after all, just fundaments of rune crafting for grooming a grade one rune crafter after the person mastered itpletely.
''Sigh¡''
Ace sighed in amazement as his eyes shine with intense interest. He just wanted to immerse himself into learning this remarkable rune crafting. But control his excitement because this wasn''t the time or ce for it.
Besides, he can''t learn any five of the basic principles without the element soul qi!
It truly frustrates him but it did not discourage him and asked, "System, if my cultivation advanced, will I be able to use heavenly soul qi just like soul probing?"
He wanted to hear yes because if he can''t then the soul-shattering eyes were his only option.
"[No, Heavenly Soul Qi of Element is too much for the host body to handle.]"
Ace smile bitterly as he said after suppressing his disappointment, "How many EXP will I get after converting every pill and herb in my thief''s space?"
"[System has a suggestion.]"
Ace narrowed his eyes because this was not the emotionless voice of the system. "What kind of suggestion?"
"[Save the medicinal herbs they are used in heavenly rune crafting.]"
Ace was stunned as he swallowed hard because he did not know about this aspect of rune crafting since he can''t open any of the encyclopedias.
"System, just use the pill in calction!" Ace immediately change hismand.
=======
"[Starting the calcting¡]"
[All the pills in thief''s space can be converted into 30 Million EXP]
[Did you want to proceed with the conversion?]
========
A smile creeps out on Ace''s face, "Proceed."
He quickly wanted to increase his cultivation because, by doing so, he can use soul-shattering eyes more easily. At least that is what he thought.
======
"[Conversion Complete!]"
[30 Million EXP has been added to Host status]
[Congrattion host on reaching the High Stage of Heavenly Foundation Building]
[Host status has been updated]"
======
Ace quickly closed his eyes because, just like thest time, a huge flood of heavenly qi explode out from the dark void and the heavenly qi circtes his dark meridians.
But this time, the rotation of the heavenly qi wasn''t just stopped at nine, but the qi circtes ny-nine times before entering the dark void again and turns into HD-Qi.
The HD-Qi enters the nine dark foundation tes surrounding the dark void. Those dark tes begin to rapidly expand again.
When the HD-Qi was absorbed, they have expanded by nine-hundred percent! Now they were nine-hundred square meters in size.
Those pitch-ck foundation tes now looked like somerge, darknds. This was truly a tremendous leap this time!
Ace opens his eyes, and the dullness in them has lessened after his breakthrough. He smiled ecstatically, ''I feel much better now.''
He looked at his Martial Cultivation Column because he was confused about why this many EXP only help him reached the High Stage of Heavenly Foundation Building, not Peak.
====
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Foundation Building {High-Stage}]
{EXP: 29.95 Million/50 Million}
====
Ace take a deep breath in astonishment because if he remembered correctly from mid to high stage, he only needed one million EXP. But now he needed fifty million to reach the Peak Stage of Heavenly Foundation!
At this moment, the system''s voice sounded again,
=======
"[Soul Probing 15% Power has been unsealed!]"
[Host can now probe the soul of Middle Stage Qi Foundation Building Cultivators and the time limits of soul probing have also increased to two hours a day]
---
"[Light Element Qi {Martial & Soul} has been unlocked.]"
[Light Element Qi: The ability to freely use worldly light element qi of both martial and soul type!]
[Limitation: Host can only use any type of Qi {Martial or Soul} for 24 hours and has to stop for 48 hours.]
=======
"W-what?" Ace shout out loud as he was bewildered after hearing about the light qi.
This was the same reward he gets about absorbing the light elemental orb. But never get to use it or didn''t know how to.
Yet, now the system has unlocked it on its own and this was an immense advantage for him because he can use element qi of both soul and body at the same time in the heavenly foundation realm!
Even with that limitation of one-day use and two-day intervals, it was enough for him to do many things in twenty-four hours, as he can now learn rune crafting!
He knew it was not the heavenly element qi but still; it was the element qi, and it was written in the manual''s instruction that Ace can use any type of element soul qi as long as he has it while rune crafting.
It will decrease the crafted rune symbols effect by fifty percent and the symbols will be imperfectpare with the rune symbols crafted by the heavenly soul qi that can be perfect rune symbol!
However, Ace didn''t care as long as he can learn only that eye technique first level. It was enough for him to at least see the hidden rune symbol in this barren-looking ce.
Ace has to wait before using the light qi because his soul wasn''t in optimal condition right now.
However, Ace didn''t notice at this moment, in this silent and dark ce, something was observing him with great interest!
In the depth of low sky border formation, an ancient husky voice mumbled, "How did this child tear a hole in this formation? How many years has it been since I saw someone alive entering this ce."
There was a hint of astonishment in this voice and yearning for something.
"But this child is quite bizarre. He was clearly at the mid-stage just two days ago and his soul was also somewhat weak, but how did he manage to breakthrough in the high stage with a soul injury?"
But s, Ace didn''t even hear or felt this presence and for the first time, he waspletely in dark!!
Chapter 106 - Reality Check!
An entire week passed since Ace was trapped inside the formation of the low sky-changing border.
Ace was only concentrating on his soul recovery the entire time and today his soul waspletely recovered.
"How much time has passed?" Ace opens his glimmering eyes while wondering.
He does not know about the flow of time here because there was no concept of night and day inside the formation and it was constantly silent.
"Well, it doesn''t matter since I''m trapped here." Ace smiles bitterly while mumbles, "I should be able to learn the first part of the rune crafter manual now."
Ace''s eyes shimmer the very moment he thought about the first part, Runic Eyes of Heavenly Rune Crafter Foundational Manual. This was his key to leave this damn pce.
The first level of the Runic Eyes can help the ruin crafter to see the rune symbols that were impossible to see with naked eyes. This kind of technique was the most basic for any rune crafter.
"System, how should I use the light soul qi?" Ace quickly asked since this qi was not his natural Heavenly Qi, and ordinary worldly qi, he didn''t know how to proceed with it.
====
"[Did host want to activate the Light Element Soul Qi?]"
[Yes/No]
====
''Well, this is handy.'' Ace was happy about this easy way to use this worldly qi and didn''t have to learn it from scratch. "Yes, activate it."
====
"[Light Element Soul Qi has been activated.]"
[Time Remains: 23:59:59]
====
''Oh, with this timer, I didn''t have to always worry about the time limit.'' it overjoyed Ace since he can put all of his focus into the Runic Eyes now.
At this moment, Ace felt a tingle in his mind''s space and quickly use his sense to see what was urring inside.
The orange soul core was calmly floating in the center of Ace''s mind space while slowly rotating, diffusing misty orange qi in the mind space.
Suddenly, a small milky white soul core appeared within from orange soul core!
This white soul core size was one-fifth of the orange soul core. This white core slowly floats few inches away from Ace''s original heavenly soul core before settling.
When the milky white soul core stops, as if it was finally at the right position, it begins to slowly rotate around the orange soul core while glowing in white, just like a moon around the sun!
The sudden appearance of this new white soul core astonished Ace.
"[Now the host can use the false light soul core to steal the light soul qi from the world.]"
Ace finally snapped out of his shock as a wide grin appeared on his face. "Heh, stealing qi from this word? I like the sound of it."
He didn''t dwell on it anymore since the time was limited and he won''t be able to use the light soul qi for two days.
With a thought, Ace draws light element soul qi from the white soul core. To his surprise, this-worldly was much easy to handle than heavenly qi and he quickly get used to it.
After making himselffortable with light soul qi, Ace inhales deeply and puts a serious face. ''Runic Manifest Eyes¡'' Suddenly white transparent mist streams from both of his eyes.
This mist was none other than light soul qi. It is impossible to see with naked eyes, and only someone with an entire realm higher than Ace can see this qi.
At this moment, deep within the formation,
"Hmm? Isn''t this light element soul qi??" An old husky voice exims out loud. "What!! This pup is an Early Soul River Cultivator?? But how can that be? I saw him breaking through into the high stage of Qi Foundation Realm a week ago myself!"
This voice was sounded in great shock at this moment.
"Wait, a moment! There is no trace of martial qi on him now? Was I hallucinating at that time? I must be it! No one can cultivate both soul and body at the same time from time immemorial!"
This voice seems to calm itself. "It appears trapping here for so long has really messed up my senses. But this pup is quite interesting. He is an early soul river cultivator at such a young age and even has an affinity with the light element, whichplements soul cultivation.
"Should I take this chance? Well, it''s not like I can get another like this one. If far better than trapping here at least!" The husky voice went silent as if it was mulling over something.
One month pass since Ace was trapped inside the low sky-changing formation.
In this month, Ace has learned the Runic Manifest Eyes earnestly whenever his rest period was over. This technique was unique from the other eyes skills he learned in the past.
That''s why he is having difficulty in understanding it but after a month he beginning to understand the crux of this rune crafting first part and was very close in master the first level of runic eyes!
As for the two days when he can''t use the light soul qi, he learns the soul-piercing bullets. Because it was not harmful to him at his current level.
He tries studying the pulseless stealth, but it was too difficult for him to understand as if he was stuck. So, he put all his focus on the soul skill.
One more thing that was worth mentioning is Rune Crafting Manual was helping Ace in underling more about the soul qi. Before he waspletely clueless about how he should improve in the soul, but now things were different.
If not for the limited time and being trapped in this ce, Ace wanted to study the soul-controlling technique of heavenly rune crafting.
This makes him even more determined to quickly leave this ce.
Two more months passed,
At this moment Ace''s eyes were tightly shut while he sweat profoundly. White transparent soul qi was constantly flowing from his shut eyes as if there were on white fire.
Suddenly, Ace shut eyes shot open as the transparent soul qi instantly sinks in them, and not even a trace of soul qi left.
His dark blue eyes were calm as water, but if one saw more carefully, there was a white luster around his dark blue iris now.
Ace''s lips curls upwards in a smile because he finallyprehends the first level of runic eyes the Runic Manifest Eyes in three months!
Wasting no more time, Ace looked around with the help of Runic Manifest Eyes and was astounded because the surrounding area was filled with different andplex, runic symbols!
''I can finally see these rune symbols!'' Ace was ecstatic because all of his efforts were not in vain, and can finally see the hidden rune symbols.
He was quite surprised now that he sees the real rune symbols because before he can only see ws in the arrays and formation with both of his basic and soul eye skills.
Yet now, he can clearly see these mysterious runes and they were just too profound for him to make any sense of them at this moment.
Ace''s brows suddenly locked together when he looked around more carefully. Because he saw these strange symbols were glowing in different lights and there was not a single empty spot like when he saw with soul-shattering eyes three months ago.
The spot where he was holding for three months was also one of those empty spots he saw with soul-shattering eyes, but now he using the Runic Eyes, even this spot was glowing in dim white light.
''Now I have tobine true and false eyes with Runic Manifest Eyes!'' Ace mussed grimly. ''No, it''s almost impossible. They simply didn''tpliment each other!''
This was his grand n for escaping this ce, bybining his basic eyes skill and a rune technique. Because true and false eyes can spot ws and, bybining it with this runic technique, he can easily spot the ws in symbols as well.
Furthermore, if Ace really seeds, then he didn''t need the soul-shattering eyes in the long run either.
At least that is what he thought before mastering the runic eyes first level. He was confident in doing it, however, now he finally understood just how impossible it was tobine martial and soul techniques and skills alike!
Ace was in a huge dilemma when an ancient husky voice drifted in this silence and enter his ear, "Little Brat, your talent in soul is almost equal to this Patriarch."
Ace nearly jump in fright when this sudden voice sounded in his ear. He instantly used his heavenly sense to the max to find this voice owner but failed.
"Heh, you even manage to form soul sense in the early soul river realm, and your soul sense is unique and powerful as well. Just which technique are you practicing?"
Ace finally gives the horror of his life because it was his first time since anyone has ever pointed out his soul senses!!
Chapter 107 - Patriarch Empty Dream (Part 1)
Ace was terrified because no one has ever assumed him of being a soul cultivator, much less praising his heavenly sense. This means there is a horrifying being live in this ce and he couldn''t but think of that nasty feeling he had when he first entered this ce.
''How can there be someone else in here?'' Ace thought grimly, but he can''t run away now because if he moves carelessly in this ce he will be dead!
Furthermore, this terrifying being can even sense his heavenly sense. Where can he run if this voice owner wanted to capture him?
Ace takes a deep breath. "Who are you?" As he asked, the invisible bead has already appeared in his hand. If he senses anything amiss, he would shatter it instantly.
"Hoh, me? I''m Patriarch Empty Dream, you must hear of me before." There was a clear pride in this voice as he introduces himself to Ace.
Ace grimaced before saying thoughtfully, "Senior, please forgive me. I''m only from low-levelnds and didn''t hear of senior''s mighty name before."
"What low-levelnds?" Empty Dream was confused as he asked, "Child, where is this ce? Are we not in the Azure Wind Continent?"
Ace was startled hearing this, ''He didn''t know about lownds?'' Despite his vignt Ace still, reply truthfully.
"This is the Azure Wind Continent, but it is divided into four differentyers and we are in the lowest level sky changing border."
"Since when did Azure Wind Continent have differentyers and this bullshit border??" Empty Dream demanded again in a stiff voice.
"From the start, I guess." Ace didn''t know the answer to this question himself and honestly replied.
"Hmm, I can tell you''re speaking truthfully." Empty Dream responded with uncertainty, "Tell me everything you know about the current Azure Wind Continent."
''He is a soul cultivator!'' Ace thought gravely because only someone with soul sense can confidently say; he was telling the truth.
This gave Ace the chills. It was his first time being the prey of someone else soul sense and he was helpless to do anything. Now, he finally understands just how it felt to be in dark in front of a soul cultivator!
"Senior, first can you please answer this junior question." Ace dryly asked. He didn''t know just what the deal with this old fellow.
But this Empty Dream didn''t attack him from start and just keep asking the meaningless questions that give Ace a little courage. That''s why he asked to see if this old guy was short temper or not.
"First, tell me everything you know about the azure wind continent!" There was clear oppression might in Empty Dream voice this time.
A tremor run through Ace''s entire body because there was some mysterious power in that husky voice. ''Just what is his cultivation realm?!''
"System, can I use that life coin now?" Ace quickly transmitted. He didn''t like this kind of feeling where he was trapped like a mouse in the presence of a tiger!
"[No!]
"[System didn''t'' detect any life-ending danger to host''s life at this moment.]"
Ace smile wryly, ''You''re not reliable at all!''
He takes a deep breath and told Empty Dream about Azure Wind Continent that he knows truthfully. As for hiding something, heh, in the presence of soul sense, it was nearly impossible until Ace learn to calm his soul fluctuations that he didn''t know how to.
He was just a rookie when ite to soul cultivation and this was his first timeing in contact with an actual soul cultivator and a terrifying one at that.
After a long exnation, Ace felt he speak for the longest time of his life.
"That treacherous bastard!!!" Empty Dream''s enraged voice echoed in the silence of sky-changing formation.
Ace gripped the invisible bead at this moment he was ready to shatter it at any moment.
''Sigh¡'' A helpless sigh sounded at this moment. "Boy, forgive my early behavior. I just can''t believe that traitor divided this beautiful continent and even build these borders."
Ace was confused at this moment because for the first he felt sorrow in this voice and couldn''t help but asked, "Senior, are you someone from an ancient sect?"
"Ancient Sect? Heh," Empty Dream sneering voice rang, "Boy, since you tell this patriarch the truth and I didn''t speak with someone for ages, let me enlighten you."
Ace didn''t speak and listen carefully to what this old fellow has to say.
"I don''t know just how much time has passed, but after hearing you, I can assume; They have removed all the traces of me from the history.
"But let me tell you, in ancient times, Ancient Beast Race ruled the golden sky world. It was the most glorious period for them, but one day, suddenly, different races appear from different parts of this world. No one knows just where theye from.
"The ancient beast race was infuriated by these sudden invaders, and they began mass extermination to clean their world. But it was not as easy as the beast race deem it would be.
"In the newly emerge races there were three races that were even stronger than ancient beasts. They were Devils, Demons, and Ancient Hunters.
"Facing beast race wrath and their huge numbers, these three races gathered together every other being that was not rted to ancient beasts and form friction against the ancient beasts.
"This was the first war that this world has ever seen. It was called the Resistance Cold War. This great war raged for almost two hundred years until the ancient beast finally realized that this world can no longer be there alone anymore.
"Because they suffer the most in the hands of these allied races, especially cunning devils and curl demons, and when you add sneaky hunters in the mix, this made a deadlybination of carnage.
"That''s why the Beast Emperor of that time epts every race and the Resistance Cold War finally stops after the death of millions.
"But this wasn''t the end of the conflict between the races because following the war with beast race was over, the allied races didn''t have any purpose to continued their alliance anymore, and the allied races separated.
"Do you know the ten continents we know today were once only a single humongous maind?" Empty Dream didn''t wait for Ace''s answer and continued,
"After the war, every race divided this vast continent''s territory ording to their prowess of race. Simply put, the one with the most power gets the biggestnd, while the weakest gets nothing at all.
"Some weak-simple-minded races like Ogres, Golems, Cyclops¡ simply go under the banner of powerful races like devils, demons, ancient hunters¡ and be their ves.
"In these weak races who chose the path of very for survival were humans as well." There was deep sorrow in Empty Dream''s voice when he talks about humanity''s past.
Ace has a bewildered expression on his face because what he heard was just too shocking. He never even imagines that there was such a history of his world. Especially humanity, who was now the number four race in this world!
Ace couldn''t help but ask, "Senior, then how did we break free from the path of very?"
Empty Dream said with a prideful voice, "Heh, we fight, of course!
"Humans chose the Ancient Hunter Race for protection and be their vassals. Because only Ancient Hunters looked exactly like humans except for their different colors of hair.
"The human body is quite fragile, and we didn''t bear any abilities at birth either. But we are unique from other races because we can reason andprehend, and our bodies or souls can be strong if we have techniques and skills.
"For decades, humanity does very under the ancient hunters, but it was only until a hero emerges who changes the entire course of our race. His name was vus, who waster known as the Humane Sage!
"In ancient records, the Humane Sage was the very first human who discovered the true potential of the human body and he has an astonishing ability ofprehension.
"He creates many techniques from scratches for humanity and secretly taught all humanity cultivation, and this was the real turning point for the humans.
"The humanity finally understands their true potential and in the leadership of Humane Sage, the revolt of humanity began. Many heroes emerge from humanity and contribute tremendously.
"However, no one has ever imagined that this revolt of humanity against the ancient hunters would ame the second biggest war of golden sky word, the Race Supremacy War!"
Empty Dream''s voice was filled with passion. He didn''t talk with someone for ages and Ace was an excellent listener, and he almost forgot that he was confined.
Ace''s eyes also shimmer with a strange light. He is a human himself and hearing the glorious history of the human race, his blood boiled.
"Senior, what happened next?" Ace eagerly asked, he desperately wanted to know what happen in the Race Supremacy War!
Chapter 108 - Patriarch Empty Dream (Part 2)
''Ahem...'' Empty Dream dry cough rang at this moment after hearing Ace''s question as if he was embarrassed. "Child, this patriarch also didn''t know about the Race Supremacy war, there is no record of it, I only know the name."
Ace was still waiting for the other part of the story eagerly when he heard the Empty Dream''s embarrassing words and he nearly fell.
Empty Dream speak quickly as if he saw Ace''s dark face, "Brat, I''m telling the truth there is no record of this war left in history except its name.
"All I know is when the supremacy war was over, the single huge maind was broken into ten pieces and the ranking of races was also decided and no one wager any more wars after that.
"Trust me, if it has any record, I would be the first person to know. Because I''m the descendant of the Humane Sage and also the eighth-generation Patriarch of Humane Sky Sect!"
Ace was bewildered to discover the terrifying background of this voice. He didn''t know if this old fellow was telling the truth or not, since his senses were powerless. But if this was true, then he has to be some kind of living legend!
However, Ace frown as he asked, "If senior is decent of Humane Sage and the patriarch of a sect, then how did you end up here?"
"It''s was all my fault for trusting that tortious disciple so much!" Empty dream voice was chilly as winter when he mentions his disciple.
Ace narrowed his eyes but stay silent to let Empty Dream continued.
"In my time, there were no distributions or boundaries on this continent and there was only one sect. The whole azure wind continent flourishes and humanity were united under Humane Sky Sect.
"But I had made a huge mistake by taking a venoms snake as my disciple. I got blinded by his terrifying talent in soul cultivation and ignore his other aspects."
''Sigh¡'' Empty Dream sigh helplessly, "I treated him like my son and even taught him the core technique of vus n.
"The vus n was famous for their talent in soul cultivation because the Humane Sage was also a soul cultivator and we have theplete set of soul techniques and skills for Eight Soul Cultivation Realm!
"But the Seventh and Eighth Realm Techniques and skills were no easy to get and only someone with Calvus n blood have the chance to get them. When I tell that traitor about it, he finally showed his fangs!
"First, he acts like he always had, but as the time passes, the sect changed and I don''t know how, but that bastard even gains help from Devil Race Experts and struck me down together with them.
"I clearly remember in the attackers two high-elders from the sect were also involved. But that snake didn''t kill me because he somehow even found out only the Patriarch of the sect knows about the ce where the final two techniques of our n were hidden.
"In the end, I didn''t budge, even after they killed my nsmen, but that traitor ambition knows no bounds and, with the help of devil race experts, they separate my soul into five pieces and lock them in different locations.
"I don''t know what he will gain after doing it but he was plotting something nasty. But s, I was helpless to do anything because they have powerful soul treasures to protect themselves.
"However, that traitor didn''t know the wonder of my n''s seventh realm soul technique. Even after they tore my soul into pieces, I regain consciousness and it might be the same case for my other soul parts.
"But I was trapped here, and no one seems to enter this ce. Well, of course, until youe. I''m sure you are the only one who can help me." Empty Dream''s voice was filled with enthusiasm when he mentions Ace.
Ace felt he was the unluckiest person at this moment because this whole matter seems to be great and he didn''t want to get involved with this master and disciple.
Because if that person can even trick someone like Empty Dream and gain help from Devil Race and most importantly, he was most likely to be the one who has changed the entire structure of this continent.
That''s means that guy was possibly the strongest person in the entire azure wind continent!
Meanwhile, he already has Mathies'' true body, which is a Qi Soul Manifestation Realm Cultivator as an enemy, and if he provokes this kind of existence as well. He would have no ce on this entire continent to hide!
Ace force a smile as he declines politely, "Senior, it was all a coincidence, a mere fluke. Even you can tell I''m trapped here, so how could I possibly help you with this crucial matter?"
"Heh, you think I''m an idiot who will tell these kinds of things just to anyone and ask any hillbilly for help?" Empty Dream scoffed at this moment, "Your talent in soul is almost equal to this patriarch and you even seem to possess very good rune crafting eyes technique.
"If I''m not wrong, you only learn it here and the time was also very short. Your talent is not high as that snake, but possessing a talent equal to this patriarch is not aughing matter either!"
''This old fox was observing me from the start and only shows his presence because of my talent in the domain of the soul.'' Ace smile wryly, learning his secrets so easily exposed.
"Senior, I still can''t help you because I''m trapped here and your matter is possibly rted to royalnds. I can''t go there anytime soon even if I escape." He was telling the truth.
"Boy, I know what you''re thinking, but if my conjecture is true, then there is a chance of my other two soul parts being in the other two sky-changing borders. And they might also regain their awareness as well.
"I can help you escape this ce and those two-soul pieces can do the same if they are conscious because this entire formation is built on my soul piece. This should solve your problem in entering those so-called royalnds, right?" Empty Dream confidently said.
Ace''s eyes brighten. Hearing this old guy can help him leave this ce because his ne was not possible, and he didn''t want to spend a long time here. He can learn the rune crafting, but it would be just too slow, and he can''t raise his strength quickly as well.
More importantly, his primary goal was also the royalnds. It would make his journey easier if this old guy''s hypothesis about his soul parts was true.
Ace takes a deep breath before saying, "What do you want in return?" He wanted to hear the conditions before epting anything from Empty Dream.
"Hoho, it''s very simple. You just have to collect soul wisps of my every soul piece and after youbine every part, I''ll be free from this damn ce and be whole again.
"Don''t worry about the rewards. After I be whole, I''ll impart my n''s soul techniques and skills to you and made you the next patriarch of the Humane Sky Sect!
"But you have to be very careful because if that traitor found out about my soul regaining conscious, he will be alert and erase my conscious." Empty Dream warns as if Ace has already epted his task.
Ace frowned upon hearing Empty Dream conditions and his ''tempting'' reward. Trustfully, Ace wasn''t a tad bit moved because his technique and skills were perfect and he can only cultivate them because of his heavenly qi.
As for being the Young Patriarch, he didn''t want to lose his freedom. So collectively there was nothing he wanted from this Empty Dream except the entry in higher-levelnds. Simply put, he was getting the shortest end of the stick.
Ace said with a grim face, "Senior, but I didn''t know where is your other two soul pieces."
This was probably the biggest problem in this whole deal. Even if he found other two pieces of Empty Dream Soul, there were still two pieces missing and their locations were unknown.
Empty Dream speaks as if he was also in deep thoughts, "You are right about it but those two pieces would definitely be in the Sect or some other ces since that traitor didn''t keep them close, it means he is after something. You just have to find other suspicious ces like these borders. But you have to be careful not to alert that bastard."
Ace smiled bitterly and said, "Fine, but if I won''t able to find them don''t hate me."
He wasn''t going to particrly search for them, but if he found them between his travels, he didn''t mind lending a helping hand to this old ghost. Since he was going to help him in crossing these borders.
Empty Dream ted voice rang when he heard Ace finally agreeing, "Boy, let us establish a soul contract!"
Chapter 109 - Soul Contract
Ace grimaced after hearing the name ''Soul Contact'' because he didn''t know what kind of contract it is. But the name soul was not aughing matter.
"Umm. Senior, what is this soul contract?" He asks thoughtfully.
"Oh, I almost forgot, your knowledge is quite shallow." Empty Dream borated like an elder, "Soul Contracts are like ve contracts but there are more powerful and almost unbreakable.
"But it differs greatly from ve contracts because in this contract both parties have to agree on each other conditions before sessfully establish it. But don''t worry, once the conditions are fulfilled, the soul contract will end at the very moment.
"However, if someone dares to go against the conditions written in soul contract, their soul will be destroyed, meaning instant death!
"Soul Contracts are very handy if you can''t trust someonepletely. Boy, don''t take it to heart, you know this patriarch predicament. It''s not like I didn''t trust you, I just don''t want to take risks anymore and I know you are the same." Empty Dream said.
Ace brows locked together hearing the purposes of this soul contract. He couldn''t help but agree with Empty Dream''s statement about not trusting each otherpletely, because he was the same.
If he forms this soul contract with Empty Dream, it will ensure his safety and the notion of betrayal would be out of the question. Of course, it would only remain until the contract is fulfilled.
Ace thinks before if he should just use the soul-shattering eyes and reject Empty Dream''s offer, but now that he thinks more carefully, this old ghost was just too shrewd.
Because he clearly said that he can help him escape the formation, then didn''t it mean he can kill him if he wanted to with the formation as well?
Empty Dream said nothing about controlling the formationpletely and only said he can help him escape. But Ace''s mind sharpened with all the experience he had gone through in lownds and he instantly guess that empty dream was hiding this trump card to threaten him if he rejects his offer.
''This cultivation world is truly a ce where only strength rules.'' Ace thought bitterly and his mood sours spontaneously.
From the start, he was ying in the hands of Empty Dream, and rejection wasn''t an option anymore. Well, it was, if this damn system activated that life coin, but he knew he has to depend on himself in this situation.
This conjecture gave Ace even more reason to not trust this old ghostpletely.
If Empty Dream knows Ace has already found about this trump card and almost saw through his scheme, he would instantly put Ace at the level of his traitor disciple!
Empty Dream was talking with Ace nicely just to form goodwill between him and Ace, but by revealing the soul contract, he gives away his crafty nature.
Nheless, Ace has no choice in this matter anymore as he said calmly, "Senior, there is one problem, we didn''t have any soul contract."
He assumed since it was like a ve contract; it has to be some kind of treasure or special item and if that old ghost was trapped, then he didn''t have this kind of treasure here.
Empty Dream could easily tell by Ace''s chaotic soul fluctuations that something was amiss, but he can''t put his finger on it. But after hearing Ace''s question, hepletely forgets about it and thought it was only natural for Ace to be overly cautious.
"Heh, soul contracts didn''t need any specific treasures or needed rune crafting like ve contracts. Soul Cultivators at the Soul River Core realm can easily make it by controlling the soul sense, that is if they had the rare method of forming the soul contract."
Empty Dream voice rang, "From the moment I was awakened, I have stored some element soul qi, and it is enough to form the soul contract and help you escape this formation. Now we just have to decide on the conditions."
''This old fox!'' Ace cursed in his heart because it seems Empty Dream was ready from the start and there was no escaping from this contract.
But Ace was quite shocked after discovering the soul cultivator can make this fascinating soul contract out of thin air and wonder if he can do it with his heavenly sense, but s, he didn''t have the method.
"We''ll do." Ace said with a straight face. It''s not like he has any other choice.
"Oh, I didn''t know your name. Without it, we can''t form the soul contract." Empty Dream asks Ace.
"Javier." Ace replied with a in face.
"Heh, your correct name." Empty Dream snickers slyly.
''Damn soul sense!'' Ace''s face stiffed, but he was helpless, "Ace."
"Ho, what a strange name." Empty Dreamment.
Ace''s face darken but didn''t rebuke Empty Dream.
After that, Empty Dream and Ace discussed the conditions of the soul contract.
There were only three conditions,
First, Ace will help empty dream to find his other soul pieces, but he will not search for them specifically. However, if he hears any kind of news or rumor rted to them, he will have to scrutinize it.
Second, Empty Dream will not harm Ace in any way nor will Ace.
Third, Empty Dream will help Ace crossing the Sky Changing Borders if Empty Dream''s other soul parts were present in there demanding nothing from Ace or ying any kind of trick. And if Ace revives Empty Dream, Empty Dream will give Ace the entire soul cultivation inheritance of the vus n.
After they settled the conditions, one square foot long two green transparent sheets appeared from the depth of sky-changing border.
They float in front of Ace. He was astonished because every condition was written just like they have decided on these green transparent sheets.
''So, this is a soul contract.'' He thought.
Ace carefully read the soul contract and found nothing harmful to him or any loophole in it and there was Empty Dream''s actual name written on it. But he still can''t tell if this old ghost was telling the truth or not, since his soul senses were useless here.
At this moment, Empty Dream''s voice sounded again, "Now, we just have to imprint our soul mark on it and the contract will be established. One contract will enter your True Soul and the other will enter mine.
"Let me tell you something interesting. If we hide our actual name, the soul contract cannot enter the other party''s True Soul, and it will cancel instantly. Because the true name is imprinted on our true soul.
"I don''t know how this works, but most seniors believe it has to do something with ''First Call'' meaning whatever someone calls you at your birth it is your true name, but this theory isn''t urate.
"It was only the case for humans and other weak races, though, races like Devils, Demons, Ancient Hunters, Ancient Beasts... have their true name from birth."
Ace was astonished because he never thought that even a simple name has such a secret.
"Heh, what do you think? I would fake my name just to create a loophole in the contract? Boy, I meant you no harm, and this contract is very fair.
"How about I''ll impart my insights of Rune Crafting''s first nine ranks? Consider it my goodwill." Empty Dream'' chuckling voice sounded.
Ace''s face reddens because he thought of this name loophole thing. Now, empty dream even offers his insights on rune crafting and Ace''s eyes instantly glow.
His rune crafting was heavenly and has twelve tiers, but if he has the insights of normal rune crafter''s, it will really be an enormous help for him in the path of heavenly rune crafting, and can learn it more quickly.
"Thank you, Senior, I hope you won''t take any offense of this junior previous doubts." Ace quickly apologized to Empty Dream.
"Heh, I know your situation and I would do the same if I was in your shoes." Empty Dream Chuckles, "Now let us sign this contract and remember never to speak my true name or that traitor might find out about you. Soul Cultivators are very terrifying beings and have many methods to locate you with just a simple name!"
Ace swallowed hard and nodded in agreement. Now he was even warier of soul cultivators after meeting Empty Dream.
After the little talk with Empty Dream, Ace uses his light element soul qi to imprint his soul mark on the contract and this was also a kind of experiment to see if he can use this worldly qi in the soul contract.
''It worked!'' Ace was ecstatic because by doing it, he can maintain the image of him being only a soul cultivator in Empty Dream''s mind and won''t have to reveal his world-shattering secret.
Empty Dream also suspected nothing and do the same.
Ace wasn''t even able to see the nature of Empty Dream''s qi and this made him somewhat frustrated because it means; the gap in their cultivation was just too great.
When the soul marks finally imprinted on the soul contract, one of them flies in the depth of sky border''s formation, and the other shrink as it slowly enters between Ace''s eyebrows before vanishing.
Ace saw the soul contract slowly go towards the soul core, but to his surprised, it goes towards the false light core and sinks inside it!
At this moment system voice rang in Ace''s mind and his lips curls in a radiant smile!
Chapter 110 - A Free Thief!
Empty Dream''s questioning voice sounded, "Boy, what are you smiling about?"
"I''m just happy about finally leaving this gloomy ce." Ace replied with a grin.
He was only telling the part ofplete truth because he didn''t want to arouse Empty Dream suspiciously. This notification of the system was his biggest trump card!
Just as he thought, Empty Dream suspect nothing and didn''t press the matter any further, "Now the soul contract is established, there is no need to be wary of each other. Here are my insights on rune crafting from Rank 1 to Rank 9."
Ace saw a green small glob of misting in his way just like the soul contract from the depth of sky changing border.
"Let it enter your Sea of Knowledge and don''t resist." Empty Dream said as the glob slowly enter the ce between Ace''s eyebrows.
Ace knew what this Knowledge Seawas. It was the part of his brain where his every memory was stored. He sulks because if Empty Dream did something with that glob he can easily see everything in his memories, included system presence!
This notion came to Ace''s mind because his soul probing was work exactly like this. It was random but it can retrieve someone''s memories from their knowledge sea without even alerting them. Of course, if the person''s soul was weaker than his own, then it worked or he suffer a terrible bacsh.
Empty Dream''s soul was much stronger than his own, and if he wanted to see Ace''s memories, then he won''t even know about it!
Ace still didn''t know about how many more tricks Empty Dream had and didn''t want to risk it anymore, especially with his biggest secret; the system!
The insights were very tempting for him, but not as important as his safety. He was going to reject the glob of mist when he hears the system''s voice buzz in his mind.
====
"[System detects foreign memories and a wisp of foreign soul sense.]
[Did the host want to eliminate the soul sense and contained the memories?]
[Or do host want to give this soul sense ess to his Knowledge Sea?]"
====
''Heh, he wanted to see my memories by using his soul sense. This also shows his true sneaky nature.'' A coldness instantly appeared in depth of Ace''s eyes, "System, can you remove it without alerting this soul sense owner?"
He didn''t want to alert that old ghost because if Empty Dream found out that Ace can find and even remove his soul sense, then he would be wary of Ace and might pull something even wilder.
They cannot hurt each other because of the soul contract, but there are other methods and Ace is still inside this damn formation. If Empty Dream trapped him here, this didn''t mean he was hurting him.
That was also the reason for Empty Dream''s bold y because he wasn''t breaking any condition of the soul contract by seeing Ace''s memories.
"[Yes, the system can do it with 50TP. The owner of this soul sense won''t suffer any bacshes or know about it.]"
"Do it then." Ace transmitted with no second thought.
Instantly many foreign memories emerge in his brain or knowledge sea and they were all about rune crafting.
Ace didn''t have time to go through them because Empty Dream''s voice rang at this moment, "Why aren''t you opening your knowledge sea? Did you still have any doubt?"
"Senior, I already have, and thank you for your kind gift. These insights are precious." Ace said with a smile while scoffing inside his heart.
"What?? You already absorb that enormous amount of memories?!" Empty Dream exims.
He was very curious about how did this little boy obtain these kinds of skills and techniques because Empty Dream now knows about the divide Azure Wind Continent.
And Ace was someone from the lowest levelnd that''s why Empty Dream wanted to see his experience and mostly his soul techniques and skills, especially that Rune Eye Technique.
Because empty dream felt a strange and powerful fluctuation from that technique and it was possibly superior to his own that''s why he sent his wisp of soul sense with that glob of memories to see just where Ace found that kind of skill.
However, to Empty Dream shock, his soul sense didn''t even get inside Ace''s knowledge sea and Ace even absorbed that enormous amount of memories so quickly and without showing any difort!
"Boy, are you ying with this patriarch? If you absorb all the memories, then tell me what is a Runic Cycle?" Empty Dream didn''t believe and instantly asked a tough question that only an Eighth Mortal Ranked Rune Crafter would know the answer to.
"Runic Cycle is used in formations to keep the rune symbols operating with High-Level Qi Stones." Ace search those memories and instantly replied, ''Oh, qi stone have this kind of use as well!''
Ace was also stunned because he didn''t know these qi stones are so precious and he have tones of them! This made him quite happy.
"Then how did you solve runic discement?" Empty Dream voice rang again with a hint of disbelief in it.
Ace again probe the memories and found the answer, "Oh, we can simply draw arrays around the discement symbols."
Empty Dream asked three more troublesome questions that only a peak mortal rune crafter would answer and Ace answer them ording to his understanding.
"Hahaha, boy you are talented and I gave the method of forming the soul contract, here. It is quite helpful to you." Empty Dream said like a benevolent elder.
Ace''s eyes shimmer. He wanted this method even if he can''t use it. He can always create a new one if he knows which direction to go.
But Ace also knows this old ghost was doing to infiltrate his memories again, but since the system can easily wipe out Empty Dream''s soul sense, he wasn''t worried about it at all now.
Still, he was also interested in this method of splitting your soul sense to infiltrate someone''s memories. It was more useful than his soul probing.
Just like before, a misty glob enters Ace''s brain and with 50TP, the wisp of Empty Dream''s soul sense has also been wiped out.
Just like that, Ace has obtained the precious method of making soul contracts as he grins brightly.
"Don''t tell me you already have the technique of soul contract as well?" Empty Dream inquiry with a hint of gloom in his voice.
Ace beam and he repeated the whole technique without stopping.
"Ha¡ha¡ Boy, you are a genius..." Empty Dream dryly praised as his husky voice was filled with frustration.
He didn''t know just what was going on with his soul sense or it has declined somehow, but he didn''t suffer any bacsh or felt anything suspicious that make Empty Dream even more discontented.
After all, he had given a precious soul technique and got nothing in return!
"Senior, isn''t your soul qi is limited? Please don''t waste it anymore or I might be trapped here." Ace said with a serious face, but inside he wasughing at this old ghost because he knew what he was probably thinking.
Empty Dream felt Ace''s joyous mood and thought it was because of the insights and technique he has given him.
"Yes, you are right, it is quite limited and now get going. After helping you out, I would be in a dormant state for some time, so don''t enter here recklessly again." Empty Dream finally give up on seeing Ace''s memories because his soul qi was limited.
Ace take a deep breath as he thought, ''I can finally leave this damn ce.''
At this moment something floats toward Ace from the direction where Empty Dream''s soul was trapped.
It was a small white marble and it directly drift into Ace''s hand.
Ace grabs this marble and examines it; this marble was like a transparent crystal inside were filled with milky smoke-like substance.
"This is my wisp of soul, you just have found four more and I''ll be revived." Empty Dream solemnly told, "You can''t store it inside any normal storage treasure, so you have to be very careful with it. If you lose it, then it will be considered harming me and the contract will take effect, so be very careful especially not to show it to anyone."
Ace coolly said, "Don''t worry, senior I''ll take care of it and found your other soul wisps."
Empty Dream warns again, "Take it more seriously and be wary of that traitor!"
"What is his name?" Ace asked curiously.
"I can''t say it because he will know immediately, but they call him Dream Shatter King!" Empty Dream''s voice was filled with coldness as he said that name.
Ace has a peculiar expression because these weird names were just too much to take.
Empty Dream ignore Ace''s weird reaction and said gravely, "Now, use your rune eyes technique and follow these white marks I left, and don''t misstep or even I can''t save you."
Ace quickly do as Empty Dream said, there were still ten hours before his light element qi limit would reach and he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.
He saw now there was arrow-like white marking has appeared on those glowing rune symbols.
"Thank you, senior, I''ll be going now."
After three months, Ace finally moved from his ce and carefully followed the arrowed path.
"Is his soul, is ''Unique'' just like that traitor?" When Ace vanished, Empty Dream''s puzzling voice rang again. But soon everything returned to normal.
---
It was nighttime in the Land of Kingdoms. The moon''s soft light was illuminating the vast clear fields as wintry winds were drifting, brushing through the tall grass.
At this moment, the outside area around the low sky-changing border, a tear appeared in thin air and suddenly a person appeared in ck robes from that tear.
That tear instantly vanished after that person came out.
This person has a very handsome face that was glowing in soft moonlight, tall and slenderly built. His dark blue eyes were twinkling as he looked at the starry sky.
"Free atst!" This person was Ace!
---
End of Volume One: A Free Thief!
Chapter 111 - Land Of Kingdoms
The wintery winds were drifting past Ace''s body, but he didn''t feel any cold and enjoy the refreshing air. He finally left that damn ce!
Furthermore, he was very d about he didn''t use invisible bead; it would be a waste because the formation area was just too damn big and he crossed the formation in over two hours with the help of Empty Dream.
If he were to use soul-shattering eyes, he didn''t dare to imagine just how long it would take to find a way out. Nevertheless, he was out of that ce and observed the area. After all, he was in the middlends now!
Ace felt the qi in the air around the area was a hundred times denser than western lownds and finally understand the difference between the two ces.
The qi density was not important to Ace at all though, because he can draw qi even in that sky-changing formation where it was very scant, whether it was heavenly qi or worldly qi. But he still felt it was quite refreshing to breathe in this air filled with denser qi.
After getting used to his new environment, Ace scan his surrounding with heavenly sense and didn''t find a soul. "Where should I go?" He mused calmly.
Suddenly, Ace remembered seeing some unfamiliar maps in Dulce and Vance storage rings.
Every time he stole a storage ring, he always find many other things that the system didn''t count as treasure, and maps were one of them.
With a thought, many maps appeared in Ace''s hands. They were not normal and all of them were drawn on some demonic beast hikes and high-quality ones.
Ace saw some of these detailed maps were specifically only of Luminous Kingdom, the Golden Hammered Kingdom, and some other famous kingdoms and store them back because he wanted to know which direction he should go. He was not in any kingdoms at this moment.
He finally found what he was looking for, a big detailed map of the entirend of kingdoms!
Ace quickly recognized the sky-changing border area and was shocked because he saw just howrge this border truly was. It covered hundreds of miles!
Now, he felt somewhat lucky to encounter Empty Dream and left without wasting many years!
Ace quickly concentrated on the map again.
Land of Kingdoms structure differed from thend of cities.
In lownds, there were east, south, north, and west, but in the middlends, there were grades of bothnds and kingdoms.
The closest of him were third-grade kingdomsnd and furthest was first-grade kingdomsnds and furtherer was the middle sky changing border!
Ace''s attention was on third-grade kingdomsnd because it was the closest to him. There was a border forest between him and third-gradend.
He estimated it would take a month to cross that border forest if he didn''t encounter any strong demonic beast and a week more to find the closest town.
Ace store the map back into the thief''s space.
After activating his lightning steps, he moves in the straight direction like lightning because he will find that border forest eventually and then he can use the map to cross it.
''Heh, being able to move freely really is a blessing.'' Ace thought joyously as he traveled towards his destination at full speed.
Ace didn''t know that where he was, no one came easily because this ce was the area of sky-changing border and for centuries no one has ever crossed it. One reason was the sky changing pass, and the other and most important one was, no one wanted to go in that barren ce willingly.
After two days of travel, arge expansion of threes came to Ace''s view, and he instantly knows it was that border forest.
In these two days, he was going through any kind of book on kingdoms that he found in his thief''s space. He discovered; almost all the books on those stolen bookshelves of the upper part of the luminous library were about kingdoms.
Ace finally knows the vague structure of a kingdom.
The entirend of kingdoms was neatly divided between hundred kingdoms!
In first-grade kingdomsnd were top ten kingdoms.
In second-grade kingdomsnd were kingdoms that ranked between 11th and 30th.
As for the kingdoms of position 31st and 100th, they were all in thend of the third-grade kingdom.
The grade distribution was the same, based on the qi density ofnds.
A third-grade kingdom or weakest kingdom in the middlends has at least two provinces, each containing three or four prefectures. The prefectures were then subdivided into ten to fifteen counties and the counties in cities or towns.
As for a second-grade kingdom, it has at least five or more provinces, andst, the first-grade kingdom can have ten or more provinces under its control.
For centuries, these 100 kingdoms never be 101 kingdoms.
As for the ranks, the top ten kingdoms were like mammoths; no one can shake their positions. The other ranks depend solely on prowess!
It was like this if you have the power you can challenge any kingdom for their position in the ranking by ''Ranking Wars'' but these ranking wars were very rare because defeat means the destruction of the entire kingdom and the entire royal family''s death!
Besides, only a weaker kingdom can challenge a higher ranked kingdom no other way around.
Ace frowned when he finds these cruel rules of middlends and became even more vignt of this ce. He has already encountered someone like Vance and La in lownds and he didn''t want to bump into them any time soon, especially La.
After reading every information about middlends, Ace''s focus finally shifted to Rune Crafting again because the resting period of two days was finally over. It was time to learn the next part of heavenly rune crafting.
Now, he has Empty Dream insights on rune crafting and wanted to see the simrity between heavenly rune crafting and worldly rune crafting!
Chapter 112 - A Thief’s Mentality
Ace was resting on a tree.
He was still in the outer area of this border forest and didn''t encounter any demonic beasts or humans.
But he didn''t care, and all of his attention was on rune crafting because he only got a day, so he wasn''t nning on wasting even a second of it in traveling.
The Heavenly Rune Crafter Manual was very well structured because every part was arranged in a strict order. Simply put, Ace can''t just learn the runic eyes technique and start rune crafting, he has to understand every part before he could craft anything.
Now that he has already mastered a stage of runic eyes. It was time for the Runic Soul Maniption Technique, also the second part of the manual.
The runic soul maniption technique has twelve levels, just like the Rune Crafter tiers. The higher level he goes, the higher his rune crafter tier will be.
''This technique is for manipting the soul qi thoroughly while creating rune symbols.'' Ace was going through the technique, ''If I messed up even a little bit, the entire symbol would be destroyed.''
Ace take a deep breath as his expression was solemn because this technique was even more difficult than runic eyes!
He has some experience with eyes skills and that''s was also the reason for his sessfully mastering the first stage of runic eyes.
However, this controlling technique was entirely new for him, well, until he saw the requirement for the first level of this technique.
"In the first level, I have to create needle-like threads with my element soul qi." Ace mumbles as an excited expression appeared on his face because this was just like forming soul threads.
"Heh, the first level is simple." Ace quickly uses the method of forming the soul threads and forms a white soul thread from his finger.
He saw the soul thread, and it was not as thin as a needle; it was as thick as a finger and his delightful expression instantly turned ugly.
"I have to make it thinner!" A resolution shed past Ace''s eyes.
One month pass since Ace was traveling in this thick forest and was quite close to his destination because of his high speed.
But Ace was not looking happy at this moment and hisplexion was as dark as coal because, even after an entire month, he didn''t reduce the soul thread into a needle!
It didn''t mean he didn''t make any progress and thinned it to as half a finger. Ace now finally understand just how difficult it was to control the element soul qi and his previous arrogance instantly shattered.
"How could something from the system is this easy to learn?" Ace smile bitterly and keep practicing the technique wholeheartedly.
After a week, Ace finally felt the trees were bing lesser and lesser and knew he was not far away from the closet town to this border forest.
"I should be able to reach this small town of the Regal Kingdom in a week." Ace murmured with a hint of excitement in his voice while looking at the map.
He didn''t know what this town''s name was, but on the map; it was in the territory of this regal kingdom and this kingdom was the closest to the low sky-changing border.
Ace was looking forward to exploring this town. After all, it was the first town where he would go after entering the middlends.
One thing that was worth mentioning is Ace didn''t encounter any demonic beast in thisrge forest except some wild animals. He wanted to farm some EXP and thought since it was a forest of middlends there were bound to be many powerful demonic beasts but disappointed in the end.
"Eva once said we can always steal from bad guys." But the next moment, a devious smile appeared on Ace''s face, "Heh, but who is bad or good in this world of cultivation?"
Ace''s mentality has undergone a vast change from when he first starts his journey of cultivation. If it was that little twelve years old Ace, he would never even dream of stealing from someone, even if that was a bad guy.
But now Ace will steal in darkness from those cultivators. He will not help others like Eva want to because just helping himself was big enough for him.
"This is the world of the cultivation and almost everyone has killed or ruined someone, whether it was for their wealth, an opportunity, or their prospect. Everyone is a thief in one way or another. I''m just a real Thief!" Ace mumbles these words and his eyes shimmer with understanding.
''This path that I chose is unknown and mysterious.'' Ace thought deeply and for the first time, this notion even came to his mind.
Nevertheless, he didn''t regret choosing this path and even looked forward to exploring its mysteries.
In three days, Ace exit the border forest. After traveling for one more day, he saw a clean avenue and knew this avenue leads to the town.
After traveling for two more days, Ace spotted a tall wall and excitement filled his eyes. He has finally reached a town and this entire journey takes almost six months.
Ace has also turned sixteen and looked more mature. But he would not enter that town with his genuine face because he didn''t want anyone to see his real face.
By doing it, he can always stay in dark and no one will ever know who this thief, sky stealer was.
Because he was now bound to be famous and would make many enemies because he needed to raise his thief rank and knew every time he steals his thief symbol with imprinted itself on the thievery site.
Ace already had a qi soul manifestation realm expert as an enemy and other people who know his thief''s name here, especially the golden hammered and luminous kingdom.
His enemies will eventually find out that he was still alive and in the middlend, and once they did, they will do everything and anything to capture him, either dead or alive!
Chapter 113 - Lane Town
Lane town was a small town in the territory of Zander County, that is ruled by an Earl of Regal Kingdom.
In these kingdoms'' level powers, royalties with royal titles control every influential position. People without royal titles ormoners didn''t have the right to hold any extraordinary position.
As for how to get a royal title, it was, of course, depends on the person''s contributes to the kingdom and more importantly, on cultivation base!
Thene town was considered an average town, but it was as big as a two-start city of lownds!
At this moment, Ace was observing the gate ofne town and saw there was no checking for identity crystal card. The two guards were cultivators of the fourth qi gate realm.
The town gate was almost deserted and no one seem to go in or out as he saw in the cities of lownds.
Ace has already changed his appearance to Javier''s and after observing for some time, he went in ordinary fashion since there was no checking of identification.
Moreover, this town seems quite deserted, and this means some limited people visited. If Ace sneaks inside, someone might suspect him. That''s why he went just like a traveler.
Even if anything goes wrong, these two guards can do nothing to him.
"Half!" One of the two guards directly released his cultivation base aura to stop this little traveler. They can tell this young man was only a third gate cultivator.
Javier quickly stopped and looked at those two guards with alertness.
"Entry fee is One fragment qi stone." The guards said without blinking, with a hint of disdain in his eyes.
Javier deeply looked at those two guards before he took a green crude-shaped marble-like stone from his storage ring that he was wearing. There was an aura of qi on this stone.
Ace knew this is the currency used in this kind of town. This crude-shaped marble was a fragment qi stone which is equal to a hundred low-level qi stones.
The system didn''t even consider these fragment qi stones treasures and Ace has almost fifty million of them in his thief''s space.
From the moment Ace knew about the qi stone used in arrays and formations, he was nning on using these fragments of qi stones, for the time being, wasting no high-quality qi stones.
''SSsss'' Both guards inhale deeply.
It stunned the guards when they finally notice the storage ring in this young man''s hand. Because storage rings were onlymon in the capital of Regal Kingdom and their price was almost off the roof!
"Y-young Master, please¡ Wee to Lane Town." The guard''s tone instantly takes an opposite turn, and he politely took the qi stone from Javier''s hands and, with a slight bow, gesture to him to enter the town.
However, the other guard''s eyes instantly shone with an unusual light, but he only shows respect on the surface and bows to Javier just like the first guard.
Ace didn''t pay any heed to those two guards and enter the town coolly. He has already decided to collect some important information and leaves in two or three days.
Because this is not what he has imagined, Ace thought, since he was in the middlends anywhere he goes would be a prosperous ce, at least equal to a one-star city of lownds. But to his disappointment, this was not the case.
''Maybe I''m just in the wrong ce.'' Ace reflected as he saw the empty roads of thisne town.
Now and then he would saw some residents of the town. Everyone looked at him curiously.
''Sigh¡'' Ace sighed, ''It seems travels are not verymon here. It was wise to enter ordinarily.''
Although the town was deserted, it was almost asrge as River Flower City.
Ace was not tired, so he strolled around the town and find some wonderful restaurants since he ate nothing for almost six months.
Suddenly Ace located an old building, ''Sienna Book Shop'' signboard was hanging outside of it. ''I should go there and see if I can find some important information.''
Withrge steps, Ace enter the old bookshop and saw a little girl snoring behind the counter. She seems to be only ten or younger and very cute.
Ace smile wryly, ''I should go somewhere else.'' He didn''t want to disturb this little girl and turn around to find some other ce. Besides, what can this little girl tell him?
He was about to exit the shop when an angry voice of a man enters his ears, "Sienna! You dare to sleep on work!"
Sienna, who was sleeping peacefully, was jolted awake by this angry voice and subconsciously shouted, "N¡N-no! I''m¡ just resting!"
"Oh, then why didn''t you attend this young friend?" A middle-aged man entered the shop from a door behind the counter as he said with a hint of anger in his voice.
Sienna, whose eyes were still drowsy, confusingly, looked at the entrance and finally saw a young man looked at her curiously.
The haze from her eyes quickly vanished as she curiously asked, "Why is he here?"
"You brat, what kind of question is this?!" The middle-aged man lightly flickers on Sienna''s forehead, "Go and clean that droll on your face, you almost looked like a pig."
"Sienna is not a pig!" The little girl angrily yells at the middle-aged man while running inside with a cute pout on her pale face.
"Young friend, I apologies for my daughter''s early manner." The middle-aged man smiled at Javier. "I''m Laden, the owner of this bookshop. We have somemon mortal grade skills and techniques as well as maps and informal books."
Laden introduced a variety of books to Javier, that wasmonly bought.
"Sir Laden is overly polite." Javier smiled while saying, "It was my fault to leave without saying anything."
"Hah, don''t mention it." Laden smiled, "We didn''t have many visitors these days. You can also tell."
"I''m very curious about it." Ace couldn''t help but subsequently asked.
Even if this town was on the edge of middlends, it is too deste!
Chapter 114 - A Big Event
"Oh, you didn''t know about the big event?" Laden was very surprised as if this event was very important or something.
''I''m new here. How would I know anything about this big event!'' Ace thought.
Javier said while smiling, "I''m a traveler and had little interaction with anyone for some time. I hope sir don''t mind telling me what this big event is."
"A traveler, eh." Laden deeply looked at Javier. ''This young man is a third gate cultivator. How did he didn''t know about it?''
Laden found nothing suspicious about Ace because he was a peak qi gates realm expert himself and blindly believe in his senses. But it was still strange that this young man didn''t know about the biggest event of youngsters.
Even with his doubts, Laden speaks honestly, "This event is held by the Damien Royal Institute." There was a clear longing in Laden''s voice when he speaks this name.
Laden excitedly looked at Javier but only see Javier has not a hint of excitement after hearing the Damien Royal Institute name.
"Don''t tell me you didn''t even know about the Damien Royal Institute?" Disbelief shone on Laden''s face.
Javier said with a straight face, "I don''t. But I know about the Damien Kingdom. It is the number one kingdom of middlends, right?"
How could Ace didn''t know about the top ten kingdoms? They were very clear on the map and he even had separate and detailed maps of each one of them.
Laden looked at Javier as he was seeing a hermit, "If you know of Damien Kingdom, then you should also know about the biggest institute of middlends. Every younger dreamed of entering this institute!"
"Oh, is that big of a deal?" Javier finally shows interest.
Now Ace wanted to know more about this institute. Because there was no such a thing as an institute in the lownds.
Laden tells Javier with a serious face as if it was a crime to not know about this institute, "Let me open your eyes, young man. Damien Royal Institute student status is equal to a Marquess/Marchioness in the middlends!
"They have many powerful techniques and skills. Supposedly, a student of Damien Royal Institute can fight with someone in higher realms like it''s nothing for them. They are all the cream of crops, true genius!
"But s, getting a seat in the institute is equal to reaching the sky, and only by going through their hard test, one has a chance. It doesn''t matter who you are. Even if you''re a prince of a kingdom, you have to go through the test!
"Rumor has it that test is so deadly many youngsters die in it! But every five years almost ten of million youngsters take part in it to try their luck and only ten thousand passed it!
"This exact test is in six months so every youngster in middlends is heading to the capital of their kingdom so they can have time to take part in the selection test of Damien Royal Institute!" Laden''s voice was filled with enthusiasm in the end.
Javier''s eyes were glowing with a special light as he asked, "Sir, can anyone participate in this selection test?"
Candidly, it would be a lie if Ace said his heart was not pounding after hearing about this institute andpetition. It was not because he wanted to study there; it was because he can steal from ten million youngsters!
One has to know only nobles would take part in this test and every noble is bound to be wealthy!
''Just how much TP I can farm in this test!'' Ace''s heart raced as he wanted to fly over there immediately.
Laden finally get a normal reaction from this dense young man and happily answer, "Yes, anyone in the Qi Gates realm and below the age of eighteen can participate in the selection test held at the Regal City also the capital city of Regal Kingdom!"
Javier takes a deep breath before asking seriously, "How much time it will take to go to the capital?"
Ace has seen the map, and he knows it would almost take him seven to eight months before he reaches the Regal Capital City if he travels at full speed without resting. But he still asked if he was wrong in his calction.
"From here?" Laden looked strangely at Javier and said with doubts, "If you go there with your cultivation, it will take you two years. But more importantly, your cultivation is quite shallow. Young friends don''t court death. Wemoner didn''t stand a chance even in that selection test, much less the actual test of hundred kingdoms."
Laden has a good impression of Javier; this young man was polite and wasn''t arrogant like some youngster who has his cultivation. That''s why he warns him kindly.
"Is there no other way?" Javier still insists.
Ace could tell this shop owner was warning him out of kindness, but he also could tell Laden knows a faster way to go in the capital.
"Sigh¡ Youngster these days." Laden sighed, but he still said since this youngster wanted to go, he can''t stop him. "If you have qi stones, you can go to Zander City and hire a tamed flying demonic beast. With it, you can reach the capital in a month! But it is very expensive."
"What? We can use tame the demonic beasts?" Ace was astonished because he never saw a tame demonic beast in lownds.
"Yes, only cities like Zander have this facility because Earl Zander lived there. But it will still take you three months with your speed.
"Moreover, as you can see, everyone is going in the same direction as you. Because anyone can watch the selection test and a veryrge crowd gather in the capital, especially nobles!
"In the time you reached the Zander City, all the demonic beasts might already be hired," Laden told truthfully.
''An enormous crowd eh, this is the more reason for me to go!'' Ace thought ecstatically.
He would never miss this chance to be wealthy and famous!
Chapter 115 - Bandits
Laden didn''t know Ace''s true speed because Ace was confident of reaching Zander City within seven days if he didn''t stop.
''I should start my journey today!'' Ace was too excited to wait for a day or two and chose to leave thene town at the very moment since the time was limited and he can always rest after reaching the destination. He only has six months!
"Sir, thank you for giving me this valuable information." Javier thanked Laden as he ces a transparent green qi stone on the counter with a meaningful smile on his face.
There was a muchrger qi fluctuation emitting from this qi stone because this was a low-level qi stone!
Laden left a good impression on Ace, so he gave him a low qi stone to show his goodwill.
Laden saw the green transparent qi stone and was bewildered because low qi stones were very rare in this town, and no one was willing to trade with low qi stones here. And this was almost equal to his five years'' worth of ie!
Laden was going to refuse this generous gesture because it was too much, and he was also an upright man. But to his surprised the young man has disappeared into thin air as if he was never there!
Laden rubs his eyes and saw again, but the low qi stone was still there and mumbles in a daze, "I-is he was a ghost?"
"Dad, you look silly." At this moment, Sienna''sughing voice sounded and Laden snapped out of his daze.
He quickly clutch the low qi stone from the counter because if anyone saw it they might want to rob him!
"Dad, where is that big brother?" Sienna looked at the entrance curiously and didn''t find that customer.
Laden looked at Sienna, who has washed her face andbs her hair, and looked very cute. He pinched her rosy cheeks as he said, "That big brother is gone because he was afraid of my little piglet."
"Hmph, liar! Sienna is not a piglet!" Sienna pout cutely.
"Hahaha." Ladenugh out loud as he looked lovingly at little Sienna. He enjoys teasing this little thing.
''But that youngster was mysterious even I a peak qi gates realm didn''t notice him leave.'' Laden thought with a smile on his face.
Ace used the heartless stealth with lightning steps to leave Laden''s shop because he knew he would refuse his friendly gesture and leave like this.
Now, he was not in the mood of going anywhere but was eager to reach the Regal City as quickly as possible. That city was a treasure house for him and maybe the fastest way to raise his thief rank or even get a new title.
In five minutes, Ace reached the gate where he has juste an hour ago and stopped using his skills. Since those two guards have seen himing, it would not be wise to leave like a ghost.
Javier walk to the gate and saw one guard was missing but gave little attention to it and walk past the gate.
"Young Master, you leaving so soon?" The guard asked, who collected the toll from Ace.
"Yes, I have some important business." Javier coolly replies while walking. He didn''t look at the guard like an arrogant noble.
Javier''s attitude did not offend the guard because someone with a storage ring has to be arrogant.
After Ace leaves thene town, he finds the road that was going toward Zander City. He was just going to use the lightning steps when he heard a yell.
"Young Master, please wait!"
Ace instantly senses ten cultivators of qi gates realms. If he wanted, he can just ignore them and leave, but he finds a familiar soul signature in this group and looked behind.
Ace saw nine ck-robed men following an armed man, and he was a little surprised because this armed man was the missing guard of thene town gate.
This guard was also the one who call for him and the soul signature was exactly his. His name was Trenton.
Trenton saw Javier stopping and calmly looking at him. He smiled while saying, "Young Master, I didn''t think you would leave so soon."
Ace could tell this guy was up to no good and nonchntly said, "Scram, before you ruin my good mood." He has learned how to act like an arrogant person by posing Javier. Themand was true, though.
Trenton''s face stiffed but before he could utter anything the man beside him said jeeringly, "Brat you didn''t seem to understand the situation, leave that storage ring and scram or I''ll collect it from your corpse."
Ace saw this man has a deep scar on his forehead and he looked quite scary. He was also the strongest in the group, a peak qi gates realm cultivator.
"Sigh¡ So, you want my storage ring. Are you the one who calls for these idiots?" Javier nced at Trenton as he asked calmly.
Everyone''s face darkens after being called idiots. Either this guy was too arrogant, or he was a blind fool!
"Boss, just kill this boy and take his storage ring. He is simply a madman." One of the ck-robed men said.
"Brat, you''re the one who didn''t see what good for you, Die." The bandit boss punch at Javier''s head with his full power, Javier''s attitude also irritated him.
Ace didn''t move an inch from his ce and impassively looked at iing fist, ''Soul Piercing Bullet.''
Orange soul qi steamed through Ace''s hand as it mysteriously takes the shape of a finger size spearhead. This was the manifestation of soul qi.
And the moment Ace active the soul-piercing bullet he masters just two days ago, the spearhead instantly shot towards the bandit boss''s head.
The bandit boss wasn''t aware of what wasing. The soul bullet sinks into the space between the boss''s eyebrows, leaving no external or internal wounds.
Then it happened. Before the punch can connect with Ace''s head, the light from the bandit boss''s eyes vanished and he falls in the dirt with his eyes wide open.
He was dead because his soul was obliterated!
Chapter 116 - Zander City
When the group of bandits saw their boss'' mysterious way of dying. They bewitched.
But the very next moment, everyone was scared silly as they looked at the young man, who was smiling calmly at them. That smile gave everyone shivers as if grim ripper was looking at them while sharpening his scythe.
"M-monster, RUN!" Trenton bark and runs without thinking. He knew he had provoked a terrifying individual.
Well, no one can me Trenton because no one as powerful as Ace came here so easily, and Trenton stays far away from powerful cultivators.
When Trenton saw the storage ring in Javier''s hand and after confirming his weak cultivation. He calls for his group of bandits and thought it would be a big harvest this time around because they never rob some with a storage ring before.
Trenton nned to rob this brat at night with no one finding out and was heading back into the town to smuggle his gang of bandits inside. But to his surprise, that brat was quite far away from the town and, though the luck was on his side.
He has done this kind of thing before and rob quite many helpless people and even killed them. But this time he has provoked a dark star who has killed their boss without even blinking.
"Heh. Good luck with that." Ace''s impersonal voice brushes past their ears.
This was thest thing everyone in the group hear before they fell on the dirt and be corpses!
"Not even a single EXP, huh." Ace was coldly looking at those ten corpses as he pursed his lips, "But soul attacks are dreadful and mine was only at the low efficiency."
This was his first time using soul-piercing bullets on someone, and it didn''t disappoint him.
''Now, I should learn the Soul Barrier of Soul Guardian Barrier Art and Camouge Steps.'' Now that he had mastered a soul attackpletely, he needs a defensive skill as well.
The soul barrier was like soul-shattering eyes and had a bacsh, but it was still a protective soul skill and the bacsh was far better than being dead.
As for Camouge Steps, it was specifically for fighting and since he masters, the lightning steps to low-level mastery and didn''t seem to make any progress in it any further; it was time to move on to this part of the Misperception Sky Steps Art.
Ace scan the corpses and didn''t sense any qi stones or storage rings. ''Bandits are surprisingly poor these days.'' He sighed.
If those corpses knew what was thinking, they might die again from anger.
Since there were no more hindrances, with the lightning-like movement, he blurs and disappeared in the avenue that leads to Zander City.
---
A weekter,
Ace was looking at therge golden gates that were exploding with activates.
These golden gates were the city gates of Zander City!
Without resting for a moment, Ace reaches the biggest city of Zander County in a week, from Lane Town.
This journey would normally take him a month if he leisurely travels but Ace didn''t want to miss this big chance of farming arge amount of TP and a chance to raise his thief rank.
''This city is even more packed than the luminous city.'' Ace nodded in satisfaction. He was finally seeing what he had imagined.
On the city gate, there were three blocks, one for carriages, one for pedestrian, and thest was almost empty as if was specific for the special personal like nobles.
The guards on the gate were middle stage Qi Foundation realm and collecting tolls showing no emotions.
Ace was amazed because almost everyone in that sizeable crowd was a cultivator of at least Qi Gates Realm.
Since there was no check for identity, he gets in the second line and waits for his turn.
If he wanted, he can just sneak inside, but he didn''t mind waiting and go like a proper person since he was not here for stealing. Because if he makes a move right now, he might alert many.
Ace also noticed that there were many youngsters in the masses and instantly knew they were also here for thepetition in the capital.
They might not be participants, but they can always watch and gain experience or just enjoy the grand show. This was especially the case for nobles.
In front of Ace, there were twenty men, and the line was moving steadily. At this moment, Ace felt a hand on his shoulder from behind and curiously turn around with a in face.
Ace saw a tall, slim young man in histe twenties beaming at him. This young man was quite handsome, much pleasing to the eyes than Javier''s in face.
"Hehe, little brother, are you alone?" The young man asked with a beaming smile.
Javier said, showing no emotions, "Yes, is there some problem with it?"
Ace measure the young man closely and a hint of surprise sh past his eyes. But it was all hidden under Javier''s face and the young man didn''t suspect a thing.
"Oh, you take it in the wrong way." The young man put a friendly face before saying, "I''m also alone. Why not we tag along?"
"Sure." Javier coolly said.
"My name is Jason Lan." Jason introduces himself enthusiastically.
"Javier," Javier said impassively.
"Haha, little brother Javier, why so cold? We''re friends after all." Jason seems to be very optimistic as if he didn''t care about Javier giving him the cold shoulder.
"You two lovers, move quickly or I throw you out of the line!" A man behind Jason yell. He was an early stage qi foundation cultivator.
"Geez, uncle, why are you yelling? My ears almost fell off." Jason retorted. He didn''t seem to be afraid of that Qi Foundation cultivator.
After all, Jason was only a fourth gate cultivator himself!
"Boy, you dare to call me uncle??!" That man''s face turns red from anger. He didn''t seem to like this word.
"So, what can I call you little oldy?" Jason innocently asked
A thick vine pop on that man''s forehead. He was very short temper and about to attack Jason.
After all, this guy was ''insting'' him with such an innocent face. How could he take it standing?!
Chapter 117 - Limited Slots
The man was about to attack Jason when one of the gate guards released his aura and roar loudly, "Shut up, you two retards! Where do you think you''re standing?!"
The short temper man instantly backs down, but he still looks coldly at Jason, "Bastard don''t let me caught you!"
Jason smiles mysteriously at the man and ignored his threat as he also shut up.
Ace saw all this with great interest and couldn''t help but think, ''Interesting.''
After the brief bout, the line move smoothly but Jason would still spout something random now and then. Yet his new ''friend'' Javier simply ignore him, but it didn''t shut his mouth.
It was finally Ace''s turn.
"Ten fragment Qi stones." The guard coldly said.
"What? Didn''t the toll was five just a month ago?" Jason, who was standing behind Javier, exims.
Everyone began to rustle because Jason was telling the truth.
"So, what?" The guard scorn and said disdainfully, "If you didn''t have Qi stones then scram to the side."
Javier simply ignored Jason and give the guards ten fragment Qi stones.
"Heh, your friend might get you killed." The guard epts the Qi stones and sarcastically warns Javier.
The guards have already banded them together since Jason was so friendly with Javier.
Javier didn''t pay any attention to the guard and pass the gate.
"Twenty fragment Qi stone." The guard coldly smiled at Jason as he demands. How could they just let this troublemaker go so easily?
The man behind Jason also smirks, hearing this since he has the bone to pick with him.
Everyone expects a little show because this guy was continuously yapping and they didn''t think he wouldply without retort.
But to everyone''s surprise, Jason flips his hand, and twenty fragment Qi stones appeared, and he gives them to the guard with a beaming smile, "Here."
A hint of surprise appeared on everyone''s face, guards included.
"So, you have some brain after all." The guards quickly take the Qi stones, "Now, go and don''t cause any trouble or the patrolling guard will throw you out."
Jason smiled and said nothing as he nodded and enter the city.
"You? Why are you smiling? Twenty fragment Qi stones!" The guard looked at the short temper man, who wasughing joyfully.
That short temper man''s face instantly fell and everyone couldn''t help but chuckle.
Ace watch this little show with his heavenly sense and his lips curled in a smile.
"Little Brother Javier, sorry to keep you waiting." Jason quickly caught up with Javier as he apologized.
"I wasn''t waiting for you." Javier coolly said.
"Hehe, don''t be like this. Tell me, are you also here to go to the capital?" Jason inquires.
Javier nodded without looking at him.
"It won''t be easy, you know," Jason said. "As you can see, there are quite some people and many nobles in Zander County wanted their younger generation to take part in the selection test."
Javier finally looked at Jason as he asks, "What are you trying to say?"
"Let me tell you, although the death rate in the selection test of the capital is not as high as the actual test. But many nobles would throw their youngsters in it because just to take the selection test is a great honor and they might catch the fancy of a higher noble house.
"But if they pass just the selection test, even by a fluke, the king will instantly grant them noble titles andnds. That''s why even a coward takes this chance just to soar." Jason said while smiling as they walk in the busy streets of Zander City.
"What is has to do with going to the capital?" Javier question with a in face.
"It has everything to do with it." Jason beams, "Do you know how many beast tamers are in the Zander County, who can control the tamed demonic beast?"
Jason didn''t wait for Javier''s answer and said, "Only a hundred, and each flying beast can carry fifty passengers. Now, tell me if the trip to the capital takes two months round trip and the selection test will start in six months, so how many people can go to the capital on these three round trips?"
Javier finally shows a hint of bewilderment as he answers, "15,000 people if the beast can carry fifty at a time."
Jason''s knowledge surprised Ace and only now he understands the gravity of this situation.
"Hehe, you are right and there are almost five million people live in Zander County. In them, there are over three million people cultivators, and more than fifty- thousand are lesser nobles! Now, do you understand why I said it is difficult to go to the capital!" Jasonughs softly.
Javier wore a grim face as he asked, "Let''s assume themoners didn''t get a slot in these fifteen thousand slots. Then what about the nobles? They won''t just politely give up on the glory, right? If you just tell is true."
"Little Brother Javier, you are very sharp." Jason show a hint of surprise as he profoundly looked at Javier.
Ace scoff in his heart, ''Does this guy think I''m an idiot?''
"Yes, you are right in Hayden Prefecture. There are six counties and the situation is the same for every one of them. But you underestimate the Beast Calling Organization shrewdness.
"Since there was so much at stake, anyone would be willing to pay any kind of price and that''s what Beast Calling Organization did. Now that the time was short, they''re going to hold different auctions for these slots in every kingdom, and it might be the biggest auctions after the Myriad Pill me Auction!
"That''s was also the reason for the toll to increase. These nobles would not sit idly and let this chance to make Qi stones pass. Just imagining the huge amount of Qi stone rolling makes my heart race." Jason had a passionate expression on his face as his eyes were shimmering with greed for Qi stones.
When Ace hear it was a question of wealth, he wanted tough!
Chapter 118 - Three Giants
Since this was the question of wealth, Ace wasn''t bothered anymore.
He asked something about what he just heard, "This beast calling organization tells me about it and what is this Myriad Pill me Auction? Is it that big?"
Ace knew this guy''s knowledge was deep and took advantage of it.
Jason was bewildered seeing Javier''s calm attitude even after hearing about the shortage of tame beast and asking this meaningless question.
"You didn''t know about Three Giants?" Jason barks in surprise.
"What, three giants?" Javier confusingly looked at Jason.
"I thought you were from some big noble household and you didn''t even know about three giants?" Jason pursed his lips into a mysterious smile.
"Does it matter?" Javier narrowed his eyes as he wore a confused expression.
"Of course it matters. If someone knows you didn''t even know about three giants, they willugh at you and call you country bumpkin!" Jason sternly said, "Since we are friends I''ll tell you so you don''t embrace me."
Javier rolled his eyes.
"Three Giants are three organizations, Pill me, Beast Calling, and Nightmare Ghosts!
"These three giants are all around the high and middlends, especially highnds!
"Pill me Organization controlled every medicinal herb, alchemists, crafters, rune crafters. The Myriad Pill me Auction is also held by this organization every three years. But only in the highnds. They had little connection below first-gradends, though.
"However, its auction reputation is so great that almost everyone in the middlends knows about it.
"Beast Calling Organization controlled these Beast Tamers. They are as rare as an alchemist, but only this organization has a method to nurture a beast tamer while you can still find techniques about alchemy in the top ten kingdoms.
"As for Nightmare Ghosts Organization, they call themselves the traders of death! Simply put, this is an organization of deadly assassins, and no one knows how to join this organization.
"But everyone knows how to hire an assassin from this organization. This is the scariest organization of three because if they ept the contract, then the target was hundred percent dead!
"No matter where the target hides, they will find it and hunt it down. The target would never even see theming. That''s why they call themselves Nightmare Ghost." Jason gravely said.
Ace swallowed hard, especially after hearing about this Nightmare Ghost Organization reputation!
Ace has some shallow knowledge about this Pill me Organization because of Vance''s storage ring and knew Vance was an Azure Alchemist. But it was very vague, and he didn''t think this organization was so powerful that it controlled such a force and resources.
He suddenly remembered finding an Azure Pill Insignia in Vance''s belongings and he tossed it to the side and paid little attention to it and thought it was something useless.
However, now, ''That think might have some great use!''
"Are there any other organizations like these three?" Javier asked with great interest.
"Others?" Jason snorted. "Do you know the background of these three organizations?"
"I won''t be asking you if I know, right?" Javier said impassively.
"Hehe, no one dares to mess with them, you know why?
"Even after Pill me controlled thergest resources below royalnds and beast calling controls beat taming techniques and skills. But no one ever attempts to swindle or steal from them.
"Even when Nightmare Ghost once killed an emperor, that empire didn''t even dare to yap!
"This all because these three organizations represent three ancient sects!" Jason''s tone was stiff when he mentions ancient sects.
Ace''s heart sank when he heard it, ''Didn''t that old ghost say there was only one sect?! Where these three came from and why are they interfering with these mundane affairs?''
Ace has many questions, but no one can answer even one of them. He has thought that the ancient sect would probably be aloof and didn''t interact with lowernds, but it was not the case at all.
Now he even doubted Empty Dream''s story.
If these three ancient sects were active in lowernds, then he has to change his nspletely and thought twice about bing famous and robbing pill shops!
''If that old man was from this pill me organization, he might already disclose the information about the blood rose! And if they found out that I''m still alive, they will hunt me to no end!''
Before Ace thinks it won''t be a big deal if that old man and that woman find out that he was alive, since thisnd of kingdoms is so big, they can''t possibly find him. But now, if he mixes the organization established by an ancient sect, everything changed!
The important point was he manage to escape the deadly formation which will make them even more determined to hunt him.
''Damn it, why I am so unlucky!'' Ace thought with a huge grievance in his heart
Jason returned to his cheerful self as he looked at Javier, who seem to be in deep thought, "What are thinking about?"
Ace finally snapped out of hisplex thoughts, but his mood was sullen.
"When is the auction?" Javier asked, showing no disturbances.
"In three days, in the Beast Calling Branch because it is the only ce that can hold hundred thousand people!" Jason said while smiling, "But we have to buy a token for entering first and it won''t be cheap either."
"Then, do you know where is branch is?" Javier asked.
Jason nodded, "Follow me."
''This guy is quite handy to have.'' Ace thought
The two of them leisurely walk in the direction of the Beast Calling Organization''s branch and the closer they get the crowded it became.
Ace was amazed because he never saw these many people in a single ce before and all of them were cultivators!
He also notices this city was at least three timesrger than Luminous City.
"Hehe, here we are," Jason said yfully.
Ace looked in the direction where Jason was pointing and was astonished because there was a giant colosseum in front of him!
Chapter 119 - Beast Calling Colosseum
Ace looked at the gigantic edifice covered almost a mile, with bewilderment. He never would have thought there was such a structure in this city.
"Hahaha, little brother Javier seems quite surprised." Jason chortled. "Isn''t it majestic?"
"It is." Javier answer subconsciously.
"Rumor has it, the headquarter of beast calling organization is a hundred timesrger than this branch." Jason chuckles. "And you''ll find this kind of colosseum in everyrge city like Zander."
''These ancient sects are filthy rich.'' Ace''s eyes were opened today.
"Wait until you see those tamed beasts. You''ll understand why they need such a structure." Jason pursed his lips in a mysterious smile.
They walk towards the Colosseum entrance, which was rather packed.
"They are taking advantage of us!"
At this moment, a heavy yell sounded from therge entrance.
The middle-aged man was short and wearingvish garments and had a proud bearing. He was noble.
"Shh¡ If you want to die than die alone, why are you dragging me!?" The man next to him quickly put some distance from that man while sweating.
"So, what? They''re charging one thousand low Qi stones¡ just for a seat in the auction!" The angry man didn''t back down at all and raised his voice further.
Now even the passers-by quickly put arge distance from that man''s post hastily.
"He''s dead," Jason whispered with a hint of confidence in his voice.
Javier''s eyes narrowed in a slit as he looked at the man.
"Oh, did this friend have anyints?" A jeering, high pitch voice sounded at this moment.
Everyone looked at the owner of this voice and saw a tall sturdy middle-aged man in his forties, dignifiedly walking out from the entrance.
He was wearing a light blue uniform embroidery with a Golden-Winged Snake insignia. There was also a silver horn on the snake''s forehead.
''What kind of beast it is?'' Ace wonder. He never sees this kind of beast in books.
"See that man in the unique robes and that winged snake? This is a beast tamer, and that symbol represents the Beast Calling Organization." Jason murmured, "The show is finally starting."
"Damn right I have a problem!" The angry man didn''t seem to notice everyone''s dreadful expressions.
"Oh, please borate freely." The beast tamer smiles genteelly even after reprimanding by that man.
But Ace instantly senses a well-hidden Qi fluctuation from that gentle middle-aged man and grimace, ''An Empty River Cultivator!''
Ace vignce towards these giants rose another level because a Qi River cultivator was very rare in middlends and most of them were in the first-grade kingdoms or Kings of third-grade kingdoms!
But this mere branch in the third-grade kingdom has one. How could he not be stunned?
The man was about to shout again, but something happened that stunned everyone. A white foam flows from that man''s mouth as his eyes lose their luster.
''Thud¡''
The sound of that man copsing on the floor resounded in the silent area.
"Oh my, this friend seems ill. Someone please escort him out and treat him. Our organization will pay all the expenses." The middle wore a surprised expression as if he was shocked.
Everyone in the crowd knows this dreadful beast tamer has killed this man mysteriously without lifting a finger, but no one dares to say anything. They didn''t want to end up like that corpse.
The beast tamer nce at the man, who hase with that ''sick'' man as he smiles knowingly.
That man was ashen and knew what this smile means. He quickly took his friend''s corpse and even thanks to the beast tamer as he wore a forced smile.
"My name is Aden Peter, and I''m the Beast Master of this Beast Calling Colosseum." Aden introduces himself in a gentle tone. "I was just passing by when I heard the ruckus, but that friend wasn''t able to tell me his grievance. Such a pity."
Aden shakes his head as if he felt sorry for that ''sick'' guy, "But don''t worry we''re a fair and upright organization and if you have anyints, anyone cane to me directly I''ll make sure you get justice."
Aden solemnly said, "Now, please continue to your business and the first auction will start in three days as nned."
Aden left nonchntly after speaking his piece.
Everyone in the area takes a massive sigh of relief. That guy was a maniac and who would dare toin after seeing the result of the first one.
"What did I tell you." Jason chuckles lightly, "He just kill a chicken to scare the monkeys"
''More like disying his prowess.'' Ace thought. He might be the only one who felt what has happened.
Everyone knows what that man just did, but no one dare to speak up and they even force themselves to believe in that man''s lie. This is what power means.
''Sigh¡'' A sigh escaped Javier''s mouth.
"What are you sulking about? Let''s go. We have to get those seats, or do you want toin as well?" Jason joke.
Javier rolled his eyes and follow Jason.
Just as Jason said after Aden killed that man, no onein about the sky-high price of the seat in the auction.
The price of one thousand low Qi stones was quite high for folks in this ce, but there were still buyers.
After all, the chance of getting in the test was much greater than this insignificant price and this was only the first auction out of three.
There were a hundred thousand seats and only forty-thousand of them left when Ace and Jason''s turne.
The receptionist was a beautiful girl in the same light blue uniform they saw early.
Jason also has a storage ring, and he pays with fragment qi stones, the same goes for Ace.
Ace was looking at the palm-size square token in his hand. It was light blue and had the same winged snake logo on it and a seat number was engraved on his token. He also felt something different.
''This token is not simple.'' Ace couldn''t help but use his runic eyes and just as he thought, there was a mysterious array engrave on it.
''Rich bastards..'' Ace smiled bitterly.
Chapter 120 - Ace’s Dilemma
It was already night, but the zander city was still active as day because of the uing auction.
After getting the token, Ace simply wanted to rest since he was traveling nonstop and now he has three days before the auction. As for anything else, he would think about it after recuperating.
But Jason has apletely different n in mind. "Little Brother Javier, how about we go to Jade Pavilion and enjoy their fine wine? Trust me, this wine is famous throughout the lowernds."
Ace couldn''t help but think, ''This name sounds kind of familiar.'' He finally remembered.
Javier asks with a bewildered look, "This wine you talking about is called the Jade Wine?"
"Oh, you know about the jade wine?" Jason was surprised, "If you know about the jade pavilion then you ought to know about the pill me organization, after all, this jade pavilion is their business."
"What?" Javier showed a dumbfounded face. "This jade pavilion is also theirs?"
"Why, of course!" Jason said. "You''ll find a jade pavilion in everyrge city like Zander."
Ace was now really confused, ''Why is this organization open a branch in lownds? Is it because of Luminous Kingdom? No, there is something more than meets the eye.'' He mused.
"It seems little brother has some encounter with the jade pavilion but didn''t know their actual origin," Jason concluded with a smile on his face.
"Yes, I had once dined there." Javier nodded.
Before Jason would speak any further, a raucous voice sounded at this moment from behind.
"Little runt, I finally found you!"
Both of them turn around and saw it was the same short temper man they had encountered at the city gate or, more precisely, the man whom Jason make fun of.
"Oh, if it isn''t uncle." Jason beam as if he didn''t notice the sharp nce of that man.
"Still acting cockily, eh." The man sneers while coldly looking at Jason. He shifted his eyes to Javier. "Boy, are you with him?"
"I''m not." Javier coolly answered as he walked away from Jason without turning back.
"It seems your friend has already abandoned you." The man scoffs disdainfully at Jason. He didn''t have any intention of stopping Javier, though.
Jason pursed his lips. "Hah, Uncle, are you going to cause trouble in the territory of beast calling colosseum?" He didn''t seem to phase by Javier''s departure.
The man''s expression stiffened. No matter how bold he was, even he didn''t dare to show his temper here.
"No matter what, boy, you''reing with me, or I don''t mind dragging you." The man smiles coldly with narrowing eyes.
If it was someone else at the fourth qi gate realm, they would be scared silly after seeing an early foundation realm expert blocking their way, but it was not the case for Jason.
"Fine, let''s have a chat somewhere else." Jason shakes his head helplessly and casually walked away with the angry man.
Ace watched all this scene y with his heavenly sense and his lips curled, ''Poor guy.''
Now that he was alone again, he found an inn to recuperate. As for going to the Jade Pavilion, it would be a lie if he said he wasn''t tempted to go when he remembers the taste of jade wine.
But restrain himself since he was not at an optimal condition and didn''t want to take risks just because of mere wine.
On his way, he saw many inns, but to his surprise; they were all full, and this made me a little irritated.
''This auction is a huge matter, I wonder if I should steal their qi stones?'' Ace truly wanted to because the amount would be huge, but shake his head bitterly, ''It''s too soon to alert anyone, especially when these three giants are present.''
First, his soul-shattering eyes skill was a double-edged sword, and he still knew little about rune crafting.
Second, the qi stones were probably low-level qi stones, and they were of little use to him, even if he stole them. The only thing he would get from all this is TP.
Lastly, he would alert too many big shots and also gain a colossal enemy, Beast Calling Organization!
Ace didn''t want to tangle with these three giants, not until he was confident in escaping from them or it was necessary, and he had no other choice.
''Damn it, I also need EXP!'' Ace sulkily thought, ''Let''s mull it over before reaching the capital.'' He was in a dilemma.
In his thought, Ace finally found an almost full inn.
He didn''t get avishing room, but he didn''t care about this in one either.
Ace sitsfortably on the soul bedding and sighed with satisfaction, "Finally some peace." He mumbles with a smile on his face.
---
In a dark alleyway of Zander City,
Two silhouettes were standing there. One of them was tall and slim while the other one was a head shorter but sturdily built.
These two were exactly Jason and that man who lead him here with no concern for Jason''s will.
Jason coolly looked around and ask with a smile, "Now what uncle? Wanted to kill me inside an Earl''s City?"
"I don''t know just where that cocky attitude of yours came from, but I''m not afraid of killing you even if this is the capital city!" The man answered coldly.
"Ah, another one of those rotten noblemen, I presumed," Jason asserts.
"Boy, you dare to call a noble rotten?" The man instantly released his cultivation base aura.
But to that man''s surprise, Jason didn''t even flinch despite his meager cultivation.
"Sigh¡ So, what if called you nobles rotten? It''s not a lie." Jason sighed in disappointment, "You even let my scapegoat go, that''s why your punishment is death."
The man''s eyes contracted as his heart sank to rock bottom because he suddenly felt a mountain-like pressureing from non-other than the young man in front of him!
"Y¡"
Before he could speak a full word, a silver beam brush past his jaw, and the next moment half of his head was rolling on the floor!
Chapter 121 - Auction Begin
The vague golden sky was clouded today as the wintery winds were at their peak. It was probably going to be a stormy night.
But the weather didn''t affect the excited masses of Zander City because today was the day of the Beast Calling Auction.
The organization has announced these kinds of auctions in every part of the middlends. Because there were many ces like zander city which are quite far from their capital and they organize these auctions solely for the seats avable for one round trip.
They decided this time precisely because the distance was too great and almost impossible to cross in the remaining time. Well, if they didn''t have any tamed beast that is. Furthermore, staying in the royal capital was not cheap either.
The Beast Calling Colosseum''s entrance was packed, but no one dare to mess around because there were many guards in the organization''s unique uniform and all of them were at the high stage qi foundation realm.
"Please, show us your beast token and you can enter the colosseum. As for the people without a beast token, please don''t block the entrance." A beautiful slenderdy announced with an enigmatic smile on her face. However, a peak qi foundation pressure spontaneously released from her.
Instantly, everyone settles down, and they entered after showing the beast token sessfully.
In this vast crowd, there was a young man with in looks and average height and he was slowly moving towards the entrance of the colosseum.
This young man was certainly Ace in the disguise of Javier.
Ace was full of energy as he gets to rx for three days, but he didn''t neglect his cultivation and rune crafting in these three days.
Besides doing his daily routine, he also strolls around the city and enjoys the jade wine every day since he could only get one bottle per day because of his ''low'' cultivation.
One thing worth mentioning was Ace now also had a very clear understanding of the middlends because there were many historical books on it, three giants included.
Ace felt some relief after confirming; these three giants'' headquarters are in highnds. This somewhat help him in his dilemma, but he was still hesitant.
"Your beast token, please." A beautifuldy smiled at Javier.
Javier impassively shows his token to thedy.
"Seat number 64,034, please go straight¡" She quickly gives some simple directions to Javier.
Javier nodded and finally enter therge entrance.
Ace had imagined that there would be just argely empty field in the center, with seats around it, but to his shocked, this was not the case at all.
The colosseum was quite cozy,pletely different from the cold climate outside, and the center field was divided into hundred tforms.
There were different numbers on each tform from one to a hundred and inside these hundred tforms, there were different species of flying demonic beasts! These tforms are more like cages.
''Isn''t that Bloodthirsty Hawk?!'' Ace was shocked when he spotted a thirty-meterpletely crimson hawk.
Because this bloodthirsty hawk got the name bloodthirsty because it killed even its kin. This kind of beast in Ace''s eyes was impossible to tame.
''Ssss¡ That''s Lightning Wisp Sparrow, Sky Roaming Eagle¡'' Ace identify the beasts one by one and was thoroughly shocked.
''This organization is worthy of its name.'' Ace deemed.
After observing the grand disy, Ace quickly follow the directions and finally saw thene in which his seat was.
In every row of seats, there was a guard of organization.
"Your token?" An old man coldly demands since he was the guard in Ace''s row.
"Here." Javier again showed it.
"Go, don''t cause any trouble or you''ll be thrown out." The old man warns with an unfriendly face.
Javier coolly nodded and headed to his seat.
"Here little brother Javier¡"
Ace heard a surprisingly familiar voice.
Javier quickly spotted Jason who was waving his hand towards him and didn''t need to find his seat anymore because it was right beside this guy.
Since they have purchased these tokens at the same time, their seats were also together.
Ace wasn''t surprised seeing Jason fine after his encounter with that ''uncle''.
Jason was in high spirits seeing Javier again.
"Little brother, you''re very cold the other day," Jasonined after Javier sit beside him.
"It''s a pity you''re still fine." Javier cussed.
"Hahaha, you jest little brother." Jasonugh, he didn''t seem to be upset by Javier''s curse, "I have to give that old uncle some ransom to escape¡"
Jason exined how he got away from that ''uncle'' of his.
"You two keep it down or they''ll throw you out." An olddy sitting beside them warn with a serious face.
"Oh, sorry for causing you trouble." Jason quickly apologized.
That olddy nodded with a smile and mind her own business after.
''What an annoying fellow.'' It truly irritated Ace. ''I wonder what his true goal is.''
"Little brother, what kind of beast do you want to ride?" Since Javier didn''t seem to listen to his story, Jason change the topic with still in high spirit.
"I don''t care as long as they can fly." Javier coolly replied.
"Heh, little brother''s thinking process is unique." Jason chuckles. "But first, we have to get a seat. Remembered there are only five thousand of them and there are hundred thousand bidders. If you didn''t have enough qi stones, don''t hesitate to borrow from your brother here."
Ace wanted to sneer but held himself back after hearing Jason''s generous offer.
At this moment, the whole venue fell in silence, and he found Jason has also shut up.
Because at this moment in the tform that was newly made, enter three people.
One of them was a dignified middle-aged man, as he wore a gentle smile on his face. He was Beast Master of this branch, Aden Peter.
Beside Aden were two beautiful girls in their teens.
"See those two beauties beside that maniac? They are his disciples." Jason whispered to Javier.
Ace was speechless. ''How did he know?''
Aden spoke at this moment. "Ladies and gentlemen, the auction is officially starting!"
Chapter 122 - Beast Calling Auction (1)
Aden spoke with a gentle smile ster on his face, "The rules are very simple, the highest bidder wins and please no fighting or sadly, we have to escort you out."
Done speaking, Aden sat in his chair on the grand stage and those two girls follow suit.
At this moment, a seductive woman enters the tform. She wore the same sky-blue dress but her cleavage was too damn deep and it was so tight that; it reveals her sexy figure more.
"Greeting everyone, I''m your host of this auction, Rachel Bryan. " Rachel greeted everyone and introduce herself with her mellow voice and charming posture.
"Little brother, this an eyes candy for raising the price, don''t get swayed by her." Jason joke.
Ace rolled his eyes speechlessly.
But Jason was telling the truth, and this was an old maneuver. So many of the people here already knew, after all, over 90,000 people here were aristocrats. Besides, they didn''t dare to tease this sexy mature beauty because she was from the organization.
"Let''s start the auction with no further dy." Rachel''s mellow voice resounded, "As everyone can see these hundred tamed flying demonic beasts in hundred tforms.
"Every beast has a different speed. That''s why we ssified them into three different categories, Fast, Faster, Fastest.
"Beasts in the fast category will take 35 days to reach the capital of the regal kingdom. Faster Category will only take 25 days and as for the fastest ones, they can make it to the capital in 12 days!
"Our organization can guarantee, this calction is urate or we''ll return your qi stones in double if this proved wrong." Rachel introduced the three categories with a smile on her beautiful face.
No one made any noises as if everyone knew this categorization of the organization from start and it was indeed the case. Even Ace now knew about this and he has already chosen the category; he was going to bid for.
Now the real question was how would they proceed with the distribution because they can''t just sell these over 5000 spots, one by one, right? It would probably take days this way and everyone here wanted to reach the capital as fast as possible.
Because they can scout the opponents early if they go first and this is a clear advantage from those whoete in the game.
Although the selection test was six months away, thepetition has already begun!
"Let''s start with the fast category beasts. There are sixty of them and each one of them can carry 53 adults. So, there are 3,180 seats in the fast category." Rachel announced and the atmosphere instantly be grim because now came the actual part.
"It will be cumbersome to sell these 3,180 seats one by one by auction, so we auctioned the entire 53 seats at once!" Rachel announced with a simper on her face.
The silent crowd instantly exims as everyone was shocked.
"Are you guys ying with us?!" A man can''t take it sitting and yell out loud.
Most of them also have the same looked on their faces, but no one spoke.
Rachel smile sweetly as she expected this kind of response, "Sir, please listen to me first before youin. We''ll sell a set of 53 seats to a single person, but we''ll also allow that person to sell these 53 spots to others and won''t interfere with them either."
Another huge mor rises and they all finally understand what this organization was doing.
"They''re doing this because of nobles!" Jason speaks with a grave tone.
"This brother is right. This simply means themoners in the crowds can''t get these seats easily and they would have to beg or pay an even higher price to whoever gets those set of seats. And onlyrge households with a noble title have this kind of wealth at their disposal." A man sitting beside Javier answers gravely.
Ace was silently listening, but his eyes were sharp.
"Isn''t it too overbearing?" Javier couldn''t help but ask.
"Heh, it was always like this. Therge families would never letmoner with potential rise so easily, especially when the event was this great." Another one spoke with a sneer, "Now, any promising candidate has to bow their head and first join the family by signing a loyalty contract."
"You must be one of those families, right?" Jason chuckles.
"So, what if I am? See that even the organizations approved of our ways." He scoffed again.
Some people re dagger at that man because they were also one of thosemoners, especially the man who sat beside Javier.
Ace grimace because if this was the case, he can''t buy just one seat and lie low. ''Let see what happened first, before taking any further measure.''
On the tform, Rachel speaks again,
"Set number 1 of 53 seats, in the fast category. Starting bid is¡ 1000 low qi stones. Every bid has to be increased by 100 low qi stones or more." Rachel announced and the bidding finally started!
"1100 low qi stones." A bid instantly sounded.
"1300¡"
"1500¡"
"2000¡"
The price quickly doubles in seconds and just by this one can see how desperately people wanted these spots.
Aden''s smile be wider as he saw this enthusiastic crowd and nodded slightly in satisfaction.
Ace calmly saw his first auction and felt a strange excitement rising within him. He didn''t know the exact reason for it and continued to observe.
Beside Javier, Jason was also silently watching the biding and a particr light sh past his eyes as his heartbeat raced.
"Seat Number 34,536, has bid 3100 low qi stones. Anyone else wanted to bid any higher?" Rachel seductively said while smiling like a flower, which makes myriad men''s blood boils.
"310 one¡ 310 two¡ and¡" Rachel began the counting as she scans the crowd,
"4000¡" A man in the front row bid.
"Oh, seat number 2098 bid 4000 low qi stones, any higher bid?" Rachel scans the crowd with a smile.
"Heh, I''ll be taking this first set, 10,000¡" A mocking voice rang with a new bid.
Everyone looked in this voice''s direction to see this overbearing guy!
Chapter 123 - Beast Calling Auction (2)
Everyone''s eyes were locked on the very front row of the colosseum.
There sat a youth invishing golden robes with ck embroidery. He has a very handsome pale face with brown eyes full of vitality and a slim frame.
He was precisely the person who just bid 10,000 low qi stones in an overbearing manner.
"That''s Victor Zander, the youngest son of Earl Patrick Zander!"
Someone in the venue quickly identity the teenager and everyone eximed.
"Hehe, the young master of the Zander city is also here, eh." Jason snickers.
Ace also measured this Victor with great interest and a peculiar glint sh past his eyes.
"Fools, it''s your honor to evenid your eyes on Young Earl. He is the most talented youth in Zander County and he will pass the uing test with flying color." The man who was sitting behind them disdainfully spoke. He was also the one who ridicule themoners before.
Some nobles also snickered, hearing him as if they were agreeing with him, but the eyes of the surroundingmoner were icy. But no one rebuke him since this was Zander City and it would not be wise to offend them.
"Hehe, bootlickers." Jason chortled at this moment without looking back.
"Hah." Now it was themoners'' turn to sneer.
"Little shit, what did you say??!" The man''splexion darkens as he released his early foundation cultivation aura.
"Old Uncle, this guy is causing trouble." Jason instantly yell at the old man who was in charge of their row and still didn''t look at the man.
"Oh?" The old man instantly shifted his eyes on the man.
"M-misunderstanding¡ I¡ I-It was just a misunderstanding!" That man quickly bes a dog from a lion.
"Seat number 6, has bid 10,000 low qi stones, any higher biddings?" Rachel''s voice rang at this moment and everyone looked at the stage again.
"10,000 one, 10,000 two¡ and¡" Rachel scan the crowd but no bid came.
No one wanted to offend the young earl of the city.
"10,000 three! Congrattion for winning the first set, please hold your token high." Rachel smiles sweetly at Victor.
Victor, who was smiling triumphantly, redded a little seeing the beauty was smiling at him and do as she asks and held the beast''s token high.
Rachel''s smile widens seeing Victor''s reaction. ''Just a brat in the end.'' She thought.
With no put-off, she pointed her finger towards the beast token, and a white streak rushed towards it.
In the watchful eyes of everyone, a yellow number appeared on Victor''s beast token after absorbing that streak. The token has recorded his purchase!
Ace was astonished and used his runic eyes. Because of Jason, he didn''t get the chance to use them before.
Ace saw many glittering symbols around the colosseum, but they were not as many as the border''s formation that he saw. They were clearly of inferior quality but for him, even they were quite profound!
"It seems they had put quite an effort in this auction." Jason chuckles. He may be the only one who was not surprised by this.
"Please show it when the auction is over and you''ll receive what you''ve won." Rachel rified.
"Now, on to the set number 2 of the fast category. Starting bid is¡ 1000 low qi stones. Every bid has to be increased by 100 low qi stones or more." Rachel announced and the second bidding started!
"2000 low qi stones." Someone instantly raised the price by a thousand.
"10,000¡ Hah, I''ll be taking this set as well." Victor didn''t wait this time, and again call a high bid while proudly smiling at Rachel.
Everyone''s expression turns a little ugly, but no one bid.
"Idiot." Jasonment.
"Indeed." Ace couldn''t help but agree with Jason on this one, and he was not the only one.
Everyone has guessed that this guy''s age has got the better of him in the end.
''Heh, how childish.'' Rachel didn''t let her contempt surface as she smiled back at Victor, "This gentleman has again bid 10,000 low Qi stones¡ any higher bid?"
No further bid was made, and Victor wins the second set as well.
"If you bid again, I''ll break your legs. Don''t embarrass yourself anymore!"
A sweet whispering voice sounded in Victor''s ears just when he was enjoying the glory as he looked at Rachel with eyes full of lust and desire.
All his fantasies immediately shattered when he looked sideways and saw a veiled girl was coldly looking at him with her beautiful watering eyes.
"B-big Sister Skr, why?" Victor resentfullyin like a scary mouse; all his arrogance was nowhere to be seen anymore.
"You dare to question me?" Skr coldly said with a threatening look as if she would break his legs.
Victor shook his head and, with a huge resentment shone on his face as he agreed in the end.
"Besides, we didn''t need those fast beasts anymore and father can use them to recruit enough youngsters. We need those fastest ones so save your showing off for them." In the end, the coldness in her eyes softens as she cheers her brother up, who looked depressed.
Victor might hail as the top genius of Zander county but he knew this was not the case at all. The actual genius was his big sister Skr Zander, beside him!
But this information is kept secret because some rival household might try to assassinate her and Victor was the scapegoat. His talent here was astonishing, but it was just above average in the capital. However, his sister was different because of her secret!
That''s why the earl doted on her the most and sent her here in his ce since she was quite sharp and can handle the situations. Like the one that she just managed.
Some people who were observing Victor also noticed his attitude shifts and astonished while looking at the veiled girl beside him.
One of those observers was Ace as well. He also notices the change in Victor''s mood because he was in the range of his soul sense and turned his focus on the veiled girl.
''Oh, this soul fluctuation.'' Ace narrowed his eyes as he looked at the girl, ''What an interesting ce this truly is.''
A smile creeped out on his face!1 One thing I want to rify again is; Ace''s real face or his reactions can''t be seen because of Two-Face Mask.
Chapter 124 - Beast Calling Auction (3)
After Skr reprimand Victor, he didn''t bid anymore and those otherrge households finally get the chance to shine.
The remaining 58-sets sold in two hours however, the bid never crossed the 8000 low qi stone mark.
People thought thepetition for those seats would be intense, but it wasn''t the case after a single-seat turn into a set of 53 becausemoners can''t folk out this kind of wealth.
Even if they manage to bough a set, someone powerful will kill them and so no one is willing to take any chances. They didn''t have anyrge families like those nobles behind them.
Everyone included the nobles, was full of resentment because their one-thousand low qi stones have somewhat turned into just a mere tick for this show.
"Nowdies and gentlemen, let''s start the auction of the faster category with no further ado," Rachel announced.
Everyone''s expression was solemn because this category was faster and everyone wanted to get in the capital as quickly as possible, so these sets of seats are going to be very important.
"We have thirty set in this category¡ and there are 55 seats in every seat. Meaning 1650 seats in the faster category." Rachel reviled with a smile.
"Now the first set starting bidding is¡ 5000 low qi stones, and every bid has to be increased by 500 low qi stones or more." The first biding for faster category begun after Rachel called.
"5100¡"
"6000¡"
"6500¡"
The heated battle of bidding begun with quick prices climbing and finally it crossed the 10,000 mark.
"Little brother Javier, How about we bought this a set together?" Jason beam at Javier, who was silently watching the auction.
"Hah, hah, you want to bid for the faster category?" That man behind sneered as he had bone to pick with Jason because of what he did before. "Don''t deceive yourself, boy."
"Then don''t mind if I do." Jason chuckles coldly without turning behind.
"20,000¡" Jason loudly speaks.
The avenue instantly turn silent as everyone looked in Jason''s direction.
"Which family did this youngster belong to?" The whispering began.
''Idiot.'' Ace cursed. He didn''t want anyone to see Javier''s face, but Jason has spoiled his ns.
"That gentleman at the seat 64,033 has bid 20,000 low qi stones. Any high bid?" Rachel smiled at Jason as she scans the crowd.
No bides as she has started to count, "20,000 one¡ 20,000 two¡ and 20,000 going three! Congrattion, on winning the first seat of the faster category."
Rachel smile as she sends a white streak towards Jason''s beast token and a green color ''1'' appeared on Jason''s beast token. The color number waspletely different and this astonished many.
"You can''t have this amount of wealth, you are just a lowlife!" That man behind Ace spoke loudly at this moment. He thought Jason was bluffing to intimidate him and he won''t let this chance get past him since Jason was seeking his death.
That''s why he waited for Rachel to end the bidding and engrave the number on Jason''s beast badge first so he could not escape his fate anymore or borrow any qi stones from the brat next to him, either.
Moreover, if he would''ve spoken before, many hot-blooded nobles would not let amoner win this set since this would be a p to their faces and even join hands to destroy him.
However, now everything is under his control. At least, that''s what he thought the case was.
"Oh, how do know I''m a lowlife?" Jason finally looked at the man for the first time with icy eyes and when he saw he couldn''t help but exim, "Oh, my what a beast."
That man has a gori face!
Everyoneughed when they also notice the resemnce.
Even Rachel couldn''t help but ce her snowy hand in front of her lips to hide herugh and Aden''s two disciples also giggle gracefully.
"Ah, youngster these days." Aden chuckles lightly.
That man''s gori-like face instantly turned bright red, seeing everyone holding theirughter back. Veins popped on his forehead as he rebukes angrily, "You are amoner and you''re bluffing! If not, then pay right now!"
He won''t let this humiliation slid, if Jason now borrowed the qi stone he would embarrass himself in front of the crowd, and most importantly he would be a target!
Now everyone was waiting for Jason''s response.
Jason sighed helplessly as he looked at the stage and said, "Can I pay that old uncle?" He pointed his finger at the old man standing guard.
"No, every payment has to be made at the end of the auction, so please just show qi stones to clear that friend''s suspicions," Aden spoke at this moment with a gentle smile. But by siding with the gori-faced man, he rified that he also has doubts.
Jason smile back at Aden and flip his hand a small mountain of glittering qi stones appeared and with another flip, it vanished again. "Happy?" He deeply looked at the stage.
"Hahaha. Indeed, youngsters, these days are not to be underestimated." Adenugh heartedly as he nodded towards Jason while closely scanning the young man.
"Investigate him!" Adenmand but only his two disciples here him.
Jason innocently looked at the gori-faced man said with a serious face, "Ass-faced Uncle, don''t start crying now or I''ll die whileughing."
"Hahaha¡"
Another bout ofughter rang in the avenue.
''Scoundrel.'' Skyler''s forehead redden a little.
Ace wryly smiled, ''What a clown.''
"Ahem¡" Rachel cough lightly to hide her reddening face and spoke seriously, "Please, don''t create any further disturbance or we have to escort you out."
The crowd instantly settles down after the little show.
"Brat, just you wait." The gori-faced man threatened with a naked killing intent toward Jason.
Jason ignore himpletely and everymoner around the area felt refreshed after watching this guy who was continuedly insulting them turn into aughing stoke.
"Little brother, I''ll sell you one seat for ten thousand low qi stones. How is my brotherly discount?" Jason jest.
"No thanks." Javier scoffed!
Chapter 125 - Beast Calling Auction (4)
The auction moved smoothly after Jason''s little performance and, following a full hour, the faster category auction also ended.
There were ten Viscount Families and seventeen Baron Families in Zander County.
Noble Titles are the symbols of prowess and status in Middle and Highnds.
In Kingdoms, there are Nine noble tiles, whereas the highest was the King, Crown Prince, Prince, Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, Baron, and Noble or Lesser-Noble is the lowest.
Almost all the fast and faster categories ''sets'' won by these families with titles, and some go to the lesser noble families without titles. As formoners, there was none, of course, if you didn''t count Jason the dark horse.
Many were still eyeing Jason''s first set, but they will not act until a meticulous investigation. But once they found out his true origin, they will not hesitate to eliminate him if his background was poor, especially these families with titles.
"Now let''s start the final round of today''s auction, the fastest category!" Rachel announced with a pleasant smile.
However, no one pays attention to the stage because most of the people are discussing with each other how they should distribute the seats among themselves and use the remaining to attract promising youths.
The second reason for the masses to lose interest in this category was because they stand no chance of obtaining thesest sets, especially with those tilted families present eyeing them like hunters.
Rachel also notice the dim atmosphere and knew the reason for it. ''Hehe, let''s make it interesting. Master Aden is crafty though, to do this in the end.''
A cunning sh passed Rachel''s eyes as she announced, "In the fastest category, there are ten beasts and they can only carry 10 adults each because more will show down their agility. So, there are only 100 seats avable."
No one reacts much.
Rachel smiled grow even widen as she finally announced, "Since there are only a hundred seats, there will be an individual auction for them!"
This announcement was like a stone dropping on a calm water surface that creates many ripples!
The crowd instantly came alive and some people be infuriated, as some faces shone with excitement.
"Hahaha, that old fox has yed with both nobles andmoners alike." Jasonugh out loud as everyone nodded in agreement.
''Something is not right.'' Ace also deeply looked at Aden, who was smiling like an amicable elder, but Ace has seen this kind of smile in Mathies''s face, ''Sly Fox!''
"Isn''t it unfair to change the rules in the end?" Someone shouted in the front rows. He was from a viscount family and unhappy about Aden''s abrupt y.
"Oh, we didn''t say that every seat is going to bid in sets, did we?" Aden question back, "If you''re unhappy please leave."
"Please forgive my nephew, Beast Master Aden." An old man quickly apologized and re at the youth who just spoke.
That chap quickly shut his mouth as he felt a coldness creeped out in his spine seeing Aden''s warm yet dark eyes.
The other unhappy youths of titled families also stopped their yapping when they heard Aden speaking. This guy was not afraid of killing anyone even if they are prince or princess, so it was pointless to argue.
Moreover, their elders were acting weird as well because they didn''t speak a word.
Everyone thought that Aden had yed with the nobles in the end.
On the other hand,moner folks were quite happy about this. Now they''ll see these nobles'' idiots fighting among themselves.
"Little brother Javier, should I buy two for us as well?" Jason looked at Javier, who was silent almost throughout the auction. ''This guy is an oddball, well the less he drew the attention of other the less problem for me.''
"I''ll do it myself, don''t worry, just watch your back or that guy behind me might eat you alive." Javier coolly retorted.
Jason looked back at the gori man and couldn''t help but chuckle, seeing his icy eyes as if he wanted to drink his blood.
"Ass-Faced Uncle is not interested in me." Jason innocently shrugs his shoulder.
"YOU!" That man''s gori-like face twisted with deep hatred when he heard that damn new name of his as if someone has stepped on his face. "I''ll chop you into millions of pieces!" He threatens but didn''t attack.
Jason sneer and didn''t pay any attention to him anymore.
"Seat number 1. The starting price is 500 low qi stones. Every bid has to be raised by 100 low qi stones or more." Rachel finally open the bids.
"1000¡" Someone instantly doubles the price.
"3000¡"
"5000¡"
The price was instantly sky-rocketed.
"Big sister, can I bid now?" Victor looked at Skyler with great expectation. He was barely holding himself back all this time.
''This brat is too impatient.'' Skyler helplessly shook her head but there was loved in her eyes as she looked at her spoiled little brother.
"Not now, viscount families will have 30 seats and 20 seats will go to baron families, the rest is ours. Do you forget what father has told you, didn''t he?" Skyler pinched Victor''s cheek as she stops him from making any trouble.
It seems she knows this would going to happen from the start and there was a clear ploy in ce.
"Fine, but you have to let me do the work, ok!" Victor finally gave in as he helplessly sighed.
"Deal." Skyler nodded.
At this moment, the bid has already been raised to the 9000 mark.
"Any higher bid from 9000?" Rachel scans the crowd and starts counting. "9000, one¡ 9000, two¡"
She pauses for a moment and looked at the crowd.
But no one speaks because only viscount families were bidding against each other and baron families didn''t even bid once.
Everyone understands there was some kind of tactical understanding between them. Themoners noticed this and their expressions turn ugly again as they could only sigh bitterly.
Rachel was about to seal the deal when a surprisingly unfamiliar voice rang in the silent venue.
"10,000 Low Qi Stones."
Everyone turned around and they finally recognized that clown young man. He was quite famous because he bought a set in the faster category.
But to everyone''s astonishment, the bidder was not the clown; it was the other in-looking youngster sit next to him!
Chapter 126 - A Lunatic!
Jason was looking at Javier in bewilderment as he asked, "Why are you biding?"
Yes, it was exactly Ace who just made a bid or it would be more urate to say he just jumped between the fight of titled families. As for why he did it only he knows the exact reason.
"What kind of question is this? We''re here for bidding, right?" Javier impassively replied.
"Oh, how foolish of me." Jason quickly realized just how silly his question was, ''This is not good!''
"Is he from outside the Zander County?"
"Possibly. Those two youngsters are friendly, though."
Everyone was measuring the in youth closely, and those titled families were throwing frosty res at him, but to everyone''s surprise, he didn''t show any emotions.
They have even banded Javier and Jason together unknowingly since they were not from any of those titled noble families in Zander county.
"The gentleman in seat number 64,034 has bid 10,000. Any higher bid?" Rachel call as if she didn''t notice those ugly mugs of nobles.
Aden was also measuring Javier curiously but didn''t take any action since it was normal to have an ignorant fellow in this sizeable crowd who didn''t read the mood too well.
"10,000 one¡ 10,000 two¡" Rachel began the counting.
"15,000¡" An old man coldly raised the bid. He was from the viscount family.
"30,000¡" But before Rachel would react, Ace nonchntly double the bid instantly.
Everyone takes a second and closer nce at the youth again.
"35,000¡" That old man icily stares at Javier and raised the bid again as if he telling him to back down.
"50,000¡" But Ace has some other ns in his mind.
Everyone inhaled sharply because this is the highest bid until now and it wasing from an unknown youth!
Rachel was astonished and looked at the young man even more closely, who just raised the price to 50,000 instantly.
The old man who was bidding against Ace, his expression turn uglier but he didn''t fight for the seat anymore because the price was too damn high.
"Any high bid?" Rachel didn''t even count anymore and ask directly. But no bid came. Who would in their right mind fight with that lunatic who raised the price like it was nothing?
"Congrattion, gentleman to win the first seat, please raised your beast token." Rachel smiled at Javier.
Javier nonchntly raised his beast token as a streak of white light enter it and a golden 1 appeared on it.
Skyler was also looking at Javier with her narrowed eyes, ''Father would be displeased now.''
"Hehe, you score quite high just like your brother." Jason teased Javier but there was a hint of surprise in his eyes. He didn''t think this scapegoat is so rich.
"Thanks." Javier smiled for the first time at Jason.
Jason abruptly felt a strange sensation seeing Javier''s warm smile and felt something was not right. But he can''t put his finger on it and didn''t find any other change either. So, he just thought it was his imagination.
''The poor guy is just happy to win a seat, that all.'' Jason assumed.
"Seat number two bid is also like seat number one. Please proceed." Rachel didn''t waste more time and open the bids for the second seat.
''That hindrance is now gone. I can finally win this seat and I''ll teach that kid a miserable lesson after this auction.'' The old man who was biding with Javier thought resentfully. He was just about to bid when he heard that voice again.
"50,000 Low Qi Stones." Javier''s voice was like thunder at this moment.
Aden''s eyes finally narrowed for the first time as he looked at Javier. "I need his information, everyst bit of it." He gravelymands his disciples.
Skyler was the same because this unknown guy was spoiling their ploy.
The old man with a dumbstruck face was looking at Javier, as well as Jason and others.
"Um, Javier isn''t one seat is enough for you?" Jason didn''t call Javier, little brother anymore.
"No, Elder Brother Jason, I want the whole beast to myself." Javier beam at Jason.
Jason swallow hard as he saw his reflection in Javier and he was sure that something was unmistakably wrong going on with this oddball.
Ace wasughing at Jason right now in his heart.
"A-any higher bids?" Rachel quickly snapped out of her daze and said, ''This guy is courting death.'' She grimly thought.
No one speaks as they alreadybeled Javier as a lunatic.
"The gentleman of seat number 64,033 also won seat number two," Rachel announced with a smile that was not natural anymore.
"Ahem¡" Aden''s voice rang at this moment in the silent venue, "I want to announce something that our associate has forgotten before. The payment for the fastest category is upfront, not after the auction."
He gently smiled, especially while looking at Javier, "I humbly apologized for the inconvenient."
Everyone knew this was bullshit. Aden has done this to see if Javier was bluffing and ying with them.
The second reason was to find out if these guys were noble because a noble would not take this kind of treatment standing and show displeased while dering his status.
However, Aden didn''t even notice a wink surface on Javier''s face, as if he wasn''t bothered by it in the least bit.
In everyone''s curious and hateful gazes, Javier rise from his seat with an arrogant smile ster on his face
"Beast Master is old, and it is normal to forget at this age." Javier nodded in understanding.
But everyone around him move as far as they could and there was only one thought in everyone''s mind at this moment for this guy, ''Lunatic!''
Jason''s face was as if he wanted to cry for some reason.
Rachel put some distance between herself and Aden because she felt a sudden chill rising from Aden. His smile didn''t vanish, though.
"Don''t worry, Beast Master, I''ll pay upfront. How about this? We save ourselves more inconvenience?" Javier grinned cheerfully at this moment.
"Oh, I''m all ears, little friend. Please speak your mind freely." Aden nodded gently.
"Since Beast Master has given his approval, I''ll be blunt," Javier stated.
''¡''
Chapter 127 - The Ploy
One day before the beast calling auction.
In the heart of Zander City, there was a huge luxurious estate surrounding by great walls and many powerful cultivator guards.
This was the Earl Estate of Patrick Zander, the earl of Zander county and head of the Zander family.
There was arge courtyard in the estate, decorated with beautiful flowers, as a delightful fragrance filled its air.
In the center of this courtyard, there was arge rectangr jade table andvishing chairs.
At this moment, 28 out of 34 chairs were upied!
They all wore luxurious attires and there was a dignified air around them as if they were all above the masses. They were all nobles!
"Where is Earl Zander?" A middle-aged man spoke with a stern voice..
"Viscount Ayaan, your guess is as good as mine." The man sitting in front of Ayaan shrug.
"Be patient. Just when did Earl Zander have disappointed us?" A beautifuldy spoke in her charming voice.
"Hahaha, Viscountess Macey is right, it was me who was impatient." Viscount Ayaan shouts.
At this moment, the courtyard door snap opened and several figures entered.
In front of these figures were two middle-aged men and one youth full of vitality. Behind them were three slender, beautiful girls like jasmine flowers.
One middle-aged man has a gentle smile on his face, and surprisingly, he was. Aden Peter the Beast Master of Zander City''s Beast Calling Colosseum!
And the other one has a fierce look on his face and a tall 1.9-meter muscr build, the air around him was of a fierce warrior, he was Earl Patrick Zander!
The young man has very much resemnce to Patrick, but he wasn''t as muscr or tall as Patrick. He was Niko Zander, Patrick''s eldest son.
As for the girls, two of them were Aden''s disciples and thest one was Skr Zander, Earl Patrick''s daughter.
The nobles quickly stand up and greet them all with noble courtesy.
Earl Patrick merely nodded impassively as he directly sits in the head chair of the table and Aden sits right next to him with his signature smile.
After those two take their seats, everyone sat down to their previous position.
The atmosphere was instantly turned grave as Earl Patrick spoke in a passive tone, "My fellow noblemen, as we all know, I summoned you here for the discussion of tomorrow''s auction.
"As we all know about the auction setting, thanks to Lord Aden here. But there is a problem that the fastest category sets are only ''ten''!" Earl Patrick scans the other nobles.
Their expression was somewhat sour hearing this, but they didn''t speak and let Earl Patrick proceeded.
"As far as I know, there are 27 titled families in my family''s territory and for generations, our rtionship is very good as the Zander household never treated you guys like outsiders. And I''m nning to continue doing so." Patrick stated.
"Earl Zander is too kind. We all know how much you take care of our families, and we are endlessly grateful for this." A man with a scar on his cheek spoke. He was a baron.
Everyone nodded in agreement because Patrick didn''t tell any lie.
Earl Patrick wore an appreciative face as he spoke. "Now, here is the deal. After my pressured Lord Aden has agreed to hold the fastest category auction, set by set!"
Everyone''s eyes shimmer, but no one makes any sound.
"However, to show our appreciation, I decided to ''donate'' half a million low qi stones to the organization. I''ll be very grateful if your families also ''donate'' 100,000 low qi stones as well." Patrick''s voice was slightly forced in the end.
Everyone in the courtyard knows this ''donation'' was nothing but a price they had to pay for an individual auction. Because everyone here knows the true nature of that gentle-looking Aden. He was extremely greedy for qi stones!
Aden Peter was here for almost twenty years and every year these families will ''donate'' to the organization or more urately, to Aden!
In returned Aden would protect them and give them some VIP treatments in his branch.
This auction was just another qi stone-making method for him and arge amount at that.
First, he disclosed the information to these families about the auction for numerous qi stones and now he was extorting more out of them.
But they had no choice in this matter because this individual auction was very important to them.
Everyone wanted the seats in the fastest category just to send their geniuses into the capital as quickly as possible. Because there was a secret that was only known to tilted families!
They can always buy all the sets and distribute them among themselves.
However, this old fox, Aden has innocently said that if they didn''tply with his ''kind'' offer, he can''t guarantee there will be no other buyers for these fastest sets.
It was a naked threat which mean was if they didn''t feed him enough, he would make sure to eat from somewhere else.
After all, many sly fellows wanted to send more of their youngsters to the capital as soon as possible and take advantage of this secret, which will be canceled in 20 days!
Aden also know about this secret and knew this was the only chance to make it big, and that''s why he was taking advantage of it.
As for changing the rules for this bunch, it was nothing but a lie because thest category was always been an exclusive auction.
Aden has just provided them with half of the information first and then, with a threat in the mix, hepleted it. He didn''t dare to change the rules set by the organization it was suicide if he does.
These nobles also know about the terror of these three giants and bending the rules set by them to one''s advantage was akin to courting death.
But they can do nothing about it since they would be courting death if they pointed out this kind of truth because if Aden kills all of them here and now, no one will ever investigate it!
''Before you beat the dog, find out the name of his master'', this phase fits here perfectly.
In the end, everyone smiles bitterly as they agreed with ''donation'' and Aden promptly takes his leave with his disciples as he grinned widely after thanking everyone for their kindness.
Everyone''s mood was sullen.
"Everyone, there is no need to be so downhearted just thought of the benefits if our youngster passes the test or catches someone''s fancy. Don''t forget, this is not about just the institute alone!" Earl Patrick tries to lift everyone''s spirits.
"Earl is wise as always." Viscountess Macey chortled.
"Now, that fox is gone. Let''s discuss the distribution of the sets and seats." Earl Patrick didn''t beat around the bush as he began the distribution.
"First, Viscount Families; 30 fast sets, 15 faster sets, and 30 fastest seats.
"Baron Families will take 25 fast sets, 10 faster sets, and 20 fastest seats.
"Zander Family didn''t need those sets in the first two categories and because of it, we''ll be talking the remaining 50 fastest category seats.
"As for the remaining sets, just let those lesser noble families have them or they will also resent us like thosemoners. Is anybody have any objection?" Patrick scans the group.
No one has any objection, because Earl Patrick was giving away most of the benefits to them and only talked half of the fastest category seats.
This offer was clearly in their interest. How could they stillin?
Patrick nodded in satisfaction.
Everyone left after the meeting was concluded.
Now only Patrick, Niko, and Skyler remain in the courtyard.
Both Niko and Skyler didn''t speak during the meeting and only observe with their intelligent eyes.
"Father, can we trust that old fox?" Niko finally spoke after everyone''s left.
Earl Patrick chuckles lightly, "I bet even his father didn''t trust him. Then why should we?"
Niko smirk as he was agreed with his father''sment.
"But we are giving too much and got nothing in returned!" Skyler speaks with resentment in her beautiful voice.
"Little Sky, don''t be like this, I''m doing this for you, and once everything goes ording to our n even old fox has to bow his head before us." Patrick lovingly looked at his daughter who was still in her veil for some reason.
Tears while up in Skyler''s beautiful eyes as she speaks with resolve, "I will not disappoint you!"
"Heh, I know. Just don''t push yourself too hard. Now go and rest. I have something to discuss with your Elder Brother." Earl Patrick stokes Skyler''s silk-like hair before she leaves.
After Skyler left, the father and son, both faces turn solemn.
Niko said with a gloomy face, "I think she is nning something!"
"I know." Patrick nodded gravely, "That why I''m sending you and other loyal guards. We''ll have to move more carefully or we might lose everything¡"
The father and son chat for a long time and no one knows what they were nning.
---
The Day of auction.
Everything was going ording to the nobles'' ns until an unknown boy showed up!
Chapter 128 - Fear Of The Unknown!
Javier stated, "How about giving me all ten ces at once for one million low Qi stones!"
"Ssss¡."
Everyone inhales sharply, hearing Javier''s domineering words. This guy was just too damn overbearing!
''Which damn switch he just flip to turn into apletely different person!'' Jason was indignant.
Aden on stage was also stunned hearing Javier''s offer. ''Just who is he?'' Sadly, no one can answer that question of his.
Before Aden could react, Javier speak again wearing an arrogant expression, "Trust me Beast Master these idiots can''t win against me, because they didn''t have the balls to do so. Hehe."
Javier disdainfully looked at those titled families in front rows. Now their faces were as dark as charcoals..
"See that? No one even dares to ''pep''. Trust me, this bunch is even afraid of that brat still wet behind his ears. What can they do to this lord? Heh, cowards." Javier sneered as he shakes his head in disappointment.
Another bout of silent exim begun, this guy either has a very grand background or he wasn''t afraid of death in the least bit.
As for those titled families, they were boiling with insane anger!
Those hot-blooded youths'' eyes were bloodshot. No one has dared to humiliate them in public like this before.
They all wanted to charge and chop that arrogant fool into million pieces, but their elders were holding them tightly.
Just as Javier said, they didn''t dare to move a finger before confirming who this arrogant guy was. After all, the unknown is more dangerous and mysterious.
However, one person was not as circumspect as the other nobles.
"You bastard, who are you calling a brat??!" Victor was brutally looking at Javier.
He never has suffered this kind of disgrace in front of so many people and no one was here to control him except Skyler, who was also in a daze because of Javier''s overbearing attitude.
But she quickly snapped out of her daze at hearing Victor''s furious voice and quickly rebuke him, "Shut up and sit down!"
But Victor didn''t back down a bit and keep eyeing Javier with killing intent.
"Boy, you have more balls than those old fossils. I''ll give you that much. But just scram to the side when your elders are talking." Javier directly scolded Victor without pulling any punches.
''This guy is a disaster.'' Jason''s face was as if would cry at any moment.
Victor''s eyes turn bloodshot hearing another insult and he was going to attack when he felt his consciousness slip away abruptly.
Skr had to knock Victor out for his good because she could tell that guy was so carelessly mocking everyone here with no care about Aden''s presence. No bluffer can bluff this confidently. He must have someone to rely on.
But her eyes were icy as she looked at Javier. She would never forget this humiliation to her brother.
"Tsk, Tsk, youngsters are fearless," Javier click his tongue with a nostalgic expression on his face as if he was an old ghost.
Everyone wanted to roll their eyes because this guy was doing the opposite of everything he just said and he was a youngster himself.
Aden was truly speechless as well as those three beauties on the stage. This was his first time encounter this kind of situation where he waspletely blind.
Aden''s view differed greatly from others because only one person can be so overbearing in his eyes and that was¡ ''Maybe he has someone at an influential position in one of two giants!''
The moment this thought surface, Aden''s expression was solemn, and he didn''t dare to take risks anymore until he investigates this domineering youth.
Because a person of an organization is only afraid of someone from the organization!
And Aden was the same. He didn''t dare to take risks with his sly nature.
Aden was a person who can read people very well, and he even has a special skill that can sense fear because beasts fear other beings and it is the most important thing to control to sessfully taming a beast.
That same rule also applies to humans. If a human is telling a lie or bluffing, he would show a vague sign of fear and that was exactly what Aden relies upon to judge the other party.
And this youth is so calm that he didn''t even feel a trace of fear from him. After all, he was just a third qi gate realm cultivation. How could he escape Aden a qi river cultivator skill, right?
Aden nearly forgets that he was standing on the stage. The more he thinks the more he sinks in his thoughts, and the further he believes that Javier''s background was not to be underestimated.
"Old Man, why are you still not speaking? I don''t have all day here." Javier''s impatient voice rang again.
This time, he didn''t even call him Beast Master and directly call him an old man.
Everyone thought that this youth''s gut was higher than the sky!
Aden snapped out of his daze and take another deep nce at the in-looking youth but still find no trace of fear and only saw his arrogant mug.
"Ahem¡ Young Master, please forgive my manners." Aden''s signature smile has returned as he apologized.
Everyone was dumbfounded, seeing Aden changing his tone and even apologizing to this young man. They had least expected this.
"Sigh¡ old age indeed." Javier nodded in understanding.
Aden''s face twitched, but he didn''t retort and said, "Young Master, since you are willing to pay one million for ten sets, then¡ there are yours!"
Javier grin arrogantly as shot a nce towards the old man who was standing guards and said, "Old Man,e here and take these qi stones or those dogs in the front row might fight with you for them."
That old man was also bewitched but since the Beast Master was treating this youth with such a curtsey, how could he dare to show any disrespect?
As for the dogment, everyone knows he was referring to those titled families andmoners were holding back theirughter!
Chapter 129 - End Of Auction
The people of titled families were truly wanted to pounce on that bastard this time around but somehow held themselves back since even Aden was not doing anything after that lunatic taunted him.
For everyone, today was truly an eye-opener. An unknown youth has dominated the entire auction and even Beast Master didn''t dare to make any move.
First, they thought he was a lunatic, but now everyone has a deep respect for him, especiallymoners in the venue.
This young man didn''t scold them even once and keep pping on those arrogant nobles'' faces. This made them feel refreshed.
On the other hand, this event left a very sour taste in nobles'' mouths. Now they know just how thosemoners must''ve felt.
Javier indifferently paid one million low qi stones upfront as he promised. .
"When are we leaving?" Javier asked the old man after paying his dues.
"Early in the morning. Young Master." The old man didn''t dare to show an attitude as before and respectfully answer.
Javier nodded in satisfaction and coldly said, "Heh, don''t make me wait, I hate it."
The old man quickly nodded and returned to his position.
Javier sit back as he finally looked at Jason, who has a hideous expression on his handsome face at this moment.
"Elder Brother Jason, how about I sell you one spot for one qi stone only? How''s my brotherly offer?" Javier beam at Jason.
Jason knew he had messed up this time around and he didn''t even know the reason for it, this truly infuriate him!
"Ha¡ha¡ I have my beast." Jason drylyugh as he rejected the offer.
The people beside them already had banded these both unknown youngsters together, since they were so ''friendly'' with each other.
"No, you''reing with me, whether you like it or not and I''m going to make sure that old man willply with me." Javier grin but there was a coldness in his voice, he was unmistakably threatening him.
Jason narrowed his eyes and for the first time, he felt the presence of a sleeping beast from this so weak yet terrified young man.
Ace didn''t speak anymore as he returned to his normal self and watch the auctionfortably.
After the grand ''show'', the auction move smoothly but no one was interested in it anymore and every once in a while, they looked at the in-looking young man who was silently watching the auction.
No one can even dream that this youngster has caused such a disturbance, and he was so overbearing just by looking at his calm self.
Skyler was also observing this overbearing guy who insulted her brother with vignce and curiously.
She couldn''t help but wonder, ''Just who is he and why I''m feeling this strange emotion. It must be because this scoundrel insults poor Victor. Humph, I''ll get even with you!''
After one hour, the auction finally ended with those remaining seats won by titled families, but they were not happy about the ten-seat loss, especially the humiliation that came with it!
"Now that the auction is over, those with the sets and seats please stay for a while. As for the other, thank you all for participating in today''s auction.
"If you didn''t get any sets or seats, don''t worry. There will be another auction in two months from now, so please look forward to it," Rachel published.
The mob left as one with the sets, and seats stayed where they were.
After the enormous crowd left, only a small group remain
"Gentlemen, now you all can pay your dues and get your beast tickets by exchanging the beast token. Remember, anyone can use these beast tickets and we will only entertain those with beast tickets." Rachel said to those winners.
This announcement also has another meaning. Anyone with a beast ticket can use it, meaning it doesn''t matter from where and how they get it!
After this announcement, everyone couldn''t help but look at those two-youngster sitting alone.
Especially those titled families they wanted to quickly find that arrogant brat background and if he was bluffing before they would torture him until he dies!
"Remember, everyone, the journey will begin early in the morning. Please be on time or we''ll be not held responsible if you are left behind and your beast tickets will also be of no use anymore." Rachel finallyplete her task as she returned.
"And here I thought there was something really important." Javier''s jeering voice rang at this moment, "Old man give us our tickets so we can leave in peace."
Javier waves his beast token coolly at the old man.
The old man also didn''t dy and take the token and give Javier ten golden tickets and Jason 54 ording to his category color.
Jason''s mood was sullen as he pays and received those tickets. This is not the end that he assumes it would be.
"Let''s go elder brother Jason or do you want to waste time seeing those idiots?" Javier grinned at Jason.
''Rascal!'' Jason cursed, but he can do nothing but follow Javier.
In everyone''s hateful yet curious gaze, those two youngsters left.
"Beast Master, we''ll be relying on you to inform us about their background."
After Ace and Jason left, those noble families, focus turned to Aden.
"Don''t worry, I''m quite curious myself and after finding everything about them, I''ll send someone to inform you guys." Aden nodded.
Only Aden can truly find the real background of those two young men because the three giants'' informationwork was very deep and they can find anyone below Royal Lands if they have their appearance.
Aden has singled his disciples to record those two faces in an image crystal that can store someone''s appearance. It was quite handy in these kinds of situations.
He has scanned those two very carefully with his secret skill and was confident that they were not in disguise.
Now he just has to wait for the result. After that, he didn''t even need to do anything. These noble families are enough to deal with them if they were mere nobodies!
As for their wealth, it was Aden''s since he was the one providing the information. As for these goons, they just wanted to tear Javier into pieces!
Chapter 130 - The Confirmation
Inside the Earl Estate, in the grand hall.
The entire Zander family was present.
Earl Patrick was sitting beside an old man who also happen to be his father, Chase Zander.
On the right side of the square table sat Patrick''s three children and, on the left, were Patrick''s younger brother, Valentine Zander, and his wife, and their son of Victor''s age.
Two old butlers were also present in the grand hall, standing respectfully behind the Earl.
"Brother, I heard of unpleasant news beforeing here. I wonder if it''s true?" Valentino spoke at this moment while looking at Victor, whose face was as if he has swallowed a fly.
Victor fiercely looked at his uncle. He knew which news Valentino was referring to exactly..
Skyler spoke before Victor could, "Uncle please don''t me Victor anymore, it was not his fault."
"Not his fault, you say?" Valentino sneered, "I heard that vixen almost bewitched him, and in the end, he even received quite some ''praise'' from a youngster only two or three years older than him. So much for our county''s number one genius."
Valentino''s son Toby also scoffed on the side.
They both are of the same age and alwayspete with each other. However, Victor was more talented than Toby.
Whereas Toby was at the second gate, Victor was at the fourth gate, and he was only thirteen. That''s why everyone considers him a genius, although that was not the actual case.
Nevertheless, Victor was hot-blooded by nature and never pull back his punches whenever he fight against Toby and always beat him up in a sorry state.
That''s why Valentino had little good feeling towards his nephew and now he was finally given the chance to ssh some dirty water on him. How could he let this chance go so easily?
Victor was so angry that he started to tremble, and smoke almost rose from his head. If not for his cultivation being so low from Valentino, he would''ve already attacked him without even caring for their rtionship.
Niko''s eyes turn sharp since Victor was his brother, but he said nothing because Valentino only spoke the truth.
Skyler was different, though. She dotted on Victor since he was younger than her and couldn''t listen to her uncle''s sharp taunts. She was about to rebuke when Chase spoke in his stiff old voice.
"Shut Up! Why are you arguing with children here? Is your brain go rotten?" Chase shot an icy re at Valentino as he was also not in a good mood.
Valentino didn''t dare to retort his father and resentfully shut his mouth because even he knew the real problem was not Victor here.
"What do you think of today''s event?" Chase looked at Patrick, who was in deep thought.
"We have to wait before Aden sends his words." Patrick impassively answered, "But that youngster is quite odd because, from our scouts'' reports, he only came here four days ago and did nothing but to stroll around the city and go to the Jade Pavilion.
"That other youngest who won the first faster set was also with him, they enter at the same time but strangely they didn''t stay together at one ce.
"However, their rtionship is nothing but just acquaintances. But I still don''t understand. Just where did these kids pop up from and what are they doing here?
"Moreover, their arrogance didn''t match with their strength, one is only a third gate cultivator while the other is peak qi gates realm, maybe they were just bluffing and putting on a show.
"As for their wealth, they might also stumble upon it somewhere." Earl Patrick described his conjecture.
Chase nodded in agreement, "My thought exactly. As you say, they might put on a show to leave this ce with no hitch, but we still can''t reject the notion of them being from highernds."
At this moment, a knock sounded on the grand hall''s door and one butler open it and a man enter in armor.
"Speak what news you bring?" Earl Patrick asked impassively.
"Reporting to the Lord Earl." That man respectfully took a massage from his armor. There was a seal of beast calling organization on it!
"Beast Master Aden sent this letter, my lord." That guard respectfully presented the letter.
"You can go now." The butler received the letter and order the guard to leave and close the door.
The butler gives that letter to Earl Patrick and stands at his previous position again.
Earl Patrick opens the seal in the curious gaze of everyone and reads it. He knew this letter will determine their further action and how to deal with those two unknown kids.
There was only one word written in it,
["Degenerates!"]
Patrick''s lips curls, he knew exactly what these words mean.
"Where are those two at this moment?"
---
The same kinds of letters were all sent all over the Zander county to those titled families. They all hated Javier for what he did and all wanted to tear him into pieces.
After seeing the letter, everyone started taking action.
---
Beast Calling Colosseum,
Aden was sitting while sipping on an aromatic tea and enjoying it.
His two disciples were standing behind him, but there was someone else in the room, a ck-cloaked man who was sitting opposite Aden.
"Thank you for your hard word," Aden said with his signature smile.
"No problem, but you should be careful with those two. We can''t find any trace of them in the middlends. As for highnds, we didn''t have enough authority to prob information from there." A husky voice sounded from behind that ck-cloaked man.
"It is enough though, with their meager strength they can''t be from there, and what is there to be afraid of?" Aden pursed his lips into a mysterious smile, "It''s not like we''re taking any actions ourselves, just let those so-called nobles take the bullet while we reap the benefits."
"Heh, you sure trust them a lot." The ck-cloaked man sneer.
"Of course, they will take those beast tickets and we''ll get everything else. It''s not like they can escape from our keen senses, Vise Beast Master, ck Hound. This is the advantage of a beast tamer. The more we understand those beasts, the more we be like them." A beastly glint sh past Aden''s eyes as if he wasn''t a human!
"Heh, the more we understand, the more we be like them, huh." ck Hound repeated Aden''s words with a chuckle. "I should still keep an eye on their movement. I heard those two were vanished for more than an hour beforeing back mysteriously.
"I also wanted to see those youngsters end myself. I wasn''t able to sense any fear from both of them. One was as if he didn''t have any emotion, while the other was only showing anger, not fear." ck Hound stood up and leave without waiting for Aden''s reply.
Aden didn''t stop him and just smile mysteriously.
ck Hound was the Vise Beast Master of this Beast Calling branch. However, he always stayed out of everyone''s sight and remain in the shadows.
"Master, shouldn''t we go as well? After all, you''re the one who said they are not to be underestimated." One of his disciples confusingly asked.
Aden didn''t look back as he spoke. "Nora, you still didn''t understand why I ask Vice Beast Master, ck Hound, to do all the work, did you? It is very simple that boy with golden beast tickets still rub me in a very wrong way.
"I don''t know why but my beastly instincts tell me to stay far away from him, although ck Hound is a peak foundation realm cultivator he still didn''t develop his instincts too well and can only control one demonic beast of mid foundation building stage, that''s why he didn''t notice it."
Nora and the other girl were astonished they knew their master ''too well'' and he never take risks and now he was afraid of a third qi gate brat!
Aden''s beastly instincts have never failed him in the past and that''s why he acts so submissively in today''s auction and after the auction, let the others do his bidding.
All Aden''s wanted was those two brats'' storage rings because now that he knew they were not from the middlends, he didn''t need to worry about the bacsh.
Even if they both are very strong, he was in the end still safe inside this branch because of the powerful formations protecting it. No one can harm him here.
As for ck Hound monopolizing the treasures alone, Aden knew he didn''t dare!
Aden finally finished his tea and stood up from his seat and looked at his two beautiful disciples as lust fill his eyes.
"Let''s go to my chamber. I have time until ck hound came back. I''ll teach you new ''technique'' in the meantime." Aden lustfully said as he led the way to his chamber.
Those two girls blush heavily and nodded shyly as they follow Aden.
As if this was nothing new for them!
Chapter 131 - An Assassin
Three hours before, Aden found out about Ace and Jason.
Ace and Jason left the auction together and outside was arge crowd gathered.
Most of them were people from the auction who wanted to buy those seats. That''s why they were waiting for the owners toe out and discuss the price with them.
But when they saw these two dark horses of today''s auction came out first, all the chit-chat immediately stops as everyone looked at Javier and Jason.
"Scram to the side before I get annoyed." Javier outright spoke imperiously.
"I also don''t want to sell my tickets since I''ve heard a beast can move faster if there are fewer people on it," Jason speak with more reserved as he dered his reason.
Everyone understood Jason''s reason, as they all know it was true..
Ace and Jason calmly left the curious crowd behind because none of them wanted to confront those titled families'' nobles at this moment.
After they left the territory of Beast Calling auction, Jason abruptly stop while coldly looking at Javier.
"Who are you?" Jason deeply looked into Javier''s brown eyes as if he wanted to see through him.
"Me? Heh, how about you tell me first?" Javier chuckles as he asked back.
Jason grin mysteriously as he walked again, "You know people are following us. I might protect you if you tell the truth."
Javier didn''t faze by this critical information in the least bit as he walks beside Jason. "Oh, you''re talking about those twenty goons?"
Jason clicked his tongue, "I mess up this time around, aren''t I?" He looked bitterly at Javier''s nk face.
"Oh, indeed you did." Javier nodded impassively. "But I''m curious. Why did you choose me and what is your purpose?"
"Heh, how about we y tag first?" Jason beams at Javier as he became a blur before vanishingpletely.
"Interesting." Ace chuckles as he vanished after Jason, but he was faster.
"We lose them!" A figure dressedpletely in ck said in a nearby alleyway.
"Search for them!" Another one shouted in anger.
Twenty ck figures scatter instantly and began their search for those two youngsters. It was already dark, so it would not be easy, though.
In a remote alleyway, Jason''s figure appeared as he looked back and his lips move upwards after seeing no one was there. "Heh, it appears I was worried too much, and he was just bluffing."
"Is that so?" A voice fill with mockery rang at this movement.
Jason''s eyes constrict as he nced around, but he saw or felt nothing. He thought it was his imagination, but he suddenly felt a sharp, icy edge on the side of his neck.
Jason swallowed his dry saliva. ''He was able to sneak behind me and I still can''t feel his presence!''
But Jason was not going down easily as his ring finger twitch slightly, he wanted to take out something from his storage ring.
However, to his dismay, nothing came, and he finally felt the storage ring on his finger has mysteriously disappeared and he didn''t even notice it!
But a strange bird marking has appeared on it, but Jason didn''t have the luxury to notice it.
"Oh, are you looking for this ring?" The voice rang again as there was a clear teasing in it, "Give me one good reason to not kill you. And don''t try to use your metal element qi trust me, your head will fly before that."
"Y-YOU! Just who in the world are you?" Jason finally felt the gravity of the situation.
Jason didn''t think that the scapegoat he chose so carefully was a wolf in sheep''s clothing and he was the real sheep all along!
"Me? Heh." Ace chuckles darkly. "Does it matter now?"
Jason nearly choked on his words upon hearing this unreasonable answer.
"I''m the one asking the question here." Ace snicker as he put some pressure on his inky long sword, "Now it''s your turn, and don''t try to lie because I would know and I will make your head fly!"
Jason felt the cold sharp de digging into his neck and finally gave in as he took a deep breath. He knew this time he has encountered someone more shrewd and powerful than himself.
The most marvel thing was, all this time Jason think he was the one in control however, it was not the case at all.
All this time, he was dancing in the other party palm like a clown.
''So, that''s how it felt to be manipted, huh.'' Jason smile bitterly as he said, "Fine, you win! I''m an¡ assassin!"
Ace narrowed his eyes into slits with bewilderment because this was not the answer he was expecting and Jason was telling the truth!
On the first day when Jason approached him, he instantly knew this guy was up to something and he used soul-shattering eyes for a moment.
All he needed was that brief moment to see through Jason!
To Ace surprised, Jason''s face was disguised, but he didn''t wear a mask like him and his cultivation was also at the Empty River Stage!
Ace''s interest was instantly piqued because of Jason''s disguised techniques or skills.
That''s why he decided to just act along and first see what this guy''s actual goal was, and most importantly, why did he approach him, of all people.
Although Jason was a Qi river cultivator and it was dangerous to fight head-on with him.
But Ace also has element qi of light and this gave him the edge. If he could take Jason by surprise and stop him from using the element qi, Jason would be helpless. On top of that, if Ace stole his storage ring, he would lose the element of surprise as well!
And he seeded because of the show he put in the auction, Jason panic and lose his calm. This finally gave Ace the chance to catch him by surprise.
Although Ace has a bigger reason to put that show on the auction yet it worked perfectly with Jason as well and he kills two birds with one stone.
However, Ace never expected to discover an assassin, of all people!
Chapter 132 - The Secret Passage
Ace asked again, "Assassin?"
"Yes, I''m an assassin and it''s true!" Jason nodded grimly.
"I believe you." Ace said with a weird face, "But what kind of assassin told his real identity outright? And why did you approach me? I wasn''t your target, was I?"
Jason was astonished because he didn''t expect Ace would believe him so easily. Although he was telling the truth, it was also a test to check if Ace was telling the truth about finding true or lies.
Now it was even more difficult to fathom this unknown fellow''s limit. Jason decided to take the gamble.
"My life is more important than some silly assassin pride!" Jason scoffed, "As for why I approached you; I have a secret skill, with it I can sense ''Baleful Qi'' on someone. You didn''t have any of it, that''s why I approach you, but I didn''t think you were so strong. I have never seen someone as strong as you without baleful qi." .
Jason said. He has regained his calm.
"Tell me more about this Baleful Qi?" This was Ace''s first time hearing this type of qi and wanted to know more. Especially if he didn''t possess any of it. He wanted to determine if this was a good or bad thing.
However, suddenly a silver beam of light shot from Jason''s finger straight towards Ace''s eyes.
Jason use his metal element qi to surprise attack Ace since his sword was on Jason''s neck and thought it would be a critical blow or at least injured the guy to some extinct, but he didn''t know Ace had two swords!
Ace was fully alert for this kind of attack because he knew a Qi river cultivator was difficult to deal with or subdue, especially if this cultivator was an assassin!
With lightning speed, Ace''s short sword instantly came between him and that silver beam.
''ngg¡''
The element qi scatters the moment it touched the inky de of Ace''s short sword, but this brief exchange also gave Jason the chance to escape the long sword on his neck.
By using metal qi as armor around his neck, Jason dashed to the left side and finally manage to escape with his movement skill!
Jason quickly turned around to face Javier but to his horror, the guy has vanished!
''Dame it!'' Jason swore and use his concealment skill to hide as well.
But how could he escape Ace''s heavenly sense?
Ace was coldly looking at the Jason as clear as day from the corner of the alleyway like a conceal serpent.
Jason''s survival instincts tingle with rm as he didn''t feel any sense of security even after using his top-notch skill, ''He can see me!''
Jason clench his teeth as he stopped the skill he was using and said bitterly, "Fine, you win, just came out and we can talk like gentlemen, there is no need for bloodshed."
But no answer came from the dark alleyway.
"Look, we both know, if we fight for real, we''ll create a huge disturbance and this will alert many and I know you also didn''t want this. After all, you were also hiding your abilities, meaning you have your motives and I don''t want to get in your way so we should go our separate ways after you returned my storage ring!" Jason said.
Ace curled his lips hearing Jason''s reasoning, but he also sensed the well-hidden element qi began to surround Jason and take the shape of a ball one foot around him.
''It is highly possible if I got closer to him that field of qi would alert him. I can''t take him by surprise anymore, just as I thought Qi river cultivators are not easy to deal with.'' Ace judged.
"I know you''re here, soe out!" Jason tried again to lure Ace out.
Because just as Ace thought, Jason has created an element qi field around himself, which is difficult to prate without him being alerted. And if now Ace try sneaked up on him, Jason would know instantly and he only needed a moment to counter-attack.
Jason has first told Ace the truth and then use an unknown term to slightly distract Ace and manage to escape the deadlock.
However, now he wanted Ace to sneak up on him, but Ace was not even talking anymore. This truly infuriates Jason.
It was his first time being in this kind of situation and encounter so cumbersome opponent. He can''t see through Javier in the least bit and still didn''t know what cultivation realm he was at.
More importantly, Jason wanted his storage ring back because there was something very important in it that he can''t afford to lose. It was as important as his life!
"Just give me back my storage ring and I''ll tell you a very important secret. It is not used for you since it can''t be open without killing me and I''m not going down easily!" Jason attempted to negotiate by dering the facts.
Ace still didn''t talk and only observed Jason from afar, ''He is bing agitating because of the storage ring, is there something important inside it?''
Ace''s soul sense was equal to a soul river cultivator, and he could easily tell there was something that Jason desperately wanted inside that storage ring.
Jason still didn''t get any answer from Ace, and his face fell. "Just give it back and I''ll tell you about a passage that can lead to the high-levelnds and you didn''t need the sky-changing pass!"
Ace''s eyes widen with astonishment, ''So, there is exists a passage like this, my guess was not wrong!''
Before he has guessed that there was some kind of passage that Aline and that old goad use but didn''t have time to investigate it, nor he has the means to.
But now this guy was offering him the passage for a mere storage ring.
Now Ace wanted to know just what was so important in that storage ring that is worth more than that secret passage!
Chapter 133 - Jason’s Motives
This temptation was very great to reject for Ace because he didn''t want toe in contact with that old ghost Empty Dream anymore, and this passage was just the thing he needed.
But first, Ace quickly nce at the pickpocket notification that he got after he stole Jason''s storage ring but didn''t have the time to see it.
He wanted to confirm if there was something important inside before saying anything since that idiot was kind enough to show there was something important inside it!
======
[Notification Panel]
[{Unseen Notification}]
[Pick Pocket sess]
{Host steal}
{1: Low-Grade Storage Space Treasure} (2nd Mortal Level-Runes)
{3: Low-Level, Middle-Grade Weapon} (5-Stars),
{Qi-Stones Trash-Grade (Low-Level): 3 Million},
{Qi-Stones Lowest-Grade (Middle-Level): 300,443},
{Rewards: 260 Thief Points}.
[Thief Point(s): 1,400]
---
[Host has stolen treasures worth more than 200TP]
[One Low-Level Thievery has added to Thievery Count]
[Low-Level Thievery: 5]
=======
Ace frowned, seeing the system didn''t catch anything of that sort and items inside were just chump-change for him.
''If the system didn''t count it as a treasure, then it is highly possible that the thing that clown wanted is not a treasure.'' He mused.
On the other side of the alleyway, Jason began to panic after he didn''t get Ace''s answer.
He begins to think Ace has left, but that feeling of being seen by someone still didn''t vanish. An assassin''s instinct was not to be underestimated since they had to train it in life and death situations and even deadlier training.
And Jason''s origin was nothing but ordinary!
"Listen, juste out because we didn''t have much time. You know, after what you have done, those nobles won''t leave us alone!" Jason said gravely.
Ace deeply looked at Jason first and then the ring. ''Should I exchange it with that secret passage position, but I can''t confirm it any time soon. I can''t probe his soul since it is far stronger than mine and he can always twist his words to confuse my senses.''
Ace was hesitant for a moment before he took the risk. He used the lightning steps and vanished from the area, leaving agitate Jason behind!
Jason finally felt the watchful eyes on him have been vanished but his face twisted with fury, not relief.
"YOU BASTARD I''LL FIND YOU!" Jason roar out loud. He was regretting approaching that rascal since he has created this blunder himself!
"Boy, calm down. He can''t open that ring and won''t leave this ce because he also wanted to go to the capital!"At this moment, an old voice sounded in Jason''s mind!
"Senior, how can you be so calm; the map is gone!" Jason transmitted as he pursed his lips. "Even you weren''t able to sense him and now he knows about the baleful Qi as well!"
"His cultivation must be higher than yours, and my prowess is connected with yours. That''s why my abilities are limited because of it. But I have to say that child was very strange. He didn''t have a trace of baleful qi."The old voice was astonished.
"You were the one who wanted me to approach him and said he was the perfect sacrifice!" Jason was furious.
"Heh, we needed exactly this kind of sacrifice without any baleful qi, and trust me that boy is one in billions, I never heard of anyone without Baleful Qi existed! That''s why I told you to make a friend out of him, but who would''ve thought he was a wolf in sheep''s clothing and even like stealing." The old voice said, "And Don''t worry, no one knows about the baleful Qi in this barren ce. He won''t know anything."
"Yeah, stealing is thest thing I expected from someone with his skills. I think he leave because he didn''t trust mepletely." Jason said with a nod. "He is very observant and cautious, especially. His ability to detect lies is extraordinary."
"Yes, he was very confident in his im that time. That''s why I tell you not to take risks, but he wasn''t a soul cultivator since he was using the martial Qi. Maybe it is some kind of secret art." The old voice said.
"But the map is gone. What if he runs away from the city? With all those nobles on his tail, it is highly likely he would leave." Jason was still worried about that map.
"It is one of many possibilities, but by his cautious nature, that thing he did in the auction has a reason behind it. We might find him again tomorrow. Remember, he has no trace of baleful Qi. I can easily detect him. And if by some snowball chance he didn''t show up, I can find him with the map since it is made of ----- when you reach the Qi River Core Realm!"The old voice said confidently.
"I can always rely on senior." Jason''s expression finally loosened a bit. "But first I have toplete the assassination mission or we''ll be killed by the organization first without achieving anything!"
Jason vanished from the alleyway to an unknown destination.
---
Ace appeared outside the Jade Pavilion of Zander City and enter inside nonchntly.
After eating and drinking his fill, he left for the inn where he was staying.
Just as he expected, the inn was surrounded by hidden cultivators and the movement only ur when Ace was at the entrance of the inn.
Ace''s lips curled as he entered the inn as if he didn''t notice a thing, and go straight to his room.
After confirming there was no one around with his heavenly sense, he entered and close the wooden door.
"System, do you know what this baleful Qi is?" Ace asked in a grave tone.
Ace still didn''t forget about this particr Qi since Jason has approached him because of it and this means he can find him again, even with some other disguise and he didn''t want it.
He still didn''t know who was the target of Jason''s assassination, but he will go to the capital and that''s was even more of the reason for Ace to thoroughly hide his traces!
Chapter 134 - Baleful Qi
"System, do you know what this baleful Qi is?" Ace asked in a solemn tone.
"[50 Thief Points]"
Ace pursed his lips while saying, "Just take it and open this damn ring while you are at it."
===
"[100TP has been deducted]
[The Storage Ring is now opened]
---
[50TP has been deducted]
[Baleful Qi: The resentment, malice, hatred¡ of someone is the Baleful Qi. In other words, everyone has Baleful Qi! Even the purest beings as long as they had emotions.]
[The Baleful Qi can grow continuously. It is impossible to see with naked eyes and there are some techniques and skills they can use the Baleful Qi to boost one strength tremendously..]
[But there is a very stein price to pay and only Unorthodox Cultivators use this kind of method.]
---
[Thief Point(s): 1,250]
====
Ace was truly marveled as he quickly asked, "Then why didn''t I have this Baleful Qi? It''s not like I didn''t hate or resent someone."
"[Host has no baleful Qi because of the dark void it can absorb it and because of it the host will never encounter a Baleful Heart Evil in the future!]"
Ace''s eyes shone with uncertainty as he asked, "What is this Baleful Heart Evil?"
"[Host has not enough authority to know about Three Evils of Heart]"
"[But remember this, if one has too much Baleful Qi one will die at a specific point of cultivation because of Baleful Heart Evil!]"
"Three Evils of Hearts and one will die because of this baleful Qi, huh." Ace mumbles softly.
Ace was astonished while mulling over what the system has revealed. He didn''t expect one can even die because of Qi that one umted on their own.
This made Ace realize again that he was still ignorant and insignificant.
Now another question aroused in Ace''s mind, ''How did that clown know about Baleful Qi?'' But no one was here to answer him.
Since Ace can''t find a reasonable answer because of his little experience, he didn''t dwell on it for long.
The important matter at hand was Jason possessed the ability to sense Baleful Qi, and Ace didn''t have any baleful Qi because of the dark void.
Ace knew it was a good thing, but now in this kind of situation where someone can find him because of this wonderful trait.
"System, can I stop dark void from absorbing baleful Qi?" Ace asked with high hope.
"[Host cannot control the dark void with his current prowess at this moment.]"
''Figures.'' Ace smiles bitterly. He knew from the start that the dark void is not something that he can control as he wishes and its actual abilities are still mysteries.
"[Host can spend 500TP and system will stop dark void from absorbing baleful Qi for 10 years.]" Startlingly, the system''s voice rang again.
Ace frowned. "Can I cancel this anytime I want?"
"[No.]"
''Well, it''s a plus since I won''t be like a torch in the darkness anymore for those who can sense baleful Qi like Jason. But I won''t be able to cancel it for ten years and dying in cultivation because of it is not something I can overlook either.'' The more Ace considered the more he felt this decision was a double-edged sword.
"System which cultivation realm can one encounter this Baleful Heart Evil?" Ace asked eagerly.
"[Heart Evils doesn''t exist in Mortal Sky Heaven.]"
Ace was ted hearing this extraordinary good news, "If that''s the case then stop dark void from absorbing baleful Qi."
=====
"[500TP has been deducted]"
[The Dark Void will not absorb any Baleful Qi for ten years.]
---
[Thief Point(s): 750]
=====
Ace wait a while but he felt nothing at all, "Is it stop?" He frowned.
"[Yes.]"
''It seems it was not a big deal. But I lose 500TP just because of that clown.'' Ace''s face stiff a little seeing his remaining TP and me it on Jason.
However, Ace didn''t know this prior knowledge of Baleful Qi and this decision has saved him from many future troubles!
Ace''s focus shifted to Jason''s storage to minimize his losses. He has rejected the path because there was something even more important in this storage ring and he didn''t trust Jason.
''Now let''s see just why you were so anxious about it.'' Ace quickly sent his consciousness into the storage ring that was now open.
After shifting everything keep-worthy inside his thief''s space, and begun to check the other items one by one.
Half an hour pass, but Ace still didn''t find anything unique and hisplexion darken because of it.
"Hmm?" Ace suddenly spotted something unusual.
An old map appeared in Ace''s hand. He felt a unique texture from the hide when he touched it as if it was made of icy silk.
''Is this it?''
Curious, Ace open the map with great expectation.
"What is this?" Ace murmured in confusion the moment his eyesnded on the map.
The map was of arge valley surrounding by mountains and in the center was an altar-like mark he didn''t recognize. But what truly caught Ace''s attention was the mountains surrounding the valley because they were evenly sized, not like typical mountains.
''Is this some kind of treasure map?'' Ace muse but in the end, he gave up and store the map inside his thief''s space.
"This ce might never exist in middlends, but I should still keep a lookout for it. Since that idiot was so anxious about it there has to be some kind of heavenly treasure there like Blood Rose." Ace mumbles softly.
''It''s just a pity that I didn''t manage to obtain his disguise skill. Well, no problem if my scheme worked I will be able to buy that new mask in the shop before thepetition began. Now, I just have to wait for them to show up. I hope he wille or I have to think of a different way.''
Ace''s face was full of enthusiasm as he thought about the master n he cooked up in the auction this evening!
Chapter 135 - Stealing A Person!
After Aden sent the confirmation about those two youths'' superficial backgrounds, the noble families immediately take action and send many experts to silent them and retrieve their storage rings.
In the middle of the night, the Zander city was as silent as a graveyard, because the Zander family has given the order to empty the area around the Inns where those two youngsters were staying without alerting the targets.
They didn''t want anyone to witness this since it will stain their high status.
Although in the morning everyone would guess what had happened after seeing those two dark horses absent, no one would dare to say anything.
Every evidence of their existence would be erased, and no one will mention them again. This is just how things are in the cultivation world. Without status and power, you are nothing but a disposal.
Strangely, those two youngsters didn''t run except vanish for more than an hour. They returned to their rooms and now resting there. .
In these experts send by nobles, there were fifteen Qi foundation realm cultivators, five of them were middle stage and ten of them were at the early stage.
One can easily guess by this; the nobles didn''t underestimate those two just by noticing their weak cultivation. They were dead serious about killing them, especially Javier; many hated him after what he did today.
Ace''s eyes were closed as if he was meditating, but that was not the case. He was observing the area with his soul sense.
For half an hour, Ace felt many powerful Qi waves outside his inn. However, they didn''t make any move as if they were waiting for someone or someone''smand.
At this movement Ace felt a familiar soul signature and a smile creep out on his nk face, ''Hah, it appeared my bashing truly worked.''
Outside the Inn where Ace was staying, many ck-clothed figures in masks were hiding while encircling the Inn to stop Javier from escaping.
At this moment, avishing carriage stopped just outside the Inn''s door, and three figures disembark it.
One of them was a handsome young boy of the age of 14 or 15, while the other two were old men in theirte fifties. They were in luxurious robes and wore haughty expressions on their faces.
"Young Lord, that brat is here." One of the old men respectfully spoke to the young boy.
"Since it was father''s mission to kill him and retrieve my honor, I will do it alone don''t interfere or my uncle will nag me to no end if I can''t even kill a third gate ant." The young man gravely warned, he was not in a good mood.
These three were none other than Victor Zander and Zander''s family two head butlers.
Patrick sent Victor here because Javier has humiliated Victor the most and this is a tremendous blow to young Victor''s confidence. His father has told him to kill that person who humiliated him and regain his dignity or nevere back!
However, Patrick still sent these two high-stage foundation building realm butlers with Victor, just in case if anything goes south to protect him.
Patrick wasn''t a fool and knew there is something fishy going on with those two targets because they had vanished in the eyes of many peak qi gate realm experts and strangely they didn''t run and returned.
"Young Lord, please let us lure that brat here since this space is not proper to fight and by doing this we could also witness your glorious victory." The other old man said with passion, but a cunning glint sh past his old eyes.
They both know Victor''s stubborn personality too well and they didn''t want to put him in danger by sending him alone inside. That''s why this old man made this silly excuse to coax Victor toply willingly.
Just as he expected, Victor instantly imagine his glorious victory seen by many and quickly agreed with the cunning old man, "Fine, but don''t hurt him, I don''t want others to say I only finished an already beaten dog."
"Why of course, I''ll make sure of this." The old butler smiled as he was about to enter the inn to drag that brat out.
He was also furious. After all, Javier has humiliated the Zander family by pointing his finger at Victor and, he as a loyal servant of the Zander family would never take it sitting.
"YOUNG LORD!!!" At this moment, the second butler screech with fright.
The cunning old man quickly turn around to see what has happened when his face also shone with horror as he roared at his brother, "W-where is the Young Lord???"
Victor has suddenly vanished from his position!
"I-I¡I didn''t see clearly¡ it was a blur that take away¡ Young Lord. It was too fast. I can''t stop it!" He shuttered as his voice was filled with uncertainty and anxiety.
"Fool! What do you mean by; you didn''t see it and can''t stop it?!" The other one was infuriated and panic, "Do you know the consequences if something happened to Young Lord Victor?!"
The butler shiver just thinking about the punishment if Victor goes missing under their protection. Patrick would skin them alive as well as their decedents without even caring about their years of loyalty!
"Head Butler Hugh, the target has vanished!" A man quickly appeared at this moment with the report of missing Javier.
The cunning old man''s name was Hugh, and a chill ran down his spine hearing this.
"It was him! Damnit, that hateful brat has yed us. Search for him, lock down the entire city. It doesn''t matter even if you have dug every part of the city to find him. He has Young Lord Victor!" Butler Hugh roar out loud as he also raced away with his brother to search for Victor.
Everyone was horrified hearing this grave information, and every hidden expert around the Inn quickly began the search for Victor.
They didn''t even notice it until Hugh give themand and they all know if things go awry with Victor, they all can forget about living!
Chapter 136 - Soul Probing
Inside Ace''s room in the Inn.
Javier appeared with an unconscious young man on his shoulder as he throws him on the floor.
This young man was exactly Victor Zander, whom Ace stole just a few moments ago.
Ace active his heavenly sense to see the situation outside.
"Those morons." Ace clicks his tongue seeing everyone scatter to search for Victor and no one even thought about taking another nce at his room again.
No one even consider that the kidnapper would be returned to his hideout and not run. It was a simple trick but always works when the other party is in a state of frenzy.
After confirming that everyone has gone, Ace looked at unconscious Victor and smile slyly..
Ace has done all this just to get his hands on this young boy, or more precisely, his face!
The moment Ace saw Victor in the auction, an abrupt thought appeared in his mind, ''I need a new face.''
The moment this thought surface in mind, Ace began to think, and when Jason drew everyone''s attention to himself.
Ace also made up his mind and put up on a huge, arrogant act. He humiliated every noble in the auction, especially Victor, who was his prime target.
He makes sure to humiliate Victor brutally, but also not make it too obvious or someone might suspect him, especially Aden.
Ace was sure that after what he had done Aden would use the organization behind him to search for his origin and when he finds out that Javier was just a paper tiger Aden woulde himself or sent all those nobles.
If it was the first case, Ace would have escaped and wait for his chance to infiltrate Earl Estate. But if Aden used these nobles, then Victor would surelye for him with everyone else.
Ace understood too well just how much these people with status cherish their pride. And just as he expected, Victor came for him.
Victor hase for revenge and won back his dignity, but he never would''ve thought he was presenting himself on a silver tter to Ace bying here.
If Ace wanted, he could''ve killed everyone outside, included those two old butlers, but it will spoil his n since he won''t be able to exin why Victor has escaped alone. People would doubt him and this is not what he wanted, not until he leave this ce.
By kidnapping Victor, he can easily forge some lie and with his abilities, everyone would think he was telling the truth.
''Heh, this risk was significant, but I gained a treasure map and new face of an Earl''s son from it. Now the arrogant Javier will also disappear.'' Ace was ecstatic, ''I don''t have much time, if he vanished for too long it will be hard for me to exin.''
Ace sits beside unconscious Victor and closed his eyes. ''Soul Probing!''
This was the second part of his scheme. With soul probing, he would gain Victor''s memories and this will help him more in acting like him. He didn''t need it for a long time though, since he would leave this morning.
Transparent orange soul Qi rushed from Ace''s forehead where his mind space was and directly enter Victor''s forehead.
Victor was only a fourth qi gate cultivator and Ace can easily probe his memories.
Quickly, fragments of foreign memories begin to appear in Ace''s knowledge sea. These fragments were Victor''s life memories.
Since there was no interference, Ace continuously used soul probing, and fragments after fragments keep entering his knowledge sea.
Ace used to this feeling, he knew the weaker the soul of his target was therger memory fragment he would get.
Victor was young so his life''s memories were only fourteen years'' worth and by the speed, Ace was getting Victor''s memories fragments. It would take him one and a half-hour to gain Victor''splete memories!
It was more than enough though because Ace can use soul probing for two hours after his cultivation advancement.
Now the question was withered. Ace would get disturbed or not. Because if someone interfered in this process, Ace has to start from the beginning if he wanted Victor''splete memories.
Because soul probing was random and by using it in intervals, Ace can get the same memory fragment twice or even thrice depending on his luck. But if he can maintain the connection, he will always get a new memory fragment!
He has experimented with it many times on those two maids of Javier and knows everything he needed to about soul probing.
One and half-hour passed in a breeze, but no one came anywhere near the Inn.
''I overestimated them.''
Ace opened his eyes after he absorbed all the memories from Victor and now he knows everything about him. With his acting skill now, he can fool even his sister who knows him the most.
Ace also got Victor''s knowledge about the middlends, although it was not as much as he expected, nevertheless it was the knowledge of a native.
''I still need two hours or three hours to digest these memories.'' Ace mused, ''But first I need to save his face.''
Ace again use heavenly sense to confirm he was alone.
Completely sure, Ace removed the two-face mask as his real, extremely handsome face revealed.
Just like before, Ace use the mask''s formation to scan Victor and after a few moments the half-ck side of the mask vanished and Victor''s face appeared beside Javier''s.
''Heh, everything goes smoothly, with no interference. Now should I kill him or not?'' Ace deeply looked at unconscious Victor.
This is the final decision of Ace''s scheme.
''His first kill a mortal man at the age of eight because of a minor dispute when that man bumped into him by ident.'' Ace scan some of Victor''s exceptional memories.
''Hah, he killed him just because he didn''t want to look down upon by other aristocracies, especially his father, who he respected the most, or by his sister, who he loved the most.''
Aceugh sharply when he felt Victor feeling attached to that event, now he understood the pressure of cultivation society, especially when you''re born in a high-ss cultivation family.
''''Your flesh and blood judge you the moment you were born andbel you as trash or genius!''
Chapter 137 - Give It Back!
Victor was missing for five hours now and the news has already reached the ears of every person with a status.
Patrick went into a frenzy the moment he heard this news and nearly killed those two loyal butlers. If not for his father stopping him, he might''ve done it already.
Skyler was also horrified hearing this news and immediately searched for her brother with everyone else.
Valentino, on the other hand, was happy about Victor''s disappearance but didn''t dare to show it because even he didn''t dare to irritate Patrick when he was enraged.
Since Javier was missing with Victor, no one paid any attention to Jason.
But the newse soon that he had also escaped.
This was an immense blow to the noble families and they will be theughing stoke of the entire Zander county when this news spread..
Especially when they know the Earl''s son got abducted by a third qi gate realm brat. They all knew it was not the case and that brat''s cultivation was much higher, but who would believe them?
Everyone would consider it as an excuse to hide their embarrassment.
The sullenest about this loss was none other than Aden because he spends quite some from his pocket to get information on Javier and Jason.
Aden was enjoying ''teaching'' his two disciples when ck Hound came back with this unexpected news.
ck hound was also furious because he was observing Jason, and he got away under his nose. If others find out the Vice Beast Master has failed to stop a brat, he might lose his position and punish by the organization for involving himself in the affairs of nobles!
---
Inside Earl Estate.
"Where is my son!" Patrick roar as he quickly entered the grand hall.
He spotted Victor, who was¡fine except for his dirty robes!
Victor spotted Patrick and promptly said, "Father, your son has returned with gifts." He quickly took out two storage rings from his own.
One was Javier''s, and the other was Jason''s.
Patrick agitates and his worried face instantly stiffened seeing Victor fine and those two storage rings.
"Where were you? And how did you gain those storage rings?" Patrick inquired sternly.
He didn''t dare to believe his son can kill those two cunning scoundrels after being abducted by one under two high-stage foundation building experts'' noses.
''Something is not right here!'' Patrick grimace because after what happened, he knew those two had very high-level concealment skills and Victor was missing for hours and there is a very high possibility this Victor was a fake!
"That boy gave it to me who abducted me and say¡" Victor''s face twisted with rage as if he didn''t want to say the next phase.
"What did he say?" Patrick''s eyes narrowed. This expression was exactly his son whenever he got angry.
Victor pursed his lips. "He says never offend someone who you can''t find out because of your trivial ability and say he was just bored and ying with¡ dogs in this barren ce.
"He gave me these two rings with beast tickets and some Qi stones as a... charity. He said he gave them to that Beastly Old Man and tell him if he dares, just try using them."
"Presumptuous!" Patrick''s face was as dark as charcoal hearing those overbearing words. He has heard that brat arrogance knows no bounds, but this was just too infuriating.
"Victor!" Skyler enters at this moment; her eyes were teary when she saw Victor and without even care about Patrick, she throws herself into his embrace and hugged him.
"Are you hurt?" She asked in a sniffing voice.
"N-no I''m fine." Victor quickly escaped Skyler''s bear hug.
Skyler was shocked because Victor never does this before. But she didn''t have time to ponder over it since Patrick speak in a stiff voice.
"If he let you go after giving you those rings, then where were you for almost six hours?"
Skyler looked at her brother and father with bewilderment because she didn''t know what they were talking about.
At this moment, everyone from the Zander family entered the grand hall. They all heard the news about Victor appearing at the front gate unharmed.
But seeing Patrick questioning him, no one speaks and only observed.
"H-he drag me quite far from the city and I-I never go outside the city. That''s why I l-lose my way back." Victor''s face redden when he told the ''truth'' in embarrassment.
Everyone in the hall know Victor was telling the truth, so this exnation was valid.
But Patrick still didn''t feel right as he asked, "How many times did I beat you and when was the first time andst time?"
Everyone looked at Victor, now they all understand why Patrick was questioning him. Victor was unharmed and even had storage rings of those two rogues.
This makes anyone with some brain wary and doubts the other person.
Skyler was also very intelligent and instantly knew what was happening. She suddenly recalls Victor escaping from her hug and narrowed her eyes while observing Victor more carefully and wait for his answer.
Patrick has asked this question because only Victor knows the answer and beating is not something that anyone could forget, especially Patrick''s beating. And even if someone is posing as his son, they would never think of this question.
Victor confusingly answers, "Why are you asking this at a time like this?"
"Just answer your father!" Old Man Chase said in an unfriendly tone.
Victor quickly lower his head because he was terrified of his grandfather.
"F-four times¡ you beat me four times. First when I was ten years old because I stole sprit stones andst time was today, because I sully the family name in the auction." Victor timidly answered.
Everyone looked at Patrick.
Patrick sighed in relief, "He''s Victor."
"Give it back!" At this moment Skyler chimed in while extended her snowy hand towards Victor.
Another test!
If anyone in this hall knows Victor better than Patrick, it has to be Skyler!
Patrick also didn''t stop Skyler and just watch. He knew Skyler has taken care of Victor ever since he was young and care for him the most.
Victor deeply looked at those beautiful, gem-like sky-blue eyes of Skyler and smile with affection, and flip his hand.
In everyone''s curious eyes, a beautiful hairpin appeared in Victor''s hand, but it was only half.
"Our mother''s hairpin that you gave me when I was ten." Victor throws that pin to Skyler.
Skyler catch the half hairpin and after seeing it the doubts vanished from her eyes, "Victor, you brat, don''t make me worried again or I''ll break your legs for real."
Victor smile wryly.
Patrick didn''t speak and a peculiar glint sh past his eyes seeing that broken hairpin.
"Give me those two rings." Now the doubts were evident, Patrick''s focus turned to those storage rings.
Now he has to believe what Victor has told him and he was nning to tell Aden the exact words of that arrogant brat.
After all, Aden was the one who checked the background of those two and give a green signal.
What happened was those two scoundrels have yed everyone just because they were bored and even gave them tickets and qi stones in the name of charity!
"They are open." Victor''s smile vanished as he handed those rings to Patrick.
"You can rest now. Only three hours remain until you''ll leave for capital." Patrick excuses everyone as he headed to the Beast Calling Colosseum to meet with Aden.
Victor leave for his room while Skyler followed him as well as everyone else.
Valentino''s face was full of disappointment as he leaves since Victor was back, he can now forget about sending his son to the capital in the fastest category beast.
---
Victor finally entered hisvishing room after escaping from Skyler''s lecture.
"That girl can kill someone with her mouth!" Victormented or Ace!
''So, this is what it feels like having an elder sister, huh.'' Ace couldn''t help but wonder. He had no actual siblings and only had Alina closest to one.
''I wonder how is she now.'' Ace couldn''t help but nostalgically remembered that cut face of Alina and the time he spends with her. ''One day I''ll find you and give you a huge surprised!''
Ace quickly snapped out of his memories and nned his next move.
He had fooled the Zander family, but his purpose was not ended here.
Now he needed arge amount of Thief Points. Because he wanted to buy [Hundred-Face Deception Mask] which price was 50,000TP!
Ace needed this mask the most because his destination was the number one institute of middle-levelnds. And he found out after absorbing Victor''s memories that the principal of the institute is rumored to be a Qi River Core Cultivator!
Ace''s two-face mask can''t work against this kind of existence and that''s why he felt even more urgency to buy this new mask.
''I''ll have to prepare soon and think more like a cunning thief who is also a master of deception.'' Ace closed his eyes as he imagined many kinds of scenarios.
This was his new method of thinking that he finds very helpful and his mind be sharper and his decision-making also improved tremendously!
Chapter 138 - Thievery Outside The Colosseum (1)
Early in the morning,
Outside of the Beast Calling Colosseum was packed with arge crowd of people.
The reason for this was very simple, the time of departure was approaching and every noble family with their recruits areing in packs.
These recruits were those who can''t afford or purchased the beast ticket and had to lower their heads to these titled families. For these beast tickets, they all sign a loyalty contract that was a fancy way of saying ve contract!
All of these youngsters can now take part in the uing test, but whether they win or lose, it''s all belonged to these titled families now.
This was not only the case of Zander County, it was happening all over thend of kingdoms!
Although over 80% of them will die in just their kingdom''s test. However, those who survived will be elites who go through the battle of blood even if they didn''t get selected.
All those survivals will be future assets to these titled families, and that''s why they all spend so much Qi stones to monopolized all these sets of seats and then sell them just for one loyalty contract!
The enormous gates of the colosseum creak open at this moment and the crowd went into absolute silence..
After the gates fully open many high cultivation guards and Aden two disciples came out in the organization uniform. To everyone''s surprised Aden was absent.
As for ck Hound, he never shows his face in public ces and most of these people didn''t know a Vice Beast Master even exist.
"Wee everyone," Nora spoke in her charming voice at this moment with a smile on her face.
"Please show your beast tickets before entering the colosseum. As for those people without beast tickets, please don''t block the entrance." She announced.
Everyone does as she said and entered after showing their different color tickets.
Golden tickets were only in the hands of the most promising youngsters of titled families and their protectors.
These protectors were going to keep them safe until the test and all of them were at least of the middle Qi foundation stage cultivators.
When the crowd with beast tickets almost entered, thirty carriages with Earl''s estate symbols came into everyone''s view.
Shockingly, no one stopped them as those luxurious carriages began to cross the colosseum''s gate.
But no one raised any voice because everyone knows the Earl has an excellent rtionship with Beast Master Aden and this much VIP treatment for an Earl is to be expected anywhere.
Victor was also sitting with his siblings in the sixth carriage from the front.
Ace observed everyone with his heavenly sense. ''The gates would most likely be closed when everyone with those tickets entered.''
"System mark every storage space treasure in my soul sense range." Acemand while his heart raced because it was time to move!
===
"[System detect 210 storage space treasure in host''s soul sense range.]"
[420TP required for marking.]
[Will the host want to proceed?]
[Yes/No]
====
"Yes." Ace transmitted without any dy.
====
[420TP has been deducted]
[Marking has beenpleted.]
---
[Thief Point(s): 330]
====
With his heavenly sense, Ace saw many little ck panels appearing on every person''s storage ring.
At this moment, almost all the crowd was in his soul sense range and he took advantage of this by using the system''s ability to mark the storage space treasures.
Although it would cost him two TP per treasure yet it was worth it!
Ace thought at lightning speed, ''There are approximately 97 storage rings; on the people who are not going inside. I can create 20 soul threads on each finger now, thanks to my practice of soul controlling technique.''
After making sure that no one was paying any attention to Victor inside the carriage, Ace create 97 soul threads on his fingers!
Those transparent threads came to life as each of them darted towards 97 different targets like tentacles.
''This is draining more soul qi than I expected.'' Ace thought, but he still has arge reserve of heavenly soul Qi because of his soul river cultivation!
The very next moment, each soul thread was in its ce, but Ace didn''t use the pick-pocket immediately as if he was waiting for something.
This n of stealing everyone''s storage rings was essential to collect arge amount of TP faster.
After taking everything into ount, Ace decided to just go for it and take risks. But the risk was very little with Victor''s face and all these carriages.
First, no one would even think someone can steal from a moving carriage.
Second, no one would dare to point their finger at Earl Estate.
Third, the organization would not get involved in this because he was not stealing their storage rings and only those nobles!
As for suspecting these innocent people outside, Ace wasn''t worried about it because they all will only me one person¡ Sky Stealer!
Now the question was how he was going to do it? Well, Ace has created a very good and simple skill for it.
Ace waited for his carriage to get inside and, ''Pick Pocket!''
The 97 soul threads blink for a moment and Ace heard strings of system notification at once and couldn''t help but grin brightly. ''Seed!''
But those soul threads didn''t vanish like they always do and remain.
''Thief''s Charity.''Ace active his newly developed skill thief''s charity.
The soul threads blink again and faded afterward.
Ace closely observed his victims and was astonished because for the first time he saw the thief marks on 8 of his victims'' fingers!
"System, why didn''t you tell me the thief symbol can appear on someone''s body!" Ace asked in bewilderment.
"[System has already exined that a thief symbol will emerge in any ce where host doses honorable thievery of at least low level.]
[These ces also included living beings]"
"T-then I leave those marks on that old man and that clown as well?" Ace asked with a weird expression on his face.
"[Yes]"
"Can it be removed?"
"[Not until the host dies. Even if they cut off those limbs as long as they regrew them, the thief symbol will return.]"
Ace inhales sharply. He does not know the thief symbol works this way!
Chapter 139 - Thievery Outside The Colosseum (2)
Ace marvel at just how astonished this thief symbol was.
He studied the ckbird tattoo that appeared on the ring fingers of those people.
This tattoo was of a bird with its wings wide opened and there were two horns-like cavities on its head. Ace has seen an owl before and this tattoo just looked like it but the difference was its wings were like sharp daggers.
He could only see this much detail since it was almost like a ck stamp.
''Those guys will hate me for this.'' Ace smile wryly and couldn''t help but imagine these people''s reactions when they''ll find this symbol.
Ace quickly shift his focus elsewhere because the thief symbol was just a surprise he didn''t expect to see like this and his actual reason for observing them was to see if his self-created skill thief''s charity work or not.
''Hehe, it worked perfectly, now I don''t have to worry about anything..'' Ace was ted after confirming the skill worked just fine.
"What are you grinning about?" Skyler''s mild voice entered Victor''s ears who was smirking for no reason.
"Oh, I''m just excited about leaving this city for the first time and going to the capital." Victor answer while looking at Skyler, who was wearing magenta color dressed which revealed her mature figure pretty well.
But the white veil on her face was still there, only her beautiful sky-blue eyes were reviled.
Ace knew from Victor''s memories that she always wore this veil for as long as he could remember, and Ace had some idea why.
"We''re not going for side seen. Don''t be naughty or you know me." Skyler warned her younger brother like always.
"Heh, don''t worry. Father has sent me to watch over you two, he won''t be causing trouble." Niko chimed in.
Victor only smile as for Skyler, she nodded silently. She wasn''t close with her elder brother nor was Victor because Niko was always busy with Patrick''s tasks and he spent very little time with his siblings.
After the carriages entered the colosseum, the reaming group of people with beast tickets moved again.
One by one, people keep entering after showing their beast tickets. Half an hour pass until everyone with a beast ticket was inside.
"4,930 spots are filled. That means there is not a single beast ticket missing." Nora announced as she watched a formation te in her hand.
This formation te can detect beast tickets that were engraved with a special rune. As long as someone with a beast ticket passed the gate, the count will show on this white formation te.
It can even detect them in someone''s storage rings. That''s why no one dares to forge false tickets, because fooling the organization was almost night impossible.
Nora and her fellow disciple Jade returned after their task of bringing everyone inside was over.
After those two girls left, the enormous gates of the colosseum were also close and only those people who were here to see their rtives off remained.
Before anyone could leave, a shrill scream resounded in the packed area outside the colosseum.
"W-where is my storage ring!!!" It was a woman''s voice, and it came from a luxurious carriage park on the busy square.
Everyone curiously looked at the carriage and exim because it was the carriage of Viscountess Macey who was here to send off her eldest son!
"MY RING!"
Another scream of a man rang at this moment and the crowd shifted their focus there in bewilderment.
It was another carriage of some Viscount who was here for the same reason as everyone.
"T-this¡ mine is gone as well¡"
Just like this, 97 different voices filled with murderous intent rang in the area one by one.
One thing wasmon in those eximing voices, all of their storage rings were missing!
Every one of these people was of utmost importance and held a prominent position in Zander county. Eight of them were people with a tilted in their names!
That''s why their guards instantly lock down the entire area!
One by one, those victims exited theirvishing carriages with killing intent and dark faces.
"A strange bird tattoo appeared on my ring finger." A baron showed the thief symbol to everyone with a grim face.
"It''s not only you." Viscountess Macey also showed her middle finger to everyone where she wore the storage ring once.
Just like that, six more fellows appeared with that strange bird tattoo. All of them had titled names with 3 viscounts and 5 Barons!
As for everyone else, they didn''t have that tattoo.
The crowd on the other side was closely watching this peculiar scene. It was the first time they see so many people with influential positions in a public ce and all of them got robbed somehow and at the same time in the same way!
"But how is this possible to steal our rings inside carriages and even tattooed this bird on our flesh and we didn''t even notice it. People willugh at us." A viscount spoke in a hushed voice with an ugly face.
However, in this silent andrge crowd of cultivators, his voice sounded clear.
"So how the hell you all can exin this!" A short-tempered baron roared out loud. He was not in the mood to talk politely after being robbed and given this strange tattoo as a gift!
"Did anyone have a storage ring on them?" A clear-headed fellow asked the crowd to confirm his conjecture. He also got robbed but was very calm.
Everyone shook their heads as they began to show their hands to rify any misunderstanding.
"Figures." That man mumbles as he shifted his focus to the mad group of victims who were eyeing him for an exnation.
"It seems only people with storage rings got robbed and the person who did this is a thief called Sky Stealer!" The man helplessly sighed as he told everyone.
"Sir James, how did you know this name, and why are you so confident? Care to exin." Macey asked coldly as her aura skyrocketed.
She, as well as everyone else, was suspecting James now!
Chapter 140 - New Skill: Thief’s Charity
James has a wise and calm personality. That''s why he didn''t panic like others and search for some clues before confirming his guess.
Now he knows everyone was doubting him and if he didn''t give them a proper exnation, they all might torture him.
"Please calm down, everyone. I know this name because I found this fragment Qi stones in my pocket." Jason quickly showed the fragment Qi stone in his hand to everyone.
Since everyone was a cultivator, their eyesight was very good, and they saw on the fragment Qi stone was engrave something in crude small writing.
But everyone can read what was written on it.
It was;
"Thank you for this wealth.. I''ll cherish it well. Sky Stealer."
"Insolent!" A furious roar sounded in the victim''s group.
"How can I believe that''s not your doing to escape this situation?" Macey still didn''t buy it.
"Please check your robes and if I''m not wrong, you might also have the same fragment Qi stones. Just think about it. This thief can leave those tattoos on your skin without even you. knowing slipping these Qi stones would be just a breeze for him." James gravely said, "You can also scan my body this will prof I''m just a victim like you guys."
Everyone quickly searches, just as James indicates.
The crowd on the side was closely observing this as if they were beholding some magic show as well as those guards of the organization because it was all happening outside their gates.
In everyone''s shocking gazes same 96 more fragment Qi stones appeared from other victims with the same phase of words!
"That insolent thief I''ll cut him into millions of pieces!" A viscount crushed the fragment Qi stone into powder as his face was twisted with hatred.
Everyone''s face turns dark as charcoal because this wasn''t just daylight robbery, it was a p to their faces.
Not only did this Sky Stealer rob these nobles, but he even leave ''gifts'' behind.
The crowd that was watching this also exim as some of them couldn''t help but felt a deep respect for this Sky Stealer and somehow this overbearing name sounded more fitting and well deserved!
"Sir James, you are the one with vast knowledge. Please tell us how should we found him?" A Baron respectfully asked.
Now that the misunderstanding was clear, they all can see this lesser noble was wittier than anyone of them. That''s why they all hopefully looked at him.
''Two-faced scums.'' James scoffed inside.
"I also don''t know, but he''s not in this crowd." James respectfully said and didn''t show disdain on his face.
"Why did you think like this?" other women in the victims'' group asked, with a pale face.
Everyone''s eyes narrowed while the crowd listened with great interest.
James takes a deep breath as he said, "Just by this thief skill, one can see he isn''t normal and he is greatly skilled in deception. He might already leave long ago and we only noticed it now after all our prime focus was on the colosseum before. If not for Viscountess here, we might still didn''t notice it."
The atmosphere turns grim hearing James''s words because they all can understand James''s words were very much on the point.
"Didn''t this mean we lose our storage rings and wealth inside!" Someone spokes as if he would cry at any moment.
Everyone''s faces were ashen, and the crowd has a sigh of relief because if these guys didn''t find anyone to me, they might kill everyone here in the name of justice.
Now, however, they all seen just how capable this thief was and he would not stay here to get captured. He even leaves his name so they all know who did the deed and do not me anyone.
''What a strange fellow, leaving his name clearing means he didn''t want these innocent people to drag in.'' James guess but didn''t point it out. He was a peace lover and didn''t like bloodshed.
As for his storage ring, he didn''t care about it since he can get a new one and he didn''t store all his wealth like some people in this group of victims in one ce.
''I like to meet this Sky Stealer fellow. Since you put some effort into stopping the bloodshed, let me help you.'' James thought without any resentment.
But there was still little grievance in his heart. After all, there were ten thousand low Qi stones in his storage ring and that ring alone was worth 100,000 low qi stones.
"How about this? We should scan each and everyone here and let them go. We don''t want the organization to interfere, right?" James suggested.
"Yes, we can''t causemotion outside the gates of colosseum like this. Everyone with Qi Foundation Building cultivation; check these people one by one and let them go. If you find anyone suspicious, bring them here." Macey order and everyone sprang into action.
---
Inside the colosseum, no one has any idea about the tremendousmotion caused by a thief.
''I wonder if they found my message easily.'' Ace thought as he disembarks the carriage.
This thief''s charity was the skill he created on the structure of pick-pocket. Meaning it was a reverse pick-pocket of a sort.
It takes him some time, but he manages to pull this off. He specifically created this skill to leave his name behind.
Because people always name him with strange titles and he didn''t like any of them, especially thest one.
Furthermore, he can also give others the actual target of their anger and he can be famous with it as well.
It''s just that he can only send small objects with this skill like qi stones at this moment. But it was enough for him.
As for why he chose fragments Qi stones for the substitute of paper, it''s all because he just felt great about it!
This name also matched the gesture and Ace like the sound of it. That''s why he called it Thief''s Charity!
However, Ace does not know just how much famous he''ll be because of this new method of his in the future, and also got caught because of it!
Chapter 141 - A Coward
Ace with Zander family''s members and guards were standing in the very front of the sizeable crowd of 4900+ passengers in the colosseum extensive area where the auction was held yesterday.
In the middle range of the crowd, there was standing a young man with average looks and a short built. He wore a simple royal blue. robe. This youngster was Jason in his new disguise!
"Do you sense him?" Jason transmitted grimly. His mood was sullen to the extreme.
"Sigh¡ No, I seem he didn''te in the end."The old voice sighed helplessly.
"That bastard manage to open my storage ring and I nearly got caught because of the bacsh!" Jason was extremely resentful and enraged at this moment. "You still think he is a normal person? I think he has someone like you guiding him as well." .
"There is a very high possibility, even I can''t remove a Qi mark without regaining myplete strength. But there is also a possibility that he had some kind of ancient treasure on him. I know at least two that were lost in my Era."The old voice was filled with uncertainty.
"Nevertheless, we should stay away from that boy until you reached Qi River Core Realm. So, what if he has the map? No one can decipher it but me!
"We''ll get it back. Just think of it as you give it to someone for safekeeping. It is also a good thing your superiors also got suspicious and now the map is gone, you don''t have to be on edge all the time.
"It is easier to get it back from that brat rather than your organization!" The old voice sounded.
Jason takes a deep breath. "You have a point. My cultivation is progressing quickly with senior''s cultivation technique, and it won''t be long before I''ll get that map back and pay that bastard for this strange tattoo!"
Jason hatefully looked at his left hand that he covered with a glove. He was naturally talking about Ace''s thief symbol!
After Jason leave that ce, he found his peculiar bird mark on his ring finger. He was bewildered and try to remove it.
But he soon found out it was impossible!
Jason instantly connected it with that hateful ''friend'' of his and decided to just peel off the skin with that mark.
He peels off the skin with the bird mark. As for the pain, it was nothing for him after what he''s been through.
However, to Jason and that old voice astonishment; after the new skin growth that bird mark came back!
Jason didn''t ept this and peel his skin again, but the same result happened! He nearly went berserk.
If not for the old voice ensuring him it was not harmful and there was no Qi or Soul fluctuation on it, Jason was going to cut off his finger in his frenzy.
Because if Jason cut off his finger, he didn''t have any means to regrow it, and that organization would consider him a cripple and kill him for losing a single finger.
But even that old voice can''t exin the reason for this bird mark and in the end, guess it was some kind of secret technique as to what it was for. He didn''t know the answer.
That''s why it gravely warned Jason to stay away from that boy for the time being and inside, it was happy that they didn''t encounter that boy for real again.
Even if he found Ace in his sizeable crowd, he was not nning on telling Jason from the start because he was afraid for his safety!
At this moment, Aden enter the stage and the crowd fell into silence.
"My dearest apologies for not being there to wee you." Aden sighed regretfully as if he was sorry.
"But worry not, I''ll be going personally to the Royal Capital with all of you. Since I have some business there as well." Aden announced this startling news with a gentle smile.
Everyone exims hearing his unexpected news and Ace narrowed his eyes.
''Hehe, he''s afraid.'' Ace sense Aden''s fear instantly from his soul fluctuations. ''It seems my n worked!''
On the side of the stage stand Earl Patrick himself and after hearing Aden''s announcement, he scoffed disdainfully, "Coward."
Earl Patrick knew very well why this guy was going to the capital so suddenly because he was escaping!
After Earl Patrick told very thing as Victor describe to Aden and show him those two storage rings, Aden didn''t dare to ept after seeing what was inside!
Aden denied with a smiling ashen face as beads of sweat were shining on his forehead. The poor guy was scared silly after seeing the content of those rings!
Aden was a very cautious person, and that''s why he thought; he has offended someone powerful who wasn''t even afraid of his position as a beast-master. And after hearing the threat, he deemed that youth wasing for him.
He has a terrible feeling about Ace from the very start but he still ends up shooting the arrow and now the other person knows just who pulled the string and wasn''t even afraid of telling him!
That''s why Aden abruptly went to the kingdom''s level branch of Beast Calling Organization and seek help from his brother, who was also a vice beast-master of that branch!
The difference between a county''s, and capital level branch was like day and night. Even if someone was not afraid of low-level members like him, but a capital-level branch is a whole other case.
Beast Tamer was easy to nurture. That''s why the organization didn''t care about the likes of Aden very much if they can get enoughpensation. Even that is the case if the other party had an influential position in an empire!
Aden can offend anyone as long as they were in the scope of middlends and by the behavior of that brat, he was not from here.
At least that is what he concluded after seeing the 100 high-level Qi stones in those storage rings!
Aden can''t find information about them here and the high-level Qi stones were not thismon even in the number one capital ofnds of kingdoms!
That''s why he didn''t show up outside and stayed inside the protection of this branch''s formation!
Chapter 142 - Thievery & Flight
After his abrupt announcement, Adenmand gently, "Now people with the Golden Beast Tickets please follow me, as for the other please wait before the fastest category beasts take flight."
Everyone does as Aden said and hundred people came forward and followed Aden.
Fifty of them were from the Zander family. The Zander''s siblings and 47 protectors with the minimum cultivation of peak Qi gates realm and the highest one was high stage qi foundation realm!
Even poor Toby didn''t get a seat, but these guards did and this made him very aggrieved. But what can he do? It was the decision of his grandfather and big uncle. Even his father was helpless to do anything.
As for the other fifty, they all were from titled families.
Jason in the crowd of faster category narrowed his eyes. ''How did they get golden tickets from that cheat?'' But no matter how much he thinks of it he didn''t understand. .
If Ace was here, he might''ve guessed something, but he isn''t and that made this thing fishier.
''My tickets were also stolen by him.'' Jason''s expression turn violent as he observed these seat distribution closely.
Earl Patrick came in front of his children and gravely said, "Come back alive and you protect your younger sister and brother."
Ace rolled his eyes, ''If you loved them so much you can just not send them, what a hypocrite.''
"Yes Father, we won''t disappoint you." The three of them solemnly said in unison.
After the brief encounter with the Earl, everyone moves towards their rides.
Ace finally saw the beast he was riding.
It was a 30 feetrge hawk. Its blue feathers were exquisite and its body was silver-white. It was coldly looking at everyone with its beastly yet intelligent silver eyes.
''Thunderstorm Hawk, that can fly for a month without even stopping and its speed is like an arrow. I wonder if we fall from it.'' Ace instantly recognized this species.
"This is a Thunderstorm Haw, a high stage qi foundation realm demonic beast. I''ll be controlling this beast." Aden dered with deep pride in his voice.
"Now, ten among you hundred, please move forward and sit on the rune marking on its back. And please try not to pluck his feathers." Aden chuckles as he joked.
Now the question was, who will ride with Aden? He was the most powerful here and it will be a safe journey with him.
It was another matter that the strongest man was a coward, though.
Everyone looked at Zinder''s family group with envy. They all knew what was going to happen.
"Let''s go." Niko chuckles coldly at this moment as hemands his siblings and the seven strongest guards to embark on the beast.
''There are some advantages of having a prominent position after all.'' Ace thought with ecstasy and do as Niko stated.
Ace jump on the hawk''s wide back and was astonished when he saw ten runes engraving there. ''What are these runes'' symbols for? And they had carved them into a living being''s body.'' He couldn''t stop his curiosity.
"Heh, curious?" Aden''s gentle voice sounded at this moment when Victor was observing those runes. "These are anti-air runes. They can stop strong winds from blowing you and you won''t feel any air pressure because of them. Only our organization can carve those runes."
Aden exins with obvious pride in his voice, without caring if someone was listening to him or not.
''Anti-air rune, huh.'' Ace''s eyes shimmered with a peculiar light as he thought of something.
"You''ll sit with me." Skyler''s sweet voice rang at this moment.
Victor falter slightly and nodded his head with a smile.
Both brother and sister sit on two runes at the very end.
"Why are you sitting in the end?" Niko wasn''t satisfied with this sitting arrangement.
"I''m a girl and I don''t want anyone to gawk at my back, so I''ll sit at the very back. Besides, Victor is here to apany me." Skyler mildly justified.
Niko didn''t have words to retort because Skyler had a point and gave up. "You two, make sure they won''t feel ufortable."
He gave themand to two of his men and sit at the very front since he can''t bear to sit behind someone. Especially if they were mere guards.
''This ce is veryfortable.'' Ace couldn''t help but think like this after he sits on the fluffy warm back of the Thunderstorm Hawk.
After making himselffortable, Ace''s focus finally turned to the notification panel, which was packed with 97 new notifications.
"System, can you make a short report for me? I''ll see each one of them separately when I had time," Ace asked. He was in a hurry to find out his big haul of TP.
====
"[Sessful Pick Pocket Count: 97]"
[Low-Level Thieveries: 8]
[Minor-Level Thieveries: 89]
[Total Reward: 12,000TP]
---
[Thief Point(s): 12,330]
---
[Low-Level Thievery: 13]
=======
''So little.'' Ace frowned because of the low-level thievery count. He thought it would be easy to increase his Thievery Count now since he was stealing from many people at once.
Now Ace realized he was wrong because there were ''poor'' people mixed in this lot.
''No problem, I still have more targets to steal from.'' Ace quickly shifted his attention to those remaining 103 targets!
Almost every one of these reaming targets was in the fastest category group.
''5 of them are on Thunderstorm Hawk, so they can wait for now. The reaming 98, however.'' Ace quickly spotted the other people who were not on the same demonic beast as his.
One was non-other than Earl Patrick, who was standing expressionlessly on the side and 17 others were from the Beast Calling Organization, Nora and Jade included.
Speaking of which, Aden wasn''t taking his two ''cherished'' disciples with him and leaving them to look after things until he returned.
As for the other 80 targets, all of them were youngsters of noble families or their protectors, except one particr person, who was standing in the sizeable crowd that was waiting for their turn.
''Oh, there he is.''
An evil grin appeared on Ace''s face when he felt a familiar soul signature. It was none other than Jason''s!
Ace instantly asked a precise question from the system after finding Jason''s new cover, "System, can a person have a second thief symbol?"
"[Not until the host does a higher-level thievery than the previous one on the same person.]"
Ace couldn''t help but feel somewhat disappointed. He simply wanted to annoy that guy to death!
As for sympathy, Ace has none for Jason since he was an assassin.
Just like before, Ace created 98 soul threads and direct them into their position, and waits for the Thunderstorm Hawk to take flight.
"Now that everyone is ready, off we go," Aden announced as he conjures a formation te from his storage ring and pours Qi into it.
Thereafter, the runes shimmer with white light, and that light epassed everyone''s body.
Ace closely studied the light barrier with his runic eye''s technique and was astonished because of the appearance of the same anti-air runes on this light barrier. It was just that they were very little.
After the barrier was set Aden closed his eyes as he used his beast tamer technique.
The Thunderstorm Hawk let loose a resounding cry as it flips its gorgeous, majestic blue wings and takes flight.
Ace quickly stops observing the light barrier and used the pick-pocket instantly and the next moment thief''s charity, in session.
As for the written Qi stones, Ace has prepared 500 of them so he wasn''t out of supply yet.
The very next moment, the Thunderstorm Hawk speed sour as it became smaller and smaller for everyone to see and finally be a dote.
Ace was stunned seeing the speed of this demonic beast for a moment, but he focused soon turn to his surroundings.
Ace saw therge city bing smaller by every second as the hawk was flying higher. He saw the vast golden sky and couldn''t help but think with envy, ''Flying freely in this vast sky must be amazing.''
Nothing else was on his mind. A few years ago, he never even imagines that he would one day fly in the skies on a deadly beast.
This feeling of being free that he got from the sky was unique.
---
While Ace was enjoying his first flight,
On the ground.
At this moment, inside Beast Calling Colosseum, it was deadly silent because just a moment ago Earl Patrick nearly killed some poor guy from the organization who was standing beside him.
Everyone heard his shrill scream clearly before he attacked the poor guy.
It was; "M-MY STORAGE RING!??!"
Earl Patrick only let that guy go after ripping his clothes and made sure he didn''t have his storage ring.
Now Patrick was looking at others with naked killing intent.
Everyone closer to him put an enormous distance and this peculiar scene bewitched the crowd.
Everyone has one thought at this moment, ''Is Earl Patrick was sadistic?!''
Chapter 143 - The Journey
Patrick didn''t care about those strange gazes at him and roared in anger, "Where is my storage ring? Who stole it?! Come out and I''ll give you a painless death!"
No one speak since they didn''t even know just when his storage ring got stolen.
Abruptly, Nora''s cry of rm echoed at this moment, "My ring is gone!!"
"What, where is my storage ring?!!" Jade join the fray after her fellow disciple.
Just like that, 94 more victims emerge and all of them were the fastest category passengers and some organization higher-ups.
If Jason didn''t want to draw much attention to himself at this moment, he was the only one left who didn''t speak!
''That son of a bitch!''Jason was on the verge of insanity because he knew just who had his kind of fetish and ability to steal storage rings.
"Didn''t you say you didn''t find him?!!!"Jason angrily exploded in his mind, since no one was here to vent his anger. He finds someone on his own.
"I-it must be a mistake¡I scan the crowd and everyone outside.. He wasn''t here!" The old voice was also sounded frustrated.
"But he was here, and he stole my storage ring again!" Jason said in resentment.
"There must be some kind of mistake. It ought to be someone else. Yes, it has to!" The old voice soothed Jason or itself.
At this moment, Nora''s angry voice echoed again, "T-this ugly bird mark. Who dares to do this? Come out! You rascal!"
"Yii, sister look this ugly bird mark is on my finger as well." Jade yelped in rm and anger as well.
Earl Patrick was bbergasted seeing this and couldn''t help but look at his finger. Because of anger and shock, he didn''t notice it at first, but now he also saw that bird mark on his ring finger.
"Insolent rat,e out!" Patrick roar again.
"Now how did you exin this?!" Jason coldly question as his face was twitching uncontrobly.
"That thieving brat!" The old voice was as if it would cry any moment.
"It was a thief called Sky Stealer!" A youngster spoke loudly with rage. He was also a victim.
Everyone looked at him dumbfoundedly.
The youngster quickly shows a fragment-Qi stone and said, "I found it in my pocket and this name was written on it!"
Those victims included Jason and Patrick, probed their pockets and, just like that youngster, they found a Qi stone with the same phase and name!
Patrick can''t take this anymore and vomit blood, in anger. This disgrace was too much for him.
Jason also felt a metallic taste in his mouth but swallowed back whatever was approaching. ''I''m going to torture this arrogant bastard.''
"Boy, that brat has an earth-shattering secret on him. You have to be strong so you could capture him, and then everything he owes will be yours to take.
"Don''t forget, we can still track him by the map. As for the disappearance of Baleful Qi, we''ll find out how he did after capturing him." The old grim voice buzz in Jason''s mind but there was a hind of greed in it, that Jason didn''t notice in his ferocity.
"You''re right. One day I''ll get back everything that belongs to me." Jason calm his nerves and a new resolve shone in his eyes.
Before things got out of hand, nk Hound appeared in his ck cloak and control the situation.
However, Earl Patrick didn''t budge from the colosseum. He was hell-bent on finding that insolent thief named Sky Stealer and his storage ring.
ck Hound had no choice but to start a search of everyone since the people of the organization also got robbed.
After the tidiest search, no clue on the thief was found and people who got robbedplexion were ashen and filled with hatred.
ck Hound was also very frustrated because everything happened in the colosseum and if the news got out, their reputation will go down the drain and they all will receive punishment from the organization.
Soon, another shocking news reached everyone''s ears. It was about the thievery outside and the thief was also the same.
This makes things even moreplicated and the name Sky Stealer bes quite appalling.
ck Hound decided to report this freakish thief to the higher-ups of the organization while gritting his teeth. Even if he got punished, this was not something he could hide now, and it was far better if they found out from him rather than someone else.
As for Aden, he would be punished since he left his post without any prior notice. It doesn''t matter if he had a brother or father in a capital''s level branch.
The victims had no one to getpensation from and they could only shut their mouths and hate that thief to the bones, nothing else.
After this drama of Sky Stealer, the journey for the fastest category was canceled for a day since those nobles needed money to stay in the capital. They can''t just go empty-handed and then stay on the streets like beggars, right?
When the victims outside find out about the victims inside, they all were dumbfounded and swore to find that thief no matter what. Of course, Patrick was in charge of this search.
However, this search didn''tst lost when a piece of shocking news reached Patrick and everyone else in the city.
This news was so unbelievable that no one dares to believe it and it was also rted to the notorious thief in Zander''s county, Sky Stealer¡
---
In the vast golden sky,
A majestic demonic beast was flying high about like a gale of silver-blue wind. It was none other than Thunderstorm Hawk that takes flight before all themotion.
It has been a week since the journey to the capital begins and the Thunderstorm Hawk didn''t rest for a moment. It can fly for an entire month like this and that''s why it was the beast in the fastest category.
Only five more days remain before it would reach the Regal Capital''s beast calling colosseum.
Aden and the others on the beasts were silent all this time and everyone focus on their cultivation.
However, if Aden knew what had transpired in Zander City just after a few minutes he left and the shocking news that shake the city to the core, he wouldn''t so rxed and wish if he could''ve just stayed in the city.
Ace was also sittingfortably in thest rune. He truly enjoyed the feeling of flying in the sky.
But he got bored after a few hours and, like everyone else, did his own thing.
First, he checked the result of his hardbor.
====
[Sessful Pick Pocket Count: 98]
[Low-Level Thieveries: 12]
[Minor-Level Thieveries: 86]
[Total Rewards: 14,200TP]
---
[Thief Point(s): 26,530]
---
[Low-Level Thievery: 25]
=======
This new thievery haul was very much to his liking and made him closer to reaching his goal.
After that, Ace''s prime focus was the Runic Soul Maniption Technique, first level. He was learning it for some time now was very close to forming needle-like threads with the light soul Qi.
Ace has to acknowledge that from the moment he started to learn this technique, his control over soul Qi and even martial Qi be very precise.
One can see this by his soul threads, before he could only conjure fifteen after forming orange soul core and he thought it was his limit. But he soon finds out this was not the case at all after he began learning this soul-controlling technique.
Just because of this control technique, he manages to create Thief''s Charity as well or he still won''t be able to create this kind of skill. This skill might look simple, but it was not the case in the least bit.
Only someone like Ace could do this and he just didn''t know this astonishing truth about himself¡
Whenever Ace get the time, he would practice this technique, as for anyone here finding out about his soul Qi. No one can it was that simple.
Although Aden was an empty river cultivator, he can''t detect Ace''s soul Qi until he reached the River Depth stage and focused solely on Ace''s.
That''s why Ace was practicing with no worry.
Three more days pass in the blink of an eye.
Ace''s eyes were closed as five white transparent threads were dancing on his left hand''s fingers. They were quite thin and still thinning until all of them were as thin as a needle
Ace open his eyes, there was visible excitement in them, ''I finally reached the first level of Runic Soul Maniption Technique!'' He thought with ecstasy.
He was in a high spirit since he can now finally study the encyclopedias, which he wanted to glimpse into for a very long time. Because without mastering the first part, he can''t assess to second part''s information,
''I''m close to the capital now so I can open the third part after reaching it. First, I have to find a way tond this hawk.'' Ace mused.
From the start, he wasn''t nning on going to the capital''s beast calling branch because he knew these organizations had a way tomunicate in long-distance just by their ability to founding information about him and Jason so quickly.
After what he did, it was most likely that a force was waiting for him there!
Chapter 144 - Abrupt Turn Of Events
Ace was now mulling over how he should make the Thunderstorm Hawknd on the group safely because if something goes wrong from this altitude, he would be meat mush and feast for wild beasts.
''I definitely can''t use soul attack since it will die at the very moment.'' Ace thought gravely.
This Thunderstorm Hawk speed was no doubt equal to his own, but it was only famous for its agility, not its fighting abilities, and its soul was even more fragile than its body.
That''s why Ace has to think of a way to perfectlynd this Hawk without killing it and the only way that came to his mind was to take Aden hostage just what he did with Jason.
Aden didn''t have Jason skills nor his reflexes, he was amodated to an easy lifestyle for too long and that''s what makes him a much easy target to control than an assassin like Jason.
As for others on the Hawk, he can easily kill them with soul-piercing bullets if another tries to y a hero.
The only person who he was uncertain about was none other than the beauty beside him Skyler. But if he ys his cards perfectly, he can easily manipte Skyler as well..
Now the question was how and when he would do it?
Whatever he does, he had to do it in two days before reaching the Regal Capital!
Ace was still frowning over his next n when, abruptly, the Thunderstorm Hawk speed decreed drastically!
Everyone was startled and Aden''s face became ashen as he senses something and Ace faltered. However, one person was very calm at this moment and that was Skyler!
Ace''s eyes contracted instantly as he felt somethingpletely out of expectation with his soul sense, ''Why is my luck always go down to drain whenever things were going ording to my n!''
He didn''t know whether tough or cry at this moment, but he didn''t panic and remained calm and waited to see these unexpected guests.
The very next moment thereafter, a dominant voice of a man resounded, "Beast Tamer,nd this Thunderstorm Hawk this instant Imand you, as the Beast Master of Moonless Kingdom''s capital''s branch of Beast Calling Organization!"
Just as the voice disappeared, a 25-meterrge Condor came into everyone''s view. It waspletely pitch ck with crimson beastly eyes and a crimson 3-feet horn on its head.
"Crimson Horn Condor!" Aden cried in rm and the Thunderstorm Hawk''s silver eyes were filled with terror as it looked at that ghastly condor.
"Yes, we''ll do." Aden snapped out of his shock and quicklyply with the other party''s order without even asking any question.
Ace narrowed his eyes because this Crimson Horn Condor was at the peak of the Qi foundation building realm and the Beast Master who controlled it was also a River Depth realm expert.
But the real problem was the silhouette beside that Beast Master because Ace could feel it was a Soul Cultivator!
As for the name; the Moonless Kingdom. It was far too well known for him to not know.
It was the second-ranked kingdom in the Kingdom Ranking Chart of middlends!
As the name implies, the Kingdom Ranking Chart record, the Kingdom''s ranks from 1st to 100th, and the Regal Kingdom was at the 94th position!
One could only imagine the gap between these two Kingdoms beast calling branches. That''s why Aden didn''t dare to ask anything and just after hearing the name, hended the Thunderstorm Hawk.
Ace didn''t falter and remainedposed as he observe closely before springing into any action. He could feel those two new arrivals were not here for him, or they might''ve tried capturing him in the air where he didn''t have anywhere to run.
He couldn''t help but look at Skyler and was astonished by seeing her calm self, ''What is she up to?'' He thought.
After both aerial demonic beastsnded on the ground, everyone disembarks their rides.
Niko''s face was stiff as well as his guards.
As for Aden, he put his best fawning smile as he said, "Sir, you honor me with your presence, I''m Beast Master of Zander county''s branch, I wonder what business do you have with me, I''ll do my best to help you."
In response to Aden''s heartwarming greeting, that middle-aged man didn''t even blink andpletely ignore Aden.
This middle-aged man was 6 feet tall with a bulky built, his face was average with a long ck beard as he wore a stiff face.
He was in beast calling uniform same as Aden but there were three silver stars on his cor, which means a Beast Master of a 1st Grade Kingdom!
Aden had only a single star silver star, which means he was from a third-grade kingdom branch.
At this moment, a slender figurended on the ground gracefully.
It was ady, that looked in her early twenties. She has a round pale face with extraordinary features. She wore a gray dress which shows her snake-like waist and two big twin peaks.
However, on her dress, there were two ming ruins engraved with golden threads on her right breast.
"Estimate Rune Crafter, did you find whom you were looking for?" The Beast Master stiffly asked the figure that has justnded on the ground. But there was a hint of respect in his voice.
Everyone exims hearing Rune Crafter!
Ace was also somewhat stunned as he studied thedy. His attention directly goes to her big chest¡ ahem on those two ming runes!
''She a 2nd Rank Mortal Rune Crafter of Pill me Organization!'' He promptly assumed her background, seeing those two runes.
These ming runes represent the rune crafter''s ranks from 1 to 9 and only one organization had the right to use this symbol, Pill me Organization!
Ace has long felt the presence of a soul river cultivator, but he never expected to meet a rune crafter of the wealthiest organization below royalnds!
He was no longer ignorant and knew just how much rare rune crafters truly were, and how they were treated. And she was looking for something.
"Yes, I indeed found her." The Rune Crafter mildly spoke as a beautiful smile bloomed on her face when she looked at Skyler!
"Did my mother send your esteemed self?" Skyler spoke at this moment as if she was expected this.
Everyone was bbergasted hearing her words, even Ace.
"Yes, she can''t wait to see you and my name is Olivia Jake. I''m a very good friend of your mother, you can call me Aunt Olivia." Olivia introduces herself to Skyler with a faint smile.
"What is going on here and our mother is dead!" Niko finally snap out of his bewilderment as he spoke with a hint of fury in his voice.
"Hehe, you must be Niko, the first child of that rogue!" Olivia coldly chucked as she released a little of soul river cultivation aura.
Niko and everyone''s face paled as they all felt their soul shake. She didn''t even spare Aden who was only watching with great intrigue.
Only Skyler and Victor remain unaffected.
"Aunt Olivia, please don''t hurt him. He is, after all, my half-brother," Skyler said passively.
"Hehe, find. Boy, you should thank your sister." Olivia darkly giggles as she stops releasing the soul aura.
''Her mother must''ve held quite an influential position or this overbearing witch won''t listen to Skyler so quickly.'' Ace instantly saw through Olivia''s act of pleasing Skyler.
Niko''s face was pale and twisted with fury as he looked at Olivia and Skyler.
"So, you were nning something, but even father didn''t think you were in contact with that backstabbing bitch!" Niko hatefully looked at Skyler as he barked.
Skyler''s eyes turn sharp, "If you disrespect my mother again, I''ll forget you''re my half-brother!" She threatened, and finally removed that veil from her face.
In everyone''s eyes, a fairy-like face appeared.
A gorgeous oval face and a pair of exuberant sky-blue eyes. Her skin was as pristine white as jade. Skyler hadpletely transformed into a seductive beauty who appeared to be in herte teens.
Everyone takes a second nce at Skyler''s face again except Ace, who was nonchnt. Skyler was like a fairy, but she was still a level or two belowpared to his sealed wife.
But Skyler''s transformation wasn''t over after the veil was removed from her face, her aura sore!
Before she didn''t have any trace of Qi on her, however now she instantly released the pressure of peak stage foundation building realm cultivator and it was not the aura of martial Qi, it was the Soul Qi!
Ace and Olivia were the only ones who weren''t surprised by this sudden transformation.
Ace has long sensed soul cultivator aura on Skyler in the auction and that''s why he was slightly wary of her from the start. That veil was a treasure that concealed her soul aura, but not from a Heavenly Soul Cultivator like him.
As for Olivia, she knew because Skyler''s mother sent her to fetch Skyler for this very reason!
Chapter 145 - Who Are YOU?
Niko felt his soul shake after Skyler released her soul aura on him and vomit a puddle of blood.
His face was ghastly pale as he smiled bitterly, "So, that was indeed the case, huh. That woman might''vee back in secret to see you and you removed that veil in front of her, didn''t you?" He weakly asked.
"Yes, she came back to see her children, and I removed my veil that father put on me so no can find out by my talent in the soul." Skyler impassively said.
"Hehe, let me guess; then she taught you that soul cultivation technique which you are currently practicing and promise you she''ll take you away once you¡"
Before Niko could say another word, his eyes rolled upward, and he loses consciousness.
"Don''t worry, I only knocked him out, he''s spouting too much nonsense." Olivia twiddle with her long hair as she nonchntly said.
Skyler didn''t speak and deeply looked at unconscious Niko on the ground..
"Let''s go, we have a long journey ahead of us." Olivia impatiently speaks.
"Yes." Skyler nodded, "Let''s go, Victor, we''re going to see our mother, she''ll tell you everything herself because she''s still alive!" She looked at her real blood brother and when she did, a look of bewilderment shed past her face.
Because Victor was too calm and didn''t even show a hint of emotion on his face as if he wasn''t shocked at all hearing about this news.
Ace impassively looked at everyone and then Skyler''s fairy-like face and sighed deeply as he said, "Don''t you find it strange when she came to meet you she didn''t visit me if she was there for just her children?"
Skyler narrowed her eyes because Victor is acting strange. No! extremely strange!
"What kind of question is this little Victor don''t doubt your mother intentions? She was in a hurry so she could only see your sister that time and trust me, she was very regretful about it." Olivia tries to justify on behalf of her friend with a pained expression.
''Her acting is top-notch.'' Ace sneer in his heart but he didn''t want to get involved with these two-face people too much. He just wanted to warn Skyler, since she cares about her siblings.
Even an idiot would see Niko know something that Olivia or her friend didn''t want Skyler to know and that''s why she knock him cold and instantly demand to leave.
The moment she came here, she never even looked at Victor. which means she was only here for Skyler and this also shows that the mother of Skyler didn''t care about her other child with no soul talent whatsoever.
Ace didn''t know why that woman wanted Skyler now, but something was not right and Skyler just didn''t want to see it.
Maybe Patrick also has his selfish reason for hiding Skyler''s talent in soul and now sending her into this deadly battle or for other reason to the capital, Ace didn''t know and didn''t want to know either.
"Who are you?!" Skyler''s eyes were icy as she looked at Victor''s calm stature. She knew her brother too well and he would never question her.
Especially when it came to their mother. He always wanted to meet her, and she once promised him she would take him to her one day. But now he was questioning her in such a manner, how could she not notice it?
Everyone was surprised by this sudden development, even Olivia.
"Hehe, just a passer-by." Victor chortled at this moment as he swept his hand past his face and Javier appeared in his arrogant smile!
Everyone was bbergasted by this, and Aden''s face was as if his soul had fled his body
"I-its you!" Aden screams in horror. How could he forget the reason for his fleeing the city? It was exactly because of this young man!
Skyler also remembered this guy clearly. She would never forget that feeling and humiliation he bought upon Victor.
"Where is Victor!!? What did you do to him." Skyler quickly snap out of her dazzle as killing intent reced the surprise in her eyes.
Olivia also recover from her shock as she said grimly, "Who are you?" She could tell this guy''s cultivation was only at the third gate, however, his arrogant yet calm smile didn''t match his meager strength.
"Don''t engage with him, his cultivation is not what we''re seeing." The Beast Master spoke grimly at this moment, who was silent from the start.
"We don''t want any trouble. Just tell the girl what you did with the boy and we''ll be on our way." He spoke without any arrogance or respect.
"Finally, a fellow with some brain." Javier chuckled coldly as he deeply looked at the Beast Master. This guy was very sharp despite his looks.
"Victor is fine. I just borrowed his face for one day. Your father should already find him this time around." Javier shifted his attention to Skyler, who was in no mood to talk and ready to pounce on him like a lioness if he speaks any more nonsense.
"How can I believe you?" Skyler still didn''t back down.
"Hehe, that''s the thing, you see¡" Javier mysteriously smile and said, "You can''t! But what can you do?"
"Skyler, don''t attack him!" Olivia wasn''t a fool, and she knew this guy was difficult to deal with and Skyler was standing just two feet away from him.
However, Skyler didn''t heed Olivia''s grave warning and use a soul attack.
"Until we meet again." Javier mysteriously smiled as he be an afterimage before vanishingpletely!
Skyler was stunned seeing this scoundrel elude her soul attack like it was nothing and Olivia''s eyes contracted as well as the Beast Master''s.
They all know the terror of soul attacks and that guy not only evade it he was now gone!
Olivia also didn''t find any soul waves, nor did the Beast Tamer find any qi waves.
Both of them didn''t have either soul sense or martial sense. Even if they want to, they can''t see through Ace''s breathless stealth or they can match his lightning steps.
But the skill Ace used to evade Skyler''s soul attack was camouge steps, which he was very close to achieving low-level mastery in it.
After he sessfully evaded the attack, he simply uses his stealth technique and escapes with lightning steps.
As for killing Skyler, he didn''t want a blood feud with some powerful soul cultivator who can send someone like Olivia from the pill me organization here.
And he didn''t haveplete confidence to kill everyone here, especially when Soul River and Qi River Depth cultivators were present.
So escaping was the only option. He just acts very mysteriously to make everyone dreadful after changing his face.
He knew the moment he turns into Javier, his cultivation would go down, but it gives him the perfect chance to sow fear in everyone''s heart and manage to escape without a hitch after showing off his abilities a little.
Skyler was just a puppet who was acting ording to his will in all this, and he knew Victor was the thing that can make her attack him.
No one dare to think of chasing him after, seeing him evading a soul attack like it was nothing and he even managed to reap a bountiful harvest of TP.
Or he could''ve just escaped from the start. No one here can stop him if he does, but all this act he did was for TP!
He would never let this chance to make a huge amount of TP get by, especially if there was a rune crafter of Pill me Organization present in front of him. He knew how rich these people were by Vance''s example.
No one notice him, not even Olivia, since her cultivation was equal to his soul cultivation, and she was in the state of shock as everyone else.
As for what Ace said about Victor being alive, he was telling the truth!
In the end, Ace didn''t bring himself to kill that boy because he wasn''t a scum like Javier and more importantly, he wasn''t a killer!
He spared him just thinking that if he started killing people for his interest, there will be no difference between him and these people who he loath.
Although he will steal from anyone and everyone for his interest and benefits, talking about a life without a good reason, just didn''t fit with his nature.
Especially when the person was Victor, who just wanted to protect his sister and prove himself to his father.
That''s also why Ace warn Skyler and then did what he had to steal those storage rings.
As for whether she caught his message, it wasn''t his concern anymore since he had other important things to do.
Ace thought this would be hisst encounter with Skyler and Olivia, but he was wrong about that. He will meet them in near future and under different circumstances!
Chapter 146 - The Hidden Selection
After Ace vanished like a ghost, and only dumbfounded witnesses remain.
The bulky beast master''s name was David, and he was the first to regain hisposure. and said with a grim face, "He''s gone."
"Hmph! Just a nobody with some rat-like skills." Olivia also regain her previous arrogance, but there was a hint of fear in her eyes.
She was truly shocked to see this kind of concealment and disguise skills. Only one organization had these kinds of techniques and skills. Just thinking about them gave her the chills.
"Let''s go," Olivia said to Skyler. She still had some doubts about that guy''s identity and didn''t want to stay to find out..
"No, I want to go back and see if he was telling the truth about Victor. If he''s dead, I want to see his corpse and if he''s alive, I''ll bring him with me." Skyler shook her head while resolve shone on her fairy-like face.
"Fine, it will only take two days to reach that ce." David coolly agreed with her.
"Sigh¡ you''re just like your mother, stubborn. Fine, let''s go. I also wanted to see that scoundrel brother-inw of mine for some time." Oliva said in a resigned manner.
"Let''s take him back as well," Skyler said as she looked at unconscious Niko. She was still kindhearted.
David merely nodded, and Olivia frowned but didn''t retort.
"M-m¡ my storage ring is missing!"
Aden''s shrill cry rang at this moment and took everyone by surprise!
"Who cares about your r¡" Olivia going to scoff when her eyes felt on her slim ring finger and her eyes were open wide as if they would pop out of their eye sockets at any moment!
"It was that hateful scoundrel!" Olivia''s shrill scream rang as only one person came to her mind; who just run away.
"That bastard! How did he do it!?" David eximed in shock and fury while looking at the dark bird mark on his ring finger.
Skyler also saw her storage ring go missing as her eyes went wide in bewilderment, ''Just who in the world was he!?'' Her beautiful eyes wander in the direction where Ace has vanished.
---
Ace was moving to the south from wherended.
ording to the map, the Regal Capital was only a six days'' journey away if he moves at full speed.
Although his speed was equal to the Thunderstorm Hawk, however, all thesendscapes would decrease his pace quite a lot since he can''t fly.
But Ace wasn''t in a hurry to reach the capital of Regal Kingdom because now he was close, which means he can be there when the kingdom level test of Damien Royal Institute began.
ording to Victor''s memories and his research, the registration would begin three months before the test.
As for why they all were going so early, this had to do with a hidden selection!
This hidden selection was done by none other than Pill me and Beast Calling organizations!
The purpose of this hidden selection was to select youngsters who had an affinity with either Pill me or Beast calling.
The widest area of this hidden selection was controlled by Beast Calling Organization since it was all over the Middlends.
Pill me only held this kind of hidden selection in the top ten kingdoms.
This is how these two organizations absorb the most promising talents first and leave the leftovers for Damien Royal Institute.
Although, one can join these organizations by showing required talent and passing their tests. However, it was very rare because the result in failure means certain death!
That''s why only a few people go through this process and most of them try their luck in these hidden selections where they had a chance to live at least.
However, this hidden selection has a brief time, which is one month and when this one month starts, it all depends on organizations'' higher-ups.
But whenever this month started, the royal families of every kingdom get advance notice and these royal families will send words to the titled families of their specific kingdoms.
What happened after was very obvious, every family would send their most promising youngster to the royal capital. Where some experts of organizations measure these youths in shadows!
If you got selected, you''ll get an invitation from the organization to join them and it is far better than joining the Damien Royal Institute, which influence was limited to Middle-Lands.
Themon faction didn''t have any knowledge of this at all, though.
Patrick also send Skyler here because he wanted her to join these organizations. With her talent in the soul, any of these two organizations would fight for her.
But s, she had other ns and Olivia was already on her way to fetch her but was unexpectedly ''greeted'' by Ace in the end and got robbed!
Ace knew now he would be wanted by both organizations in the whole middlends because he robbed one Beast Masters of 1st-grade kingdom and a rune crafter together!
But he was determined and made his choice long ago.
Ace has be Heaven''s Stealer long ago, and if he didn''t even steal from these rich goats, how could he call himself Sky Stealer?
Truth to be told, Ace wasn''t interested in joining this institute, but it would be a brilliant cover and he can also reach the number one kingdom with no hitch and amodate arge amount of TP quickly.
But first, he had to find another face since Javier''s face was going to be all over the ce soon and he needed the second mask for this.
Ace stopped outside an abandoned cave of some low-level demonic beast and spent the night there. He also wanted to check the new haul of TP.
He was very excited. After all, he had robbed a rune crafter of pill me organization and he knew it was worth the risk since he can get arge tally of TP and probably buy the mask now!
After closing the cave carefully, and lit the fire.
With tion, Ace opens the notification panel and saw a new notification.
=====
[Notification Panel]
[{Unseen Notification}]
---
[Quick Report of Thieveries]
[Sessful Pick Pocket Count: 8]
[Low-Level Thieveries: 4]
[Minor-Level Thieveries: 4]
[Total Rewards: 50,170TP]
---
[Thief Point(s): 76,700]
---
[Low-Level Thievery: 29]
=======
Ace''s eyes shone with tion as he mutters to himself, "I expected nothing less from a rune crafter of pill me. Let me see what she had in her storage ring."
Ace slide the thievery report upwards because he wanted to see the exact details of Olivia''s storage ring.
=======
[Pick Pocket sess]
{Host steal}
{1: Low-Level, Middle-Grade Storage Space Treasure} (5th Mortal Level-Runes)
{17: High-Level, Low-Grade Storage Space Treasure} (4th Mortal Level-Runes)
{14: Middle-Level, Low-Grade Storage Space Treasure} (3rd Mortal Level-Runes)
{1502: Low-Grade Storage Space Treasure} (2nd Mortal Level-Runes)
{50,766: Low-Grade Pills} (Green-Ranked pills)
{11,101: Middle-level, Low-Grade Pills} (Blue-Ranked pills)
{8,972: High-level, Low-Grade Pills} (Azure-Ranked pills)
{993: Low-Level, Middle-Grade Pills} (Purple-Ranked pills)
{1: Low-Level, Middle-Grade Weapon} (5-Stars)
{5: High-level, Low-Grade Weapon} (4-Stars)
{Techniques and skills Low-Grade (Warrior-Grade): 76 Techniques, 121 Skills},
{Techniques and skills Mid Low-Grade (Master-Grade): 2 Technique, 19 Skills},
{Qi-Stones Trash-Grade (Low-Level): 598 Million},
{Qi-Stones Lowest-Grade (Middle-Level): 110.8 Million},
{Qi-Stones Low-Grade (High-Level): 26 Million},
{Qi-Stones Mid-Level, Low-Grade (Peak-Level): 11,21}
{Formation tes Low Grade, (2nd Mortal Ranked Runes): 900}
{Array tes Low Grade, (2nd Mortal Runes): 4,000}
{nk Runic tes Low-Grade (2-Start): 98,090}
{nk Runic tes Mid-Level, Low-Grade (3-Start): 21,121}
{nk Runic tes High-Level, Low-Grade (4-Start): 8,000}
{nk Runic tes Low-Level, Middle-Grade (5-Start): 98}
{ve Contracts: 12,867}
{Medicine Herbs and Metal Ores: 2 Million Herbs, 980,121 Metal Ores}
{Rewards: 45,000 Thief Points}
=====
Ace inhales intensely, "These people of Pill me Organization are filthy rich!" He eximed.
"System, open this ring and arrange everything likest time in thief''s space," Ace told.
======
"[100TP has been deducted]
[The Storage Ring is now opened]
[The system has also sorted everything in the Thief''s Space ording to Hostmand.]"
---
[Thief Point(s): 76,600]
======
Ace saw differentrge piles adding up in his thief''s space and couldn''t help but think, ''I can probably consider one of the richest people in Middle-Lands now.''
He was right.
After admiring his wealth, Ace''s consciousness shifted to a new pile that emerge just now.
In Ace''s hand, a rectangr white te appeared. It waspletely nk, like paper.
Ace crease this white te as it felt like smooth jade. This was a two-star nk runic te. He knew these tes were used in crafting runes and it depends on the person''s ability to turn them into either array tes or formation tes.
Just like how the system differentiates them into formation tes and array tes.
Olivia was a 2nd Rank Mortal Rune Crafter, so it was very normal for her to have these nk and ready runic tes.
These runic tes were crafted by Crafters with different materials. That''s why these tes rank like weapons by Stars.
Some rune crafters can even craft these runic tes on their own, but it was a very cumbersome task, so the majority buy them from Crafters or hire them to create special ones with the material they provide!
Chapter 147 - Renowned Sky Stealer
It is said that a real rune crafter would craft the runic tes itself, and by doing so, the chance of sessfully creating an array or formation te increased by several folds.
Aside from these runic tes, Ace sweep past those techniques and skills, and to his surprise, all of them were on how to craft the rune symbols into special arrays and formations!
Ace excitedly open one of lowest grade skill but didn''t even understand a thing and guess it all because still didn''t have any knowledge of rune symbols.
He carefully stores those techniques and skills to the side for the future. He also found a rune crafter''s token of pill me organization like Vance''s and store it away with the other one.
These tokens can be very useful if he used them perfectly at the right time.
After arranging everything in the thief''s space, he swept the system''s panel to see another particr panel.
===
[Light Element Soul Qi is active.].
[Time Remains: 14:33:29]
====
"I still have over fourteen hours before the break of two days. I should open the third part of Heavenly Rune Crafting first and, in two days of break, practice the camouge steps. I should gain low-level mastery before going to the capital, it will enhance my escaping ability many folds." Ace mumbles to himself as he nned.
As for buying the second mask, Acepletely forget about it since he had some time, and he didn''t n on going to the capital soon.
He has already decided to stay in this cave and practice rune crafting and camouge step until the registration began, three months from now.
Besides, he knew it was going to be very noisy when they began searching for him, so it was a wise move to stay here until themotion about him dimmed down.
After calming his thoughts, he opened the third part of the heavenly rune crafting manual, Basic Myriad Rune Symbols Encyclopedia.
''It finally opened this time without any resistance.'' Ace thought with ecstasy.
''Basic Myriad Rune Symbols Encyclopedia, theplete encyclopedia on every foundational rune symbol and its structures. There are twelve tires of this encyclopedia and I have assessed to Tier-1.'' it did not surprise Ace since he has predicted something like this before.
''In the first tier, there are four essential element runic symbols of Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind.
''First one is the Earth Rune Symbol, which is thebination of three runic structures. The second one is the Water Rune Symbol, which is thebination of 5 runic structures. The third is Fire Rune Symbol, which isbined by 9 runic structures andst is Wind, which isbined by 11 runic structures.'' Ace frowned after studying this information.
These runic structures are the key here because these special runic structures are the ones that give the runic symbol its specific ability and elements.
Because if one had light element soul Qi that person could only create light element symbols and that''s where these runic structures came to being.
If one can master the structure of every element, it can create any type of runic symbol andbine them into arrays and formations.
But Ace was not at that level yet. He had to first remember those structures and create them with his soul, Qi.
''This is an arduous task to control my soul Qi so precisely to the point of perfection, if I even blink, my effort would be wasted. Heh, I expect nothing less from Heavenly Rune Crafting.'' Aceugh wryly, but he was going to master this no matter what.
After that, Ace immersed himself in studying the Earth Rune Symbol''s runic structure.
However, Ace didn''t know the runic structures he was learning at this moment are the very essence of those elements that existed between heaven and earth!
To this day, no one has ever got these perfect runic structures of elements. That''s the actual reason for Ace''s rune crafting being Heavenly!
Without these perfect runic structures, even with heavenly Qi, those runic symbols would never be called perfect!
----
While Ace was studying the third part of Heavenly Rune Crafting earnestly.
A piece of shocking news was released to the public of the entire Middle Lands!
The most astonishing part from whom the news came from, well, it was none other than Pill me and Beast Calling, two giants below royalnds!
This news was about a newly emerged notorious thief who called himself ''Sky Stealer'' and his trademark was a dark owl mark which he tattooed on his victims'' fingers!
Furthermore, this mark was impossible to remove even after cutting one''s finger. Pill me Organization itself confirmed this news!
This thief has robbed a Rune Crafter and a Beast Masters of both organizations and engraved that impossible-to-remove mark on them.
Both organizations were furious, and they both dered a reward on that''s Thief!
Anyone who can provide urate information about this thief will get 1 Million Middle Qi Stones. If anyone can capture him alive, they can im 50 Million Middle Qi Stones.
As for his head, the reward was 100 Million Middle Qi Stones!
Many powerful cultivators and titled families move by this and all of them begin a search for this so-called Sky Stealer, like made dog.
Both organizations provide his portrait. It was Javier''s face, of course.
This news was released to the public one month after Ace robbed Olivia''s group.
But this news didn''tst long because even more shocking news surfaced just a week after and it was about the same person!
This time the news was this thief didn''t just rob a Rune Crafter and Beast Master or an Earl of a tiny kingdom. Before this he robbed the most renounce Azure Alchemist of middlends, Vance Golden!
This wasn''t the end of this shocking news. The main part was this thief stole something very important from the pill me organization. As for what it was, the organization didn''t announce it.
But the Thief''s bounty skyrocketed after that.
Anyone who can provide urate information about this thief will get 1 Million High Qi Stones. If anyone can capture him alive, they can im 50 Million High Qi Stones and a grantee seat in the Pill me Organization''s empire-level branch!
As for his head, the reward reached 100,000 Peak Qi Stones and 10 grantee seats in the Pill me Organization''s empire-level branch!
This news bbergasted even empires!
Everyone was wondering just what could have that thief stolen that the organization was going to such a length to capture him and retrieve that thing.
Nevertheless, now even empires and top kingdoms of middlends join the fray for the thief''s hunt. He was now a walking piece of treasure. Whoever finds him will get everything.
They could just take the thief''s everything and no one would ever know or they can exchange it with the organization for fame and riches!
---
Inside avishing Pce Grand Hall,
"Royal Brother, don''t worry. He can''t escape now. The organization is taking it seriously after I provide the form of Blood Rose and show them that bastard portrait and tell everything about him.
"I heard, even the me Master came of out his close door cultivation after finding out that thief managed to escape the low sky-changing border alive!" The person who was speaking looked like an old schr. He was none other than Vance Golden!
"How did they believe you so quickly?" The handsome middle-aged man sitting on a golden throne spoke at this moment.
He was the Golden King of Golden Hammered Kingdom, Gale Van Golden!
"I heard one of five ming Families got involved and support my im. I think it is the family behind Green me and that mysterious woman.
"And that slippery rat also stole from a rune crafter from one of these ming families as well recently. That''s why the organization instantly acts and they are even sending Qi River Core envoy to search for that thief." Vance said grimly.
Truth to be told, he was not happy at all about this. After he returned from the lownds dejectedly, he goes directly into close door cultivation to soothe his hatred.
Since the person was dead, what was the point of hating him and burning oneself, right?
Vance has just recently exited his close door cultivation after returning to his calm self when he heard about the newly famous thief of Middle Land and it was none other than the person who he hated the most, Sky Stealer!
First, he didn''t dare to believe that someone could escape the sky-changing border alive, but when he saw the same owl mark in the wanted poster, Vance nearly had a stroke.
Without even thinking, he goes to the organization branch in the Golden Hammered Kingdom and told the Pill Master there everything, included the information about Blood Rose and that thief in front of his eyes vanished inside the low sky changing border.
The Pill Master first didn''t believe him and thought Vance has gone nuts but when Vance bring Green me into the conversation and demand to confirm with her. He finally moved!
Chapter 148 - Hundred-Face Deception Mask
When this staggering news reached Zelda''s ears, she also didn''t dare to believe it, but after seeing the wanted poster, she had to!
Zelda was as if she has seen a ghost and immediately contact her aunt La who was very dejected after that incident and even punished by elders of their family.
La was bbergasted, hearing this astonishing news, and reported this to the family head who was also her Eldest Brother and Zelda''s father.
And just like that, the entire organization shakes when this truth was confirmed that boy of lownds managed to escape from the sky-changing border''s formation without the sky-changing pass!
Now almost every big shot of Pill me knows about the existence of Blood Rose and, most importantly, the earth-shattering secret that thief had on him!
They quickly raised the bounty on him and even sent a group of envoys to the middlends to capture that thief alive, so they could obtain his secrets.
---
Three months pass and Ace didn''t leave his cave. He waspletely clueless about the storm he causes just by showing off his abilities!
At this moment, Ace waspletely focused before his eyes.
There was the needle-like light element soul Qi thread, which was moving in the air, creating aplex white structure in the air..
Twoplete white structures were hovering in the air beside the new one that he was making with extreme care.
Sweat was beading on Ace''s forehead but he didn''t lose his focus and controlled the soul thread with extreme care.
With a hair margin, the soul thread was moving around a triangr pattern when it suddenly collide with it, and like a little firework, those three structures explode simultaneously.
"Damn this earth rune, why the hell is it so difficult!" Ace cursed while gritting his teeth.
For three months he was trying to form the earth rune but failed every time.
But his progress was noteworthy since he can form two structures and is only a little away from the third.
One thing that was worth mentioning was he finally attained low-level proficiency in camouge steps a week ago and start learning the Misperception Steps of Misperception Sky Art.
"I should get going now. I''ll practice it after taking care of the participating business." Ace sighed helplessly.
"System I want to buy Hundred-Face Deception Mask." Ace said pensively.
======
"[Hundred-Face Deception Mask: Grade-2 Rune Item]"
{Purchase sessfully}
{50,000TP has been deducted}
---
[Thief Point(s): 26,530]
======
"Where is the mask?" Ace questioned in confusion because nothing emerge in his thief''s space.
"[Host, please remove the two-face mask.]"
Ace was started, but he did as he was told and disabled the two-face mask before taking it off.
Before he could ask any further questions, abruptly a dark blue streak shot from his be!
The very moment thereafter, the two-face mask started to vibrate and suddenly the two faces of Javier and Victor faded!
After that, the mask began to change and bepletely pitch ck as a white gem appeared on the forehead. It has bepletely nk and faceless.
Ace was bewitched by it as he looked at this inky, faceless mask with a white gem.
System sweet voice buzz at this moment in his head,
=======
[Hundred-Face Deception Mask: Grade 2 Rune Item. Upgraded version of Two-Face Mask]
[Ability: It can save 100 faces in the {Grade-1 Memory Gem}. It can also increase and decrease cultivation realms ording to the wearer''s will. The cultivation realms are only limited to the actual cultivation of the wearer and it cannot cross the wearer''s cultivation base limit until the wearer broke into a higher realm.]
[Description; It can trick Martial Sense of Qi Soul Martial Cultivator and Soul Sense of Soul River Core Soul Cultivator.]
[Warning: Cultivators of Soul Manifestation Martial Realm and Soul Embryo Realm can easily see through this mask''s formation.]
[Current Save Faces: 2]
========
"What happened to my two-face mask?" Ace asked in bewilderment.
"[System has upgraded the Two-Face Mask into Hundred-Face Deception Mask.]"
"To hell with your upgrade! I want my Two-Face Mask as well. I pay for it, damn it!" Ace instantly snap because he never thought this ck-hearted system would not give him a new item and only upgrade the old one!
After all, he had paid 50,000TP that he painfully collected and now his one item was taken away from him and he didn''t even get a damn refund. How could he not be aggrieved?
But to Ace''s dismay, the system didn''t even bother to give him any exnation andpletely ignore his protest.
"I''ll remember this system!" In the end, he could only give up after threatening the System.
After his empty fight with the system, he finallyid his eyes on the inky mask and couldn''t help but grin because this is all he needed and it can increase or decrease the cultivation that he wanted for a long time.
This means, now he can even pose as a mortal if he wanted to!
Furthermore, it can even fool a soul sense of someone at Soul Embryo Realm!
Although it was a realm lower than Martial cultivation, it can still save his life.
Soul Cultivation also had eight realms.
Like Martial Cultivation, six know realms, Qi Gates, Qi Foundation Building, Qi River, Qi River Core, Qi Soul, and Qi Soul Manifestation.
The six known Soul Cultivation realms were Soul Gates, Soul Foundation Building, Soul River, Soul River Core, Soul Embryo, and Soul Embryo Manifestation.
Ace ecstatically put the new inky mask on his face and the system''s voice sounded.
====
"[Hundred-Face Deception Mask is activated!]"
[First Option]
[Which face would host like to wear?]
[Face 1 or 2?]
[Please state the cultivation realm and stage for the face.]
[Note: You can only increase your cultivation up to High Stage of Foundation Building Realm.]
---
[Second Option]
[Did the host only want to mask his cultivation?]
[Please state the cultivation realm and stage.]
=====
Ace snorted after hearing the system''s voice because she hadn''t answered him when he protested just a few moments ago.
But when he saw the new option, his eyes sparkled.
''Oh, even that old ghost empty dream wasn''t able to see through my Heavenly Cultivations. This is more convent. With this second open, people will be able to see my cultivation and it would be worldly cultivation.'' Ace was exhrated.
"Use Victor''s face with fifth Qi Gate cultivation," Acemanded with a snort. He still didn''t forget about his two-face mask scam!
The very next moment thereafter, Victor''s face appeared, but his cultivation aura was of a fifth Qi Gate cultivator.
As for why he specifically said fifth, not peak, it was because Ace knew about the cultivation techniques different in the uppernds, and this mask can even create the aura of 6th, 7th, 8th, or even 9th gate cultivator like himself!
In this part of middle-levelnds, the sixth gate didn''t exist just like lownds, and only the top ten kingdoms had that method.
Ace found a method in Dulce''s ring which he gave away to those girls he rescued once in the luminous city.
Ace chose victor''s face because it was most likely that Skyler would never agree with her brother''s face to be wanted, nor her mysterious and powerful mother or the family behind them.
That''s why they could only give away Javier''s face despite knowing he can transform into Victor as well and his hypothesis was right.
After Skyler reunited with her brother, who was found by a servant in the same hotel room where Ace was staying. She had a sigh of relief.
When Patrick found out that Skyler was going to her mother and taking away Victor as well, he wanted to kill this unfilial daughter of his on the spot but encounter sullen Olivia.
She was in a terrible mood after that scoundrel stole 10% part of her wealth and Patrick became her punching bag.
But since Patrick had a rtionship of husband and wife with Skyler''s mother she didn''t kill him and just left him there and take away both Skyler and enthusiastic Victor who was looking forward to meeting his mother and even forgotten about what Ace has done to him.
Patrick can only resentfully watch and Niko''splexion was also not good, but what can they both do in the face of an angry rune crafter bitch?
As for Aden, he stayed in the Regal Capital with his brother in the name of finding that thief who stole his entire wealth, but the main reason was he didn''t want to go back at all.
After making sure everything was fine, Ace exited the cave after three entire months and headed to the Royal Capital of Regal Kingdom. He can''t wait to see this big city and stole everything he could from there.
''Let''s see how the capital of the kingdom looks like.'' A smile creep out on his face as he vanished into nothingness.
But he didn''t know the hidden forces were closely watching and waiting for the next appearance of the infamous Sky Stealer!
Chapter 149 - The Regal Capital City
The Regal Capital City was quiterge as it spread in four hundred square miles. It was divided into three districts, Common, Royal, and Royal Pce.
At this moment, it was nighttime, but the outside avenue of the colossal golden city gate was packed with many people.
Since the registration for the institute was begun a week ago, many youngsters wereing to register themselves because it willst for only sixty days and not a day further.
But there was tight security on the gate and the guards were scanning every single person with some kind of exquisite ck mirror and checking their belonging included any storage space treasures.
Everyone knows for what or whom this kind of security was. It was for the notorious thief Sky Stealer.
Seemingly, that thief was master of disguise and that made him even more difficult to discover that why all this security was ced by the organization itself!
Almost everyone wanted to find him below royalnds, and thest ce he was seen just happen to be the outskirts of the regal capital city!
Many experts hid in the capital city at this moment and searched the entire Kingdom! .
Even the Regal King didn''t dare to offend any of them. He could only pray that thief would not appear in his Kingdom again or it would be a cmity for the entire kingdom.
Because if that thief showed up again, these people might kill anyone they suspected to be that thief without even caring for their statues!
A hundred meters away from the gate, in the shadow of arge tree, a pair of sharp eyes were observing the bustling golden gate of Regal Capital City.
''It seems all this security is for me. There are two empty river cultivators hidden in the gate. Heh, they also wore some kind of treasure on their eyes, it most likely to see through my concealment skills. They''re putting some effort into this.''
This person hidden in the shadow was none other than Ace, who has reached the capital city this morning but was astounded seeing all the security measures.
That''s why he observed and wait till night when his skills were even more powerful.
First, he was nning to enter the city in Victor''s disguise but change his mind and found another face.
As for sneaking inside, Ace didn''t want to take any risks since he didn''t know the capacity of those sensory treasures. He was sure about his new mask, but his skills were not at their peak state and this made it easier for him to decide on his next step.
Truth to be told, Ace didn''t think these people would take him so seriously and this somewhat made him even warier of the consequences of his actions.
Although Ace had imagined this kind of thing happening, but not this fast. He wanted to inquiry further but didn''t dare to carelessly talk with anyone since it might look suspicious.
''Now I just had to select a face, well it''s a plus since there are many to choose from in this enormous crowd. I had to choose a lone person, and it has to be a youngster qualified to take part in the uing test.'' Ace mussed as he observed the enormous crowd with soul sense.
''Hmm?'' Suddenly Ace spotted a youngster with an average face and height dragging away a seemingly 15 to 16 years old girl, with a lustful expression on his face.
The girl was struggling to free herself from his grip, but the young man''s cultivation was at the third gate and that rendered her struggle worthless.
The most shameful thing was no one came forward to help her and everyone mind their own business as if they saw nothing.
A cold smile appeared on Ace''s face before he vanished on the spot.
That boy dragged that girl in a remote area and said with a lustful smile, "Why are you struggling for? Just please me and I''ll give you one or two Qi stones."
"P-please let me go." The girl trembled like a kitten. She had an above-average face and was wearing in clothes with a stack of Qi stones hanging on around her waist and only had the strength of 2nd gate cultivator.
She looked like amoner who was here to try her luck in the test, but caught the fancy of this lustful boy and was helpless to do anything since she was alone and no one wanted to help amoner like her.
However, the boy''s mind was filled with vicious thoughts as he ignored her plea and move forward to rip her clothes but before he could touch her, the girl''s terrorized face abruptly turn cold.
The boy seems to sense something amiss as he wanted to get away from the girl but it was toote because a sharp dagger was already stabbed into his heart and it was done by that innocent-looking girl!
The boy''s eyes were wide open with disbelief as he felt the warm blood gushing out from the hole and his consciousness began to slip. "Who¡.hiikkk"
Before he could say another word, the girl coldly twisted the dagger and he die just like that.
"Heh, all scum should die without mercy." The girl sneered coldly before she took the Qi stone sack from the boy''s corpse and leave while humming a tone.
No one could tell by the look that this innocent little girl just killed someone so easily.
However, she didn''t think someone was watching this all scene from shadows with great interest. It was, of course, Ace who followed those two here.
From the start, he knew this girl''s real cultivation was at the fifth Gate but she was using some kind of skill to mask it.
''Hah, you can''t judge someone by your mortal eyes in this cultivation world.'' Ace chuckles softly and moves toward the stiff corpse.
"Scums like you deserve this kind of death." Ace mumbles to himself as he coldly watches the young man''s corpse.
After confirming that no one was around, Ace take off the Hundred-Face Deception Mask and quickly scan the young man''s corpse with its 2nd-grade formation.
The silver gem on the mask shine for ten seconds.
=====
[Face 3, has been sessfully recorded in memory gem.]"
=====
Ace heard the system''s notification in his mind and the silver gem also stop shimmering and returned to its dormant state.
"Activate face 3 with fifth gate cultivation base." Ace put the mask back on andmand the system.
With a sh of silver light, Ace has turnedpletely into that dead youngster!
He didn''t know his name, nor did he care, since he was alone and by his scummy nature, his friend would be in a single number. He wasn''t interested in his memories, either.
As for that girl who killed him, Ace wasn''t nning on mingling with her and it was a very slim chance that he would bump into her in thisrge city.
But if that happen, likely, she would not remember him and with his higher cultivation, she would think it is someone else since no one cane back from death with this kind of cultivation!
After Ace was done with his disguise and put on some new ck robes, he grabbed some dried wood from nearby and torch the boy of that young man. Now no one would find any evidence and this facepletely belong to him.
"Now those hidden experts can''t find me. I like these middlends since they didn''t use those annoying identity crystals." Ace murmured while smiling faintly and blurred to the direction of the city gate.
Ace joined the long line outside the city and wait for his turn. He didn''t encounter someone like Jason this time during his two hours of wait.
Everyone was minding their own business, and people in the group were chatting happily with each other.
Ace also heard some talking about a thief, but it was very vague, and decided to investigate the matter further in the city.
After two hours, it was finally his turn.
"State your name and birthce." A robust guard coldly speaks.
"Ryan White, from Moonlight City of Ale Province." Ace nonchntly answered.
The Ale Province was the biggest province of Regal Kingdom and Moonlight City was the second biggest city in this province. He naturally gets all this information from the map and selected this ce carefully.
The guard didn''t speak first and looked at the sickly-looking guard with the antique ck mirror in his hand.
The antique ck mirror was a treasure that can see through any disguise below Qi River Core Cultivation and detect lies!
"He is telling the truth and his face is real." The sickly guard spoke with no emotion.
But those guards still didn''t let Ace pass until,
"He is clear." The aged voice gave his confirmation!
"One Low Qi Stone." The guard finally demanded the gate toll.
Ryan smile faintly as he conjured a low Qi stone from his storage ring and give it to the guard.
"Wee to Regal Capital City!" The guard nonchntly said as he opened the little golden gate and let Ace pass!
Chapter 150 - Envoy Arrives
Ryan slightly nodded at those guards and enter the capital city.
Ace knew just where that old voice came from. They were those two hidden experts of the empty river realm!
But since he can fool that mirror and those two old geezers, he felt relief wash over him. He was little nevus first but not anymore.
Ace walks inside the city and was greeted by an astonishing sight.
The streets were made of exquisite marble and every building was made with precious material and craftmanship. It was as if he has entered apletely new world.
''If thismon district is so exaggerated, then what about those two reigns where the noble and royal family live.'' Ace wondered as he keeps walking while observing the city?
Although it was nighttime, the streets werepletely lit with light stones polls, and bustling with activities..
They were many shops and stalls selling unique items.
Ace couldn''t help but observe the items curiously.
In his way, Ace''s eyes were suddenly glued to a portrait that was hanging outside a cloth shop and his eyes contracted.
Ace moves toward the shop to see the portrait more clearly.
After Ace reached the clothing shop, he closely looked at the portrait. There were two pictures, one was an average-looking youth while the other was of an extremely handsome and cut boy.
His expression turns grim seeing Javier''s and his old portrait from Low-Land and reading about the huge bounty ced on his head.
''It seems thatdy and old alchemist found out I''m still alive and tell everything to pill me organization. That also exins the tight security. I had to be more careful and alter some of my ns.'' Ace gravely thought.
He instantly guesses what could''ve happened when he was in wildness for three months and decided to lie low for some time.
After this sudden discovery, Ace wasn''t in the mood to stroll and found an inn and rest for the night before going to the registration venue in the morning.
On his way to finding an inn, Ace suddenly spotted the signature golden building of the Jade Pavilion.
''Let''s enjoy some jade wine before resting.'' Ace''s mood lightened slightly and move toward that building.
"Sir, mortals are not allowed here."
When Ace was close, he heard a sweet voice and saw a beautifuldy blocking two boys'' paths with a gentle smile on her face. She was an early Qi foundation stage cultivator!
One boy was a third Qi gate cultivator, while the other was a mortal.
"He''s with me." The boy with cultivation said stiffly.
"It doesn''t matter sir, mortals are not allowed, period." Thedy said with a smile.
"B-brother let''s go somewhere else." The little mortal boy timidly said.
"Humph, let''s go." The other youth wasn''t willing, but what could he do? He takes his younger brother and left in a rage.
Ace observed this scene from the sideline and his eyes turn cold.
Because Ace sense some mortals sitting on the higher floors and knew thisdy didn''t let that mortal boy in because of hismon clothes. They were clearly from some poor background and here for the test, while the little one seemed to apany his elder brother.
''Heh, it seemed I didn''t need to be polite with the restaurants anymore.'' An icy glint sh through his eyes.
"Sir, wee to Jade Pavilion. Please go to the second floor." Thatdy said with a smile. She spotted Ryan observing the quarrel long ago but didn''t care.
Ryan nodded with a smile as he nonchntly entered the Jade pavilion before going to the second floor.
After enjoying the bottle of Jade Wine, Ace left with a cheerful expression on his face.
That day, something strange happened in the Jade Pavilion because all of their famous Jade Winepletely disappeared!
The management was shocked and didn''t know the reason for it, someone stole it. But no one suspects the famous Sky Stealer because he won''t leave with just wine if it was him.
In everyone''s eyes, that lunatic wasn''t afraid of anyone and steal everything. It doesn''t matter who you are or what you are. That was why this wine thief was inspired by that fellow.
''Hehe, these one thousand wine barrels shouldst for a while.'' Ace ecstatically saw one thousand white jade barrels in his thief''s space and grin.
Jade pavilion only had an rming array protecting their unground storage where these wine barrels were and no one noticed him stealing them.
As for suspecting him, he didn''t care because no one would take an interest in some wine thief.
Ace finally finds an inn and rents the biggest room for four months with forty low Qi stones.
This price was too much for anymonersing here, but for Ace, it was nothing.
Because after he stole Olivia''s storage ring, his wealth can now rival an empire!
Ace still had many sealed storage rings. He didn''t want to waste TP on them since it wasn''t worth it. He was nning on holding them before he found some other method to remove Qi marks.
Ace was standing before the window in his room, he was watching the illuminate streets of Regal Capital as he mumbles with a faint smile, "What a lively ce, perfect for a thief."
---
The Grand Regal Pce of Regal Kingdom can be seen from the royal district, and only the royal family lived in this grand pce.
At this moment inside thevishing meeting hall of Regal Pce. A ten-meter-long golden jade table with beautiful carving was set in the center of the grand hall with matching chairs around it.
But the head chair differed greatly from the other. It was very extinguishing, as a symbol of the winged wolf was engraved on it that looked very vivid. This was the seat of Regal King!
A handsome man with long ck hair was sitting on this seat at this moment. He wore in robes. But the surrounding air was as if he was unreachable and aloof.
On his left row of chairs only sat a woman with an extraordinary white face and slender figure. She wore an exquisite pink dress.
On his right, ten people were sitting, three of them were women and seven were men.
Everyone wore a solemn expression in the right row, and the person sitting on the head chair had a pensive face.
"Esteemed Envoy, how was your journey. I''m truly honored to have a person like you grace my kingdom with your presence." The slim, handsome man in the very fount row speaks with a fawning smile on his face.
Shockingly, this slim man was the Regal King, Kale Val Regal! He wasn''t sitting in his actual ce! One can only imagine by this the statues of that envoy.
"It was fine. It''s just that the Qi here is very thin, I feel like suffocating." The woman scoff before the man could say anything.
Regal King''s expression change slightly as he spoke with a wry smile, "I apologized Lady Envoy, but my kingdom is just a third-grade kingdom. The Qi here is indeed very thinpared to where youe from."
The woman was going to spout something again with an unsatisfied face, but the man on the head chair gave her a sharp re and she swallowed whatever she was going to say with a hint of fear in her eyes.
"Do you find anything about that thief?" The man spoke nonchntly.
Regal King frowned, hearing this, and his face darken a bit. ''It''s all that bastard''s fault to appear in my kingdom.''
"No, we never heard of him after he stole from Lady Rune Crafterst time. But the Pill me and Beast Calling people are scattered throughout every city of the kingdom and every city is armed with Disguise Shatter Mirrors. If that petty thief dared to appear again, he''ll regret it." King Kale ensured with a wry smile.
"No, he will appear in this capital." The man coolly said in his hoarse voice with apparent confidence in it.
Everyone''s eyes contracted to hear this sudden news.
King Kale''s expression turn ugly as he asked, "How can Lord Envoy be so certain?"
"It''s very simple. He''s a thief through and through, and what a thief is interested in?" The man deeply looked at the Regal King as he questioned him.
"Wealth or anything that he took a fancy of." King Kale made a vague guess.
"No, he''s probably is the richest person in the middlends at this moment after he stole from an azure alchemist and a 2nd Rank Mortal Rune Crafter. He even knows how to open storage rings, so you tell me what he wants?" The man revealed another shocking news as he asked the question.
"He can what?!" King Kale''s face was full of shock and everyone on the right side of the table.
"Heh, you heard right, he can open storage rings without killing someone." The man chuckles coldly.
Chapter 151 - Registration Venue
King Kale finally understood the reason everyone was going crazy over that thief. This means he has many secrets and just this method of removing Qi marks can cause a war in entire lowernds.
"Lord Envoy, I''m not good at riddles." King Kale said with a wry smile.
"He''s doing this for fame and name." The envoy said with a cold face.
King Kale also gets what the envoy means by this and couldn''t help but agree with this answer.
Because every time that thief does thievery, he leaves behind a Fragment Qi Stone with his name and some owl tattoos which were impossible to remove.
If Ace were here, he would be also shocked seeing this man finding out his reason for doing all this so quickly. .
"But why would he do that? I mean, what could fame bring him?" King Kale couldn''t help but ask this question.
"Who knows, maybe he wanted to prove something or show the world that he is invincible. But he''s challenging the authorities by robbing Beast Tamers, Alchemist, and Rune Crafter.
"That''s why the Pill me Organization send me as their envoy to capture him and make an example out of him, so no one would dare to challenge the authorities again." The envoy''s eyes were icy cold as he said with a dignified demeanor.
King Kale and everyone on the right side gulped.
Everyone knows just how fearsome these three giants were and if someone dares to question their authority, they will kill them and their entire n to thest dog.
"What order do Lord Envoy have for this King? I''ll cooperate fully." King Kale said with a grim face.
"Nothing, we''ll wait for him to appear and the moment he did it will be thest time anyone would ever hear the name Sky Stealer." The envoy coldly dered.
After this brief conversation, he stood up and leave with that woman towards his staying quarters.
Only the royalties of Regal Pce remained in the room, and everyone had a grave face.
"Royal Father, what do you think, will that thiefe just like envoy said?" A young man, seemingly in histe twenties, asked. He resembles King Kale very much because he was the crown prince of the Regal Kingdom and Kale''s eldest son, Zavier Regal.
King Kale''s face was very ugly at this moment. "I don''t know, but that man had a point and if everything he said is true, then that thief will appear. Don''t forget the biggest chance for him to gain even more fame is the uing test of Damien Royal Institute!"
"Your Highness, if that thief appeared, then it will be a cmity for our kingdom!" An old man with light white bear spokes gravely.
King Kale smiles bitterly, "What can we do? That man is probably a River Core Cultivator! If he decided to ughter the entire royal capital to fish that thief out, I''m helpless to stop him!" His face was filled with helplessness.
"We can only pray that he won''t appear here again ever."
---
Inside avishing building in the Royal Pce.
"Brother, why did you tell them about that thief''s ability to open storage ring? What if they disclosed this information to the public?" The beautiful women spoke gravely.
"Everyone in three giants probably knows by now. Do you think it matters anymore?" The man coolly answered.
"You are right." She wore a wry smile as she speaks, "And what if he didn''t appear here again as you said?"
"Than we''ll leave after the test." The man impassively said, "But if he did¡hehe."
His sharpughter was as if some fiendish devil wasughing.
She felt a chill run down her spine because she knew this brother of hers was the most ruthless man she has ever known!
---
It was a sunny morning when Ace open his closed eyes.
He changed his robes into a new one and go toward the registration venue.
Ace found out from the inn''s owner that the registration venue was outside the royal district and he headed in that direction, following the map he bought from a nearby bookshop.
The closer Ace gets to the registration venue, the livelier it bes.
Most of the crowd were youngsters and theirpanions.
Ace finally spotted a tall building.
There was a huge wooden sign bore of Damien Royal Institute on it and was packed with youngsters.
Before Ace thought he was very early, but now he was thinking it waste after seeing therge queue outside the building.
"Why isn''t the line moving?" Ace asked a young man in front of him after standing in the line for fifteen minutes.
"Those bastards are tending to the nobles first and theirpanions. It is like this since the first day!" The young man resentfully said while cursing.
Ace smile wryly hearing this, ''It will take forever like this.''
He left the line and check the situation with heavenly sense.
Ace saw there were three counters inside the building. Many youngsters invishing clothing with arrogant faces registered themselves one by one and no one was paying any attention to this line, where onlymoners were.
''Those idiots had another line on the other side, and it''s probably only for the nobles. Sigh¡'' Ace helplessly sighed before his eyes contracted.
''This presence!'' Ace quickly gets back in the line and acts ignorant like everyone else, as if he sensed nothing.
An average carriage was passing by the venue.
Inside this carriage was none other than the envoy of Pill me Organization!
This man''s name was Alvin.
He wasn''t an alchemist nor rune crafter; he was a me Guard of the pill me organization. He was a real Qi River Core cultivator with martial sense!
His mission was very simple, to investigate the thief in the Regal Kingdom, and if he found any trace of him, do anything to capture him ALIVE!
Alvin was measuring the capital city in a low-key carriage and just happen to be passing by the venue of the registration. He uses his martial sense with a treasure to scan the youngsters'' crowd and stop it the next moment because he loses interest after finding nothing special.
Alvin was a specialist in ascertaining people, and that''s why he was sent here. But his careful probing alerted someone he shouldn''t have; Ace!
Ace was also using his heavenly sense and the moment he felt a powerful Qi fluctuation, he instantly knew a powerful expert was nearby and hid his presence.
Ace soul and heavenly sense can detect someone of onerger realm higher than himself and this advantage truly saved him today!
''A Qi river core expert!'' Ace grimaced because this was not good news for him. ''What the hell is this kind of expert doing in this Kingdom.''
The moment this thought surfaced, Ace pulls a long face because there is only one reason that someone of this caliber was here and this reason was none other him!
Now he had to be more careful and refrain from doing any stealing until he was sure that this expert left this city first.
''My luck is always the worse!'' Ace cussed.
He thinks he could harvest therge amount of TP in this section test. But things have changed. He didn''t think those organizations would take him so seriously and so quickly at that.
Now his only choice was to y by rules for the time being because he knew those organizations only wanted him and they didn''t care about coteral damage!
If a Qi River Core cultivator went on a rampage here, then he might not escape with his life intact.
Ace was calmly looking at his surrounding to see the expert, but he failed and didn''t dare to use his senses to probe because he was afraid of being detected.
Now Ace was just like othermon factions who were waiting for their turn.
After waiting for two whole hours, themon line finally moves and everyone finally had a massive sigh of relief.
Now and then a neer joins the line and some unruly ones would break the line by taking the spots of weak cultivators since no one was there to stop them.
But no one troubled Ace since his aura was of the fifth gate cultivator and he moved without caring for what was happening behind him.
Even if Ace had a problem, he won''t interfere since he didn''t want any attention to himself at this moment.
After three more hours of wait, it was finally Ace''s turn.
An average woman was sitting behind a counter in the institute outfit. With a haughty expression, she looked at Ryan and said, "Put your hand on this stone."
Ace curiously looked at the ck stone of human head size. He was observing for some time now and know every time someone put one hand on it, thisdy would record something.
He put his hand and the stone blink for a moment before returning to normal.
"Participant Number 31,333. Go to next counter." Thedy coldly said to Ryan.
Chapter 152 - Day Of Competition
Ryan thank her and moved to the next counter where an old man was sitting.
"No, 31,333. Put your hand on this stone and state your name, age, and cultivation base." The old man coolly pointed his finger at the same kind of stone but there were white lines on it.
"Oh, and don''t dare to lie. The punishment for it is; cultivation cripple!" The old man chuckled coldly.
Ace''s eyes narrowed as he ces his hand on the stone and felt a sting of Qi on his hand but he felt nothing amiss.
"Ryan White, age sixteen, and fifth Qi gate cultivator." Ace lies except for his age.
He was quite confident in his ability to remain calm and this kind of inferior treasures can''t detect his lies just like what he did at the city gate.
This kind of tranquillity came with the foundation of darkness and it helped him quite a lot, besides Ace unknowingly train his mind whenever he practiced rune crafting. This gave him the edge to fool these kinds of detection treasures.
The old man found nothing wrong. He knew thesemoners didn''t dare to lie here because everyone knew the power of institute background.
"Go to thest counter and pay ten low Qi stones, you''ll get your participant token." The old man coolly stated.
Ryan nodded with a smile as he moved to thest counter where sit a young, beautifuldy. She was in the institute''s uniform but she looked extremely bored.
She saw Ace with an indifferent face and faintly said, "11 low Qi stones."
Ace frowned, ''She is taking extra for herself.''
Ryan put a knowing smile on his face and give her eleven Qi stones asking nothing since one low Qi stone meant nothing to him.
Everyone behind him saw this but didn''t dare to raise any objection but their expression turned ugly.
"Here is your token. Come back three months from now." Shezily gave Ace a ck token with a sword emblem engraved on it, this was the symbol of Damien Royal Institute.
Ace take the token and there was ''31,333'' engrave on it as well as a rune. But this rune was way different from the Beast Calling Token he had.
Ryan put the token in his storage ring and left the participation venue without drawing much attention to himself.
Ace''s actual n was to ''clean'' some alchemy shops in the royal district after he take care of the participation. He had that new collection of pills from Olivia''s storage ring that he didn''t use because it was not enough to raise his cultivation.
That''s also why he waited toe here but now that he knew about the terrifying hidden expert here. He went back to his inn and practice the rune crafting.
''Hmm?'' Ace eyebrow raised as he senses some malice intent twenty meters away from himself.
This malicious intent was toward Ryan.
''Those idiots want to rob me?'' Ace smile wryly while shaking his head. When the next turn came he disappeared using his lightning steps.
After thirty minutes, Ace came back to the inn''s room.
Ace enjoyed some jade wine before he formed the earth runic symbol structure again with extreme diligence.
---
One month pass in a breeze.
The registration venue was still bustling like the first day and many new youngsters came every day in the regal capital.
All and all the city were peaceful and the Regal King was thrilled about it because if that thief still didn''t show up now he would probably not in the future.
Alvin on the other hand was very calm, he constantly goes to his usual low-key patrol and returned after finding nothing.
But he wasn''t disheartened and was calmly waiting for the thief to show up.
In the inn where Ryan was staying at this moment.
Ace didn''t leave this inn for an entire month and only practiced the rune crafting and for two days'' break, he would turn his attention to getting an insight into the second realm of dual shadow technique.
He had negated this technique for quite some time now because his focus was mainly on his escaping and concealment skills and then turn to rune crafting.
But now he can''t move freely so he decided to ponder over the second realm Sword of Finger.
The Dual Shadow Sword technique was unique it didn''t need fighting constantly in battles to understand it like a typical weapon technique. It is more like a technique; if you didn''t understand the crux of it even you fight endless, you won''t progress.
When Ace create the sword art Dual Swords Mirage in moon forest, he found out that his understanding of this technique deepened a lot.
But after that, he never found any sword skills or art to further research in the sword''s way and the system never gave him any sword skills or art.
So, Ace simply conclude that the system wanted him to create his sword skills and arts ording to his understanding. But to do this he didn''t have material.
Ace''s theory was he needed some kind of sword skill or art that canplicate the technique second realm just like when he created the dual sword mirage and he reach the peak of the first real.
But first, he had to understand the meaning behind Sword of Finger.
Today was his rune practice day since he can ess the light soul Qi now.
He was creating the sameplex earthly structure without blinking.
''Just thest circle!'' Ace was sweating profoundly as his eyes were glued on the third white runic structure.
The white soul tread was moving very smoothly in ast circle around theplex structure.
When the soul threadpletes the ending circle Ace''s face turns solemn as he shouted abruptly.
"Combine!"
Steam of white soul Qi unleash from Ace''s hand and epassed the three white runic structures.
The runic structures glowed brightly as they blended simultaneously.
The first structure was a triangle with aplex structure inside, in the center was a rectangle andst was the circle that was just drawn by Ace.
The three structures finallybine andpletely disappeared, and suddenly a green rune has appeared in their ce!
This was the Earth Rune!
Ace was overjoyed seeing theplete rune. This was the first rune he ever created, and this was truly an enormous leap for him.
After admiring this work for some time, he cut off the light soul Qi and the earth rune faded into nothingness.
"Sigh¡ only three remain." Ace sighed in relief after thinking about the reaming symbols.
Ace had to admit that if not for the insights of Empty Dream he wouldn''t be able to master the runic structures so quickly.
Although it was not the same, however, the principals were. It was just that heavenly rune crafting was more profound.
However, now that he had created a Heavenly Rune the other three would not be so difficult.
---
Fifty more days pass and today was the day of thepetition!
Ace exited the inn he was staying in an excellent mood because he was very close to mastering the water rune and he had also gained some insights into the dual shadow swords technique during his training.
In these fifty days duration, Ace was sure that a powerful expert was patrolling the city every day in secret.
Because every day he would feel a strong martial sense brush past the area and he knew this was the same expert who he encountered that day.
Ace had his soul signature, though. If he saw him in person, he would know instantly who that expert was.
Ace was going to the venue of thepetition, which was at the same ce where he registered.
Ace wasn''t early orte but when he reached the venue, he was surprised because there were thousands of youngsters standing there waiting.
He also saw many luxurious carriages on the other side, the nobles upied that part.
There was a high tform set outside the registration building and everyone''s eyes were on it. They all were waiting for someone to appear.
An hour past and at this moment a row ofvishing carriages surrounded by golden armed guards with Regal Kingdom''s sigil winged wolf march in the venue from the royal district gate!
Everyone knows only one family can use this sigil in the entire kingdom and that was the Royal Regal Family, the rulers of Regal Kingdoms!
Ace''s eyes narrowed into slits because he senses that Qi river core cultivator soul signature and a Flowing River stage cultivator in thest carriage of Royal Regal Family!
''These two must''ve belonged to the same organization, only those giants can dispatch existence like them here.'' Ace''s face sank.
Now he was determined to lie low until he reached the first-grade kingdomnd of middle-levelnds because that ce was in the judiciary of the three giants!
Chapter 153 - Kingdom Level Test
The carriages of the Royal Regal Family finally stopped outside the registration building.
At this moment, a handsome middle-aged man disembarked the most eye-catching carriage in the very front. He wore a golden robe with a winded wolf sigil embroidered on its back and had a golden crown on his head. He looks like some aloof being with a superior aura around him.
He was naturally the Regal King, Kale Val Regal!
Everyone in the venue kneel the moment they saw King Kale with clear reverence in their eyes.
Ace alsoid his eyes on Kale and felt the dignified atmosphere around him. He never would''ve thought that one day he would see a real King.
He does like the other and kneels calmly. Truth to be told Ace was somewhat moved by seeing thousand of people kneeling in front of a single man.
''So, this is the strongest man in the Regal Kingdom.'' Ace thought as he calmly measures King Kale.
His cultivation was at the Empty River Stage but he was still the king of a third-grade kingdom!
King Kale smile faintly seeing everyone kneeling with reverence.
He said nothing before he stands straight on the high tform. "Rise!"
Everyone got back to their feet as they watch the King with worship in their eyes.
Some people were neutrally looking at King Kale, and Ace was one of them.
King Kale smile like a benevolent King and said, "Today is the big day for youngsters and most importantly it is a very important day for the Regal Kingdom.
"If any of you manage to pass this test, that''s mean you''ll be bringing glory to the Regal Kingdom and I will reward them abundantly without caring about their birth status."
Everyone''s eyes shimmer with ecstasy when they heard about the rewards.
"I only wanted to say one more thing¡" Kale''s face turned solemn as he said, "Don''t die a meaningless death!"
After that Kale exited the tform and went back to the king''s carriage.
Every youth expression was solemn hearing Kale''sst words. They all knew the risks involved in thispetition and that was only the first test not the final.
Ace had apletely different thought process than the others.
''He''s telling them not to die a meaningless death. Heh, he didn''t care about their lives as long they die meaningfully.'' He sneered.
All his attention was on thest carriage where those two powerful experts were, he was hoping for them toe out so he could see their faces. But by the looks of it would not happen.
Because after Kale left the high tform a man with a fierce look on his face exited the registration building. He wore the uniform of the institute and directly climb the tform.
He coldly scanned the crowd of youngsters before speaking, "My name is Dominik and I''ll be your tester for this Kingdom Level Test!"
Dominik coolly said, "There are 149,839 registered participants for this Kingdom Level Test."
Ace was astonished to hear this huge number of people and so does everyone else around him. But those spectators weren''t shocked by this because every five years this kind of number was normal.
"Let me tell you something very interesting." Dominik spoke impassively, "There will be three tests in total. Kingdom Level, Kingdoms Level, and Final Test!
"Kingdom level test is merely in the scope of one kingdom and there are a hundred tests today in every kingdom. At the end of this test, only one million excellent youths will pass throughout the middlends and take part in the Kingdoms Level Test.
"As for how many ces allocated to your kingdom in this one million are¡ 6,000!"
Everyone inhaled sharply hearing this number, Ace also pull a serious face.
It pleased Dominik seeing everyone''s grave expression, "Now we have 149,839 participants here meaning 143,839 among you lot will be failed at the end of this kingdom level test. As for the Kingdoms Level test you didn''t have the right to know about it until you pass this stage."
Everyone was grimly waiting for what kind of test will be in this year''spetition because in every selection there will always be a new type of test.
Dominik didn''t keep everyone hanging as he finally reveal the test, "The kingdom level test of this year will Hunt!"
Everyone eximed in shock.
Dominik continued, "Fifty Milles north from the Regal City is the Dark Swamp Forest filled with all kinds of demonic beasts. The highest cultivation base of a beast living in that forest is the middle stage foundation building.
"All the participants'' cultivation is below Qi Foundation Building Realm and this means if you did not trend carefully you''ll lose your life. You all have fourteen days to hunt a Phantom Horn Lizard!"
Everyone''s expression turns ugly hearing Phantom Horn Lizard''s name because this demonic beast is very good at hiding and escaping. But the most dreadful thing about this Phantom Horn Lizard was its poison spit that can kill someone below Qi foundation realm within minutes!
Ace was calmpared to everyone else because he had nothing to fear in that forest and just had to find that lizard and bring it back.
"Now start moving." A cold smile shed on his face before he said, "I forgot to tell everyone that the antidote for the Phantom Horn Lizard poison has been removed from the market.
"One more thing I''m watching this test with other institute testers and if we found anyone bringing a helper with them, they''ll be killed on the spot no matter who you are! The institute rules are absolute!
"Good Luck and if anyone takes over fourteen days, they will be disqualified!"
Those nobles'' youth''s face was very ugly at this moment while themoners had a joyful expression because this means no one can cheat or take advantage of their background.
Every youngster moved in a hurry. Because whoever reached the forest first will have the advantage to find the target first.
Those aristocrats youths also exited their carriages with an arrogant face before joining the race to the Dark Swamp Forest.
At the moment, a pair of young boy and girl disembark the royal regal family''s carriages!
They were Kale''s youngest children who were taking part in this test!
Everyone gave way to the prince and princess as they move towards the city gate.
Ace was in the enormous crowd and moving like everyone using none of his abilities. He was waiting to exit the city before doing his thing.
He was relieved about those two experts staying in the city especially that Qi river core cultivator.
As for Dominik, he was only an empty river cultivator and Ace can fool him anytime he wanted to.
Ace also saw those nobles forming groups and even that two royal children had their group of twenty. Everyone in their group had fifth gate cultivation and had an egotistic expression on their faces.
"This brother, do you want to join our team?"
Ace followed this voice and saw a chubby boy was smiling at him.
"No, I enjoy working alone." Ryan coolly answered before walking without even caring about the other party''s reply.
Ace''s disguise cultivation was at the fifth gate and he was wee in any group. But no one was asking those weak cultivators below fourth Qi gates and all of them had formed their little groups.
After an hour Ace finally exited the city gate and move toward the Dark Swamp Forest.
He didn''t use the lightning steps instantly because he could feel Dominik and ten other peak Qi foundation stage cultivators following the participants in shadows.
But before he could find a ce to active his skills, Ace felt the familiar presence of that Qi river core expert!
Ace''s expression stiffened, ''Why the hell is he not staying in the damn city!'' He cussed.
Now he had no choice but to move like the other using none of his skills because none of his skills can outmatch a real Qi river core cultivator!
In a single hour, those nobles were nowhere to be seen as they all had high-level skills at their disposal.
Ace was still in the middle range group. Only he knows just how frustrated he was because he can''t use his skills and even had to pretend to be slow!
''At this rate, all those lizards might run out! That guy''s smile was not normal, it was most likely the number of the targets are exactly six thousand. If that''s the case then they''re going to be a bloodbath!'' Ace mused gravely.
Ace''s guess was right on the spot because Dominik and other experts of the institute controlled the exact number of Phantom Horn Lizards!
As for other founding over one Phantom Horn Lizards, they simply didn''t care. They had another alternative to fill the reaming positions.
Because the positions can''t exceed six thousand but they can exclude!
Chapter 154 - Dark Swamp Forest
The Dark Swamp Forest was spread in thousands of miles and it was thergest forest of Regal Kingdom.
The name dark swamp came from its gloomy and dark environment and the ck water swamp that expanded throughout the entire forest and it was very dangerous!
Many poisonous demonic beasts roamed in this forest, and this ce was heaven for lethal beings. The air here alone was very threatening for any cultivators below the Qi foundation building realm not to mention mortals.
That''s why whenever someone came here they bought antitoxins just to breathe normally.
However, on this day, many youngsters enter this dangerous forest with no antidote and they had to hunt the Phantom Horn Lizard that was sneaky and extremely toxic.
But these youngsters were full of spirit and enthusiasm because if theyplete this task they can win riches and glory. So, the danger was worth it.
These youngsters were naturally participants of Damien Royal Institute''s kingdom level test.
Almost 120,000 youths enter the Dark Swamp Forest without caring for their life or death.
As for the reaming ones, they were those who came to their sense and were afraid of death. They all had a weak cultivation base below the fourth Qi gate so forfeiting was very natural.
No-one stopped them orugh at them because everyone''s focus was on those who enter the forest.
The time was two weeks, just enough to not get die by toxic in the forest''s air. But with each passing day, this toxic will affect the progress and judgment of participants, even reducing their action and reaction capabilities.
This made this test even deadlier. This was mostly the case for those who came from all over the regal kingdom because they never enter this forest like some nobles'' children and other youths who came here for training or to collect materials for a living.
But this didn''t stop those who were determined to win a ce in six thousand!
Ace was one of those who never enter this forest or in a toxic environment such as this. But this didn''t affect him much since his cultivation was too high and he had the dark void!
All this worry was about that hidden Qi river core expert, who was following them here and keep using the martial sense without pausing!
''Damn it, he defiantly using Qi stones and some powerful treasure!'' Ace cussed.
He entered the dark swamp forest just an hour ago, but he didn''t dare to use his actual skills in the presence of this hateful martial sense!
Ace was now just like the othermoners and moving at a normal speed of the fifth Qi gate cultivator. He could only wait for this mysterious expert Qi to run out since it was very taxing to keep using martial sense.
But to Ace''s dismay, this martial sense didn''t show any sign of weakening even after four hours.
Ace was nowpletely sure that his fellow was very rich since he was burning a huge amount of Qi stones just to keep the martial sense active.
Ace was almost right about his conjecture regarding Alvin''s wealth and treasure.
First, Alvin didn''t n on following the participants in the test but when he was in the carriage of the Regal Royal Family, he felt something very peculiar.
It was as if someone was looking at the carriage he was sitting in!
Alvin wasn''t like others who think it was just a coincidence.
This feeling came straight from the sharp martial sense that never failed him before. But when he probe the crowd with his powerful treasure, he found nothing.
But he was sure this feeling of being probed came straight from this crowd of youngsters!
This makes him even more curious because to his knowledge only someone in the same realm can fool his martial sense but it was also impossible to find a person like this here.
So, his suspicion leads his thoughts straight to that mysterious thief!
He wanted to instantly investigate the crowd of youths because this was the first time he found anything out of order aftering here.
However, Alvin refrained himself and investigated all of them when no one was around and that ce was of course Dark Swamp Forest!
In this forest, he can do anything he wanted with whomever he found suspicious. No one will ever know about it not even his sister who was toozy and disdainful to leave the city ande in this forest with him!
Alvin was using a formation treasure that can be operated with high Qi stones and he just had to use his martial sense to the lowest capacity with it!
Now, Alvin was observing a thousand square meters area around himself with that treasure and he cover every participant.
''So far nothing. Let''s hope I was not mistaken.'' Alvin licked his lips as he patiently waits in the shadows like a snake.
The moment he felt something is not right with someone he would not hesitate to act.
Ace was five hundred meters away from Alvin''s treasure range and he keep it that way because if he moved any further he won''t be able to tell if he was being watched since he didn''t know the exact range of his martial sense.
And if he moves carelessly to through Alvin off, he might stimte his suspicion.
Now, this has turned into the game of forbearing, whoever runs out of it first will lose!
"Phantom Horn Lizards are found in the middle area of forest and I''m still at the outskirts of the forest. It will still take me two or three days to reach that area at this speed." Ace mumbles to himself while looking at the map.
Although it annoys him to move like this, it didn''t mean he will jump straight to the enemy''s hand. He just has to wait for that annoying fellow to be careless and before that he just had to act which he was very good at.
''It is a blessing that no one is attaching anyone for now or I might show some opening by defending myself.'' Ace pondered.
He knew this peace won''tst long and the moment everyone reached the hunting ground of those lizards the actual test to skills will start then.
Eight hours pass, almost everyone was resting because a Qi gate cultivator can''t move for long in this kind of environment. When ite to Ace that was whole another story, though.
But even Ace had to pretend to be resting like everyone else because that martial sense just won''t go away.
''I wish I could just rob that guy''s treasures!'' Ace thought bitterly. But he didn''t even know where he was and afraid of using his heavenly sense.
Ace now had some doubts seeing the persistence of that mysterious expert because he was using the martial sense like he knew Ace was here and this made Ace think he has slipped somewhere despite being extremely careful.
That is why he wasn''t using even soul sense to probe in long-range like he always does.
Now, Ace can only think of one way to not draw attention to himself and that was to stick together with a group of people.
By doing this Ace could draw less attention to himself and he don''t have to use his skills more often when the real hunt began.
''Now, which group should I stick with.'' Ace carefully used his soul sense to scan a hundred meters radius area!
Ace was a lone wolf and didn''t know how to y in a team but he was always ready for new experiences.
''Oh, a familiar soul signature.'' Ace was astonished and go in the north direction sixty meters away from his position.
There was a party of eight youths resting under a brown tree. There were five girls and three boys on this team.
When they saw an average-looking youth walking towards them with a smile on his face, all of them be vignt because his cultivation was at the peak Qi gate realm.
"Halt!" A tall, muscr boy shouted and stop the youth with acuity in his eyes. He was a fifth Qi gate cultivator.
"What business do you have with us?" He coolly asked.
Ace saw the six feet tallboy with muscr built with interest, he had an above-average face with bronze skin. A nine feet tall spear was in his firm hand. He was clenching it as if he would attack him if he finds anything awry.
Ryan put a friendly smile as he said, "I want to join your party. I wonder if you have any open spot for me?"
"No! We didn''t need anyone. Please leave." The boy said without thinking twice.
Ace didn''t find this rejection strange since he would''ve done the same to a stranger who wanted to join his party out of the blue.
Ryan said nothing and merely nodded with a faint smile on his face as he turned around to leave.
But before turning around he nces at a dainty girl sitting around the fire. She was looking at him with curious eyes.
She was the same girl who killed the owner of this face, Ace was wearing!
Chapter 155 - Joining A Team
Ace didn''t expect to see this girl so soon after entering the forest.
The first reason he came to this party was to see if he could join them and the second and main reason was to see if this girl remembered this boy''s face who she killed that day.
''Heh, she didn''t remember.'' Ace was overjoyed noticing she didn''t react in any way.
It was also nighttime that day so it was very normal to her not to remember the face clearly and besides who would remember a terrible memory about a scum, right?
"Wait!"
Ace was going to leave so he could search for some other group he could join when a gentle voice stopped him.
Ryan curiously looked back toward this crisp voice and saw a beautiful girl was looking at him with a charming smile.
Her face was oval with a sharp chin and white skin. She wore a short skirt that reveals her long slender legs and a short robe that show her tone waist.
One can see a longbowying on herp and a quiver attached to her back, she was an archer.
Ace impassively looked at this seductive beauty, her cultivation was at the peak of the fifth gate and she was probably the strongest one among this party.
Because there were only the fifth gate cultivators included this charming girl, the spear boy, and that dainty girl who wasn''t hiding her cultivation anymore. The other five were all at the fourth Qi gate realm.
"Why do you want to join a party now?" She asked with an interesting expression on her face.
Ryan smiles faintly before answering, "Because I first thought it will be easy alone but aftering here I understand I was wrong."
"Hehe, you''re quite honest. Fine, you can join my team but if I found you a liability¡ I''ll kick you out." She smiles seductively and lets Ryan join the party.
The boy with the spear grimaced and blurt, "Miss N, please reconsider. How could you let anyone join the team whoes out of nowhere?" It dissatisfied him seeing N letting this stranger join without counseling with anyone.
"Oh, now I need Little Brother Devan''s permission to make my decision?" N gives an icy re to Devan.
"I didn''t say that but¡"
Before Devan couldplete his sentence, N cut him and speak coolly.
"Since you are against my decision very well. Let''s vote for it. I don''t want anyone to think I''m overbearing like those rotten nobles." N looked at everyone with a smile, "Everyone please speak your mind freely."
Ace on the side was observing this with recreation. He didn''t think this girl was the leader of this small party and so resolute.
The six of them looked at each other with wry smiles. They were all strangers but everyone knows the attitude of their leader by now.
"I''m with Brother Devan." A mean-looking boy spoke at this moment.
"I''m also with Brother Devan in this. We can''t let just anyone enter the party." A gentle-looking boy speaks solemnly.
N frowned but said nothing and looked at those four girls with great expectation in her round eyes.
"I think we should let him stay since he''s also a peak Qi gate realm cultivator and this will give us more chances to fight for Phantom Horn Lizard." The girl with an average face speaks with a grave face.
N smile hearing this and nod in satisfaction. This was also the reason she wanted to let Ryan join the team.
"I-I¡he can¡ join." A little girl timidly speaks while shyly ncing at everyone.
Devan''s face stiffen when he saw the vote tied, and he looked at those two reaming girls.
"Sorry Big Sister N but I''m with Big Brother Devan in this." The girl with a sword said with an apologetic face.
N smiled at her as she wasn''t holding a grudge.
Now everyone was looking at the dainty girl. She was the third strongest member and her opinion mattered a lot even if Devan had three votes.
The dainty girl deeply looked at Ryan who didn''t speak all this time and only watched showing no emotions.
''Why does he look so familiar?'' She thought confusingly. But no matter how much she run her brain she didn''t remember encountering a peak Qi gate existence like this boy.
Her thought process was very simple, she only remembered powerful people that can stand equal against her and everyone else was only a flea in her eyes.
She had killed many people who court death after seeing her disguise cultivation and that''s why she didn''t remember the boy she killed three months ago.
"I want to test him, if he can take on one attack from me then he can stay, and if not¡ hihi." She said in her mellow voice.
"I like Little Sister Lilith''s idea. What do you think Little Brother Dewan?" N ps her hand happily while looking at Dewan.
"Fine." Dewan also has no qualm since two of the strongest members were agreed.
"What do you think¡ um, I didn''t know your name." N looked at Ryan while smiling sweetly.
"My name is Ryan and I don''t have any objection." Ryan shrugs his shoulder.
Lilith also didn''t dy and stand up from her position.
Ace was amusingly looking at her. He has seen this little girl''s ability once and knew she was very good at fatal attacks.
Everyone moves twenty yards away to give them space and watch with serious faces.
They all were traveling for some time and they know just how powerful this weak-looking little girl was after seeing her defeating a demonic beast equal to a fourth Qi gate cultivator like it was nothing.
One had to know the demonic beasts'' bodies were much tougher than human cultivators. A demonic beast of the fourth Qi gate can trouble even a fifth Qi gate cultivator. Yet this girl has killed it with a blow!
"I won''t hold back." Lilith said with a faint smile, "So if you die don''t resent me."
"Don''t worry I won''t." Ryan smile faintly.
Lilith''s smile turn cold because she thought this guy was underestimating her. She hated those who look down on her and this instigated her killing intent.
Ace sense a faint killing intent from Lilith but didn''t take it seriously. All his attention was on the martial sense that just won''t go away.
Lilith finally moved at wind-like speed. She was using a movement skill that was her most powerful skill.
Everyone''s eyes contracted because this move was the exact move she used to defeat that demonic beast in an instant.
Ace saw Lilith''s movement and was slightly surprised by it because her speed was equal to his silent steps at middle-level mastery!
Lilith still didn''t see Ryan moving nor did his smile change even in the slightest. She takes an eight inched dark blue double edge dagger out of her waist belt. It was a three-start treasure.
With her fast speed and that sharp dagger in her hand, it can prate even peak fifth Qi gate cultivation heart easily!
But her opponent was Heavenly Foundation Cultivator like Ace.
Lilith finally reached Ryan, and without any hesitation, she goes for the killing blow.
''Swishh¡''
The dagger made an air-piercing sound but it only permeate empty air because Ryan has vanished before the dagger could touch his body.
"H-how!? Where is he?!?" Lilith was shocked seeing Ryan disappear and nced around.
Lilith''s eyes were wide open and everyone else was watching his exchange of move.
They all saw Ryan was standing one meter behind Lilith with a faint smile on his face. No one saw him moving, he just disappeared and appeared behind Lilith like a ghost!
Ace has used the silent step to sidestep Lilith''s attack and sneak behind her.
This girl was good with her dagger but she can''t force him to use his actual abilities.
From start to finish he was observing the martial sense to see if he could draw any attention to himself by using the silent steps.
''Oh, just a little flinch. I can use my silent step to fifty percent since it didn''t consider it suspicious.'' Ace sighs in relief and shifted his consciousness from the invisible bead in his thief''s storage.
He was ready to use this bead to hide his presence at any given moment if he detected anything amiss.
"H-how you did it?"
Ace finally turn his attention to bewilderment Lilith and others who were dumbfoundedly looking at him.
"I''m just stronger than you." Ryan rubs his chin while speaking with a serious face.
Lilith''s cute face turn red hearing this unreasonable answer but she didn''t retort nor did she have a word to. Since she said she would use only one attack and Ryan beat her fair and square she didn''t attack again, even if she was frustrated.
"Wee to the team!"
N speaks at this moment as her eyes shimmer with excitement.. She was thrilled to have a person with a movement skill even stronger than Lilith.
Chapter 156 - The Hunting Ground
Everyone snapped out of their bewilderment after hearing N''s enthusiastic voice.
No one raised any objection at this time and everyone wee Ryan with broad smiles on their faces.
Dewan also wee Ryan but his smile was forceful since he didn''t have a ground to object anymore. Even he had to admit that Ryan''s movement skill was alone worth having in the team and he simply can''t counter it.
"I''ll be in your care everyone." Ryan beamed broadly while nodding towards everyone.
Ace''s genuine concern was that hidden expert at this moment and this new team was just a camouge so he could not look so obvious while using his overpowered skills.
"Little Brother Ryan, where are you from?" N asked with full of interest.
Everyone was resting at this moment after Ryan join the party.
Ace calmly tell them what he told in the Regal city''s gate and told that he was an orphan who wanted to achieve something in his life and the institute test was just the thing he needed.
After hearing Ryan''s ambition everyone also open up to him and talked about their dreams as well.
Ace couldn''t help but feel somewhat heartwarming seeing everyone smiling and talking with each other happily. Hisst interaction with someone like this was with Bill in Luminous City.
''Being ignorant is a blessing on its own.'' Ace thought with a peculiar smile on his face.
In his opinion, this group was full of ambition and dreamspletely ignorant of danger lurking in the shadows. After all, every one of them had a family to go back to.
They were not like him who didn''t have a home or someone waiting for him except Alina whose whereabouts were unknown and probably millions of miles away.
But Ace didn''t forget he still had someone with him and she was always traveling with him. Although she was sealed in that ck and red cocoon in his living thief''s space she will always be with him no matter what.
After resting for two more hours the group of nine moves again. They didn''t wait for the night to pass since everyone was trying to reach the Phantom horn Lizard hunting group as soon as possible.
Ace was, of course, one of them now and he was moving in the rear and his task was to cover everyone''s back.
Dewan first has a problem with N''s decision to leave such a position to Ryan so careless but she was hellbent on it and others also approved of it. Dewan felt extremely helpless and agreed with this decision in the end, but he was moving with Ryan to make sure he won''t y any tricks.
Ace waspletely understanding Dewan''s vignce toward him and he also didn''t trust himpletely. But Ace has his doubts regarding two persons in this group after interacting with them and Dewan was not one of them.
They all travel for six hours and kill many toxic demonic beasts in their way. Those demonic beasts were not very powerful, but they were poisonous regardless of their cultivation base.
Ace also saw those five fourth Qi gate realm teammates'' faces were bluish, and this was the sign of breathing this forest''s air and traveling on the bank of dark water swamp.
They also encounter some other parties like them but no one fights since everyone was umting their Qi for the target and the fight will only start after they reach the middle area of the dark swamp forest.
One thing noteworthy was the nobles of Regal Capital were nowhere to be seen especially the Regal family''s group of twenty. It was as if they were traveling without resting.
But no one had any time to ponder over them since everyone was busy dealing with this toxic environment.
"Don''t you think this ce is too dangerous for these youngsters?" A man''s voice sounded somewhere in the forest.
"Heh, if they can''t even take this much poison and survive then they will be killed by those second-grade kingdoms participants in the second test. Besides this test was nothingpared to top ten kingdoms." An impersonal voice jeered at this moment.
"He is right. This test is for their good or they all will be killed in Kingdoms Level Test and be stepping stone for others." Another sweet voice rang.
"Hahaha, do you all seriously think they can pass the second test or even survive? Almost for four hundred years, no one has ever won any seat from a third-grade kingdom. Besides the second test is very interesting this time, there will be a vast audience watching those ants getting crushed." A man''s disdainfulughter rang.
No one rebuke him as if he was telling the truth!
---
Two days pass in a breeze.
Almost every participant has reached the middle area of the dark swamp forest. But everyone''s face has a bluish hue as if they were all sick. Those youngsters finally understood just how difficult this test truly was and this was only the third day out of fourteen!
Now, in everyone''s mind was only one thought and that was to find a Phantom Horn Lizard as quick as possible and leave this damn ce.
Ace party''s condition was also the same. The five weakest teammates'' faces were bluish pale and the three strongest were somewhat better than everyone else except Ryan!
Ryan''s face was still the same as he was two days ago. It was as if this environment didn''t affect him in the least bit.
Although, it was a good thing but not at this particr time because Alvin''s martial sense was still there and if he took notice of Ace''s special condition, he mighte running any time for him.
Ace was almost on the verge of crying because of this. He never would''ve thought his heavenly defying immunity will get him into life-threatening trouble.
He even asked the system if this mask can change skin color but to his dismay it has none!
Ace simply cursed at the system after learning about this w and the system ignore him like always.
In the end, Ace dived into the ck swamp in the name of; he saw Phantom Horn Lizard and bepletely ck with dirt.
His teammates were ecstatic first when they heard it but soon they discovered it was just a false rm and looked at dirty Ryan with sympathy in their eyes.
Everyone thought that he had gone insane because of poison and question him so they could test just how much he was sane!
Ace didn''t know whether tough or cry seeing everyone''s sympathetic expression but his action was indeed idiotic so he could only ensure them he was sane after answering their weird questions.
But no matter what he wasn''t regretting his actions since now no one could see hisplexion clearly and found his unusual poison resistance ability.
After this minor incident, they all search for the Phantom Horn Lizard as their lives depend on it.
"Follow me. I know where we could find those lizards!" The boy with a gentle face speaks at this moment. His name was Crosby, and he was amoner from the Regal Capital City.
N and everyone looked at Crosby with obvious doubts in their eyes.
Crosby smile wryly seeing everyone questioning eyes and said, "I''m a beast hunter ande to this forest many times for hunting and gathering beast materials. I had to admit I had never dived this deep in the forest before but I heard a senior hunter once talking about this ce that was hunting a group of Phantom Horn Lizards. If I remember correctly, then we are not far from it."
Ace''s eyes narrowed hearing this, but he said nothing and merely looked at N like everyone else. She was the leader of this party and she has the final say.
"I think we should try it. It is far better than roaming around aimlessly." Dewan spoke at this moment in the support of Crosby. He was very friendly with Crosby.
N pounded for a moment and looked at Lilith who was always in a sulky mood ever since she loses her exchange with Ryan.
Lilith nodded toward Crosby, she was clearly in agreement with Dewan''s reason.
N then looked at Ryan. She also trusts this new member since he let no demonic beast past him in these two days and he was also very humble.
Ryan merely shrugs his shoulder and leaves it to N.
"Fine, we''ll follow Little Brother Crosby from now on. We''re already far behind those rotten nobles." N finally agreed with Crosby since it was also her first timeing to the capital city and this forest.
Crosby smile gently seeing everyone was going to follow him, "I won''t disappoint you all." He takes the lead and starts moving in the muddy pathway between those tall gloomy trees'' stilt roots.
By Crosby movement, it didn''t seem it was his first time here as if he knows the forest very well. Nobody notices this detail since the poison clouded their judgment.
Well, everyone except Ace!
Chapter 157 - Treachery!
Ace''s party of nine was following Crosby for half an hour. As they all moved in this particr route, the humidity was increasing. One can see dense clouds in the sky.
"It''s going to be heavy rain." The girl with the sword said while frowning. Her name was Pearl, she was a lesser noble''s daughter and came from Ale Province.
"I good if it''s poured down heavy since it will clean this damn air." The boy with a mean face shouted. His name was Ramiro, and he was amoner from Vin Province.
"No, it is not good at all. The rain will make it more difficult to move and many poisonous demonic beasts can easily sneak up on us with all the water in the way. I heard the ck water swamp can easily flood the middle area of the forest in heavy rain. We don''t want to be that swamp!" Lilith gravely speaks at this moment.
Everyone expression stiff hearing this because Lilith was stating the obvious and they all speed up their movement.
Ace on the other hand was ecstatic and wholeheartedly wish for heavy rain because the rain can moderately hinder that damn martial sense! The water will create small ripples in the Qi of this atmosphere that was already full of water element Qi.
This will give Ace some chance to use his abilities freely!
Now he just had to wait for the rain to start.
"We''re here!" Crosby''s excited voice sounded after half an hour.
Everyone looked at the area and was astonished because there were many fifty meters tall purple trees with needle-like purple leaves which were one meter long.
Ace''s eyes narrowed because he wasn''t like the others seeing with just naked eyes, he was observing with soul sense. He found many tiny demonic insects on those trees.
''This might be a hunting ce for Phantom Horn Lizard. Since it''s two feet long and enjoys praying on small demonic beasts.'' Ace thought with ecstasy, ''If I can get one I don''t need to be on edge all the time and I can leave this ce for good.''
"Everyone please be careful of those trees are extremely toxic and if those needle-like leaves or the tree bark itself even faze you, you''ll be dead in two hours!" Crosby grimly warns everyone.
Everyone''s excitement dies down the moment they heard Crosby''s warning. They tend the way more carefully in high alert now.
Just like this, they disappear into the forest of those poisonous trees, and an hour passed, but they didn''t find any trace of Phantom Horn Lizard.
However, everyone''splexion was pale blue since this area''s air was much poisonous than outside air.
"I¡ I thi¡think¡ we should leave this ce." The little shy girl spoke in a mosquito-like voice at this moment. Her name was Natalia and she was amoner of Capital City.
Natalia''s personality was shy and she speak very little and only listen to everyone else like an obedient little child. She was the youngest in the group only 13 years old.
Although Natalia''s voice wasn''t loud, yet everyone hears it since they were all cultivators.
"I''m agreed with Little Natalia." The girl with an average face instantly agreed with Natalia. Her name was Ashly, and she was amoner from ale province.
"We can''t just give up aftering this far." Ramiro instantly retorted with an angry face.
Little Natalia was scared and quickly hide behind Ashly.
"Hey, you can''t take with her like this." N rebuke Ramiro and said, "I know how you''re feeling but we can''t stay here for too long or we''ll die before we could find those damn lizards!"
"But leader we can''t just go back after we''vee this deep and our target may be just around the corner!" Crosby said gravely. He was unwilling to leave.
"He had a point." Dewan nodded with a grim face.
"Oh, it seems you didn''t cherish your life." Lilith speaks with a sneer at this moment, "Look at your face it is already this pale if you go deep you''ll die maybe in three more hours and those weaker than you had little time either. Now decide if your life is more important or thispetition?"
Dewan finally closely looked at his hand and was shocked after seeing his blue skin with small ck dots on it.
"We''re leaving!" N decisively said after noticing her beautiful skin turning into this hideous blue and spinning around.
"Hah, they finally couldn''t take it anymore!" At this moment a contemptuous voice of a male resounded from the shadow of the trees.
N and everyone''s faces fell after hearing this voice.
"Who are you, show yourself, coward!" Ramiro yells with anger.
"Oh, this one is still lively." A sweet voice scoffed at this moment from the opposite direction to that male voice.
"We''ve been surrounded." Ryan calmly said at this moment, he was the only one who wasn''t surprised by this sudden ambush.
Ace has long sensed this hidden party after they enter this part but didn''t point it out since it would look suspicious. After all, somemoner like him can''t sense someone''s presence from twenty meters away from him by normal means.
So, he could only wait and see how this thing would y out while watching the sky.
''Just fall already!'' Ace bitterly thought.
"Please, we don''t want to fight. Just let us pass." N said gravely. She knew no one in the condition of an all-out fight because if they waste anymore Qi the poison will prate their defense and enter their internals.
And when it happened, it will be over for everyone!
"Hehe, you don''t want to fight, you say? It''s more likely you can''t fight."
At this moment a tall skinny boy walks out of the tree''s shadow with a mocking smile on his face.
Thereafter, eleven more youngsters walkout from their hiding spots. This new group worevishing robes and the most shocking part about them was theirplexions were perfectly fine with no trace of toxicity!
"Y-you how did you''re fine!??" Dewan was shocked.
"Hehe, a mere dirtymoner like you don''t have the right to know." The skinny boy disdainfully said.
Dewan''s face turned unsightly hearing this answer. He hated these nobles for their ego and haughty attitude.
N and other expressions were also not good.
At this moment in everyone confusing and shocking eyes, Crosby moves toward the party of aristocrats with a crooked smile on his face.
"My Lords, I''ve done what you asked for. Now can you give me the cure, I''m almost out of Qi." Crosby said while kneeling in front of the skinny boy.
"Brother Crosby, YOU!??" Dewan''s face turned bloodless pale seeing the person who he considers a friend turning into a traitor instantly.
The remaining party members also show the same expression as Dewan, except for Ryan.
Ace knew this guy was up to no good from the start when he lies about his background and lures everyone into this forest. But he didn''t point it out for obvious reasons.
He felt sorry for the poor guy Dewan; he was always on guard against him but never suspected the closest person, who was pulling his chain all along.
"You, traitorous bastard, you sell us down the river!" Ramiro clenched the two axes in his hand as the fire of hatred burned deep in his eyes.
He wanted to attack Crosby but N stop him and stiffly said, "You''ll die!"
"Hehe, listen to this whore. She is telling the truth in this condition I can just dodge and you''ll be helpless after your Qi run out." At this moment, the bulky boy ridicule while ring at Romero''s pale blue face.
N show killing intent hearing that boy calling her whore but didn''t attack.
However, a spear moves in a lightning speed at this moment with no warning and its target was none other than kneeling Crosby''s head!
This attacker was none other than Dewan who was blinded by rage and just wanted to kill this traitor.
"NO!" N finally saw Dewan moving without caring about the consequences but it was toote to stop him.
Crosby also saw Dewaning and sneer as he looked at the skinny boy without moving from his position. He had no intention to dodge.
The skinny boy sneered and swept his sleeve nonchntly. A white barrier suddenly appeared between Dewan''s spearhead and Crosby''s head.
''ng''
A metallic voice sounded when the spearhead touched the light barrier and Dewan blew backward because of the shock wave created by this collision.
Dewan''s face was bloodlessly pale as he struggles to stand up and suddenly vomit a mouthful of blood. His eyes were almost listless.
Ace''s eyes contracted after seeing this light barrier and gravely thought, ''An array barrier treasure!''
His knowledge about runes was not so shallow anymore, and he instantly found out the nature of that light barrier.
Ace didn''t use his runic eyes because he didn''t want to active Light Soul Qi and cause unusual soul ripple in the air.
But he could tell because that brat can''t control a formation barrier with his fifth Qi gate cultivation, and besides formations cannot be bought at markets like candies!
Chapter 158 - Living Bait!
Dewan was palpitating heavily while struggling to keep his conscious, but the hatred in his eyes didn''t dim in the slightest.
"Are you, all right?"
Dewan felt two firm hands giving him support and helping him stand up. He weakly looked to the side and saw Ryan was the one who supported him.
Dewan felt guilt wash over him, he never trusts Ryan even for a second but in the end, it was the person he trusted most that stabbed him in the back, and now who he trusted the least is helping him.
Dewan weakly nodded at Ryan in affirmative.
"Oh, you collide directly with my golden shield and only splutter some blood. I had to say, I''m impressed." The skinny boy said with sarcasm.
Dewan looked at this boy with naked killing intent but he was helpless to do anything.
"What do you want with us?!" N grimly asked.
"You''ll find out soon." The skinny boy said while showing his white teeth, "Brother Frank and Brother Callen, I have to trouble you both with escorting them to the Young Duke. I have to go back since more of my minions areing with more living bait."
"Hahaha, don''t worry Brother Finn, we''ll handle this delivery perfectly." A tall handsome youth with long hair walks forward, with a broad smile on his face. It was Frank.
Following Frank was a muscr young man, he was Callen.
"I expect nothing less from you, Brother Frank." Finn smile while nodding at them.
Frank turned his attention to Ace''s party of eight and his warm smile turned cold.
Ace frowned when he hears Living Bait but he still can do nothing, ''Just what is these nobles nning?'' He wanted to see just what is this all about.
"Now my little friends follow me and don''t try to y any tricks or Brother Callen here will cut your arms as punishment." Frank chuckled coldly.
Ace''s party expression was pale, but they had no choice since both Frank and Callen were peak fifth Qi gate cultivators and they were not in the condition to fight while they were perfectly fine.
"Just do as he said and you''ll be fine we don''t want your life," Callen spoke impassively at this moment.
"It''s not like we have any choice." N smiled bitterly and helplessly agreed to follow those two and so does everyone else.
"Hey, kneeling guy why aren''t you moving?" Frank annoyingly looked at Crosby who was amusingly watching his former teammates'' ugly faces.
Crosby''s face turn bloodlessly pale as he looked at Finn instantly.
Finn chuckles coldly, "You hear the man, follow them you''re also living bait. I didn''t save you for nothing consider it me returning the favor."
"M-my L¡ Lord, please don''t do this. I was always loyal to you!" Crosby instantly begged.
"Don''t shit around or you don''t want your hand?!" Frank coldly speaks.
Crosby tremble and quickly join his former team again with an ugly face after hearing Frank because he knew this guy will do what he said.
Finn didn''t even flinch seeing Crosby''s pleading expression and said before leaving while waving his hand, "I''ll leave everything to Brother Frank."
"Go in peace." Frank chuckles.
N and everyone else were looking at Crosby with eyes full of hatred and killing intent.
"You reap what you sow, huh." Lilith coldly said with killing intent. If not for N gripping her hand, she wanted to stab this backstabbing bastard.
Crosby''s face was as if he will cry at any moment, he was simply thrown in the pack of wounded lions now. So, he quickly changes his position and begins to walk closer with Callen.
Frank led the way and to N and the other eight dismay they were moving deep in this poisonous forest again.
"My Lords, we''ll die in two hours if we keep moving in this forest!" Crosby said in a begging tone.
"Shut up! The more poison your boy amodates the better." Frank pursed his lips.
"Can you tell us what this living bait thing is?" Ryan calmly asked at this moment.
Frank coolly nce at Ryan''s dirty face and said, "Ugly you seem quite calm from everyone else why is that?"
"Panic will make the poisoning process even faster and besides it''s not like I can run away from you." Ryan indifferently answered.
Frank couldn''t help but take another nce at Ryan''s calm eyes and was little started by them. He didn''t find any trace of fear in them.
Everyone else in the group was also astonished hearing Ryan''s words and quickly try to calm themselves.
"Hahaha, interesting, very interesting. You know what! I like you. How about you pledge your loyalty to me and I''ll let you live." Frank said with a smile.
Callen frowned and said coldly, "Stop your nonsense, or I have to report this to Young Duke!"
"Tsk, tsk, you''re not fun brother Callen." Frank chuckles while darkly looking at Callen.
"Sorry Ugly it seems your luck is not so good," Frank said as he shrugged his shoulder.
''Tell me about it.'' Ace smile bitterly.
"Since I like you let me tell you about living bait," Frank said nonchntly.
Everyone''s ears perked as they all listen very carefully and Callen also didn''t stop Frank this time.
"As you can tell, you all are living bait for Bloodthirsty Earth Mantis because it loved poisonous blood of humans!" Frank said.
"Y-you aren''t talking about that insect that feeds on blood andid its eggs in its target''s bloodstream?!" Pearl abruptly asked as her face was ghastly pale.
"Oh, this little chick knows her stuff. Yes, it is indeed the one and only Bloodthirsty Earth Mantis." Frank coldly chuckles.
Everyone''s faces darken to the extreme.
"Why Bloodthirsty Earth Mantis?" Ryan asked again calmly.
"Hehe, they are the favorite food for Phantom Horn Lizard. That damn lizard is too difficult to find but it can''t resist the temptation of Bloodthirsty Earth Mantis." Frank said.
Ace finally understood these nobles'' n.
"Hah, you figure it out, right?" Frank beamed at Ryan who was naturally looking at him.
"Yes, you guys know about this test in advance or you couldn''t n this kind of strategy in given moments. Since you know about this beforehand; you all scatter your minions in different groups so they can lure living baits here for you. In the end, you all are brokers who are paid to bring us to those higher nobles." Ryan coolly said.
Frank deeply looked at Ryan and so does Callen. They had to admit this guy''s mind was too sharp for his good. Because he almost guessed the whole truth by little information.
N and everyone else were also astonished after hearing Ryan''s shocking conjecture.
"Hahaha, I had to admit it but you''re quite something and I want to put a ve item on you. Yes, someone has leaked this information about the test and we turn it to our advantage." Frankugh out loud.
"Heh, so much for the fairpetition." Ryan pursed his lips and smile bitterly.
N and everyone''s expression stiffed hearing this.
"Hehe, my Ugly friend trust me if you have the right price to pay you can buy anything in this world." Frank nonchntly said.
Ace couldn''t help but agreed with Frank on this one.
"That''s enough or you''ll know the consequences." Callen pursed his lips and stiffly warned Frank.
"Hehe, you''re not fun brother Callen. Fine, no more talking everyone." Frank chuckled.
---
Deep in the dark swamp forest.
Alvin was sitting cross-legged on a tall tree while his eyes were closed.
He was observing the participants for three days now with his martial sense.
The Martial Sense differed greatly from Soul Sense.
Where soul sense can sense soul''s emotion and soul Qi fluctuation, the martial sense can detect physical activities, martial Qi fluctuation, and it can also form a Qi projection to living. Simply put as long as you''re alive and have any kind of Qi in your body you can''t hide from Martial Sense.
Although this Qi projection was very vague in the Qi River Core realm, it was enough to find hidden enemies.
Both senses have their pros and cons, heaven didn''t make everyone perfect after all.
Moreover, one can amplify both senses if they have the right treasure but these treasures were very rare and few crafters know how to forge them and their materials were quite rare in lowernds.
But these kinds of treasures can only bepleted after a rune crafter crafts some special rune symbols on them. That''s why they were so rare.
Alvin also had one of these rare treasures and that''s why he can erge his martial sense of hundred meters into one thousand meters and even use Qi stones to keep it active.
However, even he had his limits and he was reaching it quickly since martial sense also took a huge toll on his soul, just like soul sense can affect physique!
''It''s going to be rainfall soon and I need twelve hours to recover before I can use my martial sense again.. I should investigate those five in meantime.'' Alvin thought and a grim smile appeared on his face!
Chapter 159 - Royal Family Arrival
Ace''s party stopped after one hour when they reached some kind of campsite.
Everyone was astonished to see someone camping in this poisonous forest.
This sight did not surprise Frank and Callen and casually move towards therge fire where five youngsters were sitting.
Two were sitting on a golden couch while the other three were assumed on the ground and when they sense Ace''s party presence they turned around with no fear as if they know who wasing.
Frank put an obsequious smile and promptly said, "Young Duke, I bought you thest batch of living bait."
At this moment an extremely handsome boy with silver hair smile gently hearing Frank''s word. He wasying on the golden couch while his head was resting on an alluring beauty''sp.
"Scram now and tell Young Marquess I''ll remember his favor." The silver hair boy indifferently said with no hint of skepticism as if he didn''t care about Frank or Callen. His eyes were fixed on new living baits.
"Yes, as Young Dukemand. I''ll let Young Marquess know." Frank didn''t dare to show any dissatisfaction and quickly looked at Ace''s party.
"If you guys want to live don''t piss him off trust me he''s the exact example of ''looks can be deceiving." Frank faintly said before quickly leaving with Callen. He was truly afraid of this Young Duke.
"Hehe, it seems Young Duke has quite a reputation." The sedative beauty brushes the boy''s long silver hair and giggles after hearing Frank''s parting words.
"Hah, it''s not like he speaks any lie." The silver hair boy didn''t mind Frank''s words and chuckles while answering the beauty.
N and Lilith frowned seeing this new party was also in good condition.
"Do we have enough?" The Young Duke asked nonchntly to a dwarf boy sitting there.
"Afterbining these nine we have 41 living baits, Young Duke. I think it is enough." The dwarf boy respectfully answered.
"Heh, let''s hunt some Phantom Horn Lizard, what do you say Lady Jenna?" The Young Duke looked at the charming beauty with a soft smile on his face.
"As Young Duke Leomand." She smiles seductively and nodded in agreement.
"You three ves bring them with everyone and follow us, make sure to give them paralysis pill so they won''t retaliate." Leo coldly looked at those three boys andmand.
"Yes." The three answers in unison.
Speaking of which when Ace saw this young duke enjoying himself in this kind of environment, he couldn''t help but admire him.
He even makes a mental note to buy somethingfortable like that couch for himself since he was always traveling and it was not like he didn''t have space to store these kinds of things.
The dwarf boy approached Ace''s party and coldly said, "Eat these pills. Although they can stop the Qi flow in your body for ten hours, however, they can also slow the poison effect."
He took nine purple pills from his storage ring and tell Ace''s party to eat them.
L and Lilith hesitate but when those other six hear these pills can slow the poison effect they quickly take the pills and throw them in their mouths.
"Did you three want to die?" A boy with a scar on his left eye released his aura of peak fifth Qi gate realm. This was a warning for N, Lilith, and Ryan.
N bitterly took the pill so does Lilith and Ryan. They knew it would be suicide to retaliate against these three peaks'' fifth Qi gate cultivators.
They can''t win against Frank and Callen much less these three and not to mention those two who were flirting with each other on the side.
Ace also took the pill and throw it in his mouth with no hesitation.
======
"[Host has consumed Low-Grade Pill (Green-Ranked pill)]
[5 EXP has been added to Host''s status]"
---
{EXP: 29.95 Million/50 Million}
======
''Just Five this time eh. it seems green rank pills will be useless once I reached peak heavenly foundation stage just like the white rank pill.'' Ace smile bitterly.
It was his first time gaining EXP after he reached the high stage of Heavenly Foundation Building Realm.
It came to no surprise that even green rank pills were giving him so little EXP.
Every time Ace reached a higher realm those low-level things that give him EXP lost their effects and this was not a good sign for Ace.
Because he needed arge amount of EXP when he reached the upper levels of cultivation and normal cultivation was just too slow for him.
Ace has noticed that one minute of normal cultivation can only give him [1 EXP] because stealing Qi from heaven and making it his own is difficult. But EXP made this thing very easily.
Because the system can turn this EXP in heavenly Qi and make the absorption process almost child''s y!
Simply put, he can just buy or steal those pills, Qi herbs, or kill demonic beasts and get at least [5 EXP] instantly without going through the devious process of processing the Heavenly Qi into his own body.
As for the recovery of his Heavenly Qi, it was also a very mysterious process because for some reason once he processed a stance of Heavenly Qi sessfully and make it his own he can easily replenish it without a hitch whatsoever.
He didn''t know the mystery behind it because it was just too profound and he only know all of this had to do with the system.
That''s why he stopped wasting his time in cultivation normally long ago and put all his effort into his skills and other techniques. By doing this Ace can use the time he saves from cultivation and hone his thieving skills with it.
But now gaining EXP is also be more difficult, and he needed high-quality pills and materials that were rarely seen in markets. That''s why he has set his sight on Pill me Organization''s people!
And this test was perfect for him to reach the territory of the first-grade kingdoms in the shortest time.
But he underestimated those three giants and now he was under the radar of a Qi River Core cultivator that was searching for him like his life depend on it!
"Good now starts moving, and if you lot try anything¡" The third boy threatening voice sounded at this moment when Ace was mulling over his future.
Dewan and others''plexion be somewhat better after taking those pills.
''It seems he was telling the truth about the poison resisting effects of those pills.'' Ace thought.
Everyone moves toward the east direction while following Leo''s party.
After walking for two more hours they reached the ck water swamp again but the surrounding area was very ghastly. A potent smell was in the air while the surrounding was deathly silent.
When Leo and Jena stop, everyone saw arge group of youngsters, and theirplexion were not better than Ace''s party of nine not to mention even worse.
They were other living baits beside them; they were resting at this moment. Every one of them had blue skin and strange ckish marks on their skin, their eyes were almost lifeless.
"We have enough people let''s start before the raines down." The dwarf boy said to those twelve youth who seem to guard the living baits, and they were all in perfect condition.
"Wait, we havepany." Leo abruptly speaks in a grave tone while looking at the left side of the woods.
"And here I thought who could reach this ce so quickly. It is indeed none other than infamous White Ghost, Leo Nics." A jeering voice sounded within the tall trees.
Leo pull a long face when he heard ''White Ghost'' because no one dares to call him that and everyone knows he hated that name.
"IMPUDENT! You dare to talk with Young Duke like this!?" The boy with a scarred yelled while pulling a long halberd from his storage ring.
"Hehe, White Ghost your ves are indeed like you with no fear of death."
At this moment a handsome boy enters the area and following him were almost two hundred people!
Leo''s eyes narrowed, and the scared boy almost wet himself seeing this young man.
"Oh, so it was Prince Mark and Princess Haley." Leo smiles mildly while bowing in greeting towards those two leading the group.
Jena also followed Leo curtesy and greeted the two.
The boy was six feet tall and had a tone build like Leo but he was somewhatcking when ites to lookspared with Leo. He wore golden robes of the Regal Family; he was the youngest son of the King, Prince Mark Val Regal.
The girl beside Prince Mark was tall with 5.11 feet height and had a kingdom toppling figure. Her face was almost like a beautiful painting with bright green eyes, perfect shape nose, and cherry lips. Her inky long hair was like a dark waterfall.
She was the only daughter of Regal King and also known as the number one beauty of third-grade kingdomnds, Haley Val Regal!
Chapter 160 - Coalition
Ace had long been noticed this group approach, but he didn''t think this would be the group of the royal family. Although he had their soul signatures, he never remembers small fries and only took note of someone like that mystery''s expert.
"Y-your¡ highness¡ I didn''t know it was. Please forgive me." The scarred-eyed boy immediately kneels in front of Mark and pleaded for his grave mistake.
However, Mark didn''t even nce at him as if this scarred-eyed boy was invisible to him. He only looked at Leo with a faint smile on his face as if he was implying something.
Leo coolly speak after noticing Mark was looking at him knowingly, "Your Highness, don''t take offense, it was just a minor mistake. You were the one who was sneaking around. I hope you can be magnanimous and forgive my subordinate."
Everyone inhales sharply seeing Leo talking so casually to Prince Mark as if they were bosom friends.
But when everyone saw Mark''s expression stiffen they all hearts sank because the meaning of this was they were not friends and Leo was provoking a ho nest.
One had to know Leo''s party only had twenty members while Prince Mark''s had twenty. If the fight breaks out it would be the end of Leo.
After all, no one can do anything to Prince Mark as long as the news of this event does not get out, which also means everyone here will be killed so the White Duke and also Leo''s father, could not retaliate.
"Fine, I won''t me this salve for what he said since wee here unannounced. But leave this ce it is under royal family control now." Mark pursed his lips while saying.
This surprised everyone because they didn''t expect the Prince to not retaliate and even let Leo''s party leave safely.
Even Ace was surprised by this scene and deeply looked at the silver hair youth because till now he has encountered no one who can speak with their superior with no fear. And the most surprising thing was the superior was backing down, and this superior was to be a prince no less.
''A prince is afraid of a Duke''s son. This Young Duke is interesting.'' Ace observed this situation with more interest now.
"Forgive me your highness but I came here first, so this ce is mine. Why not you go ahead, I heard there is an even better ce. I left it especially for you since our Young Prince deserved the best." Leo coolly said with no hint of fear in his voice.
''Madman!''
Everyone thought this as they looked at Leo and those living baits take two steps backward since they could sense the tabtion in the air.
Most of them wanted Leo and Mark to fight because they will escape, in the confusion. But some of them with brains didn''t want this fight because everyone''s Qi was blocked and they won''t be able to survive if some demonic beast or incest attacked them during their escape.
Mark''s face fell, he was indeed a little afraid of Leo because Leo was known as White Ghost for very good reason. Leo had killed a Duke son before whom cultivation was Early Stage Qi Foundation Realm in a single move!
This cause a huge ruckus in the capital and the King didn''t even punish him, on the contrary, the Duke''s family vanished after that incident in a single night!
No one ever investigates this incident as if it never happened.
But those higher up of the kingdom knows the reason for this is Leo''s Father White Duke!
Mark clearly remembers his father the Regal King''s warning; to not fight with Leo in any way or the consequences will be disastrous!
That''s why Mark let this offense slide so easily or if there was someone else he would''ve killed that dog before punishing the owner afterward.
But now Leo was provoking him in front of so many people with no restrains and if this news would leak he would be theughingstock of the entire kingdom.
Mark was going to fight it out with Leo when Haley who was silent all this time speak.
"How about we share this ce since we all are here?" Her voice was very pleasant to the ears.
Leo looked at Haley and a peculiar glint sh past his eyes.
"I have no problem with Her Highness Princess''s suggestion." Leo nonchntly said.
Mark frowned and looked at his younger sister with displeased eyes. He was not fond of anyone deciding for him.
"Royal Brother, we need all the personnel we have, did you forget from the reports, there are early Qi foundation stage demonic beasts here." Haley impassively said to her Royal Brother.
Her voice was not loud but everyone heard her clearly and their face darken hearing this grave piece of information.
Only Leo was unfazed by this news because he already knew this but seemingly he wasn''t afraid.
"Let''s fight it out with them, if those powerful demonic beasts showed up we''re nothing but sitting ducks here!" Someone in the group of Mark''s living bait yelled.
"Shut up, do you think we can fight with those perfectly fine nobles? If you want to die, then die alone!" A second person retorted gravely.
At this moment a subordinate of Mark moves and with no warning cuts the person''s head who speaks first!
That person was poison, to begin with, and so he didn''t retaliate. After that person was killed no one even breathed heavily because they were afraid of the same fate.
"Don''t interfere between nobles!" He coldly looked at those living baits and warn them.
Every living bait that has the same thoughts as that first person quickly threw them away because it was impossible to escape these people.
Mark didn''t pay any attention to this little ruckus because all his attention was on Leo who was now looking at Haley withscivious eyes.
As for Jena she never spoke even once and was calmly observing the situation. She was beautiful butpare to Haley it was different between earth and sky.
Although she had an intimate rtionship with Leo, she knew Leo was known for his weakness to beautiful women and she was also using this weakness for passing this test. So, it didn''t bother her if Leo had over one beauty by his side as long as Leo didn''t forget about her.
But even Jane had to admit that going straight after Princess Haley was courting death!
Mark''s face was extremely ugly when he saw Leo was so insolent that he was looking at his sister like this, in his presence.
''I''ll kill him the moment I get the chance!'' Mark swore and forcefully hide his killing intent before saying.
"Fine, we''ll work together. But I want the first catch of Phantom Horn Lizard!" Mark pursed his lips.
"How about we divided it equally?" Leo coolly said.
"Fine." It was Haley who agreed before Mark had any chance to say anything.
Mark resentfully looked at his sister and harshly said, "Don''t make my decision for me again!"
Haley however said nothing and merely nodded slightly as if she didn''t care about her brother''s feelings.
Mark''s face darken seeing Haleypletely ignoring him but he could do nothing but wait when they were alone before educating his sister in private.
"We will divide the haul in 70/30. Take it or leave it!" Mark coldly purposed while looking at Leo.
Leo deeply looked at Haley before answering Mark''s proposal, "I agree since Prince Mark has more people it is very normal for you to take therge part of the haul."
"Then let''s start before the rain or this method won''t be effective." A boy with schr looks said. He was at Mark''s party. He only speaks after the alliance was formed.
"Than what are you waiting for?... Lead them!" Mark coldly said.
The schr boy quickly nodded, he knew Mark was not in a good mood and he don''t want to be his punching bag.
"Your Highnesses, and Young Duke please take cover and leave these living baits behind." The schr boy grimly said.
Leo merely nodded and find a cover with Jane and his subordinates leaving 41 living baits behind. Mark''s party does the same and leaves the vacancy.
After everyone left only the schr boy and the boy who cut off the person''s head remained with 221 living baits.
The group of living baits was blueish pale seeing the time has finallye but they could do nothing even if they had the number. These nobles have yed their cards well and only approached them after they were in their weakest state and they had no choice but to swallow that pill.
Now they could only pray; they just take some of their blood and let them go afterward.
"Begin!" The schr boy looked at the boy beside him and nodded his head grimly.
The boy smiles like a grim ripper and with no warning he shed his raptor vertically like lightning towards ten living baits'' throats standing before him!
Chapter 161 - Rain
The very next moment thereafter the sudden sh, ten human streams of blood rose!
The ten living baits'' heads were rolling on the muddy group as their eyes were filled with incredulity.
No one expected this gushy oue.
All the people in the living bath group thought that these nobles only needed some of their blood and after they will let them go
But the reality differedpletely from what they expected. From the start, these nobles didn''t n to spare them at all.
And why would they? If the news of this huge conspiracy got out, the oue would be disastrous!
After all, if people were to find out that the institute leaked the test nature beforehand then its reputation would take a tremendous hit!
Moreover, these nobles would be despite by many and there is a very big chance of rebellion!
That''s why these aristocrats didn''t have any n to spare anyone from the start. Even if there are other nobles in these baits.
As long as, there are not from the capital city, they''re not important!
After seeing the deathly fate of the first ten living baits, the others didn''t stay still and let that guy butcher them!
Everyone in the living baits group quickly grab their weapons in panic and attacked those two nobles'' footmen with no hesitation!
"Humph! Meaningless struggled!" The boy who killed the first ten sneered after seeing those living baits'' bloodshot eyes.
The boy with schr looks also didn''t put these ants'' dying struggles in his eyes and didn''t move from his position showing any hint of fear.
However, something unexpected urs when those hundreds of Qi-less attacks reached those two nonchntly standing footmen.
The boy with a raptor in his hand was going to attack like before since he had the immense advantage of being in perfect condition and these attacks being without ant Qi!
But before he could move his hand, he saw a beam and before he could make head or tail of it, this beam brushed past his neck!
He felt nothing first and thought it was just his imagination until he felt something warm and wet on his neck.
This is thest thing he felt before his head was rolling on the floor and dying in confusion.
The schr boy also meets the same fate, and he also dies because of that mysterious beam!
When those living baits saw this astonishing scene, they were bewildered.
"RUN!"
Some in the living baits roar out loud.
Everyone snapped out of their stupor and began fleeing in different directions!
This was their chance to escape. Even if the odds were against them they were not willing to die like this!
When Mark and Leo''s parties saw those two peaks fifty Qi gateckeys'' unexpected deaths, their hearts sank!
They didn''t take any action because killing someone with those twockeys'' capabilities in a sh is not aughing matter.
They could tell something went extremely wrong!
"A powerful expert is hiding in those living baits!" Leo grimly said.
"Whoever it is, they didn''t seem toe in peace." Mark narrowed his eyes.
"Your highness, please leave this ce as quickly as possible! There is something extremely wrong!" A tall boy in green robes grimly said to Mark!
"Let''s wait, since that person didn''t attack us it means it didn''t want to kill us. We just happen to be captured the wrong person!" Haley calmly speaks at this moment.
Mark frowned and said, "What do you mean we caught the wrong person?"
Haley nonchntly said, "It''s manageable, we caught someone who was hiding its capabilities. Didn''t you see it just killed two of our people when they kill? We can assume that it was a warning and now that every living bait is running it will also get away without giving away its identity. All we had to do is just not prove it."
"And how are we going to do that?" Mark asked in bewilderment. He had to admit his sister''s guess was almost on point. That''s why he asked for her opinion this time without rebuking.
"It''s very simple, we just have to let all the living baits escape." Haley reply.
Mark grimace after hearing Haley. It was indeed the only thing they can do, but in doing so they will also have to let go of their chance of obtaining Phantom Horn Lizards easily!
Because they had spent 3 whole days to collect these living baits and if they let go of them, then this means they had to find those lizards like everyone else!
"You heard the Princess. Don''t go after them let them die on their own!" Leo''s calm voice resounded at this moment.
Mark''s face fell when he followed this annoying voice and saw Leo has sneaked closer to Haley in this disturbance!
"Who gives you the permission toe here?" Mark red at Leo with a hint of anger in his voice.
"My heart." Leo smile at Hailey and replied. But he didn''t look at Mark.
"YOU!" Mark wanted to hit Leo when he saw Leo teasing his sister so bluntly.
Those beside them had a wry smile on their faces. They knew this White Ghost was a womanizer but hitting on the princess and doing it in front of the Prince nheless, just show how gutsy he was.
''Tip, tip, tip¡''
At this moment droplets of water dropped on the aristocrats.
"Fine, we''re not chasing those ves, this method is as good as impossible in this rain anyway." Mark pursed his lips and said with deep resentment in his eyes.
"Young Prince is wise." Leo chuckles while nodding.
Mark clenched his fist tightly, he could tell Leo was making fun of him.
Haley spoke to her brother who was on the verge of exploding, "Royal Brother, how about we continue our alliance with Young Duke? Now we need every alley we can get since we''re going deep in this forest."
Mark hatefully looked at Leo before taking a deep breath. He soothes his anger because he also has the same opinion as Haley.
"Who said we''re going deep in this forest?" Leo chuckles at this moment.
"Oh, I wonder what Young Duke has in mind?" Haley impassively looked at Leo as a hint of interest shed past her beautiful eyes.
Leo smile broadly while Mark''s face sank, but he didn''t retort since he also wanted to hear Leo''s n.
"Who said all the living baits are gone?" Leo smile slyly and said, "I knew where Young Duke Anthony and his minions are."
"You wanted to ambush Anthony?" Mark frowned.
Leo sneered at this moment, "Don''t tell me our Young Prince is concerned about his subjects?"
"We can''t do anything in this rain." Mark coolly said.
"So, did Anthony. We just have to wait for this rain to stop." Leo gloom the next moment, "But if the ck water swamp flooded this forest, then we have to work extra hard."
Leo knew once the ck water swamp floods this area many extremely toxin demonic beasts wille with it. This forest is the only area where one can find Phantom Horn Lizard easily but it was whole another story when it was flooded.
The most frustrating thing was the living bait method also only worked in this area since those Bloodthirsty Earth Mantis were founded in this ce.
Although this method might work in water, the blood will draw even more vicious beings and it is very difficult to see in ck water.
But Leo knew that Young Duke Anthony too well, and he knew Anthony will take his chance and might pull off the impossible because Anthony had a very precious detection treasure of his family.
As for how Leo know about this information, it is very simple because he seduced and sleep with Anthony''s younger sister!
---
On the other part of the poisonous forest,
Ace was pretend to be fleeing with his party of eight after the chaos.
Although Ace''s party members'' conditions were not optimal, they were still unwilling to die.
When the first drop of rain fell on Ace''s face, he was instantly thrilled because the time has finallye when he can use his abilities to some extent even if that expert didn''t give up and keep using his martial sense in this rain.
But to Ace''s astonishment the moment the first drop of water fell on the group the martial sensepletely vanished!
''Hahaha, so you also have limits.'' Ace was ecstatic, but he didn''t let this sudden joy cloud his judgment and kept pretending to be a helpless living bait.
Because there was a possibility that this is a trap so he could make a mistake. Since the rain was still slow Ace didn''t want to take any chances.
Just five minutes after the rain, Ace was still moving while supporting Dewan and N was leading the way weakly.
Crosby was not with them as he was slipped away long ago since he knew it would court death to stay with this group.
"Stop, right there!" At this moment an authoritative and powerful voice resounded in the vacancy out of nowhere!
When Ace felt this soul signature, he nearly had a stroke!
Chapter 162 - Nightmare Ghosts
Inside the dark swamp forest, the rain was pouring hard, and dark clouds covered the sky.
The forest was gloomy and poisons, to begin with, and this dark sky and heavy rain make the environment even more spooky.
A group of eight people was standing in the middle of nowhere and this was indeed Ace''s party that escape from those nobles a couple of minutes ago.
But their pace was abruptly hindered by a powerful voice a moment ago.
When N, Lilith, and the others heard that mighty voice their faces turn bloodlessly pale!
Everyone thought that someone from Leo or Mark''s group found them and this person want to take them back so they could continue that gashly living bait n.
However, no one was willing to go back and die like livestock.
"Scatter!" N scream while she ran in a different direction.
N''s character wasn''t bad, but even she was unwilling to die here so she fled in a different direction in the hope; she would escape while someone other would distract the enemy.
Everyone had the same thought in mind as N and even if they were weak, the will to live ovee their poisonous weak bodies and they ran!
Even Dewan whose condition was worse than everyone free himself from Ryan''s support and weakly ran in a particr direction.
Dewan was very grateful to Ryan because Ryan was carrying him since he was gravely injured and he didn''t abandon him in that disorder either.
But now he didn''t want to drag Ryan or the others with him so he chose the direction where the enemy''s voice came from!
"I''ll buy you guys some time!" Dewan collects every bit of energy in his body and roared while clenching his spear tightly. He was ready to die so the others could escape!
Ace didn''t want this, but he had no other choice in this matter, and in the end, he let Dewan go as his heart turn icy cold.
Ace felt the Dark Void release Heavenly Darkness Qi and his turbulent nerves instantly calmed down.
He wasted no more time and also pretend to run like the other six although he had calmed down he was still fearful though.
Because the owner of this powerful voice was none other than the hidden expert Ace was trying to avoid all this time!
Ace ran like a mortal in the east direction but never use his skills or inviable bead for some reason. However, he knew what could''ve drawn this unexpected guest here so quickly!
This was bound to happen after what happened during the living baits gathering but he never expected this guy would reach here so quickly!
The scariest part was Ace never detected the soul signature nor its presence until this expert was only twenty meters in his soul sense range!
This gave Ace the chills because it means this mysterious expert also has some treasure that can hinder his heaven-defying soul sense!
Ace only detected him because this expert showed himself his own ord.
''So these treasures that my soul sense can''t detect existed and they might be the end of me! Dame those rice bastard originations!''
Ace resentfully thought after his guess turns urate and he knew only those organizations have these kinds of treasures.
Ace could''ve seen thising long ago when the martial sense suddenly vanished from his soul sense radar. He only thought that it was because of the rain and became ecstatic, he never thought of other possibilities.
Just because of this sudden rapture, he didn''t notice the one important fact, and that was when the martial sense vanished Alvin''s soul signature also vanished with it!
If he just took notice of this, he could''ve concluded what he does just now much earlier!
However, this little carelessness also gave him another crucial lesson; he can never be careless while a powerful, mysterious enemy is still on the ying field, and never relies on his senses all the time since there are treasures that can counter them as well!
Ace vowed to be even more observant and calm in the future if he left this ce safely!
Just twenty meters away from where Ace''s party fled.
A blue caped person was standing on the top of a tall poisonous tree as it was nonchntly watching those eight ants scattered in different directions and one was moving toward it.
This blue caped person was indeed Alvin who hase here for his first target in his suspect list!
Alvin could''ve stopped them by just using his Qi river core cultivation base pressure but he didn''t because of some particr reason. That''s why he shouted and even stop using his blue cape that was a very powerful concealing treasure!
This is the exact treasure that just fooled Ace''s soul sense!
As for his heavenly sense Ace never used it because Alvin would''ve sensed it.
"Heh, still pretending, eh." Alvin mutter to himself while a stiff smile creep out on his impassive face and he blurred from his standing spot before vanishing like a ghost.
The next moment, Alvin appeared twenty meters away, but he wasn''t covered in the blue cape anymore and he wore in white robes. But even in this heavy rain, he waspletely dry with no speck of dust on his robes.
Alvin coldly looked at a silhouette moving clumsily before him and his lips curls upwards.
"Reveal yourself!" Alvin coolly said and released a slight aura of his river core cultivation on that silhouette five meters away from him.
Suddenly that silhouette''s inept movement bes sharp!
It was trying to flee!
Alvin didn''t even wince after seeing this sudden quick movement skill and released twenty percent of his cultivation base aura.
That silhouette''s distinctive movement bes weaker as it shivers a little before finally stopping and turning around to face Alvin!
It finally gave up on fleeing since it could tell it was impossible in front of this terrifying being.
When this figure finally turned around, it was a little girl in her early fifteens!
Alvin smile faintly seeing this submissive attitude that he wanted. He closely looked at his first target of suspicion.
This little girl''s face was very cute but her skin was bluishly showing clear signs of being poison like the others. This little girl was none other than the shy girl and the youngest member of N''s party, Natalia!
Alvin coolly spoke at this moment, "Heh, your disguise skills are not so bad, but it can''t change your Qi projection nor you''re good at hiding your capabilities. If you didn''t kill those two ants to warn the other fools and reveled your Flowing River cultivation I was saving you for thest!"
Natalia''s shy face was long gone, and she was coldly looking at Alvin with no hint of fear in her eyes.
"I''m not your enemy!" She gravely said in her beautiful voice.
Alvin chuckles coldly, "Let me decide after I ripe this face of yours"
Alvin exploded his aura to thirty percent as he was ready to use his vicious methods.
"WAIT! Look!" Natalia was rmed when she felt the mountain-like force crushing down on her and a ck wooden token abruptly appeared in her hand!
Alvin''s eyes contracted when he saw that ck wooden token. There was a vivid red skull engraved on it and surprisingly, the skull eyes sockets were lit in purple me!
"You''re a ''Purple Assassin'' from Nightmare Ghosts!" Alvin eximed and retrieve his aura spontaneously.
Natalia have a sigh of relief after she felt the mountain-like weight lift.
"Yes, I''m a Purple Assassin from Nightmare Ghosts and I can''t show you my real face and you know why!" Natalia grimly said while coldly looking at Alvin''s astonished face.
"Yes, I apologized for my previous action. You should''ve shown me your ''Ghost Token''early." Alvin faintly said but deep in his eyes was a hint of fear!
The organization, Nightmare Ghost was very low-key, but this organization is the scariest of the three giants!
The reason for it was very simple because every member of this organization was a trained killer!
Nightmare Ghosts had different ranks of assassins, White, Grey, Blue, Purple, ck, Royal Killer, and King Killer!
As for how Nightmare Ghosts Organization divided these ranks no one knows but some people believe that it had to do with the special heritage of ''Night Killer Ghost Sect'' behind it!
The Night Killer Ghost Sect was the sect of killers in Royalnds and its members are called Night Ghosts.
There was a scared code of Night Killer Sect that was famous throughout the entire Azure Wind Continent;
''Never kill a Night Ghost or the Killer Night will loom over you for eternity!''
Although, this was the code of Night Killer Ghost Sect it was even famous in lowernds though because Nightmare Ghosts Organization also follow this code blindly!
That''s why no one dares kill someone from the Nightmare Ghost because once someone does it the entire organization will never stop until they kill that person''s entire birthce!
Chapter 163 - New Mission!
That''s why Alvin apologized so quickly and didn''t kill Natalia because Nightmare Ghosts Organization would''ve not cared if he was a me Guard of Pill me Organization or a Qi River Core cultivator. They will haunt him to no end!
Even the Pill me Organization can''t stop them until they''re willing to go on an all-out war for him. But that was also impossible because no one know where the Nightmare Ghost Organization headquarter was hidden.
Natalia coldly re at Alvin and nodded in understanding because it was indeed her fault for not showing her Ghost Token sooner. She thought it would be possible to escape Alvin even if he was a Qi River Core cultivator because of her pride.
But now she found out the difference between her realm and Alvin''s was like day and night.
"Why are you hiding in these participants?" Alvin pensively inquire, now that the misunderstanding has been clear he wanted to know what purpose does a purple assassin had to pose as a participant.
Natalia took a moment to consider whether to tell Alvin or just leave because Alvin can''t do anything to her now that he knew she was from the Nightmare Ghosts except he had a death wish.
"Sky Stealer!" Natalia coolly stated.
Alvin pull a long face when he heard the name because he was also here for the Sky Stealer.
"But we thought you guys weren''t interested in that thief since your organization rejected the other two organizations summon to discuss the matter of Sky Stealer."
Before Pill me sent Alvin here, a meeting was held between two leaders of two giants, and they mostly rted this meeting to the notorious thief Sky Stealer.
However, this meeting was supposed to be between the three leaders, but the leader of Nightmare Ghosts never showed up nor did the organization respond in any way as if they weren''t interested in him.
In the end, the two organizations moved on without Nightmare Ghosts.
But now, an assassin showed up here and her target was none other than the thief which means Nightmare Ghost was very interested in this thief. Yet they didn''t want to work together with anyone.
This also implicated that the organization wanted to monopolize that thief''s secrets to itself without sharing them with anyone!
"I know nothing about this summon." Natalia coolly replied as a hint of understanding sh past her eyes.
Alvin frowned, ''Just what is that Old Ghost nning?'' he thought gravely.
"Please don''t interfere in my business again. Since you know my Qi Projection, I assumed it won''t happen again." Natalia said in a warning tone.
It if was someone else talking to a me Guard like this will mean certain death but it was not the case for a Purple Assassin!
Alvin''s face turn ugly and he said with a hint of anger in his voice, "Do you think I can''t do anything to you?"
Natalia deeply looked at Alvin''s sullen face before saying, "Indeed you can but I''ll have you known ¡"
Alvin''s face was wrapped in fear when he heard Natalia''s words and he blurted, "You can go. I''ll report this to the headquarter."
"Thank you." Natalia nodded but before leaving she said with a faint smile, "If you found anything about that thief please inform me, I''ll be in participants for a while."
Alvin''s face darken but he didn''t dare to retort in any way and merely nodded in agreement as if he was afraid of something.
''I need to be more careful and leave this ce as soon as possible after capturing that thief unostentatiously. How troublesome, these ghosts are indeed wanton and difficult to deal with.'' Alvin thought with deep bitterness.
Natalia didn''t stay and dissolved in rain. She knew Alvin would probably not tell her anything, but she wasn''t worried about it in the least.
She was confident in finding that thief first after all she could mix in the masses and a very powerful cultivation base.
''I should stick with that group now.'' Natalia thought as she moves in a precise direction like wind.
Alvin also didn''t dwell on this ce and moved on to his next target. Now that he knew about the presence of Nightmare Ghosts he was in a hurry to find that thief and leave this ce.
---
Five hundred meters away from where Alvin and Natalia were, Ace was leaning against a tree.
When he senses Alvin''s soul signature moving towards Natalia''s, his lips curl upwards into a broad smile.
The reason for him not using the invisible bead or his escaping abilities after finding Alvin''s propinquity was exactly because he knew about Natalia''s truth from start!
Ace has long seen through Natalia''s disguise and cultivation after using Soul Shattering Eyes for a brief moment.
But he didn''t show it in the least bit and didn''t leave N''s party either. Ace was sticking together with them because of Natalia''s!
Ace thought it would be to his advantage if he sticks with another person in disguise that the martial sense can see through. This will reduce his chances to draw any suspiciousness on himself tremendously.
He was right in the end because Natalia never suspected him when she was with him and she even drew all the attention on herself and solved the crisis when she killed those twockeys of Mark as a warning.
But he was still uncertain when Alvin appeared so quickly because if Alvin would''ve killed everyone else that would be a cmity for Ace.
However, Alvin never touched them and he let them escape and Alvin''s target was also Natalia as Ace assumed long ago.
Ace also notice one peculiar thing about Natalia after all this time he spend with her and that was her disguise technique!
Techniques and Skills also have their own special Qi or Soul fluctuations and Ace has been long amodated to sensing the difference in fluctuations!
That''s why he instantly felt he had sensed this technique''s particr fluctuation before and until now he only encountered one person who had this kind of powerful disgusting technique and that was Jason!
This gives Ace another clue about the identity of Natalia and he quicklybeled her as another Assassin like Jason!
But he was still uncertain about her target.
Ace has encountered two assassins in a brief time, one can be said to be coincident but this second one was in thispetition between all these participants.
Moreover, her cultivation was too powerful and there wasn''t a single person who could''ve matched her prowess in the entire Regal Kingdom. This attracted Ace''s thoughts to Alvin''s presence here and Ace concluded she was also here for him!
And now he sensed those two standing in their spot for too long doing nothing which means they''re not enemies and probably talking about something which interests both parties.
''These three giants making it more difficult to steal!'' Ace thought with a wry smile on his face while thoughtfully looking at the dark cloudy sky.
"[New Mission is Avable!]"
Ace snapped out of his thought when he heard the system''s abrupt sweet yet icy voice inside his mind.
"A new mission?!" Ace eximed out loud in bewilderment.
This was his first mission after he enter thend of kingdoms and also his first mission that going to be with no multiyer which mean no extra rewards!
"System your timing is always the worse!" Ace resentfully transmitted.
He was trying his best to lie low for the time being but suddenly the system gave him the mission and he knew this will not be an easy one.
But he had no control over the mission since every mission will trigger based on his life''s special events or when some special conditions satisfy the criteria set by the system!
All Ace knew is if this mission is rted to his life''s event then it''s going to be a very difficult one so he hopes it was something from the system!
Ace takes a deep breath and opens the mission panel with a heavy heart.
======
[Mission Panel]
[A new mission has been issued!]
[Opportunity Makes a Thief: These self-proimed three Giants currently guing Host. Because of this, they''re hindering Host''s progress in the path of Thievery and this is uneptable. Please take this opportunity as a challenge and also teach Three Giants an unforgettable lesson!]
[Mission: Steal everything from Three Giants'' ten main branches in Top Ten Kingdoms of Middle-Level Lands.]
{Prgress:0/30}
[Rewards based on Host Performance]
{Three Hidden Rewards}
{Time Left: 10 years}
{Mission Failure Punishment: System shop closing for 200 Years!}
======
Ace''s face was darker than charcoal after seeing this new mission.
"System aren''t you asking me for death by telling me to theft 30 capital level branches of three giants?! You even included that den of killers in it!" Ace enraged voice transmitted in his mind.
Although he was nning on stealing from Pill me but only the lesser branches, not capital level!
But seemingly the system took his trivial intention wrongly and gave him this impossible mission!
Chapter 164 - Hunt
Ace found this mission difficult because even if he manages to pull of thievery on Pill me and Beast Calling, it would not be the case for Nightmare Ghosts.
Because no one know where their capital-level branches were located!
As for how they conduct the business of assassination¡ hah, it''s forter.
Ace smiled bitterly after he didn''t get any information from the system like always. He could now do nothing but burn in this fire that he set by himself.
"You guys bought this upon yourself!" Ace mumbles in an icy tone while clenching his fists, "I''ll make sure to empty everything and not only just from your main branches!"
Ace me everything on those organizations since the system was only doing what it was supposed to be. It''s just that the timing was very terrible and this put Ace in a lousy mood!
"[A true thief never let an opportunity pass by!]" A crisp voice rang in Ace''s mind at this moment.
"Heh, just like you." Ace click this tongue and sneered because he knew this wasn''t the system.
''I should also continue moving, now that those two are gone in different directions. I should first find that lizard.'' Ace thought and toss this mission topic back to his head since it was not the time to mull over it neither the location.
In the heavy Rain, Ace used the breathless stealth and lightning steps and headed straight to the depth of this forest with no hint of hesitation.
Now that the martial sense was not present to hinder him anymore Ace was moving at full speed.
Ace knew he had little time before that expert woulde back and he also didn''t know just when would this rain going to stop falling.
That''s why he first wanted to find the Phantom Horn Lizard so he could hide and leave when he thought the time was right.
Ten hours pass.
The rain wasing heavy, and it didn''t show any sign of slowing down. Now one could see the ck water on muddy ground which mean the ck swap was overflowing.
Ace didn''t stop moving for even a second until now because he sense something.
This ce was filled with wild night blue flowers and tall ck bark tress.
Ace was standing on a ck branch of a tall tree, he was using his heavenly sense and calmly observing something fifty meters from his position.
There was an eight inches long lizard, it was pitch ck included its big round eyes that cover half of its skull and there was no iris in them nor eye shuttles.
However, there was a blue horn on its head. This horn was only one inch long, and it was curved like a new moon and sharp like a de. This was the Phantom Horn Lizard of the fifth Qi gate realm!
Currently, this Phantom Horn Lizard was resting on arge ck mushroom with no care of its surroundings because this part was the core of the dark swamp forest and also the most toxic!
No one dares toe here until they''re peak stage Qi foundation realm cultivators with many years of experience and a huge amount of antidotes pills!
Moreover, this Phantom Horn Lizard was a lethal poison itself and that''s why its predators were in single digits in this entire forest.
However, Ace was not like anyone and this ce was like the outside world to him except for the rain and swamp or the annoying bugs.
At this moment the phantom horn lizard waszing around when suddenly the luster in its pitch-ck eyes faded because it was dead!
The very next moment, Ryan''s figure emerged beside the dead Phantom Horn Lizard like a ghost.
"Too easy." Ace chuckles lightly and with a wave of his hand ce the corpse of the Phantom Lizard in his thief''s space.
Ace easily killed this lizard with a soul-piercing bullet from fifty meters away. This soul attack was too powerful for any being to handle below Ace''s cultivation base and its range was profoundly connected with Ace''s Heavenly Sense!
Meaning he can kill anyone from 250Meters away!
He could still pick Qi fluctuation or soul signatures from 500 meters away with his soul sense, though.
''I''m hundreds of miles inside this forest and there are still eleven days remaining until the end of thepetition. That expert was watching the contestants and probably wouldn''t think I can pick his martial sense which lesser his chance toe here anytime soon much less he didn''t have this kind of martial sense range. I should just stay here for ten days before sneaking back.'' Ace mused and stuck with his n of staying in this part of the forest.
Ace found an excellent hiding ce and chose to stay there for ten days.
Although, he was almost sure that Alvin would note here from his experience. But he didn''t take any chances and made some preparation in the case Alvin decide toe.
After preparing everything, he sat there cross-legged and also closed his eyes while he pondered over Soul Barrier of Soul Guardian Barrier Art.
He didn''t dare to practice rune crafting here openly, so he only left with Soul Barrier that he recently began to learn and also camouge steps.
---
Three days past and the heavy rain finally stopped but the dark swamp flooded almost the entire forest.
This makes things very difficult for hot-blooded participants.
In these six days, almost ten thousand of them die by poison, and fifteen thousand die by the small poisonous insects and bugs thate with ck water swamp.
No ce was safe even the trees were deadly.
Those who survived had a hard time just staying alive, and that''s why over thirty thousand participants escape the forest leaving with their lives and an unforgettable deathly experience.
One thing that was worth mentioning was because of rain no one found any phantom horn lizard and this make those with ambitions agitate and the moment the rain stopped they all came out from their hiding ces.
Just like that thepetition starts again!
---
The ninth day of the Kingdom-level Test.
"How''re things progressing?" A voice sounded from the shadow of a tree.
"Very good my Lord, these youngster looks quite promising from any previous batches of Regal Kingdom." A husky voice replied.
"Hmm. Interesting¡ how many can pass the Kingdoms Level Test?" That voice question again.
"NONE¡ But they will give satisfactory performance for us to receive our promised rewards from the institute." In answer, a sweet voice of a girl echoed.
"Good, very good!" That voice sounded extremely pleased before it speaks again. "Any trace of that Sky Stealer?"
"No, it seemed he has vanished¡ our guess is he leave the Regal Kingdom."
"Hehe, just a disappointment in the end." That person''s disdainfulugh rang the area with a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice.
----
The eleventh day of the Kingdom-level Test.
Ace has patiently waited in his hiding ce to this day just like he decided to and no one came here not any participant or any experts.
Now was the time to leave this forest without alerting anyone those hidden experts and report back to the regal city.
Ace thought many of the contestants would''ve left by now so this was the right time for him as well and if he was lucky enough, those experts might also give up on finding him in this ce.
But Ace would not take his chances and after making himself as muddy as possible and ripping his clothes carefully he began his journey back. He looked just like a gutter rat at this moment and even smell like one.
However, Ace wasn''t bothered by this since these looks can probably save his life.
On his way back, Ace didn''t use stealth or any shy skill like lightning steps and he only rys on silent steps to go back.
After eighteen hours of journey Ace finally reached the area where he was separated from N''s party.
"I wonder if those guys are still alive." Ace mumbles to himself as a hint of grievance shes past his eyes while looking at the quiet ce.
Ace knew probably none of them would''ve to remain alive in their conditions and with no Qi in this ce, except Natalia.
He like his previous party''s quite a lot even if he spends little time with them especially Dewan and N.
Ace vividly remembered N''s painful face when she abandoned everyone for her survival and the final determined look on Dewan''s face when he put his life on the line for strangers.
"Sigh... May we meet again!" Ace mutter before continuing his journey.
But before he could use the silent steps Ace abruptly stopped while narrowing his eyes into slits.
''This soul signature!''
Ace looked southeast with a profound look and the next moment an icy smile crept out on his face!
Chapter 165 - Face: 4
Ace was moving on the trees without making any sound in that familiar soul signature''s direction.
In a minute, Ace arrived at an area filled with the smell of blood.
What Ace greeted by, made even him feel like; little insects were crawling under his skin.
Before Ace''s eyes were many human limbs and severed heads floating over ck water!
It was hard to tell that this water was from the ck water swamp or it was human blood.
Ace''s heart turn cold when he spotted one particr severed head, in the dark bloody water!
Although the severed head waspletely covered in mud and dark water, Ace could recognize it anywhere.
''NOLA!''Ace''s killing intent soar when he recognized the severed head.
It was indeed N''s severed head which also means she was dead!
Almost a hundred severed heads were floating in the dark bloody water at this moment.
Ace quickly scan through those severed heads, to see if there was another member of his former party in them but to his relief, there was only N''s.
Nheless, Ace didn''t want to see this kind of end for cheerful N and grief wash over him.
''If I was more powerful, I might''ve saved her instead of just abandoning them all to die.'' Ace thought helplessly, ''I still can''t save anyone! How pathetic.''
In his heart, Ace knew it was the survival of the fittest in this world but he still mes himself for being too weak.
Ace forcefully suppress his sentiments while shifting his eyes towards a particr direction and the grief in his eyes instantly turned into deep killing intent!
Twenty meters away from the bloodbath.
A group of six people was hiding on a tree while watching the hideous scene with great expectation in their eyes.
A tall and skinny young man invishing blue robes was nonchntly sitting on a tree branch while drinking some kind of liquor.
"Young Marquess, how much longer do you think it will take for Bloodthirsty Earth Mantis to take the bait we prepare?" A pretty girl asked with a hint of excitement in her sweet voice.
"Pretty soon. This ce was meant to use by White Ghost, Leo but they seem to run into some trouble and end up losing their living baits. I heard even Prince Mark''s party was with him." The Young Marquess faintly replied while drinking the liquor.
"Yes. From our scouts, we heard Price Mark and White Ghost, Leo ally! Furthermore, everyone in that alliance caught a Phantom Horn Lizard, and they were the ones who leave this damn ce first just five days ago!" A ck bulky boy spoke with a hint of longing in his voice.
"Well, no one saw iting." The skinny boy chuckles lightly before proceeding, "Other nobles also seem to do quite well and only our group left. Since we were busy supplying everyone with living baits"
"Hehe, Young Marquess, you are sounding like you regret taking that task and making a huge profit out of it." The girl giggles.
"Hahaha, well I can''t retort to that now, can I?" The skinny boyughs with a smirk on his face.
"Is that so?" At this moment an icy voice rang in the vacancy!
The skinny boy and his group felt their heart being gripped by grim ripper when they felt an intense killing intent bolted over them!
At this moment, only one thought came into their minds; RUN!
But it was toote and the very next moment expect the Young Marquess everyone else bodies loses their strength and like flies they fell from the tree before sshing in the dark water below.
Those five didn''t even know how they die!
The Young Marquess face turn ghastly pale seeing his peak fifth Qi gate retainers die so suddenly and he didn''t even see the enemy!
"W-who are you!!! You know who people you just kill?!" The Young Marquess yell like he wasn''t afraid but his body was trembling in fear.
"Oh, aren''t those five were your minions Young Marquess Finn?" At this moment Ryan''s figure emerged on a tree before Finn!
This Finn was certainly the same person who order Crosby to lure N and the others in this forest and sold them to Leo!
Ace precisely picked his soul signature in the vacancy and that''s why he came here to collect some debts but meet with that ghastly sight.
Now that he knew this guy''s party was also the reason for N''s death and Ace would not go to spare anyone.
He killed others with soul-piercing bullets and spare this Young Marquess for another reason.
"Y-you¡ who are you?! If you leave now I''ll forgive your crimes!" Finn''s face was ashen, and he knew this ugly guy was too strange.
That''s why Finn wanted to escape from here as soon as possible because fighting with this kind of opponent who can kill five peaked fifth Qi gate cultivators without being seen was courting death!
"Sigh¡" Ryan sighed and said with a mocking smile, "Still didn''t lose your arrogance but don''t worry I won''t kill you now since I need your memories!"
It dumbfounded Finn when he heard this; he thought this guy was a madman and was going to offer his storage ring to haggle with his life.
But to his astonishment, a strange ck owl tattoo reced the storage ring!
"S-Sk¡" Finn finally remembered just where he saw this owl symbol before and he nearly faint from anxiety.
How could he not know just what this owl symbol represents?
It represented the infamous thief Sky Stealer!
"Just die." Ryan coldly said and didn''t let Finnplete his sentence.
Finn felt as if a hammer stuck on the back of his head before losing consciousness.
Ace coldly looked at unconscious Finn before looking at the notification panel.
========
[Quick Report of Thieveries]
[Sessful Pick Pocket Count: 6]
[Low-Level Thieveries: 6]
[Total Rewards: 5,500TP]
---
[Thief Point(s): 32,030]
---
[Low-Level Thievery: 35]
=======
Ace didn''t forget about taking all of their storage rings before killing them and these rich goats gave him six low-level thieveries.
''I should quickly get rid of this guy after saving his face and taking his memories.'' Ace thought.
He picked Finn and leave the area to find a ce where he could use Soul Probing and use the hundred-face deception mask to save Finn''s face before finishing him.
Ace has been thinking over how he could move forward without drawing any attention to himself and he has long been nning to find another face to pass this test.
Because if he passes this test with Ryan''s face he would be famous in the Regal Kingdom and those noble families might also investigate the background of Ryan''s face.
If that happened they might also find this guy''s real background and after that everyone would know the Ryan who passed the test didn''t exist!
Which put Ace in very big trouble.
That''s why he took this Young Marquess face since he belonged to a noble family of the capital city and no one would find it any suspicious if this guy passed the test!
N''s death just gives Ace the final resolution to kill this guy and take his face with no guilt whatsoever.
If before Ace had any qualms in killing Finn and his retainers, now he had nothing but contempt for them since they were the ones who were supplying those other nobles with living baits!
Ace quickly found a well-hidden ce and started the process of taking Finn''s face and memories!
One thing that give Ace little relief was the martial sense was not present at this moment and he was hoping it would not show up until he was done with this guy.
"System can I scan and save this face without removing my mask?" Ace grimly asked. He didn''t want to reveal his actual face especially in presence of this many experts.
"[Yes.]"
Ace has a sigh of relief, "Began the scanning of this body." Hemands the system while disdainfully looking at Finn.
The next moment a silver gem suddenly appeared on Ryan''s be, it was the memory gem of the mask. The gem shone and just like before it shined for ten seconds.
=====
[Face 4, has been sessfully recorded in memory gem.]"
=====
After the notification, the gem on Ryan''s be dissolved back.
"Activate face 4 with his natural cultivation base." Acemanded the system.
The very next moment Ryan''s face twisted and suddenly change into Finn!
Ace carefully observed and after confirming everything was fine, he used heavenly sense to check the surrounding before using the soul probing.
Arge amount of memories fragments entered his knowledge see but Ace didn''t flinch and kept absorbing the memories fragments showing no sign of stopping.
This time it takes only an hour topletely absorb Finn''s 16 years'' worth of memories!
Ace finally open his closed eyes and a glint of killing intent shed through his eyes.
''Soul Piercing Bullet!''
Chapter 166 - Leaving The Dark Swamp Forest
''Soul Piercing Bullet!''
Ace coldly active his soul attack and destroyed the unconscious Finn''s soul without showing mercy!
Now that Finn was dead his storage ring was also opened and Ace found some of his clothes to wear.
After changing into Finn''s robes Ace stiffly looked at Finn''s corpse.
In the end, he burned Finn with N''s remains!
''Sigh¡''
Ace sighed softly while looking at the burning fire with a hint of grief in his eyes. ''Rest in peace.''
"It''s time to leave." Ace mumbles while taking ast look at the fire and blur toward Dark Swamp Forest''s exit!
While moving carefully, Ace was processing Finn''s memories that he took just a couple of moments ago.
Ace has done this process with Victor before so it wasn''t difficult anymore. He just discarded useless memories and keep memories he deemed informative.
Five hours pass and Ace was close to exiting the dark swamp forest.
In these five hours, Ace processed Finn''splete memories and now he knew many astonishing secrets!
Like the Living Bait n was forged by none other than the Royal Regal Family!
They also leaked the news about the test to the royal family and they were the ones who controlled this information.
Simply put, the mastermind behind all this was none other than King Kale Val Regal himself!
As for the person who leak this test''s type to King Kale, it was still a mystery.
However, Finn''s role in all this was just a supplier because Finn''s family was in the business of very and they had many minions spread throughout the capital city!
Finn''s family got a huge amount of Qi stones just for supplying the selected nobles with living baits that were involved in this living bait n.
All they had to do was to sacrifice their minions like Crosby!
Ace also found out that the real scheme was to kill every peasant involved in this n so no one would know about it ever.
However, Leo and Mark messed up after they let their living baits escape!
Now, no one knows what happen to those living baits afterward, but some nobles like Frank and Callen were given the hunt order, to find them and tied this loose end.
"Those bastards!" Ace clenched his fist tightly.
He knew it was probably toote to save anyone because this hunt order was seven days old!
All he can do now is to control himself from killing those nobles involved in this mascara!
Although he has avenged N after killing Finn, it was just a drop in the bucket if he wanted to avenge everyone because he even had to kill the Regal King to get justice for everyone.
However, Ace wasn''t the hero of justice nor an idiot, his own life was on the line here with all those hidden experts like Natalia and Alvin searching for clues about him.
If he walked the path of revenge for some strangers, it would be akin to digging his own grave. And his life was bonded with someone else who he hold dearly so selfishness wasn''t the option!
"Brother Finn!"
Ace wasn''t using his stealth skills or silent step to its full capacity so someone spotting him was very normal.
When Ace heard this surprisingly familiar voice he immediately stopped and followed the source of the voice.
Ace saw a handsome young man was waving at him or Finn, with a friendly smile on his face.
Finn smile faintly and said, "Oh, if it isn''t my favorite brother Frank!"
Ace act like Finn even if he wanted to kill Frank who led them to Leo the other day.
Because Frank was the son of an Earl in the capital city and his family was a vessel of Finn''s family so killing him here can be very troublesome for him since he was now Finn and had to answer Frank''s family.
He can always make some random story but it was just not worth it, he''ll wait for now.
"Hahaha, your too generous brother Finn. Where is the other?" Frank grin broadly and asked with a hint of confusion in his voice.
Because he knew Finn never go around without his five guards but now that he was alone on the edge of dark swap forest he couldn''t help but ask.
Finn shows a hint of killing intent and faintly said, "I kill those traitors."
Frank''s face shone with astonishment as he eximed in shock, "What happened?"
"Nothing much they tried to fight over a Phantom Horn Lizard with me!" Finn pulled a long face.
"Heh, you can''t trust anyone these days. Who would''ve thought you were just raising poisonous snakes all these years. But don''t worry brother Finn I''ll always be by your side." Frank coldly sneered.
He didn''t find it any suspicious because it was amon urrence; when a servant became overly ambitious and try taking his master''s life to free itself.
That''s why Ace forge this kind of story that any noble could believe.
"You be quite powerful even kill five of them and escape without a scratch!" Frankugh, he wasplimenting Finn.
"Heh, don''t jest brother Frank. It''s just that those idiots forget about the ve marks on them and die because of their stupidity!" Finn coldly chuckles.
How could Ace forget about ve contracts? These noble didn''t even trust their siblings much less mere attendants without salve contracts!
"Hahaha, greed can blind anyone, eh." Frank finds it quite amusing not suspicious because Finn was acting extremely normal.
"Hahaha." Finn grin widely and said, "Since brother Frank is here does it means the matter has been dealt with?"
Ace was asking about those lost living baits of Leo and Mark.
Frank''s smile instantly freeze when he heard this and said stiffly, "No, those living baits are like rats in this vast forest and we only found seventy of them, not the rest. But I think they''re probably dead after all who can survive that rain without Qi not to mention those toxic demonic beasts and insects.
"Since the seventy we found were barely alive and we just give them mercy by killing them. That''s why we close the search two days ago after all the test is ending soon and those brothers also needed to find that lizard."
Ace''s face sank hearing this because Frank has a point.
"You did the right thing." Finn nodded and said, "You''re here mean you also found the target, right?"
"Hehe, to tell you the truth I just kill an outer noble and my luck was not bad. I found two Phantom Horn Lizards in his storage ring." Frankugh heartedly as he proudly told Finn about his aplishment.
"I expect nothing less from my brother Frank." Finn grin.
Ace knew just what these outside nobles were. These nobles of the capital city call those nobles who live outside the capital city outer nobles and they thought of them just like themoners.
"Let''s go we''re just around the corner to leave this damn ce. We also have to dirt our faces, you know why." Frank said with a knowing smile.
"Yeah, I know. We have to hide ourplexion to not draw any suspicion of the masses." Finn rolled his eyes.
"Then let''s do it now." Frankugh and rubbed the mud on his face and clothes.
Ace coldly looked at Frank before doing the same.
Ace wasn''t surprised by this method to hide the fact that these nobles had the antidote pills from the start.
But what truly astounded Ace was those people of the institute who were supposed to monitor everyone so no one could cheat. These nobles were openly cheating but to present no one step up to stop any of them and this rub Ace the wrong way.
Because this simply means; the institute didn''t give a damn about their lives and the fairness of this test. As long as these nobles didn''t sully the name of the institute everything was fine!
"System, I am truly d you gave me this mission." Ace coldly transmitted.
As for why he was feeling this way now, it was very simple because he would''ve done the same thing even if the system didn''t force him into doing it, after what he learns about these people.
Now he can just do the same thing and get rewards from the system as well!
Ace can''t wait to reach the first-gradends and start the mission!
"Let''s go, brother Finn." Frank was now covered in mud and no one can tell he waspletely fine even after spending more than a week in this forest with no antidote!
"After you." Finn shows his white teeth.
Frank dly take the lead and with Frank behind they both continued their journey.
After half an hour of the smooth journey, both of them finally left the gloomy Dark Swamp Forest!
However, before they could bask in sunlight a person wearing the institute attire block their way and coolly said in a dictatorial tone,
"Please show the Phantom Horn Lizard corpse, and if you don''t have it, leave your participant token behind!"
Chapter 167 - Unexpected Blockade!
It startled Finn and Frank when they saw this person appearing out of nowhere but when they heard what he wanted they finally calm down.
It was very normal for the institute personal to demand the target because if they dy and let them leave they can just buy it out from somewhere else.
"Sir, please look." Frank respectfully said and flip his hand before taking a five-inch Phantom horn lizard carcass from his storage ring.
The person inspects the lizard carcass and after confirming it was indeed the allocated target, he stored the carcass in his storage ring before he said, "Show me your participant token."
Frank didn''t dare to dy and quickly took out the participant token while showing it respectfully to the checker.
The checker didn''t dy either and took out a formation te from his storage ring before activating it.
The very next moment thereafter, Frank''s participant token shone brightly and his participant number change from 12,112 to green 1,009.
This number showed indicate how many participants have passed the test and the limit was of course 6000!
"Oh, only one thousand has passed the test. Brother Finn, it seems we''re still early." Frank eximed in surprise.
"You''re right." Finn chuckled and without dy, he also took his corpse of Phantom Horn Lizard and show it to the checker who was waiting.
Ace only has one Phantom Horn Lizard that he hunted in the core area of the dark swamp forest. He didn''t take more than what he needed to pass the test.
When the checker saw the size of Phantom Horn Lizard a hint of surprise shed through his eyes and said, "You got some skills to hunt this peak Qi gate Phantom Horn Lizard all by yourself."
"Sir is too kind." Finn smile faintly.
Frank merely smile knowingly because he thought Finn only manage to hunt this lizard with the help of his traitorous servants. But he didn''t dare to point it out since his family was the vessel of Finn''s.
"Your token." The checker said while putting Finn''s prey in his storage ring.
Ace take out Finn''s token from his storage ring and received the green number 1,010 before storing it away in his thief''s space.
"Here are antidote pills." The checker gave two pills green ranked pills to Frank and Finn.
If they didn''t pass the test, he wouldn''t be so kind to give them these pills and would''ve left after collecting their tokens. But since they did pass the test, he gave them antidote pills just like he was instructed!
"You two may leave now. Remember to report back in three days in the regal city''s registration building." The checker said before he took his leave.
Both Finn and Frank thanks him for the pills showing no disrespect and they also leave the vacancy.
They were going straight to the capital city.
At this moment Ace sense something that he kept watching out for.
''So, it''s here.''
This was Alvin''s martial sense that hasn''t been appeared in the forest.
"You two stop right there!" Alvin''s sturdy voice rang in the wide field.
Ace''s face was immediately wrapped in fear because this is not what he imagined.
In the end, both of them stop with terrified faces.
In these twelve days, Alvin has tirelessly searched for any contestants that he found suspicious and even kill them without sparing a single one.
But in the end, he never found traces of Sky Stealer.
He ends up leaving the forest and searched anyone who crosses the area without holding back.
This was hisst chance to fish out Sky Stealer if he was here that is.
Frank''s face was flush with intense anxiety because he never felt this kind of oppression might before, "Y-your¡ E-excellency¡ how did¡ we offend you?!" He shuttered.
"You didn''t offend me if this makes you feel any better." A cold smirk sounded at this moment and suddenly Finn and Frank saw a slim, handsome middle-aged man appearing in front of them.
''So, this is the owner of that martial sense!'' Ace''s heart sank when he finally saw Alvin.
He never thought he could bump into Alvin like this when he was out of the dark swamp forest. Now he can just hope Alvin let them go or this is going to be the end of him!
"S-sir, what¡ do you want?" Finn also shuttered while showing an expression of extreme concern.
"Just receive one attack from me and you two can go." Alvin nonchntly said without blinking.
''I''m dead!'' Only this thought came into Ace''s mind at this moment. He never expected this guy to be so ruthless.
After all, he a Qi River Core cultivator was asking two Qi gate realm brats to take his attack. What kind of logic was this?
But Ace has no choice in this matter. He knew this guy was testing them, so he suppressed his pounding heart and keep acting like Finn.
Frank on the other hand didn''t know he was dealing with an almighty Qi River Core cultivator. He only thought that this was also some kind of test from the institute for a talented youngster like ''him''.
"Sir, please don''t go easy on us!" Frank''s fear instantly turned into delight when this thought surfaced in his mind.
Ace nearly fell when he heard Frank''s words, ''This MORON, I should''ve killed him back then!''He was regretting his decision to spare Frank.
Even Alvin showed a hint of interest after hearing Frank''s words. He also thought that this guy was retard and the thought of not wasting his time on him surface in his mind.
But he still didn''t take his chance especially when this involved Sky Stealer!
Ace knew he can''t be too obvious, so he pretended that he understands something from Frank''s words and said, "Oh, so this is like this. Brother Frank, I underestimated your intelligence."
Frank grin broadly and pretend to be humble, "Brother Finn you''re far too kind. You''re just tired or you could''ve seen through this surprise test before me."
''I wish.'' Ace condemned in his heart.
"Sir, please test us to the best of your abilities." Finn showed a resolved face while confronting Alvin.
But inside Ace was crying tears of blood because this was just like shooting oneself in the foot!
After seeing Finn and Frank''s determined faces, Alvin was now 80% sure these two retards can''t be the infamous Sky Stealer.
"Here ites." Alvin didn''t want to waste any more time talking with them.
Alvin fired two green streaks towards them. These streaks were strands of Alvin''s element Qi!
Although these strands only contained 2% of his power, even this 2% was enough to kill any Qi Gate realm cultivator!
Alvin only wanted to see how these two bodies reposed when theye in contact with his element Qi and if Alvin finds everything fine, he will retract the strand of element Qi, leaving these two alone.
This method was very simple yet very effective because the disguise didn''t work for the inner physiques!
When Ace saw the green streaking in his way he instantly knew what this guy was nning and he nearly swore out loud.
Because this stance of element Qi wasn''t harmful to him but it was not a good thing in the least bit since dark void would absorb it the moment it entered his body!
If Alvin discovered this Qi Gate junior can absorb his element Qi like it was nothing, then this would be the end of Ace!
But it was toote to do anything since he can''t control the dark void yet.
''Cipppp''
The stance of element Qi instantly entered Finn and Frank''s bodies!
Frank''s face turned deathly pale while thick veins popped all over his body and the next moment he vomited a puddle of blood before fainting!
Alvin coolly retracted his Qi from Alvin''s body because it was a normal response and there is no need to torment Frank any further.
Because if he killed every passed participant of the institute it would a problem even for him.
Alvin shifted his focus to Finn who seem to bepletely fine. His eyes narrowed into slits as a hint of curiosity shed past them.
Ace felt the dark void tremble and knew he did nothing now Alvin would!
''Dame it all!'' Ace swore and before the dark void could absorb Alvin''s element Qipletely he forcefully moves his HD-Qi backward in his meridian channels, causing Qi deviation!
The next moment, Ace vomit arge amount of blood and fainted on the spot hoping this would work and the next time when he opened his eyes Alvin would probably go!
Ace has taken this enormous risk because he knew nothing going to work in front of this Qi river core cultivator.
The invisible bead can grant him one minute but that was it and he will be in the open when the effect wore off and Alvin would also know he was Sky Stealer.
At least now, Alvin didn''t know the truth, and this give Ace the determination to take this gamble.
However, if something goes wrong, Alvin will capture him without a hitch and he would be in the hands of those three giants the next time he opened his eyes!
Chapter 168 - Element Physiques
Alvin intensely looked at unconscious Finn before retrieving his element Qi strand.
However, he didn''t absorb it right away and examined it carefully. For a long time, Alvin keeps looking at the strand of his wood element Qi before ingesting it back.
"My wood element Qi show the slightest sign of dissolving before it took effect on this boy. Interesting." Alvin mumbles as a hint of interest shed past his eyes.
With a wave of Alvin''s sleeve, Finn''s unconscious bodynded in his hand like a doll.
Alvin put his finger on Finn''s forehead and closed his eyes.
The next moment, his finger shone in a green hue!
Alvin was using his martial sense with element Qi to scan Finn''s inners.
After five minutes, Alvin opened his eyes and withdraw his finger from Finn''s head.
"Nothing strange to his meridians, then why did my element Qi show the signs of dissolving?" Alvin was very confused about this because this was absurd, "His inners are quite damaged if I send another Qi strand then he''ll be dead."
Alvin didn''t make an instant decision like he always does and hesitated because he once read a book in the organization''s biggest library that was very old and only members like him have the authority to read it.
He reads about this Element Physique which can rival Ancient Hunters Elemental Bloodlines!
But it was so rare that it was almost a legend because no one ever appeared in lowernds with these Element Physiques for ages.
If someone appeared they were all fought over and then taken away by ancient sects!
They were only recording about these legends, not any evidence since thest person rumored to possess an Element Physique appeared five thousand years ago!
As for why Alvin suspected Finn for an Element Physique bearer because he clearly remembered a person with an element physique can absorb element Qi which it had an affinity with even if that Qi was from a cultivator!
Now that Alvin saw his wood Qi show sign of being absorbed this led him to suspect Finn had a Wooden Element Physique!
Because an Element Physique only showed signs of awakening after the person reached Qi River realm and before one show only minor signs like Finn just did.
However, he had no way to confirm it and he didn''t want to kill him identally either. Because if his hunch was right then this boy was even more important than Sky Stealer!
"What are the odds of this boy possessing the wooden element physique and even encountering a rare wood element cultivator like me." Alvin was bewildered as he murmured, "What to do now!"
Alvin was in a huge predicament.
''I have very little chances of finding that crook and this boy possibly with an element physique justnded in my hands.'' Alvin mused.
In the end, Alvin wore a decisive face and settled, ''I should just take him with me to see the elder in the Damien Kingdom!''
Without thinking twice Alvin took a crystal green pill from his storage ring and feed it to unconscious Finn.
This pill was a ck Ranked Healing Pill, meaning the highest-level pill one could find below Royal Lands!
Alvin didn''t take any risks and use this pill because Finn''s injuries seem to be quite served and this is no good if those injuries be any worse. That''s why Alvin take out one of the few ck Ranked pills he had.
After making sure the pill waspletely dissolved in Finn''s mouth, Alvin took his leave without caring about unconscious Frank.
Alvin was now going back to the regal capital so he could fetch his sister and leave as soon as possible with Finn!
Ace didn''t know his ability to absorb element Qi has put him in such a pearl!
One day passed in a sh.
Inside avishing room,
Ace''s eyes sprang opened and an intense pain wash over his entire body.
Ace inners were gravely injured because he caused Qi deviation himself.
Although his dark meridians were only slightly jumbled, his organs were greatly damaged.
Moreover, these injuries were caused by Heavenly Darkness Qi which will not heal so easily just like what happened when Ace fall into aa for years after experiencing Heavenly Punishment!
Nheless, he was healing slowly obviously because of Dark Void.
Ace smile bitterly, ''How ironic I wasn''t injured by some enemy or heavenly punishment but by myself.'' He didn''t know whether tough or cry.
But the next moment when Ace finally notice thevishing ceiling andfortable bedding, he was dumbfounded!
"Don''t tell me I''m dead!"
Ace instantly stand up from his bead and checked himself and sighed in relief when he confirmed he was still in Finn''s disguise.
"Where the hell am I?" Ace vigntly looked around and couldn''t help but again check if he wasn''t just dreaming.
"Notification Panel!" This was the only way to confirm if he was alive or dead because the system would not follow him if he was dead.
======
[Notification Panel]
{1: Unseen Notification}
{Old Notification}
======
Ace has a sigh of relief seeing the notification panel popping up with no obstacle. He didn''t remember any notification before going unconscious though, so he opened it.
=======
[1: Unseen Notification]
[System detect 1 Middle-Grade Pill (ck) in host''s body!]
[Conversion Rate: 1,000 EXP]
[Did the host want to proceed with the conversion?]
========
Ace was bewildered and asked, "How did I eat this pill?"
"[Someone fed it to host when the host was unconscious.]"
"Who?" Ace was stunned because they considered these kinds of pills treasurers in empires but someone fed them to a minor character like Finn!
However, the system didn''t answer Ace''s any further and this just make his anxiety even worse.
"Just convert it." Ace said since this EXP can help him recover faster.
======
"[Conversion Complete!]
[1,000 EXP has been added to Host status]
======
Ace didn''t feel any improvement in his injuries and he wanted to leave this ce as soon as possible because something was strange going on.
"System I want to buy a Grade-1 Healing Pill!" Ace instantly thought of a way to recover fast so he could at least use his skills.
Ace knew only these pills provided by the system worked on him or he had to cough up arge amount of EXP that he didn''t have at this moment. So, he spent 1000TP.
=====
[Grade-1 Healing Pills]
{Price: 1,000TP, Per Pill}
[Purchase has been sessful!]
---
[Thief Point(s): 31,030]
=====
Ace saw apletely crystal ck Pill appearing in his thief''s space and there was a golden circle on it.
He didn''t have time to examine or admire this 1st-Grade pill and he instantly pop it into his mouth with no hesitation.
The pill instantly dissolved into his mouth and a huge amount of healing heavenly Qi enter his body.
Ace felt as if he was in a warm bath, and all the piercing pain he was feeling after waking up began to fade at an astonishing speed.
"This pill is indeed magical." Ace mumbles while he enjoyed thefortable feeling.
"Hah, as long as you understand." A chuckling voice rang at this moment.
Ace was jolt awakened by this familiar voice.
Because of his grave injuries, his soul sense was only working to ten percent of its actual capacity and that''s why Ace didn''t sense Alvin''s presence until he was standing right in front of him!
Alvin wore a smiling face as he looked at bbergasted Finn and said, "How''re your injuries?"
Ace was stunned because he never expected this question and thought something was going on that he didn''t know about.
He still answered as he put a confusing face, "Thank you senior for the pill I''m feeling quite well."
Ace knew this guy misunderstood his words and thought he was mumbling about the ck grade pill and Ace wanted to keep it that way.
Alvin''s smile widen after hearing Finn was doing alright and said, "We''ll be leaving tomorrow so rest well tonight."
Finn asked in bewilderment, "L-leaving?"
"Heh, yes we''re leaving for the Damien Kingdom and I''m taking you to meet an elder there!" Alvin nonchntly answered.
"What¡ e-elder? I didn''t know senior at all, why are you talking me to the Damien Kingdom? Did I pass the hidden test?" Ace pretend to be stunned while asking core questions but he was truly frightened.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself." Alvin put a kind elderly smile and said, "My name is Alvin Cade and I''m a me General in me Guard Regiment of Pill me Organization!"
''The famous fighting force of Pill me Organization!'' Ace''s face sank now that he knew who he was dealing with here.
Ace knew this me Guard Regiment was the fighting force of Pill me Organization and every member of it was a force to reckon with and Alvin was a me General the highest-level me Guard!
Ace does this best to look surprised and hide his anxiety and asked, "Than senior is talking me to be an alchemist?"
Alvin profoundly looked at Finn and said with a hint of excitement in his voice.
"Hehe, if my hypothesis about you is right then my little friend you might be the most important person in the entire Azure Wind Continent!"
Chapter 169 - Out Of The Frying Pan Into The Fire (1)
Ace was bbergasted when he heard Alvin''s ambiguous words.
But now Ace was sure about one thing that Alvin still didn''t know he was Sky Stealer.
''But what is he considering me then? Whatever it is, it has something to do with the dark void.'' Ace thought gravely.
Ace didn''t know about Element Bodies and the importance of possessing one. He does not know just the hunch of possessing an element body was enough to make him more important than¡ himself!
"C-can I see my family?" Ace tries another approach since he can''t get any useful information out of Alvin.
He used Finn''s family so he could leave this ce first before changing his face and leaving the Regal Kingdom because Alvin''s kind smile was giving him the chills.
Ace wasn''t some na?ve kid and he can instantly discrete a greedy smile from a kind one because he saw too many of them in his journey!
"Don''t worry about your family. I already have King Kale contact them and they''re waiting outside." Alvin smile faintly. "I''ll send them inside."
Finn merely nodded in response.
''Why is he so adamant about keeping me here!'' Ace''s mood was dismal. The more he thought about it the more confused he became and so does his desire to escape.
But he was helpless to do anything since this guy was present and watching over him like some precious treasure!
''I need to calm down first.'' Ace takes a deep breath and calm his chaotic nerves.
He could feel the grand-1 pill was still healing him and he estimate it would take 2 hours for him to fully recover, meanwhile he observed the situation.
After Alvin left a minuteter, a group of people invishing attire entered the grand bedroom where Finn was.
Ace saw three men and two women and was astonished because in the front of the group was the Regal King himself!
The other four were Finn''s parents and two elder siblings.
"Hahaha, nephew you seem in a good health. Good, very good!" King Kaleugh as he wore a gentle smile like he was meeting his nephew.
"Thank you for your kind words. Your Majesty." Finn wanted to stand up to greet the King properly but Kale quickly stopped him.
"Don''t push yourself, you''re still recovering, and call me Uncle Kale from now on." Kale smiled kindly.
''Hypocrite.'' Ace sneered in his heart. He knew this King Kale was putting-up front to carry goodwill with Finn.
Ace clearly remembers before Finn never speak to the King because he didn''t have the right to and now that Kale knew Finn has somehow won the goodwill of a me guard he was acting like he knew Finn for a long time.
"What are you dazing for? Thank his majesty right now!" The chubby middle-aged man standing beside King Kale spoke at this moment with a faint smile on his face.
He was Finn''s father, Marquess ze Eugene.
Finn snapped out of his bewilderment and blurted, "T-thank you, your mej¡ um¡ U-uncle Kale."
Ace was in no mood to show off his acting skills but he had no choice since he has been observed by Alvin''s martial sense.
"Hahaha, Good, good." King Kaleugh heartedly and said, "Since you''re doing well I''m at ease. I''ll leave you with brother ze and sister-inw now."
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Marquess ze, King Kale leave in a cheerful mood.
Now that Kale left the room only Eugene Family members remain.
The elegant woman standing quietly behind Marquess ze quickly approached Finn and hold his hand, "Little Finn are you hurt anywhere? Tell mother what happened." Her eyes were teary and her voice was filled with concern and love.
She was Rachael Eugene, Finn''s mother.
Ace frowned a little because he could tell this woman''s concern was real and for the first time hesitate to call her mother.
He knew from Finn''s memories that his connection with his mother was very deep but feeling it himself was a unique experience.
''Is this how a mother looked at their child?'' Ace had a nostalgic look on his face and a deep sadness gripped his heart.
"Why aren''t you talking?! Are you still hurt?" Rachael asked with a voice full of anxiety while she caresses Finn''s face tenderly.
"I-I''m fine." Ace snapped out of his thoughts and he subconsciously freed his hand from Rachael''s grip while jolting his head backward.
Rachael was shocked after seeing Finn actingpletely different from what he normally does and a hint of double appeared in her eyes.
''Shit!'' Ace knew he just behavepletely on impulse and now Rachael was probably thinking something was wrong.
"Don''t worry. It just... I feel pain from physical contact." Ace quickly speaks to make up for his blunder.
Racheal''s vague doubt quickly vanished since Finn''s exnation was reasonable and nodded worriedly in understanding.
"Stop making little Finn''s condition worse." Marquess ze frowned and speak at this moment.
Ace has a sigh of relief seeing Rachael standing up, but he still can''t bring himself to look at her anxiety-filled eyes that were not for him.
"Little Finn, tell us how did you catch the fancy of someone from Pill me?" At this moment the young girl that resembles Rachael speaks in excitement.
She was Finn''s elder sister, Kensley Eugene.
"I don''t know I was just returning from the dark swamp forest when¡" Finn told what happened truthfully and everyone listen with great interest.
"After that, I fall unconscious and didn''t remember what happened next. But that sir just told me he taking me with him after tonight." Finn finally ended his story.
"Heh, truly dumb luck." The tall boy who was silent all this time sneered at this moment. But one could see deep envy and resentment in his eyes.
He was the eldest son of Marquess ze, Rayden Eugene.
Rayden didn''t have any good feelings towards Finn because Finn was in his way of inheriting the family titled and ve business. If Finn would''ve gotten a good ce in Damien Royal Institute''s second test, then he would have be the actual sessor!
However, now by some dumb luck, he caught the fancy of someone from the organization, and by the reaction of the King, that person had a prominent position in the organization!
Chapter 170 - Out Of The Frying Pan Into The Fire (2)
That''s why Rayden was aggrieved and despised Finn for his dumb luck.
"Shut up. Is this any way of talking with your younger brother?!" Marquess ze berated Rayden.
Although ze has very high hope for Finn, even he never thought that Finn had some hidden talent for alchemy.
Because in hidden selection no one got selected from the Regal Kingdom and now out of the blue, a very powerful expert has chosen his son. How could he not be excited?
"Little Finn ignores your Elder Brother he''s just dumb. I have splendid news for you." Marquess ze smiles broadly as the fat on his face quivered.
"What good news?" Finn asked in bewilderment.
Ace was now calm from before but ze''s words make him agitate again.
"Hehe, His Highness King Kale wanted to wed Princess Haley to my Little Finn!" Rachael spoke with a faint smile on her face before ze could.
"NO¡ I-I mean why?!"
Ace nearly fell after hearing this ominous news.
If it was real Finn, he might have already reached cloud nine after hearing his ideal girl was going to be his wife.
But Ace wasn''t happy in the least bit since he already has a goddess-like wife and if she was conscious, she will kill these people who wanted her beloved husband to marry some ''ugly'' duck.
"Oh, you don''t want to marry your dream girl?" Kensley tease Finn after seeing his dumbfounded face. She had a very good rtion with Finn and was happy for him.
"N-no, I¡ it just so sudden." Finn blush as he retorted to his sister.
"Heh, don''t celebrate too soon the marriage will only happen after you pass the test of Pill me Organization." Rayden scoffed at this moment.
''That''s good then.'' Ace had a massive sigh of relief after hearing the marriage was not happening right now.
"If you speak anymore, I''ll put you with those ves!" Marquess ze coldly looked at his son and warn him stiffly.
Rayden shivers a little before quickly nodding.
Rachael also gives a re to her eldest son before speaking with Finn in aforting tone, "Little Finn, don''t sell yourself too low. After you enter the organization, there will be many like Haley in the line for you."
"Shut up. Do you want to eradicate our family woman?!" Marquess ze quickly rebukes his wife.
"Hmph, they can''t do anything as long as Little Finn joins the Pill me Organization." Rachel retorted.
"Yes. But he didn''t yet!" Masques ze pulls a long face.
"Time''s up!" Alvin''smanding voice rang in the room.
The very next moment, Alvin enter the room in an imposing manner and coolly looked at Finn''s family.
"Let him rest we have a long journey ahead of us."
"Yes, yes. We were just leaving. Thank you for taking care of our son." Marquess ze wore a ttering smile and quickly thank Alvin. He didn''t dare show any disrespect to this envoy.
"Little Finn we''ll be there to see you off in the morning." Rachael lovingly looked at her son and smile gently.
"Alright." Finn nodded.
After exchanging some words, the Eugene family left, leaving smiling Finn and cold Alvin behind.
"Senior, are you taking me to the Pill me Organization?" Finn looked at Alvin with full of expectation.
Alvin faintly replied, "Yes, if you did well I can ensure you that won''t be ourst destination."
Alvin has checked Finn''s condition before with his martial sense and he knew Finn was recovering quickly. He merely thought it was all thanks to the ck ranked pill.
''He should be up and running in the morning. I have to leave before those ghosts suspect anything.'' Alvin thought gravely and leave Finn alone to rest.
Ace was finally alone again, ''Finally, I don''t have to act anymore!'' He sighed in rxation.
For a long time, Ace has been looking at the ceiling deep in thoughts.
''Now that I think about it, this is also an opportunity to reach the 1st-gradends without going through those annoying tests. Furthermore, he took me to the main branch of Pill me in the Middlends himself.''
Unknowingly a smile creeped out on Ace''s troubled face.
---
Somewhere in the Regal Capital.
Natalia''s figure was kneeling on the floor at this moment but strangely there was no one in this room.
"Did you find any traces of that thief?" Suddenly, a mild voice drifted into the room.
Natalia keep her head low and politely answer, "No I didn''t find any trace of him. It seemed he did flee the Regal Kingdom."
"Flee you say¡ so be it." The voice sounded vexed. "What about the me Guard?"
"I didn''t encounter him again, and he''s back in the royal pce. It seemed he''s leaving tomorrow." Natalia replied faintly.
"Oh, leaving so soon. It seems I have to personally say goodbye." The voice coldly chuckles, "You''re doing great, keep taking part in these ants''petition. If the thief is hungry for glory, then this is his best chance to get it."
"Yes!" Natalia nodded solemnly.
---
At this moment somewhere in the 1st Grade Lands.
"Did the envoy arrive yet?" An old husky voice sounded.
"No, my Lord but they''ll be here in a week." A man in histe forties respectfully replied.
"Any trace of the stolen treasury?" The old grim voice rang.
"W-we''re searching." The man replied with intense fear.
"Trash! All of you are trash!" The old husky voice roar in anger. "If you can''t exin to the envoy, then everything is over for us!"
"I-I know¡ but how did that item leave that cage? Aren''t they say it''s impossible?" The man asked with skepticism.
"If anyone knows do you think they leave that thing in a ce like that?! Search for that hateful thief we''ll know how he leaves with that thing once we capture him!" The old voice res in anger.
"B-but three giants¡"
Before that man could finish his words the old voice coldly cut him and asked in a mocking tone, "Do you think that person is afraid of three giants?!"
Chapter 171 - Ghost Crane
The next daybreak, the golden sky was covered in clouds. But it didn''t fluster Alvin since he was settled on leaving today with Finn.
The entire night Alvin didn''t leave Finn out of his sight and kept monitoring the entire royal pce with his martial sense.
If Finn''s condition was not so grave he might''ve taken him the moment Finn regain his consciousness.
As for the reason for his agitation, it was of course Nightmare Ghosts. If it was just Natalia he wasn''t afraid of her but unfortunately, she wasn''t alone and that''s why Alvin have to treat even her discreetly.
Although Alvin was sure about those ghosts being ignorant when ites to element physiques, he still didn''t want to take any chances and leave this ce as quickly as possible to meet with the elder in Damien Capital City''s branch
Inside the bedroom where Ace spends the night.
Ace was now fully recovered because of the 1st-Grade Pill he bought from the system shop. He had to admit these pills from the system were tailor-made for him and as long as he had them he can heal any kind of injury.
The only regret was system didn''t provide any pills for soul recovery yet.
Speaking of which, Ace never tries to escape the pce. One reason was because of Alvin''s constant surveince and the second was after he reflected it; this might not be a bad thing.
Because if he ys his part well then he might reap enormous benefits from this ordeal!
But first, Ace had to find out what Alvin was considering him and how he can keep it that way. Moreover, he had to carefully examine the pros and cons of being whatever Alvin suspected him of.
If this thing was in his favor, he will y along but if he found any excessive danger to himself, then he had already prepared an escape n.
Now, he just has to make Alvin talk before they could reach the Damien Kingdom.
Ace''s eyes were closed since he was pretending to be asleep while constantly imagining different scenarios.
''Creek¡''
The golden door creek opened at this moment and Alvin enter with a graceful woman beside him.
She was his sister Sofia who also happen to be an Azure Rank Alchemist!
But she didn''t wear the Azure me Robes that was the symbol of Azure Alchemist and Pill me Organization because Alvin didn''t let her since it would draw unwanted attention.
Finn opened his eye and drowsily saw his visitors.
Ace''s eyes narrowed when he saw the graceful woman in dark green attire and sense her soul fluctuation and soul signature.
''She''s that Qi Flowing River cultivator!'' He vividly remembered the second expert presence in the royal family''s carriage that time and now he finally saw her.
While Ace was observing Sofia, she was also doing the same and closely measuring Finn.
Sofia was very arrogant because of her status and background. She was only here for Sky Stealer''s secrets but she didn''t search for him because she knew her brother was an expert in it.
But now even her brother has failed and instead of Sky Stealer, he brings some random kid and even leaves so quickly without giving her any proper exnation.
This gives her a terrible impression of Finn but she can''t do anything since Alvin was protecting him and didn''t let her even see him yesterday.
Sofia disdainfully looked at Finn and pursed her lips, "Just a fifth Qi gate imp. Why are you protecting him?"
''I also wanted to know that.'' Ace wore a wry smile when he senses Sofia''s resentfulness toward Finn. He could now imagine this journey is going to be quite a lively one.
Alvin coolly said, "You don''t need to know. If you keep acting like a spoiled brat, I''ll ground you when we reached home."
Sofia''s face sank and didn''t dare to rebuke anymore, but she didn''t stop ring murderously at Finn.
After berating his sister, Alvin looked at seemingly afraid Finn and smile faintly, "Forgive my sister, she''s just a little angry with me. Get ready we''re leaving."
''I can see that.'' Ace scoffed, but he merely nodded as Finn.
On the side, Sofia was bbergasted when she saw Alvin speaking so gently with this brat because he never spoke like this even with their parents.
She examined Finn more carefully but no matter how many times she looked at him, Finn or his aura was extremely normal to her.
This stimted many doubts in her heart but she was too afraid to question him in front of Alvin. So, she can only wait for an opportunity to interrogate this brat and uncover his secrets.
Ace sense Sofia''s intense curiosity and his heart sank, ''I better stay away from her.''
Now that he yed along with Alvin, he had to be very careful of these people around Alvin or he might find himself in someone''s torture chamber.
His best bet was to stick with Alvin who seem to be quite protective of Finn since he didn''t even tell his sister about this theory of his.
Ace quickly takes a bath with the help of pce maids. He was quite unwilling but he can''t do anything about it since Finn was used to this kind of lifestyle and even more inappropriate things than just this.
After wearing new white robes Finn''s skinny figure looked quite handsome with long ck hair.
"Let''s go, our ride is waiting." Alvin nodded toward clean Finn and led the way.
Finn excitedly followed Alvin and resentful Sofia.
''This is it!'' Ace inhales deeply. He knew this is going to be his biggest con-act and if he messed up even a little, then this will be hisst.
Ace observed the luxurious royal pce and couldn''t help but think it was just too damn exaggerating!
After crossing somerge hallways, Ace''s group of three finally reached arge open area.
Ace''s eyes instantly contracted after what he saw before him.
There was a 15-meterrge silver-grey crane, gracefully sitting in the open field. Only its beak and eyes were golden grey and it looked quite beautiful sitting below the soft light.
"Ghost Crane!"
Ace eximed in shock because this aerial-type demonic beast was too rare. The main reason for this was, it can reach the Qi River realm at maturity, just like the one sitting before him!
The purity of their bloodlines also limited demonic Beasts like other powerful beings in this world.
The more powerful ancestral bloodline a demonic beast has the more powerful its cultivation grows and vice versa.
A demonic beast that can reach the Qi River or Soul River realm was very rare in the middlends and most of them were in a forbidden area of the middlends.
That''s why Ace was astonished to see this kind of rare and fully mature aerial Ghost Crane.
"Magnificent isn''t it?" An old man with a gentle smile appeared beside Finn at this moment.
Ace was stunned when he saw this old man with long grey hair and a long beard appearing beside him like a ghost.
''A peak Qi River cultivator!'' Ace''s heart sank because he never expects another expert this powerful appearing here.
Moreover, he didn''t sense this old man''s soul signature until he show himself!
''Another treasure that can fool my soul sense!'' Ace instantly guess the reason for the failure of his soul sense.
"Don''t be rmed, this is Beast Master Luke. An envoy from Beast Calling Organization and also the owner of that Ghost Crane." Alvin impassively introduced Old Man Luke.
"Beast Master Luke!" Finn quickly greeted Luke politely.
"Hahaha, you don''t have to be on edge around me. Just call me Old Luke." Old Luke nodded with a gentle smile on his face.
"Are we ready for takeoff?" Alvin impassively looked at Old Luke.
"Yes, as long as Lord me General givesmand we can take flight any time." Old Luke replied with a smile.
Alvin nodded in satisfaction before saying, "Then let''s go. I''ll fill Grand Beast Master in the details when we reached the Damien Kingdom."
"Yes." Old Luke solemnly nodded when he heard Grand Beast Master''s name.
Old Luke didn''t dare to dy anymore and controlled the Ghost Crane with his beast taming technique.
The Ghost Crane instantly let loose a loud, rattling bugle cry and stand straight on her long beastly legs.
Old Luke jumped on the Ghost Crane first before gesturing the other three with a smile, "Please."
"Let''s go." Alvin cover Finn within his manifest wood Qi and jump on the Ghost Crane, Sofia followed suit.
"Didn''t my family say they''ll be here for my departure?" Finn asked in bewilderment.
On the contrary, Ace was happy inside since he don''t have to deal with Finn''s mother anymore but he still pretends like Finn so no one suspects anything.
"They all give their regards." Alvin faintly said.
It was Alvin''s doing that he didn''t let them meet Finn since it would waste too much time.
However, the actual reason was; Alvin''s sense of Natalia''s Qi projection just an hour ago, and that''s why he was in such a hurry!
Chapter 172 - Black Reaper
"They all give their regards." Alvin faintly said before he conjured a golden emblem from his storage ring and give it to Finn.
"From your mother." Alvin gravely said as he gave that emblem to Finn. A hint of mncholy shed past Alvin''s eyes.
Ace take a deep breath and received the golden emblem.
This emblem was like a palm-size coin and there were two words engraved on both sides. "Preserve" and "Sess".
"Oh, a lucky charm and it seemed to be made by some precious material. You quite lucky to have a loving mother." Old Luke smiled warmly.
Ace felt this emblem was heavy than a mountain and quickly store it in his thief''s space. For some reason, this emblem stir the very core of his heart and he didn''t like this feeling in the least bit since he didn''t know why he was feeling this way.
''Next time, I should consider choosing a face with no family or some family-like Javier''s.'' Ace made a mental note with a heavy heart and suppress that foreign sensation.
"Let''s go." Alvin nodded toward Old Luke.
Luke chuckles and with a wave of his sleeve, a grey light barrier enveloped the four of them.
Ace saw the barrier with great interest, but he didn''t dare to use his runic eyes in the presence of a Qi river core expert. This was a gamble he didn''t want to take.
"Hihi, leaving without saying goodbye how cold of you brother Alvin!"
A jeering voice drifted at this moment and with this voice descend a humongous force!
Old Luke and Sofia''s faces turn pale when they felt the aura and the Ghost Crane also cries in rm before its legs shiver and with a thud, itnded straight to the ground.
Ace''s heart sank, ''Another Qi River Core expert!''
"Hmph!" Alvin coldly snort and the pressure instantly vanished from everyone.
"Hihi, just like I remember always so cold to friends." Thatughing voice sounded again.
"Stop this nonsense ck Reaper and show your ugly face." Alvin coldly said while increasing his aura.
"Hihi, it seemed that Lass indeed told you about me." The next moment a tall figure appeared out of thin air. He waspletely covered in a ck cloak.
"Do you think she could''ve left without paying the price if she didn''t reveal your presence?" Alvin darkly said.
"Indeed, but admit it brother Alvin, you didn''t have the guts to kill her even if she were alone." ck Reaper scoffed.
Alvin''s face darkened because ck Reaper''s words were true. He really can''t kill Natalia that day since it would put a hit on himself.
ck Reaper''s, and he had some history between them. And his presence just give Alvin''s the reason to forbear Natalia, but it also showed just how much Nightmare Ghosts wanted that thief as well.
That''s why Alvin was on edge all this time because he can''t fight someone like ck Reaper who never fights head-on. Moreover, ck Reaper was famous for killing a person in the Qi river core realm with one strike!
Alvin just wanted to leave as quickly as possible or he wanted to be at least in the air where ck Reaper can''t use his sneaky attacks. Alvin was confident in beating this guy if he fights head-on.
But s, ck Reaper didn''t let him have his way and intercept him before the Ghost Crane could fly.
Now the situation was grave!
Ace on the other side was terrified because he doesn''t sense this ck Reaper soul signature nor his Qi or Soul waves. It was as if he wasn''t here at all!
''That cloak!'' Ace''s eyes narrowed when he saw the pitch-ck cloak on ck Reaper.
It was indeed the treasure that was hiding ck Reaper''s existence itself and it was more powerful than Alvin''s or Old Luke''s treasuresbine!
"Cut to the chase what do you want?!" Alvin stiffly demanded.
ck Reaper''s face was hidden underneath that ck cloak but Ace felt a chill run down his spine when a powerful martial sense lock on him.
''He''s also here for me!'' Ace grimly thought as he does his best to act ignorant as if he didn''t know ck Reaper was using his martial sense to scan him.
Alvin also sensed ck Reaper martial sense scanning Finn, but he didn''t stop him and let him examine Finn.
Alvin knew ck Reaper was suspecting Finn to be Sky Stealer, and that''s why he intercepted him. As long as ck Reaper confirms Finn wasn''t a fake he''ll probably leave.
As for ck Reaper founding out about anything special about Finn that was night impossible since the records of element physics only exist in Pill me Organization!
Just as Alvin thought after finding nothing amiss with Finn, ck Reaper retract his martial sense and spoke with a hint of meddling in his voice.
"He''s indeed a real person. But I''m quite curious why are you taking this ordinary brat with you?"
"Since you asking so politely, I''ll tell you." Alvin coolly said, "He has the talent to be a ck Rank Alchemist."
Old Luke and Sophia on the side were astonished hearing this because ck Alchemists were very rare and if this brat has such potential, then he can be a person with a prominent position in the organization one day.
"Is that so?" ck Reaper''s facial expression was hidden underneath that ck clock so no one knows what he was thinking.
''It''s a lie. There is something else.'' Ace on the side instantly see through Alvin''s lie since his soul sense was always active.
Ace recently found out that his soul sense was invisible even in the martial sense presence so he was not afraid of using it to the fullest anymore.
Alvin has indeed made up this excuse so ck Reaper would leave without causing any trouble because if this guy attacked even he has to be careful much less protect the others beside him.
"Fine. I''ll leave you alone¡ but on one condition!" ck Reaper''s yful voice sounded.
"Speak." Alvin grimaced.
"Hihi, I want a night with that beauty." ck Reaper''s lustful voice sounded as he pointed toward Sofia!
"Bastard!" Sofia was enraged. No one has dared to treat her like some whore.
"If you want a fight so be it." Alvin shows intense killing intent at this moment.
Although Finn was indeed very important, it was not confirmed yet and Sofia was his blood sister so how could he sell her to this bastard.
A hint of disdain also surfaces in Ace''s eyes. He never expected these Nightmare Ghosts to be so wanton, and they didn''t seem to have a good rtionship with other organizations as well.
"Hihi, I was just joking and teasing Lady Sophia. I''ll take my leave now." ck Reaperugh mildly and vanished from the spot just like he appeared before.
Although, ck Reaper wasn''t afraid of fighting Alvin it wasn''t worth it since there was no reward. Moreover, if Alvin went all out, then they would cause a tremendousmotion and ck Reaper superiors would not like it.
So, ck Reaper backed off after pushing Alvin''s buttons and focus on finding that thief since only one day was left in the kingdom level test to finish.
Alvin''s tense nerves finally settle after he saw ck Reaper finally disappear, leaving them alone. He knew he just dodged a bullet.
"Let''s go before that lunatic changed his mind." Alvin gravelymand Old Luke who was also seemed quite relieved.
"Yes!" Old Luke also knew they just escaped a mmily and didn''t want to stay here any longer, especially not after finding out the famous ck Reaper was here.
The Ghost Crane spread its monstrous silver-grey wings and gracefully wave them and take flight.
This was Ace''s second time experiencing flight but this time he was going to travel on a Qi river level demonic beast and this make him somewhat nervous!
Just in a few seconds, the Ghost Crane was fifty meters in the cloudy sky and with a cry of joy, it flips its wind and shot in the east direction like a loose arrow.
In a minute, the Ghost Crane has reached its full speed and covered a hundred meters in an instant!
Ace was astonished by this speed, ''This Ghost Crane can easily catch me if I run in the open fields.'' He mused.
"The journey to the Damien Kingdom is going to take us a month on this Ghost Crane. Trust me, if it were any other demonic beast we have to travel on foot between the Natural Earthen Boundary of 2nd Grade and 1st Gradends." Old Luke saw Finn''s curious expression and couldn''t help but preach his knowledge to this youngster.
"Why is that?" Ace read about this before but he didn''t know the reason behind this.
That''s why he wanted to pass those tests so he could cross this boundary with no inconvenience because he read that almost 90% of people die just to cross this Natural Earthen Boundary!
Chapter 173 - Natural Earthen Boundary
Old Luke didn''t answer Finn''s question right away and first, nce at Alvin for his approval.
Since this information was only known to 1st Grade Kingdoms!
He also didn''t know why Alvin was bringing this boy with them, although he was curious, he didn''t have the right to question Alvin''s arrangement.
Ace also noticed this brief exchange and stay quiet while waiting for Alvin to decide.
Alvin nonchntly nodded, his meaning was clear, ''You can tell him.''
"Brother you can''t tell this peasant about this information!" Sofia was also watching this closely and when she saw Alvin giving his approval she instantly protests.
''Is she jealous?'' Ace pull an amusing face because he could tell this woman was not doing it just for the sake of secrecy. She was doing it for Alvin''s attention.
Ace''s guess was on the mark because after Sofia see Alvin''s kind treatment to Finn which she never got despite being his actual sister, she felt extreme jealousy.
Moreover, she might not show it but she admires Alvin sincerely and always wanted him to treat her like Finn. Yet Alvin was austere with her all the time just like her father.
Now she saw Alvin treating this unknown brat like a prince, she finds it unfair and if not for this formation barrier protecting them from the air current, she would have pushed Finn off from the Ghost Crane. Even if Alvin punished her afterward.
"Shut up!" Alvin berated coldly.
Sofia resentfully res at Finn since she can''t do anything to Alvin.
''Just you wait. I''ll take care of you the moment I got the chance. He won''t be there to always protect you!'' She thought while murderously ring at Finn.
Finn wore a silly smile at this moment as if he had no idea what was going on.
''How troublesome.'' Ace thought wryly.
Old Luke clear his throat as if he saw nothing and asked Finn, "The Natural Earthen Boundary is very special you know why?"
"No. But I heard there is a forbidden area between 1st Grade and 2nd Grade-Lands called Earthen Mist Forest. Isn''t that the reason this boundary was named, the earthen natural boundary?"
Ace truthfully answered with what he conjures up by himself after pounding over the vague information he had for a long time.
"Heh, good kid, you''re right about the origin of its name." Old Luke chuckles lightly and continues, "But do you know why this forest is called the forbidden area and the most dangerous ce in the entire middlends?"
"I do not know." Ace honestly answered.
He also wanted to know that because he read that even a peak Qi river cultivator can die there if they enter too deep in this Earthen Mist Forest.
Only those top ten kingdoms have the method to cross it with no causalities.
That''s also why Ace didn''t want to cross this deadly boundary on his own and wanted a ce in the institute so with their help he could cross this boundary with no danger.
After all, Ace even read about some soul-type demonic beasts in this forest and they were not easy to deal with.
Old Luke nodded in satisfaction seeing Finn''s earnest expression and said, "It''s because of the Emerald Mist! The Earthen Mist Forest is covered in this Emerald Mist all the time of year and this mist can bewitch even someone like me if I enter the deepest part of this forest. The scariest part is the victims of this Emerald Mist do a very strange and horrifying thing!"
"What thing?" Finn asked with a horrified face.
''I wonder if this mist works on me.'' Ace wondered.
Old Luke answer with a grim face, "They all dig their grave themselves and then buried themselves after cutting their throats!"
Ace''s eyes narrowed because this was just too exaggerating and hard to believe that someone could do this to themselves.
"Heh, I wanted to go in this forest now." Sofia scoffed at this moment.
Old Luke knew no one believed him and gravely said, "It is very normal if you don''t believe this old man. But you can confirm it with Grand Beastmaster, two hundred years ago there was a Qi river core cultivator who wanted to uncover this forest''s mystery but he nevere back alive and vanished in the depth of this forest.
"I can assure you I''m not making this up because this cultivator was the former, Grand Beastmaster and also the mentor of the current Grand Beastmaster!"
Alvin narrowed his eyes and finally show a hint of interest while Sofia''s face was flush with fear and she didn''t speak about going into the forest this time.
''A Qi river core cultivator dies, and he was even from one of three giants!'' Ace was also stunned and he finally understand why this area considers the most dangerous area of the entire middlends.
"Why did he go there, though?" Alvin spoke at this moment, he didn''t know about this forest history and now that he found out a cultivator like he never returned from there, this piqued his interest.
"I heard, the old Grand Beastmaster discover something very strange, and that''s why he ignored the danger and enter the forest." Old Luke answered with uncertainty.
"Oh, what thing?" Alvin asked again.
"There was a legend about this forest; if you''re a wood, water, or earth element cultivator your cultivation speed can increase if you manage to dive enough deep inside," Luke stated.
"Oh, did someone prove this legend?" Alvin''s voice was hesitant since he was a wood element cultivator himself. If this was true, he didn''t mind investigating this forest.
"Heh, no one is alive to answer that question. It''s only the word of a madman who manage to escape the depth of this forest and lost his mind afterward and die." Old Luke shook his head.
"A madman who can even make a Grand Beastmaster enter the forest, huh." Alvin retorted softly.
"It''s because this madman was Sacred Lotus King!" Old Luke said with a hint of reverence in his eyes.
"What?! The same Sacred Lotus King who shake the enter high and middlends after creating the Realm Breaking Lotus Pill!?" Alvin eximed in shock.
"Indeed, they both are the same person." Old Luke solemnly nodded.
"Brother, are we talking about the same person who breaks into the purple alchemist rank despite never being in the high-levelnds?" Sofia chimed in.
"Yes. It''s the same person. He was supposed to be a prodigy in alchemy and he manage to reach this level at the age of 30!" Alvin nodded solemnly.
"But didn''t they say the Scared Latus King died because some enemy poisoned him?" Alvin looked at Old Luke with doubt. He never thought that he would discover this astonishing secret here.
Alvin never talk with Old Luke in his way here because he didn''t consider Luke his equal. But now that Old Luke opens his mouth to talk with Finn, Alvin''s opinion of him has changed since he knows this extraordinary information.
Ace on the side was listening to this conversation carefully. It was supposed to be only about the Earthen Natural Boundary but now it has taken apletely different turn.
Old Luke on the other hand was talking with no reserve because of Alvin and he wanted to curry favor with this person. But he didn''t think he would get any chance after he found out about Alvin''s cold personality.
However, now talking with Finn gave him this chance he has been waiting for all this time and he won''t blow it just because of some old history''s secrets that were collected by Beast Calling.
"That was just a front to hide his madness and shameful death. But he was friendly with our fourthst Grandmaster, that''s why we have actual records that even Pill me didn''t." Old Luke pridefully dered.
"Did this forest was always like this?" Alvin probe, now that he knew about the actual story behind this legend and the person who started it. Even he was now tempted to go there and explore it.
But he wasn''t an idiot since he now knew about the madness and death of two Qi river core cultivators, Alvin would not take any measures without weighing out his options.
"This¡" Old Luke pounder for a while before answering with uncertainly, "I don''t know but I heard from the Grand Beastmaster that this mysterious mist be vague in the era of second-generation Grand Beastmaster. But it is probably older, no one knows."
"Oh, more than 20,000 years ago." Alvin was astonished.
"Yes." Old Luke answer truthfully, "At that time, no one takes it seriously but as time pass the mist be thicker and more dangerous. Only sacred lotus king took an interest in it and after him our Grand Beastmaster.
"But no one dares to go inside after them since there this mist wasn''t the only problem. There are strange earthly beings and many natural traps.
"The Scared Latus Kingst sane words wasn''t just about the fast cultivation, there were more¡!"
Chapter 174 - A Possibility
"The Scared Latus Kingst sane words wasn''t about just the fast cultivation, there were more¡" Old Luke carefully remembered what was written in the old records before speaking, "Oh, they were: This forest is like a natural fortress as if it is protecting something!"
"Strange." Alvin mused but no matter how much he mulled over it these words made little sense to him at all.
However, Ace who has been listening to them earnestly all this time showed opposite emotions to his usualposed self. His eyes were twinkling with ecstasy and his breath be a little rugged!
A startling thought haspletely taken over his mind the moment he listens to thisst line of Scared Latus King and it just won''t go away.
''AN ELEMENTAL ORB!''
Ace circte the HD-Qi to calm his frantic heartbeat because he knew this was just his opinion based on a madman''s words. So, losing his calm over a mere guess and stimting these three powerful experts'' suspicion wasn''t worth it.
''This Earthen Mist Forest, I have to check it myself!'' Ace makes this forbidden zone his top priority because just this mere possibility of having an Elemental Orb was enough reason for him to go there.
One had to know, Ace can''t reach the higher realm without absorbing these Elemental Orbs and he knew they were very hard to find. But the system has given him enough hints and now he found a ce that waspletely matched some of the system''s signs.
Ace never thought this misfortune of being captured by Alvin and then his decision to stick with Alvin would give him a probable location with an Elemental Orb.
If Ace didn''t learn from his previous experiences, he might leave everything and go to that forest whenever he gets the first chance.
Now that he knew all these dangerous facts about that forbidden area he won''t go until he waspletely sure ofing back alive.
''At least now I know where to look after I reached the end of Heavenly Foundation Realm.'' Ace ecstatically thought. He wasn''t in the hurry to go there and he''ll wait until he believed he was ready.
''These organizations have many astonishing secrets. I should also clean their libraries. Who knows, I might find more clues about elemental orbs.'' Ace took a mental note for the future.
"But I didn''t see any mist in our way here? Why is that?" Alvin spoke at this moment, he has taken a great interest in this forest, and if not for Finn''s presence he might start to explore the outskirts of it.
"Hehe, that why I said without this ghost crane, we have to cross the forest on foot but I would also be without any dangers since that path is very safe. It just takes us far longer than on the sky." Old Luke pridefully stroke the Ghost Crane.
"You still didn''t answer my question?" Alvin pursed his lips.
"Oh, please forgive me. It is because this fully mature Ghost Crane can fly at a very high altitude and the Emerald Mist can''t reach this high up. But don''t take this in the wrong way and imagine you can reach the core area with this method. Trust me, many tried this method, and probably all of them are nine feet under." Old Luke chuckles coldly.
Alvin''s face darken because he was thinking about using this method but Old Luke pour cold water on his fantasy.
"Brother, let''s forget about this forest. Don''t you find it strange that no one ever tries to investigate this matter even after a Grand Beastmaster and a prodigy die there?" Sofia''s face was filled with anxiety and fear because she knew what her brother was thinking and tried to talk reason with him.
"Don''t worry I won''t go there. But I''ll have to talk about this with Father and ask for his opinion." Alvin stiffly retorted to Sofia and then looked at Old Luke, "Tell me everything you know about this forest and I''ll put some word to the Grand Beastmaster for you."
Luke''s eyes shimmer with excitement, he didn''t expect this me General would take a deep interest in this mystery. But Luke didn''t miss this opportunity and spoke about everything he knew.
Ace on side sudden discover something and this heart sank to rock bottom, ''Wait a minute. He''s asking everything in front of me without even caring about I would divulge this information!''
Ace quickly nce at Sofia and this time she coldly grinned at him like she was looking at a dead man!
Even she has noticed this peculiar behavior of her brother and she knows Alvin would never make any mistakes.
''This bastard will kill me the moment he considered me useless!'' Ace''s heart turn cold the moment this thought surfaced in his mind.
''Heh, let''s see if you can kill me first or¡ hah. But because of your vanity, I''ll know about this forbidden zone as much you do.'' Ace coldly sneered in his heart and pretend like an ignorant Finn and closely listen to their conversation.
He knew he was safe as long as Alvin didn''t confirm his guess and that would be when they reached the Damien Kingdom.
---
One week has passed since Ace''s group of four began their journey to the Damien Kingdom.
In this week nothing special happened besides the information about Earthen Mist Forest. Now everyone on Ghost Crane knows as much as Old Luke about that forbidden zone.
Ace was now doing nothing, and all the time he was just pretending to cultivate. But he wasn''t doing anything since his cultivation technique wasn''t something he could show in front of these three experts.
His only option was just to pounder over his sword technique but he can''t immerse himself into it because if he somehow managed a breakthrough then everyone will be able to feel the technique''s power or if he fell into a trance that would also be not good for him since this kind of profound techniques didn''t exist in the middlends either the geniuses that can cultivate them.
Ace didn''t want any of this to happen at all costs.
Suddenly Ace felt as if his mind be clearer and lighter, and afortable feeling wash over him.
"Heh, you feel that, right?" Old Luke''s amusing voice sounded at this moment.
"Yes." Finn nodded in confusion.
"Hehe, we just enter the 2nd-Grandnds and what you felt is the abundant Qi density." Old Luke grin.
"Oh, we already cross therge 3rd-Gradends?" Ace was astonished since it was too fast!
"Don''t be surprised this Ghost Crane reputation for being the faster areal demonic beast in the Qi River realm wasn''t just for show!" Old Luke grin pridefully.
"I understand." Finn nodded with reverence-filled eyes.
"I want to see the Emerald Mist." Alvin''s authoritative voice sounded at this moment.
Old Luke''s face twisted in fear the moment he heard about this and Sofia''s expression wasn''t good either.
Ace was also stunned, he didn''t what this guy has been thinking for seven days and now that he finally opens his mouth he made an extravagant request that could put everyone''s life in jeopardy.
"F-me General, please re¡consider." Old Luke suggested in a supplicating tone.
"Yes, listen to this Old Man!" Sofia quickly backed Old Luke.
"I only want to see it and we can do it by flying hundreds of meters above it right?" Alvin pulled a long face seeing everyone is looking at him as a madman.
He just wanted to evaluate the famous Emerald Mist, even he knows better now that going there was suicidal.
"Oh, we can do that but only if the winds were not too strong that time." Old Luke sigh in relief and so does everyone else.
"I understand." Alvin merely nodded. He knew if winds were too strong that mist can reach quite high and that would put all of them in danger.
---
Fifteenth Day,
"We''re flying above the Earthen Mist Forest." Old Luke''s grave voice awakened everyone from their meditative state.
Ace gravely looked around, yet he saw nothing but golden sky and clouds. As for below, everything was blurred. If he wanted to observe down below he had to use his heavenly sense that he can''t because of obvious reasons.
"Can we go down now?" Alvin pensively asked.
"No, we should wait to cross the most dangerous area, and then we''ll be safe to fly over the Emerald Mist. If anything happened that time we just have to protect this Lad." Old Luke gravely stated. His tone was clearly of someone''s unnegotiable!
"Fine. Do as you see fit." Alvin nodded. He could sense the firm resolve behind Luke''s words and he knew this guy won''t gamble with his life.
Truth to be told, Ace also wanted to see this mist now because in these fifteen days he had conjured up a theory that he can only confirm after hees in contact with this Emerald Mist.
Alvin has just given Ace the chance to test this hypothesis!
Chapter 175 - 1st Grade Kingdoms Land
The 1st Grade Kingdomsnd was rich with high-quality Qi. The density was a hundred times greater than the 2nd Grandnds and a thousand times denser than the 3rd Grandnds Qi density!
If someone from the 3rd Grandndses here, they have a much harder time breathing and it will take some time to amodate with this thick Qi environment.
But once they settle within this environment, they''ll feel an enormous difference in their prowess, especially in cultivation!
Sometimes, those who were stuck at a bottleneck will instantly breakthrough after arriving into this dense Qi environment.
As for the Qi density of High-levelnds¡ let''s leave forter.
The Damien Kingdom was the No.1 Kingdom or one could say the overlord of entire middle-levelnds.
This Kingdom was in the most prosperous ce of entire middlends and this entire kingdom was as big as ten 3rd Grade Kingdomsbined, with 21 provinces!
Some people believed it was as big as a 3rd Grade Empire but no one has any evidence of it.
Its history was over ten thousand years old and it was hard to believe that this kingdom was once an insignificant 3rd Grade Kingdom!
But after it imed the first ce from the previous number one kingdom and destroyed it, Damien Kingdom never lose its ce as number one to anyone.
Whoever challenged it in Ranking Wars, the result was the same for everyone;plete and utter annihtion!
Now it has been five thousand years since someone challenged this Overlord for Ranking Wars!
Whereby, now the Damien Kingdom was bonafide Overlord, not just by name and position!
The biggest province of 21 was Royal Damien Province, where only nobles lived and nomoners could even step into this province without permission.
This province was also where Royal Capital City, Damien Royal Institute City, me City of me Pill Organization, andst but not least, Beast City of Beast Calling Organization!
As for Nightmare Ghosts'' Nightmare City, no one knows the exact location of their branches, but their middlend''s main branch was also hidden somewhere in this vast kingdom.
But most people assume they were also in this province since they would never choose a ce that makes them look lower than the other two giants.
These five cities were the most famous and most difficult ces to enter in entire middle-levelnds even if you have status, you can''t enter these ces without special tokens and if anyone tries to break inside their ends were not novel.
Especially Nightmare City which location was unknown and if you somehow stumble upon it only those ghosts know your end.
---
At this moment, in the radiant golden sky.
A silver-gray streak was moving like a shooting star towards the Royal Damien Province and with no hint of stopping it cross the periphery of the province.
This silver-gray beam was, of course, the Ghost Crane, which travel with no break and at full speed for 32 days.
This is the most terrifying part about these demonic beasts, they can move for months once they reached their maturity.
Furthermore, they only needed Qi to survive after they enter the Qi River realm just like cultivators, and alchemy pills can replenish it.
Ace was calmly sitting cross-legged while his eyes were closed.
He was feeling quite light head and his analytical abilities also improved significantly from the moment he entered the 1st Grandnds 12 days ago.
The closer he got to the Damien Kingdom Ace felt the world became more colorful and his evaluation process became faster.
Although, this worldly-Qi was useless for his cultivation but breathing in high-quality Qi benefit him in many other ways that still didn''t know about.
"We''re in Royal Damien Province." Old Luke''s cheerful voice sounded.
"Lord me General, where do you want to go from here?" Old Luke was in a good mood from the moment they enter the Damien Kingdom a day ago, it was his birthce after all.
Old Luke has predicted they will reach this ce in 30 days and they would if they didn''t waste two days flying slowly over low altitude in the Earthen Mist Forest!
As for what happened in these two days and what they experience, only these four know.
"me City!" Alvin said without thinking twice. He was eager to test Finn''s with the help of the Craft Elder and hoping for his guess to be right.
If it was, then Alvin would get a huge amount of benefits and might be the youngest me Elder in the history of Pill me Organization, at the age of 80!
These elders of Pill me Organization were divided into two groups.
The first group was, Craft Elders. These elders were promoted from Alchemists, Crafters, or Rune Crafters after they did some outstanding service for the organization, or if they achieved Purple Rank in alchemy, 6-Star in Crafting, and 7-Mortal Rank in Rune Crafting!
The second group was me Elders, these elders were promoted from me Guard Regiments and it was very difficult to be one because every one of them is at the Peak of Qi River Core Realm!
If someone became these me Elders, their statues would be just below Grand Elders and higher than Craft Elders. Moreover, the me Elders have ess to the most powerful cultivation techniques and skills of the organizations!
However, this threshold was very difficult to reach for Alvin because he knew just how difficult it was to progress after one entered the Qi river core realm.
That''s why he took this gamble and if it paid off, then Finn will be his stepping stone and he willplete his dream and get the same status as his father without going through many difficulties!
Although Finn would be the biggest winner of this if he had a wood element physique.
But Alvin didn''t care as long as Finn recognized his kindness. That was also the reason he was treating him kindly.
But if Finn failed his expectation, then he will kill him the very moment and move on to his new backup n and that was the Earthen Mist Forest!
Old Luke nodded with a smile and controlled the Ghost Crane to go in the me City direction.
Ace also has opened his eyes and calmly listened to their conversation. He had the map of Damien Kingdom and long ago remembered it and so does the other top nine kingdoms'' maps.
He knew in these top ten kingdoms these branches of three giants were in the form of cities and his mission was to theft these thirty cities, whereby ten cities locations werepletely unknown!
Furthermore, in these 32 days he didn''t find the reason behind Alvin''s obsession over Finn, nor did he try to probe since it was clear as the day after he saw Alvin''s didn''t even tell his sister.
Now Ace has two choices, either escape or continue his con-act and see it through.
No matter how many times he thinks about these two options, both of them were filled with dangers.
Especially the second option where he will be whatever Alvin thought of him and Ace now have some idea that Finn was even more important to Alvin than the mysterious Sky Stealer!
That''s why Ace was having second thoughts about escaping the moment he got the chance.
Now that he was already in the 1st Gradends he can go wild!
Because he knew wanton killing was forbidden here and thisw was created by none other than Three Giants and High-levelnds!
Ace has read about this astonishingw and from the moment heid his eyes on it, he wanted to fly over here but s it was an endless journey.
With this extremew in y, he can steal without caring about a possible genocide and he knew these people in the power will not take extreme measures until they want to lose the public trust and their reputation as unshakeable beings!
Because if they started killing anyone and everyone, they would break their so-called unbreakablew just for a mere thief!
This will be nothing but admitting themselves that they can''t capture him and they can break thews anytime and every time they deemed them breakable.
No one will ever follow thesews again and those people in power who have been benefited from thisw all these years didn''t want this to happen at all costs.
Since it will make it hard to control these natives with just an iron hammered and after how many times they twisted thesews for their use and punished the innocent.
Now abolishing them just because they were the ones being pushed around by a mere thief will cause a massive mutiny!
After all who told them to suppress thesemoners withws to such limits.
As for this peace, it was nothing but a hallucination, as long as someone just gives the slightest spark, it will be an unstoppable me and burn the entire aristocratic society!
Chapter 176 - Flame City Of Damien Kingdom
The me City of Damien Kingdom was probably the biggest and magnificent city of the entire middlends. No one dares to cause any trouble here even the royal family has to show a humble attitude in this city of Pill me Organization.
The city has four me gates and the citizens of me city were all members of the Pill me Organization in one way or another.
None-affiliates may not stay here any longer than a week and every person needed a me Token just to enter the city.
Furthermore, this me Token was only avable for aristocrats andmoners can''t even approach this city much less enter it.
If you want to enter and you''re amoner, you have to be with an aristocrat!
They can buy each me token from the eastern me gate and its price was sky high, 100 high Qi stones, and middle Qi stones were not allowed in this city!
Speaking of which, 1 High-level Qi Stone was equal to 1,000 Middle-level Qi Stones and 100,000 Low-level Qi Stones!
As for Peak-level Qi stones, one was equal to, 1,000 High Qi stones!
But no one trade Peak Qi Stones because they can increase the cultivation speed of Qi River cultivators by hundred folds while High Qi Stones can increase the cultivation speed of Qi River cultivators by mere ten folds.
As for middle and low-level Qi stones, they can also increase the cultivation speed but they were only helpful for those in Qi Gates and Qi Foundation building realms.
At this moment, a 15-meters silver-gray cranended in front of Northern me Gate. This was indeed the Ghost Crane of Old Luke.
The northern me gate was thirty-meter-high, it was only reserved for VIPs of the three organizations and no other person can enter through this gate.
"Please state your name and rank." An imposing voice sounded from the deserted gate.
The gate was deserted not because they didn''t monitor it. It was because 6th Mortal Ranked Formations were protecting it and as the matter of fact, every gate of the city was protected by at least 6th mortal rank formations!
This was just the entrance; the entire city was like a fortress and filled with arrays and formations. If someone dares to cause trouble here, they can forget about escaping or hiding.
"Open the gate, I''m me General Alvin Elias!" Alvin coolly stated as he jumped down from the Ghost Crane with Finn and Sofia.
Ace was looking at the shining gate with a hint of disbelief in his eyes, his soul sense was tingling in rm because of the city''s gate. It was a grave warning that he only felt when he faces a life-threatening situation.
''No wonder they''re the richest bunch and they know how to spend their wealth.'' Ace grimly though, he never imagined this me City can be this tightly secure, and the thought he had about escaping wavered.
"Please show your token!" The person on the other side didn''t seem to be moved by just Alvin''s words and demanded the proof.
Alvin didn''t retort since he knew this person was only following the rules and even he had to follow them. He flipped his hand and a crimson red token appeared in his palm. There was a General engraved on it in golden letters.
Alvin nonchntly flicker and the crimson token turn into a crimson streak and shot toward the closed gate.
But just when Ace thought this token are going to copse with the gate something magical happened. The token passed through it like the door was just a mere illusion!
''What?'' Ace was shocked.
"Please enter esteemed me General." The voice rang again but there was a hint of respect and reverence in it this time.
The tightly shut gate began to creek opened thereafter the voice.
"Thank you for your trouble, Old Luke. You can leave now and tell Grand Beastmaster I''ll visit him very soon." Alvin looked at Old Luke and solemnly nodded.
"Oh, it wasn''t any trouble, and I enjoyed my time. Farewell, I''ll pass your message." Old Luke smile broadly and fly the Ghost Crane towards the Beast City which wasn''t far from me City.
Old Luke was quite happy at this moment since he knew Alvin will put some good words for him to Grand Beastmaster after what Luke did for Alvin.
Ace''s focus waspletely on the door at this moment, he wanted to use his runic eyes so badly that he almost did it. But his reason stopped him and sneaked here if he got the chance.
After the gatepletely open, a tall, muscr man in histe twenties appeared in everyone''s view. He wore full-body crimson armor with a ming symbol of Pill me engrave on it.
This crimson full-body armor was the symbol of the ming Guard regiment, which means this man was a me Guard like Alvin. But his cultivation was much low, only at Empty River.
"Please, this wavy esteemed me General, the carriage is waiting inside." The me guard respectfully bow to Alvin and stated.
"You don''t need to stand on ceremony. Inform the Craft Elder I want to meet him immediately, it is a pressing matter." Alvin nonchntly said while he entered the city.
"Yes, I''ll inform the Elder right away." The me guard solemnly nodded before presenting the crimson token to Alvin, "Your identity token."
Alvin coolly took it back and ce it inside his storage ring.
"These two ck tokens for the guests of esteemed me General." The me guard took two more ck tokens engraved with a guest symbol on them and present them to Finn and Sofia.
"I don''t need it. I have my own." Sofia scoffed and conjure her Azure Alchemist token and disdainfully waved at the me Guard.
"Please forgive me, Lady Azure Alchemist!" The me Guard quickly apologized even if it wasn''t his mistake. Because Azure Alchemist holds a prominent position in me City.
When Ace saw the Azure token in Sofia''s hand, he instantly thought about two tokens that he had in his thief''s space!
''So, I can use those tokens like this.'' Ace takes a mental note.
The me guard looked at Finn with uncertainty. Now he wasn''t sure if this brat was an alchemist or not but he didn''t dare to hurry him since this brat was traveling with a me General and an Azure Alchemist.
"Thank you, senior." Finn respectfully took the ck token for guests and thank the me Guard.
"No problem." The me guard solemnly nodded.
"Let''s go, I''m sick of flying now." Sofia stride toward thevishing carriage waiting for them.
Alvin didn''t retort Sofia, and he was even agreed with her on this one. He followed with Finn.
When Ace saw the carriage, he was astonished because this carriage wasn''t a horse carriage, since there were no horses. It was attached to a horse-like beast, but it was two-meter-tall and graceful with two goat''s horns on its head and four brown eyes on its skull.
''A third Qi gate, Demonic Horse.'' Ace quickly recognized this breed of demonic beasts.
This bread of demonic horses can be easily tamed and with no technique, that''s why they were used in pulling carriages here since they were more resilient and much faster than a normal horse.
Sofia, Alvin, and Finn embark on the three-meterrge carriage.
"Let''s go to the me Pce," Alvinmanded the coachman who wore a novice me Guards light-red armor.
These Novice mes Guards do odd jobs like these until they were selected in the regiments.
The carriage moved toward the Pill ce, which was also the centralmand of the entire city and also themanded center of nine other me Cities in entire middlends.
Ace was scrutinizing the city from the carriage''s window as they were moving at great speed.
It dumbfounded him when he saw so many alchemists on the streets like ants and they weren''t a single person who wasn''t wearing the Pill me Symbol in this many people.
Moreover, Ace also notice that almost every shop on these streets was sealing the medicinal herbs or concocted Pills!
''If I can have all those pills, I can reach the peak Heavenly foundation stage in no time.'' Ace inhales sharply.
Truth to be told, this ce was EXP heaven for him and he was controlling himself from using Pick-pocket by sheer will.
Ace also located some shops rted to Rune Crafting and also some smitheries.
"Heh, now you understand, we''re frompletely different worlds!" Sofia''s mocking voice enters Ace''s ears at this moment. She couldn''t help but mock Finn after seeing him curiously looking outside.
"Yes." However, Finn didn''t give her the satisfaction and kept looking like he heard nothing and merely answer her in a mild tone.
Sofia''s beautiful face turn ugly when she saw this brat ignoring her and taking her words for wind.
"YOU¡"
She was going to spit some more venomous words when she saw Alvin''s stiff re and shut her mouth.
''Just you wait. After Brother assumed you useless, you''re mine!'' A murderous glint sh past Sofia''s eyes as she red daggers at Finn!
Chapter 177 - Flame Palace
After riding the carriage for an hour, a magnificent structure came into Ace''s view and he was amazed.
They were probably still miles away from their destination yet this fiery humongous pce can be seen from the carriage.
''What an exaggeration!'' Ace couldn''t help but though in amazement. This was the most beautiful and the biggest building he saw till this day.
He also noticed that, after this pce came in view thendscape began to change.
There were no more shops or housing anymore and rows of beautiful pavilions reced everything in this path to the me pce.
Furthermore, Ace was picking many powerful Qi signatures from these pavilions and the weakest of them was at least the early foundation building stage!
"This is the ce region and also the residential area of alchemists above Green Rank and their shops. If someone wanted a specific pill and they had the materials, they can pay these alchemists for their private services. Only early foundation building stage members are allowed in this region." Alvin said at this moment.
"Oh, it''s like hiring an alchemist." Ace mumbles in understanding. This was the first time he heard about this kind of practice.
"You can say that, but these alchemists are extremely arrogant and even if they ept your request they''ll demand an exorbitant price or some rare medicinal herbs," Alvin said with a hint of annoyance in this voice like he was exining his personal experience.
"I understand." Finn smiles faintly while he glimpsed at Sofia.
Sofia''s face fell when she saw Finn sneaking a peep at her, she knew what this brat was thinking and wanted to strangle him but s, she can''t.
"Heh, yeah she''s one of them." Alvin also notice Finn''s gaze and couldn''t help but chuckle.
"Brother, I''m not!" Sofia pouted in resentment, even if Alvin was speaking the truth.
''Why is he acting so friendly now?'' Ace thought with suspicious eyes.
Alvin never joke or talk like in their entire journey and now his sudden change of attitude wasn''t adding up.
Ace knew the moment Alvin confirmed he was useless, it will be hisst day and the key to this confirmation was obviously that Craft Elder, who controlled the branches of entire middlends and also the lord of me Pce!
Ace has over ten strategies in his mind about what he should do after finding out what Alvin wants from him. But he still didn''t know just which one was most suitable to stick until he knew the truth.
''I just have to be ready to act at any given moment.'' Ace thought grimly.
"Senior, I was wondering if I passed your test, what will I be? I mean an alchemist or a crafter?" Ace try to probe since Alvin was acting friendly so suddenly it was a good time to raise some questions.
"Heh, if you pass, you can be anything. Even a rune crafter." Alvin answer with a vague smile.
"He, a rune crafter? Don''t give the poor guy false hope." Sofia condemned.
"We''ll see." Alvin re at his sister.
''This is moreplicated than I thought!'' Ace mused after he heard about the rune crafter.
Because rune crafter was not something that anyone can be and the pill me organization controlled these techniques rted to rune crafting thoroughly.
Furthermore, Finn was a Martial Cultivator which means they have converted his cultivation to the soul. Although it was possible, it was by no means simple and cheap!
Now Alvin casually revealed this sudden possibility, Ace considered this situation graver than he thought and this also means Alvin has very high hope for Finn!
Alvin on the side was looking at astonished Finn with a faint smile like a kind senior. But it was all just an act to make Finnfortable and give him high hopes.
As for why Alvin was doing it, that was very simple, he just wanted to make sure Finn have a good impression of him and if he passed everything would turn in Alvin''s favor.
However, if Finn didn''t pass the test, then he''ll simply die during this test and Alvin would move on with his backup n!
This backup n of Alvin was newly developed after he got the information about the Earthen Mist Forest, but first, he had to confirm Finn''s authenticity as an element body before deciding to make anything final.
After half an hour, the demonic horse carriage finally stopped.
Alvin followed by Sofia and Finn disembark thevishing carriage.
Ace saw before him tall red gates and gigantic walls surrounding the entirety of the me pce.
The gates were opened and many organization members were going in and out after showing their identity tokens to me Guards situated on the gates.
Alvin coolly showed his general token and a me guard quickly escort them inside.
After crossing the gate, Ace was astonished and though he has entered apletely different world.
The broad road was split into eleven different pathways and it was covered in silver-green floorings with beautiful golden patterns.
The right four pathways lead to fourrge pavilions, covering almost a two-mile area.
And the other four pathways were going toward a thirty-story white pagoda. It was clear; they built every structure with beautiful craftsmanship and rare materials.
Furthermore, the organization members primary focus was also these five buildings
As for the three pathways in the center, the central walkway was decorated with a row of beautiful statue fountains and at the end of these central pathways were a colossal fiery pce with a huge Pill me symbol on its front and it was decorated with different golden patterns. This was the me Pce!
No one was using these pathways to the pce, and its golden gates were tightly shut. Two me guards in crimson masks were standing guards outside, they were both empty river cultivators!
Ace didn''t inquiry about those five magnificent buildings and did it after he was out of the woods.
The me guard was leading them to the center pathway, and they were going towards those two masked me guards, who were standing there like statues.
When those masked me guards saw Alvin''s partying towards the gate, they coldly released their aura of the empty river realm and said in an icy tone.
"State your business!"
"Hmph!" Alvin didn''t even speak and snort while releasing his slightest aura in their response.
Those two masked me guards quickly withdraw their aura and their eyes shimmer with reverence as they quickly greeted Alvin, "me General, please forgive us!"
Alvin coolly nodded and stop releasing his aura and said, "Where is Craft Elder?"
"He''s waiting for you inside the grand meeting hall!" The muscr masked me guard solemnly replied and quickly open the gate with a formation te.
''This security is just too damn much.'' Ace bitterly though.
From the moment he enters this city, he keeps seeing these formation tes almost on every gate and finally understands what it means to be the richest organization below royalnds!
The golden gates finally open and on the other side, another masked me guard was waiting to receive them and its cultivation was a stage higher than the pce gate, me guards!
"Please follow me. The elder is waiting for me General in the meeting hall." A sweet voice rang behind that mask, this me guard was a woman!
Alvin coolly said, "Don''t want to see my identity token anymore?"
"No, please forgive us for the inconvenience." The woman me Guard said with no hint of emotions.
"Heh, lead the way," Alvin grunt coldly and enter the me Pce, and the woman me Guard lead the way.
When Ace enter the me Pce, only one thought came to his mind, ''Beautiful.''
The entirety was decorated with different remarkable arts and craftsmanship and the regal pce looked just like dust in front of this me pce!
Alvin''s party crossed many hallways before reaching another door with another me guard.
"The elder is waiting for you inside me General." It was another woman''s voice, "You two can wait in the waiting room there."
She pointed at the door just ten meters away from the golden door and looked at Finn and Sofia coldly.
Ace expected Sofia would retort after this kind of treatment but to his astonishment, she didn''t and quietly nodded and go toward the waiting room.
Finn looked at Alvin for his confirmation.
"Go, I''ll summon you soon." Alvin nodded.
"Yes." Ace nodded gravely and followed Sofia.
''Here goes my chance to find out about the truth.'' Ace helplessly thought.
The sound woman me guard finally opened the golden door behind her and let Alvin enter and close the door.
Alvin entered a big andvishing meeting room with only tables and chairs in it.
In the head chair, was sitting an old man with snowy long hair and a wrinkled face. He seemed to be in his early seventies. He wore a kind smile on his face and purple alchemist robes of the Pill me Organization!
This old man was the only Craft Elder and known Purple Rank Alchemist in entire middlends, Lan Ashwin!
Chapter 178 - Element Bath
Alvin saw the Old man looking at him with a set smile while he was sittingfortably. He quickly greeted, "Craft Elder Lan."
"Hah, Come sit here, it''s good to see you again so soon, Alvin!" Lan spoke in his husky voice with a smile on his wrinkled face and pointed at the closet chair with his old finger.
Alvin didn''t reject and sat there with a mild smile on his face.
"How was the middlend?" Lan asked in a casual tone.
"Well, it wasn''t a trash bin as they said in highnds." Alvin chuckles with sarcasm.
Alvin and Sofia weren''t from middlends and theye here from the high-levelnds just to find the Sky Stealer!
As for why that thief was so important to the organization only grand elders who also called the me Masters know.
Characters like Craft or me Elders just only know; that thief held very high importance to their organization anyhow.
That''s why they send someone like Alvin who had tons of experience in finding people in highnds and Sofia just tag along so she could reap some benefits after finding that thief.
"Hahaha, I agree with you on this one. When Ie here for the first time, my thought process was exactly like you." Lanugh heartedly.
However, Lan''sugh suddenly stopped and rece it was a grim face, "Do you find that thief? Is it the boy with you?"
Alvin''s expression also turn solemn and replied, "No, he''s not that thief and I think by the time I reached there he already has been gone. After all, after we post those wanted posters all over the middlends that thief would be an idiot to not escape the regal kingdom."
"Sigh¡" Lan sighed and said, "You are right, it''s like a ghost chase and he didn''t appear after that big incident. He''s probablyying low for the time being and I don''t me him because if I were him I would enjoy myself with that kind of wealth at my disposal."
Lan''s joke in the end.
"Heh, yes, in the end, he''s just a kid who somehow stumbled upon an ancient inheritance. It''s just a matter of time he makes a mistake after thinking he''s invincible." Alvin chuckles coldly.
Lan nodded in agreement with a cold smile, "Yes, so far he''s been so careful but the taste of fame and power will blind him, eventually."
"I also encounter ck Reaper from Nightmare Ghosts!" Alvin gravely reported.
"What?! Those ghosts also send someone from the empire!" A hint of a surprise shed past Lan''s old eyes.
"It seemed so and that Old Beast who came here with me is also investigating this matter alone." Alvin nodded.
"I don''t know why that thief is so important to every organization and those old fossils didn''t even speak a word besides capturing him alive at all cost. But there is defiantly something deep here and to know the truth we needed to capture that thief." Lan pursed his lips.
Alvin grimly nodded in agreement, he also has his doubts about this situation and wanted to know but only me Masters knows about the actual y.
"Enough of this, even if you didn''t find him, you bring crucial information about the ghosts. We gain something." Lan sighed deeply, "Tell about the boy with you, is he your disciple?"
Lan probe about Finn with a smile.
"No." Alvin mildly shook his head and proceeded, "But if my guess is right, that boy maybe even more important than some petty thief."
Lan eyes narrowed after hearing Alvin''s words. He knew Alvin wouldn''t have said something like this so casually until he has found something extraordinary about that boy.
Lan said thoughtfully, "I''m listening."
"Does Elder Lan ever hear about Element physiques?" Alvin questioned.
Lan mull over it for a while before answering, "Are you talking about the physique that legend to be rival with ancient hunter''s Elemental Bloodlines?"
"Oh, it seemed Elder heard about them." This did not shock Alvin since these elders have ess to even more historical records than me Generals like himself.
"Yes, my master talks about them once that how I know." Lan nodded with a hint of sentimentality in his eyes.
"Then what if I tell you that boy has this legendry physique!" Alvin solemnly stated.
"Heh, don''t joke around me General. We both know this was just a legend with no solid evidence whatsoever." Lan didn''t believe Alvin so easily.
"I know, it is unlikely and even those records on element bodies are extremely vague but what if I was right? There is no harm in testing it, right?" Alvin speaks in a grave tone.
Lan deeply looked at Alvin and pursed his lips, "Do you know the method of testing element physiques? You just say by yourself there aren''t many records on them."
"Yes, but I read these physiques can absorb and reason with the element Qi they have an affinity with. These are the early signs of true element physics awakening. As for thetter, I don''t know.
"But I''m sure if we provide the higher-ups with enough evidence then they will look thoroughly in the secret sections of the ancient library which are off-limits to even us. There are bound to be more records on these element physics there. Just think about the boundless rewards we''ll get to find this legendary physique!" Alvin''s eyes shone with deep enthusiasm as he looked at Lan.
Lan''s face also flushed with interest, it would be a lie if Lan say it did not tempt him after hearing Alvin''s passionate appeal.
"If you''re this confident then this means you know the specific element that boy had, right?" Lan inquiry. He was after all an old fox and by Alvin''s confidence, it was clear he has very high expectations for a mere fantasy.
Alvin smiles faintly before saying, "Yes. But I wasn''t enough for prof anything and might be harmful to the boy. But we have to be sure so lets me show you just where my confidence came from. However, if this experiment bears even the slightest bit of result, then I need you to concoct ''Wood Element Bath'' for the boy."
Lan eyes narrowed and said, "You know just how costly element baths are right?"
"Yes. I know, but it is the only way to make sure that boy has the wood-type element physique. Besides, Elder can always sell that liquid to beast calling and we both know they''ll be happy to pay any kind of price for it." Alvin replied.
These Element Baths were simply, pure elements Qi in liquid form and they can only be taken when someone reached the empty river realm to make the foundation sturdier.
Furthermore, this element bath can increase a Qi river cultivator''s chances to enter the Qi river core by 10%, and every genius in high-levelnds bathed in this liquid when they reached the Qi river realm.
However, the cost was something that only some old ns in highnds and other two organizations can afford!
Besides, there are only six elements forms for element bath avable and only a Craft Elder can learn them or a Purple rank alchemist, since only they can concoct this element bath.
That''s why Alvin came straight to Lan because he was the only one who can create this element bath in the entire middle-levelnds and also has the rare materials!
"Fine. But only if you amazed me by whatever you''re about to do." Lan sigh and finally agreed.
Alvin was right; Lan can sell this liquid to beast calling if this didn''t work.
"But you understand; he''ll melt to thest bone and be just an impurity in it if he took that bath in Qi gates realm!" Lan coldly asked.
"Yes, I know very well since I have taken one myself and nearly melted that time. That''s why only genius with perfect foundation can handle the potent pure element Qi." Alvin grimaced when he remembered his personal experience.
"Oh, it seemed, it just your way of getting rid of useless trash." Lan smiled coldly, "I like it though."
"Hehe, he just knows too much now, and if he didn''t have the element physique, then his talent can''t even win him a position in me guard regiment. So, even bing an insignificant impurity in an element bath would be his honor." Alvin wore a devilish smile.
"Hahaha, then why are we wasting time? Show me your trick first." Lan grin with his devilish smile.
"Bring the boy!" Lan suddenly muttered to himself.
After a minute the golden door opened again and Finn enter the meeting room.
Ace didn''t know what these two discuss alone but when he saw the wrinkled old man''s warm smile, for some reason a chill run down his spine!
"This is Elder Lan," Alvin speak when he saw Finn''s nervous expression on his face and introduce Lan to Finn.
"Elder Lan, this is the youngster I was just telling you about, his name is Finn." Alvin does the same and introduced Finn to Lan.
However, no one knows in this room that this meeting¡!
Chapter 179 - Understanding The Circumstances
"Junior pay respect to Elder Lan!" Finn quickly greeted Lan.
"Sit!" Lan nodded in approval with a warm smile and order Finn to sit beside Alvin.
Finn didn''t dawdle and sat down near Alvin.
Ace deeply measured the old man before him and was astonished because he can''t see through this old man''s prowess in the slightest!
''These damn concealment treasures!'' Ace instantly knew why this was happening and this old man''s concealment treasure was far stronger than ck Reaper''s.
Ace suddenly felt a strong martial sense locked on to him and finally felt Lan''s prowess and received his soul signature!
Ace''s heart turn cold because Lan''s was far more powerful than Alvin and he was the strongest person hee to contact after Empty Dream, who was unfathomed!
His onlyfort was the hundred-face deception mask that he bought just in the nick of time or he would have already been exposed and be a prisoner!
"Not bad for a 3rd Grade Kingdom''s boy." Lan coolly said with a smile.
He already carefully examines Finn''s foundation and found nothing extraordinary and his doubts regarding Alvin''s judgment be deeper. Simrly, for hispliment, that was just a lie.
"Thank you, Elder. I don''t deserve your praise." Ace acted like a humble Finn, but he could tell that Lan was lying.
Alvin also notice Lan''s slightest change in attitude and knew Lan was doubting him.
Alvin looked at Finn and said, "Finn stand to that corner and I''m going to test you in front of Elder Lan just how I did when we first meet. If you pass, then Elder Lan will reward you!"
Finn''s face shone with intense fear and blurted, "B-but I nearly die¡"
"I wasn''t asking!" Alvin''s face fell and rebuke Finn before he could finish his sentence.
''Heh, showing your true colors already.'' Ace sneered coldly.
"I''m sorry." Finn timidly apologized and do as he was told.
Ace didn''t have any choice since Alvin became restless because of Lan''s demeanor.
Lan said nothing and impassively watched.
Alvin didn''t dy either and when Finn was in position, with no warning he hurled a strand of element Qi just likest time. However, this time he used five percent of his power!
If this was a real Qi gate cultivator, it''ll blow like watermelon the moment it came in contact with his element Qi.
Lan''s lips curled upward into a stiff smile and thought, ''He has no intention of sparing the boy if he failed. Heh, as expected of ''his'' grandson!''
Ace coldly looked at the iing streak and thought, ''Let''s me see your reactions!''
The moment the green streaknded on Ace''s stomach it prates his natural defenses like paper and enter his inky meridians.
However, before it could wreak havoc, the dark void slightly revolves, and it instantly absorbed the wood Qi!
Alvin and Lan were expecting some kind of twisted expression from Finn, especially thetter.
However, to both of their shock, even after a couple of moments Finn waspletely fine!
Lan stood from his chair and stride to Finn with a startled face.
With no warning, he put a hand on Finn''s head and use the martial sense again to see what happened. But to his wonderment, the element Qi haspletely disappeared!
"Y-YOU?! What did you do?!" Lan has a bbergasted looked on his face while asking this question in a shaky voice.
"N¡. N-nothing." Finn answers with an innocent yet frightening face.
Alvin trembled slightly before jolt awakened by his daze andugh out loud, "Hahaha, it''s indeed an element physique!"
In his ecstasy, he even yelled the name ''Element Physique'' in front of Finn!
''Element Physique?'' Ace instantly picked the term, and he knew the gamble he made had paid off just by the look on both Alvin and Lan''s faces.
"System do you know about this element physique?" Ace quickly asked the most knowledgeable being he knows, the system.
"Wrong question, tell me what you feel when that Qi hit you?!" Lan took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart. Now even he was sure there is something extraordinary about this boy.
"Umm¡ I feel just a tingle. Last time it was very painful, though." Finn answered with skepticism.
"[30TP]" The system emotionless voice sounded in Ace''s mind at this moment.
"Take them!" Ace quickly agreed since this information was crucial to his next step and determine these two old men''s actions, who also seemed frantic right now.
======
[Thief Point(s): 31,000]
=======
"What did I say, elder?! I indeed found the legendary element physique!" Alvin has also reached Finn''s side with a rapture face.
"Hit him again!" Lan inhaled sharply andmand Alvin.
"Fine." Alvin knew Lan wanted to see what happened inside Finn''s body with his martial sense and he has the same thought.
Now that Finn wasn''t hurting anymore this means Alvin can test him in any way he wanted!
Ace did nothing and let them see what happened because he knew they won''t be finding the dark void.
One had to know even Empty Dream wasn''t able to find it much less these two far weaker than him!
=======
"[Element Physique: Special Physique that can absorb a specific element from world, herbs or alchemist elixirs only, with no tedious processing.]
[Rarity: Umon]
[Advantages]
{1: Fast cultivation.}
{2: The ability toprehend any skill and technique rted to the specific element in one-tenth of the time that they normally took.}
{3: Completeprehension of the specific Law in the fastest time.}
{4: An innate ability.}
[Note: This ability can unlock at random and sometimes the Element Physique''s Possessor can''t unlock it in its entire lifetime.]
{5: World''s protection.}
[Note: The person with World''s protection can''t die easily and it had higher luck than a normal person!]
[Limitations]
{1: Element Physique is ranked among the lowest physiques between heaven and earth.}
{2: The Possessor is limited to only its specific element andw.}
{3: Skills or Techniques of distinct elements are almost impossible to learn!}
{4: Weakest against the counter elements, likewise strongest against weak elements!}
[Example: Water counter Fire while Wind makes Fire stronger.]
{5: Because of World''s protection¡.}
=======
Before Ace could read this information, Alvin has already ignited another element Qi strand toward him.
But this time both Alvin and Lan were monitoring Finn''s foundation with their martial sense.
However, to both of their astonishment, the Qi strand dissolved the next moment after it enter Finn''s meridians and none of its trace left!
"How is this possible?!" Lan eximed with a bewildered face.
"It seemed it a trait of element physique." Alvin made a wild guess.
Ace on the other hand finally had a chance to read the information and was bbergasted. Especially when he saw the fifth limitation!
First, Ace never even imagine these kinds of physiques existed and by the system information, it also appeared there were many physiques out there.
In the end, he was just limited by his knowledge and environment.
''So, that why Alvin was so obsessed with me. He thinks I''m a wood-type element physique and took my ability to process the foreign Qi in the wrong way. These two also didn''t seem to know; these physiques can''t process someone else Qi. Heh, good for me, though.'' Ace thought with delight.
Ace finally understood what Alvin was after and why he wasn''t killed and the reason for his unusual treatment.
But why he was bought to Lan still wasn''t confirmed and his guess was it has to do with the confirmation of his authority as a real element physique and Lan''s next words confirmed it.
"Let me test him with my fire Qi to confirm he can only absorb the wood Qi and after that, we''ll move to the final test!" Lan solemnly stated.
Alvin agreed without any objection because he knew Lan was just making sure if Finn can only absorb wood elements and he also had this though. But he didn''t dare to test it since he didn''t know the consequences.
But now that Lan a Purple Alchemist was here Alvin was assured about Finn''s safety.
Besides, what are the odds of someone possessing two-element affinity, but it was worth trying, right?
Ace scowled when he saw these two old men were treating him like the wind.
He knew this wasn''t good because if he let Dark void do its wonder then it would be difficult to exin; howe he can absorb two elements at the same time.
Furthermore, no one would believe that this was a coincidence that hee in contact with the same elements he had an affinity with both times!
Even though, Alvin and Lan seemed misled by the possibility of a legendary physique appearance.
They would indefinitely notice this strange phenomenon and when they dost Ace knew the situation might take an unexpected turn and it would certainly be not in his favor this time.
Ace take a deep breath and quickly decided what he would do this time!
Chapter 180 - Alvin’s Plan
Lan didn''t ask for Finn''s opinion on this and with no hesitation just like Alvin, he hurled a fiery Qi from his finger toward Finn''s meridians while using only one percent of his actual prowess.
Although he wanted to confirm Finn''s absolute affinity with the wood element, he didn''t want to kill him in the process though. Because if he identally killed Finn now Alvin would probably fight him to death!
If Finn showed even the slightest difort, he''ll instantly withdraw the Qi strand!
Ace saw the iing, fiery Qi streak and thought bitterly, ''And here I thought I didn''t have to hurt myself anymore.''
However, before Ace could cause another Qi deviation, his face changed greatly and turn ashen the moment Lan''s fire element Qie in contact with his body!
When the fire Qi enter his meridians, Ace felt like a me has been ignited inside, and an overwhelming burning sensation wash over his entire body.
The very next moment Ace caught up blood while his face was bloodlessly pale.
"Stop!" Alvin''s face change and yelled in panic when he saw Finn''s throwing up blood and knelling both on his knees.
Lan didn''t dy and quickly withdraw his Qi strand while he mumbles to himself, "He indeed can''t absorb other elements."
Alvin had a sigh of relief when he saw Finn was fine and only showssitude.
''The dark void can''t absorb Qi from someone of Lan''s level!'' Ace''s face was ashen when he thought.
It was all happening because the dark void didn''t respond to Lan''s Qi or even try to absorb it as if it was helpless against it.
Before Ace simply thought dark void can absorb any kind of Martial Qi and he didn''t have to be afraid of manifesting Martial Qi anymore. However, now that he found about the dark void limitation, he understands how na?ve his thoughts were.
Everything has a limitation and the dark void was also the same. It was limited by Ace''s cultivation.
But it was also a good thing because now that he knew about this limitation he''ll be more careful when dealing with someone with extremely high cultivation like Lan''s.
Because if he was in a battle or other circumstances and arrogantly took this kind of manifest Qi attack lightly, he''ll be doomed and dead by now!
''Dark void can only neutralize Qi tworge realms below me.'' Ace mused grimly.
Nevertheless, he was profited from this since now he knew about this limitation and these two old men also seemed to be convinced; he can''t absorb any other element!
"Young Friend Finn, I apologized about what happened earlier and I hope you could understand we''re doing this for your good." Lan wore a kind smile and he even change the way he refers to Finn, "Here eat this pill you''ll feel well."
Ace grimly looked at the Purple-ranked healing pill that Lan was giving him and he took it. He won''t reject free EXP even if he was in a foul mood.
"I understand Elder''s concerns and thank you for going easy on me," Finn said faintly and took the purple pill from Lan''s, and thanked him weakly.
"Hahaha, good, very good, a wise mind and humble attitude." Lan''sugh heartedly and praise Finn''s attitude.
Alvin rolled his eyes and thought, ''This old fox changes his colors even quicker than clothes.'' But he never going to say it out loud.
"What do you think Elder? Does he qualify for the final test?" Alvin had a faint smile on his face like a gambler who had just won a big bet.
Lan smile wider and said, "Of course. Give me a day to prepare and in the meantime, you guys can rest. I''m sure you all will be extremely tired especially young friend Finn."
"Thank you, elder." Alvin also had a wide smile on his face.
"Young Friend Finn, wait outside for a moment. I''ll have something to talk about with Alvin." Lan gently told Finn.
"Yes." Finn nodded in understanding and leave the room. Now that he had eaten that pill hisplexion was somewhat returned to normal.
But the truth was Ace was recovering fast because of his heavenly foundation!
After Finn leave, Lan''s smile vanished and a grim expression returned to his face as he looked at smiling Alvin, "You know the consequences, right? If he took that bath and can''t handle it he''ll die!"
Lan didn''t want to throw Finn in that element bath anymore because now even he was fifty percent sure Finn has an element physique. But this element bath was not aughing matter because there is no returning once you''re inside!
Alvin''s face was also stiff and said, "I know, but we don''t have any other way. Even if he can absorb my wood Qi but it''s not normal for someone to absorb already process Qi. Tell me, do you ever heard of this kind of thing before? And we don''t know what it does to him if I keep doing it."
Lan eyes twitched because he knew Alvin has a point. He knew it was night impossible to absorb someone''s Qi, and they just witnessed something out of their understanding.
"We should probably report this to higher-ups and see what they have to say. Just this ability is enough to make him important even if he didn''t have the element physique. Give me one day to contact headquarter." Lan calmly stated his reason for telling them to wait for one day.
Alvin frowned slightly and said, "If we contact now then me Master William will get the hold of this information. He''s the only me Master out of the forbidden ground and you know his nature very well. Once he got the information, we both know there will be no rewards for us if he got hold of Finn.
"So, it would be much wiser to be sure and then report this matter to my father and he''ll awake my grandfather. Once he''s out the forbidden ground even me Master William can''t do a thing and we''ll get what we deserve.
"But we have to be sure before we contact my father or we''ll get killed for awakening an Absolute ming Elder!"
Lan''s face turned blue to white when he heard Alvin''s n and he eximed with horror, "You want to awake an Absolut ming Elder?! Are you out of your mind?!"
"Do you have any better idea to bypass me Master William? Even my father is helpless against a me Master." Alvin grimly questioned.
Lan didn''t retort Alvin''s because he knew what Alvin just said was the actual truth.
This me Master William was infamous for his unfair and greedy nature in the entire pill me organization that why Alvin was afraid of telling about Finn''s or he might lose his real merits.
From the start, he nned to report this to his father so he could get his rightful remunerations.
"Trust me, it''s better to kill that boy ourselves than handing him over to William. We''re even doing him mercy!" Alvin said with a grave expression.
"Sigh¡" Lan sigh in frustration and he knew this was his only choice since he also knew William very well and was also a victim of his unfairness.
"Fine, we''ll proceed ording to your n but if William knows I help you in this, then I''ll die one way or another. So,¡." Lan deeply looked at Alvin.
Alvin know what Lan was asking for and nodded without a second thought before saying, "Don''t worry, once we confirmed this you''ll be under Elias n''s protection."
"Hahaha, then we have a deal." Lan smile with ecstasy. He knew Elias n''s strength and what their protection means!
"I''ll summon you with Finn in the first light of morning. The sooner we do this the better." Lan solemnly affirmed.
"Ipletely agreed with Elder." Alvin nodded in agreement, "I''ll be waiting for your words."
"Go, I''ll have someone to escort you to your quarters and make sure Finn boy don''t wander outside or speak with anyone," Lan warned.
"Don''t worry about him." Alvin coolly said and leave the meeting room.
Now Lan was alone in the grand meeting room.
Lan suddenly murmured to himself, "What should I do?" A peculiar glint flickered past Lan''s old eyes.
---
Meanwhile, somewhere in the 1st Grandnds of middle-levelnds.
Inside a luxurious chamber, a handsome young man wearingvishing blue robes seemingly in his twenties was standing in front of an open window watching the golden sky like a peaceful statue. He has a 6-feet tall, tone-built, with long ck hair, and his pale face was very handsome. His brown eyes were full of vigor.
Behind him were kneeling five ck-cloaked figures waiting for the young man to speak.
"Where is that thief?" The young man finally spoke in his vigorous voice.
"That thief didn''t appear again for almost five months and from our spies we heard the me General of Pill me also leave that kingdom a month ago.." One of the cked fingers answered respectfully.
Chapter 181 - Profited From Disaster (1)
The young man didn''t turn around and mildly said, "We''re in this trash ce for over three weeks now and you lot still didn''t find any clues on a petty thief? I''m beginning to wonder if I need you anymore."
Those five cloaked figures trembled slightly when they hear this and suddenly an icy aura descend on them.
They knew this young man was furious now even if he seemed calm, and it was not a good thing for anyone present in this ce.
"Where is that guardian who supposed to protect the treasury?" The boy spoke again while retracing his aura.
Those five have a massive sigh of relief when the aura on them was lifted and one of them quickly answer with no dy.
"Those ves bring him back five days ago, and he is now in the dungeon. After we interrogate him, it seemed he knew nothing about it. But there are other parties involved in that early thief hunt and one of them is the famous Green me of Pill me organization while her protector was a very powerful woman, her cultivation realm was unknown. ording to his words, it was unfathomed!"
A hint of astonishment sh past the young man''s eyes, and he said, "Where is Green me at this moment? I want to hear her side of the story."
"Young Master, she''s in me City."
"Which one?" The young man finally turned around with a gentle smile on his handsome face.
"Damien Kingdom!"
---
Inside me Pce,
The guest area was reserved for only VIP personal at least with high-levelnd''s royal family status.
At this moment in a courtyard in the guest area.
Ace was sitting on a mat while healing his previous wounds from Lan''s element Qi. Even though Lan only used one percent of his actual prowess it still jumbled Ace''s inners quite a lot.
"I still required six or seven hours to healpletely." Ace mumbles to himself.
He didn''t know what he was in for in the morning and what kind of test those two old men would conduct on him. But he was sure that it won''t be any worse than Lan''s element Qi.
Yet, he waspletely ready for anything.
''I can''t leave this ce since Alvin is still monitoring me with martial sense, and he probably won''t let me leave until he confirmed my identity as a real Element Physique.'' Ace sigh helplessly. He still wasn''t free and won''t be anytime soon.
But he was patient and waiting for the right time to do his job.
Now that, he was in the me city, which happen to be one of his targets of the system''s mission. He won''t let this chance slip past him easily. As long as Alvin became rxed and stop observing, it would be time!
The night was spent in healing and when the first light shone, a knock sounded on Ace courtyard''s door.
''You can''t waste even a second, can you?'' Ace thought in distress because he knew who was outside.
Ace slide opened the door and standing outside was none other than Alvin in green robes.
Alvin monitor Finn the entire night, and hee here to fetch Finn the moment the promised time approached.
"Let''s go," Alvin said in amanding tone and turn around while walking towards the main pce square.
"Yes." Finn nodded and close the door before following Alvin''s footsteps.
There were servants, but Alvin didn''t let them close to Finn since he didn''t want anyone toe in contact with him before the element bath.
After walking for twenty minutes, they reached a grand hall, where a masked me guard was waiting for them.
She was the same me guard who escort them inside the pce yesterday.
Lan also didn''t want any impediments, and he sent one of his me guards to fetch Alvin and Finn.
This time, Ace notice they''re going through different pathways and stairways. It was like he''s walking in a maze.
He didn''t know just howrge this entire me pce was, but he estimated this was asrge as a three-star city of low-levelnds.
They finally reached arge doorway, and a wide silver door with beautiful patterns was at the end.
''This¡'' Ace''s eyes narrowed when he entered this doorway because his soul sense was tingling in rm, and it was far stronger than any warning he received after entering this pce.
When they reached the silver door, the me guard stopped and said, "Elder is waiting behind this door. I''ll be taking my leave now." The me guard bow toward Alvin, and she left without stopping.
Alvin didn''t stop her and merely looked at the silver door.
''Creek¡''
The silver door was finally started to open and when it waspletely opened, Alvin and Finn spotted Lan standing there with a warm smile on his wrinkled face.
Ace also notice the grand hall behind Lan and was astounded because it was a thousand square meters wide!
"Come." Lan beckoned them with a smile.
Alvin greeted Lan first before entering the grand hall and Finn did the same.
The grand hall waspletely white as if it was made of white jade and there were manyrge murals on its walls. There was no door beside the silver one behind them.
The most eyes catching thing was a thirty-meter-tall, humanoid statue in the very center of the white hall. This statue was extremely vivid as if it wasn''t a statue at all and was like a tranquil giant standing there.
But there was a peculiar aura around this statue that gives one a feeling of peacefulness.
This statue was of a handsome man with long silver hair and fierce eyes. In his one hand was arge golden cauldron while in his other hand was a Rune Crafter''s Brush.
Ace''s eyes shimmer when he saw that statue, especially that cauldron and brush because those two were real high-ranked treasures not the part of the statue!
"Heh, that''s the founder of Pill me Organization, Nixon Otto!" Lan''s casually revealed the extraordinary identity of the imposing statue.
"Oh, I didn''t know." Finn showed an expression of reverence.
"Don''t worry about it, Founder statue is in every branch of Pill me Organization. Trust me, you''re probably the first middlend person who saw the founder statue!" Lan stated while he walks toward the opposite side of the silver door.
"Thank you for giving me this honor, Elder." Ace act like he was extremely thankful for this.
"Young Friend Finn, if you can pass thisst test, then you''ll see far more than this statue." Lan chuckles lightly.
"Yes, I''ll do my best," Finn stated.
Lan greatly approved of Finn''s determined attitude because he knew Finn going to need it very soon.
Alvin said nothing, but he also likes Finn''s spirit, and he was the one who hope for Finn to pass this test the most. Because without solid evidence he can''t contact his father nor awake his grandfather.
He would rather kill Finn than give him to me Master William because besides being infamous for his greed, William''s n was also an enemy with Elias n!
That''s why he was so hellbent on this sort of test and even involved Lan in it.
As for why he didn''t take Finn directly to the high-levelnds, it was because he can''t return right now for a grave reason!
At this moment, when Ace was observing the paintings on the walls while following Lan, the system''s voice rang in his mind abruptly!
=====
"[Target in range!]"
[Did the host want to scan the target?]
{Cost: 500 Thief Points}
=====
Ace''s steps abruptly halted when he saw the ck panel in front of his incredulity eyes!
"What''s the matter?" Alvin finds Finn''s nk expression and sudden stopping remarkably unusual.
"N-nothing." Finn''s serious expression instantly returned and leaped again.
Alvin didn''t press the matter anymore and also move.
''So, this is where the treasury of the city is located, and they lead me here by themselves.'' Ace thought with rapture, ''It must be within 250 meters of my heavenly sense. But where!''
"System, begin the scanning!" Ace immediatelymanded, he won''t miss this heaven-sent opportunity!
=======
"[Scanning Start]"
[Time: 04:59]
=======
[Thief Point(s): 30,500]
=======
Ace frowned when he saw the timer of five minutes because it wasn''t enough, but he had no choice since he can''t stop here for no reason and this hall was a thousand-meter-wide which means he''ll be out of range soon.
Just as he dreaded, the moment Ace was on the opposite side of the Pill me''s founder statue, the system''s emotionless voice rang in his mind.
=====
"[Target is out of range!]"
[Please go back, and the scanning will resume systematically!]
[Time: 03:21{Stopped}]
=====
Ace instantly looked at the statue and his eyes shimmer with understanding, ''So that statue is the entering point to the treasury vault!''
Ace''s lips curl upward, and he wasn''t worried about the scanning anymore since he now knows just where to look and even found the entrance point to the treasury!
Chapter 182 - Profited From Disaster (2)
Ace didn''t look at the statue anymore and kept up with Alvin''s pace.
He saw Lan was moving toward a 3 square meters mural of a ck Pill Furnace. This Pill Furnace was antique with a silver flood -dragon carved on it.
When they reached the mural, Lan nonchntly wave his sleeve and the mural tremble slightly before sliding upward, and a hidden pathway appeared in front of them.
This did not surprise Ace, since he had a hunch that this entire grand hall was a forbidden area because of the treasury location and powerful Qi fluctuations all over the ce. Especially these murals in the grand hall.
"Let''s go." Lan chuckles seeing Finn''s bbergasted face and enters the hidden pathway.
The hidden pathway was only ten meters long and at the end of it was a spacious white chamber, illuminated with glowing stones.
The room was filled with the fragrance of herbs.
In the center of this room was a 4-meterrge crimson cauldron with golden patterns around it. The rest of the room was filled with shelves and there were colorful Pill bottles on them.
"Wee to my forging room," Lan said with a prideful tone.
Ace inhale sharply when he saw thousands of pill bottles because they were probably purple rank and if he could convert them into EXP, his cultivation would probably soar!
But s, he can''t even take one pill bottle from here, much less all of them.
Alvin also showed a hint of astonishment because he never thought this craft elder would be rich to this extent, ''This probably is the privilege of watching over all these resources!''
Lan''s smile be wider when he was Alvin''s surprised expression and move toward the enormous cauldron which was tightly sealed at this moment.
Lan stood in front of the cauldron and deeply looked at Alvin.
Alvin impassively nodded.
''Sigh¡'' Lan sigh and looked at Finn, there was a hint of pity in his eyes when he said, "Young Friend Finn, this is the Golden Mark Cauldron a seven-start runic cauldron which means it used to make at least Purple Rank alchemy elixirs. As for why I''m telling you this, it''s because there is a powerful medicinal liquid in it at this moment. It''s not all, this medicinal liquid is at the very panicle of purple rank!"
"I-is it for¡me?" It startled Finn.
"Yes!" Lan nodded solemnly, "It''ll make your foundation unshakable if you ovee the pain and once you are done absorbing this medicinal liquid, you''ll be an official member of pill me organization!"
''He''s lying!'' Ace frowned.
Lan didn''t tell Finn about the actual danger of element bath and only said this encouraging advice, so he could take this element bath willingly.
Alvin also know what Lan was doing and said nothing.
"I''m ready, elder, please tell me what I have to do!" Finn showed a determined expression.
''It''s probably just medicine, right?'' Ace was dubious about this, but the part about being the medicine liquid was true, so he followed Lan''s instruction.
Lan gravely stated, "When I opened the Golden Mark Cauldron''s seal, jump inside, and I''ll seal it again, so the medicinal liquid won''t lose its efficiency. But don''t worry we''ll take you out after a minute whether you absorb it!"
"Yes!" Finn nodded.
"When I give the signal, jump inside!" Lan said with a stiff face before he faces the Golden Mark Cauldron.
Lan didn''t dy and formed strange hand signs as his fiery Qi manifested around him.
"Thousand Sealing Art: Unseal!"
The moment Lan said those words thereafter, the Golden Mark Cauldron hummed and the golden patterns on it shimmer brightly.
''An alchemy art!'' Ace inhale sharply since it was his first time witnessing an art!
The cauldron''s lid bang opened and a fresh scent of nature instantly filled therge forging room.
"NOW!" Lan gave the signal.
''Here goes nothing!'' Ace gravely though and with no dy jump inside the cauldron!
"Thousand Sealing Art: Five Hundred Seals!" Lan''s Fire Qi dance around him and the cauldron lid simmer in the fire Qi before shooting back on the cauldron and sealing it again.
The moment the cauldron was sealed, a strange symbol appeared on its lid in Lan''s fire Qi. This was an alchemist seal that every alchemist used in alchemy and Lan was using a very high-level alchemy art that only a purple alchemist could cast.
"How much time do we wait?" Alvin impassively asked while deeply looking at the sealed cauldron.
"Half an hour, and don''t use your martial sense. I don''t need to educate you about not using any perception abilities during cauldron sealing." Lan said with a gloomy expression, "Ship or sink, it is on thatd now. But I still think we''re doing it wrong!"
"It is for the greater good. Besides, we both know there isn''t any form that can create pure element Qi as strong as this one." Alvin shrugged his shoulder.
''Sigh¡'' Lan sighed again and again, ''In the fight between ten ns everyone is disposable, even a legendary element physique!''
Inside the Golden Mark Cauldron,
The cauldron was half full of crystal-green liquid that was boiling with dense wood element Qi.
Even a Qi river cultivator would feel extreme pain and the feeling of melting in this element bath. As for peak Qi foundation building cultivators, they''ll melt to thest bone with no resistance!
However, at this moment, out of anyone''s expectation Ace was nonchntly resting inside the liquid, like he was in a hot spring!
''I didn''t think it would be thisfortable!'' Ac thought with a blessed expression on his face.
Ace first thought he would have to use his Qi to resist the heat but the moment he submerges in the element bath he felt nothing butfort.
''They didn''t use their martial senses. It has to be something to do with that alchemy art.'' Ace mused, ''If I drink it, I''ll get EXP?''
The system''s next notification answered Ace.
=====
[System detect high-level, Middle-Grade Elixir (Purple) surrounding host''s body!]
[Quantity: 6 Barrels]
[Conversion Rate: 15Million EXP]
[Did the host want to proceed with the conversion?]
========
Ace''s eyes contracted when he saw arge amount of EXP and a wintry smile creep out on his face, ''Heh, who would''ve thought I would get this much EXP delivered to me with no strings attached.''
Ace was smiling ear to ear, ''With this much EXP and those Pills I stole from that Rune Crafter woman, I probably enter the peak stage of Heavenly Foundation!''
"Start the conversion!" With no hesitation, Acemanded. Since those two old men wanted to see how much he can absorb this elixir, Ace didn''t mind giving them a tremendous surprise!
=====
[The conversion is beginning¡.]
[Time: 00:14]
=====
Ace felt a huge amount of suction force from his pores, and arge amount of Qi entered his dark meridians like a tidal wave.
The Qi destination was none other than the dark void and after being processed in the dark void the darkness Qi immersed in Ace''s meridians and afterpletely nine cycles his heavenly tes absorbed the HD-Qi!
======
[Conversion Complete!]
[15Million EXP has been added to Host status]
---
[EXP: 44.95 Million/50 Million]
======
Ace opened his eyes and a dark current sh past them. He was astonished because when his eyesnded on the elixir which was supposed to be crystal green was now just water!
''It nothing but a bath now.'' Ace smile faintly and thought, ''Should I breakthrough here? No, I don''t know when he''ll open this cauldron, so I should wait until I''m alone.''
Ace decided to not take any risk and wait for the right time since now he had the EXP he can breakthrough anytime he wanted!
Half an hour pass and Ace heard Lan''s solemn voice,
"Thousand Sealing Art: Unseal!"
The lip finally opened and Ace jump outside with no obstruction.
When Lan and Alvin saw Finn jumping outpletely fine, they were bbergasted and quickly use their martial senses to probe Finn''s physique and the element bath.
"H¡ H-how is this possible!??" Lan eximed out loud in bewilderment.
"Th¡ this!" Alvin also had a dumbfounded look on his face as if he has just seen a ghost.
Lan and Alvin, both looked at Finn in unison as if they were looking at a monster.
Lan inhale deeply to calm himself and asked Finn with a questioning tone, "What happened inside? I mean, did you feel anything because your cultivation is the same even after you absorb the entire elixir. How is this possible!"
"I-I don''t¡ know." Finn pulls an innocent yet perplexed face and said, "I was ckout the moment I enter the cauldron and when I was awake, I only saw water."
"This is absurd!"
Lan''s face was as dark as charcoal because he took out many precious herbs from his stash, yet not even the elixir waspletely gone, he didn''t even get to know the reason for it!
Chapter 183 - Alvin’s Decisiveness!
On the side, Alvin also had a deep frown on his face because this was absurd, yet they had no way of knowing what happened inside the cauldron.
Finn also seemed to tell the truth, and he didn''t have any reason to lie to them. Besides, in both Alvin and Lan''s minds, Finn didn''t have the guts to lie to them!
"Forget it." Lan sighed with regret and asked, "Tell me how do you feel after awakening from your¡umm¡. Sleep?"
"I feel fine." Finn wore a serious expression as he answered.
Ace saw Lan''s face fell and know if he doesn''t give this old man something he might do something.
"However, ¡ I suddenly can sense umm¡ how to put it." Finn ponders a bit while fondling his chin before his eyes brighten and said, "I could feel strange Qi in the air and the same kind of Qi surrounding Senior me General."
Ace spout some nonsense since they both can''t tell he''s telling the truth or lie because of the hundred-face deception mask and they neither didn''t have powerful soul sense.
Alvin''s eyes brighten when he heard and this and quickly ask, "Do you feel anything else?"
"Yes, but it is very vague as if this Qi wanted to¡ show me something. I don''t know if this is just my imagination." Finn had an ambiguous expression.
"Interesting." Lan''s expression suddenly lit up after hearing this and presumed, "It seemed like element reasoning."
"Yes, but it is still unknown." Alvin consider and said, "We know nothing of element physique, and it seemed many mysteries are surrounding it."
Lan nodded in agreement, "Now that we know, Little Finn can absorb this much element Qi like it''s nothing. Furthermore, it seemed element bath helped him awaken some of the element physique''s characteristics."
"Don''t worry, now that we have this kind of evidence they have to believe us," Alvin said with a faint smile.
"I''ll leave it to you then." Lan nodded.
All he wanted was his promised rewards and protection of Alvin''s n. As for what happened with Finn now it waspletely up to Alvin''s arrangement.
They were both treating Finn like wind and Ace didn''t mind because the more they underestimate him the more information they reviled.
"Little Finn, congrattion on passing this test!" Lan finally looked at Finn with an elderly smile.
Now that, they were about 90% sure about Finn''s authority as a genuine element physique. It means Finn would probably soar when the headquarters knows about it.
At that time, it would be almost impossible toe in contact with him, so it was a good time to leave a good impression on him.
"Here, it''s a congrattion gift from this old man." Lan smiled warmly and flip his hand. A ck wristband with silver runes appeared in his hand and he pass it to Finn.
"Thank you, elder." Finn quickly received the wristband while thanking Lan.
"You don''t need to thank me, you''ve earned it." Lan nodded with a smile, "It''s a sixth-star runic treasure called Silver Shield, and it can even block three full attacks of flowing river cultivator!"
Ace''s eyes brighten when he heard this, he definitely needed this kind of treasure and quickly store it in his thief''s space and imprinted his heavenly mark on it when he was alone.
"Here, this is my gift for you." Alvin know what Lan was doing and didn''t stay behind. He took a blue cover scroll from his space ring and give it to Finn.
"Thank you, senior me General." Finn received it.
"This is a wood element fist skill of Master level, try toprehend it and if you failed to don''t worry about it, you can use it in Qi river realm and call me Elder Brother Alvin from now on." Alvin chuckles.
Lan rolled his eyes after hearing Alvin''sst shameless words.
Ace also had the same thought as Lan''s and this skill was not useful for him, but he still stored it since it was a skill that use the element Qi.
"So, I''m a member of the organization now?" Finn asked with an eager expression on his face.
"Yes." Lan chuckles.
Alvin also nodded before a ck jade te appeared in his hand.
Lan''s smiling face instantly change when he saw this ck te, "YOU¡!" Before he couldplete his word Alvin wink at him and Lan stopped.
Ace on the side was also stunned to see this ck stale because he had a pile of these kinds of tes in his thief''s space.
''ve Item Contract!'' Ace''s heart turn cold because he was too familiar with these ve item contracts, after all, Eva osted him because of this exact contract!
However, the contract in Alvin''s hand had much moreplex patterns on it and there was a red gem on top of it. It was a 7-star ve item contract that can even control a peak Qi River cultivator and never let it enter the next realm!
Alvin smile, seeing Finn''s hard face, and said, "Your family is in the business of ves, so I won''t lie to you about what this is. But you need to know that this is for your safety because I''ll be able to sense your presence with this contract.
"Furthermore, Elder Lan here was also concerned about your safety because the information you know and with this mask, I can make you forget everything you hear. But don''t worry you''ll remain the member of Pill me and this contract will only remain until you reached the high-levelnds."
Lan face turn ugly when he heard Alvin even dare to involve him to sell his lies, but he can''t do anything since he was already stuck with him.
''So, he didn''t want to take any chances with Finn now that he examined him.'' Ace didn''t imagine this guy would be so ruthless and decisive that he didn''t even take the slightest bit chance with Finn.
Truthfully, this ve contract was for that thief but now that Alvin''s found Finn he used it on him with no second thought because he can''t have anyone know about this and Finn was still young, so he didn''t trust him with this kind of secret.
"But I won''t tell anyone." Finn timidly said.
"It''s just a reassurance, don''t worry I won''t make you do anything. Even you could tell how important you are for the organization!" Alvin said in an unnegotiable tone.
"Ok, as elder brothermand." Finn agreed with Alvin in the end, it''s not like he had any choice.
"Good. Drop your blood on the gem." Alvin said with a smile.
Finn merely nodded and cut his finger and drop his blood on the red gem.
The moment the bloodnded on the red gem, it instantly absorbed it, and the silverplex patterns on the ck te shimmered. Abruptly, a red streak was discharged from the ve contract andnded on Finn''s be before dissolving.
======
[System has detected a high-level middle-grade martial ve item, that wanted to take over the Host''s consciousness.]
[Host has two options]
[Option 1]
[Destroy the ve contract''s owner conscious and Qi mark for 100TP.]
[Effects: The owner of this conscious and Qi mark will experience a bacsh ording to the martial ve contract''s Grade.]
----
[Option 2]
[Create a fake conscious for martial ve contract for 500TP]
[Effect: The owner of Qi mark would not be able to detect anything and the Host will remain unaffected.]
----
[Please choose within five seconds, or the system will auto-select the first option.]
======
Ace''s eyes turn sharp and transmit with no hesitation, "Go with Option 2!"
It was as if he already knew this would happen and was ready for it from the start!
=====
[Activating Option 2¡.]
[Option 2 has been activated!]
---
[Thief Point(s): 30,000]
======
Ace observed that in his martial space a white smoke cloud has been formed, and suddenly the red streak entered it, turning the white cloud in crimson!
On Finn''s face, a ck mask formed with a red gem on its forehead. The mask had crimson patterns on its left side, and only Finn''s eyes were visible now.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Lan finally speaks at this moment.
"No. It''s for the best, I won''t take any chance until I hand him over to my grandfather personally. It''s also an assurance!" Alvin stiffly said, "Tell me, after those old fossils know I put a salve item on an element physique, would they dare to take action or plot against me?"
"You want to threaten them?!" Lan''s face shone with fright.
"Hehe, I will, if they didn''t give me what''s I earned!" Alvin decisively said.
"Sigh¡" Lan sighed helplessly in the end. He even wondered if Alvin was the craft elder instead.
But even he had to admit Alvin has guts, and this method was the safest way to ensure their awards.
"As I promised you''re free just like before!"
Alvin coolly looked at Masked Finn and a peculiar glint sh past his eyes, "However, you can revile nothing you ever heard or going to hear between me and Elder Lan to anyone!"
Chapter 184 - Becoming A Slave!
Ace felt a peculiar Qi wave from the ck could inside his martial space and instantly guessed Alvin was using ve contact to imprint thismand on Finn!
Ace knew this was the cue and said, "As Elder Brothermand."
Now that Finn''s face was under that ve item''s mask, beside his cold eyes one can see nothing.
Even with the martial sense it was hard to tell Finn''s exact expression and this was in Ace''s favor because he doesn''t have to control his physical expression anymore, and believe it or not, this was the hardest part!
After all, copying someone''s personality was never easy, and without Ace''s soul probe it would be even harder.
Alvin nodded when he saw the familiar response and looked at Lan with a faint smile, "See, I didn''t have any intention to turn him into a mindless ve, and I''m not using the ve contract full capacity. He can cultivate normally, and the ve contract would never hinder him."
Lan grimaced but didn''t retort, since he knew a seven-star ve contract has this kind of function. Besides, knowing about Finn''s potential Alvin would never dare to treat him like a ve!
''Sigh¡'' Lan sighed and faintly said, "Fine. Let''s go I''ll arrange a special token and appoint a me Captain level guard to him so little Finn can smoothly travel in the me city."
"I''m relying on Elder Lan for this. After all, he''ll be here for some time until we returned to highnds and I have to contact my father as soon as possible."
Alvin knew Lan was appointed his loyal me guard, so he could also monitor Finn, and he had no problem with it since Finn''s life was now in his hand as long as he kept the ve contract secured!
"I only have three ''Millions-Miles Transmission tes'' and I can only give you one, so you better use it wisely." Lan gravely said, and a palm-size silver formation te appeared in his hand.
Ace looked at the silver formation te with great interest and thought, ''So, they used these special formation tes tomunicate between long-distance ces!''
Ace was always inquisitive about how these organization personals canmunicate with each other so swiftly, and now he finally got the answer. He wanted to use the runic eyes to see the runic symbols on it, but he knew if he does it, Lan would notice it!
"Don''t worry, the moment I got a rey, I''lle to you first." Alvin took the Millions-Miles Transmission te and ensure Lan.
"You better, don''t forget I have two more¡" Lan indifferently said with a wintry smile on his face. He was clearly warning Alvin.
Alvin''s face stiffed a little and slightly nodded. He knew this old man was only ying along with him because of benefits and his background.
If it was someone else Lan would''ve never been allowed to put a ve item on Finn and probably done it himself!
Alvin knows if he yed any kind of trick Lan would retaliate with no second thought, and he can''t do anything about it since he wasn''t Lan''s match.
"Let''s go, I need some rest since I prepare the elixir all night." Lan chuckles coldly seeing Alvin''s tense face.
Following Lan, they all leave the hidden forgery and enter the statue hall again.
''I have to somehowplete the scanning before leaving this ce.'' Ace thought while moving close to the statue.
Suddenly, Ace''s eyes brighten.
Then it happened, the moment Ace entered the 250-meter radios of the statue, the system''s icy voice rang in his mind.
=======
"[Target in range!]"
[Scan resumed!]
[Time: 03:20]
=======
Finn stopped abruptly, and his confusing voice rang in the grand hall, "Umm¡. Elder Brother."
Alvin and Lan also stopped and looked at Finn with questioning eyes.
"I think I felt something from that statue," Finn said with ambiguity.
"Oh, so you could feel the aura around the founder statue now as well." Lan was astonished because he knew what Finn was talking about.
"Heh, don''t worry, this aura ising from those two treasures in founder''s hands, and that statue is also made from very precise minerals." Alvin chuckles.
"However, only someone at the foundation building stage can feel this aura, meaning you get many benefits from element bath that we still don''t know yet," Lan suggested.
"Did you feel anything else?" Alvin asked, but he used the ve contract this time.
Ace felt that unique Qi fluctuation again and answer emotionlessly, "Yes, it seemed the realm wall is cracking, and soon I''ll be entered the Qi foundation building realm."
"Oh, we can''t let him build a five-gate foundation," Lan speaks with a grim tone.
"I have a seven gates cultivation technique. It won''t be any problem." Alvin waspletely agreed with Lan.
Because changing a cultivation technique after entering the foundation building realm was very painful. It sometimes damaged one''s meridian which can cause very slow cultivation and cause intense agony!
That''s why if someone wanted to change the cultivation technique they had to do it in the Qi gates realm.
However, if one cultivated a martial cultivation technique before they can only change it with other martial cultivation technique and the same rule apply with the soul cultivation technique.
If a person wanted to change its entire cultivation path, then it''s too costly and probably only three giants have these methods to do it!
"Can I cultivate in the soul path?" Finn spoke again with emotionless eyes.
"Why do you want that?" Lan''s pursed his lips.
"I don''t know, I suddenly feel like soul path is better for me," Finn answered instantly.
Lan looked at Alvin with a sullen expression. He could tell Alvin was using the mask to question Finn, which mean Finn wasn''t making anything up.
Alvin pondered for a bit and said, "Let me contact my family first before that don''t breakthrough, or it would be impossible to change your cultivation path that time."
"Yes," Finn answered as his eyes returned to normal.
Lan also had no objection to this arrangement and let the highnds decide for Finn since his importance is too great for the organization.
They moved again towards the exit.
When they reached two hundred meters on the other side of the statue.
=====
"[Scan Complete.]"
=====
Ace''s lips curled upward, hearing this notification.
He was just wasting time, so the system couldplete the scanning, and it worked after what he did.
Now, he doesn''t have to pretend to cultivate while being constantly monitored by others. Because he can''t mask a cultivation technique.
Moreover, because of the illusion created by the hundred-face deception mask, no one can see his real Qi flow and meridian which would rise different doubts and suspicion of others.
That''s why he bought himself time after telling them he wanted to cultivate soul technique instead.
After this brief stop, they leave the grand hall and Lan closed the silver door with a formation pate.
To Ace''s dismay, the silver door vanishedpletely after Lan use the formation te and even the doorway was gone when they enter the maze.
Now, it was even more difficult toe back here!
After exiting the area, they enter the main hall, where the same me guard was waiting for them.
Lan smiled at her and said, "me Captain Grey, from now on until little Finn is here your duty is to protect him and show him the me City if he wants."
Grey''s eyes were shone with surprise when she heard this and deeply looked at masked Finn because this kind of treatment was very rare, and she didn''t remember Finn wearing a mask when she left them.
"Yes, as youmand!" Grey solemnly said she has to obey Lan''smand whether she liked it.
"Also have someone make a VIP Golden Token for little Finn, so he could go visit any area in the me City." Lan coolly said.
"Yes!" Grey was shocked this time and thought, ''Just who is he?''
"Grey will escort you back, or anywhere you want to go. I''ll take my leave now, if you need anything tell Grey to contact me." Lan smile knowingly at Alvin before leaving.
"Take us back first," Alvinmand Grey after Lan was gone.
"Yes." Grey behave as she told and escort them back to their living quarters.
On their way back, now, and then she glimpses at Finn whose face was not behind the mask with great interest, but she said nothing since Alvin was with them and her pride as a me guard won''t allow her to speak with anyone.
After they reached Finn''s courtyard in the VIP area,
Alvin coolly said to Grey, "Wait outside until Ie out. I have something to talk about with Finn."
"Yes." Grey nodded in understanding.
Alvin took Finn into a room before using a formation barrier to iste the room.
After making sure no one can hear them, Alvinmand while using the ve contract¡!
Chapter 185 - Flame Library
After making sure no one can hear them, Alvin instructed while using the ve contract, "First, if you find any kind of changes urring to yourself, you''ll immediately report them to me.
"Second, never told Lan anything if he ever summoned you and report this back to me nor should you ever revile your identity to anyone!
"Third, you''ll have to study the skill I gave you for ten hours a day and report the results of it after a week to me, as for the remaining day, you''re free to do anything besides revealing anything about element physique.
"Fourth, don''t try to cultivate until I give you the order and remain low-key¡."
Alvin carefully impart many instructions to Finn while using the ve contract power, so Finn could not breach them. He didn''t do it in front of Lan because he can''t afford Lan''s suspicion at the moment. Not until he can go back.
Lastly, Alvin has some personal thoughts about Finn''s physique because it was of the wood element, and he also has the wood element.
That''s why he wanted Finn to awake some unique ability and see if he could get Finn to teach him. After all, an ability from a legendary physique will cause a storm anywhere.
Finn''s eyes showed no emotion and nodded impassively in recognition of Alvin''s everymand, "YES!"
Alvin nodded in satisfaction and stop using the ve contract, and Finn''s eyes returned to normal.
"Good, I''ll take my leave then. If you have any problem, my courtyard is right next to you, and if someone bullies you, just tell them who your elder brother is." Alvin chuckles and collected the formation barrier in the formation te that he uses to soundproof the room.
"Sure." Finn nodded following ecstasy in his voice.
Alvin''s smile wider when he saw Finn didn''t seem to remember anything he imparted on him.
A seven-star ve contract has this kind of power that the ve never even knows what their master has imprinted on them or told them tomand as long the master didn''t want to.
Furthermore, unknowingly to ves, these imprints automatically stopped them from doing these things they weremanded to, and they never even know they were doing it.
That was the scariest part about a powerful ve contract and themand imprinting was just the tip of the iceberg of what a high-grade ve contract can do.
As for how Ace was so easily able to turn Finn''s eyes listless it was very simple, he just had to stop controlling the mask, and Finn''s face would be like a corpse.
Ace just has to do it at the right moment and Alvin would never suspect a thing, like what happened just now.
He could tell Alvin was going to use thatmunication formation to contact his n and didn''t seem to be too concerned about Finn anymore after he turned him into a ve.
This was just the thing he needed to be free and practice his abilities, and seemingly he achieved it!
He followed Alvin who seemed to be in a good mood after what happened in these past three hours and bid him farewell.
Now only the powerful female me guard, Grey remained who was looking at him with her inquisitive eyes.
"Come inside." Ace said to Grey, now that Alvin was finally gone, and he was free of constant martial sense monitoring, and he wanted the information that only Grey knows since she''s the personal guard of Elder Lan.
How he was going to fish out that information was entirely a different story, though.
Grey didn''t reject the offer and entered the spacious lounge with Finn.
"Where are the servants?" Grey asked in confusion.
"Oh, me General think I don''t need them, and he''s right, I like it alone." Ace chuckles as he sat on the setfortably. He was telling the truth though.
Grey on the other hand found something has changed about Finn, and he didn''t seem to be afraid of her despite being an insect of Qi gates realm.
"Can I ask you, someone, if you don''t mind? You don''t have to answer if you don''t want to." Now that she was finally alone with Finn, Grey finally couldn''t hold back her curiosity.
"You can, but in return, you''ll have to answer one of my questions as well." Finn nonchntly put his demand.
"I ept." Grey quickly agreed while thinking, ''Just what can this brat ask?
"Ask then." Ace said with a rapturous expression. This was his chance.
"Why are you wearing this mask? I can sense a gloomy aura from it, is it a ve item?" Grey asked the obvious.
She could tell Finn''s mask was a ve item, but what truly bothered her was if he was just a ve, then why is he getting VIP treatment to this extent?
Finn impassively answered, "I join the organization, and you could say this ve mask was the price I paid for it."
Grey eyes narrowed, she didn''t believe him because this reason was ridiculous, and a ve don''t get this kind of treatment. But Finn was a VIP, so she could not force him.
"It''s my turn, right?" Finn said with emotionless eyes.
"Yes." Grey nodded stiffly.
"Good. Can you tell me about those buildings outside the me Pce?" Ace asked because he was very inquisitive about those four pavilions and especially about that white pagoda!
Grey didn''t seem to mind this question and informed him, "The four pavilions are Contribution Pavilion, Mission Pavilion, Treasure Exchange Pavilion, and Medicinal Pavilion.
"The white pagoda is the me Library which has thirty floors and each floor contains information, skills, and techniques. The floors'' allocation is solely depending on one''s rank and if someone wants to learn a skill or technique, they have to spend contribution points while the information is free."
Ace''s eyes shimmered with ecstasy when he heard about the me Library and quickly asked, "Can I gain ess to the Library with that golden VIP token?"
He didn''t forget about that token Lan promised him and by Lan''s words, this token can let him go anywhere.
Grey answers in a slightly dissatisfying tone, "25 Floors!"
"Oh, how many floors can you enter?" Ace asked with great interest.
Grey eyes turn cold and said darkly, "25¡"
Ace was astonished because Grey was a very high-rank person here, yet she has the same clearance level as him. This means Lan didn''t treat him badly at all.
Grey didn''t know what Finn was thinking, but she took his silence for an act of provocation and scoffed, "Don''t celebrate too early you still have to pay for skills and techniques!"
Ace could sense he hit a nerve somehow and blurted, "I understand, please don''t take it personally. Look even if I can go to 25 floors what can I learn with my insignificant cultivation?"
"Hmph!" Grey didn''t answer this time, but the anger in her heart eased a bit. She didn''t want to offend Finn since he seemed very important to Elder Lan and me General.
That''s why she was even talking right now, or she won''t even nce at someone like Finn.
"Your turn." Ace didn''t want to get on Grey''s bad side, so he quickly changed the subject.
Grey ponders a bit and asked with some hesitation, "W-what is your rtionship with Elder and me General?"
Finn impassively answered, "Same as you, I guess. But for some reason I''m important to them even I don''t know why."
''Is he mocking me?'' Grey eyes turn cold because this answer wasn''t an answer, and she simply thinks this Qi gate junior was ying with her but s she can''t do anything.
Ace felt Grey''s stony gaze and knew he was just making things worse, but he was only following Alvin''smands.
"I know you''re not satisfied with my answer, but it''s true, you can ask Elder Lan or Elder Brother Alvin if you wanted to know about me. But I can''t tell you anything that I don''t even know myself. I only know; I don''t have permission to revile my background to anyone. So, don''t ask these questions I can''t answer." Finn emotionlessly stated.
Grey eyes gleam in astonishment when she saw this boy with a ve item can talk so casually about Lan and Alvin. Which also reviled he wasn''tpletely restraint by the ve item since he can talk like this.
"My apologies." Grey didn''t press the matter anymore, since Finn seemed to tell the truth, and it was hard to detect any kind of emotion from him.
"Thank you for your understanding." Finn faintly nodded.
Ace was relieved seeing Grey was quite considerate.
"If there is nothing else, I''ll take my leave now. If you need anything, I''ll be outside, guarding the door!" Grey decided to leave Finn alone and do her duty.
She had no more questions since Finn can''t answer the ones she was truly interested in.
"Oh, I have some other questions actually, if you don''t mind me asking."
Ace would not let this chance pass so easily!
Chapter 186 - Peak Heavenly Foundation Building Stage
Grey''s brownish eyes shimmer with annoyance after hearing Finn''s still wanted to talk and coldly said, "Speak!"
"Why do you and the other guard I saw the other day wear that masks despite being me Guards? Is it also a ve item?" Finn asked impassively.
Ace knew Grey''s mask wasn''t a ve item and just make that point, so she could not think how a Qi Gates junior could tell the difference.
As for why he asked this, it was because he saw only two mask-wearing me guards and wanted to know the reason behind the masks. If it was something he could use, it would be quite helpful in his mission.
"It is not a ve item!" Grey eyes turn sharp and coldly stated, "Every Female me Guard has to wear a mask like this in the me guard regiment, and we''re only allowed to remove it after we achieve the rank of a me General!"
"Only women huh." Ace finds it strange but didn''t ask the reason behind it since Grey seemed to be enraged after hearing this question.
"Then tell me about contribution points." Ace changed the topic and asked about these contribution points.
He could tell these contribution points were quite important by Grey''s previous tone, and they even built a separate pavilion for them.
Grey also didn''t want to dwell on that topic and answered promptly, "Contribution points are the currency between the organization members and without them no one can purchase anything from treasure exchanging and medicinal pavilion even if they have the Qi stones.
"One can earn contribution points by exchanging medicinal herbs, pill, treasures, or bypleting missions posted in Mission Pavilion."
"Thank you, it was very helpful." Finn nodded impassively.
"I''ll be taking my leave then." Liz also nodded and turn to leave.
"Wait." Ace quickly stopped her and said with Finn''s emotionless voice, "You don''t have to stand outside like some door guard. Elder Lan''s appointed you as my guard and I don''t know how long I''m going to stay in this city.
"You can''t always stand outside, so choose some servants and a room for yourself. I''ll look for you if I needed anything. It''s not like I''m going anywhere in thisrge city alone."
"Do you think of me as a steward?!" Grey took Finn''s words offensively.
"No, don''t take my words in the wrong way. I just don''t want you to always stand outside, appoint some guards, there should be plenty, right?" Finn coolly stated.
Grey has to admit Finn has a point and, in the end, she coldly red at Finn and stated, "Hmph! Fine, but I''m only doing it because Eldermands me to listen to you."
"As long as you don''t feel ufortable." Finn nodded.
"Hmph!" Grey sneered and stomped out the ce.
Ace''s lips curled upward because he could sense Grey''s mood be quite good after what he did, and it was good for him.
''As long as she drops her guard around me, I''ll get that information!'' Ace though.
He knew Grey have important information about that maze, and he required it to theft that treasury. But first, he had to win her trust and make her content around him which he does not know how to do it.
Nevertheless, he didn''t mind trying it!
Now, Ace was finally alone, and he could sense there wasn''t any martial sense lingering in the air either, "Let''s see the scanning report first." He mumbled to himself,
He casually summoned the notification panel and open the scanning report of
me City''s treasury.
=======
[Notification Panel]
[{Target''s Scan Report}]
[Total worth: Host has to find himself.
Security:
1: High-level Middle-Grade Illusionary Formation (7th Ranked Mortal Runes)
1: High-level Middle-Grade Killer Formation (7th Ranked Mortal Runes)
1: High-level Middle-Grade Detection Formation (7th Ranked Mortal Runes)
10: High-level Middle-Grade Traps Formations (7th Ranked Mortal Runes)
1: High-level Middle-Grade, Illusion Lock formation (7th Ranked Mortal Runes)
1: Low-level High-Grade Lock Formation on High-level Middle-Grade Treasury (8th Ranked Mortal Runes & 7-Star Treasury)
Evaluation: 10% chance of sess]
======
Ace inhale sharply and grimly thought, ''This is just the security around the treasury and not the other formations in the entire pce!''
The system scans only work on mission target''s treasuries, not on the entire ce where the treasury was located or there would be hundreds of formations in this shortlist.
Nevertheless, this report gave him the exact target he was supposed to steal, and he had only one treasury to steal from this time not any hidden treasury like thest mission.
However, this treasury was much more difficult to open than thest one, and he still didn''t open the treasury inside his thief''s space.
It''s not like he can''t open it now, he just doesn''t want to use the soul-shattering eyes and sustain any soul injuries at a time like this.
''Now this is out the way, I should breakthrough in the peak heavenly foundation stage.'' Ace thought and stood up from his chair and walk towards his chamber.
After making sure there was no one and Grey seemed to have gone somewhere he used the formation barrier that he stole from that rune crafter and iste the area, so he would instantly know if someone approached him.
Ace sat cross-legged before calming his mind and transmitted impassively, "System, convert every pill in my thief''s space into EXP!"
=====
"[Starting the calcting¡]"
[All the pills in thief''s space can be converted into 16Million EXP]
[Did you want to proceed with the conversion?]
========
Ace pensively transmitted, "Proceed."
The very next moment thereafter, Ace felt a huge tsunami of Heavenly Qi rose from the dark void and engulf his dark meridian channels.
Ace abruptly felt something just break, and the dark void rotated while releasing the thick heavenly Qi. The foundation tes revolving around the dark void also glowed brightly.
The rotation cycles of the heavenly qi began the very next moment inside Ace''s meridian channels and the qi circtes ny-nine times in high speed, yet it didn''t show any sign of slowing down.
At the 100th-cycle, Ace suddenly felt an intense pain start to gush out of his meridian''s channels. He could feel the heavenly Qi was causing some kind of change this time and could only endure.
This painful process remained for 12 hours until the 999 cycle wasplete, and the dark void finally absorbed the processed heavenly Qi and turned it into HD-Qi.
Ace was drenched in the dark sticky matter at this moment and when the HD-Qi entered his meridian, he felt intensefort and groan in pleasure.
All that processed HD-Qi enters the nine dark foundation tes after coursing through his dark meridians. Those dark tes begin to rapidly expand!
When the HD-Qi was fully absorbed, the heavenly foundation tes have expanded nine square miles in size!
Now, they were like colossal dark walls revolving around the dark void in martial space!
======
"[Conversion Complete!]"
[16Million EXP has been added to Host status]
---
[Congrattion host on reaching the Peak Stage of Heavenly Foundation Building]
[Host status has been updated]
======
Ace slowly opened his eyes and a ck current sh through them. He was feeling lighter than before while his mind was tranquil.
With no dy, he looked at the martial cultivation column to see the next amount of EXP he needed to enter the Heavenly River realm besides the elemental orb.
======
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Foundation Building {Peak-Stage}]
[EXP: 10.95 Million/100 Million]
{Elemental Orb:0/1}
=====
Ace''s eyes shimmered with astonishment when he saw the next elemental orb''s row appearance below the EXP row.
"System does this mean I can amodate the EXP without being worried about entering the next realm identally, now?" Ace asked while he made a wild guess.
This was an enormous problem for him and if he guessed was right, then he can be worry-free once and for all. Or just likest time that feeling of being instantly killed if he entered the next realm with no elemental orb, always has him on edge.
"[Yes. Since the host has already unlocked the hidden part of Heavenly Crystal Body, the system can now seal the host''s cultivation until the host fulfill all the requirements.]"
"Heh, for the first time in a while, you did something useful." Ace grinned ear to ear while taunting the system.
System''s emotionless voice rang again this time,
=====
"[Soul Probing 20% Power has been unsealed!]"
[Host can now probe the soul of High Stage Qi Foundation Building Cultivators, and the time limits of soul probing have also increased to four hours a day]
---
[Light Element Qi {Martial & Soul} activation limit has been increased]
[Light Element Qi: The ability to freely use worldly light element Qi of both martial and soul path!]
[Limitation: Host can only use any type of Qi {Martial or Soul} for 24 hours and has to stop for 24 hours.]
======
Ace was thrilled especially about the Light Qi resting period reduced by half, and now he can use the light soul Qi more often. This means he can practice the rune crafting more frequently now!
Chapter 187 - A Cultivation Room
After Alvin returned to his courtyard, without stopping, he directly enter his room and iste it with a powerful formation barrier.
After making sure that everything was arranged, Alvin sat cross-legged and took the Millions-Miles Transmission te from his storage ring that Lan gave him to contact his n.
Alvin use his Qi to activate the formation te, and it glowed. Suddenly the round silver formation te divided into two halves!
Alvin flip his hand and a green runic te withplex ck patterns appeared in his hand.
This was a Coordinate Array that have only one function, and that was to record a specific location. These coordinate arrays were used withmunication formations and without them these formations were useless.
Alvin''s coordinate array naturally has his n''s location recorded in it, and now he was going to use it to send the information about Finn.
With no further ado, Alvin activated the array te, and it also hovered like the silver formation te.
Suddenly, the two silver formation tes tremble, and they released an attraction force, pulling the green array ted between them.
The moment the Coordinate Array was between the Millions-Miles Transmission te, the upper silver te rotated.
Alvin knew the recording has started and solemnly speak, "Father, I have something of utmost important to report, so please listen to this message alone and send your response as quickly as possible¡."
Alvin addressed from the start and record everything from how he was searching for the thief, but he found Finn until today''s test report.
"Qi Lock!" When Alvin was done he made a particr hand gesture and locked the recording with a unique Qi symbol.
This Qi symbol was a unique Qi lock that wasmonly used to lock these recordings, so no other person could listen to them.
The Qi Key of this Qi Lock was also very special and if anyone tries to open this Qi lock without Qi Key, it will self-destruct with the recording!
Anyone can develop these Qi Lock and Qi Key with the method and only high-levelnds, three giants, and top ten kingdoms have this form to make Qi Lock or know about this method ofmunication.
After Alvin''s put the Qi lock on the upper silver formation te, he poured arge amount of Qi into the runic tes, and they shone brightly.
Suddenly, the lowest silver runic te turned white, while the central coordinate array te turns into dust particles.
The very next moment thereafter, the top silver runic tepletely vanished with a zap!
Alvin''s lips curved upward when he saw the recording has been sent.
Now all he had to do was to wait for the reply which wille through the remaining white Millions-Miles Transmission te!
---
Somewhere in thend of empires,
An old man seemingly in histe sixties with long snowy hair and a light beard was sitting crossed-legged in a gorgeous chamber. Even though his face was filled with light wrinkles his eyes were full of zing vigor.
Surprisingly, this old man''s appearance resembled Alvin''s, or Alvin resembled this old man, and it was not surprised since this old man was Alvin''s father and the current head of Elias n, Henrik Elias!
At this moment, before Henrik was a silver formation te hovering, and he was carefully listening to something with a small frown on his old face.
"¡ after the test, I put the ve item on him that was meant for the thief. However, I didn''t use its full power and only restricted the knowledge, nothing else. Now, I just need to know; can you awake Grandfather and I don''t need to tell you how important this matter is to our n. Please notify me as soon as possible."
Henrik mulled over it for a long time as he wore a grave face and finally a deep sigh escape from his mouth as he mumbled with a hint of ambiguity,
"An element physique, huh? I should go to the forbidden library before taking any action and if that brat is telling the truth then this might change our fate¡"
---
All this happened during Ace''s cultivation.
Currently, inside Finn''s resting chamber.
Ace was examining himself when he noticed the sticky substance and mutters, "So I still have impurities, and here I thought this process was over. I should take a bath first before anything else."
He quickly stood up while collecting the formation barrier. He knew Grey has returned eleven hours ago, but she didn''t disturb him after seeing the barrier around his chamber.
She probably thought that he didn''t want to be disturbed and leave him alone. This gave Ace the excessive time to cultivate without any worry.
Ace clean himself with hot water and felt renewed. He could feel the vigorous Qi in meridian channels. He wanted to test himself against an Empty River cultivator so, he could see, whether he can hold his own against one.
But he knew this wish of his was a pipe dream as long as he was in the me city.
Ace returned after cleaning himself and nonchntly opened the locked door.
He saw a dainty teenage girl was standing outside in a server attire.
"AHH!" The dainty girl gives the fright of her life when she saw this masked man suddenly emerging, she couldn''t help but scream.
But she was a 5th gate cultivator and when she felt this mask man cultivation was equal to her own, she quickly calmed herself.
"F-forgive me, my lord." She quickly apologized.
"Why are you here?" Finn impassively questioned.
The girl didn''t dare to raise her head and timidly answer, "Lord me Guard send me here to summon you in the main hall!"
"Summon me?" Finn mumbles and nods, "Let''s go."
The girl quickly led the way.
Ace knew Grey took his words seriously and recruited servants and guards. He could sense ten fifth Qi gate cultivators inside the building.
While there were five high-stage Qi foundation cultivators outside, and he assumed that they were probably the me guards by their powerful aura that can only emit from a six tes foundation!
Speaking of which, every cultivator of Qi foundation building realm had an aura like Dulce and Ace knew this kind of prowess can only be emitted by a six-foundation te cultivator.
This also means every organization member has ess to the cultivation technique that can open six Qi gates and build a wed foundation1!
Ace saw Grey was still in her armor and mask, she was standing there waiting for him.
He coolly asked, "You summoned me?"
"You may go now." Grey didn''t answer him immediately and ordered the servant girl to leave.
The servant girl didn''t linger quickly leave them alone.
"I appointed five guards and ten servants, just like you ask." Grey coldly reports.
"You didn''t ask for me, so you could just tell me this, right?" Finn looked at Grey emotionlessly.
Grey replied, "No, I wanted to know why you put that formation barrier?"
"Am I not allowed to?" Finn nonchntly questioned back.
Grey said with a hint of irritation in her sweet voice, "If you want to cultivate there is a separate chamber in the basement with a much stronger formation barrier than yours so use it next time no one will disturb you."
Ace was astonished, he didn''t know about this cultivation chamber.
"I didn''t know about it." He said with a hint of awkwardness.
"This kind of treatment one gets in the VIP area, and you didn''t have servants, so I''m not surprised you didn''t know about it. Now that you know, please use the cultivation room next time." Grey coolly stated.
"Thank you for your help," Finn said.
Grey nodded impassively before she conjured a golden token from her storage ring and toss it toward Finn.
"This is the Golden VIP Token. You can see the information when you pour Qi in it, so I don''t need to exin." Grey told.
Ace looked at the pam-size square golden token that was engraved with the pill me logo and
''Esteemed Guest'' was engraved on the other side.
"You have my gratitude." Finn again thank Grey with ecstasy.
"I''m only doing it what Craft Elder asked me to." Grey coolly stated and said, "I''ll take my leave now, and if you need me just send some servant to summon me."
"Okay. I''ll be going to the cultivation room to check it." Finn nodded and excuse himself as well.
From the start, Ace was nning to reinforce his cultivation since he just entered a new realm.
Now, that Grey told him about the cultivation room he''ll naturally use it with no restrain.
Ace have that same servant girl escort him to the cultivation room and excused her when he reached the destination.
The cultivation room was fifty square meters in size and there was a jade table with a chair on one corner while different kinds of weapons were resting on the other.
"Not bad." Ace nodded in satisfaction, and he likes this room since he can practice his skills freely here.
Ace activate the formation barrier and iste the entire room, after carefully examining everything and finding nothing out of the order, he took the Golden VIP token to see the information! Six Foundation tes
Chapter 188 - A Precipitate Comprehension!
Ace used his runic eyes'' technique to examine the golden token. He saw manyplex runes and to his astonishment now he could see every line vividly.
"Is this change because of the heavenly rune crafting?" Ace was uncertain, but this was the only usible exnation.
He also examined the cultivation room with runic eyes and finally saw the formation barrier protecting the room, and it was veryplex.
Although he can now see the runes clearly, he still can''t understand them.
Ace finally use his Qi to activate the golden token and examined the runes on it. He saw the runes release a bright light before his Qi connected them all and suddenly a projection appeared that was filled with words.
He knew this was the information Grey was talking about and carefully read it.
Ace''s VIP token has seven functions.
First, one can buy anything in this city with a 30% discount in any shop.
Second, one can freely roam the city except for me ce.
Third, one canmand low-ranking me Guards, as long as themand didn''t go against the organization''s rules and morals.
Fourth, absolute protection inside the city!
If this was a normal VIP token, then the fifth and final function was supposed to be the ess to the me library''s 1 to 25 floors and only to just information, not skills or techniques. Even the information has to be from the outer area not the inner area of the floor!
However, Lan has made this token especially for Finn and has them add some special functions, alter the fifth one, just for him.
Fifth was, he can ess up to 25 floors of me library and peruse anything and learn any skill or technique he wanted with any kind of information on these floors!
Sixth, he has 100,000 Contribution Points, and he can use them with the VIP token!
Seventh andst one, he can purchase from Treasure Exchange Pavilion, and Medicinal Pavilion like other Pill me members, and he even got a 20% discount on everything.
Ace didn''t know the change in the fifth function and someone specially added the two new functions just for him.
"It seemed the organization is quite generous with its VIP guests." He simply eximed and show a hint of confusion, "But didn''t she say I had to pay for the Library? Well, it''s not like I have any problem with this arrangement though."
Ace cracked an ecstatic smile before storing the VIP token in this thief''s space.
If his life was not in danger and those old guys didn''t have any malicious motives, he might consider joining the organization for real and staying here until he learned everything he wanted to.
However, he only had 10 years to theft thirty strongest ces of middle-levelnds and ten of them were still unknown. He didn''t have any time to waste and have to pick up the pace.
He has to, theft three ces a year at least!
If he hasn''t encountered Alvin, he would''ve wasted a year just to reach the first-gradends, and even more, time just to reach this point.
That''s why he was feeling the immense pressure right now. He had to begin the preparation and think of a miraculous n that can help him theft and escape this city!
Ace started the preparation tomorrow because he also has to take Alvin''s into consideration.
That guy was his biggest problem right now because he didn''t know when Alvin would decide to take him to the high-levelnds, and it wasn''t in his interest even if he didn''t have the mission toplete.
Ace clear those thoughts and calm his mind and sat crossed-legged. He just mulled over it after he has done reinforcing his cultivation.
After twenty hours, Ace closed eyes flicker slightly, and slowly opened. If anyone, see his real eyes now they were like an endless dark blue ocean!
His cultivation was nowpletely settled at the peak stage of heavenly foundation.
However, Ace didn''t stand up and calmly transmitted, "Active the light soul Qi!"
====
"[Light Element Soul Qi has been activated.]"
[Time Remains: 23:59:59]
====
Ace promptly practiced the second rune of Basic Myriad Rune Symbols Encyclopedia, the Water Rune Symbol!
Before being captured by Alvin, he was very close to mastering its 5 runic structures, and he intended toplete it and move to the third one as soon as possible.
Just like that 23 hours passed in rune crafting and at this moment Ace''s forehead was filled with crystal beads of sweat.
The light soul Qi threads were beautifully moving in the air while three triangles with aplex web of lines were hovering before him and he was making the fourth one.
The three-soul thread gently moved and finallypleted the fourth triangle runic structure, and it hovered beside the three, glowing in gentle white light.
Ace didn''t blink and with a solemn face, he moved his finger, and five soul threads made the fifth and final runic structure.
After half an hour, the structure was 90% done and Ace was immense in the processpletely forgotten about his surroundings.
Time passed again, and it was finally thest juncture, he just has to form the outer triangle, and it would beplete.
Ace didn''t dare to lose his focus because even this slightest distraction could render his effort useless.
The three soul threads were sliding toward the edges of three white lines and when thest soul threadplete the structure of the triangle, the fifth symbol was finallyplete!
Ace didn''t dy and released arge amount of light Qi and five structures merged and, in the end, only a single triangle left.
It was only the size of a talon and there were smallplex structures based on four triangles and its color was gentle blue.
"Water Rune!" Ace''s eyes shone with ecstasy. He didn''t think he couldplete the water rune on his first practice after entering the peak heavenly foundation stage!
====
"[Light Element Soul Qi has been deactivated.]"
[Resting Time: 23:59:59]
====
Ace snapped out of his excitement after the system''s crisp voice rang in his mind.
"Just in the nick of time." Ace grin as watched the water rune fade, "Only two more left."
Ace was ted with his progress, "I spend almost two days here, and I should probably leave after recovering." He muttered to himself.
If it was on him, he won''t leave until he also grasps the camouge steps since he was very close, and he had a feeling that it won''t be much longer before he would master it as well.
However, staying here for so long might make the person next door (Alvin) suspicious that he doesn''t want to.
In his waiting period, he imprinted his heavenly Qi mark on the Silver Shield that Lan gift him after passing their test. The ck wristband with silver runic patterns was now resting on Ace''s left wrist.
Ace wanted to test it but can''t because of obvious reasons. But this shield was very powerful, and now he can be protected against even flowing river cultivators. Even if it''s for only three attacks, that can still make a vast difference.
As for Alvin''s skill book, it was indeed profound, but it was useless for him since he was ustomed to using swords from the very beginning, so he was even less interesting in this fist-skill.
Nevertheless, he carefully remembered it and studied it for the time being because if Alvin inquiry about it, he can answer him that time.
However, when Ace saw the stance and read the profound exnation about this fist-skill he finds it very fascinating.
The more he read the stunned he be and afterpletely reading it his eyes shone in understanding as if he had solved a great mystery!
"So, all this time I was the one looking the wrong way!" Ace bitterlyin while sighing, "It was indeed my short-sight. Sigh¡"
''I need more physical attacks manuals.'' Ace deemed, and he knew just where he could get them. As for why he suddenly felt interested in physical attacks, only he knows.
He waits for six more hours until his soul was at optimal condition and leave the cultivation room after two days.
Ace didn''t know what time it was, but he was full of energy and excitement after his precipitateprehension in the cultivation room.
He exited the basement and saw that it was early in the morning.
"Summon me Guard Grey." Ace found a servant girl and order her to fetch Grey.
The servant girl naturally recognized Finn, after all, only the VIP guest and Grey wore masks. The servant girl didn''t dare to look down on Finn just because his cultivation was equal to her own.
She knew any person who can live and even get a personal guard of Grey''s caliber was of absolute importance. So, she quickly followed this VIPmand and leave to get Grey.
Ace was naturally looking for Grey, so she could lead him to the me Library!
Chapter 189 - Black Fox?
After a few moments, an armor-d woman wearing a crimson mask enter the hall where Finn was waiting, who could it be beside me Captain, Grey.
Although she was covered in the me guard armor, one could still easily see her fine curves and slim waistline and white hands, with her beautiful intelligent eyes one could only wonder just what kind of beauty was hiding behind that armor and mask.
But Ace wasn''t in the least bit interested in finding out and merely greeted her in
Finn''s impassive voice, "Good Morning, Miss Grey. I didn''t disturb your rest, did I?"
"Sir¡ umm." Grey''s clear eyes flicker with an odd glint as she continued, "Don''t need to call me ''Miss Grey'' just me Captain is fine. I¡ I also didn''t know your name¡" There was a hint of awkwardness in her voice when she asked about Finn''s name.
Shepletely forgets about it the other day, it wasn''t her fault because she didn''t interact with someone for too long, much less appointed as someone''s guard.
Now that Finn called her Miss Grey she finally realized that she didn''t know this mysterious VIP''s name.
Ace found her embarrassment amusing but didn''t show it since it would be equal to provoking her, and he could also surmise herck of social skills.
Ace took a moment before replying, "Just call me ck Fox."
He clearly remembered one of Alvin''smands was not to reveal his identity to anyone, not even his real name, and he was happy to oblige since he didn''t like ''Finn''.
So, he simply chose Eva''s alias when he thought about how he was also wearing a ve mask right now, just like how Eva wore a fox mask all those years. This name also held a very heartfelt meaning to him, that''s why he went with it.
''She probably would''ve quibble with me to no end if she was awake.'' Ace thought as he felt a warmth in his heart.
"ck Fox?" Grey eyes flickered slightly, but she nodded in the end.
It didn''t seem strange to her since many used an alias all the time and Finn''s identity was very special, to begin with, ''But why fox, though?'' She thought with ambiguity.
"Why did Sir ck Fox summon me?" asked Grey.
"me Library, I want to go there, if that ok with me Captain." Said Finn.
"I have no problem; please wait, I''ll have a carriage ready." Grey agreed promptly and leave to arrange.
Since Finn has received the Golden VIP token, he naturally has ess to the me Library.
Moreover, she has secretly viewed the information of Finn''s VIP token, and those benefits he was getting despite being enved shocked her. Now she was treating him even more discreet.
Ace didn''t have to wait for long. He saw the same kind of carriage pulled by demonic horses which he rid after entering the me city. He embarked on the spacious carriage with Grey and leave for their destination.
They could simply go on foot since the me Library was in the territory of the me Pce, but it would be inappropriate since Finn was a VIP, so the carriage was necessary.
Inside the carriage, Ace was looking as the terrain changed and carefully remembered the route they were journeying. He didn''t forget about his actual mission, and he needed to remember these routes to escape, so it would only do him good if remembered them correctly.
"Is there a map of me City I can buy?" He asked Grey who had been calmly sitting on the other side.
"Yes, you can buy it from Pavilions Lane." Nodded Grey.
"Pavilions Lane?" Ace was perplexed.
"You must''ve seen it in your way here, it is just before the me ce."
"You mean those private shops of alchemist?" Ace clearly remembered Alvin telling about how one could request those alchemists'' assistance.
Grey nodded, "Yes, that the Pavilions Lane and only Blue Alchemist or higher can open a shop there."
Ace nodded in understanding, "Then what about rune crafters and crafters?" He remembered Alvin didn''t mention these two professions.
"Rune Crafters are very rare and in the entire me City of Damien Kingdom there are only 121 and every one of them lived in the me Pce inner area where they learned and practiced under 10 fifth-moral rank rune crafting masters. They didn''t make a public appearance much, but every one of them is considered geniuses among geniuses." Grey''s beautiful eyes shone with reverence as she talks about rune crafters.
''This means there are 131 soul cultivators here!'' Ace''s face sank because this wasn''t good news.
Every rune crafter has to be at least an empty soul river cultivator to learn the rune crafting, and he didn''t expect this many soul cultivators present in this one city and ten of them were 5th-mortal rank rune crafters which mean they were probably haft way in the soul river core realm!
However, with this information, he can now watch out for them and they didn''t seem to meddle with anything, so it was also a plus.
Grey didn''t know what was going on in Ace''s head and continued to answer his question, "As for the crafters they''re contrary to rune crafters. Since anyone can learn the art of crafting, their status is just above us, and the outer city area is filled with them. Only a 5 or 6-start Crafter may purchase a shop in the pavilions''ne." There was a hint of contempt in her voice. She didn''t put crafter in her eyes.
Ace wasn''t shocked by this since the art of crafting can be learned as long as you had good Qi control, but he would never underestimate them just because they''re mere cksmiths.
Every runic treasure was first forged by a crafter before a rune crafter engrave the runes on it and without a crafter, there would never be a runic treasure. They were just two different sides of one coin.
It just that because of soul Qi the rune crafter was extremely rare, while because of martial Qi crafters wasmon.
That''s why people judge them with rune crafter solely based on the ''Crafter'' title that should only belong to ''Rune Crafter'' since in some people''s eyes they were just ''cksmith'' who know how to use Qi.
But real rune crafter knows the substantial importance of a crafter that''s why the ''Crafter'' title never reced even now no matter how many people criticize them they didn''t dare to try stripping crafters of their title.
Because if they retaliate then they can all forget about heaven-defying cold weapons and runic weapons!
After this question, Ace asked some more probing questions that weren''t sound much important but for him, they were crucial to forming his master theft n!
---
While Ace was collecting intel piece by piece from Grey.
A red eagle with blue strips on its wingnded gracefully in front of the colossal me City''s gate.
This eagle was fifteen meters in size, there were two horn-like cavities on its skull while its intelligent beastly eyes were coldly observing the surrounding. This eagle was also giving off the pressure of the empty river realm.
Swiftly, a handsome young man invishing white robes jumped off the demonic beast. Behind the young man, two graceful figures alsonded.
These two girls were extremely beautiful.
The one wearing a blue dress with a flowers pattern has an air of a mature woman around her. She had white glossy skin with rosy cheeks, a small mouth, and charming eyes shining with intelligence, with long ck hair and slim waist like a snake, she was a seductive beauty who could easily topple cities with her perfect figure.
The other one wore green loose robes with white strips, but one could still vaguely see her perfect curves, she looked very gentle with her innocent eyes, small nose, and oval face. However, one thing noticeable about her was her enormous chest. Even in those loosen robes, those Twin Peaks were bulging!
These two graceful beauties together were like a pair of enchantresses one seductive and one tempting.
The young man looked at the old beast tamer sitting on the eagle with a mild smile on his handsome face, while patting the eagle gently, he said to the old beast tamer, "You may go now."
The old beast tamer respectfully nodded toward the young man and didn''t appear to mind his impolite speech. On the contrary, he seemed afraid of offending him. He controlled the eagle and fly away toward the beast city of the royal province.
The young man watched the eagle fly with a gentle smile and looked away when it was out of sightpletely. Those two girls didn''t disturb him and waited for him patiently.
"Let''s go, it''s been years since I saw my fianc¨¦. I wonder if she goes mad with joy after seeing me."
The young man chuckles with skepticism, but there was a hint of chillness in his dark voice. He took gentle steps toward the tightly shut me city''s gates!allnovelfull
Chapter 190 - Entering The Flame Library
On the outskirts of me ce, avish carriage stopped just outside the pce''s main gates.
Two masked personages disembark the carriage. One was a skinny boy wearing a ck mask with a red gem engrave on it be while the other was an armor-d me guard wearing a crimson mask.
These two were naturally Ace and Grey who just reached their destination.
Ace saw the majestic and elegant me Pce surrounding between other five imposing structures. He was still amazed by the view even if he has seen it before.
Grey leads the way, and they crossed the gate instantly when those guards saw Grey''s armor and mask. Everyone knows there were only two high-ranking women me guards appointed in the me pce and both of them have captain rank.
That''s why he instantly recognizes Grey by her mask and more importantly, there were four crimson me stars engraved on her golden chest armor which show her rank as a captain.
These Crimson me Stars helped represent the exact rank of a me guard. One me start was lowest which indicates the rank of a soldier, while the Nine me Stars was the highest, and it indicates the rank of a General.
Ace notice the respectful and adoring gazes of those other me guards toward Grey and thought, ''She''s drawing too much attention.''
Those guards naturally evaluate him as well, since a me captain led him.
Ace wasn''t used to this many prying eyes on him, but he could do nothing about it since he can''t make Grey abandon her armor and mask.
Moreover, he was wearing a ve mask that would draw attention even without Grey''s presence.
Grey, on the other hand, seemed to use to this kind of attention and with no hint of difort, she was leading the way.
Ace saw those other fourrge pavilions on the right four pathways and was tempted to have a look, but he remembered his primary aim that was the me library and the insight he received while reading that Fist-skill.
He looked around after taking care of his main business.
Ace walk on the other four left pathways leading toward the thirty-story white pagoda or the me Library!
It would be a lie to say, Ace wasn''t exhrated to see the biggest Library of me Pill Organization in the middle-levelnds.
Ace didn''t see many people since it was still early in the morning, but there was still an excessive amount of people here and almost all of them were alchemists since they were wearing different color alchemist robes.
Their prime focus was the pavilions on the right side though and there weren''t many going toward the me library.
Grey notice Finn''s looking toward the other side and guess what he was thinking. She said, "The me Library is the most expensive and most important ce after the me pce in the entire me City, and only after amodating many contribution points can one learn the skills or techniques there."
"How much a master-grade skill or a cultivation art cost?" asked Ace curiously.
"Master Grade?" Grey stared at Finn as if she was looking at an ignorant idiot.
But it was her duty to answer his question, "Master Grade skills are very precious, and I heard there are few low-grade master skills stores above the 25th floor. As for middle-grade master skills, I only heard rumors that there is only a single one here, and it is on the top floor of the library.
"As for warrior grade skills they''re price depend on levels, like a low-grade warrior skill or technique price is between 1000CP1 to 5000CP, while an Absolute-grade warrior skill or technique cost between 50,000CP and 100,000.
"Or it can go even higher if it''s a soul skill. But soul skills and technique are only avable for Rune Crafters since they''re also soul cultivators.
"As for cultivation arts, they''re even rare and expensive. ording to my seniors, there isn''t master-grade cultivation art in the me library, or maybe in entire middle-levelnds! Only middle-grade worrier arts exists above 25th floor."
Grey vaguely borates the use of contribution points and the structure of the library. There was clear longing in her gentle voice for those cultivation arts. But it seemed she can''t get her hand on them.
Ace calmly listen and had a strange expression on his face when he heard about the structure of the me library and the rarity of skills, techniques, and cultivation arts.
He didn''t know master grade skills were this rare and finally understood just how generous Alvin was being when he gave him that master grade fist-skill as a gift so casually.
After all, master-grade skills were all based on elements and only Qi river cultivators can learn them!
All this time he was under the wrong impression that these skills were like cabbages, and he could get more here, but now he finally understood this wasn''t the case at all.
Even the richest city of middle-levelnds only had a single middle-grade mysterious skill. The middle-grade techniques and the cultivation arts were even rarer.
He abruptly thought about this self-created sword art.
He didn''t know where ''Dual Swords Mirage''ranked among these grades, but he was sure it wasn''t above middle-grade worrier art or even higher since he could use it with heavenly Qi.
''I should not use dual-swords mirage carelessly.'' Ace took a mental note. He already has many people eyeing his secrets, and he doesn''t want to give them even more motivation.
As for his unusual ability to create these skills so easily, he finally took notice and considered something is strange about this. But he had little to go with, so he just stopped bothering about it for the time being.
It''s not like it was a bad thing, to begin with.
Between Grey''s boration, they finally reached the golden gates of me Library.
Now that Ace was seeing this pagoda up close, it looked quite imposing and giving off a peculiar pressure. It was clear that the material used to make this pagoda was very special and the dangerous aura surrounding the structure was making Ace''s soul sense tingled in rm.
''This formation is evenly matched with the pce formation.'' Assumed Ace.
"Hold the VIP token or sir, ck Fox will be dead if you enter with no identification provided by the organization," Grey advised as she also took out her silver identity token.
Ace was astonished and do the same. This also exined why there wasn''t any me guard standing outside.
Grey took the lead and enter the building while Ace followed her footsteps.
Just as he crossed the door, he felt a powerful aura locked on him, and it only disappeared when it verified the VIP token in his hand.
''She wasn''t lying about instant death without this identity token.'' Ace''s face sank. He just witnessed something that could easily kill him, even if he used every trump card he had. He can only survive this if he used the invisible bead!
A fragrant scent finally drew Ace''s focus, the inside was very peaceful and there wasn''t any sound like Ace imagine. The first floor was quite spacious and just looked like any traditional library. There were chairs and tables betweenrge bookshelves.
Ace felt satisfied since this environment was very much to his liking. His eyesnded on an old man who waszily sitting behind a counter while reading something.
This old man seemed to be in histe fifties by his lightly wrinkled face, but his hair was still ck, and he had thick eyebrows and with a slight tone chubby appearance and round eyes he looked quite¡ friendly.
At this moment, the old man had an excited expression on his chubby face, one could guess he was reading something very interesting.
"That Librarian Aaden and he''s a¡" Grey was stopped between the sentence when she realized she''s talking too much.
Ace notice Grey stop beforepleting the sentence and find it strange, ''He''s a what?'' But since she didn''t tell him then this mean it wasn''t important and didn''t inquiry.
Aaden finally noticed the new arrivals and suddenly his eyes lit up when he saw Grey and quickly wave at her with a wide smile almost covering his entire face.
As for Finn, Aaden slightly nce at his chest and after seeing it was as t as the book in his hand, hepletely ignored him.
Ace noticed this and thought this old man has some kind of rtion with Grey that''s why he was ignoring him.
For some reason, Grey took a deep breath before walking toward Aaden as if she was going to face some enemy.
Ace merely followed.
Aaden straighten his back and do his best to look dignified and greeted Grey, "So, if it isn''t our one and only captain Magdalena, long time no see."
Ace nearly choked on his breath after discovering this old man didn''t even get Grey''s name right! Contribution Points
Chapter 191 - A Golden VIP
Grey''s eyes narrowed and said in a haughty tone, "This VIP wanted to use the library." She didn''t even bother to correct Aaden and directly asserted her intent.
"Hikk¡you''re not Magdalena¡"
Aaden''s chubby old face redden a bit when he heard Grey''s voice and knew he messed up and cursed, ''Damn it! It''s all those old farts'' fault to have women wear these armors and masks! At this rate, I''ll never hook one!''
On the side, Ace rolled his eyes.
"This VIP wanted to use the library. I can always look for Craft Elder if you''re feeling under the weather?" Grey repeat herself in a stern voice but also threaten him with Lan''s name and there was a hint of disdain in her eyes.
She knows this old man''s character too well; he was infamous for harassing young girls whoe in the library and other shameful things. He was a pervert!
That''s what she wanted to tell Finn before but refrain herself since it didn''t seem appropriate to call an elder like Aaden ''pervert'', but it appeared he didn''t care about his image at all.
Now, she was using Lan''s name to keep him in check. Besides, she wasn''t any weaker than him in strength nor rank. She didn''t have to worry about offending him either.
Aaden stiffly looked at Grey and knew she wasn''t kidding around. He already has a terrible reputation and even got a warning from the me pce after some female alchemists band-together to report him. Now, if Grey a me captain report him directly to the Craft Elder, he will lose his post and might get punished!
He can''t underestimate Grey since she was one of Lan''s guards!
"Ha¡ha¡ha, I was just muddle-headed for a moment, me Captain Grey didn''t need to be so serious, I apologize." Aaden wore a forced smile on his face as he excused and finally looked at Finn with an ugly smile, "Esteemed guest, please go to the number-51 bookshelf, it''s for VIP. Just ce your identity token in the array engrave on the bookshelf, and you''re ready. If you want to go on the higher floors please always look for thest number bookshelf there as well, and do the same to unlock the array protecting it.
"But please keep in mind, you can''t touch any other bookshelves, or you''ll receive a terrifying bacsh! In the worst-case scenario, it can even kill you!"
"Only one bookshelf?" Finn gave Grey a puzzling look. He clearly remembered he has ess to everything below the 26th-floor.
But now Aaden was telling him, he can only unlock one bookshelf on each floor, how could he not be started?
Grey knew what Finn look mean since she has seen his VIP token.
"Librarian Aaden didn''t have to worry about this VIP protection, I''ll be looking over him, just record our entry." Grey didn''t tell Aaden about Finn''s special privilege and told him to just do this duty as a librarian.
Aaden was astonished, and this time he profoundly looked at Finn. It shocked him when he discovers he was just a fifth Qi gate junior and disbelief filled his eyes after noticing the ve item!
''A ve VIP!?'' Aaden thought in bewilderment. It was hard to believe that a ve had a VIP token and was even being protected by a me captain!
"Please ce your token here." Aaden pointed at the counter where three different shapes of husks were and each was engraved with an array.
Even though he was curious about Finn, he also knew Grey would never tell him. In the end, he was more interested in the book he was reading before, so he just got it over with.
Grey ce her silver token in the husks, which have the same shape as her identity token. The array lit up and after a moment the identity token stop glowing which mean it was done.
Ace do the same as he ced his VIP token in the third husk and after the array recorded his enter, he took the token back.
Aaden eyes shed with incredulity when he saw the Golden VIP token in Finn''s hand, but he said nothing.
Grey didn''t want to linger anywhere near Aaden and took him directly to the second floor since on the first floor there wasn''t anything good.
Aaden watched them going on the second floor and mutter under his breath, "A ve, holding a precious golden VIP token and his guide is also that arrogant woman. Just what is going on?''
He shook his head since it has nothing to do with him and read that book again with a lewd smile on his face!
"Why did he say I can only ess one specific bookshelf?" Ace asked again.
He didn''t speak at that time, since Grey want to keep it a secret from Aaden. But now that they were on the second floor he inquiry again.
Grey answer this time, "Your token is specially made at the order of Craft Elder Lan, and it''s one of a kind. Normally, a Golden VIP Token can''t be bought or made and only Silver and Bronze VIP tokens exist. Those have very limited functions like ess to only the first two floors of the library.
"Sir ck Fox golden token is the first one in a hundred years! Even a Golden Token can only grant you ess to superficial information and you have can only purchase the mostmon skills or technique, and it only has five functions. But sir ck Fox golden token has seven and can give you ess to everything here for free at that. Simply put, this benefit can only be granted to a Purple Grade Alchemist!"
Ace was baffled by this information, he didn''t think these golden tokens were so special, and he even got a unique one.
"Please give my sincere thanks to Elder Lan the next time you see him." He told Grey.
"Sure." Grey nodded and asked, "Where do sir ck Fox want to go?"
"I want to look at finger-skills."
"Finger type?" Grey pondered for a moment and her eyes brightened, "Please follow me I know where all the physical skills are stored."
Ace nodded and followed Grey toward the upper floors. He could see every floor was about the same, but the people were getting lesser and lesser as they climb the stairways.
They cross ten floors without stopping and Ace finally saw a change on the entrance of the eleventh floor, a light barrier was blocking their way. There were the same identification arrays like he saw on Aaden''s counter.
After they press their token in the husk, the light barrier lifted, and they enter the eleventh floor. It was also the same as the lower floors, but the bookshelves were only half of the numberpared to the lower floors.
He also saw a transparent light barrier dividing the other half of the floor and there were ten ck bookshelves on the other side.
"That the restricted area only for soul cultivators." Grey introduces.
Ace''s eyes shimmer with desire as he always wanted to get his hands on soul path skills.
After this brief stop, they found this kind of restriction and a restricted area for soul path on every floor. They both finally stopped on the seventeenth floor.
There were twentyrge bookshelves and eight ck bookshelves behind the transparent light barrier. There were only six alchemists on this floor and for the first time, Ace spotted someone behind the light barrier!
''A soul cultivator!'' Ace''s eyes narrowed. He could feel the atmosphere on this floor was heavy, and those three alchemists were on edge because of that one person.
Grey eyes also contracted after seeing that figure, she said in a sibnt voice, "Don''t stare as long as we mind our own business we''re good."
"The skills are here?" asked Ace.
"Yes, this is the specific floor for physical skills, but all the skills here are a low-grade warrior at the minimum. With sir ck Fox cultivation, it is impossible to read them, so just tell me whichever you want, and I can copy it for you. Once you enter the Qi foundation building realm, you can easily learn them." Grey stated.
Ace knew about these restrictions, but they didn''t apply to him because of his heavenly cultivation.
"You can rest for a while, I''ll call you once I select the skill I needed." Finn nodded and move toward those bookshelves.
Grey wanted to follow him but agreed in the end since he wanted to select alone.
If Ace wanted, he could show off his ability to read these skills with no restrictions, since Alvin and Lan know he can do it after the element bath. But it will also drag Grey in it, and it wasn''t matched with Alvin''smand either.
Moreover, he would take nothing from here, he was going to remember everything he needed and leave.
If it was any other time he would love to take his time on every floor and read everything he could but after learning the importance of the golden token, and it would also draw too much attention he gave up the idea.
However, this library was now on the theft list because of soul path skills and techniques!
Chapter 192 - Life Plexus
Ace was carefully browsing through the first bookshelf, it was filled with different colored old books. Whether it was skill or technique, their names were imprinted on books'' spines.
He didn''t find any finger base skill on the first shelf and move on to the next one.
Grey was watching Finn''s movements, while also monitoring that figure sitting in the restricted area. As for those six blue alchemists they weren''t worth much.
Half an hour pass and Ace has already checked eight bookshelves and still didn''t find a single finger-based skill. Most of the skills were for fist, legs, or palm base, he already has some of them in his thief''s space and even had a master-grade skill, so he wasn''t interested in them.
On the sixteenth bookshelf, Ace finally noticed something.
''Stone Shatter Finger?'' Ace looked at the green book with a hint of joy in his eyes. This was the first finger skill he found after searching for an hour.
He looked around and saw he waspletely hidden behind thoserge bookshelves and swept his VIP token on an array engrave below the book container.
After a sh of light, the barrier around the book lifted, and he quickly grabbed the book. He didn''t want to waste time and remembered the content of Stone Shatter Finger at lightning speed.
Ace has confidence in his memorizing ability, even before he cultivates he can easily remember everything and cultivation just make this ability even more perfect.
One has to know even powerful cultivators can''t remember skills at first nce and only at a very higher level of cultivation one can get a photographic memory. But Ace has it even before he cultivated!
In five minutes, every single character written in that skill book was in his mind and he can recite it word to word now. He quickly ces the book back and the light barrier appeared again, locking the book container.
Ace move on to the other shelf since there weren''t any more finger-type skills there.
Grey saw Finn appearing again empty-handed, she was waiting all this time, and he still didn''t find any suitable skill.
''The finger base skills are indeed rare since they''re the weakest ones when ites to physical type skills and no one bothers to learn them nowadays. I wonder why he wanted to learn them through?'' Grey mused.
Ace found two more skills, one was, ''Star Finger'', he finds it on the 21st bookshelf. While he finds ''Metallic Finger'' on the 24th bookshelf. He naturally memorized them.
Now only the 25th bookshelf left, and he had little expectation of finding another finger base skill. He now has some idea these kinds of skills were rare after only finding 3 between hundreds of books and this library was not an ordinary one either!
Ace goes through those skill books one by one and just as he thought he didn''t find another finger-based skill. He was about to turn around when his eyesnded on a book with a tatter dusty cover; it was at the veryst book container.
What drew Ace''s attention was; every book was in good condition with its name and everything intact, but this book had no description while its cover was tattler and dusty, and most importantly there wasn''t any barrier protecting this book container!
Even with no barrier protecting this book, it was still there eating dust. Which also shows no one has even touched it.
This piqued Ace''s interest and go toward the dusty book. He casually grabs the book and dust scatters the moment he touches it.
Ace blow the dust and open the first page and there was only one line written on it,
"Life Plexus"
Ace turn the page and there was a human body drawn on it with aplex meridian channels structure. On the other side was a veryplex description of something called acupuncture points deeply connected with meridian channels within the human body.
Ace was fascinated because he never heard of acupuncture points before much less how these acupuncture points can cause major damage to the human body!
This wasn''t a skill at all, this book was on mysteries of the human body like its critical points or acupuncture points. If everything written in this book was true, then one can easily subdue opponents with a single finger!
Ace read through the end, and he saw a single line on thest page,
"Everything in this book is just a theory based on my lifetime work as a physician¡ SLK¡"
"SLK?" Ace frowned seining this name, and he also understood why this book was unguarded because this was just the theory of someone and no one was interested in mere conjunctions.
Besides, there were impossible things described in this book, like how one can seal other people''s Qi flow if they find a method of sealing acupuncture points. But it was just a hypothesis.
Ace still found this book quite fascinating and even got profound inspiration! He wasn''t like the others, his thought process was different, and in his point of view, this book was a treasure trove if just these acupuncture points were real!
''I should research it and see for myself; whether acupuncture points exist! If they''re real, then they''re more than enough to fill that remaining gap!'' Ace''s eyes shimmer with ecstasy. Since no one wants it, I''ll take it. No one would care if an unguarded book goes missing.''
After making sure no one watching, he stored the old book in his thief''s space and pick a random fist skill as a cover. He can''t return empty-handed.
Grey saw Finning back with a white skill book in his hand, ''He finally chose after wasting two hours.''
"I want to copy this ''Stone Fist''."
Ace casually gave this book to Grey, and she made a copy with an array for him. After cing the book where it belongs they were about to leave when the light barrier diving the restricted area shimmer.
A door size gap appeared in this light barrier and a petite girl in rune crafter robes walk out as the gap closed.
Everyone on the floor quickly avert their gazes as if they didn''t want her to notice them.
Ace merely took a nce before doing the same.
This girl was beautiful as she walks gracefully toward the stairway, and she has an air of haughtiness around her. She was looking at everyone with disdain-filled eyes as if they were her servants.
When this girl saw armor and mask-wearing Grey, a hint of surprise shed past her big gem-like eyes. Her gaze simultaneously rested on Finn''s skinny figure, and she rapidly looked away with a hint of contempt, when she saw that ve mask.
She was a Soul River cultivator; how could she not sense the ominous aura from Ace''s mask?
"Greeting, Lady Rune Crafter." Grey greeted her with a military salute when she saw hering toward the stairway. Her eyes show deep concern.
"Mm¡" That girl simply nodded toward Grey in response. If it were someone else, she might don''t even nce at them.
The girl coolly leaves with no further pause.
''Is every rune crafter thiscent?'' Ace thought with scorn.
He loathed this kind of people the most and if he wasn''t undercover; he didn''t mind giving this arrogant girl a thief symbol as a greeting and parting gift.
"Let''s go." Grey finally move after some moments. She didn''t want to bump into that girl again.
Even if she respects rune crafters, she didn''t like their attitude as well.
Ace saw the Librarian Aaden reading the same book with a lewd smile and pulled an amusing face, ''This guy is totally from a different breed than others.'' He thought.
It was his first time seeing someone making this kind of face so openly without even caring about what others thought of him.
"Hmph!" Grey snorted with scornful eyes and leave without even saying anything. She disgusts this old man.
Aaden nearly jumped hearing Grey''s crisp voice and when he saw her leaving with no goodbye he grunted in resentment, "If you want to leave then just leave why are you disturbing this old man at such an important part!"
"Did, sir, want to go anywhere else?" Grey asked after exiting the library.
Ace wanted to go to the pavilions but quickly discarded the thoughts since he didn''t want to draw too much attention, and it was especially the case after he learned about the history of the golden VIP token.
Besides, he didn''t think there was something he can buy there with just 100,000CP, and buying an enormous bulk of pills might draw Lan and Alvin''s unwanted attention. He didn''t forget Grey was here to monitor him for Lan.
"Let''s go to the Pavilions Lane." He said after some consideration.
Ace wanted a map of the city, and he wanted to see just how much wealth those alchemists have in pavilionsne!
Chapter 193 - Green Flame Pavilion
The pavilions''ne only exists in the Damien Kingdom''s me City.
Everyone knows that only powerful and experienced alchemists and crafters can have a shop in this particr area of me City.
But what most of the people didn''t know; this pavilions''ne was also a training ground for geniuses among alchemists and crafters.
The pavilions''ne was divided into two areas. The first area was from where the pavilions''ne starts, ''Entry Lane''. The second area was closest to the me pce and only cover five miles of 20 miles long pavilionsne, ''Genius Lane.''
This geniusne was the area where only genius among alchemists and crafters obtain shops for free. Only people with bronze or silver VIP tokens can hire these alchemists and their price was sky-high.
Even if they failed, one still has to pay half the decided fee!
But people with high statues stille here despite the sky-high price because these geniuses were from pill me!
These geniuses were rtively young and some of them were even sent here from high-levelnds to gain experience!
The most famous shop here was the Green me Pavilion, run by the number one alchemist genius of the middlends, Green me!
Five years ago, this young girl appeared in this me city and at that time she was only a blue rank alchemist and her age was only 18. And just a year aftering here, she achieves the Azure rank and bes the youngest Azure Alchemist in middlends!
Her fame spread far and wide and nowadays, everyone knows who Green me was, and they even called her the Alchemist Queen of the middlends!
That''s why no one dares to offend her nor cause any trouble in her Green me Pavilion.
The Green me Pavilion was distributed into three unique buildings, a shop, living quarters, and a workshop. The shop was seven-story tall with a beautiful outer appearance and the inside was even morevishing.
On the top floor of Green me Pavilion''s shop,
The interior was decorated with beautiful marble and different medicinal herbs in beautiful ss vases were used as a mere decoration.
At this moment a handsome young man in white silk robes was sitting leisurely while sipping on a fragrant tea and on both his sides were two ravishing beauties.
One in the blue dress with flower patterns was charming and seductive while the other in loose green robes looked innocent and friendly.
These three were the group whonded outside the me city just three hours ago.
At this moment, a veileddy in Azure Alchemist robes entered the waiting room. Her azure alchemist robes clearly can''t hide her beautiful curves and well-developed chest. Her forehead was milky white, while her eyes were like shimmering stars. One can only imagine just how beautiful she would be if she removed that dark veil.
A dainty girl in blue alchemist robes was respectfully standing behind this veileddy.
"Leave us alone." The veileddy ordered in her mellow voice, which was pleasing to ears.
Like a loyal servant that blue alchemist leaves with no hint of disrespect.
The young man gracefully put the cup on the table and smile gently as he said, "It has been far too long since Ist saw you, and you''ve be even more beautiful my dear, Zelda."
Yes, this veileddy was indeed Zelda who once was the pavilion master of Jade Pavilion in Luminous City of low-levelnds!
After Zelda and her aunt failed miserably in capturing that despicable thief they both returned empty-handed because that thiefmitted ''suicide'' by diving into low-sky changing border''s formation.
Zelda came back to her Green me Pavilion since she didn''t receive any punishment for the failure because her aunt La took all the me.
Zelda''s life was returned to normal until that ''dead'' thief emerge again, and she quickly reported it back to her n in high-levelnds. Now her n was secretly searching for that thief again.
As for why she didn''t want to return and even escape to middle-levelnds in the name of training, it was precisely because of this handsome young man, who also happened to be her fianc¨¦!
Now that her fianc¨¦ hase all the way here, she was ill at ease. If it was someone else who tease her like this, she would''ve already attacked and killed that person.
But she knew this fianc¨¦ of her was a cultivation genius and she as an alchemist didn''t have any attacking power like him. She wasn''t even sure if she could defeat his two Sword Maids beside him!
As for asking any help from the organization she knew it was useless since no one would dare to touch him as long as he states his background, not even Craft Elder Lan who was probably the only one who can handle him.
"Thank you for your praise, Crown Prince Marc. I''m honored." Zelda gracefully greeted the young man with royalty courtesy.
She probed first before taking any action, after all, it was highly likely that he wasn''t here for her at all. She knew his nature very well, and that''s why she didn''t want to marry him but s she can''t go against her n''s wishes.
But there was a way that can help her escape this political marriage and that was if she entered the rank of the purple alchemist.
However, this gap was too great to cross, and she wasn''t sure if she even had time. Herst hope to cancel this marriage and join the headquarters of Pill me was that blood rose in the possession of that thief, but it was also crushed!
The young man or Crown Prince Marc''s smile widen when he saw Zelda behaving so timidly and said gently, "You two guard the door, I want to speak with my fianc¨¦ alone." He orders the two girls standing beside him who were also his sword maids.
"Young Mistress."
Those two sword maids greeted Zelda with smiles on their charming faces before leaving the room.
"Do the veil need to be intact even in front of me?" asked Marc with a meaningful smile.
Zelda didn''t remove the veil and coolly replied, "Crown Prince, I made a vow to only remove this veil at my wedding. So, I have to apologize."
"Is that so?" Marc carefully measures Zelda''s body from head to toe with his impolite gaze before saying, "How about I help youplete that vow, Tonight?"
Zelda''s eyes turn icy cold the moment she heard this and even the slightest killing intent leaked her eyes.
Marc merely smile, sensing the killing intent, and coolly said, "What? I''m not even allowed to tease my beautiful fianc¨¦?"
"I''m afraid¡ I''m not worthy of Crown Prince''s teasing." Zelda forcefully suppressed her murderous aura, ''I have to endure, or he''ll get an excuse to take me away!''
"Hahaha¡" Marcughed out loud, and suddenly an icy, ghastly aura filled the room. In front of this aura, Zelda''s killing intent was nothing but child''s y!
Marc speaks with a chilling smile ster on his face, "How about this then, remove that veil, and I''ll forgive you for making me wait in this shithole for an hour!"
He looked nothing like his handsome self anymore as his face was twisted with that nefarious aura.
Zelda trembled violently as her forehead filled with cold sweat and eyes contracted in deep fear, even with her Qi river cultivation she felt as if she was just an insignificant human standing in the middle of an icy storm!
Outside the waiting room.
"Heh, I told you His Highness was angry." The sword made in blue dress giggles outside as she whispered in herpanion''s ear.
The sword Maid in green robes nodded with a serious and enraged expression on her face, "Who does that bitch think she is? She didn''t even appear to greet His highness personally, and then she has him wait in this dirty shop for an hour. She has thising. Hmph!"
Inside, Zelda subconsciously move her trembling hands toward her veil as her survival instinct told her; this was the only way to survive.
Just as she was about to grab the veil, the ghastly aura suddenly vanished, and shee to her senses. She hastens her hand away from her veil. She looked at Marc with intense horror.
Marc''s gentle smile has returned as if everything happened earlier was just a horrible dream.
"See? I''m quite a reasonable person and since you''re my future wife, I honored your vow. However, I''m quite disappointed in your resolution. Staying in this ce makes you weak, and your potential is withering... Sigh..." Marc sighed with a piteous look in his eyes as if he was deeply concerned about Zelda.
"Just tell me everything about that Sky Stealer, and I''ll overlook your past mistakes. Oh, and don''t try to hide anything, or next time I won''t stop until you remove every clothing on your body!"
Marc said with a gentle smile on his face, but in Zelda''s eyes, this was the smile of a demon!
Chapter 194 - Dangerous Feeling
After leaving the me library, Grey guided Ace to the pavilion''sne.
They both leave the me Pce''s main gates and walk in the direction of the geniusne that was closest to the me pce.
From time to time they would see alchemists moving past them and every one of them looked toward their direction with great interest since Ace was led by Grey a me captain.
Those curious gazes did not bother Ace, and he was enjoying the lush greenery like he was on a promenade. He was in a good mood after finding something so interesting like Life Plexus inside the library.
After walking for some time, Ace spotted an exquisite seven-story building and a notable crowd of people outside, like they were waiting for their turn to enter. This piqued his interest since this was the first shop he spotted after leaving the me Pce, and it looked quite popr.
"Is there something unique about that shop?" Ace asked Grey.
Grey nodded slightly in affirmed, and she answered, "Yes, that''s the Green me Pavilion of Miss Green me. She is the number one alchemist genius of middle-levelnds and one of the Azure Alchemists¡"
She told Ace about the amazing history of Green me and her rise as well as her unique position in me City.
Ace was astonished after hearing about this Green me and her reputation. He wasn''t interested in alchemy, but even he could tell this girl was indeed a genius.
If he knows that this was the niece of the same woman who chase him near the sky-changing border and also the mastermind behind those wanted posters, who know how would he feel.
"I can buy anything with Qi stones, right? Or do I need CP?" asked Ace.
"Since this is a private shop, you can use Qi stones." Grey also added, "However, please bear in mind Green me Pavilion is number one shop in pavilion''sne and everyone in this shop either Miss Green me''s help or work under her. This makes them very conceited, that''s why sometimes they charge double from the actual price and get away with it since no one wanted to denigrate Miss Green me."
Ace understand Grey was alerting him, and he wasn''t surprised about it in the least bit. He merely smiled underneath that mask and keep walking toward the busy Green me Pavilion.
Grey didn''t know what Finn was thinking, since he didn''t make anyments. With every passing movement, this person with the ve mask was bing more mysterious.
Ace didn''t enter that short line since Grey already told him they were here specific for Green me, not for the shop. He crossed the doors and enter thevishing shop with Grey behind him.
The interior was very attractive and spacious, there were many ss disys with different colored pills bottles, and medical herbs behind them. Three green robe alchemists were standing behind a big counter and many white-robes alchemists were attending to the customers.
One thing that was worth noticing was every working alchemist in the shop was a beautiful woman.
Ace was amazed after seeing all these alchemists working like some servants with no shame or grievance.
"Sir me Guard, may I help you?" A beautiful white robe alchemist with round face approach Grey with a smile on her fair face. She didn''t even nce at Finn since he was only a Qi gates brat.
Grey looked toward Finn and was astonished after seeing he didn''t seem bothered at all, "I''m not your customer. He is!" She pointed toward Finn. She knew this would happen.
"HIM?" The petite girl finally turns around and looked at Finn with naked disdain. "What do you want?"
She asked with an aggravating tone. She didn''t know who this masked brat was, but since he was with a me guard; she has to give him some face. If he wasn''t, she would''ve already kicked him out.
This girl''s rude conduct did not bother Ace, and he calmly stated, "I need a map of me City."
"Just map?" asked the girl.
"I can only afford a map." Finn chortles.
"Hmph¡" The white robe alchemist girl snorted with disdain and go to fetch the map. She wanted to do this task as quickly as possible, so this bumpkin could leave.
Acepletely ignored this ''attendant''s'' hateful re and scan the shop. With his soul sense, he felt a powerful presence on the upper floors. He found it very normal since this was such a famous shop. He was more interested in those pills and herbs behind those ss disys.
Everyone one of them was at least at the Green rank and this was just the first floor, there were positively high-rank pills on the upper level of this shop, and he wanted every one of them!
"10 high-Qi-stones!" The girl was back with a white silk scroll in her hand.
Grey''s eyes narrowed hearing the price, she knew this map''s price wasn''t this high and this girl can''t demand the payment herself since that counter wasn''t for just show, but she keeps her silence. She wanted to see what Finn do and would only help if he asked.
Ace didn''t even bat an eye and ced ten crystal-like Qi stones on the table. He could sense the other ''attendants'' know this girl was breaking the rules but didn''t reprimand her.
''Heh, I''m looking forward to my next visit.'' Ace thought with a faint sneer.
It displeased the girl when she saw Finn didn''t even respond since she would''ve mocked him, however, now she handed the map without ying any tricks even she knows when to stop, and she didn''t forget about Grey who did nothing all this time.
Ace ce the map inside his thief''s space with other maps and turn around to leave since he already measures this shop''s wealth and their strength!
Grey followed Finn with no words when she saw him suddenly stop and noticed him quiver for a brief moment.
Ace''s eyes were wide because he suddenly felt a nefarious aura for a moment from the upper floors!
He quickly recovered hisposure and start moving toward the exit again.
Grey wanted to inquire about what happened just a moment ago, but Finn look fine now, so she said nothing and kept following behind him. However, she noticed Finn was walking a little faster than before as if he was in a hurry to leave.
''What happened to him? Is he finally angry?'' Grey made a wild guess, ''It has to be it.''
Ace on the other hand was feeling very agitated and wanted to go back because that presence he felt for a moment was extremely dangerous. It was his first time feeling this kind of danger, one has to know even Alvin or Lan didn''t cause his soul sense to react this way.
''Just who was it?'' Ace thought with a grim face, ''If that presence wasn''t concentrated on something else it would''ve discerned my soul sense!''
Ace knew his soul sense was never wronged before, and he was even confident that no one here can pinpoint it. However, after sensing that presence he wasn''t sure anymore.
''That soul signature was clearly of someone at Qi river realm, but it was even dangerous than Qi River Core cultivators! There were three more Qi river realm soul signatures close to that person.'' Ace mused.
"Sir ck Fox?" Grey''s loud voice pulls Ace out of his deep thoughts.
"Ah, yes?" Ace looked at Grey.
"I was asking where you want to go next? Is everything alright?" Grey was now sure that something was going on with Finn after seeing him absent-minded for the first time.
"No, we''re going back. I needed to go in secluded, I had an epiphany about the realm wall1 just a moment ago, so I don''t want to miss this change." He lied.
"Oh, then we have to hurry back." Grey thought this had to be the case for Finn''s strange behavior.
After half an hour they finally returned to the VIP area and all the way here Ace kept thinking about that strange encounter at Green me Pavilion.
Just when Ace and Grey were about to go inside the building, someone stops them between their steps. It was a tall man in me guard armor.
"me Captain." He greeted Grey withmon courtesy of the organization and look to Finn the next moment before saying, "me General invites sir, Finn for a chat."
''What does he want now?'' Ace brace himself before following the me Guard, telling Grey to wait for him inside.
Since Alvin''s ce was next to his, it didn''t take Ace long to reach there, and it was almost the same as the courtyard he was staying in.
"me General is waiting for you." Said me guard, and he retreats after leaving Finn outside a room''s door.
Ace was about to knock when amanding voice sounded from the other side, "Enter!"
Ace took a deep breath and open the door, he didn''t know what Alvin wanted from him, but he could vaguely guess; it has to be something to do with leaving for highnds! the barrier cultivators face before ascending to the next level.
Chapter 195 - Plan Changed!
Alvin looked at Finn impassively and use his martial sense to measure him. It satisfied him to see Finn was just like before and didn''t seem to change much.
"Sit." Said Alvin and after Finn do as he told, he continued, "I summoned you because I have good news for you."
"What good news?" Finn asked with an eager voice.
"I just received a reply from the headquarters after I told them about you." Alvin coolly said, "You can cultivate in soul path and the organization will fully support you in this. Furthermore, you''ll be taught by ten soul cultivators present in me Pce until we returned to highnds, and those ten are also rune crafters as well."
Truthfully, Alvin wasying reporting about Finn to the headquarters because he only reported it to his father. Alvin expected a protracted reply but to his stupefaction, he only received three sentences in his father''s grim voice, and they were;
"Whatever the element physique boy needs, provide it. But at all and any cost; find that thief and bring him back alive. If you can''t find him, then stay there forever!"
Alvin never expected this kind of solemn response, especially not from his ambitious father, Henrik. This also means that thief was even more important than a legendary element physique!
No matter how much Alvin mull over it, he didn''t understand just why a petty thief was so significant to those old stick-in-the-muds. But one thing was obvious that he can''t go back until he captures Sky Stealer and by the tone of his father, Henrik didn''t seem to care about Finn at all.
This left an unpleasant taste in his mouth, and all his grand dreams turn to dust. He didn''t know how he would be going to exin this to Lan since he promised him the glory.
In the end, Alvin decided to first deal with Finn, since the old man told him to provide anything Finn needs. He was nning to tell everything to Lan and have Lan prepare everything needed to erase Finn''s Martial foundation personally.
He still thinks Finn can give him plenty of benefits on his own because he had a wood element physique and Alvin''s innate element was also wood. Even if Finn cultivate Soul Wood Qi, this didn''t mean Alvin can''t benefit from it!
That''s why he still dealt with Finn''s matter first and then leave to search for that damn thief. It''s not like he had any more clues about him at this moment, since he didn''t appear for months.
"Thank you, Elder Brother!" Finn quickly thanked Alvin with a voice full of happiness.
However, inside, Ace was cursing his bad luck because he didn''t think these guys would agree to his request this quickly. He knew if they start the process of altering his foundation, then they would find out there wasn''t any foundation to erase at all!
''First that dangerous presence and now this bad news. Am I cursed with bad luck?'' Ace thought with animosity. Still, he didn''t let it show and still pretend like Finn.
Alvin smile faintly and said, "There is no need for thanks between us brothers and let me get rid of it for you as well there isn''t need for it now."
Ace was confused about what Alvin was talking about when he saw Alvin taking out the ve item contract. It was his ve contract!
Alvin formed a hand seal as his aura grow denser.
Ace abruptly felt the ve item on his face heated up.
=====
[Martial ve Item has been removed by the owner]
[The fake conscious for martial ve contract has also been destroyed]
=====
''What?! Then this means I wasted 500TP for nothing?!'' Ace''s face fell and thought, ''But why is he doing it? Is it because with this item they can''t start the process of erasing the martial cultivation? It has to be it!''
Ace still knew little about the method of changing one''s cultivation path, and this led him to make wrong assumptions. He didn''t know Alvin was removing the ve item because he needed it for Sky Stealer, again.
This ve item was meant for him in the first ce, and he just used it on Finn to intimidate those old men, but it seemed they didn''t care about Finn at all. Now he had no choice but to y magnanimous to earn Finn''s goodwill in the process.
However, Alvin still didn''t know the truth about that ve item contract which was given to him by me Master William who get it from¡
Cracks appeared on the ck mask on Finn''s face and the next moment itpletely shattered, turning into dust particles.
Finn''s thin face revealed again and there was a smile on his face filled with gratitude. He quickly bows toward Alvin and said, "Thank you! Elder brother for showing such trust in me."
Ace''s real thoughts were opposite to his speech, though.
Alvin''s smile widen, and he nodded in approval seeing his n worked, "No need, you earned it. Now go back and wait until I discuss with elder Lan. Be ready because the process will be pain full, but the benefits easily outmatched the pain."
"Yes. I won''t let Elder Brother down." Finn shows a resolute expression as his voice was solemn.
"Good, good. I know you won''t disappoint me!" Alvin smiled kindly.
After that Ace was escorted back by the same me guard.
When Grey saw Finn''s face without the ve mask, she was shocked and curious about how did this happen. But Finn directly left for the cultivation room after telling her ambiguously that it was important for his cultivation.
Ace activates the formation barrier of the cultivation room and takes a deep breath. He stood there for a while before sitting cross-legged.
"I''m not ready for the mission yet, and I can''t risk being exposed in front of two Qi river core cultivators. Sigh¡ I should''ve seen thising, but I still wanted to theft the number one city of a giant like Pill me with my current strength, truly delusional." Ace mumbles bitterly.
After he saw me ce and the surrounding security with all those powerful cultivators within, he still didn''t back down from his n of theft this city first.
But today, after he felt that dangerous presence he finally wakes up from his facy and starts thinking about what would''ve happened if that person was someone from the me pce.
He still didn''t know theplete information about the me pce, and his skills nor cultivation were enough to infiltrate the core reigns of the ce. And after Alvin told him about the approval, this was thest straw that broke the camelback.
Ace has a realization that he was currently in the center of the enemy''s base, and they even know about where he was. Although he got many benefits, he was still under watch.
Maybe, he forgot about what he was and why he was doing everything after getting all this free advantage, he should''ve seen thising but kept telling himself; he can do this before they would find him.
Now, however, he understood just how big of a problem this mission was, and he was nning to theft one of the most powerful targets first, and he only realized this now.
''Well, looking at the bright side, I''m in the 1st-grade kingdomsnd and I even got something unexpected. I should''ve been happy by just this, but instead, I be too greedy. Heh, well, it''s still not toote.'' A sharp glint sh past Ace''s eyes.
"I have to leave this city today!" Ace decided instantly, and he felt it was the right thing to do.
Ace closed his eyes and controlled his soul sense. His focus was Alvin''s courtyard!
He was waiting for him to leave before taking any other actions. Although, he wasn''t confident infiltrating the me pce, but he was sure he can leave this city without alerting anyone.
Ace now just had to think about how he''s going to disappear. He can either leave and cause amotion, but it would probably backfire since Alvin and Lan weren''t any idiots.
They can easily connect the dots and find out who he was since only one person has shown the ability to disguise himself to such an extent. If that happened then that means they would know just how powerful his disguise was, and he even demonstrates that he had an ''element physique''.
They would certainlye after him more strongly than ever, and it would make his mission more problematic.
He didn''t want to give them more reason to chase after him and with more forces; he wasn''t strong enough to escape from them yet, so he had to leave while keeping Finn''s weak and innocent image intact.
Ace thought for a while when suddenly, his eyes lit up as his lips curled upward in a devilish smile, ''I can use that and benefit from this situation!''
Chapter 196 - A VIP Kidnapped!
Inside a room in me Pce, two men were in a heated discussion and an old man was especially fuming with anger. He was very incensed about something.
These two men were naturally, Alvin and Lan.
After Alvin told Elder Lan about the recent development regarding Finn, Lan nearly blew his top and bluntly called Alvin a fabulist and even though he was backing down from his promise.
In the end, when Alvin saw Lan was about to contact me Master William, Alvin quickly hand-over the message of his father he received this morning to Lan.
Finally, after Lan heard the recording his anger alleviated greatly, and believed in Alvin''s words. But even for him, it was still hard to believe that Alvin''s n didn''t seem to care about element physique much and a thief was more important to them.
This raise many questions in the old man''s heart but no one was here to give him an answer since Alvin was in the same situation as him.
Between their dialogues, Lan received another long-distance message directly from the headquarters and the content was surprisingly the same as Alvin''s father, and the person who send this message was non-other than me Master William!
Both, Alvin and Lan''s faces turn decolorized when they heard William''s husky voice, and this time William even ordered Lan to search with Alvin for that thief and leave Finn in the me City in the care of soul cultivators.
Besides this, nothing was mentioned about Alvin as if William waspletely ignoring the topic and both of them know it wasn''t like him at all. They finally understand the severity of this situation.
Alvin''s face was ashen since he knew his father would never convey to William about Finn''s special physique since both of their families were at odds.
Now, Alvin finally took this task more seriously than ever and Lan was even more scared since he could tell by William''s voice that he was sounded somewhat dissatisfied.
Lan med all this on Alvin despite him being greedy himself.
After ming and arguing with each other for a while, they finally focused on the task at hand and that was to change Finn''s foundation.
Even me Master William told Lan to do it himself and provide Finn everything he needed before he searches for Sky Stealer with Alvin.
Lan quickly sent the other female me Captain to bring Finn, so he could start the process immediately. He even summons a bunch of me guards and told them to monitor their informationwork and if that damn thief appeared again inform him post-hastily.
"I think you should head back to the 3rd-gradends and keep a low profile, if that thief appeared again there are very high chances of him appearing there than any other ce. We can easily corner him if someone like you is close by." Lan suggests with a stiff face.
Alvin has no choice but to nod in affirmation since Lan''s words make sense, "I''m leaving 1st and 2nd Grade Lands in Elder Lan''s hands then. If he appeared in thesends please immediately contact me, and I''m leaving my sister here this time."
"Fine, but make sure you won''t get distracted this time!" Lan scoffed.
Alvin''s face fell, but he didn''t retort since he knew Lan was still angry because of what happened.
''I have to find out myself, just what''s so special about you little thief!'' Alvin thought with deep resentment. He never imagined a day like this woulde when a me general like him would send here to search for a petty thief!
Lan snorted and didn''t say anything. He wasn''t in the mood to even taunt Alvin anymore and keep waiting for Finn''s arrival.
''I can''t stay in one ce all the time, I have to move personally once I discovered that Sky Stealer position.'' Lan mused with a grim face.
At this moment, the door of the room where Lan and Alvin were waiting for Finn bang opened, and a masked me guard entered with panic-sicken eyes.
Before Lan could berate the me captain for her presumptuous entrance, she speaks in a panic tone, "Elder, the VIP guest has... gone missing!"
"WHAT!?" Lan and Alvin said at the same time as they quickly stand up from their seats.
"When I reached there, Grey told me he has gone in seclusion for cultivation¡ but when we try to contact him through the formation, we found out the formation was not active in the first ce.
"We go to the cultivation room ourselves but still didn''t get any response after calling for him, and open the door to check on the VIP, but when we got in he was gone and only a paper slip was there!" She quickly told everything to Lan.
"What SLIP?!" Alvin asked in a stern tone as his dreadful aura leaked.
She quickly handed a finger size paper slip to Lan.
Alvin and Lan''s faces turned hideous as one could feel the suffocating murderous aura around them after they saw the paper slip.
There was only one sentence on it,
"Dear Alvin, I''m boring the boy, if he isn''t the thief I''ll promise to treat him like an esteemed guest. Your dear friend, BLACK." In the end, there was a skull drawing!
"Those presumptuous Ghost Bastards!" Alvin cursed as he used a movement skill to depart.
Lan quickly took out a circr formation te with glittering blue color. He didn''t have time to lock the entire city since it would take fifteen minutes, that''s why he used this formation te to examine the formations scattered all over the city.
Lan knew if the kidnapper was a Ghost, they had little time, and he wanted to find that person''s exact location, so he could quickly intervene.
But to Lan''s dismay, he didn''t find any suspicious movement at all and the city was peaceful. Hisplexion was pale as he was grinding his teeth in anger, this simply mean Finn was gone!
This was a p to their face and if the news got out that someone has kidnapped a VIP of me City, the organization would be aughingstock of entire middle-levelnds!
"Go, order every me guard to assemble and spread the news in every 1st-grade kingdom. ''Anyone who deals with the Nightmare Ghosts will be the me Pill enemy!''
"Have our men attack their dealing dens, I don''t care what method they used, I want the VIP back and have some looked for their hideouts. They went too far this time!" Lan orders her with an ugly face.
Even though it seemed the headquarters didn''t care about Finn much but just the orders to give him everything he needs was enough to indicate they still care significantly much.
Now if they learn those ghosts kidnapped him under his thumb, Lan would be in deep trouble. That''s why he didn''t hesitate to attack Nightmare Ghosts dealing dens, since they were the ones who ''provoke'' them first!
Alvin was using the treasure to spreading his martial sense in a thousand-meter radius. He was so angry that his eyes were bloodshot; he was moving toward the city gates.
Deep down he knew they were toote and if the kidnapper was the person who he thinks it is, then Finn was already gone and his martial sense also won''t pick him!
''If those damn basters find out about Finn''s special physique, they would never give him up! I should''ve never released the ve item, damn it!'' Alvin was regretting his decision of freeing Finn from the ve item.
Now he was even thinking that person was especially targeting Finn because of the ve item and the moment he removed it they took him away!
What both Alvin and Lan didn''t know was they were ying someone else''s game altogether!
---
Two miles away north from the me city, a silhouette was blurring past on a random avenue. This silhouette speed was almost equal to a peak Qi river cultivator as his every step covered a three-meter distance.
One could vaguely see the silhouette was d in ck and a hood was covering his head. If one could see underneath that hood, there was an extremely handsome face of a young man. This was naturally Ace without disguise.
Ace escape the me City an hour ago when Alvin leave for me Pce. As for how he leaves without alerting those me guards, simply he plunged the city wall with a rope!
He has the rope he bought from low-levelnds and this simple method that only a formal mortal could think of.
Ace precisely chose the most barren area of the city wall after studying the map he brought today, and use his eye skill to see the formation on the wall, and to his amazement, there were many ws!
He remembered every one of them with his photographic memory and use those ws to climb the wall and then do the same to descend and escape the city!
Chapter 197 - The Damien Royal City
No one would''ve ever imagined this kind of method and even if they did, they had blind confidence in the formation protecting the city wall.
But Ace has a skill like Soul Shattering Eyes that can see through any w in formation, even if he could use it for a brief moment it was enough to see all the ws.
He used it for an instant and escape the city before those patrolling me guards could sense anything amiss. He didn''t leave the rope or any trace behind.
In the end, his n seeds and even pin the me on Nightmare Ghosts. He knew how much importance Alvin put on him, and it would surely infuriate him. As for Grey, his breathless stealth was enough to escape her perception.
In their eyes, Finn didn''t have the skills to escape the city, nor any reason, so there was a certainty of 90% that they will believe in that little paper slip of his.
Ace couldn''t help but smile with ecstasy, he took an enormous risk this time and if Alvin or Lan would''ve found out about his disappearance too quickly, he would force using the invisible bead.
But nothing like this seemed to happen, and he escaped the me city with no hindrance just like a sneaky thief.
Ace''s eyes shone with a sharp glint as his smile brooded, he now knows where the treasury was and even got the inspiration for one of his techniques and this was plenty enough for now despite that, he was frustrated.
It''s not like he won''t being back here in the future. And when he does, it would be like a thief!
''I don''t have time to waste.'' Ace put a serious expression when he thought about ten years, and he has to theft 30 ces.
He almost wasted three months in a delusion to theft the me city of Damien Kingdom first, and he knows he wasn''t ready to raid any giants'' cities in this kingdom right now.
Ace stopped briefly and study the map of Damien Kingdom''s royal province, the closest city to the me city was the Beast City of Beast Calling, but he didn''t n on going there, not right now at least.
After that was the royal city of Damien Kingdom, Damien Royal City, and he can reach there in a day at full speed.
After checking the direction, he put the map back in the thief''s space and like a phantom moved again.
---
The Damien Royal City was veryvish butpare to me City it was thoroughlycking. Like it didn''t have formations scattered over the entire city nor a formation barrier or formations on city walls.
The power structure was alsocking, but there was still a powerful Qi River Core Damien King overseeing the city. Even the arrogant people of the three giants have to give Damien King some face.
The Damien Royal Family''s history was very glorious as they were once only a 3rd-grade kingdom and their rise were very astonishing as well as mysterious. But no one seemed to solve that mystery even today.
Some believe the first Damien King stumbled upon some old inheritance, and some other rumors were this kingdom has the support of one of three giants. The majority believed in thetter since this was the only usible exnation.
At this moment, a young man with in looks yetvishing clothing was sitting in a demonic horse carriage. If not for his clothing and air of nobility around him, one could simply consider him amoner.
This youth with in features was Ace in Ryan''s disguise. He reached the cityst night and easily infiltrate it. He bought some expensive clothing of nobles in the Damien Kingdom and wore them, so he would not attract any unwanted attention.
Ace find this city much to his liking since there weren''t any hidden formations on the streets and most importantly no one knows who he was or what he was.
"Young Master, we reached the Beast Calling Colosseum." The coachman opened the door for Ace with a respectful attitude. Everyone in this city has a noble background since no one can enter without having it.
That''s why people here think twice before offending someone and without searching their background no one act. Even amon-looking young man can be an aristocrat of a dukedom.
"Here, keep the change." Ace handed a middle-level Qi stone to the coachman and disembark the carriage.
As for why he was here, it was to leave the Damien Kingdom and the fastest way was; to travel through the Beast Calling Colosseum in Damien City.
After leaving the carriage Ace directly move toward the Colosseum''s reception since its structure was the same as the regal kingdom''s, but it was much grander and beautiful.
Ace pays two hundred high Qi stones to buy a seat ticket in the fastest category beast. He got it quite easily since this ce wasn''t like the third grand kingdoms and there isn''t any need for auction either.
His destination was the Leap Kingdom, number ten in the ranking and weakest one in 1st grand kingdoms. Ace chose this kingdom for many reasons, and one of them was to be stronger. How he was going to do it, only he knows.
To Ace''s surprise, he was thest passenger of this fastest category beast which mean he didn''t have to wait like others for new travels.
This time Ace''s ride was a 5-meterrge Scarlet Wing Lion.
Beside him were five more people in different luxurious robes. Three of them were beautiful women in theirte twenties and two middle-aged men. All of them were cultivators of the peak Qi foundation realm.
Speaking of which, Ace didn''t find any mortals in this city and everyone was a cultivator, and this gave him a surprise. He somewhat understands why this kingdom was so powerful since they didn''t allow any mortals in this city, not even in this province!
The beast tamer was a graceful girl in her early twenty, and she was at the Qi river realm. She didn''t greet anyone nor even reply to others'' greetings. She simply told them to embark on the beast, since she didn''t want to waste time.
Only Ace cultivation was in Qi gates realm, and everyone looked at him with hidden disdain andpletely ignored him. It isn''t like he minded it in the least bit. On the contrary, he appreciates it very much; he didn''t want anyone to pay any attention to him.
''Ten more days before I reach my destination.'' Ace thought as he looked at the clear golden sky and blurrynds beneath.
He was sitting on the very end of everyone, and no one was paying attention to him. He took an old book from his thief''s space and began to read it. It was the Life Plexus book he steal¡ ahem¡ took from the me Library.
Ace didn''t get any chance to research it since those unanticipated events happened too fast, and he even had to flee from the ce. But now that he was alone, and he had spare time, he would not waste it sitting.
He opened the book and start observing the diagrams of the human body and acupuncture points described on the other page.
''Acupuncture points are Life points in meridians and each has its different functions. Most of the Life points remained blocked for a lifetime in the human body, and we can only use seventy percent of our body''s full potential¡''
Ace engross in the book as he carefully remembered every life point''s exact location and how one can open or seal them. Although it was a mere theory of a person, it was still quite practical.
The person writing this book or SLK''s thoughts were quite profound as he boldly wrote that these effects cannot be achieved with just Martial Qi nor Soul Qi, in his opinion if someone could find a process ofbining two Qi, it can achieve the effect!
''No wonder this book was unguarded. Those people simply consider him a madman, and even if they believe him, they probably didn''t seed.'' Ace thought, ''Let me try this since I have both Qi''s, and I won''t waste more time if this is just a madman''s theory.''
Ace looked around and there was still no one paying any attention to him. He secretly formed a soul thread on his index finger and a heavenly Qi thread on his middle finger.
Forming threads has be the second nature of his since he practiced it tirelessly for rune crafting.
Ace controls the two Qi''s and both ck and orange color Qi form a two-color thread. They werebined, but they didn''t mix.
Ace controlled the tow-color thread and create a little seal of pea size. After checking onest time that no one was looking, he gradually shot that seal to his wrist where a Life point was supposed to be.
He didn''t think his own Qi''s could hurt him, that''s why he used it on himself first, just to check for any kind of effects.
But the second that seal enters his meridians, Ace''s face turned ashen!
Chapter 198: Probing Leap Queen’s Memories!
Chapter 198: Probing Leap Queen¡¯s Memories!
Ace wore a grim face as he looked at his left hand that waspletely paralyzed. He tries to move it but to his dismay, it won¡¯t move no matter how much force he used.
Although he could still feel his hand, the problem was he can¡¯t move it, and even HD-Qi wasn¡¯t circting in it anymore as if it cut the meridian channels of his hands off!
¡®It seeds!?¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes shimmer with ambiguity.
Truth to be told, Ace didn¡¯t have any high hope for this thing to work, and he only took that book because it seemed interesting. But now that this method worked he didn¡¯t know how to respond.
Furthermore, Ace wasn¡¯t any normal cultivator and if this method even worked on him, then this means it can work on anyone!
¡®But why does no one research it before?¡¯ Ace mused.
He didn¡¯t understand just why this kind of book was left unguarded in a ce like me Library, and why this book wasn¡¯t in some secret chamber of the me pill organization.
What Ace didn¡¯t know was; before him, this book changed many hands, and its profound theories attracted every single person. But no one ever seed in it, and thest person who had this book was an Azure Alchemist.
That alchemist put quite a time into researching it and even manage to bribe a rune crafter to help him in the research, but all his effort meet failure. Dishearten, that person didn¡¯t even put this book back to its ce that the 29th floor!
He left it on a random bookshelf since he felt this book was just a waste of time for others as well. That¡¯s how this booknded in Ace¡¯s hand after eating dust for many years.
What anyone didn¡¯t think was what if, the required Qi¡¯s both soul and martial came from the same person?
Qi was unique to every person, and that¡¯s why the Qi mark and Soul mark exist. Every person has a different Qi signature or Soul Signature.
Even if this thought surfaced in anyone¡¯s mind, it was night-impossible to achieve since no one can cultivate both Qi¡¯s at the same time!
However, Ace wasn¡¯t like others, he was cultivating both Qi¡¯s from the start, and he was the only one who could use them so meticulously.
Now, Ace has achieved something that not even the creator of this book, SLK, wasn¡¯t able to achieve and this wasn¡¯t aughing matter!
If Ace master everything in this book he could easily render his enemy helpless by blocking their life points!
But he still had a long way to go because this book was just a fantasy of a person, and it needed more research. Like how he¡¯s going to unseal his hand.
Ace calmed his enthusiastic heart and try using the Heavenly Darkness Qi to break free from that two-colored seal. But it didn¡¯t seem to work at all and the HD-Qi only chip away the slightest part of the pea-size seal.
¡®At this rate, I¡¯ll have to wait for three days before this seal could be fully dissolved. At least it isn¡¯t permanent.¡¯ Ace thought as he enraptured himself. This was a monumental discovery, and he was even more serious to research the other theories in this book.
Ace continued to use HD-Qi to dissolve the seal while he continued to study the old book.
No one pays any attention to him, even if they nce at him, they would instantly lose interest since he was holding an old book.
The beast tamer girl also nces at him from time to time, and she was quite curious about what this boy was reading with an impassive face. But her pride as a beast tamer didn¡¯t allow her to even talk with him, much less inquiry about the old book.
After three days the seal in Ace¡¯s wrist ultimately dissolved, and he could use his hand and Qi again.
In these three days, he was mulled over different theories in the book with diligence, and he has his thoughts on some of them. But he didn¡¯t dare to try them on himself anymore.
He was curious, but he wasn¡¯t a madman, he kept considering what he can do with this knowledge and that seal gave him a very good direction to work on. But he wanted to first find a method to unseal that seal.
Ace could tell his heavenly Qi can easily dissolve that seal since it was made by heavenly soul Qi and heavenly martial Qi.
But what would happen if he put these seals on a normal cultivator, they didn¡¯t have heavenly Qi which probably means they would bepletely helpless. He wanted to control this properly, and he thought of a way to achieve it.
More days passed in peace, the scarlet wing lion speed finally decreased on this day, and it descended from the sky.
Ace opened his eyes and looked at therge city below him. It was the capital city of Leap Kingdom.
The scarlet wing lion finallynded inside the Beast Calling Colosseum of Leap Royal City. The journey ends as everyone thanked the beast tamer girl and leaves the Colosseum.
Ace strolled around thevish city deep in thought. His goal was to be stronger and the fastest way was through stealing or increasing his cultivation by finding an elemental orb.
Thetter was the more assuring path since many restrictions on him would instantly be lifted. The problem was the elemental orb and its position.
He has some idea where to look, but the issue was what next? How could he beat the orb guardian which would probably be more powerful than thest one?
He didn¡¯t want to use the same method of going through the heavenly punishment while nearly dying in the process. He did not know how he survivesst time either, but he will not be going to put his life on the line based on dumb luck anymore.
So, first, Ace had to confirm the presence of the orb and then find ¡®helpers¡¯ to deal with the orb guardian, and he had an excellent scheme in his mind.
But before he does anything he had to find a way to deal with heavenly lightning, if pushes to shove, he had to prepare for activating the heavenly turbulence again.
That¡¯s why he was here because the Leap Kingdom¡¯s royal family was in the possession of a lightning-type protective treasure! It was the national treasure of the Leap Kingdom and a symbol of pride.
Ace didn¡¯t know if it would be enough to deal with the heavenly lightning, but it was far better than having nothing. Besides, he wasn¡¯t just going after this one lightning treasurer; he was nning to steal every lighting type treasure or anything rted to lighting!
One had to know lighting was a very rare element, and treasures rted to it were even rarer. The Leap Kingdom possessing one was already considered out of the ce.
With Damocles of time over his head, Ace was nning on acting as soon as possible. He didn¡¯t put these Kingdom-level treasuries in his eyes after seeing the defense of me ce.
He just needed some information, and he knew how to get it without no falsely.
There was still the problem of others finding out his position if he left a thief mark behind, but he didn¡¯t care about it anymore, since now Ace wanted others to know where he was!
¡ª
Ace was going toward the Leap Royal Pce with full speed, no one saw him even after he passed by in front of their eyes. Even those royal guards of the Qi River realm were standing there like idiots when he shed past them like a phantom.
After some twists and turns, Ace was inside the royal pce. He meticulously scans the area five hundred meters with his soul sense and move toward a specific direction.
Ace spotted a graceful slender woman in beautiful golden long grown, she had an air of supremacy and arrogance around her as she was followed by many beautiful maids. She was the Queen of Leap Kingdom!
His lip moved upward seeing this dignified woman because she was only a middle Qi foundation stage cultivator. Without moving Ace use the soul probing on her, and she noticed nothing at all and keep moving with her conceited face.
Ace started to get the Queen¡¯s memories the very next moment.
Now that he was at the peak of the Heavenly Foundation stage he can read the memories while stealing them at once.
First, he got many useless memories of how she was from a dukedom and how she was in an affair with the king¡¯s brother!
Ace even felt sympathy for the Leap King, who¡¯s being cuckolded by his own younger brother. But wasn¡¯t distracted by this small matter and continued to use his soul probing without stopping.
He finally got what he wanted, like the structure of the pce and where the treasury was hidden!
Chapter 199: Theft the 1st Grade Kingdom!
Chapter 199: Theft the 1st Grade Kingdom!
Ace kept reading the Leap Queen¡¯s stolen memories in sequence.
Suddenly a frown surfaced on his serene face because from her memories he discovered the Lighting Treasure wasn¡¯t in the treasury since this woman has been there many times and only the King know where it was.
This means the treasure was with the King or hidden somewhere else in the Leap Pce.
Ace couldn¡¯t probe the memories of a Qi River cultivator yet, which made this even more cumbersome. He stopped using soul probing and move south, deeper into the pce.
He was going toward the King¡¯s Library, where the King would be at this moment, ording to the Queen¡¯s memory.
Ace encounter some empty Qi river royal guards, but he easily flickered past them.
After crossing a big corridor, a tall silver door came into his view. This was the King¡¯s Library where only the Leap King can enter, not even the Queen can enter this ce without his permission.
He used the runic eyes and just as he presumed, a formation protected the door, and it was probably a 6-mortal rune formation.
He also sensed a soul signature inside the library which was at the peak of the Qi river realm, it was most likely of the Leap King. Furthermore, there were two hidden Flowing Qi river cultivators in thatrge corridor.
ording to the Queen¡¯s memory, these two were the Royal Life Guards of the King, and they were always hiding in shadows, protecting him.
Ace know his limits and he wasn¡¯t their opponent. Nevertheless, he was going to try stealing the storage ring of Leap King!
If this didn¡¯t go well, he can always escape, since no one can stop him here. Others would probably assume him an assassin who failed in his mission to ¡®kill¡¯ the king.
¡®I have till evening where this guye out, with those two guards I can¡¯t enter the library since I have to use soul-shattering eyes to open the formation and show myself. Waiting is more convenient.¡¯ Ace mused. ¡®Since I have time, I should do something. Oh, now that I already know where the treasury is, it would be impolite to just leave it with ¡®paying a visit, right?¡¯
A thievish smile appeared on Ace¡¯s face as he vanished from the grand corridor, and his direction was the Leap Treasury!
Everyone in the pce knows the treasury was somewhere underground, but it was just a sham and this treasury was a dummy treasury to fool others.
The real Treasury was hidden in the throne room, right behind the golden throne, with an invisible and rm array protecting it. Only King and Queen know about it.
At this moment, a ck-d figure in a hood appeared behind the throne. It was Ace.
Wasting no time, he used true and false eyes and found the arrays and their ws. After using the second form of Treasure opening hands, ¡®Two-Finger Key¡¯ five times in session, the array finally opened, reviling a golden door.
Ace had to use the soul-shattering eyes since there was a formation lock on the golden door. After finding ws, he used the fifth form ¡®Lock Tearing Key¡¯ and the door opened with a click.
Behind the door was a vast space, and there were many colorful, shimmering lights. These were the treasures of leap kingdom, they amodate many years!
However, Ace didn¡¯t step inside right away and used the runic eyes, and just as he suspected there was a formation on the ground and an invisible formation barrier in front of him.
If he had entered right away, the formation would alert the entire pce and trapped him there until someonee and captured him. Well, he can also escape this, but he would be exposed too early, and he didn¡¯t want that.
He used the soul-shattering eyes for ten seconds before he remembered the ws. But this was his limit after entering peak stage heavenly foundation, anymore, and he will suffer a huge bacsh!
With beads of perspiration on his forehead, he used the fifth form ¡®Lock Tearing Key again on the barrier and a small opening appeared, and he entered the treasury while stepping on the ws on the ground formation.
Seeing all those glittering pill bottles, rows of sharp weapons, one small mountain of peak Qi stones as well an enormous mountain of high-level Qi stones, Ace wanted tough out loud since this was the biggest loot he has ever seen till now!
¡®Time to get to work.¡¯ Ace thought with tion.
After fifteen minutes, Ace came out of the treasury with an ecstatic smile. He could not hide his huge grin as he stares at the notification he just received.
=====
[Host has stolen treasures worth 74,000 TP]
[One Middle-Level Thievery has added to Thievery Count]
[First Middle-level thievery reward: 5,000TP & Basic-Talisman Crafting Technique (LOCK)]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 109,000]
=====
Truth be told, it was Ace¡¯s first-time getting rewards from the system without doing any mission, and his thief points also crossed the threshold of one hundred thousand for the first time. That¡¯s why he was ted
¡®System what is this basic-talisman and why the hell is it lock? Are you trying to swindle me of my hard-earn reward?¡¯ Ace asked with an unhappy tone.
How could someone not be dissatisfied when they ¡®earn¡¯ a free reward, but then someone just locked it away?
¡°[Host did not achieve Tier-1 Heavenly Rune Crafter Rank, that¡¯s why the reward was locked. The moment, host achieve the Tier-1, the reward will naturally be unlocked.]¡±
¡®So, this thing is rted to rune crafting?¡¯ Ace deemed and didn¡¯t inquire any more, since now he knows he¡¯ll get it when he reached the tier-1 rune crafter.
¡®Thief Panel.¡¯Ace opened the thief panel after a long time.
====
[{Thief Panel}]
[Job {NOT Changeable}: Thief]
[Thief Name: Sky Stealer]
[Thief Title: Disciple of Darkness]
[Thief Rank: Novice]
[Thief Fame {Host and Symbol}: High]
[Thief Symbol: Dark Owl]
{Summoning Symbol: unlocked at the Poprity Level, Fame}
[Job Mission: 0]
¡ª-
[{Thievery Count Section}]
[Low-Level Thievery: 35]
[Middle-Level Thievery: 1]
[High-Level Thievery: 0]
[Thievery needed to reach next Rank: 500 Low-Level Thievery]
=====
Ace was thrilled after seeing his fame has reached High-level, and he also got Middle-level thievery.
He needed [Poprity-level] Fame to summon thief¡¯s symbol, and he was confident of achieving it this time around after he looked at the vivid big owl symbol on the treasury wall. It mysteriously appeared after he got the notification of middle-level thievery!
It was 10 metersrge and deeply engraved on the center wall. However, there was a difference this time, there was golden writing on the owl¡¯s sharp dark wings, ¡®Sky Stealer¡¯!
Ace guess it was all because of middle-level thievery, and the wording was also in thenguage of the golden sky world, not in the ancient godnguage the system used. This means anyone could read it!
Now he didn¡¯t need to leave a Qi stone and everyone would know who the ¡®artist¡¯ was. After admiring the vivid owl symbol, Ace closed the door, and the formation arrays were instantly active.
Ace left the throne room and wait for his next target, the Leap King, toe out!
¡ª
In the evening, the library¡¯s silver door opened and a handsome middle-aged man in red King¡¯s robee outside. He had a 1.7-meter tall burly build, and he wore a tranquil yetcent face. His eyes were like an intelligent hawk. This was none other than the Leap King!
The Leap King exit the library and the silver door automatically closed because of the formation. Without looking back, the Leap King walks out the corridor.
No one was following him, but the Leap King know his guards were shadowing him.
At this moment, a transparent orange thread as fine as a hair, meticulously move toward Leap King¡¯s right hand where he wore a beautiful silver ring.
The fine thread was as if it has its own life, it moved without alerting the Leap King and gently wrapped around the silver ring!
The Leap King sensed nothing amiss as he continued to move with no care of his surrounding since he was confident in the security of his pce. Besides, who dare to sneak inside the pce of a 1st-grade kingdom in broad daylight.
Even, nightmare ghosts didn¡¯t assassinate anyone in broad daylight.
While the Leap King was moving haughtily, he didn¡¯t notice his cherished storage ring has been disappeared and an owl tattoo has appeared in its ce!
In the corner of a corridor, Ace was looking at the invisible notification panel carefully while a silver ring resting in his hand. He didn¡¯t dare to remove the Qi mark since it would alert the Leap King.
====
[Host has stolen treasures worth 43,900TP]
[One Low-level Thievery has added to Thievery Count]
¡ª
[Low-Level Thievery: 36]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 152,900]
=====
Ace frowned and asked, ¡®System is there any lighting type treasure in this ring?¡¯
Since he can¡¯t find out from the long thievery report, he directly asked the system!
¡°[Yes]¡±
Chapter 200: Whereabouts of Sky Stealer
Chapter 200: Whereabouts of Sky Stealer
Ace¡¯s lips rose in an ecstatic smile when the system voice sounded in affirmative.
Since the treasure was in his hand now was time to leave the Leap Pce, before the Leap King realized his storage ring has gone missing and an owl tattoo reced it.
Within a few minutes, Ace was already outside the pce, and he didn¡¯t stop there and move toward the city¡¯s gates.
Ace knew once the news of him being here spread, the whole mob of enemies will flood this ce, and he had to start the preparation of his big n post-haste before it happened!
¡ª
Inside the Leap Pce,
The Leap King was strolling toward the Queen¡¯s chamber with an ambiguous face. Today he was in a good mood because he just received the report of his youngest son reaching thest trial of Damien Royal Institute.
He was going to tell his wife the Queen about this good news and also ¡®celebrate¡¯ with her for the night. He subconsciously touched his ring finger because of a habit.
Like always, he expected a metallic touch but to his surprise, he only felt his warm skin.
The Leap King finally looked at his ring finger with a puzzling gaze and when his eyesnded on the ring, there was a strange bird tattoo, not the storage ring!
The King¡¯s brain immediately ceased working for a moment, his widely opened eyes nearly left his skull while his whole body started to shake uncontrobly.
The very next moment thereafter, the King vomited arge amount of blood as his face turn ashen like a ghost.
¡°Your Majesty!¡± Two thunderous voices filled with stupefaction and trepidation sounded as two men d in ck armor appeared beside the Leap King.
They first thought it was an assassination attempt and released their auras to the fullest. But they didn¡¯t find anyone.
When they finally looked toward the Leap King, they were stunned because the King¡¯s face was twisted with madness and abhorrence. They never saw theposed Leap King like this before.
They didn¡¯t dare to speak anymore since they could feel the thick icy killing intent rising from the King. Even they were afraid if they speak, he might kill them.
The King¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he looked at the owl tattoo with deep, thick aversion. He clearly remembered seeing this symbol months ago, and he knew who the owner of this symbol was. He sends a small party to search for him but never seeds.
Never in his wildest dreams, he imagines this person one-day theft from him and giving him this symbol for a lifetime. The most infuriating thing was, he didn¡¯t even know when that bastard stole the storage ring!
His murderous aura reached its peak, he shrilled in a hoarse voice and the entire pce heard it.
¡°That DEGENERATE THIEF!!!¡±
Those two guards¡¯ faces were pale since they were closest to the Leap King.
The King¡¯s words confused them when they also abruptly remembered hearing about something very astonishing months ago. They quickly looked at the King¡¯s hand and their faces lose all blood when they spotted the owl tattoo.
¡°HOW?!¡± One of them couldn¡¯t help but blurt out in befuddlement.
The Leap King controlled his chaotic emotions since he was a ruler of the nation and also a powerful peak Qi river cultivator, there weren¡¯t many things that can jolt his emotions to this extent.
However, this calm didn¡¯tst long when he thought about the treasury, and he sprang toward the throne room at full speed. Although the treasury was hidden, he still wanted to check himself to calm his agitated heart.
The king finally enters the throne room as he flipped his hand to take out the formation key from his storage ring when he spitefully remembered it was gone with the storage ring!
He nearly spat another mouthful of blood, but he calmed himself since there was another key in the Queen¡¯s hand. He turned around to go toward the Queen¡¯s chamber hurriedly when his steps frozen in the ce the moment his eyesnded on the golden throne¡¯s back.
There was beautiful writing that wasn¡¯t supposed to be there,
+++
¡°[Thank you for the generous gifts, I ept them all graciously, Your Majesty.
¡°Since I took his Majesty gifts, I am too ashamed to leave without giving something back.
¡°I¡¯m giving you a gift of truth, and it¡¯s hundred percent true, believing it or not is your problem.
¡°The truth is: Your Wife is sleeping with your brother for 19 years and your youngest son is also their ¡®product¡¯ not yours. Just go in your brother¡¯s manor before night and in his bedroom, you¡¯ll find your wife and him doing¡ if you know what I mean¡ hehe.
¡°Your loyal subject, Sky Stealer!]¡±
+++
The Leap King finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore and vomited two consecutive mouthfuls of blood after reading Ace¡¯s ¡®sincere¡¯ message.
He was so angry, heughed like a maniac with a twisted face. He knew the treasury has beenpromised as well. Hundreds of years of amodating treasures were gone as well as the national treasure in a single day!
¡°Why Us?! What we have ever done to you?!!!¡± The Leap King¡¯s ashen face was filled with despair, hatred, and madness.
¡ª
This was the starting of an unforgettable storm that the Sky Stealer was about to stir in Middle-levelnds!
¡ª
The very next the day, the morning was sunny and calm like every day, but the people weren¡¯t because of two shocking news. Each one was more shocking than the other.
The first was the me Pill Organization announced, falling out with Nightmare Ghosts Organization. The reason was unknown, but the Pill me announced whoever deals with the Nightmare Ghosts will face their wrath.
No one dare to take this warning lightly since they knew what was the meaning of falling out with the Pill me Organization; their supply of pills and weapons will be cut off by them since all the alchemists and crafters were under their banner.
This news was the biggest news when another even more stunning news surfaced. The entire middle-levelnds shake because of this.
This news was about the infamous thief, Sky Stealer who had appeared again, and this time he does something unimaginable. The Sky Stealer theft the entire Leap Kingdom Royal Pce and stole the Leap¡¯s King storage ring right under his nose!
First, no one believes this since this was a 1st-grade kingdom not some 3rd-grade kingdom like the Regal Kingdom but when the Leap King publicly confirmed this im, everyone eximed and many people began to feel uneasy.
Because if that thief can steal from a 1st-grade kingdom and escape right under a peak Qi river realm cultivator, this means he can also rob them, and they won¡¯t even know until it¡¯s toote, just like Leap King!
The Leap King also purposed a Union Meeting between the ten 1st grade kingdoms to hunt down the Sky Stealer before he targets them, and the response was very shocking.
Every 1st-grade kingdom agreed, even the Damien Kingdom, within three days and this meeting was going to be held in the Leap¡¯s ce in a week!
The Leap King also does something very shocking the very day he purposed the meeting, he executed his wife the Queen, and his younger brother!
Furthermore, this wasn¡¯t the end of it, the Leap King also eradicate the Queen¡¯s entire n and disown his youngest son!
No one knows the reason behind this madness, but everyone thought that the Leap King has gone mad, and he was no longer suitable for the ruling. But everyone¡¯s opinion changed when the news leak from the Leap Pce.
It said the Queen and King¡¯s younger brother were found doing adultery by the King and the youngest son was also not his and born from the younger brother of the King!
Everyone thought after that the King¡¯s actions were very reasonable, and no one called him mad anymore.
Even with all this shocking news together, the appearance of Sky Stealer took the top, and he became even more mysterious in others¡¯ eyes.
Nheless, the thief¡¯s whereabouts were exposed, and he was now in the 1st Grade Lands, and he didn¡¯t seem to be afraid of anyone!
Some people called him a degenerate, some called him a liberator, some people even called him a Judge because he only steals from those in power, but these people were very low in number, and most of them were from the lowest social ss.
Many poor youngsters or those who were injustice by the system tried to imitate the Sky Stealer, but they didn¡¯t have the skills and got caught by the guards. Those who seed leave traces behind and meet with a fate worse than death.
Those in higher positions quickly hid these ¡®little¡¯ incidents.
However, now everyone in power could tell if no one stopped the Sky Stealer the consequences will be very dangerous and unimaginable!
Chapter 201: The Big Shots of Middle-level Lands!
Chapter 201: The Big Shots of Middle-level Lands!
Today was like a carnival in Leap Royal City because this was the day of the Union Meeting between ten first-grade kingdoms. The reason for it was very simple, to capture the notorious thief, Sky Stealer!
It was truly iconic because a single person and thief nevertheless have forced these powerful figures toe under a roof.
Furthermore, all these people never get along and always scheme behind each other¡¯s backs. However, now they were here to work together for a single thief!
Those in power were very excited about this because they were afraid of Sky Stealer woulde to their territory next and rob them of their entire wealth.
These were those people who love wealth before anything else and some of them earned it through underhanded means, like ve trading, gambling dens, pleasures houses¡
As for those who think the Sky Stealer was doing nothing wrong, they were somewhat anxious because they didn¡¯t want this legend to die so quickly.
But s, they can¡¯t express their opinion because they knew in these past few days people who speak positively about Sky Stealer, mysteriously vanished. Some knowledgeable fellows guess that those in power didn¡¯t want another Sky Stealer appearing while one was still tumulting.
Now, everyone¡¯s focus was on the Union Meeting between the ten 1st grade kingdoms and how they¡¯re nning to deal with the sly thief!
¡ª
Inside the Leap Pce¡¯s throne room,
The Leap King was sitting on the newly built golden throne, he destroyed the old one because of certain someone.
The Leap King looked pale and his face has sunk as some wrinkles surfaced on his face, it was as if he aged twenty years. The vagarious Leap King days ago has turned into an old man whose eyes filled with hatred and killing intent.
Those two lifeguards beside him looked anxious at this moment. They know the biggest blow their King suffered because of the matter with the Queen and his younger brother¡¯s betrayal. It was all because of that thief, and they hated him to the core.
Suddenly, the throne room¡¯s gate opened and someone announced in a sting voice,
¡°The Earth King of rank ninth Earth Kingdom has arrived!¡± A brawny man with a fierce expression on his face entered the throne room.
It was a costume to announce the rank of the Kingdom with the King¡¯s title.
It¡¯s considered an honor and a reminder of the power a 1st-grade kingdom held. Kings of 2nd-grade kingdoms didn¡¯t have the right to bask in this honor and instead, their true name will be used in these announcements.
¡°The Blue Queen of rank eighth Blue Kingdom has arrived!¡± A curvaceous woman with a refined face made the next entry.
¡°The Warren King of rank seven Warren Kingdom has arrived!¡± An old man supporting gray hair while wearing an elderly smile entered the throne room.
¡°The Misty Queen of rank sixth Misty Kingdom has arrived!¡± Another Queen¡¯s entry was announced, but this queen wasn¡¯t young like the Blue Queen, she was an old woman supporting white hair.
¡°The Golden King of rank fifth Golden Hammered Kingdom has arrived!¡± A handsome middle-aged man with a slender build and golden hair enter.
¡°The Luminous King of rank fourth Luminous Kingdom has arrived!¡± A schrly middle-aged man entered, if Ace was here he would¡¯ve shocked because this man resembled his friend Bill, or it was Bill who resembled him!
All these seven people inside the throne room were at the peak of the Qi River realm, and all of them controlled the biggest powers of middle-levelnds. No one spoke as they all keep standing in front of their seats since the three big shots were about toe!
Only the Leap King keep sitting with an icy face as if he didn¡¯t care about ethics anymore.
The others also didn¡¯t ruffle his feathers, since they know just how much this guy has lost, and he was like a wounded lion, who¡¯ll attack anyone without caring about his own life!
¡°The Scarlet King of rank third Scarlet Kingdom has arrived!¡± A tall, slender middle-aged man with scarlet hair entered the room with a stiff smile.
¡°The Lavender Queen of rank second Lavender Kingdom has arrived!¡± An extremely gorgeous woman with a seductive, curvaceous figure entered the room. Her snowy face was impassive yet perfect as her gem-like intelligent eyes filled with indifference.
This woman considers the most beautiful woman of entire middle-levelnds. Rumored has it even the Damien King courted her, but it was all just a rumor.
Every man in the room sneaking a peek at her even the cold Leap King showed a hint of desire but no one dares to be impolite to her because this dead gorgeous woman was half-step into the Qi River Core realm and only the Damien King was powerful than her!
¡°The 1st King of Middlends, his majesty, the Damien King, has arrived!¡± This time the announcement differed slightly from the other rulers.
A tall man seemingly in his early thirties entered the room. He had a fair, handsome face with long ck hair. There was a dark silver crown sitting on his forehead. He wore a gentle smile as he looked at everyone.
When his eyesnded on the Lavender Queen, his eyes show intense desire and gentleness for a moment, and he hid it the very next moment.
The Damien King took his seat beside the Lavender Queen and closet to the throne of Leap King. Every ruler of the middle-levelnds was sitting inside this room now, as the air was somewhat suffocating.
¡°Leap King, you have my sincere condolence. I can¡¯t imagine the pain you¡¯re going through.¡± The Damien King broke the silence.
¡°Thank you, your majesty.¡± The Leap King nodded slightly, as his eyes were still icy.
He didn¡¯t care about offending the Damien King anymore, but he needed his help to catch that thief and retrieve his treasures and also take his revenge!
Just as the Leap King was about to start the discussion about the Sky Stealer, an unexpected announcement was made that shocked even the handsome Damien King and caused a ripple on Lavender Queen¡¯s expressionless face.
¡°Crafter Elder and me General, of Pill me Organization¡ have arrived!¡±
Everyone in the room quickly stood up, even the Leap King. They didn¡¯t imagine that such big wings woulde uninvited in their ten kingdoms meeting. They didn¡¯t dare to offend them, since they knew just what these two titles represent!
Lan and Alvin enter the throne room with impassive faces. They just stayed on their spot, said nothing, as if they were waiting for something or someone.
Just the Damien King was about to greet them with a fawning smile, another shocking announcement was made.
¡°The Grand Beastmaster of Beast Calling Organization¡ has arrived!¡±
A burly, tall old man with a long white beard and hair entered the room. His sharped eyes were giving off the feeling of a demonic beast. This was the Grand Beastmaster, John, who controlled the Beast Calling Organization in the middlends. He came here with Lan and Alvin!
Everyone in the room felt the dreadful aura around Grand Beastmaster, John. They all know he was the strongest inside the Room.
The Damien King was also feeling dreadful toward this old man from the bottom of his heart.
¡°I hope we¡¯re not disturbing anything?¡± Lan spoke with a warm smile on his face.
Everyone has an urge to roll their eyes, but they knew who this old goat was.
¡°N¡no, no, it¡¯s an honor to have three venerable guests here.¡± The Damien King finally spoke with a fawning smile.
¡°Oh, little boy Grayson, you¡¯ve grown up, eh.¡± Lan looked at Damien King and smile in acknowledgment.
¡°It¡¯s all because of your blessing.¡± The Damien King smiles awkwardly after being called little boy Grayson.
¡°Stop your nonsense, Lan, you drag me here just for me to watch this shit-drama?!¡± John snapped at Lan.
Everyone in the room was shocked seeing this old Beastmaster talking to Lan like this, but when they thought about their identities, they felt only this guy can talk to him like this in entire middle-levelnds.
Lan also didn¡¯t mind John¡¯s tone, since he knows about his friend¡¯s fiery temper. He drags this guy here because of John¡¯s special ability, or he won¡¯t even bother toe in this gathering of ants.
But after mulling over it, he came here right this time because it would be good to have them do the work for them. It would also speed up the process of finding that hateful thief.
Furthermore, John didn¡¯t juste here because of his friendship with Lan, he was also here to capture that thief since the Beast Calling was also after him.
Once they capture him, they would decide then who will take him, but first, they have to work together to capture him because after analyzing the newfound abilities of that thief.
It was safe to say he was extremely profound in hiding and disguise abilities, and he was also master of his craft, Thievery!
Chapter 202: Grand Beastmaster’s Secret Skill
Chapter 202: Grand Beastmaster¡¯s Secret Skill
Lan coolly looked toward Leap King with an ambiguous smile and said, ¡°I heard what happened to you, and we can¡¯t change the past. But I can promise you that thief will face justice and what he stole from you will be returned to you once we captured him.¡±
The Leap King¡¯s cold eyes showed a hint of tion after he heard Lan¡¯s promise. He finally saw some hope of calming those treasures back without giving away anything.
¡°Thank you, My Lord!¡± The Leap King quickly showed a sincere expression, ¡°I¡¯ll do anything as long as I can bring that bastard to justice, even if I have to give away my life!¡±
¡°We don¡¯t need your life.¡± Lan chuckle softly and continued, ¡°Just show us if that thief leaves behind anything, and from the rumors, we all know he left his imprint.¡±
The Leap King¡¯s eyes flicker with hatred as he looked at his left hand that was covered in a ck glove. He knew what imprint Lan was hinting at.
He took a deep breath and nodded, ¡°If craft elder was referring to that owl tattoo, he indeed left it behind. But I have something much greater than these little imprints!¡±
Everyone in the room show an astonishing expression as they kept their silence and let Leap King continue.
The Leap King didn¡¯t speak anymore as he waved his sleeve, and the newly build golden throne sted away. He directly goes toward the wall and opened the hidden vault. Since the treasures were gone, he didn¡¯t care if everyone knows where the hidden vault was.
Lan, Alvin, John, take the lead as other rulers heeled them. Everyone was curious about what the Leap King was showing them.
When everyone entered the empty vault, their eyes instantly contracted when they looked at the central wall. They looked at the vivid dark owl mural.
It was 10 meters and there was golden writing on the owl¡¯s sharp dark wings, ¡®Sky Stealer¡¯!
¡°How did he do it?¡± The Scarlet King mumble in a daze.
Everyone in the room had the same question, as the Scarlet King because they could feel an unknown aura from therge owl mural. No one can draw something like this, especially while doing thievery.
The threat of sky stealer reached another height in their hearts, and they instantly wanted to get rid of him as quickly as possible!
John gravely looked at the owl mural as he stated in a stiff voice, ¡°Leave, I need some time alone!¡±
¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you, old friend.¡± Lan nodded in understanding and left the vault with everyone else because he knew John was going to use his secret skill of Beast Calling.
John was finally alone in the empty vault, he sat cross-legged in front of the dark mural and ce one hand on it. He closed his eyes as the aura of a Qi river core cultivator fully unleash.
A silver-blue mist released from John¡¯s hand, which was on the wall, and it slowly covers the entire dark owl mural.
This was a secret skill that the beast calling used to track down enemies. To use this skill, the only requirement was the belonging of the enemy, and it can¡¯t be older than 15 days.
Most importantly, this secret skill can only be used by a Qi river core cultivator!
This mural can be considered Sky Stealer¡¯s belonging since it was ¡®made¡¯ by him. That¡¯s why John was here with Lan and they both didn¡¯t want to miss this golden chance to track that hateful thief down.
John was blindly confident in this secret skill of beast-calling organization since it never failed before.
Just as the strange mist cover the entire owl mural, John expected to see an invisible mist that would lead him directly to that thief. This was how this skill was supposed to work, at least.
But something unexpected happen, John suddenly had a strange vision in which he saw nothing but darkness before hee back to his senses. What he found next was terrified him to the core because he was still in darkness!
He quickly calmed himself as he deemed this situation a strange bacsh of using the secret skill. He quickly tries to circte his Qi, but a dreadful reality hits him.
No matter what John does, the Qi was nowhere to be found, not in his body nor the surroundings as if the Qi didn¡¯t even exist anymore!
This was not the end of his nightmare, after a moment he finally realized he can¡¯t feel his body and he can¡¯t even call for help because there was no voice. Only his conscious remain!
Right now, John was experiencing a fate worse than death or any torture one could ever imagine!
¡ª
Outside the hidden vault,
It already has been half an hour, but John still was inside, but no one disturbed him because they didn¡¯t have the guts to disturb him when he said he wanted to be alone.
They were all waiting for John toe out on his own.
Lan and Alvin weren¡¯t too much excited because of the incident that happened with Finn. They still didn¡¯t get any news, and they were in the process of finding the Ghost¡¯s hideout when they have to rush here because of that thief.
No matter what, that thief was more important, and they were also hoping to encounter some Ghosts since they were also after him. Both Alvin and Lan were nning to kill two birds with one stone.
They now also had the help of Grand Beastmaster John, and they were confident in pushing the Ghosts to the corner and forcing them to hand Finn over.
While Lan was deep in thoughts, Alvin was looking in a particr direction with a feverish gaze. He was looking at the dead gorgeous Lavender Queen!
Alvin never expected to see a woman this beautiful in this barren ce. Truth to be told, he wasn¡¯t married nor did he have any thought of women since he was only interested in power.
But the Lavender Queen was truly ravishing to the extreme, and only someone like that person in high-levelnds can match her beauty.
He suddenly wanted to make this lethal beauty his woman, and he was confident in his status, power, and background. No one will refuse him!
Alvin waited until he¡¯s done with that thief and after finding Finn, he¡¯ll also take this beauty away with him!
Another two hours pass and Lan finally be impatient since this wasn¡¯t supposed to take this long. He told everyone to wait while he checked on John.
Lan entered the secret vault again, and the scene in front of him shocked him to the core! He didn¡¯t dare to believe what he just saw and took quivering steps toward the position where John was sitting.
As he got closer and closer, Lan¡¯s face lost all color as disbelief and terror filled his old eyes.
Before Lan was sitting, a ck skeleton was in John¡¯s clothing. There was no fluctuation of life, it was dead!
Lan didn¡¯t know what happened, but this skeleton was John¡¯s because it was his aura and also the storage ring of John!
Lan¡¯s back was drenched in cold perspiration as his heart was beating widely in horror. He looked at the dark owl with dreadful eyes. His only guess was all this happened because John try to track the thief.
He didn¡¯t want to stay here in the presence of this bizarre owl symbol. He quickly collects John¡¯s remains and with a pale face left the hidden vault.
When everyone saw Laning out of the vault, they wanted to ask about John but stopped when they saw Lan¡¯s ashen face.
¡°We¡¯re leaving!¡± Lanmand Alvin with a powerful tone.
Alvin was stunned, but seeing Lan¡¯s ashen face, he didn¡¯t retort and followed behind after taking ast nce at Lavender Queen.
This abrupt departure of Pill me Organization bbergasted everyone in the throne room, and they didn¡¯t even take the Grand Beastmaster with them.
¡ª
¡°What happened?¡± Alvin inquired.
Lan said with a stiff face, ¡°John is dead, and I don¡¯t know, how! But it has something to do with that owl mural. I have to report this to higher-ups as soon as possible and return John remains to the Beast City.¡±
¡°What?! But how is it possible?!¡± Alvin¡¯s face also turned pale.
Lan didn¡¯t speak as he directly showed John¡¯s ck skeleton to Alvin, and he finally felt a chill run down his spine.
¡°T-this???!¡±
¡°See? We¡¯re dealing with someone terrified, and I finally understand why those old fossils of every organization wanted that thief so badly. He had a dangerous and profound secret. We need nning and pawns to capture him, and I know how to get them.¡± Lan¡¯s eyes shone with slyness and intense greed.
¡°Have those tene to the me City of Leap Kingdom tomorrow and don¡¯t tell anyone about John¡¯s death, or they might get scared off! Just told them he left with a secret skill after he got the location of that thief!¡±
Chapter 203: Ace’s Progress & Plan!
Chapter 203: Ace¡¯s Progress & n!
The Moon Leap City was at the edge of Leap¡¯s Kingdom and closest to the Earthen Mist Forest of Earthen Nature Boundary between first and second-gradends.
Although this city was very close to the earthen mist forest it was still tens of miles away, so there wasn¡¯t any danger. Besides, the demonic beasts inside the earthen mist forest never left the Emerald Mist for some mysterious reason.
At this moment, inside an Inn¡¯s room.
A young man with in features was sitting cross-legged. This was Ace in Ryan¡¯s disguise.
Before him, floating four runic symbols, illuminating in different shades.
The bright green was the Earth Rune, the gentle blue was, Water Rune, the scarlet one was Fire Rune, andst in Azure color was the Wind Rune!
Ace¡¯s eyes were shimmering with tion because he finallypleted the Basic Myriad Rune Symbols Encyclopedia, and it only took him two days before hepleted the Fire Rune and Wind Rune.
Now that heprehended four basic element symbols, he was only two steps away from being a tier-1 rune crafter!
After this third part was the fourth part, Basic Myriad Runic Structural Encyclopedia!
In this encyclopedia, there wasplete instruction on how tobine different basic rune symbols into arrays and formations, the materials needed, and information on soul Qi control one needed to crafter a corporeal rune symbol perfectly.
This encyclopedia was filled with ancient knowledge about four rune symbols Ace¡¯s justprehended. Like, rune crafter¡¯s tool, materials,bination structures¡, everything one needed to start the 1st-level of the final and fifth part the Heavenly Rune Crafting Technique!
Ace got the huge information of both the Basic Myriad Runic Structural Encyclopedia and Heavenly Rune Crafting Technique, first levels.
He wanted to start right away, but the time of his Light Element Qi was about to end, so he had no choice but to end rune crafting practice.
It already has been twenty days since Ace theft the Leap Pce and Leap King.
The first ten days Ace spent on reaching Moon Leap City because it was the furthest away from the ¡®crime scene¡¯ and it was also close to the mysterious Earthen Mist Forest.
This was Ace¡¯s backup n because he knew this was the most dangerous area of the middlends and no one dare to enter this forest so easily if he escaped there.
Ace also heard about what the Leap King did to the Queen and his brother after reading his ¡®kind¡¯ message. He also heard about the Union Meeting between ten kingdoms and the sudden entry of me Pill and Beast Calling.
He has predicted this much because he had robbed a 1st-grade kingdom and its king. Other rulers would naturally feel threatened because of him and even unite their power just to deal with him.
As for those three giants, they were his real enemy, and they will indefinitelye after him.
But what he never expected was no one took any action after that big meeting, and they announced nothing. Ace understands that they would be idiots if they released their ns in public since he would also know about them.
What Ace didn¡¯t know was, he dodged a bullet a few days ago, because if Leap King didn¡¯t destroy that throne in madness where he wrote those words himself and John tried that tracking skill on it. He would¡¯ve already seeded in locating him.
But these ignorant fellows go after something created by the System, a thing that the likes of them or anyone can neverprehend.
John even dares to use a tracking spell on it, which simply means he was courting death, and he already paid a horrible price for it!
Furthermore, one thing that the Leap King still didn¡¯t tell any was he also tried to destroy the owl mural out of shame and anger, but no matter how much he attack he can¡¯t even scratch it.
In the end, he kept it a secret because he thought everyone wouldugh at him and the little face he has left, will be lost as well.
If he had told them, they would¡¯ve been more careful before messing with the dark owl symbol, but in the end, he even helped his enemy!
Now no one in the entire middlend can cast this secret skill because only Grand Beastmaster level existences can learn it!
However, Ace had his ns and even if those guys locate him, it won¡¯t be easy to capture him because he can easily enter the earthen mist forest after using the invisible bead.
It was just that he had to go there unprepared and with no backup n; it was still a small price to pay, though.
Now, he was progressing very quickly, and he was only a step away to create a powerful skill. But thisst step was like a cliffhanger because he just can¡¯t seem toplete it no matter what he does.
In the end, Ace only sighed and focus on the rune crafting and made tremendous progress. As for his other skills, he never overlooked them.
¡°Status!¡±Ace opened the status panel.
=====
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human {No Bloodline}]
[Heaven: 1st Mortal Sky Heaven]
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Foundation Building {Peak-Stage}]
[EXP: 10.95 Million/100 Million]
{Elemental Orb:0/1}
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core]
{SP: 51,030/100,000}
¡ª
[Skills: 7]
Heartless Stealth (Art):
{Breathless Stealth: Perfection
Pulseless Stealth: NONE
Heartless Stealth: NONE}
Misperception Sky Steps (Art):
[Camouge Steps: Low
Lightning Steps: Low
Misperception Steps: Low
Sky Steps: NONE}
Soul Shattering Eyes: {Low}
Soul Piercing Bullets: {Low}
Soul Guardian Barrier (Art):
{Soul Barrier: Low
Soul Guardian: NONE}
Pick Pocket: {Perfection}
Treasure Opening Hands [Art]: {5th Form}
[Cultivation Technique: 3]
{Heaven Stealer Technique: Volume 1
Dual Shadow Swords: 1st Realm (Sword as Limb)
Heavenly Rune Crafter: 0-Tier}
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 152.900TP]
[Mission(s): 1]
[Opportunity Makes a Thief: These self-proimed three Giants currently guing Host. Because of this, they¡¯re hindering Host¡¯s progress in the path of Thievery, and this is uneptable. Please take this opportunity as a challenge and also teach Three Giants an unforgettable lesson!]
[Mission: Steal everything from Three Giants¡¯ ten main branches in Top Ten Kingdoms of Middle-Level Lands.]
{Progress:0/30}
[Rewards based on Host Performance]
{Three Hidden Rewards}
{Time Left: 9 Years & 5 Months}
{Mission Failure Punishment: System shop closing for 200 Years!}
======
Ace¡¯s lips rose after seeing his skills, he had already reached the limit of skill proficiency in the Heavenly foundation realm and if he wanted to further progress; he had to reach the Heavenly River Realm!
His soul skills were also limited because of his martial cultivation, or their proficiency might not be just ¡®low¡®. But this did not dishearten him, and he kept improving in other aspects which he can, like rune crafting and dual shadow swords.
But he had already reached a bottleneck in dual shadow swords, and he had a strange feeling that he won¡¯t be a tier-1 Heavenly Rune Crafter with just worldly soul Qi, and he might need Heavenly Element Soul Qi. He only felt this way after he got the final two parts of the technique.
As for buying something new from the system¡¯s shop, everything was too expensive and by the price tag, he could guess these techniques weren¡¯t something he could learn so quickly.
At least not now, since the time to act was approaching!
¡®Sigh¡¡¯ Ace sighed, ¡°I need to find that damn elemental orb as soon as I can. But I won¡¯t be a walk in the park, likest time. Ten more days before thestpetition between the hundred kingdoms of Damien Royal Institute would start.¡±
Ace smiled with ambiguity when he thought about the finale of the Damien Royal Institute recruitment test. He was also a part of the first test but was taken away by Alvin and missed the second one, but thest one was approaching, and he wanted toplete what he started.
Before, Ace nned to get inside the institute and broaden his horizons and theft those participants while bing famous in the process. But things didn¡¯t go as nned when three giants interfere and the system issued an almost impossible mission.
Now, however, he won¡¯t be going to take part to join the institute, though.
Ace was going to thestpetition because there would be lots of ¡®fat sheep¡¯ and he can harvest a vast amount of TP while also getting some fame.
Furthermore, this was just something extra he¡¯s going to do while luring those big wings of middle-levelnds at the venue of thest test!
Because the venue for thest test was non-other than the outskirts of Earthen Mist forest, and Ace was 90% sure that an elemental orb was somewhere inside that mysterious forest.
All those who were after his secrets and those hidden enemies, they were his ¡®helper¡¯ in dealing with the Orb Guardian!
¡°The more, the merrier.¡± Ace¡¯s lips rose in an icy smile, he can¡¯t wait to begin the game!
Chapter 204: Harvest Festival Begin
Chapter 204: Harvest Festival Begin
The Earthen Mist Forest remains barren all the time because of the danger surrounding it.
However, today, the outskirts of the earthen mist forest were bursting with actives. There were thousands of youngsters gathering a mile away from the Emerald Mist.
All these fifty thousand youngsters were geniuses from all around the middle-levelnds. Though 80% were from the 1st-gradend and 18% were from the 2nd-gradends.
The 3rd-gradends were most pitiful, with only 2%. Everyone looked down on them and didn¡¯t put them in their eyes at all.
As for the reason for this gathering, it was because of the finale of Damien Royal Institute¡¯s recruitment tests.
Thest test was already announced, and that was to survive in the outermost region of the Emerald Mist for 3 days!
Although this area was rtively safe, whereas for all these youngsters in the Qi gates realm it was extremely dangerous.
One had to know the Emerald Mist¡¯s bewitching effect in the outermost area can even endanger a Qi foundation building cultivator.
But all these youngsters needed to bear it for 3 days and there wasn¡¯t any method to cheat either because nothing work on Emerald Mist. No treasure, no medicine, nothing!
That¡¯s the true terror of Earthen Mist Forest was, and that¡¯s why to this day not a single person returned alive from its depth.
But the danger wasn¡¯t just the Emerald Mist and beings living in there. The actual danger for these youths was the other participants!
The seats were limited and all of them were geniuses of their regions. Everyone wanted a seat, and they all will do anything to eliminate as muchpetition as they can.
This was the actual test of survival, no one will look for them for three days, and they were free to do anything and everything! That¡¯s why the death rate was so high for these tests!
¡ª
While all those fifty thousand youths were receiving survival instruction from their seniors.
A ck-d person, his face was hidden behind a hood, he was leisurely sitting on a strange tree inside the Emerald Mist as if this terrifying mist didn¡¯t have any effect on him at all!
This person was indeed Ace, who came here this morning just before all those participants. They released the news about thest test to the public, and this greatly benefits Ace.
He deliberately chose this day to lure everyone inside this mysterious forest and in his free time harvest some TP from all those young ones.
Ace was very confident about the elemental orb was somewhere deep inside this forest.
His confidencees from this Emerald Mist because when he was traveling with Alvin, at that time Alvin wasn¡¯t sure about Finn¡¯s element physique. He heard about the mystery of this forest from the old beast tamer and consider it a backup n in case of if Finn wasn¡¯t an element physique.
At that time, Alvin even has the old beast tamer fly over this Emerald Mist to check the bewitching effects.
But by doing this, Ace also came in contact with the Emerald Mist and instantly felt the simrity between this Emerald Mist and the White Mist he encountered at the Moon Forest in low-levelnds. He found the light orb there!
Even though the simrity was vague, but Ace only need this much to consider there was an elemental orb here and came here after he robbed the me City.
Furthermore, this Emerald Mist didn¡¯t have any kind of effect on him, just like that white mist didn¡¯t have any kind of effect. This makes things easier for him.
That¡¯s why he selected to lure everyone who was after him here and let them follow him, so he can use them on luring the orb guardian away in case he found the elemental orb!
Although his n of robbing the me city didn¡¯t go as he thought it would, he still got many things and understand the powers he was facing.
He wasn¡¯t ignorant anymore and even if he didn¡¯t find any elemental orb, he can cripple the most powerful beings who were after him, and make his mission more feasible!
Now, he was only waiting for the test to begin and then start his little game.
Ace suddenly opened his eyes, and a faint smile appeared on his face. He felt many soul fluctuationsing this way.
¡°Oh, these familiar soul signatures. They¡¯re some people from the Regal Kingdom and also testers.¡± Ace instantly remembered where he felt these soul signatures and his smile widen.
¡°Thirty Empty River, Twenty River Depth, Five River Source, oh¡one Flowing River Cultivator, and hundreds of Qi Foundation realm cultivators. Hehe, I should start with them, this time I¡¯ll be able to level up my thief rank!¡± Ace¡¯s heartbeat raced as he counted all those powerful cultivators.
All these cultivators were here to protect some important youths like prince and princess of first-gradends and other geniuses deemed important by the institute after they monitored them forst tests and investigate their life histories.
They can¡¯t let these seedlings die no matter what.
As for Ace, after robbing the Leap King, he be more confident in robbing cultivators in Qi River Realm and all these people protecting those youngsters from shadow were nothing but TP in Ace¡¯s eyes now!
He was determined to level up his thief title this time around; he hides and cower long enough.
With a faint smile, Ace disappeared in Emerald Mist.
All those youngsters enter the Emerald Mist, and shadowing them were those people of the institute. They will only interfere when the ¡®special participants¡¯ were about to face death, not before.
¡°River Shadow 9, follow the Price of Earth Kingdom¡¡±
¡°Foundation Shadow 88 Followed the Duke Brat of Scarlet Moon Kingdom, he¡¯s very troublesome¡¡±
¡°River Shadow 3 follow the nephew of Lavender Queen¡¡±
A person ds inpletely ck gave these kinds of orders to all those people hidden. He was the Shadow Leader; he appointed everyone to a special participant based on their importance. The River Shadows were Qi river cultivators and Foundation Shadows were Qi foundation building cultivators. As for the number, the lower it was, the higher the power of that person.
Every shadow received its order, and they shadow their targets. The shadow leader and number 2 and 1 river shadows followed two princes and one princess of the Royal Damien Family.
Half a day pass and 238 participants were already dead because of internal fights between the participants. But all those dead weremoners who had big dreams and didn¡¯t submit to big families and wanted to stay independent.
This was the real cruelty of thesends, if those in power felt a threat from you, and you won¡¯t submit to them either you vanished mysteriously or die in some unknown gutter.
All these geniuses with humble backgrounds or those below 1st-gradends were nothing but crops in the eyes of 1st-grade kingdoms¡¯ nobles. Either they harvest them or just render them rotten so no one could eat them if they cannot.
Ace was observing these fights between weakmoners and powerful nobles, who were also protected by the people of the institute. If those protected nobles were about to die from amoner¡¯s hand, the other person interfere and take them away.
This disgusted Ace and his mood fell, seeing this unfairness of the fairest institute of middlends. In the end, it was just a sham, and this turn Ace¡¯s heart cold.
¡®Well, I also needed some EXP, might as well not waste it.¡¯ A sharp glint sh past his eyes and he finally made a move after observing for half a day.
¡°Why are you attacking me?! I have no enmity with you?¡± A short boy was panting while hatefully grimacing at a young man with a wintry smile.
¡°I know, but you refused a loyalty (ve) contract from Ruby Chamber of Commerce, and my father didn¡¯t seem to like it very much.¡± The young man wore a cold smile as he coolly answered.
The short boy suddenly remembered and pursed his lips, ¡°So you want to recruit me with force now?¡±
¡°Nah.¡± The young man shook his head as a mocking smile surfaced on his face, ¡°We only gave one chance, that¡¯s our policy.¡±
The very next moment, he shed his long sword toward the short boy¡¯s neck with no hint of hesitation.
¡°Heh, your policy matched mine.¡± A sneering crisp voice sounded at this moment and the young man¡¯s sword suddenly fell with his hand!
Everyone was bbergasted by what just happened, even that peak Qi foundation cultivators protecting the young man didn¡¯t see what happened.
¡°Ahhhhh¡.¡± The young man finallye to his sense and shrilled like a pig after he saw his bloody hand on the floor.
The person protecting the young man also moved quickly, he could feel something wasn¡¯t right and wanted to leave quickly and report this to the Shadow Leader!
But s, before he could do anything he felt a huge hammered strike inside his brain and he instantly fell on the floor, dead!
Chapter 205: Happy Thieving
Chapter 205: Happy Thieving
The short boy was dumbfoundedly looking at the screaming young man whose hand was cut off from his wrist. He didn¡¯t know just what happened, but someone had just saved his life.
¡°Bastard I¡¯ll kill!¡± The young man¡¯s face was twisted with hatred as he shrilled.
¡°Heh, just you?¡± The same indifferent voice sounded again.
¡°I¡¡± Before he could curse again his eyes abruptly lose their luster, and hended on the dirt bing a corpse.
The short boy¡¯s face shed with terror as he looked at the corpse, he didn¡¯t even see how this guy die.
¡°I¡t-thank¡you!¡± He stuttered, he didn¡¯t know if this was a friend or foe, but he knew if this person wanted him dead, he can do it a hundred times over.
Ace looked at the terror-sicken youth from a tree ten meters away with a faint smile and said coolly, ¡°Get out of here, this ce is going to be chaotic, very soon. Oh, and please spread the news the Sky Stealer is¡here!¡±
Finish saying, he left the bbergasted youth there.
¡°S¡S-sky¡St-Stealer?!¡± The short boy¡¯s heart was beating so fast it was on the verge of exploding when he heard the identity of his savior.
He kept standing there for a while in a daze before he finally collected himself. An ecstatic smile appeared as he mumbled, ¡°I was saved by the Sky Stealer!¡±
After mumbling for some time, he quickly remembered what Sky Stealer told him, and with no hesitation, he left the trail ground to spread the news.
He didn¡¯t know why this Thief wanted to everyone know he was here, but something huge was going to happen in Earthen Mist Forest very soon!
¡ª
Ace was moving between trees like a phantom. He was going after anyone who came in the range of his soul sense. He was sensing many soul signatures and all of them had a protector with them.
¡®I hope they would give me at least a low-level thievery.¡¯ Ace mused with a hopeful smile.
Now that he had already shown his presence and told someone to announce his whereabouts, he had little time to y around before all those powerful beingse running here.
He stopped fifty meters away from his new targets, there was a ground of 12 youths with 4 peak stage Qi foundation realm protectors.
Abruptly, fourteen soul treads rush toward all those targets and a few momentster they vanished and the system¡¯s emotionless voice sounded,
========
[Quick Report of Thieveries]
[Sessful Pick Pocket Count: 16]
[Low-Level Thieveries: 1]
[Total Rewards: 13,100TP]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 166,000]
¡ª
[Low-level Thievery: 37]
=======
Ace looked with some disappointment after only scoring one low-level thievery after robbing those previous two dead guys and these fourteen.
¡®Next.¡¯ He quickly closed the notification panel and move on toward the next targets.
¡ª
Just like that, a full day and night pass.
This was supposed to be a test between fifty thousand youngsters, and it was also supposed to be a ruthless one.
However, at this moment, the forest was filled with curses and swearing. Almost everywhere, one could see arge group of youngsters and ck-d people moving together.
The people within these groups look very united, and their eyes were bloodshot for some reason. One could hear someone cuss with a voice full of resentment and fury.
¡°Bastard Thief,e out if you have guts, this father will teach you thievery is a crime!¡± An enraged burly youngster loudly eximed.
¡°Get back in line you muscle brain, you didn¡¯t even get this ugly owl tattoo like me. I¡¯ll fucking carve that bird on that basted ass with mynce!¡± another enraged guy roar as he showed an owl tattoo on his ring finger.
Just like this, many enrage voices sounded as some people showed the owl tattoo with deep resentment. No matter what they do, they can¡¯t seem to get rid of it. This was truly despicable.
Everyone knows just who this thief was since only he can imprint these strange owl symbols with no one finding out. They all knew they weren¡¯t a match for him, but the losses of their treasures were enough to let all of them unite and hunt him down.
They simply thought since the Sky Stealer didn¡¯t show himself it means he didn¡¯t have fighting power and this gave them even more incentive.
Even those protectors were no longer hidden as they were also madly searching for that thief. They never imagine that the infamous Sky Stealer woulde to the institute¡¯s test destination so boldly and even dare to rob from the number one institute of middle-levelnds.
One day and night, that thief had already robbed over 8,000 people and numbers kept rising every moment.
Everyone was on the verge of insanity because no matter what they do how much they guard or hide the storage rings they always vanished in front of their eyes, and sometimes they would get an owl tattoo as a blessing!
Now everyone knows that the notorious Thief was here and someone from the Shadows ground even reported it to the higher-ups. They wanted to cancel the test and leave before they would also get robbed, since no one seemed to be safe, not even those Qi river cultivators.
But to everyone¡¯s misery, they got an upromising order that they had to keep looking for the thief, or at least keep him here until the help arrived. The person giving the order even told them to let that thief rob them as long as they can keep him in one ce.
Now no one had any choice but to keep all those youths who wanted to leave before their treasures got stolen in the forest. This was giving the Shadow Leader a colossal headache, and he gritted his teeth as he also cursed that damn despicable thief and keep searching.
However, no matter what they do, that thief always stole everyone¡¯s storage rings without even leaking the slightest bit of Qi.
Now the final test of Damien Royal Institute has turned into a thief hunting test, but it seemed like they were the ones being hunted by that thief instead.
¡ª
At this moment, when everyone in the earthen mist forest going crazing because of Ace, a folk of ghost cranes was moving toward the earthen mist forest at high speed.
On the back of these Qi river flying beasts were many terrifying beings, and all of them at least at the peak of the Qi river realm!
A ghost crane was leading the folk in front, and on its back were Alvin and Lan and a stiff face beast tamer.
All of their expression was grave as they were all in a hurry to reach the location of that hateful thief as quickly as possible.
Alvin and Lan never expected that the hateful thief would show his face so soon. They both guess he would appear somewhere else since he was already done with the Leap Kingdom, and they were just in the process of forming a wless n to corner him.
As soon as they got the information that he was robbing many people in the earthen mist forest, they quickly assemble their forces and head there. This time they were bringing most of the powerful beings of middle-levelnds with them!
Also, this wasn¡¯t thest of it because they deliberately spread the news of this and they both know more people wille, and they were especially expecting Nightmare Ghosts.
Truth to be told, after what happened with John they were dreadful of that thief but also very greedy to get his secrets.
They didn¡¯t even tell about John¡¯s sudden death to anyone because they knew all these people would never dare to take part in this hunting if they knew a Qi River Core cultivator die.
They were even keeping it from Beast Calling and just make the same excuse they made before that John was chasing after the thief alone. Likewise, they simply thought to tell everyone after this hunt and only if that thief was powerful, and they can¡¯t handle him alone!
They concluded that the thief probably can¡¯t use this ¡®trick¡¯ all the time, or with this kind of prowess, he didn¡¯t need thievery at all!
But for the sake of safety, they both were going to let those others be their cannon folds, especially those damn ghosts, and let them test the waters for them. If they sense anything amiss, they will quickly escape!
¡ª
A few thousand miles away from the Pill me and Beast Calling group,
A group of ck-d people was moving toward the earthen mist forest with speed even faster than the ghost cranes.
In the very front of this group were three ck-clocked figures and a handsome young man in red robes, following behind him were two extremely beautiful women.
¡°ck Reaper, how much longer before we reached this Earthen Mist Forest. I don¡¯t want to lose this chance to capture that petty thief.¡± The young man coolly asked the ck-clocked man a few meters away from him.
¡°Crown Prince Marc, don¡¯t worry, even if he escaped, he¡¯lle in our way. That damn forest is not a ce where anyone could enter.¡± A respectful yet confident voice sounded underneath that cloak!
Chapter 206: Title level-up & Reward!
Chapter 206: Title level-up & Reward!
Shockingly, these people were from the Nightmare Ghosts Organization, and an even more shocking thing was the infamous ck assassin ck Reaper being respectful to a Crown Prince of an empire!
If Alvin or Lan saw this, this would shock them because the Nightmare Ghosts were a very conceited bunch, and they never show humbleness toward anyone except their leaders.
¡°Oh? This forest seemed quite interesting.¡± Marc smile faintly.
After ¡®talking¡¯ with his fianc¨¦ Green me Zelda, he now had some idea just how bizarre that thief truly was, and he was even more interested in capturing him alive than dead.
As for how he knew so quickly about the appearance of that thief, it was all thanks to Luminous King. The Luminous King kept providing him information about the ns of Lan and Alvin for many days without no one knowing.
The moment they heard the thief has appeared again, Marc quickly contact the Ghosts since he needed someone to keep the people of Pill me and Beast Calling in check until he captured and take away that thief.
As for why the Ghosts helped him and even beingpliant toward him, it all because¡!
¡°Yes, Crown Prince, it¡¯s very dangerous, and it would be wise to no go deep inside.¡± A crisp voice of a woman sounded from another cloaked figure, there was a hint of fear when she warned Marc.
¡°Fine, I just want something of mine that little thief stole.¡± Marc coolly stated as a hint of killing intent shed past his eyes when mentioning ¡®something¡¯.
¡ª
While the powerful forces were moving toward the earthen mist forest¡¯s outermost area at full speed.
The forest was quite lively because of a thief. The search was still going, but no one seem to find him.
Somewhere inside the earthen mist forest, inside a cave hidden within Emerald Mist.
Inside, a young man was sitting while staring at the air with burning eyes, as if he was looking at something invisible to others.
Who could this be but Ace, who was looking at the notification panel of the system with tion!
He was looking at the thievery count after his ¡®hardbor¡¯ and he seemed quite satisfied and thrilled.
====
[Quick Report of Thieveries]
[Sessful Pick Pocket Count: 11,290]
[Low-Level Thieveries: 2,500]
[Total Rewards: 2,000,000TP]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 2,166,000]
¡ª
[Low-level Thievery: 2,537]
====
Ace was grinning ear to ear like a manic when he saw the huge amount of thief points. He just robbed one-fifth of the participants, and he already got 2 million TP, this was a TP farm, and he was pleased he does this.
However, this wasn¡¯t the end of it the symbol of Thief Panel was also shining bright, and he knew what it¡¯s meant.
¡®Thief Panel.¡¯ He quickly opened the thief panel with eagerness.
====
[{Thief Panel}]
[Job {NOT Changeable}: Thief]
[Thief Name: Sky Stealer]
[Thief Title: Disciple of Darkness]
[Thief Rank: Trainee]
{Thievery needed to reach next Rank: 5,000 Low-Level Thievery & 100 Middle-level Thievery}
[Thief Fame {Host and Symbol}: Good]
[Thief Symbol: Dark Owl]
{Summoning Symbol: unlocked at the Poprity Level, Fame}
[Job Mission: 0]
¡ª-
[{Thievery Count Section}]
[Low-Level Thievery: 2,537]
[Middle-Level Thievery: 1]
[High-Level Thievery: 0]
====
Ace took a deep breath when he saw a new condition for leveling-up Thief Title. He knows just how hard it was to score middle-level thievery, and it¡¯s going to take a while before he could enter the next rank of Thief Title.
But what confused him, even more, the low-level thievery count was the same, and the system didn¡¯t deduct the previous 500 thieveries and left them there.
¡®Well, five hundred fewer thieveries for me, then.¡¯ Ace grin.
Just as Ace was about to close the thief panel, the system¡¯s emotionless voice dered,
===
[Congrattion on reaching Thief Trainee Rank]
[Reward(s): Thief Trainee¡¯s Hood]
[Do the host want to im the reward now?}
{Yes/Later}
===
¡°What?!¡± Ace eximed out loud, he didn¡¯t think there was a reward since he didn¡¯t get any instantly when he reached the requirements for level up.
The only exnation was it happened when he opened the Thief Panel.
He took a deep breath as he tried to calm his wildly beating heart, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m calming it!¡± He quickly mumbled as he shifted his thought to ¡®yes¡¯ in the transparent panel.
===
[The reward has been transferred into thief¡¯s space]
===
Ace quickly looked inside the thief space that was filled with unique treasures and storage rings, he shifted his attention towards the section where he kept the treasures he got from the system; he called them Heavenly Treasures now.
He quickly spotted an extra treasure beside the two pitch-ck swords and quickly took it out.
In Ace¡¯s hand, an imposing inky long coat with hood appeared, it was giving off a feeling of the night when one looked at it. The fabric was like feathers, there were dark blue runes engraved inside the long coat.
Ace admire the work with a grin and just as he turned it around his eyes contracted because on the back a twenty-four-inchrge dark blue owl was embroidered! It was the thief symbol, the dark owl.
¡°System, what are the functions of this Trainee¡¯s hood?¡± He quickly asked because he knew this wasn¡¯t just a simple long coat just by looking at those dark blue, mysterious runes. He can¡¯t even see through them with his runic eyes!
¡°[100TP for descriptions.]¡±
¡°As stingy as ever, just take it.¡± Ace snorted.
===
[Thief Point(s): 2,165,900]
¡ª
[Thief Trainee¡¯s Hood: Tier-12 Runic Treasure]
{Descriptions: A treasure that can only be used with Heavenly-Darkness Qi.
Ability(s): Self-Repair, Self-Sustain, Color Change, 5% Increased in Thief-rted skills.}
{Thief¡¯s Skills: Stealth (Any kind of Stealth skills with not Attack-Power), Picking-Skills (Skills like Pick-pocket & Treasure Opening Hands)}
===
(Author¡¯s Note: Soul Shattering Eyes and Misperception Sky Steps Art do not fall in the category of Picking Skills because they have attack powers, and they¡¯re not pure skills just for thievery.)
¡ª
Ace eyes shimmer with tion, even if this treasure was only tire-12 runic treasure, it was still something of a much higher grade than those runic treasures that only had 9 runic ranks!
He quickly changes his old hood which wasn¡¯t even a runic treasure with Thief Trainee¡¯s Hood after imprinting it with his Heavenly Mark.
The moment Ace released his Heavenly-Darkness Qi in the long coat, it adjusted on its own ording to his tone-body. He looked like a Night King with that owl on his back.
He tries to move and was astonished because his movements were smooth, and he didn¡¯t feel any hindrance. Furthermore, he was very satisfied with this unexpected reward.
¡®If I can get this reward after leveling up in rank, then doesn¡¯t it means I¡¯ll get more after I level up again?¡¯ Ace mused as his thirst for theft reach new heights.
¡®I still have a day before anyone reached here, I should take full advantage and at leastplete five thousand low-level thieveries before starting the next phase of my n!¡¯
Instantly, Ace active the breathless stealth and dissolved in the surrounding, and it was more powerful now because of the Thief Trainee¡¯s Hood.
Since the system deemed this skill a thief¡¯s skill, it was 5% more potent than before. Now he can fool the martial sense of a newly advanced Qi river core cultivator to some extent.
Ace quickly pick a group of people protected by two empty river cultivators. His lips rose as he stealthily moved closer to them. He was used to these kinds of groups after he robbed so many people like these.
He appeared ten meters away from a group of fifty people, all of them wore expensive and high-level equipment.
After scanning the group, he didn¡¯t find any storage rings on them and Ace¡¯s smile widen as if he was used to this scenario.
¡®They make it simpler again.¡¯ With a faint smile, he used soul probing on a little girl, the weakest in the group. After five minutes, he stopped using the soul probing and leave the vignt group alone.
Ace reached a specific area filled with trees, he looked carefully and, on a tree, he spotted a particr vague mark as if it was naturally formed.
¡°Heh, they¡¯re bing more creative.¡± With a sneer, he sent a soul tread toward the vague mark, and instantly the soul thread prated a husk area behind that mark.
Inside, Ace found a storage ring and quickly used the pick-pocket.
====
[Sessful Pick Pocket Count: 50]
[Low-Level Thieveries: 33]
[Total Rewards: 7,800TP]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 2,173,700]
¡ª
[Low-level Thievery: 2,570]
=======
Might you ask why he didn¡¯t score only one instead of fifty just now? It was all because all those 49 storage rings inside this storage ring still had their owner¡¯s Qi Marks.
Consequently, as long as Ace pick-pocketed a storage ring with Qi Mark, it counted as a thievery score!
That¡¯s also the main reason Ace could score so many thieveries in so little time, all these idiots hide their storage rings like this, and he easily used soul probing and took them all at once!
Chapter 207: I know you were EVIL!
Chapter 207: I know you were EVIL!
Hence, as long as Ace pick-pocketed a storage ring with Qi Mark, it counted as a thievery score!
Ace also found out about it when recently when he first raided a hidden ce. He first thought that he won¡¯t even get one count because the ring was justying in a ce, not on someone.
However, when he used pick-pocket, something happenedpletely out of his expectation and he got all the storage rings with Qi marks counted, and those people even received thief symbol!
This make things easier for him and at once he was collecting more thieveries with no real danger.
As for why those people did not give one person their storage rings and have him hide them, so no other person would know. It¡¯s very simple actually, they don¡¯t trust each other.
That¡¯s why whenever someone hides storage rings, every person who agrees to hide their storage ring goes to the secret ce together, and then all those people stay in one group. They won¡¯t even let anyone leave, afraid that person might take all the rings and escape!
Even though the storage rings were protected by Qi marks, they still do not trust anyone.
If they just have one of the strongest people hide the storage rings, Ace might¡¯ve had a tough time. Because first, the stronger a person is, the longer his soul probing would take since he randomly got memories.
Second, he can¡¯t use soul probing on peak stage Qi foundation or higher realm cultivators. This would¡¯ve hindered his progress the most, but these idiots just can¡¯t work together.
After storing the storage in his thief¡¯s space, he moved toward another group of four hundred meters north.
¡°Hmm?¡± A deep frown surfaced on Ace¡¯s calm face when he saw the group of five youths with an ashenplexion.
¡®They¡¯re reaching their limits of tolerance. If they didn¡¯t leave, they¡¯ll be bewitched by emerald mist.¡¯ Ace mused.
Their clothes were more crudepare with those nobles and no one was protecting their group. It was clear they weremoners or their lives weren¡¯t important.
He spotted many groups like these and in the end; he spared them since he deemed they won¡¯t give him much TP, or he just didn¡¯t want to steal from them.
From memories of other noble brats, he knew the big-wings wereing, and they were deliberately stalling him here, using these people in trails as baits.
He didn¡¯t mind it in the least bit though, since this makes things easier for him after all. After taking onest nce at that ashen face group, he moved on.
Ace has already spared them by not stealing their storage rings, and this was the only thing he can do. He won¡¯t be saving anyone since all of theme here of their own free will, and they were ready to die.
After all, he was just a trainee thief, not a hero.
After stealing from over seven hundred more people, Ace notice something very strange, he got no more low-level thievery count after he reached 2599, and the TP he got be much less than well.
¡°System, what¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± Ace transmitted in an irksome tone.
¡°[Since host has already be a Trainee Thief. The treasure he stole after 2599 thieveries will also have to be of trainee level.]¡±
Ace¡¯s face fell, and he knew this ck-hearted system has done something behind his back, he pursed his lips and questioned, ¡°Might I ask what the hell are those trainee¡¯s level treasures?¡±
¡°[Expect Runic Treasures, any treasure of Lowest-grade, Low-grade, Mid-low-grade as well as Qi-Stones of Trash-Grade (Low-Level) and Qi-Stones of Lowest-Grade (Middle-Level) will no longer give any TP from now one.]¡± The system¡¯s icy voice replied.
¡°I know you were evil!¡± Ace gritted his teeth in resentment after hearing this answer.
¡®This evil system just didn¡¯t want to watch me be rich!¡¯ Ace cursed some more with a deep grievance.
After ¡®greeting¡¯ the system¡¯s nine generations, he finally calmed down. However, his mood was still bleak since from now on any kind of treasure with the first three-level will be deemed useless.
¡®White-Grade, Green-Grade, Blue-Grade Pill and herbs. 1-star, 2-star, 3-star weapons, and materials. She didn¡¯t even spare Qi stones, damn it!¡¯
The more Ace thought, the more he wanted to cry. His onlyfort was the runic treasures will still give him TP.
Ace looked at the TP he amodated before the ck-hearted system put a restriction on them, and his mood turned better after seeing the number.
===
[Thief Point(s): 2,259,400]
¡ª
[Low-level Thievery: 2,599]
===
¡®I should now go after those protected by Qi River cultivators only.¡¯ With a bleak mood, he again started his search for high-level targets.
But even after robbing over 200 rich-looking youths protected by Qi river cultivators he still didn¡¯t score any low-level thievery and the most infuriating thing was he only got 1050 TP!
Ace was so mad and he again ¡®greeted¡¯ the system¡¯s all the generations while keep stealing from whoevere in his way. Now, even if he got little TP from those brats, he felt he at least got something.
He intervened on a tree because he picked up a group of over 200 people with his soul sense and the strongest of them were none other than the missing Twenty River Depth, Five River Source, and one Flowing River Cultivator!
They all were guarding these youths.
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmer as a cold smile appeared on his face, ¡®So that¡¯s why I don¡¯t find them, theye together to protect the richest bunch of all the participants. Well, the time is also approaching. I should start the second phase after this raid.¡¯
With some expectation, he moved toward the campsite of those rich pigs. They were just sitting there, and waiting for the ¡®ughterer¡¯ toe.
Inside the camp, most of the youth¡¯s faces were pale, and the toxic mist affected even some Qi foundation cultivators.
The atmosphere was already gloomy, as a young man¡¯s yelling on a ck-d man make it more.
¡°What do you mean we can¡¯t go outside? Do you know who my father is?!¡± This youth¡¯s face was handsome with a slender tall body, he was the youngest son of Damien King!
¡°Damien Prince, this was your father¡¯s order, not mine!¡± The shadow leader pursed his lips while he answered with annoyance. He wasn¡¯t feeling too good, staying here like some sacrificial goat.
But what can he do but obey the order?
All he can do was to collect all the princes and princesses, and some other important youngsters of the top ten kingdoms in one ce, so he could protect them from that hateful thief.
He even collected everyone¡¯s storage rings and put them all in his own. However, he didn¡¯t hide it out in the open because he received multiple reports that it was pointless since that bastard can find them no matter where someone hid it.
That¡¯s why he did something even crazier, he made a deep cut into his stomach and ce the storage ring there!
He wasn¡¯t bothered by this at all because of his high cultivation level, and now he waspletely assured about the safety of his storage ring. He even wanted to taunt that thief when he would fail miserably.
¡®Heh, that thief is too immature!¡¯ Shadow Leader sneered, gloatingly in his heart when he thinks about his genius hiding n.
¡°But if we stay here two more days, we¡¯ll bepletely at the mercy of this malicious mist!¡± A beautiful girl beside the Damien Prince retort with a hint of anxiety.
¡°Damien Princess, my hands are tied and all I can do is to protect you, so please be patient!¡± Shadow Leader smile wryly.
He wanted to tell them about theing to the rulers, but he was afraid that the thief would hear it and escape, so he had no choice but to hide it.
More youths show disgruntled faces, but they can¡¯t beat these guys, so all they can do now was to wait since Shadow Leader also took their storage rings away.
Ace heard this debate and couldn¡¯t help but sneer with contempt. They were even using their children as bait.
Just as he expected, they didn¡¯t have their storage rings so, he just soul probe the weakest like before.
However, he didn¡¯t get information after that brat handed over his storage ring to that Shadow Leader fellow. He probed two more brats and just like before he didn¡¯t find the location.
Ace narrowed his eyes, this was the first time he encountered this situation.
¡®Should I leave?¡® Ace deeply looked at that Shadow Leader fellow with a stony gaze. He didn¡¯t think there was a capable fellow in these idiots.
¡®Well, I can¡¯t probe his memories. Sigh¡ forget it.¡® Ace was just about to leave in disappointment when a treacherous n sh past his mind.
¡®So be it.¡¯ An icy smile creeped out on his face, he¡¯s going to try something unique!
Chapter 208: I’m a Peace Lover
Chapter 208: I¡¯m a Peace Lover
Just as Shadow Leader was alleviating the situation, his eyes suddenly wide opened as he looked ahead of him with incredulity.
All those brats and other members of the shadow group who were looking toward Shadow Leader be confused by his odd expression. Everyone looked in the direction of Shadow Leader.
At this moment someone¡¯s ecstatic voice sounded with a hint of disbelieve, ¡°T-thief! It¡¯s the thief, look he¡¯s standing right there!¡±
Everyone instantly shifted their focus with bewitching faces. Their expression also turned the same as Shadow Leader.
Just twenty meters away from the Shadow Leader was standing a figure, wearing an inky long coat and his face was covered behind the hood. The most eyes catching thing was the imposing owl embroidery on the coat back!
Only one person would dare to wear this owl symbol in the entire middlend, and that was the Sky Stealer!
¡°You dare toe before me? Good, good, stay here forever!¡± The Shadow Leader¡¯s eyes shimmer with greed when he sensed this was indeed a real person standing there, not some illusion.
Although he didn¡¯t seem to fathom this person¡¯s cultivation, he didn¡¯t sense any danger from him at all. This instantly gave him ample confidence and when he thought about all those rewards on this thief¡¯s head, his heart instantly raced.
A blue light suddenly shone from his hand and a dreadful aura of flowing Qi river reached to limit. He instantly shot toward the hooded figure like an arrow and punch toward Ace¡¯s chest.
Ace was calm while watching blue punching, as he expected this oue. With a faint smile, he used the Misperception Steps!
Shadow Leader suddenly discern a strangeness, he saw the thief was standing right there, but his senses keep telling him he was behind him. But he still believed his vision and ignore this sudden feeling.
¡®Swoosh¡¡¯
The blue punch created a sharp waft sound but it only ¡®injured¡¯ air, nothing else since Ace¡¯s wasn¡¯t there!
This dumbfounded everyone because they saw the shadow leader¡¯s powerful attack onlynd on empty air. The thief was somehow standing five meters away on Shadow Leader¡¯s left.
No one saw him moving, but somehow like a ghost he emerged there. This shocked everyone.
¡°Are you done?¡± A nonchnt voice woke Shadow Leader from his befuddlement.
He quickly turned left with an ugly face, ¡®This basted is mocking me? But how did he move there?¡¯
With cold eyes, Shadow Leader again attack Ace, but this time the power was even more potent than before. Thest time he wanted to capture him alive, so he didn¡¯t use his full power, but now he didn¡¯t care anymore.
Ace again used the misperception steps and move in a special pattern, as every step contain a deep mystery. This was the third form of Misperception Sky Steps Art, Misperception Steps that can fool someone¡¯s Perception!
Again, that strange feeling aroused in Shadow Leader¡¯s mind that keeps telling him the thief was not before him but to his right. This time he goes with this feeling and abruptly swings his punch to the right.
However, to his spectacle, there was no one since he missed again!
¡°Want to try again?¡± Again, that same nonchnt voice buzzed from behind.
Although Ace seemed nonchnt, he was gloating inside.
With low-level mastery, he can easily fool a flowing Qi river cultivator¡¯s perception, but not any higher since he was still in the Heavenly Foundation realm.
This was the main reason he dares to show up in front of Shadow Leader. But his attacking power wascking, and that¡¯s why he was only dodging.
To his n to work, he needed the party to dread him and by counter-attacking, he would instantly reveal his low attacking power. That¡¯s why he was acting overbearing.
With an ugly face twisted with humiliation and difiture, he pursed his lips, ¡°What do you want?¡± There was a hint of fear and shock in the shadow leader¡¯s eyes this time.
¡®He¡¯s not attacking and even dares to show himself, which means he wants something. But why is he stealing from those brats with this kind of prowess? With his abilities, he can easily join the ranks of those giants.¡¯
Many questions were raised in his heart as he deeply looked at the hooded person. He was an instructor in the institute, and he could tell by the voice of Sky Stealer that he was extremely young.
Ace smile faintly, seeing his n working, ¡°What do you think I want?¡±
Shadow Leader¡¯s eyes narrowed as he assumed, ¡°You want our storage rings? Do you have the method to remove the Qi marks?¡± He couldn¡¯t help but ask since this was an open secret.
All those bystanders were quietly listening to them since they were all weaker than the Shadow Leader, and it also seemed that thief was more mysterious than they thought!
¡°My answer for both of your questions is¡¡± Ace coolly stated, ¡°Yes!¡±
Ace didn¡¯t mind admitting this fact since every time the system removed the Qi mark the owner suffer a bacsh, and it was impossible to hide it.
Shadow Leader¡¯s eyes sh with greed when Ace admitted it himself. No matter what just this method was enough to cause war in entire middle-levelnds but s it was in the hand of a thief.
¡°I can¡¯t give them to you, they¡¯re not with me.¡± The shadow leader shook his head. He was lying. How could he just give away his life¡¯s worth of wealth just like this?
Ace frowned because he knew this guy was lying, and his eyes turn cold, ¡°Heh, fine keep lying. Then let¡¯s y an interesting game.¡±
Shadow Leader was shocked inside when his lie was seen through so easily by the thief, but there was a possibility that the Thief was just bluffing.
He kept an expressionless face and said, ¡°Do whatever you want, I didn¡¯t have the storage rings.¡±
¡°So be it¡¡± Ace¡¯s voice suddenly turned much louder as he spoke this time,
¡°My dear Princes and Princess, as you just heard I only wanted your storage rings, nothing else. I¡¯m not a person who likes violence, and I¡¯m a peace lover, but I seemed your leader took my kindness as an act of weakness¡¡±
Before Ace could finish, a blue spear made of violent water element Qi whistled through air toward Ace¡¯s heart.
¡°Hmph¡¡± Ace snorted and instantly used the Lightning Steeps and sidestep the Qince, it didn¡¯t even faze him.
Ace coldly looked at the Shadow Leader because he was the sneak attacker.
Shadow leader smacks his lips, he never thought this guy would even dodge his high-grade worrier skill, Water Lance. He thought he could sneak an attack in since this thief was busy yapping, but he again seemed to underestimate him.
Ace didn¡¯t speak to him again and continued what he was saying, ¡°Where I was¡oh¡as I was saying your leader seemed to be a retard and didn¡¯t care about your lives and only the storage rings.¡±
Shadow Leader¡¯s face changed, hearing Ace calling him a retard like he wasn¡¯t there. He wanted to attack again when he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as if has been looked at by a terrifying existence.
¡®Just who is this person?¡¯ With horrified eyes he looked at Ace¡¯s face which was covered beneath the hood, it was like a ck hole.
Ace didn¡¯t know his killing intent just scared a flowing Qi river cultivator. He just released the killing intent as a warning for Shadow Leader, so he won¡¯t interrupt him again.
Seeing that it worked, he continued, ¡°So, from now on, every ten seconds I¡¯ll kill someone. As long as he gave me the storage rings, I¡¯ll stop and leave in peace!¡±
Everyone¡¯s faces turned ugly when they heard this thief dare to threaten them so boldly.
Did he don¡¯t know just who they were?
Did not know their backgrounds? But wait he clearly said princes and princesses, this means he knows who they were.
But so why did he say he¡¯ll kill them? Did he not afraid of their entire Kingdom would seek revenge if he started killing them?
¡°Bastard, you dare?!¡± Shadow Leader killing intent intensified.
This wasn¡¯t a sneering matter at all because he can¡¯t stop Ace if he really went after those youths and even if this thief didn¡¯t kill him, he would be killed by those rulers who wereing after seeing their offspring die on his watch!
¡°Heh¡¡± Ace sneered and in front of everyone¡¯s awful eyes vanished like a ghost!
Everyone¡¯s heart turn cold seeing this and even shadow leaders didn¡¯t seem to sense Ace¡¯s presence anymore.
¡°Just gave him my storage ring!¡± A boy said with a pale face.
¡°Yes, mine as well. Just don¡¯t kill me!¡± A little girl also shouted with anxiety.
¡°Shut up!¡± Shadow Leader roared in anger.
Just as his enraged voice sounded,
¡°Ahhhhh¡.¡± Another girl¡¯s scream rang in the silent vicinity.
Everyone looked in her direction and a chill seemed to run down everyone¡¯s spine because a lifeless body of a boy wasying there!
Chapter 209 - He’s A Rebel!
Shadow Leader''s face turn ashen when he saw the dead body. Even he didn''t see how that young boy die without any impairments. Most importantly, that thief actually starts killing.
"Brute, stop!" He roared as he looked around with killing intent and atrocity.
"You know how to stop me." Ace''s unconcerned voice drifted in the air and everyone heard it.
"Just give him what he wanted!" Damien Prince yells with an ashen face. He cherished his life more than treasures.
Shadow Leader gritted his teeth with bloodshot eyes, he didn''t want to hand over his storage rings for these brats at all. He even regretted collecting everyone''s rings, or this might note to this.
But he can''t just wait and watch those aristocrats die, and they all belonged to Royal families of the top ten kingdoms.
Even if he wasn''t afraid of other kingdoms, he was afraid of Damien King''s wrath. Because he was non-other the principal of Damien Royal Institute!
The Damien King''s will torture him to no end and kill him, there was no ce he could run.
When he thought about all these possibilities, his heart turned cold, but he still hesitates to hand over his storage ring!
"H-he kill the P-Prince of¡The Golden Hammered Kingdom!" Someone eximed with dreadfulness.
"Bastard, give me my storage ring if you want to die, die alone, don''t drag me with you!" A scarlet hair youth roar as he charged at Shadow Leader without even thinking about their cultivation level difference. He was the scarlet prince, and he was terrified of dying.
More and more people join him and all of them were filled with madness. They didn''t want to die!
"Stop! Just stop, I''ll give you the storage ring!" Shadow Leader''s face was lifeless when he finally gave in. He also chose life over treasures.
He felt this thief wasn''t attacking him because only he knows the secret position of the storage ring or with this thief''s ability he can easily kill him.
No matter what, he will die!
Ace appeared ten meters away from the listless Shadow Leader like a ghost. He had a faint smile of victory on his face, ''I seed and even kill those bastards from the Golden Hammered Kingdom.''
A hint of viciousness shed past his eyes when he thought about the Golden Hammered Kingdom. He still didn''t forget the blood feud created by Dulce.
That''s why he went after the Golden Hammered Kingdom first and cornered Shadow Leader. He knew this guy was just an instructor and will be killed if he didn''t protect these important nobles.
Ace took the risk and show him just how helpless he was if he really killed, and now he was even thinking he might be able to kill a flowing Qi river cultivator if the other party wasn''t vignt of him.
But the next moment he throws the idea aside since it was very dangerous, and he wasn''t some blood-thirsty killer and just a petty thief. He would never kill wantonly for no reason.
Shadow Leader gritted his teeth when he saw this bastard appear so leisurely with no fear.
"Give me a moment!" He turned around and enter his tent.
"No tricks!" Ace could tell this guy wasn''t lying this time, but he still warned him.
Shadow Leader took a deep breath and unclenched his fist and with a trembling hand, he took off the ck armor and robe. There was a healed scar on his stomach.
With his Qi, he again cut open that scare with a painful expression and took out a bloody ring. His expression was as if he would cry at any moment when he looked at the storage ring.
However, before he could strengthen his resolve, the storage ring vanished and an owl tattoo appeared on his left index finger mysteriously.
Shadow Leader''s eyes turn bloodshot and abruptly vomit a mouthful of blood.
His shrilled roar rang in the vacancy, filled with hatred and helplessness.
"I not over between us! You, thievish son of a bitch!!"
---
''Heh¡'' Ace smirked when he heard Shadow Leader''s resentful roar.
He looked at the storage ring, which still has a trace of warm blood. He observed all that the shadow leader did after entering the tent with his heavenly sense.
Even he had to admit this method was unique and effective. He will remember it since if one person can use his body as some hiding-ce the other can as well.
The world was filled with more sly people like Shadow Leader, or even more shrewd people than him.
He looked at the notification panel with tion that he received after he used the pick-pocket.
====
[Sessful Pick Pocket Count: 205]
[Low-Level Thieveries: 146]
[Total Rewards: 40,000TP]
---
[Thief Point(s): 2,299,400]
---
[Low-level Thievery: 2,745]
====
''I guess this was thest low-level thieveries I got from these participants. Now I have to lure those iing ''helpers'' deep inside the forest!'' Ace''s eyes shone with a sharp light.
---
Another day passed,
A few ten miles away from the earthen mist forest, a flock of Ghost Cranes came to view. Any demonic beast in the vacancy would escape just by sensing the terrifying aura this flock was emitting.
After fifteen minutes, the flock finallynded a mile away from the emerald mist.
A group of powerful people disembarks the Ghost Cranes.
An athletic middle-aged man with long ck hair looked at the 12 beast tamers who controlled these 12 Ghost Cranes and ordered, "You guy keep an eye from the sky. If anything, out of the ordinary happened, use the Thousand-Miles Transmission Formation."
The beast tamers nodded since this person was from the high-levelnds, Ridge.
He was sent here to capture Sky Stealer, just like Alvin. He was also in the Qi river core realm.
Since John disappeared, he was temporarily in charge of the beast calling main branches. He came to the Leap Kingdom with John, so he would naturally also take part in this hunt.
Ridge had his doubts regarding John''s sudden disappearance, and he naturally suspects Lan and Alvin, but he knew John was much stronger than bothbined, so there was also a possibility they were telling the truth.
He didn''t have John''s secret skill so, he couldn''t sort this out and only trust those two. But he would demand an answer if John didn''te back, even after they capture that thief.
Right now, they all needed to work together since the thief wasn''t the only problem and the real threat was from Nightmare Ghosts!
"Everyone, I don''t need to warn you about the danger of this mysterious forest but who didn''t know I would say only this much," Lan spoke at this moment while looking at everyone solemnly.
"This emerald mist can be dangerous even to me if I enter deep into the forest. We''re here to capture a thief who didn''t know the immensity of the sky or depth of earth.
"He defies the authority of everyone and didn''t follow the highws we maintained for thousands of years. He''s a rebel, and he needed to face judgment.
"As for everyone who followed us here, after capturing that thief they will be abundant rewards for you and your ruling domains. I promise you, on the behalf of Pill me Organization and Beast Calling Organization!"
Every ruler standing there shows an ecstatic expression after hearing Lan''s promise of rewards. These rewards would bring those kingdoms to a new height of power.
Lan was very satisfied with everyone''s reaction and continue, "Onest thing, Nightmare Ghosts Organization will alsoe in two or three days. If you see any one of them kill them all, the Pill me Organization will take full responsibility!"
Lan still didn''t forget about the incident with Finn, and he wanted him back as well. He''ll be going to settle the score with them if they dare toe here.
After Lan gave some more direction, they enter the mist. They were going toward the Shadow Leader''s camp first since most of these people have rtives here.
They would let them all exit the forest first and then truly initiate the search.
---
Half a dayter, the remaining over 24,000 participants emerged from the mist with ted expressions in different groups. More than half of them die, some because of the demonic beast, and most of them die because of the emerald mist.
Nevertheless, their nightmare was finally over, and now it was time for them to go home.
Even those in the shadow group with Qi foundation cultivation came out with a relieved expression on their faces. But there was also a hint of terror in their eyes.
Some of them had an Owl tattoo on their fingers, it was a reminder and proof of what happened these days was as real as heaven and earth.
Especially those princes and princesses from Shadow Leader''s camp. They would never forget that mysterious Hooded-Person with a domineering attitude. This left a deep impression on their minds and souls.
Perhaps he was evil or a liberator or even a peace lover as he said, one thing was clear.
That person was a Thief through and through!
Chapter 210 - Traces Of Sky Stealer
Five hundred miles east from Lan''s party,
A group of ck-d people stopped a hundred meters away from the emerald mist.
Marc deeply looked at the mist with keen interest and said, "Even I''m feeling a little apprehensive just by standing here."
This was Marc''s first time in this barren ce and truth to be told, he only thought of this ce as a countryside vige. He wasn''t even afraid of those powerful people.
When Marc heard about the stories rted to this mysterious forest, he never believed them until now. He could feel this mist can gravely harm him, only if the density were far more potent than the mist ahead of him.
"Did that ve contact you? What''s the situation with Pill me and Beast Calling group?" Marc asked the ck Reaper standing behind him.
ck Reaper was also shocked seeing this mist and felt apprehension from it. He quickly answered, "Yes your majesty, he contacted an hour ago, and they just start the search at that time and didn''t find any traces of that thief yet."
The salve these two were talking about was non-other than the Luminous King! He kept feeding information about Lan''s group actions to them; he was a spy of Marc!
"Tsk, useless old fools." Marc sneered with disdain, "Let''s go. Scatter and if you find the Old man''s group doesn''t engage. Our target is that thief, anyone else doesn''t matter.
"However, if anyone tries to hinder you, kill them without mercy. Heh¡but I don''t think anyone can discern you in this mist. Three Purple Assassins will remain here, and two blue assassins should go and monitor the Beast Tamers to the other side.
"If you find any traces of Thief immediately use themunication formation, don''t engage alone if you''re not sure of capturing him alive, let''s go!"
A group of 25 assassins and a prince party of three finally join the fray to hunt down a thief in Earthen Mist Forest.
---
Alvin was exploring the forest alone while searching for any traces that the thief left. His handsome face was frowning for some reason.
''My martial sense is greatly hindered because of this damn mist just likest time and even with amplifying treasure I can only cover a hundred- fifty-meters area!'' Alvin''s mood was gloomy because of this huge hindrance.
Moreover, Alvin could feel the mist density was increasing and his martial sense''s range was keep decreasing because of it.
Without the full power of the martial sense, he can''t cover arge area, and this was very frustrating. This was the case for everyone who possesses the martial sense, not just for Alvin only.
But this wasn''t the only side effect they were facing, the Qi recovering inside the emerald mist was also very slow, and the deeper they go inside the Qi usage can''t keep up with Qi recovery. They will have to rely on Qi stones then.
Everyone has to keep using their Qi to form a protective barrier around them, so the Qi won''t affect their minds. Although, this area wasn''t harmful to someone like Alvin and the team.
But if they didn''t protect their mind now, the effect after going deeper inside the forest would intensify many folds. This was the true terror of this mysterious forest.
Everyone was searching for over three hours now, but they still didn''t find any trace of the thief, and the scouts outside still didn''t alert them of him leaving the forest.
They even check those participants themselves to make sure he wasn''t hiding between them and then let them go.
This could only mean he had escaped deeper inside the forest, and this was a piece of terrible news for everyone.
They were still hoping he was in this most outermost area of the earthen mist and if they didn''t find him until the night they would have no choice but to go in the real outer circle of the forest!
---
The Earthen Mist Forest was divided into four circles, the outermost circle where the mist was not so dangerous.
Outer Circle, where the emerald mist density was fifty percent more potent than the outermost circle and can even affect those in the Qi river depth realm.
Thene the Inner circle, which mist can influence the peak of the Qi river realm''s cultivators. Supposedly, in this region, there were many terrifying beings!
Lastly, the mysterious circle, from which no one has evere out alive even some Qi river core cultivators were in this missing list. No one can explore this region to this day, and the emerald mist there was dense like clouds!
No one dares to go there if they have brains!
---
While everyone searching for the traces of the thief,
The thief himself was leisurely resting on a gloomy tree, the mist around this area was much thicker than the outermost circles because this was the outer circle!
Ace was a mile away from the outermost circle, and he was waiting for everyone toe together before luring them here!
While waiting, he was sorting out the big loot he collected in thest three days. There was a big grin on Ace''s face as he admired those thousands of storage rings.
Although they were still bonded by Qi marks, nheless they were now his. He would open them when he had a much less costly way.
Ace''s thief''s space would''ve been cramped if he didn''t have all those extra storage rings, and there was still a thirty-cubic-meter metallic box that cover arge area of his hundred-cubic-meter thief''s space.
He was nning on getting rid of this treasuring very soon; he didn''t care about what was inside since it was very rich already. The treasury of low-levelnds didn''t interest him anymore.
If not for the high-grade formations attached to it, he would''ve already thrown it away long ago.
After making some adjustments, he looked at the pitch-ck cocoon with scarlet lines like some runes, in the very center of the thief''s space. His eyes be extremely gentle.
''I didn''t think I would miss you this much...'' Acement with a sad yet gentle sigh¡
At night, the earthen mist forest was filled with gloom and pitch-ck darkness.
Ace suddenly opened his dark blue eyes, ''It''s the time!''
He knew the ''helpers'' had already entered the forest, and now was the time to ''show the way''.
The very next moment thereafter, a deep-yellow hand-sized ball with a little gray string appeared in Ace''s hand.
Yes, this deep-yellow ball was indeed the same Explosion Bomb he once used in hisst thievery mission in low-levelnds! But this could cause much moremotion than thest one!
Ace has plenty of these toys in his thief''s space and from hisst experience, he knew the cultivators didn''t have any impression of them nor did he see these bombs in middle-levelnds.
He quickly lit the string attached to the explosion bomb and then throw it toward the sky with full power. It vanished in the mist.
With a wintry smile, he moved deeper into the outer circle.
Just five seconds after the throw,
''Booooommmmmmmmmmm¡!''
A thunderous explosion rang in the dead silent earthen mist forest which startled everyone in thousands of miles!
All those people who were searching for the traces of Sky Stealer with dejected looks were shocked hearing this strange explosion.
However, the very next moment excited voices rang in the forest, and a few minutester everyone moved toward the source of the sound at full speed.
Everyone thought someone must''ve encountered a powerful beast, and that explosion was because of their fight. And that part of the forest was far away from the searching region of both groups, so they knew it must be that thief.
They all move after sending a signal at full speed, so they could first reach there and capture probably wounded thief.
After haft an hour, three figures in ck cloaks appeared in Ace''s previous position.
"My prince, there isn''t any trace of battle?" A crisp voice sounded from a cloaked figure, with a hint of confusion.
"But the sound came from this position, the Myriad Rhythm Compass can''t be wrong!" Another confident yet bewildered voice of a mature woman sounded.
"Let''s search the area first. Others areing, and they''re not ghosts!" Marc''s grave voice sounded and the three quickly enter deep into the forest.
Just like Marc''s party, other people came close to the area, and after they didn''t find any trace of Qi, they also searched for the vacancy.
The outer circle of the earthen mist forest, which remains barren most of the time, suddenly turns lively.
Ten miles away from all those people, Ace was standing on top of the tree. He didn''t know if people took the bait or not, but he didn''t dare to be too close to them. If a Qi river core cultivator senses him, it would be over for him.
''Let''s continue!'' Ace took out another deep-yellow explosion bomb and repeat what he does an hour ago.
Another thunderous explosion sounded and just like a moth to a me, all those people quickly move toward it with no hesitation!
Chapter 211 - The Inner Circle
This time after the explosion, the cultivators in the Qi river core realm were the fastest ones to reach the location.
Lan, Alvin, Ridge were the first ones and when they were about to examine the ce, they sense something out of ordinary.
"Hmph, sneaky rats,e out!" Lan snorted and a powerful pressure descend in a fifty-meter area.
However, before the pressure reached its limit, those hiding in the cover of mist dashed out and escape sessfully!
"Damn Ghosts!" Lan cursed in contempt because he knew only nightmare ghosts'' Qi river core cultivators had this kind of abilities. If he wasn''t using a treasure to increase his martial sense, even he might''ve not sensed them.
"They reached here much earlier than we expected!" said Ridge with a frown.
"Someone must have leaked the news from inside!" Alvin pulled an ugly face.
Lan also scowled before saying, "It doesn''t matter anymore. We just need to prepare for confrontation, we can''t afford to lose this time. They have three Qi river core cultivators, meaning ck-level assassins. Just watch out for a sneak attack and those sneaky rats lose their advantages!"
Alvin and Ridge both nodded in agreement.
More and more people began to show and after seeing the trio empty-handed they knew that bastard has escaped again.
Some unlucky low-level assassins drew here like thest group, but they didn''t have the skills to escape Lan and others. In the end, Alvin killed mercilessly all five of them.
A few miles away from Alvin''s group, the nightmare ghosts'' trio of Qi river core cultivators emerged.
"We lose three blue and two purple assassins!" ck Reaper''s angry voice sounded.
"What can we do then? If we fight, it would only benefit them, don''t forget they had one more Qi river core cultivator, Damien King, on their side!" An aged voice rang from one of three figures.
"But we have Crown Prince!" The woman in the trio retorted.
"No, we can''t let them know about Crown Prince, not if it''s necessary." ck Reaper''s rebuke.
"ck Reaper is right." The old man also had the same thoughts as ck Reaper''s, "What do you think, the Crown Prince wasn''t there? He was actually there, but he didn''t show himself, and Lan of Pill me also didn''t find him. If not for the prince signal, even I couldn''t find him!"
"Just keep searching for that thief and order our reaming men to be more careful, we can''t afford to lose more!" ck Reaper''s stiff voice sounded.
A few miles deeper inside the outer circle, Marc''s group also appeared wearing ck capes.
"We nearly exposed ourselves. This is annoying!" One of the sword maidsined.
Marc chuckles, "Don''t worry, they can''t sense us with these capes if they weren''t in the middle stages of the Qi river core realm. But that thief is something each time he escaped, and there is something wrong with these explosions as well."
He wasn''t a fool, and after he first examines the area of the explosion; he didn''t find any trace of Qi, and that was what aroused his suspicion. But after the second explosion, his suspicion bes more substantial.
But what Marc didn''t understand was how could someone cause this kind of racket without using Qi.
"Is your majesty saying, he''s deliberately luring us here?" The sword maid with a big chest guessed what Marc was trying to imply.
"Just as sharp as ever, Rina." Marc praise Rina as he nodded, "Yes, don''t you find it strange even after knowing this many people came here that thief still didn''t escape, and even you could tell now, he has the ability.
"But not only he didn''t escape, he even caused those strange explosions like he was dering his position to all of us. My guess is he''s luring us deeper inside the forest for some reason."
"I think he''s trying to weaken us with this mist!" Rina quickly stated.
"Yes, this mist is really dangerous even for me and if we go deeper, it will affect us." Marc pulled a grave face since he also had some thought as Rina, "But that thief also in the same situation as us. Let''s y along, for now, it''s not easy to scheme against me!"
A malicious smile appeared on Marc''s handsome face!
---
While Marc has somewhat seen through Ace''s plot, Ace was on the end of the outer circle and just a few miles away from the inner circle!
After he caused thest explosion, he used no more explosives because this would stimte too much suspicion and the hunting group might give up and leave the earthen mist forest.
Especially, if he wanted all of them to enter the inner circle of the earthen mist forest because this area was even dangerous for peak Qi river cultivators.
So, he will use one bigger explosive to lure everyone into the inner circle and then use some other method to lure them further inside.
At this moment, Ace abruptly stopped right outside the inner circle''s boundary.
''This feeling!'' Ace suddenly felt dread from the mist of the inner circle.
Ace slowly extended his hand toward the thick emerald mist to test if it was harmful to him. Just as he touched the mist, he felt a sudden tingle of pain on his skin!
Ace quickly put a membrane of HD-Qi and the painful sensation stopped. He frowned and mused, ''It didn''t affect me mentally but physically, is it because my soul cultivation is much higher than my martial cultivation?''
This was the only likely exnation he could though of because the soul represented cognitive strength and Ace knew his strength too well.
But this was also bad news for him even if this mist only affected him physically this meant if this mist bes more potent; it can also affect him mentally.
This also means he had to use more martial Qi or soul Qi with martial Qi to protect his mind and body. He can also use only one type of Qi, but it would cause a massive amount of Qi consumption, whether it''s the soul Qi or martial Qi.
At this juncture, he was using an inconsiderable amount of HD-Qi which implies this mist was not strong enough, yet.
''I thought, it would be easy since this mist didn''t influence me, but I never thought the mist outside just wasn''t strong enough. Heh, it''s also meant I''m notpletely immune to poisons, or it''s just my body that isn''t strong enough yet.'' Ace thought in self-mockery.
But it was also a good thing since he now knows he wasn''tpletely invulnerable!
''Sigh¡ I can alsoe back after reaching higher realms, but I have no idea where I would find another elemental orb. Even if I found one, this doesn''t mean I would be not as dangerous or even worse than this ce.''
After mulling over it for a while, Ace''s shone with decisiveness, ''Let''s just confirm first if there is an orb here or not!''
After putting a membrane of HD-Qi around his body, he entered the inner circle with no dy.
However, before moving too far inside, he took two dark-yellow bombs and just like before throw them toward the sky after lit them up. He never threw them on the group because doing so would leave evidence behind.
After ten seconds, two resounding explosions rang on the boundary between outer and inner circles. These explosions were loud enough to draw everyone''s attention, and it would probably give Ace half an hour before Qi river core cultivators reached this ce.
Ace was now ten miles inside the inner circle. He was constantly using his HD-Qi to protect himself from the emerald mist, which was quite thick. He could only see ten meters around him with his eyes.
The only satisfying thing was, this mist didn''t seem to affect his Qi recovery nor did it hinder his soul sense. Just these two things were enough to render the poisonous effect on his physique nugatory!
He continued to move deeper toward the mysterious circle where the elemental orb should be if it was here.
Abruptly, just when Ace''s passed a tree, his fine hairs stand, and he felt goosebumps all over his body because something very powerful has locked on to him, and it was already attacking!
In an instant, ck de Swords appeared in his hands as his HD-Qi surged. He crossed the sword before him and used his full power to form a dark barrier with his manifest Qi!
''BANG¡''
Something directly charged in his barrier, and its impact was enough to send Ace flying like a broken kite!
Ace quickly used his full power to reduce the impact and stabilize himself. He nced at the enemy and his eyes narrowed because it wasn''t a human nor did it seem a demonic beast.
It was 3-meter tall, green color being and its body was humanoid, and it seemed like it was made of the mire.. It had two emerald gemstones in the ce of its eyes. Moreover, it was emitting the aura of Empty River Realm!
Chapter 212 - Speed-Golem
It was 3-meter tall, green color being and its body was humanoid, and it seemed like it was made of the mire. It had two emerald gemstones in the ce of its eyes. Moreover, it was emitting the aura of Empty River Realm!
What made Ace dreadful of this being was it can see through his breathless stealth somehow because he was attacked despite utilizing it to full power just now.
Yet, this wasn''t the only bizarre thing because Ace didn''t sense this being with his soul sense at all even if it was standing right in front of him. He quickly used his Heavenly Sense and could finally feel this strange being''s existence.
But his expression turned instantly ugly because this being was giving off the same feeling as emerald mist like it was a part of it, if not for the strange force coursing through it even Heavenly Sense might''ve rendered useless.
Ace didn''t have time to mull over it because with the heavenly sense he could feel there were three more humanoid beings in a 100-meter zone and not less powerful than this one in front of him.
Without hesitance, he used the lightning steps and dash further away from these humanoid beings, however, Ace was bbergasted the very next moment because that thing was keeping up with him!
One had to know, Ace''s lightning step''s speed was on par with a peak-Qi river cultivator and this thing was only had empty river cultivation, but it can still keep up with him and the difference seemed very minimum!
''Why the hell is this thing keep chasing me!'' Ace''s heart palpitated as this was his first time encountering something that can see through all his sneaky skills.
What truly infuriated Ace as he was in the middle of luring everyone here, and he even sent the ''signal'' he can''t afford to experiment with this thing, and he needed to get rid of it as soon as possible.
''Fuck it!'' Ace cursed as he stopped running and turn around.
The ck wristband with silver runes shimmered with silver light, and a transparent silver barrier formed around Ace. This was the same sixth-star runic treasure called Silver Shield given to him by Lan as a congrattion gift when he was posing as Finn. It can block three full attacks of a flowing river cultivator.
The humanoid being didn''t stop and throw a decisive punch at Ace''s silver shield.
''Bang¡''
The silver barrier flicker, but it didn''t break, not even a scratch was formed. Ace felt ted when he saw this silver shield working fine or if this being''s power was as absurd as its speed he didn''t know what to do.
Ace didn''t wait and used the first move of the ''Dual Swords Mirage Art'' ''Hundred Shadows Mirage!''
''Swoosh¡swoosh¡woosh¡''
A Hundred shadow swords instantly appeared and directlynded on the humanoid being.
Ace instantly be thrilled when he saw the hundreds of deep gushes on the monster. He never fought with a Qi river cultivator before, much less with this monster-like being, if he wasn''t forced he wasn''t nning to do it either.
But the result was very satisfactory because he could gravely wound an empty river cultivation being. Although it took the attack head-on and didn''t dodge, Ace still warbled.
However, the very next moment Ace''s eyes constricted as the ted expression was nowhere to be seen because he felt this being was somehow absorbing the emerald mist and as a result, its grave wounds healed at a tremendous pace!
Ace suddenly felt the terror of this mysterious forest for the first time. These beings in the inner circle were too dreadful. He suddenly had a second thought about turning back.
At this moment, Ace felt a deadly threat approaching from below, and with no indecision, he leaped back at full speed.
The very next moment thereafter, a five-meter earthen spike appeared where Ace was standing. The humanoid monster''s gemstone eyes twinkle mysteriously, it was clearly his doing.
Ace also suddenly notice those gemstone eyes, and the emerald mist also seemed to resonate with those gemstones. His eyes turn sharp and used the Misperception Steps.
It seemed he was going straight toward the humanoid monster, but it was far from true. Even this monster can''t see through this mysterious movement skill!
The monster''s eyes glisten again as he punched Ace''s iing figure however the moment the punch hit ''Ace'', like smoke he evaporated!
''Boom¡''
Abruptly, two pitch-ck des pass through the humanoid monster''s eyes sockets from behind and the gemstone also breaks!
The moment the gemstones were destroyed, the humanoid being wiggled and like wax turned into a puddle of green mud.
Ace sigh in relief, ''So these gemstones were its weakness!'' He was truly ecstatic because he just killed a Qi river realm, being even though it was stupid, he still killed it!
At this moment, the system''s emotionless voice rang,
====
[Host killed an Empty Qi River Realm Speed-Golem. You have earned 10,000 EXP.]
---
[EXP: 10.96 Million/100 Million]
{Elemental Orb:0/1}
====
''Speed Golem?!'' Ace was astonished because it was the very first-time system took the incentive to name something. Or all the time it would just call demonic beast or human, not even bother to recite their names at all.
''If even you know what this thing is, that this means it was worth it toe here. Now I''m 95% sure there is an elemental orb here!'' Ace mused, ''Should I keep going deeper?''
After encountering Speed Golem and killing it and then the system''s sudden reveal, he somewhat regained his confidence.
In the end, Ace gritted his teeth and stayed. Besides, this was also an excellent opportunity to farm experience because these Speed Golem had a weakness that Ace can exploit.
However, first, he had to find a way to escape these Speed Golem''s detection. His guess was that golem could find him because of the emerald mist.
Since it seemed deeply connected with the mist and even able to heal itself with the emerald mist, this was the only usible exnation.
''Since this mist can detect my martial Qi, what about soul Qi?''
Ace quickly creates the soul Qi membrane like the HD-Qi around himself. His eyes immediately lit up because the emerald mist started to ignore him, it didn''t touch his soul Qi barrier like martial Qi!
''Hahaha, so I just needed to soul Qi barrier.''
Ace was filled with satisfaction since he could find the solution to his problem so quickly. If this method wouldn''t work, he was even nning to test the light soul Qi, but it appeared he didn''t need to anymore.
Since this concern was out of the way, he used breathless stealth again and blend in surroundings. He was using the heavenly sense this time to find those Speed Golems since soul sense was useless.
Although, using Heavenly Sense and Heavenly Soul Qi also put an immense strain on his physique since his body was still of Heavenly Foundation Cultivator. But it was still bearable because his recovery speed was still fast enough to outmatch the expenditure.
Ace quickly spotted another Speed Golem ten meters away, and this time it really didn''t seem to be aware of him. With no hesitation, he sneaked an attack on the back of his head like because and killed it after destroying the gemstone eyes!
====
[You killed an Empty Qi River Realm Speed-Golem. You have earned 10,000 EXP.]
---
[EXP: 10.97 Million/100 Million]
{Elemental Orb:0/1}
====
''Continue!'' Ace quickly moved to the next target, which was only a hundred meters away.
He was moving deeper while collecting the EXP, and he wasn''t afraid of anyone catching up with him because of these Speed Golems.
Those pursuers will have a much harder time since they didn''t know the weakness nor do they have the skills to avoid emerald mist. However, there was also a big chance they would give up after experiencing this dreadful Inner circle.
Besides, Ace was even counting on it because he wanted only the most powerful to pursue him. Only those who can truly ''help'' him snatched the Elemental Orb from the guardian if there was any.
After moving ten miles inside the inner circle, he killed twenty-three more Speed Golems of Empty Qi River Stage, and he was now like a professional Speed Golem killer.
====
[EXP: 11.2 Million/100 Million]
{Elemental Orb:0/1}
====
Ace was still far away from the 100 million. However, the deeper he goes, the number of Speed Golems increased and this gave him hope.
Suddenly, Ace''s eyes constricted when he reached his next target because it was not like Speed Golem.
This new Golem was 5-meter tall and much bulkier than Speed Golem, Its color was also stony, and its body was also humanoid, this one seemed like it was made of solid rocks.
It also didn''t have two emerald gemstones in the ce of its eyes like Speed Golem and both of its eyes were vacant, there wasn''t any visible gem at all.
Furthermore, it was emitting the aura of the Qi River Depth stage of the Qi river realm!
Chapter 213 - Stone Golem
Ace didn''t think there would be different kinds of Golems besides Speed Golem, and this one didn''t have apparent weakness like Speed Golem.
But there was indefinitely a weakness because with his heavenly sense he can feel the same peculiar Qi as Speed Golem coursing through this Golem as well.
With some more observance, Ace finally found a focal point where this Qi was resonating. It was right at the center of this Golem''s chest.
After making sure there wasn''t any loophole remains, he dashed toward the Golem. He leaped toward the Golem''s chest and stabled his long sword right at the area which was probably the weak spot!
The ck de Long Sword pass through the Golem''s chest like butter, and Ace suddenly felt something crashing. But he still quickly retracted the long sword and quickly put some distance between Golem.
If this Golem didn''t die, it would also prove it has no weakness like Speed Golem and Ace would escape the very next moment.
Suddenly, the sound of stone shattering rang in the area and the five meters tall Golem turn into a pile of rocks the very next moment.
====
[Host killed a Qi River Depth Realm Stone-Golem]
[Reward: 50,000 EXP]
---
[EXP: 11.25 Million/100 Million]
{Elemental Orb:0/1}
====
''So, this one was a Stone Golem. I have to admit; these golems are too easy to kill once you know their weakness.'' Ace thought with a huge grin on his face.
He didn''t expect it would be this easy to kill a Qi river depth stage being.
It''s just that Ace didn''t know he has over powerful Grade-1 weapons like ck de Swords or this Stone Golem''s body was on par with a 7-star shield and that gemstone inside his chest was like an 8-star ore!
As for the empty river speed golem, its skull was like a 6-star shield, while those two gems were like 7-star ore. Even those peak Qi river cultivators can''t deal with it easily because of its speed.
But Ace has absurd skills and treasures he could easily kill these hard-to-deal-with golems, and he even dares to call them weak. If all those people died in those golem hands heard this, they would probably die again out of anger.
Ace move on toward the next golem since he could deal with even powerful Golems easily, he became more fearless. This was a golem opportunity to farm a hundred million EXP, and he won''t be missing it.
---
While Ace was hunting down the golem in the depth of the inner circle, the thief hunting group also reached the boundary of the inner circle.
But these Kings and Queens didn''t just charge right inside because everyone knows the inner circle can affect peak Qi river cultivators like them if they made even a tiny mistake.
Hesitance was all over everyone''s face. Even though they wanted to end this thief, it didn''t mean they were willing to pay with their lives.
"I think we should leave since that thief dares to enter the inner circle he''ll die." The Earth King suggests at this moment.
"I''m with Earth King on this. All those seniors in the Qi river core realm probably entered the inner circle already. If they need us, they would''ve waited for us, right?" The Warren King nodded in agreement.
"But we can''t just leave, right?" The Blue Queen frowned. She also has the same thoughts as both Kings.
"You cowards!" The Leap King yell at this moment, "Just stay here if you want, but I''m going!"
"Heh, it''s your grudge, there is no need to be angry with us." The Golden King sneered at this moment, "If anyone wants to go they can go, but those staying here can also not leave. We should encampment, what if that thievish bastard came out?"
"Golden King is right. We should encampment here and guard this region." The Luminous King also agreed.
In the end, out of 9 reaming rules, only the Leap King was hellbent on, going, and no one, stop him either. The reaming eight stay to guard the ce.
---
Inside the inner circle,
Three caped figures appeared in front of a puddle of mud, this was the first speed-golem Ace killed.
There was a strange whitepass in one of these figures'' hands.
"There was a fight here." Marc''s calm voice rang at this moment.
"Yes, Sister Leana''s myriad rhythmpass is also trembling, which means one fighter was a human." Rina nodded.
"Hmph, it seemed that scoundrel thief finally met misfortune." Leana was thrilled after hearing this because she was very frustrated after not finding that thief even after putting in so much effort.
"Heh, it won''t be long before that would fall in our h¡"
Before Marc could finish his words, he suddenly felt grave danger from behind.
"You''re courting death!"
A gloomy gray barrier instantly formed around the three of them.
''Bang¡''
The attacker was naturally a Speed Golem and the very moment it touched the barrier it instantly turned into ashes!
"Your majesty!"
The two sword maids finallye to their senses and instantly cry in rm.
Marc''s face was pale, it seemed he had to use arge amount of Qi to form that barrier.
"I''m fine. What was that thing?" Marc gravely looked at the ashes, "It was only an Empty Qi River stage, but its speed was on par with a peak Qi river cultivator. If I didn''t use my art in time, one of us would be gravely injured."
"I think these things are unique demonic beasts of this forest." Rina reckoned with a gloomy face.
"This damn forest is too bizarre!" Leana grumbled.
"Ready for batter there are moreing and call those old men after this battle it would be wise to travel with them in this part!" Marc yelled abruptly.
He had a special method to sense danger, and right now he could tell there were over ten same kinds of beings rushing toward them.
Marc never would''ve thought he would force in this kind of situation, in this barren ce!
---
While Marc''s team was facing a group of speed golem, those in the Qi river core realm were already deep in the inner circle.
These golems didn''t pose any threat to them at all, and now and then they would find a puddle of mud or a pile of rocks. They were hundreds of them!
They knew this was the doing of that thief, and they all thought they were very close to capturing him. But they didn''t know all these remnants were half a day old, and they were left there on purpose.
The more they would follow these clues, the closer they would be to the Mysterious circle. But all they wanted was to capture him, even if they had their doubts they would simply suppress them and keep following the trails.
---
Ace was miles away from the group of pursuers, he had killed 110 Speed Golems and 112 Stone Golems while moving toward the mysterious circle.
However, as he was moving deeper in the inner circle, the speed golems were bing scarcer. Only the Stone Golems were still plenty, and Ace was ted about it nheless.
====
[Host killed a Qi River Depth Realm Stone-Golem]
[Reward: 50,000 EXP]
---
[EXP: 17.75 Million/100 Million]
{Elemental Orb:0/1}
====
Ace had just killed a Stone Golem when his heart palpitated, and he sensed a deadly threat approaching. He quickly used the breathless stealth and leap on a tree ten meters away.
A six-meter tall Speed Golem suddenly stopped right beside the pile of stones and looked around with its gemstone eyes.
Ace''s heart sank because this was a Qi River Source Stage Speed Golem and its speed was with no doubt faster than his.
Furthermore, this speed golem also seemed to be drawn here because of themotion Stone Golem made while breaking.
''This is a chance!'' Ace''s eyes turn cold while he looked at the new Speed Golem.
It can''t sense him, and it was still looking around like an idiot, and he would not miss this chance.
With both long and short swords in his hand, Ace shed toward the Speed Golem like an arrow.
The speed golem also sensed something as it twisted around and looked upward. But s, it was toote and the moment it turned its head upward, two pointy ck edges directly pierce through its eye''s sockets.
It didn''t even resist and turned into a puddle of mud.
Ace''s eyes shone with ecstasy when he killed the Qi river source speed golem in one move.
====
[Host killed a Qi River Source Realm Speed-Golem]
[Reward: 100,000 EXP]
---
[EXP: 17.85 Million/100 Million]
{Elemental Orb:0/1}
====
Ace nodded in satisfaction when he got 100k all at once. The higher level the being he killed from his cultivation, the more EXP he''ll get.
''I''m probably halfway inside the inner circle, I wonder just how many people are following my traces.'' Ace smiled slyly as he moved toward his next target!
Chapter 214 - Regret It Very Soon!
At this moment, in the middle of the inner circle, sounds of fighting were echoing in the area.
"Just where the hell do these things keeping from?" The Damien King''s frustrated voice rang as he killed a Stone Golem with a white long sword.
"Something is wrong with these damn monsters, they''re as hard as seven-star treasures." Alvin was also quite frustrated, five Stone golems surrounded him.
"Die!" The red spear in his hand left afterimages, and presently it pierced through five stone golems chests.
After encountering these golems so many times, they also notice they have some weaknesses, and they just have to find and exploit them afterward.
"Stopining like girls, quickly clear these things, so we could catch that burr. He won''t be too far now!" Lan scoffed.
At this moment, Ridge has just killed two Stone golems with his broad sword when suddenly sense iing danger with Martial sense.
"Hmph!" He harrumphed coldly and twisted around while his broad sword shone with a metallic sheen, a powerful aura of a Qi river core cultivator released.
Ridge, swing his broad sword ruthlessly at this moment and the phantom-like Speed golem was instantly cut in half. The four of them finally saw just what this thing was because its speed was as fast as the newly advanced Qi river core cultivator.
"It''s the green monster, and it''s just at the Qi river source stage!" eximed Damien King with shock.
"It seemed more surprises are waiting for us." Ridge''s eyes constricted when the half-Green monsters healed since he didn''t break those two gemstones.
"Stay down!" Ridge sneered, and two sharp metallic streaks released from his fingers and hit the emerald gemstones in Speed golem''s eyes.
To everyone''s shock, they didn''t break instantly and only left a deep mark!
Ridge''s face fell when he saw his metal element Qi didn''t manage to break mere gemstones, and outsiders even saw it. His eyes turn cold and looked at the almost healed Speed golem.
Before, he only used twenty percent of his actual power. He again released two rays from his fingers, and this time they had a silver sheen.
The gems instantly turn to dust, and the Speed golem bes a puddle of mud.
"Let''s go!" said Lan and they move further inside the Inner circle.
---
The three Qi river core cultivators of Nightmare Ghosts and Marc''s group that joined them a few hours ago were now moving together.
They were facing the same difficulties as Lan''s party, but they were much better since they had three peak stage Qi river cultivators and not normal ones at that!
Yet, their pace was the same as Lan''s group because Marc and his two sword maids needed to rest after a while because the Qi replenishing effect inside the inner circle was too slow, and they had to use Qi stones.
Either way, both parties were determined to capture that hateful thief who keep leading them by finger.
---
While everyone was resenting Ace, he was almost at the edge of the inner circle''s other side and was very close to the deadly Mysterious circle.
On his way, he didn''t spot new powerful Golems and only encounter more speed golems of the Qi river source stage as he was closing into the mysterious circle.
But Ace wasn''t afraid of this at all, and he was ted about it since these Speed Golems were equal to 100k EXP for him.
He killed almost 400 Qi river source Speed Golems, and he no longer hunts stone golems and only hunts Speed golems now.
====
[Host killed a Qi River Source Realm Speed-Golem]
[Reward: 100,000 EXP]
---
[EXP: 58 Million/100 Million]
{Elemental Orb:0/1}
====
Ace looked at the umted EXP with shining eyes, and he managed to collect all these in a single day!
"This was four-hundredth one." Ace mutter with ecstasy.
''If I were alone, I would''ve hunted down every single Speed golem, but s, I have to leave some for my ''helpers''.'' Ace grinned widely.
If Lan and Marc''s group know Ace has deliberately left some Speed golems alive to hinder their pace, they would probably spit blood in anger.
Abruptly, Ace''s heart palpitated, and he quickly escaped far away from the spot where he just killed thest speed golem.
The very next moment thereafter, a group of fifty Qi river source speed golems appeared beside the puddle of mud.
Ace silently observed this group with his heavenly sense from twenty meters away.
In the very front of this group was a Speed golem, but its size was only 1.5 meters, and it was much refined not like those other golems look like made of mud. It almost seemed like a human.
Its emerald gemstones were also not just round anymore they were like actual eyes.
''A new golem?'' Ace mused, ''But it was like Speed golem and its cultivation was also at river source realm. But why does it appear so different?''
At this moment something astonished happened.
The new Speed golem utters some sharp sounds and those speed golems standing crudely suddenly surround him and form a wall around him. The new Speed Golem vigntly looked around first before he moved right in the middle of the recently dead speed golem and the puddle of mud slowly absorbed in it!
''This?'' Ace was startled, ''This golem canmand those speed golems, and he''s even absorbing that dead golem for some reason. Just what is this golem?''
Ace suddenly felt the rising aura from that Golem, which was immense in absorbing the remains of speed golem.
''Is this some kind of Golem cultivation method?'' this fresh development intrigued Ace.
At this moment, a yful voice buzz in his mind,
"[If the Host didn''t kill that Golem while the Host still has the chance, the host will regret it very soon.]"
Ace''s brow raised and questioned back, "What do you mean?"
But no one was at home like always.
Ace''s brows tightly frowned together, even though he didn''t get an exnation, he can''t just ignore the warninging from the system.
Before he was nning to just leave that thing alone after watching it for some time since it can easily control those golems which also means it has some intelligence, and it was not like those mindless golems.
However, now it was impossible for him to just leave.
His eyes turn cold as he looked at that sitting golem surrounded by speed golems wall. ''I will regret it very soon, huh? Well, I might put some more effort into this then.''
Ace looked at the gloomy tree five meters away from those speed golems and like a monkey. No sound was made because there were no leaves on those gloomy trees. This forest was filled with these trees.
Now Ace was only ten meters away from the sitting golem, but he still didn''t take any chance and leaped inside the golem wall and making no sound hended like an agile cat.
Ace was now surrounded by the terrifying aura of these fifty Qi river source speed golems, and it was hard to breathe. Wasting no more time, he sprang toward the sitting Speed golem from behind.
The sitting Speed golem abruptly open its emerald eyes as he sensed life-ending danger from behind.
''Gr¡''
Before it could even make a sound, two pitch-ck des were already prated its eyes. Emerald liquid was dripping from the ck des'' edges.
Those fifty Speed golems instantly sense their leader''s death, and they quickly turn around as all their gemstones'' eyes shimmered with dangerous lights.
But to their confusion, there was only arger puddle of green mud with some emerald liquid mix within, nothing else,
No one was there because Ace has already escaped after doing the deed, and he was already five hundred meters away from the group of those berserk Speed golems.
====
[Host killed a Qi River Source Realm Speed-Golem''s Quasi-Leader]
[Reward: 500,000 EXP]
---
[EXP: 58.5 Million/100 Million]
{Elemental Orb:0/1}
====
Ace''s eyebrow raised after reading the name and getting half a million of EXP.
''A golem leader, huh? Sighs¡'' Ace sighed, this was just the inner circle and there were already many dreadful beings here, he wondered what would be inside the mysterious circle and shrugged for a moment.
But he still didn''t understand why the system said he would have regretted it very soon if he hasn''t taken the chance to kill the Golem leader.
"Hey, I already killed the Quasi-Leader, now can you tell me why it was so important to kill it there and then?" Ace tried his luck again.
This time, however, he got the answer but in the icy voice of the system.
"[When a Golem sessfully evolved into a real Golem Leader, it can awaken a special trait that can help it see through anything within fifty meters area around it. Even the host''s extremely weak heavenly sense.]
"[The Quasi Leader host just killed was about it evolved, and the host was already in fifty meters area around it and the moment it locked on host it was almost impossible for Host to escape a catastrophe!]"
Chapter 215 - Everyone Out Of Shadows!
"[When a Golem sessfully evolved into a real Golem Leader, it can awaken a special trait that can help it see through anything within fifty meters area around it. Even the host''s extremely weak heavenly sense.]
"[The Quasi Leader host just killed was about it evolved, and the host was already in fifty meters area around it and the moment it locked on host it was almost impossible for Host to escape a catastrophe!]"
Ace started to sweat profoundly when the system revealed the reason behind the previous warning. He could guess if that golem locked on him, and with fifty powerful golems under its control, it was impossible to escape without using his trump card.
The corner of his lip spasmed when the system called his Heavenly Sense extremely weak, but he didn''t retort, since it was true.
Ace vowed to be more careful of unknown things like this in the future and keep a long distance, so he could escape at a moment''s notice.
Now that he had killed a Quasi-leader-level Speed Golem, he was only less than ten miles away from the mysterious circle.
To Ace''s surprise, he found no more golems in ten miles radius, and he was disappointed about it somewhat, but he didn''t forget his actual target and those after him.
After an unknown time, an area shrouded in emerald clouds came into Ace''s view.
''Clouds like mist, is that the mysterious circle?'' Ace mused.
The cloudy mist was not leaking inside the inner circle and this create an obvious line between the two circles, it was phenomenal just how it was even possible.
It also reminded Ace of the first elemental orb''s location, there was also a boundary of mist created by the light orb. But this emerald mist was on a whole other realm than that mist, it was the difference between earth and sky.
Furthermore, this cloudy emerald mist seemed to hinder his soul sense and even his heavenly sense, he can only sense and see around fifty meters in that cloudy mist.
''Well, if even my soul senses were hindered by this mist, I wonder if it would affect those Qi river core cultivators senses.'' Ace mused with an ambiguous smile, ''I need them all to enter this mysterious circle, and only a proper motivation can make them!''
Ace took light steps toward the mysterious circle and when his half body was inside, he felt an extremely dangerous feeling from this mist. Only after he used ten times more Soul Qi did he keep himself unharmed.
''Sighs¡'' Ace sighed heavenly and took back his step and removed his body from the cloudy mist.
''I can keep this soul barrier if I give up on using heavenly sense, but without it, I have to rely on my soul sense, which can''t detect those golems. If I used both of them together, I can only maintain them for six hours before I have to stop using one of them and replenish my soul Qi again.''
Ace carefully calcted for a while, since it concerned his absolute safety. Using only soul Qi was a big problem for Ace right now because it put too much strain on his body.
If he was a Heavenly River cultivator, it would be no issue for him to keep up this kind of soul Qi depletion easily, but he wasn''t at this moment and this makes things much moreplicated.
Furthermore, if the concern was just this cloudy mist, he can easily maintain a bnce between recovery and depletion, but sadly I wasn''t.
There was probably much more danger there than inner circle and Ace might need to use his soul abilities at that time his estimated six hours might reduce to 5, 3, or even 1 hour.
As for using the martial Qi, he didn''t dare to since it can be easily detected by inner circle-level mist, much less this cloudy mist which was over ten times more powerful.
"Hahahaha¡ I finally found you, thievish bastard!" A peal of hystericalughter that was filled with vengeance, resentment, abhorrence, and madness rang in the silent inner circle.
Ace turned around nonchntly since he already knew who this person was, if he wanted to escape he could''ve done it a few moments ago when he sensed this person''s soul signature entering his soul sense range, yet he didn''t do so.
Standing twenty meters away from Ace was non-other than the Leap King, who looked like a bagger with tatter clothes and disheveled hair. His aura was extremely weak as if he has been through an enormous battle.
But the hatred in his eyes burn deep and vagarious when he looked at the hooded figure.
"And who might this gentleman with a vile tongue will be?" Ace teased the pitiful Leap King.
Leap King''s pale face twisted with intense fury as he might explode at any moment after hearing that question. He wanted to chop this bastard into a million pieces, but he didn''t dare to attack.
Although he hated Ace to the core and was enraged at this moment, he still knows about his weak condition. Just reaching this point took all of his efforts, and he was still using thest remaining Qi to keep himself from being affected by the mist here.
If he dared to attack it would be over for him and no one could save him, he didn''t want to dig his own grave and then berried himself in it afterward.
Besides, he had a backup!
A vicious glint sh past the Leap King''s eyes as he roared, "I''m the one who you robbed everything from!"
"I robbed many people, I''m afraid I don''t remember all of them."
Ace was telling the truth, though. But he was also telling a lie since he remembered powerful ones and Leap King was one of them.
"Oh, are you the Cuckold King¡ I mean his highness, Leap King?" Ace mocked again, he even held back hisughter.
Leap King''s eyes instantly turned bloodred as if someone had just stepped on his tail and without even caring about his injuries and ''n'', he sprang toward and as blue water, Qi turned into ten sharp spikes.
''Hmph¡" Ace snored, seeing the iing mad Leap King with ten water spikes and a sword in his hand.
He used the misperception step.
Leap King saw the thief didn''t even move to dodge, and it infuriated him even more, he thought he has been looked down upon.
"Perish!" With ten water spikes and a sword in his hand, he attacked at full force.
But s, those peak level Qi river realm''s attacks only injured emerald mist, and the hooded thief turned into smoke the very next moment.
Since Ace was only a few inches away from the cloudy mist before, Leap King instantly enter the cloudy mist since there was nothing between him and the cloudy mist.
But before Leap King could even fathom what has happened andpletely enter the mysterious circle, a dark light shed past from the back of his neck.
Ace''s finger appeared two-meter left from his previous position like nothing has happened.
====
[Host killed a Complete Qi River Stage Human]
[Reward: 1,500,000 EXP]
---
[EXP: 60 Million/100 Million]
{Elemental Orb:0/1}
====
However, this kill notification was proved that everything that happened was as real as day and night.
Ace grinned seeing the notification and snorted coldly thereafter while looking deeply at the inner circle, "Well gentlemen, how about you alle out¡ yourpanion seemed to be in a hurry, so I don''t think he will join you guys anytime soon."
''p, p, p¡''
The resounding voice of loud pping rang the silent area.
"I had to admit it, I''m impressed¡" Lan''s voice full of praise rang at his moment, but there was a hint of mockery in it, "I never thought in my life I would say it to a thief, nevertheless."
Ace saw Lan, Alvin, Ridge, and Damien King walking at the same ce where Leap King was standing just a few moments ago. He was very familiar with Pill me Organization due but not with these two neers.
"If it isn''t his highness Craft Elder Lan, it''s a real honor to be praised by such a grand figure." Ace patented to be humble.
He has probed many memories of nobles in these past few days, and he can easily mimic anyone he wanted to with his experience in acting and continuously improving his mimicking skills.
It was rted to his survival, so he can''t ck off in this department even if he wanted to.
The quad silently looked at the infamous Sky Stealer, they can''t see through his cultivation since Ace wasn''t disguising his Heavenly cultivation base at this moment.
Before anyone in Lan''s group make their move, Ace nonchntly stated with a sarcastic voice.
"Hehe, six gentlemen from Nightmare Ghosts, how about give me some face and introduce yourselves?" Ace''s head turned slightly to his right with an amusing smile.
Lan''s party face turned ugly when they heard the Nightmare Ghost''s name, and they also looked in the direction where Ace''s head was.
At this moment, six ck-cloaked fingers appeared thirty meters away from Ace!
Chapter 216 - I Need Your Help!
Both groups remain silent aftering out of the shadows. But the tension in the air reached its peak. Everyone wanted to capture the Sky Stealer, who was just standing a few inches away from the mysterious circle.
However, each group will not just watch while the other group took away the thief, he was too valuable to give up upon. Besides, they still didn''t know why Ace was just standing there and not escaping.
After chasing him for so long, they knew this thief was very crafty, and he was always one step ahead of them. But now he was just standing right at the corner of a mysterious circle doing nothing but chatting with them, they would be idiots if they didn''t find this suspicious.
Lan and Alvin were most vignt in both groups since they saw John''s dreadful end.
That''s also when they first found Leap King surrounded by stone golems, they save him, so they could use him to test the waters.
Before, they thought that the thief was plotting something by luring them deeper into the earthen mist forest, and they even guess that he wanted to lead them inside the mysterious circle to get rid of them.
In the end, they decided, if they found the thief in the inner circle, they will use the Leap King to test his strength. But if that thief somehow entered the mysterious circle, they would give up this time because the mysterious circle wasn''t a ce where anyone coulde out alive.
However, to their surprise, when they were about to give up their martial sense pick up a strange Qi, they didn''t know what it was, but they could tell it was from a human.
When they pursued it, they abruptly spotted Ace, who was just standing inches away from the mysterious circle. Everyone became ted, and Leap King showed thick killing intent.
Ridge and Damien King wanted to charge like Leap King to quickly capture Ace before he could enter the mysterious circle, but stopped by Alvin and Lan because they still didn''t know the real power of that thief since they can''t sense his cultivation.
Although many skills can hide one''s cultivation, if you''re strong enough you can see through them with ease. But no matter how much they probed they can''t sense Ace''s cultivation, this gave them more reason to test him.
Leap King happily volunteered, they all tell him to lure Ace away from that cloudy mist because when they were using their martial sense they felt a tingle of pain because of the mist behind Ace.
They were afraid he might escape there if they startled him. But in the end, they fail miserably. The Leap King couldn''t keep his emotions in check and charge into his death. Even though they didn''t see Ace beheading the Leap King, they saw him entering the mysterious circle, which was equal to death.
But they also manage to see Ace''s move, even for a brief moment. They concluded he was only at the peak Qi river realm or an early Qi river core; he wasn''t stronger than this.
Yet they were given another surprise when Ace called them out before they could make their move and this make them evaluate this thief more treacherous. One had to know they were using powerful treasures to conceal themselves, but this guy was still right through them.
Even the nightmare ghosts weren''t able to hide from him. They were also very causation and wanted to fish in trouble water, but now it seemed it was impossible.
Ace looked at everyone with a faint smile on his calm face, this was naturally his doing. He wanted them to find him, and he used the heavenly sense to achieve this.
He knew his heavenly sense was still weak at this moment because of his seal soul cultivation and Qi river core cultivators can easily sense it if he made it too oblivious, and he was right in the end.
They only consider heavenly sense martial energy because they can''t properly analyze it because of the emerald mist, or they would be shocked if they could sense this Qi was non-other the soul Qi!
Ace just took the advantage of emerald mist to hide his heavenly sense nature and also stay extremely closed to escape if they didn''t y by his rules and things go almost as he wanted.
Well, excluding Leap King he was just an extra, who became his EXP in the end.
Although everyone felt Ace''s heavenly sense ande running here, they were also exposed to Ace, as the day. Hiding was impossible in Ace''s heavenly sense presence if they didn''t have Qi river soul-level concealment treasure!
That''s why he could easily counter Lan and Alvin''s strategy and easily fish out the nightmare ghosts'' group.
He also sensed the same dreadful soul signature that make him change his n of me city that day. Surprisingly, it was with the nightmare ghost not with Alvin and Lan, this makes him more inquisitive.
However, Ace didn''t have time to mull over these little details. Since everyone was here now, he just had to give them some motivation to enter the mysterious circle.
"So, gentlemen, what this little nobody can do for you?" Ace didn''t show his motives right from the start.
Everyone deeply looked at Ace. They wanted to see Ace''s face, but it was shrouded in the darkness behind that long hood. Even with their excellent eyesight, they can make nothing out of it and their martial sense was deeply affected by that cloudy mist since Ace was too close to it.
"A nobody?" ck Reaper''s sneering voice rang at this moment, "You''re quite something for a nobody, don''t you think?"
Ace knew this voice since he encountered ck Reaper in the Regal Kingdom.
"I''m merely but a thief, who only know how to steal from people like your highnesses." Ace chuckles.
His eyes scan through the ten people''s hands, and they weren''t wearing any storage rings. ''Oh, they''re quite afraid of me, well it''s not like I can me them.'' He smiled bitterly.
Everyone knows how good Ace was in stealing people''s storage rings with no one knowing, the Institute test before was the actual proof. They didn''t dare to wear storage rings while confronting him, or they might leave with an Owl tattoo.
This was also a kind of silent acknowledgment of Ace''s thieving skills and showed just how afraid they were of him.
"Stop that bullshit humble act, surrender, and we won''t kill you!" Alvin couldn''t take it any more of this and threatened sternly. He was somewhat agitated since there were six Nightmare Ghosts, and they couldn''t see through the three of them.
"Hehe, do those gentlemen agree with you?" Ace was sowing discord.
"Like hell we are!" ck Reaper replied in a dominating tone, "You''reing with us, Nightmare Ghosts!"
"Don''t push your luck here, ck Reaper, we still have a score to settle!" Alvin said with killing intent.
ck Reaper was astonished becausest time he only intercepted Alvin for a while and didn''t make things difficult for him. But now Alvin was showing killing intent, ''Did he offend just because of that minor incident?''
But he wasn''t someone who''ll take threat sitting and also emit strong killing intent before retort, "You want to settle the score with me? With just you? Do you forget thest time you run away, tucking your tail between your legs?"
Alvin was infuriated by ck Reaper''s taunt, if it wasn''t for Finn, he would never show weakness at that time.
"There is not the time to fight right now." The old man in the Nightmare Ghosts group speaks at this moment, "How about this, we capture him first before deciding who''ll take him away?
"That brat is very cunning, and he''s just standing there like a spectator and watching monkey fight. As long as we start fighting he can easily escape and did you all want that?"
"I agreed with Old Man ck." Lan also nodded, he also wanted to take Finn back, but it wasn''t the time for it, yet. It also seemed he knew this Old man ck.
"Hahaha, old is wiser. It seemed there is some truth to it." Ace suddenlyughs, "Since you guys decided to capture me first, I''m afraid I can''t let you do that."
"Heh, it''s either us or the mysterious circle, I don''t think it''s that hard of a choice, now, is it?" Old man ck sneered mockingly.
He simply thought Ace didn''t have the guts to enter the mysterious circle, or he won''t be trying to sow discord and then find a chance to escape.
In everyone''s eyes, Ace was now a cornered rat.
"Hah, don''t give yourselves too much credit, I only waited for you guys here because I need your help," said Ace mysteriously.
"And what makes you think we''ll help the likes of you?" Ridge snorted.
"You have a point, but what if¡" Ace''s voice wasced with temptation, "There was a Soul Inheritance inside the mysterious circle!"
Chapter 217 - I Chose...
"There was a Soul Inheritance inside the mysterious circle!"
Everyone''s heart skip a beat when the name of Soul Inheritance sounded.
Dead cultivators left behind inheritances, and they were extremely rare.
Typically, a real inheritance was based on cultivation technique, skills, arts, weapons, and different wealth that the dead cultivator amodates throughout his entire life cycle.
When a cultivator didn''t find someone suitable to pass on their heritage or was injured by someone to the point of death, they create an inheritance ground to pass on their legacies. Inheritance grounds have also a second name, Cultivation Tombs!
However, these inheritance grounds weren''t just walk-in-the-park, they were extremely dangerous most of the time and if you by any chance enter an evil cultivator''s tomb, there were more traps than treasures.
Inheritance was also had two types, Martial Inheritance, in which one only found techniques and skills rted to martial cultivation.
The second one was naturally Soul Inheritance, and it was quite rare whenever one appeared there was always a war followed if the news leaked out.
One could say the rate of soul inheritance appearance was 1 in 1000pared with martial inheritances.
Below royal-levelnds, there weren''t many inheritances and throughout history, only five known martial inheritances were found all of them were in the hands of three giants, and all of them have appeared in high-levelnds.
As for soul inheritance, they were never one until now, of course.
"Hahaha¡ do you even know what you''re talking about?" ck Reaper jeering voice sounded, he didn''t believe Ace like everyone.
They simply thought he was spouting nonsense to find a way out.
"Heh, at least lie about something more believable." Lan chuckles coldly.
"Sighs¡I know you all are thinking, why didn''t I just take all of it for myself and why I announced it in front of my enemies." Sighed Ace, "There is a valid reason for this, of course, I wonder if you are all willing to listen."
Ace stopped and wait for everyone''s answer, he was telling a lie to lure everyone inside the mysterious circle, and soul inheritance was the only motivation strong enough to do this.
He got this idea from an old book from Leap King''s treasury, and he also learned about inheritances from it. He just had to show enough proof, so everyone could believe him, even if it was only fifty percent.
Although those people showed no facial reaction, their soul waves be a little chaotic after they heard soul inheritance and this was enough for him to keep going.
Just as he thought, no one spoke, as they were waiting for him to tell them his valid reason.
Ace''s lips rose upward, "I''m telling you this because a powerful guardian is protecting the soul inheritance and I can''t take it out on my own, and that''s why I ''invite'' you all here. Only the strongest can reach this ce and beyond, and if we help each other we can go beyond. I only need one thing from the soul inheritance, and everything else will be your reward for helping me." Ace started with a voice full of temptation and conviction.
There was silence before Old man ck spoke meaningfully, "This isn''t enough for us to believe you."
No one spoke as if they were agreeing with Old man ck. They were all old foxes, and it wasn''t easy to trick them.
Ace needed to show them something which can convince them he was telling the truth, and he had something like this as well!
Ace took out an old map and showed it to everyone and said, "This is the map of soul inheritance and I gained it from where I gained my skills and techniques!"
He was showing off the make he stole from Jason when he was in beast calling auction. It was ancient and perfectly matched with his exnation.
As for telling everyone, he got it with his inheritance; it was to stimte everyone''s greed even more because they were after his secrets, and they probably think of it as a powerful inheritance as well.
And just as he expected, everyone''s soul waves jumble after seeing the map.
''It''s enough!'' Ace eye shimmer with ambiguity.
Ace abruptly put the map inside the thief''s space again and said, "I don''t need to say anymore, see you all. Even if you don''t follow me, it just as the old man said ''it either you or the mysterious circle and I chose, heh¡ mysterious circle."
Ace''s scornful voice faded with him inside the mysterious circle, he finally entered it!
"W¡ what?!" ck Reaper eximed in a daze.
Everyone was shocked, they were examining the map that they didn''t have the time to react, and the thief with the map was gone in the mysterious circle.
This made Ace''s im even more solid since he entered without hesitation. Now everyone had the same thought, ''Is there soul inheritance there?'' Just this possibility was enough to make their blood boil.
Even though they were martial cultivators, they were all, powerful and wealthy figures. They can soar through the sky if they even got their hands on one of the soul techniques or soul cultivation art or skill. Or they can even practice it themselves if they can rebuild their foundation.
The thousands of possibilities and every one of them led to glory.
"Old man ck, what''s your opinion on the map?" Lan suddenly turned around and looked at the five-feet cloaked figure. He knew this wasn''t the time for a fight among themselves, and they had to decide soon.
"It wasn''t forged recently, I can at least see that much. But I can''t see through that thief''s actual motives." Old man ck reply with a hint of uncertainty.
"What do you think, Ridge?" Lan''s looked at Beastmaster Ridge.
Beastmaster''s had developed a powerful sense after cultivating techniques rted to beasts, they can easily discriminate between true and lies, but it wasn''t as urate as Ace''s soul senses.
"I can only tell, he was telling the truth about wanting only one specific treasure. His other words were neither lies nor true." Ridge shook his head after saying this.
How could he see past Ace''s lies so easily? He can now lie like it was the most natural thing in this world for him, he has unknowingly be too good in it.
However, Ridge''s words were enough to stir everyone''s emotions again, because if this was the case, then that meant there was soul inheritance there.
"Let''s go after him!" Marc''s voice filled with desire sounded at this moment.
But it was only heard by three Qi river core cultivators of nightmare ghosts.
"How about we work together for the time being and go after him?" Old man ck spoke with Lan at this moment.
The mysterious circle was just too dangerous and the more people they had the better if the inheritance was guarded by a powerful being they can always use Lan''s party as a distraction and sneak inside the inheritance ground quietly.
Lan nodded without hesitation because he had the same thought as Old man ck and said, "Fine, but I still want Sky Stealer in the end and the person you took from the me city as well!"
"What person?" Old man, ck, was lost at this moment. They never took anyone from the me city, they didn''t have a man of that caliber here that can infiltrate and escape the me city defenses, to begin with.
"Don''t y ignorant!" Alvin sneered at this moment as he took the note and throw it toward Old man ck.
It was the same note Ace left to slender Nightmare Ghost.
Old man ck confusingly looked at the note and his old face under the cloak turned solemn, "It Wasn''t Us, we never left behind these notes. All the ck rank assassin is here including me. We never took the mission to abduct anyone, we''re assassins, not kidnappers!" He gravely stated.
He could now guess someone wanted to nder them so Pill me and Nightmare Ghosts would fight will each other. But who could it be? NO! More importantly, who has this kind of skills to kidnap someone right from the me city?
Lan frowned, it''s not like he never thought it before himself, but there wasn''t anyone who could do this kind of thing.
"If you help us find the missing person, I''ll consider us even." Said Lan, he knew Old man ck was telling the truth, after all, he knew him for years.
"Fine." Old man ck agreed with no hesitation since he also wanted to find just who was so bold enough to nder their, Nightmare Ghosts Organization reputation.
Just like that temporary alliance between two groups formed. Now they were seven Qi river core cultivators and three peak Qi river cultivators. They all had their motives, but all of them wanted to get their hands on that soul inheritance.
Even if they will face unknown danger in the mysterious circle, they were willing to face that much just for the sake of soul inheritance.
The group of ten people finally stepped inside the mysterious circle, and their world changed instantly!
Chapter 218 - The Mysterious Circle
When Ace entered the cloudy mist, he used a thick Soul Qi barrier just to protect himself from the emerald mist. He only moved ten meters before stopping because he was waiting for the group outside, and he didn''t have to wait for long.
Just in five minutes, ten people enter the mysterious circle.
The seven Qi river core cultivators were still looking fine as they were using element Qi to protect themselves, while Marc and his two sword-maids were also using some kind of treasure barrier with element Qi.
"Now what?" the woman in Nightmare Ghosts questioned, her name was Margaret, a ck assassin.
"Follow my Qi closely and don''te closer than ten meters, or I''ll leave you guys in this mist. Only I can pave the way for you from here." Ace''s nonchnt voice sounded at this moment.
He was using the map to control this group even though he didn''t know the way at all, but he can easily detect danger, which was much better than them. He needed these guys if he found the elemental orb, or he can always escape from them.
In this mist even, his soul senses were affected much less martial sense without heavenly Qi''s support. He was sure they won''t backstab him until he served his purpose.
"What are you saying we''rerades now aren''t we?" ck Reaper''s friendly voice sounded.
Ace sneered, "Just do as I say, or thisrade will leave you here." He would believe a devil than these guys.
Ace started to move while spreading his heavenly sense, so these people with martial sense could easily follow behind.
All of them do as he said, and they keep a ten-meter distance between Ace and them, they could tell this thick emerald mist was dangerous. Because after they walk for half an hour, they no longer could tell where they were going and which way was back.
Ace was their only beacon in this sea of mist, if he left them now they would surely die because after their Qi exhausted and they left with no Qi stones to supply themselves with Qi.
Everyone''s vision was only narrowed down to ten meters, including Ace, without heavenly sense even he would lose in this sea of mist. But he can''t maintain this kind of soul Qi usage for long before he predicted six hours but now that he doing it he found out he might not evenst five hours!
He was on high alert because those golems were like fish in the water here, they can be anywhere andunched an attack. The most problematic was naturally speed golems.
"Boy, we heard you''re from low-levelnds, is that true?" Lan spoke at this moment since they were now traveling together, he was trying to probe some information out of Ace.
After all, Ace''s history was a vast mystery and his path to fame was just as astonishing.
Everyone''s ears perked when they heard this question, they all wanted to know this as well. After all, how could someone from that shitty ce have this kind of skills?
"Yes, I''m fromnds of cities." Ace replied. It wasn''t a secret.
"Is that also true, you escaped from the sky-changing border''s formation?" The old man, ck, asked which he was interested in the most.
"I was just lucky." Ace said no more about this.
Those who know the actual terror of sky-changing border formation snorted after hearing Ace''s answer. They knew just how powerful that formation was, and no one can escape it.
But they didn''t probe further since they might piss him off, now wasn''t the time to fall out with him, yet.
"For a petty thief, you sure have a lot of attitudes." Leana''s unhappy voice sounded, Ace''s way of treating everyone, especially Marc, annoyed her.
Everyone''s heart sank, hearing Lean''s disrespectful words. Even if they were also unhappy with Ace''s attitude, they didn''t dare to point it out because right now he was the only one who ''know'' the way.
"Shut up!" Marc sternly reprimanded Leana. He also wanted to inquire about the treasury but held himself back because there were too many people, and he also didn''t want to expose his real identity.
"Old man ck, don''t you teach manners to your ves?" Lan stiffly berated them. He didn''t want to risk their lives.
Marc''s eyes turn icy with killing intent when he heard Lan''s malicious words. But he endured for the sake of greater good and also tightly held two-swords maids'' hands which were trembling with rage.
"We apologized, she didn''t mean what she said." Old man ck''s heart turns cold, he didn''t dare to offend this young prince, but since Marc didn''t take any action he also won''t say anything.
"Heh, don''t worry, I don''t mind." Ace chuckles softly, "After all, just as she said, I''m only a petty thief."
Everyone sighed in relief hearing Ace''s words.
But Lan was also astonishing because he never thought old man ck would apologize so quickly on behalf of a peak Qi river realm girl.
''Just who are these three?'' Lan finally noted three Qi river realm juniors. He knew old man ck for years, and he understood old man ck would never apologize just for anyone.
But this wasn''t his business and keep his curiosity in check.
After this little talk, no one spoke anymore and silently followed Ace. Even if they were curious, they didn''t want a falling out with Ace for some idiotic reason.
After moving for four hours, no one know just how much deep they were in the mysterious circle, but they could not tell right from left anymore.
"I need to rest, you guys can also replenish your Qi." Ace finally stopped as his face was a little pale. He didn''t find any danger, but he also didn''t find any clue on the elemental orb, he was just moving aimlessly.
Everyone didn''t object to this since they were also using a substantial amount of Qi all this time, it wasn''t good topletely exhaust it in this kind of ce.
But they were all hesitating for some reason.
Ace turn around when he felt their soul Qi waves and was confused, "Why aren''t you guys recovering?"
No one answered as if they were embarrassed and finally Damien King spoke on behalf of these big figures, "Umm¡it-it''s like¡ this our storage rings¡and y-you won''t steal them, do you?" He was ashamed of himself.
Ace finally understand, as his lip spasmed, he wanted tough out loud.
"So, you guys are afraid of wearing your storage rings because of me?" Ace said in a yful tone, "Don''t worry, I won''t steal them since you guys going to need them. We''rerades, aren''t we, where''s the mutual trust betweenpanions?"
Everyone''s faces were covered with capes and other treasures, but everyone''s eyes twitch, hearing Ace''s shameless words. They hide their storage rings because they knew just how thievish he was, but now they required them.
Now they could only trust his words since both parties required one another.
One after another, they took their storage rings from different ces of their bodies. But none of them were as creative as Shadow Leader, though.
Lan was hiding his storage ring in a secret pocket in his sleeve, while Damien King took it out from underneath his belt.
Ace saw all their hidden ces and couldn''t help but chuckles in amusement. He now knows more ''hidden'' ces where one could hide their storage rings.
Just as Ace promised, he didn''t steal anyone''s storage ring and focused on his recovery. They all sigh in relief, but they still didn''t let their guard down and quickly hide their storage rings after taking what they needed from storage rings.
However, Ace didn''t stay too close to them, though he vanished in mist fifty meters away from them, so they could not attack him while he was recovering.
Everyone gives a start, and they thought Ace has escaped, but Ace merely told them his reason for not trusting them and wanted to recover alone, and he''ll be back in two hours. They all had no choice since Ace has already vanished, he wasn''t asking for their permission, to begin with.
In uneasiness, they all recover while waiting for his return, they finally understood just how helpless they were without the ''guide''.
But Ace kept his promise and came back after recovering his soul Qi, and everyone''s clenched hearts were finally at ease.
They all continued their journey, with Ace leading them to who knows where. But they didn''t dare offend him and silently followed since it was toote to turn around now.
In Ace''s ''guidance'' they all travel for who knows how long because they weren''t any concept of day and night, but Ace was closely calcting the time because of every four hours'' rest.
''Five days pass, but we still didn''t encounter a single golem or another living being, are we lost?!'' Ace''s heart sank to rock bottom!
Chapter 219 - A Grave?!
With Ace leading them to who knows where. But they didn''t dare offend him and silently followed since it was toote to turn around now.
In Ace''s ''guidance'' they all travel for who knows how long because they weren''t any concept of day and night, but Ace was closely calcting the time because of every four hours'' rest.
''Five days pass, but we still didn''t encounter a single golem or another living being, are we lost?!'' Ace''s heart sank to rock bottom because this wasn''t a good sign for him.
While Ace was getting desperate, the others were also pessimistic about the situation. Although only five days passed in this gloomy and poisonous environment, it was like five months has passed.
They all showed signs of agitation and even doubt Ace''s actual intention as well as the authenticity of the ''treasure map'' in Ace''s possession. But they still did not take any action because they were still blind in this misty sea and Ace was their onlypass.
Every time, when Ace leave to replenish his Qi, they would debate what they should do next; if they still need to keep tailing him or just attacked him and take the map in one fell swoop.
But the elders in the group, Lan and Old man ck, pacifist the youngsters every time they talk about assailing Ace.
These old men have a very different perspective than others in their point of view, Ace was probably testing them and deliberately taking the long way toward the inheritance ce.
If they try to snatch the map, they might fail because in these five days they still weren''t able to see through Ace''s cultivation, and they also didn''t discriminate the element Qi he was using or that strange Qi they were following all this time.
Even a blind person would be wary of a person who possesses this many mysteries, this type of person always had one or two methods to preserve their life.
That''s why both old men just silently followed and observed for now, if they found even the slightest bit of liability from Ace they would take advantage of that very moment and struck him down!
Ace was well aware of these ''secret discussions'' about him and how those two old men supported him. But he wasn''t the one who''ll be thankful to them, since their motives were also not pure.
So, Ace nned to leave them silently in two days, if he still wasn''t able to locate any kind of activity or any beings.
Because from his experience, he knew the elemental orb had a very powerful natural protective system around it, and it wasn''t easy to find a loophole in it.
Thest time was pure luck since his Soul Qi threads could locate the Light elemental orb''s location, but this time it wasn''t working because he already tried.
Now he could only specte two possibilities.
One, there wasn''t any elemental orb and there was some otherpletely different reason for this mist. As for the second, they were trapped in this seemingly infant emerald mist sea, like the gray tree forest. He mostly believed in thetter.
One more day pass in walking haphazardly.
Everyone was going crazy seeing the emerald mist every instant, it was mentally challenging to see only one shade all the time while keeping concentrating on their Qi to protect themselves.
Ace wasn''t any better than them, he was the one walking in the most front, and even he was hating the emerald color.
Suddenly, Ace felt something wasn''t right because he felt he didn''t just step on the t group at this moment, he abruptly halted and nced down.
His heart palpitated the moment, he saw the slope where his foot was, "What the¡"
Ace abruptly jump in shock and blemish to his right andnded five meters away.
Everyone following him was bewildered by Ace''s sudden action, and they also took their respective fighting stances because they thought it was some kind of enemy attack.
"What happened?" Lan gravely asked as he looked around vigntly.
"Why don''t you guyse and see for yourselves." Ace said with a hint of shock in his voice.
They all slowly walk where Ace just jumped and when they were five-meter close, they finally saw what was there and a chill run down everyone''s spine. Because there was a two-square-meter slope in front of them.
"I-I¡is that a¡grave?" Margaret''s stuttering voice sounded as she guessed. She was living in middle-levelnds for twenty years now and knew the horrible legends about this forest.
Truth be told, no one believes that someone could dig their own grave and then buried themselves.
But after seeing this slop in the mysterious circle, they all thought of the same legend and started to sweat profoundly.
Even Ace was bbergasted by this, if he wasn''t feeling any kind of danger from the slope he would have run a long time ago.
"I think we should leave this ce as soon as possible!" The Damien King''s resolve shook as he gravely looked at the slope while thinking about the legend.
"Let''s dig this ce, it might not be a grave." Suggested old man ck, he wanted to know if the legends were true or this was just a false rm.
Damien King looked at old man ck in incredulity, his suggestion was denied without any discussion.
''This old man is probably thinking about the treasures if they dig out a fallen expert''s grave.'' Damien King easily saw through old man ck''s hidden connotations.
"So, who wants to dig? Count me out." Ace also see through old man, ck''s double meaning suggestion, and he also wanted to confirm if this was the grave of a fallen expert or just a sham of a legend.
But he won''t be digging himself no matter what, there might be a hidden danger in that grave or trap, so he back down with no hesitation.
No one show any disapproval since Ace was their ''guide'' and if anything happened to him, they all might be the next ones to dig their graves next.
So, now the question was who''s going to ''explore''.
In the end, the unlucky one was none other than Damien King because he was lowest in ranks here and even those three Qi river realm juniors had higher status than him.
Damien King gritted his teeth and, with resentment, he took small steps toward the slope. Everyone else distances themselves from ''grave'' and ''gravedigger''.
Ace was the furthest away, ready to run at any given moment.
Damien King felt even more unsportsmanlike when he saw everyone leaving him alone and even encouraging him from a distance to dig.
''Bunch of bullies!'' Damien King''s heart was filled with resentment and bitterness.
He was the glorious king of number one Kingdom of middle-levelnds was forced to dig a grave by others if the news got out about it, he would be theughingstock of entire middle-levelnds!
"We''re waiting!" Ace''s impatient yet encouraging voice rang from afar.
''Even a mere thief dares to order me, now!'' Damien King pursed his lips and finally used his element Qi to ''dig''.
The slope instantly sted away and be t again, but there wasn''t any pit.
Damien King was standing five meters away at this moment, he was escaped after ''digging''.
"Attack again." Lan wasn''t satisfied with just this and ordered.
Damien King''s face fell, but he merely nodded, since he can''t just ignore Lan''s order.
''Bang¡''
Another loud explosion rang in the area, and this time Damien King used almost full power to st the earth.
However, this time something appeared, a deep hole in the ce where Damien King attacked!
"It was a grave!" Rena''s astonished yet fearful voice sounded. Even she didn''t expect to witness this kind of cynical thing in this ce.
"What are you waiting for? See what''s inside!" ck Reaper impatiently ordered Damien King like he was his underling.
"Why me again?" Damien King pursed his lips, he was somehow standing ten meters away from the grave now.
However, someone else was standing right at the mouth of the hole and to everyone''s astonishment, this person was none other than the hooded thief, Sky Stealer!
''Did he find something?''
Everyone had this same question ringing in their minds right now.
On the other hand, Ace''s heart was pounding wildly as his calm eyes were now filled with ecstasy while looking at the dark hole.
The reason for Ace''s sudden excitement and rushing here was the moment Damien King open the ''grave'' he felt the dark void quiver for the slightest moment before returning to its dormant state as if nothing has happened.
But Ace knew what this steep moment meant, and it wasn''t just his illusion either, it was just like at that time; before he first encountered the light elemental orb!
This was a sign, the sign of an elemental orb confirmed existence in the mysterious circle of earthen mist forest!
Chapter 220 - Thousand Shadow Mirage
Albeit the pit was pitch ck, Ace could see what was inside.
"A skeleton." Lan was already standing on the opposite side of the pit. Since Ace was already standing there unharmed, this gave courage to others.
This pit was five-meter-deep, and it was a grave because inside was an old skeleton and its cloth was also seemed to decaypletely. There wasn''t any storage ring or any other thing that can be identified.
Ace didn''t mind these old men standing too close to him now, they won''t dare to act against him anymore especially after seeing this grave and deteriorating skeleton inside.
He was carefully scanning the pit and skeleton inside because the dark void''s sudden reaction happened right after the pit was opened.
''There must be something that can lead us to the real core of this forest.'' Ace mulled while spreading his heavenly sense deeper inside the pit.
However, at this moment, an unimaginable scene yed in front of everyone''s terrified eyes.
An emerald liquid started to surface from the pit bottom, and it covered the skeleton like it has a mind of its own. The liquid slowly filled the pit until it waspletely level with the ground.
Ace and others were already distanced away from the pit and silently observing the strange phenomena.
"Just what in the world¡" Before ck Reaper couldplete his sentence, his word instantly stuck between his throat as his eyes stuck wide open.
Everyone has the same reaction because they saw arge hand arising from the pit and the ground also shook violently.
It wasn''t the end though, the human size hand grew, and before anyone could react it was already five metersrge.
The group was cracking as if something massive wanted toe out.
"Everyone, scatter!" Alvin''s desperately roared, but he didn''t need to, since any with a brain could tell something was wrong with this grave, and it wasn''t a good idea to stay close to it.
Ace was already fifty meters away from the pit and everyone heeled him because if they separate from Ace they would be lost and dead since they can''t travel without Ace.
Ace didn''t mind them because all his attention was on the being that was emerging from the ground likeva.
The two-meter pit slowly berger andrger until a forty-meter crater, but the crater wasn''t the prime focus of the group at this moment because they were all looking at the huge thirty-meter humanoid giant that has emerged from it!
''A golem?!'' Ace was astonished because this thirty-meter giant was exactly like golems, but it didn''t have eye sockets, and it waspletely made out of emerald liquid.
At this moment the enormous golem released a powerful pressure and everyone''s heart sank when they felt this breathtaking pressure.
"It''s almost releasing Qi river core realm cultivation pressure despite being a peak Qi river realm monster!" Old man ck gloomily remarked.
"Just what is that thing? Is it made out of that skeleton?" Damien King''s face was pale with horror.
"Heh, at least now we know how those monsters in the inner circle came in being." Ridge smile wryly.
No one thought those strange monsters were made out of human remains, and this sent chills in their bodies. This forest was just too damn dangerous and ghastly.
"We don''t have time for this." Ace''s voice instantly forewarn everyone, "I think that monster is looking at us?"
Everyone looked at the empty face of that giant monster which was rippling with emerald liquid, and it was strangely in their direction.
Ace suddenly felt goosebumps, "From underground!" He yelled as he used his lightning steps to escape the ce. He didn''t have time for others.
Those with martial sense also felt something wrong, but they were still slower than Ace heavenly sense. But they react in time because of his warning and used their unique escaping method to scatter!
The very next moment thereafter, hundreds of emerald spikes pop up where everyone was just standing. However, this wasn''t the end of it, the spikes started to fall from above like rain.
"Kill that thing fast!" Ace cried in rm because he could feel the spike rain wasn''t over and the whole cloudy mist started to react because of something and spike were forming all over the ce.
It was impossible to escape because it seemed the entire mysterious circle was being controlled by something and the rain of spikes will start at any moment.
''Just great!'' Ace''s expression was ugly when he saw no one heed his warning, and they were all busy escaping from the danger that was in front of their eyes, no one seemed to sense the real hidden danger.
Ace quickly turned around while clenching his swords tightly, he knew this golem was the one that controlled this mist or somethingpletely different that was controlling the golem to do its bidding.
But he has to quickly get rid of this golem or there won''t be any ce to hide from those forming spikes.
He already found the weakness of this golem, it was the pit they found the skeleton!
Although the pit has turned into a crater, for Ace it wasn''t impossible to find it because the strange Qi wasing from the exact spot, and it was probably its weakness.
The golem seemed to sense Aceing towards its weak spot, and arge ripple passed through its face.
Ace instantly felt impending danger from below and above, his stealth didn''t seem to work on this golem as well. Just like when he first encountered a golem.
''If this attacknded on me, it would be impossible to escape without grave injuries.'' Ace''s face sank, but he didn''t have any choice because if he didn''t stop thatrge-scale skill it won''t be just grave injuries he would receive.
"Sky shield!" Old man ck''s hoarse voice rang in the area. It seemed he hade back after hearing Ace''s warning cry.
Ace suddenly felt a huge Qi ripple above him and a silver-green shield appeared. ''Is that a skill?''
He didn''t have time to mull over it because even if he was safe from above, he wasn''t safe from below. There was still a twenty-meter distance from the weak spot and him.
Ace quickly used Camouge Steps and left afterimages behind.
Thereafter, many spikes began to emerge, but they only prate Ace''s afterimages, real Ace was nowhere to be found.
This action seemed to enrage the golem as he formed an enormous punch and swing it close to its weak spot.
"No, you don''t, Sky shield!" Old man ck roared again and used his skill to block the huge punch quickly.
''Thousand Shadow Mirage!'' Ace quickly used the second skill of his cultivation art, Dual Sword Mirage!
Thousands of sword shadows appeared and the torrent of ck shesnded on therge foot of the golem which was covering the pit at this moment.
The emerald liquid instantly cut apart, and a skeleton appeared, it was the same skeleton they found. Hundreds of sword shes instantly tore apart the skeleton.
There was a very fine thread that was connected with the skeleton skull, and it was also cropped, and the fine-thread instantly escape in-ground the moment it was cut from the skeleton.
Ace didn''t see this since his focus was on the giant and the thread was too thin.
In Ace''s eyes, the moment he destroyed the skeleton, the huge golem instantly turned into a liquid with nothing to support it. Ace quickly escapes the crater. The liquid sshed onto the group; it filled the crater, forming a small pound.
Ace still bathed in the emerald liquid in the end, it was like water with no odor, but he didn''t let it touch his skin with the Qi barrier around him. He sighed in relief because the forming of spikes had stopped the moment he killed the golem.
====
[Host killed a Complete Qi River Stage Puppet-Golem]
[Reward: 1,500,000 EXP]
---
[EXP: 61.5 Million/100 Million]
{Elemental Orb:0/1}
====
''A puppet golem?'' Ace was astonished, ''Something was controlling this golem?''
He didn''t have time to think about it because old man ck wasing in his way. He had to admit without old man ck, Sky Shield, he might not be able to intercept the Puppet Golem, much less kill it.
"Thank you." He nodded at old man ck.
"Heh, I just save my old skin, no need to thank me." Old Man, ck, chuckles with a hint of lingering fear in his voice.
Old man ck, was an assassin and his danger sense was quite powerful, that''s why when he sensed the life-threatening danger looming over him no matter how much distance he creates between him and that monster he knew without killing the monster it was impossible to escape.
That''s why he came back and help Ace who was closest to the Golem, and he even witnessed something astonishing like Dual Sword Mirage Art second form!
Chapter 221 - More Graves
"So, where are the rest of you guys?" Ace asked with a hint of fatigue in his voice.
The second skill of Dual Sword Mirage Art took too much strain on his body because of the huge amount of martial Qi necessity. He needed some time to recover now or if a second Puppet Golem materialized, he won''t be able to retaliate.
Old Man ck finally remembered about the others and said gravely, "That monster cause too muchmotion and because of that strange skill they all scattered in different directions."
"We should wait, someone mighte back," said Ace, he required some time to recover, and it would be foolish to move further along.
After the old man, ck showed his worth, Ace knew he required a powerful backup, or he didn''t stand a chance in finding the elemental orb alone. That''s why he was willing to wait for others.
Old man ck also nodded in agreement, he had the same thought as Ace, this mysterious circle was just too dreadful to tend alone. Although he used little of his real prowess on Puppet Golem, the confrontation was enough to make him feel the danger to end his life.
Just as Ace said, after they wait for some time, someone found their way back. It was none other than Marc and his two sword maids. They were lucky to have that treasurepass, or they might not be able toe back without getting lost.
Marc wasn''t feeling any good at this moment because he was the crown prince of an empire was constantly escaping for his life in this kind of ce. He only wanted to capture Ace first, but after hearing about the soul inheritance, he changed his mind.
He wanted to use Ace to get the inheritance for himself and then also capture him thereafter in one fell swoop, but he never thought this forest would be so treacherous.
Now, he was trapped here, and he was even regretteding here because of the temptation of soul inheritance!
However, Marc''s eyes shimmer with sharp light as he saw Ace was now alone and the other person beside him was none other than the old man, ck. His sulky mood instantly lighten up as he contemted this, a hard-to-miss chance.
''If I got the map of soul inheritance, I don''t need this thief anymore. Now that we''re alone, I can do whatever I want with him, I had enough of his snobbish attitude!'' In that instant, Marc struck while he still had the chance.
They all followed Ace for days and after this recent ordeal, Marc deemed Ace as a weakling who was relying on their power to pave the way for himself. Even if Ace had some hidden life-saving measure, Marc didn''t think Ace can harm him.
"Get ready." Marc''s voice was only loud enough to hear by his two sword maids.
Rina and Leana instantly understood the hidden meaning behind Marc''s words, and they also felt it was time to teach thatcent thief a painful lesson. They also had enough of his pomposity.
Marc with Rina and Leana heeling slowly moved toward old man ck since Ace was distant away from him. Marc requires the old man if he wanted to subdue Ace with noplication, and they had to do it quickly before Ace could respond.
It ted old man ck when he saw Marc was fine and even came back, but this tion turned into stupefaction when Marc quickly exin his n of attacking and subduing Ace.
Truth to be told, old man ck also had the same thoughts as Marc, but he wasn''t too sure after witnessing that powerful skill Ace used to defeat the Puppet Golem. He wasn''t too sure if he could escape that skill without getting heavily injured.
But Marc''s words also hold some credibility because they were here to capture the thief, not to help him, and they just need to do what they were supposed to. They can search for the soul inheritance themselves after snatching the map for Ace.
"What if he fled?" Old man ck told his biggest concern in a serene voice.
Marc was silent for a moment, he also knew if they let the thief escape they would be digging their own grave, literally.
"How about we use the formation barrier to lock the area," Rina suggested.
"Too risky, it would need a minute if he had a method to escape us, then he used it before the formation barrier formedpletely." Leana refute.
"No, we can keep him for a minute or two." Marc finds Rina''s suggestion feasible, "Rina used the formation barrier when you receive my signal. Let''s see how that little thief runs!"
However, when they all turned around to act, they were startled because Ace had disappeared from his position!
"Where did he go?" Marc suddenly had a bad feeling about this.
"I-I don''t know¡he was here just a moment ago!" Leana''s voice was filled with incredulity.
"M¡may¡maybe he heard us?" Leana spoke with uncertainty.
"That''s impossible!" Marc instantly rejected this notion, "We were at least ten meters away from him, and we were secretly using a sound-prof barrier he can''t hear us even if he wanted to!"
"Then where did he go?" Old man ck voice was filled with bitterness and terror. If that thief left them, they would be trapped in this ce.
"Maybe he''lle back, just like he always does." Rina tried to appease everyone, or she was consoling herself.
"Use thepass!" Marc''s voice was bitter, "I just had this bad feeling¡he won''t being back this time!"
---
Ace was already hundreds of meters away when Marc and hispanions realized he was gone.
"Hmph¡ they think I can''t hear them, na?ve!" Ace sneered disdainfully.
He was already aware of Marc''s arrival, but he just pretended to recover while sneakily using his heavenly sense when no they were busy nning how to attack him.
The moment they were about to act, he simply used his stealth and movement skills and escaped. He didn''t want to face old man ck, especially that Qi river realm cultivator, who gave him the chills.
Ace sighed regretfully, he wanted to work together with them, but they just had to ruin everything, and he had to tend alone now.
''Well, I can always use the explosion to draw them toward me once I find the elemental orb position.'' Ace mused and nodded, he thought this was the only way to work ''together'' with those people.
Now that he was fully recovered, he again moved deeper, or that''s why he thought where he was going.
The mysterious circle was with no trees or even grass, the dirt ground was t, Ace woulde across some pebbles now and then.
Albeit he found it very strange, he still kept moving, but after an hour or so he saw an arrow made with fragment Qi stones. He was the one who made it, so others would follow him, but it seemed he was just moving in circles.
''This is thest thing I need right now!'' Ace was frustrated, but there wasn''t anything he could do, so he calmed himself down and took out a small, exquisite sk.
He gulped arge mouthful before sighing in satisfaction, "This jade wine never gets old no matter how much I drink."
Although this sh was made to contain tones of water yet, Ace has filled it with stolen jade wine because he had three of them. Every time he would feel like it, he would simply drink jade wine like water. It didn''t have any effect on him, but he enjoyed the intoxicating taste.
After drinking like an old drunkard, he moved again, but this time he chose a different direction.
He started to draw Qi stones arrows every mile, as for wasting fragment Qi stones, he had millions of them and all of them were useless to him, so it didn''t pain him using them as markers in the slightest.
This time he didn''t encounter any of his previous left markers, even after moving for a few hours. Which mean he was going somewhere at least.
However, his lightning-like footstepse to an abrupt halt because fifty meters ahead of him were five graves neatly arranged in a line, just like the one he encountered early in the day!
Ace''s expression sank as he used the soul barrier to its fullest with breathless stealth. He had no intention of bothering the dead. He took a detour and circle around the five graves.
To his relief, nothing happened, ''It seemed if I don''t dig those graves I''ll be fine!'' Ace mused.
However, his previous tion didn''tst for long because as he kept moving on the same path, he encountered more graves methodically arranged like they were in a cemetery.
Ace didn''t even dare to breathe out loud because if those graves each had a puppet golem then he was doomed!
Chapter 222 - Army Of Golems!
Ace''s movement speed became extremely slow, and the intervals of his soul Qi recovery because more frequent. Where he was required to recover his soul Qi every four hours now he needed to do the same thing every two hours.
It was all because he was using a soul Qi barrier and heavenly sense to the fullest, even while recuperating he still maintained the soul Qi barrier to protect his physique.
''Just how many people died in this damn ce?'' This question was plunging in his mind for a while now.
Because he had seen hundreds of graves from the moment he entered this cemetery-like zone, and they were still increasing. His heart was heavy as a mountain because if there was a trigger to awake those puppet golems, then he didn''t know if he could elude them.
Ace suddenly felt powerful Qi fluctuations way ahead of him.
Since there wasn''t any tree or any cave for him to hide, so, he hid behind a grave. He didn''t touch anything and just use it to shield himself because something wasing in his way.
Right after a few minutes, Ace saw a group of hundreds of speed golems closely following behind a human-like golem whose size was much smaller.
Ace''s eyes instantly narrowed as his brows knitted together because he could guess what that golem was, ''A full-fledged Speed Golem Leader, and it''s at the peak of Qi river realm as well!''
Ace''s heart palpitated seeing hundreds of golems and the golem leader, he didn''t expect to see them here, but he was also excited about something, ''It looks like I''m getting closer to the elemental orb since I encountered a golem leader.''
Ace carefully keep his distance from the Speed Golem Leader, he didn''t forget about the system''s previous warning.
The speed golem leader''s eyes twinkle in emerald light before it moved to the other side with its group of speed golem.
Ace sighed in relief when the golem leader moved on and didn''t notice him, ''As long as I''m keeping a fifty-meter distance from it, I''m safe, just like the system said.''
After making sure, that group of golems have left the area, he took the same path where the speed golem came from.
However, Ace has just moved a few miles when he encountered another golems group with a golem leader. He only dodged them by the hair because of histe reaction.
Ace was feeling the anxiety and even felt relieved about being alone because if he was with that group they might''ve not reacted in time, and they would have already faced hundreds of speed golems or even puppet golems.
This time, Ace didn''t move even five hundred meters when he felt iing danger from behind. This unknown danger was directlying in his way and at a fast speed.
He quickly used lightning steps to run in the opposite direction before changing his direction again. After making sure he was out of the range of the iing enemy, he waits for them to leave the area.
Since Ace was hundreds of meters away from this group, he wasn''t able to see that group because of his limited vision.
After he encountered many groups of golems with golem leaders, Ace suddenlye to an astonishing conclusion.
''These golems groups were moving in a pattern like they''re patrolling just like soldiers. If they''re patrolling, then who''s controlling them and what are they protecting, the elemental orb?'' Ace bemused.
He knew the elemental orbs possessed consciousness, and they all had unique ways of protecting themselves. Seemingly, this elemental orb protecting system depends on these golems and emerald mist.
''By the growing number of golems groups, I''m probably very close to the elemental orb, or close enough to stumble upon something rted to it.''
Ace calm his excited heart and go toward thest golem group, which seemed to go back from where they came from.
''If I just had my normal heavenly sense and vision.'' Ace cursed this fact extremely annoyed him, he can only see around fifty meters which was no way enough to observe a golem leader.
''Hmm? Where did they go?'' Ace suddenly halted in bewilderment because the group of golems he has been following has suddenly vanished from his soul sense.
Although his senses were limited, the Qi fluctuations emitting from a Golem Leader were enough for Ace to followed them for hundreds of meters distance.
But this sudden disappearance of an entire group of hundreds of golems was too suspicious, no matter how much he thought about it.
However, to his shock, the very next moment after the group of golems vanished a new Qi fluctuation emerge from the very same area, and he could tell it was a new group of golems with a new golem leader leading them.
Ace quickly hide far to let that group of golems leave since they wereing in his direction. After confirming no golems wereing or going in his way, he slipped toward the same area where golems were vanished and appeared abruptly.
Ace cover a Five-hundred-meter distance in minutes and finally appeared close to the area where the group of golems vanished, and a new one appeared a few minutes ago.
No matter how much he probed with the heavenly sense, he saw or felt nothing but emerald mist.
Ace suddenly strengthen his resolve and move ahead toward the area where those golems vanished.
For a few hundred meters he felt nothing, but after trading for a mile he suddenly walked out of the emerald mist sea and enter a new world!
Yes, a new world!
Those were the thought that came to Ace''s mind when he unexpectedly walked out of the emerald mist. He never imagined there was something like at the end of the emerald mist sea.
In front of his eyes was a spacious dome-like vacuity, there wasn''t any emerald mist inside this enormous dome. For some mysterious reason, the emerald mist was like the wall and roof of this enormous dome.
This enormous dome was lit by some kind of gentle green light.
But Ace didn''t have time to uncover this mystery because his eyes were widely opened and on the verge of popping out of their sockets as he looked right at the center of this dome.
Right in the center of this dome was a towering volcano that was releasing none other than emerald mist as thick as clouds from its enormous maw. The cloudy mist was mixing right into the enormous dome but none of it spread inside the dome as if it has been controlled by something.
But it wasn''t the end of Ace''s befuddlement because surrounding this huge volcano of emerald mist were armies of golems!
Yes, armies of golems, like in thousands!
Ace''s heart palpitated as his face turn ashen, he wanted to turn back and run like hell because there were thousands of golems and there was even a fifteen-meter tall white stone golem that he never encountered outside before and all of them were emitting the dreadful aura of Qi river core realm!
All of these golems were tightly surrounding the volcano in neatly arranged rows.
This grand army was probably enough to trample upon entire high-levelnds, nothing can stop it except Qi Soul realm old monsters!
Ace turned around to escape this ce as soon as possible, when,
=====
[System has detected {Nature''s Earth Elemental Orb} in the area around the host!]
---
[Did the host want to mark the Earth Elemental Orb?]
{TP Required: 10,000 TP}
{Confirm?}
=====
Ace clench his fists tightly and stopped himself from running after he heard the system''s notification and saw the new option that hasn''t appearedst time when he first time encounter the light elemental orb.
He took a deep breath and calm his never; he was at least two miles away from that volcano and a mile away from the golem army, there wasn''t anything between them besides somerge stones.
But he can''t stay in this ce for too long because he just saw a ''small'' group of hundreds of golems led by a golem leader enter the dome and a new group of golem led by a golem leader exit the mist from five hundred meters away from his position.
The old group which just enter the dome quickly took the position which the old group left empty. It was like these groups took turns to patrol the mysterious circle. As for who gave them these orders, it was unknown.
Ace quickly hide behind a five-meter-wide stone, which was just a hundred meters away from his position.
After making sure there wasn''t any new grouping in his way or exiting the mist sea, he felt a little better, but the pressure of surrounding by an enormous army of monsters wasn''t something that can be lifted.
"Confirm." With a thought, Ace select confirm in the system''s panel.
Ace would see the position and then decide if he should leave or try his luck while stealing the Earth Orb like he stole the light orbst time!
Chapter 223 - Eradicating A Golem Group!
[System has detected {Nature''s Earth Elemental Orb} in the area around the host!]
---
[Did the host want to mark the Earth Elemental Orb?]
{TP Required: 10,000 TP}
{Confirm?}
=====
"Confirm."
=====
[Thief Point(s): 2,289,400]
=====
The moment TP deducted, Ace, look around; searching for the system''s marker.
Suddenly, a transparent dark arrow appeared on the corner of Ace''s eye which was pointing out in a specific direction.
''It''s like apass needle?'' The system''s marker fascinated Ace, and he knew no one could see it except him.
But his expression fell the moment he saw the transparent arrow was pointing slightly upward, it was straight toward the towering volcano''s maw!
''Sigh¡ I had the feeling it would be in that ce.'' Ace sighed helplessly.
It''s not like he was afraid of the volcano, he was terrified of that immense army between him and the volcano.
If he dared to go too close to those golems, with so many golem leaders and those Qi river core white stone golems present, it would be over for him the moment even one of those golem leaders locked on him.
If Ace wanted to cross the army of golems, he needed to distract thousands of golems at once, then he''ll get the gap in the golem army he required to cross.
But it also had a tremendous risk because the moment he creates some kind of disturbance he might startle the Earth Orb, and then he might have to face an orb guardian!
With his previous encounter with Light Orb Guardian, he nearly lost his life, and this left a deep fear of orb guardian in his heart. All orb guardians have their unique abilities, and earth orb''s guardian would not be any different.
''What to do¡'' Ace was deeply frustrated, and he even felt a real headache just by thinking of how he can cross that army.
Just like that, hours passed, but Ace didn''t move from his position. Although he didn''t find any way to cross that army, he noticed the pattern of the golems group moving in and out.
In every thirty minutes, a group of golems would enter this dome, and then a new group would rece them. No matter how many times Ace counted, the time seemed to not change even for a second.
These golems groups move in a circle with the clockwise format, and they cover the allocated area of the mysterious circle.
Ace never saw two groups enter, or two groups leave at one time, and he knew the key to break their defensive line was moving two or more groups at the same time.
He even thought of a suicidal method to do this, but he first used a more of a less suicidal method.
"Hey system, give me some idea, I know you had a way. TP isn''t a problem, just give me some kind of hint!" Ace tried to bribe the system to help him.
He considered the system omniscient and was hopeful it could help him this time around, but to his disappointment, no one was at home like always.
One day passed and Ace still didn''t take any action because every time he wanted to do something his rationality screamed in his mind that it was too dangerous, what if he alert the orb guardian?
He even thought of going back and thening back when he would be stronger, but aftering so close, he didn''t want to give up either. He just hid there and watch those golems entering and going out, this routine didn''t change no matter what happened.
Another week passed while doing nothing but watching in exasperation, Ace still do nothing he just didn''t dare to take a step forward either he wanted to leave.
Today, however, Ace saw a group of golems starts to move in his direction and he instantly knew what this mean. He has been watching them for a week now and knew it was just a matter of time before the golems groups in his direction would interchange. And it seemed today was the day.
Ace has already selected the next position where he was going to hide. He hurriedly toward arge stone two hundred meters away.
Just as he predicted, a few minutes after, a group of speed golems led by a Speed Golem Leader entered the dome.
One thing Ace noticed was he can''t seem to investigate the mist wall with his heavenly sense anymore for some reason. Simply put, he can''t sense anyoneing out from the mist sea like it was some kind of barrier.
This time interchanging this speed golem''s group was a stone golem group which was being led by a much smaller and human version of the earth golem leader.
''Should I do it?'' Ace hesitate as he looked at the golem groups pass by each other. He had a much ''safe'' and better n after watching these groups of golems going in and out for a week.
Ace knew he had to decide at some point, he can''t just keep standing here and do nothing while just watching these damn golems like an idiot.
Ace close his eyes and took a deep breath as he circted Heavenly Darkness Qi to calm himself. The next moment he opened his eyes a dark current shed past them, they were as cold as ice andpletely tranquil.
After the stone golem group entered the emerald mist sea Ace sneakily followed them as he maintained a hundred-meter distance, he also made sure that the speed golems group was far away when he moved.
Just when the stone golem group crossed the mist wall, Ace instantly loses track of them, but this wasn''tst long as he instantly tracked them down when he crossed the mist wall and enter the emerald mist sea again.
He heeled the stone golems group for a few miles, after making sure they were far enough two pitch-ck swords appeared in Ace''s hands. With stern eyes, he closed the distance between him and the stone golems group.
When he was just fifty meters away, he instantly activate his lightning steps and like a lightning bolt directly moved toward Stone Golem Leader which was in the very front of the stone golems group!
The moment Ace entered the fifty meters radius of stone golem leader, the Golem Leader instantly sense somethinging in its way at a quick speed right ahead of him.
Stone Golems didn''t have high speed like speed golems, and their leader was not any different from them as well. Stone Golems'' prowess was in their defense.
The golem leader reacted the moment it sensed the iing enemy, but its reaction was also slow, and before it couldmand the stone golems behind it or use any skill, a silhouette appeared like a phantom.
Two dark lights struck like ck lighting at the very moment the phantom-like silhouette appeared and pierce through the Stone golem leader''s chest!
Emerald liquid flowed from the pierced chest and the next moment the stone golem leader turned into a stone pile!
The group of stone golems didn''t even know how their leader died, and their arranged formation instantly turned chaotic when there wasn''t any stone golem leader tomand them. They turned into their dumb self!
However, Ace didn''t stop and started killing those golems, which were sitting ducks without a golem leader and free EXP. These golems can''t see through Ace''s breathless stealth, and he was too familiar with how they react because of his encounter with them in the inner circle.
In ten minutes, more than a hundred stone golems turned into a pile of stones! Even Ace was astonished at his killing speed. He even thought he was dreaming.
====
[Host killed a Complete Qi River Stage Stone-Golem Leader]
[Reward: 1,500,000 EXP]
---
[Host killed a Qi River Source Realm Stone Golem]
[Reward: 100,000 EXP]
---
[Host killed a Qi River Source Realm Stone Golem]
[Reward: 100,000 EXP]
---
[Host killed a Qi River Source Realm Stone Golem]
[Reward: 100,000 EXP]
---
[Host killed a Flowing Qi River Realm Stone Golem]
[Reward: 500,000 EXP]
¡
¡
¡
¡
---
[EXP: 78.2 Million/100 Million]
{Elemental Orb: 0/1}
====
But when he saw the extensive list of killing notifications, he finally believed he wasn''t dreaming, and he killed more than a hundred golems.
For two days, Ace was nning to eradicate a golem group to see what kind of change the golem army would go through because of this. He chose stone golems because of their slow reaction and overall speed.
Ace knew if he stands a chance to eradicate any golem group, then it had to be a stone golems group, and it seemed he made the right choice.
Not only did he manage to kill a speed golem leader instantly, he even obliterated their entire group after they lose their leader.
With a huge grin on his face, he quickly went back inside the doom to observe any kind of change because of his recent action.
But to his surprise, nothing out of the blue happened as he imagined!
Chapter 224 - A Chance!
Ace quickly came back and expect arge movement from the golem army, but to his stupefaction, those golems were remained undisturbed.
Truth to be told, he expected those golems or whatever controlling them would send some kind of scouts to investigate the stone golem leader''s death, but it appeared that golem leader was just irrelevant. He even bothered to destroy the evidence to hinder the enemy.
Frustrated, Ace quietly returned to his new hiding spot and waited for the cycle of one week toplete. Now his only hope was the proprietor of this golem army might react when the group did note back when it supposed it.
But Ace didn''t sit idly this week, he eliminated more stone golems groups to make the final disturbance much bigger andplete his remaining EXP while he''s at it.
In this entire week, he only got the chance to eliminate five more stone golem groups, numbers exceeding 700. He didn''t dare to go after speed golems, he knew they were out of his league with that speed golem leader present.
====
[EXP: 100 Million/100 Million]
{Elemental Orb:0/1}
====
Ace looked at theplete hundred million with tion, he managed toplete a hundred million on the fourth stone golems group.
But to his distress and disappointment, he won''t get any more EXP after killing golems anymore after his initial target of 100M wasplete nor the EXP umted like before in the Extra EXP bar.
After questioning about it from the system, he finally knows the Extra EXP wasn''t avable anymore after he opened the hidden part of the Heavenly Crystal Body Technique of Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique!
Albeit his heart bleed after hearing this, he could do nothing but condemned the system for being ck-hearted and evil.
Today, Ace was eagerly awaiting to see what going to happen because the time of the golem group interchange was drawing near.
As just he was bing agitated, a group of speed golems move, led by the speed golem leader, toward the same position where the interchange happenedst week.
Ace was standing just a few meters away from the mist wall, ready to escape at any given moment if anything goes awry.
The new Speed Golems group naturally move until they were five hundred meters away from the mist wall. The speed golem leader abruptly stopped, and those golems followed him as well.
They keep standing there like statues when Speed Golem Leader emerald eyes twinkle mysteriously.
Ace scrutinized this reaction.
However, nothing like what Ace imagine happened because the speed golem leader simply turned around to lead back the speed golem group back to its former position. It didn''t leave for patrol!
''Damn it all!'' Ace cursed after seeing this unexpected reaction and sulked.
But he didn''t give up, ''I don''t believe you won''t do anything after more golem groups gone missing!'' He waited patiently.
Two-dayter, the same thing happened again when the stone golem group won''t show up and the speed golem group had to return.
This week, this same thing happened a total of five times when a golem group didn''t show up and the golems didn''t leave for the patrol because of this phenomenon.
Again, the daye when Ace first ughter the first group two weeks ago and Ace was eagerly waiting to see what going to happen now. He was deeply looking at those golems standing there like sculptures.
They just won''t break the army formation around the volcano no matter what!
The moment of truth finally arrived, this time no golem group moved toward the mist wall. Ace was extremely vexed seeing this, and he was at the limit of his patient. He was on the verge of giving up and returning if nothing happened today.
Ace thought he might as wellplete his mission first and then find another elemental orb to break through in the Qi river realm beforeing back with stronger skills.
Since he now knows where the earth orb was, he can always retrieve it backter. But the feeling ofing so close to the elemental orb and then didn''t able to retrieve it was nasty.
It was another wake-up call for Ace; just how weak and insignificant his prowess was in front of these mysterious beings.
"Garrrrr¡"
Suddenly, Ace heard a howled that almost shake his soul core!
''A soul cultivator being?!'' Ace quickly looked in the direction from where this howl came from, and he was shocked because it was none other than one of the white stone golem leaders, who never made a move before!
He never would have thought those white stone golems were soul cultivation beings and their leaders were all in the Soul river core realm.
One can easily tell just how powerful this soul river core golems were, just now this howl was some kind ofmand, not a soul attack. But Ace still got affected by it, despite standing a mile away from the Soul Golem.
He didn''t dare to imagine what might''ve happened if that soul golem attacked him.
''This is not my cup of tea.'' Ace thought bitterly.
That soul golems'' army changed everything now, he can''t afford to tackle with Soul River Core beings no matter how daring he was.
Even a peak Qi river golem leader can detect him easily if he was close enough, much less that soul golems'' army. The weakest of them possess peak Soul river stage cultivation!
Ace knew the reaction he was eagerly waiting for was finally here. He was nning to leave early before it was toote.
But he still stood there to observe for a moment what going to happen before leaving. He waited for this for two weeks, he will not leave just like that.
Ace''s eyes constricted while his brows knitted tightly, he saw after the soul golem leader howl; hundreds of stone golem leaders and hundreds of speed golems leader followed by thousands of golems moved toward that soul golem leader!
This opened a sizeable gap in their seal-tight formation!
''A chance!'' His heart raced as his blood pumped like crazy in his veins. He knew this was one in a million chance he was waiting for all this time.
He might not get this chance again easily, after clenching his teeth, Ace moved!
Not outside the mist wall, Ace moved toward the gap while using his lighting step and breathless stealth at full capacity!
The soul golems regiment was just three hundred meters away right from the gap, the closest stone golem leader was five hundred meters away toward the left of the gap.
Ace moved with extreme perception and keep as much distance as he could from soul golems. After half a minute, Ace finally enters the gap right between thousands of golems!
With a wildly beating heart, his bloodshot eyes were right at the end of the golem army. Nothing was between him and the volcano anymore.
To his ecstasy, those golems seemed too busy while moving that they didn''t notice him taking the advantage of the sudden gap. He knew he was close to achieving his goal and no one could stop him.
He was even prepared to use the invisible bead if anything goes wrong, he won''t hesitate to use it.
But nothing happened, and he easily crossed the golem army!
Ace didn''t dare to stop and look behind, he continued to climb toward the maw of the steaming volcano.
But his heart palpitated when he was not even halfway toward the volcano mouth, and he quickly changed the direction. The volcano was thousands of meters tall and wide, so Ace has quite a big surface to move around.
Ace looked in the direction where he was moving and was shocked by the sight.
Thousands of golems appeared from the steaming maw of the volcano and, followed by golem leaders, they descended the volcano right toward the opened gap.
The new batch of golems quickly close the gap left by the old golems. As for those golems who made that gap; followed a soul golem leader and his group of soul golems closely and leave the dome wall!
They were going to hunt down the person who killed their brothers.
All this ordeal happened within a few minutes.
Ace was sweating profoundly as he looked at therge army leaving the dome and then look at the army facing the other side with no gap to escape from.
He was now really like a rat in a cage, He can''t go back now even if he wanted to, those golems would tear him into pieces if they found out an intruder stepping into their sacrednd.
All he can do now was to move forward. But after witnessing the appearance of thousands of golems, he was even more fearful of going up.
What if the entire volcano was filled with golems? There would be no ce left for him to cry then.
''There might be some kind of limit this volcano could produce the golems, right? Or why they took two weeks to send reinforcements, right?''
Ace cheered himself just to calm down and with shaking breath and flickering determined moved toward the steaming volcano mouth!
Chapter 225 - Inside The Volcano!
The new batch of golems quickly close the gap left by the old golems. As for those golems who made that gap; followed a soul golem leader and his group of soul golems closely and leave the dome wall!
Ace was sweating profoundly while looking at therge army leaving the sphere dome and then looked at the army facing the other side with no gap to escape from anymore.
He was now really like a rat in a cage, He can''t go back now even if he wanted to, those golems would tear him into pieces if they found out an intruder stepping into their sacrednd without them noticing it.
Now, Ace''s only option was to move forward without looking back. But after witnessing the appearance of thousands of golems, he was even more fearful of climbing toward the volcano crater.
What if the entire volcano was filled with golems? There would be no ce left for him to cry then, and all of his escape routes were also blocked now.
''There might be some kind of limit this volcano could produce the golems, right? Or why they took two weeks to send reinforcements, right?''
Ace cheered himself just to calm down and with shaking breath and flickering determined moved toward the steaming volcano mouth!
On top of the vaporous volcano, on the very edge of the volcano''s crater, Ace''s leery eyes were trying to pierce through the emerald smoke which was as thick as the clouds. He sensed nothing with his soul sense nor with his heavenly sense.
But one thing that Ace noticed was that he doesn''t feel heat despite standing hundreds of meters away from an active volcano like it was supposed to. Furthermore, the emerald smoke also doesn''t emit any kind of heat and just like the emerald mist sea in the earthen mist forest, it feltpletely harmless.
However, Ace would be a fool to move or touch that steam with no worry whatsoever because just moments ago, thousands of golems march right through this volcano''s throat!
Aces nce at the ck marker on the corner of his left eye and just as he thought it was pointing right down, which mean right inside the freaking volcano!
Onest time, Ace looked behind him; therge golem army seemed like ants from this height, and he could view the spacious spherical domepletely.
Suddenly, his lips rose in a faint devious grin, ''The view is fantastic.''
With no further ado, Ace stepped toward the steaming maw while activating his heavenly sense to the fullest.
At the very edge of the volcano''s mouth, Ace''s hand moves right toward the emerald steam. He wanted to make sure his defensive Qi was enough to handle the source of emerald mist or not.
Just as he touched the cloudy smoke, Ace felt a warm sensation like a summer breeze, he doesn''t feel this kind of sensation from emerald mist while traveling all that time.
But what mattered for Ace was it still didn''t harm him, which was a good starting sign. Although this smoke was deemed harmless to him, the real challenge was to climb down the volcano''s throat!
Even if Ace''s heavenly sense was not enough to help him see the bottom of the volcano''s throat, he could still see it waspletely t, and he can''t just jump down from this height when he didn''t even know what was at the bottom.
''Wait? How did those golems climb up?''
Ace quickly moved toward the position where those golems appeared and when he reached there, he was astonished because he ''saw'' a three-meter wide slide footing like spiral stairs going right down in the volcano''s throat!
Ace took a deep breath and carefully stepped on the slide footing. His figure waspletely submerged in the emerald smoke.
As he imagined before, the volcano''s throat wasn''t filled with golems as he goes deeper down, all there was the thick emerald smoke.
Ace was shocked because the spiral slide was much deeper than he thought because he estimated that he had to climb down a kilometer and still extend, but the bottom was still nowhere to be seen.
This made Ace even more nervous, his soul Qi was limited, and he knew if he found nothing in three hours his soul Qi would be depletedpletely and at that time, his presence would be out in the open.
Once that happen, he would be assaulted by the golem army at the very moment or even more dangerous the Orb Guardian which was probably somewhere inside the volcano!
''I would leave in one and a half hours if I found nothing!'' Ace mused, it was the matter of his life and death after all.
Ace used the lightning steps since he didn''t sense any danger, and it will save him more time.
With lightning steps, it still took him almost twenty meters to reach something noteworthy. He was probably three or four kilometers deep inside the volcano at this moment!
At the very end of the spiral slid, the bottom of the volcano was filled with emerald liquid, and it was just like the liquid from which the puppet golem was created!
But Ace didn''t even nce at the emerald liquid because his eyes were glued in the very center of this steaming emerald pool.
In the very center was a two-meter green crystallize altar, there was a transparent octagon crystalyer covering it like some ss case. And hovering peacefully right above the altar was a fist-size crystalloid emerald orb!
Ace''s breath was ragged as he looked at the emerald orb behind the octagon crystalyer with intense and naked desire in his eyes. His heart was threatening to jump out from his chest because of sheer ecstasy while darting at the crystal altar!
The system''s marker was also pointing right on top of that emerald orb and shing intensely as if it found its designated target, and the system''s emotionless voice just confirmed it the very next moment thereafter.
====
[Congrattion host on finding the Nature''s Earth Elemental Orb!]
=====
Chapter 226 - Earth Elemental Orb
[Congrattion host on finding the Nature''s Earth Elemental Orb!]
=====
Ace was jolted awake from his stupor after hearing the system''s static voice.
''Hahaha¡ I finally found the damn thing!'' Ace wanted tough out loud but control himself since he won''t be able to handle the consequences.
Truth to be told, Ace thought the elemental orb would be in some kind of protective ce like the light orb, not like the earth orb which was hovering right in the open. There wasn''t any Orb Guardian protecting it at all.
Furthermore, it also didn''t seem to sense his presence like the light orb did the moment he stepped into its territory.
''Is it because of my soul Qi?'' Ace reckoned. He was right and wrong at the same time.
Right about; it was all because of his Heavenly Soul Qi, he could escape the emerald mist detection all this time and even be able to reach this point. But he was thoroughly wrong about; just any soul cultivator could do the same as him.
Because Ace soul Qi wasn''t worldly soul Qi. Thest time Ace was only screwed because he didn''t think of using the soul Qi and his control on his soul Qi was also insufficient because of the limitation of his martial cultivation at that time!
As for in Earthen Mist Forest, any other soul cultivator might be able to escape the inner circle''s mist but the moment s/he stepped inside the mysterious circle''s mist, their advantage will be over the very moment.
If and I mean an enormous ''IF'' somehow managed to fight those patrolling golem groups and then the soul golem leadering after them and after fighting all the golem army¡ however the moment someone killed the soul golem this action will instantly startle the earth orb and then the actual nightmare will begin!
Ace could only pull this off because his Heavenly Soul Qi was much more powerful than he thought and if he still had the yellow soul core, his journey would end the moment he touched the volcano''s emerald steam!
As for the reason why he could get so close to the earth orb, it was all because the elemental orbs didn''t have actual power or any kind of senses of their own. They might awake consciousness and exist for eons, but an elemental orb can never power itself up.
Simply put, the moment someone could deal with all the unique obstacles created by the elemental orb, the orb itself was as harmless as a child. This was the rule of heaven, everything has its pros and cons and nothing was perfect.
Even if you''re a darling of nature like the Elemental Orbs, in the eyes of unbiased heaven, you''re just like a speck of dust!
''That transparent barrier.'' Now that Ace was calm, he didn''t take any kind of action immediately, afraid, he might regret it aftering this far.
Ace closely observed the green crystallize altar, especially the transparent octagon crystalyer covering it like some formation barrier. He knew thatyer was thest defense he had to go through to get the earth orb.
''Even if my soul threads able to pass thought that crystal barrier the moment I took the elemental orb the guardian was going instantly awake, and that golem army might¡ not the army will go on a rampage!''
Ace''s expression was stiff when he thought about the consequences of stealing the earth orb when there was an enormous army of powerful golems just standing a couple of miles away from him and there was still an unawakened orb guardian!
The orb guardian''s life was closely rted to the elemental orb, and if won''t going to just sit tight while someone takes it away.
No matter what Ace does, even if he used thest invisible bead he can only escape for a minute and the moment his invisibility effect ended, his life would also be forfeited!
Just thinking about a berserk orb guardian fighting for its life and hundreds of golem leaders, especially those soul golem leaders pouncing on him like hungry wolves, gave Ace the chills.
Just reaching the volcano''s surface will probably take fifteen minutes at full speed and this much time was enough for the orb guardian to deal with Ace a hundred times over or whatever going to appear from the bottom of the volcano, he doesn''t forget about the sudden appearance of thousands of golems!
''I can only use that method now!'' A wry smile appeared on Ace''s face when thought about this ''method'' of his.
''Well, I have to do this eventually, might as well do it sooner thanter.'' An assertive glint sh past his eyes as he made his final decision!
Ace inhale deeply before his impassive voice transmitted in his mind, "System how long it''s going to take to absorb the earth orb?"
Yes, he was going to trigger his Heavenly Punishment!
This was the only method he could think of to sessfully leave this ce in one piece. He wanted to take advantage of heavenly punishment to kill those golems and orb guardians, just likest time!
The only difference was he wasn''t on the verge of death this time around and his soul wasn''t damaged either.
It''s not like he could just leave with that enormous army blocking his way, right? While activating the heavenly punishment he at least had a fighting chance, and he was also prepared this time, well, probably.
"[After the Earth Elemental Orb enter the thief''s space, the system needs three minutes toplete the absorption process.]"
''Too long!'' Ace''s expression sank because three minutes was enough to screw him over!
But right at this moment, a yful voice sounded right after the system''s emotionless voice,
"[But if the host wants to create a ''Martial Qi Sea'' instead of a ''Martial Qi River'' the Heavenly Turbulence can instantly be activated. However, the host has toplete some conditions first!]"
Unbeknown to Ace, the dark void slightly trembled for a microsecond for some unknown reason after he heard this new term, ''Martial Qi Sea''!
Chapter 227 - Martial Qi Sea
"[But if the host wants to create a ''Martial Qi Sea'' instead of a ''Martial Qi River'' the Heavenly Turbulence can instantly be activated. However, the host has toplete some conditions first!]"
"What Martial Qi Sea and Martial Qi River?" Ace was gobsmacked since he never heard about these terms.
"[1000TP]"
"Fine!" Ace was vexed.
=====
[Thief Point(s): 2,288,400]
---
"[The Martial Qi River refers to the river, one formed in Qi River Realm. Everyone had a different size of river exclusively depending on the foundation tes one create in Qi Foundation Building Realm.]
"[Just like the different type of foundation tes, name {Ruin (5-tes), Cracked (6-tes), wed (7-tes), Iplete (8-tes), Complete (9-tes)}. The martial river also had different ssifications name, {Small (Formed with 5-tes), Medium (Formed with 6-tes), Large (Formed with 7-tes), Ordinary (Formed with 8-tes), Extraordinary (Formed with 9-tes)}.]
"[However, host path ispletely different because of Heaven Stealer Technique. Host foundation tes are Darkness Foundation tes, and the host has also unlocked the hidden part of Heavenly Crystal Body in the very start.]
"[Because of all these variables host can now choose to form a Martial Qi Sea which means if host sessfully able to cross this Heavenly Turbulence the next realm will not be Heavenly River Realm anymore, it will be Heavenly Sea Realm!]
"[But if the host chose to form the Martial Qi Sea, then the next Heavenly Turbulence''s danger will also increase tremendously. Furthermore, this just won''t end with one stronger heavenly turbulence, but all the uing turbulence will be extremely perilous as well.]
"[But the benefits of forming martial Qi sea are also worth the danger that came with it.]"
====
Ace''s eyes shimmer with ambiguity, this new information he received from the system truly broadened his horizons. He never thought all the knowledge he learned all this time has this many ws and loopholes.
Like the new and different types of foundation tes and the new information about the martial Qi river, which probably no one knows about even in high-levelnds.
But what truly shocked Ace naturally was the information about Heavenly Sea Realm and the Martial Qi Sea.
"Why didn''t you tell me about this before?" questioned Ace.
"[Because this information was worthless if the host hasn''t unlocked theplete Heavenly Crystal Body Manuel because, without it, it''s impossible to create a Heavenly Sea and enter the Heavenly Sea Realm. But now that the host has found the second elemental orb, the host became eligible to ess this information, which was locked before.]"
"Tsk tsk, you and your damn conditions." Ace was displeased because this was just too sudden and shocking.
He was standing right in the middle of a freaking volcano and the system has suddenly dropped a huge bombshell, how could he not be pissed?
This choice was too hard for Ace to make in this short time because just like the system said, once he decided to trend on this path there was no going back, period.
"Tell me the advantages of forming Qi Sea?" Ace asked, despite being aggravated, no matter what, he can''t just ignore this prospect.
He can''t just ignore the fact that this was only happened because of his previous luck, and this Heavenly Sea Realm won''t be just for show.
"[System can only reveal three of the benefits of forming the Martial Qi Sea.]
"[First, the host will be ten times stronger than any ''Extraordinary Martial Qi River'' cultivator once he entered the Heavenly Sea Realm.]
"[Second, the host will unlock a special and one of kind Element which is impossible without a Martial Qi Sea.]
"[Third, Level-1 Authority of the System!]"
Ace inhaled sharply when he heard thest part, "Are you serious?"
"[Yes.]"
He didn''t dare to believe about the third benefit because he always wanted to know how he could upgrade his System Authority which was currently Level-0 but no matter how many times he asked the system never revealed it.
But now all of a sudden it revealed it, he didn''t care about the first two advantages of forming martial Qi sea, just thisst one make it worth it. Because the system as a whole was far more useful than anything to Ace!
''This is an opportunity, I can always find more lighting protective treasure for heavenly punishment, but the system authority won''te every day. Who knows, if I rejected it, when will I get another chance. Besides, my survival chances will increase drastically with martial Qi sea, and it''s not like I can fend off for three minutes once I took the earth orb. I simply had no freaking option!''
Ace thought bitterly with a hint of excitement, truth to be told, even if he can escape now with the earth orb he will still choose to create the martial Qi sea without any hint of hesitation.
He knew his path was filled with thorns and danger, without the appropriate power he will perish. He wasn''t afraid of heavenly punishment; he was afraid of getting cold feet and giving up on this path!
Right now, it would be a lie to say Ace didn''t love the path of a thief, but he always thought just how long he will be able to tread on it. Will he be a coward and give up thievery once he bes strong enough and live peacefully with Eva afterward?
He always had these thoughts, but when he remembered about the mysterious system within him, all those fantasies started to crumble because he knew his life will never be peaceful or mundane as long as he had this thing.
So, he can only be more powerful with every chance he gets, so he might live a life of his preference.
"Tell me the conditions of forming the martial Qi sea?" Ace sternly asked without any hint of hesitation. He was ready to take this step without any more anxiousness.
As for the consequences of his actions? Heh¡he''ll see when ites.
Right now, it was time to face the second heavenly turbulent!
Chapter 228 - 2nd Heavenly Punishment! (1)
"Tell me the conditions of forming the martial Qi sea?"
====
[Conditions for creating Martial Qi Sea]
{Elemental Orb}
{Elemental Orb''s Altar]
{Elemental Orb''s Essence}
{Thief Points: 1,000,000]
====
Ace''s eyes narrowed when he saw the requirements that the system just disclosed.
"I can understand about Elemental Orb, but what are the other two things? Where can I find them?" questioned Ace sternly. He didn''t grumble about the 1M TP though, since he knew the system did nothing for free, it was pointless to burn his blood over it!
"[Everything is in front of the host. The earth orb is currently hovering over an Earthen Elemental Altar and the boiling emerald liquid is the Earth Orb''s Essence which was created after thousands of years.]
"[The Orb''s Essence was also the reason for the emerald mist, and it also created all those elemental golems. This orb''s essence will be the catalyst in the uing process of creating the Martial Qi Sea.]
"[Host just needed to stand or sat on the earthen altar after stealing the Earth Orb because the protective barrier will also crumble the moment earth orb were removed. After that, the system just needs the confirmation of the host to start the sea forming process.]
"[But beware the moment the host start the sea forming process, the heavenly punishment will descend after three seconds.]"
"So that what that tform is an Earthen Elemental Altar and this emerald liquid¡." Ace looked at the emerald liquid with apprehension. This seemingly harmless liquid was the creator of all those golems and emerald mist, this was just too startling.
Ace quickly calm himself as his eyes shifted to the elemental orb again. The system just confirmed he could steal the earth orb. He just had to be fast enough to reach that altar and trigger the heavenly punishment before the earth orb guardian awakening.
''Let''s get this over with!'' Ace take a deep breath and a serious expression surface on his calm face.
An orange soul thread, as fine as a hair, exuded from his finger. The soul thread meticulously moved toward the altar and just when it was a centimeter away from the crystal barrier it halted.
Ace braced himself before his eyes turned sharp as a hawk and controlled the soul thread with utmost speed!
The soul thread instantly pass through the crystal barrier with no hindrance and without stopping, it instantly touched the earth orb!
The earth orb had a consciousness after existing for thousands of years, and it was far more intelligent than the light orb, which had intelligencepared with a seven-year-old.
However, even the consciousness of the earth orb never had imagined that someone would be skilled enough to arrive so near to it, without even it noticing it. If it even sensed the slightest change in the emerald steam emitting from the emerald liquid, it would have awoken its guardian the very moment.
But s, it was already toote because before it could even fathom what happened something abruptly teleported it to an unknown dark ce. It can''t resonate with nature anymore in this unknown dark ce nor can it even reach its guardian, and the element essence was also nowhere to be found.
It waspletely flummoxed as well as dreadful while keep trying to use everything it had, so it could contact its guardian for help or at least make sense of this pitch ck.
s, everything appeared useless, and how could it not be? This ce was none other than the system''s thief''s space!
At the bottom of the volcano,
Ace didn''t have time to celebrate because the moment the earth orb was extracted from the earthen altar, the crystal barrier also crumbled, and on the calm surface of the emeraldke, ripple started to form, and the whole volcano started to shock.
He knew the orb guardian was going to awake at any moment, and he didn''t waste any more time and jumped toward the earthen altar, which was also quivering.
Ace quickly shouted in urgency and hysteria, "Start the process, hurry!"
====
[System has detected Earth Elemental Orb in host thief''s space]
[All requirements have been fulfilled]
[1,000,000 TP has been deducted sessfully]
---
[Thief Point(s): 2,288,400]
---
[Process of absorbing the Nature''s Earth Elemental Orb has begun!]
[The Second {Heavenly Thunder Punishment of Body and Soul} will start in three-second!]
[Warning: The Heavenly Thunder Punishment will descend during the process of absorption. If the host faints or loses his consciousness during the process, it will immediately stop.]
[As a result of the bacsh, the host will die!]
===
''It finally starting!'' Ace didn''t have time to mull over what he just heard because the earthquake was bing more and more violent with each passing second.
He could feel something big wasing from the bottom of this volcano and whatever it was, it was extremely outrage!
This wasn''t the end, he could hearrge movement from outside even after standing deep in this volcano, the golem army was alsoing at full speed!
However, suddenly, Ace felt another pressure and not just any random pressure, a supreme pressure he once felt before.
Ace''s eyes turned cold as he deeply looked toward the volcano''s mouth as if he could pierce through everything and gaze directly at the sky.
''Heh, so it''s finally going to start, and I''m ready this time for you. Let''s see who wins this time around!'' Ace smirked at the sky with scornful eyes.
Ace knew his status as the ''Eternal Enemy of Heaven'' because of the path of Heaven''s Stealer, and Heaven will stop at nothing until it kills him. So, he has long since decided to never show any weakness and fight for his life with everything he had!
At this moment, the system''s icy voice rang in his mind,
====
[The Second Heavenly Thunder Punishment of Body and Soul; ''Silver Despair Thunder'' will descend in two seconds!]
[System rmends finding an isted ce, or the Heavenly Thunder Punishment will annihte all the living in a one-kilometer radius around the host!]
====
Chapter 229 - 2nd Heavenly Punishment! (2)
Somewhere in the mysterious circle of earthen mist forest.
Deafening sounds of fighting were booming in the misty area. The ground was filled with cuts, thick emerald liquid, and small craters.
Three huge monsters were made of emerald liquid and three silhouettes, holding different weapons, were trying their best just defend against those monsters'' deadly attacks.
"Just how many of these monsters are there, damn it!" Lan''s frustrated voice with a hint of weariness and dread sounded as he dodged a huge, sharp emerald spike with the Golden Mark Cauldron.
"Stopining and destroyed that damn corpse!" roared ck Reaper with an equally vexed tone. He was holding a ck dagger and dodging the golem''s punch like an agile cat at a fast speed.
"These are even more resilient than thest one!" Ridge thrust the long silver spear in his hand and a projection of a spearhead made of metal Qi shot toward the puppet golem''s leg which was covering the grave.
But s, the metal Qi just made a one-meter deep cut before the emerald liquid filled the gap again!
These three escaped in the same direction when the first puppet golem showed up that day, without stopping until they werepletely lost. They tried to go back after they realized the danger was somehow dealt with, but in this thick mist; they werepletely clueless about which direction they should go.
They end up wandering like lost souls, and now this was their fifth week of searching for the others. But to their anguish, they encountered more of those graves as they unknowingly wander deeper in the mysterious circle.
The moment they came fifty meters close to those graves, they instantly burst open and formed a puppet golem. These grave monsters weren''t like the ones they encounter that day because they didn''t need to dig their grave as they were like traps that can be triggered if you step on it!
Although they eventually found how to kill one, it was extremely taxing even for a Qi river core cultivator like them. Furthermore, they were using a huge amount of high-Qi stones for recovery, and to keep the Qi barrier active, they knew sooner orter they will be going to run out of those Qi stones, and it will be over for them at that point.
Now, all they wanted was to find a way out of this cursednd and never stepped here again. The thought about soul inheritance and capturing the thief were long forgotten by them. But after weeks of searching, they found nothing, and slowly, but surely they were losing their mind because of terror and exasperation.
The other wasn''t in any better condition either, as they were in the same dilemma.
Alvin was alone just a few miles away from Lan''s trio while Damien King and the woman of Nightmare Ghosts'' group, Margaret, were in deeper than Lan''s trio escaping from a speed golem leader''s group for their life!
As for, Old Man ck, Marc, and his sword maids, surrounded by a group of stone golems.
Everyone was fighting for their dear life, and they finally understand just why no one ever came back from this forest alive beside a fortunate madman!
They were all regretting it while cursing and ming Ace because if it wasn''t for him, they would never step in this damn horrifying ce, while they knew it was their fault for being too greedy. But s, there was no medicine for regret in this world now, is there?
However, at this moment, something happen that left everyonepletely gobsmacked.
The golems they were fighting, so desperately a moment ago, turned around and sprint toward a specific direction without caring about the attacking toward them!
The puppet golem who can''t seem to move from its ce also move, the skeleton in the grave mysteriously moved in the center of their chest and everyone finally saw a foot-long emerald worm with white strips, epassing the skeleton''s skull. This worm was the real marite who was pulling the strings all this time and controlling the almost unkible puppet golem, despite being extremely fragile itself!
It would never show itself if it was a normal circumstance, but something seemed to had happened that made every golem in existence crazy as they all charged straight toward the depth of the mysterious circle without caring about their life or left open wide for attacks!
This new out-of-the-blue developmentpletely befuddled those nine humans. However, it didn''tst long because a few secondster the cloudy emerald mist moved!
Yes, it moved, it was very obvious since this never happened before because they were no trace of wind in his ce not even now!
The cloudy emerald mist was moving toward the same direction where all those golems ran so bizarrely a few moments ago. It was as if something like a suction force was pulling the emerald mist towards it.
Everyone found this very peculiar, and they all knew something was happening in that direction.
Humans were born inquisitive and when they all saw this strange phenomenon that never happened before they only hesitate for a moment before everyone followed the mist to check if some kind of treasure was born!
Some of them wanted to take this chance and leave this ce, after all, all they had to do was to just run in the opposite direction, and they would leave the mysterious circle which was shrinking for some mysterious reason.
But none of them leave as the thought of soul inheritance and their missingpanions surface in their minds. They all thought someone has got the inheritance that made all those monsters and this deadly mist wild.
Just this thought was enough to arouse their greed again and suppress the urge to leave this forest and follow the mist. They wanted to see if they could fish in troubled waters. If they find it too dangerous, they would simply escape, as long as they would keep their distance.
However, one thought that wasmon in everyone''s mind; there was only one person who had the biggest chance of reaching the soul inheritance between all of them, and that was the thief who drag them all here, Sky Stealer!
Chapter 230 - 2nd Heavenly Punishment! (3)
====
[The Second Heavenly Thunder Punishment of Body and Soul; ''Silver Despair Thunder'' will descend in two seconds!]
[System rmends finding an isted ce, or the Heavenly Thunder Punishment will annihte all the living in a one-kilometer radius around the host!]
====
''Deactivate the Hundred-Face Deception Mask.'' Acemanded impassively.
The system immediately obliged, and Ryan''s face twisted into a faceless mask.
Ace put the mask inside the thief''s space and so does his Thief Trainee''s Hood because he didn''t want his treasures to be destroyed by the Heavenly Punishment. Despite his doubts about; they might be impossible to destroy because they were from the system, he still didn''t want to take any chances.
After a long time, Ace''s real handsome face appeared when he put the thief trainee''s hood inside the thief''s space. His long ck hair fluttered as the volcano was trembling. His dark-blue eyes like starry night were exempt from any emotions as he was coldly looking toward the sky.
He didn''t put all those iing golems and enraged orb guardian in his eyes anymore because he knew now that the heavenly punishment was about to start, anyone and anything that came between him and high-heaven will instantly obliterate.
Suddenly, Ace noticed mysterious energy starting to enter his dark void, ''So, this is the Earthen Element Essential.'' He easily guessed the system has started the process of absorption after hisst experience.
However, something peculiarly new happen the very next moment thereafter, a huge amount of foreign energy started to prate his body from the earthen altar where he was standing at an astonishing speed!
This new development bbergasted Ace as he looked at the earthen altar with befuddlement and deemed, ''So, this altar was needed for this exact reason. I''m absorbing that deeply hidden strange Qi emitting from this emerald liquid and the emerald mist!''
The foreign energy was directly pulled inside the dark void, and it absorbed this energy with no sign of stopping like a bottomless chasm.
''Brrrrrrggggg¡''
Ace quickly snapped out his stupor when an ear-piercing shrieking roar rang inside the volcano. His pupils contracted when he saw a ten-meter hand rising from the emerald fluid, and without stopping, it was going to squelch Ace like a bug.
However, Ace didn''t take any action because he didn''t feel the slightest danger at this moment at all and remained static while coldly staring at the iingrge hand.
Just as the hand was a few inches away from squelching Ace, the vague supreme pressure instantly escted, and the hand made of emerald liquid burst apart in small raindrops!
Ace''s lip curled into a mocking smile when he saw this and mumbled, "It''s pointless now."
Whatever just attack wasn''t convinced and oblivious to what just happened. The emerald liquid started to rise again, but this time it takes a humanoid shape.
A three-meter-tall green figure came into Ace''s view, it was exactly like a giant slender human being. It has onerge emerald-eyes-ball which covered half of its face, and with a knife-like nose, and tworge caninesing out of its mouth, it lookedpletely hideous with no ears!
This was the Earth Orb Guardian!
The guardian didn''t just keep hovering in its ce and dash toward Ace, so it could retrieve the earth orb. It has lost its connection with it, and just a moment ago a strange feeling of being drained weighed down on it.
The guardian knew this thief was doing something to the elemental orb that will indefinitely end up in his death. And this wasn''t the end of it; this despicable thief was somehow absorbing the amodated Earth Orb''s Essence that created the entire emerald mist and golems!
Without this earth essence, the golem and mist production will be stopped permanently. If the guardian knows Ace wasn''t just absorbing the earth essence here but from all over the earthen mist forest, no one knows what it''ll do.
Because the earthen altar was like a medium that can easily control the earth essence that was inside this volcano. However, this limit only applied to the earth orb, not on the system!
The system was using the same earthen altar at much higher standards than earth orb. It was drawing the earth essence from the entire earthen mist forest and absorbing it inside Ace''s body, or more urately inside the dark void.
The creation of Martial Qi Sea can''t be achieved with just heavenly Qi, the elemental essence was a must!
This means if this essence wasn''t avable right now, Ace had to find another elemental orb if he wanted to form a Qi Sea. As for the elemental altar, every elemental orb had one because without it an elemental orb cannot be born. The elemental altar will always be formed before the elemental orb!
It was another story if someone else had taken the elemental orb and left the elemental altar behind, though.
Ace still didn''t move or more urately he cannot move any longer, a part of it being because of the supreme pressure, while the system''s process of absorption also had a hand in it.
But he wasn''t worried because the orb guardian was also struggling to move, and its movement was extremely slow until it waspletely halted when it was ten meters away from Ace.
"I told you it''s meaningless now." Ace sneered as he looked at the orb guardian, which was emitting a thick killing aura.
Ace felt the cultivation of this orb guardian was too scary, Peak of the Qi River Core Realm!
The only relief was it wasn''t a soul path being like the light orb guardian, or it wasn''t in the Qi soul realm because he would be in big trouble at that time!
The guardian coldly stared at this thief with its big eyeball. It didn''t know just where this dreadful pressure wasing from, it felt threatened from it. However, it didn''t care as he was using its full power to move forward because he was feeling his life slowly slipping away!
The guardian will do anything and everything to take the elemental orb back even if it was feeling danger to its life because it knew it was dead either way!
Acepletely ignore the orb guard while was shaking while trying to move, and he looked upward.
The roof of the dome right about the volcano started to crack like eggshells!
Thereafter, the entire roof was torn apart like thin paper and this wasn''t the end, the spacious dome entirely crumbled as a terrifying heavy force descend in a nine-mile radius.
Even the slowly shrinking emerald mist press down to the group because of this supreme pressure. One could finally see the sky at this moment!
However, the sky wasn''t golden at this moment because huge pitch-ck thunderclouds were gathering while covering the entire mysterious circle.
Nine people saw this scene while also being the victims of this supreme pressure, they were all locked in their ces like statues. Their eyes were filled with deep horror and befuddlement. They never saw anything like this before, nor had they heard any legends about it.
"W-w-what is¡happening? I can''t¡ move!" Rina''s stuttering voice filled with deep terror rang.
"Tell me about it!" Marc gloomily scoffed as he looked at the pitch-ck sky with trepidation. He was also jammed in his ce no matter what he does his legs refused to move.
"I-isn''t that looked like a¡volcano? OH MY GOD¡that¡that¡!" Leana suddenly shouted in panic while her voice stuck in her throat as if she saw something terrified!
Old man ck, Marc, and Lean shifted their eyeball toward the direction and their pupils also contracted, they saw a towering volcano. However, what send chills down to their spines was not the volcano, but the swarming golem army which was covering the entire volcano, like ants. But they were also seemed to jam in their ce.
However, those thousands of golems were enough to scare the shit out of everyone who just saw them.
Beads of sweat were all over Marc''s forehead as he gruffly said, "I-it¡an¡army. Take us away from here this instant, I don''t care what method you used, I want out of here. You''ll be rewarded with anything you desire, just take me out of this damn ce!"
Marc face twisted as hemanded old man ck while looking at the golem army with aghast
Old Man ck''s face was also ashen as he replied with a hoarse voice, "I-I''m¡I''m afraid even¡even with my cultivation of second-level bronze stage¡I-I''m also¡helpless!"
''thhhrrrr¡.''
Just as everyone was trying to leave this aghast ce, a huge rumbling of thunder sounded from above. Everyone looked upward with ashen faces and was dumbfounded by what they saw.
The inky clouds were condescending into a huge vortex which was still expanding at a fast pace, right above the towering volcano, as silver lightning shed all over the condensing vortex.
"Bang¡!"
Abruptly, a thick silver-lighting bolt descend from the condescending vortex at this moment and its destination was none other than the towering volcano!
Chapter 231 - 2nd Heavenly Punishment! (4)
Ace''s heart palpitated when he saw the silver lightning bolt descend, he could sense a dreadful power of destruction and despair from it.
After hisst heavenly punishment, he was now quite sensitive toward the power of despair, and he could sense it was ten times more potent and destructive than white despair thunder.
A purple round-shield with mysterious blue runes appeared in Ace''s hand, this was exactly the cherished national treasure of Leap Kingdom that Ace stole a few weeks ago. Lightning Shield, a 7-star runic treasure!
Truth be told, he wasn''t optimistic anymore about this shield could withstand the heavenly lightning after he sensed the power of the lightning bolt, but it was still far better than taking it head-on.
Even though Ace wasn''t able to move from the earthen altar, like everyone because of supreme force but to his delight he was able to move his hands, they weren''t restricted likest time anymore!
Just as he moved the Lighting Shield upward to shield himself from the lightning bolt, it didn''t sh on him like he imagined, its target was none other than the orb guardian standing ten meters away from it!
''Bang¡''
The silver despair thundernded directly on the orb''s guardian bald head.
''Grrrr¡.''
The orb guardian made anguish shrills as cracks emerged on its body while it try to use all its power to free itself from the bind, but s, all it can do was just stand and feel the overwhelming despair.
Ace''s heart sank when he saw the orb guardian at the peak of Qi river core stage being tortured by silver despair thunder, he could feel the overwhelming power of despair while standing ten meters away from the orb guardian.
To his astonishment, the orb guardian manage to survive the thunderbolt, but its aura was too fragile, and it wasn''t vigorous like before, emerald fluid wasing out from its orifices.
If Ace attacked it by using his sword skill now, he could easily kill this orb guardian!
However, it seemed he won''t need to do anything because anything thunderbolt descend after orb guardian survived the first one, and it was even more powerful than before!
''Boom¡''
The silver thunderboltnded on the orb guardian''s charred head again, this time the guardian''s head exploded the moment the thunderboltnded on it and followed by its head, the whole body explode like watermelon!
Ace''s forehead was beaded with sweat as he witnessed the orb guardian''s gruesome end. He swallowed hard as he looked upward, the pitch-ck vortex looked like arge eyeball.
The lighting was condensing right in the very center of it, and he knew the real heavenly punishment was going to start very soon!
But before this, many small thunderbolts shed and fell. Their targets were naturally all the living beings or anything that can hinder Ace''s punishment in a nine-mile radius!
Thousands of golems turned into pills of rocks and mud asrge charred craters appeared all over the volcano. Not a single golem was spare, the entire army was obliterated!
Just a few miles away from the volcano, nine humans witness this destructive scene with ashen, dreadful faces filled with absolute despaired.
Even though six of them were Qi river core cultivators, they managed to survive the one ughter of golems these past few weeks because of their powerful means, though in front of this mysterious lightning, they felt like ants!
All of them tried their best to move by using every secret trump card in their possession but failed, that supreme pressure just won''t let them budge. They could only helplessly watch the silver thunderbolt descend.
"Sigh... I don''t even know how I die, how ironic, this must be legendary f1¡" Lan mumbled as he saw silver light blind his eyes.
Afterward, a torturous force started to wreak havoc inside his body and mind, and soon enough he lost his consciousness, feeling nothing but despair and utter helplessness.
A glorious Craft Elder of Pill me Organization who ruled the industry of pills in middlends for three hundred years died because of one poor judgment and greed!
No one was spared, no matter how much they struggled, cussed, and begged all of them met their ends just like Lan, even someone from a powerful family, Alvin who had a bright future ahead wasn''t escaped the inevitable.
However, one person managed to remain alive despite being struck by heavenly thunder and that was none other than the crown prince, Marc!
Marc''s face was exempt of all colors as a gray cracked Qi shield hover above his head. He looked at his sword maids'' charred corpses with deep despair and resentment.
Those two sisters were with him since he was a five-year-old child, and they all grow up together. Those two were his childhood friends and absolute-loyal subordinates who he trusted with his life, most importantly they were also his¡lovers!
But now he was forced to watch them die right in front of his eyes while beingpletely helpless and even his own life was in jeopardy. If not for this gray Qi which he cultivated with the help of that same treasure which was in the treasury stolen by Ace, he would be also dead right now!
With bloodshot eyes filled with deep hatred, he gazed toward the inky vortex which was like an emotionless eyeball, and roared with resentment, "We have no enmity with you, but you still wanted to kill us, and you won''t even dare to show your face! I, the prince of Crimson Sword Empire and the son of Crimson Sword Emperor, Marc Crimson, challenge you toe forth and face me in an honorable duel!"
s, nobody replied to his challenge, in the eye of high-heaven it was just the plight of an ant who was just the slightest bigger than those ants who it just crushed a moment ago, nothing more nothing less.
Just as expected, another lighting sh and a more powerful silver thunderbolt exploded toward Marc.
"You cowardly bas¡AHHHHHHH¡" Before Marc couldplete his curse, the thunderbolt easily prate the gray Qi shield this time andnded on his head.
Marc cried in pain as he felt endless torture before his mind broke and his eyes lost their luster.
One of the most talented youngsters of high-levelnds who has also an enormous secret and a mysterious ''role'' unbeknown to the man himself, died helplessly without knowing who killed him so effortlessly and ruthlessly.
---
Inside the volcano, Ace doesn''t know all the big shots after him, were already dead, and just for this exact reason, he lured them here. However, he doesn''t care at this moment because the vortex was fully lit with silver light as if it was fully charged.
"System arrange twenty healing pills and twenty Qi recover pills in my thief''s space where I can quickly find them!" He quickly ordered as he held the Lighting Shield tightly. He knew this would not be an easy ride.
====
[Grade-1 Healing Pills]
{Price: 1,000TP, Per Pill}
{Total Amount: 10}
{Total Price: 10,000}
---
[Grade-1 Heaven Qi Recovery Pills]
{Price: 500TP, Per Pill}
{Total Amount: 10}
{Total Price: 5,000}
---
[The purchase has been sessful!]
{15,000TP has been deducted}
---
[Thief Point(s): 2,273,400]
---
[The pills have been delivered and arranged inside the thief''s space.]
====
Ace didn''t have time to check the grade-1 pills because a huge silver thunderbolt like ance shot toward Ace, and it was a hundred meters wide and almost seemed corporeal!
He saw nothing like this before, and the feeling of danger and despair it was giving off was off the charts. He quickly poured all the Qi inside the lightning shield and even used the wristband silver shield as well.
The blue runes on the lightning shield instantly lit up like raging fire after Ace used his Qi and a blue transparent barrier covered Ace.
''Bang¡Boom¡''
Deafening sounds of lightning collision rang inside the volcano.
Thence made of silver thunderbolt instantly prated the blue barrier formed by the lightning shield, but the density of lighting lessened a bit because of it.
However, the difference was so minor it wasn''t even called a change and when the thunderboltnded directly on the second silver shield; it was also shattered and only the lightning shield remained between Ace and silver thunderbolt.
Ace felt like hit by an enormous hammer when the collision happened, and he was nearly crushed by the weight, but his body was much stronger than the others, so he managed to hold on.
This time the lightning shield manage to hold off the thundernce, but only for mere seconds before it started to crumble because of the pressure and destructive force of heavenly thunder.
The moment the lighting shield shattered there was nothing between it and Ace anymore, and it directly prated Ace armed and from it, the hundred-meter-long thundernce submerged Ace entirely, he was like a human-lightning pole.
Ace bit his teeth so hard they almost shattered, but he endured the torturous pain because the dark void started to absorb the silver despair thunder, like a bottomless abyss! fate
Chapter 232 - Gray Boulder
Ace was panting hard with a pale face and charred skin, as he threw two crystal-like pills with one ring into his mouth. One pill with crystal-golden- color with a silver ring was the Grade-1 healing pill, while the crystal-ck-color one with a golden ring was the Grade-1 Qi recovery pill.
After consuming two grade-one pills, his charred skin shredded and new skin appeared, while his weak Qi also began to recover at an astonishing pace.
''Rumble¡''
However, the punishment clouds don''t seem quite happy about Ace surviving the first silver thunderbolt, and the whole vortex started to rumble madly as if it was enraged.
Ace looked toward the vortex which was spinning wildly while condensing the next thunderbolt, and by the looks of the dense silver shade, it was going to be a huge one.
Although he endured the first thunderbolt with his firm determination and willpower, it almost took everything he had just to stay sane.
He knew he cannot lose consciousness because of the system''s warning, and the process of orb absorption was still ongoing. Furthermore, he could feel changes happening all over his body.
But he didn''t have time to observe because two silver thundernce shed toward him from the inky vortex.
With palpitated heart, Ace used something he save especially just for this ''special'' asion, it might not work, but he''s going to try it anyway since it just going to cost him little Qi and besides it was just collecting dust and taking a huge part of his thief''s space.
It was the perfect time to get rid of it, and by doing so might as well weaken the heavenly thunder. Well, probably¡
The very next moment thereafter, a thirty cubic-meter metallic box appeared right between Ace and silver-thundernces.
Yes, it was none other than the stolen treasury of Luminous City of the low-levelnds that he never got the chance to opened and Marc was here just because of this damn treasury and even die without even having time to take it back.
Marc simply thought he could capture Ace after getting the soul inheritance in one fell swoop, but died tragically because of the same person he wanted to take advantage of and capture him for his secrets, Ace.
As for why Marc was sent all the way here to retrieve this treasury by his father, the Crimson Sword Emperor, and why they left it in the low-levelnds. They even made the Luminous Kingdom who once unknowingly offended the Crimson Sword Empire guard it for them without even knowledge of what was inside this treasury because they didn''t know how to open it as well.
Everyone believed it was the crimson sword empire''s way of punishing the Luminous Kingdom by sending one of their royal decedents in lownds to rot there, but the actual truth was the opposite.
The Crimson Sword Emperor needed a high-level guard dog to guard his treasure with no one finding it suspicious, and the Luminous Kingdom just happened to be perfect for it.
For hundreds of years, the Luminous Kingdom guarded this treasure without even knowing what was inside, and they didn''t dare to try finding it either because the Crimson Sword Emperor wasn''t someone to trifle with.
But everything changed when a thief mysteriously stole the whole treasury and cause the royal family of the luminous kingdom to panic, but they were all somewhat happy about it as well. Because if there wasn''t any treasury to protect, they also don''t have to send their decedents to that barren ce anymore, like a guard dog.
Marc also doesn''t have the chance to deal with the ipetent Luminous Royal Family because his entire focus was on capturing Ace and finding out about his secret.
In Marc''s eyes, he could''ve crushed the luminous family anytime he wanted, and he was nning to do after he dealt with Ace, but die instead with deep resentment.
Unknowingly, the Luminous Royal Family also escaped the catastrophe of extinction as well, all because of Ace.
Ace braced himself for impact, a deafening sound rumbled when the silver thunderbolts descended on the metal box protected by a formation.
However, when faced with the heavenly thunder, the formation of the treasury instantly shattered and the sturdy treasury also didn''t hold for long as it also began to incinerate bit by bit.
Everything inside turned to ashes and Ace thought bitterly as he felt the mountainous pressure weighed down on him, ''Why I''m not shocked?''
The next moment, one of the thundernces again submerge Acepletely, and the second round of far more intensive torture than before began.
Ace clenched his teeth and fist as he endured while waiting for the other thunderboltnce to join in the ''fun'' however, to his befuddlement the second silver thunderbolt never fall on him at all.
But he didn''t have time to find what happened, with thick veins popping out all over his body he kept enduring the hellish pain with bloodshot eyes while the dark void was continuously absorbing the silver despair thunder.
The torturous process goes for full two minutes before thest sliver of heavenly thunder was absorbed by the dark void. The only thing left was charred Ace, with blood trickling from cracks on his burned skin.
His bloodshot eyes were almost listless as with extreme difficulty he consumed two more, healing and Qi recovery pills. The cracks on his skin quickly started to mend, while his eyes recover some of their lusters.
''What happened to the second thunderbolt?''
Ace finally had some energy to spare as he looks for the reason why the other silver thundernce didn''t fall on him. If it does, Ace doesn''t know how long he could hold off.
Astonished, when Ace looked upward, he saw a three-meter metallic piece of the treasury bottom remain hover above without getting incinerated like the whole treasury.
With bewilderment, Ace controlled his Qi and lift down the metallic piece. His pupils contracted when he saw what was resting on that metallic piece.
It was an ordinary-looking three-meter wild Gray Boulder, if silver lighting wasn''t cracking all over it which was to prove the silver despair thunder was fell on it, Ace would''ve thought it was just an ordinary boulder.
''What kind of boulder is it? It even endured the heavenly thunder and remained intact?'' Ace''s listless eyes shimmer with ecstasy.
He quickly used his Qi to probe the gray boulder but was shocked the next moment because his Heavenly Darkness Qi repelled the moment he touched the gray boulder.
Ace''s eyes narrowed, he didn''t know what this boulder was, but he had this feeling this was something extraordinary because anything that can endure heavenly thunder and even repelled his heavenly Qi can''t be ordinary.
Three more silver thundernces formed and shed toward Ace.
Ace''s eyes turned sharp as he used the gray boulder as his shield, this time with deep anticipation.
''Rumble¡''
The moment those three-silver thunderncesnded on the gray boulder, Ace didn''t feel any pressure like before at all, nor did any thunderbolt pass through the gray boulder!
The gray boulder quickly absorbed those three thunderbolts without any resistance at all.
Ace was gobsmacked by this and the next moment, his boomingughter rang inside the volcano, "Hahaha¡you can''t reach me anymore¡ hahaha.!"
Ace was so happy about escaping the heavenly thunder he wanted to jump in excitement, just like a drowning man will clutch at a straw, Ace was going to clutch on that mysterious gray boulder, as his life deepened on it, literally.
If Ace could''ve used his soul-shattering eyes on the gray boulder at his moment, he will see many runic symbols on it, but he never thought about it because of his excitement and the situation he was in.
''Cr¡crr¡crec¡''
Ace''s celebration was quite short-lived when he suddenly heard snapping sounds that wereing from none other than his precious, gray boulder.
"OH, FUCK NO¡!" Ace cursed loudly with bloodshot eyes. He might have a stroke if the boulder didn''t stop cracking at this moment.
''Sigh¡'' He sighed in relief, but he knew this boulder had reached its limit, and by the looks of it, the boulder might notst long enough to let him pass the heavenly punishment.
''Rumble¡''
Ace abruptly looked upward, and his ecstatic expression turned cloudy.
He saw, two fifty-meter silver sword-des forming from silver despair-thunder which were translucent!
''Soul Heavenly Thunder!''
Ace instantly guessed what wasing next, and his heart sank to rock bottom. He was afraid of this specific heavenly punishment the most becausest time it was exactly soul heavenly thunder that send him into aa for years.
However, thest soul punishment looked like a joke in front of this one, he didn''t even know if this crumbling gray boulder can even block soul thunder since it was supposed to destroy the soul.
But there was nothing he could do but to hope for the best and pray that this gray boulder would show another miracle, or he had to rely on his new defensive soul skill to block those soul-thunder sword des!
''Boooommmm¡''
Those two sword des made of silver soul thunder shot toward Ace like an unstoppable arrow.
The moment of truth was here!
Chapter 233 - Heavenly Dark Sea Realm!
The dark void can''t absorb the soul Qi or anything rted to the soul, and Ace didn''t put all this hope on the cracked gray boulder either.
''Soul Barrier!''
Ace quickly activate the first skill of soul guardian barrier art, the soul barrier!
A vast amount of orange soul Qi started to emit from his orange soul core and like a thin translucent film, the orange Soul Qi started to cover Ace''s true soul (mind space) andpletely shrouded it. This was the soul barrier in low-level mastery, but it can still protect him from Flowing Soul River cultivator soul attacks.
However, can it protect him from the Heavenly Soul Thunder? Well, he was about to find out.
The two translucent sword desnded on the gray boulder first, since it was right above Ace.
Ace was ready for the worse while holding his breath, he was waiting for the two thunder sword des to simply pass through the gray boulder and prate his head. But to his atonement, the gray boulder manage to hold and even absorbed those two-soul thunderbolts!
"Just what is this boulder made of?" it shocked Ace to the core this time because till this day he never encountered a soul treasure besides Blood Rose.
He never imagined something like this even exist that can shield both soul and martial heavenly thunders. It was too good to be true, and he only about one existence that can do the same thing if it wanted to, and that was his System!
The cloudy vortex spun madly when two of itsst attacks didn''t even reach Ace, and arge amount of lighting started to condense right in the center.
Ace quickly snapped out of his stupor when the punishment clouds rumbled madly. He looked toward the boulder and just as he expected it was already full of cracks, clearly reaching its limit.
''Well, I''m being too greedy here. It already helped me block two strikes, and this was probably going to be thest one.'' Ace sighed with regret.
If it was on him, he wanted to mine these kinds of boulders like there was no tomorrow. But he knew it was impossible, and this was probably one of its kind.
While Ace wasmenting his bad luck, a huge silver, transparent thunder de slowly prated the inky vortex and when it was finally out, it was three hundred-meter in size!
Ace''s expression turned cloudy when he was the huge thunder de ready to descend on him with all its might.
"Shi¡"
He didn''t even have time to curse as the huge thunder-de shot toward the volcano''s mouth, and the next moment it was already upon the gray boulder!
The gray boulder quickly started to absorb the silver soul thunder with crazy speed and when the three hundred-meter-thunderbolt was only left twenty or so meters, the gray boulder finally turned into gray dust!
Ace saw iting from miles away, but what he never expected was something appearing from inside the gray boulder after it shattered!
It was a two-square-foot, space-ck te, but it was too thin to call it te.
However, Ace didn''t care about this, became this ck te instantly absorbed the remaining soul thunder like it was nothing.
Ace was bewildered by this while looking at that ck, thin te with shimmering eyes.
In the sky, the vortex seemed to exhaust all its power and started scattered, a clear starry sky emerged after the punishment clouds mysteriously vanished.
"Sigh¡it''s finally over." Ace deeply looked toward the starry sky and sighed in relief.
Truth be told, it was like a dream because he managed to survive the heavenly punishment too easily this time and all because of that gray boulder or now, thin ck te.
=====
[Congrattion Host for sessfully crossing the second form of Heavenly Punishment!]
---
[Martial Qi Sea creation ismencing!]
=====
Ace didn''t have the chance to examine the ck te and quickly store it inside the thief''s space to check itter.
He quickly sat cross-legged on the earthen altar while closing his eyes and observing the martial space. He could feel the absorption of earth essence had be more intense after the system''s announcement.
The suppressed emerald mist was finally freed after heavenly punishment was over, and emerald mist from all over the earthen mist forest started to rush toward the volcano''s mouth.
Ace suddenly fell into a trance, and he didn''t notice the small ck vortex formed on his chest and all that emerald mist began to sink inside the small vortex before entering the dark void.
After an unknown time, the dark void began to release cloudy dark mist which covered the entire martial space.
Ace dark foundation tes, which were like nine small inds, started tobine below dark void and form one big isle which covered half and martial space.
Thereafter, a thick dark-blue chain emerged from the dark void and prate the newly formed isle.
Ace was startled seeing that dark-blue chain, it was his first time seeing anything else releasing from the dark void beside HD-Qi. But what happened next shocked him even more?
Scripture writing in ancient godnguage starts liting all-over pitch-ck isle.
"Heaven Stealer Technique! But why is thest part different and why can''t I read it?" Ace was bbergasted by this sudden revtion. No one answer his plight as he silently watched what happened subsequently.
The moment heaven stealer technique scriptures appeared the isle expand until it touched the edge of martial space, but it didn''t stop just there, the martial space began to expand with the isle!
One had to know one martial space never expand or shrink once it was established, but Ace''s marital space was expanded until it be double from inside while the outside structure remained the same.
Even Ace was shocked when he saw the size of martial space, it was like a small continent now.
Suddenly, the chain connected with the ''continent'' hummed slightly, and inky water started to appear on the barren continent while new characters of the heaven stealer technique also began to form all over the continent until they werepletely covered by inky water.
Ace still didn''t understand any of those new characters, though. But he knew the system won''t tell him even if he asked, so he just remained silent and keep watching.
The continent finally submerged in inky water which was kept rising until half of the martial space was filled. It finally stopped right when it was about it touched the dark void which was floating right at the center of Ace''s martial space.
The dark blue chain also returned and vanished inside the dark void after the task was done.
Now, if something saw Ace martial space, they would only see boundless inky water just like a sea.
Ace''s body made cracking sounds the next moment, his bones, muscles, blood vassals, heart, dark meridians¡began to refine again and again until they all be more powerful.
He could feel powerful like never before, while his physical senses improved tremendously.
Abruptly, Ace felt a foreign, yet familiar feeling like something was forming deep within him, and it would emerge at any moment.
The very next moment thereafter, Ace abruptly opened his eyes and a foreign dark-lightning twinkled all over his charred body.
Confused, Ace looked at his hands which were covered in dark lightning, he could feel a too familiar power from this dark lightning.
The system next notification cleared his perplexity,
====
[Nature''s Earth Elemental Orb absorption has also beenplete.]
[Special Reward: Earth Qi {Martial & Soul}]
---
[Congrattion Host on sessfully creating the ''Dark Qi Sea'']
[Host has reached Stage-1 of Heavenly Dark Sea Realm.]
[Unique Heavenly Element: Dark Despair Lightning]
[Rewards: 500,000 Thief Point]
---
[Thief Point(s): 2,773,400]
---
"Dark Despair Lightning like White and Silver Despair Thunder?" Ace mumbled when he noticed the resemnce, "Doesn''t this mean my element is as strong as heavenly thunder?"
Ace looked at the dark lightning which was giving off the slightest aura of despair with tion.
However, the system wasn''t done with its announcements yet.
====
[System detected Host martial cultivation sufficient]
[Heavenly Soul Element: ''Wind'' has been unsealed]
[All the restrictions ced on the host''s soul cultivation have been removed.]
[Host can switch between Earth Element {Soul & Martial} and Light Element {Soul & Martial} at any time now.]
{Warning: Worldly Elements'' and ''Heavenly Elements'' cannot be used together}
---
[Host status has been updated.]
====
Ace suddenly remembered about the sealed soul element and couldn''t help but grinned widely when it was finally unlocked.
"So, my soul element is Wind, huh." Ace nodded in satisfaction.
"Hey, where is my level-1 authority reward? You better not forget about it!" Ace chuckles jokingly.
"[Host is currently under a mission pleaseplete it as soon as possible because, without it, the system cannot be upgraded and host level-1 authority reward will also be pending because of it.]"
Ace''s smile immediately vanished the moment he heard system ''justification'' and his face turned as dark as charcoal, literally!
Chapter 234 - Crimson Sword Emperor!
Before the Gray Boulder was destroyed.
Somewhere in high-levelnds,
Inside avishing, bright chamber, a handsome burly middle-aged man with long ck hair was sitting cross-legged with his eyes tightly shut. There was an air of sovereignty around this person.
This middle-aged was none other than Marc''s father and the ruler of Crimson Sword Empire, Crimson Sword Emperor, Gordon Crimson!
Suddenly, Gordon''s tightly shut eyes sprang open as a gray current shed past them. The entire pce''s temperature dropped as every living person felt icy killing intent, and everyone started to trembled because they knew the Emperor was enraged for some reason!
Everyone in the entire high-levelnds knows if you offended the Crimson Sword Emperor, then you''ll soon meet with a tragic end. This person was known for his vicious and scheming nature.
That''s why there weren''t many people who dare to offend the Crimson Sword Emperor because you won''t even know how you die after you offended this person.
Now, the emperor was emitting such killing intent which he never showed even toward his most hated enemy, this could only mean someone has truly infuriated the Crimson Sword Emperor!
Gordon''s handsome face was exempt of any emotions, if his eyes weren''t emitting such a thick killing intent, one could even though he was deep in thoughts.
Suddenly, blood trickled from the corner of Gordon''s lip.
His expression still doesn''t change as he nonchntly cleaned the blood with his thumb and coldly looked at it while mumbling in a hoarse voice, "So, he died even in that wastnd, another trash. I think too highly of that trash to even nurture him into my Ghost-Sword Incarnate."
Astonishing words came out from Crimson Sword Emperor''s mouth, "Sigh¡I have to start again from scratch. But first, I have to retrieve ''Ghost Sword Monolith'' and find out how that thief manage to store it inside a storage treasure and even managed to cross the sky-changing border with it!"
The Ghost Sword Monolith was none other than the Gray boulder which was inside the treasury of the luminous city and guarded by the Luminous Royal Family for hundreds of years!
Gordon found that gray boulder because of an ancient map he found inside an ancient tomb in his empire. This map led him toward the low-levelnds until he reached a ce called wastnds!
First, he was just curious and when he reached the wastnds of low-levelnds he even thought this map was a fake, but he decided to still inspect since he already was there.
But to his surprise, he managed to find the ce protected by a concealing formation, and it was still intact all those years because those barbarians didn''t know a thing about formations.
Delirious, Gordon unsealed the formation like it was described back of the ancient map and found the gray boulder. On the gray boulder was another formation which was a memory formation that record a peerless cultivation technique called Ghost Sword Scripture.
This technique was very peculiar because for cultivating it one needed the Ghost Sword Monolith, which was the gray boulder. Gordon doesn''t know who created this technique, but after getting the memories, he was astonished by its prowess and means.
Gordon naturally wanted to take this Ghost Sword Monolith back with him, but he soon found out he wasn''t able to store this gray boulder inside a storage ring, and soon after, he also discovered the sky-changing border''s formation repelled the gray boulder as well.
But he soon found out that he doesn''t need the boulder with him all the time because he just needed gray Qi, which was described as the Ghost Qi in Ghost Sword Technique. He can draw this Ghost Qi anywhere as long as he had the cultivation method.
That''s how Gordon found the Luminous Kingdom and force them to guard the Ghost Sword Monolith. He wasn''t worried about someone else finding out about the cultivation technique nor someone stealing or destroying the monolith because it was unbreakable ording to the memories he got, and he even tried it himself.
He never thought someone would be able to steal it as well because it wasn''t ''space ring friendly'' and who would be foolish enough to carry a three-meterrge boulder everywhere they go, right?
For hundreds of years, he was able to gain many things because of this mysterious technique and just one step away frompleting it and thatst step was creating and Ghost-Sword Incarnation!
It was a very ruthless and demanding step because the practitioner needed to nurture one own descendant with ghost Qi until it reached thepletion stage of the Ghost Sword Incarnation Ritual.
The person who became aplete Ghost Sword Incarnation will be the final supplement for the person who nurtured him and die without being able to resist in any way. Because the real cultivator of Ghost Sword Scripture had a soul wisp inside the incarnation candidate''s conscious!
The more genius a descended is the faster Ghost Sword Incarnation Ritual can bepleted and that''s where Marc came in, Gordon''s most talented son!
Marc was at the middle stage of the Sword Ghost Incarnation Ritual. Although, he can use Ghost Qi because of being an incarnation, which made him quite powerful and hard to kill. He was just a supplement for his father to reach the top, in the end, nothing more, nothing less.
However, Gordon never thought someone would be able to steal the Sword Ghost Monolith and even cut off his connection with it while taking it in middle-levelnds on top of it!
That''s why he sent Marc in the sham of fetching his finance, Zelda, back because there were too many spies of other empires.
Furthermore, Marc was powerful enough to hold on his own there and besides, he had nightmare ghosts as his backer there, so, it wasn''t a difficult task to capture that thief and bring him back, so Gordon could find out how he managed to store and move the Ghost Sword Monolith.
But s, Gordon felt his conscious wisp destroyed just a moment ago, which implies Marc was dead.
Gordon didn''t care about Marc at all because his nature was cold, to begin with, and ghost Qi made him even more inhuman. He was enraged because all the efforts he put on Marc were wasted, and he had to start again with another one of his decedents. He wasn''t low on them.
But first, he had to retrieve the gray boulder because without it, he can''t draw more ghost Qi, and it was impossible toplete his technique without it. This time he decided to go himself and capture that thief as well.
However, before Gordon could finalize his n to move sneakily in middlends after the middle sky-changing border opened, he suddenly clutched his head as his indifferent face twisted with pain and horror.
(The gray boulder was destroyed at this moment!)
Gordon consecutive vomited blood five times as his face lost all its rosy color, he suddenly started to mutter like a madman with disbelief writer all over his cloudy face,
"How is it possible¡how is it possible¡how is it possible¡I can''t be¡I can''t be¡It must be bacsh after that trash died, yes! It must be, and it had to be, yes, yes, it''s like this¡!"
If someone knows Gordon saw him now, they would be shocked because the indifferent Crimson Sword Emperor would never show this much emotion and act so madly, even if you kill his father right in front of him.
"I have to retrieve the monolith as soon as possible even if I had to search ''ancient passage'' I can''t wait for border formation¡ Ahhhhhhh¡."
Abruptly, Gordon''s muttering halt, and he shrilled like a pig being ughtered, but no one could hear his screaming because his cultivation chamber was protected by many formations and the soundproof array was also one of those formations.
Gordon keep screaming while clutching his head, his bloodshot eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets.
Suddenly, his eyespletely rolled upward, and only white eyeballs remain, but the next moment, they rollback, but this time, blue pupils reced Gordon''s dark brown pupils.
''Gordon'' also stopped screaming and clutching his head like a madman and stand up straight. His entire demeanor changed, the Gordon with blue pupils was giving off an ancient and dignified feeling which differedpletely from before.
At this moment, ''Gordon''s'' lip rose and form a mocking smile as he mumbled skeptically, "A mere cultivation clone could escape me, what a blunder, but you still can''t escape the inevitable. But I need to check the memories thoroughly to see what variable made this Old Man lose another scared cultivation clone."
''Gordon''s'' eyes shimmer with profound light, he waved his hand and powerful Qi brushed past the mess ''he'' made moments ago. After everything was clean, he sat cross-legged again to his former ce.
''Gordon'' close his eyes with a faint smile, he mumbled in a cold voice,
"Little Pup, Ace, wait for this old man.. This time this wasn''t just an ipetent clone. Humph!"
Chapter 235 - Page 09?
Ace was still oblivious of the consequence of unknowingly destroying the gray boulder or former Ghost Sword Monolith.
He was busy fuming because the system refused to release his hard-earned reward of level-1 authority and keep telling him toplete his mission first.
In the end, Ace was helpless when the system negated the answer, and he bitterly epted the ''verdict''.
Now that he was done with breaking through and system matter, he finally pays attention to his surroundings and was astonished because once the emerald liquid filled the bottom of the volcano was now crystal clear like ordinary water. Only the remains of the orb guardian were floating around, which also somehow turned into white stones.
He knew this was the system''s doing since it has absorbed all the element essence through the earthen altar, which was now on the verge of breaking. The volcano''s throat was also filled with charred cracks, and he knew it was time to leave this ce.
The heavenly punishment just caused too muchmotion, and he knew it won''t be long before curious peoplee searching for answers.
But before leaving, Ace saw his condition and immediately dived in the ''water pool''. His old skin and all the impurities that came after refinement of his bodye off and new pale-white skin surface.
After clearing up, Ace looked more handsome and elegant than before, with a 1.9-meter height and tone refined body filled with explosive muscles. He gave a mysterious vibe after entering Heavenly Dark Sea realm.
Ace put ck tight robes which vaguely showed his carved packs and his thief trainee''s hood on top of it. He put the hundred-face deception mask and changed into Ryan''s face.
"Status." He wanted to check how much EXP he needed to enter the next Heavenly Sea realm because it wasn''t like the Qi river realm, and it had different stages, he just doesn''t know how many.
The system only says he would know once he upgrades the system.
=====
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human {No Bloodline}]
[Heaven: 1st Mortal Sky Heaven]
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea {Stage-1}]
[EXP: Unknown] {UPGRADE REQUIRED}
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core]
{SP: 51,030/100,000}
---
[Skills: 7]
Heartless Stealth (Art):
{Breathless Stealth: Perfection
Pulseless Stealth: NONE
Heartless Stealth: NONE}
Misperception Sky Steps (Art):
[Camouge Steps: Low
Lightning Steps: Low
Misperception Steps: Low
Sky Steps: NONE}
Soul Shattering Eyes: {Low}
Soul Piercing Bullets: {Low}
Soul Guardian Barrier (Art):
{Soul Barrier: Low
Soul Guardian: NONE}
Pick Pocket: {Perfection}
Treasure Opening Hands [Art]: {5th Form}
[Cultivation Technique: 3]
{Heaven Stealer Technique: Volume 1
Dual Shadow Swords: 1st Realm (Sword as Limb)
Heavenly Rune Crafter: 0-Tier}
---
[Thief Point(s): 2,773,400]
---
[Mission(s): 1]
[Opportunity Makes a Thief]
[Mission: Steal everything from Three Giants'' ten main branches in Top Ten Kingdoms of Middle-Level Lands.]
{Progress:0/30}
[Rewards based on Host Performance]
{Three Hidden Rewards}
{Time Left: 9 Years & 3 Months}
{Mission Failure Punishment: System shop closing for 200 Years!}
======
"Unknown?" Ace frowned when he saw the notice beside the EXP column, ''It seemed I needed to upgrade this ck-hearted system.''
He didn''t know what would happen after he upgrade the system since it was the first time hearing about the system was upgradeable, but he was looking forward to it since it was only beneficial to him.
He closed the status panel after ncing at reaming time for the mission. Likewise, he still had nine years and now that he entered an unknown territory of power, he''s going to make sure hepletes this mission wlessly and quickly.
The next moment a two-square-meter thin ck te appeared in Ace''s hand, this was the same ck te that appeared after the gray boulder was destroyed, and it even absorbed the remains of soul thunder without any scratch.
Before he didn''t have time to examine it because he was about to breakthrough, but now he can''t wait to see what this miraculous treasure was.
Ace brushed the ck te with his hand, it feels like he was touching smooth silk. He turned it over and was shocked when his eyesnded on the golden-gray wording right at the bottom-center of the te.
It bbergasted him because this writing was in the ancient godnguage of the system, which naturally came as stupefaction.
Ace carefully read what was written, it was a word and a number.
"[PAGE-09]"
"Page nine of what?" Ace read the letters again, and it was indeed ''page number nine'', "So, this unbendable and indestructible material was a mere page? Then this also implies it was a seal or trap inside that boulder, but how?"
This raised many questions in Ace''s heart, like which book this page belong to, and where were the rest of the writing?
Furthermore, this page was made of heaven-defying materials since it can block and absorbed the heavenly thunder. Just that boulder in which this page was sealed was almost indestructible.
Ace even guess, without heavenly thunder, it might be impossible to break that boulder, and he was right about that, though!
Ace pupils turnedpletely white at this moment, he was using the soul-shattering eyes, and this time he doesn''t feel any pain or bacsh, he was using it to its full potential now.
However, to his massive disappointment, the ck page remained the same without any kind of change. He could guess, either this page was nk to being with or his eye skill was too low to probe its secret, and Ace was surer about thetter.
"Well, it will be my ''Page Shield'' from now on. Since it can block heavenly thunder, it might block normal attacks as well." Ace grinned as he thought of different ways to utilize this ck page.
Ace stored the ck page back to his thief space, he still didn''t know this page can''t be stored inside a normal storage treasure though, which also indicates it was considered as a living being!
He didn''t pay any attention to the ck page anymore and focused on leaving the volcano.
Inside, the thief''s space everything was quiet, there were pills of different treasures, and in the center of all this was a ck cocoon covered in a mysterious red rune.
A ck page suddenly appeared a few meters away from this cocoon. It flickered in a mysterious gray light; it took a little-eye shape for the slightest moment, before returning to its stationary state!
Chapter 236 - Valiant Announcement!
On top of the once active volcano,
Ace looked around with astonishment, he saw the bottom of the volcano was filled with small charred craters and piles of rocks.
"So, the entire golem army was annihted by heavenly punishment." Ace click his tongue in wonder as he looked toward the clear sky.
The emerald dome, as well as emerald mist, was also gone, only barren wastnd remained with no trace of life. Perhaps after many years this would be turned into a forest or those kingdoms would ingurgitate it, no one knows, but the once most dangerous ce of middlends was no more!
Ace didn''t linger for long and left, he still doesn''t know if his pursuers were caught in heavenly punishment or not, he didn''t was to take any unnecessary risks.
---
Currently, many people were swarming the once barren earthen mist forest.
All because the infamous dreadful emerald mist mysteriously vanished a few hours ago, and all the strange monsters seemed to vanish with the mist as well.
This news was quickly spread because there were many people outside the forest because of the thief hunt.
Since the emerald mist and monsters vanished, many people decided to try their luck to find some nature treasures because the earthen mist forest was quite old and no one saw what was deep inside.
As for those rulers and nightmare ghosts'' personals staying right outside the inner circle boundary, they naturally didn''t stay put, and after making sure the mist wasn''ting back, they enter the inner region and see what cause all this.
Since the danger was also non-exist, everyone scattered to search for the thief and river core cultivators who enter inside before them. But it was all just an excuse because they all wanted to search for treasures alone.
However, there was nothing in the earthen mist forest because the emerald mist was toxin and something made by the elemental orb, so it was impossible for the orb would let anything born that could jeopardize its safety.
A person, d in ck while his face was hidden behind a ck mask, was at the edge of the inner circle and about to reach the boundary between mysterious and inner circles.
"Oh, you must be from Nightmare Ghosts organization, right?"
The assassin was startled by this nonchnt voice, but before he could react, he felt a powerful strike right behind his neck and his eyes rolled upward as he loses consciousness.
Ace''s hooded figure appeared and catch the falling assassin.
''Now let''s see if I could probe your memories with my 1st stage heavenly sea realm cultivation despite you''re a Qi flowing river cultivator.''
Ace wanted the information about nightmare ghosts'' hideouts because they were the only ones hidden from public eyes and hindrance in his mission.
That''s why when he felt the stealth skill this guy was using, he decided to test his prowess on him. To his astonishment, this assassin didn''t even notice him, even when he was one foot away from it.
This made Ace ted and more assure that the system didn''t lie to him about being ten-time powerful than a Qi river cultivator with nine te foundations (Extraordinary Qi River). He easily subdued this flowing river assassin with six foundation tes (Medium Qi River) after startling him.
However, he still didn''t know if this rule applied with his soul cultivation as well, his soul probing should only work on empty river cultivators, but now things were different though.
''Soul probing.'' The moment he activated the ability, ''Oh, it''s working! Hahaha, this means my soul is more powerful than a flowing river cultivator!''
Ace was thrilled as he kept receiving the assassin memories in mass.
However, his expression changed as he looked through the memories of this purple assassin.
The more he saw, the more his eyes turned cold, toward the end, Ace was emitting killing intent!
He saw how these assassins were trained. First, they were kidnapped at a very young age and forced to sign the loyalty (ve) contracts. Then they trained in the art of shadow killing. Their first kill always was a fellow member in their training camp and at the end of their training, they had to kill their friends.
But this wasn''t the end of this cruel training, when they pass the training camp their first mission always be to kill their families, so they could be exempt from emotions!
''These animals!'' Ace''s eyes were icy cold as he saw all the history of this purple assassin. He could even feel the emotions this person had when he killed his mother and father under the forcefulness of the loyalty contract.
He suddenly had an urge to eradicate the entire Nightmare Ghosts Organization, but he knew it was a pipe dream because their roots were too deep, and he had to kill their leader in high-levelnds who was a Qi soul level expert.
Ace take a deep breath to calm himself, and he took off the person''s mask and said, "System scan his face."
The white memory gem emerged on Ryan''s face the moment Ace gave themand,
=====
[Face 5, has been sessfully recorded in memory gem.]"
=====
"This put you out of your misery." Ace''s eyes turned cold as he looked at the unconscious assassin, "Soul bullet!"
The purple assassin''s body trembled slightly before his steady breath stopped as he died!
In Ace''s eyes, this person was nothing but an empty husk of a killer, and killing him was giving him the mercy he deserved long ago.
As for nightmare ghosts, he had a horrendous impression of them now.
Dark lightning sh through Ace''s hand as it covered the dead assassin''s entire body, and the next moment it started to incinerate under the power of dark despair lightning.
Ace didn''t have the skill to control lightning, so he was using it so crudely.
"Who are you and what are you doing?" A cold yet melodious voice sounded when the corpse waspletely incinerated and only a charred body impression was left on the group.
Ace coolly turned around and saw an extremely gorgeous woman in a light blue dress, even though the dress wasn''t too revealing, her curvaceous figure was disyed!
Her snowy face was impassive yet perfect, and her light-blue intelligent eyes were filled with coldness as she looked at Ace''s hidden face behind a long hood that looked like a dark abyss.
This woman was none other than the most beautiful woman of the entire middle-levelnds, the Lavender Queen!
Ace nonchntly looked at this cold beauty which was a piece of art, but he was unmoved and said, "Where are your manners? Shouldn''t you introduce yourself before asking my name?"
Lavender Queen eyes turn murderous, no one dares to speak with her like this in entire middle-levelnds, she was the Queen of the second rank kingdom, not some random woman.
Yet, this unknown deviant dare to talk with her like this, she was instantly enraged!
"You have no right to know my name!"
"Oh, I also don''t want to know either, don''t worry." Ace shrug his shoulder and continued, "You see I let you this close to me because you should''ve possessed a lot of influence with your peak stage Qi river cultivation base so made an announcement¡ Sky Stealer ising for three giants'' treasuries if they had guts, don''t hide them from their original ces!"
Finished his words, Ace dissolved in the darkness of night like a phantom, leaving a dumbfounded Lavender Queen behind.
After Ace''s sudden departure, the Lavender Queen quickly snapped out of her stupor and mumbled in incredulity, "H-he was that¡ thief!"
She used her senses but didn''t find any trace of Ace like he never existed and this sent chills to her spine, "I should leave this ce and alert everyone that he''s still alive!"
She quickly left to find the others, especially the missing Qi river core cultivators because after encountering the thief himself she finally understood she won''t be able to catch him nor did she have any confidence because she can''t even sense him if he wanted to sneak attack her!
Lavender Queen was only a little bit rxed because Ace didn''t show any killing intent toward her, and he wanted her to announce his preposterous audacious im!
''Hmph¡a mere thief dared to talk so boldly in front of me. I''ll remember it!'' Lavender Queen thought in resentment, but there was a hint of fear in her beautiful eyes.
Ace appeared hundreds of meters away from Lavender Queen and sneered, "She might not announce it now, but she will once the mayhem will begin."
Ace knew once he raid the three giants'' treasures they will suppress the news to save themselves from humiliation and this would greatly affect this thief''s fame, which he won''t be going to let happen.
That''s why he let this neer so close to him and told her, his valiant im, and he wasn''t just done with only one, though!
Chapter 237 - Den Of Assassins (1)
An entire month has passed since the earthen mist forest became only Earthen Forest!
This shocking incident astounded the entire middle-levelnds. No one knows who caused it or what the reason behind it was, but a rumor surfaced just a few days ago after the emerald mist disappearance, that was this incident was rted to the notorious thief, Sky Stealer.
No one knows who started this rumor, but it quickly gained huge poprity. Because every news rted to Sky Stealer was always liked by those at bottom of middle-levelnds'' status quo.
Somemoners even worshiped the thief and someone even founded a secret Thief Organization called ''Sky Stealer Society'' whose motto was ''To Steal from Sky and Give to Earth'' and many people were joining the bandwagon.
This Sky Stealer Society grew to the point in ten short days that everyone with some influence got the wind about it. Those rulers and their subordinates quickly acted and try to eradicate the newly born organization like always.
However, this time they failed because no one seemed to find the information about it nor its leaders or the person who started it.
Some rulers even reached to Pill me and Beast Calling, but they never responded because of some internal matters, and the Damien Kingdom also seemed to be going through some internal stiffs.
The Sky Stealer Society hide too well and its members were quite loyal and well hidden. Now those with power and influence had an entire organization of thieves to worry about, even those of the organization didn''t do any stealing yet.
But whoever attached themselves with Sky Stealer will bebeled as a thief without any disagreement!
It was like a huge storm was brewing in middle-levelnds and all this was revolving around one person, Sky Stealer!
However, the man himself was currently traveling in a barren ce somewhere in the middle of Leap Kingdom.
After leaving the earthen mist forest and after ''advertising'' himself and shocking people. He traveled toward this barren ce on foot because this ce was very mysterious and anyone whoe here will mysteriously disappear. The natives called this ce the Haunted Lands.
However, Ace wasn''t seemed to care about what others called it or stories rted to it as he moved with lightning steps in stealth. After his breakthrough in the Heavenly Sea realm, he noticed his skills have be more powerfulpared to when he was in Heavenly Foundation Building Realm.
He was now even confident in escaping and remaining undetected by the First-Iron Core Stage of Qi River Core Realm!
Qi River Core had three different stages of River Core depending on Qi River sizes as well, but in high-levelnds, only two kinds of different stages of Qi river core were known.
Small Martial River (Formed with 5-tes) wasn''t able to form a River Core.
The Medium Martial River (Formed with 6-tes) created an Iron Core in the first stage which has three levels (First, Second, Third).
In, Second Stage, Iron Core turned into Bronze Core which also has three levels.
In thest third Stage, Bronze Core turned into Silver Core with three levels as well.
As for cultivators with Large Martial River (Formed with 7-tes) can skip the Iron Core stage and directly created Bronze Core and their second stage being the Silver Core stage.
Thest and third stage for Large Martial River would be, Golden Core, and every stage had three levels.
As for the cultivators with Ordinary Martial River and Extraordinary Martial River, their information was unknown since no one ever open 8 or 9 Qi gates to reach this step.
The more river core you skip, the more powerful you were from your peers!
However, don''t take these stages like a joke because crossing just a level in the Qi River Core realm was akin to crossing a bottomless chasm. Some people would be stuck in the iron core stage for the rest of their life if they manage to break through in River Core Realm first, that is.
It was very hard to form an iron core, and only one in millions managed to do it with heaven-defying luck and opportunity.
The Damien King was the prime example of such. He only breakthrough because of a huge secret hidden in Damien Kingdom''s treasury!
Ace''s steps suddenly came to a halt, he looked toward arge swamp that looked quite ordinary. But he knew this wasn''t the real case here, and active the soul-shattering eyes.
The moment his eyes turnedpletely white, he saw the swamppletely vanished like an illusion and reced it was arge concealing formation!
He also saw many traps and rm arrays surrounding the area and if anyone stepped in the wrong ce, they would be in a series of trouble.
Ace meticulously walked between the traps and arrays while stepping on their ws. He soon reached the concealing formation. He circled the formation until he found a door-like structure which was the entrance.
Mysterious ruins appeared on Ace''s two fingers as he used the treasure opening hands second form, and the locked door clicked opened!
The door also revealed itself when the lock was opened.
Ace''s lips rose in a sneering smile, ''I hope those assassins amodates a lot of treasures after killing so many people.''
He entered the stairs going underground and close the door as the formation active again and the door vanished recing the muddy swamp again.
Ace just enter one of the main hidden hideouts of Nightmare Ghosts Organization and also the ce where they contain all the payments they got in assassination deals and treasures to nurture young assassins in the Leap Kingdom!
Those assassins werepletely clueless about a thief has already infiltrated their base by taking one of their purple assassin''s identities. The strongest person here was another purple assassin at the flowing Qi river stage.
Ace was like a wolf in sheep''s clothing here!
But he can''t charge right through the base and fight hundreds of assassins and then take their treasures. It wasn''t how thievery was supposed to work, and he was pretty sure if he does that system might not even consider it theft.
So, he had to theft the ce unnoticed!
Chapter 238 - Den Of Assassins (2)
At the end of dark stairways.
Ace looked at the tightly shut door protected by a formation. His eyes suddenly stopped at the impression on the sidewall.
''Heh, they making it easier for me.'' Ace grinned as a ck wooden token appeared in his hand, there was a vivid red skull engraved on it and the skull eyes sockets were lit in purple me.
This was the purple ghost token he took from the assassin he killed, and it was also an identity token of every Ghost Assassin.
Ace pressed the wooden token in the impression on the sidewall and the purple me inside the skull''s sockets shed and the next moment therge door creaked open.
Ace put the ghost token inside this thief''s space and enter arge lobby lit in soft blue light.
Right in the center of this lobby, there was a huge ckboard and different posters of people were pinned on it with a number below.
''So, this is the hit bored, and all those people in posters are targeted with their price tag below.'' Ace''s eyes turned cold as he looked toward the hit-bored.
With the purple assassin memories, he knew the hits were collected in an assassin den hidden in the main cities of every kingdom, and only a chosen few know about those dens.
Most of those people knew about those dens were high in power quo, and they used the ''services'' of Nightmare Ghosts to assassinate theirpetitors and enemies.
There were three types of kill orders the Nightmare Ghosts Organization epts, ''Kill, Must Kill, Silent Kill.''
Kill Order category was cheapest, cost between 1 Million and 10 Million high Qi stones. Only White Assassins and Grey Assassins can ept these hits.
The guarantee of kill orders was three tries before the hit will be deemed unsatisfactory for the current category and the client had to pay more to upgrade their order or the kill order would be canceled with no refunds.
Must Kill Order, was too expensive between 10 Million and 50 Million high Qi stones, depending on target value and his strength. But the assassins who could ept these hits will be Blue Assassins and Purple Assassins.
However, the guarantee of this order was a hundred percent as long as the target didn''t exceed the Qi River Cultivation.
Last but not least, the Silent Kill Order which was only avable in Damien Kingdom main branch, the price was colossal, between 100 Million and 1 Billion.
The dispatch assassin will be ck Assassin and only 1 try will be given, if failed on the first try the silent kill order will be removed and no more orders for the same target will be taken anymore with no refund.
The silent kill order was too rare because it was mostly dealing with the Qi river core cultivators, which weren''t much in middle-levelnds and each one of them had enormous force behind it.
That''s why the Ghosts only try one time and leave the person alone if failed, to give some face to the Qi river core expert and show this wasn''t personal.
Old Man ck once targeted even Damien King, but Damien King managed to escape and Old Man ck revealed the person name who put the hit order on him to show his goodwill.
Damien King naturally didn''t hold it against him since he knew the rules of Nightmare Ghosts and target his resentment toward the person who put this hit on him, which was his own younger brother!
As for the Royal Killer, and King Killer level assassins, their hit orders weren''t avable here since only one Royal Killer level Assassin was a force to reckon with!
Besides, if you managed to kill the assassin who came after you, the organization would not take revenge if only the targets kill the assassin because if anyone else dares to kill an assassin without being its target, that person will be hunted down until he''s dead!
This makes the organization seem fair in the eyes of others, and that''s why they''re still operating without anyone pestering them.
Ace saw many ck-d and masked figures surrounding the hit bored, it was a rule to never show your face and tell your name, even to your fellow members, and always wore masks.
Only the ck Assassins had the luxury to be exempt from these rules.
Ace didn''t dwell there and go toward the counter in the lobby''s corner, where another masked figure was sitting.
"Token, and Target Order please." A cold voice of a girl sounded behind the mask. She was here to record the order an assassin would take or im the rewards forpleted missions.
An assassin can exchange for either Qi stones or any resources avable in the organization ording to their ranks. These resources contain, Pills, Skills, Techniques, Weapons¡.and many things that weren''t avable in entire middle-levelnds.
"Where is Master Purple?" Ace coolly said while showing her ''his'' purple assassin token.
The person Ace was posing wasn''t from this branch, that''s why he didn''t know about the position of the treasury here. The only one who knew was the Purple Assassin in charge!
The female assassin''s eyes constricted when she was the purple ghost token in Ace''s hands and quickly changed her cold tone into a respectful one, "Master Purple is currently in retreat, may I know what business Lord Purple had with him, so I could inform her."
She knew anyone that can reach the rank of a purple assassin was a killer among killers, so it was better to not offend them!
"Just tell her Elder ck sent me." Ace coldly stated as he used the ''Old Man ck'' title.
"E-elder ck?!" The female assassin was scared hearing the title, "Please follow me, to the guest hall, and I''ll inform Master Purple immediately!"
Everyone knew there were only two ck Assassins in the entire middle-levelnds and that was Elder ck, Old Man ck, and Vice Elder ck, Margaret!
That''s why she be scarred when Elder ck was mentioned, the person who ruled the entire Nightmare Ghosts organization in middle-levelnds!
Chapter 239 - Den Of Assassins (3)
She became nervous when Elder ck was mentioned, the person who ruled the entire Nightmare Ghosts organization.
That''s why Ace used this name to intimidate the other party, and it worked because who could be daring enough to use the Elder ck name like this?
Just as he expected, another mask-wearing assassin with an hourss figure and the aura of flowing Qi river cultivation was striding toward Ace.
Ace felt the anxiety and nervousness of ''Master Purple'' and smile faintly.
"Leave Us!" She ordered the following receptionist sternly.
It was naturally a woman with a beautiful voice, one could only imagine her face with that hourss figure and mellow voice.
However, Ace remain indifferent and thought, ''Soul Probing!''
Transparent orange soul Qi in the shape of a needle emerged from Ace''s be and rushed toward Master purple''s forehead!
Ace closely observed the Master Purple, who was too anxious to not even notice the soul Qi needle prated her forehead.
Seeing his target didn''t notice a thing, he became, even more, reassured about soul probing which was now at 100% power, and it really works wonders, but he still wasn''t sure if he could probeplete Qi river cultivators'' memories!
While Ace was getting the memories of this Master Purple, she was already sitting in front of him and quickly greeted him, "Greeting fellow Brother, I hope you didn''t get any difort in your way here."
If this was another Purple Assassin, she would speak in a cold, indifferent tone, but a person sent by Elder ck, had to be his close aid, so, she didn''t dare to be disrespectful. Furthermore, she can''t sense this person''s cultivation, which let her to the conclusion that he was more powerful than her.
Ace was naturally using his real cultivation because his Hundred-Face Deception Mask can only mask up to the peak of Qi Foundation building cultivation, and it was also to his advantage in this kind of situation.
"You''re too polite Master Purple, but I had to say your base is truly hidden w¡cough, cough¡forgive me." Ace nearly choked on his words by a memory he just saw.
This was his first time probing a woman''s memory and even though, he saw many things in those men''s memories and even consider himself quite an expert in ''that'' department even though, he never does ''it'' himself.
But this was a discovery to him, he never thought this was even possible, he just saw; this Master Purple was a¡ woman-lover despite being a woman herself!
He saw the ''love scene'' between Master Purple and that receptionist and nearly choked on his word, he quickly discarded that scene because it was too much distraction for him!
Purple master looked toward Ace weirdly but didn''t probe any further. She did not know this person was watching her memories and her darkest secrets. If she knew, she would''ve fought Ace to death to protect ''that'' secret.
Ace quite circte his HD Qi and calm himself and quickly changed the topic, but he looked on his face was quite peculiar when he looked at Master purple now.
She truly opened his eyes this day, and he wondered if men and men¡a chill run down his spine as he controlled his wildly running imagination!
"Cough¡ Master Purple, I was on an inspection mission given to me by Elder ck. If it wasn''t a hassle for you, I want to tour your facility, what do you think?" Ace quickly changed the topic as he continued to receive memories fragments and all of them were useless and erotic.
''Damn it, just how free you were doing sex all day!'' Ace cursed this lustful woman in his heart while discarding the ''hot'' memories.
"Inspection?" Master Purple also be serious and replied, "But I didn''t receive notice about this inspection?"
"Hahaha, it won''t be an inspection if it wasn''t a surprising one, right? Or you had something to hide?" Ace''s voice stiffed.
"How could that be? I was just curious, forget I asked." She quicklye clean and said, "So, where do you want to go first?"
"How''s the haul of Leap Kingdom''s youngsters this year?"
"It''s very promising, I had to say. Fifteen of them had potential to be Blue-level Assassins." Master Purple became somewhat excited as she answered with a hint of pride in her voice.
"Oh, fifteen is indeed very good, much better than Blue Kingdom''s branch." Ace spout some nonsense to buy more time, while sulking inside, ''Just where is that memory of treasury!''
"Hahaha, you''re too kind, how can my little branch havepared with the Blue Kingdom? It just my luck was good this year." Although she acted humbly, the delight in her tone was clear.
Behind the scenes, all these branchespete with each other for better resources, and the more assassins they trained and the more killing orders theypete, the higher the ranking they get each year.
ording to this ranking, the resources were distributed and the Master of each branch getvishing rewards of their own. That''s why thepetition was so fears every year.
Now, this ''inspector'' has hinted about the blue kingdom''s branch inferiority, how could she not be happy.
''Oh, there it is!'' Ace''s eyes shimmer with ecstasy when he finally got the memories of treasury and quickly cut off the connection with thisscivious woman!
"Let''s go, I''ll show you our training facilities." She was in a good mood after her silent ''win'' over blue kingdom''s branch and quickly wanted to collect some more ''good points'' while showing off the geniuses.
"No, you know what? Let''s do it tomorrow. It was a long journey and I might make some mistake in my inspection. I want to be in my optimal condition, so everyone would get the right ''rewards'' in this year''s ranking!" Ace sounded righteous.
Master Purple quickly nodded in agreement when she heard about rewards and ranking, and tter this ''righteous inspector''.
"Fellow Brother, righteousness truly knows no bounds. Please, you can rest as long as you want and if you needed anything, don''t hesitate to inform me. Everything in this branch is at your disposal!"
"You''re too kind, I''m just doing my duty faithfully."
A thievish smile appeared on Ace''s face because he won''t be here tomorrow!
Chapter 240 - Den Of Assassins, Over!
Four hours after, the mysterious ''inspector'' showed up in Leap Kingdom''s branch of Nightmare Ghosts Organization.
Master Purple was currently listening to something from amunication formation, in her chamber,
"What are you talking about, Leap Branch Master? Elder ck and Vice Elder ck are both on a mission for the past month, how could they send some inspector? The person wasn''t sent by headquarters, please capture him and investigate what''s going on!"
Master Purple eyes be icy cold hearing this replied from the Damien Kingdom''s branch.
After that inspector left, she hurriedly came back to her cultivation chamber and used the thousand-miles transmission formation to contact her friend in the headquarters.
She wanted to know the reason behind this sudden inspection and desired to prepare when the ''inspector'' started the tour tomorrow. She suspected nothing amiss from the inspector at all before.
Because everyone was bound by a ''loyalty contract'' and they can''t betray or scheme against the organization. Much less using Elder ck''s name like this.
As for someone infiltrating the branch with an assassin identity? It was even more impossible because the moment someone had any intention to disclose some secret information about the organization, the contract will instantly kill them before they could open their mouths.
However, now that she received the reply from her friend, Master Purple''s heart turned cold just by thinking someone has entered her branch with malicious motives.
''Is he working for another branch master and here to kill the geniuses to drop my branch ranking?''
The more she thought about it, the more she be ensure about it because those geniuses weren''t abided by the organization''s loyalty contract until they pass the final test.
This was done, so the instructor could easily kill those brats who doesn''t listen to their instruction or followed the rules. But this was also a loophole deliberately left behind the higher-ups.
Anyone could kill them as long as they didn''t kill any fellow organization members, they''re not going against the organization''s loyalty contract.
It was also apetition between branches, and if other branches assassinated other''s geniuses, the victim branch would be kicked out of the year''s ranking. But it was rarely done because everyone protected those geniuses with everything they had until the final test wasplete.
So, it was very hard to assassinate them and if got caught, you''ll be killed by enforcers.
However, Leap Branch''s Master had no enmity with anyone besides some minor conflicts with Earth Branch''s Master, and he also didn''t have any Purple Assassin subordinate as well. Only those top three branches had Vise Branch Master of Purple level.
''But why did those three want to kill my branch youngsters? Just which degenerate is scheming against me!'' it infuriated her just thinking about someone was targeting her branch for no reason.
The thought of someone infiltrating didn''t even rue to her at all, because in her eyes the Nightmare Ghosts Organization was invincible and not just her, everyone thought the same.
Because their bases were deeply hidden and even if someone by any chance stumbled upon one they would be instantly dealt with and by any chance in a million that person managed to escape, they won''t even know what thing target them.
No one sane enough would dare to return or even if they came back with help, the branches had many methods to deal with anyone as long as they were not Silver River Core Cultivators which was also night impossible!
''I''ll naturally discover after I capture that lying bastard!'' The branch master sneered coldly as she took out an ebony, jade-like formation te.
This was the main formation te that controlled all the formations imnted in this branch. Every branch master had one.
She quickly locked the entire facility so the ''inspector'' won''t run away, and even his ghost token will not work now.
Branch Master active more formations inside the facility to make sure the other party won''t resist, she didn''t have to do anything at all, just these formations were enough to even threaten a Bronze core cultivator!
That''s why no one dares to assassinate those geniuses because once caught it was impossible to escape the branch master''s wrath.
With her most powerful subordinates, who seemed to be all females by their figures, she marched toward the inspector''s resting chamber with clear disdain and mockery in her beautiful eyes.
They all were safe from those formations because they had the protection of the main formation te.
"Great ''Inspector'' pleasee out for a little chat." She calmly said, with a hint of scorn in her mellow voice.
Every woman beside her was staring coldly at the closed door. They were all fuming because someone dare to make a fool out of them and nearly seed!
However, no one came out of the room, the door remained tightly closed.
Branch Master''s eyes narrowed as she emitted killing intent and threaten sternly, "I know who you are and if you don''te out, I''ll be forced to activate the formation inside your room. I just want to end this peacefully, but if you dare to resist, I''ll kill you since it would be considered self-defense!"
Still, no reply came.
"Branch Master, why are you waiting? Open the door!" One of the women behind her spoke fiercely.
"Hmph!" Branch Master just wanted to know who was targeting her branch, but it seemed it wasn''t possible. After all, she knew an assassin would never open their mouth this was a part of their training even it means death, ''Well, it was worth trying at least.''
She used the main formation and opened the door, however, to everyone''s shock the room was empty!
"Where is he? Why didn''t the formation detect him?" Branch Master mumbled with incredulity.
"M-maybe he''s already done the deed and escaped?" Someone timidly spoked.
"No, all the young ones were fine, I just checked." Retort someone.
"It''s impossible to move around without my knowledge and no one exit the facility, I was monitoring this person all the time!" Branch Master was also perplexed.
"Then how did he vanish like a ghost?"
Everyone was bewildered by this because they knew even the bronze river core cultivators can''t leave these formations without sounding the rm.
"I suddenly had a terrible feeling about this¡" Someone spoke with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"Scatter and check every corner, he had to be here somewhere. He just used some kind of treasure to escape the formation detection. No one leaves until we found him!" Branch Master sternlymanded with a grave tone.
Although it was possible to fool the detection formation, it was impossible to fool a bunch of formation, besides these kinds of treasures were all in the hands of ck level assassins.
Branch Master''s mood was gloomy because things were getting moreplicated with each second!
After sending everyone to search for the missing ''inspector'' she decided to check the treasury, after all, her branch''s entire resources were there and if that person wasn''t here for the youngsters then he was here for treasury!
''But it''s impossible to break open a seven-star runic treasury, even for silver river core cultivators!'' She refused to believe that it could happen.
She stopped in front of an ordinary wall and looked around vigntly, after confirming no one was following her, she used the same formation te and a hidden door appeared from the in wall.
Furthermore, she opened the door with the formation and entered a dark corridor.
''Sigh¡ I was too paranoid just before.'' She looked at another green wall at the end of the corridor and sighed in relief, ''Well, now that I''m here I might check it entirely just make sure.''
Branch Master used the formation te and the greenstone wall changed into a green metallic door with many mysterious runes filling its four sides.
Branch Master took a small crystal key and put it inside a keyhole right at the center of this runic door.
The door made small clicking sounds, with a final resounding click the door creak opened in slow motion.
However, the familiar sight of glittering treasures didn''t greet the Branch Master as she expected. She was instantly rooted in her ce like a statue with wildly opened eyes on the verge of popping out of their ce.
She saw right on the very front wall of the treasury, a vivid three-meter dark mural of an imposing Owl that was speeding its sharp de-like wings!
Branch Master''s entire body trembled like a leaf in the wind when she saw the owl mural. How could she not know about the famous owl symbol of a person who was wanted by entire middle-levelnds and three giants?
There was only one person who dare to use this symbol, and he was also the only one who can make it so shy.
Even though she didn''t want to believe it, the impossible had happened, and the owl mural was the tangible evidence of it.
With bloodshot eyes, Branch Master shrill roared in a hoarse voice filled with a massive grievance, fury, confusion, and helplessness, rang in the entire Nightmare Ghosts Branch of Leap Kingdom,
"YOU THIEVISH SON OF A BITCH¡ SKY STEALER, I''LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
The very next moment thereafter, she spat a huge amount of blood!
Chapter 241 - Shopping…what?!
While the Nightmare Ghosts Organization, Leap Kingdom''s Branch Master was almost infuriated to death.
The reason for her indignant was leisurely sitting hundreds of miles away inside an abandoned cave while roosting some demonic beast meat and drinking Jade Wine!
Ace was looking at the notification panel in front of him that he received after robbing the Nightmare Ghost branch''s treasury two hours ago. He was busy ''leaving'' the ce, so he doesn''t have time to see what rewards he got.
=====
[Notification Panel]
[A target''s treasury had been theft]
{Reward: 20,000TP}
---
[One Low-level Thievery has been added to Thievery Count]
[Low-level Thievery: 2,746]
---
[Thief Point(s): 2,793,400]
---
[Mission Panel]
[Opportunity Makes a Thief]
[Mission: Theft everything from Three Giants'' ten main branches in Top Ten Kingdoms of Middle-Level Lands.]
{Progress:1/30}
[Rewards based on Host Performance]
{Three Hidden Rewards}
{Time Left: 9, Years & 2, Months}
{Mission Failure Punishment: System Shop closing for 200 Years!}
======
Ace doesn''t react much to seeing the reward because he knew after the thief rank advancement; the system has increased the reward evaluation procedure. Because if he had robbed this branch before his thief rank advancement, this thievery would''ve been middle-level one, not just low-level.
Nevertheless, he had amodated an ample amount of TP before his rank advancement, and he still had 29 targets and all the middle-levelnds to theft from. He was confident no one could stop him as long as they weren''t a Bronze River Core Cultivator.
Just like what happened to Nightmare Ghosts'' Branch a few hours ago, he easily fooled those assassins and even ''clean'' the treasury in less than an hour after they took their eyes off of him.
With soul-shattering eyes, he can enter and leave any formation as long as it wasn''t a grade-2 or perfect, and he knew this was impossible!
The mission that was almost seemed impossible before was now a breeze for Ace after he entered the Heavenly Dark Sea realm.
Ace enjoyed the meal after he was done with the notification panel, he didn''t remember when was thest time he was this rxed and enjoy a proper meal.
Although after a cultivator enter the Qi river realm they didn''t need to drink, sleep, or eat anything as long as they had Qi and Qi stone to replenish it. Furthermore, the lifespan of a Qi river cultivator was also 500 years long.
But some cultivators still relished the high-quality delicacies and beverages.
Just like Ace, he was a mortal before stepping in the path of cultivation and because of his poor background, he always ate cheap and insipid food with reserved, so he could save money for rainy days.
However, now he was as rich as someone could be, and he knew he would not stop anytime soon. That''s why he likes dining while traveling, he stopped by and eats anything that caught his fancy. He even had some good cooking books about how to cook a demonic beast, it wasn''t a big deal for him to remember all of them.
Furthermore, he felt more human by eating and drinking once in a while; he believes as a human he should preserve and never forget humanly natural habits and be mindless ves to power.
After he was done with a hearted meal, he didn''t leave immediately and practiced the skills that he typically used, like his swords skills and technique, which still didn''t show any sign of entering the second realm even after he found a way to lose the bottleneck. It was as if he was still missing something very important, but he don''t know what.
However, his ruin crafting was apletely different story because he could feel he can be a Tier-1 Heavenly Rune Crafter as soon as he mastered everything he learned with his Heavenly Wind Soul Qi.
He was already halfway done and in one or two days he was confident in covering everything. He was looking forward to the reward that the system didn''t give him before, Basic-Talisman Crafting Technique!
After he was done with his daily routine. An excited smile surfaced on Ace''s face as he mumbled, "I almost forgot about that, it''s time for shopping!"
"System, open the shop for me!" Acemanded with a huge grin on his face.
====
[System Shop]
{Avable Skill Books}
{Avable Techniques}
{Avable Weapons}
{Avable Pills}
====
The familiar system shop panel appeared in front of Ace''s eyes.
Acepletely ignored the skill section since he had already emptied itst time and said, "Open Techniques section!"
====
[Avable Techniques]
[Soul Words {Despair Manual}]
{Price: 50,000TP}
[Heaven''s Stealer Disassembler Manual {First Vol}]
{Price: 100,000TP}
====
"I want to buy everything!" Ace said, like a rich scion. Before he didn''t have enough TP or one could say he didn''t even have any TP to buy these expensive techniques.
But now, he can empty the system shop without even looking at the prices.
However, the system''s next reply almost made him puke blood,
"[The system shop is not avable at this moment. Please upgrade the system!]"
"WHAT?!" Ace almost had a stroke while his expression was cloudy.
Ace gritted his teeth and asked with indignation, "Then why the hell you open the damn thing if it was unavable?"
"[To let host, see.]"
Ace''s face was as dark as charcoal after hearing his, and he pursed his lips while yelling at the system, "You did it on fucking purpose, right?!"
However, no reply came, which made Ace even more credulous that the system had pranked him. But s, he can do nothing but fume in resentment.
Now, that his shopping n had gone down to drain, he wasn''t in the mood of rxing anymore, and he felt even more urgency to upgrade the ck-hearted system.
Because there were many things in the shop that he was nning to raise his strength further, like those Low-Grade Insight Pills that can instantly raise any skill proficiency by a single stage!
His only relief was he still had those leftover grade-one pills he purchased before heavenly punishment.
But he was still determined toplete the system mission as soon as possible!
Chapter 242 - Next Target!
The Royal Leap City of Leap Kingdom.
The city was bursting with activities like usual, but if someone was a local, they could tell there was something strange going on because the city was filled with patrolling guards. If someone caused even a little bit ofmotion, that person will instantly detain with no question asked.
The city gates were also tightly closed, and no one could enter without a thorough inspection of their belonging including storage rings and even their appearances were analyzed with different scanning treasures.
This was going on for over a month now, and it was all started after the incident of earthen mist forest.
Some people believe all this security was because the Leap King was afraid of someone, while others believed this security against the newly rising organization, Sky Stealer Society.
Speaking of which, just about a week ago, the Sky Stealer Society finally made a move after its founding. They robbed a dukedom of a 2nd-grade kingdom which was ranked 28th in the kingdom''s ranking!
However, they weren''t as slick as their ''Lord'', Sky Stealer, in the end, they were noticed by guards, and they caught five of their members.
But, they still managed to theft the entire treasury of the dukedom because the guards weren''t able to recover stolen treasures. Furthermore, the confined members instantlymit suicide so no one can get the information out of them.
They even used the same type of owl symbol that Sky Stealer used and imprint it on the treasury wall of that dukedom''s treasury. But it wasn''t as vivid as the real thing and cruder, but no one cared though, as long as it was a dark owl.
The owl somehow bes the symbol of Sky Stealer now!
This news rocked the entire middle-levelnds, and every noble knew things were slowly going out of their hands if they didn''t stop this organization of thieves.
But all of their efforts were in vain, and they could only increase securities around their domains and fume, nothing else.
At this moment, a tall and athletic, handsome man, in a royal blue long trench coat was sitting in the Jade Pavilion of Leap City.
Seemingly, he was in his early thirties, with dark blonde, long hair, 6 feet height, and light blue eyes shining with brilliance.
Currently, on the handsome face of this tall man, a faint frown could be seen as he looked at a dossier.
On the cover of this dossier were three words, ''Sky Stealer Society''.
''Sigh¡'' A gentle sigh escaped his mouth before he muttered under his breath, "Just when did I form such an organization? And why the hell they''re using my name and thief symbol, just create your own if you want one!"
This handsome man was apparently Ace in his face 5 disguise of that purple assassin, without his mask of course.
He entered the leap city just two days ago and when he was strolling around the city he heard about this new organization which had his name.
This obviously draw his attention and after some investigation and buying some information from an information broker, he was astonished by these people who founded this organization of thieves.
He never thought he would one day ''inspired'' so many people to walk the path of a thief, and those members seemed quite faithful to their cause as well.
Although, he didn''t mind other people using his name to create a thief organization since it will only increase his fame.
But when he learned people dying and most of them were youngsters because of this meaningless cause, this made him ufortable since they were following his footsteps.
Ace hadplicated emotions about this organization and those people joining it, even if he wasn''t the one who founded this organization, he was the cause and this entire organization idolize him like some hero.
"Who would''ve thought, people want to be thieves of their own free will and I started all this. Sight¡" Ace sighed bitterly, "Well, it''s not my problem, since they started all this, they can handle the consequences. As long as they didn''t interfere with me, they can do whatever they want for all I care."
Ace''s eyes turned sharp as ck lightning shot out from his finger and cover the entire dossier like a cocoon and when he retracted it, the dossier waspletely turned to ashes.
After enjoying his lunch in Jade Pavilion, he ''refiled1'' his Jade Wine sk and left toward the exit gate of the city since he was already done with his purpose here.
Ace had already collected the information he needed from the Leap City, and this was also the reason for stopping here. He got quite useful memories from this purple assassin, like locations of information brokers and ck markets.
Theirwork was quite wide and this cover entire middle-levelnds. As long as you had a password and money, you can buy any type of information or even a person''s information if you had the correct identity.
Even Ace had to admit thiswork was quite useful, especially for assassins.
If those ghosts know their secretwork was benefiting Ace now, they would undoubtedly call him shameless and a thief, which he already was, so he didn''t care as long as he got what he required.
Money was the only number for Ace now!
---
After two days, at night,
The beast city was a few tens of miles south of Royal Leap City.
The Beast City was quiterge, but it wasn''t asrge as the leap city, but it was still magnificent with many towering beast statues around the city.
Only organization members could enter this city and only guests who had invitations can step inside and without it, even the Leap King had to go right back from where he came from!
In the center of the Beast City was the Beast Manor where the overseer of this ce lived, a peak stage Qi river Beastmaster!
Inside the Beast Manor, it was quiterge and only servants and some beast masters could enter this ce.
However, unbeknownst to those beast tamers, someone has already infiltrated the Beast Manor without alerting the guards or ticking the rm or any formation.
Who could it be, but Ace, who was here for the Beast Calling Organization Treasury!
Ace meticulously probed the old beast master''s memories without even alerting him, it was also quite easy since he found him strolling around the manor''s garden!
He already collected information about this old beastmaster from leap city and know his face since he was quite famous.
Now, Ace was already moving toward the treasury area.
Ace stopped outside a deeply hidden room, but he didn''t open the door or even look at it as the matter of fact, and only squatted.
With no dy, Ace''s finger shimmer as pressed on the ground and dip in the solid ground like it was made of water. The very next moment, a clicking sound rang, and a circr metallic door appeared beneath his feet!
''Heh, at least they were creative about it¡'' Ace sneered mockingly and opened the underground door.
There was a metaldder going underground after he descended thedder he reached an underground corridor lit with white light and at the end of this corridor was a two-meter golden door!
With a faint smile, Ace moved toward the golden door. Just like before, he used his treasure-opening hands and the golden door opened!
Inside, were a thirty-cubic-meter spacious room filled with Qi stones, pills, manuals, weapons, and there was something new this time, he saw a shelf at the very end of this treasury, and it was filled with colorful eggs!
Ace''s eyes narrowed, as he examines those colorful eggs with his white pupils, because of soul-shattering eyes, and was a little astonished because of faint life fluctuationsing from those eggs!
''Well, what do you expect from an organization that deals with beasts? I wonder if I can incubate those eggs and tame them like those beast tamers!''
Ace''s eyes shimmered with expectation as he looked toward those eggs and then his eyes shifted towards those manuals which were rted to beast taming since they were stored in this treasury!
With no further pause, he start ''working'' and after five minutes the entire treasury was ''shinning clean''.
Ace saw the dark owl mural emerging, but there weren''t any letters between its wings, which means it wasn''t middle-level thievery.
=====
[A target''s treasury had been theft]
{Reward: 25,000TP}
---
[One Low-level Thievery has been added to Thievery Count]
[Low-level Thievery: 2,747]
---
[Thief Point(s): 2,818,400]
---
[Mission Panel]
{Progress:2/30}
======
Slightly disappointed, he left the treasury after closing every door carefully.
Now, without entering this treasury, no one could tell it was already empty!
Just as he entered the Beast Manor with no hindrance, he left in the same manner as well.
However, Ace didn''t stop for a stroll and left the Beast City and goes toward his next target, the me City, which was half a day''s walk from this ce! You know what I mean. XD
Chapter 243 - Tier-1 Heavenly Rune Crafter!
The me City was of Leap Kingdom wasn''t as magnificent as its counterpart in the Damien Kingdom, nevertheless, it was the biggest city of Leap Kingdom, and it was the den of pill business.
There was only one Blue Alchemist in this city, and he was also the overseer of this ce, a Pill Master. There also wasn''t any me Pce in this city, but there was a Pill Mansion.
Furthermore, there wasn''t any token requirement for entry, but the entry fee was off the charts and alchemists here charge an arm and leg for their services, but no one dare toin.
However, at this moment, the me city was under tight security, and entry was only given to merchants who had shops in the city, no one else.
At this moment, arge caravan filled with different cargoes entered the me city, after a throughout-search. However, no one seemed to notice or see a person in the hoodying leisurely on top of a carriage roof.
''Finally, inside.'' Ace opened his shut eyes with a faint smile.
He was using this method for quite a while now because in stealth those inferior treasures were no longer a threat to him after his big breakthrough.
''I should do it after my breakthrough.''
Ace decided since it was already dawn, and he was a ''night yer'', besides, he was on the verge of a breakthrough in tier-1 rune crafter. He was looking forward to it for a long time, and he can''t wait to unlock and study the Basic-Talisman Crafting Technique!
With a thought, Ace''s trainee hood started to change into a long ck trench coat while the hood merged on the back creating a ''V'' shape golden ne on the coat back and the embroidered owl vanished without a trace.
Ace was quite satisfied with this system reward since he could change it into anything he liked as long as he could imagine it, but it had to be a coat, though.
Furthermore, it can''t get dirty and dust seemed to don''t even touched its fiber, and don''t forget about the self-repair function.
Although it didn''t have any defensive features, just these few qualities made it irreceable in Ace''s heart.
After Ace was done with his makeover, he found a random Inn and rent thergest room avable.
He set many formations in the room before taking out many Rune Crafting Equipment like rune crafting brush, a special jade table for crafters, runic tes, and many ingredients such as herbs, and ores. He engrossed himself in rune crafting.
With a serious expression, Ace picked up a nk runic te and ce it in the center of the Jade Table.
After that he pick up the exquisite foot-long blue brush which was a six-star runic treasure, he ''got'' it from the storage ring of thatdy rune crafter.
However, if one looked carefully at the exquisite brush, one could see many small cracks as if it was on the verge of breaking. It was because of Ace''s heavenly soul Qi; these treasures can''t endure his Heavenly Soul Qi for much longer before breaking.
This gave Ace a headache, and he could only put his hopes on the system shop. He knew eventually the system might sell him a rune crafting brush or who knows he might get it as a reward for reaching tier one, he just had to wait and see.
Ten orange soul Qi threads were released from the brush''s head and with his meticulous control, those soul threads skewer eight different herbs and two ores.
Ace suddenly released arge amount of soul Qi and his ten soul threads started to engross those skewer ingredients like a glob of orange mass. The very next moment thereafter, strange ashes rose from those orange globs like steam.
After a few seconds, the ash stem stopped, Ace, controlled those globs and slowly started tobine them one by one in a special order.
Strangely, the orange glob didn''t erge after mixing, on the contrary, it shrunk!
After all the globs were mixed, only a thumb-size glob remained.
With no hesitation, Ace stabbed the brush tip into the small orange glob, and when he retraced it the white brush head was ck as if it was dipped into ink! Furthermore, the orange glob was reduced in size!
This was the Heavenly Rune Crafting technique first level which further broke into three steps; Cleansing, Order Combination, and Ink Condensing!
With a solemn expression, Ace moved the runic brush which waspletely enveloped in his soul Qi on the runic te. With each brushstroke, a deep ck cut would appear on the nk runic te as if it was a knife cut, not just a mere brushstroke.
Ace quickly create a Wind symbol and the ink waspletely exhausted. He didn''t stop and again dip the brush in the condensed ink glob, and after the second time; it was only left for onest dip.
He created the fire symbol right below the wind symbol, which exhausted the ink again. With thest dip, the ink glob waspletely gone.
Ace started to create thest and a new type of symbol which wasn''t an element symbol because it was an auxiliary rune from Basic Myriad Runic Structural Encyclopedia which was used forbining the two symbols.
He always failed on this step, but today he was determined toplete it!
As his hand moved like lightning, many small ant-like symbols were formed, creating a small chain-like impression between two element symbols!
When the auxiliary symbol wasplete, the brush in Ace''s hand finally couldn''t take it anymore and shattered.
But, Ace didn''t even notice it as his entire focus was on the runic te, which was shining brightly as its color kept changing between red and blue. And only stopped when it turnedpletely purple.
Ace''s eyes shimmered with tion when he saw the jade-like purple runic te, "I finally seed!"
However, before he could celebrate any further, the runic te began to wither at a fast pace and the next moment itpletely turned to dust!
"What happened?" Ace frowned with befuddlement.
Chapter 244 - Heavenly Rune Crafter Panel!
"What happened?"
Ace was perplexed when he examined thepletely withered runic te and mused, ''Was it destroyed because that was a perfect symbol made by Heavenly Wind Soul Qi? Then doesn''t that mean I can''t create perfect arrays and formations with usual runic tes, or did I do something wrong?''
This was the only possible exnation he could think of because he clearly knew just what a perfect symbol indicated and if he wanted to create a perfect symbol, then he needed the perfect materials for it as well.
Just like the runic tes, they were made by crafters and worldly Qi, so how could it withstand Ace''s heavenly soul Qi?
Before he thought of this problem, he didn''t ponder on this matter since he wasn''t able to create thosebined symbols nor did he use his heavenly soul Qi and only draw single symbols with light soul Qi.
Now, what he was most afraid of had finally happened.
''Do I have to learn crafting as well and create my runic tes?'' Ace was depressed and helpless in this matter.
Just he was about to try drawingbined symbols with light soul Qi, system''s static voice rang in his mind like a morning bell.
=====
[Congrattion Host on achieving the rank of Tier-1 Heavenly Rune Crafter!]
=====
Ace''s eyebrow raised a little since he never expected his failure would be deemed a sess by the system, however just when he thought bitterly, ''There weren''t any rewards this time!'' the system voice rang again.
=====
[All conditions have been satisfied!]
[Heavenly Rune Crafter Panel has been unlocked!]
{Heavenly Talisman Function of Heavenly Rune Crafter Panel has been unlocked}
{Reward: Intermediate-Talisman Crafting Technique}
---
[The previous reward, Basic-Talisman Crafting Technique, has been released]
---
[Please check the main interface]
=====
Ace was pleasantly surprised by this sudden development as his heart raced, ''I never expected to get this massive reward!''
He knew what an entirely new panel represent; it was something big just like the thief panel, and he didn''t have to clear any mission to get this as well.
With ecstasy, he opened the system''s main interface, where a new blinking icon has appeared beside the thief panel icon. It was a unique symbol representing the rune crafter panel.
Without any further dy, he quickly opened the new icon and apletely new panel appeared in front of him.
=====
[Heavenly Rune Crafter Panel]
Rune Crafter Rank: Tier-1
Rune Crafter Trademark: Coin
Rune Crafter Colophon: Thief Symbol
---
{Talisman Section} (UNLOCK)
{Array Section} (LOCK)
{Formation Section} (LOCK)
{UNKNOWN Section} (LOCK)
=====
Ace was intrigued by the Rune Crafter Trademark and Rune Crafter Colophon. He didn''t know about the coin was about, but what the thief symbol represented, he knew.
As he studied the new panel further, his eyes shone with ambiguity, ''Why is there''s an unknown section?'' He didn''t know nor did he care any longer since there were still two sections grayed out, and he had to unlock them before it.
Before he considered Talisman some powerful formation technique, but after seeing the formation was still locked, this implied Talisman was somethingpletely different and new.
Furthermore, he still didn''t get any information about those two techniques, which means those two rewards were part of this section, not for him. ''Well, as long as I had the system, they''re mine, period!''
However, he was thoroughly wrong because the moment he tried to open the talisman section, a tremendous amount of information was released by the system into his brain like a tidal wave.
Ace was caught off guard, but he was ustomed to memory transactions and quickly focus on the iing memories. But he still underestimated the quantity of the information the system released, and finally felt the pain of brain splitting.
However, after he got about ten percent part of the massive information, the remaining ny percent was sealed by the system inside his knowledge sea just like the rune crafting technique.
Nevertheless, just ten percent was enough for Ace to take six hours before he managed to turn the information into his own.
The moment Ace tightly shut eyes were opened, astonishment was all over his face and a hint of excitement could be seen in his eyes.
"So, this what a talisman is, no wonder I never heard about it before." Ace mumbled with a hint of tion in his voice.
Ace got the information about the basic talisman crafting technique just know, it was divided into three parts meant for the first three tiers (1 to 3) of heavenly rune crafter.
He only got the information about the tier one talisman crafting techniques while the other two parts were locked and as he would advance his crafter rank, they would be unlocked.
Furthermore, he also got the information about the other three tiers (4 to 6) of talisman, it was his new reward, the intermediate talisman crafting technique.
As for reaming (7 to 12) tiers, he just knows they exist but doesn''t know when he would get them.
However, he didn''t think much about them yet, since he was far away from tier-7 andpletely focused on the tier-one talisman crafting technique.
Actually, the talisman creating was another branch of rune cratering, and it was also unique and difficult, that''s why very few people would practice it. Because the method was just too difficult, and the materials rted to it were also quite precious.
Furthermore, it was only a one-time use item and can''t be used again and again like array or formation. However, which made it unique and scary as it didn''t need any time to be active and anyone can use it as long as someone had just a sliver of Qi!
Talismanse in different forms like charms, amulets, totems, idols, papers, and many other things, but Ace only got the method to create coin talismans. It was a trademark of a thief!
''So, I can either create one on my own or¡'' Acemanded, "System open Talisman Section."
This time the talisman section was opened without any further surprises!
Chapter 245 - Please Upgrade…
''So, I can either create one on my own or¡'' Acemanded with a hint of excitement, "System open Talisman Section."
This time the talisman section was opened without any sudden surprises.
=====
[Talisman Creation Section]
Heavenly Talisman Avable: 3 (Tier-1)
Worldly Talisman: Avable: 10 (Tier-1)
=====
Ace wasn''t surprised by this distribution because he already knew the method of creating these 13 talismans and the more he improved his rune crafting, the more talisman he would unlock in the future.
Without any further dy he opened the Heavenly Talisman, he wanted to know just what kind of difference this panel made, and he knew he can only create a heavenly talisman with this panel help, or he might suffer another result like his firstbination symbol.
Besides, the heavenly talisman was closely rted to his heavenly soul element, meaning, he can only create Heavenly Talismans rted to wind whether such a restriction wasn''t on the worldly talisman, he can create any element talisman as long as he had the method, structure, andbination of correct symbols.
=====
[Heavenly Talisman]
Tier: 1
Avable: 3
---
Wind sh: Soul & Martial Attack Talisman
{Effect: sh with invisible soul wind}
{Limitation: River Core Realm (Martial & Soul)}
{Materials Required: One Million Qi-Stones High-level, Demonic Beast Core of Wind Element Demonic Beasts (River Realm), Aura Flower, Hallow Ore¡}
{Creation Cost: 1,000 TP}
---
Gale Arrow: Soul & Martial Attack Talisman
{Effect: Shot anyone in 1000-Meter Range with a soul arrow}
{Limitation: River Core Realm (Martial & Soul)}
{Materials Required: Ten Million Qi-Stones High-level, Five Demonic Beast Core of Wind Element Demonic Beasts (River Realm), Ten Gale Lilies, Two Storm Flowers¡}
{Creation Cost: 1,500 TP}
---
Wind de Storm: Soul & Martial Attack Talisman
{Effect: Create a storm of wind des in a fifty-meter radius}
{Limitation: River Core Realm (Martial & Soul)}
{Materials Required: 50 Million Qi-Stones High-level, Ten Demonic Beast Core of Wind Element Demonic Beasts (River Real), Ten Gale Lilies, Two Storm Flowers¡}
{Creation Cost: 5,000 TP}
=====
Ace''s scalp tingled the moment he saw materials for three heavenly talismans because just those wind-element demonic beast cores were enough to give him a huge headache, much less those rare herbs and ores.
A beast core was formed in a demonic beast when it reached the Qi river realm or soul river realm, however, it was extremely rare. The chance of a beast core appearing in a demonic beast was one in a ten thousand!
Furthermore, he didn''t know where to find those wind element beasts.
Although he knew the materials from the memories he got before he opened the panel, he never expected the system requirements to be the same, and it was even charging him TP!
He didn''t mind paying the system for heavenly talismans since their attacking prowess was quite high, but he didn''t know where to find those materials.
With a bitter smile, he opened the Worldly Talisman section to see if there was anything different, or it was also the same.
====
[Worldly Talisman]
Tier: 1
Avable: 10
---
Earthen Sword Spikes: Martial Attack Talisman
{Creation Cost: 10 Million High Qi Stones & 100 TP}
---
Fire Arrow: Soul Attack Talisman
{Creation Cost: 20 Million High Qi Stones, 1000 Peak Qi Stones, & 150 TP}
---
Blinding Fire: Martial & Soul Attack Talisman
{Creation Cost: 15 Million High Qi Stones, 1000 Peak Qi Stones, & 100 TP}
---
Earth Golem: Martial Attack Talisman
{Creation Cost: 25 Million High Stones & 200 TP}
---
Water Bullet: Martial Attack Talisman
{Creation Cost: 5 Million High Stones & 50 TP}
---
Wind Bullet: Soul Attack Talisman
{Creation Cost: 10 Million High Stones, 500 Peak Qi Stones, & 100 TP}
---
Water Barrier: Defensive Soul Talisman
{Creation Cost: 50 Million High Stones, 10,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 500 TP}
---
Earth Wall: Defensive Martial Talisman
{Creation Cost: 40 Million High Stones, 5,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 400 TP}
---
Gale sh: Soul and Martial Attack Talisman
{Creation Cost: 50 Million High Stones, 5,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 450 TP}
---
Fire-Wind Explosion: Soul and Martial Attack Talisman
{Creation Cost: 100 Million High Stones, 20,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 1,000 TP}
=====
Ace''s eyes suddenly glow like torches when he saw the worldly talisman section and mumbled in excitement, "So, unlike me, the system doesn''t need materials for worldly talisman creation. Even though it would cost me Qi stones and TP, it''s much better than searching for those materials."
What Ace doesn''tck were Qi stones and TP at the moment!
However, his expression suddenly changed when he remembered something he didn''t want to and asked while holding his breath while feeling amiss, "Um¡system this heavenly rune crafter panel¡is active, I mean, I can use it, right?"
"[¡ NO, Please Upgrade¡}"
"FUCK YOU!" Ace didn''t let the system even finish before he starts cursing, since he knew the next phase of the system''s ''famous sentence''!
"What the point of unlocking all this if I can''t even use the fucking thing!" Ace wanted to strangle someone.
He finally understood the feeling of possessing a mountain of gold but being too weak to take it!
"[System has already released the talisman technique information, so the host could make them himself.]"
"Shut up!" Ace wasn''t in the mood for squabbling with the system anymore.
Even though the system was telling the truth, and he can create those talismans himself, he was missing many materials.
Furthermore, now that he knew, the system can do the rune crafting for him as long as he raised his rank to higher levels and without failing. He preferred the system.
However, that upgrade has be the biggest obstacle in his way and he needed to clear it as soon as possible.
In a sullen mood, Ace looked outside, and it was already getting dark. After cleaning the room, he checked out the Inn and directly moved toward the Pill Mansion.
''I can''t give up on those talismans so easily, and who knows I might find some materials for one or two Worldly Talismans in this city since it''s the me city of alchemy. It would be extremely disappointing if they didn''t even have materials for one worldly talisman.''
With some expectant and hope, Ace''s walking figure slowly vanished in the streets of me City without even a trace of him left.
However, he didn''t know someone in the high-levelnds has alreadypleted his absorption of memories and experience of his cultivation clone and was just about to head toward middle-levelnds!
Chapter 246 - Approaching Enemy!
Far West of the high-levelnds waspletely barren, there wasn''t any trace of life. The reason for this abnormally being the sky-changing border between middlends and highnds was located here.
Furthermore, the sky-changing border here wasn''t like the low-sky changing border between middlends and lownds, because even if someone had a sky-changing pass they can still die while crossing it!
The reason for this cause was unknown, but it all started over a hundred years ago when a powerful emperor tried to take control of this massive formation, as for the reason behind it, no one knows but the sky-changing borderpletely changed after that emperor enter the formation and never returned!
Now, the middle sky changing border can only be crossed between a particr period thatsts for three months and after that one had to wait for right months if they wanted to safely cross the sky changing border.
Furthermore, the sky-changing pass has be useless because anyone could travel freely as long as they knew when the safe period starts, but this secret wasn''t known to the public and only bigwigs knew about this shocking fact.
However, no one seemed to be interested in middlends besides three giants and one or two empires because the Qi density was just too low in thend of kingdomspared to thend of empires.
Right at this moment, a handsome middle-aged in the white emperor''s robes appeared just outside the barrier of the sky changing border like a ghost. He wore a mild smile while his long white hair fluttered in the wind as his blue eyes gave the feeling of a bottomless chasm.
Although this person looked in histe thirties, the air around him was as if he live for hundreds of years and there was a ghostly aura surrounding him, anyone with high enough cultivation would be scared shitless by this aura even when he was controlling it.
This white hair man was none other than, the Crimson Sword Emperor of Crimson Sword Empire, Gordon Crimson!
It didn''t just ''Gordon'' ck hair that turned white over a month, but Gordon was apletely different person altogether.
"Although this abandoned piece ofnd wasn''t worth much, I never expected there was still something like ghost sword monolith buried here. Even in Azure Maind, it would cause a storm if any sect got the wind of it.
"It nearly causes me to lose connection with this clone, but I had to thank little pup Ace when I see him for somehow destroying the connection between this chode and ghost sword monolith.
"Well, who would''ve thought, my caution of sending two of my ''Qi clone seeds'' to this abandonednds, so they could mature safely would turn out like this. One of them died and the other almost gain his freedom.
"But the rewards I''m going to gain after sacrificing one of my clones make it worth it!" White hair, Gordon chuckled sinisterly.
This person was none other than the Qi Soul Manifestation Realm Cultivator whose clone [Mathies] was killed by Ace in lownds a few years ago.
If not for the mysterious ghost sword monolith, this person would''ve descended to middle-levelnds three years ago.
Nevertheless, this person''s real identity was too shocking and his means, even more incredible.
"Well, little pup Ace now you had ghost sword monolith and the secret left behind by your parents on you, don''t die before my arrival!" Gordon said faintly, with a fiendish glint sh past his eyes as he stepped inside the sky-changing formation barrier with no hesitation.
If someone were to see this, they would''ve considered Gordon dead because there were still a few months left before the border be safe to cross.
---
While Gordon''s fate was unknown as he stepped inside the middle sky changing the border, Ace wasn''t sitting around leisurely.
It has already been one month since he theft the me City Treasury of Leap Kingdom.
Although the theft was quite easy, he found nothing helpful in his talisman making. This left him aggravated.
However, this doesn''t stop his steps, as this wasn''t the only theft he does in this month.
After he was done with the Leap Kingdom, he entered the Earth Kingdom and robbed the Nightmare Ghosts Branch since it was in his way, and to his surprise, they weren''t on guard against him like he thought.
This clearly implied that the Branch Master of Leap Kingdom didn''t tell anyone about this to hide her blunder and escape from punishment. This makes things easier for Ace.
Without any hitch, he was already done with the beast city and me city of earth kingdom, and they weren''t on guard against him either, which also meant they didn''t find out about the empty treasuries yet.
Right now, he was already in a Lion City of the Blue Kingdom which was at the edge of Blue Kingdom, he just reached here today.
As for why he was in this city, it was obviously for the Nightmare Ghosts Organization''s branch of Blue Kingdom. He was nning on going there at night.
Ace wasn''t even considering resting, since he was hell-bent onpleting his mission as soon as possible, so the system could be upgraded, and he could use all those functions again.
Just thinking about all those new functions, he can''t use, made him enraged and cursed silently.
However, something shocking happened this time when he got to the nightmare ghost''s hideout in the blue kingdom, it waspletely empty!
''So, that dwarf branch master of earth kingdom reported the incident back. Well, this is going to be troublesome now.''
Ace''s expression was unsightly. He never expected them to react this way, at most he presumed the branch master would carry the treasures on himself, but these assassins hadpletely abandoned their hideout.
''Sigh¡ being a thief is difficult.'' Ace sighed bitterly.
"Hey, system tell me now, if all those branches emptied their treasures and hide all their treasures or collect them in one ce, what would happen to my mission then?"
Chapter 247 - It’s Very Simple
Ace''s expression was unsightly. He never expected them to react this way, at most he presumed the branch master would carry the treasures on himself, but these assassins hadpletely abandoned their hideout.
''Sigh¡ being a thief is difficult.'' Ace sighed bitterly.
"Hey, system tell me now, if all those branches emptied their treasures and hide all their treasures or collect them in one ce, what would happen to my mission then?"
"[It doesn''t matter if someone hides, reposition, or even destroyed the treasures, that''s a thief''s job to predict all the circumstances before starting a theft. What would a thief do if someone moved or hide their entire wealth?]
"[It''s very simple, everything between heaven and earth can be theft as long as it exists. A thief just had to find a way to theft it. Just like right now, the host had to find those relocated treasures. It doesn''t matter if they all collected thirty treasures together, as long as the host theft them the mission will be deemedplete!]
"[Remembered host, it''s one of the irond creeds of Heaven''s Stealer, ''If Heaven''s Stealer start a thievery, it had to beplete no matter how tidiest,plex, or dangerous the theft is, Death is the only escape!'']"
''Gulp¡'' Ace couldn''t help but swallow a mouth full of saliva. He suddenly felt his heart race after he heard the creed of heaven''s stealer.
Ace even felt the system''s voice was somewhat chilly this time, despite being static as usual. ''Is system angry?''
Whatever it was, he didn''t dare to inquire anymore since he already got the answer to his question, and he also felt he learned something grave unknowingly.
''It seemed I have to hurry toward Beast City and me City before they do something like Nightmare Ghosts Organization.''
Ace quickly left the gloomy woods and headed toward the capital province of Blue Kingdom without stopping.
Fifteen dayster,
Inside an Inn''s room of Blue Royal City, Ace was sitting with a gloomy expression.
It was all because two days ago; he raided the me City of Blue Kingdom but to his daunt, the Pill Master with the entire treasury was missing from the Pill Mansion. If not for the second inmand''s memories, he would''ve wasted time while waiting.
Furthermore, Ace also got a piece of bad news from that alchemist''s memories.
It was not just me City''s Pill Master but the Beast City Beast Master was also with him, they both left together two weeks ago.
''They know!'' Ace''s expression was heavy as a mountain.
He could guess they were probably moving all the treasuries after they found out about the Earth Kingdom and the Leap Kingdom heist.
They probably deemed him unstoppable and extremely dangerous after his meticulous thieveries despite all those security measures and, finally, conclude collecting all the amodated treasures and hiding them somewhere he could never reach.
''If they move all those treasures in a single ce and hide them, I just had to find out those people who know about the location of the treasures. But where do I start from? It''s not like they would collect all the treasures in one ce, since they''re three different organizations.
''Furthermore, the knowledge of those three locations will probably only know by three or two extremely important personals or worse, only one person from each organization would know about it. Besides, they can also be more than three hidden locations.
''Since they know my methods, they would be fools if they left the treasures in a storage treasure. Sigh¡ this is bing moreplicated!'' He soughed continuously.
Ace felt his head hurt after thinking about all those possibilities and scenarios.
Thend of kingdoms was so big he would probably go mad from searching, and who knows they might transfer all those treasures to high-levelnds instead of hiding them in middle-levelnds.
Just thinking about this possibility make Ace sulk nonstop, and he knew; the chances of this scenario were highest!
---
While Ace was wrecking his brain on how he should proceed, somewhere inside a spacious room, four people were having a secret conference.
Well, it was more like ves reporting to their master since three of them were kneeling in front of a sitting, whiter hair man!
"My Lord, as per your order, we already gave themand to collect all the resources in every branch, and they all will arrive here in five more days." A man in a crimson mask, wearing ck clothing, respectfully reported with a hint of trepidation in his voice.
If anyone in middle-levelnds'' Nightmare Ghosts Organization saw this crimson mask man kneeling in front of an unknown person, they would be shocked silly because he was the third inmand of the Nightmare Ghosts Organization and only below two people, ''Elder ck'' and ''Vice Elder ck'' and above everyone else!
However, despite being in an extremely lofty position he was kneeling in front of this white hair man and one could even see him trembling so slightly as if he was facing a deity!
"Good, as long as you follow my directions I won''t mistreat you and even bestow some good fortune before my departure." The white hair man casually praised.
"Now, Little Pill and Little Beast-Driver, it''s your turn to show your usefulness like Little Child Killer here. If anything goes wrong, you know what will happen after I feel annoying." Utter the white hair man nonchntly, but those two old men kneeling beside ''Little Child Killer'' trembled like leaves in a stormy wind.
The ''little pill'' and ''little beast driver'' were none other than persons in charge of Pill me Organization and Beast Calling Organization right now, just like the assassin beside them!
As for how all these three extremely high and mighty bigwigs of three giants end up like some loyal dogs, it was all because of this white hair man who showed up over a month ago!
This white hair man was indeed none other than, Gordon!
Chapter 248 - The Start Of Mayhem (1)
After somehow leaving the middle sky changing border without even a scratch, Gordon moved toward the Damien Kingdom''s royal province. It was closest to the sky-changing border, and his destination was also happened to be in the same way.
Just at the outskirts of the royal province of Damien Kingdom was a marsnd filled with poisonous beasts and deathly fog.
Right at the center of this deathly marsnd was located the headquarters of Nightmare Ghosts Organization, Ghost City!
This city was protected by a powerful concealment formation, and only assassins with ghost tokens can find its location and enter it safely without being effective by any traps.
However, on this day, a white-haired man in emperor robes entered the ghost city without even caring about being seen by anyone.
He nonchntly moved while folding his hands behind his back. This was naturally Gordon.
Many assassins in their ck uniform and mask were bewildered by this white hair man walking in ghost city street so nonchntly as if he was on a stroll.
"Intruder Die!"
A deep voice rang in thin air as a sharp de wrapped in silver Qi instantly appeared behind Gordon''s neck.
"Hmph, preposterous!" Gordon only sneered, and a gray strike released from his finger directly prated the ck mask of this assassin.
''Thud¡''
The sound of a body falling on the ground rang in the silent street of Ghost City, but it wasn''t the white hair man''s, it was the assassin who sneak attacked him and on the back of his ck robes was written in white wording, it was ''REINFORCER''!
"Bastard, how dare you kill a Reinforcer so wantonly!" another enraged voice sounded.
However, this time no one attacked Gordon since he easily killed a reinforcer without even moving, he can kill others as well.
Reinforcers were supposed to be the strongest force of the organization and also the protectors of a ghost city, but this white hair man has killed him without breaking a sweat.
"Sir, we have no enmity with you, why did youe here?" A deep voice with a hint of trepidation sounded before a man in a crimson mask appeared ten meters away from Gordon.
He was currently the overseer of Ghost City, while others were still searching for two ck elders. But the search didn''t bear any fruit even now, and they were still considered missing, but no one dared to consider them dead.
"Cut the crap and tell me if there was any movement of Sky Stealer?" Gordon coolly stated.
The crimson mask assassin''s eyes shone with obscurity and said, "Yes, he appeared."
He was feeling apprehensive about this white hair man as his intuition hone in the killing was screaming at him to escape as far away from this man, or he will die. But he also knew he can''t escape no matter what, so he cooperated silently, and he wanted to handle this matter peacefully.
''Is this person from High-levelnds?'' The crimson mask assassin guessed since he never heard of this kind of terrifying individual in middle-levelnds.
"Give me the entire detail." Gordon''s eyes instantly lit up like a torch.
After the crimson assassin told him about the thieveries on their two hideouts without even a hint of shame.
"Interesting, go and investigate if he only theft Nightmare Ghosts Hideouts, with my understanding of him if he can theft your ce he will not stop just there when there''s bigger fish!" Gordon ordered the crimson masked assassin like he was ordering his dog.
Every assassin who heard this conversion was dumbfounded by this man''s fearlessness and the way their City Master treated him. But no one dare to speak since they knew something was amiss and even City Master didn''t dare to act rashly.
"Oh, someone cursed at me before, here''s your reward." Gordon suddenly looked in a particr direction, and a gray streak like lightning shot in that direction.
''Thud¡'' another body of a reinforcer fell the very next moment!
It was all happened in an instant that the crimson mask assassin didn''t have time to exin; the person was dead without even able to resist!
The city master''s eyes flicker with different emotions, between fear, shock, helplessness, he finally nodded slightly and respectfully replied, "Yes."
He knew this person was probably a terrifying existence even more horrifying than Elder ck, if he didn''t obey him the entire ghost city might be a real ghost city, literally!
After that, because of the nightmare ghosts'' investigation, the two giants also quickly search and found out their two cities were also theft. This greatly enraged the overseers, but they didn''t dare to release the news since it will make them theughingstock of the entirend of kingdoms and no one will fear them like before.
However, they didn''t know their biggest concern wasn''t the thief right now, it was Gordon, who ''visit'' me City and Beast City one by one and quickly took control of them like Ghost City!
After that Gordon, order those three giants to collect all the treasures and take them to a special ce he also emptied the Damien Kingdom treasuries of three giants!
After just over a month,
"My Lord, the treasures had beenpletely collected in one ce." ''Little Pill'' quickly reported respectfully.
"Good, very good." Gordon nodded in delight as he continued, "Spread the news in all over the middlends, ''All the treasures of three giants are collected in a ce a few miles away from the Golden Hammered Kingdom''s capital city. If Sky Stealer had guts,e and take them!"
Little Pill''s entire body quivered as his old face was filled with stupefaction and incredulity, he didn''t think this ''Lord'' would do something this crazy and used this kind of bait for a mere thief.
Because all those treasuresbined were enough to rival any top three empires'' wealth, and now this man was using it as a mere bait!
"Y-yes my¡ lord." Still, he didn''t dare to disobey, he knew just how terrifying this man was because he single-handily cut opened the formation of me Pce when he visited!
However, what no one knows was in Gordon''s eyes all those seemingly precious treasures were just scraps, nothing else. He was only interested in Ace and his possessions!
Chapter 249 - The Start Of Mayhem (2)
Today wasn''t like any tranquil day in middle-levelnds because of an astonishing announcement released by none other than three giants altogether!
Furthermore, this was more like a challenge than an announcement since it was only for one person and that was none other than the mysterious thief, Sky Stealer.
The content of the announcement was like this,
___
"The self-proimed thief, Sky Stealer, is continually being a degenerate while defying thews and authorities which maintain the peace of middle-levelnds and because of him, the peace of these beautifulnds were on the brink of shattering.
"That''s why we, the three giants,e together and decided to end this game once and for all before the degenerate thief targeted and hurt the innocents.
"Right now, all the resources and treasures of three giants are umted together in the form of a ''Treasure Mountain'' in a field just a few miles away from Golden Hammered Kingdom''s capital city, waiting for the degenerate thief for Ny Days.
"If the degenerate thief can theft all the treasures then it will be three giants lose, and we''ll leave the middle-levelnds while if those treasures remain intact he had to surrender himself and received the punishment for all his crimes.
"Anyone cane and verify the authority of treasure mountain; the treasure mountain is as real as it could be!
"Did Sky Stealer dare ept the verdict ande?"
___
Everyone was discussing this shocking challenge released by three giants.
"Man, this is a massive trap set by those three giants. They''re finally making their move!" A man mored while walking.
"Heh, what do you expect from the most powerful authorities of middle-levelnds, once they move they''ll move like this!" The second man gloat.
"Hmph¡they''re just afraid since they can''t deal with him and the newly rising organization of thieves. Who knows if those treasures were all real or fake, right, I''m still not believing it! Who in their right mind collect all those treasures in one ce and then invite the most talented thief to theft them!" the third man sneered disdainfully at both of his friends.
This kind of heated discussion can be heard all over the middle-levelnds.
Some were sneering at three giants for being so shameless, while some were pouring more oil on fire and calling the sky stealer with all kinds of vulgarities to ept the challenge.
Everyone knew if Sky Stealer shy away from this challenge, his invincible fame would go down to the gutter and the three giants would regain their dignity again.
However, the majority of the people believed this wasn''t a challenge to the thief himself, but it was a challenge to the rising organization of thieves, Sky Stealer Society.
---
While the entire middle-levelnds were boiling and waiting for some kind of reply from the thief himself, the condition of Golden Hammered Kingdom''s royal family didn''t seem quite good.
"Why?! Why do they have to do this circus so close to my kingdom''s capital?!" The Golden King roared in anger when he saw heard this news, "And why is that bastard thief still alive?!"
Golden King knew just how dangerous sky stealer was by his personal experience in earthen mist forest.
Before he considered the thief was probably dead or lost with all those Qi river core entrics, however after this abrupt news he guessed something had probably happened in three giants since they were willing toe together and cause this massivemotion.
Especially when the Nightmare Ghosts Organization was involved in all this as well because they never showed their faces in light, much less worked together with their rivals.
As for the so-called mountain treasures even, he took it as a joke and simply consider it was a trap to rail the thief here which was almost impossible since he won''te to his death even if that mountain treasure was real.
However, what made the Golden King truly uneasy and dreadful was that the Sky Stealer was probably alive because his younger brother, Vance, and his daughter Dulce had a history with that thief, and it would be not exaggerating to call it a blood feud between them!
Before, he only considered the thief an ant from the low-levelnds who somehow got lucky and get some lowly inheritance.
However, after he escaped the sky-changing border and made a name for himself, he finally understood the thief was by no means ordinary nor his growth.
Although his brother only forced him to enter the sky changing, and he even left alive, so the feud between them could still be salvaged. However, when ites to his daughter, Dulce, she had massacred Ace''s entire hometown not even leaving a chicken alive which by no means was something anyone could forget.
That''s why he supported the thief hunt with all this might, he wanted topletely uproot the problem once and for all, but now that bastard was probably still alive and has done something to piss off three giants.
By all means, he didn''t even want Ace to step inside his kingdom''s territory, but it was probably toote now.
''Is it rted to those missing Qi river core cultivators? But why did they choose my kingdom of all ces? Is someone using enmity between him and my family to lure him here? I have to visit myself!''
After calming himself, he quickly dered, "Prepare my carriage and summon my brother and Princess Dulce, we''re visiting the esteemed guests from afar."
---
Somewhere in thend of the second-grade kingdoms,
Inside a room, there was only a big rectangr table and eleven chairs around it, while the entire room was empty except for a wall.
On this wall which was right behind a single golden throne-like chair was a mural of a dark owl spamming its de-like wings, this was the symbol of Sky Stealer!
Expect this golden throne, all ten chairs around it were filled with people wearing dark robes with dark owl emblems and owl masks.
"Let the meeting between ten ''Sky Thieves'' of Sky Stealer Society, began!" A person in a ck owl mask sitting at the first chair on right beside the golden throne dered.
Chapter 250 - Authentic Treasure Mountain!
Everyone presumed that the Sky Stealer Society was founded by ouws andmoners, however, it wasn''t the entire truth.
Even though almost ny percent of the people in this organization were ouws andmoners but the reaming ten percent were people with quite a status in middle-levelnds, the highest being a member of some royal family of a second-grade kingdom!
This ten percent support the organization by providing cultivation resources, techniques, skills, weapons, pills¡that''s why the organization was growing so smoothly and no one was able to track down the founding members.
The structure of Sky Stealer Society wasn''tplex, there were only six ranks, Sky, Earth, Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Iron.
Currently, Ten Sky Thieves were also the founding members, fifty Earth Thieves, One Hundred Golden Thieves, five hundred Silver Thieves, A Thousand Bronze Thieves, and thousands of iron thieves.
Every new membered started with an iron thief rank and with noteworthy contributions to the organization they moved higher in ranks.
No one knows the identities of Sky Thieves, but they were considered the most powerful members of the organization and were extremely respected by other members.
Furthermore, the Sky Thieves don''t dere themselves the leaders and only consider Sky Stealer the true leader of this organization, they called themselves his loyal adherents.
However, everyone knew without these ten sky thieves there won''t be a sky stealer society, nor it could be grown to such an extent, that''s why they were as esteemed as the Sky Stealer.
Today''s meeting was an emergency one after the challenge of three giants was surfaced, and this also implicates them as well.
"Let the meeting between ten Sky Thieves of Sky Stealer Society, began!" A person in a ck owl mask, wearing a cloak on the head, sitting at the first chair on the right, beside the golden throne stated. The voice was melodious, clearly belonged to a woman.
"First, Sky Thief, what do think about this abrupt challenge?" asked a tall athletic build person, wearing a brown owl mask, sitting in front of this ck owl-mask woman called First Sky Thief.
Everyone in this room had rank from first to tenth, were first being the highest and tenth being thest. It also had special meaning because the true founder of this organization was none other than the First Sky Thief!
Furthermore, it was a woman nheless and her background was unknown and no one had ever seen her appearance, but she was the one who bought them all together under one roof and her prowess was no joke either.
One could even say she was as mysterious as the Sky Stealer himself.
"It''s an obvious trap, Second Sky Thief!" before the First Sky Thief could reply, the person sitting two seats away from the Second Sky Thief answered with a snort. He had an average height and wore a white owl mask.
"I agree." Another woman''s voice rang in affirmation.
"Shut up fools, we all know it''s a trap. Let the First Sky Thief speak." A lofty man sitting with his arms crossed reprimanded.
"Sixth Bandit, who did you call just fool?!" The woman instantly snapped at Sixth Sky Thief as her beautiful emerald eyes turned fears.
"Stop!" First Sky Thief''s cold voice rang again, she wasn''t in the mood to joke around.
No one dare to speak anymore and quietly looked toward the First Sky Thief.
First Sky Thief slowly stood up from her chair and walk beside the golden throne where a dark owl symbol was engraved on its head. Her ocean-blue eyes shimmered with a myriad of emotions, but no one saw them as she quickly hid them and turned around with cold eyes.
"Even if it''s a trap, it also showed us how our supreme leader, Sky Stealer, can even threaten those so-called giants, and now they want to get rid of them by despicable means.
"However, there is something wrong since Nightmare Ghosts Organization is also taking part in this facade. It''s either they''re too afraid of Sky Stealer or there''s someone behind all this.
"Nevertheless, I think, Lord Sky Stealer will go, he won''t let the reputation of us thieves sully so easily. That''s why I''ve already decided¡"
First Sky Thief''s beautiful eyes narrowed into slits as a sharp aura emitted from her, everyone in the room held their breaths and didn''t dare to blink as they looked at her with anticipation.
She announced sternly, "It''s time for Ten Sky Thieves toe in light and our stage will be Golden Hammered Kingdom Capital!"
---
The very next day, another news released from the Golden Hammered Kingdom,
The treasure mountain was as authentic as the sky and anyone could see it from a mile away, many people saw it with their own eyes, and they could even visit it personally to check if it was an illusion.
Many people do so in the watchful eyes of three giants, and they were shocked because everything was real.
They say the treasure mountain was hundreds of meters tall, filled with Qi stones, techniques, pills, weapons, beast eggs, herb, and many things that one can''t even imagine. They were many things that these people didn''t even hear about before in that treasure mountain.
The most shocking thing was, the treasure mountain wasn''t surrounded by thick walls, it was right in an open field!
Many people confirmed the credibility of this news and treasures mountain.
Now people wondered if those three giants emptied their treasuries and used them as bait?
And if this was the case, then what has Sky Stealer done to make them take this grave step.
Now everyone wanted to know if the infamous thief, Sky Stealer would dare to take the treasure, or he''ll be a coward!
This wasn''t the end of this hype, because the very next day, Golden King of Golden Hammered Kingdom also join the bandwagon and take all the treasures of his kingdom and put them in treasure mountain in front of everyone''s dumbfounded eyes.
He arrogantly dered, he''ll take them back when the 90 days period will over after that cowardly thief yielded!
Chapter 251 - Toward The Golden Hammered Kingdom!
While the hype of treasure mountain was reaching new heights, day by day, there was still no movement or reply came from the thief himself.
However, after three weeks of this challenge, the Sky Stealer Society dered they''ll be there to take the treasure mountain in their ''Lord''s'' stead since those three ''Little Giants'' were so generous to pay ''tribute'' to their lord, Sky Stealer!
This caused another massive upheaval in whole middle-levelnds, and those three organizations'' members instantly be enraged by this audacious announcement and cursed at those thieves and even challenged them to show their faces in public if they had guts.
This small war of words in four organizations be a new source of entertainment for the public.
Everyone was waiting for the reply of Sky Stealer, who seemed to be biased toward all this.
---
Royal province of Warren Kingdom, inside an Inn of Gill City,
"Those imbeciles!" Ace cursed as he heard about the deration of the Sky Stealer Society.
When Ace heard about the announcement of three giants, he also considered this a trap and snorted disdainfully. He simply thought those three giants were either messing around or their brains go rotten since they even dare to set up this childish trap.
However, things changed when the news about treasure mountain being real surfaced on the market. He didn''t dare to believe it at first, but after he ruffled some feathers in the ck market, he got the confirmation the treasures mountain was a real thing, and by the size of it; they were telling the truth when they say all the treasures of three giants were there!
Ace''s countenance finally changed and with a perplexing mood, he left the Blue Kingdom and start heading toward the Golden Hammered Kingdom.
He wanted to see if the treasure mountain was real, and if it was, he didn''t mind taking it since they dare to offer it.
However, he was extremely displeased by the Sky Stealer Society butting in when it wasn''t even concerned to them. He was confident in escaping if things go awry, but those idiots will die if they dare to step anywhere closer to that treasure mountain.
Even though he didn''t care about them, it would alert those people watching over that treasure mountain.
Ace knew taking that treasure mountain would not be easy, and they probably set up some huge formation there, the moment someone tried the theft he would be instantly trapped, or even worse he might die.
Ace was confident because he had the skills to see through these traps and formations, but others didn''t. Even if those three giants were allowing others to visit the treasure mountain, they had the confidence to take care of the troublemaker.
Furthermore, no one sane enough would dare to steal from that treasure mountain if they don''t cherish their life because there were many deadly existences hidden there protecting it, just the Nightmare Ghosts Organization''s existence was enough to give people chills.
"They''re going toward their meaningless death!" Ace''s eyes were cold and stop caring about those imbeciles anymore.
"Golden Hammered Kingdom¡ Dulce, we''ll meet much sooner than I n!" Ace suddenly emit an icy killing intent when he thought about his destination.
He didn''t forget about his blood feud with Dulce, he would never forget how that bitch destroyed his hometown and all those innocent people just for a storage ring. He vividly remembered everything.
Before, he was nning on proceeding to the Golden Hammered Kingdom and destroying the royal family and ending the past grudge once and for all, and continuing his journey.
However, it seemed someone was aware of his enmity with the Golden Hammered Kingdom and was trying to use it, so they could increase his chance of appearing there.
Ace didn''t care whoever it was as long as it wasn''t a Bronze River Core cultivator, he was invincible in middle-levelnds no one could stop him from leaving if he wants.
Furthermore, from all those memories he probed from all those overseers of those cities, he knew about the disappearance of those Qi river core cultivators that went inside with him.
Others might not know what it means, but he knew they were probably caught in heavenly punishment and perished there, just like he wanted.
That''s why he was going toward the golden hammered kingdom with no fear and thought of this as a desperate act to find those missing Qi river core cultivators.
Even if there wasn''t the case, he was determined to get that treasure mountain andplete this mission while passing, also destroying the Golden Royal Family.
---
Fifty days passed before the deadline of ny days given by the three giants.
In these fifty days, the sky stealer remained silent and didn''t react to this big deration.
However, now the whole middle-levelnds know the treasure mountain was real, and the organizations were dead serious about their deration.
Furthermore, in these fifty days, although sky stealer didn''t react, the Sky Stealer Society was quite busy while thriving around alchemists and beast tamers.
This was blunt retaliation after those alchemists and beast tamer started bad-mouthing the organization of thieves when they dered they will take that treasure mountain.
However, those robbed alchemists and beast tamers also retaliate in their way. They attacked anyone who they found any kind of rtionship with the Sky Stealer Organization, and they almost killed a thousand members at the price of thousands of innocent suspects. This caused outrage among the public, with increasing coteral damage.
The sky stealer society didn''t kill anyone, but those alchemists and beast tamers didn''t care about innocent lives, which almost cause a revolt.
It was only solved when those royals of each kingdom stopped those alchemists and beast tamer from ughtering the innocent, and even higher-ups of two giants show extreme dissatisfaction toward this wanton behavior.
In the end, the public was shut bribed, but everyone could tell the organization of thieves had won this round and even made the public see them in a more favorable and different light.
However, all this has nothing to do with Ace, who after a long tireless journey just stepped into the Golden Hammered City also the capital of Golden Hammered Kingdom!
Chapter 252 - Missing Royalties
The royal capital of the Golden Hammered Kingdom was truly magnificent, there were unique beautiful buildings with a golden hammered emblem on them.
People seemed cheerful and there wasn''t a hint of poverty in this city, moreover, everyone was a cultivator since no mortal could enter or live here.
However, the Golden Hammered City seemed more active than usual; the reason being naturally the Treasure Mountain a few miles away from the city.
Everyone who wanted to see the treasure mountain had tond in the city and then walk to the ce since no carriages or flying beasts were allowed in that area. This doesn''t stop curious people from paying a visit.
Because of this attraction, all kinds of people were entering the Golden Hammered Kingdom, and this gave the nobles a huge headache since they can''t stop anyone because the three giants approved of this. They could only grit their teeth and increase the security of the city to prevent any ident or mishap.
At this moment, Ace was walking in the golden hammered city bursting streets with a stoic expression, his eyes were cold as he watched the prosperous city.
He couldn''t help but remembered the streets of River Flower City, which were like vige streetspared with this city.
But he stillpared them and thought with a hint of killing intent, ''Even after having such a beautiful city at your beak and call, you still destroyed a little city like River Flower and massacre those innocent people. I once vowed to destroy your kingdom in front of your eyes, and it''s time toplete that vow!''
Ace didn''t even care about the treasure mountain as his heart was filled with vengeance, he didn''t know why, but he couldn''t control his bloodlust aftering into his enemy''s home.
Before he didn''t have the power to take revenge and maybe that''s why his urge to kill was suppressed all those years, but now he was strong enough to deal with this kingdom alone and that surpassed bloodlust finally broke free!
Although he wasn''t a killer nor did he enjoy killing wantonly, right now, all he wanted was to kill that bitch and her family before her eyes, and he knew they all deserved it!
Ace waited till the night before he was in optimal condition, he was traveling non-stop for thest thirty or so days, so he needed to clear his mind. He knew the Golden King, Dulce''s father, was a peak Qi river cultivator, and he needed to be in his peak condition to subdue him. Beside him, there were still other hidden experts in the royal pce, he wanted to do it as quietly as possible.
Inside the golden royal pce,
The pce was quite big andvishing, even though it was the night the guards were patrolling and servants were moving around the pce.
There was also an rming formation surrounding the royal pce and if anyone dare to intrude the pce or sneak inside, it would instantly alert the royal guards.
However, despite this powerful formation protecting the royal pce, someone still easily infiltrated it and entered the main pce right at this moment.
This person was naturally Ace in his trainee hood. He was someone who can infiltrate Nightmare Ghosts hideouts, so, this kind of formation was child''s y for him.
Ace didn''t know the structure of this pce and where the royal family lives. So, he searched for someone who does, and it didn''t take him long before he found the living quarters of the pce''s head maid.
After confirming, she was only at the empty Qi river stage, he probed her memories with no further ado.
Just as he expected, she knew all about the royal pce and even some hidden paths, furthermore; she knew where each member of the royal family was located.
However, Ace''s expression sink when a string of memory entered his knowledge sea.
''The entire royal family left the royal pce over thirty days ago!'' When Ace saw this memory, his heart turned cold.
Ace saw the Golden King leaving with his entire family and treasury, hisst order was to look after the royal pce and only the most loyal servants know about the absence of the royal family, this head maid being one of those servants.
Ace''s expression was clouded as his killing intent intensified, ''That bastard knew I wille, and he even fled his own home. Truly a cunning king who rules over a kingdom. However, that Golden King left with the treasury as well, but he partakes in that treasure mountain thest time I heard it. Why did he go to three giants, for protection, or did someone even predict I woulde after Dulce and decided to give the Golden Family asylum?''
The more he thought about this matter, the likely it was possible, but what Ace didn''t seem toprehend was why did the Golden King didn''t go in hiding and wait for the three giants to deal with him.
If anyone were in Golden King''s shoes they would''ve done just like Ace thought but this Golden King has donepletely the opposite, he even dared to throw all the treasures of his kingdom in that treasure mountain which was also out of ordinary.
''By the way, he acted, he''s far from being a fool or gambler, what made him not hide and even make him put all his treasures on the line. It has to be someone with immense power, probably with the Qi river core.
''No¡ I didn''t think about it much before, but now that I think about it; why do three giantse together so quickly and even dare to openly create that mountain treasures in a ce far away from those formations and their main cities?
''Especially Nightmare Ghosts Organization, what made them obey ande all this way, it''s only possible if¡ someone extremely powerful subdues the three giants from shadows and made them work together so much evenbining all their treasuries.
''The only person capable of making all this happen had to be someone from¡ Land of Empires, and this person had to be at the top of highnds to control all three giants so easily!''
Ace''s heart thumped while a chill run down his spine just thinking of this conjecture, and he knew this was probably the truth, he was targeted by a terrifying existence!
Chapter 253 - Treasure Mountain!
Ace felt his decision toe to Golden ce and go after the royal family first was right since it gave him many clues and help him snap out his delusion of invisibility.
However, he also had the reason for being too careless because he knew about the problem with the middle sky changing border from all those memories he probed from high-level members of three organizations.
But now that he carefully looked at all the scenarios, he finally saw the issue, things were happening too fast with three giants, and he thought they were probably at their wit''s end and this was a desperate attempt to deal with him.
However, after he saw the Golden King''s behavior and the way he was so calm when he left the golden pce, he finally felt something was amiss and this was a huge conspiracy going behind the sham of desperation.
If it was any other time, he would''ve long escaped the golden hammered kingdom and fled as far as he could and remain low-key until he found out who was pulling the strings from behind.
However, because of the damn mission, he can''t miss this chance toplete it in one fell swoop since he doesn''t know if he would get a chance like this or what if that person took all those treasures back with him when he leaves the middle-levelnds?
Ace knew that person might have extraordinary means to even dare to show all the wealth of three giants so openly and let anyone visit it. So, if he wanted to ambush him or even track him down, he could take his storage ring, he knew it was too difficult until he leveled up his skills which were also impossible in the reaming time and the system was also useless because of the oblivious reason.
Ace was in a huge dilemma right now, he wasn''t able to decide if he should make a move while everyone was waiting for him, or he should wait and take the risk of tracking that person behind the scene.
''I should take a look at that treasure mountain before nning my next move.''
Ace left the golden pce in a heavy mood, hee here for revenge, but get a wake-up call of immense danger lurking in the shadows.
However, Ace didn''t stay in the city and left toward the treasure mountain location in stealth.
He was nning to observe it and see if he would find any anomaly for the rest of the remaining days.
Since they gave him ny days, there were still over thirty days left before the deadline. He was going to remain at that ce and quietly observed the situation.
If he found any chance, he will not hesitate to take it or fled with no hesitation if he encountered any danger.
Ace quickly found out he wasn''t the only one who was going toward the treasure mountain direction. He encountered many people on their way; they were also going to visit since you couldn''t see a mountain made of treasure anywhere.
As he reached closer and closer, with his powerful eyesight he saw a silhouette of a mountain, a few hundred meters high, it was quite noticeable since it was a clear field with no trees or mountain trans.
Suddenly his eyebrow rose when he was only a mile away from the location and some people ahead of him eximed in shock and wonder.
Even from here, he could see a towering mountain lit in white light in his night, it was hard to miss. But this mountain was made of millions of crystal-like Qi stones and many weapons, pill bottles, and manuals were scattering all over the mountain.
''It is a treasure mountain!'' Ace had to admit this mountain deserved its name. Even he never expected he would see this much wealth collected in one ce.
''How will I stash this mountain in my thief''s space, even all those storage rings will not be enough? Even if by any miracle they were enough, how the hell am I supposed to store it in them, those guards would not be going to wait for me to finish!''
Ace suddenly found the grave problem. His thief space was almost half full, and it was only a hundred cubic meters in size, and that mountain was almost six-hundred-meter-tall and three hundred meters wide. It was impossible to stash inside his thief''s space, or he didn''t have ample time to divide it into small portions and store them in his space rings collections.
His gloomy mood be gloomier, ''That person yed his hand well, even if I had means to take that treasure mountain away I can''t do it instantly and the time I needed to aplish is even more unrealistic to bought.''
Ace wasn''t sure if he could overpower all those people protecting this treasure mountain, especially that hidden mastermind behind the three giants.
With a sullen face, Ace entered the five-hundred-meter radius of the treasure mountain, and he found it even more unbelievable topletely store this mountain even in his storage ring collection.
He walked around and see the mountain clearly, even though people could not move around it didn''t apply to him since no can see him in his stealth and he had soul-shattering eyes to move freely without even worrying about the traps.
All this time he was using the soul-shattering eyes, and he saw nothing amiss, at this moment when he was about to walk around the area, system''s voice rang in his mind,
=====
[Target in range!]
Scan Status: Start Automatically
Scan: Complete
---
[Target''s Scan Report]
[Total worth: All the reaming 24 Treasuries are collected together in one ce.]
Security:
1: Myriad Ghost Trapping Talisman {Grade-2 Talisman}
Duration: 60 Minutes
Effect: Trapped any being below Golden Qi River Core and Golden Soul River Core.
Status: Deactivate
1: Myriad Ghost Eye Array {Grade-2 Array}
Duration: Depend on energy supply.
Effect: Monitor and detect any being below Golden Qi River Core and Golden Soul River Core.
Status: Activate
[Evaluation: 0% chance of sess]
[Warning: Please escape the area as fast as possible because the host is already being monitored by the Myriad Ghost Eye Array, host stealth is useless!]
Chapter 254 - Check And Trapped! (1)
On top of the treasure mountain,
Gordon was sitting cross-legged like a statue, surrounded by a concealment barrier, no one can see him or the barrier. Furthermore, he waspletely at the blind spot of the treasure mountain.
Although it seemed Gordon was meditating, it wasn''t the case at all, he was monitoring the one-thousand-meter radius around the treasure mountain with a powerful array from his sect.
This entire treasure mountain was a huge, inescapable trap set by Gordon, especially for Ace. How could he not know just how strange Ace was from his astonishing growth and his mysterious means?
He would be a fool to leave this bait with no insurance and much less let anyone visit it.
Gordon used his knowledge and those rune crafters of me City to create this Myriad Ghost Eye Array, it was an ancient array that was easy to make and powerful enough to see through any disguise and concealment skill as long as the other person wasn''t a Golden River Core Cultivator which was also night impossible.
Furthermore, Gordon also created a powerful talisman to instantly trap the ''fish'' the moment he took the bait. As for those Rune Crafters who helped him create these two powerful runic treasures, he naturally killed them all to keep this secret.
Gordon knew he can''t take the risk of this information leaking, especially the talisman methods, because if those old monsters found out he was in his ce and interfering so much, no one will be able to save him.
That''s why he was taking this chance to quickly finish the matter with Ace and leave this forsaken ce before those high-levelnds could enter this ce. He would be long gone after ''silently'' those who saw him before the safe period of Sky changing border could even start!
As for why he was so afraid of being found out by royalnds, only he knew the reason.
After setting up these bait and traps, all Gordon had to do was to wait and keep his eyes open all the time.
He knew Ace woulde like a thief, and he also knew he will not be in his real appearance, and only Ace has the skills of such caliber. This also made things much easier for him because he would be instantly alert by the Ghost eyes array if someone stepped inside the array with unorthodox methods.
After that, Gordon just had to see the face of that person, and he knew who was who, and he had seen Ace before, so it wasn''t a big deal for him to recognize Ace.
However, even after fifty days, there wasn''t any trace of Ace, but Gordon wasn''t the least bit worried since he knew he woulde he just had to wait patiently, and he didn''t show up he had another n ready just in case.
Although Ace didn''te, he found many ''flies'' buzzing around the treasure mountain now and then, all he had to do was to give the order to crush those annoying flies. He wasn''t interested in them even in the least bit.
Today was just like any other day, and Gordon still didn''t move from his spot from the start of this n.
Abruptly, Gordon''s eyes sprang open as a small ck cube with four golden different rune symbols on each of its four sides appeared in his. The symbol facing him suddenly lit up, and a transparent screen reced the golden symbol.
On that palm-size screen appeared a figure in a long hood and ck long coat, moving toward the treasure mountain alone while keeping a distance from other people.
Gordon''s eyes shimmered with ecstasy as his lips rose into a sinister smile, "You finally decided to show up after making me wait for all this time. How should I greet you?" mumbled Gordon coldly.
He didn''t even need to see this hooded person''s face because the ghost eye array was ringing in rm like never before which implied his person''s disguise was imprable and if not for his stealth skill being only subpar, he would''ve escaped the ghost eye array detection!
Gordon knew he only had one chance with Myriad Ghost Trapping Talisman, and he didn''t want to use it on the wrong person, but he had be surer after he saw the owl symbol on this person''s back.
''Such a disguise even stronger than a Golden River Core Cultivator, he''s indeed hiding a huge secret. Pity, he''s only using it for petty thieveries and ying around.'' Gordon''s eyes shimmer with intense greed as he patiently waited for Ace to walk deeper.
Gordon saw after this hooded person was only five hundred meters away from the treasure mountain, he looked around sneakily as if he was about to move in the empty field.
However, Gordon''s eyes instantly narrowed when this person instantly stopped and turned around and start running like a phantom as if his life was on the line!
Gordon knew something was amiss, and he didn''t dare to wait any longer and flip the cube, which lit another symbol.
The very next moment thereafter, a ck barrier instantly appeared to cover a thousand-meter area around the treasure mountain like a dome.
Gordon quickly flip the cube again and when he saw the figure was inside the barrier he instantly had a sigh of relief, ''I almost let him escape, how did he see through this array? Well, I should ask him directly.''
Gordon stood up from his ce and looked in the particr direction before saying with a cold smile.
"My Boy, Ace, it''s been a while."
Gordon''s thunderous voice rang in the barrier''s vacancy, snapping everyone out of their stupor who were abruptly trapped inside the barrier.
---
The moment Ace heard the system voice, it only took him only a moment to see the target report whiche abruptly without even his concern, or it also didn''t take any time forpletion either.
However, when Ace saw the level of those two securities measures and system warning, he quickly turned around and run as he pushed his lightning steps to the limit.
He knew he has been had!
Chapter 255 - Check And Trapped! (2)
Ace knew he has been had and if he didn''t leave this ce, he might not leave again, and just as he thought a barrier abruptly appeared closing the entire thousand-meter area around the treasure mountain.
Ace''s heart turned cold, he knew the person had activated that grade-2 talisman. The most dreadful thing was he can''t see any kind of w because this was a Grade 2 talisman.
''How could someone have a grade-two array, and grade-two talisman like this, even in high-levelnds it should be impossible, especially the talisman? I never even heard of it before and now someone is using a grade two from the start, and it''s being used on me, damn it, what a stroke of bad luck!'' Ace cursed as knew he was stepping into an unavoidable trapped.
It wasn''t his fault since his knowledge of high-levelnds was limited and even if he knew the person he was dealing with was not from the high-levelnd altogether.
This was his first enemy, who had ample experience and many powerful means to deal with sneaky cultivators like him.
Ace had grown ustomed to seeing low-level runes all the time, and his skills were also at high levels before. But now he finally encountered someone who can create traps much more powerful than his skill levels and y him to death!
However, if Ace knew Gordon was only using the simplest Grade-2 array and talisman because there weren''t materials avable to create a powerful one, heck, they didn''t have the Qi stones to power those terrifying arrays here, who knows what he would feel.
Ace didn''t know how lucky he had been to grow so much in this ''safe'' environment because if he was in royalnds his journey would''ve been hell.
Furthermore, he always felt the grade treasures were extremely rare, but he didn''t know he was just a tiger living in the world of goats all this time, now he finally encountered another tiger with wings!
Ace was about to use his most powerful attack to overpower the barrier when he heard a thunderous voice calling his name,
"My Boy, Ace, it''s been a while."
His eyes instantly constricted when he heard his real name because to his knowledge his name was only known by two of his loved ones, Eva and Alina, and beside them, all the people who know his name were already dead or missing, like his parents. Besides, his name was so rare that this person can''t take him for someone else either.
However, it was now even more important to escape this ce since his person know his name which also mean he probably knows him from low-levelnds.
The ck de swords were already in his hands as he brandished them with despair lightning and heck them toward the ck barrier.
''Bang¡'' A deafening sound mixed with lightning rumbling and metal rang in the vacancy.
Ace''s face sank even more because the barrier wasn''t even scratched by his despair -lightning. His expression was ugly because he knew just how potent his element Qi was, and it still didn''t even leave a scratch on this barrier.
''So, this is a grade-2 talisman, huh.'' Ace''s mood was as gloomy as it could.
"Impressive, I never thought you would awake lightning element, it''s quite rare even in azure maind." The same voice rang again with a hint of surprise.
Ace finally turned around as he knew the only way to leave this ce was either wait for an hour, which was almost impossible, or destroyed the talisman which was clearly in the hand of this person.
"What is going on? Why is a barrier appeared out of nowhere?" Someone suddenly questioned out loud.
"You think we know? Ask this voice!" Someone sneered.
"I want an exnation from three giants, I''m the duke of the golden hammered king!" A person in golden robes also spoke as he stated his status.
These people didn''t see Ace since he was still in his stealth, nor can they find Gordon, so they started to look for three giants.
There were almost five hundred people trapped inside this dark barrier with Ace, and they all belonged to different powers of middle-levelnds. They were only there to see the legendary treasure mountain, but who would''ve thought they were being this unlucky to choose such time to visit.
The people outside the barrier were also just as confused as those inside because from outside one could see inside the transparent dark barrier, but they can''t enter and only watch what was happening. They can''t listen to anything like those who were inside, though.
"Get rid of these flies." Gordon''s annoying voice sounded again, with a hint of killing intent.
Everyone''s heart tuned cold where they heard this, they knew something was wrong.
"What are you trying¡" Before this person could even finish his sentence, a ck-d person appeared behind him like a ghost and slit his throat!
"YOU¡"
"Wai¡"
"Please spare my ch¡"
Many voices filled with pledging and despair rang in the vacancy, but those assassins from Nightmare Ghosts were like emotionless statues as they killed everyone like they were killing chickens.
"T-they''re killing everyone!" Someone outside the barrier eximed with a horror-filled voice.
Everyone felt a chill run down their spine as they saw inside the barrier which has turned into a ughterer''s house, those people even start to turn around and fled without stopping.
They didn''t know what was happening, but they knew if those assassins decided toe after them, they would not even have the chance to strike back.
The entire area became deserted as everyone fled for their lives, but those assassins'' targets were the only people inside the barrier since they also can''t leave the barrier either.
Ace looked at the ughterer with a deep frown, he didn''t move from his position to save those people because he knew, no one can save them.
He coldly looked toward the peak of treasure mountain, where he could vaguely see a silhouette of a person. He knew this was the proprietor of this entire treasure mountain trap and also some familiarity with him.
Ace finallye out of stealth and questioned, "Who are you?"
Chapter 256 - We’re Doomed!
"Who are you?"
Ace asked sternly while he kept searching for any possible opening to take advantage of and escape this predicament.
He knew this time around he had to y it carefully, or he might didn''t even know how he die. Since the other party had no intention of attacking, he was more than happy to waste time.
Even though his voice wasn''t loud, it sounded loud, since the area was deadly silent after they killed those people.
All those assassins were also done with killing the small fries, and they looked toward the hooded figure, which was giving off a mysterious feeling of apprehension.
They knew this was the infamous thief, Sky Stealer, and they finally trapped him.
More and more people appeared like some powerhouses of Pill me and Beast Calling. They couldn''t help but took a careful nce at the thief who antagonized them for so long.
Amid these powerhouses were seven more people who weren''t from the three giants, it was the golden family who had taken asylum here when they donate their treasures, and they were feeling it was the right decision after seeing the thief trapped so easily.
"How could you forget about the person who told you about your parents'' wellbeing, and you killed him mercilessly after that?" Gordon''sment voice sounded with a hint of mockery.
Ace''s heart instantly jolted when he heard about his parents, his mind instantly focused on the person he killed all those years ago. How could he forget that person who was the City Lord of River Flower City and a cultivation clone of a Qi soul manifestation realm expert ording to the system?
"Y-you''re Mathies true body?!" Ace''s voice was filled with rm and trepidation.
He finally understands just how much trouble he was in right now.
Although he never forgot about this looming threat of a Qi soul manifest cultivator, he never thought this person would be this resourceful and deadly. Furthermore, after all these years as time passed, he almost neglected the possibility of himing.
Now, because of his neglect, he walked right into a trap set by a dreadful existence.
Well, who could me Ace, since he was also desperate because of the system''s mission and his vague knowledge of royalnds?
Gordon''s eyes narrowed as asked with a hint of curiosity, "How do you know it was a clone?"
His cultivation technique was quite special and all the cultivation clones created by it were living beings not just any random clones, no one could tell if they were clones even if those old monsters of sects were looked at those clones much less a brat from these forsakennds.
"Heh¡, look, it was Senior''s clone who attacked me first, and I didn''t know it was a Qi soul manifestation cultivator''s clone until I killed it. I''m just a thief and I have nothing useful for an expert like Senior, so why don''t you forgive a little thief like me."
Ace try talking reason with this person, he didn''t dare to underestimate him anymore, and escaping in front of Qi soul manifestation expert wasn''t even an option anymore!
However, those people listing to their conversation nearly faint from fear when they hear ''Qi Soul Manifestation Realm Cultivator'', this realm was an absolute legend below royalnds and no one ever broke through this realm in the history of highnds.
If this person controlling this powerful ''formation'' was a Qi soul manifestation expert, then this means he was from a¡ sect!
Just this possibility made their heart race, if they could catch the fancy of this expert they could instantly sour to heaven!
However, one person didn''t have this thought right now,
It was a beautiful blond girl standing beside Golden King; she was naturally Dulce.
Dulce was living in constant terror after Ace showed up in the middle-levelnds and make such amotion now and then. This terror tuned into her eternal nightmare when she heard; he even managed to escape alive the earthen mist forest, and he wasing into her home!
She nearly went insane with fear and in every person, she saw the boy surrounded by gloomy smoke, just like that day when he said he''ll destroy her kingdom.
She only felt safe after her father stayed in this ce surrounded by powerhouses of middle-levelnds, and when Ace was caught, she felt a huge mountain was lifted from her heart. Likewise, she even wanted to taunt Ace for being still an ant.
However, after she heard the word ''Mathies'' her face went instantly pale like a ghost because she knew who Mathies was, how could she forget the City lord who escaped with this little devil that day.
"No¡ no¡ it must be someone else¡ yes¡ yes¡ it much me¡ It had to¡" Dulce starting to mutter madly like a broken record.
Golden King was also rmed since he was countless times read the report about Ace''s past and how he met with his daughter after his meteoric rise. After hearing his daughter mad muttering, he felt his entire body was in a deep iceke.
If he knew his daughter had offended someone from royalnds and the person was also a mammoth-like Qi soul manifestation realm expert, he would''ve killed her long ago and gone in hiding with his family and never seen the light of the day.
But now, he had delivered himself right in the hand of others and finally understood why those people from three giants even suggested giving him asylum here.
''We''re doomed!''
With listless eyes this thought surfaced on his mind and even Vance was not better than his elder brother, he was even worse; he loses his consciousness just from the fear of approaching death.
As for escape alive, heh¡ who could escape a Qi soul manifestation realm goliath!
Gordon didn''t even look at the panicking Golden Family and merely chuckled as Ace remarked,
"Fine, I let you go since I don''t want those pests from White Crown finding trouble with me after your death, but only after you let me use ''Soul Search'' on you!"
Chapter 257 - Kill Him!
"Fine, I let you go since I don''t want those pests from White Crown finding trouble with me after your death, but only after you let me use ''Soul Search'' on you!"
Gordon wore an ambiguous smile as he stated his condition.
''After soul search, you''ll be turned into a retard, so I naturally let you go and let you live a life worse than death, this will be your punishment of destroying my cultivation clone.'' Gordon thought maliciously without showing it on his face.
Soul search was a special technique of investigation that anyone could use after reaching Qi Soul or Soul Embryo realm. This technique can forcibly extract memories of another, whether or not others like it.
But this force extraction of memories can cause massive damage to others'' minds and as a result, the victim would be either retard or even die an agonized death.
That''s why the soul search was forbidden by every race, it can only be used on extremely cruel criminals or as ast resort. However, this rule was only ced for not using the soul search openly, and as long as no one leaves any evidence behind they can use it on anyone!
Gordon deemed, Ace doesn''t know about soul search and its terror, that''s why he put this condition as an act of ''mercy'' in front of him. From the start, he was nning on using soul search on Ace.
He won''t believe him even if Ace told him the truth, he wanted to see his memories himself, so he could find out about the ''secret'' his parents left on him, that help him grow so much and even white crown was ''after'' it.
However, Gordon knew Ace had many tricks up his sleeves, although Ace possess no threat to him, Gordon didn''t want to identally kill Ace or push him to the brink of death. It would be a huge loss if Ace die before he gained his secrets.
That''s why he was nning to give away his real identity from the start to intimidate Ace, but he never thought Ace already knew about the cultivation clone and even took him for his real body as a misunderstanding.
Things tuned out better than he imagined, and that''s why he struck while the iron was hot and pretend to be intimidated by the White Crown and bring up soul search like it was something trivial.
As long as Ace agreed to soul search, he would acquire everything he needed and leave Ace to live like a maniac for the rest of his life.
Ace was deep in thought, standing in his ce, everyone was waiting for his answer. They all know he couldn''t escape someone from royalnds.
But some of them frowned when they heard Gordon n on sparing Ace after conducting this mysterious soul search on him.
Especially the golden family, their expression was hideous and pale. They knew Gordon tricked them, and they will die one way or another. Even if Gordon didn''t take any action against them, Ace would not spare him if he leaves alive this time around.
But no one dare to make a sound, this matter was already out of their reach, and they were all ant trapped in Gordon''syer now. Whether they live or die was on Gordon''s whim now.
Gordon also didn''t hurry Ace, as he coldly watched him. He knew everything was under his control and he''ll soul search Ace one way or another no matter what. He just wanted to end it easily.
As for others who were watching all this, he already considered them corpses long ago!
Ace finally spoke with a hint of hesitation in his voice, "Fine, senior can use this soul search, but you have to give me that treasure mountain first. I know someone like Senior status didn''t consider those scraps, treasures, at all. You only need me, and if you don''t agree to this condition, I''ll instantly self-destruct!" He smiled wryly.
Gordon frowned ever so slightly, hearing Ace''s condition and threat.
Although Ace was right, he only considered these treasures, scraps, and normal stone. But Ace greedy demand puzzled him, and he even wanted to kill himself because of treasures.
''What this brat up to? Even in these circumstances, he''s thinking about treasures? Are treasures more important than your life?''
However, before he could probe Ace''s true intentions, a pleading shrill voice rang in the silent vacancy, "Lord, you have to kill him, you can''t let him escape what if hees after you when he bes as strong as you!"
Everyone looked toward this gutsy person, who dare to speak this boldly in front of a royalnd personal!
Gordon and Ace also looked in the direction, especially Ace, his eyes suddenly emit killing intent when he heard this voice, how could he forget this voice, even if he forgets everything he will never forget this hateful voice.
Everyone saw a blonde hair girl with bloodshot eyes and a twisted face filled with hatred and madness, looking at Ace like she wanted to eat him alive. Who could this be but Dulce!
"Hoho¡ look what we have here, I almost forget, you were the one who torture my clone and then even poisoned him. Then you destroyed his family and city as well. You''re even more guilty than little pup Ace, and now you even dare to interrupt in my matter!" Gordon''s voice turned icy, "So, tell me how would you want to die!"
Golden King, Golden Queen, the crown prince, the second prince, the fifth princess, and Vance who just regain his wits, everyone in Golden Family trembled like leaves when Gordon''s icy gazended on them.
However, Dulce has already lost her reasons under the impeded death after learning about Gordon''s real identity. She knew she was doomed today and fell to the pits of despair and her mind finally couldn''t take it, and she lost her will to live.
Dulce abhorrently screamed while pointing her shaking finger at Ace,
"Kill him first, or he''ll hunt you down just like me.. He''ll ruin your life and make it a living hell. Don''t make the same mistake as I didst time, he''s ying you, kill him before he escaped just like before!"
Chapter 258 - Counter And Counter
"Kill him first, or he''ll hunt you down just like me. He''ll ruin your life and make it a living hell. Don''t make the same mistake as I didst time, he''s ying you, kill him before he escaped, just like before!"
Dulce suddenlyughed, "Hahahahaha¡ hahahaha¡ you''ll be just like me¡ ahahaha¡if you don''t kill him¡"
Golden King was as pale as a ghost, he couldn''t take it anymore as he brandished his fist in golden light and punched toward madlyughing Dulce''s head. Deep in his eyes were intense sadness as he looked at this most brilliant daughter who had turned into aplete retard!
"Hmph, who told you to move?!" Gordon''s cold voice rang like thunder in the area, there was oppressive might mix within his voice, everyone''s mind trembled after hearing it.
Golden King''s golden Qi also shattered from Gordon''s voice, and he instantly fell on the ground and puke a mouthful of blood.
Everyone''s eyes were filled with horror and dread, especially Golden King''s, they all see just Gordon''s voice was enough to make a peak Qi river realm Golden King puke blood and shatter his attack.
If they had some doubts about Gordon''s identity before now, all of thempletely vanished and turned into absolute terror!
"Forgive me, my lord!" Golden King weakly plead, he didn''t dare to move from his kneeling position.
"Hahahah¡ you see this; even my father wanted to kill me, now. You''ll be just like me if he lives¡ Hahahaha¡" Dulce continued tough madly.
This time no one dare to act and let her be, but there was a pity in everyone''s eyes seeing Dulce''s condition. She had lost her will to live and be like a walking carcass.
Gordon acted he didn''t heart Dulce''s ridiculing words and only sneered disdainfully, "Since you already lost the will to live, it would be a mercy to kill you. What do you think little boy Ace?" he looked toward Ace with interest, he knew the grudge between Dulce and Ace was much deeper than his.
Ace looked toward madlyughing Dulce with killing intent, seeing her twisted appearance, he couldn''t help but remember that rainy day when he justughed like this and almost lost himself.
"Just as Senior says, it would be a mercy to kill her anymore. I''ll let senior decide what to do with this madwoman." Ace calmly stated with a deep sigh, ''This might be the best revenge I could get for all those innocent people.''
"Good, she''ll live like this alone for the rest of her miserable life." Gordon nodded with a pleasing expression, everything was going ording to his will. Even Ace was acting all submissive and respectful.
Gordon pointed his finger toward mad Dulce and a crimson streak shed past her forehead and she instantly lost her conciseness, but a red word appeared on her forehead, ''ve''.
Ace''s eyes narrowed when he saw the ve mark on Dulce''s forehead, but he didn''t speak.
"Good, now she won''t die even if she wants to." Gordon nodded his head in satisfaction and again looked toward Ace, "Now, this matter out of the way, let''s finished yours as well."
Ace''s heart palpitated as he thought, ''Did he see through it?''
"Fine, you can take this treasure mountain, but I''ll divide it into ten portions and give you two portions before and after you cooperate obediently, you can get the other eight portions after soul search. This is non-negotiable, if you want to die, then die I''ll still have other methods to get what I wanted!" Gordon sternly dered.
He didn''t trust Ace at all. So, he probed his true intention. If Ace was nning something with this treasure mountain, he won''t let it happen.
Although it would be troublesome if Ace self-destructs, Gordon still can soul search him, but it won''t be as effective as when done on an alive person.
However, to Gordon''s astonishment, Ace agreed quickly.
"Fine, I''ll take two portions first, but they had to be all over the treasure mountain, not just one ce!" Ace stated calmly.
Now, Gordon was perplexed, ''Just what is going on? Is it really about just treasures?''
But he can''t just go back on his word, yet he won''t leave any way for Ace either, "Since you had this demand, I''ll also add a little condition, I want to check your storage ring as well, if there wasn''t any interesting I''ll give it back."
Gordon wanted to inspect Ace''s storage ring, one reason was to check if what White Crown was after inside his storage ring, and if there was Ace would never give it away and this also make things much easier for him. This means even without Ace''s memories, he still possessed his secret.
As for the second reason, if Ace gave away his storage ring, this implies Ace didn''t have any trick up his sleeve and he was only being greedy. But this will also make Ace''s life more precious since this makes that secret verbal and only Ace had the information about it. He can''t kill Ace at that time, and this made things trickery.
Gordon was hoping for the first since it would make things much easier and even if Ace retaliate or pull some trick, he won''t hesitate to end him, but if it turned out totter, he might lose everything if Ace was dead, and he didn''t get that important memory!
"I agree to this condition as well!" Ace agreed with no hesitation again.
This made Gordon even more confused, ''It that secret verbal, what is it a technique, skill, art? No, those that pair won''t be in that much trouble if it was just some verbal secret. Wait, did he hide the thing somewhere beforeing here?''
The more Gordon thought, the more confused he be and hesitate. He never thought things would be soplicated.
''First, let''s see if you have the skill to negotiate with me or not!'' Gordon finally moved!
Chapter 259 - Heavenly Blankness Worldending Technique Slate!
''First, let''s see if you have the skill to negotiate with me or not!'' Gordon finally moved!
Before, Gordon simply thought things were smoothly moving and this could end without him using any force. But as things progress, he finally understood Ace wasn''t as simple as he seemed, he had something up his sleeve.
Gordon wasn''t an idiot, and he had tones of experience in life, he knew when someone was up to something and Ace was defiantly up to no good.
That''s why he wantedpletely catch Ace off guard and try to subdue him. If he seeds, this will end all this drama, but if not, he had to evaluate Ace again and might have to y along with him.
But one thing Gordon was absolute confidence in was Ace can''t escape today, no matter what kind of trick he pulled.
When Ace saw Gordon''s silhouette abruptly vanish from the treasure mountain top, he knew Gordon was going to push him. He long predicted this scenario, he knew an old monster like Gordon would not be easily yed by him. He had to show his strength first.
He had long found out that Gordon''s wasn''t at Qi soul manifestation realm because he didn''t have the power to see through Qi soul manifestation realm expert, but from Gordon, he felt the well-hidden Qi fluctuations of a Qi river core cultivator and instantly guess this was one of Gordon''s clone!
That''s why hepletely changed his ns!
However, even Ace greatly underestimated Gordon''s prowess, in three-second Gordon has covered almost a thousand meters distance and Ace only found him when he was just five meters away from him!
Ace''s heart palpitated when he saw Gordon was holding a sword brandished with Gray Qi, he suddenly felt a familiar aura from this gray Qi, but he didn''t have time to ponder over it.
He quickly used the misperception steps to the fullest, he didn''t know if Gordon could see through this movement skill, but he had to try, or he will fall in Gordon''s clutches.
The thing Ace was mostly afraid of happened, Gordon seemed to bepletely immune to his movement skill and sh toward his shoulder with no hind of bewitchment.
Garden''s felt the strange sensation, but his real level was just too high, and it was not enough to work on him, he instantly shed toward Ace''s arm to chop it off!
Ace felt goosebumps all over his body as the gray Qi was about to heck his entire arm. Suddenly a ck page appeared in his hand and he quickly used it as a shield.
''Boom¡!''
A deafening sound of metals crushing together rang in the area. The dirt around scatted everywhere because of the leftover force.
''Hmm?'' Gordon was astonishing, he naturally saw Ace using the ck page-like shield in thest moment, he simply thought it was just ast-ditch attempt, but this pagepletely blocked his attack!
He knew just how powerful this gray Qi was, and it will be hard for even a Qi soul cultivator to block it like this, but this ck pagepletely absorbed the attack!
''What is this treasure?'' Gordon''s eyes shone with interest and desire.
"Since senior didn''t want to keep his word, I''ll have to destroy everything on me and myself!" Ace''s determined, and decisive voice sounded behind from the ck page.
"Do it, I don''t think you can destroy that thing in your hand, and it also seemed your most cherish belonging, I get it from your corpse." Gordon sneered in a mocking tone.
He was fully convinced that this ck page was the treasure White Crown was after and given to Ace by his parents for safekeeping. He can''t see thought it even with his powerful martial sense, this thoroughly convinced him!
Ace''s lip suddenly rose into a cold yet mocking smile, "Are you sure, you can get this after I die? Don''t Senior hear about special treasures?"
"Stop bluffing and die!" Gordon didn''t even wait to get his hand on that ck page and attack with his full might, this time he was even faster and more ruthless, directly going after Ace''s life.
However, Ace was prepared, his reflexes were top-notch as he managed to shield his neck at thest moment, but the gray Qi still fazed his neck and blood instantly trickled.
"You senile old man, do you think I''m joking?!" Ace waspletely enraged and afraid seeing this old guy was going to attack again.
The ck page instantly vanished from his hand, and he threw his storage ring toward Gordon.
Gordon was naturally astonished seeing Ace''s bizarre action and the iing storage ring toward him and stop in his tracks, but he didn''t catch it instantly and form a Qi hand to catch it. After making sure it waspletely fine and only a storage ring with no Qi mark, he looked toward Ace, waiting for his exnation.
"See for yourself if the ''Heavenly ckness Worldending Technique te'' is in there, I don''t have any storage ring on me, you can even check with your martial sense and the ring is open!" Ace quickly put some bullshit name together to give the ''Page 09'' and exin the reason behind his action.
''Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te?!'' Gordon was quickly engrossed in this shocking name and hurriedly checked the storage ring he just received from Ace.
However, his expression turned ugly when he didn''t see the ''Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te'' inside the storage ring. His eyes turned sharp like des as he used his martial sense to scan Ace''s body.
The more careful he scanned, the more his expression started to sink because Ace didn''t have another storage ring hidden on his body nor the ''Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te'' and couldn''t help but looked at Ace who was grinning at him!
When Ace saw Gordon''s clouded face, he knew the fish had taken the bait and sneered inside, ''Watch how I y you to death, old goat!''
Chapter 260 - Hoodwinked!
Gordon coldly looked at Ace and sternly questioned, "Exin!"
"Heh, so, you finally decided to chat, old man." Ace grin mockingly.
Ace wasn''t even in the least bit of worry about Gordon''s cold gaze anymore. He knew his n of deceiving Gordon has been seeded!
"Watch your mouth!" Gordon''s aura instantly spiked when he saw Ace''s carefree attitude, and he even dare to call him ''Old Man'' now, instated of ''Senior''.
But he didn''t attack, he knew something was amiss after seeing the storage ring and ''clean'' Ace.
"Fine, fine, so here the thing¡" Ace''s smile didn''t vanish at all as he said, "Your guess was right, my parents left the ''Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te'' for me when I was young. I only found out when I turned twelve because it was inside my knowledge sea. I also received some memories of a cultivation technique and skills which I''m currently using despite possessing Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te! Do you know why?"
Gordon''s interest was instantly piqued when he heard this, he wasn''t someone from these forsakennds, and he knew there were indeed mysterious ways to hide unique treasures inside a person''s body or imprint techniques and skills for a certain period.
"Why did you cultivate another Cultivation Technique, if you have the Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te?" This was what he also wanted to know now since he knew Ace didn''t have any reason to lie to him, nor he can escape his grasps.
"You see old man, the Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique can only be cultivated when a person clear half of cultivation journey, simply put, this technique can only be learned after one enter Qi soul manifestation realm. The most astonishing thing about this technique is you can cultivate in a soul path from the final half of the cultivation journey, meaning directly to --- realm!" Ace''s voice was filled with passion and yearning in the end.
Gordon''s breathing turned rigged when he heard this impossible to believe secret, and his eyes shone with intense greed.
''No wonder¡ no wonder¡ that''s why the white crowne to such a ce chasing after those two. So, it was because of this heaven-defying technique. If this technique can help in the other half of the cultivation journey and the soul path no less, doesn''t this mean whoever cultivates this technique can ascend to heaven! My technique only helps me until the seventh realm, and I never heard of humanity had any technique that can help us reach the eighth realm!''
The more Gordon think, the more his greed intensified, it almost materialized from his eyes. He knew the gravity of this technique if words got out the entire human race will strive for it, and it will cause a bloody war, even rtives would turn on each other for this technique!
''I can''t let him live anymore, after I get the technique I''ll kill him instantly and leave this ce¡ not¡ I have to leave the continent!'' Gordon instantly made his mind.
But he wasn''tpletely blinded by Ace''s honey words and said with a little soft voice, "As long as you can let me soul search you and give me the Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te I''ll let you go, I can even sign an oath contract with you!"
He will onlypletely believe him after soul search and with this, he''ll kill Ace during soul search, so he won''t vite any term of oath contract, he can''t let Ace live with this kind of secret. His own master will hunt him down if he got wind of this technique!
"There''s no need to oath contract, I just want that treasure mountain." Ace didn''t even seem to care anymore as if everything was under his control, "However if you y any trick this time I''ll instantly self-destruct my martial space, and you won''t get shit! Because if I were to die, that technique te will instantly shatter since it''s bond with me, and only I can transfer it to others!"
This carefree attitude gave Gordon more reason to believe Ace was telling the truth. But he still hesitates though, after thinking about that technique and Ace can''t leave the ghost trapping talisman for another fifty minutes, he took the risk.
Now, even if Ace was telling the lie, he can''t let him die because the technique te was definitely on him, and he saw it with his own eyes. If half of what Ace was true, then he can''t risk this technique being lost!
Because in Gordon''s eyes Ace can''te up with this kind of story on the spot, nor he should know the name of the eighth realm of cultivation world because only a few old monsters know about it.
But too bad for him Ace was an acting expert and with so many memories he naturally had a rich imagination, besides he had the System which was probably millions of times more terrifying than this oriented technique of his.
"Since little friend Ace wants the treasure mountain, it will naturally be his." Gordon suddenly put on an elderly smile and even change the way of calling him.
"You, ves! What are you waiting for? Go and quickly put all the treasure mountain in storage rings for my little friend here." Gordon ordered sternly to all those dumbfounded people watching from afar!
Because everyone was a cultivator, their hearing and eyesight were extremely sharp. They hear and saw how Gordon attacked abruptly and Ace somehow blocked all his attacks with a strange ck page.
But when they heard Ace''s exnation about the ck page and heard about the wonders of Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te'' everyone''s heart stirs and greed filled their heart.
However, when they looked at Gordon coldly staring at them, all the desire in their hearts turned into bitterness and helplessness.
They knew fighting Gordon for the Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te was like fighting a tiger with bare hands.
They could now even guess Gordon might kill them all, just to silent them, since they would''ve done the same to hide the secret of this heaven-defying technique!
Chapter 261 - Mission Complete!
Everyone from Nightmare Ghosts Organization, Pill me Organization, and Beast Calling Organization were thinking about how to preserve their life instead of the technique te right now.
But first, they had to collect all the treasure mountain inside storage rings again, since Gordon was gazing at them like a bloodthirsty snake.
Ace watched all those people start to collect the treasure mountain with shinning eyes and mused, ''Although I tricked him now and somehow make him give me the treasure mountain. But how should I escape? This old monster would not wait until for the talisman to lose its effect.''
Ace knew the real test was to leave this ce alive, not just acquire the treasure mountain!
---
While everyone inside the myriad ghost trapping talisman was collecting treasure mountain as fast as possible, not too far away out the trapping talisman ten people were stealthily observing the condition inside from the moment Gordon attacked Ace!
They were naturally the ten Sky Thieves of Sky Stealer Society who wereing here to scout the treasure mountain just like Ace when they observed the suddenmotion broke out and people start running for their life.
This didn''t scare these ten sky thieves and only made them more curious as they quickly reached here.
But when they saw the dark transparent barrier and Ace hooded figure standing extremely close to the edge of this barrier, they instantly assume some situations.
But when they felt the power of that man who attack Ace like a ghost, their heart throbbed, and they all knew that person was a scary existence that can kill them ten thousand times like ants.
However, when they saw Ace defending against those horrifying attacks and even ''subdue'' the white hair man, everyone''s eyes shone with worship and the respect for their lord reached the level of a deity.
"Brother second, Boss is invincible, he even subdued the enemy''s leader, and now they''re probably collecting the treasure mountain for the boss!" A person in a purple owl mask spoke hysterically.
"No, it''s not so simple, if he subdued that white hair man, then Lord Sky Stealer will make him deactivate the formation barrier first." Second Sky Thief gravely spoke as a matter-of-factly.
"Let''s observe more and if things go south, we''ll act!" First Sky Thief ordered sternly as she continued to look toward Ace''s figure with a hint of trepidation and anxiety.
---
In five minutes, the entire treasure mountain was vanished and turned into fifty storage rings!
Every person caring a ringe to Gordon and respectfully handed them to him.
However, one person asked with a trembling voice as he handed thest storage ring to Gordon, "M-my¡. L-lord, will¡ will you kill us all?"
Everyone instantly stopped in their tracks as they looked toward Gordon with hopeful eyes. They all naturally wanted to know the answer to this exact question.
Gordon coolly take thest storage ring and looked at everyone, excluding consciousness Dulce there was a total of 127 people, most of them being assassins from Nightmare Ghosts Organization.
"How could I kill you all who work for me all this time so tirelessly and seamlessly? I''ll reward everyone with¡"
Gordon nonchntly speak like a kind elder, and everyone''s listless eyes instantly lit up with a hope to leave this ce alive. Some of them even start to scheme about how they could sell this information about dark te to others and profit from it. But they didn''t dare to show it on their face.
However, Gordon''s next word made everyone''s heart go stopped, literally!
"I''ll reward everyone with¡ Death!"
A total of 127 gray light streaks abruptly shot toward everyone''s heart, shattering thempletely!
Everyone died with their eyes wide open as they were filled with incredulity and abhorrence for Gordon!
Ace looked calmly at those dead bodies, he knew from the start Gordon would never let them leave this ce alive, especially not after learning about the ''technique''.
Gordon nonchntly looked toward Ace and smile meaningfully, he put all those fifty rings inside Ace''s ring in his hand and throw it toward Ace without even caring about if Ace would go back on his words since he had clearly just shown his might.
Ace''s eyes were fixed on Gordon''s, he was closely watching if Gordon would make a sudden move he would quickly take out the ck page, but Gordon just stand there without even twitching.
Ace finally caught the ring and put it on his finger, and all those fifty rings entered his thief''s space the very next moment.
The very next moment thereafter, the system''s voice enter his mind which was like a voice of a goddess at his time.
====
[All the reaming 24 Treasuries has been theft]
[Mission: Opportunity Makes a Thief]
...
[Status: Compete]
...
====
However, before the system couldplete the announcement, Ace quickly transmitted in a hurry, "Cut the crap, we have all-time in the world after I escape this old monster, quicklyplete your damn upgrade and active the shop!"
Ace has put all his hopes on the system after his n of tricking Gordon into giving him the treasure mountain was to seed. He was nning on instantly raising his stealth and lightning steps with those pills in the system shop, and then ying a game of hide-and-seek with Gordon until the talisman time was run out!
However, what he never expected was the system''s next words would instantly send him to the pits of hell!
====
[System upgrade is avable]
[Cost: 1 Million Thief Points]
[Reward: Level-1 Authority]
[Time: 23:59:59]
---
[Host has already authorized the system upgrade]
---
[1 Million Thief Points has been deducted]
[Thief Point(s): 1,818,400]
---
[Upgrade has been started, please wait plenty]
---
[Time: 23:59:58]
====
Ace was gobsmacked by the series of notifications and only snapped out his stupor when he saw the twenty-four-hour ticking clock!
Ace suddenly felt his heart stop, and he thought listlessly, ''You Traitorous System, you fucking yed me to death!''
Chapter 262 - Soul Search
[System upgrade is avable]
[Cost: 1 Million Thief Points]
[Reward: Level-1 Authority]
[Time: 23:59:59]
---
[Host has already authorized the system upgrade]
---
[1 Million Thief Points has been deducted]
[Thief Point(s): 1,818,400]
---
[Upgrade has been started, please wait plenty]
---
[Time: 23:59:58]
====
Ace nearly went insane from the stunt that the system just pull. The system never told him before the upgrade would take whole twenty-four hours toplete, and it wasn''t free either.
Now, not only the system had ''cheat'' him out of one million thief point, but he didn''t get shit in return except a fucking clock that look more like his death clock right now.
"It was my fault for putting so much trust in this bitchy system. If I escape alive today, I''ll make sure you pay for it, bastard system!" Ace resentfully cursed the system in his mind.
But the system did not fault in this matter either because foremost, Ace never ask about the condition of the upgrading process nor did he bother since he was too busy thinking about how to theft andplete the mission which was getting in his way.
And second, no one would''ve imagined Ace would be trapped like this and face someone like Gordon so soon and unexpectedly. Now all these unfortunate events have pushed Ace to the corner.
If his n of hoodwinking Gordon has been seeded and the system upgraded instantly, Ace was ny percent certain of escaping this talisman alive. But his luck was just too bad, and now his ny percent chance dropped below five percent!
Because thisst method was just too risky, and it was just a theory if Ace was wrong or even dy for a moment he''ll be killed by enraged Gordon!
"What are you waiting for, since I give you the entire treasure mountain without holding back? I also expect you toplete your promise without pulling any tricks!" Gordon''s coldly looked at Ace, who was just standing there like a sculpture.
"R-right, since Senior put his truth in me, how could I go back on my words?" Ace smile wryly, ''Death or life will depend on this.''
Ace inhaled deeply before his eyes turn resolute and shape, "Senior, please proceed with this ''soul search'' first!"
Gordon narrowed his eyes as he quickly rejected, "No, I want the ''Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te'' first, the soul search can wait. I trust you this much!"
How could Gordon agree to this, what if Ace died during soul search, and he was nning to kill him from soul search as well? He had to take ownership of Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te first and then kill Ace with soul search.
If this was before, Gordon won''t hesitate to use a soul search on Ace, but this time it waspletely different. This sequence can''t be changed no matter what, Gordon won''t risk killing Ace as long as the Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te'' was still in his possession!
However, Ace shook his head and decisively sneered, "I can''t transfer Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te first no matter what, what if you go back on your word and don''t try to pull the oath contract trick on me!"
Even though Ace didn''t know what this soul search was, he knows this has something to do with the memories in the knowledge sea, and it was probably had the same function as his soul probing.
From the start, Ace had nned to let Gordon use this soul search on him because he knew the system was somewhere inside his mind, and it won''t let anyone search his memories or probe someone in its home wantonly.
Moreover, after associating with the system for so long, he knew this system was extremely arrogant, and it might be some omniscient existence that can go toe to toe with heaven itself, so how could this kind of existence let an ant-like Gordon disturb it?
Ace wanted Gordon to suffer the consequences, and at that moment he''ll kill Gordon instantly. This was hisst resort, and he still didn''t know if all this conjecture of his will even worked or not, since the system can simply decide to not act at all.
That''s why he didn''t want to take this risk, but now he had no choice but to take this risk because after exchanging blows with Gordon, he knew Gordon was probably experimenting with him before, and if he truly wanted him dead, he can not block all of his attacks.
The difference of cultivation was just too great since Gordon was almost half step into Qi Soul realm!
Gordon''s eyes turned cold when he saw Ace was bent on not giving up the Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te so easily, this put him into a dilemma.
Although he was confident in making sure Ace won''t die of soul search, what he was truly afraid of was, he won''t remain sane after soul search, and won''t be able to transfer the Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te!
"You win brat!" In the end, Gordon gritted his teeth and instantly appeared in front of Ace and move his hand toward Ace''s head.
Ace didn''t dodge either this time, since he didn''t sense any killing intent from Gordon, just frustration.
Gordon knew Ace has sensed something from his words, and he would not give up the Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te easily now.
So, he simply decided to soul search for the memory rted to Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te and nothing else. This will keep Ace sane and only damaged his soul.
However, Gordon was still going to kill Ace and do another soul search after Ace give him the Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te!
Sparing Ace wasn''t an option anymore!
Ace suddenly felt a foreign Qi enter his brain, and he felt his head split as a huge pain attack him.. He felt this Qi was drilling inside his knowledge sea forcefully. He never thought this soul search would be such a vicious method, it wasn''t like his gentle soul probe at all!
Chapter 263 - Ace’s Knowledge Sea
Ace suddenly felt a foreign Qi enter his brain, and he felt his head split as a huge pain attack him. He felt this Qi was drilling inside his knowledge sea forcefully was Gordon''s martial sense!
He never thought this soul search would be such a vicious method, it wasn''t like his gentle soul probing at all.
Gordon wanted to use only superficial soul search on Ace since the full prowess of it will turn him into a ''vegetable''. Furthermore, this technique was for a soul realm cultivator, but he was using it on the river core realm, only he can do this since his real cultivation was much higher than his clone, but this action has its consequences. Like it would take a huge toll on Gordon''s body and mind, or even cause a back bacsh if he used it for an excessive amount of time.
However, Gordon was confident to finish it in a few moments since Ace was only Qi ''river'' cultivator. Although he can''t sense Ace''s cultivation. But after his exchange with him, he waspletely sure that Ace was only at Qi ''river''. He only thought of this as a Concealment Skill left behind by his parents as well.
But the moment Gordon used the soul search on Ace, his calm expression changed ever so slightly, first because he can''t go past his mental defensive with the power he was using right now.
''Hmm? Why is this brat''s mental defense so high? Is it because of the te?'' Gordon instantly reached this own conclusion, since it was the only possible exnation he could think of.
The very next moment, Gordon increased the output of his power and finally managed to breakthrough Ace''s mental defense.
However, what he didn''t know was Ace was the one who lowered his mental defense or Gordon wouldn''t find out about his soul cultivation and also spare himself from the excruciating pain.
But Ace never thought the soul search would be even more dominant and menacing after breaking past his mental defense! He suddenly felt the pain he once experienced when the system first time enter his head!
But he gritted his teeth and endure since he knew the time of regret was way past now, and he was hoping for the system to act, or he''ll die right now!
''What a strong will!'' Gordon silently admired Ace''s endurance because if it was someone else they would''ve screaming right now and begging for mercy even though he was using only thirty percent prowess of soul search!
''Since you can endure this much, I won''t have to worry about you turning into a vegetable anymore. Let''s see if you hide anything from me about the technique or not!''
Gordon''s martial sense instantly goes toward Ace''s knowledge sea however, Gordon was instantly gobsmacked the moment he saw Ace''s knowledge sea.
''H-how is this possible?!'' He waspletely bbergasted this time.
Typically, a normal person''s knowledge sea looked like argeke with shimmering stars inside, those stars represent a person''s memory fragments. The brighter the star, the deeper the memory fragments.
However, if a person was a one in a million genius, then his knowledge sea would be like arge river, and it would be covered by a defensive mist, so it would be hard to search it.
Nevertheless, if a person was a one in a billion genius, then his knowledge would truly be like a sea with thick mist protecting it, and it was quite troublesome to soul search this kind of person and if the person using soul search was not careful enough, he can even suffer a bacsh and table can turn on him in an instant!
However, this type of genius was extremely rare in Golden Sky World and if this kind of genius appeared in any race, they would do anything to protect it, even if this mean the war with other races.
This type of genius has extremely fast cultivation speed andprehending abilities, they can understand a technique, art, or skill within days that will take a normal person almost a year!
These geniuses were the hope of their races and always protected by powerful protectors wherever they go, and killing them was extremely cumbersome.
However, Gordon was shocked silly by Ace knowledge sea because it was almost like an endless inky ocean and there weren''t any mist or memory stars in it because it was pitch ck, there was nothing but darkness!
Furthermore, the more Gordon saw, the more he felt this was more of an endless abyss than a knowledge sea and if he dared to try searching it, he''ll forever be lost in it!
Suddenly, Gordon felt a chill run down his spine and he felt he was thrown into an icyke abruptly, he just felt someone terrifying just gaze at him from that inky sea!
''If you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you!''
This phase suddenly came into Gordon''s mind for some reason, he wanted to quickly retract his martial sense he had a feeling someone was very wrong with Ace''s dark knowledge sea, and he had a feeling something was terrifying residing here.
However, when he tried to retract his martial sense from Ace''s dark knowledge sea he found out he can''t, furthermore, he was glued to his ce like a state!
Suddenly, he felt a sliver of wind, but Gordon knew wind couldn''t exist in a knowledge sea, and how could he have felt a sliver of wind?
The moment he felt this sliver of wind, his martial sense turned into nothingness!
Ace knowledge sea returned to its tranquil state after Gordon''s martial sense was turned into smithereens by an unknown sliver of wind.
Ace did not know what had happened inside his knowledge sea, nor he could gaze at it until he reached an extremely high realm.
However, for some reason, Gordon''s calm rosy face has turned deserted and ashen as his soul suddenly trembled.
The pain from soul search instantly vanished as well, and Ace''s eyes lit like torches in tion, and he knew his n was seeded!
Chapter 264 - On The Brink Of Death
Ace did not know what had happened inside his knowledge sea, nor he could gaze at it until he reached an extremely high realm.
However, for some reason, Gordon''s calm rosy face has turned deserted and ashen as his soul suddenly trembled as if he just received a massive soul attack. His hand on Ace''s head also trembled, and he vomited arge amount of blood the very next moment.
The moment Ace noticed the anomaly in Gordon''s demeanor, the pain from Gordon''s soul search also instantly disappeared, and Ace''s eyes lit like torches in tion, and he knew his n has seeded!
He didn''t waste a moment as he brandished his long dark de sword with despair lightning and quickly go after Gordon''s neck.
Gordon was in a state of shock after that dreadful sliver of wind destroyed his martial sense cruelly, and he also felt the approaching death. He finally understood that Ace was going for this from the start, and Ace fooled him into soul-searching him.
Everything became as clear as that at this moment.
He knew Ace has used this chance to finish him at his weakest moment and right now, he can''t even move from his spot or block any Qi attack. The attacks that can hurt martial sense were extremely rare, but this kind of attack can be very deadly and Gordon knew it undoubtedly.
''I have to protect this cultivation clone at all cost or my cultivation foundation would be shattered this time and I won''t live much longer without the cultivation and longevity thate with it. But if I used that trump card it will kill this brat and the technique te would probably vanish with him.
''That dark knowledge sea might also be the product of the dark te and this brat was clearing hiding it from me before, so he could lure me in his knowledge sea and used this particr function of that dark technique te and take advantage of it afterward.
''That technique te might be even more heaven-defying than this brat divulged before. He also might already cultivate that technique, and the part about cultivating it in Qi soul manifestation was more likely to be a farce to fool me.
''I was truly blinded by greed and overlooked this possibly and underestimated this brat¡ no, I underestimated the Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique''s wonders and yed right into this brat''s hand.
''But I have to protect my life, or all the treasure in this world will be meaningless to me. What if he''s also telling a lie about destroying the Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te with me as well?
''I don''tbelieve a technique like this can be destroyed by a meager existence like this brat, and even if it did, I don''t care anymore since I won''t be in this world to cultivate it!''
At that moment, Gordon made up his mind to save himself, his life was more important than Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te, anyway.
Even though Gordon''s cultivation technique has many pros like it can help him cultivation much faster than his peers and as long as he matured a cultivation clone and absorbed it, he won''t encounter any bottleneck in his cultivation.
But this technique also had just as many cons, like if he lost two clones in a ten-year cycle his foundation would instantly shatter, and he''ll be a cripple.
Although he can afford to rebuild his foundation, he was already over a thousand years old; it was already half of the lifespan of a soul manifestation realm cultivator.
The moment Gordon''s cultivation vanished, the longevity with it also be gone, and he''ll turn into a dry corpse within a few hours!
That''s also why Gordon never made over one clone before but as he was reaching half of his lifespan and he was already too far away from the next realm, so, he created two clone seeds and send them in his ce which was quite safe.
However, Gordon never imagine that someone like Ace would appear and kill one of his two clones in this forsaken ce. That''s also why he was hurrying to descend in this final clone to take it back and absorbed it quickly, he can''t take any chance of it being destroyed within ten years cycle.
But his greed for Ace''s secret made him stay, and now he was again done in by Ace and was about to lose his second clone''s life, which was equivalent to losing his life for real!
Gordon never would''ve thought the protective talisman he made those underlings of Emperor Gordon create in high-levelnds was going to waste on a Qi ''river'' realm brat!
He was saving this talisman for the ''ancient path'' that lead back to the royalnds, but now Ace has pushed him to the brink of death, and he cares more about his life than a treasure he won''t be able to use after his tragic death.
"Boy, me yourself for courting death!"
Gordon''s weak voice filled with malice and madness entered Ace''s ears who was about to chop off Gordon''s head with his long sword, he was just a centimeter away before the dark lightning would touch Gordon''s neck.
Ace''s heart palpitated suddenly when his soul sense rang in terrifying rm, he knew something was amiss and Gordon had something dreadful up his sleeve!
However, it was already toote because Ace''s long sword was jammed a hair away from Gordon''s neck and Ace found himself under some powerful restriction force.
Ace, perplexed, eyes suddenlynded on a ck cube that has mysteriously appeared in Gordon''s hand. A symbol on it was shimmering at his moment, and Ace knew this abrupt development exactly because of this dark cube!
"Die!"
Gordon''s voice was like the voice of a grim reaper at this moment in Ace''s ears.
Ace saw suddenly enveloped by a dark light whole, and he didn''t even know what has happened, but he felt his consciousness start to fade mysteriously as he felt extreme coldness creep inside his body, he was on the brink of death!
Chapter 265 - Random Teleportation Life Coin!
At that one moment, as Ace''s consciousness was descending into darkness, Ace saw his entire life shing through his eyes. He somehow knew he was going to die very soon and everything would be over once and for all.
''My only regret is I won''t be able to see little sis, Alina, anymore, and I even got Eva killed together with me. If there is an afterlife, I hope Eva found someone better than me, who could bring her the happiness and joy she deserved.
''As for you, bitchy system, even though it''s annoying to be your host, but I have to admit without you, I won''t be what I am and probably living a meaningless miserable life in those slums without being able to experience this magnificent, mysterious world.
''I won''t me you or felt resentful toward you for my death, it was me who was too reckless. I never thought I would say it but¡ I enjoy being a¡ thief, and I''m very thankful to you for giving me this chance. Likewise, I hope you could find another worthy host who can be a better thief than I ever was.
''However, if there is a chance please save Eva, I know you can just consider it my final wish¡''
However, right at this exact moment when Ace was about to take his final breath system''s voice rang and this time it was the other yful voice that sound like it wasughing at Ace''s ''confession''.
But, Ace was almost conscienceless right now or might blush and curse the system for making fun of his heartfelt emotions.
"[Don''t worry, the host cannot die right now, not until that ''item'' is still in effect.]"
A series of notifications rang in Ace''s mind like ringing bells in the system''s usual icy voice.
======
[Warning: The system detects a life-ending danger to the host''s life.]
Lifesaving Protocol: Detected
---
[Random Teleportation Life Coin: 1]
[Status: Avable]
[Activation: Automatically activated]
---
[Warning: The system has already activated the Random Teleportation Life Coin. The host will be teleported randomly, please brace yourself.]
======
The very next moment, Ace''s figure which was enveloped by the dark light of the cube symbol mysterious vanished into thin air with a blink without even a trace of him left!
Ace never would''ve dreamed that he would be saved by the random teleportation life coin which he once bought on a whim, and he alwaysined about it and call it a scam of the system since he can''t use it himself.
Now that Ace was gone, the dark life suddenly lost its target, and it also faded.
Gordon weakly looked at the fading dark light with pity, he knew Ace was probably dead by the ''Soul Killer Light Talisman'' which was a Grade three soul attack talisman!
He wanted to save it for his journey back, and he knew this talisman can''t be created anymore since he has already been lucky before to find all the materials in Crimson Sword Empire''s treasury.
But he was forced to use it on Ace, and he could me only himself for being too greedy and greatly underestimating Ace.
''I hope the technique te can still be retrieved from his corpse.''
Gordon expected Ace''s cold corpse to fall when the light disappeared, but his expression suddenly changed because there wasn''t any corpse or even Ace''s dust when the dark light was faded!
"How is that possible?!" Gordon muttered in incredulity and bewilderment.
He naturally knew the effect of this talisman and it by no means can obliterate the corpse of the victim since it was a soul attack talisman, not a martial attack!
"Did that brat destroy the technique te and turned to dust with it??!"
The more Gordon think, the more he felt it was the only possibility, and he felt extremely depressed about it. He never even considered Ace would escape the soul killer light talisman, nor he could escape the still active myriad ghost trapping talisman.
In his eyes, Ace was dead and gone forever with the Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te!
"What a waste, I gain nothing and lose almost my life¡ sigh¡" Gordon sighed weakly as his eyes were filled with grievance and wrath, "I should leave this damned cursed ce as soon as I returned to my peak condition."
Gordon was in an extremely weak state and his cultivation was even dropped to theplete river state became of the bacsh he received after that mysterious force destroyed his martial sense.
He needed years to recover this clone''s cultivation, and he wasn''t nning on returning to royalnds anymore, not in this state. He was going to hide somewhere secluded until his ten-year cycle was to pass, and the looming death threat with it.
However, Gordon''s expression suddenly changed when he felt people approaching at a very fast speed. He knew he was safe as long as no one in Qi river core showed up, or he was besieged by several peak Qi river cultivators.
He had already killed all the peak Qi river cultivators of three giants and even the Golden King was also dead, so he was confident in escaping this ce until someone of this leave showed up.
As for these people, the strongest of them all was a Qi river source, and he wasn''t much worried about it. The myriad ghost trapping talisman was intact for 40 or so minutes, and it was enough time for him to move around again.
Ten ck-d figures in different owl masks showed up, they were the ten sky thieves of sky stealer society.
These ten naturally witness everything until the dark light enveloped Ace, and then he mysteriously vanished. The first sky thief was the one who rush here, and the other nine had no choice but to follow.
Truth be told, they all wanted to escape after witnessing the bitter struggle between Ace and Gordon, and after Ace disappeared in that dark light they could guess that either Ace has escaped or he''s already perished.
The chances of thetter were much higher, but no one dare to speak it out loud since they knew the first thief would probably beat them to death.
"What did you do to Sky Stealer?!" First Sky Thief''s voice was filled with killing intent as she coldly looked at Gordon who was coolly standing not far away from the transparent dark barrier.
Although Gordon couldn''t hear her voice, he could still read lips clearly and his stoic expression turned into a sarcastic smile seeing this person was inquiring about Ace.
Gordon''s lips rose in a mocking smile as he suppressed his rage when he thought about how Ace has ''snatched'' Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te from him.
He simply said three words with intense killing intent, "He is dead!"
Chapter 266 - Very Soon!
A few weeks ago, before the events in middle-levelnds took ce. When Gordon just stepped inside the middle Sky changing border.
He crossed haft the way with no problem, just like anyone could with a sky-changing pass. However, the moment he reached the halfway mark, the evidently safe path instantly lit up in manyplex runes.
The next moment thereafter, a cold deathly aura surge from those glowing runes as if those runes were going to devour Gordon whole.
This sudden turn of events would scare anyone to death, and they will do everything to escape the disaster, but Gordon stood there nonchntly with a cold smile while silently observing those runes changing as if he was watching a clown show.
Suddenly those rune symbols turned into thousands of light streaks supporting immense prowess and powerful momentum, those streaks were fallen on Gordon like heavy rainfall.
However, Gordon didn''t show any fear nor did his arrogant expression change even the slightest bit, he just flipped his hand and a palm-size ck cube appeared with a golden rune symbol on each of its four sides.
The light rainfall already falls upon Gordon, covering himpletely in blinding white light, if it was anyone else this would be the end of them but something magical happened the very instant those light streaks touched Gordon.
They shattered into small light partials without even leaving a scratch on him, furthermore, the mysterious ck cube in hand was illuminating in golden luster.
However, the moment thest light streak turned into light partials, the ck cube returned to its dormant state as if nothing happened.
"A Protection Talisman¡ who are you?!" A deep ancient voice reverberated like a thunder rumbling.
Gordon''s calm eyes suddenly contracted after hearing this ancient voice and question back with a slight frown, "Who are you?"
From Gordon''s memories, he knew this formation has somehow be berserk after some fool tried to take control of it, but he never imagined a consciousness living inside this formation much less this consciousness knew about the nature of the cube in his hand.
Because he especially created this Sky Protection Talisman that can encounter these sky-changing formations and was only useful here. However, only a few bigwigs of humanity like him know about this special sky protection talisman.
What he was more interested in, how could this person know about talismans since the talisman making wasn''t taught in this ce at all!
"You are a ''Royal'', right?" The ancient voice rang again, with no intention of answering Gordon''s question.
People from Royal-Lands were known as Royals or People of Ancients by lower-levelnds.
"And who might you be?" Gordon repeat his question again while silently admitting he was from the royalnds.
"Does it matter?" The ancient voice remained static, still refused to answer, "Tell me, is Humane Sage Lineage still around?"
Gordon frowned deeply hearing this question and his eyes shone with uncertainty as he thought, ''How did the owner of this voice know about Humane Sage as well, is he someone from the main family of one of the Azure Maind Sects?''
Many questions aroused in Gordon''s heart, but he found it too unbelievable since someone from a sage linage couldn''t be trapped here like this.
He thought for a moment and answered while probing, "Which Humane Sage are you referring to there are five and how did you end up like this?"
"Five?!" The ancient voice sounded startled as it was in disbelief.
"Who are you?" Gordon''s voice turned icy cold as he thought this voice was messing with him.
However, this time no answer came nor did the formation act strange again,pletely silent plunge the area.
Gordon waited quite a while before his patient reached its limit and coldly snorted, "Just a resentful spirit, I guess."
Without any further ado he moved on, pretending to be nonchnt, but he was still musing about the identity of that voice. He knew something was going on here he doesn''t understand, and the formation might not be berserk as it seemed.
But he never heard of this kind of phenomenon before, ''I should investigate this matter and discuss it with the old man since he''s a sage linage and this formation was also made by Humane Sages, he might be interested in it and know something.''
Gordon can''t control this main body while using his cultivation clone and if he retracts his consciousness, this clone would be turned to dust, and with it, Gordon as well!
That''s why he also didn''t dare to step into real formation and remain on the life path, he will not take any excessive risks with this clone.
At the core of sky changing formation, a naked bony man was sitting cross-legged right at top of the runic formation core, an ancient voice rang as it soundedmenting, from the core of this formation.
"So, that traitor even changed history and create five Humane Sages while removing ancestor from the history. I should''ve guessed this, since they can''t get the forefather inheritance through me, they will hide it from others and bid their time trying to unseal it.
"But those fools don''t know that formation can''t be unsealed by the likes of them, even I wasn''t able to crack it back then. Just wait my traitorous disciple, very soon your master will escape this formation after refining this soul body, and seek justice for my vus n. Very soon¡"
If Ace was present, he would''ve instantly recognized this voice because this was none other than Patriarch Empty Dream''s other soul part, and it didn''t seem as helpless as the one he encountered in the low sky-changing border!
---
At the same time when Ace''s whereabouts were unknown after his confrontation with Gordon, in the edge of high-levelnds, this ce was filled with deadly formations and traps.
If someone crossed all these formations and traps that stretched for miles, they will reach a huge endless wall that was covered in runes.
This wall was known as the Royal Sky Changing Wall which was also thest barrier between high-levelnds and royal-levelnds but for some reason a few thousand years ago this royal sky changing wall waspletely sealed off, cutting the connection with royal-levelndspletely.
Not one knows about this matter since it was kept under tight wraps and only leaders of three giants know about it or some old monster who were in hibernation for thousands of years since it would slow down their death.
For thousands of years, the three giants were trying their best to break open this formation wall and create their connection with the royalnds again because if this news of royalnd cutting the connection with lowernds and probably caged them here were released to the public it would cause a huge, unstoppable upheaval!
Because three giants only regain their statues till now because those powerful empires fear their background not them and if they even get the wind of this huge matter, everyone will band together to plunder their resources without even caring about the consequences!
That''s also why the three giants create thousands of traps and formations around the sky-changing wall, so those people can never reach the main formation wall and found out about their biggest secret.
The reason for the three giants hunting Ace was also this exact reason because he could escape the low sky-changing formation alive, and they all wanted to capture him alive, so they could find out if Ace could help them escape this formation as well.
But s, they still didn''t know all those people they send after Ace was dead, and Gordon probably took away their chances of connecting with the royalnds again after nearly killing Ace.
However, this had nothing to do with this ck-cloaked individual who was standing not far away from the endless wall, this person somehow reached this royal sky-changing wall despite all those formations and traps!
"So, this is the final boundary between royal-levelnds." A lovely voice eximed in awe.
"Hmph¡ what a waste of resources creating all this formation and then that wall just for some scheme or personal motives. Heh¡ typical human behavior." An old voice sneered in disdain from this person''s mind!
"Senior, where is that ancient path you told me about, and are you really sure we should leave without retrieving the map stolen by that scoundrel?" the beautiful voice questioned with uncertainty.
"Hmph¡ let the thief keep it safe for us and once you''ll retrieve my full inheritance from Beast Continent, you can always retrieve it back and took revenge on that thievish brat. Besides, that brat is the perfect sacrifice and with that map on him, we can easily find him when the timees. Simrly, it is useless in any human hand since you know that location is in --- continent!"the old voice harrumphed coldly.
"It was indeed my fault for being ignorant, I''ll definitely live up to your expectation and take my revenge on that bastard and pay him back for this mark he gave me!"
The beautiful voice was filled with resentment as she looked at her slender snowing ring finger and there was a tattoo of an imposing owl!
"Don''t worry once you kill that brat this mark will definitely disappear, now follow my instructions closely if you take even half a step wrong you''ll be dead!" The old voice solemnly warned.
The cloaked figure vanished in the depth of the royal sky-changing wall.
~~~~~~
End of Volume Two
[Opportunity Makes a Thief!]
~~~~~~~
[Author Note]
[Another volume is done andplete!
I know my writing is not perfect and I always made mistakes. But you guys neverin much and this encouraged me to improve my writing quality so you guys can have a better reading experience!
I''m grateful for everyone''s support and love, I really appreciate it.]
Stay tuned, see you in the third volume [Thief is destined for greatness!]
#Wahi (:
Chapter 267 - Teleported?!
Ace didn''t know what happened, but when his consciousness was almost on the brink of exhaustion, he suddenly felt a strange warm power enter his cold limbs. Abruptly, after that, he felt he was in the middle of a vortex.
''What is happening?! Is this a path to hell?'' Ace thought as he finally regained some of his stability. But he still can''t seem to open his eyes, and he could only feel his surroundings.
Furthermore, Ace still assume he was dead, and he didn''t know about the activation of the life coin.
''Bang¡''
Ace groaned in pain when his body suddenlynded on a rocky surface. ''Why can I feel pain even after death?'' Ace knew something was not right as he tried to open his eyes.
To his tion, this time, his eyelids responded to his wishes and, with some difficulty, he opened his eyelids. However, the very next moment a deadly pain attack his head and he knew he was not dead as he could feel his mind space and martial space.
But he was horrified when he saw the problem of that deadly pain. It was his true soul because it was full of cracks and his orange soul core was missing half of its core!
Before it was like a full moon, now it was more like a half and even the reaming core was also on the verge of breaking.
Ace guessed this was probably the aftermath of Gordon''sst attack. ''It almost shattered my true soul. I''m afraid, if not for the soul core taking most of the damage, I''ll be dead. No¡ I should be dead, but somehow, I managed to survive. Didn''t this mean I''m still in that old man''s hand?!''
Ace instantly became anxious when he thought about it and in that intense soul pain, he again opened his eyes with extreme difficulty while enduring the soul''s pain. Even if he was alive as long as he was in Gordon''s hand, there was no point in being alive at all.
However, Ace was bbergasted when, with some difficulty, he observed his surrounding with his blurry eyes. He saw a crowd of remarkably tall humans surrounding him, and they were babbling something that he can''t understand since his ears were ringing because of pain.
''Where is this ce?! Did I escape that old man, but how?!'' Ace was now even more perplexed as the pain intensified even more, ''What the hell is going on?! Wait a moment, with this kind soul injury, why the hell is I''m still awake?!''
Ace finally notice this point and the very next moment he heard the system''s voice, which clear some of his confusion.
======
[Random Teleportation Life Coin has been used!]
[Host has been teleported to a random location!]
---
[Temporary healing effect cooldown: 499:59:58]
[Warning: Host soul has been greatly damaged and the healing effect of random teleportation coin can notpletely heal host''s true soul. The host has five hundred hours to heal the true soul, or the life coin temporary effect of holding the true soul together will be exhausted. This will cause the host''s true death. Please refrain from using any soul skill before healing the soul corepletely, or the temporary effects will be weakened tremendously!]
=======
Ace finally understood what has happened and how did he had survived that sure-kill soul attack. His soul pain was also reduced to a tolerable level after this notification.
''So that life coin wasn''t a scam after all, but my condition is really grave, and I only have less than twenty-one days to at least heal my soul core, or I''ll be really dead this time around, and by system tone that life coin will not save me again.
''But that life coin is really a life-saving treasure, and I''m d I bought it at that time. I should buy the reaming two after the shop opens again. But first I have to find some treasure that can give me soul points, this is the only way I can fast heal my soul core.'' Ace mused, he knew he had only this way to heal his soul quickly since the soul-rted treasures will not be going to work on him typically.
''But where the hell I should find those soul treasures? They''re just too damn rare, and I still have to deal with that old man. He will probably go after me if he found out I''m still alive. But foremost, I have to find out which kingdom I''m teleported to since this life coin can only teleport me to a random location.''
Ace still didn''t forget he was right in the middle of some street, and he was still wearing his thief''s trainee hood and his swords were still in his hands.
Now that his soul''s pain was bearable, he quickly stored those two swords in his thief''s space first, and his eyes also be clear. He finally has a close look at the surrounding people.
However, Ace''s eyes contracted in rm when he saw the ''people'' surrounding him. He felt he was dreaming or hallucinating because of his damaged soul. He closed his eyes and circte his Heavenly Darkness Qi and opened his eyes again, but the scene in front of him didn''t change at all!
In front of him were a crowd of ''people'', their heights werepletely abnormal as the shortest of them was 1.9-meter-tall while the tallest of them was probably reaching almost three meters!
But what Ace was truly horrified about was, these ''tall people'' skin color waspletely blue, furthermore, they all had two bovine-horns of different sizes on their foreheads, as for their eyes they werepletely light blue, and they didn''t have pupils!
Ace''s heart palpitated, seeing all those pairs of blue eyeballs curiously looking at him as if he was a rare monkey. He wanted to quickly stand on his toe and run, but because of his soul injury, he couldn''t move right now, and he needed some more time before he can move around, much less run.
However, he had a terrible feeling seeing all those ''people'' and he knew something has terribly gone wrong during his teleportation.
''Bastard System, where the hell did you just throw me?!''
Ace wanted to cry right now as he looked toward apletely dark golden sky whichpared with the sky of middle-levelnds¡ it was likeparing genuine gold with a fake half-ass imitation. He also noticed the density of Qi was thousands of times richer in this ce as well.
Although the system has said the life coin has teleported him to a random location but this ''random'' seemed quite an underrated word, seeing he was probably teleported out of the azure wind continent!
Ace even had some idea where he was. He had seen some records about this peculiar race which grow horns on their forehead exactly like these ''people'' surrounding him in three giants'' secret records, but he didn''t want to believe it. Since it was too damn unbelievable to teleported to an entirely different continent, and if his guess was right, this was ''the'' continent, not just any continent!
''Why the hell is my luck so bad? I messed up even a random location!'' Aceined in his mind as all the happiness of escaping Gordon''s alive vanished in smoke.
After his encounter with Gordon, Ace knew the world beyond the borders of lowernds was much more developed, and he was probably living in a remote vige all this time.
But he never expected to throw right in the middle of this scary continent, which was like a hegemonypare with the human continent!
"Clear the way, the Demon Guards areing!" Someone in the crowd suddenly eximed, with a hint of fear and respect in his solemn voice.
Although thisnguage was foreign, Ace could clearly understand it because of his ancient godnguage, because all thenguages were originated from it.
This was more like a supernatural ability of a person who could understand and speak thenguage of ancient gods, and Ace had it from the start, but he never paid much attention to it. However, now that he could clearly understand this foreignnguage like a fluent listener, he finally understood, this was quite handy at a time like this.
However, he wasn''t happy at all because this concludes this guess was indeed right after hearing the word ''Demon'' and he knew he was in huge trouble!
''Bitchy system, you fucking send me to ''Mighty Demon Continent'' of all the ces in this vast world?! If you want me to suffer, just send me to ''All Devil Continent'' and be done with it!''
Ace didn''t care about the system, had just saved his life because it probably made it much worse right now.
As the name suggests, the Mighty Demon Continent was home to Golden Sky World''s second hegemony race, the Demon Race!
Ace preferred to send into hell than Might Demon Continent!
Chapter 268 - Detain In Mighty Demon Continent!
Mighty Demon Continent was the home of the demon race which, ording to rumors, can go toe to toe with the Devil Race and the difference in strength between these two mighty races wasn''t too great.
However, for some unknown reason, Demon Race never strive for the first spot, and neither were they hostile toward Devil Race. On the contrary, the rtionship between these two races was quite friendly.
This left every other race perplexed and because of this exact reason, no one dare to offend either of one race because they would have to suffer the wrath of two races together and these two races were already strong enough to destroy any race, alone!
The Mighty Demon Continent wasn''t divided like human''s azure wind continent, nor did there were different fractions. This continent was unified under the banner of the Demon Emperor, who was known for his cruelty even toward his race.
But everyone knows this was the nature of demons. Anyone with powerful fists can get a status in Demon Race. But this rule only applied to a member of the demon race and if any other race dared to cause trouble or harm any demon, the entire race would be united, and the offender had to suffer the retaliation of the entire demon race!
This was what makes the top three races of Golden Sky World so scary. They stand up for their own and remain unified against amon enemy. Although other races were also like this to their own, they didn''t have means or prowess like Devil, Demon, and Ancient Hunters!
Right at this moment, Ace was lying t right in the middle of a demon city''s street.
All those demons were shocked and terrifying when the hooded Ace with two ck swords appeared out of thin air, right in the middle of this crowded street. They were all prepared to struggle for their lives, but this ''intruder'' didn''t do a thing, as he just y'' there like some retard.
So, this naturally aroused those curious demons'' curiosity because every big demon city like this was protected by a powerful defensive formation, and it was night impossible for other races to enter without startling the guards.
Which also gave all these demons the wrong impression that Ace was a wounded demon who somehow appeared here in the process of escaping for his life.
That''s why they also didn''t attack him and watch him with pity. This was one of the rules of the demon race. No one can attack a wounded fellow demon unless he was a traitor, criminal, or in a duel with another demon.
However, they can''t help this ''demon'' either without an investigation or they will suffer serious punishments if this demon they helped turned out to be a criminal or someone who just run away from an ''honorable demon duel''!
At this moment, loud footsteps filled with imposing auras rang in the crowded street.
"Quickly, clear the way the Demon Guards areing!"
A path between the demons split opened and ten tall, sturdy personnel d in ck heavy armors and holding towering spears and halberds quickly surrounded Ace as they released their oppressive deep auras of Qi Bronze Core Realm.
Ace''s heart palpitated who watched these ten small giants like demons surrounding him, and he felt even more dread from each one of them than Gordon, who was a peak silver core cultivator!
''So, this is the second-strongest race, Demons. Even these guards were at Qi river core realm!'' Ace thought bitterly. He knew he won''t be able to escape this time around, even if he was in his optimal condition.
He finally understood just how ''safe'' the lowernds were, and he never thought he would miss them this soon after leaving them!
"Lose the hood and show your face or suffer the consequences!" A three-meter-tall demon holding a halberd sternly dered as his purple eyeballs behind the ck helmet were as cold as ice. He was probably the leader of this small group of guards.
''A wise man knew when to retreat.'' Ace didn''t take his chances and decided to corporate obediently.
The thief''s trainee hood instantly vanished into his thief''s space, as well as the hundred-face deception mask.
Although he knew he doesn''t have to worry about this mask since no one will be able to see through it as long as there weren''t a martial sense of Qi Soul Martial Cultivator and Soul Sense of Soul River Core Soul Cultivator.
But Ace knew he wasn''t in the lowernds anymore, and he will be going to encounter a Qi soul cultivator sooner orter, and who knows he might encounter them here since just these ten guards were this powerful who know how powerful would be their superiors!
Ace didn''t know this decision of his storing the mask away save him from a hell of pain because these demons guards have powerful inspection grade treasures on them, and they could''ve instantly seen through his disguise!
The moment Ace''s long coat vanished from his body, Ace''s extremely handsome, actual appearance with no disguise entered everyone''s view. But s, those demons didn''t appreciate it at all.
"That''s not a demon!" someone in the crowd quickly eximed in astonishment.
"Then how did he appear inside Ocean Demon City without triggering any rm?!"
"Who knows, maybe he''s a spy from some race and was punished by Demon Emperor for holding malicious thoughts towards our demon race. Don''t you see his pale face? He deserved to die!"
Those curious demons'' expressions instantly turned hostile after seeing Ace wasn''t from their race, and he was probably an invader from other races to ''spy'' on them.
Those ten guards'' eyes also turned icy as thick killing intent was released and locked on Ace. If he dared to move now, they''re instantly getting rid of him.
"Detain him and take him to the dungeon for interrogation. If he resists, cut his limbs!" the demon with halberdmanded the other nine demons as it looked at Ace with a hint of killing intent.
''These demons are as fierce as the records say. It''s not like I can do anything to them, but they''ll probably kill me if I try to move.'' Ace smiled wryly and didn''t dare to even twitch. It''s not like he can, though.
One of the nine demons took out a long golden rope and insert his Qi into that rope as it instantlye alive. The golden rope quickly ringed around Ace,pletely restraining him.
Then the golden rope even lifted Ace from the ground like some rag doll. Those ten demons quickly left with pinion Ace, who was hovering behind those ten demon guards.
Ace was astonished as he had never seen this kind of rope before that can even lift someone, and he felt quitefortable despite behind pinion. Furthermore, he was feeling dreadful about this golden rope, and he could discern if he resisted or y any trick, he will not like the oues.
As they were taking Ace toward the dungeon of the Ocean demon city, Ace was examining his surroundings.
The Ocean demon city was much grander than the human cities, as they were tall buildings with beautiful interiors. But the actual differences were strange statues on every street and those local demons bowing to them whenever they saw them.
Furthermore, Ace saw strange carriages moving with no demonic beast or mounts and there were many demons in armors moving around the city caring all kinds of weapons on them.
It was truly an eye-opener for him because in all those records he gained from three giants, demons were supposed to be bloodthirsty and fierce. Always fighting with each other and many strange things like this, but after seeing himself, Ace found out it was all but bullshit.
These demons were just as civilized as humans and probably more advanced than them as well because how could a race always fighting with each other can be number two in the race ranking, right?
However, what Ace didn''t know was, demons had many subspecies in their ranks and these blue skin demons were very civilized. Likewise, he has teleported very close to the core region of the almighty demon continent and the meaningless fighting wasn''t allowed here, nor did those fight hungry subspecies of demons.
If he was sent a few thousand miles east from this ce, Ace would''ve been dead within a few seconds because there live the bloodthirsty demons. Those were real savages of the demon race, and they won''t even spare their kind, much less an intruder like Ace who appeared out of nowhere!
Arge ck gate surrounded by towering walls entered Ace''s view and above this gate was golden writing in demonguage on a three-meter rectangr ck timber, "Ocean Demon Duke Mansion".
Ace''s eyes instantly contracted as he felt a mysterious pressure from these words or more urately from that ck timber and the pain in his soul slightly spiked. He pivoted his eyes away. But his heart suddenly raced as he thought,
''A soul-type material!''
Chapter 269 - Aces Physique!
Ace''s eyes instantly contracted as he felt a mysterious pressure from these words or more urately from that ck timber and the pain in his soul slightly spiked. He pivoted his eyes away. But his heart suddenly raced as he thought,
''A soul-type material!''
He instantly distinguished the ck timber and thought in astonishment, ''These demons seemed really rich, even using a soul-type material for mere name decoration. It seemed teleported here might not be a bad thing. If they had spare soul-type material for mere decoration, then they will definitely have more of them!''
Ace''s eyes instantly lit up as he thought of this possibility. He finally saw hope to heal his gravely damaged soul core and once his soul core waspletely healed, his true soul will heal by his soul core!
''But first, I have to find a way to remain alive since these demons would not leave me alive if they found nothing, nor if they found anything! At least I have to stall until the system''s upgrade is done!''
Ace looked at the reaming time of the system''s upgrade.
=====
[System Upgrade is underway, please wait plenty!]
[Time: 23:25:59]
=====
Ace''s heart sank, seeing only half an hour have passed, and he knew this was going to be the longest 23 hours of his life.
Those demons'' guards didn''t know what Ace was nning and quickly take him toward the back of this Demon Duke Livy Mansion, where a small building was located.
However, the moment they entered the small building, the Demon Guard Leader ce his hand on a in wall and instantly a greenplex array structure lit up and shimmered and the very next moment the wall slid upward as an underground passage appeared.
Ace''s eyes narrowed when he saw that new type of array that opened with flesh, not a key or array te, he was ustomed to dealing with those arrays or formations which always had a simple core and key, but this array was much moreplex and cumbersome.
''Escaping this ce will not be easy.'' Ace''s expression was gloomy. He knew, even if he had his soul-type skills, he wouldn''t be able to see through these arrays!
At the end of this stairway, it was lit with soft light.
Ace felt many soul signatures and all of them had a very weak Qi fluctuation at this moment. His heart was heavy as he believed they were probably other prisoners, and they didn''t seem to do well.
There were many small, separated chambers covered with transparent barriers and one could see the persons inside from outside. Those prisoners were mostly rogue demons, but they all had unique characteristics than these blue skin demons.
''So, there is more than one type of demon!''
Ace suddenly figure it out, and he felt even more apprehended since he was the only person of a different race here, and they didn''t seem to even care about their own kind, much less a foreign ''infiltrator'' like him!
"Hoh¡ what have we here?" An icy voice with a hint of intrigue rang before another tall, burly built demon in a unique set of robes that these guardse in front of these demon guards.
The demon guard leader and the other nine guards quickly give a light bow to this demon, which showed he was higher ranked than them.
"Warden Cane, we detained this creature lying in the middle of city avenue and ording to the witnesses, he seemed to have appeared out of thin air!" The demon guard leader sternly described the strange events rted to Ace.
Ace nearly rolled his eyes when this demon called him a ''creature'', even though the difference between them was only horns and skin color. But this also implied they didn''t know his species, which also means humans were not ''regrs'' in this ce, or they probably didn''t dare to enter. Thetter seemed to be the more urate reasoning.
"Fascinating, he crossed four provinces without being discovered by other ''Demon Kings'' and even cross all those territories of our brethren.
"This is probably the first time in the history that an infiltrator reached this far deep in Mighty Demon Continent! Leave him here. I''ll report this to Duke Livy and you all get your rewards for this contribution to Ocean demon city." Warden Cane nodded in satisfaction as he looked at Ace with a stony gaze.
Ace''s heart palpitated when he heard Warden Cane''s astonishing words, and he knew his situation was much graver than he thought and thought resentfully. ''It''s all that ck-hearted system''s fault!''
"As youmand!" Demon Guard Leader quickly do as he was told and handed Ace over to Warden Cane''s custody and left the dungeon with his fellow guards.
"Shadow, ''clean'' him and locked him in a special cell, I''ll have to report this to Duke Livy as quick as possible, he''ll probably jump in joy since we capture this intruder which even escaped four demon kings'' provinces!" Warden Cane chuckles coldly as he turned around and left toward the other exit.
Ace was still pinion with golden rope, and he knew things were not looking good for him. He had to quickly escape this ce or else he''ll probably torture to death.
The very next moment, a figure materialized from Warden Cane''s shadow. It waspletely covered in a tight ck dress and wearing a faceless mask.
This person was two meters tall and appeared to be a woman, by her curvaceous figure. However, her eyes werepletely ck, and she was sporting a pair of ck pronghorn horns.
Ace instantly knew this was Shadow, who Warden Cane justmanded, and she was probably another subspecies of demons. But her stealth skill was even more astonishing because he didn''t sense her presence until she showed herself!
Shadow impassively looked at Ace with the slightest hint of curiously as she took control of that Golden Rope and took him deeper in the dungeon.
Ace was entered a gloomy area in the ''guidance'' of Shadow and his expression turned rigged when his eyesnded on a small pool filled with boiling red liquid which smelled like potent acid!
Shadow didn''t seem to care about Ace''s opinion on that red liquid pool as she nonchntly removed the storage ring that Ace was wearing and throw him in the red liquid like she was throwing trash!
Ace held his breath and brace himself as he knew these demons wanted him alive, so they won''t kill him without getting some answer, so this liquid was probably for ''cleaning'' that Warden Cain order Shadow to do.
However, the moment he entered this red liquid, Ace didn''t feel any difort or pain of any sort. On the contrary, he was feeling quite warm as he was in a hot spring!
But Ace''s expression slightly changed when his clothes instantly melted, and he knew this wasn''t just some normal ''bathing water'' and it probably had some different purpose.
Actually, this red liquid was a special liquid refined to melt everything under grade two treasures, so how could Ace withstand this torturous liquid?
Very simple, it was rted to his cultivation technique, Heavenly Crystal Body, unbeknownst to Ace, his body was refined by heavenly thunder two times under mysterious effects of this technique and his body was now as though as a Grade-2 weapon, or he would''ve melted within seconds after entering this red liquid.
It''s just that Ace never practice any physical skills or didn''t fight constantly, so he never truly noticed this aspect about him. Now, only a Qi river core cultivator''s Qi can truly hurt him!
Typically, these demons use this red liquid to find any hidden treasure in a person''s body and torture the prison even before the interrogation because if you''re hiding a treasure even under your skin it''ll only make the pain worse since that treasure will melt under your skin!
However, these demons greatly underestimated Ace''s body because, till now, no race seemed to possess a physique like demons.
Because those demons were born with powerful bodies and further refine them with special methods like bathing in even more potent liquid than this red-one in this small pool.
A demon''s body was their deadliest weapon and in theory, its potential was so great that if one demon had resources and methods to refine their bodies to the limit, they can turn them into grade-8 weapons, it was the highest rank known to this day!
Furthermore, just a grade one demon body was quite rare since the resources needed to refine to this level were humongous and the insufferable torturous pain, but it brings greater benefits as well because with every grade level-up a demon would unlock a super nature physical ability!
Just as Ace felt something was amiss and looked toward Shadow and his expression sank because her brown eyelids were narrowed into slits and her ck eyeballs were shining with ambiguity behind her mask as she saw Ace''spletely fine figure in the red liquid!
Chapter 270 - Legendary Grade!
Just as Ace discerned something was amiss and looked toward Shadow; his expression sank because her brown eyelids were narrowed into slits and her ck eyeballs were shining with ambiguity behind her mask as she saw Ace''spletely fine figure in the red liquid.
She mused with astonishment, ''How can this creature withstand, Level-1 Legendary ''Anti-Treasure Liquid'' without losing even ayer of skin?! Did he really infiltrate this deep in the Mighty Demon Continent and even escape four Demon King''s Detection?''
''Legendary'' rank was above the mortal ranks of rune crafter, star ranks of crafters, and color ranks of the alchemists, and it had eight levels. All those ''Grade Treasure'' in ''system''snguage'' known as ''Legendary Treasures'' and there was no ninth-grade either!
After observing for a while and confirming Ace wasn''t seemed to feel any kind of difort, Shadow adjust her finger, and with a mysterious power Ace''s body retracted from the red liquid.
Ace smiled bitterly, as he knew he had done something he shouldn''t and drawn even more attention to himself, which wasn''t a good thing at all. But because his knowledge about the demons was almost non-exist, he can''t even make some excuse.
He really wanted to use his soul probing on Shadow but refrain himself because of system warning and Shadow cultivation was also at the Silver River Core Realm!
Suddenly, Shadow''s melodious yet questionable voice with a hint of expectation entered Ace''s ears, "Your body has already entered the Legendary Grade-1, right? How did you achieve it? Where did you get the refinement technique and resources?"
Even the silent and nonchnt Shadow couldn''t help but inquire, with a hint of desire in her sweet voice.
A demon''s body was like a treasure trove, and each demon had a special set of supernatural abilities deeply hidden in their bloodlines. To unlock these ''supernatural abilities'' demons used unique techniques called, Body Refinement Techniques.
There were even some demons who awake a ''supernatural ability on their birth, and they considered the terrifying genius of their race. But this was an extremely rare case, though.
It was every demon''s dream to gain a legendary grade body and inherited a supernatural ability that came with it.
Cultivation techniques and skill were only secondary to them because if a demon was cultivation in a soul path, and it also had a ''Body Refinement Technique'' with resources, that''s equivalent to cultivating in both martial and soul path!
Even though one won''t have the martial Qi. But just the powerful body was enough to make up for the soul cultivators'' biggest weakness!
Only a demon body can withstand these ''Body Refinements'' and unlock these supernatural abilities. No other race can do, not even those cunning Devils!
However, the resources needed to refine a body until it reached the legendary rank can bankrupt any race, and that''s why even a demon race that had ample resources can only afford to nurture a handful of demons with terrifying talent.
That''s why the Royal Demon Family controlled these body refinement techniques and bestowed them on their most loyal and talented subjects.
At least you had to be a Soul Realm Demon to get the lowest level body refinement technique, which only helped with the first nine-star ranks of body refinement and the resources needed for them were also quite achievable, but still hard to find!
That''s why Shadowpletely discarded the idea that Ace was from some other race and deemed him a demon from different subspecies because, in her or any demon eyes as a matter-of-factly, no one can refine a body to this kind of level except the demon race!
However, what made her confused was why didn''t Ace resist the detainment or tell those demon guards his ''real identity, because anyone with a legendary body had to be very high ranking within the demon race status quo and quite famous. But she never heard of Ace, nor did his ''subspecies''.
That''s why she asked these questions and wanted to know if he had stumbled upon some old demon inheritance and get the refinement technique and resources to get his body to this stage.
But Ace does not know what Shadow was talking about, and this made answering her question more difficult for him. He didn''t know what a legendary grade-1 represent or about the refinement technique.
All he knows was that this demon woman was really interested in that refinement technique, and he somehow had made her believe he had one, and all this happened after he ''bathed'' in that red liquid!
''I should probe her actual intentions, first.'' Ace didn''t dare to speak carelessly and only questioned back impassively, "What has it to do with you?"
Shadow''s eyes only shone with uncertainty. She knew if Ace really possessed a body refinement technique, then he won''t tell her and since he already obtained a ''legendary body'', he probably exhausted all the materials to reach this stage.
''How did he end up like this, even with this legendary body?! Why isn''t he just announced his achievement and he''ll be treated like a ''Demon Duke''? Is this demon slow in his head?''
Shadow was really perplexed about this point, and she didn''t know if this ''demon'' was pretending to be an idiot, or he was just messing with Demon Duke Livy!
Because offending a demon with a legendary body was like offending a Demon Duke, who was only below Demon King in status.
Shadow didn''t want to offend this demon with the legendary body. She was just a subordinate under Warden Cane and her subspecies were also different from all these blue skin demons, so they won''t hesitate to discard her to save their own skin!
"Please forgive me. I''ll keep your secret." Shadow nodded slightly in understanding toward Ace and with a thought, she untied him.
Ace was bbergasted when he heard this demon woman''s unexpected words, and she even untied him with a hint of fear and respect in her voice.
''What the hell is going on?!'' Ace did not know what made this demon woman so afraid and what secret she was talking about.
Nevertheless, he won''t let this chance slip by, he just had to pretend now and do his best to not blow his cover, which he was quite good at.
Ace''s face was impassive as he stood up since he had recovered the ability to move. He waspletely naked since all his clothes were melted in red liquid and his ripped body was with no scratch. Besides his soul injury, he waspletely fine physically.
However, Shadow didn''t seem to even faze by Ace''s naked body since demons had negligible sex differences here, nor did Ace have any difort since she was from a different race and had horns.
"Please wear these prison robes if you want to continue your act!" Shadow handed Ace a ck prisoner attire, with a hint of respect in her voice.
But no one can tell if she was really respectful or just wanted to get on Ace''s good side.
Shadow concluded that Ace was likely here to mess with Duke Livy since it was a normal asion in Mighty Demon Continent when a demone challenging a demon for his status. But she can''t afford to offend either of them, so, she yed it safe.
''If I can just grasp what makes her so sheepish, it''ll be much simpler. It probably had to do something with that legendary grade body which changed her attitude,'' Ace mused as he wore that prisoner''s attire.
Although Shadow seemed somewhat submissive right now, he could tell she would not let him escape or help him as a matter of face. If he even slipped a little, he would lose the little bit of hope in escaping from here, and he needed someone from inside, like Shadow, to achieve it.
Furthermore, Shadow didn''t seem to notice his soul injury, and he guessed she was thinking he was faking it for some reason.
Ace suddenly realized something as he impassively said, "Did you want that refinement technique?"
He closely observed her emotions when he asked and just as he thought, Ace felt a huge ripple in her soul fluctuation as Shadow''s dark eyes show a hint of intense desire when she heard the name ''Refinement Technique''.
''So, this is really about this technique, heh.'' Ace was ted when his blindly fired arrow hit the mark.
"C-can I?!" Shadow''s eyes show some hint of hesitation and uncertainty.
She knew just how precious these techniques were, and only the most important personnel can have Legendary Body refinement technique. She was just a subordinate of a Prison Warden and her subspecies didn''t have the potential to reach Soul Realm either, so this body refinement technique was her only passage.
In fact, any demon in her stead would''ve been tempted after hearing about a refinement technique of legendary grade, and Shadow was not different from those demons!
"Yes, I can give it to you, but it''s not on me, you can even check my storage ring, as long as you can get me out of this ce, I can hand it to you once we reached my ''abode''!" Ace quickly reacted.
Chapter 271 - Showing Worth!
"Yes, I can give it to you, but it''s not on me, you can even check my storage ring, as long as you can get me out of this ce, I can hand it to you once we reached my ''abode''!" Ace quickly reacted.
He knew this was his only chance to get out of here before that Demon Duke arrive. He did not know how would that Duke behave, but a person with a Demon Duke title won''t be fooled like this low-rank subordinate.
Furthermore, he was basically asking Shadow to betray Duke Livy ande to his side with just a mere empty promise, so he had to win over her trust, which was probably night impossible.
But he had to try so, Ace quickly removed his Qi mark from the storage ring in Shadow''s hand, he had to convince her and if this refinement technique was really important to her, she would probably believe him after examining his storage ring which was just a dummy to fool others.
However, just as he spected, Shadow didn''t seem to believe him and quested with a hint of coldness in her voice, "You''re not what you seemed!"
She finally noticed the huge loophole in Ace''s words. ''Why did a legendary body demon make a deal with a lowly subordinate like me?''
Shadow''s sharp finger suddenly moved like lightning toward Ace''s forehead!
Ace''s expression turned ugly. He knew his n of fooling this demon woman had probably been failed, and she was now testing him. Although he had grasped some situation. But he can''t properly deal with it if he did not know of it at all!
Shadow send her martial sense inside Ace''s head and her eyes suddenly soften for a moment before instantly turning icy as she spoke with a hint of killing intent, "You didn''t have a Demon Core, you are not Demon!"
''What was that feeling of intimacy just now?'' Shadow suppressed that feeling, which shed when she scanned Ace with her martial sense and touched him.
However, Ace did not know about it yet.
He was panicking because he knew she was thinking of him as a demon and that''s why she probably even spoke with him, but now she had found out he wasn''t a demon because of this demon-core.
Demon Core was basically like a life of demons, located inside their brains. A demon can live without a heart, but not without a Demon Core!
That''s why Ace''s cover was instantly blown. If Shadow didn''t astonish by his powerful physique and thought he was a powerful demon who wanted Duke Livy''s throne, she doesn''t even consider him a demon since he didn''t have horns. But there was one more reason for Shadow''s actions that even Shadow didn''t know about!
Unusually, her desire momentarily blinded her, and she thought of Ace as a rare demon species. However, the moment Ace tried to win over her, she instantly senses something was amiss. So, she tested him and, in the end, he was just a paper tiger, nothing else!
Now, Shadow was feeling quite humiliated and wanted to kill Ace because he tried to trick her and nearly seeded and if Demon Duke Livy or Warden Cane found out about it, she would be dead!
Ace''s heart sank as cold sweat beaded on his forehead when he felt Shadow''s killing intent and her aura rising. He knew he had to quickly act, or she would probably kill him just to hide her humiliation and blunder.
"Wait, wait!" Ace quickly surrendered and said, "I was wrong. I''m a human, not a demon. I should''ve told you about it sooner, but listen to me. Likewise, I can really help you get that refinement technique!"
Shadow''s eyes turned even more icy as she sneered with full of disdain, "Hmph¡ Human?! Those inferior ants? What gave you the courage to even speak in front of the Demon Race!"
Ace''s heart turn cold when he felt the arrogance thate from Shadow''s words, and he was somewhat shocked seeing this kind of disdain for humans in this demon woman. He was, after all, a human, and he felt a little anger rising when he saw the contempt in her eyes, but he didn''t lose his reason and argument.
"I know, but look, don''t you find it strange? How did I get here, even after being an ant? I can really help you with that technique because I''m very special!"
Ace again try to talk reason with her, he knew she had an intense desire for that refinement technique and if he could just arouse it again, he''ll be able to negotiate with her.
Shadow''s eyes instantly narrowed when she finally thinks about it because Ace was telling the truth. She heard of humanity. It was weak and too far away from the Mighty Demon Continent.
Just reaching this continent was almost impossible for a human, much less enter this deep in Mighty Demon Continent that even a Devil won''t be able to achieve.
Ace noticed the slightest change in Shadow''s soul and quickly continued, "Look, I know you don''t trust me, but you just enve me and then question me."
He yed his most crucial card, Envement, which was meaningless to him. He just needed to win her trust!
Shadow''s eyes finally lit with ambiguity as she coldly questioned, "Why did you want to deal with me when you can just get the same treatment if you prove your worth to Demon Duke Livy?"
She had to admit Ace was really a rare case and if he was really telling the truth, then he can easily make a deal with Demon Duke Livy since he would be interested in Ace''s ''unique'' skills as well.
Ace quickly retorted, "But he won''t appreciate my skills like you, right? By your words, I can tell that demon duke can probably get this refinement technique on his own. Why did he take risks with me?
"You, on the other hand, are just like me, just a discardable pawn of their races. I prefer to work with you, who can feel exactly how I feel before I change my destiny and be free!"
His voice was filled with undying passion and ''hate'' for his race, as his eyes showed a burning desire for ''freedom''.
Shadow''s cold eyes finally showed a hint of emotion as she heard Ace''s ''revolutionary'' words. But she still can''t put her future in this weak ant''s words.
"If you can show me something which proves your uniqueness, I don''t mind making you my ve!"
Shadow finally decided, if Ace was really as unique as he was babbling about, she didn''t mind enving him and escaping with him from here. What gave her some confidence was Ace''s unnatural body, which was impossible to achieve with his human race.
Besides, it was just what Ace said; she can never get those refinement techniques in her life, but Duke Livy can, and that''s what made her take the risk. But if Ace''s words were just empty, she will immediately silent him here and now and make a story that he was melted in that red liquid.
She would only receive some minor punishment but for a weak creature who can melt in his red liquid without even resisting for a few moments, no one would me her, and they would probably think Ace was just lucky to enter this ce nothing more nothing less.
Ace knew it was hisst chance to prove his point. He gritted his teeth and a soul thread intently shot toward Shadow''s hand. She noticed nothing, as she wasn''t using her martial sense anymore after finding out Ace was just an ant.
The very next moment, Shadow''s eyes intently shimmer with astonishment, because Ace''s storage ring in her hand instantly vanished and somehow appeared in Ace''s hand without even startling her martial sense.
"A space skill?!" Shadow''s voice was filled with shock, but there was the slightest hint of tion in it.
Because space skills were the rarest skills in this world, and only people with Space Element could trulyprehend thempletely. But the space element was too much, rare even in the demon race.
Ace''s skill was even more shocking because she didn''t even feel the space element when he used it.
Ace, on the other hand, was feeling like his head would explode at any second because it intensified his pain the moment he used his soul thread. He knew this will only make things worse, but he had to do it, or he would be in deeper trouble once that demon duke came.
He preferred Shadow because he could still fool her, but those high-ranking demons will probably kill him if they found out about his abilities!
Shadow at least won''t act until he got her a refinement technique, and he only needed this time to heal his soul and escape Shadow''s grasps.
=====
[Warning: Please Refrain from using soul Qi!]
[Temporary healing effect cooldown: 489:27:58]
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Chapter 272 - Renegade Shadow!
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[Warning: Please Refrain from using soul Qi]
[Temporary healing effect cooldown: 489:27:58]
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Ace could only smile bitterly in stillness when he saw the price he had to pay for only using a single soul thread was ten hours!
He could''ve used the martial threads, but then Shadow will instantly sense it because of her high cultivation, and only soul thread can escape her detection.
Furthermore, he didn''t dare to tell her he was injured yet, or he would lose his significance greatly. Besides, his passive soul sense''s range has also decreased to ten meters from 250 meters because of his damaged soul core.
Ace was waiting for Shadow to jump ships, and once she did this, there was no going back for her. She had to stick with him from then on.
He quickly suppressed the soul pain and said with a pale face, "I can use this space-skill in a Five-hundred-meter radius. What do you think?"
"Five hundred meters?!" Shadow was truly stunned when she heard the range of that ''space skill''.
Because it was just too great and only someone at the Soul Manifestation Realm with Space Element probably could pull this off, and the skill also had to be that high level. Besides, Ace was a mere human!
Ace knew she didn''t seem to believe him and probably thought he was desperate and trying to exaggerate his skills to escape from here.
He quickly assured her, "I know it''s unbelievable, but trust me, I can use this skill in a Five-hundred-meter radius. I can even show you once we leave this ce to safety."
Shadow deeply looked at Ace''s dark blue eyes, which were as clear as the starry sky, she didn''t want to believe him but for some strange reason from the very start, she had this silly feeling that this human was ''attractive'' and ''kind''!
Shadow never felt this kind of emotion before, but the moment she encountered Ace, she had this weird feeling continuously bugging her. That''s why she even bothered to question Ace, or she would never talk with anyone, not even Warden Cane.
Furthermore, when she just examined Ace''s mind with her martial sense, that strange feeling intensified, and she couldn''t bring herself to hurt him, so she quickly retracted the martial sense and her action shocked even herself.
That''s why she showed killing intent toward Ace because she thought he used bewitch technique on her and thought he was from Devil Race, but he didn''t have any Devil Core either, so she quickly discarded that notion.
But no matter what, she still can''t bring herself to attack Ace, and he was even acted sheepishly. That''s why she listens to Ace''s proposal despite her inner struggle to go as far away from him as possible, but she can''t.
She even thought about betrayal after that feeling intensified, but she still convinced herself that it was all because of Ace''s promise, nothing else. But she knew if this was someone else or even a real legendary body demon, she would''ve never believed or even talk with him.
Now that Ace had shown his skill and told her something impossible to believe. But she wanted to believe it and after seeing his clear eyes, she even felt he was the most trustworthy person in this world!
''Why, why¡ why did I want to follow him even though I know he was spouting nonsense? How can a human acquire a refinement technique? No, why would I behave or even start a conversation with him? I was never been like this before.
''But¡ he had a legendary body despite being a human and even space skill. Furthermore, he seemed quite¡ reliable. I should take this chance and if he didn''tplete his promise, I''ll¡ kill him!'' Besides, I have to take revenge, and this is the only way!
Shadow finally decide after a huge internal struggle, she wanted to take this chance no matter what, and she had this feeling Ace will be her best choice.
Ace also notice ripples in Shadow''s soul, and he suddenly thought of something that he had almost forgotten. He was so much in anxiety and because of the soul injury, he almost forgot he was dealing with demons, a race closely rted to¡ Darkness!
''How could I forget about¡ [Charm]!'' Ace mind race, ''ording to the system, the creature of darkness will have natural goodwill toward me and in those records, demons consider closely rted to darkness just like devils!
''But [Charm] didn''t work on those demon guards, nor did on the warden. It didn''t work on Shadow as well until now. Does it work ording to the difference between cultivation and some conditions?
''Shadow only showed that strange emotion after she talked with me, and the more I arouse her desire for that refinement technique, the more that strange emotion intensified. But it seemed her strong cultivation resisting [Charm] to some extent, but as long as I can assure her I''ll be able toplete her wish, the difference doesn''t matter!
''If I consider it, Eva was the same. She thought I couldplete her wish of freedom, and our cultivation difference was also not much at that time. That''s why she trusted me quickly.
''So, with this much information, I can consider [Charm] just doesn''t simply work to the fullest on every creature of darkness, but it worked in three stages first, the creature desire, second, if I could fulfill that desire, andst, the trust they put on me toplete that desire!
''No, there is still something missing. If it was still this simple, the system would never say ''every'' creature of darkness, it would say ''some''. I just had to figure it out, since I had too little information.''
Ace thought about [Charm] deeply, but he knew it wasn''t as simple as he considered it, and there was probably more to it than just these three stages he figured out.
Nevertheless, Ace finally had more confidence in swindle¡ ahem¡ pursuing Shadow now.
Shadow finally dered, "I''ll believe you for now, but if I even find the slightest bit of lie in your words, you''ll know just what the name ''Demon'' means!"
Ace gulped as he knew this woman demon wasn''t joking around just by seeing her icy, dark eyes. ''What a scary race.''
"Let''s go. I know a secret exit!" Shadow ordered Ace to follow her toward another dark passage.
Although she was still somewhat hesitating, in the end, she gave in to her desire for power and revenge and helped Ace. She would observe him for some time and if he lies to her about anything, she''ll make him regret it!
---
While Ace and Shadow were making their way toward the exit of Demon Duke Mansion.
Inside, a spacious hall filled with exquisite paintings and decorations,
Warden Cane was reporting the news about Ace to a Burly Demon with 3,1-meter height, dark blue skin, two feet long sharp antelopes-horns on his forehead, with a head full of blue long hair, and a horrifying aura surrounding him. His purple eyeballs were filled with viciousness and arrogance.
This was the Demon Duke of this particr territory and also the Chief of Dark Ocean Demon Tribe, Duke Livy Ocean!
The demons didn''t have surnames like humans; they used their subspecies as theirst name.
Dark Ocean Demon Tribe was quite prospered because they had a Demon Duke in their ranks and this gave them very high standing among the demon race and also a rich territory to control. The Ocean Demon City was the heart of Ocean Demon Tribe territory.
"Such a thing happened?" Demon Duke Livy''s cold eyes instantly narrowed when he heard how Ace appeared right in the middle of his city without being detected by the array.
"It seemed so, my lord. I have already ordered Shadow to prepare him for interrogation. I wonder what my lord''s thoughts on this matter are?" Warden Cane sheepishly inquired. He didn''t dare to even breathe loudly in front of Demon Duke Livy, or he''ll be dead before he even knows why!
"Hmph¡" Demon Duke Livy harrumphed coldly as a terrifying pressure descended in the hall which made Warden Cane shake uncontrobly despite being a Golden River Core Cultivator!
"Let''s see who dare to infiltrate my territory so brazenly. I''ll deal with it myself and then report it to our Demon King!" Demon Duke Livy pull an icy smile on his stern face and stood up like a deadly spear.
Warden Cane looked toward Demon Duke Livy with deep fear and reverence as he quickly led the way, like a loyal dog.
Demons respect the strong, but the strong had to be a demon, or they would never bend their head because of the arrogance thates with being a second hegemony of this world!
In just a few moments, both Livy and Cane reached the Duke Mansion Prison and headed toward the special prison cell where Cane ordered Shadow to imprison Ace!
Chapter 273 - I’ll Take Whatever I Want!
In just a few moments, both Livy and Cane reached the Duke Mansion Prison and headed toward the special prison cell area.
However, Cane''s expression changed ever so slightly when he reached the special cell area, and it was empty and thought with a hint of coldness in his eyes, ''That bitch knew I was bringing Demon Duke but still didn''tplete her task quickly, it seemed I have been too lenient with hertely!''
Warden Cane already decided to punish Shadow heavily for her sluggishness. But the thought of her betrayal never even rued to him. Because Cane had brought up Shadow after she lost her entire tribe in war with another tribe right in the territory of Ocean Demons.
Although it looked like an act of kindness that Cane save Shadow and took her in. But the reality waspletely different though.
"Where is the prisoner?" Demon Duke Livy coolly asked, but there was a hint of killing intent in his husky voice.
Warden Cane''s heart palpitated as he knew Livy didn''t enjoy being waited, and he already decided to punish Shadow even more heavily.
He quickly said sheepishly with a hint of dread, "M-my Lord, it was all my fault to hand such a matter to that degenerate, I''ll immediately fetch that prisoner myself!"
"Hmph¡ isn''t that the same girl you took in after I order you to destroy that tribe? It seemed she''s as disobedient as her predecessors, Night Demon Tribe!" Demon Duke Livy sneered with killing intent.
"Yes, she''s indeed the one, My Lord. I''ll just take pity on her since she looked more promising and more obedient than her rebellious father. But it seemed the apple didn''t fall far from the tree. I''ll defiantly educate her after this!" Warden Livy quickly sang the same tone as Demon Duke Livy.
"No!" Demon Duke Livy''s lips rose in a ruthless smile and his sharp fangs surfaced. He said, "I heard her mother was quite a beauty. She won''t be too bad, either. Send her to my chamber tonight. I was just running out of ythings!"
Warden Cane trembled slightly before nodding. "Y-yes¡ it''ll be her honor, my lord!"
But his thoughts werepletely different. ''My lord will break another promising girl. Sigh¡ it''s her fault. Who told you to give my lord''s the reason to deal with you? Well, I always had a thought my lord let her grow to this day was probably because of this exact reason.''
Warden Cane knew the situation was already out of his hands, and now he had to find another subordinate like Shadow again, but he knew this would not be easy because Shadow had very special abilities only her tribe possess.
But s, now that Demon Duke Livy had already decided to make her his ything, no one can change his mind in this dukedom except his father Old Duke, who was not here.
Warden Cane left to fetch Ace first since he was more important. But he didn''t find him in the red pool area, and this suddenly gave him an uneasy feeling. He quickly goes toward other prison cells, but he didn''t find both of them anywhere!
Cane''s expression finally changed to worse, and he knew things were going south quickly.
''Did Shadow betray me after finding out the truth about the past?! But how did she find out only Me and Demon Duke Livy know that the Night Demon Tribe was destroyed after Duke''s order? This is bad!
''If she just ran by herself, it was still salivated, but if she took that essential prisoner with her, I''m doomed! Although Duke Livy didn''t show it. But hees all the way here, which means he put quite an importance on his matter and won''t spare me. He won''t even consider my hundreds of years'' loyalty!''
Warden Cane broke into a cold sweat as he knew Duke Livy''s vicious nature, and he caused this blunder, so he''ll take the hit first!
"So, she showed her fangs, eh!" A nonchnt yet icy husky voice rang in the silent prison.
Warden Cane''s knees intently turned into jelly as a chill run down his spine when he heard Demon Duke Livy''s cold husky voice, which was like a grim ripper''s scythe. He knew nothing can escape from this demon''s martial sense.
''I''m done for!''
Warden Cane''s eyes were filled with abhorrence and resentment for Shadow!
---
Shadow did not know that she had just escaped a cmity because of her decision.
At this moment, Shadow and Ace were leaving the Demon Duke Mansion''s Gate. Both of them were in stealth.
Shadow was quite shocked when she saw Ace''s stealth because she could sense from Ace''s Qi that he was only a peak ''river'' realm of cultivation. But if she didn''t have a special bloodline, she could never see through it even with her cultivation! She was now, even more, convinced of Ace''s promise.
On the other hand, Ace was equally shocked when he noticed Shadow could see through his stealth with no eye skill or martial sense, this gave him the wrong impression that every demon can do the same.
However, this impression didn''tst long after he saw those gate guards at silver river realm who didn''t notice him like Shadow, and he had a sigh of relief.
"Umm¡ I have a request!" Ace suddenly said after they cross the mansion gates and stopped a few meters away from it.
"What?!" Shadow''s eyes turned cold when she saw Ace stop moving. She knew how scary Demon Duke Livy was, and they had little time before he found out about her betrayal and escaped from the prison!
"Don''t worry, it''s nothing¡ I just want that¡ timber name board!" Ace said with no hint of embarrassment as he pointed toward the ck name board!
Shadow was shocked and speechless when she saw where Ace had just pointed and nearly pped him. She controlled her rage and snorted disdainfully.
"Do you think you can take that wood of Soul Trapping Banyan Tree? Let me tell you the moment you touched it, your mind will be trapped in that wood for one day, no unless you''re a Soul Manifestation Realm Cultivator!
"Why do you think Duke Livy used this soul material as a mere name board? Because of this exact reason and no matter how you touch it, with Qi, some other material, or anything tangible, you''ll be affected!
"Besides, this name board was given to old demon duke by the Demon King and even position here by the Demon King himself as a gift for his big contribution, or even old duke wouldn''t have the skill to position it here.
"Don''t you see that teeth-de sword symbol in the corner of that board? It''s the Demon King''s Insignia! No one can take it as long as they didn''t want their life and suffer the wrath of Demon King!
"Since you''re from a lowly race, you won''t understand the statue of a Demon King''s insignia represents! Now, stop wasting time on things you don''t understand and keep moving before Duke Livyes after us!"
Shadow simply thought that Ace was being greedy here and courting death by eyeing something that belonged to a Demon King!
However, Ace said nothing, as merely chuckle and said, "You might be right but one thing you don''t know is first, I''m not a demon nor do I know what a demon king is, and second, even if Demon King was standing here I''ll still take what I want the moment I got the chance!"
Ace was telling the truth because he was a soul cultivator and his soul Qi was special, furthermore, he had defensive soul skills as well. After listening to Shadow''s exnation, he was now, even more, determined to take that name board even if he had to pay the price again since the Demon King won''t give something ordinary!
He quickly made a martial thread, and it shot toward that name board like an intelligent arrow. Ace didn''t use soul thread since no one here besides him and Shadow and the guards were also rxed.
Shadow wanted to stop him, but she felt Ace had already used his Qi since he was very close to him. Her heart sank as she suddenly regretted believing this belittled, reckless and greedy mongrel!
However, what happened next made her eyes wide open and bbergasted. Right in front of Shadow''s eyes, the name board that was in its position for thousands of years suddenly vanished, only leaving an impression of it!
How could she not be shocked? That board was like a symbol of Demon King''s authority, and it wasn''t easy to take it, either. But now Ace had taken it, suffering no consequences!
Ace grinned widely as he didn''t feel any kind of difort even after touching it without marital Qi and storing it inside his thief''s space.
He looked at dumbfounded Shadow who was looking at him as she had seen a ghost and said while smirking, "Remember, I''ll take whatever I want and whenever I want, because I''m a¡ thief!"
Chapter 274 - Enraged Demon Duke!
Ace looked at dumbfounded Shadow who was looking at him as she had seen a ghost and said while grinning, "Remember, I''ll take whatever I want and whenever I want, because I''m a¡ thief!"
"T-thief?!" Shadow was naturally astounded by Ace''s arrogant words, as he seemed quite proud when he said he was a thief.
However, she quickly snapped out of her stupor and said coldly, "Let''s go. We have little time!" She didn''t have time to rebuke Ace right now, but she took a mental note to do so.
Ace also knew time was of the essence, and they had to leave this Demon City before that Demon Duke Livy could act.
However, Ace and Shadow''s expression suddenly changed when they saw a doom-like dark barrier covering the golden sky!
"He found out and active the protection array of the city to trap us inside!"
Shadow''s heart was heavy as she knew Livy had found out about her betrayal much sooner than she expected, and now she was trapped inside the city with Ace!
Ace''s expression also wasn''t much better as he looked at the dark array barrier covering the sky, and he could feel its prowess, ''This is probably a Grade-1 or even Grade-2 Array!'' He deemed.
"Do you have some spot where we could hide? Buy me one day and I can get us out of here¡ well, probably." He asked Shadow.
Ace again pinned his hopes on the system''s upgrade and rewards he didn''t get afterpleting the mission. Furthermore, he didn''t receive any notification after he stole a soul material or thief point, which means the system will only properly work after the upgrade. He just had to survive for one day.
"Escape from this Legendary Grade-2 Protective Array, You? Stop dreaming. Only a Legendary Grade-3 Rune Crafter can escape out of it alive, and even he had to pay the enormous price!"
Shadow simply thought Ace was spouting nonsense because he was a martial cultivator and his cultivation also wasn''t high enough to overpower the array. Furthermore, if he could escape legendary grade arrays on his own, why did he end up captured and need her help?
''So, they used Legendary Grade for Grade Treasures. That''s what a Legendary Grade is, but I still don''t know if the legendary body was a Grade Body or not.''
Ace suddenly enlighten, but he didn''t have time to further ponder over this matter since he knew she didn''t trust his words and he had to convince her.
"We don''t have any other way unless you can get us out of here, right?" Ace questioned.
He knew Shadow also can''t leave this ce, and she was now in cohort with him and if she turned back now Demon Duke Livy might get rid of her within moments.
Shadow also knew this, and she only betrayed Demon Duke Mansion after considering this point as well. She never thought that could leave here without paying some price in the first ce.
"Let''s see if you could keep your words or not. I''ll give you a day and if your words were empty¡ heh." Shadow snorted viciously and only showed the slightest killing intent before she turned around and move in a specific direction of the ocean demon city.
Ace didn''t mind her attitude, and he quickly heeled her as he thought mockingly, ''Heh, once the system upgrade wasplete, my stealth would be enough to deal with you.''
---
While Ace and Shadow were moving toward Shadow''s secret hideout, the entire Ocean Demon City was in an uproar because of the abrupt activation of the protective array.
This array was only used when the city was under siege or some powerful enemy tried to hurt the citizens. That''s why every native demon was panicking and the demon''s guards horridly arrive at their allocated posts.
However, at this moment, an imposing voice rang through the entire city. "Don''t worry, my citizens and esteemed guests from other cities. The city is not under any siege. The array was active because a traitorous demon dared to rescue a prisoner, who was probably an intruder from another race!
"This act is unforgivable and punished by thousand deaths. That''s why I''m issuing a Demon Detain Red Order!
"Any information on the traitor (Night Demon) or prisoner will be rewarded by 5,000 Peak-Grade-1 Qi Stones.
"100,000 Peak-Grade-1 Qi Stones, if anyone can capture the prisoner (Alive).
"50,000 Peak-Grade-1 Qi Stones, for the Traitor Night Demon''s (Dead or Alive).
"This Red Order will remain intact until itspletion, and so does the proactive array. Any casualties that ur because of red order will bepensated by my Duke Mansion, so do your best to capture those two threats to our race!"
With this, the imposing voice faded.
But the citizens and other demons who came here for either trade or some other reason instantly be excited after the announcement.
The dark ocean demons knew this voice belong to their chief, Duke Livy and with no hesitation, they get to work and start hunting Ace and Shadow. Their appearances were also made public soon after Livy''s announcement.
Ace''s actual face and Shadow''s mask face, but because of her Night Demon Subspecies unique and distinctive traits, like dark eyes and pronghorn horns, anyone can discriminate at a nce.
Inside the Demon Duke Mansion,
Demon Duke Livy was nonchntly sipping over something as if he wasn''t worried about two criminals at all. He knew those two can''t leave the city with the array active and eventually, those two will be in his hands.
However, right at this moment, the hall door snapped opened and a Dark Ocean Demon, d in dark armor, entered with panicking expression.
"Oh, are they captured already?" Livy coolly asked as he fiddled with the big wine cup in his hand. He assumed since no one would dare to enter like this if this wasn''t the case.
The demon guard''s face turned paler and quickly speak sheepishly while trembling slightly, "M-my L-lord¡ the n... name board set up by the Demon King has gone¡ m-missing!"
''Bang¡''
"What?! Impudent!" The wine cup in Livy''s hand instantly shattered as his nonchnt expression finally changed while he roared with killing intent, "Who dared to be so insolent, stealing the Demon King''s gift?! They do not know the meaning of death!"
Even if Ace and Shadow manage to somehow escape his grasp, Livy won''t react like this, since both of them were like ants in his eyes. But this matter was just too grave because this was directly rted to a Demon King!
He might lose his life if he didn''t recover Demon King''s Gift because this was blunt disrespect toward Demon King himself, losing his gift right under his nose. Furthermore, his father would skin him alive even if Demon King show some leniency for Old Demon Duke''s sake.
"It has to be those two wretches! Increase their bounty by two folds, and I want them alive no matter what. Report it to me the moment you spot them. I''ll deal with those degenerates myself!"
Duke Livy''s expression was livid as he ordered and quickly leave the Demon Duke Mansion and start searching himself with his powerful martial sense. This matter was no longer about two criminals, as this concerned his wellbeing.
''But how could those two ants even touch the Soul Trapping Banyan Tree''s timber without being effective? It can''t be that foreign invader. No! It was probably that wretch who wanted to avenge her tribe by making things difficult for my Dark Ocean Demon Tribe!
''It was indeed a mistake to keep that ungrateful wretch alive, and she now caused this enormous blunder. I''ll skin her alive once I found her and make her wish she was dead!''
Demon Duke Livy''s eyes were filled with ruthlessness and wrath. He never even considered it was done by Ace because he wasn''t from the demon race, nor he was powerful enough to enter Livy''s eyes.
Livy was only after Ace because of the reward he will get from the demon king once he handed over Ace to him. But he was on the verge of getting punishment not to talk about the rewards!
---
Ace didn''t know his action of taking a mere name board has made Demon Duke Livy himself act, and now a wrathful Qi Soul Realm Expert was searching for him and Shadow like a mad dog!
However, he wasn''t feeling calm right now either because he heard the announcement himself and this make him even warier of this ce because he will always escape before anyone could understand the situation or people would at least find out about it, muchter.
But here beyond lowernds, these races possess unimaginable and powerful means to instantly react and counter him, just like Livy did. Now, the entire demon city was hunting him down and if he made even a little bit of mistake, he''ll be done for.
This also made his mood gloomier since the thieveries in the future won''t be a piece of cake anymore, and he had to think twice before starting a theft!
Chapter 275 - System Upgrade!
Shadow and Ace were standing in a seclusion alley, right in front of a ck five-meter-tall status with arge pair of addax-horns and face of a goat and torso of a human while two legs of horse and wings like an eagle.
Ace naturally never seen this kind of creature before, but these statues were all over the ocean demon city, and every demon bowed toward it whenever they saw it.
"What is this creature?" Ace couldn''t help but ask Shadow, who was also bending toward the statue.
Shadow berated Ace with disdain, "sphemy! Who are you calling a creature? This is the Deity of our demon race, Baphomet! If anyone heard you called the ''Great One'' a creature, you''ll be instantaneously killed!"
Ace smiled wryly as he nodded in understanding. Even though the concept of religions existed in the mortal world, he was never a heartfelt believer and after bing a cultivator; he stopped believing that there was a God altogether.
But he never thought the demon race would worship a deity to such an extent, and they seemed quite devoted as well.
''But this is just a humanoid goat, while demons look more like humans? And we even eat goats.'' Ace was perplexed, but he didn''t dare to say it out loud in front of Shadow, or she will probably beat him silly.
"Let''s hurry. This is the only spot where no one would look."
Shadow coldly said as she pressed her hand on the side of the status tform and the very next moment thereafter, a small crevice appeared on the wall right behind the status.
Ace was astonished at seeing the crevice and looked at Shadow with ambiguity and thought, ''It seemed she was nning the betrayal from the start and I just give her the motivation.''
He followed Shadow into the crevice and the moment they enter the pathway; the crevice closed just like it opened.
Ace looked around curiously; the pathway looked quite an old one, and they were going downward. He couldn''t help butment, "You''re quite lucky to find this ce."
Shadow only rebuke mildly, "This was built for my ancestors when this city was established." However, her eyes narrowed the next moment as she thought, ''Why the hell I''m even replying to him?!''
"Why did they build it, though?" Ace was intrigued, hearing this secret. If her ancestors held this much importance, then her status was quite high in this city.
"None of your business and shut your mouth, or I''ll rip it apart!" Shadow coldly berated as she hurried her pace.
Ace only shrug his shoulder and quietly followed. He was just curious since he was new here and wanted to learn as much about demons as he could.
At the end of this passage was a blue steel door with a strange pattern engraved on it.
Ace expected Shadow to open the door but to this astonishment, she quietly sat beside the door and¡ that''s it!
Shadow coldly stare dagger at Ace, who was strangely looking at her, and reprimanded with a hint of embarrassment in her voice, "Do you believe I''ll gouge your eyes out if you keep looking at me?!
"So, what if I don''t have the key we can easily hide here for days and since I keep my promise to buy you one day, you''ll have to keep your words to take us outside this city, or I''ll take your eyes!"
''What an unreasonable woman. It''s not my fault if you don''t have the key.'' Ace thought resentfully, but he only nodded with an apologetic smile outside and said, "Thank you, I won''t disappoint you."
Ace wanted to use his soul-shattering eyes on that door and see if he could open it, but he didn''t want to worsen his condition unless it was ast resort. He''ll not use his soul skills.
Besides, just as Shadow said, she had bought him one day what he needed desperately, and now it''s his turn. But he wasn''t too sure about it either, since his actions depend on after the system''s upgrade.
Ace sat down cross-legged and start circting the soul Qi. After a long time, he was cultivating normally like other cultivators and only because this was the only way he could heal his soul right now.
But it was just too slow, and the time left behind by the system wasn''t enough to heal itpletely, but it was still better than nothing.
Shadow coldly looked at Ace, who was silently meditating, and couldn''t help but wonder,
''How did he appear here from the human continent? I heard it was too far and humans don''t even dare to approach those sneaky hunters'' continent, much less send a spy here.
''He even took that name board that even a demon duke can''t touch and even dare to say he can help us escape this city array. If he does this, then this means he can help me with the refinement technique, and I''ll enve him. But if he doesn''t, I''ll just discard this deadweight!''
Ace doesn''t know Shadow has already decided how to deal with him if he didn''t deliver what he promised because he was solely focused on soul cultivation, and he could feel the almost shattered half-soul-core was mending slowly, but it was still too slow, though.
Just like that, hour after hour passed, Shadow was also meditating now, but her focus was still on Ace because she didn''t trust him and monitored him, so he could not pull something or escape.
But Ace didn''t move nor did he do anything, he just sat there like a statue.
Finally, the waite to an end, as Ace was now eagerly looking at the timer on the panel in his mind.
====
[System Upgrade is underway, please wait plenty!]
[Time: 00:00:08¡07¡ 08¡ 07¡ 06¡ 05¡ 04¡ 03¡ 02¡ 01]
---
[System Upgrade has beenplete!]
[The Eternal Thief System has beenpletely online!]
---
[System Upgrade Reward: Authority Level-1]
{Authority Level-1 Benefits}
Information Level: 1
Living Thief''s Space, New Upgrade Scheme: Unlocked
(New) System Function: ''Thief House'' has been unlocked
(New) Host Status
====
Ace''s eyes instantly glow like the sun. He quickly asked, "System, what is level-1 information?" He was eager to find out.
"[Level-1 information represents the information that the system can disclose to the host. Before host has level-0 Information Discloser Authority. But with host authority level increased, the information level also followed suit.]"
Ace suddenly felt the system voice contain emotions. Now it was not as emotionless as before, but it was still icy as ever.
"So, let me guess. Even with this information, level you still can''t tell me what you are and where youe from and why you chose me, right?" Ace coolly stated.
"[Yes.]"
System answer with no pause.
"Heh, figures." Ace didn''t have high hopes from the beginning and quickly move to the next thing. "Show me thief''s space new upgrade scheme. I''m running quite low on this one, for sure."
Ace thief''s space was now more than half full, and he needed this upgrade. But more than that, he wanted to unlock more of its function than once the system disclosed to him when he sealed Eva.
=====
[Living Thief''s Space Update Scheme]
1. {300 Cubic-Meter Space + 1 Humanoid Storage Capacity: A Hundred Grade-3 Storage Space treasures + 10 Million Thief Points}
2. {500 Cubic-Meter Space + 2 Humanoid Storage Capacity: A Hundred Grade-5 Storage Space treasures + 20 Million Thief Points}
3. {1,000 Cubic-Meter Space + 5 Humanoid Storage Capacity: A Hundred Grade-8 Storage Space treasures + 50 Million Thief Points}
4. {3X-Time eleration Function: One Grade-9 Storage Space Treasure + One Time Grade-9 Time Treasure + 100 Million Thief Points}
---
[Note: Host currently has insufficient resources for any avable upgrade scheme!]
=====
Ace was staring at the prices and materials he required for the thief''s space upgrades with incredulity.
Let''s not talk about the millions of thief points, just those top grades storage space treasures required with thief points were enough to give Ace a massive dilemma.
''I can still gather the material from first to the third upgrade, but the fourth seemed like an impossible dream since I never heard of any time treasure nor seen any records. Well, I''m no longer in the lowernds anymore, though.'' Ace smiled bitterly and close the upgrade panel.
Time was too mysterious of a topic for him right now, much less thinking about a supreme grade-9 time treasure!
He had a feeling before, that the system would raise the bars after the upgrade, but the reality was even more brutal.
Ace looked at the main interface, where all the pentagon icons were shimmering in gold. Nothing was changed much, just a new pentagon icon right next to the heavenly rune crafter panel icon has been appeared!
This new symbol was like a pagoda with nine floors. Ace instantly knew this was a new function that was unlocked after the system was upgraded, the Thief House!
But before he opened the Thief House, his eyesnded on the very first pentagon icon with a hood-like symbol. He wanted to see his new status promptly!
"Status!"
Chapter 276 - A Huge Discovery!
"Status!"
=====
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human]
[Bloodline: Sealed]
[First Heaven: Mortal Sky Heaven]
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea {Stage-1}]
[EXP: 0/10,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core {Stage-1}]
{SP: 0/10,000}
---
[Skills: 7]
---
[Thief Point (s): 1,818,400]
---
[Mission(s): 0]
---
[Pending Reward (s): 1 (Opportunity Makes a Thief)]
======
Ace''s tion of getting a new status instantaneously vanished and turned into turmoil the moment he saw his bloodline column, which always had ''no bloodline'', was now showing ''Sealed''.
He promptly asked, "System, what is the meaning of this sealed bloodline? Did I have a bloodline like hunters? But how is it possible, since humans never possess bloodlines?"
Ace asked a torrent of questions he wanted answers to. This discovery of bloodlinepletely caught him off guard. His entire understanding of humanity and himself will be shattered if this bloodline was real.
Furthermore, this will arouse further and more grave and solemn questions like why did he have bloodline and not others, why was it sealed, and who sealed it¡ why¡!
"[For host''s first question; before host bloodline waspletely out of the system''s reach because of system insufficient level. But after the system upgrade, the host sealed bloodline surface, but it''s sealed with a powerful bloodline lock.]
"[As for Host second question: yes, humans can also inherit bloodlines like hunters, but for it to work, a human had to reach an extremely high cultivation level before it can pass on its unique bloodline to its descendants.]"
Ace suddenly felt like a lightning bolt hit his brain, and his heart turned extremely icy when he heard this answer. And this made him feel like he didn''t know himself.
Because it would''ve been another case if he didn''t have a bloodline, he simply didn''t care and just consider it a piece of important information. But he had a bloodline that was sealed, and this made thingspletely different.
''Just who sealed this bloodline and why? What is my real background? Did my parents know and hide it from me? But why¡ why¡ why¡'' Ace''s mind was a mess right now. He had millions of questions, but no one can answer them.
''White Crown hunted my parents. Does this mean the sealing of my bloodline is also rted to White Crown? But what I have done to deserve this!''
Ace suddenly emitted a dark aura which gave the feeling of bottomless despair and however it was only momentarily when it vanished the next moment.
However, Shadow, who was close to Ace, suddenly opened her dark eyes, which were filled with absolute horror. She just felt like she had escaped sudden death.
But after carefully examining the surrounding area, nothing came to her view and only status like Ace was sitting there with an expressionless face.
''Did my cultivation just go berserk?'' Shadow thought with lingering fear but sigh in relief the next moment since it was just a false rm. But no matter what, that feeling of death still lingered in her heart and she can''t focus on cultivation anymore.
''Why didn''t he wake up yet?'' She turned her attention elsewhere, and only Ace was here. ''I should wait for while there is still one hour left before 24 hours.''
Ace, on the other hand, was feeling somethingpletely different because of the sudden outburst that came from his heart. He again felt the despair deeply hidden within him and the dark despair lightning was shing in his martial space.
But this wasn''t the end. A dark wind suddenly blew in his mind space and his half soul core suddenly started to mend itself as the cracks on it started to fill.
After an unknown time, Ace snapped out of his trance in confusion, ''What just happened? I was just thinking about bloodline and then¡''
Ace''s mood again became gloomy the moment he remembered someone has sealed his bloodline, and this person was likely the one who was hunting his father and mother!
====
[5,000 EXP and SP have been added to host status.]
[Status has been updated.]
====
Ace was snapped out of his murderous thought process hearing this unexpected notification and quickly looked at his EXP and SP columns.
====
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea {Stage-1}]
[EXP: 5,000/10,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core {Stage-1}]
{SP: 5,000/10,000}
====
Ace''s eyes quickly constricted when he finally saw the fresh changes in EXP and SP.
"Why did the EXP drop from hundreds of millions to ten thousand and what happened to my soul cultivation and where are my previously amodated SP?!" He sternly demanded an exnation from the system.
He wasn''t in a good mood after he discovered that major truth about himself, and now the system had taken away his soul points. One had to know soul points were just too rare.
Even though he was happy about the EXP requirement from millions to thousands, the system has taken away his soul points, which was uneptable. Furthermore, he also noticed now his soul cultivation was also showing stage-1 for some reason.
"[This is the effect of stepping into Heavenly Sea Realm. Before host, Soul Cultivation was also equivalent to martial cultivation, and it was bnced. However, the Sea Realm is ten times more powerful than the Perfect River Realm, and this will shatter the bnce between the host''s Soul and Body sooner thanter.]
"[That''s why the system has unlocked the hidden part of ck wind soul as well, and now host soul and marital cultivation again reached an equilibrium. Now, the soul cultivation realm will have the same stages as the host''s martial cultivation and the same EXP and SP. With total stages of each realm being Nine.]
"[But this alsoes with a benefit. Now, as long as the host has a sufficient amount of EXP and SP, the host can breakthrough in the next realm immediately. However, if even one EXP or SP were insufficient, then the other, the host can''t break into the next realm without amodating the reaming points of either status.]
"[Host previously amodated SP has been naturally destroyed with half of the soul core shattered.]"
Ace''s eyes lit up when the system''s exnation ended. "This means I don''t need the enlightenment each time I wanted to enter the next realm and I can breakthrough continuously as long as I have sufficient SP and EXP?"
"[Yes]"
"¡ so, this means I don''t need those elemental orbs anymore?"
"[Host still needed Elemental Orbs at the end of each realm, like before. But because of heavenly ck wind soul hidden part has also been unlocked, host now had to form two more soul core after ck wind core.]"
Ace''s mood turned gloomy again when he heard he still required those elemental orbs, and he even had to form two more soul cores. He had always wondered why the soul cores were six if he counted the colorless soul core as well, while the martial realms were eight and his soul cultivation also doesn''t have realms like normal soul cultivation path.
But after unlocking the hidden part of the heavenly crystal body, he always knew there had been a hidden part of the heavenly ck wind soul as well, and he was right.
"What are thest two new soul cores?" Ace had to ask.
====
[Heavenly ck Wind Soul Technique: 8 Soul Cores] {Complete!}
{Colorless Form, Yellow Form, Orange Soul Form, Red Form, Golden Form, ck Form, White Form, ck White From}
====
''White and ck White forms, huh? Well, it''s not like I needed to search for something like elemental orbs for them as well. As long as I have EXP and SP and Elemental Orbs, I can be powerful with no restraint!'' Ace mused and deemed.
"Now that this is out of the way, tell me system, can you unseal the bloodline within me or there is another way?" Ace''s voice was filled with intense killing intent and hatred for whoever did this to him and caused his parents'' suffering.
Before he didn''t know why his parents were hunted by those people, but now that he knows about his sealed bloodline he had some idea, and he''ll pay back everything by million-fold after he found out whoever did this to his family.
But first, he had to unseal this bloodline of himself, and his only shot was the system!
"[Yes, host just needed to endure the heavenly punishment all the way to the eighth realm''s heavenly punishment, and the seal will be destroyed on its own! It''s already weakened to some extent after two heavenly punishments!]"
"Heavenly Punishments?!" Ace''s heart sank hearing this but the next moment his heartbeat with unbreakable resolved and decided, ''So be it, I''ll deal with that person with the same bloodline he sealed so viciously!''
After that, Ace calm his mind and he also noticed his half soul core was no longer on the verge of shattering and all the cracks on it have been mended. This gave him more confidence in healing it with soul points.
"System, open the pending rewards!" ordered Ace. He has been waiting for these rewards for ages!
Chapter 277 - Rewards & Thief House!
"System open the pending rewards!" ordered Ace. He has been waiting for these rewards for ages!
=====
[Pending Rewards]
[Beginning the evaluation process...]
---
[Mission: Opportunity Makes a Thief]
[Mission: Steal everything from Three Giants'' ten main branches in Top Ten Kingdoms of Middle-Level Lands.]
[Status: Complete]
---
[Evaluating Host Performance]
{1.2.3¡100% Complete}
---
[Result]
Performance Rating: Above Average
[Reward]
Experience Point(s): 50,000
Soul Point(s): 50,000
Thief Point(s): 1,000,000
[Rewards have been added to host status.]
---
[Thief Point(s): 2,818,400]
---
[Three Hidden Rewards]
1. {Side Missions: Unlocked}
Detail: Now the system can give host small side missions with substantial rewards!
---
2. {Advance-Talisman Crafting Technique}
Detail: Talismans from Tier-9 to Tier-12
---
3. {Lock Eraser King Technique}
Detail: A secret technique of a thief to erase any lock between heaven and earn!
[Lock Eraser King Technique: Three levels]
{First level: Lock Eraser Master}
Threeirs: Novice, Expert, Perfectionist
Detail: Erase any lock between Grade-1 and Grade-3
{Second level: Lock Eraser Grandmaster}
Threeirs: Novice, Expert, Perfectionist
Detail: Erase any lock between Grade-4 and Grade-6
{Third level: Lock Eraser King}
Threeirs: Novice, Expert, Perfectionist
Detail: Erase any lock between Grade-7 and Grade-9
=====
Ace impassively looked at the normal rewards and three hidden rewards he got. His gloomy mood quickly disappeared when he saw thest hidden reward, Lock Eraser King Technique!
''Finally, something useful! My treasure-opening hands can no longer keep up with all these grade arrays and formations. With this technique, who can keep me in one ce now, and which lock will be able to stand between me and treasuries?''
However, suddenly he felt a huge amount of refined heavenly soul Qi and heavenly martial Qi released inside his body, and he instantly knew these were the EXP and SP he just earned!
Ace scrutinized his mind-space since it was damaged to a great deal, and it was most important to heal it. And these SP were his only way.
The half soul core started to slowly restore under the huge amount of heavenly soul Qi he just received. After his soul core was seventy percentplete, he heard the system''s notification.
====
[Congrattion, host, on achieving the second stage of Heavenly Sea Realm and second stage of Orange Soul Form!]
[Host status has been updated.]
====
However, this wasn''t the end because there was still arge amount of heavenly soul Qi and heavenly martial Qi remained.
This time, his soul core restored eighty percent when he heard another notification.
====
[Congrattion, host, on achieving the third stage of Heavenly Sea Realm and third stage of Orange Soul Form!]
[Host status has been updated]
====
The refined soul Qi was nearly depleted, and it finally stopped when his soul core was restored to eighty-five percent of its spherical shape!
Ace mused, ''So fifty thousand soul points were only enough to heal it thirty-five percent, and it seemed thest fifteen percent will need another fifty thousand soul points as well!''
Ace didn''t dwell on it because the pain in his head was now very mild, almost non-exist and his body felt even more sturdy while his Qi was like a raging beast right now. He observed his martial space and saw his sea bed was filled with ck Qi mist!
''Hmm? Didn''t it supposed to be filled with liquid Qi why it in the form of mist, and it''s full as well!'' Ace wonder in astonishment, ''Maybe it''s probably because I''m following apletely different path and I have to cross nine stages while a normal Qi river realm had to cross only five!''
Ace deemed and quickly nce at the EXP and SP he needed for the fourth stage!
====
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea {Stage-3}]
{EXP: 20,000/50,000}
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core {Stage-3}]
{SP: 20,000/50,000}
====
Ace mused, ''So, the second stage only required twenty-five thousand? It''s much better than my previous EXP and SP stats. I can breakthrough continuously as long as I have EXP and SP. But it also took away my soul cultivation advantage before I can form a new soul core, making my soul cultivation higher than marital cultivation, but now I can''t!''
He knew with every advantagee and disadvantage, but he wasn''t too concerned about it because now he didn''t need to pound over anything, and he only required resources to be stronger!
It also didn''t take long before he got the information about Advance-Talisman Crafting Technique and Lock Eraser King Technique as well.
The talisman technique was locked away since he was still a Tier-1 rune crafter, but the Lock Eraser King Technique waspletely disclosed.
As much as he wanted, Ace didn''t jump right into it because he still had things he didn''t take care of!
"System, show me what this Thief House is about!" He didn''t forget the new panel he just opened after the system upgrade, and it had to be something big!
The pagoda-like symbol instantly lit up, and a new interface opened right in Ace''s mind since he was still pretending to meditate.
=====
[Wee to Thief House Host!]
[Thief House Introduction: A Thief sometimes required help while nning and starting a theft, and a Heaven''s Stealer can only have the best of the best. Thief House is a unique feature of the system which can help the host recruit talented thieves and train them. The thief house is not only provided with cultivation technique, skill, weapons, alchemy products, but it can also help the member thieves upgrade their talents and reached new heights which they will never in their entire life!]
---
[Rules & Regtions of Thief House]
0. Any vition of Thief House Rules & Regtions will result in Absolute Death!
1. The house members cannot betray, scheme, sabotage, or held malicious intentions against Thief House or its members.
2. The house members cannot insurgent thief house or rebel against the House Leader''s (Ace White)!
3. The details about Thief House and its members cannot be shared with any non-members under any circumstances, or it will vite rule zero.
4. The house members cannot leave the Thief House once joined.
5. Internal fighting is not allowed, nor other members can have any kind of malicious intentions against a fellow member.
6. The house members will get House Points with every sessful house mission, or any mission issued by House Leader (Ace White).
7. House Points are the currency of Thief House and members can use them in House Shop. No other sort of currency is allowed!
8. If any member failed the House Mission or House Leader (Ace White) Mission, the house points will be deducted, followed by a punishment based on the importance of that mission!
---
[Note: The first eight rules are absolute and cannot be changed or removed by the Host.]
[Host can also create two more rules or change them with rule changing token!]
[Rule Creation Remain: 2]
[Rule Change Token: 0]
---
[Thief House: Level-1]
[House Leader: Ace White]
[House Members: 0/3]
---
[House Mission(s): Lock]
[House Leader Mission(s): Lock]
[House Punishment(s): Lock]
---
[House Shop: Lock]
[Recycling Shop: Lock]
---
[House Points Exchange tform: Lock]
[House Call: Lock]
[House Meeting: Lock]
---
[Note: Please recruit a member to unlock the features!]
=====
Ace was gobsmacked by this introduction and rules of this Thief House and suddenly swallowed hard and asked with uncertainty, "Umm¡ system you want me recruited thieves? But I enjoy working alone!"
"[Host doesn''t need to recruit any member if the host didn''t want to, the system is not forcing the host to recruit anyone. But the system still suggests thinking about it, because thief house if a major function of the system and is very helpful to host.]"
Ace was perplexed, hearing the system''s unexpected answer; the system was right this time. He can tell by all those strange ''Lock'' features and all those unchangeable rules set up by the system were in his favor.
Furthermore, after wandering the lowernds alone and all his dangerous experiences there, especially thest one with Gordon, Ace knew he could use another pair of hands.
Because if he had a partner, he could''ve sent that person to scout the treasure mountain while waiting far away. He didn''t know about other things, just the thought of controlling other thieves trained with the help of the system give Ace goosebumps!
''This is probably not a bad thing, just as the system said, the things I can do with a trained thief like myself are unimaginable! Besides, Eva always wanted to create a team, and she made me the team leader when we make the deal back then.''
Ace''s heart softened when he thought about asleep Eva, and the little bit of hesitation in his heart faded.
''Well, since the system unlocked this function, I can''t just let it collect dust, right?''
"System, how can I recruit someone?" Ace asked, since he already decided to use this function, he had to know how to recruit others!
"[Three Thief House Recruitment Tokens has been added to System Shop, Treasure Section, previously known as Weapon Section.]"
"Good, I was just nning to open the shop after this." Ace didn''t mind the name at all.
Ace was just about to do it when Shadow''s cold and annoying voice rang in his ears,
"If you keep pretending to be to meditate, do you believe I''ll cut off your arm?"
Chapter 278 - Thief House Recruitment Token
"If you keep pretending to meditate, do you believe I''ll cut off your arm?"
Even though Ace didn''t want to, he reluctantly opened his eyes and saw Shadow was eyeing him with a vexed stare.
Ace smiled wryly and answer, "I was just about to finalize my n."
Shadow sneered in a crisp voice, "Hmph¡ lets me hear this n as it is then!"
She didn''t believe him at all, and she just wanted to show him his ce, so he won''t cause any trouble again. She never pinned her hopes on him in the first ce.
Ace''s eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at Shadow!
An abrupt thought surfaced in Ace''s mind, ''If I could make Shadow join the thief house, I don''t need to be wary of her anymore and she also can''t hurt me or disobey mymand as the matter of fact.
''Besides, her stealth skill is even more powerful than my breathless stealth and her unique demon species also seemed to be a sneaky type perfect for a thief.
''She will be perfect for the first member, and it''s not like she''ll be losing anything while joining my house. With the system''s help, she can probably be the strongest demon in this world!''
Ace quickly decided to recruit Shadow. But the question was, will she join him if he sincerely invited her and tell the truth? The answer was a big no!
Foremost, she''ll probably think Ace was messing with her and secondly, Ace didn''t have the power to make her submit to him, and even if he had the power, he could tell this woman was too stubborn.
She''ll probably attack him the moment he told her to be his subordinate and submit to him. Besides, Ace already knew demons would never submit to any other race, they would choose death over submission to any other race.
So, Ace has to use an underhanded method to make her enter his house and once she was in, there was no escaping ording to the rules!
"Umm¡ sister demon, I can tell you the n, but you have to sign an oath contract with me. It''s not much. I just want your promise that you''ll let me go alive once I help you rue the technique you desire." Ace said with a straight face.
''Did he really have a path, or is he just bluffing?''
Shadow''s eyes narrowed when she heard this and rebuked coldly, "Do you think you have the strength to negotiate with me? And didn''t you say yourself that you''ll be my ve once I help you?"
Ace''s expression didn''t change at all and said with a stoic face, "Very well, let''s change the oath contract to ''Once I serve my means you won''t kill me or make anyone nor will you hand me over to anyone until your life is in extreme danger!'' what do you think about it? It only benefited you and if you don''t agree to it, I prefer death sooner since I''ll dieter, anyway."
Shadow''s eyes widen a little, hearing Ace''s new condition. Truth be told, it was just as Ace said, she was nning to get rid of Ace once he served his purpose or even handed him to the authorities for the reward.
But now Ace has clearly seen thought her and made things difficult.
''This human is too strange and cunning. He can steal that Soul Trapping Banyan Tree''s timber without getting affected and even guessed my intentions. Did he really have a way out of here?
''It might be the cause since won''t dare to negotiate with me with no leverage, nor he would be so calm. I was nning to wait here until the Demon Duke was forced to deactivate the array since he can''t keep all those people here for too long in a ghost search.
''But if this human can really get us out of here, then I prefer leaving now since there is still a chance of Demon Duke stumbling upon this secret passage. However, I can''t risk tying him with me forever, either.'' Shadow was perplexed.
"You shall die then!"
Shadow''s figure suddenly moved, leaving a blur behind.
However, Ace didn''t move from his position and remained expressionless. He didn''t feel any murderous intent from Shadow at all, and he knew she was trying to intimidate him into submission.
But strangely, Ace didn''t feel any fear anymore, and he deemed it was probably because of his new cultivation base. ''It seemed I can go toe to toe with a silver river core cultivator.''
Shadow figure suddenly appeared behind with massive killing intent, she thrust a red dagger toward Ace''s head.
However, just as Ace presumed, the sharp dagger abruptly stopped after it touched his hair and the killing intent also vanished.
''He''s not afraid of dying? Then did he really have a way to leave this ce?'' Shadow was vexed when she saw Ace was still sitting like a statue and didn''t even look back at her.
This fearless action of Ace aroused many thoughts in Shadow''s head.
''It''s just a damn oath contract. This human probably didn''t know there are ways to bypass these contracts, as long as they aren''t Legendary Grade, and they''re extremely rare.
''He probably shouldn''t have one either, since he''s from that weak race. I''ll just deal with the contractter when I bought a legendary ve contract for him!''
Shadow quickly decided to y along with Ace since he was too important for her and she can''t risk killing him. Not before he served his purpose.
"Fine, we''ll sign an oath contact on the same terms as you said. But I don''t have an oath contract on me." Shadow finally returned to her previous position and coldly stated while scrutinizing Ace, as if she wanted to see through him.
But to her dismay, Ace was just too good at controlling his facial expression.
"I naturally have one with me. That is why I purposed this deal. I hope you can understand, I just don''t want to die, even if it''s means living like a ve." Ace sighed helplessly whilementing.
Shadow''s eyes suddenly filled with disdain when she heard this and all the worries in her heart vanished, ''What a coward! I thought too highly of him and nearly forget he was just from a lowly race; how could he dare to scheme against my demon race?''
"Fine, take out the oath contract and get it over with." Shadow disdainfully spat, as she was no longer wary of Ace because of his cowardly nature.
"Open the new Treasure Section!" Ace didn''t dy and quicklymanded. He knew the fish has taken the bait, and now he had to react quickly.
====
[System Shop: Treasure Section]
[Heaven''s Stealer Disassembler Gloves]
{Unknown Grade}
{Price: 100,000 TP}
---
[Thief House Recruitment Tokens: 3]
{Price: 1,000,000 TP}
---
[Random Teleportation Life Coin]
{2 Avable: 1 Time Use item}
{Price: 30,000 TP Per Coin}
=====
Ace nearly cursed out loud when he saw the price of one million thief points, but he knew he had little time right now.
"I want one thief house recruitment token and everything else avable in the treasure shop!" Ace reluctantly spend one million thief points, but he also didn''t forget about two other things avable, especially the life coin that can save his life!
=====
[Total amount of host current purchase: 1,130,000 TP]
[TP has been deducted: Purchase has been sessful.]
---
[Thief Point(s): 1,688,400]
---
[Heaven''s Stealer Disassembler Gloves and One Thief House Recruitment Token has been delivered in the host''s thief''s space.]
---
[Random Teleportation Life Coin is now activated.]
[Life Coin: 2]
[Description: It will be used automatically when the system detects any life-ending danger in the host''s life.]
=====
Ace didn''t have time to check Heaven''s Stealer Disassembler Gloves since he had already taken ten seconds and now Shadow was getting impatient.
With a thought, a crystalline pitch-ck palm-size round token appeared in Ace''s hand. It was very smooth and warm to the touch.
Ace saw the engraving of his thief symbol the Dark Owl in the front of this round token and when he flipped it there were two words written on it in ancient godnguage, ''Thief House''.
Shadow also eyed the exquisite ck token in Ace''s hand with curiosity.
"System, how did I use it?" Ace asked, he didn''t know the thief house recruitment token would have his thief symbol on it as well as the text of ancient godnguage.
But he still felt relieved when he thought no one know about thisnguage or his n of swindling Shadow into joining his Thief House would turn into smoke and might even backfire!
"[The person who wants to join the Thief House needed to willingly drop its blood on the recruitment token and willingly touched it with its Qi!]"
''Easy enough. Now came the tricky part.''
Ace impassively looked at Shadow, who was throwing a questionable gaze at him and the recruitment token in his hand!
Chapter 279 - Path To Greatness!
"Ahem¡ as Sister can see, this is an oath contract made in my human continent. I only have this one since they''re too rare." Ace ''introduced'' the Thief House Recruitment Token impassively.
Shadow had guessed this much since he took out this strange token, and she wasn''t fazed by its shape or color, since contractse in many shapes and sizes. But what she was astonished about the strange owl engraving on it.
"Let me see."
She didn''t wait for Ace''s agreement and snatched the ''oath contract'' and started to examine it with intriguing eyes.
Ace didn''t stop her and merely observed Shadow. He wasn''t fretting over this in the least bit because he knew this token hase straight from the system and if a silver river core demon with no experience in rune crafting seen thought it, he bettermits suicide here and now.
Shadow also found nothing amiss with this ''oath contract'' nor did she find those ''rune symbols'' muchplex, she has seen manyplex runes since she lived in the duke mansion and there were many rune crafters there and there was even a legendary rune crafter under Livy''smand.
She simply thought this was a low-level oath contract from the human continent, and it would be a piece of cake to ovee it whenever she wanted it. She was just curious about the owl symbol since she heard about one particr race that worshiped owls.
"Let''s start." Shadow finally nodded afterpletely making sure this was indeed a normal ''oath contract'' and probably a very low rank one at that.
s, if she just tried to break or damage it, she would''ve been astonished since she won''t be able to leave a scratch on it even with her full power. But she didn''t because it was a piece ofmon knowledge to never scratch a contract or use force, or it will bepletely ruined.
Besides, Shadow thought Ace probably only had this contract since he said it himself, and she didn''t want to miss this chance of making an oath with a low-level oath contract or things would get tricky if Ace resistedter.
Ace wanted tough out loud when he saw Shadow agree, but controlled himself.
He impassively said as he sighed in relief, "Thank you, sister, you are really a gentle demon to agree with my impertinent request."
Shadow nodded and said, "As long as you know your ce. Now tell me how to use this contract."
"It''s very simple, Sister, just has to drip your blood on it, and afterward all you have to do is say your promise while using your Qi on this oath contract." Ace recited respectfully with a gratifying expression.
A hint of disdain appeared in Shadow''s dark eyes as she thought gleefully, ''It really is a lowly oath contract, since it only needed a merger blood drop and simple Qi. It won''t even need my ''Life Qi Mark'' or ''Soul Mark''. Even if I break it, I won''t suffer that big of a bacsh at all.''
Ace noticed Shadow''s change of emotions and only derided inside, ''Hah, let''s see who holds thestugh in the end!''
Shadow quickly cut her slender brown finger and a drop of ck blood dripped onto the Thief House Recruitment Token and instantly absorbed into it. Shadow didn''t find this out of the usual and the moment dark Qi appeared from her hand and was about to engulf the token.
However, what happened next made Shadow bbergasted! The moment her shadow element Qi touched the token, it instantly turned into a beam of pitch-ck light and bolted toward her be!
Shadow didn''t even have time to react as the beam of dark light has already prated all of her defensive and directly entered her head!
Ace also looked at this scene with astonishment, since it was also his first time seeing the Thief House Recruitment Token at work. It was truly marveled though since it didn''t even give Shadow a chance to react!
Ace suddenly heard a notification.
=====
[Thief House Recruitment Token has been used!]
[New member entry has been sessful.]
[Please open the Thief House interface to see further information.]
=====
Ace''s lips curled upward, seeing this notification. However, before he could open the thief house panel, Shadow''s deafening voice filled with killing intent and horror.
"Bastard! What did you put in my head? What is this voice!?" Shadow didn''t care anymore about anything and attacked Ace.
However, something unexpended happened that sent Shadow into a pit of despairs!
The moment she thought of harming Ace, an unmanageable pain hit her head and a bolt of deadly lightning ran amok in her body!
"Ahhhhhhh¡." She started screaming while struggling on the ground as one could see her skin start to burn.
Ace was horrified when he saw this, and he heard the system''s cold voice again.
====
[Malicious and Murderous intention detected from a Thief House Member toward House Leader.]
[Punishment: Death]
====
Ace''s heart trembled and blurted, "Stop it for now!"
====
[House Leader has stopped the Punishment]
====
Shadow, who was on the verge of death by that insane, soul-shattering pain and deadly lightning, felt those two powers vanish, and her Qi started to quickly recover her injuries.
But she didn''t feel relief in the least bit, as she looked at Ace with fear and hate, but the former was far greater than thetter.
"What did you do to me?" Shadow''s voice was hoarse as she questioned Ace.
Ace was also shocked by this and finally remembered the rules of thief houses. But he did not know it would be so deadly. Furthermore, he never knows the system had that kind of power since it never used it on him.
He suddenly remembered all those curses and how disrespectful he has been all these years to the system and this heart palpitated as cold sweat broke out on his forehead and he vowed to be gentler with the system in the future or if he really annoyed it, no one could save him.
"Ahem¡ sister demon, can you tell me what happened the token enter your head from start?" Ace cough to hide his own fear and question Shadow because she just said she heard a voice and this greatly rm him.
Shadow didn''t want to answer but after thinking about that, the voice just said she answered while healing her internal injuries, "I heard a static voice saying, [Wee to Thief House] and then a transparent dark shade appeared in front of my eyes.
"But I didn''t see itpletely since I attack you. But then I heard that voice again saying, [Vition of Thief House Rule] [Punishment: Death] and then¡ and then you just see.
"Now, I heard this again saying, [House Leader has forgiven the House Member]. Tell me what just you did to me!"
Shadow was terrified, not by Ace, but that voice, since she can''t seem to find anything amiss with herself no matter how much she searched with her martial sense. This made it even more horrifying and dreadful.
She knew Ace had yed her and made her sign a ve contract, but she was perplexed since she knew a ve contract can''t have its own voice nor would it just vanish inside a person''s body.
It was something more terrible than the ve contract, and the mostughable thing was she didn''t see it at all!
Ace, on the other hand, was shocked and quickly asked the system, "System, did you just make her your host as well?" He didn''t have any other exnation than this about that voice and transparent shade.
"[No, there can only be one host of the System. However, now that demon is the member of thief house she can assess to Thief Hose interface and hear notifications rted to thief house nothing else.]"
Ace couldn''t help but sigh in relief since it would be too good to be true if that were the case.
He finally looked at Shadow with a cold smile and said, "Hehe¡ don''t be anxious, I know you''re probably thinking I trick you signing a ve contract, but it wasn''t a ve contract, it was something far better than anything you can achieve or get your hands on, in your entire lifetime. No one can offer it but me, not even your so-called deity!
"But if I told you the truth before, you would''ve never believed me and even tried to kill me. That''s why I didn''t tell you and used an underhanded method. But I want you to look at it now and then tell me if this is a curse or blessing. Just say ''Thief House'' and you''ll see the path to greatness!"
Ace deeply looked at Shadow''s dark eyes without even blinking as he finished his grand speech. He wasn''t joking, though.
Shadow suddenly felt this guy wasn''t bantering and even felt he was like a grand existence. She decided to believe him for once and suppressed her injuries and said,
"Thief House!"
Chapter 280
¡°Thief House!¡±
It was just the activation word, like ¡®Status¡¯ for activating the Thief House for members.
The dark transparent panel appeared again in front of Shadow¡¯s eyes, again giving her the shock of her life, but she didn¡¯t try to kill Ace this time though.
Ace, on the other hand, was looking at Shadow with astonishment because he could see the panel in front of Shadow as well.
But it differed greatly from his since it was written in anguage that Shadow could understand, not in ancient godnguage.
First, the Thief House Rules and Regtions interface appeared in front of Shadow, and she read it attentively, not missing a single word. When she read the Zero Rule [Any vition of Thief House Rules u0026 Regtion will cause absolute death!].
Shadow¡¯s heart turned cold, and she finally understood she had jumped the gun too soon before in a state of consternation and anger and quickly saw the next rule which make her even more assured.
But when she saw the third rule, she couldn¡¯t help but look at him with vexed eyes. ¡°You are Ace White?¡±
Ace smiled broadly as he folded his hands behind his back and said, ¡°One and only! I¡¯m looking forward to working with you!¡±
¡°Hmph!¡± Shadow snorted coldly and continued to read other rules. ¡®I cannot leave once I join, this is really a trap!¡¯ she thought, reading rule four.
After reading all the rules, Shadow has some idea what this Thief House was. But she didn¡¯t understand how could this kind of thing even exist in the first ce and how did Ace gain it since he was likely the owner of this treasure.
Shadow saw a (Next) word right in the corner of this page, and when she thought settled on it, the rules interface changed again.
Ace was also waiting for this. He wanted to see first what Shadow can and thenpare it with his own Thief House interfaceter.
Shadow¡¯s eyes narrowed this time,
=====
[Thief House]
[House Leader: Ace White]
[House Members: 1/3]
¡ª
[House Member: Noa Night (Female)]
[Race: Demon]
[Bloodline: Night Demon (Grade-1 Bloodline)(Upgradeable)]
[Thief Genre: No Appointed (Only House Leader can appoint a Thief Genre)
[Martial Cultivation: Silver River Core Stage of Qi River Core Realm]
[Talent: Low (Upgradeable)]
[House Point(s): 10]
¡ª
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 0]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
¡ª
[House Shop: Avable (Empty at this moment)]
=====
Shadow or Noa waspletely gobsmacked when she read her real name on this new interface and many other things which enrage her, like her Grade-1 bloodline and low-level talent.
Even Ace was shocked after seeing Noa¡¯s interface and thought, ¡®Low talent and grade-1 bloodline, huh? So bloodlines also have grades. But what is that Thief Genre, and what does it have to do with me? And why is that shop empty?¡¯
Ace was about to open his own thief house panel since he already saw Noa¡¯s, which waspletely different, and there were some things he didn¡¯t understand.
However, Ace felt Noa¡¯s icy re and looked at her. He knew she was probably angry because of her talent and bloodline, just like anyone else would. But sometimes reality was just more painful.
¡°Did you write all this?!¡± Noa red at Ace, but she didn¡¯t dare to show any murderous intent anymore after what happened before, and she knew the rules.
They were absolute, and they protected Ace!
¡°How can I know your name and bloodline? Did we just meet a day ago? Didn¡¯t I tell you this is an opportunity for you? All those things were written by a¡ umm¡,¡± Ace suddenly thought of the status of that deity outside and quickly said, ¡°God!¡±
Ace suddenly thought of making the system a God since it would be more convenient to tell this story and for others as well. Besides, the system wasn¡¯t any less than a God in Ace¡¯s eyes.
Just as he thought, Noa¡¯s eyes widen in disbelief when she heard the word ¡®God¡¯ and swiftly felt everything make sense.
Ace continue when he felt Noa was believing him, ¡°Yes, a real God, not some stone sculpture!
¡°Let me tell you, all the things written about you in that interface are absolutely true, and you can even increase your talent and bloodline. Only a deity can help you do this, not a mortal or treasure, right?¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes widen even more when she thought it and all made sense even more because how could a mortal or treasure have all these abilities? Only a God can do this.
¡®Doesn¡¯t this mean I¡¯m working for a God now, and I can even get reward directly from a God? This is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!¡¯
Noa¡¯s eyes were now filled with zeal and tion. She finally let go of her resentment toward Ace and even felt grateful to him for giving her this chance.
¡°Great Priest, thank you for choosing me, and I apologize for my previous rudeness for not seeing the Great One. Can you please tell me the name of our Great God who is so magnanimous to even help us, mortal?!¡±
¡°P-priest?!¡± Ace nearly fell hearing Noa calling him a great priest and shook his hand, ¡°No, no, no, I¡¯m not a priest. Just call me Leader or Ace or whatever you like. Just don¡¯t call me a priest. As for the name of our God, it¡¯s¡¡±
Ace thought of something and blurted, ¡°It¡¯s Eternal Thief¡ the Goddess of Thieves!¡±
He just made the system a real Goddess, but he didn¡¯t know just how far he was from the actual truth.
¡°Goddess of Thieves?!¡± Noa mumbled in incredulity and asked, ¡°Then we are thieves?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you see the ¡®Blessing¡¯ you just received and its name?¡± Ace sneered. He had gone through this once before and knew in her excitement she paid little attention to the word ¡®Thief¡¯.
¡°Thief House, Thief!¡± Noa finally fully concentrate and understood what Ace was talking about, but her little bit of reluctance vanished after she thought of all those things she could receive from this God of Thieves, it was far better than worshiping some statue!
¡°Then, can Leader tell me, why is this shop thing empty and why I only have 10 house points? How did I get more?¡± Noa finally inquired about the thief house interface.
¡°Woman, slow your horses, let me ask the Goddess.¡± Ace wasn¡¯t afraid of Noa anymore, nor did he was afraid she would know about his system.
She¡¯ll instantly die if she even thought about disclosing this information, so Ace was feeling much more secure around her. But Shadow still didn¡¯t know about the wonder of the real system since she only thought Ace was the same as her and selected by a ¡®Goddess¡¯.
¡°You can talk to Goddess?!¡± Noa again felt her world turned upside down when Ace said so casually.
¡°Umm, you can too. Don¡¯t you hear her voice already? You just have toplete tasks given by her, and you can hear her again in the further. Now give me a moment.¡± Ace again spout some bullshit.
Noa¡¯s eyes instantly shimmer in understanding after hearing Ace¡¯s words of ¡®enlightenment¡¯ and didn¡¯t disturb him anymore, afraid of offending the ¡®Goddess¡¯.
¡°Open Thief House.¡±
The thief house interface appeared in front of Ace and looked at Noa and asked with a hint of concern in his voice, ¡°What did you see here?¡±
¡°Nothing, just you. Why?¡± Noa was confused.
¡®Oh, so this is only the privilege of House Leader. Good!¡¯ Ace sighed in relief since it would¡¯veplicated things if Noa could see his interfaces.
¡°Nothing, give me a moment.¡± He looked at the new interface.
=====
[Thief House]
Rule Creation Remain: 2
Rule Change Token: 0
¡ª
[Thief House: Level-1]
[House Leader: Ace White]
[House Members: 1/3]
¡ª
[House Point(s): 0]
¡ª
[House Mission(s): 0]
¡ª
[House Leader Mission(s): (Edit)]
¡ª
[House Punishment(s)]
System Punishment: 0
House Leader Punishment: (Edit)
¡ª
[House Shop]
Introduction: Please Select a Thief Genre for House Members to unlock a special House Shop just for them.
¡ª
[Recycling Shop]
Introduction: House Leader can ce anything in this shop for recycling it and turned it into House Points. Which he can then use as a reward for issued missions by himself.
¡ª
[House Points Exchange tform]
Introduction: Exchange Thief Points for House Points
Exchange Rate: 10 Thief Points = 1 House Point
¡ª
[House Call: Lock] (Insufficient House Members)
[House Meeting: Lock] (Insufficient House Members)
¡ª
Ace was astonished by seeing all those new functions and baffled regarding the house point exchange and recycling shop interfaces. He thought it would be useful for him, but that¡¯s not the case at all. They were all for house members.
There wasn¡¯t even one benefit for him, but he wasn¡¯t disheartened since he knew this was for training thieves, and he had the entire system, not just this one interface.
However, Ace still didn¡¯t know just how many benefits he was going to receive from this one function in the future!
Chapter 281
A new notification popped up the moment he tried to select Noa¡¯s name.
====
[Please Select a Thief Genre for the new member!]
Compatible Thief Genre for House Member Noa Night: 2 Avable
1. Thief Scout
2. Thief Assassin
[Please select one option.]
¡ª
[Note: Once a thief genre was selected, it can never be changed again.]
====
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw the detail of Thief Genre and looked at two Thief Genres avable for Noa and mused,
¡®So, it¡¯s like selecting a path for my members to walk in their life, but this path is only rted to Thief. I wonder if I had a Thief Genre, well since the system didn¡¯t tell me before, it probably means I don¡¯t need one, or it lets me select in the future.
¡®However, selecting a path for someone ispletely different, though. I¡¯m not a control freak, and I think everyone has a right to select what they want to pursue in their life.
¡®Well, it¡¯s not like they had much of a choice since they had to be a thief no matter what kind they select it made little difference, this section is the only choice they had, so I won¡¯t take it from them.
¡®Since I¡¯m a leader, I should act like one and treat everyone nicely, so they won¡¯t feel like they¡¯re in some penitentiary.¡¯
Ace came clean with Noa about thief genre pros and cons. He told her how it worked and once she selected a path, she could never change it and had to walk on it for the rest of her life, there was no room for regretster.
Noa was momentarily shocked when she heard the exnation about the thief genre because selecting a cultivation path was an impossible dream for her since she can¡¯t break through to the next realm with her limited bloodline and race.
But now she was given an opportunity to change her entire life and walk on a path of her own choices even though it was rted to a thief, she still felt grateful from the bottom of her heart to the ¡®Goddess¡¯ and especially to Ace who gave her this fantastical chance.
Furthermore, Noa had seen her Thief Genre, which said ¡®only the House Leader can select¡¯, which means she didn¡¯t have any say in it if Ace decided to select for her, and he won¡¯t need to give her any exnation. But didn¡¯t do so and gave her a choice, this raise his position in her heart a little more.
¡°Leader, thank you for this chance, and I won¡¯t make you regret giving me this choice in the future.¡± Noa suddenly change the way she treated Ace and bowed toward him, even with her injuries.
¡°No need to stand in ceremony with me. We are both now members of the same ¡®House¡¯ and this makes us family, and a family needed to treat each other with courtesy and respect each other¡¯s wishes.¡± Ace stated with a faint smile like a leader, but one could see a little redness on his face.
¡®No wonder those Old Men felt so embarrassed when they were alone after spouting all this nonsense. Being a leader is really difficult.¡¯ He thought as he admired the owners of these memories, he just used to act!
But Noa didn¡¯t seem to notice anything wrong with Ace¡¯s words, and she felt a warmth in her heart when she heard ¡®family¡¯. ¡®He¡¯s really different.¡¯
¡°Leader, I decided I want to be a Thief Assassin. I¡¯ll protect our House with my life!¡± Noa said with undying determination.
Ace could tell Noa was speaking from her heart when she made this promise, and he also felt having one or two members wasn¡¯t a bad thing after all.
¡°Fine, I select it for you!¡± Ace said as he made the selection.
=====
[House Leader has selected Option 2: Thief Assassin for house member Noa Night.]
=====
Noa also heard the ¡®Goddess¡¯ voice in her head, and the interface appeared in front of her again.
____
[Congrattion, you have been appointed as a Thief Assassin by House Leader.]
Thief Assassin Introduction: A Thief who is also indulged in the art of Assassination
Thief Assassin Role: Whenever a theft was nned, it¡¯s a Thief Assassin¡¯s job to make sure no one impedes theft and silence anyone who poses a threat to thievery and makes it perfect!
¡ª
[Your thief house status has been updated.]
____
Ace also saw this Thief Assassin introduction and felt this was more like a vanguard position in a theft. This was a very dangerous task since he had experienced himself just how dangerous those people protecting the treasuries could be.
¡°Thank you, Goddess, for your approval and guidance! I will not disappoint you!¡± Noa quickly praised the system with a resolute voice.
Ace felt his face heated when he saw the reverence in Noa¡¯s eyes. He definitely underestimated the power of Noa¡¯s faith in a ¡®God¡¯.
Little did Ace know, the entire demon race was very religious, and some of them were even more devoted than Noa. That¡¯s why Noa was quick to believe that system was indeed a God or if it was any human, they would¡¯ve never believed it so quickly and blindly.
¡°You don¡¯t need to say it out loud in the future, just in your head, ¡®Goddess¡¯ can hear you anywhere. Besides, if people find out we can ¡®talk with a god they¡¯ll probably take us for lunatics or worse,e after us to find out about our secret.
¡°I¡¯m warning you, although we received the ¡®guidance¡¯ from the ¡®Goddess¡¯. But the ¡®Goddess¡¯ won¡¯t save us if we¡¯re in danger or even die. So, in the end, we have to rely on ourselves and keep this an absolute secret!¡± Ace sternly warned.
He had experienced first handed just how much greedy a cultivator could be, and they can do anything for a chance to increase their strength. Even an extremely shrewd old monster like ¡®Gordon¡¯ was hoodwinked by him because of his greed for power.
¡°I understand. It was indeed a mistake. I was just too excited. The leader doesn¡¯t need to worry about it anymore.¡± Noa nodded decisively in understanding.
She has been victim to the same thing in the past, and she knew anyone finds out that Ace can ¡®connect¡¯ them to a ¡®Goddess¡¯. Everyone will hunt Ace to the end of this world!
Noa didn¡¯t want this to happen, since he was her benefactor and the House Leader she had to protect.
¡°Check your thief house interface.¡± Ace wanted to see what changes have appeared in Shadow¡¯s interface before checking it on his own end.
¡°Yes, I also wanted to see what Go¡ I get!¡± She was about to say Goddess again, but quickly stop and change her words.
Ace nodded, seeing her being so vignt already.
Noa quickly opened her thief house status.
____
[House Member: Noa Night (Female)]
[Race: Demon]
[Bloodline: Night Demon (Grade-1 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
[Thief Genre: Thief Assassin (Newbie)]
[House Rank: New Member (Upgradeable)]
[Martial Cultivation: Silver River Core Stage of Qi River Core Realm]
[Talent: Low (Upgradeable)]
[House Point(s): 10]
¡ª
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 0]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
¡ª
[House Shop: Thief Assassin]
____
Noa was ted seeing the house shop has been finally opened, and it was exclusively for a thief assassin as well. But she didn¡¯t open it and quickly asked Ace.
¡°Leader, what is this House Rank, and what purpose does it serve?¡±
She didn¡¯t see this column before, meaning it only appeared after her Thief Genre was selected, and it seemed ¡®easy¡¯ to raise as well.
Ace also noticed this and already asked the system,
¡°[Thief House Rank were ced to determine the seniority of a member, and it¡¯s also represented the contribution they made to thief house. The higher the house rank, the more benefits they will get!]¡±
Ace simply repeated what the system just told him. He suddenly felt vexed since he had to act like an interpreter because the system can¡¯t talk or answer Noa¡¯s questions like him. It can only send notifications or alerts in their heads, nothing else!
¡®Maybe that¡¯s how the system would feel with all my questions as well,¡¯ Ace mused, and finally unravel why sometimes the system refused to answer him.
It was just too damn annoying!
Before Noa can ask any more follow-up questions rted to house ranks, he quickly distracted her, ¡°Why don¡¯t you open the shop and see what you get from ¡®Goddess¡¯. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll blow you away!¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes quickly shimmered with ecstasy, hearing this, and didn¡¯t pay any more attention to Ace and quickly opened her unique Thief House Shop!
Chapter 282
Noa¡¯s eyes quickly shimmered with ecstasy hearing this and paid no more attention to Ace and quickly opened her unique Thief House Shop!
Ace sighed in relief and also looked at her thief assassin house shop curiously.
_____
[House Shop: Thief Assassin]
¨C Treasures Section
¨C Knowledge Section
¨C Evolution u0026 Pill Section
_____
Noa opened the very first treasure section eagerly.
_____
[Treasure Section: Thief Assassin]
¨C Endless Night Daggers Set [32 Pin-Daggers]: Legendary Grade- 4
House Rank Required: Old Member
Price: 10,000 House Points
¡ª
¨C Runic Windless Blowgun: Legendary Grade- 4
House Rank Required: Old Member
Price: 10,000 House Point
¡ª
¨C Thief Assassin Armor Set: Legendary Grade-8
House Rank Required: Excellent Member
Thief Assassin Rank Require: Trainee Thief Assassin
Price: 100,000 House Points
¡ª
¨C Life Escape Coin: 3
House Rank Required: Normal Member
Price: 1,000 House Points
¡ª
[Note: Shop will update at ¡®Veteran Member¡¯ House Rank]
_____
Noe couldn¡¯t believe what she had just seen and read it again and again before her eyes turned listless. Even though all those things in the shop were priceless in this world. But she can¡¯t get them because of those harsh requirements!
Much less ruing all those house ranks, just the House Points were enough to give Noa¡¯s despair because she only had 10 at this moment and the cheapest thing was 1,000 House Points!
Ace was also somewhat in disbelief when he saw all those things in Noa¡¯s thief assassin¡¯s shop. He was shocked not because of the requirements, but from those grades of those treasures!
Even he didn¡¯t have these kinds of treasures in his system shop! He even felt slightly better seeing all those requirements attached to them, and he knew Noa had a long way to go before she could get her hands on those powerful treasures.
But when he saw Shadow¡¯s listless eyes, he felt a little guilty about gloating on someone¡¯s misfortune, and she was nevertheless his own member!
He quickly soothed her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, once we start doing missions, you can get everything very soon. Trust me, I have gone through all this!¡± He was telling the truth and lying at the same time.
¡°Thank you.¡± Noa felt a little better, hearing Ace has gone through the same pain as her.
She reluctantly closed the treasure shop and, with hopeful eyes, opened the knowledge shop.
____
[Knowledge Section: Thief Assassin]
¨C Night Demon Body Transformation: Demon Body Refinement Technique
Requirement: Night Demon Bloodline (Minimum: Grade-1)
House Rank Required: Normal Member
Price: 100 House Points
¡ª
¨C Thief Assassin Principles: Soul Cultivation Technique
House Rank Required: Normal Member
Price: 1,000 House Points
¡ª
¨C Endless Shadow Daggers Rainfall; Soul Cultivation Art
Requirement: Endless Night Daggers Set u0026 Thief Assassin Principals
House Rank Required: Old Member
Price: 5,000 House Points
¡ª
¨C Thief Assassin Invisible Cloaking: Soul Cultivation Stealth Art
Requirement: Demon Body Refinement Technique u0026 Thief Assassin Principals
House Rank Required: Normal Member
Price: 500 House Points
¡ª
¨C Thief Assassin¡¯s Soul Steps: Soul Movement Skill
Requirement: Thief Assassin Principals
House Rank Required: Normal Member
Price: 500 House Points
¡ª
¨C Thief Assassin¡¯s Soul View: Soul Reconnaissance Skill
Requirement: Thief Assassin Principals
House Rank Required: Normal Member
Price: 500 House Points
¡ª
[Note: Shop will update at ¡®Veteran Member¡¯ House Rank]
_____
Noa¡¯s breath was a little irregr when she saw all those soul techniques and skills avable, especially that very first Body Refinement Technique, which make her heart nearly explode. She never thought one day she would see this many soul-path skills and a body refinement technique tailor-made for her kind!
¡°T-this¡ are all of this¡ real?¡± Her voice was a little hoarse when she uttered.
She didn¡¯t dare to believe the legendary body refinement technique she always wanted. NO, every demon wanted, would fall from the sky in herp just like that!
¡°Don¡¯t count your chickens so soon. Although I can assure you, all those techniques and skills are real. But are you qualified to cultivate them?¡±
Ace¡¯s ambiguous voice jolt awakened Noa from her stupor. She finally understood what Ace mean was; all those cultivation techniques and skills besides the refinement technique were rted to the soul path, and she was a martial path cultivator at Qi silver river core stage!
This means she wasn¡¯t qualified to cultivate all those techniques and skills. As for the technique she was quality to cultivate, it was also because she only met the minimum requirement of her bloodline!
This made her realize just how insignificant, and lowly she was, all that proud of being the superior demon race immediately shattered in that instant.
¡°Why are you so gloomy and listless? If ¡®Goddess¡¯ given you these options, then this means she also left a way for you. Why don¡¯t you open thest section?¡± Ace calmly said confidently.
But the truth was he was also feeling sorry for Noa and even felt he has it too easy all these years. Because the system never put any requirements on him, he can cultivate everything and anything directly.
This made him recognize just how wonderful the system was to him, and he felt a warmth in his heart. He was gratified that the system always endured him, even when he cussed and resent it.
Noa also regained some hope and quickly opened thest section, or she doesn¡¯t know what she¡¯ll do if she won¡¯t be able to use all those soul techniques and skills that were just sitting in her yard.
Because it wasmon knowledge, a cultivation path can never be changed as long as the person built its foundation.
But Noa was still hopeful since she was dealing with a ¡®God¡¯ here because even in demon society a soul cultivator was rare and this was just too good of an opportunity to miss, especially when soul techniques and skill came directly from a ¡®God¡¯!
She will regret it for the rest of her life, even after she got the refinement technique she always wanted.
This was the primordial nature of every intellectual being. Once you get what you want, you¡¯ll always want more and better!
Ace also knew the system¡¯s ways very well. It would not give something that cannot be used. Just like when he first thought of life coin, and it saved his life!
_____
[Evolution u0026 Pill Section: Thief Assassin]
¨C Night Demon Bloodline: Legendary Grade-2 Evolution
Price: 1,000 House Points
¨C Night Demon Bloodline: Legendary Grade-3 Evolution
Price: 10,000 House Points
¨C Night Demon Bloodline: Legendary Grade-4 Evolution
Price: 50,000 House Points
¨C Night Demon Bloodline: Legendary Grade-5 Evolution
Price: 100,000 House Points
¨C Night Demon Bloodline: Legendary Grade-6 Evolution
Price: 250,000 House Points
¨C Night Demon Bloodline: Legendary Grade-7 Evolution
Price: 500,000 House Points
¨C Night Demon Bloodline: Legendary Grade-8 Evolution
Price: 1,000,000 House Points
¨C Night Demon Bloodline: Legendary Grade-9 Evolution
Price: 10,000,000 House Points
¡ª
¨C Demonic Foundation Reset Pill: 1 Avable
Introduction: Reset any Demon¡¯s Foundation (Soul or Martial)
Requirement: Normal Member
Price: 10,000 House Points
¡ª
[Note: Shop will update at ¡®Veteran Member¡¯ House Rank]
_____
Noa¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up with hope and amazement when she saw the only pill avable was what she needed the most. Likewise, the bloodline evolution was also a big boon for her!
However, Ace was paying attention to something else entirely, ¡®So, the bloodlines really have grades and the system can also upgrade them.¡¯
He was snapped out of his thought process hearing Noa¡¯s rejuvenate voice.
¡°Leader, you were right, the Goddess really left a way for me to cultivate in soul path! This is great.¡± Noa rejoice and eximed.
This was simply too unbelievable since this was impossible from time immemorial!
¡°Congrattion.¡± Ace was really happy for Noa.
¡°System open Noa¡¯s interface in thief house panel. Let¡¯s see if there¡¯s any difference here.¡± Ace transmitted.
=====
[Thief House]
[House Member: Noa Night (Female)]
[Race: Demon]
[Bloodline: Night Demon (Grade-1Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
[Thief Genre: Thief Assassin (Newbie)]
[House Rank: New Member (Upgradeable)]
[Martial Cultivation: Silver River Core Stage of Qi River Core Realm]
[Talent: Low (Upgradeable)]
¡ª
[Skills: 0]
¡ª
[Techniques: 0]
¡ª
[House Point(s): 10]
¡ª
[House Shop Type: Thief Assassin]
¡ª
[Give Mission: (Edit)]
[Give Punishment: (Edit)]
=====
¡®I can see her skills and technique progress, which she¡¯ll receive from the system, and I can assign her mission and punishment as I wish. This is really wonderful.¡¯
Ace was satisfied with thief house functions. It gave him full control over his members, and they can¡¯t hide anything from him.
Right at this moment, when he just closed the system panel, it abruptly appeared again and the system¡¯s voice rang.
=====
[A side Mission has been issued]
¡ª
[Side Mission]
[Mission: Please issue a Thief House Mission worth 100 or more House Points]
[Time: 2 Hours]
[Reward: Heavenly Soul Rejuvenation Pill (Grade-1)]
[Punishment: None]
=====
Ace was astonished when he saw it was the new mission function system has unlocked after its upgrade. He didn¡¯t think he would see it working so quickly, and it was much more convenient than those hard missions.
¡®There is no punishment if I don¡¯tplete it, but this Heavenly Soul Rejuvenation Pill is too good to give up. I also just needed this pill to fully heal my soul. It¡¯ll also help Noa ¡®financial crisis¡¯ somewhat, two birds with one stone!¡¯
Chapter 283
Noa was now mmed after she organized her thoughts, but no matter what, her heart still raced after just thinking about what happened a few moments ago. She was still thinking it was all just an impossible dream and afraid of waking from it.
But everything was as real as it could be, she thought, ¡®I can finally avenge my family and tribe after all these years of pretentious. Ironically, this chance was given to me by this weak-looking human.
¡®I just needed to collect the House points now, and I can buy all those powerful techniques and treasures from the ¡®goddess¡¯, but when will I get the chance to collect them?
¡®These missions probablye from goddess since, but why did there are missions from Leader as well? Can he also give missions, just like the goddess? Well, it¡¯s probably one of the privileges given to him by the goddess since he is the leader¡¡¯
While Noa was deep in her thoughts, Ace was going to work on his side mission.
=====
[Side Mission has been issued]
¡ª
[Side Mission]
[Mission: Please issue a Thief House Mission worth 100 or more House Points]
[Time: 2 Hours]
[Reward: Heavenly Soul Rejuvenation Pill (Grade-1)]
[Punishment: None]
=====
¡®First I need, House Points.¡¯ Ace deemed and transmitted his wish, ¡®System open the recycle shop.¡¯
Ace had too many useless treasures that were justying in his thief¡¯s space takingrge space and collecting dust, like weapons, ve contracts, low-level pills, locked storage rings, techniques and skills, low-level material, low-level Qi stones¡
He always wanted to get rid of them, but whenever he thought about how much trouble he goes through in collecting them, he always hesitates. But now that he has this recycle shop of Thief House, he can turn them into house points. He was quite satisfied with it, even if he didn¡¯t get thief points for it.
====
[Recycle Shop]
[Treasury: Living Thief¡¯s Space]
[Please Select]
====
Ace¡¯s consciousness suddenly entered his thief¡¯s space thereafter, ¡®So, I can select like this it quite convenient.¡¯
Ace didn¡¯t dy and said, ¡°Take every Qi stone below middle-level, every ve contract, all those pills, and material that can¡¯t be turned into EXP or SP, all the weapons below seven-star¡ take every storage ring with Qi marks on it as well. I will not waste TP on opening them. It¡¯s not worth it.¡±
Ace happily watched all those useless things vanish one after another, and his cramp storage space suddenly became extremely empty. Now there was only a small pile of unlocked storage rings, fifteen mountains of middle-level, high level, and peak level Qi stones, some pills and materials that can turn into SP or EXP, ¡, nothing else!
¡®Now, with all those treasures from lowernds are gone, I can fill it with treasures from mighty demon continent!¡¯ Ace nodded in satisfaction, ¡°That¡¯s it, converts everything selected into House Point!¡±
====
[Calcting¡]
[Converting¡]
¡ª
[All the selected treasure has been converted into House Points]
Convert House Points: 10
====
Ace nearly choked on his breath when he saw ¡¯10¡¯, he didn¡¯t dare to believe it and quickly questioned, ¡°System what hell, after I nearly empty all my thief¡¯s space you¡¯re only giving me ten house points?!¡±
¡°[All the treasures host converted were too low rank and the system only give fair amount for all of them.]¡±
Ace didn¡¯t have any way to retort since the system was telling the truth, but he still felt extreme pain in his heart because there were hundreds of millions of low-level, fragment Qi stones and if he gave them away to some poor kingdom, they could¡¯ve be a first-rate power like the Leap Kingdom.
But he only got 10 house points for that amount of wealth. He would naturally be going to feel the pain.
¡°Fine, open House Points Exchange tform. I¡¯m not going to use that recycle shop again, ever.¡± Ace vowed in dismay that he can¡¯t take back the already fired arrow.
=====
[House Points Exchange tform]
[Exchange Rate: 10 Thief Points = 1 House Point]
[Please Select Thief Point Amount: ___]
=====
Ace considered it since he was running low on TP, and he still needed to buy some things from the system shop before he could leave this ce. Furthermore, the exchange rate for TP and HP was just too damn unfair.
¡°Covert 20,000 TP into HP.¡± Acemanded.
=====
[20,000 TP has been sessfully converted into 2000 HP[1]]
¡ª
[House Point(s): 2010]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 1,668,400]
=====
¡°System open Make Mission interface of Thief House.¡± Ace quicklymanded, wasting no more time.
====
[House Leader Mission]
¨C Make a Mission for All House
¨C Make a Mission for selected Member(s)
¡ª
[Please Chose one option]
====
¡°Open the second section.¡± Ace order.
====
[Make a Mission for selected Member(s)]
[House Members: 1/3]
[Write a Mission]
====
Ace opened the Write Mission section curiously.
====
[Thief House Leader Mission Creation]
Mission: ___
Reward: ___
Time: ___
Punishment: ___
====
¡®Let¡¯s see what mission should I give?¡¯ Ace mused.
He didn¡¯t want to give away a too simple mission or too difficult one, so he thought for a while before he suddenly thought of one which was perfect for this situation.
Ace quickly start to speak about what kind of mission he wanted to issue in his mind, and the system filled the nks for him.
After hepleted the content of the mission system will evaluate the reward in HP after that he can only increase them but not decrease or add something more like he can buy something from Thief Assassin Shop and put it as a reward in HP ce or do both. It was his choice.
He can¡¯t use those shops¡¯ treasures for himself, though. That greatly disappoint him, or he wanted to buy that Thief Assassin Armor Set for himself. It¡¯s not like he wouldn¡¯t give it back in the future, since it was Noa¡¯s.
But the system didn¡¯t let him be sessful in his schemes.
In the end, Ace finally decided to motivate Noa for this mission and bought something from the Thief Assassin Shop and the HP reward.
He wasn¡¯t a stingy person, especially when it came to helping others, and Noa¡¯s strength was going to be his strength in the further. So, it was only natural to help her further.
After finalizing everything, Ace was left with 1510 HP.
====
[Are you sure you want to issue this mission to New Member Noa Night?]
[Yes/Edit Again]
====
Ace selected ¡®yes¡¯ with no hesitation. He was quite satisfied with his creation.
Noa was thinking about asking Ace about those missions and see if he could issue her one right now since she desperately wanted all those treasures in Thief Assassin Shop.
But she was hesitating since it would be too much. After all, he just helped her ¡®join¡¯ this establishment of Goddess of Thieves. She didn¡¯t want Ace to have a terrible impression of her, since she had already offended him before.
She somewhat knows he probably let her join this Thief House because he was pushed to a corner and took this step to save his life, or he might not even consider giving her this chance.
Although she could tell Ace wasn¡¯t a bad person. However, she had experienced firsthand his shrewdness and his ability to act so calmly in extremely dangerous situations.
She would never forget how easily he told lies, and even she can¡¯t read him with her powerful cultivation. That¡¯s why she was hesitating to further annoy him, or what if he gave some impossible mission or even punishment of death?
She didn¡¯t know what kind of privileges Ace had over her as a Leader but just by her status as a ¡®New Member¡¯ and seeing all those ranks in the shop like Normal Member, Old Member, Excellent Member, she knew Ace¡¯s status was no joke, and he can easily get rid of her even with those rules attached!
Although, she was extremely grateful. But by no means, she wasn¡¯t an idiot. She had survived all these years in Demon Duke Mansion and even served the person who annihted her entire tribe and pretended to be her savior for all these years.
One could tell just how patient and control she had over her emotions and mind, but Ace still fooled her, which made her fear Ace and even respect him!
¡®I should wait and see for now.¡¯ Noa decided to remain silent for now and mended her rtionship with Ace.
She could tell she was probably the first member since Ace also had to ask for ¡®guidance¡¯ after she joined, and this gave her some confidence to win his favor.
However, right at this moment, the ¡®Goddess¡¯ voice rang in her mind which startled her greatly and the same shade appeared in front of her, and she thought, ¡®Goddess Decree!¡¯
Noa has already named the system panel Goddess Decree. She attentively listened and read the detail respectfully without missing a word.
_____
[Thief House Leader (Ace White) has issued a mission]
¡ª
[Thief House Leader Mission]
Mission: Escape the Crisis!
Description: Escort House Leader (Ace White) out of the Ocean Demon City safely and find a safe ce.
Reward: 400 House Points, & Night Demon Body Transformation Technique
Time: 30 Days
Punishment: No Mission for 10 years!
_____
[1] House Point
Chapter 284
Noa¡¯s dark eyes turned sharp when she read the mission details, rewards, and punishment. Especially punishment. It was quite harsh, but the rewards were just as tempting.
She looked at Ace withplicated emotions. She was just thinking of how she should mend her rtionship with him, but it seemed she didn¡¯t need to do anything.
Ace noticed Noa¡¯splicated emotions and couldn¡¯t help but sigh slightly before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t mind our previous interaction. I don¡¯t hold it against you, and we¡¯re associates now. Besides, don¡¯t you see the rules of thief house? They¡¯re also applied to me.¡±
Ace was telling an absolutely¡ lie!
He was like an unshakable mountain in Thief House, and no one can go against him if they don¡¯t want to die. He also understood now why the system had reviled, he could give a mission and not keep it hidden.
It was probably because this will intimidate everyone and keep a tight leash on them, so they would never think about betraying him. This will also give him their absolute loyalty and recognition.
If anyone wanted to raise in member ranks, they had to rely on his missions and pray, he won¡¯t punish them to death in an impossible mission.
But Ace also considered it a disadvantage because he can¡¯t earn House Points like them, and he had to convert his TP or treasures for them, which was quite unfair in his view.
That¡¯s why he told Noa; these rules apply to him as well. He didn¡¯t want to put fear in his member¡¯s hearts and form a master-servant rtionship. He wasn¡¯t this kind of person. Furthermore, he hated very, and he won¡¯t be a dictator just because he could.
He wasn¡¯t narrow-minded and as long as his members show results, he¡¯ll be generous to them. That¡¯s why he put such a harsh punishment on excellent rewards.
Furthermore, the system had calcted the time he could put into this mission and thirty days was the maximum he could give, or he didn¡¯t mind making this time sixty or ny days.
Nevertheless, he wanted to see Noa¡¯s capabilities, and he knew she was quite strong and motivated to be in his Thief House, so she won¡¯t risk failing this mission.
Besides, it¡¯s not like he would just sit there and let her carry her. He will help, and he was still going to prepare for the worse and rely on his strength!
¡°Thank you, Leader. Since you put your trust in me, I¡¯ll not disappoint you.¡± Noa promised solemnly, with grateful eyes.
Noa was now feeling warm in her icy heart after all these years of impassiveness. Before Ace had promised her, he would get her a body refinement technique, and she never believed him.
But now he had alreadypleted his promise and even given her far more than just a mere body technique. She knew, even with her life, she won¡¯t be able to pay Ace back for this great kindness.
Noa suddenly got on her knees and bend her hand as it touched the ground.
If any demon was here, they would be shocked silly because this was kneeling posture only allowed for Demon Emperor!
Noa has just put Ace at the same level as the ruler of demons, and this was probably the first time in the demon¡¯s race history that a demon submitted to another racepletely and voluntarily, much less a race like humans!
If those proud demons found out about Noa¡¯s sphemous action right now, she would probably be hunted by the entire demon race to the end of this world!
Ace, on the other hand, did not know what Noa had done, and he blurted, ¡°What are you doing? Get up! Please don¡¯t do this in the future. I don¡¯t need your devotion or kneeling. Just help me with your best abilities, that¡¯s it.¡±
He felt quite embarrassed right now since he never felt these kinds of emotions from anyone.
Noa got back on her two knees and deeply looked at Ace¡¯s slightly red face. She nodded and said solemnly yet tender voice, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll do my best!¡±
Ace nodded in satisfaction, seeing Noa has returned to her normal self, and said, ¡°Now, we have to leave this ce and our best shot is only that door behind you.¡±
Ace pointed at the old metallic door with a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. He wasn¡¯t confident, but he could tell this door was a pathway that lead to somewhere, he just had to open it.
Before, he will never even considered this option, but after getting the Lock Eraser King Technique, he was confident about opening that lock array, which was probably a grade-1 lock array.
He just had to cultivate the lock eraser king technique to the firstyer of the Lock Eraser Master level. He also found out this technique will only work on lock type array and formation, not on barriers like the one outside.
It waspletely different from treasure opening hands. It can¡¯t take advantage of ws in arrays and formations, but this technique can erase any lock without requiring finding ws in it!
However, Noa didn¡¯t understand Ace¡¯s real meaning and said, ¡°Yes, this door leads to a passage right outside in Ocean Demon City. It was specially made for my ancestors because our tribe was quite good at assassination and my ancestors work directly under the first Ocean Demon Duke and do their dirty work.
¡°That¡¯s why this path was made, so they could easilye and go inside the ocean demon city and directly report it to the Demon Duke. However, after the first Ocean Demon Duke¡¯s death, our tribe was expelled by his son and this passage also lose its meaning.
¡°But the Duke¡¯s son didn¡¯t know about it, and my ancestors keep it that way since he banished them. However, they never use it against the Ocean Demon Duke Family either and so as time pass this pathway was lost in history, and only our tribe¡¯s every generation chief had knowledge about it.
¡°However, we lose the key to this door two generations ago in a fight with another tribe. Now this pathway can only be our hiding ce until the demon duke deactivated the array.¡±
Ace listen to Noa¡¯s story attentively, since it was his time hearing about demon tribes and Noa¡¯s subspecies.
But Ace could feel deep hatred from Noa¡¯s voice and soul fluctuation when she talked about her tribe and ocean demon duke. He knew there was probably deep hatred between her and the ocean demon duke.
After all, she just said herself; this passage was only known by her tribe chief and which means she had a rtion to the tribe chief and a close one at that.
He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Then why were you working for that, Warden? Did your tribe approve of it?¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes turned cold as she answered with extreme hatred in her voice, ¡°My tribe was annihted by another tribe fifty years ago. Everyone died, my parents, family, and tribesmen.
¡°Warden Cane rescued me at that time, and I served him from then on, so I could take revenge for my tribe. But after a few years, another tribe also uprooted that same tribe that destroyed our Night Demon Tribe.
¡°I was quite disappointed and felt my meaning of existence had been stripped off after hearing that news. But Warden Cane was like a second father to me, so I decided to repay him for all he had done for me throughout my entire life.
¡°However, soon I found a hidden journal written by Warden Cane himself, and after reading it, I discovered the truth behind all those destroyed tribes. It was all done by the order of Ocean Demon Duke Mansion!
¡°They had been doing it for many years after Livy inherited the Dark Ocean Demon Tribe Chief Position and Demon Duke title. Livy would uproot any demon tribe which he deemed useless or unworthy of existing in his dukedom.
¡°He used other tribes to do this dirty work, and Warden Cane was his spokesperson in all these ughterers. Another tribe also targeted our tribe on Livy¡¯s order, and Warden Cane was also present that day.
¡°Cane just put a front, so he could make me his loyal servant, and he seeded in his scheme. If that bastard didn¡¯t have a habit of writing all those deeds he had done, like some glorious adventures, I would still be a loyal bitch to my tribe executioner!
¡°However, I keep the front of loyalty even after finding out the truth and bid my time, so I could destroy both Livy and Cane in one fell swoop. But I was too na?ve and greatly underestimated those two, especially Livy.
¡°That person was a monstrous genius, just like his father! Revenge was just a pipe dream for me in front of him because my Night Demon tribe can only advance to Golden River Core Stage, while the Dark Ocean Demon tribe can go as far as the Peak of Qi Soul Realm!¡±
Chapter 285
Ace listen to Noa¡¯s story and his heart was cold as ice in the end. He couldn¡¯t believe this woman¡¯s patience and fortitude to work under her tribe¡¯s executioner for all these years.
He couldn¡¯t help butpare himself with her. When Dulce destroyed his hometown, he nearly went insane with hatred and vengeance. But Noa kept persisting and waiting for the day when she could win it all.
But Livy was just too cautious with whatever he does, and he was too powerful for Noa to fight against. She was simply living under the delusion, but she never gave up.
If she hadn¡¯t trusted himpletely after she joined Thief House, and he showed genuine kindness to her, she would¡¯ve never told him about herself and the biggest secret she kept to herself for all these years.
Noa ever felt a sense of relief after telling Ace about this secret that she had carried for all these years.
¡°Don¡¯t worry now that you¡¯ve joined Thief House. You can get your revenge soon, and I¡¯ll help you with it.¡± Ace solemnly promised.
He had gone through something simr, and he knew just how painful it was to constantly live under the same sky as your enemy, which you can¡¯t touch.
¡°NO! I want to do it myself! I¡¯ll annihte the entire Dark Ocean Demon Tribe in front of Livy before killing him!¡± Noa quickly rejected Ace¡¯s kind intention and retort with killing intent.
Ace merely chuckled coldly and repartee, ¡°Heh, why did we need to kill them? Don¡¯t forget I¡¯m a thief, and now you are too. A thief took revenge differently. Imagine if you were to theft away the entire wealth of Dark Ocean Demon Tribe and then left your name arrogantly, what would Demon Duke Livy feel and its repercussions?¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes narrowed into slits when she heard Ace¡¯s question. She didn¡¯t even consider this option, but now that Ace has raised this question, she suddenly thought about it.
¡°H-he¡¯ll despise by his entire tribe and probably strip off his Demon Duke title and his powerful status and punish by his father!¡± Noa mumbled coldly, with a hint of tion.
¡°Heh, you said it yourself. It would be far worse than killing him. He mightmit suicide or turned into aplete madman.¡±
Ace couldn¡¯t help but remembered Dulce¡¯s twisted face filled with madness and despair and felt deep satisfaction!
Noa also felt this was a better idea than killing Livy and letting him off too easily. The scene of Ace taking away the name board appeared in her mind.
Noa nced at Ace with a hint of admiration in her eyes and earnestly said, ¡°Leader, please teach me the way of thief!¡±
She could tell by Ace¡¯s previous action of taking the Soul Trapping Banyan Tree timber that he was very good at this thing, and that¡¯s also why the ¡®Goddess of Thieves¡¯ chose him as well.
¡®Since I¡¯m a thief now, I have to act and think like one!¡¯
¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. But it¡¯s not the time yet. We first have to leave this ce. We can¡¯t take on Demon Duke Livy right now. But I can assure you we¡¯ll be back!¡± Ace confidently dered.
¡°I¡¯ll follow Leader arrangements then.¡± Noa nodded with a hint of understanding in her eyes.
She also knew it wasn¡¯t time yet and once she got all those soul techniques and skills in the thief assassin shop, it won¡¯t be toote for her sweet revenge!
¡°Give me a few hours, and I¡¯ll show you the first and essential skill of a thief!¡± Ace said while sitting cross-legged and closing his eyes.
Noa¡¯s eyes shimmered with confusion, but she didn¡¯t disturb Ace, since he looked quite confident before he closed his eyes. She also wanted to see what he¡¯ll do and this will also give her a chance to heal her injuries!
Ace was naturally going to heal his soul with the reward he just received afterpleting the side mission, and after that¡¯s, he¡¯ll enhance his skills, so he could safely escape this ce.
=====
[Side Mission]
[Mission: Please issue a Thief House Mission worth 100 or more House Points]
[Status: Complete]
[Reward: One Heavenly Soul Rejuvenation Pill (Grade-1) has been transferred to the living thief¡¯s space.]
=====
Ace didn¡¯t dy, he sent his sense into the thief¡¯s space and saw an almost transparent purple pill with a golden circle has appeared. He knew this was the Heavenly Soul Rejuvenation Pill he had just earned.
¡®This is my first time taking a Soul type alchemy pill.¡¯ Ace was excited since he would be able topletely heal his soul core with this pill and be whole again.
With a thought, that fingernail-size purple pill appeared in his mouth and instantly tuned into purple mist directly spread toward his head.
Ace felt like the icy wind has just entered his mind, and this feeling was quite refreshing. However, the very next moment, this chilly feeling turned into intense pain like thousands of needles just stabbed into his brain.
Ace¡¯s face turned pale and thick throbbing veins appeared on his forehead. He never thought this medicine effect would be thispelling and painful. Compared with the soul points, this was pure torture.
But he endured with gritted teeth and coolly observed the restoring soul core little by little.
After an hour of painful experience, Ace was drenched in sweat and his breath was slightly hasted.
Noa also notice this change in Ace and be somewhat worried, but she didn¡¯t disturb him and only observe. She could tell he was using some pill, and it will only do more harm than good if she interfered.
At this moment, thest bit of the orange soul¡¯s core becameplete and a huge amount of wind soul Qi was released the very next moment.
Ace suddenly felt all the pain he just experienced fade and a warm sensation wash over his whole true soul like a tilde wave, almost making him moan.
His brutally crack true soul started to mend at an astonishing speed under the orange soul Qi. Ace didn¡¯t know how lucky he was to have the soul core holding his true soul together or without it, he would be dead with this kind of damaged soul, long ago.
The moment his true soul was repaired by the soul core, the orange soul core expand two folds! Before, it was like a little pea circling in the center of his true soul, but now it was like a fiery marble. Furthermore, he could also feel this true soul has be sturdier and more vigorous.
¡®Is this the effect of theplete ck wind soul technique?¡¯
This was the only usible exnation since he hadn¡¯t noticed it before; when his soul core be stage three because of his injury. He only thought it would remain the same, but it seemed he has greatly underestimated the heaven stealer technique prowess.
Right at this moment, Ace felt something very different and magical for the first time after the transformation of Soul Core was done. He felt like he could use his soul Qi as effectively and as much as his martial Qi.
¡°[This is the harmony between body and soul that host just felt. After host martial cultivation and soul cultivation became the same and harmonized, the host didn¡¯t have to worry about using or overdrawing too much soul Qi anymore. As long as the host had martial Qi or soul Qi, you won¡¯t feel tired or overdrawn ever again.]¡±
The system¡¯s sudden voice and astonishing information bewildered Ace, it was just this voice that contained a hint of yfulness.
But Ace didn¡¯t focus on this since this news ted him because he was always on edge about whenever he used his soul Qi too much since his physique took quite a toll.
¡®Now, this is what I called true advantage!¡¯
Ace was very satisfied with this fresh development, and he was even more confident in himself than before. Not overconfident, though!
¡°System, open the pill shop.¡±
Ace didn¡¯t forget he was still trapped in the enemy¡¯s den, and he can¡¯t be too rxed or careless, or he won¡¯t even know how he loses again, just like what happened with Gordon.
=====
[Avable Pills]
[Grade-1 Healing Pills]
[Price: 1,000TP, Per Pill]
¡ª
[Grade-1 Heaven Qi Recovery Pills]
[Price: 500TP, Per Pill]
¡ª
[Low-Grade Insight Pills]
[Description: Instantly Raised any skill proficiency by a single stage]
[10 Pills Avable]
[Price: 5,000TP, Per Pill]
¡ª
[EXP Pill: Low-Grade Heaven Stealer Martial Pills]
[1 Pill = 10,000 EXP]
[5 Pills Avable]
[Price: 150TP, Per Pill]
¡ª
[EXP Pill: Middle-Grade Heaven Stealer Martial Pills]
[1 Pill = 50,000 EXP]
[5 Pills Avable]
[Price: 10,000TP, Per Pill]
=====
Ace was astonishing seeing the big change in the heavenly stealer pill description and quickly understood what has caused this change.
¡®This pill was spouse to help me breakthrough any bottleneck I encounter in my cultivation but now that I can¡¯t encounter any bottleneck which made this pill useless, it turned into EXP Pill instead.
¡®Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯mining, it¡¯s just that if I can just unlock the heaven stealer soul pill as well, my life would be much easier. Nevertheless, now I¡¯m only required to collect soul points since these pills willst for a while!¡¯
Chapter 286
Ace¡¯s spection about the Heaven Stealer Pill was spot on. If he hasn¡¯t entered the Heavenly Sea Realm, this change will never take ce, but now things have changed.
Ace didn¡¯t dwell on this topic for long since it was in his favor and he didn¡¯t need to find EXP for some time anymore and onlyck the missing SP.
¡°System, how much SP will I get for the soul material in my thief space?¡± Ace suddenly remembered the name board he picked up on his way here.
He almost forgot about it because of all the unforeseen events. Now that he waspletely healed and Noa¡¯s threat was also out of the way, he can finally focus on raising his strength.
===
[A small piece of Soul Trapping Banyan Tree (Soul Material): 1,000 SP]
===
Ace wasn¡¯t satisfied with this price because this small piece was enough to even affect a soul realm cultivator, but the system was only pricing it at a mere thousand soul points.
But he didn¡¯t refute because he knew once the system gave a price, it will never change even if he got on his knees and started begging. Besides, the scene of Noa getting punished by the system was still vivid in his mind, and he didn¡¯t want to take his chances.
¡®Forget it, I just cross two stages in one go. It¡¯s me who is being too greedy. I¡¯ll leave this timber for now until I collect enough SP for the next stage,¡¯ Ace mused.
¡°System, I want to purchase all the heaven stealer pills and all the insight pills in the pill shop.¡± Ace stated.
He could¡¯ve left those heaven stealer pills in the system shop, but after what happened before, he won¡¯t! Besides, he has TP to spare, so it wasn¡¯t a big deal to buy everything.
=====
[Low-Grade Insight Pills: 10]
[Description: Instantly Raised any skill proficiency by a single stage]
[Price: 50,000TP Total]
¡ª
[EXP Pill: Low-Grade Heaven Stealer Martial Pills: 5]
[Price: 750TP Total]
¡ª
[EXP Pill: Middle-Grade Heaven Stealer Martial Pills: 5]
[Price: 50,000TP Total]
¡ª
[Final Price: 100,750 TP]
[Purchase has been sessful!]
[All the pills have been sent to the thief¡¯s space!]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 1,567,650]
=====
Ace quickly looked inside his Thief¡¯s Space and just as he expected, there were twenty new shining marble-like pills neatly arranged in 5,5,10 separately.
The group of ten round pills was coloredpletely crystal white with a golden hue was surrounding it like a golden hallow. This was the insight pill set.
As for the other two groups of five round crystal pills, they werepletely pitch ck. No one could tell the difference between low-grade and middle-grade heaven stealer pills.
However, Ace could tell which group was which because he could sense the Heavenly Qi density in them as clear as day.
Ace, let the heaven stealer pills be and focus on the white insight pills. These pills were his main reason for opening the pill shop.
¡°System, how should I increase the skill level with this insight pill?¡± questioned Ace.
¡°[Host just needed to consume an insight pill and circte the specific skill host wants to increase the proficiency of. But be warned, the host can only use one insight pill on one skill once, it won¡¯t work continuously.]¡±
¡®I knew it would be too good to be true if I can just increase my one skill to peak in one go! But one level is also enough, especially in his kind of condition. Since I can only use this pill one time on one skill, I should not waste it on those skills that can I increase on my own.¡¯
This wasn¡¯t a tough question for Ace. He quickly selected the skills he desperately needed to survive the mighty demon continent and escape this predicament.
The first skill he chose was naturally his heartless stealth art. Although he was confident in increasing it on his own. But he didn¡¯t have time.
He quickly consumed one insight pill and felt his mind be extremely clear, and he quickly circted his Qi ording to the Heartless Stealth Art.
Within minutes, he grasped the quantities of the second form of this cultivation art, the Pulseless Stealth!
Noa¡¯s, who was busy healing the injuries that she got from the system, abruptly opened her eyes with horror. Because she suddenly felt Ace¡¯s aurapletely vanish!
¡®Where did he go?! How can he just have vanished into thin air in an instant?!¡¯ Noa panicked since Ace was too important to her and if anything happened to him, she might lose everything!
Just as she was about to search high and low, Ace quickly appeared again right where he was, and he was still sitting there peacefully!
¡®Was that a stealth skill?!¡¯ Noa¡¯s eyes instantly narrowed. She was very sensitive toward stealth arts because of her unique species.
¡®He was able topletely clear his trace, even under my martial sense. This stealth skill is even stronger than my innate stealth. It has to be a skille from the ¡®Goddess¡¯!¡¯ Noa¡¯s mused in astonishment.
This was the only exnation she could think of, and she was even motivated to get all those skills in her shop. Since Ace was fine, she stopped worrying about him and focused on healing again.
Ace didn¡¯t know what had just happened. He was deeply engrossed in this wonderful feeling of being enlightened. With every passing moment, his understanding of pulseless stealth grows by leaps and bounds.
After an unknown time, he finally snapped out his enlightenment, and he was astonished because he has fully mastered the Pulseless Stealth in one go!
He didn¡¯t dare to believe it and nce at his skill panel and saw,
====
[Skills: 7]
Heartless Stealth (Art):
[Breathless Stealth: Perfection
Pulseless Stealth: Perfection
Heartless Stealth: NONE]
¡
====
¡®This pill is simply magical, and this is just a low-grade one!¡¯ Ace was ecstatic just thinking about all those pills he will get in the future.
However, what he didn¡¯t know was this pill was only enough to increase his skill for just one level. Simply put, his pulseless stealth should only be at a low level after taking this pill but somehow, he reached perfection!
He didn¡¯t know this, and the system also didn¡¯t clear his misunderstanding either.
¡®Next is the soul-shattering eyes. I need it to see thought at least Grade One Rune Symbols!¡¯
If this was before, he wouldn¡¯t dare to take this step because it was just too dangerous to increase his soul skill wantonly, but after the harmony of his soul and body, he was confident he could take this much!
Without hesitation, he used another insight pill and start using soul-shattering eyes.
He was again engrossed in that mystical feeling and gained insight into soul-shattering eyes.
After an hour, Ace snapped out of the effect of the insight pill, but to his dismay, after checking his skill status, his feare true when the soul-shattering eyes only increase by a single stage from low to the middle not reaching perfection.
¡®Is it because I eat two pills in a row and now its effect is bing dilute? But how is this possible? If this was the case, the system would¡¯ve warned me? Or this Pill effect depended on a skill standard?¡¯
Ace mulled over it for a long time but in the end, he still didn¡¯t get an urate answer, so he put it back in his head and moved toward the next skill, which was the Soul Guardian Barrier Art¡¯s Soul Barrier!
He has gained low-level mastery over it, but after the incident with Gordon and being nearly killed by a soul attack talisman, he didn¡¯t dare to neglect his soul protective skill anymore.
Ace quickly consumed another pill and recited the soul barrier.
Within half an hour, Ace raised his mastery of this skill from low to middle, and this made it even more clear; the first time he used the insight pill was very different.
Now, Ace moved toward his movement skill, the lightning steps of Misperception Sky Steps Art! How could he forget this essential movement skill that was a lifesaver?
After another hour, the lightning step also reached the middle level and Ace could feel now he can probably outrun a Golden River Core Cultivator!
Besides these four skills, he used no more insight pills on his other skills. Soul Piercing Bullet was quite easy to raise, while he can¡¯t use these pills on techniques like Dual Shadow Swords since it was considered a weapon cultivation technique.
So, Ace finally choose to use one more insight pill on the very new skill Lock Eraser King Technique!
Although he can learn it eventually, he won¡¯t be taking his chances and used one chance for this technique right now.
Ace took the fifth insight pill and start learning the Lock Eraser King Technique¡¯s first-level, Lock Eraser Master!
This time, it took him six hours to achieve the first noviceir of Lock Eraser Master level!
Ace felt quite d that he used an insight pill because if he tried to learn it normally it would take him at least an entire month, minimum. It was just damn difficult!
Chapter 287
Ace took the fifth insight pill and start learning the Lock Eraser King Technique¡¯s first-level, Lock Eraser Master!
This time, it took him over six hours to achieve the first noviceir of Lock Eraser Master level!
Ace felt quite d that he used an insight pill because if he tried to learn it normally it would take him at least an entire month, minimum. It was just damn profound!
Nevertheless, he can now easily erase any array, formation, or even a talisman lock as long as they were Grade One or lower. This technique was truly marvelous and far more powerful than his treasure-opening hands.
It is just that it can only be used on lock-type rune symbols and not took advantage of ws like treasure opening hands, and it was a clear disadvantage.
However, Ace wasn¡¯t too concerned about it since he was now a rune crafter and after using five insight pills he had a feeling that he can develop a skill on the foundation of Treasure Opening Hands that can take advantage of ws in rune symbols structures!
But it still required too much work, and he didn¡¯t have time, as well, he first had to leave this damn ce!
Ace opened his eyes and found Noa was still recovering from her injuries, but she was almost healed. He was d that the system didn¡¯t go too crazy too soon or if the system decided to quickly end Noa¡¯s life instead of torturous death, he might not even be able to save her in time.
Noa¡¯s eyes snapped open the moment she felt Ace¡¯s gaze, and when she saw he was awake after his strange cultivation season.
She couldn¡¯t help but asked with uncertainty, ¡°Leader, are you alright?¡±
Ace was confused since he did not know about the strange phenomena he caused while learning.
¡°I¡¯m fine. You don¡¯t need to worry about me.¡± He still answered albeit he didn¡¯t know why she asked.
¡°Tell me, how¡¯re your injuries? Can you use your strength, or do you need more time?¡±
He now wanted to leave this ce as soon as possible after he raised his skills and learn the Lock Eraser King Technique¡¯s first-level Lock-Eraser Master. But Noa was still injured, so he didn¡¯t mind waiting for her.
Furthermore, he knew close to nothing about Mighty Demon Continent and Noa was the native, and she probably knew quite a lot since she was a powerful demon. He was nning to learn about all of it after leaving this ce.
¡°I¡¯m fine. I have already healed all the grave injuries and only minor injuries are left. While moving, I can heal them. But do you really have a way out of here?¡± Noa asked in a grave tone, with a hint of expectation in her melodious voice.
¡°Heh, I told you I¡¯ll show you an essential skill of a thief after I¡¯m done with my preparation. Let meplete that promise.¡± Ace smiled ambiguously while he stood straight and move toward the locked old door.
Noa naturally remembered what Ace said, and she was astonished at seeing Ace moving toward the locked door. She didn¡¯t know what he was going to do, but she didn¡¯t ask and only observed with curious eyes.
Ace¡¯s expression turned serious as his dark pupil suddenly turned white as the world around him also changed. These were the soul-shattering eyes at middle-level mastery.
He didn¡¯t feel any difort anymore after using this soul skill, and he had a feeling that he could continuously use this skill for straight three or four days now!
However, to his dismay, he didn¡¯t seem to see the w in his door¡¯s lock array, which means this skill wasn¡¯t strong enough. But he wasn¡¯t using it to see the ws, nor did he need the w for the Lock Eraser King Technique to work. He was using soul-shattering eyes, so he could clearly see just how many arrays were linked to this door.
Because if there was an rming array or any attacking array beside the lock array attached with it, then he would probably cause amotion, and once that happened, it would be over!
As for why he didn¡¯t just use his runic eyes¡¯ technique, it was simple; it wasn¡¯t profound enough as well, since he was only at the very beginning level of that technique as well. At most, he can only see runes up to tier-9 and that was his limit.
At least with soul-shattering eyes, he can see vague patterns and outlines of arrays or formations engraved or attached to this door, even if they were still well hidden.
At this moment, Ace could only see a single vague outline of one small yet profound array and let loose a sigh of relief since he didn¡¯t have to worry about anything, even if he made some mistake using his new technique for the first time.
¡®Lock Eraser Master!¡¯
Ace instantly activated the first level of Lock Eraser King while carefully cing his index finger on the lock array.
The very next moment thereafter, Ace¡¯s index finger suddenly shimmered in dark metallic light and dark mercury-like Qi started to flow out from his dark metallic finger, slowing started engulfing the lock array like it has a consciousness of its own.
Ace wasn¡¯t startled by this strange liquid-like Qi since he already knew this called the Eraser Essential and, with higher levels, this eraser essential will also be more potent and abundant.
However, this eraser essential can only work on lock-type rune symbols, nothing else, nor could it harm anyone, and it waspletely invisible to other eyes and only Ace could see it. Moreover, this eraser essential can only be made by Heavenly Darkness Qi!
Ace attentively watched with his soul-shattering eyes the eraser essentialpletely engulfing the small lock arrays entirely, and he was astonished the very next moment because he could feel the eraser essential was slowly erasing the symbols of that lock array!
Even though he knew how it was supposed to work. But witnessing it himself was still quite an amazing and shocking experience.
After all the rune symbols werepletely erased by the eraser essential, they slowly faded away like they never existed, and so does the lock array on the old door!
Ace¡¯s lips curled into a satisfied smile when he saw the wondrous work of his new technique. ¡®With this, I don¡¯t need to worry about locks anymore, at least.¡¯
Noa was closely observing Ace from behind. She didn¡¯t know what was he doing, but he was just standing there like a statue while cing his finger on the center-left corner of the old door for a few moments now, while doing nothing.
This clearly confused her since she can¡¯t see the eraser essential nor can she see the lock array attacked with the door.
However, at this moment, Ace finally move and turned around with a mysterious grin on his handsome face.
¡°Try opening it now.¡± Ace said ambiguously while grinning and moving to the side, clearly the way for Noa.
Noa¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly when she saw Ace¡¯s confident expression. She didn¡¯t know what Ace was ying at, but she felt that Ace¡¯s words hold some magical power that made her want to follow his everymand unconditionally!
She suppressed that feeling again, yet she still moved toward the old door. Likewise, she wanted to see if that strange feeling was created by Ace, or if it was just her gut feeling.
Noa ce her slender hand on the door and slightly pushed it and her eyes widen in incredulity when she heard a creaking sound while the door move slightly with her hand!
¡°Y-y¡ you¡ but¡ how?!¡± She couldn¡¯t help but stutter in disbelief and exhration!
Noa knows the history of this door and the lost key. Without the key, it was almost impossible to open this door without brute force, but Ace had done it with just a touch of his finger!
¡°Hehe, don¡¯t be so rmed. It¡¯s one of my skills, and you know where I got it from.¡± Ace mysteriously winked while smiling.
Noa inhale sharply as she instantly knew what Ace was implying, and her eyes shimmered with excitement as she thought, ¡®So, this is the power of skills granted by ¡®Goddess of Thieves¡¯ I have to get all of them as quick as possible!¡¯
She was even more eager to get her hands-on skills and techniques inside the thief assassin shop.
¡°Ok, let¡¯s go, I want to quickly leave this damn ce.¡± Ace chuckled and urged Noa to quickly open the door and move.
¡°Right away!¡± Noa¡¯s voice was filled with excitement as her eyes shone with admiration for Ace.
After the old door waspletely opened, a dark pathway appeared.
Ace quickly stopped Noa and scan the dark pathway with his soul-shattering eyes and after making sure there wasn¡¯t any trap or any other hidden rune symbols, he signaled her to go forward!
Chapter 288
After walking for half an hour, Ace and Noa reached the end of the underground tunnel, and it was blocked by a solid wall.
Ace was using his soul-shattering eyes all this time while carefully examining the tunnel, which was filled with tiny insects and an old smell. After carefully examining the wall before him, he was sure this was the end of this tunnel.
The tunnel was only four-meter-wide and three-meter-high, enough for three or four people to fit in.
Ace suddenly looked on the upper wall of this tunnel, and he soon found a meticulously hidden square door!
¡°Up there is a hidden door. I think it¡¯s our way out.¡± Ace notified Noa, who was also searching for a passage.
Noa was startled hearing Ace had already found the way forward because even she couldn¡¯t find anything with her martial sense, no matter where she probed. This made her, even more, assure that Ace was far too mysterious than he showed.
Ace didn¡¯t pay attention to baffled Noa and carefully scan the hidden door. Just as he thought, he noticed small runes forming a little lock array, but to his tion; it wasn¡¯t a grade array, and it was only made by mortal runes of rank-9.
As for how he could tell the difference in the level of runes it was very simple, as long as he didn¡¯t encounter a grade array he can see the rune symbols and their w but if he encountered a grade array or formation, he can only see a vague outline and the higher the grade of the runes the vaguer it will be.
He deemed he could only see the vague outline up to grade three runes and grade four runes will bepletely invisible to him since his soul-shattering eyes can only see ws in Grade-One runes after reaching the perfect mastery.
¡°Umm¡ can you lift me, so I can open this door?¡± Ace embarrassedly asked.
He needed toe in contact with the array for using his skill, and he was more than a meter short to reach the ceiling of this three-meter-high tunnel.
That¡¯s why he shamelessly asked Noa who was 2.3-meter-tall and could easily touch the ceiling with her long hands.
¡®Well, what I can expect, this tunnel was made for tall demons in the first ce.¡¯ Ace smiled wryly.
¡°O-of course.¡± Noa quickly agreed since it was a piece of cake for her, and she didn¡¯t doubt about Ace opening the hidden door, which she can¡¯t even see.
A dark pir suddenly rose right beneath Ace¡¯s feet and slowly lift him until he reached the ceiling.
Ace click his tongue in wonder and mused, ¡®So, this is element reasoning of Qi river core cultivator where one starts connecting and controlling the surrounding element not just the innate element inside their bodies!¡¯
Ace paid no more attention to this topic and turned his focus to the ceiling. With no hesitation, he put his palm on the wall as a golden rune appeared right in the center of his palm.
Noa also noticed the strange Qi waves from Ace¡¯s palm. She was using her martial sense to see what Ace was doing but was astonished since she can¡¯t see through his skill and only felt strange Qi waves, nothing else.
¡®Click¡¡¯
A small crisp sound rang in the silent tunnel as a one cubic meter old wooden door appeared right where Ace¡¯s hand was ced.
Ace¡¯s lips rose in an ted smile and with no pause, he pushed the door upward and its creak openedpletely and a golden light shone on Ace¡¯s face!
¡°Haha, we¡¯re out!¡± Ace quickly jumped outside as he could tell there wasn¡¯t anyone in the five-hundred-meter radius area, so it waspletely safe.
Noa¡¯s eyes also shone with ecstasy when she saw the golden sunlight entering the dark tunnel from the opened door. She quickly jumped outside, just like Ace.
Ace looked around, and he noticed they were in a wide field of grass and when he turned around his eyes contorted because he saw a magnificent city wall a mile away, and it was covered in a dark doom!
¡°That¡¯s the ocean demon city! I don¡¯t think this tunnel made for my ancestors would be so long.¡± Noa¡¯splicated voice rang with a hint of mncholy.
Ace noticed Noa¡¯s change of emotions and couldn¡¯t help but sigh before saying confidently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be back.¡±
Before he was in a state of soul injury and noticed little details, but now that he waspletely healed and even be stronger, he could tell the difference between lowernds and the mighty demon continent was like sky and earth!
Just the dark golden sky was enough to tell the huge disparity between the Qi density of the two ces.
He could also feel this Qi was much more potent and had a strange effect on his body as if it was nurturing it!
Ace didn¡¯t know if this was because of the difference between continents, or the lowernds were just too barren. However, he had little time to ponder over this problem since he was still on the periphery of ocean demon city, and he wanted to go as far away as possible.
¡°So, where from here?¡± Ace did not know about thispletely unfamiliar continent with no borders or boundaries whatsoever.
Noa was the native of his ce and he was relying on her to be his guide for a while until he understood the structure of this continent.
¡°We should go toward the Dark Iron Demon Tribe¡¯s Iron Demon City, which is the second-biggest city in Ocean Demon Dukedom. It is the closest city we can go to, and the way is also rtively safe.¡± Noa replied after considering it for a while.
She knew Ace was new here, and she didn¡¯t want to put his life in danger, so she went with the safest way.
¡°Fine, led the way.¡±
Ace didn¡¯t mind if that was the second-biggest city or the first or even third, as long as he could find a ce where he could gather information and stay safe until he understood theplete situation.
Noa also didn¡¯t dy and shed toward Iron Demon City¡¯s direction, which was southwest of Ocean Demon City. She also didn¡¯t want to stay anywhere closer to this city, where her biggest adversary lived and ruled.
¡°This is not your top speed, right?¡±
At this moment, Ace¡¯s confused voice enter Noa¡¯s ears and her eyes contracted when she saw Ace was nonchntly moving shoulder to shoulder with her and looking at her with confusion.
¡°I was only worried about you being left behind, so I control my speed!¡± Noa retorted with a hint of shock in her voice.
Although she was telling the truth, she was still using forty percent of her prowess and using her tribe¡¯s secret movement skill.
Before in the ocean demon city when they were escaping, she used only ten percent of her speed and at that time Ace can keep up with her. Now, she just wanted to test if he could keep up with her at this speed, and then she would reduce her speed a little, but it seemed she had greatly underestimated Ace.
¡°Heh, don¡¯t mind me. I want to see your full speed.¡± Ace only smiled, with a hint of provocation in his dark-blue eyes.
He wanted to test his middle-level lightning steps and Noa was the perfect opponent since she was a silver river core cultivator and also a demon! She was initially stronger than a human cultivator because of her superior demon body!
¡°Hmph¡ as you wish!¡± Noa tenderly snorted. She could easily discriminate the provocation in Ace¡¯s expression and her demonic nature stir.
Although she knew Ace had skills from a ¡®god¡¯ yet, he was still weaker than her in cultivation, and she was very confident in her speed, which can even render a golden river core cultivator¡¯s speed useless.
Like a dark blur, Noapletely vanished from Ace¡¯s view, even though he was somewhat shocked by her speed.
However, Ace merely chuckled the next moment, and whereupon like a dark lightning bolt he chased after Noa, but there was no sound!
Now he could somewhat fuse his lightning element with his movement speed, which made it even faster, and his despair-lightning was naturally soundless, which was perfect for a thief!
Noa wasn¡¯t using her stealth, so Ace could see her and even if she were using it, Ace could easily detect her after his huge advancement in soul cultivation.
She turned around to see Ace¡¯s shocking expression, but it was she who was gobsmacked because Ace was again just beside her and, with a nonchnt smile, moving shoulder to shoulder with her!
¡°You! I lose!¡± Noa said with a hint of helplessness, while her dark eyes brimming with desire for all those things in the thief-house shop.
¡°Heh¡ don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m also using my full power to keep up with you.¡± Ace tried to be humbled.
¡°Hmph!¡± Noa only tenderly snort since she could tell Ace was telling a white lie just by his nonchnt expression!
Chapter 289
Ace and Noa were moving too fast for normal eyes to see them. One could only see two blurs with extreme difficulty.
Both of them didn¡¯t need to rest since they were high-level cultivators, and they can maintain this kind of speed for ten or so days, and Ace can go even further with hisrge amount of Qi reserves. Which were equivalent to a peak Golden River Core cultivator and if his equally Soul Qi reserve were added to the mix, then one can only imagine just how much Qi Ace had!
Even Noa was shocked in her heart after seeing Ace keeping up with her without even breaking a sweat. Before, she only thought he was using a skill with a high level of Qi consumption, and he¡¯ll be tired very soon. But she again had to reevaluate Ace¡¯s strength, and she couldn¡¯t help but wonder if he was really a human or not!
They both travel straight for two days without stopping for rest and finally reached their destination, the Iron Demon City of Iron Demon Tribe, which was only below the Ocean Demon Tribe and above many others.
Ace was very much looking forward to exploring this new continent, which was many timesrger than the human continent. Although he was aghast at first when he found out he was in Mighty Demon Continent. But after ¡®recruiting¡¯ Noa he wasn¡¯t afraid anymore.
In these two days, he had learned quite a lot about the Mighty Demon Continent from Noa and was astonished after finding out it was filled with dangers and opportunities.
On the Mighty Demon Continent, live many species of demons. Some were intelligent, while most of them were mindless demons who only know how to kill and cause chaos and suffering. These kinds of demons were known as Scavenger Demons, and they were scattered all over this vast continent and scavenge many weak tribes.
But to this day, no one had managed to get rid of these Scavenger Demons because they were too many and the higher authorities were toozy to deal with them, and they were also the best whetstones to train young demons.
However, no one knew if this was the only reason they were left alive or not¡
Nevertheless, the Mighty Demon Continent was divided into Eight Large Provinces, One Royal Zone, and Three Forbidden Countries.
The seven provinces were arranged into two outer provinces, three inner provinces, and three core provinces. These eight provinces were governed by Eight Demon Kings who were the Demon Emperor¡¯s loyal subordinates and also eight of the strongest demons on this continent.
Royal Zone was where the Demon Emperor Pce reside and the royal demon family.
Noa told Ace that this Royal Zone waspletely surrounded by towering walls and protected by a powerful formation and demon experts. It was the strongest and imprable fortress of the Demon Race and no one can enter this zone without a special order from Royal Zone, not even a Demon King!
As for the three forbidden countries, the local demons like Noa only know that they were three mysterious inds close to the north of the mighty demon continent.
As for why they were called ¡®forbidden countries¡¯ she doesn¡¯t know, but one thing was clear: they were directly controlled by the Royal Demon Family and no one dares to take a step inside.
Besides the mighty demon continent, Ace also learned that there was an endless sea surrounding the continent and if anyone wants to go toward another continent, they must cross this sea.
But it was much harder said than done because this sea was too mysterious and dangerous, only Soul Manifestation Cultivators dare to travel in it, but even they sometimes face life-threatening dangers there.
Besides, if anyone wanted to cross that sea, they needed special treasures which were only in possession of Demon King¡¯s level demons!
Speaking of which, the demons followed the royal hierarchy system to distribute their ranks. But their ranks were earned on the base of their strength and merit. Strength came first thought.
A Demon King Rank Demon can earn the rank after entering the Soul Manifestation Realm, while a demon duke title can be earned after stepping into the Soul Realm and so on.
There was a title of Grand Demon Duke whose requirements were unknown, but these kinds of figures lived in Royal Zone and then there were army titles like Demon Marshal, Demon General¡ and so on.
But they were nothing like humans when someone can cause a revolt and win the crown, demons followed strength, and as long as a demon was capable enough of defeating eight demon kings, then the entire royal zone and finally the Demon Emperor it can be the new Demon Emperor!
What truly baffled Ace was, ording to Noa, these eight demon kings never be nine or ten, but one with a sane mind could tell it was impossible to only have eight soul manifestation experts after all these years. This means the mighty demon continent¡¯s strength was too deep and well hidden!
Ace had to reevaluate his understanding of this continent, and he deeply engraved in his mind that he was currently in the territory of the second hegemony of this world, so he better not act carelessly or there might be thousands of Gordons waiting for him this time around!
He now also knows they were in the fifth andst inner province of the mighty demon continent, named ¡®Mighty de Province¡¯. It was under the judicial of de Demon King, also the chief of the ruling tribe of this province, Dark de Demons.
Now, Ace also understood why everyone was astonished by seeing him appearing suddenly because he was right at the end of the inner province and ording to Noa no one of other race had ever infiltrated more than two outer provinces before and Ace was probably the very first to cross four provinces without being caught!
It was all because every boundary was made with a very powerful formation and only demons can cross it without being worried of any harm and if even a devil dared to try crossing it with no preparation, then he will also lose his life!
Besides these formations, there were also other unknown ways which can easily sneak out the rats of other races, and they were so effective; one can only imagine after seeing the mighty demon content has remained imprable to this day!
This grave information also gave Ace chills, and he knew his ¡®stay¡¯ on this continent would not be so safe.
Besides all this, Ace also found out that Ocean Demon Duke was just one of the six duke-level characters under the de Demon King, and Dark Ocean Demon Tribe¡¯s Dukedom was only ranked fifth among six dukedoms!
As for this iron demon tribe, its chief was a Demon Marquess and was quite loyal to Demon Duke Livy.
However, Ace suddenly found an enormous problem after he observed the colossal city gate of Iron Demon City. He only saw demons going in and out, no other race whatsoever.
Although Ace had the Hundred Face Deception Mask, he wasn¡¯t sure if it could solve the problem of Demon Horns and their abnormal height!
Furthermore, he and Noa were both fugitives now, and Demon Duke Livy mighte looking for him here or even post bounties on their head after not finding them in his city.
He was just too familiar with this procedure and here if he was even a little bit careless, he would be doomed before he even knows it.
Ace was nning topletely familiarize himself with the demon race and their means, it won¡¯t be toote to start!
¡°Miss Noa, can you tell me if Demon Duke Livy has ever seen your face?¡± Ace asked Noa, who was also gravely observing the city doors. She also had the same thoughts as Ace.
¡°No, but our tribe is too easy to recognize because of our unique horns and eyes. If someone was looking for us, they can easily find me.¡± Noa shook her head dejectedly.
Ace¡¯s face also fell when he heard this. He never thought this would be so troublesome to disguise as a demon, or a demon to disguise as another demon. They were just too damn unique and not like humans.
¡°Sigh¡ can you capture a demon with the same stature as me, or it won¡¯t have to be exactly like me, just close enough will do? I want to try something before we took any further steps.¡± Ace sighed and first decided to see if he could use his disguise mask to be a demon.
Because his appearance was even more obvious since ording to Noa, there was not any kind of demon without horns. This made Ace more helpless.
Noa didn¡¯t know what Ace was nning to do, but after traveling with him for three days, she knew he had mysterious measures, and she won¡¯t doubt him anymore.
It was already deep at night, so it was a piece of cake for Noa to abduct an alone demon who was only at the empty river stage and his constitution was not much different from Ace as well!
Chapter 290
While Noa was looking to abduct a demon, Ace was also thinking of different ways to enter the iron demon city if his mask didn¡¯t work or if it works, how can he take Noa inside with him?
Because he could see the security was no joke around the city gate and those demons were scanning everyone and everything with different powerful treasures and weren¡¯t sure if his mask could fool them or not.
Ace had to admit one thing: those demons really know how to be eye-catching. They had big carriages pulled by vicious and powerful demonic beasts. He could tell those beasts were all tamed, and it seemed the beast taming wasn¡¯t as novel as in lowernds, or it was somethingpletely different.
He couldn¡¯t help but think of those beast eggs in his thief¡¯s space and techniques of Beast Calling Organization that he theft and all those storage rings of treasures mountain inside he got from Gordon¡¯s after fooling him.
Ace still didn¡¯t have a chance to skim through them, but he wasn¡¯t in a hurry and those rings were also with no Qi mark since Gordon gave them unlocked to Ace, so he could see his ¡®goodwill¡¯.
¡®I should see if I can hatch those beast eggs when I have the chance and rearranged those treasures in all those storage rings,¡¯ Ace mused.
Ace snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Noa¡¯s soul signature moving toward him with another unfamiliar soul signature. After his soul core expanded, his senses be sharper, and now he could easily see through a Silver River Core cultivator with just his innate soul sense.
His lip curled into a faint smile as he mumbled, ¡°So, she actually found one.¡±
It was already deep at night, so it was a piece of cake for Noa to abduct an alone demon with her prowess. She quickly reached where Ace was hiding and was astonished when she saw he was already waiting for her with a knowing smile on his face.
With uncertainty shining in her dark eyes, she threw an unconscious demon on the dirt ground like a rag doll.
Ace carefully scan the unconscious demon, who was only at the empty river stage, and his figure was not much different from him. He was 2.1-meter tall with a toned build and dark silver skin, a pair of small white horns on his forehead, and two sharped long fangs were visible through his purple lips. It looks like an average human male.
¡°What kind of demon is he?¡± Ace curiously asked.
¡°An adult Silver Iron Demon! I found him not too far away, living from here. He was probably out hunting. It wasmon for weak demons to hunt to earn a living. Only talented demons can enter some colossal force, and this one seemed nothing like a talent.¡± Noa exin with a hint of disdain as she looked at that unconscious Silver Iron Demon.
Ace frowned a little. He had heard about this kind of treatment from Noa, and he knew this wasmon practice on the mighty demon continent. Not just here, even in humans. This practice was normal. But here it was a level above because these kinds of untalented demons were despised by their own parents and expelled from their homes.
Although some humans can do this kind of cruel thing to their children, it was quite rare, since even a tiger doesn¡¯t eat its own cubs. But here it was nothing new or umon, and these untalented demons also ept their fates as it is. They die in wildness or of old age somewhere.
This was the same story for tribes with low-level potential, those that can only reach foundation building realm in their lifetime were left in the wildness for death, while those that can reach the peak of the river realm be servants of these big tribes.
Only a river core realm demon can possess a respectful status here, and only a tribe with river core realm level potential was qualified enough to get a noble status or fight for it!
Ace also found it quite disturbing, but he knew every race had their own beliefs and customs and this was the race named ¡®Demon¡¯, so what he can expect from them?
Nevertheless, it was probably because of these customs and beliefs that they were so strong and united against other races.
Ace looked at the unconscious Silver Iron Demon and squatted on one knee while cing his hand on the demon¡¯s forehead.
¡®Soul probing.¡¯ He instantly cast soul probing on the iron demon.
Ace wanted to probe memories of these demons from the moment he hade here, but he didn¡¯t have the chance and Noa was out of the question.
Now that he got the chance, he naturally won¡¯t miss it.
Arge stream of memories fragments entered his mind and all of them were this demon¡¯s life experiences.
Noa¡¯s eyes instantly constricted when she felt strange Qi fluctuation from Ace¡¯s hand ced on the silver-iron demon¡¯s forehead.
¡®What kind of Qi is this and why I¡¯m feeling dread about it?¡¯ Noa mulled with a grave look in her eyes.
She was founding Ace unfathomable the more she knew him and she was feeling quite d that she joined his side or if she was the enemy with him, she won¡¯t even know how he would have dealt with her!
Noa now had wholeheartedly epted Ace as her leader, and he had earned it on his own, unbeknownst to him!
Within minutes, Ace had already gotten all the memories of over a hundred years¡¯ worth of this iron demon in his head and even processed them while keeping important ones and discarding unimportant ones.
Even he was shocked by his own speed, and he finally felt it was worth it to create the Qi sea and enter the Qi sea realm!
Ace found out this Iron Demon¡¯s name was Pablo Silver Iron, and he was a citizen and tribesman of the Dark Iron Demon race. But his potential was low because he can only reach the empty river stage after a hundred and twenty years and was deemed trash by his own family and kicked out from his own household a few years ago.
From shame and anger, he left the iron demon city and lived in the forest not far away from the iron demon city and onlye back in a few years once in a while to sell herbs or demon beast materials he found in the wildness and bought some necessary things before leaving the city again.
Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t the only vagabond around here, and there were hundreds of more living like him in the same way.
Ace even felt sad for this poor demon. He was living like a vagabond even though his family was one of the founding families of iron demon city, but they still didn¡¯t want to keep him around. Even his own parents and siblings despise him because of his lowly talent.
¡®Sigh¡¡¯ Ace sighed as hemented, ¡®What a cruel race.¡¯
Ace didn¡¯t dwell on it since it wasn¡¯t his problem and took out the hundred-face deception mask.
¡°This is?¡± Noa¡¯s eyes twinkled with curiosity as she looked at the faceless back mask with a gem on top of it in Ace¡¯s hand.
This was her first-time seeing Ace taking out something from his ¡®storage ring¡¯ beside the thief house recruitment token, and she couldn¡¯t see through this mask at all.
¡°Heh, it¡¯s a toy. Just watch.¡± Ace chuckled mysteriously.
He faced the white memory gem toward Pablo¡¯s face andmanded, ¡°System, save face six.¡±
The white memory gem shimmered as it slowly scanned Pablo¡¯s face and figure.
=====
[Face 6, has been sessfully recorded in memory gem.]
=====
Ace¡¯s eyes suddenly shone with tion because before he thought this might not work on a demon, but it did in the end and this was nothing but great news for him.
Noa was also astonished after seeing the mysterious white light slowly skimming all over Pablo¡¯s body and then vanishing the next moment.
Ace, without waiting for another moment, put on the hundred-face deception mask and said, ¡°System, activates the face 6 with the same cultivation of the face owner!¡±
In Noa¡¯s gobsmacked yet astonished eyes, Ace¡¯s entire figure changed as his 1.9-meter height started to increase until it reached 2.1 meters same as Pablo and his pale white skin be dark silver as it was forged with silver iron!
Ace¡¯s long silky back hair also be silver white while his human eyespletely turned into silver eyeballs and the most shocking thing was he grew a pair of small sharp white horns on his forehead and two sharp canine teeth surfaced from both corners of his lips.
Ace¡¯s aura also changed, and he emitted the aura of an empty Qi river realm of a rge size river¡¯. (Form with 7-foundation tes)
¡°YOU!¡± Noa¡¯s eyes were filled with horror when she looked at two silver iron demons!
¡°Hehe, don¡¯t be rmed, it¡¯s me. This is the effect of my toy.¡± Ace¡¯s voice was also a little hoarse as he smiled while showing rows of sharp teeth.
Chapter 291
¡°Hehe, don¡¯t be rmed, it¡¯s me. This is the effect of my toy.¡± Ace¡¯s voice was also a little hoarse as he smiled while showing rows of sharp teeth.
¡°But how?! It¡¯s impossible to change an appearance so much and your aura ispletely demonic and so does your cultivation!¡± Noa mumbled in disbelief.
It wasmon knowledge that every race emitted a unique aura and demons emitted demonic aura and their cultivation was also given special demonic vibespletely different from a human.
But Ace was now turned into aplete demon, with no trace of humanity left on him. This kind of skill or treasures that can do this was unheard of or even if they exist, they will be somewhere in the treasures of those powerful old monsters!
However, Noa was sure even those treasures can¡¯tpete against Ace¡¯s mask!
¡°Haha, what can I say? I can¡¯t survive without something like this, since my upation is a bit high-profile!¡± Ace merely shrug his shoulder and chuckled whilementing. He was stating a fact, though.
¡®Sigh¡¡¯ Noa only sighed in wonder, and she knew this was probably one of the treasures that came from the ¡®Goddess¡¯ as well and didn¡¯t question anymore. But her dark eyes shone with undenied desire!
¡°Now, no one can tell you¡¯re from another race! Do you want me to get rid of him?¡± Noa nodded in understanding and looked at the real Pablo as a hint of killing intent surfaced in her eyes.
She was numb to killing since her job was killing while working under Warden Cane, and it was also natural to kill this silver iron demon and destroy his corpse because it was the only proof left that can expose Ace!
¡°You don¡¯t have to kill him, just throw him back to where you find him from. We don¡¯t need to get rid of him. He¡¯s not a threat, and leaving him alive is more useful than killing him!¡± Ace mysteriously smiled as he looked at unconscious Pablo.
¡°Fine.¡± Noa didn¡¯t question Ace¡¯s order and an invisible Qi envelope the real Pablo, and she quickly left to throw Pablo from where she found him, obediently!
¡®It¡¯s good to have someone to depend on.¡¯ Ace smiled faintly and felt being a leadere with its advantages and wasn¡¯t that bad.
After Noa dealt with real Pablo, she came back quickly, and with a hint of adoration she looked at Ace, who was now a silver iron demon, and asked, ¡°What further instruction leader had?¡±
Noa finally let go of the little bit of resistance she had toward Ace andpletely depend on him.
¡°We¡¯re going to climb.¡± Ace merely chucked and moved toward the isted part of the city walls.
Although he had gained a new face of a demon, he can easily go inside the city. But Noa can¡¯t, and he also had something else in his mind, so going like thieves will be better.
Ace¡¯s words bewildered Noa, but she still followed closely behind.
After they reached an isted part of the city wall where no one was patrolling, Ace used his soul-shattering eyes and was relieved when he saw the rming array was only made of eight mortal grade runes and was full of ws.
Ace took out a long rope and there was a big ck iron hook attacked on its one end. It was the same rope he was using to climb and descend the walls ofrge cities all these years.
Noa was astonished by seeing the normal rope and quickly enlightened about what Ace meant by climbing.
But she asked with uncertainty, ¡°Leader, this wall is probably protected by an rming array and if we stepped on it, the city guards will instantly know we¡¯re trying to infiltrate the city!¡±
¡°I know, just trust me and follow my every step, and we¡¯ll be fine.¡±
Ace replied with confidence as he swigged the hook with rope and throw it with full power toward the top of the two-hundred-meter-high city wall!
The hook quicklynded on the top of the wall!
Ace slowly pull the rope and when he felt the hook was strongly connected with something, he was ready to climb.
Speaking of which, this rope and hook can¡¯t be detected by any rune symbols because they were made of normal material with no Qi whatsoever!
¡°Remember to follow in my exact footsteps, or we¡¯ll have to run!¡± Ace sternly warned Noa again and started to climb slowly, so she could follow in his footsteps.
Noa also notice Ace¡¯s or Pablo¡¯s solemn face and didn¡¯t dare to take his words as wind. She carefully followed Ace¡¯s every footstep without missing even one as she climbed.
Sometimes, Ace would leap one or two-meter-high with rope, but he would always step on a particr ce like a monkey.
Noa was a Qi silver river core cultivator and following Ace¡¯s movement was a piece of cake for her since Ace wasn¡¯t using a skill.
They climb for some time and finally reached the top of the city wall where the slightest chilly wind was breezing, giving the feeling of autumn.
Ace couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the sight of the magnificently lit Iron Demon City and its huge, beautiful buildings from the top of the city wall!
Noa was also feeling ecstatic since they reached the top of the wall without triggering the rming array, and she also understood Ace just can¡¯t unlock lock doors. He had the means to ovee rune symbols!
¡®So, this is a real thief, huh? I never imagine one day I¡¯ll meet and even admire a thief who doesn¡¯t even mean anything in the eyes of the demon race. I don¡¯t know about anyone else, but as long as I know, there has never been a thief in this continent¡¯s long history. He¡¯s probably going to cause a tremendous sensation here. I wonder if he¡¯s famous among humans.¡¯
Noa couldn¡¯t help but let her thoughts wander as she looked at Ace¡¯s broad back with a hint of adoration and anticipation to see more means of this thief, and even wanted to learn them, so she could also be like him!
Ace didn¡¯t know Noa¡¯s thoughts and after enjoying the feeling and admiring the scenery for a while, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go down, those patrolling guards wille very soon.¡±
He threw the rope on the other side of the wall and quickly descend with Noa without any difort.
After collecting the rope inside his thief¡¯s space, he looked at the iron demon city and smiled before he said to Noa, ¡°I know a ce where we can stay and no one will look for us. Let¡¯s go!¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes contracted when she heard Ace¡¯s im and couldn¡¯t help but retort softly, ¡°L-leader, you¡¯ve been to this ce before?¡±
She knew for a fact that Ace had never been on the Mighty Demon Continent because, while traveling with Ace; he asked her verymon questions about it and her race. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t even know about the legendary grade, so how could he know one of the biggest cities of Ocean Demon Dukedom!
¡°Hehe, I can steal people¡¯s memories and before taking that demon face, I steal his memories as well, so I¡¯m like a real silver iron demon now and call me Pablo. It¡¯s this guy¡¯s name!¡± Ace chuckled softly.
He didn¡¯t mind telling this much to Noa since she¡¯ll know it eventually, and it was far better than creating doubts in her head.
¡°L-like soul search!?¡± Noa¡¯s voice was filled with horror and disbelief.
She knew what soul search was, and only a soul realm cultivator can learn this ghastly skill!
But she could tell Ace didn¡¯t use a soul search on that demon because it would¡¯ve probably killed him or at least turned him into a vegetable, but she could tell that demon waspletely fine after she took him back!
¡°Soul search, huh? I didn¡¯t know it was such a well-known skill.¡±
Ace suddenly sneered coldly as Gordon¡¯s face surfaced in his mind since he learned this name from him and even experience this painful skill himself!
¡°No, it¡¯s not soul search but one of my thief abilities that are like soul search, but it wasn¡¯t painful, nor I can use it on just anyone.¡± Ace suppressed his grievance, and clearly, Noa¡¯s misunderstanding.
¡°Despite that, this kind of ability is unheard of and by looks of it, your soul search is more powerful than a soul search of soul realm cultivators because I heard they can only extract memories until the victim remains alive or sane. Besides, it can¡¯t be used in broad daylight. But Leader¡¯s soul searchpletely on a different level!¡± Noa¡¯s voice was filled with admiration and wonder, but there was a hint of dread in her voice.
She was now clearly afraid of Ace because by the looks of it his ¡®soul search¡¯ was sneaky and meticulous. If he used it on her, she might not even know, just like what he did with Pablo!
¡°So, this skill is this vicious, huh?¡± Ace¡¯s eyes turned cold as his hatred for that clone freak reached a new height. ¡®I¡¯ll fucking y that guy to death once I be powerful and returned!¡¯
Chapter 292
In the shade of night, two silhouettes entered the territory of one of the three founding ns of Iron Demon City, Silver Iron Demon n!
Even though the security was quite high around here, these two silhouettes move with no hindrance or tripping any trap or rm like they knew where they were stepping and assimted the structure of this state in the back of their head.
Both silhouettes reached a remote area where old remains of some buildings were left untouched.
¡°This is the ce. There should be a hidden door right under that broken wall!¡± A hoarse voice with a hint of excitement sounded from one of the silhouettes.
These two intruders in Silver Iron Demon n¡¯s territory were naturally Ace and Noa!
After Ace assimted the memories of Pablo while taking his appearance, he got the memories of the entire silver demon state and even found a hidden ce that was only known by Pablo!
Pablo stumbled upon this ce when he was young, but this was just an underground room with not much of a value inside. However, this was the perfect hidden ce, since not even those elders and leaders of the silver-iron demon n know about this secret room.
However, Pablo never used it before, even after he was expelled to live on his own. He never thought about living here safely because foremost, he can¡¯t infiltrate the silver-iron demon¡¯s state without alerting the entire state. Secondly, he can¡¯t live without resources and remain here idle for the rest of his life, so this ce was meaningless to him.
However, for Ace and Noa, this ce was the perfect spot to remain hidden as long as they wanted and with Ace¡¯s soul-shattering eyes, they cane and go as they wish!
Moreover, Ace¡¯s purpose foring here wasn¡¯t just this hidden room!
Ace reached the broken wall. After carefully scanning the ground, he finally found the hidden door position!
He started digging with his hands, since it would be troublesome to use Qi here, and they might alert those powerful elders of the silver-iron demon n.
Noa was guarding Ace and vigntly observing their surroundings. If she found any danger, she¡¯ll get rid of it instantly.
After digging half a meter, Ace¡¯s hand met with resistance, which means there wasn¡¯t any more soft soil here, and it was what he was looking for!
Ace quickly clear the soil and a two cubic meter old stone door surface. This door was unlocked and with no protection, that was the reason Pablo could enter the underground hidden room in the first ce.
With some strength, he slightly slides the old door from a hollow opening. The stone door trembled slightly before sliding to the left, and a dark stony stairway appeared beneath the stone door.
¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Ace call out to Noa and quickly enter the dark passage as he slowly descended the stairs without hesitation.
Noa, with no dy, followed Ace while she closed the stone door again, and with the slightest movement of her hand the dugout soil again covered the stone door and everything be like before as if nothing had ever happened or someone had just dug a hole here!
Ace enter a spacious room that was thirty cubic-meter in size, and it waspletely empty except for ayer of thick dirt was all over the ce.
¡°This is our hideout for the time being!¡± Ace nodded in satisfaction. He was happy with this hidden ce, and he didn¡¯t need to show his face in the city as well.
Ace was nning to stay here for a while, at least until he sorted out his skills and further increased his strength, and achieve his goals. Furthermore, there was the looming threat of Demon Duke Livy, and it would be wise to wait until the matter between him and Noa die down.
¡°This ce is really well hidden and made of special material. Even my martial sense can¡¯t escape this room, nor can I find it from outside.¡± Noa eximed with a hint of astonishment in her voice.
¡°Is that so?¡± Ace noted in astonishment.
Because he could easily feel his surrounding with his soul sense, it wasn¡¯t hindered in the least bit and after Noa¡¯s revealed this particr trait of this room, he activated his heavenly sense for an instant, and it wasn¡¯t hindered either.
¡®Is this because of my heavenly soul cultivation?¡¯ Ace quickly reached this conclusion, ¡®This is also great since I don¡¯t have to worry about those elders and n Leader anymore and this ce remain hidden for all these years is also probably because of this same reason. But why is this room so special and made with his precious material? There had to be something unique about it, and it might hold some big secret!¡¯
Ace¡¯s mind raced as many kinds of possibilities appeared in his head. He never heard of this kind of martial that can hinder martial sense, much less an entire room from it.
But he wasn¡¯t too surprised since he wasn¡¯t in the lowernds anymore, and he knew there were still many things he didn¡¯t know and that¡¯s why he was wary of wondering outside this soon, not at least without evaluating his strength.
Ace carefully scan the room with his soul-shattering eyes, but he found nothing hidden or anything special about this ce.
¡®Either my soul-shattering eyes are not high enough to see through this room, or I¡¯m just thinking too much,¡¯ Ace mused and stop caring about it anymore.
If his first conjecture was true, then it was meaningless to further think about it, since he didn¡¯t have skills right now.
At this moment, Ace heard the system¡¯s voice.
====
[Thief House]
-The system had deemed the house leader¡¯s missionplete!
-Did the house leader want to release the rewards of the mission?
[Yes/Dy]
====
Ace suddenly remembered the mission he had given to Noa, and he almost forgot about it after reaching the Iron Demon City.
¡°Why would I dy it? I¡¯m not you!¡± Ace snorted with contempt, ¡°Released it!¡±
Ace knew the pain of dyed rewards, and he didn¡¯t want Noa to feel the same since she work hard all this time protecting him. She earned it fair and square.
Noa on the hand was still admiring the hidden room when the system¡¯s crisp voice rang in her head as she released a low shriek in startle. But she quickly calmed down when she remembered the voice of ¡®goddess¡¯.
Her eyes be extremely respectful as she attentively listened to the ¡®goddess voice¡¯ and read the ¡®god decree¡¯ in front of her.
_____
[Thief House Leader Mission]
Mission: Escape the Crisis!
Description: Escort House Leader (Ace White) out of the Ocean Demon City safely and find a safe ce.
[Status: Complete]
¡ª
Reward:
¨C 400 House Points
¨C Night Demon Body Transformation Technique
¡ª
[Reward has been released]
[House Status has been updated.]
_____
Noa¡¯s eyes instantly filled with ecstasy when she heard and read the content of this ¡®god decree¡¯. But the next moment, her eyes suddenly opened wide as she released a low shrill in pain.
Ace frowned as he noticed Noa¡¯s strange condition and suddenly remembered something and blurted, ¡°Hold it! It¡¯s probably the information about the technique being transferred into your knowledge sea. It¡¯s only temporary!¡±
How could he forget his own experience when he started receiving information about things from the system? Now he was numb to it, and it was also rted to his powerful soul as well.
But Noa wasn¡¯t a soul cultivator, nor has she ever experienced this method of receiving knowledge, so she was caught off guard.
However, the moment she heard Ace¡¯s exnation, this was the information about the body refinement technique that she always dreamed of. Noa clenched her teeth and stop screaming and endure the pain in her head!
Ace saw Noa¡¯s enduring the blood-curdling pain and couldn¡¯t help but admire her resolve and willpower.
¡®She deserved to be in my thief house!¡¯ Ace nodded in approval, like a leader who had just epted the rookie wholeheartedly.
After a while, Noa¡¯s bloodshot eyes eased up as she breathed sharply. It was clear that she had sessfully endured the pain, and now it was over.
After catching her breath, her watery eyes shone with extreme excitement and tion as she mumbled while one could see drops of tears dripping from her mask¡¯s edge, ¡°I finally got the refinement technique andplete the dream of my ancestors!¡±
Ace said nothing and leave her to calm down since he could feel her turmoil emotions, and it was better to let her alleviate herself and released the pent-up emotions.
Nevertheless, he was happy for her and even looked forward to Noa¡¯s future growth with the system¡¯s help!
Although Ace didn¡¯t know what would Noa¡¯s future be like from here on out. But one thing was evident.
¡®I¡¯m looking forward to it!¡¯ A thievish smile bloomed on his demonic face!
Chapter 293
After sorting her emotions and shedding tears for a while, Noa finally calm down and for some reason, she felt refreshed and euphoric after releasing all of her sentiments.
Her eyes were now clear of any doubt or hesitation, and what remained was evesting resolve and determination.
Noa looked behind toward Ace¡¯s direction and saw he was calmly looking at her with a faint, knowing smile on his demonic face.
A hint of embarrassment shed past her eyes as sheined, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for showing such an embarrassing sight to the Leader!¡±
¡°Don¡¯t mention it, sometime we all have our moments.¡± Ace said nothing else since she might take it the wrong way.
Ace wasn¡¯t a mortal brat or youngster with no experience whatsoever anymore. Although he was only eighteen, he had robbed many people of their memories and some of them lived for two centuries. This was enough to change his entire mindset and view of things in a certain way.
¡°Forget it. Tell me about your new refinement technique? I¡¯m eager to know why all the demon race is crazy about it?¡±
Ace quickly change the topic, and he was also telling the truth about his interest in this refinement technique that can make a demon¡¯s body as tough as a grade weapon!
Furthermore, from Noa, he found out that his body was probably as strong as a grade-1 weapon or even higher. Since they both interact because of his exact reason. He did not know about this since he never fought someone physically, nor was he required to.
Besides, he had no idea how his body be so strong, even reaching this level without his knowledge, but he had his suspicions that it was rted to heavenly punishment somehow, but he didn¡¯t have any solid proof. If not for the pool liquid he bathed in the duke¡¯s mansion prison, he still probably remained ignorant about this point.
Thereby, he was nning on utilizing his powerful physique. It was just that he did not know how yet!
Noa¡¯s eyes also shone with excitement as she recalled the Night Demon Body Transformation Technique. She nearly overlooked it because of her burst of emotions and embarrassment.
Now that Ace mention it, she quickly arranged arge amount of information in her knowledge sea.
However, Noa¡¯s eyes suddenly turn gloomy as the information on the Night Demon Body Transformation Technique was arrangedpletely.
Ace also notice the change in Noa¡¯s emotions and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t receiveplete technique? Even if that¡¯s the case, you¡¯ll get it eventually as you progress with it.¡±
He was too familiar with the system¡¯s ways and this was a very normal event for him since he still had many seal skills in his knowledge sea. But he always got significant information after he progressed in them, so he neverined about it.
¡°N-no, ¡®Goddess¡¯ gave meplete technique from 1-Star Night Demon Body to High-stage Night Demon Legendary-Grade Body. I-it¡ it is just that the materials needed to reach higher levels are so rare and some of them I never even heard of them before¡
¡°Furthermore, one needed to be an alchemist to concoct the refinement liquid and the strange thing is this alchemist had to be¡ me or whoever cultivate this technique. I can¡¯t ask for anyone¡¯s help in the process of concocting, or I can never use the refinement liquid!¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed when he heard about this particr requirement to practice this refinement technique, and it was simply asking the person to be an alchemist.
But it was much harder said than done because alchemy was never easy and only a handful of people had a talent for it among thousands. That¡¯s why a high-level alchemist status wasn¡¯t any low than a rune crafter because both of them were too rare.
¡°I can still learn alchemy and evenplete the requirement of possessing the same grade bloodline as the refinement liquid grade with ¡®thief assassin shop¡¯ help.
¡°However, it even described that I had to acquire a special fire to sessfully concoct refinement liquids of legendary grads! If this fire was what I¡¯m thinking it was, then I¡¯m destined to never possess a Legendary Demon Body!¡± Noa¡¯s depressed voice sounded, and her eyes be listless in the end.
Ace¡¯s frown deepened as he asked, ¡°What kind of fire?¡±
He never heard of alchemists needing a special fire to refine anything before. As far as he could tell, those alchemists used some kind of fire stones if they don¡¯t have fire Qi in refinement.
Ace even had the memories of blue grade alchemists, and he knows as much as a blue grade alchemist about alchemy, even if he never tried it before. He was confident in concocting blue-grade pills after some practice!
¡°A Fire Spirit!¡± Noa¡¯s voice was a little hoarse as she spoke while clenching her fists.
¡°Fire Spirit, what¡¯s that?¡± Ace had never heard of this name before. That¡¯s why he quickly questioned.
Noa had used to Ace¡¯s ignorance after traveling with him for days, and she knew his knowledge about this world was quite shallow as if he lived in some backward vige before.
Sometimes she even doubted his status as the Leader and how he got the approval of the Goddess? But she never dared to state her mind out loud, afraid of offending him and ¡®goddess¡¯.
However, the matter regarding the fire spirit was a top-secret that was only known by the top three races of this world. Not even humans know about it despite their status!
¡°It¡¯s only a legend that was reverberating in our race for the past hundred years that in thest gathering of three ancient races (Devils, Demons, Hunters), no one returned alive from the ¡®Fiery Hell Secret Realm¡¯ except from one Devil that was on the brink of death.
¡°Rumor has it before he died, he only utter two words¡ ¡®Fire Spirit¡¯ and after that not only three ancient races be excited and almost gone mad, but they send more people to get this ¡®Fire Spirit¡¯ and even put a huge reward on it.
¡°But whoever goes after it never came back alive and like this, the fiery hell secret realm closed with no one getting their hands on this ¡®Fire Spirit¡¯. But the three races¡¯ stance was clear, they wille back again for it at the next gathering when the secret realm opened again!
¡°However, I don¡¯t know if this was true or false since this news was leaked from the royal zone eighty or so years ago, and it was a hot topic back then. But it slowly died down as time passed. But to this day, no one has neither confirmed nor denied it.
¡°My tribe was still around back then, so we naturally got the wind of this news, and it also became quite popr between us as well. That¡¯s why when I read the name ¡®Fire Spirit¡¯ in the requirement, my thought instantly wander to that incident.
¡°But I still don¡¯t know if this was merely a false rumored or true, much less snatching it from three ancient races or evene back alive from that secret realm. That¡¯s why I said I¡¯m destined to never possess the legendary body.¡± Noa mumbled dejectedly in the end.
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmer with uncertainty when he heard Noa¡¯s exnation about this Fire Spirit and this ¡®Secret Realm¡¯. His attention alsonded on ¡®three ancient races gathering¡¯ as well.
¡°So, you¡¯re telling me this fire spirit is something that three races wanted so bad they didn¡¯t mind paying any price? But they just don¡¯t send their elite there. If they wanted to retrieve it, why ask others?¡± Ace had to ask since this didn¡¯t seem right to him.
¡°Who knows? I¡¯m just like you about this as well. We demons outside the royal zone don¡¯t even know what ¡®Fiery Hell Secret Realm¡¯ was and where it is. If this news wasn¡¯t leaked from the royal zone, no one probably knew about these things.¡± Noa shook her head dejectedly.
¡°System, what¡¯s a fire spirit and Fiery hell Secret Realm?¡± Since he can¡¯t get anything out of Noa, he turned to the all-knowing system.
¡°[Fire Spirit: An undying Fire born in an extreme environment filled with pure Fire Qi]
[Secret Realm: An independent space, a space fragment, a secret world, a manmade space, a¡]¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes turned sharp and shone with astonishment and tion as he read the information about two things he just asked! He never imagined the system would disclose this kind of information so easily without batting an eye or asking for TP in return, like always.
¡®Is it because my authority level increase?¡¯ Ace couldn¡¯t help but wonder.
Nevertheless, he was happy since it was a good thing, and after reading the details about those two things, especially the long list about ¡®Secret Realm¡¯, his heart raced.
This suddenly broadens his horizons and understood just how much he stillcked in knowledge department and view of this world. He suddenly wanted to go there and explore this secret realm.
¡°Royal Zone, huh.¡± Ace muttered softly as his eyes shone with a thievish glint!
Chapter 294
Ace quickly snapped out his thoughts about Royal Zone, since it was too far from him right now. He can¡¯t even tread in Ocean Demon Dukedom without getting into danger, much less the most powerful ce of Mighty Demon Continent.
¡°Don¡¯t worry about the Spirit Fire. For now, we¡¯ll leave tomorrow¡¯s problem to tomorrow.¡± Ace told sulking Noa, ¡°What about the levels that don¡¯t need the Spirit Fire?¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes brighten a bit. Hearing Ace¡¯s conciliate words, she looked at Ace¡¯s silver eyes deeply, which shone brightly with confidence, with no hint of worry.
¡®I almost neglected the source of his confidant is a God, and I should also remember this as well.¡¯ Noa¡¯s listless eyes suddenly brighten, and all her vexation turned into smoke.
¡°I understand. Thank you for advising me, leader!¡± Noa nodded toward Ace with grateful eyes.
¡®What did she understand?¡¯ Ace was slightly bewildered, hearing this, but he still stiffly nodded. ¡®Well, as long as she doesn¡¯t lose her confidence.¡¯
¡°Before legendary grade, there are nine-star levels of Night Demon Body Transformation Technique just like weapons and I required to be a ¡®Nine-Star¡¯ alchemist to start the process of concoction from 1-star to 9-star.¡± Noa softly told Ace about the levels before Legendary Grade.
Ace, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t too shocked hearing ¡®Nine-start Alchemist¡¯ because after assimting Pablo¡¯s memories. He knows in Golden Sky World there were different ranks of alchemy, crafters, and runes crafters,pletely different from lowernds.
Here there weren¡¯t any color ranks for alchemy or mortal grade for rune crafters, there were star ranks, and he was astonished to find out that the entire world used these ranks not just demons which mean the knowledge of lowernds were inadequate or someone kept it that way!
Alchemist or Rune Crafters had Nine-Star Ranks from one-star being the lowest while nine-star being the highest just like crafters and here crafters identified as ¡®Crafter-Smiths¡¯ not ¡®Qi Crafters¡¯.
If a Crafter-Smith also knows how to create runes symbols, then those Crafter Smiths were known as ¡®Runic Crafter Smiths¡¯!
After the nine-star rankse the ¡®Legendary Grade¡¯, which had ¡®8-Grades¡¯, and each grade was further divided into three small stages, ¡®Low, Intermediate, and High¡¯.
As for rune crafters, they were also divided into three types: ¡®Talisman Rune Crafters, Array Rune Craters, and ¡®Formation Rune Crafters¡¯.
The reason for separating rune crafting into these three types was because each type had a very broad and profound discipline and one could spend their entire life, but still don¡¯t reach the end of the road in either of these three disciplines.
Now Ace knew all those rune crafters in lowernds were just jokes here, and he finally understood all this time he was living in a barren vige.
He also got to know that whether it was Alchemist, Crafter Smith, or Rune Crafter, they all were respected and prominent figures, and no one dared to offend them!
Even though Ace didn¡¯t know why there was no ninth grade, since the system had clearly told him there were Nine-Grades in mortal sky heavens. But he didn¡¯t have prior knowledge about it, and he was just too insignificant to even bother himself with this topic.
¡°So, that¡¯s how it is,¡± Ace mumbled, deep in thought.
¡°Yes, but the key ingredients needed for these star levels were also quite rare, and I don¡¯t think anyone with a sane mind would sell them. There are even grade-1 ingredients required to concoct the nine-star level refinement potion.
¡°Although I had never learned alchemy before, I learn about ¡®poison alchemy¡¯ in my tribe, since it helped a lot in the art of assassination. That¡¯s why I know a lot about these herbs since Warden Cane knew about the Poison Alchemy of our tribe, and he helped me a lot to hone my skill in it, for his own selfish motives.¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes turned cold as she remembered how Warden Cane encouraged her to learn poison alchemy back then. Before, she thought little about how did he provide her books on poison alchemy since it was quite a rare branch of alchemy and few practiced it since it¡¯s very dangerous and deadly to y with poison.
But after she found the truth about her tribe¡¯s massacre, she finally understood where all that knowledge came from. It was her own heritage, plunder from her tribe after they exterminate them!
Noa knew better than anyone that Night Demons had a strong resilience to poison, and that¡¯s why they can easily practice this dangerous art of poison alchemy. Warden Cane also knew it, and that¡¯s why he made her learn, so she could be the perfect weapon!
Noa also didn¡¯t disappoint Cane because her talent was astonished, and for revenge, she learned everything about the poison alchemy of her tribe!
¡°Poison Alchemy?¡± Ace clearly never heard of it before.
¡°Yes, you can say this is the dark side of alchemy, and no one dared to practice it if they don¡¯t have confidence in handling poison. But each ¡®Poison Alchemist¡¯ was a dreaded existence!¡¡± Noa sternly told Ace about Poison Alchemists.
Ace suddenly felt a chill run down his spine when he heard a powerful Poison Alchemist can poison some to death without even being found out.
¡®It seemed I was living in a flower house all this time,¡¯ Ace reflected gravely.
But when he remembered his strong immunity to poison, he felt more assured and confident in dealing with these poison mongrels if he ever encountered them in the future.
Furthermore, he even wanted to learn this poison alchemy since there were many practical uses in theft and make a mental note to ask Noa to teach him in the future, since he had other things to focus on right now.
¡°I don¡¯t think it would be difficult for you to learn alchemy since you had experience in poison alchemy, right?¡± asked Ace.
Ace would be lying if he said; he didn¡¯t have ulterior motives after he learned Noa had to learn alchemy because he could easily have made her create pills for him in the future, which also means a steady supply of EXP!
This wasn¡¯t the biggest advantage, but the real advantage was Noa had to walk the soul path ording to her thief assassin shop, which meant she will be a ¡®Soul Alchemist¡¯ who can make soul-type pills!
Soul Alchemists were far too rare since everyone talented in soul preferred to walk on the path of a rune crafter because many people consider soul alchemy a waste of soul-type talent!
That¡¯s why soul-type pills were so rare and precious, and Ace never encounter any soul heard except for Blood Rose, much less a soul-type pill.
Now that he had a house member who can be a soul alchemist, this willpletely solve his problem of soul points in the future. That¡¯s why he was even more eager than Noa to let her start practice in alchemy!
¡°Yes, I can easily reach six-star alchemist rank. But after that, it was the question of wealth, since alchemy is all about resources.¡± Noa said with uncertainty.
It wasmon knowledge that alchemy was a huge money-burning discipline, and the rate of failure was much higher than the sess rate.
That¡¯s why only rich ones dare to study alchemy!
Ace naturally understood what Noa meant and suddenly remembered all those things he recycled a few days ago and felt his heartache. ¡®I should¡¯ve never used that recycle shop, damn it!¡¯
Ace cursed himself for his own stupidity when he thought of all those materials could¡¯ve used by Noa. But quickly calm himself since the milk was already split there was no need to cry over it now, he reassured himself, ¡®Well, those materials were all low-level one and only enough to make white, green or 1-star pills or two-star pills. The real precious materials are in the rings filled with treasure mountain!¡¯
When he thought about the huge treasure mountain, he felt a lot better and quickly said with confidence, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about expense, I can support you for a while. Even if we run out of material, I can always ¡®get¡¯ more than enough!¡±
Noa was naturally dumbfounded by Ace¡¯s arrogant words.
¡°Hehe, remembered I¡¯m a thief? I¡¯ll take whatever I want, and now you¡¯re too!¡± Ace said with a thievish smile.
¡°I understand!¡± Noa quickly nodded in understanding.
¡°Now that this is out of the way, I had a mission for you!¡± Ace¡¯s silver eyes shimmer mysteriously as he looked at Noa.
¡°What mission?¡± Noa¡¯s heart suddenly race after hearing about the mission because a mission meant more house points and rewards for her, which she desperately needed right now!
Ace only smile mysteriously and transmitted in his mind, ¡°System open the mission making interface of thief house!¡±
Ace always had a weakness, and he was nearly killed because of itst time, but this time he won¡¯t be going to make the same mistake since he had a helper, and he was quite confident of achieving it, after seeing Pablo¡¯s memories!
Chapter 295
Ace only smile mysteriously and transmitted in his mind, ¡°System open the mission making interface of thief house!¡±
Ace always had a weakness, and he was nearly killed because of itst time, but this time he won¡¯t be going to make the same mistake since he had a helper, and he was quite confident of achieving it, after seeing Pablo¡¯s memories!
From Pablo¡¯s memories, Ace could tell the mighty demon continent was quite resourceful and there were many unexplored mysterious things just waiting to be explored.
That¡¯s why Ace first decided to find a hideout where no one would be able to find him and then create an¡ informational secret organization from this hidden ce!
Before, he had no n or even thought of taking this step because it would require too much time and manpower. However, after recruiting Noa and getting Pablo¡¯s memories and the way the demon race does things, Ace didn¡¯t think it waspletely impossible anymore.
Besides, he had some experience with how a secret informational organization work from Nightmare Ghosts Organization¡¯s secret informationwork, and he always wanted a source of information like this when he was roaming in lowernds.
But s, he never had a chance, he was teleported here, after a near-death experience.
However, Ace didn¡¯t want to repeat that same mistake again and after mulling over it for some time he decided to just go for it and create his own secretwork of information in Mighty Demon Continent, and he was going to start with Silver Iron Demon City!
¡®If we somehow manage to pull this off, it will greatly help me in future thieveries and I can always dodge incidents like ¡®treasure mountain¡¯ or even use it to increase my fame by spreading the news!¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes glow like the sun as he thought of all those advantages if he was sessful.
With no further dy, he started to create the mission for Noa because she was crucial in the founding of this secret organization, and he didn¡¯t have to worry about her betraying him, either. It was also a sort of test.
He could¡¯vemanded her without using the House Points, and she could¡¯ve followed it without asking any further questions. But he refrained from doing it because she required arge amount of HP to reset her foundation and then re-cultivate with the system¡¯s cultivation technique.
He was her only source of HP, and it would only bring him benefits if she became more powerful. Especially when he thought about all those soul pills, she¡¯ll be able to refine in the future. Just this reason was enough to make him help her with all his might.
Noa was also calmly waiting for the mission that Ace had just promised, but she couldn¡¯t hide the anticipation in her eyes and her wildly beating heart.
After a few moments, she finally heard the system¡¯s impassive voice.
_______
[Thief House Leader (Ace White) has issued a Chain-Mission]
¡ª
[Thief House Leader Mission]
[Chain-Mission: 1/3]
-Mission: Subduing the Wolf Demon Bandits!
-Description: Subdue the gang of bandits hiding deep in Iron Forest close to the iron demon city and enve their leader (Golden Wolf King)!
-Reward: 300 House Points
-Time: 30 Days
-Punishment: None
¡ª
[Chain-Mission: 2/3]
-Mission: Lock
¡ª
[Note: Pleaseplete the first chain mission to unlock the second mission.]
_____
Noa¡¯s eyes shone with incredulity when she saw this ¡®Chain-Mission¡¯ and questioned, ¡°Leader, why?¡±
She naturally didn¡¯t understand why Ace wanted to subdue a gang of bandits and even enve their leader.
¡°Hehe, you¡¯ll naturally know as youplete all the chain missions. Just don¡¯t underestimate this group of bandits. They had a strong backer, or they¡¯ll not roam freely until now. Kill anyone who resists. We just needed their leader, Golden Wolf King. He¡¯s probably a peak Qi river realm demon now.¡±
Ace didn¡¯t reveal his n just yet to Noa since he wasn¡¯t even sure himself if this will work or not, but he was eighty percent sure it¡¯ll work.
¡®Well, I naturally found out about it if she couldplete the second mission. I have to hand it to the system. This chain mission is really handy if you want to give a series of missions at once. I wonder system would give me a chain mission in the future as well or not.¡¯ Ace thought with some expectancy.
He naturally found this ¡®Chain-Mission¡¯ feature in the thief house mission interface, and he quite likes it because this was the thing he needed at this moment.
¡°As you wish!¡± Noa merely nodded her head in agreement.
Since Ace didn¡¯t want to reveal it, she won¡¯t question him anymore. After all the series of events she has gone through with Ace, she won¡¯t feel shocked or question him anymore. Even if he said she¡¯ll have to kill the demon king, she¡¯ll do it with no question asked!
¡°As for your problem of leaving and entering the Iron Demon City, go to the market and find an old shop name ¡®Cloud Book Store¡¯ tell the old man that; you want to ¡®Eat Cloud on Sun¡¯ and he¡¯ll know what you want¡¡±
Ace gave some more instructions to Noa, so she could safely exit or enter the city afterpleting the mission. He knew she couldn¡¯t pull a wall climb without getting busted.
He was naturally using Pablo¡¯s knowledge since that guy was always interested in these kinds of things more than cultivation, and probably that¡¯s why he was expelled as well.
Pablo knows many secrets about the Iron Demon City because of his background, but s, all of them were useless after he was expelled and be broke like a beggar.
However, these secrets were a great help to someone like Ace, who wanted to create a secret organization.
After getting her instructions from Ace, Noa left the hidden basement, and she naturally remembered all the hidden traps in Silver Iron Demon State when she was following Ace.
It was a piece of cake for Noa to enter or exit the Silver Iron Demon State now!
Chapter 296
After Noa left toplete Ace¡¯s mission, Ace was left alone in the hidden basement.
Ace didn¡¯t want to leave this ce yet because he had other things to do and Noa¡¯s presence save him much time.
He sat cross-legged and take off his hundred-face deception mask before he sighed softly. He naturally didn¡¯t like the demon face and since he was safe here and Noa know about this actual appearance, he decided to remove the mask until he stayed here.
Furthermore, he was also somewhat sick of wearing all those fake faces and a mask all the time. Although he won¡¯t feel the hundred-face deception mask on his face, it was still fake.
¡°I should also increase my skills while I have the chance. Let¡¯s start with the system¡¯s technique!¡± Ace mumbled decisively.
In lowernds, he always wanted to learn all those skills in the system shop but didn¡¯t have thief points first and when he had them, the system demanded an upgrade again, sshing a cold bucket of water on his ns.
Now here, after the system was upgraded, he got busy with his ¡®great escape¡¯ so he didn¡¯t get the chance again.
However, now that he was done with everything and someone was there to do his bidding, he finally got his moment to learn new skills and improve himself.
That¡¯s also one of the reasons he always hesitated to create an organization because it will cause too much distraction. One of the reasons was the system itself because it always gave him difficult missions, and so he always had to be on the move.
¡°System, open the technique section.¡± Ace quickly transmitted his thought to the system.
This was the only section that remain untouched till now, and he had a feeling that those techniques were going to be a tremendous help to him!
=====
[System Shop: Techniques Section]
___
[Soul Words [Despair Manual]]
[Price: 50,000TP]
¡ª
[Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Manual [First Vol]]
[Price: 100,000TP]
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¡°First, let¡¯s see what these Soul Words are about.¡±
With anticipation, Ace eagerlymended, ¡°System, confirm the purchase of Soul Words Despair Manual!¡±
======
[50,000 TP has been deducted!]
[Purchase has been sessful!]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 1,517,650]
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[Soul Words [Despair Manual: Sound Soul-Path Technique]
-Description: A soul technique that used the power of [Despair] with sound waves and Heavenly Soul-Qi to temporarily controlled the victim¡¯s mind and actions.
-Warning: The power of this technique solely depends onprehension of thews of [Despair], [Sound], and Heavenly Soul Qi potency. Wordily soul Qi is useless. Please refrain from using this technique on cultivators with powerful souls!
-Three Realms of Soul Words [Despair Manual]:
1. Deep Despair Soul Words
[Three Stages: Low, Intermediate, High]
2. Extreme Despair Soul Words
[Three Stages: Low, Intermediate, High]
3. Deadly Despair Soul Words
[Three Stages: Low, Intermediate, High]
=====
Before Ace could mull over the information in the system¡¯s interface, a huge torrent of information drilled into his brain without giving him any chance to react.
With a pale face, Ace quickly closed his eyes to endure the pain. This time the information was quite huge, and it took him three hours topletely ept the information in his knowledge sea and another five hours to assimte it.
Although he only got the information about the first realm, Deep-Despair Soul Words of Soul Words: Despair Manual, it was still quite long and profound.
Ace was instantly captivated by those profound and sagacious scripts of Deep-Despair Soul Words!
He didn¡¯t know how much time pass, but he was deeply engrossed in the mediation of this wondrous soul technique.
Ace discover this technique wasn¡¯t just a random skill technique like his Lock Eraser King Technique, but it was a unique technique like his Dual Shadow Swords which was a weapon cultivation technique while the soul words despair manual was a ¡®Sound Cultivation¡¯ technique!
Each technique had a wide and endless path of its own. One dealt with the ¡®Law of [Shadow] and [Sword] while the other one contained the mysterious of [Sound], and [Despair]!
Others can only dream of possessing a technique like this, and Ace had two of them right now!
If news of it got out right now, probably the entire world would go crazy ande after him!
Each of these techniques can cause an endless and nonstop, bloody war between races!
After an unknown time, Ace¡¯s eyelids slowly opened, and a dark mist shed past his dark blue eyes.
Ace couldn¡¯t help but be astonished by this soul words technique, and he even got some understanding over it because of his early encounters with the power of despair and heavenly despair thunder.
Furthermore, his element was ¡®despair lightning¡¯ and after obtaining the soul words despair manual, he had a feeling that both his element and this soul technique were deeply connected with each other and both of them can give him endless benefits!
¡°In Deep Despair Soul Words Realm, I can only fuse the heavenly soul Qi and minor-levelw of [Despair] with sound for only ten seconds in low stage, thirty-second in the intermediate stage, and for a minute in high stage.
¡°After that, I have toprehend thew of [Despair] to at least low-level and thew of [Sound] to minor-level to achieve the Extreme Despair Words realm.
¡°This is too damn difficult since I don¡¯t even know how toprehend aw and what the hell is thisw in the first ce? I can only feel the slightest power of despair, all because of my encounters and my element. That¡¯s it!¡±
Ace smiled bitterly as he recited the requirements just to enter the low stage of the Deep Despair Soul Words realm, much less the second realm.
Nevertheless, Ace was determined to learn this soul path technique because if he could just achieve a low stage level of the first realm, he can simply order someone who was under his control tomit suicide, and they¡¯ll do it with no hint of hesitation!
The most magical and dreadful thing about this technique was the victim won¡¯t even feel or remembered that he was assailed, or controlled with this technique!
Chapter 297
Nevertheless, Ace was determined to learn this soul path technique because if he could just achieve a low stage level of the first realm he can simply order someone who was under his control tomit suicide, and they¡¯ll do it with no hint of hesitation or resistance!
The most magical and dreadful thing about this technique was the victim won¡¯t even feel or remembered that he was assailed, or controlled with this technique!
This simply means Ace can control a person and asked him about the location of the treasury or anything he wanted without wasting time using soul probing, and that person would not only tell him everything, but he¡¯ll even forget about it the very next moment!
Besides, this technique can work on far more powerful opponents if he had high-level mastery overws inscribed in this technique manual.
Simply put, he can control a soul realm expert easily if he could achieve low-level master of second, Extreme Despair Soul Words Realm right now with his heavenly orange soul core not to talk about after he broke through in higher soul realms!
That¡¯s why he was eager to learn it and fully immerse into the technique before, but s, the requirements were just too high, and he was snapped out of that wonderfulprehending state. His level of understanding was just too low to even peek in the window ofws right now!
¡®Let¡¯s see thest technique as well.¡¯ Ace quickly calm down and ordered, ¡°System, confirm the purchase of Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler [1]Manual!¡±
=====
[100,000 TP has been deducted!]
[Purchase has been sessful!]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 1,417,650]
¡ª
[Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Manual [First Vol]]
-Introduction: A Heaven Defying Profession [Dismantler] created for a Heaven¡¯s Stealer!
-Description: Dismantle anything under heaven and earth!
-Requirement: Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Gloves and Heaven Stealer Technique!
-Three Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Principles:
1. Treasure Dismantler Principles [From Grade-0[2] to Grade-9]
2. Alchemy Dismantler Principles [From Grade-0 to Grade-9]
3. Runic Dismantler Principles [From Grade-0 to Grade-9]
=======
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(Author¡¯s Note (Wahi): Grade-0 represents 1-Star to 9-Star Ranks or System¡¯s ranks like [Lowest level, low-level, middle-low level, high-low level¡] sorry for the inconvenience)
______
Ace frowned when he read the information about this technique or unique profession for a Heaven¡¯s Stealer.
¡°Where¡¯s the information?¡± Ace was naturally waiting for the torrent of information this time after being caught off guard before.
However, even after waiting for a while, no information was provided, so he directly asked the system.
¡°[Host please donned the Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Gloves to progress further!]¡±
Ace click his tongue hearing this, he almost forgot about the Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Gloves he purchased recently.
Before, he doesn¡¯t have time, so he didn¡¯t check these gloves with an unknown grade.
Ace quickly send his sense into the thief¡¯s space and after looking around, he finally caught sight of twopletely ck gloves beside his swords.
These ck gloves looked like they were made of pieces of thin clothing, and there was nothing extraordinary about them.
If Ace didn¡¯t know any better than they were of an unknown grade, he would¡¯ve thought they were just trash and throw them away.
However, something strange happened the moment he sent his sense to take them out of the thief¡¯s space. Those gloves instantly vanished the moment theye in contact with his sense!
Ace was bbergasted by this and frowned. ¡°System, what is the meaning of this?¡±
He naturally thought the culprit was the system since other than him, only the system can fiddle with his thief¡¯s space. That¡¯s why he sternly demanded an exnation.
One had to know he had spent two hundred thousand thief points on both Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Gloves and Technique, so he won¡¯t let the system y any tricks after taking his thief points!
=====
[Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Gloves have been equipped!]
¡ª
[Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Gloves: Unknown Grade]
[Owner: Ace White]
[Current Grade has been adjusted ording to the Mortal Sky Heaven: Grade-9]
=====
Ace¡¯s eyes constricted inquisitively the moment these notifications rang because, ording to the system he already donned, the Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Gloves, but he didn¡¯t find them at all since his hands were empty!
This left him perplexed and indignant, he was just about rain on the system with folly questions when he sensed something was amiss because his knowledge sea trembled even so slightest.
The very next moment, Ace¡¯s eyes almost pop out of his sockets as they turned bloodshot because a blood-curdling pain attacked his knowledge sea!
He knew this was the information regarding the Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Technique, but this waspletely out of his expectation because the information was just too much and this was probably the second-longest technique he received after Heaven Stealer Technique!
However, for some reason, this was far more painful than anything he ever experienced!
Ace clench his teeth and hands as he endured the soul-splitting pain with everything he had.
If Ace could just enter his own knowledge sea, he would clearly see what was happening right now while he was enduring the pain.
Right at this moment, in Ace¡¯s dark endless knowledge sea, a ck mist was gathering in the middle, right above Ace¡¯s dark sea, and slowly condensing into a pentagon shape!
After the pentagon wasplete, it was congealed, but this was not the end of it. Dark engravings started to emerge on both sides of the pentagon¡¯s smooth surface!
When the engravings finally emerged, the pentagon look like a coin right now.
On one side of this pentagon-coin was a hooded face that just look like Ace when he wore his trainee hood, while on the other side were two hands, or they were just like Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Gloves!
After the pentagon coin seemed to beplete, it slowly descended into Ace¡¯s dark knowledge sea and drowned until itpletely vanished deep into the abyss like the dark sea!
Right at this moment, a vague voice rang in Ace¡¯s dark knowledge sea that sounded likementing yet at the same time mncholic.
¡°[When a ¡®Heaven¡¯s Stealer¡¯ born, the ¡®Heaven Punish¡¯ while the ¡®Worlds¡¯ prostrate for mercy¡]¡±
[1] I have chanced the ¡®Disassembler¡¯ into Dismantler because although both mean same while thetter sound more urately. I chance it in the previous chapters as well, sorry for the inconvenience.
[2] (Author¡¯s Note (Wahi): Grade-0 represents 1-Star to 9-Star Ranks or System¡¯s ranks like [Lowest level, low-level, middle-low level, high-low level¡] sorry for the inconvenience)
Chapter 298
Inside the secret underground chamber, Ace was sweating profusely, while his face was pale.
He did not know what was happening inside his knowledge sea, as his entire focus was on enduring the stabbing pain in his head.
However, the moment that pentagon coinpletely vanished inside Ace¡¯s dark knowledge sea, the pain suddenly vanished.
Ace was bewildered by this abrupt change and with a bemused expression, he mumbled, ¡°Strange, I got all this humongous information within minutes?¡±
Thereupon, Ace¡¯s paleplexion slowly returned to his natural state, and he also stopped mulling over the strange thing that had just happened.
Ace was now skimming through all the information of Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Manual¡¯s three principals.
Just like that, hours passed and Ace was still engrossed in Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Manual with an impassive face while his eyes were tightly shut.
When his eyes were open, they were filled with incredulity and wonder. His expression was solemn.
Strangely, Ace looked at his hands and with a thought, ¡®Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Gloves!¡¯ two dark hand symbols emerge on the back of his palm.
¡®So, the part about they¡¯re merged with me is true, and I can¡¯t take them off, either. Only death can part us now. Well, this is also eptable since these two gloves are essential for Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Manual, and they can¡¯t be destroyed!¡¯
Even though Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Gloves didn¡¯t have anybat or defensive power, they were far more precious than any kind of treasure!
Ace was ted and full of excitement because of this heaven-defying technique.
With another thought, those two dark hand symbols again vanished in the back of his palm with no trace. He knew these two gloves were always active, and he didn¡¯t need to summon those symbols every time he wanted to use them.
Suddenly, a small dagger appeared in his hand. It was a three-star rank. With no further dy, ck mist gushed out from his hands,pletely enveloping the small dagger.
¡®So, this is the ¡®Dismantle Qi¡¯ that can only produce with Dismantler Gloves after filtering the Heavenly Darkness Qi!¡¯ Ace scrutinized the dark mist like Qi.
¡®Next step is to synchronize the dismantle-Qi into the object. I wanted to Dismantler and then used the pertinent Dismantler Principle suitable for the object. Since this is a weapon, and it falls in the category of Treasure Dismantler Principles!¡¯
Ace carefully began topress the dismantle-Qi with both hands or Dismantler gloves, and it entered the small dagger, which was the sign of synchronization.
Afterpressing for a while, sweat was beaded on Ace¡¯s forehead, but his eyes were sharper and focused. Finally, the silver of dismantle-Qipletely synchronized into the small dagger!
Before the small dagger was silver, however now it waspletely ck, and strange small royal blue dots had appeared on different parts of the dagger.
Ace knew these small dots were proof of the sessful synchronization, and the dagger was ready to undergo the next and most difficult phase.
He recited the Treasure Dismantler Principles in his mind.
Although this dagger was of three-star rank, he didn¡¯t have any lower-level treasure than this one. Nevertheless, he was just testing. Even if he didn¡¯t seed, he just wanted to see the magical effect of this profession that was made for a thief!
The very next moment thereafter, small royal blue strings began to emerge from Ace¡¯s fingers and entered those royal blue dots on the small dagger.
Strangely, since there were only seven small dots on the dagger, the strings were also seven.
Something magical happen thereupon, the small dagger started to break apart from the seven dots, and it waspletely dismantled into seven small pieces hovering between his hands.
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered with ecstasy when he saw the second phase was also sessful and only the third and final step was left!
With a solemn expression on his face, he mumbled, ¡°Treasure Dismantler Principles, Dismantle and Origin Condense!¡±
The moment Ace uttered, the Dismantler gloves¡¯ dark symbols appeared on the back of his hands again and started to glow darkly.
In Ace¡¯s astonished eyes, those seven broken pieces trembled before their forms started to change.
However, at this moment, a piece suddenly turned into dust while reforming and, one after another, this phenomenon repeated until only onest reforming piece was left.
Ace¡¯s solemn expression didn¡¯t change. He knew this was bound to happen because he was applying the One-Star Treasure Dismantler Principle on a three-star treasure.
But there was still hope since one piece was left.
At that very moment, something magical happened. Thest piece suddenly developed into the shape of a crude silver stone and the symbols of hands after disappeared just like they appeared as if their job was done.
Ace also felt the Dismantler gloves also stop absorbing his Qi, which means the process was over and done.
The small silver stone also stopped hovering and dropped into Ace¡¯s hand!
¡°So, this is one of the seven materials that dagger was made of, and I recovered it with the Treasure Dismantler Principles!
¡°This is unheard of since no one can recover the materials once they were forged into something, but this technique can disassemble anything and then returned them to their origin!
¡°I finally understand why the system once says I can theft those treasure doors and rune symbols engraved in the ces. Before, I never thought it was possible, but with Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Manual¡¯s three principles, I can simply disassemble anything and everything!
¡°But I still needed practice and I have time as well. Once I reached the higher levels of three principals, I can simply disassemble those high-grade treasures and recover those materials!¡±
The more Ace thought about the benefits of this technique, the more his heart thumped. With this technique, he was simply a fish in the water, and he also has ample treasures to practice with it as well.
Furthermore, even if he runs out of materials for practice, he can always steal more. The thought of buying them never urred to him even for a moment!
Chapter 299
While Ace waspletely engrossed in his training and raising the levels of his skills and new techniques, without even caring about the outside world.
Noa was currently hiding in arge carriage, which was carrying somerge boxes outside the city. She reached this point after she followed Ace¡¯s orders and approach the shop owner, he told her.
Just as Ace said after she told the secret password to the shop owner, he only charged her a ¡®small¡¯ fee, and without asking any further questions, he prepared this carriage for her.
Noa was hiding inside one of therge wooden boxes inside the carriage. However, her box was engraved with small symbols from inside which were hiding her presence!
She didn¡¯t dare to release her martial sense because these runes can¡¯t hide it, and she can only wait for the carriage to pass the city gates.
After an unknown time, the carriage halted,
¡®Tap, tap¡tap tap¡¡±
When Noa heard this special taping sound, she knew her stop has arrived!
She quickly opened the box and vigntly exited from the back of the carriage.
Outside, a tall, plump demon with blue horns was beaming at Noa when she disembarked from the carriage.
¡°Miss, we¡¯re already at the edge of the iron forest.¡± He said with a hint of pride.
¡°You did well.¡± Noa coldly nodded without a hint of emotion in her eyes.
She waved her hand and a pile of high-level Qi stones appeared on the ground.
¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s nice doing business with you, my Lady!¡± The plump demon grin while showing his white beastly teeth as he quickly stored that pile of Qi stone in his storage ring.
¡°Remember, my caravan passed from here every week at dawn. If My Lady wants a trip back¡ be on time!¡±
After uttering, the plump demon again embark on the carriage and left without waiting for Noa¡¯s reply. He deals with these kinds of demons on regr bases, so he had vast experience, and he could tell thisdy was too dangerous, so he quickly left, afraid to annoy her.
Noa didn¡¯t even spare a second nce at the departing carriage, and after activating her stealth, she vanished into the dense forest with towering trees withrge crowns.
Ace had clearly described the hideout of these wolf demon bandits to her and, after she bought a map from the same plump demon, she easily reached outside a well-hiddenrge cave opening deep inside the forest.
Noa¡¯s eyes shone with tion as she thought, ¡®It seemed Leader¡¯s soul search is even more powerful than I imagine!¡¯
She didn¡¯t charge right inside because Ace clearly told her that the leader of these bandits was a very cunning fellow, and he only appeared once in a while in this hideout for collecting the loot or when he nned to loot some caravan.
After she used her marital sense, she only sensed five demons with early Qi river realm cultivation and mused, ¡®So, that guy isn¡¯t here yet. I have to wait!¡¯
¡ª
Three more days passed as Noay in wait, but the leader, Golden Wolf King, didn¡¯t show up. She only noticed minor movements of those five small fries, nothing else.
¡ª
Just like that, one week passed,
¡°Where is he?!¡± Noa mumbled in frustration.
It¡¯s not like she was an impatient person or anything, it¡¯s just that she was anxious about her mission because it only gave her thirty days¡¯ deadline.
Although Ace didn¡¯t set any punishment if she failed but for Noa, this was like cutting off her flesh because her House Points were on the line!
That¡¯s why she was getting annoying, but she can¡¯t do anything about it either since she did not know who this guy actually was and where he was.
¡®Really, why did the leader need to enve this bandit leader?¡¯ Perplexed, she had no answer to this question and onlyy in wait.
¡ª
It was deep at night of the tenth day when Noa noticed movement not too far away from her hiding position!
¡®Someone is here!¡¯ Noa instantly became alert andpletely hide her presence and breath.
Three cloaked figures enter the cave entrance swiftly like blurs. But Noa could clearly see them because of her high cultivation base and specie.
¡®Two flowing Qi river cultivators and One peak Qi river cultivator, it should be the bandit leader and vice leaders!¡¯ Noa¡¯s eyes quickly lit up as an icy glint shed past them.
Wasting no time, she entered the dark cave in stealth, following those three neers.
She suddenly heard voices,
¡°Greeting Leader and Vice Leaders!¡±
¡®So, they¡¯re really my target. Well, I don¡¯t have to be worried anymore!¡¯
A dark, long double edge dagger appeared in her hand as Noa¡¯s eyes were exempt from any emotions. She was nothing, much less, of a grim ripper!
¡°At ease!¡± An imposing voice filled with authority rang at this moment. ¡°Our target this time is Daffodil Pavilion¡¯s Caravan!¡±
The owner of this was clearly the Golden Wolf King, the leader of this small gang of bandits.
¡°Daffodil Pavilion?! Um¡ Leader, those guys aren¡¯t easy to deal with!¡± One of the five bandits spoke timidly.
¡°Hmph¡ we, the Demon Wolf Bandits, aren¡¯t afraid of anyone, scram if you¡¯re afraid!¡± One of the vice leaders sternly proimed.
The small fries instantly get on their knees and were about to beg for mercy¡ however, at this moment, an icy yet scornful voice rang from behind everyone,
¡°Is that so?¡±
The leader¡¯s eyes instantly contracted in horror when they heard this icy voice filled with killing intent!
¡°Intruder!¡± He barked as he was ready for a huge fight.
However, before the other could react, a dark streak shed past five bandits and two vice leaders¡¯ throats!
Everything happened in an instant, and the bandit leader only heard seven sounds of somethingnding on the stone floor before the headless corpses follow suit!
¡°Too weak!¡± The same icy voice rang with a hint of disdain.
But in the ears of the bandit leader, it was the voice of his maker!
Chapter 300
Inside the secret underground room, Ace was still immense in his training when suddenly the system¡¯s notifications rang in his mind, jolting him out of his focus¡
======
[House Member Noa Night Killed an empty Qi river realm demon]
[Reward: 100 EXP]
¡ª
[House Member Noa Night Killed an empty Qi river realm demon]
[Reward: 100 EXP]
¡ª
[Thief House Member (Noa Night) Killed an empty Qi river realm demon]
[Reward: 100 EXP]
¡ª
[Thief House Member (Noa Night) Killed an empty Qi river realm demon]
[Reward: 100 EXP]
¡ª
[Thief House Member (Noa Night) Killed an empty Qi river realm demon]
[Reward: 100 EXP]
¡ª
[Thief House Member (Noa Night) Killed a flowing Qi river realm demon]
[Reward: 250 EXP]
¡ª
[Thief House Member (Noa Night) Killed a flowing Qi river realm demon]
[Reward: 250 EXP]
¡ª
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-3]]
[EXP: 21,000/50,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-3]]
[SP: 20,000/50,000]
======
Ace was naturally gobsmacked by this volley of killing notification and quickly questioned with a slightly excited voice, ¡°System exin!¡±
Although he had already guessed what this indicated, he still wanted to confirm from the system itself!
¡°[Any kill by a Thief House Member will result in additional EXP or SP for Host.]¡±
¡°So, it wasn¡¯t a dream!¡± Ace eximed with ecstasy, and suddenly he asked another question promptly, ¡°What about the stealing or theft?!¡±
¡°[Any kind of thievery by a Thief House Member will result in additional Thief Points for Host!]¡±
¡°Fuck, yes!¡± Ace couldn¡¯t help but exim out loud in excitement.
Before he only thought the Thief-House was just to nurture helper thieves, and he was getting the short end of the stick since he had to spend Thief Points and House Points also don¡¯t give any benefits to him as well.
However, now that system revealed the hidden benefits of Thief House, how could he remain calm and collective?
¡°This is far better than anything I could¡¯ve asked for. It was truly worth it to use thief house! Should I recruit reaming two members?¡± Ace mumbled with excitement, deep in wondrous thoughts of his brightrcenous future.
He no longer thought of this function as a burden, and he was even more motivated to nurture more thieves because it was like a long-term investment!
However, Ace didn¡¯t know this was just the tip of the iceberg!
¡ª
Back inside the Demon Wolf Bandits Hideout,
¡°Too weak!¡± The same icy voice rang with a hint of mockery.
But in the ears of the bandit leader, it was the voice of his maker!
Nothing in this world was scarier than an absolute power that can make anyone fall into despair, and this leader of bandies was just experiencing the same things.
His will to fight was long gone and the only thing in his mind was; survival!
With no hint of his previous haughtiness, he fell on his knees and prostrated in front of the cave entrance, and start begging, ¡°Please sir, have mercy! You can have everything and I can even give riches far more than you could¡¯ve imagined. Please spare my life, I¡¯ll change my ways¡¡±
¡°Shut up!¡± Noa¡¯s exasperation voice sounded.
She never imagined this guy had no hint of integrity in him. He gave up without even thinking!
¡°Sign this ve contract and I¡¯ll spare you!¡± Noa didn¡¯t want to dy any further and throw the 8-star ve contract she bought from the plump shop owner.
The bandit leader finally showed a hint of hesitation at seeing the stone ve contract. He knew with his cultivation base, that it was impossible to break this eight-star ve contract without entering the Qi river core realm!
¡°W-why don¡¯t we find another way, like I have a lot of wealth¡¡± His next words suddenly caught in his throat like a lump when he felt the cold, sharp edge on his throat.
Noa¡¯s soft yet icy voice, filled with killing intent, enter his ears,
¡°Either sing it or die!¡±
¡°Please wait! I¡¯m the second son ¡®Buck Golden Iron¡¯ of Golden Iron Demon Tribe¡¯s Chief and the city lord of Iron Demon City. Don¡¯t kill me!¡±
Buck finally revealed his real identity when he almost saw the death door. Although he was unwilling, and it was also his biggest secret, it was far better than being dead!
Noa was naturally astonished when she heard him and thought, ¡®No wonder Leader said he had a strong backer!¡¯
Nevertheless, she remained cold and impassive as she repeated pointedly, ¡°I don¡¯t care even if you¡¯re a demon prince, either you live as a ve or die as a headless corpse!¡±
Buck felt his throat turn dry as he felt the sharp dagger pressing into his throat. He never thought his assaulter wasn¡¯t even afraid of his father, and finally, hisst mental defense shattered.
He was terrified of dying and even if he became a ve of another demon, he¡¯ll still choose to live. ¡®Once my father found out about it, he¡¯ll naturally rip this guy apart and rescue me!¡¯
With this thought, he sent his Qi mark on the ve contract, and a dark red mark suddenly appeared between his dark golden eyebrows before disappearing.
Noa finally put away her dagger and took the ve contract from the floor, storing it inside her storage ring. She was quite pleased with herself since shepleted this mission with no hindrance.
¡®What¡¯s the second mission?¡¯ She eagerly waited, without even caring about listless Buck, who was now silently shedding tears of bitterness.
Noa didn¡¯t have to wait for long before the systems deemed the first missionplete and activate the second mission of the chain mission, and she attentively read the contents,
_______
[Chain-Mission: 1/3]
-Mission: Subduing the Wolf Demon Bandits!
-Status: Complete
-Reward: 300 House Points have been added to House Member Status
¡ª
[Noa Night Thief House Point(s): 700]
¡ª
[Chain-Mission: 2/3]
-Mission: Use the Bandit Leader!
-Description 1: Controlled the Enved Bandit Leader (Golden Wolf King) to fish out the All-Knowing Parrot!
¨C Description 2: Capture All-Knowing Parrot alive.
¨C Description 3: Bring All-Knowing Parrot alive to House Leader (Ace White)!
¨C Reward: 500 House Points
¨C Time: 100 Days
¨C Punishment: None
¡ª
[Chain-Mission: 3/3]
-Mission: Lock
¡ª
[Note: Pleaseplete the second chain mission to unlock the third mission.]
______
Chapter 301
_______
[Chain-Mission: 1/3]
-Mission: Subduing the Wolf Demon Bandits!
-Status: Complete
-Reward: 300 House Points have been added to House Member Status
¡ª
[Noa Night Thief House Point(s): 700]
¡ª
[Chain-Mission: 2/3]
-Mission: Use the Bandit Leader!
-Description 1: Controlled the Enved Bandit Leader (Golden Wolf King) to fish out the All-Knowing Parrot!
-Description 2: Capture All-Knowing Parrot alive.
-Description 3: Bring All-Knowing Parrot alive to House Leader (Ace White)!
-Reward: 500 House Points
-Time: 100 Days
-Punishment: None
¡ª
[Chain-Mission: 3/3]
-Mission: Lock
[Note: Pleaseplete the second chain mission to unlock the third mission.]
______
Noa tentatively closed the mission panel. She still didn¡¯t understand why Ace didn¡¯t just tell her beforehand about these strange mission strings and let her deal with it on her own.
¡®Is he testing me?¡¯ Noa thought because this was the only usible exnation, and she wasn¡¯t some four-year-old to not understand this point after seeing the second mission.
Ace naturally had the same intention when he gave this mission to Noa. He wanted to see how she¡¯llplete the task with little clues he gave her through missions.
He could¡¯ve just told her his true intentions and been done with it. But he didn¡¯t because he knew their future was filled with difficulties and thorns and Noa was new to the concept of theft.
That¡¯s why he made these missions to test her adaptation and limatization abilities because a thief knows how to change and react to the situation and remain calm even when the odds were against it.
The first mission was to her patience and fighting skills, which Ace knew she wouldplete with little of a hitch.
This second mission was to test her reconnaissance ability because this All-Knowing Parrot was an information broker and a slippery rat who was wanted all over the Dark Ocean Demon Dukedom!
Many people were searching for All-Knowing Parrot and wanted to tear him into a million pieces because he knew too many of their dirty secrets and his means of collecting information were astonishing and mysterious.
That¡¯s why some people were specifically searching for him to reveal this secret or enve him to work for them. But to this day, no one has ever captured this All-Knowing Parrot, nor did anyone know his real identity because he was too cunning and meticulous.
As for how Buck was in contact with All-Knowing Parrot, even Pablo didn¡¯t know, but Pablo was once a member of Wolf Demon Bandits and one of the vice leaders because of his former high status!
This bandit group was made by Buck to rob caravans of his n¡¯spetitors and made trouble for them, so his own n¡¯s business can flourish, and remain on top of the Iron Demon City business¡¯s food chain.
He also had his father¡¯s full support!
Pablo was rough in his early days and somehow befriend Buck and then roped into Wolf Demon Bandits by shrewd Buck, who knows about Pablo¡¯s status as the youngest son of Silver Iron Demon n¡¯s Leader!
However, what Buck never expected was Pablo would turn out to be trash and even be expelled from Silver Iron Demon n because of his misgivings and early scandals.
In the end, Pablo was kicked out by Buck from the Wolf Demon Bandits as well because of his status as trash, and he was also afraid Pablo would drag him down with his meager strength.
Pablo naturally had no choice but to endure and kept a lid on it. He didn¡¯t dare to reveal Buck¡¯s dark operations, nor can he afford to, and even he exposes Buck. No one would believe trash and exile!
Besides, he can¡¯t kill Pablo openly. Even if he was an exile, he was still the son of the Silver Demon n¡¯s leader!
That¡¯s why Buck left Pablo alone to wallow in his own misery.
However, what Buck didn¡¯t expect was Ace would steal Pablo¡¯s memories and then hunt him down, so he could find the All-Knowing Parrot through him.
When Noa interrogated Buck about the All-Knowing Parrot, she was also astonished and finally understand just how difficult her second mission was.
She even remembered hearing about All-Knowing Parrot from Warden Cane once, but she never paid much attention to the outside world. She wasn¡¯t interested enough, nor did she have time to waste because she wanted to be strong to get her revenge.
¡°How did you contact All-Knowing Parrot?¡± questioned Noa coldly to Buck.
Buck was also feeling perplexed because it seemed his new ¡®master¡¯ knows everything about his operations and secrets.
What he doesn¡¯t understand was how did Noa know about All-Knowing Parrot and him? Because he was always very cautious to never talk about All-Knowing Parrot with anyone and only his two Vice-Leaders close aids know about it which were now dead beside him.
However, he was confident those two dead men didn¡¯t betray him, so who does? Well, the time of mulling over was long gone, and he can¡¯t hide anything from Noa because of the ve contract!
Unless he didn¡¯t want to die garishly, he had to tell the truth about everything.
¡°I-I don¡¯t¡ we always contact through middlemen and I never meet the real person!¡± Buck replied truthfully.
Noa¡¯s eyes narrowed because she knew Buck can¡¯t lie to her and this mean she was chasing after a ghost!
¡°What deals have you made and where is this middleman?¡± Noa coldly asked with a hint of killing intent. She was naturally feeling dispersed now because five hundred house points were on the line!
Buck¡¯s heart trembled when he felt the killing intent. He knew if this ¡®master¡¯ of his didn¡¯t get what she wanted, he was dead!
¡°I-I supply them with goods I plunder from the different caravans, and they sell them for me after takingmissions. As for the middleman, it was always a different person.
¡°I have to leave a message on a special spot to contact them and after seven days a middleman would be there to take the goods from me and after another seven days I received the payment on the same spot from a different person!¡±
Chapter 302
Buck¡¯s heart trembled when he felt the killing intent. He knew if this ¡®master¡¯ of his didn¡¯t get what she wanted, he was dead!
¡°I-I supply them with goods I plunder from the different caravans, and they sell them for me after takingmissions. As for the middleman, it was always a different person.
¡°I have to leave a message on a special spot to contact them and after seven days a middleman would be there to take the goods from me and after another seven days I received the payment on the same spot from a different person!¡±
Pablo quickly told everything about how he contacted and deal with All-Knowing Parrot.
¡°Wasn¡¯t he an information broker?¡± Noa coldly inquired.
Pablo quickly replied, ¡°Yes, he¡¯s an information broker and with money, you can buy any kind of information from him. As long as he knows, he¡¯ll sell it to you, no matter how big of a secret it is!
¡°However, this was just the part of what All-Knowing Parrot does, and only people who made a deal with him know about it. Although he¡¯s infamous for his dark informationwork, he¡¯s also running a ck market!
¡°Those people called it the ¡®Spica Syndicate¡¯ and All-Knowing Parrot seemed to be the leader. Furthermore, this syndicate was backed by many powerful people, mostly criminals and people like me, who wanted to keep their hands clean.¡±
¡®This is troublesome. Who would¡¯ve thought this All-Knowing Parrot is running this dark syndicate all along, and this was probably the reason he wasn¡¯t caught yet.¡¯ Noa mused gloomily, ¡®Should I go back and report it to Leader, he probably didn¡¯t know about this, right?¡¯
Noa was right, Ace didn¡¯t know or ever imagine that the little information broker he wanted to capture was a syndicate boss all along, or he would never make this kind of mission for Noa!
¡®No, if I go back without even trying, the Leader might think to belittle me! I have toplete this mission no matter what, at least I can¡¯t go back until the hundred days¡¯ time limit was over!¡¯ Noa quickly threw the idea of going back to the side and strengthened her resolve.
She has to find the solution to her plight on her own. Furthermore, it¡¯s not like she didn¡¯t have any clues to work with!
¡°I want you to contact this middleman right now!¡± Noa knew if she wanted to reach the All-Knowing Parrot, this was her only way!
¡°Y-yes right away!¡± Buck quickly agreed!
Buck knew he just got a new lease on life, so he quickly moved as he guided Noa toward the other part of therge forest, which was quite barren. There wasn¡¯t anything special about this ce. It looked normal as it could be.
Noa also scanned her surrounding but found nothing special about this ce.
However, Buck seemed to know where he was going, and very soon he stopped in front of the tallest tree in this area. Without waiting for Noa¡¯smand, he took out a small white stone which was engraved with a special rune symbol!
Noa coldly observed without interfering with Buck¡¯s actions. She saw Buck ce the white stone on the slightly hollow tree trunk and the moment the stone touched the tree trunk, a small door appeared!
¡°An illusion array!¡± Noa snorted coldly, with a hint of astonishment in her impassive eyes.
¡°Yes, this is one of the All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s methods ofmunication!¡± Buck nodded in affirmation as he opened the smallpartment and said, ¡°We just have to ce the letter in it, and they¡¯ll know.¡±
¡°How will they know you ce it here, right in the middle of nowhere?¡± Noa naturally had her doubts.
¡°This¡¡± Buck was also perplexed about how he could answer this before he said with a small sigh, ¡°Truth to be told, Master, I didn¡¯t know about this as well, but they will respond in exactly seven days!¡±
¡°Fine, let¡¯s wait here for seven days and if no onees, I¡¯ll ce your head in thatpartment after seven days!¡±
Buck shuddered to hear Noa¡¯s wordsced with killing intent. He knew thisdy wasn¡¯t joking in the least bit!
¡°Please spare me, master!¡± He quickly pleaded for mercy.
Although he was a ve, he could tell Noa wasn¡¯t interested in him from the start. She probably approached him because of All-Knowing Parrot and if she found him useless, he¡¯ll be dead and done!
¡°Shut up!¡± Noa coldly scoffed. If not for Buck¡¯s value, she would¡¯ve killed him right now and gotten rid of this burden!
Buck¡¯s light golden face was ashen, but he didn¡¯t dare to retort, and quietly followed Noa and hide in a hiding ce very close to the tall tree. They could see everything from here while they remain well hidden.
¡®Oh, great deity Baphomet, please save this lowly one just this once, and I¡¯ll stop doing these crimes!¡¯ Buck can now only pray to their great deity, nothing else!
¡ª
While Noa and Buck were hiding not far away from the tall tree, out of both of their sights, a tiny bird only a size of a fist was observing the duo with its intelligent eyes without blinking.
After the little bird ¡®saw¡¯ Noa and Pablo hiding instead of leaving the area, its small beak opened and close a few times, but no sound was made as if it was mute.
However, at this moment when the bird¡¯s beak open and close, far, far away from Iron Demon City inside a spacious room filled with beautiful paintings and decoration, a fairy-like demon was meditating but her mesmerizing eyelids snapped open, revealing two ocean blue eyeballs.
A hint of astonishment shed past her eyes before the slightest killing intent leaked before vanishingpletely as she returned to her tranquil, aloof self.
She mumbled something and a few moments after, a small bird flew inside the beautiful room and sit on her slender icy blue finger.
¡°Iron Demon City hideout has beenpromised. Sent my order. Stop all the deals within that area!¡±
Chapter 303
Days after days passed as Ace waspletely engrossed in training with no hint of time whatsoever. Except time to time rest, he ignored and forget everything.
This was a rare chance for him topletely focus on his skills and techniques without being worried about anything.
On this day, Ace was immersed in Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Manual¡¯s Runic Dismantler Principals, which were the most profound and difficult principles of this manual but also the most useful to Ace.
At this moment, an already finished formation te was hovering between his hands and a set of fifteen rune symbols were slowly breaking loose from the formation te, like they want to slip away from the formation te.
¡°[A new notification is avable!]¡±
However, the system¡¯s impassive voice rang in Ace¡¯s mind at this important juncture, and he lost his focus for an instant and the formation te and symbols turned into dark dust!
¡°Fuck you!¡± Ace cursed in vexation. He was very close to disassembling the five-star formation te, but the system¡¯s voice has distracted him for a moment, and now the entire formation te was destroyed!
This was probably the biggest disadvantage of Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Manual because if he failed to dismantle and recover the materials, thepressed Dismantle Qi will instantly turn the object into dust or sometimes sted it!
This part set aside, Ace just recently found out he was very good in Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler¡¯s Principals for some reason and his progress was monstrous!
With a vexed expression, he opened the notification panel to see just why the system ruined his parade,
=====
[Notification Panel]
______
[Thief House]
-The system had deemed the house leader¡¯s second chain mission failed!
-Reason: Time Limit End
-Punishment: None
====
¡°Hmm?!¡± Ace¡¯s eyebrows knit together when he saw the failure report, which was out of his expectation.
Because in Ace¡¯s point of view, capturing the All-Knowing Parrot should be easy for Noa since she had the help from Buck, but it seemed he either overestimated Noa or underestimated this All-Knowing Parrot!
With an ambivalent expression, Acemanded with a sigh, ¡°Made new mission!¡±
¡ª
Deep inside the Iron Forest,
Noa wore a frosty yet ashamed look in her eyes as she looked in front.
______
[Chain-Mission: 2/3]
¨C Mission: Use the Bandit Leader!
¨C Status: Fail
¨C Punishment: None
¡ª
[Note: Third Chain Mission was erased because of the second mission failure!]
_______
Buck was kneeling beside Noa with an exhausted and listless look in his eyes. He knew he was dead because it¡¯s been over a hundred days since they were searching for All-Knowing Parrot or any clue about him.
After no onee in the first week when they left the letter in the treepartment, Buck knew something was amiss.
However, Noa didn¡¯t kill him and spare him because she didn¡¯t think it was worth it to kill him just yet because Buck was quite useful, since he was the son of the city lord.
Noa wasn¡¯t some mindless killer, and she was extremely intelligent. She just wanted to intimidate Buck before, so he would split out everything if he was hiding.
However, things didn¡¯t go as she nned because even after waiting for thirty days no onee to this ce, and she almost clobbered Buck to death. But she controlled herself and start searching for any other clues with Buck¡¯s help since he knew the forest in the back of his hands.
But as time passed, they found nothing at all and soon her time limit reached an end and resulted in mission failure.
Right now, Noa¡¯s killing intent skyrocketed because she was ashamed of herself for failing this mission and facing Ace after she told him she¡¯ll not disappoint him.
Buck naturally became the target of her killing intent, since it was all happening because Buck can¡¯t contact the All-Knowing Parrot and didn¡¯t even know anything about him.
Buck just kneels there with a deadpan expression, even with this intense killing intent. He had long epted his death from the moment the middleman didn¡¯t show up.
Noa was just about to chop Buck¡¯s head off to vent some of her frustration, but the system¡¯s voice rang again in her mind, telling her there was a new mission, and she quickly open the panel with uncertainty while ignoring Buck for now.
______
[Thief House Leader (Ace White) has issued a Mission]
¡ª
[Thief House Leader Mission]
-Mission: Come Back!
-Description: Bring the bandit leader, Golden Wolf King, back to House Leader!
-Reward: 10 House Points
-Time: 10 Days
-Punishment: -500 House Points
______
¡®He¡¯s angry!¡¯ Noa mused, seeing the mission and punishment, and she felt her heartache for some reason when she thought Ace was angry with her.
However, she quickly ignored that feeling and looked at listless Buck and felt a relief that she didn¡¯t kill him too soon, or she would¡¯ve lost five hundred house points!
¡°Get up, we¡¯re going back!¡± Noa coldly stated.
¡°Hmm? You¡¯re not killing me?¡± Buck was naturally confused since in his eyes Noa was a terrifying existence who¡¯ll kill without batting an eye!
His survival for all these days was already like a dream to him and every day he thought it was hisst day, and now, she again didn¡¯t kill him.
¡°Just get up if you don¡¯t want to lose your tongue!¡± Noa said with a hint of vexation.
¡°Where are we going now, I don¡¯t know any other ce anymore we search the entire forest, just kill me and be done with it!¡± Buck said bitterly with no hint of resistance anymore, he had epted the fact he was a dead man no matter what.
¡°We¡¯re going back to the iron demon city!¡± Noa told the truth to motivate Buck again.
She could¡¯ve used the ve contract to force Buck to move, but she knew once a demon epted its death, it would not move by anything, even if you torture them to no end.
This was the inherited trait of demons!
Even the most cowardly ones can be extremely fearless once they ept death, and that¡¯s why it was almost impossible for other races to enve demons because they¡¯ll submit to no other race!
Chapter 304
¡°We¡¯re going back to the iron demon city!¡± Noa told the truth to motivate Buck again.
She could¡¯ve used the ve contract to force Buck to move, but she knew once a demon epted its death, it would not move by anything, even if you torture them to no end.
This was the inherited trait of demons!
Even the most cowardly ones can be extremely fearless once they ept death, and that¡¯s why it was almost impossible for other races to enve demons because they¡¯ll submit to no other race!
Even Noa only submit to Ace because he had the support of a ¡®God¡¯!
¡°Going back?!¡±
Just as Noa expected, Buck¡¯s listless eyes instantly lit up as his will to live aroused again. Because in Buck¡¯s mind, once they enter the Iron Demon City, anyone would easily recognize him because of his tribe¡¯s traits.
Once those guards at the checking duty saw his wrenched appearance and his tatter clothes, they¡¯ll naturally find it untoward and help him without hesitation because of his status as their lord.
¡°Yes, we¡¯re going back. Now move!¡± Noa coldly said before she started moving toward the ce where the plump demon said to meet him if she wanted a ride back.
Noa knew now she had to be extremely careful since Buck was now going back with her. Nevertheless, she was determined toplete this mission, either by hook or by crook!
¡ª
Inside the underground secret room,
It¡¯s been seven days since Ace had issued the mission to bring Buck back.
Ace can¡¯t seem to focus on his training anymore after he found out Noa has failed the mission, which should be very easy for her.
Furthermore, she wasn¡¯t back yet, and now he was starting to be concerned.
¡°Was I too harsh on her?¡± Ace mumbled as he felt somewhat guilty for giving such a tough mission to Noa and if anything happened to her, he can never forgive himself.
At this moment, the system unexpectedly speaks with a hint of yfulness in her voice.
¡°[The tender-hearted aren¡¯t suited tomand an army, martyrs shouldn¡¯t manage finances, and those who are emotional shouldn¡¯t make decisions!]¡±
¡°Hmm?¡± Ace was baffled by this suddenment. He never heard of anything like this before from the system nor read in books.
But he could tell the deep meaning behind these words, he mumbled after a rigorous mulling, ¡°Who is emotional shouldn¡¯t make decisions? I shouldn¡¯t let emotions cloud my judgment? Is this what the system wanted to tell me?¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes brighten at the very next moment. ¡°System is right. As a leader, I should never let emotions be clouded by judgment. If I went too easy on her, she might think I¡¯m looking down on her!¡±
Just as Ace was deep in thought, his soul-sense tintinnabtion abruptly, snapped him out of his stupor.
While he stayed in this ce for over three months, he seldom sensed any presence here, which clearly implied that this ce was deserted by all the members of the Silver Iron Demon n, or even guards rarelye here to patrol.
With a little focus, Ace found one of the two soul signatures extremely familiar. Thereupon, his lips curled into a satisfactory smile.
¡®I was worried about nothing!¡¯
Ace quickly put on his hundred-face deception mask and active face 6 and again be the silver iron demon, Pablo, while appearingpletely cold and expressionless!
At this moment, the hidden door of the secret chamber suddenly opened and a slender demoness wearing a dark mask gracefully walked inside in front of Ace, and behind her was an unconscious demon wrapped in dark Qi hovering close to her.
Without even a word, this graceful demoness fell on one knee while keeping her head down and said solemnly, ¡°I disappoint you, Leader!¡±
Ace pretended to be impassive as he looked at Noa, but at that moment, a helpless smile appeared on his demonic face as he took off his mask, revealing his real, extremely handsome face.
He said, ¡°I told miss Noa, before please don¡¯t kneel or do anything like this in front of me, I¡¯m not a dictator, just a petty thief. Anyhow, I¡¯m d you¡¯re safely back, and that¡¯s what matters the most.¡±
Before Ace thought to coldly reprimand Noa since she failed her mission and taunt her, but after seeing her and feeling her emotions, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to act ording to his n.
His personality wasn¡¯t like this, and he felt extremely ufortable pulling a fake face in front of his own team member, which just doesn¡¯t go well with his morals and integrity.
Even though he was a thief, he still had his own principles and the system also gave him a clue to just go with his own convictions.
There was no need to be fake or pretend to be someone else. He just had to be himself.
Noa didn¡¯t know if Ace was joking or not, but when she saw his honest smile and clear eyes with no hint of anger or any fakes. She couldn¡¯t help but felt even more guilty that she let him down while he was still treating her with such an attitude.
If it was Warden Cane, he would¡¯ve punished her harshly!
¡°Don¡¯t give me thatplicated look. We¡¯re thieves and if I scold you, it will just as a thief call another a thief.¡± Ace sneered jokingly.
¡°I¡¡± Noa was speechless at Ace¡¯s words and couldn¡¯t help but felt a little warmth in her heart. It was the first time after a long time that someone treated her so warmly.
¡°Released her rewards.¡± Ace transmitted with no hesitation.
Noa also received the notification about thepletion of her mission, and now she had 710 House points, but she wasn¡¯t happy about it in the least bit, since she failed her actual mission.
She still wanted to say something when
¡°Tell me about your garners.¡±
Before Noa could utter anything, Ace solemnly asked, he wanted to know just what goes wrong with her mission!
Chapter 305
After that, Noa told everything that transpired when she was doing her mission and about the details she collected from Buck, who was still unconscious.
Ace was now frowning, as his brows were slightly interwoven together. He was quite astonished when he heard about All-Knowing Parrot in detail and finally understood why Noa had failed her mission.
¡®This All-Knowing Parrot is a syndicate leader; how could it be so easy to track him down, and Noa was not at fault here! It¡¯s me who underestimate the target and gave away a mission with little thought!
¡®But even if this All-Knowing Parrot was a cautious and scheming person, it made little sense! How did he know Noa was hiding there waiting for the middleman and easily avoided her?
¡®There has to be someone or something close by that helps All-Knowing Parrot, and it even avoids Noa¡¯s detection. Well, wee to Mighty Demon Continent, Ace!¡¯ Ace smiled in self-ridicule when he thought about all the possibilities, and he knew anything was possible here.
Truth be told, Ace wanted to capture the All-Knowing Parrot and then assimte his memories, so he could then easily form a dispensed secret informationwork with all the information sources of All-Knowing Parrot.
Noa would be the creator and in charge of this secret organization in his ce, while he¡¯ll remain hidden and continue to cultivate. However, this All-Knowing Parrot has greatly exceeded his expectation, and this character wasn¡¯t just a simple information broker at all.
¡®This person is probably very resourceful and ingenious. It won¡¯t be easy to capture him, but one thing is certain: he¡¯s extremely cautious and cognition. But it also meant this person had very astonishing means to collect information and dispense them without being caught by anyone,¡¯ Ace mused.
The more he thought about this All-Knowing Parrot, the more assured he became he can¡¯t catch him anytime soon and this person might not be in Iron Demon City at all, so he decided to forget about it for now and focus on the things on hand.
Ace said with a deep sigh, ¡°Miss Noa, it was my fault for giving you this impossible mission with brief consideration. Please forgive me!¡±
Noa whiffed her head and said, ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t the leader¡¯s fault at all. This All-Knowing Parrot is just to cleaver and prudence.¡±
She knew Ace was genuinely admitting his mistake and apologizing to her and this much was enough for her, and she was also at fault here since she didn¡¯t report her discoveries sooner and persist in acting on her own ord.
¡°Let¡¯s set this matter regarding All-Knowing Parrot aside, for now, we¡¯ll capture him eventually since this kind of person is bound to make a mistake, or who knows hees after us since he loves to collect information I don¡¯t believe he won¡¯t be interested in us in near future.¡± Ace smiled ambiguously when he said thetter part.
¡°Come after us?¡± Ace¡¯s words naturally baffled Noa since she didn¡¯t understand what her leader was implying.
¡°Heh, you¡¯ll find out soon, but before that, I should deal with the ¡®guest¡¯ you bought here.¡± Ace merely smile as he shifted his focus on the unconscious Buck, who was wrapped in a dark cloak by Noa so no one could identify him.
She had gone through much trouble to bring him back, and only she knows just how difficult it was to move while carrying the son of the city lord!
But she didn¡¯tin since she knew Ace had confidence in her and that¡¯s why he gave her this mission in the first ce.
Noa quickly reported another thing, ¡°Leader, I think the iron demon city guards are searching for him. When I wasing back to the city, that coachman was talking about the disappearance of one of the young masters of the Golden Iron Demon n, and the n leader was madly searching for him. I even saw many guards on the streets on my way back here.¡±
¡°It¡¯s only natural since he¡¯s the n leader¡¯s son and also the living proof of his fraudulent conduct. If someone gets their hands on this information and spread it, the Silver Iron Demon n and Bronze Iron Demon n would get the reason to band together and overthrow the Golden Iron Demon n from the city lord position.¡± Ace sneered scornfully.
He knew about the conflicts between the three founding ns of Iron Demon City and the Golden Iron Demon n was quite strong and had vast connections, so no one dare to easily target it.
But once the news of the Golden Iron Demon n¡¯s dark business leaked, the other two founding ns would not let this opportunity slip by and attacked the Golden Iron Demon n under the pretext of justice mortality, and no one could help the Golden Iron Demon n at that time.
Now, even Ocean Demon Duke will middle into this matter anymore, since it would only be akin to sshing dirty water on himself!
That¡¯s why the Golden Iron Demon n¡¯s leader was madly searching for his son for months after he disappeared from the iron demon forest. But s, how could he have found Buck so easily when Noa was constantly moving all over the Iron forest and her cultivation was only one or two small realms above him!
Ace finally made his move, as he used soul probing from his sitting position, and invisible heavenly soul Qi shot toward the unconscious Buck¡¯s head like an arrow.
Noa also felt the inviable Qi and was astonished when she felt the potency of this Qi. She didn¡¯t know this Soul Qi because she never came into contact with it and was unfamiliar with its traits.
Furthermore, Ace¡¯s soul Qi was heavenly, and it would be quite difficult topletely verify it. Only if he used the worldly soul Qi, then people could specify it.
Noa only considered this was a special ¡®soul search¡¯ skill of Ace which he previously used on Pablo and this Qi was rted to it, so she thought little of it and only observed.
If she knew this was the Soul Qi not just Qiced with some random skill, she will be scared out of her wits because she recognized Ace was a martial cultivator after traveling with him, and it was impossible for someone to possess both types of Qis, even gods might not able to do it!
Ace coolly collected all the memories of Buck and as quickly assimte them. After the sudden incident with Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Manual, his speed of assimting and collecting the memories became even more astonishing.
It was as if his knowledge sea received some kind of boost. He just doesn¡¯t know if it was all his assumptions or reality. Nevertheless, he was happy because it will only boost his strength further.
After a few minutes, Ace finally stopped his soul probing because he got everything out of Buck.
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmer with uncertainty when he saw Buck¡¯s memories about the All-Knowing Parrot and his deals with him. He was telling the truth when he said he never meet the real person and always deal with different middlemen.
What caught Ace¡¯s attention was every middleman sent by All-Knowing Parrot was a demon with no cultivation. One could even say it was mortal!
¡®What a cunning fellow, using mortal demons to do his bidding and even if they got caught, they¡¯ll be negligible and in the eyes of cultivators they were just insignificant bugs they might not even bother to suspect them.¡¯ Ace suddenly reached this conclusion and find this All-Knowing Parrot character even more interesting.
Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t let these thoughts wander too long and said to Noa, ¡°Throw him inside the fifth room through the window at the main resident of Silver Iron Demon n after destroying the ve contract make sure no one finds you, and he won¡¯t wake up too soon as well.¡±
Ace¡¯s lip curled into a mischief smile when he told Noa how to deal with Buck. He didn¡¯t save his face because, in his eyes, every slot was precious, and he didn¡¯t want to fill it with demons.
Since he already had the face of Iron Demon Tribe¡¯s demon, he didn¡¯t want another and these demons¡¯ potential was low, to begin with. He can¡¯t raise their cultivation above their specie, or it would attract too much-unwanted attention.
That¡¯s why he had long decided after taking Pablo¡¯s memories that he would only save faces of high-level bloodline demons or in case of emergencies.
He only had a hundred slots, and he knew better than anyone that for a thief these were far from enough, and he didn¡¯t know when the system shop would upgrade as well, so it was better to be safe than sorry!
Noa felt Ace¡¯s smile of one who wanted to sow discord after she heard his n of dealing with Buck and couldn¡¯t help, but her eyes be bright with a hint of excitement.
¡°I¡¯ll do it right away.¡± She quickly agreed to this task!
Chapter 306
Noa was about to do her task when Ace asked her ambiguously, ¡°Where is his storage ring?¡±
He didn¡¯t get the theft notification at all this time, while he gets the killing notifications, which means Noa never took those dead bandits or Buck¡¯s storage rings. This was the only thing uneptable for Ace.
Noa didn¡¯t know what Ace was getting at, but she still replied, ¡°No, I never took my targets¡¯ belonging whenever I kill them.¡±
Ace pursed his lips and asked, ¡°Then what about him?¡±
¡°He¡¯s a ve, and it¡¯s beneath me to take a ve belonging!¡± Noa replied with no pause.
Noa was telling the truth. All her years of working under Warden Cane, she never took the belonging of her targets even if they were filthy rich because her tribe believe every dead person left their resentment and regrets in their belonging, and they be cursed.
Ace frowned. This was not the thing he wanted to hear and solemnly said, ¡°Tell me if a person called himself an alchemist, but he didn¡¯t know a thing about alchemy. Can he really be considered an alchemist just because he called himself one?¡±
Without waiting for Noa¡¯s answer, he continues sharply,
¡°We are thieves, and it¡¯s our job to steal, or we won¡¯t be thieves if we don¡¯t do what we are supposed to do. Furthermore, don¡¯t forget that you still need to collect materials for your refinement technique and alchemy practice!
¡°Who knows, the ring that guy is wearing might have one or maybe even two key materials for your refinement technique in it, and you¡¯re just going to throw them away with him?
¡°We are thieves, not killers. We have our own morality and integrity! When we do theft, we steal what we fancy without caring about the victim¡¯s feelings. It is a whole another thing if you¡¯re stealing from the poor or bullying the weak. But as long as the target is rich, we just take what we want because these rich bastards deserved it!¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes shone with skepticism when she saw the stern look in Ace¡¯s eyes. She didn¡¯t have words to refute him at this moment because he was telling the truth about her being a thief now or the Thief Assassin was just an empty title.
Although Noa hadpletely epted being a vessel of a ¡®thief goddess¡¯ but her conventions remain the same. She is an arrogant pound woman with integrity and pride.
How could she change herself and throw her integrity away so soon? Everything needs time, after all.
Noa sighed softly before she replied, ¡°I understand I was wrong. Please forgive me, leader!¡±
Ace knew it would take time for Noa toe clean with herself just like him, and he can¡¯t force her to do things against her free will. He can only take things slow.
¡°It¡¯s better that you understand and don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t force you to steal from someone who doesn¡¯t deserve it, nor I ever have done it myself. But that guy indefinitely deserved this and his entire n.
¡°He kills and plunders whoever he deemed a threat to his n¡¯s business, while his father fully supported him. Meanwhile, his n eradicates whichever n poses a threat to them with no hint of remorse.
¡°Death is only mercy for the likes of them, so that¡¯s why we steal their everything and left them to live like dogs afterward. Killing is extremely easy, while thievery is extremely difficult, but with more benefits and self-satisfaction.¡± Ace patiently exin what he thought about the path of a thief.
Although he knew he had no right to teach anyone while he was still just a ¡®trainee thief¡¯, ording to the system. But he didn¡¯t mind sharing his own experience and insight with a fellow thief and house member. This will also fulfill some of his parts as the house leader.
Noa also understood what Ace was trying to tell her, that thievery was not just some hideous path, a crime, or an immoral path. As long as you don¡¯t use it for crime, will it really be thievery?
Besides, this was the world of cultivation, a dog eats dog world, where the rule of the jungle reigns. Thew was just for the weak, while the strong make thews for the weak. This was that simple!
A thief was just a title in the world of cultivation, nothing more, nothing less. Even a martyr can rob someone here out of their treasures under the pretext of salvation and mercy!
With no hint of hesitation, Noa finally strengthen her resolve and took off the storage ring from Buck¡¯s ring finger.
Ace smile faintly in satisfaction when saw this and the next moment heard the system¡¯s notification.
=====
[Thief House Member Noa Night theft sessfully!]
[Open here to check the detail]
[Reward: 30,000 Thief Points]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 1,447,650]
=====
¡®So, if a house member does any stealing I¡¯ll only be rewarded with thief points, no low, middle, or high-level thieveries, and thief symbol also didn¡¯t trigger. I can also see the details of what these members loot. Well, this much is enough, I guess!¡¯
Ace was ted with this discovery and also understand how the thievery did by the thief house members worked. Even without level thieveries, just the boon of Thief Point was enough for Ace.
Noa, in the contrast, also heard a much different notification from Ace.
______
[Theft Sessful!]
[Theft: One filled Low Grade-1 Storage Space Treasure]
[Open to look at further the details]
[Reward: 3,000 House Points]
¡ª
[Noa Night Thief House Point(s): 3,720]
_____
¡®What?! I can earn House Point this way as well!¡¯ Noa¡¯s mind was blown this time when she saw the notification and huge tally of HP with disbelief!
She never thought there was this way to earn house points, and all she had to do was to steal.
Furthermore, when she remembered the other seven bandits she killed without taking their storage rings, huge regret washed over her, and she almost cried.
Ace also saw the panel in front of Noa and couldn¡¯t help but narrowed his eyes with a hint of astonishment, ¡®Three Thousand house points are equal to thirty thousand thief points and the exchange rate is the same as exchange shop. Well, this also means the more house points they earned, the ten-time thief points I¡¯ll get!¡¯
As for the reward of house points Noa got, Ace wasn¡¯t much shocked about it because it would be quite unfair to Noa if she got nothing after stealing the other and the system would do anything to motivate the house members to theft.
Noa eximed as she quickly told Ace about her new discovery. In the end, she was very grateful to Ace and said, ¡°Thank you, leader, to show me the correct way, or I might miss this tremendous opportunity!¡±
¡°Don¡¯t mention it, we¡¯re fellow house members, after all. Just a reminder, make sure you steal everything before the target was killed, or you won¡¯t get any HP from dead.¡± Ace quickly gave her some pointers, since this was also rted to his TP.
Noa attentively listen and realization drew to her when Ace told her about the dead person thing.
She was full of gratitude and praise for Ace and quickly represent the storage ring she just took from Buck to Ace and said, ¡°Please ept this as a token of my gratitude, leader!¡±
¡°Just keep it, there is an unconditional rule between thieves, finders¡¯ keepers!¡± Ace rejected the storage ring without hesitation because it was Noa¡¯s score and needed it right now.
Besides, he can always steal more.
Ace¡¯s words moved Noa and didn¡¯t push any further. She still said if Ace ever needed anything from the storage ring, he can just tell her, and she¡¯ll give him with no hesitation.
After this brief event, Noa promptly took the unconscious Buck toward the main estate of Silver Iron Demon n, which wasn¡¯t too far from their secret hideout with ecstasy.
After finding out about the secret to earning fast house points, she wanted to steal more now, and all those moralities of her turned into smoke!
Ace didn¡¯t stop her and just told her to be careful and don¡¯t target a powerful person. One reason for not stopping her was, so she could earn some experience in the art of theft, while the other reason was obviously free thief points.
Furthermore, Noa was as strong as the first elders of the three founding ns of iron demon city. That¡¯s why Ace wasn¡¯t to worry about her safety. She can also hide here if things go awry and no one will be able to find her!
After Noa left, Ace was still deep in thought about all the information he got from Buck.
In the end, he sighed softly while muttering to himself, ¡°I¡¯ll have to increase Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Manual¡¯s principals to at least high grade one before making an appearance. Stealing here is too dangerous. But once I start, heh, it will be the day for Sky Stealer¡¯s entrance into mighty demon continent!¡±
Chapter 307
Six more months pass in a sh,
Ace remain enthralled in his training and he did not know what was going on in the outside world.
But in these six months, the Iron Demon City was not as peaceful as it was six months ago because of some shocking events.
The first event took ce six months ago when the missing son of Golden Iron Demon n¡¯s leader was found in Silver Iron Demon n¡¯s First Miss room!
Rumor has it, the n leader of Silver Iron Demon nearly killed his own daughter and Buck in a fit of rage and even spat mouthfuls of blood. If it wasn¡¯t for all elders, stopping him, Buck and the first Miss of the silver iron demon n would be chopped into eight pieces of this infidelity.
In the end, the city lord himself had toe and take away his son, while alsopensating with a marriage proposal to the enraged Iron Silver Demon n for his Son¡¯s ¡®mistake¡¯!
The n Leader had no choice but to take this action or the entire Iron Demon City would be turned into a mess because Silver Iron Demon n was about to go to war with Golden Iron Demon.
The Golden Iron n Leader Knew it was not worth it to engage in a war for his good for nothing son and quickly agree to the marriage of two ¡®lovers¡¯ even though he wasn¡¯t afraid of war, but he was afraid of the Bronze-Iron Demon n poking its nose in this matter as well.
This news naturally became the hot topic of the entire Iron Demon City and even spread to close cities of Ocean Demon Dukedom. As for why this be such a hot topic it was because the first Miss of the silver-iron demon n was psychologically retarded, if not for her father doting on her because of his dead first wife, she would¡¯ve been dead long ago or abandoned in some dumped.
No one knows what Buck Silver saw in her, but people could onlyment while saying love is truly blind.
This shocking scandal was not enough. Another piece of news came from the duke¡¯s city of Ocean Demon Dukedom, which was one of Demon Duke Livy¡¯s subordinates who had be deserted and escaped with something very precious to Demon Duke.
Although the item was not made public, the culprit was a Night Demon, and a huge bounty was ced on her head and favor from Ocean Demon Duke Mansion, which stir those local bosses and bounty hunters alike.
However, these two events were nothingpared to the third one inside the Iron Demon City. This piece of information was a thief on loss inside the Iron Demon City!
First, no one took an interest in this thief because this thief victim was an insignificant character and those demons only think this thief will be confiscated eventually by the city guards. Besides, everyone thought this was just a random vagabond demon who was tired of living and stripping off trouble by stealing since this was not new.
However, everyone finally took notice when another theft happened and this time this thief robbed an extreme renewal merchant off his storage ring while cutting off his entire hand!
This time, the city guard¡¯s post had to take this matter seriously as they started skimming through the city to find the daring thief. However, this was still not enough to arouse those big wigs¡¯ interest.
Another thievery happened. This time it was the hand of the eldest son of the Bronze Iron Demon n¡¯s leader!
This was thest straw that broke the camel¡¯s back, and the entire bronze-iron demon n denounce the vile thief and vow to chop his head and feed it to pigs. Even those personal guards of the bronze-iron demon n got involved in the mass search for the thief.
However, not only did they not find the thief, but the robbery incidents also didn¡¯t stop.
First, it was only one or two times a month when the thief strike, but as the time passed it became four or five times the next month as more and more hands were chopped off!
The Iron Demon City was finally thrown into turmoil and people started to vent their anger on the Golden Iron Demon n, who can¡¯t even capture a mad thief and people didn¡¯t feel safe on the street anymore.
Because this thief¡¯s method was too frightening, as all of its victims could never see the thief¡¯s shadow before their hands were chopped off.
No one knows where this thiefe from, but it never killed anyone, and all of its victims were rich people of the Iron Demon City. People even called this thief ¡®Hand Thirsty Thief¡¯ since it always chopped off its victim¡¯s hand.
Every person was now afraid of wearing a storage ring on their finger, and some started to even stop wearing them and hide them so the Hand Thirsty Thief won¡¯t go after them.
However, the thieveries never stopped, nor could anyone identify the thief. The biggestmotion caused by this thief was when it chopped off the hand of an Elder of Golden Iron n!
This news caused a sensation and all the people wanted to see who this daredevil truly was, but s, even after six months, no one could find this thief, and it was akin to a dark legend of Iron Demon City!
¡ª
Inside a spacious room, many demons with different colors of skins and horns were sitting around arge triangr table.
One thing that was astonishinglymon to these demons was that their expressions were gloomy and ugly, which made the atmosphere of this room strangling and dark.
Three tall and burly demons were sitting on each edge of this triangr table with grim faces as if someone had just murdered their fathers.
¡°We, the Silver Iron Demon n, purpose an entire city survey for capturing this bastard psychopath who loves chopping hands off innocents!¡± the burly demon on one edge of the triangr table with shining silver skin sternly spoke.
¡°Hmph! Uriah, do you think we didn¡¯t think of it? Let me tell you when you guys were sitting over your asses, we, the Bronze Iron Demon n, already scan throw the entire city twice!¡± This time, the dark bronze skin demons sitting on the second edge of the table rebuke with a hint of fury.
¡°Heh, everyone here knows that Bronze Iron Demon n was the first one who start searching for this madman but failed miserably and even lose ¡®Eighteen Hands¡¯ in the meantime. I¡¯m wondering if the Bronze Iron Demon n is evenpetent anymore.¡± Uriah scoffed disdainfully.
Uriah was the leader of the Silver Iron Demon n, while this bronze-iron demon was the leader of the Bronze Iron Demon n, Trey.
¡°Uriah, let¡¯s get this over with once and for all!¡± Trey instantly shot up as his bronze old face was fuming with intense fury.
¡°Fine with me. I hate your bronze face the most!¡± Uriah also stood up as his intense aura intensified!
¡°Enough!¡± The demon with bright golden skin on the third edge of the triangr table finally spoke as a suffocating mountain-like aura released inside the room, ¡°We¡¯re here to discuss the matter regarding the mad thief and how to deal with it. If we keep fighting among ourselves, we¡¯ll be just doing him a favor!¡±
This was naturally the leader of the Golden Iron Demon n, and the City Lord of the Iron Demon City, Elian Golden Iron!
Both the leader of silver and bronze didn¡¯t have a choice, but to stop since Elian was telling the truth, and getting rid of this mad thief was more important than their personal vendetta at this moment.
Elian didn¡¯t beat around the bush anymore, since he knew those two old demons have a deep grudge against each other for a long time, and they can¡¯t stand the sight of each other for more than a few breaths before they start fighting.
He said coolly, ¡°I know everyone has lost something to that mad thief, and he¡¯s bing bolder and bolder with each passing day. Just today, he cut off five hands of my golden iron demon nsmen not far from our territory.
¡°Now demons were afraid of even leaving their houses or opening their shops. The merchants also stop trading with our city. They called it too dangerous and doubt and question our credibility to provide a safe environment for their business.
¡°News of this has already reached the other cities in the Ocean Demon Dukedom, and almost everyone isughing at our Iron Demon Tribe. Just yesterday, I received the letter from Demon Duke Livy himself¡¡± At this point, Elian stopped as his expression was grave.
Everyone inside the room eximed while they were looking at Elian with incredulity.
¡°What did Duke Livy say?¡± Uriah grimly asked. He knew nothing woulde good from this.
Everything inside the room was patiently waiting for Elian¡¯s answer!
Chapter 308
¡°What did Duke Livy say?¡± Uriah grimly asked. He knew nothing woulde good from this.
Everything inside the room was patiently waiting for Elian¡¯s answer!
It would be a lie if these people inside this room say they didn¡¯t know about Livy¡¯s character and the way he does things. He was ruthless and conclusive. He would tolerate no one who gets in his way andpletely root out the problem in a way one could never even imagine.
That¡¯s why everyone in the Ocean Demon Dukedom was afraid of Duke Livy, and they didn¡¯t dare tomit crimes in bored daylight, or they know Duke Livy will get rid of them, and they won¡¯t even know when and how!
Right now, the secondrgest city of Ocean Demon Dukedom was bing like a ghost city because of a mad thief and the Iron Demon Tribe didn¡¯t seem to handle this problem well.
How could Duke Livy remain idle while Iron Demon Tribe ruining the Ocean Demon Dukedom¡¯s peace and reputation? For demon dukes, nothing was more important than their reputation and power, or the consequences will be dire!
Elian sighed softly before he said tonelessly, ¡°Duke Livy, his highness, only said one sentence: The Iron Demon Tribe has one month to capture and publicly execute the mad thief or there will be a challenger!¡±
The room was as quiet as a graveyard when they heard Elian¡¯s words.
How could they don¡¯t know the hidden meaning behind the word challenger?
The entire demon continent knows anyone can challenge a high-ranking noble demon for its title, as long as they had power.
However, what local demons don¡¯t know was that these challenges can be stopped if you have a powerful backer and get rid of the challenger before it could even reach your doorsteps or just the influence was enough to intimidate the challenger to think twice before challenging someone with a powerful backer.
Iron Demon Tribe was second to the Dark Ocean Demon Tribe all these years because they were loyal and valuable to the Dark Ocean Demon Dukedom, so no one dare to challenge them for their Marquess title as long as they didn¡¯t want to be assassinated by the Ocean Duke Mansion!
However, now that Iron Demon Tribe was making a mess in the Ocean Demon Dukedom, Duke Livy decisively decided to get rid of them by using another¡¯s sword while reaming under the pretext of rules!
Uriah pursed his lips and said, ¡°This is simply bullying! We¡¯re supplying the precious ores for generations to the Ocean Demon Mansion. How could His Highness, Livy, do this to us?! Did any other tribe have the ability to find those ores better than us?!¡±
Trey, for the first time, nodded his head in agreement with Uriah and said with pursed lips, ¡°Brother Elian, can you please ask His Highness to be lenient for this once, and we¡¯ll definitely get rid of this problem!¡±
¡®Sigh¡¡¯ Elian sighed before he shook his head and said with a hint of anger in his voice, ¡°I already sent an envoy as soon as got the message two days ago, however, the envoy didn¡¯t return which means he¡¯s dead and this also conveyed His Highness rejected our plead!¡±
A chill run down everyone¡¯s spine when they heard this, they know this matter was now officially out of their hands. They could now either find the mad thief or prepared themselves for the fight to retain their status!
However, everyone in this room knows that once the Ocean Demon Duke started pulling the strings, the challenge won¡¯t stop after a single challenger. They would keep getting them every month after the grace period until they werepletely exhausted and annihted!
This was the scariest part about these challenges and the easiest way for the higher authorities to get rid of the problem without getting their hands dirty or ruining their prestige!
Although this rule was set by the ancestors of the demon race to make demons more ruthless, strong, and gain battle experience. However, some high-level demons use it for their own advantage, and Duke Livy was one of such demons!
¡°I really prefer the Old Ocean Demon Duke. His highness was virtuous and righteous, even His High Highness de Demon King praise him for this. But his son ispletely opposite!¡± Trey sighed whilementing wryly.
No one rebutted him because Trey was telling the truth. If Old Ocean Demon Duke was here, he would¡¯ve never cornered them like this or even help them deal with this problem.
But s, the Old Ocean Demon Duke retired over a hundred years ago and now was one of the most trusted aids of de Demon King in Demon King Castle!
¡°Enough, we still have a month. That¡¯s why I summon all the Iron Demon Tribe high-ranking members here. I want everyone to put aside our past grievance for once and work together as a united Iron Demon Tribe like our ancestors once did when they won the Demon Marquess Title for our Iron Demon Tribe!¡± Elian sternly said as a cold glint shed past his eyes.
Elian was probably the most anxious about this matter than the entire Iron Demon Tribe because he was used to remaining in authority and riches. Moreover, he had many dark secrets which would be revealed once his position as the City Lord was gone. He would rather die than let this happen.
He even let his son marry a psycho without even batting an eye, even though he knew someone had framed his son just to keep his position secure.
So how could he let some mad thief destroy it all?
¡°We¡¯ll search every house and skim every living thing with powerful anti-disguise treasures thoroughly, whether the other likes it or not. Tell them it¡¯s an emergency, so cooperate, or they¡¯ll throw into the dungeons for ten years. If they still don¡¯t cooperate, kill them without mercy. Don¡¯t even leave the sewers, I want every corner of this city search, don¡¯t even leave a brink!¡± Elian pointedly ordered everyone in the room.
No one retorted if this was another time, they would debate to no end, but now was not the time to get something out of this. Their entire tribe¡¯s future was on the line, so no one dare to be neglected!
Everyone quickly left the meeting room after discussing some future details to hunt down the mad thief!
After the other ns were left, only the Golden Iron n remain in the meeting room.
One of the elders finally spoke at this moment with a concerned tone, ¡°My Lord, w-what if we¡ didn¡¯t find the mad thief in a month?¡±
The reaming two elders remain silent and wait for Elian¡¯s reply because they also had the same question.
Elian pursed his lips and gloomily said, ¡°We¡¯ll just have to make someone mad thief and execute him then!¡±
Those elders were clearly displeased with this answer because it wasn¡¯t a solution to their problem. It would only make things more difficult for them if that mad thief appeared again after the execution of the fake-made thief. It was more of a time bomb!
They would be in huge trouble if that would happen because then Demon Duke Livy didn¡¯t even need the other¡¯s knife to end them, he will do it himself since he would have a proper reason to!
¡°Then make sure you find that bastard!¡± Elian finally snapped and tremendous pressure descend inside the room.
He wasn¡¯t an idiot, and he knew the consequences of deceiving a demon duke-level existence, but what can he do? He was determined to save his own neck, and if he can¡¯t, he¡¯ll drag down the whole Iron Demon Tribe with him!
Elian was just that ruthless!
¡ª
While the whole Iron Demon Tribe was searching for the mad thief high and low, the person itself was currently inside a secret underground chamber!
This mad thief was obviously Noa!
After finding out about the benefits of stealing, she hesitated no more and start her quest of collecting the House Point through stealing.
Her stealing ground was naturally the Iron Demon City.
As she stole for the first few times, she finally gets the gits of it and found her own unique method of stealing, which was by simply cutting off the victim¡¯s hands since she didn¡¯t have Ace¡¯s pick-pocket!
This was the direct and easiest way, and it was very much to her liking as well. However, she didn¡¯t just rob anyone, she first observed her victims and judge if they deserved it or not and then made her move.
Noa even knows people were calling her Hand Thirsty Thief and Mad Thief, but she never cares about these names and simply does her own thing.
After six months, she finally stopped because finding a victim has be more and more difficult as the Iron Demon City became like an abandoned city, and it was because of her!
Nevertheless, she had achieved her goal for doing all this, which was naturally House Points!
¡°House Status!¡± She eagerly opened her status to look at the changes!
Chapter 309
¡°House Status!¡± She eagerly opened her status to look at the changes.
______
[Thief House Member Status]
[House Member: Noa Night (Female)]
[Race: Demon]
[Bloodline: Night Demon (Grade-1 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
¡ª
[Thief Genre: Thief Assassin (Novice)]
[House Rank: Normal Member (Upgradeable)]
[Next Rank [Old Member]: 24/100 Thieveries]
¡ª
[Martial Cultivation: Silver River Core Stage of Qi River Core Realm]
[Talent: Low (Upgradeable)]
¡ª
[Technique & Skills: 0]
¡ª
[House Point(s): 12,800]
¡ª
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 0]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
¡ª
[House Shop: Thief Assassin]
______
Noa¡¯s eyes glisten with ecstasy when she looked at her slightly advanced status. Compared to the first time, it was more detailed and her House Points were thousands of times more.
¡°I can finally buy the Demonic Foundation Reset Pill and Thief Assassin Principles Cultivation Technique at once!¡± Noa muttered to herself.
Noa knows the moment she took the Demonic Foundation Reset Pill, her strong cultivation base of Qi silver river core will be instantly gone, and she¡¯ll have to cultivate again.
That¡¯s why she first collected plenty of House Points, so she could buy the soul cultivation technique as well with the foundation reset pill. This way she doesn¡¯t have to worry about any thief point for some time.
Furthermore, she had to rely on Ace for protection when she be weak, and she felt extremelyplicated about this because she¡¯ll be a burden to him. This was one of the reasons she still didn¡¯t take the pill, and she was waiting for him toplete his cultivation season before taking the next step.
Noa¡¯s dark eyes darted toward Ace, who was currently sitting while his eyes were closed just like a statue. She seldom came to this secret chamber in these six months, and every time she found Ace in the same position.
But she was puzzled about the small dark ash mound in the corner of this secret room. She clearly remembered this was much bigger than thest time she saw it three months ago.
¡®Just what is the leader doing?¡¯ Noa mused.
Anyhow, she didn¡¯t disturb him nor did she go out anymore because the entire city was now searching for her, and she knew this was going to draw some unwanted attention, especially from Duke Livy, who paid extra attention to his territory.
Besides, she wanted to quickly cultivate in soul path and start practicing the alchemy when she reset her cultivation because this way she¡¯ll learn the soul Qi control as well, which helped her tremendously.
She had already nned all this and now was just waiting for Ace!
Ace, on the other hand, did not know that Noa was here, nor he could feel his surroundings because he was deeply immersed in the soul-piercing bullet skill for ten days and even forget about his surroundings.
Two more days passed and finally, Ace¡¯s eyes sprang open, zing with soul Qi, and for a moment, ten soul projectiles appeared behind him before vanishing into the air when he blinked.
His lips curled upward when he felt he could now condense ten soul bullets at once with middle-level mastery, and they were much more powerfulpared with the low-level soul-piercing bullets!
Ace wanted to test this skill, but he knew this was a killer move, a trump card, not something he could try randomly. He finally noticed Noa looking at him with curiosity and anticipation not far away from him.
He smiled faintly and said, ¡°You¡¯re finally back.¡±
Ace would get a thievery notification asionally, which was also a kind of report that Noa was doing fine, so he wasn¡¯t much worried about her.
¡°Yes¡¡± Noa softly replied.
¡°How much time has passed? What about the outside world? Did something happen while I was in seclusion?¡± Ace did not know how long he was training and what was happening outside.
¡°Leader had been in seclusion for over six months and besides some minor issues, everything is normal outside. The noteworthy thing is that Duke Livy had posted a huge bounty on me a few months ago while there wasn¡¯t any word about Leader and Golden Iron Demon n and Silver Iron Demon n didn¡¯t fall out with each other as Leader think they would after finding that bandit in his daughter¡¯s room.¡± Noa quickly reported the big incident to Ace, while clearly hiding her deeds.
Ace quietly listened and let Noa finish her report before saying, ¡°I underestimated that Demon Duke Livy. He knew if he said anything about a foreign intruder escaping his imprisonment, his reputation would take a tremendous blow and probably be punished by higher authorities. That¡¯s why he was trying to capture you, so he could find me through you.
¡°As for the Silver Iron n and Golden Iron n, this was within my expectation. I just wanted to see the bottom line of the Silver Iron n¡¯s Leader while also measuring the Golden Iron n¡¯s Leader¡¯s patience and greed for his position. I had to say both of them did well.¡±
Ace wasn¡¯t looking flustered at all. On the contrary, he smiled ambiguously, as if everything was going ording to his n.
Noa had guessed this much on her own, but she didn¡¯t know what Ace was trying to achieve here, but she didn¡¯t ask since he didn¡¯t tell her.
She quickly changed the subject and report her own matter. ¡°Leader, I want to reset my cultivation. What¡¯s your thought about this?¡± She was enthusiastically waiting for this but didn¡¯t dare to do it without finding Ace¡¯s opinion on it.
¡°Hmm?¡± Ace was naturally astonished at hearing this and questioned, ¡°Did you collect enough house points for both pill and cultivation technique?¡±
He didn¡¯t think Noa would be so quick to collect over ten thousand house points.
¡°Yes, I have over twelve thousand house points at this moment!¡± Noa quickly told the truth to Ace, it wasn¡¯t a point in hiding from him at all.
Ace didn¡¯t quickly agree to her request and mulled. He knew if Noa reset her foundation, she¡¯ll lose all of her power with it and had to cultivate it again.
But this will take away his powerful helper for a while. Yet he didn¡¯t want to stop her, since it would be too selfish of him and akin to blocking Noa¡¯s path. He knew the sooner she reset her foundation, the better it was for both of them.
¡®What the hell I¡¯m hesitating for? I was always a loner, and I can¡¯t depend on others too much.¡¯ Ace hesitated no more and quickly said with a confident smile, ¡°Just go for it, you don¡¯t have to worry about me. I can protect both of us.¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes lit up in delight when she heard Ace¡¯s words, but she still hesitantly asked, ¡°A-are you sure?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry if I wasn¡¯t confident. Do you think I¡¯ll let you do this? Besides, I¡¯m not nning to go outside anytime soon.¡± Ace chuckled.
Noa finally felt assured when she heard Ace¡¯s words. She knew this ce was perfect to stay hidden as long as they wanted and no one will be able to find them because these special stones block all the Qi fluctuations from both inside and outside.
With no dy, Noa fell to her knees and she eagerly ¡®prayed¡¯ out loud, ¡°Goddess, please grant me the Demonic Foundation Reset Pill with your grace!¡±
Ace was speechless as his eyes spasmed seeing her praying posture and felt a little bit embarrassed about it since he was the one who guide her this way.
¡°Ahem¡ you don¡¯t have to kneel or pray out loud like this. Just think, in your mind, and the goddess will grant your wish as long as you had the house points.¡± Ace coughed to hide his embarrassment and corrected her.
¡°Oh¡¡± Noa nodded in understanding since it was her first time buying anything from the shop.
______
[Purchased has been sessful!]
[Demonic Foundation Reset Pill has been delivered to House Member storage space treasure!]
¡ª
[Noa Night House Point(s): 2,800]
______
Noa promptly looked inside her storage ring and found a dark crystal pill with a strange red pattern on it.
¡®This is simply magical!¡¯ She was awed by the way to goddess delivery method. She didn¡¯t even feel a thing when her storage ring was fiddled.
Ace also saw the pill in Noa¡¯s hand and knew she had already purchased the foundation reset pill from the system sessfully.
He has never seen those red patterns before and mused, ¡®They look like rune symbols, but not at the same time, and just simple lines.¡¯
Anyhow, Ace didn¡¯t dwell on this too much since alchemy wasn¡¯t his forte and he was just a tier-one rune crafter right now. How could he scrutinize something from the system?
Noa said fervently, ¡°Leader, I¡¯m going to start!¡±
Ace merely nodded with some expectation in his eyes. He also wanted to see just how will an impossible to reset foundation will reset!
Noa quickly rxed and calmed her mind, and finally, she took off her mask!
Chapter 310
Noa said fervently, ¡°Leader, I¡¯m going to start!¡±
Ace merely nodded with some expectation in his eyes. He also wanted to see just how will an impossible to reset foundation will reset!
Noa quickly rxed and calmed her mind, and finally, she took off her mask!
Ace¡¯s eyes were instantly lit up when he saw Noa was going to remove her mask. Although he never cared about her appearance, the human was inherently curious and Noa never took off her mask before, even when shepletely trusted Ace.
That¡¯s why this aroused Ace¡¯s interest, not in the wrong way, though.
However, when Noa¡¯s mask finally left her face, Ace¡¯s eyes instantly contrasted with a hint of shock before they turned icy.
He could clearly see Noa¡¯s face waspletely¡ disfigured as if someone had beaten it with iron knuckles. It wasn¡¯t natural!
Noa suddenly felt killing intent from Ace and finally snapped out of the excitement of getting the Foundation Reset Pill. When her eyesnded on Ace, who was coldly looking at her with a hint of killing intent and anger, and then on the dark mask in hand.
She finally understood. In her hysteria, she had forgotten about her face and took off the mask, so she could take the Foundation Reset Pill.
With panic-stricken eyes, she put the mask back on and lower her head in shame and clinch a corner of her robe tightly. The excitement of getting the Foundation Reset Pill was nowpletely reced with trepidation, shame, bitterness, and loss¡
¡®Now, he¡¯ll think I¡¯m a monster and disgust me¡¡¯ Gloomy thoughts enter her head as her heart turned colder and colder.
Ace¡¯s voice rang at this moment, filled with fury. ¡°Who did this?¡±
Noa was astonished by Ace¡¯s unnatural reaction because she would think he would say, ¡®you¡¯re ugly or disgusting¡¯ or ¡®don¡¯t take off your mask again¡¯ or ¡®carry on I¡¯m going to do my thing¡¯, she thought Ace would avoid her from now on.
However, his words were the least she expected, and he even seemed furious about it, not disgusted or afraid.
¡°I-I¡ I¡ I did it myself!¡± Noa finally collected her courage and uttered.
Ace was shocked hearing this and couldn¡¯t help but asked, ¡°But why?¡±
¡°To protect me from Livy because of his habit of making beautiful women his ythings¡ after finding out he was the actual murderer of my tribe, I-I use poison on my face andpletely destroyed it. So, he would not take an interest in me!¡± Noa¡¯s voice was icy cold, filled with deep resentment and killing intent when she told her darkest secret.
Ace closed his eyes, hearing this, and felt aggravated by her words and darning action. He knew every woman loved her appearance the most, whether it was human or demon, and to destroy it with their own hands it¡¯ll take mountainous courage and decisiveness and the heart of stone.
¡®Sigh¡¡¯ Ace sighed with a hint of sorrow. He again underestimated Noa¡¯s resolve, and the length she was willing to go for revenge.
Noa slightly trembled, hearing Ace¡¯s sigh. She didn¡¯t dare to look at him anymore, afraid she¡¯ll see abhorrence in his eyes. She never thought this day woulde when he felt regretted her own decision so much that she wanted to die.
Before she never thought about finding someone and opening up to that person, she thought of herself as a heartless person exempt from any emotion. But after meeting Ace, she felt she was wrong all along and was afraid of showing him her own appearance.
She even wanted to heal her face, but she knows better than anyone the poison she used had no cure. She did it so if one day Livy showed his fangs he¡¯ll be helpless and can do nothing.
But s, now she was deeply regretting her own action. s, there was no pill for regret in this world!
Ace definitively said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about we¡¯ll get revenge for you soon and cure your face, I promise.¡±
He wasn¡¯t someone who dwells on these things much. Besides, he knew many herbs can heal this kind of thing.
Although he had heavenly healing pills from the system, he didn¡¯t give them to Noa because he wasn¡¯t sure if any other being other than him can take those pills. After all, they were filled with heavenly Qi.
Noa was a little moved, hearing Ace¡¯s words. There wasn¡¯t any hint of malice in them. With some courage, she finally looked at Ace and find his expression was the same, with not a sliver of aversion to her.
She was moved and said, ¡°Thank you.¡± From the bottom of her heart.
Even though she knew Ace was probablyforting her since he didn¡¯t know how powerful the poison was, she still felt moved and warm in her heart.
¡°You can take the pill without worry.¡± Ace quickly changed the topic since he didn¡¯t want her to wallow in her misery anymore.
¡°Yes!¡± Noa nodded slightly.
But she turned around this time. Although she could tell Ace wasn¡¯t disgusted by her disfigured appearance, though she was!
Ace didn¡¯t stop her and silently observed.
Noa again took off her mask with resolute eyes and took the dark pill without stopping!
The foundation reset pill instantly turned into a dark mist and spread into Noa¡¯s body thereafter.
She yelped in surprise before her eyes opened wide with horror because she could feel her martial space trembling as the dark mist began to envelop it.
Even though she wanted to scream, she didn¡¯t, she was a strong will woman and this much pain was nothing to her. She had endured far worse.
Ace also notice the changes in Noa¡¯s soul fluctuations and her Qi also turned extremely chaotic
¡®It¡¯s already started.¡¯ Ace knew the pill has taken effect.
He didn¡¯t know how much longer it will take to reset someone¡¯s foundation from the Qi river core realm to null, but it seemed extremely painful. He felt quite lucky to have both soul and martial foundations and cultivate both at the same time.
After observing for a while, Ace finally notice the change in Noa¡¯s aura, which was slowly starting to decrease little by little as if her Qi was leaking out of her body.
Ace solemnly looked at Noa. He could hear her teeth clenching together and slightly trembling back. He knew he could do nothing or interfere in this process. She had to endure it on her own to the end.
Seeing Noa was doing fine for now and this process will take some time, he decided to practice rune crafting in the meantime. It was the only thing he didn¡¯t practice aftering to the mighty demon continent, and he was thoroughlycking in his aspect at this moment.
Furthermore, now that the system was upgraded, he can easily make a worldly talisman with TP. But those talismans were not enough here, and he had to increase his rank of rune crafting as soon as possible.
Soon, Ace was engrossed in the mysteries of Runic Manifest Eyes Stage of Runic Eyes, which was the first part of the Heavenly Rune Crafter Foundational Manual.
This stage was only low-level mastery, and he had this feeling that he¡¯ll be soon reached the intermediate mastery of it.
¡ª
Just like this, three-day passed. On this day, Ace¡¯s eyes snapped open and shimmered with a golden hue.
¡®I finally enter the Intermediate Level in Runic Manifest Eyes stage. It goes far smoother than I predicted. But I still can¡¯t see through this room!¡¯ Ace looked around and saw nothing with his newly advanced runic eyes technique.
¡®Maybe I¡¯m really thinking too much.¡¯ Ace shook her head and stop using the runic eye technique.
He again observed Noa with his soul-shattering eyes and was astonished because her aura was now of someone in the flowing Qi river realm! She also looked much better and in control.
¡®It seemed she endured the worst of it.¡¯ Ace nodded in satisfaction and relief.
He again engrossed himself in the second part of the rune crafter foundation manual with no more worry.
¡ª
Seven more days sh by,
On this day, Noa¡¯s martial space finally shrinks into nothingness, which was the clear sign of her realm entering the Qi Gates Realm!
Shockingly, Noa had eight foundation tes, which quickly turned into eight Qi gates. However, this time the process of resting her cultivation path intensified greatly as one after another Qi gate started to shatter!
Noa felt blood-curdling pain from every part of her body and when the final Qi gate turned to nothingness, her eyes snapped open, and she vomited a huge amount of dark blood.
Ace¡¯s eyes snapped open at this time as he frowned, seeing the small puddle of dark blood in front of Noa, and asked, ¡°What happened?¡±
Noa quickly calm herself and listlessly said with a hint of excitement in her voice, ¡°The process was sessful!¡±
Chapter 311
One year passed in a sh¡
The Iron Demon City finally stabilized after the public execution of ¡®Mad Thief¡¯ ten months ago, and it was a shocking event when the people find out the mad thief was a vagabond demon who hadmitted many crimes before.
After the problem with the mad thief was ¡®solved¡¯, the Iron Demon City returned to its peaceful state and former glory as of the second-biggest city of the Ocean Demon Dukedom.
Furthermore, for this kind of thing never happened again, the City Lord Elian Gold Iron publicly pledged he¡¯ll eradicate the criminal¡¯s entire n and evenpensate the victims of Mad Thief.
Anyone could tell the City Lord was serious because, after the execution, the patrolling guards didn¡¯t stop patrolling the streets as if they were still searching for the mad thief.
Everyone was d about this, and they felt more secure than ever.
This was how the matter regarding the mad thief ended, while people started to forget about him. But he was still a legend, people of iron demon city dread and abhor him!
¡ª
Inside the Underground Secret Basement,
Ace and Noa werepletely oblivious to the events outside and engrossed in their things.
Both of their improvements were substantial, especially Ace, who waspletely monstrous in this aspect.
Noa was also pretty good. She had already bought the Thief Assassin Principal¡¯s Technique from the shop and was shocked when she found out that she could open nine soul gates and establish a nine-gate foundation, which was considered legendary and perfect in this world!
The cultivation technique which can establish a nine-gate foundation was all in the royal zone or the Demon King¡¯s Castle and considered priceless treasures.
Meanwhile, Noa had a perfect soul cultivation technique which was even rarer than a perfect martial cultivation technique even Royal Zone might not have a perfect Soul Cultivation Technique.
However, what Noa was most astonished by this soul cultivation technique was this matched her perfectly as if she was made to cultivate this technique and this make her progress even faster than normal.
Every being with special traits, bloodlines, and supernatural abilities like Devils, Demons, and Hunters, ¡, were long for a matching cultivation technique that can bring out their full potential.
In this prospect, Humans were much more advanced than other races. After all, they didn¡¯t need any kind of suitable cultivation techniques because they didn¡¯t have bloodline limits to speak of, they were just like nk papers, and this was what made them extremely deadly if they get their hands on some perfect cultivation technique!
Some high-level races possessed these kinds of cultivation techniques left by their predecessors, but not everyone¡¯s predecessors were on that level where they can create perfect cultivation techniques tailored-made for their race, and Night Demon was one of such races.
Night Demon n had an eight Qi gates cultivation technique, but that technique wasn¡¯tpletely suitable for their race and that¡¯s why they can¡¯t reach their full potential and very few reached the end of their bloodline potential like Noa.
However, things were different for Noa now because she could feel the Thief Assassin Principals were made for her Night Demon bloodline.
What she didn¡¯t know was Thief Assassin Principals can¡¯t be cultivated by anyone, no matter how much top talent they possess. Only the thief house members can cultivate these techniques given by the system because of the Thief Recruitment Token!
If anyone dared to practice these techniques without a Thief Recruitment Token, they will meet an antagonized death!
Thief House Members were just like Ace. Without the system, he can¡¯t practice Heaven Stealer Technique, and the thief house members weren¡¯t any different!
Ace at this moment finally opened his eyes, which were filled with vigorous and confidence.
¡°Status!¡± Ace wanted to see his progress after two years of training.
=====
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human]
[Bloodline: Sealed]
[First Heaven: Mortal Sky Heaven]
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-3]]
[EXP: 21,000/50,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-3]]
[SP: 20,000/50,000]
¡ª
[Skills: 8]
-Heartless Stealth (Art):
[Breathless Stealth: Perfection
Pulseless Stealth: Perfection
Heartless Stealth: NONE]
¡ª
-Misperception Sky Steps (Art):
[Camouge Steps: Low
Lightning Steps: Middle
Misperception Steps: Low
Sky Steps: NONE]
¡ª
-Soul Shattering Eyes: [Middle]
¡ª
-Soul Piercing Bullets: [Middle]
¡ª
-Soul Guardian Barrier (Art):
[Soul Barrier: Middle
Soul Guardian: NONE]
¡ª
-Pick Pocket: [Perfection]
¡ª
-Treasure Opening Hands [Art]: [5th Form]
¡ª
-Lock Eraser King Technique:
Lock Eraser Master: Novice
Lock Eraser Grandmaster: None
Lock Eraser King: None
¡ª
[Cultivation Technique: 5]
-Heaven Stealer Technique: Volume 1
¡ª
-Dual Shadow Swords: 1st Realm (Sword as Limb)
¡ª
-Heavenly Rune Crafter Foundational Manual: Tier-3
¡ª
-Soul Words [Despair Manual]:
1. Deep Despair Soul Words: 0.3%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
2. Extreme Despair Soul Words: 0.0%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
3. Deadly Despair Soul Words: 0.0%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
¡ª
-Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Manual [First Vol]
Three Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Principles:
1. Treasure Dismantler Principles: 5-Star Treasure Dismantler
2. Alchemy Dismantler Principles: 4-Star Alchemy Dismantler
3. Runic Dismantler Principles: 6-Star Runic Dismantler
¡ª
[Law(s): 2]
-Despair: 0.03%
-Sword: 0.01%
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 1,538,450]
¡ª
[Mission(s): 0]
[Side Mission(s): 0]
=====
Ace was quite pleased with himself when he looked at all those raised skill levels and techniques. Especially the Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Technique, in which progress can be considered monstrous.
On the contrary, he waspletely helpless about the Soul Words Technique that he can¡¯t do anything about. Furthermore, the percentage¡¯s appearance didn¡¯t shock him at all because he knew this technique differed from other techniques.
However, when his eyes focus on the newly appeared section of ¡®Laws¡¯ he was astonished.
But his pleased and ted expression turned ugly when he saw the little bit of percentage of twows that the system was currently showing.
¡°System, just what are these damnws?¡± Ace couldn¡¯t help but ask in frustration. He couldn¡¯t ept the pitiful percentage of both [Sword] and [Despair]. This was a blow to his confidence.
¡°[Host current authority level nor host¡¯sprehension or cultivation is not enough to understand aw essentialpletely. But the host could still learn the superficial meaning ofw because it is extremely important to enter the ¡ª realm!]
¡°[Host could consider a Law an upgraded version of an element. But thousands of times more dominant and authoritative.]
¡°[One could start controlling the element Qi in the atmosphere for a short time around them when they formed a river core while one could conjure an element from nothingness when they enter soul realm and so forth¡]
¡°[But if one could grasp a Law, even at the lowest level of proficiency, one could call a rainfall or deadly storms with just a thought as long as they had the Qi to support them. While if someonepletelyprehends aw at 100% proficiency, they can change or control theprehendedw like drinking water and these existences were akin to deities in the eye of a mortal¡]¡±
Ace suddenly gulped dryly as he was visibility shocked, hearing about what thew was and what it can do. He even felt like he discovered something far earlier than he was supposed to. Especially when he found out the requirement to enter the eighth cultivation realm was aw!
Just like the system said, he wasn¡¯t at that level yet when he couldprehend aw, and those twows were probably the fruits of his cultivation techniques and some lucky encounters. He didn¡¯tprehend them on his own!
However, the very next moment, Ace¡¯s eyes shone with determination and longing to be powerful.
¡®It seemed like I had to contemte over those two techniques more. Even dual shadow de techniques can only help meprehend thew of [Sword] to a pitiful 0.01% even though I¡¯m using this technique for the very start of my cultivation journey and this is also probably the reason why I can¡¯t enter the second realm of this technique!¡¯ Ace mused deeply and got the gits of the problem of why his technique was at the stalemate.
Nevertheless, since he already got the answer and inspiration of how he could move forward with these two-cultivation techniques, he¡¯ll pay more attention to it. It was just that he still didn¡¯t know how he could raise hisprehension ofws.
¡®Well, there¡¯s no need to be agitated. This is just the beginning!¡¯
Ace¡¯s confidence rose when he thought about the vast, mighty demon continent and the boundless Golden Sky World. He could be considered just stepped into the real cultivation world and there were many things to explore and this was just the beginning of his journey!
With this mindset, Ace slowly stood up on his feet, which were numb from remaining sitting for a long time, and his robes were filthy.
Ace looked at his vagrant-like appearance and smile bitterly.
¡®I should take a shower first. Besides, it¡¯s been quite a while since I¡¯ve gone outside. It¡¯s time for the entrance of Sky Stealer in Mighty Demon Continent!¡¯
Chapter 312
Ace looked around and saw Noa was still deeply engrossed in her cultivation, and he could feel she was at the crucial juncture of breakthrough.
¡®She¡¯s already at the Ninth Soul Gate Stage and very close to establishing a perfect foundation, so I should not disturb her and take a stroll out in the city.¡¯
After deciding to leave Noa here since this was the perfect safe ce and no one will disturb or find her even if she causes amotion while breaking through a major realm.
He silently left the hidden chamber after two years of istion, and he felt quite refreshed when he felt the scorching breeze of summer and golden sunlight on his face.
There wasn¡¯t anyone close by, and he knows a water source around this ruin.
After taking a bath and changing into his thief trainee hood and adjusting its color and size to his liking, he felt much more rxed andplete. He quickly changed his face to Pablo and, in stealth, left the Silver Iron Demon State.
Ace¡¯s perfect pulseless stealth was so strong that probably no one in the entire Iron Demon City could not find or sense him if he didn¡¯t want them to. Only a soul realm cultivator could sense him with its strong martial or soul sense.
Furthermore, because of his trainee¡¯s hood effect, which grants him a 5% increase in Thief-rted skills, he didn¡¯t have to be afraid of someone who just enter the soul realm as well!
Now he was confident to protect himself in the inner provinces of Mighty Demon Continent. As long as he didn¡¯t encounter a Demon Duke or Demon King level character, he was a fish in the water!
But this doesn¡¯t mean he can do thieveries here like there was no tomorrow. He had to be meticulous in his craft because if he drew too much attention to himself, many powerful demons mighte after him.
Nevertheless, he had already decided how to start on the mighty demon continent, and his first target was naturally the Iron Demon City!
Two years ago, when he took Pablo¡¯s face and left him alive, he had already made this city his starting point. Although, he failed to create a secret organization because of the variable, All-Knowing Parrot.
It didn¡¯t stop his ns. All he had to do was to make some changes, and he was back on track.
Ace finally stop using his pulseless stealth and started to leisurely walk around the clean city streets, which were made of some brownstone bricks, making the city more beautiful and harmonizing with the unique tall buildings of demon civilization.
Many demons nce at Ace or Pablo, who had an expressionless face and wore a long blue robe with a silver ¡®V¡¯ shape on the back, giving him the look of a refined young master of a prominent n.
Pablo was handsome, to begin with, and Ace¡¯s demeanor make him even more eye-catching, even if he didn¡¯t want to. Ace was like a young schr and this demonic look gave him the air of a Young Wise Warrior.
Ace didn¡¯t pay attention to those demons, and he was going toward a specific ce where he wanted to go from the start but held himself back years ago.
After some twists and turns, a tall blue building with twenty floors appeared in front of Ace, which was quite bustling with activities. A wine bottle shape name board was hanging on the entrance, ¡®Hell¡¯s Liquor¡¯!
Acee to this ce because he liked Jade Wine very much and wanted to try Demon Continent¡¯s Wine as well.
Because of Pablo and Buck¡¯s memories, he found out that these liquors were nothing like Jade Wine of lowernds because they were made with special means and high-quality materials which don¡¯t even exist on Human Continent.
Every Demon like drinking to the core and that¡¯s why there were many alcohol shops in every city and there weren¡¯t as many restaurants as these alcohol shops! This was a fact!
Ace liked this prospect of Demon Continent a lot, and he was somewhat sick of drinking only Jade Wine all the time, but he was helpless since there wasn¡¯t any superb wine like Jade Wine in lowernds.
However, things were different in Might Demon Continent. There were thousands of types of alcohol, and some demons even fought tooth and nail for them in auctions.
There was even a discipline of vinification and brewing in Alchemy called Alcohol Alchemy and many demons practiced it, and they were famous all over the golden sky world!
Ace enter Hell¡¯s Liquor and saw many demons sitting at round tables. Some were sitting around arge counter and everyone was drinking andughing.
However, what draw Ace¡¯s attention was all those colorful alcohol bottles behind the counter, and he could smell the scent of strong intoxicating alcohol even from the door.
Ace felt even more curious as he quickly sat on an empty chair beside the counter and looked around with great interest.
A female demon wearing revealing clothing with dark green skin quickly approached Ace and was a little bit shocked seeing it was a silver-iron demon and by the look of it his status was probably quite high in the silver-iron demon n.
With a coquettish smile, she asked him, ¡°Young Master, what can I do for you?¡±
Ace naturally wasn¡¯t interested in demons, much less this bimbo, so he blurted, ¡°Give me the special ¡®Hell¡¯s Visitor¡¯, please.¡±
The demoness felt this was somewhat regrettable since ¡®Pablo¡¯ didn¡¯t seem interested in her and quickly bring his order without showing it on her face. This was a normal asion here.
Many demonesses wanted to grab powerful inflection demons¡¯ thighs, so they could sour with a single step, but s if it was just that simple!
A beautiful wine ss filled with fiery red color wine was quickly ced in front of Ace. He knew this was 4-star alcohol, since these wines were made of Qi herbs and Qi fruits by alchemists, and that¡¯s why they can also be measured with the same grades or ranks.
Without stopping, Ace quickly drank a mouthful and his eyes widen ever so slightest. He felt his mouth was on fire for a moment before a sweet yet sour vor mixed with different tastes filled his tongue.
¡°Good Wine!¡± Ace couldn¡¯t help but praise,pared with this wine, the Jade Wine seemed like shit.
Ace quickly finished a wine ss and was about to order more when suddenly a system¡¯s notification rang.
=====
[Consumed a small amount of liquid with a high density of Qi]
[EXP: 1]
¡ª
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-3]]
[EXP: 21,001/50,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-3]]
[SP: 20,000/50,000]
=====
Ace was suddenly stunned with a nk expression when he quicklye to his sense and grinned ear to ear, ¡®Heh, a new way of acquiring EXP and I like this one the most!¡¯
Ace didn¡¯t seem too surprised by this sudden discovery because this was made of Qi herbs and Qi fruits. On the contrary, he would¡¯ve been surprised if the system wouldn¡¯t give him any EXP for this!
¡°One more!¡± Ace said out loud with a hint of excitement.
A demon who was sitting a chair away from Ace couldn¡¯t help but smirk, ¡°Brother, it seemed you aren¡¯t afraid of death to even dare to drink Hell¡¯s Visitor like water!¡±
This demon had kind intentions because this wine was like a four-star medicine and far more potent than that because too many materials were used to make it. If consumed too much, one could get seriously injured or even Qi deviation was a possibility.
However, Ace merely smiled and said, ¡°What is the point of drinking with restrain? If I die, I¡¯ll die a sweet death!¡±
The demon was rendered speechless for a moment before he grinned widely and nodded. ¡°You have a point, brother! Waiter, give me and my brother here both Hell¡¯s Visitors!¡±
Ace felt this demon was not bad, and they started to chat like friends while drinking.
After a while, he couldn¡¯t help but ask when he saw many guards passing by, ¡°Brother Pol, what¡¯s with all the serious patrolling do you know about it?¡±
This demon¡¯s name was Pol, and he was a Steel Iron Demon who earn his living by hunting in Iron Forest.
¡°Brother, you don¡¯t know about the biggest event of Mad Thief¡¯s execution a year ago?¡± Pol looked at Pablo as if he was an alien.
Ace¡¯s attention was finally drawn when he heard the ¡®Thief¡¯ word and couldn¡¯t help but asked with uncertainty, ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t in the City for some time and I just returned, so I don¡¯t know about it. But this mad thief character seemed quite intriguing!¡±
Pol click his tongue in understanding and said, ¡°No wonder you didn¡¯t know about the Mad Thief. Let me tell you, this thief almost brought Iron Demon City on the verge of destruction one and half years ago!¡±
Chapter 313
Ace¡¯s attention was finally drawn when he heard the ¡®Thief¡¯ word and couldn¡¯t help but asked with uncertainty, ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t in the City for some time and I just returned, so I don¡¯t know about it. But this mad thief character seemed quite intriguing!¡±
Pol click his tongue in understanding and said, ¡°No wonder you didn¡¯t know about the Mad Thief. Let me tell you, this thief almost brought Iron Demon City on the verge of destruction one and half years ago¡¡±
Pol started to tell Ace about the mad thief from the start and how it terrorized the entire Iron Demon City.
Ace, on the other hand, couldn¡¯t help but felt something was not right when he heard how this Mad Thief robbed rich people here and there, while the timing perfectly matched the time when Noa started to ¡®gain experience¡¯ as a thief.
Ace was a hundred percent sure this mad thief was Noa, and he couldn¡¯t help but marvel at her way of theft by cutting off the hand, he even considered this was an excellent method!
Ace smiled wryly and thought, ¡®She didn¡¯t even tell me about such a big event she had caused. I wonder if she was embarrassed or afraid of telling her deeds.¡¯
Anyhow, he was happy that his house member wasn¡¯t ipetent and even more darning than him when he first started stealing.
Furthermore, Ace was sure that the execution was a fake event orchestrated by the founder ns of the Iron Demon City, so they could protect their own dignity and city economy.
Because the thieveries were stopped at the same time when Noa returned and start resting her foundation, and it never happened again because she wasn¡¯t gone out for the entire year.
Or why did the City Lord still let those powerful guards keep patrolling even after the mad thief was dead? He was clearly afraid of something, and it was not just the fear or care about the mere city protection.
However, one thing Ace had admitted was these demons react too quickly, and they were much more ruthless than humans since they kill many suspicious demons when they were still searching for the mad thief.
Just like that, the sun started to set and Brother Pol waspletely drunk while Ace was a little intoxicated. If he circted the HD-Qi, this will be instantly resolved, but he didn¡¯t since he wanted to enjoy this feeling for a lit while.
Ace paid a million and a half high-level Qi stones for all the drinks, which made the shop owner sure that Ace was an aristocrat of the silver-iron demon n, and he was very polite to him.
Brother Pol also became somewhat sober after a while, since he was a peak Qi river realm cultivator and his recovery speed was quite good. He thanked Ace for paying and promised to pay next time and leave while bidding farewell.
Ace didn¡¯t mind paying since he had billions of Qi stones even after recycling, after sorting out the storage rings, just the treasure mountain had given him over five hundred million peak level Qi stones and over three billion high-level Qi stones don¡¯t ever talk about his previously umted Qi stones. Money was really just a number for him now.
However, he still wasn¡¯t satisfied with this because he knew on the mighty demon continent there were grade Qi stones, and they were far more precious than peak level grade stones.
If he wanted to exchange a Low-Grade-1 Qi stone with a peak level Qi stone, first, no one with a right mind would have made this exchange, and even if they did, they would exchange 10,000 Peak Level Qi stones for just One low grade one Qi stone!
Qi stones were also divided into eight grades with different four levels named low, middle, high, and peak respectively, and below grade-level Qi-stone levels were the same as the lowernds of humans.
However, fragment Qi stones, low Qi stones, and middle Qi stones were only used in outer provinces, while inner provinces only High-level Qi Stones were eptable all the way to the peak Grade 1 Qi stones which were mostly in the hands of Demon Duke and Demon King level existences.
As for core provinces only, grade stones were eptable there and no one know about the royal zone!
That¡¯s why Ace wasn¡¯t as rich as he seemed and was only slightly richer than a Demon Barron, which was nothing to brag about.
Ace didn¡¯t wander around the city after nightfall, since there were even more security guards this time around, and they have the authority to check your belonging.
Brother Pol even said, those guards been taking advantage of this authority for a while now, and they rob anyone they want in the pretext of City Lord Order or you won¡¯tply they¡¯ll just call you a troublemaker and through you in the dungeon, so Pol told Ace to be careful at night.
However, Ace wasn¡¯t worried about those guards at all since they were just small fries and quickly tour around the market and remembered everyrge shop rted to alchemy, treasures, books, and¡ alcohol!
He was going to cause a tremendous storm and make a thunderous announcement of Sky Stealer¡¯s arrival!
¡ª
Deep in the night, every shop in the market district was closed. If this was a year ago, these shops would be open all day and night. However, after the incident of the mad thief, it was a rule to close shops after middle night. The iconost will be harshly punished.
Even though this action would harm the business of many, this was all for their own good, so they had no reason to not cooperate.
However, Elian never would even imagine that this action of his will greatly benefit Ace, who wants nothing more than unprotected treasures which were guarded by only locks and arrays!
Although, anyone would say these shops were deeply protected and not even a flea can¡¯t enter these guarded shops without alerting the arrays, a thief like Ace who had soul-shattering eyes and the lock eraser king technique these shops were nothing less than open shops which were just begging for him to steal away everything!
Right at this moment, Ace¡¯s hooded figure appeared right outside the Hell¡¯s Liquor shop, which was also close, and only dim light could be seen, which meant someone was still inside.
However, Ace wasn¡¯t fazed by it in the least bit because he had expected this much since the shop owner will be a fool to leave all those expensive wines unguarded and Ace was counting on it.
With a smirk, Ace again entered pulseless stealth while constantly using his soul-shattering eyes. He didn¡¯t go through the front door and go toward the back of the building. There was a door used by staff members.
Ace quickly notice an array lock with a small rm array on this door and sneered as he used his treasure-opening hands technique to carefully open the door and sessfully entered the back of the shop.
With extreme care, he closes the door, making no sound because he could sense a soul signature of a peak Qi river realm just ten meters away from this ce.
After making sure he was entered unnoticed, he observed he was in a small lodge and there was a stair going upward while a door beside the stair which was probably opened inside the interior of the shop.
The person was right on the other side of the door, while the upstairs door waspletely unguarded. So, he checked the upper floor first.
Just like he entered, he quickly opened the door upstairs and enter a dark room.
Ace observed from this room he could clearly see the ground floor and shop interior on the other side, and he also found the demon who was sitting inside the shop.
He was definitely a guard since he waspletely d in ck armor and there was a long spear resting beside him.
However, this demon was currently holding an alcohol bottle and drinking with a blissful expression on his red ugly face, and he was almost drunk. One could easily tell by his intoxicated expression and almost closed eyelids.
Ace couldn¡¯t help but smile coldly, ¡®Just sleep tightly. You¡¯ll be sleepless very soon.¡¯
Ace stop paying attention to that idiot drunkard and again observed the room where he was. There was only a desk and a few chairs, nothing else. However, Ace wasn¡¯t looking with naked eyes.
He soon discovered there was something underneath that desk and when he crouched down, he smiled widely because it was a low-grade one illusion array, and beneath it was a low-grade one lock array which was clearly guarding something precious!
However, at this moment, Ace¡¯s expression greatly changed when he detected two very strong soul signatures approaching the shop¡¯s back door.
¡°Bang¡ Bang¡ Bang¡¡±
Three loud bangs rang on the back door and Ace was stopped in his tracks!
Chapter 314
Ace frowned slightly before he retracted his hand.
Now he only had two choices. First, he leaves the room, and the only way out without being noticed was the back door, which was impossible right now, and if he opened the door, that expert might notice him.
Because that demon was continuously using his martial sense as if he was afraid of being followed by anyone.
So, he was left with the second option, which was to remain stealthy and stay in this room, which didn¡¯t have any hidden spot. But he was confident in escaping the marital sense if he just stayed put, so he quickly stood still in the dark corner of the room.
Ace was continuously observing the two demons with his soul sense. ¡®Why did these powerful demons appear here? One of them is probably at the bronze Qi river core stage while this second one¡¯s cultivation is golden Qi river core, and he was probably a third stage golden core cultivation and half step into Qi soul realm! I can always count on my bad fucking luck to give me an inauspicious start!¡¯
Ace cursed his bad luck a million times while remaining still.
The loud bangs almost scared the shit off the drunk demon, and hee to his sense, but it was still hard to move in this state.
¡®Banggg¡¡¯
Another loud banging rang from the back door, and this time the person clearly seemed unhappy and agitate.
¡°Fuck, just who the hell is causing amotion at this hour? Go away, the shop is closed, or this father won¡¯t show mercy!¡± The drunk demon guard cursed out loud, but he didn¡¯t bother to move.
¡®Bang¡Banggggg¡¡¯
However, the visitor seemed unfazed by his threat, and he started mming with more force.
Finally, the drunk demon¡¯s already red face turned dark red with anger, and he lumbered toward the back door. He was clearly unhappy and furious. He was going to teach this party popper an unforgettable lesson.
He finally opened the door, however, the very next moment, before he could even utter a curse, a red streak shed past his cheek, all the way to the other side.
Before the guard could fathom what had happened, he felt his eyes turning dark and his half-dismember facended on the floor dying it red, a small fountain of blood appeared from his still standing body, and it alsonded right on his half head the next moment.
An annoying voice rang at this moment, ¡°What a vile creature.¡±
¡°Hmph¡ he deserved to die!¡± A nonchnt yet angry voice said in agreement before he said, ¡°Now, get rid of this mess you created.¡±
¡°Fine, incinerate!¡±
Ace, when heard these voices and imagine what had happened at the back entrance, couldn¡¯t help but felt this thing was not going in a good direction, and it also seemed these two demons were quite ruthless and decisive. They kill without batting an eye like this was a normal asion for them.
¡°Brother, why did wee to this unruly small city all the way from King Domain, look all the city ispletely deserted at night?¡± The annoying voice rang again with a hint of resentment as they both enter the shop while closing the door.
¡°I don¡¯t know, but our spy in this territory reports something that interests his highness, the Demon King, so we¡¯re here to check the authority of that thing. Now shut up and don¡¯t ask any more questions!¡± The slightly heavy voice retorted with a hint of vexation.
¡°What a pain!¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes turned sharp when he heard ¡®King Domain¡¯ and ¡®Demon King¡¯ and his heart raced a little before he quickly controlled his emotion and remain calm.
He clearly knew the King Domain was the title given to the territory where the Demon King Castle was, and a Demon King resides there!
¡®Just what could a demon king be interested in here?¡¯ Ace¡¯s interest was quickly piqued.
Those two unknown demons quickly enter the main shop, and now was Ace¡¯s chance to quickly leave the shop.
¡®Leave or stay?¡¯ Ace was in a dilemma after hearing those two demons¡¯ conversation, and he knew there was something big and this was probably an opportunity.
In the end, Ace decided to stay still and observed. He was very interested in the matter regarding the demon kings and besides, those demons were noting into this room, so he was still alone and safe.
Ace carefully moved beside the wall and looked at the lower floor and finally saw those two tall figures. They werepletely covered in ck cloaks, but Ace be confused because the cloak on their heads waspletely normal. There wasn¡¯t any sign of horns being hidden beneath, just like a human head.
However, Ace didn¡¯t dwell too much on it since this might be a hiding technique of the demon race to cover their horns.
They quietly sat at a table as if they were waiting for someone.
¡®They were talking about a spy, so they were waiting for him.¡¯ Ace thought.
¡°Brother, just tell me what kind of treasure we¡¯re taking back. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll tell anyone?¡±
¡°Sigh¡ even I don¡¯t know, but the instructed was to bring it back without alerting anyone and kill the spy as well.¡±
¡°It seemed this mission is quite a high level.¡±
¡°Yes, but it¡¯s also dangerous since we¡¯ll be killed if someone finds us sneaking around.¡±
They both turned silent again.
Now Ace was even more interested in whatever these guys were here for. He also found this person calling the other demon ¡®Brother¡¯ a loose mouth and hasty while the other was quiet and wise, and they¡¯re probably blood-rted, or it was him, he would¡¯ve never brought this kind of person on this kind of task!
At this moment, he sensed another personing toward the shop¡¯s back door, emotionally agitated. Ace knew this was probably the spy, and he even felt this soul¡¯s signature familiar.
This time there was no sound of knocking and the door slowly opened on its own, which meant this person had the array key.
¡®This is the owner of this shop!¡¯ Ace quickly thought of the skinny red demon he met this afternoon.
When this thought came to his mind, another possibility surfaced, ¡®What if the treasure that demon king is interested in was here in the treasury? It was highly likely, but what if I was wrong and alert those two?¡¯
Ace knew this was a risk, but the reward was just as tempting, and he had little time to mull over it because the shop owner was already making his way toward those two ¡®guests¡¯.
¡®Fuck it!¡¯
Ace quickly made his way toward the secret treasury under the table again and after making sure that the golden river core demon wasn¡¯t using his martial sense anymore after scanning the shop owner once, he quickly got to work!
¡°You finally here!¡± The golden river core demon said coolly at this moment when the shop owner just entered the main interior of the shop.
¡°Greeting sires!¡± The shop owner seemed quite jittery and fearful of these two people.
He was just one of the lowly spies sent here many years ago, and he wasn¡¯t the one. Almost every demon king monitored the other demon king¡¯s important territories, and Iron Demon City definitely met these requirements.
¡°No need for pleasantries. Bring out the goods!¡± The imposing voice rang again. He clearly didn¡¯t want to stay here for long.
¡°No, wait¡ bring us your best liquor first.¡± The other demon spoke at this moment.
¡°You¡¡±
Before the other one refutes him, he blurted, ¡°Brother, we¡¯re traveling for days without even stopping. We deserved a drink or two, right? Come on, we¡¯re already in a liquor shop and besides, we¡¯ll have a long journey ahead as well.¡±
¡®Sigh¡¡¯ The other demon sighed helplessly. He knew his brother had a yful nature, but he also had a point. ¡°Fine, but just one drink.¡±
¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± The other one sound quite happy and said, ¡°Do you hear my brother? Quickly, take out your best collection!¡±
The shop owner quickly nodded. He didn¡¯t dare to reject the other party because he knew those two were not the demons he could offend and hurried toward the back room right behind therge counter.
Ace, who was closely listening to their conversation, couldn¡¯t help but smile coldly and thought, ¡®A wrong teammate is far more deadly than an enemy. What a fool.¡¯
He carefully released the eraser essential on the array lock without releasing any fluctuations and avoiding the rming array.
The lock was quickly erased, and a small treasury door appeared in front of him because once the lock was opened, the illusion array will follow suit. As for the small rming array, it was now useless since the lock was already gone.
It would¡¯ve been another story if someone tried to touch it when the lock was intact!
Chapter 315
It would¡¯ve been another story if someone tried to touch it when the lock was intact!
Ace slowly open the small treasury and inside Ace only saw two feet long rectangr box made with a nk of beautiful white wood and there wasn¡¯t anything else besides this wooden box in this secret treasury!
¡®This should be it, right?¡¯
Ace found nothing special about this box no matter how much he looked at it, but he knew now wasn¡¯t the time to judge and quickly took the box inside his thief¡¯s space.
However, at this moment, when the box was removed from its ce, Ace¡¯s heart instantly sank because there was a dot size rune right beneath it and by the look of it, this was another tiny trap rm!
Ace never thought, even after being this careful, he was still outdone when he was so close topleting the thievery.
It wasn¡¯t Ace¡¯s fault this time because he never encountered this kind of situation where someone put dot size rm symbol inside a treasury and cover it with an item. He didn¡¯t even know it was possible because his mind was still of the same person who had antagonized the lowernds for years.
Ace threw caution to the wind and hurry when he saw the small symbol was starting to shine.
The demon with golden Qi river core finally felt something was amiss as he nced toward the treasury room¡¯s direction and released his martial sense to the fullest!
Right at this moment, the shop owner also emerged, nearly destroying the door. His face was ashen and full of panic as he roared savagely, ¡°T-thief¡ someone just stole the important treasure!¡±
There was a small blue crystal in his hand, which was blinking nonstop!
¡°What?!¡± the bronze Qi river core demon also eximed in rm.
However, he didn¡¯t have a chance to curse or react when he saw his brother was already turned into the wind and left toward the back of the shop!
Without waiting for a moment, he also chased after his brother while leaving a threat behind, ¡°If that thief got away, you can forget about your life!¡±
The shop owner naturally knew if the treasure went missing, then no one could save him since that treasure was something the demon king wanted!
¡°But how is it possible that the person only triggered the hidden rm, not the main one?!¡± He was in disbelief, but he didn¡¯t have time to mull over it since the deed was already done.
He wasn¡¯t someone who was going to wait for his death or take a chance. From the main door, he escaped, saving his own life. He knew whether those two caught the person, he won¡¯t escape punishment and escape was the only option!
¡ª
Ace, at this moment, was like a phantom while escaping. He could clearly sense the golden Qi river core cultivator two hundred meters away from him.
¡®This guy reacted too fast. If not for my lightning step, I¡¯ll be doomed this time. Well, at least I know this treasure was the thing they¡¯re here for.¡¯ Ace¡¯s mood instantly lifted when he thought he had stolen something that even a demon king wanted.
He wasn¡¯t afraid of the other party chasing after him. His middle-level lightning steps weren¡¯t just for show, and his speed was clearly much faster than the other individual. His training for two years wasn¡¯t gone in vain, and he was confident in protecting himself even if things go awry, just like what happened a few moments ago!
Ace quickly put a three-hundred-meter distance between him and his pursuer. However, at this moment, Ace felt something was amiss and quickly used his heavenly sense and saw the other person was shockingly following his every step without missing even one! He also noticed a snake-like tongue flickering every second from the cape!
The other person clearly felt the heavenly sense and couldn¡¯t help but eximed, ¡°So, you¡¯re a soul cultivator!¡±
However, the next moment his calm voice sounded, ¡°Give me the thing you just took, and I¡¯ll consider this a misunderstanding and be on my way. I can tell you¡¯re at least a silver soul river core cultivator with your strong soul sense, but you¡¯re no match for me, and you can never escape, so just give me my thing back, and I won¡¯t pursue this matter!¡±
¡®This person is too strange; how can he be so fast even outrunning a golden Qi river core cultivator and I can¡¯t sense him with martial sense? If not for my race¡¯s innate ability, I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll be able to slip away!¡¯ He thought grimly while pursuing Ace¡¯s footsteps.
He was determined to get the treasure back, or he knew he¡¯ll die a tragic death with his brother, and he can¡¯t hide because no one can hide from a Demon King!
Ace, on the other hand, finally understood the gravity of the situation, and he knew the other party wasn¡¯t bluffing when he sensed he wasing right where he was and taking the same route as him.
¡®Just who the hell is this person and how can he track my movement even when I¡¯m in stealth! This is really the first!¡¯ Ace found this situation absurd, as his expression turned ugly.
He never thought, on his first thievery, he¡¯ll encounter something like this, and he had to admit stealing from big wigs won¡¯t be as easy as he thought anymore. There were many strange things here, and he wasn¡¯t dealing with just humans anymore.
These races had various abilities and if he met some race that can render even one of his skills useless, he¡¯ll be in peril just like now.
Ace ran while nning to get rid of this leach.
¡®Just how exactly is he following me? Pulseless Stealth can block my pulse and even martial sense can¡¯t find my traces, so he wasn¡¯t tracking me with this. It had something to do with that snake-like tongue I saw.¡¯
Ace wasn¡¯t any animal expert, nor knew the various abilities of beasts. He only had superficial knowledge from lowernds, and the memories he stole from Pablo and Buck also weren¡¯t helpful.
Ace suddenly snapped out his thoughts because he suddenly felt the other party has speed up somehow and the distance was quickly shortening!
¡®This is bad, I had to think of something and fast!¡¯ Ace¡¯s heart raced as he saw his surroundings. He was running through alleyways as he could through his chaser off somehow, but it seemed meaningless.
¡®If I can just cause¡¡¯ Suddenly an idea shed in Ace¡¯s head.
Without even further hesitation, he took out a bomb, his favorite distraction tool! He was now only left with five of them, including this one in his hand.
Although they didn¡¯t deal actual damage, they were excellent at causingmotion and drawing attention!
Ace quickly lit the bomb pin with his lightning and throw it into an alleyway and used his lightning steps to the maximum!
After a few seconds, a huge booming sound rang, startling a quarter of the Iron Demon City!
Everyone thought that someone has attacked the city, and the city guard crazily flooded toward the attacked area.
The person chasing Ace also heard the loud boom since he was very close to the explosion, and his heart nearly jumped from his chest and thought someone was attacking him.
However, he didn¡¯t feel any fluctuations and didn¡¯t change his route, or he¡¯ll lose Ace¡¯s tracks. He was ready for a big fight since he was dead either way.
But no one was there except for dark smoke, and he also noticed many peopleing this way.
¡®So, that was a trick to draw others¡¯ attention and scared me to back down. Heh, na?ve!¡¯ He belittled coldly.
Abruptly, a blood mist suddenly appeared before covering the cloaked figure entirely. The very next moment, his speed became even faster, but his zealous aura be chaotic!
¡®Even if I had to burn all my blood essential, I¡¯ll capture you and make you pay for it!¡¯ Beneath the cloak, a pair of beastly snake eyes glow in a crimson color that was filled with bloodlust!
Ace also notice his n of scarring the other party didn¡¯t work and the other person¡¯s speed be even faster and his heart palpitated.
He finally had another idea, but he didn¡¯t want to use it since it was too costly, but he didn¡¯t have another choice right now, or he¡¯ll have to face a lunatic golden river core cultivator.
¡®If this thing wasn¡¯t worth it, I¡¯ll fucking theft the entire city to cover my losses!¡¯ Ace clench his teeth and transmitted, ¡°System open the Heavenly Rune Crafter Panel for me!¡±
=====
[Heavenly Rune Crafter Panel]
-Rune Crafter Rank: Tier-3
-Rune Crafter Trademark: Coin
-Rune Crafter Colophon: Thief Symbol
¡ª
[Talisman Section] (UNLOCK)
[Array Section] (LOCK)
[Formation Section] (LOCK)
[UNKNOWN Section] (LOCK)
=====
Ace again transmitted as his eyes turned cold. ¡°Open the Talisman Section, Worldly Talismans!¡±
Chapter 316
Ace again transmitted as his eyes turned cold. ¡°Open the Talisman Section, Worldly Talismans!¡±
======
[Talisman Creation Section]
Heavenly Talisman Avable: 9 (Tier-1 to Tier-3)
Worldly Talisman: Avable: 20 (Tier-1 to Tier-3)
¡ª
[Worldly Talisman]
Tier: 1, 2, 3
Avable: 20
¡ª
Earthen Sword Spikes: Martial Attack Talisman (Tier-1)
[Creation Cost: 10 Million High Qi Stones & 100 TP]
¡ª
Fire Arrow: Soul Attack Talisman (Tier-1)
[Creation Cost: 20 Million High Qi Stones, 1000 Peak Qi Stones, & 150 TP]
¡ª
Blinding Fire: Martial & Soul Attack Talisman (Tier-1)
[Creation Cost: 15 Million High Qi Stones, 1000 Peak Qi Stones, & 100 TP]
¡ª
Earth Golem: Martial Attack Talisman (Tier-1)
[Creation Cost: 25 Million High Stones & 200 TP]
¡ª
Water Bullet: Martial Attack Talisman (Tier-1)
[Creation Cost: 5 Million High Stones & 50 TP]
¡ª
Wind Bullet: Soul Attack Talisman (Tier-1)
[Creation Cost: 10 Million High Stones, 500 Peak Qi Stones, & 100 TP]
¡ª
Water Barrier: Defensive Soul Talisman (Tier-1)
[Creation Cost: 50 Million High Stones, 10,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 500 TP]
¡ª
Earth Wall: Defensive Martial Talisman (Tier-1)
[Creation Cost: 40 Million High Stones, 5,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 400 TP]
¡ª
Gale sh: Soul and Martial Attack Talisman (Tier-1)
[Creation Cost: 50 Million High Stones, 5,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 450 TP]
¡ª
Fire-Wind Explosion: Soul and Martial Attack Talisman (Tier-1)
[Creation Cost: 100 Million High Stones, 20,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 1,000 TP]
¡ª
Light Shield: Soul and Martial Defensive Talisman (Tier-2)
[Creation Cost: 500 Million High Stones, 100,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 1,500 TP]
¡ª
Ice Shackles: Martial Attack Talisman (Tier-2)
[Creation Cost: 250 Million High Stones, 50,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 1,200 TP]
¡ª
Earth Split: Martial Attack Talisman (Tier-2)
[Creation Cost: 300 Million High Stones, 75,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 1,300 TP]
¡ª
Wind Roar: Soul Attack Talisman (Tier-2)
[Creation Cost: 150 Million High Stones, 25,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 1,100 TP]
¡ª
Golden Chains: Soul Attack Talisman (Tier-2)
[Creation Cost: 500 Million High Stones, 150,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 1,500 TP]
¡ª
Dark Mist: Martial Attack Talisman (Tier-3)
[Creation Cost: 300 Million High Stones, 90,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 1,200 TP]
¡ª
Earthen Ice: Martial Attack Talisman (Tier-3)
[Creation Cost: 400 Million High Stones, 100,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 1,300 TP]
¡ª
Hundred Silver Swords: Soul & Martial Attack Talisman (Tier-3)
[Creation Cost: 550 Million High Stones, 200,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 2,000 TP]
¡ª
Fire Explosion: Martial Attack Talisman (Tier-3)
[Creation Cost: 700 Million High Stones, 150,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 1,700 TP]
¡ª
Wind Wail: Soul Attack Talisman (Tier-3)
[Creation Cost: 750 Million High Stones, 200,000 Peak Qi Stones, & 1,800 TP]
======
After reaching tier-3 rank in the heavenly rune crafting, he unlocked five tier-two and five tier-three talismans while three heavenly talismans of tier-two and simrly three heavenly talismans of tier-three respectively, and light and dark elements were new elements he learned to symbolize.
However, he didn¡¯t use the system to create the talismans when he saw the requirement and prices. Although he didn¡¯t care about Qi stones, he cared about Thief Points.
Ace was nning to make these talismans himself, but he didn¡¯t have some materials for tier three talismans, and that was one of the reasons hee out to ¡®get¡¯ some materials as well.
However, he encountered this annoying foe, and now he had no other choice but to create and use these talismans from the system. It was not the time to save the thief points; it was time to use them relentlessly!
¡°System, give me One Earthen Sword Spikes Talisman, Two Fire Arrow Talismans, One Blinding Fire Talisman, three Wind Bullet Talismans, Two Earth Wall Talismans, Five Ice Shackles Talismans, Fire-Wind Explosion¡¡±
Ace quickly made a lengthy order of different types of talismans. Although he never used them, he knows damn well what their functions were, and he was confident to take down even a Golden Qi River Core cultivator if he used them correctly and in a particr order!
=====
[35,800 Thief Point, 5.3 Billion High Qi Stones, & 10.2 Million Peak Qi Stones have been sessfully deducted]
[30 Talismans have been delivered to thief¡¯s space]
=====
Ace¡¯s heartache a little when he saw arge and small mountain of Qi stones vanish from his thief¡¯s space. This was his first time spending so much at once.
However, it wasn¡¯t the time to dwell on it, since the enemy was only two hundred meters away from him and quickly closing the distance. His previously caused explosion also alerted the city guards, and he had to end it quickly and then escape.
Ace knew he had little time to deal with this guy, not to talk about his brother, who was still nowhere to be found. But he didn¡¯t forget to keep a watch for him as well.
Ace quickly entered a precarious alleyway. ¡®This one is narrow enough.¡¯
The next moment, two-inch pitch-ck jade-like pentagon coins appeared in Ace¡¯s hand, which was as smooth as jade and no one could think it was a talisman. On one side was engraved, Ace¡¯s thief symbol, Dark Owl, while on the other side was much more detailed as a beautiful tiny symbol string was engraved around its edge and a single symbol of the earth was right in the center.
This was Ace¡¯s first time seeing this talisman coin, and even he had to admit this was a piece of art, and he wasn¡¯t confident about making it this delicate and beautiful.
Nevertheless, this was a consumption item, and he can make as many as he wanted as long as he paid the system enough.
The next moment, Ace marked it with his heavenly mark and throw it on the sidewall and the coin¡¯s talisman side instantly attach to the wall before itpletely blended into the darkness.
This was one of the talisman coin functions that was made by the system, ¡®Stealth and Camouge¡¯ just like a trap, and with Heavenly Mark, Ace can trigger it anytime he wanted between two miles of area distance!
This was just the function of worldly talismans not to talk about Heavenly Talisman, which can be triggered from a hundred miles radius, and they were also undetectable!
¡®It was worth it to pay for just these functions! Even though I can make them myself. Yet, I can¡¯t achieve the same efficiency as the system and probably achieve half of the effect.¡¯
Ace set nine more talisman coins in the alleyway, and he was satisfied with them and his choice of talismans. He knew only the soul realm cultivator¡¯s martial sense or soul sense could probably detect those hidden talismans, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about this guy finding them.
He also took two defensive talismans and attached them to his own body. Furthermore, he still felt this was not enough and attached two more, just in case¡ he attached one more and finally felt at ease.
Ace didn¡¯t have to wait for long before his pursuer finally reached the alley entrance and stopped.
The person looked at Ace¡¯s dark hooded figure, which was standing on the other side of the alleyway with his glowing crimson snake eyes with killing intent. He didn¡¯t take a step forward so quickly because he had a rich fighting experience and encounter many deadly situations before.
He knew his opponent was a ¡®soul cultivator¡¯ and won¡¯t just give up just because he feels like it and his institution telling him something was wrong, but after using his amplify martial sense, he didn¡¯t find any trap or trick.
But he still didn¡¯t take the step forward since he blindly trusted his instinct and said in a raspy voice, ¡°Just give me the thing you took from the shop, and I¡¯ll leave!¡±
He really didn¡¯t want to fight now after sensing danger and changed his mind about taking revenge.
¡°Why don¡¯t you just turn around and leave? I¡¯ll consider it a favor!¡± Ace said in Pablo¡¯s powerful voice. He didn¡¯t think this guy would stop right outside the alleyway and start taking peace.
¡°I can¡¯t do that. I had no choice in this matter, or I might really consider it. Why don¡¯t you do me a favor and give me the thing you just took? I¡¯llpensate you with high-grade-1 Qi stones?¡± Said the snake eyes man while coldly staring at Ace. He was cautiously using his acute senses to see what Ace was trying to achieve.
¡°High Grade-1 Qi stones, huh, aren¡¯t you a generous one¡¡± Ace sneered before coldly retorting, ¡°How about I¡¯ll give you the same offer?¡±
¡°I already said I don¡¯t have a choice in this matter, or I really consider it.¡± He rejected without even blinking.
At this moment, the snake eyes man finally felt something amiss and quickly used dark blue Qi to a barrier and coldly said. ¡°Your paltry tricks won¡¯t work on me!¡±
Yet, he still didn¡¯t move from his ce and only remained firmly still while kept using the barrier.
Ace¡¯s eyes contracted when his soul thread skill was seen through and failed for the first time!
Chapter 317
Ace¡¯s eyes contrasted when his soul thread skill was seen through and failed for the first time!
One had to know for all these years, Ace¡¯s soul thread was like an invincible skill, and it had never disappointed him before. However, this snake-eyed individual has seen through it and blocked it.
Ace wanted to pick-pocked this demon storage ring, so he could render all his trump cards useless, just like he always does whenever he fought. But it seemed he greatly underestimated the myriad races of golden sky worlds and belittled the second hegemony race, the Demon Race, far too much!
¡°The System makes thirty more talismans like my previous order and adds five more light shield talismans this time quickly!¡± Ace knew it wasn¡¯t the time to save thief points and quickly order a new set of talismans.
This time he paid 50,800 thief points more and a huge amount of Qi stones for these new thirty-five talismans!
The snake-eyed demon was coldly staring at Ace and wanted to see his face behind the hood, but s, he can¡¯t no matter how much he tried. Furthermore, he was now ny percent sure that the alleyway between them was a gigantic trap, and the hidden danger he was sensing was probably this alleyway!
That¡¯s why he was sure, as long as he could avoid this alleyway, his chances of getting the treasure back would increase tremendously. He was also waiting for his brother toe as well because it would increase their chances many folds. It was difficult to deal with a soul cultivator, especially someone like in front of him, who could elude him!
At this moment, Ace suddenly step inside the alleyway and the snake eyes demon¡¯s eyes narrowed. Now, he was having other thoughts because if this alley was a trap, then this person would never step into it. After all, if he triggered the traps now, this thief would also be affected by them.
Ace was calm and collective after a brief moment of shock and decided to step inside the alley when he felt his pursuer was too cautioned and this was the only way to mislead him, or he¡¯ll have to think of another way to get rid of him, which he didn¡¯t have right now.
Ace also felt this guy was wasting time and quickly concluded he was waiting for his partner, and he knew it would be hard to deal with two demons with strange abilities together. Especially when this demon was at the golden river core stage.
He was confident in dealing with a bronze river core cultivator or silver river core, but the golden core was another matter, and he wasn¡¯t confident in dealing with a golden river core cultivator without talismans and sneak attacks.
That¡¯s why he was risking it by stepping into talismans attack range, but he had no choice right now or this demon will catch up to him eventually and at that time he would not be at an advantage like right now.
¡°Since paltry tricks won¡¯t work, let¡¯s see if my Swords can do the trick!¡± Ace passively said as the very next moment his two, a long and a short, dark des swords materialized in his hands.
The snake-eyed demon was a little startled and astonished when he saw this thief was going to fight him even after knowing he was stronger than him by a whole stage, and it wasn¡¯t just any stage, it was the peak of the golden river core stage!
Nheless, he found it an opportunity to get rid of this person and end this battle quickly. Because he knew if he confronts this soul cultivator thief with lower cultivation than him in a face-off battle, he¡¯ll definitely win.
He also thought this thief was probably at his wit¡¯s end, so he wanted to struggle to the end, and he didn¡¯t find it too strange. In the end, despite being extremely cautious, he stepped inside the alleyway!
A crimson long broad sword appeared in his hand which was giving off the feeling of bloodlust!
Ace¡¯s expression was solemn seeing the crimson broad sword because the feeling of bloodlust was too heavy, and he didn¡¯t know just how much blood this sword had drawn, and his opponent was also extremely prudent.
However, he knew he can¡¯t avoid this fight, and he also had to end it quickly before the other demon arrive!
Abruptly, the snake eyes demon brandished his broad sword and its crimson de instantly glow with a dark red sheen, and he swing it toward Ace like a hammer!
Ace¡¯s heart pounce at rapid speed when he felt the deadly presser from the enormous de and the short sword quickly disappeared from his hand, recing it with a pentagon dark coin!
The snake eyes demon also noticed this change, but he didn¡¯t stop his charge and cover himself with a powerful element Qi barrier. He didn¡¯t know what that coin was, but he was confident that his middle grade-2 weapon can easily cut through it or even shield him if needed!
The dark pentagon coin in Ace¡¯s hand instantly vanished and out of thin air, and a hundred silver swords manifested, and rained down like silver lights at the snake eyes demon,pletely catching him off guard!
¡®A talisman!¡¯ The snake eyes demon¡¯s heart palpitated when he finally understood the origin of that small dark pentagon. He clearly knew about talismans, but he had never seen one like this thief just used.
Even though talismans weremon in the mighty demon continent and one could buy them from big shops in duke level cities. But they were too expensive, and even the mostmon ones: 1-star talismans were sold for a thousand low grade-1 Qi stones!
As for the talisman that Ace just used Hundred Silver Swords, a tier-3 talisman, the snake eyes demon could tell it was not amon talisman at all. He felt dread in his soul!
This also meant this was a talisman that contain a soul attack that was by no means amon talisman and probably sold for tens of thousands of peak grade-one Qi stones!
However, no one would sell a soul talisman even if it was a one-star rank because they were as rare as a soul cultivator and despite being made by a rune crafter and soul Qi. A soul-type talisman was too hard to make because it was made with soul-type materials!
That¡¯s why this demon was greatly shocked when he sensed this unique talisman¡¯s terror and quickly swing his crimson broad sword toward those silver swords to protect himself because even if one of them manage to wound him, that wound will be akin to a soul wound and greatly affect his mind and soul!
He¡¯ll definitely perish at that time. He was even regretting fighting Ace head-on right now and cursing his luck to encounter a rich soul cultivator!
Ace was full of excitement when he sensed his opponent¡¯s dismay emotions, and he knew his strategy to fight with talismans and using the Hundred Silver Swords Talisman was an excellent decision.
Ace quickly brandished his long sword with despair lighting and shed it toward the waist of his opponent, which was wide open after he blocked the talisman attack!
The snake eyes demon also sense the impending danger, and he knew if he tried to dodge it now he¡¯ll definitely wound by at least twenty silver swords, which would immediately spell his death!
¡°Sneaky bastard!¡± He cursed as his storage ring shed and a one-meter round silver-blue shield appeared right between Ace¡¯s sword, quickly protecting him from receiving a fatal wound!
Ace¡¯s dark de long sword shed with the silver-blue shield and instantly emitted sparks filled with dark lightning.
¡®At least a low-grade two shield!¡¯ Ace quickly apprised the shield because there weren¡¯t many treasures that can block his sword!
¡®Well, it was me who wanted to end this fight without using more talismans, but it seemed I have to pay the price to deal with a veteran!¡¯ Ace decisively retracted his long sword and turned around, dashing toward the alleyway exit.
The snake eyes demon thought he was trying to escape while he was busy dealing with the talisman attack. But he also felt relief because he canpletely focus on dealing with his talisman attack now, and he can find Ace afterward again and made him pay.
He won¡¯t be going to be tricked again, and he was almost sure that Ace didn¡¯t have more of these talismans on him, and it was hisst trump card, so he was even more confident of capturing him after dealing with his situation!
However, what happened next instantly send this snake eyes demon into the abyss of terror!
A small owl symbol suddenly shed not far away from him at this moment, and another pentagon coin turned into a hundred silver swords and instantly rained toward his back!
Realization finally dawn on him. Entering his alley was probably the biggest andst mistake he ever made in his life!
Chapter 318
A small owl symbol suddenly shed not far away from him at this moment, and another pentagon coin turned into a hundred silver swords and instantly heaped toward his back!
Realization finally dawn on him. Entering his alley was probably the biggest andst mistake he ever made in his life!
He never thought this mere thief had two same types of soul attack talismans, which can be considered a luxury even in King Domain. Although he was shocked, it onlyst for a moment.
He had experienced many life and death plights, and this swiftly help him remain calm and think rationally. The silver-blue shield quickly maneuvered in the air and instantly appeared on his back.
However, he knew this shield can¡¯t block all sliver-sword lights, and he had to pay the price no matter what. He can¡¯t escape unscratched.
Furthermore, his biggest worry right now was to leave this alleyway because he could tell all those traps were probably hidden here when he saw Ace¡¯s action of withdrawing instantly while he was preupied!
He wanted to leave from here as quickly as possible and just he was about to squirm through toward the opposite direction of Ace without worrying about injuries anymore. He was confident in preserving his life after escaping this catastrophe.
As for the treasure in Ace¡¯s hand, he didn¡¯t care about it anymore. His life was more important. If he reported what happened and his discovery about Ace, he might be able to preserve his life, or if he stayed here, he didn¡¯t have had that luxury!
He understood too well; the soul cultivators were far deadlier if they damaged your soul or find out your soul was injured, and he didn¡¯t want to experience it himself!
Ace clearly saw his opponent wanted to escape and give up on the treasure, and he wasn¡¯t the least bit surprised by this, since anyone would try to preserve their life in this kind of situation.
However, he had already used two expensive talismans, and the enemy was the strongest one he had ever encountered except Gordon, who was too strong to even give him a chance to fight.
Ace didn¡¯t want to let this type of experienced and decisive guy escape, so he coulde back to bite him in the future, and it will also reveal his existence to a demon king far too soon.
If these two didn¡¯t find out about him, he would be more at ease, but this demon had already seen his talismans and react decisively, which gave Ace even more reason to get rid of this future trouble!
¡®Ice Shekels, Earth Wall, Earthen Sword Spikes, Fire Arrow, Wind Bullet, and Fire-Wind Explosion, activate!¡¯ Ace instantly activated six more hidden talismans in the alleyway with no hesitation.
He won¡¯t let this guy escape, no matter what!
Six dark owl symbols sh in different directions of the alleyway¡¯s walls and all kinds of Marital Qi and Soul Qi stir before creating instant powerful skills!
The snake eyes demon¡¯s heart turned cold when he felt all the new Qi fluctuations around him, and he knew his opponent had more talismans, and he didn¡¯t intend to let him leave alive. A chill run down his spine!
His glowing eyespletely turned bloodshot as he spat arge amount of blood mist before itpletely covered his body. The dark cloak on his body also turned into ashes under that blight red mist and a tall brawny figure was revealed!
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw the head of this demon was covered in shining crimson diamond-like scales and there wasn¡¯t any kind of pair of horns on his demon¡¯s head, which was a signature of the demon race.
However, Ace didn¡¯t have time to dwell on it because he felt his opponent¡¯s aura instantly skyrocket after absorbing that red mist, and it was very closed to the Qi soul realm!
Without hesitation, he activated thest three soul attack talismans as well!
¡°If I don¡¯t bring you to hell today with me, I won¡¯t be a N¨¡ga!¡± His heavy, raspy voice wasced with hatred and bloodlust.
He had already exhausted his entire blood essential to gain his temporary boost in power, and he knew he¡¯ll die afterpletely exhausting this power. But he didn¡¯t care about his life anymore since he already used this suicide move. All he cared about was bringing this thief down with him who cornered him and force him to take this step!
However, now his mind was filled with madness, and he no longer cared about blocking all those talismans¡¯ manifested attacks. He directly charged toward Ace,pletely shattering the icy chains and earth sword spikes that failed to prate his skin.
Ace¡¯s heart palpitated when he saw a snake-like vicious face filled with madness and killing intent charging toward him without caring about all those grave attacks, and it seemed it was working as well. His talismans seemed useless right now!
He saw the crimson broad sword in this snake-like demon¡¯s hand was releasing smoky red Qi, which spells death!
Without any hesitation, Ace throws two more fire-wind explosion talismans. He knew running wasn¡¯t an option right now because his opponent can easily catch up to him in his state, and it was also a disadvantage to turn his back on his opponent right now.
The snake face demon¡¯s entire body was filled with deep cuts and charred skins. His aura was on the verge of exploding and his heart was as cold as ice, but he was still charging with everything he had.
Although he looked immune to martial attacks, it can¡¯t be said the same for the soul attacks, but he still wanted to hack his broad sword on Ace¡¯s hooded head even if it was thest thing he did before dying!
At this moment, two dark pentagon coins appeared before his bloodshot snake eyes, and he only saw an owl sh with dark luster before his eyes filled with golden fire!
¡®Boom¡ booooommm¡¡¯
Two more loud booming sounds reverberate in the vacancy, filled with hissing winds.
A cubic shape light barrier appeared around Ace,pletely enveloping him and saving him from the close-range explosion.
Right at this moment, the entire alleyway was turned into rubble and debris and even the houses around a twenty-meter radius were turned into ruins because of Ace¡¯s powerful talismans.
However, Ace waspletely unfazed by everything else. He was solely focused on the snake face demon, which had vanished into dust and smoke. He could feel his aura was quite fragile at this moment, like a flickering candle.
Yet, Ace didn¡¯t dare to be careless, and he knew this light barrier limit was ten-second, but he quickly dispelled it and enter stealth. He was sure his opponent wouldn¡¯t be able to sense him anymore after being injured to this extent, and he was already on the verge of death!
After the dust was settled,
Ace was astonished when he saw apletely mingle humanoid figure kneeling while one of his hands waspletely gone and a broad sword wasying a few centimeters away from him as one could see a severed hand on its long hilt.
The snake face demon¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t glowing anymore and were almost lifeless.
Ace finally has a soft sigh. This was his first time fighting for this long, and his opponent also remained alive, even though it was barely alive. It was still alive after taking this kind of beating.
Ace knew if he only had one or two talismans, he would¡¯ve never been able to emerge unscratched from his battle, and couldn¡¯t help but think he was still too inexperienced and weak.
Nevertheless, the winner bes the thief; the loser bes the king. [1]
At this moment, the snake face demon¡¯s lip slightly moved shakily and a weak yet pleading voice sounded, ¡°Please¡ spare my¡ brother¡¡±
These were thest dying words he uttered before the slightest light in his eyes drained, and they turned cold.
Ace couldn¡¯t help but feel respect and admiration for this foe who, even at death¡¯s door, didn¡¯t forget about his kin.
¡®He was probably fighting this desperately because of his brother as well¡¡¯ Ace thought with a hint of mncholy.
At this moment, the system¡¯s voice rang in his mind.
=====
[Killed a Golden Qi River Core Stage, Blood N¨¡ga]
[Reward: 10,000 EXP]
¡ª
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-3]]
[EXP: 31,020/50,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-3]]
[SP: 20,000/50,000]
=====
However, Ace wasn¡¯t the least bit fazed by this ande out of his stealth while saying coldly in a mild tone, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you help him?¡±
No reply came as if he was talking to the air, but Ace still goes on, ¡°You were here from the moment he entered the alleyway, but you didn¡¯t lend a helping hand even when he was about to die¡ I wonder what he¡¯ll think if he found out his brother didn¡¯t even feel anything when he died, and he perished fighting for your sake. What a tragedy.¡±
[1] the actual term is: ¡®The winner bes the king, the loser bes the thief¡¯
Chapter 319
Ace instantly vanished from his spot before storing this demon¡¯s storage ring, crimson broad sword, and silver-blue shield.
Surprisingly, he wasn¡¯t going toward his hideout, but moving in thepletely opposite direction!
Ace left the corpse of this N¨¡ga behind, so the approaching crowd could easily find him.
If he wanted he could¡¯ve just destroyed or stored, this N¨¡ga¡¯s body to get rid of another time, but he didn¡¯t do so because he wanted the others to find out and this will probably cause some trouble for the Demon King behind this N¨¡ga fellow.
Because there weren¡¯t many races like N¨¡ga on the mighty demon continent, it would be easily discovered who this N¨¡ga was subordinate to once someone with authority started to investigate.
Although it wasn¡¯t enough to harm a Demon King; it was enough to cause tensions between two Demon Kings and intion suspicious about why this spy acted so boldly in another Demon King¡¯s territory.
Furthermore, Ace had the treasure that the demon king was after, and by doing this, it would not draw attention to himself even if he started his grand n of theft around the Iron Demon City.
No one would probably believe that a mere thief killed a strong golden Qi river core stage cultivator because anyone with this kind of prowess will not stoop to the level of a thief. It was simply absurd.
But Ace knew as he showed his prowess and means of the thief, he¡¯ll change everyone¡¯s view of a thief and at that time many will be after him just like what happened in lowernds.
Nevertheless, Ace wasn¡¯t worried about it, since all his conjectures could be wrong and this incident might not even reach that level at all. Others might think this was just a fight between rogue cultivators and buried this incident after some hoo-hah.
But the peace of Iron Demon City was going to be again short-lived, and the Iron Demon Tribe might suffer the most if they didn¡¯t react carefully this time around.
Right at this moment, Ace was moving at full speed while crossing alleyways like a ghost.
Thereupon, Ace finally spotted a blurry shadow and his lips rose in a stiff smile, ¡±Hundred Shadows Mirage!¡¯
The dark de sword moved at this moment in a beautiful dark arc, and a hundred swords¡¯ shadows filled with dark lightning instantly rained toward the blurry shadow like lightning.
The blurry shadow seemed to sense the approaching danger and quickly try to dodge, but s, failed and was instantly engulfed in the sword shadows, and groaned anguishedly and in disbelief.
A horrified and pleading voice sounded at this moment, ¡°Senior, please spare me!¡±
This staggering voice was obviously the Bronze Qi river core cultivator partner of the deceased N¨¡ga and also his blood brother.
As Ace said, this guy had reached the fighting spot quickly, but he didn¡¯t join or help the other and silently observed from a distance.
When he saw his brother was going to die, he escaped without even thinking twice, nor did he show any emotions of sorrow or hatred, as if he didn¡¯t care about the death of his own brother at all.
But how could he escape Ace¡¯s detection? His brother probably also sensed him long ago but said nothing and even plead for his life while taking hisst breath¡
Ace was naturally disgusted by this fellow to the core and chased after him. This guy wasn¡¯t a threat to him at all.
Ace impassively saw the bloody figure kneeling right in front of him while pleading for his life. The cloak on him was also shredded by Ace¡¯s attack and his snake-like face was also revealed, which also signifies that he was really from the same race, N¨¡ga.
Ace asked coldly at this moment, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you help him?¡±
The bronze Qi river core N¨¡ga was naturally scared out of his wits when he was somehow discovered by this person who even killed his strong brother, and now he was just a fish on the chopping board since he wasn¡¯t as strong as his brother and this person was too strong for even to him escape!
¡°I¡ It was a hopeless situation¡ even though my brother knows senior is so strong, he still dared to fight senior¡ H-he deserved to die! I didn¡¯t want to offend senior, so I just didn¡¯t disturb senior and take my leave!¡± His face was hideous and filled with terror as he spoke.
¡°Is that so?¡± Ace coolly said.
¡°Y-yes!¡±
Ace shook his head and sighed, ¡°Sigh¡ you¡¯re lying, well, it doesn¡¯t matter¡ you can just tell the truth to your brother directly!¡±
If he was a little bit more powerful, he might¡¯ve soul probed him, but he could sense this N¨¡ga¡¯s soul was stronger than him, and so he simply decided to end him!
¡°N-no¡¡± He roared unwillingly and finally decided to struggle to the end, since the other party didn¡¯t n on sparing him, there wasn¡¯t any need for pleading.
He wanted to take out a treasure, but was instantly horrified when he felt his storage ring was now¡ gone!
Before he could fathom what had happened, a thousand sword shadows suddenly manifest right above him and just a tidal wavepletely engulfed him the very next moment thereafter!
Ace received two new notifications at this moment.
=====
[Sessful Pick Pocket Count: 1]
[Total Rewards: 10,000TP]
[Low-Level Thieveries: 1]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 1,461,850]
¡ª
[Low-level Thievery: 2,748]
¡ª
[Killed a Bronze Qi River Core Stage, Blood N¨¡ga]
[Reward: 1,000 EXP]
¡ª
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-3]]
[EXP: 32,020/50,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-3]]
[SP: 20,000/50,000]
=====
Ace paid little attention to these expected notifications and mused, ¡®So, not demons, huh? They were probably one of the servitude races under the demon race, the N¨¡ga Race. This race could detect me even with my pulseless stealth¡ I have to be more careful about this race in the future and learn more about all the other servitude races under demons¡¡¯
Ace only smile wryly when he thought there was still more to learn about this world and stopped mulling over the matters which were out of his hands for now.
He coldly nced at to mingle N¨¡ga¡¯s corpse and leave the area, leaving behind this one for the city guards as well.
¡®Should I continue with my original n? The entire city might be on high alert tomorrow night, and this night is still long. The guards will be busy dealing with this matter first, leaving the marketpletely unguarded!¡¯ Ace wore a thievish smile and again headed toward the market area.
As for the wooden box, he simply decided to take a look at it when he returned to the hideout and also sort the storage ring at that time as well.
This was the night of theft and also the entrance of Sky Stealer into the mighty demon continent!
¡ª
On the other side of the Iron Demon City,
Ace waspletely right about his conjuncture because after themotion he caused while fighting with the golden river core N¨¡ga, the entire Iron Demon City¡¯s guard regiment was on the move, and they finally reached the fighting scene. Even the residents were gathering there, creating arge crowd.
When everyone discovered the N¨¡ga¡¯s corpse, they were horrified when they thought an outside race had infiltrated their city with malicious intention. Unknowingly, Ace became a hero in these demons¡¯ hearts since he dealt with this threat and leave without even taking any credit or demanding rewards.
Right at this moment, when the crowd was going crazing over this matter, an imposing voice rang, ¡°Everyone please withdraw fifty-meter distance from the fighting scene and don¡¯t worry this creature is a N¨¡ga, from a servitude race of our demon race. He wasn¡¯t an infiltrator to our continent. He was probably gone rogue and tried to rob someone, but met with an expert of our race and reached his deserving end!¡±
A tall demon d in golden armor with gold skin, and horns appeared, followed by city guards. This was themander of the Iron City Guard Regiment.
Everyone finally had a sigh of relief when they heard this was just a ve gone rogue and cursed the entire N¨¡ga race for being ungrateful and traitors.
However, what thismander didn¡¯t tell everyone was the N¨¡ga race was a close aid of a Demon King and kept this matter to himself. He didn¡¯t dare to voice out this truth, or it would be akin to directly pointing his finger at a Demon King!
He left this matter to the higher-ups, and he knew this was huge trouble for Iron Demon City!
¡®First, mad thief, and now the traces of another demon king. Just why is my Iron Demon Tribe facing all these tribtions? Just what have we done wrong¡¡¯ themanderment deeply.
However, what he didn¡¯t know was this was just the start of a disaster for Iron Demon City and the real trouble wille this morning when a thief¡¯s name would be made known to the demon race and be one of his legends¡
Chapter 320
The night of urrence finally passed in the Iron Demon City and the world wee new dawn, but for the Iron Demon City, it was destined to be an unforgettable day.
Right now, almost the entire city knows about thest night¡¯s fight. However, this didn¡¯t hinder the city market, which was the central hub of the Iron Demon City¡¯s economy and prestige.
The merchants didn¡¯t care about fights between cultivators as long as they didn¡¯t hinder or involved them, they just wanted to make money and earn a reputation.
¡®Sigh¡ it seemed like the Iron Demon City is no longer like the past. Even a ve dared to be brazened here now.¡¯
A wizened face demon was deep in thought at this moment while sitting in arge luxurious carriage pulled by two demonic beasts which were moving toward the Iron Demon City¡¯s market.
¡®If Duke Livy is as assertive as the rumor said, he¡¯ll probably rece the Iron Demon Tribe by silently giving the order to open challenge them. I should evacuate my shop and family from the iron demon city, just in case the challenge really happened. The city will be turned into a battlefield.
¡®Beside¡ it¡¯s time for me to move on to a duke-level city and expand my business. I have already secured the required amount of Qi stones to buy an extensive property and my reputation has also reached the threshold for me to open a shop in a duke level city¡¡¯
This wizened face demon was a well-known merchant and quite famous for his premium quality goods in Iron Demon City Market and quite respected in the merchant circle in the ocean demon dukedom.
On the mighty demon continent, merchants can¡¯t open a shop on a whim, just anywhere. One, you have to be rich, and second, you have to be highly respectable and popr.
Only then can one open a shop in high noble rank cities like Iron Demon City, and it was even more difficult to enter a demon duke rank city¡¯s market. Because one could earn a hundred times more profit in a duke city¡¯s marketpared to a marquess level city market.
Not to talk about the businesses in a king domain.
Nevertheless, this wizened demon was already nning on leaving the Iron Demon City and moving to the Ocean Demon City and after the event of the mad thief andst night, he finally decided to collect everything he amodated for all these years from the secret treasury in his shop and leave this ce.
Not just this wizened demon thought like this, but almost all the respectable and high-status merchants were considering the same point after thest night¡¯s event.
These merchants weren¡¯t born or the kin of Iron Demon Tribe, and they were only businessmen, which only followed profit, and Iron Demon City was losing its credibility in their belief.
The carriage finally stopped outside a huge building. The wizened demon disembarks the carriage, still musing as he plodded toward the entrance, followed by two powerful personal demon guards.
However, he suddenly frowned because he didn¡¯t see the shop guards anywhere and snorted coldly, ¡°It seemed the Iron Demon Tribesmen really didn¡¯t care about the city economy anymore. You two, if theye back, broke their legs and throw them out.¡±
Those two demon guards merely nodded in affirmation. They were with this wizened demon for over twenty years now, and they knew his temperament, and they knew he hated inaction and unprofessionalism when it came to business.
¡°T-this¡ how is this possible?!!!¡±
The wizened face demon was about it unlocked the door when he heard an anguished, shrill howl from the next building. He was quite familiar with this voice. He quickly turned around the headed toward the next shop to see what has happened.
Just as he entered the shop, it was totally different from what he remembered because all the illustrated treasures werepletely gone from their showcases.
¡®Is Edwin also trying to evacuate to another city?¡¯ He thought with uncertainty, but when he thought about the scream just now, he knew something was not right and quickly goes toward the open door behind the ss counter.
They finally reach an underground room and were bbergasted when they saw a demon with silver hair listlessly kneeling right before an open vault. There were four corpses of demons that were beheaded not long ago.
However, the wizened demon¡¯s focus was right inside thepletely empty vault, and his eyes were fixed on a three-meter dark owl mural and its de-like wings, there were two eye-catching words imposingly written on the owl wings in demonnguage.
¡°Sky Stealer?¡± He mumbled.
Edwin seemed to sense his friend and business rival¡¯s presence and started tough like a maniac, ¡°Hahaha¡ Old codger, my life wealth, treasures, everything is gone¡ hahaha¡ stolen¡ hahaha.¡±
The wizened demon¡¯s heart palpitated, not because of his friend¡¯s loonyughter, but when he remembered two missing guards. Without even replying, he used his full power to run toward his own shop.
Those two demon guards also followed behind with grave expressions. They also felt something was amiss.
¡°Who is Sky Stealer¡?!!!!¡±
At this moment, they heard another roar right from the other side of the street. It was a high-end wine shop!
The wizened demon heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he heard again a familiar voice, which was chanting the tone was his friend!
He didn¡¯t even use the key and break inside his own shop as the rming array started to cause a hugemotion, but the demon wasn¡¯t even heard it when his old face showed myriad emotions between uncertainty, shock, fascination¡ his entire interior waspletely empty not a single disyed treasure was on their ce!
He quickly goes toward the upper floor while trembling with fear and when he broke the door of the second floor as well it was also empty!
¡°No, no, no, it was just an illusion!¡± He crazily started to mumble as he moved toward the third floor.
Yet, nothing changed. Every floor was made clear of any valuable items and when he reached thest floor, where his life¡¯s wealth was hidden. He saw the hidden treasure vault waspletely opened, and the same owl mural was printed on the center wall and the same name, Sky Stealer.
His entire body was staggered suddenly when he finally vomited arge amount of blood!
¡°Mister!¡±
Both guards quickly support him, but their faces were also filled with incredulity as they saw the entire shop was robbed clean and the thief was so lethal that he didn¡¯t even trigger any trap or rm and even open the middle grade one treasury!
Their eyes were filled with trepidation when they looked at that owl imprint, and they felt a chill run down their spines and the name Sky Stealer was deeply engraved in their heart!
The wizened demon said at this moment in an extremely hoarse yet cadaverous voice, ¡°Take me to city lord manor!¡±
Those two looked at each other before quicklyplying. They didn¡¯t know what their master was thinking, but they knew something unimaginable was going to happen in Iron Demon City!
¡ª
Soon, not just this wizened demon, but almost every famous and esteemed character of Iron Demon City Market, started to head toward Golden Iron Demon Territory with sharp killing intentions.
First, everyone paid little attention to this movement, but as those carriages filled with murderous auras pass them, everyone broke into a cold sweat, and they knew something had happened.
It didn¡¯t take long before some low-end shop owner finds out all the big shops in the market were robbed clean, and this news started to spread like wildfire and quickly burn down the entire city!
What gave everyone horror was this was doing of a new thief who leave behind an owl imprint on some shops and in some imprints, he even dared to arrogantly leave behind his name!
The name ¡®Sky Stealer¡¯ quickly be known in the Iron Demon City and everyone thought the Mad Thief was just a toddlerpared to this Sky Stealer!
Although he didn¡¯t kill anyone, he robbed everyone with high status in one night, and they even forget about the fight that happenedst night.
The entire iron demon tribe was thrown into disarray, especially the three founding ns because they knew this blunder wasn¡¯t even close to the mad thief event.
It was nowpletely out of their hands. They can¡¯t even subdue the enraged victims outside their territories. Everyone was demanding fullpensation, or it was going to be a bloodbath!
But what could poor Iron Demon Tribe do? Since their own shops were raided as well, they suffer huge losses!
Everyone in Iron Demon Tribe knows it was the end, and they were right about it when, in the afternoon, a Demon Duke Decree came directly from the Ocean Demon City!
Chapter 321
A grand carriage, pulled by two lions like demonic beasts, was making its way toward Gold-Iron Demon Territory at this moment of turmoil.
Many demons saw the grand carriage and their faces instantly turned pale because of the dark blue spearhead-like emblem printed on the carriage. The coachman was also d in luxurious robes. It was a purple skin demon.
Everyone knows in ocean demon dukedom that this dark blue spearhead was the emblem representing the Ocean Demon Tribe, and only the leading n can use it, not just anymon ocean demon n.
That¡¯s why every iron demon knew something big was about to happen when they saw the carriage and an ocean demon handling it.
They knew if this was just a random order or notice, there wasn¡¯t any need to send an ocean demon envoy here or the ocean duke could¡¯ve summoned the city lord directly.
Yet, the ocean duke didn¡¯t do so and instated sent an envoy, and almost everyone knows about this morning¡¯s huge incident, so it wasn¡¯t a big deal to figure out the reason for this endeavor.
The Iron Demon Tribe¡¯s demons knew the Ocean Duke was going to make his move after they failed to maintain peace and order in his territory.
Currently, the territory of the Golden Iron Demon n was crowded with many kinds of carriages and every owner of these carriages was demanding to see the city lord Elian.
Every one of these demons was the owner of shops that were looted by Sky Stealerst night, and since they can¡¯t find the thief himself, they naturallye running to Elian forpensation and an exnation.
Even though Elian was strongest in this city but these enrage merchants weren¡¯t afraid in the least bit because first, they simply didn¡¯t care about it after going bankrupt, and second, Elian would never dare to silence them unless he wasn¡¯t afraid of capital punishment and annihtion of his entire tribe.
However, Elian didn¡¯t show his face at all, and they were all encamping there in the morning, refusing to leave. They even started to curse and berated the Iron Demon Tribe, yet no onee to confront them.
The chief residents¡¯ doors were sealed closed while an invisible protective formation was active, which was the only thing that was keeping those enraged demons at bay, or they would¡¯ve started attacking long ago.
This wasn¡¯t the condition for just the Golden Iron Demon n, though, because two more groups were encamping outside: Silver Iron Tribe and Bronze Iron Tribe territories!
These three arrogant ns were now cowering behind their turtle shells, refusing to face themon public.
The entire city was in a state of panic right now and if not for city guards keeping things in check, the entire city might¡¯ve turned into a chaotic battlefield. Yet, those guards still can¡¯t stop all those bottom-feeders at once from plundering, and it was happening on a small scale already.
It was the actual face of the demon race which worship power, nothing else!
So, what if you¡¯re a Duke, Marquis, or even a King? As long as you lose the favor of your backer or didn¡¯t have enough strength to keep this statue, you¡¯re done for!
This was exactly what was happening to the Iron Demon City. A Marquis Rank Tribe was on the verge of losing its title just because their backer a Duke lose hope in them and their strength was just subpar to hold this title alone!
At this moment, the ocean demon envoy¡¯s carriage finally entered the territory of the Golden Iron Demon n.
Those enraged merchant demons also notice those two three-meter-tall vicious crimson lionsing in their way.
¡°Th-they¡¯re mature Crimson Fire Lions of Early Fourth Grade!¡± someone eximed with a hint of dread and fervor.
In Mighty Demon Continent, the demonic beasts were graded between the First rank to Eight Ranks and each rank was further divided into Early, intermediate, andte.
These ranks represent eight cultivation realms of golden sky worlds. Simply put, these two Crimson Fire Lions were in Early Fourth Grade, meaning they were between Iron Stage or Bronze Stage of River Core Realm.
However, there were two types of demonic beasts. The first type was the vicious type, which can¡¯t be tamed by just anyone and had any intelligence. They only know how to kill and attacked anyone or anything that came into their view.
The second type was the intelligent type demonic beast. These demonic beasts were intelligent and knew when to advance or retreat, and Beast Tamers also subdue and prefer this type of demonic beast.
These two Crimson Fire Lions were also intelligent type demonic beasts; however, their intelligence wasn¡¯t as high as humanoid beings like humans, demons, or vice versa.
They were just intelligent enough to discriminate between danger and opportunity, or choice between submission or death.
¡°You idiot, don¡¯t you see that emblem? They¡¯re from Ocean Duke Manor! Make way, let¡¯s see if those shameless Iron Demons still dare to hide in their turtle shell!¡± someone sneered in a murderous tone.
Everyone quickly made the way to the iing carriage. They were even afraid those two Crimson Fire Lions would eat them or their mounts, so it was more like they were escaping. Yet, they didn¡¯t leave, as everyone wanted to see what was about to happen.
The ocean demon coachman didn¡¯t even nce at those merchants and impassively looked at therge resident two hundred meters away from the carriage and stopped the two lions. He could tell there was an active formation ahead with his martial sense.
However, it didn¡¯t vex him, nor did it drop the disdain in his blue eyeballs. On the contrary, his eyes turned cold as he speaks using his Qi to amplify his voice at this moment,
¡°The Left Ocean Spear of Ocean Demon Manor, Lord Henrik Ocean, is here with Ocean Demon Duke Decree! Elian, the chief of Iron Demon Tribe, roll out right now and received the decree!¡±
His words weren¡¯t polite at all, but no one dared to voice out their thoughts as everyone held their breath when they hear the title ¡®Left Ocean Spear¡¯, and a chill run down their spine.
Because Duke Livy had two personal bodyguards and also his closest aids, titled, Left Ocean Spear and Right Ocean Spear, and both of them were in Qi soul realm!
This wasn¡¯t the main reason for these demons to be afraid. They were afraid because they knew whenever an Ocean Spear appeared, there will always be a bloodbath!
Some locals of Iron Demon City nearly fainted from fright when they thought it was over!
Even those enrage merchants find it hard to breathe right now and didn¡¯t dare even look at the carriage with a straight face anymore!
They even wanted to leave, but s, it was toote now, since the Left Ocean Spear might take it in the wrong way or just kill them because he feels like it.
¡°Hah¡ so we¡¯re finally here, and you didn¡¯t even wake me up, little purple?¡±
At this moment, a lethargic yet powerful voice rang from inside the carriage.
The coachman or little purple broke into a cold sweat and quickly replied, ¡°Milord, we didn¡¯t reach yet because those impudent Iron Demons had activated a defensive formation, which is why I stopped the carriage.¡±
¡°Oh? Are they rebelling by blocking us?¡± Thezy voice asked with a hint of astonishment and also excitement.
Little blue thought for a moment and spoke, ¡°Well, milord, this formation was active before I made contact, so it didn¡¯t seem they¡¯re rebelling¡ however since they block an ocean envoy way it¡¯s equal to rebelling!¡±
Everyone broke out in a cold sweat when they heard his words and started to thank demon god since they timely moved from their way!
¡°Misunderstanding!¡±
A loud yet timorous voice rang in the area at this moment, and the other could tell the owner this was terror-stricken.
Everyone turned and see, Elian running toward the carriage, with other elders of the golden iron closely following behind with terrified faces.
The formation instantly stopped!
With a plop, Elian quickly kneeled in front of the carriage and said, ¡°My Lord, this is all a misunderstanding! The formation was not active to hinder milord bu¡¡±
Before Elian could exin thezy voice sounded again with a hint of yfulness, ¡°I don¡¯t care about reason at all, since you block ocean demon envoy this is equal to directly blocking my lord Ocean Duke¡¯s path so¡ hmm how should I eradicate your n¡¡±
Everyone from the golden iron n broke into a cold sweat hearing this yful voice while those demons camping here from morning gloated about their misfortune!
Elian¡¯s face turned aghast and the next moment he banged his head on the solid road and plead, ¡°My Lord, please show mercy, please show mercy!¡±
The other elders also kowtowed like Elian and plead for mercy!
¡°Hmph!¡± A cold harrumph rang at this moment and mountain-like pressure ascend around the area that make everyone suffocate!
Chapter 322
Elian¡¯s face turned aghast and the next moment he banged his head on the solid road and plead, ¡°My Lord, please show mercy, please show mercy!¡±
The other elders also kowtowed like Elian and plead for mercy!
¡°Hmph!¡± A cold harrumph rang at this moment and mountain-like pressure ascend around the area that make everyone suffocate!
The imposing voice of Left Ocean Spear was full of ferocious intent and momentum that everyone within a radius of Five-hundred-meter felt their minds tremble!
This was the momentum of a soul realm expert!
But the little purple on the helm clearly knew his lord hadn¡¯t even revealed ten percent of his true might just yet, and his eyes glowed with zeal. He was the retainer of Left Ocean Spear for many years. He was probably the only one who wasn¡¯t affected by this invisible pressure or voice since Left Ocean Spear deliberately controlled his prowess!
But everyone else fell on their knees since they can¡¯t take this suffocating pressure. Even those vicious beasts fell into a submissive stance with terror-stricken eyes.
Elian and the other golden iron n elders naturally face the ghastly pressure from up close and far more influential than anyone else, since it was clearly focused on them, to begin with.
¡®This is the end¡¡¯ Elian lost all hope of survival at this moment and just wait for death.
However, at this moment, the pressure suddenly vanished, making everyone bewildered and relieved.
Those golden iron n¡¯s elders also find themselves alive and be ted and confused, and looked toward the carriage with grateful yet doubtful eyes.
The Left Ocean Spear¡¯s impish voice sounded again, ¡°I forgive you.¡±
Elian and others had a massive sigh of relief as if they were given a new lease on life, literally. But everyone was confused in their heart because two Ocean Spears were rumored to be ruthless and uncharitable.
The impish yet imposing voice rang again, snapping everyone out of their stupor.
¡°If I eradicate your n, then how can I enjoy myself? Won¡¯t I journey all the way here for nothing? Little Purple, read the decree of my lord!¡±
Elian and other golden iron ns¡¯ elders¡¯ faces contrasted as they held their breath. They could sense something was amiss just by those words full of hidden meaning. Now all they can do was pray for the best, nothing else.
Little Purple be extremely solemn, and a beautiful scroll appeared in his hand as he carefully opened it. He read in a solemn tone,
¡°The Marquis rank tribe of Ocean Demon Dukedom, Iron Demon Tribe, has been challenged by rankless, Dark Gibbon Demon Tribe for a ¡®Noble Tribe Title War¡¯.
¡°ording to the rules of Almighty Demon Empire, anyone or any tribe can freely challenge as long as theyplete the conditions set by Almighty Demon Empire.
¡°As per se, Dark Gibbon Demon Tribe has met all the conditions ording to the Noble Tribe Title War Challenge rules. ording to rules, The Ocean Demon Tribe, the overseer of this territory, has sent an envoy to judge this Noble Tribe Title War challenge impartially and without prejudice.
¡°Iron Demon Tribe has no right to refuse this Noble Tribe Title War challenge or surrender because this is a ¡®Death Challenge¡¯ and ording to rules until one of the tribeplete annihtion, this War Challenge won¡¯t stop.
¡°The Iron Demon Tribe has Seven Days for preparation, and anyone other than the Iron Demon Tribe¡¯s members can leave the battle zone, which is the Iron Demon City, within the preparation period or suffer the consequences of capital punishment.¡±
Little purple finally stopped at this point with a wintry smile on his demonic face. He was just like an excited spectator, who was waiting for a good show eagerly, a show of killing!
Elian was quivering right now with indignation and despair. He knew Duke Livy was using this excuse of a challenge to get rid of his tribe, or how could a rankless tribe dare to challenge a Marquis rank tribe in a Death War Challenge without even fearing offending the higher-ups?
They didn¡¯t even utter a word about the incident of theft, and simply issued a death warrant for them under the pretext of rules and regtions!
All those merchants who were here forpensation also have content expressions on their faces. They knew the Iron Demon Tribe was finished now and there wasn¡¯t any need for them to voice out their grievances anymore.
They were all angry and grimaced at their bankruptcy, even though deep down they knew Iron Demon Tribe was also a victim in this case.
But so, what if they¡¯re also victims?
Since they can¡¯t find the thief the real culprit, they¡¯re more than happy to get satisfaction with Iron Demon Tribe¡¯s destruction since they didn¡¯t provide enough security even after escaping the events of the mad thiefst time.
This simply meant they didn¡¯t learn enough and won¡¯t get another chance either. The time of forgiveness was over now, once and for all.
¡°Little purple, give him the decree and let¡¯s go. I¡¯m still sleepy. Wake me up before the battle day.¡± Left Ocean Spear¡¯szy voice rang in the silent square.
¡°Yes, milord!¡± Little purple quickly sent the decree toward listless Elian before saying, ¡°You can check the rules on the other side of the scroll, humph, you better entertain my lord!¡±
Without another word, hemands two Crimson Fire Lions to move fast and left the Golden Iron Demon¡¯s estate toward the exit of the city.
Everyone in the area also quickly left afterward, so they could quickly flee from the Iron Demon City, which was going to be a battle zone in seven days!
Elian was left kneeling for a long time with the decree in his hand as a chilly breeze brushed past him.
In the end, he sighed, ¡°Vanquished by a mere thief, huh¡¡±
He had nothing else to say, or he didn¡¯t know what to say or feel because he was probably the first demon in the history of mighty demon content who was about to lose his life because of a mere thief and an unreasonable superior who just don¡¯t want to listen to their side of the story.
¡°C-n leader, let¡¯s escape with young ones!¡± an elder said in a trembling voice filled with sadness and bitterness.
¡°Escape, heh?¡± Elian retorted wryly. ¡°Do you think we can escape a soul realm expert martial sense? I bet the moment one of our tribesmen step foot outside the city gates, he¡¯ll be turned into meat fragments!¡±
¡°So, we should just wait to be annihted and perish?!¡± another elder said with unwillingness.
¡°No, we still have a chance,¡± Elian said, but he knew deep down it was an almost none existence chance!
¡°How? To win? But do you think the Left Ocean Spear will let us win? I bet Duke Livy had already instructed him to help our opponents!¡± A wizened face golden iron elder rebutted wryly.
¡°Sigh¡ announce this news to the entire city, unite the entire tribe, and call for a meeting!¡±
Elian stated and finally stood up on his feet as his forehead was bleeding from all those kowtows, but he seemed to didn¡¯t notice it as he made his way toward the estate while walking in a defeated manner.
¡ª
While the fate of Iron Demon Tribe was sealed, the cause of it was leisurely skimming through the gains of hisst night¡¯s endeavor.
Ace didn¡¯t know his ¡®thief¡¯s night¡¯ would push the iron demon tribe from the cliff and even if he knew, he would still do the same repeatedly because he knew the Iron Demon Tribe wasn¡¯t the tribe of saints.
Just the memories of Pablo and Buck were enough to make Ace nauseous from the deed this tribe has done in the dark.
Nheless, Ace didn¡¯t know right now about it, as he was ordering the system to make the list of his gainst night with an excited expression on his face. Because the haul was much richer than he thought.
¡°¡ add those two N¨¡ga storage rings into the list as well. It doesn¡¯t matter if I didn¡¯t pickpocket the first one¡¯s storage ring.¡± Acemanded.
After giving his instruction, he waited for the system to sort out his loot and finally looked toward the curvaceous figure wearing a dark mask, not too far away from him, and sighed softly.
¡®She¡¯s very close to breakthrough into Soul Foundation Building Realm and probably archive in five or six days. I wonder how strong her nine soul gates foundation would be.¡¯ Ace thought, with a hint of expectancy in his eyes.
¡®Well, in the meantime I should steal the treasures of three founding ns as well and left them bristling!¡¯ Ace mused with an evil smile on his masculine, handsome face.
Suddenly, an excited glint shed past his eyes, and a white rectangr wooden box appeared in his hand. In ecstasy, he has nearly forgotten about this treasure, that even a demon king was interested in.
With no further dy, he quickly opened the white box¡
Chapter 323
With no further dy, Ace quickly opened the white box¡
¡®Hmm?¡¯ Ace frowned a little. ¡®It¡¯s locked?¡¯
Ace promptly used soul-shattering eyes and could finally see a tiny lock array on the top edge of the white rectangr wooden box. In a hurry, he didn¡¯t notice this lock array.
This was his second time seeing an array this small. The first naturally being the rming array which gave him away and, as a result, confrontation with N¨¡gas!
¡®The rune crafters here are much advanced, and they had much richer history and knowledge than the entire human racebined. Well, I should pay a ¡®visit¡¯ to the ¡®Life Demon Association¡¯ branch in Ocean Demon City in the future,¡¯ Ace mused with a thievish grin on his face.
Life Demon Association was a recognized organization by the Almighty Demon Empire. This association was only for the life professional cultivator, like alchemy, rune crafting, and smithery.
If any demon wanted to be acknowledged or hired by any power, they had to pass Life Demon Association Tests and then gain the association badge of a respected profession.
Life Demon Association branches can be found in any duke rank or above rank cities all over the mighty demon continent while their main headquarters were in the royal zone.
That¡¯s why Ace wanted to ¡®visit¡¯ these branches and ¡®acquired¡¯ the demon race¡¯s knowledge about runes. However, he knew he can¡¯t just target them as he did with Pill me Organization because this association was in apletely different realm than theirs.
He could just tell after seeing the delicate yet powerful arrays created by those rune crafters of the Life Demon Association and even fell prey to one of their traps for the first time in his life. So, he won¡¯t underestimate their branches¡¯ security. After all, this was probably the biggest, richest, and most respected organization of the Mighty Demon Continent!
Who knows just how many connections those alchemists or rune crafters had and if he offended them too soon, he knew many powerhouses wille after him in mass just to hunt him down and curry favor with Life Demon Association.
Ace quickly put this thought to the side for the time being and used the treasure-opening hands technique to unlock this nine-star array lock, which was quite luxurious for a mere wooden box.
But he knew this white wood was precious and, with this lock array, this was equal to a high-quality container. He definitely wanted to keep it.
Ace finally opened the box with glowing eyes and saw what was inside¡
¡®A scroll?¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed as he felt some disappointment when he thought he fought for a mere scroll!
Nheless, he took the golden scroll in his hand which was twenty inches long, and he felt it was quite soft and smooth, just like jade, and cold to the touch.
He carefully opened it with anticipation.
¡®What the¡?¡¯
Ace was dumbfounded when the scroll was finally opened because it waspletely¡ empty!
It was just like an empty 20 X 30 inches white goldenyer from inside and there wasn¡¯t any blemish on it, as if this scroll was just newly made with a beast hide. The other side of this scroll was a pure golden color and as ¡®clear¡¯ as the inside.
Ace¡¯s expression turned ugly. ¡®Did that guy put a dummy instead of the real thing?¡¯ He couldn¡¯t help but think this way.
But whiffled his head because no one would be gusty enough to court something a demon king wants. Even if that demon wanted to take this treasure for himself, he simply didn¡¯t need to report this to his superiors in the first ce.
Even if this was a dummy, then he could¡¯ve just directly handed over the original to those N¨¡gas instead of making them chase him and causing their deaths.
Furthermore, Ace himself felt the shop owner¡¯s fearful emotion at that time, and when he identally triggered the rm, that guy nearly went senseless with fear and desperation.
Ace knows these kinds of emotions can¡¯t be fake and that demon didn¡¯t even know about someone was observing him in the first ce, so he simply didn¡¯t need to fake anything while being alone.
That¡¯s why Ace was sure he stole the real thing, or this could only mean that guy was probably the biggest con artist in this world, and he naturally earned his ¡®pier¡¯ respect. But it was highly unlikely as well.
Ace even used his eye skill, but his scroll remained just as empty as before. He looked at the open white box again and his eyes dted when he saw there was an outline of a small littlepartment on the box surface.
It wasn¡¯t locked though and Ace easily open, and he found a folded yellowish old letter!
Ace quickly pick it up and find this letter was also made of special material, but time clearly left its mark on it, and it was rather old.
He opened it carefully and saw strange tiny writing, which was clearly not in the demon racenguage, nor it was from the humannguage which he knows. But it wasn¡¯t any problem for him since he can easily understand his newnguage because of his ancient godnguage,
He read,
¡°Dear Fated One, whoever is reading this letter, please read this carefully!
¡°This Golden Scroll is called Myriad Live Compass Map. I obtained it from the¡ sky! Yes, Sky damn it, I know it sounds ludicrous, but it¡¯s absolutely true!
¡°One day I was strolling on my beloved donkey¡¯s back and this shit scroll fell on my face¡ you do not know how much it hurt, and I cursed the sky for hours and even try to destroy this scroll in anger.
¡°But then I found out it can¡¯t be destroyed no matter how much power or what method I use. This naturally arouses my interest and after some experiments, I finally activate it!
¡°Then she told me her name was Myriad Live Compass Map! Yes, this fucking piece of paper talk, motherfucker! I nearly peed a little in palpitation¡ but ahem, it isn¡¯t important though¡¡±
Dark lines started to appear on Ace¡¯s forehead when he read to his point and the author of this letter was probably a retard, nevertheless, he continued to read,
¡°¡ What is important is she or this Myriad Compass Live Map told me, as long as I sacrifice my lifespan, this Myriad Compass Map will spontaneously turn into a treasure map¡¡±
Ace¡¯s brows creased, reading this point.
¡°¡ After I spend one hundred years of my lifespan, a map emerged magically on this nk piece of cloth. It was the map of the fifty miles radius area around me while me being the center spot.
¡°This thing was truly magical. Not only did it create an urate map of the surroundings, but it was like a living map! Yes, a living fucking map! It can show you every change or movement happening around the created area while also showing where are you heading or moving around. As for how¡ you¡¯ll know if you used it.
¡°The actual function of this map is; this will show a single and most important treasure around the created area with the lifespan. After you acquire the treasure indicated in Myriad Live Compass Map, it will spontaneously reset, and you have to feed it with more lifespan to create another treasure map, or it will reset on its own after 100 Days.
¡°However, don¡¯t sway by these heavenly benefits and functions because once you be its owner it¡¯ll constantly feed on your lifespan without your knowledge!
¡°First you won¡¯t notice it but as you use it constantly, you¡¯ll start to notice just like me and the most hateful thing is you can¡¯t stop it nor can replenish your eaten vitality by this life-sucker with any pill or any heavenly treasures!
¡°Sigh¡ nevertheless, despite this deadly shoring, it still helped me many times while providing me with many heavenly opportunities which changed my entire life.
¡°In spite that it is still a sweet addicting poison which will eventually take your life and I found it in the hard way when I want to live peacefully, but there wasn¡¯t any lifespan left for me to live¡
¡°Sigh¡ I didn¡¯t want this thing to be left to my son because I don¡¯t want him to feel what I feel. That¡¯s why this is in your hand right now. I left this letter as a warning for whoever found this Myriad Live Compass Map.
¡°Now it¡¯s your choice to be its host or throw it away or hide it, but it can¡¯t be destroyed no matter what, nor can it be unbound once bond¡
¡°Just ast fair warning, in my final years of life I sense¡ this thing is evil through and through!¡±
Ace inhale sharply when he read thest line, his heart turn cold as he looked at the golden scroll in hisp with uncertainty and with a hint of trepidation!
Chapter 324
Ace deeply looked at the seemingly innocuous and ordinary scroll, and then looked at the old letter. Although the writer didn¡¯t leave its name, he left his feeling in this old letter.
It was another case if these words were true or false, though, since Ace can¡¯t sense anything from words. Furthermore, this person wasn¡¯t from the demon race because of this foreignnguage, and it was quite possible this letter was hundreds or probably thousands of years old!
¡®A treasure that feeds on lifespan and makes a treasure map in return, huh? Besides, this letter was too vague about its functions, and it also didn¡¯t clearly describe its drawbacks as well.
¡®Whoever stumbled upon this scroll has also probably discovered this old letter with it, but I¡¯m sure the finder didn¡¯t understand thenguage, or they probably take this treasure for themselves! With its heaven-defying factors, even with the loss of lifespan, I don¡¯t think anyone could resist this temptation.
¡®Furthermore, I still didn¡¯t understand how can this nk scroll arouse a demon king¡¯s attention, or why did the finder even bother to report this discovery to a demon king since this was just a nk scroll with nothing special about it?
¡®But it also didn¡¯t seem to be held much importance to the demon king since it only send two N¨¡gas of below Qi Soul Realm, which implies the demon king didn¡¯t know about what this nk scroll really is as well.
¡®Maybe the only thing that can gain the attention of a demon king is this thing¡¯s indestructible nature since those finders probably try to destroy it as well and failed. But is it really indestructible, as the writer said it is?¡¯
Ace was clearly unconvinced as he looked at the nk scroll, which was supposed to be the Myriad Live Compass Map ording to the letter, and this thing was probably in the hand of the demon king right now without his interferencest night.
Suddenly, a dark current poured out from Ace¡¯s hands and the dark despair lightning started to engulf the empty scroll. He wanted to see if his heavenly Qi can scratch this map or not.
Besides, the writer didn¡¯t write the method to bond this scroll, which clearly hinted it was either he didn¡¯t want to tell or forget, and chances of thetter being true were extremely low.
Even if the method was written, Ace wouldn¡¯t bond it with him after reading the letter. He wasn¡¯t desperate or required this scroll, and he was only curious.
As the dark despair lightning flowed around the golden sheet, it didn¡¯t leave any scratch on it, and this made Ace more assure that the writer was telling the truth about its indestructibility.
Ace stop using his heavenly Qi and the golden sheet remains the same, ¡®It¡¯s just like the ck page I gained from that boulder, but the former seemed more mysterious because of the ancient godnguage words ¡®Page 09¡ä.¡¯
¡°System, can you discriminate what this scroll is? TP didn¡¯t matter.¡± Ace finally asked the system.
He tried the same thing for Page 09, but he got no reply, so he gave up, and this time. He also had little hope, but it still didn¡¯t hurt trying.
¡°[100,000 Thief Points]¡±
Ace was astounded when he heard an unexpected answer and when he heard the number of thief points for this appraisal, he knew this was something extraordinary. He had longe to terms with how the system would demand TP for information.
The higher the level of the information system revealed, the more TP it asked in return and this was the first payment it asked for a piece of information after its upgrade and by the amount, it asked, Ace knew this thing was definitely worth it.
Ace quickly said, ¡°Deal!¡±
¡°[Heavenly Fate Live Compass Fragment!]¡±
Ace¡¯s heart jolted as his eyes glow like the sun the moment he heard the name and mumbled, ¡°Heavenly Fate Live Compass Fragment?¡±
Ace¡¯s heart galloped suddenly and asked, ¡°System, what do you mean fragment? This thing is notplete and broken?¡±
¡°[Yes, it¡¯s just the Compass Needle of Heavenly Fate Live Compass. Notplete treasure.]¡±
¡°What do you mean Compass Needle? This material is clearly made with some powerful beast hide!¡± Ace retorted with uncertainty and looked at the golden sheet again.
¡°[The ¡®Treasure Spirit¡¯ has made this hoax structure to hide its actual body for survival.]¡±
¡°Now what the hell is Treasure Spirit?¡± Ace became more confused.
¡°[When a treasure broke the limit of ninth grade, it¡¯ll form a consciousness which is called the treasure spirit.]¡±
Ace¡¯s heart was ttered hearing this new piece of information, which was really out of his scope.
Yet he remains rational and continues to question, ¡°Since a treasure only formed a consciousness after ninth grade, this meant the treasure spirit would not be this intelligent or powerful to create another body for itself to survive, right? This means this Treasure Spirit is likely far superior to those newly formed treasure spirits. I¡¯m right?¡±
¡°[Yes!]¡±
Ace inhales sharply before calming down. This was too big of a surprise for him. Because if his guess was right, this Heavenly Fate Live Compass was something too high a level for him to even think of. But this caused another question in his mind.
¡®Just what kind of existence was capable enough to destroy this treasure? Wait a minute, didn¡¯t the writer of this letter writer, this scroll falling from the sky? Could it be this fell from another¡ heaven?!¡¯
Ace¡¯s mind was blown. Just the thought of it gave him the chills. His imagination was running wild now. He clearly knew the name of the first heaven, and this also rified that there was probably second heaven as well. This make him reach this conclusion, and he felt it was more likely the case.
But he knew this was not important right now, and he asked with a solemn expression, ¡°System, since you know the name of this treasure, you should also know about its origin, right?¡±
¡°[Yes!]¡±
¡°Can you tell me?¡±
¡°[No, host current authority-level is not enough!]¡±
Ace smiled wryly with an ¡®as expected¡¯ expression on his face, ¡°Forget it, then just tell me this thing is useful for me or not?¡±
He was more interested in this point. Now, that system has decided to answer his questions. He knew it would answer anything as long as it was inside his current authority boundary.
¡°[Yes, with system help, the host can be this Heavenly Fate Compass Fragment¡¯s owner!]¡±
Ace¡¯s heartbeat spiked at hearing this, and his eyes shimmered in excitement!
¡°Did I have to spend Lifespan to use it?¡± this was the most important question he wanted to know.
¡°[No, with system help, the host will be its true owner!]¡±
Ace was ted, but suddenly something came to his mind to pull an amusing expression suddenly and said, ¡°Your help, huh? This is the first! Why do I feel you¡¯re encouraging me to be this treasure owner?¡±
Ace just felt like this for some reason and couldn¡¯t help but ask. It was not like he was doubting the system or anything, since he knew it would not harm him. But he still wanted to question it.
¡°[Yes, with this Heavenly Fate Live Compass Needle host can easily find many hidden and desirable treasures, for example¡ elemental orbs¡]¡±
¡°What?!¡± Ace nearly yells out loud hearing ¡®elemental orbs¡¯ and why shouldn¡¯t he?
Elemental Orbs were probably the only thing that can move him and arouse his deep desire in his world because this was the essence of his martial cultivation!
Ace took a deep breath to calm his wildly pounding heart. Although he didn¡¯t know the proper functions of this Heavenly Fate Live Compass, he knew the system would never lie to him.
So, the only thing left for him to do was, ¡°System, what do I have to d¡?¡±
Before he couldplete his sentence, the system¡¯s voice rang again,
=====
[A side mission has been issued]
¡ª
[Side Mission]
[Mission: Subdue the Heavenly Fate Live Compass Spirit!]
-Requirement (1): One Million Soul Point
-Requirement (2): Ten Million Thief Point
[Time: Infinite]
[Reward: Heavenly Fate Compass Needle]
[Punishment: None]
=====
The scroll in Ace¡¯s hands instantly vanished the next moment!
¡°The fuck¡?! Are you kidding me?! I can understand Thief Points, but why Soul Points!? And why the hell is the reward is something I gained myself, and you have the audacity to take it away from my hand?!¡± Ace instantly became furious and start to curse. He felt like he had swallowed a fly, and he can¡¯t even cough it out.
¡°[System just isted the Heavenly Fate Live Compass Needle or if the host store it living thief¡¯s space, it would¡¯ve started to wreak havoc there right after it awake. The host didn¡¯t know, but the treasure spirit was already started to awake after the host try to probe its hoax shell with heavenly Qi and heavenly Qi is something it loathed the most!]¡±
¡°What?!¡±
Chapter 325
Ace was shocked after hearing this and sweated because if the system was telling the truth, then he could¡¯ve endangered Eva in the thief¡¯s space because of his own ignorance!
He suddenly felt relief that he asked the system that question, or he didn¡¯t know what would¡¯ve happened.
Since there was more danger, he be rxed again and asked sternly, ¡°What do you mean by this thing loath the heavenly Qi? And if this thing had a conscious, then it can¡¯t be stored in normal Storage Space¡?
¡°Wait a minute, didn¡¯t I find this thing in a treasury? Could it be what draw the demon king¡¯s attention was its indestructibility as well as it can¡¯t be stored in a normal storage ring? Since I store it inside my thief¡¯s space, I didn¡¯t notice it before!¡±
Ace suddenly felt this conjuncture was probably very close to the truth, inparison with his previous one. The system made it even clearer when it replied to his question,
¡°[The Heavenly Fate Live Compass was destroyed by Heavenly¡¯s Will, which also used the Heavenly Qi. That¡¯s why it loathed the Heavenly Will.]
¡°[As for the host¡¯s second question, yes, it can¡¯t be stored in an ordinary storage space treasure. This treasure is one of a kind soul type treasure which will enter its owner¡¯s True Soul after recognizing its master.]¡±
¡°Destroyed by heaven¡¯s will, huh? Now, I understand why it would¡¯ve attacked me and why you wanted me to subdue it. Aren¡¯t I¡¯m also the enemy of a heaven¡¯s will in a sense and the enemy of an enemy is my friend, especially when the enemy is high heaven itself?
¡°But you also didn¡¯t want it to negotiate with me on equivalent terms if it were to find out about my true origin, and it¡¯s probably beneath you to share your host with some mere treasure spirit. Am I right, my dear system?¡±
Ace¡¯s voice was filled with derision and an amused smile. He thought he had got the system there for the first time, but he didn¡¯t know how wrong he was!
The system didn¡¯t reply in affirmation, nor did it try to correct him as if it didn¡¯t care.
Ace also shrug his shoulder and didn¡¯t pursue this matter any further, since the system had just saved him in a sense from an enraged entity.
¡®A soul-type treasure that can enter true soul after recognizing its master just like my system, but it¡¯s probably far cry from my system, which is like an omniscient entity. Well, not that¡¯s its matter anymore, since this treasure will be mine as long as Iplete this side mission.¡¯ Ace¡¯s smile was filled with confidence and anticipation for this heaven-defying treasure.
¡®A million soul points and ten million thief points. Well, I collect them eventually. I just have to look for soul points now,¡¯ Ace mused.
Since this matter was now dealt with, he focused on another matter. ¡°System, if the list of treasures is done, show me! Let¡¯s see my first thievery spree result in mighty demon continent!¡±
A panel sh opened in front of Ace¡¯s eager eyes at this moment.
======
[Stolen Treasure(s) List]
[Host steal]
[Space Treasure(s)]
-Intermediate-Grade-1 Storage Space Treasures: 2
-Low-Grade-1 Storage Space Treasures: 22
-Nine-Star Storage Space Treasure: 912
-Eight-Star Storage Space Treasure: 1,554
-Seven-Star Storage Space Treasure: 3.2 Million
-Six-Star Storage Space Treasure: 23 Million
-Five-Star Storage Space Treasure: 32 Million
¡ª
[Alchemy Treasure(s)]
-Five-Star Martial Pills: 5.1 Million
-Six-Star Martial Pills: 5.3 Million
-Seven-Star Martial Pills: 4.5 Million
-Eight-Star Martial Pills: 2.9 Million
-Nine-Star Marital Pills: 1.2 Million
-Low-Grade-1 Pills: 20,230
¨C Intermediate-Grade-1 Pills: 1,292
-Medicinal Alcohol: 50,000 Barrels (From 5-Star to 9-Star)
-Medicinal Alcohol: 10,000 Barrels Low-Grade-1
-Raw Materials: 29.5 Million (From 5-Star to 9-Star)
-Raw Materials: 16.2 Million (From Low-Grade-1 to High-Grade-1)
¡ª
[Smith Crafting Treasures]
-Five-Star Weapons: 272,290
-Six-Star Weapons: 190,211
-Seven-Star Weapons: 121,978
-Eight-Star Weapons: 72,943
-Nine-Star Weapons: 20,92
-Low-Grade-1 Weapons: 2,590
-Intermediate-Grade-1 Weapons: 328
-High-Grade-1 Weapons: 1
-Middle-Grade-2 Weapons: 1
-Raw Materials: 19.5 Million (From 5-Star to 9-Star)
-Raw Materials: 7.2 Million (From Low-Grade-1 to High-Grade-1)
¡ª
[Rune Crafting Treasure(s)]
-Seven-Star Arrays: 2,122
-Eight-Star Arrays: 290
-Nine-Star Arrays: 97
-Five-Star Formations: 172
-Six-Star Formations: 32
-Seven-Star Formations: 52
-Eight-Star Formations: 8
-Five-Star ve Contract: 43 Million
-Six-Star ve Contract: 42 Million
-Seven-Star ve Contract: 37 Million
-Eight-Star ve Contract: 19 Million
-Nine-Star ve Contract: 7 Million
-Low-Grade-1 ve Contract: 2.3 Million
-Intermediate-Grade-1 ve Contract: 980,033
-High-Grade-1 ve Contract: 78,331
-Raw Materials: 5.1 Million (From 5-Star to 9-Star)
¡ª
[Qi Stones]
High-Level: 478 Billion
Peak-Level: 89 Billion
Low-Grade-1: 50 Million
Middle-Grade-1: 3 Million
High-Grade-1: 50,000
Peak Grade-1: 1,000
¡ª
[Thieveries Rank(s)]
-Low-level Thievery(s): 2,810 (62 New)
-Middle-Level Thievery(s): 35 (34 New)
¡ª
[Reward(s)]
-Total Rewards: 4 Million Thief Points
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 5,361,850]
=====
Ace drew a sharp cold breath seeing all those numbers and over five million thief points in the end. This was his haul of just one night, and he currently has the wealth of an entire market could offer in a marquis-level city like Iron Demon City.
¡®System still didn¡¯t count all those treasures below five stars yet, or these numbers would¡¯ve skyrocketed. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter since I got four million thief points and ample resources to practice dismantler principles!¡¯ Ace mused with an ted expression.
However, he frowned ever so slightly the next moment, ¡®But all those millions of ve contracts, I don¡¯t know just why these demons needed them and there wasn¡¯t any ve market here nor did I see many ves here, then why did these things in so much demand?¡¯
Ace couldn¡¯t help but think of this point. ¡®Forget it, I¡¯ll find out soon enough, and these ve contracts are excellent resources to increase my rune dismantler principles without wasting those precious arrays and formations!¡¯
Ace was quite happy with his haul, especially all those barrels of alcohol, which was his prime focusst night. He didn¡¯t target specific shops which only sell weapons though since he was left with little time, and he was quite satisfied after stealing from all those big shops.
All those weapons he stole were from the hidden treasures he found in those big shops, and those two high-Grade-1 and middle-grade-2 weapons belong to those two N¨¡ga brothers.
Furthermore, he was somewhat exhausted after doing all that bor¡¯ the entire night and because of themotion he caused after his fight with the N¨¡ga, he mused it¡¯ll be good to return sooner.
¡®Now that I have five million points, all I need is five million more thief points and find soul-type materials to collect soul points. It¡¯s just too damn hard to find soul-type treasures even here. Even after looting over a hundred shops, I didn¡¯t even get one soul-type material! I should probably find more in Ocean Demon City since that Duke Livy dares to hang a name board made of soul material, then there¡¯s a chance I¡¯ll get more.¡¯
Ace smiled coldly when he thought about the ocean demon city and Duke Livy. He was also looking forward to when he goes back to that city, his starting point. He also despised Duke Livy after seeing Noa¡¯s appearance and hearing about her past.
He vowed he would get justice for his thief house member!
¡®Hmm?¡¯ Ace suddenly felt arge movement right above him with his soul sense.
He felt hundreds of silver-iron demons dubiously moving toward the main estate of the silver-iron demon n. What truly draw his attention were their turbulent emotions, filled with despair and hopelessness for their life.
¡®What happened?¡¯ Ace thought doubtfully. He could guess it was probably because ofst night¡¯s events and his over a hundred thieveries.
But their emotions werepletely different and much more rampant.
¡®I should make another trip outside.¡¯ Ace decided to go out again at night to see what kind of storm he just caused.
Whatever it was, he felt this was an opportunity for someone like him!
¡ª
Far away from Iron Demon City, which was on the verge of an inevitable war.
Inside a bright, spacious hall, an ice-like beauty, just like a divine sculpture, was looking at the starry sky deeply in a trance as she looked at the bright full moon.
At this moment, the door of the hall got knocked, pulling the divine beauty from her trance-like state. She gracefully wore a veil on her deadly gorgeous face and expressed in her mellifluous voice,
¡°Enter!¡±
Another enthralled beauty entered the hall with a respectful expression on her face. She bowed before saying, ¡°Your Highness, our men report that we just received amission to investigate a person¡¯s identity from two different high-level clients!¡±
¡°Aliya, is this why you disturb me at this hour?¡± The vile beauty coldly uttered in her enthralling voice.
Aliya¡¯s bowed head instantly quivered before she blurted, ¡°N-no, but out of those two clients, one is a Golden VIP, a Demon Duke, while the other is a Diamond VVIP a¡ Demon King!¡±
Chapter 326
¡°A Demon King?¡± the veil beauty¡¯s ocean blue eyes sh with momentarily shocked before shimmering with an intriguing glint.
¡°Yes, Your Highness, that¡¯s why I had no choice but to disturb you. Please forgive me!¡± Aliya nodded her head in relief.
¡°First, tell me about this person which caused a Demon King to force using our secretwork?¡± the veiled beauty question with great interest.
Aliya knew her mistress take an interest in his matter from her tone, or she knew her mistress would¡¯ve not asked a second question.
She quickly replied, ¡°Your Highness, not only the Demon King, or A Demon requested to find this person¡¯s identity but many others of our silver, bronze and evenmon members made this same request. I just report the most important ones!¡±
¡°Is that so? It¡¯s been quite a long since we got this kind of unanimous request, and even a Demon King is involved. Tell me about it.¡± Her ocean-blue eyes sh with great scrutiny.
¡°Your Highness, from our sources we found out that this person is a¡ thief who called itself Sky Stealer. Yesterday, this thief theft over a hundred high-level shops in Iron Demon City¡¯s market without triggering the rms or any traps in session.
¡°Furthermore, he even found and looted all the Hidden Treasuries in those shops and somehowpletely uproot their grade locks. The unique thing about this thief is every shop that was theft the thief left an imprint of a vivid Dark Owl.
¡°In some shops, he left his name engraved in that Dark Owl imprint. The most astonishing thing about this owl imprint is¡ it can¡¯t be destroyed or scratched no matter who attacks it or how powerful the attack became. Some infuriated owners even destroyed their entire shops in fury, and only then did that Dark Owl imprint vanish!¡±
Aliya quickly reported whatever they collect to this veiled beauty, leaving nothing behind.
The veiled beauty¡¯s ocean blue eyes narrowed into two tiny slits when she heard this unbelievable report. Even she found it absurd, but she also knew Aliya won¡¯t dare to lie to her face.
She asked with uncertainty, ¡°You say, Iron Demon City?¡±
¡°Yes, Your Highness, Iron Demon City of Ocean Demon Dukedom!¡± Aliya nodded in affirmation.
¡°If I remembered correctly, then I ordered to stop our transitions in Iron Demon City over a year ago, right?¡± She questioned.
¡°Yes, Your Highness ordered us to retreat from that area because our exchange spot waspromised.¡± Aliya nodded.
This veiled demoness was non-other the founder and leader of ¡®Spica Syndicate¡¯, All-Knowing Parrot!
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s beautiful eyes shimmer with scrutiny, ¡°Tell me everything that happened to the Iron Demon City after we stop our deals there!¡±
Aliya didn¡¯t dy and quickly told All-Knowing Parrot about Iron Demon City¡¯s events like Mad Thief and so on.
Spica Syndicate was too deeply rooted in Almighty Demon Empire because of its backers and even someone like demon kings was on the list of these syndicate backers, which made this syndicate the biggest dark organization of Mighty Demon Continent, at least outside the Royal Zone.
As for its founder, the All-Knowing Parrot, no one knows its real identity, heck, they didn¡¯t even know its gender, and it was the biggest mystery. For themon populous All-Knowing Parrot was a criminal who do heinous crimes.
But for bigwigs, the All-Knowing Parrot was a symbol of information. As long as they paid the right price, they can buy any kind of information or even hire the Spica Syndicate to find the information.
As for other dark deals that this syndicate does, many other dark organizations can do the same, but no one can collect or find information like Spica Syndicate all because of one single person, the All-Knowing Parrot!
The All-Knowing Parrot had a reputation of never failing to find information about the target, and that¡¯s what made it scary. No one dare to offend this mysterious entity, afraid that it would release all their secrets to the public, and they¡¯ll have to suffer the unimaginable consequences.
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s eyes shone with understanding after hearing Aliya¡¯s report. She couldn¡¯t help but marvel about Iron Demon City¡¯s fate. First, the Mad Thief made the Iron Demon City tremble in fear, and now Sky Stealerpletely abolished it. It was like a den of thieves!
¡°You say the same night thieveries happened, there was a big fight between a N¨¡ga and a mysterious expert who killed it?¡± All-Knowing Parrot questioned.
¡°Yes, ording to our sources there were two N¨¡gas, one of them died causing tremendousmotion while the other one mingled dead body was found in a random alley.¡±
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s eyes suddenly show a fierce glint before it waspletely melted away in calmness, ¡°Which Demon King gave themission for this Sky Stealer?¡±
Aliya became confused about why her mistress wanted to know such details, but still answered truthfully, ¡°It¡¯s the Mist Demon King!¡±
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s eyes lit with a wise glint that waspletely hidden under her aloof expression, ¡°Since a War Challenge is about to start in Iron Demon City, that Sky Stealer will soon make its escape tell our men to monitor the Iron Demon City surrounding and sent a hundred Silver Parrots to monitor the Iron Demon City from now on. If anything new came out about this Sky Stealer, inform me post-hastily. You¡¯re dismissed now!¡±
Aliya bowed in affirmation before leaving the hall and All-Knowing Parrot alone.
After Aliya leave and the door was closed, the All-Knowing Parrot take off her veil and reviled her enthralling face. She looked at the bright moon from the window and murmured with a hint of excitement,
¡°N¨¡ga Race is subordinary race under the Dark Mist Demon Tribe. Two N¨¡gas were killed in the Dark de Demon Tribe¡¯s Territory, far away from their judicial, and on the same night of the theft.
¡°The chances of them being rough were almost zero since very servitude race had to brand with a ve seal on their birth, so they can¡¯t betray their masters or demon race. Those demons Kings presume I don¡¯t know this, heh,ughable!
¡°So, those two N¨¡gas were probably there for something, but killed instead by some mysterious expert, and the very next day, a new godly thief emerged. Now the Mist Demon King also wanted to know the identity of a mere thief.
¡°Either this thief offended the Mist Demon King, which I highly doubt since Mist Demon King just act now, so the only possibility is this thief has something of Mist Demon King or something he wanted!
¡°Those N¨¡gas probably encountered this thief and then robbed by him! If this is true, then this Sky Stealer is one of a kind character. Even I wanted to meet him now.¡±
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s icy blue lips rose in a mesmerizing smile that can bewitch any man or demon alike, but s no one was there to witness it.
¡°Let¡¯s see how long can you remain hidden from me. Don¡¯t disappoint me, Sky Stealer, make this quest interesting!¡±
¡ª
At night, Iron Demon City,
The once peaceful iron demon city was now thrown into chaos after the news of the Noble Tribe Title War was made public.
All those demons unrted to Iron Demon Tribe collected their belongings and abandon their properties and started to flee from the Iron Demon City without ncing back.
Nobody stopped them or more urately no one can stop them since it was a rule written in Noble Tribe Title War Challenge Rule, ¡®every challenged tribe had to face the challenger tribe alone with no external help!¡¯ and that¡¯s why Iron Demon Tribe was helpless despite being fuming in anger.
No one can help them and no one will!
Some Iron Demon Tribe¡¯s demons also try to flee the city in the shade of night, but s, they were instantly killed by a mysterious marital sense the moment they stepped outside the city or even try to leap the city wall.
This was truly a hopeless situation for Iron Demon Tribe. Not even children were spared from this cruel fate, and no one seemed to empathize with them.
Every demon knows all theserge tribes had gone through the baptism of blood to win their prominent positions. They weren¡¯t innocent!
At this moment, a demon was desperately moving toward the city gate, clearly wanting to flee as soon as possible. But he was suddenly intercepted by another tall demon.
¡°YOU¡ get out of the way!¡± He barked with a hint of urgency.
¡°Hehe, brother calm down please, don¡¯t get me wrong, I just wanted to know why everyone is fleeing the city? Does something happen? I¡¯ll make it you¡¯re worthwhile!¡± the other demon asked as he threw a peak-level Qi stone toward the other demon.
The demon with great urgency was startled and caught the peak Qi stone and asked with uncertainty, ¡°You don¡¯t know about this kind ofmotion?¡±
¡°Why would I ask you if I know? I was sleeping all day long.¡± The other demon rolled his eyes.
¡°Y-you were s-sleeping?¡± the other demon¡¯s voice was filled with disbelief. ¡®How could someone sleep through this kind of uproar?!¡¯
Chapter 327
The green skin demon was naturally baffled and couldn¡¯t help but closely looked at the demon in front of him with scrutiny. Before because of his tense nerves, he didn¡¯t seem to notice it, but now.
¡®Wait¡ silver skin like lustrous iron, white silver eyes and silver horns and hair!¡¯ He quickly blurted out, ¡°Y-you¡¯re from the silver-iron demon n?¡±
The silver-iron demon showed his beastly white teeth and nodded. ¡°Yes, indeed, I¡¯m. My name is Pablo. Is there a problem?¡±
¡°You fool! Get out of my way. This is all happening because you morons can¡¯t keep your ce safe!¡± The green skin demon fumed and couldn¡¯t help but cursed because he had to abandon his house and a small shop because of this war challenge.
Pablo was naturally none other than Ace in disguise.
He came out of the underground chamber just a few moments ago and was bbergasted when he saw almost every house in the Iron Demon City was empty and when he sensed such arge moment toward the exit of the city at this hour, he was even more shocked.
Ace thought some kind of disaster wasing, so he found this alone demon to question, but now, after seeing this guy dare to berate a silver-iron n¡¯s demon with such words, he sensed something was amiss.
¡°Then forgive me!¡± Ace¡¯s eyes turned cold as his hand sh like dark lightning right behind the green skin demon¡¯s head and instantly knocked him out.
Ace drag the guy into a deserted house and started to soul probe him.
After five minutes, his eyes shimmer with a strange light. ¡®Noble Tribe Title War? The Left Ocean Spear, a Qi soul realm cultivator, and iing Dark Gibbon Demon Tribe, huh?
¡®It seemed I¡¯m the reason behind all this, and I have to admit that Livy didn¡¯t leave any liability behind. In his view, Iron Demon Tribe was no longer stable, so he instantly decided to get rid of it without even investigating me.
¡®He might¡¯ve thought that Left Ocean Spear could probably fish me out with his strong martial sense if I try to leave the Iron Demon City in panic, and there was likely a gigantic trap surrounding the Iron Demon City right now. ording to this guy¡¯s memory, the ocean demon tribe¡¯s carriage didn¡¯t stay in the city and left after announcing the decree.¡¯
Ace couldn¡¯t help but think this way. He didn¡¯t want to underestimate these demons anymore, and he knew they have many mysterious ways to entrap him if he wasn¡¯t careful enough.
But a smirk appeared on his face for some reason as he thought, ¡®What if I stole every person¡¯s storage rings and resources from both Iron Demon Tribe and Dark Gabon Demon Tribe during this Noble Tribe Title War right under this Qi soul realm expert?
¡®Wouldn¡¯t this will ruin Ocean Demon Tribe¡¯s reputation and face? Hehe, as far as I know, these demons cherish their faces more than anything else. I wonder what kind of consequences they¡¯ll suffer when they cannot capture a mere thief?!¡¯
Although Ace¡¯s thoughts were like this, he won¡¯t take any actions this easily, not before making absolutely sure about if he can escape the monitoring of a Qi soul realm demon.
Furthermore, he needed a solid n to enter and leave the battlefield before anyone could realize what had happened, and that hideout was the best ce he could ask for.
Moreover, he had to ask Noa for her opinion after she woke up from her cultivation state since she knows far more than him about Ocean Demon Tribe¡¯s strength.
Thinking to this point, Ace left the unconscious green skin demon as it is and went back to his hideout. He could¡¯ve robbed the three founding ns of their wealth and resources right now and been done with it, but he didn¡¯t.
Because this wasn¡¯t the right time if he wanted to profit big time, and this will also alert the enemy too soon and revealed his true thievish abilities.
¡®Six more days before Noble Tribe Title War!¡¯ a thievish glint shed past Ace¡¯s dark blue eyes!
¡ª
In arge meeting hall right inside the Golden Iron Demon n¡¯s main estate,
Almost every demon above the river stage was present, as well as the three founding n leaders.
The atmosphere was as grim as it could be, and it was almost suffocating.
Uriah, the leader of the silver-iron demon n, was almost spitting me with his silver-white eyes as he looked at Elian.
He spoke with an icy voice, ¡°Elian if it wasn¡¯t for your Golden Iron Demon n negligence this would¡¯ve never happened!¡±
Trey also chimed in with an equally cold tone, ¡°You bunch of golden shits always arrogantly do disgraceful things in the dark and don¡¯t even let our two ns patrol some parts of the city and now see what has happened! We¡¯re on the brink of extinction!¡±
The faces of the Golden Iron Demon n¡¯s members turned extremely ugly when they heard those two n leaders berating them, but they didn¡¯t have words to retort them because they were telling the truth!
Furthermore, their own leader, Elian, was just silently listening without even saying anything, so it wasn¡¯t their ce to speak as well.
¡®Sigh¡¡¯ A heavy sigh escaped Elian¡¯s mouth, his expression was no longer haughty like in the past, and he looked just like an old defeated demon.
He slightly nodded his head toward Tray and Uriah in acknowledgment and said, ¡°I know our mistake¡ my mistakes as the matter of fact.¡± He lowered his head toward everyone in the meeting hall.
Everyone, including Uriah and Tray, be extremely shocked because they never remembered seeing Elian lowering his head to anyone like this in defeat, nor did he ever speak polite words.
¡°n Leader! Please don¡¯t do this. It wasn¡¯t your fault!¡± A golden iron demon elder quickly spoke with a hint of sadness in his husky voice.
¡°Yes, n leader, it was the fault of those hateful thieves who targeted our city and the imprudence of our superior who just don¡¯t want to hear our plead!¡± another golden iron demon elder nodded.
Everyone inside the meeting hall silently agreed with those statements. They all hate the word ¡®thief¡¯ to the core now, and they will probably kill any thief they find.
However, no one from the other two founding ns spoke as they all wait for their leaders, who were silently looking at Elian withplicated expressions on their faces.
Elian still didn¡¯t straighten his head whilepletely ignoring his n¡¯s members¡¯ soothing voices. He was clearly waiting for Uriah and Tray.
Elian know too well that if they all wanted to have a fighting chance, they had to be united, or they¡¯ll die on the very first day of the Noble Tribe Title War Challenge.
Moreover, Elian knew these two ns have many hidden trump cards they were umting all these years just to deal with his Golden Iron Demon n and if he could make them willingly agree to take those trump cards out, then he was sure they had fifty percent chances of winning this war.
¡°Hmph¡ fine, let¡¯s hear what you had in your mind.¡± Uriah coldly snorted.
He wasn¡¯t a fool and knew they will all going to die if they didn¡¯t stand united. It was just that he never thought Elian would lower his head to them so easily, and this left an unpleasant taste in his mouth when he thought about all those cusses bing useless that he had thought he would throw at him.
¡°HUMPH!¡± Tray was also dissatisfied, but he also didn¡¯t pursue this matter, or he wasn¡¯t the one who fends off fighting.
Elian finally straighten his back with a solemn expression on his face andmanded, ¡°Lay down the map!¡±
An elder of the golden iron demon n standing right behind him whiffled his hand and a detailedrge map of Iron Demon City appeared on the table.
Everyone¡¯s focus turned to the map.
Elian spoke at this moment, ¡°Everyone in his room may not know about this, not even the other two founding ns, but as you can on this map, there are ten red points all over the Iron Demon City making a circle. These ten points are a city-wide Killing Formation!¡±
¡°What?!¡±
Both Uriah and Tray, and everyone other than the Golden Iron Demon n expressions, changed after hearing ¡®City-Wide Killing Formation¡¯.
Everyone knew this level of Killing Formation was only presented in duke-level cities, and they also knew anyone who steps inside this kind of killing formation will meet their end as long as it was powerful enough and someone knows how to operate it!
Elian continued with his exnation, ¡°Yes, a Low-Grade-1 Killing formation, which is enough to kill a peak stage Qi golden river core cultivator. This formation was built on an old, unrecognizable ancient formation by our ancestors. This was thest defensive line in case we experience an extinction-level crisis!¡±
Chapter 328
¡°Why didn¡¯t we know about this?!¡±
Uriah¡¯s expression was filled with shock and fear, and Tray was also looking in bewilderment at Elian.
They both know what this killing formation represented. It meant as long as Golden Iron Demon n or Elian know how to operate it, they were the kings inside the Iron Demon.
The Silver Iron Demon n and Bronze Iron Demon n can do nothing to shake their position as overlord, not before they found a way to ovee this low-grade-1 killing formation or invite a soul realm cultivator, which was also impossible.
They finally understand just why the Golden Iron Demon¡¯s position remains unshakable all these years, and why Elian didn¡¯t put them in his eyes before.
Elian simply answer without even blinking, ¡°Only the Chief of each generation had the information about this Killing Formation called Ten Golden Pir Swords, and only if some cmity struck the chief was allowed to disclose its information.
¡°Furthermore, this Ten Golden Pir Sword killing formation can¡¯t be used steadily, and it required a constant supply of Peak-Grade-1 Qi stones and a Qi soul realm cultivator to fully bring out its potential.
¡°However, we don¡¯t have one such cultivator in our ranks, nor did we have many peak-grade-1 Qi stones. If I operate it, I can only pressure a peak Qi golden core realm or wound him gravely. I can¡¯t kill them.¡±
The room was deadly silent at this moment. Their shocked expression turned grave again because they knew Elian¡¯s words were absolutely true. But their heart still trembled when they thought about their tribe having such a trump card hidden all these years.
Uriah took a deep breath and said, ¡°Our Silver Iron n will support Golden Iron Demon n and follow Tribe Chief Elian¡¯s lead!¡±
¡°Bronze Iron Demon n also fully supports Tribe Chef Elian!¡± Tray nodded solemnly.
No one retorted, and everyone silently agreed with both n leaders.
They all knew, with this killing formation and its operating method, that Elian was the true King of Iron Demon City.
When Uriah and Tray thought about their past ns of orchestrating a coup, they thought like they were the biggest jokes, nothing else. They finally understand why Elian didn¡¯t take them seriously in the past.
Elian¡¯s lip rose in a faint smile after seeing everyone was finally on the same track, with no hidden resentments or schemes.
He said, ¡°Good, this killing formation is ourst resort, but just in case, I need ten Qi silver river core stage demons on each point of this killing formation and one million peak-grade-1 Qi stones to activate the formation for ten minutes. Golden Iron Demon n had over five hundred thousand in reserve, and I¡¯m counting on Brother Uriah and Brother Tray for the other Five hundred thousand.¡±
¡°No problem!¡±
Uriah and Tray agreed with no hesitation since they knew if they didn¡¯t show their support, they¡¯ll die with all their ns, so it wasn¡¯t the time to hide their asset.
¡°Good!¡± Elian nodded and continued, ¡°Now that this is out of the way, let¡¯s discuss how we¡¯re going to annihte this Dark Gabon Demon Tribe!¡±
Everyone emits killing intent on hearing the name of their foe!
¡°I just buy information from another city¡¯s ¡®Parrot¡¯ about this Dark Gabon Demon Tribe, and I have to say our enemy is quite ruthless and powerful. They had One peak golden river core stage demon as their tribe chief, just like me.
¡°Thirty Silver River Core Stage Demons, but this number can be much more since it was the figure the public knows. Nheless, we have 42 silver river core stage demons, so it¡¯s a plus.
¡°Lastly, they had over three hundred bronze river core stage and over eight hundred Iron river core stage demons in their ranks. I think they¡¯re equally matched with us when ites to Qi river core realm experts. What do you guys think?¡±
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Uriah asked in a grave tone, ¡°What element they¡¯re efficient in?¡±
This was the most important question because every demon tribe had an innate special element that they were born with, and it was not random like humans. Although there were cultivation techniques that can help cultivate a specific element, those were too rare.
The Iron Demon Tribe¡¯s innate element was Iron Element, a variation of Metallic Elements. Iron Element can further vary or mutate into Golden Iron Qi, Silver Iron Qi, Bronze-Iron Qi, Iron Qi, and so forth with special metal type cultivation techniques of Iron Demon Tribe.
Elian¡¯s expression turned grave as he replied, ¡°Dark Gabon Tribe¡¯s innate element is Dark Earth, and they had five variations like Dark Earthly Stone, Dark Earthly Mud, Dark Earthly Swamp, Dark Earthly Sand, and the most powerful one, Dark Earthquake!¡±
Everyone¡¯s expression turn to worse when the Earth element was mentioned, which was probably the bane of Metallic Element. Everyone knows earth element users were all masters of defense!
Furthermore, they were talking about mutated earth elements of the demon race, not just simply earth elements, especially the ¡®Earthquake¡¯, which was a rare variation of earth elements.
Rumor has it the person of this element can cause instant earthquakes, make the earth tremble, split it and then close it at will!
¡°Don¡¯t worry, they only had one Earthquake element user, which is the son of Dark Gabon Tribe¡¯s Chief, and he is a genius of silver river core realm. We just have to deal with him quickly by ambush.¡± Elian¡¯s eyes turned cold.
¡°Tribe Chief, please allow us dark iron element demons to assassinate him!¡± One of a demon with dark iron skin spoke at this moment with a confident expression on his ck face.
Elian deeply looked at this Dark Iron Demon and solemnly nodded. ¡°I leave it to guys then, but remember, failure isn¡¯t the option!¡±
¡°Yes, I won¡¯t let my tribe down!¡± He quickly bent his back toward Elian.
Elian nodded in a dignified manner and said, ¡°Also, have someone to bring those trash vagabonds of our tribe back. They¡¯ll be the perfect meat shields. It¡¯s time for them to repay their tribe back.
¡°After that, I want our rune crafters to arrange deadly traps all around the city walls and inside the city, and after they were done, start making portable arrays which can protect against a deadly strike for one or two times¡¡±
The preparation meeting of Iron Demon Tribe was continued for over eight hours and when it was done, all Qi river core demons of Iron Demon Tribe moved toward their allocated posts and some of them made preparation.
Everyone was busy and gave everything they had for a chance for survival.
¡ª
On the periphery of Iron Demon City, one could spot a magnificent purple camp with a spearhead emblem on it and two crimson fire lionszily sitting outside, like guard dogs.
Inside the camp was only arge size bed which a small table and two chairs.
An ocean demon wearing white robes, he had burly stature, long dark blue hair, and a vicious face filled with small scars. He was looking in a mirror with an amusing expression on his scarred face.
Another ocean demon with a skinny constitution was respectfully standing behind this scarred demon with a respectful expression on his skinny face.
¡°Lord Henrik, what are your thoughts on these animals¡¯ futile struggle?¡± This skinny demon was none other than the little purple, the retainer of Left Ocean Spear Henrik.
This scar-face burly demon who was amusingly looking in a mirror was obviously Left Ocean Spear, Henrik!
Henrik smile coldly and said as he looked in a mirror, which wasn¡¯t showing his reflection, but it was showing the whole Iron Demon City from an aerial view.
¡°They¡¯re making traps on city walls and houses, not on the ground, which evinces they knew about Dark Gabon Tribe¡¯s innate element, Dark Earth.¡±
¡°Heh, I can see my lord is looking forward to this fight?¡± Little Purple chuckled. He was very familiar with Henrik, and he can be this bold while they were being alone, or he knew in public; only death awaits him!
Henrik merely smirked and said, ¡°I¡¯m more interested in that thief, what he called himself?¡±
¡°My lord, that clown called himself ¡®Sky Stealer¡¯, as if he can steal the sky!¡± Little purple scoffed with disdain.
¡°Heh, I think he¡¯s quite interested and capable. That¡¯s why My Lord gave hismand to recruit that thief.¡± Henrik chuckled.
¡°What? His highness wanted to recruit a thief?¡± Little Purple suddenly lost his calm.
Henrik merely nodded, didn¡¯t mind little purple¡¯s reaction, and said, ¡°Yes, His Highness specificallymanded me to capture him and then recruit him in the name of Ocean Demon Duke. That thief is quite talented if the reports about him are true. That¡¯s why His Highness gave me this low-grade-2 Demon Eye Formation that can see through any disguise and concealment and monitor the entire city. The moment that thief makes his move, he¡¯s mine!¡±
Henrik¡¯s eyes were as sharp as a predator who was waiting for his prey in the shadows!
Chapter 329
Five more days pass in a breeze, and only one day was left at the start of the Noble Tribe Title War.
The Iron Demon City waspletely turned into a fortress as every Iron Demon Tribe member was prepared to fight for their life and the life of their loved ones. Even young demon children were given weapons!
Many high-level demons donned in armors were standing tall on the city walls, while the city gate was tightly shut and protected by a powerful array.
Although there was still a day remaining before the war challenge, for them the war of life and death was already started!
¡ª
Inside the underground secret chamber,
Ace was solemnly looking at cross-legged Noa. She was emitting very powerful soul undtions, which was a sign of her being on the verge of a soul cultivation breakthrough.
In thest five days, Ace was practicing heaven¡¯s stealer dismantler principles all morning while he scouted the iron demon city at night to monitor the current status of the Iron Demon City.
Ace had to admit the Iron Demon Tribe was far more powerful than he had thought, and they were quite rich as well. He thought of raiding their treasures many times but held himself back when he thought about the bigger picture.
Today was just like another day when he returned after scouting the city and observing some fresh developments, but he soon found out about Noa¡¯s peculiar condition and calmly observe her.
¡®She¡¯s causing too many soul undtions, but this chamber is really marveled since there wasn¡¯t any sliver of it leaking,¡¯ Ace mused while looking at Noa¡¯s mask face.
Suddenly, Noa¡¯s pressure started to increase. It was a sign of her sessful cultivation breakthrough and an increase in power!
¡®Her True Soul is forming and thenes the turn of her soul foundation, tes. It¡¯spletely different from my soul cultivation technique since I only needed to create soul cores and my soul cultivation will increase just like normal but more powerful than the others.¡¯
Ace couldn¡¯t help butpare his own soul cultivation system with the traditional soul cultivation system of Sky Mortal Heaven. But he smiled bitterly when he thought about how difficult it was for him to raise his cultivation, and there were many restrictions and conditions as well.
Nheless, Ace knew he will be the most powerful being of Mortal Sky Heaven eventually just because of his cultivation technique!
Even the members of the thief house didn¡¯t have the privilege to cultivate in both body and soul type cultivation manual like Heaven Stealer Technique, which was one of its kind.
Noa¡¯s close eyelids finally snap open, revealing pitch-ck eyeballs shimmering with a dark luster like an endless dark night.
When her sightnded on smiling Ace not far away, her eyes lit up in ecstasy, and quickly greeted him, ¡°Leader, I broke through to Soul Foundation Realm while creating a Nine-te, Peerless Foundation!¡±
Five tes mean Cracked Foundation, Six tes mean wed Foundation, seven means Complete, and Eight mean Perfect foundation, while a Nine-te foundation called Peerless Foundation!
There weren¡¯t many presents with a Peerless Foundation in Golden Sky World because only truly talented individuals were qualified to create a Peerless Foundation, especially in the soul path.
A cultivation manual that contains the secret of the peerless foundation was few in this world, while the soul path manual was almost none exist!
Noa could be called a peerless genius of the soul path right now and if the news of her creating a peerless foundation were made public, even the Royal Zone would do anything to possess her or her cultivation method!
Ace nodded in approval and said with a faint smile, ¡°Congrattion, you¡¯re one step closer to your revenge.¡±
Noa¡¯s dark eyes shimmered with coldness at hearing this. She knew what Ace mean, and she was looking forward to the day she¡¯ll take revenge for herself and her tribe.
¡°Leader, I think after I broke through in Soul Foundation Building Realm, I got an innate soul ability from my Thief Assassin Principles Cultivation Technique!¡± Noa quickly told Ace about her new discovery. She didn¡¯t want to hide it from him, since he¡¯ll find out, eventually.
¡°Oh? An innate ability from your cultivation technique, not a skill?¡± Ace was astonished because he never thought Noa will get an innate soul ability as he will get from his soul cultivation technique.
Ace knew about the cultivation techniques that grant skills on each realm breakthrough, but he never heard of cultivation techniques that grant innate abilities like his cultivation technique, yet.
The difference between innate ability and skill was like heaven and earth because the innate ability will keep bing powerful with the possessor, while skill will lose its effects eventually if you didn¡¯t find a way to strengthen it. Simply put, skills were receable, while innate abilities were not!
This also made the Thief Assassin Principles at the same level as his ¡®Heavenly ck Wind Soul Cultivation Technique, but it was still inferior since he had Heavenly Soul Qi!
¡®As expected from a cultivation technique that came from the system, it is heaven-defying!¡¯ Ace thought with tion since it will only make his thief house members more powerful than the masses!
Noa nodded her head and said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s an innate soul ability, not a skill, since I can use it any time I want!¡± Her melodious voice was filled with ecstasy.
Even she didn¡¯t believe that she¡¯ll get such a top-notch soul cultivation technique, which was probably the most powerful soul cultivation technique in this world!
¡°Tell me what kind of ability is it, if you don¡¯t mind, that is!¡±
Ace was very interested in this ability since it was rted to a thief, but didn¡¯t want to force Noa in revealing it. Everyone had their own secrets. Even he didn¡¯t tell her about his innate soul abilities and she only about soul probing, which was also just at a superficial level.
¡°No, I don¡¯t mind, since it was all because of Leader that I got this chance. Even if you want my life, I¡¯ll give with no hesitation!¡± Noa promised, with no hesitancy in her solemn voice.
She was eternally grateful to Ace, and she wasn¡¯t an ingrate who¡¯ll forget her benefactor after she became powerful. Her pride won¡¯t allow her to do this!
Ace felt hearted and said, ¡°Don¡¯t mention dying again. We¡¯re fellow members and as a leader, it is my responsibility to keep you safe, not the other way around.¡±
Noa only nodded with glittering eyes, no one know what she was thinking.
¡°The innate soul ability I got is called ¡®No-Kill¡¯. It canpletely hide my killing intent and aura. A godly ability for an assassin!¡± Noa excitedly told Ace about her ability, No-Kill.
Ace was astonished when he heard about this No-Kill ability with a simple description. Although it sounded superficial, he knew just how deadly this ability was for a trained assassin. It was like giving wings to a tiger!
Ace knew just how hard it was to hide your killing intent if you hate someone, furthermore, it was almost impossible to suppress the killing intent when you were about to strike a killing blow.
Only those emotionless beings can probably kill without batting an eye, but even they were filled with killing intent from inside.
No Kill didn¡¯t require something to be emotionless nor separate their emotion. That¡¯s why it was so scary!
Besides, as Noa became powerful, her ability will increase with her. This was truly a godly ability of a Thief Assassin!
¡°Good, since you¡¯re now an early stage foundation building cultivator, you should purchase skills from the shop and practice them.¡± Ace suggested. He didn¡¯t want her to just cultivate all day long. It wasn¡¯t good for her foundation.
She wasn¡¯t like him, who didn¡¯t need to worry about his foundation at all.
¡°I was also thinking the same. I still have 1,800 House Points left after my previous purchases. I was just waiting to enter the soul foundation building realm before purchasing Thief Assassin¡¯s Soul Steps and Thief Assassin¡¯s Soul View, for one thousand house points.¡±
Noa also exined her thoughts truthfully. She knew as an assassin the movement skill was the essential and with an eye skill on top of that she¡¯ll be like a perfect assassin. As for stealth, she still had that because of her bloodline as a night demon. It was the only thing she inherited from her Night Demon Bloodline.
Ace nodded and said, ¡°I also think these two skills are far more important than any other skills in the shop. Furthermore, tomorrow is a big event and I think we can profit from it.¡± He pulled a thievish smile.
Noa was bewildered, hearing Ace¡¯s mysterious words, and asked with uncertainty, ¡°What kind of big events?¡±
¡°It¡¯s like this when I was gone out on a stroll¡¡±
Ace told Noa about how he encountered N¨¡gas and then told her about his huge thieveries string and how Iron Demon City was about to face a war challenge tomorrow.
¡°¡ so, tell me, what do you think?¡±
Chapter 330
Noa¡¯s eyes were filled with disbelief when she heard how her leader had caused such a storm when he was just out for a ¡®stroll¡¯ and couldn¡¯t help but feel small when she thought she couldn¡¯t even score fifty thieveries in months.
She finally understood just how powerful Ace¡¯s theft abilities were, and she couldn¡¯t evenpare to him. She even got many insights on the path of a thief from Ace¡¯s experience.
Just for this specific reason, Ace told Noa about his method of thievery and his experience. He wanted her to understand that cutting hands wasn¡¯t the only way to steal, and it can be done in a far low-key manner.
Noa¡¯s eyes shimmered with adoration, and admiration as she looked at Ace. She didn¡¯t doubt his words even for a moment because of herplete trust in him.
¡°Leader, I understand that because of you, that bastard Livy got the chance to get rid of Iron Demon Tribe, but I can¡¯t understand why you left your name behind?¡± She didn¡¯t understand this point, since in her view thievery was all about being stealthy.
So, when Ace told everything, even his Thief Title, Sky Stealer, she didn¡¯t understand just why would he reveal himself and admit he was the thief. As far as she could tell, she didn¡¯t think Ace was the person who crave fame and reputation.
Ace somewhat understood her thought and could only reply bitterly, ¡°Heh, you think I wanted to reveal myself and my abilities in public? Trust me, I don¡¯t have a choice in this matter because the ¡®Goddess¡¯ wanted me to spread my name far and wide.
¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you the Dark Owl is like my own thief symbol, granted by the goddess herself? As long as I stole a specific amount of treasures, that thief symbol with appeared on victim or treasuries and I can¡¯t be removed, not until that victim dies or the entire ce that is connected to the treasury was destroyed!¡±
Ace patiently exin about this thief symbol, he didn¡¯t want Noa to lose her focus when she first experienced it herself in the future, it could be deadly if they were in a dangerous situation.
Noa was simply bbergasted hearing about this magical thief symbol that was granted by the goddess herself and after finding out her leader had such a task to spread his ¡®fame¡¯ out there for the Goddess, she couldn¡¯t help but revere him even more.
¡°U-Um¡ leader, c-can I¡¡±
Before Noa could ask further, Ace cut her short and shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know if you will get a thief symbol or not, but the chances of it¡¯s extremely low.¡±
Ace quickly rain down on Noa¡¯s parade but didn¡¯t tell her the entire truth about Thief Panel, since she didn¡¯t have to know.
¡°Oh.¡± Noa felt it was a pity since she also wanted to help the ¡®goddess¡¯ to spread her fame as well in the future.
¡®It seemed the leader had far more responsibilities than I thought. I should quickly be strong and help him!¡¯ Noa thought resolutely.
¡°Now, tell me about this Left Ocean Spear and his abilities. Truth be told, I wanted to steal both tribes¡¯ every high-level demon¡¯s storage rings and their resources of wars right under this Left Ocean Spear nose.
¡°It will be a tremendous blow to Ocean Demon Dukedom¡¯s reputation, and Livy will also feel the pinch. We¡¯ll also collect some debts. But I¡¯m not sure if I can pull this off because when I was close to the city wallst night, I felt a very strong formation surrounding the boundary of the entire Iron Demon City.
¡°From my point of view this formation was likely somethingid by this Left Ocean Spear to entrap the Iron Demon Tribe¡¯s members from escaping, or he might want to entrap me of all people, who knows, but we can¡¯t throw this possibility out as well!
¡°Although I¡¯m confident in crossing that formation while remaining in stealth, I don¡¯t think you can escape from its detection for obvious reason. That¡¯s why if I can just find the source of this formation, I can get rid of it, and then we¡¯ll be like fish in water!¡±
Ace truthfully told her about his n to cause an upheaval, but he needed more information, and he had to do it carefully or there would be a soul realm cultivator on his tail!
Noa seriously mulled over all this information provided by Ace. She couldn¡¯t help but admire him for his information scouting abilities. Even she couldn¡¯t do it better than him, even when she was in her prime.
¡°Left Ocean Spear, Henrik, had a strange character. He¡¯s like a snake who hides in the dark and hunts his targets. He¡¯s also very shrewd and ruthless. Livy only sent him out when he wanted to capture someone or when he needed to get rid of a threat silently.
¡°Since that bastard, Livy, sent Henrik this time, I think he wanted to capture you, leader, and recruit you under him or even wanted your secrets. As for this formation, I think I know what kind of formation it is!¡± Noa quickly voiced her opinion.
Ace attentively listen and felt it was right for him to wait on Noa before making any move.
¡°What kind of formation?¡± asked Ace intently.
¡°Demon Eye Formation, a low-grade-2 formation, one of three legacy formations of Ocean Demon Tribe. It can monitor a city like Iron Demon Citypletely while also scanning through the city for hidden traps and see-through disguises of peak Qi golden river core cultivators!¡± Noa¡¯s voice was grave.
If her assessment was true, then Ace was right. She can¡¯t go out, or she¡¯ll instantly be detected by Demon Eye Formation and her cover will also blow.
Ace felt relief, hearing this formation could only see through a disguise of a golden river core stage cultivator.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯spletely useless against me, so tell me about its source and I will get rid of it tonight.¡± Ace confidently dered.
¡°I don¡¯t know about runes much and only read this formation in Warden Cane¡¯s diary. He writes Demon Eye Formation has eighteen source points, and they can be set up under the ground or hidden in trees or anything, as long as it won¡¯t affect their functions.
¡°If the leader can get rid of five source points of this formation, I think it¡¯ll stop working. But it¡¯s too dangerous since Henrik will instantly know that someone is fiddling with demon eye formation the moment the leader touched the formation source.¡±
Noa¡¯s voice was depressed. Although she also wanted to take advantage of this war challenge like Ace and collect house points while honing her thief skills, she also didn¡¯t want to put Ace in danger.
She knew Henrik wasn¡¯t someone easily trick, and this was the demon eye formation, a legacy formation of Ocean Demon Tribe, so, he naturally was more careful with it.
¡°Heh, who said I¡¯m going to touch those formation sources?¡± Ace smiled mysteriously before saying, ¡°I¡¯m going to blow them up!¡±
¡ª
Last night before Noble Tribe Title War,
The Iron Demon Tribe was almost done with their preparations and all those Qi river core cultivators were making theirst check.
At this moment,
A person in a dark hood with an owl imprint on its back just stepped onto the ground after descending from the city wall!
This was Ace, who hade here to render this Demon Eye formation useless!
With his stealthy soul sense, he quickly found a formation source two hundred meters away from the city wall!
Ace carefully goes toward it while using his soul-shattering eyes just to remain careful of any hidden traps.
He quickly reached a lush tree and sneered when he saw many hidden traps around it. There were even nine-star array traps, but for him, it doesn¡¯t matter since he wasn¡¯t here to steal anything.
A dark pentagon coin appeared in his hand, which was clearly a talisman from the system.
¡°System set a timer of ten hours for this Fire Explosion Talisman and seventeen others which I made you create!¡±
Ace smiled coldly when he thought about the magnificent disy of all these tier-3 fire explosion talismans simultaneously triggering at once and blowing all formation sources!
Ace was quite d that the talismans made by the system had thisst ¡®Timer¡¯ feature, which can help him trigger these talismans at a specific time, even when he was far away from it.
But he can only set this timer between twelve hours, which was still enough for him to escape far away! Furthermore, once the timer function was activated, it can¡¯t be stopped like heavenly talismans.
Nheless, he was confident in destroying all those eighteen formation sources with no danger whatsoever!
Ace carefully ce this already active talisman coin as close as the formation soured, which was just a low-grade-2 formation te deeply hidden in his tree bark.
If he tried to touch this tree bark, he¡¯ll instantly trigger a trap, that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t ce the talisman coin on the tree as well. But the formation te was delicate, and so does the tree.
This tire-3 fire explosion talisman was more than enough to blow both of them into smithereens!
Chapter 331
At dawn, the sun was rising, illuminating the golden sky. The sky was clear of any clouds, a perfect day indeed.
However, for Iron Demon Tribe, it was the day of war!
On the towering city wall right above the closed city gates, Elian was donned in golden armor, giving off the aura of a dignified general. On his left was Uriah in silver armor, while on his left was Tray in bronze armor.
Everyone¡¯s expressions were solemn and grave. They all knew that on this day the battle to death will start and their entire tribe¡¯s survival solely depended on their prowess. If they lose, they¡¯ll be history and forgotten, just like many other tribes!
¡°Tribe Chief, to our north-east!¡± an elder quickly report.
Everyone¡¯s eyes moved toward the pointed direction, and they saw arge dusk cloud rising from that direction.
¡°They¡¯reing!¡± Elian solemnly dered.
¡°Ready the archers. We¡¯ll shoot those bastards down before theye close to the city wall!¡± Tray coldlymanded. He was an expert in archery, so themand of archers naturally fell under him.
¡°Wait until Lord Left Ocean Spear¡¯s official deration.¡± Elian coolly stated.
The Noble Tribe Title War Challenge had few rules. As long as one tribe emerged victoriously, they¡¯ll get the official noble tribe¡¯s title.
The most important rules were,
First, the war challenge has to be monitored and evaluated by a neutral party of an equal or higher noble status than the defender and attacker parties. The war can be evaluated by a single evaluator, or there can be a maximum of three evaluators.
Second, external help was not allowed. The offender will be dered a loser if caught viting this rule.
Third, once the war starts, any other who interfered or tried to stop it will be deemed an offender and punished by capital punishment.
Fourth, external treasures, like formations, arrays, traps, and so on, were not prohibited!
Fifth, if a tribe surrendered in the middle of a war, the winner tribe will be their masters, and they can do anything with them!
Sixth, if a challenge was also a death challenge, then it will not stop at anything and the fifth rule doesn¡¯t apply here.
There were also many other rules, but they were for officials to handle the aftermath of the war and also some rules to make this war challenge as fair as possible. But everyone knows there was no fairness in this world!
The cloud of dust which was dashing toward the Iron Demon City paused one thousand meters away.
The dust quickly settled down, revealing an army of hundreds of thousands which was neatly arranged in block formation!
In the very front of this enormous army was a small cluster of vicious demonic beasts which look like gigantic bears!
However, these bears had ck golden fur covered by thick armor, and they just look a war bears when one looked at their vicious faces covered in war helmets.
In the very front of this group, on top of this war bear, sat a tall demon who was giving off a feeling of an unshakable mountain. His strong, hook-shaped hands were strongly clenched around the reins and his arms were long for a normal demon, they were outsized. His skin was ck, and he had abnormal gray hair growing all over his body, just like fur. Only his eyes, nose, and lips were visible in a ¡®T¡¯ shape while his entire body was covered in this gray fur. He had a pair of small green goat horns growing out of his scalp.
He was d in green heavy armor. This demon was the Chief of Dark Gibbon Demon Tribe, Dustin Gibbon, a peak Qi golden river core cultivator.
Dustin solemnly looked at the top of the city wall with his dark gray eyeballs, with a solemn expression. He could clearly see Elian, who was also looking straight into his cold eyes.
Dustin¡¯s lip suddenly rose in a scornful smile and said, ¡°Our enemy seemed quite powerful, I must say. What do you think, Gianni?¡±
Another Dark Gibbon Demon, who was also mounted on a war bear, pulled a disdainful smile, ¡°Father, just give me the order and I split that city wall!¡±
This dark gibbon demon had silver-gray fur and silver-grey eyeballs and just called Dustin father. He was the genius of the dark gibbon demon tribe and the next in line to inheriting the position of his father as tribe chief, Gianni, a Qi silver river core cultivator who was the only one who had awakened the ¡®Earthquake¡¯ element!
¡°Now, now, my son, that city is going to be our stronghold in the future, so don¡¯t create too much damage, or we¡¯ll have to put quiet resources to rebuild it!¡± Dustin merely chuckled as if he was chided his son, but anyone could tell from his tone that he was merely joking.
Gianni¡¯s disdainful smile widened as he said loudly while imbuing his voice with Qi, ¡°This is also good, Father, I don¡¯t think our tribe needed those trash walls, anyway. Only cowards hide, and we, the great gibbons, are not cowards!¡±
Every other Dark Gibbon Demon¡¯s blood boil when they hear their young Lord¡¯s arrogant words, and their eyes shone with a cold sheen as they looked at those city walls. They were ready to trample on them as soon as their tribe chief gave the order!
As for those Iron Demon Tribe¡¯s demons, after they heard Gianni¡¯s scornful voice and their expression turned icy.
¡°Tribe Chief, give memand, and I¡¯ll rip that arrogant brat¡¯s tongue!¡± An old iron demon coldly said.
Demons were inherently wild and arrogant; even though they were civilized, they were still ruthless and blood-hungry to the core and extremely prideful.
Dustin suddenlyughs out loud at this moment and mors, ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re right, my son, we don¡¯t need a turtle shell-like ¡®some¡¯ inferior tribes!¡±
Tray¡¯s bronze forehead was filled with thick vines as he was seething in fury, even his killing intent was leaking from his dark bronze eyeballs,
Not just him, but every iron demon was provoked by Dustin¡¯sst statement.
Elian merely shook his head and calm everyone down. ¡°They¡¯re just provoking you guys to make a wrong move and use it to their advantage.¡±
Elian coldly look at the vast army behind Dustin and sneered in a disdainful voice, ¡°I didn¡¯t know the Gibbon Chief was such a glib person. Well, I also understand, since they won¡¯t teach manners in mountains.¡±
Dustin¡¯s ted expression changed upon hearing Elian¡¯s words. He was indirectly calling his tribe barbarians, which was quite shameful since it directly put his tribe and those mindless demons into the same category!
Those other gibbon demons¡¯ joyous expressions also turned ugly, as they wanted to rush out and rip Elian into pieces.
¡°Oh, it seemed everyone is getting along, huh!¡± a powerful voice rang at this moment.
No one dared to speak at this moment. Even those dark gibbons¡¯ demons silently swallow back whatever curses they were about to throw at Iron Demon Tribe.
Everyone looked in this voice¡¯s direction and saw an imposing carriage pulled by two crimson fire lions moving between two enemies. It was none other than the Left Ocean Spear, Henrik carriage!
Elian and Dustin quickly pay their respects, follow by thousands.
Little Purple had a prideful expression while clenching the reins when he saw thousands of demons bowing their head toward him.
The carriage door finally opened and a tall burly ocean demon with many small scars on his face, wearing white robes disembark the carriage. He was straight like a spear and giving off a deadly sharp feeling. This was Henrik!
¡°No need for formalities.¡± Henrik coolly nodded in acknowledgment.
Everyone finally has a sigh of relief, seeing they didn¡¯t tick off Henrik.
Henrik coolly scan through the newly arrived army and then looked at the city wall. He nodded in satisfaction and said, ¡°I don¡¯t enjoy beating around the bush, so let¡¯s end these formalities as soon as possible.¡±
Henrik¡¯szy expression suddenly turned to a dignified one as he stated solemnly,
¡°I, Henrik Ocean, titled Demon Marquis, hereby acknowledged this Noble Tribe Title War Challenge, and I will be the first evaluator of this war challenge. I hereby pledge in the name of Demon God Baphomet that I will judge this sacred battle impartially andwfully. If I broke this pledge, I¡¯ll suffer a thousand deaths!¡±
This was a sacred oath that any evaluator had to take before the start of any kind of challenge, or the challenge can¡¯t be started.
¡°Let the sacred battle beg¡¡±
¡°Wait!¡±
Before Henrik could say, ¡®Begin¡¯, an imposing voice reverberate from the west!
Everyone was shocked when they heard someone dare to stop the Left Ocean Spear in his speech. This person simply courting death!
Henrik¡¯s scared face also be nasty, and he suddenly pulled an icy smile as he looked back. He wanted to know just who had the audacity to stop him!
Chapter 332
Little Purple was also startled when he heard someone dare to interrupt his lord and cursed out loud, ¡°Impudent! You deserve death for interrupting my lord!¡±
That cold yet intriguing voice rang again, but it was much closer than before. ¡°Hoho, death, you say? I want to see how a mere servant of a marquis put me to death!¡±
This time, everyone saw arge silhouetteing at fast speed toward the ocean demon carriage.
Little Purple expression suddenly changed, and Henrik¡¯s eyes finally narrowed when he clearly saw the neer.
It was a tall, slender demon. He had long ck hair, gray skin, wolf ears, and white eyeballs, and he wore schrly blue robes, giving an aura of refined schr. Furthermore, he was mounted on a graceful snow-white wolf that was five-meter tall and had a scary aura, much more powerful than those two crimson fire lions!
At this moment, Henrik does somethingpletely out of everyone¡¯s expectations.
Henrik presented a noble salute, which every noble demon made to a higher rank noble demon. He lightly bends his back as one of his hands was ced on his shoulder while the other hand was crossed back.
¡°This Marquis, greet Demon Duke, New Moon!¡±
Everyone¡¯s expression changed after hearing ¡®Demon Duke¡¯ and they quickly kneel, including little purple who was trembling.
It wasmon knowledge on the mighty demon continent that a person without title had to kneel in front of a duke-level noble. Furthermore, this duke didn¡¯t have a tribe name title since there wasn¡¯t a New Moon duke level demon tribe, which means this guy had an authentic noble title that directly belonged to him just like Henrik.
In the mighty demon continent, there were two types of noble titles. One was a tribe title that belonged to the entire tribe, not just one individual, just like Iron Demon Tribe. It was also very hard to gain this noble title because of its unique advantages.
The second type of noble title was Individual Noble Titles. These kinds of noble titles only belong to a single individual and anyone can challenge these individuals for their title in one-on-one matches as long as they had strength and reputation.
However, there was another way of acquiring such titles, which was pure strength and a notable achievement worthy of the title.
This New Moon Demon Duke was such a person who gained his title in this way. He had stopped arge invasion of a foreign race alone in the first outer province, and he had a reputation for being a millennium genius as well.
That¡¯s why he was granted this New Moon Demon Duke Title and permitted to enter the sixth core province, the Mighty Mist Province, under Mist Demon King!
That¡¯s why Henrik was shocked when he saw New Moon Demon Duke in the fifth inner province, so far away from the sixth core province. Because of Henrik¡¯s high status in the ocean demon tribe, he knew quite a lot about this New Moon Demon Duke.
One could say New Moon Demon Duke was Henrik¡¯s goal, he had achieved the demon marquis title after a long time, and he knew just how hard it was to score an achievement for a demon duke title, nor it was easy to challenge a demon duke like New Moon because these kinds of individuals were mostly under Demon Kings!
This New Moon was also one of the Mist Demon King¡¯s subordinates!
New Moon coolly wave his hand and said with a faint smile, ¡°Everyone rises.¡±
Everyone was respectful and, with reverence, they looked at the New Moon.
¡°When do we owe such a favor that High Highness New Moon grace this lowly ce with his presence?¡± Henrik politely asked. He knew this guy wasn¡¯t here with kind intention and his lord, Livy, wasn¡¯t here to keep this guy in check, so he had to be careful.
New Moon gently smiled as he said, ¡°Before I answer your question, what are you going to do about this ve who just gives me a death sentence?¡±
Little Purple shredded when he felt ominous intent in New Moon¡¯s gentle voice.
Before he could kowtow and beg for forgiveness, a blue streak shed into a little purple¡¯s head, and the very next moment, his lifeless bodynded on the dirt.
¡°He deserved to die for offending a Demon Duke. I hope, your highness, please forgive me for showing such a scene.¡± Henrik¡¯s voice was still courteous.
When those demons on both sides saw Henrik killing his own servant without any hesitation whatsoever, they felt their throat go dry. This was just too ruthless.
¡°Hahaha, indeed your reputation precedes you Left Ocean Spear of Ocean Demon Tribe!¡± New Moon merelyugh and didn¡¯t pursue this matter since the offender was already dead.
¡°How about you work under me in Mighty Mist Province? I always appreciate talent like yours!¡± New Moon offered with a gentle smile on his demonic face.
Henrik politely bow as he said, ¡°Those are all just mere rumors, your highness. As for your offer, I have to politely decline since my home is an ocean demon tribe. However, I¡¯m thankful that Demon Duke had such high praise for this little demon!¡±
¡°It¡¯s a pity, then.¡± New Moon didn¡¯t mind Henrik¡¯s answer. He admired this kind of straightforward character the most.
New Moon finally looked at his surroundings and when both tribe chiefs saw this Demon Duke look at their directions with a gentle smile, their heart nearly stopped. They didn¡¯t dare to show any kind of impoliteness, or they will just end up like the lifeless little purple there.
¡°I¡¯ll be frank with your Demon Marquis Henrik, I¡¯m here on the order of His Majesty, Mist Demon King order to observe this war challenge as an evaluator. What do you think?¡± New Moon again looked at Henrik.
Henrik was naturally shocked, hearing, and couldn¡¯t help but wonder just what drew the attention of a demon king to this lowly ce. Even the de Demon King, the ruler of Mighty ck Province, paid little attention to this ce.
¡®Could it be that thief? Don¡¯t tell me even Mist Demon King is interested in making him his subordinate!¡¯
Henrik could only think of that mysterious thief that could interest a demon king, but Henrik doesn¡¯t understand just why a demon king required a thief, since he probably had far more talented subordinates under him.
¡°Your Highness, please don¡¯t jest. How could I dare to not allow you to be an evaluator? It¡¯s my honor to observe high highness methods of evaluation.¡± Henrik quickly agreed.
It¡¯s not like he had any choice in this matter. No one dared to say no to a demon king besides a demon king!
¡°Good! What do you both think? Do you mind me bing an evaluator?¡± New Moon gently smiled toward Elian and Dustin.
¡°No, no, it¡¯s this lowly one¡¯s owner, your highness!¡± Dustin quickly sweated and answer. ¡®You must be joking. The moment I say no, I¡¯ll be turned into dust!¡¯
¡°Yes, your highness, it¡¯s my tribe¡¯s honor to entertain his highness!¡± Elian also quickly agreed.
¡°Very Well.¡± New Moon nodded in satisfaction.
New Moon¡¯s expression turned dignified at this moment as he took the evaluator oath, ¡°I, Harold Wolff, titled Demon Duke, hereby acknowledged this Noble Tribe Title War Challenge, and I will be the second evaluator of this war challenge. I pledge in the name of Demon God Baphomet that I will judge this sacred battle impartially andwfully. If I broke this pledge, I¡¯ll suffer a thousand deaths!
¡°Let the sacred battle beg¡¡±
¡°Boom¡ boom¡ boom¡!¡±
At this very moment, one after another, eighteen consecutive deafening explosions rang, leaving New Moon and everyone bbergasted.
Henrik, on the other hand, had a peculiar expression from everyone else. He was ashen when he saw ck smoke rising from different locations and also felt something broken in his storage ring!
An exquisite mirror abruptly appeared in Henrik¡¯s hand and when he saw a crack in the mirror, his soul almost left his body!
This mirror was none other than the demon eye formation, the main formation body, which was connected with the small eighteen sources.
Although, the actual demon eye formation was intact as long as this mirror was in one piece. But those eighteen sources were also important since, without them, this demon eye formation loses its enormous range!
Furthermore, because all eighteen sources got destroyed at the same time, the real formation received a huge bacsh, and now it was greatly damaged.
Now only a low-Grade-3 Rune Crafter can recover it and create new sources, only if the ocean demon tribe has the blueprints of this formation or this demon eye formation was as good as gone.
Even if they had blueprints of this demon eye formation, it will cost a fortune to hire a low-Grade-3 formation rune crafter because they were all in King Domain.
That¡¯s why Henrik had such a reaction because he knew Duke Livy will not let him off the hook after finding out what had happened to his tribe¡¯s legacy treasure!
Chapter 333
Henrik suddenly started to emit dense killing intent as he roared in fury, ¡°Who dare to plot against my ocean demon tribe?!¡±
He darted toward one of the explosion locations in madness without even waiting for New Moon.
New Moon also sense something was amiss and when he took a looked at the cracked mirror in Henrik¡¯s hand, he was astonished after seeing dense rune symbols on the mirror¡¯s frame.
He quickly understood what has happened and what were those explosions about and mused, ¡®Someone just blew up this formation¡¯s source points. Is this my target?¡¯
New Moon also blurred out toward the explosion locations. He wanted to find the person before they could escape, just like Henrik.
They both thought that one person couldn¡¯t blow this many formation sources at once, which means this was a coordinated attack and there might be over one person.
Henrik wanted to chop the culprit into a million pieces, while New Moon wanted to see if this person was his target or rted to his target in any way.
Elian and Dustin also snapped out of their stupor and find those two big shots heading toward the different explosion directions. They weren¡¯t fools, and they knew something has happened.
¡°Uriah, Tray, follow me to investigate one of these explosion directions. We had to help both lords!¡±
Elian quickly reacted. He knew if he could get the recognition of Demon Duke New Moon, his tribe might be able toe out of this disaster unharmed!
Dustin¡¯s expression also changed when he saw Iron Demon Tribe Chief and other iron demons descending the wall and instantly guess what were they up to!
He quickly barked, ¡°Gianni, Loral, follow me! We must capture this culprit to earn those lords¡¯ favor!¡±
Gianni and another Dark Gibbon a few meters away nodded solemnly and followed behind Dustin on their war bears.
Everyone forgot about the war challenge at this moment.
On the Iron City Wall, on the east edge,
A figure was standing tall right on the edge of the vast wall. It wore a dark hood on his head as his long coat fluttered in the wind. There was a dark blue owl imprint on his coat¡¯s back.
Strangely, two demons were standing right behind this hooded figure, but they didn¡¯t seem to notice him and check out what was happening on the ground.
This hooded figure was obviously Ace, who was in stealth and no one seemed to notice him as he was standing there from the start!
Ace knew no one can detect him as long as they were not soul realm cultivators and did not pay much attention to this ce.
Ace has a faint smirk on his face when he looked at all those big wigs rushing toward the locations of explosions just to capture the culprit or find some clues.
¡®They think I would be fool enough to leave myself open for them to capture? Heh, let¡¯s see how that Henrik caught blood from anger after not finding any trace of the culprit!
¡®But that Demon Duke New Moon appearance almost caught me off guard. That guy had a very strong martial sense, and if he was using it to full capacity, he could¡¯ve found me.¡¯
Ace¡¯s expression was grave when he thought about the emergence of a demon duke-level existence out of the blue. However, he could still escape him, since that guy disdained to even look in the direction of small fries.
¡®But this New Moon being here isn¡¯t a coincidence, nor has Livy invited him. I can¡¯t hear their conversation, or they¡¯ll be able to notice my heavenly sense, but by Henrik¡¯s reaction, this New Moon is here for something. So, who could move a demon duke like ackey?¡¯ Ace mused and suddenly a sharp light sh past his eyes.
¡®A Demon King! It seemed he was sent here to investigate the incident with N¨¡gas and that demon king still hasn¡¯t given up on Heavenly Fate Live Compass Needle. So, he¡¯s after me in a sense,¡¯
Ace quickly concluded with little clues he had. He knew characters like demon dukes weren¡¯t easily moved, and only demon kings have the authority and prowess to move them.
¡®Nheless, since the demon eye formation is useless now, they won¡¯t be able to fathom the situation quickly anymore. Well, since I¡¯m already about to p a demon duke¡¯s face, it doesn¡¯t matter if I add one more to the equation. Besides, this Demon King probably won¡¯t give up so easily, and I¡¯m destined to arouse more attention as I reveal my abilities and there won¡¯t be just one demon king after me at that time.¡¯
Ace suddenly felt thrilled when he thought about this point. He wasn¡¯t afraid of these demon kings much because he knew when these demon kings deemed him worthy of their actual attention, he¡¯ll be far stronger and might be able to escape them!
¡®Well, I should move far away from here. It still isn¡¯t the time to start the stealing-massacre. It seemed Noa really doesn¡¯t have the chance to shine this time around, since there¡¯s a demon duke out there now. Even I have to be extremely careful!¡¯ Ace mused.
He quickly vanished from his position and go toward the further back of all these soldiers.
Suddenly, Ace received an unexpected notification.
=====
[Side Mission has been issued]
¡ª
[Side Mission (2)]
[Mission: Steal from the rich!]
-Requirement: Pick-Pocket a Qi Soul Cultivator¡¯s Storage Ring present in this war challenge!
[Time: Until the winner of this war challenge is decided]
[Reward: Item Upgrade Token]
[Punishment: -1 Million Thief Points]
=====
¡®You got to be kidding me!¡¯ Ace¡¯s face fell the moment he saw another side mission and its contents.
¡®I didn¡¯t think you could give me continuous side missions, well yed, damn it!¡¯ Ace smiled wryly, he didn¡¯t know about this new function, Side Mission, much so he didn¡¯t expect to get another side mission while another side mission was still active.
Ace pursed his lips and asked, ¡°System, tell me first what is this item upgrade token, and then I¡¯ll think aboutpleting this mission or not. I rather lose a million thief points than have an angry soul realm cultivator on my tail!¡±
Ace knew there were only two soul realm cultivators present in this war challenge, Henrik and New Moon. So, he had to go after one of them, but he wanted to find out if this risk was even worth it.
¡°[Item Upgrade Token: Upgrade any item or treasure purchased from the system shop by a single grade.]¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed as he asked again with uncertainty, ¡°Tell me this. Can I upgrade thest invisible bead I have?¡±
He quickly understood what this item upgrade token was, and it was indeed quite tempting since he has many treasures from the system shop he wanted to upgrade and the invisible bead was his biggest trump card.
Although it was only a one-time use item, it was still very powerful. Still, its only limit was its one-minute time limit!
¡°[Yes!]¡±
Ace¡¯s heart raced when he heard the system¡¯s voice of confirmation, and his eyes be sharp as a thought surfaced in his mind. ¡®I have toplete this side mission!¡¯
With this, his entire n of causing a stealing massacre changed and all his focus turned to one single person, Henrik!
Ace chose Henrik toplete this side mission without any hesitation because New Moon was far stronger than Henrik and there was still that demonic beast wolf which was also quite powerful, so he won¡¯t go after New Moon no matter what.
Ace¡¯s eyes quickly darted toward the newly emerged stairway right above the city gates. Elian, Uriah, and Tray used this artificial stairway to descend the city wall since the city gate was sealed with an array.
¡®Let¡¯s get outside while I still have a chance!¡¯
¡ª
Not far away from Iron Demon City, right outside the Iron Forest,
A voluptuous, tall demoness in a veil was observing everything happening in the vicinity of Iron Demon City from the start. She had a blue cube in her emerald slender hand, and her brown eyes were fixed on this cube.
She mumbled in her crisp voice, ¡°I have to report about these explosions to mistress. This war challenge has be far moreplicated, and I still didn¡¯t find any trace of that thief. Could it be he has long escaped, even with all those tracking arrays I set up in this area?¡±
She couldn¡¯t help but wonder as her beautiful eyebrows knit together, ¡®But why is that New Moon fellow here, don¡¯t the Mist Demon King care about de Demon King¡¯s dissatisfaction? This is a direct provocation!¡¯
She shivered just thinking about this and quickly looked at a small, colorful parrot resting on her shoulder. She said gravely, ¡°Little Pio, contact Her Highness and report everything I just said. This Sky Stealer¡¯s matter has be even bigger!¡±
Chapter 334
Over an hour passed and New Moon with his Snow Fall Wolfe back after he investigated those mysterious explosions. His brows were tightly knit together in a deep frown as he mulled over something while calmly sitting over his mount.
Thereupon, Henrik appeared close to his carriage. He had a nasty expression on his scarred face, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent. He was just like New Moon. Even after searching thoroughly, he found nothing except fire and charred craters.
There wasn¡¯t any hint of anything alive there, nor any lingering aura. Furthermore, the perpetrator did a meticulous job setting this entire event. It was quite clear that he knew what kind of formation he was dealing with and its weak points.
This made Henrik even more confused and enrage because all these signs were pointing toward a traitor who knows about Demon Eye Formation. Yet, he was helpless since he didn¡¯t know who could that person be since few knows about demon eye formation and all of these demons were loyal subordinates of Duke Livy.
Henrik even thought that Little Purple was the traitor, but s, he was now a stiff corpse, so he can¡¯t question him either. Which only left him with one option, and that was to ept his punishment when he goes back and reported this to Duke Livy!
The search parties of Iron Demon Tribe and Dark Gibbon Demon Tribe were also returned empty-handed at this moment.
New Moon spoke at this moment, ¡°We should not dy the war challenge any longer, or you know the consequences of dying the challenge for your own benefits or reasons.¡±
Although this situation was quite messy, he still didn¡¯t know if the person who cause these explosions was his target or not. But he knew whoever it was, that person was extremely cunning and probably wanted to achieve something by destroying the ocean demon tribe¡¯s monitoring formation. As for what he wanted to achieve, he did not know.
Nevertheless, New Moon was a demon duke, and he knew what these challenges represent. It wasn¡¯t just them who were watching this, but this challenge was registered in the royal demon council and approved by them.
So, if this challenge was stopped or dyed even by one day, the evaluators have to answer and probably suffer harsh punishments. Even the demon kings weren¡¯t exempt from this.
The Royal Demon Council was absolute in Almighty Demon Empire, and this council¡¯s orders were akin to the order of the royal zone!
That¡¯s why New Moon didn¡¯t dy this war challenge anymore because if the news reached the royal demon council, and he knew it will, not even Mist Demon King can plead for him.
Henrik took a deep breath and suppressed his indignation. He knew what New Moon was getting at, and he also didn¡¯t want to get ¡®summon¡¯ by the royal demon council. The punishment from Duke Livy was already enough on its own.
¡°Thank you for your reminder, Demon Duke, New Moon!¡± Henrik really meant it. He could tell this New Moon had kind intentions, that¡¯s why he reminded him.
He could also feel New Moon was an upright character just by the way how New Moon didn¡¯t decide to just watch from the sideline and decided to directly involved himself in his war challenge after he be an evaluator.
Even though New Moon was not here with kind intentions, he was still kind enough to not push him around with his superior strength and title. Henrik greatly appreciated that.
¡°You two return to your positions!¡± Henrik coldly looked at Elian and Dustin.
¡®It¡¯s finally starting!¡¯
Bother parties have this thought, and they quickly rush toward their posts after bowing toward New Moon and Henrik.
Although they weren¡¯t able to win these two bosses¡¯ favor, it doesn¡¯t matter since it was depending on luck. However, the war which was about to start solely depend on skills and strength!
New Moon nodded in approval when Henrik quickly control his emotions and felt quite pity that such a demon was not working under him.
After everyone returned to their armies, Henrik infused his voice with Qi and spoke.
¡°I, the first evaluator, hereby, dere this war challenge officially begins!¡±
After that, both New Moon and Henrik left in opposite directions, so they could observe from both angles.
New Moon, at this moment, pulled out an exquisite white cube filled with blue runes. He quickly activated it with his Qi and all the runes on it lit in blue light before twenty small blue runic tes started to appear from the cube forming a circle.
¡°Scatter!¡±
New Moonmanded before all twenty runic tes shot toward the sky and scattered all around the Iron Demon City. And no one could see them in the sky because they werepletely synthesized with the golden sky.
¡®Although this Eagle Surveince Formation burns a huge amount of peak-grade-2 Qi stones, yet with this, I can easily find an anomaly if it appeared in this formation range.
¡®Anything at or below, Qi Diamond River Core or Early Stage Golden Qi Soul Realm can¡¯t hide from this formation detection. Let¡¯s see if that Sky Stealer is still hiding here or not!¡¯
New Moon¡¯s lips curled into a demonic smile when he thought about his target. He came prepared and from the mist demon king resources; they conclude the thief was still here hiding in the city because this entire region was closely monitored by the all-knowing parrot, who would not let any fly escape.
That¡¯s why he was sent here to capture that thief and bring him back to the demon king, either dead or alive!
¡ª
Ace was watching all the drama unfold from a corner. He was quite far from both soul realm cultivators¡¯ detection.
After Henrik¡¯s official deration of war, Ace saw Henrik and New Moon were moving in different directions, and coincidentally, Henrik wasing on his way while sitting on the roof of his carriage.
¡®Well, this makes it somewhat easier, I guess!¡¯ Ace thought with a faint smile.
However, at this moment, his soul sense rang in rm and his heart sank. He ran in the opposite direction of the city wall, and only when he was a thousand meters away did that sense of danger go away.
Ace gloomily looked toward the sky with his soul-shattering eyes. Although he saw nothing abnormal, he could vaguely see undtions emitting on a small scale.
¡®Another surveince formation and much stronger than the demon-eye formation. This must belong to that New Moon guy!¡¯
Ace¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t too good when he sensed this formation will be able to see through his stealth, and if he was a little bitter in running, that new formation would¡¯ve spotted him.
Ace saw Henrik didn¡¯t react in any way, which meant he didn¡¯t notice this formation. Ace¡¯s soul sense had be much stronger after he unlocked the secret part of his soul cultivation technique.
Furthermore, this formation was weaker toward soul cultivators and that¡¯s why Ace was able to timely detect it, or if this formation was a soul surveince formation, even his soul sense could not pick it up and only his heavenly sense might be able to detect it.
Ace again had to thank his luck for this time, but he also knew he can¡¯t always depend on luck and when one day his luck would run out, he¡¯ll be doomed!
Nheless, Ace knew a soul type formation was too rare and his chance of bumping into one was quite low since no one will be willing to use it, on a mere thief like him as long as no one deemed him worthy.
Because a soul formation fuel on rarest, ¡®Soul Stones!¡¯ which were even rarer than soul materials!
Every time a soul stone appeared, it will be instantly snatched by soul cultivators or rune crafters, no matter the rank. These soul stones were only sold in big auctions in King Domains.
Ace watched Henrik stop four hundred meters away from his position, which was still under the detection of this mysterious formation. He can¡¯t enter this formation vicinity no matter what, or he¡¯ll be courting death!
At this moment, the booming sounds of war drums rang in the area, which draw everyone¡¯s attention.
It was a sign that the war was about to start.
Ace also looked at hundreds of thousands of dark gibbon demons scattering in different war formations, while the Iron Demon City Walls were now filled with archers.
Tray could be seen holding a bronze longbow, standing solemnly at the very front of these archers. His eyes were as sharp as a hawk¡¯s while he coldly looked at the enemy army.
¡°Archers of Iron Demon Tribe, let¡¯s shoot those bastards down as soon as possible and go back to our homes to enjoy some alcohol afterward!¡± Tray dered as he pulled the string of his magnificent bow, and a bronze vivid Qi arrow formed.
Everyone knows this was the signal of the bloody tribe war getting started!
Chapter 335
Dustin smirked at this moment when he saw Tray and other archers were going to shoot a rain of arrows, and coollymanded, ¡°Stonewall!¡±
More than thousands of green fur dark gibbon demonse forward and ce their hands on the ground and instantly a stone wall started to shoot up!
However, Tray didn¡¯t seem to faze by this stone wall and merely chuckled coldly.
¡°Attack!¡±
The very next moment thereafter, thousands of Qi arrows were darted toward this giant army like light rainfall.
Tray¡¯s arrow was pure bronze color and the moment it came in contact with the dark gibbon tribe¡¯s defensive stone wall, it instantly punched an enormous hole in it and easily prated the green gibbon demon behind it, killing it on the spot. But this wasn¡¯t the end. That bronze Qi arrow was still vigorously moving toward the army behind.
¡°Just a mere trick!¡± at this moment, an old gibbon demon with a long gray beard scoffed. He was mounted on a three-meter tall war bear, which meant he had a prominent position in the dark gibbon demon tribe.
He coolly waved his hand as a powerful emerald Qi appeared, forming a defensive barrier right before the bronze arrow.
When the bronze Qi arrow shed with the emerald barrier, it instantly caused a huge booming sound before the bronze Qi arrow finally shattered into bronze light particles.
However, this wasn¡¯t the only casualty of this first arrow attack, although the other arrows weren¡¯t as strong as Tray¡¯s, some of them still manage to st past the stone wall and killed hundreds of green-furred dark gibbon demons.
This clearly made the Iron Demon Tribe the winner of this first exchange, and it greatly raised their morale, while the dark gibbon tribe¡¯s army wasn¡¯t as cheerful as before.
Dustin clearly notice this change andmanded, ¡°Elder Loral, Elder Bale, Elder Yun, I want you three to apany Gianni in destroying that city wall, while Elder Kole will deal with that third level silver river core archer!¡±
Gianni smiled broadly when he heard his father was going to send him in. He looked at Tray and the other archers like he was looking at a clown. ¡°Heh, they¡¯re using bow and arrows in a war of cultivators? Do they retard? Let me teach them a lesson!¡±
Without any hesitation, he controlled his vicious war bear while emitting a powerful pressure of peak silver river core cultivator. He was closely followed behind by a female elder and two male elders, while the elder who just stopped Tray¡¯s bronze arrow was at the very end. He was Elder Kole.
Elian quickly react when he saw Gianni and three strong cultivators break out of the formation.
¡°They¡¯reing for the city wall. Brother Uriah intercepts them with brother Tray and Gianni. You and your dark iron n can start with your assassination n. Make sure you seed in one go. We won¡¯t get another chance.¡±
Everyone solemnly nodded their heads and quickly began to move.
Gianni, the leader of the dark iron n, was d in apletely dark outfit and there were nine more such demons. After getting their orders, they quickly vanished from their spots.
They were going toward the hidden passage inside the city wall. This was their n to stealthily exit the city wall from the hidden passage and assassinate Gianni, who had an earthquake element.
Elian and Dustin didn¡¯t move, since it wasn¡¯t the time for them, nor did they move their armies. Elian had an immense advantage since his tribe¡¯s army waspletely safe right behind the city wall, while Dustin¡¯s tribe army was right in the open.
That¡¯s why destroying the city wall was the top priority of the dark gibbon demon tribe, or they can¡¯t take advantage of theirrge army.
This was one of the reasons the war challenge was so difficult. The defender had a clear advantage of home ground, while the challenger had to work its way through all the defensive measures of the enemy.
That¡¯s why only the most powerful tribes dared to issue a war challenge for a noble tribe¡¯s title while gaining it from the royal demon council was very difficult. Only those tribes with huge potential and achievements were qualified.
Ace closely watch this first exchange of these demons and was baffled because he thought they would instantly sh together, causing a huge chaotic battle, but other parties seemed to y it safe and conscientiously decide the next move.
Even he felt this battle was worth watching. He had never seen an archer in action before, and he could tell Tray was a very powerful and experienced archer, and the other archers also seemed trained by him.
¡®Only an expert can nurture an expert.¡¯ Ace nodded in understanding.
However, his eyes suddenly shifted toward the grand carriage of the ocean demon tribe and Henrik, who was also closely observing the battle, while deep in his own thoughts.
Ace didn¡¯t forget about his own target while enjoying the grand show of war. But he didn¡¯t dare to move around carelessly because of that surveince formation put up by the New Moon.
He couldn¡¯t spot the New Moon shadow or his mount, but he knew that the wolf guy was watching from somewhere. He can¡¯t get within the radius of this formation or his stealth will be useless.
¡®If I can just shorten our distance to two hundred meters, I have a chance to pickpocket this blue guy¡¯s storage ring andplete the system mission. But I won¡¯t be able to return to my hideout, and I have to escape somewhere else.
¡®However, Noa was still inside the hideout and if I don¡¯t return, she mighte out and, with that formation, she¡¯ll be instantly found out. I have to warn her!¡¯
After thinking of this point, Ace quickly issue a mission that was more of a warning message. He didn¡¯t want Noa to get captured, he won¡¯t be able to rest if that happened.
He simply issued a mission titled, ¡®Stay Put until Ie back, and some more instructions. Likewise, he finally sighed in relief that he thought about this quickly, or he would¡¯ve regretted it.
¡®Now, I don¡¯t have to worry about her.¡¯ Ace¡¯s focus again returned to Henrik and start thinking about how to lure him out of this formation range or enter himself without arousing any suspicion of the New Moon.
While Ace was still in stealth and observing Henrik, he had no idea about two small palm-size birds resting on two different trees near to him. Those two little ¡®harmless¡¯ creatures were also watching Henrik and the war battle with their intelligent, bubbly eyes.
They didn¡¯t seem to see Ace because of his stealth, but they can see everything else very clearly.
¡°Booommmmm¡.¡±
At this moment, a huge booming sound rang in the area, drawing everyone¡¯s attention toward the war again.
Gianni had a huge smirk on his furry face as he stood tall on the war bear¡¯s back while the hundred-meter area around him was trembling and earthquakes were keepinging.
However, those elders around him werepletely steady and coldly looking at the cracking ground and city wall.
The Iron Demon Tribe started to panic when they felt the tremulous wall under their feet.
¡°Shoot that fur face brat!¡± Tray roared out loud as he shot multiple bronze Qi arrows toward those five, followed by thousands.
Gianni disdainfully looked at the rain of iing arrows and coolly said, ¡°Elder Kole, I think it is your time to shine.¡±
¡°Heh, I¡¯m no longer young anymore, Young Lord. It¡¯s the stage for young people to shine.¡± Elder Kole merely chuckled.
But the next moment, his dark gray eyes shimmered with emerald Qi as a long dark saber appeared in hand.
The very next moment, a magnificent scene yed out, which left everyone breathless.
Thousands of emerald sabers started to materialize right above elder Kole, however, these emerald sabers had a white sheen on their des, and they were almost vivid.
¡°Grand Sabre Rush!¡± Elder Kole utter coldly and all those sabers instantly shed with that arrow rain instantly cutting it apart like some vegetables, not even Tray¡¯s arrow held against these sabers¡¯ lights.
Elian¡¯s expression suddenly changed when he felt the deadly refine aura of those saber lights and quickly barked, ¡°Everyone dodged at all cost those sabers had ¡®Weapon Intent¡¯ in them, only ¡®Weapon Intent¡¯ can go against Weapon Intent!¡±
s, Elian was toote with his warning and all those saber lights shed past those archers, cutting them like vegetables. No one could resist, only Tray escaped with two ghastly shes on his chest and shoulder.
More than thousands of Iron Demon Tribe¡¯s archers died just because of a single person¡¯s attack!
Everyone¡¯s focus turned toward the old gibbon demon elder holding a dark saber with a tranquil expression on his wizened face, but there was a hint of contempt in his eyes as he looked at the pale Iron Demon Tribe!
Chapter 336
Elian¡¯s expression was solemn, with a hint of dread deeply hidden in his eyes. He yelled, ¡°Everyone abandoned the city wall!¡±
No one seemed to disagree with Elian¡¯s decision after they saw and experience Elder Kole¡¯s weapon intent.
Elian and some other knowledgeable fellows knewprehending a weapon¡¯s intent wasn¡¯t a joke or one can¡¯t justprehend a weapon¡¯s intent just because they wanted.
Weapon Intent was like a special type of Qi that can only beprehended with a weapon and a top level of weapon mastery and battle sense. Some try toprehend a weapon-intent for their entire life but fail, while some unknowinglyprehend it.
A weapon intent was like a lucky opportunity that can onlye suddenly and if one could grasp it at that moment, they¡¯ll instantly soar to heaven, or they¡¯ll regret it if they miss that moment.
However, anyone who couldprehend a weapon-intent was considered a genius among geniuses of a weapon path, even in the demon race. These geniuses whoprehend the Weapon Intents were known as Weapon Cultivators!
A weapon cultivator who hasprehended a weapon intent was invincible in the same realm and can even fight across realms. Supposedly, a weapon cultivator has to be fearless, or it will directly affect their intent.
Furthermore, it was very hard to block an attack filled with weapon intent. That¡¯s why there was a saying in the cultivation world, ¡®only a weapon intent can encounter a weapon intent to fullest¡¯.
Now the Iron Demon Tribe was fighting a war against an enemy who had a weapon intent entric among their ranks, so how could Elian not feel discouragement?
All he can do now was to abandon the city wall and try to get rid of this weapon cultivator as soon as possible, or this war was nothing but a lost cause!
To the west of this battlefield,
A big snowfall wolf was resting under arge tree, and there was a demon sitting cross-legged right beside him.
New Moon¡¯s expression was somber as he looked at a cube in his hand.
He suddenly mumbled with a hint of relief, ¡°He hasn¡¯tprehended the full saber intent, and onlyprehends half saber intent, or that wall would¡¯ve cut in half by now if he hadprehended the full saber intent just like that person!¡±
New Moon, a demon duke, suddenly shuddered at this moment as a scary memory surfaced in his mind.
¡°It seemed that old demon is at the end of his lifespan and by some fluke, heprehended the half saber intent, or he won¡¯t be such a minor character of a rankles tribe. A pity. If he was younger, even demon kings would fight just to gain his allegiance!¡±
New Moon shook his head in pity and again started to observe the battle. He knew anyone with some experience will have the same thought as him, or even he would have to treat this old demon with respect if he was filled with potential!
On the east side,
Henrik also had the same reaction as New Moon, from a momentary shock to pity.
He knew Duke Livy might¡¯ve known about this saber cultivator and his limited potential, or Duke Livy will offer this saber cultivator anything for his loyalty.
Nevertheless, it made this war challenge more interesting with this saber cultivator who hadprehended half saber intent. Many can benefit from it in the path of weapon cultivation.
However, unbeknownst to anyone, four hundred meters away from Henrik¡¯s carriage, right behind an old tree, a hooded figure was standing there like a status without any concealment or any protection.
This was Ace without his stealth active!
A vague dark mist was whirling around his fingers, which he didn¡¯t have any idea about. He had fallenpletely into a trance after he saw the saber attack of Elder Kole.
Ace suddenly felt like a lightning struck him out of the blue, and he suddenly felt in this state as Dual Shadow Swords Technique active on its own!
Ace had stuck in the first realm of this technique for a long time and even after he felt he was very close to a breakthrough, he couldn¡¯t achieve it no matter how much he mulled over it or practice it.
In the end, hepletely stopped caring about it and thought when the timee he¡¯ll naturally breakthrough.
However, he never expected to witness a weapon intent here and then suddenly felt enlightened because of it. This was like an ultimate piece of the puzzle that fell in its ce and Ace felt in this state and his stealth also disappeared because of it!
Now, he waspletely defenseless and wide-open. If Henrik wasn¡¯t paying close attention to the war battle and had his martial sense active, he might¡¯ve noticed a vague fluctuation from behind!
However, contrary to anyone¡¯s expectation, a palm-size bluebird which seemed harmless was scrutinizing Ace with its intelligent bubbly eyes, from the very moment he abruptly appeared out of the thin air!
Furthermore, his thief symbol, the dark owl, was fully revealed because he was facing the tree while his back was wide open.
Suddenly, the second bird in red color also turned its small head toward Ace¡¯s figure and started to observe him from another direction. Both birds were now watching him from left and right.
Thereupon, the dark mist whirling around Ace¡¯s hands turned into small dark des and both of these des have a pitch-ck sheen on their edges just like Elder Kole, the only difference was Kole had a white sheen while Ace¡¯s was pitch ck.
Ace, who was staring into the void, suddenlye back to his sense, and those two dark des of Qi suddenly released from his hands toward the dense forest.
Ace was bewildered as he saw those two dark des moving through some trees beforepletely vanishing into the forest.
However, the very next moment, those trees which were merely fazed or pierced through by those two Qi des started to fall and one could see clean cut from their barks as if they were not trees but kinds of butter!
Ace¡¯s eyes suddenly shed with ecstasy when he discerned what has happened just now, and the system¡¯s voice just confirmed it.
¡°[Congrattion host onprehending the second realm ¡®Sword of Finger¡¯ of Dual Shadow Swords Technique!]¡±
However, his joy was short-lived when he suddenly felt enveloped by a powerful martial sense and a mountain-like pressure locked on him.
¡°Come out!¡± Henrik¡¯s cold voice sounded at this moment.
¡®Shit, this is really a plight!¡¯ Ace cursed when he finally remembered he was very close to a Qi soul realm cultivator, and his time toprehend the second realm of dual shadow-swords techniques could not be any worse than now.
Henrik was coldly looking at the tree where Ace was hiding right now. He had noticed themotion from behind and when he used his martial sense; he found a person hiding behind that tree.
Henrik naturally thought someone was trying to sneak up on him since he can¡¯t sense the other party¡¯s cultivation and this greatly rm him. That¡¯s also why he didn¡¯t attack directly.
At this moment, Henrik saw a tall demoning out from behind the tree. His skin was dark silver, while his appearance was handsome for a demon. His long silver hair was draped on his shoulder, and one could see deep fear in his silver eyeballs. He wore a long green robe with a ck belt around his waist.
¡°You? You¡¯re from Iron Demon Tribe?!¡± Henrik was astonished when he finally noticed the simrity.
¡®Howe I can sense his cultivation now, but not before?¡¯ Henrik was puzzled by this strange anomaly.
But he had bepletely easy after he deemed it was just a figment of his imagination because how could a Qi river realm ant fool him or even pose a threat to his life?
¡°M-my lord, please forgive me. I just don¡¯t want to die th-that¡¯s why I hide here. I¡¯m just an exile, not one wanted me, please spare me, my lord!¡± Pablo kneel and pleaded for his life while crying his eyes out!
Henrik¡¯s eyes shimmered with contempt when he saw this ¡®coward¡¯ hiding here while his tribe was fighting for their life. He hated this kind of person the most.
¡°Hmph! It seemed our demon race really started to decline since even cowards like you were born in our glorious race!¡± Henrik coldly harrumphed as he released the aura of a soul realm cultivator on Pablo.
Pablo started to tremble under pressure, while the ground beside him made cracking sounds. However, if one could pay attention, one will notice right underneath Pablo¡¯s knees the ground waspletely fine as if the pressure didn¡¯t affect him at all.
But s, Henrik was too prideful to even look straight at this cowardly demon, much less closely pay attention to him.
Inside, Ace had a sigh of relief and mused gravely, ¡®Should I do it?!¡¯
Chapter 337
If Ace wanted, he could¡¯ve escaped before and there was a huge chance that Henrik would not chase after him because of his duty as an evaluator. He might even think the other party had escaped after they were found out since he won¡¯t be able to sense Ace¡¯s cultivation, so he won¡¯t take such a risk to confront an unknown enemy.
But Ace didn¡¯t escape and decided to confront Henrik like Pablo, so he could get close to him. He knew this was his only chance if he wanted to seed in the system¡¯s mission without being caught.
That¡¯s why he acted like a coward, so he could make Henrik drop his guard and Henrik just yed in his hand when Henrik saw he was just an insignificant iron demon and his cultivation was akin to an ant.
Now, all he had to do was to make sure Henrik would let him go, and he got the chance to pickpocket his storage ring. All he had to do was to escape afterward, but he can¡¯t be too obvious about it.
Ace quickly react because he knew he can¡¯t give Henrik a chance to attack him, or he¡¯ll be done for!
¡°M-my lord, please spare me. I know I was wrong!¡± Pablo quickly shivered and beg.
Henrik looked impassively at Pablo¡¯s disgraceful behavior and said coldly, ¡°Hmph, killing you will only let you off too lightly. Now, you have only two choices, be food for my two mounts or get your ass on that battlefield. So, what will it be?¡±
¡°L-lord¡¡±
Before Pablo could say another word, Henrik cut him sort as his deadly aura increased. ¡°Do you want me to choose for you?¡±
¡°I-I¡ I¡¯ll go and fight for my tribe!¡± Pablo¡¯s voice was filled with bitterness and reluctance like he didn¡¯t have a choice.
Henrik coolly said, ¡°A wise choice. A demon should never run from a fight!¡±
On the other side, New Moon clearly saw all the drama unfold when his surveince formation picked up Pablo.
But he quickly lost interest and disdainfully berated the cowardly Pablo. He also hated these kinds of demons the most. After seeing Henrik beautifully handle this coward, he nodded in satisfaction and stop paying attention to them anymore and turn his focus toward the raging war again.
Ace felt the pressure on him vanish after this, and he knew Henrik was signaling him to move. He inhaled sharply and move toward the battlefield which was a thousand meters away from this spot.
He saw Henrik haspletely ignored him after he gave hismand as if Pablo won¡¯t dare to run.
Ace very much appreciate this gesture of Henrik, but he knew if he made any strange movement Henrik will instantly react. The good news was Henrik wasn¡¯t using his martial sense anymore, while New Moon also didn¡¯t react in any way after he entered that mysterious formation range.
When Ace was just two hundred meters away from Henrik¡¯s carriage, he sneakily formed a soul thread and start controlling it, and drifted toward Henrik!
He knew he can¡¯t be oblivious or Henrik might notice something, nor can he be so slow; he had to show he was not deliberately moving slowly. That¡¯s why he was running at the speed of an empty river cultivator.
Ace quickly reached the hundred-meter mark and his soul thread was sliding on the carriage, slouching toward the rooftop where Henrik was sitting.
After the soul thread was just one meter away from Henrik, Ace stopped because he was very close to Henrik right now, and he might watch him closely.
Finally, Ace crossed Henrik¡¯s carriage while running toward the battlefield, and he was now finally in Henrik¡¯s view.
¡®So, he didn¡¯t escape or try anything funny, well it¡¯s also good since I don¡¯t have to make a move on a coward anymore,¡¯ Henrik momentarily thought before stopping paying any more attention to Pablo.
However, he failed to notice a hair-like soul thread had wrapped around his storage ring on his left hand¡¯s ring finger!
Just as Ace thought, Henrik never consider Pablo a threat, nor did he use his martial sense even after Pablo appeared from that dense forest. If he just scanned deep inside the forest, he could see many cut trees and find it extremely strange.
Even now, if he could just activate his martial sense for a moment, he¡¯ll be able to easily sense Ace¡¯s soul thread on his storage ring. But s, he never thought something like this could even be possible, and he was going to learn it a very hard way!
Ace was now two hundred meters away from Henrik, but he still didn¡¯t active his pickpocket because he knew Henrik would notice it instantly. After all, he wasn¡¯tpletely focused on one ce.
But he had to do it between fifty meters, or he knew his soul thread would be extremely unstable at that time. That was also the reason he didn¡¯t use a soul thread from four hundred meters away because he knew he¡¯ll fail and even alert Henrik.
At this moment, a huge eruption sound reverberated in the area and everyone focused instantly drawn by it, well, except for Ace, who was waiting for his exact change.
¡®Pick Pocket!¡¯ without any hesitancy, he activated the pick-pocket and felt a fresh addition to his thief space.
He had seeded!
Without hesitation, while taking advantage of this situation, he speeds up at a lightning-fast pace and he even activated his stealth as he was very close to the gibbon army he was going to mix within their ranks before quickly entering the Iron Demon City toward his hideout.
He knew as long as he was in the open; he wasn¡¯t safe, and he had to enter his hideout before Henrik would notice his missing storage ring.
No one seemed to notice a neer entering the ranks of the Dark Gibbon Demon army, as everyone was looking toward the city wall.
Gianni was currently pridefully looking at the huge twenty-meter cleft he just made in the city wall. He knew he hadpleted his mission and also raise the morale of his fellow tribesmen.
At this moment, Dustin roared at the top of his lungs, ¡°First, third, and Eighth armies storm the city!¡±
While Dustin and his tribe were making a move,
Ace was naturally among them, but his focus was drawn by the system¡¯s notification, which he can¡¯t just ignore.
=====
[Pick Pocket Seed]
[Host steal]
[Space Treasure(s)]
-Low-Grade-2 Storage Space Treasures: 1
¡
¡ª
[Alchemy Treasure(s)]
-Low-Grade-1 Pills: 1,933
¨C Intermediate-Grade-1 Pills: 672
-Medicinal Alcohol: 500 Barrels High-Grade-1
¡ª
[Smith Crafting Treasures]
-Middle-Grade-2 Weapon: 1
¡ª
[Rune Crafting Treasure(s)]
-Nine-Star Arrays: 3
-Low-Grade-2 Formation: 1 (Damaged)
-High-Grade-1 ve Contract: 10
¡ª
[Qi Stones]
Peak-Level: 8.31 Billion
Low-Grade-1: 81 Million
Middle-Grade-1: 14 Million
High-Grade-1: 844,000
Peak Grade-1: 155,000
Low-Grade-2: 550
¡ª
[Reward(s)]
¨C Rewards: 100,150 Thief Points
¡ª
[Thieveries Rank(s)]
-High-Level Thievery(s): 1
[First High-level thievery reward: 50,000TP & One Heavenly Talisman]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 5,512,000]
¡ª
[Side Mission (2)]
[Mission: Steal from the rich!]
[Status: Complete]
[Reward: Item Upgrade Token has been delivered to the thief¡¯s space!]
=====
¡®What, I can get heavenly talismans this way as well?¡¯ Ace was shocked when he saw he got a heavenly talisman after scoring his first high-level thievery.
This waspletely out of his expectation that Henrik would give him high-level thievery and even help him get the first high-level thievery reward!
Furthermore, this was this first time scoring high-level thievery from the pickpocket as well.
Before Ace could see what kind of heavenly talisman he got, the system¡¯s voice rang again.
====
[Thief Farewell Note has been unlocked!]
-Please write a Thief Farewell Note containing 100 or fewer Words, which will appear on the High-level Thievery¡¯s location.
-System detect this high-level thievery was performed on a living being. Please select any part of this living being¡¯s body where the host wants this Thief Farewell Note to appear!
[Time: 00: 01: 00]
¡ª
[Note: The host has only one minute to write and choose a location for the Thief Farewell Note or in case of times run out, the system will choose on behalf of the host.]
====
¡°I can do that?¡± Ace was stunned when he saw this new function of high-level thievery. He never thought something like that was even doable.
The low-level thieveries made a simple thief symbol imprint, while the middle-level thieveries will imprint a thief symbol and his thief name in it. Now, this high-level thievery was giving him the privilege to leave a ¡®Thief Farewell Note¡¯ which can¡¯t be removed.
This was blunt humiliation for anyone who got this kind of thief symbol, especially since Ace had full control over its position. What if Ace imprinted it on their faces? They can never show their faces in public ever again!
Ace suddenly felt this ¡®Thief Farewell Note¡¯ was quite to his liking and quickly wrote the ¡®Thief Farewell Note¡¯ that will make anyoneugh at Ocean Demon Tribe.
Ace didn¡¯t hold back at all; a hundred words were more than enough for him to make Duke Livy puke blood from anger!
¡°Imprint it on his face!¡±
Chapter 338
¡°Print it on his face!¡±
Ace smirked sinisterly as he gave thest order and keep heading toward the Iron Demon City amid dark gibbon demons. All was left for him to escape now.
Before, he never thought he would get the chance to return to Iron Demon City because of the formation and Henrik. But he never thought he wouldprehend the second realm of Dual Shadow Swords Technique and discovered by Henrik afterward.
However, everything yed out well because of his quick wits and acting skills. Not only did he manage to score high-level thievery while obtaining a heavenly talisman, but he even got the chance to humiliate the ocean demon tribe with Thief Farewell Note!
¡®Wait, since I¡¯m already surrounded by thousands of demons, I should take full advantage of it until I reached the other side of the city wall. Who knows how long I have to stay underground after Henrik discovered what has happened with his storage ring and face!¡¯ Ace coldly smiled as he kept moving between the gibbon demon army that was madly charging toward the opening in the city wall.
Although more than half of the dark gibbon army was still on hold, the army charging toward the city wall was still over a hundred thousand!
Ace was like a fish who just enter the water as two hundred soul threads shot from his ten fingertips, each finger controlling twenty soul threads. He even activated his heavenly sense because New Moon formation can¡¯t pinpoint or discover him in this chaos.
Ace was dashing forward while hiding deep in the soldiers and no one notice him in this huge rush. Every ten seconds, he would pickpocket two hundred storage rings without anyone noticing, which made Ace more excited as he thought the chaotic war was like his stealing ground where he can cause stealing-massacre!
His eyes suddenly shed when he saw the distance between him and the Iron Demon City only remain fifty meters, and he suddenly looked toward those gibbon demons mounting on the war bears.
Especially Gianni¡¯s group, which was not too far away from him right now, only a hundred meters to his left. Elder Kole and Dustin were at the very front, leading this charge!
Ace stopped paying attention to those small fries, he had already pickpocketed over two thousand storage rings in this short period. But he wasn¡¯t satisfied with low-level thieveries, he wanted middle-level thieveries so he could raise his thief rank.
That¡¯s why his focus turned toward those demons on war bears. He knew some of them might give him middle-level thieveries.
There were five hundred war bears at the very front of this charge and all of them were Qi river core cultivators, most of them were at the first level of Iron River Core.
Ace naturally targeted these weakest bunch first, right now, he was at the very front of this charging army just a few tens of meters away from war bears.
When Ace pick-pocketed the first two hundred iron river core cultivators, they finally cross the ruined city wall.
However, Ace¡¯s heart palpitated when he was greeted by the sight ofrge cannons neatly arranged in rows five hundred meters away. He nearly forgot about them. He knew those war cannons were used for city defenses and by the size of those cannons they can easily st a peak Qi river core cultivator into meat fragments which gravely injured Iron river core cultivators, only bronze river core or higher, cultivators can dodge them.
There were a total of two hundredrge cannons and there were also five hundred smaller size cannons.
Right behind those cannons, Elian was calmly mounted on a five-meter beast that looked like a horse, but its pointed teeth were showing from its lips while its color waspletely brown, and it had a foot-long spike-like horn growing right between its dog-like ears.
The same kind of mount was also under all the Qi river core cultivators, and behind those cultivators were huge clearings. All the houses havepletely vanished from the city, and there was a vast army of the Iron Demon Tribe.
Right now, this army surrounded by the tall city walls looked like they were in a vast arena.
Decker coldly chuckled, seeing the grand line up as if he expected this, and bellowed, ¡°Don¡¯t tter. Those cannons won¡¯t be able to reach you, with us old bones in front. Just charge with no fear and destroy everything in your path. We¡¯ll be taking thisnd as our home soon, ATTACK!¡±
When Decker¡¯s howl faded, the soldiers madly charge while those war bears let loose a collective roar before rushing toward those horse-like demonic beasts with their vicious eyes.
Elian sneered at this moment and shouted, ¡°Released all the traps!¡±
Thereby, shining rune symbols emerged from the ground, covering the entire area between the charging army and the Iron Demon Tribe army behind cannons.
However, Dustin merely frowned, but he didn¡¯t order anyone to stop and keep charging. He had fought many such wars in wildness his whole life, and he knew sacrifices were necessary for war.
That was also why he only brought one-fifth of his army inside the city wall, despite knowing the danger of entering a tiger¡¯s mountain!
Ace, on the other hand, who was blended within the charging gibbon soldiers, had a veryplicated feeling, as he watched hundreds of demons get killed by traps at every step while they still charge without even batting an eye at those who fell with resolve to die.
It was his first time being right in the middle of such ughter, he only sighed silently and kept moving toward the Iron Demon Tribe as he always stepped in a safe ce without triggering any trap and easily dodge any trap triggered by a solder since those traps could only harm Qi river cultivators, and he was far more powerful than any Qi river cultivator.
After regaining his calm, he again started to pick-pocket those big shots of the Qi river core realm because he knew he had little time before the face-to-face sh and at that time they will notice many missing storage treasures.
Especially the Qi river core cultivators. This will cause a huge ruckus, and he doesn¡¯t want to be here in the middle of it when the time came.
Ace didn¡¯t target Golden River Core experts like Elian and Dustin because their senses were at their peak right now, and they might notice him, nor did he go after Elder Kole because of his saber intent.
Although he never came in contact with a weapon intent cultivator, a person who hadprehended the pinnacle of a weapon can¡¯t be with just ordinary senses. He didn¡¯t want to take such a risk.
Besides, it was just a storage ring of a single silver river core expert, which doesn¡¯t hurt Ace, who had pickpocketed thousands of storage rings just by running.
¡°Let loose the cannons!¡± Elian coolly ordered when the army reached the one-hundred-and-fifty-meter mark.
Although those cannons burn a huge amount of grade Qi stones, Elian didn¡¯t care since he knew it wasn¡¯t the time to save wealth, not after he found out the enemy had a saber cultivator among their ranks!
He wanted to get rid of that old demon as quickly as possible, and he even had a n for it which he had safe for Gianni, but in his eyes, Elder Kole was far bigger of a threat than ten Gianni.
Those iron demons standing beside each cannon quickly fire them as many booming sounds filled the area.
¡°Block them!¡± Dustin roared as a three-meter-long golden halberd appeared in his hook-shaped hands.
He brandished it with brown Qi and swing it toward those meteoroids like cannonballsing toward them.
Elder Kole also hack his saber brandished with emerald Qi and block over twenty cannonballs.
However, something strange happened at this moment, when a gibbon demon of bronze river core stage shrilled and screamed in horror, ¡°Why can¡¯t I pull my weapon¡ NO!¡±
¡°Boom!¡±
He was caught off guard and take a direct hit from the cannonball, which punched an enormous hole in his stomach.
However, this wasn¡¯t the end, there were many cries rang, singing in the same tune,
¡°Fuck, I can¡¯t sense my¡¡±
¡°Boom!¡±
¡°Where is my¡¡±
¡°Boom!¡±
¡°Which bastard¡¡±
¡°Boom¡!¡±
Almost all the Qi river core gibbon demons were sted by cannonballs after caching off guard by the disappearance of their weapons or, more urately, storage rings!
Some of them still quickly react and dodged them in time, but this action let those loose cannonballs enter the army behind them, which cause huge casualties as thousands of weak gibbon demons sted into smithereens.
¡®Time to run!¡¯
Ace knew this was his cue, and he quickly used his full speed andpletely broke free from the chaotic gibbon demon army. He easily brushed past those cannons and move toward the wall.
He easily passed through those Iron river core stage iron demons sitting arrogantly on their mounts and sessfully entered the iron demon army!
But he didn¡¯t stay to loot them this time and go straight deeper into the iron demon city toward this hideout.
Ace knew this war was about to turn into a colossal mess!
Chapter 339
Dustin finally noticed what has happened behind him when he heard cries of shock and resentment.
¡°Bastards! What kind of traps did they just use?!¡± Dustin cursed out loud as he looked toward the Iron Demon Army.
However, he suddenly noticed Elian¡¯s bewildered face at this moment and felt something was amiss.
¡°Attack them again quickly!¡± Elian truly didn¡¯t know what has happened, but somehow those Qi river core cultivators turned into twits and didn¡¯t block those cannonballs.
Because of this strange event, more than half of the Qi river core cultivators of Dark Gibbon Tribes were now gravely injured and some of them were dead or on the brink of death.
That¡¯s why Elian decided to take advantage of this mishap and disarray in the Dark Gibbon Demon Army and decrease their numbers as much as possible. He also knew Dustin and Elder Kole can¡¯t block all those cannons, and the remaining river core cultivators of Iron Demon Tribe were going crazing over something.
¡°Chief, my storage ring is missing, and this strange owl imprint has reced it!¡± At this moment, one of the unharmed Qi river core gibbon demons loudly told Dustin about his missing storage ring with a voice full of indignation.
¡°What?!¡± Dustin was startled, and before he could say anything, another feminine voice rang.
¡°My storage ring is also gone, but this strange owl imprint has appeared on the dorsal side of my hand and there is a name engraved in these wings¡-sky¡ Sky Stealer!¡± She was shocked when she saw the gray fur on her hand waspletely reced with an owl imprint which was spreading its wings, and it looked quite vivid!
¡°Father! My Storage Ring is also gone missing and the same kind of owl had appeared on the dorsal side of my hand!¡± Gianni also howl at this moment as he trembled in rage when he saw all his wealth was reced by a freaking owl imprint!
¡°Just what the fuck is going on? Elian, you despicable bastard, what did you do?!¡± Dustin felt he was going bonkers at this moment.
He never heard of this kind of trap before, and the situation has suddenly turned grave for his tribe because of this strange ¡®trap¡¯ set up by Iron Demon Tribe!
Elian¡¯s heart suddenly trembled when he heard the words, ¡®Sky Stealer¡¯, from that female gibbon demon¡¯s mouth.
¡®Could it be that same thief? But how is this possible?¡¯ Elian didn¡¯t dare to believe his own spection.
Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t show it to his face. He knew this was a chance. ¡°Attack you, idiots, don¡¯t listen to them!¡±
The Iron Demon Tribe naturally know who Sky Stealer was, so those iron demons were also shocked when they heard dark gibbon demons repeating the name of their nemesis.
¡°You despicable!¡± Dustin could only curse. He knew Elian had ¡®yed¡¯ him, and he was going to pay an enormous price for his carelessness.
¡°Leave this attack to me, chief!¡± Elder Kole¡¯s bitter voice rang at this moment.
¡°But, Elder, will exhaust a huge amount of Qi!¡± Dustin wasn¡¯t willing to use Elder Kole¡¯s entire power on mere cannons. He wanted to kill Elian after teaming up with Elder Kole.
But he also knew if Elder Kole didn¡¯t take charge, then all those hundred thousand demons behind him will die, and this kind of loss wasn¡¯t something he was willing to incur!
¡°Boom!¡±
It wasn¡¯t the sound of cannon; it was the sound of sealed Iron Demon Gates sted open!
However, before anyone could make heads or tails of the situation, an extremely enraged and powerful voice filled with deadly momentum reverberates in the vicinity, making everyone almost deaf.
¡°Scoundrel thief, hand over my storage ring!¡±
Everyone could finally see the demon who had just sted the bronze city gates with a nine-star sealing array protecting it. This demon was none other than the first evaluator of this test, Demon Marquis Henrik Ocean!
Henrik¡¯s eyes were deathly cold as he looked at Iron Demon Tribe as his both hands were clenching tightly into fists, and thick veins were popping out of his hands and forehead as if he was furious.
However, Henrik suddenly felt everyone¡¯s gaze on him suddenly turned very strange the moment their eyesnded on his face.
Henrik didn¡¯t pay much attention to this strangeness. He waspletely enraged when he just found out that his storage ring was missing.
After he heard Dark Gibbon Tribe¡¯smotion, he found it strange and casually looked at his own storage ring and this simple gaze nearly made his soul leave his body because his storage ring was also gone!
Although he didn¡¯t find any owl mark or anything like that, his attention was quickly drawn by that iron demon he found snooping around. He clearly remembered this iron demon was the only demon he hade to contact with within the period of his storage ring going missing.
Furthermore, when that demon suddenly vanished at that time, he thought he was dead, so he thought little about it, but now that the more he thought, the more he found that iron demon strange.
First, he suddenly appeared from the forest right behind him, and then Henrik wasn¡¯t able to detect his cultivation for some reason before he showed himself, andstly, his sudden disappearance.
Henrik couldn¡¯t help but wonder that the demon was probably there with malicious motives from the beginning, and he was his target!
That¡¯s why Henrik quickly scan through the gibbon army outside and didn¡¯t find that iron demon, so he sted open the gates since the other opening was packed with gibbon demons.
Now, Henrik was looking toward Iron Demon Tribe while releasing his martial sense to the fullest. He won¡¯t let that thief escape, no matter what!
¡°Marquis Henrik, what happened?¡± New Moon¡¯s calm voice entered everyone¡¯s ears at this moment, but there was a hint of excitement in his gentle voice!
Henrik turned back and saw New Moon on his wolf mount, but the moment New Moon¡¯s eyes fell on him, he felt a New Moon¡¯s gentle smile suddenly vanish.
New Moon spoke with a little hoarse voice, ¡°Marquis Henrik, I think you should wash your face before we find the thief who stole your storage ring.¡± His face be stoic as if he was controlling it deliberately.
¡°Why?¡± Henrik finally sense something was amiss as he touched his face and didn¡¯t find any dust or anything.
¡°Take a look.¡± New Moon conjured a mirror and throws it toward Henrik and remain stoic.
Henrik quickly catch the round mirror and looked at it and his heart turn cold when he saw a ck owl imprint covering his entire ocean blue face.
This wasn¡¯t all. Inside the left open wing of this owl imprint, which was expanded until his left ear, there were written two imposing words in demonnguage, ¡®Sky Stealer. While on the right open wing were lines of words that were easily readable despite their small size.
It read,
¡°[I, Sky Stealer, stole this idiot¡¯s ring right under his nose. I wonder if he¡¯s really worthy of a Demon Marquis Title, or if Ocean Demon Tribe is blind?
¡°[Nheless, I would still like to thank you for all the treasures you collected for me in all these years. You were a tremendous help, and that¡¯s why I reward you with my glorious thief symbol right on your ugly face.
¡°[Not only it¡¯ll hide your hideous clown face, but it will also make everyone pay more attention to you, heh. Don¡¯t need to thank me. This is my duty as an honorable thief!]¡±
Henrik¡¯s eye almost spitfire at first as he started reading, but, in the end, one could see thick veins on Henrik¡¯s forehead, and he was on the verge of bursting them.
The mirror in his hand also shattered into dust just by his sheer deadly pressure.
¡°Bas¡awwkkk¡¡±
Henrik just opened his mount to roar, but he puked blood in the end. His anger and hatred have reached new heights after he read that despicable message, which was a dirty p on the entire ocean demon tribe¡¯s face.
Furthermore, almost thousands of demons read it because of his cluelessness before, and he finally understood why they were all giving him strange nces. It was as if he had lost his entire face and his tribe.
However, he was still a soul realm expert, and he knew showing this kind of sight will only make things worse. The only way to gain back the face he lost was to capture that despicable thief and execute him publicly by skinning him alive!
Henrik suppressed the feeling ofmitting genocide and forming a water glob and throwing it at his face. He wanted to wash these words of disgrace from his face before hunting that thief down!
¡°It¡¯s still there.¡± New Moon remained stoic as he said. He didn¡¯t mind the broken mirror.
He was feeling quite sorry for Henrik and the ocean demon tribe. If this news was released to the public, it would be a great blow to their prestige and then a disaster mighte for Ocean Demon Tribe!
Chapter 340
Henrik¡¯s expression be uglier when he heard New Moon saying the hateful thief symbol was still on his face as he quickly us his element Qi, which was water, to attack his own face!
This water conjured by the element Qi wasn¡¯t like normal water. It was filled with dreadful power, but Henrik didn¡¯t care. All he wanted was to erase this thief symbol.
This time, even New Moon¡¯s stoic face changed into one of astonishment when he saw it, even after Henrik sshed his face with his soul realm element Qi. The dark owl was still there, with every world intact.
¡°It¡¯s still there!¡± New Moon again warned.
¡°Just what in the world?!¡± Henrik finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore and, with a lunacy expression, this time, he shed his face with a sharp water de!
Everyone couldn¡¯t help but felt chills when they saw Henrik¡¯s crazy action as if madness possessed him.
Henrik¡¯s entire face skin was cut clean with that water de and just like a bloody mask, his face skin fell on the ground and blue blood dyed the dirt ground!
However, the thief symbol wasn¡¯t on his face skin anymore, it was still on Henrik¡¯s bloody skinless face, which look extremely ghastly with his ocean blue blood flowing all over his body while his round eyeballs were filled with madness and beastly teeth with tightly clinched.
But the dark owl was still on his face even without the skin, and it was dyed with ocean blue blood, but one could still clearly see its dark outline clearly!
Henrik looked like a mad demon straight from hell with that skinless face of his at this moment!
¡°Marquis Henrik! Control yourself, this thief symbol is probably the result of a ¡®Hex Magic¡¯ which means it won¡¯t go away just by pealing your skin, I have very little information about hexes but self-harming isn¡¯t a way to solve it!¡± New Moon gravely warned.
Truth be told, even he was shocked by this thief-symbol function, he never heard of this kind of hex before, and even he felt dread from it.
New Moon suddenly felt a nervousness rising in his heart from this mysterious thief who was also his target.
¡®Could he be a ¡®Hex Master¡¯ from one of those tribes that practice ¡®Hex Magic¡¯, but how is this possible? Those tribes were long eradicated by the royal family and all their inheritances were destroyed. Or did he stumble upon on their reaming inheritance?¡¯ New Moon couldn¡¯t help but think about all those records he read in Mist Demon King Castle¡¯s library.
Henrik¡¯s mind trembled when he heard New Moon¡¯s words. He also learned about legends of Hex Masters from Ocean Demon Tribe¡¯s library, but those records were only superficial.
But he knows just how dreadful can Hex Magic be because thousands of years ago, these tribes who specialized in Hex Magic nearly brought down the royal zone to their knees, and it was the darkest period of demon race history.
There wasn¡¯t urate information about this period since it was tens of thousands of years ago, and now almost everyone has forgotten about Hex Masters.
However, if this thief was really a hex master, then this will be going to shake the entire demon race and the royal zone will get involved!
New Moon flip his hand and a bright blue pill appeared, ¡°Here, eat this healing, we have to capture that thief, and then have him remove this ¡®hex¡¯ from your face!¡±
He threw the pill toward Henrik. He felt Henrik would be a great help to capture that thief because if that thief was really a hex master, then even he felt dread by taking him on alone.
In his mind, even Henrik was robbed by that thief and even hexed by him without even his knowledge. That¡¯s why his confidence wavered a little.
But he still thought that the thief was still weak, or he doesn¡¯t need to steal or fear Henrik, or he might be afraid of facing both him and Henrik together.
Henrik caught the pill and eat it. He knew he acted too rashly just now in his moment of humiliation, without even thinking.
The ocean blue blood stopped quickly, and new skin started to form on his face after eating that low-grade-1 healing pill. However, the thief symbol remained just like before.
Henrik tore tworge pieces of his white bloody robe, and he covered half of his face with one piece and his forehead with another. Now, only his cold eyes were visible.
New Moon wait until Henrik was done hiding that ¡®owl hex¡¯ and finally turned his attention to therge army.
Everyone felt a cold sensation grabbing their hearts when they saw New Moon¡¯s cold white eyes focus on them.
¡°As everyone heard my and Marquis Henrik¡¯s conversation, a thief is hiding among your ranks, and it seemed he¡¯s also a hex master, an enemy of the entire demon race!
¡°That thief just robbed a Demon Marquis and interfere in an active noble title war challenge by robbing the challenger army¡¯s experts!
¡°Both of these crimes are punished by thousands-deaths and entire tribes¡¯ eradication by public execution.
¡°As a Demon Duke and with the highest authority here, I hereby, dered this Noble Title War Challenge, Void! Both armies will remain on standby until the Royal Demon Council¡¯s next notice!¡±
The New Moon deration shocked everyone, especially the Dark Gibbon Army!
They were confident of winning this noble title tribe war since they still have many tricks up their sleeves.
However, Dustin felt relief because the appearance of this mysterious thiefpletely caught him off guard and their upper echelon was reduced in half.
If they continue this war, even if they won, their entire tribe would only remain half or even less. That¡¯s why this decision was akin to a grace period for Dustin.
In contrast, Elian felt they had lost a great opportunity to win this war and felt his hate for the sky stealer reaching a new height and couldn¡¯t help but cursed him inwardly for being so careless by doing such a sloppy work and even daring to rob a Demon Marquis and humiliate him.
Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t dare to voice his opinion because for some reason, both New Moon and Henrik¡¯s eyes were fixed on his Tribe¡¯s army and this was rubbing him in a very wrong way.
¡®Could it be they¡¯re both thinking that thief is rted to my tribe since he only targeted our enemy?!¡¯ This suddenly thought surfaced in Elian¡¯s mind and made him shuddered, ¡®That bastard is really a nemesis of our tribe!¡¯
Elian felt huge resentment in his heart when he thought he was in his position all because of this bastard and even felt like crying over these circumstances.
As for Hex Master, or Hex Magic, no one seemed to know what these words represent since both tribes didn¡¯t have such a long history, or ess to old information, like the Demon Dukes¡¯ level existences.
¡°Now that this is out of the way, I want everyone to put their weapons away and those with this same owl symbol gather in the east of the city wall!¡± New Moon instructed.
He didn¡¯t go straight to searching for the thief; he wanted to first separate these victims with this thief symbol because he had read about a high-level Hex Master can activate a hex through any medium as long as it had it hex on it, and he didn¡¯t want to experience such scenario himself.
He hasn¡¯t be a demon duke just by his strength alone, he had wits to back it up as well!
Henrik didn¡¯t speak or stopped New Moon¡¯s actions. He knew New Moon was on his side, and all his focus was on the Iron Demon Tribe. He was almost sure that the thief was hiding within their ranks.
If he had escaped from outside, those victims wouldn¡¯t have appeared inside the city wall suddenly.
This has raised their chance of capturing the thief, and Henrik couldn¡¯t wait to get his hand on that sly bastard!
At this moment, 1821 victims were gathered together, including all those river core cultivators, and they were still unsure about 102 dead river cores and thousands of foot soldiers who died by cannons.
Ironically, all of these victims were from the Dark Gibbon Tribe, which made Elian even more uneasy, and Dustin and the dark gibbon tribesmen infuriated!
But these numbers of victims greatly rmed everyone, including Henrik and New Moon, because this was virtually impossible to steal from this many people without being noticed.
New Moon even felt his formation wasn¡¯t working at all since all this happened under his nose and the surveince formation didn¡¯t even pick it.
However, it wasn¡¯t the formation¡¯s fault though because it wasn¡¯t strong enough to discriminate between Ace¡¯s heavenly sense and his sou-threads in that chaos!
¡°All of you will be proof of this noble title war rules vition since there is a Hex Master present in the ¡®enemy¡¯s¡¯ ranks!¡± New Moon dered.
However, Elian and everyone on the side of the Iron Demon Tribe¡¯s faces changed when New Moon said, Enemy¡¯s Ranks, which literally signified their tribe!
Chapter 341
While all the Iron Demon Tribe was panicking, the Dark Gibbon Army was thoroughly shocked and everyone¡¯s focus turned toward the Iron Demon Army.
Henrik, at this moment, moved, leaving an afterimage behind, and abruptly appeared right in front of bewildered Uriah, who was standing right beside Elian.
New Moon didn¡¯t stop Henrik as he coolly watched while a cube appeared in his hand. He was using the Eagle Surveince Formation to the fullest right now. If anyone tried to pull something, he¡¯ll instantly know!
Uriah¡¯s heart palpitated when he saw Henrik¡¯s cold eyes fixed on him, while everyone around immensely felt a mountainous pressure locking on them.
¡°M-my¡ L-L¡ Lord¡¡±
Before Uriah could utter anything, Henrik cut him short with his grim voice. ¡°Call every demon of your n on the west of the city wall!¡±
Uriah gulped before quickly nodding his head. He didn¡¯t dare to resist or even utter a voice of disagreement.
Elian and other elders also kept their mouths shut, as they could tell something was extremely wrong, and they had no way of resisting Henrik or the New Moon.
It was now clear that they were both targeting their tribe for some reason, and it was even clearer that Uriah¡¯s silver-iron demon n was involved somehow, and they were just about to find out how!
Dustin was watching all this with glee in his eyes. He didn¡¯t know how, but things were moving in the favor of his tribe, and it seemed he might win this city without any war whatsoever!
Quickly, all the demons of the Silver Iron Demo were separated, all women, children, old, young, weak, and strong. Everyone was looking at Henrik with a hint of dread in their eyes.
¡°Take off your war helmets!¡± Henrik said in an unquestionable tone.
Although he was using his martial sense, he found nothing out of the ordinary about them, not like when he met that thief. That¡¯s why he wanted to see everyone¡¯s faces, since there were foot soldiers among them, wearing heavy armors.
If he still didn¡¯t find that thief among them, then it would mean that the thief can easily change his appearance, since a hex master was capable of such a feat.
Which will make founding him almost impossible among hundreds of thousands of demons. If that were really the case, then Henrik was really about to take far more drastic measures than this!
Every Silver Iron Demon revealed their faces at this moment. They were clearly horrified.
Uriah was also praying desperately that whatever Henrik was looking for was not here. Although he had an idea just who was Henrik looking for, he didn¡¯t want to believe that his n can produce such a thievish genius!
¡°So, you¡¯re still here, you bastard!¡± Henrik¡¯s eyes suddenly turn bloodshot as he roared at the top of his lungs as his eyes were fixed on the demon at the veryst row of Silver-Iron Demon.
Everyone focused and turned in the same direction, while Uriah¡¯s heart fell into a cold abyss at this moment.
Henrik didn¡¯t give any chance to the other party to ¡®escape¡¯ and use his water Qi to form a vivid hand and made a grabbing motion toward that same direction with spiteful eyes.
Everyone finally saw a struggling silver-iron demon in Henrik¡¯s water grip. His face was skinny while still handsome as he had long silver dishevel hair while his eyes were filled with terror and puzzlement.
This was the real Pablo who Ace left alive after taking his face!
¡°Don¡¯t kill him!¡± New Moon has also appeared beside Henrik as he looked at struggling Pablo with uncertainty. ¡®It was too¡ easy?¡¯
He couldn¡¯t help but think like this because that guy struggling in Henrik¡¯s water grip didn¡¯t seem to be a cunning Hex Master nor someone who theft thousands of demons and a Demon Marquis!
Henrik¡¯s eyes were filled with hatred as he looked at Pablo¡¯s terror-stricken face, he felt even angrier when he thought how ¡®this¡¯ guy fool him with the same kind of act that time, and he was still acting even after being caught by him!
Henrik used all his willpower to not squish Pablo to death because he knew New Moon won¡¯t let him, and he still needed this scoundrel to remove that disgraceful ¡®hex¡¯ from his face.
So, he ced Pablo on the ground, but he didn¡¯t lose his water grip since he didn¡¯t want him to pull any tricks and escaped.
Uriah also looked bbergasted at Pablo¡¯s pale face. He didn¡¯t dare believe that the thief was his own son, who he had exiled all those years ago. He never paid attention to him, since he knew he was just a rotten egg and a piece of trash. His life or death meant nothing to him. He didn¡¯t even know Pablo was recruited into the ¡®cannon fold army¡¯ of vagabond demons!
¡°Scoundrel Thief, do you admit your wrongs?!¡± Henrik yelled at this moment, with a hint of killing intent.
Pablo had no idea what was happening, as he didn¡¯t even have the strength to breathe because of Henrik¡¯s soul realm pressure. He was simply too weak in front of someone like Henrik.
Henrik easily saw through Pablo¡¯s struggles, but he didn¡¯t decrease his pressure at all because he wanted to torture him to no end after what ¡®Pablo¡¯ had done to him!
¡°What, you still didn¡¯t admit your mistake? Let¡¯s see, when I kill your nsmen one by one right in front of you, will you still remain silent?¡± Henrik¡¯s voice was filled with viciousness and hate.
New Moon also didn¡¯t stop Henrik and let him release some pent-up anger. As long as he didn¡¯t kill Pablo, anyone else¡¯s life didn¡¯t matter to him.
Uriah shuddered after hearing Henrik¡¯s threat and blurted, ¡°My Lord, this bastard has nothing to do with our n. He¡¯s an exile. He has nothing to do with us!¡±
He quickly kneeled and plead in front of Henrik, without caring about his image. His entire n¡¯s survival was on the line at this moment!
At this moment, a weak, hoarse voice sounded,
¡°F¡f-father¡¡±
It was Pablo¡¯s voice that was almost suffocating within Henrik¡¯s soul realm pressure.
Henrik¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked at Pablo and Uriah and felt they looked quite simr. He decreased the pressure at this moment, making Pablo breathe roughly.
New Moon was also amazed by this unexpected new discovery and silently looked at what was about to happen.
Uriah¡¯s face turned ashen when he saw Henrik was gawking at him with killing intent and quickly said, ¡°My Lord, this bastard has nothing to do with me. I disown him decades ago and exile him from the n because of his misconducts, everyone can be my witness to this im!¡±
He suddenly pointed his finger at Pablo and roared madly, ¡°You Chode, just admit your mistakes, do not drag your entire tribe down with you!¡±
¡°But you¡¯re still his father, right?¡± Henrik¡¯s voice was calm, too calm actually, which gave Uriah the chills.
¡°Y-yes¡ but¡¡±
Henrik didn¡¯t listen to Uriah¡¯s next word and said calmly, ¡°Let¡¯s not take about his sin to disrupt an active Noble Tribe Tile War by ¡®attacking¡¯ an evaluator, but, your son is a Hex Master the enemy of the entire demon race. Just this point has earned your entire tribe a public execution by skinning everyone alive!¡±
Uriah, as well as the entire Iron Demon Tribe, felt chills when they heard Henrik¡¯s calm yet malicious voice and his sword-like sharp words.
Any local demon knew the rules of Almighty Demon Empire were absolute and viting them will only mean death and what kind of death you¡¯ll get. You don¡¯t even have the right to decide this as well!
Pablo said weakly at this moment after regaining some of his breath, ¡°I have no idea what Lord is saying, I never attack you, you asked my fellow soldiers I was right on my post this entire time, I don¡¯t even know what a Hex Master is!¡±
¡°Scoundrel, you still refused to admit it?!¡± Henrik be angry the moment he heard Pablo¡¯s voice. He just couldn¡¯t seem to hate him enough, and every time he heard his voice, he felt his hate increase!
¡°Is that so?¡± New Moon spoke at this moment in his calm voice, ¡°Marquis Henrik, did you sense your Qi mark on your storage ring on him?¡±
Henrik¡¯s eyes narrowed as he knew why New Moon was asking it, ¡°No, but it still hasn¡¯t been removed. But it doesn¡¯t mean he hasn¡¯t hidden it somewhere else!¡±
¡°Did anyone sense their storage ring on him?¡± New Moon¡¯s voice rang in everyone¡¯s ears.
Every victim standing to the side has the same answer, which was a big no.
¡°Sigh¡¡± New Moon sighed heavily at this moment, ¡°Marquis Henrik, I think he was unknowingly controlled by the Hex Master with a hex, however, if he was telling the truth about not leaving his position then this also means that the hex master had changed his appearance into this demon!¡±
Chapter 342
Henrik¡¯s eyes contracted when he heard New Moon¡¯s word. Although he didn¡¯t want to believe it, he knew Hex Masters were shrouded in mystery, and they had strange hex magic and techniques for controlling anyone weaker than them with hexes.
Although Henrik didn¡¯t want to admit it, even he felt they had captured Pablo too easily, and he didn¡¯t even try to hide from them, nor resist in any way.
But what he didn¡¯t understand was how the hex master got their storage rings and where did they go since they never saw anyone leaving this city.
Even New Moon had the same thought.
Suddenly, their minds jolt with another realization, especially New Moon, as he said,
¡°Sigh¡ if he was able to control him without even his knowledge, then he can control anyone here or outside within the army of these gibbon demons. Since we didn¡¯t know how a Hex-Master works, we probably let him escape with all the storage rings already! Or he¡¯s already long gone since he can change his appearance to anyone. It wasn¡¯t difficult to mix within such a huge mob.¡±
Henrik¡¯s eyes shimmered with unwillingness since he also thought of this, and looked at Pablo, who was still clueless looking at them with utter terror.
Elian, Uriah, and everyone from the Iron Demon Tribe felt immense relief when they thought they had just brushed past death!
However, Henrik¡¯s next word made all of their hopes shattered instantly.
¡°Since Duke New Moon had spoken, it indeed seemed this fool was not involved, but it still doesn¡¯t change the fact that the Hex Master chose his appearance of all the demons, and who knows, the Hex Master is from Iron Demon Tribe since he appeared here.¡±
New Moon also nodded and added, ¡°Marquis Henrik is right. From now on, no one from the Iron Demon Tribe will leave these city walls until I report this matter to the Royal Demon Council, and they send their personnel to investigate this city.
¡°If they found nothing, the Iron Demon Tribe might have a chance of survival, but if they found the trace of a Hex Master inheritance¡ heh, even I don¡¯t know what will they do.¡±
Elian felt his heart nearly stop beating when he heard thest words of the New Moon. He couldn¡¯t help but marvel about the tragic fate of his tribe, just only because of a thief.
Before they still had a chance of survival, but after this Elian knew they¡¯ll be now at theplete mercy of the royal demon council¡¯s mood!
¡°Marquis Henrik, please look after this ce while I make this report to the Royal Demon Council¡¯s branch in Might de Province.¡± New Moon said to Henrik with a stern tone.
¡°Here, this is the Eagle Surveince Formation. I¡¯m lending it to you!¡± New Moon sent the small cube in his hand toward Henrik.
Although he was somewhat unwilling to leave such a formation in Henrik¡¯s hands, he knew if he didn¡¯t secure all these victims, he¡¯ll be med, which he didn¡¯t want at any cost.
Henrik solemnly grab the small cube and nodded, ¡°I will!¡± He knew if he messed up this time, he¡¯ll be dead with all the ocean demon tribe, so he was far more motivated than anyone else!
New Moon quickly left with his Snowfall Wolf at the fastest speed, he knew this event was going to ruffle many feathers and Mist Demon King will also have to give up on that thief because the royal demon council might not even let hime to contact that thief!
¡ª
Henrik and New Moon didn¡¯t know all this drama was watched by a small bird sitting on the tall city wall from start to finish. Even if they saw this small creature, they might find it harmless and not even bother to act against such a creature.
But New Moon had forgotten his own words or paid little attention to them or thought a little deeper into it that a Hex Master can control anything, which included these small creatures, not just cultivators and demons!
¡ª
At this moment, All-Knowing Parrot suddenly opened her mesmerizing icy blue eyelids, revealing ocean blue eyeballs filled with disbelief and utter astonishment.
She mumbled in her melodious voice filled with excitement, ¡°So, that thief is a Hex Master!
¡°Those fools didn¡¯t know if that person really wanted to kill them. They¡¯ll be dead by now because I clearly saw himprehending a half sword intent and now just any sword intent. It was clearly a dark element sword intent, an absolute myth!
¡°Just how can there be such a genius present outside the royal zone, no, he¡¯s far stronger than those so-called geniuses. He might be the number one genius on this continent!
¡°No, if heprehends thatplete element sword intent, he¡¯ll be unrivaled in this world. He¡¯s also a powerful Hex Master.
¡°Since he¡¯s ying ¡®thief¡¯ to collect resources, it meant he¡¯s probably alone and needs support. But he was too reckless showing his abilities like this and using even Hexes just to humiliate Royal Demon Council.
¡°Is he decedent of a survivor of that massacre? This also rifies his hate for the Royal Demon Council, but he was still too reckless, and now those despicable fellows will do anything to kill him.¡±
The all-Knowing Parrot suddenly showed very rare emotion on her fairy-like face. Worry about another!
She never showed such emotion to anyone, since she considered everyone her disposable pawn!
A hint of resolution shed past her mesmerizing eyes, ¡°I have to find him before anyone else and see if he¡¯s a friend or foe, but I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll reject me¡ a fellow Hex Master and also someone who hates Royal Demon Council to the core!¡±
A pitch-ck dark smoke suddenly rose from All-Knowing Parrot when she uttered ¡®Royal Demon Council¡¯ before itpletely vanished as she returned to her aloof self¡
¡ª
The culprit who had no idea that he had just unknowingly poked a vast hole in a ho¡¯s nest was counting his gains without even caring about what was happening outside because of him.
Ace had quickly made his escape toward his secret hideout, which was twenty kilometers away from the battlefield at the front gates of the Iron Demon City.
This ce waspletely barren right now, and he had heard Henrik¡¯s enraged voice when he was halfway there.
He nearly thought he will get caught by Henrik or New Moon with that formation in y, but for some reason, those two nevere.
However, he didn¡¯t know it was New Moon¡¯s mistake to focus all the power of Eagle Surveince Formation on that enormous army andpletely ignore this empty area. That¡¯s why he could reach his hideout safely!
Noa was also shocked when she saw Ace returningpletely unharmed and so quickly because she clearly got Ace¡¯s message on that mission that he might return after a long time, which made her extremely worried and agitate.
But she didn¡¯t go against Ace¡¯smand and stay put since it will only make things difficult for Ace with her meager power!
However, after seeing Ace, she felt immense relief that he had returned safely.
¡°Leader, what happened out there?¡± Noa couldn¡¯t help but ask. She also wanted to go out and earn some house points but didn¡¯t dare to after receiving Ace¡¯s mission.
Ace took off his mask and grin wildly. His gains were tremendous this time. Not only did he breakthrough into the second realm of dual shadow swords technique, but he also got two system rewards and thousands of thieveries and thief points!
He couldn¡¯t help but looked at the thievery report that he didn¡¯t get the chance to before while telling Noa about what he did outside and especially to Henrik!
====
[Quick Report of Thieveries]
[Sessful Pick Pocket Count: 2,421]
[Low-Level Thieveries: 2,290]
[Middle-Level Thieveries: 131]
[Total Rewards: 12.5 Million TP]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 18,012,000]
¡ª
-Low-level Thievery(s): 5,231
-Middle-Level Thievery(s): 166
-[Please Open Thief Panel]
=====
¡°Leader, what happened?¡± Noa¡¯s confused voice snapped Ace out of his stupor.
¡°Oh, nothing. I was just to catch up for a moment.¡± Ace merely shook his head as he didn¡¯t tell her he was looking at the huge number of thief points he just got in disbelief.
Furthermore, his thievery count has also reached a sufficient threshold for the next rank, but he didn¡¯t get any notification about it, but the system was telling him to open the thief panel instead.
However, he didn¡¯t open it too quickly and patiently tell Noa about what happened when he was outside without any distraction this time.
Their conversationsted for an hour before Noa was fully satisfied with what has Ace done to Henrik since she also hated him because of his close rtionship with Livy, and she got back to her cultivation, so she could be more powerful and do the same herself next time!
Ace finally became free of Noa¡¯s questions and quickly opened the thief panel to see why the system want him to open it.
¡°Thief Panel!¡±
Chapter 343
¡°Thief Panel!¡±
======
[[Thief Panel]]
[Job [NOT Changeable]: Thief]
[Thief Name: Sky Stealer]
[Thief Title: Disciple of Darkness]
[Thief Rank: Trainee]
[Thievery needed to reach next Rank: 5,000 Low-Level Thievery & 100 Middle-level Thievery: Completed!]
[Thief Fame [Host and Symbol]: Popr]
[Thief Symbol: Dark Owl]
[Summoning Symbol: unlocked at the Poprity Level, Fame: Completed!]
[Job Mission: 1] (New)
¡ª-
[[Thievery Count Section]]
[Low-Level Thievery: 5,231]
[Middle-Level Thievery: 166]
[High-Level Thievery: 1]
====
¡®My first Job mission?!¡¯ Ace was startled when he saw the thief panel and couldn¡¯t help but felt this was not good at all.
Because he clearly saw, that both his fame and thief rank requirements werepleted, but the system didn¡¯t release the rewards, which meant this was probably rted to this Job Mission.
If he still wasn¡¯t familiarized with the system¡¯s ways of doing things, then all his hardships were in vain.
Nheless, he knew he had toplete this Job Mission, or he could forget about raising his thief rank or getting the symbol summoning ability, which he was looking forward to all these years.
¡°Open the Job Mission!¡± Acemanded.
======
[Congrattion Host on oveing the two Beginning Thief Ranks [Novice & Trainee]]
[All the conditions have beenpleted, and the host has unlocked the first thief job mission to enter the level of Intermediate Thief Ranks!]
¡ª
[Job Mission]
[Mission: Mind Stealing]
-Description: A Heaven¡¯s Stealer can not only steal physical treasures, but a Heaven¡¯s Stealer can also steal the precious mysteries deeply hidden within the mind in an instant!
-Requirement (1): Learn a way to steal an essential memory with an instant soul probe!
-Requirement (2): The host cannot use the soul probe continuously to search for an important memory or to steal a memory.
-Requirement (3): Target has to be stronger than the Host.
-Requirement (4): The host can only try three instant soul probes on one target before the system will deem that target unqualified for the Job Mission.
-Requirement (5): The Target mustpletely forget about the memory the host stole.
-Requirement (6): The stolen memory had to be something important to host, or the stolen memory will not count!
¡ª
[Time: 2,000 Days]
¡ª
[Reward (1): Art of Mind Stealing]
[Reward (2): Thief Symbol Summoning]
[Reward (3): New Thief Rank]
[Reward (4): New Thief Tittle]
¡ª
[Mission Fail Punishment: Thief Panel Reset]
¡ª
[Note: Until the Hostpletes this Job Mission, the thievery count will remain stopped!]
=======
Ace was looking at the Job Mission with disbelief at this moment. He never thought the system would give him such a mission, which involved stealing someone¡¯s memory, that he never even imagined being possible.
Although he can easily absorb someone¡¯s entire memory with a long soul probe, he never thought about stealing them because he even considered it doable.
Now, the system suddenly issued a job mission that seemed quite easy, but it wasn¡¯t with all those requirements attached to it, and he had to find a way himself to steal someone¡¯s memory, so they can forget it afterward.
Just this requirement alone was enough for Ace to pull his hair in frustration.
However, the rewards ofpleting this job mission were just as tempting as itsplexity.
Just the art of mind stealing which might open a new path for the thief for him was enough to give him enough motivation toplete this mission, not to talk about Thief Symbol Summoning and a new thief title that will greatly boost his strength.
¡®Although this mission soundsplex, it isn¡¯t if I consider it. The system had already given me a hint about the soul probe. It seemed I¡¯m not using this ability to its fullest potential.
¡®System even hinted about I can even probe an important memory with a single try, which means there¡¯s still more to learn about soul probe. I should also focus on learning this aspect of soul probing first before thinking about stealing something incorporeal, like a memory.¡¯
Ace knew this job mission was not like his previous missions, where he had to steal from someone using any method. This job mission was more like a test to check his capabilities if he was worthy of stepping into the ranks of the intermediate thief.
Moreover, this job mission also revealed a dangerous w in Ace, which was his narrow thinking about the path of a thief and underestimating his own innate abilities.
This also made Ace reevaluate his previous innate abilities again. He was forced to think that he wasn¡¯t using them to their full potential.
¡®Sigh¡ just when I thought I¡¯m bing strong, this ck-hearted system always put me in my ce with a single freaking mission. Heh¡¡¯ Ace smiled wryly as hemented.
However, inwardly, he was happy that the system has given him such a mission and given him a new understanding of Heaven¡¯s Stealer¡¯s abilities, and he knew he doesn¡¯t even have one percent true abilities of a Heaven¡¯s Stealer.
Such a grand name was enough to tell anyone just what kind of existence Heaven¡¯s Stealer was!
¡®Oh, I almost forgot about my High-level thievery reward, the Heavenly Talisman!¡¯
Previously, Ace didn¡¯t have time to check the Heavenly Talisman which he got from the system amid that chaos, and he was also busy escaping.
Ace quickly send his soul sense into his thief¡¯s space and saw a new pitch-ck talisman coin lying with all other pentagon talisman coins.
However, this new pitch-ck talisman coin wasn¡¯t a pentagon, but a pentagram filled with tiny symbols, and in the center of this ck pentagram talisman coin was Ace¡¯s thief symbol.
This was the Heavenly Talisman Coin, which the system rewarded him.
¡°System, tell me what kind of Heavenly Talisman is this?¡± Ace quickly asked.
=====
[Heavenly Talisman: Instant sh Teleportation (Grade-7)]
[Use: One Time]
[Effect: Instantly Teleport anywhere within Ten Thousand Mile Radius from the activation position.]
======
Ace was momentarily shocked before a wide smile bloomed on his face.
¡®This is a degraded version of Life Coin but not as absurd as Life Coin and I can even use it anytime I want, and I won¡¯t be teleported into another continent this time.¡¯
This Instant sh Teleportation Talisman was now Ace¡¯s biggest trump card, which will guarantee his life, and he doesn¡¯t have to be on the brink of death to use it as well.
However, this doesn¡¯t mean this heavenly talisman didn¡¯t have limitations. Although the range of this talisman wasn¡¯t as absurd as the Life Coin, it was still random, and who knows he might get into a more dangerous situation than he escaped from?
That¡¯s why Ace can¡¯t use it just on a whim, and he will only use it if he had no other choice than to use it.
After he was done with the Heavenly Talisman, his focus turned to another side of the thief¡¯s space.
Therey a dark blue square token-like crystal. It was five inches in diameter, and it waspletely ordinary without any scratch or writing, just like a crystal jade.
However, Ace knew this was his biggest gain of this entire trip, the Item Upgrade Token!
¡°System, how should I use this item upgrade token?¡± asked Ace.
¡°[The host just needs to tell the system which item the host wanted to upgrade, and the system will immediately start the process.]¡±
¡®Simple enough.¡¯ Ace nodded in understanding, ¡®But on which item I should use it? I wanted to upgrade the invisible bead, but now that I have the Instant sh Teleportation Heavenly Talisman, I didn¡¯t need to waste it. Then which item is more important than Invisible Bead?¡¯
Ace mulled over it for a while and in the end, he wasn¡¯t able to decide on which item he should use this item upgrade token, so he simply decided to put this matter aside for now and save the item upgrade token for now.
He didn¡¯t need any item which he wanted to upgrade right now, so he thought it would be better to save it and if he fell into some difficult position, he¡¯ll use it at that time.
After Ace was done sorting his gains, he quickly focused on his training again.
As for the job mission, he knew he needed some guinea pigs to experiment with his soul probe, and he had to go outside for this. But he knew going outside right now would be akin tomitting suicide because he knew those two-soul realm experts will be desperately searching for him right at this moment.
Especially Henrik, whose face was now ruined by him, and it was even witnessed by thousands of bystanders.
That¡¯s why Ace wanted to wait a week or two before taking a step outside.
As for asking Noa to be his experiment subject, it would be too impolite to ask her to let him probe her memories, and he won¡¯t do it even if Noa agreed to it either.
In the end, he just concentrated on his skills for now¡
However, Ace had no idea ten hourster from now, an emergency meeting has been called in Royal Demon Council¡¯s Branch in Mighty de Province. All the high-level members were summoned from other provinces, and even the de Demon King was summoned!
It was all just because his thief symbol led to a huge misunderstanding!
Chapter 344
Inside a luxurious, spacious hall, there were ten rows of chairs arranged in ten chairs in a single line, neatly in order, all these seats were filled with different demons wearing the same ck attire, with their God Baphomet, white imprint on its back.
However, there were small golden stars, shimmering on each of these ck attire notched cors. In thest five rows, demons have two golden stars, the front four rows demons have three golden stars, and the row at the very front has three golden stars and one silver star.
In the very front of these ten rows were five ck thrones, and currently, five tall demons were sitting on each of them and giving off an unfathomed feeling. Each wore the same ck attire. However, they had five golden stars and one red star!
Two aged demons were sitting on the right side and one middle-aged demon was sitting right in the middle of these five, while the other two were women sitting on the right, both of them were old and appeared to be in their sixties, but their charm was still there despite their wrinkled skins.
All of them were emitting an invisible deadly aura that was proof of their high cultivation.
At this moment, someone stepped inside this grand hall and quickly get on his knees without even a second dy. This was none other than New Moon, a Demon Duke was keening in front of these five demons!
¡°Harold Wolff greeted Royal Demon Council Elders and Five High-Elders!¡± New Moon, or Harold¡¯s voice, was filled with respect and reverence.
Everyone inside this hall was d in that ck attire were a Royal Demon Council Elders present in all provinces and five high-elders who managed the Royal Demon Council outside the royal zone!
Simply put, at this moment, the entirety of the Royal Demon Council¡¯s upper echelon was present in this hall!
All of this was for one reason, a¡ Thief!
¡°Rise, Harold, I didn¡¯t think I would see you this soon after I granted you your title.¡± The High-Elder, sitting at the very right, spoke with an amiable tone, giving an elderly smile to Harold.
This old demon¡¯s wrinkled skin was red, and a pair of crimson eyeballs, and curved ck horns on his head with short red hair. However, this old demon¡¯s ears were lit by red mes, which were flickering sporadically.
Harold didn¡¯t dare to show any disrespect and quickly replied, ¡°High-Elder Crimson me, I also didn¡¯t think I would get another chance to see your exalted self again in this life.¡±
Harold was telling the truth because these High-Elders didn¡¯t meet just anyone and themon public didn¡¯t even know about their existence. Only when a Demon Duke level Demon appeared did they get the chance to see one of the High Elders, and one could imagine just how rare it was to see all five of them together!
Furthermore, these High-Elders in seniority and rank were even higher than Demon Kings because they were under the directmand of the royal family, and they can contact the Royal Zone at any time, while Demon Kings didn¡¯t have such privileges.
That¡¯s why Harold didn¡¯t dare to show any kind of arrogance here because he knew if any one of these five High-Elder found him an eyesore, even the Mist Demon King behind him will kill him just to please them!
These High-Elders of the Royal Demon Council have this kind of authority or simply put, the royal zone was just too scary for all these demons living outside it!
High Elder, Crimson me, just smile amiably. He likes Harold because of his upright character and talent. It was quite to his liking, and that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t want to make things difficult for Harold.
However, this didn¡¯t mean others would have the same thoughts as him, though.
The old woman sitting on the fourth seat spoke impassively at this moment, ¡°We, heard about your entire report about this incident from elder council¡ that thief or hex master, stole storage rings from over eighteen hundred demons and a demon marquis, and you didn¡¯t even notice, what were you a Demon Duke, doing while all this was happening right under your nose?¡±
This old demoness had an icy demeanor, her skin was gray while her eyes were brown with the same brown long hair, she had small gray horns and the most eye-catching thing about this woman was a three-centimeter diamond shape ck gem embedded right between her eyebrows.
Harold suddenly felt a chill run down in spine when he felt the coldness in this old demoness voice, he didn¡¯t dare to talk back and quickly got on his knees and said, ¡°I, know I have failed my duty as an evaluator and a demon duke, please punish me!¡±
¡°Hmph, do you think the punishment is enough for you? From my resources, I found out that you were using a Low-Grade-3 Surveince Formation, but you still failed to notice that thief, and only when that hateful thief had done the deeds did you notice it¡ Oh, you didn¡¯t even notice it then as well, it was a victim!¡± The old demoness sitting at the very left coldly red and berated Harold.
This fiery old demoness had yellow skin, a pair of silver horns, and long blonde silky hair, and her special trait was her pair of silver and golden eyeballs, giving off the feeling of cold and warm.
Harold sweated heavily at this moment. He knew he would be med for this since nothing can hide from these five high elders. They had a vastwork of information, and they might¡¯ve already known what has transpired in Iron Demon City before his report.
That might also be the reason they were able to gather together on such short notice from different parts of the continent.
¡°Now, now,dies, don¡¯t give little guy such a hard time.¡± The old demon sitting beside Crimson me spoke coolly at this moment, ¡°I, also read the report and investigate it myself as well, it seemed that Hex Master has a very high-level hex for his appearance change, and he could use an unbreakable hex on a soul realm cultivator. However, what I¡¯m not able toprehend is why his victims remain unharmed despite being affected by those hexes.¡±
This old demon had a schrly demeanor. He had light blue skin with a pair of white eyeballs and ck long hair sporting a pair of white horns. There was nothing special about him, except for four inches of holes in the center of his palms.
¡°I agree with brother Dark Hole. That¡¯s what I¡¯m curious about as well, don¡¯t you all find it strange that this Hex Master can easily rob thousands and even hexed them at the same time, but he didn¡¯t attack them or kill them with his hexes andpletely leave them alone?
¡°It also seemed he wanted everyone to know his name, and he¡¯s using those hexes to announce it. Even before this event, this thief had appeared in the Iron Demon City before and done the same kind of stunt with his hexes, cing them on the theft sites. The reason for this entire war was him as well.
¡°It is just that no one else paid attention to him at that time and thought he was just a petty thief who was after fame. However, now he again appeared and take everyone by surprise, and he also got the fame he wanted. Now everyone knew about him.¡±
Crimson me said with a hint of curiosity in his elderly voice. He had done his homework about Sky Stealer, and he knew this thief didn¡¯t kill anyone and just stole while putting hexes on ces he theft.
This fascinated even someone like him because he can¡¯t see through this thief¡¯s motives. After all, no one will be foolish enough to enrage the royal demon council just for fame and attention.
Furthermore, if this thief was a hex master, then using his hexes publicly seemed even more foolish. Either he didn¡¯t know the status of hex masters in the demon race, or he just didn¡¯t care.
¡°Sigh¡ it¡¯s useless to debate over it. I have already received the order from the Royal Zone.¡± At this moment, the middle-aged demon spoke in a grave tone.
This middle-aged demon has an imposing demeanor. His skin was white with a pair of golden eyeballs and short, white hair. His sword-like golden horns were two feet long. The most eye-catching thing about him was his sword-shaped fingers gave off a sharp, chilly feeling.
However, the moment this demon spoke, everyone¡¯s face turn serious when heard Royal Zone. They all knew their order was absolute, and they had to make sure to implore it.
Dark Hole promptly asked, ¡°Brother White Sword, quickly tell us.¡±
White Sword¡¯s eyes turn sharp as he said, ¡°We should wait for the de Demon King, he¡¯s already approaching the assembly hall!¡±
Chapter 345
Just as White Sword¡¯s voice faded, a burst of jollyughter rang, followed by a powerful deep voice, ¡°Hahaha¡ Elder Brother Sword, it¡¯s been such a long time since you visit my domain!¡±
The old demoness with the ck gem on her forehead frowned as she mumbled, ¡°The Lunatic de finally appeared!¡±
The other three elders also showed different emotions, while White Sword¡¯s lips slightly rose in a faint smile.
At this moment, the assembly hall¡¯srge door smack opened, and a tall and broad-shouldered middle-aged demon entered everyone¡¯s view.
This neer was 2.6-meter-tall with a sturdy build. He wore ck long king¡¯s robes with a de insignia on its back. His skin was bright silver, while his eyeballs were crimson. His long red hair was like crimson fire, while his two silver horns were as sharp as two thin des.
Two long des were sheathed around his waist in ck scabbards. He wore a broad smile on his pale silver lips, which showed his white beastly teeth.
This demon was none other than the de Demon King of Mighty de Province and also known as the Lunatic de within Soul Manifestation Realm Circle of Almighty Demon Empire!
As for why they called him Lunatic de, it was because de Demon King was a battle manic, and he¡¯ll challenge anyone who he found strong. He had no regard for their status or authority. His personality was straightforward.
¡°It seemed you¡¯re still crazy as ever, heh little de.¡± White Sword looked meaningfully at de Demon King with a faint smile.
If anyone dared to call de Demon King, Little de, they¡¯ll be instantly chopped into a thousand pieces, but de Demon King didn¡¯t seem angry at all. On the contrary, his smile widened while looking at White Sword.
He said, ¡°Haha, Elder Brother Sword, you know me too well. I don¡¯t like pretentious or formalities. But you hurt this little brother¡¯s feeling by not even saying a word beforeing to my home, and didn¡¯t even stop by at my castle for reminiscing over wine.¡±
The old demoness with silver and golden eyeballs suddenly said with pursed lips, ¡°Lunatic de, watch how you¡¯re talking with the First High Elder of the Royal Demon Council!¡±
Her tone was clearly unfriendly as if she was holding a deep grudge against de Demon King.
de Demon King merely threw an annoying gaze at this old demoness and said with pursed lips, ¡°Old Witch, Lora, do you want to lose with another three moves?¡±
Lora¡¯s wrinkled face instantly shed when de Demon King revealed her biggest shame in front of everyone. It was like someone just lit her tail on fire!
Harold was bbergasted, and all the other elders of the Royal Demon Council were also watching all this with incredulity. But no one dared to say even a word, heck, they won¡¯t even dare to breathe loudly because they could tell de Demon King¡¯s words were true and Lora will kill them to hide her secret, and they pretend to not hear anything. But it was still shocking news that Lora had lost to de Demon King in three moves!
Nevertheless, the way these Soul Manifestation Realm entrics were talking with each other left everyone baffled, especially White Sword calling de Demon King, ¡®Little de¡¯ and the other party reacting positively afterward.
Before Lora could fly toward de Demon King and attack him, White Sword¡¯s deep voice rang with a mountainous pressure. ¡°We didn¡¯t have time to y around right now. They¡¯re here!¡±
de Demon King¡¯s easygoing demeanor suddenly changed into seriousness, as he also felt a very strong aura from outside. It was far stronger than White Sword. It was clear the other party deliberately releasing its aura.
Lora also swallowed her resentment and hatefully re dagger at de Demon King, but didn¡¯t say another word.
Thereupon, two more tall and slim figures entered the assembly hall. Both were hiding their faces with ck masks and wearing simr in ck robes.
However, the masked demon with pitch ck eyeballs was giving off a very scary aura like a deadly snake, he was emotionlessly watching everyone. He was standing two steps behind the other mask demon, which clearly implied that he was a servant despite his deep cultivation!
As the other mask demon standing in front, his mask was even hiding his eyeballs with a thinyer of the dark mist. Furthermore, no one inside the assembly hall could see through his cultivation as if he was just a mortal demon, but everyone knew he was nothing but normal!
Just this demon¡¯s extraordinary bearing and the way he was facing six soul manifestation experts were enough to tell he had an extraordinary background.
This made everyone in the assembly hall astonished.
Both mask demons¡¯ horns were nowhere to be seen and everyone inside this hall have some idea that they were using some kind of illusion to hide their horns and that their ck hair color might also be fake.
Moreover, the other demon seemed to even have a treasure to hide his cultivation, and no one tried to probe it either with their martial sense as well because it would be too rude and simply courting death with that other powerful demon behind him.
White Sword promptly stood up and greeted with a noble demon salute, ¡°I wee the Royal Envoys from Royal Zone!¡±
Everyone¡¯s faces changed when they heard ¡®Royal Envoys¡¯ because they knew only someone from the royal zone had the right to be greeted by the First High Elder of the Royal Demon Council in this manner, not even demon kings make him his head lower.
Everyone quickly stood up and follow suit as all the high elders and de Demon King perform the same salute as White Sword, while Harold and all the other Royal Demon Council Elder fell to their knees.
The demon who seemed with no cultivation said in a deep, imposing voice, ¡°Killer, get me a chair.¡±
The demon with pitch ck eyeballs suddenly blurred for a moment beforeing back to his position within a moment. But a ck throne had appeared behind themanding demon while the White Sword¡¯s throne had vanished from its position because this ck throne was originally his, to begin with.
Those soul manifestation realms¡¯ high elders and de Demon King were shocked because they didn¡¯t clearly see this ¡®Killer¡¯ moving, and before they react, he had already moved the ck throne right under White Sword¡¯s nose.
The other demon didn¡¯t mind their shocking expression, nor did he show any hint of apologizing to White Sword for talking on his throne so rudely andfortably sitting on it before saying, ¡°At ease, everyone.¡±
Everyone was looking at this ordinary demon with astonishment because it was clear now that he was the leader between him and Killer, and he can easily order around a soul manifestation realm demon who seemed even more powerful than White Sword.
Which clearly made them dread this mysterious demon even more and his background inside the royal zone. No one dare to sit anymore, even high elders because White Sword was standing with an impassive face.
He didn¡¯t show any kind of emotion and just looked at the demon sitting on his throne. This was a blunt disrespect to him, but he knew he wasn¡¯t a match for the other party, so he could only endure without even showing his anger.
Even someone like de Demon King didn¡¯t show any kind of difort, although he was a battle lunatic he wasn¡¯t a suicidal lunatic, and he could tell shing with the other party would not go in a very pleasant ending this was still his domain, and home.
A fight between soul manifestation realm experts was never pretty for those below this realm!
The demon sitting on the throne spoke again, ¡°I¡¯ll not take all the elders¡¯ important time. I¡¯m here to announce two things on the behalf of Emperor¡¯s Domain!¡±
It was another shock for everyone. What was Emperor¡¯s Domain? It was the central area of the mighty demon continent, where the Demon Emperor Pce was located!
They finally understand this masked demon was probably someone from the royal family since only a member of the royal family can represent the Emperor¡¯s Domain!
This time it was not just council elders but High Elders and Demon King who also fell on their knees and White Sword deeply said, ¡°We¡¯re ready to receive his imperial highness announcement!¡±
The demon on the throne didn¡¯t reject being called, ¡®Imperial Highness¡¯, which was also akin to silently admitting he was from Emperor¡¯s Domain.
He said, ¡°First, I¡¯m here to arrest the vile viin of Hex Demon Race and I want elders¡¯ support.¡±
¡°Your Imperial Highness, you¡¯re too polite. We¡¯ll naturally assist you!¡± White Sword quickly agreed, and everyone nodded after him.
They must be tired of living if they reject this person¡¯s request.
¡°Good.¡± He merely nodded before an exquisite golden scroll appeared in his hand with a red seal.
He opened it and read, ¡°The second announcement is for all the demon race youths outside the royal zone!¡±
¡°For the first time in the history of our demon race, in Twenty-Four Months, the royal zone will open its gates for all the young demons inmon provinces!
¡°Any demon with at least soul realm potential bloodline, age below 100, and cultivation below River Core Realm is eligible for participating in the trails of three Demon Institutes of Royal Zone as long as they pass the Demon Gates Trail¡!¡±
Chapter 346
Two days after the Noble Tribe Title War between Iron Demon Tribe and Dark Gibbon Demon Tribe was voided.
This news reached almost every city in the Ocean Demon Duchy and from some unknown source, everyone found out that this event was rted to a thief called Sky Stealer.
The most frustrated about this event was none other than Demon Duke Livy because he lost a massive face when the public found out a mere thief has stolen the Left Ocean Spear storage ring and even done something ghastly with his face.
Furthermore, he also got the letter from Henrik himself that he better not took any strange actions since this was rted to the enemy of the entire demon race, Hex Demons. At least not until the royal demon council made a decision.
This left Livy extremely infuriated and helpless because he just wanted to get rid of the ipetent Iron Demon Tribe, and the reason for this was also the appearances of different thieves from their city.
He didn¡¯t even bother to investigate and directly decided to eliminate the city with an official war.
But he never thought this matter will blow up so much so that a Hex Master would appear causing a tremendousmotion during a noble title war and even dare humiliate his tribe by stealing from Henrik and using a hex on his face.
Moreover, Livy was even more incensed about the appearance of the New Moon in his territory without any prior notice and made the decision to report this matter to the council without his concern.
Typically, it was supposed to be him who had to report this, but he was clueless about this entire thing until Henrik¡¯s letter came.
Now, Livy can not only do anything, but he doesn¡¯t even dare to go to the Iron Demon City because this matter was rted to a Hex Master and this might implicate him since that hex master has appeared in his duchy¡¯s secondrgest city!
So, to take a minimum damaged, Livy didn¡¯t go and wait until the council was done with their investigation and then feign clueless about this entire matter and dump it on the Iron Demon Tribe.
However, he knew even if this n worked, he would still have to suffer from de Demon King¡¯s punishment, since it also affected de Demon Tribe but not as much as Ocean Demon Tribe.
Livy, in the end, had no choice but to seek advice from his father, the Old Demon Duke who was currently one of de Demon King¡¯s generals, because only he can save him if things went awry.
¡ª
On the fourth day,
A stunning announcement was made by the Royal Demon Council which make every demon¡¯s heart skip a beat for an instant, and this news was not about the Iron Demon City Incident at all.
This news was more of an announcement, an announcement directly from the Royal Zone!
It was about the mass recruitment of young demons with soul realm bloodline grade potential, and all the details were made public.
This stirred the entire demon race living outside the royal zone. It was almost every young demon¡¯s dream to go to the royal zone; it was akin to their dreand.
But s, it never happened before. However, now this heaven send opportunity was given to them, how could they let it slide?
Everyrge demon tribe started to prepare their youths for this ¡®Demon Gate Trial¡¯ going to start in twenty-four months.
Even those hidden demon tribes that seldom made contact with the outside world started to move.
This opportunity was simply too hard to miss, and this also start arge movement in the mighty demon continent.
This announcement greatly affected the resource prices, pills, weapons, and talismans¡ which made the merchants even happier.
Everyone seemed topletely forget about Iron Demon City as if nothing mattered any more than this Demon Gate Trail.
This was also the result the demon council wanted to achieve for some reason as well!
¡ª
The Iron Demon City had no idea about this huge announcement, as it was deliberately done to achieve such a result.
Both armies were now waiting for the Royal Demon Council¡¯s decision, and Henrik was monitoring both sides.
The Iron Demon Tribe was shrouded in gloominess because things were looking grim for them after what happened.
While the Dark Gibbon Demon Tribe seemed quite cheerful as if they were victors and just waiting for thest order to take control of the Iron Demon City.
At this moment, Henrik, who was sitting on top of the city wall, frowned and took out the cube Harold handed him before leaving.
He saw two carriages enter the perimeter of the eagle surveince formation and those carriages were nothing but ordinary because they were moving without any demonic beast. They were the size of a small house!
Both carriages were without any emblem, but they were clearly made with special materials.
Henrik didn¡¯t dare to neglect these two carriagesing this way because he knew no one would dare toe here except the royal demon council.
He quickly descended the city wall and go toward the destroyed city gate to wee these carriages.
Everyone¡¯s attention was drawn to these special carriages when theye closer, especially Dark Gibbon Army, who was staying outside the city wall.
However, at this moment, something beyond everyone¡¯s expectations happened.
Everyone saw hundreds of dark beams shooting toward the sky, releasing from one of the carriages and within seconds, a dark veil started to cover the golden sky like ck curtains.
After a few moments, the entire Iron Demon City and ten-kilometer area around it werepletely sealed within this dark veil,pletely cutting off both tribes from outside.
Henrik suddenly started to feel uneasy, and other tribes¡¯ elders as well showed worried expressions.
But they all can only insure themselves by thinking that this formation was for the thief, not for them.
It didn¡¯t take before both carriages stopped right outside the broken city gate and both doors slowly opened.
One after another, nine demons disembark the carriages, two from the first one while seven from the other one.
The first two demons were wearing ck masks while the other seven weren¡¯t and each one of them has distinguished appearances like the old demon with fire ears and the old woman with a ck gem on her forehead.
Henrik, even one knows of those seven demons, it was none other than New Moon who was gone to the royal demon council four days ago!
¡°Is he the one with a hexed face?¡± the demon, with a mask covering his entire face and eyes, asked deeply, without giving Henrik any chance to greet them.
Harold didn¡¯t dare to dy and quickly nodded in confirmation, ¡°Yes, your imperial highness, he¡¯s the demon marquis who was affected by the hex demon!¡±
Henrik was shocked when he heard the ¡®Imperial¡¯ word and knew this person¡¯s identity was extraordinary. And dropped to his knees and said, ¡°Henrik Ocean, greeted His Imperial Highness!¡±
Henrik¡¯s action was clearly noticed by both sides, and they all followed suit after him with a hint of awe in their eyes.
However, the person himself seemedpletely oblivious to all this as his deep voice sounded again, ¡°Show me your face.¡±
Henrik hesitated for a moment before taking off the mask from his face, revealing the thief symbol.
The demon with pitch ck eyes, Killer, suddenly narrowed his ck eyebrows seeing the thief symbol while those five high elders and de Demon King standing behind also curiously see the thief symbol.
¡°This is blunt disrespect toward our royal demon council!¡± Lora couldn¡¯t help but exim with a hint of anger after reading the Thief Farewell Note.
Even White Sword, who rarely showed any extensive emotion, was frowning. This was really a p toward noble demons.
Truth be told, they were all here because of this mysterious Imperial Highness, or they would nevere to such a ce themselves.
After the shocking second announcement, they all wanted to prepare for the uing Demon Gate Trail post hastily and even wanted to suppress the news for a month to get an advantage over others.
But this demon didn¡¯t let them and made them release the news all over the continent and only after the news was made public did he move toward the Iron Demon City, dragging all the soul manifestation realm experts of Royal Demon Council and even de Demon King with him.
Those wily old demons weren¡¯t fools, and they quickly understood this demon didn¡¯t want the others to pay attention to this ce and distract their attention with the huge announcement.
But they still didn¡¯t understand just why he didn¡¯t want anyone to know about this and had no choice but to follow hismand.
They even confirm his identity when he gave the ¡®Imperial Order¡¯ about the Demon Gate Trail to them and this made it even clearer that his identity was too special, so they can¡¯t just refuse his request upfront.
At this moment, the mysterious demon spoke, ¡°How much can you extract?¡±
Chapter 347
At this moment, the mysterious demon spoke, ¡°How much can you extract?¡±
Everyone became confused by this strange question, as they had no idea about what he meant by ¡®extract¡¯ and Henrik suddenly felt a chill run down his spine when he saw Killer was ncing at him with those icy pitch-ck eyes.
Killer, on the other hand, seemed to understand what this question meant and answer candidly while looking at Henrik, ¡°He¡¯s at the peak of Early Golden Qi Soul Realm, so I can only extract about fifteen percent of his memory before he¡¯ll die!¡±
A hint of understanding shed past those soul manifestation realm experts when they heard Killer¡¯s answer, while Henrik¡¯s face turned ashen.
They were simply talking about soul-searching him like it was drinking water!
They all knew a soul search was the cruelest method to kill someone and also gained information. But they also knew the higher your cultivation, the harder it was to soul search someone and the chance of getting what you want was extremely low before the other party died or turn into a vegetable.
Furthermore, the soul cultivator like Henrik had a very powerful soul, so it was even harder to soul search them if they put an absolute resistance, which anyone who didn¡¯t want to die will naturally put.
However, this was still a very cruel method. That¡¯s why it waspletely forbidden to use publicly, but now this mysterious demon was talking about it like it was nothing big deal.
Those High Elders and de Demon King started to understand why this guy wanted to distract everyone¡¯s attention from this ce and even put such a formation in y so no one could enter or exit.
Harold¡¯splexion was only slightly better than Henrik¡¯s because he had a very good impression of Henrik, and he was also a soul realm cultivator, just like Henrik, but this Imperial Highness seemed to don¡¯t care about cultivators like them.
¡°Please show mercy, my lord, I have done nothing wrong, this was all just because I was too careless and let that thief¡¡± Henrik instantly pleaded because he could tell the other party had meant to really kill him or soul search him.
However, Henrik¡¯s pleading was cut short by two words from the other demon, which sent him into the pits of hell!
¡°Kill him,¡± He said those words without any hint of emotions behind his voice.
No one could see just what kind of demon was hidden behind that mask!
Before anyone could react, a twisted voice of someone¡¯s neck being cracked sounded in the silent vicinity of iron demon city, and the next moment, Henrik¡¯s lifeless body fell backward from his kneeling position.
Everyone¡¯s heart turned cold because they didn¡¯t see how Henrik, a soul realm cultivator, died in an instant. While those soul manifestation realm¡¯s cultivators¡¯ eyes narrowed, they clearly knew it was very easy to kill someone like Henrik with their cultivation realm.
However, this was still a soul realm demon with a demon marquis title to his name. But it seemed this imperial highness didn¡¯t care about it all, and they knew everyone in the royal zone looked down on themon provinces, but it still felt terrible.
de Demon King had an ugly expression on his face because Henrik was from his fief and a soul realm demon marquis of ocean demon tribe, and the old ocean demon duke was his very loyal subordinate.
But he can¡¯t do anything right now. This left an unpleasant taste in his mouth and if not for the other party being stronger and having a superior status over him, he would¡¯ve started fighting!
After Henrik¡¯s tragic death, the thief symbol from his face suddenly vanished without any trace, and the Killer and the masked demon were also watching this.
The masked demon spoke again in an impassive voice, ¡°It seemed this hex can¡¯t affect or shift on someone else after the victim¡¯s death nor does it seem to have any kind of attacking ability, and it didn¡¯t activate its function without the caster.
¡°Which means this Hex was at least an advance level hex magic, and we¡¯re dealing with an Advance Hex Master, with minimum cultivation of Soul Realm.¡±
Everyone finally understood why he killed Henrik. It was just because to probe the hex prowess, and it seemed he had a very high evaluation of it.
But he still killed a soul realm cultivator without batting an eye just because he wanted to examine the hex, which showed everyone this demon was too cruel and decisive!
de Demon King spoke at this moment with a stern voice, ¡°How can, Your Imperial Highness, be so sure about this?¡±
He was simply asked for an exnation for why he had to kill Henrik just for this simple reason. They were thousands of victims. They could still achieve the same result just by killing them as well.
White Sword merely sighed, seeing the Lunatic de questioning someone from the royal zone, and others also felt this guy really deserved his title as a lunatic.
The other party didn¡¯t seem to mind de Demon King¡¯s rude question and answer coolly, ¡°It¡¯s very simple actually, the hex magic is divided into four ranks: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and wless. The higher the hex magic rank, the more powerful a hex will be and the more control the hex master had over it as well.
¡°You see, if this hex was cast with either beginner or intermediate hex magic, then it either activates on its own or it started to spread in the form of a dark mist which also caused the hex master who cast it a bacsh.
¡°But nothing like this happened, which made this an advanced hex, and only a demon with the Hex Demon Bloodline can achieve advanced rank proficiency over hex magic. No other race.
¡°Because without the hex demon bloodline, you¡¯re simply courting death if you practice Hex Magic. It seemed Demon King is unsatisfied with this demon¡¯s death?¡±
Everyone was shocked by this revtion because they didn¡¯t know much about the Hex Demon Race since it waspletely destroyed by the royal family thousands of years ago.
But it seemed this hex demon race was really dreadful, and it was indeed possible for them to challenge the royal family for their authority as the monarchy of the demon race.
However, they still failed, and this also showed just how fearsome the royal demon family was!
As for hisst words, it made everyone tense and those high elders shot warning gazes at de Demon King to keep his mouth shut, but would he listen?
de Demon King honestly replied, ¡°If your imperial highness knew this much about the Hex Demon Race, then you¡¯ll also know how to break these hexes, right? There wasn¡¯t any need to kill a soul realm demon, a strong pir of our race.¡±
¡°Heh, de Demon King¡¯s upright reputation indeed precedes His Majesty. But you¡¯re wrong this time because there isn¡¯t any panacea for advanced hex magic, and we didn¡¯t know what that advanced hex was capable of.
¡°Who knows? It was a mind control hex and slowly take control over his mind without him or anyone knowing about it, and then he¡¯ll be directly under the control of that hex master. So, killing him painlessly was showing him the mercy of sort.¡±
He spoke in a meld voice without showing any hint of anger that de Demon King questioned his decision and even called him ¡®His Majesty¡¯, which was a kind of recognition toward the de Demon King.
However, everyone was shocked by his words, and they felt real dread for this hex demon race for the first time and understood why this race was eliminated and why the royal zone sent someone from the royal family to deal with this matter as quickly as possible.
de Demon King¡¯s eyes shimmer with understanding, ¡°I understand. Please forgive my previous rudeness.¡±
However, those two sides who were listening to these bigwigs¡¯ conversation were gobsmacked when they heard words like ¡®Demon King¡¯ and then ¡®de Demon King¡¯.
Who was a demon king? A god-like existence in the eyes of these tribes and he was standing right in front of them and speaking so respectfully with the other party, this naturally scared them shitless, and they finally understood just what kind of demons hade to this little ce, and they even forget about the tragic death of Henrik!
Now they understood one thing: no one can resist these demons, no one!
The masked demon merely chucked and said, ¡°Heh, Demon King, do you know the one and absolute rule of our demon race?¡±
Everyone became confused since they¡¯re many such rules, not just one, and de Demon King also the same and truthfully replied, ¡°Please enlighten this King.¡±
It was Killer who replied with breathtaking killing intent that only a real cruel demon could have,
¡°Never Forget We Are Called ¡®Demons¡¯!¡±
Chapter 348
Inside the underground chamber in Iron Demon City,
Currently, Ace was practicing his rune crafting while trying to achieve tier-4, and he was very close to drawing the lightning symbol when suddenly the symbol suddenly turned into dark light particles as Ace¡¯s focus suddenly snapped.
Ace was startled first before his heart palpitated when his soul sense buzzed in rm. However, he didn¡¯t use his heavenly sense because this danger wasn¡¯t from inside the chamber, but it was from outside.
He looked toward Noa and saw she waspletely oblivious to this deadly feeling from outside and felt relief when he thought this was probably because of this room¡¯s special material that they remain out of mischief.
Ace finally lose his nerve when he thought they were still safe inside here and might not suffer any danger as long as they wait until this danger passed.
¡®Did those demons make a move? But just what did they do outside to even make my soul sense tremble to this degree? Right now, I can only feel emptiness and deadly momentum from whatever they released.¡¯ Ace¡¯s expression turned solemn.
¡®But this room is really wonderful, even with this deadly, mysterious formation. It still can¡¯t affect us? Just what kind of material this room is made of? I even try cutting it with my sword finger, but it didn¡¯t leave any mark on it.
¡®Which means even half sword intent of shadow element isn¡¯t enough to cut these stones. I wonder if myplete sword intent will be able to achieve such a thing. I definitely had toe back in the future to retrieve every stone from this chamber. Furthermore, I might get unexpected rewards.¡¯ A sharp glint shed past Ace¡¯s eyes when he looked at this mysterious chamber.
This was very good for practice and training, and he didn¡¯t have to worry about damaging it, and it could even hide from martial senses, and even high-level formation didn¡¯t seem to detect it.
However, Ace¡¯s focus was momentarily diverted before he again sensed an even more powerful undtion from outside, as if something was trying to prate deep underground, but this chamber was easily resisting this invisible force.
Ace¡¯s expression was grave. ¡®It seemed they¡¯ree with a powerful formation this time to see if I was still hidden inside the city and if not for this mysterious chamber, they might¡¯ve found me¡
¡®Leaving after thieving is still better, it simply too risky to stay behind to observe and reap even more benefits, I¡¯m dealing with the second hegemony of this world and I still didn¡¯t know the entirety of their method, so I better escape far away after the theft.¡¯
Suddenly, Noa¡¯s pitch ck eyes snapped open and shimmer with a dark hue as she looked at Ace.
Ace suddenly felt gazed at by a predator and instantly looked in Noa¡¯s direction with a hint of astonishment.
That dark hue suddenly vanished when Ace looked toward her and Noa¡¯s melodious voice filled with joy sounded, ¡°Leader, I achieve Low-level mastery in Thief Assassin¡¯s Soul View just now!¡±
Ace couldn¡¯t help but feel happy for her and nodded with a faint smile, ¡°Congrattions, this skill seemed quite powerful. It even made me feel cold.¡±
Noa nodded and said, ¡°Yes, Thief Assassin¡¯s Soul View can help me view hidden rune symbols, traps, and enemies as well as I can also see killing intent with this skin toward me like a rising smoke even if someone is deeply hidden in it.
¡°But it can only help me see through Grade-1 runes, while I can only overpower a River Core Cultivator and slightly see through a newly be soul realm cultivator.¡±
She truthfully told Ace about the Thief Assassin¡¯s Soul View¡¯s pros and cons.
¡°It also appeared, leader¡¯s senses are far stronger than my Thief Assassin¡¯s Soul View, or it was impossible to defect even for a soul realm cultivation when I used this skill with No-Kill.¡± She couldn¡¯t help but praise Ace for his sharp senses.
Ace merely chucked and humbly said, ¡°Heh, I just have an innate ability which is too sensitive against danger, or I don¡¯t think I can detect Miss Noa¡¯s Thief Assassin¡¯s Soul View so easily.¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes shed, but she didn¡¯t ask further. She knew Ace was just too mysterious, and he had many abilities that he didn¡¯t reveal to her. But she was satisfied as long as he was on her side and she could walk on the thief¡¯s path with him.
Ace suddenly remembered and flip his hand and a storage ring appeared in his hand and threw it toward Noa, who caught it intuitively before looking at Ace with bewilderment.
Ace smiled and said, ¡°These are books rted to alchemy that I have ¡®collected¡¯ over the years from my homnd, I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re useful to you demons or not, but they¡¯re useless to me since I already remembered them. They¡¯re also books that I ¡®got¡¯ after my trip outside. All in all, they should all be enough for providing you with enough knowledge until 1st Grade Alchemist.¡±
Ace was telling the truth because after he gained heaven¡¯s stealer gloves, he found out that his heavenly sense can now be used to instantly memorize these books with just a mere scan.
This made him thrilled because now he didn¡¯t have to skimp through all those books in his storage ring, and he can just remember them after scanning them with his heavenly sense almost instantly.
That¡¯s why he was nning to give these books he got from the treasure mountain and other ces to Noa since she needed to be an alchemist to practice her demon body technique she got from the system.
¡°Thank you.¡± Noa didn¡¯t reject Ace¡¯s help, since she knew she needed it.
When she probed inside the storage ring Ace gave her, her eyes suddenly went wide with shock because this ring was a low-grade-1 ring with 200 cubic meters of space inside. Even she didn¡¯t have this quality storage ring.
But was truly shocked her was this ring was filled with thousands of books, and they weren¡¯t just any random books, they were fire controlling techniques, pill forms, and herb raising¡ all in all, those books were enough to make any new alchemist like her eyes green with envy and now Ace has given all of them to her.
She knew she didn¡¯t need all of them, but she was still moved by Ace¡¯s consideration and decided to work harder to not let him down.
Ace merely chucked seeing Noa¡¯s reaction and said, ¡°Also, I remembered, you have stolen storage rings with you, which means they¡¯ll be still locked with Qi marks. I can also help you remove those Qi marks.¡±
Ace didn¡¯t pay attention to this point before and suddenly remembered that Noa didn¡¯t have the ability or system to remove Qi marks from those stolen rings, so he quickly offered his help since it was his duty, to begin with.
Noa¡¯s eyes shimmered with uncertainty as she questioned, ¡°Leader have Brand Destroyer Talisman?¡±
Ace be confused and asked, ¡°What Brand Destroyer Talisman?¡±
¡°I heard this Brand Destroyer Talisman is something very expensive and can only be bought from the King Domain, but its supplies were always tiny, and only those powerful demon ns can get their hands on it.
¡°The reason for this talisman¡¯s high demand is that this Brand Destroyer Talisman canpletely destroy the Qi mark on the storage ring and also removed the Qi mark from treasures, which will make it extremely easy to refine.¡± Noa quickly told whatever she knew about this talisman to Ace.
Ace¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up when he heard there was really something that can save his 100 Thief Points he would use to unlock those storage rings, and he knew many of them weren¡¯t even worth this much, but he had no choice but to do so since he didn¡¯t know another way before.
But now that Noa had revealed this Brand Destroyer Talisman¡¯s existence, he instantly wanted to get his hands-on thousands of them. But he knew he wasn¡¯t the only one with such thoughts because something that can remove Qi marks will always be in high demand in the market, and those big ns will never letmoners get their hands on them.
But this doesn¡¯t mean he can¡¯t get this talisman hands on these talismans because all he had to do was to found the supplier of this talisman which was also quite easy to guess, Life Demon Association, which was the only organization powerful enough to even create and then monopolized something like this under everyone greedy eyes.
¡®I should really raid ¡®Life Demon Association¡¯ next time.¡¯
Ace really wanted to head toward this organization at this instant, but he knew after his appearance and themotion he caused, it would be not wise to create any moremotion so soon, or he really might draw some scary existence¡¯s attention which will make his thievish life even more difficult.
Well, he still didn¡¯t know he was already under the radar of this continent¡¯s biggest power, and if he paid some attention to his newly stolen storage rings, he would be shocked to find out that their Qi marks werepletely gone!
Chapter 349
Ace¡¯s smiling face suddenly turned serious when his soul sense finally calmed down, but he knew something must¡¯ve big happened outside since itsted for whole five minutes.
Noa also noticed the change in Ace¡¯s expression and couldn¡¯t help but asked with uncertainty, ¡°Leader, is there something wrong?¡±
Ace knew Noa can¡¯t sense what just happened outside, so he told her how he felt that mysterious undtion for a whole five minutes, and then it suddenly vanished.
¡°It might be a powerful surveince formation that can also lock cultivators with a specific realm and, by how powerful that undtion was, it seemed, even a Soul Realm Expert will find it difficult to escape this formation suppression. We¡¯re lucky this room can evade that formation, or we might¡¯ve encountered some terrible luck.¡± Ace¡¯s voice was grave in the end.
Noa¡¯s eyes also narrowed with a hint of dread. She said, ¡°I think we should leave this ce as soon as possible, since we didn¡¯t know this ce¡¯s full capacity, and we can¡¯t leave our safety in luck.¡±
Ace nodded. ¡°I was thinking the same, but we still have to wait for a week or two, just to be sure. Besides, we have topletely hide this chamber. Who knows, it mighte in handy someday, or we can always dismantle this room in the future.¡±
Ace was telling the truth about ¡®dismantling¡¯ this entire room in the future. It¡¯s not like he didn¡¯t have already tried and failed miserably, since his dismantler rank was still too low.
Noa nodded in agreement with Ace¡¯s words.
¡ª
Three weeks passed in a sh,
But nothing out of the ordinary happened like three weeks ago and Ace was keeping a close eye outside with his soul sense, he still didn¡¯t dare to use his heavenly sense because he still wasn¡¯t sure if those people left or not or there was any formation monitoring the iron demon city.
Furthermore, Ace¡¯s biggest reason for still refusing to exit this room was actually the absence of Iron Demon Tribe or any other tribe, as a matter-of-factly. Because even after three entire weeks, he still didn¡¯t find any movement in a living being, which left him confused and worried at the same time.
He knew the demon race wasn¡¯t like humans who react too slowly and after the event of three weeks before; he was sure they had made some kind of move, but obliviously failed, since he was still safe and sound.
However, Ace still didn¡¯t neglect his practice and was rewarded for his effort as well. He was now sure he needed to raise his strength if he wanted to progress any further with his skills and techniques.
Expect some techniques and skills like Soul Words, which solely depend on hiswprehension or his movement skills that required physical practice and experience.
Nevertheless, he was still happy with this increase in his strength, especially in his professions like rune crafting and dismantler art.
¡°Status!¡± Ace wanted to see just how much progress he had made and what he needed to pay attention to more.
=====
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human]
[Bloodline: Sealed]
[First Heaven: Mortal Sky Heaven]
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-3]]
[EXP: 32,020/50,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-3]]
[SP: 20,000/50,000]
¡ª
[Skills: 8]
-Heartless Stealth (Art):
[Breathless Stealth: Perfection
Pulseless Stealth: Perfection
Heartless Stealth: NONE]
¡ª
-Misperception Sky Steps (Art):
[Camouge Steps: Low
Lightning Steps: Middle
Misperception Steps: Low
Sky Steps: NONE]
¡ª
-Soul Shattering Eyes: [Middle]
¡ª
-Soul Piercing Bullets: [Middle]
¡ª
-Soul Guardian Barrier (Art):
[Soul Barrier: Middle
Soul Guardian: NONE]
¡ª
-Pick Pocket: [Perfection]
¡ª
-Treasure Opening Hands [Art]: [5th Form]
¡ª
-Lock Eraser King Technique:
Lock Eraser Master: Novice
Lock Eraser Grandmaster: None
Lock Eraser King: None
¡ª
[Cultivation Technique: 5]
-Heaven Stealer Technique: Volume 1
¡ª
-Dual Shadow Swords: 2nd Realm (Sword of Finger)
¡ª
-Heavenly Rune Crafter Foundational Manual: Tier-4
¡ª
-Soul Words [Despair Manual]:
1. Deep Despair Soul Words: 0.3%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
2. Extreme Despair Soul Words: 0.0%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
3. Deadly Despair Soul Words: 0.0%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
¡ª
-Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Manual [First Vol]
Three Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Principles:
1. Treasure Dismantler Principles: 6-Star Treasure Dismantler
2. Alchemy Dismantler Principles: 6-Star Alchemy Dismantler
3. Runic Dismantler Principles: 6-Star Runic Dismantler
¡ª
[Law(s): 3]
-Despair: 0.03%
-Shadow: 0.05%
-Sword: 1.00%
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 18,012,000]
¡ª
[Mission(s): 0]
[Side Mission(s): 1]
=====
Ace smile faintly when he saw thew section on his status panel. After his breakthrough in the second realm of dual shadow swords technique andprehending half shadow sword intent, he could feel his understanding regarding the sword has improved to a new level, and he could now use faint element intent with his Qi without a sword in his hand, unlike any other weapon cultivator who needed a specific weapon to show a weapon intent¡¯s true might!
This was the true meaning behind the realm Sword of Finger which didn¡¯t require Ace to hold swords in his hand and he could turn his fingers into swords, but he was still far cry fromprehending the third realm, Sword in Mind, of dual shadow swords.
He mused he needed at least toprehend 10% of both Shadow and Sword Laws to achieve this realm. Furthermore, he also found that shadoww has made his stealth more potent, although he can¡¯t use the shadow Qi yet.
But he knew as long as thisw reached a satisfactory threshold he could acquire shadow element Qi or some kind of intent Qi like sword intent. However, he knew this was still a pipe dream since he didn¡¯t know how to raise hiswprehension.
Despite that, Ace was satisfied with the second sword art he created after achieving the second realm before he didn¡¯t seem toplete it, but after heprehended half sword intent, he finallypleted it, and he was itching to find someone to use it on and his first sword art also be more powerful as well!
¡®My Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Principles had suddenly stopped improving after I achieve 6-star at every principle, it seemed I needed to increase my strength before I can increase Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Principles further.¡¯ Ace thought before he closed his status panel.
He had already made ns for his further advancement, but first; he had to find a ce where he could obtain arge amount of soul-type resources, and every time he thought about this problem, it gave him a headache.
This was probably the biggest problem he had to solve after elemental orbs if he wanted to increase his strength.
¡®I can¡¯t think of any better ces to acquire those soul materials besides a demon duke tribe¡¯s treasury, king domain¡¯s big ns, or Life Demon Association where I can gain arge amount of soul type resources.
¡®But each of these ces is more dangerous than the other if I could just have urate information of a demon duke tribe¡¯s treasury¡¡¯
Suddenly Ace¡¯s eyes lit up at this point because he knew someone who had information on a demon duke tribe, and she¡¯ll happily tell him everything, Noa!
¡®It¡¯s time to settle Noa¡¯s grievance with Ocean Demon Duchy and Livy.¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered with confidence.
After his sessful thievery on Henrik a soul realm expert, his art of stealing became even more perfect, and he knew as long as he didn¡¯t encounter a powerful soul realm expert who¡¯s using its marital sense to the fullest he might really pull thievery of this level.
As for King Demon and Life Demon Association, he knew if he provoked these two ces too soon, he¡¯ll have multiple soul manifestation demons on his tail and he knew just how deadly a soul manifestation realm expert was. He nearly died in one¡¯s clone hand.
¡®But first I have to leave this ce.¡¯ Ace again felt with his soul sense and find nothing out of the ordinary, just like every day.
In the end, with a decisive expression, he finally used his heavenly sense for an instant and after waiting for a while, nothing happened, which made him sigh in relief.
Ace again used his heavenly sense, however, his expression turned ashen when he saw the outside. ¡®Just what happened here?!¡¯
Ace saw the outside waspletely turned into a dark wastnd. There wasn¡¯t any hint of greenery or any de of grass present. Everything was ck, the houses were nowhere to be seen!
Suddenly, Ace remembered that powerful undtion and sweated. ¡®Could it be that the formation wasn¡¯t some trapping or surveince formation, but an attacking formation? But even those formations might not be capable of turning a ce full of life into a ck wastnd!¡¯
Ace felt his scalp tingle in trepidation. He suddenly had a terrible feeling this time around, and he could only think of one thing right now: ¡®I¡¯m again targeted by a powerful existence!¡¯
Chapter 350
A sudden realization dawned on Ace when he looked at the cknd outside. He suddenly checked his thief¡¯s space and when he inspected his newly stolen storage ring collection, he was shocked because they were all opened, even Henrik¡¯s!
¡®This could only mean two things, first, the owners of these storage rings¡¯ willingly remove their Qi marks, so they could escape the sudden bacsh, or everyone is dead¡ and I think the probability of thetter happening is quite high which would also exin the ck wastnd outside. But can these demons really kill a soul realm demon?¡¯
Ace was very confused about this as well as horrified because if all of this was true, then this meant someone with a very high authority has made a move if Henrik was really dead.
But what he didn¡¯t understand was would they kill a soul realm demon?
¡®Is it because of the Thief Farewell Note I left on his face? Well, it¡¯s also possible that Livy might get extremely enraged and killed Henrik and everyone here? It is possible for someone like him, but turning the entire city into a ck wastnd, I don¡¯t think he had such means¡¡¯ Ace mused with a grim expression.
¡®I should leave this ce as soon as possible.¡¯ Ace finally decided as he stood up.
Noa was currently moving in a strange pattern on the other corner of the room, stopped when she saw Ace move. She was practicing the movement skill ¡®Thief Assassin¡¯s Soul Steps¡¯ for three weeks, but still hasn¡¯t achieved any breakthrough.
She mused it was because the practicing space was too little, but Ace didn¡¯t let her go outside because of obvious reasons, so she could only make the best of what she had.
Ace also saw Noaing toward and said, ¡°Wait here, something happened outside, and I¡¯m going to check if it¡¯s safe to leave this ce or not. If I came back in a day, then we¡¯ll leave this ce and if I don¡¯t, then you have to stay put.¡±
Noa wanted to inquire about what has made Ace serious, but seeing his grave expression, she nodded and said, ¡°I understand. Be careful.¡±
She knew she can¡¯t be any of help to Ace in her current cultivation realm, and she¡¯ll only get in his way, so she could onlyply to remain idle while feeling extremely perplexed.
With a nod, Ace moved toward the exit and slowly opened the small door, and ck soil fell onto the stairs.
He carefully exited with his stealth active and close the door and cover it with ck soil and removed his trace. After he was done, he dashed toward the exit of the Silver Iron Demon n¡¯s territory.
He hoped that this cknd was only this area, but he was soon bbergasted because he didn¡¯t see any kind of buildings in silver-iron demon territory, only cknds.
It was as if the entire silver-iron demon estate had turned into ck tnds. There weren¡¯t even ruins left. Only ck soil was drifting everywhere with the chilly wind of winter.
As Ace moved further toward the city gates, he found nothing but the same cknds, not even the tall city walls were there anymore, nor were any living beings or buildings. It was as if he was in a ck wastnd.
¡®Just what kind of formation is capable of turning an entire city into such condition? Or just what kind of existence is capable enough to take out this formation? A Demon King?¡¯ Ace¡¯s heart was heavy as he thought about all the possibilities, but he can¡¯t get an urate answer because of his limited knowledge about the demon race.
However, this time he wasn¡¯t at fault because even those demons living outside the royal zone can¡¯t fathom just what has happened here. After all, it was rted to the royal zone and that ce was akin to a mystery formon provinces.
Ace finally reached the ce where the city gate was supposed to be, and his eyes suddenly dted when he saw pitch ck soil, which differedpletely from the other cknd.
He couldn¡¯t help but touch it, and it wasn¡¯t like soil. It was more like a soft powder, and Ace¡¯s heart sank when he thought of something after touching this pitch-ck soil.
¡®Ashes?¡¯ Ace could only think about this because this left a ck, inky impression on his finger.
¡®These ashes arepletely covering arge area and those demons won¡¯t burn wood and wood ashes are gray, which means these ashes belong to something else¡ those demons!¡¯
Ace couldn¡¯t help but think this way because when he remembered all those Qi marks vanished suddenly and this ash willpletely exin the reason behind them as well!
¡®They killed everyone?¡¯ Ace¡¯s heart turn cold when he thought about this possibility, and he knew this was really the case, ¡®Really worthy of being the demon race, massacring with no remorse even their own people, and this had to be done by an extremely influential demon who see everyone as ant¡¡¯
With a heavy expression, Ace make sure there wasn¡¯t any trap or surveince. It seemed the other party was quite sure he wasn¡¯t here anymore after that formation had done its work and deemed it was useless to skim through this waste-city anymore and left.
But he knew whoever it was they¡¯lle back if he appeared again, and he had to be extremely careful from now.
Ace quickly returned to the underground chamber, which was probably the only thing left of Iron Demon City. He fetched Noa, so they could leave this ce as soon as possible.
When Noae out, she was even more shocked than Ace when she saw the cknds with no life or any structures.
Ace quickly express his thoughts and Noa also nodded in agreement with him. She also felt this was the work of a very terrifying existence, but even she didn¡¯t think of the royal zone and only suspect a demon king, just like Ace.
After hiding in the secret chamberpletely, both of them left in stealth. As for their destination, it was Cloud Demon City, the thirdrgest city of Ocean Demon Duchy, or now second after Iron Demon City¡¯s fall.
As for why they go toward this city, it was because first; it wasn¡¯t far from Iron Demon City, and second, Ace was still feeling uneasy, and he wanted to collect some information about what has happened to the Iron Demon City.
He extinguished the thought of going toward the Ocean Demon City right now because that was the city under a demon duke and the person who massacred the Iron Demon City might be there. So, the Cloud Demon City was their best choice right now.
After they left the periphery of the former Iron Demon City, they finally saw greenery again, but they were still shocked because the area that has turned ck wastnd was far bigger than Iron Demon City, which gave Ace the chills just thinking about how powerful that formation might be.
Now the iron demon city and the ten-kilometer area around it havepletely turned into thend of no life!
Ace suddenly mumbled, ¡°I think I need a new face now.¡±
He was currently in Pablo¡¯s face and wearing his trainee¡¯s hood,pletely counseling his face. But he knew wearing an Iron Demon Tribe¡¯s Demon Face was nothing but a disaster right now and Henrik had clearly seen it as well, so he can¡¯t use Pablo¡¯s face right now.
¡°Yes, I was also thinking the same.¡± Noa¡¯s voice sounded in agreement. She spoke little after she saw what happened to the Iron Demon City, and couldn¡¯t help but think of her own tribe.
Ace could feel Noa¡¯splicated emotions, but he didn¡¯t say anything. He just didn¡¯t know what to say.
After they travel for a full day and night, they stopped for rest since Noa was a soul foundation realm cultivator. She can¡¯t move continually like Ace and needed rest and eat as well.
But Ace had all it covered since he was foody himself. He also found out that Noa has never eaten something cooked before, and he was shocked to find out that the demons eat raw meat, which left him somewhat disgusted, but he said nothing.
Noa naturally eats in her tent without showing her face and even praised Ace¡¯s cooking skills afterward. She never thought ¡®burning¡¯ meat will taste so good.
Ace naturally had excellent cooking skills because he learned them from his grandma and he work at a restaurant from a young age, so he picked a few things despite just being a dishwasher.
They start their journey again, and the Cloud Demon City was only a day¡¯s worth of travel away.
At this moment, Ace suddenly single Noa to stop, and they quickly find arge tree to hide behind.
After a few moments, a caravan of carriages came into their view.
There was a ck cloud-like emblem on it and Noa suddenly said, ¡°Those carriages belong to the Dark Cloud Demon n!¡±
Chapter 351
Ace¡¯s eyes shone when he heard this and couldn¡¯t help but be curious about this caravan because he heard from Noa that Dark Cloud Demon n was the chef n of Cloud Demon Tribe.?
Furthermore, this Cloud Demon Tribe had a special status in Ocean Demon Duchy, because this tribe was a branch tribe of the Ocean Demon Tribe. That¡¯s why very few demons dare to offend them!
¡°The back four carriages are filled with peak Qi river realm cultivators, ten in each carriage, while the front four had silver Qi river core cultivators, three in each. The carriage right in the middle is very special, there are only two demons, and both of them are at the peak of the Qi river realm.¡± Ace said with an ambiguous look on his face.?
Noa suddenly said, ¡°It seemed they¡¯re escorting those two demons in the middle carriage, and they might have a superior status in Dark Cloud n.¡±?
Ace nodded, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s obvious they¡¯re going somewhere, and this road only leads to the Ocean Demon City. I wonder why such an entourage was going toward Ocean Demon City?¡±?
¡°It seemed we missed somethinga€|¡± Noa mumbled, even though she found this entourage strange.
¡°Heh, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯re going to get all the information we need very soon.¡± Ace chuckled mysteriously.?
Noa be confused at first, then suddenly a sh of understanding shone in her eyes. She clearly remembered Ace¡¯s ¡®soul search¡¯, which was quite sneaky, and the other party won¡¯t even know what happened.?
But she didn¡¯t know he can use it while the other party was still conscious and from this distance. Nheless, she remained silent and watched.?
Ace was nning to use his soul probe on one of the demons in the middle carriage. He knew if these demons were important, then they might have some inside information he needed.?
Furthermore, none of these demons can detect his soul Qi, that¡¯s why he was fearless.
Ace waited for the carriages to enter his soul sense range and when they were two hundred meters away, he used his soul probe!?
An invisible soul force shot toward the carriage in the middle with Ace¡¯s extreme control and invaded one demon sitting inside the carriage¡¯s mind.?
The demon affected by the soul probe had no idea that his memories were being read by someone, as he was chatting with the other demon happily.?
¡®Pick-pocket!¡¯ Ace suddenly tried to activate the pick-pocket with his soul probe. He wanted to see if he could rob someone¡¯s memory with it.?
He didn¡¯t forget about this job mission, which was as easy as it was difficult.?
However, he was disappointed when it didn¡¯t work. How could it be so easy to steal a memory?
Smile bitterly, he just focused on refining the memories he was getting for now. He knew he had time, so there was no need to rush this thing.?
Within five minutes, Ace had already got all the memories of the other demon, and he was shocked to find out that this demon was the youngest son of the Dark Cloud Demon n¡¯s Leader, Miler Dark Cloud.?
But what shocked Ace was the finding of the Demon Gate Trail in 24 months, a chance to enter the royal zone!?
However, Ace thought about something else entirely. ¡®This announcement was too timely, just three or four days before the annihtion of Iron Demon City. Could it be someone from the royal zone did all this?¡¯
Ace couldn¡¯t help but feel this way, and this will also exin the appearance of the extremely powerful formation. He couldn¡¯t think of another power that could take out such a formation beside the royal zone.?
This also made Ace even more vignt because if he was targeted by someone from the royal zone and that person was even willing to annihte an entire city and millions of demons just to make sure he won¡¯t escape alive.
Then he had to n his thieveries from now on and only after making sure that he could escape will he act, or he might find himself in a terrible situation.?
¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯re not going to the cloud demon city anymore.¡± Ace told Noa about his abrupt change in n, and they both vanished deep into the forest.?
¡°Leader, what happened?¡± Noa finally asked after they were far away from the caravan. She didn¡¯t know why Ace change their route, but she knew it had to do with the ¡®soul search¡¯.?
Ace finally stopped and said deeply, ¡°I think the person who wiped out the Iron Demon City is from the royal zone.¡±?
Noa¡¯s eyes went wide, and she couldn¡¯t help but retort strongly, ¡°How could that be possible? Royal Zone won¡¯t involve itself in the matter ofmon provinces, much less they will destroy the iron demon city themselves when they can just give themand!¡±
Ace sighed, ¡°I also think the same, but I¡¯m quite sure it was them. Only the royal zone will dare to use such formation so openly, and they won¡¯t easily let those Demon Kings have it. Just think about it, if a demon king possessed a formation capable of incinerating arge city like Iron Demon City, then I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need for all those rules.?
¡°Besides, Henrik was also killed, which I don¡¯t think a demon king dare to do since he was a soul realm demon, an asset. Only those from the royal zone will kill a soul realm demon without batting an eye and without fearing a demon king¡¯s wrath afterward.¡±?
Ace told how Henrik¡¯s Qi mark vanished with all the other storage rings he stole from the dark gibbon tribe¡¯s higher-ups.?
Noa was astonished when she heard Henrik was dead because she had a very deep enmity with the ocean demon tribe, and Henrik was one of the strongest pirs of the ocean demon tribe. She also knew the rtionship between de Demon King and Old Ocean Demon Duke.
Furthermore, de Demon King was very famous for his upright and fearless character, so there weren¡¯t many who dare to provoke him by killing a soul realm demon with the demon marquis title from his fief.?
¡°But why would theye after the iron demon tribe?¡± Noa couldn¡¯t help but question.
Ace smiled wryly and said, ¡°They¡¯re not after them. If I¡¯m correct, they¡¯re after me. If you think carefully, I stole from a demon marquis and then disrupt an active noble tribe title war challenge and even managed to escape while humiliating the ocean demon tribe. If the ocean demon tribe has retaliated, I wouldn¡¯t be shocked. But I don¡¯t think this was enough reason for the royal zone to look this way. There¡¯s still something missing that I don¡¯t know of. Furthermore, this announcement was too timely made as well.¡±?
¡°What announcement?¡± Noa narrowed her eyes.
She was now feeling quite vexed when she thought they had drawn the royal zone¡¯s attention without even knowing why. Being a demon herself, she knew just how terrifying powers lived in the royal zone!?
¡°Oh, I almost forget to tell you about it. They made a big announcement just days before the iron demon city¡¯s demise, which came directly from the royal zone, and that¡¯s why I thought of them.
¡°They¡¯re holding ¡®Demon Gate Trial¡¯ on the outskirts of the royal zone twenty-four months from now. Any demon with a soul realm potential bloodline, age below 100, and cultivation below the River Core Realm is eligible for participating in this trail. After passing this trial, they can directly take part in the actual trials of three Demon Institutes of the Royal Zone.
¡°Those cloud demons were going toward the ocean demon city because Ocean Demon Tribe invite every youth who was qualified for these trials in the city, so they could form the Ocean Demon Duchy¡¯s Team.
¡°Then Livy himself will take them toward King Domain. de Demon King has given his decree that every eligible youth will go through eighteen-month training in his King Domain before he¡¯ll take everyone toward the trail grounds himself. Currently, such movements were happening in every province outside the royal zone.¡±?
Noa¡¯s eyes shimmered with disbelief. ¡°They¡¯re letting anyone inside the royal zone as long as pass the trial?¡±
She couldn¡¯t help but asked because she never heard of the royal zone opening before for outer provinces and this made her very emotional.?
¡°Yes, anyone, thoserge ns are even recruiting young demons from those wild tribes. I think as long as they manage to have someone close to them enter the royal zone, they¡¯ll get enormous benefits. That¡¯s why no one wanted to miss this chance.¡±?
Ace knew from the memories of Miler just how big of a reaction the dark cloud demon n had when they got this news, so he was very clear about what this event represented for a demon.
At this moment, Ace heard the system¡¯s voice, and he nearly fell from trepidation.?
¡°[A Main Mission has been issued!]¡±
Chapter 352
¡°[A Main Mission has been issued!]¡±
Ace suddenly felt like crying, because he knew every time this notification rang, his luck would turn for the worse. He somehow started to synonym main missions with bad lucks.
He can¡¯t be med for this, since he nearly diedpleting thest one, and these missions were always out of his league.
Noa didn¡¯t see Ace¡¯s ugly expression because of his hood and asked, ¡°Then where are we going now? Since the people from the royal zone are here, we should lie low until they left and increase our strength in the meantime.¡±
She wasn¡¯t a fool. She knew this Demon Gate Trail had nothing to do with them because they were not like the others. After all, they had a ¡®God¡¯ looking after them and providing them with heaven-defying techniques and skills. They don¡¯t need to enter any trail to gain some status or resources.
However, Ace bitterly shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to lie low now.¡±
Noa was confused by Ace¡¯s unexpected response because she didn¡¯t think he was a reckless person, and he won¡¯t do anything excessive while the royal zone was looming over their head.
Ace opened the mission after taking a deep breath. He knew this was bound to happen since he didn¡¯t get a primary mission after the system¡¯s upgrade. The main missions were always deeply rted to the events he goes through.
======
[Mission Panel]
[Mission: Want to Kill Me? Watch me Steal!]
-Synopsis: Someone had tried to kill the host with a High-Grade-7 Killing Formation and refine the host¡¯s blood. This is uneptable!
-Mission Type: Chain Mission
¡ª
[Chain Mission: 1]
-Mission: I¡¯m Back!
-Description: Steal the entire treasury of any Demon Duke Tribe, including the Storage Space Treasure of the Tribe Chief!
-Reward (1): 50,000 EXP & 50,000 SP
-Reward (2): Instant Level-up in any system¡¯s skill of the host¡¯s choice!
-Thief House Members: Allow
-Time: 60 Days
-Punishment: Reset Mission with 3X Difficulty!
¡ª
[Chain-Mission: 2]
-Mission: Lock
¡ª
[Note: Pleaseplete the first chain mission to unlock the second mission.]
======
Ace suddenly felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the synopsis, ¡®High-Grade-7 Killing Formation and refining my blood?!¡¯
Ace¡¯s eyes turned icy the next moment. He never thought these demons would be so ruthless, or this demon from the royal zone.
He finally understood the demon after his life was not an ordinary demon from the royal zone because a seven-grade formation was probably a national treasure for these demons, and it seemed this demon wanted to refine his blood for some reason as well.
Which made him confused and angry at the same time because he had just theft some demons. He didn¡¯t kill anyone, so theye after him so heavily and even wanted to refine his blood?
There was definitely something he didn¡¯t know, and he could guess they were taking him for someone else or guessing wrongly who he was.
¡®No one knows I¡¯m a human except Noa, so everyone thought the sky stealer is a demon with special traits¡ Special Trait¡¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes shone as he spoke out loud, ¡°A Special Bloodline!¡±
¡°What?¡± Noa was stunned.
¡°They¡¯re thinking I¡¯m a demon with a special bloodline, so they want to refine my blood for some reason and whatever they¡¯re taking me for, it had to be a very high-level existence of the demon race that probably went extinct. I think this demon race blood is beneficial somehow and some powerful demon tribe from the royal zone knows, that¡¯s why they react so quickly and fiercely.¡±
Ace wasn¡¯t a fool. He had experienced this same situation with Gordon when he thought his parents left a very important treasure with him, and he considered it very beneficial to himself. That¡¯s why he stopped at nothing to get it!
This time, the situation seemed the same but moreplicated, and he wasn¡¯t facing degraded Gordon anymore as well.
Noa was shocked by Ace¡¯s words. She didn¡¯t know how Acee to this astonishing conclusion so abruptly, but she could tell Ace was extremely certain by his grave voice.
She said in a grim voice, ¡°Isn¡¯t it more of the reason for us to stay low now?¡±
Ace suddenly smile coldly and said, ¡°No, I want to see just how far they¡¯re willing to go or just how desperate they are for this bloodline. I¡¯m going to y with their prestige, and it¡¯s also something I have to do. I have no choice in this matter.¡±
Ace was telling the truth. Although this mission was more of a warning to him, and it would not be simple as well, he dly epted it because of thepelling rewards, as well as he wanted to teach whoever wanted to refine him an unforgettable lesson.
Ace was very confident in escaping now. If things go south, that¡¯s why he had be more determined toplete this mission. But he knew he had to change his ways now, or he¡¯ll never know how he died!
¡®Want to Kill me? Watch Me Steal, Heh, I get the meaning behind it.¡¯ Ace smiled coldly before he looked at bewildered Noa.
He said softly, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯re going toward the Ocean Demon City!¡±
Noa¡¯s heart raced at hearing Ace¡¯s mild yetmanding voice, which waspelling her to follow him, and she did without asking any questions!
¡ª
Somewhere inside a bright room,
Killer was currently standing respectfully in front of the sitting masked demon at this moment.
The masked demon¡¯s gentle yet powerful voice sounded, ¡°Do you find the origin of those twelve little birds we capture with Cursed Blood Compelling Formation that day?¡±
Killer answered respectfully, ¡°I¡¯m ashamed of letting your highness down. I only found those birds aremon Rambo Sparrows, and it seemed that Hex Master was controlling them with a mind-shifting hex and watching our actions. The moment we activate the Cursed Blood Compelling Formation, he quickly cut off the connection to escape the formation detection while suffering a heavy bacsh.¡±
The masked demon remained quiet for a while. No one could tell what he was thinking before he said, ¡°This isn¡¯t your fault. I think we¡¯re dealing with a wless Hex Master with wless Hex Demon Bloodline.
¡°Because a Mind Shifting Hex is an advanced hex of hex demon race and using it on multiple targets is not an easy feat, especially if you¡¯re controlling a cultivator that¡¯s why those Hex Demons used it on ordinary small life forms like insects, birds, fish. This was also the reason the Hex Demon Race nearly became the ruler of our Almighty Demon Empire!¡±
His voice was filled with boundless killing intent at the end of his sentence.
Killer sneered coldly, ¡°But they were still parish in the hands of the imperial n!¡±
¡°Sigh¡ it¡¯s not that simple. But we¡¯re not here to discuss history, now, are we?¡± the masked demon coldly chuckled before saying, ¡°You said that demon whose face was used by the hex demon had no memory of the hex demon, right?¡±
Killer didn¡¯t dare to say anything about the past again. He knew this was a very sensitive topic, and he didn¡¯t want to stumble upon something he can¡¯t handle!
So, he quickly nodded in affirmation and replied, ¡°Yes, Your Highness, after soul-searching that piece of trash, I found nothing. It seemed that hex master just randomly selected him.¡±
¡°It seemed to be the case. We need to try another approach then. We need to bait that hex demon out, and since he loved stealing and didn¡¯t know the fear of death, let¡¯s y his game. Put the Myriad Hex Manual in the uing auction of Life Demon Association and announce it publicly. I want every demon to know about it. Let¡¯s see if he can resist the temptation of his n¡¯s biggest secret hex manual!¡± The masked demon¡¯s malicious voice rang.
However, Killer¡¯s eyes narrowed as he said, ¡°Your Highness, are we really going to set a bait with the original manual?¡±
¡°Yes, that manual is very special. As long as a demon with hex demon blood touched it, the manual will react.¡±
¡°But what if someone else bought it, or that hex demon did not appear at all?¡± Killer still was against taking such a risk with this deadly manual.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one will get that manual as long as I¡¯m here. Besides, those ants will be courting death if they eyed my possessions!¡± His voice wasced with bloodlust as he said those words.
¡°Yes, your highness, I¡¯ll immediately contact the Association Head inmon provinces. I don¡¯t think he won¡¯t give his highness face.¡± Killer finally agreed.
¡°One more thing.¡± The masked demon suddenly said before Killer could leave.
Killer respectfully asked, ¡°What is it, your highness?¡±
¡°Investigate this Spica Syndicate, I heard their leader, All-Knowing Parrot, is quite capable, and he has the biggest secret informationwork inmon provinces. I want thatwork and this person. He¡¯ll be a good pawn inmon provinces¡¡±
Chapter 353
The Ocean Demon City was bustling with visitors nowadays and this made the atmosphere of the duke city very lively.
As for its reason, it was all because the Ocean Demon Duke announced forming a team of his duchy for the uing Demon Gate Trial. He invited every heroic youth from his duchy to Ocean Demon City.
If this was all, then there might be some ambitious tribes who¡¯ll choose the path of going alone and hoard all the benefits without sharing them with anyone, but now they can¡¯t.
Because of the de Demon King¡¯s decree about training every youth who was eligible for this trial in his domain and he¡¯ll even bestow resources on promising youths.
Everyone knows about de Demon King¡¯s reputation, so no one doubted his words.
That was why everyone chose to send their participants toward the King Demon and let them train under King Domain¡¯s experts, and this will also increase their chances of passing the trail tremendously.
Furthermore, the de Demon King wasn¡¯t the only one who made such promises every Demon King in eight provinces announced as such and now every tribe was sending their youths toward King Domains, which were always off-limits for title tribes below Demon Marquis.
Demon Duke Livy had given two months¡¯ worth of time to everyone to get here, or he won¡¯t care about those who were left behind. No one dared to disobey him and even if those demon marquis tribe wanted to head over toward King Domain, they don¡¯t dare offend Livy, because offending Duke Livy will not go in their favor because of the connection between the old ocean duke and the demon king.
Moreover, everyone knew the tragic fate of Iron Demon City and the Dark Gibbon Tribe. Those tribes vanished in a single night, leaving only a ck wastnd in the Iron Demon City¡¯s ce.
This naturally made every demon in ocean demon dukedom terrified, and they thought it was Duke Livy¡¯s doing, so they didn¡¯t dare to antagonize him.
Livy was also bbergasted with the Iron Demon City condition first and the disappearance of Henrik, but he got the de Demon King¡¯s letter about Henrik¡¯s death, which made him depressed to no end.
Henrik was, after all, one of the four soul realm cultivators of his tribe, so how could he not be depressed when he died just because of a thief?
But he can¡¯t do anything about it. He knew the person behind Henrik¡¯s death was a terrifying existence who can make the ocean demon tribe¡¯s fate the same as Iron Demon Tribe and Dark Gibbon Tribe.
So, in the end, he just suppressed the news about Henrik¡¯s death and pretend as if nothing has happened, and didn¡¯t mention Iron Demon City ever.
But he remained vignt because de Demon King warned him that the hateful thief was still on the loss and to keep an eye for him since he appeared twice in his territory.
This made Livy, even more, perplexed his hatred for this thief was too deep, and he didn¡¯t want to suffer the same fate as the Iron Demon City, so he had all his men patrol around the city twenty-four hours and check every demon thoroughly who enter the city.
If he had the choice, he didn¡¯t want to let any other demon enter his city, not until that thief was caught or appeared somewhere else from his duchy. But just like any other demon, he would not miss this chance to nt his nsmen into the royal zone, so this risk was worth it!
However, what Livy wouldn¡¯t ever expect was the thief was none other than the foreigner who appeared mysteriously in his city over two years ago and escape with the help of a traitor.
He almost forgot about those two, since they were just some insignificant characters in his eyes. He just suppressed the news about the foreigner being escaped his imprisonment and since no newse in these years, he haspletely forgotten about them, thinking they¡¯re killed by those wild tribes.
But what Livy would never have thought was those two insignificant fugitives were currently eyeing his city gates from a distance without any good intention!
Ace looked at the long line of carriages outside the Ocean Demon City and chucked, ¡°It¡¯s quite lively here, huh?¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes were icy as she looked at the tall city walls and snorted, ¡°That bastard, clearly vignt of the Leadering here.¡±
¡°Well, I don¡¯t me him. If he still didn¡¯t be vignt after the Iron Demon City tragedy, then he¡¯ll be an idiot.¡± Ace chuckled coldly before saying, ¡°Do you think they¡¯ve found out about your tribe¡¯s secret passage?¡±
Ace was hoping to enter from the same hidden passage they escaped fromst time. It was extremely convenient and Noa can also live there since it was quite spacious.
Noa didn¡¯t have any means to change her appearance like him, so it won¡¯t be good if someone managed to discover her real identity, and Ace knew there was a chance her identity might be exposed since she live once in the city. So, he wanted her to remain in that hidden passage and only came out after she master her movement technique.
Noa also understood Ace¡¯s intentions, so she replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think they discovered it, and it¡¯ll be the perfect ce for our hideout.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s go then. I still need to find a new face, though.¡± Ace smiled faintly.
They both move toward the direction of the hidden passage.
Just as Noa said, no one found the hidden passage of her tribe, and they didn¡¯t find anyone else trails.
After they cover their tracks, they go toward the hidden room, which was connected to the alleyway in the ocean demon city.
Ace turn around and looked at Noa. He could feel her anxious emotions and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do this without you, but you still can¡¯t go out right now, not until grasping your movement skill.¡±
Noa nodded in understanding, but there was still a hint of unwillingness in her eyes.
Ace sighed before he took out two untied books from his thief¡¯s space and handed them to Noa.
¡°See, if you could learn those skills, they¡¯re created by me and very handy when ites to stealing and spreading your fame. The first one is ¡®Soul Threads¡¯ and the second one is ¡®Thief¡¯s Charity (Inverse and Reverse). Both skills are soul skills and go well with each other. I exin the usage of both of them as well. I know you¡¯ll like them!¡± Ace smiled ambiguously.
He was giving away his core stealing skills to Noa right now. Especially the Thief¡¯s Charity (Inverse and Reverse), was the improved version of Thief¡¯s Charity. Not only it can send a small item sneakily, but it can also pick-pocket small items like storage rings.
Although it wasn¡¯t as powerful as the original pick-pocket that can steal any size of items or as stealthy as the actual skill, it was still enough for Noa as long as she used it carefully!
One had known the original pick-pocket was a skill; fuel on heavenly Qi, and it was the only basic skill Ace was still using, and it has not lost its effect at all!
On the other hand, Noa¡¯s eyes were open wide with astonishment when she heard Ace saying he created those two skills himself, and they were also soul skills on top of that!
She wasn¡¯t like Ace, who didn¡¯t know the immensity of heaven and earth. She knew just how difficult it was to create a skill, and only someone with extremely deepprehension abilities can achieve such a feat.
Nevertheless, Noa knew Ace was very young, and he wasn¡¯t even a river core cultivator yet, but he still created those two skills. That¡¯s what made her truly shocked. His sky-like potential!
If Ace told her this wasn¡¯t the only skills he created and there were still his sword skills and movement skills, she might curse him.
A thought surfaced in Noa¡¯s mind, and she asked quickly, ¡°L-leader a-are you a soul cultivator as well?¡±
She clearly remembered seeing him using martial Qi, but she now felt doubtful when she thought about Ace¡¯s mysterious abilities like ¡®soul search¡¯ and now he was giving her soul skills and without any prior understanding of the soul path, he can¡¯t create these skills.
But even she didn¡¯t dare to believe he can use both soul and marital Qi together. She didn¡¯t think it was possible, even if you have the help of a goddess!
¡°I¡¯m a soul cultivator¡¡± Ace smiled ambiguously, ¡°But also a martial cultivator!¡±
¡®Boom.¡¯
Noa¡¯s mind went nk when she heard Ace confirming her guess, as she stared into the void for a long time. She didn¡¯t even know how to react. She didn¡¯t have words for it. Furthermore, she just felt she was daydreaming.
Ace chucked amusingly, he expected this kind of reaction and said jokingly, ¡°It¡¯s my cultivation method that only I can cultivate and that¡¯s why I¡¯m your leader!¡±
Chapter 354
Today, the night sky was filled with dark clouds while icy winds were blowing and the clouds were rumbling asionally.
Everyone knew it was going to be a stormy, rainy night, but the Ocean Demon City was bustling with activities as those cultivator demons didn¡¯t feel the cold of winter.
Ace was currently walking on the ocean demon city¡¯s streets in stealth, and no one could see him at all as he passed them. He looked like someone on a stroll.
¡®This city is more than twice the size of Iron Demon City, and there¡¯s a strong defensive formation surrounding it. Livy used itst time to entrap us. I also have one of their legacy formation in my hand, but my run crafter rank is too low to repair it.¡¯ Ace thought as he scrutinized the city.
Ace was clearly nning his thievery. He wasn¡¯t worried about the treasury location because of Noa, nor he was worried about their escape route. Now, all he had to do now was to make sure no one get in his way.
Furthermore, he was looking for ¡®faces¡¯ and this time he wasn¡¯t just looking for some random faces, he was looking for faces that will not draw any attention but also help me get close to Livy!
Because not only did he have to steal a treasury of the demon duke tribe, but he had to steal the tribe chief storage ring as well and Livy was the tribe chief of the ocean demon tribe, so he also had to make sure he wlesslypleted this mission.
That¡¯s why he was going toward the quarters of all those young demons who were here to join the Ocean Demon Duchy¡¯s team. What could be a better ce than this for Ace to look for a face that will indefinitelye in contact with Livy in a few weeks?
At this moment, the system¡¯s voice rang in his mind.
======
[Hundred-Face Deception Mask upgrade has beenpleted with the item upgrade token!]
¡ª
[Thousand-Face Mask: Grade 3 Rune Item]
-Ability(s): It can save 1000 faces in the [Grade-2 Memory Gem]. It can also increase and decrease cultivation realms ording to the wearer¡¯s will. The cultivation realms are only limited to the Golden River Core Realm (Soul & Martial)
-Limit(s): It can deceive Qi Soul Manifestation Cultivators, Soul Embryo Cultivators, and Grade-6 Detection Runes!
¡ª
[Current Save Faces: 6]
======
Ace couldn¡¯t help but smile gleefully after seeing the new Thousand-Face Mask. He finally decided to use the item upgrade token on this mask because, after some deep considerations, he deemed this mask was his biggest defensive wall and if it was strong enough, he¡¯ll be able to fool anyone as long as he acted ording to the situation.
Furthermore, Ace also considered he wasn¡¯t using this mask to its full potential at all for all this time, and he only used it as a cover to hide his appearance when he could do far more with it.
Besides, Ace knew he would eventuallye in contact with a soul manifestation realm cultivator or even over one, and there might be one on his tail right now.
So, he was afraid the Hundred-Face Deception Mask wasn¡¯t enough to protect his identity anymore. That¡¯s why he quickly decided to upgrade it.
Now, he doesn¡¯t have to worry about getting found out. Even if some soul manifestation realm demon saw him, they won¡¯t be able to see through this mask.
Ace smiled coldly while thought, ¡®I should get to work now.¡¯
Inside the Ocean Demon Duke Estate,
On the east part of the estate, there were guest quarters, and right now they were half filled with the promising youths of the ocean demon duchy and their attendants.
This ce was the most secure ce in Ocean Demon City because no one thought someone would dare to break inside a demon duke territory.
However, they were wrong as someone was already entered this area despite a strong detection array protecting all of the Ocean Demon Duke Estate. Furthermore, all those patrolling guards didn¡¯t even notice when this intruder entered their registration room, where all the information about those youths was stored!
Ace looked at the big white registration crystal and smile faintly since it was nighttime no one could enter the duke¡¯s estate nor exit. So, this room was empty, and only two guards were protecting it.
But Ace had already probed the memories of one of the head guards, and he now knew every corner of the ocean demon duke¡¯s estate, so it was very easy for him to reach this ce.
After making sure no one was paying attention to this room, Ace quickly active the white crystal, which was square and two feet in diameter, like a white screen.
Thereupon, charters appeared on the white crystal screen.
¡®Please sweep your ess crystal card.¡¯
Ace was already expecting this security measure, and a white crystal card with runes appeared in his hand. He just ¡®borrowed¡¯ it from one of the guards outside.
Ace quickly sweep the card in a small slit beside the white crystal screen and the screen instantly changed, and he saw many sections of information, like visitors, family member entries and exits, guard entries and exits.
Ace quickly select visitors with his finger and an extensive list appeared with red and yellow names. The red name means the visitor was already inside the duke¡¯s estate, while the yellow means they left.
Ace quickly gazed at therge red list which has been updated regrly, and he was astonished when he saw over three hundred demons staying inside the guest quarters and there were over five hundred attenders with these demons.
But Ace¡¯s job be easy when he saw the neatly arranged information as these important demon names.
¡®Lilly of ck Flower Demon n, Age: 75, Cultivation: Compete Qi River Realm. Attribute: Dark Wood, Room allocated: 406.
¡®Mark of Shadowless Demon n, Age: 43, Cultivation: Flowing Qi River Realm, Attribute: Shadow, Room allocated: 505
¡®Andra of¡
Ace quickly skim through this list and select a few for his n, and he didn¡¯t leave those attendants alone either.
After making sure he got everything he wanted, he quickly turned off the crystal and with the thief¡¯s charity reverse, the white crystal card from his hand vanished and appeared in the guard¡¯s pocket without him noticing a thing.
Ace quickly exit through the ss window, which was protected by a small rming array, but he easily opened it with his treasure-opening hands, and he quickly closed it as well. Now, no one could tell someone just broke in and then exit.
Now, Ace¡¯s destination was the guest quarters.
He quickly reached a tall building that looked like a luxurious hotel, and guards were standing in front of the main door. The building was surrounded by small traps and arrays, which naturally can¡¯t hinder Ace in any way.
Ace quietly enter the building from the back and saw a big reception hall right between two stairs going upward toward the second floor. He took the stairway without being noticed by the receptionist, who was a first stage iron river core cultivator!
Ace saw on the second floor were rows of rooms in therge corridor, and there were small golden number tes in those rooms.
¡®There are five hundred rooms on the first three floors allocated to the servants, so straight to the fourth floor, the VIP floor!¡¯ without any hesitation, he strides through the stairs and quickly entered the fourth floor, which was much more spacious than the other three floors.
There was a wide corridor beautifully decorated with blue shining marble and some paintings and decoration.
There were only twenty rooms on this floor. One of Ace¡¯s main targets was in room 402!
He vividly remembered the details about this demon,
¡®Feng of Demon Sword n, Age: 51, Cultivation: Compete Qi River Realm. Attribute: Dark Earth, Room allocated: 402.
¡®Extra Details: Dual Sword Wielder, Arrogant, Highly Talented, First Born of his house, A ruthless personality, ¡¡¯
Ace specifically chose this demon because first, he used dual swords, and second; he had an earth element that perfectly sat with him because although he can take a demon appearance, he can¡¯t mimic their attribute Qis if he doesn¡¯t have it himself, that is.
That¡¯s why to make his disguise more wless he chose this exact demon because he matched him perfectly, and he can also use the earth element Qi as well, so no one would discover any w in him as well.
Furthermore, Ace wasn¡¯t just thinking about the momentary benefits he will get from Ocean Demon Dukedom, but he was thinking about the future benefits he¡¯ll get if he used this identity very carefully!
Ace knocked on Feng¡¯s door as he was now standing without his stealth while his long hood was on, with a faint wintry smile on his handsome face.
¡°Which bastard is disturbing this young master¡¯s rest?!¡± A vexed voice sounded with a hint of irritation before one could hear footstepsing toward the door.
Chapter 355
The door pushed opened and a tall demon with a burly build appeared, his skin was bronze color while his face was very ordinary with golden eyeballs filled with fiery vigor, and sword-like eyebrows, his curved goat like golden horns were only one foot long with bright blond short hair, this was the young master of Demon Sword n, Feng Demon Sword!
This Feng also belonged to a Demon Marquis Tribe which was on the edge of Ocean Demon fief, but this n had the same potential as the ocean demon tribe, a soul rank potential tribe.
If only for the suppression of Ocean Demon Tribe this tribe might¡¯ve already challenged Ocean Demon Tribe for their title, but s, Ocean Demon Tribe would never let a snake mature in their own backyard, so they always assassinate whoever Demon Sword Tribe¡¯s demon was close to breaking thought into the soul realm.
Because this tribe was a weapon cultivator demon tribe which has a very huge chance ofprehending a sword intent after reaching the soul realm, which was very threatening to Ocean Demon Tribe, that¡¯s why they keep a close eye on them.
After the news of the Demon Gate Trial, the demon sword demon naturally thought it was a chance to break free from Ocean Demon Tribe suppression, but who would¡¯ve thought Livy would send Right Ocean Spear personally to ¡®escort¡¯ their young master to the ocean demon city, so he could join the ocean demon duchy¡¯s team.
The n leader of the demon sword n already knew if they don¡¯tply, then they would forget about sending any tribe member to the demon gate trial, so Feng end uping here, so he could pave the way for Ocean Demon Tribe¡¯s young generation.
But this Feng was an extremely ruthless demon. He killed whoever offend him without batting an eye, and he was already nning to kill Ocean Demon Tribe¡¯s young generation once they reached de king domain.
No one could move against him there if he showed his talent. As for the ocean demon tribe¡¯s retaliation by killing his tribesmen, he doesn¡¯t care about them because he thought of them as cowards. He didn¡¯t even care about his father, who groom him with care and love.
He was extremely ambitious, and he was very confident in passing the demon gate trial and entering the one of demon institutes in the royal zone, and then he would live like a king.
But s, he never thought he would be Ace¡¯s target just for his dual sword style and earth attribute.
Feng¡¯s eyes instantly narrowed when he saw Ace¡¯s hooded finger, which was two heads shorter than him, and he felt a very dangerous feeling from his short ¡®demon¡¯.
¡°Who are you?¡± He asked while circting his Qi to the maximum while he gripped both of his sword hilts on his wrist.
Ace replied, ¡°I just want your face¡¡±
Before Feng could draw his swords, he felt a deep pain in his head before a blurry punch sted right below his sharp chin, knocking him backward.
Ace¡¯s body was extremely strong and, with a single punch, he knocked Feng cold while using a small soul-piercing bullet. He didn¡¯t want to kill Feng right now, not until he got his memories. He was very interested in his dual sword style, and this was the biggest reason he chose Feng!
Ace closed the door and entered Feng¡¯s room. No one noticed a thing.
Ace saw the interior of the room was quitevish. There was a hall, 3 rooms, and one cultivation chamber.
Ace dragged the unconscious Feng toward the cultivation chamber, which was 20 cubic meters, and he activated its soundproof array and set up another concealing formation of his own.
After making sure the room waspletely sealed off, Ace first Pick-Pocket Feng¡¯s storage ring, which gave him a measly 2000 TP but no low-level thievery notification was sounded.
¡®So, all the thieveries I do while a job mission is active will go to waste. The only relief is the thief symbol is working.¡¯
Although System has already warned him about this, he still felt depressed when he confirmed it himself.
¡®Well, now, I have a test subject and some time to waste. I should practice as much as possible. First, I have to figure out how I can probe the exact memory I want.¡¯ Ace was very motivated to start his experiments.
He wasn¡¯t in a hurry to save more faces since he can¡¯t get rid of everyone or this might cause an unwantedmotion.
That¡¯s why he decided to eliminate one target and pose as him all the time. This way he¡¯ll easily achieve his goals, both long-term and short-term.
And Feng was just too perfect for this!
Furthermore, he could also use Feng as his experiment subject for his job mission while he spread his web for his first chain mission.
¡®Soul Probe!¡¯ Ace used an instant soul probe on unconscious Feng while thinking about his dual sword style.
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered for an instant before a memory fragment surfaced in his mind and when he saw it was just a useless memory of Feng¡¯s childhood, he shook his head in disappointment.
¡®It seemed it does not depend on what kind of memory I want or think. Let¡¯s see if what he thinks bore any results or not,¡¯ Ace mused.
The next moment, aplete back faceless mask appeared in Ace¡¯s hand with a small red ruby-like gem in its center. This was the new Thousand-Face Mask.
Ace quicklymanded, ¡°Save face seven!¡±
Instantly, the red gem shed a crimson light on unconscious Feng for a second before a notification rang in Ace¡¯s head.
¡°[Face-7 has been saved!]¡±
¡®So fast!¡¯ Ace was astonished before bing ted.
Before, it would take some time for the mask to scan the others, but now, it does it almost instantly, which made Ace very satisfied with this upgraded version.
Ace wore the mask and activate Pablo¡¯s face for now.
He didn¡¯t probe into any more memories, afraid it would affect his ¡®research¡¯, and it didn¡¯t take long before Feng woke up with a groan. He still felt a burning pain on his face and stabbing pain in his brain as he finally opened his eyes in confusion.
But the confusion onlysted for a moment, before he saw ¡®Pablo¡¯s¡¯ beaming face, and he finally remembered how he got knocked off by this hateful demon.
He instantly tried to stand up and fight, but soon find out he was bound by some kind of mysterious force and then his eyesnded on the shining array te not far away from him, and he instantly guessed he was bound by that array!
He threw a vicious ze at Ace and roared, ¡°Bastard, did those shameless ocean dogs send you here to get rid of me?!¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed and asked, ¡°Why do you think the ocean demon tribe wants to get rid of you?¡±
He didn¡¯t know the enmity between the two tribes, and after hearing Feng¡¯s words; he felt something was wrong. If there was really some bad blood between the two tribes, then posing as Feng will be extremely troublesome for him.
¡°Heh, bitch, you want to y ignorant with this father? Just go ahead and kill me. I will never beg for mercy or lower my head like my cowardly tribe!¡± Feng menacingly with a twisted face.
This also confirmed Ace¡¯s guess that there was really some kind of enmity between Feng and the ocean demon tribe, which made him frown. If he now killed Feng to keep his mouth shut and chose another target, then he¡¯ll definitely alert Livy.
Ace sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m not from the ocean demon tribe. Do I look like an ocean demon to you?¡±
Feng finally noted Pablo¡¯s silver skin and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Then who did you enter this ce, and why did you want to do with me?¡±
¡°I told you I just want your face¡¡± Pablo smiled faintly, which sent chills down Feng¡¯s spine.
¡°Hahaha¡ you¡¯re a sadistic huh¡ but I said it already; I¡¯m not a coward like my tribe, so do your worse bitch!¡± Feng wore a maniacal expression as he hatefully looked at Ace.
Ace shook his head and said, ¡°Well, it seemed I have no choice but to stick with your appearance. The short-term trouble still can¡¯t outmatch my long-term goals.¡±
¡°What are you? A revolutionary?¡± Feng felt Ace was a madman after he heard Ace¡¯s words.
Ace smiled and said, ¡°Nope, I¡¯m not a revolutionary. I¡¯m just a petty thief who wants to stay alive.¡±
¡°Thief?¡± Feng¡¯s mind suddenly jolt as something appeared in his mind.
¡®Soul Probe!¡¯ Ace used an instant soul probe.
A new memory surfaced in his mind, and Ace was astonished when he found out that this memory was about him!
Meaning that this memory was about Sky Stealer. It was the memory when Feng first heard about Sky Stealer, the thief.
Ace¡¯s eyes glow in realization about something as he mused with a hint of excitement, ¡®So, in the end, it was just the game of words!¡¯
Chapter 356
A week passed after that day,
More and more young demons started to enter the ocean demon duke estate, and the guest quarters became livelier.
Those young demons were free to roam around the Ocean Demon City and some parts of the duke¡¯s estate during the day, while in the nighttime they could only move in guest quarters.
There were only four weeks left until the ocean demon entourage will embark on the journey toward King Domain. One month was already passed, and now only twenty-three months were left before the demon gate trial starts.
Three weeks from now, there was going to be a big gathering in Ocean Duke Mansion, and every young demon was invited to attend it.
Although this gathering was prepared for all those young demons to get along with each other and introduce to the youths of the ocean demon tribe.
But it was more like a power show, ocean demon tribe was putting to make a statement that their youths were the main characters of this entourage, and they¡¯ll be leading all these demons.
Many demons were unhappy inwardly, but they didn¡¯t dare to show it on their faces. They were afraid of getting ¡®eliminated¡¯ unknowingly.
But there were still fractions in all those young demons. Some of them had a very close rtionship and some of them just form mutual understanding, helping each other for their benefit.
Nevertheless, there wasn¡¯t any strife between those factions for now, and everyone was minding their own business. But everyone knows this was the calm before the storm, and the strife would ur at the gathering.
While all of this was happening, one demon was cooped up in his room for an entire week.
It was none other than the Demon Sword Tribe¡¯s Feng. No one had seen him for the entire week, and some of the demons who were familiar with him knew Feng wasn¡¯t someone who remained low-key.
But they also knew the hidden enmity between Feng¡¯s tribe and the ocean demon tribe for generations. That¡¯s why they also find it understandable that he didn¡¯t want to draw unwanted attention to himself in case he meet with an ¡®ident¡¯.
He didn¡¯t even see his two maids and only said he was cultivating, and no one could disturb him if it wasn¡¯t anything important.
No one wanted to get close to Feng for his sensitive status as well and since he never appeared in small gatherings, everyonepletely forgot about Feng like this and Ace also wanted the same result!
Feng¡¯s disappearance naturally doesn¡¯t have anything to do with him being afraid of making trouble, but it was all because of Ace, who was perfecting his soul probe on him.
After Ace found the urate way to use the soul probe with a hundred percent uracy rate, he was over the moon, and with Feng¡¯s ¡®help¡¯, he quickly got the hang of it.
It was just as he thought, in the end, it was a game of words. As long as the other person was thinking about something Ace wanted, there was a ny percent chance he¡¯ll get that memory fragment.
The other ten percent failure rate was because sometimes the person can also think of something else if Ace¡¯s question was too vague.
Like if he said, ¡®You know about the strongest person of the demon race?¡¯ then Feng would have thought of the Demon Emperor without even thinking twice. While if he said, ¡®You know about the weakest person of the demon race?¡¯ then Feng something thought of some juniors of his tribe or some demons he defeated before the answer was always different.
All in all, Ace concluded that as long as he made the other party think exactly what he wanted to know, he can easily get that memory fragment and if the question was ambiguous, he¡¯ll get random memories rted to the same answer.
However, it was the easiest part of his job mission, and the most troublesome part was to steal a memory while making Feng forget about itpletely.
But Ace soon found out that it was almost impossible to make someone forget somethingpletely.
Because even if he stole a memory of Feng knowing his name for the first time, then this doesn¡¯t mean that he will forget his name because Feng would have many memories where his name was called millions or billions of times by others. This was almost impossible unless he stole Feng¡¯s entirety of the memories about his name, which were probably more than half of his life memories.
That¡¯s why he asked for the system to make it clear if he needed to make the other forget about only one memory or the entire thing, and he felt massive relief when the system said as long as he got the memory important to him and steal that memory it will count.
So, Ace¡¯s biggest doubts were evident, but it was still a massive headache. How will he steal the memory of the other party?
Pick-pocket will not work since the memories were not tangible, and he didn¡¯t have any clue where to start, and the system also won¡¯t even give him a clue, so he was at the dead end in his research.
On the other hand, Feng has be quite obedient when he guessed who this demon was, and he even felt a deep respect for the legend-like thief and fully cooperate with him.
Ace found it quite amusing, though, since he didn¡¯t think he would be liked for what he had done. But after asking Feng about it, he found out that he respects his boldness and fearlessness!
Going after those authorities, especially since he was going after the ocean demon tribe, Feng¡¯s hated enemy.
But Ace only sneered when he saw the memories when Feng wanted to capture him for his secrets and all that respect was only for his possessions, not for the person.
Moreover, Ace also found the core cultivation sword art of Demon Sword n, Demon Sword Dance, this sword art was more like a physical art with no need of Qi, and it was powerful as long as you have a strong physique and Ace found this sword art very much to his liking.
He also found a very rare dual sword drawing art, which goes very well with the Demon Sword Dance. It was called ¡®Twin Demon Emergence¡¯ and Ace needed sword scabbards to practice this sword drawing skill.
Ace quickly decided to practice these two sword arts with no hesitation since they didn¡¯t need Qi, and he has Feng memories to practice it at a quick speed.
Since he didn¡¯t have sword scabbards for his own swords, he decided to find a smith-crafter to make sword scabbards for his own swordster.
For now, he decided to practice with Feng swords, which were both long swords with 1.5-meter-long and 5 inches wide, and they were low-grade-one.
¡°It seemed our journeye to an end, Mr. Feng.¡± Ace was currently sitting in front of Feng, who looked exhausted.
Feng thought Ace was going to release him since he was done doing whatever he was doing and thought, ¡®Once I be free, I¡¯ll fucking tell everyone about your face, and let¡¯s see how you¡¯ll escape my revenge!¡¯
But he didn¡¯t dare to show on his face and quickly thanked him with a respectful expression, ¡°I¡¯m quite honored to help Sir Sky Stealer, please rest assured my mouth is sealed and if you need anything, just give themand, and I¡¯ll try my best to help!¡±
Ace smiled with a hint of mockery and nodded, ¡°Mr. Feng is true indeed a loyal friend, and I know your mouth will remain sealed for eternity.¡±
Feng suddenly felt something was not right with Ace¡¯s words, and before he could say anything, an electric shock rumbled in his brain before his eyes turned listless, and he lost strength before falling backward.
Ace heard a notification.
=====
[Killed a Compete Qi River Stage, Demon]
[Reward: 250 EXP]
¡ª
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-3]]
[EXP: 32,270/50,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-3]]
[SP: 20,000/50,000]
=====
Ace merely nce at the notification before closing it and looked at Feng¡¯s corpse and snort coldly.
How could he not know just what kind of guy Feng truly was after watching his entire life? He was someone who held a grudge very deeply, and he was even nning to sacrifice his entire tribe after killing the ocean demon tribe¡¯s youths.
Ace would never allow someone who didn¡¯t even care about his family to roam freely after seeing him.
After incinerating Feng¡¯s corpse, he finally activated Feng¡¯s face and turned into Feng. He put those sword scabbards around his wrist and adjust the trainee¡¯s hood color and patron. He nodded in satisfaction when he saw his wless disguise. Likewise, he even activated the earth element Qi, which he never used before, just in case.
¡®Let¡¯s see if I meet some important persons¡¡¯ Ace smile faintly before he moved toward the exit of Feng¡¯s room.
Ace was now ready to start his n!
Chapter 357
When Ace came out of Feng¡¯s room, there wasn¡¯t anyone in sight, and it was already morning.
He was just about to descend the staircase when he saw two beautiful demonesses with the same distinguishing features as Fenging to the fourth floor. Ace frowned slightly because he knew these two were Feng¡¯s maids, and they had a very ¡®deep¡¯ rtionship.
As Ace¡¯s eyesnded on them, those two maids also saw Feng, and their eyes lit up. They quickly rush toward Feng and greeted him in their crisp voices, ¡°Young Master, you finally came out, and you didn¡¯t even inform us!¡±
They both acted coquettishly with Feng as they pout beautifully.
Although Feng was ruthless and decisive, these two were not afraid of him because they knew Feng was very kind to both of them, and they were terrific in bed and their pleasure techniques, that¡¯s why he never goes too hard on the outside bed!
However, Feng was now dead and the person in front of them was none other than Ace who had Feng¡¯s memories, he knew for Feng those two were nothing but ythings, and he was just kind of them on the surface for his own needs nothing else.
But he was also shocked when he felt those two maids¡¯ emotions. They differedpletely from what they showed on the surface. They were filled with hatred for Feng and as they keep pretending those emotions became even clearer.
¡®Those two hide it too well. If my soul sense wasn¡¯t at this level, even I might get tricked by them, but why did they hate him?¡¯ Ace¡¯s interest was piqued.
He said while smiling, ¡°I was cultivating, so don¡¯t have time for you two, and I¡¯m nning to continue until we reached the king domain.¡±
The maid with a round face pouted cutely and said with a hint of resentment, ¡°Young Master, you don¡¯t want us anymore?¡±
¡®Good acting!¡¯ Ace was really impressed by this maid¡¯s acting. It was on par with his, but they can¡¯t hide their emotions like him, though.
¡°Flora, Dolly, you two are my favorite maids. How could I forget about you two? Let¡¯s go on a stroll.¡± Feng shed a lustful grin on both maids, and they blush.
The trio finally enter the lobby, which was a little crowded with other demons, and headed to the dining area of the guest quarters.
Those demons also shoot looked at Feng, but no one dare to greet him because of his special status. Although they were also with soul realm bloodline potential, but their potential wasn¡¯t as great as the demon sword tribe, and they were all here to test their luck.
Ace very much appreciated this istion, but he felt a headache when he felt those maids sticking their ¡®assets¡¯ on his arms from both sides. Although their appearances were only above average in Ace¡¯s view, their figures were very busty and curvaceous, which could arouse any man¡¯s hidden desires.
But for Ace, this was nothing but a distraction, and since he knew those maids¡¯ inner emotions, he felt even more uneasy while having these two demonesses so close to him. There were both Flowing Qi River Cultivators after all, even though they pose no threat to Ace, but he didn¡¯t want to reveal his prowess for now.
¡°Oh, if it isn¡¯t Young Master Feng?¡±
Just as Ace entered the dining area, he heard a jeering voice from the side, and as he turned over. He saw a handsome blue skin demon with a winess in his hand. He was beaming at him with a hint of sarcasm.
¡®Isn¡¯t this?¡¯ Ace felt quite strange when he saw the appearance and remembered who it was.
¡°Oh, it is good to see you, Young Master Miler.¡±
Yes, this was the same cloud demon Ace encountered on the road toward cloud demon city, and it was also because of Miler¡¯s memory that he changed his route. He never thought he would encounter him here like his.
Miler was sitting with another beautiful Dark Cloud Demoness which was his younger sister, Grace. She was looking at Feng with disgust when she saw those two bimbos sticking with Feng like glue in public.
On the other hand, Miler felt his blood boil when he saw those two busty maids. He suddenly saw Flora winking at him with her lustful expression, and he felt even more vehement, but he quickly hid it with an ambiguous smile.
But how could this thing escape Ace¡¯s senses? His eyes suddenly turned icy. ¡®These two definitely hatching some plot. I have to get rid of them!¡¯
¡°I heard young master Feng was diligently cultivating without showing his face. Consider me impressed!¡± Miler clearly was provoking Feng since, in his view, he also thought Feng was hiding inside his room and didn¡¯t dare to show his face.
At this moment, the other demons also noticed Feng and Miler face-off, and they all watch with great interest.
Feng merely smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m d Young Master Miler sees me as his idol. I¡¯m extremely honored to get such an admirer from Cloud Demon Tribe. If you wanted to any pointers, please don¡¯t hesitate to ask. Now, if you excuse me, I¡¯m going to drink. You¡¯re free to join me.¡±
Everyone became dumbfounded when they heard Feng¡¯s shameless words. He was simply implying that Miler wasn¡¯t his match, and he made himself his idol andpletely mock the cloud demon tribe. This was a huge p on Miler and the cloud demon tribe¡¯s face!
Miler quickly snapped out of his stupor and his face turn slightly red as he shouted at Feng, who was already walking away, ¡°Feng, you have gone too far!¡±
Feng merely turn and chuckled coldly, ¡°What? Didn¡¯t the young master say you were impressed with my diligence? You¡¯re going back on your words? Does the cloud demon tribe didn¡¯t have any backbone? Look, everyone young master Miler just said he¡¯s impressed with me, and now he¡¯s even bending reasons! Young Lady Grace, please take young master Miler to his room. I think he drinks too much and can¡¯t handle it.¡±
Everyone felt this Feng was just too shameless, it was quite clear that he was the one who was bending reasons, but it still made Miler speechless since he really said he was impressed but who would¡¯ve thought Feng would use his own words to humiliate him and even drag his tribe into this.
Now, if he retorted he lost face, and if he didn¡¯t, he¡¯ll still lose face, he was in a huge dilemma!
Grace¡¯s face also turned slightly red when Feng shamelessly ordered her to take her brother away after humiliating him. She never left her home before, and she didn¡¯t know what to do now.
¡°Hahaha, young master Feng really has my admiration. Why don¡¯t youe and drink with me, since young master Miler seemed quite drunk.¡± A deep, jolly voice sounded from the other side.
Everyone looked and saw who dare to add oil to fire and weren¡¯t afraid of getting burned.
Ace also turned and see a skinny demon with tan skin who look even more handsome than Miler, he was sipping over alcohol alone.
Miler¡¯s expression turn ugly when he saw who it was and rebuke coldly, ¡°Thomas, who the hell do you think you are to decide I¡¯m drunk or not!?¡±
Thomas merely chucked and said without even looking at Miler, ¡°I¡¯m your daddy of course, what already forget?¡±
Everyone¡¯s expression twisted when they heard thispletely unexpected answer. They were all holding theirughter.
Grace took out a dark whip with metallic thorns. She spitefully waved the whip toward Thomas. He really went too far with his mouth.
However, Miler¡¯s expression changed, and he wanted to stop Grace because he knew they bothbine weren¡¯t Thomas¡¯s match despite being in the same realm, the peak of the Qi river realm. Furthermore, Thomas had a very special status!
However, somethingpletely unexpected happened: someone caught Grace¡¯s thorny whip with his bare hands.
This was none other than Feng or Ace.
Grace tried to get her whip free from Ace¡¯s hand and also wanted to tear off his hand, but it waspletely stuck in his hand and there wasn¡¯t any trace of blood as well!
Feng chuckled coldly. ¡°Young Lady Grace is indeed a thorny rose, beautiful but unapproachable. Consider this Feng fallen. But you can¡¯t wave this thing around, or you might hurt your tender skin.¡±
Thomas nearly choked on his drink when he heard Feng¡¯s words. He was ready to receive this attack, but he never thought Feng would intercept it and even shamelessly flirt with Grace.
¡°You scoundrel, you dare to tease me!¡± Grace¡¯s entire face was blushing heavily.
She never experienced this kind of humiliation before in her own house, and now she was at a loss for what to do besides attacking Feng.
¡°Enough!¡± Miler¡¯s stern voice sounded and shoot a vicious look at both Feng and Thomas before he looked at his sister and said, ¡°We¡¯re retiring!¡±
He looked at Feng and Thomas again and said hatefully, ¡°I¡¯ll remember this. I¡¯ll see you two in the gathering!¡±
Miler clearly threatened both of them to take revenge on the gathering for three weeks for now, since he can¡¯t deal with them on his own. This didn¡¯t mean his cousins from the ocean demon tribe won¡¯t!
Chapter 358
Thomas merely chucked seeing Miler leaving and wave his winess and said with a grin, ¡°Cheers, young master Miler!¡±
Miler¡¯s cold harrumph sounded, but he didn¡¯t turn around and quickly leave with sullen Grace.
Thomas finally looked at Feng and said with a knowing smile after he looked at those dumbfounded busty maids in Feng¡¯s arms, ¡°Brother, you¡¯re indeed a yer. Why don¡¯t youe and drink while we chat about life?¡±
Ace felt his Thomas was quite amusing. He didn¡¯t know which tribe he belonged to, nor did Feng have any memory of this demon tribe, but his character was quite to his liking, and he even lends a hand despite knowing Feng¡¯s status.
Ace looked at those two maids, who were bewildered by what he did. He knew Feng would¡¯ve never dared to offend the cloud demon tribe so bluntly, nor he would flirt with Grace like this, so their confusion and shock were justified.
He said, ¡°You two go to your room. I¡¯m going to drink with Young Master Thomas and don¡¯t forget toe to my room at night, understand?¡±
Flora and Dolly quickly snapped out of their stupor and quickly nodded before leaving shyly, but Ace could tell those two were hatching something. But he didn¡¯t have time to mull over it for now.
Thereupon, Ace took the seat right in front of Thomas and, without his concern, Ace picked up the red alcohol bottle and pour a full ss for himself and drink it before saying, ¡°Good liquor!¡±
Thomas was somewhat baffled. He never thought Feng would be this boorish, but he couldn¡¯t help but grin widely since he also liked straightforward characters like Feng.
He waved his own wine ss toward Feng and said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet someone like young master Feng. You¡¯re nothing like rumor describes you to be.¡±
Feng also waved his ss and beamed, ¡°It is also nice to meet young master Thomas. It seemed you have quite a status yourself since even Miler is afraid of you.¡±
Thomas merely smiled. ¡°Nothing worth mentioning. I¡¯m still no match for Young Master Feng¡¯s fearlessness and luck with girls.¡±
Ace knew this guy was talking about those two busty maids and how he teased Grace and chuckled, ¡°Nothing special, I don¡¯t believe you can¡¯t get women with your¡ soul cultivation, I¡¯m I right?¡±
Ace deliberately whispered thest part with a faint smile on his face.
Thomas¡¯s smile suddenly vanished and shocked surface in his calm, white eyeballs. ¡°You can sense my cultivation?¡±
He couldn¡¯t help but ask in wonderment, he knew there weren¡¯t many who know about his cultivation path and only those with at golden Qi river core realm or above can see through the nature of his cultivation and he could easily sense Feng was a peak Qi river cultivator, not a soul river!
That¡¯s why he was shocked when Feng easily see through the nature of his cultivation.
Ace smiled faintly. How could he not feel those soul waves deeply hidden around Thomas with his soul sense? That¡¯s why he even bothered to sit with Thomas beside his interesting character.
He wanted to know how Thomas¡¯s tribe was left alone with a soul cultivation technique without getting wiped out by greedy demons, and why Miler was afraid of Thomas.
Although he wanted to use his soul probe, he wasn¡¯t sure if Thomas would sense his soul Qi since Thomas was a peak soul river cultivator and Ace never used his soul probe on a soul cultivator and this wasn¡¯t the time to take such a risk just to assuage his curiosity.
That¡¯s why he revealed his discovery to Thomas, so he could make it clear he was not simple as Thomas think he was!
Ace said, ¡°Hehe, is there any reason I should not be able to sense your cultivation?¡± He said while sipping on the strong liquor, which was quite enjoyable.
Thomas¡¯s expression finally returned to his calm self, but this time he didn¡¯t seem aloof as before. He didn¡¯t dare to take Feng as a breeze anymore. A demon who can sense his soul cultivation and remain unfazed cannot be simple!
He said with a calm smile, ¡°It seemed I belittle young master Feng before. Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Thomas Cheveyo, from Cheveyo Demon Tribe of Spirit Mountain Range.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes shed in an understanding as he said, ¡°You¡¯re from wildness?¡±
Although Ace never set foot in those mountain ranges surrounding the provinces, the wild demon tribes were quite famous for being vicious and ruthless, they didn¡¯t interfere with the royal demon council or demon provinces and didn¡¯t provoke anyone unless someone look for a fight first.
All these demons living in the cities called these tribes ¡®Wild Tribes¡¯ and look down on them and even called them uncivilized barbarians. But no one dared to provoke them because they were all united and if they truly be annoyed, they¡¯ll start a war with these demon cities, and they weren¡¯t pushovers at all.
Even the Demon Emperor had given all those tribes their special status as Free Tribes of Nature and no one could bully them as long as they didn¡¯t break anyws of Almighty Demon Empire and this was the exact reason these wild tribes respect and revere the Demon Emperor as well and consider themselves the part of Almighty Demon Empire.
But Ace never thought he would meet someone from the wildness, and it seemed this demon had a very high status in those mysterious tribes, and even Miler was afraid of him. He became more curious about these Free Tribes of Nature.
Thomas smiled and nodded. ¡°Heh, yes, I¡¯m from wildness, but that sounds too coarse. We called ourselves tribes of nature, the title his imperial majesty bestows upon us.¡±
¡°Please forgive my rudeness, it¡¯s my first-time meeting someone from Free Tribes of Nature, but it seemed even you guys couldn¡¯t resist the temptation of this uing trial, huh.¡± Ace candidly said with a smile.
He wanted some information from Thomas about wildness and those tribes that lived there and after discovering Thomas¡¯s soul cultivation; he knew those wild tribes weren¡¯t simple, and they might be more powerful than these demon duke tribes. It¡¯s just that they don¡¯t have any ambition or there just wasn¡¯t anything here that interest them!
Thomas didn¡¯t deny Ace¡¯s words and nodded in affirmation, ¡°Yes, we don¡¯t want to miss this chance to see the royal zone as well. That¡¯s why many of our brothers sent out in different dukedoms, so we can move toward king domains, even we can¡¯t enter there without a marquis or duke.¡±
Ace nodded in agreement, but he ambiguously said, ¡°I can agree with young master Thomas¡¯s plight, but I still don¡¯t believe they won¡¯t give an entry to a soul realm cultivator from free tribes, right?¡±
Thomas¡¯s eyes shone mysteriously before he neither denied nor agreed and answer, ¡°Who knows since we never have any contact with provinces and even if it¡¯s true, I like the liveness of these provinces and I personally prefer to move in groups.¡±
¡®Heh, what a cunning fellow, he clearly knew who Feng was and even Miler knows who you are, and you¡¯re saying you won¡¯te in contact with provinces, I should¡¯ve held on to Miler¡¯s memories and not discarded them so soon after extracting what I want.¡¯ Ace felt pity that he won¡¯t be able to guess the reason behind Miler¡¯s fear.
Nevertheless, since he now knew Thomas¡¯s identity, he can always keep an eye on these wild races.
¡°Hehe, my eyes are truly opened, Sir Thomas. I never thought I would meet someone like you here, and my view about your tribes ispletely changed!¡± Ace wave his wine ss toward Thomas.
Thomas waved back and smile, ¡°Not just yours, but mine as well. I never thought there would be someone worth befriending here.¡±
¡°To new and old friends!¡±
Thomas toasted, and Ace epted.
However, both of them were looking at each other with calm smiles to see through what was hidden behind their smiles.
Thomas suddenly said in a harsh voice, ¡°Since we be friends, I have something to tell you, believe it or not, it¡¯s up to you.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed. This was too sudden, and still said, ¡°Let¡¯s hear it.¡±
Thomas said, ¡°Your maids are not so simple.¡±
A sharp glint shed in Ace¡¯s eyes. ¡®This guy¡¯s senses are too sharp.¡¯
However, he merely chuckled and said, ¡°I can handle them.¡±
Thomas felt Feng didn¡¯t believe him by his calm expression, but for some reason, he felt Feng already knew about this and his words harbor apletely different meaning, but he wasn¡¯t sure, so he didn¡¯t speak any further.
But he still felt Feng was worth befriending, and he felt his prowess was also worth having on his side for a special reason. He clearly knew Feng¡¯s status in the ocean demon tribe, so he gave him another piece of advice, just for his own selfishness.
¡°Brother Feng, I don¡¯t know if you know this, but if you have an individual noble demon title, others have to think twice before moving against you!¡±
¡°,
Chapter 359
¡°Brother Feng, I don¡¯t know if you know this but if you have an individual noble demon title others have to think twice before moving against you!¡±
Ace could guess what Thomas means by these words, but he still didn¡¯t reveal his thoughts and said, ¡°Please borate.¡±
Thomas keep his voice low and said, ¡°Do you know why Miler didn¡¯t dare to make a move against me? It was not just my status as a free tribe, but it was also because I¡¯m a Demon Earl!¡±
Ace was astonished. He never thought this Thomas would have a noble demon title to his name, which was quite shocking for his age. This also made it even clearer that this guy was a genius, and his tribe must¡¯ve had a very special status in mighty de province.
¡®Just what is he doing here, and it seemed I got his attention as well now since he was telling me all this, interesting.¡¯ Ace smiled wily, which Thomas can¡¯t see because of his mask.
Ace put on a shocking expression with a hint of admiration and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think I was in the presence of his lordship. Please forgive me. I¡¯ve been rude previously.¡±
Thomas shook his head with a smile and said with a hint of satisfaction, ¡°Please brother Feng, we are friends, so don¡¯t call me with this pleasantry, just call me Thomas.¡±
Feng merely nodded, but the respectful expression was still there as he asked, ¡°Can I ask why brother Thomas thinks I can acquire a noble demon title and so quickly at that, you should know there¡¯s not enough time for me to visit the royal demon council branch in ocean demon city and acquire a title even if I manage to pass their assessments.¡±
Ace was telling the truth, he clearly knew just how hard it was to acquire an individual noble demon title, although it wasn¡¯t as cumbersome as a noble tribe title, it was still very difficult because of the long process of assessments and then approval on elder council.
Ace would love nothing to get a noble demon title for one of his faces because it would add anotheryer of protection to that face, and he would also get many benefits thate with the title itself.
But he knew only extraordinary demons have the right to strive for such titles. Demons like Feng can only just dream about it.
As for Thomas, Ace could easily guess it was because of his soul cultivation with his extraordinary demeanor. He could get himself a noble demon title. He even doubted Thomas¡¯s reason for being here was simply just hitching a ride toward the King Domain.
Thomas merely chucked and said, ¡°I think brother Feng had what it took to gain a noble demon title and since you¡¯re able to sense my soul cultivation, I think you have something special that will greatly interest those old men in royal demon council, and they won¡¯t miss a chance to promote such a talent.
¡°You have to understand that any demon with potential and special trials is always protected by the royal demon council. That¡¯s why I think if brother Feng got their attention your journey toward the King Domain will be even smoother and those flies won¡¯t even dare to look down on you anymore nor can they push you around as well not even a duke title tribe!¡±
Ace suddenly felt this guy had some means to get him a noble demon title, just by Thomas¡¯s confident words he could sense there was a deeper meaning behind them.
¡®If Feng identity really attached a noble demon title with his name, I can move freely in the libraries of royal demon council in any city with its branches and this will solve my problem of information, as well as my thieveries, will be more smoothly.¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes suddenly glow when he thought about this point.
Feng asked with uncertainty, ¡°My question remains the same, even if I qualify, how will I get a title this quick?¡±
This time Thomas didn¡¯t answer instantly, as if he was considering something, and Ace also didn¡¯t disturb him as well. He could feel Thomas had a way, but there was some kind of price which he would not pay just like for someone who he just met a few minutes ago.
¡®Although getting his face will make it easier for me, I don¡¯t know what kind of soul element he cultivates, and his family background is deep and him being here is for some kind of reason.
¡®If I got his face, then I have to behave like him and evenplete his tasks, which are in no way so simple, and I can¡¯t have that distraction. Besides, if the n behind him found out I killed their young master, then I¡¯ll officially be an enemy with the wild tribes as well.
¡®In the end, his face is too important and the probability of making mistake is too great, so I should just see what he wanted in return for helping me. It¡¯s not like this guy didn¡¯t have as many uses as it is.¡¯ Ace smiled while he remained impassive.
He already decided how he¡¯ll handle Thomas, and he was far more useful alive than bing one of his disguises right now. Furthermore, he was more conformable with being Feng since there wasn¡¯t any loophole where someone suspect him.
Finally, Thomas spoke with a meaningful smile, ¡°How about we continue this conversation in my room tomorrow morning during breakfast?¡±
¡®He¡¯s still hesitating, huh?¡¯ Ace found it quite understandable and nodded. ¡°Of course, I also have some matter to attend to as well. I won¡¯t take brother Thomas¡¯s time anymore.¡±
Thomas nodded when he saw Feng was quite tactful as well and said with a smile, ¡°Haha, I¡¯m staying in room 618 on the sixth floor. See you at breakfast.¡±
Ace smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯ll be my pleasure.¡±
Ace bid Thomas farewell. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to taste those dishes any more. Meeting with Thomas hasn¡¯t changed Ace¡¯s n at all.
Ace exited the building and headed deep into the duke¡¯s estate. As for his destination, it was the servant¡¯s quarters!
Chapter 360
At dusk, Ace finally came back with a satisfied smile on his face. His visit was more than rewarding and no one suspect him.
As Ace moved toward Feng¡¯s room, his footsteps suddenlye to a momentary halt before he walked as if nothing happened, but a stiff smile appeared on his face.
¡®They sure are punctual.¡¯ Ace grin coldly before he opened the door with a crystal card.
A sweet and pleasant smell suddenly enter his nostril and two sweet voices sounded in unison, ¡°Young Master, wee back.¡±
Ace saw Feng¡¯s two busty maids in the hall, wearing very thin white transparent lingerie only covering their ¡®assets¡¯ to some extent whilepletely showing their mind-blowing, lust awakening curves whilepletely revealing their long slender legs and slim waist.
Even Ace had to admit those two can really arouse lust in anyone, even he felt somewhat heated despite being a human.
Although he had many memories as a reference about these things, he was still a teenager with no prior experience in this department.
However, those dirty memories were still enough to keep him calm, especially Feng¡¯s memories, so seeing them like this hadn¡¯t had much effect on him besides a slightly natural reaction.
But the moment he remembered Eva¡¯s face and her figure, his eyes instantly be clear, and scoffed, ¡®Heh, you¡¯re not good enough to seduce me bitches.¡¯
Those two maids felt Feng was not reacting ording to his usual self because he would¡¯ve pounced on them the moment he saw them like this, but now he was just standing there like a log.
Before they could say anything, Feng¡¯s impassive voice rang at this moment, ¡°Stop pretending, I already knew you two are hatching a sinister plot against me, but s, you¡¯re already toote¡¡±
Flora and Dolly¡¯s lustful expressions instantly turned into shock and horror before killing intent shed past their eyes as they intended to make their move. But s, this wasn¡¯t really Feng but Ace.
How could those two Flowing River maids pose any threat to Ace?
With two small soul-piercing bullets, both Flora and Dolly¡¯s faces twisted in pain and horror before they felt an immense force waving down on them as they kneel. The pain finally stopped, and their eyesnded on a binding formation. They understood what had happened.
Flora threw a fierce look at Feng and shrilled, ¡°You, lowlife bastard, how did you know?!¡±
Ace sighed. He knew they were probably after Feng because he had done something to offend them first, but Feng was already dead, and he had no memory of having any enmity with his maids.
They were both clean and from the same tribe, or his father would never let them get close to him and even kill them to get rid of future trouble.
He impassively asked, ¡°Why did you want to plot against me? I never seemed to mistreat you, right?¡±
The moment Ace asked this question, he used a soul probe!
Dolly coldly snorted at Feng¡¯s question and hatefully replied, ¡°Bastard, go die. We¡¯ll never tell you anything!¡±
However, contrary to both of the demonesses¡¯ expectations, Ace had already got the memory about why they were after Feng.
He said, ¡°So, you were put on this task by my younger brother, Weng!¡±
Both Flora¡¯s and Dolly¡¯s expressions changed when they heard Feng already knew who their baker was!
Weng was Feng¡¯s only brother, and he was already quite obedient and never showed any kind of disrespect toward his brother. But Feng never liked him and even bully him, but Weng never retaliate in any way and endured.
Feng also never took his bullying to the extreme as well and, besides some beating and taunts, he has never done anything.
But sometimes just a seed of resentment was enough to turn it into a tree of hatred, and this was the same case for Weng as well. He hated Feng for all the bullying and his vicious suppression. That¡¯s why he decided to end him once and for all and take his revenge.
Weng found those Flora, and Dolly from an orphanage of their tribe and told them Feng was the one who killed their father and rape their mother. These two young girls were na?ve and easily believed Weng¡¯s fabricated story and walked on the path of revenge while unknowingly bing Weng¡¯s poisonous daggers.
With Weng¡¯s connections, he easily nted both sisters as Feng¡¯s maids, and after seeing their beautiful appearances, Feng dly epted them,pletely oblivious to his brother¡¯s vicious plot.
However, Weng can¡¯t kill Feng inside the tribe, so he was waiting for a perfect chance, and it came when the demon gate trial was announced.
Feng was naturally selected for this trial while Weng was still quite young and his cultivation talent was only subpar.
But Weng didn¡¯t care, as long as he can get rid of Feng.
Flora and Dolly were also d to finally be able to get the chance to get rid of Feng as well. They were enduring all these years and even sacrificing their bodies, so they could kill Feng.
Ace felt pity for these two sisters used by Weng for his own interest. But he also loathed Feng, who brought this upon himself because of his nasty nature.
He sighed before saying, ¡°Will you believe me if I said I have nothing to do with your parents¡¯ death?¡±
Flora shook her head wholeheartedly and replied with boundless hatred, ¡°Like hell, we believe a dog like you! Do you think we don¡¯t know about all those girls and women you rape and then disposed of? Don¡¯t even think about being disingenuous with us!¡±
Ace sighed again. He never thought a simple identity will give him this much headache.
He said, ¡°Then what if I¡¯m already dead?¡±
This was a simple yetplicated question with a deep mystery that caught both sisters off guard.
Dolly scoffed with killing intent, ¡°If you¡¯re dead, then we¡¯ll naturally find peace for our parents and kill ourselves since we won¡¯t be able to escape this me!¡±
Feng suddenly smile and said, ¡°Very well.¡±
Chapter 361
Dolly and Flora thought Feng was mocking them, but their expression changed when they saw Feng¡¯s face melting before changing into apletely unfamiliar demon.
¡°Y-you¡¡±
Pablo smiled and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m not Feng, I already killed him for his face.¡±
Flora mumbled in disbelieve, ¡°No, it¡¯s impossible you know too much about Feng¡¯s behavior. You¡¯re fooling us!¡±
Ace merely chucked and said, ¡°Hehe, I have my means.¡±
¡°Then who are you if you¡¯re not Feng!¡± Dolly¡¯s eyes were filled with disbelief, but there was a hint of relief and happiness.
She also wanted this to turn into the truth since this would mean they got their revenge, but she also felt pity since she wasn¡¯t the one who do it herself.
¡°How about you looked at your storage ring? I think you should get your answers!¡± Ace gave an ambiguous reply.
Both sisters simultaneously looked toward their ring fingers and were gobsmacked when they saw the owl imprint has somehow reced their storage rings!
Ace had already pick-pocket their storage rings the moment he entered the room; these sisters didn¡¯t notice anything since they were busy being sexy and then shocked by Feng¡¯s abrupt retaliation.
¡°S-s¡ Sky S¡ Stealer!¡± Flora stuttered when she said the name of the infamous thief.
Ace smiled, ¡°Oh, so you know about me, good then. Now you believe me?¡±
Both of them nodded like statues with shocked faces. They still didn¡¯t dare to believe they were seeing the actual thief, who was probably even more famous than Demon Kings!
¡°So, you should also believe when I say, Feng didn¡¯t kill your family, you were used by Weng to get rid of Feng and once you have aplished your task, you won¡¯t be able to escape death, and he has nothing to worry about getting exposed.¡± Ace still wanted to rify their confusion.
He felt pity for both sisters; they have a very tragic past, and then they were both taken advantage of by their dead parents. He knew those with status and power always see everyone as their disposable pawns, and he hated them all, regardless!
Flora suddenly burst into tears and asked, ¡°But why did he do that to us? Why would he y with our emotions? We never offended him?!¡±
Dolly also starts sobbing after her sister.
They both knew Ace didn¡¯t have any reason to lie to them. He was already a demon king-like existence in their eyes, and not only for them, but many saw Ace like this as well.
With just one thievery, he managed to shake the eight provinces and the royal demon council. How could this kind of person be so simple and ordinary?
¡°Benefits and cause, of course, he never saw you as living beings. He only saw you two as trash, which he can throw out anytime he wanted.¡± Ace¡¯s words were extremely harsh, but they were urate a vicious but absolute truth!
Both sisters¡¯ expressions turn listless when they heard Ace¡¯s words. Their entire life had turned into a joke and their pure emotions were used as a ything by another. They felt like dying right now.
Ace felt their chaotic emotions and only sighed. Two intermediate-grade-1 oath contacts appeared in his hand. Oath contracts were categorized by the system as ve contracts.
It wasn¡¯t wrong to call oath contact a ve contract as well, since this contract was worked on the same principles as the ve contracts, it was just that it was not as vicious as the ve contract.
Ace has millions of ve contracts from his thieveries and he never used them before, and he also didn¡¯t want to since he considered very as a malevolent disease.
He threw those oath contracts, which were in the shape of a simple blue paper with beautiful carvings on their sides.
When both sisters saw the nk blue pages, they knew this wasn¡¯t a ve contract, since every ve contract was filled with terms and conditions beforehand.
They looked at Ace in confusion. Truth be told, they thought Ace would kill them now or turn them into ves to hide his secret, and theypletely understood if Ace does any of it, but this waspletely out of their expectation.
Ace said impassively, ¡°These are oath contacts, just vow you¡¯ll never reveal my identity or any of my secrets to anyone, no matter what! After that, you just have to bear with me until we reached King Domain.
¡°Since it would be too eye-catching if Feng killed his two beloved maids so suddenly, or they vanished without any traces. Everyone will be curious about it, and I don¡¯t want any attention on me right now.
¡°So, I¡¯ll release you after we entered the king domain, and you¡¯re free to go anywhere from there and if you perform well, I might even help you settle there, remembered I have nothing but wealth. This will be my vow toward you. What do you think?¡±
In the end, Ace smiled confidently, and his words were sincere. He didn¡¯t want to kill these two sisters at all, but he also won¡¯t set them free just like that.
In the future, even if they revealed his identity as Pablo or Feng, he would be long turned into someone else, and it wasn¡¯t a secret anymore that he can change his face as well in the royal demon council.
But he didn¡¯t want to draw any attention to the ocean demon city, not before he was done with his mission and Noa¡¯s revenge.
Everything was going smoothly, and he felt Thomas was a big chance as well. That¡¯s why he quickly tried to deal with these two maids, so he could be worry free from any hidden danger.
But after knowing their reasons and seeing himself why they wanted to deal with Feng, he took pity on them and decided to spare them and even helped them to stand on their feet. It wasn¡¯t anything hard for him. All he had to do was to use a tiny piece of his wealth.
Now, it was these two sisters¡¯ decision to make.
However, when Ace saw twinkling stars in their eyes, he felt something was amiss!
Chapter 362
As the night passed, the ocean demon city greeted another sunny morning.
At this moment, on the sixth floor of the guest quarters, Feng could be seen going toward a specific room.
Ace was naturally here for his promised meeting with Thomas.
Even though the other party can set a trap for him, this chance was too good for him to pass just like that. Furthermore, he found nothing malicious about Thomas the other day and that was why he will meet him.
However, Ace¡¯s mind was still filled with what happenedst night, and he couldn¡¯t help but sigh bitterly.
¡®Those two are really something¡¡¯ Ace smile wryly while feeling helpless.
Ace felt bitter not because those two sisters refused toply with his little demand, but they not onlyplied, but they even took things too far with their oath.
Not only did they take the oath Ace wanted them to, but they even put extra conditions in it, which were they will serve Ace as his personal maids from now on with all their heart and soul and if they even think about betraying him, they will die!
Ace¡¯s expressions were a sight to behold when he heard this oath, and he wanted to stop them, but it was already toote, those two sisters were just too quick, and he can¡¯t break the intermediate-grade-one oath contracts, yet.
Even though he wasn¡¯t in the least bit affected by the oath contract, and he can just abandon those two sisters whenever he wanted and easily disposed of them, he didn¡¯t do it since he still needed them to y their part.
As for their stupid oath, he knew there had to be some way to break it, and he¡¯ll deal with them once he found the way. For now, he just had to endure those two extremely enthusiastic women after theypletely submit to him.
He just didn¡¯t have time to babysit those two sisters, and he didn¡¯t even think about adding them to his thief house because after founding out the real potential of the thief house, he didn¡¯t want to add just anyone random. He¡¯ll just leave them once he reached the king domain. That was his final decision!
Ace quickly reached Thomas¡¯s room, and he sensed two new soul signatures inside. He was astonished when he sensed both of them were also soul cultivators and their soul fluctuations were very identical to Thomas as well, especially one of them which was far more powerful than Thomas!
¡®A Soul Embryo protector or a family member? Just who the hell is this guy?¡¯
Ace¡¯s expression turned solemn because it was his first time encountering a soul embryo cultivator and if it wasn¡¯t for his sea realm cultivation, he won¡¯t even be able to sense this soul cultivator¡¯s presence!
But he knew the other party had already sensed him but still didn¡¯t react, which also mean his new mask was working fine, and it can¡¯t sense his soul cultivation as well.
He felt quite d he chooses to upgrade his mask, or his disguise would be useless against a soul embryo realm cultivator!
Ace pretended to bepletely oblivious since it would be no good if he showed he can sense the other party¡¯s presence, and he didn¡¯t find any malicious intent from this demon.
But he can¡¯t sense its emotions because the cultivation difference was quite high, and he can currently only sense the vague presence and soul signature, nothing else!
Ace took a deep breath and knock on the door lightly. But just in case, Ace still kept a part of his focus on the Instant sh Teleportation Talisman. If he sensed anything amiss, he won¡¯t hesitate to use it!
The door was finally opened and a beautiful, attractive demoness in white attiree into Ace¡¯s view. She was 2.4 meters tall with an hourss figure. She had an oval face and tan skin, just like Thomas. It was clear she was from the same tribe as Thomas!
However, this demoness was too beautiful, even more, beautiful than Grace he encountered yesterday, but she¡¯ll still lose to Feng¡¯s maids in other ¡®departments¡¯, though.
This demoness was also a soul cultivator but only at Flowing Soul River Stage, but it was still impressive since Ace had never encountered a soul cultivator demon before, not talking about three at once.
¡®This Cheveyo Demon Tribe might be as powerful as a demon king level n, but what the hell are these people doing here? With that soul embryo cultivator, I don¡¯t think anyone would dare to hinder their advance in the king domain¡¡¯
Ace felt this Thomas was just too mysterious, and it was also dangerous!
¡°Sir must be Young Master Feng, I presumed. Pleasee in. My Husband is expecting your arrival.¡±
Ace was pulled back by this demoness melodious voice which waspletely impassive. But he was astonished when he heard ¡®husband¡¯.
¡°So, it was Mrs. Thomas. Please forgive my rudeness!¡± Ace quickly performed a noble demon salute.
¡°Mhm¡¡± However, this demoness¡¯s impassive face didn¡¯t change, and she merely nodded before going inside the room. It was as if she didn¡¯t care about Feng at all.
Ace even felt deep displeasure from this demoness¡¯s soul, but he didn¡¯t know how he offended her, but he still followed her to the hall.
Ace saw a table filled with luscious dishes with steam rising from them, and there were three chairs around it.
Thomas was already standing in front of his chair while beaming at Ace.
¡°You really don¡¯t have to do all this,¡± Feng said with a smile.
¡°Hahaha¡ how could I not show hospitality to my esteemed guest?¡± Thomas chuckled.
¡°I¡¯m really honored, brother Thomas.¡± Feng does a noble salute, humbly.
Thomas wave his hand and said, ¡°Enough with the pleasantries. Quickly sit or all this will go cold. I have Milly especially made this feast. Oh, how rude of me. Let me introduce you to the love of my life, my wife Milly Cheveyo.¡±
Thomas¡¯s voice was filled with affection and love when he introduced Milly, and Milly give a tender smile to Thomas as well.
¡°This one has seen Sister-In-Law.¡± Ace greeted again, but differently this time.
Chapter 363
Milly¡¯s warm expression again turned impassive as she nodded toward Feng before she sat beside Thomas.
Thomas didn¡¯t say anything. He knew his wife didn¡¯t like Feng after they dig out hisplete historyst night.
Even Thomas thought Feng¡¯s reputation was just too peculiar, but he couldn¡¯t help but think that information might be false because he himself meet Feng, and he found Feng quite unfathomed and not as reckless or arrogant as all those documents described him to be.
Furthermore, Feng didn¡¯t show any kind of reaction after seeing Milly. He knew Milly¡¯s beauty wasn¡¯t something that a lustful fellow like Feng could resist. Even if he hid his expression, he won¡¯t be able to hide his soul¡¯s undtions from his protector!
This was a test purpose by Milly herself, and if Feng really showed any kind of bizarre emotions toward her, Thomas would¡¯ve not even seen Feng and have him leave from the door.
But out of Milly¡¯s expectation, Feng didn¡¯t even react after seeing her as if he was looking at an ordinary demoness. Which somewhat earned Milly¡¯s respect as well as resentment.
Nevertheless, she had no choice but to invite Feng in since he passed the test.
Ace had no idea about it, but even if he had, he would only scoff.
Thomas happily signaled Ace to start without restraint.
Ace was foody himself, and it was his first-time eating food of the demon race, and this was homemade by Milly as well. He could tell Thomas and Milly¡¯s rtionship was very close, and they didn¡¯t have maids, which also means Milly took good care of Thomas.
But Ace smiled wryly when he saw such a heavy feast for a breakfast and could only put it back on his head since it might be the demon race¡¯s custom, besides they were all cultivators, so it doesn¡¯t matter what they eat or when they eat as long as it wasn¡¯t full of Qi.
After the scrumptious meal, Ace couldn¡¯t help but praise Milly¡¯s cooking, which earned him some of Milly¡¯s goodwill, and Thomas smiled gleefully.
¡°Brother Thomas, I never thought I will have such a warm meal so far from home and I must confess, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve eaten a homemade meal.¡± Ace truthfully praised. He was telling absolutely true.
He was always on the move, and he seldom ate in some restaurant or cooked it himself. It was unimaginable for him to eat a meal like this and he least expect to eat it in the demon race.
He felt Thomas was really someone worth befriending, but he knew it was nothing but a pipe dream since he was a human, and Thomas only treated him nicely because he had his own agenda.
¡°Hahaha¡ Brother Feng, you¡¯re too kind.¡± Thomas felt quite good at Ace¡¯s genuine praise. His evaluation of Feng greatly changed as well.
Milly quickly change the dishes with wine sses and wine and after pouring wine for all of them, she quietly sat on her position. She never spoke a word from the start of the meal and only observed.
Thomas¡¯s expression turned somewhat serious at this moment as he said, ¡°Brother Feng, I thought about our conversation thest day, and I think I can help you gain a noble demon title within two weeks.¡±
Ace knew this woulde, and he waspletely prepared. He said, ¡°Since this was the case, then I wonder what Brother Thomas wants from me. I know everything had a price. Please speak your mind without holding back.¡±
Thomas greatly appreciated Feng¡¯s sincerity. He also didn¡¯t want to beat around the bush. He replied, ¡°I want nothing excessive from brother Feng besides a simple oath or more of promise.¡±
¡®I knew it won¡¯t be so simple.¡¯ Ace smiled wryly, he said, ¡°What kind of promise, if I may ask?¡±
Thomas didn¡¯t expect to Feng react this calmly. He knew when he said oath; he was obviously hinting at an oath contract. But Feng reacted a little.
He said with uncertainty, ¡°Before this, brother Feng, can you tell me how confident are you in acquiring a noble demon title?¡±
Ace knew this guy still had his misgiving about his strength and decided to show him something.
Thomas and Milly¡¯s eyes narrowed when they saw Feng showing his index finger to them with a smile, and suddenly a light green Qi enveloped his finger, forming a finger de.
But this wasn¡¯t all, but a vague white sheen could be seen on the edge of this green finger de.
¡°Half Sword Intent!¡± A deep elderly voice sounded at this moment with a hint of surprise.
Both Milly and Thomas¡¯s expressions turned into shock when they heard ¡®Half Sword Intent¡¯ and Feng was ¡®shocked¡¯ when he heard this old voice.
¡°Grandpa Maddux, are you sure?¡± Thomas quickly asked without even exining to ¡®dumbfounded¡¯ Feng.
Maddux¡¯s old voice rang again, ¡°Yes, this young friend has indeedprehended half sword intent, and it seemed he has excellent control over it. I think we belittle this young friend and showed a poor side of our Cheveyo Tribe this time. Little Thomas, there¡¯s no need for an oath contract. This young friend is worthy of your friendship and respect¡¡±
Feng finally ¡®snapped out of his stupor¡¯ and quickly said with extreme respect, ¡°Junior Feng pays his respect to the old senior, and I¡¯m not worthy of the senior¡¯s praise.¡±
¡°Heh, there¡¯s no need to act humble. You haveprehended a half sword intent just like His Majesty de Demon King¡¯s youngest son, who¡¯s considered an unparalleled genius of Mighty de Province. You¡¯re worthy of such praise.¡± Maddux¡¯s voice was filled with respect and reminisce as he mentioned the de Demon King.
However, Ace was shocked when he heard this piece of news. He has no idea that there was someone else who hadprehended a half sword intent, and it seemed that demon was nothing but ordinary since he was the son of de Demon King!
Chapter 364
However, Ace still didn¡¯t show his real sword intent, which was an element sword intent, or Maddux would thoroughly be shocked because element weapon intents were absolute legend.
That was also why Ace chose to only use his sword intent while hiding his element intent, or it was more of a disaster than fortune.
Furthermore, with Feng¡¯s status as a Demon Sword n member, he won¡¯t have to worry about others finding it strange that heprehended a half sword intent.
Everyone knew the Demon Sword n had some ancestors whoprehended half sword intent previously, so it would not be so shocking for a descended toprehend it as well.
It could be said, Ace wanted to take advantage of Thomas¡¯s mysterious background and all he had to do was to show his worth. And it seemed it goes quite well!
But he also got to know there were many geniuses in the demon race, and he better not underestimate them as well.
¡°Please, senior, I¡¯m not worthy of mentioning in the same breath as His Majesty¡¯s heir.¡± Ace still acted humbled.
¡°Very good. You¡¯re indeed worthy of someone who canprehend a weapon¡¯s intent and still keep it hidden from the world. To resist such temptation and remain humble, you have earned this old man¡¯s respect.¡±
Maddux figure finally appeared from the cultivation chamber. He was tall and skinny, with a wrinkled face but his eyes were filled with vigorous fire, with his long snowy hair and horns, but one of his horns was cut cleanly. There was definitely a hidden story.
Thomas and Milly were also snapped out of their stupor and their view of Feng hadpletely changed after they knew Feng hadprehended half sword intent and Maddux praise him so highly.
¡°Greeting Grandpa Maddux.¡± They both greeted him.
¡°Senior!¡± Feng also followed suit.
¡°No need to care about these old bones.¡± Maddux nodded with a faint elderly smile on his wizened face, and he closely looked at Feng.
Ace felt a strong sense envelop him for a movement beforepletely vanished, but he pretended he noticed nothing since Feng won¡¯t be able to tell this either.
Maddux nodded in satisfaction, ¡°Little Thomas, take little friend Feng to the royal demon council and used your chance. I don¡¯t think anyone is worthier than little friend Feng than that chance.¡±
Thomas nodded dly. Evidentially, he felt the same as Maddux.
¡°Let¡¯s go, brother Feng. We¡¯re going to the royal demon council. You¡¯re hiding your strength too well, you have to let me experience it myself. I heard weapon cultivators can block soul attacks¡¡±
Ace was soon dragged by an enthusiastic Thomas while feeling a headache when he heard his endless chatter. He didn¡¯t think this guy was a chatterbox.
Milly and Maddux smile wryly when they saw Thomas. They knew Thomas¡¯s character was like this. If he considered someone his friend, he would treat them sincerely.
Milly suddenly asked, ¡°Grandpa, that Feng really just showed us half sword intent?¡± she was still somewhat in disbelief since Feng¡¯s background was just too¡ ordinary.
Maddux¡¯s eyes shined mysteriously and said, ¡°Yes, that little guy is indeed full of surprises. Even I sensed nothing until he showed it himself.¡±
¡°But will it be ok if we don¡¯t bind him with an oath contract?¡± Milly questioned, with a hint of worry.
¡°I think that Feng didn¡¯t have any ulterior motives for us. He didn¡¯t know about us, and it was little Thomas who approached him, not the other way around. We also know everything about him, but he seemed nothing like what we found information about him. It seemed he wanted to remain low-key because of the ocean demon tribe. Or do you really think they would let such a threat to their position let flourish right under their nose?
¡°Now that the demon gate trial has been announced, this Feng decided to show his real fangs, but if he didn¡¯t have any real protection, he was still venerable to other schemes.
¡°I think that¡¯s why he dared to show his half sword intent to you guys because he thinks you can give him that protection he needed and this also showed his sincerity and resolve.
¡°I don¡¯t think if you want him to take an oath, he would reject you either. Remembered my little Milly. Sometimes sincerity is worth more than a strong grantee.¡±
Maddux patiently advised as he looked at Milly dotingly.
¡°I understand grandpa, it seemed I still have much to learn.¡± Milly seriously nodded.
Maddux nodded in gratification, ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself too hard, that little brat has indeed eyes for treasures.¡±
He suddenly mumbled, ¡°I seemed we¡¯re getting ahead of other heirs with Feng at our side, and we didn¡¯t even reach the king domain yet. If we can get three¡ no, two more sturdy youths like Feng, Thomas¡¯s chances of entering one of three demon institutes will increase tremendously.¡±
Milly nodded, ¡°I never thought Thomas¡¯s whim ofing here will bear such a fruit, while the other hires were directly going toward the king domains. But Tribe Leader really chose a vicious method to choose an heir for the chief position. He wanted them to fight tooth and nail with each other¡¡± her eyes were icy when she mentioned this.
Maddux sighed ruefully and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let Thomas die with some underhanded scheme¡ but I just hope he can keep his life on the uing demon gate trail. The entire demon race boiling right now, and I don¡¯t think Feng would be the only dark horse. There are many tribes with grand ambitions, and they won¡¯t let this chance of ascension slip through their finger.¡±
¡°Why can¡¯t we just run away? It¡¯s not like someone wille to look for us.¡± Milly said with a dejected expression.
Maddux shook his head serenely, ¡°You know Thomas better than me. Will he stop if you want him to? Even if he stopped, I know you can never forgive yourself for seizing such an opportunity from him. Even if not for this abrupt, heirs trial, Thomas would still head toward the royal zone and I know you would never stop him¡¡±
Milly¡¯s eyes suddenly turned teary¡
Chapter 365
Inside a carriage,
Thomas and Ace were heading toward the royal demon council, which wasn¡¯t far from the ocean demon duke estate.
¡°So, brother Feng, tell me, what makes you trust me so much that you revealed your half sword intent without any worry?¡± Thomas suddenly asked. He had wanted to ask this question from the moment Ace revealed his sword intent.
Ace sighed. Things were moving, too fast. They were just inside Thomas¡¯s room a few moments ago, and now they were going toward the royal demon council. Things were moving too¡ smoothly from Ace¡¯s perspective.
Although he showed his sword intent for this exact change, he never thought old man Maddux would decide to trust him without asking for an oath contract.
Thomas also acted friendly toward him right now, and he could tell he was sincere this time around, and this made Ace feel somewhat guilty when he thought he was taking advantage of someone¡¯s sincerity and friendship.
If old man Maddux has also wanted him to use an oath contract or if Thomas has rejected the old man Maddux¡¯s decision, then Ace wouldn¡¯t be feeling this way at all.
¡®Well, whatever, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m stealing from them or anything. I just won¡¯t steal from Thomas¡¯s party.¡¯ Ace thought.
This was the only way he could make himself feel better.
¡°What happened, brother Feng? You seemed absent-minded?¡±
Thomas¡¯s voice pulled Ace out of his thoughts and he said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s nothing I¡¯m still feeling it¡¯s all just a dream that I¡¯m going to get a noble demon title of my own, and it¡¯s all thanks to brother Thomas kindness.¡±
Thomas shook his head and said, ¡°No, I¡¯m pretty sure you can get a noble demon title on your own if you don¡¯t have to look over your shoulder for ocean demon tribe all these years.¡±
¡°Well, I¡¯m d my gamble of trusting you paid off.¡± Feng said with a grateful expression, ¡°But I¡¯m still curious, how will obtaining a noble title fast have anything to do with that chance the senior was talking about? Can you please tell me if it¡¯s not too bothersome, brother Thomas?¡±
Ace was really curious about this chance Maddux speak-off, and he could guess it has something to do with Thomas¡¯s Demon Earl Title. It might be quite precious since Thomas needed this much consideration to give it to Feng.
¡°Gamble you say, I don¡¯t think brother Feng is someone who could gamble such a secret on a whim and if you really gambled it, then I think you are one hell of a gambler.¡± Thomas chuckled lightly, he clearly doesn¡¯t believe Ace¡¯s words, but he didn¡¯t pursue the matter either.
He said, ¡°The chance grandpa Maddux was talking about is rted to my demon earl title. Since you didn¡¯t have an individual noble demon title, it¡¯s only natural for you to not know about this.
¡°You see, every demon who could gain an individual noble demon title of an Earl rank or higher will be given one rmendation chance. This rmendation chance can only be used once, and not even a demon duke can get another rmendation chance if he used it.
¡°This rmendation chance gives us noble demons a privilege to instantly rmended someone for a noble demon title trial and if they passed it, they can get a noble demon title within two weeks.
¡°But if they failed, not only will the noble demon who rmend the demon will lose its chance, but the other demon who failed the trial will lose its qualification to be a noble demon forever.
¡°That¡¯s why seldom noble demons used their rmendation chances and only if they have someone like a loyal servant who can get the noble demon title or a close family member, then they used it. You could understand its importance now, right?¡±
Ace was astonished. He never thought there was such a privilege for a noble demon with an individual noble demon title. But this privilege was a double-edged sword because if the trailer failed, then he won¡¯t be able to have another go at the individual noble demon title anymore and the rmender will also lose this precious chance to acquire a noble demon subordinate as well.
¡°Brother Thomas, I really didn¡¯t know this change was this precious. Are you really sure you want to give this chance to me without any oath contract? Don¡¯t you think I¡¯ll be an ingrate and won¡¯t repay this favor?¡± Ace said in an impassive tone.
Thomas deeply looked at Feng¡¯s serious face before his lips curled into a smile and said, ¡°So what if you turn your back on me and appeared someone ungrateful? I just think I, Thomas, didn¡¯t have eyes for a friend. I won¡¯t hold it against you. But are you really an ingrate, brother Feng?¡±
Ace sighed when he heard Thomas repose. He still was testing if Thomas could change his decision, but he didn¡¯t and even threw a question with a deep meaning behind it.
This time, Ace said with a solemn expression on his face, ¡°I¡¯ll help you one time for this favor as long as it¡¯s within my power. I won¡¯t back down. You have my word!¡±
Thomas felt Feng¡¯s words hold some kind of unbreakable bound for some reason because of his soul cultivation. He found it absurd, but he had this strange feeling that Feng really mean what he said from the bottom of his heart.
At this moment, Ace heard an unexpected notification from the system.
=======
[Host has just made the first Thief Promise]
-Thief Promise: An unbreakable promise of a Heaven¡¯s Stealer
-Abstract: Theft is not just about stealing for one¡¯s own benefits and motives. Sometimes a theft was done for the greater good and for others who were in need.
-Description (1): A Thief Promise can only be triggered when the host willingly agreed to take a mission from someone else who¡¯s desperately in need of host thieving abilities.
-Description (2): ¡
Chapter 366
[Host has just made the first Thief Promise]
-Thief Promise: An unbreakable promise of a Heaven¡¯s Stealer
-Abstract: Theft is not just about stealing for one¡¯s own benefits and motives. Sometimes a theft was done for the greater good and for others who were in need.
-Description (1): A Thief Promise can only be triggered when the host willingly agreed to take a mission from someone else who¡¯s desperately in need of host thieving abilities.
-Description (2): The system will instantly trigger a mission when the possessor of a Thief Promise dered their reasonable request.
-Description (3): If the bearer had any malice against the host, the Thief Promise will be deemed void by the system.
¡ª
[Host has gained a one-time reward for triggering the Thief Promise, one of the creeds of Heaven¡¯s Stealer!]
[Reward (s): 100,000 EXP, 100,000 SP]
[Do you want to use the EXP and SP?]
[Yes/Latter]
======
Ace was gobsmacked by this sudden revtion by the system. He never thought his one promise will trigger this Thief Promise thing, which he had no clue was even possible.
Furthermore, he could easily see that this Thief Promise can¡¯t be just triggered because he gave his promise, but it also depended on the other party¡¯s sincerity as well.
¡®Doesn¡¯t this mean if Thomas had any malicious thoughts, or he wasn¡¯t in need of my abilities, I would still be in the dark about this? Well, at least I know Thomas is sincere about his words, and I¡¯m d I make such a promise,¡¯ Ace mused.
However, his expression changed the next moment, and he quickly asked while gazing at Thomas, who was deep in thought about that strange feeling.
¡°Hey, system, don¡¯t tell me you tell Thomas about it? And don¡¯t release this EXP and SP I can¡¯t breakthrough here!¡±
If this was the case, then doesn¡¯t that mean his identity will reveal?
Although he wasn¡¯t sure if Thomas will still have such veracity after finding his real identity. But he was sure Thomas will definitely raise his guard against him, and he had a soul embryo realm cultivator protecting him!
This could instantly turn bad for Ace!
¡°[Don¡¯t worry, host, a Thief Promise is a sacred promise made by a heaven¡¯s stealer, and it¡¯s his duty toplete it. But if the other knows about it, then there¡¯s no need to make such a promise, which can be used against a Heaven¡¯s Stealer and threaten his life.]¡±
System coldly assured Ace.
Ace sighed in relief because it would really be a disaster if others can use this absurd unbreakable promise against him, and it seemed the system won¡¯t let anyone take advantage of this loophole at all.
But he still felt deep respect toward his predecessors, Heaven¡¯s Stealers, to give such promises to help those who were in need and for the greater good.
This also rified that Heaven¡¯s Stealers weren¡¯t someone evil or heartless bunch, they were thieves with principles, and Ace felt proud of walking this path now more than ever!
Thomas finally snapped out of his stupor and thought that feeling was just his imagination, but he still felt quite grateful to Feng for this promise, which was more than enough for him.
¡°Brother Feng, your words are enough to show your goodwill, and you really consider me a genuine friend. I¡¯m d I came here and befriend someone like you.¡± Thomas said with an ted expression.
¡®He¡¯s really clueless.¡¯ Ace smiled faintly, ¡°Brother Thomas, I¡¯m also quite d I meet you here. But my previous promise still stands as long as there¡¯s anything I can help you with. I will do it. Don¡¯t hesitate to tell me. My promises are nothing to joke about.¡±
Ace jokingly said thest part, but he was telling the truth in a sense, and now it was on Thomas to use Ace¡¯s thief promise wisely, and he naturally won¡¯t tell about it to him.
¡°Hahaha, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let you go back on your words, either.¡± Thomas chucked.
¡°Young Master, we arrive at the royal demon council branch.¡± The coachman¡¯s voice sounded at this moment.
¡°Heh, time sure passes quickly. Let¡¯s go. I want to see those old men¡¯s baffled expressions.¡±
Thomas jollily disembark the carriage and Ace followed suit.
Ace saw in front of him a twenty-story pavilion with a beautiful design and craftsmanship. There was an imposing golden sign board which speed ¡®Demon Royal Council Pavilion of Ocean Demon Fief.¡¯
¡°Quite exaggerating, right? It¡¯s only natural since they collected absurd taxis from all over those provinces for the royal zone. We, on the other hand, didn¡¯t need to pay anything since we lived in mountains and forests.¡± Thomas scoffed with a hint of disdain.
Ace also nodded. He had memories about the ocean demon tribe collecting half of the demon sword tribe¡¯s annual resources, and they were naturally unhappy about it as well.
They both enter the pavilion after Thomas showed his demon earl token. Those guards didn¡¯t dare to stop them.
The interior of the pavilion was quitevishing and spacious.
It wasn¡¯t too crowded, and only fifteen demons were gathering around a big counter where three female demons were managing those demons.
These demons were also here to try their luck at the ¡®Noble Demon¡¯ tile, which was the lowest title amount of noble demon titles.
There were six individual noble demon titles that the royal demon council could issue, ¡®Noble, Baron, Viscount, Earl, Marquis, and Duke. As for a King title, it can only be gained from the Demon Emperor.
But all these six noble demon titles were very hard to gain because they had absurd trials attached to them, and titles like Marquis and Duke can¡¯t be gained just bypleting the trial.
These individuals had to earn some merits for the royal demon council bypleting dangerous missions, and only then they can reach the requirements to attend the trial of Marquis and Duke level titles.
Even Noble Demon Tittle wasn¡¯t easy to get not to talk about, there was also a mortality rate of 95% as well!
Chapter 367
Thomas headed straight to the second floor, after showing his token, no one hinder his way.
¡®It seemed that having a noble demon title has many benefits,¡¯ Ace mused as he followed Thomas toward the upper floor.
On the second floor, the interior was the same as the first, but there weren¡¯t any demons on it and only a single demoness waszing around.
However, she saw Ace and Thomas walking toward her as she quickly stood up and tidy up her clothes. She knew anyone who can enter this floor had to be a titled Baron at least, so she didn¡¯t dare to underestimate those two youths.
¡°Wee to the second floor of the Royal Demon Council Pavilion, My Lords, what can I do for you today?¡± She said with a beautiful smile.
Ace saw this demoness was from the ocean demon tribe by her features and she was a second-level Iron River Core cultivator, and she was just a mere receptionist here!
Thomas greeted her with a friendly smile and said, ¡°Miss, I¡¯m here to use my rmendation chance. I wonder if I¡¯m allowed to?¡±
The demoness was astonished for a moment, and she quickly asked, ¡°May I ask your title?¡±
Thomas replied, ¡°I¡¯m a demon earl, and I was given my title by Pavilion Head Elder y over two years ago.¡±
This time the demoness was shocked and blurted, ¡°So, His lordship knows Pavilion Head Elder. Please wait, I¡¯ll quickly inform him. I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t have the authority to deal with His Lordship, Earl!¡±
Thomas nodded in acknowledgment.
The demoness didn¡¯t dare to dy and quickly head to the upper floor to inform y. She knew there weren¡¯t many who know about y, and only someone who had met him knew about his existence.
The demon council rules were quite strict when it came to choosing their members. Only those who passed their assessment can work for them, and they had to be impartial even if they had to dere judgment on their tribe or family.
Those who could be a council elder were all ruthless characters, although they will appear warm to you on the surface, if you dare to go against the rules of the council, they won¡¯t hesitate to eliminate you even for a moment.
That¡¯s how the royal demon council works. They were absolute royal to the crown, and they will eliminate anyone who shows disrespect toward the crown, regardless of who they are!
The receptionist came back quickly and said, ¡°Your lordship, please follow me. Head Elder invites you and your friend.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
Ace followed Thomas quietly as he observed the interior of the building, and he was astonished when he found out that his soul-shattering eyes can¡¯t see anything abnormal about this building.
¡®Either they didn¡¯t have any security measures which is almost impossible, so, the security is a too high level for my skill.¡¯
Ace felt quite d that he wasn¡¯t given the mission to rob this ce, or he might have to suffer the system¡¯s punishment this time around.
They quickly reached the top floor, which seemed to have an enormous hall and a table in the center. There were other rooms, but they were closed.
On that table were sitting three old demons,
Two of them were ocean demons, which was quite normal since this branch was in their territory they can join this branch¡¯s staff or even rise through the ranks to be elders under the Head Elder like these two.
The old demon in the center wasn¡¯t an ocean demon, but he had an emerald skin color with green eyes and a bald head. His greenhorns were downward curved. He was giving off a powerful feeling of authority. This was the Head Elder of this pavilion and also a member of the elder council of the royal demon council, Elder y!
y had an elderly smile on his face as he looked at Thomas. He didn¡¯t even give Feng a look, as if he was nothing but the wind.
¡°Hahaha, Thomas Boy, I know it will be you or who could be an earl at such a young age.¡± y¡¯s mild voice sounded with a hint of approval for Thomas.
Thomas smiled and politely give a noble salute before he greeted, ¡°Elder y, you¡¯re too kind. I earn this title because of you, after all.¡±
y chucked, ¡°You earn it after passing my test, so there¡¯s no need to act humble. Now tell me, how did youe to see this old man?¡±
¡®Straight to the point eh, what an old wily fox. He clearly must¡¯ve heard from that woman, but he still pretends to act ignorant. These old men from the council aren¡¯t easy to deal with.¡¯
Thomas cursed inwardly, but he put on a polite smile and said, ¡°I¡¯m here to use my rmendation chance for my friend over here. Please give your opinion.¡±
Ace could feel the disdain from those old men, especially the head elder. He didn¡¯t even look at him as if he was too beneath his standards. But he remained stoic since he didn¡¯t want to trouble Thomas.
He quickly greeted those three old demons after Thomas introduce him.
¡°Junior Feng of Demon Sword Tribe greeted three elders.¡±
y reacted a little and merely nodded. His smile didn¡¯t disappear, but his disdainful eyes were telling the true story.
But those two old demons from the ocean demon tribe suddenly asked in unison, ¡°Demon Sword, Tribe? As if the demon sword tribe, far north in the ocean demon fief?¡±
¡°Yes, junior is indeed from this tribe.¡±
Ace nodded, but inwardly he was cursing because he knew these two will not sit idly because of Feng¡¯s background. He never thought the ocean demon tribe had even had two old goats in the royal demon council, but he could do nothing but sigh.
¡°Oh, you two know about this youngster?¡± y asked with a hint of curiosity.
He had already deemed Feng as an extremely normal demon with an above-average talent, and he thought Thomas has gone blind as he wanted to give his rmendation chance to this demon, which was simply a waste.
But these two elders¡¯ reactions didn¡¯t go unnoticed and this finally arouse some of his interest!
Chapter 368
One of the elders with a long sharp nose spoke with a hint of disdain in his voice, ¡°Yes, Head Elder, this Demon Sword Tribe is nothing but a decline tribe of our ocean demon fief, if not for old duke¡¯s kindness they would be long turn into history.¡±
The second elder, with a bony face, said with a sarcastic smile, ¡°I never thought someone from Demon Sword Tribe would dare to strive for a noble demon title, and I¡¯m curious about this youngster who¡¯s willing to give him such a chance. I wonder if he was beguiled by him.¡±
Ace impassively looked at both ocean demon elders. Truth be told, he felt nothing when they denigrate Feng or his tribe because they were telling the truth, even though they were exaggerating some parts.
He knew the ocean demon tribe has suppressed the demon sword tribe for generations, and they all have a very good understanding of their strength, so looking down on Feng was absolutely normal for them.
Furthermore, these two elders were right now the dog of the royal demon council, and they had little attachment to their own tribe. Still, they¡¯re members of the ocean demon tribe and won¡¯t let someone from a fearsome tribe rise easily.
Thomas merely smiled coldly when he heard those two old demons babbling all this nonsense to make things difficult for Feng, but he knew better than anyone that Feng was a true hidden monster!
y spoke at this moment with a hint of dislike, ¡°Thomas Boy, are you sure you want to use your chance on him?¡±
From the start, he looked down on Feng, and after hearing about Feng¡¯s background, he thought it was really not worth it for Thomas to waste his chance on someone from a backwater tribe.
He wasn¡¯t from the ocean demon tribe. It was a rule of the council that a head elder can¡¯t be from the same tribe as the territory lord.
y had a good impression of Thomas. He was a soul cultivator as well his background was grand, so he felt Feng has yed some kind of scheme to threaten or force Thomas to use this chance.
If Thomas really was in trouble, he didn¡¯t mind lending a hand, but he saw nothing amiss with Thomas¡¯s speech or expression.
Thomas said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m sure. Don¡¯t worry, the Elder will change his view of my brother once you see his grander for yourself.¡±
y deeply looked at Thomas¡¯s confident smile, and he felt there might be really something he didn¡¯t know about Feng.
At this moment the long nose elder spoke, ¡°Youngster, why are you throwing away your chance at such trash? If he had some dirt on you, you don¡¯t need to feel worried. Just tell us, and we¡¯ll punish him since it¡¯s a grave crime to threaten a noble demon!¡±
¡°Yes, you don¡¯t need to feel afraid. We promise no a word will be got out of here.¡± The second ocean demon elder nodded in assurance.
y remained stoic and silent. He clearly agreed with those two ocean demon elders.
Thomas¡¯s face twisted in anger when he heard his, but before he could berate those old fools, Feng¡¯s jeering voice sounded.
¡°Hehe, I didn¡¯t know the royal demon council even allow dogs an entry. My eyes are truly open.¡±
Those elders, momentarily shocked, turned into rage when theyprehended what Feng just said.
¡°You lowly ve, you dare to curse at royal demon council?!¡± the bony face elder pointed his finger at Feng and howl angrily.
¡°Who said I cursed the council? I said the council will even give dogs an entry. I have no words for the royal demon council¡¯s generosity and honor.¡± Feng smiled coldly.
Those ocean demon elders¡¯ faces were turned deep purple, almost ck with shame and rage. This was the first time someone dare to be this disrespectful toward them. Even their tribe chief has to give them face, but now this little brat was bluntly calling them dogs without any restraint or fear!
Ace spoke again. This time, he looked at y, who had a frown on his face. He was also angry.
¡°Elder y, I long heard about the trials of the royal demon council is fair for everyone, right?¡±
y said coldly, ¡°Yes.¡±
Ace nodded and with an icy smile, ¡°How about letting me fight those two, and if I beat them I earn the demon earl title, and if I failed, they can kill me. It¡¯s fair for everyone, right? This way, both parties get what they want. I¡¯m only a peak Qi river cultivator, while those two are at the golden river core realm. How about it?¡±
y finally narrowed his eyes. He didn¡¯t know just where this brat was getting his confidence from, but his simple words just force him to not act against him while he also was getting what he wanted.
¡®This brat is cunning¡¡¯ y¡¯s eyes shimmered coldly, ¡®Now, if I ept his proposal then I won¡¯t be able to take action while if I don¡¯t then Thomas might spread the news about what happened, and it¡¯ll threaten my position as a council elder. But if those two really lose, then I would lose even more, but I can still just expel them and the matter ends at it as well. But can he really go against two golden river core cultivators, despite being only at the peak of the Qi river realm?¡¯
y was now calm. He didn¡¯t get his position just by fooling around. He wasn¡¯t a fool, and he could guess he might really have underestimated this brat, and now he was cornered.
But it was also the fault of those two idiots as well. They just can¡¯t keep their mouths shut and went too far this time, just offending Thomas was enough to get both of them ¡®disappeared¡¯ mysteriously.
Thomas¡¯s angry expression turn into tion when he heard Feng¡¯s words. He felt quite good right now and coldly looked at old demons. Since they didn¡¯t give him face, they can now suffer the ignominy!
Chapter 369
Thomas was very confident about Feng can easily beat those two golden river core old goats because they have exhausted all their potential just to reach the golden river core realm and their foundation was built on medicines, and they can only bully the weak and cower in front of strong.
They were given this position here because they were useful with their mouth and run some errands for y. They were just council dogs. Ace spoke nothing but the truth just now.
¡°Elder, please approve of it. We¡¯ll let this brat experience the strength of the council!¡± the long nose elder spoke as he shot a murderous looked at Feng.
This was too humiliating for them and they can¡¯t take it just sitting, or they¡¯ll be the joke of their race.
¡°Shut up!¡± y snorted coldly at this moment, which was out of everyone¡¯s expectation. ¡°Do you think you have the right to represent the council?¡±
¡°N-no but¡¡±
Before they could say anything further, y coldly said, ¡°Then keep your mouth shut and behave!¡±
Those two elders didn¡¯t know why y turn on them instead of Feng, but they didn¡¯t dare to speak anymore since they could feel y¡¯s firm pressure. He was furious. They could only shoot vicious looks at Feng now.
y finally looked at Feng and suddenly smile, ¡°I have a missed-treat little friend before, please ept my apology.¡±
¡®This guy is too wily, he didn¡¯t want to be in a disadvantageous position and if those two elders would lose, or he rejected, it would be a huge blow to his reputation, so he decided to chide them so and even apologized to suffer a little humiliation in private but safe himself from the public humiliation. Now if we don¡¯t give him face, then we¡¯ll be treated like bad guys, heh. No wonder the royal demon council can maintain the peace in eight provinces for so many years in session without suffering any resistance.¡¯
Ace thought with a grave expression on his face, he knew he was currently the biggest enemy of the royal demon council and if he slipped for a moment, he won¡¯t know how he got caught or killed!
He said with a meaningful smile, ¡°Elder y, please don¡¯t make things difficult for this junior. I¡¯m not worthy of your apology. Please forgive me, I was a little too boorish with my words and let elders experience the poor side of me. Please forgive me, everyone.¡±
Thomas smiled pridefully when he saw Feng knew when to retreat and advance, he also had the same thoughts as Ace about y¡¯s move, and he knew if Feng pushed y too far it won¡¯t end too well for them, so this was the right move.
y¡¯s eyes sh, ¡®I was right to not fell for this, or I might lose my prestige this time. This youth is not normal, and even I misjudged him from the start. He¡¯s calmed and scheming. He knew when to advance and where to retreat. It seemed Thomas boy wasn¡¯t fooled by him after all.¡¯
y smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it was the second elder and third elder who concluded too soon. How can we judge someone with their background? It¡¯s one of the rules of the royal demon council. Always remain impartial, no matter who you are dealing with.¡±
He said while deeply looking at smiling Feng, ¡°Now since Thomas boy is a Demon Earl his rmendation chance will give you the right to take Demon Earl trial, but you can also choose the trial for below demon earl title, what do you think?¡±
Ace answered without any hesitation, ¡°I chose the Demon Earl trial. Please give your guidance, Head Elder.¡±
Thomas nodded in agreement.
y pulled an ambiguous smile and said, ¡°Very well, to be a demon earl, either you have to possess a special trait deemed of the demon earl title, or you have to pass a survival test.¡±
¡®This is simple?¡¯
Ace felt they were giving these titles toox when he heard the requirements.
However, soon he understood this wasn¡¯t the case. Just how many demons have special traits or abilities worthy of entering the demon council¡¯s eyes?
As for the survival test, he knew it would be even more dangerous.
He looked at Thomas, and he winked at him. He could guess Thomas had also passed the first test since he was a soul cultivator, this wasn¡¯t to mean he didn¡¯t have any inherited ability of his tribe.
Ace looked at y¡¯s smile. He could guess y didn¡¯t expect Feng to possess some special trait or ability, so he was very confident he would choose the survival test, which had a ny-nine percent mortality rate. He also might want to deal with Feng this way for his early offense.
But s, y was destined to fail, and he was in for a huge surprise.
Ace suddenly said with an ambiguous smile, ¡°Is having a half sword intent can be considered a special trait?¡±
y¡¯s eyes narrowed as there was a tremendous shock on his face. He said, ¡°Someone who canprehend a half sword intent below the age of hundred is more than worthy of Demon Earl Title.¡±
¡°Elder is too kind. It was just a fluke Iprehend this half sword intent.¡± Feng said humbly.
Thereupon, his earth Qi suddenly surged from his hand, and it formed a sword with a white sheen on its sharp edges, giving off a feeling of sharpness and coldness.
y darted from his seat with a disbelieving expression on his wizened face, and those two ocean demon elders looked like they had just lost their souls.
y quickly took a sharp breath before he said with excitement, ¡°Hahaha¡ this is really a half sword intent. Excellent, terrific. A genius has appeared from my branch with a half sword intent!¡±
Ace was somewhat dumbfounded by y¡¯s foolhardy reaction. He didn¡¯t think this calm elder would go into such frenzy after seeing his sword intent, if he showed his element intent, y might die from ecstasy!
Chapter 370
While y wasughing in tion, those two ocean demon elders¡¯ expressions were ashen, and they felt cold sweat on their back when they thought about just dodging a bullet.
Because they know someone with a half sword intent can easily chop them into half because they had no prior experience of battle and their battle sense could not evenpare with someone who hadprehended a weapon intent.
If they had gone through with their impulse and Head Elder agreed to Ace¡¯s challenge, they would¡¯ve be his high-grade punching bags and shamed the council, which will cause an even worse bacsh.
Furthermore, they were also feeling dread for their tribe because the appearance of a half sword intent genius means the rise of the Demon Sword Tribe and which spelled nothing but trouble for the ocean demon tribe.
However, they were members of the royal demon council now and if they try to harm Feng, who was about to acquire a noble demon title, it will not end well for either of them.
In the end, they could now only pray this Feng would fall in the King Domain or demon gate trial because they know since Feng dared to show his biggest trump card now, it was naturally because the biggest opportunity for demon race outside the royal zone.
y finally calm down, but there was a big smile ster on his face and his bald head was throbbing with many veins.
He said, ¡°Young Friend Feng, I sincerely apologized for my previous misconduct.¡±
He bowed slightly as he shot a murderous re at ashen ocean demon elders. In his point of view, it was all those two faults that the situation reached this point.
Albeit y himself belittle Feng at first, he wasn¡¯t as overbearing as those two old fools, and now Feng had a terrible impression of him.
He was present that day when the Imperial Envoy announced the demon gate trial, and he clearly remembered the orders of high elders, which were to protect any genius from harm¡¯s way while also reporting new geniuses emerging because of this trial.
They will get huge rewards if they found noteworthy geniuses who had above seventy percent chance of passing the demon gate trial.
y never thought his luck would be so good that he would find a genius with half sword intent in the ocean demon fief, and he knew those old demons will go mad with envy because of it.
But things can go sideways for him if Feng reported what happened here to someone with higher authority over him.
That¡¯s why he quickly apologized and even lower his head, which he would never have if this was any other time.
¡°You two old things quickly apologized to young friend Feng or do you want to go home?!¡± He sternly said as he released his aura of the soul realm.
Those two ocean demon elders snapped and trembled when he felt the cold aura of Head Elder on them and quickly bend ny degrees and said,
¡°Young Hero Feng, please forgive us. It was our short-sight which didn¡¯t recognize the genius of our demon race, and we let our selfish motives cloud our view.¡±
¡°Yes, we never thought Young Hero Feng was a demon among demons. Please forgive us, old bones.¡±
Ace smiled coldly, seeing three old arrogant demons lower their head and thought, ¡®Heh, status indeed.¡¯
He said humbly, ¡°Please everyone, I was nothing but a misunderstanding. I¡¯m just a junior. I can¡¯t ept your bows. On the other hand, please forgive me. I have spoken too harshly before.¡±
Ace could tell y would not do anything to him now, and those two old goats won¡¯t dare to y underhanded tricks anymore. Furthermore, having a good rtionship with y will only give him many benefits in a long run. He was, after all, someone from council elder circles, and his status was much higher than those two idiots.
Thomas smirked wildly as he silently observed. He had the same reaction as y, and he knew those old fogies were now thanking their lucky stars that they didn¡¯t get to fight Feng.
Even he wasn¡¯t confident of defeating Feng with his soul cultivation anymore, and he knew he could only fight Feng to a draw if he goes all out or still lose, since he had never seen him fighting before.
y smiled warmly. He felt he had really shown his poor side this time around and almost earn a genius irony.
He looked at Thomas and said with a warm elderly smile, ¡°Thomas Boy, you don¡¯t need to use your rmendation chance for Young Friend Feng. Consider this a reward to bring him to the royal demon council pavilion.¡±
Thomas was astonished and asked with uncertainty, ¡°Thank you, Head Elder, but won¡¯t he need nine months to register and got approved by the council this way? Truth be told, Head Elder, I¡¯m using my chance to get my brother here, the noble demon title, quickly.¡±
y chucked and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you don¡¯t know this, but we council elders have been given ten geniuses slots each after the announcement of the demon gate trial. With these ten geniuses slots, we can rmend ten geniuses we deemed worthy of these slots, and they¡¯ll get a suitable noble demon title within three days.¡±
Ace was startled. ¡®It seemed the demon race is trying to promote the geniuses for this demon gate trial, and the royal zone might want to recruit some geniuses from other provinces. But could it be this simple, since it never happened in the long history of the almighty demon empire¡¡¯
Thomas¡¯s eyes lit up and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know there was such a thing, it seemed I was worried about nothing. Brother Feng, it seemed your luck is great, even I envy you.¡±
Ace chuckled. He knew this guy was joking and replied, ¡°Well, you know my luck with gambling is great recently.¡±
He looked at y and asked, ¡°Since Head Elder is giving me one of the ten slots, then can Head Elder tell me which noble demon title will I earn?¡±
Chapter 371
Ace looked at y and asked, ¡°Since Head Elder is giving me one of the ten slots, then can Head Elder tell me which noble demon title will I earn?¡±
y smiled mysteriously and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about it. In three days,e and get your noble demon token and robes.¡±
Ace didn¡¯t push the matter, since it seemed y was far more eager than him to get him a noble demon title.
Ace suddenly asked, ¡°Since this is the case, then I have to thank Head Elder in advance. Can I gain ess to the library here since I already pass the test?¡±
He was very interested in information stored in royal demon council libraries and since he doesn¡¯t have to steal it now, he won¡¯t let such a chance pass. It will greatly boost his knowledge and he might get some clue about why those royal zone demons were after him.
¡°Heh, young friend Feng didn¡¯t strike me as a schrly type.¡± y chuckled as he looked at Feng¡¯s burly build. He clearly strikes as a muscle brain.
¡°Well, we can¡¯t judge a book by its cover now, can we?¡± Ace put an ambiguous smile on Feng¡¯s face.
¡°Hahaha indeed, I never thought brother Feng would be someone with earth-shattering abilities when I first meet him.¡± Thomas snickered as well.
¡®You and me both.¡¯ y smiled wryly and said, ¡°Although the library here isn¡¯t as grand as our library in a domain level headquarters, there¡¯s much information you need there. Since you pass my test, you can naturally get ess to the library here, but only after you get your noble title token.¡±
y smirked broadly. ¡°But since I¡¯m in charge here, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any reason to let those books collect more dust. You can enter the library as long as you want. It¡¯s not like we have cultivation technique or skills to hide there.¡±
Ace looked at Thomas and said with a hint of excitement in his voice, ¡°Brother Thomas, it seemed I won¡¯t be going back with you. I¡¯m nning to stay there for a while.¡±
Thomas looked at Feng deeply.
¡®Could it be he¡¯s going to the library and nning to stay there until he gets his official title, so he could stay safe in the duration between it? Since those two elders had already witnessed his strength and threat to their tribe, they would definitely report it to the demon duke. Albeit his title is confirmed now, he still didn¡¯t have any proof of it, so they can easily get rid of him and show it as an ident. It seemed this guy really had thought about every possibility.¡¯
He said with a knowing smile, ¡°I understand, brother Feng, don¡¯t worry.¡±
y also had some thoughts like Thomas as he looked at those two ocean demon elders. ¡®It seemed the enmity between these two tribes is quite deep and Feng might be in danger if he stayed in the ocean demon estate anymore¡¡¯
y said, ¡°If little friend Feng wants you could stay in the pavilion quarters, any demon with the noble title can stay here.¡± He decided to lend a hand since it was within his power and no one would dare to make a move on Feng here as well.
Furthermore, he didn¡¯t want a sword path genius to get killed before he entered the big stage of the demon gate trial. It will be very beneficial for him if Feng passed it, so he would naturally protect him.
Ace could easily guess Thomas and y¡¯s thoughts and smile wryly. ¡®I also want to stay here, but because of my mission, it would be extremely disadvantageous to me if I won¡¯t stay in the duke¡¯s estate. Furthermore, even if I stayed here, I can¡¯t sneak in or out because of this ce¡¯s high-level security or this might be a splendid chance to fend off any suspicion of Feng¡¯s identity after I am done with the ocean demon estate! Such a pity¡¡¯
¡°Thank you, Head Elder, for your kind intentions, but I¡¯m fine in duke estate and besides I can¡¯t stay here forever. I have to head toward the king domain in a month, so I have to leave, eventually. But I will stay here in the library for some time if you don¡¯t mind.¡± Ace said. He would not remain in a turtle shell, and he still needed to prepare for his mission.
This small development didn¡¯t change his n, even if these demons treat him well and he could live afortable life, can he?
It was simply impossible now since he enjoyed the exhration of theft and adventure, and he would not change his ways anymore, just for afortable life. He preferred his life as a thief, filled with uncertainty and thriller.
¡°Heh, you can stay there as long as you want.¡± y naturally didn¡¯t mind, and he appreciated Feng¡¯s character more and more.
¡°You two spread the news about a sword genius has appeared from my branch, and he¡¯s under my protection. If anyone tries anything funny, don¡¯t me me for dealing with them.¡± y¡¯s coldly looked at ocean demon elders, who were now regretting opposing Feng in front of y.
This was y¡¯s way to give Feng some extra protection, now as long as he was in the ocean demon fief no one would dare to move against him, especially the ocean demon tribe since it would only make things more difficult for them if something were to happened to Feng because they would be the prime suspects.
y wasn¡¯t someone to trifle with as well, he was a royal council elder and his means were astonishing!
¡°Go to Rina, the girl who brings you here before. She¡¯ll take you to the library.¡± y said, ¡°I have to report your situation to the headquarters. Hehe, you¡¯re going to be famous, my boy.¡±
y left toward a room whileughing heartedly.
Ace smiled wryly. ¡®This old demon is really overly enthusiast.¡¯
Thomas grin and shouldered Feng before saying, ¡°It seemed I have to rely on you from on.¡±
Ace ambiguously said with a wily smile, ¡°Heh, a storm ising. You better brace yourself.¡±
¡°Hehe, I¡¯m just afraid it won¡¯te.¡± Thomasughs.
Ace chortled coldly, ¡°Oh, it wille, at least for the ocean demon tribe, I guess!¡±
Chapter 372
The mighty de province was divided between ten dukedoms and a king domain.
Recently, there wasn¡¯t anything new besides de Demon King¡¯s announcement, and almost every youngster who dreamed about going to the royal zone was moving toward de King Domain.
Until a piece of astonishing news spread like wide fire, a young demon from a backwater tribe has emerged within the ocean demon duchy, and he was a sword path genius who hadprehended half sword intent.
This drew even de Demon King¡¯s attention, and he himself confirmed it from the royal demon council, and he was thrilled when he heard this sword path genius was from his province and soon reached his domain.
de Demon King has always promoted talents, and he never cared about their background, either. He quicklymanded one of his close aides to go toward the ocean demon city and escort this genius with no idents.
However, contrary to de Demon King¡¯s warm attitude, others were jealous and wanted to nib the bud before it matured, and some even order to assassinate of this genius, so he could not hoard all the resources from the de king domain.
Everyone in mighty de province knew an emergence of a sword path genius meant he will get a sizeable portion in the uing training camp, which simply mean fewer resources for their own juniors.
The most distress about this news was naturally the ocean demon tribe. Especially Livy, who was bbergasted when he heard this grave news, and he quickly wanted to assassinate Feng before his official title would announce.
However, very soon, everyone found out that this genius was hiding inside the royal demon council branch for two days under the pretext of studying.
Although they wanted to get rid of him, they didn¡¯t dare to make a move on the royal demon council branch. Furthermore, the Head Elder y himself announced that this youth was under his protection and anyone who dare to make a move will regret it.
This caused great distress in the ocean duke estate, but they were all helpless in this matter now, and they could only fume silently and cursed Feng for being such a schemer.
Soon, shocking news surfaced in mighty de province, that the title of this mysterious youth was announced.
The most astonishing thing was this youth not only get approval from the demon royal council, and he earned a noble demon title specific for him, not a normal one.
Normally, a specific title will only be bestowed upon a genius duke, but this youth didn¡¯t earn the duke title or marquis, but he still got a specific title which was a great honor itself.
The title quickly spread throughout the mighty de province and some other provinces.
Now everyone was calling this mysterious sword path a genius with his title.
¡®Rising Sword Earl!¡¯
¡ª
Inside a bright room,
A burst of boomingughter could be heard, and an ted voice filled with pride rang, ¡°Hahaha¡ Rising Sword Earl, my Feng had be one of the two sword geniuses of mighty de province. Even his majesty praises him. Hahaha¡ Feng, oh Feng, you didn¡¯t even tell your dear old man about your sword intent. But this is also great Hahaha¡ I want to see those ocean bastards¡¯ faces now!¡±
This burly demon had a middle-aged face that greatly resembled Feng, and it was only natural since he was Feng¡¯s father and the n leader of the Demon Sword Tribe, Lei Demon Sword.
Lei didn¡¯t dare to believe this news at first, but as the time passed, more and more soiled news started to spread, and he finally believed it.
The entire Demon Sword Tribe was in the festival¡¯s mood when Feng¡¯s title was announced and Lei announced a ten-day celebration in his ecstasy. He was the happiest of anyone because he was Feng¡¯s father, and he loved him dearly.
However, Weng hadpletely opposite emotions from his father, and he almost went mad with shock when he heard his brother had be such a big shot within days after he left the tribe.
This simply means that those two maids he nted with Feng can¡¯t kill him now because killing someone with a sword intent for someone like those two maids was simply just a pipe dream.
Weng now regretted his actions because if Feng found out about his treacherous n, he would meet with a tragic end, and he knew even his Father might not stop Feng from killing him. He was now the hope of their entire tribe, and almost everyone now worshiped him!
However, if they know Feng was someone else who just used Feng¡¯s identity as a disguise, no one knows how will they react¡
¡ª
¡®ng¡ ng¡¡¯
Sharp piercing voices of metal nging together could be heard as a bare chest demon with a handsome appearance and tone muscle was moving like a phantom, leaving after images as his long sword was like a lightning bolt.
However, the wizened face demon was easily blocking these strikes with a faint smile without any effort at all.
¡°Your Highness, your mind is not clear today.¡±
His husky voice sounded before his sword be alive, and he maneuvered the youth¡¯s sword without blinking as his raptor slid on the youth¡¯s sword¡¯s edge creating sparks before like a snake it twisted, and the next moment it was already on the youth¡¯s throat!
The youth stopped when he felt the sharp edge just a hair away from his throat.
He sighed and said, ¡°Butler Jerome, can you go easy on me for once?¡±
Butler Jerome smile and shook his head gently and said, ¡°I can¡¯t, your highness, when His Majesty makes me your trainer, his onlymand was to never go easy on you.¡±
The youth sighed helplessly as he retrieved his sword and said, ¡°You just like bullying me in the name of my father.¡±
Butler Jerome didn¡¯t react at all. He heard these words millions of times and only smiled as his raptor also vanished. He said faintly, ¡°Can his highness tell me what¡¯s on your mind?¡±
The youth said as he looked toward the horizon while a fighting intent shed past his demonic eyes, ¡°Rising Sword Earl¡¡±
Chapter 373
Ace was currently standing in front of y while wearing a solemn expression.
The same ocean demon elders were standing right behind y with a pacified look on their faces. There was also another middle-aged demon with green skin and yellow eyes and short hair.
This middle-aged demon wore a gentle smile on his face as he looked at Feng. He said faintly, ¡°I never thought I would meet another sword path genius besides His Highness Peter in his province. You¡¯re indeed very good!¡±
Ace heard from y that this middle-aged demon was an envoy, specially sent here from the king domain by de Demon King!
Furthermore, this envoy was here to take him to King Domain, which made Ace frown since it would foil his ns and he can¡¯t leave for King Domain right now because of obvious reasons.
He never thought this title would cause this situation.
However, he also knows this was de Demon King¡¯s way of protecting him as well as showing appreciation for his talent.
¡®The rumor about de Demon King being generous and righteous seemed quite true. But I can¡¯t go to the king domain right now. I have to stall his envoy somehow. This is a hazard as well as a chance!¡¯ Ace mused.
He replied while greeting this envoy, ¡°I¡¯m just a nobody, while his highness Peter is someone with great fortitude. I can¡¯t take this senior praise.¡±
Peter was none other than the de Demon King¡¯s son, and also the only sword path genius whoprehended the half sword intent until Ace showed up.
The de Envoy smiled broadly, ¡°Indeed His Highness, Peter had great fortitude, but you¡¯re not bad yourself.¡±
Right now, everyone knows about Feng¡¯s history because of his sudden rise.
¡®He isn¡¯t like describe in those documents. How could someone who walks on the path of the sword be that nauseating? It was clearly a fa?ade to fool everyone and to protect himself. He¡¯s indeed worth of His Majesty¡¯s praise and care.¡¯
The envoy was one of the closest aids of Demon King, and he followed him for almost a thousand years. He knew his master¡¯s disposition very well.
Although he was sent here to fetch Feng, he was also here to judge his character and disposition. If Feng was really the same as the documents described him to be, he would report it to the Demon King, and he knew Feng would be in big trouble then.
But if it was just a sham to cover himself, then Demon King will, even more, appreciate Feng¡¯s character and deemed him worthy of nurturing.
Until now, Feng hasn¡¯t shown any kind of pride or arrogance, nor did he give off any wicked feeling. If he does this, the envoy would definitely know because of his bloodline ability, ¡®Aura Discrimination¡¯. Which allowed him to sense wickedness from others.
He didn¡¯t sense any kind of wickedness in Feng at all, which gave him a wonderful impression of Feng as well.
¡°Elder y, please proceed with your title bestowment ceremony. I won¡¯t hinder you anymore.¡± The de Envoy said apologetically to y.
yugh lightly and said, ¡°I have heard about the famous Aura de Envoy long ago and the rumors can¡¯t rte to the real things at all.¡±
How could y doesn¡¯t know about this Aura de Envoy¡¯s special ability?
The moment he showed up, y knew de Demon King wanted to test Feng¡¯s character. That was why this Aura de Envoy showed up, and he also wanted to see if Feng¡¯s attitude was just a fa?ade or if he was really humble.
And it seemed Feng had passed the test, which greatly ted him as well.
Ace, on the other hand, had no idea about this at all.
y looked toward Feng solemnly as he took out a golden paper with a long string of wordings.
This paper was eighteen inches long and ten inches wide, and there were thousands of symbols engraved on its four borders.
Ace¡¯s eyes dted when he saw this golden paper. ¡®A loyalty contract?¡¯
He was too familiar with these loyalty contracts, and he didn¡¯t think the royal demon council used them. Thomas also didn¡¯t tell him, which could only mean two things. First, he was also bound by some conditions of this contract, or he simply didn¡¯t care about this contract.
y said in a solemn tone, ¡°Feng, this is a loyalty contract that every entitled demon has to sign on his entitlement. Although our royal demon council is veryx with its members, there are some rules which can never be broken and as a warrior of the demon race we are abided by these rules and this contract is just to make sure it remains the same.¡±
He handed the contract to Ace, so he could read it without saying another word.
The Aura de Envoy also looked solemn. He was also titled Aura Demon Duke, entitled by the royal demon council, and he himself had signed the same contract. He knew even Demon Kings had to sign these contracts, so they never rebelled against the crown.
Or, it was impossible for the crown to give the management of over half the continent to eight king tribes without even worrying about the rebellion. This contract had be stricter after the Hex Demon Race rebellion.
Although these titled demons got many benefits after entitlement, these benefits came with a price, and the price was their lifetime loyalty toward the crown.
They can order these title demons in the time of wars or invasions, and they can¡¯t refuse at all.
But the world was at peace for a long time and no one dares to pick a fight with the demon race if they didn¡¯t have a death wish, that is. This was also the reason these demons just sign it off without being worried about the call and live their life in luxury and limelight.
Ace also notice these points and all in all this contract was only to stop these demons from rebelling and harming the royal demon council in any way, and they have to lend a hand if the council or royal zone experienced any kind of danger no matter what.
Furthermore, two points confused Ace, these points were,
¡®Point 18: No ¡®Hex Magic¡¯ shall be practiced at any cost!¡¯
¡®Point 19: If the signer had practiced ¡®Hex Magic¡¯ before, then this contract cannot be signed and the ¡®Hex Magic User¡¯ shall die as a result!¡¯
Chapter 374
Ace couldn¡¯t help but looked at y and asked in confusion, ¡°Head Elder, what¡¯s this Hex Magic?¡±
He never heard of this term before and while he was in the library, he had read every book in these three days, and he has never seen this term in those books before. Right now, Ace had a very good grasp of the outer provinces and all the famous areas and dangerous regions of the Mighty Demon Continent.
He even got to know about some servitude races under the demon race and some other races on nine continents. Although the information was quite vague, it still broadened his horizons.
However, he never found the term ¡®Hex Magic¡¯ in over ten thousand books and now that he saw this in the contract with such harsh restriction and death punishment, it clearly implied this Hex Magic was hated by the royal demon council or more specific royal family.
Elder y said, ¡°I can only tell you this much. Hex Magic is an absolute taboo in our almighty demon empire, and whoever practices it will be hunted down by the entire demon race. These conditions were made so no one with this vicious profession can infiltrate our royal demon council and if anyone dares, they will be instantly seized!¡±
y naturally knows about the Hex Magic, especially after the recent incident with that thief, who was considered a being from the hex master from Hex Demon Race.
But they don¡¯t announce it to themon public, nor they could reveal it under any circumstances.
Aura de Envoy¡¯s eyes shimmered. He knew about the hex demon race because of the de demon king, and there were also records about them in the secret library.
He was also shocked when he heard the imperial envoy killed a soul cultivator without batting an eye just because he was affected by a hex. They even incinerated two tribes and a city, just because they didn¡¯t want to take any risk of letting that thief escape.
Right now, all the upper echelon knows about the tragedy of the iron demon city and the consequences of a hex master roaming freely in their territories.
Since the thief was alive, then it naturally meant he¡¯ll show up eventually, but they didn¡¯t want him to show up in their home.
That¡¯s why the securities were extremely high nowadays, and any suspicious subject will be instantly detained.
A sudden thought sh past Ace¡¯s mind like lightning when he heard this and his heart trembled, ¡®Could it be they think I¡¯m this hex magic user and that¡¯s why the royal zone got involved?!¡¯
The more Ace mulled over it, the more he found it possible because the appearance of the royal zone was too sudden, and theye extremely overbearing to him. Even wanted to refine him.
After hearing y¡¯s words like the enemy of the entire demon race, he felt like crying because if this was true, then this was a huge misunderstanding, and he had no way of proving that he wasn¡¯t this hex magic user at all.
But he knew it was meaningless since no one would believe him because he might have done something which let them believe so much that he was a hex magic user.
¡®What was it, my thief abilities? No, there are many demons with stealth abilities like Noa. Then it has to be my thief symbol since it¡¯s uprehended by anyone. I have to get more information about this hex magic and I have to confirm if they think of me like one.¡¯
Ace could tell y would not reveal any more than he already did, but he had to confirm his conjecture no matter what. It was extremely important to his future ns and safety.
He suddenly thought of something and said with uncertainty, ¡°Head Elder, I suddenly thought of something. I just don¡¯t know if I said it or not¡¡± He pretended to be hesitant.
y narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Speak your mind, don¡¯t worry.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered. ¡°Elder said this hex magic is sinister, and I couldn¡¯t help but think about what happened to the iron demon city a few months ago. Could it also be done by hex magic?¡±
Ace had taken an enormous risk by saying this because others might think his guess was too urate, and he might know something, but he knew as long as he signed this contract they will not suspect him.
Furthermore, it was not like he had spoken about some secret matter. Everyone knows about the sudden fall of iron demon city and themon public had no idea what has happened. Many were curious about it. But there wasn¡¯t any kind of news or rumor about it all, as if someone had made the iron demon city forgotten.
That¡¯s why Ace dared to say this since Feng¡¯s tribe had no idea about the iron demon city matter as well. He had to take this risk to confirm his guess.
¡®This brat!¡¯ y¡¯s eyes went wide for a moment, but he controlled his expression. He never thought, with just this casual information, Feng would connect the iron demon city¡¯s destruction with hex magic.
Aura de Envoy was also startled, and he felt this was too much of a coincidence, but he remained stoic and keep observing y. But he had activated his ability.
y merely shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know about the matter of iron demon City. No one knows about it.¡±
However, the little change in emotions of both soul realm beings was enough for Ace to get his answer and he scoffed, ¡®So, you know but don¡¯t want to admit it because of that person¡¯s background, huh? Well, I got my answer, and now I know why they¡¯re after me¡¡¯
However, Ace didn¡¯t show any kind of reaction and only nodded in defeat.
He didn¡¯t ask or dy anymore because he could tell those two were starting to look at him with more peculiar looks.
¡°Well, it¡¯s a shame then if there was really such a vile character, then I would do anything to kill it, so the other innocents would not have to suffer such a fate,¡± Feng mumbled.
He sent his Qi in the loyalty contract and then a drop of blood.
The contract shimmered in golden light.
Ace has already dyed long enough and thest conditions of the contract were also about some other things and thest term was to never reveal this contract or any of its terms and conditions to anyone, which confirmed Ace¡¯s other guess as well.
As the light shimmered, Ace suddenly heard a familiar yet unfamiliar notification:
======
[System has detected a High-Grade-5 Martial Binding ve Item!]
[Please choose between two options]
-Option 1: Destroy the Binding ve Contract
-Cost: 100,000TP
¡ª
-Option 2: Create a Fake Conscious for Binding ve Contract
-Cost: 500,000TP
¡ª
[Please choose within thirty seconds, or the system will auto-select the first option.]
======
¡®ve Binding Contract? But why the hell is this so expensive this time? Last time only a hundred or five hundred were charged for both options! Could it be because it¡¯s a grade-five, that¡¯s why?¡¯ Ace mused.
Still, he quickly chose the second option since if he doesn¡¯t system would destroy this contract, which will not be good for him in any way. He doesn¡¯t have any third option.
======
[Option 2 has been activated!]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 17,515,000]
======
In his martial space, a white smoke cloud was quickly formed, and a golden streak entered it, turning the white cloud into dark golden.
Ace sneered coldly inside as he thought, ¡®Heh, I can never be bound by anything¡¡¯
y and Aura de Envoy¡¯s expressions loosen a bit when they saw the contract was signed without any hitch and a dark red marked has appeared on the bottom.
This also cleared their suspicion about Feng, if they had any.
Ace handed the contract to y respectfully.
y finally revealed an elderly smile and said, ¡°Congrattion, Rising Sword Earl, you¡¯re now an official part of the royal demon council. Be proud!¡±
¡°It¡¯s all thanks to the elder¡¯s grace.¡± Ace act submissively.
¡°Haha, don¡¯t be so humble, act like a noble earl who had earned a special title. But don¡¯t get too cocky as well, because it seemed you just triggered apetition of sorts. Just yesterday, three more youths appeared out of the blue and earned special rmendations from council elders like me. One of them is also a weapon cultivator with half spear intent, while two others have special abilities.¡± y revealed.
Aura de Envoy remained unfazed because he already knew this beforehand.
These three youths were from the eighth and seventh provinces, and they also cause quite amotion.
Many ordinary young demons understood thepetition had raised to another level and that they have to work hard, or they can just say goodbye to their dreams.
Furthermore, there were still over twenty-two months left. Who knows just how many more monsters would appear!
Chapter 375
Ace remained unfazed by this news.
Foremost, this demon gate trail has nothing to do with him, and secondly, he would remain Feng as long as this identity suits him.
The moment he deemed Feng¡¯s identity useless or troublesome, Feng would forever vanish!
But he acted ording to the situation and didn¡¯t give away his inner thoughts
y smiled and continue, ¡°Now the ceremony is over, you can meet with Thomas Boy, he¡¯s on the fourth floor. He¡¯s been waiting for you since this morning. He¡¯s a good friend.¡±
Ace was startled for a moment and nodded with a smile. ¡°Yes, he¡¯s indeed a good friend.¡±
y suddenly said, ¡°Here¡¯s your token. Don¡¯t lose it, or you¡¯ll be in trouble. Furthermore, since you¡¯re a Demon Earl now, you¡¯ll get a 15% discount on any purchase, and you can sell anything at a good price from any shop within any province especially the Life Demon Association and you can also buy soul pills and soul materials now from the association.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes contracted when he heard ¡®soul pills¡¯ and ¡®soul materials¡¯ and his heartbeat raise slightly. He never thought he would get such a benefit because he knew soul pills or soul materials were sold to the public.
This will also make things easier for him now. He had wealth, and he had nowhere to spend them.
Ace quickly took the five inches triangr golden token with Earl¡¯s word in front and on the back was a goat¡¯s face demon who he knew was the deity of demons, Baphomet. It was the symbol of the royal demon council!
y chucked when he saw excited Feng and said, ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited, although you can now buy soul pills and soul materials. But you have an annual limit ording to your title. Those stingy soul alchemists won¡¯t give a face to anyone, but the royal demon council isn¡¯t afraid of them. That¡¯s why they have given us this much quota.¡±
y snorted with a hint of anger as if he has some resentment toward the soul alchemists or the Life Demon Association.
Ace frowned. This also put a damper on his n to buy arge amount of soul material for Noa¡¯s practice and soul pills for himself. But it seemed there was a limit to it.
¡®It seemed the rtionship between Life Demon Association and the Royal Demon Council is quite cumbersome. But the royal demon council is still strong since they could even force them to give such discount and soul-type treasures to their nobles,¡¯ Ace mused.
¡®Well, let¡¯s see how much I could get, and this also confirmed they had soul-type materials and soul pills inrge quantities because they can¡¯t satisfy such arge group of noble demons. Although soul-type pills or materials are useless for martial cultivators, they¡¯re wonderful medicine for soul recovery because of soul attacks.¡¯ A thievish glint shed past Ace¡¯s eyes.
¡°Thank you, Head Elder. I¡¯ll remember this.¡± Ace quickly thanked y. He really treated him well all this while, when he was in the council pavilion.
y smiled and nodded in approval. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to your performance in the demon gate trial. You have to earn some face for this old man. Hahaha.¡±
Aura de Envoy smiled seeing y¡¯s jolly mood. He knew, that as long as Feng perform exceptionally, y would get rewards and might even raise his rank in the elder council.
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± He moved toward the exit after bidding y farewell.
Ace also bid his farewell and followed Aura de Envoy.
Just when they reached the fourth floor,
Thomas was sipping on some alcohol, enjoying himself, and when he saw Feng followed by Aura de Envoy, he quickly stood up and greeted them with great enthusiasm.
Aura de Envoy said with a smile, ¡°Little Thomas, it¡¯s been many years since I havest seen you. You¡¯ve grown quite strong!¡±
¡®So, they knew each other. Thomas¡¯s background is not simple.¡¯ Ace remained silent and listened attentively.
Thomas smiled and respectfully bowed. ¡°Hehe, it was all because Uncle Aura Duke pointers that time. But I never thought I would see you here so soon.¡±
Aura de Envoy or Aura Duke answer, ¡°You and me both. I heard your brothers have already gone to king domains, and you went toward His Majesty¡¯s domain, but you took a slight detour. It was also because of you little Feng here, got his title.¡±
Thomas chucked, ¡°Haha, I just wanted to enjoy the scenery on my way, so I took a detour, and it was all because of brother Feng¡¯s talent, he got what deserve. I did nothing except give him a ride.¡±
¡°Heh, who¡¯re you kidding? The view of your mountains is even more beautiful than our domain Rainy Mountain Range. Nevertheless, you did well.¡± Aura Duke nodded in satisfaction.
Thomas looked toward Feng andughed before teasingly, ¡°Rising Sword Earl, damn you, brother Feng, you left your brother here in the dust with your unique title.¡±
Ace shook his head helplessly. He knew this guy was joking.
¡°Well, you better bow before me from now on.¡± He scoffed jokingly.
He sensed no malice or jealousy from Thomas, and he was indeed worthy of being his friend.
Thomas sneered, ¡°It depends on if you can make me.¡±
Aura Duke smile seeing the young boys¡¯ friendship and couldn¡¯t help but thought, ¡®His Highness Peter, it seemed you¡¯ll get good followers¡¡¯
He said, ¡°Thomas, we¡¯re leaving in three days. Since I¡¯m already here, I¡¯ll be escorting the ocean demon duchy¡¯s team for an old friend request. If you want, you can also join us. With senior Maddux, it¡¯ll be a smoother journey.¡±
Thomas nodded. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s time to depart. I don¡¯t think those other youthsing here will be much of a talent, anyway. I was also waiting for brother Feng to be done with this matter, so we can all leave together. But since Uncle Aura Duke is here, we¡¯ll be following you.¡±
¡°Good, you two can catch up. I¡¯m going to pay a visit to senior Maddux. It¡¯s been a long time since we have seen each other.¡± Aura Duke said with a hint of respect for Maddux.
There weren¡¯t many who can get his respect, and Maddux was one of them.
¡°Haha, Grandpa will indeed be happy after seeing you.¡± Thomas nodded with a smile.
Aura Duke left and now only Thomas and Ace remained.
However, Ace was frowning because of the news about his departure in three days, and it seemed he can¡¯t stop them, not until he had a valid reason, which he didn¡¯t.
Furthermore, Thomas¡¯s group was also nning on leaving, and he can¡¯t say no to them as well.
¡®Three days¡ it seemed I have toplete my mission in three days. Although it is sooner than my actual n. My preparation will beplete tonight. This is also an opportunity to escape with this group before anyone could react, and I will be long gone and enter the domain. I don¡¯t believe whoever it was who¡¯s after this hex magic user will dare to do the same to the king¡¯s domain¡¡¯
Ace mused while he and Thomas exited the council pavilion.
¡°Brother Feng, let¡¯s go to the Life Wine Pavilion for celebrating. It¡¯s the best ce with liquor all around the continent, and its owner is none other than the Life Demon Association.¡± Thomas¡¯s excited voice sounded.
Ace snapped out his thoughts and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Life Demon Association shop first. I heard from Elder y, I can now buy soul-type pills and material.¡±
Thomas¡¯s eyes sh as he said, ¡°Brother Feng, don¡¯t waste your annual quota in the duke level branch of Life Demon Association. Let me tell you since you¡¯re a Demon Earls with martial cultivation, you can only buy Soul Recovery Pills and Soul Calming Pills.
¡°The limit of ranks is from 6-Star to 9-Star, and you can buy only a hundred both pills of each rank, meaning three hundred pills each and a total of six hundred. The same goes for soul materials. You can only buy these two pills materials and only ten units of each rank are allowed.
¡°On unit contains a total of ten pills¡¯ worth of material. But what they won¡¯t tell anyone is that there¡¯s a rank of materials and pills as well. There are four quality ranks of pills, Low, Intermediate, High, and Peak.
¡°You see, in the duke level branch, they¡¯ll only have low quality or intermediate pills, and no matter what quality pill or material you bought, they¡¯ll deduct it from your quota. As long as you are someone who didn¡¯t know how to evaluate the pills, they¡¯ll dupe you.
¡°Although the Life Demon Association gives us noble demons¡¯ quota because of our status. But giving us high-quality or inferior goods ispletely up to them, as long as they can get away with it, and trust me, it always happened. So, save your quota and used it in the domain level branch.
¡°They only have high and peak quality goods and they don¡¯t dare to go too far because of de Demon King!¡±
Chapter 376
At nighttime, a carriage entered the duke¡¯s estate without anymotion.
Two young demons disembark the carriage. One was slim and handsome while the other one was burly and looked average, but he had two long swords sheathed around his wrist.
These were naturally Feng (Ace) and Thomas. They just returned after their drinking season from the Life Wine Pavilion.
After Thomas told Ace about the truth about those soul pills¡¯ quota, he does as Thomas said and saved it for the king¡¯s domain. Ace was in a good mood after drinking good alcohol.
At this moment, an old ocean demon in white and blue attire with extraordinary conduct quickly approached them. He respectfully bowed and said, ¡°My Lords, I¡¯m the head butler of the Duke Mansion, Charlee!¡±
Thomas¡¯s eyes shed with a hint of coldness and said, ¡°So, it¡¯s Butler, Charlee. What do we earn the honor of making the famous head Butler pay a personal visit?¡±
Thomas knows this Butler Charlee was one of the most cherished and loyal servants of Livy, and he was quite arrogant. He won¡¯t give anyone face if he deemed them beneath Livy¡¯s status.
Furthermore, this Butler Charlee was not simple. He was a third-level diamond river core cultivator, a realm above the golden river core that can only be achieved with the Ordinary River (Formed with 8-tes).
Simply put, anyone with the ordinary Marital River can skip the bronze river core and enter the silver river core directly and thest realm for these cultivators will be the Diamond River Core, and they had an 80% chance of entering the soul realm or embryo realm.
As for the Extraordinary River (Formed with 9-tes), they can directly skip the silver river core stage and step onto the golden river core stage. Theirst stage will be called the tinum River Core, and they have over a 95% chance of entering the higher realm.
As for the Qi soul realm and soul embryo realm, only cultivators with the Golden Qi River Core or the Golden Soul River Core or higher can achieve these two realms.
These cultivators had different terms like if you enter the fifth realm with a golden river core then you¡¯ll form a Golden Soul or Embryo, simrly, Diamond Soul, or Embryo, and tinum Soul or Embryo, respectively.
Qi Soul Realm and Soul Embryo Realm were further divided into nine small stages, from the first to third stages they called Minor Stages. The fourth to sixth stages were known as Intermediate Stages. The seventh to nine stages were known as Advance Stages.
As for this Charlee, he was at the very peak of the diamond river core realm and a hair away from entering the first stage of the diamond soul realm because it was obvious the ocean demon tribe doesn¡¯t have a cultivation technique to form a tinum river core.
Besides, just this seemingly small gap was akin to a chasm, and it wasn¡¯t easy to cross. Some remain to this level for their entire life, and Charlee was also quite old, so his chances of entering the soul realm were now fifty/fifty.
But just these fifty percent chances were enough to give Charlee a superior status in his tribe and earn him the goodwill of the Old Ocean Duke, and now he was serving his son as well.
That¡¯s why no one dared to mess with him in the ocean demon tribe, despite his status as a servant.
Charlee remained stoic despite Thomas¡¯s jeeringment and respectfully said, ¡°His lordship sure like to jest. It¡¯s this old servant¡¯s honor to meet with two young heroes of our race. Especially the Rising Sword Earl.¡±
Charlee¡¯s old eyes darted to Feng and an icy glint shed past his eyes before it waspletely gone.
However, Ace clearly felt the hostility and murderous intent from this old demon, and he sneered inwardly, ¡®So they saw me as a threat, heh. You all have no idea just how much of a threat I am to you all¡¡¯
Ace was determined to ruin this entire tribe and take revenge for Noa, and he knew as long as he did ording to his n, the ocean demon tribe was doomed or Livy and his followers at least.
Especially after he found out the royal zone was after him like a mad dog!
Thomas pursed his lips. ¡°Cut the crap and tell us why you¡¯re here?¡±
He knows the enmity between Feng and the ocean demon tribe, and he also didn¡¯t have a good impression of this tribe because of Miler and other youngsters¡¯ arrogance.
Furthermore, now was toote to deal with Feng because firstly he was a noble demon with an earl title, and most importantly, Aura Duke was here himself to make sure of his safety and Livy won¡¯t dare to go too far.
Charlee¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change at all, and he remained respectful despite Thomas¡¯s rude tone. He said, ¡°His Highness invites Rising Sword Earl for tea.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes shed with anticipation. No one knows what he was thinking.
Before Thomas could retort and refuse, Feng spoke coldly, ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to?¡±
Charlee¡¯s expression finally turn cold as he said, ¡°Then I¡¯m afraid I have to go back and report it to His Highness. He¡¯s quite eager to meet with Rising Sword Earl, and he might pay a personal visit himself then.¡±
Thomas smirked coldly, ¡°Hehe, then let hime. I want to see what he can do.¡±
However, Feng spoke at this moment, which shocked both Thomas and Charlee.
¡°Hahaha¡ I also want to meet with His Highness. I have long heard about his glorious name. Brother Thomas, you go first. I¡¯ll be going to meet with His Highness Ocean Duke.¡±
¡°But why?¡±
Thomas didn¡¯t understand why Feng would put himself in danger, because even if Livy came knocking on their door, Maddux would be there as well as Aura Duke, so Feng¡¯s safety was guaranteed.
But if he goes to Livy alone, no one knows what can Livy do, and he might really attack Feng for the greater good of his n and there were a high chance he won¡¯t be punished harshly became his father Old Ocean Duke was now one of the de envoys, Ocean de Envoy, under Demon King!
Feng merely chucked and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine. How could something happen to a noble demon in duke¡¯s estate, right, Butler Charlee?¡±
Butler Charlee¡¯s brows frown slightly when he saw Feng¡¯s ambiguous smile and felt this brat was not so simple.
But he still replied respectfully, ¡°Why, of course. Who dares to hurt Rising Sword Earl in our ocean demon estate? I can guarantee His Lordship¡¯s safety.¡±
Thomas nodded helplessly, ¡°Fine, but I will also inform grandpa and Uncle Aura Duke about it.¡±
He deliberately raised his voice at the end.
¡°Heh, do as you please.¡± Feng nodded and looked toward Charlee, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we can¡¯t let his highness wait.¡±
¡°Please.¡±
Butler Charlee respectfully escorted Feng.
Thomas quickly left as well to report this development to Maddux.
As Ace was moving deeper into the duke¡¯s estate, he was observing everything. The onlookers would only think he was just admiring the view.
Feng said at this moment, ¡°Tell me, Butler Charlee, you¡¯re the head housekeeper of the duke¡¯s mansion, right?¡±
Charlee didn¡¯t know why this brat was being too chatty, but he still replied, ¡°Yes, I managed the whole mansion¡¯s day-to-day work. It¡¯s not worth mentioning.¡±
¡®Not worth mentioning? Heh, look how proud you are,¡¯ Ace scoffed.
He said, ¡°I must be quite tiring, and you might not get the chance to cultivate at all.¡±
Charlee was perplexed and replied, ¡°Yes, but because of duke¡¯s kindness, he granted me some staff members to make my work less tiring.¡±
Feng merely nodded and ask another worthless question, ¡°I really envy you guys. You see, in my tribe, we didn¡¯t have any kind of territory orvishing buildings. Heck, we didn¡¯t have proper cultivation chambers with high-grade soundproof arrays. The cultivation environment is not good as here at all, and I bet his highness has the mostvishing cultivation chamber, and he will remain in there most of the time, right?¡±
¡°It¡¯s only natural. As chief of an entire tribe, he had to continue to improve. But don¡¯t worry, Rising Sword Earl will get good cultivation chambers in de King Domain.¡± Said Charlee briefly.
¡°Heh, I really looked forward to it as well.¡± Feng wore a longing face.
Charlee sneered inwardly. ¡®He is still just an amateur who wants status. No matter how much he aplishes or how wily he is, he¡¯s just like anyone else who wants power and luxury.¡¯
At this moment, Feng bought out a glowing red stone and asked Charlee, ¡°This is a Light Crystal.¡±
Charlee was really stumped at this moment and pursed his lips. ¡°I know, but why did you take out a light crystal? There are plenty of lightmps here.¡±
¡°Haha, it¡¯s a kind of ritual. You see, whenever I was going to meet someone, I blow up a light crystal like this.¡±
Feng crushed the red crystal with a smile, and a bright red light enveloped both Charlee and him before everything returned to normal in an instant.
Charlee really wanted to p Feng for just what he said, but he controlled himself since it harmed nothing, and it was just a light crystal. He could only endure!
Charlee¡¯s eyes spasmed, and he said with a stiff face, ¡°Quite a unique ritual, my lord.¡±
Chapter 377
The duke¡¯s mansion was quiterge andvish.
The chief family lived here with all the decedents of his bloodline, and only some old loyal servants were allowed to live here.
After entering the Duke Mansion, Charlee quickly left Ace in a big room with some chairs and a table and went back to report his arrival to Livy.
Furthermore, Charlee just wanted to quickly get rid of Feng because he just asked too many worthless questions about his life and servants. He simply thought there was something wrong with Feng¡¯s head. But s, he can do nothing about it because of his status.
Ace had a serious expression on his face as he thought, ¡®Security is quite high. I have detected many arrays already, and it will really be challenging thievery. Well, I guess any duke title tribe will have this much security. The system also didn¡¯t give notification of scouting target, which means I¡¯m still not in the range of treasury.¡¯
There were two reasons Ace dared toe here to meet with Livy despite his threat: first, he wanted to scout the mansion and wanted to know theyout of the servants and their routines.
Second, he wanted to see Livy in person and gauge his prowess because this time around he had to also pick-pocket his storage ring, and it would be quite difficult since Livy was much stronger than Henrik!
At this moment, the room¡¯s door p opened and Ace snapped out of his stupor.
This intruder wasn¡¯t Livy or Charlee, but it was a young ocean demon.
He was handsome, with a slim build and long antelopes-horns and short blue hair. His purple eyeballs were filled with hostility as he looked at Ace with a fierce look in his eyes.
However, Ace remain unfazed and coolly remain in hisfortable position,pletely taking the other party like a breeze, which enraged the intruder even more.
He spat angrily, ¡°Feng of Demon Sword tribe epts my Noble Title challenge!¡±
Ace was somewhat baffled and said, ¡°And who had heck do you think you are to challenge me for my title?¡±
The young ocean demon gritted his teeth when he heard Feng¡¯s disrespectful words. No one dared to talk to him like that in the whole ocean demon duchy!
He said furiously, staring at Feng, ¡°You Nobody from a mere servant tribe dare to talk to a duke heir like this?!¡±
¡®Too snooty.¡¯ Ace shook his head in disappointment because he expected more from Livy¡¯s heir, but this guy was just an arrogant demon who didn¡¯t know the disparity between sky and earth.
He merely chuckled coldly and said sternly, ¡°Who the hell do you think you¡¯re calling a nobody? Do you dare to be disrespectful to a Demon Earl? Do you know the punishment for this treason!?¡±
The youngster was shocked. He never thought this guy would dare to retaliate like this, and he was lost for words because Feng¡¯s words make perfect sense.
Feng was someone with a Demon Earl title and a special one at that while he was just a duke heir and not even the main heir, so he had to show respect toward Feng, or he¡¯ll really be punished if the council acted!
But he still didn¡¯t want to back down because he was the most talented demon of the ocean demon tribe who was eligible for the demon gate trial and that¡¯s why he naturally looked down on everyone.
However, Feng¡¯s sudden rise and his unparalleled talent in the weapon¡¯s pathpletely shattered his pride. But he was still unwilling to admit it and so when he heard from the servants that Butler Charlee bought back the Rising Sword Earl, he instantlye here to challenge him for his title.
But he never thought Feng would be so hard to deal with and turn the table on him.
He was just about to blow his top when a deep voice filled with authority sounded, ¡°Little Fifth, apologize to young Earl!¡±
Little Fifth¡¯s expression changed when he heard this powerful voice and clenched his teeth hard and mumbled, ¡°F-Father wh¡¡±
¡°Apologize!¡± The voice rang again with overbearing power and a hint of dissatisfaction this time.
At this moment, a burly demon with 3,1-meter height and dark blue skin entered the room, followed by Charlee, who wore an expression of reverence and undying respect.
This burly demon had two feet long sharp antelope horns on his head full of blue long hair, and a horrifying aura was surrounding him. His purple eyeballs were filled with vanity and aloofness.
This was none other than the Chief of Dark Ocean Demon Tribe, Duke Livy Ocean!
Little Fifth knows his father would not take a no for an answer, so in the end, he lowered his head toward Feng and said, ¡°Please forgive me, Demon Earl.¡± His voice was filled with unwillingness and hate.
Ace deeply looked at the towering demon duke before him, who wore a mild smile on his middle-aged face which was still handsome, and only one worde to his mind.
¡®y!¡¯
Feng said as he smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡±
¡°Now go and reflect on your actions.¡± Livy coolly said to his fifth son.
Little Fifth left before shooting a hateful re at Feng, he will naturally put all the me on him since he can¡¯t do anything to this father.
Ace pretended as if nothing happened and gave a noble salute to Livy since he was a demon duke, he naturally has to show some respect.
¡°His Highness Ocean Duke.¡±
Livy closely observed Feng. He didn¡¯t know how, but even he can¡¯t sense anything extraordinary about him, and if he doesn¡¯t know Feng had already gained such fame and a special noble title, he would never have believed Feng was a sword genius.
Although he wanted to get rid of Feng, the moment he got the news, Feng was far more slippery than he thought because he never left the council pavilion until he got the title and now Aura Duke was also here.
Aura Duke and Old Ocean Duke were old friends, and both ns controlled duke-level fiefs in the de domain, and Aura de Envoy was also thest generation chief of Aura Demon Tribe and then move on to the de domain like the old ocean duke.
The first thing Aura Duke did was to give Livy the message from his father and that was to not touch Feng at any cost, the Demon King had personally spoken!
Now Livy¡¯s hands werepletely tied, but there was another secret message that can only he could understand.
¡®I¡¯ll deal with him in de Domain!¡¯
This message greatly eased Livy¡¯s worried because he knew his father had a superior status in the de domain, and he can easily get rid of Feng and no one would ever know.
However, he was still ill at ease, and that¡¯s why he met Feng first before he decides on his next step.
After he observed the brief confrontation between little fifth and Feng, he instantly concluded.
¡®He¡¯s too much of a threat for my tribe!¡¯ Livy thought as a ruthless glint shed past his eyes. ¡®Although he looked boorish and arrogant, he isn¡¯t reckless, and he knows his way with words. He had been hiding for too long before, which means he¡¯s not a suicidal type and calctive.
¡®He revealed his strength in front of Cheveyo Tribe¡¯s heir and earn his respect and protection and then quickly go toward the council to gain a title adding another protection while gaining the demon king¡¯s attention. Who knows how much more he¡¯s hiding?
¡°Father can only do little under the eye of the demon king, and he would definitely gain the best resources and protection there. If I let him leave here without any assurance, I¡¯ll never be able to sleep with this disaster growing safely!¡¯
His smilepletely vanished, and he said coldly, ¡°Let¡¯s cut this pretending act, shall we?¡±
Feng said coolly, ¡°Fine with me. Speak. What do you want?¡±
Ace already know this guy was too hard to deal with and since he was still talking with him, this meant Livy can¡¯t do anything to him, so he didn¡¯t need to be afraid!
¡®He is not afraid of me killing him? Heh, he¡¯s really calctive, but can you really remain confident?¡¯
Livy snorted coldly as he released half of his cultivation pressure. He was a fifth intermediate stage diamond soul cultivator and his pressure was no joke, even half!
However, Livy was shocked because Feng¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change at all, and he even smiled under that pressure, and he started to raise it until it reached its peak. Even Charlee fell on his knees while sweating hard.
But Feng remained standing while smiling at Livy.
He said coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t think Duke Livy would be so ipetent. You didn¡¯t even know a weapon cultivator¡¯s willpower is extremely strong. Let me tell you, this much pressure is nothing for me, not unless you¡¯re a peak diamond soul cultivator or a legendary tinum Qi soul cultivator!¡±
Chapter 378
Charlee, whose kneecaps almost shattered, felt like he just heard something unbelievable and thought he was hallucinating because no one dared to call a demon duke ¡®Ipetent¡¯. Not if they had a death wish!
Livy was bbergasted when he heard someone dare to call him ipetent right in on his face, and this someone was a brat weaker than him by whole two high realms!
But the next moment, his shock turned into boundless rage and gloominess. He was a demon duke, respected by everyone, and even his father never chided him like this.
A thick killing intent surfaced in his eyes as he looked at smiling Feng.
¡°You dare to curse at a demon duke?! Die!¡±
Purple Qi gashed out of Livy¡¯s hands, and he was going for the kill!
Livy simply didn¡¯t care about the consequences anymore, and he also saw it as a chance to get rid of Feng because he was the one who provoked the dignity of a demon duke and Livy also knew his father won¡¯t let anything happen to him as long as he had a valid reason for his actions.
Furthermore, Demon King won¡¯t go too far with his punishment, since it would only weaken his strength if he killed a soul realm cultivator under him.
However, when Livy saw Feng¡¯s smile didn¡¯t fade at all, on the contrary, his smile broadened, Livy finally felt something was amiss and when Feng¡¯s mouth opened, he knew this brat had yed him!
Feng suddenly shrilled and screamed in panic, ¡°Duke Livy wanted to murder me¡ please, someone save me!¡±
His voice has just faded when two additional pressures enveloped the room. These pressures were twice as stronger as Livy¡¯s and one of them can even make the other person¡¯s soul tremble.
When Livy felt two powerful senses locked on to him and the other sense was trying to gue his mind, he knew it was soul sense!
Livy¡¯s expression finally changed because he finally understood why Feng dare to provoke him and never fear for his safety in the least bit. It was all because he knew Aura Duke and Maddux were already here!
¡®But how did he know, even I wasn¡¯t able to tell?!¡¯
Livy¡¯s heart trembled when he looked at Feng¡¯s frightened expression at this moment, and if he hadn¡¯t experienced it himself, he would¡¯ve thought he was terrified for his life.
¡°YOU¡¡±
Before Livy could utter, an icy voice sounded, ¡°It seemed Demon Duke had stooped too low to even dare to attack a junior.¡±
Even more horrifying soul pressure invaded the air and Livy finally felt piercing pain from deep within his mind before all his pressure shattered like ss and all the purple Qi turned into nothingness and blood trickled from Livy¡¯s mouth!
¡°Senior, please ease your anger. It was all just a misunderstanding!¡± another voice rang, filled with bitterness and dismay.
¡°P-please¡ forgive m-me, S¡ Senior!¡± Livy gritted his teeth as he pleaded.
He knew he had been yed by this brat, and now he was suffering a powerful soul attack. He could tell the party was still holding back and if it was a full-powered attack, then he was afraid he would¡¯ve suffered a terrible soul injury!
¡°Hmph!¡± Maddux coldly harrumphed before the pressure finally vanished.
Livy felt he had just escaped a catastrophe, but his eyes were filled with boundless rage and abhor.
Just when did he suffer this kind of humiliation after inheriting the position of tribe Duke, and he was even forced to bow his head?
Furthermore, the other party was so strong he feltpletely at the mercy of the other party¡¯s mood and this was even more terrible than death.
Livy was too proud, and he always saw others as his pawns and care about his face, but now he could feel the same feeling of being helpless, just like all those tribes felt when he decided their life and death on a whim!
He threw a hateful re at Feng, who was still pretending to be frightened by him, and he felt his hate for Feng reach a whole new level. He never hate someone like this because no one was worthy enough!
Maddux and Aura Duke finally appeared right outside the room.
Maddux had a stony expression on his face when he looked at Livy, while Aura Duke had a disappointed expression on his face.
After Thomas got back, he quickly reported how Feng was summoned by Livy and how Charlee even threatened them.
Aura Duke was also present there, chatting with Maddux happily until Thomas reported the situation.
They both quickly left because Maddux also felt Feng¡¯s life was not safe with Livy, while Aura Duke continued to assure him all the way that he doesn¡¯t need to worry about Livy.
However, just when they reached the Duke Mansion, they heard Feng¡¯s frightened voice and their expressions finally changed, especially Aura Duke. He cursed Livy for being such a reckless fool!
Aura Duke knew if Maddux went on a rampage, even he won¡¯t be able to handle him and only someone at Demon King level can threaten him because of his peak level diamond embryo realm cultivation!
But thankfully Livy did nothing to Feng, and they weren¡¯t toote or Livy might suffer a huge disaster this time around and even the old ocean duke won¡¯t be able to do anything to Maddux and Demon King won¡¯t say anything because Livy had gone against his will as well!
¡°Let¡¯s go, Feng.¡± Maddux coldly said without even giving Livy a second nce, and his expression loosen a bit when he saw Feng¡¯s obedientlying his way.
Feng¡¯s expression was full of respect and thankfulness as he said, ¡°Thank you for saving me, Senior.¡±
Maddux merely nodded and turned around before shooting a nce at Aura Duke. ¡°I¡¯ll see you in three days.¡±
Maddux left as quickly as they came, taking sheepish Feng with him while leaving resentful Livy and bitter Aura Duke.
Aura Duke sighed and sternly said to Livy, ¡°Are you out of your damn mind? I clearly warn you Demon King wants that brat, and he¡¯s under the protection of Senior Maddux, but you still try to attack him? Do you want to end your father¡¯s legacy?!¡±
He was disappointed in Livy this time around.
Livy finally breathed in relief when he saw Maddux was finally gone but felt wrong when he heard Aura Duke berating him.
He defended himself. ¡°Uncle, I didn¡¯t want to attack him, but that brat is just too hateful. He provoked me. First, you can even ask butler, Charlee!¡±
Aura Duke¡¯s expression changed somewhat as he looked at Charlee, who was sweating buckets all this time for an exnation.
Charlee quickly told everything about how Feng resisted Livy¡¯s pressure and then provoked him. He hid nothing.
Aura Duke¡¯s eyes narrowed as he said, ¡°So, you¡¯re saying; that brat knows we¡¯re here. That¡¯s why he provoked you to attack him? He even resisted your pressure without any problem? Are you taking me for a fool?!¡±
Aura Duke¡¯s expression was a sight to behold. He felt Livy was really out of his mind and wanted to fool him by fabricating such a story.
How could a Qi river cultivator can bear the pressure of an intermediate stage diamond soul realm?
Even if he believed it, he didn¡¯t dare to believe he could sense his or Maddux¡¯s presence without them being noticed. Especially the soul cultivator like Maddux. It was just too unreal.
He sternly said, ¡°No matter what, don¡¯t provoke Senior Maddux again and stop going after Feng as well, or even your father can¡¯t save you from the disaster which you bought upon yourself!¡±
He also turned around a left, hearing nothing else.
Livy felt like he had gone insane because he knew he was telling the truth, and it wasn¡¯t coincident. He could tell just by Feng¡¯s expression. It was all carefully calcted by him.
Charlee said at this moment with a hesitant tone, ¡°Milord, c-could it is a coincidence?¡±
¡°Shut up and go away. I know what I saw. I have to warn father that the brat is hiding a terrifying ability, and he might pass the demon institutes¡¯ trials and enter the royal zone. It will be a colossal disaster for our ocean demon tribe!¡±
Livy no longer considered Feng a junior or reckless. He was just too mysterious and scheming. Even someone like him fell into his trap, and that has made Livy think of Feng as someone of an equal!
Outside the duke¡¯s mansion,
Feng and Maddux were walking when Maddux suddenly said in a knowing tone, ¡°Your performance wasn¡¯t bad.¡±
Ace felt his heart tremble when he heard Maddux¡¯s ambiguous words, he knew it wasn¡¯t easy to fool someone like Maddux, but he didn¡¯t regret it because he knew if he remained polite and yed along with Livy, he won¡¯t make Livy suffer like this.
Furthermore, the demon race was known for their special innate abilities, and he wasn¡¯t afraid Maddux would suspect him or try to get rid of him.
Because the stronger he was, it would only benefit Thomas since they were allies and Maddux wanted Feng to be strong!
Chapter 379
Deep at night,
Inside a remote alleyway, there was an old dark five-meter-tall status with arge pair of addax-horns and the face of a goat and the torso of a human while two legs of horse and wings like an eagle, it was indeed the demon race worshiped deity, Baphomet.
Suddenly, a hooded silhouette appeared right in front of this old dark status, and he pressed his hand on the side of the status tform.
Thereupon, a small crevice appeared on the wall right behind the status and this silhouette vanished in this crevice before it closed right after.
At the end of this pathway was an opened door, and this silhouette entered it with no hesitation.
A masked, voluptuous figure was sitting cross-legged while her eyebrows were tight shut.
Suddenly, she felt something, as she quickly opened her eyes and a pair of pitch-ck eyeballs, as a dark abyss revealed.
When she saw the dark hooded figure standing five meters away from her, her eyes shimmered in ecstasy as she said, ¡°Leader, you¡¯re back!¡±
Ace quickly removed his long dark hood, revealing his real smiling face, and said, ¡°How have you been?¡±
Noa answered without any misgiving, ¡°I was just waiting for your further instruction and I also manage to achieve some progress in both soul skills you gave me!¡±
Last time, when Ace revealed his biggest secret about being a dual cultivator, Noa¡¯s respect for him turned into devotion.
She finally understood just how powerful Ace will be as long as he kept making progress in his dual cultivation systems, and he will roam freely in this world without any rivals.
That¡¯s why she decided to cultivate even harder and be more useful or the day mighte when he would not need her and just the thought of it make her heartache for some reason.
Ace smiled and said, ¡°Good because I think you won¡¯t be able to head inside the duke¡¯s mansion with me.¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes shed with panic as she asked quickly asked with a hint of unwillingness, ¡°Why?¡±
Ace sighed helplessly. He knew just how much Noa was looking forward to this thievery, which will rune Livy and the ocean demon tribe¡¯s future.
However, after his prior visit this day inside the duke¡¯s mansion and confrontation with Livy, he knew with Noa¡¯s current level she would be a burden and this might affect his mission.
Although he didn¡¯t mind taking Noa with him, she didn¡¯t have a disguise skill or item, and she was still a soul foundation realm cultivator. Any demon with martial sense can easily find her.
Furthermore, there were now two more experts inside the duke estate and one of them was a soul embryo realm peak expert with lots of experience and a mistake would be deadly.
After he experienced how Maddux subdue Livy with his overbearing soul sense, he knew he can¡¯t fool him easily.
That¡¯s why he came here tonight and tell Noa about his n, which didn¡¯t involve her going to the duke¡¯s estate, but he had another task for her.
¡°I know it¡¯s unfair to you but hear me out, after I infiltrate the duke estate guest quarters and took over this demon identity name Feng¡¡± Ace told her experience while hiding nothing, ¡°¡ I meet with Livy over three hours ago¡¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes went wide with shock and disbelief when she heard how Ace earn himself a special title, especially when she heard he hadprehended half sword intent. She knew just what this represents. She never saw Ace fighting and didn¡¯t know he was a sword path genius, either.
Noa¡¯s eyes twinkled with stars when she heard how Livy was forced to lower his head, and all because of Ace.
¡°That bastard deserved it!¡± She said through gritted teeth.
Ace chuckled coldly, ¡°Heh, it¡¯s only the start of his suffering. Now, do you understand why I don¡¯t want you to enter the duke¡¯s estate?¡±
¡°Yes.¡± Noa nodded without any unwillingness this time. She knew she would only drag Ace down if she followed him into this theft.
Ace was happy and relieved. He was afraid she would insist on going. But his worries were unjust in the end.
He said, ¡°We¡¯ll leave at dawn in three days, and I¡¯m also going to start the theft just a few hours before the departure.¡±
Noa said with uncertainty, ¡°Won¡¯t Livy would find out about his missing storage ring and report it to those two experts?¡±
She heard from Ace that he was nning to steal Livy¡¯s storage ring as well. This was extremely risky since Livy would be there when they depart, and he¡¯ll easily find out about his missing storage ring and which will cause a tremendousmotion.
¡°That¡¯s the thing actually, he would tell no one.¡± Ace smiled ambiguously, ¡°Won¡¯t I tell you the person who extinguish the iron demon city was specific after me and from the royal zone?
¡°Livy might also know about it because of Henrik¡¯s death, so what do you think he¡¯ll do when he found out the ¡®Hex Magic User¡¯ just struck his home and even give him an owl symbol?¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes when wide, and she blurted, ¡°He would not risk such a thing because he feared he might suffer the same fate as the iron demon city if he let the cats out of the bags!¡±
Ace nodded, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why he would do anything to suppress the news, and that¡¯s where youe into y!¡±
Noa quickly understood why Ace was implying, and her heart was filled with tion.
¡®It seemed I¡¯ll be the reason for the ocean demon tribe¡¯s demise after all!¡¯ Noa¡¯s eyes turned icy.
Abruptly, a green pentagon coin appeared in Ace¡¯s hand, and he threw it toward Noa with a grin.
Noa quickly caught it and when felt the Qi fluctuation, she quickly knew this was a low-level Qi stone, but it was delicately carved into this pentagon-shaped coin.
On its one side was an owl symbol, she knew it was Ace¡¯s thief symbol and on the other side was his thief name (Sky Stealer) written in demonnguage with a minor note right below it, (¡®I¡¯m Back!¡¯).
Ace grinned, ¡°Hehe, you see how we don¡¯t need to worry about Livy hiding the news.¡±
Noa quickly clinched the Qi stone coin in excitement and nodded. ¡°If we spread these coins all over the ocean demon city, everyone quickly knows you were here, and then came the downfall of the ocean demon tribe!¡±
¡°Hold your horses, although you guess it right, we have to do it in the right way.¡± Ace¡¯s expression turned serious. ¡°So here¡¯s the n when I¡¡±
Ace carefully borate his n and Noa asked many questions, and he calmly answered. He knew he can¡¯t mess this up because of that unknown person from the royal zone.
After an hour of discussion, the meeting between the two thieves was finally over and after Ace handed ten storage rings to Noa, he quickly left under the shade of night. He can¡¯t be away for too long. Others might suspect him if they found out he was not in his room.
Although he left those two busty maids to cover up for him, he still felt it would be bad if Maddux came to find him and discovered his unusual behavior.
Ace stealthily entered Feng¡¯s room just like he had left, and he was bbergasted when he was greeted by the sight of two sexy maids dressed in revealing clothes.
Dolly and Flora coquettish greeted Acepletely revealing their busty assets, ¡°Greeting His Highness.¡±
He frowned and said sternly, ¡°Don¡¯t I tell you to not do this kind of stuff? If you have time to fool around, go and cultivate Feng¡¯s cultivation manual, and the resources I provide you are enough for you to break into the soul realm.¡±
After those two sisters took that loyalty oath, Ace could do nothing but endure them.
In the end, he provided them with Feng¡¯s core cultivation method and all his skills since they were both from the same tribe they had a talent for that special manual, and he even gave them cultivation resources he found in Feng¡¯s storage ring since they were nothing to him.
This made those two sisters even more grateful to Ace, and they wanted to ¡®serve¡¯ him with ¡®everything¡¯ they had, but Ace sternly rejected them and chided them to behave.
However, it seemed those two sisters just don¡¯t want to give up on ¡®serving¡¯ him!
¡°Hehe, let¡¯s go sister, it seemed Lord is still shy.¡± Flora giggled in a teasing manner.
After they observed Ace wasn¡¯t bossy or overbearing and was extremely easy to talk with, they became more daring and even tease him as if they wanted him to punish them.
ck lines appeared on Ace¡¯s face when he heard this and harrumphed coldly before he goes toward the cultivation chamber. He could not be bothered by those two shameless women.
Flora¡¯s, and Dolly¡¯s enchanting giggles, sounded from behind.
Ace active the soundproof array and set up his formation before he said calmly, ¡°System released the EXP and SP!¡±
Chapter 380
Thereupon, Ace felt a huge torrent of heavenly Qi entering his soul and body as his both cultivations surged.
Inside his martial space, the sea bed was filled with ck Qi mist started to change as that mist slowly started to liquefy.
When the Qi mist started to turn into liquid, this was the sign of the flowing river cultivation stage of the Qi river realm.
However, Ace had formed a Qi Sea, which means this process of liquidation will not easily beplete while he needed arge amount of Qi to fill his martial Qi sea.
When all the dark mist turned into dark liquid Qi, his sea bead was only ten percent filled!
However, Ace¡¯s focus was nowpletely on his orange soul core, which was revolving at high speed and releasing orange mist as the heavenly soul Qi was being absorbed.
He felt his soul sense was growing all of a sudden. From 250-meter it grew to 270 and quickly crossed the three-hundred-meter mark and finally stopped at 350M range!
Ace was astonished and ecstatic because he knew a golden soul or embryo cultivator¡¯s martial or soul sense maximum range was only 150M to 200M, while a diamond soul or embryo cultivator¡¯s martial or soul sense maximum range was between 250M and 300M.
As for the peak, tinum Qi soul or soul embryo cultivator¡¯s range of their martial sense or soul sense was between 450M and 500M.
However, Ace wasn¡¯t even in the fourth cultivation realm, and he had a soul sense and heavenly sense that can rival a peak diamond soul embryo realm cultivator, which means his chances of the uing thievery sess were just skyrocketed!
One had to know the cultivators who broke through in river core realm with Medium River can only have martial sense or soul sense of 50M, and they used treasures to boost their senses, but these kinds of treasures were rare, and they weren¡¯t urate like the real thing.
The Large River formed Core will have a 75M soul sense or martial sense range.
While the Ordinary and Extraordinary river cores range will be 100M and 150M, respectively.
Growing a soul sense or marital sense was extremely difficult because therger range of your senses, the stronger you were, and it can decide a winning factor between a life and death struggle.
However, cultivators were bound by the limits of heaven, and even if they had a treasure that might widen their senses, there was a limit, and they can¡¯t be grown infinitely.
But Ace wasn¡¯t bound by any limit, and he was walking on apletely different path than others, and this make him the anomaly among anomalies.
At this moment, the system¡¯s icy voice rang.
=====
[Congrattion, host, on achieving the fourth stage of Heavenly Sea Realm and fourth stage of Orange Soul Form!]
[Host status has been updated]
¡ª
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-4]]
[EXP: 82,270/100,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-4]]
[SP: 70,000/100,000]
=====
Ace smiled and mumbled, ¡°Well, this was an unexpected, pleasant surprise. I never thought my soul and heavenly sense can further grow. But it seemed the secret part of my soul cultivation technique had its advantages as well. I think now only Maddux can detect my heavenly sense presence, and maybe I can also bypass Aura Duke detection as well, which means Livy¡¯s is nothing now¡¡±
Ace was excited, and he wanted to take off for his mission right now, but he knew it would be meaningless right now since he had already crafted the n and discussed it with Noa.
Furthermore, although he became strong, this doesn¡¯t mean he can protect himself from looming danger and his enemy had many mysterious ways to deal with him, so there wasn¡¯t any need to make mistakes over this small power boost.
¡ª
Two days passed in a sh,
Thomas came to visit Ace every day and drag him for drinks, this time his wife Milly also join them, and she also treated Feng more sincerely but was still cold.
Lastly, Livy seemed topletely behave and won¡¯t dare to find trouble with Feng anymore and the preparations were almostplete.
There were over four hundred candidates from the ocean demon fief and over hundreds of them were from the ocean demon tribe, and their leader was naturally Little Fifth.
As for the other youths, they were from the other tribes of the ocean demon fiefs, and they also remained in the camp of ocean demon youths.
But Feng was even more popr than the ocean demon team, and many youths approached him to join his team, but Fengpletely rejected them and Thomas also didn¡¯t seem too interested in forming his team or leading this group of sycophants.
Everyone knows the Aura de Envoy was personally escorting them tomorrow morning!
¡ª
It was thest night, only four hours remained before the departure of the ocean demon entourage.
This night was destined to be a sleepless night for the duke¡¯s estate.
Many servants were busy with the final preparation.
At this moment, an ocean demon in servant attire was hurrying toward the main estate.
The gate guards naturally stopped him and one of them sternly said, ¡°What are you doing here? This isn¡¯t the ce for a lowly servant like you!¡±
The timid servant sweated as he blurted, ¡°My lords, I have an emergency report for Head Butler. It¡¯s rted to the journey of this dawn. Please understand.¡±
Those guards¡¯ expressions finally changed. They know the duke himself has given the order that there was no room for any mistake, and anyone who dared to make the slightest mistake will be harshly punished.
One of the guards quickly agreed to this servant¡¯s request. ¡°I understand. Follow me.¡±
The servant sighed in relief, but his anxious expression didn¡¯t loosen as he quickly followed the armed guard inside the duke¡¯s mansion.
¡°Wait here, I¡¯ll report it to Head Butler.¡± The guard left the servant in the hall and quickly left to find Charlee.
Charlee was extremely busy while setting things up for the Livy¡¯s fifth son and other ocean demon youths and when he heard something might¡¯ve happened, he quickly agreed to meet with this servant, which he won¡¯t in normal circumstances.
Charlee quickly approached the anxious servant and sternly said, ¡°You¡¯re Abdiel, who was in charge of carriages, right? Speak, what happened?¡±
Charlee was the head butler of the duke¡¯s estate, and he knows every servant who worked here because they were all carefully selected by him, and it was only natural for him to know about Abdiel as well.
Abdiel quickly bowed and said, ¡°This lowly one greeted the Head Butler, and it¡¯s an honor for me to be remembered by the Head Butler.¡±
¡°Cut the crap and tell me what the matter?¡± said Charlee sternly. He didn¡¯t have time to entertain this bottom feeder.
Abdiel quickly said respectfully, ¡°Head Butler, I don¡¯t know, but Purple Horn Demon Horses were going mad all of a sudden, and we don¡¯t have enough manpower to calm them. They had already destroyed three 8-star carriages, and beast tamers had sent me to ask for help here.¡±
Charlee¡¯s old face turned gloomy when he heard this, and he berated, ¡°Useless bunch, such a useless bunch, they can¡¯t even handle livestock?¡±
Abdiel trembled slightly before he said timidly, ¡°My lord, Head Beast Tamer specifically asked for you, and he said, without your pressure, it will be extremely difficult to handle the beast.¡±
¡°That useless trash, it seemed, we need a new beast tamer.¡± Charlee¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°You may leave. I¡¯ll head over there right now.¡±
Charlee quickly left toward the north part of the estate, where all the estate carriages and demonic beasts were held. It was two miles away from the main estate, and it would take Charlee five minutes to reach there.
Abdiel was also quickly escorted out of the main gates by the guards.
Just one minute had passed after Charlee left, and suddenly he came back. The guards became confused, but they didn¡¯t dare to stop him from entering the mansion.
One of the guards mumbled, ¡°It seemed the head butler forget something.¡±
The other quickly reprimanded in a harsh tone, ¡°Shut up, if the butler heard you, then only punishment awaits you!¡±
Charlee coolly walked toward Livy¡¯s cultivation chamber before he closed his eyes and a powerful sense suddenly surged from him for an instant before itpletely vanished.
He mumbled, ¡°So, he¡¯s here.¡±
Livy wasn¡¯t cultivating right at this moment since it would be soon the time for his descendants to depart, and he was deep in thought about Feng and how to deal with him as quickly as possible.
Although he had already written a message to his father, he wasn¡¯t sure if his father can deal with Feng easily.
At this moment, a gentle knock rang on his cultivation chamber¡¯s door.
Livy frowned before he sternly said, ¡°Who is it?¡±
Charlee¡¯s respectful voice sounded, ¡°Your Highness, I have something to report.¡±
Livy¡¯s eyes narrowed when he heard Charlee¡¯s voice. He knew Charlee would never disturb him, especially when he was in his cultivation chamber, and this might be something really important.
He said mildly, ¡°Enter!¡±
Chapter 381
Livy¡¯s mild voice rang, ¡°Enter!¡± and the cultivation chamber¡¯s doors also opened.
Charlee quickly entered the room and bowed toward Livy.
Livy said coolly, ¡°Butler, speak your mind.¡±
Charlee was his most loyal subordinate, and he also treated him as an elder. That¡¯s why Livy was quitex with him whenever they were alone.
Charlee quickly said respectfully, ¡°Aura Duke just sent a messenger.¡±
Livy¡¯s brows knit together, and he said with uncertainty, ¡°At this hour? What did the messenger say?¡±
Charlee continued respectfully, ¡°Aura Duke summon your highness in life wine pavilion, and it seemed he asked you toe stealthily for some reason.¡±
Livy¡¯s expression turned strange. Just three days ago, Aura Duke made it clear he didn¡¯t believe him, nor he was willing to listen to his exnation, and now he suddenly summoned him in this kind of way.
He mused, ¡®Could it be he was afraid of Maddux? That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t dare to openly support me, and now he was finally showing his true colors?¡¯
Livy felt this was the only usible exnation, and he didn¡¯t share his thoughts with Charlee, nor asked for his opinion.
He stood up from his position and said to Charlee, ¡°I¡¯ll go. Please look after the preparation while I¡¯m out.¡±
Charlee bowed slightly and nodded solemnly. ¡°Please be at ease, your highness.¡±
Livy nodded and left the cultivation chamber inrge stride, and he didn¡¯t ask Charlee to leave. After all, he knew he would leave on his own because he would not dare to remain here if he didn¡¯t have a death wish.
However, Livy didn¡¯t see Charlee¡¯s wily smile the moment he exited the door.
¡®This was quite easy. I thought he would ask about Charlee¡¯s viewpoint, and then I have to reveal more information, which will draw more suspicion since I¡¯m not supposed to know what happened that night. Now, however, Livy would only suspect I yed him by Aura Duke¡¯s name, nothing much.¡¯
This Charlee was none other than Ace in Charlee¡¯s disguise, and Abdiel was also none other than him.
After he easily fooled Charlee to leave the mansion with one of his prepared faces from his secret visit to the servant quarters.
He activated Charlee¡¯s face, which he saved that day in the sham of his ritual, and quickly came back to start his n, which was to steal Livy¡¯s storage ring first.
As for why he went after Livy¡¯s storage ring first, it was because his lock picking skills weren¡¯t high enough this time around. Although Noa had already told him where the treasury was, she also told him it was a low-grade-three lock protected and many low-grade-three rming arrays and traps.
That was why this time he nned to pick-pocketed Livy¡¯s storage ring first and the treasury key and other array controlling tes would be also inside his ring, which will make things far easier with his second half of the mission.
However, this also had its own risk because the moment he removed Livy¡¯s Qi mark, Livy would instantly notice his missing storage ring and quickly head back to the mansion.
That¡¯s why Ace had to be extremely quick this time and do his work before both Charlee and Livy can head back to the mansion.
But before that, he had to pickpocket Livy¡¯s storage ring first and then hope he won¡¯t notice it until he was far away from the mansion.
That¡¯s why he first released his heavenly sense for a moment and tested if Livy notice it or and just as he expected, he noticed nothing, not unless Ace wanted him to notice.
Ace quickly activated his heavenly sense again and Livy was quickly detected going toward another room, so he could leave through the window silently. He waspletely believing Charlee¡¯s words for now.
Ace¡¯s lips curls upward, and he quickly sent a soul thread Livy¡¯s way.
In the middle of the night, Livy jumped into his back garden and quickly left toward the secret exit to meet with Aura Duke.
However, at this moment, hepletely failed to notice an invisible fine orange thread had wrapped around his finger and when he just was in theplete dark, that fine thread abruptly vanished with his storage ring!
Inside Livy¡¯s cultivation chamber, a beautiful gray storage ring has appeared in Charlee¡¯s hand, and his eyes shimmered in tion.
System voice rang at this moment.
=====
[Pick Pocket Seed]
[Host steal]
[Space Treasure(s)]
-Low-Grade-3 Storage Space Treasures: 5 (All Locked with Qi Marks)
¡
¡ª
[Alchemy Treasure(s)]
-Low-Grade-1 Pills: 14,429
-Intermediate-Grade-1 Pills: 6,242
-High-Grade-2 Pills: 2,681
-Low-Grade-2 Pills: 1195
-Intermediate-Grade-2 Pills: 521
-High-Grade-2 Pills: 95
-Medicinal Alcohol: 320 Barrels High-Grade-2
¡ª
[Smith Crafting Treasures]
-High-Grade-3 Weapon: 1
¡
¡ª
[Rune Crafting Treasure(s)]
-Nine-Star Arrays: 5
-Intermediate-Grade-1 Array: 1
-High-Grade-3 ve Contract: 1
¡ª
[Qi Stones]
Low-Grade-1: 900 Million
Middle-Grade-1: 350 Million
High-Grade-1: 132 Million
Peak Grade-1: 84 Million
Low-Grade-2: 3.3 Million
Middle-Grade-2: 49,990
High-Grade-2: 1,5359
¡ª
[Reward(s)]
-Rewards: 150,000 Thief Points
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 17,580,000]
¡ª
[Thieveries Rank(s)]
-High-Level Thievery
-The Thief Farewell Note will be automatically filled because this thievery is part of the chain mission.
-Auto-filled Thief Farewell Note: I¡¯m Back!
-Please select where the host wants to imprint the Thief Farewell Note!
¡ª
[Note: The host has only one minute to choose a location for the Thief Farewell Note or in case of times run out, the system will choose on behalf of the host.]
=====
Ace was a little startled when he saw the system had auto-filled the Thief Farewell Note in the same way he made his new Qi coins and smiled the next moment.
¡®Well, we agree on something,¡¯ Acemanded coldly. ¡°Imprint it on his face!¡±
He also liked the name of the first mission, and he wanted to make that demon who tried to refine him puke blood with anger, and this ¡®I¡¯m Back¡¯ was a vicious p on its face.
That was why he had already written these particr two words on the farewell note if he score high-level thievery, which was highly likely since he was pick-pocketing a demon duke, and he won¡¯t just carry cheap or ordinary goods on him.
However, he was still somewhat disappointed when he didn¡¯t find any soul-type materials inside Livy¡¯s storage ring.
¡®It is quite possible the soul-type material should be in the treasury. I don¡¯t know if tribes with demon duke title would get any quota or not for the soul-type material and soul pills. Well, I hope they had.¡¯
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered with excitement, but he didn¡¯t make the system remove those Qi marks on Livy¡¯s storage ring and the stronger rings inside these storage rings. Because Livy would still not reach too far, and he wanted to wait for some time before he starts.
However, if Livy found out about his missing storage ring very soon, Ace wouldn¡¯t have any kind of advantage anymore, and he might suffer terribly.
That¡¯s why he waited for five minutes before he would alert Livy on his own ord.
Five minutes were more than enough for him who know the location of the treasury and have the keys to the secret passage and treasury.
Ace used his eye skill on the cultivation chamber, and he could only see some vague outlines of runes. And he smiled wryly.
¡®I need a higher-level eye skill again, and I also need to upgrade my lock eraser king technique, but I will only get one chance, so what should I choose?¡¯ Ace felt quite bitter when he thought about it.
In Azure Wind Continent, lowernds, his skills would always be overpowered however, here, in Might Demon Continent, his skills were only subpar, and he was forced to think of other ways to achieve his goals, or he might be done in by his own mistake.
Five minutes pass quickly and Ace remained inside Livy¡¯s cultivation chamber patiently waiting for anything.
However, Livy didn¡¯t appear, which means he still was unaware of his missing storage ring.
¡°Five minutes starts now¡¡±
Ace mumbled as he quicklymanded the system to open every storage ring with Livy¡¯s Qi mark.
The system took an instant toplete the task.
Ace quickly search the main storage ring that Livy wore, and he quickly found a ckplex rune key. He quickly took it out and when he poured some Qi into it, suddenly the cultivation chamber trembled before a dark passage appeared right where Livy was sitting!
Ace scoffed coldly when he saw the passage and quickly entered it while holding the rune key without hesitation.
He already knew this cultivation chamber was the ce where the treasury was hidden, and only Livy can open it. Furthermore, only some loyal followers know about it, Warden Cane being one of them, and Noa found out from him.
That¡¯s why Ace never left this ce and chose the identity of Charlee because Livy would think Charlee would leave right after him like always.
But s, this wasn¡¯t Charlee¡
Chapter 382
Right at the west corner of the duke¡¯s estate, which was three miles away from the duke¡¯s mansion.
A tall, burly silhouette abruptly appeared right in front of a remote wall.
This silhouette promptly made a hand gesture with something in mind, however, after a moment, nothing happened.
A confused voice rang, ¡°Why isn¡¯t the array key¡ baaaaw¡±
However, he was cut short and puked a mouthful of blood abruptly.
The silhouette thought someone had set up an ambush for him, however, he quickly threw that notion out of his mind because only he and his father know about this secret passage out of this estate, and it was guarded by an intermediate-grade-2 lock array and grade one illusion array.
¡°My Qi-Mark! My storage ring!¡±
His voice was filled with fright and incredulity when he guessed how he was suddenly injured internally and only a forced Qi mark removal could injure him to this extent and this time, he felt almost all of his Qi marks were stripped clean in one fell swoop!
Thereby, he quickly looked at this right hand and his soul almost left his body when his guess became true, and he trembled when someone came into his mind who can only do this!
¡°NO¡ NO¡ NO¡. NOOOOOOOTTTTTT¡ THHHAAATTTT¡THIEF!!!¡±
Livy roared at the top of his lungs before he turned around and darted toward the duke¡¯s mansion with his full power while mumbling madly with blood tinkling from his mouth continually. But he didn¡¯t seem to care at all¡
¡°It¡¯s not him¡. It¡¯s not himmmmmmm¡¡±
¡ª
Charlee appeared right in front of arge building with a stern expression on his old face and when he saw everyone was busy working, doing their tasks diligently, his expression loosened a bit.
Suddenly, his eyes fell on a particr ocean demon who was carrying arge wooden container, and he was going toward a carriage to load it.
Charlee was momentarily shocked and couldn¡¯t believe what he had just seen and shouted, ¡°Abdiel?¡±
Abdiel, who was going toward the carriage with the wooden container in his hand, was shaken up visibly when he heard someone calling his name and he thought it was one of those bullies from servant quarters.
He sheepishly twisted his head and when he saw the old demon in butler attire, his eyes widen, and he quickly knew who this old demon was. He promptly put down the wooden box on the grass ground and bowed deeply.
¡°This lowly one greets Head Butler!¡±
This made Charlee¡¯s expression sink even more than he asked gloomily, ¡°Why the heck are you ying at? Tell me, how did you reach here before me?¡± His cultivation pressure also surged, which made Abdiel shiver to no end.
Abdiel doesn¡¯t know what had happened or what Charlee was talking about. He quickly pleads in a trembling voice, ¡°I-I¡ I didn¡¯t g-go anywhere, please¡ spare me!¡±
Charlee¡¯s heart trembled because he could easily tell Abdiel wasn¡¯t joking, and his expression changed in myriad ways. ¡®Just what the fuck is going on?!¡¯
Suddenly a grave possibility surfaced in his mind, ¡®Could it be the duke¡¯s mansion has been¡ infiltrated?!¡¯
Without any hesitation, Charlee turned around and run back at full speed with an extremely ashen expression on his face. He didn¡¯t stop to confirm it with Head Beast Tamer as well.
He wanted it to be just his paranoia and only someone¡¯s prank on him.
But if it wasn¡¯t and something happened to the duke¡¯s mansion while he was easily tricked, he will lose his old head!
¡ª
Ace was currently standing inside a fifty-squire meter room with a huge grin on his face.
This room was neatly arranged into three sections: knowledge, treasures, and medicinal.
Without any further dy, he started to collect everything as quickly as possible. He knew he doesn¡¯t have much time before Livy and Charlee woulde back.
This wasn¡¯t something new for him, so it wasn¡¯t taken long before Ace emptied the entire room without even leaving a single shelf.
His thief symbol has already appeared on the central wall with his name and thief farewell note ¡®I¡¯m Back!¡¯.
However, he was frowning at this moment. ¡®Ocean Demon Tribe¡¯s Treasury doesn¡¯t have soul materials or soul pills? But it doesn¡¯t make any sense. I don¡¯t believe a demon duke title tribe won¡¯t have a single soul material! There has to be another treasury which was only known by Livy or tribe chief!¡¯
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered with a white glint as he scanned the treasury. However, he doesn¡¯t find any out of the ordinary.
But he didn¡¯t give up so quickly.
Thereupon, Livy¡¯s storage ring appeared in his hand, and quickly he scanned it with his soul sense, and the very next moment thereafter, twelve rune keys appeared in his hand.
Although he didn¡¯t know which one was for which lock, it doesn¡¯t matter as he quickly activated them all at once and all twelve rune keys shimmered in different lights.
Suddenly, Ace felt the south wall tremble slightly, and his eyes lit up. He quickly found a particr red rune key, which was strongly reacting at this moment.
He quickly approached the wall and pressed this red rune key on it and thereafter, it slides upward, revealing ten square meters of space behind it.
Ace saw ten shelves with pill bottles and fifty storage rings, neatly arranged on a jade table. He suddenly felt his soul Qi surge slightly when he breathed, and his heart couldn¡¯t help but beat in ecstasy.
¡°I was indeed right to first go after Livy¡¯s storage ring and didn¡¯t try to break in here alone, or I might¡¯ve failed this time. This lock is probably low-grade-4. There¡¯s no damn way I could¡¯ve broken it or found it with my current skills!¡±
Ace felt quite satisfied with his n this time and quickly store everything. This was his biggest haul of this thievery!
After he was done, he quickly left while leaving the treasuries and the passage opened because he wanted Livy to see this and died from anger!
At this moment, when Ace had just exited Livy¡¯s cultivation chamber, he felt a strong martial sense envelop the area.
His lips moved upward. ¡®He¡¯s here!¡¯
Ace know Livy¡¯s soul signature very well, and he could tell the other party was in aplete frenzy and inmed state.
If this was before his breakthrough, he might¡¯ve already been locked in by Livy¡¯s martial sense. However, now, Livy stood no chance of finding Ace, not unless his martial sense was at the peak of the diamond soul realm.
That was also why Ace didn¡¯t panic and swiftly moved toward the other exit of the duke¡¯s mansion without waiting for Livy¡¯s livid face with his thief symbol.
Just as Ace exited the corridor, Livy¡¯s disheveled figure appeared with bloodshot eyes filled with murderous intent.
However, when Livy saw his cultivation chamber was still opened, his heart nearly burst out of his chest and he quickly entered the cultivation chamber hoping that the worse has not happened!
But s, he was destined for a massive shock when he saw the secret passage toward the treasury was also opened.
¡°NO!¡±
Livy shrilled before he ran into the secret passage and when he saw the golden treasury doorpletely opened and white light was illuminating the passage, his heart practically stopped.
With trembling steps and erratic breathing, Livy entered the treasury and instantly saw the imposing owl imprint and the name on its one wing ¡®Sky Stealer¡¯ and then the two words on its other wing ¡®I¡¯m Back!¡¯.
Livy instantly puked a huge amount of blood on the white floor.
¡°Hahahahaha¡¡±
He was so angry and felt despaired that he startedughing like a lunatic.
Everything waspletely gone. This wealth wasn¡¯t just his, it was amodated in five thousand years of his tribe¡¯s history. Especially the soul pills and materials. They weren¡¯t just some star tier pills or materials, but grade pills and materials!
However, what truly sent Livy into an icy abyss was the fact that the infamous thief struck his home andpletely fooled him.
If it was just that he could still endure it, but this thief¡¯s appearance here meant the one after him wille here to investigate.
Especially that imperial envoy who turned the iron demon city into a ck wastnd.
Just thinking about this point sent chills down his spine.
¡°MY LORD!¡±
Suddenly, Livy¡¯s madughter came to an abrupt halt when he heard this extremely familiar voice filled with rm.
¡°CHARLEE!¡±
Livy couldn¡¯t help but grind his teeth in hatred when he thought about how he was fooled to leave because of Charlee.
Charlee suddenly emerged in the treasury. He was quite familiar with it since Livy would take him here.
However, he had no idea what had happened. He was here to report about how he was fooled by an imposter, and after some inquiry, the gate guards also seemed to see him entering the mansion shortly after he left.
This made Charlee even more uneasy, and when he finally saw Livy¡¯s bent back and blood on the floor, his expression changed.
He was about to say something when his eyesnded on the owl imprint, and he heard only one word filled with abhorrence and indignation, which was also thest word he would ever hear¡
¡°TRAITOR¡¡±
Chapter 383
Inside Feng¡¯s cultivation chamber,
Ace swiftly appeared out of thin air in Feng¡¯s disguise without showing any emotions and calmly sat down cross-legged while closing his eyes and began to recover.
After half an hour, Ace opened his eyes and smiled as he murmured, ¡°So, he didn¡¯t cause anymotion or sent anyone to investigate. I was right, he wanted to keep this under a tight wrap and Charlee was most likely dead since he was probably the first one to see Livy¡¯s face and knew what happened.¡±
Ace had already thought of this scenario long ago, and that¡¯s why he was prepared for it as well. However, it wasn¡¯t the right time to start.
¡°Let¡¯s see my gains!¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered with excitement as hemanded, ¡°System, give me the list of what I stole from the treasury and my rewards!¡±
======
[Stolen Treasure(s) List]
[Space Treasure(s)]
-Low-Grade-3 Storage Space Treasures: 50
¡
¡ª
[Alchemy Treasure(s)]
-Six-Star Martial Pills: 9.4 Million
-Six-Star Soul Pills: 32,900
-Seven-Star Martial Pills: 5 Million
-Seven-Star Soul Pills: 25,000
-Eight-Star Martial Pills: 3.6 Million
-Eight-Star Soul Pills: 21,043
-Nine-Star Marital Pills: 2 Million
-Nine-Star Soul Pills: 9,420
-Low-Grade-1 Martial Pills: 865,000
-Low-Grade-1 Soul Pills: 2,000
-Intermediate-Grade-1 Martial Pills: 400,309
-Intermediate-Grade-1 Soul Pills: 502
-High-Grade-1 Martial Pills: 91,000
-High-Grade-1 Soul Pills: 35
-Low-Grade-2 Martial Pills: 39,542
-Intermediate-Grade-2 Martial Pills: 18,005
-High-Grade-2 Martial Pills: 4,389
-Low-Grade-3 Martial Pills: 2,550
-Intermediate-Grade-3 Martial Pills: 310
-Medicinal Alcohol: 5 Million Barrels (From 6-Star to 9-Star)
-Medicinal Alcohol: 2 Million Barrels Grade-1 (Low, Intermediate, High)
-Medicinal Alcohol: 500 Barrels Grade-2 (Low, Intermediate, High)
-Raw Materials (Martial): 130 Million (From 6-Star to 9-Star)
-Raw Materials (Marital): 50 Million (From Low-Grade-1 to High-Grade-1)
-Raw Materials (Marital): 20 Million (From Low-Grade-2 to High-Grade-2)
-Raw Materials (Marital): 3.53 Million (From Low-Grade-3 to Intermediate-Grade-3)
-Raw Materials (Soul): 2.93 Million (From 6-Star to 9-Star)
-Raw Materials (Soul): 200,810 (From Low-Grade-1 to High-Grade-1)
¡ª
[Smith Crafting Treasures]
¡
¡
-Low-Grade-1 Weapons: 10,090
-Intermediate-Grade-1 Weapons: 3,893
-High-Grade-1 Weapons: 412
-Middle-Grade-2 Weapons: 130
-High-Grade-2 Weapons: 19
Low-Grade-3 Weapons: 2
-Raw Materials: 69 Million (From 6-Star to 9-Star)
-Raw Materials: 32 Million (From Low-Grade-1 to High-Grade-1)
-Raw Materials: 4.5 Million (From Low-Grade-2 to High-Grade-2)
-Raw Materials: 19,439 (From Low-Grade-3 to Intermediate-Grade-3)
¡ª
[Rune Crafting Treasure(s)]
-Seven-Star Arrays: 22,400
-Eight-Star Arrays: 5,690
-Nine-Star Arrays: 440
-Low-Grade-1 Arrays: 23
-Intermediate-Grade-1 Arrays: 2
-Six-Star Formations: 902
-Seven-Star Formations: 431
-Eight-Star Formations: 90
-Nine-Star Formations: 42
-Low-Grade-1 Formation: 23
-Intermediate-Grade-1 Formation: 9
-High-Grade-1 Formation: 5
-Low-Grade-2 Formation: 2
-Six-Star ve Contract: 553 Million
-Seven-Star ve Contract: 430 Million
-Eight-Star ve Contract: 110 Million
-Nine-Star ve Contract: 73.2 Million
-Low-Grade-1 ve Contract: 7 Million
-Intermediate-Grade-1 ve Contract: 1.55 Million
-High-Grade-1 ve Contract: 983,991
-Low-Grade-2 ve Contract: 320,322
-Intermediate-Grade-2 ve Contract: 98,330
-High-Grade-2 ve Contract: 53,000
-Low-Grade-3 ve Contract: 2,340
-Raw Materials: 94 Million (From 6-Star to 9-Star)
-Raw Materials: 29 Million (Grade-1)
-Raw Materials: 5.22 Million (Grade-2)
¡ª
[Qi Stones]
Low-Grade-1: 4.5 Billion
Middle-Grade-1: 1 Billion
High-Grade-1: 918 Million
Peak Grade-1: 500 Million
Low-Grade-2: 97 Million
Middle-Grade-2: 30 Million
High-Grade-2: 5.5 Million
Peak-Grade-2: 1 Million
¡ª
[Thieveries Rank(s)]
-High-level Thievery
¡ª
[Reward(s)]
-Total Rewards: 6 Million Thief Points
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 23,580,000]
¡ª
[Chain Mission: 1]
-Mission: I¡¯m Back!
-Description: Steal the entire treasury of any Demon Duke Tribe, including the Storage Space Treasure of the Tribe Chief!
-Status: Complete
-Reward (1): 50,000 EXP & 50,000 SP
-Reward (2): Instant Level-up in any system¡¯s skill of the host¡¯s choice!
[im Reward/ Later]
¡ª
[Chain-Mission: 2]
-Mission: The Second Chain Mission will be issued in seven days
=======
Ace felt like he was on cloud nine when he saw the huge list of stolen goods, especially the soul-type pills and materials, and six million in thief points.
¡®This ocean demon tribe was really rich and if I were Livy I would¡¯ve died from anger if someone stole this much wealth right under my nose.¡¯ Ace grinned wildly.
However, his attention was drawn by something at this moment as he quickly asked, ¡°Hey system, this time you didn¡¯t count 5-Star treasures, does this mean five-star items no longer give me any EXP or SP as well?¡±
Ace had been long gotten adopted to this. Every time he made a breakthrough, the system would deem a treasure rankpletely useless for him and didn¡¯t even bother to count them.
System¡¯s voice range in affirmation,
¡°[Yes. Five-Star treasures are no longer useful for the host.]¡±
Ace nodded without retorting. He knows it wasmon for pills to lose effects on higher-level cultivators. So, it was only natural it applied to him as well, even though he can¡¯t use them as typical.
Suddenly, Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered as he mused, ¡®I should give all the soul pills and materials that are useless on to Noa for her practice in soul alchemy. It would be quite helpful for her cultivation and alchemy practice. I should also have her turn all those materials into pills since pills gave me more EXP than raw materials¡¡¯
¡°Let¡¯s just hold on, on the reward, for now.¡± Ace said, ¡°System, how much SP will I get after I convert every soul pill into my thief¡¯s space?¡±
=====
[Starting the Calction¡]
-Six-Star Soul Pills: 32,900 X 5 (SP per Pill)
-Seven-Star Soul Pills: 25,000 X 10 (SP per Pill)
-Eight-Star Soul Pills: 21,043 X 25 (SP per Pill)
-Nine-Star Soul Pills: 9,420 X 50 (SP per Pill)
-Low-Grade-1 Soul Pills: 2,000 X 100 (SP per Pill)
-Intermediate-Grade-1 Soul Pills: 502 X 250 (SP per Pill)
-High-Grade-1 Soul Pills: 35 X 500 (SP per Pill)
[Final Amount: 1,754,575 Soul Points]
=====
Ace cocked an eyebrow when he saw such arge amount of SP for the first time since the start of his cultivation journey.
¡®If I used one million SP and Ten Million TP toplete my side mission, I¡¯ll still be left with over seven hundred thousand SP and over Thirteen Million TP¡ This Heavenly Fate Compass Needle is a treasure that was destroyed by the heaven, so it has to have many heaven-defying functions, especially that treasure finding function which was described in that note.¡¯
Ace couldn¡¯t help but seriously considered this because this treasure was just too much hazard for him and without the system, he won¡¯t dare to use it.
Furthermore, the price of just subduing it was astronomical, and he wanted to make sure if it was all worth it.
Now he had only two options, used those soul points to maximize his cultivation or use them toplete his side mission.
Moreover, he still has an uing chain mission to worry about and if this treasure wasn¡¯t helpful, then he would waste his only chance to be strong.
In the end, Ace wore a decisive expression as he said, ¡°System, I want toplete my side mission of Heavenly Fate Compass Needle.¡±
Although Ace knows this was a gamble nheless, he still took it because Heavenly Fate Compass Needle was just too tempting for Ace to ignore!
At this moment, the system¡¯s voice rang.
¡°[If the host wants to subdue the Heavenly Fate Live Compass¡¯s Spirit, the system suggests finding a cloistered ce because there is a chance heavenly punishment will descend. Furthermore, the host also had to choose between what kind of bond you want to form with Heavenly Fate Compass Needle.]¡±
Ace grimaced slightly at hearing this and questioned, ¡°I can understand chances of heavenly punishment, but what is this Bond you¡¯re talking about now?¡±
He knew thispass was destroyed by heaven, so if heaven sensed the spirit survived, the appearance of heavenly punishment was extremely normal. Especially for Ace, who has already undergone two punishments.
¡°[Whenever a treasure with a spirit born, or a spirit born within a treasure, these treasures can¡¯t be used just by anyone, and they chose their worthy holders. Furthermore, a treasure-spirit of Heavenly Fate Live Compass¡¯s caliber has even more harsh requirements for its owner.]
¡°[But since it was nearly destroyed the moment, it was born and the treasure spirit also nearly destroyed, the requirement for it had also lessened substantially. But still, even these requirements which were not even close to the millionth of the real one can¡¯t be overestimated.]
¡°[However, the host is different, and with the help of the system, the host can easily be its owner.]
¡°[The host can form an ¡®Equal Bond¡¯ between partners or make it your Life Soul Treasure with a ¡®Life Bond¡¯. These two bonds are the only bonds a Treasure Spirit can form. However, Heavenly Fate Live Compass¡¯s spirit is quite remarkable because it can also form a ¡®Provenance Life Bond¡¯!]¡±
Ace was dumbfoundedly listening to all this astonishing information and couldn¡¯t help saying with slightly redden cheeks, ¡°Umm¡ can you exin these bonds more clearly?¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered with tion for some reason, and wait in anticipation for further exnation about these bonds!
Chapter 384
Ace wait in anticipation for further exnation about these bonds because he could tell there had to be some kind of advantages that came with these bonds.
¡°[With host current authority-level, it was impossible to divulge such information. However, since the host has already acquired a treasure like Heavenly Fate Live Compass andpleted the conditions to subdue it, the system deemed host can ess this information.]¡±
Ace nearly cursed when he heard the first half of the system¡¯s sentence, but quickly shut his mouth when he heard the other half. He knew if the system deemed him unqualified; he was unqualified without any further discussion.
System static voice rang again.
¡°[Equal Bond: This bond represents a partnership-like rtion where the treasure and user will have a mutual rtionship based on benefits and either party can easily break free from this bond if their own life is in danger. Normally, a Treasure spirit only forms an Equal Bond because it will reduce its chance of getting sacrificed or getting destroyed. Simply put, as long as a Treasure spirit senses its existence in jeopardy, it won¡¯t hesitate to abandon its user and escape, and sometimes if it found another even more powerful cultivator than its current user, it can even change sides!]
¡°[Life Bond: This bond is very special because it will bond a treasure to its bearer for life and as long as the bearer won¡¯t die the treasure can¡¯t undo this bond or abandon its bearer even if it¡¯s meant to sacrifice itself. Life Bonds are further divided into three types, ¡®Master for One-Life¡¯, ¡®Together for Life¡¯, and ¡®Only Master for Life¡¯. These three types have different pros and cons.]
¡°[Master for One-Life: Simply means the treasure won¡¯t go as far as to risk its entire being for the bearer and still hold back a little to preserve its own life in case the bearer died.]
¡°[Together for Life: In this case, the treasure willpletely be bonded to its user, and if any one of them died or was destroyed, the other will perish as the result.]
¡°[Master for Life: In this Life Bond the treasure will only submit to one user for eternity and if its master died, it will also be destroyed while if the treasure was destroyed the user will only suffer a bacsh but preserved its life.]¡±
Ace frowned when he heard about these two bonds. It won¡¯t be a lie to say he wasn¡¯t a fan of the equal bond at all because this was like caring a ticking time bomb with oneself which can abandon you at any time it deemed you useless or even turned against you.
As for the Life Bond, he felt quite better about this bond, but he would still not be willing to form the first two life bonds with a treasure because it was simply not worth it.
He can grow, but the treasures can¡¯t if they won¡¯t reforge with higher grade materials, which were quite hard to find and there was always a risk of failure and destruction in the process!
Moreover, he won¡¯t be willing to hand a treasure to someone for reforging that can take his life on being destroyed. It¡¯s far too risky.
Even if he was desperate, he would only agree to form the third type of life bond at the risk of a bacsh.
¡°What about this Provenance Life Bond that only Heavenly Fate Live Compass can form?¡± Ace asked with uncertainty. He wasn¡¯t as optimum as before now, but he still wanted to hear what this special life bond was about.
¡°[Provenance Life Bond: Provenance Life Bond can only be formed by an Eternal Provenance Treasure. These treasures didn¡¯t have any grade or limit to their growth and every time such a treasure was born, Heaven tried to destroy it with all its power as well as their creators. However, if an Eternal Provenance Treasure survived the heavenly punishment, they can grow infinitely if they formed a Provenance Life Bond with someone.]
¡°[However, forming Provenance Life Bond is almost impossible because there are special conditions attached with every Eternal Provenance Treasure and every bearer of Eternal Provenance Treasure will face Heavenly Punishment every time the treasure evolved.]
¡°[Yet, if an eternal provenance treasure managed to form a Provenance Life bond, it will grow most beneficially for its user and that¡¯s why almost everyone wanted an Eternal Provenance Treasure; Gods and Immortals alike, despite a high extinction rate!]¡±
Ace felt his heart rate increase, he couldn¡¯t help but asked with a slightly trembling voice, ¡°G-gods and Imm¡ Immortals alike!? B¡ but didn¡¯t Heavenly Fate Live Compass was destroyed and this is only a needle of it, can it be called an Eternal Provenance Treasure and a-are you also¡?¡±
Ace felt like he had solved the mystery of the system and thought it was also this Eternal Provenance Treasure because it was growing with him and its name also had ¡®Eternal¡¯ in its name.
However, the system¡¯s icy voice sounded with a hint of disdain.
¡°[NO!]¡±
Ace felt his mind tremble and kept his mouth shut and thought resentfully, ¡®Fuck, why are you shouting? Just say no gently and I understand.¡¯
But he didn¡¯t dare to say anything and only smiled wryly when he thought just how powerful the system was, and it was helping him grow, not the other way around all this time, and it wasn¡¯t something an Eternal Provenance Treasure could do which needed his help to grow!
System spoke again.
¡°[Host is right and wrong at the same time about Heavenly Fate Live Compass¡¯s peculiar condition. It was indeed destroyed by heaven¡¯s will, however, it also managed to survive by hiding a part of its Treasure-Spirit in its toughest part; the ¡®Compass Needle¡¯, and then managed to escape theplete annihtion.]
¡°[Furthermore, it even managed to form a hoax body for itself and managed to survive umpteen years while hiding from heaven¡¯s will deduction. Although it¡¯s a destroyed and only a fragment of an eternal provenance treasure, it is nheless still an Eternal Provenance Treasure and if it found someone who could form a Provenance Life Bond with it, with enough time it can recover and even be more powerful than when it was born!]¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered with ecstasy, he never thought a treasure that can grow infinitely will fall on hisp this easily and if it wasn¡¯t for the system, he might didn¡¯t even know this kind of treasure existed nor will he ever know the truth about thispass needle hoax body, and he might also lose his lifespan like its previous owners and died miserably.
A chill run down his spine just at the thought of it. There were just too many mysterious things in this world or heaven, and he had to be powerful just to know about them.
But thereupon, Ace felt a fire ignite in his heart to experience the unknowns, just as the thought of it gave him endless energy and motivation.
He solemnly asked, ¡°Then tell me, can I form this Provenance Life Bond or not?¡±
Ace felt this Eternal Provenance Treasure was very suitable for him because he was already the enemy of heaven, and he could easily let this treasure grow infinitely as long as he won¡¯t fall. Besides, he had the system, so he was even more eager to form this life bond as quickly as possible!
System icy voice rang. However, it sounded jeering this time.
¡°[The host can form any kind of bond with the system¡¯s help and bypass any natural conditions set up by these treasure spirits, as long as the host has sufficient TP.]¡±
Ace grinned widely in relief. This system just never disappointed him. However, the system next words made his smile vanish.
¡°[Please be warned host that any being can only form a single Provenance Life Bond with only single Eternal Provenance Treasure which suits their cultivation path.]
¡°[Like this Heavenly Fate Live Compass is a Soul Type Eternal Provenance Treasure, so only someone with a soul path foundation can form Provenance Life Bond with it while it waspletely useless for a martial cultivator.]
¡°[However, the host is walking on both martial and soul paths, so the host can bond two Eternal Provenance Treasures, One Martial Type and One Soul Type. So please choose wisely, because thispass isn¡¯t an attack-type soul treasure, nor does it have any defensive power. It was only born to peer into the mysteries of heaven and fate. But with host influence, it can also be a special type of soul treasure, but it still has to be seen. So please choose wisely.]¡±
¡°Only one per cultivation path?¡±
Ace frowned. This put him in a dilemma because if he chose to subdue thispass he will lose his qualification to bond with another powerful soul type Eternal Provenance Treasure.
However, he smiled wryly the next moment and thought, ¡®System you think too highly of me, who knows just how many years it will take me to found another soul type eternal provenance treasure, or by your tone, it¡¯s clear I would be extremely lucky to encounter another such treasure in the future, so I¡¯m content with what I already have!¡¯
Chapter 385
The sky was glowing golden, but dark clouds were slowly covering the clear sky little by little as icy winds were rising.
However, this has nothing to do with this entourage of carriages moving on a particr avenue unhurriedly.
There were eighty carriages, and all of them werevishing and pulled by at leastte-grade-2 demonic beasts which looked like horses but with muchrger stature and vicious looks.
Inside a carriage,
Ace was coolly sitting while enjoying the wine served by ¡®his¡¯ two maids.
¡®It¡¯s already been one day and night since we depart and with our speed, it would only take four more days to enter the de domain. It¡¯s time to say goodbye to the ocean demon citypletely.¡¯ Ace pulled a frigid smile and suddenly a panel opened in front of him.
¡°System, send it.¡±
After giving hismand, he again enjoyed his wine, which he stole from the ocean demon treasury!
¡ª
Noa was calmly sitting like a statue with her eyes close when suddenly the system¡¯s voice rang in her mind. She promptly opened her eyes with a hint of tion.
She knows this was a mission sent by Ace just as they nned, and she quickly opened it,
_____
[Thief House Leader (Ace White) has issued a mission]
¡ª
[Thief House Leader Mission]
-Mission: Downfall of an enemy!
Description: Start Thieving!
Requirement (1): Thief anyone you can and then left Thief Identity Qi Coins behind while using Thief¡¯s Charity (Inverse & Reverse)!
Requirement (2): Never go toward the duke¡¯s mansion or engaged in a fight with anyone, if not absolutely necessary!
Requirement (3): nt the Fifty Fire Explosion Talismans all over the city and set the timer for six hours and escape immediately!
Requirement (4): Go toward the Stone Hills on the outskirts of the de domain and hide until Ie for you!
Requirement (5): If you found anything amiss in your way, abandon the mission and escaped!
-Reward (1): Endless Shadow Daggers Rainfall (Soul Cultivation Art)
-Reward (2): Endless Night Daggers Set [32 Pin-Daggers] (Legendary Grade- 4)
Time: 10 Days
Punishment: None!
_____
Noa wasn¡¯t surprised when she saw all those requirements since they had already discussed them that night, but when she saw the rewards, her eyes when wide in bewilderment.
She longed for these two things the most in the thief assassin shop because she knew it will give her an enormous power boost, but she can only see them green-eyed because first; the requirement attached to them were notplete yet, and second; she didn¡¯t have fifteen thousand house points to buy them as well. Moreover, either skill or treasure was useless if she didn¡¯t have the other.
However, Ace can easily bypass these requirements since he was the leader.
But she would never think Ace would reward her with both of them while she was practically doing nothing besides causing some havoc, and he took all the risk.
Noa knows since she was getting this mission, it meant Ace hadpleted his theft, and Livy had also done what Ace thought he would.
¡®He¡¯s too good to me!¡¯ Her eyes shimmered with aplicated glimmer.
However, what she doesn¡¯t know was Ace had already profited big time from this thievery, so sparing 150,000 TP wasn¡¯t much for him and besides his 85,000 TP investment in those fifty Fire Explosion Talismans before he started his thievery. He wasn¡¯t losing anything at all.
Furthermore, he knows Noa doesn¡¯t have much HP, and these two things give her a huge power jump, so he simply bought them for her. He knew she would be alone for some time before he can sneak her into the de domain, so she won¡¯t be wasting her time as well.
Noa¡¯s eyes turned icy the next moment as she closed the mission panel.
¡°Ocean Demon Tribe, Livy, you kill my entire tribe, my loved ones, and even made me destroy my face, which I never thought I would regret so much. Let me return the favor!¡±
Just as her icy forlorn voice rang in the dark hidden passage, Noa vanished!
Night descended on the world, and it was a dark night without any moon or stars.
The sky was filled with inky clouds, rumbling with thunderous tones.
On the outskirts of the ocean demon city, a curvaceous silhouette appeared right from the ground, just like a corpse from a grave.
She wore a dark cape and a dark mask, only her icy pitch-ck eyes were visible as she looked toward the lit city a few miles away.
Noa just stood at that spot without moving and continue to stare at the city walls without blinking, as if she was in a reverie.
Three hours passed, and she didn¡¯t move and continued to stare at the city impassively.
Suddenly, at this moment thereafter, she heard a mild sound from the city¡¯s direction.
She mumbled in a forlorn tone, ¡°It finally started!¡±
¡ª
Head Guard Over was in charge of the ocean demon city¡¯sw enforcement.
He was currently enjoying a break in Life Wine Pavilion he got after the ocean demon team left a day ago, and now he was finally rxed a bit.
¡°Boooommmm¡.!¡±
However, an enormous explosion sounded near the pavilion, making him puke the wine on the serving waitress and cough violently in a choking sound.
¡°Just who¡¡±
¡°Boommmmmm!¡±
However, before he could curse, another tremendous explosion sounded from another direction.
Over¡¯s expression finally changed when these explosions continue to ring one after another in five-second intervals.
¡°We¡¯re under attack!¡±
Without waiting, he jumped out of the second floor, and with a grim expression, he ran toward the guard quarters.
But he was just turning around twoers when he saw something that he would never forget.
There was a crowd gathered around a fifty-meter-tall glittering hill of Qi stones!
Yes, a hill of Qi stones right in the middle of the street!
However, the strange thing was no one was going near it or taking them.
Over¡¯s heart trembled when he finally noticed those Qi stones were not crude or unshaped. They were all the exact same sizes and there were carving over them.
¡°Get out of the way, I¡¯m the Head Guard. Let me see!¡± Over shouted as he made his way toward the hill.
The crowd was mostly formed of ocean demons, while there were other demons mixed within.
But every one of them had a peculiar look on their faces as they looked toward those pentagon Qi stones hill, disbelief, panic, befuddlement, even reverence¡
Over finally got a good look at those pentagon Qi stones and the moment he saw owl symbols, and I¡¯m Back, words all over the hill, his soul almost left his body as his face turned ghastly pale.
Over and everyone in the outer demon provinces knows just who this symbol belongs to, and it was as famous as any demon king families insignia or even more but not any less.
¡°S-S¡Sky¡ Stealer¡?!¡±
This wasn¡¯t just the scene of this particr street, but there were 49 more such hills of Qi stones with the same patterns all around the ocean demon city.
Furthermore, there were ocean demons who were panicking because their storage rings have gone missing, and they all found those pentagon coins, which made it extremely clear who the thief was.
Quickly, the entire city threw into disarray.
At this moment, a tall, skinny demon with a hideous expression was moving toward Livy¡¯s cultivation chamber inrge strides akin to running.
A servant quickly greeted him with extreme respect, ¡°Lord Right Spear!¡±
However, hepletely ignored this servant, or he didn¡¯t even hear him in his messy mind state.
This demon was indeed the second-strongest demon after Livy in the ocean¡¯s demon tribe, Right Ocean Spear, Ewell Ocean.
Ewell¡¯s hoarse voice rang right outside Livy¡¯s cultivation chamber, filled with boundless fury and anguish.
¡°My Duke, the thief name sky stealer just struck different parts of the city!¡±
Ewell knows about the cause of Henrik¡¯s death, and they were as close as brothers, so he was the saddest when he heard about his death.
Now, the cause of his death has appeared in their backyard, and Ewell knew it would spell nothing but death for their tribe if it was handled just like the iron demon city!
However, despite all thismotion going on in the city, Livy didn¡¯t appear. He haspletely gone ghost two days ago. He didn¡¯t even appear to bid farewell to Aura Duke, and Ewell had to go on his behalf, which greatly displeased Aura Duke.
Furthermore, Butler Charlee has also mysteriously vanished and, after Ewell probed about it from here and there, he got some startling answers. He wanted to discuss this with Livy, but he can¡¯t get to him.
In the end, Ewell waspletely helpless. Livy just refused to leave his cultivation chamber.
Yet, now the situation was utterly dire, and it wasn¡¯t the time to remain absent.
¡°My Duke, pleasee out, you have to pacify the tribe, or we¡¯ll crumble!¡± Ewell¡¯s voice grew into a crying wail in the end.
However, Livy¡¯s cultivation chamber remained deadly silent, without any sound.
Ewell¡¯s skinny face visibly turned older and paler as he watched the close door in a foreboding trance¡
Chapter 386
¡°Your Highness, I have an important report to make!¡± Killer was standing outside a closed door as he spoke with a hint of urgency in his husky voice.
¡°Enter.¡± A mild voice of a male rang.
Killer hastily entered the room and saw the masked demon sitting cross-legged on a futon.
¡°What happened? You seem quite in a hurry? Did you find our target?¡±
No one can see his expression, but his voice was filled with anticipation.
Killer¡¯s respectfully answered, ¡°Yes, Your Highness, I indeed found his recent location.¡±
¡°Recent? You mean he¡¯s no longer there?¡± his voice grew a little forbidding.
Killer¡¯s pitch-ck eyes shimmered in a dark light as he said darkly, ¡°It happened a week ago, your highness. After I was secretly scouting the de province¡¯s ces where that hex demon might hide, I heard he appeared in the city called ocean demon city.
¡°This city was the duke city of the same duchy where that thief appeared before, and it seemed he never left that duchy at all, and we were searching in an opposite direction.¡±
¡°Is that so? Well, I have to give it to him, I simply thought he would run away from that duchy after he knows the royal council was after him, but who would¡¯ve thought he will choose to stay there and in the main city where the chances of his captivation were quite high.¡± His voice grew extremely frosty.
Killer nodded in affirmation, ¡°Indeed, but we can¡¯t be med because I already scan the entire duchy before I left for other ces, but somehow he managed to escape my detection. It seemed he isn¡¯t just a simple reckless thief, and he might have some other means to his disposal, or he might not have dared to appear.¡±
¡°Maybe. Tell me about what he did this time?¡± He asked.
Killer said, ¡°He theft again and this time he stole the entire treasury of this ocean demon tribe and the duke tried topletely hide it. But this thief caused a tremendousmotion in the city thereafter and drew everyone¡¯s attention in the end.
¡°Furthermore, I didn¡¯t find the Duke anywhere when I reached the ce. It¡¯s clear he escaped after failing to hide the news about the thief and from further investigation, I presumed he was hexed just like the soul realm demon we get rid of before.
¡°He was afraid of getting killed and ran away, abandoning his tribe. The de Demon King also sent an envoy who just happened to be this renegade demon¡¯s father, and hepletely locked down the city to appease the situation.¡±
The masked demon¡¯s amusing voice sounded, ¡°Oh? It seemed our reputation is quite grand. Nheless, from what you just said, it seemed only this renegade was hexed this time?¡±
Killer replied respectfully, ¡°Yes, Your Highness, besides this demon only the treasury was hexed with the same owl mark, and a message was left. Furthermore, this time this thief used quite a unique method to announce his arrival while only hexing one ce with his signature hex. I also presumed he wanted to announce something this time with this thievery.¡±
¡°What announcement?¡±
Killer flip his hand suddenly and a pentagon coin appeared in his hand, he respectfully handed it to the masked demon.
The masked demon flipped the coin a few times, deep in thought, as he saw the ¡®I¡¯m Back¡¯ side of the coin for a while.
Suddenly, he burst intoughter.
Killer¡¯s eyes grimace. He knew this, the masked demon waspletely enraged. He was also enraged when he saw this coin and the symbol on the treasury. Likewise, he could tell this thief was deliberately leaving such words, and they were most likely targeted at them.
Because they destroyed two tribes and turn the entire city into a ck wastnd just to kill this thief, it seemed he was not only afraid, but he seemed to be even more daring. With this thievery, he wanted to p their faces, and he has seeded.
¡°Hehehehe¡ it seemed he wanted to challenge me? This degenerate wanted to challenge me?!¡±
His voice was filled with killing intent as the coin in his turned into fine particles.
Killer didn¡¯t dare to speak and stood there respectfully. But his eyes were also filled with boundless rage and killing intent.
¡°Announced in the entire provinces, as long as they can find any clues about this thief, I¡¯ll give their youths three free passes in Demon Gate Trials. I want everyone to look for this prick. Since he wanted to y, let¡¯s y!¡±
¡°As yourmand.¡± Killer bowed slightly.
¡°As for this tribe that was fell victim to this degenerate, destroyed them. I want to let everyone know the consequences of letting this bastard roam free, and this will also motivate them as well!¡± He coldly uttered.
This time, Killer didn¡¯t quickly agree and hesitantly said, ¡°This could be troublesome. I don¡¯t think de King will watch this time.¡±
They both know thest time de King remained silent and give them face because they were only targeting some random tribes which he regarded in little value, but he was displeased nevertheless, especially because of Henrik¡¯s death.
This time, this tribe was a duke tribe, and they had deep ties with de Demon King. If they took such action without his opinion, that guy might fight them, and they knew Lunatic de was capable of such a reckless move!
¡°Hmph¡ spare soul realm cultivators and some of their promising youths. That¡¯s my bottom line. If he doesn¡¯t agree, then he can try his luck by all means. Besides, I don¡¯t think he would disagree with my decision because ording to the rules of the demon empire, any tribe chief who¡¯s deemed a criminal by the royal council and then escape his punishment, his tribe had to pay! Since this demon run away without showing his face, this means he was hex, and he¡¯s a threat to our race, so he deserved to die. But since he escaped, his tribe can pay on his behalf! These ingrates are forgetting who their ruler is, it¡¯s time to tighten their leashes!¡± His voice was filled with vicious bloodlust.
Killer¡¯s eyes shimmered with cold light as he respectfully answered, ¡°I¡¯ll immediately forward your order to the council.¡±
¡°Since this is out of the way, did you find the other person I told you to look for?¡± the masked demon voice was cooled down.
Killer answered, ¡°I have already investigated this All-Knowing parrot. It seemed no one has ever seen him and from where he operates this syndicate. But I found three demon kings are supporting this syndicate from the shadows, and I¡¯m afraid, even they might never see this All-Knowing Parrot. It¡¯s like he¡¯s a ghost.¡±
¡°Oh? Approached those demon kings in my name and tell them I want this All-Knowing Parrot and his syndicate. As long as they can do something about it, I¡¯ll grant them one free pass in demon gate trial each.¡±
He said coolly as if this matter was a done deal.
¡ª
In a spacious hall,
A peal of melodiousughter could be heard, making the empty hall¡¯s atmosphere extremely lovely and jolly. But s, no one was there to witness or enjoyed it.
The same voice, filled with ecstasy, rang again. ¡°I never thought you would be so daring to even appear near to the ce where you almost got killed and nearly exposed me. But I had to say you¡¯re quite something to even dare to challenge the imperial envoy and pped on his face.¡±
An extremely alluring demoness appeared right in front of the open window as she looked at the half moon. There was a pentagon coin between her long, slender finger.
She mumbled with a mesmerizing smile, ¡°I never thought after I heal my injuries from that bacsh inflicted by that bastard, I¡¯ll receive another astonishing news about you.
¡°Well, it also saves me the trouble of finding you, Sky Stealer. No one on this entire continent knows you¡¯re also a genius sword cultivator with an element sword intent except me, and your art of disguising and fooling others even left me in awe. But can you hide from me with that new face of yours¡ Feng!¡±
¡ª
On the tenth day after Ocean Demon City fell victim to the infamous thief Sky Stealer.
The entire outer provinces know about this now and many starting to truly fear this thief.
However, the fear for this thief reached another whole new level when a grave announcement was made by the Royal Demon Council, which sent a chill to everyone¡¯s spine.
This announcement was straightforward: the entire Ocean Demon Tribe would suffer an extinction because their current chief run away, who appeared to be also a victim of Sky Stealer.
Furthermore, from now on whoever came in contact with the Sky Stealer or fell victim to his schemes will face capital punishment and if they dare to escape their tribes will have to pay in their stead!
Chapter 387
Any King Domain was divided into three parts: Outer Domain, Inner Domain, and Demon King Castle.
de King Domain was spread over two hundred squire miles and towering walls were surrounding this entire domain.
A dense forest surrounded the outside of the de domain walls.
Eight gates will grant entry to the de domain and security was very tight, far stronger than normal because of what happened over a week ago with the ocean demon tribe.
Ace waspletely oblivious to the fact that someone had already guessed his new identity and might contact him very soon.
At this moment, he was standing in a vast za with his maids, and Thomas was also beside him with his wife.
Maddux and Aura Duke had left them the moment they entered the outer de domain at the Demon King¡¯s behest.
Thomas said in a grim voice at this moment, ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought the infamous thief, Sky Stealer, will raid the ocean demon city right after we left, and they suffer such a tragic fate because of their ipetent leader?¡± He didn¡¯t mince his words as he said.
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered with a distant glint as he coolly said, ¡°Indeed, but with demon council on his tail, I don¡¯t think he would survive much longer.¡±
Inwardly, Ace sneered, ¡®That bastard ran away the moment he knows the doom wasing for him, without caring about his tribe. It seemed I overestimated him. But that person from the royal zone is ruthless, openly giving a duke title tribe the death sentence and only sparing the youths whoe with us and soul realm experts to appease the de demon king. It seemed he took my message to heart.¡¯
Ace was gloating when he heard this news of the ocean demon tribe¡¯s demise, but he still felt it was quite a pity that Livy slipped away unharmed while two more soul realm experts were spared, as well as the future hope of the ocean demon tribe.
However, he knew de Demon King would never let them kill assets like soul realm experts without any good reasons, so he had to live with it for now.
Thomas nodded in affirmation, ¡°You¡¯re right, after the royal zone announced the reward for urate information on that thief, even I¡¯m tempted to go on a thief hunt.¡±
Milly coldly snorted at this moment, ¡°Hmph. Wake up from your delusions. If that thief can theft a demon duke¡¯s entire fortune, then he can strip your entire being without even letting you realize it first.¡±
¡°Hahaha¡ sister-inw is indeed right!¡± Aceughed out loud.
Jason rub his nose in embarrassment, as he knew they were just pulling his leg.
Dolly and Flora on the hand were gazing at Ace with befuddled expressions on their beautiful faces. They were like this from the moment they heard the news Ace had robbed the duke¡¯s mansion while he was inside the carriage the entire time.
Both sisters know who Ace truly was, and they also know about his disappearances from his room, since he always left them to cover for him. So, they naturally guessed he had already theft the treasury before he left, but they still couldn¡¯t understand how he appeared again in the city after they left.
They only guess he had another partner who was as thievish as him, and this made them revere Ace even more.
Now, they were extremely obedient in front of him and followed his every order even more vigorously.
They couldn¡¯t help but darted their gazes at the ocean demon team, who looked extremely pale at this moment, especially those youths who had families living in ocean demon city.
They still didn¡¯t dare to believe everyone they once loved would die today just because their tribe chief run away from his responsibility, and all because of a mere thief.
¡°It seemed we have to wait for now before we got the audience with His Majesty. Since a duke-level tribe from his domain is going to face capital punishment, he had many things to take care of. He won¡¯t care about us juniors for now.¡± Thomas quickly changed the embarrassing topic.
¡°Everyone, can I have your attention?¡±
At this moment, a crisp voice rang, drawing everyone¡¯s attention.
They saw a youthful female demon facing them with a gentle smile on her greenish face. She was 2.9-meter-tall, muscr and there was a huge broad sword belted on her back. She was giving off a sharp, heavy aura of a fourth-stage intermediate diamond soul realm.
She said with a sharp smile, ¡°You all must be newly arrival juniors, right?¡±
Everyone couldn¡¯t help but gulped when they felt this woman was emitting a freezing aura despite her smile, and some demon youths¡¯ hearts palpitated.
One of the youths with light blue skin respectfully bowed and answer, ¡°Yes, mydy, we just arrive from the ocean demon duchy.¡±
The woman¡¯s eyes grimace when she heard it and said ambiguously, ¡°I don¡¯t know if you all are extremely lucky or extremely unlucky.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed when he heard this, and Thomas also frowned before he becamepletely expressionless.
Thomas said, ¡°We¡¯re not from ocean demon duchy, nor we¡¯re with them. I¡¯m from Cheveyo Demon Tribe and this gentleman here is from Demon Sword Tribe and newly appointed Rising Sword Earl.¡±
The woman¡¯s expression suddenly took a drastic turn when she heard Thomas¡¯s introduction and quickly looked toward them deeply.
She looked at Feng with a deep curiosity and said, ¡°So, you¡¯re the sword genius who causes a hugemotion?¡±
Ace felt this woman was somewhat happy to see him for some reason. He replied respectfully, ¡°I¡¯m merely lucky. I don¡¯t deserve senior praise.¡±
Her white eyes shimmered with tion, and she nodded in approval. ¡°Hehe, don¡¯t disappoint me, little junior. Everyone followed me. I¡¯ll show you your temporary resting quarters.¡±
After an ambiguousment, she didn¡¯t pay any attention to Ace and lead young demons toward the northern part of the outer domain.
The king domain was extremely beautiful, filled with tall buildings of different styles and many umon trees on the side of clear spacious roads.
The duke-level citypletely paled inparison.
They all quickly reached their destination. It was avish inn.
The demoness with the sword on her back approached an olive color demon male and after giving him some instruction, she took everyone into the lobby and assign them their rooms.
She said before departing, ¡°I¡¯lle to get you all in ten days. In the meantime, you all can explore the outer domain at your behest. But don¡¯t cause any trouble, or the domain knights will detain you on the spot!¡±
She chucked coldly before she shot onest nce at Feng and left.
Ace frowned. He felt this demoness was eyeing him, but he can¡¯t put his finger on it, so he can only sigh in resignation.
Thomas said at this moment with great enthusiasm, ¡°Let¡¯s go, brother Feng. I heard there are many tourist spots in de domain, we have to see them.¡±
However, Milly reprimanded him, ¡°Leave brother Feng alone, let him rest for a day or two, and I also felt tired after a long journey, so you¡¯re not going anywhere!¡±
She mercilessly dragged resentful Thomas away without waiting for Feng to say anything.
¡°Mistress Milly sure is fierce.¡± Dolly couldn¡¯t help butment with deep admiration for Milly, and Flora nodded in agreement with great awe in her eyes.
Ace chucked and said, ¡°Heh, that annoying fellow deserved it. It was clear she wanted some alone time with him, but that idiot wanted to drag me along with them. I don¡¯t know how he got a caring woman like Milly to marry him. He just too damn lucky.¡±
Dolly and Flora giggled as they all left toward their rooms.
¡°Finally, it all went smoothly, and no one target or investigate us since we left first.¡± Ace had a massive sigh of relief when he felt he managed to pull this off.
¡°I wonder if Noa safely escaped. Since the mission waspleted, she should be fine for now. I can¡¯t let her roam alone anymore, since every demon is looking for me now. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if someone suspects an alone demon like Noa.¡± Ace mumbled with a hint of worry.
Although he was confident in Noa¡¯s stealth abilities, he still felt he can¡¯t just leave her alone for long in this situation while he enjoyed the safety.
Furthermore, he was already inside the de domain, and he had already got the second chain mission four days ago, which startled him for a while.
======
[Mission Panel]
[Mission: Want to Kill Me? Watch me Steal!]
-Synopsis: Someone had tried to kill the host with a High-Grade-7 Killing Formation and refined the host¡¯s blood. This is uneptable!
-Mission Type: Chain Mission
¡ª
[Chain Mission: 2]
-Mission: I¡¯m Here!
-Description: Steal the entire treasury of any King Domain Level Branch of Life Demon Association, Life Demon Treasure Pagoda!
-Reward (1): 150,000 EXP & 150,000 SP
-Reward (2): Random Pick Pocket Talisman
-Reward (3): A Clue about Mind Stealing
-Thief House Members: Allow
-Time: 500 Days
-Punishment: End of Chain Missions!
¡ª
[Chain-Mission: 3]
-Mission: Lock
¡ª
[Note: Pleaseplete the second chain mission to unlock the third mission.]
======
Chapter 388
Ace was calmly sitting cross-legged and mulling over the new chain mission, which seemed like a disaster.
Even though he had managed to theft a duke-level tribe and a demon duke; this new mission was on a whole new level.
Because firstly, he had Noa¡¯s intellect to help him exceedingly in thest thievery, while this time he had to rely on himself.
Secondly, he managed to easily fool Livy and got his storage ring to help him with thest thievery, but this time he literally didn¡¯t know who might hold those keys.
Most importantly, this was the Life Demon Association which had almost the same status as the royal council and this was the organization had multiple high-grade rune crafters which simply mean their security measures might be even more solid than the royal council and Ace simply didn¡¯t have skills to see through or bypass their security.
This naturally put him in a tough spot. Although this mission punishment was something Ace would appreciate at any other time, however, the rewards were extremely alluring for him to just give up on. Especially the reward of Hint about Mind Stealing, which might help himplete his job mission as well.
That was why Ace waspletely unwilling to give up without even trying.
¡®I still have over 495 days to figure it out. I have to raise my thievery skills, especially the lock eraser king. I can¡¯t take the risk of pick-pocketing the storage ring of the branch manager, or I might get multiple soul realm or even embryo realm experts on my tail. And after what happened to the ocean demon tribe, Demon King will involve if he knew I¡¯m causing trouble in his domain.¡¯ Ace sighed deeply in frustration.
The higher he goes, the more powerful enemies he¡¯ll face, but the reward of every sess was also just as bountiful.
¡®Well, I think about it after entering the inner domain, since the Life Demon Treasure Pagoda is located in the inner domain. The number one spot for buying and selling treasures in the entire de Domain or any other king domain. Heh, if I pull this off¡¡¯ Ace smiled thievishly with great anticipation.
Life Demon Association has three different branches all over the demon continent: the first was, Life Demon Guild, where all the life professions can register and practice. Second, Life Wine Pavilion, only for alcohol alchemy.
Third andst, the Life Demon Treasure Pagoda, was where the Life Demon Association sell their premium products and traded with traders. This branch can be said the most important branch of the association because all their wealth was there and many astonishing treasures that even demon kings desired.
That¡¯s why Ace was greatly rmed when he got the chain mission and could only smile wryly. Although he got the mission to theft an entire treasure trove, he knew many hidden snakes were protecting this treasure trove as well.
Nevertheless, Ace was still hopeful.
¡°System released the EXP and SP rewards and also convert 754,575 worth of Soul Pills and Marital Pills in SP and EXP,¡± Acemanded with a tranquil expression on his face.
Ace was holding his breakthrough because he was still moving with two experts, and also because he wanted to first enter the de domain to safely raise his strength.
Furthermore, he didn¡¯t use the other one million SP because he was saving them for his side mission. He still has to find a secluded ce first, and it wasn¡¯t feasible right at this moment since he had to leave the outer domain.
Although he was confident in leaving the outer domain without being detected by those knights, he won¡¯t be doing it because someone might be monitoring him. Even though no one investigated them, he still didn¡¯t take out the possibility of being secretly watched by some overly prudent fellows, so he had to remain where he was.
Lastly, he didn¡¯t use all those soul materials because he wanted Noa to practice with them and convert them into soul pills, which will give him more SP than converting them raw.
Moreover, there might be some materials that Noa required to practice her body refinement technique as well, so he won¡¯t be using them until it was extremely necessary!
=====
[50,000 EXP and 50,000 SP rewards have been released!]
[754,575 EXP and 754,575 SP worth of pills have been converted!]
¡ª
[Total of 804,575 EXP and 804,575 SP have been released!]
=====
Just like always, a huge torrent of Heavenly Soul Qi and Heavenly Marital Qi started to enter his true soul and marital space.
His Qi Sea started to fill with dark liquid Qi, while his soul core was releasing a deeper color of orange soul Qi.
After ten minutes, the system¡¯s voice sounded.
=====
[Congrattion, host, on achieving the fifth stage of Heavenly Sea Realm and fifth stage of Orange Soul Form!]
[Host status has been updated]
¡ª
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-5]]
[EXP: 250,000/250,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-5]]
[SP: 250,000/250,000]
=====
This time, however, Ace¡¯s soul sense didn¡¯t increase, which left him somewhat disappointed, but he remained expressionless.
Half an hour passed and the system¡¯s voice rang again.
=====
[Congrattion, host, on achieving the sixth stage of Heavenly Sea Realm and sixth stage of Orange Soul Form!]
[Host status has been updated]
¡ª
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-6]]
[EXP: 500,000/500,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-6]]
[SP: 500,000/500,000]
=====
Abruptly, Ace finally felt his soul core tremble slightly and revolved at an astonishing speed, creating a vortex of orange soul Qi around it.
The very next moment, Ace¡¯s soul sense again made a breakthrough as it expanded!
400M¡ 450M¡ and it reached an astonishing 500M, it finally stopped and settled down.
Furthermore, his Qi Sea was also half full at this moment, shimmering with a dark luster as the dark void hover right in its center like a ck hole.
The system¡¯s crisp voice rang again,
=====
[Congrattion, host, on achieving the seventh stage of Heavenly Sea Realm and seventh stage of Orange Soul Form!]
[Host status has been updated]
¡ª
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-7]]
[EXP: 36,845/1,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-7]]
[SP: 24,575/1,000,000]
=====
Ace¡¯s breakthrough finally ended as he opened his eyes, and a dark current shed past them.
He smiled in tion and murmured, ¡°I never thought my soul sense would be equivalent to a tinum Soul Realm (tinum Embryo Realm) cultivator after I passed the sixth stage threshold. It means after every three stages I can get some benefits.¡±
Now, Ace was even more assured about his uing thievery. As long as he didn¡¯t encounter anyone with a stronger soul sense or marital sense, he can easily detect them and counter them.
Besides, the surge in his power was also substantial as well. Although he wasn¡¯t sure, he could probably fight with a tinum River Core Realm expert and even kill them as long as he can surprise them with his half shadow sword intent!
As for diamond soul realm experts, he wasn¡¯t sure since he never fought with one, but he had experienced Livy¡¯s pressure, and he was sure he could fight on equal footing with him with his sword intent, but he still wasn¡¯t Maddux or Aura Duke¡¯s match right now.
Nheless, Ace was content with this progress, and now he turned his focus toward the second reward of hisst mission.
¡°System, I want to use my second reward, instant Level-up my Heartless Stealth Art!¡±
Ace had long chosen his stealth art because he was going to need it the most this time, and he had already mastered the pulseless stealth. With this instant level up, he will enter thest stage of this art, the Heartless Stealth, which granted him Invisible in Martial Sense of Qi Soul Cultivators or Soul Sense of Soul Embryo Cultivators.
He would then only have to look out for the manifestation realm entrics only.
The system instantly answered in affirmation, and Ace suddenly felt a cold sensation gripping his brain before he entered a trance-like state.
At this moment, nothing but Heartless Stealth Art was in his mind as he got the essential of thest level of heartless stealth.
Abruptly, Ace¡¯s heartbeat started to decrease little by little until it reached the point of almost stopping.
But Ace was still breathing steadily.
After eight hours, Ace¡¯s sitting figure suddenly started to fade before hepletely vanished. It was as if there weren¡¯t anyone in the room, and it was empty.
Not even soul realm cultivators could find Ace¡¯s presence at this moment.
Thereupon, Ace¡¯s sitting figure again appeared before he finally snapped out of his trace.
System¡¯s voice rang at this moment.
======
[Host has sessfully achieved the low-level mastery in the Heartless Stealth stage of Heartless Stealth Art.]
[Host status has been updated]
======
Ace¡¯s lips curled upward after he heard the system¡¯s testimony. He looked outside the window, and it was already dusk, so he decided to rest.
However, what he didn¡¯t know was not too far away from the inn where he was staying, a tiny bird was gazing toward the Inn with its tiny intelligent eyes!
Chapter 389
The next day,
Ace opened his eyes from his slumber and he felt all his fatigue waspletely gone. After taking a warm bath, he left his room.
He was nning to go on a stroll to see the outer de domain¡¯s liveness and some scouting. He didn¡¯t take anyone with him because he didn¡¯t want to draw any unwanted attention to himself.
However, unbeknownst to him, there were three pairs of eyes monitoring him very closely from shadows. These demons werepletely mixed with arge crowd of demons.
But how could Ace didn¡¯t notice them with his newly fortify soul sense? They were tailing him for a while and with his soul signature, he could easily tell something was amiss with these three soul signatures constantly moving around him.
¡®Could they be set up by the Demon King to keep an eye on me?¡¯ Ace mused as he pretended he noticed nothing.
¡®They¡¯re all second-level iron river core cultivators and keeping a distance of at least fifty meters from me. But they¡¯re moving separately. Could it be three different powers are monitoring me? It¡¯s not impossible, since there are four more powerful ns of de Demon Tribe, slightly weaker than de Demon n.¡¯ Ace mused as nonchntly move within the crowd.
Those three had no idea that Ace had already detected them, so they continue to follow him around.
Since they didn¡¯t have any malicious intentions, Ace let them do as they pleased. He also wanted to clear any doubts about him and the ocean demon tribe incident. This would be a perfect chance to free himself from any suspicion.
It was only natural if someone were to suspect Feng of being in the cohort with the thief since he had the biggest grudge with the ocean demon tribe.
Ace was skimming through various shops with great interest when suddenly, a skinny demon bump into him and got knocked back because of his sturdy body.
¡°Watch where are going!¡± Feng coolly said and moved on without even giving a second nce at the skinny demon, who seemed to be apologizing.
However, Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered ambiguously at this moment.
Soon, he found the Life Wine Pavilion, which was an ancient structure building with thirty floors.
Ace coolly entered the building and, after showing his demon earl token, he got a private room on the fifteenth floor.
After making sure he was alone and no one was monitoring him, nor there were any arrays or formations.
Ace suddenly put his hand in his robe¡¯s pocket and took out a folded white paper.
This paper was slipped into his pocket by that skinny demon who bump into him, and it was not an ident.
Ace instantly notice this, but he didn¡¯t react and that demon slip this note into his pocket. It was very clear that whoever sent this note wanted it to be a secret, and they also knew he was being followed, and they want something from him.
He frowned slightly; he knew no one in this ce, nor did he want to tangle with troublesome people or offend anyone who might get in his way. That was why he let this incident slide.
Ace had no intention of doing whatever was written in his note, but it won¡¯t hurt to see the content of it.
However, when he started reading the note, his expression abruptly changed. It read,
[Dear Mr. Feng, I know who you are, and I mean no harm. I just wanted to have a chat with you. If you agree, then just left the window of your room open tonight. If you didn¡¯t, I¡¯ll consider this as a no. Oh, by the way, I admire your ¡®Element Sword Intent¡¯!]
Ace¡¯s eyes dted as his heart trembled when he saw thest words ¡®Element Sword Intent¡¯ and his expression was icy at this moment.
¡®They know about my element sword intent?! But how could it be possible I never used it in public and only used it once identally? How could someone find out about this? This also means they¡¯re not bluffing about knowing my real identity. Just where did I slip?!¡¯
Ace grimaced at just the thought of it. He knew if news of his real identity was exposed, it would be a huge cmity and many will know about his abilities. Right now, the others only know he can change his face, but they didn¡¯t know he can also use sword intent or even bypass loyalty contracts of the royal demon council.
It would be a tremendous headache if they started to suspect everyone, and this might blow up his cover.
¡®Just who the fuck is this guy and how did he know about my ability and even guess my identity so urately!?!¡¯ Ace¡¯s heart turned cold.
But he knew since the other party approached him and didn¡¯t reveal his identity, this mean they wanted something from him or want him to do something for them.
Ace¡¯s expression was extremely frosty. It was his first time falling into such a position, and he didn¡¯t even make any mistakes or left any loophole for anyone to exploit.
But somehow someone found out about his element sword intent and then connected him to sword genius Feng. After thinking about it for some time, he smiled bitterly because he was too oblivious.
If it was him, and he had known about the element sword intent, even he would suspect Feng because the thievery happened soon after when Feng got his status as demon earl and no one would¡¯ve suspected him.
But he didn¡¯t know how can they could be so sure that he was the thief, and that the incident was not just a coincidence. There was something he didn¡¯t know again, and this put him in an extremely disadvantageous position.
¡®Could they know about Noa as well?¡¯ A faint killing intent surfaced in his eyes. ¡®No, if they have her, they might use her to directly as leverage and threaten me. But I can¡¯t throw this possibility to the side either. I have to make sure they didn¡¯t have her.¡¯
Ace quickly opened the house panel and wrote a mission.
Although he can¡¯t contact her directly, this mission system was a good way tomunicate, even if it was vague. But it still worked for him as long as he knew she was safe.
====
[Thief House Leader Mission Creation]
Mission: Are you safe?
Requirement: If you¡¯re safe, then circte your cultivation art and use your movement technique once.
Reward: 10 House Points
Time: 30 minutes
Punishment: None
====
[Are you sure you want to issue this mission to Old Member Noa Night?]
[Sent/Edit Again]
====
Ace sent it without any hesitation and wait with an anxious expression on his face.
However, he didn¡¯t have to wait much because within five minutes the system voice rang again.
====
[Thief House]
-The system had deemed the house leader¡¯s missionplete!
-Did the house leader want to release the rewards of the mission?
[Release/Dy]
====
Ace had a massive sigh of relief as he released the reward.
He didn¡¯t know if Noa were to be taken as a hostage, what would¡¯ve he done? But he was d that things won¡¯t turn to worst and Noa was still safe and sound.
However, the fact remained that someone was aware of his identity and wanted to talk with him.
If he wanted, he could easily escape right now and gain a new face and n something else, but he was afraid the other party would release the news and make things difficult for him even more. Furthermore, Feng¡¯s identity was too good for him to just discard right at this moment.
¡®Since they didn¡¯t invite me to any other ces, this means they are also wary of people monitoring me and wanted to meet in my room where I can easily get rid of them if I don¡¯t like what they said. But this person might not be such a fool since he dared to purpose this meeting. He might be extremely confidenting out if unscratched. Let me see just who you are!¡¯
In the end, Ace decided to meet this mysterious person and see what he wanted from him before deciding what to do next.
It¡¯s not like they can stop him if he wanted to leave. Now only a demon king can find him, not any random tom, dick, or harry.
Ace quickly left the Life Wine Pavilion, he wasn¡¯t in the mood to drink anymore and returned with a vexed expression on his face.
On his way back, he encountered ocean demon youths as they stare daggers at him with hostile gazes, and hepletely ignored them.
He also bumped into Thomas and Milly, who quickly invited him for sight seen, but he refused, saying he wasn¡¯t feeling well and left the couple alone, which made Milly smile.
As for his two maids, he also told them not to go outside, for now, and just cultivate.
Ace patiently waited for the night as he was calmly gazing at the opened window¡
Chapter 390
In the middle of the night,
Ace was still waiting for the person who sent him the secret letter, and his soul sense was working at its peak without startling anyone.
If he sensed any suspicious movement, he¡¯ll instantly know the very beat.
However, everything was normal, nor did he sense anything amiss, but he didn¡¯t lose his patience and remained expressionless.
Suddenly, at this moment, Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly as he sensed something, and thereupon a blur shed past his window before a small dart sound rang from the room¡¯s ceiling.
Ace looked toward the ceiling with frowned brows and saw a ck arrow.
Thereafter, he made a grabbing gesture before green Qi enveloped the ck arrow, and itnded in Ace¡¯s hand.
The arrow was ordinary, but Ace spotted a ck ring on the arrow shaft, and he quickly guessed what this ring could be and brake the arrow while grabbing the ring.
Ace quickly used his Qi to envelop the ring and just as he thought the ring was an open storage ring and Ace quickly imprinted his Qi mark to see the content inside.
The space inside the ring was only ten cubic meters, and there were three things inside. The first was a small, simple looking two inches green cube. The second thing was a three inches token in a triangle shape and thest thing was a folded note just like this noon.
The note appeared in Ace¡¯s hand, and he opened it with knitted brows. He had no idea what this person was ying at, but one thing was extremely clear now, whoever this was, it was extremely cautious!
There was only one simple instruction written on this note.
¡°Insert a peak grade-2 Qi stone inside the green cube and see the magic¡¡±
¡®Is this some kind of trap?¡¯ Ace¡¯s expression was extremely overcast when he saw this yful message.
He didn¡¯t know just what this guy wanted or what it was ying at, but he can¡¯t just follow this instruction blindly because this could be a gigantic trap for him or something else that can harm him.
He knows many things can harm others with no need for others to present on the spot. His talismans were such a tool, and that¡¯s why he was extremely cautious of such things as these.
Nevertheless, he still took the green cube out and examined it with his eye skill, but to his surprise, he can¡¯t see anything amiss with this thing, which means his eye skill was not high enough to see past the secret of this cube.
Ace also spotted a tiny ck dot on one side of the cube, but he didn¡¯t fiddle with it.
¡®What to do? This thing is extremely mysterious and since my soul-shattering eyes can¡¯t see through it, this means it¡¯s at least grade two or might be even higher. Since it also needs peak grade two Qi stone to activate, then it isn¡¯t simple at all. However, this person won¡¯t go to all this trouble just to make a scene and since he knows who I am, he also knows I can easily escape even if he set up this trap. So, to activate it or not¡¡¯
Ace was in a huge dilemma and in the end, he took a huge breath as a decisive light shed past his eyes he quickly pressed the dark spot while he was ready to act instantly.
However, nothing explosive happened. The only thing that transpired was the cube was opened from that spot like a box lid and Ac was astonishing when he was inside, was empty.
But all the sides of the cube were filled with rune symbols, and some of them were even he couldn¡¯t recognize yet.
He quickly guessed, ¡®So the Qi stone will go here to give energy to these symbols before this thing will activate. Since it needed energy from a peak grade two Qi stones, this has to be made with at least high grade two runes or even low grade three runes. Some of these symbols are extremely peculiar, and I see them somewhere before¡¡¯
Ace mulled over it for a long time before his eye shimmered with uncertainty and the very next moment a formation te appeared in his, and he examined it carefully.
After a whole five minutes, he eximed, ¡°So, my guess was right. Some of these symbols are the same as thismunication formation I got from the treasure mountain. But since if only half of the full set I can¡¯t use it and this can only send messages, not receive them. They probably used it to send reports to the high-levelnds. But this cube is much moreplex than this formation, and it seemed this is also some kind ofmunication tool and probably a high-level only some demons could¡¯ve got their hands on this thing as well. It seemed I underestimated this mysterious demon¡¯s resourcefulness. Just who are you and what do you want?¡±
Ace felt even more apprehensive when he guessed the origin of this cube and couldn¡¯t help but felt he should make his escape while he still had the chance because someone who could get their hands on this cube was nothing but ordinary, and he was nowpletely in the open while the other party was inplete dark which put him in a huge disadvantage, and he didn¡¯t like it the least bit.
After some thought and consideration, Ace decided to use this cube. He wanted to see just what kind of message the other party wanted to send him through this, and he was also curious to see this cube¡¯s capabilities.
Ace put a peak grade two Qi stone inside the cube and close the cube again. If there was anyone else, they would¡¯ve thought twice before using a peak grade two Qi stone because of their rarity however, Ace was extremely rich, and he didn¡¯t care about one or even thousands of peak grade two Qi stones since he can always ¡®get¡¯ more!
The moment the cube was closed thereafter, it shimmered in green as Ace saw different white runes appear on six sides of the cube as he carefully examined them.
However, Ace still didn¡¯t lose his vigil since this cube could be a trap as well, and he might be wrong about its nature, so he was also ready to throw it away if he felt anything amiss.
¡°You finally decided to activate it¡¡±
Suddenly, a voice rang from the cube, which was a mixture of a male and female. Both voices were ovepping and one couldn¡¯t tell the gender of this voice at all.
Ace¡¯s eyes contracted the moment he heard this mysterious ovepping voice, and he was astonished because it seemed the voice was not recorded.
Ace asked coldly, ¡°Who are you?¡±
He wanted to see if his guess was right or wrong and if he was talking with the other party at this moment, or if this was just a recording.
¡°Hehe¡ I¡¯m just like you¡¡± the ovepping voice yfully answered.
Ace was momentarily shocked this time, not because of the answer, but because he wasmunicating through this small cube with someone from afar.
However, he knew it wasn¡¯t time to be excited over this small discovery and said with uncertainty, ¡°So, you¡¯re also a sword user like me?¡±
He just can¡¯t admit he was the thief right from the start, right?
The voice yfully said, ¡°Heh, you and I both know you¡¯re not just a random sword genius, right? Mr. Sky Stealer?¡±
Ace coolly said, ¡°I¡¯m not the person you¡¯re looking for and if you continue to nder me, I¡¯ll have to bring this matter to ¡®His Highness¡¯ let¡¯s see if he can ¡®help¡¯ you with this search of yours.¡±
He deliberately dragged the de Demon King into this because first it was confirmed he was going to meet with the Demon King very soon, so it would also intimidate the other party as well as it would also give the impression he wasn¡¯t afraid because he wasn¡¯t the infamous thief.
However, the next words that came out of that cube left Acepletely speechless,
¡°Hehehe¡ do you think just because you sign that contract of royal demon council, you can hide your identity and remain protected? What if I say I can easily prove you¡¯re not bonded to that contract at all? Wanna bet?¡±
Ace didn¡¯t know just where this person¡¯s confidence wasing from, but he didn¡¯t dare to take its words for wind after he saw this person¡¯s ingenuity.
This person could even find out about this element sword intent mysteriously and even know about the royal demon council loyalty contract, which means this person¡¯s connections were extremely deep.
For the first time in his life, he was frustrated.
He sighed and said in a meaningful tone, ¡°Can you tell me who are you?¡±
The voice seemed not concerned about this question at all as it answered with no pause.
¡°Although I¡¯m not as famous as Mr. Sky Stealer, it is also quite possible you might already hear about me. I am known by the name¡ All-Knowing Parrot!¡±
Chapter 391
¡°¡ I am known by the name¡ All-Knowing Parrot!¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed the moment this familiar name rang from the cube.
How could he not know about the All-Knowing Parrot, since he went after him for his secret information organization at one point and failed miserably?
He never thought the person he once wanted to find and capture would turn the table on him one day. He also seemed to thoroughly underestimate this All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s capabilities of collecting information, and it seemed he wasn¡¯t just a small-time information broker and syndicate boss, either.
Although he had already known about the Spica Syndicate for some time now, since he can¡¯t get his hands on the boss, he almost forgot about it. But now the boss of this syndicate approached him out of nowhere and instantly put him in a disadvantageous position. How could he notment his bad luck?
Ace couldn¡¯t help but let loose a bitter chuckle as he said, ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought the rumors about Boss All-Knowing Parrot informationwork being the number one in the entire almighty demon empire would be true and well deserved.¡±
He admired this person¡¯s abilities to collect information, and couldn¡¯t help but felt bitter when he thought he didn¡¯t have such awork, or he might not fall into such a situation at all.
All-Knowing Parrot said, ¡°Heh, I can¡¯t hold a candle to you Mr. Sky Stealer, you dare to provoke the royal zone despite knowing our positions and even taunt them again with yourst ¡®public stunt¡¯ I didn¡¯t know if you¡¯re courageous or reckless.¡±
Ace pull a wry smile and thought, ¡®It¡¯s not like I wanted to do that, but I have no choice in this matter.¡¯
However, his mind suddenly jolted at this moment, ¡®Knowing our position¡ what did he mean by that? He also said first¡ I¡¯m also like you¡ which implied something else. Could it be that he¡¯s the real?!¡¯
Ace couldn¡¯t help but be startled by this notion, and just as he was about to question, the green cube dimmed down and returned to its dormant self.
Ace quickly opened it and saw the Qi stone has turned into powder, which implied it has beenpletely depleted within two minutes.
But Ace sighed in relief since it wasn¡¯t broken. This means he just had to put more Qi stones to activate it again and he does so just that.
Again, the connection was established and All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s cheeky voice sounded, ¡°This Myriad Miles Communication Cube can burn quite several Qi stones, but it seemed you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±
However, Ace wasn¡¯t in the mood to discuss this Myriad Miles Communication Cube and quickly questioned sternly, ¡°Are you a Hex Magic-User?¡±
He wasn¡¯t a fool and could easily guess this All-Knowing Parrot also contact him because he also thought of him as a hex magic user, while he deliberately gave hints that he was the same as him.
Furthermore, he also found it quite strange that this person was so friendly toward him and even used this precious Myriad Miles Communication Cube to contact him. But he still didn¡¯t trust him enough to show his face, but he wanted to use this preciousmunication cube to talk with, which also showed he wanted to see if Ace was worthy to meet him or not or was qualified to pull him on his side.
All-Knowing Parrot yfully questioned back without even intent to deny this, ¡°Since you already know, why are you asking the obvious?¡±
¡®Fuck, you dare to say this? You are easily living afortable life while being the biggest enemy of the demon race, while I¡¯m being hunted despite not knowing anything at all and not having anything to do with you guys at all? Are you freaking kidding me?!¡¯ Ace cursed inwardly, but he didn¡¯t say it out loud.
First, he wanted the information about this hex magic, and second, this All-Knowing Parrot seemed to know about many secrets, so he wanted to see if he could use it to his advantage. Lastly, he wanted to see if he could fool this guy into revealing himself, so he could get his informationwork just like he wanted first.
Ace ambiguously answered, ¡°Is that so? Why did you approach me?¡±
All-Knowing Parrot didn¡¯t find this question strange since she also knows Ace was quite capable, and he didn¡¯t need her help at all, nor did he have any reason to work for her when he can easily escape even demon dukes.
All-Knowing Parrot said truthfully, ¡°It¡¯s very simple actually, I have something which you won¡¯t be able to refuse and we both need it, so I¡¯m proposing a coboration.¡±
¡®Something we both needed? Means something court by a hex magic user and since he was to coborate with me, this means he can¡¯t get his hands on this thing alone. Let me see what you want.¡¯
Ace quickly guess All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s predicament and said coolly, ¡°Oh, what kind of coboration can you please tell me? If it¡¯s something useful to me, I don¡¯t mind working together with you.¡±
All-Knowing Parrot answered as if she already guessed Ace¡¯s answer, ¡°I know the location of Myriad Hex Manual!¡±
However, Ace¡¯s reaction was only subpar when he heard this name because he had no clue what this Myriad Hex Manual was, nor he was interested. But All-Knowing Parrot can¡¯t see Ace¡¯s expression, so she didn¡¯t know this, and this gave Ace an absolute advantage.
Ace pretend to be ted as he blurted, ¡°What?! Tell me where is it and how do you know about it?¡±
However, All-Knowing Parrot wasn¡¯t just going to give away all the information either. She was nning to hold this information to control Ace.
She said through the cube, ¡°Heh, I know Mr. Sky Stealer will be interested in our most important secret manual which was taken away by the royal family after our tribes¡¯ destruction since it can¡¯t be destroyed. But I can¡¯t trust youpletely with such a thing. What if you escaped with it and I know you are capable of such a thing, and I know you won¡¯t trust me either, right?¡±
Ace narrowed his eyes. He got quite shocked when All-Knowing Parrot revealed such a vital piece of information which gave him some understanding of this hex magic user thing.
¡®So, this hex magic user was an entire demon tribe but was destroyed by the royal family, and it seemed they were quite capable since the royal family has to make a move personally. But this secret manual seemed even more astonishing since it can¡¯t be destroyed. But he would be a fool to think if I would be agreed to snatch something from a tiger¡¯s mouth,¡¯ Ace mocked inwardly.
After inserting another Qi stone into the cube, he said, ¡°So, what do you have in mind to make both of us trust each other?¡±
All-Knowing Parrot promptly said as if she was waiting for these exact words, ¡°Since we are both remnants of Hex Demon Tribe, there¡¯s no need to fight with each other and I know how it felt to live in constant fear and famine. So, if we¡¯re able to snatch our tribe¡¯s biggest legacy, the Myriad Hex Manual from the royal family, we can revive our tribe, and you don¡¯t need to stoop to the level of a mere thief as well. So, we¡¯ll form a Hex Soul Pack. With this pack, we can¡¯t betray each other, and we won¡¯t have to be wary of each other in the future as well. What does Mr. Sky Stealer think?¡±
¡®Hex Demon Tribe¡¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered in understanding at this moment.
He finally had some understanding of what was going on here and what this hex magic user was about.
¡®I¡¯m dragged into this in this conflict of generations unknowingly, and it seemed this All-Knowing Parrot is determent to get his hands on his secret manual and even willing to form this Hex Soul Pack which seemed quite a big deal just by name.
¡®If I agreed too quickly, he would suspect me and if I don¡¯t agree then I¡¯ll expose myself by alternatively telling him I¡¯m not interested in this secret manual which might rub this guy in the wrong way, and I¡¯ll make a powerful enemy for no good reason, and he knows about element sword intent which I don¡¯t want to anyone finding out yet.
¡®Who knows the royals might go crazy after finding out their arch enemy can use element sword intent, and they used the entire power to get rid of this future trouble, and I¡¯m not confident in escaping this continent and I have no idea where to go from here so either I have to get rid of this guy or control him¡¡¯
Ace¡¯s eye gleamed with a dark light as he said, ¡°I agree with your suggestion.¡±
Ace merely said these words and didn¡¯t open his mouth for anything else. He might give himself away if he tried to be smart.
All-Knowing Parrot ecstasy ovepping voice sounded, ¡°I know Mr. Sky Stealer will see the bigger picture. Since it¡¯s a Hex Soul Pack, we need to meet. But I know you can¡¯t leave the de domain, but we¡¯ll get our chance very soon. I¡¯m looking forward to meeting a fellow tribesman!¡±
Chapter 392
Ace was startled hearing those ambiguous words, ¡®We can meet soon? He knows something!¡¯
He asked, ¡°Likewise, but can Boss All-Knowing Parrot tell how we¡¯re got this chance?¡±
All-Knowing Parrot replied, ¡°Hehe, Mr. Sky Stealer will find out soon, but you have to be extremely careful meanwhile because all four big ns of de demon tribes are targeting you.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed. He had already thought about it, but he didn¡¯t have any solid proof before, but now it was made apparent by All-Knowing Parrot.
He asked with suspense, ¡°What do they want with me?¡±
All-Knowing Parrot chucked and replied, ¡°Hehe, those four ns are eyeing the Demon King position for a long time, but they didn¡¯t dare to show it because of de Demon King¡¯s prowess nor did they have any manifestation realm expert in their ranks, so they always suppressed their ambition.
¡°However, from my sources, it seemed they wanted you or more precisely Feng¡¯s cultivation method because they think it has the clue about weapon intent just like the cultivation manual of de Demon n. But they didn¡¯t dare to strive for it. However, Feng, on the other hand, is an easy target.¡±
Ace¡¯s heart turn cold as he retorted, ¡°Couldn¡¯t they just go find Demon Sword Tribe if they need his cultivation method? Why go after a genius who even Demon King held in high regard?¡±
The cube again dimmed down at this moment and Ace insert another Qi stone.
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s cheekily replied in a dark voice, ¡°Hah, it¡¯s not just your cultivation manual they want, they also want Feng¡¯s bloodline!¡±
Ace¡¯s heart trembled when he heard this, and couldn¡¯t help but think about how the royal envoy also wanted to refine his blood.
He said with a frown, ¡°Can you tell me what¡¯s the deal with this bloodline robbery, or how can it be beneficial to others?¡±
Ace had no idea about the customs of demons, and he didn¡¯t know why these demons wanted to refine their fellow demons¡¯ blood.
All-Knowing Parrot sneered and coolly replied, ¡°It seemed Mr. Sky Stealer didn¡¯t know much about how the bloodline of our demon race work and the hidden dirty secret of the demon race.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes finally narrowed at this moment and quickly made up an answer, ¡°Forgive my ignorance, but I grow up in mountains and only recently stepped onto the maind, so I know little about our demon race.¡±
¡°Oh, I never thought you have such a past.¡± All-Knowing Parrot seemed to be astonished by this piece of news and said as she concealed nothing, ¡°Well, consider this my goodwill, then. Mr. Sky Stealer should know about the Body Refinement Techniques of our demon race, right?¡±
Ace truthfully replied, ¡°Yes, I heard Body Refinement Techniques can grant us the body as strong as grade weapons and even supernatural abilities. But all these techniques are mostly in the hands of Demon Dukes or Demon Kings, and they are quite extravagant to cultivate.¡±
All-Knowing Parrot replied, ¡°Yes, but the information about Demon Dukes having those techniques is absolutely false. Did you find such a technique in Ocean Demon Treasury?¡±
Ace frowned, he finally paid attention to such a point. Before he didn¡¯t look at all those books he stole from the ocean demon treasury, but now that All-Knowing Parrot reminded him, he finally skimmed through them and was startled when he found nothing about body refinement.
He replied after inserting another Qi stone, ¡°No, there isn¡¯t any kind of body refinement technique in ocean demon treasury.¡±
All-Knowing Parrot said as she already knows, ¡°Hehe, let me tell you this rumor was fabricated by royal demon council because this will give extra protection to demon duke title tribes and that¡¯s also why the duke title tribe challenges seldom happen because no one would be suicidal enough to face a tribe with a body refinement demon in it.¡±
Ace understood, but he frowned and said, ¡°But why does this have to do with bloodline robbery?¡±
All-Knowing Parrot chuckled and said, ¡°Hehe, it had everything to do with it. You see, there are eight Demon King Grade Bloodline ns in eight demon provinces excluding the royal zone and there are also five more Demon King Grade Bloodline ns out in the wildness or, more urately, Tribes of Natures! Those demon kings are also known as the Wild Demon Kings, and you¡¯re already close to one of the sessors of Cheveyo Wild Demon King!¡±
Ace was bewildered when he heard this, and he instantly thought of Thomas. Although he already knows Thomas¡¯s identity wasn¡¯t ordinary, he never thought he was also the scion of a Demon King as well.
Because on the maind continent, themon poption only knew there were eight demon kings, and they only thought of wide tribes as barbarians, but who would¡¯ve thought there are five more hidden demon kings in those wild tribes?
All-Knowing Parrot continues, ¡°Those Wild Demon Kings¡¯ existences deliberately kept hidden to the masses and only known to title Demon Kings and Demon Dukes. Anyway, my point is don¡¯t you find it strange that there are only thirteen demon king grade bloodline ns, not tribes?¡±
Ace¡¯s mind trembled after hearing this point. He never thought this deeply about the demon race, but now that point was raised, he finally gave it his utmost attention.
He finally reached an astonishing conclusion and said, ¡°Are you telling me those demon kings grade ns are not natural but made artificially?!¡±
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s ovepping voice sounded with a hint of disdain, ¡°Yes, those ns didn¡¯t have a manifestation bloodline inborn, but it was stimted with body refinement techniques and just the materials needed to cultivate those techniques are astronomical and from billions of demons only thirteen ns were chosen to progress their bloodline to manifestation grade potential.
¡°Although our demon race can cultivate smoothly, we are all shackled by the limits of our bloodlines, and some Body refinement techniques can help us cross those limits, but the price is quite steep.¡±
Ace didn¡¯t know what to say. He also knew about this point because of Noa and that¡¯s why she had bloodline up-gradation options in her system shop.
But it seemed he still didn¡¯t understand the true value of Noa¡¯s body refinement technique before, and it seemed it was going to be quite difficult to cultivate it.
All-Knowing Parrot further exined, ¡°To break those limits on a demon¡¯s bloodline, it¡¯s essential to have another bloodline which has reached the limit of its potential, and it had to be of the same potential. Simply put, Feng right now is an essential medicinal material for any king-grade tribes with a body refinement method. Do you understand now what kind of trouble Feng is right now?¡±
Ace felt a chill run down his spine as he finally understood why those four nsing after him.
He couldn¡¯t help but ask in uncertainty, ¡°Then what about demon king grade ns? Could they be interested in Feng?¡±
All-Knowing Parrot merely chuckled and replied, ¡°No, foremost, those Demon Kings Grade ns didn¡¯t have a high-level body refinement technique that can break the limit of their bloodline. Second, the materials for such a body refinement technique can only be found in the royal family¡¯s hands. Lastly and most importantly, they needed a natural Demon King Grade Bloodline or Manifestation Grade Bloodline, not an artificial one.
¡°In the entire history of the demon race, only three such bloodlines exist, and one of them was schemed against and butchered by the other two just so they could also break their bloodline limits!¡±
Ace took a sharp breath at this moment. Despite the All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s ovepped voice, he could feel the boundless hatred in it, and he finally understood everything, especially why that envoy wanted to refine his blood.
He couldn¡¯t help but asked for confirmation, ¡°So, the Hex Demon Tribe was exterminated because of their bloodline, and it seemed they still wanted our bloodline, right?¡±
All-Knowing Parrot frowzy voice sounded, ¡°It¡¯s seemed like it and if my guess is right that royal envoy is Crown Demon Price who wanted to strengthen his Demon Emperor Grade Bloodline which will make his chances of entering the seventh realm rise tremendously, making him the bona fide future Demon Emperor!¡±
¡®Fuck!¡¯ Ace cursed silently since he guessed was right.
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s jeering voice sounded, ¡°Hehe, afraid now? Well, I can¡¯t me you since you live in mountains, but now that you know I want you to remain low-key until we got our tribe¡¯s secret manual, only that manual can give us a chance to fight!¡±
Ace wanted to say that; he had nothing to do with this, but he knew he can¡¯t, or he¡¯ll lose this important Informative.
After his talk with All-Knowing Parrot, Ace wanted to pull this guy on his side because his abilities were just too much help to him in the long run, and he knew how he could do it.
Ace sighed softly and said, ¡°I understand. I have to thank you for sharing this important information with me, though, or I might¡¯ve lost my life here!¡±
Chapter 393
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s ovepping voice sounded with a hint of satisfaction, ¡°As long as you understand. Just watch out for those four ns. Although de Demon King has a high opinion of you, he won¡¯t stop those four ns as long as they don¡¯t leave any proof behind.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes turned cold and chuckled, ¡°As long as it isn¡¯t the demon king himself, I can manage them.¡± He was telling the truth.
All-Knowing Parrot replied, ¡°I know you can. Since we have already settled our matters, I should also get going. Keep this Myriad Miles Communication Cube safe and don¡¯t show it to anyone because only demon king grade ns have a single pair of them. Furthermore, since I have the main cube, so only I can contact you. Just keep a Qi stone in it all the time, and you¡¯ll know once I contact you.¡±
Ace was astonished to hear this cube was so precious, and couldn¡¯t help but felt it was a pity he can¡¯t get his hands on more pairs.
Nheless, he agreed with All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s settlement, ¡°Fine. Can you get me soul-type materials or pills? I can pay you or exchange them with martial material or pills?¡±
Ace quickly remembered All-Knowing Parrot dealt with these kinds of things, and he wanted to see if he can get his hands-on soul-type material and pills without any impediment.
All-Knowing Parrot giggled as she said, ¡°Hehe, I thought you never asked. I know we Hex Demons needed soul-type resources, and they are quite hard to get our hands on. But don¡¯t worry, I can help you with it since we are allies. Just find the Lionheart Shop Owner in Inner Domain¡¯s weapon market and show him the other token I left you in the storage ring. She¡¯ll know what to do. Anything else?¡±
¡®So, he even has people in the inner domain, huh? It also appeared he¡¯s a soul path cultivator as well. Heh, I¡¯m looking forward to meeting this All-Knowing Parrot.¡¯
Ace smiled faintly and said, ¡°Nothing else, Boss All-Knowing Parrot, has already helped me enough. I can¡¯t ask for more.¡±
All-Knowing Parrot replied, ¡°Heh, it¡¯s only natural to help a fellow tribesman, so please don¡¯t stand on ceremony. I¡¯ll see you soon.¡±
Just as the All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s voice faded, the green cube dimmed down before tuning into normal.
Ace opened and see the Qi stone was still intact, which means this time All-Knowing Parrot has cut off the connection from the other side. He changed the Qi stone with the new one and after making sure the cube was not activating; he put it in his thief¡¯s space.
¡°Four demon ns of de Demon Tribes, huh, I have to watch out for them. As for the royal demon council, I don¡¯t think they can scheme against me because of the loyalty contract. But I can¡¯t rule out the possibility, either. Since the Demon King Grade Tribe has those body refinement techniques, they might have supernatural abilities¡¡±
Ace mulled over it a long time before he sighed deeply and worried about it after he encountered any problem and rest for now.
¡ª
The all-Knowing Parrot had a lovely smile on her deadly gorgeous face as she fiddled with a green cube, the same as Ace, in her slim hand, but this green cube had a marking on its surface as well.
She mumbled, ¡°Interesting, he knew nothing about the demon race, and he also didn¡¯t query about the Myriad Hex Manual again at all. I can understand his ignorant, but his indifference toward Myriad Hex Manual is strange.
¡°It seemed I have to prepare a soul contract first and have him sign it before our meeting. I can¡¯t just put my safety in jeopardy on a chance. Not with this person. He had to show some goodwill as well.¡±
The all-Knowing Parrot called in a mild voice, ¡°Aliya!¡±
A beautiful demoness entered the room and bowed deeply in front of All-Knowing Parrot as she respectfully said, ¡°Your Highness!¡±
All-Knowing Parrot nodded in acknowledgment and said coolly, ¡°Go to the de domain and took over Lionheart Shop, and if Rising Sword Earl approached you, I need you to observe his purchases and what he exchanged. Report every tiny detail to me. Now go!¡±
Aliya was bewildered hearing this order because she knew who this Rising Sword Earl was, and she didn¡¯t understand why he would approach them and how he know about their secret dealing den.
Nheless, since she already got the order from her mistress, she didn¡¯t dare to question or neglected it and quickly left toward the de domain.
The all-Knowing Parrot mumbled with a mesmerizing smile, but hidden deeper within was a hint of deadly coldness, ¡°Mr. Sky Stealer, don¡¯t betray my trust or else¡¡±
¡ª
After that day Ace spend his days in peace without any incident while he also hung out with Thomas for drinks.
But the surveince on him didn¡¯t stop and only increased by one more demon, which make it all the four big ns of the de demon tribe.
However, those observers didn¡¯t dare to make any move on him because he was still in the de domain and if they tried anything funny, the de Demon King will not forgive them.
Especially after Ace¡¯sst appearance, anyone who made the slightest bit of trouble will instantly detain without any consideration of their background.
On this day, the demoness who bought Ace and others to their inn appeared again and summon every young demon to post hastily in a spacious za.
After everyone appeared, the za almost became full of swirling tens of thousands of young demons who were here from all over the might de province.
And it was just one of the zas with such a scene, and there were more such venues arranged because of the number of these youths.
Ace was also in this za with the same broad sword, demoness. Even he felt quite shocked, seeing this many demons in one ce.
At this moment, a 2.9-meter-tall, muscr demoness in tight purple robes appeared on a tall tform and there was a huge broad sword belted on her back.
She smiled and said, ¡°Silence!¡± while imbuing her voice with Qi, which rang like a thundercloud in the vast za, making everyone shut in their traps.
Seeing everyone¡¯s attention was finally on her, she said, ¡°My name is Kori Green de, and I¡¯m your guide and instructor for the period of your training program set up by his majesty!¡±
Everyone eximed as they whispered to each other.
Ace frowned as felt this was not going ording to his assumption.
Kori said with a smile, ¡°You are all supposed to go into the inner domain first and meet with your fellowpetitors, but because of the huge number of promising youths of our might de province it would be quite troublesome to let everyone enter the inner domain at once.
¡°Furthermore, only demons who had proven themselves valuable can enter the inner domain. That¡¯s why his majesty the de Demon King decided to start this training program ahead of time, and it is personally drafted by his highness as well.¡±
Thomas chuckled at this moment. ¡°It seemed they didn¡¯t want to let just anyone enter the inner domain.¡±
Ace nodded with a grave expression on his face. With this sudden turn of events, his previous nspletely turned to dust. Going into the inner domain held a huge advantage to him, especially after his conversation with All-Knowing Parrot, but it seemed things have just be troublesome.
Koripletely ignored some youths¡¯ ugly expressions and continue, ¡°This training program is divided into three phases. With every phasested for five months. Only those who can pass the first phase can get the qualification to enter the inner domain!
¡°This is also apetition with rankings and the higher your rank is, the more rewards you¡¯ll get from the reward pool, and whoever ranked within the top hundred participants will get to cultivate under de Demon King for three months!¡±
Every demon¡¯s eyes turned fierce with burning desire. The demons were an inherently fight-hungry bunch, so it was only natural for them to rile up in the name of thispetition. Especially the promise of cultivating under the de demon king, which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Furthermore, this will also increase the chances of passing the uing demon gate trial in twenty-two months with the Demon King¡¯s guidance. So, thispetition was going to be extremely bloody!
Kori nodded in satisfaction at seeing everyone in high spirits and announced with a smile,
¡°We have opened a newly ¡®Training Guild¡¯ not far away from here for you guys. You have to first register there before starting the first phase of your training, and you¡¯ll also get information about your reward points distribution and corresponding rewards from there.
¡°As for the first phase, it is very simple. Each individual has five months to hunt down one hundredte third-grade (Peak Qi River Realm) demonic beasts from the Shadow Mountain Range, right on the outskirts of the de domain!¡±
Chapter 394
After Kori announced the first phase of the training program, every young demon¡¯s blood boil as they were eager to start thispetition as soon as possible.
However, some young demons have ambiguous expressions on their faces as they were scanning through the surrounding crowd with hidden coldness.
Kori¡¯s thunderous voice rang again, ¡°Now, everyone heads toward the Training Guild for registration and after this was done, please head toward the west domain gate for further instruction!¡±
Finishing her sentence, Kori left the tform and all those young demons quickly left the za in a hurry and head toward this training guild.
Ace, with Thomas, was also going toward the training guild as well.
Thomas said at this moment, ¡°It¡¯s more like a survival trail than a hunting trail. What do you think, brother Feng?¡±
Ace was startled for a moment and nodded in agreement with Thomas and said, ¡°Yes, killing thosete stage third grade demonic beasts is not difficult for most of us since almost everyone is on the same level, but what is truly difficult is founding those hundred beasts.
¡°If my guess is right, there might be over thirty million demons taking part in this training phase and individual hunts a hundred beasts each we would need over three hundred million beasts and I don¡¯t think this many demonic beasts of satisfactory rank even exist in the shadow mountain range.
¡°So, those who wanted to pass this first phase had to plunder from others, and no one will let go of such an opportunity just like that. In the end, it will be a bloodbath, a survival of the fittest!¡±
Thomas solemnly. He had the same thought as Ace.
He sighed and said, ¡°This is the easiest way of getting rid of the weakest bunch and only the strong will remain. I don¡¯t think only the de demon king is doing such a thing, and it might happen all over the maind as we speak.¡±
Ace chuckled and said, ¡°Well, no one can me them since this demon gate trail was bing so big they had to use some methods to cut down the numbers. If you¡¯re afraid, why don¡¯t you go and apany sister Milly, huh?¡±
Thomas sneered at Feng¡¯s joking words and said, ¡°Fuck off, who¡¯s afraid? Those brats better pray they won¡¯t encounter me, or they can say goodbye to their dear life. You, on the other hand, have to hide since everyone seemed to after your title.¡±
Ace smiled. He knows what Thomas was saying. He was a demon earl and didn¡¯t have any big background, so everyone might target him for his title and fame.
He said while shrugging his shoulder, ¡°I just have to run then.¡±
¡°Shameless!¡± Thomas spat in frivolity with fake disdain.
They had be close friends these days and always joke around like this.
Just like that, they finally reached an enormous building which look newly built and there was a golden signboard in the front ¡®Training Guild¡¯ and there were fifty long queues right outside the entrance slowly moving.
Thomas couldn¡¯t help but eximed while cursing, ¡°Shit, we have to wait for hours like this and there are still demonsing!¡±
Ace also frowned, seeing the long queues.
¡°Waiting is only for weak, strong made their own way!¡±
At this moment, an imposing voice sounded from behind them and many demons turn around to see just who this arrogant guy was with cold eyes.
This neer was 2.5-meter-tall with a toned build. He wore in violet color robes with a silver de insignia on its back. His face was overly handsome and masculine, with bright silver skin and crimson eyeballs like burning mes. His long red hair was fluttering in the wind like a raging fire, while his two silver horns were as sharp as two thin des.
A long sword was sheathed around his waist in silver scabbards. He had a provoking smile on his pale silver lips as he looked at Ace.
Ace frowned. He could feel faint hostility from this guy, and he was giving him a familiar feeling for some reason, but he knew he had never seen this guy before, or he knows from his soul signature.
At this moment, a demon eximed within the crowd of demons, ¡°T-that¡ crimson eyes and silver skin and sword¡ could it be the Sword Genius of Silver de n and youngest son of His Majesty de Demon King¡ Prince Peter Silver de!¡±
This small voice was like a stone in the calm river, which create many ripples as everyone started eximing in low voices and looked toward this demon with reverence in their eyes.
Peter was the youngest prodigy of the dominant n of de Demon Tribe, and he was the only one of his brothers and sisters who walk on a different path from his father, the path of dual des!
Furthermore, he even achieved startling progress and achievement in the sword path byprehending the half sword intent before the age of seventy, bing the youngest genius of mighty de province.
Until someone else appeared not younger them him and that sole genius status shattered, this person was none other than Rising Sword Earl, Feng Demon Sword!
Peter didn¡¯t hate Feng to snatched his fame at all, on the contrary, he saw Feng as his rival and wanted topete with him because from a young age Peter had no rival of the same age nor did anyone dare to provoke him because of his status and father. This made him somewhat lonely.
But after Feng appeared, Peter felt this person was worthy of being his rival and looking forward topeting with him.
Peter didn¡¯t need to take part in thesepetitions at all, but he insisted on doing to test Feng and see if he was worthwhile his attention or if he was also just like others and only barked with no prowess at all.
Ace naturally heard the whispering of the demons around them and Thomas also seemed to identify this demon as he said with a smile, ¡°Heh, I never thought I would meet His Highness in a ce like this.¡±
Peter seemed to finally notice Thomas as he heard his easygoing voice without any hint of fear or respect.
Others also found Thomas¡¯s behavior quite darning and couldn¡¯t help but thought he was offending a tiger without being afraid of being eaten alive.
Peter¡¯s eyes shed with a hint of enlightenment and said ambiguously, ¡°I never thought I would meet someone other than him who can give me some challenge.¡±
Thisment made the other demons bbergasted because it was like Peter acknowledged Thomas¡¯s existence and prowess, which made everyone wary of Thomas.
Peter naturally knows about the existence of five Wild Demon Kings, and he had heard one of the heirs of the Wild Demon King was also here to train for the demon gate trial, and he was a soul cultivator.
So, the moment Peter sensed the deeply hidden soul Qi fluctuation from Thomas, he quickly knows his identity but didn¡¯t expose him.
In a sense, Thomas¡¯s status was equal to Peter¡¯s, it just that it can¡¯t be made public, but since he already knows who Thomas was, it would be rude for him to treat him like a side character.
Thomas merely chuckled at this moment. He had already guessed this guy had found out about him, just like Feng.
A weapon cultivator¡¯s sense was always sensitive toward danger, and a soul cultivator like him was extremely dangerous!
Feng finally spoke at this moment. His tone was not supercilious nor overly polite. ¡°Waiting is only for weak, strong made their own way¡ His Highness¡¯s words are wise. This Feng is convinced of his highness¡¯s wisdom.¡±
Peter¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. He could tell Feng wasn¡¯t afraid of him at all and only speaking out of courtesy, nothing more.
¡°Hand them over,¡± Peter said to the old man behind him, who seemed to be invisible all this time, and everyone finally noticed him.
The old man smiled slightly as he suddenly threw something toward Feng and Thomas.
They both caught it with slightly knit brows.
Even Ace felt this old man was extremely powerful, as even he didn¡¯t notice his presence and thought of him as a mortal and became even more vignt toward him.
Nheless, they saw they were storage rings and looked toward Peter for an exnation.
Peter chuckled, ¡°There are your participant tags and other information you needed to know about this training season. You both don¡¯t need to stand here any longer. Follow me now. I¡¯ll take you to a good ce where only someone like us can enter! Of if you¡¯re afraid, you can just return them to me and enter those queues.¡±
Thomas looked at Ace, and Ace nodded with a smile.
¡°Please lead the way, your highness.¡± Both of them said in unison.
Everyone looked at those two leaving with Peter with envy, but they know they didn¡¯t have the qualification to enter the Demon Prince¡¯s eyes, and they can only prove themselves with thispetition!
Chapter 395
Ace and Thomas followed Peter and the silent old man toward the west gate of the de¡¯s domain.
Peter said at this moment, ¡°Since you decided to follow me, let me tell you we aim to hunt ten early grade-4 demonic beasts, not like the others. Furthermore, this is a special training program for those who have at least a 70% chance of passing the demon gate trail. You two are not the only ones with such goals, but here are one thousand such individuals, including me and my tribesmen. It¡¯s just that we didn¡¯t make it public to not cause any confusion.¡±
Ace found it quite reasonable because it would be too easy for talents like Thomas to pass this test, whichpletely lost the meaning of training, and they could also take advantage of this and gain all the resources easily.
But hunting ten early grade-4 demonic beasts was also not a joke because demonic beasts didn¡¯t have any cultivation techniques, every demonic beast would be akin to a cultivator who had formed an ordinary river core, and they have powerful bodies like demons as well.
This simply means they have to hunt silver river core demons. Despite being at the peak of the Qi river realm, this was an urate test for geniuses.
Thomas couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Did more tribes of nature also included in these thousand individuals?¡±
Peter looked at Thomas and only nodded without giving away any further information, which made Thomas frown.
Although Ace had some idea why Thomas was here despite Thomas still hiding his real identity, he could still feel Thomas was quite worried after getting confirmation from Peter.
But he didn¡¯t force Thomas to tell him and patiently wait for him to reveal his motives on his own.
Thomas was a great friend. He just didn¡¯t want to drag Ace into his mess after bing friends with him, so he just kept his mouth shut about his identity and motives, despite Milly nagging him about it.
They finally reached and crossed the west gate and moved toward the outskirts of the de domain.
Now, both Ace and Thomas had already got all the information they needed to know from the storage rings given to them by Peter.
There were also golden wristbands on their wrists now, which they got from the storage rings.
These silver wristbands were their special identity tags with some special functions.
The first function was to record the kill count of the demonic beasts they killed. As for how they worked, Ace had no idea, but he still found them quite interested.
Furthermore, these wristbands will only count the demonic beasts which meet their kill requirement criteria. Simply put, if they kill a grade-three or low-grade-four demonic beast, this wristband won¡¯t count them only if they kill the early grade 4 demonic beasts or higher, will this wristband count them in session!
The second function was the ranking system, these wristbands can be used to manage their ranking urately with kill points they will get after killing their targeted demonic beasts or higher.
Thete grade-3 demonic beast was equal to 10 Kill Points.
The early grade-4 demonic beast was equal to 100 Kill Points.
The intermediate grade-4 demonic beast was equal to 1000 Kill Points.
Thete grade-4 demonic beast was equal to 10,000 Kill Points.
The early grade-5 demonic beast was equal to 100,000 Kill Points.
This kill point system gave talented demons an absolute advantage and make ranking authentic.
Although, as long as they canplete their allocated quota by either killing or plundering, they can continue with the training program.
But the reward points they will get minimum and those in the training ranking will get most of the reward points which can be further exchanged with cultivation resources, skills, techniques, and weapons from the training guild in the inner domain.
Since Ace and Thomas were in a special category, they were given a free hundred, reward points.
If one wanted to measure a value of one reward point, it was equal to a peak grade-3 Qi stone, which was the highest-grade Qi stone present in the outer provinces!
This will give these demons even more motivation to strive for higher ranking and hunt for stronger demonic beasts.
But there was also another function of these wristbands which was if any participant killed another participant they will get 10% of their umted points from their wristband.
This also rified that killing was not forbidden at all, and they were even giving reason to the participants to kill each other.
Ace felt thispetition was extremely brutal, but when he thought about how these demons killed each other without batty an eye, there wasn¡¯t anything startling about it.
The demon poption was extremely huge, and they can reproduce like humans, so killing the weak with such methods was quite normal for the demon race. Only the strong may remain alive here!
They quickly reached the peripheries and saw mountains surrounded by dense, gloomy forests. This was the west entrance of the shadow mountain range.
The old man behind Peter spoke at this moment while looking at Peter with a solemn expression, ¡°I can¡¯t apany you anymore your highness, since you chose to participate in this training program you have to follow the rules as well and no one wille to your aid even if you face life-threatening danger. So, I asked you again, do you want to continue?¡±
Peter chuckled, ¡°Butler Jerome, I know you meant well, but I don¡¯t need anyone¡¯s protection. You can protect me now, but you can¡¯t protect me in the demon gate trial, so I have to follow this path alone.¡±
Butler Jerome sighed, ¡°I have watched you grow up to such a fine young man, your highness, and I¡¯m proud to say you have finally reached the qualification to seek your sword path, and you don¡¯t need my instruction anymore.¡±
Peter¡¯s eyes shimmered with aplicated glint as he bowed slightly and said sincerely, ¡°I¡¯ll remember your teaching¡ Teacher!¡±
Butler Jerome smile in gratification and looked toward both Thomas and Ace, who were silently observing from the side.
Truth be told, they didn¡¯t know why Peter had approached them in the first ce and why they were following him.
Butler Jerome said sternly, ¡°You two are probably the only ones who can be his highness allies in the uing demon gate trial. I don¡¯t know if you know or not, but let me tell you if you want to enter the royal zone, you need powerful allies or others will eat you alive.
¡°Although you are extremely strong, you two are far from enough to ovee all those forming teams of the other provinces and if you¡¯re alone, they will eliminate you first. Remember, not everyone can enter the royal zone and the seats are limited, so if you¡¯re a thorn in others¡¯ way, they will cut you the moment they got the chance.
¡°So, allies are extremely important, and this training program was made to form teamwork among the most powerful youths of this province. I want you three, you ovee your arrogance and help each other in this trial while watching each other¡¯s back.¡±
Peter frowned because he wasn¡¯t here for this. He was here topete with Feng, not getting his help.
Thomas and Ace also frowned. They can help each other, but leaving their backs on Peter was something they weren¡¯tfortable with since they did not know him.
Butler Jerome sense the three of them difort and only said, ¡°Sometimes pride is nothing in the face of survival, so I just hope you all can conquer your pride. Please forgive my rudeness, your highness, I¡¯ll be taking my leave now, Good Luck.¡±
He bowed before vanishing from the sight.
Peter said at this moment, ¡°Don¡¯t take Butler¡¯s words to heart. I¡¯m not looking for allies or anything. I just wanted to challenge you guys. Let¡¯s see who can get a higher ranking than the other. What do you think?¡±
Thomas nodded with a provocative smile, ¡°Hehe, I also wanted to see his highness¡¯s prowess. I agree.¡±
Ace merely chuckled, ¡°I would make my move first, then.¡±
Without waiting for the other¡¯s replies, he vanished into the dense forest. He also didn¡¯t want to work with anyone else since it would only expose him, and he also had other things to do, so moving alone was the best option.
¡°Brother Feng, you¡¯re being audacious again.¡± Thomas cursed and also use a movement technique to enter the mountain range.
Peter was slightly dumbfounded by those two guys and couldn¡¯t help but smile as fighting intent shed past his crimson eyes.
¡°Interesting!¡± He also used his sword steps to enter the forest.
At this moment, Butler Jerome appeared again with two more demons. One was an old demon with some of Thomas¡¯s features while the other was a middle-aged demon who resembled Peter or Peter who resembled him!
Chapter 396
At this moment, Butler Jerome appeared again with two more demons. One was an old demon with some of Thomas¡¯s features, while the other was a middle-aged demon who resembled Peter or Peter who resembled him!
These two neers were none other than the de Demon King and Maddux, who had vanished for days and now appeared with the Demon King!
de Demon King chuckled at this moment, ¡°Jerome, it seemed those threepletely ignored your advice.¡±
Jerome smiled wryly and bowed lightly, ¡°Your Majesty, you already know about it, but you still make me do it. If it were your majesty instead, I don¡¯t think they would¡¯ve dared to ignore it.¡±
de Demon King replied faintly, ¡°A rtion built on force is nothing but a sand castle. Peter has never interacted with his peers since anyone dare not to approach him, and he was surrounded by double faces people in his entire life. Although he¡¯s bright, he stillcked experience, and this will be a good chance for him to experience the ugliness of life.¡±
Jerome sighed. He knew de Demon King¡¯s intentions or if he had given his absolutemand, Peter would¡¯ve never been able to enter thispetition no matter how much he struggled.
Maddux said at this moment, ¡°I still have to thank your majesty to choose Thomas for being an ally with his highness, Peter. This will help him tremendously if he grasped the chance.¡±
de Demon King smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s Peter¡¯s fortune to have Thomas here. I know your character Maddux, so I also know you would not marry your granddaughter with just anyone, and it seemed I was right.¡±
Maddux bow respectfully and said, ¡°You jest your majesty, I¡¯m merely a subordinate of Wild Demon King. How could I dare to go against his highness¡¯ order?¡±
de Demon King merely sneered, but he didn¡¯t pursue the topic as well. He knows Maddux was nothing but a mere subordinate.
He said, ¡°As for that Feng fellow, he¡¯s too sharp, and the rumors won¡¯t even give him the justice he deserved.¡±
Both Maddux and Jerome were shocked to hear Demon King¡¯s praise since they both know de Demon King won¡¯t just praise anyone.
Jerome said at this moment, ¡°If your majesty has such a high opinion of Feng, why doesn¡¯t his majesty stop those four ns?¡±
How could Demon King not know about his fellow tribesmen¡¯s schemes and their constant monitoring of Feng¡¯s moves with no prior notice?
He was the King here and nothing can hide from him, it was just that hepletely ignored them since they wouldn¡¯t impede him in any way.
He sneered and said, ¡°Those four ns have been in the power for so long, and they keep forgetting about my existence, but since they are my people, I ignore them, because they didn¡¯t dare to cross the line.
¡°Now is also the same. They wanted to improve their bloodline to manifestation grade and I won¡¯t stop them as long they won¡¯t deploy any soul realm cultivator on training grounds.
¡°But if they think they can seed, they are wildly mistaken because that Feng is akin to a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing. His senses are too sharp even, I feel exposed for a moment, or it was just my imagination, but that brat is hiding a tremendous power. Those ns were going to suffer this time. Hahaha.¡±
Jerome and Maddux were startled by de Demon King¡¯s assessment of Feng, and they simply thought de Demon King was exaggerating because of his high opinion of Feng.
How could a soul manifestation cultivator get exposed in front of a river cultivator without any marital sense? Even they won¡¯t be able to find de Demon King if he didn¡¯t want them to find him. So, it was even more impossible for Feng!
de Demon King said coldly at this moment, ¡°Jerome, deploy Earth Troll Race and make sure no soul realm entered here and also secure the border of the core region of the shadow mountain range.
¡°Although those juniors can¡¯t be reaching that area. But just to make sure if anyone appeared there, they won¡¯t seek their death by entering it. Besides this, there¡¯s no need to save anyone, not even Peter. Let them experience the baptism of blood for these five months. They found out soon it was just the start!¡±
¡ª
Shadow Mountain Range has spread thousands of miles, and it was also a border between Mighty de Domain and Mighty Mist Domain.
However, without the safe passage and routes, this mountain range was absolutely deadly for even peak soul realm cultivators.
Many powerful demonic beasts were living here with many wild demon tribes, which weren¡¯t different from the demonic beasts in nature.
The entire mountain range was divided into three regions, the outer region covered the biggest area of the shadow mountain range. The middle region where river core demonic beasts roam freely andst, the core region where soul realm demonic beasts reside.
Furthermore, this mountain range was rich with many herbs and other natural treasuries, but the more precious the treasure, the deadlier its protector.
That was why many hunting teams came here for adventure and to try their luck.
However, this time young demons were entering this ce, numbered in millions, and all those professional hunting teams weren¡¯t given any kind ofmand from the de domain, which could be taken as anything.
Like, they couldpletely ignore those youths, or they could even kill them if they found them an eye sour.
This made thispetition even deadlier and the survival rate dropped even more.
However, what these youths who had entered from the de domain didn¡¯t know was that there was the same kind of movement happening on the other side of the shadow mountain range.
The youths from the mighty mist province also entered the shadow mountain range, and they have apletely different goal from the mighty demon de province youths.
The rtionship between de Domain and Mist Domain was always tense, and both demon kings could be said old enemies.
de Demon King didn¡¯t know about Mist Demon King¡¯s malicious move yet, but once he found out, it was going to be a tremendous storm!
At this moment,
Ace was crossing trees on a stony pathway and going toward the depth of the shadow mountain range.
¡®I sense Maddux with that Butler and another presence before itpletely vanished and even my soul signature can¡¯t find it, nor my soul sense. Just who could that be? I did the right thing to not try to probe anymore, or I might¡¯ve got exposed.¡¯
Ace had already sensed Maddux¡¯s presence two hundred meters away from their position when Jerome was talking with them, and he also sensed de Demon King for a moment before hepletely concealed himself after sensing something awry.
de Demon King was shocked at that moment because he sensed exposure for a moment in Feng¡¯s presence, so he quickly used ten percent of his power to hide even more thoroughly and then paid more attention to Feng, but he found nothing amiss again and thought it was just his imagination, but he still couldn¡¯t forget about that feeling.
That was why he shared it with Maddux and Jerome, but they also won¡¯t believe it even for a second.
But who would¡¯ve thought it was true!
That¡¯s why Ace quickly left toward the depth of the shadow mountain range, and he wanted to enter the core region because he wanted absolute istion because of what he was about to do.
As for thepetition, he didn¡¯t care at all, since he can always kill those required demonic beasts anytime he wanted.
However, this sudden start of thepetition threw his other ns out of rail, which included him going into the inner domain first and then visiting the Life Demon Treasure Pagoda and then Lionheart Shop.
Furthermore, the Lionheart Shop visit was important since it included the All-Knowing Parrot showing herself after interacting with him.
At this moment, Ace was suddenly startled before his brows knit together.
After making sure no one was around, he jumped on a tree and hide itsrge crown, and then took out a green cube that was blinking.
The moment he took it out from his thief¡¯s space, it glowed in green light before an ovepping voice sounded with a hint of yfulness.
¡°Mr. Sky Stealer, I hope you¡¯re enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Shadow Mountain Range.¡±
Ace smiled wryly and said, ¡°Boss, All-Knowing Parrot sure got the news fast. But I have to disappoint you. This ce is gloomy with eerily silence, so I don¡¯t think I can admire any scenery here.¡±
¡°Hahaha¡ I kind of like this kind of environment.¡± All-Knowing Parrotughed lightly.
Ace only sighed and asked, ¡°So, what can I do for Boss All-Knowing Parrot? It seemed I won¡¯t be visiting your establishment anytime soon.¡±
All-Knowing Parrot replied knowingly, ¡°I know, such a shame, I was looking forward to our business dealings. But we also have to postpone our meeting for eight months since I can¡¯te here at the moment. Nheless, I contact you to warn you about the Mist Domain¡!¡±
Chapter 397
Ten days pass since the start of the de domainpetition and over thirty million demon youths had already entered the Shadow Mountain Range and started hunting for demonic beasts madly.
Many demons formed hunting squads for their safety and hunting the demonic beasts more efficiently. There wasn¡¯t any rule about not working with others, heck, there wasn¡¯t any rule at all as long as they wouldplete their quota. It doesn¡¯t matter what they did.
This also made the environment in the shadow mountain range deadlier and more chaotic.
Some started to ambush others, while others started to kill, steal, and take advantage of the situation from the shadows.
But this didn¡¯t stop those demons from continue taking part in this ughterer.
The rankings would also appear at the end of the 30th day on everyone¡¯s wristbands. It can only show the ranking of the top hundred, but everyone was working hard to get on those hundred rankings.
At this moment, three figures in dark cloaks appeared in the inner region of the shadow mountain range, which was extremely gloomy and dark even during the daytime.
A voice rang with a hint of helplessness from one figure. ¡°Did you find any trace of Feng?¡±
A rough voice rang in reply, ¡°No, I don¡¯t know how he entered the middle region in ten days, but the earth trolls can¡¯t be wrong in tracking his movements. However, even those earth trolls can¡¯t pinpoint his exact location. But it seemed he¡¯s moving deeper in the mountains.¡±
Another depressed voice sounded, ¡°I never thought we would be led by the nose by a mere river realm brat. But it seemed we underestimated him. I¡¯m sure the other three ns are also facing the same problem.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry the middle region is not as vast as the outer region, those earth trolls will soon cover the boundary of the inner region, and we¡¯ll know about his exact location soon from our spies within their race.¡± the first one spoke in absolute confidence.
¡°I just hope he doesn¡¯t enter the core region, or we¡¯ll be helpless to do anything and might lose our chance to create a demon king grade bloodline.¡± The third onement.
The second one chided him harshly, ¡°Don¡¯t jinx it, we, the Evil de n, will rise as the silver de n! That brat is not foolish enough to enter the core region, nor can he outrun the Earth Troll Race¡¯s ability to move on earth and escape their tracking. As long as he moves on the ground, they will find out about his whereabouts, eventually. We just have to react before the other three ns!¡±
¡ª
However, those who were searching for Feng on the outskirts of the middle region have no idea he was already halfway from entering the core region.
Not even the Earth Troll race, the subordinary race under the de Demon Tribe, can catch up with him if they didn¡¯t deploy a soul realm earth troll which was forbidden by the demon king!
Furthermore, Ace was constantly moving without stopping for anything while also meticulously avoiding the demonic beasts with his soul sense and didn¡¯t confront any demonic beasts yet.
He knows those four ns were after him. That was why he wanted to enter the core region as soon as possible and then first do his own thing before starting hunting.
Another ten days pass in the blink of an eye and all those diamond river core realm experts after Ace were raging with frustration since they can¡¯t find him even with Earth Trolls on his tail.
But how could they find him?
At this moment, Ace was looking at an enormous mountain that was over 50 miles tall, and its peak was surrounded by clouds. This was the biggest mountain of the shadow mountain range and also the core region of the shadow mountain range!
Ace smiled with a hint of exhaustion on his face. He was moving without any rest, but he knew he can¡¯t be careless this time.
He entered the dark tree forest surrounding this tall mountain and vanished.
After half a day of climbing, Ace sensed an early fifth grade (minor stage soul realm) demonic beast and carefully detour around it. He didn¡¯t want to start a fight with a soul realm demonic beast while he was not in his peak state.
Night descended.
Ace finally found a cave deeply hidden within the dark trees and, after confirming it was abandoned, he quickly entered before closing it with a formation and other traps.
The cave wasn¡¯t too deep; it wasn¡¯t too small norrge, which was enough for Ace.
Ace didn¡¯t go too deep into the core region because he knew there werete-stage grade-5 demonic beasts there, and he didn¡¯t want to startle them.
Furthermore, he also encountered some savage demons roaming in the inner region, and they will attack anything they saw.
Although he didn¡¯t know why these demons didn¡¯t have intelligence, he didn¡¯t want to start a fight with those savages.
Ace spend the night recovering his heavenly darkness Qi and reached his optimal condition.
Ace opened his eyes at this moment and said, ¡°System, do you think this ce is isted enough toplete my side mission?¡±
He was talking about the Heavenly Fate Live Compass Needle Spirit subjection mission, which was put to hold because of obvious circumstances.
However, now, he was in the middle of nowhere and there wasn¡¯t any intelligent life form around him who can suspect him or investigate if anything out of the blue happened.
Furthermore, he wanted toe to this ce exactly toplete this side mission and if the de domainpetition didn¡¯t give him a chance, he would¡¯vee here anyway after dealing with the inner domain business.
But he got the chance soon, so he didn¡¯t want to miss it and get it over with as soon as possible while he was still alone.
The system¡¯s prompt replied came,
¡°[Yes!]¡±
======
[Side Mission]
[Mission: Subdue the Heavenly Fate Live Compass Spirit!]
-Requirement (1): One Million Soul Point [Complete]
-Requirement (2): Ten Million Thief Point [Complete]
[Do you want toplete the side mission?]
[Yes/ Dy]
=======
Ace took a deep breath, readied himself for whatever was about toe, and said firmly, ¡°Yes, proceed!¡±
=====
[Thief Point(s): 13,580,000]
=====
The very next moment, his ten million thief points were deducted and all those soul pills vanished from his thief space. A golden scroll appeared right in front of his eyes.
This was the same Myriad Live Compass Map that Ace stole from the wine shop and N¨¡gas. It was also the hoax body of the Heavenly Fate Live Compass Needle.
However, this scroll was not dormant at this moment. It was dazzling in dark golden luster, which gave off a very powerful suppression, far stronger than anything Ace had ever felt.
At this moment, a deafening roar rumbled directly within Ace¡¯s mind in apletely foreignnguage, but hepletely understood it because of the obvious reason.
¡°Shameless Heavenly Will, you wanted to end me? Why, why, why¡ the moment I was born you tried to annihte me¡ you kill even my creator¡ if not for herst life-saving grace and sending me to the chaotic void I would¡¯ve been destroyed! But who would¡¯ve thought you would follow me here¡ since you didn¡¯t want to leave any path of survival for me, I¡¯ll use myst bit of power to damage the Heavenly¡¡±
However, before this raging melodious voice could altogether its sentence, it came to an abrupt stop.
Ace¡¯s heart palpitated when he heard the voice of a woman who seemed to have gone nuts. He knew this was that legendary treasure spirit of the Heavenly Fate Live Compass.
He even felt its boundless abhorrence and absolute prowess, despite it saying it was destroyed and only a remnant. Likewise, he finally understood the true power of an Eternal Provenance Treasure. It was terrifying!
He couldn¡¯t help but felt it was the right decision to leave this mad treasure with the system.
The treasure spirit¡¯s voice sounded again with a hint of confusion, ¡°You¡¯re not Heavenly Will but a¡ lowly human doll. But how could it be possible for someone like you to possess heavenly Qi and then confine me? Shameless heaven, are you toying with me?!¡±
Ace didn¡¯t even get the chance to speak before the treasure spirit went bonkers again. Which made him sweated and speechless.
At this moment, the golden scroll shone in the dark golden light and the very next moment, the golden scroll turned into golden dust particles.
The entire scroll waspletely turned into dark golden dust particles, forming a ring around a shining decagram!
This decagram was palm size and in the shape of tenpass needle points. Half of the points werepletely pitch ck, while half of the points werepletely white. Those tenpass needles were in ck and white order (One de, One White, and so on).
Right in the center was apletely silver small disk connected with all those tenpass needles, and there were ten golden symbols on this silver disk right in front of eachpass needle.
This was the actual form of Heavenly Fate Live Compass Needle!
Chapter 398
When the Heavenly Fate Compass Needle waspletely revealed, it was bright as the sun, but Ace still couldn¡¯t get his eyes off the treasure and look at it with a bewitching look on his face.
Right at this moment, right on the silver disk of Heavenly Fate Live Compass Needle, the dark golden partials started to gather and begin to form a shape.
Thereupon, a humanoid shape was formed and a tiny blurry golden figure appeared. It was the treasure spirit of thepass needle!
The same melodious voice filled with malice and hatred rang again in the silent cave, ¡°Heh, Heavenly Will, your little ything seemed to be in a trace just after gazing at my eternal treasure charm¡ It seemed you reach here really isn¡¯t all that great, and you calcte wrongly for the first time¡ hahahahaha¡ let me kill this pet of yours!¡±
Ace remainedpletely captivated without being able to pull himself from this treasure charm while the HFL Compass needle began to spin giving off a cold light, it lookedpletely like a round de from its decagram form now, and it was ready to slice past through Ace¡¯s throat.
While Ace was being a sitting duck, above the sky of the shadow mountain range core region, inky clouds suddenly started to appear rambling with tri-color thunder and slowly covering the entire core region.
The whole gloomy mountain was enshrouded inplete darkness!
The old demonic beasts living on the mountain start to howl and roar in hysteria and dread while they hide in theiryers.
The pressure also started to increase, even peak diamond soul realm beasts were suppressed and started to tremble on their knees.
Furthermore, the center spot of these raging inky clouds was right about a cave.
Inside Ace¡¯s temporary cave resident,
The HFL Compass Needle was about to move when suddenly a contemptuous voice full of imposing authority rang from Ace¡¯s mouth,
¡°[Heh, intriguing.]¡±
This voice wasn¡¯t Ace, but it also cleared Ace¡¯s eyes as he blinked in confusion for a moment before his heart palpitated when he saw the spinning HFLpass needle was four inches away from his neck and the blurry golden figure on top of it was suddenly seemed¡ quivering!
The treasure spirit¡¯s bewildered voice rang with a hint of incredulity, ¡°W-who are you?! You¡¯re not Heavenly Will, but you¡¯re like¡ like¡ s¡¡±
However, before it couldplete its sentence, a dark blue chain suddenly shot from Ace¡¯s be like an unstoppable arrow and directly pierce through the quivering, blurry, golden figure.
The HFLpass needle suddenlye to an abrupt stop this very moment and started to flutter.
Ace was shocked seeing this scene and the dark blue chain from his be and instantly know it was the doing of the system and felt immense relief because for a moment he thought he had bought cmity upon himself.
At this moment, the system¡¯s impassive voice rang in his head.
======
[Eternal Provenance Treasure [Damaged] has been detected!]
-Name: Heavenly Fate Live Compass [Needle]
-Type: Soul
-Condition: Damaged (95%)
¡ª
[Please choose which type of bond the host wants to form with Eternal Provenance Treasure!]
[Bond options]
-Equal Bond: Contract [Enter Years Here]
-Life Bond:
1. Master for One-Life
2. Together for Life
3. Master for Life
-Provenance Life Bond: One Time Life Bound (Unable to unbound)
[Warning (1): Heavenly Fate Live Compass is 95% damaged if the host formed Provenance Life Bond, host needed a vast number of soul-type treasures and soul-type materials to repair the Eternal Provenance Treasure. While it will also grow in apletely unknown direction because of host influence, losing most of its previous (original) functions.]
[Warning (2): Please Choose within a minute or the World Eradicating Heavenly Punishment will descend!]
======
Ace inhale sharply as the choice was finally here. He deeply looked at the HFLpass needle quivering with the blurry golden figure on top. All its previous brightness waspletely gone, nor can it speak any longer, which was the system¡¯s doing.
He saw the decagram shapepass needle was full of cracks, and he finally understood why the system say it had barely been able to escape when it was born. He could also sense the deep hatred it had for this heavenly will, which was also his enemy.
Truth be told, he was thinking from the moment he had found out about those bonds, especially the Provenance Life Bond, which will have apletely unknown effect on him and the treasure itself.
Furthermore, it was only once a lifetime chance, so he didn¡¯t want to waste it on something he won¡¯t benefit from in the future.
But he also hesitates when he thought about just how he could acquire a soul-type Eternal Provenance Treasure which many dreamt of having but can¡¯t find or can¡¯t form the Provenance Life Bond.
He knew just how rare soul-type materials and treasures were, and he didn¡¯t have any luxury for another choice, or he wasn¡¯t sure if he would be able to find anotherplete soul-type Eternal Provenance Treasure in the future.
Although he easily tames this broken Eternal Provenance Treasure with Master for Life Bond, he knew then he would lose the opportunity to respire it forever or make it grow with him in the most prominent way that suits him and his path.
Ace understood one thing very clearly; he was walking on the path of a thief and there wasn¡¯t an Eternal Provenance Treasure that suits a thief unless he forged one himself, which was nothing but a pipe dream.
Furthermore, for some reason, he could feel the system wanted him to form his Provenance Life Bond with HFLC and let it grow into a treasure suitable for a thief despite its previous warnings.
Ace suddenly uttered in the samenguage as the treasure spirit in a calm voice at this moment while looking deeply at the treasure spirit, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you experience from the moment you were born, but I do know what it¡¯s like when heaven tries to destroy you.
¡°I¡¯m the Eternal Enemy of Heaven, Heaven¡¯s Stealer, and I chose to walk on this path willingly, and I don¡¯t know if I would ever see the end of it. But I can use someone¡¯s help. Who knows what¡¯s like to be the enemy of heaven and wasn¡¯t afraid of going against it.
¡°I know I might be unworthy of you even if you¡¯re broken, but you could never find someone more willing than me to go against heaven, who is willingly walking on this path of no return, so help him walk on his path until I reached the very end or perish while trying¡¡±
¡°[Host has ten seconds before the heavenly punishment will descend!]¡±
Acepletely ignore the system¡¯s voice and calmly looked at the treasure spirit, which started to flutter more violently after hearing his words.
He said decisively at this moment, ¡°I chose the Provenance Life Bond!¡±
Ace knew there was no going back after this and this sentence will affect his life forever, but he won¡¯t regret it ever and always chose to do the same because¡!
=====
[Host has chosen the Provenance Life Bond!]
[Provenance Soul Life Bonding process has been started!]
=====
The very next moment, the dark blue chain shimmered darkly before it pulled the HFLpass needle toward Ace¡¯s be at lightning speed.
¡°What the¡¡±
Ace was shocked and thought his head was going to pierce in half, but the very next moment thereafter, the HFLC needle vanished within Ace¡¯s be from a hair away distance.
Ace sighed while sweltering.
¡°Rumble¡.¡±
He suddenly heard the thunderous rumbling of thunder from outside, as if the sky was enraged for some reason.
Ace suddenly smiled coldly at this moment whilepletely ignoring the pressure, ¡°So, you lose your target huh, then fuck off!¡±
It was just as Ace said; the moment the HFLC needle vanished, the heavenly punishment clouds lost their target and tri-color thunder rumbled fiercely as if heaven waspletely infuriated by this sudden development.
But heaven was governed byws and causality, and since its target was gone, it can¡¯t just shoot down lightning for no good reason.
That was why the inky clouds began to scatter, then its pressure vanished with no trace just as fast as appeared.
But for a fleeting moment, before the inky clouds were scattered, an inky eyeball formed right about the cave where the HFLC needle has vanished before it scattered with the inky clouds.
The life forms around the core region finally felt relief, as if they had just escaped a cmity, literally!
At this moment, at the edge of the core region of shadow mountain rang a one-meter tall elderly person was looking at the sky in full of horror with its old human-like eyes as he mumbled in trepidation,
¡°I have to report it to his majesty. It seemed like the birth of Beast King (Grade-Six or Manifestation Realm) or some Evil Treasure!¡±
Chapter 399
Ace had no idea that someone had experienced themotion caused by him this deep in the shadow mountain range, and right now this person was hastily making his way toward the Demon King Castle!
Since his entire focus was right now on his true soul because thepass needle had appeared there, after vanishing from outside.
Ace suddenly felt a huge amount of heavenly soul Qi surged in that dark blue chain and started to enter the golden figure, which waspletely immobilized by the system.
He finally understood why the system needed one million soul points. It was exactly for this purpose.
As the blurry golden figure absorbed the heavenly soul Qi unwillingly, its oscition became more violent as Ace heard shrill screams of the treasure spirit which make him deeply frown.
But he said nothing.
Although he didn¡¯t know how these provenance life bonds were formed, the system clearly stated that it was some kind of deadly trial set by the treasure itself.
However, with the system¡¯s help, he had omitted this trial, which might have consequences for the treasure, or who knows it was because of heavenly soul Qi since he knew the consequences of cultivating with heavenly Qi firsthand.
The blurry golden figure suddenly turned dark at this moment, as its screams also be more piercing, and even Ace felt his mind tremble in pain. But it was nothing, as he continued to observe.
Suddenly, the dark blurry figure made a blood-curdling shriek before it turned into dark particles andpletely absorbed into the cracked decagrampass needle.
The moment those dark particles werepletely absorbed into thepass needle, half of the cracks on thepass needle suddenly mended.
Ace was astonished and ecstatic seeing this, but he heard the system¡¯s voice the next moment.
=====
[Provenance Life Soul Bond trial has beenpletely circumvented!]
[Please brace yourself host, the system needed a small part of the host¡¯s true soul toplete the final bonding process!]
=====
Ace was startled and felt his heart turn cold. He had suffered grave soul injuries, and he knew just how much tedious they were, and now the system was about to split his soul, this would bring immense suffering.
Just as he thought this, he suddenly clenched his head and let loose a shrilled scream.
Ace¡¯s pain tolerance was quite good, but even he felt all those previous pains he felt from his soul were a child-y in front of this deadly pain.
Inside his true soul, his entire mind space trembled before a crack appeared on the true soul and a chunk of it was forcefully torn apart, leaving an opening on Ace¡¯s true soul, which was far worse than some random soul injury!
That chuck of white mist which was forcibly split by the system mysteriously turn into a white beam directly rushing toward the decagrampass needle center.
Ace had already lost his consciousness at this moment because of the unbearable pain of his soul being torn apart. Even the Demon Emperor would never dare to do such a suicidal thing, despite being the strongest expert of the Demon Race!
However, Ace¡¯s soul wasn¡¯t starting to destroy despite a hole in it and remainpletely intact, while his soul core also didn¡¯t react in any way.
The decagrampass needle haspletely stabilized after part of Ace¡¯s split soul entered.
Thereupon the dark blue chain suddenly split into eleven chains and one of the chains shot toward the hole in the true soul while the other ten chains pierce right into those golden symbols on thepass needle.
Suddenly, the dark blue chains turnpletely dark,
System¡¯s voice rang again in unconscious Ace¡¯s mind.
=====
[Ten Million Thief Points have been released.]
[Final process of Provence Life Bonding and True Soul Healing have been started.]
[Estimate Time: 719:59:59]
=====
The hole in Ace¡¯s true soul suddenly began to slowly mend, while thepass needle also started to undergo a huge change, and Aceypletely unconscious inside the dark cave.
¡ª
Twenty days passed,
The de domainpetition was ongoing and every day, many demon youths be targets of someone stronger and the shadow mountain range was stained in blood every day.
Thepetition ranking was also released at the end of the first training month.
Everyone thought that Demon Price Peter would be on the top since he was taking part in thispetition as well, or Rising Sword Earl would give him a tough time.
However, the ranking waspletely out of everyone¡¯s expectations.
The current rankings were,
1. Jaxx Wild Wind: 19,500 Kill Points
2. Ramiro Wild Lion: 17,840 Kill Points
3. Alora Wild Yisrael: 14,130 Kill Points
4. Peter Silver de: 13,980 Kill Points
5. Eliezer Evil de: 9,370 Kill Points
6. Thomas Wild Cheveyo: 8,790 Kill Points
7. ric Green de: 6,220 Kill Points
8. Miya Evil de: 5,000 Kill Points
9. Anton Fire de: 4,900 Kill Points
10. Carlee Wild Violent: 4,500 Kill Points
11. Bren Evil de: 4,200 Kill Points
12. ¡
¡
¡
¡
100. Jovanni Wile Sand: 1,100
This ranking gave quite a startle to everyone because Price Peter, who was the favorite for the first ce, was still in the fourth ce and all top three positions were held by those three newly emerged demon tribes with ¡®Wild¡¯ middle namemon among them.
Although some of those demons who belong to the marquise or lower level, noble tribes didn¡¯t know what this middle name ¡®Wild¡¯ represents, however, those from duke title demon tribes knew this Wide middle name represented the Tribes of Nature!
This thoroughly shocked them because these guys were always looked down upon by them since they live in wildness and mountains, but now they had taken over fifty-three top hundred positions in the top hundred rankings and this made all those demons from the maind ashamed and enraged.
They even formed hunting parties specifically to hunt these wild tribes, but to their horror, those guys were like ghosts in the wildness, and they can easily annihte them with their tactics. This made many hot-blooded demons dread these tribes of nature, and some of them even fled the moment they saw anyone from these wild tribes.
As for the Rising Sword Earl, he waspletely forgotten because of his disappearance, and only Thomas and Peter always looked for his name.
Ten more days pass,
Inside an imposing throne hall,
de Demon King was sitting on his golden throne, and there was a one-meter tall old man who looked like a small cat in the towering demon king¡¯s presence.
This small old man had brown skin and pointy long ears and an extended round nose, but his eyes weren¡¯t like demons, they were like humans, with white eyeballs, dark brown iris, and dark pupils which were an extremely rare sight in the demon race.
This little old man wore a simple white robe as he kneeled right in front of de Demon King with an extremely respectful expression on his wizened face.
This small person was from the Earth Troll Race, which was a subjugation race of demons and under the direct control of the de Demon n, just like the Blood N¨¡ga Race under the Mist Demon n.
Only King Title Tribes were qualified to control these servitude races.
The Earth Troll Race was the subspecies of the Iron Dwarf Race, the Seventh-Strongest Race of Golden Sky World, and the owner of the seventh continent, the Iron Heart Continent!
Earth Trolls weren¡¯t good at fighting, but they were extremely powerful when it came to speed or tracking someone and finding earthen minerals deep within the ground.
This gave the Earth Troll Race the qualification to serve under a Demon King Tribe and have high status in the de domain despite being a mere servant race. Even demon dukes won¡¯t offend them easily.
de Demon King utter in a deep voice with a hint of incredulity, ¡°Brenden, it¡¯s not I don¡¯t believe you, but this is simply impossible. First, the chances of a Beast King being born between demon beasts are almost zero, and all those beasts who have such potential are under the Demon Tamer Tribe or killed long ago.
¡°Lastly, the chances of an evil treasure being born on the shadow mountain range are even less than a beast king birth because you know such environs will not have left for us to benefit from.
¡°Still, since you experience this phenomenon by yourself, go tell Aura and Craig to investigate it without disrupting the youngsters.¡±
de Demon King was naturally talking about the heavenly punishment clouds triggered by the HFLC a month ago.
But he still won¡¯t believe itpletely because if just too unbelievable since he had roamed the entire shadow mountain range himself for training and know that ce in the back of his hand.
But Brenden was still one of his most trusted aides who can¡¯t lie to him even if he wanted to, so he sent two de envoys to investigate it since he had a situation rted to Mist Domain to deal with himself!
Chapter 400
Inside a cave in the core region of the shadow mountain range.
Ace opened his eyes while groaning in pain at this moment as memories before losing consciousness flooded in.
An icy chill ran down his spine just at the thought of that deathly pain from his soul being torn apart.
He said through clenched teeth, ¡°Bastard system, can you warn me before if you want to kill me next time?!¡±
Strangely, that pain from his head faded while he could feel returning to his previous self.
At this moment, the system¡¯s voice rang in his mind.
======
[Process of Provence Life Bonding and True Soul Healing have beenpleted sessfully.]
[Host has sessfully be the owner of an Eternal Soul Provenance Treasure (Iplete)]
[Because of being only a coreponent of the Eternal Provenance Treasure, the Heavenly Fate Live Compass didn¡¯t have all of its original functions. It will now grow with the host in a way that is most prominent for the host and unlock random functions.]
[System has created a new status column in the host status panel where the host can find the upgrade scheme for the newly born Eternal Provenance Treasure (Iplete) and canplete it with required materials and TP.]
======
Ace was startled when he heard this abrupt notification, but it wasn¡¯t the end of it.
======
[Please name the newly born Eternal Soul Provenance Treasure (Iplete)]
======
Ace frowned and examine his true soul before saying anything.
He was bewildered the moment he saw the change in his true soul, not only his soul waspletely headed, but the decagrampass needle was now hovering right above his orange soul core and revolving with it.
Furthermore, the five whitepass points were now dark blue and the silver disk in the center has also turned into a dark blue color, while the golden symbols were now ck.
But a ck symbol with a ckpass point was now glowing in a dark golden light, while the other nine werepletely dormant.
Most importantly, the entire decagrampass needle was nowplete with no ruptures or damage.
Ace instantly knows this was the work of the system and why it was called the Heavenly Fate Live Compass Needle, a newly born iplete treasure.
Furthermore, he also guessed that the system can even repair and probably made Eternal Provenance Treasure as long as it was willing, but he only smiled wryly when he thought about the heavenly materials required for it.
It was only possible because he had found a coreponent of the treasure, or he might also just forget about this iplete treasure as well.
At this moment, a delicate voice of a child rang within his true soul andpletely astounded him.
¡°Eternal Master!¡±
Ace instantly knew who this voice belonged to, although it wasn¡¯t as mature as before. He would never forget that voice filled with insane frenzy and abhorrence.
He said with uncertainty, ¡°A-are you the treasure spirit of Heavenly Fate Live Compass?¡±
The treasure spirit replied in affirmation, ¡°Yes and No, Eternal Master. Although I¡¯m the same treasure spirit core, I¡¯m no longer the Heavenly Fate Live Compass treasure spirit anymore. I was bestowed a new life by Eternal Master, so please name me.¡±
Ace was shocked these were in the same line as the system¡¯s exnation.
He asked again, ¡°So, you can no longer find treasures?¡±
This was the main reason he wanted this treasure and even endured the pain of his soul being split. If this function was also lost, he would be really mad, and this also means the system has duped him.
¡°After my previous body¡¯s destruction, I could only probe fate to find some lowly treasures at the cost of my host lifespan. However, now that I¡¯m reborn, I not only have the same function, but it is just the part of my firstpass point ability!¡± The treasure spirit truthfully replied in its childish voice.
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered in ecstasy when he heard this, and his heart raced when he found out this was only a function of a single ability.
¡®It¡¯s still iplete, but it has already such a function, which is only a part of its single ability. What if it was theplete treasure? Won¡¯t I be invincible!¡¯
But the next moment he asked with uncertainty, ¡°You said lifespan and fate, what is this about? Do you need my lifespan to use this ability as well?¡±
¡°No, the Eternal Master is my true owner, and I¡¯ll be destroyed the moment the Eternal Master died, so I would never do anything to harm the Eternal Master. As for Fate, I cannot answer the Eternal Master¡¯s question because I¡¯m restricted. I can only tell you I¡¯m a Fate Eternal Provenance Treasure that can change Fate.¡± said the treasure spirit.
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed, although he knew Fate was something that can never be changed, and absolutely fabled concept, it still greatly shocked him that this treasure can change it.
This also exined why this treasure didn¡¯t have any attacking or defensive capabilities, but what it had was already far more powerful than anything.
He asked, ¡°Who restricts you?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know, but after I awake I have these restrictions ced on me, but they won¡¯t harm me in any way, it would just stop me from answering some of your questions which will harm you, or you weren¡¯t ready for the answer. These restrictions can only be removed, as the Eternal Master grows stronger and stronger.¡±
Ace cursed the moment he heard this. ¡°Fuck, I know who ces those damn restrictions!¡±
Ace stop talking with the treasure spirit for now and asked sternly, ¡°System, why do you have to restrict the treasure spirit and why don¡¯t you want me to know about Fate?¡±
¡°[The host is not ready, and it will only hinder the host¡¯s path. Some things can only be known with strength, or they might be seeds of cmity, like [Karma]. The system can only say this; the more host knows about Fate, the more Karma you¡¯ll incur, and it will strengthen the host¡¯s heavenly punishment by many folds, which is not rmended by the system.]¡±
¡°Now what the heck is this [Karma]?¡± Ace¡¯s expression was clouded.
But the system didn¡¯t reply to him anymore, and he could only sigh in a resigned manner.
¡°Fine, you win. As for the name of this newborn treasure; now that it will grow with me and change ording to the path I walk. Let¡¯s name it¡ [Eternal Thief Fate Compass].¡±
Ace just suddenly thought of this name, the moment he thought about the system¡¯s name and found it quite fitting for the future Eternal Provenance Treasure of a thief.
=====
[The name has been sessfully imprinted on the Eternal Provenance Treasure (Iplete)]
[Please open status for further details]
=====
Ace quickly opened the newly emerged ¡®Eternal Provence Treasure¡¯ on his status panel.
======
[Eternal Provenance Treasure]
-Name: Eternal Thief Fate Compass
-Type: Soul (Fate)
-Current Grade: Grade-3 (Upgradable)
[Grade-4 at 4th Soul Cultivation Realm (Red Soul Core)]
-Status: Iplete (10% Complete)
-Ability: 1
[Next ability(s) unlocked at 20% Treasure Completion]
-Completion Scheme: 1 (Avable)
-To reach 20% Completion, Materials Require:
1. Soul Gold (9KG): Iplete
2. Lighting Wyrm Beast Core: Iplete
3. Illusion Grass (10,000 Years Old): Iplete
4. Crimson tinum (1 KG): Iplete
5. One Eye Devil¡¯s Core: Iplete
6. Time Space Segment: Iplete
7. Five Hundred Million Soul Points
8. Hundred Million Thief Points
======
Ace¡¯s expression turned livid, not to talk about founding those first six materials, he never even heard of their name before.
One had to know in the Basic Myriad Runic Structural Encyclopedia there were millions of materials that could be found in Mortal Sky Heaven, but he didn¡¯t see any of these things in it.
In the end, he could only sigh, ¡°I¡¯m being too greedy here. I just gain the Eternal Thief Fate Compass, and now I¡¯m thinking aboutpleting it without even knowing its first ability. Huh, too greedy.¡±
The treasure spirit¡¯s voice rang in his mind at this moment filled with respect and gratitude, ¡°Thank you, Eternal Master, for bestowing me this name, I will not disappoint you, and you don¡¯t need to worry about those materials I¡¯ll be able to sense them as long as they appeared.¡±
Ace cocked an eyebrow as he asked, ¡°You can see this panel in front of me?¡±
¡°Yes, I can see everything that you see and this panel in front of you is like my first ability that can only be seen by only you or your Provenance Life Bonded Eternal Provenance Treasures.¡± The treasure spirit replied inly.
Ace quickly asked, ¡°Your first ability is like this panel? Mean something that can be visualized? Tell me what your ability is?¡±
The treasure spirit swiftly replied,
¡°My firstpass point ability is called Live Fate Map. Eternal Master can see a Live Fate Map around you without any worry about being detected by anyone.
¡°But its range is directly connected with your soul sense. This means you can only see things in a 500M radius around you, and it will continue to increase with your soul sense!¡±
Chapter 401
¡°My firstpass point ability is called Live Fate Map. Eternal Master can see a Live Fate Map around you without being worried about anyone¡¯s detection.
¡°But its range is directly connected with your soul sense. This means you can only see things in a 500M radius around you, and it will continue to increase with your soul sense!¡±
Ace pursed his lips. ¡°You mean this ability is the same as my soul sense, but slightly powerful?¡±
Ace was very disappointed because he wanted the ability to find treasure, not the same ability he already has.
The treasure spirit spoke, ¡°No Eternal Master, it¡¯s not like your Soul Sense or Heavenly Sense.
¡°First, anyone can¡¯t detect it, no matter how strong the cultivation someone had.
¡°Second, this Live Fate Map can indicate you toward the best direction where you should go to found a fortunate opportunity that will most suitable for you, or it could also be a thing that you needed the most or desire or something that can help you in future in some peril. All in all, it could be anything, I have no control over it since I¡¯m notplete yet.
¡°Lastly, the Live Fate Map will create a Live Mapping ording to Eternal Master soul sense range and in this Live Mapping, Eternal Master can see exact terrains around you as you move, no illusions or any runes or power can affect this Live Mapping. While it will also show you different Fate Points and Fate Locations.¡±
Ace felt his mind tremble after hearing the true capabilities of this Live Fate Map because this was just too damn overwhelmed!
Just the first two abilities were enough for anyone to go mad over this iplete, eternal provenance treasure, while the third one was like a living map that can help you find directions and nothing can trick you to lose your way or walk into a trap.
Ace quickly asked with a hint of ecstasy in his voice, ¡°What are these Fate Points and Fate Locations?¡±
¡°Fate Points are living beings that will be shown in Live Mapping in different colors. This could be described in this way. If a living being is on a friendly term with Eternal Master, it will be appeared in ¡®Green Point¡¯. While, if an enemy or someone with malicious intention toward Eternal Master entered the vicinity of Live Mapping, they will be shown in ¡®Red Point¡¯. As for someone neutral, they will appear in ¡®White Point¡¯ and so on.
¡°Fate Locations are also simr, but they are not living beings, but areas marked ording to the danger level toward the Eternal Master. Like an area that poses no threat to Eternal Master, the Live Map will appear in Gray Map while if there is some danger to Eternal Master¡¯s life the Live Map will turn into Blue and if there were an absolute danger, then it will appear in crimson.
¡°There are more colors which showed different signs, like Silver Point and Silver Map will indicate toward a treasure(s) on a person¡¯s or location which is useful to Eternal Master and so forth.¡± The treasure spirit exined.
¡°T-this¡ it¡¯s like having an rm which will alert you of danger and treasures at the same time¡ This is the same ability of Myriad Live Compass Map, but far more powerful.¡± Ace eximed in disbelief and was left speechless for words to describe his emotions.
Ace suddenly felt forming this Provenance Life Bond with the former HFLC was probably the best decision he ever made, and it was far more precious than any other type of treasure.
This treasure can simply predict danger and fortune and this will be an overwhelming advantage to him in the future, and he¡¯ll be a nightmare for his enemies!
Ace suddenly shiver in excitement with just the thought and asked eagerly, ¡°How would I activate Live Fate Map?¡±
¡°Eternal Master has to focus on the only activate ability symbol on me and pours your heavenly soul Qi into and the ability will activate. However, the heavenly soul Qi needed to keep the Live Soul Map activate is very high and Eternal Master can only keep it activated for an hour even with your vast reserved of soul Qi.¡± The treasure spirit replied in a dubious tone.
Ace frowned slightly hearing this, but he smiled brightly and said, ¡°This is troublesome, but one hour is also enough to see many things. Oh, and call me Ace from now on. No need to call me Eternal Master. We are, after all, partners for life now, so there is no need for formalities. I¡¯ll also call you Moira from now on.¡±
The treasure spirit remained silent for a few moments as it finally said in a tone full of gratification, ¡°Thank you for bestowing me my name and acknowledging my existence. I never thought I would have met someone like you and be reborn again. I, Moira, am eternally grateful to Eternal Master Ace, and I¡¯ll help you in your fight with Heaven until the end of my existence!¡±
Ace smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m also d I found you, Moira. Can you manifest again?¡±
He couldn¡¯t help but asked since he has only seen a blurry figure of Moira before, and he wanted to see what a Treasure Spirit looked like.
Moira answered in a childish voice, ¡°I can¡¯t manifest, not until you activate my third symbol.¡±
Ace was somewhat disappointed, but he said nothing further. He was happy with just Moira¡¯s ability to speak. Or he knows if the system wanted. It could¡¯ve simply restrained Moira¡¯s speaking ability as well, just as it did with its knowledge.
It probably left Moira with its intelligence and speaking ability because Ace won¡¯t be able to know all its functions without Moira¡¯s help and exnation, or creating an intelligent treasure spirit with emotions was too troublesome.
¡°Let¡¯s see what this Live Fate Map looked like.¡±
Ace focused inside his true soul where the decagrampass needle was revolving on top of his orange soul core and the very next moment thereafter, the orange soul Qi rushed toward the only activated symbol of Eternal Thief Fate Compass.
The dark golden light on the ck symbol and ckpass point suddenly brightened as more and more heavenly soul-Qi entered the symbol.
Suddenly, Ace¡¯s eyes snapped open, and his dark blue iris changed into a decagram just like thepass needle shape.
Ace was astonished when he saw on the right corner of his view a square meter screen had appeared just like a system panel, but it waspletely different, as it was like a map.
Ace could see a dark blue dot right inside a cave, and he instantly knows it was him. Furthermore, this map was gray, which means it was safe.
¡°Zoom Out!¡±
This was one of themands he got after activating the ability symbol on thepass.
Ace pupils contracted and the very next moment, the cave area shrank, and more surroundings appeared on the one-meter map.
It only stopped until the map zoomed out or five hundred meters, and he could see a small live map of his surroundings, and it was all gray. There were only three blue rune symbols on the entrance of the cave, which show there were the formations and traps he set up.
This made Ace even more ted because he could see all the runic dangers in color runes points in this Live Fate Map.
Furthermore, he could also see a golden ckpass point in an arrow shape in the top left corner of this map, which was pointing toward the NNE direction (North-North-East).
¡°Moira, is this the second ability you described before?¡± Ace asked.
¡°Yes, there could be anything there that could be useful for you,¡± Moira replied.
¡®So, going in this direction is good for me, or it might also be bad? Didn¡¯t it point toward the Might Mist Province?¡¯ Ace mused as he contemted in the direction where thepass arrow was pointing.
¡°ording to All-Knowing Parrot, I also stole Myriad Live Compass Map from Mist Demon King¡¯s minions, and he doesn¡¯t seem quite happy about it since he sent New Moon Duke there as well.
¡°Now, Mist Demon King even gave orders to hunt ten participants of de Domain for the first part of their training program. I don¡¯t know how long I was unconscious, but those youths of the Mist Domain should appear here in two months.
¡°All-Knowing Parrot, also said de Demon King won¡¯t stop it from happening even after finding it out, since it will also create a deadlier environment for de domain demons and strengthened them if they ovee this sudden development. Let¡¯s see the current ranking.¡±
Ace remembered All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s warning about Mist Demon King, and that guy was a schemer and a poisonous snake, opposite to de Demon King.
That was why he firstpleted his side mission, which will give him more chance to survive, and it seemed he waspletely right about it.
Right now, the entire outer region and some parts of the middle region of the shadow mountain range were in a tremendous uproar as foreign demons were hunting youths from de Domain!
Chapter 402
The Mist Domain was on the other side of the shadow mountain range and for some reason, it was always surrounded by a lightyer of white mist and only the mist domain was exempt from this mist.
Although this white mist was only ordinary, some believed this was the doing of the Mist Demon King and the Demon King can control this mist at will and turn it into deadly poison anytime he wanted.
But it was still a baseless rumor since it had never happened before.
At this moment, inside the Demon Mist Castle,
A gray demon was running with a panic-stricken face, despite being a peak diamond soul realm cultivator.
He reached outside a towering white gate and shout urgently, ¡°Gianluca requests an audience with Her Majesty!¡±
An imposing, euphonious voice sounded from behind the door. ¡°Enter.¡±
The white doors parted, and an extensive library was revealed, with many old bookshelves and countless books.
Right in the center of this astonishing library were a small jade table and a throne-like white chair.
A graceful beauty was calmly sitting on this throne. She had an oval face with pale gray skin and royal blue eyeballs of the same color, long silky hair, and a pair of small horns.
However, if one looked carefully, one could see vague white mist around this beauty, giving her a mysterious charm and an unapproachable disposition.
She was none other than the Demon King of Mighty Mist Province, Mist Demon King!
Although Mist Demon King was a woman, there wasn¡¯t a title such as the Demon Queen in Demon Race.
Mist Demon King nonchntly looked at Gianluca, whose head was down. He didn¡¯t dare to look at her because he knew Mist Demon King had a strange charm and anyone with weak willpower who looked at her will be bewitched and entranced by her.
Only Demon Kings¡¯ level existences can remain calm in front of this charming beauty known as the Mist Demon King!
Gianluca dropped to one knee and quickly said with a hint of panic, ¡°Your Majesty, de Demon King is here, and he had already broken into the inner domain and currentlying toward the Mist Castle!¡±
Gianluca clearly knows why de Demon King was here, and why he was being so aggressive.
It was all because Mist Demon King decided to hold thepetition to hunt youths from de Domain, despite knowing de Demon King¡¯s overbearing personality.
Furthermore, Gianluca also knows if de Demon King goes on a rampage here and Mist Demon King was forced to fight him, half of the Mist Domain might get destroyed.
A fight between two manifestation realms was not a joke, and the royal demon council forbade it, but will Lunatic de care about it? The answer was no, that guy will do things first and then think about the consequences!
That was why everyone now panicked, and they all knew this time it was clearly their fault to provoke that lunatic, and now he was here!
However, the nonchnt expression on Mist Demon King didn¡¯t change at all as she coolly said, ¡°Don¡¯t stop him, escort him to the throne hall directly. I¡¯ll be meeting our esteem guest.¡±
Gianluca was clearly speechless hearing her casual tone, but he didn¡¯t dare to voice his opinion and nodded before leaving.
Mist Demon King suddenly smile beautifully after Gianluca left and mumbled with a hint of mncholia, ¡°You¡¯re as simpleton as ever, dear de¡¡±
Ten minutester,
Inside a beautiful throne room,
Mist Demon King sat on her white throne wearing a gorgeous pink queen dress and looked at the closed door of the throne hall with an impassive expression on her stunning face.
¡®Boom¡¡¯
Right at this moment, the hall door smash opened as a tall, middle-aged silver skin demon with a sturdy build appeared, with a grim smile on his handsome face.
He wore a ck king robe and two long des were sheathed around his waist, but his both hands were tightly gripping those two des¡¯ hilts as he looked at the gorgeous demoness with a hint ofplexity in his crimson eyes.
Mist Demon King remained impassive despite de Demon King¡¯s barging into the throne room so brashly.
de Demon King said at this moment with a gloomy tone, ¡°You owe me an exnation, Mist!¡±
He was naturally talking about the Mist Domain¡¯s dirty move to hunt down his people and the moment he heard, he quickly departed toward the mist domain, but he didn¡¯t stop thepetition.
Mist Demon King coolly said, ¡°You¡¯re as boorish as ever¡ even after three hundred years, you still didn¡¯t know how to conduct yourself like a Demon King¡¡±
¡°Cut the crap. I¡¯m not here to listen to your sermon about how to be a demon king. Although I ignore your past conduct on my domain for all these years, this time you have gone too far!¡±
Demon King de shouted as an invisible sharp aura suddenly appeared in the throne hall, and deep cuts appeared all over the throne hall.
However, Mist Demon King coldly harrumphed as a gray barrier appeared around her, and the two forces shed. But no one got the upper hand, resulting in a stalemate.
The entire hall quivered at this moment, and this wasn¡¯t even the full extent of these two, soul manifestation realm demon kings!
¡°You want to fight?¡± Mist Demon King sternly questioned, with a hint of killing intent.
de Demon King coldly chuckled and said provokingly, ¡°What do you think?¡±
¡°Hmph, fine. I¡¯ll give you an exnation. But don¡¯t think I¡¯m afraid of you. If I beat your sorry ass here, my domain will be destroyed.¡± Mist Demon King was finally back down as a peculiar glint shed past her eyes.
¡°Heh, don¡¯t make meugh. We both know whose sorry ass is going to be on the floor!¡± de Demon King also retraced his de intent.
Mist Demon Kingpletely ignore de Demon King¡¯s provoking expression and said, ¡°I chose this training program to make those youngsters experience the feeling of fighting their fellow peers and experience what it likes to fight with each other with their life on the line.
¡°Furthermore, I know you also approved of this method and that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t stop thepetition from your side. It¡¯s just that you¡¯re angry because you didn¡¯te up with this idea yourself. That¡¯s why you¡¯re here to throw one of your childish tantrums.¡±
de Demon King¡¯s expression turn slightly ugly and retorted, ¡°Stop spouting nonsense with that glib mouth of yours. I didn¡¯t stop it because I know your side didn¡¯t stand a chance in front of my side, and you¡¯re going to bleed this time!¡±
Mist Demon King finally smiled slightly with a hint of sarcasm. ¡°Oh, then why are you here? To see me?¡±
¡°I¡¯m here to demand an exnation, as well as to know the exact reason you provoke me intoing here. Others don¡¯t know you, but I know what kind of person you are, and you won¡¯t do anything that won¡¯t benefit you, even if it¡¯s meant to sell yourself!¡± de Demon King didn¡¯t mince his word and coldly utter with a hint of deep resentment.
¡°Cedric, you¡¯re going too far!¡± Mist Demon King finally stood up from her throne with an ugly expression on her face, as her oppressive might skyrocket.
¡°What do you want me to reveal everything happened in the past? Or do you want to forget what you have done for power?¡± de Demon King didn¡¯t back down at all as he kept raising this sensitive topic.
Mist Demon King gritted her teeth with a bitter glint in her eyes as she looked into de Demon King¡¯s indignant eyes.
In the end, she didn¡¯t attack and calm herself and returned to her aloof self as she said, ¡°I won¡¯t stoop to your level. Let me cut to the chase. I want the Soul Tracking Talisman in your possession, and I know you won¡¯t hand it over. But how about if we make a bet on this huntingpetition?¡±
de Demon King¡¯s eyes narrowed at this moment and coldly said, ¡°What makes you think I¡¯ll bet the one the only high grade-6 soul tracking talisman in the maind in thispetition of youngsters, not to talk about with you of all the people?¡±
Mist Demon King coolly said as if she expected this response, ¡°What if I bet Sky Sword Manual in my possession? We both know this Sky Sword Manual is as strong as your Blood de Manual. Your son Peter needed this manual if he wanted to make further progress in his sword path, and you¡¯ve been searching for this manual for some time now. Am I right?¡±
de Demon King¡¯s expression turned hideous at this moment when Mist Demon King grab his sour nerve, and he finally understood why he hadn¡¯t been able to find this manual on that ruin, it was all because of Mist Demon King¡¯s interception!
He gritted his teeth and said resignedly,
¡°You want not only my Soul Tracking Talisman, but you also didn¡¯t want to give me Sky Sword Manual. But it seemed you didn¡¯t have any other choice, since I would¡¯ve never agreed if it was something else than my son¡¯s future.
¡°That¡¯s why you want to gamble instead of exchange to still grab both. You¡¯re just as slutty as before. Let¡¯s bet then¡ state the terms of this bet!¡±
Chapter 403
Inside the core region of the shadow mountain range, it was already dawn, but the shadow mountain was still enshrouded in dark and gloom.
At this moment, Feng appeared from the cave with a faint smile on his in face as he looked at the wristband on his wrist.
The current rankings of the first de domainpetition were:
1. Jaxx Wild Wind: 23,230 Kill Points
2. Ramiro Wild Lion: 19,040 Kill Points
3. Peter Silver de: 17,080 Kill Points
4. Alora Wild Yisrael: 16,620 Kill Points
5. Eliezer Evil de: 11,000 Kill Points
6. Thomas Wild Cheveyo: 10,930 Kill Points
7. ric Green de: 8,000 Kill Points
8. Miya Evil de: 6,800 Kill Points
9. Carlee Wild Violent: 6,100 Kill Points
10. Anton Fire de: 5,490 Kill Points
11. Bren Evil de: 5,170 Kill Points
12. ¡
¡
¡
¡
100. Brenna Silver de: 2,890 Kill Points
¡®Heh, how unexpected. It seemed the wild tribes are more powerful because they lived in this kind of environment and trained there at a very young age, and they¡¯re giving these arrogant demons from the maind a very hard time. Thomas also seemed to be doing great, but Peter¡¯s reputation is on the line. Heh, it¡¯s time for me to collect some kill points,¡¯ Ace mused with a faint smirk on his face.
¡®Although there might be many medicinal herbs in the core region and I didn¡¯t have to worry about being detected by a demon beast with Moira¡¯s help, since this area is grayed out this means, there isn¡¯t any useful treasure for me here to waste my time on them.
¡®Furthermore, I doubt de Demon Tribe would leave anything precious in here for others, so I better returned to the middle region or there might be someone who had noticed themotion caused by the heavenly punishment and I won¡¯t be wise to stay here.
¡®Besides, I can¡¯t hunt soul realm demonic beast, or others will instantly know with a sudden surge in my ranking. Going to the middle region is the only wise decision.¡¯
After deciding his next move, Ace quickly left toward the exit of the core region and since he wasn¡¯t too deep inside, it won¡¯t take him long before he left the towering core region mountain and entered the middle region again.
¡®There was a silver river core cultivator just a four-hundred-meter east. It seemed they were here to guard the boundary between core and middle region to protect other demons met any ident.¡¯
Ace mused while he continued to go further south, leaving the outskirts of the core region before anyone noticed.
He didn¡¯t know Aura Duke and Craig Duke were on their way here to investigate the phenomenon reported by earth troll Brenden.
But they were bringing along the leader of the Earth Troll Race as well, who happened to be the only soul realm earth troll of the earth troll race and if Ace hadn¡¯t left, that earth troll might¡¯ve found his new traces.
Now, however, by the time they will arrive here, Ace¡¯s traces would bepletely covered up by nature itself.
Half a dayter, Ace had already left the danger area and now, even if someone noticed him, they won¡¯t suspect him at all.
Ace also looked at the Live Mapping, but it was still gray, which disappoints him somewhat. Nheless, he wasn¡¯t worried about it and looked for some demonic beasts to hunt.
After Ace wandered around for miles, he finally noticed something and used the live mapping again and saw one red point and one light red point three hundred and fifty meters away from him.
¡°Zoom in¡¡± Ace¡¯s pupil instantly dted as the decagram around his eyes shimmer mysteriously before the map started to be more detailed as the two points started to erge.
Ace saw those two dots were continually copsing together and closing the map while using his soul sense and, just as he thought, there was tumultuous Qi undtion in that area, which means those two were fighting.
¡®Red represents the enemy. While Light Red Point means a hostile entity, neither an enemy nor a neutral party. This point also had fifty percent chances of turning red (Bing Enemy) or turning white (Turning Neutral).
¡®It wasn¡¯t after me, and it¡¯spletely different from red points that are specifically looking for me with malicious intent.
¡®In this case, one of them is a demonic beast while the other is a participant and since he can reach here, he might be one of the top hundreds and his hostility toward me is only natural since killing is allowed.¡¯
Ace mused, although he can easily discriminate all this with his soul sense, he still used live mapping to test how it worked, and it seemed it¡¯s as miraculous as Moira described it to be and this will greatly help him in decreasing hidden enemies in the future!
It was just that 15% of his heavenly soul Qi was gone after just using this ability six times, and it wasn¡¯t a wise decision to y around with it and only used it when required.
Nheless, after assuaging his curiosity, Ace was content and didn¡¯t n to use the Live Fate Map for now unless it was absolutely required.
¡®Let¡¯s see who this person is.¡¯ Ace smiled coldly before, like a ghost, he vanished in the direction where the fight was ongoing.
Powerful enraged beast roars could be heard from hundreds of meters, mixed with a battle cry of someone who seemed to be engaged with this demonic beast in a fight.
Despite those two scrimmages and aftershocks of the Qi, Ace easily reached fifty meters away from them and watched the fight, which was already at its climax.
A four-meter-wide brown lizard with stony spikes twisted around its spine was madly releasing its brown Qi, creating Qi spikes in thin air and shooting toward the heroic demon youth in indigo armor waving his long spear!
Chapter 404
This youngster was 2.6-meter-tall with a hefty build and blue skin. He was using a 3-meter-long white spear to attack and release pure blue water Qi to form a water barrier around himself to protect himself from brown earthen spikes.
This youth was only a peak Qi river cultivator, but he was challenging an intermediate grade-4 demonic beast that could speak for his astonishing battle prowess.
The youth sudden thrust his spear and the very next moment thereafter, the water Qi shot from the spear releasing a five-meter-wide crystal blue spearhead which caught the Spike Lizard off guard and didn¡¯t give it a chance to form a protective barrier around it and like a sharp de it pierced through all those spikes andnded on the lizard¡¯s furious face.
A deep gush appeared on the lizard¡¯s ferocious face, and a huge amount of blood sshed on the ground. However, it wasn¡¯t deep enough to take this Spike Lizard¡¯s life, and it only made it go mad with anger and fell into a frenzied state.
It opened its gigantic mouth and its whole body shimmered in the brown light.
¡°Fuck. It¡¯s the ultimate move of spike lizard, Spike Mirage, if I can¡¯t kill it in ten seconds I¡¯ll be deeply wounded and died!¡± The youth¡¯s calm expression suddenly clouded as it cussed before he was about to use one of his trump cards.
However, at this moment, the youth¡¯s heart palpitated as he twisted around, and he only saw a green blur sh past him.
Thereupon, he saw a towering figure standing right a meter away from the glowing spike lizard while he held on his two hilts of his long swords around his waist with cross hands.
A calm oppressive voice sounded at this moment, ¡°Twin Demon Emergence, Twin Demon Rise!¡±
Thereafter, two sharp green beams with a hint of white hue suddenly appeared at an extremely fast speed, forming an ¡®X¡¯ whichnded directly under Spike Lizard¡¯s jawpletely piercing through it like a hot knife in butter before hitting inside the lizard¡¯s upper jaw.
¡®Thump¡¡¯
The lizard didn¡¯t even get the chance to release its ultimate skill before the life in its eyes faded and, like a lump, fell on the stony ground right inside its own pool of blood.
Ace smiled in satisfaction when he saw just how powerful Feng¡¯s n sword drawing art was, and it waspletely worth learning.
As long as the other party is slower than him, he can kill them in an instant, and he knew he can use it with his ck de swords much better than Feng¡¯s swords and faster.
¡°Who are you?!¡± The youth¡¯s angry yet vignt voice sounded at this moment.
He left shocked when he saw Ace killing that spike lizard with one move.
Even if it was already deeply wounded by him, it didn¡¯t change the fact that it was an intermediate grade-4 demonic beast with a very sturdy body.
Yet, this neer easily cut past its defense. This made this youth apprehended and wary of Feng, or he would¡¯ve already attacked him for stealing his prey.
These types of events were extremelymon within thispetition and this demon was powerful, and he was in the deep part of the middle region, so he never thought someone would reach here, and he didn¡¯t seem any less powerful than him!
When this youth thought if this guy was eyeing him instead of the lizard, he could¡¯ve easily ambushed him and then kill him, which send a chill to his spine!
Feng finally turned around. His long swords were already returned to their scabbards, and he wore a faint smile on his face as he looked toward the heroic demon youth.
He coolly said, ¡°Won¡¯t you be thanking your savior instead of questioning him?¡±
As a result of Feng¡¯s satirical remark, the youth¡¯s expression clouded as he tightly clenched his spear¡¯s shaft.
But he didn¡¯t make any rash move because his Qi was already depleted, and he was also slightly injured by fighting Spike Lizard. He could tell the youth in front of him was still fine with just his nonchnt attitude.
He never thought there would be this kind of talent hidden in the youths among the de domain.
In the end, he performed a royal salute and said amiably, ¡°It was indeed unbing of me to act rudely in front of this brother who lends a helping hand. Please forgive me for my previous obscene conduct. May I know your name?¡±
¡®Heh, he didn¡¯t attack me despite being vexed about stealing his prey. Well, I seemed I won¡¯t be able to test my Demon Sword Dance on him now, a pity.¡¯ Ace though.
If Ace wanted, he could¡¯ve simply assassinated this guy, and he won¡¯t be able to resist either. But he didn¡¯t do it and only killed the Spike Lizard because he wanted to see if this guy would attack him, and then he could test Feng¡¯s sword skills on him.
He also had another reason to not kill him, it was because he didn¡¯t know if this guy was from a prominent demon tribe, and he wasn¡¯t sure if this wristband can also record the participant names one killed.
If this was the case, then he would make another powerful enemy for no good reason, and he didn¡¯t want that. He would only kill someone if there was absolutely necessary.
He still needed Feng¡¯s identity, and it would be troublesome if he was forced to abandon it.
¡°No worries, I¡¯m Feng Demon Sword. What about you?¡± Ace replied with a smile.
The youth¡¯s expression falter and blurted, ¡°Rising Sword Earl, Feng?¡±
¡°Yep.¡± He nodded in affirmation. There wasn¡¯t any point in hiding his identity.
¡°I never thought I would meet Rising Sword Earl, of all people, in his ce. Let me introduce myself. My name is Ramiro Lion!¡± Ramiro introduced himself with a hint of pride.
¡°Ramiro Wild Lion, second on the ranking?¡± Ace was also surprised slightly after finding the second-rank participant, and he was from the tribes of nature.
He also felt it was the right decision to not kill him!
Chapter 405
Ramiro spoke with a hint of pride in his voice, ¡°I¡¯m merely lucky to reach this level. But I¡¯m quite curious. With Rising Sword Earl¡¯s prowess, it won¡¯t be any problem to enter the top ten, yet, you¡¯re not?¡±
Ramiro didn¡¯t have any ill intent toward Feng, not after finding out Feng was very dangerous and fighting against someone with half a sword intent would only result in a bitter struggle.
Although Ramiro was proud of his own talent, he looked down on others, even Feng, before meeting him.
But after witnessing that one skill, he knew it would be a bitter fight if he fought Feng, and he might even lose his life if Feng killed him now.
So, Ramiro yed it safe and act polity, since Feng didn¡¯t seem he wanted to kill him. He won¡¯t court death by provoking him either and settle this score some other day.
However, he was truly curious why Feng hadn¡¯t appeared on the ranking list with his strength.
Feng merely chuckled and ambiguously answer, ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to find a suitable prey all this time, and killing those lowly beasts is beneath me. They would only waste my time.¡±
¡®Arrogant!¡¯ Ramiro¡¯s lips spasm slightly. He had rumors heard about Feng¡¯s arrogance before, and it seemed they weren¡¯t exaggerated at all.
But he still pulled a forced smile on his face and said, ¡°I¡¯m indeed impressed by Rising Sword Earl¡¯s noble conducts. Since the beast is already dead, I¡¯ll be taking my leave.¡±
Ramiro wanted to quickly leave and recover, but he still didn¡¯t lose his vignce toward Feng, and he was ready to retaliate if Feng made any suspicious move. He still had many lifesaving trump cards in his sleeve he got from his tribe, so he was confident in escaping.
At least that was what he thought¡
If he knows, Ace can easily pick-pocket his storage ring and render all his trump cards, unless he mightmit suicide on the spot.
It was just that Ace didn¡¯t want to anyone know the Sky Stealer was here, or he didn¡¯t mind farming those ten million thief points he spent on Eternal Thief Fate Compass.
¡°Wait.¡± Feng¡¯s calm yet threatening voice rang in Ramiro before he could turn around.
Ramiro¡¯s heart tightened as he held his spear more tightly. He said with an ugly smile on his face, ¡°Did Rising Sword Earl have some other instructions for me?¡±
Feng smiled coldly and said, ¡°Not any instruction. I want to know why your tribes partook in king domainspetitions all over the eight provinces, despite beingpletely capable of holding such events in wildness.¡±
Ace was very curious about these tribes of nature and why they enter the maind so soon and let their youngsters enter the care of another demon king.
Aren¡¯t they afraid they would get killed by maind demon tribes or some demon king might scheme against them?
Although he could¡¯ve asked Thomas about it, he didn¡¯t because Thomas seemed to have his reason and he didn¡¯t want to share it with him, so he won¡¯t force him, but this Ramiro was different he can use¡ soul probe on him!
From the moment they start talking, Ace was using his soul probe on Ramiro, and he wasn¡¯t done. He didn¡¯t want to let him leave before he was done, so he just asked this random question.
Ramiro¡¯s expression changed slightly, without knowing more than half of his life memories were already stolen by Ace.
He firmly replied at this moment without feigning, ¡°I humbly advised the Rising Sword Earl to not probe the matter about tribes of nature. It will only bring cmity to yourself, and I¡¯m telling the simple truth with no hidden intent.¡±
Feng¡¯s eyes turn sharp, which made Ramiro flinch, and he was ready to fight.
But Feng didn¡¯t attack and merely pursed his lips and said, ¡°Heh, fine. I know the limits. I was just curious. Let¡¯s part our ways here. I hope we met again.¡±
Ramiro didn¡¯t stand on ceremony and quickly left using some unknown movement skill andpletely vanished inside the thick forest.
Ace merely sneered, watching Ramiro escaping. ¡°Heh, I got what I needed.¡±
¡®These tribes of natures are quite something, though.¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed as he processed the information he probed from Ramiro.
Ace found that the wildness was distributed between five Wild Demon King Tribes into fiverge territories, and other tribes were directly under the five demon king tribes¡¯ control.
This Ramiro¡¯s lion demon tribe was under the ruling of the Wild Wind Demon Tribe of Wild Wind Demon King and the first in the ranking Jaxx Wild Wind was also one of the princes of Wild Wind Demon Tribe.
As for why all these tribes were herepeting with the demons of eight provinces, it was because the resources of wildness were quite low, and they could not bepared to the resources in eight provinces.
That was why the Five Wild Demon Kings sent their promising youths who can enter the demon gate trial to eight demon provinces to monopolize the resources from maind demons and make their chances of passing the trial drop.
Furthermore, those eight demon kings not only allow this to happen, they even happily epted it to give the youths of their provinces motivation and ambitions.
However, these guys were also here to enter the teams of these provinces to use them to their own advantages and even sabotaged them.
As for why the wild tribes were doing it, Ramiro¡¯s status wasn¡¯t enough to know such information.
Even All-Knowing Parrot did not know about this because Ace had already questioned this matter with her.
Although Ramiro didn¡¯t whole scheme of wild tribes, he knows quite a lot because of his friendship with Jaxx.
Like Jaxx was also here to assassinate Thomas because of the Cheveyo tribe¡¯s ongoing inheritance trial and the Jaxx was on the side of Thomas¡¯s second brother and here to kill Thomas and clear the way for Thomas¡¯s second brother!
Chapter 406
Ace¡¯s expression clouded when he saw the memories about how Jaxx was here to assassinate Thomas, and it was the second prince of Cheveyo Tribe who was using his rtionship with Jaxx to end Thomas.
¡®ording to Ramiro¡¯s memories, Cheveyo Tribe¡¯s ranked second and Wild Wind Tribe ranked third among five wild demon king tribes, and they had a good political rtionship between them.
¡®Now that Cheveyo Demon King had suddenly announced the ludicrous inheritance trial and bound it with the entry in the demon institutes in the royal zone.
¡®The first three Cheveyo Princes aren¡¯t qualified to participate in this trial, eliminating them spontaneously, which made those three princes baffled and vindictive.
¡®Especially the first Cheveyo Prince, who was also the former crown prince before the demon gate trial was announced, and the second prince who was fighting with the first prince for the throne in the dark. But all of their effects became worthless by Cheveyo Demon King.
¡®Now there are four more princes who are qualified to inherit the Cheveyo Demon King title and Thomas is the Sixth Prince and the most talented among his brothers, which made him the prime target of First Prince and Second Prince.
¡®That¡¯s why Thomas was here to recruit allies that can help him in the demon gate trial and enter one of the demon institutes. But how can such talents easily rope in?
¡®But that idiot didn¡¯t even tell me, it seemed he didn¡¯t want to drag me in this mess anymore, and he might¡¯ve already known his elder brothers will not sit around and use every means to kill him and the other heirs before the demon gate trail. Then the old demon king would have no choice but to choose between those three.¡¯
Ace got all the information about the abrupt inheritance trail of the Cheveyo Tribe and understood Thomas¡¯s situation and couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly.
This was the matter of Wild Demon King Tribe, and it might bring him huge trouble if he helped Thomas. Because those two Cheveyo Princes had a long range of contacts in all five wild demon king tribes, and there might be more assassination attempts.
This will not be good for him in any way if he caught the attention of wild tribes as well and who knows they already had marked him because his friendly rtionship with Thomas wasn¡¯t a big secret.
¡®This identity had be a colossal headache suddenly, but it also had its advantages. Furthermore, Thomas had never taken advantage of our friendship and even left me out of it despite I took advantage of him, and he knows very well about it. But he still leaves me out of it nevertheless. Heh, what a fool.¡¯
Ace smiled warmly before his eyes turn sharp, ¡®Although killing wild demon princes will cause a hugemotion, I can still help that guy shunning hidden dangers while Maddux is not around him.
¡®But I have to do it without killing those scions of wild demon king tribes. As long as I don¡¯t touch them, no one would make a tremendous fuss about it, and de Demon King also won¡¯t sit ideal either if I show him Feng¡¯s talent and how much he could help Peter. Others can only me their bad luck if theye in my way.¡¯
Ace smiled deviously before moving into another area to find another demonic beast and also Thomas before Jaxx could make his move.
Besides, he wasn¡¯t too worried about it because Jaxx¡¯s top priority was the resources of de Domain, and he had to remain first if he wanted the most precious resources. He would also strive for the top position because he was a wild demon prince!
Thomas was only secondary to Jaxx since in his view it could hunt Thomas down at any time he wanted and there were still three months before thepetition ended.
However, Jaxx had never thought someone would raise his grand n to the ground!
Furthermore, the de domainpetition had be extremely chaotic in these past two days because unknown youths were appearing in de domain participants¡¯ hunting ground, and it appeared they were hunting them instead of demonic beasts!
This news quickly started to spread in the wild mountain range and after some strong youths from the de domain captured one of these intruders and integrate them they found out these intruders were participants from the mist domain and their target was to hunt participants from the de domain!
The most astonishing thing was that not only did the de domain didn¡¯t take any actions against these youths, but they also didn¡¯t evenment on this and let this situation be like they didn¡¯t notice it.
Many de domain participants were extremely dissatisfied with this response, and they thought the de domain was weak and that was why the mist domain was bullying them while the de domain was only helplessly watching.
Some of them even try to leave the shadow mountain range, but they soon found out that the boundaries that led to the exit were filled with poison mist, and anyone that can touch it was instantly plunged by deadly poison that killed within two days even if they were grazed by it!
This new development greatly rmed the de domain youths that wanted to run for their life, but it seemed this was only wishful thinking.
Those with some brains quickly guessed that this was also part of the de domainpetition, and they had to survive under the assault of the mist domain while alsopleting their targets.
This also made de domain participants stop fighting among each other and work together in the face of amon enemy, and this turn the calm, gloomy mountain range into a deadly battlefield of survival.
However, this news was only spreading throughout the outer region and the participants in the middle region did not know about this sudden development. They were all busy farming kill points and fighting with each other.
But it won¡¯t be too long before they would face the strongest force of mist domain that was heading toward their way and the sh between them was inevitable!
Chapter 407
In an unknown part of the middle region,
¡°Fourth Elder, do you think that brat is eaten by some beast?¡± A cloaked figure asked in a vexed voice, as they were six other cloaked figures sitting inside a cave.
Fourth Elder replied with an uncertain tone, ¡°Sixth Elder, my guess is as good as yours. We¡¯ve been searching for over two months now, but that Feng brat hadpletely vanished into thin air, nor did he appear in the ranking. I don¡¯t think with his prowess, it would be hard for him to enter the top hundred, but it seemed something went wrong.¡±
Another voice a woman sounded with a hint of rage, ¡°If that brat wanted to die he should just let us refine him. How long has it been since a fully awaken soul realm bloodline had appeared? Now it had fallen into some livestock¡¯s stomachs. How could we face the n leader like this?!¡±
¡®Sigh¡¡¯ an old voice sighed before it rang, ¡°Fifth Elder, there¡¯s no need to fret over spill milk anymore. It was our fault to lose sight of him in the first ce. Furthermore, looking at the bright sight, those other three ns also didn¡¯t find him either, or they won¡¯t be searching around aimlessly like us.¡±
¡°Heh, Seventh Elder is right. The fourth elder and I were just bumped into two elders of the Evil de n the other day, and they also seemed quite anxious by their tone. As long as that brat didn¡¯t fall into other ns¡¯ clutches, it¡¯s fine to return empty hand.¡± Another voice of a woman rang.
¡°I guess you¡¯re right, Eighth Elder. I was just a little angry about losing this chance. But we still can¡¯t give up before this phase of thepetition end.¡± Fifth Elder replied helplessly.
The Fourth Elder¡¯s voice rang again in reply. ¡°It¡¯s only natural. We can¡¯t give up so easily. Who knows if that brat is hiding somewhere or trapped in some beast cave? Furthermore, there is still a deeper area of the middle region that remains untouched, so we can¡¯t give up.¡±
Seventh Elder¡¯s old voice sounded in agreement, ¡°Just as Fourth Elder says we still have some parts of the middle region to search and our servants of the earth troll race will also send their report tomorrow, we should wait before nning our next move.¡±
Eight Elder spoke again at this moment with a hint of anticipation in her voice, ¡°The ranking is about to refresh again, let¡¯s see if Young Lord ric had overthrown that brat from the wild tribe and took the fifth poison!¡±
Everyone seemed to momentarily forget about Feng as the Fourth Elder took out a white wristband that wasn¡¯t for participants, but was only for observers to see the ranking.
Thepetition ranking will change every twenty-four hours, and everyone would see the top hundred participants progress daily and want to enter it.
Just as the white wristband in the Fourth Elder¡¯s hand activate, a white disy was materialized, and they all saw the ranking which had just changed.
1. Jaxx Wild Wind: 24,230 Kill Points
2. Ramiro Wild Lion: 19,040 Kill Points
3. Peter Silver de: 18,500 Kill Points
4. Alora Wild Yisrael: 16,940 Kill Points
5. Eliezer Evil de: 12,200 Kill Points
6. Thomas Wild Cheveyo: 11,130 Kill Points
7. ric Green de: 8,800 Kill Points
8. Feng Demon Sword: 8,000
9. Miya Evil de: 6,900 Kill Points
10. Carlee Wild Violent: 6,300 Kill Points
11. Anton Fire de: 5,900 Kill Points
12. Bren Evil de: 5,400 Kill Points
13. ¡
Everyone in the cave¡¯s eyes suddenly widened with hysteria and shout in unison.
¡°It¡¯s that brat!¡±
¡ª
The same reaction was all over the shadow mountain range at this moment when everyone saw the forgotten Rising Sword Earl had appeared out of the blue and took 8th ce within a day!
The most shocked were obviously those diamond river core cultivators from the four-de ns who were searching for Feng high and low for over two months, but to no avail.
However, now that brat had turned up, and he caused a tremendousmotion after appearing. Nheless, they all instantly sprang into action and quickly started to search madly for Feng.
This had turned into a race about who¡¯ll be able to find him first.
Furthermore, those youths on the list of the top hundred also felt threatened after seeing another powerfulpetitor appearing out of the blue. Especially the wild tribes, and they all started to madly hunt for demonic beasts and participants alike!
¡ª
In the crown of arge tree, a burst of joyousughter rang at this moment,
¡°Hahaha¡ brother Feng, you really had me worried about a moment here, but it seemed I had to worry about my position snatching at you now. What an unabashed fellow¡¡±
¡ª
In another part of the middle region,
A handsome youth was calmly looking at the new ranking and muttered coolly, ¡°Feng Demon Sword, huh? It seemed Thomas had some talent for picking dogs, but s, you chose the wrong side¡ you both did¡.¡±
¡ª
Another handsome young demon was breathing heavily as there was a wolf-like demonic beast corpse beside him who was cut into two halves.
He looked at the ranking as his crimson eyes glow fiercely, ¡°Heh, as expected of someone who I deemed my rival, I won¡¯t let you suppress me and those wild animals so easily!¡±
¡ª
Inside a random cave in the middle region,
¡°Young Lady, it¡¯s another genius from the maind and his talent rumored to be on par with Prince Peter.¡± A panicked voice of a young girl rang at this moment.
In reply a crisp voice sounded with a hint of fiery temper, ¡°Carlee, stop being a worrywart all the time. Let those men fight each other. In the end, I¡¯ll be the one who reaps the most reward. I just required a demonic core of fire-type demonic beast and my Upper Earth Grade Secret Skill would reach the perfection, and I¡¯ll be invincible under river core realm!¡±
Chapter 408 - Secret Skills & Secret Techniques
In Golden Sky World, the skills, cultivation arts, secret skills, secret techniques, and cultivation techniques were divided into four ranks.
Mortal, Earth, Sky, and Sky Breaker, and each rank had two grades; Lower and Upper.
Lower Mortal Grade can be cultivated by First Realm (Gate Realm) cultivators or higher, while Upper Mortal Grade can be cultivated by Second Realm (Foundation Building Realm) cultivators or higher.
Simrly, Lower Earth Grade was suitable for the Third Realm (River Realm) and Upper Earth Grade was for the Fourth Realm (River Core Realm).
Lower and Upper-Grade Sky ranks were suitable for the Fifth Realm (Soul Realm) and Sixth Realm (Manifestation Realm), respectively.
As for the Seventh Realm and fabled Eighth Realm, only the Sky Breaker skills of Lower and Upper Grade can draw out their true potential.
Sky Breaker Rank; no matter if it was a lower grade or upper grade, the skills, cultivation arts, secret skills, secret techniques, and cultivation techniques of this rank were extremely rare and precious.
There were also four smallpletion stages for each rank; Minor, Intermediate, Advance, and Perfection.
The Secret Skills and Secret Techniques were special kinds of skills and techniques which required bothpatibility and special materials to cultivate. These secret skills and secret techniques hold tremendous prowess if they can cultivate to perfection!
These secret skills were on par with an ultimate skill that a demonic beast gained after entering the river core realm.
Furthermore, secret skills and secret techniques were precious, especially if one hadpatibility with one or even if one had a manual for a secret skill, if they weren¡¯tpatible by either the innate element or cultivation technique, it waspletely useless.
That was why very few such skills were present in the hands of prominent ns of the demon race and even if the other had an ipatible one in their possession, they were unwilling to part with it and make anotherpatible tribe with it more powerful.
Nheless, thepatibility was still the second matter. The fundamental problem was the special materials needed to cultivate these secret skills and secret techniques.
Some had lower demand for such materials, but some powerful secret skills had absurd requirements for precious materials, which made them extremely difficult to cultivate. Especially if you were not from a prominent tribe.
As for this young demoness, her name was Alora Yisrael, and she was the princess of the Yisrael Tribe, but she was not a direct decedent of the Yisrael Demon King n and from the branch n.
Nheless, she was still very talented and had secretly cultivated her n¡¯s upper earth rank secret skill to Advance Stage and was only a step away from unleashing its true might.
But finding a fire-type demonic core of a demonic beast was extremely difficult because a Demonic Core was only formed in a demonic beast after entering the river realm and forming an extraordinary river (Nine te Foundation).
Furthermore, these tinum river core demonic beasts were deadly existences that gave even the soul realm dread.
Besides, these kinds of demonic beasts were very rare because of their demonic cores since they were used in precious pills and no alchemy will lose the opportunity to acquire one or even hunt it if they got any news.
So, how could it be Alora¡¯s turn to find such a beast in the middle region of the shadow mountain range and a fire-type one at that?
Anyone would¡¯veughed at her for being delusional since de Demon Tribe would never let such a beast escape their clutches and kill it in the river realm without giving it a chance to enter the river core realm!
¡°But mydy, are you sure that beast is here?¡± Carlee spoke with uncertainty.
Alora replied unhurriedly with confidence, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you know because of the secret skill I cultivate, I have a special attraction toward fire-type treasures and living beings. From the moment I came here, I¡¯m feeling restless, and I can feel that the beast is here. It seemed our informative didn¡¯t lie to us and that trade was worth it!¡±
¡°I¡¯m still quite suspicious of that person. How could he know about the youngdy¡¯s secret and know you needed the fire-type demonic core, and what baffled me even that the person didn¡¯t take it for itself?¡± Carlee spoke with concern.
Alora inly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that person is the biggest information broker of the almighty demon empire, and finding out about me is not a big deal. We have to be careful. If we let others know about our deal with that person, or we¡¯ll be in trouble.¡±
¡°Yes, I heard even demon kings are searching for that person.¡± Carlee nodded in agreement.
¡°Now we have to n before attacking the beast. We can¡¯t miss this chance or mying here will all be in vain. I have toplete this secret skill no matter what, and only then I can truly stand a chance against Princess Scarlet in the demon gate trial. I¡¯ll definitely have my revenge!¡±
Alora¡¯s voice was filled with indignation and killing intent!
¡ª
While a storm was brewing in the middle region,
The man, who was probably at the center of this storm, was currently strolling around a random mountain while searching for his target.
This man was none other than Ace, who had killed four intermediate grade 4 demonic beasts on his first day and create enormous waves between the participants, and also put a target on himself.
But Ace didn¡¯t seem to be worried about it all. On the contrary, he was walking around the mountains without any stealth or protection, making himself a walking target.
Ace know there were other demons after him other than the participants, and they were from the four ns.
All-Knowing Parrot had already warned him about this, and she even said de Demon King was probably testing him by letting those four ns do as they pleased. This also means he can retaliate in any way he likes as well!
Ace this moment, his expression changed slightly, and his lips curled upward into a stiff smile. ¡®Someone¡¯s here!¡¯
Chapter 409 - ?Demon King Decree
¡°Damn it, how could finding a river realm brat be so difficult?!¡± a vexed voice sounded from a cloaked figure.
¡°Number Nine, keep your voice low. Do you want to attract other attention?!¡± another slightly angry voice sounded from the second cloak figure.
These two were moving past trees, while one of them was holding a green array n in his hand, and it was shimmering with rune symbols.
¡°Number Seven, do you think anyone would be strong enough to go against us Fiery de Demons if they had had a death wish?!¡± Number Nine retorted without lowering his voice.
The Fiery de Demon n was the weakest among the five ns of the de demon tribe because first, they had the lowest poption among the five ns, and second; they had a very fiery temper and arrogant personalities, so they always fight with each other and killed others for their benefits; it was their second nature.
These shorings led them to their current decline state, and now they were on the verge of being eliminated by the other four ns from the de demon tribe. If the demon gate trial wasn¡¯t announced, they might¡¯ve already got terminated by now.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
It was all because of the de Demon King¡¯s verdict that all ns stop the internal struggle for the time being, and it also gave the Fiery de n a chance of survival.
Before, they only had hoped that someone from their n entered one of the three demon institutes. However, they knew better than anyone they didn¡¯t have such a talented decedent since most of them were killed and schemed against by each other.
That was why right now there wasn¡¯t a single member of Fiery de Demon n in the top hundred rankings, and this made the entourage of fiery de demon even more desperate.
But s, they can do nothing but cuss and kept watching with bloodshot eyes as other de ns¡¯ young demon names appeared in the top hundred list.
If it was any other time, it would¡¯ve spelled doomed for them, but they still had a chance and that was exactly Feng!
If they could produce a king-grade bloodline, they wouldn¡¯t have to fear extinction anymore because every king-grade bloodline was protected by the royal zone!
So, the most desperate de n who wanted to find Feng was none other than the Fiery de Demon n, since their entire existence depended on this, after all.
These two elders, Number Seven and Number Nine were one of the five pairs of the fiery de demon n, and they were all searching for Feng.
However, just like others, they didn¡¯t find any trace of him, much less the whole person.
¡°Fuck¡ I¡¯ll report you to elder brother Four!¡± Number Seven threatened with the name of the most powerful elder in their entourage.
¡°Bastard, do you want to fight?!¡± Number Nine was instantly indignant and even circted his Qi, which was a sign of him wanting to attack Number Seven.
How could Number Seven take Number Nine, cursed silently? After all, he was also a Fiery de Demon and his temperament was just as bad as Number Seven.
¡°I have enough of you, Pig Brain, received my de!¡± He drew his sword, which had a long soft de, and attacked Number Nine without any further discussion.
Just like that, those two Fiery de Demons fought as they cuss each other, causing a tremendousmotion.
They were both golden river core cultivators and only one step away from entering the diamond river core realm, so their fight startled many weak demonic beasts in the vicinity as they flee for their life.
However, those two had no idea just a hundred meters away from their fighting position, a pair of cold eyes were scrutinizing them as if they were a pair of clowns performing a show.
¡®I never thought those two idiots would start fighting just because of an argument, really worthy of being idiots from Fiery de Demon n, heh,¡¯ Ace sneered coldly as he watched two cloaked demons fighting each other.
Ace naturally wanted to cause some trouble for these four de ns who came after Feng for his blood and even kill them if he got a chance. But he never thought he would bump into the idiots from Fiery de Demon n.
Right now, those two were probably begging Ace to act and put them out of their misery.
¡®Although the Fiery de Demon n is on the decline because of their shoring, their de technique is unique and profound. I wonder if I can get a copy of that de technique and use it as the Demon Sword Dance. I don¡¯t know if I can use a soul probe on them after myst breakthrough. If I can¡¡¯
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered in anticipation. He knew if he wanted to continue on his sword path and break to the next level of his technique, then he required high-level sword path skills and cultivation arts, and he also needed inspiration, just likest time.
Sword Path and de Path were virtually the same, but both path cultivators always debate over it being different because the weapons used in both paths were quite different.
Nevertheless, Ace still wanted the de art of the Fiery de n for reference and insights. Especially after seeing it in action himself.
At this moment, both elders started to slow down. Although they were fighting and wanted to kill each other, they knew if they killed one another, they would be only making their n more vulnerable to attack.
They had already learned their lesson a hard way and weren¡¯t as bloodthirsty as before, all for the sake of their lineage¡¯s survival.
Number Nine panted heavily as he roared, ¡°I¡¯ll spare your dog live today, Number Seven!¡±
Number Seven spat on the ground before rebuking, ¡°I¡¯ll let you keep your brief life for now as well before I deal with him!¡±
He spun around and roared with killing intent, ¡°Why don¡¯t youe out now, since you enjoy the show?!¡±
Number Nine also seemed startled and quickly raise his guard. Truth be told, he had no idea someone was observing them in the shadows and if they kept fighting, they might¡¯ve be someone else prey!
At this moment thereafter, the stony ground suddenly cracked, and a small head popped up below the ground before a small person exited the tunnel. It was an earth troll!
¡°You lowly ve, you dare to spy on us!?¡± Number Seven¡¯s voice was filled with killing intent, but he didn¡¯t immediately attack the little man.
He knew the earth troll race can never betray them or scheme against any demon, much less sneak attack them. Since this earth troll dared to appear here, it might be something important.
Just as he suspected, the small man kneel and prostrate himself before saying sheepishly, ¡°I beg your pardon, my lords, but it¡¯s an emergency!¡±
Number Nine¡¯s gloomy voice rang, ¡°It¡¯s better to be good, or I¡¯ll have your blood in tonight¡¯s drink!¡±
The little man fluttered before he took out a yellow scroll with a silver de seal on it.
¡°de Demon King¡¯s decree!¡±
Both men blurted out in unison, with a hint of fear in their voices.
¡°Yes, my lords, it¡¯s a direct order from the de Castle that all the four ns¡¯ elders withdraw from the shadow mountain range within three days or anyone who¡¯s above the river realm will be killed without mercy!¡± the earth troll quickly told them as he respectfully handed the decree in Number Seven¡¯s hand.
¡°What, why?!¡± Number Nine¡¯s disbelief voice sounded.
They both knew the demon king didn¡¯t stop them because he didn¡¯t care, but now he was actually giving them an order to exit, something might¡¯ve happened to the de domain while they were wandering here.
¡°I don¡¯t know, my lords, but my fellow brothers were ordered to give these decrees to all the four n elders present in the shadow mountain range and any river core realm cultivator.
¡°However, I do know that it had something to do with the sudden appearance of Mist Domain Participants here and hunting our participants a few days ago.¡± The earth troll replied truthfully.
¡°What? Something like this happened?¡± Number Seven was shocked before he quickly broke the seal on the scroll and read its contents.
There were simply words in it, but they sent chills to both elder¡¯s spines.
¡°Anyone above the river realm shall evacuate the shadow mountain range within three days after receiving this notice.
¡°Anyone who ignored this order and remains after the end of the third month will be killed by de Demon Envoys and Misty Demon Killers.
¡°The Shadow Mountain Range is now only reserved for the youths of de domain and mist domain¡¡±
¡°T-this¡¡± Number Nine mumbled in befuddlement as he read the content.
¡°Just what has happened, and why the hell does Misty Demon Killer appear with de Demon Envoys? Aren¡¯t all of them the personal guards of Mist Demon King and de Demon King and enemies with each other?! Just what is going on here?!¡±
Chapter 410 - ?410 Elite Hunting Mission
Ace was also observing what had happened, and he didn¡¯t attack those two Fiery de Demons because he had already sensed the arrival of this neer, who appeared to be an earth troll.
Although Ace has never seen an earth troll before since they all lived in a secret location somewhere in the de domain, he had information about them.
But he was still shocked when he saw the earth troll appearing from the underground, and he instantly knew this was the famous ability of the earth troll race, Earthen Escape, and they were almost uncatchable on the ground because of this ability.
However, what shocked him, even more, was the decree of the Demon King and with the heavenly sense, he had already seen its contents without being detected.
¡®I can understand why de Envoys were entering the shadow mountain range, but why did Misty Demon Killers enter at the same time? Without de Demon King¡¯s permission, they won¡¯t dare to be so bizarre. This means he might¡¯ve made some kind of agreement with the Mist Demon King.
¡®But shouldn¡¯t they announce this to the participants as well, or change thepetition of de domain as well? However, since there wasn¡¯t any mention of this in the demon king decree, it means ourpetition is not changed at all, only soul realm cultivators from both sides are given ess to enter.
¡®Just what is going on? Those soul realms entered to monitor each side for some reason, and all it had to do was with Mist Domain interference.
¡®But with soul realm envoys entering the shadow mountain, I have to be more careful to not reveal any of my original abilities and also looked out for Misty Demon Killers. Those guys are enemies with de domain, so they won¡¯t be so kind to watch potential threats growing right under their noses. What if, a freaking mess!¡¯n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace felt vexed when he failed to understand both demon kings¡¯ intentions and what they had to do with this strangepetition.
However, whatever the reason was, as long as it didn¡¯t implicate him or rted to him, he wasn¡¯t too worried about it. He can hide from soul realm cultivators now, so he can avoid them as well. Exclusively with Moira¡¯s help.
Ace watched those two elders leaving with the earth troll after grieving for some time.
He sighed, ¡®How lucky, well I got another chance in the future to get my hands-on de tribe de skills and arts. But on the bright side, I don¡¯t need to worry about the ambush of four-de ns anymore. They won¡¯t dare to disobey demon king as long as they didn¡¯t want to suffer.¡¯
Ace dejectedly left as his n of ambushing two golden river cultivators and testing his soul probing on them failed. He was now going to search for demonic beasts to test to farm more killing points and EXP.
After moving a couple of miles northwest,
Ace felt two new soul signatures and strong Qi fluctuations: ¡®A fight between cultivators!¡¯
Without any hesitation, moved toward the direction of the battle.
Ace quickly reached the area and saw a young demon with a skinny constitution and dark skin holding a long thin de sword, was fighting with a crimson skin demon who was also using a long thin de sword.
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed at seeing the two demons. ¡®They¡¯re also from de Demon Tribe?¡¯
He didn¡¯t think he would meet another pair from the de demon tribe of all demons, and they seemed from the Evil de n and Fire de n by their skin color.
Furthermore, they both had astonishing prowess, which indicated they were quite strong and might be from the top hundred rankings.
¡°Bren, you bastard, today you¡¯ll die, and your brother won¡¯t be here to save your sorry ass!¡± the youth from the Fire de n roared with deep contempt as he shed his sword and red Qi filled the area.
¡°Anton, you¡¯ll die just like your sister all those years ago. It¡¯s just a pity you aren¡¯t your sister, so I won¡¯t be able to enjoy myself before killing you, so just stop this meaningless struggle!¡± Bren sneered as he used his sword and performed an ominous horizontal cut.
It was clear he was deliberately taunting Anton to make him made mistake and then took advantage of it since both of their strengths were almost at the same level.
As for the enmity between them, it wasn¡¯t some new thing between these two ns.
The Evil de n was the second-strongest n of de Demon Tribe while the Fire de n was slightly inferior, taking third ce, and both ns always struggle with each other in the shadows.
This was the same thing for their youngsters as well.
These two were from the main lineage of their respective ns, and they had a very deep grudge between them.
Especially Anton because his little sister was killed by Bren with underhanded means a few years ago. Furthermore, because the Fire de n didn¡¯t have any proof, the Evil de n escape unscratched.
This made Fire de n even more bloodthirsty and the fight between the two ns became fiercer in these past years.
Anton roared with deep hatred, seeing Bren¡¯s lustful expression when he mentions his sister, ¡°Bastard I¡¯ll kill you!¡±
¡®Heh, he felt for it!¡¯ Bren sneered coldly, seeing Anton losing his calm.
Although he knew without his big brother, he wasn¡¯t truly matched for Anton, he also knew Anton¡¯s love for his deceased sister, and it was the only sour nerve he could grab and made Anton vulnerable.
Bren was about to take out an array te to finish Anton off for good. However, his expression suddenly changed when his storage ring didn¡¯t react at all. This wasn¡¯t all. The very next moment thereafter, he felt a head-splitting pain in his head.
This enormous window was enough for Anton to perform a deadly de skill and easily caught him off guard while he was still struggling with that mysterious pain in his head.
The thin de surrounded by red sharp Qi made a graceful arch, and it shed past Bren¡¯s throat like a red waterfall.
Thereupon, Bren¡¯s head, filled with disbelief, and confusion fell on the stony ground. Even in his death, he didn¡¯t know how he died and what had happened.
s, if he could just see the slowly fading owl symbol on his ring finger, he would¡¯ve known who was behind his unnatural death!
Ace coldly looked toward beheaded Bren and scoffed, ¡®Scum.¡¯
Without giving Anton another look, he left with aplicated glint in his eyes. He just remembered about a little girl after hearing the words ¡®Little Sister¡¯ and instantly helped Anton without thinking twice.
¡®I hope you¡¯re alright¡¡¯ Ace could only hope right now, nothing else.
In a gloomy mood, Ace killed two more intermediate demonic beasts with only his sword drawing skill. He was like a ghostly assassin who abruptly appeared behind his prey and fished it off with a single move!
¡ª
Four more days passed, and the ranking changed drastically, which made everyone take a chilly breath every time they saw it.
1. Jaxx Wild Wind: 25,900 Kill Points
2. Feng Demon Sword: 24,000 Kill Points
3. Peter Silver de: 22,100 Kill Points
4. Ramiro Wild Lion: 21,240 Kill Points
5. Thomas Wild Cheveyo: 19,870 Kill Points
6. Eliezer Evil de: 16,700 Kill Points
¡
Not only Feng was about to overtake Jaxx¡¯s first position within six days after his appearance, one of the junior masters of the evil de n in 12th position four days ago had disappeared from the ranking, which means he was killed!
This shocked many bigwigs who were paying close attention to the ranking and even made the Evil de n¡¯s Patriarch cough blood. After knowing his son was probably dead, he nearly went on a rampage.
¡ª
In the middle of the night,
Many silhouettes, the number probably in hundreds of thousands, entered the middle region without making anymotion.
One thing that wasmon among these thousands of silhouettes was that there were blue glowing wristbands on everyone¡¯s wrists and a voice could be heard from it at this moment,
¡°Everyone, we are the strongest force of our domain, and we¡¯re here to teach those de domain bastards a painful lesson. Remembered, always hunt in groups of five, and don¡¯t underestimate anyone who could hunt in this ce. We have to kill as many as we can, and we¡¯ll be rewarded ordingly as well!
¡°I¡¯m officially announcing the start of ¡®Elite Hunting Mission¡¯, all the best!¡±
The moment this voice faded, another disy emerged on those wristbands. It was the current ranking of the de domain, but slightly different.
1. Jaxx Wild Wind: Kill Value 10,000 Points
2. Feng Demon Sword: Kill Value 10,000 Points
3. Peter Silver de: Kill Value 10,000 Points
4. Ramiro Wild Lion: Kill Value 8,500 Points
5. Thomas Wild Cheveyo: Kill Value 8,000 Points
6. Eliezer Evil de: Kill Value 7,500 Points
7. Alora Wild Yisrael: Kill Value 7,000 Points
8. ric Green de: Kill Value 6,500 Points
9. Miya Evil de: Kill Value 6,000 Points
10. Anton Fire de: Kill Value 5,500 Points
11. Carlee Wild Violent: Kill Value 5,000 Points
12. ¡
13. ¡
Chapter 411 - Silver Star
Somewhere in the middle region of the shadow mountain range,
¡°I have no enmity with you, nor did I provoke you? Why do you guys insist on killing me?!¡± a weak and angry voice pealed from a running demon.
Two burly demons were in this demon¡¯s pursuit with apelling expressions on their faces as they watch the demon escaping like they were watching a helpless mouse.
One of the violent skin demons shouted back with a malevolent smile on his face, ¡°Did a hunter tell its prey why is it killing it?¡±
Just as his vicious voice faded, the demon who was running for his life wanted to use some life-saving measure and felt his heart palpitate as he wanted to turn around. But before he could, a green arrow appeared right from the left like a wind breeze and prate his skull!
He didn¡¯t get to see who shot the arrow and died miserably.
A nonchnt, contemptuous voice sounded from a tree nearby, ¡°He was only worth 100 Kill Value. He must be in the top 100,000. That¡¯s why he was so weak.¡±
These demons were from the mist domain, and they were hunting the de domain demons for Kill Value on their heads.
This wasn¡¯t the case for just this small group, but these ambushes were happening all over the middle region, and this put de domain demons at an enormous prejudice.
¡ª
Ace was currently stalking a restingte-grade-4 demonic beast, Jade Purple Boa, from a hundred meters away from his current position.
This was the firstte grade 4 demonic beast he encountered in the middle region, and it was on top of the food chain in the middle region. There weren¡¯t many who could threaten its life, and that was why it didn¡¯t bother to hide its existence.
¡®This Jade Purple Boa¡¯s skin is as thick as a grade-1 defensive treasure. It would be hard to kill it with one strike without using my heavenly Qi or element sword intent.
¡®Furthermore, I still didn¡¯t know if this wristband can record every detail about the demonic beast I killed. If I killed ate grade-4 demonic beast at the peak of Qi river realm, it could be quite bothersome to exin, and I might draw some undesirable attention¡¡¯
Ace mused about the pons and cons of killing this powerful demonic beast if it was ever discovered.
Although he wasn¡¯t afraid of his soaring ranking in these few past days since everyone knows just what kind of capability Feng had, but killing ate-grade-4 demonic beast was still too startling, and it could backfire on him if anyone suspected something.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
¡®Forget it, I should just kill it for EXP and store my wristband in my thief¡¯s space meanwhile,¡¯ Ace decided and was about to spring into action when he suddenly halted.
He suddenly felt ten new soul signatures entering his soul sense range, and they were headed toward Jade Purple Boa¡¯s resting ce at a fast pace.
Furthermore, Ace felt a strange Qi fluctuation from one person in this group, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
¡°Moira opened the Live Fate Map.¡± Ace quicklymanded.
He didn¡¯t require activating the Live Fate Map on his own anymore, he just needed to do it once, and afterward, Moira can do it for him with just a thought, as long as he had the soul Qi to sustain the ability.
This was one of the many benefits of having an intelligent treasure spirit.
¡°The Live Fate Map has been activated, Sir Ace.¡± Moira¡¯s childish voice rang.
Ace quickly observed the gray map and fully zoomed it out, and his heart jolted with shock when he saw ten fate points.
All the ten fate points were red, which means they were enemies, and they will attack him if they found him.
But what truly shocked Ace was one of the ten red fate points had another circle around it and its color was glittering Silver!
¡°Moira, are you seeing what I¡¯m seeing?¡± Ace asked with a hint of ecstasy in his voice.
¡°Yes, Sir Ace, that silver circle around that red point means this person had something useful for you or something which could be useful for you in the near future, or maybe this person might lead you to this thing. I¡¯m not sure what it is.¡± Moira¡¯s voice sounded in affirmation.
Ace knew about the silver color indication, but he never thought he would see it so soon.
Because he knew there weren¡¯t many things that could be useful for him because of the system, and anything that fell into the ¡®useful¡¯ category had to be very important in a normal cultivator¡¯s view.
Nevertheless, it still made Ace thrilled; he found a silver fate point, and he was now eager to see what it was.
However, he didn¡¯t act recklessly because he felt something from this person and that was why he used the Live Fate Map.
Furthermore, just as Moira exined, this person might not have this treasure on him at all and might lead him to it. That was why he won¡¯t take action before making sure what he required was on him, not somewhere else.
¡°Close the map. Let¡¯s observe this group first. Since they¡¯re moving in a group, and they are my enemies despite their new soul signatures, I don¡¯t want to risk exposing myself too soon.¡± Acemanded and slowly crept deeper into the tree crown while using his heartless stealth and start waiting.
It didn¡¯t take long before voices of different footsteps could be heard, and a group of different skin demons appeared in Ace¡¯s view.
Ace¡¯s eyes directly fell on a white skin demon who looked extremely ordinary, and he was at the very end of this group, quietly following them.
¡®It¡¯s him!¡¯ Ace quickly marked this white skin demon and closely monitor his actions.
The leader of this group was a tall bulky yellow skin demon that had a giant axe on his back as they kept moving toward the Jade Skin Boa, unknowingly about its existence.
However, the moment this group entered fifty meters radius of the beast, the white skin demon suddenly roared, ¡°Idiot, there¡¯s ate-stage, grade-four demonic beast quickly run!¡±
But s, it was toote. Just as the white skin demon¡¯s voice petered out, everyone felt a tremendous pressure descend on them before a deadly hiss sounded from the forest.
It didn¡¯t take long before a giant head of a snake appeared, and its body size was over a hundred meters. With jade purple color skin and gem-like vicious blue snake eyes were coldly looked at the group like they were merely food!
Everyone¡¯s heart palpitated when they felt icy killing intent from those snake eyes.
¡°B-brother¡¡± The demon with a giant axe on his back stuttered as he looked toward the white skin demon with a pleading expression on his face.
The white skin demon cursed at this moment, ¡°Useless trashes, move to the side!¡±pletely breaking off his disguise as an ordinary henchman.
Every respectfully moved behind the white skin demon.
He coolly looked at the giant boa without any hint of fear and sneered, ¡°You can only me your bad lucking in my way!¡±
The Jade Purple Boa seemed to understand the meaning of white skin demon¡¯s words and, infuriated by his unsympathetic gaze and sprang toward the group while opening its giant ck maw, clearly wanting to devour the group whole!
The white skin demon remained unfazed and snorted before a gray paper appeared with blue rune symbols engraved on it.
The very next moment, the symbols on the gray paper shimmered and the youth¡¯s malicious voice rang, ¡°You should feel honor, dying under the Mist Lance Talisman!¡±
Theater, a fifty-meter graynce, suddenly appeared while the talismanpletely vanished, and before Jade Purple Boa could react, it was already toote.
The Mist Lance Talisman was already locked and shot toward Jade Purple Boa¡¯s opened maw, extinguishing all its defenses and killing it, giving no chance of resistance.
The boa¡¯s enormous body fell to the ground, creating a small dust cloud.
The white skin demon spoke at this moment, ¡°Fuck, didn¡¯t our scout say there weren¡¯t anyte stage grade-4 in our way? Now, because of their blunder, I had to use my precious Mist Lance Talisman. Mural, kill those ipetent idiots the moment we saw them!¡±
¡°Yes.¡± the demon with a giant axe on his back respectfully replied. He knew if it wasn¡¯t for this guy, they would all be dead.
After this minor incident, the group moved again in the same formation, as the white skin demon again took the low-profile position and Mural took the puppet-leader position again.
This time, they also send two scouts ahead, so they won¡¯t have to encounter the same dangerous situation again.
Ace saw all the entire event y out and smiled thievishly as he saw the group leaving, ¡®Heh, this guy is really my Silver Star¡¡¯
Without further dy, Ace crept behind the group and followed them!
¡°,
Chapter 412 A Golden Goose
Without further dy, Ace crept behind the group and followed them!
After half a day of tailing this group, Ace found nothing peculiar, but remained stoic and kept monitoring them from the shadows.
At this time, another group of five demons with dark brown skin appeared in front of this group.
One demon said, ¡°Brother Mural, we found one of the targeted in Top Hundred Kill List.¡±
Mural¡¯s eyes narrowed and said, ¡°What is the name?¡±
¡°Sedrick Wild Leaf, Rank 19. He¡¯s hiding in a cave ten miles north from here, and he seemed injured.¡± The demon replied.
¡°What about the five names I gave you? Did you find any of them?¡± Mural seemedpletely unfazed by this Sedrick fellow who had 1500 Value Point on his head.
¡°No, brother Mural, we aren¡¯t able to track those five for now, but other scout parties are still looking for clues. It won¡¯t be long before they found one of them.¡± The demon truthfully replied.
Mural nodded before saying coldly, ¡°Which one of you report about the path being cleared before?¡±.
The five of them looked at each other and an awful premonition suddenly rise in their heart, but one of them still replied, ¡°It was old four who scout the passage.¡±
Just as his voice trailed off, Mural abruptly hack his Giant Axe toward the skinny demon, who seemed to be startled by Mural¡¯s sudden action and was toote in evading the giant axe before he was hacked in two!
Those other four blink before they quickly draw their weapon and roar, ¡°Bastard, you dare to kill our brother! Die!¡±
They all attack madly Moral because they were all blood-rted and very close to each other, so the fourth brother¡¯s abrupt death made them lose their reason.
¡°Heh, you¡¯re knocking on the hell¡¯s door yourself.¡± Moral sneered as he swigged his giant axe without much effort and two of the demons were sent flying, and the other two were barely dogged with their weapon, but they were still injured with an enormous impact.
However, the other two escaped the giant axe range and were about to jab Mural with their spears when two from the Mural¡¯s group made a sudden move, and the next moment, two heads were rolling on the floor.
¡°Hmph¡ I don¡¯t need your help!¡± Mural snorted unhappily.
¡°Don¡¯t waste time!¡± another burly demon coldly said before he pointed his finger toward two demons who were trying to escape.
Two red beams shot from his finger and prate the back of their head, and they fell on the floor there and then, killed, making no sound.
Mural seemed to be afraid of this burly demon and didn¡¯t retort again and merely gave an unhappy nce before he looked toward the white skin demon.
?[0)??? He said respectfully, ¡°It seemed those five are deep in the middle region. We should move toward scout team eleven¡¯s rendezvoused point. What do you think, Elder Brother?¡±
The white demon thought for a moment before nodding, ¡°Let¡¯s move, then. The faster Iplete my mission, the sooner I could go back and all of got your rewards.¡±
The group advanced again.
Ace naturally followed them with a wintry smile on his face, ¡®This entourage is from the mist domain, and they¡¯re ying pig here, and they seemed toe here specifically for some five demons here. Hehe, I should soul probe every one of them and see if they had something I need¡¡¯
Within two hours, Ace had already soul probed the nine demons from the mist domain except for the white demon because he wasn¡¯t confident doing it without being noticed.
But he got all the important information he needed.
This group of ten weren¡¯t ordinary demons, but the nine were top talent of six mist ns of mist demon tribes and the white demon was none other than the second son of Mist Demon King, Prince Santos, who was disgusting himself as a white mist demon!
Furthermore, Santos was not only disgusting himself, but he was also a silver soul river core cultivator who shouldn¡¯t be here at all.
This was already announced that no demon with cultivation above the river realm was allowed in the shadow mountain range until the first phase ended. But not only did Santos¡¯s presence break this rule, but this was also all nned and orchestrated by none other than Mist Demon King!
Although those nine didn¡¯t know why Mist Demon King wanted to merge this two-domainpetition and then sneakily sent Santos in, one thing that was clear, this had to do with the five names they were searching for.
Their mission was very simple. They had to attain at least three heads from these five names and handed to the third mist prince, who would take them back, and they would be handsomely rewarded by the Mist Demon King.
Although Santos can handle this matter by himself, he can¡¯t reveal his real cultivation if it wasn¡¯t absolutely necessary or the soul realm de envoys who were monitory the Qi fluctuations in the shadow mountain range with a powerful formation will instantly detect his presence, and it would be over for mist domain.
That was why Santos was carrying some talismans given by his mother because using treasures wasn¡¯t forbidden here, which makes it quite easy for Santos toplete his mission and earn huge rewards from the Demon King.
All in all, this whole ughter and then merging twopetitions together were a huge conspiracy of Mist Demon King, and her goal was still unknown.
Ace waspletely bbergasted by the Mist Demon King¡¯s schemes and her ruthless means of reaching her goals.
She put millions of lives on the line just to achieve her goal, and this was the true face of the Mist Demon King!
¡®To send Santos here, she didn¡¯t hesitate to take out the most precious legacy treasure of Mist Demon Tribe, Mist Camouge Mask. It¡¯s just like my mask. Not only it can change appearance but also hide cultivation and even demon kings weren¡¯t able to detect it.
¡®How decisive. She should be extremely confident in her n. That¡¯s why she handed it over to Santos. If not for those nine from the same tribe, I didn¡¯t know about this mask.
¡®No wonder I felt two different Qi fluctuations in Santos. My soul sense was constantly picking up soul Qi. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t dare to soul probe him. In the end, it was all because of a disguising mask.
¡®At least I now know my soul sense can also be failed if the disgusting treasure is stronger than it. But if it weren¡¯t overly powerful, I can still detect some clues like this time.
¡®But I had to admit; this Mist Camouge Mask is really useful for Noa and I can bring her here in the de domain with no hitch. Is this what that silver fate point indicates?¡¯
Ace thought over it for a while because if acted now, he can easily ughter this group even with Santos¡¯s presence after just pick-pocketing his storage ring.
He really wanted this Mist Camouge Mist for Noa, but he still hesitated because this mask wasn¡¯t useful for him but for Noa and if he killed Santos, then he might not find the veritable treasure that was meant for him.
It would be akin to killing a goose whoid golden eggs.
As for robbing and destroying Mist Demon King¡¯s treasures and ns, he didn¡¯t care at all because no one would ever know what happened to Santos¡¯s group, nor can anyone raise questions.
At least as long as they didn¡¯t want the wrathful Lunatic de breaking their doors.
¡®First, I stole Eternal Thief Fate Compass from Mist Demon King¡¯s people and now her son is also going to deliver me more treasures and live fate map also indicate toward Mist Domain direction¡ could it be thispass point really pointed toward the mist domain?¡¯
Ace couldn¡¯t help but thought of this point suddenly and thought about going to the mist domain after getting rid of Feng¡¯s identity.
However, Feng¡¯s identity was very useful, and it would be such a shame to just discard it for a chance that he didn¡¯t even know was there or somewhere else.
¡®I should just focus on what is in front of me for now. Since he¡¯s a silver soul river core cultivator, it would be risky to perform a soul probe on him, and killing him right now would be an even more idiotic decision. Let¡¯s just follow him around for now and let him keep the treasures for now. In the end, everything is going to be mine¡¡¯n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
In the end, Ace decided to not kill the goose for the eggs and patiently wait.
Santos had no idea his identity had already been exposed, and he was now a portable treasury and treasure indicator for someone else.
The moment he lost his value, it would be thest day of his life¡
Chapter 413 Five-Name Kill List
In the periphery shadow mountain range, middle region,
Inside a man-mad cave, there was a small pond with crystal clear water and two wizened demons were sitting cross-legged around it.
However, there was a peculiar thing about this pond of water. Right in the center of this water was a golden array disk, glowing with silver symbols and creating a web of thin golden threads at the bottom of the pound.
The wizened demon with pale white skin said at this moment, ¡°I had to say, this Myriad Threads Qi Detection Formation of de Demon Tribe is quite powerful to cover such a vast area like the middle region.¡±
The purple skin wizened demon coolly answered, ¡°I appreciate Fourth Misty Killer praise. But this formation is quite cumbersome to arrange and even burn a vast amount of third-grade Qi stones.¡±
Fourth Misty Demon Killer merely chuckled and clearly didn¡¯t believe this person¡¯s words.
¡°Ocean Envoy, I never thought we would sit together one day peacefully instead of fighting.¡± He said.
Ocean de Envoy¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly and said, ¡°If you have something to say, just say it. Please don¡¯t beat around the bush.¡±
These two were old enemies because both were sly old foxes, so how could Ocean de Envoy didn¡¯t know what this guy was up to?
Fourth Misty Demon Killer smiled with a distant glint in his green eyes as he said, ¡°I heard Ocean Envoy¡¯s tribe got executed over two and a half months ago because your son ran away¡ is that true?¡±.
Ocean de Envoy was none other than the old ocean demon duke and Livy¡¯s father, who was living under the de Demon King for many years.
Ocean de Envoy was naturally struck the hardest when he heard how the infamous thief appeared in his tribe and steal everything while his son ran away to save his skin.
He was extremely helpless and filled with resentment when the order of his entire tribe¡¯s annihtion arrived, and he watched how a thousand-year-old Ocean Demon City burned to group with its residents.
He was spared because of his status as the de Demon King¡¯s de Envoy and those youngsters who left the city before the tragic event took ce, and also because he begged the de Demon King to spear those ocean demon youths.
He even made them withdraw from thispetition because he knew they might get killed, and he didn¡¯t want to lose the ocean demon tribe¡¯s reaming bloodline over the demon gate trail.
Now, besides him and those youngsters, there was only his traitorous son left of the ocean demon tribe, and truth be told, he didn¡¯t hate Livy for what he did, but he also didn¡¯t have any good feelings since his selfish actions destroyed his entire tribe.
He got back a few days ago after grieving for the deceased and then allocated this mission to watch over this array te with six others, and they all had to pair up with a Misty Demon Killer.
This paring was done, so any party won¡¯t get a chance to create any kind of trouble and just watch over thepetition for three months.
It was all arranged by two demon kings.
However, now the Fourth Misty Demon Killer was trying to provoke Ocean de Envoy suddenly with a taboo topic. If this was anyone else, they would¡¯ve flown in a rage.
But the old ocean duke was not provoked, he even smiled with a hint of killing intent and said viciously, ¡°I also heard your eighth son was sleeping with your three concubines, and he even impregnated one of them and that¡¯s why you kill them. But the public knows thepletely opposite story. Why is that?¡±
Fourth Misty Demon Killer¡¯s expression turned nasty when the biggest shame of his life which he wanted to hide from the world revealed by the old ocean duke.
¡®Curse you, All-Knowing Parrot!¡¯ Fourth Misty Demon Killer med the only person who could¡¯ve known and leaked the information.
He wanted to taunt Ocean de Envoy for his motives, but the other party turn the tables on him while maintaining his calm, which showed just how patient this old demon was.
¡°I told you, juste clean with me. If you want to y word games, you¡¯re not a match with this old man. I had watched my entire tribe getting killed. Do you think these meager taunts will affect me anymore?¡± Old Ocean Duke smiled coldly.
Fourth Misty Demon Killer¡¯s calm expression returned, and he only sighed, ¡°No wonder you are in charge of de domain business and logistics. Let¡¯s not beat around the bush anymore. I want Rising Sword Earl¡¯s head, and I don¡¯t want anyone to find out about it!¡±
Old Ocean Duke¡¯s eyes narrowed into slits as he coldly uttered, ¡°What are you after? Do you think I would remain ideal while you killed a promising youth of de Domain?¡±
Fourth Misty Demon Killer smiled coldly, ¡°Now who¡¯s talking in roundabout ways? Do you think we don¡¯t know how much you hate Feng Demon Sword and his tribe?
¡°Because of your tribe¡¯s destruction, Demon Sword got promoted because of the former head elder y who had a very good rtion with Feng, and do you believe he would let the remanent ocean demon tribe live peacefully after passing the demon gate trail?¡±
He smiled viciously and continued, ¡°Your tribe had tormented their tribe for generations, and do you think they would let your tribe off this easily? Heh, that little brat is extremely cunning, and he misled many for lord¡¯s known how many years, and he¡¯s now 2nd rank in the ranking. We could only imagine his prowess.
¡°Do you really not want to get rid of this future trouble? You just had to look the other way, and I¡¯ll do it for you. All I¡¯m asking is for you to keep this between us, and no one would ever know.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Fourth Misty Demon Killer was very confident in swaying the ocean demon envoy and getting the chance to take his head himself and then hand it to the second prince.
The Misty Demon Killers all know about Second Prince¡¯s presence in thepetition and why he was here, and about the five-names kill list.
They were all allowed to do anything toplete this mission if they can, or they can just leave it to the second prince since he couldplete it, eventually.
Butpleting it sooner and letting the second prince escape earlier would only decrease the chances of de Envoys finding out about this.
That was why the Fourth Misty Demon Killer wanted to take advantage of the hatred between Feng and Ocean de Envoy and took his head, which was on that five-name kill list!
However, Ocean Demon Envoy¡¯s next wordspletely gobsmacked him.
The wizened face old demon said with a deep sigh, ¡°Even if you offered me the entire mist domain, I won¡¯t betray his majesty¡¯s trust. As forpletely destroying my tribe, do you think your words are more assured than His Majesty¡¯s?
¡°If you make any kind of strange move, I¡¯ll immediately send the distress signal with this array. Now shut up and do your work or scram for this old man!¡±
¡ª
Santos¡¯s group was currently meeting with another group of scouts at this moment.
¡°We found one of the people in that name list.¡± One scout said.
Mural¡¯s eyes gleamed with excitement. ¡°Who and where?¡±
The scout coldly chuckled, ¡°Young Master Mural, it isn¡¯t I don¡¯t want to tell you, it¡¯s just that we want our promised reward first. It¡¯s a fair trade, after all.¡±
Mural¡¯s expression clouded and coldly looked at thevender skin demon group. He coldly threw a storage ring toward the demon and said, ¡°Speak, and if your information wasn¡¯t urate, you can forget about your Dark Wood Demon Tribe as well.¡±
The scout merely chuckled as he probed the storage ring first,pletely unfazed by Mural¡¯s threat.
After checking the contents of the storage ring and being satisfied with the reward, he revealed,
¡°It¡¯s Alora Wild Yisrael, but she wasn¡¯t alone. She¡¯s with Carlee Wild Violent, and it seemed both of them are searching for something these days, and they were moving toward the Core Region.
¡°One of our brothers is currently following them while leaving markers for us. We¡¯ll be able to catch up with them in three days. What do junior masters think of this?¡±
Mural nced at the white demon and when he saw the look, he quickly uttered, ¡°Fine, let¡¯s go. The faster we found them, the sooner we¡¯ll be moving on to other targets.¡±
They all left the area without even knowing something closely, listened to them, and followed them from the shadows.
Ace was coolly following them with this heartless stealth active and mused,
?[0)??? ¡®Alora Wild Yisrael and Carlee Wild Violent, both of them from wild tribes and Alora had a significant background while Carlee¡¯s from a subordinary tribe of the Yisrael Tribe.
¡®Moving together isn¡¯t a big deal, but what are they searching for? This is bing more interesting!¡¯
Chapter 414 Everyone Arrives
Four dayster,
Two voluptuous demonesses were standing at the edge of a swamp.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The red demoness had smooth skin with a buxom figure. She was 2.2-meter-tall, and she worepletely, revealing her every curve.
She had an oval face with a small thin nose and rosy lips, a pair of ck eyes and ck long silky hair, and a pair of back long horns giving her a bewitching look, she was Alora Yisrael from Dark Fire Yisrael n of Yisrael Demon Tribe.
Standing next to Alora was another beauty with a plump figure, violent blue smooth skin, sky-blue eyes, and long hair. She was 2.3 meters tall wearing a light blue chest armorpletely revealing her masculine stomach and tight pant.
She was Carlee Violent from Sky Violent Demon n and also Alora¡¯s loyal follower.
These two were more like close friends than superior and subordinate, and Alora even treated her as a close sister. That was why she always brought her whenever she goes, and Carlee followed her with no question.
?[0)??? Both of them were here on the conquest of searching for the fire-type demonic core of an extraordinary river core demonic beast, and this lead them here to this swamp.
Alora said with a gloomy expression on her gorges face, ¡°I¡¯m sensing powerful fire Qi fluctuations deeper within his swamp. But if this really is that beast, then it would be extremely dangerous to move into this swamp. What do you think?¡±.
Carlee had the same opinion as Alora and said with uncertainty, ¡°There aren¡¯t many fire-type beasts who lived in swamps, and each one of them is extremely toxic.¡±
But the next moment a resolute glint shed past her eyes, ¡°But this is also whether youngdy wants toplete her secret skill or not, I¡¯ll follow you anywhere, even if it¡¯s mean hell!¡±
Alora¡¯s alluring lips curled upward into a gorgeous smile as she said, ¡°If we pull this off, I¡¯ll help you pass the demon gate trail with everything I had!¡±
Carlee seemed touched by Alora¡¯s heartfelt words and nodded with slightly misty eyes.
Alora¡¯s smile widen and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think we need to go in the swamp. If this is a fire-type demonic beast, then it won¡¯t resist this¡¡±
Just as her melodious voice trailed off, a crimson apple appeared in her hand with a strange red pattern on it. The moment this apple appeared, a very rich sweet aroma filled the air, making even Carlee gulp.
Alora teased, seeing Carlee¡¯s silly expression. ¡°Hehe, you can¡¯t eat it unless you want to disintegrate. This is a Lava Core Apple, a high-grade-5 fire type Qi-Fruit and only someone with extremely high attainment in fire element can consume it.
¡°Even I can¡¯t consume it without entering the Qi soul realm. I only borrow it from my mother without letting my father find out, or he would never let me take it. Only three Lava Core Apples are remaining in our n, so this is quite precious, so I have to safely return it if I didn¡¯t find the fire demonic core.
¡°Nheless, this Lava Core Apple is extremely entrancing to fire-type demonic beasts as well. No matter if it¡¯s a Martial demonic beast or Soul demon beast, they can¡¯t resist this Qi fruit¡¯s temptation because it had a direct effect on fire-type demonic beast¡¯s bloodline!¡±
Carlee was astonished when she heard the true value of the Lava Core Apple and became even more assured about their ability to find the demonic beast with the fire core.
¡°You hold this Lava Core Apple and stand here while I arrange the array tes and hide. We can¡¯t let this beast escape once it appeared.¡± Alora¡¯s eyes turned sharp as she sprang into action.
Carlee didn¡¯t mind being the bait and does as she was told, asking no questions. She hadplete trust in Alora and wasn¡¯t afraid she would betray her, not after giving her this precious Lava Core Apple, which was extremely hot to touch.
Unbeknownst to both beauties, their every action was being monitored by an ebony color demon fifty meters away from their position and after hearing their conversation, greed shone in his dark brown eyes.
¡®If there is a demonic beast with a beast core here, we can exchange it for huge cultivation resources from mist domain and even auction it in the uing auction.
¡®I have to disclose it to big brother or those mist tribe scions will snatch this demonic beast from us¡ but what if I leave, and they acquired the demonic core and leave? I won¡¯t have a chance to ambush them, and I¡¯m not strong enough to overpower those two women alone¡¡¯
Just as this ebony demon was in a huge dilemma, he felt something and a dark diamond with white symbols appeared in his hand and all the symbols were shimmering at this moment.
¡®Fuck¡ there¡¯s already here!¡¯ he cussed before gritting his teeth and left toward the other direction after making sure Alora was still busing with the setting array.
Five hundred meters away from the swamp, a group of demons appeared and one of the ebony demons in that group was holding the same dark diamond, with white runes, as the other ebony demon.
¡°Dom is here somewhere. Since his reactor is active, then he might be on his way here. Look, it¡¯s bing brighter¡ he¡¯sing!¡± the dark Wood demon said to Mural.
They had followed the markers left behind by Dom for four days and finally reached this ce where his Diamond Trace Reactor reacted to its other half of the pair.
These diamond trace reactors were the easiest way to find someone, but their range was very limited, and they had to be active with peak Qi stones all the time.
Nevertheless, they were the best thing to find each other or even tracked enemies¡¯ movements if you snuck one of these into their rides or clothing.
Thereupon, the ebony demon appeared and jumped from the tree, and greeted everyone with an ambiguous expression in his eyes, ¡°Brothers and Young Masters!¡±
The dark wood demon said with a smile, ¡°Where¡¯s the target?¡±
Dom pulled an embarrassing expression and said, ¡°I lost them two days ago because of a small tide of Bronze Monkeys¡¡±
Everyone¡¯s expression changed, especially Santos¡¯s group, and only Santos¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly.
Mural barked with an ugly expression on his face. ¡°What do you mean, you lose them?! You can¡¯t even avoid a group of monkeys? Are you guys ying with us?!¡±
Although Mural was enraged, he knew the tide of demonic beasts who lived in colonies was quite difficult to handle, especially cunning and agile Bronze Monkeys.
Those beasts were very difficult to deal with, and it wasn¡¯t news if Dom be upied with them and those two demonesses escaped his view.
But this still pissed Mural off because this was the first person they found on the five-name kill list, and they missed the chance aftering so close to it¡ this was truly frustrating.
However, at this moment, before anyone could inquire further, Santos¡¯s aggravating voice rang filled with killing intent, ¡°I have enough of you five ves, tricks. Rashad, open up the Dark Barrier!¡±
The burly demon with dark gray skin instantly reacted, and ck rune symbols shimmered from his chest te of his metallic armor before a ten cubic meters dark barrier appeared around everyone, closing all the escape routes.
Everyone in the scout group¡¯s heart trembled when they saw all the routes were closed off with this ordinary-looking demon¡¯smand.
¡°You, what¡¡± Dom¡¯s expression turn nasty, but before he could utter another word, Santos¡¯ murderous voice cut him short, ¡°Kill everyone, expect this trash¡¡±
Rashad smiled coldly before needle-like red beams manifested in thin air and shot toward everyone in the scout group except Dom.
Those dark wood demons perform some skills and even took out some defensive treasure to block those red beams, but they soon found out it was all useless because those red beams passed through their defenses,pletely ignoring them and prating their skulls!
They were all dead in an instant.
Dom¡¯s legs went lump seeing his associate die without being able to put any kind of resistance and felt his heart grow colder and colder.
At this moment an icy voice rang which spell a ticket straight to hell for Dom, ¡°Torture him, since he dared to lie in front of me, he had to be punished. But don¡¯t kill him, or we won¡¯t be able to find out what gives this ve the guts to lie!¡±
Half an hourter, the dark barrier finally vanished and only Santos¡¯s group of ten appeared. The group beneath them was filled with blood and gore.
Santos had an ecstatic smile on his face with a hint of disbelief, ¡°I never thought there¡¯s a beast with demonic core here, and I would be stumbled upon it by just following Majesty-Mother¡¯s mission. Hehe, my luck is really great. This will be my extra reward for my effort!¡±
Chapter 415 A Demonic Soul Beast!
Ace naturally saw and heard everything with his heavenly sense, and he was even more d that he didn¡¯t take impulsive actions and left Santos alone.
Because Santos led him to this ce where a very rare demonic beast lived with a demonic core. But he frowned a little thereupon.
¡®Although, this fire demonic core can be used for creating the Tier-6 Soul st Heavenly Talisman. So, does this mean the silver color fate point was referring to this demonic core?¡¯ Ace mused, still unconvinced.
¡°Moira, what do you think?¡± Ace asked Moira since she was the brain of the Eternal Thief Fate Compass.
Moira replied ambiguously, ¡°I don¡¯t know, since I can¡¯tpletely evaluate the hidden opportunity on his silver fate point. But I¡¯m sure this wasn¡¯t limited to some beast cores.
¡°The fate points and fate locations that indicate a treasure or favorable location to Sir Ace are divided into three colors and three shades of these colors; Silver (Light, Bright, Glittering), Golden (Light, Bright, Glittering), Amber (Light, Bright, Glittering), respectively.
¡°Since this demon had Glittering Silver-point, this means the opportunity or treasures have to be at least something more precious than a beast core. Sir Ace should wait and also observe the Fate Live Map.
¡°If this demon¡¯s purpose was really to lead you to a location, then the Live Fate Map might also undergo a chance. Fate is the most mysterious thing between heaven and earth, and it can be changed at any time with simple actions or some variables¡ I can only say this much. Please be careful.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. There was some kind of warning and a hint in Moira¡¯sst words, ¡°Fate can be changed by actions or variables? What do mean?¡±.
Moira¡¯s helpless voice sounded, ¡°Apologies, but I can¡¯t answer your question.¡±
Ace was perplexed because he knew why Moira can¡¯t answer, and he also noticed long ago that Moira never mention the system even once. He found it strange but never asked because he knew the system had restricted her, so if it didn¡¯t want Moira to talk about it, she can naturally do nothing.
¡®Sigh¡¡¯ Ace merely sighed helplessly and didn¡¯t make things difficult for Moira, since she never refused his question and always answer him as long as she can, unlike a certain something!
¡®Fate can be changed by simple action or variables¡ and I have to be careful. What did it mean? She even told me to observe the Live Fate Map. Could it be there¡¯s some kind of connection, or I¡¯m just thinking too much about it?¡¯ Ace couldn¡¯t help but be alert.
He had already got a warning from the system that messing with fate can draw heavenly punishment and even make his next realm crossing heavenly punishment more powerful.
As for how he didn¡¯t know, but he knew it was rted to his halfplete eternal provenance treasure.
¡®Well, since the system didn¡¯t warn me or limited my use of Live Fate Compass, it means there¡¯s no problem to use the Live Fate Map. I hope so¡¡¯ Ace thought before again focusing on the group.
Right now, they were sneakily creepy toward Alora and Carlee¡¯s position, making no sound.
Santos had already nned to observe and, at thest minute, made his move and win it all.
Ace had also activated the Live Fate Map and observed it as Moira rmended, but he didn¡¯t see any change. Santos was still shining in a glittering silver circle.
On the other side,
Alora had already set up her array, and she was ready to act as long as the beast appeared while Carlee was standing right in the center of the array, holding the aromaticve core apple, clearly didn¡¯t mind being the bait.
The Lave Core Apple truly didn¡¯t disappoint Alora as, within an hour, half of the swamp was covered with its sweet aroma.
Even Santos¡¯s group couldn¡¯t help but eyed the crimson apple in Carlee¡¯s hand, and Santos had already got it, even if the demonic beast with the demonic core didn¡¯t appear.
Another two-hour passed and everyone was waiting for their opportunity.
¡®Blrrr¡¡¯
At this moment, a strange sound rang in the silent vicinity, drawing everyone¡¯s attention toward the dark swamp surface, there were bubbles were rising on the calm surface while the swamp dark water became restless as if something was rising from deep within toward the surface.
It also rified that this dark swamp was extremely deep.
Everyone held their breath as they looked at the rippling dark water with anticipation, greed, and trepidation¡
They also didn¡¯t have to wait for long before two big dark gray eyes rise from the and a long-narrowed jaw.
This beast¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t like other demonic beasts, they were filled with vignt as it coldly looked toward Carlee a hundred meters away from it and then its eyesnded on the crimson apple in her hand, and they turn into slits and shimmered with desire.
However, it didn¡¯t lunge toward the crimson apple nor did it show its entire body, but an invisible force suddenly gushed out from the water and enveloped a 150-meter radius area.
Carlee¡¯s expression changed as she shouted, ¡°Not good, this beast might be at the peak of tinum River Core Realm, and it might be a soul-type demonic beast. We¡¯re in trouble!¡±
Alora¡¯s expression also turn a bit ugly, although they had found a beast who had formed a demonic core. Not only was it at the peak of the river core realm, but it was also a soul beast, not a marital beast!
This greatly decreased her chances of killing it because they aren¡¯t a match for a soul beast at the peak of the tinum river core realm with no soul protective treasures.
However, Alora knew if she missed this chance, she might not get a second chance again, and she won¡¯t be able toplete her secret skill.
The soul beast seemed to sense Alora¡¯s presence as well, and it also nced in another direction where Santos¡¯ group was hiding, 100M away from it.
Santos¡¯s heart palpitated when he felt the soul beast¡¯s gaze. ¡®This is bad, this thing is not ordinary. It can even detect me. Now I understand how it managed to grow until now without rming anyone. Should I withdraw, or should I kill it?
¡®Its demonic soul core would be far more precious than a normal one if I y it. But I need to reveal my cultivation, and this would alert those damn fellows. However, since this is a beast releasing beastly Qi, they can¡¯t move against it as well.
¡®If I use my talismans, I should be able to gravel injured it since, but they are for emergencies and I can¡¯t mess up Majesty Mother¡¯s mission, or I¡¯ll be punished¡¡¯
Santos suddenly fell into a huge dilemma after sensing the risk of hunting this soul beast, and he can¡¯t mess up his mission for personal selfishness, so he decided to observe what Alora would do before fleeing or taking advantage of the situation.
The soul beast¡¯s eyes shimmered in disdain when it found there wasn¡¯t anything danger around it and there were only insects who were hiding, so it made it move and drove toward Carlee as the soul sense became even more powerful.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
But this beast didn¡¯t lose its vignce, and if it sensed anything awry, it would run. It had been living in hiding and avoiding dangers all its life, and it knew there were stronger beings here. That was how it could grow to this degree.
¡°Run backward!¡± Alora¡¯s resolute voice sounded from her hiding spot. She had decided to gamble it all!
Those words were music to Carlee¡¯s ears, and she dashed in the same direction as instructed, and she heard water sshing from behind.
The beast¡¯s enormous body finally appeared in everyone¡¯s view. It was an eight-meter-long, ck scale crocodile with red strips on its limbs and a red scale tail.
Ace looked at this beast and his eye narrowed, ¡®zing Soul Crocodile, this is a troublesome beast to deal with even. With its soul attacks and hard body and agile tail, even if I were to go all out to fight it, I can still only run!¡¯
zing Soul Crocodile suddenly opened its huge narrow jaw and rows of sharp pointy fangs appeared, and it roared toward Carlee, who was fleeing for her life.
That roar made everyone¡¯s soul shake with a hot piercing soul Qi and six people from Santos¡¯ group puke blood from that fire-type soul attack. While the others were only the slightest better, but still took damage and their faces turned pale with fear.
¡°Elder Brother, I think we should leave. That thing is not something we can hunt without revealing ourselves.¡± Rashad said with a pale expression.
?[0)??? They finally understood just how wrong they were when they thought of killing that beast.
Santos coldly looked at every hand rebuked.
¡°Are you an idiot? If we leave, the girl would surely be killed and be that beast¡¯s snack, and it¡¯ll be one less head for us. Let me observe and see if that zing Soul Crocodile would return after acquiring that apple, or we can just¡ give up!¡±
Chapter 416 Fight with Demonic Soul Beast
Alora and Carlee were the most effective from this soul attack because they were the closest, and Carlee even screamed while clutching her head as blood was gushing out of her orifices.
Alora somehow gets a grip of her sanity while biting her tongue, and she madly poured all her Qi into the runic white cube in her hand.
The very next moment thereafter, a barrier started to appear around the zing Soul Crocodile and quickly enveloped it. The soul force was also greatly reduced with this barrier, and Carlee fell unconscious on the spot the moment she was relieved from the fiery soul Qi of zing Soul Crocodile.
Alora didn¡¯t dy as she rushed toward the unconscious Carlee to save her. She had already greatly helped her by luring the zing Soul Crocodile into the trap array¡¯s center and receiving the biggest outburst of that soul attack.
The trapping array was a high-grade three barriers that can even hold a first minor stage golden soul realm cultivator at bay for half an hour.
However, they were dealing with a tinum river soul core zing Soul Crocodile right now that can kill golden soul realm experts on advanced stages, so how could this array hold it?
¡®Baammmm¡¡¯
Alora heard a huge crashing sound from behind and her heart turn cold because the cube in her hand which was also the array-eye cracked, and she twisted her head and saw the barrier was also cracking under the barging of zing Soul Crocodile tail swings which were glowing with transparent red soul Qi..
¡°You can¡¯t escape!¡± Alora wailed and the next moment a blue paper talisman appeared in her, and she released it toward the zing Soul Crocodile, and it instantly turned into a blue streak.
Thereafter, a five-meter-long blue sword projection appeared and shed toward zing Soul Crocodile¡¯s head, and its power was as strong as a sixth intermediate stage diamond Qi soul cultivator attack.
zing Soul Crocodile also seemed to sense the danger from this sword sh, and a transparent red barrier appeared around its body before it opened its jaw and spat a red streak toward the iing Qi sh.
A gigantic explosion sounded as the barrier alsopletely shattered and a dirt cloud rise, making everyone clueless about the result of the conclusion.
However, Alora¡¯s expression turned nasty, as if she sensed something and gnashed her teeth before another two blue paper talismans appeared in her hand and she released them toward the dirt screen with no hesitation.
¡®Roar¡¡¯
An enraged roar rang in the vicinity again, with the zing soul Qi mixed within. zing Soul Crocodile was still fine but efficiently pissed off because of thest attack.
Two more blue sword shes materialized and hacked toward the zing Soul Crocodile and with extremely icy eyes, this time the zing Soul Crocodile sway its red soul Qi-covered tail toward the iing attack.
However, somethingpletely unexpected happened two more gray streaks appeared from the other side of the dark swamp, and the very next moment thereafter, two fifty-meter graynces materialized and shot toward zing Soul Crocodile¡¯s smooth stomach, which was its soft area, and it waspletely revealed at this moment.
This was a perfect sneak attack.
The zing Soul Crocodile sensed the iing grave attack whose power wasn¡¯t any low than the two sword shes, but the former damage was too grave to be scoffed off, so it instantly gave on the two sword shes and ck thences attack!
The two blue shesnded on its head, breaking off the soul barrier, and two deep wounds appeared on its upper long jaw and even damaged its one eye, which made it roar in pain and fury.
Alora¡¯s eyes narrowed when she saw the abrupt appearance of twonce-type talismans, and she quickly knew someone was hiding and wanted to fish in troubled waters.
But it seemed they knew if they miss this chance and let the zing Soul Crocodile deal with her first, it would be impossible to fight it alone without suffering loss. That was why they attack when the beast revealed an opening.
It was indeed the case, just as Alora predicted. Santos couldn¡¯t just let such an opportunity go by to injure the zing Soul Crocodile and used two more Mist Lance Talismans.
However, this also means Alora was now alerted of his presence, and she can run if she deemed this situationpletely disadvantageous to her.
Alora just does the thing and after picking Carlee up, she wanted to leave the area because she knew someone who could use two such talismans can¡¯t be less strong than her or her background and she wasn¡¯t blinded by the fire beast core.
Her life was more important, and she could always look for this person as long as she investigated if the zing Soul Crocodile was dead or alive.
However, Santos¡¯s cold voice sounded, ¡°Since I reveal myself, do you think I would let anyone out of here, so they coulde and bite me afterward? Na?ve¡!¡±
The very next moment, a dark barrier emerged from the south of the dark swamp and enveloped the area toward zing Soul Crocodile at a quick pace.
Alora¡¯s expression changed because she could tell this barrier was far stronger than her small array barrier and if she was trapped in it, she won¡¯t be able to escape, so she used her movement skill to run as fast as she could since this barrier had been a limited range of area which it can envelop.
However, she again overestimated this barrier and, even with her movement skill, it quickly reached her and engulfed her. If she wasn¡¯t holding Carlee, she might¡¯ve escaped, but now she fell into this cage.
But she didn¡¯t just give up, and a wipe appeared in her hand, while crimson Qi suddenly gushed out of the red wipe and start rising like thick smoke.
The very next moment, she uttered, ¡°Spirited Fire-Snake; Plunge!¡±
At this moment, her red wipe came alive and turned into a huge snake projection, and she attack the barrier with this strange skill. The snake projection appeared as it opened its jaws and met with the barrier head-on!
The barrierpletely shocked for a moment, but s, even this powerful skill wasn¡¯t enough to poke a hole in it.
Santos¡¯s astonished voice sounded at this moment, ¡°That was an iplete secret skill, right? Why don¡¯t you help me deal with this big lizard, and I might let you leave?¡±
Alora¡¯s heart grew colder and colder when she heard that voice which easily distinguish her secret skill and this barrier alsopletely lock down the area.
At this moment, the zing Soul Crocodile¡¯s soul-piercing cry rang as if it suddenly fell into a frenzy and glowed in crimson, drawing everyone¡¯s attention.
¡°Heh, no matter how intelligent you are in the end you¡¯re just a beast and didn¡¯t know there are other ways to fight besides high cultivation¡ everyone in Triangle Killing Formation let¡¯s deal with this beast first, it had lost its rationality, I¡¯ll protect you from its soul suppression!¡± Santos quickly gave themand to nine others as they all appeared from their hiding spot.
Santos had a dark formation te in his hand which was the formation eye of this barrier, and it was a low-grade-4 formation that can be used to trap and as a shield. This was his trump card to trap all the five targets once they appeared.
He never thought he would use it to entrap a participant and a soul beast. But he just couldn¡¯t let this golden opportunity go. A soul beast¡¯s core was just too tempting even for someone like him, and he can exchange it with many things from Life Demon Association.
The nine of them quickly surrounded zing Soul Crocodile from the sides and started to attack it in a pattern as they practice it many times, while Santos was using his soul sense to protect them from soul suppression of this zing Soul Crocodile.
Although he can¡¯t use his soul Qi or cultivation, he can use his soul sense as long as he didn¡¯t perform a soul attack with it.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Alora was amazed seeing how zing Soul Crocodile turn like another mindless demonic beast after getting injured once and now those ten demons were toying with it.
¡®It probably never suffered any injuries in its life and fell into a frenzy after being yed by that guy. But this also means I¡¯m trapped here, and they seemed to have ulterior motives, and their teamwork is wless. Just who are they and why did I feel this deadly feeling from that white demon?¡¯
Alora was very sharp and quickly sprang into action while the others were still busy. She attacked the barrier again, so she could leave the area as quickly as possible.
However, at this moment, Santos¡¯s panicked voice rang.
¡°Not good, it¡¯s about to release its ultimate soul attack with everything it had!¡±
Chapter 417 Changes in Live Fate Map
Ace was scrutinizing everything and also monitoring the Live Fate Map.
But nothing changed as Santos remain the glittering silver point, but he kept his calm.
Santos¡¯s panicked voice fell in his ears at this moment, ¡°Not good, it¡¯s about to release its ultimate soul attack with everything it had!¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes contracted because he felt the powerful soul Qi undtion from the zing Soul Crocodile, but he didn¡¯t take any action and used his soul barrier to fortify his soul defense.
After reaching the middle stage of mastery over it, he knew he could take this soul attack, which wasn¡¯t locked on him.
The very next moment, a transparent red shock wave was released from the zing Soul Crocodile, and the group of nine mist tribe demons took the massive damage because they were closest to it.
Their protective Qi barrier instantly shattered as they were sent flying like broker leaves in wind and Santos also suffered a huge impact, instantly coughing a huge amount of blood, making a small puddle.
Alora also wasn¡¯t spare despite being two hundred meters away from the fight, and she also protected the unconscious Carlee, but the impact was too great, and she also felt unconscious as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Only listless zing Soul Crocodile and Santos remain standing.
The zing Soul Crocodile¡¯s rationality had returned after using its ultimate soul attack, and it slowly started to retreat toward the dark swamp without finishing its fight. It has many injuries all over its body and almost exhausted its soul Qi, so it wanted to retreat and recover.
¡°You wanted to run? Not happening!¡± Santos gritted his teeth. He knew this was his only chance to kill this tenacious beast, or all of his losses would be for nothing.
He took out another Mist Lance Talisman and was about to activate it when something strange happened.
Before the zing Soul Crocodile could counterattack or escape, the light from its eyes suddenly vanished¡ it was dead!.
This sudden turn of eventspletely bewildered Santos and thought this beast was ying some kind of trick on him, but he also sensed no more soul Qi fluctuations from it anymore, which mean it was dead.
¡°But how?¡± He mumbled in disbelief.
On Ace¡¯s hidden spot, he instantly received a system notification.
=====
[Killed a tinum Soul River Core Stage, Soul Beast]
[Reward: Please retract the Soul-Beast Core for SP]
=====
It was indeed Ace who finished the zing Soul Crocodile off with his soul-piercing bullet.
How could he let free soul points go in front of his eyes?
Furthermore, the beast would¡¯ve died by Santos¡¯s hand anyway, so he sneaked to attack the already exhausted zing Soul Crocodile, which failed to defend against Ace¡¯s soul attack in its exhausted state and died miserably.
However, this system¡¯s notification gave Ace another surprise, and he couldn¡¯t help but said, ¡°What? Do you mean I need the beast core for EXP or SP? Doesn¡¯t this mean even if I don¡¯t give the killing blow, as long as I gained the beast core of martial or soul-type beasts, I can gain EXP and SP?¡±
He never killed a demonic beast with the beast core, so this naturally came as a surprise to him. If this was the case, as he said, then this had many advantages, and he would get another source to acquire EXP or SP.
System answered him impassively.
¡±[Yes, a Martial Beast or Soul-Beast differs from a mindless Demonic Beast since it had a beast core and that beast core is like any other medicinal herb. As long as the host had a beast core of sufficient levels, they can be turned into either Soul Points or Experience Points, without the host needing to perform the killing blow.]¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes shone with tion. ¡®Martial beast and Soul beasts, huh? So, they fall into different categories. But didn¡¯t this mean every beast on the Beast Continent is a martial beast or soul beast? Then why are they in fifth ce? Whatever, I should just focus on¡¡¯
Ace¡¯s trails of thoughts abruptly came to a halt when his eyes suddenly fell on the Live Fate Map and dted with shock!
¡®How is this¡¡¯
On the Live Fate Map, not only did Santos¡¯s fate point lose its glittering color, but a glittering silver area had shed in the dark swamp direction!
¡°Moira, what just happened?¡± He quickly asked Moira.
Moira exined ambiguously, with a hint of tion. ¡°It seemed the demon with silver fate point had served his purpose, and that soul beast¡¯s death had revealed this glittering silver area. We can assume this demon was supposed to kill this beast and leave this area, with no investigating the space and gaining the treasure.
¡°But since Sir Ace was following the Fate Live Map, the glittering silver area was revealed. This is probably the chance Sir Ace has been waiting for, and this demon had served his purpose perfectly. Congrattion, Sir Ace, it seemed your patience and hard work had paid off.¡±
Ace couldn¡¯t help but smile in rapture. He had also had the same theory in mind, ¡®So, this is how this Live Fate Map works. Since this guy had served his purpose, I should reward him¡¡¯
Ace¡¯s eyes turned cold as he vanished from his hiding spot.
Santos was still filled with confusion about zing Soul Crocodile¡¯s sudden death, but couldn¡¯te out with any proper exnation.
¡°No one can enter or leave this barrier without being at the peak of the soul realm, nor they can enter it. But I don¡¯t think anyone will be daring enough toe here now or those old guys wouldn¡¯t sit around silently, which means its death might be natural.¡±
Just as his voice trailed off, a jeering voice sounded, which frightened him.
¡°Hehe, as expected of Second Prince Santos, but the death wasn¡¯t natural at all¡¡±
Santos yelped in shock before he turned around and saw an ordinary bronze skin demon coldly smiling at him from 15 meters away.
¡®How did appear behind me? No¡ how did he remain in this barrier without being effective by zing Soul Crocodile soul attack or both of our detection? I can only feel peak river realm aura on him¡ no, something is not right¡ he even knows who I am!¡¯n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Santos felt a deathly cold sensation, and he instantly wanted to take out his life-saving treasure and flee without revealing his cultivation.
But he was shocked when his storage ring didn¡¯t react to his will at all, and the Mist Lance Talisman had also vanished from his hand!
He instinctively looked at his ring finger, and it was when he gave the biggest shock of his life because his ring finger was reced by an imprint of an owl!
An astonishing name appeared in his mind and when he looked toward the demon with absolute horror, he found out the demon had vanished!
At this moment, an innuendo voice rang a few inches away from his ear. ¡°Now, now, we can¡¯t let you cause too muchmotion or alert those old men. Won¡¯t you agree?¡±
This was also thest sentence he heard in his life because the very next moment a green sharp light shed past Santos¡¯s neck from behind and thest thing he saw was his own body and the same demon smiling at him with a bloody sword in his hand before everything turned dark!
This also marked the tragic death of the second prince of the Mist Domain!
Ace didn¡¯t want to give Santos any chances of retaliation at all, especially since he didn¡¯t want him to release his cultivation, or things might¡¯ve turned unpleasant for him soon. He didn¡¯t want any interference before he explored the glittering silver area.
That was why he first startled Santos before quickly finishing him, and it was only getting easier after his fight with zing Soul Crocodile.
Two sessive notifications rang at this moment.
======
[Pick Pocket seed]
[Host steal]
¡
¨C
[Reward(s)]
-Rewards: 73,400 Thief Points
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 13,653,400]
¡ª
[Killed a Silver Soul River Core Stage, Mist Demon]
[Reward: 5,000 SP]
¡ª
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-7]]
[EXP: 76,845/1,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-7]]
[SP: 29,575/1,000,000]
=====
Without further dy, he pick-pocketed and then killed the nine mist demons while they were still unconscious, without any mercy.
They were here to hunt him down as well and leaving them alive would bring trouble if they report this soul beast¡¯s presence to Mist Demon King, she will defiantly investigate it and when she found the soul beast was gone, she would naturally suspect someone had killed both Santos and soul beast.
This would not be good for Ace because he knew many unknown things can reveal many clues if just from the corpse or locations of death.
But now no one would ever know the exact ce where the second prince died or how they died, and it would take a long time to find any trace of them in this vast forest, or they can simply think they died under some demonic beast.
Besides, no one from the mist domain would dare to openly search or release this news, unless they want to reveal their schemes!
Chapter 418 Glittering Silver Fate Location
Chapter 418 Glittering Silver Fate Location
[Quick Report of Thieveries]
[Sessful Pick Pocket Count: 9]
[Total Rewards: 132,000 Thief Points]
---
[Thief Point(s): 13,785,400]
---
[Killed Nine Complete Qi River Stage, Mist Demons]
[Total Rewards: 900 EXP]
---
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea {Stage-7}]
{EXP: 77,745/1,000,000}
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core {Stage-7}]
{SP: 29,575/1,000,000}
=====
Ace merely nced at the notification and turn his focus toward unconscious demonesses with killing intent at the edge of this barrier set by Santos.
"I should finish¡"
However, before Ace could move and end Alora and Carlee''s life and end this matter for good, his eyes contracted in shock when an astonishing change urred on the Live Fate Map!
Because of Moira''s advice, he kept the map open despite the huge amount of soul Qi exhaustion, and after the Silver Location appeared he thought it was over, but he still decided to hold it for a while until he finished Santos off and others to see if something others urred in the map.
Although he didn''t have any high expectations, he never thought the change would arise and this big at that¡
In the Live Fate Map, Ace saw Alora''s red point start to change, and another ring started to form around her fate point, and it was Light Golden!
''Fate can be changed by a simple action or variables¡'' Ace suddenly thought about this phrase again, and he trembled slightly with a frigid chill.
"Moira, I think I understood something. Tell me if I''m wrong¡ If I haven''t interfered right now and killed Santos and his group, those two women were supposed to die, right?"
Moira replied, "Yes, that demon''s purpose was to kill one of them in the first ce. However, since sir Ace interrupted and killed this demon before he could kill her, it was akin to changing her entire fate."
Ace closed his eyes and took a deep breath and calm himself down. It was like he had grasped something, but only for a moment, but he wasn''t brooding over it.
He continued with his eyes closed, "I wasn''t supposed to be here and Santos was supposed to get out of here alive, while she was supposed to have died by his hand. However, now, because I killed Santos, she escaped her impending death from Santos''s hand.
"Her entire Fate changed with my single action, and I''m a variable that took this action. Now she had turned into a golden fate point as a result. Since this golden point wasn''t present before, this means she''s also supposed to lead me somewhere like this guy.
"Although, I still didn''t understand how this all works and how can this will change other things. But this is a huge windfall for me nevertheless, and now I can''t kill her, or I would shoot my foot. But I didn''t think it will be too easy, like the silver point. Am I right or wrong?"
Moira replied uncertainly, "Yes, a Silver Point and a Golden Point differ greatly from each other, and she''s a guiding point like the demon. I don''t think she would reach that golden destination anytime soon.
"Unless someone or something interferes and makes her reach there faster, which is almost impossible. But one thing is clear, as long as sir Ace remains imperturbable, she will guide you in that ce eventually or someone might kill her before she served her purpose and this opportunity will also bepletely erased."
Ace''s eyes narrowed. "Just like I killed Santos and changed her fate. If someone killed her before reaching that golden destination, it wouldpletely vanish, right?"
"Yes, variables can appear at any moment without any warning, but these kinds of variables are too rare and only sir Ace had the means to create these variables because of me," Moira said in affirmation.
Ace''s lips curved upward in a content smile, "You know what, I''m truly d I found you and make you my eternal provenance life soul treasure, or I won''t get such an astonishing ability that can literally give me the power to mess with this fable fate."
"I am ttered." Moira''s voice rang in jubtion.
Ace chucked and looked toward the unconscious Alora with a sly smirk on his face and thought, ''Well, I don''t think it would be a problem to follow her around as long as she remained in thispetition.
''As for her confrontation with Santos group, it can be easily resolved as well. I just have to give up on this soul beast''s soul core and let her take it since she seemed to be here for it. She won''t be foolish enough to disclose such information and put her own life at risk.
''Furthermore, she never saw me taking care of this group, and they would vanish from this world in the time she woke up. Heh, now I just have to protect her until she woke up and took this beast away. Besides, the more she grows stronger, the more it benefits me¡''
Ace had already let Alora glow and calmly waited for the right time to reap the reward, and he didn''t mind helping her since she would take him to a golden destination in the future.
''But first I have to see this glittering silver location and see what kind of treasure I can¡'' Ace''s focus turned toward the dark swamp again.
He didn''t dissolve the barrier put by Santos for now and adjust it to cover Alora, Carlee, and zing Soul Crocodile''s carcass, so they won''t suffer any mischief while he was investigating this silver location.
He also burned and turned Santos and nine mist demon corpses into ashes with his lightning,pletely erasing every proof of their existence. Likewise, he didn''t forget to take Santos''s disguise mask as well¡
After making sure everything was taken care of, he dived into the dark water and swim toward the silver location which was three hundred meters away, but he soon found out that this swamp was quite deep as he kept diving deeper and deeper.
The system''s voice rang at this moment.
======
''This ce didn''t have any demonic beasts, it seemed that crocodile had killed everyone here andpletely upied this territory¡'' Ace thought as he used his heavenly sense to the fullest, ''Half of my soul Qi is gone, I should hurry up¡''
Ace quickly reached right into the silver location and found nothing besides darkness and grimaced.
But this swamp was just too deep, and he continued to dive deeper, and from his estimate, he should be already two-hundred-meter-deep in his dark water.
Suddenly, Ace felt something astonishing when he reached a 250-meter point, and he was bewildered.
The system''s voice rang at this moment.
======
[Host has absorbed 1 SP]
[Host has absorbed 1 SP]
[Host has absorbed 1 SP]
[Host has absorbed 1 SP]
[Host has absorbed 1 SP]
[Host has absorbed 1 SP]
[Host has absorbed 1 SP]
¡
======
''What?!'' Ace waspletely bbergasted with these notifications, and they weren''t stopping at all.
''This is just like when I cultivate normally?! The soul Qi here is too thick and pure that the system started to absorb it on its own! This¡'' Ace''s heart raced as he continued to dive deeper while the notifications about SP rang in his head.
He never thought he would encounter something like this because even with marital Qi as thick as the demon continent couldn''t make the system absorb it on its own, heck he didn''t even know it was possible at all!
One had to know soul Qi was hardest to refine because it wasn''t as much as martial Qi and that was why he hated to cultivate normally because it was just too damn tidiest. He would rather spend his time practicing his skills and techniques.
Ace couldn''t help but think, ''Could it be some kind of soul treasure is hidden here, and that was why that zing Soul Crocodile could reach tinum level?''
At four hundred meters, Ace finally felt the surface, but there wasn''t anything. However, Ace could feel the pure soul Qi wasing from the underground of this swamp surface.
Although there was substantial water pressure around, Acepletely ignored it with his powerful body and started to move around to investigate carefully.
''The glittering silver area is around a 65-meter to 70-meter radius wide. I have to check every corner or even dug if I have to!'' Ace''s eyes shimmered with anticipation as his soul points continue to rise. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Even if he found nothing, just by staying here can give me free Soul Points, which were extremely precious to him!
After half an hour of searching, Ace finally found an anomaly on the swamp''s dark surface. He ''saw'' this particr area wasn''t like the other muddy floor, but it was hard and somehow crystalline!
Without his heavenly sense, he would never spot such a difference.
Ace squatted down and just as he ced his hand on this dark crystalline floor, he heard an astonished notification that was going topletely change¡!
Chapter 419 Soul Crystal Source and Qi Stone Vein
Ace crouched down and just as he ced his hand on this dark crystalline floor, he heard an astonished notification from the system at that very instant.
=====
[High Grade-4 Soul Crystal Source has been detected!]
-Requiring permission for the host to absorb the Soul Crystal Source
[Yes/No]
¨C
Reward(s):
1. 10 Million Soul Points
2. The host will be able to absorb Soul Points from Soul Crystals (From Grade-0 to Grade-4)
=====
¡®What!?¡¯ Ace was nonplussed by this revtion.
Soul Crystal Source and Qi Stone Vein were the primary sources of Soul Crystals or Soul Stones and Qi Stones in this world, and every one of these sources was monopolized by powerful tribes and influences.
Just a low-grade-1 Qi stone vein can cause a huge war between tribes, not to talk about the rare Soul Crystal Source..
Even a low-level soul crystal was quite precious because of its myriad uses in soul alchemy and rune crafting and, most importantly, Soul Cultivation.
There weren¡¯t even ten of such soul crystal sources in the entire eight regions and none of them were a grade-4 much less a high-grade one that can produce high grade-4 soul crystals!
Furthermore, Ace never thought the system could unlock the function of converting Soul Crystals into SP just by absorbing them.
Ace couldn¡¯t help but asked, ¡°System, did this mean as long as I can absorb a Qi stone vein, I can also absorb EXP from Qi stones as well? And didn¡¯t you tell me this before?¡±
Ace was feeling vexed all of a sudden. After all, if he knew this sooner he would¡¯ve raided all those secret mines, and then he didn¡¯t have to worry about acquiring EXP anymore because he had billions of Qi stones!
¡±[Yes, as long as the host absorbed any grade of Soul Crystal Source and Qi Stones Vein, the host can convert the same rank or lower ranks, Soul Crystal and Qi Stones into SP and EXP.]
¡±[However, as the host cultivation realm increases to the lower ranks, Qi Stones and Soul Crystal Source will be deemed useless by the system just like lower grade materials.]
¡±[As for the ssification of these limitations, they are directly rted to cultivation realms. Like Grade-1 or lower grade, Qi Stones or Soul Crystals can be used in First Realm (Gates Realm). Grade-2 in Second Realm, up to Eighth Realm, where only Grade-8 or higher-level Qi Stones and Soul Crystal can be absorbed and turned into either EXP or SP.]
¡±[Just like right now, if the host absorbed this High Grade-4 Soul Crystal Source host will be able to convert Grade-3 and Grade-4 Soul Crystals into SP, all small ranks included.]¡±
¡°So, you mean even if I absorbed a low-grade-5 soul crystal source or Qi stone vein, I will be able to convert them into EXP and SP even if I have peak-grade-5 Qi stones and Soul Crystals.
¡°Furthermore, as long as I absorbed a higher-grade soul crystal source or Qi stone vein, all the grades below that rank will be convertible? Simply put, if I somehow absorbed a grade-9 soul crystal source and Qi stone vein, I didn¡¯t have to worry about absorbing another lower grade soul crystal source or Qi stone vein anymore, right?¡± Ace questioned.
He had already understood what the system was implying here. This was truly a tremendous boon for him, as long as he could convert Qi stones and soul crystals into EXP and SP.
The limitation of the cultivation realm doesn¡¯t matter to him because he knew as long as he achieved higher realms, he¡¯ll move on to another ce where his needs can be fulfilled.
¡±[Yes, as long as the host absorbed a Grade-9 Qi stone vein and soul crystal sauce, the host didn¡¯t need to worry about levels below them anymore.]¡±
¡°But you still hide this kind of beneficial information for me? If I haven¡¯t stumbled upon this soul crystal source with Moira¡¯s help, who knows how long I would¡¯ve taken to discover it!¡± Ace was perplexed as heined.
But just as always, no reply was given, which made him cuss even more.
¡®Anyhow, I have to admit this glittering silver fate point was really useful for me. Or I could say it was a life-changer. Now I finally understand just how precious and useful this Live Fate Map is to me.
¡®If a silver point revealed this kind of secret hidden in the system, then what about that golden fate point?¡¯ Ace felt goosebumps all over just thinking about how he created a golden fate point identally, ¡®I have to make sure to follow that demoness and even protect her, I can¡¯t lose this golden opportunity!¡¯
Ace had already decided to help Alora as long as she could guide him to that golden location after realizing the worth of these fate points!
¡°Since this is the case, start absorbing and use the sufficient number of martial pills to match the soul points amount. This is a good ce to breakthrough and no one could disturb me.¡± Acemand.
He knew ten million soul points were enough to make him reach thest stage of both cultivation realms, and this ce was quiet and with no life form around to disturb his breakthrough.
=====
[Absorption process has been started¡]
=====
Ace suddenly felt a suction force from his hand and the very next moment, a vortex of soul Qi entered his body and then his true soul.
Within a minute,
=====
[Congrattion, host, on achieving the eighth stage of Heavenly Sea Realm and eighth stage of Orange Soul Form!]
[Host status has been updated]
¡ª
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-8]]
[EXP: 5,000,000/5,000,000]n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-8]]
[SP: 5,000,000/5,000,000]
=====
The vortex of soul Qi became even bigger than all the soul Qi around entered Ace¡¯s mind space at an even more fast pace and Ace could feel the power was growing, and he was also reaching the limit of Heavenly Dark Sea Realm and Orange Wind Soul Core.
Fifteen more minutes passed, and the system¡¯s voice sounded again.
=====
[Congrattion, host, on achieving the ninth stage of Heavenly Sea Realm and ninth stage of Orange Soul Form!]
[Host status has been updated]
¡ª
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-9]]
[EXP: 4,970,000/10,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-9]]
[SP: 4,970,000/10,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
=====
Ace¡¯s martial space was now filled with dark liquid Qi, which means he was at the peak of the Heavenly Dark Sea Realm and only a step away from the next realm. His soul core was glowing, and it has also reached its limit.
The soul Qi around the area alsopletely vanished, and the crystalline surface has somehow turned into sand.
The system has absorbed the entire soul crystal source with every soul crystal in it, leaving nothing.
=====
[High Grade-4 Soul Crystal Source has beenpletely absorbed!]
[Host can now convert Soul Crystals into SP from Grade-0 to Grade-4 ording to host cultivation realm limit.]
=====
Ace finally opened his eyes, and his lips curved into a stratifying smile. ¡®Now I don¡¯t have to worry about finding another soul crystal source until I reached the fifth realm. I just have to find a grade-4 Qi stone vine as well. But first I have to find another elemental orb¡ again.¡¯
Ace felt like a colossal headacheing over the moment he thought about the Elemental Orb. He hated nothing more than finding an Elemental Orb because it was just too dangerous not to talk about. He had no idea where to start or look.
¡®I have found two elemental orbs in lowernds, but I never encounter even one here¡ strange, or does the other already take them? It will be even more cumbersome if this is the case since anyone that can ovee all the traps and then take down the elemental guardian has to be extremely powerful,¡¯ Ace mused with a grim look.
In the end, he decided to wait before starting his search for the elemental orb, since the demon continent was huge, and he didn¡¯t explore even ten percent of it yet, so there wasn¡¯t any need to fret over it now.
He swims back to the surface and saw both Alora and Carlee were still unconscious, and quickly retracted the barrier and hid in a tree.
After he found the silver fate point benefits, he wanted nothing to happen to Alora, not until she served her purpose. So, he¡¯ll be going to wait until she regained her consciousness and then followed her for some time.
He just wanted to make sure the golden fate location didn¡¯t appear here, although the chances of it happening were almost zero since he just found a silver fate location. He just wanted to make sure.
Afterward, he will then leave her alone for the time being and focus on thepetition and finding Thomas.
Then there was also the case of Santos¡¯s death.
Although he was sure he didn¡¯t leave behind anything and Alora won¡¯t be foolish enough to reveal it either, he still wanted to prepare for the worse and arrange a vindicated!
Chapter 420 Fourth Month
Alora¡¯s eyes shuddered slightly before they snapped open with a hint of fear and confusion.
The first thing that came into her sight was the huge head of zing Soul Crocodile, and she couldn¡¯t help but yelp and jump from her position with horror. She clearly remembered it was all because of this soul beast, she fell unconscious, and then there was also a group of demons.
She was ready to fight with her life; however, she was bewildered when she noticed the soul beast wasn¡¯t even blinking or breathing, just remain static.
¡°What¡ ahhh¡¡± Before she could utter another word, a piercing pain attack her head.
¡®Soul injury!¡¯ She quickly examined her condition.
She gritted her teeth and suppressed the pain before she remembered Carlee and instantly looked to her left and saw Carlee was still unconscious but still breathing, which give her some relief.
¡®What is going on here? If that beast is dead, then where is that group of ambushers?¡¯ She felt even more pain just thinking about it.
This was too sophisticated because everything didn¡¯t make any sense anymore, and she even felt she was hallucinating or dreaming before her death, but that piercing pain told her otherwise.
Two green pills appeared in her hand, and she quickly took one and fed the other to Carlee, who was hanging by a threat.
After she felt slightly better, she again looked at the lifeless soul beast and confirmed it really wasn¡¯t alive anymore.
Her eyes suddenlynded on the ce between the crocodile¡¯s eyes and were shocked and thought, ¡®Could it be they didn¡¯t take its beast core?¡¯.
But she quickly shook her head furiously, ¡®No, just spearing our life and leaving this carcass here is strange enough and if they left the beast core, then there was really something wrong with that group¡ But that demon had no intention in sparing us at all, I can tell from his indifferent tone¡ then why¡¡¯
No matter how much she racks her brain, nothing was making any sense, and it only made her head hurt more.
But the more she looked at the carcass, the more she before restless, and, in the end, she bit her lip and slowly moved toward it with slow steady steps.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The beast still had its lingering soul aura, which make her heart tighten, but she knows it was already dead, so she reached its head, which was the size of her body.
¡®I just want to make sure¡¡¯
She took a deep breath and a long sharp dagger appeared in her, and she imbued her Qi and cut open the ce between its eyes, and with Qi, she opened a deep hole.
Suddenly, she felt something hard resisting her Qi-imbued dagger and her expression turn into one of disbelief, ¡°NO WAY!¡±
She didn¡¯t care about blood or gore anymore and used her hand and push inside the bloody hole in its head.
Soon, her hand, coated with red blood, came out, and it was trembling. When it waspletely out, there was a palm-size crystal red stone in her hand, which was giving off a strong soul aura.
Alora waspletely gobsmacked as she furiously gawked at this crystal-like stone and mumbled with a hint of disbelief and tion, ¡°B-beast core! But¡ is it possible that someone save me and killed this soul beast and even that group before leaving?
¡°But who could that be? Even a beast soul core was ignored by that person, and he didn¡¯t kill me and Carlee but that group¡ which is the strangest part¡ ahhhh¡ I don¡¯t care anymore, I just have to live with this!¡±
She screamed in frustration before her eyes became clear and without any hesitation; she stored the zing Soul Crocodile¡¯s carcass in her storage ring because it was a treasure on its own.
After that, she picked Carlee up and quickly left the area before taking onestplex nce and deeply bowing. She still couldn¡¯t believe her luck, which was nothing but absurd.
But she knew it wasn¡¯t the time to ponder over it because if that expert didn¡¯t want to reveal itself, she won¡¯t be able to find him or her. So, she quickly left before some other group came here and attack her in this fragile state.
However, she wasn¡¯t an ungrateful person, and she swore if she ever found the person who save and left this fire-type beast core for her which was extremely important and a life changer for her, she would repay this debt in full even if she had to gamble with her life.
Ace, who was watching Alora¡¯s action from a tree, couldn¡¯t help but smile in amusement.
¡®Alora Yisrael, huh? She didn¡¯t abandon her friend even when she had the chance to escape alone, and she even became a golden fate point after I save her¡ her memories also seemed to be quite interesting. Hehe, she¡¯s unique for a demon¡¡¯
Ace had naturally stolen all the memories of Alora and Carlee when they were unconscious, and felt it was indeed an excellent decision not to kill Alora and Carlee.
Ace followed Alora for half and day until she reached a remote area, and she created a cave before settling down there since Carlee was still out cold, and she also wanted to heal herself.
She knew it would be hard to heal her soul injuries without any soul pills, and she could only gain them from the inner de domain. Carlee has suffered even worse soul injuries, which was why she was in aa-like state.
All in all, she couldn¡¯t hunt more demonic beasts powerful than she, and Carlee was even worse. It wasn¡¯t even clear if she could awake or not, much less hunt anymore.
Ace also reached the same conclusion and left her alone now. She can¡¯t lead him anywhere in that condition.
Furthermore, from her memories, he also deemed she was probably going to cultivate her secret skill and lie low until then, so she won¡¯t be leading him anywhere in the meantime.
Besides, he can¡¯t overlook his matters just because of a golden fate point, which he had no way of knowing where it was or when it will arrive. That was why he left Alora alone for the time being, believing in his gut feeling.
¡ª
Time flew by and in a blink of an eye it was the end of the third month and the start of the fourth month, which were also thest months before the first phase of thepetition will end.
Not only the de domain participants were desperately trying to achieve as high rank as possible, but the demons from the mist domain were also hunting de domain demons with everything they had.
Now, every demon from the de domain knew about mist domain interference and infiltration. They were also angry and restful, and they had already stopped the internal fight and were now fighting together to stop mist domain participants¡¯ ambushes and even kill them if they had the chance.
This made mist domain participants¡¯ life harder because de domain participants won¡¯t hunt alone anymore and formed sizeable groups. While they hunt, only three or four demons kill the beasts, while others stand on guard and continue to change their positions.
Mist domain hunting missions became even harder this way, and many made mistakes in desperation.
On the de domain side, the ranking had changed drastically, which shocked many.
The current ranking was like this¡
1. Feng Demon Sword: 45,000 Kill Points
2. Jaxx Wild Wind: 31,500 Kill Points
3. Peter Silver de: 29,000 Kill Points
4. Thomas Wild Cheveyo: 28,100 Kill Points
5. Eliezer Evil de: 26,600 Kill Points
6. Ramiro Wild Lion: 25,240 Kill Points
7. ric Green de: 22,300 Kill Points
8. Miya Evil de: 19,820 Kill Points
9. Anton Fire de: 17,100 Kill Points
10. Alora Wild Yisrael: 16,940 Kill Points
11. Brenna Silver de: 15,090 Kill Points
12. Kylen Fire de: 13,000 Kill Points
12. Seamus Wild Stone: 12,900 Kill Points
13: ¡
57. Carlee Wild Violent: 6,300 Kill Points
¡
Feng had taken the huge lead, which left many in awe and some in fear because of his hunting and score-collecting efficiency.
He had suddenly be the most powerful youth among de domain participants, while a nightmare for mist domain participants.
Many suffered under his hand, and those mist domain demons even started to avoid and run at the sight of Feng. He was just this scary.
However, inside a stone room, someone waspletely vexed about apletely different matter at this moment as he looked at the ranking with bloodshot eyes.
This person had pale gray skin and royal blue eyeballs and the same color of short hair, and a pair of small horns. He was the Third Prince of Mist Demon Tribe and also deceased Santos¡¯s brother, Jad!
Jad perplexedly muttered, ¡°Where is the second brother, and what the hell is he doing? He didn¡¯t hunt a single name on the kill list yet, nor did he contact any scout group all this time? Could it be something had happened to him and his group?!¡±
Chapter 421 Astute Thomas
In the middle of the night, sounds of heavy steps were reverberating in this silent part of the middle region, and strong Qi undtion could be felt in the cold air.
A silhouette was jumping from tree to tree in session, while five more silhouettes were chasing silhouettes chasing behind this silhouette, two from trees and three from the ground. One rugged silhouette was holding a glowing white array te with a ck dot on it, constantly moving.
That person shouted viciously, ¡°You can¡¯t escape this Qi Marker Array Disk, Thomas! Just give up struggling!¡±
This silhouette being chased was none other than Thomas, and he had many injuries and bruises on his face and body.
He had been hunting leisurely for four months, but just today, he bumped into this group while following the trace of a demonic beast.
This group instantly ambushed Thomas as if they were hunting for him, and Thomas knew why; when he discovered the leader of this group.
Thomas shout back while winding on the trees with a taunting tone, ¡°Jaxx you sister fucker, if my dear second brother hasn¡¯t given you Qi Marker Array Disk with my Qi Mark, do you think you can find me this easily, much less chase me?!¡±
Qi Marker Array Disk was a grade-4 array whose function was very simple: to track the person who had its Qi mark ingrained in it.
Every person had a unique Qi Mark and this Qi Marker Array Disk was made to track the person whose Qi Mark was embedded on the array te when it was made, and it didn¡¯t have any other function.
Although it didn¡¯t have an absolute range, as long as the owner of this Qi mark appeared within a thousand miles radius, it will react and lead to the person..
These Qi Marker Array Disks were used by Demon King Grade ns and influences to track down their important personals if they fell into some kind of trouble or went missing in some area.
They can even discriminate if the bearer of a Qi marker array disk was dead because, after a person¡¯s death, their Qi mark would naturally vanish and these array tes would also be shattered.
Last but not least, these Qi marker array disks can be duplicated three times without needing the bearer to infuse a new Qi mark on it again.
Thomas naturally had one Qi marker array disk in his n, since he was a direct decedent of the demon king and a genius.
However, this seemed to backfire on him right now because his second brother had somehow created a duplicate and handed it to Jaxx, so he could easily assassinate him whenever he felt like it.
That was why these Identity Array tes would be kept in absolute security because they could also be a fatal dagger if they fell into wrong hands, just like right now.
Jaxx¡¯s expression fell when Thomas called him ¡®Sister Fucker¡¯ and coldly roar, ¡°Take that bbermouth bastard down for me!¡±
Those two demons, who were following Thomas from tree to tree, start shooting arrows at him in rapid session.
Jaxx group was originally made of 12 demons, but Thomas had killed seven of them with his soul attacks while being chased, and now only those five had left.
However, this also exhausted Thomas¡¯s soul Qi, and he hadn¡¯t got the chance to recover because Jaxx wanted to achieve this same result, and he wanted to tire Thomas out before killing him.
If not for his powerful body, Thomas would¡¯ve been killed a few hours ago, but now he was really on hisst leg and those iing arrows make it even worse for him to even breathe.
¡®If I somehow managed to escape this disaster, I¡¯ll let them know the consequences of chasing me!¡¯ Thomas cussed as he dodged those arrows, but three of them still pierce through his shoulder, and two on his back.
He gnashed his teeth and used his Qi to pull those arrows, and more bleeding wounds appeared on his back.
Jaxx couldn¡¯t help but ridicule with a sinister smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of Milly for you, you can go in peace!¡±
Thomas¡¯s eyes turn extremely frosty this time and thick killing intent leak from his eyes. Milly was his reverse scale, and he would let nothing happen to her, even if it cost him his life.
¡°Soul Phantasmagoria; Dream!¡± Thomas¡¯s gray eyes turned misty as translucent smoke gushed out from his body before covering those two archers.
Jaxx¡¯s expression sank, and he roared, ¡°Don¡¯t breathe that smoke, or you¡¯ll be dead!¡±
However, his warning came toote and two miserable screams rang from the trees before two bodies fell to the ground.
Yet, this wasn¡¯t the end, that translucent smoke directly moved toward Jaxx and his remaining two minions.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Jaxx coldly snorted before a jade ck hand fan appeared in his hand and he waved it, ¡°Wind Sweep!¡± whistling winds gather around the fan before sweeping through the translucent smock, blowing it away.
¡°Your Soul Phantasmagoria Art is useless as long as I don¡¯t touch the Phantasmagoria Smoke, and my wind element is your natural counter. While your soul attacks are useless, as long as I had a soul guard pendant. So, Thomas, do you have another trick?¡± Jaxx menacingly uttered while looking at the tree with killing intent.
Thomas¡¯s figure appeared as he breathes heavily while he holds a short sword in his hand. He looked ashen after using that soul art, and his eyes were filled with helplessness.
He knew it would be extremely difficult to drag Jaxx into his Soul Phantasmagoria Art, as long as the Phantasmagoria smoke won¡¯te in contact with Jaxx¡¯s body.
While his other soul attack was rendered useless because of Jaxx¡¯s defensive soul treasure, he can also protect the other two around him w
This put him in a bind and his soul Qi was now almost gone after using thest attack to kill the other two, and he was exhausted because of running all day and sustaining many injuries and loss of blood.
A decisive glint shed past Thomas¡¯s eyes at this moment, which made Jaxx flinch slightly, and he felt something was amiss. He roared furiously, ¡°Ramiro, Seamus, quickly used your strongest attack. That bastard is up to something!¡±
The hand fan in his hand also shimmered brightly while releasing a sharp aura, and Jaxx swing it fervidly toward Thomas, ¡°Wind de Storm!¡±
The heroic demon youth behind him in indigo armor who was Ramiro also plugged his long spear toward Thomas and blue water Qi gushed out, ¡°Spear Arrow!¡±
The stone skin demon standing next to Ramiro wore cestus with golden knuckles punched toward Thomas and a stony fist phantom formed, ¡°Mighty Stone Punch!¡±
Thomas coldly stared at the three-iing attack, but he didn¡¯t move from his ce, and a yellow paper talisman appeared in his hand before he activated it.
The very next moment thereafter, white light illuminates the entire ce, and a warm yet sharp sensation filled the three demons¡¯ hearts.
Jaxx¡¯s heart trembled before a green paper talisman appeared and vanished right in front of him, forming a green barrier.
Ramiro and Seamus also felt that strange sensation, but they didn¡¯t have a defensive talisman to block this soul attack, and it didn¡¯t take long before their heads popped like watermelon!
Jaxx¡¯s heart turn cold when he saw two of his strongest followers die within a few moments after that soul talisman was released.
¡®Not good!¡¯ His countenance changed again when cracks started to appear on the green barrier.
¡°Bastard, I¡¯ll make you pay!¡± with gritted teeth, two more same green paper talismans appeared in his, and he used them with no hesitation and two more green barriers appeared.
The first barrier shattered like ss in that white light, and the second barrier also started to crack.
At this moment, Jaxx¡¯s heart palpitated when he saw a very thin and fingernail size ck streak abruptly sh past his defensive barrier, and he put the hand fan in front of his head to ck it.
But the small ck streak target wasn¡¯t him, to begin with, and it directlynded on the Qi marker array disk handing on his belt, crashing it!
At this moment, Thomas¡¯s scornful yet icy voice rang in Jaxx¡¯s ears, ¡°I¡¯ll make you pay to force me to use these two precious talismans and for all this ¡®care¡¯, hundred-fold!¡±
Jaxx¡¯s expression was a sight to behold when he regained his sense and saw the broker array te, and he understood Thomas has used another lower-level soul talisman to brake the Qi marker array disk, and he knew he has been had by Thomas!
¡°Thomas, you better not let me see you!¡± He roared indignantly.
Jaxx never thought a single Thomas would be enough to annihte his entire group with his tricks, and he finally understood just how dangerous Thomas was, and he was now his enemy as well.
If he didn¡¯t get rid of Thomas soon, he might die with regret!
Chapter 422 Imperial Envoy Doubts
The very next day after the ranking was reset, it created a tremendous storm because eight names vanished from the top hundred rankings and two of them were from the top ten and top twenty and themon thing among them was they were all from wild tribes.
This riled up many and some even suspect Mist Domain¡¯s biggest team, which was led by the second prince, was behind their death and some believe they had provoked a demon beast in the depth of the middle region.
Nevertheless, this didn¡¯t stop others from caring about their hunt, since thest day before the first phase would end was rapidly approaching.
Many had already entered the middle region because the demonic beasts in the outer region were almost gone extinct because of excessive hunting, and now those youths could only try their luck on high-level demonic beasts in the middle region.
This also cause quite a massive death toll on the de domain side, but those weak yet ambitious demons were fearless and kept charging toward their death.
¡ª
Inside the throne room in de Castle,
de Demon King was sternly looking at the report, while Aura Duke was respectfully standing in front of him.
de Demon King finally uttered, ¡°Did you find anything unusual about those eleven deaths? All of them were in the top five hundred and all of them had some kind of rtion with Wild Wind Tribe.¡±.
Aura Duke respectfully answered, ¡°As his majesty already suspects, Thomas¡¯s ranking has suddenly sour, and it seemed he was the one behind these kills. It seemed Jaxx has led that group of demons to hunt Thomas, but it backfires.¡±
de Demon King suddenly smile, but it was extremely forbidding, ¡°It seemed those two princes hadn¡¯t given up and wanted to assassinate every throne candidate in thispetition, just like Maddux suspected.
¡°But it also seemed that brat Thomas had some skills to even escape from twelve powerful demons while killing eleven of them. Hehe, he¡¯s worth nurturing into our de domain team.¡±
Aura Duke also nodded. ¡°Yes, but the most shocking of them all is Feng. He remained dormant for over two months before taking the ranking by storm. By how his ranking has been rising, he has been hunting intermediate grade-4 demonic beasts without killing any participants from our side, while he killed the mist domain demons without mercy. He might be the biggest dark horse of eight provinces.¡±
Aura Duke had personally escorted Feng here, and he felt d that Feng was here, and he could be an immense help to the de domain team on the demon gate trail.
de Demon King smiled hearing this, he was also quite satisfied with Feng¡¯s performance and had very high hope for him after he showed his talent and judgment.
¡°Tell those four ingrates, from now on they¡¯re forbidden from taking any actions against Feng. I have given them a chance and since they failed in those two months. They can now forget about touching him again and if I found out they were plotting something behind my back, I didn¡¯t mind cleaning the trash from my tribe.
¡°You may go now and closely watch over those misty killers. If they move, send the distressed single to me immediately. That bunch might try something in desperation,¡± de Demon King coldlymanded.
Aura Duke bow respectfully before he left the throne hall.
de Demon King mutter with a faint icy smile, ¡°Slutty Mist, let me see what will you do out of desperation.¡±
¡ª
In Mist Castle, inside Mist Demon Library,
Gianluca kneeling in front of Mist Demon King while trembling slightly, he could feel the deadly air around graceful Mist Demon King right now, as if she killed anyone on a whim, and she was like this for over a month.
This suddenly happened over a month ago, when the entire mist castle heard Mist Demon King¡¯s sorrowful wail, which rmed everyone, and they all thought someone had sneaked inside the mist castle and attacked Mist Demon King.
However, they were all dead wrong because whoever approached her retreat chamber was killed without any exception. Even one misty demon killer was ughtered under her sudden outburst.
After that event, everyone was avoiding Mist Demon King and any ce near her like a gue.
Today Gianluca was suddenly summoned, and he felt like crying, and he was on the edge all this time while breathing in front of Mist Demon King, who was constantly emitting killing intent. It was too hard for him to even breathe under this invisible oppression.
Mist Demon King impassively said, ¡°I heard one name on the must-kill list has been in?¡±
Gianluca furiously nodded and replied timidly, ¡°Y-yes, it was Ramiro Wild Lion, but I seemed he was killed by Thomas Wild Cheveyo¡¡±
Her aura suddenly surged as the vague mist around her turned ck, and Gianluca felt like standing in front of death itself.
Mist Demon King coldly said, ¡°You may go.¡±
It was like he had been pardoned by death itself and without wasting any time; he performed a respectful salute before fleeing the study, leaving the Mist Demon King alone.
Mist Demon King¡¯s eyes suddenly turned moist and mncholy the moment she was alone and two halves of an array te appeared in her hand.
It was a broken Qi marker array disk, which means the owner was either dead or someone broke it. But by Mist Demon King¡¯s grieving expression, it seemed the former case.
She muttered with a grievance tone as crystal tears flow out from her eyes, ¡°Son, don¡¯t worry mother will avenge you, and I¡¯ll kill everyst person of your killer¡¯s family to apany you!¡±
That dark mist around her turned into a pitch ck vortex,pletely blurring Mist Demon King into it.
Only her murderous voice filled with hatred resounded in that library,
¡°Cedric, even if you won this battle, the war is just starting¡¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
¡ª
At this moment, a carriage without any mount pulling it had reached the outskirts of the de domain, only a couple of miles away from the de domain.
Inside the carriage, two masked demons were sitting, and they were none other than mysterious Imperial Envoys who has been searching for Sky Stealer around the former Ocean Demon Duchy.
The killer couldn¡¯t help but said in a doubtful tone, ¡°My Lord, why are we going toward de Domain?¡±
The masked demon replied, ¡°Heh, we¡¯ve been searching for months after dealing with that impudent tribe, and we didn¡¯t find any traces of that rat. In the end, I conclude the rat might have already entered a higher hunting ground. Don¡¯t you already find the pattern? First, he appeared in a marquis level tribe, then a duke level, so what could be his next target?¡±
Killer¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Although I wanted to agree with milord, but even I found it extremely unlikely. King Domains are nothing like those backwater tribes, and they¡¯re our hidden trump cards and defensive lines against intruders. How can a mere thief break into one easily?¡±
¡°Heh, you see, here are you extremely wrong? That thief is extremely cunning, and he¡¯ll go to thest ce we expect him in the least, and that rat is ying a game with us.
¡°Don¡¯t you remember the message he left with hex? ¡®I¡¯m Back¡¯. It was a taunt meant for someone, and I think he was referring to us, and he might already know why we¡¯re here after we destroy the first city.
¡°Furthermore, he¡¯s trying to humiliate us by doing these thieveries in tribes under our control, and if this continues, many will lose faith in us. So, if he wanted to give us the biggest blow, where do you think he¡¯ll go and which target he¡¯ll choose?¡± the masked demon mysterious question.
Killer¡¯s eyes gleamed coldly, ¡°There aren¡¯t many influences that can shake others¡¯ belief in the royal zone, and there are only three, King Domains, Life Demon Association, and Royal Council. If any three of them were to fall or suffer any incident under our protection, it will be an immense blow to our prestige and people started to doubt our authority.¡±
¡°Exactly. So, if that hex demon is trying to create chaos and wanted to give us trouble, he¡¯ll go toward a king domain because all these tree ces can only be found in a king domain.
¡°Furthermore, if he somehow pulled a stunt in any of these three crucial influences, we can¡¯t punish them extremely like we were doing to a marquis or duke tribes. This will also backfire on us since it will be seen as we¡¯re bullying the weak, and we can bendws when ites to our people.¡± His voice was deadly cold in the end.
Killer¡¯s eyes turn gloomy, ¡°If that is the case¡ aren¡¯t we falling that bastard trap and ying in his hand?!¡±
He didn¡¯t admit nor did he rebuke and merely said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but if that guy had thought this far, then we can¡¯t let him do as he pleases anymore.
¡°However, this also makes him predictable, and we can easily entrap him as long as he dared toe into any king¡¯s domain, he¡¯s going to fall right into our trap. Besides, we¡¯re already sent the bait to lure him out. There¡¯s no need to search for him anymore!¡±
Chapter 423 Clash with Houses Assassin
In the outskirts of the de domain were Stone Hills,
Deep inside stone hills, inside a well-hidden cave filled with darkness.
At this moment, a pair of glowing dark eyes snapped open and if anyone would¡¯ve peered in them, they could¡¯ve bewitched in an instant and might¡¯ve lost their soul.
Thereupon, a melodious voice sounded full of rapture, ¡°I finally managed to breakthrough in Soul River Realm and this new ability¡ hehe, I can¡¯t wait to show it to the leader. House Status!¡±
______
[Thief House Member Status]
[House Member: Noa Night (Female)]
[Race: Demon]
[Bloodline: Night Demon (Grade-1 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
¡ª
[Thief Genre: Thief Assassin (Novice)]
[House Rank: Old Member (Upgradeable)]
[Next Rank [Excellent Member]: 3/5,000 Thieveries]
¡ª
[Soul Cultivation: Soul River (Empty Soul River)]
-Innate Soul Ability(s): 2
1. No Kill
[Description: Completely hide Thief Assassin¡¯s Killing Intent and Life Aura]
2. ¡.
[Description: ¡]
¡ª
[Talent: Low (Upgradeable)]
¡ª
[Technique & Skills: 7]
-Cultivation Technique(s):
1. Thief Assassin Principles: Third Realm
-Body Refinement Technique(s):
1. Night Demon Body Transformation: (Not Cultivate)
-Cultivation Art(s):
1. Endless Shadow Daggers Rainfall:
Shadow Rain Dance: Low
Stormy Shadow Rain: None
Endless Shadow Rainfall: None
-Skill(s):
1. Thief Assassin¡¯s Soul Steps: Low
2. Thief Assassin¡¯s Soul View: Low
4. Thief¡¯s Charity (Inverse & Reverse): Low
3. Soul Threats: Intermediate
-Treasure(s): 1
1. Endless Night Daggers Set [32 Pin-Daggers]: Grade- 4
¡ª
[House Point(s): 7,350]
¡ª
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 0]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
¡ª
[House Shop: Thief Assassin]
______
Noa couldn¡¯t help but marvel at her status, which had gone through a tremendous change from years ago, and it had be extremely detailed. She couldn¡¯t help but admire this ¡®divine blessing¡¯ again and again.
¡®I should start cultivating the body refinement technique while advancing in my soul alchemy. I need to be a grade-1 soul alchemist before I can create those medicinal liquids.
¡®Only then I can purchase the Thief Assassin Invisible Cloaking thest soul art in the shop. Then I can solely focus on upgrading my bloodline and I will also increase my cultivation speed.
¡®But to do all this, I have to enter a king¡¯s domain, but it¡¯s hazardous. Some people were searching this area three months ago and without my No Kill, I would¡¯ve been discovered.
¡®I wonder when the leader wille for me and take me away¡¡¯ She couldn¡¯t help but think with a hint of anticipation and yearning.
However, a sudden voice snapped her out of her daydreaming,
_____
[Thief House Leader (Ace White) has issued a mission]
_____
Noa was startled before happiness filled her heart as she quickly opened the mission. She knew Ace would seldom contact her andst time he did, to inquire about her safety, though.
She was looking forward to it, this time.
¡ª
[Thief House Leader Mission]
-Mission: Time to meet!
Description: Meet me at Stone Hill Pass.
-Reward: One Life Escape Coin
Time: 7 Days
Punishment: None!
_____
¡°Finally!¡± she rumbled in tion before she quickly left her hidden cave and vanished into the dark night.
?[0??]? ¡ª
Stone Hill Pass was like a barricade that marked the final boundary between de Domain and the entire Mighty de Province, and only after crossing this stone hill pass will one truly enter the de Domain.
Furthermore, this stone hill pass was tightly secure and a de demon envoymand it the entire year to make sure no one unqualified entered de Domain, and it was also the first defensive line of de domain.
At this moment, a hooded figurepletely invisible to all those guards and all the arrays and formations cross the enormous gates of the stone hill pass, leaving the de domain.
No one notice anything and keep doing their usual work, nor did it trigger any kind of trap, as if that hooded figure could easily see the positions of those traps.
¡®Heh, I never thought Live Mapping¡¯s ability to pinpoint traps will be so useful, I can avoid all of them and I don¡¯t need soul-shattering eyes as long as I don¡¯t want to theft some treasury¡¡¯
This invisible hooded figure was indeed Ace in his heartless stealth and as for what he was doing here instead of the shadow mountain range, it was obviously to meet Noa.
The boundary of the entire shadow mountain range was covered with poison mist, so the participants couldn¡¯t leave before thepetition ended, or someone else won¡¯t enter.
However, Ace easily passed though that deadly poison mist since it didn¡¯t fear that level of poison and the array that can create that poison.
After he got the legacy treasure of Mist Demon Tribe, Mist Camouge Mask from Santos, he was nning to do this all along, so he could bring Noa inside the de domain and also deliver her soul medicine herbs he collected for her practice.
That was also why he was controlling his own ranking all this time, so he could leave without being worried, and Thomas also seemed to be doing just fine.
Furthermore, he also had another n for Noa, and it would be beneficial for both of them in a long run, especially Noa. He also felt bad to leave her alone on that remote stone hills.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
¡®I should be back before the first phase end and start my investigation for my mission¡¡¯ Ace mused as he speeded up and moved toward the dense forest.
Ace found a secluded ce close to the stone hill pass and waited for Noa.
Although they didn¡¯t have a meeting point, he could find her with her soul signature.
Time passed, it was already the secondst day of their meeting deadline.
The full moon illuminates the surrounding with its gentle light. Ace¡¯s eyes suddenly snapped open at this moment and a smile appeared on his face before he vanished from his spot.
Three hundred meters south from Ace¡¯s waiting spot, a shadow shed past trees with astonishing precision and moved toward the stone hill pass.
However, at this moment, an icy voice rang, startling this shadow. ¡°Who are you sneaking around this ce? Show yourself!¡±
The shadow trembled slightly before it turned around, revealing a cloaked person, and in front of this person was standing a tall green skin demon,pletely visible under the moonlight.
¡°Hmph!¡± A cold snort rang before the cloaked personpletely vanished. Even her presence was gone, with no trace.
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡®This no-kill is really something even my soul sense can¡¯t detect anything, and she had already entered the Soul River Realm.¡¯
At this moment, Ace suddenly felt a cold sensation surrounding his neck from all directions, and quickly used his misperception steps to dodge!
¡®ng¡¡¯
Sharp voices of metal smashing together rang after Ace moved from his position, and Ace¡¯s eyes contracted when he saw twelve pitch ck daggers hovering in a circle.
Those de daggers were eight inches long and extremely thin and sharp like pins. If not for their small handles, one couldn¡¯t fathom they were daggers or ordinary pins.
¡®Endless Night Daggers Set! Even a river core realm will be dead by that ambush!¡¯
Ace¡¯s expression turned serious when he realized just how deadly a thief assassin was with that dagger set and soul cultivation art.
However, Noa didn¡¯t give him any chance, and those twelve daggers suddenly turned into ck streaks and shot toward Ace.
¡°Not happening!¡± He coldly grunted before using his swords, brandished with light Qi.
¡°Hehe, you¡¯re dead!¡± Noa¡¯s voice buzzed at this moment from a few inches away from Ace¡¯s ears, which make Ace¡¯s heart tremble.
¡°Not good!¡± Ace felt goosebumps all over, and he knew if he didn¡¯t do anything, he really might be died by his own member¡¯s hand.
The white Qi suddenly turned into pitch ck and a dark sheen surrounded the edges of his sword. ¡°Dual Shadow Mirage: Ten Thousand Shadows Mirage!¡±
The dark Qi suddenly turned into a dark sword storm before shing with Noa¡¯s daggers and her sneak attack.
Noa¡¯s eyes went wide, and she yelped in rm, but she didn¡¯t back down and used her movement technique to dodge all those dark sword streaks. But she still underestimated Ace¡¯sst move of his dual shadow mirage sword art.
She didn¡¯t even know how, but those shadow ck streaks multiplied suddenly and turned into thousands!
However, before those thousands of sharp des enveloped her, they all suddenly vanished and Ace appeared again with an embarrassing smile on his face.
He said with a defeated sigh, ¡°You know, from the start, it was me!¡±
Noa couldn¡¯t help butin with a hint of smugness, ¡°Humph¡ It¡¯s the leader¡¯s fault for ying this kind of prank on me. But how do you know so quickly I was ying along?¡±
Ace said while rubbing the brig of his nose in embarrassment and replied, ¡°Well, if you have killing intent toward me, you would¡¯ve been punished because of house rules. I just realized itter.
¡°But I have to say, you force me to use my sword art and my real Qi. But I still didn¡¯t understand how do you know it was me since you didn¡¯t know I can use light element Qi?¡±
Chapter 424 End of the First Phase
¡°¡ how do you know it was me since you didn¡¯t know I can use another element Qi?¡±
Ace couldn¡¯t help but ask since this confused him because he never revealed this identity to Noa nor did he tell her about his unique element Qis, so he was surprised by how Noa know it was him.
Noa¡¯s eyes shimmered mysteriously, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know how the Leader could use the light element Qi. But the leader didn¡¯t know that in the entire demon race, there was not a single demon tribe that had an affinity with the light element! So, it wasn¡¯t hard to know who could use the light element in the demon race. Besides, I also have learned new soul-ability. It also helped.¡±
Ace finally remembered the demon race deemed the creature ording to the system, so using the light element was a colossal blunder. However, he was more interested in her new ability.
¡®Could it be just like my soul signature?¡¯ Ace guessed with skepticism.
¡°Tell me more about this ability?¡± Ace asked.
Noa replied truthfully with a hint of excitement, ¡°It¡¯s called, ¡®Assassin Mark¡¯, it can not only help me lock on a target soul but after the Assassin-Mark is sessfully locked any attack at the target will have a 100% connect rate.
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if they are soul attacks or physical attacks, they will connect within a fifty-meter radius area. And as long as they didn¡¯t leave fifty meters away from me, I can sense them even if they used some treasure.
¡°As for the leader, my Assassin Mark failed, and I instantly know your soul was stronger than me, and when you used the martial Qi, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess who can have a powerful soul despite martial cultivation.¡±
Ace couldn¡¯t help but be startled by this Assassin Mark ability. It was like a marker of death, and even he didn¡¯t notice Noa using it on him, despite his strong soul cultivation..
He took a deep breath and said, ¡°But I could¡¯ve possessed a soul defensive treasure, right? Then what you¡¯ll do?¡±
Noa chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s where Leader is wrong, you see, no matter what kind of defensive soul treasure you had, as long as my soul is stronger than yours the Assassin Mark will lock on you. Then there was your mission and also that sword intent, so I quickly know it was you.¡±
Ace couldn¡¯t help but wryly smile, ¡°It seemed you¡¯ll be a nightmare for your enemies with Assassin Mark and No Kill. Even I felt envious of those two abilities.¡±
Noa rebuke with a hint of tion by Ace praise, ¡°Please don¡¯t joke around. I know if you were using your true skills, I wouldn¡¯t stand a chance, just like that sword torrent I almost shredded into pieces.¡±
Ace slyly chucked and didn¡¯t tell her thest move was based on soul Qi, and it was just a mirage created by soul Qi, and only some of those shes were the real deal.
Albeit, it was extremely deadly since it gave Ace the chance to sneak attack while the others had no clues about the nature of Ten Thousand Shadow Mirage.
Right now, he could only create real thousand shadow mirages or two thousand if he gave it his all.
Nheless, he was still d that Noa was bing more strong and more cheerful after the ocean demon tribe¡¯s destruction. She wasn¡¯t as cold and indifferent as before.
However, she was only warm to him and still cold and indifferent towards others and that was why she was an assassin, no lives matter to her except Ace anymore!
¡°Well, since you¡¯re doing just fine, I don¡¯t need to worry about you anymore. Here, I have gifts for you.¡± Ace smiled and give twenty storage rings to her.
Noa ept with some anticipation and quickly banded all the storage rings with her soul mark and when she examined them, her eyes went wide with disbelief.
Five storage rings were filled with all kinds of soul medicines and ten of them were filled with grade martial medicines, while thest five were filled with grade Qi stones and some talismans from the system.
¡°T-this¡?¡±
¡°Haha, I got all of this from Livy and the ocean demon treasuryst time. Albeit, I used all the soul pills. I save all those soul materials for you so you could practice your soul alchemy, and there might be materials you needed for your body refinement technique there, as well.
¡°You should practice that technique as soon as possible because all those demons from the demon king grade n had cultivated body refinement techniques to some levels, and they¡¯re truly strong.¡± Said, Ace.
Noa¡¯s expression turned serious hearing this and nodded, ¡°I understand. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t disappoint you. This will really help me greatly.¡±
Ace nodded and his expression turn grim as he said, ¡°I also have another mission for you and I think you would profit from it the most, and it will also help me with my next thievery as well. But it will be extremely dangerous, though.
¡°Although I give you a life escape coin and some talismans to you, it still might leave you half dead if you make any mistake. I want your honest thoughts about it?¡±
Noa said without even thinking, ¡°Please don¡¯t look down on me. I have received so much from you, I don¡¯t want to be a burden.¡±
Ace sighed before a white mask appeared in his hand and give it to Noa, ¡°This is the Mist Camouge Mask, a legacy treasure from the mist demon. It can help you store three faces and change your appearance and cultivation ordingly.
¡°It would help you enter the de domain and also support you in your mission, while I¡¯ll be ying Feng for a while longer. You also don¡¯t have to be afraid of manifestation realm cultivation as well.¡±
Noa was startled when Ace said Mist Demon Tribe because she knew there was only one mist demon tribe and there weren¡¯t many who dare to mess with that tribe, much less steal their legacy treasure.
Furthermore, this mask was far more precious because of its functions. She didn¡¯t know how Ace got his hands on it, but she with it, she could move around freely as long as she didn¡¯t make any mistakes.
After Noa received the mask, Ace solemnly said, ¡°So, here¡¯s the n. First, you need to find a face¡
Ace disclosed his n, and they discussed it for a few hours before he left Noa to do her own thing after issuing the system¡¯s mission.
As long as she did ording to his n, they both going to cause an incredible uproar!
¡ª
It was already thest day off to de domainpetition and many demons were eagerly waiting to go back.
They had all undergone a baptism of blood and all of them had a cold aura around them because of the harsh environment they live in for five months.
Albeit thepetition was extremely cruel and unfair to de Domain Participants, they had to admit this factor also strengthened them and give them an urate idea about their fighting abilities and their ws.
The moment of thest day was over.
Everyone, no matter if they were from the de domain or the mist domain, their wristbands suddenly glow and a solemn voice sounded.
¡°First Phase is over, the wristbands are also sealed, and they no longer recorded your points anymore, so there¡¯s no need to fight anymore.
¡°Participants from Mist Domain, please head toward the northern exit of the outer region.
¡°Participants from de Domain, please head toward the southern exit of the outer region.
¡°Everyone will get further instruction from your escorts¡¡¯n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Everyone started to cheer with happiness and relief. They all knew they were extremely lucky to leave with their life, and they deserved this moment of happiness.
Many demons from both sides sighed helplessly because they didn¡¯t manage to achieve their goals for various reasons.
Nevertheless, everyone started to move toward their respective exits without more fighting while some demons still try to kill some demons who they had personal grievances with while others simply looked the other way.
¡ª
While thisrge movement was started in the shadow mountain range, two demons were standing in a remote region between two provinces.
One of them was surrounded by a dark mistpletely blurring her appearance, while the other one was a handsome middle-aged demon who had a huge grin on his face as if he was enjoying seeing that dark, glooming mist around this figure.
They were both Mist Demon King and de Demon King, meeting after thepetition to conclude the result of their bet, which they made a few months ago after the mist demon king¡¯s provocation.
de Demon King jeeringly said, ¡°I know you¡¯re angry, and that¡¯s why you¡¯re hiding your face. But don¡¯t even think that I would forget about my reward just because you¡¯re not feeling happy.
¡°ording to our bet, if your domain participants managed to hunt down three of these five participants, ¡®Feng, Ramiro, Jaxx, Thomas, and Alora, I will hand over my Soul Tracking Talisman.
¡°However, if they failed, you will politely hand over the Sky Sword Manual, and we had already signed a soul contract, and it was also your idea, so hand it over!¡±
Chapter 425 Furious Demon King
¡ hand it over!¡± de Demon King¡¯s voice was full of relish and sarcasm as he looked at blurry Mist Demon King.
From the start, it was her idea to start this bloodypetition, and she had already decided to bet against him and even the structure of the bet. Everything was ready, and all was left for him to take the bait, which he did.
Although, it wasn¡¯t like de Demon King¡¯s character to bet on someone¡¯s life without them knowing. However, Sky Sword Manual was too important for his son¡¯s future, so he became pitiless in an instant.
Mist Demon King also calcted thoroughly and select those five names, knowing that de Demon King would never reject this bet if she chose the strongest contestants from the de domain and everything go exactly as she nned.
She even sneaked in Santos before signing the soul contract with de Demon King, and it was supposed to be an easy win, but Santos mysteriously died all of a sudden, demolishing her entire n.
As for the third prince, she knows he couldn¡¯t hunt those five because his talent was mediocre, and he was only there to receive and deliver ¡®goods¡¯.
There was something else de Demon King didn¡¯t know. It was Mist Demon King has never sent the best of her mist domain in that bloodypetition and sent them to a mysterious ce to train. All those demons were just cannon folds, and their deaths mattered little to her. She only cared about her children.
A white streak sh past from the dark mist toward de Demon King, and he caught it without any hesitation. He knew under the soul contract they can¡¯t attack each other, and she can¡¯t dy or hold on to the reward either.
That was why he knew it was what he won..
He saw it was a four-inch cylindrical shape white-jade and small words were carved on it in ancient demonnguage ¡®Sky Sword Manual¡¯.
His eyes instantly lit up in tion and eximed whileughing, ¡°Hahaha, so this sword art is inscribed in a Jade Scroll! Truly worth being an Upper-Grade Sky Rank Sword Art. My Peter is going to soar in the sky soon!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Jade Scrolls were mysterious methods of ancient times to preserve knowledge and save it for a very long time. They were also very convenient to transfer an excessive amount of knowledge within an instant and imprint it in the user¡¯s knowledge sea.
However, the methods of making jade scrolls have been long-lost and there weren¡¯t many remaining in this world.
Only tribes like demon king grade tribes have one or two of these jade scrolls and every one of them has at least a sky rank technique, skill, or art inscribed in them.
There were many ancient sites where these jade scrolls can be found, but it all depended on luck in the end.
Suddenly Mist Demon King¡¯s sardonic voice sounded, who was silent for this entire time, ¡°Heh, why don¡¯t you take a look at this sword art first?¡±
de Demon King¡¯sugh came to an abrupt halt, and he felt a forbidding feeling rising in his heart after hearing what Mist Demon King just said, and he quickly used his Qi to activate the jade scroll.
Thereafter, only one sentence entered his knowledge sea from the jade scroll of the sky sword manual, not the entire sword art, which made him gobsmacked. de Demon King¡¯s expression clouded and his sharp aura suddenly surged with rage, subsequently!
Mist Demon King¡¯s derisive voice sounded at this moment, ¡°Heh, as you can see, this Sky Sword Art is actually a Secret Cultivation Art, and the requirement to cultivate it is a fable¡ Element Sword Intent!
¡°Not only that, but this Jade Scroll is an extremely high-level one, and only someone with an element sword intent can unlock it and get the real sword art. If anyone tries to forcibly open it, the jade scroll will self-destruct.
¡°I was just holding on to it for you, so tell me, do you like what you won, dear Cedric?¡±
Thick veins were bulging all over de Demon King¡¯s forehead, and he was clenching his teeth that his gums almost shattered. He knew he has been duped by Mist Demon King¡ again.
He finally understood why she was willing to bet an Upper-Grade Sky Rank Cultivation Art, which can make his tribe extremely strong. She simply didn¡¯t care if she loses because she knew this secret cultivation art would be useless to him or anybody else as a matter of fact.
Just the requirement to open this jade scroll and get the secret sword art was extremely harsh, not to talk about the real thing.
An element of sword intent hadpletely vanished for a very long time because it was just too difficult toprehend.
de Demon King only found out about Sky Sword Manual from an ancient record, and it was supposed to be the legacy sword art of the Sky Sword Demon Tribe from ancient times. This tribe has been extinct from this world for a very long time.
He even managed to locate their ancient rune because he wanted to get this apparently sky-rank sword art for Peter. After all, his tribe¡¯s de art didn¡¯t suit him.
But somehow that site was already raided and someone already got there before him and he simply sighed helplessly and forget about the entire thing, nor did he research this matter any further.
Well, until Mist Demon King revealed the sword was in her hand and all that happened afterward.
¡°Mist, you tramp!¡± He couldn¡¯t help but cursed out loud. He was so angry that the surrounding was turned into a mess just by his raging aura.
Mist Demon King¡¯s icy voice sounded at this moment, ¡°What, you want to attack me or my domain? Let me remind you, in the soul contract, there was also a term; after the bet was over, we¡¯ll not interfere with each other, neither did we attack each other and both domains for Ten Years! Hehehe¡ albeit, I really like your current expression, I might say!¡±
de Demon King wanted to go on a rampage, but he knew the moment he did, he¡¯ll suffer a terrible bacsh from the soul contract and life-threatening soul injury.
Then Mist Demon King can easily kill him, and his tribe will be destroyed by others. Furthermore, suffering soul injuries at their level was not aughing matter, and soul healing medicine that can heal them was extremely rare.
That was why he didn¡¯t dare to attack. Mist Demon King¡¯s scheme was just too good, and shepletely defeated him!
¡°Just you wait, I have enough of your dirty tricks, and this time you have gone too far and yed with my emotions¡ again! In ten years, there¡¯ll be the first ever Domain War in five thousand years, and I¡¯m going to destroy you. Even your husband cannot stop me this time!¡±
de Demon King dered with thick killing intent and left like the wind without listening to Mist Demon King¡¯s reply. He knew if he stayed here any longer, he might pop a blood vessel from fury or do something reckless.
Mist Demon King remained standing in her position for a long time after de Demon King¡¯s furious departure.
¡°I¡¯m afraid, you won¡¯t be able to escape my husband¡¯s wraith either once he found out his son was dead, and he¡¯s not bound by soul contract¡ I¡¯ll let your entire domain apany my son in the afterlife¡ hehehehehe¡¡±
Mist Demon King¡¯s eerilyughter suddenly rang in the vicinity with icy killing intent¡
¡ª
Right outside the gates of Outer de Domain.
A vast crowd of young demons was gathering around arge tform, and these young demons were emitting a murderous aura, making the ce extremely intimidating.
These demons were all the surviving participants from the first phase, and they werepletely different from five months ago. Before they were like diamonds in the rough, but now they were like sharp swords.
This was the innate gift of the demon race; the more they fought between life and death, the more they be strong and evolved into merciless demons.
At this moment, five demons appeared on the towering tform and many young demons suddenly eximed.
¡°T-they are¡ de Demon Envoys and five of them together!¡±
¡°They are all soul realm cultivators, and you see that red skin demon with spiky white hair, that is Lord White Fire, the most powerful de envoy!¡±
Many heard those voices, and they all mored because it was too rare for them to see a de envoy, much less five of them altogether, and the most powerful de demon envoy was one of them.
White Fire, who had a middle-aged square face and bright white eyes, had a fierce expression on his face and he suddenlye forward and roar firmly while spreading his peak diamond soul realm aura,
¡°Silence!¡±
Chapter 426 Rewards of First Phases
¡°Silence!¡±
His frightening heavy voice reverberate in the entire vicinity and everyone stopped doing whatever they were doing and looked toward the White Fire.
White Fire continued, ¡°Foremost, I will congratte every one of you for surviving and making it here alive. You all deserved this!¡±
Everyone¡¯s eyes shimmered with pride, but the White Fire was still not done.
¡°I know most of you are still resentful about the sudden interference of the mist domain, and about us not taking any action and blocking the exit. I will only say this much about it, ¡®In this world, nothing is fair or unfair, if you¡¯re capable, make it fair and if you¡¯re not, then you can either survive or just died under the feet of those who decided what fair or unfair¡¯!¡±
His voice was full of disdain as he scornfully looked at those demons clinching their fist in anger, but didn¡¯t dare to rebuke him because of his power and status.
He knows he said nothing wrong, and everyone got the point as well. He was simply saying, ¡®if you¡¯re unhappy, do something about it, I¡¯m right here¡¡¯
White Fire coldly smiled, seeing everyone remain silent, ¡°Heh, since no one isining, then let¡¯s move on to the next point.
¡°ording to the first phase, which was ¡®Hunting¡¯, everyone was given five months to hunt down the demonic beasts and collect kill points ording to your assignments..
¡°As for the results, I have to say, I¡¯m very disappointed and so does his majesty. You all should be ashamed of yourself for calling yourself demons. You all are nothing but a bunch of tyrants in your own house, nothing special. It would be a disgrace to word geniuses if I call you all geniuses!¡±
The atmosphere suddenly turned extremely grim as many young demons stare daggers at White Fire, but they didn¡¯t reprimand him because they knew he can easily kill them without being worried about consequences.
White Fire coolly said, ¡°What? Not agree with me? Let me tell you, there were a total of 31,500,222 participants who registered and enter the shadow mountain range five months ago.
¡°Do you know how many of you came back alive? 20, 238,154, which means over 11 million demons died in this first phase. Now tell me, if you all are not worthless, then what are you?¡±
Everyone was shocked to hear that number because it was just too huge, and they felt ashamed, not proud anymore.
Although most of them still me mist domain interference for this astronomical death rate, deep down they knew it was all because they live in peaceful environments for too long and in face of real danger they were nothing.
They were all known as geniuses of the mighty de province, but they were only geniuses in r ownfort zone, and now they face the ugly truth in the cruelest way possible.
Moreover, it was just the training program, not even the real demon gate trail, where geniuses from all over the eight provinces will battle.
This was an awakening call for them!
White Fire also wanted to achieve this same result and said, ¡°It¡¯s not toote to realizer your own shorings and improve, you all still have over a year to improve yourselves and prove me wrong¡ no, prove everyone wrong that you¡¯re not just bunch of house flowers but demons who aren¡¯t afraid of challenges!¡±
All those four envoys smiled, seeing the resolved expressions of all those young demons. They knew White Fire was just motivating them in his own way, and he had achieved it. They expect nothing less from White Fire, the fourth-strongest expert, and the knightmander of the mighty de province.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
¡°Now, back to business.¡± White Fire¡¯s solemn voice sounded again, ¡°Those who achieve their target please move to the right side, and those who didn¡¯t achieve the sufficient amount of kill points move to the life.¡±
Thereupon, demons started to move quickly and some demons with sly expressions try to move to the winning side despite being unqualified.
White Fire seemed to sense their thoughts and coldly sneered, ¡°Oh, and don¡¯t try to y any tricks. We can easily check your wristbands for verification, and if we found you waste our time, the consequences will be dire.¡±
Those cunning demons perspired and quickly changed their directions without hesitation.
After half an hour, the enormous crowd of demons split into two sides, onerge, one small.
White Fire looked at therge crowd and coolly said, ¡°There are over 15.8 million demons who failed the first phase. But it doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t enter the demon gate trial. It is just that you all won¡¯t be able to go there with the de domain group anymore, neither you can take part in the second or third phase of training. You all are on your own.
¡°However, to show appreciation toward your efforts, His Majesty Demon King has decided to give each one of you 200 Reward Points. Now, you all follow the Dark de Envoy and go to the Tanning Guild and exchange your reward point with anything on the reward list after showing your wristbands. Dismissed!¡±
All demons sighed bitterly and followed the masked Dark de Envoy toward the outer domain with dejected expressions. They knew it was over for them, and now they can only depend on their tribes again.
Everyone knows from the start that thepetition will be fierce and those who couldn¡¯t keep up will be left behind just like now.
After the losers left, only winners remain with excited expressions on their faces.
White Fire smirked and announced, ¡°There are 4,193,871 demons who passed the first phase, and you are all eligible to enter the inner domain. You will all get 1000 Reward Points and may exchange them for rewards in the training guild of the inner region.
¡°Now, those with glowing wristbands can stay and others will follow Ocean de Envoy toward the inner domain. You all have seven days of rest before the second phase will start. Dismissed.¡±
¡°Everyone except the glowing marked participants, follow behind me.¡± Ocean de Envoy smiled warmly before he shot an ambiguous glimpse in a particr direction and left with the eligible contestants.
Those who left had a powerful murderous aura around them, and they could all feel they were probably the strongest among all the de domain participants.
Ace was naturally among those who stayed, staring in the direction where the ocean de envoy left before ncing at them.
¡®Don¡¯t tell me that the old demon wanted vengeance on Feng?¡¯ Ace mused grimly.
He couldn¡¯t help but felt somewhat apprehended because the old ocean duke was a peak Qi diamond soul cultivator and if he decided to make things difficult for him or try to assassinate him, it would be terrible for his identity.
¡°Haha, brother Feng, I finally found you!¡±
Ace was snapped out of his daze by a familiar, joyous voice and looked at the tan skin demon with a skinny constitutioning in his way with a big smile on his face.
However, the name ¡®Feng¡¯ also draw everyone¡¯s attention to him and all the remaining demons gawked at him with hostility, envy, resentment, shock, and adoration. There was a myriad of emotions in their eyes.
They all know who Feng Demon Sword was, an absolute genius!
Ace smiled wryly, seeing everyone¡¯s attention on him, but hepletely ignored them. If he was afraid of attention, he would never stand out in thispetition.
He looked at Thomas, who was already a few feet away from him, and said in annoyance, ¡°I was feeling much better in that cramp crowd, sigh¡¡±
Thomas¡¯s skinny face has even further withered, and his aura was also somewhat unstable. But his eyes were still bright and couldn¡¯t help but scoffed at Feng¡¯s joke, ¡°You¡¯ll never find a wife with that attitude of yours.¡±
Ace¡¯s expression grimaced slightly when he felt Thomas¡¯s aura and looked at him seriously, ¡°So, who was it and when will you going to ask my help?¡±
Although he knew the answer, he still wanted to hear it from Thomas.
Thomas couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly. He knew it was now meaningless to hide from Feng anymore after almost dying, and he also knew he needed helpers. Furthermore, he knew Feng was already marked by his second brother, so hiding it from him will only put him in more danger.
He sighed and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it after we returned.¡±
Ace nodded and didn¡¯t pursue any further, and at this moment White Fire¡¯s voice rang again.
¡°Now, let me tell you why were you kept here. First, I must congratte you all for entering the top ten thousand in 31 million, and you all are the most powerful ten thousand youths of our de domain.
¡°Not only you¡¯ll get 1000 reward points from before, you¡¯ll all get an extra 5000 Reward Points and an audience with His Majesty, the de Demon King!¡±
Chapter 427 Entering the Inner Domain
¡°Not only you¡¯ll get 1000 reward points from before, you¡¯ll all get an extra 5000 Reward Points and an audience with His Majesty, the de Demon King!¡± White Fire announced with a faint smile.
Everyone¡¯s eyes shimmered with excitement. However, some of them look discouraged and most of them were from the wild tribes because they were only here for resources, and they worship their wild demon kings, not those from the eight provinces.
Thomas was also one of such demons, but his reason for being uninterested was because his father was also a demon king, so it didn¡¯t excite him at all.
Ace, on the other hand, wanted to see an actual soul manifestation cultivator, especially the de demon king, who hadprehended the real de intent.
White Fire continued, ¡°As for the top hundreds, you¡¯ll all get special rewards at the audience with his majesty in a week. Now you may follow Poison de Envoy. She¡¯ll lead you to the inner domain and the special lodging prepared for you all.¡±
Everyone¡¯s attention was drawn by the dark cloaked figure standing behind the White Fire and there was a hint of dread in their eyes because they all knew Poison de Envoy was a very dreadful existence and no one wanted to mess with it.
Furthermore, she was the only envoy who didn¡¯t have a duke title or any tribe behind her; she was nurtured by the silver de n into a poison master because of her special bloodline and traits.
Supposedly, even her slightest touch was poisonous, and that was why she always covered herself with a treasure cloak.
White Fire didn¡¯t care about those youngsters¡¯ difficult expressions and vanished from his spot after finishing his task and reported to the de demon king about their stay in the shadow mountain range and handed back the legacy formation of the de demon tribe, the Myriad Threads Qi Detection Formation.
Now only those ten thousand young demons left and the cloaked Poison de Envoy, who was giving off a very creepy feeling for some reason.-?(0??)?.
Finally, a hoarse, creepy voice sounded, ¡°Follow me.¡±
Some of them gulped before they quickly followed the Poison de Envoy from a safe distance.
Thomas couldn¡¯t help but whisper in a low voice, ¡°Brother Feng, do you think we¡¯ll be poisoned just by getting close to her?¡±
Ace found everyone¡¯s reaction quite amusing and scan the cloaked figure, who seemed somewhat dested, and shrugged as he said, ¡°Do you think they would have left us with her if they were the case?¡±
¡°Heh, I also had the same thought.¡± Thomas nodded.
¡°What are you two mumbling about?¡± A curious voice rang from behind them.
They both looked and saw a silver skin demon with crimson eyes, followed by a simr gorgeous girl with the same traits.
Ace and Thomas both greeted him, ¡°Your Highness, Peter.¡±
Peter merely nodded and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for formalities.¡± He then looked toward Feng with the slightest hostility and said, ¡°Although I lose in this round, I won¡¯t lose next time.¡±
Ace couldn¡¯t help but admire this guy a little because this prince didn¡¯t have any vanity when admitting his defeat and had an upright character. He didn¡¯t me anyone for his loss and admit it while also striving for improvement.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
He smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to it.¡±
¡°How boorish.¡± The beautiful girl beside Peter remarked with a hint of disdain.
Peter coldly said, ¡°Brenna, do not meddle in my business, and why are you following me?¡±
He looked at Feng and Thomas and said with an apologetic tone, ¡°Don¡¯t mind her. She¡¯s my cousin, Brenna, and always behaves this way.¡±
Brenna retorted as if she has been wronged by Peter, ¡°I¡¯m also your fianc¨¦, and I must follow you!¡±
Thomas grinned wildly all of a sudden and tease Peter, whose expression turned dark after Brenna talked back, ¡°Oh, so it was her highness the princess. Please forgive us for not greeting you early.¡±
¡°En.¡± Brenna nodded in acknowledgment and slightly blushed as she got even closer to Peter, which made him stare dagger at Thomas.
Ace was amused by Peter¡¯s angry reaction, but he could feel Peter wasn¡¯t angry at all. On the contrary, he was happy.
He also smiled and said, ¡°His Highness really chose a flower among flowers, not only her highness is beautiful, but she¡¯s also ranked within the top ten in thispetition. Please forgive my ignorance, your highness.¡±
¡°Hmph. As long as you know. Peter will not be going to lose next time!¡± She suddenly turned hostile when looking at Feng. She was unhappy that Peter was defeated by Feng.
Ace merely smiled and nodded. He didn¡¯t want to anger this love-blinded girl unless she does something which she regretted.
Peter red at Brenna, which made her snort in satisfaction, and she turned her head to the side as if she saw nothing.
Peter wryly smile and said, ¡°Just ignore her. I¡¯ll be going now. I was just here to greet you both and also to tell you to prepare yourself for the second phase. It will be extremely deadly.¡±
Thomas and Feng¡¯s expressions turned grave, and they solemnly nodded before they bid the couple farewell.
Thomas couldn¡¯t help butment with a gloomy expression, ¡°What do you think?¡±
¡°Troublesome,¡± Feng said inly.
0???.?0? ¡°Sigh¡ I¡¯m d Milly didn¡¯t take part in these trials. Even I almost died. I would never forget myself if something happened to her because of my selfishness.¡± Thomasment.
Ace was about to console him when he abruptly turned around and coldly nce in a particr direction and his eyesnded on a handsome pale white skin demon with brown eyes. He was looking at them with killing intent. Although it was hidden, Ace could sense it like a day.
Thomas also found Feng¡¯s sudden reaction questioning and looked in the direction, and he also locked on the pale white demon. He couldn¡¯t help menacingly utter with gritted teeth, ¡°JAXX!¡±
¡°So, he¡¯s the one who left you half dead, huh?¡± Feng teased, but there was a hint of killing intent in his voice.
Thomas retorted coldly, ¡°That bastard ambushed me with eleven others. Do you think you could escape without being half dead?¡±
¡°Maybe.¡± Ace ambiguously answered as he put his hand on Thomas¡¯s shoulder and seriously said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that guy, just don¡¯t run alone next time.¡±
Thomas threw onest murderous nce at Jaxx before looking ahead and sighing deeply and looking at Feng. ¡°I know, but you might die if you run beside me. Are you ready?¡±
Feng¡¯s lips curled into a confident smile. ¡°What do you think?¡±
Thomas shook his head resignedly, but a warm smile emerged on his face. ¡°Just don¡¯t cry afterward.¡±
Thereupon, everyone was led to a specific direction in the outer domain by Poison de Envoy, where many carriages were waiting for them and everyone embarked on them.
Ace and Thomas got a separate carriage because of their special status and while they were going toward the inner domain, Thomas told Ace about himself and the ongoing trial for the throne and his two brothers, who wanted to kill every heir.
Ace already knows about all this, so he wasn¡¯t much shocked. Heck, his knowledge about wild tribes was quite rich after he robbed three of the top participants¡¯ memories.
But what Thomas said in hisst sentence left him baffled, though.
¡°Truthfully, I don¡¯t want that throne and I just want to leave this ce with Milly and live a peaceful life away from my tribe. However, I can¡¯t achieve it if I stay on the maind because they will hunt us down no matter where we go. That¡¯s why the royal zone is the only haven for us. That¡¯s why I¡¯ll have to pass that trail no matter what. Those two assholes can shove that throne into their asses and that scheming old man can die for all I care¡¡±
Although it was hard to believe, Ace can tell he was telling the truth, but couldn¡¯t help but feel doubtful about Thomas¡¯s view of this situation. Because he fell into more danger if he entered the royal zone because of his potential, especially with his king-grade bloodline.
Nevertheless, he had nothing to offer him better than his bold n, and he could only remain silent and agreed with lending a helping hand.
But Ace also guessed Thomas has a backup n, and he won¡¯t throw his and Milly¡¯s life into more danger, so all he had to do was to lend him his help if he will it and if not put him in any danger.
Within three hours, they all cross the towering doors of the inner domain, and it won¡¯t be a lie to call this ce apletelyvished wondend. It was just too exaggerated; the streets were built with shiningrge bricks and all the buildings wererge and beautifully structured.
In the far center of the inner domain, one could see the vague silhouette of an enormous castle. It was the de demon castle!
Chapter 428 Overriding Slave Contracts
The top ten thousand participants were dropped outside a grand hotel, which was spread over three-thousand acres. This grand hotel was the most luxurious hotel in the inner domain and the most expensive one at that. But all the amodations for them were free because of obvious reasons.
Ace and Thomas also parted ways because Milly was staying with Maddux inside the de castle and someone was here to pick him up, Thomas also wanted Ace toe with him, but he rejected under the farce of his maids wereing here as well, and he can¡¯t abandon them.
But the real reason was he won¡¯t be able to move around freely if he entered the demon castle, and he wasn¡¯t here to rob that ce, or he might¡¯ve considered it.
After bidding Thomas farewell, he first found his room on the first floor, and it was the most expensive room, with both a high-end cultivation chamber and aboratory inside. And all the top hundred contestants were given such rooms.
This was also Ace¡¯s first time seeing aboratory. He can use it for alchemy, crafting, or rune crating with different arrays engraved in this room, and this became his new favorite ce.
He was practically none exhausted because this first phase wasn¡¯t much of a challenge to him, and he only did this to enter the inner domain with Feng¡¯s identity, or he could¡¯ve just sneaked in.
¡®I have wasted 152 days ying around, and only 348 days left before my mission¡¯s deadline. Although I got Eternal Thief Fate Compass and also find a silver fate location, I still wasted time.
¡®And If I go into this second phase, I would waste even more time and in thest phase, I¡¯m pretty such Demon King would monitor it himself, or he might monitor from the second phase, especially the top hundred contestants.
¡®I have been controlling my kill points all this time and remained at the top because I wanted the prestige thates with it and makes Feng even more untouchable. But it can also backfire,¡¯ Ace mused as hey on thefortable bed.
Although everything was moving smoothly and ording to his assumptions, he didn¡¯t have absolute control over everything, and with the slightest mishap, everything he worked for will copse.
Ace suddenly think of something and a small triangr shape token appeared in his hand. His eyes shone ambiguously as he muttered, ¡°I should first meet with that Lionheart Shop¡¯s owner and see how reliable that All-Knowing Parrot is before deciding to take any further action against him.¡±
Ace clearly remembered his first conversation with All-Knowing Parrot, and he asked him to go to this shop with this token if he required anything or any kind of exchange.
Although this offer was quite tempting for him, this would also put him in a disadvantageous position while the other part will stay in dark and monitor him.
But this didn¡¯t worry him too much, nor he was afraid of any hexes because of the system and All-Knowing Parrot didn¡¯t want an enemy like him either so even if he did something it won¡¯t be too excessive. Then there was the uing face-to-face meeting between them.
So Ace wanted to see the actual worth of the All-Knowing Parrot before deciding what to do with him.
In the evening, his two demon maids in flowery robes, Flora and Dolly, also arrived in his room, but their expressions were extremely downcast and Ace instantly notice it.
¡°Did something happen while I was gone?¡± He asked with narrowed eyes.
Ace knew Flora and Dolly can¡¯t scheme against him because of their stupid oath, and they werepletely loyal to him.
Flora¡¯s eyes suddenly turn teary, but she said nothing, but her Qi suddenly surge before a dark red mark appeared on her forehead and she squealed before it vanished, and she kneeled on the floor with an ashen expression.
Ace instantly identified that mark and his expression turn frosty. ¡°Someone forced you to sign a ve contract, and they wanted you to hurt me?¡±
Both of them nodded furiously as tears flow out of their eyes. It was clear they can¡¯t tell him this. That was why Flora used her cultivation to slightly resist the ve contract and the mark became apparent, so Ace could see it while she also suffered a bacsh.
Ace asked, ¡°Let me guess it was someone from four de ns?¡±
He knew only those four ns were darning enough to do such a thing in de domain, and they were the only enemy he had here, and he never thought after failing in the shadow mountain range they still won¡¯t give up.
They both had bewildered expressions on their faces, hearing this.
¡°Sigh¡ so they didn¡¯t tell you, huh, but I¡¯m sure it was them. Just tell me, if you can, how powerful the ve contract was?¡± Ace asked coldly.
Flora quickly said, ¡°It was high grade-2¡ I think. I¡¯m not sure, since I have never seen a higher-level contract.¡±
Ace suddenly smile hearing this and two thin ck sheets appeared in his hand, ¡°The easy way to break the ve contract is to destroy the medium. But there¡¯s another way I found recently. It is to override the ve contract with another ve contract, but it has to be a higher grade one from the ve contract you have already been enved with.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
¡°These are both low-grade four ve contracts I recently got from a dead rich scion. Just drop your blood on it, and you¡¯ll be freed from your ve imprints.¡±
Ace had naturally found this loophole in wild tribes¡¯ youths¡¯ memories and these contracts from Santos¡¯s storage ring. He never thought of override a ve contract was even possible, and it woulde in handy so quickly.
The two sisters¡¯ eyes shimmered with excitement as they quickly do what they were told and drop their blood on both contracts. Before long, dark red marks appeared on their forehead and vanished before new crimson marks appeared.
Ace was slightly astonished and smiled, ¡°See, now you¡¯re free. Keep these two contract mediums with you. This way, no one could enve you as long as they didn¡¯t have an intermediate grade-4 ve contract.¡±
However, Flora and Dolly didn¡¯t take them and said with a pleading expression, ¡°Please keep them, we¡¯re both dumb so if we lose them in the future we¡¯ll suffer cmity, so they will be safer with you, and besides we already your maids it doesn¡¯t matter if you enve us or not.¡±
Ace thought about it seriously and this made sense, so he stored those two ve contracts away to keep them safe.
ve Contracts were mostly used to control living beings or put restrictions on them, so as long as he didn¡¯t use the contract to control both sisters¡¯ actions, it doesn¡¯t matter to them if they were enved or not.
¡°Now, tell me what happened and when?¡± Ace grimly questioned again.
Both sisters gnashed their teeth as they remembered what had happened one month before.
It turned out that an extremely strong masked individual broke into their room at night, and he forced them to sign ve contracts even before they couldmit suicide.
After they were both bonded by the ve contract, it was extremely easy to control their actions, and they were instructed to wait until Feng came back from the shadow mountain range.
p¡¢and a-n¡¢o¡¢vel It was just yesterday that the same person approached them again and give them further instructions.
First, they had to give Feng a mysterious pill without being noticed by him, and after he took that pill; they had to lead him toward the west district of the inner domain, toward a specific inn.
Second, they would show a token given to them by that mysterious demon to the inn manager. Lastly, they had to kill five demons staying in that ce before returning with their heads and hiding them under Feng¡¯s bed.
Ace¡¯s expression was extremely frosty as he heard this n, which will not only ruin Feng¡¯s public image, he would¡¯ve suffered terrible consequences at the hands of thew enforcement department of the inner domain and might even be detained.
Afterward, it was extremely easy to deal with him and killed him inside the prison and no one would ever know how he died.
As for that mysterious pill, it was an extremely powerful poison that will block his meridians for a day before it¡¯ll vanish without any trace.
This was a perfect scheme to capture him within thew and the demon king won¡¯t interfere as well.
But they never would¡¯ve thought those two maids would not only reveal their ve marks despite the terrible bacsh, but Ace would easily override the ve contracts as well.
Even if Ace would¡¯ve taken that poison pill, it would never work on him and only given him EXP. This n would¡¯ve never seeded.
¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, the West District is under the Evil de n¡¯s control. I should visit that ce¡¡± A forbidding smile emerged on Ace¡¯s face!
Chapter 429 Life Demon Association Structure
Inner de Domain, the business district, was the area where all the important businesses of the de domain were.
Furthermore, this was also the location where one of the wealthiest organizations of the entire mighty demons¡¯ continent and a haven for life professions, the Life Demon Association¡¯s branch, were and also the Life Demon Treasure Pagoda!
No one dared to provoke those entrics because of their arrogant and erratic natures.
At this moment, inside a grand,vish hall, two old demons were staring at each other with hostile and vexed gazes and behind them were two middle-aged demons and three young demons who had fierce expressions on their faces as they red at each other.
Themon thing about these two groups as they all wore white and green robes. The only difference was one group had a golden pill emblem imprinted on their robes, while the other group had a rune symbol.
There was something more. They all had different numbers of small silver star shape emblems on their shoulders. The lowest number was 4 stars, while the highest was 9 stars.
p??(?)? ?o??? The four middle-aged demons had one golden star and one or two green stars.
As for those two old demons, they had astonishingly four golden stars and two green stars.
If anyone saw them, they would instantly know they were Intermediate-Grade-4 Alchemist and Intermediate-Grade-4 Rune Crafter!
Those Silver Stars represent the first nine ranks, while the golden stars represent the symbols of a legendary grade and the green stars indicate toward low, intermediate, and high stages of a legendary grade.
Thest thing that differs from those professions were the unique symbols in their robes. Alchemists had a golden pill symbol, and Rune Crafters and Runic Crafter Smiths had a golden rune symbol.
Lastly, the Crafter Smiths had an iron sword symbol, and they had the lowest status in the Life Demon Association, despite being the most in number.
Each branch of the Life Demon Association was controlled by one ¡®Life Grandmaster¡¯ while the second inmand were two Life Masters and these two old demons were exactly Life Masters of the de Domain, Life Demon Guild.
As for why these two Life Masters have such hostility toward each other, it was because of the rivalry between Alchemists and Rune Crafters, and it wasn¡¯t just the case with these two old demons, but the entire life demon association was this way.
These were the two biggest factions and alwayspete with each other for rich resources and prominent positions in the association, and the association also promotes this faction rivalry as long as they won¡¯t break any rules or do something hical.
The Alchemy Life Master, who had yellow skin and bright red eyes, finally said with pursed lips, ¡°Samuel, what are you doing here? Wouldn¡¯t you be cooped up with your stinky lines?¡±
The Runic Life Master named, Samuel, had crimson color skin with gray fiery eyes and long hair, he replied with a sneer, ¡°Old Ghost Kenny, you didn¡¯t know the immensity and beauty of runes so don¡¯tpare your fire y with noble rune crafting!¡±
¡°Heh, how about I use that fire y to burn your whole facility down?!¡± Kenny¡¯s eyes suddenly burned in a translucent crimson fire as the temperature plummeted.
Samuel¡¯s aura also spiked as white runes started to appear on his fingertips, and he snorted, ¡°Just try it. If I didn¡¯t seal that rotten mouth of yours, I would write my name backward!¡±
However, before those two old demons fight, an even more profound aura suddenly appeared in the grand hall and a sighing old voice sounded, ¡°Can you two stop quibbling like children each time you confront each other?¡±
Both old demons¡¯ eyes widen slightly before they quickly retracted their auras and quickly bow slightly toward the doors where a fossil-like brown skin old demon, with snowy long hair, was standing with an ambiguous smile on his wilt face.
Everyone greeted in unison.
¡°We pay respect to, Life Grandmaster Gatlin!¡±
Gatlin slowly walk inside the hall and said coolly like an elder, ¡°No need to bother yourself with formalities.¡±
Everyone became extremely respectful, even two life masters in front of this extremely old demon who seemed to be as weak as a dry tree branch, but his snowy eyes were full of vitality and profoundness.
Furthermore, this old demon wore the same robe with a golden pill symbol, and he had five golden stars on his shoulder and one green star, which was the symbol of a Low-Grade-Five Alchemist.
Moreover, the fifth grade was the highest grade anyone could reach in eight provinces and there were only eight in the eight provinces, including Gatlin.
All of these Life Grandmasters were extremely respectful figures, and even Demon Kings have to put a request if they wanted them to make pills or runic treasures.
Gatlin coolly said, ¡°I know why you two are here and what made you twoe out of your old caves. I heard a genius had appeared in our branch. She passed the test of the 4-star alchemist in soul alchemy twenty days ago, and yesterday, she passed the assessment for the nine-star alchemist.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
¡°Even this old man was astonished by this news, and this progressing speed is very close to the record of the founder. Even the Life Grandmaster in core domains investigating that little demon.¡±
Both Life Masters have an awkward expression on their faces as their hidden intentions were seen thought by Gatlin.
They were indeed here to fight over this mysterious genius who appeared right out of nowhere and took the entire eight provinces by storm with her dazzling aptitude in alchemy and control of the soul.
¡°Grandmaster, since you knew this, why don¡¯t you let me take her to the runic facility? I think she¡¯s more suited to be a rune crafter with her soul cultivation.¡± Samuel shamelessly dered.
Kenny spat disdainfully, ¡°Stop your nonsense. She¡¯s a soul alchemist, and she didn¡¯t choose rune crafting. You¡¯ll just ruin her if you teach her those swinger lines!¡±
Gatlin uttered imposingly before those two-start bickering again, ¡°No need, even those Life Masters wanted to ept her as their core apprentice. Do you think it¡¯s your turn to fight over her?¡±
Both life masters¡¯ expressions suddenly soured, and they looked toward Gatlin with disbelief expressions on their faces.
Gatlin suddenly grin and said with a hint of tion, ¡°Too bad for those old ghosts. The genius appeared in my branch, and I also happened to be a soul alchemist who had never received an apprentice before.
¡°Do you think I would let go of such a gem that can inherit my techniques and skills? Heh, I already epted her as a core disciple yesterday, and I¡¯m only here to tell you two to announce this news. Hahaha¡ being a master is really a unique feeling¡¡±
Gatlin left whileughing heartedly, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
¡ª
Soon this news flooded the eight provinces that the entric life grandmaster, Gatlin, of the Life Demon Association, finally epted a disciple who happened to be an absolute genius which startling aptitude in soul alchemy.
Many send congrattion gifts to curry favor with this rising star before she could mature, while those other life grandmasters cursed Gatlin to snatch such a genius from them.
However, those young male demons in the association have different ns altogether because that genius also happened to be an absolute beauty.
Nevertheless, thismotion had nothing to do with this particr demon who was standing outside arge shop which had a golden name board, ¡®Lionheart Medicinal Shop¡¯ and many customers were going in and out.
Ace couldn¡¯t help but think in admiration, ¡®No one can tell this shop belongs to a syndicate boss¡¡¯
Ace hade here after changing his appearance into another demon and no one could tell he was the rising sword earl, nor would they be able to monitor him.
After what happened to Flora and Dolly, he told them to stay in his room and sneak out to visit this shop because he needed something, and he can only buy it from here while remaining hidden. He also observed what kind of influence All-Knowing Parrot has and what can he do.
Ace entered the bustling shop, which had ten floors. The interior wasvishly decorated and there were all kinds of medicinal herbs behind ss disys.
A young, beautiful demoness approached him and respectfully asked in a gentle tone, ¡°Wee dear customer, what kind of medicinal herbs you¡¯re looking for? We have many types of herbs from 1-stars to high-grade-1.¡±
Ace looked at this young demoness and said with a smile, ¡°I want to meet this shop¡¯s owner. Can it be arranged?¡±
The demoness was startled and take another nce at Ace¡¯s appearance and no matter how much she looked; he looks extremely ordinary. But she didn¡¯t dare of offending him because anyone who can enter the inner domain wasn¡¯t ordinary.
¡°Please wait. I¡¯ll inform the manager, only she can help you with your request!¡±
Chapter 430 Meeting at Lionheart Shop
On the top floor of the lionheart shop, an enthralling demoness, with an oval face and pale white skin and violet eyes, and long hair, wearing a bright yellow dress. She was respectfully standing in front of a veil demoness with only her canny ocean blue eyes visible.
These two were none other than Aliya and All-Knowing Parrot!
Aliya said, ¡°My Lady, I just received the news that someone with a Diamond Parrot Token hase, and he¡¯s an unknown person. Furthermore, he wanted to see the owner¡ I think he¡¯s the person you gave the diamond parrot token a few months ago.¡±
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s eyes lit before she said, ¡°So, he came after all. It¡¯s only natural since thepetition has been ended two days ago. But he seemed to be in another disguise, yes?¡±
Aliya nodded, ¡°Yes, he¡¯s currently disguised as a Spear Worrier Demon or there¡¯s no way our people wouldn¡¯t recognize him.¡±
¡°Hehe, as expected of the man I had my eye on. Go, and do as nned, and observe him. I want every detail about this meeting. I can¡¯t show myself yet, he had to wait¡¡± All-Knowing Parrot snickered yfully.
Aliya hesitate for a moment before she said, ¡°But mydy, it¡¯s too dangerous for you to be here. Don¡¯t you send me here already? There was no need for you toe yourself so quickly. If someone were to find out, I¡¯m afraid¡¡±
Before she couldplete her sentence, All-Knowing Parrot coldly cut her short, ¡°Just do as you¡¯re told. I have my ns foring here this early!¡±
¡°Please forgive my rudeness!¡± Aliya quickly bowed before leaving.
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s eyes shone with a sharp glint as she watched Aliya leaving, ¡®You took the first ce despite knowing the dangers¡ what are you nning now¡¡¯
¡ª
After Ace showed the token to the manager, that was given to him by All-Knowing Parrot, the manager quickly led him to the ninth floor which was a waiting area for VVIP customers like him or to be more precise it was the area reserved for only All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s clients!
Furthermore, this ce was filled with many arrays and a concealing formation which make it perfect for underhanded deals.
A beautiful demoness was serving him high-quality wine, but he remained uninterested in any because his eyes were glued to the live fate map.
Ace only used the live mapping out of curiosity to see if there was something worth noticing, and he found an anomaly on the map the moment he opened it.
¡°Moira, why is this fate point green, red, and white at the same time? Furthermore, this person seemed to be on the floor above.¡± Ace looked at the tri-color fate point with astonishment.
Moira replied, ¡°This person can turn into an enemy, a friend, or even a neutral party based on Sir Ace¡¯s actions or this person¡¯s whim. You can say this is a type of person who had many faces, and they can stab you in the back at any time as long as it benefits them. Furthermore, since the green color is also present, this means you have some kind of understanding with this person, and you¡¯re currently on friendly terms.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes suddenly shimmered with a sharp glint, ¡®The person I know and in a friendly term with? I only know one person of this syndicate and had an understanding with him¡ could it be that guy is really hiding here?¡¯
Ace couldn¡¯t help but inhale deeply, as he looked at the ceiling with a peculiar glint in his eyes. Because of some restrictions, he can¡¯t sense anything on the top floor and if he used his heavenly sense, he might rm and alert the person.
And if that person was the same person he was thinking, he can¡¯t let him know about this at any cost because he could use it to his advantage and gain what he wished for all this time.
¡®Heh, it seemed even that savvy guy didn¡¯t imagine that I have a treasure like Eternal Thief Fate Compass that can see through any restriction and camouge. As long as his fate point didn¡¯t change, he can never escape from me. But I can¡¯t just attack this guy since I still have no idea about his prowess and there¡¯s still that hex magic which I do not know of¡¡¯
Ace fell into deep thoughts as he thought about the pros and cons of acting against someone like All-Knowing Parrot.
At this moment, Aliya finally entered the ninth floor and looked with a belligerent nce toward the demon, who had an impassive expression on his face.
¡®I don¡¯t know what mistress sees in you and what is your true identity, but I won¡¯t let you harm her!¡¯ Aliya¡¯s eyes shone coldly before she took the seat in front of Ace and said coldly, ¡°I heard esteemed guest have our diamond parrot token, can I know when you acquired it and how?¡±
Ace looked at the enthralling beauty which wasn¡¯t inferior to Milly at all and sense her belligerent gaze.
¡®She came from the upper floor and her cultivation is also early stage diamond soul embryo realm. Even though she¡¯s using some treasure to hide her soul cultivation, but it¡¯s useless. Then didn¡¯t this mean she¡¯s a close aid of that guy, and it also confirmed that he¡¯s here?¡¯ Ace quickly reached this conclusion.
However, Ace didn¡¯t show any emotion on his fake face and coolly said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t know from the token? I know your boss had already informed you about me, so let¡¯s cut to the chase. I didn¡¯t have any time to waste.¡±
Aliya¡¯s eyes narrowed as her aura spiked slightly, but she controlled herself after thinking about her mistress.
He coldly said, ¡°Fine, since esteem guest didn¡¯t want to waste time, we won¡¯t waste time. So, do you want to trade, sell, or buy?¡±
?<0,>?,?l ¡°First, I want soul-type medicinal herbs or pills. I don¡¯t care about their type or what they¡¯re used for. As long as they¡¯re 8-star or higher, I¡¯ll take as much as you have. Price isn¡¯t a matter for me.¡± Ace impassively said, without revealing his real, wily grin.
Aliya seemed to widen for a fleeting movement before returning to normal, and she suddenly smiled graciously as she said, ¡°It can be naturally done, but I¡¯m afraid we also have a limited supply of soul material above eight-star, and our prices will be slightly higher than market price as well.¡±
Ace seemed to have failed to notice this brief abnormality as he said without. ¡°How much?¡±
¡°Since esteem guest didn¡¯t care about the nature of herbs or pills, it¡¯ll be extremely simple, we had Soul Calming Pills, Soul Mending Pills, Soul Burst Pills, and Soul Qi Pills.
¡°We can offer you 30,000 of each kind of pill of 8-Star. 10,000 9-star, 1000 low-grade-1, 500 intermediate-grade-1, and 100 high-grade-1.
¡°I can also arrange raw materials for the same types of pills that I just mentioned. We sold those materials in units and with each unit, ten pills can be made. I¡¯m allowed to offer you 5,000 units of 8-Star. 2,500 units of 9-star, 500 units of low-grade-1, 100 units of intermediate-grade-1, and 50 units of high-grade-1.¡±
Ace was astonished when he heard they can provide even high grade-1 soul materials, and it seemed they still had much in stock.
However, he didn¡¯t show any emotion on his fake face and merely said, ¡°What about the price?¡±
Aliya smile yfully and said, ¡°Since the esteemed guest is a diamond VIP, we won¡¯t charge any extra expenses. If you want to exchange them for martial pills, you have to pay double the amount you¡¯re buying, and they had to be of the same rank as the soul materials. Or you have to pay twice the market price with Qi stones, and we only ept grade-2 or higher Qi stones. As for treasures and weapons, like formations, arrays, and runic weapons, we can discuss the price as long as they are precious.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Are you trying to rip me off?¡±
Aliya sciously smile as she said, ¡°I won¡¯t dare to lie to a diamond VIP. This is our normal exchange rate. If it was a golden or silver VIP, they had to pay four times the market price. We, from the Spica Syndicate, deal fairy. You can ask any of our customers.¡±
¡®What¡¯s the deal with this woman? First, she was like a firecracker, and now she became like a shrewd merchant who wanted to use a honey trap to sell her products?¡¯ Ace finally noticed the abnormality in Aliya¡¯s behavior from before.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
In the end, Ace knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to buy soul materials anywhere and not this much, so he could only agree, ¡°Fine, but I¡¯ll pay with 1-star to 6-star medicinal herbs and other treasures, I have many star rank weapons, arrays, and formation. But I¡¯m still not done with my purchase.¡±
Aliya slightly exhibited her voluptuous, tititing figure and a concupiscent expression appeared on her enthralling face as she drawled, ¡°Oh, what did you like to purchase next? Don¡¯t tell me you want me?!¡±
Chapter 431 New Scouting Ability of System
¡ Don¡¯t tell me you want me?!¡±
Ace wasn¡¯t swayed by Aliya¡¯s captivating act at all. On the contrary, he felt something was not right about her behavior. But he can¡¯t put his finger on it, so he decided to focus on his aim.
He coolly said, ¡°I¡¯m not here to joke around. I want fifty grade-3 storage space treasures, or if you can provide me with a hundred grade-5 space treasures instead, it will be even better.¡±
? Aliya¡¯s eyes shone with ambiguity as she finally dropped the seductive act and asked, ¡°We can arrange fifty low-grade-3 storage space treasures as for any higher, those storage space treasures are quite precious and limited here, so I can¡¯t help you with that.¡±
Ace had already expected this, so he wasn¡¯t too startled by this, and he was satisfied with the 50 grade-3 storage space treasures.
¡°No problem. I can go on with that. Here, take a look at the contents of these storage rings and tell me if they¡¯re sufficient for our trade.¡± Ace nodded and ce twenty storage rings on the table.
Aliya smile charmingly before she branded the rings with her soul mark, and her eyelids trembled slightly when she was all those materials and treasures within the rings.
Ace has taken out just the portion of his wealth and these things werepletely useless for him, but they were extremely alluring for any power to nurture their younger generation.
Especially, the star rank arrays and formations which no one wanted to sell even if they were useless, but Ace was different he had many of such arrays and formations, and he even had the ocean demon tribe¡¯s legacy formations, so he didn¡¯t need the lower one.
But this didn¡¯t mean he had taken out everything. This could be said only 5% of his umted wealth from his thieveries.
¡°Hehe, these are more than enough for our trade. Do you need anything else or do you want to use our channel to sell some things? We only charge a 20% dealing fee.¡± Aliya said as she took those storage rings.
¡®What a rip-off,¡¯ Ace scoffed inwardly.
He impassively said, ¡°No, thanks, this is it for now. When will I get my goods?¡±
Aliya pulled a regretful face hearing this and said dejectedly as if Ace¡¯s answer hurt her feelings, ¡°It¡¯ll take two hours to prepare all the things. In the meantime, ¡.¡±
Before she could spout anything, non-ethical Ace stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be back in two hours then. I still have things to do. Please send my regards to boss All-Knowing Parrot and tell him I¡¯m eager to meet him.¡±
Without waiting for Aliya¡¯s reply, he left.
Aliya mumbled, ¡°Hmph¡ you¡¯re no fun!¡± before her demeanorpletely changed as a bewitched look appeared on her face before she blushed heavily as she remembered her hical conduct.
She couldn¡¯t help but murmur with a resentful expression on her beautiful blushed face, ¡°She used that technique to do shameful things through me¡ again!¡±
On the top floor,
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s eyes opened and filled with a dark mist before it faded away. She coldly snorted. ¡°Hmph, that guy was purposely infuriating Aliya after sensing her hostility. If I haven¡¯t taken over, she might¡¯ve given something up.
¡°But, I have to admit, that guy is too astute. The moment he sensed things going awry, he only talked about business and left quickly, without showing anything. He even remained calm in front of my honey act and Aliya¡¯s beauty.
¡°However, the more special you are, the more I want to control you¡ Hehe, I¡¯m also looking forward to meeting you. But that day will be thest day of your freedom!¡± Her eyes turned icy in the end and nefarious.
¡ª
Ace left the lionheart shop and his next destination was Life Demon Treasure Pagoda.
First, he wanted to buy soul materials and pills ording to his quota as a demon earl, and secondly; it was obvious to scout the ce to n for his chain mission.
Before he wanted to buy information from the lionheart shop about life demon association, but after getting the wind that All-Knowing Parrot might be there in person, he decided otherwise.
Because that person knows about his real identity as Sky Stealer, he might suspect something if bought up this information topic. He didn¡¯t want someone like the All-Knowing Parrot to know about his ns, or just like the fate point indicated he might screw him over for his own benefits.
After walking for fifteen minutes, he finally reached his destination, which was a towering brown Pagoda with twenty floors, and ¡®Life Demon¡¯ was engraved on the front.
He also noticed another towering building beside it because they were the only architect in this area. Nothing was around 500 meters from them. This second building was the Life Demon Guild, where any life professional can register with the association and get unimaginable benefits.
However, Ace wasn¡¯t interested in getting such an identity right now because he didn¡¯t want to reveal his unique heavenly rune crafting to the world, or things might get troublesome if he caught someone¡¯s attention with vile intentions.
The identity of a fighter was still better for his missions.
Ace moved toward the imposing pagoda. He was already in Feng¡¯s disguise because he can¡¯t reveal this ability, and Feng¡¯s appearance suited his needs right now.
There were two guards at the front gate, and they were astonishingly fourth intermediate stage soul realm demons!
One of them coldly looked at Ace and said, ¡°Please show any proof of identity!¡±
Ace had already seen the others entering after showing a special identity token, so he didn¡¯t tter and showed his demon earl token, which was also proof of his identity.
Those guards were startled for a moment before they respectfully bowed. ¡°Esteemed Rising Sword Earl, wee to Life Demon Treasure Pagoda!¡±
Ace merely nodded before entering the building with a nonchnt expression on his face. He had to maintain his image as Feng, after all.
However, the moment he saw the interior of the first floor he was astonished because it was too damn exaggerating. After all, there were many beautiful disys, and all of them were filled with pills, herbs, weapons, arrays, formations, and even soul pills and herbs weren¡¯t an exception.
He had to admit, that this association was deserving the title of the richest organization of eight provinces, and he felt even more motivated to theft this ce. It was just the first floor and there were already enough treasures to make him drool. He didn¡¯t dare to imagine their upper floors and reserves!
¡®If I pull this off, I might get tens of millions of thief points!¡¯ Ace thought with a burning passion.
However, the system¡¯s voice snapped him out of his stupor at this moment,
=====
[Target rted to the chain mission is in scouting range!]n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
[Did the host want to scan the target and create a Treasure Blueprint?]
-Requirements:
1. Live Fate Map
2. Thief Point: 100,000
3. Time: 10 Minutes
[Proceed/ Cancel]
=====
Ace¡¯s mind was jolted the moment he saw this familiar yet unfamiliar scouting request.
He asked with uncertainty, ¡°What is this Treasure Blueprint, and why do you need Live Fate Mapping in a scouting scan this time?¡±
System¡¯s answer came as a surprise to him.
¡±[A treasure blueprint is like the entire drawn structure of the thievery target. It includes trap details at 100% detail level, as well as the treasury structure and all the locks and restrictions in the target area. It¡¯s helped n the thievery far more precisely and with the minimum risk of failure.]
¡±[As for the host¡¯s second question, after the system was upgraded, the scouting feature was naturally upgraded. But it still wasn¡¯t enough to create a Treasure Blueprint.]
¡±[However, with Eternal Thief Fate Compass ability of Live Mapping, it bes possible to create a degraded version of Treasure Blueprint.]¡±
Ace was naturally ted to hear the first part, but he became doubtful at the ending and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the difference between the degraded version and the real?¡±
¡±[In this version of Treasure Blueprint, the host will only get Building Structure, Traps Locations, and Treasure Locations. The information such as trap levels, array levels, formation levels, and lock levels will depend on the Live Fate Mapping.]
¡±[As the host already knew, the Eternal Thief Fate Compass can only map the area ording to its grade, which is directly rted to the host¡¯s cultivation. Like right now, the host will only get information about grade-3 or lower level restrictions, not higher in the treasure blueprint.]
¡±[Those details will be included in verbal scouting report like before. Unless the host could upgrade the system and unlock the real Treasure Blueprint function, the host has to do with this version right now.]¡±
Ace was startled hearing this but, in the end, he also epted it since this ability wasn¡¯t supposed to be unlocked right now and this happened only because he got the eternal fate livepass.
Besides, the system was kind enough to give this option to him as well, so he had nothing toin about.
Hemanded without even considering it anymore, ¡°Start it!¡±
Chapter 432 Life Demon Treasure Pagoda
¡°Start it!¡±
=====
[Treasure Blueprint Scanning has been started!]
[Time: 09:59]
[Warning: Please don¡¯t leave the target range before the scanning was done!]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 13,685,400]
=====
At this moment, a demoness in alchemist robes of the association with three silver stars on her shoulder approached him with a smile on her face. But when she saw Feng dazing off, her smile became more like contempt than a courteous smile.
She thought with a sly glint, ¡®Another one of those rich bumpkins. Let¡¯s see if I can use him to aplish my sales quota!¡¯
¡°Dear customer, how may I help you?¡± She asked with a cheerful expression.
Ace finally took notice of this above-average yellowish demoness, and he clearly felt her hidden, contemptuous emotions.
However, he also saw the association alchemist¡¯s robes, so he didn¡¯t want to cause any trouble for himself. He knew the life demon association was infamous for their poor attitude and antics.
Only someone with a superior status can get their attention.
Feng smiled ambiguously and said, ¡°I heard the demon with noble titles can purchase soul pills annually? I¡¯m here for that purpose.¡±
The alchemist was startled when she heard ¡®soul pills¡¯ and her smile suddenly became stiff. ¡®Could he be a titled demon?¡¯
She said with uncertainty, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. But you have to show proof of your title identity to the floor manager.¡±
Ace nodded and asked, ¡°Then where can I find the floor manager?¡±
She replied with slightly hesitant, ¡°Can I know your demon title first and some proof? I can¡¯t just disturb the floor manager with empty words. I hope the esteemed guest would understand.¡±
¡®She lies?¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡®Could it be she still wanted to pull some tricks despite knowing my identity, or she simply didn¡¯t believe it? Well, I have time to waste¡¡¯
Feng suddenly smile amiably and nodded, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m a titled Rising Sword Earl, here¡¯s my proof of identification.¡±
¡®Rising Sword Earl¡ where did I hear this title before¡¡¯ She suddenly felt something amiss with this special title, and she also looked at the golden triangr token with Earl on it in Feng¡¯s hand.
However, before she could remember where she heard this title, a startling cry sounded from behind.
¡°Rising Sword Earl? Can sir be Feng Demon Sword?¡±
Ace looked toward the owner of this voice and saw another demoness in alchemy robes, but she had 7 silver stars on her shoulder and she was quite beautiful to boot.
Ace merely smiled and nodded, ¡°I¡¯m indeed Feng Demon Sword. I never thought young miss to know of me.¡±
The seven-star alchemist couldn¡¯t help but look at the other three-star alchemist in bewilderment, and when she saw her confused expression, she couldn¡¯t help but reprimanded her sternly.
¡°Are you a retard? Do you think someone would dare to impersonate himself as a noble demon? And who told you to check their identification? Go now, I¡¯ll be reporting this to the floor manager!¡±
The three-star alchemist¡¯s face turned ashen. She knew she had messed up this time and picked up the wrong target.
Although, this seven-star alchemist¡¯s voice was very low because she didn¡¯t want to cause a scene and tarnish the association¡¯s reputation. Since she had also done these things, though, her anger was genuine.
Even she knew who to take advantage of or who to befriend, and any demon with a noble title was worth befriending, especially a genius like Feng!
She quickly looked at Feng and said apologetically, ¡°Please forgive her. She¡¯s new here, so she must¡¯ve forgotten the rules. Please follow me. I¡¯ll take you to Floor Manager.¡±
¡®Well, that¡¯s ended quicker than I thought,¡¯ Ace thought.
But he naturally didn¡¯t show anything and only smiled, ¡°Of course, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m as well not familiar with any rules here, so please forget it.¡±
¡°Why aren¡¯t you thanking sir, Earl?¡± she shot a vicious re at the ashen face demoness.
¡°T-thank you¡¡± She lowered her head in mortification.
¡°Please follow me.¡±
She smiled and led Feng toward the west corner of the first floor, where a beautiful pattern door was located.
Ace thought they would move to the upper floors, but he was wrong. He couldn¡¯t help but asked curiously, ¡°What about the upper floors?¡±
The alchemist replied with a smile, ¡°Sir Earl, the life treasure demon pagoda is divided into twenty treasure floors, first five floors are for alchemy, the sixth to tenth floors are for weapons, and the eleventh to the fifteenth floor are for runic weapons, while thest five are for the rune arrays, rune formations, talismans, ¡ and other stuff rted to rune crafting.
¡°Each floor is managed by a floor manager. As for the first floor, we sell all the medicinal herbs and pills from rank to 1-star to 9-star here, soul pills included.
¡°But we¡¯re only allowed to sell them to noble title demons like you or the chief of a noble tribe. Other demons without a title or just the member of a title n can only buy marital pills and materials.¡±
Ace asked, ¡°Oh, do you mean without any title, soul materials and pills can¡¯t be bought?¡±
She merely smiled ambiguously and said, ¡°Well, alchemists also have personal clients. But soul alchemists are extremely rare, and so does the materials. That¡¯s why the resources are thoroughly controlled. But I was all done, so others with power won¡¯t waste them on useless chad, and only worthy demons can buy them.¡±
¡°Hah, I got the point. Then how about the runic weapons, arrays, formations, and talismans? Can I purchase them?¡± Feng smiled meaningfully.
However, the alchemist merely smiled and politely answered, ¡°You have to ask the floor master about this. I already spoke out of my boundaries.¡±
Ace didn¡¯t make things hard on her, since he already got the vague idea about what was the purpose of controlling the soul-type treasures so tightly.
He could only think that there were just too rare, or that the life demon association didn¡¯t want any soul cultivator appearing or growing out of their control.
Because, if consider it, this organization probably had the greatest number of soul cultivation techniques and skills that can nurture soul alchemists and rune crafters.
However, Ace still didn¡¯t understand why this association hold such power in its hand and why it was allowed to develop by the royal zone. All those questions have only one answer, and it was the royal zone!
The seven-star alchemist led Ace to a spacious room and left to find the floor master.
He didn¡¯t have to wait long before a tall, schrly demon in alchemist robes entered the room, and he was a low-grade-1 alchemist at that.
Ace got a crafty vibe from this refine pale orange demon who seemed to be in his early thirties.
The floor master¡¯s eyes shone as he looked at Feng¡¯s in demeanor and said, while performing an ethical salute, ¡°I¡¯m honored to have the number one genius of our sword domain, Rising Sword Earl, here. Please ept this old fellow¡¯s apologies for one of my floor attendant¡¯s behavior. I¡¯m extremely ashamed to hear it from Tily!¡±
Ace felt this demon was somewhat overdramatic, but he still polity said while performing the royal salute, ¡°I have already forgotten about it. Please don¡¯t embarrass me, senior.¡±
¡°Bring Rose Ale for your esteemed guest!¡± He ordered Tily, and she quickly left.
¡°There really wasn¡¯t any need for this.¡± Said Feng.
¡°I insist.¡± The floor manager stubbornly refused. ¡°I also heard you wanted to use your annual quota of soul pills?¡±
Feng nodded. ¡°Yes, when I received the title, I heard I can buy soul pills from here.¡±
The floor manager smiled and said, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s our solemn duty to promote young demons like young earl here. That¡¯s why we gave a special quota.¡±
¡°Then can I ask what is the extent of my purchase limit? As I heard, I can only purchase 6-star to 9-star soul pills and herbs, but in limited quantity? Can this limit apply to martial pills and runic materials as well?¡± Ace asked without holding back.
The floor manager replied ambiguously, ¡°The purchase limit is only for soul materials. As for other pills and materials, as long as you can pay for them, you buy as many as you like, but only 1-star to 9-star materials.
¡°The grade materials are very precious, and we can only sell pills, not herbs, and they also have purchase limits for everyone.
¡°Lastly, the runic materials are the most precious, especially the arrays, formations, and talismans that are made purely with soul materials, so we only sell grade runic treasures to duke tribes or demon dukes, and of course demon king tribes.
¡°The demons with individual demon titles or tribes lower than duke title can only get 1-star to 9-star runic treasures, with no exception!¡±
Ace couldn¡¯t help but felt this distribution scheme was also set deliberately, so the demons with lower status didn¡¯t have many means to defeat duke title tribes and with this, the demon dukes can also remain supreme!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Chapter 433 Floor Manager’s Request
Tily was already back with a square ss bottle filled with translucent red liquid and two wine sses on a tray, and she poured the Rose Ale for both the Floor Manager and Ace.
The Floor Manager picked up the winess and said, ¡°Please, this is one of the finest ale in my collection. Have a taste.¡±
Ace naturally didn¡¯t reject such a request and epted it. He sipped the blood color ale and his pupils dted. He felt like he just tasted boiling honey before the sensation turned icy and all kinds of vors spread in his mouth.
He couldn¡¯t help but praise, ¡°Very good!¡±
Ace was also an alcohol maniac, and he had an extensive collection of stolen alcohol, but he had to admit this rose ale was probably the best alcohol he tasted so far.
The Floor Manager smiled with a hint of satisfaction. ¡°Why, of course, this rose ale is very precious, and only 1000 bottles were made each year, and we have to fight tooth and nail for just one.¡±
¡°Can I bid for one next time?¡± Ace couldn¡¯t help but wonder out loud.
The Floor Manager chucked, ¡°Heh, if you join our association, then why not?¡±
Feng smile bitterly and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid my mind is only good for the sword, not for such aplicated profession like alchemy.¡±
¡°It¡¯s a pity, then, and I also admire your resolution to walk on your path without being swayed by momentarily benefits.¡± Floor Manager praise.
¡°This junior is tter.¡± Feng politely raised his winess.
However, Ace didn¡¯t let his guard down because he could sense this Floor Manager wanted something from the moment he heard his identity and that was why he offered him such precious alcohol and left a good impression on Feng.
And just as he thought, a sly glint shed past the Floor Manager¡¯s eyes when he saw Feng was optimistic about his treatment.
He inquired inly, ¡°So, I heard sir Earl has earned the first rank in the first phase of the de domain training program?¡±
Feng puckered his lips. ¡°Yes, I was merely lucky.¡±
The Floor Manager smiled. ¡°How could such an achievement be just by luck? You¡¯re currently the most dazzling star of our domain. Please ept my toast.¡±
Ace naturally didn¡¯t reject and y along, and wait for it toe.
The Floor Manager suddenly said, ¡°Sir Feng, I wonder if you¡¯re interested in taking a personal request from me?¡±
Feng was startled before he said regretfully, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t afford to waste time, and I have to focus on the training program. Please forgive me.¡±
The Floor Manager quickly replied as if he had already expected this kind of response, ¡°Please hear me out first. I¡¯m sure this request won¡¯t hinder your training in any way.¡±
¡°Oh, if that¡¯s the case, then please do tell.¡±
¡°It¡¯s very simple. I heard that the number one contestant will have the ess to the most precious reward list and there¡¯s something I want from that list, and only you can get it. As for the reward points you¡¯ll spend, I¡¯llpensate you with grade-3 Qi stones and double the amount at that. What do you think?¡± The Floor Manager finally revealed his intentions.
¡®How did he know this kind of information? And what is the thing he wanted that can only appear in first rank participants¡¯ reward list?¡¯ Ace suddenly felt this Floor Manager wasn¡¯t as simple as he seemed and might have many high-level connections.
Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t taking advantage of Feng at all and even giving away double the value of the item he wanted. So, it was a fair deal that won¡¯t take any effort on his part.
¡°If this just involved the purchase of an item, then I don¡¯t mind.¡± Feng quickly agreed.
The Floor Manager merely smiled, but the ecstasy in his eyes was clear, which made Ace even more curious about what this guy wanted.
He said, ¡°It would be great, you just have to purchase this item.¡± He handed Ace a portrait.
Ace curiously looked at the portrait and saw a white stone with ck dots.
Although it looked somewhat precious, no matter from which angle he looked, it was just a stone, and it wasn¡¯t even qualified to enter the first participant¡¯s reward list. Moreover, if this thing was so precious, then the de domain won¡¯t put it on the reward list at all.
¡®Nheless, I just have to see myself,¡¯ Ace thought as he stored away the portrait.
¡°It¡¯s a deal, then.¡± Feng smiled in acknowledgment.
Floor Manager grinned with a hint of tion, ¡°Now to the official business, you¡¯re supposed to get A Hundred Soul Recovery pills and A Hundred Soul Calming Pills from rank 6-star to 9-star and ten units of soul herbs from each pill. But using my authority as the floor manager, I¡¯ll make them 150 pills and 15 units of peak rank. What do you think?¡±
Feng¡¯s eyes lit up and quickly utter with gratitude, ¡°Please ept my thanks!¡±
¡°There¡¯s no need. Since we¡¯re close now, this is thest thing I can do for you.¡± The Floor Manager chuckled in a good mood.
¡°So, how much do I need to pay?¡± Feng asked.
¡°It¡¯s on the house. Consider it my deposit for my request. Tily retrieved the pills and materials.¡± The Floor Manager ordered.
¡°This¡¡± Feng seemed hesitant.
¡°Just take it as my token of sincerity.¡± The Floor Manager waved his hand coolly.
¡°Then you have my thanks.¡± Feng bowed slightly.
Afterward, they chat for a while before Tily came with the soul pills and soul materials and handed them over to Feng.
The Floor Manager asked if he wanted other things, but Feng politely rejected and left after thanking him and promising toplete his task.
Now only Floor Manager and Tily were in the room.
Tily said with a hint of tion, ¡°Master, I never thought it would be this easy to achieve our aim.¡±
The Floor Manager chuckled coldly, ¡°Well, who would¡¯ve thought the guy I was going to pay a personal visit wille on his own at my doorsteps? Furthermore, he¡¯s nothing like rumor described him to be, and easy to persuade.¡±
Tily nodded with a cold smirk, ¡°Yes, he was so obedient, like a dog. In the end, he was just like the others who lick our feet for benefits.¡±
¡°That¡¯s only natural. Now we just have to wait before this idiot can get that thing out of the de tribe¡¯s treasury. Who would¡¯ve thought those morons didn¡¯t know the value of that item and kept it locked away all these years and now even putting it on a mere reward list?
¡°If not for master¡¯s connection and getting the hands on the reward lists, I could never know such a thing was in the de domain treasury all these years¡¡± The Floor Managermented.
Tily asked curiously, ¡°Master, just what is that stone? Furthermore, those reward lists are also obtained by others. What if someone else tries to snatch that item?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The Floor Manager smiled mysteriously, ¡°My dear disciple, you¡¯ll see once he brings it here. You just need to know with ¡®it¡¯ I can probably enter the rank of 4th-grade alchemist! Besides, no one knows what that item is except me!¡±
¡ª
Ace exit the life demon treasure pagoda while still thinking about his strange encounter with this mysterious Floor Manager.
¡®What if I hadn¡¯te to this ce at all? Could it be that the guy was nning to approach me from the start and I just walk right into his hands? Heh, but it¡¯s not easy to take advantage of me.¡¯ Ace smiled thievishly.
System voice also rang at this moment.
======
[Treasure Blueprint Scanning has beenpleted!]
[Treasure Blueprint has been delivered into the thief¡¯s space]
Ace was shocked to see the number of high-level traps, and each one of them was enough to give him a massive headache. Furthermore, those fifth-grade locks weren¡¯t something he could dispel with his current level!
Ace couldn¡¯t help butin, ¡°Just why did you always put me in a quandary?¡±
He sighed helplessly when no answer came, and he put his focus on this treasure blueprint inside his thief¡¯s space.
He saw it was a blue color scroll, but he didn¡¯t take it out since he was still outside and decided to examine it when he went back, and who knows he might find a way toplete his mission which seemed nothing but impossible right now.
At this moment, Ace suddenly became alert. ¡®So, they doe, huh? But how did they know I was here so quickly? Well, I still have some time to waste. Let¡¯s collect some memories in the meantime¡¡¯
Ace coldly smirked as he walked like he noticed nothing. But his soul probe was already activated!
Chapter 434 Updating Living Thief’s Space
It was already dark when Ace came back to his room with a satisfied smirk on his face.
After he left the life demon treasure pagoda, he led the group by the nose that was following him and when the timee to pick up his things from the lionheart shop, he easily got rid of them.
When he appeared to get his goods, Aliya didn¡¯t show up this time and someone else delivered him the storage ring. But Ace could ¡®see¡¯ in the live mapping that All-Knowing Parrot was still there, and Aliya was probably beside him as well.
As for why it took him this much time to get back; it was because he stopped by the royal demon council in the inner de domain to subsume their library. Although he didn¡¯t get the chance to enter the restricted library, he still got interesting knowledge.
Ace also remained vignt because in live mapping he saw a ck fate point in the royal demon council area, and the ck color indicated someone or something that was absolutely deadly for him.
Although the elders there treat him warmly, he dared not to try anything and quickly left after scanning through the books in the non-restricted library.
Furthermore, that library also had mortal and some lower earth level skills and techniques, which were a boon for him. He naturally didn¡¯t let those free skills and techniques go.
After spending six hours there, he left and came back, but when he was heading back, he again felt being followed. This time, he did nothing and let them follow him.
Flora and Dolly were naturally waiting for him when he got back.
One of the reasons for Ace going into the royal demon council library was also these two sisters. He wanted to break the oaths they took, and he knew they can¡¯t just override an oath since it won¡¯t work like ve contracts and oaths can be taken multiple times while ve marks were not.
Ace looked at them and coolly said, ¡°If you two aren¡¯t bound by your oaths, I would¡¯ve already sent you out secretly already, and you don¡¯t have to suffer any attacks or schemes because of me. Well, whatever, I already found the way to free you two. All I have to do is to find an Oath Breaker Talisman.¡±
Flora and Dolly looked down with wistful expressions on their faces. Although they wanted to follow Ace, they knew after the previous incident that they will only drag him down or even harm him if they stayed by him. He had already saved them two times.
So, they already epted the fact that they have to part ways eventually and their time was limited with him. They could only hate themselves for being too weak and impuissant.
Dolly said while she clinched the hem of her blue dress, ¡°S-sorry to trouble you.¡±
Ace could feel their emotions, but he couldn¡¯t do anything, nor he was willing to ept them into the Thief House because of the limited spots, and he had already other ns for those reaming spots.
He didn¡¯t know when he¡¯ll get more spots in the Thief House after it was filled, but he can¡¯t take risks just because he pitied them. All he can do was to give them his blessing and let them live a safe and happy life.
Ace sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to cultivate.¡± And he left those two sullen sisters.
Flora couldn¡¯t help but mumble, ¡°Is there really no other way?!¡±
Dolly sighed helplessly as she hugged her sister. ¡°We¡¯re just born ignoble, and all we can do is ept our fates. At least, he didn¡¯t want to get rid of us by killing us¡¡±
Streams of tears flow from their eyes as they remain standing there, hugging each other for a long time.
¡ª
Ace sighed again when he entered the cultivation chamber. He heard their sobbing sounds and couldn¡¯t help but mutter, ¡°If I had more spots, maybe¡¡±
He asked with no high hope, ¡°Hey system, if the thief house gets full, when did I get more open spots?¡±
Surprisingly, the system answered this time.
¡±[After a Houseful, the host can upgrade it when all the existing members reached ¡®Veteran Member Rank¡¯ andplete the Thief House Upgrade Mission.]¡±
Ace frowned, ¡®Even Noa is only an old member right now and to upgrade their house ranks she needed to theft, which will only spell trouble right now. Even if I give Dolly and Flora thest two positions, and somehow they all reached the veteran member ranks, the mission will not be simple¡¡¯
In the end, Ace shook his head bitterly and gave up, since he can¡¯t decide recklessly and destroy his entire scheme based on Thief House.
¡®Don¡¯t me me, I just don¡¯t have any other choice¡¡¯ Ace quickly kept his calm.
Ace suddenlymanded, ¡°System, open the thief¡¯s space upgrade scheme.¡±
The system instantly obliged,
======
[Living Thief¡¯s Space Update Scheme]
1. 300 Cubic-Meter Space + 1 Humanoid Storage Capacity
Condition(s): 100 Grade-3 Storage Space treasures + 10 Million Thief Points
2. 500 Cubic-Meter Space + 2 Humanoid Storage Capacity
Condition(s): 100 Grade-5 Storage Space treasures + 20 Million Thief Points
3. 1,000 Cubic-Meter Space + 5 Humanoid Storage Capacity
Condition(s): 100 Grade-8 Storage Space treasures + 50 Million Thief Points
4. 3X-Time eleration Function n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Condition(s): 1 Grade-9 Storage Space Treasure + 1 Grade-9 Time Treasure + 100 Million Thief Points
¡ª
[The conditions for the 300 Cubic-Meter Space + 1 Humanoid Storage Capacity update scheme have been met!]
[Do you want to update the Living Thief¡¯s Space?]
[Proceed/Not Now]
=====
Ace¡¯s lips cured upward. He was collecting the grade-3 storage rings for this exact reason. Although he didn¡¯t need to upgrade this storage space since he had millions of storage rings to go around, he wanted the extra humanoid space that will unlock with it.
This will give him a huge advantage to carry a person around with him like Noa won¡¯t have to hide far away from him next time, and his living thief space was also advantageous for the creature of darkness, so Noa might also get some unexpected advantage while staying there. But it remained to be seen since she wasn¡¯t here.
Another main purpose he wanted to upgrade the living thief¡¯s space was the ck cocoon with red runic lines in the center of his thief¡¯s space.
The space had already been cramped and Eva was now surrounded by all kinds of treasures, so he just wanted to increase the space before she was buried under treasures.
¡°Proceed!¡± Acemanded without hesitation, with a gentle smile on his face when he looked at the cocoon with blinking, red, runic lines as if they were breathing.
The hundred storage rings from his space vanished, and ten million thief points from his status bar.
Suddenly the living thief space trembled slightly before the entire space started to expand at a fast rate.
Furthermore, Ace noticed the ceiling of the thief¡¯s space started to fill with a dark mist like inky clouds, but nothing happened afterward, and that dark mist remain static there without moving or fading away.
System¡¯s voice rang at this moment.
======
[Living Thief¡¯s Space has been updated!]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 3,685,400]
¡ª
[Living Thief¡¯s Space States]
-Storage Space Capacity: 300 Cubic-Meter Living Space
-Living Space Capacity:
1. 2 Humanoids (Humans, Demons, Hunters, etc.)
2. 20,000 None-Humanoid (Beasts, Herbs, nts, Natural Treasures, etc.)
======
Besides that mysterious dark mist on the ceiling and an extra two hundred cubic meters of space, nothing changed and Ace quickly moved all the treasures to the edges, clearing the area around Eva.
However, he suddenly noticed something strange, he had some beast eggs in his thief¡¯s space for some time, and he never tried to hatch them since they were the eggs of low-level beasts anyway, nor he was interested in hatching them aftering to this continent.
Nheless, he noticed even after moving those eggs to the space edges they would mysteriously appear in the center where Eva¡¯s cocoon was and the mysterious page 09 was also the same.
¡°System, could it be all the living things will remain in the center?¡± Ace questioned.
¡±[Yes, anything with life Qi will appear around the center from now on, and they keep stacking up from the center to outward, while the host can put none living things anywhere.]¡±
¡°If that¡¯s the case, then move everything into storage rings and then separate those storage rings ording to the ranks of things. Move storage rings with pills and herbs to the east edge. Weapons and runic weapons to the south edge. Runic treasures to the west and Qi Stones to the north corner. As for the empty storage rings, pile them up around Eva¡¯s cocoon like a wall. I want nothing near her¡¡±
Ace quickly cleaned up the storage space with the system¡¯s help and rearranged all the thief¡¯s space.
After he was done, almost all the space looked empty, and only neatly arranged storage rings could be seen on four corners.
In the center, Eva¡¯s cocoon was also separated from the other living things with a thick empty storage rings wall!
Chapter 435 Banquet at Blade Demon Castle
¡°Are you sure the ve contract mediums were destroyed?¡± A wrinkled face, burly demon with ckish skin questioned while knitting his brows tightly.
Another ckish demon who somewhat resembled the old demon answered grimly, ¡°Yes father, when those two maids met with the target, it happened around that time. It seemed someone has intervened, and I¡¯m afraid they¡¯re from the king n.¡±
The old demon¡¯s eyes narrowed with a hint of trepidation. He said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Your face was hidden, so those girls didn¡¯t know who it was who enve them. But we have already instructed them to bring that rascal into our territory.
¡°So, we still have to remain causation and if someone from the king n appeared, tell them we have nothing to do with this and have your men withdraw from that brat surveince.
¡°With this, it would appear we have already acknowledged the king¡¯s decree and give up on that brat. Let other ns take the me if another happened. Also, kill everyone who knows about this n as well, leave none alive.¡±
The other demon seemed hesitant before he said with killing intent, ¡°But father, then what about Bren sacrifice? We still didn¡¯t know who killed him! If we miss this¡¡±
¡°Stop!¡± The old demon sternly looked at his son and said, ¡°I¡¯m also heartbroken because of my grandson¡¯s death as well. Do you think I want to give up on this once-in-a-lifetime chance to be a king n? But if our n gets destroyed before we achieve anything, what¡¯s the point of all this, then?¡±
The other demon lowered his head while clenching his teeth in frustration and helplessness.
The old demon sighed as his old brown eyes turn mncholic, ¡°Sigh¡ don¡¯t worry if this door gets shut, this didn¡¯t mean others were close as well. Have Miya approach the boy at the uing banquet. Since the hard approach didn¡¯t work, let¡¯s use the soft approach.
¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the second phase will be unique for the top ten thousand, and the King will make his move to make sure his n passed the demon gate trial. No matter what, we have to kill the boy before the third phase and get his heart and blood!¡±
The other demon¡¯s eyes suddenly brighten with understanding as he quickly nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll quickly arrange this. I don¡¯t believe that Feng brat can resist our n¡¯s number one beauty charm!¡±
¡ª
Today, the area vicinity of de Demon Castle was bustling with activities.
Many luxurious carriages with different emblems were entering the de demon castle¡¯s huge opened gates, which weren¡¯t closed today.
The demons donned in silver armors with a de emblem on their chest were inspecting the invitations and scanning the guests with a powerful formation on the gates before letting the carriages enter.
These silver armor demons were the de knights of the de domain.
After the checkpoint, these carriages head straight toward a beautiful white pavilion, that was a few kilometers away from the de castle.
All those carriages stopped at the main entrance before the guests entered the white pavilion.
Furthermore, all these guests were young demons with extraordinary bearing.
They were naturally the ten thousand top contestants of the first phase, and they were all here to attend this banquet where de Demon King will appear soon.
As for the others who didn¡¯t make it to the top ten thousand, they were all currently receiving the assessment for the second phase in another ce.
At this moment, a carriage with a bronze sword emblem stopped at the entrance, and everyone looked at the neer with a curious gaze.
The door opened, and a bronze skin demon disembark the carriage. He wore full ck attire with a silver lining. Although he looked extremely in, his demeanor was extraordinary, as his golden eyes were like the sun.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Many eximed when they saw the unique features of this demon.
¡°That Feng Demon Sword, the number genius of de domain!¡±
¡°Rising Sword Earl!¡±
¡°He¡¯s the biggest dark horse in thispetition!¡±
This kind of whispering was sounded from all directions.
Feng ignored those busybodies and walk arrogantly inside the venue. His eyes were icy, and he ignored anyone who approached him, nor did he greet anyone or return the greeting.
Many demons¡¯ expressions became unkind seeing Feng¡¯s haughty attitude, but they knew this guy wasn¡¯t someone they could offend.
Right now, there was hardly anyone who didn¡¯t know who Feng was or didn¡¯t see his portrait.
Not only did he receive the full protection of de Demon King after the first phase, but he was also a noble demon of the royal demon council and for days rumors were flying around that someone from the council with a very high status also wanted to take him as his disciple.
Although no one knows where these rumors wereing from, many be even more afraid of offending Feng because of this.
Ace naturally liked this kind of treatment, although he deliberately took the first position. He didn¡¯t like those flies buzzing around him. That was why he kept Feng¡¯s arrogant face all the time, so no one approach him.
When he entered the white pavilion, he was startled for a moment, when he saw how grand this ce was, there were many chairs neatly arranged in rows.
Right behind these chairs were numbers written, starting from 10,000.
¡®It seemed they already disclosed the numbers to them in the invitation like me and ording to my number¡¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes wander around the very front where he could seerge golden chairspletely different from the rest and smile wryly.
Helpless, he approached the throne-like golden chair, which had ¡®1¡¯ engraved on the back of it. This chair was far more imposing than the others and right in the center and ahead of the others.
Just a few meters away from his position was a towering tform, and he could guess who was going to appear on it shortly.
Right at this moment, a warm, optimistic voice sounded from the number ¡®2¡¯ chair, ¡°Haha, look who has decided to grace us with his presence.¡±
Ace couldn¡¯t help but smirked, ¡°I¡¯m also surprised of all the people you took the number two.¡±
He reached the front of his seat and saw Thomas beaming at him from his chair a few feet away from his.
¡°Heh, if someone hasn¡¯t found some kind of beast den, I would¡¯ve taken the first phase.¡± Thomas snorted jokingly before he bear-hug Feng.
¡°My friend, luck is also part of one¡¯s strength.¡± Feng smiled and returned Thomas¡¯s warm greeting.
They sat down and started to chat happily with each other, since there were still many participants missing, especially from the top 10.
Besides Feng and Thomas, there were only two others here and Ace knew both of them while they were only sneakily looking at him.
One of them was rank nine Anton, who he helped kill Bren, while the other was his ¡®golden star¡¯ Alora, rank 10.
She was still shining in golden color, and he could tell she had grown much stronger than thest time he saw her, but she didn¡¯t approach him since she did not know it was Ace who save her that day and even left the beast core for her to achieve the final breakthrough in her secret skill.
Thereupon, Peter also appeared in golden attire suitable for a prince apany by gorgeous finance Brenna who snorted seeing Feng sitting on the first seat while Peter has to sit beside him on the Third Seat.
Peter smiled wryly, seeing Brenna¡¯s attitude, and could only apologize on her behalf, which Feng didn¡¯t take seriously at all.
The atmosphere became somewhat heavy when Jaxx appeared. He has been shunned to the fourth ce because of Thomas¡¯s rampagest time, and each of them stared at each other with murderous intent.
Jaxx even threw some vicious gaze at Feng, but he could only gnash his teeth when he saw Fengpletely take him like a wind.
Ace also notice one thing: that the demons from wild tribes didn¡¯t get along with the maind tribes and some even argued with each other about who was better and worse and fights nearly break out.
But one thing was evident, the wild tribes have the most numbers of participants in the top ten thousand and those maind demons can¡¯t retort about this fact, which made them sulk to no end.
When all the participants were present in the white pavilion, shortly after, they saw de knights marching inside, followed by nine knightmanders donned in golden armors and a demon donned in ck armor.
He was the first de envoy White me who was leading this small knight parade toward the main stage.
Those de knights surrounded the stage while the knightmanders, including White Fire, took the stage, but they only stay static in a line as if they were waiting for someone.
Everyone held their breath because they knew only one person can make White Fire stand like this.
Which also means¡ the Demon King wasing!
Chapter 436 Phase Two
Chapter 436 Phase Two
White Fire wore a solemn expression on his face as he announced, ¡°The ruler of Mighty de Province, and the strongest de cultivator under the golden sky, His Majesty, the Mighty de Demon King, has arrived. Kneel before your King!¡±
All the knights, including White Fire, fell on their right knees with a thunderous sound.
The youths were also greatly rmed, and they stood up from their seats and do as the knights did. This was the courtesy any Demon King deserved, especially the de Demon King, who was the third most powerful demon king of eight provinces!
At the very front row, Feng included the other top ten does the same.
Thereupon, powerful footsteps sounded from the door and an imposing sensation creep up everyone¡¯s heart.
The de Demon wore golden king robes while a golden crown, which looked like it was made of small swords, was resting on his head. He had a mild smile on his face as he was slowly toward the tform.
Jerome and Maddux were following right behind the de Demon King with their head lower, in awe.
The de Demon King took the stage as his sharp eyes shed past the entire ten thousand youths kneeling before him.
Ace¡¯s heart palpitated all of a sudden when he felt an imposing martial sense fall on him for a moment, and he also noticed one more startling thing, ¡®This soul signature, it from that day!¡¯
Ace quickly remembered the strange encounter he had before he entered the shadow mountain range that day. He simply thought he imagined that the soul signature vanished suddenly.
But now that de Demon King released his martial sense for a few moments, he again felt that powerful soul signature, and it seemed it was the de Demon King himself that day.
¡®So, this is the power of a manifestation realm expert? Too terrifying!¡¯ Ace mused with a slightly grim expression because he could tell the soul realm experts were like ants in front of these manifestation realm experts.
de Demon King¡¯s eyes stayed on Feng for a fleeting moment as a peculiar glint shed past his eyes before he spoke in his thunderous voice, ¡°Rise!¡±
Everyone quickly stood up as they looked at the towering Demon King with reverence and awe in their eyes.
de Demon King solemnly spoke, ¡°First, I want to say, congrattion on making up to this point after confronting the unprecedented situation in the first phase!¡±
No one can make a sound, but most of their eyes were filled with pride and ecstasy to get the Demon King¡¯s praise.
de Demon King continued, ¡°But don¡¯t celebrate too soon. It was only the first phase, but millions of lives were lost, and I don¡¯t know how much more will sacrifice.
¡°However, we demons live for battle and died in battle. We never cower in front of a challenge like our ancestors and never showed our back to our enemies. I want to forge you all into true battle demons who know how to fight and crush their enemies in any kind of situation.
¡°That¡¯s why in the second phase, you all follow one of the de knightmanders here andplete a life and death mission within five months. These de knightmanders will only instruct you, but not save you if you were to face death!¡±
The pavilion¡¯s atmosphere turned gloomy after hearing about the second phase.
de Demon King remained nonchnt and continued, ¡°You all have ess to the reward lists, so use them wisely to increase your battle sense. Don¡¯t waste those reward points wantonly, or you might regret it.
¡°After this banquet, you¡¯ll all receive envelopes with the name of your instructor knightmander, and you¡¯ll be directly reporting to them.¡±
Then his eyes fell on the very front, where the top hundred participants were calmly listening.
de Demon King said, ¡°You all took the top hundred spots and must be very proud of yourselves, and you should be because you are the most talented hundred demons of my domain.
¡°That¡¯s why rank 100 to 11 will get extra 5,000 Reward Points and ess to the special reward list. While rank 4 to 10 will get 10,000 Reward Points and a special reward list for them.¡±
Then his eyesnded on three youths at the very front: Feng, Thomas, and Peter. He smiled coldly, which made the three shrug, especially Peter, who knows his father the best. This smile spells a certain disaster!
He said, ¡°The ranks 2 and 3 will be given 15,000 Reward Points and a reward list for only two of you. As for Rank 1, who is the most promising youth of the domain¡¯s current generation, he¡¯ll get 20,000 Reward Points and the reward list with most precious items.¡±
Everyone eximed and looked at the top hundred participants, especially Feng, who had a special reward list for his own and no one can get anything from it.
However, de Demon King¡¯s next words sent the top hundred from the sky to the pit, ¡°I know you lot are happy because you get many benefits and consider yourself special, but this also means you have to perform a special task as well.
¡°You¡¯ll all get ten times stronger missions from others here and the top ten will have toplete two missions, while the top three will also have toplete a special and most difficult assignment from the others.
¡°As their ranking, it¡¯s not permanent. They¡¯re all yours to take. Since they¡¯re getting arduous tasks, it doesn¡¯t mean they have the right to keep their prominent positions. They had already got the corresponding rewards and benefits for their aforementioned performance.
¡°As long as anyone can perform better than any of them, even the number 1 position is open for any to snatch, and so does your top ten thousand!¡±
The top hundred participants¡¯ expressions were somewhat ugly now because this will massively pressure them to keep their position, while those lower than the top hundred looked at everyone in the front with burning gazes as if they were their prey. Especially the bronze skin demon at the very front!
But this didn¡¯t mean their positions were safe as well, since those who aren¡¯t present here have gotten easier tasks than them, just like the top hundred.
That¡¯s made thispetition even fiercer.
de Demon King ended his speech while saying, ¡°I¡¯m hoping that the next time we meet, there won¡¯t be many unfamiliar faces here. Good luck and enjoy the banquet!¡±
Thomas sighed andmented, ¡°Brother Feng, it seemed we¡¯re screwed!¡±
Feng chuckled, ¡°Talk about yourself. But it seemed we¡¯re going to team up for this task.¡±
Peter grimly chimed in, ¡°I agreed. My royal father can do something like this, but I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be pretty for any of us.¡±
At this moment, Jerome approached them with an elderly smile on his face.
He said while scanning through the top ten, ¡°Everyone from the top ten, please follow me.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed when he sensed this audience might not be over yet.
They all didn¡¯t dare to neglect Jerome because he came with the Demon King, so they quickly followed behind him and left the white pavilion in everyone¡¯s envious gazes, and enter another spacious hall a few meters away from the white pavilions.
They were all startled when they saw Demon King was present and sat at arge table filled with different kinds of luscious dishes and drinks.
Knightmanders were also present on the right side of this long table.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
de Demon King coolly said, ¡°Take a seat everyone, no need to stand on ceremony. This is special meat prepared for the top ten.¡±
Everyone snapped out of their stupor and bowed before they took their seats.
The meal was extremely scrumptious. Even Ace felt he should kidnap the castle¡¯s chef and have him as a personal chef, while the wine was also very appealing.
After the meal was over, they thought they would be excused, but to their surprise, de Demon King had another surprise in store for them.
He said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m sure you all like your meal. Now I would allocate you your task for phase two.¡±
Everyone stiffed hearing this, and they couldn¡¯t help but look at de Demon King with appalling expressions. It was just like letting themb eat before ughtering it.
Hepletely ignored their expression and coolly stated, ¡°Jerome, give it to them.¡±
Jerome bowed slightly before he distributed gold envelopes from rank tenth to rank fourth.
de Demon King said, ¡°I advise you all to open it alone, now you may leave.¡±
Now only the top three, Maddux, Jerome, and knights, remained in this hall.
de Demon King looked at Feng and said with a smile, ¡°Brat, we finally met.¡±
Ace felt like he was stared at by a tiger, and he didn¡¯t dare to show any kind of mistake in his behavior, he respectfully stood up and performed a royal salute, ¡°It¡¯s my honor to meet with, his majesty, the Might de Demon King!¡±
Chapter 437 Demon King’s Intentions
de Demon King looked at Feng and said with a smile, ¡°Brat, we finally met.¡±
Ace felt like a tiger staring at him, and he didn¡¯t dare to show any kind of mistake in his behavior, he respectfully stood up and performed a royal salute, ¡°It¡¯s my honor to meet with His Royal Majesty, the Might de Demon King!¡±
de Demon King chuckled, ¡°Just rx, there¡¯s no one around, you can talk willingly.¡±
Feng respectfully said, ¡°Thank you for this favor, Your Majesty.¡±
de Demon King coolly asked, but there was a subtle glint in his eyes. ¡°So, Feng, from your battle record, it seemed you only hunt demonic beasts in the fourth grade and most of them were at the intermediate stage. You didn¡¯t kill any contestants, but you killed many mist domain participants. Can you tell us why?¡±
Thomas and Peter¡¯s eyes widen slightly when they heard this, although they know about Feng¡¯s abnormal rise in the ranking, and it was absurd, they never thought his battle record was this awestruck.
They both know how difficult it was to hunt an intermediate fourth-grade demonic beast with their current cultivation level.
¡®What did he want?¡¯ Ace felt untoward, but he knew there wasn¡¯t any point in hiding Feng¡¯s strength, and the Demon King didn¡¯t show any ill intentions toward him.
He respectfully replied, ¡°I have indeed done this, and the reason for it was simple: only intermediate demonic beasts can force me to use my strength. As for why I didn¡¯t kill anyone for their kill points because there wasn¡¯t any need for it all.¡±
de Demon King narrowed his eyes when he heard Feng¡¯s respectful yet cocky reply. But he didn¡¯t find any ws in his words.
White Fire and other knightmanders¡¯ eyes narrowed, hearing Feng¡¯s talking in such a tone in front of Demon King.
Thomas smiled wryly at Feng¡¯s guts, and Peter red at Feng pointedly.
de Demon King said with a hint of coldness in his voice, ¡°So, in other words, there¡¯s no one worthy in the de domain to challenge you?¡±
Feng respectfully bowed and said, ¡°I never said that, Your Majesty. I¡¯m only saying I didn¡¯t like killing meaninglessly when there¡¯s no need for it, and this way I won¡¯t offend anyone as well. But if this concern my close one¡¯s life, I won¡¯t hesitate to offend anyone, even a¡ Demon King!¡±
¡°Presumptuous!¡± White Fire roared from his seat and stood up, wanting to apprehend Feng for what just he said.
Even old man Jerome¡¯s expression was dark.
¡°Settle down!¡± de Demo King coldly red at White Fire.
White Fire could only obey and unkindly re at Feng, and other knightmanders were also the same.
de Demo King finally looked at Feng, who was still bowing respectfully without any worry or even showing any hint of pleading for forgiveness.
¡°Boy, do you know what you just said is equal to a capital crime, and you even said it in front of a Demon King, nevertheless? I can easily execute you and the royal council will also agree to it!¡±
Thomas has an ashen face, and he wanted to plead for Feng, but Maddux grasped his hand and sternly signaled him with his cold eyes not to do anything reckless.
However, Feng fearlessly replied, ¡°I only said the truth that your majesty wanted and if I had spoken lies, I¡¯m afraid it would be even more disrespect toward his majesty. But I still offend His Majesty with my presumptuous words. I¡¯m ready to receive any punishment.¡±
¡°Hahahahaha¡ good, very good!¡± de Demo King suddenly burst into jollyughter, which surprised everyone.
de Demo King, he said in a good mood, ¡°I like your character, boy. Not only didn¡¯t you cower in front of me, but you take the risk of offending me by showing your resolve. Although I like downrightness, I like clever downrightness more.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
¡°I¡¯m not worthy of such praise.¡± Feng remained humbled.
¡®He tested Feng by using his marital sense all the time and if he suspected anything in Feng¡¯s facial expression, I¡¯m afraid I would be in trouble, so telling the truth mix with lies was also the right option, and he suspected nothing.¡¯ Ace felt relief that he escaped de Demon King¡¯s detection, or he didn¡¯t know what might¡¯ve happened otherwise.
Although he could perfectly control Feng¡¯s facial expression, he has never done while being monitored by someone far stronger them him, so he didn¡¯t take any chance, and he seeded in fooling the Demon King.
de Demon King said, ¡°I¡¯m sending you three into an expedition of a ruin for your second phase, and Feng, you¡¯re going to be the leader.¡±
Peter and Thomas were shocked by this sudden announcement, and others in the room were also startled.
They all finally understood this was a test for Feng by the Demon King, and he passed as well.
¡®Ruin Expedition?¡¯ Ace was also startled and felt this would not be anything good for his n, but he was helpless right now.
He could only nod with a fake resolute expression, ¡°I will do my best to not let down his majesty.¡±
de Demon King nodded in contentment and continue, ¡°Furthermore, you can choose anyone from participants in your team, but the limit is five. But you only have three days to choose your teammates before those participants will depart for their tasks.¡±
Peter couldn¡¯t help but asked with uncertainty, ¡°Royal Father, what kind of ruin we¡¯re exploring?¡±
The de Demon King answered with a meaningful looked in his eyes, ¡°It¡¯s a ruin of an already extinct King Demon Tribe thousands of years ago, and this ruin is on the southern border of the de province.
¡°It¡¯s the newly discovered underground ruin by the earthen troll race, and it¡¯spletely unexplored. So, there are many opportunities there, but danger also lurks within. That¡¯s why you have to be extremely careful.
¡°You can discuss the detail with White Fire. He¡¯ll be your guide in this expedition, but he won¡¯t make a move unless you encounter a soul realm level danger, so you have to work together!¡±
Ace quickly understood de Demon King¡¯s true intentions. ¡®He wanted us to work on our teamwork and trust, so we won¡¯t have any difficulty in the demon gate trial. But what kind of danger lurking in an extinct king demon tribe?¡¯
He found this extremely suspicious, and he had no experience in any kind of expedition since he always focused on going after rich targets, and he had no interest in tomb raiding. He believed he could get far more from the living than the dead.
¡°I¡¯ll be taking my leave now. You three can discuss the other details with White Fire here. You have three days to prepare and Feng, you can say, in the castle from on. I¡¯ll have someone to bring your maids as well. I¡¯ll be more convenient.¡±
Ace had no choice but to agree right now, he could tell it was amand, not a request.
Afterward, the Demon King left, followed by the other knightmanders, Maddux and Jerome.
Only White Fire, Feng, Thomas, and Peter remain in the grand hall.
White Fire looked at Feng coldly, still unhappy about what happened before, and snorted, ¡°Boy, you have guts to talk with my king like that.¡±
Feng apologized, ¡°I know, and sorry about it. But the Demon King also wanted that, so I can¡¯t go against his majesty¡¯s wishes.¡±
¡°Hmph!¡± White Fire only snorted and not said anything further, since Feng was telling the truth.
Thomas couldn¡¯t help but grumbled, ¡°Brother Feng, you nearly gave me a heart attack.¡±
Feng rolled his eyes, ¡°Aren¡¯t I still fine, and you won¡¯t die so easily!¡±
Peter sighed and said, ¡°Forget about it. Can we now focus on this mission? I want to add Brenna to the team and also wanted to rmend one more reliable teammate.¡±
Thomas merely nodded. ¡°As long as they won¡¯t drag us down, I¡¯m happy with anyone. But I¡¯ll also rmend Alora Yisrael and Carlee Violent. They¡¯re both friends with each other, and they had excellent characters as well. We can work with them.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes shone with a strange light upon hearing Alora¡¯s name mentioned by Thomas and thought about her golden fate point. He couldn¡¯t help but thought this might be the opportunity she¡¯ll lead him to, but he wasn¡¯t certain.
Peter thought and said, ¡°I have no objection, as long as they don¡¯t stab us in the back. I only want these two people and can vouch for their characters.¡±
¡°Brother Feng, what do you think? Do you want to rmend someone?¡± Thomas looked at Feng, who was silent this whole time.
Feng shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know anyone other than you two. You can choose anyone as long as they¡¯re good enough. In my opinion, we three are enough for this expedition.¡±
White Fire retorted, ¡°Don¡¯t be too arrogant just because you took the first ce. You¡¯ve never been on an expedition to an old demon tribe¡¯s ruin. Do you think a ruin is made from just destruction?
¡°Let me tell you¡!¡±
Chapter 438 Reward List
White Fire retorted, ¡°Don¡¯t be too arrogant just because you took the first ce. You¡¯ve never been on an expedition to an old demon tribe¡¯s ruin. Do you think a ruin can form by just destruction?
¡°In our world, ruins are essentially legacy grounds which were left behind by mighty figures for the next generations. Ruins can appear in three forms: intact ruins, damaged ruins, and fragment ruins.
¡°The intact ruins are theplete legacies of ancient demon tribes or some other mighty figures who had sumbed in history, and these kinds of ruins are extremely precious and seldom appeared.
¡°But whenever they appeared, even Demon Kings will fight for the opportunity to explore them. There are many dangers in these kinds of ruins as well, and sometimes the dangers outmatched the rewards as well.
¡°Especially if these ruins happened to be left behind by unorthodox cultivators or races. These beings found pleasure in others¡¯ miseries, and they wanted to see the world fall into chaos even after their death.
¡°As for the damaged ruins, they aren¡¯t like intact ruins and only had limited opportunities, but they can still be heaven-defying if you stumble upon a damaged ruin of an extremely powerful force of ancient times.
¡°Lastly, the fragment ruins, they are the ruins of lowest quietly, the opportunity are like none-exist. Or they can also be already plundered, intact, or damaged ruins. But these ruins are all over the eight provinces and searched countless times.¡±
Ace couldn¡¯t help but be astonished by this new information because even the royal council library didn¡¯t have information about these ruins.
¡®It seemed only fragment ruins are opened to public and others were plundered by big tribes before turned into fragment ruins, so there¡¯s no need to release such information at all as well¡¡¯ Ace mused.
Peter and Thomas reacted little because they had such knowledge because of their backgrounds.
Feng asked with a shocked expression, ¡°Then this underground ruin is a damaged ruin?¡±
White Fire liked Feng¡¯s expression and said with a smile, ¡°We discovered it two years ago, and it¡¯s a damaged ruin. After we sessfully break past the restriction. It was a ruin of a king tribe from ancient times, and there are many traps and opportunities as well.
¡°That¡¯s why his majesty decided to let the strongest talent of our domain explore it and find fortuitous opportunities for themselves. Now you understand what kind of favor you¡¯re getting from his majesty?¡±
Feng showed an ashamed expression and quickly apologized to White Fire, ¡°I was indeed ignorant before, please ept my humble apology, senior.¡±
White Fire finally showed a content smile, ¡°Don¡¯t fret over it, just don¡¯t be disrespectful to a demon king, or not everyone is as magnanimous as his majesty.¡±
¡°I understand.¡± Feng bowed deeply.
¡®But what if the other guy wanted to get offend himself?¡¯ Ace sneered inwardly.
Thomas smiled, seeing those two getting along, and said at this moment, ¡°Since this is out of the way, can we discuss the teammate¡¯s problem? This is an opportunity, and it¡¯s in our hands who to give it, so you guys better decide carefully.¡±
Feng said, ¡°I already said I don¡¯t know anyone except you two. You can choose our teammates, but they had to be reliable.¡± His eyes suddenly turned cold at this moment. ¡°Or I¡¯ll kill them the moment they show the slightest bit of malicious intent! I have this authority as a team leader, right, senior?¡±
Peter frowned but didn¡¯t retort at thisst statement, nor did Thomas oppose and merely smile in amusement.
¡°You¡¯re the leader. I won¡¯t interfere with you no matter what, as long as you didn¡¯t go overboard with your authority.¡± White Fire remained nonchnt.
Afterward, Peter and Thomas discussed the teammate¡¯s issue while Feng probed information about ruins from the White Fire.
Ace knew it was his chance to learn about these ruins, in case he stumbled upon one in the future, so he won¡¯t remain ignorant at that time.
But in the end, Ace found these ruins as somewhatcking because the chances of getting anything from them were almost zero and only intact ruins stimted his interest.
However, he also learned in the history of eight provinces only three intact ruins were discovered and nearly cause wars between demon kings. But the strange thing was royal zone or royal demon council never interfered in the fight for these intact ruins.
In the end, White Fire¡¯s information was also limited, and he suggested Feng; visit the royal library after finding him so interested in history.
Ace was also ted after finding out that he could get ess to the royal library with his reward points, and he decided to visit it as soon as he got the chance.
Their discussionsted for two hours before the three left, after giving White Fire the names of demons they included in their team.
¡°Brother Peter, where can I spend my reward points?¡± Feng suddenly asked Peter.
Their rtionship has improved quite a bit after talking with each other, so they¡¯re calling each other brothers, but he was still closer to Thomas.
¡°Brother Feng, since your reward list is the most precious of all, you can only im your reward from the castle treasury hall. Let¡¯s go together. It¡¯s in our way.¡± Peter replied.
¡°Let¡¯s go. I also wanted to see what I can buy.¡± Thomas also wanted to spend his reward points.
¡°Lead the way, then.¡± Feng quickly agreed.
They all embarked on Peter¡¯s carriage, which was quite spacious, like a small house. Brenna was also present in the carriage, and she was quite sulky, seeing Feng.
However, Feng merely greeted her and didn¡¯t pay any attention to her at all. Peter, on the other hand, pacified her because he didn¡¯t want her to offend Feng.
After all, he was their leader and if he wanted, he could easily object to her presence on the team, and he won¡¯t be able to do anything. Although he knew Feng won¡¯t do it, but it was still not good for their association if she offended him.
Thereupon, the carriage stopped in front of avishing building, guarded by two silver knights.
They quickly let them pass when they saw Peter was with them.
Ace couldn¡¯t help but scan the entire building with his thievish eyes because he thought it was the location of the castle treasury. But he was soon disappointed when he found there wasn¡¯t anything hidden with the live fate map.
He could only guess that this was an ordinary building to distribute the sry of servants and knights, not the real royal treasury.
A middle-aged silver de demon was sitting behind a desk inside the building, and when he saw Peter, he was startled and hastened to greet him.
¡°Your Highness, you really surprised me this time.¡± He eximed with a warm smile.
Peter nodded with a smile and said, ¡°Uncle Greysen, I¡¯m here to apany my friends. They wanted to use their reward points.¡±
Greysen finally notice Thomas and Feng and asked, ¡°They are?¡±
He was also from the king n, and he knew Peter didn¡¯t have many friends, and these can¡¯t be ordinary if they¡¯re here for the reward list and apanied by Peter.
Peter introduced, ¡°This is the second-ce participant, Sir Thomas, and this is the first ce, Sir Feng.¡±
They both politely greet Greysen, since he seemed to have a wonderful correspondence with Peter.
¡±Greeting, sir Greysen.¡±
Greysen smiled warmly, ¡°Oh, please don¡¯t, since you¡¯re his highness friends call me Uncle like him. It¡¯s also my owner to meet two prodigies of our domain, especially the rising sword earl.¡±
¡°Please, just call me Feng.¡± Feng politely smiled.
¡°Good, very good.¡± Greysen was thrilled and led them inside.¡± Come,e. I already got the reward lists for all of you. As long as you have reward points, you can buy anything from the reward lists.¡±
Peter seemed uninterested in reward points since he can get anything as long as he wanted.
But Thomas and Feng browsed through the white booklets given to them by Greysen.
Ace¡¯s eyes glowed when he looked at the booklet in his hand and see the rewards.
________
[Phase-1 Reward List: First Rank]
[Qi Stones Section]
-Peak-Grade-3 Qi Stones: 1 Qi Stone = 100 Reward Points
(10,000 Avable)
-High-Grade-3 Qi Stones: 1 Qi Stones = 50 Reward Points
(100,000 Avable)
-Middle-Grade-3 Qi Stones: 1 Qi Stone = 10 Reward Points
(1,000,000 Avable)
-Low-Grade-3 Qi Stones: 1 Qi Stone = 1 Reward Points
(10,000,000 Avable)
[Medicine Section]
-Qi Condensing Pills (Martial, High-Grade-1): 1 Pill = 200 Reward Points
(1,000 Avable)
-Qi Recovery Pills (Martial, High-Grade-1): 1 Pill = 350 Reward Points
(500 Avable)
-Flesh Healing Pills (Martial, High-Grade-1): 1 Pill = 500 Reward Points
(500 Avable)n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
-Berserker Rage Pills (Martial, Low-Grade-2): 1 Pill = 1,500 Reward Points
(10 Avable)
[Use: Drawing ten times the original power of the consumer and exempt from any pain as long as the pill effectst.]
[Time Limit: 10 Minutes]
[Warning: The Berserker Rage Pill has a terrible bacsh, and the consumer can¡¯t move for five hours after the effect ended. Taking two pills or more at once can cause Qi Deviation. Use with caution!]
¡
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Chapter 439 The Mysterious Stone
_______
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[Talisman Section]
-Fire Sword Talisman (Martial, High-Grade-1): 5,000 Reward Points
(1 Avable)
-Thunder Escape Talisman (Martial, High-Grade-1): 7,000 Reward Points
(1 Avable)
-Light sh Talisman (Soul, 9-Star): 10,000 Reward Points
(1 Avable)
[Treasure Section]
-Lightning Sword (High-Grade-2 Weapon): 5,000 Reward Points
-tinum Moon Sword (Low-Grade-3 Runic Weapon): 10,000 Reward Point
-Golden Defense (High-Grade-2 Torso Light Armor): 7,000 Reward Point
-tinum Defense (Low-Grade-3 Full Body Light Armor): 10,000 Reward Point
-Armament Guard Ring (Low-Grade-2 Defensive Runic essory): 10,000 Reward Point
¡
¡
-Autonomous Qi Storage (Intermediate-Grade-3 Treasure): 15,000 Reward Point
[Description: Ability to store Martial Qi and draw it for one¡¯s use.]
¡
¡
-Dark Fire Shield Stone (High-Grade-3 Defensive Treasure): 20,000 Reward Point
[Description: This Stone can absorb and store arge amount of Qi from Qi stones (only Grade-2 or higher) and then release that Qi into a dark fiery barrier, forming a shield that can block a peak river core realm attack.]
¡
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Ace couldn¡¯t help but smile, seeing the contents of the reward list.
Although the rewards were of inferior quality in both pill sections and talismans, they were quite appealing to any river realm expert.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, they can¡¯t break into the next realm before the trial as well so, many of them were useless to them, especially the condensing pills and Qi stones.
Furthermore, Ace also spotted the item that the Floor Manager has interested him to buy, and strangely, its name was the Dark Fire Shield Stone, and it was worth 20,000 Reward Points.
It was some unknown item, and it was quite a useful defensive treasure, but it wasn¡¯t enough to arouse someone from the life demon association¡¯s interest and made them pay double the amount.
¡®Could it be that guy is taking it for something else, or the de tribe has taken it for something else, and it has some other use?¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered with uncertainty, ¡®Should I buy it? There isn¡¯t anything that I¡¯m interested in except those talismans, but I have my own, so¡¡¯
Feng looked at Greysen and asked politely, ¡°Uncle Greysen, I want to know how many Reward Points I need to enter the royal library?¡±
Greysen answered smilingly, ¡°Oh, you want to acquire skills and techniques from the royal library? You don¡¯t have to bother. There¡¯s a special skill and technique list you can choose from.¡±
However, Feng shook his head and said, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t want any skills or techniques but knowledge about old ruins. Sir White Fire told me I can enter the royal library as long as I have reward points.¡±
Greysen was astonished when he heard Feng¡¯s uninterested response, and he didn¡¯t seem to joke at all. But he still answered, ¡°Is that so? Then if you want to learnmon knowledge which isn¡¯t rted to skills or techniques, 500 to 1000 Reward Points would be sufficient. However, the royal librarian has thest say in this, though.¡±
¡°Thank you, I understand.¡± Feng nodded with a smile, and then he pointed at the item pictured in the reward booklet and said, ¡°I want this Dark Fire Shield Stone.¡±
Greysen, as well as Peter and Thomas, looked at the white stone with ck dots and its price.
Peter couldn¡¯t help but frown, ¡°Uncle Greysen, why have I never heard of this stone before? It has quite a useful function.¡±
Greysen said, ¡°This stone was found in the treasury when we¡¯re setting the reward list and, after examining it, we found this function. His Majesty decided to put it in the first rank list because of its strong defensive ability, and it¡¯s quite sturdy as well.¡±
Greysen then looked at Feng and advised, ¡°I never thought Young Friend Feng would want to im it first, of all the items. Although it¡¯s a unique treasure of unknown origin, it¡¯s not so important as the other items. If you want a defensive treasure, you should buy the Armament Guard Ring or armor. They were specially chosen for you. Are you sure you want to spend 20,000 reward points on this?¡±
¡®Unknown origin, huh?¡¯ Ace became even more interested in this item.
Feng tactfully answered, ¡°Thank you for your kind intentions Uncle Greysen, but I¡¯m onlycking with a defensive treasure and armors aren¡¯t my cup of tea, and Armament Guard Ring is already worth 10,000 Reward Points, but its grade is lower than this Dark Fire Shield Stone. So, I¡¯m sure I want this.¡±
Feng¡¯s word made quite a sense to Greysen, so he thought little and agreed, ¡°As long as you¡¯re satisfied with it. If it wasn¡¯t his majesty¡¯s strict order, I would¡¯ve given you more reward points to spend.¡± He seemed toment about it.
¡°I know. Thank you for your consideration.¡± Feng seemed grateful.
Afterward, Thomas also chose some soul pills, a talisman, and a defensive treasure. His medicine section was filled with soul pills, but they were quite expensive, so he could only choose a limited amount.
Greysen quietly noted down their purchases and then pulled the items from his storage ring.
Ace finally understood where those items were, and he wanted to pickpocket Greysen¡¯s storage ring, but he knew he won¡¯t be able to keep it for long, so he suppressed his thievish urge.
After collecting their items, they bid Greysen farewell and left the building.
Brenna was waiting in the carriage. She was the same as Peter,pletely uninterested in the treasure list, so she didn¡¯t go with them before.
The de demon castle was also a short distance away from the treasury hall, and it was made of white marble with beautiful silver patterns.
Peter and Brenna parted way with Thomas and Feng at the castle, while Thomas led Feng toward his courtyard, where Milly was waiting.
She wasn¡¯t participating in thispetition because Thomas say she was cultivating a secret skill, and it needed her a year or so to master it.
In the evening, a servant appeared to Feng with a message that his maids have arrived in his courtyard, so he bid Thomas and Milly farewell and left with that servant.
The de demon castle was quiterge, and they were all in the eastern castle, which was reserved for guests like them.
From Thomas, he found out that all the de envoys lived in the western de castle and the southern and northern castles were reserved for the silver de demon n, while the Central de Castle was where the King¡¯s family lived.
Dolly and Flora were waiting for Feng with agitated expressions because they thought something was wrong when they heard they were summoned to the de castle.
But after hearing he was ordered to live in the castle, they felt relieved, and it was also a good thing for them since no one would dare to cause trouble anymore.
¡®Sigh finally alone¡¡¯
Ace sighed with somewhat exhaustion as he entered his room because today was tiring, especially the meeting with de Demon King.
¡®Ie a long way from being an ordinary mortal to the point of bing a thief and lying in the face of a soul manifestation realm demon king¡ who would¡¯ve thought, heh!¡¯
Ace looked outside the window at the slowly darkening golden sky and couldn¡¯t help but reminisce with a faint smile, but there was deep loneliness in his eyes.
Ace averted his eyes after a while and then checked the room for any surveince arrays or formations, and it was clean. He then took out a palm size oval shape stone which was white but had small ck dots all over its smooth jade-like surface.
He poured some earth Qi into it, and the very next moment, a dark fiery barrier encircled him. Furthermore, he even felt the intense heat while standing in the middle of it.
¡®Is that why the alchemist wanted it? This ck fire might have some use in alchemy?¡¯ Ace guessed as he stopped pouring Qi into it.
Thereafter, a grade-2 Qi stone appeared in his hand and the moment he pulled it close to the oval stone it suddenly trembled before the Qi in the Qi stone started to madly suck into the oval stone, and only when the Qi stone turned to dust did the suction force vanished.
Ace¡¯s eyes turned sharp, and the green Qi turned into dark Qi filled with lightning sparks.
At this moment, the moment he used his heavenly darkness, Qi the stone suddenly trembled, eye narrowed, Ace stopped using his HD-Qi and the stone turn back to normal.
¡®There¡¯s definitely something wrong with this stone!¡¯
Ace asked, ¡°System, can you appraise this stone?¡±
¡±[50,000 TP is required. Do you want to continue?]¡±
Ace cocked an eyebrow at hearing this price. ¡°So there¡¯s something extraordinary about this stone, huh? Do it!¡±
The very next moment thereafter, the TP was deducted,
=====
[Egg of a Nether Paradise Bird]
-Description: From ¡®???¡¯ family, born in, ???, It controlled the [Nether Fire]w after reaching adulthood.
-Rank: Above Ninth Grade
-Bloodline: Above Ninth Grade
-State: Pseudo-Dead
-Incubate Condition (1): Aher paradise bird can only hatch after being nourished with Nether Spirit Magma
-Incubate Condition (2): Host¡¯s Heavenly-Darkness Qi can also rece the Nether Spirit Magma
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 3,635,400]
=====
Chapter 440 Eliminate the Danger
Ace¡¯s eyes contracted the moment he saw the description. ¡°What did this ¡®???¡¯ mean?¡±
¡±[Anything that is not from the Mortal Sky Heaven, the host can¡¯t see their details.]¡±
Ace¡¯s heart raced to hear this and looked at the static egg with incredulity. ¡®A beast egg that is not from the first heaven? How did ite here, and how did the de demon tribe get their hands on it?
¡®Furthermore, this bird¡¯s bloodline and rank is above ninth grade, and it can controlw like [Nether Fire] in its adulthood which sounds ghastly, just what kind of existence can control aw? I can even hatch it with my HD-Qi!¡¯
Ace was still somewhat baffled by this tremendous discovery and asked, ¡°System, is this also a creature of darkness? And why can it be stored in a storage ring despite being a living being?¡±
Ace witnessed Greysen taking this egg out of his storage ring and anything alive won¡¯t store in a storage ring, and this will also draw the demon king¡¯s attention, and it won¡¯t beying in his hand right now if that would¡¯ve happened.
¡±[Yes, this is a creature of darkness. As for why it can be stored in a storage ring, despite being a living thing, it¡¯s because of the Pseudo-Dead state.]
¡±[Because of this state, it¡¯s almost impossible to identify aher paradise bird egg from a Nether me Alloy, which is also ranked above ninth grade and this egg can also imitate the same ability of aher shield ofher me alloy.]
¡±[Not only that, but this state can also make it fool the natural order, and it can be stored in a typical storage ring. As long as the egg didn¡¯t encounter something higher rank than itself, it won¡¯t break no matter how much force it encountered.]
¡±[That¡¯s howher paradise bird survived from its natural predators as well.]¡±
¡°It¡¯s that awesome?¡± Ace eximed as he looked at the jade-like egg in his hand with ecstasy. He picked up a treasure this time!
¡®It seemed the de demon tribe hase in contact with it unknowingly, and they merely thought of it as a defensive treasure and stashed it away. I wonder if the demon king found out about its true value, he might have died from regret.¡¯ Ace grinned passionately.
Suddenly his eyes shimmer with understanding, ¡®Could it be that alchemist somehow got his hands on an ancient record that describes theher me alloy, and he also thought they were the same?
¡®It¡¯s very possible, and he might want to use it to forge a strong treasure. Heh, you wanted to cheat me? Dream on!¡¯ Ace snorted with ridicule.
However, hiscent expression fell suddenly, ¡®No, if I didn¡¯t hand it over he might start to spread the information about theher me alloy, won¡¯t everyone look for me at that time?
¡®Even the royal zone might get interested if they know about theher me alloy¡¯s rank. Although it¡¯s not true, will they believe me? I have to hand it over at that time. Or if that alchemist told someone with selfish thoughts, they might even want to kill me to keep my mouth shut. Fuck!¡¯
Ace suddenly felt this egg was a hot potato right now, and if he didn¡¯t y it well, he might have to discard Feng¡¯s identity ahead of time.
Furthermore, he had to discard it in the right way. He can¡¯t let anyone know that Feng was the wanted thief all along. Not only people around Feng will suffer a tragic fate, but this will also cause a tremendous storm because this would mean the Sky Stealer can fool the loyalty contracts of the royal demon council!
At that time, there won¡¯t just one person from the royal zone after him, and he might alert the Demon Emperor. His heart fluttered just thinking about it because he can¡¯t hide from the Demon Emperor and only run!
¡®I have to kill him and anyone who knows of this!¡¯ Ace¡¯s emit killing intent like never before.
Because he didn¡¯t want to give away such a precious beast that can controlw, it was by far the most precious treasure he got besides the Eternal Thief Fate Compass.
¡°System, how much Qi did this egg need before it hatched?¡± Ace asked.
¡±[Host can store it in the Living Thief¡¯s Space. It¡¯ll solve the environmental problem and pour the Heavenly Darkness Qi once every three days. It will take 1000 Days like this to hatch it.]¡±
¡°Just like that, huh?¡± Ace couldn¡¯t help but smile ear to ear. He never thought he would get a pet with such a background.
However, if he knew theher spirit magma was one of the rarest treasures even in higher heaven that it can cause a huge war, no one knows what he thought.
It was just that his thief¡¯s space and heavenly darkness Qi were omnipotent to nurture creatures of darkness without any external help.
So, in anyone else¡¯s hand, this egg was just a beautiful stone, nothing else, and they can¡¯t harm it either, even if they want to melt it into a treasure.
Ace quickly did as the system suggested and poured his heavenly darkness Qi into the egg. First, it trembled for a while before Ace felt a suction force that started to devour his Qi like a bottomless pit.
However, this only made Ace more ted, and he poured the HD-Qi at the full capacity he could muster. But he was soon shocked when he found out that no matter how much he poured, this little egg just won¡¯t seem to get full.
After four hours, Ace stopped his Qi, which was almost sucked dry by this little egg, but he looked delighted, then exhausted.
Thereafter, he put the egg close to Eva¡¯s cocoon and recovered his depleted Qi.
¡®How should I deal with that floor manager and that woman? Oh, with her here, why I¡¯m even agonizing over it?¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up, and he opened the Thief House Panel.
¡ª
Inside a beautiful field filled with all kinds of medicinal herbs, the air was filled with high-quality Qi and the aroma of herbs. Just by breathing here, one could feel their cultivation growing.
At this moment, a breathtakingly beautiful demoness was carefully tending to the herbs when her body quivered slightly.
¡°What happened, little girl?¡± An old benevolent voice sounded at this moment.
The demoness turned around and looked at the fossil-like old demon sitting cross-legged on a tform in the center of this herb field and smiling mildly at her.
She said attentively, ¡°Master, I want to go outside to look around the de domain, can I?¡±
The old man seemed surprised by this abrupt request. ¡°Oh, when that brat invites you for a tour, you seemedpletely uninterested and always focused on alchemy. What made my austere disciple want to go outside?¡±
The demoness pouted. ¡°That fellow is so annoying. I don¡¯t want to go with him, and master, I¡¯m not austere!¡±
¡°Hahaha, go enjoy yourself. We alchemists shouldn¡¯t just obsess with alchemy and enjoy it once in a while. It¡¯s good for our mentality. Besides, you¡¯ve already improved so much. I¡¯m afraid you might scare those old codgers in the uing alchemy meeting in a year.¡± The old demon said with a gratified expression.
¡°All thanks to master¡¯s teaching.¡± The demoness smiled full of gratefulness toward this old man.
¡°Haha, don¡¯t tter me. I won¡¯t go easy on you!¡± The old man smirked, but he was thrilled. ¡°Go, if you need any spending money, ask Samuel or if anyone bullies you, just tell me I¡¯ll seek justice for you.¡±
¡°Thank you, master.¡± The demoness quickly bowed respectfully and left the herb field.
The old man sent her off with his ted eyes before he took out a green cube, and it flushed. A cold sounded from the cube. ¡°Your order, master?¡±
¡°Lana has gone out, protect her from shadows, don¡¯t take action if she¡¯s not in danger.¡± The old man impassively said.
¡°As your bidding, master.¡±
With that, the cube went dormant again.
¡°Hmph, those bastards wanted to court my precious disciple? No one is worthy!¡± The old man snorted with disdain.
The demoness was sauntering toward the exit while deep in thought as she looked into the air.
_____
[Thief House Leader Mission]
-Optional Mission: Eliminate the Danger!
-Option (1): Assassinate the first-floor manager of Life Demon Treasure Pagoda and his female disciple and stole their storage rings!
-Option (2): If you can¡¯t cancel the mission!
¨C
-Option One Reward: 10,000 House Points
-Time: 3 Daysn/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Punishment: None
¨C
-Option Two Reward: None
-Time: 10 Minutes
Punishment: None
¡ª
[Note: Please choose an option within 5 minutes, or the mission will automatically be canceled!]
______
The demoness¡¯s eyes shone with ambiguity. ¡®How did those two provoke the leader, or did they discover something they shouldn¡¯t have? Well, since you offend him, you two can forget about living.¡¯
Her cherry lips curled into a charming smile, which was more like the smile of a ruthless assassin!
Chapter 441 Meeting with the Parrot
On the second day after the castle¡¯s banquet,
Ace was practicing the Lock Eraser King Technique, and he was already at the expert level of the Lock Eraser Master stage and moving toward the Perfectionist level at a fast pace.
He knew if he wanted to aplish the second chain mission; he had to be at least a Lock Eraser Grandmaster at the Novice level.
That was why he was now solely focusing on this technique right now, and after reaching the peak of the heavenly sea realm, his cognition speed has be twice as fast as before.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Furthermore, he was nning to visit the royal library at noon and see what kind of knowledge he got. He was hoping to find more knowledge about the ruins and also adjust his ns ordingly.
At this moment, Ace frowned slightly before he flip his hand and the Myriad Miles Communication Cube appeared in his hand, and it was shing.
¡®What did he want now?¡¯ Ace was silently vignt of All-Knowing Parrot after he visited the lionheart shop.
He knew this guy was scheming something while hiding in the lionheart shop, and he might get dragged into something without even knowing it. That was why he was circumspect.
Ace calmly active the Myriad Miles Communication Cube and All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s ovepping voice rang, ¡°Mr. Sky, how¡¯s have you been? I hope you like my arrangement?¡±
¡®How pretentious,¡¯ Ace derided in his heart.
He said, ¡°It was indeed to my liking, and I¡¯m quite grateful for your help. I¡¯m looking forward to working with you.¡±
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°Oh, is that so? Then the feeling is mutual, and I think it¡¯s time to form the Hex Soul Pack as well. What do you think?¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡®He¡¯s really conspiring something!¡¯
He said surprisingly, ¡°It¡¯s time? Do you mean?¡±
¡°Yes, my matter ended earlier than expected, and I also heard the top ten will leave for the second phase in two more days. Although I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re mixing with the participants, I can understand you didn¡¯t trust me enough to divulge it.
¡°That¡¯s why we should form the Hex Soul Pack as soon as possible. It¡¯ll be more convenient if we can speak without any restraints and help each other without being worried about betrayal.
¡°I¡¯m about to enter the de domain and if you agree with this arrangement, pleasee to the lionheart shop. This will also ensure both of our security if we meet in the inner domain market. So, what do you think?¡±
¡®What an critous guy. He had already arranged everything and ensure that he didn¡¯t leave any loopholes. If it was someone else, they might¡¯ve thought it was safe to meet with him since the market is the most popted area of the inner domain and no one would dare to fight there, or the knights will be alerted.
¡®However, I already knew he was in that store from the start and waiting for something, or he would¡¯ve contacted me before. Now it seemed he¡¯s quite confident in dealing with me and that¡¯s why he¡¯s pushing me to decide after preparing.
¡®If I back down now, he might leak the information about my identity to the de demon king, and he¡¯ll easily remove me from the picture altogether. Furthermore, he should already guess I¡¯m after something because of Feng¡¯s poprity¡ hehe, but you make a grave mistake.¡¯
Ace¡¯s eyes turned cold when he thought how this guy had cornered Feng without even doing anything and if he was someone else, he had to meet All-Knowing Parrot since they would be worried about the identity getting leaked aftering so far.
He said with tion, ¡°Fantastic! I¡¯ll be there in the evening.¡±
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s voice sounded in agreement, ¡°That¡¯ll be for the best. See you.¡±
With that, the cube went dormant again.
¡°You¡¯re screwing with the wrong guy¡¡± Ace smirked coldly before closing his eyes again.
¡ª
Inside the lionheart shop, on the top floor.
All-Knowing Parrot put the cube away but her bewitching eyes were narrowed, ¡®How did he agree so easily? Is he confident in evading if I acted, or is he simply a fool? No, he¡¯s definitely not a fool. No fool can lead the entire eight provinces by the nose.
¡®Was I too hasty? But I can¡¯t miss this chance and my n is wless. Once he entered and formed the hex soul pack with me, I can control him and kill him with a thought. But if he vilified or whack before that, I can easily restrain him with this grade-4 dark earth array.¡¯
In the end, she simply shook her head andugh at her fantasies. She was just too cautious.
How could a mere thief can escape her scheming and even if, by some miracle, it happened, she wasn¡¯t worried at all for her safety!
On the contrary, it wouldpletely expose Feng¡¯s hidden identity if he acted rashly, especially if she didn¡¯t get what she desired!
¡®Well, it¡¯ll be more entertaining that way¡¡¯ her eyes shone with a dark glint in the end.
¡ª
Today was a cloudy day as dark clouds filled the golden sky.
Ace left the castle after spending the entire noon in the royal library and absorbed everything that he can, but he could tell this wasn¡¯t the secret library where all the secrets were hidden.
However, it was enough to acquire new information, especially about the ruins of this world. He found that all those ruins were from the war period when all races fought for supremacy and many mighty figures sacrificed themselves for the bright future of their race.
Nevertheless, he wasn¡¯t moved by those legends at all and left the castle for his meeting with All-Knowing Parrot; he was looking forward to it.
Although he wasn¡¯t restricted by anyone to leave to enter the de castle, he was still careful about being followed.
He left after in the sham of going to the life wine pavilion for drinking before he would leave for the expedition and no one would find it strange as well. However, he didn¡¯t take any carriage or any escort and was left alone.
This time, no one followed him, and he easily changed his disguise into the same demon he had entered the lionheart shopst time.
When he reached the lionheart shop, he opened the live fate map and was somewhat surprised by seeing All-Knowing Parrot was still inside and wasn¡¯t afraid he would reveal her whereabouts.
¡®Either he¡¯s overly confident or just wasn¡¯t afraid I would tell anyone¡¡¯ Ace thought as he entered the familiar building.
This time, he was directly led by an attendant toward the upper floors.
On the ninth floor, he saw Aliya again, but she wasn¡¯t like before, and her eyes were filled with mortification and indignation as she looked at Ace.
¡®I didn¡¯t offend her. What¡¯s the deal with her?¡¯ Ace felt she had some kind of mental problem and pretend he noticed nothing.
¡°Follow me!¡± She snorted and moved toward the upper floor, and Ace follow suit.
When they reached thest floor, Aliya led him toward a closed room.
She said, ¡°You may enter, mistress is waiting.¡±
¡®Mistress? So, All-Knowing Parrot is a woman?¡¯ Ace was astonished, but he didn¡¯t show anything and entered the room.
Aliya closed the door before an array te appeared in her hand and she activated it, locking the entire tenth floor.
Inside the room,
Ace saw a veil demoness with nation toppling figure, calmly setting on a chair.
She signaled toward the chair on the other side of the table with her slender hand and spoke in her melodious tone, ¡°Please, take the seat, Mr. Sky.¡±
¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± Ace said with a smile while he took the seat.
All-Knowing Parrot said in an ambiguous tone, ¡°It seemed Mr. Sky didn¡¯t expect me to be a woman, right?¡±
¡°Well, I would be lying if I said I¡¯m not surprised, but not as much as finding out the All-Knowing Parrot to be such a beauty.¡± Ace tter.
All-Knowing Parrot chuckled and mysteriously said, ¡°Well, you¡¯re the first to see me in the entire eight provinces. Are you sure I¡¯m not a fake?¡±
Ace coolly said, ¡°If you¡¯re fake, then the Hex Soul Pack won¡¯t be able to form and besides I have means to know if you¡¯re Boss All-Knowing Parrot or not, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯re the real one.¡±
He was just guessing; he didn¡¯t know any about the hex soul pack at all, but he could tell only the hex demons can form it!
¡°Hehe, that¡¯s true, all right.¡± She calmly admitted it before she said, ¡°Can you show me your actual face?¡±
Ace shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m not worth seeing, and I can¡¯t show my face to you withoutpletely trusting you, so apologies. Besides, you¡¯re also hiding your appearance.¡±
All-Knowing Parrot chuckled and didn¡¯t pursue the matter.
She turned impassive and spoke, ¡°Then let¡¯s not beat around the bush before we form the hex soul pack. We need to sign a soul contract¡!¡±
Chapter 442 Ace’s Trap for the Parrot
¡°Then let¡¯s not beat around the bush. Before we form the hex soul pack, we need to sign a soul contract. ¡°
Ace didn¡¯t reject her at all and serenely asked, ¡°If I may ask, what will be the contents of this soul contract be?¡±
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s eyes shone as she said, ¡°It¡¯s simple, during the hex soul ritual we won¡¯t back down at thest moment and form this hex soul pack unpretentiously. That¡¯s all. If you want to add anything, you may.¡±
¡®He¡¯ll definitely add the condition about malicious thoughts and ns¡ heh,¡¯ She thought with a hint of antipathy. But to her surprise, he didn¡¯t!
¡°It¡¯s fine, we didn¡¯t need to add any more conditions, but¡¡± the demon looked at her with a meaningful smile.
¡°If Mr. Sky wanted to say something, please, by all means, I won¡¯t mind.¡± She said, but her eyes shimmered with ambivalence because she can¡¯t see through this man. ¡®It¡¯s because of his disguise!¡¯
¡®She fell for it!¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes shed with a wily glint at this moment. ¡°It¡¯s like this, just like you prepared the soul contract to ensure nothing goes wrong. I also prepared a Soul Oath Contract.
¡°I wonder if you¡¯re willing to take the same oath as the soul contract with me as well. We both know these things can be tampered with. You can also check the soul oath contract, while I¡¯ll check the soul contract. This way, we¡¯ll both can perform the ritual without any worries.¡±
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s eyes narrowed as she felt something was amiss, but his request wasn¡¯t unreasonable at all. On the contrary, if he would¡¯ve agreed quickly, she might¡¯ve felt even more uneasy.
¡®But how did he get his hands on a soul oath contract? They are far more precious than soul contracts! He¡¯s even wanted to give me the soul oath contract to examine¡¡¯
She had to admit this meeting wasn¡¯t going ording to her n at all; she had prepared many reasons and means to deal with Ace if he tried to back down. But not only did he was agreeing with her, he even had his own intentions.
Now, if she didn¡¯t agree, won¡¯t the tables will turn on her?
She said, ¡°Let¡¯s do as you suggest. Here¡¯s the soul contract. You can examine it as much as you want.¡±
She took out a translucent sheet of gray paper and put it on the table while she carefully looked at the expressionless man. She wanted to see some kind of w or hint, but s, she caught nothing.
How could she see through Ace? He even fooled the demon king, much less a first-stage diamond soul river cultivator like her.
¡°System, I want one thief house recruitment token!¡± Ace promptlymanded.
He has been waiting for this exact moment, for the moment he spoke with the All-Knowing Parrot.
He knew this person has tremendous potential because of her ability to build the strongest secret informationwork outside the royal zone and remain unscratched and hidden all this time.
Furthermore, she can acquire information from the most hidden and guarded areas, which means she had a very special ability. He has never forgotten how she found out about his element sword intent, despite his awareness.N?v(el)B\\jnn
This alone was enough for Ace to rope her into the Thief House and via her, he can control the entire Spica Syndicate and get all the information without doing anything.
If he had any doubts before, they all vanished after he visited the lionheart shop and discovered they can easily smuggle soul materials throughout the eight provinces, and he wanted her into the Thief House even more!
She was perfect for being a member of the thief house, and he knew if he invited her directly she would never agree and might even retaliate after finding out he wasn¡¯t a hex magic user.
That was why he didn¡¯t take any action against her, even after knowing she was still here, and letting her scheme as much as she wanted and have the feeling of always being in control while she was actually falling into his trap all along.
Now he was finally at the juncture of tricking her despite her carefulness. He felt more excited.
======
[One Thief House Recruitment Token has been delivered in the host¡¯s living thief¡¯s space.]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 2,535,400]
======
Before, he had converted a hundred thousand TP into ten thousand HP to issue Noa the kill mission, and now a million was spent again on the recruitment token. Although he felt pain seeing his TP getting lower and lower, but he was also getting much more in return.
All-Knowing Parrot had naturally no idea about what Ace was thinking. She was waiting to examine the soul oath contract.
Thereafter, a crystalline pitch-ck, palm-size token appeared in Ace¡¯s hand, engraved with his thief symbol on one side and two ancient god words, ¡®Thief House¡¯ on the other, just like a coin.
All-Knowing Parrot carefully looked at this delicate token.
¡°This is the soul oath contract. I get it with my inheritance, and I only have this one. It¡¯s very simple to use; we have to drip our blood on it, and afterward, we just have to repeat our oath while engulfing it with our Qi and the contract will be established.¡± Ace lied through his teeth.
However, All-Knowing Parrot wasn¡¯t Noa and wasn¡¯t easy to hoodwink, she asked, ¡°This contract has your famous symbol on it, was it made by you and what tribe are you from, I never heard any hex demon tribe who worshiped an owl?¡±
However, Ace had already seen this questioning, and he knew it won¡¯t be easy to trick her.
He said coolly, ¡°Truth be told, I also don¡¯t know my tribe name, but my parents left this inheritance for me. As for the owl symbol, they say our owl was our sacred symbol, and it will always protect us and our tribe. That¡¯s why I took it as my symbol as well.¡±
All-Knowing Parrot looked at Ace with a piercing gaze clearly didn¡¯t believe him at all.
Ace quickly followed, ¡°To show there wasn¡¯t anything amiss with this soul oath token, I¡¯ll take the oath first, and then you can check the token before following through.¡±
¡°System, if I drip my blood and use my Qi, it won¡¯t count, right?¡± Ace quickly asked, but he was quite confident it won¡¯t because he was the leader. How could he recruit himself, right?
¡±[No!]¡±
Ace felt relief and quickly pierce his finger and drip his blood on the token and said solemnly while engulfing the token in his earthen Qi,
¡°I, solemnly, vowed that I¡¯ll follow through the entire hex soul ritual and I have no malicious thoughts toward boss All-Knowing Parrot. I¡¯m also a pure hex demon who didn¡¯t know his tribe¡¯s name, and if I lie, this token will shatter, and I¡¯ll receive a terrible bacsh!¡±
He deliberately added more words to remove All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s doubts further.
Just as he thought, the All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s eyes soften and shimmered with uncertainty after hearing his oath and him using the token first, and nothing happened.
Ace put the token on the table. ¡°This is enough to show my sincerity, right? Or you can also sign the soul contract first while putting in the same conditions and I can sign it first, but you have to add the condition of signing this contract afterward as well.¡±
This was thest straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. All-Knowing Parrot didn¡¯t want to add such conditions in the soul contract because she had malicious thoughts, and it¡¯ll destroy the soul contract the moment she signed it and revealed her intentions.
No matter how she mused, Feng had demonstrated he wasn¡¯t scheming and even seemed sincere. He agreed to sign the soul contract first, but she still felt uneasy because of his demeanor.
¡®Am I overthinking things, and could he be a shrewd simpleton in the end?¡¯ She thought while looking at the dark token with the owl symbol.
All her life, she was very meticulous and calctive, and that¡¯s how she survived to this day. She built an empire no one can touch, but today, for some reason, she felt her astuteness and ns were going against her in front of this man.
Everything was perfect, too perfect, nevertheless. The other party was ying right in her hand and even handing his life to her, which she wanted, and yet, she had this strange feeling that nothing was in her hand and the man in front of her was the actual yer all along.
But logically, it was also impossible since she believed her mind more than her gut feeling.
In the end, she felt her over-calction was making her this way, and she picked up the dark token.
¡®I¡¯ll be safe no matter what, nothing can danger me!¡¯ A decisive glint shed past her eyes after making sure there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with this token, it seemedpletely ordinary.
¡°I just have to take the oath about the ritual, right?¡± She looked at the simple yet unfathomed man deeply!
Chapter 443 Welcome to Thief House!
Ace nodded, ¡°Yes, I just need insurance that you won¡¯t do anything during the ritual. As for my oath, it was to show my sincerity toward beauty like you.¡±
¡°Heh, I¡¯m inted by Mr. Sky¡¯s praise.¡± She chuckled while thinking, ¡®In the end, he¡¯s just a man. Why I¡¯m thinking so much?¡¯
She altogether jettisoned her uneasiness and cut her slender finger and a drop of blood dripped onto the Thief House Recruitment Token, and it got instantly absorbed. Thereafter, a mercury-like dark Qi appeared from her hand and touched the token.
¡¯You¡¯re done!'' Ace¡¯s wicked smile almost covered his entire face when he saw this, while he held his breath.
What happened next made All-Knowing Parrot learn her gut feeling was true all along!
The moment her Qi touched the token, it turned into a beam of pitch-ck light and bolted toward her be!
Ace had to admit, she was far quicker than Noa, and she even managed to form a Qi barrier, but s, the dark streak easily prated all of her defense and directly entered her head!
She impatiently probed her body and soul many times and when nothing seemed to be amiss, she indignantly looked at Ace. ¡°You, what¡¯s the meaning of this?!¡±
But she didn¡¯t attack Ace because she thought it was the oath being established and if she reacted exceedingly, she might suffer some kind of bacsh.
Ace didn¡¯t answer and waited for the system¡¯s notification.
=====
[Thief House Recruitment Token has been used!]
[System detected someone is trying to join the Thief House through a soul clone!]
=====
Ace¡¯s heart churned the moment he heard this and nearly fell from his seat. His victorious expression finally changed and almost vomit blood!
How could he forget about those hateful clone techniques?
Just as he was about to spout nonsense when the system¡¯s voice sounded again.
======
[Searching for the genuine soul!]
======
Ace felt like he had heard the words of salvation and quickly rx and looked at All-Knowing Parrot coldly and stated, ¡°I have to admit you almost destroyed my entire n with your soul clone. But it also means I was right about you!¡±
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s eyes widen in shock when she heard ¡®Soul Clone¡¯ and an array te appeared in her hand the next moment. This was her biggest secret, and it was somehow exposed to that dark streak. She finally understood why he wanted to use that token. It was to see if she was real or not. (ording to her)
¡°I did not know; how can that token reveal this to you, since you found out in the end, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t let you leave here! You can also see you can¡¯t hurt me or do anything since I¡¯m just a soul clone.
¡°While I can easily expose you and destroy your entire n and let the royal zone take care of you, I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t let you go after they found out about the element sword intent.
¡°Follow me and let me put a hex soul mark into your soul. I promise I won¡¯t mistreat you, and you¡¯ll get far more than theft around. Or I can use this array andpletely restrain you here and the oue would be the same.
¡°But if you try to fight, everything will be over for you, so choose!¡± She looked at Ace with mockery as if she had already won, even if he discovered her secret.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
¡®Hmph, I¡¯ll find out how he gets those tokens. They can be extremely useful, and he might have even more treasures. Hehe, it was indeed worth the effort in the end.¡¯
However, her delightful expression clouded when she saw Ace cozy himself on the chair as he put his cross feet on the table. He didn¡¯t seem perturbed at all.
Thereafter, he swiped his hand in front of his face and the next moment, his real, human face appeared, and he had a huge devilish grin on his face as he said, ¡°Really?¡±
¡ª
Right at this moment, inside a room filled with thick dark Qi clouds.
Two vibrant eyes sprang open in this darkness, which was like humans with gray irises, but instead of one, they were golden tri-pupils.
¡°That¡¯s a hunter!¡± A euphonious voice cried out thereafter.
However, before she could say anything else, the space in this ce throbbed before like ss, it shattered and a dark streak appeared from within and shot toward the voice¡¯s position!
¡°What?!¡± the voice sounded again filled with consternation and trepidation.
¡ª
While All-Knowing Parrot was gobsmacked by Ace¡¯s actual appearance and was speechless.
Ace finally got the awaited notification.
=====
[New member entry has been sessful.]
¡ª
[Please open the Thief House interface to see further information.]
=====
At this moment, she finally snapped out of her trance as if she had sensed something.
Her eyes shone with killing intent as she was about to use the array when Ace¡¯s calm yet threatening voice sounded, ¡°Don¡¯t show killing intent to me, or you¡¯ll regret it very soon.¡±
¡°What was that token?!¡± Shepletely ignored his warning and some mysterious words in her head.
Both bodies were connected by all senses, and she just clearly experienced that dark streak that appeared after shattering the space, which was unheard of, and entering her main body despite her defense.
She finally understood why Ace remain so calm, and that token was the thing from which he got his confidence. She finally felt fear after all these years and didn¡¯t dare to underestimate him anymore.
====
[Malicious and Murderous intention detected from a Thief House Member toward House Leader.]
[Punishment: Death]
====
But something unexpended happened that made her blood run cold at this moment. Because of her extreme killing intent, an unmanageable pain hit her soul and a bolt of deadly lightning ran amok in her both bodies!
¡°Ahhhhhhh¡.¡±
She shrilled while falling onto her knees, and her veil also fell off, revealing a beautiful yet appalled face. The array medium also fell on the ground, vines appeared on her skin, and blood trickled from her orifice.
What made her feel genuine despair was that her actual body was also in the same state, despite being at the peak of the tinum soul realm!
¡°P-please¡¡± this was the only word that came out as she felt her true soul start to flutter.
¡°I told you, don¡¯t show me your killing intent.¡± Ace sneered, ¡°Stop it.¡±
From thest time, he was extremely calm and didn¡¯t pity All-Knowing Parrot at all because she deserved this since she schemed against him.
====
[House Leader has stopped the Punishment]
====
After this mysterious voice rang again, those two powers vanish, and she quickly started to recover from her injuries.
She looked at Ace with horrified eyes. She didn¡¯t dare to show killing intent anymore, afraid that the blood-curdling pain would start again. ¡°I-I¡ I admit my fault. I¡¯ll give you anything. Just let me go. You can have my entire syndicate, information, resources, everything, just please spare my life. I won¡¯t try to take revenge anymore!¡±
Ace pursed his lip. ¡°Why do you sound like I¡¯m the viin here? Aren¡¯t you the one who wants me to be your ve? Where¡¯s your dignity? Do you want to be my ve now?¡±
Her heart palpitated when she heard this and said in a quavered voice, ¡°I-I know I was wrong, just let me go. I can¡¯t be your ve, please, I have a responsibility. But if you kill me, you won¡¯t get anything out of it! You can just ce this restriction on me and if I ever try to retaliate, you can kill me, but I can¡¯t be your or anyone¡¯s ve. I rather die!¡±
She meant what she said right now. She was only begging because she wanted to see if she could talk her way out of it with words and regain her freedom. Furthermore, she was willing to pay the price for her freedom, even her sweat, and blood, the Spica Syndicate!
As long as she lived she could earn everything back, but she was unwilling to be someone else ve, especially bing a ve of some mediocre race, she had her own pride!
She felt Ace would start torturing her again, but her eyes widened when she saw him smiling.
¡°At least you have some backbone, or I would be sad to give you such an opportunity, but you still chose to remain stubborn in the end. Remembered, even we thief have their dignity, and that dignity is to have ¡®no dignity at all, alright?¡±
¡°W-what?¡± She felt something was wrong with Ace.
From the start, he seemedpletelyposed and mysterious, but now he suddenly said he was giving her an opportunity after using some mysterious restriction on her.
He even called her a thief, which she wasn¡¯t.
Ace grin and said in a warm tone, ¡°Wee to the Thief House!¡±
¡°T-thief house?¡± She was confused.
Ace sighed and bemoaned, ¡°Why you guys always wanted to kill me, didn¡¯t you notice the voice in your head?¡±
She suddenly remembered that mysterious voice in her head, but she was panicking at that time, so she simply goes after the person who nted the voice in her head.
Seeing her recalling something, Ace put on his best swindler¡¯s smile!
Chapter 444 Second Thief House Member: Freya Witch
¡°First rx, there¡¯s no need to agitate anymore.¡± Ace calmly said as he looked at the magnificent demoness.
All-Knowing Parrot know she was nowpletely at the mercy of Ace right now and if he wanted, he could easily get rid of her, so there wasn¡¯t any need for any of this. She quickly regained her calm and looked at him with vignce.
¡®Is he going to order me to do something for him?¡¯ She thought indignantly.
She knew if it was her, and someone had tried to scheme against her, she would never let that person go no matter what!
Ace spoke with a confident smile, ¡°As I said before, I gave you opportunity not envement and, in this world¡ no, between heaven and earth, I¡¯m the only one who could provide this opportunity!¡±
All-Knowing Parrot wanted to scoff, but she held back and questioned, ¡°What kind of opportunity? I¡¯m not sure if this opportunity of yours is suitable for demons. I hate to break it to you, but we are not of the same race.
¡°I don¡¯t know how you infiltrate this deep into the demon continent and what you¡¯re after or why the royal zone didn¡¯t notice your existence, but let me make it clear we are not the same!¡±
¡°I¡¯m aware of this, but the opportunity I¡¯m giving you is bigger than racism and in the thief house, no matter what you are, you can grow stronger than anyone else and touch the boundaries you¡¯ve never imagined!¡± Ace said with a passionate voice.
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s eyes shone with uncertainty. ¡°If what you said is true, I don¡¯t mind working with you. But I have to see the opportunity myself!¡±
Ace curled his lips, ¡°Why of course, who would¡¯ve believed just empty words, right? I¡¯ll let you experience the power of the ¡®Thief Goddess¡¯ first. Just say ¡®Thief House¡¯ or thought of it, and you¡¯ll understand everything!¡±
¡®Thief Goddess?!¡¯ All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s heart trembled and said without hesitation. ¡°Thief House.¡±
However, Ace¡¯s face fell when he saw no status panel appeared and suddenly thought of something, he puckered his lips, ¡°It seemed only your main body can use it. Well, it also made sense. How could a mere clone have the privilege of the main body?¡±
¡°Alright.¡± All-Knowing Parrot was hesitant this time, but she knew if Ace wanted to harm her, he didn¡¯t need to y petty tricks anymore.
Ace also used the thief house interface to see the All-Knowing Parrot information while she was doing the same.
On the other side,
All-Knowing Parrot¡¯s main body mutter, ¡°Thief House.¡±
She yelped when a dark screen appeared with the words and the same mysterious static voice rang in her head.
______
[Wee to Thief House]
¨C
[Rules & Regtions of Thief House]
0. Any vition of Thief House Rules & Regtions will result in Absolute Death!
1. The house members cannot betray, scheme, sabotage, or held malicious intentions against Thief House or its members.
2. The house members cannot insurgent thief house or rebel against the House Leader (Ace White)!
3. The details about the Thief House and its members cannot be shared with any non-members under any circumstances, or it will vite rule zero.
4. The house members cannot leave the Thief House once joined.
5. Internal fighting is not allowed, nor other members can have any kind of malicious intentions against a fellow member.
6. The house members will get House Points with every sessful house mission, or any mission issued by House Leader (Ace White).
7. House Points are the currency of Thief House and members can use them in House Shop. No other sort of currency is allowed!
8. If any member failed the House Mission or House Leader (Ace White) Mission, the house points will be deducted, followed by a punishment based on the importance of that mission!
¡ª
[Continue?]
_______
¡®Is this some kind of cursed magic?¡¯ She didn¡¯t dare to believe in her eyes because it was just absurd, and she never heard of anything like this before.
As she read the rules, she finally understood what has happened to her when she showed killing intent to Ace.
¡°Is this really the work of a god? Are they real?!¡± She felt goosebumps all over her body just thinking about it.
She didn¡¯t believe in any God, but now she felt her beliefs turned upside down and her breath quickened.
¡°I-if it¡¯s really the blessing of a god, then everything he said is true, and it seemed only he can share this blessing with others. It¡¯s just that if he told me directly, I would¡¯ve never believed him¡ no, I have to see more!¡±
She quickly focused on the [Continue] and the interface changed again.
_______
[Thief House]
[House Leader: Ace White]
[House Members: 2/3]
¡ª
[House Member: Freya Witch (Female)]
[Race: Evil Witch]
[Bloodline: Illusionary Witch (Grade-6 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
[Thief Genre: No Appointed (Only House Leader can appoint a Thief Genre)]n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
[Soul Cultivation: tinum Soul Embryo Realm (Advance Stage-9)]
[Talent: Average (Upgradeable)]
[House Point(s): 100]
¡ª
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 0]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
¡ª
[House Shop: Avable (Empty at this moment)]
_______
All-Knowing Parrot or Freya¡¯s eyes contracted the moment she saw her real name and ¡®Evil Witch¡¯ race, her heart turn cold because this was her biggest secret.
¡°How is this possible?!¡± she eximed. The more she read, the more she felt her scalp tingle with trepidation.
This was simply unimaginable that all her secrets were revealed.
¡°Is this done by goddess?!¡± She didn¡¯t dare to take Ace¡¯s words for wind anymore.
Inside the lionheart shop,
Ace naturally saw Freya¡¯s status and looked at her clone with a hint of bewilderment. ¡°Evil Witch? What kind of race is this? I never heard of it before?¡±
The soul clone naturally knew what her body just saw and narrowed her eyes at Ace with a hint of nervousness, ¡°Can you see this information as well?¡±
Ace smiled mockingly. ¡°I¡¯m the leader, of course, I can see everything. We are members now, so it¡¯s won¡¯t be good to hide things from each other, right? So, what is an evil witch?¡±
Ace was extremely interested in this Evil Which since he has never seen this race in the records, and they seemed quite powerful. Her bloodline and potential were both higher than Noa¡¯s!
¡°I¡¯ll naturally tell you everything since you¡¯re the leader, but first, tell me, is this really a work of god? Then why can you select the other member and why we are thieves? Can I evolve my bloodline and potential, and what is this Thief Genre only you could select?¡± Freya threw a volley of questions sternly.
Ace answered without minding her tone, ¡°Showdown, will you? I¡¯ll answer your question one by one. First, do you think I¡¯m capable enough to make something like this?¡±
¡°No!¡± she answered without any hesitation.
Ace pursed his lips, finding this somewhat offensive, but he continued, ¡°Then only a being like gods can make this and increase your talent and bloodline. As for why we are thieves, it¡¯s because we bless by the goddess of thieves, so we naturally have to be thieves. What are you, dissatisfied?¡±
Freya deeply looked at Ace¡¯s dark blue eyes and wanted to see through him, but she found nothing. In the end, she sighed, ¡°No, if I can be strong, I don¡¯t mind bing a thief or a monarch.¡±
¡°Good, as for why I can select the members, it is naturally because I have more merits than you, and I¡¯m the leader. As for thief genre¡¡± Ace coolly stated the obvious while he exined the thief genre, house points, missions, and house shop.
¡®She¡¯s harder to deal with than Noa!¡¯ Ace thought bitterly after speaking for half an hour.
Noa blindly believe everything he said and never question him, but Freya differedpletely from humble Noa.
¡°Then this means if I have more merit, I can also be the leader?¡± She asked impassively. She had more understanding of Thief Hose after Ace exined.
It was simply magical that she didn¡¯t dare to believe, but the proof was right before her eyes and her calctive nature appeared again.
Ace narrowed his eyes at this question. Even Noa didn¡¯t dare to court his leadership position, but this woman¡¯s ambition was on another level.
His eyes went sharp like des as he said, ¡°If you want my position, you can try. But let me warn you, if you try to scheme or sabotage me or another from the Thief House, I won¡¯t stop the punishment next time. You might hide your emotions for me, but you can¡¯t hide it from the goddess!¡±
Freya believed Ace¡¯s words. She still didn¡¯t forget that torture and the rules. She was only an ant in the face of a god and didn¡¯t dare to cross her boundaries. If she wanted to subvert Ace, she had to fight fair and square and please the ¡®goddess¡¯.
When Ace saw her determined expression, he couldn¡¯t help but coldlyugh inwardly.
¡®You want my position? I¡¯m afraid you have to kill me first!¡¯
Chapter 445 Thief Genre…!
Ace didn¡¯t nip the bud because he knew this woman would be more motivated to work this way and let her think she could be the leader in the future. He¡¯ll let her feel the disparity with his actions and coy subdue her!
Freya¡¯s eyes shimmered with a hint of ecstasy. She really wanted to control this Thief House. It was far more appealing to her than anything in this world.
¡°So, will you give me a choice in the thief genre, or you¡¯ll be a petty person and try to repress me?¡± she asked gaily.
Her fearpletely vanished because she thought Ace also can¡¯t go against the house rules. Although he could control the missions, she knew he won¡¯t be willing to discard her at this moment after doing all this.
Furthermore, she wanted to see the shop eagerly after Ace exin the techniques from the ¡®goddess¡¯ will appear there, and she can also increase her bloodline potential.
Ace knew she was trying to provoke him, but he naturally won¡¯t suppress her, since he would be shot himself on foot by doing this.
He ambiguously smiled, ¡°Of course, let¡¯s see what kind of thief you have the affinity with, and you may choose yourself. I won¡¯t stop you.¡±
His smile suddenly turned icy cold, ¡°But after we¡¯re done you have answered my question which you were trying to dodge all this time and I want the truth or will you believe me if I say I can easily give you a death mission, right here and right now?¡±
Freya suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She could tell this guy wasn¡¯t joking, although she didn¡¯t want to reveal her ns. But Ace had already shown his sincerity by telling her about the Thief House and even gave her a chance to select the thief genre herself.
Now, if she didn¡¯t show her sincerity, he might really do as he said, she still didn¡¯t know Ace¡¯s limits of giving the mission, and she didn¡¯t want to test them either.
¡°I understand.¡± She nodded solemnly.
If she wanted something, she had to sacrifice something as well, and in the face of Thief House, her secrets were worth nothing!
Ace nodded in satisfaction and looked at the opened thief house interface.
======
[Please Select a Thief Genre for the new member!]
[Thief Genre: A specific Thief Path for house members¡]
¡ª
Compatible Thief Genre for House Member Freya Witch: 5 Avable
¨C
1. Thief Scout
[Introduction: A Thief proficient in the art of scouting and information collecting with any means possible.]
2. Thief Charming
[Introduction: A Thief with unparalleled charm who can control anyone with the power of [Charm] and [Illusion] topel them to do its bidding without them discerning anything.]
3. Thief Witch
[Introduction: A Thief walks the path of Witchcraft.]
4. Cursed Thief
[Introduction: Thief proficient in the Dark Witchcraft]
5. Evil Thief
[Introduction: An Evil Thief controls the minds and lives of its targets with [Dark Witchcraft], [Illusion], and [Charm] while remainingpletely hidden in darkness.]
¡ª
[Please select one option.]
[Note: Once a thief genre was selected, it can never be changed again.]
======
Ace cocked an eyebrow at seeing Freya¡¯s got five options in her thief genre, while Noa only got two. Furthermore, all those options were for controlling the others.
He was more fascinated by Evil Thief since it had the power of three optionsbined, and it seemed far more useful than other genres, and it also suits Freya¡¯s personality very well.
Freya also noticed the slightest change in Ace¡¯s expression, and her heart tightened with all this suspense and frustration at not being able to see anything. She was afraid Ace would y some tricks and ruin this opportunity. She even bemoaned provoking him now.
However, Ace truthfully told her about the five options, and just as he thought, Freya answered without even thinking.
¡°I want to be this Evil Thief!¡±
She was ted hearing the introduction of the Evil Thief Genre and felt this suited her very well. She also felt that Ace seemedpletely rxed about giving her this thief genre, and she became curious about his thief path.
After Ace selected the option, she got heard the ¡®goddess¡¯s voice.
______
[Congrattion, you have been appointed as an Evil Thief by House Leader.]
-Evil Thief Introduction: An Evil Thief controls the minds and lives of its targets with [Dark Witchcraft], [Illusion], and [Charm] while remainingpletely hidden in darkness.
-Evil Thief Role: In a theft, the Evil Thief had the role of silently infiltrating and nting its controlled minions and using them to distract the enemy while making sure the other house members remain safe throughout the entire
¡ª
[Your thief house status has been updated.]
______
¡°He didn¡¯t lie to me!¡± (Real) Freya mumbled with tion when she read and heard about the evil thief.
She also observed the change in her status,
______
[House Member: Freya Witch (Female)]
[Race: Evil Witch]
[Bloodline: Illusionary Witch (Grade-6 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
¨C
[Thief Genre: Evil Thief (Newbie)]
[House Rank: New Member (Upgradeable)]
[Complete One Thief House Mission for rank upgrade]
¨C
[Soul Cultivation: tinum Soul Embryo Realm (Advance Stage-9)]
[Talent: Average (Upgradeable)]
¨C
[House Point(s): 100]
¨C
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 0]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
¡ª
[House Shop: Evil Thief]
_______
¡®So, this is the House Ranks. It seemed bypleting them I¡¯ll be able todder my way to the house leader position! But first I have to surpass the first member.¡¯ Her astute eyes shimmered with decisiveness.
She opened the shop next, which she was most eager to see,
_______
[House Shop: Evil Thief]
-Treasures Section
-Knowledge Section
-Evolution & Pill Section
_____
Freya opened the Knowledge Section promptly.
______
[Knowledge Section: Evil Thief]
-Illusionary Dark Pupil Awakening: Witch Connate Ability
-Requirement: Evil Witch Bloodline
-House Rank Required: Normal Member
-Price: 10,000 House Points
¡ª
-Evil Thief Scripture (1st Vol): Soul Cultivation Technique
-House Rank Required: Normal Member
Price: 1,000 House Points
¡ªN?v(el)B\\jnn
-Traceless Mind Evasion; Soul Cultivation Art
Requirement: Evil Thief Scripture & Illusionary Dark Pupil Awakening
House Rank Required: Old Member
Price: 7,500 House Points
¡ª
-Dark Elemental Shadow: Soul Cultivation Stealth Art
Requirement: Evil Thief Scripture
House Rank Required: Normal Member
Price: 1,000 House Points
¡ª
-Shadow Illusion Escape: Soul Movement Skill
Requirement: Evil Thief Scripture
House Rank Required: Normal Member
Price: 500 House Points
¡ª
-Evil Eye: Soul Reconnaissance Skill
Requirement: Evil Thief Scripture
House Rank Required: Normal Member
Price: 500 House Points
¡ª
[Note: Shop will update at ¡®Veteran Member¡¯ House Rank]
_____
¡°This shop even has a method to awaken my illusionary dark pupil and a corresponding soul art as well?!¡± she couldn¡¯t help but exim as her race.
But she quickly calmed down since she knew she still needed HP to buy that awakening technique.
¡°I also have to cultivate the Evil Thief Scripture to practice the other soul skills. But this means I have to discard my old cultivation technique. Well, since my foundation is perfect, I¡¯ll be able to change it with some time.¡± She decided unequivocally.
Although she had her skills and a cultivation technique, after witnessing the Thief House¡¯s shop, she didn¡¯t hesitate to discard them.
¡®However, these house points are going to be an enormous problem and only the leader can give missions with house points as a reward or the goddess herself. But I have to depend on him more. Now I understand why he didn¡¯t look wary of me at all.¡¯ She thought grimly as she decided to see the other sections before doing anything.
She opened the treasure section this time,
_____
[Treasure Section: Evil Thief]
-Dark Grimoire: Grade-9 (Upgradeable)
House Rank Required: Excellent Member
Price: 500,000 House Points
¡ª
-Soul Maniption Chain: Grade-5
House Rank Required: Old Member
Price: 10,000 House Point
¡ª
-Evil Thief Armor Set: Grade-8
House Rank Required: Excellent Member
Evil Thief Rank Require: Trainee Evil Thief
Price: 100,000 House Points
¡ª
-Life Escape Coin: 3
House Rank Required: Normal Member
Price: 1,000 House Points
¡ª
[Note: Shop will update at ¡®Veteran Member¡¯ House Rank]
_____
¡°This shop even had a grimoire that I needed the most?!¡± Her entire body trembled to see the Dark Grimoire that she dreamed about day and night!
¡°I build all this just for the ancestral grimoire. That is the only grimoire in the entire world that can help me, but now I can buy an equally powerful grimoire from this shop. Trulyughable.¡± She was truly bitter and felt as if her entire life was a joke.
¡®I can¡¯t give him a reason to get rid of me. I have to behave!¡¯ She suddenly changed her view of Ace and decided to remain sincere with him, or she would regret it!
She opened thest section in expectancy,
_____
[Evolution & Pill Section: Evil Thief]
[Illusionary Witch Bloodline Evolution: Three Avable]
-Illusionary Witch Bloodline: Grade-7 Evolution
Price: 1,000,000 House Points
-Illusionary Witch Bloodline: Grade-8 Evolution
Price: 10,000,000 House Points
-Illusionary Witch Bloodline: Grade-9 Evolution
Price: 20,000,000 House Points
¡ª
-Soul Recovery Pills: 10 Avable
Introduction: Grade-9 Soul Pills, able to recover any injuries on the soul, even at the brink of death.
Requirement: Old Member
Price: 100,000 House Points (Per Pill)
¡ª
[Note: Shop will update at ¡®Veteran Member¡¯ House Rank]
_____
Chapter 446 Evil Witch Race
Ace had already seen her entire shop and status, and he looked at Freya with a hint of delight. ¡®Her skills and techniques arepletely different from thief assassin. Her actual strength lies in control and deception!
¡®She can easily sway the targets and create an opening in their securities and get the keys of treasuries for me and so much more. This will make my life much easier and I don¡¯t have to worry about collecting information and hidden danger anymore.¡¯
Freya finally snapped out of her own fanatics and noticed Ace¡¯s smirk. She took a deep breath before a peculiar glint shed past her eyes and bow her head, ¡°Leader Ace, please ept Freya¡¯s humble apology about what happened before!¡±
¡®She changed colors even faster than blinking.¡¯ Ace thought.
He teased, ¡°What, you want House Points?¡±
Freya¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. ¡°No, I want a mission, and I¡¯ll earn them myself. You just have to issue the mission.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not a frivolous person, and you¡¯ll get what you deserved.¡± Ace smiled hintingly, ¡°Now tell me about your Evil Witch race and what this had to do with hex demon. And, what is this hex magic and witchcraft they seemed to rte to each other?¡±
Freya knew she can¡¯t hide her biggest secret from Ace anymore, and he was the leader who controlled the mission, which she desperately needed.
Furthermore, after she looked at the items in the shop and their prices, she became curious about how much HP Ace had since he could use them to give her tasks and how did he get them.
She also came to a startling conclusion that Ace might have far more privileges than the members, which she couldn¡¯t imagine. Just the privilege of seeing her ¡®house status¡¯ was enough to give her the idea.
¡®Although he looked like a happy-go-lucky person, he tricked me and I can¡¯t tell when he¡¯s lying as if it¡¯s his second nature. I should not antagonize him much, or he might get rid of me with the missions. I still didn¡¯t know the limitation of these missions he can issue!¡¯ She mused.
She spoke, ¡°The Evil Witch Race is not inborn, but a fallen race of Spiritual Witch Race. I know little about the Spiritual Witch Race, but ording to the records left by my ancestors, the first Evil Witch was born after she fell into the path of evil.
¡°She stole the Forbidden Evil Grimoire, which was left behind by some evil god, and practice the evil witchcraft in that grimoire. Afterward, that Forbidden Evil Grimoire changed her entire anatomy, and she became the first Fallen One, the Evil Witch!
¡°The Spiritual Witch Race naturally won¡¯t let this kind of evil existence live who was born from their race and hunted the first Evil Witch with everything they had, but the Forbidden Evil Grimoire was much more powerful than they expected.
¡°Not only did the Evil Witch escape their pursuit, but it¡¯s recorded that she managed to kill half of the Spiritual Witch Race with the Forbidden Evil Grimoire, making the Spiritual Witch Race cower and gave up on killing her.
¡°After the first Evil Witch was born, she created more Evil Witches with the Forbidden Evil Grimoire and that¡¯s the background of our Evil Witch Race!¡±
Her voice was filled with pride and awe for this first Evil Witch and longing for this Forbidden Evil Grimoire.
Ace¡¯s eyes shed with astonishment. He didn¡¯t expect the Evil Witch Race has such a history.
She continued as her expression turned grim, ¡°However, when the other races found out the potential of the Evil Witch Race and their ability to control the mind of the living being without them knowing, they all felt threatened, and they banded together with the Spiritual Witch Race to eliminate us.
¡°I don¡¯t know what happened in that war, but ording to the records, some of our low-rank nsmen appeared in Golden Sky World, on the mighty demon continent over tens of thousands of years ago.
¡°It¡¯s stated that the Magic or Qi density of this world was thousands of times lower than the world where my ancestors came from, and it alsocks something more, but it wasn¡¯t stated what. But they were shocked that this world was quite peaceful, and they can live here without any worry and never wanted to return.¡±
¡®Could it be they¡¯re from another heaven?!¡¯ Ace instantly thought of the possibility.
Freya¡¯s eyes turned icy at this moment, ¡°But who would¡¯ve thought that the demon race would attack my ancestors and try to enve them for their blood?
¡°It¡¯s stated that the Demon Ancestor somehow found out that our race¡¯s blood was extremely useful for the king-level ns to evolve into emperor-level ns, and it was even more potent than their own race!
¡°But the real reason was the longevity in our blood, which even drew Devil Ancestor into the mix.
¡°At that time, a huge war break out between the three races, but the demons outmatched the evil witch race by their massive numbers, and they even had the support of the Devil Race.
¡°Although we have powerful hex magic, and we can easily manipte some strong demon tribes, the devils had extremely powerful souls, and it wasn¡¯t easy to control them. Faced with Demon Ancestor and Devil Ancestor, our Ancestor perished.
¡°They even called us Hex Demon and make us look like viins while the actual viins became heroes!¡± she gritted her teeth in the end.
Ace felt his horizon broaden, hearing Evil Witch Race¡¯s tragic ending.
¡®Devil Ancestor and Demon Ancestor, what kind of existences they are to eradicate the evil witch race who were from another heaven!¡¯ Ace felt chills just thinking about them.
¡°But some of our nsmen still managed to survive, and I¡¯m the decedent of one of these survivors. But most of them are dead because of the harsh conditions of wildness, and the demon race never stops hunting us.
¡°I¡¯m probably the only one who left of my race until I found out about you.¡± She looked at Ace with a hint of embarrassment.
Ace smiled meaningfully, ¡°But it seemed you didn¡¯t have kind intentions toward me and found me a threat, or you just didn¡¯t want me to get in your way, right?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Freya didn¡¯t hide her intentions, ¡°First, I was only curious about your real identity when the Mist Demon King requested to find out about your whereabouts. You have stolen something from her, right?¡±
¡°Heh, yes, I indeed stumbled upon something belonging to Mist Demon King.¡± Ace admitted, but he would never tell anyone that he got a fragment of eternal provenance treasure from that theft!
Freya nodded and didn¡¯t ask what he had stolen, ¡°Afterward I keep an eye out there for you in the iron demon city and I identally discovered youprehended the element sword intent and then stealing Henrik¡¯s storage ring.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes shed, ¡°How did you do it?¡± he was really curious about this thing for a while now.
Freya¡¯s lips curled into a charming smile. ¡°I can control the small mortal creatures and see everything they see with their own eyes. That¡¯s how I always acquired information without being noticed by anyone. Everyone ignored these small creatures, and only some paid attention to them.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes widen slightly in understanding and smiled wryly, ¡°So, that¡¯s how it is. You taught me another essential lesson, thank you.¡±
¡°Hmph.¡± Freya scoffed. ¡°Anyway, afterward it was easy to find your disguise, and Feng¡¯s rise was just too unnatural. But no one noticed it except me, though.
¡°Seeing your talent, I suspected you had a grimoire, and that¡¯s why I wanted to draw you here and used the soul hex imprint to make you loyal to me.¡± She said while carefully noticing Ace¡¯s expression.
Ace clearly didn¡¯t mind, ¡°So, first you decided to see if I know about this soul hex mark or not, and I guess it¡¯s something only some witches can perform, right?¡± He smiled.
Freya¡¯s eyes shed, and she nodded, ¡°Yes, the soul hex pack is something two evil witches performed when they decided to live and died with each other, and they can only perform this once in their life.
¡°While the soul hex imprint is an unbreakable ve imprint that brands the essential soul and makes the bearer absolute loyal to their master, both ritual processes are almost simr. I would¡¯ve drawn the magic circle myself for the ritual, making it even more difficult to escape the inevitable.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes turned somewhat cold hearing this and utter, ¡°Don¡¯t you think I can also be a clone like you?¡±
She sensed Ace¡¯s unhappiness but knew it was meaningless to hide. She could only tell the truth, to earn Ace¡¯s trust.
¡°No, the Yin Soul Possession Technique is something only passed down in my maternal n. Even my deceased father didn¡¯t know about it, and only women can practice it!¡±
Chapter 447 Another Thief Helper
¡°No, the Yin Soul Possession Technique is something only passed down in my maternal n. Even my deceased father didn¡¯t know about it, and only women can practice it!¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes shed with disappointment when he heard this. He finally thought he can have a clone technique reference to create his own somehow, but it seemed he was destined to be disappointed.
He pursed his lips. ¡°Then, this means your soul clone can help you with the bacsh of a soul contract as well, right? But won¡¯t you already say you know I can also bypass the royal council¡¯s loyalty contract? How are you nning to deal with it?¡±
Freya smiled slightly, ¡°No, you didn¡¯t know the soul contracts aren¡¯t easy to bypass, like those ves or loyalty contracts made with martial materials. Although, the method of forging soul contracts is only in the hands of the imperial family.
¡°But every one of the soul contracts is absolute if you don¡¯t have a soul type substitute like my soul clone to bear the contract. That¡¯s why I wasn¡¯t worried you¡¯ll back down after signing the soul contract.
¡°However, who would¡¯ve thought you¡¯ll fool me into joining you instated!¡± She smiled wryly in the end.
Ace said nothing about it and only smile subtly. ¡°Well, I trick you into an opportunity? This didn¡¯t count, right? So, what is this hex magic?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
She pursed her lips, but still answered, ¡°You can say Qi is Magic and Magic Qi. But Magic differs slightly from Qi because as long as you know ¡®Spells or Chants¡¯ you can use any element Qi or Magic, while you have only one innate element Qi.
¡°Magic or Qi both have the same fundamentals, while Qi is difficult to master when Magic can be grasped by spells. If you knew aw spell, you can even cast aw skill if you can support the Qi consumption!
¡°As for Hex Magic, it¡¯s the branch of ck Magic. With hex magic, you can curse someone to death, control their mind as I do with small creatures, possess someone¡¯s mind to do things, or you can even perform healing curses and many more.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡®I can even perform aw skill if I had a magic spell? Didn¡¯t this mean I collect a bunch ofw spells, I don¡¯t have to worry about enemies?!¡¯
Freya seemed to guess what Ace was daydreaming about and snorted disdainfully, ¡°Do you think aw spell is a cabbage which you can find anywhere? Even our race didn¡¯t have one!¡±
¡°What? So rare?¡± Ace felt his dreams shattered.
¡°Hmph, I know little, so forget it. As for a grimoire, it¡¯s a spell book where you can write and store magic spells and even release them instantly, like a talisman. But only some races can make a Grimoire recognize them and for others, they are nothing but simple books.¡± said Freya.
¡°Wait a moment, that book you mention¡¡± Ace¡¯s eyes shed.
¡°Yes, the Myriad Hex Manual is a Grimoire of my ancestor, and it also records her spells as well. It¡¯s also indestructible or Devil and Demon Ancestors won¡¯t leave it alone and destroyed it like other grimoires, but they can¡¯t use it either, so they let their juniors take care of it.
¡°It seemed the Grimoirended in the imperial demon family¡¯s hand and after all these years, they might¡¯ve already forgotten about the terror of that grimoire. So, they let that demon price use it to draw us out in the uing auction of the Life Demon Association.
¡°But after I mention that grimoire you show only momentarily interest and that¡¯s led me to think you have your own grimoire.¡± She smiled bitterly in the end.
¡°Oh, I was still seen thought in the end, huh?¡± Ace chuckled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure the grimoire in your shop is more powerful than the one in the imperial family¡¯s hand.¡±
Freya retorted lightly, ¡°No, that grimoire is also a rank nine, and it had many hex spells. You can say it¡¯s a full inheritance of my ancestor, so I need it! That¡¯s why I wanted to control you because of your thievish skills, but it seemed now you have to help me, anyway!¡±
Ace didn¡¯t reject her, ¡°As long as you show your worth, I¡¯ll steal anything for you, but only if it won¡¯t put anyone of us in jeopardy.¡±
¡°I understand.¡± Freya nodded. She had to admit, with Ace¡¯s skills, it wasn¡¯t impossible to get the grimoire.
¡°So, now you know everything, but you still didn¡¯t tell me how did youe here from the blood continent and cross the barrier around the demon continent, and what¡¯s your end goal?¡± She asked with slightly narrow eyes.
Ace smiled bitterly, ¡°I¡¯m not a hunter but a human from Azure Wind Continent and I entered here by ident.¡±
He can¡¯t tell her he almost died, and the system teleported him to the middle of the demon continent. He has to maintain his leader¡¯s image, after all.
Freya¡¯s eyes widen slightly and exim, ¡°Human? That hateful race?¡±
Ace¡¯s expression fell and retorted, ¡°What do you mean hateful?¡±
Freya said with a hint of anger, ¡°They are hateful because they also join demons and devils to kill our race at that time, and they¡¯re loyal dogs of devils, Hmph!¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed, ¡°You mean devils control humans?¡±
He naturally does not know about the main azure wind continent since he came from the lowernds, but from Freya¡¯s tone, he could sense something was amiss.
Freya nodded, ¡°I don¡¯t know where you came from, but the human continent has long been under the devil race¡¯s protection and devils had their sect in the azure wind continent.¡±
Ace was shocked inwardly and couldn¡¯t help but think about what Patriarch Empty Dream told him years before.
¡®It seemed they did scheme against Patriarch, and then they allegiance themselves to devils. Do they really stoop to such a level?¡¯ He grimaced.
Although Ace didn¡¯t have any ties with humans, he was still a human, and he felt sad about their conduct.
¡°Forget it, they have nothing to do with me.¡± Ace shook his head.
Freya said nothing, but she was still astonished about Ace¡¯s identity, and now he can order her around. How ironic.
¡°Then what¡¯s your end goal?¡± She changed the topic.
Ace said with uncertainty, ¡°I don¡¯t have any end goal. I just want to be strong for the time being, and I can only rely on the ¡®goddess¡¯, which means I have to theft. As for my current goal, it¡¯s the life demon treasure pagoda!¡±
Freya felt he had just heard something absurd. ¡°Life Demon Treasure Pagoda of Life Demon Association?¡±
¡°What, there¡¯s another one?¡± Ace pretended to be startled.
She pursed her lips. ¡°Are you trying to get killed? Don¡¯t you know those buildings are the most secure ces in eight provinces? Even I can¡¯t infiltrate too deep into the Life Demon Association, they¡¯re just too careful.¡±
Ace sighed andmented, ¡°I don¡¯t have any choice. It¡¯s the order of the goddess. I can only grit my teeth and walk forward.¡±
Freya¡¯s eyes suddenly glow in understanding, ¡®So, that¡¯s how it is. No wonder, he had an ample amount of HP. It¡¯s all because he can directly receive a mission from the goddess, but they also seemed quite dangerous.¡¯
Ace guess what she was thinking, but he didn¡¯t correct her and smiled, ¡°You see, I already have the entire structure of de domain¡¯s treasure pagoda, including all the ranks of traps, formations, hidden treasuries, and other stuff.¡±
Freya was startled. ¡°How do you get this kind of secret?¡±
¡°Hehe, I have my means, so tell me, are you in or not? I¡¯ll issue you the same mission as your senior, but different from her since you¡¯re a control type thief.¡± Ace asked, even though he already knew the answer.
Freya felt she had underestimated Ace again, and she had to reevaluate this leader of her.
She said, ¡°What kind of thief is my senior, can you tell me?¡±
Ace said ambiguously, ¡°You can ask your senior after you both meet. I won¡¯t divulge anyone¡¯s information since it would be unfair to both of you. Although we are like family now, we have to respect each other¡¯s privacy, right?¡±
¡®Family, huh?¡¯ She looked meaningfully at Ace.
Freya pouted beautifully, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll just have to wait, so what do you want me to do?¡±
¡°How much time do you need to change your cultivation technique?¡± Ace asked.
He knew she was already a peak tinum soul embryo cultivator, so she won¡¯t need to reset her foundation like Noa.
Freya thought for a moment, ¡°I have to see the cultivation technique first, but I don¡¯t think I can buy it with my current credit, and I also didn¡¯t meet any requirements.¡±
Ace know the meaning behind her hints and smiled subtly.
¡°I¡¯ll tell you the method to earn house points without missions. But I don¡¯t want to you change your cultivation technique until I¡¯m done with this theft.
¡°Because the cultivation technique is the most precious one you have ever seen, it can grant you an innate soul ability in every realm, so it would take quite a while to recover your original cultivation after you started.
¡°I¡¯ll also leave the building¡¯s blueprint with you, and you have to¡¡±
Chapter ?448 Hidden Current & The Expedition Team
Chapter ?448 Hidden Current & The Expedition Team
At night, Feng returned to the de castle and no one suspect anything as he returned to his courtyard.
''Sigh¡ it finally ended.'' Ace sighed with a hint of exhaustion.
He couldn''t help but smile bitterly when he thought about his long conversation with Freya at the Lionheart Shop.
Not only did she ask all kinds of questions, but she even gave a suggestion for his thievery, which Ace never thought of before, and he had to admit that women had a talent for tactics. But she was just too sharp and hard to fool.
Nevertheless, Ace was d he added her to the Thief House. Now he had ess to all kinds of information and resources. He also handed her the things he didn''t need. To sell in the ck market, which emptied fifteen percent of his thief''s space.
He also told her about the theft method to acquire house points, which made her startled, and he also taught her his two signature skills, Soul Threads and Thief''s Charity (Inverse and Reverse).
He even offered her a ''safe ce'' for her real body to change her cultivation technique after he was done with this theft and, surprisingly, she agreed as well.
After dealing with all this, he left, since it might alert the demon king if he didn''t return to the castle at night.
''She told me that the royal envoy was also searching for her, and his reason for this might be her informationwork. Well, too bad I got her first.'' Ace''s lips curled.
''Furthermore, the mist domain also seemed to be in a state of silence after the huntingpetition, which was quite unusual. It might be because of Santos''s disappearance.
''I have to be careful of mist demon king since I''ve killed her son and I don''t know if she knows he''s dead or not. But ording to Freya, the Mist Demon King had a terrifying backer, and she''s also involved in all kinds of trades. Well, as long as I y my part well, no one will ever know I was here.''
Ace smiled confidently, especially after the discussion at the lionheart shop, and started to cultivate his lock picking skill again.
---
The night before the expedition,
At the Evil de n''s secret hall, an aged voice filled with anger rang.
"What do you mean, you can''t approach that brat? Do you try to visit him?"
"Father, that hateful fellow was hiding in the de ce, and he only left yesterday, but we were alerted toote, and he was already vanished and only returned in the middle of the night!" the middle-aged demon spoke with frustration.
The old demon''s face was filled with fury. "Then do you find out what task that brat received from His Majesty? We''ll intercept him on that mission since he had to go alone!"
The middle-aged demon sighed helplessly, "No, only those knightmanders know about this and if we pry in it, we might infuriate his majesty, so I don''t dare to approach them. Especially White Fire. That guy is too loyal for his own good!"
"What about Miya? Didn''t she try to approach him?"
The middle-aged demon''s expression turned even nastier and said with gritted teeth, "She tried to visit him this noon, but she was intercepted by those two ve bitches, and they won''t let her meet him. They said he was in the cultivation chamber without even notifying him. If not for the castle, she would''ve killed those two impudent ves!"
"Sigh¡ it''s really a tragedy." The old demon''s face wither further as he sighed in a resigned manner.
The middle-aged demon also felt the same frustration as his father because they just couldn''t subdue a single brat who wasn''t even mature yet.
Not only that, they were being silently watched by the de Demon King, especially after the banquet and if they do something in desperation, they might really suffer terribly.
At this moment, a voice sounded from the outside,
"Patriarch, a messenger has arrived with a message!"
The middle-aged demon''s eyes narrowed and retorted, "Didn''t I tell you not to disturb me while I''m in the forbidden area?"
The voice sounded again,
"I-I know, but the sender of this message is assumingly¡ All-Knowing Parrot!"
---
Mist Domain, Mist Demon Castle,
Mist Demon King was in her cultivation chamber. She hasn''t appeared in the open after she met with de Demon King as if she was waiting for something.
At this moment, she suddenly moved, and amunication cube appeared in her hand, which was shing brightly.
She activated it, and a husky voice sounded.
"I can''t make a move without any solid evidence!"
The dark mist around her trembled after she heard this and replied in fury, "Our son is dead, and you want evidence? Do you even care about us!?!"
"Don''t you dare talk to me like this! No one is more furious than me in this world, and I want to trample on that bastard''s entire n, but do you think moving against a Demon King is easy?
"Even if I can kill him, the Imperial Family will also get the reason to weaken my authority. So, found something before contacting me. I can''t talk with you right now because of all this shit going on here!"
With that, the cube went dormant.
Afterward, a deadly soul Qi wave spread to the entire mist castle, killing everyone under the river core realm!
---
Today was the day of departure for everyone for the expedition to this damaged ruin at the border of mighty de province.
At this moment,
White Fire was solemnly standing in front of eight young demons.
This was the expedition team that was selected by Thomas and Peter three days ago.
The members were, Feng, Thomas, Peter, his fianc¨¦, Brenna, Alora Yisrael, and Carlee Violent rmended by Thomas, then there was also another silver de n demon with a fierce look on his handsome face, he was rmended by Peter and rank 18 in top hundred, Gibson, andst was another wild tribe demon rank 23, Shepard Echo.
Shepard was specifically selected by Thomas and Peter because of his ability to control sound waves and observe them. This was an extremely useful ability in a dangerous and unknown ce, like a damaged ruin.
Everyone selected was already notified two days ago about this expedition, and they were also ted to hear this since this was a huge chance for them.
They were all prepared for this expedition.
White fire said, "Are you all prepared?"
"Yes!"
Everyone answered in unison.
White Fire nodded as he looked at Feng and said, "Feng is this team leader, and you have to follow his order after entering the ruin. I won''t interfere as long as you didn''t encounter any soul realm level threat, even if you died. Is that clear?"
Shepard raised his hand at this moment. He was a dark orange skin demon with small horns and bright yellow eyes, wearing full body armor.
White Fire''s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Speak."
Shepard asked, "You said we have to follow, sir, Feng''s orders, but what if that order threatens our lives, or he wanted to attack us for treasures or hoard them?"
Thomas and Peter''s expressions change slightly, but they said nothing since this was a question worth answering.
White Fire smiled coldly. "If you found his decision unreasonable, you all can cast votes to decide. As for hoarding the treasures, as long as you have the ability, you can try taking them from him. I won''t interfere with it. Any treasure found in that ruin will be distributed between you guys, but I won''t interfere with that distribution!"
The other five expressions changed as they cast nces at Feng, who seemedpletely nonchnt all this time, saying nothing.
Thomas suddenly chuckled, "Haha, brother Feng, I''ll be relying on you."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Peter only smiled wryly and said nothing, although he could feel Feng wasn''t that kind of person. But in the face of treasures, even close rtives backstab each other, much less someone who he met a few times. Nheless, he also wanted to fight with Feng, so he found it an opportunity as well.
At this moment, Feng suddenly moved and stand right beside White Fire and said, "I don''t want anything that isn''t rted to the sword, and if we came in the possession of anything rted to the sword, I''ll share it with brother Peter.
"I hope everyone can work together without being vignt of each other, or I''ll kill anyone who would try to drag me down or sabotage anyone. Is that clear?"
"I agree." Thomas was first to agree.
Peter smiled. "I''ll also share anything rted to the sword with brother Feng. Don''t worry."
The others also quickly agreed since Feng promise not to fight for other things, and they felt relief.
White Fire couldn''t help but smile in satisfaction. He was also d that Feng cleared this small seed of discord, or they can never work together with each other.
He said, "Now that we are all on the same page, let''s go. We''ll travel in carriages for half a month first. Let''s go."
Afterward, they all embark on five carriages and depart for this expedition!
Chapter ?449 The White Hill Plains
Chapter ?449 The White Hill ins
The White Hill ins were at the western border of mighty de province, and this ce was called white hills because all year long it was covered in a thickyer of snow and the temperature here wasn''t something a mortal could survive in.
White Hill ins was also the ce where ice-type beasts and herbs were found. But this ce was also extremely dangerous because of the exact same reason.
The snow storms were constant at this ce and anyone could easily bury under the snow or even lose their way.
At this moment, a few miles away from the outskirts of the White Hill ins, five carriages stopped. Nine demons disembark the carriages.
They were none other than the de domain expedition team of eight and White Fire.
They had been traveling for fifteen days at full speed and just reached this ce.
Ace couldn''t help but look at the White ins as far as his eyes could see and feel the icy temperature. It was his first timeing to such a ce filled with snow.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"We''re here." White Fire spoke at this moment. "We''ll part ways from here!"
Everyone looked at the White Fire in disbelief. They all know just howrge and dangerous this ce was, and now he was going to leave them alone here to search for the damaged ruin!
White Fire''s lips curled into a stiff smile. "What do you think? I would take you to the damaged ruin myself. Don''t tter yourselves, your actual test is to find your way toward damaged ruin.
"I''ll only provide you with a map, nothing else, and you all have five months before I''ll take you all back, even if you found nothing. It will consider a failure, and you all will lose your positions."
White Fire, like everyone''s ugly expressions and took out a scroll and toss it toward Feng, and said, "This is the map, good luck¡"
With that, White Fire suddenly turned into a blurry image, and before anyone could ask any questions, he was long gone!
"Fuck, we''ve been screwed by the old man!" Thomas couldn''t help but cuss.
Everyone silently agreed with Thomas.
Feng said at this moment with a grave expression, "Well, this much was expected, since it would be too easy to just explore a damaged ruin."
Alora said at this moment, "We should look at the map before deciding how to move forward. It is very hard to move into this ce at night, so we also have to arrange for it as well."
Although they weren''t told the exact location of the damaged ruin but hinted that it was at the border of the mighty de province, so it wasn''t hard to research those few famous locations.
"Shepard, here you''ll be in charge of leading the way. I heard you are an expert in this thing, so don''t disappoint me." Feng handed the map to Shepard with a meaningful look.
Shepard was startled for a moment before he received the map. He could feel the hidden pressure in Feng''s words and nodded solemnly. He knew this person wasn''t someone he could trifle with, even if they were from the same generations.
No one objected to Feng''s decision.
Peter utter as he looked at the witness far away, "There are demonic beasts that can easily hide in the snow or camouge themselves. I have an array barrier, but it consumed too much Qi, but I''ll also protect us from ambushes. We can all take turns to keep it active. What do you think?" he looked at Feng.
Feng nodded at his suggestion, "We''ll do as you suggest¡"
They all discussed other things while Shepard and Carlee discuss the direction they should take on the map.
---
A mile away, White Fire appeared on a small hilltop.
Thereupon, the ground cracked before a little person appeared from the ground. It was an earthen troll.
He knelt in front of White Fire and said respectfully, "My lord, the preparation isplete."
White Fire impassively nodded, "Good, don''t lose their tracks, and if any danger appeared which they can''t handle, contact me post hastily. Also, monitor any new arrivals."
"Yes, milord." The earthen troll uttered.
White Fire looked at the team of eight, which had started to move, and mumbled, "Why did I have this strange feeling?"
---
A weekter,
Feng and the party were slowly moving toward their aim.
They had been moving very carefully in this ce where all they could see was white and at night; the situation turned even worse.
They also encounter some snow beasts, but they were all weak and easily found by Shepard.
Now, everyone on the team admits Shepard was great at leading and founding danger and without him, they might have a hard time.
However, Ace waspletely unfazed by anything, since he could find danger far quicker than Shepard. But he didn''t reveal and y his role as Feng.
He also long noticed they were being followed, and their source was under the ground, which give him some idea who was following them, so he wasn''t worried about this tail.
But he still didn''t find White Fire, and he mused that the guy was either out of his range or excellent at hiding, which he doubted.
Nevertheless, Ace was looking forward to that ruin because one reason was Alora was with him and that might be the ce where she might receive that golden opportunity, or he might find something interested.
At this moment, Thomas approached him and said in a low voice, "It seemed we''re being watched, but I can''t tell the source. Could it be the old man (White Fire)?"
''What a sharp instinct.'' Ace couldn''t help but praise him because the watchers were keeping at least a four-hundred-meter distance, and he knew Thomas hadn''t awakened his soul sense yet.
He pretended to be surprised and replied, "It could only be him, and if not. Then don''t worry, I don''t think that guy would let anyone powerful approach us who we can''t handle."
Thomas nodded in agreement and suddenly changed the topic, "Brother Feng, Alora seemed to be interested in you, why don''t you¡" He put on a lewd smile.
Feng''s expression darkened, "Scram."
They all couldn''t help but smile wryly. They were now used to Thomas''s happy-go-lucky attitude, while Alora''s face was turned slightly red as she stared dagger at Thomas.
Carlee couldn''t help but giggled as she also teased her friend, "Hehe, is that true?"
"Scram, that brat is ndering me!" She retorted, but she couldn''t help but took a nce at Feng''s stony face and felt some disappointment.
Although she didn''t have any feelings toward him, she was still curious about this prodigy of the de domain who was even stronger than Jaxx, and his icy demeanor gave him even more charm.
She felt strangely attracted to Feng.
At this moment, Shepard''s grave voice rang. "Something ising this way!"
Everyone became alerted and vigntly looked around.
They all knew now that Shepard was never wrong about the danger before.
Feng said at this moment, "This isn''t a thing, but things! It''s already going dark. Deal with it quickly. We have to leave this area. It seemed we have entered some beast''s den."
Just as his voice trailed off,
"Awooo¡"
"Awwooooo¡"
Ghastly cries rang from afar.
Gibson eximed at this moment, "That''s definitely a wolf cry and the only wolf that I know who lived in a cold environment like this is Ice Dire Wolf, and they''re extremely fast in a snowy environment and can easily mix within snow because they''repletely white.
"Not only that, it seemed we have really entered their hunting grounds and if an Ice Dire Wolf King is controlling this pack, then I''m afraid we''re facing at least ate fourth-grade beast!"
Gibson had a deep knowledge of demonic beasts and medicinal herbs, so he was mostly their encyclopedia and told them about the weakness of the beasts and their habits.
"How should we deal with them?" Peter asked with a grim expression because now the wolf''s cries were bing more and more vibrant, and it might be a wolf pack.
If they encounter numerous fourth-grade beasts, they might suffer this time.
Gibson''s expression was quite ugly as he said, "Those Ice Dire Wolves were proficient in controlling Ice Element, and it''s very cumbersome to get close to them. Only fire element practitioners can deal with them."
"Didn''t this mean we have to rely on Alora?" Thomas eximed, and they all looked at Alora.
Feng had an Earth Element.
Thomas had Soul Illusion Element.
Peter, Brenna, and Gibson have Silver Metal Element.
Alora had a Dark Fire Element.
Carlee''s element was called Violent Woods.
Lastly, Shepard''s element was called Soul Waves.
This means that in their group, only Alora was proficient in the fire element, and this tremendously pressured her.
"Don''t worry, just support from behind. There''s nothing my sword won''t cut," Feng said as he ced his hand on both his sword hilts.
They all looked at the white mist rising in their way!
Chapter 450 Sword Art: Dark Life Plexus
Everyone felt relief when they heard Feng¡¯s courageous words.
At this moment, they finally spotted the beasts in that white mist.
They were three-meter in size while they were covered in snow-white fur, only their gray vicious eyes were visible and long beastly teeth, and they were over fifty.
However, Ace also notice what other¡¯s failed because of the white mist, at the very back of thesete-grade-3 Ice Dire Wolves were eight more Ice Dire Wolves, but they were over five meters in size while four of them were early-stage grade-4, three of them intermediate grade-4, and the most powerful of them all was ate stage grade-4, and it was six meters in size.
¡®That must be the wolf king of this pack, and there might be more. Although I can leave, they won¡¯t be able to handle these many wolves. I still haven¡¯t done with them, and I need them alive¡¡¯ Ace mused while looking at those madly charging wolves.
¡°Peter and Thomas, take themand,¡± Feng said at this moment.
Peter¡¯s expression changed. ¡°What do you mean?¡±
Feng said in a gloomy tone, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill the wolf king, as long as he died we can easily kill the others or those guys will keeping at us, and I¡¯m afraid if this drag long more wolves will join them.¡±
¡°Are you mad? You have to cross that wolf wall first, and we still didn¡¯t know if there¡¯s a wolf king or not, and you won¡¯t able to find it even if there was one. Don¡¯t act recklessly.¡± Thomas retorted seriously. He differedpletely from his jolly self.
¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I can feel the wolf king behind that horde. Just focus on cleaning those wolves. We have to leave quickly after I dealt with the wolf king.¡±
With that, Feng instantly left the barrier, wasting no more time.
¡°Fuck, that reckless fool!¡± Thomas cursed as he watched Feng charging right into the wolves.
Peter also had an ugly expression. Although he was a sword cultivator like Feng, he could tell this was a reckless move.
But s, they were alreadyte, and Feng was already gone without waiting for anyone to stop him.
Brenna spoke at this moment with a hint of shock, ¡°Look!¡±
They all suddenly looked in the direction Brenna pointed, and they couldn¡¯t believe what they saw.
Hundreds of sword shadows suddenly formed above Feng¡¯s head before he shed his sword, creating a humming sound, and those sword shadows shot toward those wolves like heavy rain.
Almost all the wolves let loose ghastly cries and ten of them were dead on the spot!
¡°Powerful!¡± Carlee muttered with astonishment.
While Alora also had stars in her eyes, no one know what she was thinking.
Gibson eximed, ¡°It seems we are the ones who underestimated him. Don¡¯t forget, he is the number one talent in our province!¡±
Everyone nodded in a daze.
Peter¡¯s eyes were filled with battle intent as he thought of the scene of hundreds of swords, shadows forming above Feng like a sword crown.
¡°I¡¯m also going!¡± with that, he also left the barrier and charge toward those wounded wolves; who went into a frenzy after Feng¡¯s attack.
¡°Peter!¡± Brenna cried in rm and wanted to go after him.
However, Thomas appeared in front of her, stopping her, but he had a smile on his face right now, not terror.
¡°Get out of my way!¡± Brenna red at Thomas.
Thomas¡¯s expression turned stony. ¡°You¡¯ll only get in his way.¡± He then shot a meaningful nce at Gibson.
Gibson quickly react and approached Brenna and said, ¡°He¡¯s right princess, Peter also had sword intent like boss Feng, so he¡¯ll be fine. But if you left, he might lose focus on battle and get injured. We don¡¯t want that, right?¡±
Brenna bit her lip but didn¡¯t try to leave anymore. She knew they were right and could only pray for her lover¡¯s safety.
Thomas finally smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, those two sword-brain guys won¡¯t die that easy. Let¡¯s just clean up those little dogs first before supporting them.¡±
Everyone nodded as they circted their Qi as it locked onto those reaming wolves with killing intent.
In the meantime,
Ace has already spotted the enormous wolves a few meters away from the horde. He just used the first move of his Dual Sword Mirage to weaken the wolves to a great degree.
As for the consequences of showing his sword art, he wasn¡¯t worried anymore, since he could always tell he stumbled upon this move within a ruin close to his tribe.
No one could tell the nature of Qi in dual sword mirage, not as long as they didn¡¯t experience it themselves. To others, those dark swords are like sword shadows.
Besides, Ace was feeling uneasy about this situation, so he quickly reacted, or he didn¡¯t mind dragging this fight.
His eyes shed at this moment. ¡®That idiot is hot-blooded.¡¯ Ace smiled wryly when he sensed Peter has also left the barrier and was fighting his way toward him.
At this moment, those big dire wolves had already sensed Ace approaching. The Ice Dire Wolf King let loose an angry roar before the other nine wolves charge straight at Ace.
However, their white fur suddenly glowed in silver light and the ground started to tremble.
Ace noticed the Qi ripples in the snow, and he quickly dodged, but it wasn¡¯t enough as ice spikes started to shoot out from the snowy ground at a fast pace, without stopping.
This wasn¡¯t the end, as those wolves opened their maws and silver Qi started to gather between them.
Ace¡¯s eyes contracted when he felt danger from those silver Qi balls in those wolves¡¯ mouths, but he was also busy dodging the ice spikes.
¡°You¡¯re asking for it!¡± his eyes suddenly turned misty at this moment.
Those nine wolves suddenly jerked and the silver Qi in their mouth also undte before bing unstable and detonating in their mouths!
Although Ace¡¯s soul bullet wasn¡¯t enough to kill those wolves, it was enough to hinder that skill and used it against them.
Those ice spikes also stopped forming after the sts.
However, Ace could sense those wolves were alive and only injured. So, he quickly reacted as he moved toward them at full speed.
¡°Twin Demon Emergence, Twin Demon Roar!¡± Ace instantly used the sword-draw art¡¯s second move.
Winds whistled as two green arks like crescent moon formed by Ace¡¯s lighting-like draw and headed straight toward those nine wolves who were still in a stupor.
¡°Awooo¡!¡±
However, Ace suddenly felt his scalp tingle with trepidation after hearing that infuriated cry. Thereupon, the snowy ground beneath those wolves trembled before a thick ice wall emerged and took them off the ground, and the two sword arks missed their targets andnded on the ice wall.
But Ace didn¡¯t have time to worry about those wolves because thousands of sharp snowkes were raining down on him like small needles.
He finally understood why he had this bad feeling that the wolf king wasn¡¯t simple at all and a cunning fellow!
If he hasn¡¯t moved, the entire team might fell into a huge dilemma at that time, and then he might have had to use his actual skills to escape. Then his ns would go to the drain.
However, he also had to deal with this wolf king now while someone was still monitoring him. But without using his actual power, it would be quite the tidiest task.
Nevertheless, he was getting the EXP out of it, so it wasn¡¯t like he was doing it for nothing.
Ace again used his dual sword mirage to counter those snowkes before using his silent steps to charge at the wolf king.
¡®It seemed I have to use that new move, but I have to create a distraction first¡¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes turn icy as the sword in his right hand disappeared.
He waved his sword in hand, creating a huge torrent of earth Qi before he focused that Qi toward the wolf king.
But how could that crude attacknd on the wolf king?
He roared, and another ice wall appeared, blocking the earth Qi. However, because of that collusion, a vast cloud of snow filled the surrounding and Qi undtion,pleting cutting off other¡¯s visions and making the Qi senses chaotic!
Right at this moment, Ace¡¯s right hand turned pitch ck as lighting crackled around it.
¡®Dark Life Plexus; Lighting Sword Fingers!¡¯n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
This was the first time Ace was using his second sword art he created to enter the sword as finger realm, the Dark Life Plexus Sword Art!
Thereupon, the wolf king suddenly felt death approaching as all the hair on his body stood. It wanted to escape, but before it could, five dark streaks filled with lightning and shadow sword intent appeared right before him with a zap!
Without any chance to evade, he had to block but s, those five strikes were just too deadly and directly crushed on five main acupuncture points, destroying them and the wolf king died within an instant!
Chapter 451 Close to the Ruin
A few miles away, just as Ace suspected, the battle with the Ice Dire Wolves was being monitored by White Fire with the legacy formation of the de demon tribe, the Myriad Threads Qi Detection Formation!
To control this formation, White Fire had to stay static, and that was why he wasn¡¯t following the team himself and using the earthen troll to monitor them from close while he was observing them with Myriad Threads Qi Detection Formation.
However, this formation didn¡¯t provide a view and could only sense the Qi of life forms, but it was far more convenient to detect hidden enemies.
Feng facing the ten grade-4 wolves was naturally noticed by White Fire, and he thought Feng was reckless and courting death by charging there alone.
He was about to stop the formation and go there to rescue Feng when the Qi thread representing the Wolf King suddenly vanished.
¡°What happened?!¡± He eximed and started to use the formation to make sure he wasn¡¯t seeing things.
However, thereupon, the nine other threads of grade-4 wolves also vanished!
With a bewildered expression, he mumbled, ¡°Could it be that brat managed to kill all ten grade-4 wolves? Didn¡¯t this mean his strength is equivalent to a tinum River Core expert? But this doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡±
¡ª
On the battlefield,
Ace looked at the tenrge wolf corpses. ¡®The dark life Plexus is really powerful. I can sense and target the acupuncture points with my sword fingers and destroy them with lightning.
¡®However, this skill scope is so broad that I can only sense 13 acupuncture point out of 361 acupuncture point and can only create two sword skills with it. As long as I can target 361 acupuncture points altogether, this sword art would be a terrifying one.
¡®But it seemed I need to the mind as sword realm and experiment on the livings to increase the sword art further.¡¯ Thinking about thetter, his expression couldn¡¯t help but change slightly.
Although, he somehow managed to create this sword art by being able to sense thirteen acupuncture points with his heavenly sense. But the reaming acupuncture points weren¡¯t something he could just imagine in their positions.
He had to experiment on the living test subjects to further increased his knowledge of acupuncture points, or he had to gain another book that further describes these acupuncture points more profoundly than the Life Plexus Book in his possession.
Because the knowledge in life plexus book was limited and most of it was based on theories by SLK, so he had to start his own research if he wanted to further go on this path of acupuncture points.
Notwithstanding, who knows, the world was so big he might get another profound book like life plexus.
¡°Brother Feng!¡± Peter¡¯s vibrant voice sounded.
Ace snapped out of his stupor and looked around. He saw Peter dashing toward him while blood was dripping from his sword.
However, Peter was dumbfounded when he saw ten huge corpses beside Feng and looked at him as if he was looking at a monster.
Although those wolves were dead, he could still feel their dreadful aura.
¡°S-So fast!¡± He couldn¡¯t help but utter.
Feng smiled and coolly said, ¡°Nothing much. Thanks foring, by the way. Let¡¯s help the others and leave this ce.¡±
Peter absently nodded and followed Feng.
After the wolf king was dead, those little wolves weren¡¯t able tost for long in the face of everyone¡¯s attacks.
The others were also startled when they saw the grade-4 wolves, and couldn¡¯t help but felt slightly apprehended by the bronze skin demon.
Thomas click his tongue and said, ¡°Brother Feng, how did you kill this wolf king? There isn¡¯t any sword sh, but internal bleeding. It¡¯s like this wolf died by an extreme Qi deviation.¡±
¡®This guy¡¯s mouth is really something.¡¯ Ace couldn¡¯t help butin. No one noticed this but Thomas, and now everyone looked at him in astonishment.
However, he wasn¡¯t too worried about it and meaningfully replied, ¡°It¡¯s a secret sword art. Do you want to spar with me, so you could experience it yourself?¡±
Thomas shamelessly retorted, ¡°What? You want to murder your friend?¡±
Everyone gave side eyes to Thomas.
¡°You¡¯re not worth the trouble.¡± Feng smirked, ¡°I¡¯ll be taking the carcass of the wolf king, you guys can have others.¡±
No one raised any objections. Even if Feng wanted all the grade-4 wolves, they wouldn¡¯t mind it, since he was the one who killed them.
The carcass of a grade-4 beast was full of treasures, especially their meat, which was very beneficial to the river realm and river core cultivators. The market price for such meat was sky-high!
After they collect the carcasses, they left the area before more wolves were drawn by the blood smell.
They spend the night on a remote hill and continue their journey of finding the ruin.
ording to the map given by White Fire, they were still over a month¡¯s travel away from the damaged ruin. But as they continue to move forward, the temperature of the ce continued to drop.
They all started to feel the cold despite their peak river realm cultivation, with only the exception of Ace, though.
But with different treasures, they could endure the cold quite easily.
Until this day,
¡°Beneath us, watch out!¡± This warning came as a surprise because it was from Feng, not Shepard.
Nheless, they all jumped back from their positions with full strength.
The very next thereafter, five ice des appeared from where they all jumped.
However, it wasn¡¯t over as those ice des vanished in the snow.
¡°I can¡¯t sense anything!¡± Shepard¡¯s eximed as he nced at Feng with a look of admiration.
If he hadn¡¯t warned them, some of them would¡¯ve suffered grave injuries.
¡°Attack there!¡± Feng said as he shed with his swords on the snow ground.
Everyone attacked without any hesitation.
¡®sskkss¡¯
Strange cries rang the moment those attacks fell on that spot and before long they all notice the ground started to fill with blue liquid, and it spread in the snow.
¡°Blood!¡± Carlee¡¯s eyes were filled with horror.
Alora used her dark fire to melt that area, and the appearance of their attacker was revealed.
It was a two-meter-long white worm, but it had two hands and a head while small tentacles on the rare, it didn¡¯t have any eyes, but a huge round mouth filled with sharp teeth and a pair of blue small horns with ck patterns.
Thomas said with a graved expression when he saw this creature, ¡°This isn¡¯t a demonic beast, but a mindless demon!¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes shed, ¡°You mean a demon without intelligence, a barbaric demon tribe?¡±
Thomas nodded, ¡°Yes. You see those small patterns on its horns, only demons with early stages of development have them and that¡¯s why we called them barbaric demons.
¡°Although we called them the barbaric demon tribes, and they had very little intelligence, they didn¡¯t attack each other. Furthermore, they¡¯re very territorial, and once they sense someone infiltrating their territory, they¡¯ll swarm at the intruder without caring about any consequences.¡±
Alora nodded in agreement and added, ¡°Our territories are filled with these kinds of barbaric demon tribes and if we didn¡¯t control their numbers, they could cause huge trouble with their numbers and suicidal attacks.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Gibson¡¯s expression was ugly as he asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t this mean we have to cross these barbaric demons¡¯ territory if we wanted to continue our journey?¡±
Peter shook his head. ¡°Not necessary. We might encounter it by chance, and we still didn¡¯t know where their territory is. If we take another route, we might lose our way or enter their territory.¡±
Carlee said, ¡°Prince is right, we should stick to our route since the map didn¡¯t have details about the other routes. It¡¯s also quite possible that we have to cross this barbaric tribe¡¯s territory to enter the ruins. It might be a test.¡±
Shepard looked at the map and his expression was helpless, ¡°She¡¯s might be right, we¡¯re very close to our destination and that ruin is underground as well.
¡°This demon was moving in the snow, and I wasn¡¯t able to sense its presence, which means there might be tunnels beneath us and in the end, we have to sh with this tribe.¡±
They all look at Feng since he was the leader, and thest decision fell to him.
¡°Stick to the route. Just as Shepard said, we have to find the underground passage that leads to the ruin as well. This demon might have appeared from that same underground passage.
¡°If we wander around, we might overlook the passage. The presence of this tribe might be a good thing since we can follow them and find the underground passage.
¡°There isn¡¯t any need to be afraid of them since Senior White Fire would leave no danger to our lives alive in that ruin, right?¡±
They allpletely agreed with Feng¡¯s words and continue to move forward!
Chapter 452 An Underground Maze
After moving a few miles ording to the map, they were getting closer to the damaged ruin. But nothing changed in the scenery, it was still white as far as one could see, and they had to find the underground passage in this snow.
Ace was looking at the live fate map for any potential danger or any hidden pathways which weren¡¯t visible to the eyes.
This expedition was very important to him because Alora was also a part of it, and he hoped that the golden opportunity will be in this ruin.
¡®They¡¯re here!¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw red fate points moving in their directions, and they weren¡¯t visible to naked eyes.
¡®It seemed the ruin might be the territory of that barbaric demon tribe, and we have to fight our way into the ruin and for opportunities. The demon king has put some thought into this expedition.¡¯ His lip curled up.
¡°The passage should be somewhere here.¡± Said Shepard while looking at the map.
Feng retorted as he grabbed the hilts of his swords, ¡°We have more important things to worry about than the passage.¡±
Everyone became alert since they knew what he meant and took their fighting stances.
¡°Don¡¯t tell me we really have to fight with those worms?¡± Thomas¡¯s expression was bitter.
Feng said as he pointed his sword, ¡°They¡¯re five of them this time. When I signal, focus your attacks on that area.¡±
Thereupon, ¡°Now!¡± Feng shouted as he performed the first sword draw move.
¡°Silver Cut!¡± Peter followed suit.
¡°Soul Phantasmagoria; Hallucination!¡±
They all use their skills on that spot, and it created a huge creator when all those skillsnded on that spot. Only blood and body parts of those five demons were left. They didn¡¯t even have time to cry before they were dead.
¡°Easy.¡± Gibson scoffed.
¡°Look, there¡¯s a tunnel!¡± Brenna pointed a few meters away from that creator, drawing everyone¡¯s attention.
¡°Hehe, it seemed we can finally start treasure hunting.¡± Carlee lightly elbowed Alora.
Alora rolled her eyes. ¡°Money grubber!¡±
¡°Although we reached our destination, it¡¯s not that easy to find treasures since this ce might be crammed with these mindless demons. I want everyone to remain vignt and not blinded by treasures. Life is more important than some worldly treasures.¡± Peter dered.
Feng nodded, ¡°He¡¯s right, look out for traps, don¡¯t get blinded by greed. Shepard will still lead with Peter and I¡¯ll be right behind you guys. Brenna and Gibson will take the rare while Thomas, Alora, and Carlee will remain in the center, so they could easily use their long-range skills.¡±
With this setting, they all enter the dark tunnel, which was filled with a potent smell and icy air.
Because of their cultivation, it wasn¡¯t difficult to see in the dark, but it wasn¡¯t as good as their actual vision. The tunnel was old and not made recently because there were some old supporting pirs.
No one could see the end, as they slowly moved with vignce.
But Ace could feel those earthen trolls were following them from a hundred-meter distance, while he also felt the White Fire¡¯s soul signature three hundred meters away.
¡®It seemed this ce is still dangerous since he started to follow us now. But didn¡¯t they arrange this beforehand? Or they wanted to put us in danger to give us life and death experience?¡¯ Ace mused as he opened the live fate map for a few moments.
He can¡¯t always keep that map open because of the huge Qi exhaustion, so he would only open it for a moment or two to see the change before closing it.
This time he saw a web of tunnels around them, not just this one, but ten of them, and he frowned.
¡®This is like a maze,¡¯ Ace thought as two pathways appeared in front of them, and they all stopped.
Shepard¡¯s expression also changed seeing this, and he said, ¡°We didn¡¯t have any map or detail about this? How should we choose our way?¡±
Thomas said in a grave voice, ¡°I think we are in an underground maze, and we have to find a way to cross it without getting lost, which is quite impossible since we can¡¯t check one passage after another.¡±
Gibson retorted, ¡°How are you so sure we are in the maze and these two paths do not lead to two different ruin locations? Remembered we are in a damaged ruin on an expedition. We have to explore this ce for opportunity, and it could be anywhere.¡±
Peter spokepletely agreed with Gibson, ¡°He¡¯s right, since Sir. White Fire didn¡¯t give us the map of this ce. This means this is the damaged ruin, and we have to explore it on our own ord.¡±
Alora couldn¡¯t help but narrowed her eyes. ¡°So, you¡¯re suggesting we should split up? Don¡¯t you remember those worms loitering around? What if one of these paths leads to theiryer, then what?¡±
Carlee nodded in agreement.
Thereafter, they all started to argue about their view of those two paths and, in the end, they all looked at Feng, who hadn¡¯t spoken all this time, and calmly looked at them.
Thomas pursed his lips. ¡°Brother Feng, say something. Do you think we should split up or not?¡±
¡®If I told them this is a maze, then it might look suspicious. I have already shown my unusual strength and perception. It would be bad if White Fire started to suspect something about me. I should just y along,¡¯ Ace mused.
Feng said with uncertainty, ¡°I agree with both sides¡¯ points of view, but we have to keep moving. We already wasted over forty-five days to find this ce, and time is not on our side. How about we vote to split or not?¡±
Everyone agreed with Feng and started to vote.
Thomas, Carlee, and Alora voted for not to split while Gibson, Peter, Brenna, and Shepard voted to split. In the end, only Feng¡¯s vote remained.
¡°I vote for no separation. If we split now, what if we found more split pathways, and then we have to choose again? Will you split again until only one of you is left?¡± Feng sternly questioned.
Peter couldn¡¯t help but retorted, ¡°We still didn¡¯t know if that¡¯s the case and I still think we should search for our lucky opportunity and without danger, there would never be any reward.¡±
Thomas¡¯s expression went vexed because Peter wasn¡¯t thinking rashly right now, and he could tell the reason. It was all because he was shadowed by Feng during this entire trip, and he wanted to escape that shadow, and this was his chance.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Although Peter was well-behaved and had an outstanding personality, he was, in the end, still an ambitious and prideful person.
He had already seen Feng was more powerful than him by far, and he wanted to shorten that difference by finding something here. He wanted to do it himself without anyone¡¯s help, especially Feng¡¯s, or he¡¯ll never leave that shadow.
But Thomas didn¡¯t want to say it out loud since it would only create trouble for Feng, and he didn¡¯t want this silent rivalry to turn into enmity.
Ace could also sense where those words wereing from, and he always thought highly of Peter. He would never want him to lose his self-esteem or his path, so if he tried to suppress him now, Peter might lose his fighting will and his nature.
Although having a talent was a good thing, it was also a double-edged sword at the same time because it was capricious.
Suppressing and crushing a talent, that was what you do to your enemies to destroy their fighting will.
While surpassing and proving your talent was something you do to someone you admire and respect, you don¡¯t want them to stop chasing after you, even if you know they¡¯ll never catch up with you.
Ace had very little interaction with his own generation, and he didn¡¯t have many people he respects, so he cherished those who he does, and Peter was one of them.
He smiled and said, ¡°Fine, you four can leave together, just don¡¯t die on me.¡±
Peter smiled confidently. ¡°Same to you. I still want to fight you after all this is over.¡±
With that, Peter, Brenna, Gibson, and Shepard took the right pathway.
¡°You did the right thing, but I still think we should¡¯ve stuck together.¡± Alora gently said.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t die. Besides, he¡¯s right about opportunitiesing with danger and if he can¡¯t ovee this danger, he might never be able to advance.¡± Feng smile.
They took the left direction and move forward.
Ace smiled as he felt something. ¡®Heh, White Fire followed in Peter¡¯s direction just as I thought, while trolls are following us. It seemed they had prepared for this in advance. At least he won¡¯t die now.¡¯
Soon they move for a while before four pathways appeared.
Thomas couldn¡¯t help but eximed, ¡°Damn it, we are really in a maze!¡±
Chapter 453 Light Silver Fate Map!
Thomas couldn¡¯t help but eximed, ¡°Damn it, we are really in a maze!¡±
Carlee questioned with a frown, ¡°So, what now?¡±
¡°Any path we choose they will lead to an unknown ce or moreplicated pathways. It doesn¡¯t matter where we go, we¡¯ll still have to cross this maze, which we have no idea how long or where it led to. I wonder how they could find this ce.¡± Said Alora with uncertainty.
¡°Let¡¯s take the third pathway. Since we¡¯re already in a maze, it doesn¡¯t matter where we go. It all depends on luck.¡± Feng chuckled as he suggested.
Thomas gave a side eye to him, ¡°Even though you are right, don¡¯t you, taking it too lightly?¡±
¡°What, do you have another suggestion?¡± Feng looked at him teasingly.
Thomas fell into deep thought before he expressed seriously, ¡°How about we go to the second pathway? It¡¯s my lucky number.¡±
Everyone looked speechlessly at him and shake their head.
¡°Now I know which path I shouldn¡¯t take,¡± Fengmented as he moved toward the third pathway and the twodies follow behind.
¡°Hateful.¡± Thomas cussed before following them.
This time they didn¡¯t encounter any more pathways, however, this time this pathway differed from before.
There was ayer of water on the surface, the ceiling cracked, and drops of water fell continuously. As they move forward, the water level was increasing.
¡°I think we should head back. If we continue, we might drown.¡± Alora couldn¡¯t help but speak with trepidation.
Thomas sneered, ¡°I told you guys we should¡¯ve taken the second pathway. But no one listened.¡±
However, Feng shook his head and continue to move forward, ¡°It¡¯s a good sign. What if this tunnel leads to an open water source? Like ake or a river? This might be the way out.¡±
Everyone¡¯s eyes lit up as they quickly understood what Feng was implying and didn¡¯t speak of leaving again.
However, thereupon, sudden ripples appeared on the water, felt by everyone.
¡°There¡¯s something inside the water!¡± Carlee yelped as a violet wooden staff appeared in her hand.
However, Ace¡¯s expression changed as he shouted, ¡°Quickly, attack the wall and hide or grab something. This isn¡¯t an attacker, but a flood!¡±
Thomas and the other expressions turned nervous, and they quickly create openings to support themselves, so they couldn¡¯t wash away by that flood. They didn¡¯t even have time to ask how Feng knows about this, but they trust his judgment.
Just a moment after Ace¡¯s warning, a torrent of water appeared and filled the entire tunnel and a powerful water current, which was flowing toward the entrance, appeared.
Despite creating those small openings in the wall that wasn¡¯t in the center of that water current, they could feel the water was pressuring them to move in its direction.
But it wasn¡¯t the only problem because there was some kind of strange power within that gray water which was affecting their consciousness!
Even Ace felt numb, and he had to use his heavenly soul Qi to remain stable, but he could sense the others weren¡¯t doing great either.
¡®There¡¯s something wrong with this water!¡¯ Ace¡¯s heart was filled with worry about this strange turn of events.
Thomas was the worst because he was a soul cultivator and his body wasn¡¯t as strong as a martial cultivator¡¯s body, and the water was affecting both his mind and body.
¡®A river cultivator without water element affinity could stay alive underwater for three months. But their fighting abilities will plummet as well. Especially someone with a fire affinity. They arepletely powerless if they aren¡¯t strong enough.
¡®But now they had to deal with this strange power in the water as well. Should I act or not?¡¯
Ace¡¯s expression was grave, as he could feel the water current was bing more and more violent.
Although he could endure, it wasn¡¯t the case for the others because they didn¡¯t have his abnormal physique and soul!
They can¡¯t evenmunicate because of the water while they were hiding in the distance from each other.
Right at this moment, Ace¡¯s heart sank to rock bottom as he looked at the opening from where the water wasing from.
Soon, a worm-like body appeared, which was none other than the barbaric demon, and it wasn¡¯t alone. There were three more behind it, and they were disturbingly at the fourth stage of the golden soul realm!
But the most abnormal thing was the water current waspletely ineffective against them, as they were moving agilely in that powerful water current.
Ace instantly used his heartless stealth and vanished. He wasn¡¯t confident in fighting with these four soul realm demons in this powerful water current. He might suffer!
But others didn¡¯t have his stealth art or his soul sense.
They didn¡¯t sense those demonsing in their way until they were a few meters away.
Thomas was the first was notice those demons and when he felt their powerful pressure, his heart palpitated, and he wanted to flee with the help of the water current, but before he could, the demon waved its hand, and without any resistance, Thomas turned into an ice sculpture!
Ace wanted to use his talismans to help Thomas when he abruptly stopped because those demons didn¡¯t have any killing intent when they attack and that skill the demon just used didn¡¯t kill Thomas but restrained him as he was still alive!
Alora and Carlee also suffer the same fate as Thomas, and then those demons looked in Feng¡¯s direction, clearly confused.
Ace felt strong martial sense scanning multiple times, and he could guess they somehow know he was here and now searching for him since he had decamped.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
After making sure there was no one, they grabbed Thomas, Alora, and Carlee¡¯s sculptures and left toward the entrance. They were clearly not done yet!
Ace remain static in his position while he observed those demons with a solemn expression!
¡®No matter how I looked at it, this flood only came after we entered the tunnel, which wasn¡¯t led toward another tunnel in the fate mapping.
¡®Now, those demons appeared right after the flood to capture us? There¡¯s something on this tunnel¡¯s end, and those demons aren¡¯t just mindless. Something is going on!¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes shone with a sharp glint.
He didn¡¯t dare to go after those demons because he would be courting death, so he remained motionless for now.
As for their safety, he sensed the trolls were following them from underground, and thest one who stopped to find Feng, he also left after thinking that Feng had also escaped and followed them.
On the other side,
White Fire had a deep frown on his face as he calmly remained still in the water current, which was half as strong as where Ace was.
¡®What is going on? There wasn¡¯t any floodst time, and this maze was only a minor hurdle before the entrance of that ruined city.
¡®Although Aura had said there wasn¡¯t anything worth for soul realm cultivation, and he had already gotten rid of that soul realm barbaric demon. There might be something he missed.
¡®They should¡¯ve remained together, but little Prince insisted on going independently, and I don¡¯t me him, since that brat Feng is just too dazzling. But this variable is not good¡¡¯
He mused while deeply looking at the four struggling to keep their ground in the water current.
¡ª
The water current remained strong for six hours before things started to calm down.
But in these six hours, Ace observed over fifty more worm demons appear from the same ce and heading toward the exit.
They were going after the intruders, which made him even more curious about the end of this passage and their end goal.
¡®I should go,¡¯ Ace thought when he felt the water current won¡¯t be able to stop his advance.
Without creating any undtions, he moved forward in stealth.
After swimming for half an hour, he finally saw the end, which was the end of the tunnel, and after making sure it was safe, he exited the tunnel and appeared in a vast body of gray water and that soul suppression was stronger here.
Ace observed the tunnel from where he appeared, and he was shocked when he saw the wall around the tunnel was filled with dark runes.
¡®So, they didn¡¯t want anyone to find this runic door, and that¡¯s why they flooded the entire path and send those demons to capture the intruders from this passage.
¡®But only intelligent demons are capable of such things, and these runes are quite profound, mostly in the seventh grade. Something is wrong with this ce, which the de domain has missed.¡¯ Ace grimace.
¡°Moira, open the map.¡± Acemanded.
¡°Yes.¡± Moira horridly obliged, and the fate map appeared.
His dark blue iris changed into a decagram before they went wide when he saw the fate map, which wasn¡¯t gray anymore, but light silver!
¡°This is a Light Silver fate map?!¡±
Chapter 454 Another Race?
¡°This is a Light Silver fate map?!¡± He asked with rapture.
Moira replied, ¡°Yes. It seemed your luck is quite good, Sir. Ace.¡±
¡°Heh, it seemed that way. But since this is a map-type opportunity, didn¡¯t this mean I have to find it and there might be powerful beings protecting the treasure like those demons?¡± Ace presumed.
¡°Indeed, you have to be careful,¡± Moira replied with a hint of worry.
Ace merely smile and started to paddle toward the surface slowly. He didn¡¯t create any ripple in the water, since for some reason his soul sense was blocked by that gray water, and he wasn¡¯t able to sense the outside while inside.
But the live mapping waspletely unaffected, and he could see two red fate points on the surface, and he carefully moved as far from them as possible.
When Ace was close to the surface, he heard a voice, but thenguage wasn¡¯t the demonnguage which shocked him, but he could understand it clearly!
¡°Why did you stop the formation? Do you think all the intruders have been captured?¡±
In answer to this heavy voice, another feminine voice range,
¡°I don¡¯t know, but we can¡¯t waste this Soul Suppressing Lake freely. It has already lost more than half of its potency in all these years. ording to the ancestor, if thiske lost its effectpletely, the barrier protecting our n all these years will also lose its power source and be demolished.¡±
¡°Then why are we using theke to capture those intruders? Why don¡¯t we just kill them?¡± the voice asked again with uncertainty.
¡°I don¡¯t know, but the patriarch said its ancestor¡¯s order. Don¡¯t worry, those Ghost Worms are born from thiske, and they¡¯re invincible in it. They might¡¯ve already captured them and are on their way back. There¡¯s no need to waste any moreke water.¡± The feminine voice assured with certainty.
Ace couldn¡¯t help but grimace after hearing these two mysterious voices, ¡®They¡¯re calling those mindless demons ghost worms? And they¡¯re ordered to capture us by this mysterious ancestor, then this means they could track us easily.¡¯
Ace became extremely vignt as he drifted toward the surface and kept as much distance as he could from those two red fate points.
After making sure it was safe, his head surfaced as he finally has a clear look at the outside.
The first thing he noticed was an icy grasnd on the other side of the shore with towering palm trees, but these palm trees¡¯ bark waspletely white while their crown was icy blue as if it was made of ice.
Then he noticed the grayke which was tens of miles in size and on the far edge he could vaguely see a translucent blueyer while the sky was also covered in blue without any clouds or sun, but it was still lit.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
¡®This should be that barrier they were talking about, but this kind of formation has to be a seven grade at least,¡¯ Ace mused as he looked in the direction of those voices, and what he saw left him in astonishment and incredulity!
Ace felt his eyes were ying tricks on him because the owners of those voices were not demons nor humans, but two beautiful foxes.
They were two meters in size, covered in jade-like white fur with a small patch of crystal pink between their eyes, and they had twin tails. They looked extremely exquisite while calming sitting on that shore, just like a painting.
However, Ace didn¡¯t have time to admire them as his mind was filled with all kinds of spection and only one thing can describe their existence, which he read in the library of the royal library in de castle.
¡®Beast that canmunicate and had this beastly aura can only be from the ancient beast race of beast continent! But how did they appear on the demon continent, and it seemed they¡¯re hidden for a very long time.¡¯ Ace thought as he looked at those two foxes with bewilderment.
The ancient beast race was the fifth hegemony of the golden sky world and the very first race ever to live in this world before the other races appeared.
Although they were forced to share thisnd with others and beaten down to fifth ce by the others, this didn¡¯t mean they were weak. They were also intelligent life forms with the ability to learn and speak thenguage, as well as the royal beast bloodline, which can turn into humanoid forms as well.
Nevertheless, the ancient beast race only existed in the beast continent, but this was the demon continent, and they hate the ancient beast race as much as thetter hate them.
So, it was astounding that this fox n was hidden here and survived all this time right in the middle of the demon continent, under demons¡¯ noses, and if this news spread, it would be a huge blow to their reputation, and it was far more serious than Ace infiltration.
Because the Devil, Demon, Hunter, and Humans could be said to be the arch enemies with the Beasts, while it was the same case with thetter as well.
The biggest reason for this kind of enmity was ancient beasts fed on anything, including their own race, to be strong and this was the biggest reason to suppress them!
Ace knew this time he had stumbled upon something grave and this ce was also a light sliver map, so he was in a dilemma to leave or continue.
However, Ace suddenly sense something as he quickly left the grayke without alerting those two foxes.
Thereupon, the two foxes suddenly stood tall with fierce expressions, as theke rippled before those ghost worms started to surface.
Some of them were caring ice sculptures as theynded, carrying them to shore.
Ace¡¯s eyes dted because those sculptures were the entire expedition team except him, and there were even eight earthen trolls and only white fire was missing!
¡®It seemed he managed to escape,¡¯ Ace concluded, but it wasn¡¯t a good thing because the others were captured, and their life might be in grave danger.
He only cared about Thomas in that group, but he knew if he made a move, he might alert the other powerful beasts in this ce. He still didn¡¯t know the full extent of their strength, so he remained calm and observed.
At that moment, one wolf¡¯s pinkish beastly eyes suddenly glow as it released a pink misty Qi, covering a ghost worm of golden soul realm before a strange symbol which looked like a fox face appeared on its head.
¡°Did anyone manage to escape?¡± She asked.
The ghost worm started to mutter strangely in an uprehended voice.
She suddenly growled, ¡°What do you mean, one went missing in thin air and one managed to escape with injuries?! Die!¡±
Just as her voice trailed off, the fox symbol on this ghost worm shone in a ghastly light before its body explode into bits!
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed with fear and shock. ¡®So, that¡¯s how they could control those mindless demons, and that mark should be the Soul Brand of a powerful being. These fox beasts aren¡¯t simple. She killed it without batting an eye, like a disposable pawn.¡¯
The Soul Brand was a secret technique that can be used by both martial and soul cultivators.
It was quiteplex to cultivate because one has to forge their own soul brand with different materials first and then after this soul brand was forged, it can be used to enve the others forcefully as long as they were weaker than the soul brand¡¯s owner.
It was far more overbearing than any ve contract. Because the soul brand was inherited and anyone from the soul brand owner¡¯s bloodline can use the soul brand as long as they had the corresponding method.
That was why this technique was so fearful!
However, this technique was considered destroyed in ancient times and if Ace hadn¡¯t read about it in the royal council library, he wouldn¡¯t know this fox n has such a technique at their disposal!
This made him even more aggravated about this pce, especially, this ancestor who was controlling this ce from the shadows.
The male fox unhappily snarled at this moment, ¡°Hey, Hailee! I want to pop them too!¡±
¡°Shut up. It¡¯s not a game. It was their punishment!¡± She berated sternly and looked at those ghost worms again with killing intent, making them quiver.
Hailee yapped, showing her vicious teeth, ¡°If you make such a mistake again, I¡¯ll eat your children in front of you before killing you! Now carry them back to the colony.¡±
She then looked at the male fox and ordered, ¡°Jairo, led them. I¡¯m going to close the door and then report to the patriarch about these two escapees.¡±
Jairo¡¯s eyes were filled with unwillingness, but still nodded obediently and led those ghost worms toward the icy grasnd.
Hailee¡¯s right w suddenly shone in pink light, but there was the same fox symbol within the light, and she put the shimmering w gently on the grayke!
Chapter 455 Incarcerate!
Hailee¡¯s right w suddenly shone in pink light, but there was the same fox symbol within the light, and she put the shimmering w gently on the grayke!
What happened next made Ace bbergasted.
The entire grayke suddenly shimmered in a ghastly light before it started to freeze and quickly, it became a frozen grayke.
¡®They¡¯re prudent.¡¯ Ace looked at the frigid grayke and then Hailee with thievish eyes, ¡®I should follow her into this colony and see what¡¯s their goal in capturing those demons before finding a way out of here¡ after finding this silver opportunity first, though.¡¯
¡ª
A few miles away from the underground passage,
White Fire appeared with an ashenplexion. His hair was messy, while deep open wounds were on his chest and his back.
He quickly consumed a pill before his expression turned slightly better, but the terror in his eyes wasn¡¯t faded in the slightest as he remembered how he nearly died.
¡°This is a huge blunder. I must inform his majesty. They¡¯re someone controlling those barbaric demons, and they¡¯re extremely terrifying with thatke water. My white fire waspletely suppressed. I just hope it won¡¯t be toote.¡± He quickly left toward the de domain to report this.
If it was just other contestants, he won¡¯t be panicking this much, but de Demon King¡¯s son was also taken by those ghost worms. He knew if something happened to Peter, many heads would roll, including his!
¡ª
On the other side of the frozen grayke,
Ace finally reached the colony after crossing the palm tree forest while following Hailee.
This so-called colony was a tall mountain reaching the blue barrier edge, and it was filled with small caves, and many young foxes were ying around while adult foxes were sauntering around at the entrance of their caves.
Ace also notice the two hundred meters ice wall around the foot of the mountain and thousands of holes in the ice grass field.
His expression changed when he felt thousands of soul signatures in those holes. ¡®So, those ghost worms lived in those holes and foxes lived on the mountain. If someone attack that mountain, they had to go through these demons first. Furthermore, the pathway toward the mountain entrance is covered with a detection array. Well, it¡¯s not enough to detect me¡¡¯
His lip curled as he followed the group from a safe distance.
When they reached the ice wall, Hailee looked at the ghost worms. ¡°Scram for now.¡±
Those ghost worms put Thomas and co ice statues down and prostrate toward the ice wall before leaving toward those holes and vanishing into them.
Hailee¡¯s w again shone as she put it on the ice wall and thereafter an opening appeared, and more foxes appeared and one of them was a meter tall than the others.
Hailee and Jairo lower their head seeing this fox and greeted him respectfully, ¡°Fifth Elder.¡±
Fifth Elder nodded as his aged voice sounded, ¡°You work hard, children.¡±
¡°Fifth Elder, can I have Ice Honey Fruit now?¡± Jairo quickly bellowed.
¡°Brat, show some respect.¡± Hailee berated while baring her teeth.
Fifth Elder smile and nodded, ¡°You brat always this yful, go tell six elder I approved.¡±
¡°Yes! Thank you, Fifth Elder.¡± With that, Jairo ran away happily toward the mountain.
¡°Don¡¯t worry about him, he¡¯ll be a good worrier. Let¡¯s go, the patriarch is expecting you.¡± Fifth Elder gently spoke and single those foxes to pick up the status, and they headed toward the mountain.
Ace naturally followed them and cross the opening in the ice wall before it got close.
However, just as Ace cross the ice wall, at the very top of the mountain, the area was filled with pink icy mist and suddenly two ghastly eyes snapped open!
A thunderous voice rang in the entire mountain, ¡°You dare to sneak around lowly demon?!¡±
The entire fox n prostrate themselves in worship when they heard this voice and called,
¡°Ancestor!¡±
On the mountain entrance, Hailee and Fifth Elder¡¯s expression turned ashen when they looked at the sculptures, but they were nothing amiss about them.
¡®Didn¡¯t we order by the Patriarch to bring them here? Did wemit a crime?!¡¯
They thought, and they were about to beg for forgiveness when that voice rang again.
¡°Hmph, still aren¡¯t showing yourself?¡±
The next moment, a huge torrent of pink mist gathered around the area close to the icy wall and then suddenly turn into a streak before shooting together in a particr direction.
¡°Someone has infiltrated the colony!¡± Fifth Elder¡¯s expression changed.
Ace¡¯s expression was ugly at this moment, as he was found by the owner of this voice.
He was extremely careful when he entered, and he sensed nothing amiss, nor did the live fate map point out anything. But it seemed whatever revealed this presence, it was above hispass¡¯s level!
When he heard this voice, he first thought it was for Thomas and other demons, but his heart palpitated when that pink mist suddenly appeared right where he was standing and if he hasn¡¯t used his movement skill, he was sure he would¡¯ve been captured.
But to his fright, that pink mist was now chasing after him despite his heartless stealth. This also means the owner of this voice was a soul manifestation realm cultivator, and he won¡¯t be able to escape without using his trump cards.
¡®Should I use the Instant sh Teleportation? But I didn¡¯t sense any killing intent from this mist, and it¡¯s clear they wanted to capture the intruders. What if I let them capture me and see what they¡¯re after? It¡¯ll be quite easy as well.
¡®I should take this chance to not waste this heavenly talisman or if things go awry, it won¡¯t be toote to escape at that time.¡¯
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered sharply before he stopped running and cancel his stealth. He appeared in Feng¡¯s disguise.
Just as he thought that cold pink mist enveloped his entire body,pletely binding him to his position, there was also a strange oppressive power within that mist, but he remained unaffected by it.
¡°Interesting, bring him to me¡¡± The fox ancestor¡¯s voice rang again, but there was a hint of astonishment within.
With that, the pink mist vanished and Ace saw the Fifth Elder in front of him, and he was ring viciously at him with killing intent, but he didn¡¯t attack because of the ancestor¡¯s order.
Ace calmly looked at the Fifth Elder and spoke in demonnguage, he didn¡¯t want them to know he know the ancient beastnguage as well or they might get suspicious.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
¡°This junior greets senior.¡±
¡°How did you manage to enter here?¡± Fifth Elder didn¡¯t find anything amiss and coldly questioned in demonnguage.
Moreover, he didn¡¯t have time to think about anything because he was shocked by this demon¡¯s ability to conceal himself.
Even a seventh-stage diamond soul realm cultivator like him wasn¡¯t able to detect him when he was standing a few meters away from him.
Furthermore, he knew crossing the Soul Suppressing Lake in the presence of those ghost worms was even more difficult because they could easily sense anyone within that gray water as long as they weren¡¯t like their ancestor.
But he could also sense the peak Qi river realm cultivation on this demon, which made it even more strange for him to appear here while fooling everyone.
Ace calmly replied, ¡°I use my skill to enter, but it was useless since I was captured in the end.¡±
Fifth Elder eyes glow, ¡°What kind of skill?¡±
Feng smiled coldly, ¡°How about letting me and my friends go, and I¡¯ll teach you this skill?¡±
Fifth Elder growled viciously, ¡°Don¡¯t push your luck, brat. You can¡¯t escape once you enter this side of the wall. Obedientlyply and we¡¯ll not mistreat you.¡±
Feng chuckled with disdain, ¡°Do your worse!¡±
However, Fifth Elder felt something and fear surfaced in his eyes as he finally suppressed his greed and didn¡¯t dare to say anything.
No one here wasn¡¯t fearful of the ancestor because nothing can remain hidden in his mountain under the ancestor¡¯s eyes.
¡°Hmph! Follow me. If you dare to try anything, I¡¯ll break your limbs.¡± Fifth Elder climbed the mountain while Ace calmly followed.
Hailee also approached them with the others and looked at Feng with a hint of curiosity and resentment since he escaped her detection, and now she felt humiliated, but she said nothing and only red.
Ace saw those little foxes were looking at him peculiarly, while the adults were vignt and ready to lunge at him if he dared to try anything funny.
He couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly. ¡®In the end, despite my skills and meticulousness, I was still incarcerated by a powerful being. I need to be more mindful in the future. I still didn¡¯t know all the mystics of this vast heaven¡¡¯
As they ascend the mountain, Ace noticed the caves were bing lesser and lesser, and the foxes were also getting stronger.
At this time, a five-meter fox appeared, but it had a silver patch of fur between its eyes, and he had an aura equivalent to White Fire or slightly stronger!
Chapter 456 Elemental Orbs Altar!
At this time, a five-meter fox appeared, but it had a silver patch of fur between its eyes and an imposing aura.
Noticing this fox¡¯s arrival, Fifth Elder and the other foxes lower their head with respect and greeted.
¡°Patriarch!¡±
The big fox was indeed the patriarch of this fox n, Gage!
Gage nodded in acknowledgment. ¡°At ease.¡±
He looked at Ace with great interest since he managed to break into their small haven without alerting anyone except the ancestor, and he could guess if they weren¡¯t warned, it would be pretty fatal for them in a long run.
Nevertheless, he still thought this demon was over and above his head to dare infiltrate this deep into an enemy camp, instead of running away or calling for help, and now he was at their mercy or the Ancestor¡¯s mercy.
He smiled ambiguously and spoke in demonnguage, ¡°It would be a lie to say, I¡¯m not impressed by your courage, but it¡¯s a pity you¡¯re not one of us.¡±
Feng replied without showing any nervousness, ¡°It¡¯s indeed a pity, or I would also have to hide here.¡±
¡°Impudent Demon!¡± Fifth Elder howled as his icy aura locked on Feng.
But to everyone¡¯s surprise, Feng remained unaffected and smiled disdainfully.
¡°And here I thought the ancient beast race was something.¡± He shook his head in disappointment, while his voice was filled with scorn.
Gage¡¯s eyes turned cold, and he was also about to act when the imposing voice rang again.
¡°Bring him to me without any harm!¡± that oppressive voice rang again, but this time it was in demonnguage, which means it meant to Feng to know who was protecting him.
Gage and others quickly calm down, but they looked at Feng with deep hostility now.
Gage said coldly, ¡°Follow me, but I¡¯m warning you, if you keep this appearance in front of Ancestor, no one will be able to save you.¡±
¡°Whatever.¡± Feng shrugged his shoulder,pletely brushing off Gage¡¯s warning.
¡°He¡¯s too arrogant.¡± Fifth Elder spoke in beastnguage.
¡°Hmph, he won¡¯t be for too long. Throw those other demons and demon ves into the dungeon for now.¡± Gage snorted disdainfully as he ordered.
This time, only Gage and Feng moved toward the peak without anyone following them.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered subtly. ¡®It seemed that the ancestor wanted something from me, and he needed me alive. But I have to put that arrogant demon front in the face of inferior races all this time, or that ancestor might suspect something.¡¯
Everyone in this world knows demons would never bow their head to another kind, even if they were mortal. They would rather die than help another race or be their servants.
Ace finally notice the pink mist around the top and felt a very dreadful aura from it.
As they approached, the pink mist suddenly opened a passage, and Cage also be somewhat fearful as he took every step like he was treading on thin ice. Ace remain calm as he followed Cage.
When they reached the end of the passage, they entered a snowy field, and right in the center of this ice field was a small pond filled with translucent water, and there was a figure sitting in the center of this pond, but for some reason, Ace couldn¡¯t see the appearance of this person, and it appeared blurry to him.
¡®An illusion skill?¡¯ Ace thought.
However, when Ace noticed the floating white crystal-like tform with myriad profound patterns under this figure, he nearly jumped in surprise and almost screamed out loud.
¡¯Elemental Orb¡¯s Altar!''
Although the color of this altar was crystal white, but could never forget those strange patterns and when he thought about that barrier above his head and that grayke and the ghost worms which were born from thatke ording to Hailee.
He instantly connected the dots and reached an astonishing conclusion!
Ace¡¯s heart raced as he quickly questioned the system, ¡°System, did that person have the elemental orb or that altar is the Elemental Orb¡¯s Altar and that smallke is the Orb¡¯s essence?!¡±
Because he knew if it was true then this mean this person had defeated the orb¡¯s guardian, and now he was in possession of the elemental orb, and he might be controlling this entire space with that altar and this was probably the reason he got busted so easily.
But if that was the case, then it would be far moreplex to acquire it from an intelligent being than the mindless guardian.
Furthermore, he knew this person was out of his league, and now he could only hope this was all just his spection.
The same oppressive voice rang at this moment. ¡°Gage, wait outside.¡±
Gage felt he was just pardoned and quickly prostrate himself before leaving Feng and the blurry figure alone.
However, Ace¡¯s focus was on the system¡¯s answer he just received.
¡±[That is indeed the Ice Elemental Orb¡¯s Altar and the Elemental Orb¡¯s Essence. But the orb isn¡¯t present in the vicinity!]¡±
Ace¡¯s heart jumped hearing this, but his expression changed, and asked, ¡°Ice Orb? This isn¡¯t on my list, right?¡±
He clearly remembered the eight elemental orbs he needed to collect, and Ice Orb wasn¡¯t part of that list. So, he felt somewhat relieved.
However, the system¡¯s next answer shattered that relief.
¡±[When an Elemental Orb reached a certain level of intelligence and age, it can also mutate and be stronger. The Ice Orb is the mutation of Water Orb.]¡±
¡°Why didn¡¯t to tell me sooner?!¡± Ace screamed, he waspletely vexed.
¡±[It was an irrelevant detail at that moment. A mutated elemental orb can only appear by heaven-defying chance, so it is a variable. Nheless, it won¡¯t change the fact that the host still required that orb because there won¡¯t be a water orb in this world anymore.]¡±
Ace sighed helplessly because he knew the system was right, but the problem was if that orb wasn¡¯t here, then where it was, and who took it?
Because if those normal orb guardians were that scary, then what about the guardian of a mutated orb? He didn¡¯t dare imagine.
¡®At least I now know there¡¯s no water orb and someone had already taken care of the guardian for me. But this also means that the orb can be anywhere in this vast world,¡¯ He mused with a grim expression.
¡°Tell me, how do you cross the soul suppressing river?¡±
Ace was snapped out of his thoughts by this voice, which was now speaking the demonnguage.
¡®Well, it seemed this beast stumbled upon this ce and somehow managed to control it with the orb¡¯s altar. At least I don¡¯t need it anymore, or it would be difficult to snatch it.¡¯ Ace becamepletely rxed now and regain hisposure.
He yed his part and answered impassively, ¡°That kind of suppression didn¡¯t influence me because of my sword intent.¡±
¡°Aplete Sword Intent!¡± That voice sounded in surprise.
Feng shook his head as he unsheathed his sword, and thereafter it suddenly shone in a white sheen.
¡°A half intent.¡± The voice instantly noticed and praised, ¡°But still impressed for someone of your age toprehend the half sword intent and also able to hide in the presence of soul realm cultivators.¡¯
Feng sneered coldly, ¡°Just get to the point. I know you¡¯re hiding here and once the news got out, the entire demon race would attack this ce. So, it is better if you let us go, and they might show some leniency or¡¡±
¡°Heh, that damn demon pride of the demon race. But you said nothing wrong. I was sent here as a spy, but someone trapped in an ancient ruin for five hundred years before I found this ce, which was a blessing in disguise.
¡°Now, I¡¯m no longer a pawn but a king, and I¡¯m nning to remain the same. So, I¡¯m giving you a chance to pledge yourself to me, and I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯ll get far more than you could even get from your own race.¡±
Feng coldly snorted,pletely fearless. ¡°I would rather die than be a traitor!¡±
However, Ace smiled slyly, ¡®Just do it already. Why the chitchat?¡¯
From the moment he appeared here, he had noticed the hysteria in the eyes of other foxes and also fear, and when he thought about the soul brand technique, he knew this person was very cautious and won¡¯t let any variable appear under his nose.
That was why from the moment the ancestor started talking, he knew it was just a front because¡
¡°Sigh¡ it wasn¡¯t a choice, little demon. If you had epted my soul brand willingly, your soul would¡¯ve remained intact. But now, however, I know you are as stubborn as a mule just like your kind, so it¡¯s pointless to talk anymore.
¡°Now, if you survived this or not will depend on you!¡¯
Just as the voice trailed off, a pinkish streak shot like lightning and directly drilled into Feng¡¯s forehead without giving him any chance to resist!
Chapter 457 Fox Ancestor, Winter!
Feng suddenly fell onto his knees while clutching his head and screaming in pain as if he was resisting something.
But the truth was it was all just an act of Ace, and he was actually fine as he saw the pinkish streak entering his soul space, and before it could do anything, the Eternal Thief Fate Compass suddenly spun.
¡°Hmph, wanted to enve Sir Ace, not in my watch!¡± Moira¡¯s infuriated voice rang.
The pink streak seemed to be extremely jittery and wanted to rush back, but Ace¡¯s true soul has be like an arcane prison as the Eternal Thief Fate Compass shone in dark sheen, and it was all done by Moira.
Ace was astonished when he saw how easily thispass could resist this soul brand. He didn¡¯t even need a system to block this kind of soul attack anymore.
Furthermore, his true soul was now the Eternal Thief Fate Compass¡¯s territory, how could it let something inferior blemish it?
But despite that, he can¡¯t let Moira destroy that soul brand or that ancestor will know it instantly, and it won¡¯t end for him.
¡°Moira, don¡¯t destroy it.¡± He ordered.
¡°Alright.¡± Moira quickly agreed.
¡°System, create a fake conscious for it.¡± Ace thenmanded the system.
For some reason, the system didn¡¯t act this time, and it might be rted to Moira.
Nevertheless, the function was still there, and with Ace¡¯smand, it¡¯ll activate.
======
[Creating a Fake Soul Conscious for a Soul Brand (Grade-7)]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Cost: 500,000TP
-Continue?
======
¡°Yes.¡± Ace answered with no hesitation, but he was also shocked when he saw the grade of that soul brand.
Because to create a seven-grade Soul Brand, the technique has to be a Lower Sky Breaker Grade, which means this person wasn¡¯t simple at all!
======
[Fake Soul Conscious has been sessfully established!]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 2,340,100]
======
It was at this moment that Ace notice his thief points, which were supposed to be far lesser than they were.
¡®Could it be Freya at work?¡¯
He could only think of that possibility since he had told her the method to acquire the HP without relying on the house mission.
He also started to receive the thievery notifications soon after that day he left her, and he simply thought she was experimenting. But he didn¡¯t think she would be this good at this.
Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t have time to think over it since it was a good thing for him the more she stole, the more he got the TP.
Inside his true soul, a ck misty orb suddenly appeared from his soul core, and it flew toward that pinkish streak.
The streak seemed to sense something and quickly shot toward that fake soul core and the moment he entered it, a ghastly fox face appeared on that ck soul core.
This was a sessfully formed soul brand!
Afterward, that fake soul core started to rotate around his real soul core.
A couple of seconds have passed outside.
The blurry figure sensed the connection established with the soul brand, and Feng also stopped resisting.
¡°Rise.¡± The voice rang again, but this time it wasn¡¯t a deep husky voice like before, but a gentle voice of a female.
Feng¡¯s eyes were now respectful, and he greeted, ¡°Master.¡±
This was the true terror of a soul brand, it would make its bearer unconditionally follow the order of its master while they still maintain their will. But they could do anything to please their master, without them knowing about it, even if it meant death.
Ace, however, wasn¡¯t effective and just ying like those foxes. But he could now see the blurry figure on that orb¡¯s altar.
It was a dainty girl with delicate white skin and long pink hair, while the most noticeable thing about her was her silver fox ears.
¡®A beast that can transform, royal bloodline!¡¯ Ace couldn¡¯t help but get shocked.
He knew a beast that can transform into a humanoid form was known as a royal bloodline in the beast continent, and they were the true rulers of that ce.
Nevertheless, it was still quite a unique experience to see a transformed beast personally.
The beauty smiled, seeing Feng¡¯s daze expression, and said, ¡°I only allow the beings with my soul brand to see my true appearance. Let me officially introduce myself. I¡¯m Winter, a Spirit Illusion Fox. They all call me ancestor since they are my children, but you can just call me Winter.¡±
Feng bow and spoke with reverence, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare, master.¡±
¡°Where¡¯s your demon pride? Don¡¯t you just confront me a few moments ago?¡± She teased. She seemed to enjoy seeing an arrogant demon like Feng now bowing his head.
Feng quickly kneeled. ¡°I was just muddle-headed before. I beg your forgiveness!¡±
Winter lose interest and coolly said, ¡°Forget it. I want to know how many know about this ce and why were you here?¡±
¡®So, that¡¯s why she first branded me the soul band, so I won¡¯t lie to her.¡¯
Ace smiled coldly, but he answered truthfully since he couldn¡¯t sense her cultivation, which means she was way stronger than him, and she might detect something if he spoke too many lies.
¡°We were here for thepetition of de continent¡¡± He told her everything about thepletion and then getting the task for the expedition from the de demon king.
¡°Besides us, there was Knight Commander White Fire who managed to escape, and I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll report this to the de Demon King.¡±
He still left the little detail about Peter being the son of de Demon King!
Winter fell into deep thought hearing this and couldn¡¯t help but asked with narrowed eyes, ¡°It seemed they also found the entrance of that ruin where I was trapped for five hundred years.¡±
But she smiled suddenly in ridicule, ¡°But you won¡¯t be able to find anything since I took everything from there and then found this ce. However, it won¡¯t be easy for those demons to find this ce, as long as I took care of the pathway and strengthen the formation around the pathway in that ruin.¡±
¡°Clever indeed, milord.¡± Feng praise.
However, Winter¡¯s next words made Ace bbergasted, ¡°But I won¡¯t do it. It¡¯s time to leave this ce since there isn¡¯t anything left here for me and I have some scores to settle in the home.¡±
Ace could feel the deep resentment at this moment and a chilly killing intent when she said ¡®home¡¯ and he knew this fox was scheming something.
But he didn¡¯t dare to show anything, but he said with concern, ¡°But Master, I would be impossible since you are in the fifth province and I heard they had formations in province borders to detect other races¡¯ beings.¡±
Winter snorted, ¡°It¡¯s indeed a hassle, but don¡¯t worry, I just need to find someone, and he¡¯ll be able to help me out of here. But I don¡¯t know where that person is since over eight hundred years has passed and that¡¯s where you lote in.¡± Her eyes turned sharp as she looked at Ace.
Ace felt a chill in his spine when those beastly pink eyes fell on him.
But he still acted, ¡°Please give your order, I¡¯ll do anything for you. Master.¡±
Winter nodded slightly and said coolly, ¡°I know, but it isn¡¯t the time yet. Go back, stay with your friends for now, and don¡¯t let anyone know you have my soul brand or about my n. Just act normal, as you usually do. I¡¯ll summon you again in a few days with others.¡±
¡°As your order, Master.¡± Feng nodded solemnly.
But inwardly Ace was disappointed since he didn¡¯t know what this fox ancestor was scheming.
At least he got the information on an elemental orb, and he doesn¡¯t have to worry about an orb guardian as well.
¡®I have to act before she could.¡¯ Ace¡¯s eyes shimmered with a thievish light.
A passage appeared in the mist and Gage appeared again, and when he saw Feng kneeling, he knew he was turned, and they won¡¯t have to worry about him anymore.
Winter looked at Gage and impassively said in beastnguage, ¡°Go back and locked him with others. In two days, unsealed them, but make sure they don¡¯t see you. Use ghost worms for any interaction and every seventh day torture them all for six hours until I gave my next order.¡±
Ace grimaced since he could clearly understand what she just said. ¡®She didn¡¯t want others to see the beast n, and torturing us every seven days? I had to get out of here and get rid of this fox n!¡¯
Gage nodded respectfully, and they both left the mountain peak in the same way they came from.
Winter looked at the blue barrier with icy eyes and mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m very close to merging with this ghost-controlling altar, and then I¡¯ll be able to move freely and finally leave this damn ce and kill that backstabbing bitch!
¡°Just you wait!¡±
Chapter 458 Thievish Plan
The central area of fox mountain,
Ace was escorted by another soul realm fox to this dark prison, where he saw small cages and all the other demons and earthen trolls behind separate cages.
He was also locked separately, but the others were still unconscious because of the ice, and he could also sense these cages were special and there wasn¡¯t any Qi inside, or he can¡¯t circte his earthen Qi as well.
Which made him even more curious about what the fox ancestor got in that ruin to make all this.
After locking him up, the fox left and eerily silent arose in the prison.
However, Ace wasn¡¯t bothered by it since he waspletely fine and if he wanted these cages won¡¯t be able to stop him, but he was afraid Winter would be watching, so he remained static.
Out of habit, he opened the fate map to check where he was, and he was astonished when he saw the silver fate map has turned gray again!
¡°Moira, what happened?¡± He asked, he didn¡¯t get anything that he needed, so did this map change?
Moira replied with uncertainty, ¡°I think the information Sir Ace got from that fox is what this silver fate map was indicating toward.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed. Now that he thought about it, the urate information about any elemental orb was really worth a light silver opportunity for him.
¡°It seemed the case. Well, this is also good now. I don¡¯t need to worry about searching in this ce. But I have to find a way to leave this ce. Can you sense if someone is watching us?¡± Ace questioned with anticipation.
He knew asking the system this kind of meager question would only result in silence; he knew from experience, so he didn¡¯t bother to ask it.
¡°No, my grade is not high enough. I¡¯m ashamed.¡± Moira apologized.N?v(el)B\\jnn
¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I don¡¯t think that old fox would bother to keep an eye on me after branding me with her soul brand.¡± Said, Ace.
¡®She also seemed in a hurry about something after I told her about the de Demon King, but she wasn¡¯t overly worried. She knew her presence was still a secret, so only de Demon King woulde, and he then had to go through that ruin she was entrapped within for five hundred years.
¡®Maybe that¡¯s why she wasn¡¯t worried about the demon king and was confident in getting out of here. Then there¡¯s still us. I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s nning, but it¡¯s nothing but bad.¡¯
Ace fell into deep thought, but he still didn¡¯t take any action and waited for two days before making his move.
¡ª
The lionheart shop, on the top floor.
Freya was looking at Aliya with a sharp glint in her eyes. She said, ¡°How many did you find?¡±
Aliya respectfully said, ¡°There are eighteen we could exploit. But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea¡¡±
¡°Just do as I say. Don¡¯t worry about the bacsh.¡± Freya cut her short and changed the topic. ¡°What about the 4 de ns?¡±
Aliya bit her lips as she answered, ¡°All of them show great interest in our proposition, but they want Feng¡¯s whereabouts first before they are willing to cooperate. But why did we need them?¡±
She couldn¡¯t help but ask in a doubtful tone. She didn¡¯t know why, but after that meeting with that demon, she could feel her mistress had changed somehow.
The most noticeable and vexed change was she starting to steal from the workers and then, strangely, she would return their belongings.
Furthermore, Aliya had to admit, that Freya was excellent at it as well. As the first victim, she knew it very well.
Nevertheless, she didn¡¯t dare to refute and let her do as she please as long as she returned those stolen goods, it was fine.
But the things she has been doing for the past months werepletely out of her character, and it risked their entire operation being exposed if they failed or made any mistake.
That was why she was concerned.
Freya looked at Aliya with meaningful eyes. Although Aliya waspletely loyal to her and can¡¯t betray her, she still had goodwill toward her since she was the very first one to follow her.
She sighed and said, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you. But trust me, nothing would happen to us with any of this.¡±
Aliya couldn¡¯t only nod and gave up. She knew Freya would never reveal her intentions unless she wanted, so it was meaningless to persuade her.
At this moment,
Freya¡¯s eyes suddenly widen slightly with a hint of astonishment, and she looked at Aliya and said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when to approach the ns. Leave for now.¡±
Aliya bow and left Freya alone.
¡®Is it time?¡¯ She thought as the mainmunication cube appeared in her hand, which connected with Ace.
She just received the notification about a mission, which contents were quite simple: ¡®Contact Me!¡¯
Ace had told her he would contact her when he needed her this way, so she wasn¡¯t startled by it.
But she was still astonished at just how continent this mission function was.
The cube shimmered in her hand before Ace¡¯s voice rang. ¡°Fate?¡±
Freya coolly replied, ¡°Thievish!¡±
This was the secret phrase ¡®Thievish Fate¡¯ selected by Ace to make sure no other used these cubes.
Ace said, ¡°I contact you to tell you there¡¯s a changed in n.¡±
Freya¡¯s eyes narrowed and said glumly, ¡°What kind of change? You know, we can¡¯t just change ns because you feel like it? Our entire organization can be jeopardized because of it!¡±
Ace¡¯s apologetic voice rang. ¡°I know, but it won¡¯t change the main point. On the contrary, I think the organization might receive some benefits because of it.¡±
¡°Alright, tell me.¡± She said, with indecision.
¡°I¡¯m currently apprehended by an ancient beast with royal bloodline!¡± Ace¡¯s voice was grim.
Freya eximed, ¡°What?! Are you sure? It¡¯s an ancient beast, not some demonic beast?¡±
Her reaction was expected because this was just too unbelievable for her.
¡®First, Ace and now ancient beast? Did the demon race start to decline?¡¯ She couldn¡¯t help but think like this.
But it wasn¡¯t her main worry right now, it was actually Ace¡¯s being apprehended!
Because she knew how scary Ace¡¯s ability of concealment was, and anyone who can capture him wasn¡¯t just a nobody.
¡°I¡¯m sure. I talked with it and there¡¯s an entire colony of the same species here.¡± Ace told.
Freya¡¯s expression sank, ¡°Then why are you able to contact me? Didn¡¯t they take your storage ring or lock you somewhere special?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have my means, and I¡¯m not doing it in someone else control so, don¡¯t think too much into it. I can¡¯t be enved. You should know better.¡± Ace assured.
He was afraid this woman would overthink it, and then it would be troublesome for him.
Freya indeed just thought of this possibility, but now that Ace remind her, she quickly brushed it off. Who can enve someone blessed by a god, right?
Shepletely believed him and said, ¡°Alright, what do you need me to do? If there¡¯s an ancient beast colony, we didn¡¯t need to do anything ourselves and let the demons take care of it.¡±
Ace¡¯s jolly voice sounded, ¡°Heh, I knew you would understand my intentions without me exining them. But this beast isn¡¯t easy to deal with. It¡¯s controlling an army of mindless demons, probably over ten thousand, and trust me when I say they are scary when ites to fighting in their own territory.¡±
¡°It seemed you got captured by your own ord since you know so much about them. I was worried about nothing.¡± Freya scoffed when she thought of how Ace fooled her, and a hint of resentment shed past her eyes.
Ace chuckled, ¡°Hehe, don¡¯t tter me. It¡¯s far more convenient this way to achieve my first goal. Just make sure you arouse enough attention toward this ce.¡±
¡°I understand. But I need something more specific to arouse those entrics¡¯ attention.¡± Freya reply.
Ace¡¯s confident voice rang, ¡°No problem, just tell them this beast has got the intact inheritance of an old Demon Emperor and is now nning to escape with it from the ruin. Would it be enough to gain their attention?¡±
Freya¡¯s eyes shimmered with shock. ¡°Are you serious?¡±
¡°Of course not, but when they see the soul brand technique in its possession. I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t believe anything but their own eyes, right?¡± Ace¡¯s voice was filled with evil intent.
¡°Soul Brand Technique?!¡± Freya was shocked. She naturally knows about this lost ancient technique.
However, her expression changed further when she thought of something, ¡°YOU¡ could it be even this technique wasn¡¯t effective on you?!¡±
¡°Hah, just be quick. I think it was about to seed in whatever it was doing for hundreds of years. We¡¯ll reap enormous benefits with this borrowed knife.¡±
Freya¡¯s eyes shimmered in tion as she said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what to do. Give me more information about this beast.¡±
¡°Alright¡!¡±
Chapter 459 Stirring the Eight Provinces!
The very next day,
Inside the de Demon King¡¯s castle, the throne room.
de Demon King¡¯s eyes were filled with wrath and worry as he looked at the kneeling White Fire, who was still in his tatter appearance and broken armor.
¡°Y-you dare to escape while my son got taken away by some mindless shits?!¡± He bellowed in a fury.
He was extremely fond of his children, especially Peter, who was the youngest, and he inherited his personality the most.
Now he was hearing some mindless demons take him hostage and even force White Fire to escape for his life. How could he remain calm?
White Fire knew this would happen, so he was ready to receive any punishment, but it wasn¡¯t his fault entirely, and he knew his king wasn¡¯t an unreasonable person.
He said, ¡°My King, I¡¯m ready to receive any punishment. But I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s someone behind those demons, and they took Prince and the other hostages for some other reason. If I haven¡¯t escaped, I would¡¯ve been the same.¡±
de Demon King¡¯s eyes shone with vexation. He knew White Fire was telling the truth, and he was loyal without question. But he still felt this was just too absurd, that those mindless demons could overpower White Fire.
Nevertheless, he had to deal with his son¡¯s matter first before White Fire.
He was about to stand up to go alone to that ce to rescue his son when the throne hall door mmed open and Aura appeared with an ashen expression on his face.
¡°What now?!¡± de Demon King¡¯s expression sank further because he knew Aura would never barge into the throne hall like this if there wasn¡¯t something extremely important.
White Fire also sense something amiss when he saw Aura almost panting as if he was running at full speed.
Aura said nothing, and a scroll appeared in his hand and he handed it over to de Demon King, ¡°Please look at this, my king.¡±
de Demon King open the scroll with uncertainty, while White Fire looked curiously at Aura and the scroll in the demon king¡¯s hand, but he remained kneeling.
de Demon King¡¯s expression suddenly started to turn ashen as he read the context. In the end, his breath was rough as a sharp aura filled the entire throne hall.
He abruptly stood up and howled with abhorrence, ¡°Ancient Beast Race, good, very good!¡±
¡ª
Two dayster,
Inside the cultivation chamber of Mist Demon King,
She also had a scroll and a map in her hands as they were trembling while the surrounding mist was bing darker and darker.
¡°So, my son was killed by the ancient beast race member because he stumbled upon a Soul Crystal Source extracted by those animals!? If I go to this ce marked on this map, I¡¯ll find the ce where the Soul Crystal Source was extracted from.
¡°If it¡¯s true, I¡¯ll kill everyst one of those animals!¡±
She quickly left her cultivation chamber and hurried toward the shadow mountain range to confirm that scroll¡¯s context.
¡ª
Eight Dayster.
The Eighth Province, which was the closest province to the royal zone, was known as the Mighty Demon Tamer Province, ruled by the Demon Tamer Tribe.
The Demon Tamer Tribe has a powerful demon tribe that can control demonic beasts, and all the exquisite and powerful demonic beasts present in the eight provinces were under their control.
Inside a bright, spacious hall,
A tall demon sat cross-legged as he looked at the scroll in his hand.
¡°So, an ancient beast with a royal bloodline is hiding and scheming against our race? Hmph, I was just thinking of going to those animals¡¯nd and taming one or two royal beasts to add to my collection.
¡°But they¡¯re counting death themselves. No one can me me now. Little Fang, let¡¯s go to the de domain in the council meeting. It¡¯s been a while since I saw de and others.¡±
Just as his voice trailed off, a giant head beneath him opened its beastly snake eyes!
¡ª
The first two outer provinces, ¡®Mighty Ghost Province, and Might Blood Province¡¯ the other two inner provinces, ¡®Might Earth Province, and Might Moon Province, and the seventh core province, ¡®Might Spear Province, Demon Kings and their strong aids were also summoned by the royal council in de domain, shortly after they received the same scroll as every other domain.
All in all, because of this one scroll, the eight provinces were shaken because this scroll was from the All-Knowing Parrot, who was infamous nevertheless, a reliable information source.
If the contents on that scroll were true, then it was a huge conspiracy of the beast continent and if other races got the wind of it somehow, they would turn into theughingstock of the world.
The content of these scrolls was further confirmed by two demon kings mentioned in them, and they were connected to this mysterious royal beast somehow.
It turned this way so quickly because de Demon King confirmed the appearance of that ruin where his son was abducted, and then Mist Demon King came forward to confirm the startling information, which made many cursed with anger.
It turned out there was a grade-4 soul crystal source in the shadow mountain, which was now entirely extracted by these beasts. She also confirmed the murder of her son when he discovered this soul crystal source by those beasts.
That was why the royal council quickly took notice of this and decided to act first and kill that beast to make a statement.
But a question remained unanswered: how did the All-Knowing Parrot get its hand on this startling information, and it was so precise they started to suspect this person was from the enemy camp?
Nevertheless, the All-Knowing Parrot was the least problem for the demons right now.
Because their entire focus was on this mysterious royal beast.
It was all because of a simple phase in that scroll, ¡®That Beast is in the possession of an Ancient Demon Emperor Inheritance he found in that ruin!¡¯
This stirred every demon king-level existence, and that was why they quickly agreed to this meeting in the de domain. Because if this was true, then they had to capture that beast and get the inheritance.
However, nothing was confirmed until they see it for themselves, but just the chance was enough for them to move.
¡ª
The masked demon and Killer have naturally seen these scrolls as well since they were contacted by the All-Knowing Parrot puppet as well.
Killer couldn¡¯t help but said with uncertainty, ¡°Your Highness, are we going to that meeting in two days?¡±
The masked demon replied, ¡°Of course, if an iota of that scroll is the truth, then we have to move. Forget about the inheritance. The presence of this royal beast is enough to dere war on those animals. It seemed they had forgotten about how we show mercy and let them live.¡± His voice was filled with abhorrence for the ancient beast race.
Killer nodded, ¡°Indeed, your highness, we can¡¯t let this offense slide by. But what if it really had the emperor-level inheritance?¡±
¡°If it¡¯s true, then we don¡¯t need that thief anymore. Heh, and who would dare to fight for it against me? Do you think those kings would be foolish enough to go against me?¡± He sneered without any hint of worry.
Killer¡¯s eyes shone coldly as he nodded, ¡°Yes, but we have to be careful of this All-Knowing Parrot. We were searching for him for a while but haven¡¯t had any luck, but it knows where to find us instead. This person might be more dangerous than we think he is.¡±
¡°Hmph, just a minor character who wanted to reap benefits in chaos by releasing this information. It¡¯s quite clear he can¡¯t deal with that barrier or the royal beast within, so he allows the information spread to others to do the job.
¡°But if his information turned out to be incorrect, then the entire continent bigwigs would turn on him, and at that time, he mighte begging me for protection. Let me see if he remained arrogant at that time.¡± He sneered coldly.
Killer bow in reverence, ¡°Your Highness wisdom is indeed above us lowly servants.¡±
¡°Go, tell the council I¡¯ll be attending this meeting personally and leading this charge in that ruin.¡±
Killer received his order and left.
The masked demon was left alone, and suddenly he seemed to sense something as a golden cube appeared in his hand and he trembled slightly.
He mumbled with worry, ¡°This is bad!¡±
¡ª
The meeting ce for this council meeting was none other than the outskirts of the White Hill ins!
This ce was chosen because de Demon King and Mist Demon King insist on going on doing this as soon as possible since their kin was involved.
They were also the first ones to arrive in this ce before anyone else.
Following de Demon King were five de envoys, including White Fire and five hundred powerful knights.
While the Mist Demon King was escorted by Six Misty Killers and a thousand train soldiers.
They all know about the army under this royal beast, so every demon king was bringing their powerful men!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 460 A New Demon King Candidate?
On the same night,
Inside a spacious camp,
There were currently imposing demons sitting around a table, and every one of them had a scary aura around them. If anyone saw them together, they would be shocked silly because seven of them were the backbone of eight provinces, the Seven Demon Kings and only one was missing!
While the other five weren¡¯t as famous as the eight demon kings, but their authority wasn¡¯t a joke because they controlled the Royal Demon Council in eight provinces, they were none other than five high elders!N?v(el)B\\jnn
If other races know twelve manifestation realm cultivators were gathering together, they would have thought it was going to be a war.
Nevertheless, the atmosphere wasn¡¯t harmonized because these demon kings didn¡¯t get along with each other and rarely came in contact with.
However, the allure of the old demon emperor¡¯s inheritance was just too great for any one of them to reject that summons. Even if they didn¡¯t get any, they would¡¯vee on their own.
de Demon King broke the silence in an impatient tone. ¡°What are we still waiting for?!¡±
High Elder Lora retorted as her pair of silver and golden eyeballs shone with hostility. ¡°Just as impatient as ever!¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have time for you right now. My son was abducted by that animal and I didn¡¯t see the point of waiting anymore since we all are here!¡± He scoffed,pletely ignoring Lora, which made her grit her teeth.
The burly demon with violet skin and sky-blue eyes spoke, ¡°I agree with de Demon King. Our men are ready to storm that ce.¡± he had an icy demeanor, and he was the Moon Demon King from Might Moon Province.
This time, High Elder Crimson me rey amiably, ¡°We know both Kings had valid reasons, but there¡¯s still someone missing and I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to leave that person behind.¡±
A tall demon with an imposing demeanor sighed, ¡°Let me guess, royal zone?¡±
He had a pair of crystal red bullhorns, his skin was crimson like blood, and his eyes were filled with bloodlust. He was the Blood Demon King from Mighty Blood Province.
A demon with ash pale skin curled his lips. He had a demonic face with ghost-like, empty eyes. ¡°Indeed, we are waiting for ourmander.¡± There was a hint of ridicule in his voice.
He was the Ghost Demon King from Might Ghost Province, and he was also very ruthless because the Ghost Province was at the edge of the demon continent, and it was not rtively safe, as the other provinces were.
He wasn¡¯t there because he was weak, but because he was far more capable than anyone present to watch the front gate of the demon continent!
The Ghost Province had an excellent rtionship with Blood Demon King because they were the closest and helped each other asionally.
¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped. How about we discuss the soul crystal source?¡± A brawny demon with sharp amber eyes and bronze skin spoke, drawing everyone¡¯s attention to the Mist Demon King, who was surrounded by dark mist.
He was the Spear Demon King of Mighty Spear Province.
Mist Demon King¡¯s melodious yet icy voice rang. ¡°I have already told everyone what I found. There weren¡¯t any soul crystals left at that ce, and it waspletely absorbed. Even if there were soul crystals there, it won¡¯t be your turn to demand them.¡±
Spear Demon King sneered, ¡°I don¡¯t like your tone, Mist, even if you lose a son, this didn¡¯t give you the right to talk with your superior!¡±
de Demon King¡¯s expression turned frosty at this moment.
The Spear Demon King was the most arrogant of them all because he was the overseer of the seventh province and was also quite greedy.
He naturally wanted soul crystals, which were quite a raremodity, and he won¡¯t let this chance slide by, even if Mist Demon King lost her son.
She was the only one in this room who received the map of that ce, so this naturally arouse others¡¯ doubts. But no one was as direct as him.
The mist around Mist Demon King started to flutter as the cold aura surfaced. She was about to attack.
¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± sharply spoke the high elder, with a three-centimeter diamond shape ck gem embedded right between her eyebrows. She was called Grim Jade.
The ck gem between her eyebrows shimmered in a faint dark light as the aura released by Mist Demon King vanished while the Spear Demon King who was scoffing, his expression changed as he caught up blood and looked at Grim Jade with anger and fear.
Grim Jade narrowed her eyes and warned, ¡°We all know your nature, Spear, so don¡¯t provoke her, or I don¡¯t mind teaching you a lesson like old times.¡±
¡°Hmph!¡± Spear Demon King harrumphed coldly but said nothing. He knew these High Elders weren¡¯t easy to trifle with, and only some of them were their match or stronger them those five.
¡°We should discuss this All-Knowing Parrot. Don¡¯t you all find it strange just how it had all this information and is so urate at that?¡± A demon with brown skin and emerald eyes said in a doubtful tone.
He was the Earth Demon King of Might Earth Province, and he was the wisest of all demon kings.
Dark Hole replied, ¡°We already did, but it hid its traces too well. As for those demons who delivered the scroll, they were just mortals with ve marks and ording to them, they didn¡¯t even know who enve them and when.¡±
Earth Demon King¡¯s eyes shone brightly as his lips curled up. ¡°That¡¯s why we should try another approach. How about offering him the title of Demon King?¡±
Everyone looked at Earth Demon King as if he was a fool.
How can a Demon King title be given to just anyone?
The first and foremost important threshold to be having a Manifestation Realm cultivation, which everyone knows was almost impossible, and the acknowledgment of the royal zone came afterward.
Although there were wild demon kings, they all deserve their titles.
As for All-Knowing Parrot, it was a ghost, and no one knows what kind of tribe it belonged to or how strong it was. So, the Earth Demon King¡¯s suggestion was more of a joke than something worth considering.
However, White Sword, who was silent for all this time, finally spoke with a hint of interest, ¡°Please continue.¡±
Now everyone looked at White Sword with doubtful eyes, but they didn¡¯t say anything. No one in eight provinces dared to go against or retort this demon, no one!
Earth Demon King said respectfully, ¡°I think Senior White Sword had already noticed it. But I¡¯ll still be blunt and overstep my boundaries.
¡°Did any of you ever consider how this All-Knowing Parrot managed to create the biggest informationwork right under our noses? Not only do we have nothing on it, but we also didn¡¯t even know its gender.
¡°Don¡¯t¡¯ you think this kind of person is worth having in the royal council? We have all been trying different approaches all this time, but those approaches have one thing inmon: we were trying to find and control this fellow, right?
¡°But we never try to recruit him even once, since we are too narrow-minded and blinded by small benefits. This person had the capability, and imagine if we provide him with ample resources and have him create suchworks on other continents?¡±
Everyone¡¯s eyes lit up, they clearly understood what Earth Demon King was implying here.
Crimson me spoke with a hint of disbelief. ¡°So, you want to create an ultimate spy?¡±
Earth Demon King nodded with a smile, ¡°Yes. There wasn¡¯t a person like this before, but now there is, so there¡¯s no need to have a hostile rtionship with it when it can be our strength, right?
¡°Besides, I think this person had other intentions to disclose such information to us and not release it to themon public. Nheless, as long as it won¡¯te in our way, why don¡¯t we reward him for this merit?¡±
White Fire nodded with a faint smile. ¡°I have always heard rumors about Earth Demon King¡¯s wisdom, but witnessed it myself. I have to say, the rumors didn¡¯te close to the real thing.
¡°Not only do we have a valid reason to reward this All-Knowing Parrot now, but if this royal beast was really a spy from the beast continent and in the possession of old Demon Emperor¡¯s inheritance, I don¡¯t know why we can¡¯t rmend him for a Demon King title.¡±
Earth Demon King smiled and shake his head, ¡°Senior, I know you must¡¯ve thought the same. In the end, we all just thought about what is best for our race and this person is an asset.¡±
The other also fell into deep thought. They couldn¡¯t help but admire Earth Demon King¡¯s judgment and also White Fire, who was willing to look at the bigger picture.
Right at this moment, a haughty voice sounded, ¡°I hope we are notte for this party!¡±
Chapter 461 Torture &…
Before everything went down in the eight provinces,
The next day after, Ace secretly contacted Freya.
Two ghost worms appeared with the soul realm aura, and they released everyone from their ice sculpture states, and they all slowly regain their consciousness.
Furthermore, those ghost worms also took their belongings, including Feng¡¯s, before they left.
The demons were the first to gain their senses. But the moment they did, their first reaction was apprehension as they try to break those cages, but failed miserably since they can¡¯t tap into their Qi reserves nor feel it and their physical strength wasn¡¯t enough either.
After things started to calm down, they finally spoke.
¡°Who else is here? Peter, are you ok?¡± This voice belonged to Brenna.
The prisons were at some distance from each other, so it was hard to know just how many were captured and who else was there.
¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m more d you¡¯re fine, though.¡± Peter¡¯s relief voice sounded.
Everyone started to reply one after another and when they found out everyone got captured, they were shocked.
¡°Where¡¯s brother Feng?¡± Thomas noticed Feng hasn¡¯t spoken yet, and everyone noticed.
Feng¡¯s perplexed voice sounded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been captured as well.¡±
¡°Hahaha¡ why do I feel you are more ashamed than worried about this situation?¡± Thomas teased, but there was clear relief in his voice.
¡°Don¡¯t you?¡± Feng¡¯s vexed voice rang, ¡°We were captured by some mindless worms, and we don¡¯t even know how we get here or where we are!¡±
Gibson¡¯s miffed voice rang. ¡°It was all because of that damn water. If my Qi wasn¡¯t suppressed by that strange water¡ humph!¡±
Carlee snorted with disdain, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to do anything either. There were probably soul realm worms within the enemy ranks. Don¡¯t you notice, Sir, White Fire isn¡¯t with us? Which could only mean he escaped or was entrapped by the enemy, so he didn¡¯t have time to save us.¡±
At this time an aged voice rang, ¡°Young Lady, is indeed right. Commander Fire was suppressed by that water as well, and he had no choice but to escape. It¡¯s also a good thing since help could be on its way as we speak.¡±
¡°Who might you be?¡± questioned Shepard.
Peter answered instead, ¡°He¡¯s an elder of Earthen Troll n, Yadiel, a diamond river core cultivator. He was probably following us with Sir White Fire and other Earthen Troll, but it seemed they also got captured.¡±
Yadiel¡¯s apologetic voice sounded again, ¡°I¡¯m ashamed, your highness, we weren¡¯t able to protect you and let His Majesty down.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, old man, it¡¯s not your fault. But can you help us escape?¡± Thomas inquired.
Everyone knew the earthen troll race was quite agile on earth, and they can dig tunnels to escape, so this aroused everyone¡¯s hope.
Yadiel replied with bitterness, ¡°No milord, this entire cell or probably the entire prison is made with special material to suppress our Qi, and I can¡¯t prate it with my hands, either. I¡¯m afraid we are now hostages.¡±
The prison fell into hopeless silence.
¡°Did anyone know how those mindless demons were controlled? I heard even salve marks can¡¯t make them obedient. Which means whoever is behind them won¡¯t just want some ransom, and our lives might be in danger.¡± Alora¡¯s voice broke the silence.
¡°Our guess is as good as yours. But I won¡¯t be going out without a fight!¡± Gibson sneered, but there was a hint of nervousness in his voice.
They all knew the situation they were in wasn¡¯t optimal for anyone, and it was unknown why they were kept alive.
But they didn¡¯t have any way to know, so they didn¡¯t waste their energy and calmed down and wait for someone to approach them.
Ace thought, ¡®What does that fox want? I hope Freya would move fast or things might get out of hand.¡¯
Days pass by and no one came to them as prison remained dark.
However, on this day, they heard the creaking sound of an old door being opened.
Everyone¡¯s eyes tightened with brightness when they saw the light.
¡°Bastard, who are you, and what did you guys want?!¡± this was another troll speaking who regain his sense a few hours after Yadiel.
However, they were shocked when they saw the visitors were ghost worms and 17 of them, the same numbers as them.
They knew they can¡¯tmunicate with them, so they wondered why they were there.
Except for one person, Ace!
¡®So, the torture is about to begin!¡¯ Ace grimace.
Although he was confident in resisting whatever they threw at him, he wasn¡¯t sure about the others.
He also doesn¡¯t know why they were being tortured in the first ce and what the end goal was in doing all this.
¡°Esteemed Guests, I know it¡¯s hard to live in those small cells, but you have to bear with it. In the meantime, we are here to entertain you. I hope you all enjoy our hospitality.¡± This imposing voice came as a surprise since they didn¡¯t know who was talking, and they thought it was a ghost worm.
But Ace recognized the voice. ¡®Gage!¡¯
It was indeed the fox patriarch, but he didn¡¯t show himself and remained outside so no one could see him.
¡°Motherfucker, show yourself!¡± Thomas condemned, but no one replied.
¡°Do you know who I am? As long as you let us go, I¡¯ll promise we won¡¯t pursue this matter and my father might reward you with riches you could never imagine!¡± Peter dered with hope.
Although he didn¡¯t like using his status to get what he wanted, in this situation, it can¡¯t help, though.
However, no one seemed to hear them.
They all started to back down when they saw those ghost worms starting to appear in front of their cages one by one.
¡°Start.¡± Gage¡¯s harsh voice rang again.
The very next moment thereafter, those ghost worms opened their round mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth and suddenly a white sharp limb shot out from their mouth like a whip.
The edge of this slimy limb was like a long thick needle and before anyone could react, those needles directly prate their hearts!
But what happened next made everyone shrill with madness, from those white limbs they felt a strange liquid start to pump into their veins like liquid nitrogen, and they felt icy chillness starting to creep on every part of their bodies.
Even their meridians were prated!
This can be considered the cruelest torture in the cultivation world, to inflict pain on someone¡¯s meridians. It was like cutting their limbs piece by piece, or even worse!
If those ghost worms didn¡¯t control their strengths and burst their meridian channels, they will lose their ability to cultivate or worse, die!
But Winter didn¡¯t want that.
However, Ace, on the hand, waspletely fine. On the contrary, he felt quite cozy as that chillness raging through his meridians.
¡®Could it be because of meridians of darkness I¡¯m immune to this kind of thing, or they are just not strong enough to hurt me?¡¯ He reckoned while keep pretending in extreme pain.
Ace never heard of someone having special meridians, so it¡¯s only natural he has no clue about any of this. Nheless, as long as he was fine, it didn¡¯t matter.
However, it can¡¯t be said for others, since they were experiencing torture worse than death while having no way of stopping it. Those whip-like limbs were like stone pirs, they just refused to budge no matter how much strength they used to take them out of their body.N?v(el)B\\jnn
But the question remained, why Winter was doing it?
On the mountain top,
The crystal white altar under Winter shed as her eyes were closed.
She suddenly opened her eyes as the altar stop shimmering and there was a hint of satisfaction in her eyes. ¡°They will be ready in two months!¡±
Suddenly, the altar beneath her trembled slightly, and her lips curled upward. ¡®Hmph, you just won¡¯t give up, do you? But I don¡¯t have to endure it for long. The moment I merge with this altar, I¡¯ll be able to use that secret technique I found with that ancient inheritance and get rebornpletely. As much as I wanted to release you on demons, I can¡¯t since you are a perfect match for my soul¡¡¯
She suddenly waved her sleeve, and the next moment, a translucent projection materialized.
It waspletely gray, and if Ace were here, he would instantly recognize this image. It was the frozen grayke.
However, this wasn¡¯t the surface of the grayke but the bottom, and the scene could send chills to anyone¡¯s spine if they saw it.
In the projection, they were tens of thousands of Demon Skeletons standing like listless puppets, some of these demons had decayed skin while some parts werepletely peeled off, showing their bones. They were not as old as thoseplete skeletons.
Winter¡¯s eyes turned extremely sinister as she looked at the projection, ¡®This is all going to end very soon¡!¡¯
Chapter 462 Arrival of Demon Kings!
The torturest for six exact hours before Gage has them stopped, and they left.
But everyone in the prison wasying on their back with listless and hideous expressions on their faces.
No one could talk or move.
¡°I-I¡ I hope¡ you all won¡¯t die¡ on me¡ soon. It would be lonely¡ y-you know.¡± Feng¡¯s weak yet resolute voice rang.
¡°H-hate¡ full!¡¯ Thomas¡¯s weak yet hoarse voice sounded. At least he was still fine.
¡°Heh¡ T-this was no-nothing!¡± Peter followed suit.
No one wanted to look weak at this time as they started to recover their will.
Ace smiled. He knew whatever Winter after it had to be something rted to weakening their mind, and it wasn¡¯t just about soul brand anymore. Because he was already branded with one, but she was torturing him as well.
He mused she only soul brand him for information, and now she had no use for him, but this also put him even more dangerous situation.
But he still waited for Freya.
Three dayster.
Themunication cube in his thief¡¯s space shimmered for a moment before it went dormant again.
His lips curled upward in a stiff smile. ¡®So, the n is in motion.¡¯
Because of his circumstances, he told her to use this single since he won¡¯t be able to pick it up because everyone was around, and he was pretty sure everyone would be able to hear her voice if he activated the cube.
So, this small signal was enough assurance for him.
Three more days pass and only one day was left before the torture would begin again, but no one had any idea about it.
They were still recovering from injuries in their meridians, and it wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience either. Injuries of meridians could be as bad as soul injuries, if not worse!
¡ª
On top of the mountain,
Winter eyes suddenly snapped open and a glint of astonishment shed past her eyes.
She suddenly waved her sleeve, and a projection appeared, but this time there weren¡¯t any skeletons in it, but the living.
She saw two tall demons attacking the hidden door that lead to the grayke!
Her heart further sank when she was that the hidden door was almost on itsst legs.
Right at this moment, the demon holding a thin de which was two-meter-long, shed it as a milky white de arc appeared and directly cut that door into two pieces!
¡°Aplete de Intent!¡± She couldn¡¯t help but exim, and this wasn¡¯t the end of her surprise.
The second demon scoffed when he saw the frozen wall, and he waved his long sleeve before a huge crimson fire bird materialized and with a strange cry rushed toward the frozen wall.
A pathway started to appear in the frozen wall while the firebird continued to move toward the hidden space!
¡°They are Demon Kings!¡± She knew only a Demon King-level existence can pass through all those defensive so easily!
¡®But how did they get here so quickly, and they weren¡¯t shocked when they saw the frozen wall as well? It¡¯s like they already knew what to expect!
¡®Furthermore, there¡¯s supposed to be only one demon king who mighte here, but two appeared instead. Did he bring him to help? But how I don¡¯t sense their presence beforehand? They might be using a grade-6 concealment treasure, at least¡¡¯
She thought of all kinds of possibilities, but none one of them lead to the strangeness of this situation.
Winter suddenly felt an urgent sense of danger because of her cautious nature.
No matter how she looked at it, this wasn¡¯t supposed to happen!
She looked as those two demons make their way toward the surface at an extremely fast pace, and she knew no one can stop them even if she released the frozenke it was useless against them because of its depletion, and it would also risk the hidden secret at the bottom.
So, she let theme. Two demon kings were still manageable for her with her current state.
But today was going to be the worst day of her life.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Right, when Crimson me and de Demon Kingnded on the solid ground, Crimson me suddenly put one hand on his long sleeve and a small ck snake appeared, which was only one meter in size.
But Winter¡¯s expression changed drastically when she was the ck snake, which scales were like ck gems!
¡°T-this couldn¡¯t be the¡ Jade Space Serpent!? No, it can¡¯t¡¡±
But before she could assure herself, the small snake suddenlynded on the ground and started to increase in size at a fast pace until it was fifty meters in size.
However, it was just the start of Winter¡¯s nightmare because that serpent suddenly opened its huge maw, and startlingly, there was a dark mist in its mouth.
Thereafter, a tall demon with a masculine build stepped out of that dark mist.
His skin was gray, and a sharp pair of golden eyes, with an extremely handsome face. He had two golden short horns and gray long hair.
This person smiled coldly as he looked at the hidden space with great interest and couldn¡¯t help but praise it. ¡°It seemed we might¡¯ve struck gold this time.¡±
de Demon King chuckled with coldness in his eyes, ¡°Brother Exalted, I have to admit your pet is superb for this kind of operation.¡±
This person was the eighth demon king from Beast Tamer Tribe, and he was the only demon king with a unique title because he was the strongest of them all, Exalted Demon King!
Exalted Demon King chuckled, ¡°Little Fang is indeed incredible, but it can¡¯t move around with its belly full, so I have to thank you two to carry it. I just hope other gentlemen won¡¯t mind the cramped space.¡±
Just as his voice trailed off, other demon kings and high elders started to appear one by one.
White Sword was the first to appear as he chuckled. ¡°It was indeed a unique experience to stay in the belly of a beast. How about you gift me one of its eggs in the future? I promise I won¡¯t rip you off.¡±
Exalted Demon King smiled bitterly, ¡°I wish senior, but this Jade Space Serpent is just too rare. I was lucky to find it in his childhood when I was traveling in the endless sea. I¡¯m afraid finding a partner for it would be even more difficult. It might be the only one in this world.¡±
White Sword didn¡¯t push the matter and smiled. ¡°Forget it then. This old man is too old for any pet, anyway.¡±
Everyone appeared from the serpent¡¯s mouth, but there were four fresh additions, excluding the Exalted Demon King.
Three were masked demons, one being Killer since his eyes were revealed, while the two others werepletely covered without any hint of revtion.
As for thest person, he was giving off a feeling of dark night as his ck wither face waspletely peaceful without any worldly desire. But his empty eye sockets and two-meter dark antelope horns were giving off a ghastly feeling as if he was a demon crawled out straight from hell!
Despite his aged figure, he was extremely sturdy and stand tall like an unshakable mountain!
Those three masked men were standing behind this old demon without speaking any word. Despite their status, they didn¡¯t dare to offend this old demon.
Even White Sword didn¡¯t dare to act haughtily in front of this demon.
Everyone knows that this person signified a very high meaning behind its presence, and it means that the Demon Emperor was furious about the news of a royal beast scheming under their nose.
Even if there was a chance, the Demon Emperor clearly showed where he stands if this matter appeared to be true!
Suddenly the empty eye old demon looked at the horizon which the mountain was and said without any hint of emotion in his voice, ¡°Still not want toe out?¡±
Everyone looked in the same direction with cold intent in their eyes.
An eerily husky voice rang, ¡°Demons, I don¡¯t want to fight today and I don¡¯t have any malicious intention. How about I share a fortune with you and released your youths to show my goodwill, and we brush this matter off?¡±
White Fire eyes suddenly emit killing intent, ¡°Beast Aura! There¡¯s really ancient beast hidden here!¡±
Everyone seemed to sense this unique aura that can be released by ancient beasts, just like demons have a demonic aura whenever they used their Qi.
Exalted Demon King sneered, ¡°Do you think you cane and go as you please in our territory? Heh, just obediently surrender, and we won¡¯t kill you.¡±
On the mountain peak,
Winter¡¯s expressions were a sight to behold at this moment because this was just too sudden, and she knew that even if she seeded, she won¡¯t be able to handle these many demon kings at once.
Furthermore, she felt dread from that empty-eyed, ck old demon. She was entrapped on this altar like a sitting duck right now!
Chapter 463 Corpse Demon Tribe
Winter was filled with unwillingness when she thought about how her hundreds of years of sacrifice were about to turn into the wind.
¡®Just how did they know I was here despite my caution, and why did they be so many demon kings at once?¡¯ She just couldn¡¯t figure it out, no matter how much she racked her brain.
In the end, she knew it was over for her and she had to show her full hand just to get out of here alive now, and she still didn¡¯t know about the situation outside.
There was a massive possibility that they had set up some kind of trap for her outside or they were just too confident in subduing her.
But she knew the demon race wasn¡¯t just an overconfident bunch. They were extremely ruthless to their enemies and they won¡¯t leave any possibilities for an escape.
She looked at the mountain and then the blue barrier in the sky with a regretful and reminiscing expression. ¡®Although, this is not how it is supposed to end, but I already got so much from this ce. I shouldn¡¯t have risked cultivating this secret technique and left while still having the chance¡¡¯
However, an infuriating expression abruptly appeared on her beautiful face, ¡®But then I won¡¯t have a chance to strike the demon race like this¡¡¯
The very next moment, she started to form strange hand signs and the altar under her suddenly shimmered in a ghostly light.
The mountain sudden quiver started the foxes and before long, the entire space inside the barrier quivered, startling the demons.
¡°That animal is up to something!¡± Lora¡¯s expression changed slightly as she looked at the grayke, which was melting, forming a scary momentum filled with that strange Qi in theke.
Everyone closed to theke noticed it.
The empty eyes ck skin demon, however, raised his head toward the blue barrier, and the three masked wearing demons couldn¡¯t help but also look toward the barrier.
Killer¡¯s eyes narrowed when he noticed the blue barrier was starting to fade away!
¡°Is it opening the barrier and trying to escape?!¡± He eximed, which draw high elders¡¯ attention.
At this time the empty eyes¡¯ demon spoke nonchntly, ¡°The Qi from that barrier is gathering into thatke¡¯s bottom, and then¡ hmm, it suddenly vanished and so does the Qi already in theke. As if¡ something is absorbing it.¡±
White Fire couldn¡¯t help but asked, ¡°Council Minster, what is at the bottom?¡±
Council Minster replied impassively, ¡°I can¡¯t tell.¡±
¡°Even you?!¡± A melodious voice rang. It was from one of the mask demons. But no one could tell it was a female because of special concealment.
Everyone knows just how terrifying this Council Minster was and it made them uneasy when they heard even he can¡¯t tell what was at the bottom.
Council Minster didn¡¯t even frown as if he was exempt from any emotions, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that the case. But I can assure you it¡¯s not a threat to me.¡±
Every felt relief hearing this and at this moment, the light suddenly faded away as darkness broke into the space which remain lit all the time.
They all looked up and saw the barrier waspletely gone, revealing the starry sky and the snowing winds of the White Hills ins.
Winter looked at the starry sky with a look of expectancy. It was just too long since she saw the real sky and breathe the air of this world.
But that expression only for so long, as her eyes turned decisive when she sensed eight demons approaching the colony while others stay on thekeside, including that empty eyes ck demon.
¡°I have to escape the chase of those soul manifestation demons, and that army won¡¯t be enough to upy them for long. The only way is to release it¡¡±
Her eyes turned ruthless as she looked at the altar beneath her and she suddenly move her both hands together and again started to form strange hand signs.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Suddenly, she mumbled a strange string of words, and small ck rune symbols started to surface on the altar and her body, and slowly those rune symbols started to crawl off from her skin like ants and submerged into the altar.
After thest symbol left her body, she sighed, filled with bitterness and resentment, ¡°In the end, I was still one step away from having a perfect body and the strongest talent in ice element¡. It was all because of these hateful demons!¡±
With a stony expression, she slowly stood up from the altar.
It now shimmered in gray light as it trembled as if something wanted to break out.
The next moment, a fox symbol appeared between her eyebrows as she mumbled, ¡°My children, the demons have invaded ournds and wanted to kill us. We can¡¯t just stay idle and let them ughter us. I need a few moments to prepare the killing formation. Buy me the time!¡±
Suddenly, furious fox cries rang on the entire mountain, as the holes in the ground outside also started to get restless.
¡°So, there was an army hidden here, well, more beasts with royal bloodline for us then.¡± The Exalted Demon King, who was riding on top of Jade Space Serpent, smiled with ecstasy as he looked toward the mountain.
de Demon King sneered, ¡°I don¡¯t want those animals. I just wanted to find my son!¡±
¡°Just don¡¯t go lunatic de on us, all right?¡± Blood Demon King smirked.
de Demon King merely scoffed before the two-meter de in his hand suddenly gave off a fearful aura and, without any hesitation, he swings it toward the huge ice wall direction!
A beautiful ten-meter, white arc formed mixed with silver and white and directlynded on the ice wall, causing a tremendous impact.
The ice wall was like paper and cut apart into pieces.
¡°I think we had somepany.¡± Earth Demon King looked meaningfully at those holes.
¡°Just some bugs.¡± Ghost Demon King sneered before he waved his sleeve and hundreds of needles appeared above his head. They were coated in translucent gray Qi, giving off an extremely frosty vibe.
¡°Ghost Needle Storm!¡±
The very next moment, all those needles shot toward the holes, leaving behind after images.
While Eight Demon Kings were busy dealing with the ghost worms, at thekeside,
The grayke was now turning into in water because the Qi was strangely getting sucked right at the bottom.
The Council Minister suddenly spoke with a hint of astonishment, ¡°There are thousands of corpses at the bottom. As for how much, even I can¡¯t count them. But all the Qi has absorbed by them!¡±
Dark Hole¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°Corpses? What does it mean?¡±
At this moment, the female voice rang again with a hint of worry and shock. ¡°I once read an ancient legend. There was once an extremely sinister demon tribe known for their talent in reviving the dead.
¡°But the truth was they can¡¯t actually revive the dead, but they made them into something called corpse puppets to do their bidding. Not only, the corpse puppet will have 60% cultivation of the dead person, but they also possessed the ability to be stronger as they consume and kill the living.
¡°But I only thought it was a legend?¡±
Council Minster nodded in approval and spoke, ¡°You are truly knowledgeable, My Lady, truly worthy of being the Wise Demon Lady title.¡±
The second masked demon clenched his fist when he heard the praise, but no one noticed it except Killer since Council Minster was still speaking.
¡°There was indeed such a tribe in ancient times when war was raging all over the world. This wasn¡¯t just a legend. This tribe was known as the Corpse Demon Tribe, a connate Demon Ancestor Tribe!
¡°However, In the end, they vanished mysteriously after the era of war ended, or if they were still around, I don¡¯t think Devil Race would be the number one race right now!¡±
The five high elders were also astonished since they had never known such a history of the demon race and such a scary tribe even exist at that time!
But it wasn¡¯t the time to reminisce about the glory of this forgotten tribe.
White Fire¡¯s expressions were filled with worry. ¡°We also got the report that this was a ruin. T-then could it this be that¡¡±
¡°Indeed, who would¡¯ve thought there was the inheritance of Corpse Demon Tribe in eight demon provinces? I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t let that beast who had the inheritance escape, no matter what.
¡°Just the method to create the corpse puppets is priceless in this world, and if it fell into another race¡¯s hand, there will be dire consequences.¡±
Council Minster¡¯s voice was icy at this moment. ¡°I¡¯m leaving these corpses to you all. I think that beast is buying time for its escape. The Demon King won¡¯t be enough!¡±
The high elders solemnly nodded. They understood the gravity of the situation they were in.
The antelope horn on Council Minster suddenly shimmered before he turned into a streak of dark light and bolted toward the peak of fox mountain!
He was literally flying!
Chapter 464 Confrontation
Inside the cave prison,
Ace and the others naturally felt the tremor, the others were all shocked and fearful because they had no idea what was going on.
But Ace had, ¡®It seemed they took action far sooner than I expected. Now, I have to make my next move.¡¯
Right at this moment, everyone in the cave prison heard a menacing voice in an unknownnguage.
¡±My children, the demons have invaded ournds and wanted to kill us. We can¡¯t just stay idle and let them ughter us. I need a few moments to prepare for the killing formation. Buy me the time!¡±
Ace felt the fake soul core suddenly be restless, and the fox symbol appeared, shining in a ghostly light.
But he merely scoffed it off since it had no effect on him and he could tell by Winter¡¯s hasten voice that she was in a hurry, so she won¡¯t have time to look at every soul brand.
Ace suddenly ced his hand on the cage lock and the eraser essential was released, but he didn¡¯t open his own door and continued to release the eraser essential as it moved toward the other cells like liquid snakes.
The others didn¡¯t notice it since they were stillprehending what was happening and even if they did, they won¡¯t be able to tell what it was without their cultivation.
The tremorssted for five minutes before the cave prison settled down.
Suddenly, Shepard notice the newly emerged gap in the door and he couldn¡¯t help but move toward it and try to push the door and it was opened without any resistance!
He mored, ¡°It opened, the door is opened!¡±
Everyone¡¯s attention was drawn by Shepard¡¯s voice and they also tried to push open the door and just like Shepard they were opened without any resistance!
Well, except for one person!
¡°Hey, mine is still locked!¡± Thomas yelled in a hurry.
Peter and others noticed Thomas wasn¡¯t out and his door was still locked.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
¡°Well, it seemed I¡¯m stuck with you.¡± Feng¡¯s perplexed voice also rang.
¡°Why didn¡¯t all the doors open?¡± Perplexed, Gibson tried to use force, but his Qi was still restricted inside the prison so he was helpless.
The others also be somewhat hesitant now. Because they knew if they wait the enemy might appear and it would take their only chance to escape, but they were hesitating in leaving Feng and Thomas behind since they weren¡¯t dispensable.
Yadiel appeared with other earth trolls and said in a grim voice, ¡°I think the others are here to help us and they might be searching for this ce. We should leave and then bring back help.¡±
Peter nodded, ¡°You guys go. I¡¯ll wait outside. I can protect them until the help arrives.¡±
Yadiel retorted before Brenna could, ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t forget we are here. Leave the protection of the two young masters to me. In the meantime, you all will leave with the others under the ground. This way, it¡¯ll be more convenient.
¡°I can also try to approach them from underground. The restriction might not work from the underground. But you all have to leave while you still have the chance.¡±
Feng¡¯s voice sounded in agreement, ¡°He¡¯s right, you guys will only slow him down. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t die here.¡±
Thomas chuckled, ¡°Same, you should all go. If I don¡¯t return, just do me a favor and tell my sweet wife I loved her more than anything in this world.¡±
Peter¡¯s expression fell. ¡°Tell her yourself. I¡¯ll find help as soon as I could. Count on it!¡±
The other also assured.
Alora appeared in front of Feng prison at this moment and whispered, ¡°I-I¡ hang in there. I¡¯ll find help for you.¡± Then she spun around to the left with a slightly flushed face.
Ace smiled wryly, ¡®I still didn¡¯t know where your golden fate point led to. But it seemed I won¡¯t be able to monitor you any further. A pity I won¡¯t be able to steal that from you¡ sigh.¡¯
Ace felt great regret when thought about how he changed Alora¡¯s fate and made her a golden fate point. He thought it might be triggered here, but she was still a golden fate point, which means her opportunity might not be here.
He could also understand this logic since a golden fate point wasn¡¯t something a silver fate point could match.
But he still felt pity that he might not be able to steal that from her after this event.
The prison door was also opened by Ace, so they didn¡¯t get stuck there as well.
The earth troll also didn¡¯t waste any time. The moment they felt their Qi returning, they instantly dug tunnels. They don¡¯t care what was happening outside.
Peter and others follow suit and only Yadiel remained as he said he was digging the tunnel toward the prison cells to see if he could free Thomas and Feng.
Thomas felt the silence return and sighed as he sat down close to the bars. ¡°Brother Feng, we might not make it this time. Do you have anyst wishes? You can tell me it¡¯s better than dying with regrets.¡±
However, he suddenly heard the door opening sound, and he thought someone was there to get rid of them. But he was astonished when he saw the person walking from the other side and it was none other than Feng!
¡°Fuck, your door also got opened, is it malfunctioning? Why is my luck so bad?!¡± He mored.
Ace smiled with a hint of sadness, he said, ¡°Tell me, Thomas, what will you do if you find out I wasn¡¯t the person you know and talk with all this time?¡±
Thomas felt Feng was pulling his leg, so he inly replied, ¡°It depends on how deep our understanding is with each other. Besides, it doesn¡¯t matter to me just how many faces you have, as long as you consider me a friend, it doesn¡¯t matter. What, do you want to get chummy with me before leaving? Don¡¯t bother, I don¡¯t want to die with thatst horrible memory!¡±
Ace could feel Thomas¡¯s agitation, but he didn¡¯t show it on his face. He was afraid that if he asked Feng to stay, he won¡¯t, and leave him. So, he said nothing, he just didn¡¯t want to remember when his friend abandoned him.
They both knew life was more important than anything in this cruel world, only seldom one could see truepanionship.
Thomas just doesn¡¯t want to test it, afraid he might not take it and if he were saved in the end, they both would never be the same.
However, Ace¡¯s next words shocked him. ¡°Heh, it was indeed worth keeping you here before I take my leave.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡± Thomas suddenly frowned as he looked at Feng¡¯s smiling face. He suddenly felt there was something he was missing.
Ace merely smiled, and then he tossed something toward Thomas.
Thomas confusingly catch the small object and when he saw it, the pentagon shape and the owl symbol were engraved on it.
His eyes went wide with disbelief, he knew what this symbol represented, he looked at Feng with horror, ¡°Y-y-YOU¡ no! It¡¯s impossible, you were with us when thest time the sky stealer appeared. Why the meaning of this?!¡±
This was the fact, everyone knew the ocean demon participants were halfway toward the de domain when the sky stealer struck. So, they were never under any suspicion.
Thomas even knows Feng had signed the loyalty contract of the royal council, so it was more absurd for him to be the infamous thief!
Feng chuckled, ¡°I have my own goals on bing Feng, the real Feng who you have information on, died a long ago. I just took his face and you never meet the real person, so you were always dealing with me. I don¡¯t have time to exin more.
¡°But since you treated me well, I didn¡¯t want to leave without saying anything or giving you hollow grief.¡±
Thomas took a deep breath before he somewhat calmed down, but his heart was still racing as his mind was in utter chaos.
He just couldn¡¯t believe all this because it was just too damn absurd. Ace not only fooled everyone but even the demon king as well!
The thief everyone was searching for was right between them all along.
He didn¡¯t know if he could ever trust anyone after this.
But he could tell Ace revealed his identity because he didn¡¯t want to give him grief, which would only slow him down. This at least means Ace considered him as a friend.
He said with uncertainty, ¡°Are you leaving? Meaning, Feng is going to vanish?¡±
Ace nodded. ¡°That was the n from the start. This was supposed to be Feng¡¯sst mission before he would vanish into the ruins, but we were caught, as you can see.
¡°But I have taken care of it as well. But the primary goal remained the same: Feng has to vanish without anyone knowing. So, they can¡¯t trace it back to me or you guys won¡¯t be able to live peacefully if they felt threatened by my abilities!¡±
Chapter 465 Farewell & Danger
Thomas fell into deep silence because he knew what Ace was telling was the fact.
The moment everyone knows Feng was the Sky Stealer, they mighte after his close ones and they won¡¯t hesitate to use soul search as well. He didn¡¯t want to get involved with this, and his identity won¡¯t be able to save him either.
He looked at Ace and coldly said, ¡°So, you want me to tell everyone how you died here? In the end, I¡¯m just a tool for you, like everything else!¡±
Ace could feel the deep fury in Thomas¡¯s words and he could only sigh helplessly, ¡°You can tell others whatever you want. But you were never a tool for me after we be friends. I just thought you deserved to know. I won¡¯t me you, even if you told everyone about it. But I know you won¡¯t because it will only cause trouble.¡±
¡°If you have gone without saying all of this, I would¡¯ve really grieved, but I think it was far better than knowing all this shit. I don¡¯t know if I would be able to trust anyone after today.¡± Thomas menacingly uttered.
Ace didn¡¯t defend himself. ¡°Well, it wasn¡¯t as bad as you make it. I¡¯m a thief and won¡¯t hesitate to steal whatever I want, but I won¡¯t harm my close ones if they don¡¯t try it first. Tell me, if I gave you the chance to be something far greater than you could ever be, will you join me?¡± He closely noticed Thomas¡¯s reaction.
Thomas nced at him and smile disdainfully, ¡°Be a thief? No, thanks, I just want to live my life with my Milly happily. Greatest meant nothing to me.¡±
Ace smiled, he wasn¡¯t dejected or angry after being rejected. He knew if he gave others the choice, they won¡¯t see the genuine opportunity unless they truly join the thief house, like Noa and Freya.
But Ace gave Thomas the choice because he knew Thomas had a life, a family which he might not abandon, especially Milly!
Ace knew he was doing all this so he could live a peaceful life with Milly, and if he joined the Thief House, he might not be able to move forward without her.
He didn¡¯t have more tokens right now, so he didn¡¯t want to earn Thomas hatred if he tricked him like the others. The circumstances werepletely different right in theparison with the first two times.
Thomas wasn¡¯t like Noa or Freya, who didn¡¯t have anyone they loved or wanted to go back to.
He nodded and chuckled, ¡°Fine, but don¡¯t regret itter.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, a thief is thest thing I want to be.¡± Thomas scoffed, as he was getting calm now that he finally epted the truth. But he was still not ready to ept Ace¡¯s existencepletely.
Ace again tossed something toward Thomas.
Thomas looked at it and it was a storage ring and looked at the Ace with a questionable look.
Ace said, ¡°I only have one request, give these things to Feng¡¯s maids and help them find a safe ce. Although I already have taken care of it, if they were still there, give it to them and tell them I¡¯m grateful for everything they have done and I¡¯m sorry about not being able to take them in.¡±
Thomas¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°They knew?¡±
¡°What jealous?¡± Ace grinned, ¡°Well, they were supposed to die at Feng¡¯s hand since they were nning to kill him and he knows about that scheme. They are pitiful. I can only do this much.¡±
Thomas sneered, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll take it and won¡¯t give it to them?¡±
¡°You can if you want to. But can you?¡± Ace questioned with a knowing smile.
Ace¡¯s expression suddenly changed, ¡°It seemed that old earth troll prated from the underground. It¡¯s time to bid farewell. As for what to tell them, just said Foxes take me, they¡¯ll understand.
¡°And onest thing, if you ever need my help, just think of me with your heart and I¡¯lle as long as I could.¡± Ace meaningfully gave Thomas the idea.
Thomas sighed this time, ¡°Just go. I hope we won¡¯t meet again, ever.¡±
¡°I hope so.¡± Ace chuckled before he vanished from Thomas¡¯s sight!
Thomas stared at the void for a while before a smile appeared on his face. ¡®A Thief, huh? That bastard didn¡¯t even show his real face, much less tell me his name. Well, I hope you won¡¯t die.¡¯
Thomas was jolted by the sudden tremor in his cell, and after that, a hole appeared and Yadiel¡¯s head pop up.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Thomas quickly stood up and said in a panic, ¡°Quickly, we have to bring help. Someone from the other side appeared and took Brother Feng. They were foxes!¡±
Yadiel didn¡¯t have a chance to breathe when he heard Thomas¡¯s panic cry and his expression changed, he also sensed Feng wasn¡¯t in prison anymore.
¡°Let¡¯s go. It seemed they had other doors. We have to leave quickly.¡± Yadiel quickly dived back and Thomas followed.
He took ast nce at where Ace vanished and sighed. ¡®I hope we meet again, in different circumstances.¡¯
With that, they both vanished into the tunnel.
Thereafter, Ace¡¯s figure appeared again on the same spot. He smiled and thought, ¡®That guy has a talent for acting. It¡¯s a pity he won¡¯t be joining me. But who knows what happened in the future¡¡¯
With that, he directly headed toward the entrance and left the prison.
The first thing that came into his sight was the starry sky. ¡®So, she dispelled the barrier, it¡¯s easier to get away now.¡¯
Ace ran toward the west direction since that ce was with the lowest number of life forms.
But his eyes suddenly contracted as he looked upward and saw a dark streak heading toward the peak, and his heart jumped when he sensed the soul signature from that streak, which means it was a living being!
¡®Just who can that be flying at such a terrifying speed? I can¡¯t even fathom the aura.¡¯ Ace sweated as he remained static. He didn¡¯t want to get noticed by whoever it was and wait for it to fly past.
That streak directly headed toward the peak, and when Ace saw the coast was clear, he used his full speed to descend the mountain. He felt dread from the dark streak and, by the looks of it; he knew it was going for Winter.
¡®Just who did demons bring?¡¯ Ace was curious, but not enough to wait and see.
Although he was the one who suggested spreading the information among the upper echelon of eight provinces, it seemed he had underestimated the allure of a Demon Emperor-level inheritance.
Nevertheless, he had got himself free before Winter could seed in whatever she was nning to do with them or with the orb altar.
But he soon found out that the severity of the situation was far worse than he had imagined when he was close to the mountain entrance.
Ace¡¯s steps came to an abrupt halt when he saw thousands of foxes and tens of thousands of ghost worms lunging toward eight figures like an ant army without carrying about their lives.
Even the fox children were in that suicide army and he could see the shing soul brands on their foreheads.
His expression turned frosty. ¡®She¡¯s quite ruthless to use the soul brand to send all of them to their deaths, even her kin, just to buy time.¡¯
Ace felt highly disgusted.
But he was more shocked by those eight demons waving their sleeves and killing that army like they were shaving snow with hot des.
His attention was especially drawn by the demon who was sitting on top of the giant ck serpent¡¯s head and swinging his fingers in a unique rhythm, and those fox beasts around him turned into blood mist.
He also saw the de demon king killing hundreds with a single swing of his sword, while a strange white disk was floating on top of his horns.
But everything changed when an extremely terrifying pressure descend on the entire mountain and quickly covered the entire field!
Ace¡¯s heart palpitated as he thought heavenly punishment has descended and instinctively looked upward.
But the sky was clear, and no thunderclouds were visible.
However, his confusion didn¡¯tst for long when he heard a deafening cry, which nearly made him deaf from the peak of the mountain.
¡±Kiyyyyyyooooooo¡!¡±
But this ghastly cry was merely the start because thereafter, no one believed what they saw, from the grayke direction, a huge tsunami rose, which was seen by everyone.
However, what made everyone shocked was tens of thousands of corpses riding within that tsunami and they were all giving off soul piercing feeling!
As if this wasn¡¯t shocking enough, the ghost worms suddenly let loose a collective shrill cry before they suddenly exploded like watermelons and turned into gray water.
Before they begin to merge into one entity!
Chapter 466 Law Awareness Realm!
On the mountain peak,
When the Council Ministernded on the mountain peak, Winter was nowhere to be found and only the crystal altar was left, which was quivering and cracking continually.
Council Minister¡¯s brows knit slightly as he felt the dreadful aura rising from that altar or the thing that was trying to break free!
Although he didn¡¯t know what was trapped behind that altar, he didn¡¯t want to find out, even someone like him felt slightly dreadful from whatever was trying to break free.
He waved his sleeve, and dark Qi gushed out and covered the entire altar and pond.
But to his surprise, his Qi sucked into that altar the moment it touched it and it triggered some kind of reaction, and the altar instantly shattered.
¡®Boom¡!¡¯
The very next moment, two gray ghost ws appeared and everything around them started to freeze in gray!
An extremely terrifying pressure started to spread on the entire mountain, which made even the Council Minister take a small step back.
Following by ghostly ws, a face crawled out which could send chills to anyone¡¯s heart, it was an uneven face with white eyeballs all over its face and tentacles crawling from its vertical mouth and its torso was humanoid as the bottom was like a snake.
Its entire gray body was covered in dark runs.
It suddenly let loose a deafening cry which rang in the entire space,
Council Minister¡¯s expression was nowpletely changed. He looked extremely solemn as he looked at that monstrosity.
¡°A Quasi-Martial Law Awareness Realm Corpse Puppet?!¡±
Martial Law Awareness Realm, and Soul Law Awareness Realm, or Law Awareness Realm, was the name of the Seventh Realm of Cultivation!
Although the Council Minister himself was a Martial-Quasi Law Awareness Realm cultivator, he never thought there would be an existence of this level still trapped in the outer continent.
Furthermore, he could feel this thing was inplete control of this ce and another scary aura was rising from the bottom of the mountain after its strange cry.
He grimaced, ¡®Just how strong was the Corpse Demon Tribe to kill this thing and then make it a corpse puppet? ording to the legends, any refine corpse will only regain its 60% cultivation, which means this thing died as a Martial Law Awareness Realm!¡¯
Council Minister suddenly thought of something, ¡®But how did it regain control of itself? Didn¡¯t the corpse supposed to be mindless, or did someone free it from its restrictions? Wait¡ that beast where it is?!¡¯
Council Minister finally understood just how did this thing regain its senses and he was extremely furious about the beast who released it despite knowing just how much damage it would cause.
Furthermore, this corpse and all the other things in here belonged to the demon race, but that beast not only took everything, it even released those corpse puppets on the continent just so it could escape!
Council Minster didn¡¯t dare to imagine if he hadn¡¯te here, what would¡¯ve happened if this thing ran amok in the eight provinces. The damage would be unimaginable.
Even those eight demon kings and council elders together won¡¯t be able to contain it because the disparity between them was just too big and only a Quasi Law Awareness realm could match a Quasi Law Awareness Realm in a fight!
Nevertheless, the fight with that thing won¡¯t be a pretty one even for him because that thing won¡¯t feel pain or didn¡¯t have any fear. That was why the corpse puppet was fearsome!
¡°Even if it¡¯s meant my death, you have to die here!¡±
Council Minister also released his imposing aura, which shed with that corpse puppet head-on!
A fight between Quasi Law Awareness Realm was about to break out!
¡ª
The others had no idea about what had just transpired on the top of the mountain, but those demon kings could guess from that dreadful aura.
But they had no time to think about it because those ghost worms were merging into a collective entity that was slowly approaching the manifest realm!
Furthermore, there were still madly charging foxes, not to forget about those corpses on the other side.
¡°Call the reinforcement. We can¡¯t waste time on these cannon folds. We have to deal with that abomination or we might really face cmity this time!¡± Earth Demon King said solemnly as he looked at the growing gray water entity.
¡°Fuck, we are really in trouble this time. This second aura is probablying from the Council Minister and they are equally matched!¡± Blood Demon King frowned.
de Demon King¡¯s eyes were filled with worry about Peter. He knew things were going out of hand and he had to hurry. He took out amunication cube and activated it. ¡°Commanders take charge!¡±
¡ª
On the other hand, Ace was moving in aplexly opposite direction with a grave expression on his face when he felt another deadly aura at that peak.
When he thought about how that strange cry made those ghost worms react, he couldn¡¯t help but think about the Orb Guardian.
¡®Could it be that Winter was suppressing that orb guardian all this time and if this is true, then ording to its instinct it would directly head toward the elemental orb since they could sense their general location! Only a space by the system canpletely cut off their connection.¡¯
Ace couldn¡¯t help but felt pity for whoever had the ice orb right now if this was really the orb guardian and from that aura, he knew this wasn¡¯t something just anyone could handle!
Nevertheless, this had nothing to do with him right now, since he knew it would seek death if he tried to fight that guardian for the elemental orb. Both times, he had to rely on heavenly punishment to get rid of the guardians.
He wasn¡¯t sure if this one can be dealt with by the heavenly punishment at all.
But he had to admit demons were really worthy of being the second-strongest race in this world because that second aura was directly shing with the first one and was equally matched.
However, this also made him agitate to leave this ce since he was still in the vicinity of the fox mountain and the entire ce was trembling under the undtion caused by the sh on the top.
¡®Boom¡¡¯n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Suddenly, an enormous st rang from the mountain peak, which caused a huge tremor in Qi in a one-mile radius.
The sky started to change and Ace saw that half of the sky has turnedpletely dark while the other half was turned into a gray ice storm. He was on the side of the dark and he felt this Qi wasn¡¯t harmful at all, but it was giving him a strange sense of closeness.
He felt like he was grasping something, but he didn¡¯t stop because it was just dangerous to stay for this moment, gain. His life was far more important.
But he still felt there was something about this dark that made his heart race, and if he could stay and mull over it, he knew he might get something amazing. A pity he can¡¯t, though.
After he reached the ground, he took the advantage of everyone being distracted and headed toward the rare side, which waspletely opposite of the grayke.
He could still hear booming sounds from the sky, but hepletely focused on escaping.
However, when he was over ten miles away from fox mountain and crossing that palm tree forest, he heard a tremendousmotion from ahead.
¡®Demon reinforcement?¡¯ He thought and quickly climb on the palm tree and remain static.
Soon, he saw galloping demonic beasts and demon riders madly heading toward the fox mountain as they raise huge snowy clouds in their way.
¡®They are only going to their death.¡¯ Ace knew what was happening there, and he knew whoever go there would be in immense danger.
But he still admired the unity of the demon race in the face of amon enemy and they react really quick as well even though they were after the inheritance. Nheless, they were still efficient!
He clearly understands if they had to stay in that prison for three or four weeks more, the others might lose their minds with torture and he had to use one of his trump cards to escape as well.
Ace let that demon cavalry pass and then again started fleeing.
This time he didn¡¯t encounter anyone and when he saw the familiar snow fields in the distance, he couldn¡¯t help but smile with relief.
¡®I¡¯m finally out of this damn ce.¡¯
Well, that was what he thought when he was suddenly intercepted by a colossal figure which abruptly appeared ten meters away from him and made his heart palpitate.
It was a ten-meter-tall pink fox with a silver sheen on its fur and three tails. A melodious yet icy voice sounded with a hint of curiosity. ¡°How do you manage to ignore my soul brand?¡±
Ace was ttered when he heard this voice and his blood run cold. ¡®Winter!¡¯
Chapter 467 Conning Winter!
¡°How do you manage to ignore my soul brand?¡±
Ace¡¯s blood ran cold as he came out of his stealth and appeared in front of Winter in Feng¡¯s disguise. She was looking at him with her curious yet frightening eyes.
¡®So, she could trace me with that damn soul brand?! Why I didn¡¯t think of it!¡¯
It was his first time getting intercepted while escaping, all because of something he didn¡¯t even know was possible.
He never thought the soul brand technique could be this dangerous, and now he was facing a wily fox who had just pulled the wool over the demons.N?v(el)B\\jnn
However, he knew if he didn¡¯te up with anything good, he might suffer this time.
He pretended to be ted and then yed dumb. ¡°Mistress, I never received yourmand in that prison. But they suddenly opened, and I had no choice but to escape with the others. I did just as you ordered me to. They didn¡¯t suspect me.¡±
Ace nced at her with worry, and when he noticed she was still listening, he continued, ¡°But then, suddenly, powerful Qi waves surged, and we all got separated. I was searching for them when I just stopped by, Mistress!¡±
Winter looked at the respectful demon with a hint of doubt, yet she couldn¡¯t help but feel he was telling the truth.
¡®Could it be that the Qi suppressing stone interfered with my soul brand signal? If that¡¯s the case, I have to be more careful.¡¯ She thought.
She bought Ace¡¯s lie because she also didn¡¯t think Feng could resist or break free from the soul brand unless he were far more powerful than her, which was clearly impossible.
Furthermore, she would instantly notice if someone would try to fiddle or use some means to resist her soul brand.
As for why she was still loitering here, she had indeed made her escape before the Council Minister could reach the peak after unsealing the corpse puppet, but she stopped to see demons in despair.
She couldn¡¯t bring herself to leave without witnessing the prowess of the monster hidden beneath that altar, and she had to admit it was far more terrifying than it was described, which made her even more regretful and resentful toward demons who foiled everything!
Ace just happened to escape in the same direction, and when he entered a one-mile radius of Winter, he got noticed, and she intercepted him out of curiosity.
¡®Boomm¡boom¡klelelee¡¡¯
Fighting sounds made Winter look at the sky, which was now filled with dark and gray.
¡®It¡¯s time to leave. They won¡¯t be able to contain those Corpse Acolytes with that Corpse King around. The more they fought, the more it¡¯ll recover and draw power from those Corpse Acolytes in theke.
¡®It¡¯s a pity I won¡¯t be able to control that power anymore. But I still have the method to make my corpse army, which will only belong to me, and he will be my King!¡¯ She looked at Ace with bright eyes filled with malice.
Ace felt goosebumps when he noticed that peculiar nce. ¡®She¡¯s scheming against me!¡¯
Winter coolly stated, ¡°Alright, since you managed to escape, this also means you¡¯re far more capable than my useless children, so I¡¯ll take you with me and nurture you into an expert this world has never seen before!¡±
¡®This is definitely bad¡¡¯ Ace cussed, but he showed a very excited expression. ¡°I¡¯m honored, Mistress. I¡¯ll put my life on the line to pay for this kindness.¡±
Winter was pleased as she turned around and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go. You will slow us down, so this way will be faster.¡±
First, Ace didn¡¯t understand what she meant just now, but the very next moment, he was cocooned into a pinkish barrier, without having the ability to move, and then dragged behind Winter as she moved!
Ace felt ufortable at first, but then he got somewhat got used to this feeling. He had to admit Winter¡¯s speed with hundreds of times faster than him. It was like riding the wind. But it was a pity he couldn¡¯t enjoy the feeling, for obvious reasons.
A few hourster, Ace noticed they were heading toward the Mighty Moon Province and he knew this wasn¡¯t good at all.
¡®She wanted to escape the continent while the demons are still busy with those things she released. This is bad. I can¡¯t go off the continent like this¡¡¯
He questioned in a respectful tone, ¡°Umm¡ Mistress, are we going to leave the demon continent?¡±
Winter¡¯s ears perked slightly as she replied, ¡°What are you unwilling? It¡¯s because of your bonds? Heh, forget about it, in this world bonds are nothing but tools, as long as they are useful others will keep them and the moment they be rusty or useless, they won¡¯t hesitate to rece them. You can only rely on yourself in this world.¡± There was deep bitterness and hatred in her voice when she said that.
Ace knew this won¡¯t help like this. If he wanted to stop her, he had to tell her something which interest her and made her stay willingly.
Then he suddenly thought of something as his eyes brighten.
He said in a hesitant tone, ¡°No, Mistress, I had no such ties after I met you. But what I mean to say was there¡¯s a treasure in the de province and I never told anyone about it.¡±
Winter remained uninterested. ¡°I can give you more, so forget about it.¡±
Ace smiled deviously at this moment, he said with assurance, ¡°I knew it. How can some Demon Ancestor Treasure worthy of Mistress time?¡±
However, the moment those words left Feng¡¯s mouth, Winter¡¯s step came to an abrupt halt!
She used her Qi to throw Ace in front of her and asked with wide eyes, ¡°What did you say? Tell me everything?!¡±
Ace suddenly felt the soul brand glowing in full power and he knew she had taken the bait!
He quickly replied, ¡°When I was young, I had found a strange token and when I identally touched it with my blood, it suddenly got bonded with me and strange information appeared in my mind.¡±
Winter¡¯s eyes shimmered with intrigue as she asked, ¡°What kind of information?¡±
Feng replied, ¡°It was information about some Demon Ancestor Treasure, and I can sense its general position through that token. It had also raised my talent¡¡±
Before he could continue, Winter¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Where is that token? You don¡¯t have any storage ring?¡±
She has long noticed Feng didn¡¯t have any storage ring but was staying; he had this token.
This make her even more interested and eager to see if what Feng was saying was true or not.
Winter knew what kind of existence a demon ancestor was and she didn¡¯t doubt even for a second that Feng would¡¯ve never known unless he had an extremely high status in the royal zone, which she knew was impossible.
That was why she quickly became interested in this treasure when he said Demon Ancestor. She was greedy, to begin with, and she thought this could be another tremendous opportunity for her!
But this also make her lower her guard and she didn¡¯t use her martial sense to scan Ace¡¯s words because she had a blind trust in her soul branding technique, which was far more reliable than martial sense or soul sense.
But this will also give Ace the chance to con her as well!
He said, ¡°This token is merged with my martial space. It is all because of it I be so talented. But I can dly give it to mistress.¡±
With that, he ced his hand under his robe as Winter watched with expectancy.
¡°System, one house recruitment token, please.¡± He ordered.
======
[One Thief House Recruitment Token has been delivered in the host¡¯s living thief¡¯s space.]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 1,342,100]
======
Feng pull his hand out of his robe and this time it wasn¡¯t empty, but he had a dark token in his hand.
Winter clearly had no idea about the existence of the sky stealer or his thief symbol, so this gave Ace even more leverage over her, and used it to his own advantage.
Ace knew his only way out of this situation was if he could overpower Winter, which was impossible, so he chose the second-best option, which was to subdue her!
He suddenly felt d that Thomas didn¡¯t agree to join the Thief House or he would be out of house recruitment token already and this situation might really turn worse.
However, now she hadpletely bought Feng¡¯s story because she thought she was inplete control and Feng can never do anything to harm her.
This created this perfect situation!
Winter suddenly turned into her charming, pitied self. She took the coin from Ace¡¯s hand with a hint of ecstasy in her eyes.
She looked at the dark, exquisite token and used her Qi to probe it, but found nothing special. If she hadn¡¯t seen Feng ¡®pulling out of it from his body, she would never believe it was special.
She looked at Feng and asked, ¡°How should I use it?¡±
Chapter 468 An Unexpected Lose & Gain
¡°How should I use it?¡±
This question made Ace nearlyugh madly, but he was excellent at hiding his emotions.
Still, he didn¡¯t dare to be careless in front of this wily fox, or she might suspect something, and all his efforts would go to the drain, and he might have to run as well.
So, he kept his head lower in a respectful position as he replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know its correct use since I¡¯m still ipetent. But it all started after my blood touched it. Then it merged with my body.¡±
¡®What a waste of such treasure.¡¯ Winter felt disdain as she perked her finger and dropped her blood on the dark token.
However, nothing happened, which made Winter frown slightly as she looked at Feng with a hint of killing intent.
Ace felt chills. ¡®She wanted to kill me to get rid of the ownership? And here she was, just promised treasures and a bright future, but now? She¡¯s really ruthless!¡¯ he cussed.
Feng quickly said, ¡°Mistress, my connection with it vanished! I think you should try to prob it with your Qi now. Since the blood got absorbed, I think it¡¯s already yours.¡±
Winter finally moved her eyes from Feng to the token again, and she thought what he said made sense. So, she released her Qi!
The very next moment, the dark token finally activated, turning into a dark streak, and bolted toward her forehead!
Winter didn¡¯t feel anything amiss and tried to catch the dark streak, but she was astonished when itpletely ignored her physical interference and entered her forehead!
¡°This is really¡¡±
However, before she could celebrate, a strange voice sounded in her head, and a peculiar dark projection appeared before her eyes, which rmed her!
______
[Wee to Thief House]
¨C
[Rules & Regtions of Thief House]
0. Any vition of Thief House Rules & Regtions will result in Absolute Death!
1. The house members cannot betray, scheme, sabotage, or hold malicious intentions against Thief House or its members.
2. ¡
¡
¡
8. If any member fails the House Mission or House Leader (Ace White) Mission, the house points will be deducted, followed by a punishment based on the importance of that mission!
¡ª
[Continue?]
_______
¡°Thief house?¡± She mumbled as she quickly nced at the writing. It was in the beastnguage. Thenguage she was most familiar with.
Her expression eventually changed as she saw the name of the house leader and finally looked at Feng with a hint of trepidation.
Feng had a broad smile on his face at this moment, as he said, ¡°Hehe, as Goddess said, wee to thief house¡ Mistress!¡±
¡°Scoundrel, you tricked me!¡± She quickly saw through Feng¡¯s mockery and released her full might on Feng!
But she didn¡¯t take extreme action. Because she was still uncertain about what precisely happened, she noticed what Ace said. ¡®Goddess¡¯, so she was still cautious.
Now, she also noticed Feng didn¡¯t seem to be in her control!
¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t show killing intent? Well, it would save you some pain, I guess.¡± Feng grinned, which made Winter even more shocked because he was absolutely fine under her pressure!
But her shock turned to horror when Ace suddenly snapped his fingers, and she coughed up blood!
¡°Y-you¡ how did you break my soul brand?!¡± She quickly pulled distance between them as she looked at Ace with wariness.
She knew if Ace wanted to break free from her soul brand; he had to be at least in a quasiw awareness realm, but even then, he won¡¯t be able to do it in an instant.
Her heart raced as she looked at the demon who was smiling at her as if she had already fallen into the abyss!
At this moment, she thought of something, and her eyes widened slightly, ¡°It was you who alerted those demons!?¡±
She finally understood how those demons reached there so quickly and why they knew about theyout of the hidden space. It was only possible with the internal breach, and she guessed it was Feng all along since everything started after he appeared!
Feng chuckled, ¡°Took you long enough to figure it out. But it was indeed me, sorry for that, but as you can see I was in a parlous situation, put by you. So, I¡¯ve taken such action and look. I¡¯m free now!¡±
¡°Scoundrel! What have you done?!¡± Winter gnashed her teeth as she finally showed killing intent.
Ace sighed, ¡°And here we go again.¡±
However, the notification was different, and both of them heard it at the same time.
=====
[A Soul Remnant has been hiding within the House Member, Winter Fox¡¯s Knowledge Sea!]
[Starting the extinguishing process!]
=====
Winter was shocked as her soul suddenly shuddered, and her expression turned extremely sinister!
Ace looked at her with astonishment. It was the first time he hears this kind of notification.
Thereupon, he saw dark mist begin to rise from Winter¡¯s head, as it gave Ace a feeling of destion!
Winter felt as if her soul was being torn apart, and she started to quiver as the Dark Mist continued to rise.
She suddenly transformed into her beast form, but it wasn¡¯t the end, her size started to decrease, her three tails turned into two tails, and the beautiful luster on her fur also faded.
She now looked like the patriarch of the fox n and wasn¡¯t unique anymore, except for her pink color!
¡°NOOO!¡± she howled as everything was taken away from her.
Even Ace was somewhat baffled about this situation. He can now feel her aura was only at the peak of the diamond soul realm, not unnoticeable as before!N?v(el)B\\jnn
An ancient hoarse voice rang from that dark mist at this moment, ¡°Who dares to interrupt the resurrection of this matron?!¡±
Winter suddenly trembled when she heard this voice and couldn¡¯t help but look toward the dark mist with disbelief and fright!
She said in a weak voice, ¡°Y-you¡¯re not dead?!¡±
The same voice sounded again. ¡°Little fox, you dare to scheme against me after I gave you my n¡¯s entire inheritance?!¡±
Winter¡¯s expression was extremely pale as she understood something. ¡°You want to possess me?! That¡¯s why you gave me the inheritance and then pretended to be dead?¡±
¡°Little fox, since you dare to betray me¡ where is the Corpse King?! YOU¡¡±
However, before that mist could mor, it suddenly shuddered. ¡°NO, how could someone be capable of destroying my soul in this ce?!¡±
It suddenly jolted and tried to fly toward the horizon, but itpletely struck in its ce, and no matter how much it struggled, it won¡¯t get free.
If finally took notice of Ace in the distance and quickly said in a pleading tone, ¡°Fellow Cultivator, I was wrong. Please let me go, and I¡¯ll give you my treasures and won¡¯t seek revenge!¡±
Ace pretends as if he heard nothing. He could tell this thing wasn¡¯t something he could deal with, nor he can let it go or who knows what it might do.
Screams rang from the mist before it started to fade.
It left onest sinister sentence before itpletely faded away.
¡°Bastard, you dare to kill me. My brother will know¡¡±
Ace¡¯s heart palpitated. ¡®There¡¯s a brother as well?¡¯
Suddenly, when the smoke vanished, something fell on the ground beside Winter, who was nowpletely listless and filled with despair.
Ace ignored the fox and pick-pocketed the small thing, which fell after the smoke vanished.
It was a crystal bead; it was two inches in size and had ck patterns on it.
If it hasn¡¯t dropped from that back mist. He would¡¯ve thought it was just some random treasure.
He asked the system, ¡°System, what is this?¡±
=======
-Soul Treasure: Soul Resurrection Bead (??? Grade)
-Description: ???
=======
Ace¡¯s eyebrow raised in surprise, ¡®Another treasure not from the first heaven? Furthermore, with such a name. it can¡¯t be normal. That remnant soul was hiding in Winter¡¯s knowledge sea, probably because of this bead¡¯s help.¡¯
Since he didn¡¯t have use for it, he stowed it away.
¡®Then could that soul also be from higher heaven? It¡¯s possible as well, and there¡¯s still this brother. Only she can shine some light on this.¡¯ Ace looked at Winter, who almost lost her will to live.
He sighed as he moved in front of her and said, ¡°What, are you just going toy there and wait for your death now?¡±
She looked at Ace with myriad emotions and replied resentfully, ¡°Scoundrel, it¡¯s all happened because of you!¡±
Although he just saved her from a disaster, he also took away her entire fortune with it!
Ace smiled, ¡°Well, I¡¯m also the greatest thing that happened to you as well. Just look at what I gave you, and then you can judge it yourself.¡±
Some luster finally returned to her eyes, as she remembered how that mysterious voice effortlessly got rid of that mist like it was nothing, and she then thought about what Feng called that mysterious voice.
¡®Can it really be a god?!¡¯
Chapter 469 Third Thief House Member: Winter Fox
Winter finally get off the ground with a paleplexion, she wasn¡¯t majestic anymore, and she seemed to have lost the ability to transform into human form as well.
Ace looked at her and meaningfully smile, ¡°Just say or thought Thief House, and you¡¯ll know what I¡¯m talking about.¡±
Winter looked at Ace deeply and then finally thought of Thief House and then the same projection appeared, startling her for a moment and this time she continued forward.
_______
[Thief House]
[House Leader: Ace White]
[House Members: 3/3]
¡ª
[House Member: Winter Fox (Female)]
[Race: Magic Beast]
[Bloodline: Ice Illusion Fox (Grade-5 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
[Thief Genre: No Appointed (Only House Leader can appoint a Thief Genre)]
[Martial Cultivation: Diamond Qi Soul Realm (Advance Stage-8)]
[Talent: Low (Upgradeable)]
[House Point(s): 100]
¡ªN?v(el)B\\jnn
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 0]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
¡ª
[House Shop: Avable (Empty at this moment)]
_______
¡°What is the meaning of it?¡± She looked at Ace with a questionable gaze with a hint of astonishment.
Her entire information was on this projection, even the true name of her race and bloodline, which only the true magic beast knows. This suddenly ignites her hope!
Ace naturally saw everything as well, and he was also astonished when he saw Winter¡¯s status and thought, ¡®The Magic Beast race, huh? They are really hiding it well.¡¯
He said, ¡°First, I¡¯ll clear something for you. If you¡¯re thinking that it wasn¡¯t any different from your previous condition, then don¡¯t worry, we are not going to be possessed. Because this is a blessing from Thief Goddess which can help us be powerful and broke the limits heaven inflicted on us mortals¡¡±
He then gave his master speech, as he did with Noa and Freya.
It didn¡¯t take long before Winter was swayed as well and she finally understood why Ace said it was the biggest opportunity of her life, so big she can¡¯t evenprehend.
In the end, she epted the system and urged Ace to see her thief genre, which he did.
Ace was surprised when he did, because,
======
[Please Select a Thief Genre for the new member!]
[Thief Genre: A specific Thief Path for house members¡]
¡ª
-Compatible Thief Genre for House Member Winter Fox: 1 Avable
¨C
1. Faceless Thief
[Introduction: A Thief proficient in the art of transformation, disguise, charm, and illusion!]
¡ª
[Please select one option.]
[Note: Once a thief genre was selected, it can never be changed again.]
======
¡®Are you kidding me? There isn¡¯t anything to choose from!¡¯ Ace cussed in perplexion.
He looked at Winter, who was now calmly looking at him with eyes full of anticipation. He put on his best smile and said, ¡°Congrattion, you are now Faceless Thief.¡±
Winter¡¯s expression turned strange. ¡°What about other options?¡±
Ace lied with a disdainful smile, ¡°They weren¡¯t suitable for you¡¡±
However, Winter cut him short with narrowed eyes. ¡°Scoundrel, you¡¯re lying!¡±
Ace was annoyed with Winter¡¯s sharp instincts, but he knew she was a soul manifestation realm expert a few minutes ago, and now she was slightly wary of Ace as well since he conned her into joining the Thief House.
He smiled wryly and replied, ¡°The truth is there isn¡¯t any more option. But this faceless thief is not bad as well. See for yourself.¡±
He selected the option, and Winter got the notification soon as well.
She gave him a meaningful yet disdainful nce before she looked at her new status.
______
[Congrattion, you have been appointed as a Faceless Thief by House Leader.]
-Faceless Thief Introduction: Faceless Thief had limitless faces and it can transform into any life form under heaven without leaving any ws in disguise!
-Faceless Thief Role: In any theft, the faceless thief will be the first one to enter the enemy¡¯s ranks and infiltrate the theft location. The faceless thief can lead the enemy into circles while providing urate information and a safe path for the theft!
¡ª
[Your thief house status has been updated.]
¡ª
[House Member: Winter Fox (Female)]
[Race: Magic Beast]
[Bloodline: Ice Illusion Fox (Grade-5 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
¨C
[Thief Genre: Faceless Thief (Newbie)]
[House Rank: New Member (Upgradeable)]
[Complete One Thief House Mission for rank upgrade]
¨C
[Martial Cultivation: Diamond Qi Soul Realm (Advance Stage-8)]
[Talent: Low (Upgradeable)]
¨C
[House Point(s): 100]
¨C
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 0]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
¡ª
[House Shop: Faceless Thief]
_______
Ace¡¯s eyes shone with ecstasy when he saw theplete information on Faceless Thief and couldn¡¯t help but felt this was a good thing since Winter can now easily infiltrate others without being worried about any exposure.
Winter also seemed quite astonished and content with her Thief Genre and looked at Ace, ¡°I think it wasn¡¯t a bad thing to get tricked by you into this, or I would¡¯ve killed you the moment I find you weren¡¯t in my control.¡±
Ace sneered, ¡°I¡¯m your leader. Have some respect. If I can get control by a mere soul brand, what¡¯s the point of me being your leader?¡±
¡°Hmph, you¡¯re still a scoundrel!¡± Winter sorted, ¡°I¡¯m sure you also tricked the other two members into it, right? Because no sane person would believe it until they see it themselves or they have some brain damage.¡±
Ace coughed and quickly changed the topic, ¡°Ahem¡ it doesn¡¯t matter. But we should leave this ce and go back toward the de domain. We are in the middle of theft and you can also earn house points this way as well.¡±
Winter¡¯s eyes shimmered with excitement when HP was mentioned, but she growled, ¡°I need to rest for at least a year before I can recover from my damaged soul, even with my amodated treasures. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to move in this condition.
¡°Furthermore, those demons won¡¯t stop until they found me and can easily track me if someone from the royalties brings a treasure that can trace my beast aura. That¡¯s why I wanted to leave while they were busy, but¡¡± She looked meaningfully at Ace then.
Ace grinned, ¡°But I came into the picture and the whole thing turned upside down, right?¡±
¡°Hmph, it¡¯s irrelevant now. But I won¡¯t be able to use my Qi like this and I¡¯ll only drag you down if headed there with you. However, I won¡¯t go down this easy, not after acquiring this opportunity.¡± Her eyes turned icy. ¡°Leave me. I¡¯ll leave this continent somehow. You can find me in the endless sea after you¡¯re done with demons.¡±
¡°You are even ruthless to yourself.¡± Ace shook his head.
Winter scoffed, ¡°I already told you, in this world, you can only rely on yourself for survival.¡±
Ace gently retorted, ¡°But now you can rely on us, especially me. Truth be told, I never thought you would be thest person to join the Thief House, and I didn¡¯t have a good impression of you since you used your children as a sacrifice for your escape.¡±
His eyes turned sharp. ¡°But now that you did, let me make it clear. ording to the house rules, you cannot betray or sabotage anyone from the Thief House, or I can assure you I won¡¯t stop when the goddess killed you. I know you¡¯re smart to understand this much.¡±
Winter merely chuckled, ¡°I know, but you also can¡¯t get rid of me as well unless I do some mistake. And to be clear, those foxes weren¡¯t my actual children, but they were made with theke water like those ghost worms.
¡°But they were made with my bone marrow, so they were almost as good as real since they can reproduce. It¡¯s just a pity that powerful was only because of that altar and once the Qi in theke dries out, everything will crumble, eventually.¡±
Ace was shocked when he heard this. He never thought the orb altar was so powerful. But when he thought about how an orb can create life forms to protect itself, then it wasn¡¯t strange this ability can be exploited by the others as long as they know how to use the altar like Winter.
He said, ¡°I want to know what happened there, everything. It¡¯s very important to me. I won¡¯t take anything from you. I¡¯m not that shameless, but I need that information, especially the information rted to that altar!¡±
Winter deeply looked at Feng, who had a serious face, and she nodded, ¡°Fine. It¡¯s not like I can use the entire inheritance without the soul blood, anyway. It¡¯s more useful to you now.¡±
Ace smiled mysteriously. ¡°You still think I¡¯m a demon?¡±
Winter suddenly felt this question was pointing out to something, and her eyes widened with shock when Ace revealed his true appearance!
Winter sensed the masked demonic aurapletely faded away, and a mortal-like man appeared without any aura around him.
She eximed, ¡°H-Human!¡±
Ace nodded, ¡°This is the real me and it seemed you have some history with humans since you quickly recognized me and don¡¯t take me for a hunter like my other associates.¡±
Winter suddenly gritted her teeth. ¡°Scoundrel, you can¡¯t be human!¡±
Chapter 470 Thiefs House
Winter suddenly grits her teeth. ¡°Scoundrel, you can¡¯t be human!¡±
Ace was bluffed by that reaction and couldn¡¯t help but question, ¡°Why can¡¯t I be human?¡±
Winter seemed to be in great distress as she said, ¡°Humans and Magic Beast can¡¯t exist under the same sky!¡±
Ace was bbergasted, ¡°Umm¡ but we have to exist now since you¡¯ll die if you didn¡¯t want to exist with me.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn
Winter waspletely perplexed by this answer since she knew this and took a deep breath to calm down. ¡°F-fine. I¡¯ll make an exception for you. But the other humans deserved to die!¡±
Ace could tell Winter or Magic Beast Race might have some irreconcble feud like the Evil Witch Race and Demon. So, it was difficult to change her mindset, but he knew he had no right to speak for the entire human race and he didn¡¯t have deep ties with them as well.
He looked at her and coolly said, ¡°As long as it didn¡¯t infect us. You can hate anyone you want. I can also tell you hate your race as well. You won¡¯t be trapped in that rune unless someone traps you there, right?¡±
Winter finally calmed down, but her expression slightly changed as Ace saw through her, but she didn¡¯t answer, ¡°We don¡¯t have time to discuss the past. As I said, I can¡¯t be here any long nor did I have your ability to change the appearance or mask my aura despite being the Faceless Thief here. So, I¡¯ll tell you when we met next time. Just give me¡¡±
Before she could demand HP or a mission from Ace, he cut her short, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a ce where you¡¯ll be safe and no one can find you, even if they have grade-9 treasure at their disposal.¡±
Winter looked at him with suspicion. ¡°Where?¡±
Ace suddenly move his hand toward Winter¡¯s head and she didn¡¯t move, let him touch her face.
He said, ¡°Don¡¯t resist.¡±
Winter was about to ask ¡®why¡¯ when she suddenly felt a suction force. She wanted to struggle, but when she thought about what Ace said, she stopped. She knew he can¡¯t hurt her now.
The moment he sent Winter into the living thief¡¯s space,
An unexpected notification rang.
=======
[A Thief House Member has entered the Living Thief¡¯s Space]
[All Members¡¯ slots have been filled!]
¨C
[Thief¡¯s House has been unlocked!]
¡ª
-Continue?
======
Ace was shocked and quickly continue,
======
[Thief¡¯s House]
Description: Only Thief House Members can enter this private space for the thief house members and train their thief skills and cultivate!
-Current Capacity: 3
-Unlock Function(s): 1
1. Thief Cultivation Chambers
¡ª
[Thief¡¯s House Functions]
[Avable Functions: 3]
-Thief Training Rooms: Lock
Unlock Cost: 1,000,000 House Points
-Theft Stimtion Virtual Room: Lock
Unlock Cost: 10,000,000 House Points
-Time Multiplier: Lock
Requirement: Time eleration Function
Unlock Cost: 100,000,000 House Points
=======
Ace waspletely baffled since he didn¡¯t know his thief¡¯s space could be so magical and it could turn into a living and training ground for his house members.
¡°System, the house capacity is separate from the space¡¯s normal capacity?¡± He quickly.
¡±[Yes!]¡±
¡°Good!¡± Ace thrilled and then asked, ¡°Then can I also enter?¡±
¡±[No!]¡±
Ace¡¯s expression fell and swear, ¡°What the heck? Isn¡¯t this unfair? I¡¯m the freaking leader! Why I¡¯m the only one who can¡¯t enter?¡±
¡±[The Leader Resident Function is still unavable. Besides, no one can teach or train host in the path of Heaven¡¯s Stealer!]¡±
¡°It¡¯s still unfair, damn it!¡± Ace cursed, despite feeling a little bit better since there was still hope in the future.
But no further answer was given, which made him even delirious, but he knew it waspletely useless.
He sent his sense into the thief¡¯s space to see what has changed.
A few moments ago, Winter¡¯s full view changed when she appeared from bright snowy ins to endless dark space.
She couldn¡¯t help but look around and noticed she seemed to stand on a dark cloud, and then her eyes fell on a three-story dark house that looked incredibly mundane and creepy.
¡°Where did that scoundrel send me?¡± She wondered out loud.
Ace¡¯s astonished voice sounded, ¡°So, this was the ce above those dark clouds!¡±
¡°Where are you?!¡± Winter looked around in surprise, but Ace was nowhere to be seen.
¡°You can hear me?¡± Ace¡¯s uncertain voice rang again.
Ace noticed this house was above the dark cloudy ceiling of his thief¡¯s space and now it looked like a twoyer space and the thief¡¯s house waspletely separate.
He also spotted Winter and was thinking as his sense was still in the thief¡¯s space when Winter heard his voice.
He again tried tomunicate with her with thought, and he was surprised when he seeded. Furthermore, he guessed it was another function of the thief¡¯s space that he canmunicate with the others inside with his mind.
Feeling satisfied, he said, ¡°This is the special space I have ess to and I can send the house members here for them to cultivate and no one could tell you are here. The cultivate speed here will also be far faster than outside when you cultivate in your special techniques and skills in your shop.¡±
This revtion rmed Winter. This was just too absurd because she knew the treasures that can store living things in this world were extinct or lost, and no race had such a thing.
Even if they did, they would guard this secret with their lives because other races won¡¯t let them have it for themselves and might band together to snatch it.
Now, Ace was telling her he had ess to such a ce, how could she remain calm?
The doubts she had about Ace¡¯s exnation about the Thief Housepletely vanished at this moment.
She took a long breath and start testing.
She can¡¯t seem to make her Qi appear here, but when she tried to absorb it she was shocked when she sensed the Qi here was strange, like the gray Qi from thatke, but far more potent and effective!
Chapter 471 Faceless Thief
After sensing the benefits of this space, Winter eagerly asked Ace this time and didn¡¯t dare to ignore him anymore. ¡°I can cultivate here faster. But I need to recover first. Can it enter that house?¡±
Ace¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°Yes, you should take one room for yourself.¡±
She nodded and headed toward that dark house. The door was unlocked so she entered with great curiosity.
The interior was empty and despite the house exterior she could only see a fifty-squire meter space with three doors in the entire hall and there wasn¡¯t any trace of stairs that lead to the upper floors.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
She suddenly noticed a golden namete on the dark blue door, ¡°Faceless Thief: Winter Fox.¡±
¡®This should be my room.¡¯ She moved toward the closed door.
Winter also try to see the name tags on the other two doors which were clearly for the other two members but failed to see anything.
¡®Could it be they haven¡¯t entered here yet and I¡¯m the first?¡¯ She thought and opened the door of her cultivation chamber.
Ace on the outside could also clearly see the interior of the thief¡¯s house as long as he wished and he had also ess to the cultivation rooms inside.
He saw Winter had entered her room and he was astounded when he saw that room.
It was three hundred square meters in size, the same as his thief¡¯s space, andpletely empty. She could decorate it as she wished, there was more than enough space for her.
Winter was also quite satisfied with space, and suddenly a thought shed past her mind. She suddenly circted her Qi and this time it materialized and she attack the wall with full strength!
But to both Ace¡¯s and her surprise, her attack didn¡¯t leave any scratch or sound, as a matter of fact.
¡°Well, it seemed you can go wild here.¡± Ace¡¯s voice rang with a hint of envy.
He always wanted such a ce where he could practice his skills in peace but it was a pipe dream for now so he could only get envious of his house members.
Winter¡¯s eyes narrowed, ¡°You can see me here? Will you peep, Scoundrel?¡±
Ace¡¯s expression changed, and he defended himself, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m this kind of person? Besides, there isn¡¯t anything to peep on you since you¡¯re naked already.¡±
Winter¡¯s expression distorted when she heard it and angrily roar, ¡°You dare to molest me? You are a pervert as well! Perverted Scoundrel, humph!¡±
¡°I won¡¯t argue with you since we both know the truth. You can rest and recover, but you have to tell me about the information after you catch your breath.¡±
Acepletely ignore Winter¡¯s wary expression and stopped paying attention to that paranoid fox.
He looked around before he took out the map he had and after confirming the de domain position, he moved toward it while he took another demon¡¯s appearance since Feng was already gone!
Winter also settle down in her new room, and mumbled with an excited expression on her face,
¡°House Shop!¡±
_______
[House Shop: Faceless Thief]
-Treasures Section
-Knowledge Section
-Evolution & Pill Section
______
She opened the Knowledge Section first.
______
[Knowledge Section: Faceless Thief]
-Faceless Thief Secrets (1st Vol): Martial Cultivation Technique
-House Rank Required: Normal Member
Price: 100 House Points
¡ª
-Myriad Beast Body Transformation Technique
-Requirement: Magic Beast Physique & Faceless Thief Secrets
-House Rank Required: Normal Member
-Price: 5,000 House Points
¡ª
-Foxy Illusionary Charm: Martial Cultivation Art
-Requirement: Faceless Thief Secrets
-House Rank Required: Old Member
-Price: 5,000 House Points
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-One with World: Martial Cultivation Stealth Art
-Requirement: Faceless Thief Secrets
-House Rank Required: Normal Member
-Price: 1,500 House Points
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-Cold Steps: Martial Movement Skill
-Requirement: Faceless Thief Secrets
-House Rank Required: Normal Member
-Price: 250 House Points
¡ª
-Faceless Art (Vol 1): Disguise Art
-Requirement: Faceless Thief Secrets & Faceless Thief Mask
-House Rank Required: Excellent Member
-Price: 20,000 House Points
¡ª
[Note: Shop will update at ¡®Veteran Member¡¯ House Rank]
______
¡®So expensive.¡¯ She frowned as she looked through the techniques and skills; only the cultivation method was within her current price range.
Ace had already told her about the house ranks, so she wasn¡¯t surprised by them. But the house points were really a massive barrier.
Furthermore, her attention was greatly drawn by the Myriad Beast Body Transformation Technique.
¡®Can this technique help me get back my beast¡¯s transformation?¡¯ She was uncertain, but still very hopeful.
As a magic beast, she knew how difficult it was to achieve the beast¡¯s transformation without a royal bloodline.
After the system got rid of that hidden soul remnant, she also lost the ability to transform into her human form as her cultivation also plummeted.
But she knew it was just that soul remnant pulling the strings from the dark and making her soulpatible with it so it could possess her in the future. She was just too familiar with the process.
That was why she now felt grateful that she met Ace, or she would¡¯ve died in the future.
She opened the bloodline section next since it can grant her a powerful bloodline.
______
[Evolution & Pill Section: Faceless Thief]
[Ice Illusion Fox Evolution: Four Avable]
-Ice Illusion Fox Bloodline: Grade-6 Evolution
Price: 500,000 House Points
-Ice Illusion Fox Bloodline: Grade-7 Evolution
Price: 1,000,000 House Points
-Ice Illusion Fox Bloodline: Grade-8 Evolution
Price: 5,000,000 House Points
-Ice Illusion Fox Bloodline: Grade-9 Evolution
Price: 10,000,000 House Points
¡ª
-Beast Healing Pill: 10 Avable
Introduction: Grade-9 Pill, able to recover any injuries on the body & soul.
Requirement: Old Member
Price: 50,000 House Points (Per Pill)
¡ª
[Note: Shop will update at ¡®Veteran Member¡¯ House Rank]
______
Winter¡¯s eyes shone like the sun when she looked at the grade of bloodlines avable in her shop.
¡®Even the fabled, Legendary Grade-9 bloodline is here. If I can get that bloodline, won¡¯t I¡¯ll be far more powerful than Beast Ancestor?! At that time, I can kill those backstabbers with a breath!¡¯
She wiggled her tails in excitement as she daydreams about her bright future!
After suppressing her happiness, she opened thest section,
_____
[Treasure Section: Faceless Thief]
-Faceless Thief Mask: Grade-9 (Upgradeable)
House Rank Required: Excellent Member
Price: 250,000 House Points
¡ª
-Soul Shattering Gauntlets: Grade-6
House Rank Required: Old Member
Price: 25,000 House Point
¡ª
-Faceless Thief Robes: Grade-8
House Rank Required: Excellent Member
Faceless Thief Rank Require: Trainee Faceless Thief
Price: 150,000 House Points
¡ª
-Life Escape Coin: 3
House Rank Required: Normal Member
Price: 1,000 House Points
¡ª
[Note: Shop will update at ¡®Veteran Member¡¯ House Rank]
_____
Chapter 472 Returning to Blade Domain
Right when the system extracted and destroyed the remnant soul from Winter¡¯s knowledge see.
A ghastly voice rang which shake heaven and earth, ¡°NOOOOO¡ Who¡ who destroy my sister¡¯s soul?!¡±
The very next moment, a projection appeared within the dark space, but it only showed two blurs and a dark mist shrilling nothing else.
That voice rang again in rm and fear. ¡°I can¡¯t see the face of two killers?! Just who did she offend in that shithole?!
¡±But whoever destroyed her soul now has the Soul Resurrection Bead. I left behind in the hope of her resurrection. Even if this means war, I must take revenge!
¡±Hmph, so what, I can¡¯t deduce your location or see your face? I¡¯ll spread the news about the Soul Resurrection Bead. Let¡¯s see if those old ghosts will remain calm. I don¡¯t believe you two can hide from their divination as well!¡±
¡ª
On the demon continent,
Ace had no idea he had escaped a catastrophe.
It has been five weeks since he and Winter fled from the ruin, and now he was on the periphery of the de Domain.
Furthermore, it would appear no one had any idea about the collective attack of the demons on that corpse demon tribe ruin since everything was normal.
There wasn¡¯t any news about the result as well. Someone might suppress it or they might still struggle against those corpses Winter released, especially that corpse king.
Anyhow, this situation was in Ace¡¯s favor since all the bigwigs of demons and their close aides were still absent and if he yed well, he can easilyplete his mission and then fled the de domain.
Those soul manifestation realm demons wouldn¡¯t have seen iting!
Ace enter the outer de domain without any hitch and directly headed toward the inner domain. His destination was the lionheart shop, where Freya was waiting for him.
They had already made contact a few days ago. She was inquiring about if Ace had sessfully escaped or not, and she sounded d when she heard, he did.
After sessfully evading the checkpoints, Ace was in the inner de domain, but not as Feng anymore, which made him somewhat nostalgic.
Feng¡¯s identity was the first identity he used the longest and then discarded it properly.
He only smiled wryly and continue to move until he reached the lionheart shop and entered without alerting anyone.
Ace directly appeared on the top floor where he sensed Freya¡¯s presence and she was the only one in the room.
He knocked on the door, and her charming voice rang. ¡°It¡¯s open.¡±
Ace¡¯s eyes widened slightly but then he smiled and shook his head as he entered the room and saw Freya was in her icy demeanor sitting there while looking at him with a hint of irritation.
Freya shows a storage ring in her hand and said with narrow eyes, ¡°It¡¯s empty?¡±
However, Ace also held a ring between his finger and grinned, ¡°This one is not.¡±
Freya¡¯s eyes widen slightly and looked at her hand, and just as she thought her storage ring was gone.
¡°YOU!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
¡°What? Only you are allowed to steal my storage ring, but I¡¯m not?¡± Ace smirked and tosses the ring back.
¡°You won¡¯t receive any HP while stealing from me, nor can I. But you seemed to be more proficient in Thief¡¯s Charity. However, to be clear, I let you steal my empty storage ring.¡± Ace grinned as he sat in front of her.
Freya was unhappy, but she knew the skills given to her were made by this man, so how could he not be more proficient than her in them?
Ace smiled and asked, ¡°How have you been?¡±
Freya coolly replied, ¡°If we¡¯re talking about the change in the n you pull in thest minute and put the entire operation at risk, then I¡¯m not fine. Do you have any idea they captured almost all of my messenger pawns?¡±
Ace sighed, ¡°It was necessary, or trust me, I would¡¯ve been here right now.¡±
¡°I know. Those demon kings are still there and fighting something. Those mortal birds can¡¯t go within a five-mile radius of that area because of some barrier. But I have seen the heaven-shattering view from afar, and whatever they¡¯re fighting, it¡¯s not something we can imagine.¡± Freya looked at Ace for further exnation.
Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly, ¡°So, they¡¯re still fighting? It seemed it was the right decision to flee from there.¡±
¡°You were extremely lucky to have me or¡ heh.¡± Freya mocked.
¡°I¡¯m thankful for that as well. But I can still escape if push came to shove.¡± Ace shrugged with a smirk.
¡°Fine, don¡¯t admit.¡± Freya scoffed, ¡°But tell me who you con in joining the house this time?¡±
Ace¡¯s expression changed ever so slightly, as he replied, ¡°What do you mean, con? I have just shown a wanderer a correct path, nothing else.¡±
Freya¡¯s eyes were filled with disdain. ¡°Don¡¯t try to fool me. I know no one would be willing to join this thief path of yours unless they are as thievish as you. So, who it is? Is it stronger than me?¡±
Ace could sense the hostility in her voice, but he knew she was worried about the neer will surpass her.
He smiled, ¡°Give me your hand for a moment.¡± he held his hand toward her.
Freya coldly looked at him. ¡°Want to take advantage of me, huh?¡± But she still took his hand.
Feeling the soft hand, Ace was unmoved and pursed his lips. ¡°Why are you women always ndering me? Don¡¯t resist.¡±
Freya suddenly felt a powerful suction force, but she didn¡¯t resist, and the next moment her vision blurred and she was standing in a dark space that was filled with storage rings!
Ace¡¯s expression changed when he saw Freya didn¡¯t appear in the thief¡¯s house space but his living thief¡¯s space!
He quickly sent her out before she could move toward where Eva was, and Freya appeared outside again with a bewildered expression on her face!
Chapter 473 Mission Treasure Pagoda (1)
Freya looked at Ace with bewilderment, ¡°Where did you just send me?¡±
Ace coolly replied, ¡°I want to send you to the Thief¡¯s House which was created by the goddess for you guys, but it seemed only your main body can enter.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Freya¡¯s eyes opened wide, ¡°A space that can contain living beings especially made for us?!¡±
Ace nodded, ¡°Yes, the third member is there currently recovering and you can train in there far faster than outside.¡±
Freya took a deep breath to calm down, but the excitement in her eyes was apparent and difficult to hide.
Suddenly, she looked at Ace in astonishment, ¡°Only my main body was supposed to enter there, then howe my clone appeared in that ce? T-that was a space that can contain living things, and all those storage rings were yours, right? Now it made sense why your storage ring was empty!¡±
Ace smiled wryly, this woman was very hard to fool. He nodded in the end; he was already nning to let her main body remain in the thief¡¯s space after this thievery, but then Winter appeared and the Living Thief House unlocked.
¡°Yes, I also have my personal space where I can store living things, but not unlimited. As for you guys, you will also have your personal cultivation chambers.¡±
¡°Can we freely use it like yours, or do we need your permission to enter it?¡± She questioned.
Ace replied, ¡°Only I can send you there and take you out because I¡¯m the leader.¡±
¡°Humph, unfair.¡± She snorted, ¡°But this way you¡¯ll be able to take us wherever you go, right?¡±
¡°Yep, I can take you anywhere as long as you remain in that space.¡± Ace didn¡¯t hide.
¡°I want your position even more now. Just this storage space can cause storms in this world and you have control over two of them. How envious.¡± She sighed in frustration.
Ace didn¡¯t continue on that topic and said, ¡°Alright, enough of your sarcasm. Where¡¯s your main body?¡±
Freya also wanted to enter that space now, so she told, ¡°I¡¯m on the border between Mist and Spear province, the Misty Rain Forest.¡±
¡°You¡¯re hiding quite far. It seemed the meeting have to wait then.¡± Ace shook his head in some disappointment.
Freya also seemed frustrated. ¡°After we¡¯re done here, we are going to leave, right?¡±
Ace smiled, ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll head toward the mist domain and pick you up. You guys have to start cultivating in your new cultivation techniques.¡±
¡°Then I¡¯m relieved. But you have to take my clone with you as well. I have to recover my soul from it before I re-cultivate or I¡¯ll suffer bacsh and won¡¯t be able to create another soul clone.¡± She said grimly.
Ace knit his eyebrows, ¡°So, you won¡¯t be able to control the syndicate?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, Aliya can handle it. I can only make a soul clone in the soul realm so she can handle things in the meantime.¡± She didn¡¯t seem worried.
¡°As long as you promise not to touch my things in my space. I¡¯ll give you a ride.¡± Ace smiled meaningfully.
Although he can restrain her, he didn¡¯t want to use force on his house members so he asked nicely. She was just too curious for her own good and he can¡¯t let her get anywhere near Eva or she might disturb the process.
Freya merely chuckled, ¡°Fine.¡±
¡°Now, what¡¯s the situation with Mission Treasure Pagoda?¡± He asked with a serious tone.
Freya also be serious, and the treasure blueprint appeared in her hand, and sheid it on the table.
¡°I have found twenty-five openings in their security, but they were all on the first five floors. But an alchemist and his disciple were mysteriously assassinated over three months ago, which made the association furious and they tighten their defenses.
¡°That¡¯s why from the fourth floor I don¡¯t think we can sway anyone since we don¡¯t have enough allure to offer nor they are willing to take the risk since the association was still looking out for that mysterious assassin,¡± Freya told.
A cold glint shed past Ace¡¯s eyes, he said, ¡°First five floors are enough. I just need to know about their routines and who had the master key that controls the entire pagoda¡¯s defenses and locks.¡±
Freya looked at Ace and said, ¡°The Master Control is naturally in the hands of Life Grandmaster, who is at the peak of the tinum soul embryo realm.
¡°Although you can steal his storage ring, the question is he lived deep in the Life Demon Guild, and infiltrating that ce is even harder since all the knowledge of their technique and skills are held there. If you alerted them, I¡¯m afraid they¡¯ll do everything to protect the treasure pagoda.¡±
Truth be told, Freya was looking into the Life Demon Association all this time, and she was baffled by how Ace was going toplete this thievery since it was too hard.
Just their security measures were enough to leave the security in any demon castle in shame.
Ace suddenly smiled, ¡°What if the Life Grandmaster appeared outside the life demon guild?¡±
Freya¡¯s eyes narrowed, ¡°Even if by luck he appeared, the moment you took his storage ring they¡¯ll be alert and we still failed in the end.¡±
Ace shook his head with a thievish smile, ¡°You didn¡¯t think it, though, the moment I steal the storage ring of life grandmaster. Everyone will know I¡¯m going after their treasures and the moment I opened that ring, the others will panic!¡±
Freya¡¯s eyes suddenly widen, ¡°Since they know you have the master control in your hand, they¡¯ll collect every treasure in the pagoda and keep it on themselves or hide it somewhere where you won¡¯t be able to reach.
¡°They will also seek help, but right now all the soul manifestation experts are in the ruin and the soul manifestation of the association is in the Demon Tamer Province. It¡¯ll take at least two or three weeks for him to appear!¡±
Ace beamed, ¡°Yep, we have three weeks to figure out where those treasures are hidden or we can just take those treasures when they were transported out of the treasure pagoda before they could reach their destination!¡±
Chapter 474 Mission Treasure Pagoda (2)
¡°¡we have three weeks to figure out where those treasures are hidden or we can just take those treasures when they were transported out of the treasure pagoda before they could reach their destination.
¡°I think you could tell what¡¯s simpler, right?¡± Ace meaningfully looked at Freya.
Freya¡¯s eye lit up after she heard this, but she still has her concerns, ¡°But how do we know who had the storage ring with treasures and when they move it? They might not move it at all and, instead, take their chances to catch you.¡±
Ace smiled, ¡°Well, if they yed it this way, then we still have three weeks to infiltrate that ce and take everything. As long as I have the master key, I can take my time to steal from them.
¡°Besides, how many people do you think will remain on the same track when a colossal amount of wealth is on the line and they know about my reputation?
¡°Because after I manage to steal the storage ring of Life Grandmaster, they won¡¯t even trust each other, much less remain calm and take logical decisions. Moreover, they won¡¯t spread this news to the masses, or this will plummet their reputation and the credibility of the keepers.¡±
Freya couldn¡¯t help but admire Ace¡¯s devious n, ¡°All in all, they had everything to lose while you have nothing and that¡¯s their biggest weakness.¡±
Ace pretends to be shocked, ¡°Oh, did I just hear the All-Knowing Parrot praise someone else?¡±
Perplexed, Freya¡¯s eyes turned cold, ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t tter yourself. But the question still remains, how are you going to lure that old ghost out of his safe haven?¡±
At this moment, Ace smiled mysteriously, ¡°What if we steal his beloved disciple?¡±
¡ª
The Life Demon Guild, inside a herbs garden,
Noa in her prodigal alchemist disguise, Lana, was tending to the herbs. It was her daily routine which she strictly followed.
As for how she reached this point, it was because of Ace¡¯s n to help her increase her alchemy skills and also infiltrate the Life Demon Association¡¯s upper echelon.
But this wasn¡¯t as easy as it was seen, because Noa first had to find an identity who didn¡¯t possess any threat to their operation, and this identity had to be of no deep background ties.
She didn¡¯t have the ability to absorb the memories of others like Ace so she had to be even more careful.
In the end, she found this demoness face in a remote demon vige in the wildness and the real owner of this face was on her deathbed at that time so she also put her out of her misery.
Afterward, she just had to impress those alchemists with her talent in soul alchemy and she easilypleted it by drawing the attention of none other than the life grandmaster of this branch.
Now, she had ample resources at her disposal and most importantly, knowledge and guidance!
Even she was shocked by her talent in soul alchemy because she was already a Low-Grade-2 Alchemist and very close to entering the intermediate grade!
But this fact wasn¡¯t known by the others, not even the life grandmaster because it might put her in danger or some situation she didn¡¯t want in. The others only know she was a prodigy who reached 9-Star Alchemist Rank after joining the association.
She didn¡¯t have any deep ties with anyone nor did she feel any closeness to her teacher, she was only doing it for the mission, it was that simple.
¡®After this mission, I can start the body refinement technique and might be able to break into the soul river core realm as well.¡¯ She thought, ¡®But I still don¡¯t know when the theft would start. The leader didn¡¯t contact me after thatst assassination mission.
¡®They all became extremely careful after that incident, and I think the Old Man (Life Grandmaster) has developed some suspicion since it all happened the day I went out.
¡®But he¡¯s only suspicious since I have already signed the loyalty contract with that fake conciseness provided to me by the goddess, or my cover would¡¯ve blown up. However, the theft became more difficult.
¡®Then there are the two new additions in the house, I don¡¯t know in what circumstances Leader had recruited them. But I have to maintain my superiority as the first member or I¡¯ll let Leader down.¡¯
Noa grimaced when she thought about the two neers and felt slightly threatened by them.
Suddenly, a notification rang in her head,
_______
[New Chain Mission (2) has been added to Order China Missions!]
_______
Her eyes brighten as she quickly opened the mission panel.
_______
[Thief House Leader Mission]
¡ª
[Order Chain Mission: Mission Treasure Pagoda!]
[Order Chain-Mission (1)]
-Mission: Infiltration!
-Reward: 10,000 House Points
-Status: Complete
¡ª
[Order Chain-Mission (2)]
-Mission: Meeting!
-Description 1: Meet me in the Life Wine Pavilion in two days.
-Description 2: I¡¯ll be in private room 23.
-Description 3: No need to be low-key when youe!
-Reward: 100 House Points
-Time: 2 Days
- Punishment: None
¡ª n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
[Note: Order Chain Mission(s) can be given (By House Leader) at any moment or reachedpletion at any moment.]
______
Noa couldn¡¯t help but read the mission again and incertitude shone in her eyes, ¡®Why he didn¡¯t want me to be careful? Did he want me to be seen by others when I enter the Life Wine Pavilion?¡¯
She couldn¡¯t help but mull over it for a while, but in the end, she reached the same conclusion that Ace wanted her to be seen by the others. Because he won¡¯t put her in harm¡¯s way and it must be rted to the uing theft.
So, she decided to trust him and close the mission panel.
¡®Last time, I was being followed by someone when I left. It was probably the old man¡¯sckey. So, I won¡¯t need to worry about not being seen. But I still needed to inform him.¡¯
Noa¡¯s mood was lifted after receiving Ace¡¯s mission and she quickly headed toward the Life Grandmaster¡¯s Cultivation Chamber!
Chapter 475 Private Room: 23
[Aurthor NOTE: Hi everyone, it¡¯s Wahi, I hope everyone is doing great!
First of all, thanks to everyone for your support.
So, to show my appreciation, I¡¯m cing a bonus chapter system.
It will start at every weak when AllNovelFull resets the rankings.
With every 500 Powerstone, I¡¯ll release 1 Extra Chapter at the weekend! (:]
[Start Date: 16-10-2022]
_______________
Two dayster,
The Life Wine Pavilion was a beautiful building in the business district of the inner domain and it was the most famous and crowded ce in the inner domain because it offered the best beverages on the continent.
But the inner domain branch of the Life Wine Pavilion differed slightly from its normal branches.
Because in these branches only cultivators with river realm can enter and they had to pay ten low-grade 1 Qi stones for entry. Not even nobles can bypass this process, except for the association members, of course.
Anyhow, the business was booming in the night hours, as always.
Right at this moment, a beautiful demoness with an icy demeanor, wearing a ck dress, entered the building, drawing some of the young scions¡¯ attention.
However, she moved right toward the counter, where another beautiful hostess was dealing with some flirtatious scions.
¡°Hey, beautiful, want to join us for drinks?¡± A green, fat demon appeared with an arrogant and lewd expression as he looked at this cold demoness¡¯s curvaceous body.
There were three more demons who were following behind that fat demon with the same look in their eyes.
However, this demonesspletely ignored them and asked the hostess, ¡°Where¡¯s Private Room 23? Someone is waiting for me.¡±
The hostess looked at the demoness and then those demon scions, who had now ugly expressions on their faces as they were being ignored by this demoness.
¡°Please go to the west hallway. You¡¯ll find the private room 23.¡±
This demoness was naturally Noa in her Lana disguise, who was here to meet with Ace.
After getting the confirmation, Noa moved toward the west hallway.
¡°Boss, it seemed that chick didn¡¯t know who you are.¡± One of the demons behind the fat demon whispered.
The Fatty¡¯s lustful eyes were cold as he looked at that demoness¡¯s ample back. He knew he can¡¯t cause trouble here or he¡¯ll be banned after they broke his limbs. So, he didn¡¯t cause a scene just now.
He said, ¡°Keep a watch on room 23. The moment that bitch leave, I¡¯ll let her know who she ignored!¡±
The other three smiled evilly, as they quickly agreed.
Right in the corner of the entrance lobby,
A demon was standing watching everything with his purple eye filled with coldness. The strange thing was that no one seemed to notice him as if he was invisible.
¡®Young Miss is meeting someone? But she didn¡¯t have any friends, nor did someone contact her in the guild. Thest time she went to the treasure pagoda, two people were found dead.
¡®Master only thought it was a coincidence, but now she¡¯s meeting someone while she said she was going for a stroll. Something is going on. I have to see who she¡¯s meeting and what they¡¯re talking about.¡¯
He crept toward the west hallway as well and approached the private room 23.
On the other hand,
Just as Noa opens the door with some anticipation to see Ace, to her surprise, the room was empty. Only an empty bottle and a winess were on the table.
However, a gentle voice entered her ear at this moment. ¡°Don¡¯t resist.¡±
The next moment, she felt a firm grip on her shoulder.
Her first reaction was to fight, but she suddenly recognized this voice, so she didn¡¯t resist anymore.
Suddenly a suction force appeared, before her vicious blurred and she appeared in front of a creepy dark house and dark space.
Noa was greatly rmed at first, but then Ace¡¯s voice sounded again.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s a special space granted to you by the goddess. Just enter the Thief House and you¡¯ll find your room. I¡¯ll be back in a moment.¡±
Noa was startled when she heard. Her eyes shimmered with tion as she moved toward the thief¡¯s house with great anticipation.
Outside,
Ace was naturally in his stealth when he took Noa in his thief¡¯s space and he also senses the presence of a soul realm demon moving in slowly.
His lips curled, and he moved toward the exit. He didn¡¯t alert anyone while leaving!
¡®First step isplete.¡¯ Ace smiled contently as he headed back.
The soul realm demon didn¡¯t notice Ace passing by and he continues to get close to the close private room number 23.
However, his expression suddenly changed when he used his martial sense to probe the room and found there was no one!
He quickly appeared in front of the room and kicked open the door, and his expression turned ashen when he saw it was empty!
¡°H-how?!¡± He was as if his soul had left him.
He clearly knew if Lana disappeared right under his nose, the Life Grandmaster would skin him alive.
So, he started to panic and quickly headed toward the registration counter and question the hostess, ¡°Who was in Private Room 23?!¡±
They naturally kept a register for private rooms.
The hostess was shocked when she felt the murderous aura of this dark brown demon. She was frightened and looked around for help. She wasn¡¯t supposed to disclose this kind of information to anyone except the association¡¯s bigwigs.
¡°Just give me that!¡± He waved his hand and took the register. He had more important things to worry about than showing his identity.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
He quickly found Private Room Number 23 and see today¡¯s entry.
¡¯Private Room Number 23¡ä
¡¯Booked by Evil de Demon n¡¯s Eliezer Evil de.''
¡°Evil de n, you¡¯re courting death!¡± He threw the register back and quickly left.
But one thing which he didn¡¯t seem to understand was why they did it!
Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t have time to mull over it.
He was going toward the life demon guild to inform his master first, even though he wanted to head to the Evil de Estate first, but he knew the evil de demon n wasn¡¯t easy to push around by someone like him.
Only the Life Grandmaster can overpower them and demand something.
Even the de Demon King won¡¯t interfere as long as the Life Grandmaster moves personally!
Chapter 476 Luring the Life Grandmaster
¡°What did you say?!¡±
The Life Grandmaster Gatlin¡¯s fossil-like face was filled with fury and instigation as he looked at the kneeling demon with thick, killing intent.
This demon was the same protector who followed Noa an hour ago when she suddenly vanished into thin air.
Gatlin¡¯s reaction was only natural after he heard the ridiculous exnation of the event that transpired in the Life Wine Pavilion. He knew the capability of this demon, so he was even more aghast when he thought about how his cherished disciple has vanished without a trace.
The demon replied with shame, ¡°I¡¯ve failed my duty as young miss protector. I¡¯m ready to receive any punishment. But I think there¡¯s some kind of conspiracy going on against our association, and we need to be careful.¡±
Gatlin inhales to calm himself down. Hepletely agreed with his servant about the conspiracy, especially after the mysterious assassinations.
He had been secretly searching for the assassin and even doubt Lana for a while, but he quickly brushed it off since it was impossible because of the loyalty contract, nor did she have any reason to betray him. Furthermore, he treated her like his daughter.
However, now, another incident happened, and it was again connected to Lana. This made him even more perplexed, and he didn¡¯t know if she was involved or not anymore.
But after he heard she was there to meet someone, he had his own theory on this now.
¡°She¡¯s a good girl. I think someone is threatening her with this. Her background is clean, and she only showed her alchemy talent after she encountered a fortuitous opportunity when she was traveling here.
¡°As for the Evil de n, they¡¯re likely framed, but I want to see myself. But if they¡¯re involved!¡± His eyes shimmered with murderous intent. ¡°There¡¯s no demon king here to protect them right now, humph. We¡¯re going to the Evil de Demon Estate!¡±
¡ª
Ace was sitting between a tree crown at this moment. He was wearing his hood and waspletely invincible to the eye because of his stealth.
But his attention was on the thief¡¯s house.
Noa had already entered her room, which was the same as Winter¡¯s.
Winter seemed to have no clue that another house member has been entered the thief¡¯s house, as she was still in a hibernation-like state after she ate a pill. But Ace could feel she was recovering at an extremely fast pace with the thief¡¯s house space.
Noa was also quite happy about the room space and she had long found out that her cultivation technique had a special reason with this ce and for some reason, she felt extremely safe and cozy here from the bottom of her heart.
¡°So, how¡¯s the room? Do you like it?¡± Ace¡¯s voice sounded.
Noa was startled for a moment before she looks around, but Ace wasn¡¯t there.
¡°I can only talk like a ghost here, but can¡¯t enter because of some annoying restriction.¡± Ace¡¯s perplexed voice sounded again.
¡°Oh, did the goddess restrict you?¡± She couldn¡¯t help but questioned after she understood what Ace mean.
¡°Yeah, that damn goddess just won¡¯t let me live in peace.¡± He snorted.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Noa couldn¡¯t help but covered her mouth. ¡°I think you shouldn¡¯t talk like that, or she might punish you more.¡± There was a hint of a smile on her lips.
Ace coolly replies, ¡°I have other punishment to worry about. Anyhow, how were you in that association? Will you miss your master?¡±
Noa¡¯s expression turnedpletely cold as she replies, ¡°That ce is filled with pesky fellows who scheme all day and run after wealth. Only some of them are serious about cultivating and truly focused on alchemy.
¡°As for my teacher, although he¡¯s one of thetter and nice to me. But he wasn¡¯t qualified to be my teacher anymore. I had learned his technique and skills in the first month and then I have to pretend all the way and hid my true skills, which was quite irksome.¡±
Ace couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly. ¡®She is quite cold, despite getting so much from her teacher. Sigh, she¡¯s really a coldhearted assassin.¡¯
Noa didn¡¯t seem to be interested in that topic as she asked, ¡°Is that room with the Faceless Thief Winter namete of a new member?¡±
¡°Yes, she¡¯s the third one and currently recovering from soul injuries. You¡¯ll meet her soon.¡± Ace told truthfully.
He knew of all the house members, Noa was the most reliable one, nor did she question him all the time, so he didn¡¯t hide things from her.
That witch and fox were probably cut out from the same cloth, so he kept them in the dark unless it was necessary.
Noa¡¯s eyes shimmered coldly. ¡°What about the second one?¡±
Ace¡¯s ambiguous voice sounded, ¡°Heh, you¡¯ll be surprised since you know her.¡±
¡®She¡¯s also a woman!¡¯ Noa¡¯s eyes turn colder. ¡°Hmph, could it be one of your maids?¡±
Ace felt the unhappiness from her words, ¡®It seemed she didn¡¯t like Flora and Dolly.¡¯
He replies, ¡°Regretfully, no. Do you remember the first chain mission I have given you?¡±
Noa thought a moment before her eyes widen slightly, ¡°All-Knowing Parrot?!¡±
¡°Yes. She¡¯s quite a piece of work.¡± Ace smirked.
¡®Piece of work? Is she that beautiful?¡¯ Shepletely took Ace¡¯s phrase the other way.
¡°I can¡¯t wait to meet her. She once made me fail my mission. I have to test her capabilities!¡± Her eyes shone with cold intent.
Ace felt something was amiss, but he knew these three women had their personalities, so he just let the nature take its course and could only hope they get along.
¡°Why did you take me with you?¡± Noa changed the topic. She was quite curious about this move of Ace.
Ace replied, ¡°It¡¯s rted to my n of emptying the treasure pagoda. I¡¯m going to steal your teacher¡¯s storage ring.¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes widen slightly, ¡°But he¡¯s extremely powerful. Especially his soul sense. I heard he¡¯s very close to bing a manifestation realm.¡±
Although she didn¡¯t feel any belonging to her teacher, she still respects his strength!
Ace¡¯s nonchnt voice sounded again before he cut off his connection.
¡°Well, it¡¯s already toote!¡±
Chapter 477 WHO?!
When Ace was talking with Noa,
A reverberating voice sounded,
¡°Old Ghost, Melvin,e out for this old man!¡±
Ace was startled for a moment before his lips curled. He left a sentence for Noa andpletely focus on the pce-like estate two hundred meters away from his current position.
Yes, he was hiding and waiting for Gatlin a few hundred meters away from the evil de estate.
Because he knew after he found out about the name that was registered in the life wine pavilion, he would definitelye even if he felt something was amiss.
Furthermore, he wanted to cause trouble for the Evil de n because they never stop looking for an opportunity to capture Feng, even after de Demon King gave his protection.
Before, he nned to lure them into the ruin site with other de ns and then told Mist Demon King about Santos¡¯s death. He would pin the me on the Evil de n and she definitely wouldn¡¯t have let them live.
He had also nned to alert de Demon King afterward so they could sh with each other.
With this, Feng would¡¯ve vanished, and the me would then fall on the four-de ns and Mist Demon King for his disappearance.
This was his first strategy to get rid of Feng¡¯s identity while also teaching four-de demon ns a memorable lesson.
This was Freya and his previous n.
However, everything fell apart when Winter appeared and he had to change his strategy. Which also renders his ns for the four-de demon ns useless.
Now that he had another chance, he again chose to cause trouble for the Evil de Demon n, since they were the ones who enved Flora and Dolly.
He just simply had to use an evil demon face he had saved in the huntingpetition to register a private room in the name of Eliezer Evil de and Gatlin would cause the trouble in his stead while he also took his chance to steal his storage ring!
After Gatlin¡¯s reverberating voice, the entire Evil de Demon Estate fell into turmoil.
Because everyone knows Melvin was the name of the old patriarch who was also the father of the current patriarch of the evil de demon n!
Although they don¡¯t know who was being so impudent but could tell it wasn¡¯t some random tom, dick, and harry.
Everyone knew in the de domain the de demon tribe were the rulers and there weren¡¯t many who would go against them in their territory.
Soon, a middle-aged evil de demon appeared, followed by a bunch of old demons.
When they saw the appearance of the fossil-like demon standing at their door with a furious expression on his face, the anger in their eyes turned into shock and trepidation.
They all knew about the features of the life grandmaster and their patriarch had some deals with him in the past as well. So, they quickly guess Gatlin¡¯s identity.
The middle-aged demon couldn¡¯t help but bow slightly and said, ¡°Life Grandmaster, I¡¯m Ridge, the current patriarch of the evil de demon n. Pleasee in. I¡¯ll inform my father of your esteem arrival.¡±
Ridge could tell Gatlin was furious, but he was confused about why he was angry at them. He suddenly thought if someone had offended any alchemist, but he then brushed this notion, since Gatlin won¡¯t be free enough to seek justice for some random association member.
Gatlin¡¯s expression remains the same as he said, ¡°Is Eliezer Evil de your son?¡±
Ridge¡¯s heart palpitates when he heard his eldest son¡¯s name. He nodded, ¡°Yes. What¡¯s the matter Grandmaster, Eliezer is an obedient child, but if he does anything wrong, I¡¯ll personally punish him.¡±
¡°Where is he right now?¡± Gatlin¡¯s eye narrowed.
Ridge looked at an elder and asked coldly, ¡°Where¡¯s Eliezer?¡±
The elder didn¡¯t dare to hide anything and said, ¡°Young Lord is still recovering in his chamber. As Patriarch already knows, Young Lord returned wounded a week ago after his second phase missionpletion. He was in recovery since.¡±
An uncertain glint shed past Gatlin¡¯s eyes, he could tell this person wasn¡¯t lying and from Ridge¡¯s expression, it bes even more apparent.
He still told to rify things, ¡°My disciple has disappeared, probably kidnapped from the life wine pavilion and ording to the entry register, Eliezer has booked the same room, from where my disciple disappeared.
¡°I have already checked with them. Even soul search the registrar and an evil de demon was there this morning. So, what is going on?¡±
Now, Ridge¡¯s expression turned ugly because he can¡¯t say Gatlin was lying or the person who told him, since the name soul search rifies everything. He knew this old ghost won¡¯t appear here without any solid evidence.
¡°If some junior is involved in this, then I¡¯ll hand him personally to Grandmaster.¡± He vowed. He knew this was the only way out of this situation.
But he secretly prays that only a single person was involved in this or they won¡¯t be able to handle Gatlin if he decided to attack.
Although the public didn¡¯t know, they all know the de Demon King wasn¡¯t here to protect them at the moment.
¡°Summon everyone in the training field. Let¡¯s see which degenerate wanted to harm his kin.¡± He sternly ordered the elders behind.
Gatlin didn¡¯t say anything. He was satisfied with Ridge¡¯s attitude on this and he didn¡¯t make things difficult for him if this kidnapping has nothing to do with the evil de demon n.
However, at this exact moment, Gatlin¡¯s expression suddenly changed as he instantly looked toward his right hand and he just happened to see his storage ring disappearing from his ring finger!
¡±WHO?!¡±
He couldn¡¯t help but screamed and turned around as he looked at the woods two hundred meters away and he bolted in that direction like his life was depending on it!
Everyone was gobsmacked by this sudden turn of events and looked at the other demon, who was standing behind Gatlin, all this time for some exnation.
But he looked just as bewildered as them.
¡°There¡¯s a thief there, quickly circle around!¡± Gatlin¡¯s aghast roar rang again!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 478 A Big Score!
Ace never expected Gatlin to notice the soul thread right when the pick-pocket was active and he also witnessed his storage ring disappearing.
This also gave him some idea of where the thief was and now he wasing right toward him.
But Ace didn¡¯t panic, he was already ready for this scenario, he knew stealing from a tinum soul embryo realm expert wouldn¡¯t be easy. Although he seeded in the end, he was still noticed way before than expected.
¡®It was the right decision to set up decoys.¡¯ Ace¡¯s lips curled.
The very next moment,
¡®Boom¡ boom¡ boon¡¡¯
sting sounds rang from different directions in the evil de demon territory and everyone was shocked by this.
Gatlin, who was moving in just a little bit further away from Ace¡¯s real position, was also startled. Although, he was using his soul sense. But he still couldn¡¯t find the thief or his trace.
He started to panic, ¡®This is a distraction, just where is he!¡¯ His eyes turned bloodshot, but he didn¡¯t change his direction.
Suddenly, the brown fiery Qi gushed out from his body and it suddenly turned into a fifty-member long fiery de, and without any hesitation, he sent it toward the same direction where he thought the thief was hiding or escaping.
Ace¡¯s heart throbbed when he sensed that fiery soul aura, even from this direction he felt like he was in the middle of an active volcano.
¡®This old man!¡¯ He cussed and finally ran at full speed. He knew fooling this old fossil wasn¡¯t easy and he can¡¯t remain in one ce under that approaching fiery de.
He was still confident in his heartless stealth so he ran without fear.
Gatlin¡¯s expression turned ashen when his vision and soul sense were destructed by his own skill.
¡°Use some formation?! What are you guys doing? If that bastard escape, I¡¯ll make sure you won¡¯t be able to redeem yourself!¡± He howled.
Ridge and other elders of the evil de n were already in dismay and shocked about what just happened and if they didn¡¯t do anything it will be over for them.
Ridge took out an array medium and activate it at full power, thereafter, the grounds of the entire evil de state lit in runes and a barrier started to rose from the distance.
Gatlin continue to use his fiery de as he charred the entire small forest down, but the thief was nowhere to be found.
¡®Could it be it was in a different direction?!¡¯ He was literally going mad with wrath.
Suddenly, his eyes fell on his right palm.
He saw a dark owl imprint cover his entire palm and there were some words, ¡°I¡¯m here!¡±
¡°Cough¡¡± He coughed up some blood the moment he saw the mocking words and the symbol.
He then roared at the top of his lungs, ¡°SKY STEALER, IT IS NOT OVER BETWEEN US!¡±
Everyone heard that deafening roar, filled with fury and abhorrence.
¡ª
Ace who has already outside the barrier range couldn¡¯t help but sneered when he heard Gatlin¡¯s voice, ¡®Heh, rejoice old man I didn¡¯t imprint the symbol on your face because you take care of Noa or you won¡¯t be able to show your face in public.¡¯
With that, Ace didn¡¯t stop and headed toward the lionheart shop.
While moving, he couldn¡¯t help but check what he stole from Gatlin, that guy was one of the heads of the continent¡¯s wealthiest organization so he couldn¡¯t be poor!
======
[Stolen Treasure(s) List]
[Space Treasure(s)]
-High-Grade-4 Storage Space Treasures: 21
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¨C
[Alchemy Treasure(s)]
-Low-Grade-1 Soul Pills: 322,215
-Intermediate-Grade-1 Soul Pills: 232,128
-High-Grade-1 Soul Pills: 189,903
-Low-Grade-2 Soul Pills: 400,084
-Intermediate-Grade-2 Soul Pills: 322,490
-High-Grade-2 Soul Pills: 125,784
-Low-Grade-3 Soul Pills: 143,984
-Intermediate-Grade-3 Soul Pills: 98,245
-High-Grade-3 Soul Pills: 43,322
-Low-Grade-4 Soul Pills: 56,232n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Intermediate-Grade-4 Soul Pills: 17,783
-High-Grade-4 Soul Pills: 8,320
-Low-Grade-5 Soul Pills: 893
-Medicinal Alcohol (Soul): 1.2 Million Barrels Grade-3 (Low, Intermediate, High)
-Medicinal Alcohol (Soul): 342,000 Barrels Grade-4 (Low, Intermediate, High)
-Medicinal Alcohol (Soul): 5,540 Barrels Grade-5 (Low)
-Raw Materials (Martial): 1.8 Billion (From 6-Star to 9-Star)
-Raw Materials (Marital): 562 Million (From Low-Grade-1 to High-Grade-1)
-Raw Materials (Marital): 122 Million (From Low-Grade-2 to High-Grade-2)
-Raw Materials (Marital): 43 Million (From Low-Grade-3 to High-Grade-3)
-Raw Materials (Marital): 19 Million (From Low-Grade-4 to High-Grade-4)
-Raw Materials (Marital): 3.9 Million (From Low-Grade-5 to Intermediate-Grade-5)
-Raw Materials (Soul): 983 Million (From 6-Star to 9-Star)
-Raw Materials (Soul): 323 Million (From Low-Grade-1 to High-Grade-1)
-Raw Materials (Soul): 108 Million (From Low-Grade-2 to High-Grade-2)
-Raw Materials (Soul): 39 Million (From Low-Grade-3 to High-Grade-3)
-Raw Materials (Soul): 9.8 Million (From Low-Grade-4 to High-Grade-4)
-Raw Materials (Soul): 897,932 (From Low-Grade-5 to Intermediate-Grade-5)
¡ª
[Smith Crafting Treasures]
-Low-Grade-3 Weapons: 23,228
-Low-Grade-3 Weapons (Soul): 32
-Intermediate-Grade-3 Weapons: 2,094
-Intermediate-Grade-3 Weapons (Soul): 4
-High-Grade-3 Weapons: 297
-High-Grade-3 Weapons (Soul): 1
-Low-Grade-4 Weapons: 13
-Intermediate-Grade-4 Weapons: 4
-High-Grade-4 Weapons: 2
-Low-Grade-5 Weapons (Soul): 1
¡
¡
¡
-Raw Materials: 55,739 (From Low-Grade-5 to Intermediate-Grade-5)
¡
¡
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-Raw Materials (Soul): 32,906 (From Low-Grade-5 to Intermediate-Grade-5)
¨C
[Rune Crafting Treasure(s)]
¡
¡
¡
¡
-Low-Grade-5 Array(s): 3
-Intermediate-Grade-5 Array(s): 1
¡
¡
¡
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-Low-Grade-5 Formation(s): 2
-Intermediate-Grade-5 Formation(s): 1
-High-Grade-5 Formation(s): 1
-Low-Grade-1 Talisman(s): 43,904
-Intermediate-Grade-1 Talisman(s): 32,621
-High-Grade-1 Talisman(s): 19,442
-Low-Grade-2 Talisman(s): 5,490
-Intermediate-Grade-2 Talisman(s): 1,265
-High-Grade-2 Talisman(s): 500
-Low-Grade-3 Talisman(s): 128
-Intermediate-Grade-3 Talisman(s): 101
-High-Grade-3 Talisman(s): 59
-Low-Grade-4 Talisman(s): 10
¡
¡
¡
¡
-Low-Grade-5 ve Contract: 38
-Intermediate-Grade-5 ve Contract: 5
-High-Grade-5 ve Contract: 2
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¡
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-Raw Materials: 23,739 (From Low-Grade-5 to Intermediate-Grade-5)
¨C
[Qi Stones]
-Low-Grade-1: 221 Billion
-Middle-Grade-1: 200 Billion
-High-Grade-1: 178 Billion
-Peak Grade-1: 145 Billion
-Low-Grade-2: 92 Billion
-Middle-Grade-2: 34 Billion
-High-Grade-2: 26 Billion
-Peak-Grade-2: 10 Billion
-Low-Grade-3: 983 Million
-Middle-Grade-3: 342 Million
-High-Grade-3: 129 Million
-Peak-Grade-3: 58 Million
-Low-Grade-4: 1.3 Million
¨C
[Knowledge Section]
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-Lower-Grade Sky Rank Technique(s): 23
-Lower-Grade Sky Rank Skill(s): 87
-Upper-Grade Sky Rank Technique(s): 1
-Upper-Grade Sky Rank Skill(s): 1
¨C
[Thieveries Rank(s)]
-High-level Thievery
¨C
[Reward(s)]
-Total Rewards: 30 Million Thief Points
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 31,342,100]
======
Chapter 479 Next Move & Approaching Danger!
Ace almost shed with a building when he saw the massive number of soul-type pills and materials in the space ring and then 30 Million TP at once. He hit a jackpot this time.
¡®Could it be that the guy had the real treasury of the treasure pagoda?!¡¯
But he clearly didn¡¯t hear any notification.
It could only mean it was the wealth of a Life Grandmaster, and now he didn¡¯t dare to imagine just how affluent will the treasury inside the treasure pagoda be!
Ace has the system removed the Soul Mark from the storage ring and saw the contents of the ring.
This ring has a startling 5,000 Cubic Meter storage space, and it was filled with herbs and pills!
Ace had to admit that this Old Man didn¡¯t have any low-grade things in this storage ring, and he only carried soul pills. It was likely because he was a soul alchemist and the martial pills were useless for him.
As for those martial materials, they were probably auxiliary materials for his soul pills. There were many pill receipts and other knowledge, all rted to alchemy and some soul skills.
But he was looking for those array and formation mediums that were grade four and higher, and he finally found them in another separate storage ring.
He moved them to his thief¡¯s space where he could easily ess them and stored Gatlin¡¯s storage ring away. He didn¡¯t need soul points at this moment, and there might be some material his house members could use. He won¡¯t use them wantonly like before.
Suddenly, Freya¡¯smunication cube started to blink. He stopped in a remote ce and activated the receiver.
¡°Just tell me you¡¯re not inside that barrier?¡± Her subtle voice sounded.
Ace smiled. ¡°What do you think?¡±
¡°Since you have time to spout gibberish. Then it means you¡¯re safe.¡± She scoffed.
Ace suddenly turns back and looked at the dome-like barrier a mile away. His eyes suddenly glow with a thievish glint.
¡°I think we underestimated one thing and overestimated one thing.¡± Ace suddenly said.
¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± She questioned.
¡°We underestimated the wealth of a Life Grandmaster and how he might react after it got stolen, and we overestimated their reactions!
¡°Tell me if I stole your storage ring, which is filled with the kind of wealth that can rival an entire demon king tribe, what will you think?¡±
Freya¡¯s sharp voice sounded, ¡°I¡¯ll naturally hunt you down, no matter the cost.¡±
Ace smiled deviously, ¡°Exactly! You see, that old demon would never think I would go after anything else after I have his entire wealth. Because it¡¯s just too risky, and it will also expose me to danger.
¡°Any normal person¡¯s first reaction would be to flee the de domain after stealing the entire wealth of the Life Grandmaster of Life Demon Association as soon as possible. Because they would set for life after this score, who would want to risk it?¡±
Freya¡¯s astonishing voice rang, ¡°But you are not normal, and your actual object is the demon treasure pagoda! They would never think you were stealing the storage ring for those master controls, and even if they did, it would be toote¡¡±
Ace grinned evilly, ¡°Hehe, so, while they are still going mad and trying to find my whereabouts. I¡¯ll be where they least expected me to be!¡±
¡°Are you sure? There are still five peak diamond soul realm demons in the pagoda, and three of them are the soul embryo realm. The moment you alert even one of them, they won¡¯t hesitate to ask for help.¡± There was a hint of concern in her voice.
¡°Don¡¯t forget, I have the primary control of the entire building right now. That Old Demon probably didn¡¯t notice his soul mark being removed with all that rush. I can easily restrain them.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
¡°You should also leave the inner domain and meet me in the shadow mountain range east entrance. This ce is going to be an enormous mess. We¡¯re going to finish here tonight.¡± Ace sternly ordered.
¡°Fine. But don¡¯t get captured or I won¡¯te to save your ass.¡± She sneered before cutting off the connection.
Ace smiled faintly before he took ast nce at the barrier and blurred from the sight!
¡ª
A few hundred miles away from the de domain was the White Hill ins,
A few figures were blurring toward the de domain at an extremely fast speed. They were in an extremely sorry state as theirplexions were pale, and small cuts were all over their robes.
Furthermore, one of them had lost his arm, and his gray robes were filled with blood.
¡°This is bad. We have to inform the royal zone, or this will turn into a huge cmity for our race!¡± One of the demons in the mask spoke with an aghast feminine voice.
Dark Hole, who had his armed rip-off nod with a pale face, ¡°Even Council Minster was forced to use his innate ability to buy us time to seek reinforcement. The others also fled in different directions. We still didn¡¯t know the number of causalities!¡±
Earth Demon King look extremely gloomy as he spoke hoarsely, ¡°I never thought those corpses would be so hard to deal with. They continued to grow as they killed our people and ate their flesh!
¡°I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re facing this crisis because of our own ancestry. That beast wasn¡¯t joking when it said we don¡¯t know what we¡¯re getting into.¡±
Grim Jade sighed helplessly, ¡°Look at the bright side. We can still deal with this. It¡¯s far better than being toote. That beast was up to no good, and we just spoiled its ne in the midst of it.
¡°Now we have to hurry and report this situation and then have to hold that corpse-army until the help arrives. We also have to reinforce the border of the moon province!¡±
¡°We still don¡¯t know how much longer can Council Minister hold back that thing. It absorbed that gray entity and turned the whole situation around. We have little time.¡± Killer gravely stated. He was carrying the masked demon, who seemed to be unconscious, on his shoulder.
They were all wounded, but they knew the situation didn¡¯t allow them to rest because it might shake the foundation of their entire race if it was toote!
Chapter 480 Start of Second Chain Mission!
The Life Treasure Pagoda stood tall and majestic in multiple lights, even though it was nighttime.
The Life Treasure Pagoda never closed for business, and there were always customers to entertain.
However, an invisible hooded figure just entered the building without altering anyone, nor did he trigger any array or the formation.
There was a golden formation te in this hooded person¡¯s hand, which was shimmering with dark runes.
If Gatlin was here, he would instantly recognize this formation te because it was the Core Formation Control of the entire Life Treasure Pagoda and anyone can control every formation and array with this Core Formation te!
That was why the Ghost Monitor Formation and rm formation didn¡¯t active just now because Ace was using the core formation te, and those formations and arrays won¡¯t trigger, as long as he had his core formation te active.
Now, even those overseers of this life treasure pagoda can¡¯t detect Ace, as long as it was a question of skills and prowess.
Ace was already going toward the Floor Manager¡¯s secret meeting room. He knew where the treasuries were from the treasure blueprint, and he was also using the live fate map to detect enemies.
He was most familiar with the first floor since he had already been there and it was the deceased floor master who wanted to trick him into handing over the Nether Paradise Bird¡¯s egg, which he thought was the Nether me Alloy.
Then, Ace had Noa assassinate him and his disciple so they won¡¯t spread this news. This move also created some waves in the association, and they madly searched for the killer, but to no avail.
Anyhow, now there was naturally a new floor master.
He instantly detects two white fate points in the private meeting room while they¡¯re two more hidden rooms, on the west and east, empty. Ace¡¯s target was the hidden room on the east side!
Ace easily opened the lock, but he didn¡¯t enter because those two fate points were close.
¡®I have to create a distraction,¡¯ Ace thought before he did something crazy.
He pushed the door using powerful force, and it shed with the wall, revealing the inside.
There was a young demon with blue skin and a middle-aged demon with yellow skin, discussing something when they were startled by the sudden door opening and yelped in surprise!
¡°Who dares to barge in?!¡± The middle-aged demon¡¯s face shone with fury.
However, to their surprise, there was no one standing there, and some of the guests and alchemists were now looking in their direction with confused looks on their faces.
¡°Master, it seemed the door opened on its own.¡± The young demon frowned.
¡°I shouldn¡¯t be possible. Let me see.¡± The middle-aged demon know it was close to impossible for this door to open on its own.
Although it was just a random lock, it was a nine-star lock, and this was the rank of any random lock in this entire building!
So, the chances of it malfunctioning were once in a million and even if it remained open somehow, it shouldn¡¯t be open like that. There wasn¡¯t any strong wind inside the building.
That was why he didn¡¯t believe it so quickly and stood up from his ce to check what happened. The young demon naturally followed behind.
However, they both fail to notice the moment they moved toward the opened door. The east wall suddenly turned into a door, and before anyone could notice, the secret door opened and closed before it turned back to its wall appearance.
If that middle-aged demon saw this scene, he would panic and rush toward the wall right now because it was a secret passage door that led toward the first-floor treasury!
It wasn¡¯t supposed to be opened like this because the lock key on him and only the life grandmaster can unlock any hidden passage or treasury with no floor manager¡¯s key.
Not even the Life Masters have such a privilege. If they want to enter the treasuries, they have to contact the floor manager and seek permission from the Life Grandmaster.
Now, no one knows yet that the storage ring of the life grandmaster has been stolen, and they were still searching the evil de demon estate for him.
That¡¯s why Ace hit the iron while it was hot because no one know he was there, so it was the perfect opportunity for him to clean this ce. By the time anyone noticed, it would be toote!
Ace entered a dimly lit hallway, and when he was at the wall at the end of this hallway, his life curled and moved toward it. He activated the core formation again and opened the first floor¡¯s treasury!
Suddenly, a clicking sound rang in the hallway before a gap appeared between the wall.
¡®This might be the most dangerous and the easier thievery that I have done. With this formation, I don¡¯t need to worry about anything and can open anything even if my skill is not high enough.¡¯ Ace grinned as he pushed the wall and entered a 20 X 20 space.
Ace instantly noticed rows of storage rings neatly arranged on shelves.
¡®They probably didn¡¯t haverge enough space to put their goods in opened, and this is the more convenient way for them and me as well.¡¯
Ace didn¡¯t wait and started to take the storage rings into his own thief¡¯s space. There were names on each shelf, like pills, herbs, Qi stones, and their ranks.
He knew the first five floors only had alchemy treasures and the first floor only had herbs and pills from rank 1-star to 9-star. So, if anything that interests him here was the Qi stones and soul pills from 6-star and 9-star.
Ace clean the entire room in two minutes!
Unexpectedly, the system¡¯s voice sounded at this moment.
======
[First Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 500,000 TP]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 31,842,100]
======
Ace was momentarily startled before he closed the notification panel. He knew these were only low-level goods, so these thief points were expected.
¡®Now, how should I leave this ce without alerting those two? I can¡¯t do the same with the hidden passage door. That old demon won¡¯t be foolish enough to ignore this,¡¯ Ace mused while. he reached the end of the exit.
He activated the fate mapping and was started when he saw the outside room was empty. There was a soundproof array here, so he couldn¡¯t hear anything.
ted, he quickly opened the door and exited the passage.
But when he appeared outside, he heard amotion outside and looked there.
¡°Life Grandmaster has been robbed by the Sky Stealer! He¡¯s summoning the floor managers and the entire staff to look for him. Only the five protectors are ordered to stay here! Please inform the others and close the business or we all be punished!¡± A demon in alchemist clothes was moring.
The crowds were shocked, and so does the floor manager.
Sky Stealer was like the enigma of thievery in the eight provinces and whenever he was mentioned, no matter if it was poor or rich, they all feared if he would appear and take their wealth.
Now, the same thief appeared again, and this time it appeared in the supposedly most secure ce on the entire continent. How could the crowd remain calm?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The first-floor manager¡¯s expression was hideous. ¡°Are you sure?!¡±
He waspletely gobsmacked by this news because the Life Grandmaster wasn¡¯t someone that anyone could steal from. That thief had to infiltrate deep into the life alchemy guild first before reaching where Life Grandmaster lives.
Furthermore, even if they summon them, they would never reveal this to the public since it will defame their reputation!
That was why it was so hard to believe!
The demon¡¯s face was filled with panic as he nodded. ¡°Yes! The Grandmaster¡¯s disciple was kidnapped by the evil de demon n, and he went there personally to investigate, and that¡¯s when it all happened.
¡°The thief is now trapped there, but it¡¯s extremely cunning, and they didn¡¯t have the manpower. That¡¯s why the Grandmaster summons everyone to help and get rid of the wicked thief!¡±
¡°What? Something like happened?¡±
¡°So, that furtive thief first kidnapped Grandmaster¡¯s disciple to lure him out? How bold of him!¡±
¡°We are also ready to help! We can¡¯t let this criminal roam around the continent and destroy peace. Brothers and sisters, let¡¯s find this evildoer and help the Grandmaster!¡±
The customers here weren¡¯t typical demons, and now that they got the chance to get on the Life Grandmaster¡¯s good side, how could they let it go so easily?
Furthermore, there was a massive bounty on Sky Stealer¡¯s head. Whoever can capture him will be set for life!
The first Floor Manager hesitates to decide since this order shoulde from the Life Masters, not some random alchemist.
However, an aged voice sounded in the entire treasure pagoda at this moment,
¡°Bring him to me!¡±
Chapter 481 Misleading Everyone
[AN (Wahi): This is 1st Bonus Chapter of the first 500 Powerstons released with the (22-10-2022) release.]
[2nd Bonus Chapter of 1000 Powerstones will be released with tomorrow¡¯s (23-20-2022) release.]
[3rd Bonus Chapter at 1500]
___________________
Ace witnessed everything from a corner and couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly, ¡®That woman! I told her to leave but she clearly had some other ideas. Although that demon tells the truth, they won¡¯t believe him so easily and leave this ce.
¡®Now they¡¯ll probably soul search him to find if he¡¯s telling the truth or not. I just hope she didn¡¯t leave such a loophole, or my mission will be cumbersome.¡¯
In the end, Ace still continue and followed the first-floor manager¡¯s group toward the second floor.
The customers didn¡¯t leave nor get back to whatever they were doing, instead; they waited and see if this was true or not. Some impatient ones quickly left toward the evil de n estate to confirm with their own eyes.
This also gave Ace some pressure because if they startled Gatlin, he might sense something amiss and directly head here.
Although Freya¡¯s n was good, it also gave Ace a feeling of urgency.
On the second floor, the interior was the same as the first floor, or slightlyvish.
Ace noticed an old alchemist was waiting for the first-floor manager with a gloomy expression.
¡®Well, they¡¯re distracted at least.¡¯ Ace¡¯s lips curled as he sneakily dodged that group and headed toward the treasury.
The Second-Floor Manager gravely looked at the First Floor Manager and the spooked demon and said, ¡°Go back, I¡¯ll take him to the first protector.¡±
The First-Floor Manager seemed reluctant since he also wanted to know if this was true or not, but it seemed he had to wait like everyone else. So, he nodded and handed over the demon to the Second-Floor Manager, and headed back.
While the Second Floor Manager take the spooked demon toward the third floor where the first protector lived, Ace was already inside the hidden corridor and sessfully opened the second treasury.
The treasury was the same as the first floor¡¯s and it was all filled with storage rings.
Ace took them with no pause.
The system¡¯s voice sounded again after he empty the entire treasury.
======
[2nd Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 1,000,000 TP]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 32,842,100]
======N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace took a sneak peek in those storage rings he had just theft.
¡®They¡¯re all Grade-1? Which means on the third, fourth, and fifth floor, they¡¯re probably treasuries for Grade-2, Grade-3, and Grade-4?¡¯ He thought while he left the treasury space.
There wasn¡¯t anyone outside as well, so this one also goes smoothly and he headed toward the third floor.
However, he noticed, when he reached the third floor, that it was without any customers and there was a massive counter in the center and some alchemists were standing behind that counter.
Although the interior was different, he hadpletely remembered the treasure blueprint, so he knows the hidden meeting room was behind that counter.
However, before he could spring into action, that door opened and the Second Floor Manager exited with a middle-aged demon who had a dignified aura and sharp silver eyes.
The demon who caused themotion was nowhere to be seen. He was probably dead after a soul search or wasn¡¯t sane anymore.
Nevertheless, from the grave expression on both demons¡¯ faces, it was apparent that they weren¡¯t happy.
¡®Don¡¯t tell me she really left such a loophole?¡¯ Ace grimaced.
However, to his surprise, that middle-aged demon took out an array te, activated it, and spoke. His voice rang in every part of the treasure pagoda.
¡°Every association member heeds mymand. The evildoer Sky Stealer tried to steal from our life grandmaster but failed. Now, he¡¯s entrapped in the evil de demon estate, head there and help in the search for that viin!
¡°Any volunteer will be rewarded if they help the association this time in getting rid of this menace from ournd!¡±
This announcement caused a tremendousmotion and everyone headed toward the evil demon de estate in a hurry to get their hands on the thief and im the reward from the royal council and life demon association.
In contrast, Ace waspletely baffled by this announcement. They hadpletely hidden the fact that Gatlin was robbed of his storage ring by him.
But on second thought, he felt Freya probably used that demon to observe the barrier from a distance and then sent it here to cause distraction. Which she seeded in.
The demon looked at the Second Floor Manager and gravely said, ¡°Lead your floor staff and third-floor staff there as well. I¡¯m going to the Guild. That demon didn¡¯t go there first, which means they had no idea what happened. We need the Life Masters and all the help we can get to find that thief!¡±
The Second Floor Manager nodded and quickly left with the other demons on the second floor.
The demon with the array used it again, but this time it wasn¡¯t connected with the whole tower.
¡±Is it true?¡±
Four different voices of demons sounded in unison, with a hint of anxiety and bewilderment.
¡°Yes, I used soul search and he experienced some of the events that happened as well as he heard Grandmaster¡¯s outrageous voice.¡± His expression went clouded at this moment. ¡°The situation is graver, and we had to find that thief no matter what, or the association might hang us all to protect its reputation!¡±
¡°It¡¯s that grave?!¡± a woman¡¯s voice sounded.
¡°I¡¯m afraid, yes. Seal the pagoda. I¡¯m going to the guild to alert the Life Masters. This is going to be a very long night. Sigh¡¡±
With that, he cut the connection and headed toward the life demon guild, which was a few hundred meters away from the treasure pagoda.
Ace was ted with this development and silently wait in a corner. He waited for everyone to leave before he could start his theft spree.
A few momentster, he saw alchemists, rune crafters, and crafter smiths hurrying toward the first floor.
This processsted for over fifteen minutes before he felt the formation on the treasure pagoda got active, and the entire pagoda went dark as all kinds of formations and arrays went active.
However, Ace had the core formation with him, so those arrays and formations didn¡¯t affect him.
¡®Since the first protector left, there are only four protectors left. They should be on floors 5, 10, 15, and 20. Which means I should first clean all the floors before focusing on the floors with protectors.¡¯ A thievish light shone in Ace¡¯s eyes as he quickly sprang into action.
He first headed toward the third floor¡¯s treasury.
Soon,
======
[3rd Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 5,000,000 TP]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 37,842,100]
======
Simrly.
======
[4th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 7,000,000 TP]
¡ª
[6th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 250,000 TP]
¡ª
[7th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 1,000,000 TP]
¡ª
[8th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 2,500,000 TP]
¡ª
[9th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 5,000,000 TP]
¡ª
[11th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 7500,000 TP]
¡ª
[12th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 1,500,000 TP]
¡ª
[13th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 3,000,000 TP]
¡ª
[14th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 7,000,000 TP]
¡ª
[16th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 1,000,000 TP]
¡ª
[17th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 2,500,000 TP]
¡ª
[18th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 4,000,000 TP]
¡ª
[19th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 8,500,000 TP]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 81,842,100]
======
Ace¡¯s eyes glow like the sun when he saw the total amount of TP he collected from sixteen floors and he was even tempted to give up thest four floors with four protectors. He had already got so much.
¡°Hey system, my mission isplete, right? Since I theft almost all the treasures, can I go now?¡±
But he still had to ask the system. Without its confirmation, he didn¡¯t dare to leave.
¡±[Without Twenty Treasuries, the mission will count as a fail!]¡±
¡°Why are so greedy?!¡± Ace cuss, but the system didn¡¯t bother to reply like always.
With a dark expression, he thought, ¡®Well, now that ites to it, I have no other choice. I don¡¯t know how much time I have left before they figured it out!¡¯
Ace directly headed toward the 20th floor, since he was now closest to it.
This floor was the most guarded because all the high-grade talismans and runic treasures were here. Furthermore, the protector of this floor was a rune crafter as well, and he was on the same level as a Life Master!
Chapter 482 Just a Harmless Robbery
After the announcement of the fifth protector, all the protectors were alert and no longer in a cultivation state or in their secret chambers. They were all alert for the worst.
That¡¯s why it was now more difficult for Ace to enter the treasury room on their watch. The moment he opened any door, they will instantly know something was amiss!
Furthermore, the more time he spends in the treasure pagoda, the more he¡¯ll put himself at risk because it had already been over half an hour since that protector left and the other demons with him.
The evil demon estate wasn¡¯t far from here, so he had to finish his business before they came running here.
Ace slowly opened the locked door of the twentieth floor, while his eyes were affixed on a white fate point a few meters away and that demon in the main hall.
However, no matter how careful Ace was, the floor protector noticed the big door of the floor was open!
¡°Who?!¡± An aged, hoarse voice rang with a hint of astonishment, ¡®How can the locked door open by itself? Is the array malfunctioning?¡¯
But he knew his thought was ridiculous because the Life Treasure Pagoda was well maintained and the arrays and formations were checked every week because they can¡¯t afford any mishap in this ce.
¡°Sigh¡ and here I thought I could have done this thing with no hurdles.¡± A helpless, bitter voice sounded before the door waspletely opened, and a hooded figure walk nonchntly inside.
Ace saw the old demon with dark orange skin and bullhorns sitting cross-legged not far away from the hidden room.
However, the moment Ace walked in, the old demon¡¯s golden eyeballs went wide with shock and trepidation.
He abruptly stood up and roared, ¡°How did you get in here?!¡± He suddenly felt something and his expression went wide from aghast when he saw the dark hooded figure on his floor.
¡°Well, yes, this is a robbery, and I need you to step aside. I still have other¡¡± Before Ace could ask ¡®nicely¡¯.
¡°Presumptuous Trespasser, don¡¯t even think about leaving this ce!¡¯ The old demon roared as he released his entire aura and took out a formation te.
However, to his dismay, the formation te in his won¡¯t activate the moment he pours Qi into it, and suddenly his eyesnd on the shimmering formation te in that hooded figure¡¯s hand.
His expression turned ashen as his voice stammered, ¡°Y-y¡ you¡¯re that Sky Stealer?!¡± He instantly understood what was going on. They were all misled by this thief!
Ace chuckled with a hint of mockery, ¡°So, you finally figured it out, but sadly, you won¡¯t get any prize. So, now wait here patiently while I do my business. There¡¯s no need to get hurt. This is just a harmless robbery.¡±
Just as his voice trailed off, the First Protector¡¯s heart lurched, and thereafter the entire floor suddenly lit in the gray light before it engulfed the First Protector without giving him a chance to struggle!
¡°Y-you can¡¯t do this! There¡¯s still¡ time, back off and the Life Demon Association won¡¯t persuade this matter! But if you go through with it, you won¡¯t have any ce on his continent anymore!¡± First Protector¡¯s face was twisted with fury and anxiety.
He knew this formation was made to block and restrain any soul realm cultivator like him, and now he was just a sitting duck. But he was more worried about what was going to happen next.
Even if Ace won¡¯t do anything to him, the association won¡¯t let this matter slip by and might make an example out of him or even use him and other demons involved in this blunder as a scapegoat to protect their reputation!
That¡¯s why he started to use threats that, as a matter of fact, were true.
However, Ace merely smiled coldly. He wasn¡¯t afraid of anyone in eight provinces right now, since no one was here. As long as was out of here, no one could find him.
¡°Just stay put. It won¡¯t take long, I promised.¡± Ace guaranteed as if he was going the guy a favor.
He walked past him while the First Protector struggle furiously to break the restriction. But he knew the best how futile his efforts were.
¡±NOOO¡ bastardeback¡eback!¡± He roared amok, but Ace was already long gone toward the treasury.
A few momentster, Ace¡¯s footsteps sounded again. He had a content smile on his face as he nced at the notification.
=====
[20th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 10,000,000 TP]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 91,842,100]
======
However, on contract with Ace¡¯s content smile, the First Protector lookedpletely aghast and listless now, as if he was already dead.
Ace console, ¡°Why are you gloomy? You just have to run. It¡¯s so simple. Anyway, farewell. It was nice robbing you.¡± He sneered.
The First Protector howled as he watched Ace leave, ¡±I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN¡ COUGH!¡± He spat blood the next moment.
The same scene yed on the fifteenth floor soon after,
¡°Just a harmless robbery. No need to get physical.¡±
¡±NOOOO!¡± The second protector howled like a dead dog.
Thereupon,
=====
[15th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 9,000,000 TP]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 100,842,100]
======
Thereupon, on the tenth floor,
¡°It¡¯s a harmless¡¡±
¡±Evildoer, I cursed you to die to horrible death! I¡¯ll kill you, I¡¯ll kill you¡¡± the demoness kept cursing with bloodshot eyes as Acepletely ignored her.
Soon,
=====
[10th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 8,500,000 TP]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 109,342,100]
======
Thest floor master wasn¡¯t any new either, as he could only roar hysterically while restrained like a caged beast as Ace do his thing.
It didn¡¯t take long before,
=====
[5th Floor of the Target has been theft sessfully!]
[Total Rewards: 9,500,000 TP]
¡ª
[Thief Point(s): 118,842,100]
======
However, with thisst notification rang the missionpletion notification as well, which Ace was eagerly waiting for all this time.
But he didn¡¯t have the time to check the rewards, since this wasn¡¯t the time or ce. He quickly left toward the exit while those protectors were still restrained on their respective floors.
However, the moment he left the treasure pagoda in stealth, he heard the passing demons abruptly stop and hollered as they pointed toward the treasure pagoda as if they have seen a ghost.
Feeling something wasn¡¯t right, Ace couldn¡¯t help but look at the building as well, and his eyes widened with tremendous surprise.
There was a huge vertical dark owl symbol on the entire treasure pagoda as it glowed in those lights and with his name, there were two mocking words, ¡®I¡¯m Here!¡¯
¡°System, after this stunt, I¡¯m afraid the entire Life Demon Association will turn every rock to search for me.¡±
Ace couldn¡¯t help butin, but the thrill in his eyes couldn¡¯t be clearer as he looked at this imposing thief symbol and name on the life demon treasure pagoda!
But he knew now he needed to flee this ce even faster since the entire de domain will soon know about this.
Without hesitation, he ran toward the exit. There wasn¡¯t anything here for him anymore.
¡ª
While Ace was escaping, the news about the infamous thief symbol being printed on the life demon treasure pagoda soon reached the ears of big powers in the inner domain market.
One had to know the treasure pagoda was the tallest and most imposing building, except for the demon castle in the inner domain. So, the news traveled even faster.
However, thest ce to find out about this colossal matter was going to be the Evil de, because they were still searching madly for the thief while the barrier was still active.
Gatlin burned down every probable location but still didn¡¯t find any trace of Ace, which made him almost faint from anger, but he didn¡¯t let them deactivate the barrier unless he was absolutely sure that the thief wasn¡¯t there.
After all, his entire wealth was on the line!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Over half an hourter after Ace stole Gatlin¡¯s storage ring.
An enormous group of demons suddenly emerged outside the barrier, and most of them were wearing different professional robes of the Life demon association.
Three old demons with grave expressions were leading this group. They were none other than two Life Masters and Fifth Protector who informed them twenty minutes ago.
Now, they were here to help and bring quite a force with them. Some of them were the customers who were present when that demon was there to ¡®seek help¡¯.
¡°Evil de Demon n, open this barrier and let us in!¡± The Ruin Life Master used his Qi to make his voice hundreds of times louder.
Gatlin, who was still busy searching, was startled when he heard the familiar voice. ¡®Why are they here? Howe the news gets out?!¡¯
Chapter 483 A Hitch on the Road!
[AN (Wahi): This is the 2nd Bonus Chapter of the 1000 Powerstons, released with the (23-10-2022) release.]
[3rd Bonus Chapter at 1500]
___________________
¡®Why are they here? Howe the news gets out?!¡¯
Restless, Gatlin quickly headed there, and when he saw the vast crowd outside the barrier and most of them were from the association.
Ridge also appeared with another wizened demon, this was the former patriarch of the Evil de Demon n and also Ridge¡¯s father, Melvin!
Melvin appeared soon after Ace stole Gatlin¡¯s storage and he had no choice but to help in any way he could because this thievery happened in their territory.
Although now everyone knew it was that thief who kidnapped Grandmaster¡¯s disciple to lure him here so he could steal his storage ring, the problem was a person in their n was also involved!
Since Gatlin saw his face himself, he would naturally not let the Evil de Demon n off the hook if the thief managed to escape.
However, this situation rubbed both Melvin and Ridge in a bad way because no one had time to ask for reinforcement, nor did they want anyone to know about this since their reputation was on the line.
But somehow, these association members appeared, and they seemed to know what transpired here a couple of minutes ago. This was strange.
¡°Why are you here?!¡± Gatlin looked at three old demons with a stiff face, but he didn¡¯t let them open the barrier.
Alchemy Life Master, Samuel replied with a grave expression, ¡°We received your order, Grandmaster, and we¡¯re here to capture the Evildoer Thief!¡±
Everyone shouted in agreement to show their high spirit.
¡°We won¡¯t let him get away this time!¡±
¡°You can leave everything to us, Grandmaster. I have already alerted the domain knights as well. They¡¯ll be here anytime now.¡±
Ridge and Melvin¡¯s expressions fell as they looked at Gatlin.
But to their surprise, Gatlin¡¯s eyes were opened wide with trepidation.
Gatlin stammered, ¡°I¡ I-I didn¡¯t give any order?! Who told you to leave your posts?!¡±
The Fifth Protector answered in befuddlement, ¡°But I soul search myself and seen the scene¡¡± however, his expression changed at this moment.
Although it was, he heard Gatlin¡¯s voice and saw the scene of this barrier manifesting. But he had never seen Gatlin asking for reinforcement because that demon simply couldn¡¯t take the soul search and his head explode.
But this much was enough to make Fifth Protector believed what that demon said was true and hurried over here.
However, now¡
Gatlin¡¯s expression turned instantly aghast as if his heart was in his mouth.
He roared, ¡°Open this barrier quickly. The Treasure Pagoda is in danger. Open it, damn it!¡±
The bystanders almost forget to breathe when they heard Gatlin!
The Runic Life Master, Kenny¡¯s expression, also turned, and he turned around as he howled, ¡°Quickly go back, quickly!¡±
¡°Follow me!¡± Melvin¡¯s expression turned ashen as well. He quickly opened the barrier and also head toward the treasure pagoda at full speed!
¡®If this really was all nned, then the entire de domain will suffer the wrath of Life Demon Association, and the King might even hand my n to them to dodge this responsibility. I can¡¯t let this happen, no matter what!¡¯
In ten minutes, those soul realm cultivators were now in the market area.
But soon everyone wobbled all of a sudden as their expression turned pale as they looked at the majestic pagoda in the distance.
There was a huge owl imprint on it as if they carved it recently and words that sends almost everything into despair. They knew what they were afraid of had happened!
¡±Hahahahahah¡¡± Gatlin suddenlyughs hysterically, which was eerily to the bystanders.
¡±All over¡ everything is¡ over¡¡±
These were thest words before Gatlin vomited a huge amount of blood and lose his footing as he fell backward.
¡±Grandmaster!¡±
Everyone panicked!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
It was simply an upheaval for the entire inner de domain!
¡ª
Ace was still in the outer de domain at this moment and wasn¡¯t far from the exit gates which led to the shadow mountain range.
Suddenly his footstep came to an abrupt halt and his heart almost jumped out of his chest when he saw a few figures fifty meters away from him.
Without even thinking, he leaped into a passing carriage.
¡°Who?¡± A demon¡¯s startled voice rang when the door of his carriage was abruptly opened but didn¡¯t see anyone until this voice, filled with chinless, sounded.
¡°If you speak, I¡¯ll kill, just stay silent!¡±
A dark pink skin demon appeared out of nowhere and sat right in front of him and surprisingly that demon witnessed the robe color of this newly emerged demon was still changing.
The copper skin demon instantly felt chill as he looked at this demon who had a meaningful smile on his face and he nodded with perspiration on his forehead. He had no choice in this matter.
The demon flushed out a wine bottle and sses.
¡°Here, drink with me.¡± He said, which was more like an order!
The demon was caught between tears and confusion.
Some figures suddenly pass the carriage, two of them looked at it with a hint of indecision.
¡°Did anyone notice a strange Qi undtion?¡± Dark Hole asked with narrowed eyes.
¡°I do. But it vanished all of a sudden.¡± Killer replied.
The others looked confusedly at them, as they weren¡¯t as sensitive as these two toward the danger.
Dark Hole suddenly released his martial sense on thevish green carriage, since that strange Qi undtion vanished around this carriage.
He only sensed two demons inside. One was a Qi river cultivator, while the other was a Qi foundation bundling realm and the Qi gate-level coachman.
¡°It was probably my imagination. Let¡¯s go. We need to alert everyone here.¡± Dark hole found nothing, so he didn¡¯t persuade the matter since there was a more pressing matter for them to handle.
¡°Elders can go to the council, while we¡¯ll take a detour to the Life Demon Pagoda. I need to refill my soul pills, or everyone can go together. I promise you they won¡¯t hold back on us.¡± The masked demoness invited.
Everyone¡¯s eyes brighten since they knew those stinky entrics wouldn¡¯t dare to ignore the direct order from this person!
¡°Then we have to thank Her Highness in advance!¡±
Inside the carriage, Ace sense them leave and couldn¡¯t help but sighed in massive relief, he nearly got exposed just now.
He had seen the Earth Demon King in that secret realm that day.
That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t dare to remain in stealth or they could¡¯ve found him. He was extremely lucky only two of them notice, or things wouldn¡¯t have ended pleasantly for him.
¡®Did they manage to get rid of that thing? But they clearly seemed in a hurry and not everyone was present. Those three masked demons were even more mysterious. It was like they didn¡¯t exist in my soul sense even though they didn¡¯t use any kind of skill, maybe powerful treasures. Just who are they?
¡®Well, it matters not anymore, since I havepleted my mission in time or I might¡¯ve really been doomed this time; if I had waited for the association¡¯s reaction.¡¯
Feeling sce, he finally looked at the demon who was looking at him while sweat was streaming all over his face.
Ace smiled in his disguise. ¡°Thanks for your help. Here you can take this wine bottle, to show you my appreciation.¡±
¡°N-No problem.¡± The demon forced an ugly smile. He just wanted this guy out of here as soon as possible.
Ace nodded before he exited the carriage, and his face changed into another demon as he got mixed into the demons walking on the side path.
This time he didn¡¯t use any skill, afraid more demon kings might being soon.
But luckily no one appeared, and he exited the gate without any hitch.
Again, he changed into another demon face and put on his hood, and left toward the meeting ce, where he told Freya to wait for him.
After half an hour,
Ace finally appeared in the forest. He wasn¡¯t in stealth, so anyone could see him.
Suddenly, a small bird flowed past him.
His lips curled and followed that bird and after walking for a mile inside the forest, he saw a familiar figure in a cloak.
¡°You shouldn¡¯t have pulled that symbol stunt on that building!¡± Freya¡¯s unhappy yet pleased voice rang.
She was naturally monitoring the treasure pagoda since Ace was gone there, but she was shocked the infamous symbol of Sky Stealer emerged on the entire pagoda!
She couldn¡¯t help but her own unique symbol as well after she witnessed the magnificent scene of demons noticing it in awe and fear.
Ace sighed helplessly, ¡°You canin to the goddess about it. Nevertheless, even without my thief symbol, they won¡¯t let this matter rest, will they?¡±
Freya giggled, ¡°Well since all of this is over, released my reward!¡±
¡°I already did. Now let¡¯s go.¡± Ace said he put his hand on her shoulder and sternly warn before he takes her to his thief¡¯s space, ¡°I¡¯m warning you don¡¯t touch things in my space and don¡¯t go anywhere close to that wall in the center or I¡¯ll throw you out!¡±
Chapter 484 Final Mission!
¡ don¡¯t go anywhere near that wall in the center or I¡¯ll throw you out!¡±
Freya frowned and retorted, ¡°Hmph, what kind of person do you think I am?¡±
¡°Still, don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you, alright?¡± Ace squinted his eyes with a hint of coldness. He clearly wasn¡¯t joking around.
¡°Fine.¡± Freya didn¡¯t retort anymore and let him take her into the thief¡¯s space without any resistance.
She appeared in a corner where storage rings were ced in piles. It was her second timeing here.
She couldn¡¯t help but look around with great curiosity and she finally spotted the wall-like structure in the very center of this space.
¡®Just what is he hiding there?¡¯ Although she was curious, she didn¡¯t dare to test his bottom line. So, she took out afortable chair and sat down.
Ace observed Freya and was speechless when he saw that big chair she pulled out which look more like a bed. He shook his head wryly and stop paying attention since she wasn¡¯t going against his order.
He had already decided to head toward the mist domain to hide for the time being and also to see where the second ability of the Live Fate Map led him to.
He didn¡¯t forget about the Golden ck Arrow shape Compass Point, which continues to indicate in the Mist Domain Direction.
ording to Moira, it can indicate the best direction where he should go to find the fortunate opportunity that will be most suitable for him, or it might be a thing that he needed the most!
Freya¡¯s main body will also meet him there so it was a plus.
Three hourster, the dawn was breaking and Ace was already miles away from the de domain. So, he decided to rest and also see the rewards of hisbor.
After making sure the area was safe, he finally opened the system interface with ecstasy.
======
[Chain Mission: 1]
-Mission: I¡¯m Back!
-Status: Complete
¡ª
[Chain Mission: 2]
-Mission: I¡¯m Here!
-Description: Steal the entire treasury of any King Domain Level Branch of Life Demon Association, Life Demon Treasure Pagoda!
-Status: Complete
-Reward (1): 150,000 EXP & 150,000 SP
-Reward (2): Random Pick Pocket Talisman
-Reward (3): A Clue about Mind Stealing
[im Reward/ Later]
¡ª
[Chain-Mission 3 has been unlocked: Continue?]
======
Ace¡¯s eyes widened slightly. ¡®So, the mission was unlocked soon after the second mission wasplete?¡¯
He remembered thest time the second mission came a weekter.
¡°Give me the reward first,¡± Ace ordered.
=====
[Reward (1): 150,000 EXP & 150,000 SP has been added to the host¡¯s status]
¨C
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-9]]
[EXP: 5,120,000/10,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-9]]
[SP: 5,120,000/10,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
¡ª
[Reward (2): Random Pick Pocket Talisman has been transferred to the Living Thief¡¯s Space!]
¨CN?v(el)B\\jnn
[Heavenly Talisman: Random Pick Pocket Talisman (Grade-8)]
[Use: One Time]
[Effect: Pick Pocket a random Grade-8 Treasure from the target.]
¡ª
[Reward (3): A Clue about Mind Stealing]
-im?
======
Ace¡¯s eyes shed when he saw the Random Pick Pocket Talisman¡¯s use, ¡°System, just to make things clear, is this Heavenly Talisman will only pickpocket a grade-8 treasure, not lower or higher?¡±
¡±[Yes.]¡±
Ace couldn¡¯t help but smile in satisfaction. ¡®So, I have to find someone with a grade-8 treasure, huh? Not to talk about Grade-8, even Grade-7 Treasures are extremely rare, which means whoever had a Grade-8 treasure will not take it out easily. But the moment I get the wind of it, hehe¡¡¯ he suddenlyughs thievishly.
He was very satisfied with this Heavenly Talisman, which will grant him a free grade-8 treasure.
¡®Let¡¯s see the mission. Thest reward might need me to enter a deep cultivation state, which I don¡¯t need right now. I¡¯m still in the enemy¡¯s territory,¡¯ Ace mused.
¡°Opened the third chain mission!¡±
======
[Mission: Want to Kill Me? Watch me Steal!]
-Synopsis: Someone had tried to kill the host with a High-Grade-7 Killing Formation and refined the host¡¯s blood. This is uneptable!
-Mission Type: Chain Mission
¡ª
[Chain Mission: Last Mission]
-Mission: Want to Kill Me? Watch me Steal!
-Condition (1): Infiltrate the Royal Demon Institute.
-Condition (2): Rob the Treasury of the Royal Demon Institute!
-Condition (3): Rob the Library of the Royal Demon Institute!
¡ª
-Reward(s):
-Rewards of Completing (Condition 1):
1. 500,000 EXP & 500,000 SP
2. Thief¡¯s Vision
3. +1 Grade in Heaven¡¯s Stealer Dismantler Principles
-Rewards of Completing (Condition 2):
1. 1,000,000 EXP & 1,000,000 SP
2. Soul Stealth Art
3. Fundamentals of Array Crafting (Grade-1 to Grade-3)
-Rewards of Completing (Condition 3):
1. 3,500,000 EXP & 3,500,000 SP
2. Absolute Pick Pocket
3. Three Intermediate Item Upgrade Tokens
¡ª
-Thief House Members: Allow
-Time: 15 Years
-Punishment: The end of the mission!
=====
Ace¡¯s eyes were glued on the rewards and couldn¡¯t help but asked hastily, ¡°System, if Ipleted the two conditions and failed topete in thest condition, I can keep the rewards for the first two conditions, right?¡±
¡±[Yes.]¡±
Ace couldn¡¯t help but grin. ¡°This is the first time you¡¯re been so generous to give me rewards in portions before Iplete the entire mission. Hey, where is this Royal Demon Institute, by the way?¡±
¡±[The host has to find it out himself.]¡±
Ace grimaced as his eyes shed with a sharp glint. ¡®I never heard of any Royal Demon Institute in the eight provinces. The system would also not give me these kinds of rewards, just rob a random ce after I robbed the treasuries of treasure pagoda.¡¯
Suddenly, he thought about the three Demon Institutes: ¡®Could it be this Royal Demon Institute is in one of those institutes in the royal zone?! Then how did the system know? Well, it¡¯ll be the least of my worries if this institute is really in the royal zone!¡¯
Nevertheless, he still felt excited about the rewards he¡¯ll get afterpleting the first condition. Infiltrating their ranks should be a piece of cake for him.
But he won¡¯t underestimate the security level of this ce if this ce was really in the royal zone.
After resting for an hour, he embarked on his long journey again.
¡ª
While Ace was heading toward the Mighty Mist Province,
The Inner de Domain was in turmoil after everyone find out about the theft of the entire treasure pagoda!
If High Elder Dark Hole and hispanions hadn¡¯t appeared in time, the situation would be far worse than this.
Furthermore, it was a tremendous blow to the reputation of the Life Demon Association and a p on the face of the Royal Demon Council and the Royal Zone.
Not only the High Elder and Demon Kings were furious, the most furious out of them were the three masked demons from the royal zone. Especially the first demon who appeared before the female demon.
When he saw the words, ¡®I¡¯m Here, he couldn¡¯t help but roar in frustration, and his previous injuries break open.
The most frustrating thing for them was they didn¡¯t have time to deal with this issue because the corpse army and corpse king were still alive and if left alone for a long, there won¡¯t be a de domain anymore.
Furthermore, most of them were still missing, including the de, Mist, Blood, Moon, Spear, Exalted, and four high elders including White Sword while the Council Minster was trapped in his own skill so he could buy time until someone from the royal zone arrived.
So, they also had to search for them and unite the strongest force of the eight provinces and hold on until the help arrived.
But they still can¡¯t let that thief get away after what he has done. It was a blunt provocation toward the authorities. So, they decided to use their full resources to capture that thief after they were done with the corpse army problem.
Inside a bright room, a masked demon was looking at the golden cube that was shimmering brightly.
A deep, imposing voice rang. ¡°How is the situation?¡±
The demoness speaks in a gloomy tone, ¡°Not good. Not only I didn¡¯t secure the inheritance, but that hateful animal released a corpse army upon thend. Council Minister is currently holding their general it back, but it won¡¯tst long¡¡± She told everything that transpire in the ruin from the start to finish, ¡°We need backup or this will not end well for the outer continent and might even threaten our position!¡±
¡°Even the council minister wasn¡¯t enough?¡± The imposing voice sounded astonished, before it solemnly ordered, ¡°I¡¯ll send a Grand Demon Duke. It should solve the problem. Focus on tracking that beast. We need that inheritance, no matter what!¡±
The demoness replied in affirmation, ¡°Alright.¡±
But her voice turned gloomy again, ¡°But we have another problem that might make the Life Demon Family furious this time.¡±
¡°Oh? What is it? Who dare to provoke that ho nest here?¡± that voice sounded amused and curious.
¡°It was that hateful Hex Demon Thief, he¡¡± She told me about what happened to the life demon treasure pagoda a few hours ago.
¡°Hahahaha¡¡± the voice suddenlyughed out loud in delight!
Chapter ?485 Witch
Chapter ?485 Witch
The mist domain terranes were filled with a faintyer of mist all year long and it was chilly in here as the sunlight seldom reached this ce.
But for those who were proficient in the art of stealth, these terranes were like their home ground. Just like a certain thief.
A month passed since Ace has left the de Domain.
He was already in the Mighty Mist Province, but he didn''t go toward the Mist Domain. Instead, he continued to move in the North direction.
Because Freya''s actual body was in the Misty Rain Forest, which was a borderline between Mist Province and Spear Province, it was also an excellent location for him to im hisst reward as well.
Furthermore, the Golden ck Compass Point was still pointed in the same direction, which means the Mist Province wasn''t thest ce.
Ace stopped in a remote ce with a pond nearby.
"So, where is your main body? I''ll be in the Misty Rain Forest in four days?" He sends his voice into the thief''s space, where Freya waszing around while eating translucent grapes.
His face darkened as he felt like a jockey who was carrying a young princess toward her castle.
Freya leisurely replied, "I don''t know, the moment you put me here, I lost contact with her."
Speechless, he threw Freya out and looked at her. "Why didn''t you say so?"
Freya frowned when she appeared outside and noticed the mist around, and then looked at Ace''s dark expression.
She snorted, "I had already said I''ll be there, so contact didn''t matter. Besides, I can still feel my existence, so it doesn''t matter if we had contact or not. But I have to say, that space of yours can cut out my connection with my actual body and I can''t feel the location as well."
Ace helplessly said, "Now, where are you?"
Freya looked meaningfully at Ace before she looked around and then she replied, "Oh, I''m a day away from this ce. But you are still four days away, so wait here. I''lle to you."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace nodded and then asked, "Fine. Do you know the condition of the de domain after we left?"
Freya didn''t reply and close her eyes for a while before she opened them as a hint of shock shed past them.
She said in astonishment, "It seemed something big has happened in the eight provinces after we left. Some kind of corpse army is spreading between de and Moon province, and many noble demons are summoned to defend the borders."
Ace''s eyes suddenly narrowed when he heard this. "What about the Demon Kings?"
Freya instantly noticed the change in Ace''s reaction. "You knew something, don''t you?"
"I only knew the corpse army originated from the same ruin where I was captured. But I knew someone who can tell me the entire story." Ace mysteriously simile.
"Who? I don''t know how, but it seemed even the collective force of the eight demon provinces and the royal demon council weren''t able to suppress that army. Just a week ago, the envoy from the royal zone summon wild demon kings as well." She told with a frown.
Ace was astounded. "How did you know?"
"Heh, do you think my reach is only in the eight provinces?" She looked disdainfully at him. "Anyhow, this matter seemed to be quite important, and they didn''t want that corpse army to enter any province. Now tell me what is going on?"
"I''ll tell the real you." He sighed. "But what about the demon kings of eight provinces?"
He had seen the Earth Demon King, Ghost Demon King, with the group of masked demons and two other unfamiliar demons, but he didn''t see de Demon King that day.
Freya said with uncertainty, "There wasn''t any information about them. But it seemed only Earth and Ghost Demon Kings were holdingmands in de and Moon Provinces. It seemed they had suffered casualties, which they don''t want to reveal."
Ace couldn''t help but sighed, ''Even demon kings gone missing? What about Thomas and the others?'' He was only concerned about Thomas.
Freya, on the contrary, was quite in a good mood, "It seemed the demons are going to suffer big this time. I wish they would lose all of their territories. Then let''s see if they continue to be dominated as they were in the past, humph!"
Ace couldn''t help but shook his head. "We don''t know the true strength of demons. Their actual strength lies in the Royal Zone, even you weren''t able to infiltrate that ce despite your abilities."
Freya''s ted expression darken as she coldly looked at him, "Are you on their side?"
Ace shrugged his shoulder. "I''m on your side, naturally. I''m just telling you the fact. I bet they had already asked the royal zone for reinforcement, and this thing will end quickly than both of us expected."
Freya didn''t have words to rebut Ace because she knew the foundation of the demon race wasn''t something anyone could shake. Not some corpses, at least.
"How about you tell me about this soul clone technique of yours? It is quite interesting, you can share everything between your body and this body." Ace changed the topic since he didn''t want to upset Freya.
Freya looked meaningfully at Ace. "You can''t use it."
Ace chuckled, "You told me you needed to retrieve it before you can re-cultivate? I didn''t have time to ask about it that time, so tell me now?"
Freya thought a moment before she said, "This is a connate ability of my race, Witch''s Avatar. I can split a part of my soul and then nt it into a fetus and make it my Witch''s Avatar."
Ace frowned when he heard it. "So, this demon?"
Freya coldly said, "This body''s real owner was the illegitimate daughter of the Exalted Demon King''s Second Son!"
This time, Ace was really shocked. "Then how did you get your hands on that woman?"
"Although my Witch''s Avatar is a unique and powerful ability, it had its own limits. The fetus has to be three-month-old, not above or low. Then it needed to be talented in the soul path, and its bloodline can''t be higher than mine or lower by two grades.
"Most importantly, if it dies at any time, I''ll suffer an unrecoverable soul injury and can never enter the manifest realm or create another Witch''s Avatar. So, what do you think I have done to make sure I reached this point?" Freya''s eyes were exempt from any emotions, as only darkness could be seen.
Ace suddenly felt cold from that emotionless gaze and finally understand why her race was called the Evil Witch Race. They were ruthless and can do anything to reach their goal!
He took a deep breath and said, "I think you seduce that Second Prince like you once try to do the same thing with me by using Aliya. Then it wasn''t hard to guess what happened next."
Freya chuckled darkly, "This avatar was too important for me if I wanted to control my syndicate. Besides, only the Demon Tamer Tribe had the bloodline that can control beasts, and this suits my needs well. So, I did what I have to do. But now it''s a pity I have to abandon this body." Shemented.
Ace snorted. "You are getting a cultivation technique far more powerful than anything in this world. I''m afraid; even your ancestor might abandon their entire bloodline to get this chance."
Freya giggled suddenly, "Well, it''s me now, so they can only cry in their grave."
Ace''s eyebrow spasmed. He couldn''t help but thanked the system for those restrictions in the Thief House or he might never trust his woman with his back. She''s just too dangerous!
Afterward, they wait for the real Freya.
A day passed, and night descends.
Ace suddenly felt a strong soul signature heading in their way and it was even stronger than Life Grandmaster Gatlin!
He looked at Freya, and she merely nodded.
Thereupon, a euphonious voice rang, "We finally meet Leader Ace!"
Ace saw a figure appear in front of him without hiding her presence.
Freya''s long white hair was like a hanging shawl. Her sharp, beautiful face filled with pride and an aura of coldness. Her slightly knit curved eyebrowsbined with the pair of eyes with gray irises, and golden tri-pupils excluded a mysterious yet majestic aura, which was now mainly focused on Ace.
Even though she was wearing domineering ck armor, it could still not conceal her curvaceous and mature figure. Every part of her body was equally attractive.
Along with her white hair, cold and proud temperament, peerless mature face, and proud and erect bosom, which could be clearly seen even though it was closely wrapped by the armor, made even Ace''s eyes widen.
Especially that pair of eyes with golden tri-pupils, giving off an impression of maturity, elegance, tyranny, and pride, which was filled with a bizarre kind of enchantment.
She was nothing but a Witch!
Chapter ?486 House Mission?!
Chapter ?486 House Mission?!
Looking at the bewitching beauty d in armor before him, Ace kept hisposure and greet back, "Indeed, we met."
Freya''s tri-pupils shimmered with a dark glow as she looked at this familiar yet unfamiliar man. She knew about the natural beauty of her race, which can sway even saints. But this guy didn''t even show the tiniest reaction, which made her somewhat have a higher opinion of him.
But Ace was astonished actually because he never thought an Evil Witch would be like humans except for her eyes. No one can find a difference.
"Let me get this out of the way before we continue." Freya suddenly pull a dazzling smile as she moved toward her Avatar.
Ace merely nodded, but he was scrutinizing. Although this ability was quite nefarious, it was still quite useful, especially if someone like him have it.
Freya stood in front of her Avatar and suddenly she put her jade-like slender finger on top of her Avatar''s head.
Now that Ace looks carefully, Freya and her Avatar have 70% resemnce and that also exins her Avatar''s beauty as well.
Suddenly, Freya started to mumble something at an extremely fast pace, and the next moment thereafter, dark ancient symbols started to appear on the Avatar''s body before, one by one, they crawled toward Freya''s finger.
Ace''s eyes narrowed. ''Magic?'' he had heard the basic exnation about magic from Freya, but experiencing it was something else.
She was just chanting something and he could feel the Qi around them stirring as those ancient symbols moved back to her.
This processst for ten minutes before thest symbol was taken away by Freya and the moment it happened the demoness''s body suddenly started to decay at an extremely fast pace before it turned into a blue sand statue and crumbled!
Freya looked at Ace, who seemed to be bewildered by what just happened, she giggled coldly, "Don''t worry, I''m alright."
Ace looked at Freya''s teasing smile that could take a person''s soul away. He sighed, "d to know. You didn''t leave behind anything, do you?"
"Every Witch''s avatar had the same ending, and it''s not like they had their own personality. It was just me altogether." Freya impassively replied before she tossed her Avatar''s storage ring toward Ace.
Ace received the ring and looked at her in confusion.
Freya said, "This is my greeting gift. There''s everything you need to control the syndicate while I was gone. Aliya''smunication cube is also in there. You canmand her if you need anything."
Ace looked at her with a doubtful gaze, "And you''re giving me the control of your entire syndicate just like that?"
Freya suddenly moved closer to him until there were only a few inches left. Ace could even smell her wild fragrance, but he looked right into her charming eyes without any emotions or blinking.
Freya was 6.3 feet tall, slightly shorter than Ace, she said in a seductive tone as she moved her crimson lips, "Even I''m yours. Do you want it?"
Ace suddenly curled his lips and he sh his hand toward her sharp chin, and she let him touch her face without even blinking. He replied as he held her soft chin, "This trick won''t work on me. Now don''t waste more time."
"Tch, you''re no fun. How do you know? I never show any defects?" She couldn''t help butin about Ace''s sharp sense. She knew he was weaker than her, but he seemed far more capable. Especially when ites to lying!
Ace suddenlye extremely close to her face as their noses almost came in contact, which slightly rmed Freya as he revealed his actual face all of a sudden.
His dark blue eyes stared deep into her eyes. She felt like something pulling her into those starry eyes as she felt her heart pound suddenly with this mysterious feeling creep out.
He mysteriously said, "I can tell when someone is lying because I''m a liar, but can you tell when I''m telling the truth since I never lie?"
Freya''s heart palpitated all of a sudden and she quickly took a few steps back, freeing herself from Ace''s grip and that invisible, oppressive feeling that was telling her to submit. Her breathing was slightly unsteady.
Freya just felt Ace''s [Charm] which he had no idea how to control, but he knows as long as she was rted to darkness it''ll work, and it did!
Ace knew if he wanted to control this woman, he had to establish his dominance. She was just too bold and if he back off right now, she will never respect him or follow his words seriously.
She would only fear his status, not him, so he just used one of the many tricks he had learned to counterattack her seductive attacks, and it goes beyond well.
Ace smirked at this moment. "Now, let''s go. It''s time for everyone to meet." He pretended as if nothing happened as he wore his demon face again.
Freya felt that mysterious force vanished after Ace''s face was disguised. ''He''s too dangerous, or maybe because of his cultivation technique? Hmph, I''ll see what can you after I also cultivate in top tire technique!''
She was resentful after she felt that strange feeling mixed with forbidden pleasure and suppression, which she had never felt before. Now she won''t antagonize Ace anymore. She was afraid he would use that strange thing again on her, so she became obedient for the time being.
Although she wanted his position in the Thief House, she can''t get it if she was dominated by him first!
"Give me your hand." Ace smiled meaningfully as he moved his hand toward her, he suddenly felt great after he watched that arrogant witch have a taste of her own medicine.
"What, not feel like giving yourself to me anymore?" Ace tease.
Freya looked at Ace with gritted teeth, "Hmph, rogue!"
Leaving this harshment, she ced her hand on his, but the vignce in her eyes didn''t drop and since he was in his demon disguise, she didn''t feel any danger.
Ace didn''t tease her anymore and took her into the thief''s house!
The moment Freya appeared in the familiar dark surrounding, it was her first timeing here with her real self. This time she saw a creepy house, not the space filled with storage rings.
''So, this is the thief''s house? This peculiar feeling is from my¡ bloodline?'' She was shocked when she felt just breathing here was enough beneficial to her bloodline!
With great anticipation, she quickly goes toward the Thief''s House.
However, the moment Freya entered the thief''s house space, the Thief House interface suddenly popped up in front of him.
=====
[Thief House]
[Rules & Regtion of Thief House¡]
-Rule Creation Remain: 2
-Rule Change Token: 0
---
[Thief House: Level-1]
[House Leader: Ace White]
--
[House Members: 3/3 (House Full)]
1. Noa Night
-Thief Genre: Thief Assassin (Trainee)
-House Rank: Excellent Member
[View More Details]
2. Freya Witch
-Thief Genre: Evil Thief (Newbie)
-House Rank: Normal Member
[View More Details]
3. Winter Fox
-Thief Genre: Faceless Thief (Newbie)
-House Rank: New Member
[View More Details]
---
[House Point(s): 22,000]
---
[House Mission(s): 1] (New)
---
[House Leader Mission(s): (Edit)] (LOCKED)
[NOTE: During House Mission, this feature will be unavable!]
---
[House Punishment(s)]
-System Punishment: 0
-House Leader Punishment: (Edit) [Locked]
[NOTE: During House Mission, this feature will be unavable!]
---
[House Shop: 3] [Locked]
[NOTE: During House Mission, this feature will be unavable!]
1. Thief Assassin
2. Evil Thief
3. Faceless Thief
---
[Recycling Shop]
---
[House Points Exchange tform] [Locked]
[NOTE: During House Mission, this feature will be unavable!]
[Exchange Rate: 10 Thief Points = 1 House Point]
---
[House Call: Lock]
[House Meeting: Lock]
======
Ace suddenly felt like a mountain just hit on his head when he saw the house mission, as well as all his privileges, got locked by the system.
"You can''t do this to me right now!" Ace couldn''t help but bellow.
He was extremely furious since he got a mission already and it was already hard enough and now the system had given him another surprise to make his life even more difficult.
But like always, he was ignored and left without any exnation. "n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Fine, you win! Open the house mission for me!" He cussed resentfully and opened the house mission, which was going to be the very first mission the house members will get from the system.
=====
[House Mission (For House Leader)]
-Mission: A Grand Entrance!
-Description: All the Thief House Members have been assembled in the Thief''s House, it''s time to make an appearance. As a House Leader, the Host must guide the new thieves toward the right path and test their abilities before introducing the neers of the Thief House to the grand world stage!
-Task (1): Guide neers!
-Task (2): n A Heist!
Requirement (1): All House Members must be involved in this heist or it will deem a failure!
¡
Chapter 487 The Thieves Meet
Chapter 487 The Thieves Meet
======
[House Mission (For House Leader)]
-Mission: A Grand Entrance!
-Description: All the Thief House Members have been assembled in the Thief¡¯s House. It¡¯s time to make an appearance. As a House Leader, the Host must guide the new thieves toward the right path and test their abilities before introducing the neers of the Thief House to the grand world stage!
¨C
-Task (1): Guide neers!
-Task (2): n A Heist!
¨C
Requirement (1): All House Members must be involved in this heist or it will deem a failure!
Requirement (2): All House Members must reach the [Excellent Member] Rank at the end of this heist or it will deem a failure!
Requirement (3): All House Members must reach [Trainee Thief] Rank at the end of this heist or it will deem a failure!
Requirement (4): The Heist must be worth at least 5 Million House Point or it will deem a failure!
Requirement (5): The House Leader can¡¯t participate in this heist physically except for the nning and providing guidance or it will deem a failure!
¨C
-Time: 3 Years
¨C
-Punishment: Leader Authority Revoked for 20 Years
¨C
[Reward(s)]
-Law Fragments: Depend on House Performance
-House Call: Unlock
======
Now, Ace¡¯s expression finally changed when he saw the unfamiliar reward with the name ¡®Law¡¯ in it.
¡°What is aw fragment?!¡± He quickly asked with a slightly hastened breath.
This time the system didn¡¯t torture the poor fellow and tell him.
¡±[A Law Fragment holds 1% ofwprehension.]¡±
¡°Really?!¡±
He didn¡¯t dare to believe it because he knew just how difficult it was to grasp thesews. They were just too mysterious, and he had never seen anyone taking or having any records about them.
Now, all of a sudden, the system revealed that it had the means to give himwprehension. How could he remain calm?
¡±[Yes. The host will be rewarded with Law Fragments from Thief House Missions. The exceptional the members perform, the morew fragments host will be rewarded.]¡±
¡°Damn it, you could¡¯ve told me sooner! At least I would make the house full long ago if I know I will get thesew fragments!¡± Ace couldn¡¯t help but swear in vexation.
He finally understood the benefits of the thief house were not just limited to free thief points and getting powerful helpers. It was probably just the tip of the iceberg.
Ace was now far more motivated than ever toplete a mission!
But there was still one problem, he couldn¡¯t participate in it physically, this was a test for his leadership ability and this house members teamwork abilities which will be going to be quite problematic.
Furthermore, the time was extremely short. Winter and Freya still didn¡¯t start cultivating in their respective cultivation techniques. So, it¡¯s going to be a close one.
Ace was about to summon them in the spacious hall when he was started by sight when he sent his conscious into the thief¡¯s house!
Noa and Winter just exited their room while Freya was standing at the entrance.
Their eyes were filled with gloominess for some reason.
Realization dawned on him. ¡®They got their missions!¡¯
Just a few moments ago, when Ace opened the mission, Freya, who just entered the house, also received notification as well as Noa, who was indulged in alchemy, and Winter, who was jolted from her hibernate state!
They all received one simr mission which made them understand the benefits of the Thief House weren¡¯t free!
======
[House Mission]
-Mission: A Grand Entrance!
-Description: All the Thief House Members have been assembled in the Thief¡¯s House. It¡¯s time to make an appearance on the world stage and prove yourselves worthy!
¨C
-Task: A Memorable Heist!
Requirement (1): n a Heist under the leadership of the House Leader!
Requirement (2): All House Members must be involved in this heist or it will deem a failure!
Requirement (3): All House Members must reach the [Excellent Member] House Rank at the end of this heist or it will deem a failure!
Requirement (4): All House Members must reach [Trainee Thief] Thief Rank at the end of this heist or it will deem a failure!
Requirement (5): The Heist must be worth at least 5 Million House Point or it will deem a failure!
Requirement (6): The House Leader can¡¯t participate in this heist physically except for the nning and providing guidance or it will deem a failure!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
¨C
-Time: 3 Years
¨C
-Punishment: Expel from Thief House (All of them)
¨C
[Reward(s)]
1. 500,000 House Points (For Everyone)
2. A Single Bloodline Evolution (For Everyone)
3. A Secret Skill (For Everyone)
======
How could they remain idle after seeing the punishment?
Furthermore, Noa and Freya clearly knew this mission wasn¡¯t issued by Ace, but by the ¡®Goddess¡¯ and they felt greatly distressed when they thought just how harsh the Goddess was with punishment.
Winter, on the other hand, was in hibernation because she was recovering from her soul injury, and she was only eighty percent recovered when this mysterious force made her wake up.
When she saw the mission, she felt like murdering Ace since she wasn¡¯t even a normal member yet much less an excellent member that was three ranks above her, and on top of that, she had to work with the others which she wasn¡¯t fond of since she didn¡¯t trust anyone.
Winter came out to find Ace and so does Noa, and Freya just entered the house when she was stuck on her spot while reading the mission. They all bump into each other this way!
Freya¡¯s eyes narrowed when she saw the Masked Demoness with pitch-back eyeballs, while she was shocked when she noticed the pink fox giving off a ghastly aura.
She could tell it wasn¡¯t just any demonic beast.
Noa was also shaken up when she saw Winter, but she was more bewildered when she saw Freya, who was extremely gorgeous. She couldn¡¯t help but narrowed her eyes with a hint of hostility.
Winter, on the other hand, was surprised when she saw Freya because her eyes were just too eye-catching and she knows all the powerful races in this world, but she never heard of a race with tri-pupils and white hair.
Furthermore, she had this extremely dangerous feeling from this woman which she only felt from a soul manifestation realm, but she could tell Freya wasn¡¯t in that realm yet, but not far away either.
As for Noa, shepletely took her as a low-level demon since she was extremely weak in her eyes with that peak Soul River cultivation of hers. She even thought Freya was the first member, not Noa.
While Freya had the same thought as Winter, as she thought Noa was thest one.
They both underestimate that masked demoness.
Freya was the first one to break the silence in her cool tone, ¡°It seemed we all received the same mission. And here I thought it would be a happy first gathering between confederates, s.¡±
Winter showed her sharp teeth as she looked at Freya. ¡°What kind of creature you are?¡±
¡°An Ancient Beast?!¡± Freya¡¯s eyes widen when she heard Winter speaking in demonnguage, ¡°So, you are the one who¡¯s responsible for that corpse army?!¡±
Winter¡¯s eyes suddenly shimmered withcency. ¡°So, you know? Does this mean those hateful demons are suffering from my wrath? Hmph, that¡¯s what they get from pushing me too far.¡±
Freya chuckled, ¡°It seemed our opinion about the demon race is simr. The name is Freya.¡±
Winter also seemed to find a kindred spirit. ¡°I never thought I would find a fellow visionary here. I¡¯m Winter. You can tell me if someone bullies you, I¡¯ll turn them into a corpse puppet, humph!¡± She proudly towered her head.
Noa was nowpletely out of the loop as she looked at that talking fox in astonishment since she read about the ancient beast race and the infamous All-Knowing Parrot who was also not a demon.
¡®Where did the leader find them here? Furthermore, they both hate demons?¡¯ She couldn¡¯t help but wonder and felt displeased when those two belittled the demons and took her like a wind.
¡°I¡¯m d you two belligerents are getting along, but don¡¯t forget there¡¯s a demon in our house as well, and she¡¯s your senior. So, respect her, or I won¡¯t stop her from bullying you!¡± Ace¡¯s cold voice sounded at this moment.
Ace was really speechless with those two zealous women that hate the demon race to the core andpletely ignored Noa, who was far weaker than them.
Although he knows Noa didn¡¯t like to talk with strangers but she was far more obedient than these two schemers. Furthermore, she was humble and didn¡¯t barge about her achievements.
Noa was dumbfounded when she heard Ace¡¯s words.
While Freya and Winter¡¯s focus turned to the masked demoness with a hint of hostility. They naturally didn¡¯t put Noa in their eyes since she was weak, but Ace said she can bully them. Howughable!
Noa finally spoke coldly, ¡°I¡¯m Noa, a Thief Assassin.¡± She merely nodded afterward.
¡°Tell them your House Rank and Thief Rank!¡± Ace encouraged.
Noa felt it was unnecessary, but she still did as told, ¡°Excellent Member, and Trainee Thief!¡±
Chapter 488 Move On
Chapter 488 Move On
¡°Excellent Member, and Trainee Thief!¡±
Freya and Winter¡¯s eyes widen slightly when they heard Noa has alreadypleted the two conditions in the House Mission, which means Noa had the biggest chance to pull this off and she can also help them with their rank problems as well.
Freya finally move toward Noa and smiled amiably and performed a noble demon salute, ¡°I¡¯m Freya, an Evil Witch. I apologized for my rudeness. I have no grudge against you since you are a member of the Thief House. But my race was butchered by the demon in the past so you can understand my enmity with demons. I hope you¡¯ll forgive me.¡±
Noa looked at this charming woman in armor with a hint of shock when she heard about why Freya hated demons. She knew better than anyone what it felt like to lose their entire bloodline, and Freya had lost her entire race on top of that.
¡®It seemed she was also scheming her revenge, but unknowingly met with Leader.¡¯ Noa presumed since this was how she met with Ace as well.
She nodded. ¡°I can understand. Don¡¯t worry about what Leader said he likes to joke.¡± Her voice was impassive and cold.
Winter now looked at two women with a hesitant look in her eyes, but she knew for this mission they had to get along, so she could only swallow her pride.
¡°I¡¯m Winter. P-please to meet you.¡± this takes all her willpower to say, especially to a demon.
Noa nodded as she still looked at the big fox with wonder. She never thought she would meet with an ancient beast here, of all ces.
¡°See, it wasn¡¯t too hard?¡± Ace snickered as if he was holding back hisugh.
Winter shouted in indignation as she looked at the ceiling, ¡°Perverted Scoundrel, I demand an exnation!¡±
¡°Perverted?¡±
¡°Scoundrel?¡±
Both Noa and Freya were startled when they heard Winter calling Ace in such words and wonder what happened.
Ace¡¯s unhappy voice rang. ¡°Ignore her. She was possessed by an Evil Spirit, so her mind was affected.¡±
¡°What did you say? Come here if you have guts!¡± Winter roared in outrage.
¡°Stop screaming, or I won¡¯t help you.¡± Ace threatened coldly.
Winter gnashed her teeth but didn¡¯t speak anymore since she knew this was really a predicament where they need Ace.
Freya¡¯s eyes shimmered with a strange glint as if she discovered something interesting.
But she had a more important thing to worry about. She asked sternly, ¡°What did this expulsion mean in punishment?¡±
Ace replied in a stern tone, ¡°As you all know about the house rules, once join you cannot leave, so once you expel you can rte what that means.¡±
He knew system ways of doing things were extremely harsh, especially with the first mission. He had got a death punishment as well on his first mission.
Now that the house was full, it wanted to test the members¡¯ ability, if they were worthy of being with Ace or not. It won¡¯t hesitate like Ace to get rid of them if it found them a burden, even if Ace had other thoughts.
The three women also fell silent when they heard Ace confirming it. They had already thought about it.
Although they all knew the opportunity they have were top of the world, now they have to prove themselves to be worthy of this opportunity.
Noa was the calmest of the others and said, ¡°We just have to trust the Leader. Although he can¡¯t take part in the mission, don¡¯t forget, that he can help us craft the entire theft n. Did you forget who is he?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn
Freya¡¯s eyes suddenly widen slightly. She didn¡¯t forget how Ace had done all those thieveries himself. He had no one to aid him in them and she only join recently.
Especially the theft of Life Treasure Pagoda, which seemed impossible, but Ace pull that off!
¡°Heh, see? She knows me the best. I won¡¯t let you die as long as you don¡¯t want to. So, first, change your cultivation techniques. You two didn¡¯t have to erase your foundation, so it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for you to cultivate in the river core realm in one year, right? Noa is probably not far away from it, either.¡± Ace¡¯s confident voice rang as if everything was under his control.
He knew if they had to keep their morale high as a leader, or they might not pull this off. Furthermore, he had to guide them through this so he will not hold back on them either.
The first thing was to cultivate the system¡¯s cultivation techniques so they could mold into their genres, and after that, he would have a year to think about it.
Winter¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I can, but I need pills and a massive amount of them!¡±
Although crossing four realms in a year from the start was possible, since she had already cultivated them before. But she needs a huge number of pills, with this environment of the thief¡¯s house, and even with her stock, it wasn¡¯t enough.
Freya suddenly giggled charmingly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if there¡¯s an individual who had the greatest number of pills in the entire eight provinces, then it would be our Great Leader.¡±
Noa¡¯s eyes suddenly widen and couldn¡¯t help but asked, ¡°Did he?¡±
¡°Heh.¡± Freya chuckled and nodded in acknowledgment.
¡°What are you talking about?¡± Winter was perplexed since she was the only one who knew nothing.
Ace¡¯s cool voice rang in agreement. ¡°Just focus on cultivating. Pills weren¡¯t an issue. It is also not wise to appear right now.¡±
¡°Then I leave everything to you. I¡¯m going to cultivate. There¡¯s no time to waste. I¡¯ll see you in a year.¡± Freya decisively left toward her own room in a hurry.
She had amodated over twenty-five thousand HP, so she wasn¡¯t willing to waste time finding out about the corpse army and the past of the other two members. She can do all this after she has kept her life.
¡°I¡¯m also going. Don¡¯t forget to give me Soul Recovery Pills as well. Hmph!¡± Winter also quickly left, since she had enough house points to buy the cultivation technique.
Noa was also about to enter her own cultivation room to start cultivating the Night Demon Body Transformation.
However, Ace¡¯s voice rang. ¡°Don¡¯t resist.¡±
She suddenly felt another pull and was startled, but she didn¡¯t resist and the next moment she appeared in another dark space, but she was shocked when she found there were countless storage rings!
¡°Don¡¯t be rmed, this is my personal space.¡± Ace¡¯s calm voice rang, ¡°I take you here because you are already far ahead of the others, and also an alchemist. As you can see, this entire site is filled with storage rings that have raw materials for both paths. You can take as many as you want for your practice and collect materials for your body cultivation technique as well.¡±
Noa was shocked when she heard this, and couldn¡¯t help but say earnestly, ¡°T-thank you.¡±
Ace chuckled, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I have my personal reason as well. Just give me the soul pills and martial pills you have no use for in the future. So, we both benefit from it. Take this as well. I think it should belong to you and you can use it better than anyone.¡±
Noa suddenly saw a golden and green ring appear before her and she take it with bewilderment as if she had seen it somewhere.
¡°This is your teacher¡¯s ring, and his entire legacy is in it as well. Although I stole it from it him, he might¡¯ve given it to you in the future, eventually. This way, I also won¡¯t feel too bad about it as well.¡± Ace mocks himself with a wry smile.
He knew Gatlin treat Noa quite well or he would never have appeared there for her so quickly, which also made him feel somewhat bad for the old man. But he was a thief, and this was his way of living and his path.
So, he could only do this much to make his heart less heavy.
Noa also felt emotional when she saw the vast amount of materials and knowledge in it, as well as the ancient red cauldron with a dragon engraving. It was a soul cauldron of Gatlin and his most precious treasure. He once showed it to her and promise to give it to her as long as she reached his level.
She remembered Gatlin¡¯s gratified smile that day, and clench that ring, ¡®I¡¯ll never let your legacy die¡ teacher.¡¯
¡°After you¡¯re done, tell me, and I¡¯ll send you back.¡± Ace¡¯s voice sounded and didn¡¯t disturb her anymore since he could feel herplex emotions.
¡®This would be a normal thing in the future and they will turn into liars like me¡ is this the way of a thief?¡¯ Ace couldn¡¯t help but wonder.
But then shook his head. He would never regret his decision to be a thief, and being air wasn¡¯t so bad as long as he remained honest with the ones he trusts.
He was now moving toward the mighty spear province, but he was still not done with the house members.
He sent his consciousness into the Winter¡¯s space and she was just about to start the cultivation when she heard his stern voice.
¡°Tell me everything about the corpse army!¡±
Chapter 489 Interrogating Winter
Chapter 489 Interrogating Winter
[This week¡¯s 1st Bonus Chapter of 500 Powerstons (28-10-2022)]
[2nd Bound Chapter at 1000]
_______
Winter opened her eyes when she heard Ace¡¯s stern voice and growled, ¡°Are you nning to save those demons? If yes, then give up.¡±
¡°Do you think I¡¯m a savior?¡± Ace scoffed.
¡°Then that¡¯s good to know.¡± Winter seemed to be relieved after she heard that and said, ¡°Since you didn¡¯t want to save them, then why do you want to know about the corpse army? Perhaps, are you interested in creating your own corpse army?¡±
Ace¡¯s voice turned cold at this moment. ¡°If you continue to beat around the bush, do you believe I¡¯ll throw you out right now?¡±
He could tell this fox didn¡¯t want to reveal the information about the corpse army for some reason, and that¡¯s why she kept talking in circles.
But he didn¡¯t care about this ghastly inheritance and all he wanted to know about the dead orb-guardian and where was the elemental orb!
Before, Winter was wounded, and he also had a mission to take care of, so he let this matter rest, but now he won¡¯t since Winter was now awake and he had time to spare.
Winter sensed Ace was impenitent about something and she remembered he told her about there was something quite important he wanted from that ruin.
In the end, she decided to give him what he wants because Ace has the support of a God, so why did he want to walk on this nefarious path? She also had a new path ahead of her now, and if shepleted this mission, she could reach far greater heights than her previous self.
But first, she had to let her past self go, who was once betrayed and didn¡¯t trust anyone ever since.
Ace and the other two members can¡¯t scheme against her, so there wasn¡¯t any need to keep suspecting them. On the contrary, if she made Ace unhappy, she had no idea what kind of authority he had as a leader in this ce. Just the ability to send her out and let her into this magical space can speak of how high Ace¡¯s control was over them.
That¡¯s why she gave up!
A thick book appeared in front of her, which had a worn-out appearance.
She sighed as looked at the thick, worn-out book withplicated emotions in her eyes.
She speaks, ¡°Over eight hundred years ago, I was sent here as a spy with another member of my n. We even seeded in infiltrating deep into the demon continent. But when we were heading to the de province, we suddenly stumbled upon the ruin and decided to explore it.
¡°After we spend half a year exploring this ruin, we found an unknown passage, and mypanion volunteered to scout it. After making sure there wasn¡¯t danger, we went together, but who would¡¯ve thought the person who I consider as close as my sister will scheme against me!¡± Thick killing intent rage in her beastly eyes.
¡°In her scouting, she had discovered a treasure at the end of the passage, but a special kind of array was protecting it. She was a runic genius, so she knew her way around the arrays.
¡°I was na?ve to think she thought of me as her sister as well and walk right into that array when she told me she had already dispelled it, but it wasn¡¯t. The moment I enter that array, she took the treasure, and I got trapped instead.¡± She gnashed her teeth with hatred.
¡°For years I was trapped in that darkness, and many times I considermitting suicide, but whenever I remembered that scheming bitch face and how she could be enjoying riches, I would hesitate.
¡°It was then when I start hearing voices filled with the temptation of power and revenge¡¡± She had a forlorn look in her eyes at this moment.
Ace couldn¡¯t help but said, ¡°It was that dark mist?¡±
¡°Yes. It told me it was the same as me and wanted to give me the entire inheritance and passed away without any regrets. I wasn¡¯t in my best state at that time, so I believed it and didn¡¯t resist the ¡®inheritance¡¯. It was probably then when it entered my knowledge sea in the sham of giving me its power.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
¡°It also left me this book with everything I need to know about the inheritance and the special space that belonged to its tribe once. As for that Corpse King, I was supposed to possess its body and then I have a heaven-defying talent and full control over the corpse army hidden beneath thatke. I even refine corpse acolytes, so when the timees I would easily raise anyone to the ground whoes between me and my revenge.
¡°But it seemed I was doing all this for someone else and the moment I control over that Corpse King¡¯s body, that soul will take control over me since I would be in a vulnerable state.
¡°Everything I knew about the Corpse Demon Tribe is in this book. You can have it. I don¡¯t need it any longer.¡± She said in a resolute tone.
Ace¡¯s deep voice rang, ¡°Why did a corpse possess consciousness, and why can¡¯t you take control of that army without it?¡±
¡°The Corpse King was a special existence which was made from something called a ¡®Nature Deity¡¯ ording to this book and the corpse demon tribe didn¡¯t have resources to make a perfect corpse king so they make this halfplete product.
¡°That¡¯s why to control it, one needed to refine it and possess it, but this is a double-edged sword because ording to the records the Corpse King¡¯s conscious can¡¯t be erased and if you show even the slightest weakness, it will devour your soul and take back the control of its body.
¡°As for the corpse army, it was made especially with the method, which needs a corpse king to control. If someone tries to take control of the corpse acolytes without a corpse king, they will have a tremendous burden on their mind and body.
¡°Furthermore, those corpses can grow as they devour the living and as they grew, it bes hard to control them if you didn¡¯t increase your power as well. That¡¯s where a corpse kinges into the picture that put a little burden on your mind and you can suppress it and also the other corpse with it.
¡°I had to say those demons were lunatics because every generation the strongest of them will possess this Corpse King and rule the tribe. It was the symbol of power and consider the biggest honor in their tribe.¡± She sneered with killing intent.
Ace also felt this Corpse Demon Tribe had something wrong with their brain since they dare to y with corpses and risk their lives for an unstable power.
¡°Why happen to them? They seemed quite powerful?¡± Ace questioned.
In his view, although this tribe was made of madmen, they were extremely strong and developed just the techniques to refine the corpse army and the corpse king can make them invincible in this world.
He still didn¡¯t forget about that dark mist¡¯s threat, it left before the system destroyed it.
This tribe might have deeper roots than any other demon tribe, and he didn¡¯t want to be an enemy with them if he had a choice.
Winter shook her head. ¡°There weren¡¯t any records about this. It was like they all vanished into thin air. I was never able to find out about this but, that bitchy mist seemed to be sure they were still alive and well. I¡¯m looking forward to meeting with them once I cultivate into higher realms. Furthermore, I¡¯ll make them regret even scheming against me!¡±
The one thing that Winter hates most is someone scheming against her, despite her being the same.
The book suddenly vanished at this moment and Ace¡¯s pacifying voice rang, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll make them pay if they appeared. Just focus on getting better. I¡¯ll send those pills your way in a few hours. Remember, you are not alone anymore.¡±
Winter sighed with uncertainty. She said nothing and close her eyes. She knew what Ace said was true, and she wasn¡¯t willing to let this chance slip by.
Outside,
Ace looked at the old book in his hand and stored it away for now. He was still traveling toward the deep parts of the demon continent.
He¡¯ll first find a ce to lie low before he read it and he might discover some clue about the elemental orb.
But after listening to Winter, he didn¡¯t have high hopes, since this ¡®Nature Deity¡¯ seemed to die a long time ago. He had no idea where it died and who to take the Ice Orb afterward.
This was getting more and moreplicated and he only hoped that the orb was still in this world or he would be in big trouble!
¡ª
While Ace was crossing the mist province,
The Mist Castle wasn¡¯t so calm at this moment.
Today, Mist Demon King returned abruptly, and with her was none other than de Demon King and some young demons and de envoys!
Chapter ?490 Grand Demon Duke’s Arrival!
Chapter ?490 Grand Demon Duke¡¯s Arrival!
Royal Demon Council in de Domain,
The hall was filled with a gloomy atmosphere as everyone looked at the status report of the corpse army movement.
The corpse army wasn''t a secret anymore. Many demons were summoned from all over the eight provinces and wildness to keep the corpse army in check between the border of de and moon provinces.
As for why they needed so much assistance to annihte the army of over a million corpses, it was because that corpse army wasn''t just some random corpse but they had special traits which made them deadly.
Grim Jade had a surly expression when she spoke, "How can those corpses multiply instead of decreasing?! Is this report urate?"
A council elder replied, "These are urate, and we received them this morning, High Elder. ording to themanders on the front lines, those corpses are extremely strange, especially the ones who had no skins or flesh. We called them Skeletons.
"These Skeletons are extremely strong, and their bones are as though as legendary grade-4 weapons. I''m afraid those corpses might be of demons with attainment in body refinement.
"But the deadliest thing about them is they didn''t eat flesh like the other corpse but they use some kind of skill to make more corpses and it''s like they had an endless supply of Qi.
"Then there are those who are half skeletons and half flesh, we''re calling them Rotten. These guys had their own special ability that released a white smoke that is like a gue and anyone weaker than them infected with it will turn into a corpse puppet in three days. There''s no cure currently.
"Lastly, there are Flesh Eaters, these are the newly born corpse puppet. They had no particr unique ability, besides they can quickly evolve into Rotten after eating an excessive amount of flesh."
The atmosphere be chilly when they all heard this. They couldn''t help but felt dreadful toward the tribe known as the corpse demon tribe. Although they were long forgotten in the river of time, this corpse army was proof of their prowess!
Dark Hole frowned, "Even Demon Kings are helpless?"
"I''m afraid so. Those skeletons are the most difficult to deal with, despite being in the soul realm. They are extremely difficult to kill. They had to annihte the core of their head. But the moment they felt danger, those cores fled into another corpse, and that corpse then can turn into a skeleton as well.
"Currently, there are over 50,000 Skeletons and they are extremely slippery. The moment they sense Demon King level existence approaching, they hide underground, and martial sense didn''t work on them either.
"As for rotten, they are an even bigger problem because they can use strange skills of the river core realm instantly and continuously bombard our side all day and night. Currently, there are over 700,000 rotten and that number is rising!" the same elder reported as he sweated profusely.
No one had thought that corpses could be such a deadly force.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Grim Jade couldn''t help but sigh bitterly. This was the first time in tens of thousands of years that the demon continent was forced into such a situation.
"Is there any news from esteemed envoys?" She asked. Now they had no other way than this.
They had reached this final conclusion that the thing the Council Minister was still holding back was the only thing that can turn this thing around. Because those corpses were released, at the same time when that thing came out and it could control them.
"They said the help would arrive in a day." The elder replied with a hint of relief.
"Good. But we can''t pin our hope on killing that thing will end all of this. The Lord will only get rid of that corpse and save the council minister. He won''t help us get rid of those corpses. Tell those rune crafters to hurry with their grand formation." Dark Hole sternlymanded.
The elder suddenly frowned as he said with a hint of gloom, "I have already told them, but they are dying the construction, probably because we didn''t take any action against the thief."
"Are they out of their damn mind? Is their reputation more important than millions of lives?!" an old demon bellowed outrageously.
"It was all their fault, to begin with. They can''t keep their treasures safe themselves and now they are ming others? I think that thief did a damn good job teaching those arrogant pricks a lesson, or they didn''t put any in their eyes!" another elder sneered.
If anyone was happy about the theft of the treasure pagoda, then it has to be the royal demon council because these two were the strongest forces in the eight provinces and on equal ground.
But the life demon association was always rich with resources and they were extremely stingy with the outsiders. They didn''t give these noble demons faces and limited the supplies they can buy from them.
However, now the entire association had received a reverberating p on their face from a mere thief and they were all maddening with rage since there wasn''t any trace of the thief despite the huge bounty they put on his head and arrange a manhunt.
But they didn''t receive any help from the royal demon council since they were all busy with the corpse army and if they push too far, they might anger the royal zone.
So, they had no choice but to swallow their resentment and put the thief hunt on hold and help the royal demon council to get rid of the corpse army first.
But those rune crafters were deliberately dying the construction of a mass killing formation, which can help them tremendously in deadly with skeletons and rotten.
This make these elders sulk to no end, but they knew not to push too hard in this delicate situation.
"Just tell them to be quick, don''t taunt them or they might pop a vein or two in anger." Dark H chuckled mockingly. He was also gloating over those arrogant pricks'' misfortune and silently give the thief a thumbs up.
All the elders smile faintly as the atmosphere in the room before lighter, even Grim Jade showed a rare smirk.
The elder who was reporting chuckled and continued, "Lastly, we received news that two demon kings, Mist and de, have appeared in the mist domain with their subordinates and young demons who were lost in the ruin." He said.
"Finally, some good news. Summon them back. We need all the help we can get until the help arrived." Grim Jade seemed relieved, but her expression fell when she asked, "Is there any news on the remaining demon kings and three high elders?"
They were all separated when the Corpse King used a ghastly skill and council ministers had to seal it with themselves. Furthermore, if the council minister hadn''t acted, they all would have been annihted with that skill that day.
Nevertheless, they were still wounded gravely and barely escaped.
The elder grimaced and replied, "No, we didn''t receive any news about their whereabouts. But this morning we received a report that a ck snake was spotted in the moon province."
"Could it be Jade Space Serpent of Exalted?!" Dark Hole''s eyes brightened.
They were all very familiar with that magnificent beast of the Exalted Demon King.
"I have already sent someone to look into this. We''ll know by tomorrow." The elder replied confidently.
Suddenly a young demon appeared in the hall and respectfully kneel before he reports with a hint of excitement, "Elders, the esteemed envoys summoned High Elders post hastily. It seemed to help has arrived!"
"Hahaha¡ good, very good. Let''s go!" Dark Hole instantlyughs out loud and quickly left with Grim Jade.
Inside the de Demon Castle,
Currently, two masked demons sat in the throne hall while Killer wasn''t present today because he simply didn''t have the right to be here no matter how strong he was, his status was nothing but like amoner in front of this demon sitting majestically on the throne!
This demon also wore a crimson mask, but his dark eyes and his long crimson antlers were giving off the feeling of uncontroble bloodlust as if he was crawled straight from hell!
A husky voice that made anyone''s skin crawl sounded from this masked demon. "Your Highnesses, I''m here on two missions."
The dark masked demons seemed to be extremely respectful as they spoke in unison, "Please state your intention, Grand Demon Duke!"
Grand Demon Duke was the title that can only be given to a demon that was weaker than the Demon Emperor, while stronger than any being on the demon continent!
Even the members of the imperial household had to be respectful to a demon with the title of Grand Demon Duke.
The Grand Demon Duke''s voice was exempt from any emotions as he spoke.
"First, to get rid of the pest.
"Second, to detain the thief name Sky Stealer!"
Chapter ?491 Starting Evolution!
Chapter ?491 Starting Evolution!
The once tranquil White Hill ins were raging with battle cries and the whitends filled with blood as the war between demons and corpses continue.
As for the ce where it all started, it was filled with dark clouds and eerie cries which could make a mortal''s soul copse.
These cries wereing from a huge dark gray glob which was continuously trembling as if something desperately wanted to break out.
Right at this moment, a demon in a crimson mask suddenly appeared from the ground like a phantom as it looked at the glob with its cold, dark eyes.
"You did well, Fourth Minister. The empire will remember your sacrifice." His husky voice rang without any emotion. "On behalf of His Imperial Majesty, I''ll grant you peace!"
With that, his entire demeanor changed as he gave off an aura of the volcano that was about to erupt!
Thereafter, a thick ck and red Qi gushed out from his entire body before the space close to him started to tremble as sparks started to appear, the moment this Qi appeared.
"Begone!
"Demonic me Rage!"
---
Ace had no idea what was happening in the white hill ins, as he was currently deep into the Misty Rain Forest and setting up a ce for his retreat.
He had created a deep tunnel and then an underground room, then he set up many arrays and formations to make sure make no one disturbed him or discovered this ce until he was done.
Although no one will appear in this dangerous part of Misty Rain Forest, he knew many demons were searching for him right now, so he won''t take any chances.
After making sure he didn''t leave behind any opening, he finally rxed. He was on the move for over a month now and he was using his skills contentedly so he felt quite fatigued and wanted to rest.
But he knew time was precious for both him and his house members right now. Although he had given fifteen years for thisst mission, it was a different story for his house members.
They didn''t have over a decade to prove themselves. He had to start preparing soon.
Furthermore, after hisst thievery, he knew any target that can grant 5 Million HP won''t be a walk in the park for them. One had to know five million HP were equivalent to fifty million thief points.
Even he only got this kind of thief points out thievery from the treasure pagoda, much less getting it out of a random ce.
After resting for half a day, he was at his peak condition and was ready to im the biggest reward, he was looking forward to most.
"System, I want to im my final reward!" He dered eagerly.
=====
[Reward: A Clue about Mind Stealing has been imed!]
---
[Mind Stealing: Knowledge Sea is the treasure trove of memories. It is endless and inexhaustible. Once a Heaven''s Stealer says, ''Memories are like fish in this Knowledge Sea and if one wanted to fish, they need a Fishing Rod!'']
======
Ace''s ecstatic expression suddenly turned dark like charcoal when he read the so-called ''clue''. He couldn''t help but bellow, "Is this your so-called clue?! Fish and fishing rod?!"
"[System has already given the reward. Please work hard, host.]"
"Shit! I should''ve known better!" Ace cussed as he felt he had been cheated big time by the system.
''This isn''t a clue but a freaking quote of a busybody who had no better thing to do!''
However, no matter how resentful he was or how much he med the system, he knew this stupid quote was all he has right now. He had to be incisive and think of a way to make a breakthrough or he will fail this mission. He had a little over two years left toplete this job mission.
''How could a Heaven''s Stealer have said something so meaningless? There has to be something I''m missing!'' He quickly calmed down and gawked at the clue!
While Ace was wreaking his brain over the clue he received, inside the thief''s house, Noa''s private cultivation space.
Her cultivation space wasn''t empty anymore. It was filled with the fragrance of herbs, as she had turned half of the space into her herb garden.
Not only this space was miraculous to her cultivation, but she also found it also had an extraordinary effect on herbs and her alchemyprehension.
She was shocked by this discovery and thanked the ''goddess'' wholeheartedly for this space. She then quickly created a herb garden with high-quality Qi soil she found in Ace''s thief''s space.
She had to admit Ace was really a walking treasure trove; he has too many good things lying around that he didn''t seem to care about. So, she took this chance to use them since he said she can take anything.
Not only did she create this high-quality herb garden, which was only inferior to her teacher''s herb garden, but she found all the materials she needed to cultivate the Night Demon Body Transformation from 1-Star to 9-Star. She even found materials to concoct refinement liquid from Low-Grade-1 up to Intermediate-Grade-2 and some materials for higher ranks, but they weren''tplete sets.
However, she knew she can''t concoct the refinement liquid of Grand ranks without Spirit Fire, which made her somewhat depressed.
But she knew she can''t be too greedy about this and first she had toplete the first nine-star levels before finding clues about the spirit fire.
Although she was already a Grade-2 Soul Alchemist, concocting these refinement liquids wasn''t a joke. Even the one-star refinement liquid was as difficult as creating a nine-star soul pill.
That''s why she didn''t dare to underestimate this body refinement technique and today she finally created the 1-Star Refinement Liquid in the soul cauldron she got from Ace, which belongs to her teacher.
However, she didn''t start immediately despite her excitement. Every Body Refinement Technique came with extreme pain and overbearing suffering.
Some even cause deaths and that''s why only strong will people dared to cultivate them, but the benefits outmatched the risks since soul cultivators can get a body as strong as a martial cultivate and make up for their weakness.
As for demons, they had robust bodies like beasts, but this doesn''t mean they had an advantage when ites to body refinement. On the contrary, they had an even bigger risk of dying because the techniques that can make their body power are even more overbearing than a normal cultivator could handle.
There was a clear warning in Night Demon Body Transformation about how overbearing this technique was, and the minimum injury Noa could receive was her meridians being damaged!
This kind of injury would make her useless for one or two years, which she can''t afford.
But this won''t stop her from cultivating this technique. She had longed for this kind of technique before she met Ace, and she wasn''t a coward, either.
There was also a method to make the early stages of the refinement technique a little less overbearing, and that was to make her bloodline grade higher!
If it was another demon without a Demon King Tribe background, they would be extremely helpless and even those Demon King Tribes would be helpless at a certain point, but Noa was not!
She looked at her House Points with ecstasy at this moment.
_______
[House Point(s): 101,350]
_______
She had collected all these HP bypleting Ace''s missions and doing thieveries in her travels.
Noa had been waiting for this moment for a while now. Shemanded with rapture, "Thief Assassin Shop: Evolution and Pill Section!"
_____
[Evolution & Pill Section: Thief Assassin]
[Night Demon Evolution: Eight Avable]
- Night Demon Bloodline: Legendary Grade-2 Evolution
Price: 1,000 House Points
- Night Demon Bloodline: Legendary Grade-3 Evolution
Price: 10,000 House Points
- Night Demon Bloodline: Legendary Grade-4 Evolution
Price: 50,000 House Points
- Night Demon Bloodline: Legendary Grade-5 Evolution
Price: 100,000 House Points
¡
¡
¡
_____
"Goddess, I want the Grade-4 Bloodline Evolution!" She solemnly dered.
_____
[House Member Current Bloodline Level: Grade-1]
[Please purchase the Grade-2 Bloodline Evolution, and Grade-3 Bloodline Evolution before Grade-4]
[61,000 HP is required toplete the entire process]
[Do you want to continue?]
_____
Noa''s eyes narrowed slightly. She didn''t know she had to achieve lower bloodline evolutions before she could acquire a higher one. She can''t jump the process!
Nevertheless, she had a sufficient amount of HP to reach her essential goal, so it didn''t change anything. She nodded resolutely.
"Continue!"
_____
[Bloodline Evolution has been started!]
[Total Time: 29H:59M:59S]
---
[Warning: Please don''t lose consciousness or the process will stop!]
_____
Thereupon, Noa suddenly felt her entire body heated at an extremely high temperature, her face particrly!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
However, she forgot about the rising temperature or the suddenly cracking sounds in her body.
Her eyes widen to the fullest when she felt something suddenly gushing out of her face under her mask.
"T-this¡?!!" Her eyes shone with thrill and disbelief. She never thought it was possible at all.
However, the next moment that thrill turned into horror,
"Ahhhhh¡"
Noa''s screams reverberated in the entire space, and it was just the start of her suffering!
Chapter ?492 Demon Tamer Province
Chapter ?492 Demon Tamer Province
[This week''s 2nd Bonus Chapter of 1000 Powerstons (30-10-2022)]
[3rd Bound Chapter at 1500]
_______
The Demon Tamer Province was the biggest province of the eight provinces, and many powerful demon tribes reside here because of the high Qi density.
Furthermore, unlike the other provinces, the Demon Tamer Province was special because it had only ten massive cities and a King Domain. All of these cities were controlled by the Demon Tamer''s ten ns.
They were known as the Ten Magistrate ns.
Their authority was even higher than Demon Dukes, and this give the Demon Tamer tribe absolute control over the Demon Tamer Province.
The ck River City was located a few miles away from one of the forbidden zones of the eight demon provinces, the ck River, where ck water streams.
It was thergest river of demon tamer province and, ording to the legends; this river directly led to the royal zone. But no one was alive from the venture of proving that the legend was true.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Anyhow, the ck River City was ranked in the middle when ites to city space or prowess and it was filled with hidden experts.
Right at this moment, arge carriage drawn by two Demonic Wind Lions was undergoing a throughout search by a special search team with a variety of anti-concealing treasures and arrays.
A gray demon with a 2.3-meter height and a fierce look was also undergoing checking by the guards.
"Brother, you know me. I''m a merchant. I pass from ck River City every other day. Do you need to waste your precious time like this every time I pass or leave the city?" His deep voice was filled with dismay.
The guard, d in ck armor, replies in a helpless tone, "You can only me that malicious thief for this. He has been robbing and killing people for over a year now, and everyone is searching for his traces. We or anyone is under strict orders to check even a fly who wanted to enter or leave the cities."
The gray demon sighed as an array englobed him, "I heard about this matter in the other cities as well. But didn''t that thief only active around the de and Moon provinces? Why the security in Demon Tamer Province as well? A mere thief can''t travel all the way here under so many dangerous ces, right?"
"This I don''t know either." The guard shakes his head. He also had no clue about this matter. He closed the array and nodded. "You''re free to go. Sorry for the trouble."
"Happy to help." The gray demon nodded and embarked on his carriage and enter the city.
The ck river city was filled with majesty tall buildings and vast streets as carriages drawn by vicious beasts were moving around the city.
The citizens walking on the streets were also powerful, and the weakest of them was a Six Qi Gate Realm at least. There weren''t any mortals in this ce, and everyone was a cultivator.
This was the terrifying aspect of the demon tamer province. No mortal was allowed here. They simply can''t survive in this ce!
As the gray demon moved with great familiarity towards the ce and he drove the carriage toward the market area of the ck River City, which was the busiest ce in the entire city.
Soon, he stopped in front of avish fifteen-story shop named ''Treasure Cloud Firm'' and he entered after ordering the guards to move the goods on the carriage to the warehouse.
This demon directly moved toward the upper floors and when he was on the third floor, he slowly crept toward the west edge.
After making sure no one was paying attention, he dashed his fingers on the wall in a strange pattern and a faint clicking sound rang.
However, no one noticed as the gray demon himself had already vanished from in sight and the wall suddenly turned into a door. But it didn''tst long as it opened and close in an instant and the hidden door vanished.
The gray demon appeared again in this dark narrow passage and after he quickly reached the end, there was nothing except the wall.
However, the demon again started tapping on the left wall and before long, a hidden door appeared and light appeared from the cracks.
He unhurriedly entered the bright space, and he entered a spacious, bright room.
On the room corner, an enthralling demoness, with an oval face and pale white skin and violet eyes, and long violet hair, wearing a green attire was sitting calmly with a cold expression as she looked at the gray demon with a hint of resentment in her watery eyes.
The gray demon suddenly beamed a bright smile when he saw the gorgeous demoness and greeted, "We meet again. Aliya."
This enthralling demoness was indeed Aliya, Freya''s closest aid and assistant. She was also the one who was managing the Spica Syndicate in Freya''s absence.
Aliya''s eyes were icy as she looked at the gray demon with a hint of hatred as if he snatched her most precious thing. She said, "Where is Mistress, Sky Stealer?"
The gray demon non-other than Ace in his new disguise, it has been over a year since hest appeared in the public eye.
After spending three months in the Misty Rain Forest, he continued his traveling, and he entered the Demon Tamer Province after seven months.
Crossing the Spear Deon Province had taken quite some time since there were many dangerous ces he had to cross and he even encountered powerful demons searching for him on his way.
Furthermore, not only he had to avoid those demons, but he barely escaped the massive formation between the borders of spear and demon tamer province, which was abruptly activated when he was already between the two provinces.
He had to admit now that these demons were putting everything just to find clues on his whereabouts, and the Life Demon Association was providing resources to operate those massive formations. They almost managed to corner him.
If not for live fate mapping and his improved skills, he would''ve been in huge trouble and might''ve got captured by those demons right now.
In the end, he managed to cross the border with great difficulty and then contact Aliya. He wanted the information about what was happening to get those demonsing after him like he had robbed their ancestors.
He hadn''t been able to use themunication cube in the wild because he was out of reach, and Freya had told him that she had Aliya move into the Demon Tamer Province when she left the de province.
That''s why he could only contact her when he entered the Demon Tamer Province.
However, Aliya wasn''t too happy when she found Ace on the other side of Freya''smunication cube. Nheless, she was under strict order to help Ace any way he wanted, and hismand was equal to Freya''smand.
She then arranged an identity for Ace and told him to meet her in this hideout.
Although she had arranged this identity for Ace, she was shocked at how easily Ace managed to pass the guards and enter this ce.
Ace''s identity as the Sky Stealer wasn''t a secret to her anymore, despite that, she was shocked under all the surveince Ace could walk in ck River City.
The scariest thing was even she can''t see through Ace''s disguise with her special skill that allow her to see through illusion.
Ace smiled wryly when he saw Freya''s unfriendly attitude toward him. He knows she was feisty and quite wary of him since she didn''t know about the detail of how Freya joined him.
He said, "Don''t worry, she''s with me and you''ll see her soon. Thanks, by the way, for arranging this identity for me. The real demon should be back by now."
Ace had specifically told her to send the person himself so he could get the memories of that person and this will make his disguise wless. He was very careful after he encountered all those search parties.
Aliya''s expression softened a little when she heard her mistress was fine and soon appeared. She nodded, "No problem, I was only doing this for Mistress."
Ace''s tone suddenly turned stern as he spoke. "What''s the deal with me being robbing and killing people? Who is denigrating me?"
If something concerned him the most was this matter, he found it after he annexed the memories of this gray demon. He found out that in his absence, there were multiple robberies under his name and thief symbol.
But what make him enraged and paid attention to the matter was not that someone impersonates him, but they were killing innocent people and plundering from the poor and in thest case someone had destroyed a town on the moon province under his name.
This naturally infuriated him, since he would never do something like this, but he also knew someone was trying to use these underhand tactics to draw him out.
That''s why he had Aliya look into this until he reached here, and if they wanted to y this game, he yed them to death!
Chapter ?493 A year later
Chapter ?493 A yearter
Aliya expected this question and her expression also turned gloomy. "I''m paying attention to this matter from the moment it started.
"The first theft happened two months after the treasure pagoda robbery. It was in a marquis demon tribe of moon demon province. Everything was exactly the same, even your famous owl mark in the treasury, but the thief also killed the entire marquis n.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Afterward every month or three weeks, same patterns, theft after the kill. To this day, there are nine thieveries, five in Moon Demon Province and four in de Demon Province.
"But your impersonator is quite professional. He won''t leave any trace behind, except for the symbol and gruesome deaths." She looked at the demon before her with a stony gaze.
When the first incident happened, she simply thought it was Ace, just like everyone else. However, when she got reports about how the thief killed all those demons in the cruelest ways, she knew it wasn''t Ace.
Besides, after Ace''s theft of the treasure pagoda, there wasn''t any need for him to theft from those small tribes or take risks when the entire demon continent was searching for him.
Ace''s expression turned stern. "Do you think it''s some high-level demon who using this method to lure me out?"
He was sure it was the case because he personally witnessed just how badly the life demon association wanted to capture him and without his skills; it was impossible to escape them.
Now, all of a sudden, someone dared to impersonate him despite knowing just how furious the life demon association was, it was simply courting death.
The biggest omission in all this was that the life demon association still wasn''t able to capture the so-called thief, despite knowing the pattern of his raids. They were simply pping their own face by using these tactics to draw him out.
"This is the only exnation since that impersonator can easily cross the border between moon and de provinces after they activate the border protecting formations on the entire continent." Aliya had the same thought.
A faint sigh escaped, Ace said, "They all think I''m after fame and this might be the easiest way to draw me out. Well, I had to admit if someone was really doing it for fame, they might''ve already made some kind of mistake."
He shakes his head and sneers, "Although they anger me, if they think I''m going to defend myself, heh, they had another thinging in their way."
Aliya scoffed, "What if all of this was all real and this was some fanatic who just wanted to express how ''inspired'' he is by certain someone and wanted to prove himself and get his attention? Then what?"
Ace snickered coldly, "If this is indeed the case, then he got my attention."
His subtle reply made Aliya narrow her eyes, but she simply can''t see through this man.
Ace suddenly changed the topic, "What about the corpse army?"
She coldly replied, "Already taken care of, but they paid a steep price." A hint of fear could be seen in her eyes at this moment.
Ace narrowed his eyes. "How steep?"
"If we''re talking about the canon folds, then they are numbered in millions, while if we are talking about the experts, then over two million and this is the number the royal council made public. Their causalities are much greater. As for what they didn''t reveal to the public, I think two demon kings and a big shot of the royal council have also died." Aliya was uncertain since it was quite hard to believe that even demon kings died under the corpse army.
Ace was also astonished when he heard, "Why do you think so?"
"Blood Demon King and Spear Demon King hadn''t appeared in public and there is some kind of tension going on in their domains, which is impossible if they were present. Especially the Spear Demon King, that guy is famous for his iron fist rule.
"Lastly, the royal demon council, although I don''t know who died, there are five hidden experts in the royal council. From our spies, we got a rumor that in thest upper-echelon gathering of the council, only four were present.
"This could be apletely different matter or mere rumors, but I think they are no more." Aliya dered with uncertainty.
She knew just how grave the matter about the death of a demon king was, and probably there hadn''t been a death like this in ten thousand years.
Ace was also astonished, even he deemed a demon king-level existence couldn''t perish. But when he remembered the corpse king''s and that other demon''s sh, he shuddered.
Ace took a deep breath and said, "Lastly, I want all the information about this city, especially about the Magistrate n, Puppeteer Demon n."
Aliya''s eyes narrowed as she looked at Ace deeply, "Are you nning to¡"
Ace sighed, "Yes and no. It''s better if your mistress exined it to you. Where will I be staying?"
Aliya didn''t ask any more questions when she heard Freya was involved in this. "Give me two days to arrange everything. You''ll be the fifth-floor manager from now on. You can''t appear in public with some other appearance because they are currently recording every person present in the city and even I don''t know just many observers are out there, so it''s better to be careful than sorry."
"You mean a salesman?" Ace frowned slightly.
Although he didn''t mind the job, he just can''t waste time meaninglessly.
"You can put it like that. You don''t have a choice because if you vanished after you appeared on the first day it''ll raise suspicion. We don''t want that, right?" Aliya impassively replied.
"Fine, you''re the boss." Ace feigned helplessness.
"Hmph. Do I need to arrange another identity for the mistress?" Aliya quested sternly.
"Probably not." Ace smiled mysteriously and left the room just as he appeared.
Aliya was at a loss for words since she still wanted to question Ace about where Freya was or how she wille, but he left after getting what he wanted. Resentfully, she clenched her pristine fists, she wanted nothing but to smack his smirky face. But she was helpless.
Ace''s departure from the hidden passage didn''t rm anyone, and he again appeared as the gray demon and head toward the fifth floor.
The fifth floor was where all the weapons were sold and he had three assistants to help him. All he had to do is to entertain some important customers, and he was free to do anything in his free time.
Aliya had already arranged everything for him and he couldn''t help but praise Freya for having a good eye for people.
After greeting his assistants, he told them he was going to rest for a while and they can find him in his office if they required his assistance.
"Finally, out of those damn woods." Ace couldn''t help but moan as he threw his head back on thefortable chair.
But his expression soon turned serious again. ''Time is short¡'' He closed his eyes and sent his consciousness into the thief''s house.
Although he can spy on his house members'' personal space, he has never done so since all of them were women and they had their privacy and he doesn''t want them to think he was a deviant.
Furthermore, as long as someone called his name, he will instantly know they were calling for him even if he wasn''t paying attention. Without it, he won''t know what was happening in their personal spaces if he doesn''t pay attention.
This was a strange yet convenient function of the thief''s house.
He can also focus his voice in a particr space or the entire house, as long as he willed it.
So, he sent his voice to the entire house at this moment, "Alrightdies, give me a favor, and please gather in the meeting hall."
The space where all the rooms were connected was no longer empty. There was a big jade table andfortable chairs, as well as somevish decorations.
They were all set by Ace, he can send anything and take out anything in this ce so he turned this ce into a proper meeting hall.
Soon after Ace''s summoning.
The door of Noa''s room slowly opened, and she appeared in ck robes that disy her perfect figure. She also wore the white Mist Camouge Mask on her face, and only her pitch-ck eyes were visible.
Furthermore, her aura waspletely gone, as if she wasn''t alive anymore and one couldn''t tell she was standing there if they didn''t focus on her.
Thereupon, Freya also emerged, d in body tight armor. She looked even more ravishing than a year ago, as she was excluding a mysterious charm.
Winter was thest one who appeared. However, when everyone saw her they were all shocked because what emerged from her space wasn''t a big pink fox, but a little adorable girl with a fierce expression on her face which made her even cuter!
Chapter 494 Ace’s Scheme
Chapter 494 Ace¡¯s Scheme
¡°What happened to you?¡± Ace¡¯s astonished voice sounded when he saw Winter¡¯s new ¡®makeover¡¯.
He had seen Winter in her former humanoid form, and one could easily tell she was a transformed beast. However, now, she didn¡¯t have those fox ears and beastly eyes, but she lookedpletely human without any w, even her beastly aura was gone!
She now looked like a six-year adorable girl with long pink hair and pristine white skin, with pinkish fox eyes, no one would be able to tell that she was a fox in disguise!
Cross-armed, Winter pursed her lips and retorted in her adorable voice, ¡°Hmph, I have archive perfect transformation, what do you mean what happened to me?!¡±
She was unhappy about how Ace seemed to underestimate her from her childish appearance.
Although, she also didn¡¯t like this childish appearance. But she knew if any magic beast in the beast continent found out that she was able to achieve a perfect transformation as soon as she cultivated in Faceless Thief Secrets, those beasts would die of envy!
¡°What Perfect Transformation?¡± Ace was intrigued, he could tell this Winter had received an incredible boon from the cultivation technique.
Freya and Noa also seemed quite interested in hearing about this, since it was their first time seeing a beast taking humanoid form.
Winter knew this wasn¡¯t something worth hiding from the house members so she exined with a hint of smugness, ¡°Well, since you all are not outsiders I¡¯ll tell you the biggest secret of our Magic Beast Race.
¡°You should probably know there are two types of demonic beasts. The vicious type and the intelligent type. But those beasts earn their name as the ¡®Demonic Beasts¡¯ for a reason.
¡°It¡¯s because they couldn¡¯t transform no matter how long or how high they cultivate, but they can reproduce even faster than humans and it¡¯s their basic instinct to kill any lifeforms.
¡°That¡¯s why these demonic beasts are spread all over the world and other races used them as whetstones to train their younger generations and they don¡¯t feel threatened by them as well.
¡°However, everyone thought that the beast on the beast continent is the same as the demonic beast and band us together with those cannon folds. They simply call us a beast with Royal Bloodline or Royal Beast.¡±
She sneered with disdain as she continued, ¡°That¡¯s their biggest mistake because we are not Demonic Beast but Magic Beast, a race transcends those inferior animals!¡±
Freya couldn¡¯t help but exim at this moment, ¡°How can that race exist in this world?!¡±
Winter¡¯s eyes narrowed when she looked at Freya and said, ¡°You know about our race? It seemed we had a lot more inmon than I think.¡±
Freya sighed, ¡°It seemed everyone had underestimated the beast continent.¡±
¡°Stop ying riddles.¡± Ace¡¯s vexed voice sounded, these two women hid many things from him.
Freya replied, ¡°I have read records about the Magic Beast Race, and they are from the same world where my ancestors came from. Although there isn¡¯t any information about them, it said that the Magic Beast Race is one of the overlords of that ce and they aren¡¯t inferior to the Witch Race at all.¡±
Winter was slightly surprised, ¡°Which Race? I never heard of you guys.¡±
She could tell this woman was extremely dangerous, and she was quite knowledgeable as well. But it seemed she had underestimated her, and her race wasn¡¯t inferior to hers at all.
¡°How about you finish your exnation or we might offend Leader.¡± Freya smiled meaningfully. She was extremely interested in Winter¡¯s race background.
A peculiar glint sh past Winter¡¯s eyes as she looked at Freya, she said, ¡°As I was saying we are the Magic Beast Race a race far superior to those inferior beasts.
¡°The magic beasts were different because we didn¡¯t really need cultivation techniques to grow and as long as we consumed high-level materials or our own kind, we can strengthen ourselves and even our bloodline.
¡°Most importantly, we gain Beast¡¯s Transformation when we reached the Beast King Realm (Manifestation Realm) and gain powerful abilities with it.
¡°However, the Beast¡¯s Transformation is extremely difficult to achieve without a royal magic beast bloodline. Furthermore, there are different transformations ¡®Basic, Intermediate, High, Advance, and Perfect¡¯.
¡°The higher level the transformation we achieve, the more potential and advantage we had over others.
¡°As for the Perfect Transformation, it¡¯s the highest transformation the magic beast can achieve and a legend in our magic beast race. In this transformation, we don¡¯t have any ws, like if a magic beast achieved just a High-level Beast¡¯s Transformation, they would still have their beastly features.
¡°Now you understand what it means to me?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Winter remembered just how shocked she was when she achieved the perfect beast transformation the moment she started cultivating the Faceless Thief Secrets. It was like the bloodline limiter didn¡¯t apply to her anymore.
Not only that, but she also gained startling abilities with every major realm breakthrough, which she didn¡¯t reveal yet.
Although she bragged about how the Magic Beast Race didn¡¯t need cultivation techniques to grow, what she didn¡¯t tell them was only a handful of magic beast ns had cultivation techniques that suited them.
The optimal cultivation technique for a magic beast was the inherited cultivation technique from their bloodlines, like the demon and devil race.
If they cultivate any other technique, they will never bring out its hundred percent, but those inherited cultivation techniques can only be gained if someone in their n achieved Law Awareness Realm or higher realm, and unlocked those memories in their bloodline!
But how could it be so easy to achieve?
They were bound by the limits of their own bloodline, heaven makes everyone with ws and no one was perfect!
Even that dark mist only helped her achieve only High-level Beast Transformation and she could be considered at the peak of the beast continent with that transformation.
That¡¯s why Winter was even more devoted to the ¡®Thief Goddess¡¯ and determined to achieve the higher perks of the Thief House.
¡°I must congratte you on this, then.¡± Ace sincerely acknowledged.
He never thought the magic beast race transformation would be soplex and powerful.
Nevertheless, he was d since he gained another powerful helper and they all had a higher chance toplete the house mission now.
¡°Hmph, as long as you know.¡± Winter snorted with a hint of smugness.
¡°Alright, since is out of the way, how about we discuss the house mission now?¡± Ace¡¯s voice turned solemn.
Everyone¡¯s expression turned stern, although they all achieved heaven-defying results in this past year of seclusion, they knew they were still not out of the woods yet.
¡°What you have in mind?¡± asked Noa.
Ace spoke, ¡°First, we have to raise both Freya¡¯s and Winter¡¯s ranks. Before I thought it would be a problem, but now, I think it¡¯ll be quite easy.¡± His voice was filled with confidence.
Freya¡¯s eye narrowed. ¡°It seemed something happened while we were here?¡±
She knew how difficult it was for them to raise their ranks because they needed to theft and they would draw massive attention after Ace¡¯s recent thievery.
But from Ace¡¯s confident voice, it seemed something major had happened!
Ace chuckled, ¡°You can say that.¡±
¡°Out with it!¡± Winter¡¯s eyes also narrowed.
¡°You guys are going to be bandits of Demon Tamer Province!¡± Ace told seriously.
¡°Demon Tamer Province? Do you know what you¡¯re even saying?¡± Winter couldn¡¯t help but reprimand.
The Demon Tamer Province was the most powerful and most guarded province of the entire eight provinces of the demon continent, and no one dare to cause trouble here.
Now, Ace was telling them to be bandits in this province? She simply thought Ace was trying to get rid of them!
Freya also had the same thought.
¡°Please borate.¡± Noa was the only one who didn¡¯t think like this.
Ace solemnly said, ¡°Demon Tamer Province is the safest ce on the continent, where no one would dare to make trouble. That¡¯s why they didn¡¯t have any bandit groups or criminals.
¡°However, this is also their biggest w. You guys just need to raise your rank while portrayed as bandits. Not only you will not raise any suspicion this way, but the majority of the powers in Demon Tamer Province will also disdain acting against you or using their actual prowess since it was simply beneath them.
¡°By the time they start taking you all seriously, we have already moved on to the second part of our n, which is our proper goal.¡±
Freya¡¯s tri-pupils shimmered with a hint of astonishment, ¡°This can also be used as a distraction and if we y it carefully, we can even use it to distract everyone¡¯s attention while we perform our actual mission!¡±
However, Ace¡¯s rey waspletely different from everyone¡¯s expectations. ¡°No, we don¡¯t need to distract anyone. You guys have two months to raise your ranks before the biggest auction of eight provinces starts, the Life Demon Auction!¡±
Chapter 495 The Biggest Event of Eight Provinces!
Chapter 495 The Biggest Event of Eight Provinces!
Inside a dim room,
Amunication cube was glowing brightly as a famine voice sounded from it, ¡°How¡¯re things going on your end?¡±
In reply, a cloaked figure spoke in an impassive voice, ¡°Still no contact. Why are we insisting on doing this? You know I got nearly caught the other day?
¡°Besides, this n is so obvious even a moron would know about it¡¯s a trap. I¡¯m starting to doubt those old men¡¯s IQs now. They all had gone senile.¡±
¡°Hehe, they are just desperate. Anyway, don¡¯t act pitifully. We both know that anyone who can find you is the Grand Demon Duke, so don¡¯t even think about talking your way out of this. Besides, don¡¯t you love me and wanted to stay forever with me?¡± The voice asked affectionately.
A soft sigh escape from the cloak and he said, ¡°Do you think I snuck all the way to this countryside for a side scene?¡±
¡°Hehe, then why are youining? Once we seeded, no one will be standing between in our way anymore.¡± The voice giggles.
The cloaked figure¡¯s voice softened after he heard this. He said, ¡°Alright, but there are just too many people paying attention to ¡®him¡¯ and waiting for the contact. I¡¯m afraid the Grand Demon Duke will be furious if he found out we¡¯re working against him!¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can handle him. But I¡¯m worried that the thief might take the wrong bait and then we don¡¯t even have a chance to strike first.¡± The voice turned stern at this moment.
¡°You¡¯re hiding something from me?¡± The cloaked figure¡¯s voice turned somewhat cold.
¡°No dummy! I only found out about this yesterday. It seemed my brother is quite desperate for Grand Demon Duke¡¯s favor and it seemed it¡¯s working.¡± Said the mysterious voice.
¡°Oh, it seemed he still had a trump card to y.¡± He said with a hint of surprise.
¡°Yes, and he hid it quite well and if not for my connections in the association, I wouldn¡¯t even know until it was toote. But I won¡¯t let him seed smoothly.¡± The voice was as cold as ice.
¡°What¡¯s this trump card?¡± He asked curiously.
¡°The Life Demon Auction in three days¡¡±
¡ª
The Life Demon Auction held in the Demon Tamer Domain was probably the biggest event of eight provinces which happened every decade and only big shots of eight provinces with status equivalent to Demon Duke received the invitation to this event.
There were all kinds of rare and priceless treasures appeared in this auction, and even Demon Kings fought over these treasures.
However, this auction was different from before because of the uing Demon Gate Trial in a month.
That¡¯s why the auction this time will be an open auction where anyone can join and bid for treasures.
Not only this announcement made those participants who wanted and preparing to participate in Demon Gate Trial for almost two years surged toward the Demon Tamer Province ahead of time, but also make the auction¡¯s poprity off the charts.
This finally made the demon shift their attention from the corpse army and treasure pagoda theft incidents.
Demons all over the eight provinces started to enter the Demon Tamer Province in masses. Even the tribes of nature weren¡¯t an exception this time because of the demon gate trail.
However, not everyone can reach the Demon Tamer Province since the journey wasn¡¯t a walk in the park, especially those demons who lived far or who failed to join their Domain Teams which were formed by every demon king.
Those geniuses had it easy since they would be escorted by the demon kings themselves.
However, another news appeared a week prior to the auction, which shake the eight provinces.
The appointment of two new Demon Kings in Spear Demon Domain and Blood Demon Domain by the Royal Demon Council!
Furthermore, these two demon kings were not from the royal families who ruled these two provinces for generations, which made this event even more startling and everyone paid much attention to it.
However, because of the Life Demon Auction, this event quickly wilted away since everyone was interested in treasures and the demon gate trial.
This Auction can make an enormous difference in the Demon Gate Trial if some weak tribes get their hands on some powerful treasures for their youths. That¡¯s why everyonepletely focused on this event.
As for the venue of this open auction, since there would be millions of demons gathering this time, so for the first time the Life Demon Association partnered with the Royal Demon Council and arranged this massive event in the Forbidden ins a few miles away from the spear domains.
The Forbidden ins have spread hundreds of miles, but what makes this ce gain this name was it was thest boundary between Royal Zone and Eight Province.
Although there wasn¡¯t any forest or mountain or any vicious beasts roaming on these grassy ins, on the contrary, it was just emptynd.
However, no one could garrison in this ce, nor any tribe can exist here despite the high Qi density. It was aw even. Anyone who dared to break thisw will be eliminated by the royal zone, with no exception.
But because of the uing Demon Gate Trial and the magnitude of this uing auction, the two giants of the eight provinces got permission to hold this event here.
As for the security, it goes without saying that no one would dare to cause trouble since every bigwig of the demon race would attend this auction because of the demon gate trial.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Demons started to gather in the Forbidden ins even though there was still time before the auction will start.
The Demon Tamer Province had the advantage since this event was happening right in their province and they can leisurely head towards the venue.
The ck River City was no exception since there were only three days left before the auction began. Demons headed toward the forbidden ins inrge caravan groups.
In one of these caravan groups, there was a luxurious carriage between many carriages.
Five demons sat there while chatting excitedly.
¡°Who would¡¯ve thought this day wille when we got the chance to witness the biggest auction of eight provinces? We can even bid; the big shots had really outdone themselves this time!¡± A green skin demon eximed in ecstasy.
¡°Heh, stop dreaming fourth manager, we only got the chance to go there because the Firm Master is also going. How could we floor managers join the bidding war between thoserge tribes?¡± A graceful demoness yfully berated.
Another demon chimed in, ¡°I heard the numbered gather in the venue was already reached twenty million a week ago despite they set the limit like only the demons with foundation building realm can enter the special venue.¡±
¡°Heh, those tribes probably hoping to get some lucky break and get some treasure so they could have a higher chance of passing the Demon Gate Trial. How na?ve, did those backwater tribes think they canpete against young heroes of our demon tamer province with treasures? They might get broke while bidding against our province.¡± A burly purple demon sneered in disdain.
He wasn¡¯t the only one who look down on the other province, but others had the same viewpoint.
Although it looked like the auction was a harmonized event, actually, it wasn¡¯t because of the Demon Gate Trial.
Everyone wanted their youths to enter the royal zone because of the massive benefits and status. So, they won¡¯t let a powerful item fall into the hands of someone who could threaten their chances of passing the trail.
Especially those geniuses nurtured by the King Domains, every domain will prevent the other from having an upper hand on the trail.
That¡¯s why this auction was going to be a silent battlefield before the actual trial even begins between the big tribes of eight provinces.
¡°Hahaha¡ Seventh Manger well said, those inferior tribes better know their ce or our Demon Tamer Domain might tter theirnds with its demonic army!¡± Another demon snickered.
¡°Fifth Manager, what¡¯s your view on this matter?¡± The seventh manager looked at the gray skin demon who was sipping on his wine all this time while listening to their conversation without speaking.
The gray demon smiled faintly and humbly reply, ¡°Just as Seventh Manger said, other province doesn¡¯t stand a chance against our Demon Tamer Province. Sigh¡¡±
He let loose a rueful sigh all of a sudden andmented, ¡°It¡¯s just that we won¡¯t be able to bid for precious items there.¡±
They all can rte to this neer who join the firm two months ago since they also felt frustrated about this because it won¡¯t be wise to make an enemy with the other powerful tribes while biding against them.
The seventh manager sneered, ¡°Although we can¡¯t provoke those powers in the Demon Tamer Province, we can still fight with those backwater tribes from the other provinces!¡±
¡°I guess you have a point.¡± The fifth manager waved his wine ss in admiration.
Inwardly, he thought as a thievish glint shed past his eyes, ¡®I will have a small window to act!¡¯
Chapter 496 Life Demon Auction (1)
Chapter 496 Life Demon Auction (1)
The usually barren Forbidden ins were extremely lively today because the Life Demon Auction will be starting today!
Carriages were stopped three miles away from the auction location by a powerful formation barrier, and there were royal council members standing guard at this ce.
They were scanning every person, and storage ring, before they let them pass the formation barrier.
The retinue of Treasure Cloud Firm also stopped. There were six carriages, which include Firm Floor Managers, the Firm Master, and some assistants.
Usually, the Treasure Cloud Firm won¡¯t bring this many people, especially the workers, but the Firm Master showed generosity and let theme here to enjoy the liveliness.
The 10th-floor managers stood respectfully in front of a veiled demoness in a blue dress that exhibit her sultry curves. She was the mysterious Firm Master of the Treasure Cloud Firm.
But no one dare to look at her in the wrong way because they knew she wasn¡¯t a harmless flower who anyone can touch but an aconitum.
She seldom made public appearances, and that¡¯s why very few people know the treasure cloud firm master was a woman.
Firm Master impassively looked at the floor managers before her eyes stopped at the fifth-floor manager, who had a faint smile on his face.
An annoying glint sh past her eyes as she said, ¡°Everyone after the auction ended returned here. You can do whatever you want, but if you offend someone, the firm will not take responsibility.
¡°Now, enjoy your time. It¡¯s a rare chance to witness such an event. You are all free to go. Expect, Fifth Floor Master, please stay for a chat.¡±
Everyone bowed slightly before they headed toward the formation barrier with ecstasy, while they were a little curious about why the Firm Master who never talked to them wanted to chat with this newly appointed floor manager.
Nevertheless, they know better than to ask, so they quickly leave.
¡°You three can also leave.¡± She impassively ordered the help demonesses behind her.
¡°But¡¡± one of the assistants wanted to utter words of concern, but the Firm Master coldly shut her down.
¡°Do I have to repeat myself?¡±
They all shivered before they quickly bow and left as well.
At this moment, the fifth-floor manager finally reveal a refreshing smile and said, ¡°They were just concerned about your well-being.¡±
The Firm Master, who was non-other than Aliya, retorted in annoyance, ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡±
Her eyes turn stern at this moment. ¡°Are you sure that formation is ¡®harmless¡¯?¡±
She was clearly concerned about Ace¡¯s disguise will blow up since she knew the Life Demon Association put a powerful formation around the venue which can instantly reveal any kind of concealment.
Even demon kings might not escape its detection.
But Ace insisted oning here, despite knowing the danger.
Ace chuckled, ¡°As long as that formation isn¡¯t a grade-7, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± He knewing into this ce was like entering the lion¡¯s den, but he was confident in his mask¡¯s ability.
As long as they didn¡¯t use grade-7 ruins or a Law Awareness Realm wasn¡¯t using its martial sense or soul sense, no one will be able to see through his disguise.
Besides,ing here was an important part of his n, and he knew how to keep a low profile.
Aliya clearly didn¡¯t believe him and looked at him with suspicion. If Freya hadn¡¯t given hermand personally, she would never agree to this suicidal task, even if Ace threatened her.
Ace looked around as many demons were hurrying toward the barrier without paying attention to their surroundings.
¡°It seems it¡¯s about to begin. Let¡¯s go. Do you get your hands on the VIP seats?¡± Ace looked at Aliya with expectancy.
After staying two months in the Cloud Treasure Firm as an acting fifth-floor manager, he found out the firm was well known throughout the three cities of the Demon Tamer Province and have quite a reputation.
From Freya, he discovered the Cloud Treasure Firm was the primary ie source of the Spica Syndicate and they also sold illegal and stolen goods from the other provinces through this firm.
No one would¡¯ve ever thought that a famous firm of Demon Tamer Province would be under the control of a syndicate.
Ace was also thrilled since he can use this business to his own advantage to sell all the useless stuff for high-grade Qi stones or materials he needed to raise his EXP or SP.
Aliya looked at him as aplicated glint shed past her eyes when he said, VIP seats.
Although it looked like anyone can enter the auction and bid for items, it was not the entire truth, because everyone had to pay the entrance fee of 10 high-grade-2 Qi stones which alone shave through the freebies who wanted to just enjoy the auction by watching.
If they didn¡¯t charge this fee, the entire Demon Tamer Province might¡¯ve been present today. Nevertheless, they still let those enjoy the auction as long as they paid the entrance fee and profited from it big time!
Then there were three kinds of sitting ns in this auction. The first was open seats that could be bought by anyone for 100 low-grade-3 Qi stones and they were unlimited.
Only someone with these seats could bid for items, and these seats can be paid for on the spot.
The second seating n was the VIP stand, and these seats were sold to big tribes and noble demons with at least a demon marquis status or well-known firms throughout the eight provinces. As long as they were eligible, they can buy these VIP seats from any branch of the Life Demon Association.
However, these seats were not cheap, and they were limited. 10,000 were sold in every outer province, 20,000 in inner provinces, and 50,000 in core provinces.
But whoever wanted to buy them had to pay for high-grade-2 Qi stones, and the price was 1 Million.
This alone rendered many demons who had their eyes on these seats helpless since 1 Million High-Grade-2 Qi stones weren¡¯t easily amodated for even a demon marquis rank tribe.
But these seats were still sold out in two days!
As for thest sitting n, it was the VVIP Rooms, which weren¡¯t sold, but the association sent an invitation for these rooms and no one knows how many were avable. But one thing was for sure, Demon Kings will be in these rooms.
Anyway, Aliya wasn¡¯t able to get her hands on those seats in the VIP stands fast enough, and they were sold out just too quickly.
However, some profiteers bought extra seats, and they were selling them in ck for ten times the market price.
Aliya had given up on these seats since 10 Million wasn¡¯t a small amount and she wasn¡¯t interested ining here in the first ce. She didn¡¯t like crowds.
But when Ace found out, he told her to buy two seats for them and give her a hundred million high-grade-2 Qi stones like they were normal stones to acquire those seats.
She then realized that this man had stolen one of the eight richest treasures in the entire continent, so fifty million was just a chump change for him.
Even though she was tempted to change her profession like her mistress, she was too proud to ask.
Anyhow, she acquired the seats in the VIP stand for fifteen million each and Ace let her keep the rest of the Qi stones, which make her secretly ted.
¡°Hmph, I got them. Why do you think I send them away first? It would be too strange if they suspect something.¡± She snorted and walked toward the checkpoint.
Ace smiled in satisfaction. Those VIP seats were quite important to him. Even if it required more money, he was willing to pay.
When the guards started to use the formation to inspect them, Aliya was a little bit tense while Ace remain nonchnt.
¡°You¡¯re clear, move on.¡± The guard then closed the formation and let them move forward.
Ace chuckled, ¡°See? It was ¡®harmless¡¯.¡±
Aliyapletely ignored Ace, but she was secretly relieved.
Ace, on the other hand, looked at the distance where a colossal structure was.
He was astonished when he saw the scale of that structure. It was spread over ten miles!
As they approached the entrance, which could easily hold a thousand people, a hundred guards were standing in the royal council¡¯s traditional ck attire.
¡°Esteem guests are buying seats, or do you want to enter the spectator stands?¡± A guard asked while blocking their way.
¡°I have two VIP passes.¡± Aliya¡¯s expression was as cold as ice as she took out a silver envelope.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
¡°May I take a look?¡± The guard¡¯s voice softened when he saw the VIP pass.
Aliya handed over the passes, and that guard took out an array te.
He put the envelopes on the te and it shimmered and all of a sudden, a series of numbers appeared on the te¡¯s edge.
He handed the passes back and respectfully bowed this time. ¡°Esteemed VIPs, please follow me. I¡¯ll escort you to your seats!¡±
Chapter ?497 Life Demon Auction (2)
?497 Life Demon Auction (2)
"Esteemed VIPs, please follow me. I''ll escort you to your seats!"
However, before Aliya could agree, Ace spoke with a polite smile, "There''s no need senior, we don''t want to make it hard on you. Just tell us the direction and we''ll find our way."
The burly demon was a Qi soul realm expert, so calling him a senior wasn''t exaggerating at all.
''At least some of the youngsters know how to treat their seniors. I''m sick of dealing with those arrogant brats.'' He looked at Ace with a hint of approval. He nodded and kindly said, "Just turn left from the entrance. You''ll find the stairway that led to the VIP levels. Your seats are on level 18. Someone from there will escort you."
Aliya nced at Ace coldly, but she didn''t retort and walked away with Ace.
However, Ace''s expression turned serious when he was walking inside. ''What a powerful formation!'' Even he felt his sense tingle when he got scanned by an invisible force.
But luckily this was only a grade-5 formation or he might really be in trouble.
The interior of this building was huge, and many demons were moving in the right direction while the left direction was quite calm.
"What are nning you to do?" Aliya whispered with a hint of trepidation. She was worried since Ace didn''t brief her about his n.
She could tell Ace didn''t reject the escort because of the kindness of his heart, but he was going to make a move!
Ace mysteriously smile before he handed her a ring and winked. "Just buy whatever you like. It''s your reward."
Without waiting for her reply, he moved straight toward the closed door a few meters away from on the side!
Aliya''s heart palpitated when she saw Ace unhurriedly walking there as if he own the ce and no one suspected anything. She was even more shocked when Ace opened the door and quickly close it before he sh her an optimistic smile!
She was a little dumbfounded by his guts, but she climbed the stairway toward the VIP levels as if she saw nothing while clutching the storage ring tightly.
''Swindler!'' A hint of worry appeared in her cold, indignant eyes.
Ace was now inside a massive hallway while he walked casually with his hand behind his back like an arrogant big shot.
"Sir, you can''t be here!" Suddenly, a harsh voice rang from behind, stopping Ace in his tracks.
He looked around and saw a middle-aged demon in special white and ck clothes. He was also giving off a river core realm aura.
Ace had an exculpating expression as he spoke in surprise, "Oh, I''m not? But that guard told me to go left if I want to enter the VIP stand?"
The middle-aged demon''s expression loosened a bit. ''Did someone leave the inner sanctum doors unlocked?''
He knew the inner sanctum doors were all protected and locked with a Grade-2 array, so it was almost impossible to leave them opened without the array.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Auction will start in thirty minutes!" A loud voice reverberated in the entire building at this moment, followed by the cheering of an immense crowd.
The middle-aged demon''s expression changed, and he blurted, "Sir, this is the ce for the staff. Come, I''ll escort you. I''m heading there myself. The auction is about to start."
"Oh, it seemed I walked into the wrong ce. I always have this problem with direction. Pardon me." The gray demon sighed helplessly, and he seemed quite embarrassed.
The middle-aged demon smiled in realization and walked toward another door that led to the outer area.
However, the moment his back was turned, a powerful strikended on the back of his head. He felt like hit by an iron hammered and lost consciousness.
Ace didn''t dy either, and a light suddenly shed from his forehead before he heard the system''s voice.
"[Face-173 has been saved!]"
"Activate it!" Acemanded before the middle-aged demon vanished into his thief''s space and appeared in a cage he had prepared
He now turned into the middle-aged demon, but he wasn''t done. Soon he changed his clothes and started the soul probing simultaneously.
He didn''t dare to use his stealth or he might get exposed.
It took Ace over a minute to change his entire appearance and as the memories flooded into his mind; he hastened in the direction where this demon actually came from.
Soon, he saw a room and sensed many presences, and he walked right into it.
Over fifty demons were wearing white attire, while they all stood in front of arge opening.
His eyes slightly widen when he saw the scene outside. The structure was spherical and he could see millions of demons standing behind stands and there were twenty levels.
The first ten levels were for spectators, while the 11th or 17th levels were for the open seats.
The 18th and 19th levels were for the VIPs, and thest twentieth level was for the VVIPs.
Moreover, the twentieth level was divided into small boxes and no one could see who was behind those boxes.
But there were five thousand such boxes and all of them were probably filled.
Right in the center of this arena was a tall stage blocked by red curtains and even martial or soul sense can''t prate behind those curtains.
"Sir Peterson, why are you doing here? Didn''t you leave for the 19th level?" A burly demon with dark yellow skin asked in surprise.
Ace was startled for a moment, and then he finally got the memory. He found out that they were all on the first level and these demons were the maintenance staff.
While the demon he changed his disguise to, Peterson had much higher status, and he was one of the demons in charge of the seventh-level VIP customer services.
Peterson coolly reacted. "I was checking on you guys. Since everything is fine, I''ll be on my way."
Without waiting for a reply, Ace quickly left the room, confusing many demons with his strange behavior.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
''I nearly messed up. Doing everything without an exact n is really hard,'' Ace cussed as he finally got the memories of the entire pathways of this arena and he quickly found his way toward the upper levels.
The arena was packed, and he could hear the crowd''s voices even from the inside. He finally understood why tens of thousands of staff members were recruited for this auction.
Furthermore, all of these staff members were affiliated with the Life Demon Auction.
Like Peterson was a Nine-Star Rune Crafter, and that''s why he was appointed into the less crowded VIP level while those Crafter Smiths were stuck dealing with the first ten levels.
Even the VIP level was quite huge. There were a total of 230 stands in two VIP levels, and each stand has 1 thousand VIP seats.
Peter and four other demons were in charge of Stand No.19-186 and their jobs were to deliver the items the bidders won and collect the money from the bidders in this entire stand.
Soon, Ace reached the 19th level, which was nine hundred meters above ground level.
Inparison, to spectator levels and open levels, the VIP levels were orderly.
Those ces were just too crowded, and this ce was extremely calm since only influential demons can get their hands on the VIP passes.
"Why are you still wandering around? Where is your position?" An unhappy aged voice sounded.
Ace looked behind and saw a skinny violet demon walking toward him with a stern expression.
He quickly knew the identity of this old man. He respectfully bowed and said, "Life Master, those guys at the spectator stands were making some trouble, so I was dyed."
This old man was a Runic Life Master from Spear Demon Province Branch and he was also one of the appointed managers of the 19th VIP level, Ville, a High Third Grade Rune Crafter.
Ville''s eyes shed with coldness when he heard it. "Those bunch of ingrates. We let them attend this auction and they''re still making things difficult for us? Do they think we are pushovers?"
He was extremely livid, and an exhausted look appeared on his face. It seemed he was exhausted.
He sighed helplessly all of a sudden. "You did well. I shouldn''t react like that. It''s just that building this arena and then arranging the formations in this entire ce and event, sigh¡ I never thought I would resent being a rune crafter one day. Just do your duty, those VIPs won''t make a fuss like those bumpkins." He waved his hand.
Peterson quickly bowed. "Please take care of your health, Life Master. If you need anything, just tell this little one."
Ville''s expression softened, "Just don''t mess up your duties, it''ll be a huge favor. Now go, the curtains are about to lift. At least we can see the expression on those clowns'' faces when the auction began. No one will dare to belittle us anymore!"
Chapter ?498 Life Demon Auction (3)
?498 Life Demon Auction (3)
"¡ no one will dare to belittle us anymore!"
Ace scoffed inwardly when he heard this. After he appeared in the demon-tamer province, he got to know the Life Demon Association had suffered a huge blow to their reputation after what he had done.
Before, no one dared to look the members of the association straight in the eyes, but after the theft, everything changed as everyoneughed at the members of the association in secret. They won''t revere them like before anymore.
Especially when the entire Life Demon Treasure Pagoda in the de domain was raised to rubble just because they can''t erase that huge thief symbol no matter what they do.
This made Ace even more renowned and feared by many wealthy demons!
Not only their treasuries weren''t secure, but even their storage rings, which were supposed to be the safest ce, can be stolen right under their nose even if they were paying attention.
The incident with Life Grandmaster Gatlin was an open secret and the poor old fellow was still in aa because he couldn''t take the burden of his entire wealth and reputation gotten stolen from him on the same night.
Some demons even started to bury their treasures in secret locations after that event, just so the Sky Stealer won''t steal them.
This open auction was a move by the life demon association to earn back their reputation and shut the mouths of those who stillugh at them in secret.
Or in previous auctions, the members with high status in the association never worked their ass off as they did this time.
However, if those old life grandmasters and the President of the association know that the Sky Stealer still infiltrated into their auction, they might lose the will to live anymore.
Ace keep his disdain to himself and quickly thanked Ville and dashed toward the VIP Stand, where he found nine more demons standing behind the nine rows, and only the tenth row was empty. He knew it was his ce and quickly stand like a statue just like the others.
The other attendants were from different branches and they only know each other names and no one was familiar with anyone, which Ace preferred the most.
At this moment, the entire arena bepletely silent as everyone looked at the big stage in the center because the curtains started to lift!
Soon, a red tform appeared, with a huge dark mirror on the back, and standing in the middle of the tform was a schrly wizened white skin demon with long silver hair and his erudite sky-blue eyes were calm as water.
However, when everyone saw the five golden starts and three green stars on this old demon''s shoulder and the rune symbol on his ck robes. They all knew this was a high-grade-5 rune crafter!
The demon finally opened his mouth as his voice reverberated in the entire arena, "Let me introduce myself, very few people know who I am, my name is Ewan, and I''m the President of the Life Demon Association."
Everyone couldn''t help but eximed that the President of the Life Demon Association was a legend because this guy won''t even meet with demon kings, much less appear in this auction and speak in public!
Ewan''s eyes were exempt from any emotion as he continued, "My object of appearing here today is to greet our esteemed guests from afar. And to announce that the registration of the long-awaited Demon Gate Trials will be opened soon after this auction and in this same arena!"
The youth who were here for the demon gate trials were shocked for a moment before everyone cheered.
Ewan''s lips slightly curled at this moment, "Now, please enjoy the Auction!"
He soon vanished behind that huge minor after riling up the entire audience.
Ace, on the other hand, frowned at this announcement. ''They move quite efficiently.''
Right at this moment, an extremely beautiful tan demoness with a charming smile emerged from behind the mirror.
Many young demons drooled when they saw the overdeveloped curves on her devilish body, even those big shots in the VIP stand couldn''t help but gulped.
However, no one dared to belittle that demoness despite her beautiful and delicate appearance because of the three golden stars and three green stars on her shoulder. She was just one step away from a Life Master rank!
She opened her cheery lips as her charming voice rang through the entire arena, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Wee to the Life Demon Auction!
"I''m the hostess of this auction, Lilly!"
"Without any further ado, let me exin the rules to everyone.
"As everyone knows there are millions of demons attending this auction this time, we have collected many treasures for everyone and that''s why this auction willst for ten days at two hours intervals each day!
"So, to make it convenient for everyone to bid without any mishap, we have engraved a small bidding array in everyone''s seats.
"You can assess it as long as you put your auction pass on the special embedded rune under your seat''s left arm stand. You can ce your bid through this array and they will then appear in thisrge disy mirror behind me where everyone can see them.
"Once you sessfully bid for an item, the Auction Attendants wille and collect the final amount and give you a special token in return, which you can use at the end of the auction to collect your items from the reception hall on each level.
"A friendly warning, if anyone bid and won the item but then found of insufficient dues, there will be dire consequences for such practice. So please bid carefully." Her friendly smile sent chills to everyone.
Thereupon, everyone quickly started to activate their arrays like Lilly just instructed them to.
"Hey,e here and tell me where this damn thing will go!"
Ace was looking at those runes with his runic eyes when amanding voice rang from his row.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
He looked in front and a young demon with average looks was waving his VIP pass at him.
"Right away." He had no choice since this was part of his duty and his fellow attendants were also helping some idiots to activate the arrays.
Lilly spoke again after giving everyone five minutes to activate the bidding arrays of their respective seats.
"Since everyone is ready, let''s start the first day of this Life Demon Auction!"
With an enthralling smile, Lilly waved her hand and golden runes lit up in the center of the stage before a pir rose.
The mirror behind suddenly projected the item on the pir.
There was a closed white crystal box.
Lilly slowly moved toward it and opened the lid, revealing the item inside.
There were three pristine silver pills with brown circles around them.
Someone at the VIP level eximed, "Perfect Pills!"
This voice raised ripples through the entire arena.
Lilly spoke at this moment with a charming smile, "As everyone knows, there are four quality ranks of pills, Low, Intermediate, High, and Peak. Each rank represented the difference in pill purity rate. The higher the purity, the more effective the pill was.
"Low-Rank Pill had below 15% purity rate, Intermediate rank had below 40%, High rank had below 75%, and Peak rank pill had below 90%.
"However, there is an even higher rank than these four, the Perfect Rank which had over 90% purity rate, and these kinds of pills are only made with luck and vast experience."
Lilly''s eyes shimmered as she spoke, "As everyone can see, these three pills are perfect rank Bone Strengthening Pills of Low-Grade-3. Each perfect rank bone strengthening pill can increase the bone strength of the River Realm Cultivator by 5% and 2% of the River Core Realm Expert!
"The starting bid for each Perfect Rank Bone Strengthening Pill is¡ 10,000 High Grade-2 Qi Stone and each bid minimum increase has to be 100 High Grade-2. The bid is open!"
Just as her voice trailed off, the numbers started to appear in the mirror, like raging tides, as the bid continue to increase.
"Which bastard raised the amount by 50,000?! Are Qi stones grow on trees?!" Someone in the open seat stands cursed with a fuming face.
"Fuck, even those guys at the VIP level got involved. How can we win this item for our juniors?!" Another poor soul howl from the open seat stands.
Everyone wanted to buy those pills for their juniors who were going to participate in the Demon Gate Trial.
After Ewan''s announcement, everyone fought even more intensely for any item that could raise their juniors'' chances of passing the trial.
However, when the bid crossed the 300,000 threshold, the demons in the open seat stands give up resentfully.
It was a huge amount for any marquis-level tribe, even duke level tribe will feel the pinch.
These were 300,000 High-Grade-2 Qi stones, not Grade-1, if converted to the peak grade-1 Qi stones, they would be 30,000,000!
Furthermore, the auction will only ept Qi stones of high-grade-2 or above levels, so many demons were forced to convert their low-quality Qi stones for high-level Qi stones at a high price!
Chapter ?499 Bidding Wars (1)
?499 Bidding Wars (1)
The bid for the Bone Strengthening Pill reached 346,300 when it finally stopped.
Lilly finally spoke as she looked at the crowd, "As everyone can see, the guest on seat no.18-41,322 bid 346,300 high-Grade 2 Qi stones.
"346,300 high-Grade 2 Qi stones going once¡
"346,300 high-Grade 2 Qi stones going twice¡
"And¡ it''s thest chance to acquire this amazing pill for your juniors¡" She smiled slyly.
"Fuck, this vixen!" An ugly demon sitting on seat no 41,322 on the 18th VIP level cursed when he saw Lilly was deliberately counting slowly to raise the bid even more.
However, to this relief, no one seemed to be willing to pay more for one pill.
"346,300 high-Grade 2 Qi stones going thrice, and SOLD! Congrattion to the VIP for winning this amazing pill." Lilly shed a radiant smile.
"The Auction Attendant wille to you soon. Please wait patiently. Now let''s start the bid for the second Perfect Rank Bone Strengthening Pill. It is also started on 10,000 High Grade-2 Qi Stone and each bid minimum increase is 100 High Grade-2. The bid is open, everyone!" Lilly announced.
Another bidding war break out for the second Bone Strengthening Pill.
Inside one of the rooms on the VVIP level, all kinds of Qi fruits and wine were served on a jade table, while one could see the auction on the stage clearly in a mirror projection.
Furthermore, this room was quite spacious, not like the other VVIP rooms.
But the shocking thing about this room was that not only Ewan was present, but the masked Grand Demon Duke was also sitting on a throne-like seat.
Besides the Grand Demon Duke were two masked demons sitting on each side.
While nine more demons wearing unique uniforms were sitting calmly not far away. But they were all sitting separately in pairs of three on three different sides.
"These pills will give a slight advantage to the trial participants." A young red demon with a fierce look on his face spoke. He wore a navy-blue attire with white stripes on his arms and a ck mountain insignia on his chest.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"No much, although those pills might raise bone strength, they will not increase the core strength nor their will." The middle-aged demon in the same attire shook her head slightly.
"Instructor Kain is as wise as always." Another middle-aged demon chuckled, but there was a hint of scorn in his voice. He wore ck attire with three silver swords insignia on his chest.
"Heh, Instructor Axton, your viewpoint, on the other hand, hasn''t changed much." A handsome demon scoffed. He wore a gray attire with a ck tree insignia on his chest.
These three weren''t on the same side and belonged to different powers.
Those six young demons sitting beside these three also looked at each other with provoking gazes.
Ewan, despite being the president of the Life Demon Association in the eight provinces, didn''t speak between these demons because the status of all the demons sitting in his room was too high for even him!
"Instructor Alden, you''re as glib as ever." Instructor Axton''s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Esteem Instructors, are you interested in bidding on any items in the auction?" The masked demoness asked curiously.
Ewan silently praised her for changing the topic or he could sense that things were going south.
"Hehe, Your Highness, if anything caught this old man''s fancy, no one will be able to snatch it for me. But I''m afraid the chances of it happening is almost zero in this kind of auction." Instructor Alden chuckled.
He didn''t even nce at Ewan while insulting his auction.
"Big words, Instructor Alden." Instructor Axton sneered with disdain as he looked at the two young demons sitting beside him. He said confidently, "If you two like anything, just tell me, and I''ll buy it for you. Let''s see who dared topete against me."
"Thank you, Instructor!" Both demons quickly thanked him with a hint of excitement.
"Look who talking big words now. Hmph, if you like anything, just bid without any hesitation." Instruction Alden was clearly provoked.
Instructor Kain, on the other hand, merely nodded with a hint of coldness, which mean he was also giving the chance to the young demons on his side to bid for anything.
The Grand Demon Duke''s eyes werepletely closed at this moment as if he was in a deep sleep and didn''t hear anything.
The masked demon, on the other hand, was looking at the projection screen with great expectation, ''If you appeared, you can never get away!''
The mask demoness, on the other hand, impassively looked at the screen, ''Let''s see who had thestugh, little brother.''
On the outside, the second Bone Strengthening Pill sold for 341,000 Qi stones this time, and the bidder was also a VIP.
As for thest one, it sold for 358,000 Qi stones to another VIP.
Ace couldn''t help but smile when he saw those three pills selling at such a high price. ''I have tons of such pills I got from the Life Treasure Pagoda, and those three women consume them like water, especially that fox. Maybe that''s why they managed to increase their cultivation so much in a year.
''Besides, the pills Noa gave me had an ever higher purity rate than these perfect rank pills. My decision to give her free rein over the raw materials was a right one.''
Ace was content when he saw just how valuable those pills with high purity rates were and, despite having a huge amount of such pills, the association was stingy with them.
He never cared about the purity rate or what kind of pills he was consuming, since all he needed was EXP and SP.
Now that he had thief house members, he knew how important those pills were for normal cultivators and powers to nurture their experts.
Lilly revealed the second item at this moment, drawing everyone''s attention. They were another crystal box, but this time there was only one red pill.
Lilly introduced, "Although this is not a perfect pill, it is even more precious than a perfect pill. It is the peak rank Low-Grade-3 Bloodline Pill which can help any demon below Demon King rank to strengthen their bloodline up to 5% percent, which means a faint chance of awakening an innate ability!"
The entire arena riled up when they heard the introduction of the Bloodline Pill.
Lilly smiled charmingly when she saw the crowd starting at the Bloodline Pill like hungry wolves.
She spoke, "The starting bid for this Bloodline Pill is¡ 50,000 High-Grade-2 Qi Stones and each bid has to increase by 500. The bid is open!"
Instantly, the moment Bloodline Pill''s bid was opened, its price shot up like a volcano and reached 500,000.
Even though some VVIPs joined the bid, no one thought there would be this kind of pill will be the second item of this auction.
Aliya, who was still fuming over how Ace ditched her, was also tempted by this pill. She was also a demon with a low bloodline, and this pill can help her increase her talent slightly.
Furthermore, she was extremely wealthy with 70 million Qi stones she saved from the VIP passes, and then Ace gave her a storage ring filled with Qi stones before he left.
When she saw the amount, even she felt she was dreaming, there were five hundred million high-grade-2 Qi stones, a hundred million peak grade-2 Qi stones, and ten million low-grade-3 Qi stones.
Her wealth wasn''t lowered than any VVIP or above them even.
''Hmph, at least he knows how to repay debts,'' Aliya scoffed with a hint of satisfaction.
Like a wealthydy, she also ced the bid as she controlled the bidding array and raised it two million directly!
The entire arena was started when the bid reached a such height, and the bidder was not from the VVIP rooms but the VIP stands.
Those in the open stands gave up since the bloodline pill wasn''t worth this much.
Even those in the VIP stands shake their heads in regret.
Lilly spoke with a smile, "The guest in seat no.18-87,900 bid the three million Qi stones!
"Three million going once¡
"Three million going twice¡
"Last chance to get a pill to raise the bloodline density?" She looked toward the VVIP rooms, "And three million going¡"
At this moment, the number changed from 3 million to 3.01 million, and this bid came from a VVIP room.
Killing intent shed past Aliya''s eyes as she looked at Lilly''s crafty smile.
''She better pray I don''t get hold of her secrets!'' She raised the bid directly to 4 million without batting an eye.
This time, those in the same stand as Aliya finally looked at her with shock. They had the same thoughts; who was this wealthydy?
Inside VVIP room no.3,764, a young demon with a handsome appearance had a frown on his face when he looked at the bid on the screen.
"Which degenerate is bidding against this young master from those lowly tribes?!"
Chapter ?500 Bidding Wars (2)
?500 Bidding Wars (2)
This young man was an heir of the branch n of a Wild Demon King tribe and they naturally received a VVIP pass from the Life Demon Association.
He was here to participate in the demon gate trial and he had his n''s full support to bid for another he wanted in this auction as long as it can raise his chances of passing the trial.
This bloodline pill was quite alluring to him since it could help him strengthen his abilities, but seeing the four million bid, he was hesitating.
However, when he thought how this bid was from a VIP stand not from a VVIP Room, he felt his dignity has been challenged.
He gritted his teeth and rise the bid by ten thousand.
''Let''s see if these lowly tribes still dare to bid against me,'' He sneered in rage.
However, his eyes turned bloodshot when he saw the same person raise the bid to 4.5 million directly!
"Bastard! Who is it?!" He really wanted to storm toward the VIP stand, but he knew he can''t cause trouble here or he''ll be kicked out.
Lilly looked at the bid and couldn''t but smile brightly as she spoke, "The guest in seat no.18-87,900 bid 4.5 million Qi stones!
"4.5 million going once¡
"4.5 million going twice¡
"Last chance, everyone?" She smiled charmingly, but this time no one raise the bid, "And 4.5 million going¡ thrice and sold! Congrattion to the guest on seat no.18-87,900 for winning this wonderful Bloodline Pill. On to next item." Lilly didn''t dwell on the Bloodline pill and quickly reveal the next item.
Aliya, on the other hand, snort as she paid the attendant and received a golden receipt with the unique number of the item she won. She can im that item as long as she showed this receipt.
''What a resentful woman.'' Ace also smile wryly on the neenth level since he knew Aliya''s seat number.
The third item was finally revealed at this moment. It was another pill, but this item waspletely transparent like fine ice, and small light blue circles were around this pill.
Lilly introduced with a charming smile, "This is a perfect quality soul pill, the high-grade-2 Instant Soul Recovery Pill. As long as the soul isn''t destroyed, this pill can make a vast difference between life and death.
"It can instantly recover 50% soul injury of the River Realm, 20% of the River Core Realm, and¡ 5% of Soul Realm!"
The entire arena stirred after hearing the Instant Soul Recovery Pill''s introduction, especially those Demon Dukes in the Soul Realm. This pill had a great temptation for them, even with a 5% recovery.
Because everyone knows, the soul of a soul realm expert was very hard to heal if injured, and this pill can make a tremendous difference with just five percent.
A content glint shed past Lilly''s eyes as she spoke, "The starting bid for this perfect Instant Soul Recovery Pill is¡ 50,000 High-Grade-2 Qi Stones and each bid has to increase by 1,000. The bid is open!"
Another bidding war started and this time more VVIP rooms take part since many well-known demon dukes were in these rooms.
The VIP stands didn''t even bid because they knew those in the VVIP rooms had far more wealth than them and they can''t win this pill even if they wanted it.
Lilly spoke when the bid stopped, "The guest in room no.328 bid five million Qi stones!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, just as she was about to start the count, another bid from a VVIP room appeared.
Lilly eximed, "The guest in room no.542 just bid 10 million Q stones!"
Sitting in the VVIP room no.328 was none other than Thomas, his wife Milly, and his protector Maddux.
Thomas had a very gloomy face when he saw the bid increase by five million.
"Who is in that room?" He couldn''t help but ask.
Maddux spoke with a stony expression¡
Inside room, no.542,
Jaxx sat with a handsome young demon who had a resemnce to Thomas.
Jaxx couldn''t help but sneered, "Brother Darren, you probably scared him away."
This Darren was none other than Thomas''s second brother who arrange for Jaxx to assassinate Thomas in the de province trials, but Thomas was too cunning and appeared here alive.
Now Darren was here to obstruct Thomas from acquiring anything which could raise his chance to pass the demon gate trial, and the instant soul recovery pill was just one of such items.
As for how they knew Thomas was the one who was in room no.328, it wasn''t impossible to get the list of VVIP guests from the association if they paid enough and had the status of Demon King or their heirs.
Darren had a cold smile as he coolly stated, "That brother of mine is just too stubborn. I had already got rid of the others, but he just refused to go down peacefully. Let''s see if he could get anything from this auction as long as I''m here."
A ruthless glint shed past his eyes.
Inside another VVIP room.
Room no,10, this room was far morevished than the others.
A wizened tan demon with an extraordinary demeanor and imposing aura was observing the auction, as his expression was impassive.
An old demon standing behind him respectfully said, "Your Majesty, it seemed the Second Prince will not give up after failing in the de Domain."
This wizened demon was none other than the Cheveyo Wild Demon King!
Cheveyo Demon King impassively stated, "If he can''t even take care of this problem, then I''m afraid he''s not worthy of my throne."
The demon standing behind the Cheveyo Demon King didn''t speak, and ruefully sighed and watched as Lilly had already counted up to two.
But Thomas raised the bid to 10.1 Million before she could go to three.
He hated this brother of this since he tried to kill him, even targeting his beloved wife to get to him.
But Maddux knew how cruel Darren was and he could do anything to reach his goal, so he never left Milly''s side. She was his precious granddaughter. How could he let anything happen to her?
Darren sneered coldly when he saw Thomas still didn''t give up and raised the bid to fifteen million directly.
"Let him have it." Milly put her hand on Thomas''s trembling hand at this moment.
Thomas quickly calmed his boiling rage and nodded.
He couldn''t help but think of a certain someone with aplicated look in his eyes. ''I wonder what that guy was doing with all that wealth right now. If I knew he could rob even the treasure pagoda, I might really agree to follow him.''
He couldn''t help but ruefully chuckled, which confused Milly and Maddux.
In the end, Darren sessfully won the bid for the Instant Soul Recovery Pill.
After the first three items, the next items appeared to be rather ordinary and the bidding wars rage between the open stands for these treasures and seldom the VIP stands involved.
Where Ace was located, two demons sessfully bid for two items, but they weren''t from his row. So, he kept observing while standing like a statue.
There wasn''t any item that could draw his attention.
Hours pass and finally,
Lilly looked at the dark sky and the brightly lit arena. She smiled and said, "This is thest item of the first day before we take two hours interval."
Suddenly an extremely ancient book appeared on the stage.
Even Ace''s eyes shed in astonishment when he saw the writing.
Lilly introduced, "As everyone can see, this book is quite old, and it''s unearthed from a ruin in the ghost province. The writing in this book is extremely ancient and we don''t have any records of this writing.
"But the seller told us he had got this book under an ancient destroyed shrine. Although we don''t know its value, the words of this book are still preservedpletely even after being buried for god knows how long. We can guarantee that this book is authentic with no forgery."
Lilly continued, "This book might have great research value. That''s why the seller wanted to sell it for peak grade-2 Qi stones. The starting bid is 10,000 peak grade-2 Qi stones, with a minimum raise limit of 100 peak grade-2 stones. The bid is open!"
Everyone looked doubtful at the book since even the life demon association can''t trante this book. What can they do about it?
Furthermore, this item was sold by someone else through this auction, and not just any item can be sold here. The reputation of the Life Demon Association was on the line.
Despite that, peak-grade-2 Qi stones were just too precious, and no one was willing to waste them on this unknown book with unknown contents.
It was an enormous gamble no one was willing to take.
Right at this moment, a bid appeared on the screen.
However, it wasn''t a seat no, nor a room no, it was¡
Lilly''s eyes shed in surprise as she announced, "The Auction Attendant No.19-213 just made the first bid of 10,500 Qi stones!"
Chapter 501 Room No.0
501 Room No.0
¡°The Auction Attendant No.19-213 just made the first bid of 10,500 Qi stones!¡±
Everyone looked at the attendants standing behind them in bewilderment.
Lilly borate, ¡°As everyone knows, our attendants are all honorable members of our association, and even though they are on duty, this didn¡¯t mean they can¡¯t take part in the auction.
¡°Don¡¯t forget, we all have the equal rights to bid as much as everyone. Even I can bid for an item using my unique auction number, so there isn¡¯t anything startling about it.¡±
Everyone thought this made sense since the life demon association members were all very rich and they had every right to join the auction as long as they can pay. It wasn¡¯t a problem.
They weren¡¯t servants but life profession experts, and their wealth was no joke.
This made many in open stands and VIP stands frown because theypletely forget about the existence named; Alchemists, Rune Crafter, and Crafter Smiths.
Until now, the items were all from the association, so no one bothered to bid, but since this old book came from a different source, and as long as it piqued their interest, they can bid as much as wanted.
The other nine Auction Attendants looked at Peterson, who had a small glowing array te in his hand. They knew he was the one who bid just now since they all had the same bidding arrays.
¡°Sir Peterson, do you know anything about that book?¡± An old demon standing a few meters away asked with curiosity.
Peterson shook his head. ¡°No, but I have a habit of collecting such things.¡±
The others looked at Peterson, including VIPs, as if he was a wastrel, but none of them said anything since it was his money he can waste as much as he wanted.
After clearing everyone¡¯s misunderstanding, Lilly smiled and start counting, ¡°10,500 going once¡
¡°10,500 going twice¡
¡°Last chance folks¡¡±
She was about to sell when a new bid appeared.
¡°Room NO¡¡± Her expression changed slightly when she saw the room number and she continued, ¡°Room No.0 bid 100,000 Qi stones!¡±
Everyone was confused and curious when they heard this number. Because they all knew the VVIP room number started with 1 all the way to 5,000 and the lower the number, the higher the status of a VVIP. That¡¯s why they were curious about who could be in this room.
¡®So, someone can tell. I wasn¡¯t wrong to choose this book.¡¯ Ace¡¯s lips curled slightly, and bid again.
Lilly¡¯s smile stiff slightly as she spoke, ¡°The Auction Attendant 19-213 made another bid of 100,500 Qi stones!¡±
¡®Why are you bidding?!¡¯ She wanted to p this ignorant attendant right now. She knew what kind of demons were in that room, but she was helpless. They didn¡¯t tell those attendants about them.
Inside the room no.0,
The masked demoness had an array te in his hand as she increased the bid directly to 1 million.
¡°Oh, your highness, do you know the origin of this book?¡± Instructor Alden asked curiously.
Everyone looked at her. They were all curious about that mysterious book as well.
She coolly replied, ¡°No, but that writing seemed fascinating. You know, I like collecting these kinds of things.¡±
They all could rte to her and didn¡¯t ask any more questions.
However, the masked demon on the side wanted to take out his own bidding array te when the bid increased again and he was stopped.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
This time, the bidder directly raised it to 10 million!
Ewan¡¯s eyes slightly narrowed. If it was someone else, he wouldn¡¯t care, but this person was from his side and he didn¡¯t want any trouble with these people. He was about to contact the level managers to have this demon back down when the demoness chuckled lightly.
¡°It seemed someone is more eager to acquire this piece of history. I give up.¡± the demoness said as if she lost interest.
¡®Well, you can keep it for me for now. If I keep bidding, this brother of mine might get in my way.¡¯ She thought.
When everyone saw the bid of 10 million, they couldn¡¯t help but eximed because it was the peak grade-2 Qi stones, not high-grade-2. If covert into high-grade-2 Qi stones, the number will reach 100 million!
This price for an unknown book was really out of everyone¡¯s expectations. They also started to see those attendants in a new light. They were just too damn rich.
But they didn¡¯t know that even those attendants were speechless by this guy¡¯s wealth and wondered if he was a life master.
Lilly was the same. With a stiff smile, she started counting and to her relief, room no.0 didn¡¯t bid this time. But she vowed to give this ignorant fellow a piece of her mind once he came collecting this treasure.
Ace, on the hand, was secretly excited because he could clearly read what was written in that book, unlike everyone else, and that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t hesitate to raise the bid so much.
While it also served another purpose!
Even if he had to a hundred million, he would¡¯ve done so.
Lilly announced, ¡°Everyone, we¡¯ll be back in two hours for the second round!¡±
She quickly left the stage.
The arena turned extremely lively as everyone started to chat about the auction and some started to stroll around the arena halls.
Ace was about to find a quiet location when a beautiful demoness approached him. She said, ¡°Life Master Ville wanted to see you. Please follow me.¡±
Ace¡¯s lips curled. ¡®That was fast.¡¯
He followed the demoness quietly under many watchful eyes.
Ville¡¯s had his personal chamber where he can observe the auction and bid.
When a knock sounded on his door, he coolly said, ¡°Come in.¡± When he saw Peterson, he frowned slightly.
¡°Are you the one who was bidding at the end?¡± His eyes narrowed. He had a pleasant expression of this demon, but this has to be done for his own sake.
Peterson lowered his head. ¡°Yes, life master. Did I do something wrong?¡±
Ville take a deep breath and sighed, ¡°Although you have done nothing wrong. But the person you just bid against can¡¯t be offended, no matter what. I want you to hand over your item ticket and 10 million peak-grade-2 Qi stones so we can salvage this situation, or even the President can¡¯t do anything if they took action against you.¡±
Ace felt the greed in Ville¡¯s eyes, and his lips curled into a wintry smile. He said, pretending to be frightened, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll have to thank you. B-but can I look at the book at least? I have spent all my life saving to buy it. Please grant me this favor!¡±
Ville¡¯s eyes slightly narrowed, but he felt this made sense and Peterson didn¡¯t say he won¡¯t give up on his demands so he can let Peterson take a look at the book before he could hand it over to the President and get into his good graces.
Every life master and demon with equivalent ranks knew who was in room no.0.
Albeit he didn¡¯t receive any order to stop Peterson from acquiring that book, he knew Ewan would not be pleased because of it.
So, he decided to strike first and got the ticket from Peterson, while he would also take those ten million peak-grade-2 Qi stones for himself.
Although he didn¡¯t know how can someone like Peterson had this much wealth. Since Peterson knows what was good for him. He won¡¯t make it hard on Peterson.
He said, ¡°The treasures are in the treasury and can only be collected at the end of the auction. Once the auction end, I¡¯ll let you see it for 5 minutes. That¡¯s all I can do.¡±
¡°Thank you for this favor, Life Master. The ticket and Qi stones are in this ring.¡± Peterson had a grateful expression on his face as he suddenly took out another storage ring and moved toward Ville as if wanted to give it to him.
Ville suspected nothing and let hime closer, while his eyes were fixed on the ring as a greedy glint shed past his eyes.
10 million peak grade-2 Qi stones were his five years of ie, and he never thought he would have earned it with simple words without doing anything.
¡°Please.¡± Peterson presented the ring very respectfully.
Ville had a content expression and move his hand to pick up the ring.
However, suddenly, Ville¡¯s soul was shocked by an unexpected soul-piercing bullet. He left himself wide open since Peterson would never try anything funny because of their cultivation gap and status.
But s, it wasn¡¯t Peterson, but Ace.
Ace¡¯s eyes were ruthless, as he tookplete advantage of Ville¡¯s soul deviation caused by his fully mastered soul-piercing bullet and his short sword appeared instantly in his hand, which was too close to Ville¡¯s chest.
Dark lightning shed on the dark de before Ace thrust it into Ville¡¯s neck!
Chapter ?502 Stealing a memory?
?502 Stealing a memory?
Ville was a bona fide 6th intermediate stage soul embryo realm cultivator, if he was paying attention and was alert for a soul attack, Ace might not even break past his defensive.
However, Villepletely regarded Peterson as a harmless junior who was only at the silver soul river cover realm, and he would never have dared to sneak attack him because it was virtually impossible to even break his defense as long as he wasn''t in the same realm as him.
But Ace''s soul-piercing bullet was a heavenly skill, and it had reached perfection rank, which made it quite scary for even an intermediate soul realm expert if used correctly.
Nevertheless, it was still only enough to give Ace a few second advantage over his opponent, and if he didn''t deal with them within this small-time frame, the opponent will not fall for such a trick again.
That''s why he came as close to Ville as he could before he used his soul skill on the defenseless Ville, which was aplete sess.
Ace''s sharp sword instantly pierced through Ville''s neck as blood sshed on the floor.
Ville''s windpipe waspletely cut off as he couldn''t make any sounds, and his eyes were filled with disbelief and abhorrence while gawking at smirking Peterson.
However, Ace knew as long as Ville had breath in him, he can''t let his guard down because he was a soul cultivator, so he used more soul-piercing bullets while his lightning Qi ran amok in Ville''s body.
When Ace saw Ville stop struggling, he still didn''t move back because he was waiting for¡
======
[Killed a 6th Intermediate Stage Soul Embryo Realm, Demon]
[Reward: 1,000,000 SP]
---
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-9]]
[EXP: 5,120,000/10,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-9]]
[SP: 6,120,000/10,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
======
''Nice.'' Ace smiled before he finally rxed his grip and put away his sword.
But he wasn''t done. He suddenly used a soul probe!
Although Ville was dealing, he still wanted to see what will happen because it was only a second since he died, so he was curious.
The biggest reason was, he was at the dead end of the job mission. Even though the system gave him a clue, it was too subtle, and he did not know where to go with it.
So, he was trying everything.
Since he had killed someone, he won''t let this chance pass to test his theory.
One thing he was clear about was that the soul probe was the key to all this.
Just as he used the soul probe, he frowned the next moment because he could feel the memories were there but can''t get them because of some resistance.
''What is this?'' Ace''s expression turned solemn as he put more force.
Abruptly, Ace felt like he was pulling something from a vacuum. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead, and his head started to hurt.
But he didn''t let go of whatever it was as it kept pulling.
At this moment, the system''s clue suddenly surfaced in his mind again.
''Memories are like fish in the Knowledge Sea, and if one wanted to fish, they need a Fishing Rod!
''Did I catch a fish? Did this mean my soul probe is the fishing rod?'' Ace suddenly thought of this, while at this moment his soul probe was sessful.
======
[Host has stolen a memory permanently.]
[Analyzing the memory fragment¡]
======
Ace was gobsmacked by this sudden notification, as the memory, he just probed entered his knowledge sea.
However, unlike anything before, this memory was like a ss fragment, and he could see everything through that ss fragment.
He was thrilled all of a sudden when heprehended what had just happened.
======
[Analyzingplete!]
-Result: The memory does not meet any requirements of the Job Mission.
-Final Assessment: Try Again!
======
Ace didn''t mind this notification, since he had seen the memory fragment he stole; it was Ville''sst moments before his death, so it wasn''t useful to him.
However, he was delighted, since he had unknowingly stolen a memory.
Although he still didn''t know how that happened, he clearly remembered that feeling of pulling something from a vacuum.
''Memories are like fish in the Knowledge Sea, which means I can gain ess to this sea with the Soul Probe and fish out the memories as long as I know how to use my soul probe like a Fishing Rod!
''It''s just that I never tried such a thing because I was probably using the soul probe to see what was inside the knowledge sea. I never try to take it or don''t know how to infiltrate it.
''Until now, since this guy was dead and his sea was destroyed, the memories were also not protected by the knowledge sea as well. They were vanishing, but I used the soul probe and discovered its other function, which was to use it like a hook of a fishing rod to pull the memories out.
''If my theory is right, I just have to find a way to infiltrate this sea now, and I''ll be able to do this without anyone even knowing!'' Ace''s heart beat wildly as he wanted to find someone to try this.
He quickly tried using it on the unconscious Peterson in his thief''s space. However, no matter how much he took a memory fragment as he had previously done, he failed, though.
''I''m still missing something?'' Ace wasn''t discouraged at all.
Now that he knew which way he should move, it was a matter of time before he''ll figure it out.
However, first, he had to clear this bloody mess in front of him. He was still in the life demon auction, and he had many things to tend to, so, he would think about the soul probing after he was done here.
He quickly saved Ville''s face before he stored his dead body in an empty storage ring.
After cleaning everything up, he looked inside Ville''s storage ring. The old man was quite rich, not as rich as a life grandmaster like Gatlin. But he was still greedy for ten million Qi stones and died because of them.
Nevertheless, Ace found a list that he was looking for all this time.
It was the list of every person sitting in the VVIP rooms on the 20th level. Lastly, he also saw an envelope between this list, and when he opened it and saw the content, his lips curled upward.
''Royal VVIPs Room No.0!''
Although there wasn''t anything else, he could guess that Room No.0 was for the royal zone or someone from the royal zone. He had already done his research in these two months.
Although these demons never appeared in public, their traces were all over the ce. With Freya, it wasn''t hard to know what they were up to.
Ace also disguised himself as Ville. He was now a Level Manager from the Auction Attendant. But he didn''t have Ville''s memories, which could be a problem.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, he had to take this risk for his real purpose.
Peterson also can''t disappear right now, or it might raise some suspicion after what Peterson has done in thest bid.
He sat in Ville''s ce and waved his sleeve before unconscious Peterson appeared on the floor.
Ace pointed his finger and dark lighting shed into Peterson''s forehead before his eyes snapped open.
Peterson had a bewildered look on his face when suddenly he felt a sting on his back, and he nced around with killing intent.
"Bastar¡"
However, before he could curse, his word caught in his throat as he looked at Ville''s cold visage.
"L-life Master?!" He was now bbergasted about how he appeared in front of Ville, and his expression went pale.
Ville coldly said, "Someone tried to impersonate you. I had to say I''m disappointed."
Peterson''s expression was ashen when he heard it, and quickly try to exin, "T-that¡ it was that bas¡"
However, Ville raised his hand to make him shut up. He coldly said, "I have taken care of him. Do you think it''s that easy to infiltrate our auction? You may return to your post now.
"But the president has some instructions for you. If you aplished them, your previous gaffe will brush off."
"P¡ President?!" Peterson''s breathing turned rigged as his face almost turned white with sheer horror.
He knew what kind of existence President Ewan was, and if he had instructions for him, this means he also knew about his gaffe. It made him nearly lose consciousness again because of sheer fear.
Ville didn''t mind his overdramatic reaction and stated, "First, you can''t tell anyone about it. Second, if someone asked something you have no idea about, just say I don''t want to talk about it. Lastly, if someone asked you about an item ticket, you''ll tell them you handed it over to me, and they can find me if they want.
"If you did well, you will not be punished, and I might even reward you. Is that clear?"
Although Peterson did not know what was Ville talking about, as long as he can walk scot-free, he will do anything. So, he quickly nodded solemnly and left!
Chapter ?503 Thieves on Mission!
?503 Thieves on Mission!
Inside a stony room,
Three caped figures were sitting around a stone table where a map was ced.
One of them said in her euphonious voice, "As we predicted, the security is only half, and all the leaders have gone to the life demon auction. ording to my minions, the Magistrate Estate only had four soul realm elders and twenty river core realm guards. It shouldn''t be a problem toplete this task."
A childish voice retorted, "Although it''s easy now, we still don''t know if we can steal 5 million house points worth of goods from there anymore. Don''t forget, because of that auction. They might have taken every Qi stone with them for bidding."
"Faceless is right. We might notplete the mission." An icy voice sounded in agreement.
These three were none other than three thieves of the Thief House.
From the moment, Ace made them be bandits to raise Freya and Winter''s ranks. These three had founded the bandit gang name ''Moon Robbers'', and for months they had been antagonizing the merchants and adventurers in the Demon Tamer Province.
They had even earned a notorious reputation for themselves.
Just as Ace predicted, no one paid any attention to a small bandit group and take them seriously until it was toote.
Those authorities only started to send powerful knights after them when these three stole a caravan of goods from a magistrate n''s firm.
But they failed to find these Moon Robbers because they had already achieved their aimed and gone into hiding.
Since the Life Demon Auction wasing, those authorities had no choice but to set this matter aside and focus on the event.
Now that the most powerful demons were attending the life demon auction, this also gave the thief house members a chance toplete their mission.
It was a perfect time to strike while they could and then leave.
Ace had already discussed this mission with them countless times, and their entry and escape ns were wless.
However, it seemed they had missed the part about the half-empty treasury because of the life demon auction this time.
Freya mildly said, "This is indeed a problem, but we can''t just sit here, right? Although they might''ve taken most of their wealth with them, they would never take the precious things passed down from generation to generation, right?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
She had thought about this problem as well, but it was toote to discuss it with Ace since he had left for the auction to do other things. He had no part in this, and they were on their own.
Suddenly, Freya took out a shimmeringmunication cube.
"It''s the leader?" Noa coldly asked with a hint of anticipation.
Freya nodded and activated the cube and ced it on the table.
Ace''s jolly voice sounded, "So,dies, how are things going on your end?"
Winter''s glumly retorted, "You still have the cheek to ask? We have a treasure problem here!"
"What kind of problem?" Ace''s voice turned stern.
He knew this mission was very important for the thief house members and this was the only easy chance they would get toplete the mission. If they didn''t take this chance, it won''t be this easy next time.
All the old monsters were attending the auction, and he provided everything he could to break past the formations and arrays, so this heist could work smoothly. He didn''t want to hear this.
"What Faceless mean is, probably all the Qi stones and valuables are taken to the auction by the ns. We might not be able to achieve the target of 5 million without those treasures and the Q stones." Freya exined.
"Is that your problem, really?" Ace sounded amused.
"What do you mean?" Winter''s voice turned cold. ''Is he wanted us to die?!''
Ace sighed and said, "Since one treasury isn''t enough, just theft the entire damn city. Not all of them were eligible for this auction, right? There are thousands of shops in the market. Just start from there and you might not even need to enter the magister mansion.
"Are the Ghost Lurking Formation and Demonic Sword Killing Formation. I don''t think these two grade-5 formations aren''t enough, right?"
"Didn''t we supposed to steal five million from a single ce?" Noa asked in astonishment.
However, Freya answered instead of Ace with gleaming eyes, "No, we assumed we were supposed to theft one ce. Besides, it also depends on what we consider ''One ce''. Like, we can assume this room as one ce, or we can assume the entire mountain as one ce. We just have to theft five million together at the same time, not separately!"
Ace chuckled, "See, it was just a question of your teamwork. You were never given a specific target or required amount to collect. It''s a house mission, not an individual mission.
"Now that this is out of the way. I contact you to tell you the auction wouldst for ten days and the demon gate trail will start soon after. So, you guys have seven days toplete your mission and reached the rendezvous point.
"More than seven, and we''ll all be in danger. Is that clear?" His voice was strict.
"Don''t worry. Seven days are more than enough toplete this mission. You just have to take care of your end." Noa assured.
"Heh, don''t worry. They can''t catch me." Ace chuckled confidently and cut themunication.
"Hmph, he''s too arrogant." Winter snorted.
Freya chuckled. "He''s the Sky Stealer, after all. Now that our conflict has been clear when we should move?"
"Tomorrow night. Let''s end this in one fell swoop." Noa coldly replied.
"Good. The sooner it ends, the sooner I can buy other techniques and start cultivating them." Winter nodded with great excitement.
"We''ll do as sister Assassin suggests." Freya also agreed, with a hint of anticipation.
---
Inside the personal chamber of a life master on the 19th VIP level,
Ace put away themunication cube before he closed the concealing formation. He didn''t want anyone to hear his conversation with his house members.
He couldn''t help but smile wryly. ''I''m d I contacted them or they had figured it out toote.''
He looked in the mirror projection at this moment. Lilly was back!
Lilly shed a radiant smile as she spoke, "I hope everyone is really for the next round. It''ll be going to be even more exciting.
"Without further ado, let me present you with the first item of the second day. Behold!"
The tform rose and everyone was eager to see what was the item.
Soon, an old yellow scroll appeared.
Lilly introduced, "This is an Upper Earth Grade skill called Hell Stinger Fists. I don''t need to tell anyone just how precious an upper-earth grade skill is. This fist skill had three levels and at the final level, one can poke a hole in grade-2 treasures with their fists!
"The starting price is 100,000 high-grade-2 Qi stones. The bid is open!"
The entire arena boiled when they heard the introduction. Just the skill rank was enough to make them bid for this technique, much less its prowess.
The bid instantly raised to five million, and it was still climbing as some VVIPs were also joining the bid.
In the end, a VVIP bought it for 5.4 million and everyone sighed in regret.
Lilly didn''t dy and quickly revealed a blue book this time.
She introduced, "This is an Upper Earth Soul Skill, Grim Hands. ording to the description, the Grim Hands can abruptly attack the enemy''s mind and inflict grave soul wounds if the user catches the enemy off guard. This skill had five levels and at thest level, one can manifest Grim Hands with soul Qi!
"The price of this precious soul skill is 250,000 high grade-2 Qi stones. The bid is opened!"
The VIP levels started to bid madly. Even half of the VVIP rooms got involved because this was a soul skill that was extremely hard to get.
The bid reached ten million within a few moments and was still rising. Even the VIPs haven''t given up.
When the bid reached over fifteen million, the VIP stands gave up because those VVIPs are not showing any signs of giving up.
"I have to get this skill," Thomas mumbled in his room with a grim expression and raise the bid to twenty million!
Inside room no.542, Darren sneered when he saw Thomas''s room on the screen.
"This skill is interesting." He directly raised the bid to thirty million!
"That hateful prick!" Thomas gritted his teeth and raised the bid to forty million!
Darren scoffed and raised the bid to forty-five million. He was determined to get this skill, even if Thomas wasn''t bidding against him.
However, another bid surface made everyone gasp.
Lilly announced with a hint of ecstasy, "Room No.6 has just bid a hundred million Qi stones. Let''s start the counting!"
No one dared to even think of bidding anymore because they knew a Demon King just get involved!
Chapter ?504 Limit Talisman
?504 Limit Talisman
Demon King Mist was sitting gracefully while coldly watching the bid for Upper Earth Soul Skill, Grim Hands.
On her left sat a young, handsome demon with a prideful expression on his face. While on her right were veiled demoness with a cold visage and graceful body.
"Mother, I want that skill." The young demon on her left side requested. He was the fourth Mist Prince of Mist Domain who was going to participate in the Demon Gate Trail.
On the right side was the fifth and youngest Mist Princess.
Mist Demon King nodded slightly andmanded, "But you have to share it with your sister."
Fourth Mist Prince quickly agreed since he knew his mother would put this kind of condition from the start.
When ites to her children, she wasn''t biased toward anyone; she loved them equally.
Fifth Princess, on the other hand, had an icy demeanor like her mother. She didn''t speak much, but a peculiar glint shed past her watery eyes when she heard the Mist Demon King.
Mist Demon King suddenly tapped on the chair handle as Qi shimmered on her fingertip.
Lilly announced with a hint of ecstasy, "Room No.6 has just bid a hundred million Qi stones. Let''s start the counting!"
Inside Room No.5, de Demon King sat with Peter and his fianc¨¦ Brenna.
de Demon King, couldn''t help but smirk. "It''s time to pay back." And tap on his chair handle.
Peter couldn''t help but smile wryly when he heard de Demon King mumbling.
Lilly has just counted two when another bid surfaced, and she smiled, "Room No.5 has put a new bid of 110 million!"
The mist around Mist Demon King''s trembled slightly when she saw room no.5.
The fourth prince couldn''t help but eximed, "Mother, weren''t you guys be friends after¡"
However, a chill run down his spine when he felt Mist Demon King''s cold eyes, and he quickly shut up and didn''t dare to utter another word.
Fifth Princess scoffed inwardly, ''Big Twit!''
Demon King Mist coldly tapped her finger two times.
Lilly''s eyes shone with tion when she saw a new bid. She knew who was in these rooms, and she knew it was just the start of a bidding war between two enemies.
She again announced, "Room No.6 has put a bid of 150 million!"
de Demon King smirked and continued.
The entire arena was silent as they watched the bid reach 300 million.
Inside room No.3,
Exalted Demon King was sipping on his wine with five young demons sitting behind him.
He smiled and tapped on his chair handle. "Don''t forget about me, folks." He was also a soul cultivator, and this skill was helpful for his children.
Lilly announced, "Room No.3 just increased the bid to 400 Million!"
This was the highest bid of the auction.
de Demon King chuckled, "He can have it." He was just messing with Mist Demon King. He had no use for this soul skill.
Mist''s Demon King''s finger also stopped when she saw the Exalted Demon King get involved all of a sudden.
"Mom, it''s not worth this many Qi stones." The Fifth Princess mildly uttered.
Mist Demon King nodded and didn''t bid anymore.
Exalted Demon King smiled in satisfaction when he saw no raise the bid.
Those young demons also chuckled disdainfully.
"400 Million going twice¡" Lilly was already content with this price and was about to close the deal when a new bid appeared, startling everyone.
Lilly''s eyes slightly narrowed, but she still announced, "Room.19-3 just bid 500 million!"
Everyone was bewildered since there wasn''t any room below the 20th level.
However, those attendants quickly told them it was the room that belonged to a Life Master.
Everyone Life Master had their own personal room on every level they were in charge of, while the Life Grandmasters'' rooms were on the 20th level.
Exalted Demon King frown slightly, ''A Life Grandmaster, huh? Let me see how badly you want this skill.''
He increased the bid by fifty million.
However, the Life Master in Room 19-3 raised it directly by 150 million, which made the final bid 700 million.
Exalted Demon King sneered coldly, but didn''t bid anymore.
Lilly counted, "¡ 700 million going trice and sold! On to the next item!"
She didn''t dwell on this bid much, since they all knew Life Masters were part of this auction and they canpete with anyone because of their status.
Ace chuckled when he saw the golden ticket generate by the formation and put it away. As a Life Master, he can pay at the end of the auction.
He didn''t have many attacking soul skills in his arsenal, and this skill introduction intrigued him. He wanted to see if he could make a new skill out of this one and some other skills he had collected.
After the Grim Hands soul skill, the next items were rather ordinary inparison. But in the eyes of VIPs and Open stands, these items were luxurious as they bid desperately to win them.
There were still some items that interested some VVIPs, but the Demon Kings didn''t bother with them.
Hours passed like this, and now it was time for thest item before the second day would be over.
Lilly put on a charming smile before she revealed thest item of the day.
A gray, decrepit talisman appeared in a jade box.
She introduced, "This a Limit Talisman unearthed from a ruin. Most of the guests here did not know what a Limit Talisman is. Let me make it clear, a Limit Talisman isn''t like our traditional Instant Talisman that can only be used one time.
"A Limit Talisman had multiple uses and it won''t exhaust with a single use. We have long-lost the method to make Limit Talismans. Nevertheless, someone still wanted to sell this precious talisman.
"As for its function, this is a defensive barrier type talisman that can block soul or martial attacks below Soul Manifestation Realm, and its grade is high-grade-5, and there are still three uses left.
"But there is another function of this talisman, ''Limit Break''. With this Limit Break, we can use this limit talisman''s three used all at once, and the barrier formed by these three used can even block a full strike from a soul manifestation realm cultivator!"
The entire arena was startled by this revtion, and some demon''s eyes turned bloodshot as they looked at the old talisman.
Even those Demon Kings were now looking at the old talisman with solemn eyes. The talisman that can block a strike from a soul manifestation realm expert was just too rare in eight provinces.
Lilly smiled and announced, "The seller wanted Low-Grade-3 Qi stones for this Limit Talisman, and the price is 10,000 Qi stones, and every bid has to be increased by 100 Qi stones. The bid is open!"
Those in the open stand howled in regret when they heard Low-Grade-3 Qi stones, while many VIPs cursed this seller for being unreasonable.
Because Grade-3 Qi stones were the most precious Qi stones in the eight provinces and only king domains had them. No one was willing to trade these Qi stones, no matter the price.
Now, 85% popce has be ineligible to take part in this bid for this ancient talisman.
Nevertheless, those who can bid quickly started to put their bids while the others helplessly watched.
Ace also looked at those decrepit symbols of the talisman with great interest. ''Block an attack from a soul manifestation realm, huh? It also has research value. Even those Runic Life Grandmasters are bidding. Let''s join in the fun.''
Ace smiled deviously and put on his bid, which almost made those slow bidders almost cough blood.
Lilly couldn''t help but be astonished and announced, "Room.19-3 just bid 1 million Qi stones!"
"What a rich bastard!" A Life Master on the same floor couldn''t help but exim and doubt if they had the same rank.
Although one million low-grade-3 Qi stones were still possible for them, spending it still made them feel the pinch.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Who is in that room?" A runic life grandmaster on the 20th level with cold brown eyes wandered.
While the other six Life Grandmasters also had the same question.
The eight Life Grandmaster titles were divided between three soul alchemists, one runic crafter smith, and four rune crafters.
Since Gatlin was out ofmission, only seven were present in this auction, and they were all in charge of the 20th level.
That ancient talisman has great research value, so these four Life Grandmasters and the Runic Crafter Smith naturally wanted it for themselves. But now, a junior was making things worse by raising the price by a million altogether.
Another Runic Grandmaster from Spear Province raised the bid by ten thousand and hoped this guy back down.
However, to his dismay, Ace raised the bid to two million without any hesitation.
They quickly took out theirmunication cube and ordered to look for the Life Master who was bidding against them, while they bid again by a small amount.
However, every time they raise the bid by a little, Ace would increase by a million!
Chapter 505 Progress Interface
505 Progress Interface
¡®Lunatic!¡¯ The audience thought.
They all knew these demons from the association were all entrics, but this guy was simply on another level to spend his money like water, while he didn¡¯t give the VVIPs any face!
Inside the VVIP room no.34,
A crimson demon sat with a hint of a frown on his long face. He wore the robes of the life demon association¡¯s rune crafter. He was the life grandmaster of the Beast Tamer Province, Haydn.
¡°So, it¡¯s Ville, huh? It seemed the rumor about him doing hical deals was true, after all. Well, he can keep this talisman, save for me now.¡± He sneered as a distant glint shed past his red eyes.
Almost everyone gave up on the talisman because the price was too high and this was still the second day of the auction. There was still the grand finale, so everyone was saving as much as they can.
On the stage, Lilly announced, ¡°Room.19-3 won this Limit Talisman for 5 million low-grade-3 Qi stones!
¡°So, this was the end of the second day. I¡¯ll see you all in two hours!¡±
Ace smiled in satisfaction when he saw another golden ticket generate.
¡ª
While the Life Demon Auction was still proceeding at the Forbidden ins, the ck River City was still lively.
At this moment,
Three capped figures slowly crept inside the city gates and sessfully infiltrate the city, escaping the guards or any formation.
There was a dark barrier around them which made them invincible in everyone¡¯s eyes as they moved without any hindrance.
These three were none other than Noa, Freya, and Winter, who had just started their house mission!
After sessfully infiltrating the ck River City, they first sneak inside the Treasure Cloud Firm¡¯s secret room.
Freya wore a ck mask, which also hid her unique eyes. She spoke, ¡°There are over a thousand shops in the outer market while over five hundred in the inner market.
¡°The firms of rich families and Magistrate ns are also there, so we should raid the inner market. If we still fell short in the end, we can go with our original n and raid the Magistrate n of ck River City.
¡°The question is how we are going to keep this under wrap until we¡¯re done?¡±
Noa wore her usual mask and coldly uttered, ¡°We can steal their storage rings and then kill them. This way, there won¡¯t be any Qi marks on the storage rings or any witnesses left. It would be perfect thievery.¡±
Winter¡¯s eyes were also cold. ¡°Assassin is right. We can¡¯t mess this up. We don¡¯t have all the skills in our shops, neither we are professional like a certain liar. So, we should do it in our own way. As long as we kill any witnesses, we canplete our mission while also escaping.¡±
Freya chuckled coldly. ¡°Fine by me. Assassin can handle the east wing, while Faceless can clean up the west wing, and I¡¯ll be in charge of the north wing. We¡¯ll meet in the south wing before heading toward Main Street, where the Puppeteer Demon Firm is with other big firms.
¡°The Ghost Lurking Formation and Demonic Sword Killing Formation will be useful there. We can handle other shops and their security with these grade-4 killing formations. The Leader also left three hundred talismans for an emergency. We¡¯ll get a hundred each.¡±
Freya quickly started to distribute the things Ace left to make their mission as easy as he could.
Winter looked at the coin talismans and couldn¡¯t help but praise them. ¡°I have never seen such a talisman before. It seemed our great leader isn¡¯t just proficient in lying and stealing.¡±
Freya nodded in agreement. Even she couldn¡¯t fathom these coin talismans fully, despite being a fourth-grade rune crafter herself. She even asked Ace to teach her these runes and talisman crafting.
He quickly agreed to her request. He can teach her the knowledge of ordinary runes since the heavenly runes were useless to her.
¡°He¡¯s the most talented person in this world.¡± Noa dered as matter-of-factly in reverence.
She was the only one who knew Ace can cultivate both Soul Qi and Martial Qi simultaneously, and these two neers were still ignorant about this.
After staying with them and working together, she knew these two ambitions and couldn¡¯t help but scoffed inwardly. She could tell Ace didn¡¯t put them in their ce because he didn¡¯t want to hurt their pride and break their resolve.
But she was looking forward to the day when they both knew just howughable their ambition was to dethrone Ace as the house leader.
¡°Not for long.¡± Winter retorted softly, but she still agreed with Noa.
However, both she and Freya think it was because Ace had a time advantage over them, and he might¡¯ve already improved his bloodline to the ninth grade already and bought everything from his shop. That¡¯s why he was so talented.
Noa didn¡¯t rebut, she just picked her things.
After finalizing the n more time, they separated into three different directions.
No one in the ck River City knows three ruthless thieves were going to make their rememberable debut this night, which will be going to shake the entire Demon Tamer Province!
¡ª
Inside the auction arena,
Ace, who was waiting for the next round of auctions to start, was suddenly startled when a notification appeared in front of him.
=====
[House Mission: A Grand Entrance]
[The House Mission has been triggered!]
[The Progress Interface has been activated. The host can ess the Progress Interface through House Mission.]
¡ª
[House Mission: Progress Interface]
[Mission Conditions and Requirements have been applied!]
[Time: 23:25:43]N?v(el)B\\jnn
¨C
[Thief Assassin (Noa Night)]
-Current Progress Status: 183 House Point(s)
-Required Progress Status to Pass: 1,500,000 House Point(s)
¨C
[Evil Thief (Freya Witch)]
-Current Progress Status: 247 House Point(s)
-Required Progress Status to Pass: 1,500,000 House Point(s)
¨C
[Faceless Thief (Winter Fox)]
-Current Progress Status: 140 House Point(s)
-Required Progress Status to Pass: 1,500,000 House Point(s)
¨C
-Total Progress Status: 570 HP
-Required Progress Status to Complete the House Mission: 5,000,000 HP
¡ª
[Note (1): The House Leader will get the total of TP when the Progress Interface is deactivated or in case of Mission Failure or Completion.]
[Note (2): The Progress Interface will refresh every five minutes.]
[Note (3): The House Leader cannot break any house mission conditions and requirements, or the progress interface will automatically be canceled and can¡¯t activate for another 24 hours.]
=====
¡°Are you for real?¡± Ace¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw this Progress Interface.
Although he now knows those three have already started moving and he can monitor their progress with this. But the system also rendered him useless with this progress panel as well.
As long as he broke any conditions of the house mission, it wouldpletely ruin the entire mission, no matter if theyplete it or not.
The system would never acknowledge the mission¡¯s sess as long as this interface wasn¡¯t activated.
It mostly affected the house members, since they would suffer the most if the mission stopped in the middle, and all their nning and hard work would go to waste.
Furthermore, this thing has a time limit, which he can¡¯t tell them now or it would ruin their mission since they had already started it. He can only hope they were quick on their feet.
Nevertheless, Ace wasn¡¯t worried much since he had already given them everything they needed toplete this mission or they escape unharmed, even if they failed somehow.
¡®Now, it¡¯s on you guys. Don¡¯t fail me.¡¯ Ace thought with great anticipation as he didn¡¯t close this panel and kept it open in front of him.
At this moment, Lilly had returned, wearing a tight white dress that showcased her buxom figure.
Everyone held their breath since they knew the first item and thest item of every day were of an incredibly high value.
Lilly smiled brightly and expressed, ¡°Wee to the third day of the Life Demon Auction, everyone. Let¡¯s move to the first item of the day!¡±
Just as her voice trailed off, the tform in the middle of the stage rose, and a ss disy was on top of this tform.
Everyone looked at the exquisite white full-body armor, giving off a shiver sheen.
Lilly introduced, ¡°This is a high-grade-4 runic fully body armor, White Brilliance. It has a reshaping function, so there¡¯s no need to worry about body size or gender. The starting bid for White Brilliance is 100,000 peak-Grade-2 Qi stones. The minimum raise limit is 200 peak-grade-2 Qi stones. The bid is open!¡±
¡°How generous of the life demon association to put a high-grade-4 runic armor on the auction. It¡¯s worth the peak-grade-2 Qi stones tag.¡± The Ghost Demon King¡¯s empty eyes were glued on the White Brilliance as he ced his bid.
However, he wasn¡¯t the only demon king who was interested in this armor. Soon, almost all the demon kings were bidding for this runic armor.
Even those high elders got involved for the first time in bidding!
Chapter ?506 Queerness in Inner Market
?506 Queerness in Inner Market
Ace looked at the runic armor and sneered, ''I have stolen a low-grade-5 runic soft body armor which I''m wearing from the treasure pagoda, and they were 32 high-grade-4 runic armors. They''re not showing any sincerity.''
He merely shook his head and continue to watch since he had no interest in these goods he already has, he was more interested in things like soul skills and ancient talismans.
Furthermore, he wasn''t here to enjoy the auction. He had to move soon.
In the end, the runic armor was bid sessfully by VVIP in room no.3 after a heated bidding war between VVIPs.
Lilly revealed the second item at this moment. It was a ck runic te filled with silver rune symbols. She introduced, "This is an Intermediate-Grade-4 Killing Formation, Bloodthirsty Beast Formation. Its range is five hundred meters!
"The starting bid for Bloodthirsty Beast Formation is 500,000 peak-Grade-2 Qi stones. The minimum raise limit is 500 peak-grade-2 Qi stones. The bid is open!"
Another volley of exims rang in the arena because a Killing Formation was far deadlier than any runic weapon of the same rank and once some got trapped in it, they were done!
A grade-4 killing formation was an absolute nightmare for any river core cultivators, and even minor stage soul realm experts would not want to get trapped in it.
This time, the bid rose from five hundred thousand to 10 million within a few bouts of bids, and it was still increasing.
Ace still had an uninterested expression on his face, and he continued to watch the progress interface with a hint of worry in his calm eyes. He had to admit it was far more nerve reckoning than doing it himself.
---
Inside the ck River City, inner market area.
East side of the inner market area, the street wasn''t crowded as much as it does in the morning, but there were still passersby demons.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Arge shop lit in bright light suddenly had its light down before a graceful demoness appeared and the entrance door behind her got closed all of a sudden, startling some demons who were about to enter.
"Umm¡ why did the White Treasure Pavilion get close? Aren''t they open 24/7?" One of the demons mumbled in confusion.
"It''s not just White Treasure Pavilion, but Moonlight Potions, Lakeside Firm, and many other famous shops also suddenly closed for business without any prior notice, and there weren''t any night guards at the gates as well. Strange." A burly demon chimed in.
While everyone was confused and mulling over what was the strange reason behind the sudden shops closing on the east side of the inner market.
The graceful demoness walked away unhurriedly, and no one seemed to notice her as she walked between them, as if she didn''t have her presence.
When she left the crowd, her appearance suddenly changed again into a middle-aged demoness as she walked toward another brightly lit shop a few meters away from thest shop.
The two river realm guards didn''t stop her. However, just as she passed them, their storage rings vanished before two dark streaks shed right into her ears.
They only felt an extremely sharp sensation, and when they realized what had happened, they were already dead. Even their blood didn''t fall on the ground before their bodies vanished from their spot.
Two small dark streaks vanished into her sleeves at this moment, while the demoness continued to walk while her emotionless eyes stared at the void.
______
[Theft Sessful!]
[Theft: 2]
[Open to look at further the details]
[Reward: 5,000 House Points]
---
[Noa Night Thief House Point(s): 225,020]
______
It was already Noa''s 65th shop she was going to rob, and she had already amodated over 109,000 HP.
The attendant suddenly approached Noa to greet her. However, she halted when she saw Noa suddenly taking out a dark formation te filled with silver rune symbols.
It was the Bloodthirsty Beast Formation!
She activated it without hesitation, and the whole ce suddenly felt a deadly pressure descend as the formation shone darkly.
No one knew what had happened, but the manager, who was looking at the demoness with the dark formation in his hand, quickly wanted to take out an array te and wanted to activate it. However, to his horror, the storage ring on his finger had somehow vanished!
The very next moment, a huge maw manifested from right below his feet, and before he could utter any shrill cry, his entire body shredded into pieces.
Every living behind experienced the same phenomena as their storage rings vanished, and then that huge maw appeared below their feet and shredded them into a bloody mess like a meat grinder.
______
[Theft Sessful!]
[Theft: 10]
[Open to look at further the details]
[Reward: 36,700 House Points]
---
[Noa Night Thief House Point(s): 261,720]
______
Noa coldly put away the Bloodthirsty Beast Formation after she make sure no one was alive anymore!
After five minutes, Noa appeared again, thereupon the entire shop was closed without anyone knowing why. She had left another bloody mess behind and moved on to create another one!
On the west side of the inner market area,
The same phenomena were happening, but something even more strange was going on.
A small capped figure exited a shop before the shop was closed.
"Look, that little demon is wearing a cape." Someone spotted the small capped figure.
"Hmm? Where I didn''t see anyone?" The other looked confused.
The same demon suddenly had this nk look on his face before he murmured, "What? Why can''t I remember what I see?"
Others sent him disdainful nces as if he was a lunatic, and left.
Winter appeared inside a dark alleyway as she oozed a mysterious, inviable mist around her like mes. They suddenly vanished at this moment.
''This ''Faceless Aura'' is really something.'' She was ecstatic as she moved toward another target.
The Faceless Aura was the very first innate skill she gained after she cultivated the cultivation technique from the system.
The Faceless Aura can make others forget her appearance or, more urately, her existence if they weren''t strong enough. She can probably roam freely among other races as long as she cultivates to a high enough realm.
Furthermore, it was just her first innate skill!
On the north side,
Freya was sitting on top of a rooftop with her eyes closed.
Inside a shop, a burly demon with a nk look on his face had activated a trapping formation and all the staff members of the shop were now stagnated on their spot with anxious expressions on their faces.
Freya suddenly opened her eyes, which were pitch ck right now. She jumped off the roof and entered the building as the demon holding the formation te opened a path for her.
She catwalks toward every staff member before she pick-pockets their storage rings, one by one.
She finally stood in front of a blue demoness who was a river core realm cultivator, but she was still stuck because of this high-grade-4 trapping formation.
''Evil Rule!''
A dark ray suddenly manifested from her slender finger and entered this blue face demoness''s head, and the very next moment, the light of hostility in her eyes vanished as now she had the same nk look on her face as the demon holding the formation te.
"Release her." Freyamanded the other demon before she looked back and smiled charmingly as she said, "Open the treasury."
The blue demoness didn''t even flinch as she quickly stood up and moved toward another room with a nk look on her face.
The Evil Rule was her first innate ability, which she gained after entering the Soul foundation building realm.
This ability gave herplete control over someone''s mind as long as they had a weaker soul than her. Once it was cast sessfully, there was no escape. If Freya didn''t release them, they would be forever under her control.
She can givemands via her thoughts as long as she was within a one-mile radius of the Evil Rule''s victim.
The moment she left this range without releasing her target, those victims have only one end; death!
After the blue demoness opened the treasury, Freya took everything.
______
[Theft Sessful!]
[Theft: 13]
[Open to look at further the details]
[Reward: 30,000 House Points]
---
[Freya Witch Thief House Point(s): 460,000]
______
Freya smiled in satisfaction. She had already amodated over 300,000 HP after robbing more than half of the shops in the north area because of her unique skill set. It was much easier for her to find treasuries as long as she controlled the others.
Her dark eyes suddenly turned ruthless as shemanded, "Kill all of them and thenmit suicide."
She left the shop without looking back as she took the demon with the formation te as well.
---
It has been eight hours since the progress interface has been activated. Ace looked at the interface with glowing eyes as it refreshed just now.
=====
[House Mission: Progress Interface]
-House Mission: A Grand Entrance
-Time: 16:54:18
--
[Thief Assassin (Noa Night)]
-Current Progress Status: 332,900 House Point(s)
-Required Progress Status to Pass: 1,500,000 House Point(s)
--
[Evil Thief (Freya Witch)]
-Current Progress Status: 400,010 House Point(s)
-Required Progress Status to Pass: 1,500,000 House Point(s)
--
[Faceless Thief (Winter Fox)]
-Current Progress Status: 256,550 House Point(s)
-Required Progress Status to Pass: 1,500,000 House Point(s)
--
-Total Progress Status: 989,460 HP
-Required Progress Status to Complete the House Mission: 5,000,000 HP
¡
======
Chapter ?507 Moon Robbers
?507 Moon Robbers
[The Bouns Chapter release starts this week (14-11-2022).
1st Bouns Chapter at 500 Power Stones!
2nd at 1000.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
3rd at 1500 and so on.
#Wahi (:]
________
"What in the world is going on? There''s some kind of invisible wall blocking my way?" A demon eximed in bewilderment.
"Not only you, but others also obstruct from going into the main street. Do you think the Puppeteer Demon n is behind this blockade?"
"My guess is as good as yours. I just wanted to buy a runic sword for my son from Puppeteer Demon Company, but it seemed they are also got close like the other shops in the inner market as well."
"Just what the fuck is going on today with the inner market of ck River City? The outer market is still open and running like usual."
Many demons were discussing this strange event, and even city guards were clueless about what was happening.
Typically, the inner market guarding duties were handled by the ck Knights of ck River City under the Puppeteer Demon n. So, those normal city guards didn''t have any authority over this ce.
However, those ck Knights also went missing with this mysterious barrier appearance.
"Make way quickly. The Puppeteer Demon n''s Second Elder ising!"
Someone proimed loudly and everyone quickly scattered around with a hint of fear when they heard the Puppeteer Demon n was here!
Thereupon, a small carriage appeared, surrounded by many demons d in ck armor.
The carriage stopped a few meters away from the main street. and its door opened.
A dark-gray skin demon disembarked the carriage with a frown on his elderly face.
Without anyone telling him about anything, he hurried toward the main street as if he knew about the mysterious restriction.
A burly demon respectfully followed him behind.
"Do you find out why the inner market shops are close all of a sudden?" The Second Elder questioned sharply.
The burly demon replied with uncertainty, "I had my men look into this, but all the shops are locked. and we can''t break in without authorization. But ording to the witnesses, those shops closed one by one and those customers who got in also mysteriously vanished, nor did anyone notice any staff membersing out."
The Second Elder''s expression dimmed.
They had received reports about inner market shops closing 10 hours ago, and they simply thought it wasn''t a big case. Those owners can close or open their shops whenever they wanted.
However, as the dawn was about to break, only the closed shops didn''t show any signs of opening again, but the entire inner market was now deserted.
Moreover, when they heard the report that the main street had somehow be inessible half an hour ago.
The Puppeteer Demon n was finally rmed and sent their Second Elder to investigate and find out who was messing with them in their territory.
They even locked the entire city until they reached the root of these strange events.
"Knock down the doors of some low-level shops. I''ll handle the aftermath." The Second Elder ordered without any hesitation, as he was feeling uneasy about all of this.
The burly demon also knows the gravity of this situation and quickly leaves tomence the order while Second Elder moved toward that invisible barrier.
Fifty meters away from the crowd, three capped figures were standing on a rooftop while observing the Second Elder and other demons moving.
"It seemed your n works." Freya''s crisp voice sounded.
Winter chuckled coldly as she said with a hint of smugness, "Why, of course, it worked. They''re just a bunch of ipetent fools thinking they controlled everything with just merger power. But when pushes to shove, they''re the ones who panic with just a little firework."
Freya chuckled, "Agreed. Since they took the bait, let''s motivate them. We have little time. Sister Assassin." She looked at Noa.
Noa merely nodded before a dark Qi shed past her eyes and the very next moment.
"Boom¡ boom¡ boom¡!"
Ten explosions sounded on the main street!
The Second Elder''s face turned ashen when he heard those explosions. "Someone is attacking the main streets!"
Without any hesitation, he took out a ten-meter-tall humanoid figure from his storage space. It was a stone puppet!
Dark Qi strings suddenly shot from Second Elder''s fingers, and they all connected with the limbs of this stone puppet. He started to move his fingers extremely fast, and the stone puppet''s empty eyes suddenly lit up in dark light as he started to move.
It threw the punch toward the barrier, resulting in a tremendous st.
Second Elder''s face paled when he saw the barrier was still not damaged, and he knew it was at least a grade-4 barrier since his high-grade-3 stone puppet can''t put any crack on it.
Their patriarch with grand elder and youths were gone in the auction, and they weren''t at their full strength at this moment. He finally understood this was an organized attack on their firms, and if they didn''t handle it seriously, they might suffer this time.
Freya''s eyes shimmered when she saw that huge stone puppet. "Interesting technique. I got dibs on it, alright."
Winter didn''t retort and merely chuckled, "If you''re interested in puppetry, you shoulde to my ce. That thing is powerful, but it can''t hold a candle to a mature corpse puppet."
"I thought you won''t ask." Freya agreed in a heartbeat. She was very interested in puppetry and controlling others. Especially after cultivating the Evil Thief Scripture, her grit has increased even more.
Noa coldly said at this moment, "Let''s go. He''s contacting the others. Let''s get it over with and leave before they find out about the real motive."
She wasn''t interested in controlling others, and she was only interested in killing techniques.
Freya and Winter agreed, and they all turned into blurs before they vanished in the direction of the Puppeteer Demon Magistrate Estate!
The Magistrate Estate was at the very center of ck River City, and there were gigantic walls surrounding it and powerful demons guarding the gates.
However, the usual tranquil Magistrate Estate Gate was bristling with activities now, as many carriages and knights were exiting and marching toward the main market in a hurry.
Furthermore, two elderly demons exited the gates while riding on wooden mounts, and they hurried toward the market at full speed with grave expressions on their faces.
After fifteen minutes they leave the gates. Three shadows snuck inside the estate without any interruption.
Security was almost none exist.
With great familiarity, they moved toward the castle-like mansion.
However, their footstepse to a halt when they saw a green barrier surrounding the entire mansion.
"So, they''re notplete idiots after all." Winter sneered disdainfully.
Freya also didn''t seem too worried about that barrier as she took out a golden formation te with white symbols. "But they still underestimated us." She giggled darkly before she activated the formation te.
Suddenly, a ten-meter golden circle surrounded the tree.
There were white symbols giving off a sharp aura, and there were twelve empty circles could be seen between these symbols.
"Put a hundred thousand Qi stones in each activation circle. If the leader didn''t have peak-grade-3 Qi stones, I''m afraid this formation waspletely useless." Freya spoke with great admiration in her eyes as she looked at the Demonic Sword Killing Formation!
Noa knew what to do, and she quickly ced 1,200,000 peak grade-3 Qi stones into those activation circles.
The very next moment thereafter, all the Qi stones piles suddenly turned lit up before the golden circle around them started to expand at an rming rate.
As it expanded, those Qi stones started to turn into dusk.
Freya carefully controlled the formation, and she only stopped the expansion when it covered the entire mansion and the barrier.
"Who are you, and what are you doing?! You dare to attack a magistrate n?!" An aged voice reverberated in the area, filled with fury and killing intent.
Freya coldly replied with a hint of mockery, "I can''t hear you with that turtle shell. Let me get rid of it so we can hear you clearly."
As her voice trailed off, the entire golden circle suddenly shimmered before thousands of golden swords manifested.
"Y-you¡ stop this at once! What do you want?" The old voice was filled with panic this time.
However, Freya pretend as if she didn''t hear it and used the formation te, and those golden swords turned into sword lights and rained toward that barrier!
"Noooo¡" An anguished howl rang when the entire barrier crumbled under the bombardment of those sword lights.
However, Freya didn''t stop, and with a thrilled expression, she continued to rain the entire mansion with those swords lights until it turned to ruin. She finally stopped.
Injured demons started to crawl out from the rubble, and between them was an old demon with bloodshot eyes as he looked at the three capped figures standing.
Freya didn''t mind his murderous look as she mocked, "Now I can see you clearly. Alright, I''ll tell you what we want."
Her voice was icy as she said, "We are the Moon Robbers, and this is a robbery. So, if you don''t want your entire n to extinct today, hand over your storage rings and open the treasury vault!"
Chapter ?508 House Mission Complete!
?508 House Mission Complete!
The Life Demon Auction was still moving smoothly on the third day.
Only a few hours were left before the end of the third day, and the participants were still eagerly bidding against each other for the items.
At this moment, inside the VVIP Room No.84,
Eight dark gray demons were sitting haughtily while the oldest of them was bidding for a grade-3 talisman on the stage.
"Father, room no.90 belonged to the Eastern Moon n of the Moon Demon Tribe." A middle-aged demon told the old demon with a hint of contempt.
"Yet they still dared to bid against our magistrate n? Hmph, they''re overestimating themselves!" The old demon sneered as he increased the bid by a hundred thousand high-grade-2 Qi stones.
The six youths behind them also smiled with disdain.
The bid from room no.90 finally stopped at this moment, who kept bidding against them from the start.
Their scornful smiles grew, even more, when Lilly started to count.
"¡ and 4.9 million going thrice and sold!" Lilly announced.
The old man grimed disdainfully as he said, "See that? Our magistrate n is far nobler than those muncher ns of the other Demon King Tribes. We have our own domains, and we won''t need our Demon King''s help to deal with our matters."
The other youths nodded in understanding with great pride.
The middle-aged demon smiled in satisfaction.
A knock sounded on their door.
"Come in." The middle-aged demon spoke.
A beautiful Auction Attendant appeared with a ticket in her hand as she said with a smile, "This is your item ticket."
"Here, there are five million Qi stones. You can have the rest." The old demon generously tossed a storage ring toward her.
He was on a brilliant moon after winning one item on the third day, despite continually fighting and losing many bidding wars all day long.
She quickly thanked them before she left after handing them the ticket.
Just as the door was closed, the old demon felt something as he took out amunication cube, which was blinking nonstop.
The middle-aged demon frowned slightly. "From the n, why did they contact you, not me?"
"It''s little first. He''s just checking on us. Don''t overthink things." The old demon merely smiled and activate themunicator without bothering to hide the conversation.
He was about to greet when a panicked voice rang, filled with rang and shame, "G-Grand Elder, w-we got¡ robbed!"
The smiles on everyone''s faces suddenly stagnated, and those youths had this nk bewildered looked on their faces as if they just heard something impossibly absurd.
The elder frowned and berated, "Little First, you dare to y a prank on me? Do you need a beating?"
"I-I really wish it was just a prank, illusion, or a fucking dream¡" His voice was filled with abhorrence and frustration as he didn''t care who he was talking with or what he said, "I don''t know how, but three degenerates got their hands on an extremely powerful formation and destroyed our protective formation and raised our home to rubble.
"If I don''t have handed them the treasury, our legacy skills, and storage rings, they would''ve killed our entire n and raised our city to the ground. They were totally capable of such a thing since they had already turned our inner market into a graveyard before hitting our mansion!"
Everyone''s eyes were wide open as if their eyeballs would fall at any moment.
''Thud¡''
The middle-aged demon copsed on the ground as his face was ashen and filled with disbelief.
As for the old demon, he felt a metallic taste in his mouth. While his heart was on the verge of exploding, through gritted teeth he said, "W-who¡"
"Those decadents called themselves Moon Robbers. and they''re the same bandit gang who we were ordered to detain but¡ put it on hold for the auction!" His voice was filled with regret.
"A mere bandit gang robbed you?!" The elder finally bellowed with extreme fury as blood trickled from the corners of his mouth as his eyes went bloodshot.
The only thing keeping him sane was the fifty percent of their wealth he took here, or he might''ve really gone mad.
"I¡" The voice was filled with mortification and resentment. He didn''t know what to say because even he was at a loss just how this kind of thing happened.
"Handle the situation. I''ming back!" The elder calmed his boiling rage and close themunion.
He nced at the middle-aged demon who had an ashen expression on his and said, "Don''t bid on anything anymore. You must ensure our n''s youths get on the trail safely. Is that clear?"
The middle-aged demon finally snapped out of his daze and horridly stood up. "Let me go. You stay with them, father."
The old demon sternly shook his head and said, "Just stay here. Don''t worry, as long as I''m alive, no one can get away after stabbing us in the back."
His eyes turned deadly cold at this moment. "Besides, I''m going to call in a favor from His Majesty. Those bandits and people behind them can''t get away with this!"
---
On the 19th floor,
Ace looked at the progress interface with shining eyes at this moment.
=====
[House Mission: Progress Interface]
-House Mission: A Grand Entrance!
-Time: 05:04:53 (Stopped)
-Status: Compete!
--
[Thief Assassin (Noa Night)]
-Final Progress Status: 1,900,300 House Point(s)
-Required Progress Status to Pass: 1,500,000 House Point(s)
[Final Evaluation: Pass (Below Average)]
--
[Evil Thief (Freya Witch)]
-Final Progress Status: 2,303,430 House Point(s)
-Required Progress Status to Pass: 1,500,000 House Point(s)
[Final Evaluation: Pass (Below Average)]
--
[Faceless Thief (Winter Fox)]
-Final Progress Status: 1,650,950 House Point(s)
-Required Progress Status to Pass: 1,500,000 House Point(s)
[Final Evaluation: Pass (Poor)]
--
-Total Progress Status: 5,854,680 HP
-Required Progress Status to Complete the House Mission: 5,000,000 HP
[Final Evaluation: Pass (Poor)]
---
[im Reward(s)/Later]
=====
Seeing those poor evaluation grades, Ace merely scoffed, "You and your high evaluation standards. I guess something never changes."
He imed the rewards. He was eager to see thosew fragments.
======
[House Mission (For House Leader)]
-Mission: A Grand Entrance!
-Description: All the Thief House Members have been assembled in the Thief''s House, it''s time¡!
-Task (1): Guide neers!
[Final Evaluation: Satisfactory]
-Task (2): n A Heist!
[Final Evaluation: Above Average]
---
[Mission Evaluation: Satisfactory]
---
[Reward(s)]
-Law Fragments:
[Shadow]: 2
[Despair]: 2
[Sword]: 1
-m?
--
-The House Call has been unlocked!
[House Call: The House Leader or House Members can spend 10 House Points to use this function to contact anyone in the Thief House at any time and at any ce.]
-Activate House Call?
---
[Extra Reward(s)]
[House Members Kill (EXP): 5,400,000]
-im?
[House Members Kill (SP): 220,900]
-im?
[House Points: 5,854,680 HP]
-Convert into TP/ Add into House Points
======
Ace looked at EXP and SP and wondered, ''Just how many they kill to amodate this many EXP and SP?''
Although he never told them not to kill others, he never expected them to kill so many on their first thievery.
''That deathly trio. It seemed they forced their way through this thievery, and made it more like banditry. No wonder their evaluation was so poor.'' He couldn''t help but smile wryly.
''In the end, they were all desperate because of the system''s punishment and didn''t have time to learn more skills. I can''t me them for taking such measures.'' He sighed and stopped caring about it andmanded,
"I''m iming everything, as well as activating the house call. This thing can finally solve ourmunication problem, and it would be more reliable than these cubes, and add those house points to my house points state. I have more than enough TP for now."
The system instantly obeyed hismands.
======
[House Call function has been activated.]
[Law Fragments can be used from [Law(s)] state in Host Status.]
---
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-9]]
[EXP: 10,000,000/10,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-9]]
[SP: 6,340,900/10,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
---
[House Point(s): 6,038,080]
======
"Laws state in my status?" Ace quickly opened the Law state, which was at the end of his status.
======
[Law(s): 3]
-Despair: 0.03%
[Law Fragment Avable: 2]
-Shadow: 0.05%
[Law Fragment Avable: 2]
-Sword: 1.00%n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
[Law Fragment Avable: 1]
======
Ace questioned while looking at those avablew fragments eagerly, "How did I use thesew fragments?"
"[Host just required to give themand, and thew fragment will be released. However, with the host''s current cultivation state, a safety protocol has been ced.]
"[It would take the host 30 Days to absorb onew fragment. Afterward, the host required 30-day rest before absorbing another Law Fragment.]"
Ace couldn''t help but frown, "So long?"
"[Th Host''swprehension is too low while the host''s mind is too fragile toprehendw withw fragments continuously. That''s why this safety protocol has been ced. As host breakthrough in higher realms, this protocol will be abolished eventually.]"
After the system''s exnation, he didn''t retort anymore.
Ace knew thew concept was something he shouldn''t havee in contact with so early. But he had powerful skills that requiredwprehension, which could make him extremely powerful.
That''s why he longed forwprehension, and the system made it happen as well. So, he should be thankful for that, notining!
At this moment, a new interface appeared in front of him all of a sudden,
=====
[Iing House Call!]
-Caller: Noa Night (Thief Assassin)
-ept/Ignore/Reject
=====
Chapter 509 House Call
A few hundred miles away from the ck River City.
Within a mountain range, inside a cave, three capped figures were resting on each corner.
They were one other than Noa, Freya, and Winter, whopleted their mission and fled far away from the ck River City.
Now, they''re resting before they start to move again.
While resting, they also finally got the chance to see their rewards.
They all opened their mission respective mission panels.
======
[House Mission (Noa)]
-Mission: A Grand Entrance!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Description: All the Thief House Members have been assembled in the Thief''s House, it''s time¡!
-Task: A Memorable Heist!
--
[Mission Evaluation: Below Average]
--
[Reward(s)]
1. 500,000 House Points
[im?]
--
2. A Single Bloodline Evolution
[im/Later]
--
3. A Secret Skill:
-Shadow Escape: Secret Soul Skill
-Description: A secret skill used to escape within shadows.
-Condition to Cultivate:
1. Soul Embryo Realm
2. Grade-1 Night Demon Body
[im?]
======
[House Mission (Freya)]
-Mission: A Grand Entrance!
¡
¡
¡
--
[Mission Evaluation: Below Average]
--
[Reward(s)]
1. 500,000 House Points
[im?]
--
2. A Single Bloodline Evolution
[im/Later]
--
3. A Secret Skill:
-Empty Sleep: Secret Soul Spell
-Description: A Dark Witchcraft Secret Spell.
-Condition to Cultivate:
1. Soul Embryo Realm
2. Illusionary Dark Pupil (Tier-3 Control)
[im?]
======
[House Mission (Winter)]
¡
¡
¡
--
[Mission Evaluation: Poor]
--
[Reward(s)]
1. 500,000 House Points
[im?]
--
2. A Single Bloodline Evolution
[im/Later]
--
3. A Secret Skill:
-wless Aura Disguise: Secret Martial Skill
-Description: A skill of perfect disguise!
-Minimum Condition to Cultivate:
1. Qi Soul Realm
2. Myriad Beast Body Transformation (Hundred Transformations)
3. Faceless Art (Tier-3 Mastery)
[im?]
======
When they all saw the evaluation, their ted expressions vanished, especially Winter''s who had received the lowest grade among the three.
''What kind of evaluation is this!?'' They all thought.
They hadpleted the mission, and they knew they had stolen over 5 million HP worth of goods, but they still didn''t get any extra reward. On the contrary, they felt like they had angered the goddess and they were afraid that some divine retribution will befall them.
However, when they saw the promised rewards were ready to be imed, they felt relieved.
Freya looked at the secret skill with shining eyes. ''I got a secret spell that required my pupils even with that kind of evaluation? What if my evaluation was higher?'' She didn''t dare to imagine.
She knew better than anyone a spell waspletely different from a skill, especially; secret dark spells.
This wless Aura Disguise secret skill also astonished Winter because it was almost impossible to mask someone else aurapletely, but this skill can make it possible!
Meanwhile, Noa was quite thrilled with Shadow Escape because she probably got it because of her bloodline since it required Grade-1 Night Demon Body.
Although she wasn''t sure when she''ll be able to use it, she was looking forward to that day.
As for the one-time bloodline evaluation chance, they didn''t even think of using it because it didn''t have an expiry limit, which means they can use it at any time and any grade of their bloodline.
So, they all decided to save it until they reached either seventh or eighth grade in their bloodline before using it.
Furthermore, they had acquired quite a lot of HP in this endeavor, so they all were nning to buy every skill in their shops and cultivate hard so they would achieve higher evaluation in the next house mission and rewards!
Suddenly, a mutual notification rang in everyone''s minds.
======
[The House Call Function has been unlocked and activated!]
[House Call: Spend 10 House Points to use this function to contact anyone in the Thief House at any time and ce.]
======
They all looked at each other.
"Do you guys receive the same message?" Winter questioned.
Freya nodded, "Yes. This House Call is likemunication cubes, but it''s more than that since it came from the goddess."
Winter sternly retorted, "How can a measlymunication cubepare to something from a god? Don''t you see we can call at any time and ce? That means there''s no restriction, and we might didn''t need to worry about someone''s eavesdropping on our conversation."
"You''re right. How about we try it with each other? We''ll know how it works then." Freya suggested.
Winter quickly agreed she also wanted to try it.
Noa was also curious, but she was thest person who knows how to express herself in front of others.
In the end, she decided to try using it on Ace, and she also wanted to report their splendid sess to him as well!
---
Ace looked at the dark interface in front of him.
=====
[Iing House Call!]
-Caller: Noa Night (Thief Assassin)
-ept/Ignore/Reject
=====
Ace decided to ept it, but he also put a concealing formation around just in case her voice rang aloud.
However, when he epted it, "Leader?'' her voice rang in his head like the system not in the open.
He was astonished and even more thrilled about this house call feature.
Now, he didn''t need to worry about anyone hearing their conversation. No one will be able to tell he was talking with someone. Especially; in a theft where he can easily pass orders without any worry.
"I can hear you." Ace said with his thought like he usually does with the system.
Noa, on the other hand, was also startled when Ace''s voice rang in her mind like the goddess. She was speaking out loud before.
Freya and Winter also found it astonishing when they heard each other voices in their heads, and they tried to talk with their thoughts as well.
Noa does the same.
"C-can¡ you¡ he-ar¡ me¡?" She spoke stutteringly since it was her first time talking with her thoughts.
Ace guessed why she was suddenly talking this way and chuckled, "I can. This House Call is pretty amazing, huh?"
"Y-yes!" Noa replied with a hint of reverence.
Ace said, "Good job out there. No one gets hurt, right?"
"N¡ no. Everyone is fine, and this was only possible because you gave us¡ those powerful formations and talismans¡"
She slowly told Ace about how they ughtered the entire inner market of ck river city and then forced the Puppeteer n''s First Elder in handing over their treasures.
Then they escaped after trapping them in another grade-4 formation.
"¡ although we left behind two grade-4 formations. We earn so much from this heist. You can take all the treasures." She quickly offered without even asking the other two.
She knew without Ace''s formations and talisman, they won''t evenplete the inner market before rming the Puppeteer n, and Ace didn''t get anything out of it at all, nor did he ask for anything in return.
Ace merely chuckled. "I don''t need anything. Do you think Ick anything or need those treasuries from a slightly better tribe from a Demon Duke level tribe anymore?"
Noa was speechless since she had a clear idea of just how wealthy he was. She had gone into his thief''s space multiple times. Although he only allowed her to skim through the raw material area, the other sides were still filled with storage rings.
Especially the mysterious storage ring wall in the center of his space.
But this also made her slightly frustrated since she wanted to help Ace, but he was the one who always helped her and didn''t ask for anything in return. He had given her so much from the day they met. But she hasn''t returned anything yet.
Ace didn''t think too much of this sudden silence and questioned as his expression turned serious. "So, where are you guys right now? You have a very small window to reach here.
"Remembered, every demon king is here as well as other hidden experts of eight provinces. Although we don''t have a clear idea about how they will react when they find out about a bandit gang robbing a city like the ck river.
"But since you guys used the grade-5 formation, in the end, they will soon figure out that it was the stolen formation from the treasure pagoda. But it was only if they spread this news.
"If they tried to keep it under wrap because of the royal zone presence, we have little to worry about and the chances of this to happen are very high. But there''s still a chance they would seek their help, so you guys have four or five days to reach me."
They all discussed these scenarios multiple times. It also concerned Ace''s aim in this auction. He can''t move without making sure they were all out of the woods.
"Please don''t worry. We''re far away from the ck River City and start moving again at night. We''ll reach there in three days if nothing happens." Noa assured Ace with confidence.
Ace had no choice but to believe her. "Fine then. But if you sense something amiss, use n-3 without any hesitation. I''ll be waiting for you guys in Life Demon Auction!"
Chapter 510 Eighth Day Of Auction
Inside VVIP Room No.3,
At this moment, the Exalted Demon King had a deep frown with a hint of fury in his eyes as he looked at the kneeling Grand Elder of Puppeteer n in front of him.
The five other youths inside the room also looked with incredulity and outrage.
After the Grand Elder reported the robbery of ck River City, they all felt like this was some big joke. But sadly, it wasn''t after the Exalted Demon King confirmed it with his informationwork.
"Henry, it''s been a hundred years since Ist saw you." Exalted Demon King said as if nothing happened, but the anger in his voice was apparent. He coldly said, "It seemed you''ve grown old and¡ senile."
Grand Elder or Henry trembled when he heard this, and he knew the Exalted Demon King was calling him ipetent in a roundabout way.
Everyone knew how calm and polite the Exalted Demon King was all the time, and very few demons knew that his appearance was just a fa?ade, and he was ruthless and unforgiving to anyone who would make mistakes.
The magistrate ns knew about this since they belongs to the same tribe.
The Exalted Demon King was a dictator and he won''t ept any mishap in his province. Especially anything remotely rted to stealing.
However, now, some robbers looted one of the magister cities and even managed to escape unharmed. It was a colossal blunder on the Puppeteer n''s part, and they had to suffer the consequences.
When Henry said he was calling in a favor, he didn''t mean to use it to capture those robbers. But he wanted to use that favor in exchange for the Exalted Demon King''s mercy!
Exalted Demon King coldly spoke without any emotions, "Very well, since you''re using that favor right now to earn my forgiveness, you can have it."
Henry had a massive sigh of relief.
"But¡" this work sent chills down Henry''s spine.
"But the Puppeteer n will withdraw from their position as a Magistrate n and return to the domain. A new n will take over your position. Do you concur?" The Exalted Demon King coldly looked at Henry without even blinking.
''Sigh¡ at least I save everyone from execution. As long as our n exists, we''ll rise again.''
With such thoughts in his mind, he solemnly epted, "I concurred! Thank you for this kindness, Your Majesty!"
Exalted Demon King merely nodded, "Now go back, I''ll send someone to take control of the situation in the ck River."
Henry quickly thanked him again before he promptly left without asking about the robbers. He knew just escaping with his and his n''s life was already a miracle.
He wasn''t worried that those robbers would get away with this after angering the Exalted Demon King. Furthermore, he had many methods to locate them!
After Henry left, a youth with a resemnce to Exalted Demon King spoke with glum, "Royal Father, are we really letting the Puppeteer n off the hook with his blunder?"
Exalted Demon King''s lips curled as he coldly said, "Although I let them go, their life won''t be a happy one from now on. You guys can also kill their hires in the demon gate trial as long as you got the chance. They no longer belong to our Demon Tamer Team."
Those youths smiled grimly when they heard that as killing intent shed past their eyes.
"As for those rebels, if they think they''re like that degenerate thief and can get away with this treason and sully mynds, then they''re already dead. No one can escape my pets'' detection!"
---
"¡ Room No.3,439 won this Ice Fairy Sword for 9 million peak-grade-2 Qi stones!
"So, this concludes the auction of the third day. I''ll see you all in two hours!"
Lilly announced the end of the third-day auction and left the stage!
Ace was calmly looking at the projection mirror. He didn''t bid for anything today since most of his attention was on the house mission. Furthermore, there wasn''t anything that caught his eye at today''s auction.
''Three or four days more before they reached the peripheries of the forbidden ins. But that Exalted Demon King is famous for his beast-taming abilities and I had seen him moving against the fox mountain that day.
''Although he might not seek the royal zone''s help or even bother reporting it to the royal council since this was robbery done by an infamous bandit gang. But with their informationwork, it won''t bete before they find out about this robbery.
''Especially the Life Demon Association. They''ll instantly know what kind of formations were used by the Moon Robbers and they''ll connect them with me. Once that happened, either Exalted Demon King like it or not, he had to help them.'' Ace''s eyes narrowed slightly.
Even though the house mission waspleted smoothly because of the life demon auction. But the house members'' escape also had be extremely difficult if they were not careful.
Almost every bigwig of the demon race was present in this auction. If they took an interest in Moon Robbers because they were connected with the elusive Sky Stealer, the result would be disastrous for Noa, Freya, and Winter!
That''s why Ace required them toe here in five days before anyone would make a move.
Furthermore, because the auction grand finale would be around the corner, they might not even move and decide toplete the auction before starting a massive manhunt.
By that time, if Ace retrieved his house members back in the thief''s house space, he knew no one would be able to find the Moon Robbers ever again.
Neither would anyone think they were in the auction; this action was simply too daring!
That''s why Ace was still sitting calmly here while also scrutinizing the actions of the association. If they decide to act while the auction was still ongoing, he would be the first to know because of his disguise''s status!
---
On the sixth day of the Life Demon Auction,
Without any hitch, the auction was moving smoothly, and Ace didn''t notice or heard anything from the upper floor, which means they still didn''t know about the robbery at the ck river city.
''Either I underestimated the Exalted Demon King''s ability to keep the information under wrap or I overestimated the Life Demon Association intellectwork. Well, whatever the case is, this will be over soon¡'' Ace''s lips curled.
---
On the morning of the eighth day of the Life Demon Auction,n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
As the grand finale wasing closer, the items appearing for auction were getting better and better, and the VVIP rooms became more active with this as well.
Ace also won many bids for soul skills and many sword base skills in these past days, rendering everyone speechless. He was as fearsome as any VVIP when it came to bidding because he never lost a single bid whenever he made a move.
Furthermore, many VVIPs, especially the Life Grandmasters were wondering just how Ville was and how did he amodate so much wealth.
As for the Life Grandmaster of the Ville''s branch, he was coldly celebrating because in his eyes the moment they left this auction, everything that belonged to Ville will be his.
While the eighth-day auction was still ongoing as everyone was glued to their seats.
Ville suddenly left his room as he moved toward the hidden stairs that led to the lower floor and unhurriedly descended.
There were guards appointed on these stairways, but when they saw it was Ville, they didn''t stop him and let him pass without any question. Only a Life Grandmaster or another Life Master can stop and question him.
Ace reached the entrance of the auction area without anyone stopping or questioning him.
When the guards saw Villeing out, they quickly greeted him in bewilderment.
"Is something wrong esteem Life Master?" A guard quickly asked with trepidation.
They all knew someone like Ville should be busy with the auction, but he appeared here, which can''t be anything good.
"No need to agitate. I''m only for a stroll. Continue your work." Ville coolly stated as he walked away with his hand behind his back.
Those guards were baffled by this revtion.
Ace spotted a vast crowd of demons and many camps a mile away from the entrance.
''Are they here for the demon gate trial?'' Ace thought.
It wasn''t strange because not everyone got the chance to enter the auction, and some didn''t have the resources to enter the auction. These tribes were poor, and they all wanted to change their fates bypeting in the Demon Gate Trail.
Well, it has nothing to do with Ace since he was here for another matter, which was to retrieve his house members into the thief''s house space safety and then return.
"Where are you guys? I''m currently in disguise as a Life Master and walking straight from the arena entrance." Ace expressed in his mind!
Chapter 511 Who?!
[First Bonus Chapter of this week (17-11-2022)]
[Second Chapter at 1000 Power Stones]
_____
"Where are you guys? I''m currently in disguise as a Life Master and walking straight from the arena entrance." Ace expressed in his mind!
"Oh, you managed to infiltrate that deep and even got a Life Master''s face. It seemed we still have much to learn from you, huh, Grand Leader?" Freya''s giggling voice rang in Ace''s mind.
Ace chuckled smugly, "As long as you know."
"Tsk, here I thought you would be a little bit humble." Freya scoffed and didn''t say anything meaningless again. "We can see you. Just head toward that big white tent where no one can see you."
Ace looked at the white tent as his lips curled upward. "I''ll be there."
Ace suddenly used his stealth and vanished behind an enormous boulder and then quickly headed toward that white tent.
Thereupon, Ace soon appeared behind that camp without alerting anyone. However, no one was there, but he merely snickered as he looked at the tent shadow and said, "You''re not powerful enough to hide from me right now."
Soon, three capped figures appeared from that exact spot like ghosts.
"Just what realm are you in?"
Winter sounded frustrated because she never felt Ace using any soul sense or martial sense, nor they can really tell what realm he was in because he always had a different aura whenever they saw him.
Ace merely chuckled as he approached them. "We''ll talk about it after you go back. By the way, you guys did well."
He moved his hand toward them.
Without any question, they all took it, and the very next moment, they vanished from their spots into the thief''s house space.
Ace finally had a massive sigh of relief after he retrieved the three, and just as he came here, he headed back.
Inside the thief''s house, the main hall.
The three capped figures finally revealed their appearance and sat down around the table.
"I hate to admit it, but I like this ce much more than the outside." Freya couldn''t help but smile with aplex emotion in his bewitching eyes.
Noa merely nodded while only her ted pitch-ck eyes were visible behind the mask.
Winter smirked, as she also agreed with them.
"This is after all your house, so feeling as such is quite natural." Ace''s voice rang.
"Well, everything is wonderful except this guy who can spy on us at any time he wanted." Winter''s little cut face was filled with vignce.
Ace retorted, "Do you have anything worth spying on?" He won''t let this fox sully his prestige.
"Scoundrel!" Winter gritted her teeth since she felt annoyed whenever Ace said these things.
Freya also giggled as she pointed toward her big chest. "What about me, and sister Noa? Do we have anything worth spying on?" Her eyes were filled with mischievousness.
A peculiar glint shed fast in Noa''s cold eyes when she heard this question.
"Noa knew I would never do something like that. As for you, hmm¡ truth be told, I''ve seen quite a lot of you already, and I''m already bored." Ace unabashedly replied.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace knew the more he showed deficiency, the more Freya would harass him, so he didn''t mind giving her the taste of her own medicine.
When ites to change in personality, acting skills, and lying without even blinking, he had already mastered this art, and so many memories he had annexed had helped him a lot.
Now no one can tell when he was honest and when he''s not, and this kind of person is most dangerous.
Winter smirked when she saw Freya''s yful expression darken when Ace called her unattractive and say he was already bored as if she was his ything.
''Hmph, that now you''ll know just how shameless that guy is!'' She gloated.
Noa, on the hand, had an icy expression, as if she didn''t hear anything.
"You really didn''t know how to treat ady, do you?" Freya coldly expressed.
"Yes, and what can you do about it, little Freya?" Ace waspletely casual.
Freya threw a sharp nce at smirking Winter but kept her mouth shut, she finally understood Ace simply didn''t care about his face nor did he give any face to a beauty like her. So, it would be wise to not use this method to tease him anymore.
"Now that we get past our little joyful reunion. Can I have my grave-5 formations back? Only two days remain before the end of the auction, and I''m still stuck on the neenth floor." Ace''s voice was stern.
"How confident are you?" Noa finally spoke with a hint of worry.
She knew the life demon auction was filled with deadly experts, and if Ace messed up, he would be signing his death warrant.
Freya also showed aplicated expression as she said, "You don''t have to do this, you know. I don''t need it anymore, and we can always get it back once we get strong. In my opinion, we should leave the demon continent now."
Winter also chimed in, "She''s right. After what we have done in the ck River City, the royal zone will definitelyunch a manhunt, and this time, they might use their full strength.
"I don''t know if you know it or, but the top races are always in contact with each other and had many spies hidden in each continent.
"Once the other races learned about how some thieves are wreaking havoc between demons, they might even mock demons. Once those in the royal zone took it personally, we might not even find a ce to hide.
"Especially if they asked for Devil Race, those guys are extremely proficient in locating people, even in other continents. That''s why we should not test the Demon Race bottom line and leave while we can."
Ace could rte to why they were suggesting leaving the demon continent, and if he didn''t have this chain mission, he might really leave.
Although abandoning this mission will not result in any punishment, and he still had fifteen years, he decided to take the risk for two crucial reasons.
First, the enticing reward which he''ll get on every conditionpletion, and second, the golden ckpass point was pointing toward the direction of the royal zone.
It made him want to enter the royal zone even more.
"I know what I''m doing, and I''m pretty sure if I try to cross eight borders right now, I''ll be in even more danger. Besides, I won''t act unless it''s safe, and you guys won''t even know what my n is for this auction." Ace chuckled.
Everyone frowned because they only knew little details about what Ace was nning on doing in this auction, but he won''t tell them what exactly he was nning.
"You guys should be exhausted, and I know you earn big time on this mission, so focus on growing strong. Leave this matter to me." Assured Ace.
Then, he took away the two grade five formations he lent them and excused them as they left toward their personal rooms, still wondering what Ace was going to do.
Just like Ace left, he returned to Ville''s room without any hitch.
''Now that I got the ghost lurking formation, I can move around freely in this entire arena since only a grade-6 formation will be able to detect this formation.'' Ace smiled contently.
''Knock¡ knock¡''
Ace was startled by this abrupt knocking and frowned because he suddenly noticed his soul sense didn''t pick up anyone.
''A Demon King?''
Ace''s heart palpitated when he thought this because only a demon king can escape his soul sense detection. He quickly used the fate mapping to see the fate map just to make sure.
However, he was startled when he saw it was a Light Silver Fate Point with a white color circle, which mean this person was a neutral party. But more importantly, there wasn''t any ck circle, which also implies this person didn''t pose an absolute danger to Ace as well.
''Someone who could escape my soul sense without being a soul manifestation realm and a ck fate point? The light silver color also implied there''s something useful on this person for me?''
Confused, Ace decided to see who this person was first. "It''s open."
The door slowly opened, but Ace''s curious expression suddenly copsed when he saw the white color around this person suddenly turn crimson!
''Why?'' Ace knew this means this was an enemy, but this change was too abrupt and happened so fast as if this person didn''t consider Ville his enemy until he opened the door and then showed his true color.
However, Ace didn''t even have time to think when the entire room suddenly turned dark as a strange pressure descent that wanted to infiltrate Ace''s body. Not only that, but he can''t feel his surroundings anymore!
"Who?!"
Ace was rmed because he could tell this was a work of an extremely powerful formation, and he was now trapped!
Chapter 512 The Attacker’s Identity
Ace can''t believe someone was daring enough to use a formation to trap a life master in the middle of the Life Demon Auction except himself. That''s why he was caught off guard like the real Ville!
Either this person was extremely foolish or extremely confident in his ability to get away unnoticed. And Ace knew it was thetter when a sudden chillness approached his neck from behind.
When he sensed the danger, he instantly used his heavenly sense. Which finally revealed the position of the attacker.
A green shield appeared in his hand, and he put it right between his neck and the sharp dagger to block the iing strike.
''ng¡''
Piercing voice of metal clinging together rang.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Although Ace managed to block the life-threatening strike, the impact still sent him flying, but he managed to maneuver in midair and stand straight.
This time Ace directly looked at the attack, who was d in ck, as only his dark purple eyes were exposed which were now filled with disbelief. He clearly didn''t expect his deadly strike to be blocked by Ville.
Ace coldly said, "You dare to take action in the middle of Life Demon Auction? Who are you!"
Ace pretended to enrage, but he was extremely vignt because this person had an extremely strong physique. He still can''t diverge his cultivation realm even with his heavenly sense, which made him even more shocked.
Because this person wasn''t a manifestation realm expert, or Ace won''t be standing here right now, nor did a manifestation realm need to set this trapping formation to deal with Ville.
Furthermore, this formation hadpletely cut off his senses as if he was in another space altogether, which made him quite warier.
"You can see me?" The demon''s ovepping voice sounded with a hint of surprise.
''First, he blocked my fatal strike, and now he can even see me despite the dark dimension bead activation? He can''t be just a random rune crafter with no experience of fighting. But this time I won''t hold back either.'' Killing intent shed past his eyes.
But he still didn''t take Ville seriously, as if everything was still under his control.
"I have no enmity with you. Why are you doing this?!" Ville bellowed in rage.
Meanwhile, Ace had secretly taken out a golden formation in the shade of his shield, which gopletely unnoticed by the other party''s detection.
"There''s indeed no enmity between us, but you possess something you shouldn''t have, and I happened to require a face of your position. So, now you die in peace!" without wasting more time, he bolted, leaving behind an afterimage.
Even Ace felt this guy''s speed was on par with his own, or even faster.
One had to know he had already raised the levels of his Misperception Sky Steps Art in thest year to the limit of this cultivation realm.
=====
¡
--
-Misperception Sky Steps (Art):
Camouge Steps: Middle
Lightning Steps: Middle
Misperception Steps: Middle
Sky Steps: NONE
--
¡
=====
With his cultivation realm boost, he can go toe to toe with an intermediate stage soul realm cultivator, but this guy was probably much stronger than an intermediate stage soul realm cultivator.
Without any time to waste, Ace quickly activated the Demonic Sword Killing Formation!
The moment the formation''s rune lit, Ace had a massive sigh of relief when it got activated without any interference or this strange formation, which means it was likely to be at the same level as the Demonic Sword Killing Formation.
"You had a grade-5 killing formation?! Who are you?" This time, the demon''s voice was filled with fear when he saw the dark ce suddenly lit in golden light.
He never expected a life master to have a grade-5 killing formation at his disposal because only the association president or runic life grandmasters cane in contact with them.
He wasn''t prepared for this, and the moment Ace activated the formation and his movement were staggered and before he could use his trump card to escape this restriction, the life master who was supposed to be restricted moved!
The demon''s heart palpitated because this wasn''t possible at all for a soul embryo realm cultivator to move or even achieve such speed, and this guy clearly wasn''t a soul embryo manifestation realm cultivator.
He finally understood this was a huge miscalction on his part because this might not be the actual Life Master but an imposter!
When this realization struck him, he instantly wanted to take out something from his storage ring to escape.
But to his horror, his storage ring didn''t repose, and when he nced at it, he almost fainted because it wasn''t on his finger!
"Looking for something?"
His heart lunged when the icy voice sounded from behind, and the next moment, an extremely powerful palm filled with lightning struck his head!
His brain was jolted by lightning before he felt a strange glumness and lost consciousness.
Ace didn''t dy for long and put this guy into prison in his thief''s space.
After his body vanished, the surrounding darkness also vanished, and he can finally sense his surroundings again.
''Thud¡''
The sound of something falling on the floor drew Ace''s attention, and when he looked, he saw a small ck bead filled with gray symbols.
''So, this is the medium of that strange formation.'' Ace was intrigued as he picked the bead and carefully examined it.
But it didn''t look like a formation to him, it was more like a¡
''A limit talisman!''
Ace was even more astonished when he saw a familiar symbol on this bead which looks exactly like the limit talisman he won on the second day.
''Just who is this guy?'' Ace was now even more rmed by this attacker''s mysterious background.
Without wasting any time, he used a soul probe on the assassin, and shockingly, he felt some kind of barrier preventing his soul probe from entering the knowledge sea.
Suddenly, Ace felt this barrier wasn''t internal but external. It was right on this demon''s head.
With narrowed eyes, Ace removed the cap and then the dark veil from his face.
''It''s the veil?'' Ace could feel the strong fluctuations from his dark veil. It could even block his senses.
However, when he saw the face of this demon, his eyes contracted because it was a just purple demon which was one of the bottle feeders tribes of the demon race.
Furthermore, he still couldn''t sense his cultivation, which means this face wasn''t real, and he suddenly remembered this demon said he wanted Ville''s face.
He knew it was probably a disguise mask and, without any hesitation; he tried to remove the mask.
With some force, he managed to remove the disguise, but it wasn''t a mask, but faceless skin!
Right at this moment, Ace could finally sense the hidden cultivation of this demon when this skin was removed.
''So, he''s a tinum Soul Embryo Realm of 7th advance stage. No wonder he was so powerful, and his body was probably the result of a body refinement technique. This skin mask is on par with my own or even more power; if it can block my soul probe!''
Ace''s eyes shone with ecstasy as he looked at the skin mask and the demon''s actual appearance.
It was a handsome demon with emerald skin and ck antelope horns.
Without wasting more time, Ace again used the soul probe, and this time, it worked!
Fragments of memories flooded into Ace''s head, and when he started processing them, he was astonished at first, before he was utterly shocked at the end after he gained every memory of this demon.
He discarded nothing this time because the identity of this demon was dreadful!
But soon, the shock in Ace''s eyes turned into ecstasy, and he nearlyughed out loud with sheer happiness!
''Hahaha¡ so, that''s why this guy was a silver fate point. He simply solved everything by delivering himself to me, and now I don''t need to wait at all!'' He hadn''t experienced this excitement after getting someone''s memories in a while now.
Right at this moment, the demon in the cage suddenly groan, he was awake!
When he noticed the dark ce and then sense the cape and mask on his face were removed, he was horrified and bellowed, "Lowly thrall you dare to rob me of my treasures? Do you know who I am?! If you released me and returned my belongings, I''ll not persuade this matter or your entire association will suffer because of your ignorance!"
Now that he had failed to achieve this motive and got captured instead, he had no choice but to reveal his identity to scare the other party into submission.
He was extremely confident that the other party would not dare to harm him, and release him once he revealed his origin.
However, when he heard Ace''s icy words, he was gobsmacked with terror and even forgot to breathe.
"Paul Poison Wood, the First Son of Poison Wood Grand Demon Duke of Poison Wood Demon Duchy of Royal Demon Nation. Am I right or Am I right!"
Chapter 513 A Lovesick Guy
"Paul Poison Wood, the First Son of Poison Wood Grand Demon Duke of Poison Wood Demon Duchy of Royal Demon Nation. Am I right, or Am I right!"
Paul was appalled when his identity was exposed by his captor and he seemedpletely nonchnt about it as if he didn''t fear his background at all!
"W-who are you!?"
His eyes kept darting around to find the owner of this voice, but there was nothing but darkness.
Ace had created this small prison cell with a special grade-4 ore called Dark Steel Gem, which canpletely cut off the senses and trap any cultivators below the manifestation realm.
Because this was the Thief''s Space, his cultivation waspletely suppressed, and he didn''t feel any kind of restriction ced on him or he simply wasn''t strong enough to find them. This realization gave him even more fright.
''Did she sell me out?!'' When this thought surface in his mind, the light in his eyes visibly decreases as icy chinless grip his heart.
Ace''s snickering voice rang. "Who I am? Weren''t you guys searching for me all along?"
Paul''s lips contorted as coldly reply, "There''s no need to y dumb anymore. Just use me as you see fit. Just tell her this, I will love her¡"
"Wait, wait!" Ace quickly cut the guy''s passionate speech. He waspletely speechless since Paul took him for someone else.
Paul pursed his lips and coldly rebuked, "What? Didn''t you apprehend me because of ''her'' order, so you could take me back and then use my act of sneaking into the outer continent as a bargaining chip to force my father to choose a side?"
"Oh, you''re quite sure about it, huh? Then why did you even bother sneaking out if you knew this a treason for Royal Demons to enter the outer continent without permission?" Ace sounded amused.
A painful glint shed past Paul''s eyes as he felt thousands of des stab in his heart. He gritted his teeth menacingly.
"You lowly thrall dared to question me! Do you think just because you''re working for Leona, this will give you the right to look down on the Royal Demon?
"If she hadn''t given you that grade-5 killing formation and set this trap for me, even your ancestor won''t be able to touch my hair, much less capture me!"
"Heh, you''re giving yourself too much credit. How about you take a look at your hand and then try saying the same thing again!" Ace coldly retorted.
This guy was simply delusional and thought too highly of himself just because he''s a high-born.
"What do me¡" Paul''s fierce words instantly caught in his throat when he nced at the back of his hand, and his eyes almost popped out from his sockets with appalling.
Because there''s an imposing owl imprint with ''Want to Kill Me? Watch me Steal!'' words written on its wings.
A chill ran down his spine as a name appeared in his mind like a raging thunder.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"S-S-Sky¡ Sky¡ Sky Stealer!" He stuttered just by calling this name and understood what Ace meant by his previous words.
Aghast realization dawned on him at this moment.
"Y-you¡ you were here all along!"
When he thought about how much security the life demon association put in this auction just to make sure nothing goes wrong. But the person they had put so much effort into had already infiltrated deep within their ranks!
As for all those forces searching for Ace out there, they were simply looking for a ghost. They didn''t even have a chance to see his shadow, much less capture him.
Furthermore, no one had thought of this point, but with all the stolen formations in his possession, only a Demon King can restrain him. The others don''t stand a chance, and he learned it in a painful way!
"What, does cat got your arrogant tongue now?" Ace scoffed.
Paul''s eyes were filled with appalling and disbelief, as a sigh filled with sorrow and relief escaped his mouth all of a sudden as he muttered in resignation, "At least she didn''t betray me."
"You''re really lovesick, aren''t you?" Ace couldn''t help but sneer.
Paul''s expression turned resolute as he coldly sneered, "I don''t have anything to say to you, thief. I don''t know how you know my identity, but do your worse! Eventually, you''ll be judged for your crimes, and if you think you can handle the repercussion of my sudden disappearance, then you don''t know the power of the royal zone at all!"
Now that he knew he wasn''t betrayed. He waspletely rxed because he knew no matter how astute the Sky Stealer was, he can''t hide his disappearance.
The reason being he waspletely sure once his ''lover'' contacted him about the result of his assignment. She would instantly know it wasn''t him.
Even if Ace impersonated him, he would never know how to repose, and once that happened, she would quickly sense something amiss and search for him.
At that time, Ace would be a trapped mouse, and he''ll also get his freedom.
''Even if he abandoned whatever he''s doing here and decides to flee, he can''t take me with him unless he wanted to draw unwanted attention. As for killing me or using soul search, I want to see if he has guts!'' Paul inwardly derided.
"Heh, you''re overthinking things. I don''t want anything from you. Because I had already gotten everything." Ace jeered before he cut off the connection.
He simply sneered when he saw how Paul had a huge misunderstanding about his situation.
Ace had Paul''s entire memories, and he knew everything about him, even his stubborn personality. But when he thought about how Paul was dancing on someone else palm despite knowing it, he didn''t know if he was an idiot or simply didn''t care.
Nevertheless, Paul''s appearance had given him a massive boon, and with Paul''s memories and appearance, his motive foring here was 90%plete!
In these two months, with Freya''s help, he had already got the news that the invigtors from three demon institutes were already in the Demon Tamer Domain, and they weren''t alone but bring some youths with them.
The real reason for Ace to attend this auction was he wanted to see if he could grab the weakest person from the group and annex his memories of the royal zone before he moved out on his own while the demons were busy with their trails.
However, to do this he had to first approach room no.0, which was almost impossible, but he had a n for that as well, and he was about to start it when Paul came knocking on his door and solved everything!
Furthermore, Paul''s identity was far nobler than those of institute members because he was the genius of a Grand Demon Duke n.
Although Paul was a genius and regarded highly by his n, he had a major w which was his blind love for the one and only Imperial Princess Leona, who held the title of the most beautiful demoness of the demon race and the Wise Demon Lady.
He had identally seen her appearance once and instantly fell head over heels for her on spot and just like many other Grand Demon Duke heirs, he devoted himself to court her with every sliver of his being.
But the strange thing was; Leona answered Paul''s persuasion, and in a brief time at that.
However, Leona strictly prohibited Paul to tell anyone about their rtionship and instills it in Paul''s head with her honey-coated words.
From that day forth, she would sometimes talk with Paul on themunication cube, which can only be used by her to make the contact while Paul always waits eagerly.
But soon, Leona started to have peculiar requests for Paul, like his n''s secret poison techniques, precious herbs, pills, and even assassination, and he does with his eyes closed because Leona always says it was for their future together.
This time wasn''t any different. Leona used the same honey-coated words and even the promise of intimacy to drag Paul here because he had a supernatural ability that will allow him to hide from even Demon Kings, and he was an excellent assassin.
His task was simple; to find Ace and capture him before the Grand Demon Duke could who was currently present in this auction.
Even Ace felt his heart turn cold when he absorbed this memory because he did not know someone like a Grand Demon Duke was here, and waiting for him to make a mistake and felt extremely d he didn''t go through with his original n!
This guy was simply a lunatic, who wanted to undermine the Grand Demon Duke just because of a few words.
As for why Paul appeared here, it was for three reasons.
First, they wanted to destroy Leona''s brother''s n which was also to capture him, and he had a very high chance with his ''bait''.
Second, Leona wanted to acquire the ticket of the mysterious book Ace won against her on the first-day bid, and Paul was naturally the one insured with this task since she didn''t want her dear brother to find it.
Lastly, Paul required a face toplete the first mission, and after he found from Peterson that a life master took the receipt, he decided to target Ville for that face as well since his profile matched his requirement.
But in the end¡
Ace''s lips curled upward into a cold yet mischievous smile!
Chapter 514 Side Mission: 3
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is thest item for the eighth-day auction¡ behold!"
Lilly announced with a radiant smile before the tform rose and when everyone saw was on it, they were astonished because it was a golden cage with a small beast inside!
She quickly introduces, "This is an Amber Light Bear''s cub. A very rare Light Element species with Soul Realm growth potential and extremely powerful physique. This is an excellent battle mount and meat shield. The startling bid is 1 Million Peak-Grade-2 Qi stones, and every bid minimum raise limit is 1,000 Qi stones. The bid is open!"
Ace looked at the small bear cub with little interest since he had seen many beasts like this sold in these past few days and he knew they were all put on the auction by the Demon Tamer Tribe.
Furthermore, he already had a beast egg of a creature that wasn''t from the first heaven, and it would hatch in a little over two years, so these beasts would naturally not enter his eyes.
Right now, his entire focus was on Paul''s first task, and he knew if he vanished withoutpleting it, he might have to suffer repercussions from the Imperial Princess Leona.
Moreover, Paul''s mission just happened to be matched with his second purpose, which was optional and depended on the situation!
But after learning there was a Grand Demon Dukeying in wait, he started to hesitate and start considering his option.
Although he now knew how to cross the forbidden ins, he didn''t want to discard the connection with Leona yet because he could use her to his own advantage.
He wasn''t Paul who would do everything without asking anything in return, but Leona didn''t know this, and it was something worth considering.
Especially after he got the entire structure of the royal zone and just how astute Leona was and her connections. Paul never even thought of using them to look noble in his ''lover''s'' eyes, but Ace didn''t care about any feeling, and it was a tremendous boon for him.
That was why he didn''t discard any memory of Paul because he wanted to fool that astute demoness. He had to mirror Paul''s personality perfectly and wait patiently before winning it all!
Soon the bidding for the Amber Light Bear closed at 22.8 Million, and it also marked the end of the eighth day of the Life Demon Auction.
Thereupon, Ace suddenly felt something before his lips curled up, and amunication cube appeared in his hand, which was glowing brightly.
''Here we go.'' Ace quickly changed his appearance to Paul to mask his voice and activate the cube.
A melodious voice sounded thereafter. "Do you get it?"
"What do you think?" Ace''s impassively said in Paul''s voice.
"Heh, silly me, this wasn''t even a challenge for you. Just hold on to it for me." Leona giggled before she changed the topic. "What about our true purpose?"
Paul said with a hint of arrogance, "I can roam this ce freely with my ability, so it wasn''t hard to kill one of these thralls and take over their ce. I''m ready and now waiting on you."
"Good. We had to act before the ninth-day auction started, and I have already arranged everything for you. You just need to reach¡" Leona describes her n quickly, "¡ and then you''ll leave this ce as quickly as possible."
Ace''s eyes shone with astonishment because this n was foolproof, and he wondered if this demoness was also a thief in disguise.
"Alright, this should be a piece of cake. But are you sure the Grand Demon Duke won''t get alert and that thief wille? What if we took all this risk for nothing?" He pretended to be worried, which he actually was.
"As long as you used the formation I gave you, everything will be fine. The old guys here will never notice a thing. As for whether that thiefes or not, it''s another question. He can''t be caught by anyone else, but we or everything will be for nothing." She sounded extremely stern.
''Here she goes again¡'' Ace tutted inwardly.
But he pretended to be the idiot Paul and assured her gently, "Don''t worry, I would never let this happen. But do you have any n for that thief after we seeded? it is probably our only chance to capture him as well?"
Ace wanted to probe more information out of Leona, especially if she had some kind of trap ready for him, just in case.
"Heh, I indeed have a way, which is rted to your sesses here. We''ll discuss it after the auction. Now, I have to go, or that brother of mine might suspect something." Finished saying, she cut off the connection.
Ace frowned slightly as he stowed away Paul''smunication cube.
''She sounds quite confident. But she had already lost the moment she sent this idiot after me.'' Ace''s lips curled up and stopped thinking about this anymore.
Right at this moment,
======
[A side mission has been issued]
======
"Are you serious?" Ace cussed when he heard the abrupt notification and opened it with trepidation.
======
[Side Mission]
[Rating Mission: In Rating Mission, eachplete requirement will result in a different percentage allocation, and thest rewards will depend on the final percentage!]
--
-Mission Introduction: In the past few months someone continues to sully Host''s honorable reputation. The host also discovered a lot of schemes against himself in this auction, and it''s time to tell the world schemes are nothing against an Honorable Thief!
-Requirement (1): Steal the entire auction treasury!
-Requirement (2): Leave Paul Poison Wood in that empty treasury!
-Requirement (3): Expose Imperial Princess Leona''s scheme to the world and damaged her reputation!
-Requirement (4): Condemn the Royal Demon Council and Life Demon Association for their deceitful acts in front of the world!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
-Requirement (5): Leave the Outer Province before anyone finds out!
--
-Time: 49H:40M:43S
--
-Reward(s):
10% Sess Rating: 10 Million TP, 1 Million EXP, 1 Million SP
30% Sess Rating: A Heavenly Talisman
50% Sess Rating: Intermediate-Grade Insight Pills
75% Sess Rating: Thievish Soul Cord (Soul Weapon)
90% Sess Rating: A Secret Thief Skill
95% Sess Rating: An Elemental Orb''s Location
--
-Punishment (If cannot meet the minimum rating of 10%): -100 Million TP
=====
Ace''s heart jumped when he saw the Rating Mission and its requirements and when he was about to fly into a frenzy, his mouth instantly shut after seeing thevish rewards below.
Especially the reward at the 950% rating, which made his heart race instantly!
If anything, that can force him into taking a dangerous task in this world; it was the Elemental Orbs!
Furthermore, he was already at the peak of his current realm and had to start looking for an elemental orb soon. And this just happened to be the only reward that could make him throw away his chance of using Paul''s identity and utilize an Imperial Princess!
"System, you magnificent conspirator. You just can''t see me riding the tide, do you? And wanted me to swim in the opposite direction!" Ace tutted with a resigned expression before his eyes turned resolute. "Fine, you win! Let''s just throw the entire demon race''s face into the mud. Besides, I''ll be long gone on the other side when they were going crazing over this side!"
Ace left Ville''s room at this moment before he headed toward the lower levels.
However, this time, he didn''t stop on the first level but moved deep into the first level toward the prohibited area.
Soon, he reached a specific location with a powerful demon sitting, eyes closed, in front of a gate.
The demon suddenly opened his crimson eyes, coldly looked at Ville, and said with killing intent, "What are you doing here?"
He was one of the most powerful Life Demon Guards of the Life Demon Association, and he can even block a few casual attacks of a demon king, and his status wasn''t any lower than a Life Grandmaster!
However, Ace didn''t panic and took out a ck token with a red symbol on it and said meaningfully, "I''m here to Stroll."
The Life Demon Guard startled for a moment before his stony expression turned highly respectful. He instantly opened the door and bowed. "You have 30 minutes, my lord."
"I understand." Ville entered the dark passage.
As he walked in the passage, he saw more Life Demon Guards, but when they saw the token in Ville''s hand, they pretended as if they saw nothing.
Ace couldn''t help but marvel at this sight. ''She was telling the truth when she said she bought every Life Demon Guard just for the sake of this task. It''s a shame I have to expose Leona now, or with her connections, I could''ve theft far better ce than this auction!''
Hemented and ground his teeth when he thought about how the system has destroyed this opportunity with a freaking enticing mission!
Soon, he reached the end of the passage, where he spotted a charming demoness in a tight red dress, who was none other than Lilly!
Chapter 515 Auction Treasury Vault
Lilly nced at Ville''s face before her eyes jumped to the token in his hand.
Her eyes shimmered with reverence as she bowed, showing her deep cleavage, and spoke, "Your excellency, it''s an honor to be in your presence!"
Ace knew why these demons were so submissive and respectful toward ''Ville'' because Leona had told them her personal aid will be here, which meant someone with a superior status from the royal zone!
Although these demons had sold their loyalty to Leona, they did it because of her lofty status, or even if a demon king pay themvishly, they would never dare to allow anyone to enter this ce no matter what.
"Don''t waste my time. Open the vault!" Ville coldly ordered.
Lilly didn''t mind his indifferent tone and quickly responded, "Your excellency, as you know because of the impending threat of the thief name Sky Stealer, this treasury vault was built with peak-grade-5 materials, arrays, and formations.
"Beside me, only the Association President can enter this treasury vault without triggering anything. But I can''t take or touch anything and can only use a disy formation to show treasures on the main stage, and then they will be returned to their respective ces and locked down within a formation.
"Only at the end of the auction can these treasures be retrieved and given to the buyers. Before that, if anyone even touches them, the President would instantly know."
She looked meaningfully at Ville and spoke gently, "I''m not questioning your capabilities. or anything. But if the rm were triggered between your ''switch'', this entire ce will be locked!
"Furthermore, there''s a monitoring array and someone is always watching this vault, so you have to be mindful of showing yourself. You also have 20 minutes at maximum to do your mission, before the President will check this ce through a monitoring array here. This is all I have to say. Please be careful!"
''They really put a lot of effort into making sure if Ie, I would never leave this ce. Well, I wouldn''t have if this wasn''t ''arranged'' and so well nned. I''m going to eat the fruit of theirbor and even going to expose them.'' Ace couldn''t help but pull an ecstatic smirk on his face.
"Alright." Ville coldly nodded without saying anything excessive.
Lilly knew time was essence as she quickly took out a formation te before she activated it and a huge metal gate appeared behind her. She controlled the formation, and a small slit appeared.
She quickly said, "I can''t enter there between breaks. So, I can only open this small gap or you to sneak in, or they will notice it."
Ace nodded before he vanished before Lilly.
She was startled. ''So, this is the supernatural ability that gave them the confidence to pull this sham. Even I can''t sense his presence anymore. Well, this also means this task is as good asplete, and I will be able to enter the royal zone after this auction!''
Ecstasy filled Lilly''s face when she thought about the promised reward for taking part in this conspiracy.
Before, she was afraid and had doubts, but she had no choice since the person who ''asked'' her wasn''t someone she would offend, so sheplied. But now that she had seen Ville''s ability, she felt like it was all worth it!
However, she had no idea it was Ace''s heartless stealth, which was inferior to Paul''s innate ability, but to fool someone like her, his skill was enough. Only a manifestation realm cultivator could tell the difference.
Ace didn''t enter the vault after going into stealth because his stealth wasn''t ethereal like Paul, who could walk past even grade-6 runes without being detected. This ability made even Ace jealous.
That was why Leona selected Paul and made him enter the outer continent to silently use his ability and achieve her aim without anyone finding out about it.
''This guy is extremely suitable to be a thief with this rare ability. Sigh¡ if only I could steal this ability, who could stop me then?'' Ace thought bitterly.
Nevertheless, he knew this wasn''t the time to be envious of someone else ability. He had a mission toplete.
Ace took out a grade five, which was the ghost lurking formation. It was valuable in this scenario. With this formation, he won''t trigger any traps on the floor as long as they didn''t exceed the formation''s runes by an entire grade. It was the same as Paul''s ability.
After attaching the active formation with his belt, he finally entered the vault through the gap.
He knew he had to proceed with caution and arrange everything meticulously if he wanted toplete the 3rd and 4th requirements, which included him to expose Leona and the upper echelon of the demons'' schemes to the world.
He had a rough idea of how he can do this!
Furthermore, he had to fool those who were monitoring this ce so he could first steal everything. He can''t fiddle with those monitoring arrays either, or he was done for!
Although Leona had already handed Paul an illusion talisman that can fool those monitoring arrays for thirty minutes by making it look like everything was the same.
However, their goal wasn''t to steal anything from the treasury vault like him, but to rece an item with a fake one!
If the side mission hadn''t appeared, Ace would do what Paul intended to do from the start because the item they wanted to switch was the Myriad Hex Manual!
The Myriad Hex Manual was actually a Grade-9 Ancestral Grimoire left behind by Freya''s race, and their entire legacy about hex magic was stored in it.
Ace had two purposes foring to this auction: first was to find a face and memories of the demons from the royal zone, and second, was to get this grimoire. The former was a must and had a very high chance of sess, while thetter was optional in his mind and quite hard to achieve.
Because he knew for some time that this grimoire will be going to appear in this auction since everyone still believed he was a Hex Demon or Witch.
So, the Imperial Prince who came here before her sister Leona had bought this Grimoire just in case, to use as bait to entrap the hex demon if he failed to capture or refine him using normal means and this was his backup n.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The Imperial Prince had never thought he would end up using this book in the end because the thief was just too deceitful and astute, and in these past years, the Sky Stealer would grow to such a height!
Even Grand Demon Duke was sent here to capture him, so he knew he can''t have the thief''s secrets and his ''blood'' to himself. So, he had no choice but to let Grand Demon Duke in his scheme and raise some goodwill with him.
He was also wary and worried about his crafty sister, who seemed to have the same goal, and she was much stronger than him and more influential.
That gave him even more reason to share this n with Grand Demon Duke.
Leona also got the wind of this from her spies in the association, and she also thought the chance of Sky Stealer taking this bait was really high. So, she can''t sit still and let his brother im the credit.
That was when she decided to use Paul''s ability, bribery, and enticing rewards to win over every demon who was going to guard this ce, just so she could take the book and exterminate any chance of Sky Stealer getting captured here.
Then she would''ve used this grimoire to lure him out, as for how only she knew.
Although this n was wless and could bepleted without any hitch. But then Ace bought something that caught Leona''s interest, and she sent Paul to retrieve it.
In the end, she bought it upon herself and also sent Ace an enormous windfall!
If Ace hadn''t received this enticing side mission, he was also nning to switch the original grimoire for another fake and gave it to Leona. She would not know if it was real or fake unless she tried to destroy it.
But now the goal has changed, he also had to change his method.
The vault was extremelyrge, probably over five hundred square meters in diameter.
Furthermore, each item was aptly ced over a formation. In the center was a tform that led to the stage in the arena, and every item''s formation was connected to this tform.
''This is going to be troublesome. I have little time, or that demoness outside might suspect something.'' Ace''s expression turned grave when he saw the security measures.
This treasury vault is specially constructed.
Even if Ace somehow managed to break past every security measure and enter this ce. He would not have had an easy time taking the treasures and might make somepses!
Chapter 516 Space Distortion Triangle
After scrutinizing the entire vault, Ace finally had some insight into how he could empty this ce while alsopleting the side mission.
''I only have two of these formations, but the rewards of this mission are worth using them.''
Two green color formation tes appeared in his hand, filled with yellow runes.
Carefully, he activated one of the formations, and an invincible wave suddenly brushed past the entire vault.
Everything was the same, but the formation in Ace''s hand turned into a bright ball of light as it slowly suspended in the air, and the strange thing was no rm was triggered.
At this time, Ace used the second formation, and another invisible wave bushed past the entire vault, and the formation te was also suspended in the air and hovered beside the first one.
A dark current shed past Ace''s eyes before those two bright formations disappeared, one after another as if they were absorbed in the surroundings.
However, he knew that wasn''t the actual because these formations were called Optical Mirage Formations. A Low-Grade-5 formation he got from the treasure pagoda''s top floor.
This Optical Mirage Formation can create a mirror mirage of anything they scan and maintain it as long as the Qi stonesst or a grade higher formation breaks the mirage. Or only the owner can see through the mirage.
Ace controlled the first formation to create the mirage of the treasury vault to fool the monitoring arrays nted on the walls. While he used the second one to put anotheryer to make it even more convincing for the second part of his n.
Now that he was done dealing with the monitoring arrays, he moved toward the items. They were also protected by a grade-five formation and locked in with another formation in their ces.
It was extremely difficult to pull these items from their positions because the moment he touched or removed an item, the rm and other traps would be active.
So, he has to remove and ce another item in their ce at the same time.
Leona had acquired theplete structure of this ce and every trap''s function and given them to Paul just to switch the grimoire.
But now all this information was helping Ace with this theft, and that''s why he was so confident inpleting this mission.
This time, a palm size white triangle appeared in his hand. This triangle was the very thing that was going to make this theft even easier, and it was also the same tool Leona had lent Paul for this exact mission, and it was extremely precious.
''Space Distortion Triangle, a high-grade-6 space runic treasure. Just this tool is worth far more than this entire treasury vault. Imperial Princess is indeed kind to deliver it to me.'' Ace grinned thievishly as he activated the Space Distortion Triangle right about the small doomed made with formation.
The white Space Distortion Triangle suddenly released a dark sheen before the surrounding space trembled slightly, but the most affected by it was the defensive doom above the item.
Ace''s eyes glow in ecstasy when he sees a small crack appear above the doom without triggering anything. Although he can make this crack wider as long as he released more power, he wasn''t Paul, just this crack was enough to make his soul threadspletely secure.
The moment Ace saw the chance, ''Thief''s Charity (Inverse and Reverse)!''
The pill bottle instantly vanished before a pentagon coin took its ce at the same moment!
When Ace felt nothing happened, the item had appeared in his thief''s space. He was relieved and ecstatic.
Now that he knew his n worked, he quickly did the same on the other dooms.
Item after item, Ace used the Space Distortion Triangle and took the treasures while leaving behind his ''Identity Coins'' in their ce.
After ten minutes, if anyone saw the vault right now, it looked exactly the same. But the movement, Optical Mirage Formation lost its effect, there would be rows of shining pentagon coins with the thief symbol lying instead of treasures.
''Thest ten items which were supposed to be auctioned at the finale of thest day.''
With anticipation, Ace moved to the end of the vault, where ten items were ced on ten white pirs.
The first item was a four-inch cylindrical shape white jade. There were small words were carved on it in ancient demonnguage.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
''Sky Sword Manual?'' Ace read the letters and was astounded when he remembered a certain item inside a history book in de demon castle''s royal library. ''This is a Jade Scroll!''
He was thrilled because he read these Jade Scrolls were extremely rare, and only a few of them existed in this world.
''Just which idiot put this on the auction?'' Ace couldn''t help but wonder before his lips curled up, ''Since you didn''t want it, I''ll dly ept it. I really struck it rich this time.''
In a great mood, he quickly used the Space Distortion Triangle, stole the Sky Sword Manual, and switched it with his identity coin.
Grinning widely, he moved to the next item. This time it was a manual called, ''Spiritual Fortress'', and it was an upper-earth-grade soul skill. Ace quickly swept it.
The next item was a ss vial filled with sparkling blue liquid. Although he didn''t know what it was, he still swept it away and decided to examine it after leaving.
The fourth item was a crimson chest armor, and Ace took it without caring about its grade.
The fifth item was a formation te which was high-grade-4 rank, this interest him even less.
The fifth item was a crystal blue pill, the sixth was a talisman, and the seventh was a formation manual.
The eighth item was something unique. It was a ck cloak with a white tiger imprint on the back.
The ninth item was a violet color egg with ck markings.
The final and tenth item was what Ace was looking for and also his primary goal.
It was a dark gray book with a sinister cover that looked like a demonic face. For some reason, Ace suddenly felt an extremely sinister aura from this book.
He decided to study it first before returning it to Freya.
Ace quickly switch the grimoire as well and released a massive sigh of relief.
''Finally done with the stealing. At least now I won''t lose a hundred million TP even if the mission failed!''
Without wasting any time, he approached the center tform that directly leads to the main stage.
With a devious grin, he sent his consciousness into the thief''s space and used the soul-piercing bullet on defenseless Paul, who was still waiting for someone to rescue him and know him unconscious!
The next moment, Paul appeared on the tform, and Ace used the Optical Mirage Formation to disappear Paul, and now no one could tell Paul was lying unconscious on this tform.
He also ced something as a final touch and also the key to his sess, and then left the vault after making sure everything was working fine and in ''order''.
The moment Ace left, his Thief Symbol also surfaced on the vault''s wall!
Lilly was still waiting outside with a somewhat anxious look on her charming face.
Although she didn''t know why it was taking ''Ville'' so long to switch an item, she didn''t dare to approach the vault, afraid she might trigger the rm herself.
But she had already decided that the moment the time ran out, she would temporarily lock the door and only open it when the auction was about to start.
Although this space was only monitored by the president, they had fiddled with it and only buy themselves 30 minutes until it returned to normal. That''s why they only give Ville a thirty minutes deadline, or things would go south.
However, Ville suddenly emerged at this moment, making Lilly feel massive relief.
"You did well today. I''ll signify this achievement to the Imperial Princess. Now, I don''t have much time. Farewell." Ville coolly stated before he vanished again without waiting for Lilly''s reply.
Lilly was somewhat baffled by this abrupt departure, but when she thought about how the time was running out, she quickly felt closed the door and returned to her room. Her expression was filled with ecstasy and exhration at this moment.
''I''m going to leave everyone in the dust!'' Her eyes turn dreamy.
The Life Demon Guards stayed still without any expression on their faces, but their eyes were filled with euphoria.
When Ace finally left the exit, he appeared in front of the gate guard and nodded. "Close it."
The guard didn''t dy and closed the door with an expression of relief, and when he turned around, Ace had already vanished. He only smiled wryly and returned to his post as if nothing happened.
However, Ace didn''t leave and stopped just a hundred meters away from the secret passage. He stopped because the moment he crossed a 2-mile radius from those active Optical Mirage Formations, they would stop functioning!
Chapter 517 My Name Is Sky Stealer…
The auction area was as lively as ever.
Everyone was waiting for the secondst day of the Life Demon Auction to begin.
Many demon ns had acquired item tickets in thest eight days and those who were still empty-handed were anxious because they knew it was theirst chance to win something or the grand finale was the stage for VVIPs.
It was already announced that in the Grand Finale of the Life Demon Auction, only a hundred items will be auctioned, and thest ten items going to be extremely precious.
Inside the Room NO.0,n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Everyone looked at the final item list they were given by Ewan just now with somewhat bored expressions on their faces.
For demons like them, this auction didn''t have any allure, and there were waiting for it to end soon so they could start their own business and get it over with.
In these past eight days, there wasn''t anything that drew any instructor interest or the interest of imperials on the side. Only those youths bid here and there when something caught their fancy.
However, at this moment, Instructor Kain''s calm expression crumbled as he looked at a particr item with disbelief and questioned President Ewan, "Is there really a Jade Scroll between the final ten items?"
The others also seemed to read the same thing and looked at Ewan with sharp eyes. They all wanted the answer to this question.
Even the Grand Demon Duke''s eyelids trembled slightly at this moment, but he still didn''t open his eyes.
Ewan liked everyone''s reaction. He was simply tired of watching their arrogant and indifferent looks when they looked at the auction he had arranged with so much effort.
He pulled a humble smile and nodded in affirmation, "Lord Instructor has good eyes. It is indeed a real Jade Scroll called the Sky Sword Manual."
"Who put it in the auction?" Instructor Axton questioned in disbelief.
He thought the person was simply a fool, and if it were him, he would never even share this information of possessing a Jade Scroll, much less auctioning it.
They all knew just how precious these Jade Scrolls were to any race, and every knowledge recorded in them held astronomical value.
Furthermore, they doubted this item, even more, when they thought about how Ewan agreed to put it on the auction and didn''t take it for himself.
Ewan knew what they were thinking, so he told the truth, "Truth be told, this Jade Scroll was put into action by the de Demon King. The reason being, this Jade Scroll had an extremely difficult requirement to unlock the knowledge."
"Oh? What kind of requirement?" Imperial Princess Leona asked with great interest.
She didn''t pay attention to any other item in the auction except the Myriad Hex Manual. She also looked down at the items in this ce. But a jade scroll was another story.
''If I knew, I would''ve told that fool to rece it with another fake as well.'' She thought with regret, ''Well, I have to win it in the normal way then. These guys won''t dare to cross me, and the only problem is my annoying brother.''
Ewan promptly replied, "To acquire the knowledge of Sky Sword Manual, which is a secret cultivation art, one is required to have Element Sword Intent. That''s why the de Demon King decided to auction it for another powerful sword art."
Realization dawned on everyone when they heard it, and those instructors looked meaningfully at Ewan and had the same thought.
''No wonder he didn''t pocket it.''
Instructor Alden sighed in regret. "What a sham. With this requirement in ce, it might self-destruct the moment we try to forcibly open the seal."
The others all nodded with a hint of pity in their eyes because even among the genius of the royal zone, there wasn''t a single demon with an element sword intent. There were some demons withplete sword intent, but that was the limit.
However, the Imperials had different thoughts than the others in the room.
Leona and her brother both simultaneously looked at the Grand Demon Duke, and when they saw the corner of his lips rose ever so slightly. They silently looked away as if they saw nothing.
''It''s not like there isn''t anyone with Element Sword Intent exists. It''s just that she exists on another continent and only beings with our status know about it. Once this news got out that we have a secret sword art for element sword intent. They will pay any price to acquire it, even that¡'' Leona thought as her heart raced.
The Imperial Prince had different thoughts from Leona, ''If I can get my hand on this secret sword art, I can use it as a dowry to arrange my marriage with her, and then no one will be able to stop my ascension to the throne!''
Right at this moment, Lilly appeared and walked on the stage gracefully with a charming smile on her face. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and attentively looked at the stage.
They knew the ninth day of the life demon auction was about to start.
Lilly was nowpletely rxed since everything went smoothly, and she also didn''t find anything wrong with the treasury vault when she entered the stage.
She radiantly announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen, wee back to the secondst day of the life demon auction. I won''t waste anyone''s time. Let''s start the auction of the first item. Behold!"
Just like usual, the tform in the middle of the auction started to rise slowly while everyone looked eagerly, waiting for the item to emerge.
However, to everyone''s astonishment, the ''item'' on the tform was an unconscious, naked demon, and on his head was a glowing cube, which was none other than amunication cube, and it was also active.
Lilly was nonplussed when she saw the naked demon, who was emitting a powerful aura despite being unconscious.
Furthermore, the demon race had banned the very of their own kind long ago, so she knew he wasn''t a ve for sale either.
Inside room no.0, when Leona saw the naked demon, she abruptly stood from her seat as if someone had stepped on her tail.
Not only her but the Imperial Prince and the three instructors who knew about him and were familiar with the famous Paul Poison Wood of the Poison Wood Demon n were also stunned.
At this moment, an eerie ovepping voice rang in the entire arena, which came from the activemunication cube.
"Everyone, My Name is Sky Stealer, and this man is the son of Poison Wood Grand Demon Duke. He was sent here to rob the auction vault on Imperial Princess Leona''s order so they could frame an ''Honorable Thief'' like me.
"They had been doing this kind of thing for months and sully my honorable name, but don''t worry folks, the hammer of justice is invisible, and it can strike at any moment, just like now.
"Leona, you, scheming little crone, I''m returning your ything to you. But there won''t be the next time. Oh, and thanks for the help with the treasury vault.
"Everyone, please don''t believe any rumors spread by these people about me. I''m an honorable thief who only theft but not kill wantonly¡"
"Presumptuous Thief!"
Before Ace could continue any further, a thunderous roar filled with indignation reverberated in the entire arena.
The next moment, a tall demon emitting a ghastly aura appeared in the center of the stage and waved his sleeve.
The very next moment, a ss-like formation barrier appeared right above Paul shattered, and themunication cube also incinerated with it.
The demon didn''t stay, and after picking Paul with an invisible grip, he disappeared. Just like he appeared.
The entire arena was deadly silent as everyone dumbfoundedly looked at the empty stage in perplexity as if this was a dream.
Aliya, who also witnessed the whole thing, almost fainted with palpitation when she realized just what happened. She was appalled.
Thomas almost fell from his position when the mysterious person imed himself to be Sky Stealer, and in the end, he had this inexplicable expression on his face.
It took a while before everyone realized what just happened wasn''t a dream, and the Life Demon Auction had be another stepping stone for Sky Stealer''s fame!
---
Ace crushed the dormantmunication cube in his hand the moment when the connection was broken.
He was already a few miles away from the arena. He left the moment the auction was about to start when he heard Lilly''s voice through the cube. Furthermore, he knew this was his chance.
So, keeping his side mission requirements in mind, he chose what kind of words he should use, and Ace knew he had little time before someone will destroy the cube, despite being protected by the formation barrier he left.
''Well, this much is enough to ruin the Imperial Princess''s reputation, and even if it doesn''t, I was only indicated to expose her to the world, not to ruin her reputation. I just hope she won''t take it personally!''
Chapter 518 Rewards & Orb’s Location
Ace moved at full speed, deep within the forbidden nes.
First, it was for the side mission. Second, even if he didn''t get this requirement, he would still choose to head in this direction.
Because after this theft, he knew Paul would reveal this powerful disguising ability, and then the Grand Demon Duke would definitely lock down the entire arena and make sure he wasn''t hiding there.
Although he could''ve simply killed Paul and left him there, however, by doing this, he would only be doing Leona a favor. From the moment Paul died there would be no proof left against her.
Even though the chances of Paul turning against Leona were almost null because of his insane love, it was enough to give her massive pressure from the Imperial Prince and the Grand Demon Duke as well the furious Life Demon Association.
The Association President would definitely conduct a massive search outside the area, especially in those demon camps.
No one will predict the wily thief has escaped toward the forbidden ins because it was akin to courting death.
They still didn''t know about his soul probe ability that can help him acquireplete memories of someone else, so in their mind, the secret of the forbidden ins was still secure, and Paul would bear witness to this.
While everyone busies themselves in a wild goose chase, he would be in the royal zone nning his next thievery.
As long as he didn''t make any move in the royal zone, no one would know he was there, and it would be already toote by then.
As for Aliya and the Spica Syndicate, he was nning to make them his eyes and ears in the outer continent. While he would have Freya create a new informationwork in the royal zone for him.
With that in mind, he wasn''t nning on stopping unless someone decided toe after him in this direction.
With his current strength, he can continue this speed while activating the heartless stealth active for a full month.
Two dayster,
Ace received a notification that he has been waiting for all this time,n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
======
[The Rating Mission has been ended. Please open the mission panel to see thest result!]
======
Ace opened the mission panel without hesitation in anticipation.
======
[Side Mission: Rating Mission]
-Introduction: In the past few months¡!
-Requirement (1): Steal the entire auction treasury! (Complete)
-Requirement (2): Leave Paul Poison Wood in that empty treasury! (Complete)
-Requirement (3): Expose Imperial Princess Leona''s scheme to the world and damaged her reputation! (Complete)
-Requirement (4): Condemn the Royal Demon Council and Life Demon Association for their deceitful acts in front of the world! (Complete)
-Requirement (5): Leave the Outer Province before anyone finds out! (Complete)
--
-Mission Status: Complete
-Final Rating: 95%
--
-Reward(s):
1. 10 Million TP, 1 Million EXP, 1 Million SP
[im/Later]
2. A Heavenly Talisman
[im/Later]
3. Intermediate-Grade Insight Pills
[im/Later]
4. Thievish Soul Cord (Soul Weapon)
[im/Later]
5. A Secret Thief Skill
[im/Later]
6. An Elemental Orb''s Location
[im/Later]
--
-Extra Reward(s):
1. 50 Million Thief Points (For Stealing the Auction Treasury)
[im/Later]
2. Thief Title has been unlocked
-Thief Title: Famously Infamous (Initial Stage)
Famously Infamous (Initial Stage): Infamous between over 500 Million lifeforms.
Title Effect: Everyone is afraid of your name (Thief Name) and your deeds reverberated like thunder in every corner of thisnd. Your real name (Thief Name) will inflict [5% Fear] in others'' hearts as long as they know about your name (Thief Name) and deeds.
(Note: This title is ineffectual against House Members & unhostile lifeforms)
---
[Thief Point(s): 188,050,980]
======
Ace''s eyes instantly shone like the sun when he saw thest extra rewards. He never thought he could gain a title out of this as well, and this title also seemed to be upgradeable.
"System, is this title upgradeable, and what''s this fear effect?" Ace quickly questioned the system with expectation.
His first title [Disciple of Darkness] effect was quite easy to understand, but this new title was quite strange.
"[Host has to explore this on his own.]"
Ace''s eyes instantly narrowed. It''s been a long since the system had given him an ambiguous reply like this.
However, he didn''t make a fuss since it would be akin to wasting his breath and decided to test this title''s effects on his own when he got the chance.
As for his primary rewards, he left the first reward forter since he didn''t require any EXP or SP right now, so he decided to save them for the future.
He quickly imed the heavenly talisman.
====
[Heavenly Talisman: Soul Shamble (Grade-6)]
[Use: One Time]
[Effect: Shamble true soul within 5 miles radius for 30 minutes. Only effective against Manifestation Realm or lower.]
======
''Splendid stuff,'' Acemented and quickly imed the next reward.
======
[Intermediate-Grade Insight Pills: 3]
[Description: Instantly Raised any skill proficiency to perfection. Raised any Cultivation Art at any stage proficiency to perfection. Raised any Secret Skill or Secret Cultivation Art proficiency by a single stage!]
(Note: It won''t work onw base skills and cultivation techniques.)
======
Ace''s eyes shimmered with ecstasy when he saw the description of the Intermediate-Grade Insight Pill. He still had five low-grade-insight pills. He knew just how precious these pills were.
"System, can I use the Intermediate-Grade Insight Pills on the same skills and cultivation arts I used the Low-Grade Insight Pills before?"
Ace quickly inquired because he had already used low-grade insight pills on his key skills, so he was a little worried if it had any effect on the intermediate-grade pills.
"[No, it does not affect any skills or art raised with the Low-Grade Insight Pill. But the Intermediate-Grade Insight Pill still follows the same principle as the Low-Grade Insight Pills, one pill per skill or cultivation art.]"
"Well, I can live with that." Ace chuckled contently.
He then imed the fourth reward, which was the second weapon he was getting from the system, and it was a soul weapon as well.
=====
[Thievish Soul Cord: Grade-6 Soul Weapon]
(Note: A Secret Skill Required to Control this Soul Weapon & Heavenly Soul Qi)
=====
''What?'' Ace was startled before he thought of his fifth reward, which happened to be a secret skill, and quickly imed it.
=====
[Secret Thief Skill: Thievish Soul Cord Control (Soul Skill)]
[Requirements to learn: Thievish Soul Cord & Heavenly Soul Qi]
=====
''So, these two were a pair? Didn''t this mean if I had failed to acquire this skill, I would''ve suffered a tremendous loss?''
Right at this moment, a huge amount of information suddenly released in his mind, and he quickly absorbed it. This kind of information exchange was no longer a bother to him.
After a full minute, the information was finally absorbed, and Ace''s eyes shimmered in astonishment.
A translucent cord appeared in Ace''s hand at this moment. This was the Thievish Soul Cord!
When Ace released his orange soul Qi, the Thievish Soul Cord suddenly came alive as it absorbed his heavenly soul Qi and its translucent color started to turn into an orange.
However, when it had its fill of Ace''s heavenly soul Qi, it suddenly started to shrink until it was the size of Ace''s wrist, and it wrapped itself around his wrist like an orange wristband.
Ace''s lips curled as if he had already expected this. Orange soul Qi suddenly shed on his wrist before the eye-catching orange wristband faded away.
It didn''t vanish into thin air, but it was still on Ace''s wrist. Ace just used its color-changing function to change its color like his skin. He also used the thousand-face mask to hide it under the disguise.
From the Thievish Soul Cord Control, he got the full information about this Thievish Soul Cord and its various functions and how to control it.
Not only that, but this Thievish Soul Cord was really a treasure for a thief like him, and when he mastered the Thievish Soul Cord Control at the perfection level. He will truly be unhindered!
Suppressing his excitement, Ace quickly imed hisst reward, which was what he wanted the most among these six rewards.
The moment he imed the reward, an interface opened in front of him, which baffled him because this was the fate map!
Suddenly, the map started to zoom out at an extremely fast pace as Ace watched dumbfoundedly as the area of the map became wider and wider.
Thereupon, Ace''s eyes suddenly contracted when he saw the golden ckpass pointer''s actual location, and the map also stopped shrinking when this location appeared.
======
[Lightning Elemental Orb''s Location has been locked on the Live Fate Map.]
[From now on, the host will be able to see this location by spending 1 Million TP at any time.]
======
The live fate map vanished at this moment, snapping Ace out of his stunned state.
He suddenly trembled when heprehended what had happened just now.
"So, all this time, this golden ckpass point was pointing me in the Lightning Orb''s direction?!"
Chapter 519 An Old Acquaintance
[First Bonus Chapter of This Week (24-11-2022)]
[Second Chapter at 1000 Power Stones]
________________
"So, this golden ckpass point was pointing me in the Lightning Orb''s direction?!" Ace eximed before he quickly opened the live fate map, and to his surprise, it was returned to normal.
But the Golden ck Compass Point no longer pointed in the same direction anymore, but it had changed its direction now, which made Ace''s heart race!
''Could it be it''s another elemental orb?'' Ace''s imagination runs wide.
"Moira, what just happened now, and why is this point changed? Is this pointing in a new direction or the old one?" Ace quickly questioned Moira, since she was more reliable than the system and the Eternal Thief Fate Compass was her body.
"I-I¡ I don''t know, but for a moment I went nk because a sudden power surged out of nowhere, and then I suddenly regain my sense back. But it seemed the Live Fate Map Indicator has somehow changed from its previous position." She soundedpletely exhausted and panicked. She clearly had no clue about what had happened.
Ace frowned and mused, ''So, the system can control the live fate map and show the Live Fate Map''s Indicator''s exact position. And it seemed once I knew what was on the other side of this indicator, a new indicator will appear. But now the question is; is there also an elemental orb on this fate indicator''s end as well?
''ording to Moira, this Live Fate Map can indicate the best direction where I should go to find a fortunate opportunity that will most suitable for me, or it could also be a thing I require or desire the most or something that can help me in future in some peril.
''So, there''s a notable change of another Elemental Orb being on the side, since I desired them the most. Well, since I now know about the true function of this indicator, I don''t have to worry about finding fortuitous opportunities in the future.
''As for the lightning orb, it is in the royal zone!'' Ace''s eyes shimmered with a thievish glint as he vividly remembered what the map system showed him.
Furthermore, the system has already locked the position, and he can see the location at any time now after spending thief points.
''The risks I took on the side mission were really worth it!'' Ace was extremely content with the system''s rewards this time.
"Alright, Moira, you don''t have to worry about it. You also sounded tired. Just rest. You did a good job." Ace gently soothes the poor thing, who was probably just sucked dry by the system.
"A-alright." She sounded bewildered, but she was really exhausted and required rest, so she fell silent.
If it were any other time, he would''ve already immersed himself in learning the secret skill and using the insight pills.
But he was still in the middle of the forbidden ins, and his journey was nowhere nearplete. So, he suppressed the distracting thoughts and kept moving.
Like that a week passed, and no one came after him, which means those demons were really searching in the wrong direction.
In this past week, Ace didn''t see any forest or mountain, and all he could see was these grassy ins as far as his eyes could see.
However, at this moment, Ace suddenly stopped when he saw the green grass in ahead now turned into a gray wastnd, and far ahead, he saw thick fog, nothing else.
''I guess this is the forbidden boundary. If I stepped into it, I would enter into an unending illusionary maze formation. ording to Paul''s memories, as long as someone stepped into this formation, their Qi would be suppressed, turning them into a mortal, and they couldn''t even ess your storage treasures.
''The end result is the same. The intruder would die of hunger and thrust without Qi. What a vicious formation. Only the Law Awareness Realm Experts can cross this ce without being suppressed, but this is also limited to the demons. If another race''s Law Awareness Realm stepped in this ce, the demons on the other side would instantly know.'' Ace deeply looked at the wastnd ahead.
He couldn''t help but think of the border formations set on the Azure Wind Continent.
''Could it be the person who ced all these formations is the same?'' This thought surfaced suddenly in his mind.
But then he shook his head since this had nothing to do with him, even if these massive formations were created by the same person.
At this moment, a metallic ck ring appeared in Ace''s hand. From its ordinary look, anyone would think it was just a normal ring. There weren''t any runes on the ring either.
If Ace didn''t have Paul''s memories, he would alsopletely overlook this ring.
But he knew this ring was like the entry pass that could help its wearer cross these forbiddennds without being afraid of the Qi suppression or any hallucinations.
Paul had stolen this ring from his n''s treasury just so he could sneak into the outer continent. He also would''ve never known about this ordinary-looking ring''s function unless a certain someone told him.
Although the Grand Demon Duke ns have these rings, they can''t use them without permission from the Emperor Domain, or they will be punished harshly.
But Paul hadpletely ignored everything and still dared to use it to show his ''love'' and taken a colossal risk, and now he''ll be going to suffer big time since he even lost this ring to Sky Stealer.
However, those demons still thought Ace didn''t know how to use this ring, so it was useless in his hand. If they knew, the Grand Demon Duke would be long run here without even thinking twice.
Ace wore the ring, and nothing happened. But he still took a step forward, entered the wastnd, and vanished from in sight!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, right when he entered the wastnd thereafter, the dark ring suddenly shimmered in a dark sheen before a small arrow projection appeared right above the ring and pointed in a particr direction.
Ace''s lips curled up as he followed the arrow''s direction without any hesitation. Furthermore, he didn''t feel any restriction from this formation, and he knew it wasn''t because of this ring.
He had yet to find a ce that couldpletely suppress his heavenly Qi, and this time it wasn''t any different as well.
As he moved deeper and deeper, the arrow would also change direction, and Ace would also change his position without hesitation.
Fifteen days have passed since Ace started to follow the ring''s direction and wandered into this fog.
He had to admit, if he didn''t have Paul''s memories, he might''ve thought he was lost despite this ring directions.
However, he knew this journey would take over a month toplete, and he was probably halfway through now.
Right at this moment, a husky voice drifted in this silence of this fog, "Y-you¡ know¡ me?"
Ace was appalled when this sudden voice sounded out of nowhere, but for some reason, he felt this voice was quite familiar.
"Who are you?" He released his heavenly sense.
No matter what, he waspletely on guard and was ready to use the heavenly talisman to escape anytime if the opponent was a soul manifestation realm expert.
"You¡ know¡ me¡ you¡ I¡ can¡ fell¡ soul¡ contract¡ between¡ you¡ and¡ me." The old voice spoke with intervals as if it had been years since it spoke.
Ace''s eyes narrowed when he heard this, and he could also feel this voice was really familiar.
''Soul contract? I only have one fake soul contract that I sign with¡'' Ace''s eyes went wide when an old memory of a few years ago surfaced in his mind, and he blurted the name,
"Patriarch Empty Dream?!"
"You know¡ me!" The old husky voice boomed when it heard this old forgotten name.
It was none other than Patriarch Empty Dream, which Ace once encountered when he was entrapped in the low sky-changing border in the londs of the azure wind continent.
Ace was baffled because he never thought he would meet the Patriarch Empty Dream soul piece on the demon continent. He clearly remembered that Patriarch Empty Dream''s soul was torn into five pieces.
They then established a soul contract that required Ace to find those five pieces one by one and then obtain their soul wisps.
But the truth was, because of the system''s fake unconscious function, Ace wasn''t bounded by the soul contract. Patriarch Empty Dream even tried to see his memories. So, he didn''t have any good feelings toward this old ghost.
He almost forgets about this soul contract and the deal with Patriarch Empty Dream after he teleported to the demon continent.
But who would''ve thought he would encounter Patriarch Empty Dream''s soul piece on the demon continent, of all ces?
Furthermore, it would seem the soul piece of Patriarch Empty Dream could sense the soul contract in his true soul, and it might be the reason for its sudden awakening!
Chapter 520 Empty Dream’s True Goal?
When Ace thought to this point, a peculiar glint shed past his eyes. ''Meeting him might not be a bad thing for me this time. I''m not that na?ve little brat from that day anymore!''
He replied respectfully, "Senior Empty Dream, I indeed know your other soul piece, and I was even searching for you!" He lied through his teeth.
"My other soul¡ piece?" Patriarch Empty Dream''s voice seemed confused, "Forgive me child¡ but my memories are notplete, and I just regain consciousness after I sense soul contract on you. Can¡ you tell me¡ more?"
Ace''s eyes squinted when he heard this. ''He might be telling the truth, or demons would not let this happen. Besides, if I want to take advantage of this old ghost, this is the chance.''
A thievish smile shed on Ace''s face before he spoke, "Don''t worry senior, I''ll tell you everything about the outside world. We, after all, are partners. So, here''s the thing, I encountered a soul piece like you in the Azure Wind Continent who told me¡"
Ace didn''t hide any information about the Azure Wind Continent, and he even added the information he was given by the Patriarch Empty Dream''s other soul piece that day to make sure this soul piece will believe himpletely. He even added some lies within the truth.
"¡ right now, I''m on the Demon Continent, and I was hunted down by the Demon Race because I was investigating your whereabouts and searching high and low for clues about your fourth soul pieces.
"But who would''ve thought I would find you in this awful ce, of all ces? Those hateful, abominable demons had made you into their defensive formation that will guard their front gates like a guard dog.
"As a human, my heart hurts when I think about how a pir of our humanity was betrayed and now made someone else door guard¡"
Acemented in a sad tone and almost shed some crocodile tears while he continued fanning the me. He wanted to appear righteous and a loyal follower of Patriarch Empty Dream, who hade to the demon continent to rescue him and will do anything to ensure his resurrection.
"Good, very good. Devil Race, Demon Race, and that traitorous snake. Very good!" Patriarch Empty Dream''s voice was filled with boundless rage and hatred as he seemed to remember some pieces of his past andpletely believed Ace.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace''s lips rose ever so slightly, but he didn''t dare to be careless because Patriarch Empty Dream''s soul pieces never even asked if he was a demon or human, which indicates he could see through his disguise.
He was ying with fire right now. If this old monster sensed he was lying and making things up, things might go awry.
If not for his years of experience in hiding his genuine emotions, he might not take any risk in fabricating lies in front of Empty Dream.
But now it seemed all those experiences had paid off.
However, he also had a clear understanding of Patriarch Empty Dream''s soul pieces now as well.
''This guy was probably at the doorstep of that realm when he was attacked. Even these soul pieces can see through my disguise,'' Ace mused.
Patriarch Empty Dream''s furious voice rang again, "They went too far after not being able to acquire my n''s cultivation technique. They scattered my soul pieces around the world and used them as formation cores like an infinite power source!
"Child, don''t worry. I can tell you have suffered so much just for the greater good of our human race. You are far better than that traitorous snake ever was. Once youpletely revive me, I will definitely not mistreat you!"
Ace quickly bowed and humbly replied, "Senior, there''s no need. I''m doing it for the greater good of humanity. The Dream Shatter King might have already handed themand of our race to devils in secret, which is not good news for us. Only you can change our fate."
This time Ace told a half-truth and half of his own assumption. He had heard from Winter that the Azure Wind Continent was at Devil Race''s beck and call for thousands of years now.
He also found some historic records of this and suspected that humanity might have be the vessel of the Devil Race. But their rtionship was still ambiguous since they never revealed its true nature.
However, Ace didn''t care. He didn''t have any attachments with the human race except for his mysterious parents and his grudge against Gordon''s real body.
Ace had long decided that once he umted enough power, he will return to settle all this!
"Those bastards had shamed the heroes of the past who sacrificed themselves for freedom. Especially the Humane Sage vus!" Patriarch Empty Dream waspletely exasperated.
For him, the azure wind continent was like his empire, which his ancestors built with blood and tears, and it was his birthright to rule that empire. But someone had backstabbed him, taken over this birthright, and even given it to the enemy on a silver tter.
How could he not resent and hate them?
"You''re saying you had already gathered three of my soul wisps and searching for the fourth which is me?" Patriarch Empty Dream suddenly questioned.
Ace replied without any hesitation, "Indeed. I got clues about the involvement of Demon Race in the attack against you from your third soul wisp and came here for investigation. But demons are nothing like humans. They discovered me halfway through my search, and from then on, there are searching for me high and low.
"If I hadn''t encountered a scion of the royal zone and acquired this information and ring, I might never dare to enter this ce at all. But it seemed it was all paid out since you''re here."
Ace pretended to be excited.
Patriarch Empty Dream could help but praise, "You''re so young and daring. Not only do you care about our race''s future, you even embarked on this path of no return valiantly. No wonder my other soul pieces entrusted you with this dangerous task. Don''t take my words wrong, but where are my other soul wisps right now?"
''Hehe, he''s still suspicious of me despite the soul contract. Or could it be that this soul contract was only valid between me and the first soul piece, and the other had nothing to do with it? Like Freya tried to trick me that day?
''This might really be the case. This old fox tricked me into signing that unfair contract, which might be because the other soul pieces can sense its presence on me and easily approach me like the soul brand.
''Once he revived, he can simply decide to go back on his words, and I would bepletely helpless against this old monster. Now he wanted to make sure I''m telling the truth despite my performance, which mean he was extremely causation about these soul wisps of his. They might be some kind of indispensable keys for his revival.
''Or even worse, he might want to take over my body for this resurrection!''
If Ace hadn''t experienced all those tricks himself, he would never even think of all this. But the more he thought, the more he found it possible and the more he became vignt of Patriarch Empty Dream.
Although he knew the system would never let someone else take over its host, he didn''t want to deliberately reach that point and put himself in danger just because he can.
After reaching this conclusion, Ace was nowpletely calm.
He replied to Patriarch Empty Dream''s question or what he wanted to hear, "Senior, your soul wisps can''t be stored in storage rings. So, I hid them somewhere in the Endless Sea when I was traveling here. To make sure I won''t lose them while traveling."
Patriarch Empty Dream''s voice paused for a moment before he rang again, "Very Good, you handle this well. Now, I''m more assured and believe you canplete this task. Here took my soul wisp as well and leave this ce.
"Since I''m awake now, I can slightly influence this formation and send you to a safe location on the other side and also make those demons'' lives miserable."
Before Ace could react, a translucent marble filled with milky smoke drifted toward Ace.
He knew what it was since he had one just like thisying in his thief''s space for years.
It was another soul wisp of Patriarch Empty Dream soul piece, and now he had collected two of them despite not desiring them.
Still, he epted it and put it in his pocket.
If the Patriarch was really nning to possess by using these soul wisps, he didn''t mind holding on to them and even destroying them if necessary!
''Now''s the chance.''
Ace bowed and said, "Senior, I''m now ready to inherit your soul search technique, which required imbuing a wisp of soul sense to infiltrate someone''s knowledge sea!"
Chapter 521 Psyche Invasion
Just as Ace''s voice trailed off, Patriarch Empty Dream''s startling voice rang, "What? You know about the Psyche Invasion?"
''So, that technique''s name was Psyche Invasion, huh? It seemed my blind arrow indeed hit the mark.'' Ace''s eyes shimmered with ecstasy.
From the moment he discovered Patriarch Empty Dream''s presence here, he couldn''t help but remember the first time he met with the Patriarch, and he tried to infiltrate his knowledge sea in the sham of sharing knowledge with him.
If not for the system, his secrets would be revealed without even him knowing it.
But, right now, Ace also has Mind Stealing job mission that has simrities to Patriarch Empty Dream''s Psyche Invasion, and he might get some insight from it.
That''s why he set all this up and revealed his real purpose at the end. So, Patriarch Empty Dream won''t sense anything amiss. Even if he did, with a soul contract in the ce he won''t think Ace would try to harm him or dare to y any tricks.
Furthermore, Ace revealed the Psyche Invasion''s key function. That could only be known by others if Patriarch Empty Dream told them himself or if someone had the same inheritance.
This would make it even more convincing for Ace to trick Patriarch Empty Dream into revealing this technique to him.
He respectfully said, "Senior, your third soul piece promised me when I reached this realm, I can learn this technique from any of your soul pieces as long as I reveal this function. Or I would never know such an astonishing technique even exists in this world.
"Furthermore, yourst part might be in the devil race''s territory, so I need this technique even more than ever. The devil race is innately a race proficient in the soul. It would be extremely hard to get information from them with a normal soul search." He sounded determined and righteous!
Patriarch Empty Dream''s soul piece felt silent hearing this. No matter what he thinks, there wasn''t any loophole in Ace''s description. He never even considered Ace could havee in contact with his n''s inheritance which was in his traitorous disciple''s hand, and he would never let someone like Ace even close to it.
"Child, I don''t know if you''re just lucky or you''ve already known that I only have theplete memories of Psyche Invasion in this soul piece. Furthermore, you stated the fact that the devil race is innately a soul race, and this secret soul cultivation art would be extremely helpful against them." Patriarch Empty Dream spoke in acknowledgment which made Ace''s heartbeat quicken slightly.
He knew he had seeded in tricking the Old Ghost Empty Dream!
"It seemed my third soul piece had already foreseen this, and that''s why he promised to teach you Psyche Invasion. I''ll be fulfilling this promise now. Don''t resist."
Just as Patriarch''s voice trailed off, Ace saw a green glob of misting his way. He was extremely familiar with this misty glob and let it enter between his eyebrows.
"Oh, it seemed you have received memories from me before. I''m relieved now." Patriarch''s old voice rang again with relief.
''Heh, your action told another story, though. Still wanted to see my memories. I guess some things never change with Old Ghost Empty Dream.'' Ace sneered inwardly when he saw the expected notification.
======
[System detects foreign memories and a wisp of foreign Soul Sense invading hoist''s Knowledge Sea!]
--
[Countermeasure(s)]
1. Eliminate the Soul Sense and kept the memories?
Effect: The Infiltrator''s Soul will suffer damage ording to the Soul Sense strength!
Price: 10,000 TP
2. Eliminate the Soul Sense without any bacsh?
Effect: The Infiltrator won''t suffer any kind of soul damage!
Price: 100,000 TP
3. Create an Illusionary Knowledge Sea.
Effect: The Infiltrator would see anything they wanted to see in the illusionary knowledge sea ording to his perception of the host.
Price: 5 Million TP
--
[NOTE: Select within ten seconds, or the System will automatically choose the first option!]
======
His eyes fell on the third option. ''This third option is new and didn''t appearst time, and it''s more convenient for tricking powerful sneaky fellows like Old Ghost Empty Dream.''
A coldness crept into Ace''s eyes when he saw the first option, but then he chose the second option after thinking it wasn''t the time to burn all the bridges between him and Empty Dream.
Especially not when he was in the middle of a grade-7 formation which Empty Dream can influence as an energy core. Although he didn''t know to what extent the Empty Dream could influence it, he didn''t want to find out.
As for using the third option, he didn''t want to waste five million TP on appeasing a mere soul piece. If it was the real thing, he might''ve considered it, but not this time.
He clearly rememberedst time, Empty Dream didn''t take any action despite failing twice, and this time won''t be any different. He won''t dare to turn hostile just because he can''t read Ace''s memories.
There might be various reasons like he just regained his consciousness and wasn''t strong enough to use the Psyche Invasion on Ace.
He won''t make a fuss, or it was akin to telling Ace that he just tried to read his memories.
Just as Ace selected the second option, a huge torrent of memories entered his mind and the more he processed them, the more he felt it was really worth tricking Old Ghost Empty Dream for this secret soul cultivation art.
After he processed the entire set of memories, his eyes shimmered like stars, ''With soul probing as the foundation and this secret soul cultivation as a base, my job mission is as good asplete!''
"Why aren''t you epting the memories?" Patriarch Empty Dream''s confused voice rang.
"Oh, I already did, Senior. Thank you very much for bestowing this priceless secret soul cultivation art on me. I won''t¡"
"WAIT!" Patriarch Empty Dream''s startling voice cut Ace''s passionate speech in the midst, "You''re telling me you refine all those memories in less than a minute?!"
Ace pulled an innocent face and nodded, "Yes."
"Impossible! Tell me the requirement of cultivating the Psyche Invasion and how many levels are in it and their names?"
Patriarch Empty Dream didn''t dare to believe that someone could refine so much information within a few seconds unless they were old monsters like him who had cultivated in soul path.
That''s why he doubted Ace was ying tricks on him.
Ace smiled and replied, "The requirements for cultivating the Psyche Invasion are tinum Soul Embryo Realm, tinum Soul Search Skill, the Soul Sense Diffuse & Infuse, and Knowledge Sea Conundrum. These skills you imparted with the Psyche Invasion.
"Then there are three levels of Psyche Invasion, Knowledge Sea Surface Invasion, Knowledge Sea Deep Invasion, and Knowledge Sea Depth Invasion. Is that all, Senior? Please guild me if I miss something?" Ace humbly bowed with a wily glint in his eyes.
"C-correct! How did you do it?!" Patriarch Empty Dream''s voice quavered this time in disbelief.
"I don''t know. I had just this ability from birth." Ace feigned.
"It seemed you weren''t just chosen on a whim by my first soul piece. You''re indeed full of surprises. Humanity should be proud to give birth to a heavenly genius like you, who is righteous and valiant." Patriarch Empty Dream praise.
However, Ace suddenly sensed that Patriarch Empty Dream was trying to suppress his excitement for some reason and covering it with these praises.
''I''ll destroy the soul contract between him and me the moment I leave. Who knows what kind of scheme this old ghost is hatching? He might track me down with this soul contract as well.
''But this also means the moment I destroy this soul contract. He won''t be able to find me or tell who I am as long as my disguising ability outss him. As for those two soul wisps, I''ll bury them in my thief''s space. Even his ancestor won''t be able to find them!''
Ace set up his mind and also made a mental note to be wary of those contracts he signed in the future.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Alright, since we''re done here, I''ll help you leave on the other side. It''s your fortune that I wake up, or you''ll be entering an extremely powerful scanning formation the moment you leave with that ring. It''s part of this formation.
"At that time, your disguise item won''t be able to hide your racial aura, and you''ll be caught. I have to admit this formation is really a piece of work. It seemed it was created by my traitorous disciple!" Patriarch Empty Dream sneered coldly.
Ace''s heart palpitated when he heard this. ''Well, I could''ve still escaped. But it''s good if I can save my life-saving trump cards.'' He mused.
But Patriarch Empty Dream didn''t know about this, so he blurted, "Thank you, senior, I will definitely find thatst soul piece and revive you."
This time Empty Dream didn''t even hesitate to say, and his voice was filled with boundless confidence, "Heh, I know you will!"
Chapter 522 World Famous (1)
There exist many forbidden zones in the Golden Sky World.
Every race had different opinions on them; as to which continent had the most dangerous, forbidden zone.
There wasn''t any unanimous viewpoint on this.
However, if someone were asked any race about which was the most dangerous, forbidden zone in the entire world, the answer would be startlingly unanimous.
The Endless Sea!
The endless sea was filled with raging sea storms, whirlpools, and mysterious demonic marine beasts with uncountable numbers.
No one had ever been able to measure the full length of the endless sea ever, and those brave adventurers who embarked on this journey never came back to tell the tales.
Nevertheless, the Endless Sea was the only thing that connects the ten enormous continents, and this was the only way to travel between the continents.
Some continents have unique materials that can''t be found anywhere else, so the sea routes were even more important.
However, traveling through the Endless Sea wasn''t easy because of the high-risk rate, or with many races'' ambition and prowess, they would''ve already started wars with each other long ago.
In thousands of years, the top races have discovered and paved safe seaways toward the ten continents. These seaways were voyageable in a certain part of the year.
But not just anyone can sail on these seaways, and only people with powerful backgrounds have ess to these safe routes and travel freely between the continents.
Anyhow, these seaways lead to a certain point in every continent, and every race protected these ces heavily, so other races won''t start an invasion.
As for the other coastlines around the continents, they weren''t as heavily guarded as the secure ones, but there were still formations protecting them. But these areas weren''t essible to siege.
Five huge sail ships were currently moving extremely fast, cutting through the calm surface of the water like a sharp de.
Inside the captain''s cabin in one of the ships, three silver hair figures were standing beside a table size runic cube which was brightly lit. It was a hugemunication cube!
An aged voice sounded from thismunication cube. "We just confirmed the news. The elusive demon thief really raided the Life Demon Association''s outer continent''s biggest auction, right under the nose of Fiery Grand Demon Duke.
"Not only that, but he sullied the Wise Demon Lady''s reputation by exposing her gigolo in front of millions of onlookers, who were also the firstborn of Poison Wood Grand Duke.
"The entire demon continent is in a state of war right now, and even the Imperial Demon Knight Squad was summoned to the outer continent to search for a mere thief. I don''t know when demons suffered such humiliationst time by a single person!" The voice sounded extremely ecstatic at the end. He was clearly gloating over the demon race''s misfortune.
A beautiful woman with an icy demeanor also speaks in astonishment. "Is this the same thief that demons have been searching for thest few years?"
"Yes, it is the same thief. Although our spies haven''t been able to prate their royal zone, this news can''t be suppressed at all. The scope was just too great.
"The other four families might have also gotten this news by now, as well as the other races. I''m afraid this time at the Ancient Allied Gathering in five years, the Demon Race would be going to suffer big time.
"The cannon fold recruitment they were doing was also stagnated because of this event, and they might not be able to collect high-quality cannon folds before gathering. It is good news for us to kick demons out of the curb and crack their rtion with the Devils." The old voice solemnly stated.
The old man standing in the middle of the two sneered at this moment, "We might doesn''t even need to do anything. Do you think the Devils would not take advantage of this situation?
"They''ll definitely approach the demons and demand something excessive. The demons would not take it standing after this humiliation. We just have to fan the mes, and watch from the side and y as a fisherman."
"Well, that''s why I contacted you. Arrange a meeting between the other four families. There are still four years before you guys will reach the gathering location. The five Element Lords have already reached this decision of no infighting before the gathering." The aged voice earnestly dered.
"I''ll arrange it right away." The old man spoke in acknowledgment.
"Oh, there''s another piece of interesting news I forget to add." The voice suddenly blurted and quickly tells them, "I heard, between the items that the thief stole, there was a Secret Sword Art which required Element Sword Intent to cultivate!"
"What?!"
The three of them eximed in unison.
"Hehe, I''m d it got stolen away, or who knows what those demons would''ve done with it. Those four families might even support the demons to pressure us so they could get rid of our peerless Ice Sword Fairy." The voice on the other side sneered coldly.
"This is indeed a blessing in disguise. I hope that the thief leaves the continent and dies somewhere in the endless sea. But it''s a pity, if we can get our hands on that secret sword art, our family position would be unshakable." The old man sighed with regret.
The female with an icy demeanor nodded, and with a hint of gentleness in her icy eyes, she said, "This is for the best. But when we left, the Ice Sword Fairy was on a venture. Has shee back?"
"Ahem, you see, that''s the thing." The voice sounded perplexed all of a sudden. "We heard the news from the coastline that they had seen someone simr to Ice Sword Fairy sneaking into the endless sea with a ship!"
"W-What!? How could she be so irresponsible?!" the old man bellowed with widened eyes.
The other also pulled a worried face filled with anxiety.
"The Ice Lord said the exact thing, and he nearly went on a rampage, while the Ice Queen froze half the ice pce when she heard it. If not for the Old Butler telling them he knew where she had gone and guaranteed to take her back, they both might''ve already left the Ice Domain to search for her." The person on the other end sounds exhausted.
The three in the room couldn''t help but smile wryly when they heard this.
"It seemed you have a lot on your te, Old First. I''m d I left early." The old man chuckled.
"Hmph, next time you''re going to stay here and manage those two childish adults." Old first tutted.
The silent middle age man with an icy presence suddenly spoke, "So, where did she go, exactly?"
"The Old Butler revealed that she had some deep attachment from her childhood when she was alone, living with him. So, the ce where she was most likely headed would be the¡ Azure-Wind Continent!"
---
In another part of the endless sea,
A gorgeous veiled figure was calming sat beside a window, as she absent-mindedly looked at the blue sea with her light silver eyes filled with eagerness.
She mumbled in her mellifluous voice as her eyes shimmered with gentleness, "We''ll be going to unite soon, Ace¡"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
---
Right at this moment, a bony man was sitting cross-legged on a small sailboat surrounded by a purple haze, as the boat was drifting in a certain direction by the mysterious purple haze.
All of a sudden, the bony man''s eyes snapped open, filled with disbelief and trepidation.
"Do you also feel it?" He asked hoarsely.
Another old voice sounded in his head filled with uncertainty, "We''re already merged, so of course, I felt it. The soul contract has been demolished, which means that the boy is either dead or he gets rid of it!"
"What are the odds of thetter scenario?" the bony man questioned sharply.
"If talk about that boy''s ability to leave the Azure-Wind Continent and run so far away within a short span of three to four years, then I say the chances of him breaking the soul contract are 90%.
"But we can''t be sure when ites to the endless sea. This ce was always quirky. Even the predecessors fear this sea. But if he were killed in the endless sea, then it would be night impossible to get that soul wisp back, and without it, we can''t regain our full power." The voice sounded grim.
"Hmph, who told you to hand over the soul wisp to a child with only a soul contract in ce?" The bony man grunted in displeasure. He was enraged.
The voice in his head retorted, "Well, I wasn''t as lucky as you to have taken control over that formation and made a soul body to escape it. Those memories were with you. So, I take whatever chance we have for revival.
"Furthermore, I didn''t just choose that boy on a whim or out of desperation. As I told you before, he might be the possessor of the legendary Abound Soul Physique, the same as the ancestor, Humane Sage!"
Chapter 523 World Famous (2)
[AN: 2nd Bonus Chapter of this week (27-11-2022)]
[3rd bonus chapter at 1500 Power Stones]
__________
Far away, a ck tower, so massive that it pierced right between the clouds.
Inside this colossal tower,
Two begin with folded dark bat wings kneeling in front of a mist-shrouded dark water pool.
A devilish voice sounded in the mist. "A mere thief wreaks havoc between demons, huh? Hahaha¡ I never heard of such news in three decades."
The devilish voice''s amusingughter rang in the dim space.
However, theughter came to an abrupt halt. "Do you investigate this thief and the simrities between him and the Shadow Devil Thief? What are the chances of this thief being the sessor of the Shadow Devil Thief and having her inheritance?" The voice was extremely icy, filled with killing intent.
One of the kneeling beings replied emotionlessly, "My Lord, the ipetency of the demons knows no bounds. They were misjudging this thief for years and let their useless prince handle this affair.
"But that thief grows from an ant to an iron thorn, and when they took it seriously, they still failed while losing their reputation greatly.
"To this day, there is no clear understanding of this thief''s abilities or skills. No one had evere in contact with him like hisst victim, Paul Poison Wood. He revealed that the thief could easily move freely within a high grade-5 suppression limit talisman.
"This means his cultivation is most probably in the sixth realm, as for if he''s a soul or martial cultivator, this is still a mystery. He had excellent disguising ability or treasures.
"With every thievery, he leaves behind an owl symbol that can''t be removed, no matter what. That''s why he acknowledged being the remnant of that Witch Race which appeared thousands of years ago in the Demon Continent, and their blood had an extremely huge effect on the longevity.
"Hisst thievery made this theory even more solid. The demon put the Myriad Hex Manual on the auction as bait. Although he indeed took the bait, he escaped with it as well.
"As for him having the inheritance of our race''s traitor, it''s still unclear. We don''t know if she ever entered the demon continent or not. But if he''s from the demon race or witch race, thispletely rules out the possibility of him being that missing halfling.
"Whichpletely rules out the possibility of this matter blowing up and others knowing about it. I have already warned those who know about the Shadow Devil Thief to keep their mouth shut."
The devilish voice sounded. "This is not enough. Have them sign high-grade soul contracts as well. The Shadow Devil Thief was the biggest disgrace of our race, and if this matter reached other races, we''ll turn into theughingstock of this world like the demons."
"I will see to this immediately." The being acknowledged without any emotions.
"After you areplete this matter, send two envoys to the demon continent and tell them to lend a hand to Demons. But we''ll be taking that thief. This price is not negotiable.
"If they act stubbornly, tell them we''ll be teaming up with the hunters for the next gathering. It ought to do it. Those bastards are bing more and more ambitious. It will teach them a lesson as well." The voice coldlymanded, "You''re dismissed. Only bother me if you either catch that thief or if you can''t!"
---
On top of a misty mountain, there was a magnificent pce surrounded by thick Qi clouds.
Inside a spacious hall, many humans were sitting in front of a dignified-looking man in white Taoist robes.
Everyone was listening to him with solemn expressions.
"¡ so, this was what all happened in the Demon Continent. It seemed demons are wilting, and if we unite all the sects'' prowess, we might join the Ancient Allied Gathering this time." His sharp eyes were filled with ambition as he said those words.
Everyone couldn''t help but pull astonished expressions on their faces when they heard this. But they also felt that it was possible since the Demon Race suffered a terrible blow this time, and this might be their chance to break the triangle.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man with ck hair and a small beard questioned in an ambiguous tone, "Sect Patriarch, can you tell me the name of this thief?"
The Patriarch on the main seat as well as everyone looked at this person since he asked such a strange question.
What did this thief''s name have to do with you? Or why are you even interested in a thief''s name?
These were their thoughts.
But the Patriarch smiled and answered, "High Elder Joseph, it''s quite rare for you to take an interest in something. But it''s also good, we''ll be required your expertise if the other sects agree to our proposal.
"The thief''s real name is still a mystery, but the name he has given to himself was quite famous on the demon continent, it¡ Sky Stealer. Quite an arrogant¡"
Before he could finish speaking, Joseph''s calm expression turned pale, and he blurted out, "IMPOSSIBLE!"
"Hmm? What is impossible? Why are you turning so pale?"
The Patriarch and others frown upon seeing Joseph, who always remains calm, reacting this way as if he has seen a ghost.
Joseph didn''t care about their expressions or his imagination anymore and quickly asked, "Is this thief left an owl symbol at every theft?!"
The Patriarch''s eyes narrowed at this moment. He clearly omitted these minor details, since he found them quite irrelevant.
He asked sharply, "How do you know about it? Could it be you also have spies on the demon continent that I don''t know about?"
Everyone looked at Joseph with questioning eyes.
However, Joseph''s next words make them bbergasted,
"NO, NO, IT CAN''T BE HIM! It is all a big coincidence. I killed him myself!" Joseph''s expression was ashen as he started mumbling like a madman, startling everyone.
The Patriarch suddenly stood up and released a powerful aura, "High Elder, calm down!"
Joseph finally snapped out of his stupor when he felt the sharp aura of the Patriarch.
But his expressions were ashen as his eyes were filled with disbelief.
"Now tell me, what were you just mumbling about? What are you hiding?" The Patriarch''s eyes were sharp like des as he looked at Joseph.
Joseph took a deep breath to calm down. He knew these things cannot be hidden anymore.
"It''s the incident a few years back when I went to the lowernds with my clone¡"
Joseph told everyone how his clone was killed by a foundation realm brat a few years ago. Everyone knows about Joseph''s strange cultivation technique, so they weren''t surprised by the cultivation clone.
The more they heard about how this unknown boy turned into a famous thief from a nobody, the more astonished they became.
"¡ at the end, I had no choice but to use a soul talisman to kill him, and then I returned with my soul clone." Joseph finished his encounter with Ace.
He even told them about the ''Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te'' because if this thief was really Ace, then he has to do anything to get rid of him.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Because now, Ace has grown to such an extent that even the entire demon race was searching for him. He had a life feud with him, and he couldn''t let him grow anymore.
Even if he had to give up on the Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te, he would dly give it up to get rid of the future disaster.
Besides, he can''t get that te even if he wants to now. He was not confident enough after hearing Ace''s deeds!
But it was still yet to be seen if this was really Ace or someone else from the same origin.
Nevertheless, Joseph won''t be able to sleep until the name Sky Stealer vanishes from this worldpletely. If he had known this before, he would''ve long told all this instead of keeping it all to himself just to escape some punishment.
Everyone in the hall was spellbound as if they just heard a fantasy.
The Patriarch''s eyes were wide with disbelief, "S-so, in your opinion, this thief and the thief you encountered in the lowernds are the same people? Which means a human!"
Joseph prudently replied, "I don''t know, but there''s a 70% chance they''re the same. That boy''s parents belong to the White Crown, and they were always unfathomed. Even to this day, no one knows about them.
"My guess is that the boy''s parents stole the Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te from the White Crown, resulting in them being hunted by the organization.
"Since they can''t hide from them, they left it with the boy and the method to use it. That''s why he grows so fast and powerful. He told me himself that this technique has the full cultivation technique of eight realms.
"At that time, it might be that te that damaged my soul and helped him escape to the Demon Continent. If I had known before, I would''ve never kept it a secret. I also thought this technique was destroyed together with him. No wonder I never found any corpse or any ashes of him!" Joseph couldn''t help but gnashed his teeth.
Everyone''s eyes were filled with greed when they heard it.
The Patriarch abruptly stood with an ecstatic expression and dered, "Dere the Continent Meeting. We need to awaken the Prime One. This treasure technique belongs to the human race and no one can take it!"
Chapter 524 Cold Liar!
[AN: This mark the end of this month''s bonus chapter weeks (28-11-2022)!]
[Next month, there will be the very first mass release look forward to it. I''ll announce the date soon. Stay tuned!]
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The Almighty Demon Empire was divided into Eight Provinces, a Royal Zone, and Three Forbidden Countries.
The eight provinces were called Outer Continents, Common Provinces, or defensivends or whatnot¡ by the demon who lived in the Royal Zone.
The reason being, the eight provinces were actually a turtle shell or a protective shield created by the highborn demons to protect and by themselves enough time to prepare in case of an invasion by the east, west, and south side of the continent.
They take anything worth taking from the eight provinces and created the royal zone, which was the northern side of the mighty demon continent, and its area was around the four-tenth of the eight provinces.
The eight provinces known the northern side of the continent as the royal zone, but the upper echelon of the demon race called it the Royal Demon Nation. It was the nation where only royal demons lived, nomoners or lowborn!
The Royal Demon Nation was not only rich with Qi and resources, but the safe seaway was also on this side of the continent, and it was a perfect ce to nurture a powerful naval force.
The North-East Coast of the Royal Demon Nation was surrounded by towering cliffs, while a strange mist existed a mile away from this coastline and no one ever came back from that mist once entered.
This ce wasn''t as guarded as the other sides because of this exact reason and was only checked once in a while by a small crew.
Today, however, a tall silhouette emerged from this mist.
It was in the middle of the day, and the sun was shining brightly.
This tall person wore a long ck hood, and his aura waspletely hidden. Who could this be but Ace?
Ace looked at the golden sky with relief and smiled brightly, ''I finally left this gloomy ce and it took me two extra months to reach here with the route the old ghost Empty Dream showed me. Where am I anyway?''
After Empty Dream was content with Ace, he used his small influence to alter the indicator ring''s route. This route was in thepletely opposite direction from the maind of the Royal Demon Nation.
Ace even suspected that Empty Dream was trying to kill him when a month passed and he still wandered in the mist aimlessly. But when he thought how it was probably impossible with Empty Dream''s soul wisp in his possession, he felt somewhat at ease and continued to follow the route.
Today he finally left the formation!
Ace looked around.
This ce was a forest covered with mist.
''It seemed this was another safe boundary of the formation, and since no one knew the route for it, they left it unguarded, or the guards simply didn''t care. Nheless, I wasn''t intercepted as the old ghost told, and now I''m in the Royal Demon Nation!''
Ace''s eyes gleamed with excitement when he thought how he had safely entered the sacred ground of the Demon Race that remained imprable for many years.
Doesn''t want to stay any longer, Ace moved in that direction with no mist.
When the forest finally ended, a gust of chilly humid wind bush past his face, and his stepse to a halt when he looked ahead with astonishment.
He saw a vast body of blue water as far as his eye could see, calm waves, and some low-level marine beasts calmly swimming under the crystal-clear water.
''So, this is the endless sea¡''
It was his first time seeing the Endless Sea in person and he had to admit it was a wonderful view from where he was standing.
Furthermore, from Paul''s memories, he knew about the coastlines of this ce and safe seaways and naval force under the Royal Demon Nation.
So, he wasn''tpletely ignorant about how dangerous this calm locking sea was on the other parts of the continent.
''Is that a Forbidden Country?'' Ace''s eyes narrowed when he saw a vague silhouette far from his position.
Even with his excellent eyesight, he can''t confirm it.
ording to Paul''s memories, the mysterious Three Forbidden Countries were actually threerge Inds close to the Royal Demon Nation.
These three inds were rich in rare resources and beasts.
However, this wasn''t the reason for these ces to call the Three Forbidden Countries, the real reason was these three inds were in the formation of a triangle, and right in the center of this triangle was a vortex.
As for what that vortex was and why the Imperial Pce forbade anyone to approach that ce, the official reason was it was extremely dangerous, even for the Law Awareness Realm experts.
But Paul once heard from his father that it was a sham and there might be some tremendous secret of the Imperial Family Hidden there, which they don''t want to share with anyone.
Nevertheless, there was still some truth to this matter since a Grand Demon Duke tried to sneak in but never returned, which resulted in his entire family being eradicated.
Since then, no one dared to approach that vortex no matter how much curious they got.
The Three Forbidden Countries were assessable for the junior members of the Royal Demon Nation, and they were treated as training grounds. But no one above the River Core Realm was allowed.
That''s why Ace was curious when he saw the vague shade. Even if that was a forbidden country, he averted his eyes, since it was meaningless. He can''t just swim there with all those demonic marine beasts. He required a ship that; he didn''t have and wasn''t interested in going there either.
His mission was more important, and he still had the elemental orb to worry about, so he didn''t have the time for sightseeing yet.
After having his fill of the endless sea''s view, Ace''s eyes turned sharp as he coldlymanded, "System, destroy the soul contract and any other contract supported by the fake consciousness."
The very next moment, the fake consciousness in his true soul and marital space turned into a wisp of smoke and vanished as if nothing happened.
Ace''s lips curled up. ''Only the first soul piece would notice this, and he would think I was dead or break it on purpose. Well, even if it does, what can he do about it?''
He snorted coldly, ''Even if he escaped somehow, he wouldn''t even dream I''m so far away from the Azure Wind Continent, and he won''t be able to find me before getting found by the demons or his disciple. Maybe I''ll visit him once I reach Law Awareness Realm and give him a big ''surprise''.''
He grinned mischievously.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
''I only have a little over a year left for the job mission. So, I should first study the Psyche Invasion. I had to admit without the knowledge of Psyche Invasion, I might''ve still been missing the important pieces of the puzzle.'' Ace''s expression turned solemn.
Ace wasn''t in a hurry toplete the final chain mission since there was ample time left. The job mission, on the other hand, was almost over, and he didn''t want to fail it when he was so close to clearing the requirement.
Lastly, this seclusion wasn''t just about the job mission. He still has thew fragments, new secret thief skill, and insight pills to absorb, and once he was done with them, he would be stronger than ever!
The chain mission would go even more smoothly. So, he was nning to use a year to absorb everything and then head toward the Royal Demon Nation.
Done deciding, Ace created an underground chamber close to the cliff. Since this area was barren, no one would disturb him.
After hiding the entrances and cing powerful formations around the underground chamber, he finally rxed and started to study the Psyche Invasion wholeheartedly.
Just like that, a week passed, and Ace was immersed in understanding theplex structure of the Knowledge Sea Surface Invasion when an unexpected notification startled him.
======
[Congrattion host, your Thief Title [Famously Infamous] has reached the Intermediate Stage!]
--
[Thief Title: Famously Infamous (Intermediate Stage)]
-Famously Infamous (Intermediate Stage): Infamous between over 1 Billion lifeforms.
-Title Effect: Everyone is afraid of your name (Thief Name), and your deeds reverberated like thunder in every corner of thisnd. Your real name (Thief Name) will inflict [7% Fear] in others'' hearts as long as they know about your name (Thief Name) and deeds.
--
(Note: This title is ineffectual against House Members & unhostile lifeforms)
======
"What in the world?" Ace was baffled when he saw his title suddenly get upgraded without him doing anything.
But it wasn''t the end, and another notification rang.
======
[Congrattion Host, you unlocked the Thief Title: Cold Liar (Initial)]
--
[Thief Title: Cold Liar (Initial)]
-Cold Liar (Initial): Made 10 Million Beings (Cultivators Only) wholeheartedly believed your lies!
-Title Effect: There''s a 5% more chance that people will believe in your liespletely!
======
''What the heck did I do?'' Ace was speechless!
Chapter 525 Demonic Eater Mask
Two tall demons d in ck armor mounted on two horse-like beasts with dark horns. They were slowly moving a few meters away from the edge of the cliff.
They both were holding two brightly lit formation tes with small white projections.
"Every year we''ll be sent here to inspect this ce like someone would dare toe here with all those demonic marine beasts and the protective formations around the edges." One of the armored demons grumped as he idly looked at the projection of the area.
"This is Fate, my friend. If we have more talent, we wouldn''t have been abandoned by our tribes and sent in the army to be high-level cannon folds." The other demonmented with a forlorn smile, "Well, at least we weren''t appointed to the Sea Hunting Division. The death toll in that ce is like sky-high."
A hint of fear appeared in the other demon''s eyes when he heard ''Sea Hunting Division'' and nodded solemnly. "Alright, you check the perimeter here, while I check the forbidden forest."
"Fine by me."
The other one nodded without expression and continued to move at the cliff''s edges on his mount while the other one moved his steed toward the forest a mile away from the cliff.
As the demon moved beside the cliff, he unmounted when he saw some cracks on the cliff''s surface and carefully move in that area. He was doing it for years, so he was quite proficient in this task.
However, he reached a certain point, and the projection on the formation suddenly started to flutter.
"Is it broken?" The demon was startled because this formation shouldn''t be supposed to react like this.
This formation was made to examine the protective barrier around this area, which was to detect the other races'' invaders.
If the barrier was malfunctioning, the reaction would bepletely different.
"Maybe it''s because I arrange too many formations and arrays around my base?"
A pondering voice rang in the demon''s ears, startling him.
However, before he could react or turn around, the voice rang again, but this time there was only one word that soundedced with a mysterious power.
"Stop!"
The demon felt like strange darkness engulfed his eyes, and he forgot about anything and everything. He felt mncholic as a very distant and painful memory suddenly started to y in front of him.
A demon viciously beating a young demon appeared who was none other than him, "You, useless chode, I should''ve killed you when you were born¡"
Then a demoness appeared and menacingly uttered, "I''m no mother of trash¡"
These were the darkest moments of his life when he felt despair, and he had buried them deep within his heart and didn''t want to remember them.
Suddenly, the scene in front of him shattered as the clear sea appeared in his view. His eyes were teary and filled with a sense of loss and befuddlement.
"W-what?" He uttered this only one world in befuddlement.
"Hmm, the Deep Despair Soul Wordsst only for two seconds with my 2% understanding of [Despair]w." The evaluating voice rang again.
Before the demon could react, this time a sharp sword filled with dark lightning pierce through his throat, killing him then and there.
Behind him was a hooded figure holding a long ck sword filled with blood. Who could it be but Ace?
Ace looked at the dead demon without emotions as he mused over what happened just now when he used the first level of Soul Words.
It had been a little over a year since Ace was in seclusion, and he had already absorbed everything and progressed by leaps and bounds.
Although his cultivation hadn''t increased, his status had undergone a tremendous change, and he was now twice as strong as a year ago.
=====
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human]
[Bloodline: Sealed]
[First Heaven: Mortal Sky Heaven]
--
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea [Stage-9]]
[EXP: 10,000,000/10,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Orange Wind Soul Core [Stage-9]]
[SP: 6,350,900/10,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
---
[Skills: 8]
-Heartless Stealth (Art):
[Breathless Stealth: Perfection
Pulseless Stealth: Perfection
Heartless Stealth: Perfection]
--
-Misperception Sky Steps (Art):
[Camouge Steps: Middle
Lightning Steps: Middle
Misperception Steps: Middle
Sky Steps: NONE]
--
-Soul Shattering Eyes: [Perfection]
--
-Soul Piercing Bullets: [Perfection]
--
-Soul Guardian Barrier (Art):
[Soul Barrier: Perfection
Soul Guardian: Low]
--
-Pick Pocket: [Perfection]
--
-Lock Eraser King Technique:
Lock Eraser Master: Perfectionist
Lock Eraser Grandmaster: Perfectionist
Lock Eraser King: None
--n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Thievish Soul Cord Control (Secret Soul Skill): Middle
---
[Cultivation Technique: 5]
-Heaven Stealer Technique: Volume 1
--
-Dual Shadow Swords: 2nd Realm (Sword of Finger)
--
-Heavenly Rune Crafter Foundational Manual: Tier-12
--
-Soul Words [Despair Manual]:
1. Deep Despair Soul Words: 2.3%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
2. Extreme Despair Soul Words: 0.0%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
3. Deadly Despair Soul Words: 0.0%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
--
-Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Manual [First Vol]
Three Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Principles:
1. Treasure Dismantler Principles: Grade-1 Treasure Dismantler
2. Alchemy Dismantler Principles: Grade-1 Alchemy Dismantler
3. Runic Dismantler Principles: Grade-2 Runic Dismantler
---
[Law(s): 4]
-Despair (Minor): 2.03%
-Shadow (Minor): 2.05%
-Sword (Minor): 2.00%
-Psyche (Minor): 1.03%
---
[Thief Point(s): 187,956,500]
---
[Mission(s): 1]
[Side Mission(s): 0]
=====
Ace never thought he would gain an understanding of [Psyche]w after he absorbed and learned all the knowledge of the Psyche Invasion.
He mused, it might be thew Empty Dream was proficient in, and he unknowingly helped Ace acquire thisw as well.
Furthermore, theprehension of [Psyche]w also had something to do with the three intermediate-grade insight pills Ace used on Lock Eraser King Technique, Heartless Stealth, and Thievish Soul Cord Control.
Those pills not only increased hisprehension levels but there was always a lingering effect that could make his mind extremely clear for some time after the pill''s effect was exhausted.
Furthermore, when he used thew fragments, he entered a strange state as well.
These things helped him understand thew of [Psyche] as well as he had a massive breakthrough in Soul Words, and now he can use the Deep Despair Soul Words ording to his [Despair]w''sprehension.
Ace had done nothing but study this past year, and a few days ago, he turned 25 as well.
As for his house members, they were also in seclusion and he had no idea what they were up to, nor did he disturb them. He didn''t require their assistance right now.
They were not bounded by some restrictions like elemental orbs and they can raise their cultivation normally with the system''s help and the thief''s house effect. They can achieve breakthroughs with no bottlenecks.
The stronger they were, the easier time he had so, it was best to let them be for now.
Today, Ace felt this demon''s arrival, so exit the seclusion, and it was also time toplete his job mission. Only 47 days were left before the deadline, and these demons happened to be what he just needed right now.
Ace took out a skin mask, which was none other than the disguise mask he stole from Paul.
Although he didn''t want to use this mask for disguise, he had no choice since this mask was of a higher grade than his mask right now.
This Demonic Eater Mask was a Grade-6 disguising treasure, and it was one of the three legacy treasures of the Poison Wood Demon n. This mask was also the biggest reason Paul could fool the anti-disguise formation the Empty Dream warned Ace about.
Ace didn''t want to show this mask in front of Empty Dream, so he didn''t reject his help at that time.
But now that he was going to enter the enemy''s camp, he couldn''t be shallow with his preparation.
He was no longer on the outer continent anymore, and if someone from the Royal Demon Nation even gets the wind of it that the Sky Stealer was here, the demons would not take it sitting anymore!
Ace ced the skin mask on the dead soldier''s head, and the next moment, the skin mask came alive and engulfed his entire head.
Ten secondster, the mask shrank and returned to normal, but the entire skin from the demon''s face had beenpletely gone as if someone had peeled it off!
Ace wasn''t surprised by this as he picked the skin mask. He already knew this Demonic Eater Mask was quite vicious, and it wasn''t like his mask that just required a simple scan to copy someone''s appearance.
This mask required real flesh to absorb the face and then use it. Furthermore, it can only have one face at a time, and the moment it devours another face, the previous face will vanish.
Ace had already pick-pocketed this soldier''s storage ring, so after taking off his armor, which he needed, he kicked the body from the cliff into the sea and donned the armor.
He then put on the Demonic Eater Mask and activates it!
Chapter 526 Royal Demon Nation
After an hour, the demon who left to inspect the forest returned and saw hispanion calmly sitting on the edge of the cliff with his mount, looking at the beautiful sea sunset.
The demon also dismounted his mount and sat beside him. Hemented, "At least we could see this magnificent view on this trip."
"Heh, you''re right about that. Here." The ''demon'' chuckled and tossed a closed wine bottle toward the demon sitting beside him.
The demon caught the crystal white bottle and was surprised when he saw the translucent blue liquid.
"Hahahaha¡ brother Roy, I didn''t know you were hiding such a high-grade liquor. I own you one now." Heughed out loud and opened the bottle as an intoxicating fragrant drifted in the air.
Roy took out another same kind of wine bottle and opened it as well. "This view deserved such liquor. Don''t you agree brother, Agared?"
Agared was a brown skin demon with fierce eyes. He looked at the setting sun, nodded, and waved his bottle in a gesture of toast, "I agree." He then gulped two mouthfuls.
Roy does the same as he looks at the sea, which looks like it was on red m,e and drinks.
"I wonder where the sun goes at night? Do you?" Ace, who was in disguise as Roy, suddenly wondered out loud.
Agared was startled by this question and solemnly pondered, "I never thought about this. But now that you mention it, where did the sun go at night and the moon in the morning? My Old Woman used to say this is an eternal cycle of heaven."
Ace chuckled, "Eternal Cycle of Heaven? Intriguing."
He suddenly dered, "Eternal Cycle or not, but one day I''ll be going to find out." It was his true feelings, his ambition.
Agaredughed while he drank a mouthful. "Hahaha, if you found out, tell me as well."
"Sure."
Ace smiled while he continued to watch the sunset with his thievish eyes.
After the sunset was over, Agared stood up. "I guess good things won''tst forever, huh?" His voice was filled withmentation.
"Indeed, we all have our parts to y." Ace also stood up as he tossed the empty bottle into the sea.
"Let''s go." Agared felt hispanion was somewhat different, but in a good way, so he suspected nothing.
They both left the area on their beasts and headed toward the Royal Demon Nation a few hundred miles away from this ce.
The Royal Demon Nation wasn''t like the outer provinces.
There weren''t any cities, towns, or viges, but regions.
These regions surrounded the Imperial or Emperor Domain in the center like a defensive line.
There were six regions of the Royal Demon Nation.
Four regions were known as the Grand Demon Regions, which were under the management of four Grand Demon Duke Tribes ruled by Grand Demon Dukes of the Demon Race.
The fifth region was known as the Royal Army Region, which was under the management of the Demon Army, and controlled by the Demon Marshal.
The sixth region was titled the Demonic Academia Region, and it was under the management of four Demon Institutes.
The fifth and sixth regions have the most territories than the other four Grand Demon Regions because of their special significance.
The fifth region was the ce where the nation''s forces live, while the sixth region was the ce where all the young demons of the Royal Demon Nations spent at least five decades of their lives learning about the world and cultivation.
Nevertheless, these six regions were the true backbone of the Almighty Demon Empire and each region control by a peak expert of the Law Awareness Realm.
These realm experts could be counted on one hand, and these were the true powerhouses of any top race, like the Demons.
The Royal Army Region was closest to the endless seaport since it oversees the safety of the royal demon nation.
The region was divided into many divisions ording to the army ranks, and the rules and regtions here were absolute.
Although the demons in the army region all have a noble background, much nobler than any demon of the outer provinces because of their Sixth or Seventh Grade Bloodlines, but they still strictly followed these rules because the background didn''t work here but talent!
The more talented you are, the higher the rank you''ll get at your assignment.
These talents were filtered through the Demonic Academia Region by four Demon Institutes throughout their time, from admission to graduation.
As for those who were only subpar, they were sent to the high death rate divisions, like the Endless Sea Division.
Roy and Agared belong to the runic department of the Logistic Division, which was to monitor and repairs anything rted to runes.
This department was specially built for rune crafters, and despite being only just field soldiers, Roy and Agared receive much better treatment than other normal soldiers.
Ace, who was now Roy, looked at the immense wall in front of him, and he couldn''t even see where it ended on each side.
It was the entrance to the Royal Army Region as well as the Royal Demon Country.
As they both passed the colossal gates, Ace felt a powerful Qi brush past him. ''What a powerful scanning formation. If not for this mask, I won''t even be able to enter this ce like this.''
Ace''s expressions were solemn. He could feel the disparity between this ce and the outer continent now. He won''t dare to underestimate the Royal Demon Nation.
Furthermore, he was still quite far from his goal, and he has to be extremely careful about his n to reach there.
A burly demon ds in army armor with a soul realm aura coldly blocked Roy and Agared when they entered the gates and impassively said, "Dismount your rides and be ready for the blood test!"
Agared was baffled by this and questioned, "What blood test?"
The demon answered coldly, "This is the order from the highmand. From now on, whoever leaves or enters this ce will have to go through a blood test. Now,ply, or be detained!"
Ace''s expression turned grave when he heard this. ''This is bad. This mask can only hide my aura, but not change my blood. They didn''t rule out the royal zone for my search. They''re really taking it seriously now.''
Agared frowned slightly, but he obediently dismounted his mount. He wasn''t in a position where he could act as he pleased.
Ace also dismounted and followed Agared and the other demon toward a small building.
He was looking around, and there weren''t many demons around the area. Only some soldiers were patrolling, and some were standing guards around the buildings.
''If I knew, I should''ve kept Roy''s body.'' He was exasperated by this sudden annoying security check. ''Well, I can''t just run away or it would be too obvious. Right now, they''re just being cautious with this blood test. But once they know for sure that I''m here, they''ll turn their entire forces in this ce.''N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace could feel the gravity of this situation and had to admit; bullying the demon race wasn''t easy. It was akin to ying with tiger whiskers.
As they entered the building, they saw a small pool filled with crystal clear water, and at the bottom of this pool were rune symbols engraved inplex patterns.
Ace saw an old demon in armor sitting cross-legged in front of this pool, and he could feel a deep, murderous aura from this Old Demon.
''Just how many people did he kill to have such a murderous aura?'' Ace thought grimly.
The old demon remained static as his eyes were closed.
The burly demon who bought them here bowed and said, "Captain, I bring them for the blood test."
The old demon merely nodded his head without saying anything, with his eyes still closed.
After receiving the confirmation, the burly demon looked at Agared, who was standing right behind him, and coldly said, "Go and drip your blood on the top of the pool."
Agared obediently moved without any hesitation. He was already shocked when he saw a Captain rank figure guarding this ce. It simply meant this matter was quite serious!
When Agared made a cut on his hand and blood entered the pool. The clear water suddenly turned ck.
"Stun!"
The burly demon suddenly heard this mild whisper in his ear before his eyes went nk, and when he returned to his sense, everything was the same, but his expression was filled with depression, and hisplexion turns pale.
"Brother, what happened to you? Why are you breathing so heavily?" Roy''s concerned voice sounded, snapping him from his stupor.
He was startled and looked back at the demon with some suspicions, but when he saw his innocent expression.
''What was that just now? Could it be I was daydreaming or day nightmare?''
"Leave." At this moment, the old demon finally spoke.
Agared had a breath of relief. He was worried about a moment when he saw the ck water, but it seemed it was just how this formation worked.
The burly demon took a deep breath and suppressed that strange, dark feeling. "Nothing, go. It''s your turn."
Ace''s lips curled up, and he nodded, "Alright!"
Chapter 527 Life Grand Demon Region
Ace swiftly moved right where Agared was standing.
He took out a knife and ''cut'' his right hand. In other views, only the back of his hand was visible.
The next moment, some drops of blood fell into the already cleared pool, and thereupon, the water again started to turn ck.
The Captain''s impassive voice rang again, "Leave."
Roy bowed before he left the building with Agared and the burly soldier.
"You two may report to the task department now." The burly guard coldly said as he turned around.
Agared suddenly said, "Hey, there are some red stains behind your neck."
"Where?" He was startled as he used his hand to rub the back of his neck, and when he saw the red stains on his hand, he frowned deeply, ''Blood? But there''s no wound, and then there were sudden images of the past? What is happening to me today?''
''He suspected nothing.'' Ace''s lips curled as he walked away with Agared.
It was indeed Ace''s handy word. He used the soul words to stun the soldier for two seconds, and then he made a slight cut on his neck and stored a few drops of blood in an empty storage ring.
The soldier was a golden river core cultivator, so this kind of cut could heal within a few seconds.
So, when he regained his senses, the cut was already healed, and only some stains were left.
Even the Captain didn''t notice a thing, and he was probably paying attention to that pool.
When it was Ace''s turn he simply used his storage ring to make it appear that he had cut his hand the blood was his.
Now, he was clear to roam in the Royal Demon Nation!
"Alright, brother Agared you should go, and report to the task department. Here is the scanning formation." Roy suddenly spoke.
"Where are you going?" Agared didn''t mind as he took Roy''s scanning formation the task department lent them for this task.
He didn''t mind covering up for Roy since it wasn''t much, to begin with, and he have quite a good impression of him after their drinking season on the cliff.
Roy replied with a smile, "I''m going to the logistics department to ask for a leave. It''s been over a decade since I returned home, and I think it''s time to settle thest few matters and be free of everything."
Agared thoughtfully looked at Roy and nodded, "It seemed you had some kind of enlightenment on this trip."
"You can say that I just awaken by that setting sun." Roy mysteriously smiled.
"Hahaha, go, I wish you good luck." Agared nodded and left.
Roy''s smile suddenly vanished as an impassive look appeared on his face.
''I have to be extremely careful about changing my appearance. If it was before I could''ve just deserted this ce and others would think little of a desertion soldier. But now that the demons are on high alert they will investigate everything and anything.'' Ace mused gravely as he headed toward another building.
Half a dayter, Roy could be seen walking on a stony road as he headed in the east direction.
Getting a leave of absence wasn''t difficult for Roy since he was a devoted soldier, and his service had already reached over a decade. He was allowed to take six months off.
However, Ace extended this leave to three years as he showed some ''goodwill'' to the officer in charge.
Now, no one will look for a second-ss soldier like Roy for three years, and this time was enough for Ace to do his thing.
He was now headed toward one of the Grand Demon Regions, the Life Grand Demon Region!
This region was under the management of the Life Demon Tribe.
Furthermore, the Life Demon Tribe was also the richest tribe of the entire demon continent because the Life Demon Association was founded by them and they reap massive resources every year!
Roy was a member of the Life Demon Tribe''s branch n, Earthen Soul n.
When Ace annexed his memories he almostughs out loud when got the knowledge about Roy''s memory.
If someone hates him the most on the entire continent, it would be either Leona or the Life Demon Association.
Life Demon Association in particr because he broke the legend of their imprable Life Demon Treasure Pagoda and then p their faces one more time when he theft the Life Demon Auction!
The Life Grand Demon Duke probably wanted to eat him alive right now.
The Life Demon Tribe was extremely overbearing in Royal Demon Country. They didn''t give anyone face except the Imperials. But now their reputation was in ruin because their reputation suffered a huge blow.
Their members were keeping a low profile right now while madly pouring resourcing into a continent-wide thief hunt.
But who would''ve thought the thief was heading toward their home ground right at this moment?
However, Ace wasn''t going there to give the Life Demon Grand Duke a heart attack this time. He was going toplete his job mission as well as initiate his final chain mission.
Forpleting the Job Mission, he''s required to steal a memory that would be useful for him. Like a memory that is important for his chain mission. He didn''t think any other memory really matter to him unless it was rted to the elemental orb.
But the system might not count the memories rted to the Lightning Elemental Orb since he already had its exact location recorded in the fate map.
So, either it has to be a new elemental orb or something useful for him.
Speaking of which, when Ace activated the fate map before leaving the cliff, he found that the newly golden indicator was pointing in the endless sea direction!
Ace was stunned at that time before he closed the map with a wry smile. It was too soon for him to voyage in the endless sea.
With time running out, he moved at his full speed.
The Royal Army Region was filled with check posts. Without Roy''s identity, he might''ve wasted a massive amount of time traveling.
On the sixth day, Ace finally passed thest checkpoint and exited the army territory.
The Life Grand Demon Region was closest to the Royal Army Region, and with Ace''s speed, it took him five more days to reach the boundary of the region.
The Life Grand Demon Region wasn''t as crude as the Royal Army Region, it was surrounded by a magnificent wall and many turrets.
This ce was the hub for life profession cultivators and the headquarters of the Life Demon Association was also in this ce.
Although the monopoly of the life profession cultivators wasn''t as high as the eight provinces, the Association still attracts many talented cultivators that were interested in joining the association.
Especially, those youths who failed to enter one of the four demon institutes every year.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Ace passed another security check that was at the same level as the Royal Army Region entrance gate.
However, they didn''t take any blood tests after seeing Roy''s identity token as a member of the region as well as the army.
Ace was content with this and finally entered the Life Grand Demon Region.
The first thing he noticed was the dense Qi filled with a fragrance air, and then he saw many cultivators walking wearing association robes and beautiful buildings and clear streets.
The Royal Army Region would be called bleak in front of this ce.
Although Roy was a member of Life Grand Demon Region, he hadn''t been back in a decade, so many things were different from his memories.
However, the distribution of this ce can''t be changed. There were 90 life districts of the Life Grand Demon Region, and each district was under the management of a branch n of the Life Demon Tribe.
The central district was thergest area, and also the pce where the main n was as well as the headquarters of the Life Demon Association.
Ace''s destination was this exact ce!
As Ace walked on the busy street, he was observing everyone closely and his surroundings.
He only had twenty days before his job mission will fail, so he was in a hurry to reach this ce.
But if he wanted to seed, Roy''s disguise would no longer cut it, and he required someone with very high status who could give entry to the central district.
Furthermore, he was still ten days away from the central district.
Ace suddenly spotted a golden carriage with a ck runic insignia moving in the center of the vast road and there were four more carriages following closely behind this carriage.
Every passerby quickly stopped and bow toward the golden carriage with ck runic insignia.
Ace also quickly identified this insignia from both Paul and Roy''s memories, and his eyes lit up, ''Someone from the Life Demon Tribe''s main branch!''
He knew this was the exact target he was looking for, and without getting noticed by another, he entered Heartless Stealth and started following the entourage from a safe distance!
Chapter 528 You Mustve Hear Of My Humble Name
Archie was one of the young decedents of Soul Life Demon n, the ruling n of the Life Demon Tribe.
Albeit he wasn''t from Grand Demon Duke''s direct lineage but from Grand Demon Duke''s younger brother''s line.
But just this status was enough to make everyone revere him and make his status above many and blow only a few. This made Archie aloof.
With a huge amount of resources at his disposal as well as his backing, he had nothing to worry about. He just had to show his talent, and he''ll get anything he demanded.
Archie was naturally talented, in fact, he was talented enough topete with his cousins from the Grand Demon Duke''s lineage. But he was toozy and ambitionless.
Cultivation didn''t interest him, he only cultivates for lifespan and luxury.
Furthermore, he was a debaucher and visited the red district almost every other day, which made his reputation among his peers hit the rock bottom. But Archie didn''t care at all.
Today was just like any other day for him with his entourage of henchmen as he headed toward the red district in their luxurious carriages. Or a member of the Life Demon Tribe would seldom appear in public eyes.
Nevertheless, everyone minds their own business. It was the territory of the Life Demon Tribe, so they could do anything they wants as long as they didn''t antagonize anyone publicly.
Archie sat inside his carriage with a bored expression as he sipped on wine. He had a handsome sharp face with emerald eyes and light green skin. His bend pair of sharp horns were covered under his long emerald hair.
Furthermore, he was a peak Golden Soul River Core cultivator and a hair away from reaching the Diamond Soul River Core. If he wasn''tzy and didn''t want to, he would have had a breakthrough a long time ago.
But he deliberately held it back because once he does, his freedom would be gone because of a certain rule of the Royal Demon Nation.
That''s why his parents let him enjoy while he could and weren''t worried he''ll destroy his life.
If he wasn''t talented, then it would''ve been another story, but he was talented, and he can''t escape his fate no matter how much he dys it.
As pour himself another ss of wine, he looked outside the window and nced at those demons bowing in reverence, contempt shed past his eyes.
He thought severely, ''Why do we need to follow rules when we''re superior to those talentless nomads? We should be living a lifestyle suitable for our titles, but here we are living in a vast golden cage¡''
He always hated doing cumbersome things and wanted to live a free life without doing anything and indulge himself with debauchery and the pleasures of life.
But the demon race wasn''t a typical race. They were strong for a reason and that reason was their strict rules, which were embedded in their blood.
Archie could be said one in a million who had this kind of revolting mindset and thought about himself before his race.
At this moment, he saw the scenery suddenly change, and he no longer saw any passersby bowing, but eye-catching buildings lit in red lights.
Archie''s lecherous eyes lit up. ''This is the only ce where I can run wild!''
He wasn''t in the least concerned about his safety or even thinking that someone would dare to attack him in the Life Grand Demon Region.
However, right at this moment, ''Bang.'' the door of his carriage suddenly sted open!
"yiii¡" Archie yelped in shock, and wine spilled over his clothes.
The carriage came to an abrupt stop as a guard dashed in front of the door and anxiously said, "Young Lord, are you alright?"
Archie''s aghast expression was reced with indignant as he asked sharply, "I''m fine. What happened?"
If he weren''t outside, he would''ve beaten these ipetent fellows silly.
The guard horridly answered, "I-I don''t know, but it seemed the lock array malfunctioned just now."
Archie frowned as looked at the door, and a white mist filled his eyes. It was a runic eye skill to examine the symbols. Although he waszy, it didn''t mean his parents were alsozy. He was an Intermediate Grade-3 Rune Crafter!
The Soul Life Demon n was famous for its rune crafting, so Archie didn''t have a choice in this matter. He can bezy at anything but rune crafting!
After he was done examining it, he coldly looked at the guard. "It''spletely fine. It must be you who didn''t close it properly.
"Since we''re almost at the Pleasure Pce, I won''t make a fuss, but you''ll be answering me after we returned. Now tell everyone there''s no need to panic and continue moving!"
The guard trembled as his face turned pale. He knew his career was over, and he''ll be beaten by Archie when they returned and might even be crippled!
It wasn''t something new for Archie!
Archie didn''t care about the guard''s felling and shut the door with a cold harrumph.
However, the very next moment, darkness engulfed Archie within a moment, and he didn''t even have time to react!
His entire body felt like it was glued on its spot, as his cultivation waspletely suppressed.
''It''s an attack!'' He thought with a horrified expression. He finally understands that the gate hasn''t malfunctioned, and someone has targeted him.
''Is this an assassination attempt by me cousins?! But I never get in their way! No, they didn''t have any reason to assassinate me. I always keep a low profile, never offend anyone and mind my own business¡''N?v(el)B\\jnn
Many possibilities shed through Archie''s mind, but none of them made any sense.
"There''s no need to struggle. It''s a Grade-5 Limit Talisman, the Dark Dimension Bead. No one will be able to hear or found about it unless they were in the Manifestation Realm. We''repletely isted in this carriage space." A snide voice rang.
''Someone is using a limit talisman just to kill me?!'' Archie''s expression turned ashen when he heard this, but even his speech ability was suppressed so he can''t make a sound. He can''t even see anything in this darkness.
He knew the limit talismans were also called the ancient talisman, and their creation method has been long-lost in the river of history.
The method of making limit talismans was so profound even his family, who were well versed and called the top rune family of the demon race, didn''t have any way to decipher itpletely.
They only had a handful of them, and every use of these talismans was extremely precious, especially a grade-5 limit talisman.
Now, someone is using it just to assassinate him. He never remembered having this kind of feud with anyone.
"Heh, don''t worry. No one hired me to assassinate you." The voice snickered as it saw through Archie''s thoughts.
The owner of this voice was clearly Ace who was following Archie''s entourage from the moment Ace noticed the emblem of the Life Demon Tribe.
He never thought he would encounter a direct decedent of the Life Demon Tribe without even entering the central district. It was a windfall for Ace.
So, he followed them, and when his fate mapped to see the danger level, he didn''t find any ck fate point, which means there wasn''t any fatal danger level character in this entourage.
After he used his soul sense, which was slightly powerful because of the [Psyche]w, he only found two soul realm guards with this entourage.
In the end, he decided to make his move when they entered the red district''s territory. It''s not as crowded as the other regions.
With his speed, he simply used his treasure-opening hands to unlock the 9-star runic lock, and before anyone could react, he was already inside the carriage!
No one noticed him with his heartless stealth at perfection, and when the door was locked again, he simply used the limit talisman he got from Paul.
It was quite useful in this kind of situation.
Although the limit talisman now only has 2 more uses left, it was all worth it since with Archie he couldplete his Job Mission!
"Alright, we don''t have time, so I''ll tell you why I use a precious talisman to iste ourselves." Ace speaks coolly, "First, my name is¡ Sky Stealer. You must''ve heard of my humble name?"
Archie''s eyes went wide when he heard this name.
How could he not know about the legendary thief who his family hated the most, as well as the person who dared to expose Imperial Princess Leona''s schemes in front of millions of demons?
''S-Sky¡. Sky Stealer already infiltrate this deep into the Royal Demon Nation while everything is still searching for in themon provinces!?'' Archie''s mind turned into a mess, and a strange feeling of fear surfaced in his heart!
Ace observed Archie''s reaction and smiled faintly before he continued, "As for why I approached you, you can imagine. You guys made it very difficult for me to move freely, so I have to hide in a ce where anyone would least expect me to."
Archie''s heart turned cold when he heard it, and despair filled his eyes. ''He wants my face!''
Chapter 529 An Important Memory
"If you thought I want your face to use a disguise, then you''re right. It''s one of the reasons I wanted to target someone from a Grand Demon Duke''s direct bloodline." Ace told meaningfully.
Archie''s eyes went bloodshot with anger and trepidation. He knew even if Ace spared his life after using his appearance; he had to suffer the bacsh of whatever Ace had done with his face afterward.
''If I had just listened to the Old Man¡''
Regret shone in his eyes as the caring faces of his parents appeared in his mind, who he always took for granted. He always sneered or scoffed whenever his father or mother scolded him.
But now that he knew his fate was sealed, he understands they always wanted what was best for him.
Ace could feel Archie''s emotions. He knew everything was set. Archie''s mind was now aplete mess, and there won''t be any resistance. He knew he had only one shot at this. If he failed, then this job mission was as good as gone.
Ace coldly said, "As for my other reason, it was to find someone who could enter the Royal Demon Institute!
"ording to my understanding, only someone with a pure Seventh Grade Demonic Bloodline was eligible to enter that ce. Furthermore, this was just the minimum condition.
"The Royal Demon Institute is the sacred ground for geniuses of the Demon Race. They only recruit elites, and despite having the lowest number of students among the three institutes, they are the strongest because of their unmatched legacy.
"Just to take their test, one needs to be below 100 Years and has to be at least a Diamond River Core Cultivator. But that''s none of my concern." Ace said with a chuckled, "You see, I could''ve easily stolen a genuine student face without going through any cumbersome tests or finding someone like you and taking enormous risks."
Ace sighed sadly, "But this won''t do because I know almost everything about the Royal Demon Institute because of Paul. Since he''s a member or was, I don''t know if he was expelled after what I did.
"Anyhow, this put me in a peculiar situation where simple information no longer makes the cut. So, there was only one kind of information left which was really useful for me."
A sh of dark lightning shed past Ace''s cold eyes, "Do you have the qualification to enter the Royal Demon Institute?"
Archie didn''t know what Ace meant by those subtle words, but he does understand why Ace was targeting him.
Although he can''t speak, after listening to Ace, he couldn''t help but think about the Royal Demon Institute because he was supposed to go there for the entrance test after breaking through the Diamond Soul River Core Realm.
But he was dying his breakthrough for this exact reason. He didn''t want to go there; he considered that ce a cage for his freedom. He was nning to dy until he turned over 100 years in five years, and then he won''t be eligible for their entry test.
Although he couldn''t escape the fate of going to the other three Demon Institutes. Because it waspulsory for any and every demon in the Royal Demon Nation to go to the three institutes after reaching the 100-year age.
But the other three demon institutes were muchxer with their students than the Royal Demon Institute.
Archie didn''t like to be bound by anything, nor he was ambitious, so he didn''t want to go to the Royal Demon Institute.
He could''ve also just failed the entrance test, but he thought it was a drag and wanted to enjoy himself as much as he could before going to one of the three demon institutes.
His parents also didn''t pursue him since the Royal Demon Institute wasn''t like the other three, and with no grit, Archie would be expelled, which would be a huge disgrace for the Soul Life Demon n.
It would also spell Archie''s exile!
But who would''ve thought his decision would be the exact reason for his downfall instead of free, luxurious life?
Like Ace said, annexing Paul''s memories has be his biggest impediment inpleting his Job Mission.
At that time, he thought little about it since he wasn''t ready toplete the Job Mission.
But after he did, he found out that annexing Paul''s memories wasn''t a good move because he was required to steal a memory that was useful to him.
Finding these kinds of memories could be an enormous problem when you almost know everything about things that were useful to you.
Not only did Ace know about the Royal Demon Instituteyout and library location because Paul was a senior student there, but he also knew about many secrets and famous treasures of the Royal Demon Nation.
It means, besides the location of an elemental orb except for the Lightning Orb, or some truly alluring treasure to Ace, or the location of a Grand Demon Duke n''s treasury, or something rted to his mission, nothing else could help Aceplete this job mission!
After mulling over it for a long time, he concluded that this type of memory would be useful for him and easiest to acquire. Because any aforementioned memories have to be in someone with a status like Paul''s hand.
If he decided to go after them, it might be difficult to find one because these kinds of demons were in the Royal Demon Institute or were very powerful for Ace to handle.
Paul was the special case. That guy was unprepared and caught off guard by Ace, or using soul probing on him won''t be that easy without injuring him.
Lastly, Ace didn''t have time to look for such a target!
That''s why he bet everyone on this memory and was going to find a demon like Archie since this memory would only exist in someone like him.
These demons were easy targets, and Ace could easily ambush them, making quick work without arousing any suspicion.
If Archie turned out to be a dead end, it was still a win situation for Ace because with Archie''s face he can infiltrate the dominant n of Life Demon Tribe, where he could easily find someone with more precious memories.
That was why Ace talked first, to make sure Archie would think about the same thing.
The moment Ace posed the question, ''Soul Probe!''
This time, an extremely thin orange thread shot from Ace''s be like a gust of wind and entered Archie''s be. But unlike a normal instant soul probe, it didn''t shatter.
But the orange soul thread suddenly trembled before it pulled back from Archie''s be, but there was a white wisp on the tip of this orange soul thread!
The moment this white wisp entered Ace''s be,
======
[Host has stolen a memory permanently.]
[Analyzing the memory fragment¡]
======
Ace was extremely thrilled when he saw this notification.
After he analyzed the Psyche Invasion andprehended the [Psyche]w, a new door of possibilities was opened when ites to Psyche and the Knowledge Sea.
Although he didn''t have aplete understanding of the Knowledge Sea, after studying the Psyche Invasion, he had enough understanding of how memories were stored in the Knowledge Sea and the kinds of memories.
Hepletely got the true purpose of that hint he got from the system years ago. ''Memories are like fish in this Knowledge Sea, and if one wanted to fish, they need a Fishing Rod!''
It greatly helped him develop this unique soul line, which works like a fishing line that can pull out memories from the knowledge sea!
However, this ability wasn''t fully developed since he was required to make others think about the memory he wanted to steal and they must think clearly, or this won''t work.
He mused that as long as he could grasp a deeper understanding of [Psyche]w, he could search deep within the knowledge and steal Permanent Memories like a Name!
Right at this moment, the system''s voice sounded again.
======n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
[Analyzingplete!]
-Result:
-Requirement (1): Learn a way to steal an essential memory with an instant soul probe! (Complete)
-Requirement (2): The host cannot use the soul probe continuously to search for an important memory or to steal a memory. (Complete)
-Requirement (3): Target has to be stronger than the Host. (Complete)
-Requirement (4): The host can only try three instant soul probes on one target before the system will deem that target unqualified for the Job Mission. (Complete)
-Requirement (5): The Target mustpletely forget about the memory the host stole. (Complete)
-Requirement (6): The stolen memory had to be something important to the host, or the stolen memory will not count! (Complete)
--
-Final Assessment: Satisfactory!
---
[Job Mission has beenpleted!]
[Continue/Later]
=====
Ace could also see the memory. It was Archie''s memory when he was told about the qualification of entering the Royal Demon Institute, and he was eligible.
Ace was ecstatic when he saw the notification. The impossible job mission was finally over. Then his eyes turned cold as he looked at listless Archie, who lost his will after epting his impending fate.
He coldly uttered, "I''m grateful for your help. Goodbye!"
Chapter 530 Deft Thief
Archie''s entourage stopped in front of a golden, eye-catching building called the Pleasure Pce.
The guard who had been chided by Archie moved with a listless expression to open the carriage door.
However, before he could, Archie''s cold voice rang. "We''re going back."
This order startled the guard because, in his eyes, Archie would never leave this ce aftering here, even if something were to happen in the Grand Demon District.
At this moment, young demons disembarked the carriages behind and approached Archie''s carriage in high spirits.
"Why are you there daydreaming? Fool, open the door for Young Lord Archie!" a ck face demon with a skinny constitution sternly berated.
However, Archie''s icy voice sounded again. "We are going back, and if you don''t hear me, I can cut off your ears since you don''t need them!"
The smiles on the henchmen''s faces immediately faded, reced with the same kind of look that the guard had previously.
The ck face demon''s eyes shimmered with a strange glint as he quickly said, "Don''t you hear? We''re going back. Milord isn''t feeling well!"
Just as they appeared, they quickly embarked on their carriages with bewildered expressions and turned the carriages around.
It also shocked the beautiful demoness wearing a revealing dress who wasing to receive Archie and his henchmen when she saw them leaving.
Inside Archie''s carriage.
Archie sat with an emotionless face before a little smirk emerged all of a sudden.
''This idiot really didn''t know how to appreciate the wealth he inherited. What a pity.'' Ace has an askance look in his eyes.
This Archie was naturally Ace. The real one had be a corpse and was inside a storage ring!
After Ace was done with his mission, he annexed Archie''s entire memories within a few seconds. His soul probing was more powerful after heprehended the [Psyche]w, and the memory fragments were muchrger than before because of it.
Afterward, Ace required Archie''s face, and the Demonic Eater Mask only worked when someone was dead, so even if Ace wanted to, he had to kill Archie, which he didn''t mind!
Now, he was Archie, and he was going to the Grand Demon Estate to start the next phase of his n.
To infiltrate the Royal Demon Institute!
Since Archie was already eligible, he didn''t need to hunt for someone else, it might arouse suspicion if Archie suddenly vanished into thin air.
Ace didn''t want to alert anyone, so he was going to y Archie for a while now like he did with Feng unless something untoward rued!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Now, that sword of Damocles (Job Mission) has been removed from his head, he was rxed and going to take his time inpleting the Chain Mission and finding the Lightning Orb.
But first, ''Let''s see the rewards!''
Ecstatic, Ace started the rewarding process!
======
[Job Mission: Mind Stealing]
-Description: A Heaven''s Stealer can not only steal physical treasures, but a Heaven''s Stealer can also steal the precious mysteries deeply hidden within the mind in an instant!
-Requirement(s): Complete!
-Final Assessment: Satisfactory!
---
-Reward(s):
1. Art of Mind Stealing: Law Cultivation Art
[im?]
2. Thief Symbol Summoning has been unlocked!
[NOTE: Open Thief Symbol in Thief Panel]
3. New Intermediate Thief Rank ''Deft Thief'' has been appointed!
4. New Thief Title has been unlocked!
[Thief Title: Mind Thief]
-Mind Thief: A Thief who had learned the mystery of Mind Stealing!
-Title Effect: Any Memory you steal will have 10% more chances of being the most precious memory in the target''s Knowledge Sea!
---
-Extra Reward(s):
1. Thief Trainee''s Hood has been upgraded to Deft Thief''s Robes
[Deft Thief''s Robes: Grade-3 Runic Treasure]
-Descriptions: A treasure that can only be used with Heavenly-Darkness Qi.
-Ability(s): Defensive Effect (Grade-3), Self-Repair, Self-Sustain, Color Change, 8% Increased in Thief-rted skills.
2. Title [Disciple of Darkness] has been upgraded to [Follower of Darkness]
[Thief Title: Follower of Darkness]
-Title Effect: Able to raise the proficiency of [Skills] & [Cultivation Arts] rted to Darkness by one proficiency level instantly!
======
Ace''s eyes glow like the sun when he saw the extra rewards!
He suddenly felt his Thief''s Trainee Hood, which he was wearing, has undergone a mysterious change, and it felt morefortable and safer.
Although the change wasn''t much, it was still there.
As for the enhancement of the title of the [Disciple of Darkness] to [Follower of Darkness], it was an enormous boon and the most powerful thief tile of all.
Before it was only limited to skills rted to darkness but now, it will even work on cultivation arts!
Ace was about to open his Thief Panel to see the Thief Symbol Summoning ability just unlocked. He was most eager to see this reward.
However, a new notification rang.
=====
[Congrattion Host on entering the level of Intermediate Thief Ranks!]
[The Thievery count section has been reset and rearranged from Beginning Thief Ranks to Intermediate Thief Ranks!]
[Thieveries below Grade 1 will no longer be awarded Thief Points!]
---
[Intermediate Thief Count New Conditions]
-Low-Level Thieveries Count Minimum Requirement: 10,000 Thief Points
-Middle-Level Thieveries Count Minimum Requirement: 100,000 Thief Points
-High-Level Thieveries Count Minimum Requirement: 1,000,000 Thief Points
=====
Ace''s ted expression visibly dimmed when he heard and read the details.
Indignant, he instantly questioned, "System, I can ept not being to earn thief points from items below Grade-1, but resting my previous thievery count is incriminating!"
He clearly remembered that he had over a hundred middle-level thieveries and high-level thievery, but now they were all gone just because of some stupid rank.
How could he not be incredulous and indignant?
"[As an intermediate thief host should show some sublime confidence and stop ndering the system for doing its job!]"
ck lines appeared on Ace''s forehead when he heard this emotionless reply and refuted with spleen, "But you are doing a lousy job by taking my hard earn thievery count!"
However, no reply was given, which made him vexed. But what can he do besides give up?
He knew the system was a rock, and it would never listen to reasons, no matter how much he wasted his breath.
Ace sighed in exasperation and opened the Thief Panel to cheer himself up. He hoped the thief symbol summoning would be worth resting his previous thievery counts.
======
[Thief Panel]
--
[Job [NOT Changeable]: Thief]
[Thief Name: Sky Stealer]
--
[Thief Title(s)]
-Follower of Darkness
[Title Effect: Able to raise the proficiency of [Skills] & [Cultivation Arts] rted to Darkness by one proficiency level instantly!]
-Mind Thief
[Title Effect: Any Memory you steal will have 10% more chances of being the most precious memory in the target''s Knowledge Sea!]
-Famously Infamous (Intermediate)
[Intermediate Stage: Infamous between over 1 Billion lifeforms.]
[Title Effect: Everyone is afraid of your name (Thief Name), and your deeds reverberated like thunder in every corner of thisnd. Your real name (Thief Name) will inflict [7% Fear] in others'' hearts as long as they know about your name (Thief Name) and deeds.]
-Cold Liar (Initial)
[Initial Stage: Made 10 Million Beings (Cultivators Only) wholeheartedly believed your lies!]
[Title Effect: There''s a 5% more chance that people will believe in your liespletely!]
--
[Thief Rank: Deft Thief]
-Thievery Required for next Rank:
Low: 10,000 Thieveries
Middle: 1,000 Thieveries
High: 100 Thieveries
--
[Thief Fame [Host and Symbol]: Worldwide (1-Star)]
--
[Thief Symbol: Dark Owl]
-Summoning Symbol Ability(s): 1 (NEW)
1. Dark Owl Wings (Initial)
-Description: Able to summon Wings of Dark Owl!
-Ability: Fly
-Limit: Thirty Minutes
-Cooldown: 7 Days
[NOTE (1): The Ability can be Upgrade by Thief Symbol Upgradation!]
[NOTE (2): The limitations of ability can be decreased with the host''s increase in realms!]
--
[Job Mission: 1] (NEW)
---
[Thievery Count Section]
-Low-level Thievery(s): 0
-Middle-level Thievery(s): 0
-High-level Thievery(s): 0
======
Ace looked at the Dark Owl Wing''s ability with wide eyes filled with incredulously.
"System! Is that true that I can fly with this ability?!" He quickly asked,pletely forgetting about his previous disapprobation of the system.
"[Only for thirty minutes for now.]"
System rey was in and simple, but it made Ace almost scream with joy.
The ability to fly was every man''s dream, and cultivators weren''t different.
Only a Law Awareness Cultivator can master the ability of low-level aviation, but Ace got it much sooner, albeit for a limited amount of time.
This could make a world of difference when he was escaping, and only Law Awareness Cultivators could chase after him even if he got noticed by the manifestation realm experts.
Ace even wanted to rush outside to try this ability, but controlled his ecstatic heart. But his expression turned stern when he saw there was a new mission in the job panel!
"First, you give me happiness and then bitterness. Asshole!" Ace cursed as he opened the mission with an ugly expression.
No matter what, he has to be ready for the worse.
======
[Job Mission]
-Mission: Intermediate Thief Symbol
-Description: As an Intermediate Thief, it''s essential to have an Intermediate Thief Symbol worthy of an Intermediate Thief''s status!
-Requirement: Imprint the Thief Symbol on the tallest building of the Mighty Demon Continent!
--
[Time: 5 Years]
--
[Reward: Intermediate Thief Symbol]
--
[Mission Fail Punishment: Thief Rank Degradation]
======
Chapter 531 Art Of Mind Stealing
Ace''s expression went grotesque when he read the new job mission and couldn''t help but tutted, "Imprint the Thief Symbol on the tallest building of Mightily Demon Continent?! Just directly tell me to rob the freaking Imperial Pce!"
Ace was indignant by this Job Mission with only a single reward. He clearly knew the tallest building on the demon content was the Demon Temple of the Demon Emperor Domain which exists right in the middle of Imperial Demon Pce!
Furthermore, that ce could only be essed by the Imperial Family''s direct lineage!
This Job Mission was even more difficult than thest chain mission.
However, the system reply came as a surprise to Ace.
"[The mission is to imprint the thief symbol, which means the host didn''t need to steal anything to make the thief symbol appear this time.]"
Ace was baffled and quickly asked, "Then what I''m supposed to do?"
He clearly knew the system mostly controlled the cement of the thief symbol when it came to non-living subjects. It never asked him about where he wanted to put them like living beings.
"[The host is required to stand on top of the building for 10 seconds, and the mission will be deemedplete. However, if the host could steal from the target, it will also deem a missionplete.]"
Ace''s eyes squinted when he heard this. ''Standing on top of the Demon Temple? Although it is much easier, if those demons saw me, they might go mad with rage.
''That ce is considered the foundation ce of the Demon Race, and every Demon Emperor''s crown ceremony is held at that ce, and without it, one can''t be a real demon emperor.
''But stealing the treasures inside the Demon Temple is even more unrealistic since that ce is in the middle of Imperial Demon Pce, the most secure building on this continent.''
Ace fell into deep thought as he considered his options. He had to admit with the dark owl wings, this mission wasn''t as dangerous as he thought. But the problem was entering the imperial ce without alerting anyone.
Even with aerial advantage, the demons won''t be fool enough to leave this kind of weakness in their most sacred ce.
So, he was required to have a deep understanding of the internal structure of the Imperial ce, which also would be a top-secret, and only a few might know about it.
Ace sighed in exasperation and pulled a wry smile. ''Although this mission sounds simple, it''s moreplex than my chain mission. Well, I have five years to figure it out, and I''m about to infiltrate the Royal Demon Institute, which is under the control of the Imperials. It might not be as bad as I''m thinking¡''
Ace''s jittery mind calmed down, and his usual cid demeanor returned. He decided to cross this bridge when the timee, for now, he was going to focus on the matter at hand which was entering the Royal Demon Institute.
He looked outside, and they were still days away from the Grand Duke Estate, so he decided to receive his first reward, the Art of Mind Stealing, anotherw cultivation art like the Soul Words and Dual Shadow Swords!
The next moment, a torrent of information suddenly stormed into his mind, but he remained poised and absorbed the information.
However, even with his powerful knowledge processing ability, it still took him half a day to arrange the entire knowledge, which made Ace a little shocked because he only got memories of three realms out of ten!
The system had sealed the knowledge about seven realms of this technique, which meant Ace wasn''t ready to even look at them, and this technique was extremelyplex!
=====
[Art of Mind Stealing: Psyche Soul-Path Technique]
-Description: A specialw art created by the [??? Heaven''s Stealer] to steal memories from the Knowledge Sea.
-Warning: The power of this technique solely depends onprehension of thews. Please refrain from using this technique on cultivators with powerful souls!
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-Ten Realms of Art of Mind Stealing:
1. Bronze Thievish Hand
Introduction: Ability to steal one Short-Term Memory Permanently
[Restriction: Heavenly Dark Sea Realm & 1% Law of Psyche]
2. Permanent Thievish Bronze Hand
Introduction: Ability to steal the entirety of a Short-Term Memory Permanently
[Restriction: Heavenly Dark Sea Realm & 10% Law of Psyche]
3. Bronze Treasure Hunter
Introduction: Ability to Infiltrate and freely search the surface of the Knowledge Sea for Short-Term Memories of Target
[Restriction: Heavenly Dark Sea Core Realm & 50% Law of Psyche]
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10. ???
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Ace couldn''t help but marvel at this technique and also grimace at the restrictions and the seven seal realms.
''By far, this is the most difficult technique I ever received from the system and with such a high level of restrictions. The Art of Mind Stealing was created by a heaven''s stealer and this technique might be even stronger than an Upper-Sky Breaker cultivation art.
''Well, it''s not my concern for now. I''m not even at the true Bronze Thievish Hand level and stillcking a little. Once I learn about short-term memories and their structure as described in the manual, I''ll truly be at the Bronze Thievish Hand Realm.''
Ace was delighted when he skimped through the details, and he knew he can easily fill the gap in his crude technique and truly enter the bronze thievish hand realm within days.
Furthermore, his soul probe will also be more potent with this technique, which would open a myriad of possibilities for him.
At that time, even someone like Empty Dream won''t be able to mess with him, and he won''t require the system''s help to deal with his tricks either.
Since there were still six days before they reached the Grand Duke Estate, Ace immersed himself in the study of Bronze Thievish Hand before telling those guards to only disturbed him when they reached their destination.
---
Inside thest carriage in Archie''s entourage,
The ck face demon with a skinny constitution sat with a frown on his ugly face as he pondered about something begrudgingly.
''What happened to that wastrel all of a sudden? He was eager toe here and even snuck out of the mansion at night despite being grounded by the Duke.
''Could it be the Duke finally lost his patience with him and used something to force him back? No, that might not be possible, since that benign woman would always shield that wastrel even if he wreaks havoc in the Grand Demon Region.
''Well, I''ll find the answer when he returns. If it is the former case, then I''ll have to report it to the young master¡'' His dark brown eyes shimmered with coldness.
---
On this day,
Ace opened his eyes when he felt the Qi in his surrounding suddenly increase by at least two folds!
He looked outside and saw a beautifulndscape filled with Qi trees and colorful flowers, but the most eye-catching thing was the herb fields spreading as far as eyes could see.
''So, this is the Grand Demon Region''s core district, and the Life Demon Tribe''s headquarters!''
Ace was quite familiar with this view after seeing it in Archie''s memories, but unlike him, he found it rather refreshing and beautiful.
Furthermore, they passed the security check without any hitch, nor did anyone dare to check someone from the Soul Life Demon n unless the Grand Demon Duke gave the order himself.
It made his journey even smoother, and now, only a few miles remained until he reached the Runic Demon Duke Estate, which was where Archie''s family live.
The Runic Demon Duke was none other than the title of Archie''s father.
There was one Grand Demon Duke, and three Demon Dukes in Life Demon Tribes. The Life Demon Tribe was one of the founding tribes of the mighty demon empire, and they had earned huge merits in all these years.
Their tribe was a true pir of the empire, and their position was unshakable unless the imperials lost their mind and decided to exterminate them.
Although the Life Demon Tribe looked harmonized and peaceful from the outside view, but many dangers lurk within the calm region of the Life Grand Demon Region.
Forget about the Grand Demon Duke''s family, thepetition between the three-duke families was immense, and from shadows, they always tried to adverse each other''s paths.
Although Archie never cared about it in the past, he never fought with the others for any special resources or showed any ambitions. But this doesn''t mean he wasn''t under anyone''s radar.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Just his astonishing talent was enough to make many jealous and keep a close eye on his every action.
But Archie had proved in these years that he really didn''t care about his image or anything, in fact. So, the eyes on him were now very few.
However, it was about it change as his carriage stopped outside a vast mansion, and ''Archie'' disembarked the carriage with a faint smirk on his demonic face!
Chapter 532 Runic Demon Duke
As Archie disembarked the carriage, his henchmen quickly appeared one after another and circle around him with concern in their eyes.
There were six demons, and all of them were from the life demon tribe''s different branches.
It was one of the rules of any grand demon duke tribe. The servants of the dominant n must be from the tribe, no outsider was allowed.
Archie has personally chosen these six by rejecting the servants his father chose for him because he didn''t like being spied on by him, and these six were also loyal only to him, and he treated them very well.
"Young Lord, are you already?" The ck face demon was also among them as he asked with concern.
Ace looked at them, especially at the ckface demon. His name was cky, or that''s what Archie used to call him.
This guy was one of the earliest demons who followed Archie, and he considered him like a friend and treated him generously.
Furthermore, cky was also the one who first took Archie to the pleasure pce, and from then on, he became his closest aide, and Archie let him handle almost everything.
However, Ace wasn''t carefree and idiot like Archie, and he could tell when someone was being deceitful when he saw one.
He had long annexed these six memories and wasn''t surprised when he found cky was a spy nted by Archie''s side by another demon duke''s hire of the Soul Life Demon n.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
cky only had one goal: to make sure Archie would never enter the Royal Demon Institute and evenpel him to run away from the Life Grand Demon Region.
The Runic Demon Family was ced second between the three duke families, and Archie has the potential to make them number one. His older brother and younger sister didn''t have his talent, and they were mediocre at best inparison.
It naturally made the number one duke family, the Soul Pill Family felt threaten for their resources and position.
However, Archie waspletely ambitionless and never tried to fight with anyone for their position or show any signs of interest in politics.
In the end, Archie''s threat faded away with time, and it left now only this chance of entering the Royal Demon Institute, which could turn everything around.
This heir of the Soul Pill Family was the same age as Archie, and his talent was only a little bit inferior, and he was going to partake in the uing entrance test this year.
He always looked down on Archie and considered him a fool. He was even jealous of his talent, which waspletely wasted on Archie.
So, he nted cky under him to destroy the little bit of reputation Archie has, and he seeded.
However, now, Archie wasn''t in this world anymore, and someone who he couldn''t even dream of messing with changed him.
Archiempooned with a dangerous smile. "What? Do I need your permission to decide for myself?"
The other henchmen and cky were shocked, since Archie never spoke with them, especially cky like this.
cky felt his heart tremble under Archie''s piercing gaze and quickly lowered his head, "I-I don''t dare."
"Good. Now gentlemen, if you excuse me, I have something to discuss with my old man." Done saying, he left toward the mansion.
"Do you think something happened?" Another burly demon whispered in cky''s ears. He was long bought by cky, so he naturally knew where cky''s loyalty lies.
cky coldly looked at Archie''s back and frowned, "I need to rest!"
As Ace entered thevish runic duke mansion, he was greeted by a blue skin middle-aged demon with a schrly demeanor. He was d in ck butler clothes, and when he looked at Archie; he bowed slightly.
He was clearly waiting for him. Furthermore, he spoke impassively, "Young Lord, Duke summon you for a chat."
"Very well, I was about to go look for him. It''s more convenient this way." Archie merely chuckled and kept moving.
A hint of bewilderment appeared in the butler''s impassive yellow eyes, ''He seems¡ different.'' However, there were no emotions on his face as he followed behind Archie.
Soon, they reached a spacious hallway and at the end of this hallway were silver doors filled with beautiful patterns.
As they closed in, the silver doors suddenly opened, and an imposing voice sounded, "I want to have a moment alone with my son."
The butler naturally stopped hearing this and, without showing any expressions, he left while Archie entered the silver doors.
The interior was quite spacious, and it was filled with bookshelves and rows of books in them. It was the Runic Soul Family''s Library, and the Duke spent most of the time here researching runes.
Archie always hated this ce, since he hated studying the runes.
In the center of this room was a round table filled with many runic patterns and rune-crafting tools.
A demon who could be said to be the exact copy of Archie or the other way around, but he had a more mature face, and his sharp eyes were filled with sophistication, unlike Archie''s callowness.
He was the current Runic Demon Duke of the Runic Soul Demon Family and Archie''s father, Harvey.
However, he wasn''t alone. Beside Harvey was an enticing demoness with a gentle demeanor. Her amber eyes were filled with anxiety and gentleness as they darted between Archie and Harvey. She was Archie''s mother who spoiled him rotten, Ellie.
"Have fun?" Harvey coldly uttered as he sharply looked at Archie with exasperation.
He really had lost all hope for Archie because of his past transgressions and his recent exploit of his noble title. It would be another story if Archie didn''t have any talent, but this was the exact problem.
It hurt even more when he thought about how his debaucher son could''ve changed their family position, but he turned out to be a wastrel. He even med himself for giving too much freedom to Archie, and now it was toote.
This time, he had grounded Archie and told him to break through, or he won''t be allowed to go outside, hoping things might change. But Archie snuck out with someone''s help and this made him furious to no end.
He was going to go after him if hadn''t received the report that Archie didn''t go to the pleasure ce and returned from their doors.
That was why he still didn''t go straight there and beat Archie''s ass, and will listen to his reason first.
Furthermore, his loving wife was the one who gave him the biggest headache, since she would always get in the way with teary eyes whenever he was going to beat this bastard up. He just loved her too much and couldn''t see tears in her eyes, so Archie would also escape.
The biggest reason for Archie''s current mindset was none other than Ellie, who never stopped him from doing anything and supported him. Although she treated her other two children the same, Archie turned out to be different from his siblings.
Ace knew Archie''s rtionship with his parents and they were the biggest hurdle to cross if he wanted to enter the Royal Demon Institute. Because they might sense something amiss if the change was too great, so he had to be convenient.
Harvey was a Soul Embryo Manifestation Realm, as well as a Grade-6 Rune Crafter!
He might be even stronger than any Demon Kings in the eight provinces.
As for Ellie, despite her gentle demeanor, she was a peak tinum soul embryo realm cultivator and only a step away from being in the same rank as Harvey.
This was the biggest difference between the outer continent and the royal zone.
The Title Demon Duke can only be earned after entering the Manifestation Realm!
Archie didn''t speak, but instead released his aura, which filled the entire library!
Harvey''s sharp eyes suddenly went wide when he sensed the aura Archie had just released. While Ellie''s beautiful eyes also shimmered with happiness.
She eximed in surprise, "My baby boy, break into tinum Soul River Core before the age of 100!"
Ace quickly retracted the aura he released with the Thousand-Face Mask he wore under the Demonic Eater Mask.
Archie said with an ashamed smile, "I''m willing to go to the Royal Demon Institute."
Ace wanted to keep this conversation as short as possible. He knew the more he spoke, the more chances he''ll expose some loophole in front of Archie''s parents. Especially his mother. There''s no way she won''t notice any change in her own pampered son.
Although he was confident in his acting skill, he still wasn''tpletely sure if he could fool a caring mother like Ellie.
Harvey suddenlyughed out loud when he heard Archie''s words. He even thought he was dreaming. He always wanted to listen to those exact same words for a long time.
However, he still had to make sure Archie wasn''t doing this just to escape punishment.
Harvey''s eyes suddenly turned as sharp as des as he questioned, "Forget about me, brat, but not only did you hide your true cultivation from your mother, but you wasted god knows how many years hiding it. I want to know what changed it?"
Chapter 533 Forgive Me…
[AN (Wahi): This is the 2nd Bonus Chapter of the 1000 Powerstons, released with the (23-10-2022) release.]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
[3rd Bonus Chapter at 1500]
___________________
Ace felt a powerful soul sense locked on him, and he was prepared for this. With Archie''s personality, he would never agree to go to the Royal Demon Institute.
He had dered it many times whenever Harvey bought this issue up and even had Ellie''s support.
So, now not only did Archie show that his cultivation was at the tinum River Core Realm, but he even stated his wishes to enter the Royal Demon Institute. It naturally aroused Harvey''s suspicion.
However, the good news was, Harvey hadn''t suspected his son was changed entirely. He only suspected that Archie was ying everyone for a fool. Since he can hide his cultivation even from his mother, then he wasn''t a fool or careless as he showed himself to be.
Many decedents of big families y pig to eat the tiger and if Archie was pretending to be a pig, then Harvey would be even more ecstatic.
The thought of someone might''ve reced his son never even rued, not even once.
Although Archie had shown he waszy and ambitionless, if one looks at this carefully, he always kept up his cultivation with his peers of Life Demon Tribes.
It alone was enough to make Ace take this risk, and everyone would think Archie was ying them for a fool because he was afraid something might happen to him.
Now that he revealed his fangs, it meant he was no longer afraid of any kind of threat, and there were only two months before the Royal Demon Institute conducted its annual test like the other three institutes.
Once Archie entered, he would be under the protection of the imperials. No one would dare to try anything within the boundaries of the Royal Demon Institute, and the only danger would Archie face would be from within.
Archie calmly stated with a meaningful smile, "Come on, don''t tell me you still didn''t figure it out, old man."
Harvey''s expression fell when he heard Archie''s familiar tone, while Ellie giggled since she was used to this.
She could sense Harvey was thrilled, so she didn''t bother saying anything. Even she was shocked by her son''s ''nning'' and felt gratified and even more d about supporting him ''secretly''.
Archie calmly said, "I''lly this out for you. As everyone knows about my talent and started feeling threatened by me. So, to make sure I survive, I had to y as a wastrel until I would be sure I can protect myself."
Harvey refuted, "Brat, do you think I''m dead? Who dares to touch you with me here?!" He was feeling furious now when he heard this. It was like his son didn''t have any hope in him.
"I know, I know, although you can protect me in this ce. What about when gatherings or training seasons in the Grand Demon Estate? It''spulsory to go there for the younger generation, no matter what." Archie''s eyes turn cold. "To this day, I had suffered eight assassinations, and if I weren''t hiding my prowess, I would be long dead before you even know what happened!"
Harvey''s expression fell with shock. "What?!"
Ellie was the same, anger appeared on her face for the first time. "Who dared to assassinate my baby boy?! Tell me, Mother will seek justice for you!"
Archie sighed, "See? That''s why I never tell you guys. If you guys knew the perpetrator would be alerted. But since I didn''t tell you, he never knows about it either. So, the best choice was to remain silent and wait for the perpetrator to make a mistake."
Harvey still has killing intent in his eyes. "Who was it?"
He never thought someone would try to assassinate his son in the Grand Demon District, of all the ces!
Just as Archie said, if he had known, he would blow his top and gone there to fight it out with the person who belittles his status. He wasn''t someone to push around while his wife was even more daring than him.
''Theypletely bought it!'' Ace was ted since he exaggerated the assassination attempts.
Although many felt threatened by Archie''s talent, they won''t be foolish enough to try taking his life in the life demon district unless they wanted to incur the Life Grand Demon Duke''s rage.
Everything was allowed except killing the decedent here, and if caught red-handed, they will be dire consequences even for a demon duke family.
Ace just pull up this sham to make Harvey less vignt and turn their focus elsewhere, and he seeded.
Since Archie turned out to be hiding his prowess, and with Ace''s acting abilities, he escaped Harvey''s detection!
Now, he just has to put the names on the table, and these names were all those demons who were keeping a close eye on Archie for years.
He even has cky to make his ims more solid and pull Harvey to his sidepletely. He will then just wait around until he leaves for the entrance test.
Once he was out of there, no one will ever know if Archie was a fake or real and he would be long gone before someone suspected a thing.
Archie coldly stated, "The first attempt was done by Daniel from the Soul Life Family. Second and Third, Lavender from the Runic Smith Duke Family. Reaming five was by that, like punk Lucas from the Soul Pill Family.
"That little punk Lucas even nted his men within my followers. He never thought I would know all of this. Just soul-search cky and Jackleg. They''re both spies nted by that little punk. cky was also the one who broke me out of the mansion."
Harvey''s expression was a little bit pale now. "Are you Daniel from the main family involved?"
Ellie, with teary eyes, couldn''t help but chided Harvey, "You senile, old man! My son suffered so much alone, and you still care about someone else?! He''s right, you''re really grown old!"
She was full of rage and tears for her son, yet Harvey was more worried about Daniel, who had already entered the Royal Demon Institute ten years ago. He was shocked and apprehensive because Daniel was the star of their Life Demon Tribe and the number one genius.
If he was involved, then even if he knew, he really could do anything.
On the contrary, it would be his family who suffered for ndering Daniel without proof.
Hearing his wife calling him a senile old man, he smiled wryly and looked at his son with aplicated look in his eyes. He was gratified to have a son like this who considered his plights. He even med himself for treating him so hashing while he was enduring assassinations all these years.
"I really let you down." He said with guilt.
Even Ace felt that Archie was scum for using his parent''s kindness for many shady things. He never cared about his father''s feelings and was always disrespectful.
He even felt a tingle of guilt for killing their child cold-blooded, but that was only for a fleeting moment. Furthermore, he knew better than anyone. If Archie remained alive, he might be the exact reason for this family''s downfall.
He had already created some cracks in his parent''s rtionship, and Ellie had the biggest hand in it since she just won''t let Harvey punish Archie and make him fearless.
"Heh, if you hadn''t yed along, it won''t look realistic. So, don''t me yourself. I should''vee clean with you a long time ago, but I was stubborn. I hope you''ll forget about all those things I did and said. Likewise, I wasn''t an obedient son to you, but now I''m going to leave, so I want you to know that all I did was out of selfishness, and doesn''t trust you guys enough.
"This creates some unpleasantries in your rtionship, and I can never forgive myself for this.
"Even so, I hope you can forgive me¡ father and mother."
Archie deeply bowed before his parent.
Ace thought they both deserved this much from Archie. Since he didn''t do it, he can do it for them.
The atmosphere turned quite emotional as silence remained for a long time, and only Ellie''s sniffles could be heard asionally¡
---
Ace left after two hours. He was quite skeptical about how Ellie could cry for so long while holding him. But he had no choice but to let her be.
In the end, Harvey was also full of smiles as he promised to do everything in his power to make things even with the other two duke families since those youths could only make moves with someone backing them.
As for the younger generation, ''Archie'' told them he''d deal with them, especially Lucas, who was going to take the exam this year as well.
Harvey instantly agreed since he knew that little punk had only a breakthrough in the diamond river core this year while his son was already a tinum River Core Realm Cultivator. He was even intending to interrogate cky personally.
Ace left after saying he was going into seclusion and will only leave when the time of departure woulde which both demons agreed and even gave me many pills and some core skills to practice.
Now everything was set!
Chapter 534 Executioner Sky Sword
Ace entered Archie''s cultivation chamber and activated every array and formation before he set up his own collection of protective formations.
He was currently in the family of rune crafters so, he couldn''t be too careful.
After he was done, he finally sat on afortable praying mat and looked around. There was a rune crafter workshop, and a Qi pond in this ce, as well.
Ace also felt the soul Qi density in this ce was quite thick, which means there was a soul Qi collecting formation made with Soul Crystals!
Soul Crystals were abundant in Life Demon Tribe, and they even have high-grade five Soul Crystal Sources under their control. Two of them were Grade-5, and one was Grade-6, while the other two were Grade-3 and Grade-4 respectively.
Ace was even tempted to sneak into those ces and absorb their grade-6 soul crystal source and one of their Qi stone veins to make his life less difficult.
However, Archie only knows about a Grade-4 Soul Crystal Source and a Grade-5 Qi stone vein under the Runic Soul Family.
But he might raise many suspicions if an entire source or vein goes dry all of a sudden, so he decided against it. He had to remain neutral as long as he could or things might turn in the wrong direction.
Besides, without an elemental orb, the EXP or SP he could collect from those sources or veins would be wasted, so it wasn''t time to look for them.
He already got millions of soul crystals from Archie''s storage ring, and Harvey gave him more, so he couldn''t be too greedy.
After Ace calmed his mind, he flushed out a white jade scroll which has the ''Sky Sword Manual'' inscribed on its smooth surface.
''I finally have time to study this jade scroll,'' Ace thought with a hint of anticipation.
After he entered the royal zone, he put all this focus on his existing skills and Psyche Invasion because of the unfinished job mission and didn''t touch anything he got from the life demon auction.
Now that he could finally breathe and things were moving smoothly in his preferred direction, he can finally look through the things he got from the auction.
The first thing was naturally this jade scroll, which he only read in legends, and it was rted to the sword on top of it. So, he was somewhat excited since it could help him with his sword path technique if it turned out to be a sky breaker grade skill!
Ace used his Qi to activate the jade scroll, and the next moment, a line appeared in his mind, which made his eyes widen and his heart race.
''Required Element Sword Intent to learn Sky Sword''
Ace nearlyughed out loud when he saw the requirement just to open this thing and finally understood why this jade scroll was present in the auction in the first ce!N?v(el)B\\jnn
''I really picked up a treasure this time!'' Ace was ecstatic and even wanted to thank the person who took out the Sky Sword Manual for the auction.
? If he knew it was from the de Demon King, who wanted to trade it with a high-level sword art for Peter, then no one knows what Ace would think.
Nevertheless, Ace won''t be going to stand on ceremony, and his dark Qi suddenly turned white with a dark sheen as it engulfed the jade scroll.
The next moment, the white jade scroll suddenly trembled before it glowed in a dark hue.
However, no information infiltrates Ace''s knowledge sea, but he felt his consciousness enter this jade scroll at this moment and this new experience astonished him.
''So, this is how a jade scroll store information.'' Ace deemed and read the very first phase of information.
''Sky Sword - by Executioner Sky Sword''
''Executioner Sky Sword, huh? And there''s even a note by this person.'' Ace was quite happy after getting Sky Sword and quite interested in the person who created this technique.
Ace read the small note left by Executioner Sky Sword.
''Executioner Sky Sword: I created the Sky Sword after I entered the realm of Sword Emperor. I don''t know how you got it or from where you got it, but whoever is nning to learn it, a fair warning.
''Don''t Cultivate it if you''re a coward and not a pure sword cultivator!''
''Besides this, if you can open it, this also means you have exceptional talent in the sword''s way, so I''m content as long as you can return this sword art to its former glory.
''I might be dead when you get this Sword Law Art or leave this world, whichever the case might be, I left everything I acquired in my entire life within Sky Sword Realm, and only after passing the inheritance trails of the Sky Sword Realm will you be my true inheritance.
''This Sky Sword Manual is also a key to my inheritance trail and proof of your qualification to enter the Sky Sword Realm.
''Remember, only with nine keys will the Sky Sword Realm appear!''
Ace frowned when he was done reading this entire note left by Executioner Sky Sword and couldn''t help but assumed, ''So, all in all, this guy left everything he collected in a realm name Sky Sword Realm and then scattered these nine jade scrolls, so nine people would find them and then fought with each other for his inheritance.
''He might be a big shot to possess such confidence. He might be on the death door to create his inheritance ground or some enemy might''ve been after him. Whichever the case is, this sounds like trouble, and I have no idea where this Sky Sword Realm is as well.
''I might go there to ''empty'' that ce, but not going to fight with the other eight who have thisw art beside me. So, what if I''m a coward? I''m still going toprehend this sword art!'' Ace scoffed as hepletely took Executioner Sky Sword''s note as a wind.
The Sky Sword Manual was aw cultivation art that inscribed a way tobine Sword Intent with any Element Intent and create a sword core within one''s Martial Space or True Soul.
There were three levels of Sky Sword.
Sky Sword Core Creation, Sky Sword Manifestation, and Sky Sword Crown. Each level has Early, Middle, High, and Perfect proficiencies.
The first level was about how to create a sky sword core within one''s martial space or soul space. The second was to manifest the projection of this sky sword core outside the body. Thest was creating a sword crown that could cover the entire sky!
Despite this exaggeration, Ace didn''t dare to underestimate thisw art and took it extremely seriously.
Before, if he thought that Executioner Sky Sword was a senile old man, now he felt this old man might be a genius among geniuses in the way of the sword.
Although these three levels were simple to describe, when it came to cultivating them, they were asplex as the sky itself.
Not only that, but he mused even a Law Awareness Realm Cultivator might not be able to learn the Early Sky Sword Creation because one required at least 75% mastery over swordw and another elementw infused with swordw.
Acews weren''t even crossed two digits yet, so he was even less qualified to learn Sky Sword.
However, even if Ace has the qualification, he can''t learn thisw art because it was based on a world Qi system which he didn''t follow and he has both True Soul and Martial Space.
Either he can cultivate in system''s techniques or create one himself.
Although he can imitate some simple skills with his different element Qis to fool others, the essence of all his techniques or skills was the Heavenly Qi!
It was probably Ace''s biggest disadvantage beside the heavenly punishment in cultivating with Heavenly Qi.
Nevertheless, he never really cared about this much since he was talented enough to create his own techniques with different references.
This time wasn''t any different. The Sky Sword was extremely exquisite, he wanted to create even strongerw art than the original, and if he seeded. He will have two sky sword cores, and his sword element intent might not be limited to just the shadow element as well!
The Sky Sword has opened a whole new world of swords within Ace''s mind, and his vision was no longer bonded by anything anymore.
''Executioner Sky Sword created this swordw art after bing Sword Emperor, but I''m going to create my version of it being nothing!'' Ace thought as he felt great satisfaction when he thought about the arrogant note left behind by Executioner Sky Sword.
Right when Ace retracted his half-sword intent from the Sky Sword Jade Scroll when he thought he remembered everything. The information about Sky Sword suddenly turned blurry before hepletely forgot about it!
Chapter 535 Cherish Them, Alright?
[AN: Mass Release (5 Chapters) at 25-12-2022! Please try to rank the novel as high as possible!]
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Within a brightly lit room, a handsome young demon has an indignant expression, his brows tightly frowned while looking at the imposing demon standing before him.
"How did this happen will you care to exin?" The middle-aged demon''s emerald eyes went sharper than des as he looked at the young demon.
"Father, as I told you, that bastard had yed everyone for a fool, and I''m a victim here!" The young demon uttered with resentment.
He was none other than Lucas from the Soul Pill Family, and the middle-aged demon in front of him was his father, the me Demon Duke of Life Demon Tribe, Finley.
Finley frowned darkly, "I know that, but the problem is you got caught, and now that annoying Harvey is coercing me with those two goons you sent after Archie!"
He fumed, "That prick Harvey wanted to take advantage of this situation, and he threatened me to go to the tribe lord if I didn''tply. If he didn''t have any proof, I won''t even respond to this threat of his. But the problem is he has evidence, and if he really called out the counsel, you''ll be imprisoned for at least 20 years!
"Now you know what kind of blunder you cause for me?!"
Lucas''s heart palpitated when heard this, and fear surfaced in his eyes.
After Harvey ''knew'' about Archie''s situation, he instantly seized cky, and without any soul search, that coward revealed everything about how Lucas wanted to defame Archie and sabotage him.
Although nothing about the assassination was revealed, Harvey simply thought someone like cky didn''t have the qualification to know about this matter, so he suspected nothing.
Afterward, Harvey didn''t go to the Grand Demon Estate to seek justice for his son. Instead, he decided to bleed the Soul Pill Family.
Although the punishment for all this was very severe and Lucas will also lose his qualification to enter the Royal Demon Institute. But it would be too light a punishment for Lucas.
Since his son said that he would take care of Lucas himself, hepletely believed him now. So, he took this chance to have some payback and settle some score with Finley.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Finley was naturally an old sly fox, and he instantly saw through Harvey''s intentions.
Furthermore, Harvey also didn''t hide the fact that Archie will be going to attend the Royal Demon Institute''s entrance test this year, which took the life demon tribe by storm.
Many thoughts that Archie was pretending to be ambitionless all these years and was finally ready to show his true colors.
Especially the Life Soul Family.
But the most perplexed by this news was none other than Lucas, who almost seeded in ruining Archie, well, not anymore since Archie had turned the tables on him, and now he was on the verge of ruin!
He even felt fear of Archie, who hid too deep and struck when he least expected. It made even his usually calm father lose hisposure.
Lucas''s expressions were now pale when he heard Finley''s words and quickly plead, "Father, please save me! I know I''ve made a mistake, but if I missed this chance, no one will be able to enter the Royal Demon Institute from our family in this generation. While if that little prick Archie got in, he won''t spare us!"
Finley''s eyes went cold. It was also the only thing that was worrying him right now. It was his sore nerve. Before, he also thought that Archie was just a wastrel, but it turned out he was a freaking snake.
Now, he didn''t have time to y any underhanded tricks since it was toote and his son, who have the most chance of entering the Royal Demon Institute, was on the verge of losing his qualification.
He even thought that it was Harvey who orchestrated this whole situation, which made him feel respect and trepidation about the demon whom he always looked down upon because he was a henpecked husband.
He took a deep breath, but his expression was ugly. "Alright, I''ll let that old bastard win this round. But if you dared to fail, don''t bother to return!"
Done saying he left fuming with rage.
Lucas had a massive sigh of relief before his expressions were frosty. "Archie, you fucking prick! I''ll let you know the consequences of threatening me in the entrance test!"
---
At another, an expressionless demon was calmly looking at the reports in his hand as his emerald eyes shimmered in an icy glint.
He mumbles softly, "Archie, o, Archie, you could have a peaceful life and my support in any three demon institutes and would be a great help to your cousin, but you chose the wrong path.
"Don''t me uncle for making things difficult for you. It''s just how the world works¡"
---
Ten days before the entrance exams of four academies,
A light knock rang in Archie''s cultivation chamber.
Ace, who hadn''t left all this time and engrossed himself in the study of Sky Sword, suddenly opened his eyes with a hint of confusion before rity returned to them.
The Jade Scroll in his hand stopped shimmering.
It turned out, thisw art wasn''t like the usual techniques, and he required this jade scroll to continue studying it. He guessed that; it was because this might be how a jade scroll worked, or this technique was simply too high a level for him to remember.
To this day, he always got techniques from systems, evenw arts, but he never encountered this situation.
Nevertheless, since he could ess the technique with this jade scroll, he wasn''t too worried about it either.
But then Ace also found something stranger a few days ago. The part hepletelyprehends didn''t vanish from his knowledge sea even after he closed the jade scroll, which gave him a new understanding ofw arts.
It made Ace even more ecstatic when he found out that all this studying wasn''t for nothing because¡
====
[Law(s): 4]
-Despair (Minor): 2.03%
-Shadow (Minor): 2.05%
-Sword (Minor): 2.06%
-Psyche (Minor): 1.03%
====
His swordwprehension has been increasing by 0.6% just by studying andprehending the tiny portion of the first level, and this gave Ace even more motivation to keep walking on this path. His half-sword intent was also a little bit more powerful now.
Ace didn''t dare to imagine just how far his swordwprehension would increase as long as he kept studying Sky Sword!
All this time, he was searching for something that could increase hiswpression, and he never thought it would simply fall into hisp.
He had even forgotten about the time, as he waspletely engrossed in studying it. If it wasn''t for the knock, he wouldn''t even be awake after a year.
Ace quickly put away the precious sky sword manual jade scroll and quickly collected his formations before he changed his robes'' color to ck.
When he opened the door, he was a beautiful demoness which delicate features waiting for him outside with a resentful expression.
He knew who it was.
"Little sis Sonia, long time no see." Archie smiled teasingly.
Toward his siblings, Archie didn''t have any close feelings, and his rtionship with them was neither severe nor amiable but just simple.
They didn''t get in his way, and neither he poked his nose in their business while his elder brother and little sister have a very close connection.
Archie''s once had the same rtionship with his elder brother and doted on his sister the most, but as his personality changed, he closed himself to his siblings and destroyed his rtionship.
Now, his elder brother was a graduate of Evergreen Demon Institute and a High Runic Elder of the Life Demon Association. While his little sister, Sonia, was fifteen years younger than him, she have only above-average talentpared to him.
Nevertheless, the young demoness was as beautiful as her mother, it was enough to make her the center of attention.
? Sonia frowned slightly when she saw Archie''s amiable smile, which was familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. Thest time he smiled at her was when she was just six to seven years old.
"Hmph, stop pretending. You can fool father and mother, but you can''t fool me!" She harrumphed coldly.
Ace was speechless when he saw the little demoness baring her pristine teeth at him as if she wanted to bite him and smile wryly while cussing Archie.
He knew the most influential because of Archie''s behavior was Sonia since her mother always worried about him and his father had a sore mood.
She was once a cheerful girl and warmed to him, but now she was cold and hated Archie for creating cracks in their parent''s rtionship.
She believed this was Archie''s new scheme to escape punishment and that he would hurt their parents in the end. That''s why she came personally to warn him today.
Ace looked at the little demoness'' cold eyes and solemnly said, "Once I enter the Royal Demon Institute, only you will be here with our parents. I want you to look after them and cherish them. Alright?"
Chapter 536 Whereabouts Of Spirit Fire
Archie''s words baffled Sonia, and she didn''t know how to retort to them.
''Has it been really just a ruse like mom told me?'' She thought indiscreetly.
Nevertheless, she still didn''t buy it so quickly. But as Archie said, if he really entered the Royal Demon Institute, she would be alone with her father and mother and there won''t an Archie who could create trouble, so it was definitely a plus.
Ace didn''t make things awkward and moved on before leaving onest line, "Tell, elder brother, sorry for me as well, if you think it''s worth it."
Sonia squinted before she followed him silently, but didn''t agree or rejected him.
Soon, they reached the main hall, where Harvey, Ellie, and the mansion butler, with his expressionless face, were waiting for them.
Harvey looked at Archie with a content smile. "Brat, it''s time to leave, and I''m going to escort you personally since that old dog Finley will not take it sitting after I made him bleed." He sounds proud and ted after he had a little revenge on his old rival, Finley.
"Hmph, you''re just eating the rewards of my boy''s hardbor." Ellie snorted gently, which made Harvey somewhat embarrassed. He wasn''t a Runic Demon Duke in front of his wife.
After Archie''s revtion, their rtionship had mendedpletely, and they were closer than ever.
Ellie quickly approached Archie with a gentle smile, looked at him from head to toe, and nodded, "My son looks so handsome those high and mighty demonesses will definitely fall head over heels for you."
A tingle of jealousy appeared in Sonia''s eyes when she saw how her father and mother treated his brother despite his past conduct.
Archie smiled and said, "I''m your son, so it''s only natural to have handsome looks."
Ellie chuckled and patted Archie''s head. "You really know how to make me happy. There''s no need to pressure yourself. Even if you fail, there are still more years until you reach the age of 100, so there''s no need to take any risk, alright?" she seriously told with a tingle of worry.
"I promised," Archie promised.
"Alright, let''s go before your mom weeps fountain here." Harvey smiled wryly when he heard his wife instead of encouraging her son was discouraging him.
But deep down, he felt the same, but he was too embarrassed to say it out loud.
After Ellie let go of Archie and gave him a storage ring, both father and son left under Ellie''s teary eyes within a carriage of Runic Demon Duke, and the coachman was the emotionless butler.
"Your sister is still young. Give her some time she''lle around." Harvey spoke at this moment.
How could he not know about the rtion of his children?
Archie smiled bitterly. "I deserved this much, I guess. Even the elder brother doesn''te to bid farewell. I hurt him the most."
Harvey sighed and didn''tment on this. He knew his elder son used to care about Archie the most and always protected him, but when Archie walked on the other path, the person who was hurt the most was his elder son.
"You have indeed taken your act too far, but he still loves you, and if you enter the Royal Demon Institute, every doubt against will be erased. So, do your best." Harvey changed the topic, "I also found something interacting rted to Academia Region this year, and I want to warn you about it."
Ace, who was still pretending to be remorseful, suddenly felt interested in what Harvey discovered.
As a Runic Demon Duke, Harvey has ess to many secrets of the Royal Demon Nation and all the secret information.
Harvey quickly told when he saw Archie was interested, "You should''ve heard about that infamous thief, right?" A hint of coldness appeared in Harvey''s eyes when he said the word ''Thief''.
The Sky Stealer was the Life Demon Tribe''s biggest enemy right now, and everyone hated him, including Harvey.
Ace felt strange when he felt hostility in Harvey''s voice. He didn''t know what Harvey would do if he knew his son was reced by the same thief his tribe hated the most.
But he still yed along since he was interested in this news, which included him, "How could I not know? Almost every demon about him, that guy is like a legend now."
It was Archie''s actual view of Sky Stealer.
Harvey snorted. "He''s indeed a legend now, but so what? He''s still hiding in his rathole, afraid to show his face. It won''t be long before he would be captured unless he jumped into the endless sea. He can''t escape the outer continent this time."
''So, they still think I''m in the eight provinces, huh? Good.'' Ace was secretly d.
Harvey continued, "Anyhow, because of this thief, the three institutes had to cancel their mass recruitment from the outer continent at that time, but they finallyplete it a few months ago."
"I''m curious. Why would they want to recruit those lowly demons from the outer continent? Why now?" Ace was really curious about this exact thing for a long time.
The Demon Gate Trial was an open secret among the Royal Demon Nation, but the reason behind it was still a mystery.
Harvey smiled mysteriously and answered, "Isn''t it obvious? Well, you were still young back then, so you might pay little attention to this matter, but it''s rted to the uing Ancient Allied Gathering between the top three races."
Ace''s eyes shimmered brightly when he heard this. He hade to recollection about the Ancient Allied Gathering from both Paul and Archie''s memories.
Furthermore, he first heard about this gathering from Noa when she told him about the rumors of a realm called ''Fiery Hell Secret Realm'' that might have a Spirit Fire.
At that time, Ace paid little attention to it since he was too far away from the royal zone, and he still made a mental note to investigate it because Noa required a Spirit Fire to progress in her body refinement technique.
As he got memories from demons in the royal zone, he found out that this gathering was called the Ancient Allied Gathering, hosted by three top races of Golden Sky World every hundred years.
This gathering spot was the Fiery Hell Secret Realm, somewhere on the endless sea, and it was filled with precious recourses and astonishing opportunities.
As for the details about how this Fiery Hell Secret Realmes into existence and why only these three races can enter it every hundred years, no one knows the details except for the upper echelon of the three top races.
Ace paid little attention to this matter nor did he have urate information. But judging by Harvey''s tone, it seemed it was quite important since the royal zone vited its rules for the first time and let demons from the outer provinces enter the three demon institutes despite their low bloodlines.
It might as well be a conspiracy!
"How is it connected?" Archie eagerly questioned.
Harvey spoke with a weighty expression, "If you weren''t my son and about to enter the Royal Demon Institute, I would not reveal it to you.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"The next Ancient Allied Gathering is in little over three years. As you might already know the secret realm only opened every hundred years for a few months, and only demons under the age of 100 and cultivation below the soul realm are qualified to enter the Fiery Hell Secret Realm.
"If it was just for resources, then three races only allowed 50 participants for each race to enter the Fiery Hell Secret Realm. However, because of a peerless treasure that emerged in that realm''sst gathering, they can send far more participants, until that treasure is acquired by someone! The exact number is still a secret, though."
Ace suddenly remembered Noa''s words years ago and had a terrible feeling about this.
"What peerless treasure?"
Harvey solemnly said, "A fabled Spirit Fire!"
''So, this Spirit Fire really exists!'' Ace was astonished, but then he worried because, by Harvey''s words, a Spirit Fire sounds quite important to three races.
Harvey continued, "Although only his highness Grand Duke knows about the actual use of Spirit Fire. But from his tone, I presumed if another race acquired it, even devils, they will fight them for it!"
With a grave tone, Harvey revealed, "The selection in the outer provinces was also to choose demons, especially to enter Fiery Hell Secret Realm.
"As for why they didn''t choose every demon from this side, you''ll know if you got selected by the institute and given a seat in the uing Ancient Allied Gathering."
Ace now felt like he had just stumbled upon an enormous secret, and from Harvey''s grave tone, he could sense that even he was afraid to reveal all the details or simply didn''t know, despite his status.
Harvey gravely revealed at this moment with a solemn expression, "I told you all of this because I want you to break into the soul realm as soon as possible after you enter the institute before the gathering selection process starts so they won''t select you!"
Chapter 537 Demonic Academia Region
One of thergest regions of the Royal Demon Nation, the Demonic Academia Region, was closest to the Demon Emperor Domain.
This region was under the management of four Demon Institutes: named, Evergreen Demon Institute, Battle Demon Institute, ck Mountain Demon Institute, and Royal Demon Institute.
These four institutes were under the direct juridical of the Demon Emperor Domain, and non-other have any authority over them and they have the most precious resources in the entire Almighty Demon Empire.
Whether it was resources, skills, or techniques, everything was top-notch.
That''s also what made these institutes so alluring to the demons.
Furthermore, it was also an irondw of the Royal Demon Nation that any young demon who could cultivate had to spend at least fifty years in one of the institutes to learn about different fields they''ll be serving in the future.
No one could overstep this hurdle, even the Grand Demon Tribes.
Not only this will make it almost impossible for a talented demon to escape the empire''s grasp, but those demons without talent also put to use and train in the best fields they''re most suitable in.
Before graduation, the life of a demon was already decided for them!
Only some expectational demons were given the choice to select their path.
But the end result was the same. No matter what they chose, they''ll be serving their empire until theirst breath, and this was also the reason the demons were second in the ranking.
Their ruling system was exceptional, and demons with power were promoted and protected as long as they showed their loyalty and worth.
Every year, the gates of these four demon institutes were opened for recruitment, and thousands of demons applied and entered.
This was also that time of the year when demons from all over the royal demon nation were heading toward one of the four demon institutes they preferred.
The three demon institutes, Evergreen Demon Institute, Battle Demon Institute, and ck Mountain Demon Institute, were almost equal in power, but as their names suggest, they all tech and nurture demons in different fields while having a specialty of their own.
The Evergreen Demon Institute was mostly famous for nurturing the best Rune Crafters, Alchemists, and Runic Smiths.
The Battle Demon Institute was famous for its battle experts.
The ck Mountain Demon Institute was proficient in teaching army tactics and nurturing powerfulmanders.
Lastly, the most prominent was the Royal Demon Institute, which was the dream of every demon because only elites among elites could join this ce and once they entered there, they were set for life.
The Royal Demon Institute has the most powerful inheritance, and every demon who entered this ce and graduated from it was a force of nature.
They had the lowest number of students, but each one of them could crush the top geniuses of the other three demon institutes.
Their entering conditions were extremely harsh, and no one had ever known what they teach there. It was a core secret, and no student would reveal this even after they graduated.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The area of the Royal Demon Institute alone expanded thousands of miles.
The entrance to the Royal Demon Institute was blocked by an immense wall and two gates that were hundreds of meters in pure length.
These gates were known as the Demonic Gates, and no one could cross them without having a special pass or student identity.
Today, these usually closed demonic gates were opened, but a misty barrier still existed to prevent anyone from seeing what was on the other side.
Four imposing demons in pitch-ck attire with golden outlines and a golden symbol of Baphomet''s head on their back were sitting cross-legged around a huge water pool which has a projection in it.
They all looked at the projection in the pool with emotionless eyes.
At this moment, a white skin demon with golden horns and a strange ck rune symbol below his left eye spoke emotionlessly, "Gentlemen, I don''t need to repeat the rules since we do this every year, but I will follow the protocol."
He scanned through the other three and no one spoke, so he continued, "First, as Head Examiners, we''ll remain impartial in our final judgment.
"Second, we''ll not interfere during the entrance test.
"Third, if we caught anyone cheating, even if that person is our kin, capital punishment will be given on the spot.
"Fourth..."
The demon repeated a total of ten odd rules before everyone nodded without showing any disagreement. They had heard these rules thousands of times and now remembered them by heart.
"Alright, since the protocol is out of the way, should we start the first exam?" He asked with a tingle of excitement in his voice.
"Granted!"
"Granted!"
"Granted!"
---
A mile away from the demonic gate, a dark barrier covered the way forward while a few hundred meters away manyvishing carriages were parked.
Many demons from different tribes were gathered around their carriages, and all of these demons have scary auras around them, and ordinary demons won''t even dare to approach them.
They were all waiting quietly outside their carriages, and no one dared to wait inside. It was a courtesy and respect for the Royal Demon Institute.
The young demons standing with their elders were looking around with sharp eyes as if they were measuring each other strength.
Within these demons, Archie stood straight beside Harvey, and behind them was their expressionless butler.
Harvey clicked his tongue andmented softly, "This sure brings back memories. When I was here for the entrance test, there were even more participants. But I, as your father, still crush everyone and earn a spot for myself."
He started to extol himself all of a sudden with a reminisced expression.
"Hmph, felicitations yourself again, Harvey. I guess something never changed." A cold, jeering voice sounded at this moment.
Harvey''s joyful expression instantly fell the moment he heard this voice. He knew who this annoying voice belonged to very well.
Ace also looked around and saw two demons walking over, one young and handsome while his eyes were resentful as he looked at Archie. The other one was middle-aged, and his eyes were cold and astute. They all have the same racial features, which means they were from the life demon tribe.
''The me Demon Duke, Finley, and the youngest son of the Soul Pill Family, Lucas. It''s good that Harvey came with me or they might make things difficult for me.'' Ace thought impassively as he recognized these two from his memories.
Especially Lucas, with whom the real Archie had a very friendly rtionship, and he never thought this guy was the one who wanted to sabotage him the most.
Currently, Lucas''s eyes were filled with hate and malicious intent as he stared at Archie, who made a fool out of him in front of his father.
"Old me, I never thought you woulde here personally." Harvey coldly sneered.
If they were alone, he would''ve called him Old Dog me, but for the sake of their tribe face, they have to give each other some face, or others willugh at them.
Finley coldly chuckled, "And here you are yourself, Little Vey."
Both demons stared at each other coldly, and one could feel the gunpowder in the air.
"Cousin, it''s been a while, hasn''t it?" Lucas pulled a warm yet chilly smile as he greeted Archie.
"Yep,st time we have a great time in the pleasure pce. You even make eight prostitutes beg..."
"YOU... Stop... Stop!" Lucas quickly stopped Archie with a pale expression and quickly looked around, and when he saw no one heard this, he had a massive sigh of relief.
Even Harvey and Finley couldn''t help but look at Archie and what he just mentioned as if he was talking about some random stuff.
Archie had an innocent expression as he shrugged his shoulder. "Why are you all looking at me like that? I was just reminiscing about our good time. ime brother Lucas even showed me this ''Lick the Lit'', he said he saw Big Uncle doing..."
"Stoppppp!"
It was Finley who screamed with a horrified expression and nearlyunched an attack.
Lucas''s face went deadly pale at this moment. He never thought Archie would reveal his dark secrets, which he shared to win his trust so casually. Not only that, he even dragged his father into this, and he could now feel a cold aura from his father, who was looking at him with a death re.
Harvey suddenlyughed out loud, "Lick the Lit?! Hahahaha... Old me, it seemed you''re quite a yer. Come,e teach your old friend this Lick the Lit. We''re all men here. There''s no need to shy."
Finley''s face was deadly pale and gnashed his teeth at this moment when onlookers'' attention was attracted. He really wanted to chop his little bigmouth bastard into a million pieces right now!
At this moment, an imposing voice reverberated in the vicinity, drawing everyone''s attention.
"Gather for the Test of Qualification!"
Chapter 538 Four Grand Demon Tribes
"Gather for the First Test!"
The moment the reverberating voice faded, everyone looked toward the dark barrier because arge gap appeared in it.
Thereupon, two demons wearing ck attire with white outlines appeared.
Their faces were emotionless with a cold aura surrounding them.
The next moment, one of them with dark bronze skin spoke while looking at the crowd, "Participantse forward and formed two queues fifty meters away from this barrier, men on right and women on left!"
The young demons standing along with their seniors didn''t dare to neglect hismand and quickly headed there and started forming queues ording to their gender.
"Go brat, make me proud." Harvey patted Archie''s shoulder with a solemn expression.
Archie bowed toward him before he left.
Finley wanted to beat Lucas, but he knew this wasn''t the time and coldly uttered, "Remembered what I told you, now go!"
Lucas felt like he just escaped a heavy beating and quickly nodded and left after Archie while throwing a vicious re at him for making him humiliated just now.
Harvey teased at this moment, "Lick the Lit, huh? So, tell me, what is it exactly?" He would never miss a chance to take a punch at Finley.
Finley''s expression was dark as charcoal, and he furiously shouted, "Fuck off!"
Soon, two queues formed under everyone''s watchful eyes.
The men''s queue was muchrger than the women''s.
In total there were over two thousand demons and over nine hundred demonesses.
Ace felt every young demon around him was a prodigy since they all were River Core realm experts, and this wasn''t a usual sight one could see in the eight provinces.
Forming a river core was an extremely dangerous process, and the higher level of your river cores the more difficult it was to form and the longer the process.
That''s why it was the threshold that truly separates those with the extraordinary river from the ordinary river.
Right now, everyone here has a Peerless Foundation
The dark-bronze skin demon spoke impassively again, "As everyone knows already, this is the start of this year''s entrance test of the Royal Demon Institute.
"The rules are simple,
"First and most important, no killing is allowed, if caught you''ll be dealt with ording to the institutew.
"Second, no treasures above grade-4 are allowed, and you''ll be eliminated the moment you use any.
"Third, andst, the Royal Demon Institute has absolute power in this test, and noints will be epted!
"Is that clear?"
Everyone already knew these three rules, and no one spoke in rejection. The Royal Demon Institute have a very high status, and offending them was akin to offending the imperials in a sense.
Besides, they were very fair and didn''t conduct any underhanded methods, and they had a reputation to back this im.
At this moment, the second demon with violet skin spoke, "Since no one has any problems let''s begin the first test which is the easiest. The Qualification Test will determine if you qualify for the Royal Demon Institute.
"As everyone can see this ck barrier behind me is a special formation which will only allow entrance to someone with age below 100 years and cultivate of Diamond Extraordinary River Core or higher.
"One by one, a man and a woman will move toward this barrier and try to pass it. If no one has any questions, let''s proceed."
The moment his voice trailed off, the first demons in both lines started to move toward the barrier.
This test was very simple, and they just have to pass this qualification barrier.
Ace looked at the demons passing the barrier one by one without any hitch and wondered, ''My age is only 25. Both masks can fool a grade-6 formation detection so, it won''t be a problem. But I don''t know if that formation is grade-6 or grade-7. Well, as long as it couldn''t tell my actual age, I won''t be rejected since my cultivation is concealed by the system.''
He was in the middle of his queue while in front of him was a skinny demon with a somewhat gloomy aura, and behind was a lion hair demon.
No one seemed to be interested in talking with anyone, but they were all secretly paying attention to anyone who passed that barrier with sharp eyes.
Everyone knew this was just the first test and didn''t matter much, the realpetition will begin on the other side.
Soon, it was Ace''s turn, and to his relief the barrier let him pass like other demons without drawing any attention.
However, when he appeared on the side he was shocked as he saw a gray translucent barrier a hundred meters away. At the end of this barrier, he could see the huge demonic gates which were open wide, but the mist was covering the interior.
Like everyone, he didn''t dare to approach the barrier and stood on the side to wait for this test to be over.
Till now, no demon failed, and it was only natural since, every demon here belonged to a prominent demon tribe, and if they dared to y any tricks and found out, they didn''t have any good ending from the institute as well as their families.
The entire process took half an hour, and everyone passed the qualification barrier.
When thest demon entered the barrier suddenly faded revealing the other side again.
The Royal Demon Institute or in fact any other demon institute didn''t stop any spectators as long as they didn''t interfere in the process.
It was also an opportunity to show off their talent and spread their fame around the nation.
Harvey looked at the translucent barrier and mumbled with a grim expression, "This is where the truepetition will start."
Finley coldly mocked, "I clearly remembered, it took you two years to just pass the second test."
Harvey wasn''t flustered at all and merely sneered, "And you were right beside me, do you forget?"
Finley merely grunted but didn''t retort since it was true. He and Harvey were from the same generation as Archie and Lucas, and unlike them, these two were alwayspeting with each other and at each other throat like rivals.
Inparison, Archie''s life was very peaceful because of his astonishing talent, if he really didn''t ''y'' a fool, his true rival was Daniel from the main family who entered the institute a decade ago, and now he should be a second-grade student.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
But Harvey knew if Archie really tried topete with Daniel then it won''t be Lucas but Daniel who targeted him, and would be a disaster for him.
Now, that Daniel was already far ahead, the main family won''t feel any threat, at least he hoped that was the case.
Nevertheless, he won''t let his son''s talent be suppressed anymore even if he has to sh with the current family head of the main family.
"Oh, I thought I knew these gentlemen from before." At this moment, a jolly voice rang from behind.
Both Harvey and Finley found this voice familiar and looked in this direction and saw a group of eight demonsing toward them. Their aura was not least a bit below theirs which meant they were all demon dukes like them!
Two of them from the Fiery Grand Demon Tribe.
Two from the Poison Wood Grand Demon Tribe.
Four from the Nightmare Grand Demon Tribe.
All of them were either decedents of Grand Demon Dukes or rtives like Harvey and Finley.
The Poison Wood Grand Demon Tribe had the shortest history among four grand duke-level tribes while the Nightmare Grand Demon Tribe was at the same level as the life grand demon tribe.
The Fiery Grand Demon Tribe would ce in third since it was established long after the foundation of the demon empire.
Nevertheless, each tribe had its own special strength and traits.
The life demons and nightmare demons have a friendly rtionship and even business partners of sorts, while the other two weren''t close to these two but still maintain friendly rtions.
The demon who called out to Harvey and Finley was also a Nightmare Demon with a skinny, yet 2.6 tall build, he wore a tight ck attire while his skin was ash pale with white eyes. He put on an amiable smile,pletely different from the identity of the most ruthless grand demon tribe.
Harvey greeted since he knew this nightmare demon, "Ash Duke, I never thought someone from your family was participating in this year''s test."
Ash Duke chuckled, they were all old friends and rivals and were graduates from the same institute.
He replied, "Runic Duke, you also didn''t tell me your son was going to participate this year, so we''re even in a sense."
At this moment, a gorgeous emerald skin demoness with ck antelope horns coldly chuckled and made a jeering remark, "Your son is quite a character, unlike you."
Harvey looked at the demoness coldly and without holding back tutted, "Your mouth is still as poisonous as even ck Duke. But my son is still not interesting as your little cousin, Paul."
ck Duke''s expression went rigid when Paul''s name was mentioned, he was like a sour spot for the Poison Wood Grand Demon Tribe, and no one dared to mention him in front of Poison Wood Grand Demon Tribe unless they didn''t have Harvey''s status.
"Alright, the second round is about to start, stop quibbling." The Fiery Demon impassively reminded!
Chapter 539 Martial & Soul Radiations
The two demons in the institute attire stood in front of the gray translucent barrier and looked at the young demons.
The dark bronze face demon spoke, "Since everyone passed the qualification test. It means everyone is eligible to enter the institute. But being eligible doesn''t mean everyone can enter. Without the strength and ability to adapt, it''s impossible to join the Royal Demon Institute.
"Now, we''re going to test your strength, both physical and mental, which is also the second test, the Demonic Pathway Test. As everyone can see the barrier behind me, it''s a formation called the Mind Breaking Demonic Path.
"If any of you think this test is unfair because you''re a Soul Cultivator or Martial Cultivator, then you should leave now and save yourself the humiliation."
He coldly said, "Although we differ in the path of cultivation in Soul and Martial, it didn''t mean you''ll cry unfair if the conditions were not optimal for you. If an enemy happened to a strong marital cultivator while you''re only a weak soul cultivator, do you think he''ll listen to your plight and spare you?
"The answer is no!
"In this world, either you''re strong or weak, and that''s how the world works. If you believe there''s fairness in this world, then leave now." He coldly scanned through the crowd, and no one dared to speak.
Instead of feeling humiliated or angry, the young demons had this resolute expression and a me burn in their eyes.
The onlookers with powerful backgrounds also nodded after hearing this speech. This demon said nothing wrong.
"This test is equally unfair to the soul and marital cultivators, but if you preserved, and have the will to reach the top, you''ll pass it like your predecessors, or you can go home like those underdogs." He menacingly uttered.
"Now, let''s begin the test. I''m going to exin only once, not again, so listen carefully.
"Anyone who entered the field of Mind Breaking Demonic Path, which is five hundred meters long, will feel the pressure of 1-Point Martial Radiation physically and 1-Point Soul Radiation mentally.
"If no one knows what Martial Radiation and Soul Radiation are, I''ll exin it generally. You''ll learn more about it once you enter the institute.
"The Soul Radiation and Marital Radiation is actually made by us cultivators when we refined pure Martial or Soul Qi between heaven and earth.
"The small amount of the Soul Radiation and Martial Radiation are normally harmless, and the world''s nature also purified them the moment they were released into the atmosphere.
"However, if these radiations cross a certain threshold, for example, 1-Point where you can see it with the naked eye like behind me, it would be extremely harmful to cultivators of Foundation Realm. If the density increased up to 10-Point, even the manifest realm expert will only survive for a month in that kind of environment.
"And don''t even think for a second that special formations are the only way to collect these radiations because the endless sea is filled with these radiations and the maximum numbers to this record are up to 19-Point!
"Even the radiations behind you were also collected from a region of the endless sea. So, I advise you to give up if you''re not confident. These radiations have different effects on different individuals." The demon scanned the young demons. They were still fearless.
He suddenly smiled, which sent chills down everyone''s spine for some reason, while those seniors watching behind smiled wryly as they all thought, ''Here it''se.''
"Oh, I forget to mention that with every hundred meters you cross, the density of the radiations will increase by a single Point, which means if you want to pass the test you have to cross 5-Point Radiations.
"Lastly, no external treasures are allowed in this test. If detecting use, you''ll be eliminated with a fifty years entrance test cklist plenty. So, try at your own risk.
"Now, let''s start the test. You can move as you wish, but there''s also a six-hour time limit. At the end of this time limit, whoever still does not cross the Mind-Breaking Demonic Path will fail this year.
"The six-hour time limit starts now!"
The young demons looked toward the gray barrier with some fear now, because this test wasn''t as easy as it seemed.
The Soul and Martial Radiations together were a deadlybination, and exposure to these radiations for a long time was extremely fatal, especially when it reached the 5-Point density.
One had to know that the Qi density around them at this moment was between 7-Point and 8-Point, and each point was a massive leap on its own.
When the Qi density reached 10-Point or higher, it turned into a faint mist while Qi clouds were formed at 15-Point Qi density. This Qi density didn''t exist naturally in this world.
But the radiation did, and unlike the Qi, the Radiation was harmful and fatal for cultivators and all living things.
If the Radiation present in the deeper parts of the Endless Sea one day stirred and moved in the ten continents'' direction, it would be a cmity for everyone.
That''s why monitoring the Endless Sea was so important, especially the parts with radiation.
Nevertheless, with special barriers and pure Qi, this radiation can be ignored, but only if you have an endless supply of Qi, or the moment the radiation eats away the Qi, it''s a game over.
Anyhow, these demons were also alerted about these radiations, so they naturally knew about it, and the usage of treasures wasn''t allowed either.
As for quickly crossing it with speed, it was even more impossible because the denser the radiations, the more Qi it will take to protect from it. The soul and martial radiations had different effects.
Unless they cultivate in both paths, they will be going to be effective by either of these radiations.
While everyone was still thinking about how they should proceed, Ace looked at the gray barrier with great interest.
Unlike everyone, he didn''t feel any kind of threat from the mist at all. The concept of Marital and Soul Radiations was only known to people like Paul and the royal demon nation,
However, when Ace found the memories of radiations, he was intrigued and wanted to see if this could affect him or not.
Because of the heavenly Qi, there was hardly any Qi that could make him suffer or threaten him.
But these radiations seemed to be not one of those things, at least at the 1-Point level.
At this moment, a demon with ash-pale skin moved from the crowd with an emotionless, demonic face. Everyone knew it was a demon from the Ash Family of the Nightmare Demon n.
The Ash Duke, who was watching, chuckled with pride. "That''s my little brat. I hope he won''t embarrass me by walking first."
Everyone rolled their eyes, he was clearly mocking them.
Since the nightmare demon n moved, how could the decedent of the other three grand demon ns remain standing?
Everyone knew every year this entrance test was also a silentpetition between the four grand demon ns and it was watched by everyone.
Although most of the demons present were branches of these four grand demon tribes, no one paid attention to them, since they weren''t from the dominant n. Unless a prodigy appeared in their ns who could enter the Royal Demon Institute, no one would pay them any heed.
Although these branches of these four demon tribes also nurtured many talents every year, it has been almost a hundred years since any of their decedents ever managed to pass the entrance test and sessfully enrolled in the royal demon institute.
Nevertheless, these tribes stille every year and have their excellent decedent try until they cross the qualification limit of the royal demon institute. Only then they will join the other three demon institutes.
Just as everyone thought, five more youths moved, and they were from the fiery demon n, followed by three poison wood demons and six more nightmare demons.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Lucas also proceeded at this moment while ncing at Archie provokingly. He said nothing, though. He knew they were both representing their n right now, and their rivalry or grudge didn''t matter.
They can settle the score when they enter the institute, they will have fifty years. But right now, if they humiliate their n in front of branch ns, it would not bid well for anyone.
Ace naturally knew this and cared little about it. He was thinking about something else.
''Should I draw attention to myself or not?'' He mused seriously. ''If I did, I would gain high-ranking demons'' attentions, and someone with enough authority to know about the treasury might take me as a personal student.
''But this could also end up drawing the attention of the Principal, which I don''t want. That guy will easily see through my disguise with his high cultivation base.
''Although the Royal Demon Institute''s Principal is known as an ascetic and seldom makes public appearances, I can''t afford to draw his attention without a high-level disguise treasure which can fool a Law Awareness Realm expertpletely!''
Chapter 540 A Fool Or Trickster? (1)
Everyone moved from the four grand demon ns, except Archie, who was still looking at the gray barrier.
Finley couldn''t help but snickered, "It seemed little nephew still have some misgiving. I wonder if he tricked you again this time?"
Harvey coldly snorted, but didn''t reply and looked at his son''s back with confidence. He had sworn he would not doubt his son again and would support him in any way possible.
Finally, Archie moved as he walked toward the gray barrier with an impassive look on his face.
Everyone looked at the descendants of the four grand demon ns with great interest. They knew the show was about to begin.
But those branch ns didn''t want to stay out of the limelight. So some of them who were extremely confident also moved forward while most of them decided to wait and observe.
There''s still a six-hour time limit, and they also didn''t want to enter between the fight of the four grand demon ns.
"Fellow peers, how about we bet who will cross this barrier first?" At this moment, an emerald skin demoness with a charming figure and gorgeous appearance expressed in her crisp voice. She was a Poison Wood Demon.
? "I''m not interested in ying your little game." The nightmare demon youth with a stony expression sneered before he entered the barrier, and other nightmare demons followed suit.
"Heh, y your dirty tricks on someone else." The fiery demon sneered disdainfully and entered the barrier.
Lucas didn''t even look and entered the barrier with an aloof expression.
The Poison Wood Demoness squinted her eyes when she saw no one took the bait well except for one demon who was looking at her with a gentle smile. It was Archie!
Archie said with a smile, "I''ll take that bet if you''re not afraid, that is."
Everyone looked at Archie as if he was a fool.
Because everyone knew the Poison Wood Demon n was famous for its poison art and charm art. They were dreaded by everyone because the target won''t even know when they were poisoned or charmed by them until it was toote.
So, no one dared to talk with them without their guards up, much less get close to them.
But this soul life demon was talking with this poison wood demoness who seemed to be proficient in charm arts like it was nothing. They all thought he must be an idiot with a weakness of beautiful things.
"Hehe, I told you, your son is more interesting than you." The ck Duke giggled when she saw Archie dare to talk with her daughter.
Harvey frowned. ''What the hell is this brat doing? Could it be his mentality has been decreased by going to the pleasure ce?''
The demoness''s name was Nancy, ck Demon Duke''s youngest daughter, and she was as poisonous and cunning as her mother.
Nancy was startled for a moment when she heard Archie before she smiled charmingly. "I ept. This way, it would be more fun, right?" While talking, she was already close to Archie and was about to hold his hand.
Everyone thought Archie would at least couldn''t let her touch him, but to their surprise, Archie didn''t show any sign of resistance and let her hold his hand, which left even Nancy somewhat baffled.
''Is he a retard?'' She thought with uncertainty.
Well, she wasn''t alone with such a thought.
"Hahaha, little nephew sure knows how to treat ady." Finley couldn''t help butugh out loud, and the pressure he felt from Archie suddenly vanished.
''That brat is really a fool and had not been part of the previous scheme, and all of it was Harvey.'' He believed.
Even the emotionless Dark Fire Duke of Fiery Demon n couldn''t help butment, "It seemed he was already charmed."
Ash Duke nodded, saying nothing, and merely nced at Harvey with some pity.
Harvey was now really worried.
Archie replied as he held Nancy''s hand with both hands as if he waspletely head over heels for her and said, "If I win you have to be my girlfriend, and if I lose, I''ll do three things for you without any hesitation."
The other two male poison wood demons also felt this guy was a retard, and was going to suffer big time under their cousin''s hands.
Others might not know, but they knew Nancy was extremely proficient in charm arts, and with her beautiful appearance and seductive figure she had many admirers, but even they won''t dare to approach her or let her approached like this, afraid to unknowingly be her puppets, or get poison.
Nancy smiled charmingly and quickly agreed, "Big bro, the bet is on. Now I''m going first. Will you please give me a head start of half an hour, please?" She looked pitiful.
"Sure, sure, I don''t want you to say to me, I cheated, so go, go." Archie agreed without even thinking as if he would do anything for Nancy.
"ck Duke, tell your daughter to stop that charm art, and I''ll owe you a favor!" Harvey gritted his teeth as he saw Archie sitting down while waving at Nancy like a fool.
He wasn''t worried about the humiliation but worried that Nancy might''ve done something with his mind which would harm him in the radiations. He can''t interfere, or Harvey would be cklisted.
Harvey had no choice but to look for ck Duke, who he loathed, but he didn''t mind owning her a favor for his son''s sake.
However, ck Duke coldly smiled and rejected with no hesitation, "Don''t worry, since your son has a crush on my little Nancy, she won''t mistreat him. We shouldn''t suppress our youngsters'' feelings as parents."
The other poison wood demons behind ck Duke also had wintry smiles on their faces. Since Harvey dared to use Paul to taunt them, they were feeling quite great that now a Poison Wood Demon charmed Archie.
"She''s right, you shouldn''t interfere in your son''s ''love affair."
Finley won''t let this chance go to get back at Harvey after what he did and Archie was also being disrespectful to him before, so he wanted to teach that little brat a lesson.
The others remain silent.
A thick vein popped on Harvey''s forehead, and he really wanted to attack both ck Duke and Finely, but he knew it would spell trouble if he did anything in royal demon institute territory.
Many young demons disdainfully looked at Archie sitting outside the barrier with a big smile on his face as he watched Nancy''s back with flowers in his eyes.
Even those two invigtors didn''t bother to hide their contempt. In their eyes, Archie was as good as failed with this kind of mentality.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Lucas alsough inwardly when he saw Archie getting ''charmed'' by Nancy. He didn''t think it would be so easy to get rid of Archie, and he didn''t even have to do anything at all.
Half an hour passed in a sh,
At this moment, almost a hundred demons were inside the formation, and at the number one spot was the nightmare demon youth named Charles, the son of Ash Duke.
Followed by another nightmare demon, Bobby, and then Dark Fire Duke''s son, Hugo, Nancy, Lucas, and the remaining demons of the four grand demon ns.
They were at the three hundred meters mark and halfway toward the four hundred meters. But their speed was quite slow, and they were all saving their Qi for the five-hundred-meter mark.
That was their true battlefield.
At this moment, Archie, who didn''t make a suddenly stood up with a smile on his face.
Many merely nce at him and then ignore him. They all thought he was going to make a fool of himself when he entered the formation and soon be eliminated. There''s no way someone who was under charm arts can endure soul radiation.
Harvey was looking worriedly at him and wanted to drag him back, but remained standing and let him get eliminated on his own.
''I''ll have to train his mental fortitude this year so he won''t fail next year.'' He thought and already started making ns.
At this moment, Archie looked at the two invigtors and asked with a polite smile, "What is the record of crossing this test?"
The dark bronze skin demon coldly answered, "It is enough for someone like you never be able to break it."
The others also smirked disdainfully.
Archie, on the other hand, shrugged his shoulder. "I guess you''re right."
Done saying, Archie suddenly charged into the formation with a protective green Qi barrier around him.
The violet skin demon chuckled mockingly at this moment, "What an ignorant moron. He''ll exhaust his soul Qi before he even reached the 3-Point radiation, and soon he''ll be screaming for help."
Soon, Archie crossed the 100-meter mark with no hitch, and his speed didn''t decrease at all.
"At least he''ll fail with some dignity." Finley chuckled when he saw Archie''s suicide charge.
No one thought he was sane anymore.
However, when Archie crossed the 200-meter mark in a minute and almost caught up to the group at the very front, everyone''s expression changed!
Chapter 541 A Fool Or Trickster? (2)
No one thought Archie would cross the two-hundred mark in two minutes, but it is possible if one exhausted their Qi.
However, when he entered the 3-Point radiation level, his speed should decrease with his Qi before the radiation would surround him.
But not only his speed remained the same, but the smirk on his face never vanished. It was like he was taking a hike.
When he almost caught up to the front group without breaking any sweat, someone couldn''t help but call out in doubt, "Is he using a high-grade treasure?"
Everyone looked at the invigtors with doubt. They all wanted the answer to this exact question.
This question snapped the dark bronze skin demon out of his stupor. He also felt Archie was using some kind of treasure.
But when he thought about the chief examiners watching the test, he knew it was impossible to escape theirs or the formation detection unless someone was using a grade-7 concealment treasure which was almost impossible.
Because above grade-6, treasures were personally handled by the Grand Demon Duke level figures. Moreover, those treasures were quite special because they could only be used by at least a quasiw-awareness realm expert.
So, Archie was a diamond river core cultivator who didn''t have the means to use one even if someone lent him one or he had those grade-7 Qi stones which were extremely precious in Royal Demon Nation.
"Don''t doubt the credibility of the test. No one can cheat here, and if anyone uses again, I''ll have to ask everyone to leave." He coldly answered before turning his focus to Archie.
He suddenly thought about what Archie asked before he entered, and his heart trembled, ''Was he ying to be a fool before?''
Many have the same thought, but it still has to be seen, since Archie was still only halfway.
At this moment, other demons of the grand duke n saw Archie crossing them, and he even waved at them with an amiable smile that left them dumbfounded.
"H-he?! How!"
Someone eximed when identifying who this demon was.
"Cousin, why are you so slow?"
Lucas, who was focusing on preserving his Qi, heard a jolly yet scornful voice from behind and nearly loss controlled.
Then Archie appeared beside him smilingly, "What''s up?"
It dumbfounded Lucas before he gritted his teeth and shouted, "You tricked me again?!"
Archie didn''t answer and merely smiled. He continued to run at this pace.
At this time, Nancy saw Archie appearing beside her like a ghost and yelped, "Y-YOU!?"
She clearly remembered she imbued some untraceable poison in Archie''s hand which should''ve infiltrated his skin and then meridians, causing Qi deviation within thirty minutes.
She heard about Archie from her mother, and she told her to get rid of this little punk if she got the chance. But she never thought it would be so easy.
But now, it seemed Archie wasn''t affected by her charm or poison, which made her feel fear of this smiling young demon who seemed to be innocuous.
"Don''t forget our bet, or I''ll make sure to skin you alive and then add you into my ''pretty skin collection'', alright?" Archie smiled amiably as if he just said something trivial, but Nancy felt chills down her spine, and she even wanted to escape right now.
This guy wasn''t a fool at all, he was a malicious trickster, and now she had fallen into his trap!
Before she could utter a word, Archie''s speed suddenly increased while his foolish smile vanished from his face, and it turned cold, and he left somewhat scared Nancy behind.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Soon, he crossed Hugo, Bobby, and Charles without mocking them or saying anything, as if he wasn''t interested in them or they weren''t worth his time.
Charles''s expressionless face finally showed an expression of shock when he saw Archie speeding up on them, even after giving them half an hour''s advantage.
He was an extremely prideful person, and he loved topete with others. He never thought someone like Archie would stimte his fighting spirit so soon in this contest.
Without caring about anything, he also stopped saving his Qi and chased Archie!
"Hahahaha¡ that brat even got his old man worried about a moment. I''ll beat his ass once I see him." Harvey suddenlyughed out loud,pletely different from his gloomy self a moment ago.
When he saw his son crossing everyone within minutes without even being influenced by the radiation or Qi exhaustion and mocking those arrogant brats in the process, he felt like he was dreaming.
But he was d he wasn''t, and his anxiety turned into pride when he saw his son at the very front.
''That brat has really be a trickster with all these years of lying. Even I can''t tell when he''s lying or telling the truth. Well, I don''t have to worry about him being deceived by others.'' Harvey was gratified.
Finley and ck Duke, on the other hand, have hideous expressions on their faces when they saw Archie was pretending all along.
Furthermore, he had given half an hour''s handicap to everyone, which means from the start, he never considered anyone his match and was confident of winning the first spot.
This kind of person was extremely dangerous, and hard to get rid of.
"It seemed like Charles had found this match this year." Ash Duke meaningfullyment, but his eyes were somewhat forlorn, ''This is troublesome.''
At this moment, Archie finally crossed the 3-Point radiation field and entered the 4-Point radiation field, and soon Charles followed suit.
However, Charles''s expression was somewhat pale and went paler when he felt the 4-star radiation and quickly slowed down. But unlike him, Archie was still maintaining his speed without breaking a sweat.
''Just how much Qi he has and his willpower is even more ridiculous!? But it still made little sense, since the martial radiation should at least affect his body. Could it be he had already formed a grade-5 body?!'' He thought with a grim expression.
Archie was a soul cultivator, so soul radiation being unaffected by him could still be understood, but what about martial radiation?
Unless he had a grade-5 demon body, but this pressure should at least slow him down.
Albeit, it was unheard of for a demon to have a 5-grade body in the river core realm because the pain and potency of the grade-5 medicines were enough to tear apart a river core cultivator unless they were emotionless madmen.
Those two invigtors'' eyes also squinted when they saw Archie still moving unhindered in the 4-Point radiation field. It only happened thousands of years ago when a peerless genius from the Imperial Family appeared.
At this moment,
The four old demons were looking at Archie inside the pool projection with shining eyes.
"It seemed we have an interesting one this year." An old demon with golden skin and ck tiger-like stripesmented with great interest.
"Merely a demon with some willpower. He''s not a peerless seed." An old ck demon whose height was only 2 feet, which was quite a rare sight among demons, coldly spoke.
"But willpower is key to soul path Old Imp. How about letting this brat enter my Soul Combatant House? He''s a soul-life demon, and from his records, he''s a cunning one." At this moment, the white skin demon with golden horns and a strange ck rune symbol below his left eye proposed.
"Hehe, Brother Ampersand, isn''t it too soon for us to divide the new students? Let''s wait before he passed thest test. Besides, this brat has an unusual resistance toward radiation, arge reserve of Qi, and an impish mind. He would bloom in my Soul Assassin House."
A tall demon with ghost-like empty eyes and ash-ck skin smile meaningfully. If one looks carefully, there wasn''t anything in his mouth, and it waspletely pitch ck!
Ampersand merely nced at this ghostly demon and emotionlessly looked at Archie, who had already crossed the into 5-Point radiation field and still looked the same.
"Well, as Brother Bodach stated, it still depended on the student which house he''ll choose after passing the entrance test. Let''s not force choices on them."
The two demons remain silent. They knew Archie wasn''t suitable for their houses because he was a soul cultivator, so they could only let these two old demons fight for him.
But it still remained to be seen if he could pass thest test.
At this moment, Archie finally crossed the barrier without breaking any sweat, and the four demons looked with different lights in their demonic eyes.
"If we counted individual time, he took to cross the demonic pathway. It''s a new record, and it''s more difficult to break than the old one.
"But if we counted the time from the start to end, the record wasn''t broken, which will also not reward with any Royal Points." Ampersand impassively looked at the three,
"Let''s vote on this. I acknowledge this new record!"
Chapter 542 You Have A Good Son
Ace looked at the demonic gates that were now only a hundred meters away from him with a meaningful look. He could feel the dreadful feeling from that fog inside.
''If I had tried to enter with other means, I might have been detected. This ce is not simple, and this mission is going to be a deadly one if I act recklessly,'' He mused gravely.
''Now that I showed my unusual resistance toward the radiation andrge Qi reserve, they might start to observe me. But it isn''t enough to draw the attention of the principal.
''Only thest test remained, and it''s always random every year. I just need to pass it at first, and this should be enough to enter a bigwig''s good book. As for that demoness, she made things even easier by approaching me and giving me the chance to act and...''
Ace smiled deviously as he looked toward the other side. He could see the demons were still struggling in the 3-Point radiation field while Charles was still far from the halfway point in the 4-Point radiation field.
However, the audience''s focus was on Archie as they looked at him with disbelief because he passed the entire field too fast, and it might be a new record. But it remained to be seen if the institute acknowledged his record because he wasted half an hour.
Nevertheless, in everyone''s eyes, Archie was already a terrifying youth and had the highest chance of entering the institute.
"You have a good son, Runic Duke." The Dark Fire Duke congratted impassively at this moment.
Harvey had a gratified smile as he looked at his son standing alone at the finishing point. He nodded, "Indeed."
He finally understood why Archie was so confident in passing and taking care of Lucas.
''He''s still hiding his actual prowess. But where did he get the body refinement technique of 5th grade? The main n would never give it away to Archie, and he needed a Grade-5 alchemist as well. Or he passed this test with sheer willpower and Qi? I have to ask that brat,'' Harvey thought.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
He knew the body refinement technique of Grade-5 and Grade-6 were in Life Grand Demon Duke''s hand, and he won''t give it away without any good reason, or at least he won''t give it to Archie.
That''s why he didn''t believe Archie had a grade-5 body. He clearly remembered Archie only cultivates a grade-1 body and then never touched the body refinement technique. Because he was afraid of pain, and he never pushed him either since it will do more harm than good if it was forced.
But he was no longer sure anymore, the hidden library where all the precious techniques and skills of Runic Soul n were open for Archie, and he could learn anything.
Finley also looked grim at this moment. He never thought Archie had hidden himself this deep, and from his performance, it was clear Lucas wasn''t his match.
''If he entered the Royal Demon Institute now, even if the main n finds Archie a thorn and a threat, they won''t be able to touch him anymore. Only from the inside could they do anything.
''But with his astonishing performance, he might also draw the attention of a housemaster and be his personal student. Once that happened, the harm they could do to Archie would be even minimum. This is bad.'' He frowned grimly as a killing intent appeared in his eyes.
"Old Dog, don''t even think about it anymore. Just wait patiently for the next family rankingpetition. Let''s see who can maintain their NO.1 family spot anymore." Harvey coldly dered while ring at Finley.
He could sense the killing intent, but he wasn''t worried anymore.
After Archie entered the institute, Finley couldn''t do anything but pull his hair in frustration. On the contrary, he should be worried about Lucas, who was Archie''s target, and he might not even make it to the institute.
Finley coldly red at Harvey, "It''s still too early for you to celebrate!"
The others listen to them but remain silent.
They also had the same kind ofpetition in their ns, and thepletion was fierce. The rivalry between the duke ns of the four Grand Demon Tribes wasn''t rare at all.
The only ones who weren''t feeling good about this situation were the Poison Wood Demons, especially the ck Duke.
She deliberately wanted to make Archie suffer so she could collect some old debt from Harvey, but she never thought that; Archie was even harder to deal with than Harvey.
At least Harvey could still be predicted, but Archie appeared predictable, but he wasn''t, and this would force others to think if they saw through him or not.
Now Nancy had provoked him, and it seemed he had deliberately let her do it as well. No one knows what will he do next if Nancy doesn''t remain true to her word.
An hour passed, and almost all the participants were now inside the Mind Breaking Demonic Path, and Charles had just entered the 5-Point radiation field while the others behind him were still in the 4-Point radiation field.
Everyone understood just how terrifying Mind Breaking Demonic Path was and they looked at the young demon who was sitting on the other side calmly with more trepidation.
Archie hadpleted this test like it was a breeze, but it wasn''t the case, and this also proved there wasn''t anything wrong with the formation, but Archie was just too resilient.
Two more hours passed by, and only two hours left before the time runs out.
At this moment, Charles finally stepped outside with an ashen expression on his stony face, but there wasn''t any joy about appearing second in his eyes but shock as he looked at expressionless Archie.
Although he knew there was a gap between him and Archie, the gap was so big he didn''t even want to believe it. His pride as an outstanding youth in his n was wounded.
But he still won''t admit defeat since there was still thest test.
Even though Archie had arger Qi reserve and more resilience toward the radiations, it didn''t mean he was good at fighting as well.
Charles nodded in acknowledgment toward Archie without saying another word and sat down cross-legged a few meters away from him to recover.
Ace meaningfully looked at Charles, ''The Nightmare Demon n is famous for their Assassination Abilities, and this Charles is from their first Duke n and hiding his true strength. So, he should have their core knowledge.
''Now that his mind is exhausted, it would be easy to get the memories. It mighte in handy as a reference, and Noa can directly learn them. There''s also the charm and poison techniques from Paul that are not useful for me, but useful for the house members.
''As for Archie, he had core knowledge of Runic Soul n''s Rune Crafting up to Grade-6. Should I create a library in the thief''s house space, with all the useful knowledge I have?''
Ace couldn''t help but thought before he used a soul probe on Charles.
He was extremely interested in abilities that were rted to the path of darkness and could be used as references for future use.
As for his house members, they could use them directly and learn faster, but it was a very cumbersome task to record his memories in a text.
But the Jad Scroll gave him some insight into this because it can record knowledge directly from the knowledge sea, so he decided to search for its creation method before recording important memories into a jade scroll and then making a library in the thief''s house.
As for the lost jade scroll formtion method, he knew better than anyone that nothing was truly lost, and one just had to have the will to find them.
Charles did not know that all the core secrets of his n and his memories were being annexed by someone.
Ace also nning to absorb the Fiery Demon''s memories as well.
This way, he would have all the core knowledge of four grand duke demon ns, including the secret knowledge of Poison Wood n.
Paul was a direct descendant of a Grand Demon Duke, so he naturally had more knowledge and core secrets of the Poison Wood n than family members like Harvey or Ash Duke.
As time passed and the deadline approached, the young demons started to panic, which made it even more challenging to move forward.
After Charles, his cousin Bobby appeared, and after greeting Archie, he sat behind his cousin to recover.
Surprisingly, the next one who appeared was Lucas with a pale face. He threw a hateful nce at Archie before he started to recover.
Ace looked at Lucas meaningfully. ''This guy is hiding something.''
The next was Hugo with a somewhat ugly expression as he looked at Lucas, but he didn''t say anything and also nodded at Archie and picked a ce to rest.
After fifteen minutes, Nancy appeared with the other two poison wood demons. It seemed she was waiting for them so they coulde out together. She was afraid of Archie after encountering him and hearing his appalling words.
However, Archiepletely ignored the other two and smiled coldly, which made Nancy aghast!
Chapter 543 Hunter Mania (1)
Under Archie''s devious re, Nancy felt uneasy while the other looked at them with hrity.
Everyone wanted to see what Archie would do now, and no one scoffed at him anymore because of the bet he made with Nancy at the very start.
"I guess it''s my win," Archie said with a gentle smile while looking at Nancy.
Nancy suppressed the uneasiness in her heart and forced out a coquettish smile on her pale face. "Big brother, how about you let me rest first before I''ll be your girlfriend?"
Her Qi was almost exhausted, and she was also feeling some effects of the radiation. She knew if Archie decided to y any trick, she wouldn''t be able to defend herself.
The institute won''t intervene in this matter as long as Archie won''t get caught doing anything, just like she did.
Now, she even regretted approaching Archie and making a bet with this deviant. If she had known Archie was merely pretending to be a fool to set a trap for her, she would never open her wily mouth.
''If he used soul attack, I''ll just use the treasure mother gave me and then expose him and make him eliminate.'' She thought.
However, to everyone''s surprise, Archie merely shed a smile and nodded, "Alright, I''m not in a hurry, but don''t let me wait for long or you should know about my pretty skin collection."
Nancy felt slightly chill when she thought about what Archie said when he passed her, but the smile on her face didn''t vanish, and she quickly agreed, "Of course, a bet is a bet."
? Afterward, she sat far away from Archie with the other two poison wood demons who were also vignt of Archie.
Many were thinking Archie was again nning something, but they didn''t know what. Yet, they knew Nancy was going to suffer this time around. Almost all of them gloated at poison wood demons'' bad luck to provoke that astute fellow.
Usually, it would be the Poison Wood Demons who were ying dirty tricks and sneakily attacking others, but now the table had suddenly turned by a life demon.
"I hope you remembered what you said at the start of this test?" Harvey suddenly looked at ck Duke with a gloating smile.
In the past, this bitch had once tried to seduce him in front of Ellie and spout many lies which resulted in him beating the shit out of ck Duke, and if not for a life-saving talisman, she would''ve died by his hand that day.
Nevertheless, the hatred and grudge between these two still exist.
But when ites to ying tricks, ck Duke is far superior to Harvey while she would never fight with Harvey because he is much stronger than her, she learned the hard way.
This time wasn''t different. She almost got her revenge by using Archie, but he never thought his son would turn the table so easily.
Now, he was going to do the same as ck Duke and provoke her without any restraint.
ck Duke coldly said, "Hmph, don''t forget this is the Royal Demon Institute. If that little deviant took action out of the rules, you''ll be the first one who cries."
Harvey smiled mockingly. "Heh, do you still think my brat is inferior to your little slut when ites to mind games?"
"Mind your tongue!" ck Duke gnashed her teeth and suppressed her urge to attack Harvey.
"What? Did I say anything wrong? A whore''s daughter is naturally a slut." Harvey coldly uttered without holding back. He wanted her to attack him here and suffer the consequences.
ck Duke felt like she was getting provoked too easily today, while Harvey was more restrained from the past. In the end, she covered her ears with Qi and pretended Harvey didn''t exist.
Harvey didn''t mind and merely shed a victory smile before he nced at Finley meaningfully.
Finley was also feeling quite frustrated, but he had no way to vent it.
Time passed, and when thest second of six hours passed,
The dark bronze skin demon coldly dered, "The Demonic Pathway Test had reached the conclusion, and anyone who didn''t manage to cross to the other side had failed!"
As his voice trailed off, the gray formation suddenly started to fade before the effective area returned to normal. Many demons were panting heavily, with pale faces at this moment.
Out of three thousand contestants, only 68 passed the test, which didn''te as a surprise because it was a normal asion in the Royal Demon Institute''s annual entrance test.
There were even cases when no demon passed the second test at all.
"Those who failed please return and try next year." The violet skin demon dered with a scornful tone, and then he looked at the other side, "As for those who passed this test, you have only 1 hour before thest test will start, whether you recover or not."
Those contestants didn''t dare to neglect this grace period, and they quickly recovered because one hour was quite short.
Even those participants of the four grand demon ns weren''t different and paid little attention.
Ace pretended to be in meditation, and didn''t make any move. He didn''t want to show that he didn''t exhaust any Qi while doing that stunt at the start, or it would be more ridiculous to have this amount of Qi.
One hour passed in a sh,
The dark bronze face demon coldly looked at everyone while standing right in front of the demonic gates and loudly said, "Alright, gather!"
The young demons finally opened their eyes and unwillingly gathered together.
There were 52 males and 16 females among these contestants.
"This is thest test, and like every year, we only have 10 seats open to grab, no more, no less. Despite ten seats, it''s been many years since all ten seats were filled in an annual test. So, I would rmend giving it your all." The violet skin demon dered.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The dark bronze skin demon nodded in agreement and spoke, "Now, moving toward thest test, which will be random like every year. This year''s test is¡ Hunter Mania."
"They''re sure are ruthless to have Hunter Mania this year." The Ash Duke clicked his tongue with indignation.
"There might not be a single winner this year." The Dark Fire Duke''s expression was also somewhat perplexed.
Harvey didn''tment, but a hint of worry shed past his eyes as he looked at Archie''s back.
The contestants'' faces went also pale because they knew what this Hunter Mania was. It was one of the hardest final test themes of the Royal Demon Institute!
The violet skin demon smiled coldly and said, "I would exin the rules of the Hunter Mania, which are extremely simple.
"Everyone here will be given a special Hunter Badge to wear all the time. Remember, you can''t take it off nor hide it, or store it in any storage space treasure. If anyone vited these rules, they will be eliminated from Hunter Mania.
"Afterward, you will enter the misty swamp behind the demonic gates, which will be your location for Hunter Mania.
"All you have to do is to gather at least five hunter badges of your opponents to pass the hunter mania test. As for how to gather them, I think I don''t need to state the obvious, but I still tell you, ''By any means possible!"
The violet skin demon coldly dered, "The moment the badge leaves your person, you''ll be eliminated from the fight for ten entry seats. However, this doesn''t mean you''ll bepletely out from the Hunter Mania."
The bronze skin demon spoke at this moment, "Those who lost their entrance qualification can still snatch others'' hunter badges and also make them lose their qualification.
"Now, if someone has any questions rted to the Hunter Mania Test, speak."
Everyone took a deep breath of cold air because this Hunter Mania was really as ruthless as it was described in legends, and from many records, in every hunter mania, someone seldomly passed.
Because those who lost their badges could band together and make others lose their qualification as an act of revenge.
It makes this event ruthless, and these demons are all pitiful to encounter it this year.
At this moment, a hand was raised, and it was none other than Archie, who had this amiable smile on his face, unlike everyone else, as if he wasn''t afraid of this test.
The violet skin demon''s expression softened a bit when he saw it was Archie. He no longer looked down at him. He nodded, "Speak."
Archie nodded and politely asked, "Is killing allowed?"
Everyone''s faces turned ashen and looked at Archie, who was still smiling, and felt this guy really had a knack for stirring others.
The violet skin demon''s eyes narrowed slightly, he replied, "If the other party is stubborn and doesn''t surrender their hunter badge, then the idental killing will not vite the first rule of the entrance test. But if someone surrenders or hands over their hunter badge peacefully and you still stuck a killing blow or tried to kill them, it would vite the first rule."
Archie nodded in understanding before he asked something. "What if we kill someone before they can even speak or react? I mean, with a single hit or sneak attack¡!"
Chapter 544 Hunter Mania (2)
"What if we kill someone before he/she could even speak, I mean, with a single hit or sneak attack?
"Please don''t take me wrong, but if we dered our presence beforehand, it would alert the other party, and they would, of course, fight, then hand over their badges peacefully.
"Furthermore, if the other party is powerful, then sneak attacks will be the most obvious method and practical method. Then, if someone died because of that sneak attack or someone is quite weak to not even take a single attack, they will die at that time as well.
"Besides, since the loser can still join the fray and eliminate me by joining with other losers, I won''t hesitate to kill them the moment I get the chance without giving them a chance to cry surrender.
"It''s a far better option than leaving behind such a danger, right everyone?"
Archie looked at everyone with a smile as he asked the obvious.
But everyone didn''t have his smile. They were all looking at Archie with unfriendly, distant gazes. This guy was simply stating that he killed them the moment he had the chance and won''t give them a chance for survival.
"Your son sure is bold Runic Duke, but I like his style." The Dark Fire Duke said with a smile.
"He just stated the facts. We might do the same in such a scenario. Killing those hidden dangers is more effective than sparing them and then waiting for them to get back for revenge. But he''s also putting a target on himself." Archie''s boldness also impressed Ash Duke.
"Hmph, it might be his scheme. It would be far easier if otherse to him than finding them in the misty swamp. Or he was simply scaring everyone, so they avoid any conflict with him or hand over their badges for fear of dying. But it''s difficult to intimidate everyone with few words." A Poison Wood Demon scoffed.
Harvey didn''t retort and merely stated, "But the person who said this is someone who just broke a record, so it might have some effect."
The violet skin demon looked at Archie with a somewhat strange gaze as he said, "I already said my piece. As long as you kill someone who wanted to surrender, you will vite the first rule.
"But if someone surrendered and wanted to have his/her revenge on you, then it''s still debatable to look at it in another way.
"I hope this will answer the question regarding killing. Anyone else has any questions?"
Bobby suddenly asked, "You said the moment we took off our badges, we will be eliminated. What if no one eliminates us but we took off our badges and throw them away or hide them somewhere, or even destroyed them?
"Will it consider a normal elimination and that hidden badge count as a point as well or in case we destroyed it will still affect the total points pool?"
The violet skin demon smiled, "Interesting question. If you take off your badge on your own ord, then hide it somewhere. You will still consider a normal elimination without viting any rules.
"But if a contestant with an intact badge found that badge, it will still give them a point.
"As for destroying it, it will naturally reduce from hunter badge total number and no one can get it afterward."
Everyone looked at each other with different thoughts, and some frowned.
ording to this demon, if they all destroy their badges, then no one could pass this year''s test. While if they destroy their badges after getting beaten by someone and before they took them from them and then surrendered, it would also mean they would decrease the chances of others passing the test.
However, when these thoughts came to their minds, they all looked at Archie, who was smiling even more deeply at this moment.N?v(el)B\\jnn
They all felt chills suddenly because now everyone will go after each other''s lives since they won''t take a chance to let others destroy their badges.
Did he predict all this?
They all couldn''t help but think about it.
But one thing was sure, now this test was far more dangerous, and escaping with their life would be even more difficult if they made a mistake or didn''t surrender in time.
Yet, no one was willing to back off aftering this far.
Afterward, no more questions were asked, but everyone was more vignt of the others. Especially the demons from grand demon ns who passed the test first.
"Alright, since no one has any more questions, let''s start the Hunter Mania. This test willst for ten days.
"Now, I''ll hand over the hunter badges to everyone, and afterward you may enter the demonic gate behind me, and you''ll all appear in the misty swamp.
"To make it fair and interesting, after you get your badge, you''ll give a one-hour grace period. In this one hour, no one can attack you or snatch your badges." The dark bronze skin demon dered.
The next moment, he waved his sleeve, and many streaks shot toward the contestants'' chests.
Thereupon, a ck triangle badge with a glowing golden ruin appeared on everyone''s robes. It was the hunter''s badge.
But no one tried to take it off yet.
"The demonic gate is open!" An imposing voice reverberated through the vicinity at this moment.
The thick mist surrounding the demonic gate suddenly turned green at this moment.
"Go, now the one hour has started!" The violet skin demon solemnly dered.
No one hesitated anymore, and they quickly headed toward the demonic gates of the Royal Demon Institute.
Ace didn''t try to show off anymore and also entered the green mist, which didn''t give him any more rming feeling. He could sense this mist was some kind of location-changing formation, and these demonic gates might be more extraordinary than he thought.
After passing the green mist, he suddenly stepped into a liquid and when he saw around, he was in the middle of a vast swamp with everyone else. A light green mist also filled the air.
This mist was also poisonous, but it wasn''t enough to affect river core cultivators like the participants.
Everyone first activated a treasure before they all ran in a different direction without stopping. They all wanted to hide and found different locations before the hunting began.
No one wanted to stay close to anyone since everyone was an enemy.
Ace smiled, seeing everyone scattering in different directions. He also took out a grade-four concealing cloak and does as everyone else did. He didn''t want to use his heartless stealth, if not necessarily here, or it might draw some unwanted attention.
Although he could simply say he awakened this stealth ability with his high-level grade body, as a soul life demon, he knew it was impossible to awake a stealth-type ability.
The life demon tribe''s innate elements were all rted to life and nature, and very few life demons had other elements than these categories.
Archie''s element was soul wood, and Ace was using his soul earth element to put up an appearance of soul wood element because their colors were the same.
As long as someone didn''t pay attention to his Qi structure, no one would know its real element. Even Harvey suspected nothing.
But if someone questions him, he could always say he had two elements that were rare but not impossible. That''s why he wasn''t too worried about this matter.
Lastly, he can''t show his half-sword intent, or it would be too different from the real Archie.
No matter how much of a genius he wasprehending a weapon, the intent wasn''t something anyone could learn unless they were peerless geniuses which Ace didn''t want to be.
Furthermore, Archie practiced Runic Archery, which was an Upper-Sky Rank Art of the Runic Family, which used the Bow and Qi Arrow.
Most of the soul cultivators practice archery since they do not have powerful bodies.
This art''s first level, Qi Arrow, was easy to replicate since its function was like his soul bullet. While the reaming three parts wereplicated, Ace could replicate them with some time.
However, he didn''t have time to replicate them here, so he was going to use his thievish soul cord as well.
No one could connect this treasure Sky Stealer and there were many kinds of treasures like the thievish soul cord so that it won''t draw any attention.
Despite it being grade-6, it was a treasure from the system and used heavenly Qi as a medium, so those formations won''t be able to detect its actual rank at all.
---
The four demons were also looking at the pool projection, which now had different views of different demons.
Old Imp looked at the young demons, who were moving in different directions, and said with a frown, "I don''t think over two or three will pass this test."
Ampersand looked at Archie''s projection and smiled, "Whoever can pass the Hunter Mania have a very high chance of having Grade-7 talent, and this year''s batch is rather interesting. So, it might surprise us this year!"
Chapter 545 Hunter Mania (3)
It had been six hours since the Hunter Mania had started, and contestants had entered the misty swamp.
Outside the demonic gates, arge projection appeared, which showed some contestants to the spectators.
It was also to show the institute was impartial and any kind of judgment will be fair and unbiased.
Everyone was watching closely the movements of the young demons and up till now no onees face to face with anyone and most of them were hiding instead of wandering.
The four grand demon ns were also paying close attention without speaking.
"That''s why thispetition is so difficult to pass. Most of the time, everyone just hides with concealment treasures. Even their martial or soul senses can''t see through those treasures." The Ash Duke sighed ruefully.
Everyone agreed with him, and they had somewhat ugly expressions because their descendants might not pass this year''s test.
Finley, on the other hand, was happy with this new development because if Archie didn''t enter the Royal Demon Institute this year, then he would have had an entire year to get rid of him.
This time, even the main n might aid in this, which will make it even easier.
"Look, that life demon is moving close to where another participant is hiding. He didn''t even use his concealment treasure and walked without any care in the world. Do you think he got ambushed by him, after all that talk?" Someone from the branch ns crowd eximed, drawing everyone''s attention to Archie''s projection.
Harvey looked with a hint of worry as Archie was getting in someone else range, and Archie just wore his concealment cloak like a normal cloak. He didn''t even activate it as if he wanted others to attack him!
---
Ace move unarmed in the swamp without showing any difort or worry.
''I''m being observed, so doing anything out of the ordinary would not be a wise choice. I could only pretend to walk aimlessly towards a participant and then act.''
Ace could vaguely sense the hidden Qi undtion in this ce, and he reckoned that it was filled with monitoring formation arrays. So, he didn''t want to do anything that a life demon couldn''t.
So, he decided to walk without concealing himself, and if someone attacked him, he could use his ''superior cultivation'' to overpower the other party.
While the truth was, those concealment treasures weren''t enough to hide from his soul sense.
Furthermore, Ace also discovered that this swamp was like a small maze, and it was onlyrge enough to give contestants some space to hide. But they can''t leave the area, and eventually, they wille in contact with someone.
It also gave him some insight into just how advanced the Royal Demon Institute''s formation arrays were, and this was just the entrance. He didn''t dare to imagine just how advanced the formation arrays would be at the core of this ce.
At this moment, Ace''s lips curled slightly. ''He took the bait.''
He could feel the other party''s martial sense locked on him, and he was under the impression that his martial sense was concealed with a treasure, and Archie had no idea that he was already been discovered.
As the distance between them got closer and closer, he was still moving closer to Archie.
Thereupon, when Archie was passing by a swamp tree, a shadow suddenly shed toward him from above, and a sharp de was going to pierce through Archie''s head. It was a clear killing blow, and the other party had no intention of sparing his target!
Just as he was a few meters away before his sneak attack would connect, Archie''s jeering voice rang. "Your killing intent gives you away. Now can be on your way."
Archie''s sudden response startled the attacker, but strangely, he didn''t move a muscle, which made the attacker think Archie was bluffing.
However, the very next moment thereafter, paper talismans started appearing over Archie''s head, forming a small web.
The attacker instantly saw through the famous talisman web of the Runic Soul Demon n, and he knew the other party was a descendant of the Grand Life Soul Demon n!
He knew if he touched this talisman web, it would be akin to death. He quickly blurted, "Wait¡ I¡!"
However, it was already toote. The talisman web suddenly shimmered, and ''Boom'', an enormous st, sounded in the vicinity!
Archie finally looked toward the charred body that fell not far away and walk over.
Although the body was intact since the demon managed to activate a defensive treasure at thest moment, a collective explosion of 18 high-grade-3 talismans wasn''t a joke either.
It was a surprise that this demon was still alive.
He weakling tried to utter with great difficulty, "I¡ su¡"
"Not happening!"
The next moment, 6-feet-long runic white bow appeared in Archie''s hand and he pulled the string before the green runes on the bow lit up and a vivid green Qi arrow formed which was ethereal. It was an arrow made with soul Qi.
He let go of the string and the arrow shed into the demon''s head, killing him before he could surrender!
All of this took only just two seconds!
Ace''s eyes narrowed slightly as he held the bow in his hand. ''Why was that feeling?''
Just as Ace drew the bow, he felt a strange feeling as if he could shoot down anything from anywhere. But that feeling was fleeting, and it vanished as fast as it appeared.
Furthermore, he never tried archery before, but his reaction speed while using a bow and arrow was extremely fast, as well as his aim. It was like he was practicing it for years.
''Could it be because of the memories I annexed that''s why I gain mastery of Archie''s archery as well?'' Ace mused, and he wanted to try other weapons as well to see if it was true or not.
Because getting memories and getting the entire mastery over weapons were two different things.
Nevertheless, it was the time or ce to check his hypothesis, so Ace collected the hunter badge, which was intact even after enduring that explosion.
He also took the storage ring, but he didn''t leave the area and hid within the tree crown, and waits for someone toe.
That explosion will draw someone''s attention, and they mighte here to see if they might fish in troubled waters.
But they would be falling into Ace''s trap and give him a chance to experiment with archery more and collect more badges.
---
Outside, the area waspletely silent as everyone saw how Archie killed the demon with little trouble and a cyan skin demon in the crowd had a pale expression.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
He was the father of the deceased demon and was from the branch n of the nightmare demons, but he couldn''t even curse after his son''s death and could only endure.
Because everyone saw his son was the one who had gone for the kill, and if he uttered anyints, even the main n of nightmare demons wouldn''t help him no matter what.
On the other side, the Dark Fire Duke''s eyes narrowed as he looked at Harvey meaningfully. "It seems Archie''s soul sense is much more powerful than a diamond river core cultivator."
Everyone had grave expressions since they thought the same, but kept their mouth shut since hiding cultivation was amon thing.
Harvey also kept quiet about it, but he was no longer worried about Archie and waspletely rxed. He knew Archie was a tinum soul river core cultivator, and it was bound toe out eventually.
He even shed a mocking smile at Finley, who seemed as if as had swallowed a flea.
At this moment, everyone saw a fiery demon slowly creep toward where Archie was hiding and couldn''t help but shot that pitiful fellow a rueful gaze.
If Archie''s soul sense was really at the tinum level, then without a grade-5 treasure, it was impossible topletely hide Qi fluctuation unless they were in the same cultivation realm.
The demon was extremely vignt, but just as he was fifty meters away from the explosion''s location. They all saw Archie suddenly pull the string, make an arc, and a soul arrow manifested.
The next moment, he let go, and the arrow headed toward the hidden demon''s head.
However, it wasn''t the end, but within a second, he again pulled the string and shot another arrow, and in five seconds, Archie had shot ten arrows in session!
It just proved that his cultivation was above the Diamond Doul River Core Cultivation Realm!
The hidden demon didn''t discover those iing arrows because of the mist until they were ten meters away from him, and it was already toote.
Before he could react, the arrow pierced through his throat, and the next nine arrowsnded all over his face, making it a horrible sight to see. Another one was dead!
Ace appeared again, holding his bow and collected the badge and storage ring with a cold smirk on his face, and left the vicinity this time to search for more targets to practice his archery, which he found delightful all of a sudden!
Chapter 546 Movement In Thief’s Space!
On the fifth day of Hunter Mania,
In these past four days, out of 68 contestants, 22 had been already eliminated, and 14 out of 22 were dead!
However, the more astonishing news was out of these 14, Archie had killed 5 of them within two days andpleted his quota of five badges per person.
The remaining nine were divided among Charles (2), Bobby, (1), Lucas (1), Hugo (2), Nancy (1), another fiery demon (1), and a demon from the poison wood demon n (1).
The four demons around the projection pool haven''t moved for a moment and scrutinized the contestants.
Bodach looked at Archie''s projection. He was currentlyying on top of a treezily,pletely concealed within a formation and his concealment cloak.
He couldn''t help butment with a chuckle, "Do you guys also think that this challenge seemed a child''s y to this brat?"
Old Imp frowned and said in exasperation, "Hmph, he''s just lucky to encounter those idiots with inferior cultivation. They can''t even ambush someone who was so recklessly walking around, they deserved to die!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The demon tiger strips chortled. "You and I both know it wasn''t the case, Old Imp, so stop denying it and ept it. We have a genius soul cultivator joining our institute this year."
Bodach nodded with a meaningful smile on his empty mouth, "Don''t worry if he joined my Soul Assassin House. I''ll make sure he won''t tease those pups in your Martial Arts House."
"Hmph, who said I''m afraid of a pesky soul cultivator?!" Old Imp retorted muffledly.
Everyone smiled when they heard this, but they didn''t tease Old Imp anymore. They were all old friends and often pulled each other legs.
Ampersand smiled before he said while looking at Archie, "Alright, enough joking for the day. This little brat is not bad. He had perception and a calm mentality with astute decision-making.
"From his personal records in Secret Royals, we all know how he lived his life in the Life Grand Demon Region. Which made it quite clear he was someone who like to hide until he got the chance to attack and finish everything in one fell swoop.
"Furthermore, his archery skills are above average, but he can improve with good guidance. So, ¡" He looked at Bodach and asked, "Tell me, Brother Bodach, do you want to take him as a personal student?"
Bodach thought for a moment before he said, "I''ll let Old Fifth take him as a personal student in Special Grade-1. I want to see if he could break into the soul realm before he reached 100 years and then shift him into Core Grade-1 to myself.
"Although his personality and deceitfulness are very much to my liking, he''s still not talented enough to enter the Core Grade and be my personal student.
"Even if I ept him, those brats from the direct bloodline of Awareness Realm might try to suppress him. But if he entered the soul realm before the age of 100, then he''s worthy of fighting for the best resources of our institute."
Everyone couldn''t help but nod at Bodach''s approach regarding Archie.
Everyone knew there were four types of sses in the Royal Demon Institute, Ordinary, Extraordinary, Special, and Core, with five grades. Each gradests for 10 years.
Although every student in the royal demon institute was at the top of their generation, the students in the Core Grade ss were considered geniuses among geniuses of the Demon Race.
Furthermore, the number of students in Core Grade sses wasn''t even two digits, and each of these students had at least a 30% extra chance than their peers to break into the Law-Awareness Realm.
At their graduation, a core grade student was appointed in the Demon Emperor Domain to further nurturement.
If they managed to enter the Law-Awareness Realm within five thousand years, they will be granted the title of Grand Demon Duke and could start their own tribes if they wanted.
That''s why the students in Core Grand sses were arrogant and won''t ept someone who they deemed inferior, and they might suppress them secretly, extinguishing their future.
That was why, without sufficient strength, it would do more harm than good to send someone who has a chance to be a core grade student to a core grade ss.
The Special Grade ss was a much better choice. That ce was also for the elites, andpetition there was fierce as well. But it was a perfect ce to send an immature core-grade seed and see if it really could bloom there or get crushed.
It was amon method used by the Royal Demon Institute to test these immature core grade seeds, and if they can''t even handle the pressure of special grade sses, then they only amount for this much.
Although Archie''s mentality was like those in the core grade sses, his straight was stillcking inparison.
Ampersand also agreed with Bodach''s opinion, eyes shimmered with ambiguity as he said, "If he chose my Soul Combatant House, I''ll also ce him in Special ss. But unlike Brother Bodach, I think he''s more of a kind who thrives under pressure, and if we wanted to turn him into a core grade seed, it needs a different approach."
"Oh? It seems brother Ampersand had something in mind." Bodach questioned, and others also looked at him with interest.
Ampersand nodded and said, "Let him include in the team of Fiery Hell Secret Realm from our institute. That ce is filled with opportunity, and this might help him break into the soul realm."
"This?" The others were startled by this proposal.
Although the Fiery Hell Secret Realm was indeed filled with opportunities, it was a perfect ce to nurture talent. But this expedition wasn''t like the past anymore, and those who were going inside might lose their lives.
"He''s cunning enough to survive in that environment, and sending him to a special ss will only waste his talent and time.
"We should allocate him to the expedition team directly that was going to form in the Imperial Domain in one month.
"If he broke into the soul realm within three years under that pressure, then there''s no need to do anything, and we''ll ept him in the core grade ss," Ampersand said matter-of-factly.
Bodach fell into deep thought, while the two didn''t remark, since it didn''t matter to them in the least because they couldn''t ept Archie because of his soul cultivator status.
Bodach finally smiled and nodded, "Alright, this method is really more suitable to temper this little wily brat. He''s already at the tinum river soul core realm and if he enters the fiery hell secret realm, it''ll also strengthen the demon race team."
Ampersand smiled in satisfaction and said, "Then it decided, whichever institute''s house he joins, we''ll give a seat to the fiery hell secret realm to him. As for how much he benefits from this opportunity, it depends on his will to live."
---
Ace waspletely oblivious to the thoughts of the Royal Demon Institute''s Housemasters, and even if he knew, he didn''t have time to care about them at this moment, because something in his thief''s space was showing movement!
His entire focus was on a palm-size, oval shape stone that was white and filled with small ck dots, which looked like dark rune symbols now, and they were all shimmering in gray luster at this moment.
It was none other than the egg of Nether Paradise Bird, he got in the de domain as Feng, because an alchemist misunderstood it for the Nether me Alloy.
At that time, the system had told Ace to store it in the thief''s space and let it absorb his Heavenly Qi every three days, and it''ll hatch within 1000 days.
Although he didn''t clearly remember how much time had passed, he never forgot to feed it his heavenly Qi every three days. Because it was a beast above Grade-9, and if he could tame it and raise it, who could stand in his way in this world?
The most astonishing thing was, as Ace fed it his heavenly Qi, it would always absorb a little bit more than the previous time, and two days ago, it almost exhausted Ace''s entire heavenly Qi reserves!
If it kept increasing like this, he might not have enough Qi to feed it, but to his surprise, after thest absorption process, the dark dots on this egg''s surface suddenly changed into ck runes and started glowing unexpectedly!
Ace knew it was time for it to hatch, so he stopped hunting others since he had already achieved the target to pass this test and kept observing the little egg with expectancy.
Yet, three days passed, but the egg showed no movement, and only those mysterious ck runes were glowing deeper and deeper.
Ace even moved the egg to a spacious area of his thief''s space so it won''t affect Eva''s cocoon. As for talking it out, he had no such n in this ce.
At this moment, the glowing egg suddenly started to tremble as if the creature inside was ready toe out!
Chapter 547 Nether Paradise Bird!
The glowing egg of Nether Paradise Bird trembled in the thief''s space, and the glowing ck runes on it suddenly started to dte, covering the white surface of the egg with ck.
Ace felt a strange pressure suddenly released from the egg of Nether Paradise Bird, and his heart palpitated because he suddenly imagined himself surrounded by immeasurable dark mes.
However, this feeling was only feting before the illusion broke and that strange pressure by the egg suddenly vanished.
The system''s voice sounded at this moment.
======
[The Nether Paradise Bird is about to hatch!]
[Warning (1): The Nether Paradise Bird isn''t from the Mortal Sky Heaven, and the moment it appears in the environment of the Mortal Sky Heaven it will draw Heavenly Punishment!]
[Warning (2): If the Host left the Nether Paradise Bird as it is in the Living Thief''s Space, it will destroy anything as long as it was not at the same rank as the Nether Paradise Bird!]
--
[Host has two choices!]
--
-Choice (1): Form a Master and Servant Pack.
[Master & Servant Pack: An ancient pack used for evesting servitude. Any being bonded by this pack will form a Master and Servant rtionship for life. The Master can dispose of the Servant anytime, while the Servant will be forever loyal to their master without any thoughts of betrayal. The Cultivation of the Servant will be suppressed to the same realm as the Master. Until the Master reached the exact realm of the Servant. The Servant Cultivation will never surpass the Master''s cultivation¡]
-Price: 50 Million Thief Points, 50 Million Peak Grade-3 Qi Stones, 5 Million Grade-3 Soul Crystal
--
-Choice (2): Kill the Nether Paradise Bird after its birth and acquire an unmatured Nether Fire Spirit!
-Price: 10 Million Thief Point
---
[Note: The host has only 1 hour to decide before the Nether Paradise Bird will hatch and the First Choice will vanish!]
======
Ace''s eyes dted when he heard and read all the information in the notification panel.
When he saw the second option, he was bbergasted and blurted, "Nether Fire Spirit?! As if the Fire Spirit that Noa needed?!"
Ace waspletely stunned by this revtion because he didn''t think the fabled Fire Spirit will fall into hisp just like this.
Furthermore, this Nether Paradise Bird sounds quite dangerous when he read the warnings, and he understood that being like Nether Paradise Bird couldn''t exist in the first heaven and Heaven will never bear its existence.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
If not for his heavenly Qi, this egg of Nether Paradise Bird won''t have even a chance to hatch in this kind of environment. But the system also never gave him any kind of prior warning that it was this dangerous to hatch it.
"[Yes, the Neither Fire Spirit can only be acquired from killing a Nether Paradise Bird. It''s born from the Nether Paradise Bird''s corpse.]"
Ace took a deep breath to calm himself and then asked more questions, "Then what about this master and servant pack? If I formed it, will the heavenly punishment still be drawn by it once I exposed it to the first heaven''s environment?
"Besides, why can''t I use the Beast Tamer Contract to make it my pet? I''m sure you have the means to make it a pet instead of a servant. More importantly, why the heck do I need to pay you 10 million TP to kill it when I can do it myself?"
"[No, once the Master and Servant Pack formed, the aura of Nether Paradise Bird would be masked by the Host''s, and without its true strength, the Heaven won''t notice its existence.]
"[As for why the Beast Tamer Contracts, they would never work on Nether Paradise Bird because it''s a Magic Beast with the trace of mythical ??? Bloodline.]
"[These types of Magic Beasts either submit themselves or they prefer death than submission to lower beings. The Nether Paradise Bird is of unyielding nature and violently arrogant beings. They would never submit to anyone even when born.]
"[So, the only way to tame such a creature is Master and Servant Packs, which could be only used when they were about to be born. Or the moment they gain their consciousness, they would rather die than be subjugated by others.]
"[Lastly, if the host tries to kill even an infant, Nether Paradise Bird, without 100% mastery of a [Law], the host won''t even leave a scratch on its body, much less kill it. That''s why the system needs 10 million TP to kill an infant, Nether Paradise Bird.]
"[Or the host could let the Nether Paradise Bird grow in the living thief''s space, which would naturally turn the Living Thief''s Space into its nest, and the host won''t be able to store any item in it anymore.]
"[But if the host wants to kill it after it bes stronger, then the system would not agree because it''s a one-time offer. The Nether Paradise Bird is worthy of being a servant of Host and few creatures of darkness had such honor!]"
System reply was cold and ruthless as ever, which made Ace perspire when he understood just what kind of being Nether Paradise Bird was and couldn''t help but smile wryly when he thought how he wanted to tame it. He was simply too na?ve.
Now, he either has to pay to suppress it to his level, or he has to pay to kill it. Even though he wanted that Fire Spirit for Noa, this was also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
If he formed the Master and Servant Pack, he would have a servant that could increase its strength as long as he raised his, and the system also just stated that not just any Magic Beast could make the system act.
It might be some kind of hint to not waste this opportunity.
The Nether Paradise Bird was a creature of darkness and might bring some unexpected benefits. As for a spirit fire, he had a location, and if he wanted he could try searching for it.
But the egg of Nether Paradise Bird might never appear again!
After considering the pros and cons, in the end, Ace puckered his lips and said, "Fine, I''ll choose the first option."
======
[Host has chosen to form the Master and Servant Pack with Nether Paradise Bird!]
[50 Million Thief Points, 50 Million Peak Grade-3 Qi Stones, and 5 Million Grade-3 Soul Crystal has been deducted!]
[The ancient Master and Servant ritual has been started. Please don''t move!]
--
[Thief Point(s): 138,020,500]
======
Thereupon, Ace noticed inside his thief''s space, a dark mist started to gather around the trembling egg of Nether Paradise Bird which had turnedpletely pitch ck after the runes covered itpletely.
The dark mist suddenly started to enter the egg without any resistance, and Ace saw dark blue rune symbols appearing below the egg, soon forming a pentagram array.
Ace waspletely captivated by those symbols, but they were soon turned into strange lines and started to crawl on the violently trembling egg before that arraypletely covered the egg!
The dark blue symbols simmered in a dark sheen before a small pentagram appeared on top of the oval egg.
Thereafter, Ace suddenly felt something piercing into his heart before he noticed an extremely dark crimson blood drop, almost ck, appeared above the small pentagram over the top of the egg and fall onto it.
Ace felt dazed all of a sudden because this drop was Ace''s heart blood!
The egg turned crimson because of the drop of blood, and soon the crimson color was absorbed by the egg, and the dark mist also faded, and the egg returned to its former state.
However, Ace at this moment felt a strong connection with the egg of Nether Paradise Bird or, more urately, the being within the egg. He could feel its chaotic emotions. It was afraid, anxious, expectancy, obscured¡
The strange aura he experienced at that time didn''t affect him anymore, either.
The system''s voice rang at this moment.
======
[The Master and Servant Pack has been sessfully established!]
======
''What a strange feeling. I can really kill it with thought and order it to do anything, just as the system described.'' Ace marveled as he felt the connection with the Nether Paradise Bird bing more and more clear.
''Crack¡''
Ace''s attention was drawn to the thief''s space by this crisp sound, and he saw small cracks start to appear on the egg of Nether Paradise Bird!
The cracks grew as Ace could feel the creature inside wanting toe out.
''Took¡''
A hole was forcibly poked in the eggshell and a tiny ck beak surface, and quickly the entire half eggshell was broken and the creature''s head became apparent.
Ace''s expression became strange because it was a pitch-ck bird hatchling with its eyes closed and was only three centimeters in size. It didn''t give him any impression of a disastrous bird at all like the system portrayed it to be.
However, his expression soon changed when the hatchling suddenly opened its beak and all of a sudden spit sky-blue fire!
Chapter 548 You’re Weak As A Twig
The hatchling opened its beak and all of a sudden spit sky-blue fire, which gave Ace the feeling of immense danger even though it was just a flicker.
The next moment, the small flicker of sky-blue fire fell on the eggshell before it spread onto the broken eggshells around, and thereafter, every eggshell was ignited with sky-blue fire!
Ace was baffled by this since the little hatchling was in the middle of this fire, but he didn''t stop or help it because his connection with the hatchling was telling him it wasn''t in any danger.
On the contrary, the hatchling was excited!
At this moment, the small hatchling while its eyes still closed, opened its small beak again and, ''chirp¡'' let loose a short, high-pitched, eerily sound.
The sky-blue fire suddenly stirred after hearing this sound, and the next moment the eggshell suddenly started turning into liquid, and with the fire, it started to retract back to the hatchling''s small mouth as if there was a suction force in that tiny mouth.
Ace was astonished when he saw this scene, and he noticed the hatchling''s aura, which didn''t have any kind of cultivation, suddenly started to im as it devoured the me and liquid back.
Furthermore, Ace also noticed it was a soul-type Magic Beast!
It soon crossed the soul gates realm and also formed a peerless soul foundation, and within a few moments, it was already at the peak of the soul foundation building realm and entered the Soul River Realm.
However, right at this moment, Ace saw a dark blue symbol appear on the little hatchling''s small forehead, and he was shocked when he saw the symbol look like a hood.
Thereupon, the hood symbol shimmered in the dark light before the hatchling''s cultivation suddenly stopped at the peak of the soul river realm. That symbol was suppressing its cultivation rise!
Ace could feel the little hatchling''s confusion, but it didn''t resist that symbol''s restriction. It waspletely helpless against it.
''So, that''s why the system said I won''t be able to kill it even as an infant. If this pack wasn''t in ce, might it be it could reach the eighth or even cross that realm?!'' Ace''s heart turned cold just thinking about it.
He had no idea what kind of cultivation a Nether Paradise Bird had at its peak, but just this small hatchling was enough to wreak havoc in mortal sky heaven.
He finally understood why it would draw heavenly punishment the moment it appeared outside Heaven will try to destroy it before it disrupted the natural order. Just like Ace himself!
After the hatchling''s cultivation was suppressed, the ghastly aura also vanished, or Ace no longer felt a threat from it.
However, the hatchling started to change as fine ck plumage suddenly grew on its small body until it was no longer bald. On its head was a small patch of dark blue hair that looked like a crown.
Now it looked like a tiny bird chick.
At this moment, its eyes suddenly opened, revealing two gleaming sky-blue bird eyes. They were filled with confusion and curiosity.
It suddenly opened its beaks, "M¡ Ma¡ Mast¡er?" and uttered one word in its crisp voice. Which rang in both thief''s space and inside Ace''s head!
''It was an effect of the pack!'' Ace marveled.
However, Ace was more astonished by this little guy who wasn''t even born for five minutes and already can grow this much and even speak. Although it had spoken in an unknownnguage, but Ace can understand it with the help of the pack. Even without it, he would still understand it for obvious reasons.
"You know I''m your master?" Ace tried tomunicate with it through his mind as well.
''Chirp¡ chirp¡'' The little chick suddenly chirps with happiness as starts looking around. It was searching for its master.
"I''m not here. You''re inside a treasure, and I can''t take you out at now." Ace told without hiding.
"Chirp?" Its tinny eyes shimmered in understanding, "Oh¡ Oh¡ are¡ we¡ facing enemies? Can I burn them for¡ fun?"
Although its voice sounded innocent and sweet, the intent behind it wasn''t.
"Why do you think I was facing an enemy, and burning is fun?" Ace felt this little chick was more intelligent, and its thought was quite dangerous. He was curious to know more, nevertheless.
It was his first timeing in contact with such a creature, and he could tell it wasn''t a simple mindless bird at all. ording to Winter, the Magic Beasts have the memories of their hierarchy in their bloodline. The purer the bloodline, the more memories they awake.
This Nether Paradise Bird was a descendant of some mythical creature, so having some memories wasn''t a surprise.
"Oh¡ ording to my understanding, everything which can move is¡ an enemy, of course, Master, won''t count. So, burning an enemy is naturally a fun thing to do, and it also makes my fire fiercer as I burn more and more and more and more!" It innocently replied with ecstasy, as if it was its grand dream to burn everything.
Ace smiled wryly and finally understood why the system called the Nether Paradise Bird, violently arrogant beings.
"Can I burn this ce? There are so many useless things?" The small chick suddenly purposed as it looked toward all those storage rings with contemptuous eyes.
Ace blurted darkly, "No, you can''t burn anything here, or I''ll punish you!"
"Oh¡ it is this Master''s nest. That''s why I can''t burn it?" It curiously asked.
Ace frowned slightly but still replied, "Yes, it''s my home, and we can''t burn our home no matter what." He felt he might need to educate this chick, even brainwash it.
"I see. Then this is also my home, right since it''s master''s home?" It asked with anticipation.
Ace didn''t reject its thought, "Yes, this is also your home from now on."
"Chirps¡" It chirps excitedly and even twiddles its small, underdeveloped wings in happiness.
Ace couldn''t help but smile amusingly, ''Who couldn''t think this innocent, tiny bird is the most dangerous creature in this heaven?''
"Alright, do you have a name?" Ace asked the small chick who was looking around to explore its home.
"Oh, I know, I''m Nether Paradise Bird!" It replied.
"Well, I guess it''s a name, but it''s too long." Ace stated, "I''ll call you Cyrus."
"Cyrus?" The tiny chick muffled softly, "Alright Master can call me Cyrus from now on!"
Ace was also content with it. "So, Cyrus, what can you do except burning?"
"Oh, for some reason, I can only use 1% of myher fire, which can only burn weak men and ghosts. Other than that, my other abilities are restricted because of cultivation, and I can''t fly either." Cyrus sounded sad.
Ace was about to mollify Cyrus since he knew it was because of him. Cyrus was restricted, but when he heard its next words, the corner of his eye spasmed.
Cyrus said in a soothing tone, "But don''t worry Master, since you''re weak as a twig, Cyrus will protect you by burning your enemy."
Ace didn''t have any words to refute the innocent bird, which clearly had no idea how to respect others. It was unintendedly speaking the truth, and Ace knew it had no malice behind those words.
"Alright, I''ll call for you once I need to burn someone." Ace wryly said, "You can roam freely here, but don''t go close to that wall in the center, or you''ll be punished."
Cyrus''s eyes suddenly shone with unwillingness as it said, "B-but I want to live there!"
"Why?" Ace was confused. The entire thief''s space was the same, so Cyrus shouldn''t have any problem living anywhere.
The only difference was Eva''s cocoon there and some unhatched eggs he had umted in these years.
''Did he want to eat those eggs?'' Ace thought. He felt it might be the case since it was just born, and it might be hungry.
But Cyrus''s reply didn''t match Ace''s thoughts. "Oh, there''s something in there that made me want to live there. But if it''s Master''s nest, then I won''t go there."
It was clearly unwilling, but it won''t go against Ace''s wishes; they were absolute!
''What is there that appealed to a creature likeher paradise bird and unwilling like this?'' Ace was also curious.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "I''ll let you in, and then you''ll tell me what makes you want to go there, but you won''t touch anything or burn anything without my permission, alright?"
Ace wasn''t worried that Cyrus would go against his will, so he gave him a chance to see what interested him.
Cyrus tweets happily and quickly agree, and with a thought, Ace transfer it inside the storage rings'' wall and scrutinizes it.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace was relieved when Cyrus didn''t go toward the cocoon, which made him even more curious about what he was after.
But when Cyrus approached ''Page 09'' with ecstasy, realization dawned on Ace!
Chapter 549 Entering The Royal Demon Institute
Today marked the day when thest day of Hunter Maniae to conclusion.
An imposing voice rang through the entire misty swamp. "The Hunter Mania Test hase to an end.
"In five minutes, two light pirs will rise on the east and west sides of the misty swamp. In the east, will ascend a white pir, and in the west, will ascend a golden pir.
"Those who had collected five badges will head toward the golden pir, while those who failed to achieve the target will head toward the white pir!
"Attacking each other is prohibited now!"
Just as the voice trailed off, contestants appeared. Some were exhausted and relieved, while some had lingering fear on their faces.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Soon after five minutes passed, the mist in the misty swamp started to fad, and two eye-catching, light pirs rose just as the voice announced.
The contestants quickly move toward their corresponding pirs ording to the arrangement.
But the contestants moving toward the white pir were much more than the golden pir.
The demons moving toward the white pir knew the test was over for them this year, and it was time to go back home.
At this moment, five demons were moving toward the golden pir in different directions. One after another, they crossed the golden pir.
Ace was thest to enter the golden pir, and when he crossed over the light pir, the entire scenery changed.
From the gloomy and foggy environment of the misty swamp, he was now standing in a clear grass field under the scorching sun.
Ace''s eyes contracted when his eyes fell upon the four tall buildings'' silhouettes, almost piercing in the clouds.
Furthermore, he noticed that between those colossal silhouettes and them was a one-mile-wide water body, and there was only a huge stone bridge in the distance that led toward the other side.
Ace was still a few miles away from that bridge, but it was hard to go unnoticed. Around him was a vastnd surrounding my lush forests from the east side while a mountain range was on the west side and behind him were also woods.
The vast wall and the demonic gates were also a few miles away behind him.
''So, this is the Royal Demon Academy!'' Ace''s expression was grave.
"Beautiful, isn''t it?" A gentle voice rang at this moment, drawing everyone''s attention.
A brown skin, gorgeous demoness in institute ck attire stood a few feet away from the five contestants. But unlike the two demons on the gate, her attire didn''t have white outlines, but they were blue.
Ace''s heart turned cold because he didn''t notice when this demoness appeared there, and couldn''t feel her presence still.
The demoness had a mild smile on her red lips as she looked at the five contestants with a curious gaze.
Including Archie, the other four around him were Charles, Nancy, Hugo, and unexpectedly, Lucas!
However, unlike them, Archie waspletely fine while these four were pale and had exhausted expressions on their faces.
A peculiar glint shed past the demoness'' eyes when her eyes fell on Archie.
She spoke again in her gentle voice, "Congrattions, fellow students on passing the entrance test this year and earning yourself the opportunity of a lifetime.
"My name is Mh, and I''m a third-grade student of the extraordinary ss and a substitute instructor of Ordinary-First-Grade of Martial Arts House. So, you guys can call me senior or instructor, I won''t mind either way.
"I''m here to escort you to the Royal Bridge, where you all get registered with the institute and the four Royal Houses. ording to your test result, you''ll be given choices, or you might not be given one at all. It all depends on your performance.
"Let''s go. If you have any questions, you can ask me on the way." Mh beckoned everyone to follow her and start moving toward the bridge in the distance.
No one dared to reject her, and they start following Mh while keeping their distance from each other, especially Nancy and Lucas. They both were far away from Archie, who waspletely at ease.
"Instructor, what are those four buildings in the distance?" Ace couldn''t help but ask since there was no information about the Royal Demon Institute''s internal structure on the outside.
Mh replied smilingly, "Those four buildings are the headquarters of the four Royal Houses. We called them Royal Towers. Although they seemed close from this distance, in actuality, they were at least a hundred miles apart from each other.
"Thends of the royal demon institute are divided into four territories, and we from the different houses are not allowed to enter a different house''s territory without permission.
"Surrounding those headquarters in a ring-like structure are Ordinary, Extraordinary, and Special districts. As you might''ve guessed, the students live in these districts ording to their ss grades. Only the Core Students are allowed to live in the four Royal Towers.
"Let me tell you a small secret which you will discover in time, but as a kind-hearted senior, I''ll tell you on your first day." Mh shed a mysterious smile before she said, "The closer you''re to a Royal Tower, the faster your cultivation speed, and you can even rent a cultivate room in the Royal Tower if you have enough royal points, so don''t waste them."
"What are the royal points?" Hugo asked with squinted eyes.
"Royal Points are the currency of the Royal Demon Institute. Each month, you''ll get an allocated amount of Royal Points ording to your ss grade. You can also earn them by doing missions posted by the institute, and there are more ways, you''ll know once you are registered." Mh revealed, "With Royal Points, you can buy anything in the Royal Demon Institute even a chance toprehend a Low-Sky-Breaker-Grade Technique in the central library!"
Everyone''s eyes widened and shone with longing when they heard this, well expect Ace.
Ace pretend to be surprised and asked something which truly interested him, "Is the Central Library the ce where all the skills and techniques of the royal demon institute are stored?"
Mh didn''t find this question strange and answered with pride, "Why, of course, the Central Library is in the very center of the royal demon institute beside Principal Manor. The central territory, we called it.
"That ce is the true foundation of our Royal Demon institute, and there are all kinds of knowledge regarding any topic. As long as you have sufficient Royal Points, you can ess that knowledge.
"But we are all restricted by our grades and ranks. A First-Ordinary-Grade Student can only ess to First-Ordinary-Grade Knowledge and so on. But just that ordinary grade knowledge is enough to rival any noble n out there besides the Grand Demon ns."
Ace''s eyes shone thievishly. ''This central library should be one of my targets. But it won''t be easy to break in without getting noticed. I shall make a treasure blueprint of it when I have a chance to visit that ce.
''As for the treasury, I just had to keep an eye out for the ces where the institute provides pills and treasures, and this will lead me right where the primary source of these treasures¡''
Ace had already started working on his scheme to rob the two most guarded ces of the Royal Demon Institute.
After a while, they all reached the stone bridge, but they first entered a small building a couple of meters away from the entrance, which was surrounded by a barrier.
Mh led everyone to a spacious room where an old fiery demon in institute ck attire with a green outline was sitting behind a table.
The moment the young demons entered the room, the old demon''s emotionless eyes scanned through the group and said, "You''re all new, I presumed?"
Mh bowed respectfully, and she conveyed, "Yes, Sir Yehuda, I''m here to get them registered on the order of the Royal Institute Council!"
Yehuda didn''t seem surprised, as he had already received the orders from the Royal Institute Council.
The Royal Institute Council was the backbone of the Royal Demon Institute and it oversees and makes almost every decision of the Royal Demon Institute. No one can overstep the Royal Institute Council expect the Principle or the Demon Emperor!
Yehuda waved his sleeve, and two ck institute attires with white strips and a storage ring on top of two attires appeared on the table.
He impassively said, "Nancy Poison Wood, and Lucas Soul LIfe, you two are enrolled and appointed in the First-Ordinary-Grade ss of Soul Assassin House. The further information and the other necessaries are in the storage rings."
Nancy and Lucas bowed respectfully and picked up their attire and storage ring, but there was still bitterness in their eyes because they both knew the ordinary ss was at the bottom of the institute.
But they had no choice and won''t dare to question the allocation by the institute unless they wanted to get kicked out.
Yehuda then ced another attire and storage ring and dered, "Hugo Fiery, you are enrolled and appointed in the First-Ordinary-Grade Martial Weapon House."
Hugo also quickly thank him while picking up his things. Yehuda was his n''s man, so he was more at ease.
Yehuda then ced another set and dered, "Charles Nightmare, you are enrolled and appointed in the First-Extraordinary-Grade Martial Arts House!"
Chapter 550 Condition 1: Completed!
"Charles Nightmare, you are enrolled and appointed in the First-Extraordinary-Grade Martial Arts House!"
Charles was startled for a moment. ''I wasn''t even managed to enter special grade?'' He thought in disbelief. He had always thought he was a core student-level genius, if not a special grade.
He was also at the tinum soul river core realm like Archie, but he still didn''t get appointed in the Special ss, which was another blow to his pride.
But he still respectfully bowed and epted his attire and storage ring without any questions. He then nced at Archie, who seemedpletely at ease, as if he didn''t care about anything, nor he was worried about which grade he would get.
''Just what kind of person is he?'' He spected.
Ace looked at Yehuda and waited for him to take out his attire, and he was also curious about what grade they appointed him.
He wanted to be at least in the Special Grade, and with his performance; he was sure they will assign him as a personal student of some high-level instructor.
Even if he didn''t manage to be a personal student, he was content as long as he entered the special ss and have that level of privilege.
However, Yehuda''s next words startled Ace and made him wary.
"Alright, Archie Soul Life stays, and others will leave with Instructor Mh to sign your Royal Demon Institute Confidential Contract."
This revtion startled those young demons and looked at Archie with envy, admiration, and even malice. Lucas was especially unwilling to ept this situation.
They all thought Archie was going to be appointed into the special ss and going to get choices.
Mh didn''t seem too shocked by this and quickly bowed toward Yehuda before she took those four to another room toplete their registration process.
Now, only Yehuda and Archie remained inside the closed room.
A faint smile appeared on Yehuda''s expressionless face at this moment while looking at Archie kindly and said, "There''s no need to be rmed. You''re different from those four, and they''re not qualified to listen to this."
Ace felt relief since it wasn''t about some identity issue.
He pretends to be humble and respectfully stated, "Please give your instruction."
Yehuda''s smile didn''t fade and nodded before he said, "Because of your excellent performance and your sharp mindset, you have sessfully earned the goodwill of two Housemasters. Which is an astonishing achievement on its own.
"So, as a result, you''ll be a Special Grade Student and given a choice to select between Soul Combatant House and Soul Assassin House. I''ll give you a short narrative of both houses as I was told, and then you can choose which house is more suitable for you."
Yehuda conveyed, "The Soul Combatant House is the ce for Soul Warriors who walk the path of both Body Refinement and Soul Cultivation simultaneously, and they''ll teach you how to fight with a martial cultivate who is also proficient in body refinement on equal grounds.
"There are many more things you will learn, like rune crafting, soul alchemy, runic smiting, and anything a soul cultivates could do, butbat is their main specialty and focus, while other things are auxiliary to strengthen your soul. These things aremon in the Soul Assassin House as well.
"The Soul Assassin House''s specialty and prime focus are to nurture assassins who were proficient in the art of disguise, poison, trickery, spying, and the art of killing.
"This house is a special house that was created by His Impartial Majesty when he ascended the Demon Throne to improve our informationwork and train killers.
"Only someone with an assassin-like mind was epted in this house, and these students are all proficient in the art of killing.
"Just like that Nightmare Demon, Charles, although he was born with a bloodline perfect for assassins, unlike his predecessors, he walked on the path of a warrior, so he wasn''t given a choice like other extraordinary grade students.
"Now, choose which disciplinary house you wanted to enter, and this selection is not changeable unless His Imperial Majesty gives his decree." Yehuda chuckled at the end.
Ace didn''t reply instantly and thought, ''If I enter the Soul Assassin House, which sounds quite intriguing since it aligns with a thief, I might learn some new tricks. It''s also the ce where I won''t have to fight in the open like in the Soul Combatant House.''
This choice was quite obvious to Ace even if he was given the chance to enter all four houses, the Soul Assassin House suits him the most because he could remain hidden without any worry.
Furthermore, since he was going to steal the entire library of the royal demon institute, it didn''t matter where he goes, all that knowledge will be his, eventually.
So, he answered with no hesitation, "I''ll choose the Soul Assassin House."
Yehuda didn''t ask why or anything else, and he took out a white soul contract from his storage ring, ced it on the table, and said, "This is a confidential soul contract that every student of our institute signs upon admission.
"In this contract, there are rules and regtions of Soul Assassin House which you need to follow, as well as some other importantws of the institute, like you can''t kill a fellow student, and you have to create a Soul Mark Disk within the Institute so we''ll know when about your condition.
"I know most demons won''t create Soul Mark Disk because it''s extremely painful, but it is aw, and it''s for your own good since we''ll be able to investigate and avenge your uncanny death if that ever happened. Take your time reading this soul contract."
Ace''s eyes narrowed slightly. ''A Soul Mark Disk and every student had one? Didn''t this mean if I killed someone for their faces, I''ll be discovered?''
Ace almost forgot about these Qi Mark Disks and Soul Mark Disks, which could alert others of the owner''s death.
From Archie''s memories, Ace knew Archie never make a Soul Mark Disk because he hated pain, so he never agreed to make one, or it would be far more troublesome if Archie had a Soul Mark Disk in the Runic Soul n.
It was a hindrance in his path, but he didn''t have a way to break the connection with these mark disks, so he couldn''t do anything about it besides being more careful about who he killed from now on.
As for the soul contract, it was his least worry. In others'' minds, breaking a soul contract was almost impossible, but he could do it with a simplemand.
So, he signed it and then just have to pay a hundred thousand TP to create a fake soul consciousness with the system''s help.
Even his house members had this privilege. They can never be ves of others or bound by anything!
The soul contract was signed.
Yehuda suspected nothing and took out the institute attire and a storage ring.
"These are your attire and all the information and a map of the institute marked with areas you''ll have ess to and the areas which are forbidden.
"There''s also your student badge, which has many functions. Like it will record your Royal Points and other information about your privileges as a Special Grade Student, your living quarters, your ss schedule, and any order by the institute will be received by this badge, so don''t lose it or you''ll be punished!"
Ace picked up the attire and storage ring.
However, the moment he did system''s voice sounded.
======
[Mission: Want to Kill Me? Watch me steal!]
-Synopsis: Someone ¡!
-Mission Type: Chain Mission
---
[Chain Mission: Last Mission]
-Mission: Want to Kill Me? Watch me Steal!
-Condition (1): Infiltrate the Royal Demon Institute.
Status: Complete!
-Condition (2): Rob the Treasury of the Royal Demon Institute!
-Condition (3): Rob the Library of the Royal Demon Institute!
--
-Reward(s):
-Rewards of Completing (Condition 1): [Reward Released!]n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
1. 500,000 EXP & 500,000 SP
[im/Later?]
2. Thief''s Vision
[im/ Later?]
3. +1 Grade in Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Principles
[im/Later?]
--
-Rewards of Completing (Condition 2):
1. 1,000,000 EXP & 1,000,000 SP
2. Soul Stealth Art
3. Fundamentals of Array Crafting (Grade-1 to Grade-3)
-Rewards of Completing (Condition 3):
1. 3,500,000 EXP & 3,500,000 SP
2. Absolute Pick Pocket
3. Three Intermediate Item Upgrade Tokens
--
-Thief House Members: Allow
-Time: 12 Years
-Punishment: The end of the mission!
======
Ace was ted when he saw the rewards of the first condition were released. He was wondering when the system would deem the condition done.
It turned out that the moment he earned and epted the student badge and attire of the Royal Demon Institute, the system deemed him sessfully infiltrating the institute.
Yehuda said, at this moment, "Now, go and change into your institute attire and then join Instructor Mh. She''ll take you to the other side, and then you''ll have someone from your district picking you up from there."
"Thank you, elder." Archie bowed before leaving the room as well.
Yehuda sighed ruefully when he saw Archie had left and mumbled, "What were those old whiners thinking?!"
Chapter 551 Thief’s Vision
After Ace left Yehuda''s office, he again met Mh and the others.
They had also done signing their institute contracts and changed into their institute attires. Everyone''s attire was ck, except for the white ribbon outlines on them.
Only Charles''s attire had a blue color like Mh''s.
These colors represent different groups of students and departments in the Royal Demon Institute.
White color was for Ordinary Students, Blue for Extraordinary Students, Violet for Special Students, and Red for Core Students. Then there were yellow and orange for staff members.
Green for Council Members.
Instructors wore silver, and Housemaster-level figures wore golden.
Mh didn''t wear her instructor attire because she was also a student and could only wear it during sses. Only the graduate and full-fledged instructors can wear the instructor''s attire all the time.
Having an instructor title was also amon thing for Grade-3 or higher-grade students. Any students who could manage to enter Grade-3 ss were elites among elites.
Most of these students ended up appointed as official instructors at their graduation, and the title of the Instructor at Royal Demon Institute was no joke, and many wanted this position, but only a few got them.
After Ace changed into the special student''s attire, which was actually his Deft Thief''s Robes, which could change into any clothing, Mh took them toward the bridge.
While walking, Lucas and others were ncing at Archie, who was still as nonchnt as before. He didn''t seem to be excited about getting into the special ss at all.
Lucas couldn''t help but ask with a bitter expression, "Which house do you choose?"
Everyone''s ears perked at this question.
The personal information about the students was on their student badges, and there weren''t any symbols of houses that distinguish the students from each other except the colors.
It was done deliberately by the institute for some reason, and most believed it was a sign of unity among all the houses.
Archie shed an amiable smile toward Lucas and Nancy, which sent chills down their spines, and he replied, "Little cousin, and little Nancy, we''ll be all together in the Soul Assassin House in the future. I''ll visit you daily."
Lucas and Nancy''s faces went dark because they knew their life was going to be miserable from now on. Especially, Lucas knew Archie was going to take revenge by making things difficult for him.
It was extremely easy because Archie was a special student while he was only ordinary, so it would be going to be quite easy to bully him.
As for Nancy, she was regretting provoking this little demon and could only pretend to be happy. It was also not a bad thing because Archie was now a special student, and she might benefit from his backing.
So, she decided to stop resisting and seduce Archie seriously, even if she have to suffer some humiliation. She knew it was worth it!
Nancy even nned to seduce someone from the special ss in secret and then sow discord between that person and Archie while reaping benefits. All kinds of schemes started to appear in her head at this moment.
On the other hand, Mh''s eyes shimmered in a peculiar glint as she also questioned Archie, "How''s your rtion with your cousin Daniel Soul Life? He''s in the same generation as you, right?"
Ace instantly sensed adoration in Mh''s emotion, and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly while Lucas was also startled by this name, which he hadn''t heard for over a decade.
Archie coolly answered in a subtle tone, "We''re not enemies, I guess."
Mh chuckled, "Heh, do you know your cousin was promoted from special ss to core ss within five years after he entered the institute? Last year, he was promoted to 2nd grade afterpleting the promotion assignment.
"He''s a rising star of Soul Combatant House and the youngest personal student of Housemaster Ampersand. He might help you if you look for him."
The others were also shocked when they heard another genius, even scarier than Archie, was present here.
Although their ns also have some core-grade students, they weren''t from the same generation as them.
Lucas''s eyes shone with dark light at this moment as if he had gained a treasure and his gloomy expression brightened, and he threw a sharp nce at Archie.
''How could I forget about the genius of the main n? The institute would never let the news leak from inside, so it''s only natural that father didn''t know about it as well. The main n might be hiding it deliberately as well and have some other ns of their own.
''Nevertheless, if he finds out Archie has a chance to enter the core grade ss, he might be interested in dealing with him. Furthermore, this woman might be someone already under Daniel and approached us deliberately or on Daniel''s order.
''If I could earn Daniel''s support, then I might crush this bastard and live without caring about his shadow¡'' He thought maliciously.
"I''ll pay him a visit." Archie agreed, saying nothing else.
Mh merely smiled ambiguously and didn''t say anything.
They all reached the bridge; the entrance was lit in a green translucent barrier.
Mh said at this moment, "Everyone remembered, only with your student badges in your hand can you pass this barrier and the entrance bridge.
"Furthermore, once you entered, you''ll require a special permit on your student badge from the Student Service Department if you want to exit the institute ground.
"If someone tries to cross it without a student badge and permit, you''ll be trapped and captured.
"Although you won''t suffer any injuries and could be saved after the institute confirms your identity. However, afterward, you''ll be sent to the enforcementmittee and will be punished for breaking this rule.
"So, try to sneak here, or you''ll regret it. Heh." She giggled lightly before she took out her blue student badge as well.
Everyone remembered this warning in their head while Ace felt this security measure was quite hard to ovee.
From the moment he entered this ce, he was feeling all kinds of undtions, as if it was filled with rune symbols. He even opened his fate map, and he only saw terranes, nothing else, which means the runes were higher level than thepass.
Ace also took out a palm size, triangle shape, violet color jade badge which has Baphomet''s face engraved on its front and aplex array on the back. It was like a storage ring and could be bonded by a Qi mark or soul mark.
As long as he poured some Qi into it, a projection would appear which could show Ace his personal information, and other important information, and he could receive notices from the institute with it.
Others also took their different color badges ording to their sses and just as Mh said, nothing happened, and they easily crossed the barrier and walked on the long stone bridge.
Ace closely looked at the vast water body, which could be seen as far as his eyes could see. But the water was static, which could also be that the vastness of it was an illusion and its size was limited.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
When Ace thought about how his vision skill had been useless. He then suddenly remembered the Thief''s vision he got as a reward forpleting the first condition.
Since they were still far from the other side, Ace quickly opened the mission panel and saw the details of Thief''s Vision with great anticipation.
=====
[Thief''s Vision: Secret Martial Cultivation Art]
-Requirements to learn:
1) True & False Eyes (Basic) at Perfection
2) Soul-Shattering Eyes at Perfection
3) Heavenly Darkness Qi
---
[Thief''s Vision: Three Stages]
1) Initial Thief''s Vision: Three levels (Early, Middle, High)
2) Intermediate Thief''s Vision: Three levels (Early, Middle, High)
3) Advance Thief''s Vision: Three levels (Early, Middle, High)
--
[im/Later?]
=====
Ace marveled when he saw Thief''s Vision was a secret cultivation art and it was based on two of his already mastered eye skills.
Although he was ecstatic and wanted to im this cultivation art right away and start learning it, he knew this was not the ce, so he stopped himself. He was going to wait until he was alone.
There was still the third reward that could instantly raise his dismantler principles by an entire grade. This time, Ace knew the dismantler principles were going to be a big factor in this thievery.
He never got the chance to use them in thieveries, since their levels were too low, and he was stuck at his current level because of his current cultivation realm.
Ace''s first aim was to search for the lightning orb''s location and then break into the next realm before he starts this thievery, or any thievery, as a matter of fact.
Before, he could still theft and remained hidden because no one took him seriously.
However, things were different now. The entire demon race was searching for him, and the moment he showed any movement, they will swamp toward him, like hungry wolves.
That''s why he first raised Archie''s identity as a special student of the Royal Demon Institute. Now, he could go to ces where other demons couldn''t and start searching for the lightning orb!
Chapter 552 My Predicament?
At one of the threerge Royal Army harbors, the Octo Harbor,
This ce was usually calm, and only when someone from the Imperial Family or a Grand Demon Duke was moving out into the endless sea with a fleet could this harbor be used!
Except for the usual patrolling fleets, this ce remained tranquil all year long.
However, today, arge regiment of Demonic Marine Army was present here today and covered every corner of the Octo Harbor as if they were all guarding this ce against a terrible enemy.
At the edge of arge empty port, a tall nightmare demon with long hair and a fierce look on his face wore a purple army robe, which was the uniform of the Demonic Marine Army.
This demon was one of three Demonic Marine Generals, and he was in charge of Octo Harbor, Demonic General Alessandro.
Two more demons donned in full-body purple color armor were standing behind him straight. They were his deputy generals.
It clearly wasn''t normal to have a Demonic General appear here unless it was an extremely important matter, or the order was from the Imperial Demon Council!
Imperial Demon Council was the decision-maker of the Almighty Demon Empire, and they held power the same as the Demon Emperor. The Royal Demon Council in the outer provinces was a small branch of the Imperial Demon Council.
But unlike the Royal Demon Council, which has branches all over the empire, the Imperial Demon Council only has one headquarters, which was in the Demon Emperor Domain!
The members of the Imperial Demon Council were called the Elder Demons, and they were all scary existences and never appeared in the public eye, and only the Demon Emperor knew their identities!
The demons present on Octo Harbor were all looking at the clear sea with grim expressions on their faces.
At this moment, a silhouette of a ship appeared far in the sea. It was still quite far from the port.
However, no one seemed surprised by seeing that ship. On the contrary, all the soldiers emitted a murderous aura as if they were deranged by whoever was on that ship.
Demonic General Alessandro''s eyes went icy as he dered, "Look alive, the Devils are here!"
---
The Royal Demon Institute,
Ace and the others crossed the bridge, and after crossing another barrier, they finally stepped onto the institute campus.
In front was a lush forest, and between this forest were four roads with different signboards, each route leading toward a different house''s campus.
Four demons in front of each road were waiting withrge carriages, and these carriages didn''t have any beasts pulling them.
Mh smiled and said, "Everyone, please head toward the roads with your respective house''s signboards. The one with Martial Arts House can follow me." She suddenly nced at Archie and smiled ambiguously. "If fate permits, we might meet again."
Ace squinted his eyes as he was feeling something was amiss. But this won''t stop him from going forward. If he could sense Mh''s cultivation, he might''ve tried to soul probe her, but he didn''t dare to take the risk.
He had already aware of treasures that could block soul senses or even soul search. His Demonic Eater Mask was a such treasure, so he won''t risk exposure just to quench his curiosity.
"Let''spete again." Charles left thisst sentence for Archie before he goes toward the Martial Arts House.
Hugo also nodded before he goes toward Martial Weapon House.
Archie with Lucas and Nancy, moved toward the carriage of Soul Assassin House and the soul life demon on the soulbatant house side was the only one left with no students.
However, he didn''t seem frustrated at all and seeing there wasn''t anyone who joined the Soul Combatant House, he shot a nce at Archie''s group and moved toward his carriage so he could return and report back.
The demon who received Archie''s group was a nightmare demon with a handsome face. He was in special student attire, and when he saw three studentsing his way, his eyes lit up.
Especially seeing Archie wearing the special student''s attire, but his expression remains stoic.
"Senior." They greeted him respectfully. This person was a special student, so no one wanted to get on his bad side.
He nodded expressionlessly, "My name is Jefferson, and I''m a second grad special student. Let''s go. We''ll talk on our way toward the Soul Assassin House Campus."
Afterward, they embarked on the carriage, and a runic te appeared in Jefferson''s hand. The moment he used that runic te, the carriage suddenly moved at a high speed.
Then Jefferson suddenly spoke while looking at Archie, "So, you decided to join our Soul Assassin House in the end, huh? Housemaster would be quite pleased."
Ace was startled when he heard this. "Housemaster? I don''t know. I had be so popr without even entering the institute." He smiled wryly andmented.
The other two rolled their eyes at Archie''s narcissism but were still shocked that he gained the attention of a Housemaster.
Jefferson nodded and said, "You''re new, so it''s only natural you didn''t know this, but whenever a special grade level student appeared, it was announced by the institute.N?v(el)B\\jnn
"It served both as a wee and a warning toward the other house''s geniuses, whoever this genius ends up standing against.
"However, just as you said, it wasn''t enough to draw the attention of a housemaster, since they''re only interested in core grade-level students."
Ace''s eyes narrowed when he heard this somewhat forbidding feeling emerge in his heart.
"Senior, you mean is?" He asked, pretending to be surprised.
Jefferson replied expressionlessly, "If I''m correct, then you might be at the peak of the tinum river core realm, right?"
Ace knew hiding Archie''s cultivation didn''t matter anymore, so he nodded. "Yes."
Jefferson''s lips suddenly curled at this moment as he said, "You see, the minimum condition for bing a core grade student is having a Soul Realm Cultivation before the age of a hundred. So, you still had the chance to be a core grade student."
Ace was surprised by this revtion. Because the public did not know this matter and a student of the royal demon institute couldn''t talk about the institute''s internal affairs with those of none members, it would be akin to breaking the soul contract.
Lucas and Nancy were also shocked when they heard this.
Lucas''s expression went hideous. ''This bastard is really lucky. But this also means I don''t need to make lies to join hands with Daniel. He''ll surely try to eliminate or suppress this bastard and not let him reach the same status as him.
Ace suddenly understood why Mh was giving him a strange feeling, while he also sensed some hostility from that demon who came from the Soul Combatant House side.
"So, as long as I can break into the Soul Realm, I can be a core-grade student?" He asked with fake excitement.
Jefferson nodded in affirmation. "Yes, this is the easiest way to enter the ranks of core grade students. Daniel Soul Life also used this way to join the ranks of Soul Combatant House''s core grade ss.
"Moreover, that guy has a terrifying talent in runicbat, and most people believed he could''ve entered the core ss with this base as well."
Jefferson''s expression went cold as he looked at Lucas and Nancy all of a sudden, before he ordered, "You two trash, go in the back room. You heard enough."
Lucas and Nancy felt their hearts tremble with Jefferson''s icy re and didn''t dare to retort despite feeling humiliated, but they left with their heads low.
It was the harsh truth of the Royal Demon Institute. Without status, you''re just trash in the superior student''s eyes.
If not for Archie''s presence, a special-ss student like Jefferson would''ve nevere to pick up a mere ordinary student.
Jefferson''s change in attitude also astonished Ace.
After they were left alone, Jefferson went on, "Anyhow, you also have a chance, so I suggest not to waste it and try to break into the soul realm as soon as possible. But it won''t be easy since some core grade students might not enjoy having to share their benefits with one more person and might try something." He warned.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Ace felt this guy didn''t have any reason to warn Archie, so there had to be some kind of purpose.
Jefferson''s expression turned deep. "I was briefed to approach you if you joined the Soul Assassin House by another Core Student. I can''t tell you the identity, but know this: no one dared to offend this person.
"This person had taken a keen interest in you and wanted to help you in your predicament with only one condition: your utmost loyalty!"
Ace''s eyes narrowed. "My predicament? What kind of predicament? Senior, I know you and that person have good intentions, but I don''t want to be a core student, so I should be out of trouble, right?"
This unexpected answer startled Jefferson, but he soon shook his head. "I''m afraid your problem is not just core students!"
Chapter 553 Secret Invitation
Archie questioned startlingly, "What''s that supposed to mean?"
Ace felt nothing from Jefferson. This guy had excellent control over his emotions, and he didn''t give any clues like Mh.
However, what Ace doesn''t understand was why Archie even fell into this kind of situation at all. Because Archie had just entered the institute, there shouldn''t be any grudge between him and anyone.
So, Ace was on full alert after hearing Jefferson saying that he was already in a predicament and the core grade student was just part of it and it can''t be avoided.
Jefferson was expecting this kind of reaction, so he borated, "This information is ssified for now, and only my backer could ess this information. So, before I reveal it to you, I need you to swear, using this oath contract, that this conversation would not get out of this carriage."
Jefferson took out an oath contract which looked like a nk sheet, and handed it to Archie as well as activated another concealment array so no one would hear their conversation, which was about toe.
Ace gave Jefferson a deep look before he used the oath contract since it was just a silly oath he cared little about, even if it was a soul contract, he would still not care.
But this also aroused his interest in this mysterious backer of Jefferson because an oath contract was quite rare, and using this for just a mere talk was quite ludicrous.
When Jefferson saw the ck sheet turn into ck ashes, he knew the oath contract was established, so he spoke with a stern look. "Tell me, do you know about the uing Ancient Allied Gathering in over three years?"
Ace felt instantly rmed as he nodded. "Yes, I do. But what it had to do with my predicament?"
He clearly remembered Harvey telling him to avoid entering this gathering because it would be going to be bloody this time, and he didn''t want Archie to risk his life.
So, he just had to enter the soul realm even if he was got selected by some fluke since a soul realm cultivator couldn''t enter the secret realm.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, getting selected after just bing a special-grade student waspletely unexpected. He didn''t even enter the campus yet, but he was already selected. It was clearly a conspiracy or just dumb luck.
Ace was more inclined toward the former.
Although he already guessed what might be the real problem, he wanted to hear it from Jefferson and what caused it.
Jefferson nodded and exined, "This time, the gathering is going to be a war between the young generation in the secret realm, as to why you might''ve already been warned about it. Even if you won''t, you''ll be soon.
"Because our institute was supposed to send twenty students to this gathering, and this number is already quite high because our total student count is merely under ten thousand.
"Only the students who were still in the first grade were eligible for this section, and the institute could''ve sent all those trashes from the ordinary grade to not risk the lives of elite students.
? "However, the decreee straight from the Imperial Domain that every house was to send five students, two ordinaries, two extraordinary, and one special. Our special grade seldom received any student below the age of hundred, and in the river core realm.
"And most of the old students were over the age of a hundred. So, whichever house didn''t meet the requirements can send a student from a lower grade. It was the case for almost every house''s special grade ss.
"Until¡" Jefferson looked at Archie meaningfully.
"Until I appeared as a special grade student." Archie''s expression turned gloomy.
While Ace also wasn''t feeling good about this because it wasn''t a good thing for his mission.
Jefferson nodded. "Right, but if Housemaster wanted, he could''ve refused to send you by giving an excuse that you''re just a new student and inexperienced. However, he didn''t, and it seemed he wanted to use this threat to make you break into the soul realm before the gathering started.
"But you and I both know, breaking into the soul realm is an arduous process, and if you try to break without proper preparation or force it, you''ll be only destroying your future potential."
''Nah, I just need to adjust my mask''s cultivation, and I''ll be in the soul realm,'' Ace scoffed inwardly.
His worries faded when he heard it was just a coincidence and no one was plotting against Archie, and as long as he showed the cultivation of the soul realm, no one will make trouble for him anymore.
But he also wanted to know how this person got the information about a housemaster''s motives as well as what he wanted from him.
They clearly didn''t just approach him for the good of their heart.
So, he yed along and nodded at Jefferson''s im, "I know, senior. So, what this person wanted from me?"
Jefferson liked Archie''s mindset and conveyed, "I already told you, if you''re willing to give your utmost loyalty, my backer will help you break into the soul realm and even be a core student.
"You might not know this but, the Royal Demon Institute isn''t like other institutes of the Demonic Academia Region. The institute won''t interfere with the students'' infight as long as they won''t try to kill anyone. However, it wasn''t impossible either with the presence of the Life and Death Stage.
"Anyhow, many students chose to enter an alliance formed by powerful students so they could avoid such scenarios, and you''ll be also part of an alliance.
"But this alliance is far more powerful than an ordinary alliance, and not just anyone can join it. Our existence is alsopletely hidden, no one knows about our members.
"We invite our members individually, and all these members were selected by the leader. Every member needed to sign a soul contract with the Leader upon joining.
"Now, I''m inviting you as well and as long as you agree, you''ll get many benefits from this, even Royal Points and any resources you want, as long as you show your worth."
Ace looked at Jefferson, who seemed quite passionate and prideful when he mentioned this secret alliance.
''So, all they wanted was to bond a core grade level genius with a mere favor? But this person seemed to be of high status since this nightmare demon might have the same hierarchy identity as Archie''s, and they won''t submit to someone with lower status than them, no matter what the case,'' Ace thought.
However, he didn''t want to agree instantly or disagree because as long as it was the case of being a soul realm, he could do it whenever he felt like it.
But being a core student means being closer to a housemaster who might have a Quasi-Law Awareness Realm cultivation and he might get exposed if they use their martial or soul sense on him in person.
However, going to the ancient alliance gathering was also quite troublesome because there was a chance that a realw-awareness realm cultivator might apany them on this venture.
Since this was going to be a warlike situation, there was over a ny percent chance of this would happen, so in both situations, Ace would be in danger of exposure.
Unless he has a higher-grade mask!
When Ace thought up to this point, he suddenly asked, "Senior, even if I enter this alliance, it would still take me some time to enter the soul realm. Even with help, it would take a minimum of two years.
"I''m quite sure the selected students might have to go in some sort of training. So, can you tell me when this selection begins, and will these selected students still be in the institute?"
Jefferson was astonished by Archie''s question and looked deeply at him. ''He''s difficult to rope in.''
But he had no choice but to answer, "In one month, the selected students from every institute will leave their institutes and go into the Imperial Domain for preparation."
Ace''s heart turned cold when he heard the Imperial Domain because that ce was definitely a no for him. It was the ce guarded by grade-7 formations, and he will be instantly exposed if they scan him with a grade-7 formation.
Jefferson took Archie''s silence as a travesty since anyone would sane mind would think, how could someone pull strings in the imperial domain while being in the royal demon institute?
So, he assured, "Don''t worry, my backer can support you in the Imperial Domain even better than the Royal Demon Institute. In fact, this was the reason for their confidence, and you''ll return within a year."
Ace''s eyes narrowed as he couldn''t help but asked, "Could it be this backer is a member of¡?"
Jefferson sighed ruefully. He wasn''t able to hold himself back and give out a clue.
But he didn''t regret it because his actual order was to make Archie sign a soul contract no matter what, even tell him some truth if he showed unwillingness!
Chapter 554 Checking The Location
The special grade district of Soul Assassin House waspletelyvishpared to the other districts. The special-grade students were given their own mansions, and every mansion was akin to a small castle.
Archie stood in front of a luxurious mansion.
The institute allocated this mansion to him as a special student, and he was going to live here from now on.
However, Ace wasn''t looking too optimistic about this situation because of his secret discussion with Jefferson.
In the end, Ace had no other choice but to agree to join this secret alliance, since offending an imperial family member wasn''t a brilliant choice. In fact, he had no room left for rejection, since he was invited by a demon with such a status.
Jefferson, on the other hand, also thought the same, and after helping in registering in the special district, he dropped him in his personal mansion and told him he woulde back in a week to pick him up for the meeting with his backer.
In the meantime, he was free to do anything. He could even join other alliances, but he couldn''t reveal the existence of this secret alliance, no matter what.
However, Ace had other things in mind after his deal finalized with Jefferson. He was thinking about how to show his soul realm cultivation so he won''t have to go into the Imperial Domain.
But he hesitates since it might put him into a dangerous spotlight, so he has to be careful about what he chooses.
Nevertheless, he still has a month before the selected students will get notified about their selection. The new sses were also supposed to start a month after the entrance test.
In every demon institute, each gradests for ten years, but this didn''t mean that a new and an old student were on the same level just because they were in the same grade.
That''s why each grade was divided into ten levels.
When a new entrance test began every year, an annual assessment for the old students was also gone under these level tests to move toward the next level.
With each level cross, a student will give many perks, while failing was not an option.
Because failing in the royal demon institute means direct degradation for students above ordinary sses. While for ordinary sses means expulsion.
Students could also enter higher grade sses, but it was very difficult because of the absurd conditions attached to it.
From Jefferson, Ace found that there were just three more first-grade, special students, besides him in the first-grade area of the special district, and those three were still undergoing their yearly assessment and won''t be back until next month.
Ace finally realized just how small the number of students the royal demon institute had and why they considered elites among elites.
Anyhow, if this Ancient Alliance Gathering wasn''t looming over his head. In that case, Ace was nning on staying here for at least a decade and setting up a n for his chain mission while bing powerful and searching for the elemental orb.
Ace ced his student badge in front of the runic barrier which was the entrance of the mansion. It was a security measure to stop anyone from disturbing the students.
Without a student''s permission, only personal instructors could enter their student''s mansion or a housemaster-level figure.
But Ace wasn''t too optimistic about this rming and defensive formation because they were just a fifth-grade formation enough to keep a soul realm out.
As he entered the mansion after, he had to admit it was really grand, like the mansion of the runic soul family.
Now, he had this vast mansion all to himself, and it had many facilities, and he could do almost anything here.
But it was a pity that Ace wasn''t in the mood to explore or waste any time because he needed to decide in a week if he should show the soul realm cultivation or not.
''I was told I could go to the central library and select three skills of lower sky rank, one cultivation art of upper earth, and one secret skill of lower earth rank as a reward for being a special grade student.
''While I can also select a grade-4 attacking array and a grade-4 soul treasure from District Treasure Trove of Special District. Last, this training facility in the royal tower, which had a strong illusion array to stimte real-life training effects, and I was given 48 hours for free.''n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Ace remembered the rewards in his student badge, and he even had 5,000 royal points, which was a huge amount for a new student. Not only that, but he would get 100 Royal Points every month from the institute.
At this moment, Ace entered the mansion, which waspletely clean despite its size and without any servants, it was the work of an array as well.
Students weren''t allowed to bring any servants inside the royal demon institute, and neither they were given any.
But there was not any rule about making other students their servants as long as they were willingly doing it. The institute will turn a blind eye to it as long as no ve item was utilized.
Anyhow, Ace directly headed toward the cultivation hall, which was underground. He already had a small map of this mansion, so he knew where the facilities were located.
He then activated all the concealing formations and then use his own formations on top to make sure no one would spy on him. But he was still not sure since it was the royal demon institute, he couldn''t be too careful here.
Before, he was nning to let out one Winter and have her take Nancy''s face, but after he entered the institute and knew about the rules and contracts, they had to sign and thought otherwise.
Not only that, but those threedies were all in their respective spaces and engrossed in cultivation after they all got a massive amount of rewards from the system in theirst thievery.
Ace didn''t want to distract or disturb them unless necessary and let them absorb all those techniques and skillspletely.
"Moira, do you recoverpletely?" Ace tried tomunicate with Moira, in his true soul.
After the system used some mysterious power to forcibly activate the live fate map power to show Ace the elemental orb''s location, it naturally affected Moira as well.
Although he could still use the fate map, Moira has bepletely dormant and hasn''t spoken a word since that day.
That was why Ace also didn''t try to activate the map to see the elemental orb''s potion again because he was afraid it might affect Moira again. So, he was waiting for Moira to recover because he activates that position again.
Before, he was still far away from the exact position of the lightning orb, so he didn''t manage to pinpoint its precise location. But he clearly remembered that it was somewhere in the center area of the royal demon nation.
Now that he was in the Demonic Academia Region, which was also considered a center of the royal demon nation, he should be able to pinpoint the urate location of the lightning orb now.
If not for this serious situation, he would still not try to rush Moira.
Ace knew his prowess was no longer sufficient, and he needed to break into the higher realm if he wanted to have any chance of his thievery or survival, as the matter of fact.
"Please don''t worry, Sir. Ace, I''m fine. You can use me as you like. I can handle it." Moira''s childish voice sounded in Ace''s mind, filled with assurance.
Ace felt Maria''s words were quite ambiguous. Nheless, he asked sternly, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I don''t know why, but I just have this feeling that it was just a one-time thing. So, please go on, I''ll be fine." Moira confirmed.
Ace squinted his eyes when he heard this and thought, ''Moira is an eternal provenance treasure rted to fate, so her intuition was not something to be taken lightly.''
In the end, he believed Moira''s intuition andmanded the system, "System, I want to see the lightning orb''s position again!"
======
[1 Million Thief Points have been deducted!]
[Host only has ten seconds before the host is required to pay 1 million thief points again for another ten seconds!]
---
? [Thief Point(s): 136,820,500]
======
Ace wanted toin about the short time for the whole one million thief points, but he wasn''t given the chance because the fate map again activated on its own, and started zooming out like thest time.
Ace''s eyes went sharp as they were affixed to the increasing map.
The map soon covered the entire royal demon institute before more and more areas started to appear, and soon the boundary of the Imperial Domain which was closest to the royal demon institute entered the map.
Ace instantly recognized the imperial domain because it was empty on any map of the royal demon nation. There was no map of the Imperial Domain, and neither were allowed to be made!
Chapter 555 The Plan Has Changed!
Seeing the area of the Demon Emperor Domain, Ace was naturally curious about this mysterious territory, and his second job mission, which required him to stand on top of the tallest building of the demon race, was also rted to this ce.
Because the Demon Temple was somewhere in the Emperor Domain.
As more and more areas appeared, Ace didn''t dare to blink his eyes, afraid he would lose the track of the ce.
However, soon when the map stopped expanding, Ace''s eyes went widened in disbelief when he finally saw the location of Lightning Orb!
''T-this? It''s in the imperial domain!'' Ace was gobsmacked when he saw the indicator pointing in the middle of the emperor''s domain!
Although the exact location was still hard to see because the zoom-out area was quiterge, the surface location waspletely urate.
No matter how many times and from which side Ace looked at the map, it was really inside the most guarded ce of the mighty demon continent, the Demon Emperor Domain!
After ten seconds passed, the fate map vanished with a system notification.
=====
[Did the host want to activate the location again?]N?v(el)B\\jnn
=====
"Activate your head!" Ace retorted in exasperation.
He was appalled by this revtion. If this orb were anywhere but the Imperial Domain, he would''ve already started nning how to approach that ce and retrieve it.
But now, he didn''t even know where to start. His skills just weren''t enough to infiltrate the imperial domain without being noticed.
Ace calmed himself and then asked, "Moira, are you all right?"
He knew he couldn''t do anything about this current situation, so racking his brain over this matter won''t make it less troublesome or dangerous.
"Yes. I''m fine, nothing happened, and it feels like¡ natural." Moira''s uncertain yet ted voice sounded.
Ace was d that nothing had happened this time. "Alright, thank you for your help. You can keep resting. I need some time to think about what I just see."
"A-alright, if you need my help, don''t hesitate to ask," Moira reply softly.
Ace chuckled and didn''t reject her goodwill.
However, his expression went grave the next moment as he again thought about the position of the lightning orb.
''I also found two elemental orbs in the azure wind continent and the lowernds on top of that.
''But here, it just keeps getting difficult and difficult. Someone ims both orbs, and one is missing, while one is probably in the hand of the most powerful family on the continent.
''I wonder if humans didn''t know about those two orbs in the lowernds, or they simply just didn''t care, or someone left them there to mature, or they were just formed after the royalnds stopped paying attention.
''However, this wasn''t the case here. The imperial domain hadplete control of the entire continent, and anything that interested them, they took it. No one couldpete with them for it.''
Ace frowned. ''Although I can''t infiltrate the imperial domain individually, I have the chance to enter it now. Who would''ve thought the demons would give me the invitation themselves?
''But Archie''s identity still isn''t enough for searching the elemental orb. I would be restricted in that ce or who knows what kind of training awaits Archie once he entered the imperial domain.
''I won''t have a chance to roam that ce freely, and if I dared to show anything out of the ordinary, they might suspect me. Furthermore, the moment I stole that elemental orb, if it was really in the hand of some influential figure, then I would be exposed!
''Then leaving that ce alive would be even more impossible than entering it. I might even have to abandon this chain mission if I want to gasp at this chance of acquiring the elemental orb.
''Elemental Orb is more important right now, and my entire n was depending on acquiring it and bing more powerful. Without a power boost, I would put myself in danger if I went to the institute''s treasury or library.
''This would also result in alerting the demons, and I would lose my chance toplete my job mission before 5 years as well as I have to give up on the lightning orb in a long run as well.
''In contrast, I couldplete my job mission if I nned this well and acquired the elemental orb in the process. Even if something goes wrong and I don''t get the chance, I could remain hidden and still have the chance for aeback.
''I still have more than a decade before the chain mission ends. This trip to the endless sea might be an excellent opportunity if I looked at it in another direction.''
Ace''s lips suddenly curled into a conniving smile. ''Archie''s identity isn''t enough. I need someone who could move freely in the emperor domain, and now awareness realm cultivator paid much attention to this person, either. I wonder if this demon from the Imperial Family who invites Archie secretly is strong or not¡''
Ace suddenly felt like everything was falling into ce on its own as he made a new n, which waspletely opposite to his previous one.
Now that he knew the lightning orb was in the imperial domain, he had to add this ce into consideration, and the royal demon institute was no longer that critical either. Not for now, at least.
At this moment, Ace suddenly narrowed his eyes, and he flipped his hand. His violet student badge appeared, which was blinking at this moment.
With a thought, he activated it and saw a small notice.
"Special Student Archie Soul Life,e to the Special Instructor Quarters No.03 on Soul Assassin Royal Tower Floor No.99 the next morning. I''ll be waiting."
It was more like an invitation than notice and Ace was astonished when he guessed it was probably from a special grade instructor!
''It couldn''t be because this person wanted to ept me as a personal student since it''s meaningless with the selection in one month. It might be for some other purpose.
''Nevertheless, I can''t reject it or dodge this meeting. It would be foolish to offend a special grade instructor.'' Ace frowned slightly and stowed the badge away.
In the end, Ace sighed ruefully, ''I need to wake her. She would be extremely useful with her set of skills in this situation and in the imperial domain as well. I hope she''ll be in a good mood, though.''
Ace smiled wryly before he closed his eyes and sent his voice into the private space of the Faceless Thief!
---
The four Royal Towers of the Royal Demon Institute were the symbols of four disciplinary houses.
Each tower was a thousand-meter-tall and had a hundred floors.
The higher the floor was, the more advanced the facilities and benefits of cultivating on such a floor will be, and that''s what made these four towers so unique and desired by everyone.
Floors 1 to 10 were open for ordinary-grade students to use training and cultivation facilities. Floor 11 to 30 was for extraordinary students. While Floor 31 to 60 was for Special Grade Students.
The Floors from 61 to 80 were prohibited areas, and only those with special permits were allowed to enter these floors because these floors were for core grade students only.
On Floor 81 to 90 lived the instructors of Ordinary and Extraordinary Grades of the royal demon institute.
From floor 91 to 99 were the quarters of Special Grade Instructors and the personal students of Housemasters.
Lastly, the 100th floor was upied by a Housemaster.
At this time, in the Soul Assassin House Tower, Floor No.100,
Bodach was sitting imposingly with a faint smile on his face while facing him was a Nightmare Demon who was none other than Jefferson!
However, Jefferson had a silver badge in his hand, which was the symbol of an instructor!
Bodach spoke smilingly, "So, how was it?"
Jefferson had an expressionless face before he stowed the instructor badge away and respectfully answered, "He''s alright, but I don''t know why Master made me approach him and even arrange for him to join the Prince''s Alliance."
Bodach smiled mysteriously and say, "Heh, that little fellow has the potential to be a core student and rank within the top ten at that. It''s in his nature which you won''t see very often.
"As for why I sent you, isn''t it obvious? After me, you''ll be the next Housemaster and Tower Master of the Soul Assassin House, and you should start taking students. If that little brat bes a core grade student, you''ll be his teacher, and you can''t refuse this time."
Jefferson''s emotionless face suddenly showed a frown, as if he was unwilling.
Bodachpletely ignored his expression and continued, "As for why I arranged him to go into the prince''s alliance and asked the Fifth Prince to look after him in the Imperial Domain, it just equaled the battlefield."
Bodach''s empty smile turned ghastly at this moment. "If that Ampersand thinks that I have gone senile, then he''s already lost this time!"
Chapter 556 Devil Envoys Motives!
The Northern Imperial Domain, inside a luxurious hall,
Sitting in this hall were two masked demons emanating suffocating auras while sitting in front of them were also two begins in ck robes and ck masks, only their crimson eyeballs visible, and their pointy, long ears.
The most distinguishing features of these two begins were unlike demons: they had dark brown folded bat wings behind them, and their auras were extremely sinister, which would make anyone flee far away from them.
The red-masked demon coldly uttered at this moment, "So, what do we owe this honor of receiving two esteemed devil envoys without any prior notice? Perhaps you two are here for sightseeing?" He was clearly unhappy about these two visitors from afar.
These two were the envoy of the Devil Race and they appeared here without any prior notice. Only when they had already entered the waters of the demon continent, they issued an alert for their arrival!
This action naturally made demons furious because it was clearly the devil race showing no face to the demon race anding here as they pleased as if no one would dare to stop them.
Although the rtionship between the two races was known as friendly by the other continents, they were not that friendly at all.
On the contrary, the devil race was always on guard against the demon race because only they could pose a threat to their number one position in this world.
While the demon race was also ambitious but never showed their fangs because a fight between continents wasn''t a joke, and if these two hegemonies shed, the Hunters will not let this chance pass by and might try to y the fisherman.
These three races maintain a delicate bnce and keep each other in check unless someone hadpletely lost their mind, they would never start an all-out war.
The visit of these two devil envoys was quite sudden, and many demons have some idea about why they were there.
After what happened on the outer continent, it wasn''t a secret anymore that they were continually being tricked by the conniving thief Sky Stealer, and this matter just couldn''t be contained after hisst thievery.
It was the biggest humiliation of the demon race, and they wanted to do anything to capture that thief and skin him alive publicly, but that conniving bastard was too wily and still hiding somewhere.
Despite the demon race''s best efforts, they still had made no progress, heck, they didn''t even find a single clue about his whereabouts yet. It was like he had vanished into thin air.
Now, these two fellows were here, and everyone knew they weren''t here out of the goodness of their hearts but to rub salt in their wounds.
Nevertheless, they couldn''t do anything about it since the Ancient Alliance Gathering wasing, and every race had put many resources into this venture this time.
So, if demons make devils dissatisfied, then they might work together with hunters to get rid of them in the secret realm which the demon knows that the hunter would happily agree.
So, they could do nothing but swallow their dissatisfaction and cope with these two envoys.
These two demons were Elder Demons from the Imperial Demon Council, and we''re here to tackle these two devil envoys.
One of the devils spoke in a jeering tone, "The Sixth Demon Elder sure are generous but I won''t be able to enjoy the scenery while knowing there''s a thief roaming freeing out there."
"You!" Sixth Demon Elder''s voice turned sharp as his aura spiked, he was enraged!
"Sixth Demon Elder, control yourself!" The second demon in blue masked sternly warned.
"Indeed, there''s no need to take it seriously, Sixth Demon Elder. My second brother like to jest. I apologized if you found his words offensive." The second devil in his husky voice also spoke while shooting an unhappy nce at his second brother.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
They were both in someone else''s territory, and the other party was showing much consideration by just not attacking them and treating them with utmost importance and ethics.
But if they pushed them too hard, he knew demons weren''t pushovers at all.
"Humph!" Sixth Demon Elder grunt coldly, and his aura return to normal.
He also knew attacking them would turn the situation worse and since the other party issued an apology, he couldn''t be unreasonable. After all, it was he who provoked them in the first ce.
This time, the demon in the blue mask spoke, "Let''s not beat around the bush, shall we? So why do you want?" His voice was calm and filled with authority.
The devil, with a husky voice, also didn''t let his second brother speak and seriously stated, "Fourth Demon Elder, we are not here to cause trouble or to pick a fight with your guys.
"We are here to help you with your thief''s matter. Our races had always lent a hand to each other in predicaments in past, and this time isn''t any different as well. I hope we''ll receive a positive answer."
Fourth Demon Elder already knows about this, "We naturally appreciate devil race concern and won''t p a helping hand away. But His Imperial Majesty would definitely want to know the reason behind your help and thepensation you want.
"Let''s be honest with each other, nothing is free in this world, and we won''t take this help without returning something, so please speak freely."
"It would be indeed disrespectful of us if we didn''t take the generous offer of His Imperial Majesty the Demon Emperor." The devil said impassively, "I would be blunt with my request, then. We just want that thief''s corpse, nothing else."
Sixth Demon Elder blurted in anger when he heard this, "Do you take us for a fool?! The corpse of that thief is undoubtedly the most precious thing on him, and you want that, of all things?"
Fourth Demon Elder also nodded and coldly said, "It''s indeed an unreasonable request and you''re not giving us any chance of discussion at all."
"I know this very well and your plight, but please consider it. You know about our Blood n''s innate ability to sense the blood aura which couldn''t be hidden with disguise tools or abilities.
"As long as this thief is not from the demon race, we''ll be able to pinpoint his direction. We''re even willing to perform a blood ritual, which you should know is a secret technique of our Blood n, which had a powerful side effect on our vitality.
"I think it''s proof of our sincerity in working with you guys. We just want his corpse, and you can have anything else on him and even execute him publicly." The devil said frankly.
Fourth and Sixth Demon Elders were shocked when they heard ''Blood Ritual'' which was the infamous technique of the number one and dominant n of Devil Race the Blood n, for its tracking abilities, and no one could escape it, no matter the strength!
They both were now speechless since even they thought this offer was quite generous, and they could also get rid of that thief for good.
The water had long crossed the bridge, and every day that thief remained free the demon race was losing face.
The devil duo sensed the demon elders'' hesitation, and they nced at each other and decided to hit while the iron was still hot.
"I''ll also tell you something which is only known by our n for now and the situation the demon race is in." The devil said ambiguously.
The Sixth Demon Elder was confused. "What do you mean?"
"The human race was going to wake their Prime One for some reason, and thest time we heard from our spies was five months ago. You should know what this means, right?" The devil said coolly.
The Sixth Demon Elder abruptly stood up when he heard and shouted, "Why?! Did they finally lose their mind? Aren''t those guys under you?"
Fourth Demon Elder''s aura also spiked, as he wanted the answer to this exact question.
The devil sighed, "You guys know the human race never loses their ambition, and they had a knack for striking when someone least expected it. The Fiery Hell Realm before and now ispletely different, and I''m afraid the beast race might work with humans this time to force us in giving them some slots to fight for the spirit fire.
"Currently, a strange thing is happening in the beast continent, and I''m afraid the humans have already decided to be independent again the moment they get rid of our people and decided to awake their Prime One.
"Don''t forget that thief now had that hex book which had the entire inheritance of the witch race. It was a terrible decision to let it out, but since it happens, we need to act before he masters that book."
The Devil''s voice went stern. "We can''t let him mature anymore. Last time, it took both Devil and Demon Ancestors to kill the leader of the witch race, and we can''t afford another such variable appearing right at this time.
"It might really turn the tides of power this time, and with the spirit fire appearing in the mix, I''m afraid the long peace of Golden Sky World will shatter!"
Chapter 557 Soul Assassin Royal Tower
The next morning,
Archie left the mansion and headed toward the Assassin House Royal Tower, which was quite close to the special district.
Each territory of the Royal Demon Institute was like a vast city, but unlike a normal city, it was empty and peaceful. The Qi density was also many times higher than the outside because of special Qi-gathering arrays were all over the ce.
The Royal Tower wasn''t guarded by another, as there wasn''t any need to. There was a powerful formation barrier surrounding the massive structure, and only those with permits in their badges could cross this barrier.
Furthermore, if anyone tried to sneak in, they would suffer terrible consequences!
Since a special grade instructor invited Archie, he was naturally eligible to enter without spending his free training hours.
When Ace reached the ce, he looked at the massive gray tower, which was triangr and looked like a in pir. No one could tell if there were floors in this structure or even doors.
From Paul''s memories, he had seen this ce from inside as well, but seeing the real thing could not bepared with a memory.
Holding his student badge, he crossed the gray translucent barrier, and the next moment, his badge lit up.
Thereupon, an outline started to emerge in the structure before it turned into massive gates, which made Ace''s eyes narrow in astonishment.
''This entire tower could''ve been powered on a Grade-6 formation. I wonder what that treasury and library will have in their security. Probably a grade-7 formation!'' Ace grimaced just thinking about it.
When he reached the gates, a static voice rang, "Special Grade Student Archie Soul Life, you were given a permit to enter the 99th floor. Please ce your student badge on the formation scanner and you''ll be given the passage to the 99th floor!"
Thereafter, a small white tform started to rise from the ground with a smooth, runic surface.
Ace was calmed as he ced his badge on the tform, and a gray light enveloped it for a few moments.
At this moment, the gates finally started to open, and the tform also seemed to be done with the badge as the barrier vanished, Ace picked it up, and the tform slid back into the ground.
The voice rang again. "Enter!"
Ace nced at the door for a moment with an ambiguous look in his eyes, but he still took a step forward and entered the tower.
What greeted Ace was a luxurious and spacious lobby, and there was a fiery demon standing in front. Right behind him was a white triangle tform.
There was also a counter with no one to tend to and a corridor that led toward the inner tower.
"Archie Soul Life?" The fiery demon didn''t give Ace the chance to look at the building carefully when he called him impassively. He was clearly here for Archie.
"Yes, I am," Archie replied politely.
"Let''s go, we shouldn''t tarry. There''s nothing to see here. Everyone is cultivating in their private cultivation rooms." He impassively said before he stepped onto the triangle tform while beckoning Archie with his eyes to follow suit.
Ace knew what that tform was and how it worked, but he was still looking forward to using this novel thing.
When Archie stood beside him, the fiery demon warned, "Since it''s your first time using the lifting tform, try not to fall or hurled."
Archie merely nodded without saying anything.
The next moment, a transparent barrier of light descended from above before the triangle tform suddenly lifted from the ground, and the ceiling also opened into a triangle shape space just like the tform.
The tform then suddenly shoots upward like an arrow.
Although this much speed wasn''t enough to affect a cultivator of the river core realm, many felt scared when they experienced the feeling of soaring upward.
However, Ace waspletely fine. Only curiosity shone in his eyes as he was looking at the rising tform, which was taking them to higher floors. It was naturally a function of the royal tower, and there weren''t any stairs to go upward ore down.
''If I hadn''t seen the memories of Paul about it and now experiencing it, I wouldn''t believe a formation could be used like this. The outer provinces are really countrysidepared to the royal zone.'' He thought as he felt even more urgency to increase his power before he walked into some trap here.
Although he hatched a n to avoid this exact situation from happening, it''s still better to be careful than sorry.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Senior, can you tell me who invites me?" Ace inquired.
Although he knew he wasn''t in danger, he still wanted to know what instructor had taken a liking to Archie, despite knowing he might probably leave the institute in a month''s time.
He didn''t believe for a second that a special grade instructor wouldn''t have any knowledge about the gathering selection.
The fiery demon was somewhat astonished when he saw Archie didn''t react to the lifting tform at all, as if he had been on it before and now even talking.
Nevertheless, he still replied while maintaining his outer appearance, "I''m merely a deacon who is in charge of this lifting tform, so I know nothing about who invites you."
After he thought for a moment, he spoke again, "All I can say is the 99th floor is upied by five personal students of the Housemaster, and three of them are special grade instructors. I don''t know anything more."
Ace already knew about what a 99th floor represented, but he wanted to know who had taken an interest in him from that ce.
Paul was a member of Soul Combatant House, so he knew little about the Soul Assassin House.
And after Archie drew the attention of an imperial family member, he was on guard against others.
"Who lives in Special Instructor Quarters No.03?" Ace decided to disclose the information he received from the notice.
The fiery demon''s expression suddenly changed when he heard this and looked at Archie deeply, "Are you sure it''s the Special Instructor Quarters No.03?"
Archie nodded seriously.
Ace instantly noticed the change in expressions and felt something was amiss.
The fiery demon''s expression returned to normal as he merely said, "You''ll know soon. We''re already here."
The tform suddenly stopped at this moment, and Ace saw they were in a spacious hall, and there were ten corridors leading in separate directions.
The fiery demon pointed toward a corridor. "That is Special Instructor Quarters No.03."
Ace looked at the corridor and saw there were a namete ''Special Instructor Quarters No.03'' there, and there were other nametes on four other corridors while the other five were empty.
"Since you have the invitation, you just need to hold your badge and entered the corridor, and someone will receive you afterward. I''ll be waiting here." The fiery demon impassively stated.
Ace nodded before he moved toward the corridor with his student badge in his hand. The moment he stepped into the corridor, he felt like he had been stepped into quicksand as a ghastly pressure descend all of a sudden.
The next moment, a powerful soul pressure also started to attack his mind.
Before Ace couldprehend what had happened, an icy voice rang. "If you find your way toward me from this Piercing Maze, I''ll meet you.
"But if you didn''t, then you have no qualification to meet me and receive my guidance. You have three days and can use any means."
Ace was bbergasted by this voice and thought in indignation, ''What the fuck? Aren''t you the one who invites me here in the first ce?!''
Still, he didn''t say it out loud, as he could feel the physical and soul suppression was getting weaker because of his special traits. Although this grade-6 formation really has some effect on him, it wasn''t much.
Ace sneered inwardly as he saw the passage in front of him had turned into a maze. It was clearly an illusion formation, and all Ace needed was to activate the fate map, and the actual path will emerge. No illusion can affect the fate map!
Although he won''t be able to see the traps, it was more than enough to see the way.
Nevertheless, Ace would not do it, or it would be too shocking, so he would pretend to lose and struggle and take his time to cross this maze.
The other party didn''t have any malicious intent, or he could feel this much pressure was only enough for an intermediate soul realm cultivator, while a grade-6 formation could even make a manifestation realm feel despair.
It was simply a test of Archie''s level, nothing else.
---
On the 100th floor of Soul Assassin Royal Tower,
Bodach has arge projection of Archie standing with a pale expression inside the corridor, and he couldn''t help but smile, "If he managed to cross this piercing maze within three days, then his potential is even stronger than that brat Daniel."
His ghostly smile widened, "Don''t disappoint us, little fellow!"
Chapter 558 Piercing Maze
Inside the main hall of, Special Instructor Quarters No.03,
A projection of Archie could be seen in an array mirror, and three demons wearing ck masks were watching this projection. All of them were wearing Institute Instructor''s robes.
One of them spoke at this moment, "So, First Brother, is this the student master found for you? He seemed quite¡ ordinary." His voice was mild without any emotions in it.
"He''s not my student yet, not unless he''s a core student before he bes 100 years of age." The demon sitting in the center of the three replied impassively.
"Oh, now I understand why the master agreed to send him to this uing gathering training. If he broke into the soul realm before the participants leave then he wille back as a core student and his experience would also improve." The third demon on the right was a demoness.
The demoness spoke in an icy tone, "But if he failed, then he will go to the gathering as a punishment to disappoint Master and First Brother. I''m afraid he won''t even break free from this Piercing Maze in three days. You guys are asking too much from thisd. Not everyone can be a genius like First Brother."
"Although Third Sister is right like always, Master made us observe him for a whole three days. If he passed, we have to teach him one sky grade skill each. Let''s see if he could earn this fortune. Don''t underestimate Master''s intuition." The demon on the left reply impassively.
"Alright, he''s about to enter the first level ice soul maze, which will make his soul feel like he''s deep within a freezingke. The Piercing Maze''s entire purpose is to train and strengthen our souls in different soul element environments.
"Although only three environments are activated and level were also set to level-1 right now, they''re still not something ad in River Core could cross in three days. But if he really pulled this off, I''ll teach him the Shadow Walk." The demoness coldly dered with full of confidence.
"Oh? Third Sister sure is generous. Alright, if he escapes in three days, then there''s no need to doubt that he''ll be First Brother''s student and our first Soul Nephew, so I won''t be stingy as well. I''ll teach him, Darkles Stealth." The demon chuckled as he was also quite confident that Archie won''t be able to cross the maze in three days.
The demon in the center didn''tment or say anything. All his focus was on the projection as if the other two didn''t exist.
---
Inside the Piercing Maze,
Ace was walking slowly toward a blue passage which gave him the feeling of cold in his soul, but it wasn''t dangerous at all.
He was deliberately suppressing his soul cultivation so he could feel some effect of his surrounding, or the people watching might suspect something. He didn''t want to meet with the Housemaster, especially when there was a chance for exposure in his soul sense.
But he also didn''t want to miss this chance to meet with a special grade instructor as well as the Housemaster''s personal student at that. If he earned his goodwill, he might get some unexpected advantage or information.
So, Ace was nning to cross this maze in two days. His n was simple, he would not try to break free from this illusion and used the fate map to slowly exit this ce after wandering for some time.
It would appear he had passed the maze with difficulty and won''t draw any attention. He mused that a special student with core grade potential should be able to pass this maze which was why he was being tested.
The moment Ace stepped into the blue passage, the pressure on his soul suddenly increased, and its nature also turned cold.
''Is this some kind of training ground to strengthen someone''s soul?'' Ace mused. ''It might be possible since this ce is within the royal tower and on the 99th floor. I already heard about the illusion facilities in this tower.
''If that''s the case, then I shouldpletely surpass my cultivation and see how I fawn on this illusion training ground. It might be good for my soul as well. It''s not like I''m in a hurry.''
After Ace decided, hepletely suppressed his martial cultivation and used his soul to resist the cold soul Qi, which gave Ace some pressure and made him feel the cold of winter.
But his soul was filled with heavenly soul Qi and still quite strong so, Ace suppressed his true soul cultivation up to peak Soul Gates realm which finally made Ace feel the true might of this soul illusion.
Now, he could finally feel just how strong and aghast this illusion training facility was.
Nevertheless, Ace didn''t restore his cultivation and kept it as it is and start walking. He reckoned that now no one would suspect anything.
---
However, he didn''t know he hadpletely underestimated the Piercing Maze, which was the most precious soul training facility of the two soul houses of the Royal Demon Institute.
This training facility was designed for those geniuses in the soul embryo realm to strengthen their soul in different element environments, even manifestation realm cultivators could train in this facility.
Furthermore, a river core realm cultivator has never crossed three environments in three days. The closest was two environments in three days which were held by none other than the Soul Assassin Housemaster''s first student, Clouse Nightmare!
But only a few crucial figures know about it since the Royal Demon Institute never shows off or divulges information about their star students.
Furthermore, it was also done in the order of the imperial domain because they didn''t want to reveal this information to enemies like devils.
Nevertheless, Archie was still forced into this impossible test by Bodach because he suspected Archie''s abilities from the start.
Archie never showed or could use his true prowess in the entrance test, and someone like Bodach, who was an old, wily demon, could never miss this detail.
So, he decided to test Archie''s real soul potential in the Piercing Maze of the 99th floor, which was far more powerful than any floor below, even at the just difficulty of the first level.
If he managed to cross even one environment in one day, then this means he was definitely a core-grade seed and was hiding his true abilities to keep a low profile.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
An institute like the Royal Demon Institute would always do a deep background check on every potential student, and Archie was the same.
His personal profile from the past and the current Archie weren''t a match at all. It was like he was apletely different person.
But no one ever suspected that it was a whole other person because everyone thought that Archie was hiding his abilities to not get destroyed by his main n, which waspletely reasonable.
Almost all the students in the royal demon institute were from four-grade demon tribes, and everyone understood that the main n will always try to do everything to remain the main n.
Grand Demon Duke-level figures would never pay attention to such matters as long as they won''t go too far and start killing their own kin.
Bodach thought the same, but he also thought that Archie was being an idiot for not showing his ability in Royal Demon Institute since no one could harm him here and was foolishly holding back and kicking the benefits in the face.
He was even more sure when Clouse told him that Archie said he wasn''t interested in being the core grade student. So, his thought of sending him to the gathering training was the right choice to force him to show his true potential.
If he epts him as a core student, it would benefit no one, so he let Archie face dangerous situations and escape using his abilities.
But Bodach was also wary of Ampersand would y some trick to clear the way for his student Daniel, who was the main descendant of the Soul Life n and the most cherished genius.
However, if Archie showed even more potential, then Daniel would be distracted and felt threatened, which would divert his focus from his cultivation.
Bodach had sensed ill intent from Ampersand when he suggested selecting and sending Archie to the gathering training.
Ampersand probably had guessed that Archie would never join the Soul Combatant House since his nature was more like an assassin. It was clearly an attempt to get rid of Archie and clear the path for Daniel.
But Bodach also yed along and does as Ampersand suggested, and lets him think that, he was tricked.
Yet, in truth, he was just making sure Ampersand won''t suspect anything.
In secret, Bodach arranged a meeting between Clouse and Archie from start and also arranged for him to join the prince''s alliance. It could protect him from both instructors and students alike.
Even in the imperial domain, no one would dare to touch Archie as long as some other member of the imperial family interfered.
However, not even Bodach had thought that all these arrangements were going to be a stepping stone in Ace''s way!
Chapter 559 A Brewing Storm
At this moment, Ace was still unaware of the true nature of Piercing Maze and was moving slowly but steadily toward the third environment, and only a day had passed.
He didn''t know that Bodach as well as the three special grade instructors were astounded by his fast advancement and watching his every step like hawks now.
---
Meanwhile, far away from the demon continent was the Beast Continent,
In the center of the beast continent was a huge mountain range filled with towering mountains with snowy peaks. This ce was known as the Ancient Beast Mountain Range.
Only the Magic Beast with at least Manifestation Bloodline could enter and live in this ce, and it was also the ce where the Beast Emperor resides.N?v(el)B\\jnn
At one of the tallest peaks of Ancient Beast Mountain Range,
A sphere of dark gray mist was revolving in the air,pletely ineffective by snowing winds.
At this moment, a blur appeared a few meters away from this misty sphere.
A husky voice sounded within this blur. "Grim Ancestor, I think the children found the person you have told me to keep an eye for. But I''m not sure if they''re the same, but there''s a 70% chance they''re the same since your provided description match almost perfectly."
"Let me be the judge of that." An eerie voice sounded in reply from the misty sphere.
"Very well then, a few years ago, a thief appeared in the demon continent¡" The husky voice told all the information on the Sky Stealer they had collected, "¡ not only his name is also Sky Stealer, but he also left an owl symbol whenever he theft."
"So, that brat somehow ran on the demon continent and even survived all these years while making demons lose so much face? Impressive." The eerie voice of Grim Ancestor sounded astonished with a hint of killing intent.
"So, they are the same person? But then it won''t be easy to capture him. Even demons are still helpless against him." The husky voice stated his concerns.
"This is indeed troublesome now. He had the map, and without it, our n is mere fantasy, and for some reason, I couldn''t sense the map''s presence, no matter how much I tried.
"I don''t know what kind of secret that thievish brat had. Not only he makes a name for himself on the demon continent, but he cut my connection with the map as well." Grim Ancestor told in frustration.
"Then all that sacrifice for that map was for nothing?! You better find a way to take that map back or don''t me me for being ruthless Grim Ancestor.
"Don''t even think for a second that I have forgiven you for what you have done in the past, and now you''re trying to repeat that tragedy all over again. But I won''t let it happen, or you''ll really make our race extinct this time!" The husky voice threatened coldly.
"Old friend, don''t sound so noble. We both know what happened in the past and why we both are still alive when all those old rivals of ours are tasting dust somewhere." Grim Ancestor sneered coldly and continued, "As for that map, I''ll find it, eventually. Since I know that brat''s whereabouts, I will find him. But first, I need to regain my cultivation, and the fastest way is a Law Source."
"You mean¡ don''t tell me!" The husky voice rang in astonishment.
"Hehe, I have finally gained full control over this body. Thatss was really hard to deal with, and now my cultivation is only at the peak of the tinum soul river core realm.
"Prepared a ship for me. I''m going into the fiery hell realm to acquire that ancientw source. I might even go on the demon continent afterward to hunt that thievish brat down." Grim Ancestor confidently dered.
"It seemed you were nning this from the start, huh? So be it, those fools didn''t know just how ancient that fire spirit is, and they just discovered it a hundred years ago. Only someone like us could acquire it.
"At that time, even without that map, we can easily win over this world and return to former glory!" The husky voice was filled with passion.
Grim Ancestor sneered in indignation, "Hehe, see you still the same as before¡ Beast Ancestor!"
---
At the same time, on Azure Wind Continent, low-levelnds.
In the Easternnds of 2-Star Cities, two cloaked figures appeared out of thin air, near the bank of a beautiful river.
The meadow river bank was surrounded by rows of colorful wildflowers, creating exquisite scenery and the aromatic scent drifting in the air giving the feeling of refreshment.
However, just a few hundred meters away from this beautiful river was an old ruin filled with wild sward and vines.
"NO! It can''t be the River Flower City; how could it be destroyed? No, I must be in the wrong ce again!" A melodious voice mumbled in anxiety and incertitude.
However, the other cloaked person retorted softy at this moment, "Princess, I think now is the time to ept the reality that¡"
"No! Shut up!"
The mysterious Princess reprimanded loudly as a sharp icy aura suddenly exploded from her, freezing everything in a mile radius, turning everything into an ice field, but this Ice color was bright silver.
The other cloaked figure just barely managed to protect herself from freezing.
At this moment, an old mellow voice rang in the vicinity, "Who are you searching for, Child?"
This mysterious voice startled both cloaked figures.
"Who is there?!" the mysterious Princess inquired as she looked around warily, but no one was there.
"I''m also searching for someone like you. He also originated from this ruined city, once called the River Flower." The mellow voice replied.
They both then looked upward toward the sky because this voice wasing from above, but to their shock, there was no one in the sky as well.
"No! This is not the river flower city, you''re lying!" The mysterious Princess again retorted, unwilling to ept the truth. She no longer cared about the identity of this person.
"Senior, please forgive my young miss''s rudeness, she''s just grieving over her lost brother and wasn''t herself at the moment. She didn''t mean offense. We''ll leave right away." The other woman quickly apologized, with a hint of trepidation in her voice.
She wasn''t muddleheaded and could tell this person wasn''t simple, and they better leave before it was toote.
"Let''s go. We''ll search somewhere else." The other women quickly try to drag the mysterious Princess away.
"Wait." The mellow voice rang again. "Did the person you are searching for is known by¡ Ace White?"
The mysterious Princess''s aura suddenly spiked when she heard this name, and blurted with anticipation, "YOU!? How do you know this name?! Where is he?!"
The other woman was also shocked, but she wasn''t as optimistic as herpanion because, ording to her Princess description, this person was just a mortal. How could this mysterious expert have known a mortal?
''This is bad. There is something wrong. I need to take the Princess and escape!'' She thought grimly.
"Oh? What a coincidence. Not only we are searching for a person who originated from the same ce, but this person happened to be the same." The mellow voice rang with a hint of happiness. "You say he''s your brother. Is he your biological brother?"
"First, tell me why are you searching for him and where is he. Is he still alive? " The mysterious Princess didn''t answer bluntly again!
Although she was desperate, she wasn''t a fool and after she felt some hope, she regained her demeanor.
"Ah, how unbing of me. I kept asking questions." The mellow voice coolly said, "You see, child, your brother stole something of mine. I have no grudge against him, and as long as he returns those things, I would not persuade this matter."
"If this is about treasures, I''ll return tenfold over what he took! But don''t make him sound like a thief!" The mysterious Princess announced confidently in a bitter tone.
"Heh, you seemed to don''t know about this brother of yours, huh?" The mellow voice sounded amused. "Nevertheless, I appreciate your offer, but the things your brother took are unique and only one of their kind."
"As long as I discover him, I''ll have him return them to you. Just tell me where he is!" She inquired desperately. It was clearly this mysterious voice knew something about her brother.
"That''s the problem, child. Your brother is very hard to find, but he might be willing toe if he knows his sister is looking for him, won''t he?" The mysterious voice inquired nonchntly, "Let''s look for him together, I''ll know just the ce where he might be."
"Princess, Run!" the other woman, who was silent for all this time, suddenly shouted before silver ruin symbols emerged on her figure. She was clearly preparing for this.
However, ¡ "Ah, the sacred technique of Silver Ice Royal Hunter Bloodline, it''s been quite a while since Ist saw it. But it''s a pity it won''t activate."
Just the voice trailed off the symbols on the figure suddenly vanished!
"Who are you exactly!?" the Princess questioned with trepidation.
The voice answered, "Dream Shatter¡ Ancestor¡!"
Chapter 560 The End Of Piercing Maze
Ace was moving between red corridors of the Piercing Maze filled with suppressing fiery soul Qi when he suddenly frowned. ''Why do I feel this gloom all of a sudden? Did those demons suspect something?''
Uncertain, he slowed down his pace as if he was struggling, and kept walking toward the third environment, which was only a few hundred meters away.
He was already inside the piercing maze for one and a half days, only half the time left.
But it wasn''t all for nothing. After crossing the Soul Ice Environment, Ace felt his soul core strengthen very little.
Although it was only tiny, this change was still good news for Ace because this means that Piercing Maze could also help him strengthen his heavenly soul core!
But he mused that only with the full power of this training facility could he experience changes with his true cultivation level. Yet, he couldn''t, or those terrifying demons will personallye to check on him.
Furthermore, he didn''t have the luxury of time to train like before. He needed to get on with his n to enter the imperial domain and search for that elemental orb. The chain mission was no longer important.
Three hourster, Ace finally saw a corridor with a dark blue color and stepped in it without hesitation.
However, the soul pressure suddenly double as this was giving him the feeling of standing in the middle of the windstorm. It was the final environment; Soul Wind.
Ace felt like his Soul Gates cultivation wasn''t enough to cross this environment in reaming time. Although he could endure it with his Soul Gates cultivation, it would make his pace like a snail.
However, this was also a chance to temper his soul, so he raised his martial cultivation to the third Qi gate stage and started moving again.
---
Inside the main hall of Special Instructor Quarters No.03,
The vibe of this ce waspletely solemn at this moment as all three special grade instructors'' eyes were glued on the projection as they didn''t want to miss even a moment.
"This? Why did the environment change from level one Soul Earth to level two Soul Wind?" The demon on the left eximed in astonishment.
"We clearly underestimated this little one, and it''s clearly Master''s doing to test him further. His soul talent is even more shocking than First Brother back then. It seemed Master really picked a gem this time for First Brother." The demoness presumed as a tingle of envy could be sensed in her tone at the end.
"Hehe, it seemed someone jealous, huh? Don''t worry, you''re not alone, though." The demonsment.
The demon in the center suddenly stood up at this moment.
"What happened?" They both looked at Clouse with confusion.
"I''m going to seek the Master to cancel his cement in the gathering training. He''s more precious than that." Clouse coldly dered before he vanished from his spot.
"Well, it seemed First Brother is in love." The other demon joked.
"He''s always protective of those close to him. If he considered thisd one of his people, then it''s his biggest fortune to have the backing of the future leader of the Nightmare Demon Tribe." The demons said matter-of-factly.
---
On the 100th floor,
Bodach frowned his brows as he watched Archie still moving in the level two soul wind field.
Although his expression was pale and exhausted, he continued to move like he didn''t know the meaning of rest.
''How could his endurance have reached the same level of peak tinum soul embryo realm? Did he suffer soul torture from a young age? Highly unlikely, unless his parents lost their minds, they won''t do such a thing. So, is this his body tempering?'' He contemted.
At this moment, a masked figure appeared who was none other than Clouse.
There was a hidden stairway between the 99th and 100th floors, which could be used as long as they have given ess by the tower master.
So Bodach wasn''t surprised when he noticed Clouse.
"I know why you are here. But it''s impossible now, I had already submitted the list already. Unless you convince Lord Principal, that brat''s fate is sealed." Bodach sighed ruefully.
After seeing Archie''s performance, even he was regretting sending him to the gathering training now. It would be far more convenient to train him in the tower.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Even if he had to make it obvious and alert Ampersand, he won''t care because Archie''s soul talent was even scarier than those of the Imperial Family!
Nevertheless, he also knew once the Imperial Domain found out about Archie''s talent, they would defiantly approach him on their own ord.
"Look, I know this brat is a gem, and he met all your high standards. Even I want to make him my apprentice. But I won''t stoop to the level where I stole my student''s student. I had given my word, after all. In a sense, this might be for the best." Bodach stated.
"What if he didn''t break into the soul realm within three years or someone forced him to do their bidding? We both know the battle for Fire Spirit is going to be fought among the younger generation first, and Archie''s talent will naturally make those old ones greedy.
"Once they thought it would raise their chances of acquiring the fire spirit, they would stoop to any level to make sure Archie fought for them, just like those inferior breeds." Clouse retorted.
Bodach''s eyes narrowed. "What do you think I''m here for? As long as the Fifth Prince didn''t want me to side with the Fourth Prince, he won''t dare to let anything happen to Archie.
"Besides, do you think that conniving brat would show off his abilities while knowing the danger of the Fiery Hell Realm?"
He suddenly chuckled, "He clearly didn''t know about the piercing maze, or I can make a wager that he won''t even pass the first element environment. Just have a little trust like I trust you guys.
"Teaching is not always about imparting knowledge or shielding your students from the wind. Sometimes, you have to let them go and experience the world, or they would only remain below you but couldn''t surpass you."
Clouse lowered his head. "I was too disrespectful. Please punish me."
Bodach smiled kindly, "I know your nature. Just do as you wish. I''ll always have your back. Oh, and don''t tell that little scoundrel about the piercing maze for now. Just move ording to n.
"Tell your juniors as well. But teach him our house''s secret art instead of the one we selected before in case he had passed the normal test."
"I understand," Clouse answered in affirmation and vanished, just like he appeared.
Bodach''s smile suddenly vanished before an icy glint shed past his eyes, ''Ampersand, if Archie really does not return, then there''s no need for Daniel to exist as well!''
---
Eight hours passed since Ace was moving in the corridors filled with soul winds, and now even without his martial cultivation he could withstand the pressure of his Soul Gates realm cultivation alone.
He could feel his soul core was a little bit stronger, but the effect was still far from satisfactory for Ace.
After all, he had undergone two heavenly punishments already, so this much pressure wasn''t enough to give him massive benefits.
But this also made Ace consider the possibility of strengthening his soul and body for the next heavenly punishment.
He clearly remembered that because he formed a Qi sea and opened the hidden manual of Heavenly ck Wind Soul, the system had warned him that the next punishment would be even deadlier than it already was.
Furthermore, he won''t use Page 09 to withstand it as well because his sealed bloodline''s unsealing also depends on him enduring the heavenly punishment head-on.
So, now that he knew where the elemental orb was and working toward the way to acquire it, he mused that it was time to find other things that could help him withstand the heavenly punishment without getting help from Page 09.
This soul tempering gave him a vague direction to help him achieve his goal.
The soul was always more venerable than the body, and he always feared the heavenly punishment for the soul the most.
''Since there are body tempering techniques out there, then there should be soul tempering techniques as well, right? The fundamental purpose of a tempering technique is to break it and then heal it again and again until it won''t break again.
''But doing this with soul will be courting death, however¡'' Ace''s eyes shone as he walked in the piercing maze while an impossible idea formed in his mind, which was akin to seeking his own death.
Nevertheless, he still needed some references to see if it was just fantasy, or not. He won''t dare to y when ites to heavenly punishment, or he won''t have a life to y again.
As time passed, Ace finally reached the end of the passage. He made Archie look as miserable as possible. So, others thought he had just barely passed the test.
Ace finally crossed the brightly lit corridor and all the soul pressure on him vanished!
Chapter 561 Shadow Walk
The moment Ace crossed the final corridor, the sight of a grade hall greeted him and three masked demons sitting around an array mirror.
They were currently looking at him with their impassive eyes, especially the demon with pitch-ck eyeballs in the center, who gave off the feeling of invisibility between the other two.
Not only that but their auras werepletely hidden, and not even Ace''s soul sense could pick up their traces as if they didn''t exist in this space.
Suddenly, powerful pressure, many times stronger than the Piercing Maze, descended above him.
Ace pretended to be exhausted, fell on his knees, and looked like he was struggling to just breathe.
"He''s indeed exhausted his soul strength because if he doesn''t, I don''t know how would I react." The pressure vanished with this jolly voice.
"Here, eat this, and you''ll be fine." Clouse suddenly spoke, and a crystal green pill suddenlye hovering toward Archie.
Ace could feel the medicinal potency of this pill when it reached him, ''A Low-Grade-6 Soul Pill!''
Even Archie''s family didn''t have many of these pills in their treasury, which could only mean this person was either extremely wasteful or didn''t care about a grade-6 soul pill at all.
Nevertheless, he still ate it for the sake of it and gain 50,000 SP as well as his depleted heavenly soul Qi also recovered. His SP cap still wasn''t full, and he left it like that deliberately as well.
He was saving all those system''s EXP and SP for when he breaks into a new realm because the extra EXP or SP is no longer saved by the system after he created the heavenly Qi sea and they will be wasted if he tries to add them.
So, he keeps them safe for the future.
Unless he wanted just heavenly Qi out of desperation, he won''t use them.
Archie finally stood up and bowed toward the three. "Thank you, instructors, for your guidance."
"You''re not half bad yourself." The demon on the left answered with a chuckle. He was quite satisfied with Archie, and if not for Clouse, he might try to poach him, even from his third sister on the right.
"As I announced before if you could reach here, I''ll guide you. As you have already guessed, my name is use Nightmare. This is my second brother, f Poison Wood, and third sister, Londyn Nightmare.
"They both will be teaching you with me in five-day intervals each while I''ll best and teach you until you leave for the gathering. As for how much you could learn and be able to grasp, it depends on your own.
"If you didn''t want to die in the uing gathering, then I would suggest you use your true potential, or this might be thest time we all ever met." Clouse didn''t waste any time on idle chit-chat and directly stated the purpose of Archie''s summon.
Ace was astonished when he heard this. He was only under the impression that he was called here to ept as a personal student, but not to train by these three instead.
Furthermore, he still had the meeting with that Jefferson in a week, and if they kept him here for an entire month, he''ll miss that meeting, and all his ns would go down the drain.
But he couldn''t reject them, or they might take it the wrong way.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Clouse did not know what Archie was thinking, and neither did he care, so he said, "Your first lesson will be with my third sister, and after five days, you''ll be given a day off for rest. Now let''s start."
He then looked at Londyn and nodded. "He''s all yours."
Ace didn''t even give the chance to breathe orprehend what just happened, and the next thing he remembered was Londyn appearing in front of him and putting her hand on his shoulder.
The next moment, everything turned into a blur, and when he regained his vision, he was standing in a huge empty white space.
Back in the main hall, f was speechless as hemented in a wry tone, "Um, I think you''re a little too hasty, First Brother. You should''ve given him a chance at least to catch his breath."
"Time is short. I need to teach him the essentials of Dark Dagger Secret Art. Without your two skills, it''s impossible to learn. So, I gave you both five days with him¡" Before Clouse could end his exnation, f cut him short.
"Wait, wait?! Dark Dagger Secret Art? Did Master agree to it?" He quickly asked in disbelief.
"Yes." Clouse merely nodded as if it was a trifling matter.
"Then this means he''s a core student of master?" f questioned again.
Because he knew only Bodach''s personal students could learn the Dark Dagger Secret Art and they were all forbidden to teach anyone else without his confirmation.
Every Royal House of the Royal Demon Institute had a secret art only unique to their respective houses, and it was depending on the Housemaster to who they taught these secret arts.
This Dark Dagger Secret Art was unique to the Soul Assassin House.
That was why f was shocked when he heard Clouse was going to teach Archie this art, and even more absurd, he was nning to teach him the essence of it in less than a month.
Which was akin to mastering it at the initial level, which was almost impossible unless Archie was a monster.
He even wondered if Clouse had gone insane by gaining a student because he sure sounded insane to f.
"Not a core student, but as my student, it''ll be fine. Just teach him Darkles Stealth well. The third sister also agreed." Clouse stated before vanishing from his ce.
"And when did that happen? Weren''t I here all the time?" f was standing alone, dumbfoundedly. He even felt like he was the only sane person between those two.
---
Ace looked at the masked demoness with a hint of confusion, as he still didn''t understand why they were teaching him and wasting their time. But one thing was clear now that Archie had drawn some unexpected attention.
He mused that it had to be something to do with that Piercing Maze, but it was toote to regret now.
Furthermore, since he would be given a day off on the exact day he was going to join the secret alliance, he was finally at ease. He even thought it was done purposely, but he had no proof to make sense of it.
Londyn finally spoke at this moment, "I know you might be confused since it is too sudden, but this is for your own good and also proof that First Brother treated you like his own people. So, you better not disappoint him and learn properly, or I''ll never forgive you."
Ace suddenly felt a cold killing intent for a moment, making his heart palpitate because this demoness was a manifestation realm expert. He finally sensed her aura for a moment!
But it all vanished the next moment as if it was an illusion.
However, Ace knew better than to think of it as a mere illusion and was fully on guard to not mess up.
''So, this is a special grade instructor, huh?'' Ace thought.
"I understand." Archie timidly replied.
"Good then. On to the main business, then." Londyn revealed, "I''m going to teach you an Upper Sky Grade skill called the Shadow Walk. A simple name for an upper sky grade skill, right?"
Ace didn''tment, but thought little about the name.
Londyn continues, "If you have gone to the central library, you''ll only ess and learn this skill if you''re a core student, so you should cherish this opportunity well. If even in five days you don''t grasp the basics, then I''m afraid you''ll never be able to learn from First Brother."
Ace didn''t know what these three were nning, but he could guess that it wasn''t simple at all.
"Shadow Walk follows the basic principle of any agility type skill, but what makes it unique and an upper sky-grade skill is its growth potential. There are three levels, and only soul geniuses could learn the first level at the river core realm.
"Or not even the soul realm could gasp it without entering the advance stage. As for its prowess, I just used it to take you to this training hall. Let me tell you we just covered10 miles in less than a second, and it was me using it to only 1st level, or we could''ve covered 100 miles with one step with my level-2 mastery!"
Ace was shocked when he heard this because it was simply too exaggerated since it was akin to teleportation, but he just experienced it, and she didn''t have any need to lie which could only mean that it was true.
Even though it was the case, the problem was how he was going to learn it. Because this wasn''t a heavenly skill so he could only do nothing but to prepared for the worse.
Nevertheless, he was still going to learn the essentials of it and try to break into the next level of his own movement art or create a new skill!
Chapter 562 Deal Finalized
When Ace thought Londyn was done with her exnation on Shadow Walk, he soon found out he was dead wrong about it.
Londyn spoke in a teasing tone, "This was just the speed aspect of Shadow Walk, but not what its actual use. If this was a skill only used for escaping, then it won''t be an upper sky-grade skin.
"Let me tell you a brief history of the Shadow Walk. This skill was discovered in ruin over a thousand years ago by the royal demon institute''s principal. But ording to Lord Principal, this skill was just a superficial version of a Law Skill called Shadow Teleportation.
"One could only imagine just how powerful this so-called Law Skill might be since just this superficial version of it was a sky-grade level.
"Nevertheless, just the Shadow Walk alone had earned its ce in the core area of the central library. Because the Shadow Walk Skill is made for wless assassination.
"With Shadow Walk, one could appear on a shadow from miles away as long as there is a shadow and one could see it. They could appear right on it, just like what I did with you!"
Ace was astonished when he heard this. After all, he knew what a Law Skill represents more than Londyn because he got even techniques that requiredwprehension.
Furthermore, this Shadow Teleportation seemed to be rted to the ability to teleport, which only exists in legends.
When he thought deeply about how Londyn appeared right in front of them without even him noticing a thing, he understood just how scary the Shadow Walk was if one could appear right in another person''s shadow from miles away.
It was akin to teleportation, even!
Londyn liked Archie''s awed expression, and she said, "You might be thinking that it is like the teleportation of legends, right? But sadly, it''s not, because at night when there is no shadow but darkness, the Shadow Walk lost this aspect.
"For some reason, one could only use Shadow Walk when a shadow generates from light but not in dark ces where''s no light. But just this much is enough to make it a perfect skill for assassination.
"Let''s start our lessons. I want you to appear in a shadow ten meters away at the end of our season. First, remember this skill and its aspects, and don''t pass it on to someone else if you don''t want to get detained by the institute, that is."
Londyn took out a thick gray book and tossed it toward Archie without waiting for his reply as if it doesn''t matter.
Ace caught the book, and just as he thought it was the Shadow Walk skill so he started to memorize it as he was told. He was also quite curious about this astonishing skill which originated from aw skill.
Furthermore, he hadprehended [Shadow]w even though it was just over 2%, it was still something that even a manifestation realm expert might not have.
So, he was quite hopeful about making it work.
Afterward, Londyn took out an array te and activated it. As a result, the white room suddenly started to change as an illusion began to manifest.
Thereupon, Ace found himself standing in the middle of a grass field, and the center of this grass field was a straw hut with no door.
Londyn said, "You have five days to appear in the shadow of this hut and don''t use any movement skill, I''ll know if you did!" She narrowed her eyes, "Lastly, you can ask me any question rted to Shadow Walk, and you have five chances to make me demonstrate it to you. Even if I give you more chances, you''ll never be able to understand if you don''t understand the first five-time!"
Done exining, she took out afortable chair and sat on it without speaking anything else.
Ace was also happy since he didn''t want Londyn to watch his every move or nag him. So, he sat down and started studying the skill book closely to understand the fundamentals behind it.
Londyn silently watched Archie mulling over the skill book and said nothing. She had gone out of her way to give Archie five days of her time, which would be impossible for any ordinary core student to get just for the sake of Clouse.
It was also only possible because there was still time before the official sses wouldmence, as well as the names for the Ancient Alliance Gathering will be announced.
---
Meanwhile, inside another Royal Tower,
The Soul Combat Royal Tower was just asvish and facilitated as the Soul Assassin Royal Tower, but with slightly different training facilities.
On the 99th floor,
A handsome life soul demon with a cold demeanor was impassively looking at another life soul demon who was kneeling in front of him.
This Life Soul Demon with a cold demeanor was none other than Daniel Life Soul, as well as the current youngest student of Housemaster Ampersand.
While the demon kneeling was another core-grade student but he was clearly his henchman.
Daniel''s status in the Life Soul Grade Demon Tribe was undeniably grand because of his talent, just like Clouse Nightmare of Nightmare Grand Demon Tribe.
They both had no contenders in their generation and were considered the future lords of their ns.
However, because of Archie''s unexpected appearance, Daniel might have had apetitor if he got the same status as him.
Unless Daniel was the Grand Demon Duke himself, he couldn''t do anything about it officially because it was a rule of the demon race that anyone could fight for higher positions and titles as long as it was fair.
That''s why Daniel now felt threatened by Archie''s sudden appearance, so he wanted to make sure he was a threat to him.N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Where is he?" Daniel coldly questioned.
The other demon replied timidly, "I don''t know, but he''s not responding to our invitations sent to his quarters."
A cold glint shed past Daniel''s eyes. "Just because he entered the special ss, he thinks he can ignore me as he wishes?" His voice wasced with killing intent.
"Heh, he''s not in the mansion to answer your invitation." An aged voice sounded at this moment, startling both Daniel and the other demon.
However, Daniel quickly recognized this voice as his expression went somewhat paled, and quickly blurted, "Greeting, Master."
Thereupon, Ampersand walked in with a mild smile on his face while his hands were behind his back.
"Leave." He merelymanded without even looking at the kneeling demon who was about to greet him.
The demon fluttered slightly before he quickly fled, didn''t dare to say a word.
"Master, let me exin¡" Daniel wanted to say something before Ampersand cut him short.
"How does your annual assessment go?" He asked smilingly.
Daniel calmed himself down and quickly replied, "I have cleared it in one-week master, I didn''t disappoint you."
Ampersand nodded, "I expect nothing less. But why I''m seeing chaos in your eyes? Didn''t I teach you to never lose your calm, or just a simple wave was enough to shake you?"
Daniel knew he had messed up and kept his head low. "I indeed let you down."
Ampersand chuckled, "No, it''s not about letting me down, but you let yourself down by feeling apprehension from a cold gust of wind. Your mind still hadn''t reached the state of soul tranquility. Spend two weeks in the level 5 soul ice piercing maze to cover this w."
"I''ll do it right away." Daniel instantly agreed.
"As for Archie, you didn''t need to bother yourself with him. Consider him a storm who will soon die down. Just focus on your cultivation or the secret cultivation art will have a bacsh on you with these kinds of emotions." Finishing saying his ambiguous words, Ampersand vanished before dumbfounded Daniel''s eyes.
Daniel remained stunned for a while before his eyes gleamed with tion. ''So, Master had already taken care of that pest Archie before I even have to lift a finger?''
A wintry smile broke out on his lips. ''You should only me yourself for getting in my way!''
---
The Forbidden ins of Mighty Demon Tamer Province,
The new build auction arena by the Life Demon Association waspletely empty at this moment.
In the underground passage, where the auction treasury was, four figures emerged in front of a wall where arge owl symbol was imprinted with words in its wings.
"I have to say, it''s quite the sight." One of the devil envoys said jeeringly, at this moment while closely looking at the thief symbol.
This group was none other than the two devil envoys who came to lend a hand and two elder demons of the Imperial Council.
In the end, the deal between the Devils and Demons was finalized, with Demons epting the Devil''s terms.
So, now they were here to find traces of the elusive thief that demons failed to find.
But these two devils were sure they will be able to do it!
Chapter 563 Blood Aura Trace
"I have to say, it''s quite the sight." One of the devil envoys said jeeringly, while closely looking at the thief symbol.
His name was Raul and beside him was his elder brother, Ralph, who was much calmer and more reserved than Raul.
Apany, these two were none other than the Sixth Demon Elder and Fourth Demon Elder of the Imperial Demon Council.
After these two Elder Demons divulged the information they received to the Imperial Demon Council, the council agreed to Devil''s demands since it was the most sensible thing to do.
Afterward, these two devil envoys demand to take them to the site of thievery, where the thiefst appeared. So, this site was naturally the Life Demon Auction Arena.
After the auction items were stolen and Princess Leona''s plot surfaces in front of everyone, the auction naturally doesn''t end well as it was supposed to.
Not only were many demons who already paid for the auction item tickets furious, but they couldn''t point their fingers at the Imperial Princess because no matter what, they won''t be able to handle the consequences.
On top of that, the Life Demon Association, which became the target of the public afterward, also shun all responsibility and gave back only half of the Qi stones in refunds that they took.
This naturally turned into public outrage, but because of the association''s status, those tribes also couldn''t do a thing. Even some demon king-level tribes could only keep the resentment to their heart. Especially those who handed over their items for auction.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, this didn''t end there because afterward those demons whoe here to take part in the Demon Gate Trails started to hesitate since they all thought that even the royal zone wasn''t enough to take care of the elusive thief.
So why they were risking their lives if the royal zone was amount only for this much?
As a result, many small and medium size tribes left without even registering for the entrance test.
One could even say thisst thievery had affected the royal zone''s n as a whole, and if not for their quick action, the demon gate trial would be aplete disaster.
That was why the elusive Sky Stealer reached at top of the royal zone''s extermination list, and they poured almost all resources to search for clues about him.
But to this day, they still hadn''t managed to get anything out of it, even the Fiery Grand Demon Duke who suffered the direct bacsh because the thief performed this thievery right under his nose wasn''t able to find him.
To this day, the Fiery Grand Demon Duke and the most proficient trackers of the demon race were still on the hunt for the thief, but over two years had passed, and their search still did not bore any result.
Many think that the thief had fled the continent to escape the demon race''s wrath since it was the most logical thing for him to do after he umted so much wealth.
After all, the demons have scanned through every neck of the woods of the continent as well as scanned each demon or any living being they could find with a massive search formation but found nothing.
Furthermore, Demons were also using Devils to just confirmed their conjecture about the thief fleeing the continent so they would stop their search.
Still, the demons were onplete guard if any mishap ever happened, and before the confirmation, they won''t stop searching. Their entire race''s reputation depends on it now.
One good thing that happened out of all this was that no one dared tomit a crime anymore because everyone was on high alert.
Hearing Raul''s jeering remarked Sixth Demon Elder grunted coldly, "Is that so? Let''s see if you could still say this after you try deciphering this freaking owl hex!"
Sixth Demon Elder was stating the fact because almost every high-grade rune crafter had tried to break this ''owl hex'' but failed.
They were even more shocked when even a seventh realm expert like Fiery Grand Demon Duke couldn''t destroy this symbol, which waspletely out of everyone''sprehension.
The strangest thing was they could destroy the unaffected area around it, but not the symbol itself.
That was why the demons were so alert about this thief and worried about his whereabouts because if he had this kind of power, then why was he stealing or even bothering to run, for fun?
Definitely not!
They all thought that the thief had some deeper purpose since his ''race'' was killed by them and many more such conclusions were made, but none of them made any sense.
So, they were all hoping for these devils to make some breakthroughs.
Raul was arrogant and always looked down on every other race because of the devil race''s prowess and abilities, so he was easily provoked by Sixth Demon Elder''sment.
"Heh, I also wanted to see if this little bird hex is as unbreakable as you guys making it to be." Raul sneered coldly before he ced his hand on the owl symbol.
Ralph didn''t stop him either, nor the Fourth Demon Elder said anything and observed.
Raul''s w-like hand suddenly shimmered in crimson hue as his crimson eyes also emitted a sinister aura.
A crimson mist suddenly started to expand from his hand and started to cover the owl symbol. Soon, the entire owl symbol was covered in crimson.
"Blood Aura Trace!" the crimson mist suddenly shimmered in ghastly light as its color be deeper and deeper.
The Blood Aura Trace was one of the few astonishing bloodline abilities of the Blood Devil n. With this skill, they could find traces of the beings as long as they left something behind, even footprints.
The more traces the target left, the more sess rate this skill would have, and as long as the target didn''t have higher cultivation than the Skill Caster, then it was almost impossible to fail.
Raul was a Quasi-Soul-Law-Awareness Realm expert, so if that thief wasn''t in a higher realm or in the same realm as him, then this skill shouldn''t fail.
But they all didn''t know the Thief Symbol was made by the system, not Ace so¡
''Creck¡''
Suddenly, cracks suddenly started to appear in the crimson mist like a mirror before it shattered with a small boom spreading red mist into the area!
''Cough¡''
Raul instantly caught violently as his eyes widened in disbelief. It was the bacsh of failing!
Ralph''s eyes narrowed. "What do you see?"
He clearly knows just how pernicious this innate skill of their n was, and even if it failed, the user could still find a few clues about the target.
Fourth and Sixth Demon Elders were also solemnly looking without passing anyments as if they had already expected this much.
Their side had also tested many things with this symbol, but it never seeded, and they all guess this owl symbol was some kind of deadly hex.
Raul stopped coughing but his eyes still had a hint of fear in them as he answered, "I-I saw¡ nothing."
Ralph''s eyes shone with uncertainty since he could tell his younger brother wasn''t lying, and with his arrogant nature, he won''t admit something like this in front of another race.
"Alright, let me try." Ralph move forward as he also ced his hand on the owl symbol, and just like before, the crimson mist with an even darker shade started to spread.
Ralph was a de facto Soul Law Awareness Realm Blood Devil and held a very high position in the devil race, so his using the Blood Aura Trace differedpletely from Raul''s.
He was sent here because of this exact reason as well because Ralph was the devil''s race number tracking expert. He also had experience hunting down another thief, so he was perfect for this job, and the thief shouldn''t have any chance against him.
However, when the cracks started to appear in his crimson mist as well, and when an enormous explosion sounded, which made the space close to everyone tremble, blood trickled down from Ralph''s mask as his eyes widened in horror.
Everyone present knew that the thief was far, far more difficult to deal with than they had thought!
"This shouldn''t be right, how could even Elder Brother''s tracking skill face?!" Raul was the most shocked before the three because he knew just how scary Ralph was with his cultivation but even he failed and suffered even greater bacsh than him.
He looked at the still find imposing owl symbol with trepidation and disbelief. There was also a hint of fear in his eyes.
Ralph quickly suppressed the injury he got from the bacsh as his eyes also shone with fear as he looked at the symbol.
He then inhaled deeply, "T-this¡ symbol, you said there¡ there were more of such symbols¡ on other sites as well as they could also appear on the body as well, right?"
Fourth Demon Elder grimly replied, "Indeed, there are some victims in our custody." He almost lost hope after seeing them fail.
Ralph solemnly stated, "Please take us to those victims. If I don''t get a trace of this thief''s blood aura, I''m afraid performing Blood Ritual won''t be possible!"
Chapter 564 Treasure Trove Of Special District!
On the 99th floor of Soul Assassin Royal Tower,
Today was the fifth andst day of Archie''s learning lesson with Londyn.
In these past four days, Ace had done nothing but try to imitate the shadow walk as best as he could, but he had no result.
This skill was just tooplex to imitate in five days.
Although after seeing Londyn using it five times, he had some advancement but creating a new skin that was equivalent to an Upper-Sky-Grade rank was not a joke.
One needed an extremely high understanding of that field to create something out of it, and Ace never paid much attention to the movement department because he didn''t need to.
With a movement art like Misperception Sky Step, which covers every aspect of movement skill, he didn''t need to worry about his movement skills.
However, now that he tried, he found out that he shouldn''t just always rely on the system skills and should also increase his knowledge about all the aspects instead of focusing on one.
He had tons of knowledge about skills, techniques, arts, and even secret skills, but he never tried to utilize it for anything except his sword path, which was essential or he might not pay attention to it as well.
Yet, Ace also understands that it wasn''t his fault because his cultivation years were too short inparison to a normal cultivator, and most of the time he was on either missions or busing hiding so he didn''t get much chance to mull over his ws.
Nevertheless, he was still happy about what he had achieved until now and if one saw his progress as just a river realm cultivator, then Ace was probably without any match out there and he was at that point where he was probably bonded by his realm.
He could feel that no matter what he does, the Misperception Sky Steps were stuck like in the past when he reached a bottleneck for a skill. But as long as he could enter the higher realm, he would break into a higher level much easier and quicker.
That makes him, even more, determined to acquire that Elemental Orb.
On the other hand, Londyn who was overseeing Archie''s progress was shocked inwardly because unlike Ace she knew just how difficult it was to even understand the fundamental of shadow walk.
But Archie had done it in three days and was very close to performing the lowest-level shadow walk.
She never intended to have him learn the shadow walk in five days because it was night impossible, and just wanted to give him some motivation to understand the skill structure and how it works.
But Archie moved at a tremendous pace, and he had alreadypleted his assigned mission and gone beyond that, but she didn''t tell him and just watch without telling him.
She wanted to see if he could really perform a shadow walk before the end of five days because if he did, even her master might change his decision to give Archie as a student to Clouse, despite giving his words and losing face.
However, when the fifth day ended, she had a massive sigh of relief because Archie still didn''t perform the shadow walk.
She looked at the dejected Archie, who was still thinking he had failed with a hint of annoyance. She said coldly, "Alright, you can go now, returned the next day to start the training again." She then disappeared without saying anything, and the illusion also vanished.
Ace was baffled by the demoness because he didn''t achieve the aim he was given but didn''t get scrolled and was even told toe back instead of being thrown out.
Nevertheless, he had already gained so much, and if he wasn''t holding back on his shadoww, he might''ve performed a superficial shadow walk but it would be much different, so he didn''t dare to try it even though he wanted to.
Furthermore, he didn''t want toe back here, but it seemed he had to now. But it wasn''t too bad since he learned something, and this might not be as bad as he thought.
So, he left from the opening inside the white training space.
He was astonished when he appeared right outside where the lifting tform was and the same fiery demon seemed to be waiting for him with an impassive look on his face.
He then turned back and saw he was outside the Special Instructor Quarters No.03, ''This formation might with a high sixth-grade formation,'' He mused.
"Senior, how are you?" He then greeted the deacon, who was still expressionless.
"Fine, let''s go. We shouldn''t linger." He impassively uttered just likest time. He had no interest in chit-chat.
Ace didn''t mind and stood on the triangr tform, and it started to descend at high speed like thest time.
''Now that I have to find that, Jefferson, he said he''ll pick me up. I have to go back or he might think I had changed my mind when he got no response.'' Ace thought.
Thereupon, Archie''s figure soon left the gates of the royal tower and headed back toward his mansion.
However, Ace made a stop on his way back to the Treasure Trove of Special District, which was a grand golden building.
When he entered, he was greeted by a masked demon on the counter. There wasn''t anything else in the interior except it was spacious. He wondered if he was in the right ce.
"What do you need from the Treasure Trove of Special District? Show your student badge, and I''ll give you a list of items you could buy with your Royal Points. Or if you''re here to im some reward, it''s the same process." The masked demon coldly uttered.
When Ace heard this, he knew he was in the right ce, so he handed over his student badge to the demon, and he scanned it into an array formation.
He nodded. "You can select a grade-4 attacking array and a grade-4 soul treasure for free, and you have 5,000 Royal Points. This is the list of everything you could buy, and select any grade-4 attacking array and a grade-4 soul treasure from this list as well."
Ace saw a projection of the list appear on the ss counter.
But he wasn''t interested in any treasures and asked, "Senior, do you have Grade-5 Storage Space Treasures, and what is their price?"
The masked demon impassively replied, "A Low-Grade-5 Storage Right will cost 100 Royal Points, an intermediate one 500 RP, and a high one 1000 RP."
Ace''s eyes shimmered with ecstasy when he heard they have Grade-5 storage rings.
He ordered, "Senior, I want 41 low-grade-5 storage rings."
The masked demon was somewhat startled by this unusual demand for so many storage rings. "Are you sure? It will cost you 4100 RP?"
Although he knew how precious these grade-5 rings were, even the Life Demon Association only sold a limited amount of them every year since they were too difficult to make, and their material was also quite precious.
But for the Royal Demon Institute, they weren''t difficult to acquire.
Yet he was still baffled by Archie''s demand of 41 rings together because each ring will have 2500 cubic meters of space. It was a lot.
Ace nodded, "I''m sure senior, and I would like to exchange those two rewards for RP. I heard it was possible?"
Ace naturally had his reason to buy so many storage rings as for those two rewards he didn''t need them.
This time, the masked demon didn''t look shocked and nodded, "You can exchange them for 1000 RP each."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Alright, convert them into RP, and then convert all my reaming RP into Peak-Grade-4 Soul Crystal." Ace said without hesitation.
"41 Low-Grade-5 Storage Rings, which will cost 4100. It will leave you with 900 RP. But you convert your reward for 2000 RP, so you''ll get 5800 Peak Grade-4 Soul Crystal for 2900 RP. The exchange rate is 1 RP for 2 peak Grade-4 soul crystals. Do you confirm this purchase?" He asked coldly.
"Yes." Ace nodded without hesitation.
Then the masked demon put Archie''s student badge in the array formation again and confirmed his purchase.
He then left toward the back door to fetch Archie''s purchases and have him wait.
Ace deeply looked at the wall behind the counter, which was clearly an illusion door.
''The main treasury might be behind that door, but the system''s blueprint notification didn''t ring, which could only mean the treasury was far away from this ce. If this demon''s cultivation were apparent and weaker than me, I could''ve easily stolen the entire treasury.'' Ace thought thievishly but didn''t dare to react.
He knew if he even showed a hint of suspicion here, then all he could do was run. So, he remained standing while secretly examining the ce.
After ten minutes, the demon came back and handed over a storage ring. "You can check your items."
Ace checked, and after confirming everything was there, he thanked the man and left the building.
A hint of excitement shed in Ace''s eyes. ''It''s time to upgrade the thief''s space again!''
Chapter 565 Living Thief’s Space Expansion 2
''It''s time to upgrade the thief''s space again!''
Ace has been nning for this upgrade for a while now and collecting all the grade-5 storage rings needed.
But a grade-5 storage ring wasn''t made in the outer provinces, and he only came in contact with them when he robbed Archie of his identity.
However, even then, he only got just 3. Even after requesting specifically for these rings from Harvey, he only got 56 because they were all in stock then.
Harvey could even take that many outs was all because of his status, or no matter what, this many grade-5 storage rings were almost impossible to acquire unless you''re a student of a Royal Demon Institute, of course.
So, Ace wasn''t too worried about not getting the remaining rings in here, and as he thought, the institute had them. This also proves the fact that their treasury won''t be easily theft.
Furthermore, he wanted more humanoid spaces, so this upgrade was just what he needed, and he quickly ordered the system to open the upgrade scheme of the living thief''s space.
Thereby, a panel appeared in front of Ace,
======
[Living Thief''s Space Update Scheme]
1. 500 Cubic-Meter Space + 2 Humanoid Storage Capacity
Condition(s): 100 Grade-5 Storage Space treasures + 20 Million Thief Points
2. 1,000 Cubic-Meter Space + 5 Humanoid Storage Capacity
Condition(s): 100 Grade-8 Storage Space treasures + 50 Million Thief Points
3. 3X-Time eleration Function
Condition(s): 1 Grade-9 Storage Space Treasure + 1 Grade-9 Time Treasure + 100 Million Thief Points
---
[The conditions for the 500 Cubic-Meter Space + 2 Humanoid Storage Capacity update scheme have been met!]
[Do you want to update the Living Thief''s Space?]
[Proceed/Not Now]
======
Ace proceeded without hesitation, and the next moment, all the grade-5 storage rings turned into ashes.
The thief''s space started to expand slowly, which startled little Cyrus, who had been sleeping on Page 09 from the day he found it. Now it had be its nest.
It looked around with its tiny head in confusion before it went back to sleep since there wasn''t any intruder or danger, as if nothing had happened.
But this expansion wasn''t just happening to the living thief''s space.
Inside the thief''s house space, the personal spaces of the three house thieves also started to expand, startling all the members.
Ace was also astounded when he noticed this, ''So, the thief''s house space size is directly connected with the size of my living thief''s space,'' He mused.
The expansion soon stopped with a system notification.
======
[Living Thief''s Space has been updated!]
---
[Thief Point(s): 116,820,500]
---
[Living Thief''s Space States]
-Storage Space Capacity: 500 Cubic-Meter Living Space
-Living Space Capacity:
1. 4 Humanoids (Humans, Demons, Hunters, etc.)
2. 50,000 None-Humanoid (Beasts, Herbs, nts, Natural Treasures, etc.)
======
Ace nodded in satisfaction before closing the panel.
However, his action of expansion made the house members gather in the main hall.
Noa was still wearing the mask, but she was entirely exempt from any kind of aura, and her body was covered entirely in exquisite tight crystal ck tight body armor with dark blue ruin outlines, showing her hourss figure. It was the Grade-8 Thief Assassin Armor Set!
Her current status was,
______
[Thief House Member Status]
[House Member: Noa Night (Female)]
[Race: Demon]
[Bloodline: Night Demon (Grade-6 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
---
[Thief Genre: Thief Assassin (Trainee)]
[House Rank: Excellent Member (Upgradeable)]
[Next Rank [Expert Member]: 2,193/100,000 Thieveries]
---
[Soul Cultivation: Soul River Core Realm (tinum Soul River Core)]
-Innate Soul Ability(s): 3
1. No Kill
[Description: Completely hide Thief Assassin''s Killing Intent and Life Aura]
2. Assassin Mark
[Description: Lock on a target soul will result in a 100% (Attack) connect rate. (Attack) Connect Rate range is equivalent to Thief Assassin Sense.]
3. Thief Assassin Sense
[Description: ???]
---
[Talent: Average-low (Upgradeable)]
---
[Technique & Skills: 9]
-Cultivation Technique(s):
1. Thief Assassin Principles: Fourth Realm
-Body Refinement Technique(s):
1. Night Demon Body Transformation: 9-Star Night Demon BodyN?v(el)B\\jnn
-Cultivation Art(s):
1. Endless Shadow Daggers Rainfall:
Shadow Rain Dance: Perfection
Stormy Shadow Rain: Middle
Endless Shadow Rainfall: None
2. Thief Assassin Invisible Cloaking:
Invisible Stealth: High
Soul Cloaking: None
Invisible Cloaking: None
-Skill(s):
1. Thief Assassin''s Soul Steps: Middle
2. Thief Assassin''s Soul View: Middle
3. Thief''s Charity (Inverse & Reverse): Perfection
4. Soul Threats: Perfection
Secret Skill & Arts(s):
1. Shadow Escape (Skill): None
-Treasure(s):
1. Endless Night Daggers Set [32 Pin-Daggers]: Grade-4
2. Runic Windless Blowgun: Grade-4
3. Thief Assassin Armor Set: Grade-8
4. Life Escape Coin: 3
---
[House Point(s): 12,200]
---
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 0]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
---
[House Shop: Thief Assassin]
______
Freya looked even more bewitching than two years ago, and she was also wearing the Grade-8 Evil Thief Armor Set, which had a dark blue mantle on her shoulders. But the most significant change in Freya was her golden tri-pupils were no longer three but somehow turned into one, and she looked just like an ordinary human except for her otherworldly beauty.
As for her status,
______
[House Member: Freya Witch (Female)]
[Race: Evil Witch]
[Bloodline: Illusionary Witch (Grade-6 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
---
[Thief Genre: Evil Thief (Trainee)]
[House Rank: Excellent Member (Upgradeable)]
[Next Rank [Expert Member]: 21/100,000 Thieveries]
---
[Soul Cultivation: tinum Soul Embryo Realm (Minor: Stage-2)]
-Innate Soul Ability(s): 4
1. Evil Rule
[Description: Complete Control over someone''s mind as long as they had a weaker soul than the Evil Thief.]
[Warning: Stop using this ability, or if the victim exit the Evil Thief''s range will cause Victim''s Death.]
[Current Range: 5 Miles Radius]
[Controble Victims: 5]
2. Evil Seed
[Description: ???]
3. Evil Thief Sense
[Description: ???]
4. ???
[Description: ???]
---
[Talent: Average-High (Upgradeable)]
---
[Technique & Skills: 9]
-Cultivation Technique(s):
1. Evil Thief Scripture (1st Vol): Fifth Realm
-Connate Ability(s):
1. Illusionary Dark Pupil
Connate Skill: Illusionary Dark Pupil Awakening (Tier-4 Intermediate Control)
(Total Control Tiers: 12)
-Cultivation Art(s):
1. Traceless Mind Evasion;
Traceless Sense Expansion: Middle
Mind Probing: None
Mind Evasion: None
2. Dark Elemental Shadow: Soul Cultivation Stealth Art
Deep Dark Stealth: Perfection
Deep Shadow Stealth: Low
Dark Elemental Stealth: None
Dark Elemental Shadow: None
-Skill(s):
1. Shadow Illusion Escape: High
2. Evil Eye: Perfection
3. Thief''s Charity (Inverse & Reverse): Perfection
4. Soul Threats: Perfection
Secret Skill & Arts(s):
1. Empty Sleep (Skill): Low
-Treasure(s):
1. Dark Grimoire: Grade-9 (Upgradeable)
2. Soul Maniption Chain: Grade-5
3. Evil Thief Armor Set: Grade-8
4. Life Escape Coin: 3
---
[House Point(s): 90]
---
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 0]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
---
[House Shop: Evil Thief]
______
Last but not least, Winter has also undergone a tremendous change. Her childish body was gone; she was taller and had a teenager''s body, and her face was more mature and beautiful. She wore ck and dark blue Faceless Thief Robes.
Her status also goes without saying,
______
[House Member: Winter Fox (Female)]
[Race: Magic Beast]
[Bloodline: Ice Illusion Fox (Grade-5 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
---
[Thief Genre: Faceless Thief (Trainee)]
[House Rank: Excellent Member (Upgradeable)]
[Next Rank [Expert Member]: 44/100,000 Thieveries]
---
[Marital Cultivation: tinum Qi Soul Realm (Advance: Stage-8)]
-Innate Soul Ability(s): 4
1. Faceless Aura
[Description: It can make anyone forget the Faceless Thief''s existence.]
[Limitation: The Faceless Aura will not affect someone with two whole cultivations above the Faceless Thief.]
2. Faceless Reality
[Description: ???]
3. Faceless Thief Sense
[Description: ???]
4. ???
[Description: ???]
---
[Talent: Below Average (Upgradeable)]
---
[Technique & Skills: 9]
-Cultivation Technique(s):
1. Faceless Thief Secrets (1st Vol): Fifth Realm
-Body Refinement Technique(s):
1. Myriad Beast Body Transformation Technique: Hundred Transformations
-Cultivation Art(s):
1. Faceless Art (Vol 1):
Total Tiers: 12
Current Tier Mastery: Tier-3 Mastery
2. Foxy Illusionary Charm:
-Four Stages with three levels (Early, Intermediate, Advance)
-Current Stage: Second Stage (Intermediate)
3. One with World:
-Five Stages with three levels (Early, Intermediate, Advance)
-Current Stage: Third Stage (Early)
-Skill(s):
1. Cold Steps: Perfection
2. Thief''s Charity (Inverse & Reverse): Perfection
3. Martial Threats: Perfection
Secret Skill & Arts(s):
1. wless Aura Disguise (Skill): Middle
-Treasure(s):
1. Faceless Thief Mask: Grade-9 (Upgradeable)
2. Soul Shattering Gauntlets: Grade-6
3. Faceless Thief Robes: Grade-8
4. Life Escape Coin: 3
---
[House Point(s): 300]
---
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 0]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
---
[House Shop: Faceless Thief]
______
Compared to two years ago, these three werepletely different, and they had all bought the treasures and techniques in their corresponding thief shops and were busy mastering them.
But the space expansion startled them, and they came out to inquire about what happened.
"Did your space expand as well?" Freya inquired with a faint smile on her crimson-red lips.
"Yes." Noa inly replied in her indifferent tone.
"It''s probably that scoundrel doing. Where is he?" Winter spoke annoyingly in her crisp tone, which was no longer childish.
"Do you have a problem with more space?" Ace''s exasperated voice rang at this moment. He was happy to see all three of them in their priceless treasures but also envious since he was still stuck with low-grade items and cussed the system inwardly.
He could clearly see their statuses as well, and he knew more than anyone just how much they had progressed in these two to three years!
Chapter 566 Law Source
"Do you have a problem with more space?"
This simple question rendered Winter speechless, and she could not find words to retort.
Freya, on the other hand, smiled charmingly as she spoke, "I think what Faceless wanted to ask was how do you do it and why now?"
Ace looked at the witch, who now lookedpletely human but otherworldly, and answered, "You could say that the conditions for expansion had been met and I upgraded it as soon as they met. But it seemed I disturb your seclusion."
"No worries, I know you did it for ''us''." Freya chuckled meaningfully, "Anyway, I was just getting bored by staying indoors, and my house points are alsopletely spent. Do you have anything for me out there?"
A hint of anticipation shed in Noa''s eyes since she had the identical thought. She was already at the peak of the soul river core realm and was facing the realm wall. She wasn''t like those two who had experience with the soul realm.
She had never reached the soul realm before, so she needed insight, despite that, her cultivation was quite fast.
While Winter was the fastest of the three because she had broken into the Manifestation Realm before and had more experience than two with that realm.
Ace didn''t hide the current situation and told them about where he was and what kind of situation he was facing.
Winter remained calm since she had already heard about this when Ace contacted her a few days ago andid out all his ns about what he wanted to do and what her part was in all this.
She felt it was absurd, but when she thought about who she was and her current set of skills and abilities, she waspletely at ease. Besides, he was giving her HP, so it wasn''t like she was working for free.
Freya''s expression turned serious when she heard Ace was currently in the Royal Demon Institute, one of the most guarded ces in the entire royal zone.
"Why didn''t you just leave the continent when you had the chance? Is this some kind of mission by the goddess?" She couldn''t help but question.
She knew Ace wasn''t someone who liked to y with fire, so the only exnation was he had no choice in this matter since she had experienced herself what kind of punishment the goddess could give with a mission.
So she didn''t question his sanity.
On the contrary, Freya and others were feeling quite a pressure because while they were utterly safe here with no worry, Ace was constantly working out there and putting his life on the line.
Which also showed just howrge the gap was between him and their statuses in Thief House.
"Indeed, this is a mission, but also something I have to do. Furthermore, I need to enter the imperial domain soon, but it''s just too dangerous, so I already asked Winter for her assistance.
"If everything goes ording to my n, then I would be going to need your skills as well if mine weren''t enough." Ace candidly told, hiding nothing.
He hadplete trust in his house members and they were there to help him in the first ce.
"Heh, although your n is daring, if you pulled it through, then I don''t think anyone could stop your step into the Imperial Domain. Just imagining those hateful demons'' expressions made me ecstatic." Freya giggled with rapture.
Winter also nodded in agreement with a stiff smile on her pink lips. She also felt that once Ace did this, the demons would have no face left to show anyone.
Noa, on the other hand, wasn''t concerned with these issues. "What about me? Do you need my help?"
Ace looked at Noa in her crystal ck armor and mask, he replied, "Not for now, you should focus on breaking into Soul Realm, if I headed in the Fiery Hell Secret Realm direction after this then I''ll need your strength to snatch that Fire Spirit from the allied races."
Noa''s eyes narrowed when she heard this. She was already at the Nine-Star Night Demon Body, but for further progress, she needed a fire spirit. She couldn''t even practice the secret skill she got from the system because of it.
Now that she heard about the uing Ancient Alliance Gathering and the Fire Spirit was their primary aim, she naturally wanted to take part in it.
But she also knew she might get caught under all those experts present, so she could only remain silent.
Now that Ace informed her about his intention of going there, his gesture naturally moved her since she knew he was doing this for her because Ace had no reason to put his life in danger just to acquire that Fire Spirit.
"Fire Spirit?" Winter eximed with a hint of consternation at this moment.
Freya also heard about the rumors going around the outer provinces a hundred years ago, so she knew this was something important to the demon race. But she wasn''t able to find any clues when she tried searching for them.
Now that she heard this name again, she was naturally intrigued since this Fire Spirit had made the three races so restless, and from Ace''s subtle words and Noa''s reaction; she felt it was something Noa needed for some reason.
"What, you know something about Fire Spirit?" Ace inquired.
Winter thought for a moment before she revealed, "I don''t know much, but I once heard my n leader talk about it casually with some elders. I only heard these words, ''Fire Spirit is aw source of the fire.'' I didn''t know what they meant by those words at that time, so I never paid much attention to it."
"Law Source?" It was also Ace''s first time hearing this word.
"Hey, system, what is a Law Source?" Curious, he questioned the system. He didn''t have high expectations for an answer, though.
"[Law Sources are naturally formed entities which had at least 10%wprehension in them. Every Law Source has a grade.]
"[But in Mortal Sky Heaven there are only three grades, Initial (At least 10% Law Comprehension), Iplete (At least 30% Law Comprehension), and Complete (At least 70% Law Comprehension.]
"[The Elemental Orbs also fell into the Complete Law Sources category and rarest among thew sources found in the first heaven, with at least 80%wprehension in them. While a Fire Spirit could be of any grade, it depends on its age mostly.]"
Ace was astounded by this revtion. "So, they''re likew fragments?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"[Yes, and No. One could only use a correspondingw source of their innate element, and they''re overbearing by nature. If someone tried to absorb aw source without having any understanding of thatw, they would suffer a serve bacsh or even death.]
"[While the Law Fragments are already refined by the system and only the host could use them, and they''re far more precious than aw source.]
"[However, the Law Source also had another function which is to help break the realm wall between Seventh and Eighth Realm!]"
Ace''s eyes widened when he heard thest part, and his heart turned cold. Realization dawned on him at this moment.
''So, that''s why everyone is going crazing over the fire spirit and doing everything to acquire it!'' Ace felt like he had stumbled upon an enormous secret without even realizing it.
If he hadn''t heard of Law Source from Winter and hadn''t asked the system, he would still be in the dark about all this. Furthermore, now that he knew about the real aim of every race, he also guessed the severity of the situation.
In the face of acquiring a fabled eighth realm powerhouse, would those races care about the coteral damage like those who were going on this expedition?
Even a fool could tell that they won''t, and this information might be a top secret of every race, and only those Law Awareness Realm Cultivators might know about it.
At that time, it would be an absolute bloodbath if someone brought out that fire spirit!
Ace took a deep breath to calm himself down. His mansion was already around the corner, and he needed to be absolutely calm to make his n work.
Nevertheless, this information was still shocking, and he could also guess that if anyone raised the chance of bringing that fire spirit out, those races wouldn''t let it go, and Archie was such a person.
''This might not be a training gathering but a suicide mission for all I know.'' Ace grimaced, but his decision to go to the Imperial Domain still didn''t change in the slightest.
There were still some years, and if Ace found himself in aplex situation, he would escape without thinking twice.
"All right, you guys should chat but remain on standby, especially Winter. You have to be ready. Failure means exposure." Ace''s stern voice rang in the main hall before he returned to being tranquil.
Just when Ace turned around on the street where his mansion was located, he was astonished because a demon was waiting outside the mansion''s gate.
It was none other than Jefferson!
Chapter 567 Meeting With Fifth Imperial Prince
Jefferson, who was Clouse in disguise, was wearing his special student robes which a cold expression on his face.
When Jefferson saw Archieing in his way, a peculiar glint shed past his emotionless eyes, ''Third Sister enunciated, he had already grasped the fundamental of Shadow Walk. He''s more talented than me back then if it wasn''t for this hateful gathering selection¡.''
A hint of coldness shed past his eyes, but he didn''t let the emotion get the better of him.
Ace wasn''t much surprised seeing Jefferson there since it was around the time of their meeting.
Jefferson nodded in greeting before he impassively uttered, "Let''s go. We shouldn''t let my backer wait."
"Please, lead the way." Archie nodded in agreement, and he started following Jefferson.
Ace wondered just where they were meeting since this whole ce was almost empty and what kind of person they were meeting with.
All he knows is that this was a member of the imperial family, and from his knowledge, only two members were present in the Soul Assassin House.
The Fourth Prince, Cassius, and the Fifth Prince, Ronan, were both third-grade core students.
Any member of the Imperial Demon Family was directly enrolled as a core grade student in the Royal Demon Institute without any entrance test. This was a privilege for only the members of the Imperial Demon Family.
Imperial Princess Leona was also Fifth Grade Core Student of Soul Combatant House, and Paul was in the same grade but at a different level.
Ace''s n was quite simple. Since he could subdue a core-grade student like Paul with a surprise attack, he also had a higher chance of suppressing a third-grade core student.
But the problem was he was dealing with the imperial family, which was quite mysterious. Even Paul didn''t know what kind of element they had despite having a ''rtionship'' with Leona.
Very few people knew about what kind of tribe the imperial family was, and this was a core secret only a handful of people knew, and no one dared to reveal this information.
The Imperial Demon Family members were also forbidden to publicly showcase their element as long as it wasn''t life-threatening.
In the Mighty Demon Continent, who dares to attack a member of the imperial demon family? So, it was even more impossible to know their secret.
Furthermore, members of the imperial family weren''t allowed to show their faces to anyone under any circumstances as well.
But Leona showed her face to Paul, but that memory was quite hazy, so Ace guessed that it might be some illusion she created to fool Paul, and that idiot never even questioned why he couldn''t remember her face at all, despite seeing it.
Robbing the identity of an Imperial Demon Family member was simply a darning decision even for Ace. But Ace didn''t have any other method to enter the Imperial Domain without arousing any suspicion.
But it wasn''t his only option. It was more convenient and could get him to his target more quickly.
That was why Ace decided only to act if he found it doable, or he would give up and use another option he had saved if this not goes ording to n.
As they moved into the special district, Ace wondered if they were returning to the royal tower again, which would be strange since he had just gotten out of there.
But soon, he discovered that it wasn''t the case at all. Instead, they were moving toward another famous special district building, the Special Royal Diner.
This Diner was a specialty of the Royal Demon Institute, and they sold cuisine like no other ces in the demon continent well, except for the Imperial Domain.
Furthermore, the currency they epted was Royal Points which made it for those ordinary-grade students to think twice before going there.
The moment Archie and Jefferson entered thevish fifty-story building of Royal Diner, Jefferson directly led Archie toward the upper floors, and strangely those staff members didn''t stop them.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Whoever saw Jefferson''s face would only bow respectfully and let them pass without saying anything.
This made Ace suspicious about Jefferson''s unusual influence, or it was all because of his backer.
When they reached the 11th floor, there were only three private dining rooms, and unlike the lower floors, Ace finally saw two demons in core student robes standing outside a private room without any emotions on their faces.
Jefferson led Archie toward them without showing any hint of worry. On the contrary, when they saw Jeffersoning their way, they didn''t dare to make eye contact with him which Ace naturally noticed.
''Is this guy really a special grade student? Why they seemed apprehensive of him?'' Ace wondered in suspicion.
? But he didn''t have the time to mull over it because Jefferson had already knocked on the closed doors while those two demons remained motionless.
"Enter." A mild voice filled with authority rang.
Jefferson then pushed open the door and entered while Archie followed suit.
The room was spacious and made with jade wood while a pleasant scent filled the air. There was a table in the middle, a masked demon was sitting on the main chair, and no one else was inside.
The table was also filled with all kinds of dishes and different wine bottles, but nothing was touched as if the demon wasn''t interested in anything on that table.
When Ace saw this masked demon, he couldn''t help but frown because he felt nothing from him, as if he waspletely invisible in his soul sense, and the feeling he was giving off was quite strange, as if he wasn''t real.
Jefferson introduced at this moment, "Archie, this Fifth Imperial Prince, His Highness Ronan."
He looked at Ronan meaningfully and respectfully, stating, "Your Highness, this is Archie Soul Life you wanted to recruit."
"Your Highness!" Archie performed a royal salute.
Since he was from a grand demon tribe, he didn''t require kneeling as long as he wasn''t facing Demon Emperor, Empress, or Crown Prince.
"Sir. Jefferson, if you don''t mind, I would like to chat with my future ''follower'' alone." Ronan impassively stated.
Jefferson frowned ever so slightly but didn''t show any emotions before he bowed slightly, "I''ll be ''right outside,'' Your Highness." He left before throwing a meaningful nce at Ronan.
When the door was closed, only standing Archie and sitting Ronan left the room.
Ace didn''t know why this prince wanted to talk with him alone, but he just made himself an easy target for Ace. Yet, he didn''t act because he wasn''t sure if someone else was in this room protecting the prince.
He had no way of knowing if someone was secretly protecting Ronan because his soul sense wasn''t strong enough to detect hidden experts anymore. So, all he could do was activate the fate map and hope it would show him something.
"Come sit, Archie Soul Life," Ronan spoke again.
"Thank you for this grace, and Archie is just fine, Your Highness." Archie respectfully replied and calmly walked toward the seat a few feet away from Ronan.
The fate map had already been activated, and when Ace saw a ck fate point with a green circle around it right outside the door and two white fate points, he was astonished because that green circle around this ck fate meant it was on friendly terms with him.
Then he thought of Jefferson, but it also didn''t make sense since that guy shouldn''t be a ck fate point which meant absolute danger for him if he dared to fight with it.
Yet, he didn''t let it cloud his main objective.
He was again startled when he noticed Crimson Fate Point, which was none other than Fifth Imperial Prince Ronan.
''Just what the heck is going on?'' Ace was confused now but also extremely vignt, ''Since he''s not a ck mark, then this means he''s not a fatal danger, and there''s no one in the room either.''
"You seemed to be in a daze?" Ronan''s voice rang.
"Please forgive my rudeness, Your Highness. I was just baffled by the fact that I was personally meeting with a noble prince. I never thought I would get this chance to join you of the things." Archie''s face lit with reverence and excitement.
"Is that so? Then it would make it even easier for both of us." Ronan coolly stated before he spoke again, "I want you to sign a soul contract with me right now, which will be a contract of your absolute allegiance to me. But you could never reveal this fact to Jefferson."
Ronan''s voice turned icy all of a sudden as he menacingly uttered, "Oh, and you can''t refuse, or I''ll make sure to turn your life into a living hell as well as destroy your house and any family member you hold dear!"
Ace was shocked for a moment before his lips curled up because this was unexpectedly going in the way he wanted!
Chapter 568 Cyrus Caught Intruders!
Archie''s eyes widened with disbelief as he uttered with a hint of fear, "Y-your Highness, please don''t jest. I was told I have to join your alliance, and I naturally will work for you diligently but signing an exclusive contract that robs me of my free will was never divulged to me."
Ronan coldly stated without hiding his disdain, "Do you really think a peasant like you, who wasn''t even a core grade student or a primary family member, could enter my alliance? Don''t make this princeugh!
"Now, choose either you refuse and be destroyed by me, or you can be my ve as you should be!"
Ace finally understood why this guy was a crimson fate point. He was nning to enve Archie from the start, and for some reason, he hid it from Jefferson.
All Ace could guess was that Jefferson wasn''t what he seemed and was someone who could intimidate an Imperial Prince like Ronan.
Furthermore, from Ronan''s tone, he had absolute confidence that Archie would yield to his unreasonable demands because the difference in their status was just too vast.
However, Ace didn''t understand why he didn''t wait until Archie joined his alliance and then corner him like this.
Either Ronan was an arrogant, idiotic prince who was used to having his way, or there was something profound that Ace wasn''t aware of.
Nevertheless, since there wasn''t anyone else in the room beside them, Ace didn''t have to worry as long as he was quick with his action.
He instantly sent his stern voice into the hall of Thief''s House, "Freya and Winter, I''m going to let you out just right behind an imperial prince. Make him unconscious or lose his resistance for a second, don''t kill him!"
"So, he''s really going to abduct an imperial demon price, huh? And here I thought he was making it an option." Freya clicked her tongue in wonder.
But she quickly stood up and covered her head with a long ck hood attached to her armor, and a thick pitch-ck book appeared in her hand.
"Heh, he''s just desperate, so he wanted our help." Winter scoffed as she wore the hood before her face started to change!
Noa only watched from the sideline with narrowed eyes since Ace didn''t summon her.
But she was surprised when he said, "Noa, remain on standby in my personal space. If he resisted my suppression there, I might need your help to pulverize this guy."
Noa suddenly felt a familiar strong suction force, but she didn''t resist and vanished while she was moving her hand toward her own long hood.
"Where did she go?" Winter was astounded when she saw Noa vanish before them.
Freya answered ambiguously, "It seemed Leader didn''t give you a tour of his own space, huh?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"What?!" Winter''s voice turned cold.
While Ronan was calmly watching, Ace was still pretending to be in pensive shock. Not even twenty seconds passed.
When Ace saw everything was ready, he suddenly looked at Ronan, as Archie''s face turned utterly emotionless, "Your Highness, I reckon this ce is soundproof, and you might have activated a formation so no one could hear what you were saying, right?"
Ronan suddenly felt strange when he saw this change in Archie''s demeanor, as if he had turned into another person!
Before he could react or understand, Archie spoke again with a devious grin, "So, tell me, Your Highness, if someone attacks you, will they protect you?"
"Presumptuous! Do you think you can att¡"
But before Ronan could finish his refutation, his voice abruptly stopped as his heart palpitated when rm bells rang in his mind because strange two presences appeared right behind him!
s, it was already toote. In that split second, his storage ring vanished, and two soul attacks shamble his mind; despite the soul-protective treasures he was wearing, these soul attacks were too strange.
The next moment after that, Ronan felt another soul attack, and then something gripped him before a suction force started to cover his body.
He wanted to resist, but those two soul attacks suddenly amplified, and at that moment, he felt like his body was suddenly wrapped by a ghastly force as all senses vanished.
But his senses quickly came back, and those soul oppressions also vanished.
However, when he regained his focus and was ready to counter, he felt like a strong force suppressing him and saw he wasn''t in the bright room but in a dark ce!
"W-what¡ what just h-happened?!" He was gobsmacked, and he felt like he was dreaming.
While Ronan was still in a stupor, Ace looked toward Winter''s hooded figure. She looked just like a sneaky thief.
However, what shocked Ace and gave him goosebumps was when he tried to see under that hood and found¡ nothing!
Yes, her face wasn''t present, and there was nothing but darkness as she was headless.
"Hehe, surprised, aren''t we? This is my Faceless Thief Mask, and I''mpletely merged with it. As long as I activate it, no one can see my appearance. And, I would appear headless." Winter''s smug voice rang within the hood.
"So, that was why you told me I can''t borrow it." Realization dawned upon him.
A few days ago, he contacted Winter not to seek her help but to borrow this faceless thief mask which was a grade-9 treasure.
But she refused to give it to him by saying he couldn''t use it and she couldn''t take it off. At that time, he didn''t understand entirely and thought it was some restriction put by the system, so he asked for help instead.
Now that he actually saw it himself, he understood why she couldn''t take it off, and even he couldn''t detect this mask''s presence when she was wearing it in in sight and looked normal.
But he didn''t have the time to inquire about how this mask worked since he needed to take care of an Imperial Demon Prince he had just abducted.
"Quickly turn into me. I mean this demon I''m currently impersonating." Ace quickly told Winter.
It was the next part of their n.
"Hey, why can''t I turn into that prince?" Winter sounded dissatisfied, but still, her body suddenly started to twist, which made Ace take a small step back in shock.
He was bbergasted when Winter''s hooded figure turned into Archie, and even their clothes were the same.
"How is it?" Winter spoke in Archie''s voice smugly.
Ace''s real eyes shone with envy when he saw just with a nce, she had turned into Archie and even speaking in his voice, and she didn''t need to feed her mask or scan anything.
However, in reality, the Faceless Thief Mask does need scanning, but because it was a grade-9 treasure, all it needed was its master''s senses like sight, hearing, and such to change the Faceless Thief into the same person!
As for the cultivation realm, it was an even more trifle because it could even emit a peak Law Awareness Realm''s Aura as long as Winter wished for.
Ace would be even more envious if he knew that as well.
"Alright, alright, don''t act arrogantly. You have to y Archie from now on since your disguise is wless under this heaven, and no one will be able to suspect you. Just don''t get caught on me." Ace stated with vexation.
Winter sneered before a cold light shed past her demon eyes, "First, tell me, what is this space of yours? It seemed you gave everyone a visit except me!"
"I''ll give you a visit next time. Now let me focus. We don''t have much time before someone notice ore in." Ace sternly warned.
Winter was dissatisfied, but she obediently sat down, and when she saw all those dishes on the table, she started eating without caring about Ace, who was depressed by this Fox''s antics.
Nevertheless, he still has to focus.
But he nearly screamed when he saw Noa and Freya were blocked by a tiny ck chick.
Furthermore, they both were utterly suppressed and having difficulty moving under Cyrus''s aura alone, which shocked Ace because even that ck book hovering in front of Freya, a Grade-9 Dark Grimoire, seemed to be quashed!
"Intruders, you dare to infiltrate my master nest. I''ll turn you all into ashes once master gives themand." Cyrus menacingly uttered in its sweet childish voice, but hisnguage was different, which both Noa nor Freya didn''t understand.
In their eyes, this tiny chick was chirping and jumping while wiggling its undeveloped wings.
But they were shocked nevertheless because they werepletely caught off guard by this tiny ck chick when it suddenly appeared in front of them and blocked their way.
Before they could react, or even if they could respond, they were entirely suppressed by its quirky, ghastly aura.
If they weren''t in Ace''s space, they would''ve started using their most decisive attacks to struggle, but since they were in Ace''s space, they knew this chick belonged to Ace, and without his approval, it couldn''t enter here.
"Master look here, Cyrus caught these pests sneaking here, and there''s one more in that strange box!" Cyrus happily called its master to showcase his achievement.
Ace didn''t know whether tough or cry!
Chapter 569 Soul Probing Failed!
"Alright, you did good work. Let them go now. They''re not intruders and my friends." Ace transmitted his thoughts to Cyrus.
It was his fault since he didn''t give the little guy a heads-up and forgot about himpletely.
Nevertheless, Cyrus''s capability still astounded him greatly, and it appeared he didn''t need Noa or Winter''s help to subdue Ronan.
Cyrus''s chirps abruptly stopped when he heard it and asked confusedly, "Not Intruders? And what are friends?"
For a Nether Paradise Bird, the concept of friendship and rtionships were too vague because, in their entire life, they lived in chaos. Even their own kind of was nothing but another prey from them.
Ace felt a light headache since he didn''t have time to educate Cyrus right now.
"Friends are people we couldn''t attack or kill no matter what. I''ll tell you more about friends soon since I have to deal with that person in that strange box." Ace suddenly thought of something and quickly said, "Go and suppress him!"
Since Cyrus could suppress Winter and Noa without much difficulty, he should also be able to suppress Ronan.
"OH? Alright, I''ll burn that intruder then." Cyrus''s bird eyes instantly lit up as he quickly let Noa and Freya go before shing toward the prison where Ronan was struggling with all his might.
"No. Don''t burn him. Just make sure he won''t cause trouble." Ace quickly corrected Cyrus since he needed Ronan alive for now.
Because if Ronan died, it would be an absolute upheave outside.
On the other hand, Noa and Freya felt like they could finally breathe when that strange oppression vanished, and the tiny chick again vanished from their eyes.
"Who was it?" Freya couldn''t help but question out loud in curiosity and lingering fear in her eyes.
Noa also wanted to know the answer to this same question since she had never seen this chick when she came here previously, so it had clearly recently appeared here when she was in seclusion.
"He''s my pet, Cyrus. Keep other questions to yourself; for now, time is precious." Ace''s stern voice rang and focused on the Ronan.
Ronan was utterly aghast by this strange dark space because his Qi was suppressed, and he could hear a strangemotion.
"Where did you send this Prince?! ve, release me, or I''ll skin you alive when I get out of here¡ehhh." Ronan''s threatening roar suddenly stopped when a ghastly pressure suddenly descended on him, and a strange bird chirp rang from outside.
''B-bloodline suppression?! But how could it be¡ no¡ I must be dreaming. How could someone have an even stronger bloodline than me and know how to use Bloodline suppression, or was it a conspiracy by that wily bitch Leona?!'' Ronan''s mind trembled because he knew far more than others, and fear surfaced in his eyes.
He wanted to take out a lifesaving treasure from his storage ring when he finally noticed that his storage ring wasn''t even there!
And when he looked behind his palm, his heart nearly stopped when he saw the owl symbol with ''Sky Stealer'' on its wings!
"Oh, it seemed your highness found out who I am." Ace''s jeering voice rang at this moment, startling Ronan.
"Y-you¡ no¡ how could it be you thief?! How did you appear here?!" Ronan waspletely appalled just by thinking who had abducted him. He felt like he was in a nightmare.
"I''ll define itter, Your Highness, but I would like to borrow your identity right now. As long as you corporate, I promise you''ll live or hehe just like Archie you''ll be¡." Ace coldly hinted.
Ronan''s heart trembled as realization dawned upon him, and he started to get the picture of how the infamous thief appeared this deep within their scared territory.
The next moment, Ronan felt a suction force on his face, but s, he couldn''t resist because of Cyrus''s suppression, and the fully dark mask on his face vanished, revealing a handsome face that startled Ace.
Because Ronan''s face was pale white with a pitch-ck eyeball, but he had both white irises and ck pupils that werepletely strange for a demon to possess because a demon only had a single-color eyeball. Well, it was written in books, at least.
His actual long hair color wasn''t ck either, it was also white, and there were long pitch-ck antelope horns. All of this was hidden because of that mask he was wearing.
"You bastard, you won''t get away with this!" Ronan knew he had unknowingly fallen into a terrible trap, and this thief was even more terrifying than the rumors told him to be.
"It''s yet to be seen, your highness, but I think this mask of yours will protect me for a while, right?" Ace questioned with a hint of happiness and mockery.
At this time, a light suddenly shed over Ronan, whichpletely startled him, but nothing happened.
It was Ace who just scanned Ronan''s face in his thousand-face mask and quickly took his appearance while he took off his Demonic Eater Mask, which had Archie''s appearance.
Since he had that ck mask of Ronan, he didn''t need this one anymore, and who would dare to use their sense on an Imperial Prince to scan his face?
Furthermore, the mask he got from Ronan was quite strange since it was made solely for concealment. The moment Ace wore it, just like Ronan, the horns, hair color, and every racial trait of Ronan changed, and no one would ever know it was Ronan even if Ace didn''t wear Ronan''s appearance underneath.
Winter was also astonished when she saw Ace look just like that Prince and didn''t have any aura.
Nevertheless, she could now turn into Ronan since she had already seen his appearance when Ace changed it. Moreover, this was what she was most proficient in.
Afterward, Ace''s robes start to change, and now he looks just like Ronan and has a sigh of relief since everything goes smoothly.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Only five minutes passed in reality, but who could imagine that the Fifth Imperial Prince had been changed in this small window?
"Alright, you need to keep your House Call active all the time whenever you''re with someone else. You don''t have Archie''s memories, so don''t get exposed on me." Ace calmly sat down in Ronan''s position and uttered in his voice.
"What do you take me for? If it was the real boy, then I could''ve easily annexed his memories with my fourth ability, humph. Now, it couldn''t be helped." Wintermented in a resigned manner as if she was getting the short end of the stick.
An ability name shed past Ace''s mind when Winter said those words, ''I forget about that thing. Well, she''ll be fine.'' He thought but didn''t reveal that he knew about her ability.
Then he moved on to thest part, annexing Ronan''s memories.
However, when he tried to perform a soul probe on Ronan, a strange force stopped his probing like a thick wall!
''Another soul protection treasure?'' Ace mused, and the next moment he stripped Ronan naked, making the arrogant Prince almost cough the blood in humiliation and curse even more.
He was also getting infuriated by that strange bird chirp which rang every now and then as if it was mocking him.
As long as Ronan was in his thief''s space and could be suppressed by his thief''s space, he was part of his thief''s space, and he could take off anything with a thought.
From Ronan''s body, Ace found skin-tight white armor that looked just like a piece of silk, a white triangr pendant, and two ck arm guards hidden underneath his soft body armor.
When Ace sensed the Qi fluctuations on those treasures, except that body armor, everything was a soul treasure, and they were probably high grade-6 if not grade-7, and then there was still his storage ring which Ace didn''t get the chance to see its content yet!
Ace then tried again with his soul probe, but he was again blocked by some invisible wall which made him frown.
"Your Highness, it seemed you guys had more secrets than I thought. So tell me, will soul search work on you?" Ace probed ambiguously.
"Soul Search? Hahahahahah¡ now I understand." Ronan suddenlyughs like a maniac at this moment, "Try it, you lowly thief. I dare you to try using soul search on me!"
''Could it be some kind of skill of blocking my soul probing? But he''s just a Minor Stage tinum Soul Embryo Realm. How could he block my soul probe? He clearly didn''t have any idea that I had already tried it.'' Ace grimaced since it would make it difficult for him.
"Since that''s the case, I''ll let someone else try." Ace''s cold voice rang before a capped figure appeared in the dark space, startling Ronan, who was still naked. He thought it was Ace, but¡
"There''s some kind of barrier in his soul stopping me from entering his knowledge sea. Can you make it disappear¡ Evil?"
Chapter 570 Evil Seed
Freya''s eyes shimmered with a peculiar glint when she heard this and looked at Ronan, who had this appalling expression.
"So, you had other helpers!" Ronan eximed in trepidation as if he had stumbled upon a huge secret.
Because everyone still thought that the elusive Sky Stealer worked alone and he didn''t have any backing or helper. But it didn''t seem to be the case at all.
Freya ignored Ronan as if he was air and questioned Ace instead, "Leader, can you really enter his Knowledge Sea?"
She was well aware of the fable knowledge sea, and even she couldn''t enter it with her current skill set. But Ace sounded like it was a piece of cake for him as long as that restriction was removed.
Ace''s abilities were still well hidden from all of the house members, and only Noa knew that Ace was both Soul and Martial Cultivator, and he had a unique soul search that was as sneaky as him, but that was the extent of her knowledge about Ace''s abilities.
"Who do you think I am?" Ace''s snorted, "Just do as I ask, and I''ll give you Psyche Invasion, which would exin what I was talking about."
Ace was already nning to give the Psyche Invasion to Freya and Noa. They were both soul cultivators, and that secret art will do wonders in the hands of Freya. But it was just too long, so writing it down was a hassle, and he didn''t have time.
Nevertheless, he didn''t mind revealing it to her now that Freya questioned.
Freya''s eyes lit up, and her coquettish voice rang, "You''re so bad, keeping all the good stuff to yourself."
"Stop ying around and do your thing. We''re still not out of the woods yet!" Ace''s perplexed voice rang.
"Die!" Out of the blue, ck lighting suddenly shed in Ronan''s bloodshot eyes, and the next moment, a dark lightning streak shot toward Freya''s hooded head.
Since Freya was ignoring and underestimating him, he decided to muster every bit of soul Qi andunched this barely eptable soul attack despite that suppression.
He wanted to maim this thievish bastard in front of him.
However, the moment lightning appeared in the thief''s space, and it instantly vanished before it could even reach halfway toward Freya.
His soul Qi wasn''t strong enough to break past Thief''s Space''s restriction and Cyrus''s suppression.
"Lightening?" Ace''s astonishing voice rang at this moment, "So, the secret element of your imperial family is Soul Lightening?"
Freya also chuckled with a hint of killing intent, "It seemed he''s still not given up."
"You lowly thief, even if you took my appearance, you could never replicate our n''s ck Soul Lighting Element, which is supreme in this world!" Ronan yelled arrogantly while coldly staring at Freya.
He still didn''t believe they could prate his mind, and he knew they wouldn''t dare to kill him since it would only alert the imperial domain. However, if he didn''t cherish his life and wanted to live, he might considermitting suicide.
But he knew these thieves would soon find out just how delusional they were to try impersonating an Imperial Family Member, and someone would save him soon. He wanted to see them caught and then torture them to release his grievance!
"Supreme in this world?" Freya suddenlyughs coldly, "You have no idea what you''re dealing with, little prince. Let''s if you still remain supreme after being enved by my evil seed."
The next moment, she suddenly removed the hood on her head, revealing her charming face, which stunned Ronan entirely because he had never seen someone so beautiful in his life!
Freya''s crimson lips curled up when she saw daze Ronan, "Tell me, little prince, am I pretty?"
Suddenly a strange dark mist surfaced in Freya''s eyes, dying her eyes ck.
At this moment, Ronan, who was staring at Freya, also experienced something unexpected, the same dark mist suddenly surfaced in his eyes, just like Freya, and they also turnedpletely ck!
''Evil Seed!'' A dark gleam shed past Freya''s eyes as a strange dark blue symbol suddenly surfaced within her eyes.
Ronan''s eyes also shone with that symbol before it disappeared within them, and his eyes returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
Freya''s eyes also returned to normal, and she smiled charmingly before wearing her hood again.N?v(el)B\\jnn
A notification rang in her head at this moment which stunned her for a moment,
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[Evil Seed creation had seeded!]
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2. Evil Seed
[Description: Envement Ability of Evil Thief, which could turn anyone into an Evil Seed!]
[Limitation(s): Not work on anyone with Stronger Soul than Evil Thief. The Evil Seed could be broken if the victim''s soul became stronger than the Evil thief! In both cases, the Evil Thief will suffer soul bacsh!]
[Current Evil Seeds No: 1/5]
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''So, I could also be informed if the ability has seeded or not?'' She marveled since it was her first time using Evil Seed on someone.
"Is it done?" Ace''s voice rang in anticipation. He knew about all of Freya and others'' abilities since he could see their statuses.
That was why he let Freya handle it in the first ce because he knew as long as Freya''s Evil Seed seeded, Ronan''s resistance would vanish. This evil seed was like a Soul Brand, but it was far more potent because of Freya''s fourth ability!
Freya giggled at Ace''s question mischievously but didn''t reply. Instead, she looked at Ronan, who was still staring into the void, andmanded, "Bark like a dog!"
If Ronan were himself, he would''ve already started cussing Freya for her insolence but now¡
"Woof¡ Woof¡" He instantly started barking like an idiot. Even a soul brand won''t be able to make someone go against their ego because it won''t only make other loyal, not conscious puppets!
"Alright, that''s enough. Now have him break that restriction or whatever it was stopping my invasion." Ace''s exasperated voice rang. He didn''t know why all of them had the time to fool around while he was the only one who knew the severity of the situation.
"Knock¡. Knock¡"
At this moment, the sounds of knocking rang on the closed door of the private dining room, and Ace knew he was out of time.
Archie and Ronan were already alone for about ten minutes now, and Jefferson naturally would suspect something.
Ace looked at Winter, who also became high alert when she heard the knocking.
"I''m going to let them in and just answer ording to my instruction through House Call¡." Ace quickly instructed Winter about some essential habits of Archie, which were enough to fool anyone in the Royal Demon Institute.
He then quickly wore that triangr pendant and arm guards, and then he closed the array that Ronan had activated. Its control was right on the table position where Ronan was sitting.
He then called in Ronan''s impassive voice, "Enter."
The door opened, and Jefferson again entered the room with a cold expression because he thought Ronan had done something to Archie.
However, Jefferson was startled when he saw all those empty dishes and empty wine bottles, which Winter finished without carrying about anything.
Ronan spoke again, at this moment, "Please excuse my manor, Sir. Jefferson, I had an interesting talk with Sir. Archie here, so I forget about the time. But, nevertheless, you two may leave. I''ll handle everything."
Ace tried to sound as ambiguous as possible because Jefferson was clearly not what he seemed, and Ronan was even apprehensive of him. So, he just wanted this guy out of here and then took his time extracting memories from Ronan.
Jefferson looked deeply at the masked price and felt this strange feeling, but he couldn''t interrogate Ronan even if he wanted to and didn''t want to reveal who he was in front of Archie yet.
So, he had no choice but to keep his question for Archie and behave like a good henchman.
He bowed slightly in agreement and respectfully said, "As my princemand. Let''s go, Sir. Archie."
Archie stood up before he bowed to Ronna, "Thank you for epting me under your wing, Your Highness. I''m grateful."
Ronan merely nodded in acknowledgment before Archie and Jefferson left.
Ace had an internal sigh of relief when he saw Jefferson leave without suspecting anything, and now all left was Winter to perform well. He had already handed Archie''s student badge to her so she won''t face any problem.
Even if she did, she could easily ask him through the house call.
At this moment, the door opened again and the two demons standing outside entered as their faces lit with vexation.
"Your Highness¡" But before they could say anything, Ronan coldly uttered, "Who allowed you two to enter and talk? Scram for this prince!"
They were both startled because they were both Ronan''s left and right-hand men in Royal Demon Institute, and he never reprimanded them like this.
But still, they just thought Ronan was also in a bad mood because of Jefferson''s audacity and didn''t want to be disturbed. So they quickly bowed and asked for his forgiveness and quickly stood outside again.
Ace finally had the chance to pay attention to Ronan again!
Chapter 571 Secrets From Fifth Imperial Demon Prince
However, when Freya told Ronan to disable that barrier in his mind, what came out of Ronan''s mouth was entirely out of Ace and Freya''s expectations.
He revealed with a depressed tone, "I-I can''t break the Imperial Soul Seal on my Knowledge Sea."
"What Imperial Soul Seal?" Freya''s squinted her eyes.
"When a member of the Imperial Demon Family is born, they are baptized in the Demon Temple. After that, we got the Deity Baphomet''s blessing, and this Imperial Soul Seal was also ced within our minds by the Deity Baphomet.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"As long as someone tried to use soul search on us, they will be attacked by Divine Lightening of Deity Baphomet and turn into ashes. This is the blessing only Imperial Demon Family enjoy!" Ronan told one of the core secrets of the Imperial Demon Family!
Ace was astounded when he heard this unexpected answer, "So, you''re saying that Baphomet is real?"
Although everyone knew that demons worshiped Baphomet and had its statues all over the continent, the Imperial Demon Family even used it as an imperial emblemed.
But no one had ever thought that Baphomet was genuine and could even interact with and bestow blessings on imperials.
"Answer him!" Freya also wanted to know since a Deity was involved.
Because in her mind, they were also getting help from a goddess, so it wasn''t impossible for someone else to get it. She was even more interested in knowing if the Thief God was more powerful or the Demon Deity, Baphomet!
Ronan pulled a bitter expression as he replied, "I-I don''t know if Baphomet is real or not since we were never allowed to enter the Demon Temple again. But ording to Empress Mother, Baphomet is real, and it resides in the Demon Temple and blesses our race!"
Ace''s heart turned cold when he heard this since it was too big of a shock because if it was true, he might as well just hand himself over to the demons instead of going into the temple to court death!
"Um¡ system, could there be a real god in this world?" Ace could only ask the system for confirmation because Ronan''s reply was quite subtle, and he believed the system more than anything in this world.
"[Mortal Sky Heaven is Godless.]"
It was a simple static reply that made Ace considerably calm down and feel relieved since he didn''t know what he would do if some goat face deity were living in the demon continent!
He might''ve even considered dropping everything and fleeing!
"It seemed the Demon Race had many secrets," Freyamented coldly, but there was fear in her voice because she had been nning her sweet revenge on the demon race for a long time.
But it appeared they were not easy to trifle with, and she now also knew the concept of God wasn''t just a myth.
Ace''s calm voice rang again, "So, as long as we don''t try to search your soul, you could reveal anything?"
Since he got the system''s confirmation, he wasn''t worried anymore, and he mused it might be some sham ce by the demon race to make others apprehensive of them.
Or they won''t be NO.2 if they had a deity in their backyard.
"Yes!" Ronan replied in affirmation which made Ace relieved.
Although he couldn''t get Ronan''s memories, as long as Ronan told him everything, he wasn''t worried much, and as an Evil Seed, he was ultimately in Freya''s control!
"It seems I''ll be here for quite some time." Freya giggled meaningfully since Ronan won''t answer Ace''s questions sincerely without her.
"Alright, I know you also wanted to know the Imperial Demon Family''s secrets. I don''t mind; you can have your way. Just collect everything and then tell me. It would be much easier for me as well." Ace agreed since he could easily hear everything in his thief''s space, so it didn''t matter if Freya was there or not.
Afterward, Ace sent Noa back to the thief''s house at her own request because she wanted to enter seclusion and be strong. She felt pressured after watching theters overtake her without even realizing it.
Ace had a vague idea about what Noa was thinking, but he didn''t say anything. He knew it would only make her miserable if he said something he shouldn''t.
However, Cyrus also joined Freya and Ronan on his own ord, he has nevere in contact with anything, and he didn''t even see Ace yet.
So, the little guy was quite curious, and Ace let him mingle with Freya and let her teach him theirmonnguage, so he doesn''t have difficultymunicating the next time.
Freya quickly agreed because she was also curious about Cyrus since it could suppress them all, so she wanted to know how Ace got it and from where.
An hour passed when the dining room was finally opened, and Ronan walked out, giving the two henchmen a startle.
Nevertheless, they quickly greeted him. Albeit they didn''t know what Ronan was doing in there for an hour, they didn''t dare to distrust him again.
They both were core grade students from Poison Wood and Nightmare Demon ns, and their names were Nathanael and Byron.
They were following Ronan from their first grade and had already reaped many benefits because of it.
Ronan was also quite cunning and took full advantage of his identity. He always had others sign a soul contract so others couldn''t betray him, and that''s how the Secret Supreme Alliance was born.
From Ronan, Ace discovered that every member of the Secret Supreme Alliance was loyal to him like a ve. There was a total of 14 members, and all of them were from Core Grade sses!
But this fact didn''t know to others, and those who knew about this alliance only thought of it as an institute alliance established by him, and neither did they dare to mess with him because of his identity.
Ace finally discovered why Archie was selected for the arrogant prince''s alliance.
It turned out Ronan had no intention of epting Archie because he was only subpar in his eyes; heck, he didn''t even know who Archie was because he was only interested in core grade students who could be his secret force in the future.
Archie was arranged to enter by the Housemaster Bodach. Thetter promised Ronan that as long as he gave Archie some help when he entered the imperial domain, he would support him in the institute.
Ronan''s alliance was always fighting with his Fourth Imperial Brother, Cassius''s Alliance, in the Soul Assassin House for resources. They always tried to suppress each other, and Cassius was a little stronger.
So, Ronan didn''t let this chance slide by and epted Bodach''s offer to help Archie as much as he could in the imperial domain.
But the cunning prince couldn''t just let Archie out of his grasp since Bodach asked him personally then. This means Archie was quite important to him. It became even more apparent when Jefferson, who was none other than Clouse, came into the picture.
So, he decided to make Archie his ve here and now so he could use him as a spy and even lure Clouse to his side.
But he was just too hastily, and since this method always worked, he decided to be done with it.
s, he encountered Ace instead, and now¡ he, himself, had be a ve!
Ace was quite stunned when he found Bodach and Clouse involved in this, and he felt even more strange because those two were just helping Archie, not harming him.
If they knew about Ronan''s true colors, they might not even think of him to seek.
Ace guessed that they wanted Archie to be one of the core members of the soul assassin house since he had already experienced their ''care,'' and now Winter will receive the rest of it.
Winter had also sessfully fooled Clouse with Ace''s help and was in Archie''s student mansion right now.
Now, Ace was free to move on to the next step of his n: to leave the royal demon institute and enter the Imperial Domain as Ronan!
Nathanael, who had a skinny physique and listless face, asked at this moment, "Your Highness, did it go well?"
Byron, who had a hefty build, looked at Ronan eagerly.
They both knew why Ronan sent Clouse out.
Clouse was once invited by Ronan to join his side but was rejected mercilessly, so those henchmen and Ronan didn''t have a good impression of him.
That guy didn''t even give them a face just because his status was higher than theirs in the institute.
This naturally made everyone, including Ronan, unhappy, yet they could do nothing since Clouse was too powerful for them and had Bodach''s absolute support.
The Imperials were also not allowed to bring their guardians to the institute, or there would be no difference between them and the students. These fifty years were tempering for the imperials so they could rely little on their statuses.
Ronan''s cold voice rang, "What do you think?"
Chapter 572 Meeting With Bodach!
After that day, nothing out of the ordinary happened.
As days passed, the students who were still undergoing their annual assessments started to return to their districts as the day of the yearly assembly drew near, marking the start of a new year.
Archie (Winter) continued to train in the royal tower, and Ronan (Ace) returned to his quarters in the Soul Assassin Royal Tower and remained there without drawing any attention.
Bodach also got the full report about Archie''s encounter with Ronan from Clouse and found something wrong.
But ording to Archie, the prince just made him take an oath of never betraying the alliance, which was a regr thing, so they couldn''t find fault with Ronan and could only let it go.
Furthermore, aftering back, Archie (Winter) showed even more terrifyingprehension abilities and learned everything they taught at a tremendous pace.
As for how Winter, who was a martial cultivator, could learn soul skills and release soul attacks, it was all thanks to her Second Innate Ability, Faceless Reality!
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¡
2. Faceless Reality
[Description: ording to Faceless Thief''s will, the Qi and Aura (Like Soul Qi, or Elements, and Racial Aura and such) could change into any reality!]
[Limitation: The observer would sense and see an illusion-like reality as long as their cultivation is not two realms above Faceless Thief!]
¡
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That was why Ace wanted her to take the role of Archie because her disguising skills were too exceptional, and he was the most envious of Winter''s abilities!
As for Ace himself, he didn''t dare to move around too carelessly until he got all the essential information from Ronan.
Albeit, Ronan was now Freya''s evil seed, and they could just use the real person like a puppet, but the problem was Ace couldn''t enter the living thief''s space, or he would be the first one to agree with this choice.
Furthermore, even he disguised himself as Ronan''s henchman and then pulled the real Ronan''s strings and had Ronan take him to the Imperial Domain.
The problem was that no one could enter there without permission from the domains except for Imperials!
Even the servants or supporters weren''t allowed no matter who they were, and they had to register and then make a permit, and only then could they enter the Imperial Domain!
Ronan himself had to send a message if he wanted to return, and someone woulde here to pick him up. He couldn''t go alone as he wished.
Even then, he had to give a good reason for his return since he was a student of the Royal Demon Institute so others won''t suspect anything.
Ace knew even with all this, he would have a small window to stay before he had to leave or someone might suspect him, and being suspect in the Imperial Domain would not bode well for Ace.
So, while he was collecting information from Ronan about the Imperial Domain, he nned ordingly, and Freya was his advisor. Oh, and don''t forget Cyrus''s straightforward advice to burn everything down.
Ace also inquired about the elemental orb, but sadly Ronan had no idea what an elemental orb was, nor did he know what it looks which made Ace somewhat depressed.
Only two days left before the yearly assembly started, and the announcement for the gathering would also be made on that day.
Today, Ronan finally appeared and headed toward the lifting tform of the 73rd floor, where third-core-grade students live.
Ronan reached the lifting tform without encountering anyone, nor he wanted to and pressed his hand on an array panel on the wall.
Thereupon, the Deacon with the lifting tform rose from the lower floor.
When the Deacon saw Ronan, he was startled for a moment since Ronan would never go anywhere without Nathanael and Byron, so it was quite an unusual sight.
Nevertheless, the Deacon knew better than to ask, so he respectfully bowed in greeting, "Your Highness, where to?" He inquired.
"100th Floor!" Ronan revealed impassively.
The Deacon''s eyes widened slightly as he asked earnestly, "But I wasn''t¡."
"I wasn''t invited, but I''m sure Tower Master won''t reject me. Just contact him, and you''ll see." Ronan coldly uttered.
Everyone knew to enter the 90th floor and above, one needed permission or invitation not to talk about the 100th floor where Bodach lived.
100th floor was forbidden to anyone as long as they were not Bodach personal students or had the same status as him. Except for these few exceptions, everyone required Bodach''s permission, even an imperial demon prince.
As for how to get permission, the easiest way was through this Deacon!
However, to make the Deacon seek permission was a whole other story. Not just anyone could make him, and Ronan was such a person.
So, when the Deacon heard this response, he had no choice but to contact the 100th floor and seek Bodach''s opinion on this.
As for if he agreed to meet Ronan waspletely dependent on his mood, his status was higher than Ronan''s in Royal Imperial Institute as a Housemaster!
"Let me up." Bodach''s ghostly voice rang in affirmation in themunication cube when he heard Ronan wanted to meet him.
After getting the confirmation, the Deacon didn''t say anything and took Ronan to the 100th floor!
It was Ace''s first-time meeting Bodach, and it won''t be a lie to say he wasn''t nervous because this person was most likely a Quasi-Law-Awareness Realm Expert, and he had a glimpse of such power in the fox mountain.
If not, because it was absolutely necessary, he didn''t want even to go close to such an expert, much less confront one on his own ord.
Nevertheless, his appearance was hidden behind the illusion mask, which was actually a Low-Grade-7 concealment treasure called the Imperial Demon Mask!
From Ronan, Ace discorded that the Imperial Demon Mask was the first treasure any imperial would ever get, and they wore it their entire life since they were not allowed to show their faces except their spouses or parents.
Even siblings weren''t allowed to reveal their faces to each other, which was a strange custom.
As for that pendant, it was a soul-limit talisman that could block three attacks from a Law-Awareness Realm and release a Qi signal that would alert the imperial domain about the attack on an imperial family member locate their location.
The arm guards were a high-grade-6 soul treasure called Chains of Lightning which was rted to the cultivation technique of the Imperial Demon Family.
Their tribe was called the ck Lightning Demon, and all of their skills and techniques were rted to soul lightning, which fascinated Ace, and he remembered every one of them for his own use!
As for Ronan''s storage ring, he got many rare soul treasures with over a hundred thousand TP middle-level thievery!
Thereby, they soon reached the top floor of the Royal Tower.
The 100th floor waspletely different from the lower floors; the soul Qi here was ten times denser than any floor below, and there weren''t any corridors.
There was a grand space with four rooms on every side and in the center of this space was a long table with hundreds of chairs.
When Ace was the ghostly appearance demon sitting at the end of this table, his heart raced just by staring at those empty eye sockets as it was his first time seeing such a demon which looked more like an actual demon than any demon he had ever seen.
"Please." The Deacon singled him to step off so he could leave them alone.
Ace calmed down and walked on the white floor toward Bodach.
Bodach coolly said when Ronan was a few meters away, "Please sit, Your Highness."
Ace took a seat a few meters away from Bodach, which was giving him a feeling of aghast the closer he moved to him, and Bodach clearly wasn''t releasing any aura at all.
"So, what brings Your Highness to my door?" Bodach didn''t beat around the bush. He only agreed to meet Ronan because of his secret deal with him, and Archie was really worth it.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
So, he didn''t want to make Ronan unhappy for no good reason, so he gave him a face by letting him enter.
Furthermore, he was still wary of this cunning demon prince, every member of their family was not to be underestimated!
Ronna calmly stated at this moment, "Nothing much. I just want Tower Master to arrange for me to return to the Imperial Domain tomorrow!"
Bodach''s expression remained the same as he inquired, "May I know why? You should know the new year is about to start, and an imperial prince living before it is not a small thing."
? Ace knew this old guy wouldn''t give in just like that, and he was too hard to read with his ghostly face. So, Ace didn''t know what he was thinking!
This was quite frustrating since he was used to reading people and then reacting ordingly, but this old monster was on a different level than him!
Chapter 573 Plan For Demon Emperor Domain!
In reply, Ronan said, "Of course, it''s for our deal. Tower Master. I found something from my men back at the Pce."
"Oh? May I know the details?" Bodach''s expression still was the same, but his voice carried a hint of sharpness.
Ace knew this was the most challenging part; if he wanted to convince Bodach, he had to conjure something he would believe.
Furthermore, Archie was essential to Bodach, so he might get suspicious of Ronan''s request to return.
"I think someone in the domain had other ns for the participants, including the participants from our institute. So, I just wanted to make sure Archie returned safe. It will also show my sincerity." Ronan impassively stated.
Bodach didn''t reply instantly and looked deeply at Ronan with his empty eyes as if he was mulling over something.
Ace kept his calm, but he was a little tense about this situation, he didn''t want to say too much, or it might backfire.
Finally, Bodach spoke, "I won''t question Your Highness''s good intentions anymore. I''ll approve three months'' leave for Your Highness today, and you can contact someone to pick you up tomorrow."
Ace felt relieved when he heard this.
"It''ll be splendid." Ronan impassively said and stood up. He didn''t want to stay with Bodach for an extra moment.
Bodach also didn''t stop Ronan, but just as he was about to walk away, Bodach''s voice rang again, filled with a strange chinless, "Have a nice trip, your highness. I''ll be waiting for your good news¡ for both our sakes."
Ace felt his heart turn cold when he felt a hint of horrifying killing intent for an instant!
''What a lunatic to show killing intent toward an Imperial Prince!'' Ace never thought there would be such a person among demons who dared to threaten an imperial family member.
Nevertheless, the killing intent was just a warning, and even if Ronan took it as an offense, he couldn''t do anything without any proof or unless Bodach directly acted.
He merely grunted coldly before storming away like real Ronan.
Bodach watched coldly as Ronan left with the lifting tform.
A rueful sigh escaped his mouth, and a frown appeared on his emotionless face, ''It seemed Fifth Prince might want to help Archie this time for my support. If he hadn''te, I might''ve found him myself in a few months¡.''
---
After Ace returned to the 73rd floor, he quickly returned to Ronan''s quarters, which were a spacious courtyard.
He felt much better after he got out of that old ghost''s presence, but he knew Bodach was nothingpared to what he might face in the imperial domain.
A goldenmunication cube appeared in Ace''s hand at this moment, and he activated it.
Thereby, a hoarse voice rang from the cube, "Greeting Your Highness Fifth Prince, please state your emergency."
This cube was directly connected to the Imperial Demon Council''s headquarters, and any demand from the Imperial Family Member outside the Imperial Domain will make through this method.
But all these requests were heard by high-level members of the Council so they could be put in motion at a minute''s notice.
"Southern Council Minister, sent ck Demon to pick me up tomorrow morning from the Royal Demon Institute. I''ming back for three months." Ronan stated in amanding tone.
ck Demon was the birth guardian of Ronan, and every imperial family member had a birth guardian who protected them with their lives no matter what.
Furthermore, from Ronan, Ace discovered that there were four council ministers with a status just below the Elder Demons.
The person on the other end was the Second Demon Minister, the Southern Council Minister who handled requests from both Fourth and Fifth Imperial Princes.
Furthermore, Ace also got to know a piece of astonishing news about the Fourth Demon Minister. The Western Council Minister had perished in the hands of that corpse king.
But the imperial domain kept this report under tight wraps and even reinstated a dummy fourth demon minister, so no one knew the truth.
The Imperial Demon Family members had ears everywhere, and this matter was naturally known to them.
So, Ace was quite astonished when he thought just how powerful the mere corpse of an orb''s guardian was and felt the chills just by thinking about the prowess of an alive guardian on the same level as the ice orb''s guardian!
Southern Council Minister''s hoarse voice rang again when he heard Ronan''smand, "Do you have the permission of House Master?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"I got the permission, and someone will contact you about it soon as well. I''m just giving you a heads up so you could send ck Demon, not someone else." He coolly stated.
"Very well, Your Highness, it''s been decades since Her Imperial Majesty had seen you. She will be much delighted after getting this news." Southern Council Minister replied as his tone was like an elder this time.
Ronan merely snorted coldly, "I know." And cut off the connection.
Ace smiled wryly since he reacted ording to Ronan''s rtionship with his family.
Ace knew Southern Council Minister was actually Fifth Price''s Maternal Uncle and Empress''s only elder brother!
The Demon Emperor only had one wife, who was the current Empress Consort and held high authority, only second to the Demon Emperor, and they both had six children!
However, unlike other warm parents, this pair was cold and indifferent to their children as they never interfered between their fights. Or it was just how an imperial family works.
Nevertheless, Ace knew the biggest obstacle in his way was actually the First Imperial Demon Prince Martin, the Second Imperial Demon Prince Reginald, who was actually none other than the person who triggered the chain mission and came after Ace in the outer provinces.
Lastly, the Third Princess was none other than Leona, who should be in the Royal Demon Institute but not right now. All because she was grounded after Ace exposed her scheme that day.
Leona was probably the biggest thorn in her siblings'' way to ascension because she was the most talented between them all and the only child who wasn''t actually ignored by their parents and have their favor!
That''s why everyone was jealous of her except the sixth prince, who was still a child and na?ve and hadn''t suffered from Leona''s schemes yet.
But after she got exposed by Ace and because of her, he was able to theft the life demon auction, how could she get away without scot-free?
Furthermore, Reginald also didn''t let go of this chance to put all the me on her for allowing that thief to steal the myriad hex manual and escape any responsibility!
She was then sent back to the imperial domain with Paul, whose whereabouts were still unknown as he had yet to appear from the Imperial Domain but from Ronna''s sources, he was being tortured for breaking many rules.
As for Leona, no one knows what kind of punishment she received, but she never appeared in the public eye. She was rumored to be grounded by the furious Demon Emperor after being stripped of her every title, including the Imperial Princess!
This was definitely the windfall for these jealous, power-hungry brothers.
Nevertheless, Ronan''s return might be seen as a provocation toward both princes, who were now more powerful than ever after Leona got out of the equation.
That''s also why Ronan first suspected Leona wanted to assassinate him to make it look like those two princes had gone blinded by their meteoritic rise and wanted to eliminate the future trouble in one fell swoop.
Because only those two would have a reason to kill an Imperil Prince and capabilities.
This way, Leona might have a chance toe back when both princesy low or at least slow their rise until the killer was found.
But he was wrong since it was Ace.
Anyhow, Ace knew those three might start scheming against Ronan, it still remained to be seen, but he knew the longer he yed Ronna, the more his chance of exposure would grow.
Because, unlike his past victims, Ronan''s identity was probably the most terrifying, and just a sliver of suspicion might be the end of him.
So, he had another n which was the moment he entered the Imperial Domain. He would find another low-profile identity and let the actual prince out and let him handle those schemes himself.
That guy was under Freya''splete control, so he should use him instead of letting him stay and take a precious spot in his living thief''s space.
They had already got all the essential information, so he was now utterly useless to him except for his life.
As for Winter, she would join him soon in the Imperial Domain as Archie.
Ace looked at the empty ce, which was filled with dense soul Qi and his lips curled upward, ''I''m as ready as I could be for the Imperial Domain!''
Chapter 574 Entering The Imperial Domain!
The following day, the tightly shut doors of the Royal Demon Institute shimmered in bright symbols before they were slowly parted, revealing a vast road.
Thereby, carriages with swift speed suddenly emerged and exited the gates one after another. There were a total of five luxurious ck carriages moving without any beasts.
After they left the Royal Demon Institute, the carriages turned invisible to the naked eye!
Furthermore, there was a golden emblem of Baphomet''s face with a blue sphere revolving between its horns. Anyone will have to lower their head if they see this symbol because it is the emblem of the Imperial Demon Family!
Inside the carriage in the middle,
Ronan sat as he looked at another masked demon with white eyeballs, twisted gray horns, and a slim build. It was Ronan''s birth guardian, ck Demon.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Just as Ace nned, after meeting with Bodach and getting his approval, everything went exceptionally smoothly, and ck Demon also came on time to pick him up.
Seeing the carriages leaving the Royal Demon Institute, Ace couldn''t help but feel anticipation for the Imperial Domain, which was quite close.
He suddenly looked at ck Demon, who kept staring at him without speaking, and coldly asked, "What is it?"
ck Demon could be said closest to Ronan and think of him as a close friend, but he would never say it because of their status difference, and ck Demon also will never dare to call an Imperial Prince his friend unless he wants to die because of treason.
These birth guardians were like absolute loyal ves of the Imperial Demon Family and could never betray them or move against them. They all were trained Killing Weapons that would protect their master at any cost.
ck Demon''s husky voice rang exempt of any emotions, "It been a long time since I havest seen Your Highness. You have grown."
"Of course, I would grow. Or why would I need to go into that damnmoner''s den?" Ronan disdainfully retorted.
He always looked down on the Royal Demon Institute because the demons there were far below their status. Yet, the imperial family members like him had to go there and live between them and interact with them daily.
Furthermore, Ronan hated demons like Clouse and Bodach, who didn''t know their ce and didn''t bow their heads and think of themselves as an equal and even better than him just because they were a little bit powerful.
Yet, he couldn''t change these customs or even challenge them, as a matter of fact, unless he became the ruler himself.
This was even more ridiculous because the current Demon Emperor was rtively youngpared to the previous rulers, and this won''t be wrong to say he was just getting started. He only ruled for over 1,000 years.
They still didn''t have any crown prince because the children were rtively young and didn''t have the qualification to be a crown prince.
ording to the Demon Race''s Ancient Custom, a Demon Emperor ruled the race for 10,000 Years if he didn''t die for some other reason, and afterward, they had to select the new Demon Emperor whether they liked it or not.
Even more strange, this custom had never been broken in the history of the Demon Race!
However, Ace or even Ronan didn''t understand where the previous Emperor and his other children went.
ording to Ronan, after every new demon emperor was crowned, the previous Emperor and his family members vanished from the historical records, and no one talked about them. It was taboo.
Most people believed that they were all killed by the ruler, so they won''t be able to challenge the new ruler ever, and it would also spare them the opportunity for rebellion.
All in all, the Imperial Demon Family was shrouded in mystery, and everything was rted to one ce, the Demon Temple!
No one lived there, but it was a ce that was forbidden for anyone, and only the Emperor had the right to enter.
The more Ace knew about this mysterious ce, the more he felt pressure because this ce was simply too mysterious, and going there would be even more dangerous than infiltrating the Imperial Domain on his own.
Ace suddenly thought of something as he questioned ck Demon, who had turned mute, "What is the situation in the domain? How are my brothers taking my abrupteback?"
ck Demon replied truthfully, "The news about youing back was not spread yet and only known by a handful of people, including the His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor, and the Empress. But when you enter the domain, it won''t be long before the news spread.
"As for the situation in the domain, except for the preparation of the Ancient Alliance Gathering, nothing out of the ordinary."
Ace''s eyes narrowed when he heard thest part, "What kind of preparation?"
After the Elemental Orb, he was most interested in this gathering, which was not going to be peaceful.
ck Demon revealed, "They were going to send the selected participants to the three forbidden countries for two years!"
Ace''s eyes narrowed when he heard this because the three forbidden countries were quite dangerous for those participants, even with their cultivation. But it wasn''t a surprise either since that ce was suitable for training and gaining experience.
Furthermore, the three forbidden countries might be just a small part of the demon race''s preparation, and that ce waspetently isted so that they might have some other goals.
Afterward, Ace didn''t question anymore since Ronan never spoke much with ck Demon, and he didn''t want to change that.
An hourter, those invisible carriages entered a misty in.
This was the first barrier surrounding the Imperial Domain, and only with speak formations could one escape this mist.
Furthermore, this mist was just a part of a massive Grae-7 formation called the Myriad Demonic Ghost Maze, and it was never breached in the history of the demon race.
After traveling in that mist on a peculiar pathway filled with turns and strange twists, Ace finally saw the fog getting thinner and thinner, and when Ace saw that ahead of them was nothing but a gloomy wastnd, he was astonished.
Because even he couldn''t tell if it was reality or an illusion because the feeling it quite real.
But Ace knew it was a killing area of the Myriad Demonic Ghost Maze, and anyone who stepped into it would have one end, death!
However, before their carriages could enter this killing area, a dark slit suddenly appeared right in the air before it opened like a tear in the space!
Yet, the carriages didn''t stop and sessfully entered this tear before it closed just as it appeared.
Ace''s vision blurred for a moment, and when it came back, he saw that he was no longer in the mist or there wasn''t any gray wastnd in front.
The carriages were moving on a beautiful road, and a few miles ahead of them were towering golden gates and an immeasurable wall.
''The Imperial Demon Domain!'' Ace''s eyes shimmered with ecstasy when he saw the destination so close.
The invisible barrier on the carriages also vanished at this moment.
Thereupon, they soon reached the closed golden gates, and when they were only a mile away from it, ck symbols suddenly started to shine on it, and it slowly started to part, opening the gap just enough for the carriages to pass through.
It wasn''t fully opened. Only a person with Demon Emperor status could make this Imperial Gates fully open for its wee!
Nevertheless, if Ronan weren''t present in this carriage, this gat would''ve even opened this much, and a throughout investigation would be waiting for them before they could enter another passage.
When the carriages crossed the gates, they slowly closed before they vanished from in sight, and only walls could be visible now.
Ace in the carriage felt his entire world change when they cross the gates.
The first thing he saw was a beautiful pce on the horizon, and right behind this magnificent pce was an outline of a long pir that was simply too long as its edge was covered with clouds. It was the Demon Temple, the tallest building on the entire continent.
The Imperial Domain was divided into Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern Pce Areas, and in the center was the Emperor Pce, where the Imperial Family resided. The Demon Temple was also in the Emperor Pce.
Except for the Emperor Pce, the other areas were overseen by Imperial Demon Council and the Imperial Demon Knights.
The Emperor Pce was forbidden to everyone; without permission, no one could step foot there.
Only the most loyal servant families of the Imperial Family were allowed there who worked for them for generations and absolutely loyal.
The carriages entered the Southern Pce Area when these other four carriages broke the formation, and only Ronan''s carriage remained, which was going toward the Emperor Pce!
Chapter 575 The Emperor Palace
The Emperor Pce covered half of the Imperial Domain, it wasvishly made with rare ores, and herb guardians were everywhere, which made the Qi here refreshing and denser.
Every member of the imperial family had their small castle here, including Ronan.
The castle given to him was named Demonic Seal Castle, which was at the west edge of Emperor Pce.
At this moment, servants in ck and white attire were standing outside the Demonic Seal Castle in two rows. All of them wore ck and white masks.
They were the Imperial Servant, and those ck and white masks on their faces were ve items ced on their faces the moment they were born, and they could not remove them.
This symbolized these demons'' evesting servitude toward the imperials, and they weren''t allowed to interact with outsiders and could only live in the Emperor Pce. The moment they left a certain perimeter, they will die because of the ve item bacsh!
They also had another name in the Imperial Domain, Puppet Servants!
At this moment, Ronan''s carriage entered the gate and slowly stopped a few meters away from the Demonic Seal Castle''s Main gates.
A Puppet Servant quickly opened the carriage door and ced a golden staircase in front of the open door.
A demon ced his step on this small staircase and slowly disembarked the carriage. It was naturally Ronan.
Following Ronan appeared ck Demon, and after they disembarked the carriage, it moved on its own and left toward the back of the Demonic Seal Castle.
Ace looked at those puppet servants and their listless eyes exempt from emotions and couldn''t help but frown slightly at the Imperials'' ruthlessness. They were simply too paranoid and distrustful.
They didn''t want anyone toe in contact with their secrets, and they trusted no one, even their close aids. Everyone around them was a thrall who couldn''t go against them.
Even those Imperial Council Demons weren''t allowed to leave here before taking oaths and signing confidential soul contracts.
However, it was also because of this exact reason that the Imperial Domain remained untouchable for countless years.
Until now, no one had any idea that the unbreachable Imperial Domain had already been breached, and this breach was already reached the Emperor Pce no less.
At this moment, a puppet servant approached Ronan and ck Demon, he wore the same ck and white attire, but there was a golden star emblem on his shoulder, which meant he was the head Puppet Servant, which was like a butler of Demonic Seal Castle.
They didn''t have names but numbers.
High-ranking Puppet Servants were given numbers between 1 to 1,000, and it never changed unless a high-ranking puppet servant died. These puppet servants were like guards of the Emperor Pce.
Then there were Middle Ranking Puppet Servants who were given numbers above 1,000 to 10,000, and they were like the head maids, butlers, and chefs and could alsomand Low Ranking Puppet Servants.
Low Ranking Puppet Servants didn''t have any number and did chores and other minor staff in the Emperor Pce. Furthermore, these low puppet servants weren''t allowed to cultivate until they were promoted to middle ranking.
But it was also challenging since those Middle ranking puppet servants were allowed to cultivate to River Core Realm, which meant their lifespan was 1000 years.
While the low-ranking puppet servants could only live up to 200 years if they weren''t get killed by some unhappy imperial first.
The puppet servant with the golden star was a middle-ranking puppet servant, NO.8,430, and he took care of the day-to-day matters of the Demonic Seal Castle.
Every prince or princess could only have five middle-ranking puppet servants, but Ronan didn''t like to be spied upon since these puppets could reveal everything at the Emperor''s behest.
So, he only had one.
NO.8,430 quickly kneeled in front of Ronan, and the other low-ranking puppet servants followed suit. He respectfully spoke, "Wee Back, Your Imperial Highness!"N?v(el)B\\jnn
The other puppet servants followed suits in unison, "Wee Back, Your Imperial Highness!"
Ronan merely nodded, "Rise."
The low-ranking puppet servants quickly followed the order, while NO.8,430 remain in his position.
"Do you have anything to say?" Ronan coldly asked.
Ace knew the puppet servants had their own will, and they could bypass the imperial children''s orders if the order were from a higher title than theirs, like the Empress or Emperor!
NO.8,430 respectfully revealed, "A decree came this morning from the Emperor''s Pce for your highness!"
Ace frowned and coldly spoke, "Where is it?"
A golden scroll appeared in NO.8,430 hand at this moment as he presented it to Ronan respectfully.
ck Demon also kneeled when he saw the pitch-ck goat face sealed on the golden scroll, it was the seal of the Demon Emperor, and anyone had to kneel in front of the decree of the Demon Emperor except for the Imperial Children.
Ace''s frown deepened as he received the scroll but didn''t open it, or more urately, he couldn''t open it!
"Let''s go inside. I''ll read it alone." Ronan coldly uttered as the golden scroll vanished into his storage ring before he walked toward the open gates of the castle.
The others closely followed behind.
When they entered the grand hall,
Ronanmanded, "You, Number ve, lead me toward my room. ck Demon, you''re dismissed for now. I''ll call you if I need you."
ck Demon bowed, "As my princemand."
NO.8,430 also didn''t dare to dy and quickly led Ronan toward his private chamber while the other puppet servants were dismissed for now.
Everyone thought that Ronan wanted to be alone when he opened the decree because the decree with a ck emperor seal could only be opened by a member of the imperial family.
Because it required a drop of their blood to break the seal!
However, when NO.8,430 opened the doors to Ronan''s chamber, something struck NO.8,430 from behind before he lost consciousness!
---
A few miles away the south of Demonic Seal Castle was the Demonic Wing Castle, where lived none other than the Second Imperial Demon Prince, Reginald!
At this moment, inside a closed room, Reginald was listening to Killer.
"¡stly, the Fifth Prince entered the domain half an hour ago." Killer finished his report.
Killer was Reginald''s birth guardian, and he collected information for Reginald in the imperial demon domain since Reginald didn''t need any protection in Imperial Domain.
Reginald coldly uttered at this moment, "What is he doing here when the new year is about to start in the royal demon institute?"
"I just received the news. I''m afraid only the Fifth Prince knows the reason for his return." Killer respectfully replied.
"Hmph, he''s not essential as long as he''s not graduated. He could only stay temporarily and couldn''t do much. So, he might be here for more resources to suppress Fourth Brother.
"Invite him to Demonic Wing Castle. I might as well help him and let him hinder Fourth Brother." Reginald sneered coldly.
"I''ll go personally." Killer agreed.
"What about the current status of that hateful Thief? Did Devils find him yet?" Reginald''s voice wasced with hatred and killing intent when he mentioned it.
How could he not hate Ace for making a fool out of him, time and time again?
Although it looked like he escaped any responsibility for what happened in the Life Demon Auction, he still lost the Myriad Hex Manual which he borrowed from Imperial Treasury.
So, as a punishment, he was also forbidden to leave the imperial domain until he reached the Soul Manifestation Realm!
This naturally made Reginald resent Ace, and he also inquired about his whereabouts daily.
The appearance of Devil Envoys wasn''t a secret in the imperial domain, but it had been months since they started searching for the Thief with two Demon Elders, andter Fiery Grand Demon Duke also joined them. But there''s still no news.
Killer replied with a hint of helplessness, "It''s the same, Your Highness. I''m afraid we all underestimated that Thief too much. He''s probably escaped the continent."
"Cowardly Bastard, I''ll skin him alive if I got my hands on him!" Reginald cursed with hatred. He just couldn''t ept this!
---
On the east of Emperor Pce was the Demonic Spear Castle. Here lived the First Imperial Demon Prince Martin!
Martian also received the report of Ronan''s return from his birth guardian, a demoness with crimson eyeballs standing in front of him. She was called Dagger.
Martian impassively said, "Invite little Ronan for a meal. It''s been a long time since we had a brother-to-brother talk."
He also had the same thoughts as Reginald and wanted to help Ronan to cause trouble for the Fourth Prince.
"At your behest, my prince!" Dagger''s emotionless sweet voice rang in affirmation.
"Do you find the whereabouts of Leona?" Martian voiceced with indignation when he asked this.
"Third Princess still hadn''t returned to her Wisdom Castle from the Emperor Pce!" Dagger replied with a hint of fear.
"Just why those two couldn''t let her go even after she threw our face into the mud!" Martian murmured as his voice was full of resentment and zeal!
Chapter 576 Impossible Location To Infiltrate!
The next morning,
Ronan, with ck Demon, left the demonic seal castle in a carriage.
Their destination was the Emperor Pce Throne Hall, where the Demon Emperor summoned Ronan for an audience.
It was what was written in the Golden Scroll he received from Puppet Servant NO.8,430.
NO.8,430 looked at the departing carriage with a peculiar glint in his eyes. He didn''t return inside the Demonic Seal Castle but headed to the herb garden at the west.
Some numberless puppet servant saw NO.8,430 doing something out of his routine and found it strange because as long as they could remember, NO.8,430 never broke his regr pattern.
However, they didn''t think much about it since it might be Ronan''s orders, so they minded their own business.
Yet, the truth was this NO.8,430 wasn''t the real NO.8,430 but Ace impersonating NO.8,430!
Ace had already decided to switch his identity again when he saw the imperial decree to Ronan. The most suitable target was NO.8,430, to whom no one paid attention except these numberless puppet servants.
Furthermore, NO.8,430 was perfect for Ace''s needs since he could move between ces of Imperial Domain in the sham of Ronan''s order.
So, he released the real Ronan after he captured NO.8,430, and now Ronan was following Freya''s orders to act naturally and pretend as if nothing happened.
If the Demon Emperor asked the reason for his return, he could simply make any excuses, and no one would even suspect anything.
Ace had NO.8,430plete memories, which were quite in and repeated.
This guy was really like a puppet and did what he was supposed to every day without missing a single one, and he didn''t have any desires except for his ridiculous loyalty toward the crown.
The ve mask on NO.8,430 face was vicious because the moment he found himself captured, he instantly tried tomit suicide, but Ace was ready since Ronan had already warned them about the nature of Puppet Servants and had Cyrus restrained him.
Because even these Puppet Servants had Qi Mark Disks, and in case of their uncanny death, the entire Emperor ce will be locked down until the reason for their death bes apparent.
These Mark Disks were giving Ace a massive headachetely, and he didn''t dare to go for the kill anymore unless he was absolutely sure it was safe.
Anyhow, since Ronan''s problem was solved, he was going to start with his search for the Lightning Orb and wanted to find it as soon as possible so he could leave with Ronan in three months.
As for his job mission, he didn''t dare to even think about it because he knew the moment demons discovered him, it would be impossible to escape the imperial domain, especially with grade-7 formations guarding the entire ce.
Lastly, it wasn''t simple to learn how he could acquire that lightning orb since it could be in anyone''s hand and any in the imperial domain. But he had a daring n as long as someone in person carried it.
After Ace saw no one around the herb garden, his expression turned serious, "System revealed the lightning orb''s position again!"
======
[1 Million Thief Points have been deducted!]
[Host only has ten seconds before the Host is required to pay 1 million thief points again for another ten seconds!]
---
[Thief Point(s): 115,970,100]
======
The fate map activated on its own, and Ace gawked at it without blinking. He couldn''t just keep wasting one million thief points all the time, so he was determined to mark its location this time.
As the map started to zoom out, the area around the demonic seal castle became smaller and smaller, and the Emperor Pce''s area started to enter.
However, Ace''s expression started to change when the zooming out started to slow down as a peculiar area started to appear. It was the center of the Imperial Domain, the Emperor Pce!
His expression became ashen when he saw the map finally stop, and an indicator appeared on a peculiar structure.
The moment that indicator stopped, Ace knew he was screwed!
Ace looked into the central area with an appalled expression as his eyes locked on therge pir on the horizon!
''The lightning orb is in the demon temple!'' He just couldn''t believe that of all the ces. It was in the most secure building of the entire demon continent!
Even if it was in the Emperor''s Pce, he still would ept it and might have a chance to search for it, but its location was static which meant it was always there!
That building was forbidden for anyone except the demon emperor, and unless he could impersonate Demon Emperor, he could forget about approaching that area.
=====
[Did the Host want to activate the location again?]
=====
The fate map returned to its previous state with this notification.
"Are you sure it''s in that building?" Ace questioned sternly as he looked at the demon temple with a gloomy look.
"[Yes, the Lightning Orb hadn''t move from this location!]"
''Shit!'' Ace cursed in indignation, ''I prefer facing an orb guarding more now!''
? ''What if I try to fly there? No, unless my stealth could fool the senses of Law-Awareness Realm and grade-7 formations, I would be discovered!'' Ace thought gravely.
''But what if someone took that lightning orb out of the demon temple?'' Ace''s mind raced as he thought about every possibility.
However, all those possibilities were hazardous.
Ace''s eyes suddenly brightened when he thought of something and quickly confronted that System about it, "System, will the Random Pick Pocket Talisman work on a building?"
This was Ace''s trump card to steal the lightning orb if someone carried it in person!
This heavenly talisman can pick pocket any random treasure of grade-8, but if the target didn''t have a grade-8 treasure, it would go for the second best.
Ace from the System found that the elemental orb minimum grade was grade-6, which goes as high as grade-9!
So, when he asked about the lightning orb''s grade, he knew that it should be around grade-7 or even grade-8 because the lighting element was quite rare.
That was why he was confident in acquiring the orb even from the demon pce, but it wasn''t in the ce at all, and instead, it was in the freaking Demon Temple!
However, now that he thinks about it more carefully, the Random Pick Pocket Heavenly Talisman would work on any target, not just space rings, as long as the target was within its limitation.
So, if the demon temple could be considered a target, Ace won''t even need to take such a risk to enter the temple, and he could directly use the heavenly talisman, which was a grade-8 heavenly talisman!
But he still didn''t know if this thinking was correct, so he needed the System''s confirmation.
"[The Random Pick Pocket Heavenly Talisman can be used on a single target, or it can pick pocket any random treasure of Grade-8 within 10 Mile Radius Target Area once used. But if there are no grade-8 treasures avable in a 10-mile radius area, then it would go for the second-best treasure.]"
Ace nearly jumped with joy when he heard this, and all the gloom in his heart vanished as he looked at the Demon Temple with thievish eyes.
''So, all I need to do is to be in a ten-mile radius area of the demon temple now. This means I just have to be in the Demon Pce and get as close as possible to the demon temple.''
But a frown appeared on his face, ''But what if the talisman didn''t pick pocket the orb but some other treasure? The demon temple might have a grade-8 treasure. The orb wasn''t on the same rank.
''Furthermore, the moment I stole a grade-8 treasure, the thief symbol was bound to appear, which would instantly trigger the job mission in session, and it won''t bete before they noticed the thief symbol of that enormous building.
''In both cases, I need to make an escape, but if I don''t get the elemental orb, then it would be even more impossible to acquire it in the future since they would move it from the building.''n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace was in a huge dilemma even after he had a slight chance of acquiring the elemental orb from the demon temple. However, it was a huge risk that would divulged his whereabouts, and escaping would be impossible.
Many high-ranking demons resided in this ce, and then there was the Demon Temple, the most mysterious ce of all the imperial domain.
There might be a terrifying existence residing inside, and the moment Ace theft, there is a high chance that he will be found.
''Did I have to use Instant sh Heavenly Talisman as well?'' Ace frowned since he only had three heavenly talismans.
The most precious of the three was also the Instant sh which could let him teleport within 10,000 miles randomly.
Ace suddenly remembered something as his eyes glowed in hope, ''Why don''t I craft that heavenly talisman? It should work!''
Chapter 577 The Gathering Participants
Today, the normally tranquil Imperial Domain was bustling as many young demons were walking toward a massive building while looking toward the Emperor Pce''s direction with shining eyes filled with reverence.
They were all the selected participants for the uing Ancient Allied Gathering in three years.
These demons wore uniforms of four Demon Institutes but amides this crowd, walking at the end were 100 ck robes demons wearing crimson masks.
Furthermore, unlike the four institutes'' demons, they werepletely silent, and their eyes were exempt from any emotions.
"Alright, enough sightseeing for today. We''re here." The demon walking at the very front impassively stated.
Those youths quickly shut up, they didn''t dare to voice out any opinion in front of these demons since he led them in the imperial domain, and more importantly, he was wearing the robes of the Imperial Demon Council!
Thereupon, they all entered arge hall, where a masked demon wearing Imperial Demon Council robes was waiting for them.
The demon leading them bowed respectfully toward this masked demon and stood behind him without speaking.
"Form four queues ording to your institutes!" The masked demon coldly ordered.
The young demons quickly followed themand, and soon except for those 100 ck robes masked demons, the queues were formed.N?v(el)B\\jnn
There were 50 students each from Evergreen Demon Institute, Battle Demon Institute, and ck Mountain Demon Institute.
Lastly, there were only 20 students from the Royal Demon Institute.
In total, there were 170 students from the four institutes, and they were all geniuses of the tinum river core realm!
Including those 100 masked demons, there were 270 selected participants.
The masked demon from the council coldly uttered, "I am Northern Council Minister, and I''ll be in charge of you guys until the Ancient Allied Gathering is over.
"Without any ado, let me give you all a small briefing about the uing Ancient Allied Gathering. Most of you might already know, but it doesn''t matter.
"First, this time, the Ancient Allied Races will send 250 participants each, unlike 50 from the past.
"Second, it will be absolute ughter in the Fiery Hell Secret Realm, and only those strong could survive. So, I suggest taking it seriously.
"Third, this training is designed specially to make you all strong and sharpen your survival and killing instincts. These two years will be absolute hell for all of you, and if any one of you dies, someone else will rece you!
"We want results. We don''t care about your background or your status as geniuses. We can rece you if you''re not enough, and you could only leave here either as a corpse or as a soul realm cultivator!"
Northern Council Minister''s cold words sent chills to those geniuses because they could tell he wasn''t kidding around. Some of them already know what this gathering represents.
But they had no choice in this matter since they were all selected by their institutes, and the only way out was to break into the soul realm before the gathering started!
Northern Council Minister continued, "As I said, the only way to leave is to achieve Soul Realm, but you only have two years to achieve it because, after two years, you''re not allowed to break through. Because after two years, we''ll start the voyage toward the gathering spot, and it would be meaningless to break through at that time!"
The faces of those demons turned pale after this revtion.
"Now that I revealed the disadvantages, let me tell you about the advantages, which are hundreds of times morevish than any demon had ever received in their entire lifetime in the history of the demon continent!" Northern Council Minister coolly stated.
Those demons'' eyes finally shone as they looked at Northern Council Minister with anticipation.
Northern Council Minister revealed, "First, you''ll be given a chance to cultivate in the Imperial Family''s Body Tempering Technique, and all the resources will be provided by the imperial domain as long as your performance will satisfy us!
"Second, anyone who will enter the Fiery Hell Realm will be given the title of Demon Marquis at their return andvish rewards.
"Third, as long as you bring out the Fire Spirit from the Fiery Hell Realm, you''ll be given the status of Demon Duke and could live in Imperial Domain as well as you''ll be given the status of Vice Council Minister of Imperial Demon Council!"
Those demons inhaled sharply when they heard about the rewards of this gathering, especially thest one, which was aplete life changer for these demons.
Just living in the Imperial Domain and the council membership was enough to make any demon outside the imperial domain green with envy.
Those gloomy faces suddenly vanished as their eyes burned with resolution. They knew they were all selected because they were dispensable, unlike those peerless geniuses.
So, they were all determined to grasp this chance and change their fate!
Northern Council Minister sensed those demons'' burning passion, and his lips curled up under his mask, "Now you may rest in the Northern Imperial Pce Area and prepare mentally for these two years of training. We''ll be leaving for the three forbidden countries in three days!"
"Follow me!" The demon behind Northern Council Minister led those motivated demons from four institutes away while those ck robes demons remained in the hall.
Northern Council Minister looked at those masked demons after those demons left. A disdainful glint shed past his eyes.
"Lnd!"
A demon suddenly emerged out of thin air wearing the council robes before he impassively asked, "Your Order Minister."
Northern Council Minister coolly stated, "These hundred were selected from the eight provinces and given the chance of their lifetime. They will cultivate in Demonic Miasma Body in these two years, and I want half of them to have at least over 50% session rate."
Lnd''s eyes widened when he heard this, "This? 50% session rate in Demonic Miasma Body will turn them into walking¡."
Before he finished, he shut his mouth because he suddenly thought of something, and realization dawned on him.
Northern Council Minister chuckled coldly, "It''s the biggest chance of their life, and they will be doing their race a huge favor. Let them glorify the eight provinces'' title as Cannon Folds!"
Chapter 578 Tier-12 Heavenly Talisman!
The Demonic Seal Castle, servant quarters,
Ace, disguised as NO.8,430, was frowning at this moment, "Tell me more about there were hundred ck robes demons in masks."
Ace transmitted within his mind.
Winter''s perplexed voice replied, "How do I know? They were like corpse puppets,pletely emotionless, and we were told not to interact with them. As I said, we were separated by this Northern Council Minister and told to be prepared for two years of training in the forbidden countries.
"These demons are nning something big, and I don''t like being part of it. Although my disguise is wless, I had this feeling a Law-Awareness expert might be involved in this training. If he checked my progress, I might really be got seen through!
"Besides, what kind of plot are you hatching? Beforeing here, I thought the rumors about the famous imperial domain being imprable were exaggerated, but now, I think we should wait until we have manifestation realm cultivation, at least!"
Winter was clearly among the twenty students of Royal Demon Institute as Archie.
Just as Ace was warned, Archie got selected among the twenty students for the gathering in the assembly and led by an imperial demon council member with others in the imperial domain.
Furthermore, they were all inspected with a grade-7 formation, and if it were Ace instead of Winter, his disguise would''ve been seen through.
But Winter, who was confident in her ability, also discovered that it wasn''t as easy as she thought, and the Imperial Domain was filled with danger at every step.
Just the Northern Council Minister gave her a threatening feeling, and there were still Demon Elders above him, so she quickly contacted Ace to warn him about the situation.
If Ace was really nning to steal something, then he better makes it untraceable, or the full power of the imperial domain isn''t something he could endure.
Ace sighed ruefully, "I know, but if I gave up now, I don''t know when this chance will appear, and the thing I want is not something I can just get from anywhere. Even if I gave up, who knows how long will it take to search for it again?
"Don''t worry. I won''t act until I''mpletely confident in escaping from here. As for you, just find an opportunity to eliminate Archie''s identity. Then hide in the endless sea somewhere close to the continent. I''ll fetch you once I''m done with the demon continent!"
"Hmph, don''t cry if you get captured!" Winter scoffed with a hint of helplessness. She knew Ace was determined, so persuading would not do anything.
Ace chuckled, "Capturing me is not easy. You just take care of yourself. I''ll be joining you soon."
With that, the house call ended.
But Ace was still thinking about those masked demons in ck robes Winter had told him about, ''Could they be those participants from the eight provinces? I have to make sure that idiot isn''t among them.''
Ace grimaced as he thought about his friend from the eight provinces. He then contacted Freya to order Ronan to investigate this matter.
Speaking of which, Freya could use Ronan like her surveince bird and even control his action while still remaining hidden in the thief''s house.
Even with the presence of the Demon Emperor, he still didn''t discover evil seed envement on Ronan, and everything went smoothly.
Freya even wanted to cause trouble, but she gave up when she observed the meeting between Demon Emperor and Empress. Those two simply questioned him about his everyday life and then sent him away after they got their answers.
They were simply too cold toward Ronan and probably summoned him just for the sake of it.
After Ace instructed Winter, he focused on sorting materials for the heavenly talisman he wanted to create.
Ace had long achieved tier-12 rank in Heavenly Rune Crafting, and he didn''t have a grade-level manual for Heavenly Rune Crafting yet.
Nevertheless, just the Heavenly Talisman he learned was enough topensate for hisck of grade heavenly talismans.
Furthermore, Ace presumed that even if he had a grade-1 or higher-level manual, he might not be able toprehend the heavenly talisman with his current cultivation level.
Because just the tier-12 Heavenly Talisman was equivalent to Grade-3 or even Grade-4 worldly talisman!
Besides, with just the Heavenly Rune Crafter Foundational Manual, he can easily craft arrays, formations, and any ordinary talisman up to Grade-3 as long as he has their crafting method.
Just the Heavenly Talismans were different, and he still had yet toe in contact with Heavenly Arrays or Formations, so he didn''t know the difference between the ordinary arrays or formations and heavenly ones.
Not only that, but with his runic eyes skill from the Heavenly Rune Crafter Foundational Manual. He could see through,prehend, and decipher any rune symbols up to grade-3 and bypass those formations without needing any skill!
Right now, Ace knows the crafting methods of 50 Heavenly Talismans from Tier-1 to Tier-12. He learned from Talisman Crafting Technique.
He was nning to craft a Heavenly Talisman of Tier-12, which was the most difficult one of all the heavenly talismans he had everprehended.
After skimming through the materials in his thief''s space, he thought, ''If I used all those materials, I''d deplete almost half of my high-level soul materials and soul crystals.''
Previously, Ace never dared to craft a Heavenly Talisman for this exact reason. The heavenly talisman from tier-9 to tier-12 needed soul materials, not ordinary ones.
So, he was always satisfied with worldly talismans.
But right now, only this heavenly talisman could do the job, and he couldn''t be too stingy with it, either. He needed at least over two hundred to ensure he won''t get caught.
Resolution shone in Ace''s eyes, "Open the Heavenly Rune Crafter Panel!"
=====
[Heavenly Rune Crafter Panel]
Rune Crafter Rank: Tier-12
Rune Crafter Trademark: Coin
Rune Crafter Colophon: Thief Symbol
---
[Talisman Section] (UNLOCK)
[Array Section] (LOCK)
[Formation Section] (LOCK)
[UNKNOWN Section] (LOCK)
---
[Talisman Creation Section]
-Heavenly Talisman Avable: 50 (Tier-1 to Tier-12)
-Worldly Talisman: Avable: 110 (Tier-1 to Tier-12)
---
[Heavenly Talisman: Tier-1 to Tier-12]
-Avable: 50
---
¡
¡
-Space Step: Soul & Martial Talisman (Tier-12)
[Effect: 1000-Meter Teleportation in chosen direction!]
[Limitation: Useless under Grade-5 Space Locking Array!]
-Materials Require(s):
1. 100 Million Qi-Stones (Peak Grade-3)
2. 50 Million Soul Crystals (Peak Grade-3)
3. Space Stone (Grade-4): 2
4. Void Iron Ore (Grade-3): 10 Gram
5: Fickle Speed Grass (Minimum 1000-Year Old): 3 Grass des
6. Space Crystal (Grade-5): 1
[Creation Cost: 100,000 TP]
=====
Except for the Fickle Speed Grass, the third and fourth materials were used in crafting space rings, so Ace had quite a lot if he simply dismantled all those storage rings. As for Fickle Speed Grass, it was an essential material for creating a Martial River Core Realm Breaker Pill.
So, Ace had all these materials, but the only problem was the space crystal because it was used in making space rings of grade-5 or above, and he only had 119 of them.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
But they were barely enough to make the cut, so he could only ask Ronan for more, but even he could only buy them at a very high price, and even then, he would only be able to send a hundred more.
So, Ace had no choice but to part with a chunk of his high-grade soul materials if he wanted space crystal. So, he would get those crystals in one month, ording to Ronan.
But before that, he wanted to try and see the effect of this Space Step Talisman and experience Teleportation.
He wanted to see if this talisman could teleport him outside the walls and formations as long as they didn''t have this Space Locking Formation active.
From Ace''s point of view, the teleportation concept was fabled in Golden Sky World, so this Space Locking Formation, which could stop Teleportation, would be even more fabled.
That''s why he was confident in escaping if this talisman worked, and he has over a hundred of them, which would be equivalent to hundred miles of Teleportation!
"System craft one Space Step Heavenly Talisman." Hemanded.
The system''s voice sounded in affirmation, and soon after, a new heavenly talisman appeared in his Thief''s Space.
Just like the other heavenly talisman, this new pitch-ck talisman coin was a pentagram filled with tiny symbols, and in the center of this ck pentagram talisman coin was Ace''s thief symbol.
Expectantly, Ace took out the talisman coin. He had never used a heavenly talisman before, so he was looking forward to it.
Right, now, he was inside the servant quarters, and a grade-5 formation controlled the locks on this building.
So, Ace stood up and faced forward toward the direction of the main castle. He wanted to see if he could cross anything in his path and appeared right a mile away.
A mile away from this ce was the wall of the castle so that he couldn''t cause anymotion.
The next moment, Heavenly Qi shed on the Space Step Talisman.
Thereby, Ace vanished on the spot!
Chapter 579 Hidden Existence!
It''s been three months since Ronan returned to the Imperial Domain.
However, today, he was returning to the Royal Demon Institute because his vacation time wasing to an end.
But in these three months, Ronan has been proactive as he visited his brothers and some high-ranking council members in the imperial domain, which made the usually dormant domain somewhat lively.
No one understood why this Imperial Prince was so friendly, but it wasn''t something out of the expectation.
Just yesterday, Ronan was summoned by the Emperor again in the sham of bidding farewell, but in actuality, he was made to reveal his face by the Emperor, and only then was he excused.
But this fact was only known by Ronan or the Emperor, well at least it appeared to be.
Today, Ronan embarked on his carriage with ck Demon and left the Demonic Seal Castle under those puppet servants'' revered-full gazes.
The Demonic Seal Castle will be returned to its dormant state after today, and only these puppet servants will remain here to tend to the castle.
NO.8,430 looked at the vanishing carriage as the castle gates slowly closed. He impassively said at this moment, "Alright, everyone, we can''t ck off. We have to do our best even without His Highness''s presence, one day, he''ll return for good, and he might reward us if he tends to his home well like our ancestors!"
His passionate voice pulls the strings of those puppet servants'' hearts, and they quickly leave to tend to their work in high spirits.
''Being a ve servant is not a joke.'' Ace sighed in exasperation under NO.8,430''s guise.
He couldn''t help but feel a lingering fear when he thought about how he had nearly drawn the attention of the Demon Emperor by making Ronan purchase the space crystal and investigating the ck robe demons that appeared with the participants.
The demon emperor not only made Ronan reveal his appearance, he probably scanned him with some formation to ensure he wasn''t an imposter and let him go.
? Ace had to admit the Demon Emperor even suspected his son''s legitimacy just because he didn''t behave like his past self or was a little out of character.
So, he had no choice but to pretend to be NO.8,430 with all his effort just in case these puppet servants entered the radar of the Demon Emperor.
But nothing has happened like that, not yet, at least. Ace still didn''t dare to let his guard down, and every hour he would activate the fate map to find any danger around him.
His n to enter the Emperor''s pce also halted because of it, and he didn''t dare to try anything for now. He would be a good puppet servant and do as expected from him before he acted.
But his n had stopped, which doesn''t mean it hadn''t progressed at all. He had already acquired enough space crystal and valuable information about those ck robes'' demons.
They were really from the eight provinces and were turned into High Ranking Servant Puppets, and right now, they were going under some secret refinement to make them even more powerful so they could be used in the Fiery Hell Secret Realm!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace had long guessed that those geniuses of the outer provinces weren''t just chosen because the royal zone decided to change their ways.
But they were chosen because they were all inferior to the demons in royal zones, and no one would raise any objection if they turned them into puppet servants. The ridiculous thing was they had fought tooth and nail for a puppet servant spot!
Ace wanted to know about their identity, and if Thomas weren''t one of them, he wouldn''t care about them even if they died, but he didn''t dare to make Ronan seem too interested in those peasants.
Likely, poking his nose in those peasants'' matter aroused the Demon Emperor''s attention in the first ce, so Ace didn''t want to make it too obvious, so he could only give up and lie low for now.
On top of the castle turret, a tall figure was standing, observing those puppet servants going toward their daily words, but no one noticed him standing so high above in the middle of the day, not even Ace.
He wore a ck and Silver Mask, proving his identity as a High-Ranking Puppet Servant!
The next moment, he suddenly vanished from his spot when all the puppet servants scattered.
---
Inside the Emperor Pce, within a spacious room filled with bookshelves like an old library,
Three masked demons were sitting beside arge table made with exquisite red jade soul wood, a grade-7 soul material; even the chairs they were sitting on were made with grade-7 mind-calming y!
Right in the middle of this table were different projections which were showing various images of the imperial domain, including the princes'' castle and four outer pces!
But one of the images showed the same scene the high-ranking puppet servant just saw as if his eyes were connected with this projection!
"What do you think, Leona?" The masked demon in golden robes asked gently in his deep voice.
If someone heard this name, they would be startled because Leona hadn''t made a public appearance since she came back after she caused the life auction blunder, and everyone thought that she was being held in a dungeon as a punishment.
Only the First Prince still believed that she was livingfortably, and all the rumors about her being captive or punched were a sham because his Father and Mother loved her too much, and it seemed he was right about it as well.
Because the masked demon in golden robes was none other than the Demon Emperor while the Masked Demoness wearing a graceful ck gown was the Demon Empress was sitting right in front of the Demon Emperor!
Leona was sitting on the side wearing a purple dress showing her nation''s toppling figure. She softly replied at this moment with uncertainty, "Everything is routine."
She didn''t have any reverence or hint of fear in her voice when she talked with the most powerful demon revered by every being, the Demon Emperor; her tone was even arrogant.
"Then it was a false rm?" The Demon Empress questioned in her gentle and melodious voice.
"I was told by Master that there was a space fluctuation around the area of Seal Castle a month ago, so I was sent out to investigate, but there''s nothing wrong with anyone.
"Father even checked Little Brother Ronan, and he''s also fine, so I also think I might be a false rm, or Ronan is doing something with Space Crystal which case that space fluctuation, which rmed Master," Leona replied.
"Ronan probably found something that required Space Crystal so he probably came back to collect space crystal as well. But I can''t just ask for him to reveal it, or I can''t take things for my son. It''s petty for Demon Emperor!" Demon Emperor coldly uttered.
"Nobody asked you to snatch things from Ronan. But at least you can ask him about what he was up to like a Father!" The Demon Empress coldly retorted. She won''t dare to retort if they were around someone else but alone. They were just like any husband and wife.
"Look who talking about parenting, mother of the demons, humph!" Demon Emperor sneered in mockery.
"It''s your fault that I can''t show love to my sons!" Demon Empress pped the table, making it tremble; she was clearly angry.
"It is our Race''s custom. Goin to ancestor if you''re discontent!" Demon Emperor didn''t back down, and they both started to squabble like an old couple.
Leona was calm as if she was used to it, and she was deep in thought while looking at the Ronan''s carriage moving toward the exit of the imperial domain.
She suddenly said, "Let me go back to the Institute toplete myst grade."
"Absolutely Not!" The couple replied in unison.
"You can''t go back until that hateful thief got captured, and I''ll skin him alive publicly. To actually dared to humiliate the Imperial Family!" Demon Emperor''s voice and aura turned icy as he said that.
Demon Empress also agreed as she spoke with hatred, "That scoundrel dared to sully your reputation, which is equal to sullying the entire race''s reputation!"
"Let it go. He''s probably out of the continent now. Even the Master said he couldn''t find any trace of his presence on the continent.
"Those devils are the best proof of it as well, and I have to investigate this space fluctuation that even startled Master in his cultivation state, and he sent me out.
"He clearly wanted me to investigate this matter, and the best way to do this is Ronan and what he''s been up to recently. I can''t let my Master down. You both should know this better than anyone!" Leona softly stated.
Silence descent inside the library.
Just who this mysterious Master was? Who could make two of the most influential persons on the continent force to reconsider?!
Chapter 580 Come To Demon Continent…
Over five hundred miles away from the Demon Continent were threerge Inds, each scope in hundreds of miles, and these three inds were in a perfect triangle shape formation.
Right in the middle of this formation was a giant vortex, revolving at an unimaginable speed, creating a sink dark hole in the middle of the sea.
But strangely, its revolving didn''t disturb the water level or create any waves outside this triangle formation.
It was clearly a strange natural phenomenon of the endless sea.
These three inds were none other than the mysterious Three Forbidden Countries, Thunder Mountains Country, Beast-Filled Country, and Dark Forest Country.
The Thunder Mountains Country and Beast Filled Country were both opened for young demons below the age of 1000 who belonged to the royal demon nation for adventure and tempering.
But no one over the 1000 years or manifestation realm or from another race could enter these inds, and to assure this, the imperial demon council oversaw this ce.
Lastly, the Dark Forest Country was closed entirely to any demons and was the most mysterious of the three. Anything known about this country was it was surrounded by a faint fog, and one could see huge ck trees'' shadows from any of the other two inds.
At this moment, on the Dark Forest Country Ind, which was filled with towering ck trees, size 500 feet at least, the highest one was probably over 1000 feet tall!
Unlike the fog surrounding the outer ind, thends werepletely exempt from any mist. On the contrary, the Qi density here was even denser than in the royal demon nation, and it clearly something of having to do with those ck trees!
But this pce was also filled with vicious beasts and poisonous species, and every being on this ind was far more potent than any other ce.
For example, every beast born on this ind had a beast core which was quite rare in any ce except the core areas of the beast continent!
That was one of the reasons this ce was kept a secret from others, and only high-level members of the council or the imperial family knew about the novelty of this ce.
At this moment, on a 900 feet high ck tree, under the shade of a thick branch andrge leaves, Archie (Winter) was looking around with a sharp gaze, and after making sure no one was around, she rxed a little.
She thought as a hazy dark Qi suddenly shed past her eyes, ''Hundred Beast Transformation: Clover Snake!''
Dark mist oozed all over Archie''s body before his shape started to twist and decrease, and soon the mist began to retract, and a pitch ck, one-meter snake with a purple clover marking over its head appeared on Archie''s ce.
This was Myriad Beast Body Transformation Technique unique to Winter or Faceless Thief.
With this technique, Winter can turn into any beast recorded in the Myriad Beast Body Transformation Technique.
The disguise was simply wless because she could perfectly copy 80% of the beast''s abilities recorded in the Myriad Beast Body Transformation Technique!
Her current limit was Hundred Beast Transformation, and this Clover Snake was one of the hundred transformations she learned. However, once she broke into the Manifestation Realm, the limit would reach 1000 Beast Transformation!
The only w was the cultivation realm couldn''t be controlled, and the beast she transformed will have her actual cultivation, and she could be killed or restricted once she took one of the beast forms.
Nevertheless, this was the perfect technique to get rid of Archie''s ID, and no one will be able to suspect a snake in this vast wilderness.
From the imperial domain, the participants from the four demon institutes were bought here by the Northern Council Minister, and then they were told to survive in the Dark Forest Country for one year.
Winter had been pretending to be Archie for over three months after being sent into this dense forest. She knew it was her chance to get rid of Archie''s identity without arousing any suspicion, and this ce was simply too perfect for cultivation after Thief''s House.
She knew Ace might take years to fetch her, and she didn''t want to fall behind Freya and Noa in the Thief''s house, so she decided to hide in the Dark Forest Country as a magic beast.
''Who could''ve thought those hateful demons were hiding this ce.'' Winter''s snake eyes shimmered coldly, ''Now, I just need to destroy that soul contract they made me sign, and everyone would think some vicious beast killed Archie. They simply didn''t care about these demons'' statuses.''
She had long noticed that these demons were entirely dispensable for the imperial domain and weren''t the only participants they were nurturing. They might be hiding the actual details about the entrance slots.
So, she knew she could easily get away, and she had to do it before this one year was over because she had this forbidding feeling that she won''t get the chance if she didn''t do it now!
The next moment, she respectfully asked the ''goddess'' to get rid of that soul contract in her consciousness, and then like a dark streak, she vanished within a huge tree crown¡
---
A cluster of buildings protected by an illusionary barrier was at the entrance of Dark Forest Country Ind.
In one of these buildings was the Northern Council Minister sitting cross-legged on a cultivation mat.
Suddenly his eyes sprang open before he flipped his hand, and a broken crystal disk appeared in his hand. There was a name on this disk, ''Archie Soul Life.''
A hint of surprise shed past Northern Council Minister''s emotionless eyes before they returned to cold and indifferent.
''All those rumors and top of our list for Soul Solder Program, but he was only amounted this much, what a letdown!''
Northern Council Minister shook his head with disdain before he returned to cultivation as if nothing had happened!
---N?v(el)B\\jnn
While Demon Continent was preparing for the Ancient Allied Gathering with all their might, far away from the demon continent, on the Blood Continent was the Silver Ice Region, filled with ice and cold storms all year long.
Somewhere in the middle of this deadly cold territory was a pce that looked like it was made with pristine ice crystals.
A man with a peerless face and bright silver hair was releasing a blood-freezing aura as he looked at murderously on thergemunication cube with his silver eyes.
"Dream Shatter, if you didn''t want war, then release my daughter and uncle! I''llpensate you and even give you 50 spots in the gather from Silver Ice n!" His voice was filled with killing intent, but there was a hint of fear concealed in his voice.
In reply, a mild voice rang, "Dear Ice Lord, we are old friends, and you know my personality the best. I hate fighting and scheming the most.
"Your daughter is my niece, and your uncle is also my elder. If I want to harm or threaten you, I won''t contact you to tell you they are in my care now and together. There''s no need to turn hostile."
Ice Lord clenched his fists but didn''t have a word to refute since the other party was right.
Ice Lord calmed himself as he asked coldly, "What do you want then?"
"See? Now we''re talking like civilized beings and friendly neighbors. All I want is to chat with the Thief named Sky Stealer." Dream Shatter''s mildly revealed.
Ice Lord''s face fell, and he retorted, "What it had to do with you capturing my family members?! Go and search the demon continent. They will surely wee the Might Dream Shatter, the Ancestor of the Human Race!"
"Hah, I would trust me. But that person won''te out just because I want him to, right? Even demons are helpless against him. I don''t dare to overestimate myself." Dream Shatter chuckled.
Ice Lord sneered with scorn.
"As for why I ''invite'' my little niece on this voyage is exactly for this reason. How about you hear it from her? You''ll believe then that I didn''t want to harm her and just want something of mine taken by the Thief, who actually called your daughter Sister in the past." Dream Shatter divulged.
"What nonsense are you spouting? It''s impossible!" Ice Lord instantly rejected it without even hesitation.
"Alright, you can hear from her. You''ll believe me then. It''s also proved that I''m not making things up." Dream Shatter helplessly conveyed.
"D-dad?" A melodious voice rang before Ice Lord could say anything.
His frosty expression instantly melted, and concern shone on his face, "Alina, where are you? Don''t worry. Dad will immediatelye to take you back!"
Alina''s voice rang again, "No, I want you toe to the Demon Continent directly. We are heading there, and you can take me back from there.
"Also, what Elder Dream Shatter said is true. That Thief might really be my brother who took care of me when that person suppressed grandpa.
"I-I just want to confront him, and if he''s really be a thief, I''ll break every tie with him and help everyone to capture him before hemits any more evil!"
Chapter 581 First Imperial Demon Prince Gone Mad?
Six months passed since Ronan left the Demonic Seal Castle, and everything was the same as the puppet servants doing their daily jobs without missing a single day and repeating the same process over and over.
NO.8,430 was also the same as he supervised those nameless puppet servants, but Ace was almost ready to start the foray at Demon Temple.
In these six months, he appeared to bepletely NO.8,430 in the day, while at night, he would n for this foray, and after checking every detail, he was now 70% confident in pulling this foray and escaping before anyone would notice.
Today, Ace was checking the herb gardens daily when his ears perked as he heard a slightmotion from outside. Even though the castle gates were closed, he could still hear the sound of marching knights.
''What is going on?'' Ace''s eyes flickered with uncertainty, but he pretended to be unfazed by it.
Being a puppet servant was not easy. They can''t put anything first before their duties unless ordered by the imperials. So, if he showed curiosity about something else, he knew he would get busted.
From the day Ronan left, Ace had this nagging feeling that he was being monitored or the whole castle, so he was even more on guard and didn''t dare to show any w in his act.
''Are those inner pce knights moving away from their posts for some reason?'' Ace''s eyes shed.
''By the sound, they are almost a hundred of them, and ording to Ronan, there are only five hundred Imperial Guards and five hundred hidden high-ranking puppet servants guarding the entrance wall to the inner pce. This number should be high, but some imperial knights were sent to join the search for me.
''Only if someone from the inner pce was about to leave the domain will those guards escort them. But who could it be from the inner ce since only Emperor or Empress lived or the youngest prince who still had yet to bestow his castle in the outer emperor pce¡'' Ace fell into deep thought as his mind worked at lightning speed?
''Anyhow, their formation might be disrupted tonight with this reshuffle in their positions. Should I move tonight?'' Ace''s heartbeat raced as he weighed down his options!
---
Outside the Demonic Seal Castle,
A squad of hundred knights d in menacing ck armor branded with the imperial family emblem while holding long halberds in their hands was moving in a circr formation. In the middle of this formation was a beautiful carriage with the imperial family emblem as well.
They were marching toward the exit of the emperor''s pce.
"Stop right there!" A cold voice filled with authority rang at this moment.
Another carriagees into everyone''s view and bears the imperial family emblem.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Those imperial knights had no choice but to stop since they knew who this voice and carriage belonged to, and they couldn''t just ignore this person.
The door of this carriage blocking the marching imperial knights opened, and a masked demon exited wearing ck color prince robes. He was none other than the first demon prince, Martian.
Martian coldly looked at the carriage in the center and questioned coldly with a hint of indignation, "Who is in that carriage of the inner pce?"
"It''s me, your cherished little sister, First Imperial Brother. It''s been a while." Leona''s gentle voice rang at this moment within the carriage.
Martian''s eyes turned cold, and he sneered, "It seemed you''ve been well even in your detention, Third Sister. You even got to enjoy the ride in the inner pce carriage. I won''t if I would get the same treatment if I dragged our family face in the mud!"
Martian didn''t mince his scornful words and rage. He waspletely exasperated when he heard that Leona was going to be released from her so-called detention and return to the institute toplete her graduation.
He, as a first prince, was never actually treated like the first prince at all. On the contrary, Leona was the one who got that treatment or even more exaggerated love from their parents.
This naturally made those other children indignant, especially the First Prince, who saw Leona as his enemy who snatched his birthright. He was even more afraid that she would seize the throne of Demon Emperor one day if this continued.
He thought it would end her splendor after Leona''s blunder, and he will have a chance to rise.
But now, after seeing those knights escorting her out, he knew he was wrong all along, nothing had changed, and Leona remained supreme!
After Martian''s menacing words, silence descended in the vicinity. Those knights didn''t dare to breathe heavily because they knew this matter was between the imperials, and they will only dig their own graves by interfering.
Especially when it concerned First Prince or Third Princess.
Everyone knew about their strange status in the imperial domain since the firstborn should be treated like Leona was treated from birth, but no one dared to poke their nose in this matter and pretend as if they didn''t know.
Today, however, it seemed the First Demon Prince finally lost it.
"First Brother, how about youe inside, and we''ll talk like siblings? It''s improper for your status¡." Before Leona could finish.
Martian''s aura suddenly exploded as he loudly yelled, "Shut up! If you care about status, then get out and knell before you, First Brother!"
"My Prince!" Dagger suddenly appeared. Her voice was filled with horror.
She never expected Martian to cross the line like this, as if he didn''t care about his face or any consequences anymore.
Dagger knew Martian the best as she had literately watched the boy grow, and she knew the anger toward Leona and his parents was scornful in Martian''s heart for a long time. It even started to affect his mind!
"You dare toe between imperial family members matter?! Lowly thrall!" Martian''s hand suddenly lit with dark lightning as he punched Dagger, who appeared beside him with a concerned look in her eyes.
She could''ve avoided it if she wanted, but will she dare?
No!
She was sted into the carriage by that punch with power equivalent to a manifestation realm!
Martian''s aura started to rose as lightning began to crackle all over his body. His focus shifted toward the imperial knights again, and he started walking toward the carriage.
"Get out of my way. It''s between her and me!" His cold threatening voice rang in the vicinity.
However, before Martian could walk even two steps, he stopped because a puppet servant appeared in a ck and Golden mask two meters away from Martian. Furthermore, a number was engraved on his mask, ''3.''
This puppet servant bowed toward Martial and said in his aged voice, exempt of any emotion, "Your Highness, His Majesty, summon you to throne hall!"
"Hahahahah¡ NO.3, you lowly dog, even you dare toe in my way now. If you have guts, then attack me!" Martianughed manically as he took a step forward without any hesitation.
"Presumptuous!" At this moment, an enrage thunderous voice reverberated in the entire Imperial Domain!
Everyone was rmed because they knew only one person could cast this kind of voice, the Demon Emperor!
But it wasn''t over with the voice. The next instant dark lighting suddenly descended from the sky andnded directly on the First Imperial Prince!
Strong the First Imperial Prince might be, but the moment that lighting struck him, he plummeted to the ground within a dark charred crater.
Deadly silence descended on the entire imperial domain.
No.3 moved at this moment and picked up the unconscious Martian before a rueful sigh escaped from his mask, "Everyone, continue whatever you were doing. Dagger, you may return to recuperate; First Prince will stay in the inner pce for a while."
Finished saying NO.3, vanished with Martian on his shoulder.
"Alright, why are you all dozing off? Continue forward." Leona''s gentle voice rang. It was like she didn''t know what had happened or simply didn''t care. No one knew.
Those knights take a deep breath and start moving with lingering fear in their eyes, and they all decide not to offend Third Demon Princess in the future!
---
Ace listened attentively to all those noises and was astonished by this sudden turn of events.
He clearly saw that lightning had descended from the sky, and his heart turned cold just thinking of how the Demon Emperor sent that lightning from miles away.
But he also discovered something as his eyes shone, ''So, it was Leona being released, huh? Furthermore, this first prince, either daring or simply, had lost his mind to cause suchmotion. Or there he has other movies?
''ording to Ronan, this First Prince was shrewd and tranquil, which didn''t match his personality.'' Ace mused.
But the next moment, a determined glint shone in his eyes, ''Whatever it was, it didn''t change the fact the formation of those knights will be disrupted tonight, and the others will pay attention to the First Prince, especially the Emperor¡!''
Chapter 582 A Thief In Imperial Demon Palace!
The shade of night descent on the imperial domain, and except for the incident with the First Demon Prince, everything was as per usual.
In the Demonic Seal Castle, the puppet servants were returned to their quarters after their routine work.
However, tonight was destined to be anything but peaceful for NO.8,430, who was looking at the dark cloud-filled gloomy sky as the cold winds of winter were making the air chilly.
''No moonlight, huh?'' Ace''s lips curled slightly as his dark blue eyes were gleaming thievishly, ''It seemed even mother nature is helping me¡.''
Chuckling at his own humor, he shook his head before leaving the window and turning off the light in the room.
At this moment, NO.8,430 clothes suddenly started to change as the inky ck color spread, and the size also began to change.
The short and loose robes soon turned into a tight long ck top and bottom with a mysterious dark blue pattern beforepletely vanishing within the fabric. An imposing owl symbol gleam in dark blue color on the back as a long hood rest upon it.
NO.8,430 stature also started to change as from 2.6 meters, he turned 6.4 feet tall, and his burly physic also altered into a slimmer and toned body.
The ck and white mask on his face returned to Thousand-Face Mask, revealing dark blue eyes like the starry sky at night.
Ace then donned the long hood overhead, which he hadn''t for quite a while.
''Feeling myself again.'' Ace smiled behind the hood before his eyes turned stern, ''Let''s start this show!''
He turned in the direction where the inner emperor''s pce and Space Step Heavenly Talisman appeared in his hand. The moment he activated it, the space trembled, and he vanished from the room!
This marked the start of this foray, and there was no going back. He''ll either pull this off and escape or fail and suffer the persuasion of all the mad demons!
A 1000-meters away from the servant quarters in the inner pce direction was a long alleyway that waspletely tranquil. But at this moment, space rippled before Ace''s hooded figure appeared!
Ace felt slight pain in his head as his vision was blurry, ''I''m still not used to this teleportation.''
He long expected this aftermath of using the heavenly talisman from his previous experiment, so he quickly circted his Qi to recover and activated his stealth, vanishing from in sight.
Ace looked around and smiled in satisfaction, ''Just as I measured, I appeared in the right ce, and even if someone were watching the servant quarters, they wouldn''t be able to find NO.8,430 disappearance unless they go inside his room or could sense space undtions.''
He had nned and calcted for over nine months, and as long as he didn''t miss something, he was 80% confident in pulling this entire foray off.
Ace then turned toward the direction of the inner pce walls, which was a little over 2 miles away from the pathway, and used his lightning steps to move.
As he passed street after street, he kept looking at the active Live Fate Map. Although it was quite Qi-consuming, he knew Live Fate Map was his biggest assurance to avoid danger.
Just as he was over a mile away from the inner pce walls, he saw crimson fate point two streets away, so he instantly took another route.
But he had just gone two hundred meters in this alter route when he saw four crimson fate points on end.
''How could it be this easy?'' Ace smiled wryly, ''Since both routes are blocked, and I don''t want to risk passing these watch points, I have to use another space step.''
Ace had long prepared for these watch points in the way of the inner pce, and ording to Ronan, there were grade-7 formations activated in those points all the time, and they were the biggest hurdle before the inner pce walls.
So, Ace didn''t hesitate, so he used another heavenly talisman after adjusting his position.
One thousand meters away was a grass field without any walls, and there was only a single road that went toward the closed gates of the inner pce, and the five-hundred-meter-tall wall surrounded the inner pce.
Ace appeared on this ss field, but his expression changed because this entire field appeared ck on the fate map. It was a ck fate location!
Without even wasting a moment, he used another heavenly talisman and vanished in the direction of the inner pce.
The moment Ace vanished, a dark light suddenly shone on his standing spot for a fleeting moment before the ss field returned to its tranquil state.
However, a blurry figure soon appeared on that spot as he mumbled with uncertainty, "Why did the soul fraction formation catch someone standing on it for an instant? Or was it just a false rm? I better scan the area."
The entire ss field around the walls and even the road was under the monitoring of a giant grade-7 Soul Fraction Formation which could detect anyone below mid-level Law Awareness Realm Cultivator or any concealment treasures below intermediate-grade-7.
The formation was kept active in this area unless someone was summoned or left the inner pce. Even the outer wall was within the detection of this formation!
If it had been a momentter, this formation would''ve given Ace a ghastly Soul Shock, which would be the end of his foray!
On the other side of the inner ce wall was an herb field to keep the air refreshed, and there wasn''t any grade-7 formation active since there wasn''t any need to.
Because even at this time of the hour, puppet servants were active, and they all at least belonged to middle ranking and worked on these herb fields, not to mention the powerful imperial knights'' patrols and high-ranking puppet servants inside the pce.
At this moment, just a few hundred meters away from the inner pce wall, Ace''s figure appeared in the middle of an herb field.
His eyes were affixed on the fate map, and when he saw the area was only red, not ck anymore, he had a sigh of relief.
''That was close!'' His eyes shone with fear since he wasn''t told there was such a formation in that grass field, ''Could it be they even keep the secret about that formation from the princes? Quite possible.'' He guessed.
But he didn''t have time to mull over it since he was already inside the inner pce, and this ce waspletely different.
Although it was night, the entire ce was lit with lights like day, and he saw a magnificent structure in pristine white marble and filled with beautiful artistry half a mile away from where he stood.
''The Inner Emperor Pce!'' Ace''s eyes shone with a hint of excitement, and he had to admit this pce was quite huge now that he was close to it.
There were pirs and small structures on both sides of a marble road, and Ace was currently standing within such structure.
Ace knew now he had to be extremely careful and couldn''t just randomly teleport, or he might appear in front of some terrifying hidden existence. He only had a general outline of the inner pce, not the core area.
Furthermore, Ace didn''t want to go into the core areas, and he just needed to get in range of 10 miles of the demon temple to activate his random pick-pocket talisman.
So, he just has to enter the inner pce hallway, which is the boundary between the core of the pce, and he''ll be able to activate the heavenly talisman.
But looking at the brightly lit road and the red fate map, Ace knew it was dead wrong to go inside without arousing any attention.
''Onest time!'' Ace inhaled sharply before he activated another heavenly talisman, as well as he activated a concealment talisman of grade-5. He only had two more such talismans that he theft from the auction.
They can onlyst for a little over 2 minutes, so he has to use them carefully.
The next moment, Ace appeared right in the middle of a spacious, beautiful hallway, and when he saw the fate map still crimson, he didn''t dare to be careless.
Although he couldn''t see where he was in this close hallway, he was pretty much inside the inner pce''s outer area.N?v(el)B\\jnn
But he didn''t dare to continue randomly anymore and hid behind a thick white pir. He will be going to wait for someone to pass here for half an hour to steal their memories, and if in this half-hour no one appeared, he would move on to search for his prey.
Furthermore, using so many skills and the fate map put a strain on him, so he needed to rest, and this ce was perfect for recuperating.
"System, if I still didn''t get the lightning orb, humph!" Ace threw a threatening transmission in his mind to the system, but as usual, he was ignored.
Just ten minutes after Ace hid in the hallway, footsteps rang¡!
Chapter 583 System Detects…
Just ten minutes after Ace hid in the hallway, footsteps rang, making Ace vignt as he didn''t even dare to breathe.
Thereupon, a puppet servant holding a golden tray walked out from the other side.
After sensing that its cultivation was in the realm of his soul-probing range, Ace quickly used it without getting noticed by the walking puppet servant.
The puppet servant had no idea his memories of the inner pce were getting annexed by a thief as it emotionlessly walked toward its destination.
Bing more confident when he saw no guard inside, he started to follow the puppet servant in stealth while annexing his memories and processing them at lightning speed.
The more memories he annexed, the calmer he became, and after following the puppet servant to a cross hallway with a grand door in the center, he stopped and took a turn abandoning the puppet servant since it served its purpose.
It turned out he was still at the entrance halls of the inner pce, and the puppet servant was going toward the imperial kitchen.
So, Ace turned around and headed toward the depth of the vast pce, it was like a maze, and without the knowledge of those pathways, he might stumble upon some hidden trap or expert, or even worse, find himself in front of a high-ranking puppet servant with two digits.
He had to admit this entire pce was filled with traps and hidden experts working under the Demon Emperor. Anyone who wanted to attack this ce might as well justmit suicide.
Ace was d that he didn''t have to go anywhere near the Demon Temple because that area waspletely mysterious and closed to everyone. Even the imperial family members couldn''t approach it.
As Ace continued to move in deep into the pce, he was quite tense but also excited since the target was almost within his reach.
After sneaking around for half an hour and passing different hallways, he appeared on a pathway that was open, and a marble bridge was connected to the other side of the pce.
But Ace didn''t dare to step foot on this bridge because it was marked pitch ck on the fate map, in fact, the entire area forwards the dyed-in-ck, and the red area ended here.
This was the bridge that led toward the core of the imperial pce and also where the quarters of the Emperor and Empress were as well as the imperial library and probably the imperial treasury.
No one had ever infiltrated the imperial pce before, much less up to this point.
But Ace''s destination was also this exact ce since he could now see the ck demon temple from here, which was just behind the huge doom of the core pce.
From the puppet servant''s memories, Ace knew no one woulde here unless summoned, and it was already in the middle of the night, so the chances of someone crossing this bridge from both sides were almost null.
Nevertheless, Ace still didn''t dare to let his guard down and turned back to a hall and started to recover his Qi while hiding. He wanted to be in peak condition for his escape n because it was the most challenging part of this entire foray.
Infiltrating the imperial pce was a piece of cake in front of escaping while robbing something from the Demon Temple or worse from the Demon Emperor or the imperial treasury since there was a chance the random treasure might be from these two sides.
Whichever the treasure came from, Ace knew he couldn''t stay for a second more and had to exit the imperial domain!
Over an hour passed, and Ace finally opened his eyes as his heart was beating faster and faster, he inhaled a cold breath to calm down, but he just couldn''t because he knew the moment of truth had arrived.
Ace reached the bridge again as his thievish eyes were locked on the demon temple.
The next moment, a heavenly talisman appeared in his hand; this was the random pick-pocket talisman!
"System, use this Heavenly Talisman on a 10-mile area ahead of me and bring me the elemental orb, damnit!" Acemanded while holding his breath.
The heavenly talisman vanished at this moment, and the System''s voice rang,
=====
[Random Pick Pocket Heavenly Talisman has been activated in a 10-mile area ahead of the Host''s current position!]
[10 seconds until the process isplete¡]
[9 seconds until the process isplete¡]
[8 seconds¡]
[7 sec¡]
[6¡]
¡
=====
Ace''s heart was in his throat as he looked at the timer with bloodshot eyes. Every second was torture for him!
If the elemental orb didn''t appear, he might really cough blood today!
---
The Demon Temple waspletely closed off from the outside world, and the inside of the demon temple was filled with dark mist. Whoever entered could not see anything; on the contrary, this dark mist was deadly miasma for any cultivator below the peak of thew awareness realm!
In the middle of this demon temple, deep within this miasma mist, was a 100-meter tall Baphomet''s pitch-ck statue hovering above a long staircase, giving off an approachable feeling, and anyone who saw it wouldpel to kneel.
A ck altar filled with shining light-blue ruins was right under Baphomet''s statue, on top of the staircase.
A blue pir of light rose from this altar, and it was connected with a huge Scepter in Baphomet''s statue''s hand. Making this long crystal Scepter look ethereal.
At the top of this 50-meter-long Scepter was a blinding light spot continually crackling with furious dark lightning.
Right at this moment, right above this blinding lightning spot, a dark ethereal thread suddenly shot from within the space itself, and the next moment the blinding lightning waspletely gone!
Thereby, the shining Scepter suddenly lost its light as if someone had removed the energy source. The light pir also shattered before the Baphomet''s hovering statue started to tremble, threatening to crush the staircase.
"Hmm¡ W-what?!" A bewildered ancient voice suddenly rang from the top of the staircase altar¡
---
At this moment, Ace''s eyes were bloodshot with trepidation as he watched the timer at its near end,
=====
[2¡]
[1¡]
---
[The Random Pick Pocket Talisman has been sessful in Pick Pocketing a Grade-8 Treasure!]
[The treasure had been delivered to the living thief''s space!]
--
[Reward(s)]
-Rewards: 100,000 Thief Points
---
[Thieveries Rank(s)]
-Middle-Level Thievery(s): 1
---
[Thief Point(s): 93,100,100]
---
[System detects the Thief Job Mission has beenpleted!]
---
[Please Leave a Thief Farewell Note to continue!]
-Time: 00: 00: 59
---
[Note: The Host has only one minute to write and choose a location for the Thief Farewell Note, or if times run out, the System will choose on behalf of the Host.]
=====
Ace couldn''t be bothered with all notifications right now, especially with the Thief Farewell Note, which should appear only at the high-level thievery, but the job missionpletion triggered it.
But that one minute was the time for his escape before the thief symbol emerged on that huge demon temple!
Although he didn''t know what kind of grade-8 treasure he stole, it was apparent that the treasure came from the demon temple since the job mission was alsopleted!
Right at this moment, another notification rang, which made Ace nearly scream,
=====
[System detects Lightning Elemental Orb in host thief''s space!]
[Did the Host want to start the breakthrough process?]
=====
Ace didn''t let this mirth get the better of him. Since he had gotten what took all this risk, it was time to escape before the whole imperial domain went bloody for him.
"System activates the Dark Owl Wings!" He quicklymanded.
Ace had only tried the Dark Owl Wings once as Archie, and this was his second try and the only chance to escape from this ce.
=====
[Dark Owl Wings has been summoned!]
-Dark Owl Wings (Initial)
-Description: Able to summon Wings of Dark Owl!
-Ability: Fly
-Status: Active
-Time: 00:29:59
=====
The next moment, the dark fog suddenly seeped from Ace''s back before it spread and turned into long pitch-ck wings.
When the wingspan reached 5 meters, the expansion stopped as the magnificence pitch ck wings were spread behind Ace''s back just like his thief symbol.
The dark mist was exuding from these ethereal ck wings as if they were ame.
With a thought, those wings suddenly swung, and the next moment, Ace was shot out of the open bridge toward the dark sky!N?v(el)B\\jnn
However, Ace knew this wasn''t enough, and he instantly started using the space step as he appeared higher and higher within an instant.
Right then, Ace saw something that left him to stupefy and horrid.
The Demon Temple, which was peak was still not in his view, suddenly started to tremble as immense pressure descended on the entire imperial pce, including Ace, who was almost two miles into the sky.
Ace''s heart palpitated as he thought those space-step talismans were too slow. But he knew just how fast he was, but in front of this pressure, he felt as slow as an ant.
At this moment, an ancient voice filled with boundless fury rang in the entire imperial domain,
"WHO DARE TO STEAL IMPERIAL DEMON SCEPTER?!"
Chapter 584 Thief Is Destined For Greatness!
''What, Scepter?!'' Ace''s heart skipped a beat. He was almost on at the peak of Demon Temple.
But even from such height, he could feel that ghastly aura. He had never experienced such a presence before. Even the heavenly punishment paled inparison a little.
This also exined why the Demon Temple was forbidden, and no one dared to mess with the demon race. There was such an expert hidden within the demon race!
Nevertheless, since the other party still hadn''t locked onto him, this meant he didn''t know who took this Scepter which was probably rted to the lightning orb.
Furthermore, if he hadn''t had the Space Step Heavenly Talisman, he might not even be able to fly under that pressure, and the lower the altitude and static he was, the higher his chances of getting locked by this person''s Martial Sense or Soul Sense!
At this moment, Ace was even above the dark clouds, as it was his first time flying so high he could literally touch the stars, but he didn''t have the time to enjoy this breathtaking view, and he used his ninth Space Step Talisman.
The demon temple was a ten thousand feet high tower, and Ace finally saw the peak. He was shocked when he saw a pitch-ck sword stable on the pointy edge of the Demon Temple Tower.
Furthermore, this sword gave off an extraordinarily sharp and foreboding feeling even after the distance between him and the peak was hundreds of meters.
''Why is this sword left at this height alone?'' Ace''s thievish interest was instantly piqued since he could tell that it wasn''t just a random sword.
The suffocating pressure was still around, but it still hadn''t locked on him, and he knew just one more space step, and he would be out of the massive detection formation of the imperial domain.
But that sword drew Ace''s attention, and his thievish nature instantly stirred despite the severity of the situation.
In the end, his sanity still won since he knew that the building had to have a powerful formation, and now that he had provoked that terrifying existence, there wasn''t even a hint of carelessness left.
He almost seeded in pulling the most dangerous thievery of his existence, so he shouldn''t be greedy. Besides, once he became strong, he could always return and take that sword without caring about anyone.
After taking ast nce, he activated the space step talisman again, and the next moment, he appeared 1000 meters above the peak of Demon Temple.
Strangely, that pressure still existed, but for some reason, Ace didn''t feel the throbbing anymore, as if the danger had ended.
With this altitude, Ace could see the entire Imperial Domain; even far, the sensation was simply too magical.
After throwing another nce at the sword below, he headed toward the north while using the space step talisman. He wanted to leave the Imperial Domain before his symbol summoning time ran out.
At this moment, Ace heard a notification,
=====
[Thief Farewell Note time limit has been ended!]
-Time: 00: 00: 00
---
[System had automatically chosen a random famous Thief Farewell Note from the past Heaven''s Stealers!]
=====
Ace cocked an eyebrow, "Famous Thief Farewell Note from past Heaven''s Stealers? Tell me, what was that?"
He was quite curious, and at this time, the System replied, which made Ace''s eyes widen before a prideful smile appeared on his pale face, "I couldn''t be more agree with this Note, hahaha!"
His thievishugh drifted on the boundless sky¡
---
Just before when Ace took the flight.
Inside the Demon Temple, the massive statue of Baphomet suddenly lost the power which kept it hovering in the air after the Scepter was stolen from its core.
But before the statue could crush upon the ck altar on the staircase, a masked person at least 6 meters height appeared beneath it and held the entire statue with one hand, stopping it from crashing into the altar.
The giant person suddenly trembled, not with the weight of the statue but with pure anger and incredulity.
He hollered, "WHO DARE TO STEAL IMPERIAL DEMON SCEPTRE?!"
The next moment, symbols suddenly appeared on the tip of his fingertips right below the massive statue before they began to suspend into the air, creating aplex array in the thin air!
The next moment, the small array wasplete without showing any sign of dissipation, and he also vanished from his spot. But the entire statue was now bnced on that small array without showing any sign of falling.
---
Outside, the giant person appeared, hovering in the air, and the next moment, an invisible sense started to spread all over the inner pce.
Right at this moment, a masked demon wearing emperor''s robes appeared, he was the Demon Emperor, and the Demon Empress followed suit a stepter.
Both of them were shocked to see this giant person, and they bowed their heads without any difort the next instant.
"Ancestor!" They respectfully greeted in unison.
The Demon Ancestor clearly wasn''t in the mood for chitchat and coldly uttered, "What were you doing?! Did all the formations inside the domain malfunction?! Someone just stole the Imperial Demon Scepter with some space treasure!"
"What?! How is that possible!" The Demon Emperor''s voice was filled with disbelief and atrocity.
"Do you think I need to joke with you?! I told you fools to investigate the strange space undtion months ago, useless all of you utterly useless!" Demon Ancestor hollered as he was getting angrier and angrier since his soul sense wasn''t picking up anything, "Now quickly activate the formation and lock down the entire imperial domain. The Imperial Demon Scepter can''t be stowed in the storage ring. I''ll find this degenerate soon!"
Demon Emperor and Empress didn''t dare to refute or show any difort when they got reprimanded by the Demon Ancestor.
But it wasn''t their fault either since if this was so important, the Demon Ancestor should''ve acted himself that day, but he handed this task to Leona, which showed just how ''important'' this task was.
Nevertheless, they were horrid by this revtion of the Imperial Demon Scepter being stolen right under the nose of Demon Ancestor and the strongest formation on the entire continent.
The Imperial Demon Scepter was the poof of the ck Lightning Tribe''s sovereignty on the Demon Race, and without it, there would be no ruler, at least not a powerful one.
Because the Imperial Demon Scepter held the secret cultivation art that only a generation ruler could learn, and that secret art was so magical that it couldn''t be recorded on anything or taught verbally.
The Imperial Demon Scepter also had another most important function and held the Imperial Family''s core secret.
If it was lost, then the demon race won''t have the capital to challenge the Devils!
That was, the Imperial Demon Scepter was protected within the safety of Demon Temple and always under the watchful eye of Demon Ancestor!
But now, somehow, it got stolen, and the watchman med the workers for the blunder he caused himself.
Yet, they didn''t even have the guts to refute it.
Demon Emperor quickly took out a crystal chessboard, and with a thought, the entire chessboard suddenly turned ck.
"Every formation has been activated, and I''m going to issue a ck Imperial Order. No one would be able to leave unless we found that degenerate who scheme against our imperial family!" The Demon Emperor menacingly uttered as he activated different traps with the chessboard.
"H-husband!" At this moment, the Demon Empress''s horrified shrill ring, like she saw a ghost, startled both the Demon Ancestor and Demon Emperor.
"What?!" Demon Emperor quickly asked with a hint of concern.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"L-look¡ the t-temple¡ something is emerging on the Demon Temple!" She eximed in a dreadful voice.
Both Demon Emperor and Demon Ancestor instinctively twisted their necks to see the Demon Temple.
Although it was night, they were all exitances with extremely high cultivation bases, and they could see as clear as day, especially the Demon Ancestor.
Right under the eye of those three top experts of the demon race, a white color suddenly materialized on the demon temple''s ck walls. It was simply too eye-catchy.
Soon that white color turned into a massive owl symbol, and there were eye-catching words on its thousands of feet long wings.
On the upper wing was a name,
"Sky Stealer!"
On the lower wing was a string of imposing factful words filled with arrogance and mirth, which sent shivers to those three terrifying existences.
"Thief is Destined for Greatness!"
Soon those words will be going to reverberate in the entire world like a thunderstorm and appear in everyone''s nightmares!
---
[End of the Third Volume: Thief is Destined for Greatness!]
[AN: I hope everyone likes this volume about Ace''s journey on the Demon Continent and umting treasures¡ ahem, I mean thievish experience. It also opened the gateway for the world stage for Sky Stealer and the Thief House Members. Which will also be the next title of the [Fourth Volume: Thief vs World]
Chapter 585 Final Assessment: Grand!
Ace flew or teleported for fifteen minutes, using 152 Space Step Talismans, and was now at the outskirts of the Imperial Domain.
He had crafted 231 Space Step Talismans with all the materials he had, and this entire theft cost him over 23 million thief points just for a mere chance to get the elemental orb.
But the grin on his face was evident that he didn''t regret it!
The pressure of Demon Ancestor had already vanished because of the altitude, and the distance Ace had managed to pull with the help of space step talismans. But he knew he wasn''t out of the danger zone yet, not by a long shot.
First, his owl wings would onlyst for 14 more minutes, and he had tond before he fell to his death. From this height, he would be turned into mush no matter what he does.
Second, he could see the white color thief symbol from this height, and he knew those demons now wanted to hack him into millions of pieces, if not billion since he had sullied their sacred building.
If he had a choice, he would prefer not to imprint his thief symbol on that building at all, but he knew the system would rather give him another impossible mission.
Last but not least, he had to leave the demon continent as fast as he could before the demon in the imperial domain was done with their search of the imperial domain.
And after he discovered that terrifying existence hiding within the demon temple and he had stolen something very important like the Imperial Demon Scepter, that existence will not sit idle anymore.
Truth be told, he wasn''t confident in hiding from that existence even if he broke through to a higher realm. It was his gut feeling. So, he didn''t want to stay on the continent while that kind of existence was after him, and it was now personal!
The only advantage Ace had was the imperial domain was cut off by the rest of the continent, and only the most loyal demons lived there, so they would not spread the news of this utter humiliation, or all their prestige will go down the drain.
So, they won''t make it too obvious, but they won''t hinder them either.
That''s why Ace has to desert the Demon Continent.
As for hisst chain mission, he will leave it to time for now.
At this moment, Ace saw the mist surrounding the imperial domain, which also meant he was close to the Royal Demon Nation.
But his eyes contracted when he saw a small silhouetted a few thousand meters below his altitude; even though it was dark, he could clearly see it because of shimmering symbols below its feet and a brightly lit formation te in its hand.
''They react too fast!'' Ace expression grimace.
This demon was clearly here to guard this perimeter, and this person was too strong for him because only Law Awareness Realm cultivators could fly!
The onlyfort was he was far above the other party''s capability of flying, but Ace needed to start descending soon unless he wanted to die tragically.
So, he knew he couldn''t be stingy with space step talismans anymore. He needed to use them quickly to leave the imperial domain.
Gritting his teeth, he started to teleport again!
The person holding the formation te suddenly looked above at the cloudy sky, ''It must be my imagination. How could someone fly above the Demon Temple? It was created 200 meters higher than the flying altitude capacity of an 8th-realm cultivator.
''That damn thief couldn''t be so high above, or the formation would''ve already alerted His Majesty!''
This demon ground his teeth as it looked toward the demon temple, which now had a white thief symbol with eyes full of abhorrence!
He couldn''t help but roar in a fury, "Damnable thief, you can''t escape!"
---
After using 20 more space talismans, Ace could finally see the end of that mist, and his face was ashen because of the altitude as well as the Qi exhaustion caused by the dark owl wings.
Because the Dark Owl Wings used his Soul Qi and Martial Qi simultaneously, this experience wasn''t good. On the contrary, his vast Qi reserve was just enough to buy him 30 minutes of flight.
But Ace didn''t know the altitude he was on was also affecting him. If he hadn''t gone through the heavenly punishment torture, he would''ve passed out long ago, much less enduring the pressure of the Demon Ancestor and flying at this altitude for over 18 minutes.
The space steps talismans y the most significant role in all this because Ace wasn''t flying on his own but teleporting and only exposed for a moment or two.
Seeing the safe zone arrive, he used five more talismans to decent and save himself some Qi to move forward.
When he was only a thousand meters above the ground level, he felt much better and right at this moment.
''Rumble¡''
Thunder started to sh on the clouds, and raindrops poured like mad all of a sudden as if the sky was crying.
Ace sneered wryly, "Not going up there again anytime soon." But his eyes suddenly turned sharper as he vowed, "But one day, I''ll explore the stars and heavenly secrets up there."
After seeing the beauty from up there and the countless stars, which were even higher than he had imagined, he was now even more curious about what was up there and if the next heaven was within that ocean of stars.
He was always curious about the starry sky, and his ambition was no longer just the Mortal Sky Heaven.
Ace didn''t know when it happened, but his goal had long changed from Mortality to Heavenly. He wanted to explore the heavenly secrets because, without them, he would be dead eventually since he was the Eternal Enemy of Heaven!
He was no longer the scrawny, na?ve kid from the River Flower City anymore. He was now the elusive thief, Sky Stealer of Golden Sky Word!
Soon, Ace''s feet touched the ground, and he had never felt better before.
"System disable these wings." Hemanded with exhaustion written all over his deadly pale face.
=====
[Dark Owl Wings has been disabled!]
-Dark Owl Wings (Initial)
-Description: Able to summon Wings of Dark Owl!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Ability: Fly
-Status: Cooldown
-Time: 167:59:59
=====
The ethereal ck wings suddenly vanished with a small burst, and Ace felt even more mentally and physically light.
His attire suddenly started to change into a noble blue attire, and he took the face of Fiery Demon he once copied as Archie.
Ace headed directly south in the stormy rain, but he had to be careful while traveling the Demonic Academia Region.
He would be fine if he didn''t encounter or step into the four demon institutes'' territories. But it would still take him months to reach his destination, and he knew the Imperial Domain soon realized he was long gone.
So, they will start a continent-wide manhunt, and this time, they won''t miss a single stone unturned!
That''s why to make his journey less dangerous. He was going to cross the ck Mountain Ranges.
It was the most dangerous forbidden zone of the Demon Continent and the source of the mysterious ck River of the Demon Continent.
But it was far safer than those powerful demons on his tail, especially that mysterious expert of Demon Temple.
Lastly, Ace wanted to cross the ck Mountain Range because the chaotic part of the Endless Sea was right on its other side and closest to the three forbidden countries.
He still had to fetch Winter, or that woman would nag him to death if he dared to leave her, and that ce was also the only ce where he could summon the heavenly punishment and breakthrough without getting noticed.
"Notification Panel." While moving, Ace finally got the chance to see the notifications he received after the Thief Farewell Note.
What he saw made his eyes sh with ecstasy!
=====
[The Job Mission has beenpleted!]
---
-Job Mission: Intermediate Thief Symbol
-Description: As an Intermediate Thief, it''s essential to have an Intermediate Thief Symbol worthy of an Intermediate Thief''s status!
-Requirement: Imprint the Thief Symbol on the tallest building of the Mighty Demon Continent!
Status: Complete
Final Assessment: Grand
--
-Mission Reward:
Mission Reward: Intermediate Thief Symbol has been unlocked!
[Intermediate Thief Symbol: Devil Horn Dark Owl]
[Open Thief Panel to continue]
-Extra Reward(s): Grand
1. New Summoning Symbol Ability
[Open Thief Panel to continue]
2. Low-Grade Epiphany Pill: 1
-Description: Consumer will fall into an Epiphany for 60 minutes.
3. Intermediate Item Upgrade Token: 1
-Decrepitation: Upgrade any Treasure purchased from the System Shop by 2 Grades.
4. New Thief Title has been unlocked!
[Thief Title: Grand Theft (Initial)]
-Grand Theft (Initial): Acquired an [Assessment Grade: Grand]!
-Title Effect: Any Theft of [Assessment Grade: Grade] will automatically result in a 2X Reward!
=====
Chapter 586 Wallow In Despair!
Ace was astonished when he saw the new assessment grade, which was clearly above the Satisfactory Grade or even higher. And when he saw the extra rewards given to him because of this grade, he was even more shocked.
Especially when he saw the description of the Intermediate Item Upgrade Token and couldn''t help but swallow hard when he thought about one of the chain mission rewards having three such tokens!
Lastly, the new title will increase his rewards if the System deems he has performed a Grand Theft.
Ecstatic, Ace almost forget about his exhaustion. As for the new thief symbol, he wasn''t too optimistic about it since it would only change the symbol''s appearance.
But he was more interested in the new ability, and he quickly opened the thief panel and hoped this new ability would be as helpful as the Dark Owl Wings.
======
[Thief Panel]
--
[Job [NOT Changeable]: Thief]
[Thief Name: Sky Stealer]
--
[Thief Rank: Deft Thief]
-Thievery Required for next Rank:
-Low: 10,000 Thieveries
-Middle: 1,000 Thieveries
-High: 100 Thieveries
--
[Thievery Count Section]
-Low-level Thievery(s): 0
-Middle-level Thievery(s): 2
-High-level Thievery(s): 0
--
[Thief Title(s)]
-Follower of Darkness
[Title Effect: Able to raise the proficiency of [Skills] & [Cultivation Arts] rted to Darkness by one proficiency level instantly!]
-Mind Thief
[Title Effect: Any Memory you steal will have 10% more chances of being the most precious memory in the target''s Knowledge Sea!]
-Famously Infamous (Intermediate)
[Intermediate Stage: Infamous between over 1 Billion lifeforms.]
[Title Effect: Everyone is afraid of your name (Thief Name), and your deeds reverberated like thunder in every corner of thisnd. Your real name (Thief Name) will inflict [7% Fear] in others'' hearts as long as they know about your name (Thief Name) and deeds.]
-Cold Liar (Initial)
[Initial Stage: Made 10 Million Beings (Cultivators Only) wholeheartedly believed your lies!]
[Title Effect: There''s a 5% more chance that people will believe in your liespletely!]
-Grand Theft (Initial)
[Initial Stage: Acquired an Assessment Grade: Grand!]
[Title Effect: Any Theft of [Assessment Grade: Grade] will automatically result in 2X Reward!]
--
[Thief Symbol: Devil Horn Dark Owl]
-Summoning Symbol Ability(s): 2 (New)
1. Devil Horn Dark Owl Wings (Intermediate)
-Description: Able to summon Wings of Devil Horn Dark Owl!
-Ability: Fly
-Limit: 15 Minutes
-Cooldown: 14 Days
[NOTE (1): The Ability can be Upgrade by Thief Symbol Upgradation!]
[NOTE (2): The limitations of ability can be decreased with the host''s increase in realms!]
2. Devi''s Horn (Intermediate)
-Description: Able to summon Horns of Devil Horn Dark Owl!
-Ability: Undetectable Stealth in Mortal Sky Heaven!
-Limit: 1 Minute
-Cooldown: 30 Daysn/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
[NOTE (1): The Ability can be Upgrade by Thief Symbol Upgradation!]
[NOTE (2): The limitations of ability can be decreased with the host''s increase in realms!]
--
[Thief Fame: Worldwide (1-Star)]
--
[Job Mission: 0]
======
Ace was surprised for a moment when he saw his flying ability had been upgraded. He nearly forgot about this fact.
However, the flying duration had been cut by half, and the cooldown period had been doubled. He didn''t need to ask why it was happening since his ability had upgraded from initial to intermediate, and so did its power. The toll it would take on his body had also significantly increased. He never thought it was hisst time using the fly ability of Dark Owl.
But when he saw the newly unlocked ability, he halted in his steps and looked at the ability with widened eyes as if he had seen a ghost. After making sure he didn''t see things, heughed out loud.
"Hahahaha¡ invisible beads, this is having an unlimited supply of invisible beads!" He almost wanted to try it but suppressed his excitement because the time limit was only a minute and the cooldown period was a whole month.
Nevertheless, this ability was a huge boon and his biggest life-saving trump card. His furiousughter waspletely justifiable.
Ace always longed for invisible beads, and he still had one. It was his biggest trump card, but the ck-hearted System never sold them again in the shop.
Yet, now he had the same ability as an invisible bead. He never thought he would get such an ability.
But still, he didn''t let the mirth get the better of him and quickly calmed down. His grin covered almost all of his face.
"System, it seemed you have a heart after all." He grinned ear to ear even though he was ignored like usual, but he didn''t mind.
Lastly, Ace sent his consciousness to the thief''s space. He instantly noticed the addition of a new item which was in lying in the middle of the storage ring wall.
Cyrus waspletely nonchnt about it and sleeping conformably on Page 09. The little guy spent most of his time sleeping since he didn''t have anything to do, albeit he didn''t mind.
Ace also ignored the little chick since his attention was affixed to a two-meter-long translucent crystallin pole. On top of this pole was a golden crown made with beautiful gemstones, and within this crown was imbedded a palm size, purple orb, cackling in purple lightning.
It was the Imperial Demon Scepter, and the purple orb on top of this scepter was the Lightning Elemental Orb!
Ace''s eyes shone with ecstasy when he saw the orb was finally in his possession, but he didn''t dare to take it out since the demon race might have some way to measure its location.
Furthermore, Ace was getting a very dangerous feeling from this scepter, and he didn''t want to touch it. This was probably a very important treasure of the demon race and was bound to have deadly restrictions.
So, he''ll let the System deal with it when he starts the absorption process. But it wasn''t the right time to start the breakthrough or the ce.
Moreover, ording to System''s warning, this heavenly punishment will be going to be absolutely a nightmare after he formed the Qi sea instated of the Qi river, so he needed to be at his peak condition.
In high spirits and more confident in himself, Ace continued his traveling while his soul Qi was slowly recovering. He was nning to use one Qi while letting the other recover and then switch again.
It was the advantage of having two types of Qi at once!
---
The stormy night passed as the bright golden light of the sun illuminated the entire imperial domain. But the storm seemed to only start in the Imperial Domain.
The entire domain was shimmering within all kinds of formation barriers as puppet servants were kneeling listlessly on their ces when they werest night.
Powerful demon figures stood in the sky, guarding the Imperial Domain''s boundaries. It was simply an imprable prison now.
On the top of Demon Temple, the giant figure of Demon Ancestor appeared right where the mysterious ck sword was impaled.
The next moment, something unimaginable happened. One of the most powerful experts of the Golden Sky World, the Demon Ancestor, fell on his knees and prostrated in front of the mysterious ck sword!
His raspy ancient voice was exempt from any arrogance and filled with imploration as he pleaded, "Oh mighty Sword of God Baphomet, I beseech you for guidance! The Key had been stolen by a Thief named Sky Stealer, who profaned your sacred temple no less.
"Please show your guidance to this lowly subject of yours, show your splendor to the entire Demon Race once again, and punish that defiler who wanted to harm your thralls and end your inimitable faith!"
He then banged his head giant head in front of the mysterious ck sword, making the floor quiver with the impact.
"End Baphomet faith, you assumed, profaned Baphomet temple you used. Yet, what I see is the ipetence of a thrall who had lost its way because there is no one holding the leash." An ethereal voice suddenly rang, filled with mockery.
The Demon Ancestor''s entire body fluttered when he heard those scornful words.
The ethereal voice continued, "The Key was given to your race for a keepsake, yet you used it to empower your lineage and prolong your insignificant, worthless life. Oh, insignificant speck of dust, answer me if you are here because you''re worried about your God''s faith or worry about you''ll die in 50 years without the Key and your lineage will perish?"
The Demon Ancestor''s body trembled even more as if the owner of this ethereal voicepletely saw through his intentions.
He quickly tried to exin, "N-no, I live to serve mighty God Baphomet and protect the immeasurable one''s faith. I know I have crossed my boundary, but¡."
"Ah, insignificant one, I''m not ming you, nor I''m interested in your worthless reasons. Everything has a consequence, and your consequence is to wallow in despair." The ethereal voice emotionlessly stated before it stopped altogether. It no longer seemed to care about the Demon Ancestor.
Even after Demon Ancestor begged, the voice no longer replied. A hint of madness surfaced in the Demon Ancestor''s hidden eyes as he left, filled with helplessness and full of mad resolve.
Afterward, the peak of the demon temple returned to its tranquil state, but suddenly a mumbling could be heard in an unknownnguage.
First, it sounds like chants, but in actuality, it was filled with disbelief and horror.
"Heaven''s Stealer, that was a freaking living Heaven''s Stealer, everyone is doom, doom¡!"
Chapter 587 Black Mountain Range
The Imperial Demon Domain incident waspletely under-wraps, just as Ace suspected. As a result, this news and the entry to the domain were closed off.
However, after three days of the foray, the entire demon content experienced an absolute lockdown.
Powerful demons from the Imperial Demon Council started spreading on the entire continent, and everything was again rted to the elusive thief Sky Stealer.
Yet, this time, the search wasn''t just a search anymore. It was simply a massacre!
Because if a city, town, vige, or even a prominent n fell under the suspicion of the Imperial Demon Council, they would be ughtered to thest men. The demons no longer care about the aftermath. It was like they had gone insane for the thief.
No protest, noint, not even a plea was allowed. Whether they were from eight provinces or the royal demon nation, whoever did so, was detained and killed without mercy!
Even Grand Demon Dukes, who seldom made public appearances, was also part of this search force.
Naturally, this action of the demon won''t go unnoticed by the two devil envoys, who are baffled by this sudden change in the demon race''s attitude.
It was like the demon continent was at war with its own people, but the only difference was no one could resist!
Today, Raul and Ralph were escorted by the Sixth Demon Elder to this obscure underground passage somewhere in the Royal Demon Nation.
Truth be told, Raul and Ralph were quite wary of demons after they started their mad ughter, and no matter how much they inquired, the Sixth Demon Elder won''t tell them what happened.
The Fourth Demon Elder left long ago, joining the mad search for the elusive thief.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Both Devil Envoy wanted to leave the Demon Continent, but today they were summoned by the Demon Emperor to this ce.
They had no choice but toply since Sixth Demon Elder was not inviting them.
Still, they were envoys of the devil race, and Ralph was one of the pirs of the Devil Race, so unless Demons were gone bonkers, they wouldn''t harm them.
Yet, Raul and Ralph were still prepared. If pushes to shove, they won''t hesitate to use their life-saving means to flee.
The Sixth Demon Elder led them to a 10-meterrge stone door, and when he ced his hand, the stone door slowly opened.
The Sixth Demon Elder gestured toward the opened door and coldly uttered, "Please, His Majesty is waiting for you. I''ll be staying right here."
Ralph looked deeply at Sixth Demon Elder before nodding, "Thank you for the trouble."
He then signaled Raul to follow him. Raul wasn''t as calm as his brother about this situation, but he knew better than to antagonize demons now. So, he followed his brother''s lead.
The stone door was closed as they entered, and after walking a long corridor, they finally appeared in a bright grand hall.
However, they both didn''t have time to look around because they were shocked when they saw the giant masked figure sitting on a pitch-ck throne.
Ralph had a terrible proposition about the identity of this giant individual. Still, he didn''t dare to believe it because this existence should not bother him with worldly matters anymore, much less meeting them in such a ce.
Demon Ancestor coolly spoke in his raspy voice, "My brethren, from afar, I need you to contact your Ancestor. Unfortunately, he''s not responding to mymunication. I guess he''s in either seclusion or he is simply ignoring me.
"I reckon with his vexed personality. It is thetter case. Nevertheless, this matter is pressing. Tell him, ''Key is lost,'' and he''ll contact me!"
Demon Ancestor''s tone was mild as if he was talking to his juniors, but there was absolute authority and manic hidden within, which sent goosebumps to the devil brothers!
---
At nighttime, on the outskirts of the ck Mountain Demon Institute,
Ace looked at the radiant barrier covering the area in front with a grim expression. Not only that, but there were rows of Demon soldiers blocking the perimeter.
He never thought demons would react so quickly that theypletely blocked every possible way out of the continent¡ªespecially the paths toward the forbidden zones.
The ck Mountain Range was on the rear of the ck Mountain Demon Institute, and if it were any normal time, there wouldn''t be anyone out there, much less a barrier and soldiers.
This showed just how serious demons were.
He nearly got caught when he was heading this way by a peak soul realm cultivator scanning the area with a powerful formation from where he wasing. He ends up using the space step talisman to escape from that formation.
He was pretty sure even if he showed his demon face, they wouldn''t let him go since he was wandering in this barren region. The disguise was pretty much useless in this situation where these demons were suspecting everyone.
Even for Ace, this time, it was almost impossible to escape. Almost¡
But he had the Space Step Heavenly Talisman, and as long as they didn''t conjure up a space-locking array, he was as uncatchable as before.
He still has over 50 talismans left, and he knew they would be his trump card to leave these blockades and the continent without a scratch.
Even if something goes wrong, he now has Devi''s Horn thief symbol summoning ability.
Ace then quickly used the heavenly talisman and appeared on the other side of the blockade and vanished in the wilderness as those guards had no idea; someone just passed their blockade with a single talisman which wasn''t even a grade talisman!
Afterward, Ace didn''t encounter any more blockades since this region was under the ck Mountain Demon Institute. They also had every formation active to find Ace if he dared to enter this region.
Ace suddenly stopped a hundred meters away from a mountain ridge.
His expression turned ashen when he saw the fate map showing that area as a ck fate location!
''Do I have to climb this steep mountain?'' Ace looked at the hundreds of meters tall ck mountain dyed red on the fate map.
Although it was still dangerous, it wasn''t deadly.
He knew on the other side of this ridge was the entrance to the ck Mountain Range as well as the Institute location. He nned to cross this ridge and then vanish within the maze of mountains, but it seemed the entrance was guarded by a powerful formation.
So, he had to take the detour, which was a steep climb. Or he could simply use his new wings or even a talisman. But he didn''t want to waste any of them unless absolutely necessary.
Ace goes miles in the south and but the red fate color still hasn''t vanished. He mused that it might be the case for all of the ck Mountain Range since it was the most dangerous forbidden zone on the continent.
Nevertheless, he still had to be careful andplete this climb as quickly as possible.
After making sure there wasn''t anyone around, something shot from Ace''s right sleeve toward the top of the steep ck mountain like a piercing arrow.
It was the Thievish Soul Cord!
When the edge of Thievish Soul Cord reached its peak, it suddenly changed its shape into a harpoon, and the next moment, it pierced right into the mountain!
Ace smiled contently since he was the one controlling the Thievish Soul Cord with his thoughts. This cord was simply too magic, and the size control and shape control wasn''t its only functions.
It could bind anyone, rendering their cultivation useless. It doesn''t matter if they''re martial or soul cultivators.
Furthermore, this cord was a deadly weapon, and as long as he learned the Thievish Soul Cord Control Secret Skill to full mastery, he would be a disaster to his enemies.
With a thought, the soul cord suddenly started to shrink at a fast pace, and Ace was running on the steep mountain thereby.
Ace was on top of the cliff within a minute as the cord vanished into his sleeve. Behind him was a vast mountain range surrounded by clouds, and some peaks were so high they were hidden under the clouds.
On the east, he could see lights and silhouettes of buildings. It was the ck Mountain Institute.
Ace suddenly sensed something as his expression turned ashen, and he activated the space step talisman and vanished from his spot.
Thereupon, a tall demon in the institute attire appeared a few meters away from where Ace was standing moments before his arrival.
A terrifying soul sense was oozing from this demon as he had a deep frown on his face.
"I just sense a presence on this cliff, but there''s no one. It was like it only existed for a fleeting moment. Or was it my paranoia?" He couldn''t help but smile bitterly while shaking his head, "Those damn imperials had gonepletely mad, and now it even started to affect the peace of the continent and our minds!"
Chapter 588 Evil Thief’s Move!
After the vague encounter at the cliff, Ace didn''t dare to let his guard down and headed deep within the ck mountains.
However, after three days, he concluded that no one was overseeing this area because he hadn''t encountered anyone, not even beasts. All he could see were chains of ck mountains.
If his fate map weren''t dyed in red, he would''ve believed that this ce was dangerous at all.
On this day, Freya contacted him as he was resting in a well-hidden mountain cave.
"Leader Ace!" Frey''s somewhat respectful voice rang in Ace''s mind.
Ace felt he had heard wrong since this woman would rather tease him than show respect.
Nevertheless, he sent his consciousness into Frey''s private space in Thief''s House.
Her space had been converted into a half library and half rune crafterb by her. Those books and equipment were naturally given to her by Ace.
Since she liked to collect knowledge and was a rune crafter, Ace wasn''t stingy with her and let those books collecting dust put to good use.
Furthermore, Ace always wanted to create a library for House Members, so Freya was doing him a favor by doing this. If those house members wanted some knowledge, they could look for Freya.
Freya''s Evil Thief Armor was now changed into a flowery pink dress revealing her seductive curves and perfect figure and her long white hair draped on her shoulders.
She lookedpletely breathtaking while sitting on afortable divan like a vivid painting, and only Ace could enjoy this view.
"What is it?" Ace coolly questioned. He wasn''t someone to be tempted so easily, especially when the woman happened to be a cunning witch.
Freya''s lips curled into a seductive smile before she eximed, "You really imprint your thief symbol on the Demon Temple?" Her eyes were filled with disbelief and awe.
"Oh? It seemed Ronan got the news. Yes, I needed something in that temple, and since I had done the deed, it won''t hurt to admit it and im the credit, right?" Ace lied through his teeth without telling her it was the System''s doing.
Freya didn''t deny it, "No, he wasn''t told, but he was summoned back with that snake sister and brother of his. After he entered the domain, it was hard to miss that eye-catching owl and imposing words."
Her smile suddenly turned dangerous, "I have to admit, Leader, if this news spread, I don''t need to take revenge at all, and the demons would die out of shame. It would be more interesting to see that happening. The high and mighty demon race left with no face, and their so-called sacred temple now be the stepping stone of Sky Stealer!"
Ace was speechless when he heard it. He almost forgot about Freya''s grudge against Demons, and this method will effectively destroy the demon''s prestige.
"Is that why you asked for me?" He questioned.
"This and another thing. I first wanted to notify you about this n and gain your approval before contacting Aliya to spread the rumors." Freya revealed with a hint of an astute smile.
Ace merely chuckled with a hint of exasperation, "You have already started, don''t you?"
Freya smiled charmingly, "You know me, the best Leader. Besides, I can''t let your glorious deed get buried now, can I?"
"Tsk, tsk, do whatever you want. But aren''t you worried that Aliya might get caught by this?" Ace sneered in vexation.
Although he didn''t mind, this move would make the demon race hate him even more. Right now, only the Imperial Domain knows, and this result was still not bad. However, the other races will know when the entire continent knows.
This will destroy the demon race''s prestige and might even have unimaginable consequences.
Freya merely smiled and replied ambiguously, "Aliya knew how to handle herself. I have already told her to desert the continent if needed. I hope you can give her shelter in our house in the future."
Ace didn''t agree or disagree, "Thief House is full right now. I might consider it ording to the circumstances if there were free spots. Or there might never be a spot open, I can''t guarantee anything, or you can just set her free and let her live her life happily. Is that the second matter you wanted to discuss?"
Ace had a good impression of Aliya, but this didn''t mean he could let her enter the Thief House. The spots of Thief House were too crucial to Ace, and he knew he would have an extra pair of hands with every additional member.
Like Thomas, Aliya was one of the contenders for this spot.
Speaking of Thomas, Ace still had no idea if he was one of those ck robe demons selected from the eight provinces. He had to stop poking his nose in this matter because it was the situation''s demand.
Now, he could only hope that guy wasn''t one of them, or he could always use his thief promise to let Ace know, or at least this should be how it works. But worry about him would do nothing good.
Besides, Ace had his own path and problems to worry about.
Freya''s eyes shed with helplessness. She had expected this answer. Thief House was a magical ce, and she knew joining this ce waspletely dependent on chance and Ace''s circumstances.
So, she didn''t ask anymore and told him about the second matter, "No, the other thing I wanted to say to you is Ronan might''ve been suspected of bringing you into the Imperial Domain.
"Since you had impersonated a puppet servant of his castle, it won''t be too hard to retract it back to Ronan. Although my Evil Seed is unbreakable, I don''t know to what extent. I do not doubt my ability. It''s just that I''m not strong enough.
"So, I suggest we get rid of him. He knows too much about us, especially about me and your private space. He had no use to us anymore, and I might drag down that snake princess with him." Killing intent shone in her eyes.
Leona rubbed Freya the wrong way because she felt she was the same as her, and she knew just how dangerous this type of person could be. That''s why she wanted to kill her to save Ace and herself from future trouble.
Ace thought for a moment since he knew Freya was right, Ronan had no use, and demons were fools to no notice of the disappearance of NO.8,430.
His eyes turned cold, "Alright, get rid of him. But don''t reveal your ability. Just make it look like hemitted suicide. There''s no need to show more than this, and Leona is no more threat to us.
"Furthermore, don''t underestimate her, she is not simple, and Ronan would not be enough to get rid of her. So, instead of letting them know about the extent of your abilities, giving them a mysterious fright would be more than sufficient.
"At least, it will make us look more unfathomable and might make them give up if they think we are stronger than them." Ace coldly stated.
Freya fell in deep thought, and a refreshing smile appeared on her charming face, "Leader is indeed a Leader when ites to scheming. I''m stillcing."
"Yeah, like I would believe that." Ace chuckled sarcastically, "Alright, if nothing else, then I''m off. I still have a long journey ahead before we get out of the demon continent."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Alright, don''t hesitate to summon us if you find yourself in trouble." Freya softly stated.
Afterward, silence filled Freya''s space before the smile on her face turned into a ruthless grin.
''I always wanted to kill someone from the imperial family. I''ll let them know the true despair. Evil Descent!'' She instantly used her fourth ability!
The dark mist slowly enveloped her bright eyes before they turned pitch ck.
---
Imperial Domain, just a few miles away from the inner pce.
Arge carriage of the inner pce was moving at full speed toward the inner pce.
Inside this carriage were Leona, Ronan, and the Fourth Prince Cassius, as the atmosphere in the carriage was utterly gloomy and icy.
Leona was even oozing naked, killing intent as she sat in front of her two brothers.
Cassius felt he was in an icyke and wanted to get out of there, but he knew he didn''t have power or authority in front of Leona.
On the other hand, Ronan was silent all the way as if he didn''t care.
At this moment, behind Ronan''s mask, his eyes suddenly enveloped in a dark mist before they were entirely enshrouded in this mysterious mist.
Suddenly a dark smile appeared on Ronan''s emotionless face as he looked at Leona, who was also watching him like a venomous snake.
He suddenly said, which startled both Leona and Cassius, "Don''t provoke the wrath of Sky Stealer¡."
The next moment, the carriage explodes!
______
Evil Descent
[Description: The Evil Thief could descend into an Evil Seed taking full control of its body and soul!]
[Limitation(s): Once the Evil Descent is used on an Evil Seed, the Evil Seed will be dead the moment the Evil Descent limit is over!]
[Current Time Limit: 5 Hours]
______
Chapter 589 An Epiphany
Three months after the Imperial Demon Domain''s foray, on a colossal mountain peak filled with azure winds.
A figure kneeled in front of a small adobe at this strange mountain peak.
A mild voice rang behind that door, "What is it?"
The hunchback old man in white robes, who looked like a wilted tree branch, respectfully replied, "We received an unbelievable rumor from our destination."
"If it''s an unbelievable rumor, then why are you disturbing me?" The mild voice coolly asked without any hint of anger.
"Prime One, rumor is about the Thief, Sky Stealer!" The old man replied.
"Oh? Did he get captured?" The nonchnt voice suddenly showed a great interest, even anticipation.
The old man had this unexinable expression as he hesitantly replied, "No. On the contrary, he stuck again, and this time he stole something from¡ Demon Temple!"
"What!" Prime One''s voice rang in astonishment.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"That''s why I said it was an unbelievable rumor. But it might not be so baseless since we received the reports of the demon race''s strange, tyrannical behavior in these past months.
"No one knows who spread this rumor, but it had already spread through the entire continent, and other races might also know about it. Furthermore, I don''t think Demons would wee our visit anymore if they knew we had something on that thief.
"If there is even an iota of truth in this news, they might try to snatch the Icy Sword Fairy to threaten that thief toe out or even go beyond that. That thief is too important for our race''s rise!" The old man stiffly stated.
At first, he didn''t believe it, but he still came here to report it and state his concern.
"Hmm, this is indeed troublesome. If this concerns the Demon Temple, I''m afraid Dream Shatter won''t be enough. Contact him and tell him to head toward the Blood Continent instead. He should be close at this juncture of time." Prime One''s coollymanded.
The hunchback old man''s eyes widened slightly, "Are we returning the Ice Sword Fairy?"
"Heh, just give mymand to Dream Shatter, and he''ll know my will." Prime One merely chuckled.
"As yourmand Prime One!" The Hunchback Old Man respectfully bowed and then faded from his ce.
The azure winds around the mountain suddenly formed an azure vortex right above the adobe.
Prime One''s voice rang again, but this time it was filled with terrifying killing intent, "You can''t escape. One way or another, you have to die ¡ Contamination!"
---
Deep within the ck Mountain Range,
With a frown, Ace was looking at the ck ravine hundreds of meters below. The sound of raging ck water reverberated in the vicinity.
If Ace wanted to cross the ck Mountain Range, he needed to travel to the other side of the ravine, but he didn''t dare to because the fate map ahead was ck!
In this past month, with the help of the fate map, he had avoided terrifying demonic beasts residing in ck mountains, and he finally understood why this ce was a red fate location.
If someone without the Eternal Thief Fate Compass like treasure dared to tread into these mountains, they would eventually stumble upon one of those beasts'' territories.
Only a Manifestation Realm Cultivator could move unhindered.
However, now that he saw the other side of the ravine, Ace thought otherwise. Manifestation Realm might not be enough after all.
Even after searching for another path forward or finding a red fate location instead of ck, he failed. No matter what, it appeared he had to cross that ck area where his life might be threatened. The ck river below also wasn''t exempt from this ck fate location.
''Should I break through here and then move forward? Once I break through, thepass rank will also increase, and there are also stagnate skills. I need to break through eventually, and I might draw some terrifying existence on the other side with the punishmentmotion.
''This ce is far away from the royal demon nation, and most of the beasts here are soul realm¡ I can''t put this off anymore. Besides, I want to try this new theory to deal with the heavenly punishment, and the Epiphany Pill came at the right time.'' Ace''s lips suddenly curled up as he looked at the sunny sky.
After making his decision, he turned around and left to find a suitable ce for calling the heavenly punishment and breakthrough.
It was a rare chance for Ace to prepare before starting the heavenly punishment since, in hisst two breakthroughs, he had no choice but to activate the punishment to save his life while putting it in an even more dangerous situation.
However, now, he wasn''t in any danger, and he had been nning this for a long time. From the day he found out that his bloodline was sealed by someone and he needed to endure heavenly punishment to unseal it, he was not going to hide behind Page-09 anymore.
The Epiphany Pill was a miraculous pill that could let him enter the state of Epiphany, which was called the fabled State of Wonders in some books. He never thought the system had such a thing for reward as well.
He wanted to use the power of the Epiphany Pill to enter the state of Epiphany and wanted to see if he could create some wonder with it.
Ace found a secluded mountain, created arge hole just big enough to hold a demon, and then set up multiple formations around it.
Afterward, he sat cross-legged, cleared his mind, and recovered for an hour.
At this moment, Ace flipped his hand, and an ethereal white pill appeared, just staring at it made Ace somewhat dazzle. Furthermore, he couldn''t feel the pill or its scent. It was like he wasn''t holding anything.
It was the Low-Grade Epiphany Pill!
Ace took a deep breath before he threw the pill into his mouth, and it instantly melted into a white wisp.
Ace felt his mind being pulled into a strange state as the connection to his surroundingpletely cut off. It was like taking an insight pill, but he was feeling¡ free this time.
While talking insight pill, he could only think of the skill he wanted to increase its rank, but the Epiphany Pill waspletely different. He could mull over anything!
Not only that, but he felt some strange power was helping him understand problems he was never able to.
Ace felt if he could enter this state for a long time, he might cultivate all his skills and evenws to a terrifying degree!
All kinds of notions starteding to him, but he focused on three things.
First, the Law of [Despair]. Second, the first level of Sky Sword, the Sky Sword Core Creation, and third, the ck Lightning God Manual, which was the cultivation technique of the ck Lightning Imperial Demon Family.
These three things covered almost all the aspects Ace had, and the cultivation art he wanted to create, which could help him against the heavenly punishment lightning could only be created with these three things.
After taking the Epiphany Pill, it became apparent!
Although he only remembered the Sky Sword Core Creation to its Early Stage, it was still asplex as his Dual Shadow Swords Basic Technique.
Time pass at a breakneck pace for Ace in that magical state. Minute by minute, Ace was having all kinds of simtions within his mind.
An hour passed, but Ace still hadn''t awakened from the Epiphany despite the fact that the pill''s effect got exhausted. Somehow Ace fell into an even deeper state of Epiphany!
Epiphany was a very mysterious state, sometime it would only take a moment to fall into such a state unknowingly, and sometimes, even a lifetime won''t be enough.
Although the Epiphany Pill only works for an hour, the time could be increased if the pill consumer had a heaven-defying talent or simply too profound of an inspiration. Ace was a both!
At this moment, he hadpletely forgotten about himself and anything around him. His whole mind was focused on creating that imaginary cultivation art that could help him cross the heavenly punishment.
Just like that, without even Ace realizing it, a week passed, then a month, as he remained stoic like a statue.
2 months¡ 3 months¡ 5 months¡
Today a strange dark mist oozed from Ace as it gave the feeling of sharp despair, it was like despair had manifested upon Ace''s body, but his expression remained stoic.
The ck mist also didn''t seem to harm him. On the contrary, the dark mist suddenly started to seep from the ck mountain where Ace was sitting, and that dark mist somehow got annexed within the mist oozing from his body, and it started to grow!
Soon, more mist drew from the ck mountains and ignored the formations. They started to be part of the growing mist around Ace.
One month passed since the ck mist started to gather around Ace, and the small mountain was now wholly enshrouded in that mist!
Chapter 590 Opportunity Or Disaster?
One month passed since the ck mist started to gather around Ace, and the small mountain was nowpletely enshrouded in that mist!
At this moment, ck lightning suddenly shimmered over Ace''s body and spread in the ck mist. However, it didn''t vanish as it continuously circted within the ck mist.
Thereby, in front of Ace''s chest, the dark lightning-filled mist started to gather into a tiny ball without stopping.
All that mist umted within this sixth month was now gathering in front of Ace, condensing a pitch-ck mist ball as its size slowly grew.
Soon, all the ck mist was condensed into a three inches ball, which looked ck then ck as it hovered in front of Ace.
At this moment, Ace''s eyelids snapped open as they shone with despair lightning as he looked at the small ck ball emotionlessly.
He suddenly flipped his hand, and his ck de swords appeared. The next moment, the ck des of those swords suddenly shone in a shadow-like sheen before they continued to grow deeper and deeper as those des look they were made of ethereal shadows.
It was no longer the Half-Sword Sword Intent but theplete Shadow Sword Intent!
Ace haspletely grasped the Dual Shadow Swords Basic Technique in his six months of epiphany!
However, Ace looked oblivious to this as he suddenly raised his sword and impaled it into the ck ball. The ball trembled, threatening to explode, but in the end, it remained stable.
Then something unexpected happened; the impaled sword didn''t pierce through the ck ball, but part of it vanished within the ball, and as Ace pushed the short sword, it continued to get absorbed into that ck ball until not even its hilt was left.
It was like the short sword waspletely devoured by the small ball.
Ace mumbled at this moment while cing his left hand a few centimeters above the ck ball.
"Honesty is not my nature; my sword path is not the path of honor. My path is thievish. Then my sword path shall be thievish and filled with darkness. Soul Thief Sword Core, condense!"
Orange Heavenly Soul Qi suddenly gushed out of Ace''s hand and poured over the ck ball like a waterfall as it devoured it like a chasm.
As a massive amount of soul Qi got absorbed, the ck ball suddenly started to shake, and all of a sudden, a slit appeared in the center of the ck ball, and the next moment it turned into two halves!
Strangely, the soul Qi now only got absorbed by the left half while the right half waspletely dormant.
Ace''splexion started to pale as more heavenly soul Qi got consumed by the half-ck ball, but he remained expressionless, like he wasn''t aware of it. His entire focus was on the half-ck ball.
Right at this moment, the half-ck ball basked in heavenly soul Qi started to twist, and shockingly, it started to shrink as it became thinner until it was shaped into a short de!
Soon, the half-ck ball waspletely gone and in its ce appeared a tiny short sword that looked exactly the same as Ace''s short sword, which got devoured by the ck ball!
Ace didn''t even flinch, and with soul Qi, he started to move that small sword which was only 1-inch, towards his be.
The small sword didn''t resist as it followed Ace''s lead, and soon it was a centimeter away from piercing Ace''s skull, but he didn''t stop as he continued to push it toward his be.
Just as it was about to touch his skin, an orange sheen shone on Ace''s be, and the sword got absorbed into his true soul!
Ace''s body started to tremble as he felt piercing pain in his true soul, threatening to cut his soul part.
Within his true soul, it was currently trembling as a small sword was hovering toward the orange soul core.
The Enteral Thief Fate Compass was majestically revolving above the orange soul core like a protective shield.
"I hope, Sir, Ace knows what he''s doing is pure madness with his current strength." Moira''s worried voice rang within the true soul, but she didn''t dare to disturb Ace with his current state.
When the small sword reached above the soul core and thepass, it stopped without having any intention of moving from its spot.
Soul Qi suddenly gushed out from the orange soul core, and after bypassing thepass, it directly engulfed the ck sword.
The trembling true soul startled to calm down.
Outside, Ace had blood trickling down from the corner of his lips, but he didn''t seem to n on stopping.
After the stabbing pain was subdued, he then moved his long sword toward the remaining half of the ck ball.
Just like the short sword, it waspletely devoured by the half-ck ball. He then ced his right hand over it.
He stated in a hoarse voice, "Fighting in light is for Hero, not for a Thief in darkness. I''ll rather be the coward who only draws his sword out of selfishness than a hero in light who draws his sword for guarding. Martial Thief Sword Core, condense!"
Thereby, Heavenly Martial Qi gushed out of his hand and started to get devoured by the half-ck ball.
Like before, Ace''s expression went paler and paler as this half absorbed even more Qi than the other. It might have something to do with the sword''s size.
After absorbing 90% of Ace''s martial Qi, the half-ball finally started to twist and shrink as it began to reshape in Ace''s long sword.
When only 5% Qi was left, the condensing was finally finished as a three-inch-long sword hovered in front of Ace.
Without wasting any time, he then controlled and moved it toward his sr plexus, where his martial space lies.
Like the true soul, a dark sheen appeared when the sword was about to pierce into Ace''s skin, absorbing the sword into his martial space.
Ace''s marital space, which should be a calm dark sea, was almost empty because of the Qi consumption.
On the other hand, the Dark Void waspletely static in its position.
The long sword slowly approached the Dark Void, and when it was above it, it also stopped.
The little bit of dark water within Qi sea started to stir as it suddenly became a small water tornado and directly engulfed the sword core.
Ace was now deadly pale, but he knew he had almost seeded, and as long as he could take thisst step, he would seed!
Ace had just established a foundation for something no one might have imagined before. He also knew he had a very short window if he wanted to have any chance of session.
"I''m sending you two out!" His cold voice suddenly rang into the thief''s house.
Without giving Noa or Freya any chance to question or care about whatever they were doing, he forcibly threw them out, and they appeared while holding their weapons.
They thought Ace was in trouble since he would never throw them out like this. They almost believed him when they saw blood trickling from his mask''s edge.
However, there wasn''t any aura around them, and they appeared outside a hollow mountain hole. There were even formations activated which made them bewildered.
"What happened?" Freya frowned her brows as the dark grimoire hovered in front of her.
"Leader, are you alright?" On the other hand, Noa was emitting killing intent when she saw Ace''s blood. She had never seen Ace getting hurt before.
Ace didn''t have time to exin since he had never expected this kind of situation himself, but he knew this chance might nevere again.
"Don''t ask. I don''t have much time left. The ''Goddess Trial'' is about to decent. I''ll give you 1-minute to leave as far as you can and never stop running until you are no longer in the range of the trail.
"You''ll know what I''m about when things start. No matter what happened or what you see, do not approach my trial, or you''ll die if you interfere.
"All I want is for you to take me away from here if I was unconscious when the trial is over and hide in these mountains. Don''t cross the river, no matter what. Wait for my awakening. Take Cyrus with you!"
Both women were bbergasted by Ace''s gloomy exnation. Nothing was making sense.
The next moment, Cyrus appeared in Ace''s palm. He was clearly sleeping and was jolted awake when he appeared outside and looked around curiously, and his tiny eyes stopped at Ace.
"Who hurt you?" He asked as a fiery aura suddenly released from its tiny body
"Just follow your sister Freya. She''ll tell you." He sternly ordered before he ced the small guy in front of Freya.
''Cough¡''
Ace suddenly coughed blood as his face became ashen. Both Qis were almost exhausted, and it was time!N?v(el)B\\jnn
Chapter 591 Dark-Gold Despair Thunder!
They were even more shocked at Ace''s puking blood as the mask on his face dropped, making his ashenplexion surface in everyone''s worrying view.
"What is going on here?" Freya felt something extremely wrong, but she still picked up small Cyrus, who seemed to be even more confused than them.
"Here, take this storage ring. Now, go! I''ll exin after this is all over. Run at your full speed!" Ace yelled in a cold voice as he tossed a storage ring toward Noa.
"You better exin it!" Freya had no choice but to obey since she could tell
Noa looked deeply at Ace with worried eyes as she caught the ring, but she didn''t hesitate to leave since if it involved the goddess, they could do nothing but watch.
Ace then took out all the remaining Qi recovery pills he had bought from the System in the past and consumed them all, making his expression somewhat better.
After enduring for almost five minutes, his cold voice transmitted into his mind at this moment, "System, filled the reaming cap of Soul Points and started the absorption process of lightning orb!"
Although the circumstances were not what he had expected, he knew this was a heaven-defying opportunity. So, he sent those three out just in case he went unconscious after this whole ordeal.
Heavenly Punishment will alert many existences in these mountains, or even demons might investigate. But with those three working together, they will not be much to worry about.
Especially Cyrus, who could suppress others'' bloodlines like it was nothing.
The next moment, the soul materials from his thief''s space vanished, and a massive amount of soul Qi entered his true soul.
The System''s notification also started to buzz in his mind.
=====
[All requirements for the next realm breakthrough have been fulfilled!]
[Process of absorbing Nature''s Lightning Elemental Orb has begun!]
[The Third [Heavenly Punishment of Body and Soul] will start in ten seconds!]
--
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment will descend during the process of absorption. It will be immediately stopped if the host faints or loses consciousness during the process. Thereby, the host will die!]
=====
At this moment, the scepter in the thief''s space suddenly started to tremble violently as if it was gripped by something and wanted to free itself.
The purple lightning orb also shimmered with dangerous lightning, but it waspletely suppressed by this invisible force.
Right at this moment, runes suddenly started to appear on the scepter staff, and the crown holding the orb also revealed a pitch-ck barrier encasing the orb, which was invisible before.
Yet, cracks started to appear on this barrier before it sted like ss, revealing the orb again.
However, the scepter suddenly shrank, leaving the orb and three things on the floor.
A ck jade scroll, a ck crystal key, and a cracked ck formation te.
Ace, who was paying attention to the orb, was startled when he saw the scepter falling apart like this. But he didn''t have time as the purple color element essential of the lighting orb started to gush out.
The System''s voice rang at this moment,
=====
[The Third Heavenly Punishment [Golden Despair Thunder] has been detected!]
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment sensed Host''s Qi Sea!]
[Warning: The Heaven is angry!]
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment has been strengthened!]
[Strengthened Heavenly Punishment: Dark-Gold Despair Thunder!]
---
[System rmends finding an isted ce, or the Heavenly Punishment will annihte all the living in a 10-mile radius around the host!]
=====
Ace''s eyes shone hysterically when he read those new warning notifications which had never appeared before.
''Heaven is angry, huh?'' Ace sneered coldly.
Despite struggling against that piercing pain in body and soul, he was full of fighting spirit.
"Rubmleeee¡"
An explosive voice fell into Ace''s ears, almost making him deaf. Heaven had announced its thunderous arrival!
All the treasures on his body vanished since he didn''t want them to get destroyed.
Freya, Noa, and Cyrus, still a little bit away from crossing the 10-mile mark, felt their bodies numb as their hearts palpated.
A deadly pressure started to descend, crushing over their bodies.
"T-this? What is happening?!" Freya was pale.
"Rumbleeee¡"
As if her question was answered by heaven itself, the pressure started to intensify as those two women''s speed significantly plummeted, and they were now crawling forward!
The night sky started to turn pitch ck at this moment with pitch-ck thunderclouds. They came out of nowhere.
Cyrus, who was sitting over Freya''s shoulder, looked up with a fearful expression while the two women were busy gathering their strength to escape this pressure.
But they were both feeling helpless as that pressure kept getting stronger and stronger as if it wanted to lock them into their ces.
Ace''s ambiguous words came into their mind, ''Goddess Trial!''
Just what kind of trial was this?
A huge rumbling of thunder sounded from above at this moment, almost making the entire ground shine in pale golden light for a moment.
"I''m going to use my fire, and you two have to leave in 10 seconds, or we''ll all going to die!" Cyrus''s voice was solemn as a memory surfaced in his mind from his bloodline.
Those two couldn''t speak, but they were shocked because Cyrus sounded quite serious.
The next moment, Cyrus opened its small beak and shot sky-blue color fire, and this fire enveloped all three of them as the pressure almost vanished.
Both women felt a ghastly cold aura from that fire, but they had no time to inquire since they only had ten seconds, and they used their strongest skills to run!
The inky clouds were condescending into a lightning-filled vortex as it expandedrger andrger, revolving at an incredible pace.
Golden thunderbolts suddenly started to shoot down all over the ten-mile vicinity under the inky clouds.
At thest second, Noa and Freya managed to leave the vicinity of heavenly punishment as Cyrus retracted its fire, but the little guy looked skinny from his cute chubby self.
But its eyes were filled with fear as it looked toward the punishment clouds, "How did master offend heaven?"
"Offend heaven?" With an ashen face, Freya didn''t understand what it meant as she was still busy running for her life.
However, they stopped when they were a mile away as the pressure or lightning no longer affected them. They finally got the chance to see the lightning vortex on the horizon.
Even their eyes felt piercing pain for some reason.
"Don''t look, or you might get noticed by it!" Cyrus sternly warned in his child-like voice.
"Just what is that? Heavenly Wrath?" Noa couldn''t help but ask with a deep concern for Ace.
They couldn''t even stand straight under that pressure, and it was clearly here for Ace, and he was right in the center of it. They didn''t dare to imagine how he could survive this or why he was even targeted by this lightning cloud.
"He didn''t offend Goddess, right?" Freya''s imagination runs wild.
"Bommmm¡"
Their attention was suddenly drawn by a terrifying thunder sound, and they saw a thick pir of dark gold lightning shot down!
Ace''s blood ran cold when he felt that terrifying pressure, which was a hundred times stronger than he had felt that day at the demon temple.
At this moment, the entire mountain was sted apart as the thick pir of dark gold lightning descent over Ace''s body,pletely enveloping him!
Blood-curdling lightning started to run wild all over Ace''s body as it wanted to obliterate himpletely.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Madness surfaced in Ace''s bloodshot eyes as if he was waiting for this, he didn''t take out page-09 to shield himself, but he started to absorb the lightning into his martial space.
The ck sword enveloped by the Qi suddenly trembled when the dark gold lightning invaded Ace''s martial space, and with Ace''s will, it shot toward the lightning before it could destroy the depleted Qi sea.
The lighting also seemed to be sensing the approach of that small sword, and as if it got offended by the puny sword, it instantly attacked it.
The heavenly thunder instantly encased the pitch-ck sword.
However, somethingpletely unexpected happened. The heavenly thunder started to shrink at a terrifying speed. The sword was absorbing the heavenly thunder!
Ace instantly felt the deadly pain and despair sensation on him getting lighter as the heavenly thunder was getting absorbed in his body.
"It''s a sess. It''s a sess! Hahahaha¡" Ace suddenlyugh out loud toward the sky, "My thief sword core can steal anything, even heavenly lightning. Hahahaha!"
Although burring marks and blood were dripping from all over his body, Ace was still ecstatic as he could feel the sword devouring the lightning, and his body was also undergoing some kind of change.
However, it was just the first strike, and the heavenly punishment clouds rumbled ragingly the next moment when the first lightning pir didn''t do its job.
Three dark gold lightning pirs menacingly shot toward Ace like three unstoppable hammers!
Chapter 592 I’ll See You Around!
At this moment, Ace suddenly felt death approaching when he saw those three thunder pirs over a hundred meters in size.
''Fuck, stubbornness!'' Ace cursed as his charred face was deadly pale, and the next moment, Page-09 appeared in his hand, and Ace covered his head with it.
Although he wanted to devour the heavenly thunder like the Page-09, and he even seeded, the heavenly punishment speed far surpassed that of what his newly born sword core could devour.
Now that his Martial Thief Sword Core waspletely condensed, he now only has to worry about his Soul Thief Sword Core.
Furthermore, his life was far more important than unsealing his bloodline, and the system had never told him to endure the entire heavenly punishment. One or two bolts might be sufficient¡ at least, he hoped.
The thunder pirspletely engulfed Ace, who was holding the Page-09 above his head like a small umbre.
But Page-09 again surpassed Ace''s expectation as a powerful suction force suddenly appeared, and the thunder pirs started to suck into Page-09 at an rming pace.
Ace didn''t even feel the heavenly punishment on his hands holding Page-09 as the page was greedily absorbing the heavenly lightning without wanting to leave even a speck of it.
Ace felt immense relief as his eyes shone deviously when there was only a single lightning pir left, Ace waited until only a 10-meter bolt of it was gone, and at that moment, Page-09 vanished from his hand and the 10-meter descent on him!
However, Ace grit his teeth and endure while letting the heavenly lighting invade his martial space so the sword core can devour it.
It was far better than thest time since this heavenly thunder was on Ace''s endurance level, and he also wanted to see just how much heavenly punishment the sword core could devour before getting full.
Lastly, it would also count as enduring the heavenly punishment.
"Rumbleeee¡"
A heart-wrenching thunder voice rang all over the ck mountain range, startling all the terrifying existences residing there as they hid.
Even the three observers felt their minds copsing as they saw a horrifying sight.
A one-mile-long dark gold thunder de was slowly piercing the heavenly punishment clouds as its destructive aura could feel through hundreds of miles.
"I''m going to save him!" Noa shot as she wanted to run toward Ace''s direction, but her legs were stuck in their ce and refused to move forward.
Freya''s face was deadly pale, "No one can save him but himself!"
On the other hand, Cyrus wasn''t panicking despite his close connection with Ace because he could feel Ace was still fine, and there was no panic from his side.
Ace looked at the thunder de descending with killing intent as he felt knee-crushing pressure, but he remained straight, "Not giving any chance, huh? Evenw awareness realm cultivators might perish under this kind of Sword."
However, there wasn''t fear in his voice as Page-09 appeared in his hand again. He had to admit without Page-09, he wasn''t strong enough to handle this kind of attack even after creating the sword core.
The thunder de shot down toward Ace with a sh, and it was one mile wide and three miles long!
Just like before, the thunder de was blocked by the Page-09, and Ace remained unfazed, and this time Ace stowed away Page-09 when fifty meters of that thunder de left.
When fifty meters long thunder de, Ace''s almost regretted his bold choice because, for the first time, he felt something other than thunder and despair from this heavenly thunder; it was sword intent!
But to his surprise, the sword core merely trembled under that thunder with murderous sword intent before it started to absorb it.
However, Ace was on the verge of copsing as his charred body was filled with deep wounds, and there was still the soul-type heavenly punishment. The Soul Thief Sword Core restlessly absorbed his soul Qi, which wasn''t fully condensed yet.
Ace had no choice but to buy some healing pills and Qi recovery pills from the system and eat them in mass.
But it was too slow, so hemanded, "System, release my unimed EXP and SP right now!"
He was saving those unimed rewards for his next realm, but now it seemed he had to use them to recover his Soul Qi and Martial Qi. It was much faster this way.
The system released all the unimed EXP and SP at this moment and turned into vast Soul Q and Marital Qi. Ace finally felt alive.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The fifty-meter lightning sword was also got fully absorbed by the sword core at this moment, and something unexpected urred.
The ck sword core suddenly started to vibrate violently as if something wanted to break free from within.
Ace felt his blood run cold because if this sword core exploded within his martial space, he''d be as good as dead when all that heavenly thunder escaped.
He felt he had overestimated the newly born sword core and overwhelmed it, and now he was going to die out of his own greed!
Because he made those sword cores with his shallow understanding of thew of [Despair] and thew of [Sword], and he made them so they could grow as long as they absorbed heavenly punishment, which was the essence of ck Lightning God Manual.
Because the ck Lightning God Manual was a cultivation method to absorb all kinds of lighting to make one''s lightning more powerful, it was the true foundation of the Imperial Demon Family as well as Ace''s sword cores'' nature.
However, Ace''s sword cores couldn''t be called out once they werepletely condensed, just like the Sky Sword. The only chance Ace had been before they could fully condense like the Soul Thief Sword Core.
He can still detonate it, and it would only give him some soul injuries.
But the Martial Thief Sword Core wasplete, and it was like a time bomb now. If it explodes, Ace''s entire martial space would be sted apart, and he, himself, with it.
Moreover, his sword cores were condensed with two treasures that could withstand his heavenly Qi, then both heavenly Qis, and the heavenly thunder, so they were not like the normal sky sword''s core anymore.
Ace''s n was to develop the sword cores first, and then he wanted to take his time cultivating them byprehending theplete sky sword jade scroll or going beyond that, which was impossible with his current realm.
Ace suddenly felt his soul jolt at this moment as he looked warily up.
He saw an ethereal dark gold thunder pir was about to decent.
''Soul Heavenly Punishment is about to start!'' Ace felt the timing couldn''t be more wrong.
But he knew he needed to endure this thunder pir if he wanted to condense the soul thief sword corepletely. However, he hesitated and almost took out the Page-09 to block it while dealing with the crisis of his marital space.
Suddenly, Ace stopped as his eyes winded because dark gold runes started to emerge on his sword core as they slowly covered his entire sword core.
''So, it wasn''t going to detonate?'' Ace was bbergasted as he looked at those profound runes, which were clearly made with the heavenly thunder.
But he didn''t have time to pay much attention since the soul thunderbolt was already upon him. He didn''t detonate his soul thief sword core and became even more confident and let it fall over him.
Expect the deadly pain; everything goes smoothly as the soul sword core also greedily absorbs the heavenly soul thunder.
Moira also trembled as she observed the familiar heavenly punishment invading Ace''s true soul. She was once been destroyed by this exact heavenly punishment which was millions of times more powerful than this one.
Still, the trauma and hate she had for heaven were all the same, and she watched Ace enduring the heavenly punishment and doing the impossible, devouring it!
As for Page-09 involvement, she only thought it was made by Ace.
After the first strike, Ace left in a terrible shape, but his starry eyes were as bright as ever as he faced the following three soul thunder pirs with the Page-09''s help and absorbed thest bit of the soul thunder.
Thest strike also came fast, and it was also a de condensed with soul thunder which made Ace ted since he was afraid if he didn''t absorb the same amount or kind of heavenly thunder, the soul sword core might not be as powerful as the marital sword core.
After enduring the terrifying sword intent, Ace finally felt relief as the short sword core started vibrating as ethereal runes began to condense on the Sword.
''Rummmmbllleeee¡''
The angry heavenly clouds could only rumble as Ace again escaped death for the third time.
"Yeah, I''ll see you around!" Ace sneered weakly.
He felt relief wash over him when the knee-breaking pressure suddenly lifted, and the punishment clouds dispersed just as fast as they came.
With a huge grin, his eyes went upward, and he fell backward unconsciously!
Chapter 593 Fourth Realm Breakthrough
Soon after the Heavenly Punishment clouds dispersed and the heavenly pressure vanished, Freya and Noa approached with ashen expressions.
They could still feel the blood-curdling aura lingering as they got closer to a giant charred crater which was supposed to be the mountain where Ace had spent over six months.
"Do you think he''s alive?" Freya mumbled grimly as she looked at the smoke from the charred crater.
She was even trembling from the lingering aura of heavenly thunder; this fearful feeling came from the core of her very being.
''What kind of trial is this? If this came from the Goddess, do we have to go through it as well?'' Just thinking about it frightened Freya, and she even started to doubt whether the Thief House was still safe or not.
If before she was happy about this fact of gaining the thief house member spot, now she was forced to reconcile and think with a somber mind. After all, everything had a price.
Noa coldly berated as she suppressed the strange fear in her heart, "Do you think we''ll be alive if he''s dead? Don''t you remember the house rules? Almost every rule has Leader''s name in it, and if he dies, I don''t think we can stay alive as well."
She didn''t care about her life as much as she cared about Ace''s, and even if she also had to suffer such a ''trial'' in the future, she would take it without any hesitation.
"Master is fine. I can feel it." Cyrus''s childish voice rang with happiness.
At this moment, the little guy suddenly jumped off Freya''s shoulder and directly ran toward the crater. He was even faster than the two women.
Both women sighed in relief as they increased their speed and quickly followed the small chick.
When they finally reached the giant creator, they were shocked when they saw just how deep it was. It was almost a mile deep, and right in the center of this creatory a charred body.
"Master!" Cyrus quickly hurried over while the two women followed with gloomy expressions.
Acey therepletely exhausted and barely keeping his consciousness, but he grinned on his charred face was quite apparent and even seemed ghastly.
When he heard Cyrus''s voice, his eyes trembled, and with difficulty, he looked over and saw blurry figures approaching.
''It was the right thing to let them out¡.'' He thought weakly, but he didn''t fall unconscious because the orb essence was still getting absorbed and seeping within him.
He knew the breakthrough was about to begin. Furthermore, he transmitted his thought to Cyrus at this moment, "T-take me¡ away."
Cyrus cheerfully jumped beside Ace as he could feel Ace''s power spiking and his power with him as well, and his life wasn''t in danger.
So, he quickly said, "Master said take him away. Let''s go. Why are you dillydallying!"
"Shouldn''t we treat him first?" Freya frowned darkly.
"No, Master ispletely fine. There is no need. Quickly pick him this ce stink!" Cyrus disdainfully retorted as he looked around with its tiny scornful eyes.
Noa hesitated and then moved toward Ace. As she looked at his smiling charred face and starry eyes, she felt some relief and gently used her Qi to envelop his body within.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Cyrus then jumped over Freya''s shoulder and said, "Alright, let''s go. If someone tried to block us, I''ll just burn them, don''t worry." He said confidently.
Ace felt relief when he felt they start moving, and at this moment, the system''s voice rang, which he was waiting for.
=====
[Congrattion, Host, for sessfully crossing the third form of Heavenly Punishment!]
---
[Martial and Soul breakthrough process has been started!]
=====
Unlike before, Ace felt his Martial Space and True Soul stir.
At this moment, two vortexes formed over Ace''s be and one over his sr plexus, and both soul Qi and martial Qi around the surroundings stirred and started to suck within those vortexes.
Freya and Noa instantly noticed the changes in Qi density around them, and they were startled when they saw the focal point of these Qis was Ace, who was enshrouded within Noa''s Qi.
The strange thing was Noa''s Qi wasn''t affected at all, and only the unprocessed Qi in the atmosphere was getting sucked inside,pletely bypassing Noa''s soul Qi.
"Now what?" Freya frowned as she felt the soul Qi bing denser and denser.
"Master is breaking through, don''t worry." Cyrus coolly revealed.
"Breakthrough in this condition?" This naturally came as a shock to both women.
Cyrus proudly said, "Of course, just keep moving and enjoy the fresh Qi."
Freya and Noa had too many questions, but they knew it wasn''t the time or ce to ask them, so they continued to move.
However, the three were forced to stop after three hours when the surrounding Qi turned into cloudy mist, and they could even feel the martial Qi at this moment.
"Just what kind of breakthrough is it?" Freya waspletely baffled as all her understanding of the cultivation was shattered by Ace.
Noa thought of a possibility but didn''t reveal it and said, "We''re already quite far away. We should stop and let Leader breakthrough peacefully."
"No, continue to move. I''ll navigate. Master said no matter what, we can''t stop until we''re 3 or 4 days away from that ce." Cyrus stated.
They had no choice but to continue moving while dragging a Qi cloud. The only relief was all the predators were scared into hiding by the heavenly punishment, or they would be attacked by all kinds of beasts while carrying such a dense Qi around them.
After two days, the Qi cloud finally stopped, which astonished them.
Ace, on the other hand, has long forgotten about the outside as his entire beingpletely fell into a wonderful warm state.
At this moment, Ace''s martial space and true soul were filled with dense heavenly Qi.
The martial space was filled with dark Qi sea and ck heavenly darkness Qi. At this moment, the misty heavenly Qi suddenly started to condense below the dark void.
Soon, all the mist condensed into a pitch-ck round core, and suddenly dark blue chain emerged from the dark void shooting down at the condensed core.
The dark blue chain suddenly started to shimmer in a dark blue hue before the Qi sea raged.
Tiny dark blue symbols started to emerge over the dark core as they slowly faded and the next moment, a small dark blue ring formed at the top of the dark core.
The blue chain trembled before it retracted into the dark void, and at this moment, the pitch-ck water of the Qi sea suddenly started to revolve, forming a small vortex right below the dark core.
At this moment, the dark core with one dark blue circle started to hover down and stopped when it was in the middle of this vortex and started revolving with the entire Qi sea.
Inside Ace''s true soul, all the Heavenly Soul Qi was getting absorbed by the orange soul core, and as it got absorbed, the orange color started to get changed into a deeper color.
When all the heavenly Soul Qi was absorbed, the Soul Core had fiery red color as it glowed like a raging sun, illuminating the entire true soul in red.
The Soul Qi also turned fiery red at this moment as some of it got absorbed by the Eternal Thief Fate Compass and the treasure aura became more ethereal.
"Beautiful." Moira''s joyous voice rang within the true soul while the short sword soul core remained dormant.
Furthermore, Ace''s soul sense suddenly started to grow, 600 Meters¡ 700 meters¡ 900-meter, and it finally stopped at a 1-mile radius.
But this wasn''t over yet purple soul core suddenly started to form around the red soul core, just like the white and green soul cores revolving around the soul core.
Ace''s entire body suddenly started to shimmer in a dark sheen as the charred skin started to shed, revealing his pale white pristine skin.
His silky ck hair started to grow again while his body also experienced a sublet change as it became more masculine, and he looked even more handsome as his natural charm deepened with his strength.
System''s voice rang in his mind,
=====
[Congrattion, Host, on sessfully creating the Dark Qi Sea Core]
[Host has reached Stage-1 of Heavenly Dark Sea Core Realm!]
[Innate Martial Ability: Fortune Sense has been awakened.]
[Reward: 5,000,000 Thief Point]
--
[Congrattion, Host, on sessfully creating the Red Wind Soul Core]
[Host has reached Stage-1 of Heavenly Red Wind Soul Core!]
[Innate Soul Ability: Thief''s Mark has been awakened.]
[Reward (1): 5,000,000 Thief Point]
[Reward (2): Apparition Wind Walk (Soul Art)]
--
[Nature''s Lightning Elemental Orb absorption has beenpleted!]
[Special Reward: Lightning Qi [Martial & Soul]]
-Host can switch between Worldly Element(s):
1. Light [Soul & Martial]
2. Earth [Soul & Martial]
3. Lightning [Soul & Martial]
[Warning: Worldly Elements'' and ''Heavenly Elements'' cannot be used together]]
--
[Host status has been updated!]
=====
Ace''s eyes snapped open at this moment!
Chapter 594 Heavenly Thief Sense
Ace felt unbelievable power surging in every muscle of his body as his mind was clearer than ever while his soul sense was even more refined and covered double the area.
''I break through!'' Ace''s lips curled upward before the Deft Thief Robes covered his pristine naked body.
"Alright, you can let me out." Ace coolly called as he knew who was encasing him right now, and they were constantly moving.
Noa and Freya were startled when they heard Ace''s voice and looked at the cocoon they had been dragging for the past two days. While Cyrus directly chirps in joy.
Truth be told, they had thought that Ace would be out ofmission for a long while since his condition could not be recovered in mere days. If not for Cyrus, they would''ve thought Ace was on the verge of dying and treated him.
Now, they no longer dare to guess.
They stopped at the entrance of a valley, and Noa retracted her soul Qi, revealing Ace.
Both women were baffled when they saw Ace in his deft thief robes while his peerless handsome face was revealed, and he was grinning at them. There wasn''t any trace of injury.
Noa was even more uncertain since she didn''t notice any change despite paying attention to Ace all this time, and her Qi should be able to detect any change but didn''t.
Ace''s figure suddenly shed before he vanished from his lying position and appeared right in front of Freya, making her heart pound for some reason when she looked at his face.
She felt this inexplicit feeling welling up within her heart.
"You did well." Said Ace, gently sending a strange current to the witch''s heart as a tingle of redness surfaced on her pale white skin.
However, before she could say anything, Cyrus''s small body darted as it appeared over Ace''s shoulder and jumped happily while he said, "I know even heaven''s anger couldn''t kill master!"
Ace cocked an eyebrow, ''Heaven''s anger? It seemed Cyrus knew about the heavenly punishment.''
"You two, good job. Now you can go back and continue your cultivation. I''ll be taking over from here on." Ace finally looked at the two women and nodded.
''He was talking with Cyrus!'' Freya''s eyes turned cold with a hint of jealousy, "First, tell us what was that?"
In contrast to Freya, Noa said, "Leader, don''t you need to rest?"
Ace shook his head with a smile, "Don''t worry, I''m more than fine now. You should go back. I''ll exin it in the thief''s house hall." He then held his hand toward Noa.
Noa''s eyes shimmered in a peculiar light, and she ced her hand in Ace without asking more and let him pull her into the thief''s house space.
Ace then looked toward Freya, who seemed to get angry after being ignored again.
But Ace did something which made Freya''s heart suddenly skipped a beat. He suddenly moved his hand, ced his finger under her sharp jaw, and dreamily said, "Do you fall for me?"
Freya felt apelling feeling from those dark blue starry eyes, and that mysterious feeling became more potent as her heart pounced like a raging river. She wanted to p Ace''s hand away, but she just couldn''t, as she even enjoyed his touch.
However, at this moment, a mask appeared over Ace''s face, and his eyes were suddenly enshrouded with dark lightning.
Freya felt the spell was broken and all those strange feelings were gone, almost¡
She quickly used her movement skill and appeared a few meters away from Ace. She yelled with a hint of humiliation, "Y-you! What did you do?!"
She could still feel her heart pounding as her face beat red. She felt if she had stayed in that state, she would be forever spellbound by Ace.
Ace mischievously replied, "Oh, nothing, actually. I just wanted to see if you have a heart or not. It seemed you did have one, and I almost captured it, right?"
He would never tell her that he was testing the power of his natural charm, and it almost worked on Freya.
As for trying it on Noa, he simply didn''t want to since Freya wasn''t as warm to him as Noa. So, she was a perfect target.
Freya ground her teeth. Since she knew Ace had done something to her or she would never feel that way, she was too proud to believe it.
Cyrus looked at Freya curiously and then at Ace, he didn''t understand what was happening, but he knew his sister Freya was being bullied.
After Ace, he was closest to Freya since she taught her many things, but he would always choose Ace over her no matter how close they were.
"Alright, it was a joke. You yed it all the time. Don''t tell me you can''t take a loss. Let''s go." Ace sneered without showing any remorse at all, and he again forwarded his hand toward her.
Freya didn''t have words to retort because Ace was stating the fact, so she quickly calmed down, but the resentment in her eyes didn''t lessen much.
Without saying anything, she took his hand while coldly looking at him, "You better be ready!"
Ace shrugged, with a chuckle, "Hah, I''m always ready." He then pulled her into the thief''s house space.
"Alright, you go rest as well. I can sense you''re still exhausted despite breaking into the peak of the River Core realm." Ace caressed Cyrus''s tiny head with his finger before sending him back to the thief''s space where Page-09.
Ace wasn''t in a hurry to move or exin himself to the two members waiting in the thief''s house. Because a panel was shining brightly in front of him, making his eyes glow with uncertainty.
=====
[System detects Host has awakened all three senses, Soul Sense, Heavenly Sense, and Fortune Sense!]
[All the conditions have been met to awaken the [Heavenly Thief Sense]!]
[Do you want to merge the three innate senses into Heavenly Thief Sense?]N?v(el)B\\jnn
[Cost: 50 Million Thief Points]
=====
"What is the Heavenly Thief Sense?" Ace questioned with uncertainty.
He was always curious about if he would awake a Martial Sense at River Core Realm like the other cultivators. But what he awakened was this Fortune Sense which was probably rted to the Dark Qi Sea Core Realm.
However, he was used to his soul sense, and now that he tried to use this Fortune Sense, he felt nothing except this strange feeling that he should continue to go in the direction of the endless sea.
As for this Heavenly Thief Sense, he might lose his soul sense and heavenly sense the moment he merged them together, which would be a massive loss because these senses have been with him since the start of his cultivation journey.
Especially the active Soul Sense, which had saved him many times.
The System replied at this moment,
"[The Heavenly Thief Sense is an exclusive Innate Sense of a Heaven''s Stealer which can only be created by merging Soul Sense, Heavenly Sense, and Fortune Sense. The Heavenly Thief Sense not only has the abilities of all three senses, but it can no longer be bound by just Heavenly Soul Qi, but it can be used with Heavenly Martial Qi as well.]
"[For example, Heavenly Thief Sense will be passively active like the soul sense, but it would no longer be detectable. Furthermore, unlike soul sense which could only detect soul-rted danger or soul being, it would have the martial sense detection of martial beings as well.]
"[Like if an enemy didn''t have a soul, your soul will never be able to detect it without using the Heavenly Sense ability, which could let you ''See'' the surrounding area. In Mortal Sky Heaven, this type of opponent is non exist, but it couldn''t be said for Heaven beyond.]
"[The Heavenly Thief Sense will also have the same ''Seeing'' effect, but you will be able to fully control the area of range and even focus it on a sole target and can use it with both soul Qi and martial Qi.]
"[Although this would make it detectable, the other party will only think you were using either soul sense or marital sense, depending on the Qi you were using it with.]
"[Lastly, the Fortune Sense is also an active sensory ability like your soul sense, which can lead you toward treasures.]
"[Host can even take it as having the Live Fate Map always activate, but its effect is still pale inparison to the Eternal Thief Fate Compass.]
"[Where''s the Live Fate Map can directly indicate the treasure''s location. The fortune sense could only give you vague direction. This is also Host''s fortune to possess the Eternal Thief Fate Compass, which previous Heaven''s Stealers never had.]"
Ace felt the System was praising him for the first time in all these years, and the voice sounded emotional to him. It had been quite a while since he had heard the System''s emotional voice.
Nevertheless, he was still marveling at the Heavenly Thief Sense, which could only be described as overpowered!
With shimmering eyes, Acemanded, "Alright, merge them into Heavenly Thief Sense!"
Chapter 595 Host Has Taken A Step Into…
Ace''s eyes were closed as he felt the newly merged Heavenly Thief Sense. Besides some minor changes, it was still like the soul sense.
But he could feel something had definitely changed as he could feel a calling of sorts from a specific direction which should be his fortune sense, but unlike before, it was somewhat apparent but not much.
Lastly, he tried to activate the heavenly sense ability with the martial Qi to ''see'' his surroundings, and he was shocked.
Because unlike before, when heavenly sense would cover his soul sense instantly, this time, he could feel it tightly wrapped around his body like ayer of skin as he could feel his body condition.
He even peered through deep into his physique and could finally see his dark meridians connected with his martial space and true soul, which looked like zing ck suns.
It was Ace first time seeing such a phenomenon of his body, and he finally understood just how marvelous the new Heavenly Thief Sense was!
Ace then tried to make that tightly wrapped sense on his body expand, and with thought, it suddenly started to expand at an rming speed, instantly covering the one-mile radius.
Ace could now ''see'' far more than before; even the naked eye pale inparison, and even the underground was no longer any different from a clear sky to Ace.
Ace then tried to control it on one spot, and after some difficulty, he finally seeded. Then he tried switching to his soul Qi, and he was even more ecstatic as the Qi changed without much effort while the ability remainedpletely stable.
"This is no longer Heavenly Sense. Let''s call it Dark Spy!" Ace''s mumbled as he deactivated the Dark Spy, it wasn''t dispersed like always, but it retracted into his body and vanished!
Ace cocked an eyebrow since he couldn''t remember heavenly sense having such an effect, or it was because he could control it.
Whichever the case was, he was content since, ording to the System, now his Heavenly Thief Sense would be increased together with his both cultivations, not with just soul cultivation anymore.
Lastly, he imed the Apparition Wind Walk, an exclusive soul movement art that used the element of Soul Wind and can be used in fighting and escaping.
The Misperception Sky Steps Art was based on his martial Qi and lightning element, and these two movement arts were quite helpful in different ways.
Furthermore, he had neglected the Heavenly Wind Soul element for too long, and it was probably time to pay attention to it as well.
His epiphany had given him many inspirations, and he was now confident about surviving the demon continent as long as 7th or 8th realm cultivators won''t target him.
However, the System wasn''t done yet, because another notification rang,
=====
[Congrattion, Host, for creating a ??? by using the ck de Swords!]
[Warning: The ck de Swords can no longer be upgraded with item upgrade tokens and ???!]
[Host has taken a step into the uncharted territory of Darkness!]
--
-Reward(s):
1. Thief Title: (???) has been unlocked]
[(???) Title Effect: ???]
2. Advance Mission Complete Token: 1
[Use: Advance Mission Complete Token canplete any mission with a Satisfactory Evaluation Rank.]
[Warning (1): There is a 90% chance of gaining a Death Penalty in the very next Mission after a Mission Complete Token was used!]
[Warning (2): Only Three Mission Complete Tokens can be used continuously toplete Three Mission in a row before the Host has toplete the 4th Mission to use a Mission Complete Token again!]
=====
Ace was baffled when he saw the ambiguous words of the System, especially when so many (???) were involved. He even got a title with (???). It was his first time seeing it.
Furthermore, that line about entering uncharted territory was quite spooky on its own.
Although he knows he might have created something extraordinary, he never thought it was impressive enough to make the System speak up and release this subtle reward.
However, when he saw the Mission Complete Token, his eyes brightened, but it was only when he saw the warnings which made his expression darkened. So, he decided to save it and wouldn''t use it unless it was absolutely necessary.
He then inquired about those (???) and the title, and he received a reply that he hadn''t in a while.
"[Please upgrade your authority level!]"
He could give up after hearing this reply.
''Well, it didn''t matter as long as it won''t endanger my life. Besides, I still have a long way to go before I can use those sword cores properly. By System''s words, I won''t be getting a new pair of swords either.'' He smiled wryly.
Lastly, Ace opened his status panel to see what he had gained from epiphany and his new cultivation realm EXP and SP caps. What he saw made him inhale sharply.
=====
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human]
[Bloodline: Sealed]
[First Heaven: Mortal Sky Heaven]
--
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea Core [Stage-1]]
[EXP: 0/1,000,000]
? [Soul Cultivation: Heavenly Red Wind Soul Core [Stage-1]]
[SP: 0/1,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
---N?v(el)B\\jnn
[Skills: 10]
-Heartless Stealth (Art):
Breathless Stealth: Perfection
Pulseless Stealth: Perfection
Heartless Stealth: Perfection
--
-Misperception Sky Steps (Art):
Camouge Steps: Perfection
Lightning Steps: Perfection
Misperception Steps: Perfection
Sky Steps: NONE
--
-Soul Shattering Eyes: [Perfection]
--
-Soul Piercing Bullets: [Perfection]
--
-Soul Guardian Barrier (Art):
[Soul Barrier: Perfection
Soul Guardian: High]
--
-Pick Pocket: [Perfection]
--
-Lock Eraser King Technique:
Lock Eraser Master: Perfectionist
Lock Eraser Grandmaster: Perfectionist
Lock Eraser King: None
--
-Thievish Soul Cord Control (Secret Soul Skill): Middle
--
-Thief''s Vision (Art):
Initial Thief''s Vision: Early
Intermediate Thief''s Vision: NONE
Advance Thief''s Vision: NONE
--
-Apparition Wind Walk (Art): 9 levels
Current level: NONE
---
[Cultivation Technique: 5]
-Heaven Stealer Technique: Volume 1
--
-Dual Shadow Swords: Complete!
--
-Heavenly Rune Crafter Foundational Manual: Complete!
--
-Soul Words [Despair Manual]:
1. Deep Despair Soul Words: 10.09%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
2. Extreme Despair Soul Words: 0.0%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
3. Deadly Despair Soul Words: 0.0%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
--
-Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Manual [First Vol]
Three Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Principles:
1. Treasure Dismantler Principles: Grade-2 Treasure Dismantler
2. Alchemy Dismantler Principles: Grade-2 Alchemy Dismantler
3. Runic Dismantler Principles: Grade-3 Runic Dismantler
---
[Law(s): 5]
-Despair (Initial): 10.09%
-Shadow (Initial): 10.01%
-Sword (Initial): 15.09%
-Psyche (Minor): 3.05%
-Lightning (Minor): 7.09%
--
[Eternal Provenance Treasure: 1/2]
-Name: Eternal Thief Fate Compass
-Type: Soul (Fate)
-Current Grade: Grade-4 (Upgradable)
[Grade-5 at 5th Soul Cultivation Realm (Golden Soul Core)]
-Status: Iplete (10% Complete)
-Ability:
1. Live Fate Map (Grade-4)
[NOTE: Next ability(s) unlocked at 20% Treasure Completion]
-Completion Scheme: 1 (Avable)
---
[Thief Point(s): 53,880,000]
---
[Mission(s): 1]
[Side Mission(s): 0]
=====
Ace was content when he saw all threews break into the initial levels ofprehension, especially the [Sword]w. He had really gained a deep understanding of the swordw in his epiphany.
While he also discovered something unusual, which was after his Law of [Shadow] and [Despair] crossed the 10% threshold, he could feel ''intent'' from them like the Sword Intent.
Furthermore, because of the Sky Sword Manual, he knew Sword Law could be fused by any element, which is the true nature of Element Sword Intent.
He guessed that as long as someoneprehends aw up to 10%, they can awake the intent of Law like a Law Intent, just like the Sword Intent.
The only reason he had never heard about a Law Intent was probably no one had ever awakened it, or the information might be top secret.
The Sword Intent was simply the mostmon Law since it was only a weaponw, not aw of element, which was far moreplex.
Ace can now fuse both Shadow and Despair Intent with his Sword Intent or even use them separately, akin to having two-element sword intents where the Despair Sword Intent was far more powerful than the Shadow Sword Intent.
However, Ace knew it wasn''t the limit of a Law Intent. He had this nagging feeling that it was just the most basic method of usingw intents, but s, he had no more epiphany pills, so he could only give up on exploring the mysteries ofws.
But if those Quasi Law Awareness Realm knew that Ace has three types ofw intent and already stumbled on the concept of Law Intents. They will vomit blood in anger since it will make their entire life worth meaningless in front of this young man''s six months epiphany!
Because the secret to entering the 8th realm was hidden within Law Intents, Ace had no idea about it!
After Ace was done mulling, he finally sent his consciousness into the thief''s house, where Noa and Freya were waiting for some answers.
He knew the matter of Heavenly Punishment had to remain hidden under the Goddess Trial sham, or if they knew they were going against Heaven itself, this might affect their mindset.
At least it was not the right time to disclose his status as the Eternal Enemy of Heaven!
Chapter 596 My Women?!
Noa and Freya were sitting in the main hall without speaking anything.
Freya had this sullen expression as she was still peeved about how she almost got charmed by Ace, but that strange feeling was still there; she could feel it!
As for Noa, her face was hidden behind the mask. Only her pitch-ck eyes were visible, and it was hard to guess what she was thinking.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Ace''s jolly voice rang.
He was in a good mood after breaking through and acquiring rewards.
Before Noa could utter a word, Freya shot a torrent of questions with pursed lips as she looked even more alluring, "What kind of Trial was that? And why does it look like some execution? And do we have to worry about it? And most importantly, how could you recover in three days from that state?"
"Alright, I''ll exin. Stop giving that death stare." Ace''s perplexed voice sounded, "First, that Trial was actually because of my special cultivation. You see, I can cultivate in both Martial and Soul paths. But it had consequences, like the one you saw three days ago.
"Every time I break through to a higher realm, I have to cross such Trial. There''s no way going around it!"
Freya''s beautiful eyespletely widened when she heard this unbelievable truth. She was simply gobsmacked. In contrast, Noa didn''t seem surprised since Ace had told her.
But she never thought cultivating in both paths could bring such a ''trial.''
However, she thought about how Ace could cultivate in both cultivation systems then she didn''t find this ''trial'' unfair. Everything has a consequence, and this wasn''t any different.
Ace continued, "As for if you have to go through such a trial or not, I don''t know yet. But since you can break through realms normally, then it''s clear you don''t have to worry about it for now.
"Even if something like this happened in the future, it wouldn''t be as dangerous as my Trial, and I can protect you from it so you guys can have your mind at peace. Lastly, after crossing my Trial, I naturally got rewarded and recoveredpletely with my breakthrough."
"Leader, what realm are you in right now?" Noa asked curiously. Since that ''trial'' was so dreadful, Ace had to have at least into the soul manifestation realm if notw awareness.
However, when she heard Ace''s reply, her eyes winded, "I broke through River Core Realm."
Freya also snapped out of her daze when she heard this and shrilled, "R-river core?! Then this means all this time you were in River Realm while doing all those thefts?! Are you kidding me!"
This was simply too unbelievable for them because they all thought Ace was at least a peak soul realm cultivator or even manifestation realm since he pulled all those thefts andpletely destroyed the demon race''s prestige.
But it turned out he was doing all this while being in the river realm. If the demons know, won''t they all will die of humiliation since they got destroyed by a River Realm brat?
Ace chuckled, "This is also one of the benefits thate with cultivating both paths together. I''m far stronger than normal cultivators and lucky, I guess."
Freya felt like her world turned upside down when she heard it and didn''t have more words to say anything. Her confidence in overtaking Ace''s position waspletely crushed.
Noa''s eyes shimmered with reverence and adoration since she only wanted to be strong for him and stay by his side.
"C-can we¡" Freya hoarsely spoke.
But before she couldplete her sentence, Ace''s coldly shut her down, "It''s impossible unless you can kill me, and it still will be impossible. Just be grateful for what you have, or you might lose everything if you desire everything!"
Ace knew what Freya would ask if they could cultivate both paths like him, but he knew it was impossible without the system.
This thought process will only get her killed if she develops malicious intentions toward the system. That''s why he coldly crushed her hope before her ambition got the better of her.
She was too ambitious, but she was going in apletely different direction with all this, which would only lead to her death.
Noa also shot a cold nce at Freya as she also felt Freya was going out of her ce this time.
Although Ace allowed Freya and Winter to eye his position so they could work hard, she didn''t like it.
Freya finally snapped out of her stupor as she got momentarily distracted by Ace''s prowess and wanted to have it as well. But she became sober when she thought about those thunder swords falling from the sky.
Does she even have the grit to pass such a trial?
She took a deep breath and lowered her head, "Please forgive me. I was way out of my ce. I''ll be retiring today, but if you need anything, just call me."
With that, she stood up and moved toward her personal space.
But a peculiar glint suddenly shed past deep within Freya''s cold eyes, ''If I can''t persuade that power, I should change my target¡.'' She vanished within her personal space.
Ace''s sighed ruefully, "Was I too hard on her?"
Noa shook her head and coldly said, "You should''ve done this long ago. The sooner they''ll know their ce, the easier it is for them to ept it."
Ace couldn''t help but raise his brows, "You sound like an autocrat, you know."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
A glint of unhappiness shed past Noa''s eyes, "And you didn''t know how to handle your women!" Noa snorted before standing up and shing into her personal space as she shut the door with a bam.
"Wait, my women?!" Ace was bbergasted by the swing in Noa''s mood, and she even retorted for the first time.
''Women are fickle, indeed.'' He smiled wryly as he stopped paying attention to the thief''s house.
But deep down, he knew what Noa was talking about. It''s just that he didn''t want to admit it¡
Ace then checked his thief''s space just to see how the little guy was doing.
When he saw he was resting on Page-09, he was relieved.
However, his eyes narrowed at this moment because his eyes fell over new golden-gray wording which had appeared at the top of the Page-09.
With a thought, Page-09 vanished from beneath Cyrus and appeared in Ace''s hand. The little guy was still sleeping, as he didn''t notice.
Ace looked at the new writing that emerged on the top center of page-09.
It was also written in ancient godnguage.
"[Avatar of Holy Twilight]"
Ace was even more curious about this mysterious page-09 and mused, ''These words appeared after it absorbed heavenly punishment. Could it be it needs more heavenly lightning to reveal the full set of words on the page? The only question is how much and what kind of information is hidden that needed heavenly thunder to get revealed?''
The more Ace thought about it, the morepelled he fell toward this mysterious page-09 and what was stored in it. But since he couldn''t do anything about it, for now, he put it away right under Cyrus with a thought.
Since heavenly thunder was needed to reveal the content of this page-09, he knew he still had a long way to go.
Afterward, a ck jade scroll and a ck crystal key appeared in his hand. They appeared after the elemental orb was torn apart by the system from the imperial demon scepter.
The ck crystal key was cold to touch, was 9 inches in size, and looked just like an ancient key. He tried imbuing Qi, but nothing happened.
So, he tried to look into the jade scroll. Anticipation shone in his eyes. He knew since this jade scroll was hidden within the imperial scepter, it had to be quite important.
Suddenly information appeared in his mind, just like the sky sword jade scroll.
''Secret Cultivation Art, Deity Lightning Strike.''
''Requirement to see the art, ''Soul Lightning Element.''
Ace was even more thrilled as he quickly changed his soul element to lightning and ethereal purple lightning started to cackle all over the jade scroll.
The next moment, the Deity Thunder Strike was revealed.
It was actually aw art but not at the same level as the sky sword. But it was probably one of the topw art of mortal sky heaven.
Thisw art could harness the power of Lightning Law, and then like a real lightning cloud, one can shoot down lightning from miles away!
Ace instantly remembered that lighting strike he saw in the Seal Castle, which shot down prince Martian that day.
''So, it was Deity Lightning Strike, huh? Just how far could Demon Emperor strike their opponent while hidden in his pce?''
Ace felt d and chill in his spine simultaneously because he wasn''t spotted that day or with Deity Lightning Strike; even his wings might not be enough to escape!
Chapter 597 Impending Danger! (1)
A week passed since Ace had crossed the Heavenly Punishment.
Today, two demons in the ck mountain demon institute''s robes appeared at the edge of the charred crater created by the heavenly thunder.
"Just what kind of beast caused this?" The fiery demon questioned as he looked at the sheer scale of destruction and felt his blood run cold.
The nightmare demon''s expression was also solemn as he replied, "At least peak manifestation realm cultivator. Furthermore, there is no trace left of any aura, so we could only guess. But since the Principal sent us here to investigate, he must''ve discovered something."
"However, this ce is too far away from the institute and is around the core region of the ck mountains. Only those three fellows could cause such destruction that could even alert the Principal so far away." The fiery demon sighed, "If not for the thief search, the principal won''t have even bothered sending us here and might''vee himself."
The nightmare demon sneered coldly, "We are constantly being pressured by the imperials day after day, and now they''re even starting to skim through the students of four institutes. I heard a few days ago they suspect a core grade student and then soul search him, turning him into a vegetable.
"The Principal waspletely helpless since two Grand Dukes were there. If anything, this just proves that the rumors about that thief robbing the demon temple might be true."
A hint of fear shed past the fiery demon''s eyes as he retorted in a low voice, "Don''t talk about it, or we''ll be in big trouble."
"Hmph, who can hear us in this wilderness?" The nightmare demon sneered.
"Is that a fact?" An aged voice suddenly startled both demons.
They instantly looked up at the sky, and their eyes widened in horror when they saw a giant figure hovering in the sky majestically.
The Demon Ancestor coolly stated, "It seemed you, little fellows, are forgetting about our past¡ sigh¡."
The next moment, the clear sky suddenly turned dark with ck lightning!
---
Meanwhile, Ace, who was already hundreds of miles apart from the crater and moving swiftly toward the edge of the demon continent, suddenly halted his step and looked back at the horizon with a frown.
"Why I''m feeling uneasy all of a sudden?" Ace mumbled in uncertainty, "It was the right choice not to go back just because I broke through. It is still too dangerous since the demons are still looking for me. I should leave as soon as possible."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Ace''s eyes shimmered sharply before he continued on his path. Right now, he wanted to leave the ck mountain range because even after he broke through, the fate map was still dyed red.
Even though the ck area was gone, it was still pretty dangerous to remain in this ce, and after the Thief Sense reced the old soul sense, Ace could sense danger in the one-mile radius even more clearly now.
Furthermore, now he could also feel a sense of danger while traveling in the ck mountain range, especially in the area he was currently in. He was at the bottom of a mountain rift, and there was no sign of life as eerie silence filled the ce.
Ace took this path because he didn''t want to climb that tall mountain. It was too time-consuming, and this rift was probably a shortcut.
However, when the night descent, the pathpletely enshrouded into darkness and fog, and now that he was this deep into this rift, he finally noticed that he was going further down, and the rift was at least a mile deep and even more.
Ace activated the live fate map again, now that thepass was at grade four, it could show traps and formation of grade-6 which was massively helpful to Ace, and its range was also increased to a mile radius with his thief sense.
These traps and formations included natural formations like the ones formed by an elemental orb.
But Qi consumption was still quite high even after his breakthrough, but it was much better than before.
At this moment, Ace''s eyes suddenly widened because a Light Silver spot suddenly appeared a mile away from his current position.
But this was also a red fate location, meaning this silver fate location might have a powerful existence hidden there or around the vicinity.
Because a silver fate location represented a treasure that benefits Ace, he won''t even think for a second that such treasures won''t be eyed by someone else. At this juncture, only a few things were helpful to him.
Still, he wanted to see just what it was, and he didn''t mind taking it if he could.
But first, Ace stopped and set up multiple concealment formations before he questioned the system, "System, do I have enough material to break into the Eighth Stage of my soul and martial cultivation?"
Ace wanted to wait before consolidating his cultivation, but he found he didn''t need to. Even after a week, there was nothing to consolidate, and his foundation was like an unshakable mountain.
So, he stopped hesitating and decided to increase his cultivation from stage-1 to stage-8 directly.
It would also increase his prowess greatly and his chances of acquiring whatever were hidden in this silver fate location, or at least he would be able to escape.
The system replied with a simple word, "[Yes!]"
Ace''s lips curled, and he said, "Alright, do it, but use all the grade-1 materials first before moving toward grade-2 and so on. Don''t use higher-grade materials before using all the lower ones!"
The systemplied, and the next moment, Ace felt a torrent of massive Heavenly Soul Qi, and Martial Soul Qi started to pour into his true soul and marital space.
Ace was paying attention to the sea river core in his martial space, which was revolving in the center of the Qi sea, and the Qi sea was revolving around it like a whirl.
At this moment, heavenly darkness Qi started to pour into the dark Qi sea core, and Ace noticed a faint dark blue ring right a centimeter down from the first dark blue ring that began to appear as more and more Qi got absorbed.
While in his soul core was getting redder and redder as more soul Qi got absorbed into it.
As more and more Qi entered his true soul and martial space, the materials he umted on the demon continent started to vanish at a terrifying speed.
When the second dark blue ring was fully condensed and the third was half done, all the grade-one materials were gone, and grade-2 materials turned into dust afterward.
After two hours, the fifth dark blue ring started to condense, and half of the grade-3 martial materials were gone while the grade-3 soul materials were already long gone, and now all those grade-4 soul crystals started to turn into dust.
After 15 hours, when the eighth dark blue ring was condensed, all the grade-4 and some grade-5 martial materials were exhausted, while all the grade-5 soul materials were gone.
Just these eight breakthroughs had cost Ace over half of his fortune!
Nevertheless, Ace would do the same even if he had another chance because right then, his soul core was double the size before as it looked like a crimson sun, and red soul Qi was ring over it like fire.
Not only that but Ace''s thief sense was now spread within a 3-mile radius!
Last but not least, the dark Qi sea core had eight shimmering dark blue rings all over it and a small space left at the bottom, which was for the ninth ring.
The vortex of the sea was even more ck at this moment as dark lightning was rumbling within Qi sea.
At this moment system''s voice rang,
=====
[Congrattion, host, on achieving the Eighth Stage of Heavenly Dark Sea Core Realm and Eighth Stage of Heavenly Red Wind Soul Core!]
[Host status has been updated!]
---
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea Core [Stage-8]]
[EXP: 0/150,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Heavenly Red Wind Soul Core [Stage-8]]
[SP: 0/150,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
---
(AN: 1st Stage = 1M/ 2nd Stage = 2.5M/ 3rd Stage = 5M/ 4th Stage = 10M/ 5th Stage = 25M/ 6th Stage = 50M/ 7th Stage = 100M)
=====
Ace''s eyelids shed open as dark lightning shimmered within them; he felt like he could kill a peak tinum soul realm cultivator with a single strike right now.
A cold smile suddenly appeared on his face as he was itching to find someone to test his strength, but he knew it was only the feeling because of his breakthrough.
But he was confident in hiding under the detection of manifestation realm cultivator now.
So, he no longer hesitated, and after collecting the formations, he activated the live fate map again, and a map covering a three-mile radius appeared.
He could literally ''see'' all the terrains, and he finally had a clear look at the silver fate location. He was astonished because in this silver fate location were three red fate points!
Chapter 598 Impending Danger! (2)
Ace saw the three red fate points and couldn''t help but frown because the terrain where this silver fate location was starting was actually inside the left mountain wall. Furthermore, it was a straight passage, and those three red fate points were all together in this passage. Nevertheless, he was still going to check this ce out since it was a silver-fate location.
Ace then made his way toward the passage while keeping an eye out for some other anomaly, but he didn''t encounter anything as he reached the entrance. But to his surprise, there was only a mountain wall like the rest of the rift.
If not for hispass, he would''ve missed this ce.
Ace then carefully started to examine the wall; no matter how much he examined, it was a solid mountain.
However, Ace quickly stopped touching the wall because one of the red fate points suddenly moved in the fate map. It wasing right this way, and the speed was quite terrifying.
Ace waspletely caught off guard, and he didn''t have time to prepare as a powerful soul sense suddenly enveloped the area.
He quickly activated his heartless stealth and used a concealment treasure to conceal himself. Ace then moved as far as he could from the passage.
The other party was probably an early-stage manifestation realm cultivator.
The Soul Manifestation Realm was divided into four stages, Early, Middle, High, and Peak. And each stage could make a world of difference in this realm.
The Soul Manifestation Realm was a massive milestone for any cultivator, and only someone with a peerless foundation has any chance of entering this realm. In contrast, someone with a perfect foundation has only a 5% chance with a stroke of heaven-defying luck in the mix.
In this realm, the lifespan of a cultivator would increase up to 5000 Years!
(AN: Natural Lifespan of 2nd Realm Cultivator = 250 Years / 3rd Realm = 500 years / 4th Realm = 1000 years / 5th Realm = 2500 years / 6th Realm = 5000 Years / 7th Realm = 10,000 Years.)
In the soul manifestation realm, a cultivator could make their soul manifestation anywhere outside their body within their soul sense or marital sense range for a short time, and those manifested souls can be used to attack.
However, this will also expose a manifestation realm cultivator to a bigger risk because if that manifestation soul gets destroyed or wounded, it will be akin to death in the former case and mortal soul injury in thetter.
That was why they would never expose their soul out in the open unless they confirmed that the other party was not a cultivator of a stage higher than them.
Because these manifested souls could only be wound byw-imbued attacks, not with the normal element Qi.
The difference between an Early Stage and a Middle Stage Soul Manifestation Realm could easily be detected from theirwprehension. Because to progress in the soul manifestation realm, one needed toprehend the same innate Element Law.
Lastly, the sword intent cultivators were dreaded by soul manifestation realm cultivators, and it was taboo to manifest their soul in the presence of a soul cultivator, even if that person was just a Qi soul realm cultivator.
Because sword intent was something that had the Law of Sword in it, and it was the easiest and most difficult form of aw intent. Easiest because a Weapon Intent can be cultivated with a deep understanding of a weapon.
Difficult becauseprehending a weapon''s intent couldn''t be done on a whim like other elementws just because you wanted toprehend it. Or everyone would be walking on the path of a weapon cultivator in this world.
Sometimes a cultivator who devoted his whole life couldn''t cultivate a weapon intent, and sometimes they simply develop it in the moment of battle.
Ace might be strong enough to fight or snuck up on an Early Stage Soul Manifestation Realm cultivator. But a soul manifestation realm with its soul or martial sense active was another story!
He could only hide since a soul manifestation realm, soul sense, or martial sense was quite prone to ill intent.
Ace stopped fifty meters away because that soul sense had be more powerful, and movement within might expose him. Since the other party hadn''t discovered him in his stealth, it meant he should be fine as long as he won''t make some excessive moment.
If pushes to shove, he could always use a space-step talisman.
But he didn''t feel much threatened because of his cultivation rise. If he was still in the Qi sea realm, he had no choice but to run with his full might under the soul sense of a soul manifestation cultivator!
Ace waspletely hidden within the darkness as he held his breath while he felt the soul sense still scanning the area.
A soul manifestation realm cultivator''s sense rang 10 Miles. It was quite hard to get away from one if they locked on someone.
Furthermore, if they deem you a harmless threat, they can easily manifest their souls as long as you are in the range of their senses and kill you!
Ace was also looking at the fate map, and he could clearly see that whoever this was, they were already standing at the entrance. But he didn''t see anyoneing out.
Soon, the soul sense dissipated, but the red fate was still at the entrance.
''Why is no oneing out? Is he wanted to bait me out of hiding by dissipating his soul sense?'' Ace''s lips curled slightly, ''It is indeed a good n, but even my thief sense could feel danger, much less the fate map, which is showing me exactly what the other party is doing.''
Ace decided to remain stoic. He could guess that the other party didn''t want to reveal the secret passage since it was hard to detect a soul sense or martial sense medium unless your sense was stronger than the other party.
Whoever was behind the passage only scanned the surroundings, and after not discovering anyone, they tried another method.
This only made Ace more curious about what was within the mountain.
Ace was calmly waiting while the live fate map was still on when his thief sense suddenly stirred as his entire body trembled in trepidation.
Because at this moment, he felt impending danger approaching, and when he looked at the live fate map, his heart turned cold because a ck fate point had entered the life fate map range, and it was heading in his way.
Most importantly, there was a red ring around this ck fate point, which meant an enemy!
Furthermore, the entire area suddenly turned into a ck fate location, except the silver fate location!
Without hesitation, Ace activated a space step talisman and teleported himself into the hidden passage.
Although it was dangerous but not as deadly as that ck fate point which had turned the entire terrain into ck except this hidden passage!
His thief sense was still ringing like morning bells. He had never felt this kind of danger except for the heavenly punishment before.
At this moment, just as he appeared at a 10-meter-wide cave passage, a ghastly pressure suddenly descended, which made Ace''s heart tremble because he had felt this pressure before.
''The hidden expert of Demon Temple, but how did he discover me?!'' Ace''s scalp tingled with trepidation when he suddenly remembered something, ''Shit, could it be I took out that key and jade slip out? That''s how he discovered my location?!''
This was the only possible exnation that could make sense, or it was all but a big coincidence, and this person might have been drawn here by the heavenly punishment and decided to check the entire area.
Ace thought that after the scepter was destroyed, it would be safe to take out that key and jade scroll, but if his guess was correct, he had invited the disaster himself!
Without hesitation, Ace ignored the pressure and headed deep within the cave passage since it was still silver. But his luck turned from bad to worse when a soul sense so deadly that he couldn''t even move toprehend the other party''s strength locked on him.
Furthermore, those remaining two red fate points were heading his way.
Without hesitating, hemanded grimly, "System, activate Devi''s Horn quickly!"
=====
[Devi''s Horn has been summoned!]
Devi''s Horn (Intermediate)
-Description: Able to summon Horns of Devil Horn Dark Owl!
-Ability: Undetectable Stealth in Mortal Sky Heaven!N?v(el)B\\jnn
-Status: Active
-Time: 00:00:59
=====
After his breakthrough, his summon abilities also upgraded. But the Devil''s Horn ability didn''t increase its activation time but only experienced a decrease in its cooldown time by five days.
Still, it was too long, and Ace didn''t want to use it, but right now, this was the exact situation where if he didn''t use it, he''d better prepare for death.
Suddenly, a pair of ethereal ck horns started to form on Ace''s forehead, and they were 1 meter long and shaped like a crescent moon.
The moment those horns manifested, Ace experienced that the danger he was feeling vanished, and the soul sense also lost its target!
Chapter 599 Impending Danger! (3)
Ace felt he had just escaped a certain death when that Soul Sense''s oppression was gone. But he knew the party wouldn''t be fooled so easily.
His only chance was for these three red fate points to draw the attention of this terrifying being while he found a way out of this sudden mess.
While the entire ce was dyed in ck on the fate map, with the exception of the silver area, it wasn''t hard to guess anymore as this location might be the only way out of there.
''If this silver fate point was really pointing out a way to escape from this expert, which would''ve happened if I chose to ignore it. Or it is not the way out at all. I can still use the space step talisman to teleport my way in this one-minute window.
''Because if there wasn''t any way out in this passage, then I''ll have to use my instant sh talisman.'' Ace knew he didn''t have to wait as the ck fate point was already at the entrance while the two red fate points were also close.
A deep voice reverberated at this moment like thunder, "I know you''re in there., you, sneaky little thief! You can no longer hide that space fluctuation from me!"
Ace''s heart palpitated when he heard this, and without hesitation, he used a space talisman to head deeper into the passage. He knew the other party was really here for him, and it wasn''t coincidental.
He hadn''t felt this threatened since the incident of treasure mountain in thend of Kingdoms!
This time, he appeared right behind those two red fate points and happened to see them storming toward the entrance.
His eyes contracted when he saw they were two white snakes with golden patterns on their scales. They didn''t seem to notice Ace at all.
"Boommm!"
A massive explosion rang, jolting the whole passage.
The same cold voice snorted again, "Annoying beast get out of my way!"
The two snakes suddenly trembled as a terrifying aura engulfed the entire passage, and Ace felt like he was in a freezingke.
The next moment, a giant figure appeared right above the teleportation spot.
Ace nearly forgot to breathe because the pressure was simply too terrifying around this giant person. A bright formation te was hovering in front of this person.
"I know you''re here. Juste out and surrender, and your life will be spared." The Demon Ancestor coldly looked around.
He didn''t know how but his soul sense was no longer locked on Ace. He knew he had locked on him for a moment, but he suddenly vanished. Likewise, he thought that it was because of that space ability, but now he still couldn''t detect Ace.
Which made him somewhat worried.
He had finally tracked Ace''s traces because of the formation in front of him. This formation was the only thing that could detect space fluctuations from an extremelyrge distance.
This formation was borrowed from the Devil Race; with it, he found traces of Ace in the ck mountains. But to his dismay, Ace had stopped using the space step talismans at that point, so he could only search without any clues again.
However, when the heavenly punishment case such a hugemotion, he was the first to notice it, and then he even sensed the key''s position for a small period of time, making hime in this direction.
This led him toward this rift, and when Ace used the talisman again, it was picked by the formation, making him even certain that it was Ace!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
As long as Ace wasn''t teleported to an extremely long distance, he could easily follow him with lightning-fast speed. He was determined to capture him and reim the scepter while also gaining Ace''s secrets!
Furthermore, he had a trump card which he wasn''t sure would work or not, but he''ll try it if Ace doesn''t surrender!
Ace, on the other hand, was shocked to see the Demon Ancestor appearing a few meters above him.
''He can retract my talisman potions with space undtions?!'' Ace waspletely appalled at this moment. He had never thought about this possibility.
Gritting his teeth, he still used the talisman to go deeper into the passage. There were still over 50 seconds left before the horn''s time ran out. He wanted to see why this ce was still silver.
If it still does not work, then he''ll use the instant sh to get out of there.
The formation te trembled at this moment before the demon ancestor looked deeper into the direction of the cave.
"Stubborn!" He snorted as he again chased.
However, Ace didn''t stop and kept using the talismans until he reached the end of the passage.
His eyes dted when he saw a dark slit right in the middle of space, and he could feel a dense Qiing out from this slit.
''A tear in space?! Could it be this is the fate location, and I can only escape using it!'' Ace''s mind raced as he could feel the Demon Ancestor approaching with a terrifying speed, and he''ll be here any second.
''Fate Map has never disappointed me before!'' Ace gritted his teeth and ran toward the space slit.
As he entered the space slit, it suddenly trembled before it started to get close.
But before it gotpletely closed, he was able to hear Demon Ancestor''s fleeting voice, which made him flutter.
"If you surrender, I can help you save your Sister Alina from¡."
"What?!" Ace twisted his head instantly as he looked behind and wanted to rush out, but the tear was gone. He fell intoplete darkness.
At this moment, he finally felt he wasn''t standing on solid ground, and before he could react, he felt a strange force gripping his body and started to pull him in all directions.
He felt like he was in a meat grinder as this force wanted to rip him into shreds while his body was being pulled in a particr direction.
At this moment, the System''s voice rang in his mind, which was in a mess because he heard Alina named out of Demon Ancestor''s mouth.
=====
[Warning: Host has fallen into Space Turbulence!]
[System detects a safe Teleportation Channel!]
[Cost: 20 Space Step Talisman & 1 Million Thief Points]
[Continue?]
--
[Detecting Host mind state in chaos!]
[Sufficient Resources detected!]
[The cost has been automatically deducted!]
=====
The next moment, Ace''s body suddenly vanished from the darkness.
A few moments after Ace''s body had vanished, a vertical eyeball appeared with a spiral iris that could make anyone fall into an endless illusion.
Seeing no one there, the spiral eyeball faded away!
---
A few moments ago, the Demon Ancestor felt a strange danger at the edge of this tunnel, making his eyes squint. He thought it was Ace''s trump card, so he stopped to ensure he won''t fall into his trap.
Ace''s abilities were all terrifying, and to this day, no one knows what his cultivation was or the extent of his abilities. But underestimating him is the biggest mistake at this point.
So, he decided to use his trump card immediately to ensure that guy won''t try the path of mutual destruction.
Although Demon Ancestor was a high and mighty expert, he was also afraid of death because of this exact reason, and he didn''t want to fall into the trap of someone with Ace''s reputation.
If he had known that Ace was only at the river core realm ording to their standards, he would never have stopped out of caution.
He loudly said, "If you surrender, I can help you save your Sister Alina from Dream Shatter!"
Demon Ancestor didn''t know if this was true or not, but an astonishing deration had been made a month ago by the Ice Lord, one of the Five Element Lords of the Blood Continent.
He dered that his daughter, the famous Ice Sword Fairy had ties with the thief, and because of it, she was captured and held hostage by the Dream Shatter, the Ancestor of the Human Race.
Ice Sword Fairy Alina was quite famous within the upper echelon of the ten continents because of her talent in sword path and Heavenly Beauty.
So, this news naturally shocked the entire world because the Sky Stealer had long be a mysterious enigma of thievery. As a result, many dreaded him, especially after the rumor of Demon Temple theft started to rise.
But no one had ever thought that the thief had ties with the Ice Sword Fairy, and from the announcement of the Ice Lord, he also stated that the thief was most likely a traitor of the human race, not a demon or hex demon.
However, what shocked everyone the most was the humans dared to leak this fact.
Weren''t they afraid of demons taking the fight to them to regain their prestige once they knew the elusive thief belonged to the humans and he even had a possible weakness?
Thest part of the announcement was if Ace won''te to Azure Wind Continent in 5 years and surrender, then Dream Shatter will execute Aline!
Chapter 600 Side Mission: 4
Unknown ce, inside a dark space, rune symbols suddenly lit on the floor, illuminating the entire area, a ten cubic meter wide stone room.
In the center of this room was a formation engraved filled with ancient symbols, which were now lit in bright light.
At this moment, a cloaked figure suddenly appeared in the middle of this formation like a ghost before those symbols slowly turned back to their dormant state as darkness and silence returned.
After an unknown time, two dark blue pupils suddenly glowed in this dark space as a confused voice groaned, "Where am I?!"
It was Ace''s voice!
Ace could clearly see despite the darkness as he saw a stone ceiling in a daze before his eyes became clear and turned icy cold when he remembered the words of Demon Ancestor.
''How did they know about Aline?! Don''t tell me she came back to find me in the Azure Wind Continent and then got captured by someone who knows about our rtionship? No, it''s impossible. No one knows about my true identity¡.''
A dark current shed past Ace''s eyes as someone came to his mind, and he gritted his teeth in hatred, ''It has to be that clone bastard! He must''ve guessed it was me by my thief''s name. But still, he didn''t know about Alina!'' Ace felt his heartache as the cute figure of little Alina appeared in his mind, ''Why did she get captured? Don''t tell me that bastard announced my identity, and that girl thought it was me and went back to find me.
''I was so obsessed with the missions that I forgot about paying attention to the outside world and how my identity could affect someone I cared about. I wanted to cultivate because I wanted to get united with her, but my terminus changed without even me realizing it. What a thief I am¡.''
Ace stared in the void for a long time as he didn''t want to get up, as he thought about his past when he didn''t know the truth about Alina, his parents, or himself.
But now that he thought about it, he started to change from a na?ve kid to a cunning thief because he liked that feeling of being free from any restriction. He was even free from heaven.
He hade a long way, but he never thought he would feel that same pain when he was that na?ve kid who lost his parents and grandparents and was also on the verge of losing his sister.
He never thought that even after learning to show a myriad of emotions and change his personality as he wished, he would still not get rid of this painful feeling he didn''t ever want to feel.
''Sigh¡ I should''ve gone to her sooner¡.''
An oppressive glint shone in Ace''s eyes before his lips curled upward into a dark smile, ''Since they knew her rtionship with me, they won''t hurt her, and they didn''t know if I still care about her after all these years. They will wait until they verify it since she is the only person who has a connection with me.
''I don''t know what kind of status Alina had in the blood continent. ording to the power hierarchy of the Blood Content, five elemental ns rule the continent, and one of them is rted to Ice Element Bloodline.
''But if she was from that n, then she should''ve been captured, or her status is low where they won''t care about her being used as bait to lure me out. Or the person who captured her is far stronger than they could handle.
''However, from that temple guy''s tone, he said he could help me save her, which means he''s confident in going against whoever captured her. But if, against all odds, anything happened to her¡.''
Ace''s eyes were extremely dark as a blood-curdling aura suddenly emitted from him before it vanished the next moment.
Ace knew he needed to figure out Alina''s whereabouts, so he needed to get out of this ce so he could rescue her or at least know who had captured her.
He then stood up, and now he was calm, too calm and cold, actually.
He looked around and noticed the rune formation under himself. Furthermore, he frowned since he had never seen these symbols before, and they were too profound.
Ace finally remembered hearing System''s voice and opened the notification panel, and his eyes narrowed when he saw words like ''Space Turbulence'' and ''Teleportation Channel.''
But he knew it had something to do with the space tear he jumped into because he thought it was the only way out, and it was also a silver fate point.
He sternly questioned the System, "System, where am I, and what is this space turbulence and teleportation channel?"
"[With the Host''s current authority, the concept of Space Turbulence is restricted information. But since the Host has already experienced it, the System will give a basic introduction.]
"[In simple words, Space Turbulence exists deep within space, and by tearing open space deep enough, anyone could enter Space Turbulence. However, surviving in space turbulence is another matter entirely.]
"[Without a certain level of Space Lawprehension, the Space Turbulence is akin to certain death. Even for someone who hasprehended Space Law 100%, it is deadly because the longer someone exposes to Space Turbulence, the higher the risk of turning into Space Current.]
"[Space Current is an invisible force which exists in Space Turbulence, and if someone is not careful, they can turn into Space Current instantly.]"
"[Just as the Host had already experienced the feeling of getting exposed to just at the minor level of space turbulence. If not for your body being tempered by the heavenly punishment or the Space Step Talisman, only the life coin would be able to save your life.]
"[However, the space tear Host fell into was very close to a teleportation channel. A teleportation channel is like a safe passage within the space turbulence paved by mighty space cultivators.]
"[These channels were used to travel into different dimensions within space turbulence like secret realms, hidden spaces, or independent spaces! They arepletely different from simple teleportation, which we used to teleport into a singr space in.]
"[Host is currently standing on top of a Dimension Teleportation Formation and probably inside a secret realm or independent space hidden deep within the space turbulence.]"
Ace cocked an eyebrow with a grim look in his eyes, "So, you''re saying I''m no longer in Golden Sky World?"
"[You are but no exactly. You are somewhere between the Mortal Sky Heaven and Space Turbulence!]"
"Then can I use this formation to go back?" Ace asked with a hint of anxiety. He wasn''t in the mood to explore anymore right now.
All he wanted to do was to go back and investigate Alina and where she was.
"[Host required 3 Grade-8 Space Crystals and a corresponding Teleportation Channel Activation Key to activate this Dimension Teleportation Formation. Even if the Host collects them, there is still a possibility that the other side of the formation has been destroyed!]"
Ace knit his brows together with a dark expression, "Then how the hell am I going to get out of this ce?!"
Ace was almost on the verge of losing it again because not to talk about the possibility of this formation being destroyed on the other side. But just finding three grade-8 space crystal were almost impossible, not to mention that Activation Key, which god know where it is right now.
"[Host can try looking for an Independent Space Core, which should be at the core of this space. As long as the Host destroys that Core, this space will merge into Mortal Sky Heaven. Any independent space will be devoured by heaven once it loses its Independent Space Core!]"
"You should''ve said that sooner!" Ace snorted since it was far easier than looking for something impossible.
"Where should I find this core?" Ace asked again.
However, instead of answering, he was greeted by a suddenly appeared panel and a notification.
=====
[A side mission has been issued]
=====
''Fuck!'' Ace knew he had been had!
=====
[Side Mission: Escape the Mysterious Space!]n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
--
-Mission Introduction: The Host has stumbled upon a mysterious space that is filled with the unknown!
-Requirement: Find a way to escape the mysterious space!
--
-Time: 3 Years
--
-Reward(s):
1. 10 Million EXP
2. 10 Million SP
3. 1,000,000 TP
-Conditional Reward:
1. Collect Independent Space Core to upgrade Living Thief''s Space to 1,000 Cubic-Meter Space + 5 Humanoid Storage Capacity!
--
-Punishment: Living Thief''s Space blocked for 50 Years!
=====
"I knew you were being too nice by sharing that information, you scheming bastard!" Ace cussed and sighed while he closed the mission panel.
Even though he was indignant, he was grateful since the System had provided him with essential information about where he was and what he needed to do to escape this ce, or he would''ve wasted too much time to find this solution.
Furthermore, the conditional reward is quite a boon, far better than collecting 100 grade-8 storage rings and paying 50 million TP to upgrade the thief''s space through the upgrade scheme.
He didn''t even know it was possible!
Chapter 601 Scout Mission
Since Ace knew he was now stuck in some unknown space, he couldn''t investigate Alina''s situation.
So, he decided to take another approach. He called Winter, who was still in the Golden Sky World and should be able to do the job.
Soon, Winter''s vexed voice rang in his head, "You better be calling me because you''re here to pick me up."
Ace sighed and apologetically said, "I''m afraid I won''t be able to anytime soon."
"Why?" Winter sounded displeased since she had no idea what was going on because she was still hidden deep inside the dark forest country.
Although the environment was not bad, she still liked her personal space in the thief''s house far more.
"I have entered some secret realm and am now stuck for some time." Ace stated helplessly.
Now that he was calm, he couldn''t help but feel it was probably for the best because, at that time, if the Demon Ancestor had revealed about Alina before he entered the space tear, he most likely would''ve surrendered in the moment of heat.
That action of his would''ve caused him almost everything, so he was now d he took this road of silver fate location and given the time to calm down.
"How in the world did you get there? Don''t tell me this secret realm is inside the imperial domain?" Winter was astonished when she questioned.
"No, I had escaped the imperial domain long ago, and I was just on my way to pick you up when¡."
Ace simplified the events that urred when he escaped the imperial domain and how he entered a space tear while running from Demon Ancestor.
Winter couldn''t help but exim, "You''re one lucky b¡ I mean thief!"
Ace snorted and sternly said, "I don''t call you to collect your cursed praises. I want you to leave that ce and investigate someone from me. I''ll issue a mission if you agree. Or you can stay there until Ie out, but if you agree, I''ll owe you one."
Winter fell into deep thought before her voice rang, "Who do you want me to investigate?"
"A hunter name Alina Silver. She''s probably from the Silver Ice n of Blood Continent, so it shouldn''t be hard. And if I''m correct, she''s quite famous because of me right now. Just find anything you can and contact me, especially if she''s in danger and in how much exactly." Ace solemnly stated.
Winter intrigued voice rang, "Who is she to you?"
Ace''s coldly said, "Family!"
"You have a family as well, and you even care about her. This is definitely a piece of news." Winter felt she had discovered something unbelievable.
In fact, she or any member thought Ace didn''t have anyone, or he didn''t care about them, and he hadn''t told them about his past. So, now that Alina came into the picture and she was even in danger, this naturally astonished Winter.
"Cut the chitchat and just tell me can you do it or not?" Ace asked in exasperation, as he was not in the mood to joke around with Winter, especially when Alina''s safety was involved.
He could''ve easily manipted Winter by giving her a mission with the death penalty, but he didn''t and asked for her opinion instead.
Because he didn''t want to turn into a tyrant or threaten his house members for his selfishness, they were here to help him in his thieveries, not to solve his personal problems with his family.
They were also people he could trust, and he never thought of them as tools to dispose of. So, unless he had no choice, he won''t threaten them with death, or once he started, there won''t be a turning back.
He was ruthless to those who threatened him but not to those who stood behind him.
Winter snorted unhappily but still agreed, "The reward better be worth it."
Ace agreed without hesitation, "Don''t worry, I know the risk. I''m d you agreed, though."
"Hmph, don''t celebrate too soon." Winter scoffed with a tingle of happiness.
Ace then cut the call and started to create a mission for Winter.
=====
[Thief House Leader Mission Creation]
-Mission: Scouting MissionN?v(el)B\\jnn
-Scouting Mission: Find information on Alina Silver!
-Requirement: Found anything about Alina Silver of Hunter Race!
-Reward: 500,000 House Points
[NOTE: Maximum Reward Limit has been reached for this option!]
-Time: 2 Years
[NOTE: Maximum Time Limit has been reached for this option!]
-Punishment: None
---
[Are you sure you want to issue this mission to Excellent Member, Winter Fox?]
[Send/Edit Again]
=====
Ace sent the mission without hesitation and sighed with some relief. At least now he had Winter to look for Alina while he figured out how to escape this ce.
Furthermore, he knew Winter was perfect for this job, and the moment he got out, he could go on with Alina''s rescue with Winter''s information.
Without wasting any more time, he activated the live fate map. There was no door inside the small room, and only the formation was engraved.
It waspletely blocked by walls, and thief sense was also not picking up anything. So, only the map was left, which should be able to show him the way out.
Just as he thought the moment fate map appeared, he found a long pathway behind the left wall, which was even longer than 3 miles radius as it went straight. Lastly, it was dyed red, and there was no other way!
Ace frowned, but he knew this was the only way out, so he had to take the risk.
''I only have 16 space step talismans left after myst expense, and I''m out of materials, so I can''t use them recklessly anymore. I won''t use them unless it is a life and death-situation!'' Ace thought.
But before opening the path, he ordered the system, "System use the intermediate item upgrade token on Thievish Soul Cord!"
Before, he was saving the intermediate item upgrade token because he still hadn''t decided what he should use it on, but now the choice was obvious.
Since the ck-de swords were now out of the picture and he didn''t need the thousand-face mask for the time being.
So, he chose the Thievish Soul Cord because it was already a Grade-6 soul weapon, and with the upgrade token, it would be a Grade-8 soul weapon!
Chapter 602 Innate Soul Ability: Thief’s Mark
Ace wanted to use the intermediate item upgrade token on the thousand-face mask first, but he saved it when he thought about the Thievish Soul Cord would reach the grade-8 if he used it on it.
But he still hesitated, so he decided to use it on the base of his situation.
Now that he was in this unknown secret realm, he needed a strong weapon, and the ck de swords were no longer summoned at this moment.
So, the thievish soul cored was the beast choice that could restrain enemies, and with it upgrading to grade-8, he would be virtually unstoppable!
The system instantlyplied after receiving Ace''s order.
======
[Intermediate Item Upgrade Token has been used on Thievish Soul Cord!]
---
[Thievish Soul Cord upgrade has beenpleted with the item upgrade token!]
--
[Thievish Soul Cord: Grade-8 Soul Weapon]
-Ability(s):
-Flexible & Inflexible (Depend on Heavenly Soul Qi)
-Size Increase & Decrease (Depend on Heavenly Soul Qi)n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
-Soul Restrain
-Concealment (New)
-Soul Binding (New)
-Soul Shackle (New)
-Soul Capture [Restricted] (New)
[Restricted: Can''t use with current realm!]
7. Soul Kill [Restricted] (New)
[Restricted: Can''t use with current realm!]
--
-Limit(s): Grade-9 or higher Soul Weapon, Grade-9 or higher Runes!
======
New information about the abilities started to enter Ace''s mind, and not only that, but another part of Thievish Soul Cord Control-Final appeared with all those memories.
Ace was astonished since he didn''t think grade-8 would bring such a massive change in the Thievish Soul Cord.
Although thest two abilities were restrained by the system but just the newly opened ability was enough to make Ace''s heartbeat race. He was really d he decided to upgrade the Thievish Soul Cord.
He looked at his wrist, and a translucent bracelet materialized with a beautiful ethereal ck pattern on it.
He no longer needed to hide it with anything because now it had an innate concealment function that couldn''t be detected unless a grade-9 scanning formation was used!
Ace then made it disappear again, but now he could feel a connection with it and control it even more swiftly.
After he was done with the upgrade, he looked at the wall, which had a passage behind it.
Suddenly, the Martial Thief Sword Core in his martial space trembled slightly before dark swords in the same shape as his long sword started to materialize behind him. It was the Hundred Shadow Mirage of Dual Sword Mirage Art.
However, those swords were no longer mere mirages but real, and they were filled with martial shadow sword intent!
This was the realm of Sword in Mind, where he could control the sword with thought, and he no longer needed to hold any hold to make use of sword intent in this realm.
When Aceprehended the sword intent, he discovered thatw intent could be used with both martial and soul Qi.
With the Qi you used them with, they would be either soulw intent or martialw intent, and the Sky Sword Manual was also built around this concept that any cultivator with either martial or soul sword intent could cultivate it.
It was like a unique cultivation method, and Ace guessed that it was probably a cultivation technique from higher heaven.
Whichever the case was, this inspired him to create both sword cores for the soul and martial path since he could use both types of intents.
Lastly, Ace also saw the endless path for his sword cores when heprehended the full sword intent and created the sword cores. He even imbued his Dual Sword Mirage Art and Dark Life Plexus Sword Art into it.
As for the Sky Sword, it would also be going to be the foundation and part of his thievish sword path.
So, he called this new technique which would be based on his Martial Thief Sword Crore and Soul Thief Sword Core¡
''Eternal Thief''s Swords; Martial Sword Wave!''
The next moment, a hundred swords behind him shed in dark streaks and diced the entire left wall.
Then the thievish soul cord suddenly shot from his sleeve, and like a whip, itshed onto the diced wall and sted open a dark tunnel before returning to Ace''s sleeve.
Ace then waited and looked at the map, and when no one appeared, he finally moved and closed the fate map to preserve his soul Qi. His thief sense should be sufficient in the red fate map location.
He can always activate it again when his thief sense picks up something.
But before Ace left, he looked at the teleportation room, and his eyes suddenly turned pitch ck!
Suddenly, a tiny thief symbol appeared within the formation''s symbols before it vanished without a trace.
Afterward, Ace''s eyes turn back to normal. He just used the Thief''s Mark innate soul ability he awakened after forming the red soul core!
=====
[Thief''s Mark]
[Description: Brand anything with a special Thief''s Mark, which could be detected from anywhere as long as the Thief''s Mark exists!]
[Limitation (1): Thief Mark can only be used on Living Beings with weaker souls than Host, and it will vanish after the victim''s death or if the victim''s soul strength surpasses Host''s!]
[Limitation (2): Thief Mark can be used on any non-living being but can be destroyed with the non-living being.]
[Limitation (3): Martial Sense, Soul Sense of 7th Realm, and Rune Symbols of Grade-7 can detect the presence of Thief''s Mark!]
[Current Thief''s Mark Limit: 50]
=====
This ability was quite useful for treasure or person tracking as long as no one discovered it.
Ace used a thief''s mark in this room just in case he might discover the material to use the formation, and then he even used a concealment formation to hide it just like before. Although he didn''t know it should be hidden for a reason.
Afterward, Ace used lightning steps and moved toward the only passage around here, which hopefully led to the exit.
Because even above three miles or below, he couldn''t feel anything, and this was the only way open!
Chapter 603 Way Toward Surface
In the dark passage, which was 3 meters in diameter, Ace moved like lightning as his speed was even faster than a peak soul realm cultivator.
However, Ace felt amiss as he moved farther away from the hidden teleportation room. But even after he used the fate map, he couldn''t find any enemy.
There was just a red passage in front and back, not fate points.
However, when half a day passed, and he still didn''t find any kind of blockade ahead or end of the passage, even cross paths, he started to feel anxious. No matter how much he looked, the passage looked the same.
It was like an endless tunnel.
At this moment, Moira''s hesitant voice rang in Ace''s mind, "Um¡ Sir. Ace, I think something is not right."
Ace was stopped in his tracks with a grim look on his face, "Do you find something?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
He knew Moira would remain silent until she had something important to report and her warnings were as urate as the system.
Moira softy said, "You know I can''t see through high-level formations, right?"
Ace squinted his eyes as he also thought of something, "Don''t tell me we are in the middle of some Grade-7 formation?"
"I''m afraid we are, or at least we are not on normal terrains. It is either a natural formation or manmade. But we are not in normal terrain." Moira stated her worries.
Ace frowned, "Do you think this formation is active right now?"
He couldn''t be sighed bitterly since it would be too difficult to escape an active formation that even Moira couldn''t see through.
But it was still unclear if Moira''s conjecture was true or not since if this were really a grade-7 formation and active at that, then he would be able to sense it. But he only had this uneasy feeling.
"No, I don''t think so. But this path is quite strange. How about you try taking another path? If this is really an inactive formation, then going into another direction which is not part of this formation could help us break the formation''s lingering effect if we managed to escape its range." Moira suggested.
Ace''s expression fell, "So, are you suggesting I should dig my way out of here?"
Moira thoughtfully stated, "At least it would be better than wasting time, and since we are underground, then going upward would eventually let us reach the surface. Or if you somehow enter the active part of this formation, then it would be a disaster!"
Ace fell into contemting silence since Moira had a point. Since he was still in an inactive part of the formation then, he should try to avoid the active part, especially a formation in some hidden space.
So, Ace decided toply with Moira''s suggestion and try tunneling his way from the right wall toward up.
However, digging a tunnel toward the surface was not just anyone could do, especially Ace, who had never fallen into such a situation before. But this didn''t mean he didn''t know how to dig.
He used his Qi swords to open a path and store the debris in an empty storage ring.
Although it was Qi and time-consuming as he dug his path upward, that strange feeling started to fade, and he knew Moira was right.
? That teleportation room was probably hidden by someone within a powerful formation, so they would remain trapped there even if someone managed toe here.
But then the formation stopped working close to the area of the hidden room.
This could only mean either the formation waspletely destroyed by something, or it has been too long; the formation had stopped functioning properly.
Whichever the case might be, Ace didn''t want to find out because whoever had made the dimension teleportation formation would be a scary existence, so it won''t leave its safety to a low-level formation.
After digging for a whole week, Ace was finally exhausted and could no longer see the red passage beneath him. So, he was quite deep into his self-made tunnel toward he surfaced.
But he still couldn''t see the surface, and the Qi density here became thinner as he moved toward the surface. But this wasn''t a problem for Ace as he could simply turn resources into heavenly Qi, and he had more than enough.
After resting for a whole day, Ace started to tunnel his way toward the surface again, and just as a month passed.
Ace has almost be an expert in digging with his sword intent, and it made his control over it more refined, so he didn''t mind continuing digging.
It was a rare chance for him to use his sword intent so much, and he took it as sword training which he hadn''t had in a long while.
Ace started to wonder just how deep underground that teleportation room was and just what kind of ce he was in exactly.
However, today he entered an area with soft soil, and it was no longer solid stone anymore. This also means he can no longer make the tunnel recklessly or might get buried in this long tunnel.
So, he carefully started digging in the soft soil and used the stones he had collected to stabilize the passage.
This decreased his speed and increased his energy concussion, but he knew he was close to the surface.
A week passed when Ace activated the fate map to see for any chance like every day, and his eyes brightened because a gray area had appeared just a mile above him!
He was almost sick of digging this tunnel and exhausted because he had to control his strength while digging and then storing the soil not to get blocked by it. Now he finally saw the end of this rathole!
But Ace didn''t start digging instantly and started to recover his strength since he didn''t know what kind of ce he was in, and he needed to be on top of his game!
Chapter 604 Dark Space
After Ace rested for three whole days, he was finally at this peak condition and started to make his way toward the surface.
However, his joyous expression became sober when he was only five hundred meters away from the surface because the surrounding soil started to be wet, and as he moved slightly more upward, he was now dealing with y.
''Don''t tell above me is a water body?'' Ace knew it was likely the case.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Now, if he dug any further, it was most likely that this ce would sweep by water, and he might wash all the way down or, even worse, this entire passage crash.
So, Ace decided to use another method. Instead of digging like before, he took out a grade-5 barrier formation and covered himself and the walls with that barrier like a sporting pir.
Afterward, he started digging again while the formation barrier supported the passage.
Soon, he was only ten or so meters away from reaching the surface, and he was surrounded by water and mud. He quickly appeared out into the open body of water surrounded by the formation barrier.
But he didn''t disarm the barrier because he knew the moment he did, it would create a massive whirlpool around the water, so he left it active, and it would stop working when the Qi stones ran out, which would give him ample time to get out of this water.
Ace found himself floating in dark water, and he could feel a massive water pressure which could only mean that he was deep underwater.
While keeping the live fate map active, he started to swim toward the surface as there was no trace of light.
But since it was a gray area, it was rtively safe to assume that there shouldn''t be any creatures around him that could threaten his life.
As he moved upward, the surrounding pressure started to decrease, and after swimming up for three hours, Ace finally noticed some change in the dark waters.
Thereby, Ace''s head emerged on the surface as he finally breathed, but all the thrill of finally being able to reach the surface soon died down when he noticed the strange surroundings.
The first thing he noticed was there wasn''t any trace of light around him, as it waspletely dark. Second, as far as he could see, there was nothing but water around him.
Lastly, there was no wind or Qi to speak of. He was breathing Qi-less air, which made him wonder just what of a secret realm he had fallen into. Even the underground passage had Qi, probably because of that mysterious formation.
He even thought about returning down, but he quickly threw the idea out. That ce was far more dangerous!
At this time, Ace felt something. It was his fortune sense!
It started topel him to go toward the east direction all of a sudden.
Then he finally noticed that the dark golden indicator was also pointing in the east direction at this moment which clearly wasn''t when he was still in the underground.
If not for his Fortune Sense, he probably won''t have even noticed it either and simply thought that it was still pointing out in the direction it locked in the mortal sky heaven.
But because of his Fortune Sense, he knew the location had changed!
"Moira, can the location of the indicator could be changed?" He couldn''t help but question.
Moira replied, "Fate is unpredictable, and Sir. Ace''s fate is even more special, so it''s not surprising for the fate location to change ording to your circumstances.
"Remember, the Live Fate Map can indicate you in the best direction where you should go to find a fortunate opportunity that will be most suitable for you, or it could also be a thing that you desire or something that can help you in the future."
Ace felt like an idiot since he was asking the obvious, so he only smiled wryly before his eyes turned sharp as he looked toward the east.
Ace waved his sleeve, and the next moment, a small blue sailboat appeared floating on the water''s surface. On the ck sail was the symbol of the Imperial Demon Family!
This sailboat belonged to Ronan, and it was an intermediate grade-6 treasure nheless!
Ace wanted to use this boat to exit the demon continent, but he never thought he would use it in this unknown dark space.
He then exited the water andnded on the small deck. There was a small cabin which was also the control room of this treasure sailboat.
Ace then used his Qi to dry himself while the deft thief''s robes werepletely dry.
He then moved toward the small cabin, which was actually a luxury room befitting of an imperial demon prince''s status.
Ace needed to install some grade-5 Qi stones, and the boat was good to go. He set the boat in the direction the fate map indicated and then settled down.
''Just how big this ce must be? If the system hadn''t informed me, I would''ve thought of it as the real world. Come to think of it is my first time venturing into an independent space like the fiery hell secret realm¡'' Ace thought as he looked outside the calm dark space and sea.
Although there was no danger around him, he didn''t dare to let his guard down or do anything else.
He suddenly thought of something before he flipped his hand, and little Cyrus appeared in his palm. The little fellow''s eyes were still closed before they trembled slightly and opened, rivaling tiny gleaming sky-blue eyes.
After Ace''s breakthrough Cyrus also, breakthrough and directly reached the peak of the Soul River Core Realm.
However, when they nearly got caught in Ace''s heavenly punishment, Cyrus had to use his undevelopedher fire to break free from the heavenly punishment''s restriction.
Which had left the little fellow exhausted, and he was resting from that day.
However, now he waspletely recovered after sleeping over Page-09 as its fine ck plumage had grown slightly, and the small patch of dark blue hair that looked like a crown was also deepened.
"Master!" Cyrus chirped happily when he saw Ace!
Chapter 605 Helpless Demon Ancestor
Ace couldn''t help but feel guilty as he looked at cheerful Cyrus because ever since he was born, Ace hasn''t let him out, and the time he did was when he was in trouble and nearly put him in immense danger.
Now that he had time to think about it, after Alina''s incident that how his ambition had grown, he also noticed that he had be somewhat cold and even a little bit ruthless.
Ace had never thought bing a thief and constantly pretending to be someone would affect his own personality and feelings. He didn''t want to turn up like someone who didn''t have their own emotions and always hid behind fake emotions and lies.
So, he decided to change his ways a little bit so at least he couldn''t lose the real him. The incident with Alina was a great wakeup-call for him to notice his own change.
Will he still be the Old Ace if he loses his own personality? Will he continue to be fake around Eva and Alina?
He didn''t want that!
Ace looked at Cyrus as his mask vanished, revealing his handsome face, and smiled gently, "From now on, you can remain with me and learn how to be a little thief!"
Cyrus''s tiny eyes glow with uncertainty. He could feel Ace''s loneliness deeply hidden behind his smile.
"Is the master being bullied by someone? Let me burn them!" He quickly said grimly as he suddenly released his soul sense, giving Ace a startle since he could feel the oppression like never before!
Ace chuckled while touching Cyrus''s little head, "Do you think I can be bullied?"
Cyrus''s eyes shone in realization, "Oh, so you''re sad because you bully Big Sister Freya?"
"Maybe." With a wry smile, he put him over his shoulder and looked outside, and mumbled, "Sadness is sometimes a good thing to remember who you truly are¡."
Cyrus was more confused, like a little child, as he didn''t discover anyone around and became somewhat curious, "Where are we? It''s so suffocating to breathe!"
Ace knew Cyrus was talking about the absence of Qi and answered, "I don''t know either, but we need to get out of here as soon as possible so that I can rescue my sister."
"Oh, is Big Sister Freya or Big Sister Noa in danger? I''ll burn everyone who dares to bully them. Of course, not you, master. Only you can bully them." Cyrus seriously stated.
"No, they are fine. I was talking about another big sister." Ace chuckled.
He felt much better as he talked with Cyrus, who was native and curious as they journeyed toward the unknown east direction.
---
At this moment,
Demon Ancestor''s figure was hovering in the sky as he looked toward the vast sea, which was filled with turbulence, water waves, and whirls.
After Ace mysteriously ''vanished'' from the cave, he thought that he had again used his space ability again. However, to his dismay, the formation didn''t pick any space undtion this time.
He nearly went berserk and destroyed the entire hidden cavern, as well as turned those three beasts into a bloody mist.
After he again started an aimless search, and now he was at the edge of the continent, and if Ace had really escaped through here, then he was gone for good!
He suddenly flipped his giant hand, and arge ckmunication cube appeared, and he activated it.
Soon, a husky voice rang, filled with vexation, "Just tell me you found the key?"
Demon Ancestor''s hoarsely replied, "I was so close, but he somehow escaped again!"
"Even the grade-8 formation was useless?" The husky voice sounded with a tingle of astonishment and disbelief.
Demon Ancestor grimly answered, "No, it led me right to him, but then he vanished out of thin air. It might be one of his trump cards."
"I don''t know just how could such a person even appear among the human race again!" The husky voice sighed.
Demon Ancestor sneered, "Do you believe he''s really from the human race? I even used that so-called sister Dream Shatter caught, but he still escaped without even flinching. I don''t think he''s the person they''re iming him to be, and he''s from the witch race!"
"No, I had confirmed that it was indeed the person they are iming him to be, and after some deeper investigation, things are turning out to be even more absurd." The husky voice sounded grim.
"Even absurd then he managed to get his hands on the key?!" Demon Ancestor yelled angrily.
The husky voice replied deeply, "Remembered the White Crown?"
Demon Ancestor was started when he heard this name which he hadn''t heard for a long time. He replied, "Are you talking about the hidden force that Humane Sage vus established in his heydays?"
"Heh, yes, the same one. ording to our spies, it came as a surprise that the thief probably belongs to one of the experts hidden in White Crown, and he carries a secret cultivation technique that is even stronger than vus''s soul cultivation technique!" The husky voice was filled with longing.
"What? No wonder that brat is so bizarre and could use space techniques. It is probably rted to the technique he carries. No wonder the humans wake that Prime One fellow¡ it''s all making sense now." Demon Ancestor, as a wily old fox, quickly connected the dots.
"But it still won''t solve the lost key problem!" He sneered.
The husky voice replied, "No, I think that thief will go to the human continent to save that girl. There is an eighty percent chance of it happening.
"So that you know, I was invited by Dream Shatter. He wanted to share that technique with us since we were unable to acquire vus''s technique''sst part when he dealt with that Empty Dream!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Are you asking me to go there as well?" Demon Ancestor darkly retorted, "I can''t just leave everything to chance since my life force is quickly depleting without the Key, so I can''t just stroll around like you!"
The husky voice deeply replied, "Heh, you still don''t get it, do you? ording to Dream Shatter, the White Crown''s hidden base had been discovered, and if he could get our hands on that boy''s love one, and I mean true lone ones, then he''ll have toe.
"But they are quite mysterious, so I need you to be there. It''s far better than searching for a needle in a haystack!"
Chapter 606 The Mysterious Tower
The North-East Coastline of the Royal Demon Nation, the Forbidden Forest, was still surrounded by a thickyer of mist and as abandoned as ever.
Only the sounds of waves and sea breeze could be heard in this barren part of the Royal Demon Nation.
However, in the darkness of night, right outside the mist, a ck-d figure appeared. His blue eyes, filled with ancient wisdom, shimmered in tion as he looked at the mist.
An old voice suddenly rang in his head, "We finally found the third part of our soul!"
"Hmph, if only you didn''t hand over our soul wisp, then it would be a more joyous asion!" The figure hoarsely transmitted with a hint of anger.
"I''m as aggravated as you about the sudden disappearance of the soul contract, but don''t forget, as long as webine at least two pieces of our soul wisp, we''ll be able to sense the soul wisps'' direction directly.
"So, even if that boy died and someone took the soul wisp, or he had hidden it somewhere, we''ll be able to get it back. It''s not like anyone could destroy our soul wisp or hide it in some treasure!" The old voice coldly retorted.
"Why do you think I''m still calm if I hadn''t known about this?" The figure sneered, "But we better leave after collecting the third soul part. This ce is enshrouded in a bloodline detection formation, and we can''t go undetected for long!"
"What do you expect from the Demons? Those bastards are cohort with Devils, and from Ancestor''s personal directives, he left a strange warning, ''They are like two sides of the same coin!'''' The old voice sternly dered.
"I didn''t have that memory. I just hope this one had the memories of theplete Psyche Invasion. This way, it will be easier to recover the reaming two parts, and I''m sure one of the soul parts is in the hand of that traitor, Dream Shatter!" Killing intent shed into his eyes, and his voice was filled with deep hatred.
"Then let''s recover this part and leave!" The old voice was alsoced with killing intent.
The next moment purple Qi surrounded the figure before he vanished into the mist¡
---
In the dark environment of the mysterious independent space, a sailboat was swiftly moving in a seemingly endless dark sea.
A muscr figure sat on the rooftop of this sailboat''s cabin with a small chick on his shoulder. They were naturally Ace and Cyrus.
It had been their 25th day since they started heading north, and Ace didn''t know just how much distance they had covered, but with the sailboat''s speed, it was probably hundreds of miles, if not thousands.
However, he didn''t lose his calm and patiently waited as he traveled in this silence and dark space. On the other hand, Cyrus was quite happy because he got the chance to travel with Ace, and he chatted endlessly like a curious child.
Ace was also happy to have Cyrus as hispany, and he got the chance to teach him aboutmon sense and the way of thieves. He even managed to coax him into stop calling him master and Bro instead.
At this moment, Cyrus''s tiny eyes suddenly lit him as he chirped before eximing in his childish voice, "Bro, look, there''s light!"
"Yeah, I see it." Ace''s eyes were also glowing in tion as he looked at the horizon.
There was a bright light that was like a beacon in this dark ce and hard to miss, just like a lighthouse. He didn''t know the distance, but he knew it was probably quite far.
Nevertheless, since there was light, there was the possibility of life.
Ace looked at the fate map and the indicator, and it was pointing him in the light''s direction.
"We should reach there in three or four days. Let''s hope the people are there friendly." He chuckled while his eyes were filled with sharp intent.
He was determined to get out of this ce, and anyone who stood in his way will be courting death.
Cyrus was also excited since he was tired of seeing this dark space, "I''ll burn them if they don''t listen to bro!"
"Just remember not to talk in front of anyone and use mind transmission." Ace smiled and told the little guy.
"I''ll listen to bro!" Cyrus quickly agreed.
However, Ace''s expression changed when he was only a day away from the light because he could now vaguely see just where the light wasing from.N?v(el)B\\jnn
It was a massive round tower in white color, probably asrge as the Demon Temple, and the top of this tower was lit in bright white light.
''What kind of ce is this?'' Ace thought gravely while looking at the high tower.
Time quickly passed, and Ace was now only a mile away from the tower.
Now that he looked closely, he felt that this tower was even wider, probably 10 miles wide and higher than the demon temple.
Furthermore, this tower was not standing on top of somend, but its base was under the ck Sea, which means it probably rose from the bottom and was taller than it looked.
He also saw cracks on the tower''s walls as if it would crumble at any time, but Ace could feel the oppression feeling as he got closer to it, and he knew it wasn''t as simple as it looked.
Lastly, the indicator was also pointed at this exact tower, which made his heart churn since he could feel his fortune sense was alsopelling him to approach this mysterious tower.
Furthermore, this tower was dyed in a Bright Golden color, neutral White color, andstly, ck!
"This thing is strange. I can feel like it''s¡ alive!" Cyrus prattled as he revealed with a curious look in his eyes.
Ace''s eyes winded when he heard this unexpected remark of Cyrus and acutely questioned, "Alive, how?"
"Hmm¡ I don''t know. I just feel being stair at by that thing, so it''s probably alive." Cyrus frivolously described, which only made Ace frown and vignt.
He knew Cyrus''s senses were far higher than anyone in this heaven, and he was probably more prone to such a hidden existence.
"Do you think we''ll be in danger if we go toward it?" Ace questioned with uncertainty.
He knew this tower was probably his way out of this ce, so he had to approach it no matter what. But this didn''t mean he would just jump right into it.
Cyrus replied, "No, I don''t think so. It poses no danger to us."
Ace had a sigh of relief since Cyrus didn''t feel any danger then; it meant he was not afraid. However, it was a tantamount thing that this tower was alive, but now that he thinks about the cracks on the tower, it means that it was not in good shape.
Then someone came into his mind as his eyes winded, ''Don''t tell me it''s a treasure with a Spirit like Moira!''
Ace clearly remembered that System revealed the existence of the treasure spirit when he found the Eternal Thief Fate Compass.
His breath quickened as he looked at the high tower with a hint of disbelief, ''It won''t be another Eternal Provenance Treasure, right? No, it would be too good to be true that two Eternal Provenance Treasures are falling into mortal sky heaven. But what if¡.''
Ace couldn''t help but look at the tower with a burning gaze as he quickly asked the System, "System is that tower an Eternal Provenance Treasure?"
However, instead of System, it was Moira who replied, "No, it is not an Eternal Provenance Treasure, or I will be able to sense it!"
Ace sighed in relief because if that tower was really an Eternal Provenance Treasure, then it was way scarier than Moira. But then there was an evident disappointment in his eyes.
Then Ace asked another question as he was visibly calm down, "Then is that treasure had spirit?"
"Yes, but this spirit is an extremely low level, not intelligent like me." There was a hint of disdain in her voice, "Furthermore, this thing is broken badly. The spirit is only alive because it is absorbing all the Qi in the atmosphere to keep from dissipating after suffering such damage."
Ace''s eyes shone in realization, ''So that''s where all the Qi go! But even Cyrus wasn''t able to tell this fact. It seems only treasures could measure each other more urately, or it is because Moira is far more precious than normal treasures with spirits!''
Ace smiled wryly and changed his question, "Do you know the rank of this treasure?"
"I-I can''t!" Moira radically declined.
Ace didn''t force the matter since he knew the darn System''s restriction had appeared again.
So, he asked another crucial thing, "Then what kind of treasure is it? Or will I be in danger if I try to subdue or destroy it?"
Ace''s eyes went cold as he said thest two words!
Chapter 607 Regal Fiend Tower
"Then what kind of treasure is it? Or will I be in danger if I try to subdue or destroy it?"
Moira thought for a moment before briskly replying, "From its size, it''s probably a storage type treasure or defensive type, and they both won''t have many attacking abilities. Subduing its spirit will depend on the spirit''s will.
"But if you were able to destroy its spirit, then it would be like a normal treasure you could take control of. Both options are highly dangerous since a treasure with spirit always has special requirements for choosing its master.
"While in thetter case, you are not strong enough to destroy that spirit. Lastly, with this treasure''s current state, it would most likely get destroyed the moment the spirit was dead!"
Ace fell into silence after he got the answer as he looked at the tower with contemtion.
''A storage or defensive type treasure, huh? In both cases, I need to get inside this giant treasure. I never thought a treasure could be built into such structures.'' Ace felt his horizon broaden and he felt aggravated by higher heaven.
Just the difference between their craftsmanship was a world apart, and he didn''t dare to imagine just how vast the power difference would be.
Nevertheless, he knew mulling over such a matter would only make his mind chaotic, so he decided to deal with the problem he was currently facing and worried about the higher heaven stuff when it was the right time.
Ace looked at the top of the tower where the light wasing from and mused, ''Should I go to the top? No, the oppression feeling from that light source is quite terrifying. It might be some attacking mechanism.
''So, I should find an entrance. Since it is a building, there had to be an entrance. Attacking it won''t be good either since it is still white, which means it is a neutral entity, and that ck color is also warning enough for me not to attack it.
''Despite its rigged appearance, As Moira said, I''m no match for it, so I can only try to subdue it or at least trick it into subjugation!''
"Alright, Cyrus, we must dive into the water to search for an entrance. Are you ready, or will you rather wait in the space?" Ace asked with a smile.
Cyrus answered without hesitation, "I''m not afraid of water!"
Ace''s smile widened since he had expected this answer. Furthermore, since Cyrus could sense the presence of the tower''s spirit, it would be a good thing to keep him outside since he can''t always keep the live fate map active.
"Good. If you find anything dangerous, alert me!" Ace thoughtfully stated before he stood up and wore his hood.
The sailboat stopped a few hundred meters away from the tower and then vanished into one of the storage rings in the thief''s space, and Ace directly sshed into the dark water.
Now that he was so close, he could also feel the danger from that tower. But the fate map wasn''t showing what was inside or any interior structure, and it was only showing three fate point colors, nothing else.
Ace mused that it was most likely because the treasure surpassed thepass''s ability to probe its inner structure, and this building was a treasure, not andscape, so it was only natural that mapping was not working on it.
So, Ace closed the fate map since Cyrus was here. It would be best to save his Qi if he fell into a passive situation.
As he dived deep into the sea, he was going straight toward the tower''s bottom while also getting closer to it.
Cyrus waspletely fine as he was like an attached object on his shoulder as he looked at the tower underwater seriously for any danger.
At this moment, Ace squinted his eyes because he saw a glow deep into the water which wasing from the tower wall.
Vignt, he slowly approached the light as the feeling ofpelling from his fortune sense grew stronger.
Ace finally saw the bottom as well as the source of the light.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
It was literally a glowing door in the tower wall, and there were exquisite runes engraved on top of this glowing door.
However, Ace was instantly able to read them because those runes were anguage that was not anymonnguage from mortal sky heaven, or at least he had yet to see suchnguage or hear it.
''Regal Fiend Tower?'' Ace felt grim from those words and looked at the cracked tower walls with a hesitant look.
If he hadn''t been able to read the words, then it was fine, but he could read them, and that name was not something to be taken lightly, especially when the ''Fiend'' word was involved.
Ace looked at Cyrus and transmitted, "What do you think?"
Cyrus looked curiously at the glowing door and replied, "No danger!"
Sagacious Ace was, but he knew he had to take this unknown risk this time, and he didn''t have another choice. Or he could just go try wandering in this dark sea and find something that he wasn''t sure he would be able to find.
So, gritting his teeth, Ace then swims toward the glowing door with Cyrus.
When Ace was only a few inches away, he tried to touch the light with a long spear, instantly submerging it into the light, and it got in without any resistance. Then he pulled it back, and it waspletely fine.
"Alright, Cyrus, you need to go into the space. We might get separated. I''ll call you once I''m inside." Ace gravely dered, and Cyrus didn''t resist and obediently went back into the thief''s space.
Ace didn''t want to take a risk by bringing Cyrus into this glowing door. Taking him into the thief''s space was safer. He didn''t want to rescue someone else right now, so it was better to be safe than sorry.
Ace then moved forward, submerged into the light, and vanished from the deep sea.
However, the moment Ace entered the light door; it suddenly turned ck before it faded away, turning just like the tower wall. Only those words remained!
It was like the tower had explicitly opened the door for Ace, and now that he had entered, the entrance was gone!
---
After Ace entered the light door, he found himself afloat within a blinding light, but that light was soft and warm.
At this moment, a gentle voice rang within his ears, which was in themonnguage of the golden sky world.
"Contender NO. 10,203, wee to the Holy Saint Tower''s inheritance trial!"
Ace was startled when he heard this voice and context, ''There are 10,000 before me who hade to this ce? This voice must belong to this tower spirit, and why did it call this Regal Fiend Tower the Holy Saint Tower instead?
''Could it be this spirit didn''t want anyone to know the tower''s true name or hide its true nature and trick everyone into thinking it was an orthodox treasure? Something is wrong. I better y along not to draw its hostility or suspicion!''
Ace pretended to be surprised and confused as he eximed, "W-what trial?! Where am I? Senior, p-please don''t toy with me. I was lost in this godforsaken ce and was only drawn here by the light. Please have mercy!"
The gentle voice nonchntly stated, "Don''t be afraid, Contender, you are not being threatened! On the contrary, you havee to the right ce where you can get a life-changing opportunity to inherit the Holy Saint Tower and be its owner if you are able toplete the inheritor trial!"
Ace continued to be shocked as he hastily asked with evident greed in his voice, "B-by Holy Saint Tower, you don''t mean¡."
"Yes. The tower you just entered is a treasure out of your imagination, and if youplete all the trials, you''ll be its owner and only inheritor!" The gentle voice wasced with temptation.
''First, it said trial. Now it is trials? There is really something wrong with this trial thing.'' Ace''s heart turned cold, but he still maintained his appearance as a greedy junior.
"Senior, please tell me what I have to do?!" He hastily asked as if he waspletely ready to follow the instruction.
"You just have toplete the Inheritor Crest, and you''ll be the owner of this Holy Saint Tower!" The voice grandly revealed, "Now, are you ready to receive your inheritor crest?"
Ace nodded without hesitation and thumped his chest, "Please grant me this opportunity. I willplete this trial!"
"Don''t resist the Contender NO. 10,203. This is also your first trial to receive the Inheritor Crest without losing consciousness, or you''ll be expelled from the tower!" The gentle voice sternly warned.
Ace didn''t have time to say anything when a ck streak appeared out of nowhere and entered his be!
Chapter 608 Ancient Soul Segment Technique
Ace felt piercing pain as if something was drilling right into his true soul.
At this moment, the system''s voice sounded,
=====
[A Dormant Soul Segment had infiltrated Host''s True Soul!]
--
[Please choose one of two options]
1. Destroy the Dormant Soul Segment
-Cost: 10 Million TP
2. Create Fake True Soul for Soul Segment
-Cost: 20 Million TP
---
[NOTE: Please choose within ten seconds, or the 1st Option will be selected by default!]
=====
''20 million?!'' Ace was bbergasted when he saw the price.
But when he noticed the context, he noticed that it was not ''soul conscious'' this time but ''True Soul!''
Both things werepletely different and worlds apart.
So, Ace had no choice but to select and ask the system afterward what a Dormant Soul Segment was and why it needed so much TP to destroy it!
"Active the second option!" Ace quickly said before that spirit noticed something while he kept pretending to be in pain.
=====
[The second option had been activated!]
---
[Thief Point(s): 33,880,000]
=====
Thereafter, Ace felt the piercing pain in his soul suddenly vanish, and when he checked his soul, he was astonished because a crimson-ck crystal ball was hovering on top of his true soul.
Furthermore, Ace felt nefarious from this crystal ball, as if something was extremely sinister residing within.
But it wasn''t over because that crystal suddenly shone in sinisterly before Ace felt something carving over the back of his hand.
He quickly looked and saw a vivid crimson tattoo of a tower had appeared on the back of his hand, and this tower was precisely the same as the Regal Fiend Tower.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
But the only difference was there were ten empty sections within the tower tattoo, like empty blocks. Although this tattoo lookedpletely normal, Ace could feel it was connected with the crystal in his true soul.
At this moment, the spirit''s voice sounded again, "Congrattions, Contender NO. 10,203, you have sessfully managed to form the Inheritor Crest!"
A cold intent shed past deep within Ace''s eyes before it changed into happiness, and he quickly bowed, "Thank you, senior, for giving me this chance. But what do I have to do toplete the inheritance?"
Ace knew this Treasure Spirit was ying a sinister game in the sham of this trial, and it had something to do with that Dormant Soul Segment and this tattoo.
But he wasn''t worried since the system could still tackle this dormant soul segment with this fake true soul, and he could now destroy it with a thought, rendering whatever scheme this thing was ying useless.
One thing was quite clear, though, it needed the other party willing to do its bidding, it couldn''t force them against their will, and it was also where these trialse into y.
The Tower Spirit answered with almost what Ace had presumed, "As you can see, there are then empty blocks in the Inheritor''s Crest, which represent the ten floors of Tower Trials!
"As long as you can clear a floor, you''ll acquire a ''Star'' within the crest. As long as you acquire all ten stars, you''ll be the true inheritor of this Holy Saint Tower! Now you''ll be sent to the first trial floor. I bode you good luck and hope you''ll be the true inheritor of the Holy Saint Tower!"
Ace was bbergasted and then quickly asked a crucial question, "What about the rules?"
The voice, gently yet with a hint of coldness, replied, "There are no rules!"
The next moment Ace felt a suction force, and he was extremely familiar with this force, ''Teleportation?!'' Thereafter, he vanished from his spot!
Just after Ace vanished, the soft and warm light suddenly dimmed, turning dark and sinister.
An eerie voice sounded with a hint of uncertainty, "How did he appear outside, and where did that pet bird go? He didn''t have innate pet space, or maybe he had Pet Storage Treasure which is quite unusual in this heaven.
"It doesn''t matter anymore. Now he can either be a vessel or catalyst¡!"
---
At this moment, Ace''s figure appeared right in the middle of a maroon grasnd.
His expression was cold as he looked around, and as far as he could see, there was maroon grasnd, and the grass was 1.3 meters tall at least. Furthermore, the sky waspletely gray and dim without any clouds.
''Not only did it not tell me the conditions to clear the trials, but it didn''t even speak about the other contenders. Lastly, there are no rules which means this ce iswless.'' He thought grimly.
"System, tell me about this dormant soul segment?" He asked while he entered stealth.
"[The Ancient Soul Segment Technique is an ancient secret soul technique where one can spread segments of their true soul to create Soul Vessels. The Soul Segment is like a parasite that will attach itself to a true soul and slowly grow while consuming the soul before nothing is left.]
"[Once a Soul Segmentpletely consumes the true soul, its host would turn into a soul vessel of the primal soul of the Soul Segment!]
"[Then this soul vessel will be forever under the control of the primal soul, and it could even help revive the master if the primal soul was destroyed!]
"[But this method is extremely dangerous because if the host somehow finds a way to destroy the soul segment before it could takeplete control the primal soul owner will suffer an extremely harsh bacsh even death if the soul was already injured!]"
Ace felt a chill in his spine when he heard the true purpose of this soul segment and finally understood just how nefarious this method was.
But the system wasn''t finished.
"[In the host''s case, the Soul Segment host was attacked by far inferior version of the real soul segment. A Dormant Soul Segment needs the help of an outer existence or a treasure to consume a true soul before turning it into a vessel. It is an extremely crude process, and the chances of exposure are very high, and the bacsh is almost akin to death!]
"[Because if it was a soul segment created by the Ancient Soul Segment Technique then the current system level was not enough to destroy it nor Host would have the capital to even slow down the process!]"
Chapter 609 The Cruel Tower Trial (1)
"You''re kidding, right?" Ace dryly mumbled as he felt cold sweat on his back.
But the system didn''t answer anymore, which was quite evident that it wasn''t kidding. He didn''t think he had such a close shave with a disaster right now.
A bitter expression appeared on his face, ''Well, I should be more careful of the treasures from the upper heaven next time.''
Thereafter, killing intent suddenly rose in the depth of his pupils, ''Since I can make the other party suffer by destroying this dormant soul segment, then I''ll make sure to be there to deliver the killing blow!''
Since he now knew what was happening here and he had at least a fighting chance, Ace decided to find his way toward the upper floors of this tower.N?v(el)B\\jnn
He opened the live fate map but was disappointed when he saw the nk map with only colors. But his eyes contracted when he saw the golden ckpass indicator pointing in the south.
''Even my fortune sense went dormant the moment I entered this ce. But this indicator is still working, or it might be a whole new location. Well, I don''t have anything to lose. Let''s go south then to test whether my conjecture is true.'' He then closed the map.
Since the fate map can''t help him with the terrain, it wasn''t wise to keep it active and waste his soul Qi. He will only use it when he needs direction or detects enemies around him.
He hadn''t forgotten about the 10,000+ contenders besides him!
Ace''s eyes suddenly gleamed in a dark light as a strange golden symbol suddenly appeared deep within his pupils.
It was the Initial Stage of Thief''s Vision at a High level!
In these past months, while wandering in the dark sea, he had already increased his thief''s vision level by two levels because he knew he would be going to need it.
The Thief''s Vision had both his True and False Eyes'' w monitoring ability in ruins and Soul Shattering Eyes'' illusion and deception resistance. But the most crucial ability of the Thief''s Vision was it could help Ace peer into storage space treasures!
The Initial Stage early level of the Thief''s Vision was useful against Low and Intermediate Grade-4 and River Core Realm. The middle level against High Grade-4, low Grade-5, and intermediate stage soul realm.
At a high level, the Thief''s Vision could see through Intermediate and High Grade-5 and Soul Realm level threats.
As for the Intermediate Stage, the Thief''s Vision can see through Grade-6 to low-Grade-7 and the soul manifestation realm!
However, the Intermediate Stage Thief''s Vision was still quite far away from Ace, and he knew he needed over a year or two to enter this stage. He didn''t have the luxury of time because he needed to get out before the side mission time limit reached its end.
As for why he activated the thief''s vision in this ce where even Moira seemed to be helpless, it was because the Thief''s Vision at the Initial Stage only took so much as a fragment of his heavenly Qi.
So, he could keep it active all the time if he wanted to, and it was far better than nothing.
Furthermore, he was pretty sure that all those other contestants were from the golden sky world as well since someone from the upper heaven might see through this dormant soul segment.
Because ording to the system, this technique was crude, and he was sure only someone with a low cultivation level would be able to see through it.
However, he still doesn''t understand how those people get here since ''traveling'' through that space tear was not something that just anyone could handle.
Even someone like him who had a temper by heavenly thunder could easily die in the space turbulence.
This made him think about the possibility of another passage, and the only way to found was to find one of those contestants and soul-probe them!
Ace also turned on his disguise since he was only wearing his mask all this time. He didn''t use any disguise because he knew it would be useless against a Treasure Spirit.
Even Moira was able to see through his disguise when he confronted her.
So, he didn''t bother, but now that he was inside, he didn''t want to show his true face to anyone.
The face Ace active was none other than Ronan, the deceased Imperial Demon Prince, and then he wore another mask over it, and only his demonic eyes were revealed!
He didn''t change his outfit; only his thief symbol wasn''t showing on his robes.
As promised, he also took out Cyrus since the little guy was more prone to danger than, and the treasure spirit also didn''t seem to be interested in Cyrus, or it simply wasn''t able to see through Cyrus''s true identity.
Cyrus was instantly happy when he appeared over Ace''s shoulder and looked around curiously, "Bro, are we in that big tower?" He frivolously transmitted.
Ace transmitted back, "Yes, we are. Now you need to be alert, just as I taught you. While on a mission, a thief must be alert constantly!"
"Oh, are we on a mission?" Cyrus''s eyes shone with delight as if it was some kind of y for the little guy.
Ace smiled wryly, "Yes, kind of."
Cyrus chirps happily before frivolously dering, "Chirp¡ I''ll burn first, then steal from others!"
"Only burn someone who I told you to. Stealing is done without attracting attention to ourselves, or it won''t be stealing but killing. We only kill if there is no other way to go around. Or what the point in theft if no one is left to admire our work, right?" Ace chuckled at his own twisted reasoning.
But Cyrus took it seriously and agreed to follow Ace''s lead.
Ace then started heading south in the maroon grasnd, which seemed endless.
Furthermore, he noticed that stealth wasn''t that useful in this ce because when he crossed the tall grass, it would part or move, which would easily give away his position.
At this moment, Ace''s suddenly felt his heart palpitate when he felt something wasing right toward his head at a terrifying speed!
Chapter 610 The Cruel Tower Trial (2)
At this moment, Ace''s heart palpitated when he felt somethinging right toward his head at a terrifying speed!
However, before he could counterattack, Cyrus was even faster as it opened its tiny beak and threw a small sky-blue fireball behind.
''Boommm¡.''
A huge explosion filled with fiery heat rang just ten meters away from Ace''s position.
Ace also turned around at this moment and coldly looked at the vast charred area, and the fire ignited on the grasnd. He spotted a silver arrow that Cyrus''s mes hadn''t burned!
What happened next made him stunned. The arrow suddenly trembled before it suddenly turned into a silver streak, as a lightning bolt vanished into the tall grasnds.
''An archer?!'' Ace felt his heart turn cold because he didn''t feel anything in three miles radius.
The arrow was so fast that he only noticed when it was extremely close to him, which meant the arrow was a treasure and whoever was using it was quite proficient in archery.
Ace even activated the fate map, but just as he expected, there wasn''t any fate point which could only mean that the archer was over three miles away from him.
"More ''flies'' areing!" Cyrus''s giddy voice rang in his mind.
Thereafter, even Ace felt the iing danger.
"Don''t take action anymore, or we might scare the attacker away if he thinks we are dangerous!" Acemanded before Cyrus could attack again.
Reluctant, the little guy kept his beak close.
At this moment, three silver streaks appeared from three different directions, and all of them were aiming for his life.
''Hmph!'' With a cold snort, Ace used the misperception step turning into multiple afterimages.
Those silver arrows seemed to have a mind of their own as they suddenly twisted in the air and targeted all of Ace''s afterimages.
However, even after those arrows pierced all of Ace''s afterimages, there was no trace of blood or wound. All those images faded away, and Ace''s real figure was nowhere to be seen, as if he had vanished into the air.
Those arrows then again turned back before turning into streaks and scattered into grasnd.
However, before those arrowspletely vanished, suddenly, an invisible cord shot toward one of them even faster than those arrows. Then the invisible cord was attached to one of them without decreasing the speed of the retreating arrow!
Over four miles away,N?v(el)B\\jnn
Two figures wearing concealing cloaks were whispering something to each other.
One was holding a two-meter-long silver bow, while the other had a formation with a white projection over it.
"Where did it go?" The person with a bow whispered while looking at the cloaked figure holding the formation te.
The other one replied, "I don''t know, but the tracing formation suddenly lost its trace. I think he had a high-grade-5 concealment treasure on him!"
The three silver arrows appeared at this moment and started hovering beside the silver bow.
"A high-grade-5 treasure? Did we provoke those scions of First-Rate Families?" The person holding the bow whispered with a hint of fear in his tone.
"I don''t think so, young master; those people should be long entered the fifth or even sixth floor. Why would they stay on the first floor? I don''t think they wanted to take part in scavenging of third-rate families like us." The person holding the formation replied with uncertainty.
"Intriguing." An icy voice suddenly rang within those two ears, making them shudder.
Before they could react, they suddenly felt something gripping their minds and bodies alike, and before they knew it, they were lying on the ground,pletely immobilized.
It was like something invisible was binding their souls, and there wasn''t any resistance or escape at all.
Under their horrified eyes, a hooded figure appeared with a tiny chick on his shoulder who was looking at them like they were prey.
It was naturally Ace and Cyrus.
Ace had used the thievish soul cord to discover these attackers'' positions.
Ace didn''t ask meaningless questions as he used pick-pocket to steal their concealment cloaks, the silver bow and arrows, and that formation and their storage rings.
=====
-Sessful Pick Pocket(s): 2
-Reward: 21,000 Thief Points
--
[Thief Point(s): 33,901,000]
--
[Thievery Rank(s)]
-Low-Level Thievery(s): 2
--
-Thievery Required for next Rank:
[Low-Level Thievery(s): 4/10,000]
[Middle-level Thievery(s): 2/1,000]
[High-level Thievery(s): 0/100]
=====
Ace didn''t pay much attention to the notification because he was looking at the attackers'' faces which were now revealed with astonished eyes.
These two look exactly like human males but even more handsome with their glossy white skin, silver eyes, and silver hair. Their heights were around 1.9 and 2 meters. They wore green robes with silver markings.
Furthermore, they had this distinctive air of nature, and their pointy ears were also unlike humans. They could easily be considered humans without their pointy ears.
Suddenly a race appeared in Ace''s mind, ranking sixth in the Golden Sky World''s ranking, and was quite mysterious.
"Wise Elves?" Ace couldn''t help but mumble while looking at those two.
Ace had remembered every race''s appearance in the golden sky world and the Wise Elves were the only ones who matched the description of these two.
Wise Elves were considered a pacifist race and didn''t pick fights with others or provoke anyone unless provoked first.
This was the only information he had on Wise Elves since no one paid much attention to a ranked sixth race.
Ace had never thought he would encounter Wise Elves here of all the races. Furthermore, these guys were not seemed like peaceful or weak at all.
"Oh, your souls are bonded, so you won''t be able to reply. My bad. But I don''t need to ask you anything, did I?" Ace coldly sneered, seeing those elves'' horrid eyes as they were struggling.
Without caring about their reactions, he used a soul probe on the elf who was holding the bow just now. He knew since these elves could enter here then, this meant they had a way to exit from here as well.
As Ace acquired the elf''s memories, his eyes widened ever so slightly!
Chapter 611 The Cruel Tower Trial (3)
After annexing all the memories, Ace had a gloomy look while he thought about the information he got from this elf named Elliot.
It turned out that the Sixth Continent of Wise Elves, the Elven Continent, was hiding a terrifying secret. It was none other than a secret realm that was actually the first floor of the Regal Fiend Tower.
However, the Elves called it Holy Saint Secret Realm and the tower spirit the Holy Saint. Every three years, a passage will open deep within the Sacred Holy Land of the Elven Kingdom, which leads directly to the tower''s first floor.
This space passage appeared over two thousand years ago, and the elves instantly close any rted news about it because if other races know, they will go to any length to secure this ce, and the elves won''t be able to protect it.
The fiery hell realm was the prime example of it.
Like Ace, the tower spirit told everyone about the inheritance after clearing the ten floors when they all entered the first floor and granted them ''Holy Marks,'' which were none other than the tower tattoo.
Anyone who was below the age of 500 years and Soul Real Realm could enter andpete for the inheritance.
However, the crux of the matter was the conditions to enter higher floors.
Although the tower spirit told Ace to find the entrance toward the second floor, it didn''t tell Ace that whoever tried to cross the entrance of a floor will have to face ten ''Trial Puppets.''
Furthermore, with every higher floor, the Trial Puppets will be a level higher than the challenger''s cultivation realm before they were granted the passage toward the higher floor.
For example, the first trial floor''s trial puppets will be a level higher than the challenger''s cultivation, and the second floor will be two levels higher, all the way up to the tenth floor.
Not only that, but failure meant certain death in these trials!
Moreover, if someone wanted to leave this ce, they had to reach at least the 4th floor, or they will remain inside.
Still, these elves sent thousands of participants every three years to this ce because the rewards outmatched the fatalities.
Because everyone time a participant crosses a trial floor, they will get a star which could grant them the ability to cultivate faster and strengthen their physique as they collect more stars. Likewise, if someone could collect five stars, they can even forcibly increase the level of their cultivation without any bacsh for a small period of time!
And the most astonishing ability 6-star and 7-star tattoo grant is they can freely leave ande back to the tower to challenge the trial anytime, from anywhere. All the age and cultivation restrictions will be gone.
To this day, only three persons have managed to acquire a 7-star tower tattoo, and one of them was the Wise Elven Queen, the ruler of Wise Elves.
Ace also got a grave piece of information; the title ''Contender'' was only given to those on the first three floors. From floors four to six, the ''Contestant'' was called ''Seed Contender,'' and from the seventh floor, they were known as ''Inner Contender.''
As for floors 8th, 9th, and 10th, no one knows about those floors since they were still unexplored and no one had ever reached there. It was just too risky.
Anyhow, this revtion also made it pretty clear that there were far more people in this tower, and many even lived inside because the cultivation environment of the higher floors was extremely heavenly.
There was no danger inside; on the contrary, many rare herbs existed on each floor, and these participants fought over them.
This ce was a treasure trove for elves, and they had been secretly strengthening themselves all these years with Regal Fiend Tower while everyone thought they were harmless.
The real danger was actually the contenders themselves, as they could kill others to plunder their resources, and no one would ever know about it.
Furthermore, if someone kills a participant with a tower tattoo, especially a tattoo with a star, they will get a boost in their cultivation.
That''s why whoever came into this ce was prepared to die, and they will kill anyone as long as they get the chance, even if the other party is noble. As long as they won''t expose their identity, they are golden!
Especially with the rule of not being able to leave the tower before reaching the fourth floor. Not all of them had such talent, and only those elves from First-Rate Family or Noble Family could do it.
Lastly, once you leave a floor, there is noing back, so many choices to live here to strengthen their cultivation for years before they head to higher floors.
The only restriction was the contenders, and seed contenders can only live for 100 years on each floor before they had to take the higher trial test, or leave the tower, or die in case they had not reached the fourth floor.
Ace never expected there would be such an effect from this tower tattoo. If he hadn''t known about the true nature of this so-called ''holy mark,'' he would''ve been covetous.
But he knew they were just being used without even knowing how, but it was probably something to do with the tattoo.
Nevertheless, since he got the information, he didn''t need these two anymore, and his eyes turned cold. He saved Elliot''s face in his mask before using two soul-piercing bullets to instant kill them.
They were both only Golden Qi River Core Cultivators, so Ace''s soul attack was not something they could take.
The System''s notification rang at this moment which made his eyes narrow,
=====
[System detects the Dormant Soul Segment within Fake True Soul wanted to absorb Soul Vitality of Two Elves killed by the host!]
[Warning: If the host allowed it to absorb the Soul Vitality, there will be no EXP or SP rewarded!]
[Do you want to let it process or Block it?]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
=====
Realization dawned on Ace as he quickly asked, "So, that''s the secret of their fast cultivation speed after they killed some. It seemed this tattoo could also turn others into this Soul Vitality, such as SP and EXP like the System.
"But unlike the System, it should only work on the ones with the tattoo, and they thought they were being strong because of it.
"They might be the catalyst to strengthen the soul segment within their consciousness while absorbing another soul segment cultivated by someone else. This way, they could turn into soul vessels faster. Right, System?"
"[Yes.]"
Ace then suddenly thought of a terrifying possibility, "Are you the same System?"
Now that he thought about it, the System was doing the same in a sense. If it was true, then was he also nurtured into someone else''s soul vessel for some terrifying being?
Ace felt his heart waver at his moment.
But the System replied with a hint of disdain in its voice.
"[No.]"
It was a in and straightforward answer, but it made Ace visibly relieved and regain hisposure. He will take System''s words for it even if they turn out to be lies, but he still believes it.
Because he knew the System was something that even Eternal Provenance Treasures were helpless against if it wanted to subdue it. So, he was too weak even to struggle.
That''s why such a thought would only make him waver, and since the System even bothered to say ''no,'' he knew he was overthinking things.
So, he didn''t dwell on this topic and asked, "Will it alert the existence behind the soul segment if I block its ess to the Soul Vitality?"
"[Yes. The Soul Vitality of a Soul Segment Host willpletely incorporate, so the moment that Soul Segment vanishes, the practitioner will notice it, or in the case of dormant soul segment, the medium such as a treasure!]"
"Will it affect me in any case if I let it be stronger?" Ace sternly questioned.
"[No.]"
Ace then didn''t care about it anymore as hemanded, "Then as long as I had this soul segment, don''t block it ess to this soul vitality. It''s not like giving away 100 or so EXP or SP will put any dent in my current EXP or SP Bar, right?"
Ace sighed as he knew killing a weaker opponent would only grant him this amount of EXP or SP or even less, so he didn''t care about this little EXP or SP.
The storage rings, on the other hand, were quite useful since they were filled with grade-1 to grade-3 herbs and these guys killed many contestants to umte such wealth, and now it was all Ace.
The moment system stopped blocking the absorbing process, Ace suddenly felt a chillness on the back of his hand right where the tower tattoo was. But it was only momentary before it went dormant.
"Alright, you can burn their bodies."
Ace then allows Cyrus to have fun while getting rid of the evidence of their existence and changing into attire like Elliot and his face.
Cyrus happilyplied and burned them into ashes with terrifying ecstasy in its tiny eyes.
Ace then headed south again because he now knew where the entrance toward the next floor was!
Chapter 612 Trial Puppets
In Elliot''s guise, Ace hid a mile away while looking at the tall buildings ahead. These buildings were built by the elves around the entrance of every Floor, and these buildings were controlled by Noble ns.
Killing wasn''t allowed around in this area, and those in charge would hunt down anyone who broke this rule.
But not anyone could enter those buildings, they had to pay steep amounts of Qi stones or materials to rest for a signal day, and they sold pills, weapons, tools, and even skills.
However, only nobles of the First-Rate Families were allowed to set up shops and live freely in these buildings. The Second Rate and Third-Rate Families had to keep their heads low unless they wanted to die.
This ce was absolutelywless. It would be game over for you if you offend someone with a terrifying background.
As for the upper floor, the First-Rate Families guarded the entrance, and they only let others enter if you handed over 50% of your storage ring contents.
Ace didn''t sense anything threatening ahead, ''The first three floors were overseen by the servants of these Frist-Rate Families since the actual members were busy cultivating on the higher floors. So, they are all weak. It shouldn''t be a problem for me to get rid of them.''
If Ace didn''t have Alina in his mind, he might''ve theft the entire ce to increase his thieveries count. But now, all he wanted was to leave this ce and rescue Alina. He can alwayse back to wreak havoc in this ce and subdue this tower in the future.
So, without hesitation, Ace moved toward the buildings, which were called the ''Life Zone'' by the elves.
Many elves were walking around the shop area, and a za and no one noticed Ace, who was wearing a concealment cloak.
From Elliot''s memories, Ace knew these elves in the first three floors wouldn''t have any treasures to detect him if he used high-grade-5 treasures.
Elliot was only able to find him because he was careless and got picked up by the movement detection formation. So, he didn''t make that mistake again whileing here and didn''t encounter any of those scavengers.
Ace headed to the central area, which was blocked by a 200-hundred-meter-tall wall, and the only way in was a closed gate that was guarded by four elves.
This was the entrance toward the next Floor, and if someone wanted to cross this ce, they had to hand over 50% of their total valuables.
Because if someone took the trial, it would either pass or die; in thetter case, their wealth would gopletely wasted.
Furthermore, there was also a 100-year living limit of a floor, so many waited while umting their prowess before challenging a trial. Some even waited the entire 99 years before going into the trial.
The cultivation environment of the first three floors was far better than the Elven Content inside despite it was still inferior to the Demon Continent''s eight provinces.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
This was also the difference between continent ranks, the Qi density!
Only on the fourth and fifth floors could the cultivation environment would match the eight provinces of the demon continent.
Ace didn''t take the gate since he didn''t want to draw attention to himself, and when he reached a remote area of the wall.
He used the soul cord to reach the top of the wall and turn it into a hanger before he started climbing it while only stepping into grade-3 formation ws, which were clear as day because of Thief''s Vision.
This type of formation was no longer enough to stop Ace, and he easily reached the other side of the wall.
There was an open field, and in the center of this field was a glowing white doorway just like the one he took to enter the tower.
There was also a high-grade-3 rming and trapping formationid out in the field just in case anyone bypassed the main gate while there was no guard inside.
Ace merely scoffed before start walking toward the glowing doorway. He stepped into the ws of the formation avoiding the traps or rms.
Ace stopped a meter away from the entrance before using the fate map to see if the indicator was pointing at this gate.
When he saw the indicator had now be an arrow while it was pointing right where he was standing, his lips curled up as he closed the map. He got the answer he was looking for, and it was in his favor.
Putting Cyrus back into the thief''s space, he then walked right into the gate, vanishing from the First Floor.
This time Ace didn''t appear afloat in a white space as he walked into a spacious hall that looked like a fighting ring before the white gate behind him vanished.
At this moment, the Tower Spirit''s impassive voice rang, "Contender No.10,203, congrattion on finding the entrance toward Second Floor.
"But you only need to prove yourself worthy to enter the Second Floor!
"Defeat 10 Trial Puppets a level higher than your current cultivation realm before you grant the passage toward the second Floor!
"Remember, this is a fight between warriors; a warrior will always fight with their lives at stake and not retreat no matter what!
"Your Current Cultivation is¡Bronze Soul River Core Cultivation. Your opponent will be Silver Soul River Core Cultivators Trial Puppets.
"Good Luck. The Trial shallmence!"
Ace couldn''t help but smile deviously, ''It appeared it could only see through my disguise, or it is the case because of this tattoo, but it cannot see past my cultivation realm. So, it considered my fake cultivation realm real!''
Because of his Qi Sea, Ace knew his cultivation was quite unique, and others no longer sensed his actual cultivation as long as he won''t reveal his true strength. Even then, they would still be confused by his true cultivation realm.
This tower spirit was also the same and even damaged, so it was even more unlikely that it could see through his cultivation realm.
The next moment, ten streaks of crimson light suddenly descend a few meters ahead of him, revealing ten crimson mannequins holding ten different types of weapons, swords, daggers, halberds, spears, whips, shields, gauntlets.
However, Ace waspletely unfazed even after those ten weaponized mannequins lunged toward him while brandishing their weapons in different types of soul Qi.
They were too weak, but it didn''t mean he would showcase his true prowess. A sheathed long sword appeared in his hand, and he held its hilt tightly, and with emotionless eyes, he drew his sword!
Only a faint voice of wind whistle in the hall before Ace had already sheathed his sword.
The next moment including their weapons, those crimson mannequins were cut in half,nding on the Floor.
Ace had only used a fraction of his soul sword intent, which was more than enough to eliminate anyone below the soul realm.
A momentter, the tower spirit''s voice rang again, "Contender No.10,203, congrattion on passing the first Floor valiantly!
"You are granted a Floor Star and passage to the second floor!"
The next moment those ten halve mannequins turned into crimson lights before shooting toward Ace''s be, which startled him.
Ace quietly observed that the crimson steak directly entered the fake crimson true soul, and he suddenly noticed a ck mist emerging on the crimson true soul.
Afterward, Ace felt the back of his hand burning, and he saw a crimson star emerging on the first empty block of the tower tattoo.
Thereafter, another light door manifested in front of him: the gate toward the Second Floor, and he walked right into it, pretending to be excited.
After Ace vanished, the tower spirit''s eerie mumbling rang in the dormant trial floor, "How could someone with sword intent be a Bronze Soul River Core? Strange."
---
Ace walked out from the white door and found himself in another maroon grasnd, but this time he could feel the Qi was slightly better, so he knew he had appeared on the second Floor.
However, before he could activate his stealth, a cold voice rang, "If it isn''t a neer!"
Ace frowned and finally spotted a ground eight people heading his way without hiding their presence. They all wore at least grade-4 armor and were holding grade-5 weapons.
One of them, in particr, was wearing low-grade-5 armor and a high-grade-5 long spear. Furthermore, there was a small bronze marking of an Arrow on his be.
Ace instantly guessed this guy''s identity because of the bronze arrow marking, ''Someone from a 2nd Rate Family? Aren''t they supposed to be on the 4th Floor?''
From Elliot''s memories, a third-rate family title was given to those with a peak-stage diamond soul realm cultivator overseeing them.
The second-rate family is those who had a peak tinum Soul Realm Cultivator and over a hundred soul realm cultivators, and they bear the mark of a Bronze Arrow on their be!
Chapter 613 You Cannot Leave…
Seeing the young elf from a second-rate family, Ace was somewhat surprised but not worried. This group of eight was within the river core realm, and the strongest among them was the bronze arrow mark elf at the diamond Qi river core realm.N?v(el)B\\jnn
''They should probably be attracted here by the gate appearance.'' Ace mused as he looked at the group surrounding him with a hint of superiority and disdain.
He coldly said, "What do you want?"
"Why aren''t you kneeling in front of Lord yton and speaking presumptuously?" A gorgeous elf woman in crimson armor berated.
"I don''t have time to waste on you clowns." Ace coldly stated.
Everyone in the group was startled, and yton''s haughty expression turned nasty since it was the first time that a third-rate family''s trash had talked to him that way. Or they won''t even dare to even breathe loudly in his presence, much less call him a clown.
However, before they could react, Ace entered stealth and vanished from their view, shocking them.
Although Ace could''ve killed them, he didn''t want to since there were no benefits in doing so, and it would only benefit the tower tattoo on his hand.
After he received the first star, he felt a sinister energy that wanted to contaminate his soul Qi, but because of the system, this Qi waspletely suppressed, but it still made him feel noxious.
As for thieving his way out of here, he decided against it since it would only reveal his presence, and he didn''t want anyone to know where he was right now. Not unless he measured the situation with Alina and it was necessary. He only steals if he can get rid of any evidence afterward or if it is essential.
Furthermore, the tower spirit might be suspicious if he left thief symbols here and there, which won''t be a good thing.
So, he was nning on getting out of this tower. At least outside, there won''t be a spirit to monitor his every movement.
"Where did he go?!" yton was first snapped out of his stupor as he spread his martial sense to stop Ace, but to his dismay, he found nothing, as if the man was just a ghost.
The others also used their senses, and all reached the same conclusion
"H-he¡ could he be from a first-rate family and hiding his abilities?" A burly elf fearfully whispered close to yton.
yton and others felt their heart churning thinking about the other party''s disdainful attitude toward them and then his terrifying ability to escape their perception as if it was child''s y to him.
They shuddered, just thinking that if he wanted to kill them, they would''ve been lying on the ground right now.
yton spoke with a grim expression, "Don''t tell anyone about it, and if you see that person again, pretend if we never see him. It is our fortune that we didn''t speak about robbing him or¡."
Everyone felt chill in their spines.
yton''s expression was grim as they thought with uncertainty, ''Could it be someone had leaked our second-rate families'' ns of ripping off all the third-rate families, this time to the first-rate family?
''No, they would disdain even to stop us, or could it be this guy was hiding his ability and not from a first-rate family?''
Ace didn''t know about yton''s thoughts as he won''t care even if he knew. He was making his way toward the second-floor entrance, which was also in the south, and the fate map was also pointing him in the same direction.
He encountered some hunting groups, and one of them was even busy killing each other, but he paid no heed to him and circled his way around them.
After three hours, he finally appeared at the following entrance location, which was almost the same as the first floor, and it was blocked by a wall and guarded.
Ace swiftly crossed every hurdle and entered the next entrance gate.
This time he had to face ten golden soul river core puppets, which also fell under his sword draw, but someone thing unexpected happened.
After Ace used the sword draw to get rid of those puppets, the high-grade-5 was shattered because of the potency of his heavenly Qi, which surprised Ace.
Although he knew his heavenly Qi couldn''t be used along with treasure that wasn''t meant for it, it was still surprising that a high-grade-5 sword would be broken after he used it two times and only for draws at that.
This made him somewhat depressed because this way, he would have to pay a heavy price for using his sword intent. He didn''t want to show his ability to use sword intent without using the sword either.
So, he decided to use a bow and arrows next time until he was he the tower unless it was extremely necessary. This way, he would also appear to be struggling.
However, he had thoroughly underestimated himself because on the third-floor entrance test, using Elliot''s silver bow and arrows, a low-grade-5 treasure set, he destroyed those diamond soul river core puppets with a single arrow attack while ending up destroying the arrow as well!
He never thought his heavenly Qi would be so potent after he reached the eighth stage of the dark sea core realm.
A momentter, the tower spirit''s impassive voice rang, "Contender No.10,203, congrattion on passing the Third Floor valiantly!
"Your title Contender No.10,203 has been voided and changed into ''Seed Contender No.21,913!
"You are now rankedst at the Seed Contender Ranking Board, and as long as you kill a higher-ranking contender, you can take their positions!
"If you managed to enter the top 100 within the Seed Contender Ranking, you''d be granted a privilege to cultivate in a sacred site for 1 hour every month and 2 hours if you managed to rank within the top 20 and 3 hours within the top 10 and 5 hours within top 3 and ten hours if you managed to take 1st Position!
"You are granted a Floor Star and passage to the Fourth Floor!"
Ace looked at the condensing third crimson start while he noticed the dark marking on the crimson true soul was bing more apparent.
He asked at this moment without entering the fourth passage ahead of him, "Senior, can I now leave this ce since I''m already on the fourth floor?"
This was, after all, his true objective all along to leave this tower and then find a way out of the elven continent toward Alina. He wasn''t interested in ying with this treasure right now.
Once free of his worries, he''ll return and im this treasure.
However, the tower spirit''s following words made Ace''s heart sink, "No. You can''t leave even though you are already on the fourth floor."
"But why isn''t this a rule?" Ace couldn''t help but feel rage.
"It is a rule for those who entered from the elven race and the main entrance. But Seed Contender No.21,913, not only are you a human, but you also entered from another entrance. So, this rule naturally won''t apply to you." The Tower Spirit replied matter-of-factly.
Ace''s face fell, but he didn''t lose hisposure and asked, "Then I how I can leave? Senior, it''s not like I didn''t want to continue, but I have a very important matter to deal with outside. Once they are out of the way, I''ll definitelye back!"
Ace thought that the tower spirit didn''t want him to leave because he thought he would nevere back, and with his potential, it was only natural for it to want that.
However, he didn''t want to stay here any longer than he needed to, and he will alsoe back.
"It''s not like I''m holding you here, but this is really out of my power. If you have entered through the main entrance, you would be able to leave like the others; if you leave, you will only end up in the same ce again.
"That''s why I can not help you with that. Of course, unless you clear all the trials, you will have the power of the entire tower, and you could easily enter the ce where the main entrance is." The Tower Spirit stated impassively.
Ace fell into silence after hearing this since it might really be true. He had indeed entered the tower through that strange dark realm, not from the golden sky world.
But he had no way of knowing if the tower spirit was telling the truth or simply lying to keep him here. Whichever the case was, he had no choice but to remain calm.
Ace then suddenly thought of something, ''It is clear that the whole sham of these trials is toplete this tattoo to condense the Soul Vessel fully. But it might not be the entire truth.
''Since this tower is giving away so many rewards and trying its best to make others stay within and kill each other to have them absorb each other soul segments and cultivate to higher realms, then there is more to this than meet the eye¡.''
Chapter 614 Fourth Floor
''Since this tower is giving away so many rewards and trying its best to make others stay within and kill each other to have them absorb each other soul segments and cultivate to higher realms, then there is more to this than meets the eye.
''But no one was able to do it to this day because they were stopped at some level to cultivate, making the trial even more difficult for themselves.
''After all, nobody would be able to go beyond ten levels higher than themselves to fight with ten puppets unless they are peak geniuses. Especially if someone is already in the soul manifestation realm, the level difference from that realm to the Law-Awareness is a massive leap.
''The key is to clear all these trials while remaining in the boundary of the river realm to the soul realm. But then it was also a matter of conviction whether someone is willing to put their lives on the line while ignoring all the benefits.
''Lastly, it woulde to the tower spirit whether it would let anyone with such a potential achieve this feat or if the killing is necessary to make a Soul Vessel, then it will bend the rules¡'' Ace thought while his eyes were filled with sharpness.
But he didn''t reveal his inner thoughts and walked toward the light gate. He knew it would be even harder for him to leave this tower within the side mission time limit.
Furthermore, he was still not confident that he would be able to subdue this tower or the existence behind it. But he knew there was no other way but to move forward.
It was the first time Ace was put into such a passive position where he had no other option and couldn''t control the flow of the situation. He was also sure that he was being monitored.
This feeling was not good; it was like dancing on someone else palm.
That''s also why he no longer summoned Cyrus because if the tower spirit was able to guess Cyrus''s fire''s true nature, then it might try to take him away or get rid of him if it felt threatened.
Ace''s only trump card was he could destroy the fake true soul any time, and if he used it wisely, then he might be able to leave this ce.
But he needed to clear all the trials first to get that opportunity!
The moment Ace walked onto the fourth floor, he was surprised because there was no more grasnd, but he was in the middle of a forest with trees that were probably over 100 meters tall.
Elliot had limited information on floor four because of the statue of his family. So, Ace only knew there was a city somewhere in this ce.
Because the elves could leave this ce and return when the entrance appeared in three years again, they will appear in the same ce they left.
So, they built this city where they could appear once they returned, and this forest was also dangerous. There are beasts in this ce ranked from river core to soul realm.
That''s why only those who are confident in their ability will dare toe here since they will appear in a random ce, and then they had to find the city, which was the only safe area without getting eaten by the beasts first.
More importantly, these beasts could also provide a boost in cultivation as long as they were killed, just like any contender. That''s why elves formed hunting squads here to hunt those beasts, and there seemed no end to them.
The scion of families also formed alliances of their own and recruit members with the promise ofvish rewards.
However, Ace didn''t have to worry about any of this because the fate map could lead him right toward the entrance. He also wasn''t interested in hunting those beasts or meddling in anyone''s business.
So, Ace activated the fate map and saw the indicator was pointing in the northeast direction, so he moved there without hesitation.N?v(el)B\\jnn
This floor was still not enough to make him slow down or threaten his life.
After half a day, Ace found the city surrounded by tall walls as long as the surrounding trees, and there was only one huge entrance.
Speaking of which, this ce also didn''t have the concept of night and day as it was always gloomy sky above. Without Qi, this ce would not be better than a grim graveyard.
Ace didn''t go through the gate since he didn''t need to. He merely scanned the walls, which were only protected by high-grade-3 formation. So, he easily skipped the wall.
The city was over twenty square miles in size, and it was filled with tall buildings with different names, and all of them had one word inmon, ''Alliance.''
These buildings were all controlled by first-rate families'' scions who could create their Alliances while paying a hefty price to the Royal Family.
The Royal Elf Family was the ruler of the Elven Continent, and the Elf Queen was the matriarch.
The elves didn''t follow the typical noble system and didn''t haveplex titles like a duke, marquise, and so on. All the families were divided into Royal, First Rate, Second Rate, and Third Rate.
There was only one Royal Family that had a Law Awareness overseer.
While the First-Rate Families were like nobles with titles, and they had Soul Manifestation Realm Cultivators. Inparison, the Second-Rate Families were like normal nobles.
As for the Third-Rate Families, they were likemoners.
There were no strict rules about who could be the first or third-rate family. It was a matter of power backing they had.
If all the soul manifestation realm cultivators of a first-rate family die, then they will be demoted to second-rate. Or if a second-rate family managed to produce a soul manifestation realm cultivator, they can reevaluate their status into First Rate Families.
Lastly, if a Law Awareness Realm Cultivator appeared among a first-rate family, they had to merge with the Royal Family, whether they liked it or not, and be their branch family.
As for why it matters to have a higher family status, it was because the more powerful a family, the ample resources andnd they will be granted, and most importantly, the quota of ''Holy Tower'' entrance every three years.
Every three years, the tower spirit would only let 10,000 New contenders enter, no more or less.
But for elves, even this number was rtively high since they needed a workforce on the main continent, and not just anyone could reach the fourth floor, so the royal family allocated quota to families ording to their rank. Then these families heldpetitions to distribute the given seats among themselves.
The Holy Tower was both thend of opportunity and death, so only those with ambition or motives stepped inside.
But once they reached the fourth floor, they were like fish in the sea as they could exit ande back anytime within a hundred years. No one will stop them, and their contender-ship won''t be voided as long as they take the entrance test before their hundred years are exhausted.
All the elves spent almost 100 years in this ce and cultivated diligently while fighting life-and-death battles with each other.
The once peaceful and nature-loving race had now be a warmonger and bloodthirsty race. As long as they were in the tower, they were like beasts who had escaped their cage!
Ace appeared in the city''s center just outside arge building with a doom. Outside this building a tall ck stone filled with golden names and numbers.
It was the Ranking Board for Seed Contenders!
A hundred golden names were enraged on it, and all these contenders were on the sixth floor, which was the limit of Seed Contenders.
This ranking seldom changed since these hundred contenders were all from the old generation, and all were either high elders or heads of first-rate families and the upper echelon of the wise elf race.
Because the limit restriction was removed after acquiring a 6-star tattoo, they can freely leave ande back to the tower to challenge the trial anytime, from anywhere, if they want to.
So, these old fogies won''t challenge the higher-level floor anymore because it was simply too dangerous, and they weren''t willing to put their lives on the line and abandon their positions.
That was why only those who were not afraid of death would take the risk aftering that far, but only three have ever seeded to this day.
Ace gave that board an uninterested fleeting nce before he moved on toward the closed door of the next floor''s entrance!
Chapter 615 Tricking The Treasure Spirit
Ace looked at the closed door, which was locked from the inside with a low-grade-5 array lock. It would only open if someone first reported their wish to take the fifth-floor entrance test to the City Lord Mansion.
However, locks were thest thing Ace was worried about, and without wasting time, he used the lock eraser king technique to erase the lock.
Ace was already a Lock Eraser Grandmaster who could erase any lock under grade-7 and was a step away from bing the Lock Eraser King!
The door slowly parted after the lock was removed, and it drew some passerby''s attention as they looked at the open door with a hint of befuddlement because no one was standing there.
Furthermore, it was grandeur whenever this door was open as many came here to see who would try entering the 5th floor since it was a massive leap, and mostly those young lords of first-rate families would do it.
But right now, there was no one there, and the gate was opened and unprotected, which should''ve never happened.
However, despite the open door, no one dared to enter because they knew it would spell certain death if they failed.
Soon, this anomaly reached the City Lord Mansion!
---
After crossing the light gate, Ace appeared in the fighting hall, two timesrger than thest three floors.
The tower spirit''s impassive voice rang, but this time it didn''t immediately start the trial, "Seed Contender No.21,913, why didn''t you enjoy the benefits granted to you and strengthen your cultivation base? You have cleared four trials in 3 days which is a record, but you might really die if you act recklessly."
Ace didn''t show any emotion as he said respectfully, "Senior, don''t worry about me, I know what I''m doing, and besides, the stronger I am, the stronger my enemies will be, right? So, I will cultivate peacefully after I be the inheritor!"
"So, to speak, you want to clear all the ten trials with your current strength and didn''t want to cultivate to a higher rank until youplete them?" The Tower Spirit impassively asked.
"Yes," Ace replied.
He was sneering inwardly; he knew this might happen because if the killing was part of the whole scheme, and since he wasn''t killing, this meant he was not moving the way the tower spirit wanted him to.
Ace wanted to see its bottom line and just how many floors it let him clear before it spouted some bullshit to make him do what was necessary.
"There were people like you who also had the same resolve and aspiration, but they were all dead in the end. I won''t stop you from walking on that path, but you have talent, so consider it a piece of elderly advice.
"Now, Seed Contender No.21,913, defeat 10 Trial Puppets four levels higher than your current cultivation realm before you grant the passage toward the Fifth Floor!
"Remember, this is a fight between warriors; a warrior will always fight with their lives at stake and not retreat no matter what!"
"Thank you for your advice." Ace pretended to be grateful.
Ten puppets with tinum Soul River Core Cultivation appeared the next moment with weapons and armor.
However, Ace suddenly asked, "Senior, I''m only a Bronze River Core Cultivator. In the previous trial, I couldn''t help but notice that my opponent should be a Golden Soul Embryo Realm of 1st Minor Stage ording to my cultivation path.
"But why I''m facing Diamond Soul River Core and now tinum River Core puppets? No, disrespect, but will the next realm cultivator be tinum Soul Embryo Realm of 1st Minor Stage or Golden Soul Embryo Realm?
"Because we all know that the difference between a golden soul and a tinum soul realm is worlds apart. Please appease my plight, senior!"
Ace knew he was stating the fact, and this was also the chance to see if the tower spirit would go by the rules or bend them.
''If you think I''m a fool who will not notice this, then think again. I didn''t point it out in thest trial because I want to see how you react when I point it outter since it will appear you made a mistake twice.
''Since you won''t let me leave, then I will push you and see if you can show your face or not. The moment you did¡'' Coldness surfaced in the depth of Ace''s eyes.
He knew what he was doing was risky, but he was willing to take his chances on the base that it won''t dare to kill him if he showed talent or because of the soul segment.
There might be some kind of limitation on the tower spirit, and it might not be able to affect the contenders with the soul segment.
Ace hadn''t forgotten that it was a mere treasure spirit that was also damaged, so it could only do what its master told it to, and there would be very limited action it could take independently.
If it was really an ownerless treasure, then Ace might''ve been wary because an independent treasure without a master would be extremely dangerous, just like he first met with Moira.
Without the system, she could''ve killed him thousands of times before he could even touch the real treasure, much less think of subduing it.
Besides, this treasure was not even in the same league as his Eternal Thief Fate Compass despite its iplete state.
Just as Ace thought after he stated the fact, the puppets didn''t attack him.
The Tower Spirit spoke at this moment, "River Core Realm has six types of river cores, namely, Iron, Bronze, Silver, Golden, Diamond, and tinum. As long as they appeared in the same realm, then this made them the level of the same realm¡."
But before the tower spirit could continue its reason, Ace quickly spoke, "Then this means that in the soul realm, I will also face Iron Soul Realm Cultivators first. Because in ordance with the river core, one broke into the Soul Realm also has six types of states.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Senior is really an embodiment of fairness. Please continue the trial. I understand that I will face ''every stage'' that exists in the realm first, from lower to high. I shouldn''t have even asked."
Ace pretended to be in awe, but heughed deviously inside, ''Heh, although it is impossible to form an iron, bronze, or even silver soul. But since you said yourself, let''s see how you refute your own words.''
Another long silence descent in the hall as the tower spirit didn''t speak for a long time. It was clear that it couldn''t find Ace''s words refutable since it said that those levels exist in the same realm.
But it had never thought that Ace would bring up the soul realm state in the mix the very next moment it said those words. Now, if it made Ace face tinum soul realm puppets in the next round, it would be pping its own face.
However, suppose it made the puppets'' cultivation really iron soul realm to continue putting up the sham. In that case, Ace will ughter them like chickens because even tinum soul realm cultivators weren''t his match, much less soul realm cultivators with such a shallow foundation.
If it were any elves, they would''ve never dared to speak out since they consider Holy Spirit omnipotent and never questioned it. But, s, it was Ace who knew the true face of this Holy Spirit.
At this moment, a light suddenly descent on the puppets before their cultivation started to change from tinum soul river core to Golden Soul Embryo Realm 2nd Minor Stage!
"The trial shallmence!" The Tower Spirit''s impassive voice rang again as if the previous conversation had never happened, and neither it gave any exnation on the topic.
Ace''s lips curled up as he also pretended he didn''t say or see anything. He knew his limit and when to stop. It was already considered a win when he dissuaded the Tower Spirit into changing the cultivation ording to a bronze river core realm cultivator''s path.
It also proved his hypothesis that this tower spirit was not so intelligent and could be tricked as long as he gave valid facts. Lastly, the master of the tower spirit didn''t interfere.
This could only mean two things: it either didn''t care or didn''t have the capability, and Ace was more inclined toward thetter. The Tower Spirit was probably taking independent actions!
This was more than enough for Ace to be confident and hope to get out of here in a little over a year before the side mission''s time limit was up.
Afterward, Ace easily ughtered the Golden Soul Embryo Realm 2nd Minor Stage, they were slightly weaker than a tinum river core cultivator, and their soul attacks were even more ineffective on Ace.
Afterward, the tower spirit dered while the gate to the fifth floor manifested,
"Seed Contender No.21,913, congrattion on passing the Fourth Floor valiantly!
"Your rank on the Seed Contender Ranking Board has changed from Rank-121,913 to Rank-49,216
"State your name!"
Chapter 616 Winter’s Call
"My name?" Ace was astonished since the Tower Spirit had never asked him about his name before and only called him by his contender number.
"After a Seed Contender steps into the ranks of the top 50,000, they will have the privilege to call by their names!" The Tower Spirit impassively stated.
Ace thought for a moment before he said, "The name is ck Ghost!"
Ace suddenly thought about the very first name people ever called him after his first thievery in the river flower city. So, he decided to use it with a hint of mncholia.
Ofte, Ace had been thinking about his starting point. It somehow let him remain calm and gave him a reminder of who he was, and he should never forget that no matter what he became in the future.
"Seed Contender No.21,913, your name, ''ck Ghost,'' has been registered!
"ck Ghost, you can now earn Scared Site Time by killing the demonic beast on the fifth floor. For every five demonic beasts you y, you will earn 1 Minute of Scared Site.
"You can also earn more Scared Site Time by killing contenders of higher rank than you. The higher the rank of a contender you y, the more sacred site time you''ll get!
"The Scared Site is specially made for cultivation faster and to hone your skills. So, I suggest you use it and be stronger.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"You may now proceed to the next floor!"
''You wish¡'' Ace merely sneered inwardly.
He ''thanked'' the Tower Spirit and walked into the light door with only one purpose; to find the next entrance!
However, the moment Ace left the fighting hall and the gate vanished, a projection suddenly appeared showing a city built within a forest, and many elves wearing armor could be seen on the screen.
At this moment, the Tower Spirit''s cold voice rang,
"Attention, Seed Contenders of Fifth Floor!"
All those elves in the projection were startled as Tower Spirit''s voice rang within their heads, even those elves hunting in the wildness heard the tower spirit''s voice, and they stopped doing whatever they were doing. Some of them even kneed with reverence and mirth.
Tower Spirit''s cold voice rang again within every elf''s mind, "This is a Special Event Announcement for all Fifth Floor Seed Contenders, which will start in an hour!
"A Unique life form will be released on the fifth floor, and its purpose is to enter the sixth-floor entrance. Your task is to stop or hunt it down before it seeds!
"The winner will get 100 Hours in Sacred Site and a free lifeline.
"A Free Lifeline can be used to escape death once in the Floor Entrance Trial and retake the entrance test again.
"The Unique life form''s position will be exposed every 1 hour for 1 minute with a Holy Indicator.
"Furthermore, the realm gate will be opened only for those contenders who have left the realm from the fifth floor!
"The event willst until the life form is either dead or managed to pass the fifth floor. All the best, Seed Contenders!"
---
After the surprise announcement, the elves remained silent for a while before mirth shed past their eyes.
Because it was the first time such an ''event'' happened from the moment the tower had appeared. Just the reward of Free Lifeline was enough to make these elves go crazy.
They were already on the fifth floor and quite strong, but they were also timed because of it and seldom took the sixth-floor trial. But if they acquired this lifeline, they would have an extra chance even if they failed.
Furthermore, some shrewd elves noticed another thing, the Tower Spirit didn''t say the lifeline was only limited to the sixth-floor trial, which meant they could even use it on the higher floor!
Just this reason was enough to make them risk everything to hunt this ''life form'' at all costs.
The elves here were mostly from first-rate families, and even royal family members were present here. The fifth floor was a huge milestone for them, and it had even denser Qi than their central region.
So, these elves would stay here and cultivate while killing beasts or each other to earn sacred site time, and the hunting alliances here were on the whole another level than the fourth floor.
Lastly, some powerful contenders could no longer benefit from the fifth floor and were about toplete their 100 years limit. They were outside because they either didn''t want to die or they were preparing.
However, since the tower spirit had opened the ''realm gate'' for those contenders, they will definitely not miss this opportunity to earn this lifeline and fight tooth and nail for it.
Many elves instantly started to exit the fifth floor to report this huge event to their families and call the backup. The hunting alliances also started to call their members back as they prepared for the event about to begin in an hour.
The entire city was bustling with a killing aura!
---
A light gate appeared in the middle of a swamp, and Ace walked out in stealth without knowing about this ''special event.''
Ace observed the surrounding with thief sense and found some beasts lurking in a 3-mile radius, and they were all at least tinum river core realm!
Ace didn''t pay much attention to them since they were not in his way. He coolly opened the fate map, found the entrance''s direction, and headed there without any intention of stopping.
However, over half an hour passed when Ace abruptly stopped as a small panel popped up in the corner of his eyes, and a hint of ecstasy shed on his cold face.
=====
[Iing House Call!]
-Caller: Winter Fox (Faceless Thief)
-ept/Ignore/Reject
=====
''Could it be she had found out about Alina?'' Ace epted the call without hesitation with a hopeful expression.
It had already been months since he had issued Winter the mission to investigate Alina''s situation. But he never expected it to be done so quickly since only 4 or 5 months had passed since he had appeared in this realm.
Winter''s cold yet melodious voice sounded no longer childish, "You owe me 10 House Points for this call!"
Ace''s face fell as he coldly said, "Do you think I''m in the mood for shenanigans?"
"Oh, here I thought you never get angry. I guess you''re only human, after all. Hehe." Winter giggled with a hint of happiness as if she had got one over Ace.
"Will you believe it if I say I can cancel the mission right now and give you a new one with a punishment like you can''t earn house points for ten years?" Ace regained his calm as he coolly stated with a devious smile.
He knew Winter and Freya wouldn''t speak straight until he showed them their ce. He even felt they both were some kind of masochists who enjoyed this type of feeling and resent peacefulnguage.
Freya seemed to havee to terms with it after discovering the terrifying difference between her and Ace since she wentpletely dormant after that day.
On the other hand, Winter had no idea about it, so she was as ambitious as ever. However, now that Ace brought up his trump card, she had no choice but to obey!
"Hmph! How petty, you can do anything, but I can''t!" Her voice was filled with umbrage, but she didn''t dare to test Ace''s bottom line anymore.
She knew Ace was always happy-go-lucky, but he had be quite serene and stern after Alina got involved.
So, she jumped back to the main topic, "I have found information on the girl name Alina. I have to say, she was quite something even before she became more famous because of you."
Ace''s heart churned when he heard this and sternly questioned, "What did you find?"
"First, Alina Silver is not some random member of the Silver Ice n of Ancient Hunters, but she is the Silver Ice n''s only sessor and princess.
"She is also known among the other races with her title as the sword genius Ice Sword Fairy who hadprehended Ice Element Sword Intent when she was only in the Qi River Realm!" Winter revealed with a hint of awe in her tone.
Even she had never expected this family of Ace she had been tasked to look into would be so talented, but she knew since that girl was a pure-blooded hunter, she wasn''t really Ace''s family since he was human.
Still, she never expected Ace to have a connection with such a peerless genius. If she hadn''t known about the ''goddess'' behind Ace, she would''ve even felt that Ace didn''t have even right to speak her name, much less have any connection.
But she knew that even she could surpass such geniuses with the ''goddess'' help, not to mention Ace, who was even more monstrous than anyone out there.
Ace was astonished when he heard about Alina''s true background and how talented she was. A gentle smile surfaced on his stony face¡
Chapter 617 Condition Mission
However, Ace didn''t get too distracted as he frowned gloomily, ''If she''s had such a status and backing, then how the hell she fell into this mess?''
"What else?" Ace asked Winter with a grave expression.
Winter divulged, "Although I don''t know the entire detail yet, for some reason, she was captured on the human continent by their Ancestor. The strangest thing is the Silver Ice Lord had made an announcement himself that his daughter had been caught because she''s rted to you.
"Not only that, but a month prior, before you contacted me, the Ice Lord even announced that if you didn''t appear on the human continent in 5 years and surrender, Alina will be executed publicly!"
Ace''s eyes instantly turned ruthless when he heard it, as a sharp, murderous aura suddenly gushed out from his person like a raging tilde wave.
"Who captured her?" His voice was exempt from emotions.
Even Winter, on the other side, felt shuddered when she heard Ace''s voice; she quickly answered, "It is the top expert of the Human Race, Dream Shatter Ancestor!"
Shock surfaced in his cold eyes when he heard this familiar name, "Dream Shatter? Are you sure?"
"Yes. Dream Shatter had announced this himself after the Ice Lord''s statement, and his deration is simr to Ice Lord." Winter''s voice was grim, "You have to think it through because anyone with the ''Ancestor title'' is the strongest person in our world.
"Furthermore, to be called an Ancestor means you are only half a step from reaching the fabled eighth realm. To this day, there are only five known Ancestors, and all of them belong to the top five races.
"Lastly, the Devil, Demon, and Blood Ancestors are the most mysterious, and they''re known as the oldest ancestors in our world; no one knows if they are alive or not to this day, but no one dares to find out. As for Dream Shatter, he is the youngest.
"But from my family head, I heard that Dream Shatter is as dangerous as the top three ancestors if they are alive. I had never thought he was still alive since hest appeared thousands of years ago!"
Ace felt his heart turn cold when he heard this, ''I have never done anything to offend him? Could it be he''s after me because of my involvement with Empty Dream, and he somehow found out about our deal? It''s quite possible if he''s as strong as Winter describe him to me.''
The more Ace thought about it, the more he felt it was the case.
Ace took a deep breath to calm his chaotic emotions and coldly asked, "Why aren''t hunters doing anything and letting him step on their faces like this?
"Even if that Ice Lord is ruthless to his own flesh and blood, but by letting Dream Shatter capture a Hunter Princess then announcing it himself, isn''t this a blunt act of bowing his head to a race lower status than themselves?
"What are other hunters doing, are they gone idiots to let others step over their dignity without any consequences?"
Ace felt rage when he thought about how Ice Lord, who should be Alina''s father, was ruthless and had no backbone. He suddenly thought about how Alina had been living in the forest on low-levelnds with her grandpa and spent her entire childhood there.
Although she never told him about the details, she always put on a sad expression whenever he asked her about it, so he stopped prying.
Now, he felt there should be another reason for her to be present in the low-levelnds and living so miserably and almost dying because of her parent''s negligence when she was awakening.
He took the risk to steal from Billy''s store all for her sake, and if her so-called grandpa hadn''t shown up that day, the situation might''ve been much different. Or if he hadn''t acquired the System, she could''ve died.
The more he thinks about it, the angrier he bes. But he also knew that if he hadn''t offended everyone around, she might''ve never fallen into this mess, and he was still living in that city like a mortal.
Since Alina came back for him, they could''ve been united if he hadn''t walked on this path.
Still, he would never regret his past choices. His own parents had abandoned him, and he wouldn''t be able to find out about it if he had remained what he was back then.
"I told you this is the strangest part of all this. As for the other four major Hunter Families'' stances, they''repletely on board with this.
"You might not realize it, but you are a walking treasure trove right now. Not because you stole treasures but because of how you have done it. If I hadn''t joined you, even I might''ve been tempted to get my hands on you.
"So, if I''m not wrong when the deadline arrives, there will not be just human experts who wereying in wait for you, but other races will definitely want to take part in to get your secret. Especially the demon race; they had already started to move, and I''m sure Demon Emperor would personally make his way there.
"That''s why I''m advising you not to go there. It is a death trap. All of our lives are on the line here, not just yours! But if Goddess can help you, then I''m not worried."
Ace fell into silence, even though he knew it was a death trap, but he was unwilling to abandon Alina, or he knew he would never be the same if something happened to her because of him.
As for the help of the ''goddess,'' he knew better than anyone that it was even more impossible since there was no goddess at all. The System was not something he couldmand freely; it was the exact opposite!
? ''If I could just be strong enough!'' Ace felt extremely helpless like never before. He knew in the grand picture of the Golden Sky World he was still insignificant.
"Alright, I''ll think about it. Keep an eye on the situation for me until I return. If possible, I hope you can go to the Azure Wind Continent and infiltrate their ranks. But if you don''t want to, then Ipletely understand." Ace sighed in the end.
He was already quite grateful that Winter had acquired so much crucial information in a short span of time despite the looming danger of the demons.
But he knew Winter was perfect for this job.
Winter sorted in exasperation, "Fine, but the reward better be good!"
Ace felt warmth when Winter agreed, "Alright, I''ll try to join you as soon as possible."
"You better!" Winter scoffed before ending the house call.
Ace then released Winter''s reward and then issued another mission.
---
Inside a luxurious room,
A demoness wearing the royal demon army''s uniform was sitting on afortable futon.
Suddenly a knock rang on the closed door.
The demoness pursed her lips, "What is it?"
A respectful voice sounded, "Pardon my intrusion, Fleet Captain; the ships are ready for the voyage to Azure Wind Continent. The 1st Royal Fleet Admiral had summoned all the Fleet Captains for the briefing!"
The demoness'' eyes shone with a hint of happiness, "Alright, wait for a moment. I''ll be there!"
At this moment, a dark projection suddenly appeared in front of her eyes.
______
[Scouting Mission: Find information on Alina Silver has beenpleted!]
-Reward: 500,000 House Points
--
[Winter Fox House Point(s): 509,220
---
[Thief House Leader (Ace White) has issued a Condition Mission]
[Condition Mission: With everyplete condition, the corresponding reward of the condition will be released!]
---
-Mission Introduction: Infiltration!
- Condition (1): Infiltrate the Azure Wind Continent!
- Condition (2): Infiltrate Dream Shatter''s Organization!
- Condition (3): Find Alina''s whereabouts!
- Condition (4): Map the target area and the threats!
- Condition (5): Infiltrate the ce where Alina''s being held, hostage!
- Condition (6): Escape with Alina!
--
-Time: 5 years
--
-Reward(s):
-Condition (1): 25,000 House Points
- Condition (2): 50,000 House Points
- Condition (3): 100,000 House Points
- Condition (4): 250,000 House Points
- Condition (5): 500,000 House Points
- Condition (6): 5,000,000 House Pointsn/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
--
-Punishment (If not able toplete the first two conditions minimum): Call House Leader Ace: My King for 100 Years!
______
Winter''s ted face instantly contorted when she saw the punishment and couldn''t help but ground her teeth, ''How?! Did he guess that I had predicted he would give me this type of mission next, and now he''s making things difficult for me!''
The more she thought about it, the more she felt it was the case, and her fear of Ace increased.
''I''ll die before calling you My King, you scoundrel!'' She thought with indignation.
She even wanted to call Ace back to berate him, but she held back as she imagined Ace''s smug face. He will definitely tease her for being seen through so easily. So, she can only stomp her feet in vexation.
However, what she didn''t know was that to set up this condition mission with six conditions, Ace had to put up a punishment with the minimum requirement of 2plete conditions, and the rewards were also at the limit set by the System for this mission.
So, in the end, he made this punishment out of whim since he didn''t want to make it a severe punishment. He had no idea that Winter had already predicted this type of missioning.
It was all but a misunderstanding!
Chapter 618 Beacon Of Death (1)
After issuing the missing to Winter, Ace closed the system interface with a stern look in his eyes and looked toward the gray, gloomy sky as if he wanted to peer right through it.
''I must leave this ce as soon as possible and reach the Azure Wind Continent. I never thought I would still end up encountering Dream Shatter despite keeping my nose out of Empty Dream''s matter.
''If I hadn''t known Empty Dream and his current state, I might''ve underestimated Dream Shatter. ording to him, the guy nned a coup d''¨¦tat for his soul cultivation technique with Devil''s race¡'' Ace thought in a gloomy mood.
He remembered everything Empty Dream had told him to seek his help with the Dream Shatter. He had already predicted that Dream Shatter wasn''t someone he could mess with the very day Empty Dream revealed about his past.
That guy was an astute fellow who even backstabbed his father like master and Ace; of all people knew, this type of person didn''t have a bottom line, and they could do anything to achieve their objective.
In a sense, Ace was also the same, but he still wasn''t cold enough to abandon someone he cared about deeply.
That''s why Dream Shatter had an absolute advantage over him.
''Well, he still didn''t know whether I woulde, and this is someone I could exploit. I just need to exit this damn tower!'' Ace''s eyes shimmered with indignation before he stood up and headed toward the next entrance at full speed.
He knew the biggest obstacle in his way was actually the Regal Fiend Tower, and the most infuriating thing was he knew even if he used the instant sh teleportation, he would end up in the dark realm where the tower''s actual body lies.
This tower was his only gateway toward the Golden Sky World!
However, after over twenty minutes, Ace''s steps came to an abrupt halt as his expression changed because all of a sudden, the crimson true soul shone dark ghostly light giving off a sinister feeling.
But Ace didn''t feel anything life-threatening and thought with uncertainty, ''Did the tower spirit spy on me or something else?''
He soon got his answer, albeit a dreadful one.
Suddenly, a pir of blinding white light descended on him, reaching all way up to the sky, and it was five meters thick.
Ace''s first reaction was to block, as he thought it was an attack. But he didn''t find any oppressive power from it, and despite him dodging it, the light seemed to mark him as itnded right on him.
His entire stealthy figure shed in white light like a beacon in the darkness.
Ace tried to escape the light pir, but to his astonishment and horror, the light pir moved with him like it waspletely attached to him. No matter how much faster he moves or uses treasures, he can''t get rid of the mobile light pir.
Although the light pir was not physically harmful, it was even more appalling because Ace waspletely exposed, and there was nothing more dangerous than this to him.
''Don''t tell me; it''s that tower scheme to get back at me and stop me from crossing into the next floor!'' Ace''s expression was nasty as he knew there was no room for doubt here.
The shimmering crimson true soul was evidence of it, and he knew the pir of light was probably connected to the crimson true soul. He could easily destroy it and get rid of this light pir, but he knew it wasn''t the time or ce.
So, he gnashed his teeth and endured, but he knew this pir of light was absolute bad news because he wasn''t alone there. Those elves might take the pir as some kind of treasure, and they will try to investigate it.
The only relief was that he was still far from the elves'' settlement.
However, when a minute passed, the light pir suddenly started to fade as the crimson true soul also went dormant.
Ace felt massive relief when he saw this, but his expression was not too good. He grimly thought, ''It onlysted for a minute? What in the world did that shit stirrer try to achieve by this? It''s quite clear it didn''t want to kill me, or it could''ve marked me permanently; I know it can¡.''
The more Ace thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.
So, he didn''t dare to move toward the elven settlement anymore, not before finding out if the light pir was just a malfunction or trap. He was inclined toward the former.
Because it was a trap then, if it got activated close to the elven city, he knew thousands of elves would be hunting him down.N?v(el)B\\jnn
The moment he thought of this point, Ace''s eyes widened as it finally dawned upon him, ''Don''t tell me it''s forcing me into killing others?''
Ace knew there was a high chance that it was the actual reason; even if it weren''t, he''d find out soon.
He quickly headed in another direction. He was distancing himself from the next-floor entrance. Likewise, he wanted to test his theory about the light pir first before making another move.
After an hour, the crimson true soul suddenly stirred, and Ace''s expression was not good because the very next moment thereafter, a tick pir of light descended upon him, just like before.
''This bastard is really up to no good!'' Ace cussed with killing intent in his eyes as he looked at the light surrounding him. He started to wait with an awful expression.
However, Ace''s heart went cold because, after forty seconds, his thief sense suddenly picked up something or things!
Without hesitation, Ace opened the fate map and nearly cursed out loud because many red fate points were appearing around him like fireflies.
''He''s really pushing me to kill!''
Ace knew his conjecture was most probably correct, or this many enemies won''t be able to appear in this part of the fifth floor unless they were looking for him!
Chapter 619 Beacon Of Death (2)
A team of elves solely formed with ten women was moving toward the light pir at high speed; all of them were wearing elegant tight body armor of high grades.
A petite elf pursed her lips as she coldly uttered, "Young Miss, we''re not alone!"
At the very front, a tall, graceful elf with an oval face and glossy white skin arched her brows slightly as she replied, "It appeared our scout wasn''t the only one who had spotted the ''unique beast'' an hour ago. No worries, it won''t be so easy to get the prize.
"Since the prize of this event is so enticing, then the unique beast will also be difficult to deal with. If I''m not wrong, whoever delivered the final blow will decide the final winner, just like the other beasts or contenders.
"So, we don''t need to stay on the frontline. Let those idiot men do the heavy work for me." The Young Miss'' eyes went cold as she dered.
The other elven women also pull cold smiles.
However, at this moment,
"Ahhhhhh¡"
"NOOOO¡"
"Stopppp!..."
"What is happeni¡ahhhhh¡."
High pitch, blood-curdling screams started to reverberate in the vicinity. All of them wereing from the light pir position.
The group of women abruptly stopped with a hint of astonishment in their eyes as they no longer moved ahead. More and more screams were ringing in the area as powerful Qi fluctuations filled the air.
"What is happening there?" A muscr elf woman mumbled with a hint of fear.
"ughter!" The young miss replied with a grave tone, "We had underestimated the unique beast. Let''s hide our auras and approach the battlefield. Don''t make any move unless I give themand."
The others nodded as they all slowly moved toward the light pir.
However, they were only halfway there when the light pir faded away¡
---
Ace coldly looked at the cleaved corpses of elves surrounding him as the light faded away.
He then coolly looked at those remaining elves surrounding him with ugly expressions. They had alle like mad dogs toward Ace, but soon they realized that he wasn''t a prey they could hunt with numbers.
Within a few seconds, almost fifty elves were dead, and the appalling thing was they didn''t even know how they were killed.
It all happened in a sh as all those elves lunging at Ace suddenly cut into pieces like an invisible meat grinder around him.
The even more frustrating thing was they couldn''t escape because one of the team leaders had activated a high grade-5 barrier talisman, so Ace can''t escape, but it seemed they were the ones who were truly caged.
Now, only twenty-one elves remained, and all of them were using protective formations on themselves while keeping their distance as they looked at the hooded ''monster'' with appalled expressions.
"Just what kind of monster is this?! How can he survive all of ourbined attacks?" One of the elves in white armor grimly eximed in elvishnguage.
"This is not the horrified thing; don''t you see he hadn''t even moved an inch from his spot? Damn, that ck Poll Leader had screwed us all by using this talisman, and now he''s dead, and we''re stuck with this monster. I should''ve never joined hands with you morons!" A burly elf holding a spear cursed in a fury.
"The barrier will onlyst for five minutes. He only activated it because he was afraid that others might try to snatch thest hit, but we had made a terrible mistake in overestimating this abomination!
"Now, those who were still standing on the sidelines will profit from our losses. We can still make aeback as long as we escape with our reaming men. Let them exhaust this thing!" A beautiful elf weakly stated.
They were all leaders ofrge hunting alliances, prominent figures of their families, and one of the few who were still present in the tower when the announcement was made.
They thought they could finish this event and im the rewards before those powerful alums joined the fray. However, things were now looking grim for all of them, and they knew they had made a mistake by going after this guy without ample preparation.
At this moment, Ace couldn''t help but chuckle, rming the others before his icy voice sounded, "Do you idiots think I can''t understand your lousynguage, so you''re making your ns right in front of me?"
The others were appalled when they heard the ''monster'' talking in their sacrednguage, which was actually only taught to first-rate families for some reason.
"You can speak elvish?" The burly elf was instantly rmed with a pale expression.
The others were also horrified by this revtion.
Ace coolly said, "I can even speak what your ancestor can''t so don''t look rmed. Now, I would like to know if you guys know what is going on with this light pir."
The others looked at each other with a hint of terror as they started to get why this was called a ''Unique Life Form'' by the ''Holy Spirit.''
However, no one replied as they tingly held their weapons and were ready to defend until the talisman effect was exhausted and they could flee this ce.
But they didn''t know Ace was almost done with his soul probe on the skinny elf leader, and that''s why he hadn''t finished them off and was only standing there.
Ace knew these elves were here with a purpose, and it was connected with the light pir, so he didn''t show them mercy and killed those who were utterly blinded by greed and charging at him like lunatics.
The reaming ones sober up on their own when they realize the strength difference.
However, Ace never took them seriously since he knew the tower spirit was behind all this and when he annexed all the memories, he sneered with killing intent in his eyes.
''A unique life from, huh? What a freaking good idea.'' Ace wanted tough out loud in anger when he got the entire memory set of this so-called event which was to kill him or get killed by him.
''I never thought it would take a drastic measure to make me kill others. Now, all the elves will do anything to kill me just to acquire this lifeline thing, and this is just the beginning. Those powerful elves outside the tower will surely join in.
''They''re all stuck on the fifth floor because of the fear of death, and now that they had a chance to advance, I don''t think they will miss it¡.'' Ace grimaced as he thought about how those death elves were charging at him hysterically before he put them out of their misery.
He could sense their madness and bloodlust as if they were possessed by something and only snapped out of it when their life was threatened.
"I don''t want to kill anyone, so I will spare your lives. In return, I want you to deliver my message to your leaders. Tell them that as long as they don''t get in my way and the entrance, I will peacefully leave you guys alone or¡." Ace suddenly released his murderous aura.
Those elves were stunned and shuddered when they felt the thick killing intent; they were in disbelief!
The next moment, Ace''s figure suddenly vanished, and before they coulde to their sense, a terrifying explosion reverberated behind them, and the barrier surrounding them shattered like ss.
Everyone felt their heart tremble since they knew only someone with a peak tinum realm cultivator could shatter the barrier.
Those who were lying in wait were also bbergasted by the sudden turn of events. Some of them madly started to search for the escaped monster.
"What should we do?" The elf woman asked with an appalled face.
"What can we do? Let''s go and join hands with the Golden Royal Alliance. They will happily ept us for our information and experience with the beast." A hint of madness shed past the burly elf as he coldly uttered.
A crimson haze suddenly shed past every elf''s sober eyes before the other elves seemed to have lost their short live rationality.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
They all pulled cold smiles and agreed to the burly elf''s suggestion.
---
Ace easily escaped those elves'' encirclement, and this time he didn''t go anywhere but headed straight toward the elven city.
Because he knew those elves would not be going to give up if this soul segment influenced their mind, and the more he waited here, the more of those strong elves joined the hunt.
Another hour passed before the light pir got activated again. Arge group of elves again attacked him, and they came at him like hungry wolves.
However, Ace didn''t kill any of them this time, as he simply dodged all of their attacks while moving at full speed. Unfortunately, those elves can''t keep up with his top speed.
Ace stood a mile away from the elven city and thought coldly, ''Since you wanted me to kill, I will kill everyone to put you at ease. This will be my most atrocious act!''
Chapter 620 Beacon Of Death (3)
The Elven City on the fifth floor, the City Lord''s mansion.
Elves with powerful auras were gathered within a spacious hall as they all wore gloomy expressions while looking at the six elves with somewhat pale expressions.
A handsome elf with fierce looks coldly spoke, "I don''t know if you six are exaggerating or it''s just that you are no longer worthy of the first-rate family statue. Not only did you guys fail to exhaust the ''monster'' three times in a row, but you can''t even gauge his urate strength. What a bunch of trashes!"
The six elves trembled when they heard the berating of the elf, but they didn''t dare to retort because this elf was from the Royal Family''s branch, Louie Wisemen. Not only that, but he was one of the oldest elves on the fifth floor, and his 100-year time limit will expire in over one year.
Not only Louie but half of the elves sitting in this hall were in the same situation as Louie, and all of them were afraid of dying so they didn''t take the next floor''s test.
However, now that they got another chance, they naturally won''t miss it and are here to fight for it. They arrived as fast as they could since they knew if someone else got the prize, they will regret it for life.
But, when they finally arrived in high spirits, they found that the ''Monster'' waspletely out of their imagination. Not only could he escape any formation traps, but even while trapped, he couldn''t be hurt as no attack hit their mark.
No suppression or attacking talisman was working, and all the elves who were madly going after him could do nothing but gnash their teeth and haplesslye back after exhausting all their resources.
That''s why this meeting was called by the ''Senior Elves'' to collect all the information on the monster and create an ultimate alliance bybining every First-Rate Alliance together.
The six elves being berated were the leaders of the sixrgest First-Rate Alliances in the fifth-floor elven city. The oval face elven beauty was also present who had suffered terribly at Ace''s hands, and she had no choice but to join this ultimate alliance.
However, these ''Senior Elves'' were all sly foxes as they didn''t dare to take action themselves and only sent them as scouting parties to exhaust the monster and measure his strength and abilities.
Yet, they failed every time despite trying every single method they could think of, and even the treasures given to them by these Senior Elves failed to hold back the Monster.
If the Monster weren''t interested in killing them, they would''ve died hundreds of times already, but for some reason, he didn''t attack and only dodged, which made everyone curious about why he was like this.
A middle-aged elf with an amiable smile said, "Lord Louie, there''s no need to get angry at the youngsters. They had tried their best. It''s just that the Monster is quite strong and far more rigors than we gave him credit for."
This elf was an Elf Elder of one of the royal family branches, Ernest Wisemen.
"Then what do you suggest, Elder? With every passing hour, the Monster is getting closer to the city." Another Elf Elder sighed with pursed lips.
"We''ll wait," Ernest said meaningfully.
A beautiful young elf girl which a cold expression speaks, "Are you suggesting we should wait for him toe into the city and then kill him in one fell swoop?"
"Indeed, Lady Caylee." Ernest nodded, "We all know his final destination, which means we had an advantage, and if we used it wisely, there is no way that monster could get out of here alive, no matter how strong or careful he is.
"Besides, it is far better than exhausting our forces in hunting him. It will be wise to gather them in the city and have them defend the outer area while forming a defensive line."
"Heh, it is indeed feasible, but what if someone else delivers the killing blow and takes the reward in the end? Furthermore, who among us will take the final reward?" A tall elf sneered at this moment.
"The reward naturally belonged to whoever had the ability. But first, we need to stop that monster''s advancement, and if we still fight against each other, it will be toote to regretter." Ernest coolly stated.
"Hmph, let me see who dares to snatch thest hit from the royal family. They will not have their lives to enjoy those rewards if they dare to meddle in the royal family''s business." Louie coldly dered as he looked at some elves in the hall, and all of them lowered their head with indignation in their eyes.
But they didn''t dare to speak since they all knew that thepetition belonged to the royal family now, and they were now pawns. s, they were helpless even to resist since the royal family''s forces were not something that first-rate alliances like theirs could challenge.
Now that the Royal Family were working together and all of their powerful members were gathered here, they had even less chance to resist.
"Where is the Monster right now? How much time do we have to set up the defensive line?" Caylee coldly inquired.
"ording to our reports¡" An elf was about to reply when the closed door was banged open, and a panic-stricken elf entered, disturbing the meeting.
A burly elf with a scar on his square chin frowned as he coldly asked, "What is it?" He was the city lord of the fifth-floor elven city, Vaughn Wisemen.
Every Royal Elf Family member had ''Wisemen'' as theirst name.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The elf blurted with panic, "Lord Vaughn, the Holy Mark, appeared within the city just ten seconds ago!"
"What?! Didn''t I order you to block the gates and activate all the formations and heavily guard the gates? Then how the hell did that monster enter the city?!" Vaughn lost his cool as he roared in panic.
Everyone''s eyes went wide when they heard this.
"We''ll deal with thister. Now we need to take action quickly!" Ernest stood up with someone ugly expression.
Louie furiously roared, "Go, you fools, and summon everyone and tell them to stop him at all cost or they won''t live to see another day if they dare to hold back!"
---
Ace looked at the hundreds of elves surrounding him while he was enveloped in the light pir. Despite knowing the consequences of entering the elven city, he still entered.
As for the protective formations and closed gates, they couldn''t stop him no matter what. If he wanted, he could''ve easily headed directly toward the next entrance and overpowered the elves guarding that ce before the light pir got activated.
But Ace didn''t do it because he wanted to make sure the tower spirit won''t pull such a stunt on the higher floors since there might be soul manifestation realm cultivators on the sixth floor or seventh floor.
To do that, he needed to kill these elves until the tower spirit believed that Ace was already under the influence of the soul segment like those elves and won''t think of him as an anomaly.
As for these elves, he made them all believe that he wasn''t attacking them by avoiding their ambushes and only dodging upon attack. Lastly, he wanted to achieve another thing by killing all the elves in the elven city, which was fear!
He wanted those elves who were still not in the city to tell those high-ranking elves what happened here, and even if the tower spirit pulled another trick, they would think twice before acting against him.
But it still remains to see if this method will work or not since there were soul segments in y here.
At this moment, those elves suddenly used long-range skills on Ace, and many arches shot Qi arrows. He was quickly enveloped in a torrent of oppressive Qis.
"Hmph!" Ace sneered at this moment before two swords appeared in his hand, and the very next moment, a sharp aura suddenly gushed out from his person.
Something unimaginable happened at this moment, which left these elves dumbfounded in horror.
The tsunami of Qi suddenly froze in its ce before a powerful sword aura enveloped it, and the next moment, the frozen Qi suddenly burst into particles, creating terrifying shock waves which pushed those elves back a few meters.
However, it didn''t end with just their attack being failed; when they regained their footing and looked toward Ace, their eyes widened in horror because there were hundreds of white sword lights above Ace''s head, and there were still more sword lights manifesting.
They all sense terrifying sword intent from those light swords, and their murderous expressions turn into fear.
"Run, you fools!" An alliance leader roared in a horrified tone.
''Toote.'' Ace''s eyes turned ruthless, ''Eternal Thief''s Swords; Thousand Soul Swords Wave!''
Thereby, all the manifest swords swished at a terrifying speed toward those elves like an unavoidable menace!
Chapter 621 Last Stand Formation (1)
In the outer area of the Elven City on the Fifth Floor, heart-wrenching screams were reverberating while cries of mercy rang after another before they died down with a roar filled with anguish¡
Those who tried to run met with failure and only ended up cutting into pieces. Soon, the entire area was filled with dismembered bodies and streams of gore and blood.
A hooded figure stood without any bloodstains in the middle of this gruesome carnage. Ace looked at all the dead bodies with emotionless eyes as he felt nothing but coldness in his heart.
''A weak life is worth nothing in the world of strong¡'' Ace thought all of a sudden before a tremor ran down his body. He felt he was close to understanding something, but it was only fleeting before he regained his demeanor with aplicated look deep within his eyes.
At this moment, Ace felt a strong fluctuation from his true soul, and when he observed, he was stunned because the crimson true soul was shimmering in a dark sheen.
The dark pattern on the crimson true soul became apparent at terrifying speed, and it was finallyprehensible after it absorbed all soul segments from the dead.
Ace was astonished because the dark pattern actually resembled a face, and he felt his blood run cold because the face looked fiendish and gave a ghostly aura.
''Is this the reason for the tower spirit to make me kill? I can vaguely feel my mind getting effective with bloodlust just by observing this thing. Just what kind of vile entity is this?'' Ace felt fear.
He knew he would be the puppet of this thing without the system, just like those elves. Still, he became even more vignt and was determined to y his part as a puppet and didn''t dare to underestimate the enemy just by its broken state.
At this moment, the system''s voice rang,
=====
-Sessful Pick Pocket(s): 194
-Reward: 109,500 Thief Points
--
[Thief Point(s): 34,010,500]
--
[Thievery Rank(s)]
-Low-Level Thievery(s): 88
--
-Thievery Required for next Rank:
[Low-Level Thievery(s): 92/10,000]
[Middle-level Thievery(s): 2/1,000]
[High-level Thievery(s): 0/100]N?v(el)B\\jnn
=====
Although Ace had killed those elves, he didn''t forget about stealing their storage rings. Since he was going to kill them, he might as well get something out of it. This way, the thief symbol won''t even have the time to appear, and no one will be able to guess his true identity, or the tower spirit will suspect anything.
His control over soul threads and pick-pocket was godly at this juncture. In panic and fear of death, those elves didn''t even realize their storage rings had gone missing.
Ace then took the scatter weapons, array tes, and formation tes as well before he moved walked toward the inner area of the city without activating his stealth. Since he had decided to cause a massacre, he will go through with it unless it won''t endanger his life.
These elves were most at the peak of tinum river core or diamond soul realm cultivators, so he naturally wasn''t afraid. As for those treasures, only a grade-7 or above treasure could pose a threat to him.
He also acquired memories about the most powerful contenders on this floor. They were around the advance tinum soul realm, which he could easily handle.
Lastly, there was no leading royal elf family member on this floor; only they had grade-7 treasures, and they could be counted on one hand.
So, those treasures were quite precious, and they won''t take them out unless it was an impending crisis on their very existence.
In a sense, Ace was invincible on the fifth floor, and even the sixth floor won''t pose any threat!
As Ace moved toward the inner area of the city, more and more elves started to ambush him, but they all met with only one end, death!
Their cloaking treasures or abilities were utterly useless, and even if they were hidden hundreds of meters away, they still got killed. Ace was stealing and killing everyone and anyone who was appearing on the fate map range!
The most powerful members of the ultimate alliance wore grave expressions as they were all encircling a building with a doom-like structure. It was the entrance gate toward the sixth floor.
There were hundreds of elves, and all of them were in the soul realm at least, and the leaders from the branch royal families were guarding the entrance gate.
"What''s the situation?" Ernest asked while holding amunication cube as he wore a grave expression. However, no answer came from the other side as it was utter silence.
"The 12th ambush party is not answering! Why the situation on your side?" Caylee couldn''t help but look at Louie, who was fuming.
"That trash won''t answer either! Just what the fuck is going on!" He cursed.
Vaughn also had an ugly expression as he looked at the elves encircling the building and said grimly, "Before I lost contact with my scouts, they report about hundreds of ambushers being killed mysteriously, and they''re probably dead as well."
"How is this possible? Did that Monster so terrifying? I heard his cultivation is only bronze river core realm, and he wasn''t attacking before. Just what is going on?" Another female elf questioned sternly.
"We are as clueless as your Green Elder. We were caught off guard by the Monster breaking into the city despite our precautions. Now we are losing contact with everyone assigned in the outer and inner areas.
"I''m afraid that Monster had deliberately tricked us into things that he can''t attack, and his cultivation is most probably also a cunning trick. He most likely is at the peak of tinum soul realm cultivation!" Ernest grimly sighed.
"Even if he''s at the peak of the tinum soul realm, he''ll still not match for us ninebined." Louie disdainfully stated.
Caylee nodded before her beautiful eyes turned cold, "I agreed. But just in case, we should better be prepared for the worse. I have borrowed the Last Stand Formation from Lord Randall just in case we had no other choice."
Ernest''s eyes shimmered with a hint of shock as he eximed, "Lady Caylee, is this Last Stand Formation the same treasured High-Grade-6 formation of the Main Royal Family that can grant someone the power of Early Stage Soul Manifestation Realm for a short period of time?"
Everyone looked at Caylee with a hint of astonishment when they heard this.
Caylee smiled aloofly as she nodded, "Elder Ernest is indeed knowledgeable. It is indeed the same Last Stand Formation you just described."
"Then this Lord Randall should be¡?" Louie''s arrogant expression broke into a fearful one as he thought of someone terrifying.
Caylee chuckled as she nodded, "It seemed you have guessed it. Lord Randall is the Second Son of the Elf Queen and also one of the three youths who had a chance to enter the seventh floor and be the fourth Holy Elf!"
"So, it is Second Elf Prince!"
Everyone eximed since they all were members of the branch royal families, and they knew the difference between the branch and main family was a world apart.
There were only Five Branch Royal Families, which consisted of hundreds of ns together, if not thousands.
Polygamy was quite normal for elves with high status, and aw awareness expert could have as many wives or husbands as they wished.
The Elf Queen was such an example as she had two husbands who were both Law Awareness Realm Experts. Lastly, they were none other than the two other persons who had managed to enter the seventh floor beside the elven queen.
Whoever managed to appear on the seventh floor was called the Holy Elf by the elven race.
So, it was only natural that they were astonished when they heard Caylee had such a terrifying connection with someone who had the potential to be a Holy Elf!
Caylee''s Grandfather was the Law Awareness Realm Expert of their Branch Family, but it didn''t mean she could have contact with the Second Elf Prince because of it.
"Why¡" Ernest suddenly guessed something as he looked at Caylee''s aloof and gorgeous face.
Caylee then revealed with a hint of blush, "I''m already betrothal to the Second Prince as his second concubine!"
Everyone was bbergasted, while the other two women in the group felt jealous since they knew this woman was going to soar.
They finally understand how she got her hands on such a precious formation from the royal family.
"Congrattion, Consort!"
They all changed the way they called Caylee, but deep down, they cursed her for being a wily tramp because they knew Caylee only revealed this fact now because she wanted to get thest hit on the Monster at the expense of using that formation.
If it was before, they might''ve tried fighting, but they knew the Monster was going to be a massive threat if they didn''t work together, and they weren''t willing to take the risk of testing the waters either!
Chapter 622 Last Stand Formation (2)
Ace walked into arge square filled with powerful elves as they surrounded the entrance toward the sixth floor.
However, his expression remained nonchnt as he looked at the notification panel.
=====
-Sessful Pick Pocket(s): 1,570
-Reward: 11,810,450 Thief Points
--
[Thief Point(s): 45,820,950]
--
[Thievery Rank(s)]
-Low-Level Thievery(s): 989
-Middle-Level Thievery(s): 10
--
-Thievery Required for next Rank:
[Low-Level Thievery(s): 1,081/10,000]
[Middle-level Thievery(s): 12/1,000]
[High-level Thievery(s): 0/100]
=====
Despite not wanting to, Ace had to admit that he profited from this massacre big time, and the elves on the fifth floor were also quite wealthy.
This number could be much higher if he had gone after those fleeing elves, but he decided to go against it. He only killed those who were in his way and spared those who escaped his fate map detection.
Nevertheless, he was still notpletely at ease because the fiendish face on the crimson true soul was now vivid, and a terrifying nefarious aura was emitting from it.
Despite the System''s suppression, Ace could still feel a terrible bloodlust thatpelled him to kill everything and anything that stood in his path.
Ace mused that it was most likely the true purpose of killing others with the soul segments. Ace even increased his cultivation to the Golden Soul River Core Stage to not draw any suspicion.
Because even after killing all those elves, if he still remained at the bronze river core stage, then the tower spirit would definitely be suspicious of him and might do something even more excessive.
Ace then turned his focus on the elves in front of him with a rueful expression, he didn''t want to take this kind of action, but he knew they were a lost cause because of the soul segment influence.
Those elves were holding weapons and were positioned in army formation. The arches were at the front while warriors with shields covered them. It was like they were facing an army, not just one person.
No one could me them either since they all had heard about the infamous ''Monster'' who was virtually unstoppable.
More than half of their men were still returning since no one had expected Ace to enter the city so easily, and now they had no choice but to hold him back until the reinforcement arrived.
Still, they were all high-ranking members of their alliances and had the support of members of the Royal Family branches, so they were not entirely afraid.
But some elves with clear minds were quite fearful because they noticed Ace hade alone and no elf was following him. This could only mean that those elves instated in outer and inner areas were either dead or deserted.
In both cases, it meant the ''Monster'' in front of them was not easy to deal with and was a terrifying being.
Yet, they can do nothing about their difort since those high-ranking elves in the back are also equally terrifying.
"You beast, obediently surrender, and I will give you a painless death. Or you will die in the most painful way!" Caylee''s cold voice rang reverberated in the vicinity at this moment.
Ace couldn''t help but looked toward the entrance building and saw nine elves right in front of the locked door. He also noticed that eight of them were sitting cross-legged in a trigram format.
Furthermore, eight yellow formation tes were hovering above their heads, while the elf woman standing in front of this group had a ck formation te above her head.
''A formation?'' Ace squinted his eyes since he didn''t feel any threat from that formation and mused that it was still inactive.
Still, he didn''t think much of it since that women were only at the peak of the tinum Soul Realm cultivation stage, and so did those eight sitting elves.
Ace replied with an equally cold tone, "Why don''t you all get off my way, and I''ll spare your insignificant lives? You should learn from your deadrades. Unfortunately, your fates won''t be any better if you remain stubborn."
''So, he killed everyone?'' Caylee''s eyes narrowed, ''There were over thousands of warriors. I don''t believe this guy wasn''t exhausted after killing them all. I won''t lose this chance to enter the sixth floor and then increase my status and worth in Prince''s eyes. Even if I had to sacrifice everyone here!''
Killing intent shed past her eyes as she coldly uttered, "Then I shall send you on your way personally. You should be honored to die by my hand!"
The other elves were all astonished when they heard Caylee''s arrogant deration. They were thinking that she would be going to use them as cannon folds to exhaust the enemy.
But she unexpectedly volunteered to fight, and a possibility surfaced in their minds.
Could it be the Monster was bluffing and already on the verge of death, and Caylee was afraid that they would identally kill him and calm the rewards?
Greed surfaced in some of the elves'' eyes, but they didn''t charge forward and decided to see what would happen first.
But some of them thought that Caylee''s confidence came from the strange formation te hovering above her and other members of the royal family''s heads.
As for those eight sitting there, they could only smile bitterly as they knew they had no fate with the Monster anymore. So, they chose to curry favor with Caylee instead of offending her by fighting for the Monster.
It was far more beneficial to them since this would give them some influence in the main royal family.
They were not confident in killing the Monster on their own. As for robbing Caylee of her formation, they would only be helping the Monster by fighting among themselves, and Caylee might have other trump cards. Or she won''t dare to reveal the existence of the Last Stand Formation so easily.
They might have other thoughts if there was any other time or if she had revealed the formation before the Monster infiltrated the city and caught them unprecedentedly.
Ace looked at Caylee, who was walking toward him as those elves were making way for her.
Ace couldn''t help but feel wary, so he instantly went on high alert. He could guess that the formation tes were the source of this elf''s arrogance and confidence.
"Active the formation!" She gentlymanded at this moment.
"Hmph, paltry tricks!" He sneered.
They would be fools to think that he would give them time to activate the formation by just standing there.
While those elves were wasting time standing there, Ace had already spread hundreds of soul threads, all of which were attached to those elves'' storage rings.
Even arrogant Caylee nor those eight elves detect the presence of the soul threads. They were simply not matched for Ace''s soul power.
At this moment, Ace sent soul threads toward the formation tes hovering above their heads. However, Ace was stunned when the soul thread got destroyed when they were an inch away from touching the formation tes.
Ace squinted his eyes because this meant the formation tes were already active.
At this moment, the eight sitting in a trigram pattern suddenly pped their hands together, and all of a sudden, Qi gushed out like smoke from their bodies before it rose and started to sink into the formation tes above their heads.
What happened next made everyone bbergasted, including Ace.
ck rune symbols started to manifest below those eight, and all of a sudden, those symbols suddenly started to expand in a trigram formation as they covered all the other elves around them, including Caylee.
Ace was smart enough not to be caught within that strange formation. But he felt amiss and instantly used pick-pocket before the soul threads got destroyed by this peculiar formation.
Although he wanted to use pick-pocket to catch them off guard, he knew if he missed this chance, he might not get anyter.
=====
-Sessful Pick Pocket(s): 1,003
-Reward: 15,000,000 Thief Points
--
[Thief Point(s): 60,820,950]
--n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
[Thievery Rank(s)]
-Low-Level Thievery(s): 720
-Middle-Level Thievery(s): 282
-High-Level Thievery(s): 1
--
-Thievery Required for next Rank:
[Low-Level Thievery(s): 1,801/10,000]
[Middle-level Thievery(s): 294/1,000]
[High-level Thievery(s): 1/100]
=====
No one noticed their storage rings got stolen at this moment, including Caylee, as her entire focus was on Ace, and she had this deadly cold smile on her alluring face.
Ace felt at ease when their storage rings entered his thief''s space. Now they only had their weapons and armor while all their trump cards were gone.
At this moment, the ck formation te over Caylee''s head started to spin as it shimmered in a dark sheen, and all of sudden ck hazy Qi suddenly released from and directly shot down over Caylee''s head.
Under Ace''s surprised expression, Caylee''s aura started to spike.
"Ahhh¡. What is this¡." A cry of territory suddenly rang from one of the elves enveloped in the formation.
"My cultivation¡ no¡ my life force is being sucked by this formation¡ ahhh."
"Stop it. You can''t do this¡. Why can''t I move, damn it¡."
"You bastard... shhahhhh¡"
Everyone started to curse and scream when theyprehended what was happening!
Chapter 623 Over In An Instant!
With squinted eyes, Ace looked at Caylee, surrounded by dark brilliance. Her aura was rising while all those elves stuck in the formation were visibly getting aged and skinny.
Those elves were screaming in agony and cursed, but Caylee and the eight controlling the formation remained nonchnt.
Ace also didn''t dare to enter the formation''s radius since he was feeling apprehensive about this ghastly formation. He never thought these elves had this kind of nefarious formation.
At this moment, Caylee suddenly started emitting the aura of Early Stage Qi Soul Manifestation Realm, as all those elves were almost like dry corpses and were barely alive.
Caylee menacingly uttered while looking at Ace as if he was a dead man, "Do you regret it now?"
Ace was startled as he questioned with uncertainty, "That''s it?"
Caylee was stunned for a moment as if she had heard something wrong, "What ''that''s it''?"
"I mean, this is the extent of this formation?" Ace questioned with a hint of surprise.
"Are you gone loony after seeing me breaking into Soul Manifestation Realm?" Caylee felt like her intelligence had been challenged and coldly sneered, "Well, it''s toote to run!"
She then flipped her hand with a murderous look as if she wanted to take something out of her storage ring.
But after a few moments, she finally realized that something was amiss as her crossbow didn''t appear, and she instantly looked at her hand.
Her eyes suddenly went wide the moment her eyes fell on the back of her hand because there was a magnificent dark owl imprint behind the back of her hand.
Although Ace''s thief symbol almost looks the same, there are two devil horns above its head now.
Caylee''s entire body trembled when she saw the words within the symbol, which were in elvishnguage.
''Sky Stealer: Want to kill me? Watch me steal!''
She suddenly remembered a terrifying entity which has been causing amotion on the maind for years. Because of her status, she was quite knowledgeable about the situation of other continents.
''Just what the hell is going on?!''
How could she not know about the elusive Thief Sky Stealer, who even made demons lose their entire reputation within the span of years?
Those eight controlling the formation also noticed Caylee''s change in expression as she looked at her hand in a daze. They also felt something was wrong with her.
But at this moment, they heard the ''Monster''s'' cold yet mocking voice, "You guys had me worried about a moment."
Ace didn''t waste more time since the thief symbol had been exposed, and from Caylee''s emotions, he knew she was familiar with his Thief''s Name.
Without giving Caylee any chance to speak, he moved his sleeve, and the soul cord instantly shot toward her like an attacking snake.
Caylee snapped out of her daze when she felt danger approaching. She didn''t have time to mull over how the elusive thief entered their Holy Tower or why he was being called a Monster by the Holy Spirit.
Since her weapon and other trump cards had been stolen, she could only use her cultivation!
Purple Qi suddenly emitted from her person as she manifested a shield to block the invisible attack.
However, she was appalled when the purple Qi barrier suddenly shattered like ss. Before she could perform another skill, she felt something twisting around her entire body and coiling her limbs.
"You¡ how¡!" She wanted to scream, but to her horror, she felt something wrapped around her mouth. She resisted desperately, but even her Qi got suppressed for some reason.
Although her Qi now had the quality of a Soul Manifestation, shecked aw of a real Soul Manifestation Realm Cultivator.N?v(el)B\\jnn
That''s why Ace was easily able to subdue her with the thievish soul cord. Even if there were a real early-stage soul manifestation realm cultivator, they would also meet the same end, much less a fake one like Caylee.
This was the true terror of Grade-8 treasures, especially if that weapon happened to be driven on Heavenly Soul Qi!
Ace didn''t give Caylee any chance to speak as he used the cord to block her mouth and render her entire body useless.
Those eight elves were shocked when they saw Caylee being suppressed and just standing there while swerving like a fish.
However, something even more shocking took ce. They saw swords light start to manifest behind the ''Monster,'' and they could feel a terrifying piercing aura from all the way there.
"We are no match for him!" Ernest roared with an appalled expression. He wanted to flee, but in his stupefaction, he feltpletely stuck in his position. Despite wanting to move, he simply can''t, no matter how much he tries.
The others also noticed this and found themselves in the same situation as Ernest.
"Fuck¡ that bitch didn''t tell us that we''ll be in such a state if we became activation points! She tricked us all!" Louie roared in fury and terror.
"We are now sitting ducks! Use your trump cards. There''s no need to hold back, or we''ll die!" Vaughn yelled with a pale face as he wanted to take out something from his storage ring.
However, it was also at this moment that they finally noticed their storage rings were not responding and when they looked at their hands, their blood almost stopped.
But s, it was already toote as a torrent of sword lights was already headed toward them like an unstoppable tidal wave!
Caylee was naturally the very first one to be engulfed by the sword torrent and was utterly helpless, just like a fish on a chopping board¡
A terrifying scene urred as that sword torrent brushed past every dying elf, causing them to cut into pieces. Some even exploded, and some simply turned into mush.
Anything in its way got cut without resistance. And how could they resist?
Ace had used 90% of his soul Qi this time and pulled everything in this attack. He wanted to get rid of all of them in one fell swoop.
Ace felt the soul cord loosen as he sighed since he knew it was over and retraced the soul cord into his sleeve.
In front of him was nothing but a bloody scene. Even those elves'' weapons, armor, and the formation tes of thest standing formation were destroyed by his terrifying attack.
Last but not least, the guarded building toward the sixth-floor entrance was also half gone.
Ace then looked toward his other hand, and thereafter, the high-grade-6 sword in his hand turned into dust, leaving nothing but a fist full of fine dust in his hand.
''Another high grand weapon is gone without even me using it. It''s like just being present in sword intent manifested by my heavenly Qi is like a deadly poison to these weapons!'' Ace smiled bitterly as he shook his head with some frustration.
However, he stopped paying attention to this trifling matter when he felt a massive amount of Soul Vitality entering the crimson true soul as it was absorbing it without letting anything escape.
Ace had urged to stop it, but since the system still didn''t warn him about any danger, he let it be and moved toward the next floor''s gate, which was now visible.
He knew once those elves came back, this news was going to cause a hugemotion once it reached the high-ranking elves on the maind of elves.
Ace was just hoping that the tower spirit was now satisfied with this much killing and won''t try to y any more tricks on the following floors. He was still confident about getting out unharmed from the sixth floor, but if the seventh floor was guarded by three Law Awareness Realm Cultivators.
If the tower spirit put those three in his tail, then it was going to be a disaster for him. That''s why he was now acting like any elf after killing this many people. He would continue this act until he crossed the seventh floor!
After Ace entered the entrance of the sixth floor, the tower spirit''s voice rang within the minds of those elves who were either fleeing from the city oring back as fast as they could to reinforce their alliances.
"Attention, Seed Contenders of Fifth Floor!"
"The Special Event Announcement of the Fifth Floor had reached a conclusion!
"The Seed Contenders had failed to stop the Special Life Form from entering the sixth floor!
"Thereby, the Event has ended with no winner. Therefore, all the perks active because of the special Event will now be voided!"
Many elves were bbergasted when they heard this unexpected announcement, and they started contacting theirrades in the city to inquire about what exactly had happened.
How could thousands of elves fail to guard the entrance? Especially when there were members of the royal families were involved!
However, soon when some elves hiding in the city inquired, they were all appalled when they saw the gruesome scene in the square and the half-destroyed building.
Everyone reported this back, but they all knew this news would cause a hugemotion in the Wise Elf Race!
Chapter 624 Still Not Done!
In the center region of the Elven Continent was a magnificent city and in the middle of this city was a beautiful pce that shone in brilliant golden color under the sunlight, just like a holy temple.
This was the Wise City of the Wise Elf Race and the Wisemen Holy Pce, where the main Royal Family resided.
At the southern Wisemen Holy Pce was the Princes'' and Princesses'' courtyards.
At this moment, a masked elf d in ck was kneeling in front of a sitting elf who was devilishly handsome with an indifferent look.
He was Randall, the Second Elf Prince and a prodigy of his generation!
Randall coolly questioned, "So, all in all, the elites, including Caylee, had been annihted by the ''Monster.'' Resulting in the ending of that special event, right?"
The kneeling masked Elf nodded in affirmation, "Indeed, your highness!"
Randall''s eyes turned somewhat cold as he asked, "What about the formation?"
"There''s still no news about the whereabouts of the formation. In fact, all the storage rings were missing from the corpses. I have personally investigated this myself, and there''s no false in this im!" The masked elf stated with his head low.
Randall''s lips curled up in an icy smile, "It seems those lowly ones are bing more and more daring with each passing day. If they think they can take my stuff and get away with it, then they''re nothing but fools. I want that formation back, no matter what. You should know what you have to do, right?"
"Don''t worry, my prince. I shallplete this assignment post hastily!" The masked elf quickly assured.
However, he hesitated for a moment before he said, "A-about Lady Caylee¡"
Randall coolly said, "What of her?"
"Lord 3rd Arrow mighte looking for you after he receives the news of Lady''s death." The mask elf softly stated with a somewhat foreboding tone.
Randall sneered disdainfully, "Hmph, that wench was only good for being a ything, and without that old codger''s influence, I would''ve never agreed to her being my columbine.
"Let that Old Codgere. Let me see if he had the guts to me me for sending her. It was she who wanted to grab that chance, and I even helped her. So there is nothing to worry about. He knew better than to cross me. He mighte here to deliver another ything to me!"
The kneeling elf didn''t speak anymore since he knew this incident was really not to be med on Randall, and Caylee was really nothing. She only acquired this position because of her Grandfather''s influence and Randall''s lustful nature!
At this moment, Randall sensed something as he said, "Alright, leave me be if there''s nothing else."
The kneeling elf didn''t dwell and quickly vanished from his spot like a ghost.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Randall then flipped his hand amunication cube appeared, which was blinking continuously. He activated it.
Thereby, a deep voice filled with ecstasy rang, "Second Brother, just now, I received news that the same special event on the fifth floor had been announced by the Holy Spirit on the sixth floor as well!"
Randall''s indifferent expression broke into astonishment, and he quickly asked in mirth, "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. The crown princess had already started prepared!" The man''s voice was filled with hate when he said, ''crown princess.''
Randall''s expression fell as an otherworldly beauty came into his mind, killing intent surface in his eyes, "Start preparing. We''re going with full force. I can''t miss this chance. Let''s see if Mother continues to favor her after I gave her a surprise and pped that Old Bastard''s face when I meet them on the Seventh Floor!"
"But the First King Consort might give her some powerful treasures, which will make it even harder for us to acquire those rewards, especially if that Monster is the same one on the fifth floor. I don''t think the First King will let her cherished wench fall into such danger without any protective measures!" The man''s voice was filled with hatred and jealousy as he venomously spat.
Randall''s expression was also dark as all the excitement died down after he heard this and ground his teeth in indignation.
He was the son of the Second King-Consort, while the Crown Princess was born from the First King Consort and also the firstborn.
On the other side of thismunication was his younger brother, the Third Prince.
However, because the Elf Queen and Second King Consort basically lived on the seventh floor and cultivated and seldom made appearances, especially the Second King Consort, the First King Consort had be the one in charge of the entire elven continent.
Although the First King Consort was known for his humble demeanor and a wise ruler.
But in Randall''s eyes, he was unfair when it came to his only daughter, and not just him but his younger brother also had the same trail of thoughts as him.
However, because their biological father was a cultivation maniac who was obsessed with the holy tower andpleting all ten floors, they could do nothing but to endured silently.
That guy had probably forgotten about them after he conceived them, and they both hated that guy for this as well.
Although the First King Consort treated them like his own children and gave them ample resources befitting their status, they were still not satisfied and always felt jealousy for their First Sister and resentment toward the First King Consort!
Randall menacingly uttered, "This time, we''re going all out. It''s time to drag our arrogant sister from the pedestal for good!"
---
On the sixth-floor entrance test hall,
Pieces of broken puppets were lying on the floor as Ace stood with a broken sword in his hand.
The tower spirit''s impassive voice rang,
"Seed Contender ck Ghost, congrattion on passing the Fifth Floor valiantly!
"Your rank on the Seed Contender Ranking Board has changed from Rank No.49,216 to Rank No. 9,308!"
Ace''s eyes narrowed when he heard the ranking, ''So there are less than 10,000 Elves on the Sixth Floor? Well, I guess it''s to be expected since only those with absolute confidence can take this deadly trial of no return.'' He sneered inwardly.
Before he bowed and respectfully said, "Thank you, senior!"
"You have earned it yourself, ck Ghost, as you are the third person to enter the sixth floor in such a short period of time.
"That''s why you are rewarded with 10 Hours of cultivation time of Scared Site as well as 100 extra hours for your valiant disy of a warrior''s spirit.
"You can use them anytime you like!
"Do you want to use them now?"
Ace simply replied, "I won''t be using them for now. Thank you for your generosity, senior."
He wasn''t interested in wasting time on this so-called sacred site.
Ace hesitated before he said, "Senior, no offend but about that light pir¡"
Ace wanted to pretend like an obedient junior so the tower spirit won''t suspect anything. But if he didn''t even question this much, then it would be even more strange, given his previous performances.
Even a fool could tell he wasn''t an idiot to ignore such unfair treatment.
Lastly, he wanted insurance that it won''t happen again, or he might really fall into a terrible situation on the seventh floor if thosew awareness realm cultivators started to hunt him for rewards.
The Tower Spirit impassively replied, "The Light Pir is actually a Holy Mark which is also the proof of you being selected as prime inheritor who had over 80% chance toplete the ten trials.
"The Holy Mark will only fall on the worthy, and this is also another test to select the best and worthy inheritor. You should be honored as you were being selected by the Holy Mark!"
''Like hell, I will. That mark is a fucking Death Mark!'' Ace cursed inwardly since he knew he was screwed.
This also meant that the tower spirit had still not given up on sending ''crops'' to him to cut and harvest.
"But the Holy Mark will only be retained for two floors whenever it appears, so you should be fine as long as you clear the sixth floor, and you will also receive another reward if you pass the holy mark test." Tower Spirit divulged at this moment.
Ace''s eyes instantly turned bright as he heard this and thanked the tower spirit, "I shall pass your and holy mark expectation!"
''Now, it can''t go back on his words even if I don''t kill anyone and just snuck into that building before that mark got activated!'' A devious glint shed into his eyes before he left the trial hall and entered the sixth floor.
At this moment, an extremely feeble yet sinister voice rang within the empty hall, "So, this is the one you have chosen this time, just like those three before?"
The tower spirit''s original eerie voice rang, "This one is different, Master. You have already observed him. There''s something extraordinary about him!"
Chapter 625 The Royale Rose
Ace walked out from the light door, and he was momentarily stunned when he found himself standing at the peak of a small mountain that was surrounded by tall mountains.
''Sixth floor is a mountain range?'' Ace mused as he saw the familiar gloomy sky and felt the Qi density was now equivalent to the Royal Demon Institute on this floor.
Still, it didn''t matter to Ace as he could easily find the next entrance, even if he were in some maze.
As he previously decided, he was going to enter the next floor on his way now that the Tower Spirit had made up that story about the ''Holy Mark.''
Furthermore, it was also for his own safety since he knew elves on this floor were not as helpless as on the fifth floor. There were probably over twenty Soul Manifestation Realm Elves, especially the top 10 in the ranking board.
Lastly, the Tower Spirit will definitely make the same kind of announcement as it did on the fifth floor or even increase the rewards. So, those high and mighty figures will also join the ''monster hunting.''
So, it was far better to escape than fight with over ten soul manifestation realm experts. It will not only expose his true strength but also increase his thief''s identity chance of exposure.
Still, he had to avoid those soul manifestation realm experts'' siege first, especially when the light pir got activated, and the closer he was to the city, therger the crowd of those elves who wanted to kill him.
''The information on the sixth floor is quite limited, but one thing is clear this is the yground of the Royal Family, and anyone who steps in this ce will have to join their alliances.
''Especially the alliances controlled by three children of Elf Queen. They will also be my biggest hurdle, especially if theybine their forces.'' Ace''s eyes shimmered darkly as he looked in the south direction.
But Ace didn''t move and sat down to recover his soul Qi which would only take over half an hour.
He only had less than an hour before the light pir descended and exposed his location. This will also be a chance for him to see just how many elves want to hunt him after his previous carnage on the fifth floor.
Although he didn''t have high expectations since the elves on the sixth floor were quite arrogant, not to mention proud so he knew they would not back down just because he killed those elves since they might look down on them.
Time quickly passed, and Ace hadpletely recovered his depleted Heavenly Soul Qi. As long as he was only missing either of his Qis, he could recover much quicker than when both of his Qis were exhausted.
But Ace remained in his position as he looked at the greenery down while sitting on top of the mountain peak. He was waiting for the light pir to descend and confirmed its time again before he moved out.
Because if the Tower Spirit increased the time, then he would have to make his n ording to it.
Precisely an hourter, Ace looked up, and the sky suddenly brightened before the light pir descended over him.
He sneered coldly, ''It seemed the time hadn''t changed.''
However, just three secondster, Ace felt immense danger after the light pir activated as his soul sense stirred in rm.
''How efficient!'' He was astonished before a grim look appeared in his eyes because over twenty dangerous life forms were approaching him with the speed of a tinum soul realm cultivator!
Ace didn''t have to guess who they were and why they wereing so fast toward him.
''It won''t be easy to sneak into the seventh-floor entrance.'' Ace sighed bitterly as he stood up.
At this moment, light streaks suddenly appeared with terrifying auras, and all of them were aimed at his vitals.
Ace didn''t use his Qi but surrounded himself with a grade-6 protective formation barrier while he remained in his position. He had already gotten used to this light barrier, and he knew it was better to just stay still instead of wasting Qi since no matter how fast he ran, this pir would follow him.
So, he was just waiting for the light pir time to end before he moved out. Killing those elves would only alert those high-ranking elves, and they mightpel them to work together, which would be a disadvantage to him.
All those light streaks bounced back when they were ten meters away from Ace as they encountered an invisible barrier. Thirty arrows were revealed before they turned back into streaks and bolted in all directions.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Somewhere at the mountain where Ace was standing in a light pir.
A burly elf had an ugly expression as he looked at the peak while holding amunication cube, "What happened? Why all the arrows were reflected?"
"Something is blocking our arrows from prating. I''m afraid it''s the Monster''s skill!" A helpless voice rang.
"Damn it! I don''t care to use everything. We can''t let this opportunity slip by. We might not get another chance like this if those royal brats'' alliances spotted him! But keep your distance not to reveal your positions. We can''t underestimate him!" The burly elf grimlymanded.
"Alright, Boss, you be careful as well. If those alliance words have some truth in them, then we better not provoke that thing too much. Don''t get greedy!" The man chuckled.
The burly elf grunted with anger but didn''t say anything as he looked at the light pir with a hint of greed and fear.
The news about the fifth-floor carnage was now already circling around first-rate families, and the royal family members on the sixth floor also didn''t hide it from others.
Their purpose was clear; no one should try fighting for the Monster if they didn''t want to die and leave the Monster alone for them. They were even providing rewards for his whereabouts.
But some elves didn''t believe them since they thought that those royal family members'' alliances were deliberately spreading the false news to keep others away from the Monster and hunt him without anypetition.
This burly elf also belonged to such a group. Nevertheless, he was still cautious. Now that he saw that the deadly sneak attack got blocked as if nothing had happened, he started to believe those words.
At this moment, another woolly of arrow headed toward the Monster from all directions. But the result was just like before. All those powerful arrows were reflected without the Monster even moving.
Ace merely waited for the light pir to end, and he didn''t have any intention of killing those small fries, and by their cation, he knew they were still measuring his strength and apprehensive of him.
After over ten arrow attacks, the light pir finally faded away, and without waiting any longer, Ace put the formation back and vanished from his spot like a ghost.
Those elves had ugly yet fearful expressions on their faces, and when they saw the stoic Monster suddenly vanish, their hearts trembled, and they went on high alert, especially the burly elf.
However, they didn''t know Ace was already halfway on the mountain and had no intention of getting rid of them!
---
Three dayster,
In the central area of the sixth floor was the tallest mountain peak, and on this peak was built a magnificent city, which was the elven city of the sixth floor.
At this moment, the city was bristling as all the elves were summoned back by their alliances for the special event.
There were five alliances in particr, Red Warriors, Blue Moon, Golden Wolves, Royale Rose, and Royale Bow!
The Royale Rose is the strongest and the alliance leader of non-other than the Crown Elf Princess, Livia!
Followed by the Royale Bow, which belonged to Second Price, Randall, and his younger brother, Third Prince, Jerice.
As for the other three, they were all backed by at least two members of the top ten in ranking lists, and all of them were either family leaders of first-rank families or elders of the royal family''s branch.
In the headquarters of the Royale Rose, which was a magnificent towering building,
An otherworldly cold beauty with enthralling features, wearing a white dress with golden patterns, was sitting in a hall at the head seat of a long rectangr table.
There were other elves sitting around that table. They were giving off terrifying auras, especially the elves sitting closest to her.
She was none other than the Crown Elf Princess Livia and also the number one prodigy of the Wise Elf Race and ranked 1st in the Seed Contender Ranking Board!
A handsome elf who was sitting right on Livia''s left side spoke with a gentle smile, "Alliance Leader, it''s good to have you back."
He was one of the Vice Leaders of Royale Rose, Kyong, and also Rank Fourth on the Ranking Board.
Livia pulled an enthralling smile, instantly brightening up the ce as she said in her melodious voice, which sent everyone in the room in a daze, "Thank you!"
Chapter 626 Bloody Rose
Another beauty slightly inferior to Livia was sitting on her right side with a fierce look in her gorgeous eyes, pursed her pink lips; seeing all those men dazed by Livia''s smile and snorted, "Hmph, behave yourselves, we''re in the presence of her highness the Crown Princess!"
She was also the vice leader of the Royale Rose and Livia''s personal maid, Jenny!
All the men quickly snapped out of their daze and quicklyposed themselves, especially Kyong, who pretended as if nothing had happened.
He quickly said, "Your Highness, we received multiple reports that many first-rate wandering parties had encountered the Monster in these three days!"
Livia''s bewitching eyes shimmered with a peculiar glint as she spoke gently, "And?"
Kyong''s heart raced when he felt Livia''s focus on him, and he quickly said with a smile, "They were no match for him, and he escaped every single time without retaliating, and all he did was blocked their attack just like he did on the fifth floor.
"It could only mean that monster is the same one, and he''s nning to search for the entrance before he would use his true strength!"
On the other hand, Jenny snorted with disdain, "You forget to add that he''s getting closer and closer with every hour. This also means he knew where the entrance is, and by his terrifying speed, he is already a day away from the city!"
Coldness appeared in Kyong''s eyes but quickly hid behind the smile as he looked at Jenny meaningfully and said, "Miss Jenny is also right. That''s why I propose we should ally with Royale Arrow!"
The other high-ranking members were startled when they heard this and looked at Kyong with strange lights in their eyes. But they didn''t say anything and looked at Livia, who was still smiling nonchntly.
However, Jenny''s eyes turned cold as she instantly refuted, "Vice Leader Kyong, do you know what you''re proposing?"
Kyong coolly nodded, "Yes, and I think it is the right thing to do. We can''t take chances and put Her Highness''s life in jeopardy. Don''t forget the Monster''s abilities are still unknown, and if he''s the Monster from the fifth floor, then there is even more reason to be more cautious.
"Besides, the Second Prince and Third Prince will be thrilled to work with Her Highness, and I''m sure your highness will also be happy!"
"Presumptuous, are you deciding for her highness?" Jenny instantly stood up as her aura suddenly spiked, and emerald Qi suddenly appeared in her hand.
On the other hand, Kyong still had his gentle smile as he remained static under Jenny''s peak tinum soul realm pressure.
He was quite used to it because Jenny was against him, stopped all his advances on Livia, and always got in his way. But he couldn''t do anything to her because she was always with Livia like her shadow, so he could only endure this presumptuous maid.
"Alright, we''ll do as, Sir. Kyong suggested!" Livia spoke at this moment.
Jenny was startled and disbelieving as she looked at Livia and blurted, "But¡."
"Jenny~" Livia gently looked at her with a delicate smile making Jenny shut up. She could only purse her lips and sit back,
Kyong''s smile widened upon seeing this, and he said, "Thank you for her highness''s trust. I won''t disappoint you."
Livia nodded and smiled gracefully before she said, "I know you won''t, Sir. Kyong. While you''re at it, contact Red Warriors, Blue Moon, and Golden Wolves as well. Tell them I proposed the alliance. I want a meeting with the alliance leaders in half a day. Can you arrange it?"
Kyong was happy about the first part before his smile stiffened when he heard thest detail. He wanted to refute it but suddenly felt a cold sensation rising when he saw a golden Qi sh into Livia''s eyes a moment.
A chill ran down his spine as he quickly nodded with a stiff smile, "I''ll arrange it post hastily!"
Livia stated as she looked at everyone in the room with a beautiful smile, "Everyone prepares your teams. We''ll pay them a personal visit if anyone does note!"
Everyone was astonished and somewhat excited since they knew the meaning behind Livia''s ambiguous words, while Kyong felt his heart go cold. He nearly forgets the true Monster hidden behind that bewitching smile after not seeing her for over a decade.
Livia was famous with another title on the sixth floor a decade ago, and she didn''t seem to have changed at all.
Kyong thought with a hint of terror, ''The ''Bloody Rose'' is back!''
--
Within half a day, all the leaders of the other big four alliances got Livia''s proposal of alliance and invitation to Royale Rose Headquarters.
No one dared ignore the invitation since it was purposed by Livia herself, and they came with their vice leaders for this meeting.
They all knew about the whereabouts of the Monster, and he was getting closer by every hour.
Furthermore, they were quite worried about his strange strength since they could not make him use an attack, and he only blocked and then managed to escape no matter how many times they blocked him or attacked or with what they blocked him with.
It was like he was toying with them, and with the event that happened on the fifth floor when the beast suddenly entered the city, they were quite afraid that it might take ce here as well.
So those who were underestimating him no longer dared to belittle the Monster and were preparing with everything they had, while those who were not confident in dealing with him all escaped back to the maind since they didn''t want to die.
More importantly, they knew the five big alliances wouldn''t let them have thest kill, or even if they managed to kill, they won''t be able to live to join the rewards, especially with the return of the Bloody Rose and the Elf Queen and Second King presence on the seventh floor.
Those were the biggest reason for those elves'' fear, and that''s why they didn''t dare to get into the royal family''s way anymore. If they make the Queen unhappy, their families will be wiped out.N?v(el)B\\jnn
As for the other three big alliances, which were established by the royal family branch members, they also knew with the three royal heirs present; it won''t be wise topete with them.
So, they all secretly chose to support either Royale Rose or Royale Arrow. It will all be revealed in the meeting, which was about tomence.
Within the same meeting room, Livia was sitting in her position, but this time, Kyong and Jenny stood behind her.
There were six other persons set around the table, two on her right side and four on the right side.
The two on the right were none other than Second Prince Randall and Third Prince Jerice, they were both Leaders of the Royale Arrow Alliance, and four masked elves were standing behind them.
On the other side were the three leaders of the other big three alliances. Two of them were middle-aged elves Fabien and Pedro. Inparison, thest one was a wizened face elf with an elderly smile, Princeton. They all had their vice leaders standing behind them.
Livia spoke at this moment as she looked at her two brothers, wearing stoic expressions, "Little Randall, Little Jerice, it''s been a long time since I saw you two. You both have be more handsome and mature. After I''ve done with this event, I''ll search for beautiful wives for you two!"
Randall''s expression stiffened with a sliver of red on his face when he was called ''Little Randall'' by Livia, and terrible memories started to surface in his head.
While Jerice, who had almost the same handsome appearance as Randall but not his calm demeanor, instantly berated, "Crown Princess, watch your words!"
The other elves pretended as if they didn''t see or hear anything since it was a matter between the royal heirs and remained silent.
Livia wasn''t angered by Jerice''s disrespectful words and giggled as she gently nodded, "You''re still cute as ever, Little Jerice! Just call me Big Sis, like you always did when you were little. Ah, I still remember how you used to chase me¡."
"Y-You, stop!" Jerice face turned bead red with embarrassment, and there was a fire of anger aze in his eyes as he gnashed his teeth.
Randall quickly pped his brother''s head and chided him sternly, "Don''t be disrespectful to Elder Sister!"
The others were really awed by how Livia easily made those arrogant princes so timorous without even doing anything.
Randall hid his rage and quickly smiled stiffly as he said to Livia, "We miss you dearly as well, Elder Sister. But we didn''t have the luxury to reminisce, and we can do it after getting rid of that Monster!"
Livia chuckled, "You''re always so clever, Little Randall. Alright, I''ll give you both treasures after I kill that Monster and then search for your future wives!" She nodded to herself.
The other three leaders felt extremely awkward at this moment, and they finally understood one thing seeing how carefree Livia was; Livia didn''t see them as threats at all!
Chapter 627 Monster’s Arrival!
Ace appeared at the foot of the mountain where the elven city and the next-floor entrance were located. The mountain was over two thousand feet tall, and its peak was surrounded by a ring of hazy gray mist.
He couldn''t help but smile faintly as he looked at the open fate map and all those red spots hidden in different directions and sneered inwardly, ''The ambushes had been stopped for thest few hours. This could only mean that they''re probably thinking that I''m nning to do the same thing I did on the fifth floor, and they''re preparing for this. Well, they''re close but not correct.''
Ace didn''t start ascending the mountain and looked at the gloomy sky coldly, ''It should be any minute now¡''
A few momentster, the sky turns bright before the light pir descends upon him, making him visible again like a human touch.
Those hidden elf scouts were startled when they saw the ''monster'' appear at the foot of the mountain, and without wasting time, they quickly reported it to the higher-ups.
On top of the city wall, right above the enormous city gates, Livia, in her dark golden attire, looking like an aloof fairy, was standing with the other alliance leaders as she looked at the misty cloud ring a few hundred meters below the mountain peak.
At this moment, the gloomy sky suddenly turned bright before a light pir descended like a sword at the bottom of the mountain. Everyone was dumbfounded before their expressions turned solemn.
A hint of coldness shed past Livia''s beautiful eyes as she looked at the light pir.
The wizened face elf, Princeton, the leader of Golden Wolves Alliance, suddenly flipped his hand. Amunication cube appeared, and he activated it. A panicked voice with a hint of excitement rang thereafter, "Alliance Head, the Monster had been spotted on the foot of the mountain!"
Princeton solemnly stated, "I can see that. What''s the situation? Is the monster moving?"
Everyone''s ears perked as they were also paying attention to this conversation. They had already nned their next course of action under Livia''smand.
"No, he''s just standing there. It''s the same thing he did previously." The scout stated.
"Alright, keep your eyes peeled for any unusual behavior and report it to me immediately!" Princeton sternly ordered before cutting off themunication.
"Your Highness, what''s your order?" Princeton respectfully looked at Livia, who was still staring at the light pir without any reaction.
Randall and Jerice''s faces fell since Princeton didn''t ask for their opinions and bypassed them like they were wind. But they remained calm and only shot a peculiar nce at the old elf.
Livia''s pink lips curled up slightly before she questioned, "How much time do you think the monster would take before appearing at this ce?"
Jerice pursed his lips as he answered, "Of course, with his estimated speed, it will take him at least over an hour before he can approach the city gates. So, we should stop wasting our time and active the formation and prepare for the next step!"
Livia couldn''t help but chuckle as she looked at Jerice and retorted teasingly, "Little Jerice, your brain always works in one way. Don''t worry. I won''t let you die because of your low IQ as long as you stay by my side!"
Jerice was startled before his expression went ck, and he ground his teeth in anger.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Randall quickly chimed in before Jerice blew his top and dryly asked, "Elder Sister, what is your point?"
At this moment, their attention suddenly shifted to the light pir because it started to fade.
Livia nced at the light pir before her expression turned somewhat cold. She said, "It''s simple. Didn''t any of you notice that whenever the monster appeared, he covered almost the same distance every hour? I even have my men measure it."
"What does this have to do with anything?" Jerice darkly asked.
Livia didn''t answer as she looked at Randall, who had this startle expression, and she smiled, "See, little Randall already guessed it. You''re so slow!"
Jerice was now really clueless as he looked at his brother and questioned uncertainly, "What is it?"
Randall solemnly answered, "Elder Sister, are you implying that the monster is controlling his speed? He''s far faster than he''s showing, and he''ll appear here before an hour?"
Everyone''s expressions went grim when they heard this revtion and looked at Livia with a hint of awe since she noticed this overly small detail which wasn''t small at all if they looked at it from another direction.
Livia nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, I''m not just implying. I''m hundred percent sure that it is a fact. He''s used the same thing to catch others on the fifth floor off guard and then used this trick to ughter them before they were prepared!"
Fabien the leader of Blue Moon, quickly bowed and asked, "No offense, Your Highness, but even if that monster''s speed is two or even three times more than what he showed. We don''t have to worry about him since we are not like those fools and are already prepared!"
"You simpleton, my sister here is trying to say that monster had even more power he wasn''t showing, and our preparation might not be enough to trap him!" Randall berated sternly, making Fabien smile bashfully.
Livia spoke at this moment, "You two are both right and wrong. But it didn''t matter anymore since this information was only useful for those who could kill the monster. Do you want to kill it?"
She suddenly smiled beautifully as she scanned the crowd behind, and they all felt chills on their spines when they fell under Livia''s watchful eyes. They were feeling like they were being gazed at by a venomous snake that will strike if they dare to let their guard down.
Randall quickly smiled stiffly and said, "No way. As we discussed before, we''ll do anything to assist you in ying that monster, elder sister!"
Livia''s smile widened as she nodded in satisfaction, "Then do your part. I''m going!"
The next moment, Livia vanished under everyone''s eyes, leaving them bbergasted!
Chapter 628 Glittering Golden Fate Point
"Where did she go?" Jerice was snapped out of his trance as he looked grimly at the spot where Livia vanished.
Randall also panicked for some reason and quickly used his Qi soul manifestation realm martial sense, but he didn''t find any trace of Livia, which made him even more flustered.
He bellowed at those other leaders in anger, "What are you, fools dazing off for? Go and prepare the formation barrier unless you want Crown Princess unhappy!"
Those leaders frowned ever so slightly, but they knew better than to offend Randall. He was far more dangerous than Livia because he used tricks while Livia didn''t!
After everyone left for preparation, Jerice spoke grimly in a whispering tone, "Elder Brother, what should we do now? If she remained hidden all the time and then killed that monster. We''ll lose both our chance and that monster!"
A sliver of madness shed into Randall''s eyes as he berated, "You fool, do you think I don''t know that? Go and do your part. I''ll do mine!"
Without waiting for Jerice''s reply, he used a movement skill and left the destination unknown.
Jerice gnashed his teeth at this moment as ruthlessness surfaced in his eyes, ''Just you both wait!''
---
After the light pir vanished, Ace took a deep breath and moved like a lightning bolt toward the mountain peak.
He was using his 90% speed, which was as fast as an Early Stage Soul Manifestation Realm expert or slightly faster even.
All this time, he was using 25% of his true speed, which was as fast as a tinum soul realm expert.
But he was only using it to confuse the others and create an opening for himself. So, he could sneak into the next floor entrance while those elves were still thinking that he was somewhere in the mountain and it would take him over an hour to reach the top.
When they realized by not finding the light pir again, he would be long gone pulling a fast one over the elves as well as the tower spirit!
Within a few minutes, Ace had crossed hundreds of meters, and while escaping all the hurdles with Fate Map, he was moving unhindered toward the top of the mountain top.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
All those elf scouts were still under the false impression that their traps would slow the monster down, but all they were doing was just wasting their effort since the fate map could detect all the traps under grade-7.
Lastly, because Ace keeps the initial stage thief''s vision active all the time, it was already at the middle level and steadily moving toward the high level. This also means he could now see grade-4 and low grade-5 traps himself without any need for the fate map.
In fifteen minutes, Ace had already crossed the cloudy ring around the city and could now see the towering city walls build around the mountain peak.
Furthermore, a white transparent white barrier surrounded the entire city, which was clearly above grade-5 and probably a high-grade-6.
However, Ace remained calm while he approached the barrier, he could also sense powerful Qi fluctuations all over the ce, especially around the walls, and he knew a huge ambush was waiting for him the moment he showed his presence.
That''s why Ace avoided them and found a remote area of the wall where the security was minimum. It didn''t take him long to find such a ce on the southwest side of the wall where he could only feel soul realm experts.
Ace stopped right before the barrier and flipped his hand. A palm size white triangle appeared. This triangle was none other than the High-Grade-6 Space Distortion Triangle Ace got from Paul, and he got it from Leona.
Ace also used it to rob the life demon auction.
Space Distortion Triangle was probably one of the most precious treasures at Ace''s disposal because it could create cracks in an active formation barrier without raising any rm!
Without wasting more time, Ace activated the Space Distortion Triangle close to the white barrier, and the moment it came in contact with the barrier, it started to distort before a small crack started to appear in the barrier.
Ace was using the worldly lightning Qi since he was afraid to break this treasure with his heavenly Qi like those treasure swords. In sword intent, he didn''t have a choice to use his heavenly Qi since the sword intent originated from his heavenly Qi.
But in this matter, he had a choice, and he used it.
Ace increased the power, and the crack started to increase until he was enough for him to sneak in without touching the barrier.
Ace quickly slipped in before anyone could notice him and stop the Space Distortion Triangle. The barrier returned to normal before anyone could notice the crack.
Ace''s lips rose in satisfaction as he stowed away the Space Distortion Triangle and used his soul cord to anchor the wall before he started the climb.
With his quick action and stealth, Ace sessfully stepped into the sixth-floor elven city, and he had to admit this ce was far morevishly made than cities on the lower floors.
Still, Ace''s attention was on the dark goldenpass pointer, which was showing him the way toward the next floor''s entrance, and headed there while avoiding the elves'' blockades.
But he was stopped in his tracks when he saw another barrier surrounding the same building, which had the next floor entrance, and at the same time, there were ck corporeal walls covering half of the building, which gave off a terrifying feeling to Ace.
However, Ace''s eyes widened when he saw something startling in the live fate map because thepass wasn''t pointing toward the entrance but a fate point instead!
Behind that ck corporeal walls, right where the doors of the buildings should be, there was a fate point which was coated in Golden color, but what make Ace shocked was the golden color was shimmering in a glittering sheen.
''A Glittering Golden Fate Point!''
Chapter 629 Fate Play Tricks But Never Makes Mistakes!
Ace''s shock was evident of how astonished he was after confirming it was really the glittering golden fate point. But at this moment, something absurd happened, which made Ace dumbfounded.
Right under his dted eyes, the glittering golden fate point started to disappear, and so does thepass indicator as it faded away. It was then reced with another one which was now pointing over the protected building, which should be the passage toward the next floor.
But he couldn''t just ignore that glittering golden fate point because it was shown before the next floor entrance, which makes it equally important.
So, he could then only turn to the one person who might have some exnation about this absurd phenomenon, Moira!
"Moira, what just happened? Was that glittering golden fate point an error?" Ace questioned with uncertainty.
Moira replied sternly, "Fate ys tricks but never makes mistakes, Sir Ace."
Ace frowned slightly, "How so?"
"Because tricks are used for misconception while mistakes are made by unable, and Fate is nothing but unable!" Moira solemnly stated.
Ace felt somewhat enlightened, but his doubt only increased, "Then what that glittering golden fate point was, and why did it fade away, and thepass indicator also changed? Did this count as a trick yed by fate?"
Moira replied with a somewhat grim tone, "This could only mean two things, Sir Ace. First, the fate point fate had been changed, and it no longer serves any use to you. The chances of this scenario are above 60%.
"Second, the true purpose of this fate point will be revealed in the future, and it only appeared as a hope and warning about a cmity. A warning that you''re going to need it at some time in the future in a grave situation, as well as a hope to salvage it.
"This kind of fate divination is mostly indicated toward an unavoidable cmity, and they''re always unpredictable and deadly. These kinds of cmities are always hidden by fate and can''t be revealed unless someone with extremely high divination ability try divining it at the expense of their lives.
"The Eternal Thief Fate Compass could bypass such a thing, but it''s notplete yet, so I can''t tell you if it''s a cmity or a false rm with certainty. So, I will strongly suggest that you will not make any haste decision until more clues are revealed!"
Ace was astonished when he heard about this mysterious cmity thing which was naturally above hisprehension. But he got a general idea about how it could affect his life and death.
So, he didn''t dare to take it lightly and asked gloomily, "What do you suggest then I should do?"
"Sir. Ace should capture the fate point and keep it close for the time being. If this fate point is really your hope amidst the darkness, then it will be revealed its purpose at that point!" Moira strongly suggested.
Ace frowned, hearing this, and questioned, "How will I have to keep this person around then? It''s quite clear that I have to capture it alive first and then have to keep it in my storage. This could also hinder the other party''s progress forward, and they might even lose their purpose if it is meant to help me in some kind of future trouble."
"But they can grow with you and be stronger than ever, right?" Moira rebutted as if she was adamant about kidnapping that fate point.
Ace was speechless since he knew what Moira meant by those words. She was clearly indicating toward the Thief House, and she was also right about the person will grow far stronger and faster if they joined the Thief House.
''Don''t tell me it was meant to y this way from the start?'' Ace couldn''t help but thought this way since the fabled fate was involved in all this.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Alright, I''ll listen to your suggestion." Ace wasn''t stubborn to ignore such a warning, especially if that warning came from an Eternal Provenance Treasure rted to Fate!
Now that he had decided to abduct the other fate point, he needed to figure out how and fast.
Because the other party was protected behind that ck corporeal wall which wasn''t showing on the fate map and giving Ace a threatening feeling, this could only mean that wall was made with at least a low-grade-7 runes symbol.
Lastly, Ace didn''t have much time left before the light pir descended and revealed his location to every elf in the city. At that time, it will be even harder to abduct someone, and the other party will clearly not just sit there and let him abduct himself.
Most importantly, he had to store that person in his storage space without revealing its nature to the tower spirit, or things might change from bad to worse.
Because having a living storage space would basically change everything since it would open the possibility of him having helpers or even more precious treasures at his disposal!
Ace looked at the barrier gloomily as a terrible yet feasible n started to take shape in his thievish mind.
''I can easily bypass the first barrier with Space Distortion Triangle. But that ck wall is the real problem. The Space Distortion Triangle will never put a dent in it.
''But if I try to amplify its ability with the heavenly Qi forcibly, then there''s a possibility that it won''t even work, and I''ll lose the Space Distortion Triangle for good.
''It''s still useful for me, and I don''t want to just destroy it without even getting anything out of it. It''s a risk that I have to decide to take for a slight chance and risk giving away my location in the process. Then there is still the power level of the other party; I can''t measure it with the wall in the way, but since it''s a red fate point¡''
Ace fell into deep thought, but he knew he didn''t have the luxury of time, so he had to decide quickly.
After a few minutes, Ace''s eyes shone with resolve as he made his choice!
Chapter 630 Confrontation With Bloody Rose (1)
Without any further ado, Ace moved toward the barrier while still in stealth and a concealment cloak.
The elves were still busily garrisoning the city gate since they were still under the false impression that Ace couldn''t breach the city defensive and had to go through their traps.
As for the mysterious fate point behind the wall, it was quite clear that he or she was here to guard the entrance just in case things went awry.
Ace easily bypassed the first barrier with Space Distortion Triangle like he did to infiltrate the city.
There weren''t any ground traps under the first barrier, but as Ace got closer to the ck ethereal wall, he knew why no one bothered to set up any additional traps.
The wall itself was a huge trap because, from Ace''s appraisal, the wall was probably a trapping cage. Once active, no one will be able to enter or leave, and it might also have attacking abilities as well.
''This formation is most likely from the main royal family of the elves.'' Ace sighed bitterly as he had somewhat underestimated the rulers of the sixth-strongest race of Golden Sky World.
He was belittling the elven race because of his sess in the Might Demon Continent, but it appeared every race had its trump cards, whether they were number 1 or 10.
After all, there are millions of species residing in the golden sky world, and the top ten had to have their own means to enter the ranks of the top ten and earn themselves their own continent.
Still, it didn''t mean Ace would back down. He didn''t just want to leave this ce for himself but for Alina, or he didn''t mind ying mind games with the elves as he did on the demon continent.
''I just have to pick-pocket and then detain the other party with my soul cord before they could use this formation¡'' Ace mused with a solemn expression.
He knew the light pir would descend in over ten minutes, and he had to leave after abducting that fate point. If Moira weren''t insisting on it, Ace wouldn''t mind leaving it here if he had no other choice.
Ace stopped in front of the ck wall, which was giving him the creeps just standing in front of him. It was the true terror of an active Grade-7 Formation which was meant to attack!
Furthermore, a Grade-7 treasure couldn''t be used by just anyone. The minimum requirement was somewhat with the cultivation of Soul Manifestation Realm!
As for Ace, he was an exception because of his Heavenly Qi!
This also implied that whoever was on the other side was at least an early-stage soul manifestation realm expert.
Ace prepared himself before he pointed the triangle close to the wall.
Thereafter, he starts pouring his heavenly Qi without holding back into the Space Distortion Triangle, which makes the triangle shine darkly as a terrifying distortion takes ce.
The ck wall started to contort slightly as it literally started to twist as Ace poured more heavenly Qi into it. A terrifying lightning aura filled with despair surrounded Ace with more heavenly Qi he released.
''Chee¡''
Ace''s eyes shimmered darkly as he looked at the small cracks at the tip of the Space Distortion Triangle while the ck wall was still not showing any sign of a gap.
His eyes turned icy before he released 90% Qi and the very next moment thereafter, the cracks on the Space Distortion Triangle increased before the power output skyrocketed.
A gap appeared within the ck corporeal wall, and Ace didn''t dare to hold back any longer since it was working; he released all his Qi!
The Space Distortion Triangle turned into a ball of dark lightning as all its outeryers were charred away, and the gap between the corporeal wall increased, just barely enough for him to slip inside!
Ace knew it was his chance, and he instantly used the lightning steps while he left the unstable, glowing lightning ball where it was.
He knew Space Distortion Triangle was about to explode, and he didn''t want anywhere near it when it happened.
Lastly, it would also alert the person guarding this ce, and if it was even more eye-catching, then all those elves might get alert.
In both cases, Ace had to move quickly, or he''ll be in a lot of pain, especially since he was now within an active grade-7 formation.
So, his first course of action was to head toward the fate point, which was less than a hundred meters away from his current position before the Space Distortion Triangle exploded and alerted it.
Ace''s n was simple; he was going to use the Space Distortion Triangle explosion to catch that fate point off guard and pick-pocket the other party storage ring before they had a chance to use this formation!
Soul thread was already shooting ahead of him, and at this moment, a veiled, curvaceous figure in a violet dress with a white rose pattern sat cross-legged within a rune symbol circle appeared in his view.
Although he could only see the side profile of this woman, her face was hidden by that ck veil which was most likely a treasure. Still, she looked extremely gorgeous by the outline of her face and pristine white skin, and aloof aura.
But Ace wasn''t in the mood to unveil the beauty because he saw a ck formation te hovering in front of her and the runic circle around the woman was most likely a projection of this ck formation te.
Ace''s expression fell since he could tell this was the exact grade-7 formation te he wanted to take away from her so it couldn''t be used against him.
Furthermore, he could feel an invisible barrier surrounding her, which might also be the work of that formation te. This simply means his soul thread couldn''t go even close to her, much less touch her storage ring!
Lastly, an even more flustering thing was the building shielding the next-floor entrance was also tightly wrapped into anotheryer of ckness, and only if someone entered this ce would they be able to see it.
This was clearly done deliberately to hide this fact meticulously, so even if someone prated at this point, they would have to go through another barrier.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace couldn''t help but look at that aloof veiled beauty with somewhat apprehension since it probably was all meticulously done by her!
Before he could figure out what to do¡
"Booommmm¡."
A shrilling explosion took ce behind him, creating a terrifying Qi undtion.
At this moment, the veiled beauty''s sharp eyes snapped open, revealing amber irises, which were filled with fleeting shock as she instantly looked toward the explosion''s direction.
In an instant, the shock was reced by coldness and a hint of delight!
Without wasting any time, she moved her hands at a lightning-fast speed, wanting to activate the formation. But she suddenly felt goosebumps when a terrifying white sword materialized right above her head and menacingly descended!
''Sword intent?!'' She felt terrifying sharpness from that five-meter light sword descending over her head, and she knew the protection barrier power was not enough to pit against this sword.
Worrying about her own safety, she gave up on activating the trapping function of the formation. She focused on the defensive function as the invisible barrier around her started to be darker, just like the surrounding walls.
Ace, who was using the sword intent to buy himself some time, had a very nasty expression when he saw the dark barrier appear over the woman.
''Since I already cause amotion, so be it!'' His eyes turned ruthless before he released more sword intent and sword lights started to appear one after another, and all of them rained down on that woman like a torrent!
Ace wanted to tear apart that barrier and destroy the formation te, getting rid of the barriers around him for good. He will then use the Soul Cord to detain that woman!
Even if he had to use all his Qi, he didn''t want to give the other party a chance to activate anything else of this formation, especially the attacking or trapping ability.
Because he would have to use his full power, which means his martial Qi as well, this will have even more terrifying consequences. Possessing both martial Qi and soul Qi was somethingpletely absurd, and no one will ignore it!
He knew the tower spirit was watching him, so he was even more unwilling to reveal his martial Qi. He was afraid of the existence behind the tower spirit even more!
On the other hand, the veiled woman''s expression was solemn and grim as she felt the endless rain of swords over the barrier, and she had to continue supplying the barrier with Qi just to block those swords.
This has rendered the other use of the formationpletely useless, and she had topletely focus on keeping the defensive barrier strong enough, or she knew if she was distracted even for a moment, she might not live, much less kill the terrifying ''Monster!''
Chapter 631 Confrontation With Bloody Rose (2)
The woman trapped under Ace''s soul sword wave was feeling the horrific pressure as she could see the slowly chipping away barrier, and the necessity Qi to keep it active was getting more and more.
She never expected the monster would be so fierce that it could make her fall into such a pensive situation despite having a low-grade-7 formation at her disposal.
If news got out, her entire reputation will plummet!
Nevertheless, she knew it wasn''t the time to worry about such a thing because she had to do something, or if she kept using the formation like this, then the barrier surrounding the building would be weakened.
A low seventh-grade formation required at least peak grade-6 Qi stones to run, or if she used her own Qi, it would onlyst for a little while before she got exhausted.
However, the peak grade-6 Qi stones were the peak currency of the elven continent, and only the main royal family possessed them, and they were not unlimited.
She only had enough to keep the formation activated for fifteen more minutes if she continued to use it to block those terrifying sword lights filled with sword intent.
If those sword lights were just a random skill, then she won''t be worried, but sword intent changed everything. She never thought the monster was hiding such terrifying power.
Even in her own race, only the Second Elf King hadprehended theplete sword intent!
At this moment, before she could think of a way to counterattack, the ck formation te suddenly trembled.
''What is it?'' She looked horrified when she discovered the formation started to take even more Qi to maintain the barrier, and it skyrocketed!
''I have to call for help!'' She instantly decided as her amber eyes shimmered in a golden hue.
In contrast, Ace was getting extremely perplexed as he was maintaining the sword wave while he also used the soul cord and wrapped it around the ck corporeal ball tightly.
He wanted to break that ball with the soul cord, but he was helpless since he couldn''t use it to its full strength because of his limited cultivation. Still, he discovered the surrounding barrier was weakening as he kept bombarding the barrier, and now that he used the soul cord, it was getting weakened even faster.
''It seemed this formation can only be used for one thing at a time, or if it''s used for another thing, it will weaken its defensive effect since that would take a significant amount of Qi output.'' Ace was naturally ted when he thought about it.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
He knew his sword intent wasn''t something that could be blocked by a weak grade-7 barrier for long, and that woman also knew this, so she didn''t dare to activate another feature of this formation and weakened the defensive barrier in the process.
Ace was even more confident of breaking this barrier since his Qi reserves were much vaster than a normal cultivator, not to mention potent.
''With the current depleting speed, I will be able to prate this barrier in five minutes. I just hope the reinforcement won''t arrive quickly. But she also had to open a gap to let others in if she wanted someone''s help. This might weaken the protective barrier on her further!'' Ace''s eyes shimmered deviously.
As he maintained the soul sword wave and sword cord, he even started to use soul-piercing bullets in the mix. Although he knew his soul attack wouldn''t work or damage a Soul Manifestation Realm expert, especially if the other part were a soul embryo manifestation realm, it would still annoy her, nevertheless!
However, only a minute passed when Ace noticed his soul sense stirred. A terrifying aura was approaching right in this direction, and its speed was no less than his!
Ace instantly guessed that the woman had called the reinforcement and they would be here in over twenty seconds. If he wanted to subdue the other party, he had to do it in this small window, but he knew it was impossible.
Lastly, the surrounding barrier had significantly weakened, and he could prate it with a few sword lights.
Ace feels extremely conflicted at this moment since he can now easily escape toward the other entrance, but he can''t ignore Moira''s warning either.
Within this split second, Ace decided as his eyes shone with the dark current before half of the sword lights were smashed into the weakened barrier around the building.
Because of the weakened barrier, the sword lights easily prated the barrier and opened a huge hole in the building.
The woman inside the barrier also heard therge explosion, and her heart went cold, ''He''s escaping!''
She knew the monster had most probably guessed her intention and might have already discovered her helper approaching, so he wanted to flee!
However, she was helpless because if she focused the barrier on the building and mended the hole, she would bepletely vulnerable to those sword intents and won''tst for much longer.
She still wasn''tpletely sure if the monster had revealed his entire strength either, and it might be a trap to lure her out before he used something else to finish her off.
The more she thought about it, the more trapped she felt. She was too cautious and always considered the worst of things. That''s how she reached this point, as well as she was stuck on the sixth floor.
But this chance was too precious, and her help would arrive in a few moments. She knew she had to take the chance and endure until the help arrived.
The next moment, the ck barrier over her started to transpire as she focused half of the barrier over the building.
But right at this moment, she saw a silhouette appear right amidst the sword lights, and she had enough time to see a blinding light hacking over her with a menacingly oppressive aura!
Ace was swinging a long sword brandished with pure sword intent as he hacked over the weakened barrier with everything he had, and under that blinding sword light, a hint of dark was mixed within but deeply hidden.
Ace had decided to take this action after he felt the barrier weakened. He was hoping for two things when he destroyed the barrier over the building.
First, if she didn''t try to stop him, then he would leave a thief mark on her and escape to the next floor and thene backter to find her.
The second, which was if she tried to be greedy and divert the barrier to stop him from escaping, he''ll use thest grade-6 sword with his shadow sword intent to destroy the barrier over the woman and capture her in one fell swoop.
In the end, she bes greedy and tries to stop him until her other helper arrives. But Ace was ready for this, and this time he used slightly shadow intent while carefully hiding it under the sword intent to end this in a sh before anyone would notice the shadow intent.
The woman naturally was caught off guard since she felt an even more terrifying aura behind that iing sword. s, she was still toote, and before she could revert all the Qi into the barrier over her, the blinding sword had already touched the barrier!
''Booommm¡.''
A huge explosion reverberated in the vicinity, creating terrifying sharp waves and debris.
Ace looked at the broken barrier and the beauty within. The formation te over her was now cracked, but she was still fine. She had used the formation te at thest second to protect herself.
But it also took a huge toll on her, and now she was looking at the hooded figure with a hint of hate and dread.
The other barriers around Ace also faded away at this moment.
She didn''t want to die, and she knew her helper was already around the corner, so she gathered her Qi to continue fighting. But before she could, she felt something wrapping around her body as her eyes winded in horror.
She looked at the hooded monster with appalling, and a cold voice rang at this moment, "Now you can die!"
Thereafter, she saw another white sword materialize and instantly hack at her as she visibly felt death approaching.
She closed her eyes at this moment as strange relief washed over her, and she let go of everything, ''Sorry, Dad, I won''t be able to see you again. Thank you for giving me so much love, don''t be sad because of my death, I''ll be forever with you, and I hope I''ll be born as your daughter again and repay you in the next life¡''
However a few moments passed, but she didn''t feel any pain and opened her eyes in confusion, and she was shocked when she found herself in utter darkness.
"Did I die without feeling anything?" She mumbled bitterly.
Ace, who was looking at a huge charred crater, smiled slyly.
Right at this moment, an appalled shrill rang before a terrifying aura enveloped the area.
"NOOOOO¡ what have you done!"
This voice belonged to non-other than Elvish Crown Princess, Livia!
Chapter 632 The Mysterious Voice
Livia''s appalled eyes were filled with killing intent as she looked at the empty crater as well as the broken formation te.
She was the hooded figure who turned his face toward her for a moment before he blurred away!
"I''ll kill you, beast!" Her eyes went bloodshot, and she hollered with boundless hatred as she shot toward the building as gray Qi oozed from her voluptuous body.
Livia''s seemed to have gonepletely mad as her beautiful face started to twist into strange shapes before apletely different face took its ce. She was now apletely different elf with looks far inferior to Livia.
But the malice and hate in her eyes hadn''t lessened a bit as her face visibly wilted and turned pale and pale. Thereby her speed sore drastically as she had achieved the speed of a middle-stage Qi Soul Manifestation Realm Expert!
Ace, who had no more intention of staying and fighting with any more soul manifestation realm experts, naturally went for the next floor''s door.
He was only a few meters away from the glowing gateway before he felt his heart palpitate when he felt a terrifying aura approaching from behind.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
But he didn''t stop or turn around as he stopped holding back and used his full speed, but he was still far away from reaching the middle stage of the Qi Soul Manifestation realm.
Still, he was fast enough to outrun the hostile elf into the next floor gate, and he sessfully entered before the woman could reach or attack him.
However, he had underestimated the woman''s resolve to hack him into million pieces as she followed him into the light door without even thinking twice with hatred filled aura.
Thereby, Ace appeared in the familiar fighting hall, looking somewhat pale. He had used 98% of his heavenly Qi in a few minutes and was now exhausted mentally.
However, before he could rx, he felt rmed and instantly turned around and saw a raging gray edge supporting terrifying intenting toward his head!
''She followed me?!'' Ace instantly guessed just who it was and felt like cursing.
But right at this moment, before he acts to block the deadly strike, the tower spirit''s impassive voice rang, "Enough!"
Thereby, the gray Qi suddenly disappeared just two meters away from Ace, revealing a white spearhead filled with white runic patterns and the pale elven woman with an ashen yet rageful face holding the spear shaft.
She seemedpletely stuck in her ce while she trembled continuously while she gawks at Ace with thick, killing intent. She clearly wanted to poke a hole in Ace''s face, and she didn''t care about the tower spirit as she was fighting the suppression, but s, she was helpless!
Ace was also astonished when saw the elven womanpletely stuck in her ce despite having the aura of a middle-stage soul manifestation realm. He felt a strange ghastly aura surrounding her, and he was familiar with this aura.
It was the crimson true soul''s aura!
''So, this soul segment can be used like this as well.'' Ace felt a chill in his spine just thinking about it and was even more vignt toward the person behind the tower spirit who was ying this sinister game.
Acepletely ignored the woman''s murderous gaze and bowed, "Thank you for your help, senior!"
"Hahahaha¡ splendid, truly splendid!" An elderly voice filled with a strange temperate charm guffawed at this moment in deep delight.
Ace was stunned because this voice did not belong to the tower spirit.
The woman with the spear was also shocked as rity returned in her eyes because she was not familiar with this new voice, and she was only familiar with the Holy Spirit''s voice.
"What''s going on?" She couldn''t help but looked toward the ceiling as she felt something was wrong there.
Ace rolled his eyes behind the mask and sneered inwardly, ''How could a race with a ''Wise'' title can be so dense?''
Still, hepletely hid his true thoughts and also acted surprised as he also eximed, "Senior, you are?"
The elderly voice answered amiably, "I''m the person who left this inheritance!"
The elven woman was shocked and even forgot about why she was there, while Ace was unimpressed.
Still, he eximed with respect, "S-senior, you''re alive?!"
"Sigh¡" The elderly voice sighed ruefully before answering, "I wish, child, I wish... I''m nothing but a wisp of Soul Intent left behind by my deceased self. I was awakened by the Holy Spirit because a worthy sessor had appeared!"
"Who?!" The elven woman felt like the whole world copsed as she looked at the ''Monster,'' enlightened. She suddenly had this terrifying conjecture as her heart beat like a drum.
"I''m talking about this Human child!" The elderly voice coolly replied without hiding it, as if it wasn''t a big thing.
The elven woman''s whole body trembled because she knew the Elven Race''s sacred realm had been infiltrated by someone from the human race without them even realizing it.
''This bastard!'' Ace cursed inwardly when the voice revealed his race. He knew the other party didn''t care about revealing that he wasn''t some random beast created by the tower but another contender.
That''s why he was afraid of this person and was treading carefully, but he knew if he wanted to get out of this tower, he had to encounter this person eventually.
"NOO¡ W-why?! Holy Lord, did we do something wrong? Why are you letting this Human take the ce of our elves?!" The elven woman waspletely paled as she expressed her plea.
The elderly voice amiably replied with a rueful sigh, "The Elven Race has already been given three chances already, but they had refused every single time. Besides, I never leave my inheritance specifically for the Elven Race.
"So, it''s only natural that someone else will be given a chance if they are worthy, no matter from which race or species they belonged to. This is the way of this Holy Lord!"
The elderly voice was filled with unrefutable majesty at the end, which even made Ace''s heart sway for a moment before he quickly became sober.
''He''s using some trick with his voice like my soul words!'' Ace feels gloomy while he pretends to be in awe like the elven woman beside him.
The elderly voice speaks again with a solemn tone, "Human Child, I have seen your performance, and it was splendid. Now I''m giving you a chance as the reward forpleting the Holy Mark''s trial. You can choose to refuse if you don''t want to!"
Chapter 633 Rewards Or Trap? (1)
Ace didn''t let his emotions waver to ruin his act and replied respectfully, "I''m listening, Senior Holy Lord!"
While the elven woman also regained her sense as her expression turned hideous, and her hatred for Ace had reached a new peak. But she didn''t interfere since she knew it was inevitable to avoid this.
The elves had no control over the ''Holy Tower,'' and that''s why they hide its existence from the world in the first ce.
They were afraid of exactly the same thing which is happening right before her eyes. Someone from another race calming the Holy Tower!
The elderly voice solemnly spoke, "You are already at the sixth-floor entrance test, and I know you can easilyplete this floor''s test, and even the eighth or ninth-floor entrance test might not be able to stop you.
"But the tenth floor is not something you can handle right now. So, I''m giving you a chance to avoid other floors'' tests and be the inheritor!"
"This?" Ace looked excited and quickly asked, "What do I have to do?"
"Simple, you just have to fight with the three inner contenders of the seventh floor one at a time in three different death matches, and as long as you win, you''ll be the true inheritor of my legacy and the holy tower!" The elderly voice announced.
"Hmph, ept it if you dare!" The elven woman snorted with contempt.
She was worried about a moment there, but now that she heard the conditions, she knew this human would certainly die if she became greedy and fought with the three most powerful elves of the Wise Elf Race.
Especially the Elven Queen!
Even Ace was speechless as he wasn''t crazy enough to pit against aw-awareness realm expert. He wasn''t even a match for ate-stage soul manifestation realm expert. Even if he uses everything at his disposal, he just might be able to escape.
But before he rejected the voice revealed an astonishing fact, "Don''t worry, the inner contenders'' cultivations will be suppressed at the peak of tinum Soul Realm!"
Ace felt he heard something wrong as he asked, "tinum Soul Realm?"
"Yes. Now chose!" The elderly voice coolly stated.
"No, this is not fair!" The elven woman couldn''t stand idle as she instantly blurted with an ashen expression.
She knew just how freakish this guy was despite having the cultivation of the golden soul river core realm. He can even escape someone like her killed the veiled elf. Much less someone with a soul realm cultivation, he would absolutely ughter them as he did on the fifth floor!
However, no one seemed to hear her plight.
Ace also didn''t let this chance go by, and with cold eyes, as he instantly said, "I agree!"
Ace''s answer didn''te as a surprise to the elven woman since she was expecting him to ept the offer because it held a tremendous advantage for him!
The elderly voice remained silent for a little while before it rang again with a tingle of ecstasy, "Are you sure?"
Ace bowed and respectfully replied, "Yes, Holy Lord, how could I reject your kindness?"
Ace wasn''t too much worried about this gambit. Although the Law Awareness Realm cultivators will be suppressed to the soul realm, theirwprehension will remain the same.
At that time, like Ace, they would also have aplete and most likely more profoundw intent.
If it was any different time, he will have refused outright because he wasn''t foolish enough to try to fight with such an opponent while under someone''s constant watch, especially if that person could easily harm him.
But in this case, the chances of the mysterious person harming him were close to null because of the soul segment in ce.
With his performance on the fifth and sixth floors in particr, he was already strange enough to have such prowess to fight against soul manifestation realm experts and even win against them.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Even a fool would be able to tell that he was hiding a terrifying secret.
Ace won''t be surprised if the mysterious person had already guessed that he was somehow hiding his cultivation realm and now wanted to just test his suspicion by him having to fight with thosew awareness realm experts.
Lastly, he wanted Ace to absorb their soul vitality with the cultivated soul segments to make him the perfect vessel.
It was the only possibility since their soul vitality and soul segments will be far more potent than everyone in the sixth stagebined.
Ace was foolish enough to y tricks with this person. He was pretty sure this old fossil was not from the first heaven, and going against him would only put him at a disadvantage.
All Ace wanted to do now was to earn this old wily fellow''s full trust and strike when the other party had least expected it.
The first step was naturally to be aplete vessel, at least in the other party''s eyes, and this was the perfect chance to be one.
Ace was determined to leave this tower as soon as possible, even if it meant crippling the Wise Elf Race by killing their rulers.
Although there was another way which was to try ying hard to get by refusing the offer, this path lead to many uncertainties, especially if the mysterious person ordered thosew awareness realm experts to hunt him down or use some unknown technique that the System couldn''t save him against.
As a Thief, he had learned to mold himself ording to the situation even if it goes against his conscious, at least if there''s no other way or that way leads to his demise!
The elderly voice rang again in extreme delight, "Good, very good. You are indeed a human worthy of this old man''s inheritance!
"Little Elf Child, I want you to summon the third inner contender post hastily under my strict order. Tell him if he didn''t appear within a week, I will revoke his qualification as well as the elven race will be banished from entering the Holy Tower in the future!"
The elven woman''s face turned deadly pale when she heard this as she looked at the human hidden behind that long hood. She was now extremely worried about the future of their elven race.
Because if he killed even one of the three seventh-floor elves, it would be a huge blow to their race''s entire power quo, and if he managed to win¡ she didn''t dare to imagine!
Chapter 634 Rewards Or Trap? (2)
But the elven woman had no choice but to obey as the Holy Tower was notpletely dedicated to elves. She can only me their own ipetence to let this human reached such a stage.
A ck-light door suddenly formed in front of her; she was extremely familiar with this door since it was the way out.
Ace''s eyes shimmered when he saw the ck door appearing so close to him, and he had guessed that it was the door toward the continent.
But he didn''t dare to make a move because it might be some kind of test, and he was not sure if this gate could be closed while he was crossing it.
After hisst ''trip'' in the space tear, he no longer dares to belittle anything rted to space, especially after the system revealed the basis of space current and space turbulence.
Since he was already so close to achieving his goal, he didn''t want to take excessive risks if not necessary.
The elven woman threw Ace''s murderous re before she uttered maliciously, "You will die a horrible death, Human, the First King will tear you apart after he found out you killed his daughter, and the Queen will also not forgive you for killing the Crown Princess!"
Without waiting for Ace''s reply, she used a movement skill and vanished into the ck door before it faded away.
Ace frowned as the veiled elven woman appeared in his mind when he heard about the Daughter of the First King and the Crown Princess. He could only smile wryly when he thought about how he had now kidnapped the Elven Crown Princess after the Demon Prince!
Nevertheless, he was not going to regret it, but he still feels somewhat terrible because he had to kill that princess''s father now, and she would never help him if she found out about it.
At this moment, the elderly voice rang again, "Alright, since you have epted the challenge and bestowed you the final reward ofpleting the holy mark trial! Thest challenge will begin in a week when all the participants would be present!"
Ace was startled and questioned, "There is another reward, senior?"
He never expected this, and this will only make him apprehensive, not happy!
The elderly voice amiably replied, "Yes. Do you think the reward ofpleting the holy mark trial will be just an opportunity? You''ll find out soon!"
Just after the voice trailed off, a white gate appeared before Ace.
Although he was now feeling quite wary, he still walked into the light gate after confirming it wasn''t a threat under the fate map prediction. Still, he was ready in case it turned out to be a trap!
After no one was left, the tower spirit''s uncertain voice rang, "Master, are you sure you wanted him to enter that ce and inherit me? You don''t want to observe him more and then decided which vessel to go through the final procedure?!"
"Hmph, little Regal, you might not have noticed it, but after I just my ??? Soul Sense, I discovered he has the Fantastic Meridians, the Dark Meridians! As for their exact grade, I don''t know, but they are above what I can measure with my current state.
"Nevertheless, the Dark Meridians are quite rare even in Nether Blood Fiend Cult, so it''s quite rare to see it appearing in this backwater ce and among humans, no less. And you know what the strangest part was?"
The Tower Spirit asked in confusion, "What was it, master? Could it be there is more to him?"
The old voice, which had lost its amiably and now was icy cold, hoarsely replied, "Yes. Even after I used my ??? Soul Sense, I wasn''t able to see through his true cultivation realm and only the surface cultivation that he was showing.N?v(el)B\\jnn
"There is only one possibility which is he might also have a Fantastic Soul Physique, and not just any Soul Physique, most probably the Abound Soul Physique.
"Only with Abound Soul Physique can he have such a potent and vast reserve of Soul Qi in such a realm. But it''s notpletely awakened, evidently because of his background.
"Possessing both Fantastic Meridians and Fantastic Soul Physique is even rarer than having just one, and he would be a talent worth nurturing wherever he goes and treated like a treasure.
"Yet, he had appeared in this ce where no one knows about the Fantastic Meridians, Fantastic Soul Physiques, Fantastic Marital Physiques. But somehow, he had appeared right here?
"Don''t you think it''s a gift sent by heaven itself so I could go back and earn back what is rightfully mine and take my glorious bloody revenge?" The icy old voice was filled with bloodlust as it chews on thest word, ''revenge.''
The tower spirit''s eerie voice also sounded cold yet excited, "It that''s the case, then I shall support you fully!"
"Heh, little Regal, in this world, you are the only one who I can trust. Without you, I would''ve been nothing but a pile of ashes and didn''t have such a chance to cultivate the Forbidden Technique. Once I return, I shall sacrifice the entire Nether Blood Fiend Cult to repair you!" The icy old voice promised with a hint of strange gentleness behind it.
The Tower Spirit spoke happily, "You made me, so I would do anything for you. I''ll help you to reach your former glory!"
"Now get ready. I''ll use myst bit of power to help youpletely integrate with his True Soul. I will also get rid of any possibility of things going off the course. Once the process wasplete, my soul wisp will bepletely exhausted, which means from then on, it will all depend on you!" The old voice solemnly stated.
The Tower Spirit quickly replied, "I know, master. Once I merge with his True Soul, it will help to activate the Soul Segment, and it will enter thest stage. And once I help him kill those three elves and absorb their soul segments, it will activate the final stage of the soul segment. That will also be the time of your revival!"
"Hahahaha¡ indeed¡ I, the Moon Fiend King, shall be reborn and ughter my way back!" The old voice guffawed hysterically; hisughter was filled with full of cruelty!
Chapter 635 System Suggest…
Ace stepped out of the light door and found himself in a bright red spherical room that was thirty meters in diameter, and there was nothing but red crystalline walls.
However, he was soon shocked when his eyesnded in the center of the room. Because in the center of this room was a glistering corporeal gray pir, and within this pir was hovering a ck Mirror in the shape of a hexagram!
Ace noticed that the ck Hexagram Mirror was full of cracks, as if it would fall apart at any moment.
But he knew better than to think like this because an extremely sinister aura was emitting from that broken mirror, and the more he looked, the more he felt affected and the urge to annihte everything.
A sharp pain suddenly attacked his head before he was finally able to retrace his eyes from that broken mirror as beads of sweat formed over his forehead.
''Just what is that mirror? It could affect my soul directly just by looking at it, and it''s still broken. What if it wasplete? I might not be able to escape once Iid my eyes on it!'' Ace felt extremely gloomy as he didn''t dare to look toward that mirror anymore.
But he was now worried about why that voice took him here and if this mirror had something to do with that mysterious reward.
However, right at this moment, Moira''s unexpected, ecstatic voice sounded, "Sir, I''m sensing two of the required material for mypletion scheme!"
"What?" Ace was astounded before his eyes shimmered in tion as he took a quick nce at the broken mirror and asked, "From where and which two?"
Ace had never thought that he would find the materials required for Eternal Thief Fate Compass''spletion scheme here of all the ces because he had never even heard of those materials in the Golden Sky World.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
So, Ace simply thought that those materials weren''t the Mortal Sky Heaven which was quite since Moria was also not something the Mortal Sky Heaven could have. But this tower was also not from the Mortal Sky Heaven, so it wasn''t much of a surprise in the end.
Now all of a sudden, he came in contact with two materials the moment he stepped into this room, so Ace could only think about the broken mirror in front of him since it was the only thing present in this room.
And just as suspected, Moria replied, "It''s the Broken Mirror! It has One Eye Devil''s Core and Time Space Segment among the materials it is made with!"
A peculiar light shed past in his eyes when he heard this, ''If I can get my hands on this mirror, once my Dismantler Grade is high enough, I can easily separate those materials from it!''
For Ace, it doesn''t matter if he got material or aplete treasure; with his Dismantler profession, he can just dismantle it and take whatever he wants!
But the real problem was how will he take it!
At this moment, the elderly voice rang, unaware of Ace''s thoughts, "Don''t fret, child, the mirror you see is just a broken treasure that was found by me identally. But despite its broken state, it''s an extremely precious space treasure that can help you travel between spaces. Because of this exact function, I made it the core of the Holy Saint Tower!"
The elderly voice was filled with mncholy as he described the background of the broken mirror and what it was being used for.
Ace was startled when he heard this and couldn''t help but exim, "Elder, you forge the Holy Saint Tower yourself?"
He was really astonished now since this would mean this man had terrifying forging skills, and that mirror was really precious since, despite its broken state, it could still be used to travel through space!
''No wonder this tower can connect to the golden sky world while remaining in this dark space.'' Realization dawned upon him.
"Heh, I was one of the best Runic Smiths of my time. But I''m no longer, and all that knowledge will be passed down to you if you manage toplete the final hurdle." The elderly voice stated.
"Thank you, Elder, for having such faith in me. I won''t disappoint you." Ace quickly bowed in gratitude but scoffed coldly in his head, ''Hmph, I might''ve believed you if I didn''t know about your real scheme!''
The elderly voice chuckled in contentment as it said, "I know you will. That''s why I brought you here to give you thest reward. I know you''re capable, but fighting against the desperate Law Awareness Realm won''t be easy.
"Although their cultivation would be suppressed, their Law Comprehension will remain the same. Despite you having the Sword Intent, their Law Intents are much more profound than yours.
"That''s why to make this fight fair. I will let you cultivate under the Tower Core and impart a Sword Law Art. But I''m warning you, this Sword Law Art is extremely overbearing, and you''ll experience immense pain in your soul while learning it under the tower core.
"But this is the only way to learn it at the initial stage as fast as possible, and if you want to win for sure, this is your only chance. What do you think?" The elderly voice inquired.
''Something is wrong¡'' Ace instantly felt amiss when he heard the whole thing, especially the part about the immense pain in the true soul. A hint of fear shed past his eyes, ''Don''t tell me he''s nning on starting the possession process?''
Ace could only think of this possibility because there was no other exnation. He didn''t believe for a second that this Old Ghost would impart anything to him since he was nning on possessing him.
At this moment, Ace suddenly felt an oppressive yetpelling aura released in his true soul, which wasing from non-other than the crimson true soul!
This just made Ace''s conjuncture even more obvious that this guy was really going to use the soul segment because that aura was for him to ept the choice without thinking about it much.
''If I resist hispelling and won''t ept this¡'' Ace''s grimaced, ''I have no other choice¡''
If it was before, Ace won''t be too worried, but after seeing that broken mirror, he was afraid of something going haywire. Because he can''t even look straight at the broken mirror, much less resist its operation.
Ace replied with excitement, "Of course, I''ll follow your instruction, Elder!" And he started walking toward the gray pir.
But inwardly, he was panicking as he quickly transmitted, "Umm, system, I can interfere by destroying that fake true soul while he''s in the process of possessing me, right?"
"[As long as the other party uses its connection to the fake true soul and uses any kind of technique on it through the connection, Host''s true soul won''t be effective, and everything done to the fake true soul can be destroyed with the fake true soul.]
"[However, if System is not wrong, then he''s about to use the treasure spirit to merge with your true soul so it could activate the technique and then start the rebirth process and control itpletely!]"
Ace was astonished since the system would never reveal this much without any reason, so he quickly asked, "What is your point?"
"[10,000 TP!]"
Ace''s expression darkened as he said begrudgingly, "And here I thought we are long cross that point. Just take them and quickly tell me, damn it!"
The system didn''t keep him handing, and after taking the TP, it revealed, "[System suggest you let himplete the soul segment technique!]"
Chapter 636 Will She Be Awake…
"[System suggest you let himplete the soul segment technique!]"
Ace retorted with uncertainty, "You took ten thousand thief points just to tell me this? Exin and quickly!"
He was already halfway toward the pir, but he was now more than calm because of the system''s suggestion.
Since the system had suggested this itself, then it clearly meant Ace was really safe and turned the table on the old ghost as long as it involved the fake true soul!
But still, he wanted theplete summary from the system to react ordingly and adjust his retaliation n.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"[Because this Soul Segment Technique is nothing but an imitation of real Ancient Soul Segment Technique, it would naturally have many ws.]
"[One of those ws is once the soul segment is active, the original primal soul can''t exist anymore, not even its wisp or will.]
"[Thereby, the remaining soul segments will be nothing but empty seeds, and they can''t be used for rebirth anymore unless the reborn soul spared these segments again. This touches upon an important aspect of the soul that does not concern the Host yet.]
"[Anyhow, those empty seeds then be the catalyst for the reborn soul to absorb them and raise its strength quickly, or if left alone for a long time, they will bepletely exhausted after a certain period of time.]
"[The second most dangerous w is this technique also endangers the medium involved. In the host case, the treasure spirit!]
"[Once the process was started the treasure spirit will start to lose its sentient because it will be absorbed into the soul segment, and losing sentient mean death for a treasure spirit!]"
Ace was astonished when he heard the entire detail and grimaced, especially at thest part, since this technique was nothing but sinister.
"What will happen to the treasure if the treasure spirit died?" He transmitted while not showing any ripple in his expression. He has already stopped a meter away from the pir with the broken mirror.
But he no longer dared to move forward because of the deadly aura ahead, and even if he wanted to, he knew he couldn''t because of the strange pressure. Despite its closeness, Ace felt it was infinitely far.
"Holy Spirit, make room for this child under the Essential Pir!" The elderly voicemanded solemnly.
"Yes!" The tower spirit''s voice sounded in affirmation.
Under Ace''s dted eyes, the gray pir suddenly started to twist as the broken mirror trembled, and thereby, a gray pir beneath the broken mirror started to expand and start to turn ck.
Ace visibly felt the oppression ahead getting lower and lower before itpletely vanished when half the pir waspletely ck.
The system replied at this moment, revealing a terrifying fact, "[After the treasure spirit dies, as long as that broken mirror remains as it is, it could easily give birth to another treasure spirit]
"[But there''s over fifty percent chance this person is nning to absorb the power in the broken mirror to recover 90% of his true cultivation. Which will make this entire treasure nothing but an empty shell afterward, and it will crumble in a decade!]"
Ace was bbergasted and instantly asked as he caught something, "What this had to do with me since I could simply destroy him before he could even touch that mirror? You know what that broken mirror is?"
Ace had this feeling that the broken mirror was something terrifying from the start, and now that system revealed it, he was even more sure since the system won''t mention anything trifle as a mere treasure spirit.
"[This is what the system suggestion is about. As long as the host lets this personpletely merge with the fake true soul, you can do something else than simply destroy it and waste this rare opportunity!]"
Ace''s eyes shimmered in a dark light as his lips curled up ever so slightly, "Now we''re talking sense; tell me about it!"
"[You can let that mirror absorb that fake true soul before having the Shadow Abyssal Devil devour that broken mirror!]"
Ace''s thievish expression instantly shattered as his entire body trembled uncountable as invisible lightning ran past his very being when he heard ''Shadow Abyssal Devil!''
"What happens, child? Did the oppression aura still not to your endurance level?" The elderly voice noticed the raging emotions in Ace instantly, as it was somewhat astonishing since it was his first time feeling such emotion from this human.
But he only thought that it was the mirror effective on him, so he had the tower spirit use more of its remaining essential to suppress the mirror so Ace could sit in the position.
But Ace didn''t reply as he didn''t even hear him because of what the system just said. A breathtaking face, smiling gently at him, suddenly surfaced in his mind saying something that he would never forget even if he turns into ashes¡
"¡ Then that means I will be able to protect you? If yes, then seal me!"
A strange calmness surfaced over Ace''s mind at this moment as quickly regained his calm demeanor before he took a deep breath and looked at half of the dark corporeal pir, which was now expanded in half of the room''s space, and he could no longer feel threat like before anymore.
However, the look in his eyes somehow changed as he looked at the mirror. If before he only had a pure desire for that mirror, now he had this scary obsession to possess it no matter what!
"Senior, what do I do now?" His voice was filled with mirth at this moment, and no one know if it was real or just an act anymore¡
"Yes, just sat beneath that mirror, and then we shall begin your ''training''!" The elderly voice sounded in affirmation as it was also filled with hidden ecstasy!
Ace didn''t ask anything as he moved toward the mirror without wavering anymore.
At this moment, he transmitted in his mind with a tone full of expectation, "I''m in; just tell me what I need to do after you answer my question¡ will she be awake after we''re done with this?"
The system reply was extremely simple yet indifferent, "[Yes!]"
Chapter 637 Void Abyssal Devil
After Ace sat cross-legged under the broken mirror, the elderly voice rang, "Very good! Now, I''m going to start the imparting procedure, and you have endured no matter what. I have high expectations for you. Don''t disappoint this King!"
There was a deep mirth and malice behind that voice, and for the first time, even Ace felt it, ''He''s probably over the moon about this, but so am I!'' Thought Ace.
At this moment, the crimson true soul suddenly started to tremble as the fiendish face on it started shimmering in a malicious aura. Ace instantly felt strange exhaustion, but it was only that, still, he followed the intent and pretended to be drowsy as he closed his eyes.
While the expanded ck pir around Ace suddenly started to move as it was wrapping around him like a shell. Soon Ace was nowhere to be seen, as only the ck pir was left.
"Hahahaha¡ how foolish, truly foolish¡" The hoarse voice suddenly guffawed with excitement, "Of the race, the humans are easy to manipte as long as they are greedy; no matter how much they had, they would always want more¡ well, this aligns with this King''s liking."
His voice turned icy at this moment, "Go, little Regal, start the second phase of the Sin Rebirth Scripture!"
"Yes, master!" The tower spirit''s eerie voice rang in tion before the broken mirror shook slightly, and the upper gray part of the corporeal pir started to contort.
The other half pir suddenly separated itself from the broken mirror as well as the other ck pir, which was now wrapping Ace within.
The next moment, the gray pir suddenly started to take a humanoid form, and a three-meter transparent body manifested without any facial features; it was just like a gray mannequin.
It was the tower spirit''s true form!
Its voice rang again, "I''ll see you after you revive!"
Done saying, it turned into a gray streak and directly shot toward the dark pir and vanished within.
At this moment, Ace, who was pretending to be spellbound, naturally heard everything but didn''t show any reaction. He felt something cold suddenly touch his be before a piercing pain as if something was drilling right into his soul washed over him.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
But it was only fleeting because before the tower spirit could prate his true soul, the fake crimson soul suddenly moved, and a crimson sheen suddenly surfaced over his be.
The Tower Spirit didn''t notice anything and prated directly into the ''true soul,'' and suddenly, a strange phenomenon took ce in the true soul. The Tower Spirit was activating the soul segment!
The system''s voice rang at this moment, "[The Tower Spirit has sessfully entered the fake true soul!]"
Ace didn''t show any reaction, but his heart beat faster as he knew he was one step closer to meeting ''her'' again.
He could help but ask at this moment, "System, can you tell me if the transformation isplete and she''s already awake, but somehow she can''t break out of that cocoon, so she needs that mirror?"
Although he said that he would fully cooperate without asking anything in the moment of heat, now that he was calm, he couldn''t help but be somewhat curious as well as doubtful.
Because he always paid attention to the cocoon and wondered when she''d awake because it''s been over a decade. Yet she still showed no sign of awakening, so he could only wait patiently.
However, now that the system suggested it could have her absorb that broken mirror to wake her, he was curious about if her transformation had beenplete or if it was somethingpletely different. He didn''t want to harm her just to wake her soon.
If it were anyone else other than the system who had told him about this, he would never risk such a thing interfering with her transformation. But the system was the one who put her in that state in the first ce, so he knew it knew better than anyone.
The system unexpectedly answered emotionlessly, "[The Shadow Abyssal Devil transformation is 72% done, and it would take over a decade more for her toplete the transformation.]
"[Awakening such an extinct bloodline within a halfling is impossible no matter what or if she discovers theplete bloodline herself with some heavenly opportunity and then sessfully awakens it.]
"[Without the host''s investing in her, it would be impossible for the Halfling to have this chance, and the system also won''t reveal this method if she hadn''t already given her eternal loyalty to you.]
"[That''s why System is willing to help you to further improve her bloodline by letting her absorb that broken mirror. The host would naturally have to spend more TP for this as well!]"
Ace''s expressions were somewhat dark when he heard this and refuted, "First, her name is Eva; stop calling her Halfling, and second, she''s not some servant who pledges her eternal loyalty to me or some business investment; SHE IS MY WIFE!
"Andstly, if you can use the TP to elerate the transformation process, why didn''t you tell me sooner?!"
He was feeling indignation now since this simply meant the system had the means to wake her, but it didn''t tell him.
"[Host perhaps not understand clearly what the System just said. The Halfling didn''t have even a trace of Shadow Abyssal Devil Bloodline, and without it was impossible to elerate the process no matter how much Host has spent the TP.]
"[The approximate 10 to 30 years'' time was already fast enough because of the Blood Rose, Living Thief''s Space, and Thief Points. Of course, if the host has found something that can help her elerate the process, the system would have informed you just like now!]"
Ace didn''t have the words to refute it since the system made perfect sense. He was no longer that 12-year-old na?ve kid anymore, and he knew just how mysterious the world of cultivation was, and he had only just grazed the small tip iceberg.
Still, he was indignant because the system was still calling Eva ''Halfling'' despite his reproach and taking him as wind.
"Alright, I was wrong; now, can you please stop calling her Halfling? And as you just said, that mirror can help her awake and fast and even improve her bloodline further?" Ace''s tone was mild, and he requested this time. He knew the system really wouldn''t give in to his outburst.
"[Naturally, the broken mirror is made with the Void Abyssal Devil''s Third Eye as a foundation, and the Void Abyssal Devil is even more powerful existence than the Shadow Abyssal Devil, not to mention almost mythical inparison.]
"[Not only that mirror can help herplete her transformation, it might even help her awake the trace of Void Abyssal Devil''s bloodline and she might have a chance to evolve into Void Abyssal Devil if she joins the Thief House!]"
Chapter 638 Sinful Rebirth
Ace couldn''t help but feel extremely excited after he heard the system''s exnation. He wasn''t even the least bit jealous after he heard about what kind of existence Eva will be, not to mention terrifying.
He couldn''t help but sneer at the system, "So, you''re only doing this to let her enter the Thief House, huh? Then how about you increase the member slots as well while you''re at it!"
The thief hose was currently full, and to make more space, the existing members had to be at least ''Veteran Members'' before they had toplete a mission, and only then the thief house will have more member spots.
But with how the world was looking for his traces, he didn''t dare to let the house members take the risk of theft all over the ce and put their lives in jeopardy.
Furthermore, only Winter was outside while the two others were within the thief''s house space. He would never let them out in this kind of ce.
But now that Eva was going to wake, he didn''t want her to wait since, in a sense, she was his very first teammate and the one who proposed the formation of a thief team.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Still, he wasn''t a blind fool and would only react ording to the situation, and there was still the matter of Alina to tend to after this.
So, he will have to tread very carefully!
"[The system rules can never be altered!]" System emotionlessly replied!
"I guess then, one step at a time!" Ace scowled but didn''t push the topic since he was still happy about the System''s help in this matter. He''ll deal with the member slots after he leaves this ce.
At this moment, he heard the old ghost''s voice again.
"Sigh¡ little Regal, forgive me for this but know this, you''ll be the only thing this King has as a good and warm memory. I know if I have told you, you would''ve still not hesitated, but I might''ve wavered after that¡ so this is goodbye, old friend¡ may you live we me forever¡" A rueful sigh escaped the hoarse voice, and for the first time, Ace felt conflict and sorrow in his voice.
But it was merely fleeing as the voice returned to being icy cold, "I''ll torture those bastards'' souls for as long as I live and build a monument of their corpses for you!"
Ace danger sense suddenly buzzed like crazy as the fake true soul suddenly started to tremble as if something wanted to break free from within, but to no avail.
At this moment, the fiendish face suddenly started to spread over the crimson true soul!
''He''s absorbing the tower spirit!'' Ace instantly guessed.
While the tower spirit was getting absorbed by the soul segment, the broken mirror suddenly made a ''wu'' ''wu'' sounds before releasing a wisp of ck smoke.
The ck smoke formed a small humanoid figure. The voice of the old ghost suddenly resounded from the small figure made of ck smoke.
"I can finally revive after waiting for thousands of years¡" The voice was filled with mirth before it suddenly pped its hands and started to mumble strange, iprehensible words, like a chant.
The next moment, the ck corporeal pir where Ace was ''caged'' started to turn into mist as all the mist suddenly formed a small vortex over Ace''s forehead, and it drilled right into the fake true soul without Ace feeling anything.
But he didn''t dare to show any sign of mistake because he knew this was the most crucial moment, and if he showed any sign of suspicion, the old ghost might spook out and do something excessive.
Ace could tell just how careful the other party was; it might not even trust the tower spiritpletely and remain hidden in the mirror until the tower spirit''s fate waspletely sealed.
So, Ace showed some signs of struggling as it followed as the mist seeped into his forehead.
The chanting was bing more and more vibrant as the mist was entering Ace''s ''true soul.''
At the end of the chant, when only a small amount of that ck mist remains, and the crimson true soul was not pitch ck, the figure suddenly released its hand and roared solemnly, "¡Sin Rebirth Scripture, the final phase, Sinful Rebirth!"
The next moment, the figure made of smoke turned into dark steak and directly shot toward thest bit of ck mist, guided by an invisible suction force!
Within a few seconds, all the mist had entered the fake true soul, and Ace, whose eyes were closed all this time, suddenly opened them, shimmering with killing intent and ecstasy.
He never thought it would go so smoothly, and the other party didn''t even hesitate to activate the final phase of the technique as if he was absolutely sure that nothing could go wrong after this point.
The system''s emotionless voice rang at this time, "[The primal soul had entered the fake true soul!]"
Afterward, a panel appeared as a notification rang,
=====
[Required 10 Million Thief Points to send the fake true soul into the broken mirror and activate the Void Abyssal Devil''s Bloodline!]
[Continue]
[Ignore]
=====
Ace instantly continued without hesitation, and after the system deducted the TP.
=====
[Thief Point(s): 50,810,950]
=====
The fake true soul, which was now glowing in a sinter light, suddenly vanished from Ace''s true soul and appeared right before his eyes!
The next moment, a dark blue chain suddenly shot out from his be and directly prated the fake true soul, and the next moment dark sheen enveloped the dark blue chain.
Ace was astonished since it was his first time seeing this chain appearing from outside his body, and he didn''t feel any difort. He even wanted to touch it but restrained himself since it might disrupt the system.
At this moment, a feeble and confused voice rang from the fake true soul, "Strange, why haven''t my conscious started to merge with the body yet?"
Ace couldn''t help curling his lips at this moment when he heard this voice. He knew this was the old ghost''s voice. He icily jeered, "Ahh, Senior, how could you merge with my body when you''re outside my true soul?"
Just as Ace''s voice trailed off, the feeble voice rang again in horror, "Who?!"
Ace merely said three words with killing intent, "Your Fucking Death!"
Chapter 639 Law Comprehension Realm!
"NO! How is this possible?! You can''t just throw away your soul and then remain alive¡ this must be an illusion brought by the technique¡ it has to be¡ I must remain calm¡" The feeble old voice started to mumble frantically.
Ace couldn''t help but sneer, "Yeah, and it''ll be over very soon!"
At this moment, the dark blue chain suddenly flickered, and the fake true soul hovering in front of Ace suddenly started to move, guided by the chain. It was going toward the ck mirror!
"Ahhhh¡ what is this¡ noooo¡" Horrible screams started to ring as the fake true soul was getting closer to the broken mirror.
Because Moon Fiend King remaining soul was exhausted and entered the fake true soul for a chance to rebirth, and he also sacrificed the treasure spirit, the tower, as well as the broken mirror was now ownerless.
Even if he had another method, he couldn''t do anything because of his current state. He had never thought that after all those preparations and making this ce absolutely safe, he would fall into such a situation.
The silliest part was he didn''t even know how and where he made a mistake and got tricked by an ant-like existence. Usually, it was he who trick and robbed others of their lives, but now the tables were turned on him!
"Nooo¡ please spare me¡ I''ll be your ve and do anything. I''ll give you my treasures, EVERYTHING! If you kill me, y-you¡ahhhhh¡ YOU CAN''T ESCAPE FROM HERE¡!" Moon Fiend King used everything he had to say those words.
He knew the immense sense of crisis was not fake or an illusion, but it was all real, and he was somehow losing his consciousness, not it was more urate to say his consciousness was getting torn apart and ingesting into this true soul and he''ll die at any moment if it didn''t stop!
So, he could only try thest desperate resort, which was to submit and keep his life before making aeback. He knew as long as the other party was tempted by his treasures, he would have a chance to im it all back.
But s, Ace wasn''t in a bit tempted as he chuckled, "After you''re dead, everything you have will be mine." His eyes turn icy cold at this moment, "And even if I can''t get anything, you have to die because it needed to be done for her sake!"
At this moment, the chain had already pushed the ck true soul into the broken mirror as the Moon Fiend King''s blood-curdling screams died down. No one know if he had heard Ace''sst words or not, but it didn''t matter at all.
The corporeal chain suddenly yanked within the broken mirror as inky ck mist suddenly emitted from it and started to envelop the broken mirror.
Thereafter, the broken mirror, for the first time, made ''hmm'' sounds as it started to vibrate crazily and greedily started to absorb the dark mist.
Ace was astonished because the broken mirror suddenly started to mend as all those cracks started to close.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
System''s voice rang at this moment, "[Please ce the cocoon under the mirror!]"
Ace was quickly snapped out of it, and without hesitation, he waved his sleeve, and the next moment a ck cocoon filled with red markings that were pulsing at every second, appeared right under the mending mirror.
A rare gentleness appeared with Ace''s cold eyes as he looked at the pulsing cocoon as mumbled, "I''m waiting¡"
The moment the cocoon appeared, the mending mirror seemed to sense something as it suddenly released a strange aura, and the surrounding space started to twist, and it started to pull away from the chain; it wanted to escape!
But the dark blue chain didn''t even flinch as it merely yanked again before the aura around the mirror deted, but the mirror started to struggle even more, but to no avail.
The next moment, the dark chain suddenly pulled the mirror down toward the ck cocoon, and it struggled even more strongly.
Ace watched the mirror struggle in astonishment, "It''s afraid of the cocoon? No, it''s afraid of existence within the cocoon!"
"[Yes. The Abyssal Bloodline can devour anything and everything. There''s no escape from it, especially for others with weak Abyssal Bloodline. Because this will make the Abyssal Bloodline even stronger and make it evolve to new heights.]
"[That''s why the Abyssal Bloodline is abhorred and feared by everyone. But this will also make it equally alluring. Because an Abyssal Being is a top-tier treasure that even Gods willpete over!]
"[Right now, the Void Abyssal Devil bloodline has been activated, it is showing its natural instinctive reaction because it knew it won''t be able to escape for being devour and that''s why it wanted to escape!]"
Ace''s expression wrapped when he heard this, and couldn''t help but scowled, "First, you mean to say the Abyssal Bloodline is like an extremely rare treasure that absolutely can''t be revealed?
"Second, a weak abyssal bloodline can devour a strong bloodline, making the one who is devouring it stronger? Didn''t this mean those who are with stronger abyssal bloodline or those who know about its value would go after it?
"This might put her life in extreme danger at some point. You should''ve warned me beforehand!"
"[Host never asked. Besides, the Shadow Abyssal Devil is not easy to find or killed! They are inherently Machiavellian and cruel as well as their Blood Lineage, what you called the Blood Memory Heritage, is their biggest advantage!]"
Ace was again bbergasted by this information and calmed down after hearing the system praising someone for the first time. He felt quite assured since the System won''t lie to him.
But the next words of the system made him frown.
"[But the host has to keep her within Living Thief''s Space once you exit this tower. At least until her cultivation reached Law Comprehension Realm!]"
Ace''s heart sank to rock bottom as he instantly refuted, "Law Comprehension Realm?! Do you mean the Eighth and final realm of Mortal Sky Heaven?! But why?!"
Chapter 640 Awakening Of The Devil (1)
The fabled Law Comprehension Realm was the eighth and final realm of cultivation world of Golden Sky World. All the records of this realm were shrouded in mystery for some strange reason.
Anything rted to this realm, even its name, was forgotten in the river of history, and only those peak-level existences know about it.
Ace naturally knew about this realm because of the Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique, and he might be one of few existences who had the method to cultivate up to the very peak of this realm.
That''s also why he was stunned after what the system just said and wasn''t happy at all because reaching this realm was almost everything''s dream in Golden Sky World, but how many have ever been sessful?
No one knows; it was like someone had erased all the traces of the Law Comprehension Realm from this world. By the system wasn''t done exining!
"[Once the Shadow Abyssal Devil ispletely awake, she will be without any cultivation because she wasn''t naturally born with this bloodline and had to cultivate from the start like anyone else.]
"[For this reason, once she appears outside this tower, she will appear as an anomaly and will be noticed by [Natural Order]. This will expose her existence to all the terrifying existences with Abyssal Bloodline!]
"[This will put her into an even more dangerous situation once she''s marked by those existences, and she won''t be able to hide, ever! That''s why she needed at least to be a Law Comprehension Realm Cultivator to avoid the attention of [Natural Order].]
Ace''s expression turned extremely dark, "What is [Natural Order]?"
"[Host only need to know for now is, you can''t provoke the [Natural Order] or draw its attention with your current prowess!]
"[The Abyssal Shadow Devil will only make it react a little but Host will make it active and it will instantly reveal your actual whereabouts and give chance to the Heaven to take action against you without any restrain!]"
Ace felt a cold chill on his spine because he could feel the solemnity in the system''s cold voice for the first time ever since their interaction.
''Just what is this [Natural Order] and why would it be active once it notices me, and why Heaven will be able to take action without any restrain? It seemed the status of Heaven''s Stealer is even more dangerous, and I''ve imagined it¡''
The system revealed at this moment, "[However, as long as she joined the Thief House, she will bepletely fine. Even if she didn''t join the Thief House, her cultivation speed will be unimaginable, without any bottleneck because of her bloodline, so Host doesn''t have to worry about this small thing.]"
Ace tightened expression instantly lightened up when he heard this as realization dawned upon him.
''How could I forget that I have the System? It might be because it is protecting me from exposure all this time. That''s why I don''t have to worry about being exposed!''
But he still couldn''t take off this uneasy feeling after he heard about the mysterious [Natural Order].
However, his attention was instantly drawn to the ck cocoon, which was now pulsing in crimson light at a terrifying speed. The broken mirror had already vanished within the cocoon, and only the chain remained attached to it.
Right at this moment, the ck chain yanked slightly, and like a flexible string, it suddenly retracted into Ace''s head before vanishing without leaving any trace.
Ace didn''t mind it since his attention was now on the ck cocoon as it watched with expectancy and somewhat anxiety.
After a few moments, the crimson lines on the ck cocoon started to stir as they moved. They suddenly came alive, and like tree veins, they started to twist over the cocoon.
An ancient dark aura suddenly emits from the ck cocoon as those crimson lines start to take shape around the oval shape cocoon.
Ace''s eyes shone in astonishment because those lines were now forming crimson runes, and they were slowly covering the ck cocoon in numeric order while the aura was rising.
Despite the dark aura rousing, it didn''t affect Ace at all. On the contrary, he was feeling a strange connection to this aura.
Thereafter, the bright room suddenly started to dim as if something was eclipsing it and wanted to extinct every bit of light.
''This is¡w of [Shadow]!'' Ace was finally able to understand why he was feeling such a connection and strong familiarity with this dark aura.
It was the [Shadow]w that he hadprehended.
But this [Shadow]w was infinitely moreplex and out of his current understanding, not to mention powerful.
Furthermore, it wasn''t at its full power yet and rising as the space was getting darker and darker, and only those menacingly crimson runes were visible within his eerier darkness.
But Ace didn''t flinch from his ce and watched while he started to get a deeper understanding of the [Shadow]w. One could say it was a kind of blessing for someone like him who had awakened the Law Intent of [Shadow].
However, Ace didn''tpletely focus onwprehension because he was focusing on the faint heartbeat he was hearing as it was bing faster and faster.
Ace didn''t know how much time had passed or how long he was just standing there like a statue, but he never left the position where all those crimson runes were shimmering brightly.
Right at this moment, those runes suddenly enveloped in a faint violet sheen, and all of a sudden, they started to get dissolved into the darkness or the cocoon, more urately.
Ace was now hearing a powerful heartbeat like never before, and as those symbols were dissolving, the dark aura around him was getting mixed with something extremely sinister and terrifying.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
It was even more sinister than the crimson true soul and far more terrifying.
Even Ace''s unshakable hands instinctively trembled, but he didn''t do anything and just watched. He didn''t know why but now he was sensing a strange connection, a foreign yet infinitely close bond within this ghastly aura.
"Rip¡"
A cold, eerie sound of silk ripping apart sounded, and the very next moment, in that sinister darkness right in front of Ace, a vertical, spiral eye surface!
Chapter 641 Awakening Of The Devil (2)
Under utter darkness, facing the mystic ck spiral, vertical eye, Ace felt his mind sway as a sense of immense emptiness washed over him.
But it onlysted for a split second before the vertical eye abruptly vanished, and the very next moment, the surrounding darkness crumbled like a curtain.
Ace finally regained his sense as his eyes were affixed on the same spot where they were before everything started while he held his breath.
The ck cocoon had vanished from its spot, leaving no trace, and recing it was a devilish beauty with a godly figure, and it was fully exposed without anyyer of clothing, making this scene extremely breathtaking and sanctified.
She was 6''3 feet tall, had an oval, mature face with a perfectly sharp chin, and her skin waspletely white without any profanity, almost glowing like morning snow. With her slim and supple waist and long slender legs, it was as if she was carved out of wless snow crystal. Even more alluring thing which could arouse any men''s desire was her toweringrge twin peaks and those ''big red eyes'' and her sexy corbone under her long neck.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Every single part of her devilishly gorgeous body exuded sensual charms. Once a manid his eyes on her body, it was impossible for him to look away!
However, except for her human features, she had strange ck runes around the sides of her neck; they started right under her ears and went all the way toward her slender arms, forming two lines of runes.
She had long ck hair, and a ring shape thin crimson crown filled with iprehensible runes was resting over her head, and a small hexagon crimson mark was imprinted on her smooth bee, giving her a strange, alluring charm.
Most importantly, her fox-like eyes werepletely closed as she stood there,pletely tranquil; she was like the vivid status of some divine being.
Ace''s eyes werepletely affixed on the devilish beauty wearing the crimson crown, which could charm any man with a single nce. Although she had a strange makeover, he knew she was, without doubt, Eva, as her face was the same but far more alluring and graceful than in the past.
Especially those foxy eyes, he would never forget them when they first met in that inn''s room.
Even with his mental fortitude, he just couldn''t have enough of seeing this mature alluring woman. She was, in fact, his woman, and he knew for a fact because of this strange bond between them.
For the first time, he felt a forbidden desire welling¡
Seeing her still closing her eyes, he gently called out, "Eva¡"
It was like some magic spell had been cast because the moment Ace called her name, the peaceful standing beauty suddenly quivered lightly.
Thereby, her foxy eyelids suddenly fluttered before they sprang open, revealing pair of bewitching jet-ck eyeballs and crimson ruby irises. That pair of eyes were nothing but icy as it was giving off the feeling of the cold abyss.
She suddenly started to emit an abyssal aura as she saw the hooded figure standing a few meters away from her. Suddenly she fluttered as her cold nk expression started to change when memories started pouring into her head.
As those distant memories became clearer, the abyssal aura around her started to crumble, especially when she remembered how she was once a ve before she found a certain boy who changed everything.
He freed her by destroying the salve contract, and she started to feel deep adoration for him; that adoration then turned into affection, and before she knew it, she didn''t want to live without him¡
Despite being dense, he treated her like no one before, and she was willing to give up her everything for him, even her life, and she did so in the end without thinking about it twice or caring about how he felt about her¡
The coldness in her eyes started to rece by gentleness as she remembered everything. She also felt the invisible bond between her and the hooded figure in front of her.
Ecstasy suddenly lit in her eyes before she suddenly moved and vanished without any trace despite being without any cultivation.
Even Ace was momentarily stunned because shepletely escaped from his thief sense, but he didn''t have time to mull over it because he felt a soft breath on his face.
Just an inch away from his hood, Eva had appeared like a phantom, startling him since it waspletely out of Ace''s expectations.
On the other hand, Eva didn''t seem to care about anything as she moved her slender hands toward the long hood and removed it with great eagerness.
Ace didn''t stop her as looked at the devilish beauty without any care about her appearance was standing so close to him, and his heartbeat raced. The mask on his face vanished without a trace as the hood lifted over his face.
Revealing his pale white masculine face with sharp chiseled jawline, and dark blue eyes like a dark tranquil ocean, which was hiding mysterious vicissitude, he was extremely handsome with this mysterious peerless charm.
Eva''s devilish eyes lit up as the unmatured face of that boy started to ovep with this mature handsome face. She couldn''t help but touch his face with her slender, pristine finger with a ck nail.
Her eyes, filled with tenderness, were now locked with his, and her pale crimson lips finally parted, and her tender dulcet voice rang, "Ace!"
Ace blinked when he heard her familiar voice, which was now more mature and hid a strange charm within.
He could feel her cold yet soft touch filled with love, and a powerful spark suddenly ignited his emotions which he had been suppressing and never shown to anyone before.
Without hesitation, he moved his arm and warped it around Eva''s smooth and tender waist and boldly captured her into his embrace.
"Ah¡" Eva softly cried as she felt his strong arm around her wrist, but she didn''t resist as she even enjoyed the feeling of being embraced by him. A tingle of blush surfaced over her peerless face making her even more alluring.
Ace felt his desire going haywire as he looked at the blushing beauty and her dreamy eyes. He suddenly advanced toward her alluring lips boldly.
Eva''s eyes wentpletely dreamy as she epted his lips over her dly as she wanted to melt in his arms¡
Ace had dreamed of talking with her endlessly once she awoke, but now that he was holding her, he didn''t want to talk.
Because he wanted to speak with his action showing her just how much he missed her;stly, he wanted to ept her as his true wife from both body and soul¡
Chapter 642 Blood Heritage
The once cold and silent red crystalline room was now filled with heated passion and pleasure of love¡
Ace and Eva, after a decade of separation, both didn''t want to hold back and ''express'' their love to the full extent, and their passion ran wild.
While in each other embrace, they both forget about the time, and they care nothing but for each other. Everything else was but an illusion for them¡
An unknown time passed, and Ace, who always remain vignt of his surrounding, for the first time in over a decade, fell into a blithe sleep while holding the enthralling devil in his embrace.
At this moment, Eva''s head was resting over Ace''s muscr chest as she heard his powerful heartbeat with of tingle of pinkish blush and a small satisfied grin on her crimson lips. She couldn''t be happier; it was like a dream to her.
"He''s so bold and fierce¡ not like that silly and scaredy-cat I remembered¡" She mumbled under her breath and blushed heavily when she remembered their ''heated exchange.''
"Who you''re calling scaredy-cat?" A cold yet teasing voice rang at this moment.
Eva was startled before her eye lit up, and she quickly looked toward Ace and saw he was no longer asleep and looking at her with this evil grin on his face.
Her eyes turned gentle, and she giggled, "Aren''t I right? You were such a silly little brat who didn''t even know how to express yourself and always peak at me from the corner of your eyes. I still remember when you first saw me; at that time, you werepletely stunned silly¡ ahhhh, stop, don''t pinch my butt, haha, no~, stop you bullyyy~."
Eva squeaked like a little girl under Ace''s ''evil hands attack'' and waspletely helpless¡ but in truth, she was enjoying it too much.
Ace saw the naked, enthralling devil who could charm anyone with her face and arouse the desire of even gods with her devilish physique; pretending to be a little girl and cuddling in his arms, he felt blissful for the first time in his life.
"Hmph, I''m not that kid anymore who got tricked by you, little vixen tricks!" He retorted while he gently teased her even more.
Eva suddenly breaks free from his evil clutches and quickly captures his arm, and pins them over his head. She fiery looked right into his eyes while showing her alluring body and big soft mounds.
"You''re too beautiful¡" Ace couldn''t help but utter from the bottom of his heart as he looked at Eva''s peerless face, a hair away from his.
Lust surfaced in her tender eyes as she blushed when she heard his praise. The feeling of happiness and blissfulness inundated her heart.
"You''re dead~!" She mumbled lovingly before she captured his lips like a fierce lioness.
It was a kiss full of passion and love¡
Ace couldn''t hold himself as his carnal desire was fully awake, and without having any intention of stopping just there, he quickly started to take control of the devil!
She was really a true devil who could make anyonemit any sin for her¡
After ''express'' their fierce love for each other again¡ both of them were panting while the blissful expressions on their faces.
"You lost!" With a deep shade of pink, Eva dered with rigid breathing making a luscious scene.
Ace couldn''t help but mumble under his breath, "Why do I have this feeling that your body resistance is equivalent to a Grade-7 treasure, and you''re still a mortal¡"
Eva''s hearing was too sharp as she heard his every word and smiled in satisfaction as she boosted like a proud peacock, "Why of course, despite having no cultivation, I can easily kill anyone at tinum Soul Realm Cultivation, even those Soul Manifestation Realm cultivation won''t be my match, and I can escape Law Awareness Realm Cultivators. Only those Law Comprehension Realm pose a threat to me."
Ace couldn''t help but raise his brows when he heard this unexpected yet unbelievable revtion.
He looked at the proud devil in his embrace and seriously questioned, "Is this true? It seemed your bloodline is far more powerful than I have thought about it."
"Hehe, why would I lie to you? In my Blood Heritage of Abyssal Shadow Devil, there are ample experience and knowledge about my kind, and even I''m somewhat in disbelief that I''m really a part of them." Eva proudly dered without hiding anything.
"Blood Heritage, huh? Why not Blood Memory Heritage?" Ace couldn''t help but ask since everything called the Devil''s ability to unravel their predecessors'' memories as Blood Memory Heritage.
But both system and Eva, now calling it Blood Heritage, instated, so he was somewhat curious, and unlike the System, Eva won''t hide things from him.
And just as he thought, Eva replied without hiding anything, "Actually, they are both the same thing, and the only difference is Blood memory Heritage will awake random memories about cultivation techniques and some skills that are strictly rted to the density of bloodline.
"Furthermore, this type of memory awakening isn''t just limited to the devil race alone. Magic Beast also has the same kind of ability, and they even have an advantage over everyone because they can increase and awaken their abilities by doing nothing but eating herbs and anything that has potent Qi.
"However, the Blood Heritage isplete inparison, and it is not limited to just one or two races. But a Blood Heritage only forms when a being reaches a certain level of power, and then they can pass down their entire cultivation knowledge to their descendants as long as their bloodline is over 95% pure! There is no restriction of Race."
Ace was really intrigued when he heard this new information, "Hmm, I never thought there was such a difference. We''re simply living in a well¡"
"Hehe, of course. What actually makes a difference is Racial Abilities, which can''t be passed down, and one has to depend on themselves to awaken them¡ but¡" Eva suddenly stopped as she nced at Ace.
Ace''s sharp institution instantly caught her hesitation as he asked uncertainly, "But, what? Don''t hide things from me. Truth me; I can keep secrets."
Eva pursed her lips and retorted, "It''s not like I don''t trust you! It''s just that the Racial Abilities are unique to the degree that only a few powerful races have the means to awaken them, like the Devil, Demon, Magic Beasts, and some other powerful races you might''ve never heard of.N?v(el)B\\jnn
"But some races didn''t have such a luxury and ability to awake a unique racial ability naturally. Like¡ Humans!"
Eva was closely watching Ace''s expression when she said that. She was afraid she might hurt Ace''s pride. But to her surprise, Ace wasn''t even flinched; on the contrary, a chuckle escaped his mouth.
Ace said without showing any kind of frustration, "Little Missy, do you really believe this kind of thing will make me jealous of you?"
Eva was startled by his question and didn''t know how to reply.
Ace continued, while deeply looking at her abyssal-like eyes, said with full of implication, "Of course, if you thought so little of me, I might get angry and punish you for doubting your husband!"
Eva''s eyes widened for a moment before gentleness surfaced in her eyes as she blushed and tenderly said, "I was wrong."
"You were. I don''t need to strive for anything. I''ll just steal them if I need them. These racial abilities will never be able to stop me!" Ace''s deration was quite arrogant, but it was backed by his undying resolve and confidence.
Eva was mesmerized by the strong thievish look in his dark blue eyes, and suddenly all the doubts vanished. She suddenly remembered something as she quickly moved her jade-like hand and ced it right before his eyes.
Ace was stunned for a moment when he saw her snowy white palm and doubtfully nced at her, "What? You want to p me?"
"Hahaha, why would I want to p you, dummy?" Evaughed gracefully before her expression turned stern, "Don''t you remember it?"
"Remember what?" Ace was baffled by this sudden question and the change in attitude.
Eva narrowed her eyes dangerously as she questioned again, "Look at my hand and tell me what you''re forgetting!"
For the first time, Ace felt Eva''s tone was unquestionable as he felt strange. He quickly looked at her hand, which waspletely empty.
Then his eyesnded on those runes over her upper arm, but he didn''t answer since she was clearly not asking about those runes.
''Why her hand? What I''m forgetting?'' Ace started to feel amiss as the more he took the time to think, the colder sensation he felt. He felt like he was being locked by something evil and couldn''t escape.
Ace couldn''t help but look at the beauty who had now turned from gentle to cold within a moment. Cold sweat surfaced over his head, and he dryly asked, "Umm¡ wifey, how about a clue? A very small one!"
The word ''wifey'' made Eva''s cold expression somewhat soften, and she finally decided to give a hint with a piercing look.
"You''re forgetting about an object and a promise!"
Chapter 643 Ring Of Endearment
Ace''s mind instantly raced, ''An object and a promise?''
The very next moment, it finally dawned upon him as he looked at Eva''s index finger and blurted, "That storage ring I gifted you, right?"
Ace instantly remembered the storage ring he first gave her, and it was exactly with that ring Eva tricked him by performing the devil race''s ritual and bonding her life with his.
Although he didn''t suffer or lose anything. Eva''s life got bonded with him, and if he dies, she will also follow suit while he would suffer no such causality if something happened to her.
Furthermore, it was also the symbol of marriage in Devil Race. But he never told Eva that he already knew about this ritual and marriage.
However, the ring had vanished after she woke up, so he didn''t have much about it. Moreover, he didn''t have time to think because he was too busy focusing on other ''matters.''
However, now that she had bought it up, he naturally remembered after getting a small hint. As for the promise, he also remembered it.
Eva''s stern expression instantly melted as her lips curled into a beautiful smile, "So, do you also remember your promise?"
Ace couldn''t help but smile seeing her delightful expression, "Yes, I was too mesmerized by your beauty that I lost forces of everything else.
"Before you were sealed, I purpose you for marriage, and you agreed. And afterward, I promised you that after you wake up, I''ll give you a grand wedding."
Eva smiled happily and nodded, "But do you know we are already married ording to Devil Race''s custom?"
Ace pretended to be surprised, "How so? Don''t tell me by doing¡"
"Not because we do this!" Eva red at him fiercely, "It was a ritual of my devil race. When someone puts a ring on a female devil''s right-hand index finger, and she willingly epts it, it symbolizes their marriage. Now, do you understand? Do you think without getting married, I would let you touch me?"
Ace couldn''t help but admire her alluring charm, which intensified with her fierce expression, and couldn''t help but tease her, "Oh, then I''m d you did so, or I won''t be able to acquire such a beautiful wife. As for thest part, would you really not let me do anything?" His eyes were filled with lust as his hands approached her bosom.
Despite wanting to, Eva''s expression melted away instantly when she heard his honey-coated words. Her heart was filled with happiness as she felt his warm, gentle touch.
But still, she red at him, "M-maybe kissing, but that''s it! Now stop and listen, or I won''t tell you if you continue to interrupt me!"
Ace grinned and stopped¡ for now.
"Look," Eva said as she pointed at her hand again.
Ace looked at her hand, and he was astonished when he saw a crystalline ring start to surface on her index finger. Not only that but this ring was covered in pitch-ck runes.
Furthermore, Ace suddenly felt extremely close to Eva, not physically but mentally, as well as he could literally feel her thoughts.
"Can you hear me?"
Her voice rang, but she never uttered a single word which meant her voice was transmitted directly to his mind.
Astonished, he looked at her meaningfully and nodded as he replied without speaking, as he was too familiar with thismunication method, "I can."
Eva smiled brightly as she finally spoke while showing her ring, "After I turned into a full devil as well, my bloodline changed to a far stronger one. I also got more information about the marriage ritual, which is called Devil''s Love.
"If a devil truly falls in true love and then performs the Devil''s Love ritual and forms a couple with the one he or she truly loves. As long as the partner won''t have any malice and also loves the one who performs the ritual after they consummate the marriage, the ring used during the ritual will turn into a Ring of Endearment!"
Ace was astonished when he heard it and looked at the crystalline runic ring on her index finger. He naturally had no idea about such a thing.
"So, you''re saying this ring is the Ring of Endearment now?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Eva happily nodded, "Hmm. Only the pure devils with at least the bloodline equivalent to the Abyssal Bloodline can create the Ring of Endearment and gain benefits from it. While for other devils, the Devil''s Love Ritual can''t bring any more benefits."
"Benefits? What kind of benefits?" Ace was finally intrigued when he heard this.
"First, the Ring of Endearment will have a unique function ording to the nature of the ring used during the ritual, and it is unbreakable and will only break after the bearer''s death.
"Since you used a storage ring in the ritual, my ring''s unique function is ''World of Dream,'' which is a storage type function. I receive 100 cubic meters of storage space first, and I can store anything, including living beings, in my ring.
"Not only that but with every major realm breakthrough from now on, the storage capacity will be increased by 100 cubic meters continuously!" Eva excitedly told, and she liked Ace''s dumbfounded look.
She couldn''t help but giggle as she showed off the ring, "Lastly, with this ring, we will be able to sense each other''s general direction no matter how far apart we are, and if anyone falls into danger, we''ll instantly sense it. And this is my favorite function. We can transfer our thoughts to each other within a 10-mile radius, and it will also increase with my cultivation. We will never be part again!"
Ace had to admit that this Devil''s love was really a mystical ritual that could make something out of the Ring of Endearment. Especially Eva''s Ring of Endearment, which can store both living and nonliving beings just like his thief''s space, can also grow.
But he suddenly thought of something, ''Shepletely skipped the part about bonding her life with mine without any of my concern, and it''s clear she doesn''t want to tell me either.
''But can this Ring of Endearment really be formed without any consequences?'' Ace couldn''t help but think like this as he asked the system first since even if Eva knew about it, she might not tell him if it had extreme consequences,
"System, do this Ring of Endearment can really form without any bacsh as long as the ritual isplete?" He knew the system might not bother to reply, but it was worth trying.
But it did, and the rey left him gloomy.
"[Everything has a consequence whether it''s bad or good. The Devil''s Love ritual is not an exception as well, especially if the female devil wanted to form the Ring of Endearment.]
"[The Ring of Endearment is the token of true love between a pair, not a single person, and to form it, it has to be done at the moment of marriage consummation. There will be no more chances.]
"[But if the male involved within the ritual has any malice toward the female devil and if she tries to form the Ring of Endearment during the consummation, she will die by the same ring she wanted to turn into Ring of Endearment!]
"[At that time, if the female devil wants, she can turn the Ring of Endearment into Ring of Affliction at her dying moment. Thereby, the ring will forcibly bond with the male and bring him nothing but deadly misfortune, and it will follow him until he dies. There is no escape!]"
Ace felt a chill running down in his spine when he saw thest part and couldn''t help but nce at Eva, who was happily looking at him while showing her ring with nothing but affection.
The momentary wariness instantly washed away and left nothing but helpless. He knew there was almost zero percent chance that she would turn the ring into a Ring of Affliction against him.
''She had again done such a dangerous thing which put her life into a dangerous situation. She''s just as crazy as I remembered her to be, and this time she didn''t even show any reaction.
''She probably told me because she didn''t want me to found about the Devil''s Love ritual from someone else while she hid every con and only revealed the pros. I can''t let this continue, or she might do something again and put her life in even more danger.''
Ace''s eyes went resolute.
Although he didn''t want to scold her or reveal what she had done in the past, he was afraid it might hurt her, and she will reveal it eventually. But he knew if keep shut about it and let her keep gambling with her life for his and get her away with it. It might do far more harm than good to both of them.
So, his expression was stern as he said, "Eva, let''s get dressed. I also want to tell you something."
Eva was startled when she heard Ace''s somewhat distant voice and couldn''t help but looked at him and only met with his stern eyes. She had any seen him looking at her like this.
She quickly asked anxiously as she felt something was wrong, "What''s wrong?"
Chapter 644 New Owner
Eva wore a sleeveless, ck attire, whichplimented her devilish figure and that crimson crown on her forehead, and was looking anxious at Ace, who was wearing his jet-ck deft thief''s robes and had a stern expression on his face.
Ace couldn''t help but feel heartache seeing Eva''s anxious face, but he knew this had to be done, or she might do something she regrettedter.
He gently asked, "Eva, earlier you said the Ring of Endearment could only form if the partner didn''t have any malice toward their wife or husband, but what will happen if they had malice?
"I want you to be honest with me, or it would simply mean you won''t trust me enough and think of me as some ipetent idiot who can''t handle the truth."
Eva''s expression changed, and she instantly averted her eyes in panic when she saw Ace''s scrutiny gaze. She immediately tried to hide it, "T-then nothing will happen! But you truly love me, so the Ring of Endearment formed, and I can''t be happier!"
Ace sighed ruefully as he turned somewhat cold as he said, "Then, were you testing mymitment toward you and see if I''m really in love with you or not?"
Eva panicked even more since the formation of the Ring of Endearment could really be looked at as such. Because only someone with doubts would put their loved ones to the test, and the Devil''s Love Ritual was really made for such a thing.
There was an old saying in devil race, ''Even the love of a Devil is Devil!''
Especially the love of a Devil Woman. Usually, they were extremely cold and cruel towards other races, even their own. But once they fell in love, they were downright crazies!
They will go to any length to be the one they loved and make sure they are loved back, or they will rather die than live without them. But they will not die alone; they will ensure the person who rejected them follows them. At least they will be together in the afterlife!
This was the true mentality of a devil woman, and Eva had inherited this mentality strongly at that after her bloodline changed to Shadow Abyssal Devil.
Although she didn''t have any doubts about Ace, she just couldn''t help it and couldn''t suppress her natural instinct and try risking the formation of Ring of Endearment.
It''s not like she doubted Ace''smitment toward herself. It''s just that she had too much faith in him, especially after she awake. She would never forget that passionate gaze filled with longing.
She never doubted for a second that the ring of endearment formation would fail, and she was right.
However, she never expected Ace to take it the wrong way and notice the hidden details she left deliberately.
She waspletely stunned now as she didn''t know how to exin herself, and that piercing gaze was directly stabbing through her heart. She just couldn''t endure it.
Ace''s stern expression instantly crumbled when he saw tears forming in her eyes, and his heart ached. He immediately hugged her, "Why are you crying? I just want the truth. I never doubted your intention."
Eva felt warm as she buried her head in his chest and mumbled, "I-I never doubted you¡."
"Neither do I. But you shouldn''t hide about the Ring of Affliction as well as you, bonding your life with mine." Ace didn''t hide anymore and revealed.
Eva instantly trembled when she heard the ''secret'' was exposed and quickly looked at him and saw him wearing an ''I got you'' smile.
"Y-you knew?" She questioned with uncertainty.
Ace snorted, "Silly woman, I know from the start that what you have done by giving up your freedom for mine. But this kind of thing should be mutual, and do you think I could live if you die for me?"
Eva was ttered when she heard this and muttered gently, "I just don''t want you to die before me."
"Heh, still as crazy as ever, huh?" Ace helplessly chuckled, "You still don''t get it, do you? Tell me, how do you get this bloodline?"
"You gave it to me." She replied without hesitation.
"Then, now that you have your blood heritage, do you think it is possible to make a Half-Shadow Devil a Shadow Abyssal Devil?" Ace asked again.
Eva couldn''t help but fall into thought at this moment since she had never thought about it.
She said doubtfully, "No, it''s not possible. But it''s because of the Blood Rose and the special living space, right?"
Ace then smiled mysteriously, "Then who gave me that space and told me about the blood rose effect?"
Her eyes widened as she finally got what Ace was trying to say and instantly questioned, "Who?"
Eva couldn''t help but feel something was really not right because Ace was only a human, and he belonged to the low-levelnds of the Azure Wind Continent. She knew there was no doubt about it since she had done a deep background check on him herself before she approached him for his help.
Furthermore, she always felt that Ace was exceptional with all those strange abilities and that strange closeness she felt toward him, but she never thought much deeper into this.
However, with her current self, she couldn''t just ignore it, and she knew just how absurd it was to originate the Shadow Abyssal Bloodline in a halfling like her. Someone like Ace definitely couldn''t do it unless¡ someone helped him!
The information Ace revealed was more than proof of that, and she was now even more sure that Ace had someone extremely terrifying behind him.
Ace looked at her ruminative expression and was d. He wanted to achieve exactly that. He didn''t want to appear superior. Furthermore, he just wanted to tell her that he wasn''t some clueless or helpless idiot who needed her protection.
He just wanted to make sure she won''t try to pull something crazy again just because she thought he needed it.
"Just know I have a ''God'' behind me, and they''re always watching over me. As long as I perform well, it will reward me with unimaginable powers and treasures.
"But my biggest reward is naturally you. So, I don''t want to lose you, and I hope you don''t try to do something which threatens your own life again. At least discuss it with me first.
"And you don''t need to protect me. I can do that just fine. I still remember we are teammates before anything, and a teammate will always have each other backs, right?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Eva couldn''t help but fall into deep silence as she looked at Ace''s confident expression filled with gentleness toward her. Happiness bloomed within her heart, as she didn''t care about if he had some ''god'' or ''demon'' behind him. She just wanted to be with him.
"I understand." She gently uttered before her expression turned strange as she asked in a low voice when she thought of something, "You said the god is always watching over you, t-then¡ then does this mean it also watched us¡."
Ace''s prideful expression instantly wrapped when he heard this, and he also felt this question was worth mulling over. But he didn''t have the face to question the system since it was too embarrassing.
So, he dryly changed the topic, "Alright, enough with this stuff. We should leave this ce."
Eva also didn''t push this embarrassing topic as she nodded before she looked around the strange room, "Now that you mention it, where are we?"
Ace looked at the doom-like room, which was nowpletely empty after the ''death'' of both the Tower Spirit and the old ghost Moon Fiend King.
He really has no idea how to leave this ce since he was too busy focusing on Eva at that time and didn''t heed the old ghost Moon Fiend''s warning that he won''t be able to leave this tower if he killed him.
However, now that he thought about it, there seemed to be no way out, and they might have to break their way out of it, which was quite cumbersome.
But before he could exin, Eva suddenly mumbled, "Why do I feel connected with this ce and this strange set of memories?"
"You are feeling a connection with this ce and memories?" Ace''s eyes instantly narrowed.
Eva nodded with uncertainty as she suddenly looked behind Ace and squinted her eyes, "Like there is a door, right there!"
Just as her voice trailed off, something strange happened. The wall where she focused suddenly trembled before it sided away, revealing a passage!
Ace was stunned when he saw this and quickly thought about something as his face turned pale and questioned the system, "System, don''t tell me she had turned into this tower''s treasure spirit because she absorbed that mirror?!"
"[No. But because she had absorbed this tower''s core with tower spirit as well as the previous owner, she had be the new owner of this treasure!]"
Ace was relieved when he heard it and couldn''t help but feel this make sense. But the system''s next word makes his expression dark!
Chapter 645 Moon Fiend King’s Treasures! (1)
"[Although she is now the owner of this treasure, this doesn''t change the fact it is now an empty husk that had lost all of its previous function and power source, making it unable to travel between spaces.]
"[There''s probably only enough power left in the tower to perform onest teleportation for onest time before it will be lost all of its space type ability and turn into nothing but a Grade-8 treasure which is broken beyond repair!]"
Ace couldn''t help butin, "Onest teleportation? Then can Eva teleport us to Golden Sky World exactly?"
"[It''s all depend on her because she is the owner now.]"
Afterward, the system went dormant again, and no matter what Ace asked, it ignored him.
"You''re just as ''reliable'' as ever." Ace couldn''t help but grumble inwardly.
"Where are we, really? And why can I control this ce?" Eva''s eyes were filled with curiosity as she looked at Ace with expectancy.
She was still annexing this strange ce''s memories, and she knew it was not just a random space at all.
But the question was, how did they end up here?
She was getting more and more curious about what Ace had experienced while she was asleep.
Ace couldn''t help but feel a sense of reminiscence when he saw Eva''s curious expression. She was just as curious as he remembered her to be.
"Alright, I''ll tell you about where we are and how I got here. The other details have to wait¡ so I entered a space crack and entered this underground tunnel¡."
Ace started to tell her about his experience in this secret realm where the treasure, Regal Fiend Tower, was located and what this tower was actually doing, and the scheme of Old Ghost Moon Fiend¡
Eva attentively listened, and the more she heard, the more she felt shocked about Ace''s adventure. But when she heard about how the old ghost Moon Fiend wanted to revive using Ace''s body, her crimson eyes suddenly excluded thick killing intent and bloodlust that startled even Ace.
"You let him off too easily!" She coldly stated.
Ace smiled wryly, "I can''t take any risk, you know. He was probably an old monster from some other world, and he was simply too careful. He even sacrificed the tower spirit, and until the end, the tower spirit didn''t find that he was just a sacrificialmb. If I had shown even a tiny bit of resistance or acted out of the ce, he would be instantly suspicious of me."
He then smiled gently while he looked at the angry Devil, "But it was all worth it since I got to wake you, and getting devoured by you could be said an act of revenge on my part. Now you are the owner of this tower, so I want you to teleport away to the main continent."
Eva''s rage calmed a bit when she heard this, and she couldn''t help but admire Ace because of how he tricked an old monster into his own death.
Eva scrutinized, ''The one backing him is probably not just a random god.''
She had some doubt before about this ''god'' behind Ace.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Because in her Blood Heritage, she also got small memories about ''God,'' and she clearly knew just what a ''God'' represents. But in this ce, it was pitifully impossible to draw a real ''God''s attention and even make it help a mortal like Ace.
She even felt this ''God'' was tricking Ace into doing his bidding, so she secretly decided to ''save'' him once she got stronger from this ''God.''
However, now, she didn''t know anymore and decided to wait and see what would happen. Since this ''God'' helped her achieve such a bloodline, she was also grateful, but it doesn''t mean she will let anything happen to Ace.
She even had a secret method within her memories to get rid of anyone''s detection or any kind of curse or spell, even Gods!
But she needed cultivation far higher than 1st Heaven''s limitation to use that method, so she decided just to go ahead and follow Ace and monitor his or that ''God''s every action.
If she found even the slightest bit of danger to Ace, she would not hesitate to get rid of this ''God.''
Her thorough process and reactions were so natural that even someone like Ace, who was master at hiding his true intentions, didn''t notice anything out of the blue.
If he had known what Eva was thinking, he would''ve definitely facepalmed himself and scolded her since he had just told her not to try anything dangerous again. But she was still thinking of scheming against a ''God,'' nevertheless!
The truth was scheming was the Devil''s second nature, and they couldn''t change it or suppress it, and this nature only intensified as the stronger their bloodline.
Eva was no different.
Eva asked, "Do you really want to leave and not explore this tower? There might be hidden treasures of that old monster, right? But, if we leave, we might not evere back again, and those treasures will be gone forever."
Ace thought for a moment before his lips curled up and nodded, "Alright, there''s no harm in exploring a bit, and I also think that guy might have arranged a few treasures for his rebirth. Let''s plunder it all."
Ace looked at Eva''s happy expression and couldn''t help but bitterly think, ''I still have to tell her about living in the thief''s space until she reaches the 8th Realm in cultivation, so I might as well spend some time with her in this ce.
''Then there''s still the matter of Thief House, as well as Alina''s situation. I had told her about Alina so she would not react much. But the problem is Thief House members. She might outright try to kill them or me¡.''
Ace felt a chill in his spine when he thought about that killing intent she emitted just a few moments ago. And she was just a mortal in cultivation terms. He didn''t dare to imagine just how terrifying will she be once she started cultivating.
''No, I must find a way to exin it to her as gently as possible, or a cmity awaits me.'' Ace bound his resolved as he looked at the Devil.
He wasn''t even afraid of Heaven, but he was definitely scared of making her heartbroken and her crazy personality.
"Let''s go. Why are you looking pale?" She looked at him confusingly.
Ace quickly hid his unease and nodded with a smile, "Let''s find some treasures."
Eva giggled and locked her arm with Ace''s, and they started to walk toward the open door.
Ace suddenly thought of something and looked at her crimson crown and runes as well as her eyes which were actually like the Imperial Demon Family members.
"Is that crown and runes your racial trail?" He asked curiously.
Eva nodded, "Anyone with Abyssal Bloodline will have this ''Abyssal Crown,'' and the runes are ''True Devil''s Runes.'' Both of them have different uses."
Ace was intrigued, "What uses?"
"It''s a secret, for now. Hehe." Eva mysteriously snickered.
"Tsk, now you''re just being a miser," Acemented with slightly narrow eyes.
"Then what can you do about it?" Eva seductively looked at him as she licked her crimson lips with her pink tongue.
"Hmph, vixen!" He couldn''t help but click his tongue.
Eva''s melodious peal ofughter rang within the empty hall.
At this moment, they reached the entrance of the open door, and Ace''s eyes narrowed in astonishment while Eva also seemed shocked.
Because in front of them was over five hundred square meters wide hall, and it was filled with crimson mannequins standing in orderly rows, and they were thousands of them.
Ace instantly recognized those mannequins, "They are Trial Puppets used by the Tower Spirit to test the contenders on each floor, and they are so many of them!"
Eva''s expression turned cold as he revealed, "This ce is filled with the potent smell of blood, and if I''m wrong, they are ''Low-Grade Blood Puppets!'' Made after refining dead bodies in their own blood.
"It''s an extremely sinister method of the unorthodox path. These blood puppets'' cultivation should be around one or two realms lower than when they were alive, and not only that, they should also have their battle experience."
Ace cocked an eyebrow when he heard about this ''Blood Puppet'' description.
"You mean like Corpse Puppets?" He couldn''t help but think of the awakened corpse army in the demon continent when he stumbled upon the site of Ice Element Orb, and that''s how he met with Winter as well.
"You even know about the Corpse Puppets?" Eva seemed astonished and looked at Ace deeply, "It seemed this adventure wasn''t the only interesting one up in your sleeve, huh?"
"It was alright, I guess." Ace smiled wryly and thought bitterly, ''If I left that annoying Fox out of it, then it was really alright!''
Chapter 646 Moon Fiend King’s Treasures! (2)
Eva seemed as if she couldn''t wait to hear about how Ace came in contact with the Corpse Puppets.
Still, she focused on the matter at hand and said, "With what I have in my memories, the art of using the dead as puppets is known as Undead Puppetry. Even in Devil Race, there aren''t many who practice the art of Undead Puppetry because it''s simply too nasty, and in any race, this art is highly condemned.
"Because to practice Undead Puppetry, an ample supply of dead bodies is required, and no one will want their loved ones to turn into someone else''s puppets.
"But this didn''t mean Undead Puppetry is prohibitedpletely. On the contrary, Undead Puppetry has a very strong and profound heritage. That old bastard who wanted to possess you seemed to belong to this heritage and was most likely an Undead Puppeteer."
Killing intent surfaced in Eva''s eyes when she uttered, ''Old Bastard.''
Ace was quite fascinated by this Undead Puppetry, but only as someone who likes to learn different kinds of knowledge.
As for practicing it, willingly, he won''t, but if he ever decided to go after these Undead Puppeteers'' wealth¡ who knows.
Eva continues as she remembers some more details, "In nature, the Corpse Puppets and Blood Puppets are essentially the same since they were both created from the dead.
"But unlike Corpse Puppet, the Blood Puppet can''t be upgraded, and they will remain the same as they were made, or they can''t be repaired once they were damaged.
"However, a Blood Puppet also has some advantages over the Corpse Puppet. Like they can be preserved without worrying about them getting rot. The cultivation of a Blood Puppet is quite closer to their alive self, and they had also preserved their entire battle experience from the get-go.
"While a corpse puppet needed resources to nurture for a long time but they are equally terrifying. There are also some races directly rted to the Undead, and they have a natural talent for Undead Puppetry.
"This is all the general knowledge I have for now, and I might get more after I unlock the Second Lock on my Blood Heritage," Eva stated.
Ace couldn''t help but widen his eyes at the end and looked at her speechlessly, "By lock, do you mean there''s still more memories in your blood heritage?"
Eva snickered beautifully as she replied, "Why, of course. You can''t even imagine just how much memory collection a Blood Heritage of someone with an Abyssal-level bloodline could have.
"So, for the descendants'' safety, there are Blood Locks ced within our Blood Heritage, and after crossing a certain threshold, these locks will break one after another until the entire inheritance ispletely conjugate in Knowledge Sea.
"This was also done because if someone with malicious intention tries to probe those memories of Blood Heritage, those locks will self-destruct and kill the one who tries to peer into the blood heritage!"
Ace was really baffled by this revtion since it was too good to be true. This was simply a huge blow for even someone like him because if she was really telling the truth, then all this profound knowledge she had was probably just a fragment of what her entire blood heritage was worth.
For the first time, he felt somewhat jealous of this blood heritage. But he was also happy for Eva since she was his woman.
Ace suddenly thought of something and asked her with a somewhat forlorn tone, "Then tell me, now that you have all this knowledge and you can easily reach unimaginable heights with it, do you still want to be a thief like in the past?"
Ace couldn''t help but deeply look at her as he also wanted to hear the answer to this question.
He knew with power; people would change as well as their goals. Will someone with boundless potential and future want to walk on the path of a thief?
With Eva''s current talent, she could easily rule the entire world once she started to cultivate. Will she still want to be a thief like her mother? Or did her goals change with that profound knowledge, and she no longer cared about being some petty thief?
Despite being afraid of getting a disappointing answer, Ace has to know it. Because if Eva didn''t want to, then he won''t force her and respect her choice. Nevertheless, he will always support her as a friend and husband.
Eva looked at Ace''s dead serious face and burst into peals ofughter before she stated, "Do you really need to ask the obvious? So, what if I have all this knowledge and talent? I will never forget who gave me this opportunity and what my goals were before I got all this.
"Besides, being a thief and always adventuring is far more interesting than boringly living in a single ce and being bound by thews of themunity. Lastly, I know for a fact that a certain someone will always be a thief, either with me or without me, right?"
Ace was stunned for a moment by this answer. He knew she was telling the absolute truth without any falsehood in her words. His lips curled up in a thievish smile, "That''s more like a wife of a thief."
"Hmph, silver tongue." Eva berated with a hint of happiness.
Ace was really happy with Eva''s answer, and all his worries and doubt vanished.
He then looked at those thousands of blood puppets with thievish eyes, "Let me clean this ce before moving toward the next location."
Ace won''t leave these already refined blood puppets here to rot. They were like an army of powerful cultivators who knew no fear. So, they mighte in handy in some dangerous situations as long as he found the method to operate them.
Within a minute, the entire hall was emptied by Ace as he stowed away those blood puppets in a single storage ring. Storage space was never a problem for him.
"You''re quite the expert in this." Even Eva was speechless by how fast Ace was at ''cleaning'' the ce.
"Juste with the profession, I guess." Ace shrugged with a smile.
After the hall waspletely emptied, Eva opened another secret door on the left wall as they walked into it.
This time they had opened the weapon storage facility as they were all kinds of weapons, and the most inferior of them all was a Grade-3 whip while the highest one was a Grade-8 halberd.
There were simply too many to count, and Ace didn''t care less about the number as he stowed them all without leaving a single one. He already needed high-grade treasure swords, and this was just a godsend to him.
"He probably umted all these weapons from all those elves who were killed within the tower." Eva disdainfully stated.
"And now we''re collecting after he''s dead. What goes aroundes around¡" Ace couldn''t help butment.
"You sound like a scavenger now." Eva snorted in disgust, "We are avenging the poor."
''At least I admitted that I''m stealing it all.'' Ace gave her a side eye but kept his thought to himself.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Then Eva opened another secret pathway with stairs going upward. She was getting the hang of this treasure as she also started to remember the details about the treasures with a spirit.
The more she remembered, the more she admired Ace for getting out of a such situation without even a scratch.
This time, they entered the storage facility where raw materials like herbs, ores, metals, and many more were stored.
This storage facility was as big as the twobined facilities they saw below
"Can you give them to me? They all will be enough for me to break into thew awareness realm or beyond in two years if I devour them all!" Eva asked with great anticipation.
Up until now, she didn''t even speak as Ace was taking all those treasures, which could only mean they were not useful to her at all. But now that she saw all those materials, she asked for them without hesitation.
Ace naturally wasn''t stingy with Eva. On the contrary, he was happy since this would only mean she would not have to live in the thief''s space for long. He was even willing to provide her with more materials as long as she epted his arrangements.
"And here I thought you won''t ask." He merely chuckled before he started to store away all those materials for herbs. There were many grade-8 materials that caught his eye, especially the precious space crystals.
Too embarrassed to go back on his words, he sneakily put some aside for himself and put more high-level materials for Eva from his personal stash. He makes sure she won''t notice anything, though.
After filling 39 high-grade-5 storage rings, he gave them to Eva, and she happily epted them.
"You might go broke if you support my devouring cultivation method." Eva meaningfully smiled at him.
Ace replied without hesitation as he looked at the graceful devil in front, "It''s worth it."
"Remember those words. You said them." Eva pulled a devil''s smile, which made Ace somewhat uneasy.
But he really didn''t care less about resources since he could always steal more there are simply too many rich people in this world.
Besides, it''s not like Eva will just remain idle while putting him in a dangerous situation for her own benefit. He knew for a fact she wasn''t that kind of person!
Chapter 647 Divine Traits
After ''clearing'' the treasury, Ace looked at Eva, clearly implying to open another treasury if there was any.
Eva scanned the entire treasury with a thoughtful nce before she said, "There''s no more hidden passage anymore, and this is thest 20th floor."
Ace couldn''t help but frown, "This is not right. I don''t believe someone like that old ghost would have only this much wealth. We didn''t even find any pills, elixir, arrays, formation, or even knowledge."
Eva also agreed with Ace''s point of view, but she also had her own thought on this matter, "It''s also possible that he had already lost all his treasure and was barely able to escape with this tower.
"Don''t you say this tower is on the verge of breaking, and since that old bastard was only a soul wisp, then this means he had encountered a terrifying enemy who left him in such a dead dog-like state!"
"Although you are right¡" Ace''s eyes shimmered sharply, "That old ghost was too cunning, and I don''t believe he hadn''t left himself a way out of such a situation.
"He never trusted the tower spirit at all, so he most likely had never left the treasures he needed in such an obvious ce where the tower spirit can easily assess them."
Ace suddenly thought of something, ''Thepass arrow always pointed me to the next floor entrance, which was a bright golden color, and I thought it was pointing toward the exit. But after I got that broken mirror, I think it was pointing me toward that ck mirror. But what if there was even more? This tower was colored in Bright Golden after all¡''
The next moment, he activated the live fate map to conclude his conjecture. But he wasn''t too hopeful because thispass arrow only pointed at something useful for him, and he couldn''t think of anything more useful than that broken mirror.
The broken ck mirror was really worth of Bright Golden color treasures, but now that he didn''t find the Moon Fiend''s wealth thoroughlycking, he was naturally suspicious.
The moment the fate map was active, Ace''s eyes winded in astonishment because, within the gray map, he saw two shocking things. First, a new color fate point, it was glittering Pink, and it was standing right beside him.
So, he easily guessed that this pink fate point represented Eva.
Lastly, there was a Bright Golden area on this floor where the dark goldenpass point was still pointing, which made Ace''s suspicion true. There was really a hidden ce here, and the Bright Golden also represented there was still something useful for him here.
But he was more interested in the glittering pink color. Since this was rted to Eva, he naturally wanted to know about it first.
He questioned curiously, "Moira, what this pink color represents?"
Moira replied with a peculiar tone, "The color pink represents someone''s Love toward you, Sir. Ace. It is also divided into three shades, Light, Bright, and Glittering, and these shades represent three different types of love.
"Light Pink color represents pure love, like Parental Love, Elderly Love, Sibling Love, and such.
"Bright Pink color represents carnal Love toward the opposite sex, like deep attraction, extreme adoration, affection, and such. Anyone with a Bright Pink shade color will not resist your advance. There are very high chances of a Bright Pink color turning into Glittering Pink as well.
"Lastly, the Glittering Pink color represents True Love. No one can define what true love is, not even fate. True Love is unpredictable."
Ace was speechless when he heard these unexpected details about the Pink color''s fate point. He never thought the Live Fate Map could even reveal something like love.
Still, he couldn''t help but nce at Eva, who was silently looking at him with gentle eyes without disrupting his thought. He could help but feel gratified by having her around him.
He smiled gently at her and said, "I think I found something interesting."N?v(el)B\\jnn
Eva smiled brightly, unting her devilish charm, "What do you find?"
"A dead man''s treasure, I guess." Ace coolly chuckled and started walking toward where the golden spot was on the fate map.
Eva didn''t ask anything and just followed while hugging his arm.
They finally stopped at the east corner of this space, and there was nothing but a wall, but Ace could easily see thepass arrow was pointing right above this corner.
But despite using his thief''s vision, he saw only a normal wall.
"There is something behind this corner," Ace told Eva.
"Are you sure?" Eva squinted her eyes as she looked at the corner.
"100%! I have something that can reveal treasures to me." Ace nodded, full of confidence.
But he didn''t reveal the existence of Moira, not because he didn''t trust her, but because the Eternal Thief Fate Compass origin was simply too dangerous for anyone to know, just like the system.
Eva also didn''t pry any further since shepletely trusted Ace and looked at the corner with her ck and crimson eyes.
"There''s nothing about having a hidden space here in the memories I got after inheriting this treasure, so it meant this space was specifically made by that old bastard to hide his personal treasures. Just as you said, he didn''t even trust the treasure spirit.
"But did he really think he could stop me if I wanted to take his treasures?" Eva sneered coldly, which baffled Ace.
"You mean you have a method to unlock this ce?" Ace couldn''t help but ask with excitement in his eyes. He can''t even see the restriction, much less unlock it, so he was somewhat disbelieving that Eva could despite having no cultivation whatsoever.
Eva gave him a mysterious nce before she revealed, "I can''t open it, but I can enter it as long as there is a space behind it. This is also the only Racial Ability I awake afterpletely assimting the Shadow Abyssal Devil Bloodline."
Intrigued, Ace asked, "What kind of Racial Ability?"
Eva slowly released his arm and walked toward the corner as she said, "Racial Abilities are known as another name in the world of cultivation."
She then put her hand on the wall as she twisted her head and looked at Ace with a meaningful smile, "They are called ''Divine Traits.'' And my divine traits are ''Deific Shadow.''"
Before Ace could understand the implication behind her words, his eyes went wide because all of a sudden, the runes on Eva''s arms shimmered before she started to turn corporeal and vanished from her spot.
Ace instantly activated the thief''s sense, even heavenly sense, but he couldn''t find any trace of Eva, as if she hadpletely vanished from this ce.
Not only that, but she had also vanished from the fate map detection, which was even more appalling since this meant this Deific Shadow was even on the level of that old ghost and tower spirit.
Eva''s whispering voice rang right beside his ear, "Do you still believe you can go against someone with Divine Traits? And more just one?"
Ace''s expression darkened since he didn''t even sense her getting so close to him, and a sense of fear welled up in his heart when he finally understood what a Racial Ability represents.
But he regained his calm quickly as he sighed, "Sigh¡ it seemed I have a lot more to learn."
Ace then suddenly turned his head to another side, which waspletely opposite to where Eva''s voice rang. He smiled at the empty space and confidently said, "But I will still say those exact words. As long as I''m strong enough, no one can stop me from stealing what I want.
p¦Á§ád¦Á-¨¾?¦Í¨º|¡¤§ã¨®§® "As for you, my wily wife, your tricks are meaningless. As long as I focus, I can sense Ring of Endearment''s presence. Nice try, by the way."
"Hmph, what a killjoy." Eva''s displeased voice sounded right where Ace was looking.
Ace tried to grab her, but to his surprise, there was nothing but wind. But he knew Eva was right there, so he was rmed by this sudden discovery.
"Hehe, so what if you can sense my location? You can''t catch a shadow, do you? As long as I''m in a Deific Shadow state, no one can detect me or attack me as long as they don''t have an even stronger Divine Trait than me.
"Oh, and most importantly, not even formations or walls can stop me from passing through. Remember, only a Divine Trait can fight Divine Trait. So, now I''m going to look for treasures. You can just stay here and act smug all by yourself. Hmph!" Eva snorted with great smugness in her voice.
Ace was again stunned and finally understood the true terror of a Divine Trail, and his expression was somewhat pale.
''If what she said is true, then I might find myself in trouble if I encounter someone with a Divine Trail. Especially Divine Traits like Eva. She''s literally invincible in this Deific Shadow state.
''No, nothing is perfect in this world. These Divine Traits have to have some kind of drawback or weakness. That fickle devil will reveal it to me. If I please her¡''
Chapter 648 Dont Borrow Trouble!
After Eva went into the secret room, Ace was closely looking at the fate map with a somewhat worried expression. But the map was only showing golden color, nothing else.
However, shortly after Eva went inside, the golden color, as well as thepass arrow, vanished without a trace, and a newpass arrow took its ce, which was at the edge of the map pointing in the east direction.
This made Ace frown, but he didn''t panic since he could still feel Eva waspletely fine. And a few momentster, Ace couldn''t help but smile in relief because he could feel Eva was getting closer.
Thereupon, Eva appeared right in front of him with this proud enthralling smile, but she was also somewhat pale and exhausted.
Ace quickly approached her and fondly said, "You work hard."
"Hmph! No, so smug, aren''t we?" Eva retorted with fake egotism. The ecstasy in her eyes couldn''t be clearer.
"Alright, I admit that I can''t defeat your Divine Trait, and I''ll be relying on you from now on." Ace helplessly surrendered.
Eva giggled in tion, "Hehe, since you''re being so sincere, here''s your reward."
She held her fist hand toward Ace''s, and he received a smooth metallic object the moment Eva opened her closed fist.
It was a ck ring with a crimson ruby embedded in it, and Ace''s eyes instantly lit up when he guessed what this ring might be.
Eva smilingly said, "There was only a small room, and this ring was lying on a small column. But there were tons of dangerous traps there. That old bastard really was paranoid and petty.
"If not for my Deific Shadow state, this ring would''ve been destroyed before anyone could touch it, even if someone avoided all those traps by a miracle.
"But I''m afraid there''s an extremelyplex locking seal on this ring, and it''s highly likely a storage ring. Sadly, I can''t bypass locks on the storage space treasures since I can''t physically enter a storage ring as long as it isn''t a living storage space."
Ace shook his head and gently said, "You have already done me a huge favor by retrieving this ring. Leave the opening of this ring to me, and we will divide everything equally."
"Can you really open it?" Eva asked doubtfully.
Ace merely smiled mysteriously, and afterward, he instantly transmitted his voice to the system, "System, open this storage ring!"
However, his smile disappeared when,n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"[You need to Upgrade the System to Open this Storage Ring with Thief Points!]"
"Is it because its grade is higher than Grade-9?" Ace asked with a regretful tone.
"[Yes!]"
Ace could only sigh after he heard the affirmative answer, but he wasn''t too worried since this also meant this storage ring might hold numerous treasures far above the grades of Mortal Sky Heaven.
So, this storage ring wille in handy once he upgrades the system.
"Umm¡ dear, it seems I need some time before I open it, but I can open it. Just not now." He then dryly told Eva, who was looking at him with great anticipation.
It was simply too embarrassing to be failed in front of his woman. He lost too much face.
Eva rolled her eyes and teased, "Only a big talker!"
"I''m not!" Ace angrily retorted as he med the system for this humiliation.
So, he quickly changed the topic, "You look pale. It seems you need to rest, and it''s also about the time I tell you something since we need to leave this ce soon."
Eva''s jolly expression changed when she noticed Ace''s gloomy tone and couldn''t help but look at him with doubt.
"You don''t need to worry about me. Just tell me what you want. I can now bear your burden." She confidently dered.
Ace smiled wryly and said, "It''s actually about that. The thing is, you can''t appear in the Golden Sky World until you reach Law Comprehension Realm."
Eva''s eyes winded in disbelief, "But why? Do you still think of me as a burden!"
Ace quickly denied with a stern look, "I have never thought of you as a burden. But this is about your safety. Hear me first before you say anything¡"
He then started to tell her about what System told him about the [Natural Order] and how she would be in danger if she got noticed by it.
Eva attentively listened with a somewhat disbelief expression. But she could tell Ace wasn''t lying to her.
p¦Á§ád¦Á §«?¦Í¨º|,§ã¨°§® In the end, she looked deeply at Ace and said, "Although I don''t know about this [Natural Order], I do know about the hierarchy of the Abyssal Race.
"Since I have theplete inheritance of the Shadow Abyssal Devil n, even my nsmen will not hesitate to refine me to strengthen their bloodline since I''m not an intrinsic born.
"There are also many uses of aplete abyssal bloodline, but I never thought there''s such a thing as [Natural Order] which can reveal my identity. It seemed the entity behind you is not as simple as you make it." She narrowed her eyes at Ace.
Ace didn''t deny it, "You can say that, and it has never been wrong before, so you have lived in that space for a while, and I''m sure it won''t be long before you walk freely again."
''There''s still a chance with the thief''s house. But I can''t tell her right now because there''s no spot left, and she might outright start a fight with me if she knows those existing three spots are all filled by three women.'' Ace felt chills just thinking about it.
Eva, on the other hand, had no idea what Ace thought, so she nodded, "Alright, since I''ll be with you, it doesn''t matter if I live in that space for a while longer. You might fall into trouble because of me if I draw the attention of some powerful entities."
Ace felt massive relief when Eva agreed without making it difficult for him. He was getting anxious for nothing.
He then suddenly thought of something as he said, "Besides, you won''t be living alone in there. There''s someone else who will apany you beside me."
Eva asked with narrowed eyes, "Who? Is this a girl?"
Ace instantly denied it, "Of course not!"
Eva''s eyes instantly eased when she got the answer.
Ace then flipped his hand before a small ck bird with a tiny feather crown appeared in his hand. As he looked around with its tiny gem-like curious eyes. He was Cyrus!
Eva''s eyes instantly lit up when she saw the little cut fellow, "This is?"
"You can speak, Cyrus. Introduce yourself." Ace smilingly encouraged.
Previously, he told Cyrus not to speak in front of anyone unless he told him, so he won''t speak unless he got Ace''s approval, like now.
Cyrus then curiously looked at Eva and said in his childish sweet voice, "Nice to meet you. I am Cyrus!"
Eva was stunned for a moment before she eximed, "A Magic Beast that can talk despite being this small and weak. His bloodline has to be terrifying!"
Ace felt great pride when she praised Cyrus since he was his pet, and his bloodline was also quite terrifying. There was no question about it.
However, when Cyrus prattled, Ace''s expression instantly wrapped and lost all colors.
Cyrus frivolously asked while looking at Eva, "Bro is this Big Sister Winter that Big Sister Freya men¡"
Before he could finish those words, he vanished.
But s, the damage was already done!
Chapter 649 Recollection Of Past
Ace''spletely forgotten about breathing after what Cyrus just uttered. He had never regretted anything this much in his life before then taking out that dumb bird without any prior preparation.
The little one was too na?ve, and when he got permission to talk in front of Eva, he instantly took her for Winter, who he had never met before.
But he only heard from Freya that she was also a member of Ace''s crew to save them from any misunderstanding in the future, like what happened in the past when Freya and Noa were instantly suppressed by Cyrus.
However, who would''ve thought the little guy would create such a situation for Ace, which he was avoiding all this time?
Ace would''ve naturally exined to Eva about the Thief House but not like this, and now it was toote.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Eva''s charming smile instantly froze as her eyes were affixed on the spot where Cyrus had vanished.
She suddenly turned her eyes on Ace''s somewhat ashen face before the temperature of the entire space started to drop at an astronomical rate as her eyes filled with murderous intent, locked on Ace.
She only uttered three words in an icy irrefutable tone, "Take him out!"
Ace had only one thought right now, ''I''m so dead!''
He quickly tried to salvage the situation, "Dear, let me exin it is not what you think it is¡"
"Then let''s hear it from Cyrus. If there''s nothing wrong, you should''ve had anything to fear, right? But from your action, I''m started to have a wrong idea!" Eva''s suddenly smiled, which was not like her gentle smile at all but the smile of a devil who was about to torture someone!
Ace didn''t budge because he knew things would turn worse if that dumb guy spoke about something he didn''t understand.
So, he quickly used every bit of skill he had and said, "Let me exin it first, and you can conform it with Cyrus as much as you want. I won''t stop it. I have never been unfaithful toward you while you were asleep, and that ring is the proof of it!"
Eva squinted her eyes as her cold expression softened somewhat, especially when Ace mentioned the Ring of Endearment. This was really irond proof that he truly loved her.
So, she gave him a chance, "I''ll give you a chance, but if you hide anything¡ humph, don''t even think about touching me or talking to me!"
Ace was instantly ted, as if he got another lifeline, and for the first time, he was d Eva formed that Ring despite the danger involved in it.
"I wanted to tell you about this in some more appropriate manner and had no intention of hiding it in the first ce.
"But since things had already escted in this way, maybe this is for the best that I exin everything to you from the start and what kind of ces I''ve been into in these fifteen years when you were asleep.
"You can judge for yourself that what I did and for I did was purely to preserve my life as well as to achieve my goals which led me to this ce¡"
Ace sighed before he waved his sleeve, and a big couch with a jade table and two wine sses appeared in front of them.
"Please sit. It might take some time to exin everything, so we might as well enjoy ourselves." He said, and without waiting for Eva''s reply, he sat down on a side while a storage sk filled with the highest quality wine appeared in his hand as he filled the two sses.
Eva''s squinted her eyes as her eyes were locked on Ace. She wanted to see through his lies but didn''t detect anything yet.
So, she felt somewhat assured of his words and sat down on the other corner of the couch while coldly uttering, "You better not be thinking of getting me drunk and then tricking me!"
"I would never." Ace hurriedly denied it as he offered her a ss of ruby-colored wine.
Eva gracefully received it, but her scrutinized gaze never left Ace, "Now, start talking!"
Ace nodded before he thought about something and then ced his hands on the table, and the next moment, Cyrus appeared again.
"Hey, why you sent me back?" Cyrus instantly started whining.
Ace gave him a fierce nce and said, "Dumb brat, you might as well listen to your Big Bro story and develop somemon sense, or someday you might get me killed."please visit
Eva was also startled when she saw Ace taking out Cyrus without even telling her anything.
"Ah, why would I get you killed? I''ll burn everything who wants to harm you!" Cyrus instantly dered.
Ace then looked at Eva and transmitted in her mind, "See this? He is just like a two-year-old kid who doesn''t even knowmon sense and only wants to burn the entire world down.
"As for why I took him out, even he didn''t know from where his ''Big Sisters'' came from or what kind of rtionship they had with me. I can even confirm it right now."
Ace then looked at Cyrus and pointed at Eva, and said, "Little Brat, this is not Winter but Eva, and she is my Wife."
Cyrus''s tiny eyes instantly winded when he heard it and looked at Eva, who was now looking at him with this soft nce.
"She is your wife?" He eximed before he turned confused, "Um¡ Bro, what is a wife? Is she like Friend or Best Friend?" He innocently asked.
Eva''s eyes winded ever so slightly since it just confirmed Ace''s statement. Cyrus was really like a small child who didn''t even know the difference between Friend and Wife.
The coldness in her eyes vanished by half, but this didn''t mean Ace was off the hook since Friends could have many meanings, and Cyrus naturally didn''t know about it either.
Still, Ace wasn''t the one who let such a chance slip by and quickly said, "From now on, you will learn with your Big Sister Eva, and she will live with you in our home for some time. You have to be respectful to her."
Cyrus was instantly happy and asked in disbelief, "Really?"
Ace then looked at Eva with a meaningful smile. Eva then softly looked at Cyrus. She was no longer angry or hostile toward the little na?ve bird.
She replied gently, "I''ll teach you everything, but you need to tell me about your Big Bro without hiding anything, especially your other Big Sisters!"
Cyrus agreed without hesitation, "Alright!"
Ace gave the little fellow a side eye since he didn''t even ask for his opinion and even wanted to scold him through his thought transmission but didn''t since it didn''t matter anymore.
"Now that this is out of the way, I''ll tell you how I meet with Noa, Freya, and Winter. I have to start from how I got teleported into the demon continent first¡"
Ace then starts to tell Eva from the start, after she got sealed away, from his journey to the low-levelnds to middle-levelnds, the rise of the Sky Stealer.
His near-death encounter with Gordon at Treasure Mountain and then how he teleported randomly to the Demon Continent and met Noa.
Ace naturally omitted the part about System and changed it with the mysterious god behind him and making him the viin who forced him into creating the Thief House.
He also didn''t tell Eva about the part where he, himself, wanted to recruit All-Knowing Parrot into the Thief House and only revealed how Freya was the one who had ill intentions and he had no choice but to trick her into the Thief House as well.
Lastly, the part about the Winter and Corpse Army was really a huge coincidence.
Afterward, he revealed his adventure in the demon continent and nearly destroyed their entire reputation with his Life Demon Treasure Pagoda Theft, Life Demon Auction Heist, and all the way toward hisst biggest thievery of the Demon Temple.
Time seems to pass at an extremely fast pace while Ace recollects the memories of his past fifteen years. Even he was somewhat in disbelief that he had done all that with his meager strength while he had unknowingly started to drink from the storage sk.
He got a strange sense of relief and peace as he told Eva and Cyrus about his adventures. It was an entirely new experience for him to not always be on edge and lie to others about himself.
Perhaps, being an open book wasn''t a bad thing at all, especially toward his loved ones and people he trusts. This was a lesson that can never be stolen from anyone''s memories. It was a feeling and experience one had to go through oneself.
"¡ I think thatmotion caused by my breakthrough bought that Giant Demon from the Imperial Family to my tail, and he had some kind of device that can trace the space teleportation¡!"
Chapter 650 Cyrus Figured It Out!
Ace smiled at Eva, who waspletely immense in his story like a little girl, while Cyrus also listened with a severe adorable expression.
"He was simply too strong, probably at the very peak of Law Awareness Realm. I had no choice but to enter the space tear and then ''God'' again saved my life by sending me to this ce where I found this Regal Fiend Tower and the rest you are quite familiar with.
"However, before that space tear vanished, that demon told me something¡." Ace''s expression turned icy when he remembered the Demon Ancestor''sst words.
On the other hand, any doubts Eva had about Ace had long vanished, and what was left was tenderness, adoration, admiration, and regret of not being with him when he was experiencing those crazing things.
Eva couldn''t help but noticed his gloomy expression and asked, "What did he tell you?"
Ace sighed ruefully and revealed, "It''s about Alina. She got captured. Probably when she went looking for me back at the River Flower City¡."
Eva knew about Alina, his missing sister, and he had already told her about her true background as a hunter before he sealed Eva away. At that time, he made it clear that he wanted to find her no matter what.
Eva was astonished when she heard about his mysterious sister and went back looking for him.
Truth be told, she didn''t have a good impression of Alina and didn''t want him to look for her because Alina might have abandoned him for good and no longer cared about him after returning to Blood Continent.
After all, he was just a random mortal at that time when she got taken away by her ''Grandfather,'' and the way they both left, it was quite clear Ace was nothing but a speck of dust in their eyes, at least in the eye of that old hunter.
But Ace was hell-bent on meeting her at least onest time before making things clear and saying proper goodbye at that time.
However, now that Alina went looking for him on her own ord and her background was also quite noble, it was quite clear she cared about him despite not knowing about his transformation.
Now she was captured by one of the most influential figures of the Golden Sky World just because she went back to look for Ace.
This changed Eva''s impression of Alina, and from his grave expression, she knew he wouldn''t stop until he saved her, even if she obstructed his way.
With puckered lips, she said, "You know it''s a huge trap, and there might not be just this Dream Shatter guy waiting for you. The demon will be there. It''s in stone since you took away their most sacred object.
"And who knows what that Fake City Lord or his clone whatever had fed them about you. They still don''t know whether you care about her or not, but once they know you care about her, they will not hesitate to do even more excessive things to her to draw you out!"
Ace''s expression was dark since even he knew about this, "So, do you want me to give up on her and watch her die?" He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Eva.
He might act timed toward her and can bear with her antics and demands since he didn''t want to make her unhappy or heartbroken. But he won''t back down from this even if Eva threatens him with herself.
He had many methods to make her yield on this one. He just didn''t want to use them since it would make her resentful toward Alina or even hate her.
Eva bit her lips when she saw just how serious his expression was, so she quickly gave up on the thought of stopping him by any means necessary. Although she was willful and too protective when it came to Ace, she also knew where his bottom liney.
Since he was being honest with her by telling her everything when he could just chide her down by questioning her trust in him, she can''t be that unreasonable, or she might lose this ce in his heart and will never receive such treatment again.
And she feared nothing but losing his favor under heaven and earth. She would simply lose her reason to live if that ever happened.
So, she bit her lips and shook her head, "What kind of woman do you think I am? As your Wife and Best Friend, I will also support you as long as it makes you happy! Hmph!"
Ace''s stern expression instantly crumbled when he saw Eva''s unnatural expression, ''It must''ve taken her entire willpower to say those words while she clearly didn''t want that. At least, it proves that she truly cared about my feelings.''
He felt warmth in his heart, looking at the pouting devil. He put the wine sk down and got close to her before he took her in his embrace.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Eva put a fake struggle first before she was nuzzling in with his chest.
"Don''t worry. I will not put my life at risk since it will mean putting your life at risk as well. Just trust me." Ace gently said as he fondled her long silky hair.
"Mmm." Eva cooed as happiness bloomed in her heart, and she felt more reassured after he said those words and cuddled with him.please visit
"Bro, Bro! I still don''t understand one thing!" Cyrus, who truly knows how to ruin the moment, spoke frivolously.
Eva trembled slightly before she squirmed out of his embrace with a blushing face. She almost forgot that a little child was watching them, not to mention he was a na?ve bird with a loose mouth.
No matter how bold she was, she was only bold in front of Ace.
Ace was also perplexed as he looked at Cyrus and fought the urge to shut the little thing for good. Still, he can''t be unreasonable since it wasn''t Cyrus''s fault.
He stiffly said, "What do you don''t understand?"
Cyruspletely overlooked Eva''s embarrassed expression and Ace''s exasperated gaze and asked with full of seriousness, "She is big sister Eva, right? Then where is Big Sister Winter?"
Eva''s ears also perked when she heard this question, and like a hawk, her eyes turned sharp.
Ace annoyingly replied, "I already sent her on the mission to go into the Azure Wind Continent after she collected the information about Alina for me."
"She seemed quite capable. Then, where are the other two?" Eva curiously asked, but a dangerous light was hidden deep within her curious expression.
She knew how those three women came into Ace''s Thief House. They were literally there because Ace couldn''t handle them at that time, and his life was in danger, so he had to trick them all into Thief House.
In a sense, they were all profited after they entered the Thief House, and now they were munching off Ace, at least in her eyes, which didn''t go well with her at all.
Ace smiled wryly as he wanted to avoid this exact question, but since he was being honest, he might as well get it over with since Eva was listening patiently.
"Thief House has its own special space for its members, and that Space is also under my control, so Noa and Freya are still within their respective spaces cultivating while Winter can''t enter until she''se in contact with me."
Eva''s eyes instantly when cold when she heard it, and she immediately berated, "And when are you going to mention such an important thing to me?"
"I just did." Ace coolly said without any change in expression.
"B-but you did after Cyrus''s questioned!" Eva retorted,pletely unconvinced.
"He just happened to ask when I was going to tell you." Ace''s expression remains natural without any hint of panic.
How could she see through his lies when he didn''t want her to?
Besides, he wasn''t lying since he had already told her, and he was nowpletely at ease after he came clean with her.
Eva didn''t find him suspicious anymore, so she finally rxed when she thought she had overreacted.
But her eyes suddenly narrowed as she asked, "Then why aren''t you letting me join the Thief House?"
She was quite interested in this thief house after she heard its perks, especially when she heard how she could upgrade her bloodline through it further. But the biggest reason she was eager to ''infiltrate'' the Thief House was those threedies!
Ace smiled bitterly as he said, "All the spots are filled."
He instantly felt the temperature drop when he said those words, and he quickly exined, "It''s not permanent. Trust me, I need to do a mission to increase the entry spots, or I have already invited you in!"
Eva was looking at him with a scrutinized gaze filled with doubts, but he didn''t seem to be lying.
However, before she could calm down, Cyrus, who was thinking something with a severe expression, finally spoke with wide eyes as he finally figured something out.
"Bro, then who is that Big Sister you sent into the ck box a few days ago? Is that an enemy?!"
Chapter 651 Evas Plight
"Bro, then who is that Big Sister you sent into the ck box a few days ago? Is that an enemy?!"
Ace''s lost all the colors on his face when he heard this innocent yet dangerous question. He finally remembered the Elf Princess, Livia, whom he kidnapped because of Moira''s insistence because of some future cmity.
However, the cmity was already here, and he bought it upon himself!
Eva was now grinning with his evil look in her dark eyes as she looked at Ace, she smilingly said, but the coldness couldn''t be apparent in her voice, "It seemed you''re still not beingpletely honest about your ''hobbies'' of collecting girls!"
Ace really wanted to strangle the little brat who still had no idea what he had done, and he even thought Cyrus was doing it on purpose to make his life hell.
Still, he had to deal with the devil first before he re-educated this bird with everything he had.
"It''s not like this! That girl is a key to save me from future cmity, and that''s why the ''God'' tells me to capture her and keep her close, and I will be able to avoid a deadly situation!" Ace quickly pinned the me on the ''God'' since he didn''t tell her about the Eternal Thief Fate Compass.
Furthermore, it was far more believable than some treasure telling him to kidnap a woman just because of some future cmity. He won''t be able to appease her without exining the Eternal Thief Fate Compass origin.
So, the Fake God was the best scapegoat. Lately, he was using this imaginary fake god quite a lot, and he wondered if he was offending a real God by doing it.
Still, he couldn''t care less about those fabled Gods'' feelings. As long as their name was useful, he will use them, and he knew many people did, and those gods would not mind him doing the same.
Just as he thought, Eva''s expression changed when she heard Ace''s life was involved in this matter, and this was her biggest weakness. No one can antagonize him except her!
But she would be a fool to believe him right away. She pursed her lips with squinted eyes, "How would I know you''re telling the truth? Besides, now I''m with you, so you don''t need to worry about any danger. I''ll be your shield!"
Ace sighed and lovingly looked at her determined and dead serious face, which brought out more of her natural charm.
"Do you think I would agree to it? That girl still had no idea that she was being captured by me since she waspletely suppressed in my space, and I have yet to even talk with her properly.
"I was nning to make things clear with her after I leave this ce, and if she agreed to join the Thief House, then that''s good, and if not, then I would have convinced her in other ways. This was my only intention, nothing more, nothing less." Ace stated with a solemn expression.
The Thief House was quite unique, and he had long figured out that it was solely here for him to acquire helpers that could grow without limits just like him and then help him in his missions and other plights.
And most importantly, those members will be doing everything happily, not forcefully, as long as they have the grit to be strong and have ambition.
In a sense, Ace didn''t need to do anything except learn about how to use those thieves in an urate situation, and their nurturing was all in the system''s control.
Just like Alina''s situation when he activated Winter to collect information for him. Or he would''ve been in theplete dark about the entire situation. He also got another inspiration on how to use the thief house members to their full potential.
Furthermore, the Thief House can grow, so he no longer hesitates about adding more members to the thief house, and from his encounter with the Elf Princess and her reputation, he knew she would be a good thief if she entered the Thief House.
So, he agreed with Moira''s suggestion to keep her close until he increased the thief house members'' count.
However, Eva''s awakening waspletely out of his calction, and he wanted her in the Thief House far more than anyone else because the System can protect her in multiple ways.
Just the Life Coin in the members'' shop was enough for Ace to want her into the thief''s house. He didn''t trust anyone but the system when it came to life-saving measures since he had experienced them himself and many times.
So, what if Eva had the Abyssal Bloodline? The system can still let it evolve as long as she enters the thief''s house, and Ace never doubted it even for a second.
That''s why he had long decided to keep the thief''s house filled, but before that, he needed to make sure those he cared about entered first before he tried recruiting more members.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Eva had no idea about Ace''s grand goal rted to the Thief House, but after looking at his solemn expression, for some reason, she didn''t want to abstract him.
''With all those girls around him, he won''t just have me in his life, especially with that Alina. Furthermore, this ''God'' behind him is terrifying even to predict such a future and even give him a solution¡.'' She thought gravely as she felt threatened of her position in his heart.
But when she thought about the Ring of Endearment, she felt all her worries were just her insecurity about she will lose his favor.
In her mind, if she started to bug him about every beautiful woman he meets with and act all angry again and again, he might start to get annoyed at her, which could be the actual cause of her losing interest.
So, either she had to change her mind about being the only one besides him, or she had to change Ace''s mentality to stop interacting with other women and care about them!
Chapter 652 Promise Me…
However, making Ace give up on them was simply impossible at this point because of the Thief House. He had already told her that anyone who joined the Thief House couldn''t leave.
So, if he had any intention of opening a spot for her, he could''ve easily just gotten rid of one of the existing members and opened a spot for her.
She wasn''t a fool who would think that Ace never thought of it. But she was wise enough to finger it out that Ace had no intention of getting rid of the existing members despite their past conduct against him.
Now, she could even see more clearly that Ace had no n of stopping at just those three female members as he already had one in his space ready to join when the spot opened.
She never had thought that the na?ve yet cunning boy would turn out to be like this after just fifteen years, and he had experienced so much in these years that some people won''t even experience a fragment of it in their entire lifetime.
Lastly, she could easily tell Ace was now extremely ambitious, no longer the boy who was just looking for his sister. He was the most dreadful thief, whose name was enough to make anyone''s face turn ashen with wariness.
So, why will he stop when he has just started to find his aspirations and set his eyes on heaven itself?
Now the choice was for her to either ept this aspiration as her own or she could just be insecure all the time and keep obstructing him until he stopped caring about her entirely.
The choice was extremely obvious as she stopped being difficult and looked right into his dark blue eyes, which were filled with love for her, and this was also proof that she was just being paranoid for nothing.
"Alright, but you have to promise me that if you ever want to take another wife, she will have to go through my test first!" She sternly told him while biting her alluring lips.
Ace was gobsmacked by this sudden approach of her, and he had no idea what got into her, but whatever it was, he could tell she no longer seemed to be jealous.
"What are you even thinking? I was simply telling you why I did what I did. Why would I want another wife when I have a Devilish Wifey like you?" Ace chuckled as he looked at her stern yet pained expression.
Despite being ted, Eva still did not budge and sternly said, "Just promise me, alright? I know you''re being honest and faithful toward me, and I love nothing more than that.
"But if you''re serious about being a thief, then someday you might require to do more than just infiltrate someone''s ranks. You might one day have to woo someone to get into the heart of the enemy''s base or even pretend to be someone''s husband.
"Just like you kept doing in the past fifteen years, and we both know I''m stating the fact. So, I don''t want you to hesitate at that time just because of me and do what you have to do for yourself.
"Last but not least, what if that Alina also has more than sisterly feelings for you? Will you be able to break her heart, or will she back down? I don''t want you to choose between her and me. I will never put you in such a situation.
"So, I just want you to promise me if you ever want to take responsibility for some woman and have more wives, you have to tell me first, and then she will have to go through my test, and that''s my bottom line!"
''What kind of situation is this? First, she wanted me to exin, and now she suddenly had this insane notion that I want to marry someone else, and she even agrees to it?'' Ace was really at a loss for words looking at Eva and just how serious she was.
All these years, Ace had encountered many women and even earned some of their favors, but he never even thought of entertaining them because he simply didn''t have time as well as Eva''s existence.
Other women were no big deal, but he knew about Noa''s strong affection toward him but always pretended to be ignorant. But it was the fact that he has a very good impression of her. Because she was the first ever thief house member and always strived to be strong so she could be useful for his causes.
That might be the reason he didn''t want to hurt her by directly confronting her and decided to wait until he sorted out his own feelings.
After Eva awakened and he noticed her crazy and obsessive personality was still stronger than ever, he knew she would never ept other women besides herself on his side, and he had no problem with that.
But when he hears Eva''s reasoning about acting as someone''s husband or seducing other women to achieve his aim. He didn''t have any words to retort since he had never even considered these options before because he needed to do such things.
Yet, what about the future?
What if he had no other choice but to do those things?
Will he stump and gave up on his mission and put everyone''s life in danger, including his own, just because he didn''t want to sleep with other women or seduce them while he was fully capable of such things?
Even if he never needs to do those things since there are multiple ways to avoid doing them, he can''t ignore the part about Alina.
Just like Eva said, what if Alina wants to be more than just his sister?
He was not an idiot, and he knew she was only his sister for a little over two years, not his biological sister at all. This could even be considered childhood love if one of them had such thoughts.
Furthermore, Alina held a very special ce in his heart, and that''s also why he was desperate to save her no matter what.
But these thoughts were mere conjectures because there was equally a chance that she didn''t have such feelings, and they would remain the same.
But what wille after he rescued her?
Can he force her into the thief''s house when she had a perfect life and parents awaiting her, and she also didn''t want to enter?
Will he give up on her and move on, despising knowing once he shows up to protect her, it will be crystal clear that he cares about her? Thereby, that act of using her to draw him out won''t be thest one, not by a long shot.
Not until he stopped being a thief and ended his journey, which was even more impossible.
That''s why as long as he won''t stop caring about Alina entirely or chooses to keep her close infinitely, just rescuing her wasn''t the entire solution.
Lastly, what about the girls in his thief''s house? There was a very faint chance that, at some point, they might want to retire from this dangerous life and fall in love with someone and want to either have them in the thief''s house or live with them.
Although Ace can fully stop that, he will have to give up on his entire mortal principal and emotions to do that, which he can''t at the moment.
But this can all change if he can just be a man and earns their favors before someone else and make his life less stressful.
So, in a sense, Eva was giving him a huge opportunity to wash his hands of all the women''s problems once and for all.
But was this really the case?
Although she was cutting her heart, she was still keeping all reigns in her hand to make sure he won''t go ahead of himself and turn into some yboy.
She might seem like she was giving him leeway to mess around with as many women as he wanted, but she was actually making sure that he would always remember her existence on top and won''t make her regret giving him such leeway.
As for passing her test, who knows what kind of test this devil will put before she lets someone stay by him permanently like her.
Like a willy Devil, Eva had yed her hand too quickly before Ace could even figure out her terrifying foreshowing abilities.
At least, they were terrifying when it came to making sure Ace''s love for her never deterred. Lastly, those women in the future will also know who they need to please to earn a spot by Ace''s side. Even in Thief House!
Ace looked deeply at Eva''s stern expression as she was patiently waiting for his answer, and he could easily tell if he didn''t promise her, she would never be at peace, and the same goes for him.
Ace moved his hand and creased her devilishly pristine face before he smiled lovingly and stated, "Although I have this nagging feeling that I''m going to regret itter. But I know I''ll regret it even more if you simply stop caring about me this way."
As he approached her glossy crimson lips, Eva''s heartbeat rose, and her bewitching eyes turned misty with lust and anticipation as all her worries melted away when he said just a hair away from touching her lips¡
"I promise!"
The next moment, their lips melted into each other''s, and it was just the start of their passion again¡n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Of course, Ace didn''t forget to wrap Cyrus away before he even kissed her, which only made the curious bird chirp in resentment when he was again sent back by Ace unjustly!
Chapter 653 Stuck In The Tower?
After their passionate exchange, it was finally time to leave the tower.
Ace looked at Eva, who was now d in a tight red dress showcasing her devilish figure. She was sitting on hisp while her hands wrapped around his neck.
He softly muttered while looking into tender eyes, "I just couldn''t have enough of you."
Eva giggled with a faint blush and seductively said while creasing her finger on his face, "Then how about we go back?"
Ace sighed and shook his head ruefully, "As I loved the sound of that. But we can''t waste more time. I still need to figure out the way out of the Elven Continent and reach the Azure Wind Continent. Then I need to find where they had taken Alina."
His eyes turn cold, "Once I save her, I''ll make sure they will all regret ever crossing me."
Eva pursed her lips, "Hmph. You better not do anything dangerous, or once I reach the Law Comprehension Realm¡" She smiled dangerously.
Ace couldn''t help but gulp since he knew once Eva started to cultivate, ording to the system, she would be extremely fast, and she herself said she could break into the 7th realm within two years after she took all the materials.
As for him, he will be too busy saving Alina, so looking for more Elemental Orbs is impossible.
Nevertheless, as long as Eva reaches the 8th realm, who will be able to mess with him in the entire mortal sky heaven?
Still, he felt warmth since he knew Eva was worried about him, and now that he had made a promise to her, she was no longer thinking about obstructing his way.
"I know when to stop." Ace seriously said, "Are you sure you don''t want to meet with Noa and Freya? If you like, I can also make them apany you in my space if you guys be friends."
Since he had already told her about the thief''s house, he no longer needed to worry about her finding out, and this matter was already dealt with. So, he offered Eva to meet with Noa and Freya.
Since she will be joining the thief''s house eventually, he doesn''t mind these girls meeting with each other and even bing friends. This way, Eva won''t feel lonely in the thief''s space.
But to his surprise, Eva rejected him in a heartbeat.
"No, I''ll meet them when I join the thief''s house and when they are all together." Eva softly said with a willy glint hidden deep in his abyssal eyes.
''She''s scheming something.'' Ace could only pray silently for those girls, and he had no n of interfering since Eva would not be going to listen to him, and she might take it the wrong way.
Eva suddenly chuckled darkly, "Besides, don''t you already have an elf princess locked into your space? I''ll educate her for you with Cyrus. This will be enough entertainment for me."
"You sound like a viin, you know?" Ace chuckled as he had no intention of stopping her since the sooner Livia epted her fate, the better.
"Hehe, a pot calling the kettle ck." Eva scoffed with an evil grin before she cried when she felt a pinch on her supple butt, "Ahhh¡ you scoundrel!"
"You dare to retort?" Aceughed evilly as he used his evil hand more fiercely.
"Ahahah¡ stop¡ stop!~ lyaaa¡ You''re so dead!" Eva moaned when his hand infiltrated her chest, and his finger started to roll around her sensitive nipple, and she also started to counterattack.
Just like that, they started to mess around with each other before they were passionately kissing.
"Mmm¡" Eva finally broke free from a long kiss as her breath was slightly rigged and her face alluring red while her big chest waspletely exposed.
She mumbled while looking at him lustfully and said with anticipation, "Do you really not want to stay any longer?"
Ace looked at the devilish beauty who was begging him to ravish her, and if it were any other time, he really would have stayed for as long as he was satisfied, but he knew he would never get enough of her devilish body, neither she will.
If it was any other woman without cultivation, she might not even endure Ace''s burst of carnal desires. But Eva was apletely different breed because, for some reason, she was bing stronger, not to mention wilder, the more she entangled in sexual activities.
s, if he only bothered checking her cultivation again and he will be shocked by it. Because she was already at the Soul Foundation Building Realm, and it was a nine-tes foundation, not the least.
But Ace''s mind was still not at ease, not until Alina was out of the woods. Or he would''ve been shocked and inquired about what was happening with Eva.
That''s also why Eva didn''t bother to tell him because he never asked, and this naturally pissed her off, and she had no n of telling him anytime soon either until he discovered it himself.
"I truly wish¡" Ace could only disappoint her and himself.
This naturally ruins their moment, though. Eva coldly harrumphed and started to tidy up her dress while escaping Ace''s embrace.
Ace knew he had ruined the moment by being too honest, and now he had made Eva furious. He could''ve just said ''yes'' to keep her heart. But he also knew then he might really get cold feet and say here for far too long.
With a somewhat painful expression, he tried to exin, "Eva, I know¡"
"You don''t have to exin. I know your mind is not here after I bring out Alina, and it''s kind of my fault." Eva ruefully said as he looked at his pained expression, she felt her heartache, and she gently said, "Just follow your heart. I''ll always be here for you."
Ace felt ashamed, but he knew now that Eva was fine and no longer in any kind of danger; his mind started to wander toward Alina on its own.
So, he might as well not hurt her and ept it like a man.
He stood up and quickly hugged her tightly without giving her a chance to escape and solemnly said in a mild voice, "When I''m done with Alina, I''ll fulfill my marriage promise. I''ll make sure it will be the grandest wedding that the entire world will remember!"
Eva trembled slightly when she heard his solemn promise, they might have already done the deed, but a wedding was something she dreamed of and held special meaning. Especially to a woman.
"I''ll hold you to it!" She muttered tenderly as she finally felt better.
Ace nodded as he had no intention of going back on his words with her. It was his first promise to her, and he willplete it no matter what.
After a long while, they finally parted, and their bond was stronger than ever.
"Let''s go." Eva tightly held his hand as their figures werepletely entangled with each other.
"I''ll be in your care." Ace nodded.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Eva then smiled charmingly and closed her eyes as she tried to open a portal toward the main continent.
However, sweat beaded on her smooth, crowned forehead, and the hexagon mark suddenly shimmered in crimson light.
"I-I can''t open a doorway!" She suddenly stated.
Ace''s heart sank, "What''s the problem?"
Eva finally opened her eyes as the hexagon mark on her forehead stopped shimmering, but the exhaustion was quite apparent.
She said, "This treasure is standing above a massive formation, and if I''m not mistaken, then this formation is actually a teleportation formation. Because I just found out that there is no such ability to open a doorway toward the maind or anywhere. This treasure can only travel through space. It has lost the ability too after the core was absorbed by me now."
Ace''s expression turned somewhat ugly, "Then didn''t this mean we are stuck here?"
But he also knew the system had told him there was still onest teleportation left in this tower, and it couldn''t be wrong. He was about to ask the system when Eva continued.
"No. We are not stuck. As I said, this tower is most likely standing on a teleportation formation, and I think that formation is the one connected to the maind.
"The Tower Spirit was most likely using that formation to create doorways toward in the elven continent. But this ability is also lost with the core." Eva revealed her thoughts.
Ace then narrowed his eyes as he started to understand what she meant, "So, what''s your point?"
Eva gravely said, "I can''t open a doorway to the maind since that unique core is gone now. But I can feel that I can use this tower as some sort of key to activate that formation."
Ace''s eyes instantly widened, "Which means this entire tower will be teleported into the elven continent?"
Eva nodded, "Exactly, and if I''m not wrong, this tower will instantly crumble after this onest teleportation since its entire remaining power will be used to activate that formation onest time!"
Chapter 654 Another Way Out
After Eva revealed the current situation, Ace started to connect the dots with a grave expression.
''When I first entered this ce in that underground Dimension Teleportation Formation, the System told me that I needed 3 Grade-8 Space Crystals and a corresponding Teleportation Channel Activation Key to activate the Dimension Teleportation Formation.
''But even if I collect them, there is still a possibility that the other side of the formation was destroyed long ago.
''However, now, it seemed that this tower was standing above another Dimension Teleportation Formation and probably had the Teleportation Channel Activation Key, which is connected to the elven continent.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
''I won''t be surprised if that underground passage led me toward this tower as well, and that''s why I was feeling danger at that time.''
The more he thought, the more he believed that it was likely the case.
Ace sighed as he wryly said, "If we teleported this tower, then we will be bringing the elven race''s three most powerful figures back, and they will not just stand idle and investigate what happened.
"Here, I thought that to leave those elves here would cripple the elven race''s power. This will make the elven continent chaotic, and I''ll be able to move freely. But now, I need to find a way to escape without drawing three Law Awareness Realm cultivators'' attention."
Eva also nodded since she also had the same thought before, but now that they had no choice, Ace had to be extremely careful once they reached the continent. He would be at the very heart of a foreign race''s territory, and this would not bode well for him if he gets noticed.
"Are you confident?" She asked with scrutiny.
Ace didn''t reply instantly but thought about something else, ''System also said I could try looking for some Independent Space Core, which should be at the core of this space. And as long as I can destroy that Core, this space will merge into Mortal Sky Heaven once the Independent Space Core is lost!
''My side mission''s conditional reward is also connected with this space core. I was nning on giving up on it since I was in a hurry. But this situation is not good. This tower breakdown will rm those three in the tower.
''But if I can somehow find the space core, this space most likely will merge to an unknown location which will at least not be in the heart of the elven continent.''
Ace''s eyes shimmered as he looked at Eva and said seriously, "I think we don''t need to teleport at all and fell into the dangerous situation."
Eva was astonished by this unexpected reply, "How?" She curiously inquired.
Ace didn''t hide and told her about the Independent Space Core. Eva''s eyes lit up when she heard Ace''s n.
"It''s really, as you said, not only we''ll be able to avoid confrontation with their forces, but we can go a step further." Eva''s slyly snickered.
Now, it was Ace''s turn to be astonished, "What do you want to add?''
Eva smiled coldly and said, "As long as you found that space core, you don''t need this tower anymore, right?"
"Most likely." Ace nodded.
"Then how about it still activates this formation anyway and sends this tower away?" Eva meaningfully smiled.
Ace instantly understood what she meant and couldn''t help but click his tongue, "This way, those elves will return, and they will also experience the fall of their ''holy tower.'' Then even if I appeared in the elven continent, the upper echelon would be too busy panicking about the ''holy tower,'' and I could freely move around."
"Heh, no bad." Evaughed charmingly as she felt great joy when she thought about how elves would go crazy once this n came into motion.
"You''re not bad yourself." Ace also chuckled, and he had to admit Eva was still that clever girl who was the only one who had ever managed to find him to this day.
Ace then gravely said, "Now, we have to find that space core, and it should be in the center of this secret space and could be hidden anywhere."
Eva then smiled amusingly before she revealed, "Where do you think this tower is standing?"
Ace''s eyes widened as he looked at Eva''s amusing smile, "Don''t tell me?"
Eve nodded, "This is exactly the center of this space, and let me tell you something interesting. Right under formation is a strange hollow area, and a huge amount of Qi is being transferred into this tower''s floors!"
"So, that''s where all the Qi go!" Ace eximed.
Eva chuckled in affirmation, "I would''ve never paid attention to this phenomenon if you hadn''t told me about this space core. That space core is most likely underneath that formation, and this huge amount of Qi is likelying from it, or there''s a huge Qi stone mine.
"But it''s quite unrealistic to have both Soul Crystal Lode and Qi Stone Lode together. This most likely what you''re looking for."
Ace knew she was right about the part of two different lodes existing together. So, he didn''t hesitate and asked with anticipation, "Can you take us there?"
He was now quite eager to get his hands on that space core since his thief''s space would be upgraded with it, which was nothing but good news.
Eva gingerly said with pursed lips, "You''re so eager to leave, huh?"
Ace seriously retorted, "I''m eager to find treasure with my wife!"
Eva rolled her eyes with disdain, "As I would believe you."
Still, she focused her eyes on the floor, and the next moment it slid open, revealing a long ck staircase.
"This staircase can take us all the way to the lowest floor, where lies the exit of this tower," Eva stated.
Ace grinned in satisfaction, "Let''s go then, mdy!"
With entangled hands, they started to move and descend the long staircase!
---
While Ace was finding his way out of the secret realm, somewhere in the endless sea.
A bleak sailboat encased in a translucent barrier was moving at high speed, cutting past chaotic waters while the air around was murky.
A graceful figure was standing on top of the sail without seeming to be effective by the bumps.
She was looking at the bronze formation te shimmering in ck ancient ruins, and there was a strange needle continuing to point in a certain direction, and it was the exact direction the sailboat was moving.
Her melodious voice rang with tion, "I''m approaching the hidden entrance while those idiots are still waiting at the main entrance for it to open. By the time they will enter, I will be long gone with that spirit fire and then join the hunt for that hateful thief!"
In the end, there was nothing but bloodlust in her melodious voice¡
Chapter 655 Digging A Tunnel… Again
Deep within the ck Sea, the Regal Fiend Tower''s fragments were scattered on the seabed, and more were sinking down.
The tower, which had never broken apart despite its broken state, was now starting to crumble piece by piece.
The tower''s bottom was prated deep within the seabed, and it goes all the way into a spacious underground field. This entire field was filled withplex runes.
The tower covered 95% of the runic field, and it was over 2000 meters in size.
At this moment, the hundred-meter-tall ck gate of the Regal Fiend Tower was creek opened after a very long time, revealing Ace and Eva holding each other hands.
Ace looked at outside, and his eyesnded on the runes engraved on the floor outside.
"This formation is hundreds of timesrger than the one I used toe here. I wonder why and who made this secret realm and then abandoned it." Ace wondered out loud.
"Or that old bastard simply massacred the natives and took all their resources himself." Eva snorted coldly.
Acepletely agreed with her statement. He knew that the old ghost waspletely capable of doing such a thing.
As they walked outside, he saw this space was quite wide, and the tower was pocking a huge hole through the ceiling, and there was some strange engraving on the ceiling, which was now broken.
"This ce will definitely flood the moment this tower is removed. Well, it''s not a big deal, but the question is do we need to send it away to get into the ce where all the Qi ising from?" He questioned while looking at Eva.
Truth be told since it was still not clear if the ce beneath this tower was really where the space core lies so Ace didn''t want to send it away since they would be stuck if proven wrong.
Eva said matter-of-factly, "If you want to dig, then you need to break this floor, and I don''t think the teleportation formation will work once you destroy this base. Even if you let this tower stay here and break this floor, it will again render the formation useless, and the tower will remain as well. Or¡"
She looked at the wall and smiled charmingly, "Or, we just destroy that wall and dig through there."
Ace chuckled, "I prefer keeping all the options avable until the end. I might as well take my chances with the elves than get stuck here. As for digging, I''m kind of an expert at it now."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Hehe, how resourceful." Eva giggled in amusement.
Ace gave her a side eye, "At least one of us is getting some kick out of it."
"What? You want me to dig with you?" Eva smilingly asked, but that smile was full of dangerous meaning.
"Who do you think I am?" Ace retorted rigorously.
Eva didn''t reply and merely smiled back, which made Ace flinch, and he got to work.
But before that, he takes out Cyrus again, who instantly starts toin indignantly about his previous abrupt departure against his free will.
Ace perplexedly said while looking at the angry bird on his shoulder, "Alright, I was wrong. Now, pay attention to danger."
He knew just how urate Cyrus''s senses were, and it would be a waste not to use him in this kind of situation.
If they encountered some danger deep underground, Cyrus could warn him instantly since his fate map was not working properly in this secret realm, and it was only showing colors.
Right now, this ce was a gray area, but he couldn''t be sure about deep underground.
"Where are we going?" Cyrus was instantly interested when he heard hismand.
However, before Ace could reply, Eva had already picked up Cyrus from his shoulder. Cyrus was startled at first, and if it wasn''t Eva who was picking him, he could have easily burned those hands into ashes.
Eva looked at the small guy, who was extremely soft and warm with shining eyes as she said, "Your Big Bro is about to dig, so you can remain with me, your Big Sis, or you''ll get dirty."
It then looked at Ace, who had this stiff expression, but he didn''t say anything. Cyrus then looked back at Eva''s gentle smile and then seriously nodded, "Alright!"
"Good." Eva was satisfied and ced the little bird over her shoulder and then looked at Ace and snorted, "Why aren''t you digging?"
Indigent, he could only stare at the little traitor who was now happily sitting over that soft, supple shoulder.
White swords manifested before they moved like lightning toward the wall.
Eva, who was enjoying teasing Ace, was startled when she saw those light swords and the dangerous feeling they were giving off.
She looked at Ace with shock and blurted, "Youprehend Sword Intent?"
Ace couldn''t help but feel good after looking at her shocked expression. He didn''t tell her about his fighting capability or skills yet. So, it was only natural she would be shocked.
He smugly said, "It''s just mere Sword Intent. Do you need to react this way?"
Eva was speechless and finally knew this guy was teasing her, and she snorted, "What show off."
But inwardly, she was still quite rmed, ''It seemed I really underestimated him. He might not even need my help at all.''
Ace didn''t bicker with her and only smiled victoriously when he saw her grave expression. He knew she was too worried about him and thought of him as the same person fifteen years ago.
He just wants to put her mind at ease when ites to his safety, he was quite capable of protecting himself, and it was not easy to kill him.
As Ace was making a tunnel with his sword intent, Eva was even more astonished seeing his control over his sword intent, and she was now really starting to feel somewhat agitated.
Because she only wanted to be his shield that he could rely on, and get was very confident after acquiring her new bloodline. But now, it seemed like she was still not qualified enough to fight on equal ground with him if he kept improving this way.
She knew without her Divine Trait and secret skills, she was no match for someone with Sword Intent with her current cultivation. So, she was now extremely serious about focusing on cultivation and increasing her strength.
Cyrus, on the other hand, was merrily chatting with Eva frivolously and told her about his little experience. Especially when Ace was breaking through. It was the deepest memory he had.
Ace didn''t stop him from telling Eva since he had already told her before about his special method of breaking through.
Nevertheless, Eva was still shocked when she heard Cyrus describing the heavenly punishment, which Ace clearly omitted, and listened gloomily.
Just like that, an hour passed when Cyrus suddenly stopped talking and looked ahead and eximed, "There''s something behind that wall!"
Chapter 656 Unexpected Boon!
Hearing Cyrus''s warning, Ace''s expression became serious, "Do you notice the dense Qi here?"
Eva nodded, "Yes. The deeper we go, the denser the Qi. It seems we are in the right ce, and it''s not some lode either."
"Well, let''s find out where we are." Ace''s eyes went sharp as he used the sword light to attack the wall ahead and burst it open.N?v(el)B\\jnn
He had already seen the fate map, and it was still gray, which would only mean this ce was safe.
The moment the wall was broken, a cloudy mist filled with Qi entered the passage.
"How refreshing," Cyrus eximed happily.
Even Ace was astonished by the thick Qi, and the system''s voice rang at this moment.
======
[Host has absorbed 2 SP]
[Host has absorbed 4 EXP]
[Host has absorbed 1 SP]
[Host has absorbed 3 EXP]
[Host has absorbed 5 SP]
[Host has absorbed 2 EXP]
[Host has absorbed 3 SP]
¡
======
''It''s just liked the time when I discovered the Soul Crystal Source, and the Qi absorption is even more ridiculous.'' Ace mused with an eager look as he walked forward.
He knew since the Qi absorption was so high here, then the Qi density would be quite high, and whatever this ce was, it was a treasure on its own.
Eva also followed behind closely with shining eyes. It was her first timeing in contact with such a dense amount of Qi.
The moment they walked past the opened wall, they were greeted by a strange scene. Although the space was filled with white misty Qi, they could clearly see pitch ck sheen far ahead as if it was the focal point of this ce.
A few meters above this focal point was a fifty-meterrge vacuum, and the mist was getting sucked into that vacuum at terrifying speed.
"It seemed we found our target." Ace''s eyes went cold as he looked at the ck focal point and the vacuum.
The vacuum was clearly the regal fiend tower''s doing, but the most astonishing thing was the Qi was not ending at all like it was endless.
"System is the Independent Space Core?" Ace questioned the system since he wanted to be sure.
"[Affirmative! As long as the host enters its 10-meter range, the system can take it from there.]"
Ace''s cocked an eyebrow, hearing the system''s revtion. He thought he had to grab that thing, but it seemed he was in luck since the system was going to act personally, and this it couldn''t be safer.
"You can send the tower away. I''m going to get rid of that thing." Ace told Eva without hesitation.
Eva was startled for a moment, but she could feel Ace wasn''t joking, and he was confident this time.
"Alright, be careful." She softly warned before she closed her eyes to activate the teleportation.
Ace merely smiled and moved toward the ck focal point. But he kept the fate map active just in case some unexpected trap popped up.
But he was just being paranoid, and he reached the ten-meter distant without any hitch. If anything, the Qi absorption was now at least 20 SP and 20 EXP, which was filling up his SP and EXP at an astonishing rate.
Yet, he was still far away from reaching the 150 million mark.
He was about to ask the system what to do next when the notification rang on its own.
=====
[Host has discovered a Lowest-Grade Independent Space Core!]
--
[Please choose an option]
1- Do you want to collect it?
2- Do you want to absorb it and upgrade your Living Thief''s Space to 1,000 Cubic-Meter Space + 5 Humanoid Storage Capacity?
=====
''I can even collect it?'' Ace''s lips curled up, ''I need 100 Grade-8 storage rings and 50 Million Thief Points for this upgrade while I don''t need a space core for anything, or I have no idea about its uses, and the system refused to tell me. Even if I know the Thief''s Space is far more beneficial to me than anything¡''
He chose in a heartbeat, "I chose the second option. Upgrade the thief''s space."
Ace knew finding just 1 grade-8 storage ring was almost impossible, much less collecting 100. Even those most powerful experts might not owe one, so it was a much better option to upgrade the thief''s space while he still had the chance.
After this upgrade, there would be only onest upgrade left, which required a grade-9 storage space treasure and a grade-9 time-type treasure. This was an impossible condition to fulfill for now.
The moment Ace selected the option, the ck focal point just ten meters away from him suddenly trembled, and under Ace''s bbergasted expression, it vanished the next moment!
''So quick?'' He marveled at System''s efficiency, and he didn''t even get to see how it took the space core at all.
He snapped out of his daze when he sensed something and quickly observed the thief''s space.
At this moment, the thief''s space started to expand at an rming rate as all those storage rings in four corners now looked like small piles creating a ring in the center of the space.
Soon, the thief''s space size was double, and the thief''s house member spaces were also expanded at the same time, startling the twodies.
After the expansion was done, the system''s voice rang,
=====
[Living Thief''s Space has been updated!]
---
[Living Thief''s Space States]
-Storage Space Capacity: 1,000 Cubic-Meter Living Space
-Living Space Capacity:
1. 9 Humanoids (Humans, Demons, Hunters, etc.)
2. 99,999 None-Humanoid (Beasts, Herbs, nts, Natural Treasures, etc.)
=====
Ace smiled in satisfaction at this new upgrade, and after giving Noa and Freya a small update on the situation, his attention was shifted to the outside again.
But the system was not done as another notification rang again, rming him.
=====
[Low Grade-7 Soul Crystal Source has been detected!]
[Low Grade-7 Qi Stone Vein has been detected!]
-Requiring permission for the host to absorb the Soul Crystal Source and Qi Stone Vein
[Yes/No]
--
Reward(s):
1. 200 Million EXP & 200 Million SP
2. The host will be able to absorb EXP and SP from Qi Stones and Soul Crystals (From Grade-4 to Grade-7)
=====
Ace''s eyes widened when he saw this unexpected notification, and his heart raced, ''Don''t tell me this ce is really a lode of both Qi stones and Soul Crystals and a Grade-7 one at that!''
Thrilled, without hesitation, hemanded, "Start the absorption!"
Chapter 657 The Space Seals Wilting
When Ace gave the finalmand, the misty Qi around him started to stir before it began to absorb into his body furiously.
Thereupon, the suction force above also suddenly vanished, and all the Qi was now solely absorbed by Ace, and this speed was far more terrifying than the previous suction force.
Eva opened her eyes at this moment, and her expression was pale. She also noticed the Qi suddenly gathering in another focal point, and the old dark focal point had somehow vanished.
She wanted to go towards it to check on Ace when Cyrus''s eximed, "Ah¡ Bro absorbing everything!"
Eva was startled and looked at the little fellow with uncertainty, "It''s Ace?"
Cyrus nodded and replied with twinkling eyes, "Indeed. I can sense clearly there''s no mistake."
Eva''s eyes shimmered in astonishment as she looked at the Qi getting sucked into Ace like he was a bottomless pit.
She pursed her lips, ''Even I can''t see through his technique, or maybe I''m too weak. Just what realm is he at?'' She thought as a sense of crisis hit her.
Fifteen minutes passed, and the thick mist was now starting to get transparent. Ace''s figure could finally be seen as he was standing right in the center of all this Qi,pletely immersed in absorbing it.
Eva was now even more rmed as she could feel Ace wasn''t absorbing the Qi. He was absorbing its very essence. Meaning he was literally robbing the Qi from this ce, and it was no longer recoverable.
Even the fiend tower didn''t dare to absorb the essence, which was none other than the two grade-7 lodes, and it even used many high-grade herbs to keep those two lodes from getting exhausted.
But the system was drying them clean without caring about anything.
"Look, Big Sister, there are strange lines!" Cyrus''s inquisitive voice draws Eva''s attention at this moment.
She finally looked around. Because of the thick mist, they couldn''t see this ce''s actual appearance. However, now that the Qi was constantly getting absorbed by Ace, the surrounding space became visible.
This space was a little over 200 square meters in size, and it was filled with strange dark lines which were extremely eye caching, and they were all intervening with each other.
Not only that they were glowing in a ck sheen, but when Eva observed them closely, she also found that the glow was wilting as the Ace was absorbing the Qi.
Furthermore, some lines werepletely exempt from that glow, and they started to crack like they had lost their foundation or something.
As the Qi was getting thinner and thinner, more lines lost their sheen, and cracks began to form within them.
Eva felt amiss by those dark lines, so she could only shout in worry, "Ace! Stop absorbing the Qi. Something is not right!"
Ace instantly opened his eyes and frowned. He was fully capable of moving his limbs since it was the system that was doing the actual absorbing. He also noticed those dark lines the moment his vision became clear.
He also started to have a very strange feeling as those lines were witting, "System, what are those?"
"[Since the space core has been absorbed, the space seals that keep a secret realm intact are wilting. This process should be long, but since Host was already in process of absorbing the Qi reserves of this realm, the process has naturally intensified.]
"[System suggest, you store the Shadow Abyssal Devil away before those sealspletely spent or her existence will be detectable.]"
"You should''ve warned me sooner!" Ace felt indignant when he heard thest part.
Still, he no longer had time since more than half of those space seals were now cracked. He twisted his head and looked at Eva''s worried expression.
He sighed ruefully and said, "Grab my hand!" He moved his hand to reach outside the suction force''s pull.
"Why?" Eva asked as she felt something was wrong. Still, she moved ahead, and with some difficulty, she managed to touch his hand.
"This realm is going to merge. You need to enter my storage space, don''t resist." Ace regretfully revealed since he didn''t want this to happen so abruptly.
But he can only me himself for being greedy and not inquiring about it, or he could''ve easily avoided this situation.
Eva''s expression changed, and she wanted to say something when she felt a terrifying suction force that wanted to devour her. But since that force wasing from Ace''s hand, she knew he wanted to pull her within his space.
So, she didn''t resist, and after looking at him with a gaze full of tender love, she vanished with Cyrus!
Ace felt terrible when he still felt her warm touch on his fingers and cussed in vexation, "You deviant!"
The existence he cursed seemed to be aloof as ever.
Vexed, he had no choice but to suppress his anger and then looked within the thief''s space.
Eva had appeared with Cyrus in the dark space, but with Ace''s thought, he had used the most precious luminous light stones and attacked them into the four sides of his thief''s space, making it illuminate in rainbow lights.
Afterward, Ace moved everything back to the corners and tidied up the space in a split second, and what was left were some eggs and a ck sheet in the center since they were alive. Oh, and a 20X20 ck metal cube.
It was a prison to keep his prisoners from seeing the true thief''s space, and this cube was not just made with ordinary metal either. It was a Low-Grade-5 treasure especially made to suppress cultivators below Peak Soul Realm. He got it in some cultivator''s storage ring.
However, since the Thief''s Space can fully suppress the beings inside as long as he willed it, Ace was using this treasure as an ordinary prison.
But Eva was shocked when she saw felt a natural closeness to this ce, and for some reason, she didn''t want to leave at all.
Not only that, she could feel cultivating here could bring her far more benefits, even more than the core realm space outside at its peak state.
She had again no choice but to reevaluate the ''God'' behind Ace, and she was now fully convinced that even an abyssal bloodline might not be enough to match this existence.
Still, since this all belonged to she was naturally happy for him, and she no longer worried like before.
"It had grown bigger!" Cyrus eximed in full of astonishment since he clearly remembered this ce not being as big as before. It was his home, after all.
Lastly, the center of the space was also been cleared now, and it was no longer eye-catching when that ring wall was present.
"It''s quite big." Eva also nodded as she curiously looked around and was astonished when she saw all those millions of storage rings spreading in four corners.
"You stole all this?" She couldn''t help but blurt.
"Not bad, right?" Ace''s voice rang in pride. He was pleased with Eva''s reaction.
Eva nodded, and when she thought about all those adventures Ace''s been through, she didn''t find it startling anymore. He had, after all, emptied the biggest organization of outer demon provinces'' treasuries.
"Who goes there?! What is this ce!" A panicked voice suddenly sounded, drawing everyone''s attention toward therge ck prison.
"Ahem, I''ll let you handle it?" Ace asked with some embarrassment since hepletely forgot about Livia after abducting her.
Eva''s lips curled up, forming a devil-like smile as she nodded, "Don''t worry, I''ve long wanted to have a maid. Making a princess a maid is much more fitting to my status. Don''t you think so, Cyrus?"
Cyrus was confused and asked, "What''s a maid, Big Sis? Can I get one as well?"
Eva was startled momentarily by Cyrus''s innocent question before she giggled happily, "Of course, let''s, Big Sis, teach you about it properly."
Ace, who was listening to those two, had this strange expression as he looked between the ck prison and then Eva and excited Cyrus moving towards it. He suddenly felt pity for Livia as well as he was now wondering if letting Cyrus learn from this Devil was the right thing to do.
''Well, as long as she''s happy, nothing else matters.'' Ace smiled gently when she saw Eva wasn''t sad or feeling lonely anymore and retracted his attention outside.
Half an hourter, the system''s voice sounded,
=====
[Grad-7 Qi Stone Vein has beenpletely absorbed!]
[Grade-7 Soul Crystal Source has beenpletely absorbed!]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
--
[Host can now convert Qi Stones and Soul Crystals into EXP and SP from Grade-4 to Grade-7 ording to host cultivation realm limit.]
---
[Congrattion, host, on achieving the Ninth Stage of Heavenly Dark Sea Core Realm and Ninth Stage of Heavenly Red Wind Soul Core!]
[Host status has been updated!]
--
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea Core [Stage-9]]
[EXP: 51,291,780/250,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Heavenly Red Wind Soul Core [Stage-9]]
[SP: 50,322,010/250,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
=====
Chapter 658 The Elven Continent
The Elven Continent, the Elven Capital City, Elven Pce,
Right under thousands of feet under the Elven Pce.
There was a space over a thousand feet wide and tens of feet high, and this space was all made with beautiful pristine marbles, and only the floor was left alone as it was filled withplex runes.
Over fifty royal elven guards in golden armor were standing at the entrance. The elves called this ce the ''Holy Space'' because the passage to enter or exit the ''Holy Tower'' resided right in this ce.
This space was discovered by the current Elven Queen when she was young, and ording to the legend, she heard the ''calling'' from the ''Holy Spirit,'' and that''s how she managed toe here.
She was the very first person to enter the Holy Tower, and from then on, everything changed for the elven race as they thrived under the influence of the Holy Tower, and so this also became their most guarded secret, their Holy Land.
At this moment, hurried footsteps sounded, and a few figures entered the holy space.
In very front were an extremely handsome elf with two-meter height, long bright silver hair, and a golden crown resting over his head. However, his silver eyes werepletely bloodshot at this moment and filled with killing intent.
He was excluding blood-curdling aura, making those elves behind him extremely pale as their faces were toward their feet. They didn''t dare to look toward him, afraid of receiving a death sentence because they knew he was fully capable of that.
Because this Elf with the golden crown was none other than the First Elf King Consort and current Elven King Regnant!
As for why the atmosphere was so overbearing, and the Elven King was emitting such thick killing intent, it was exactly because he received the news of his precious daughter, the Elven Crown Princess, being killed in the dual with the ''monster!''
Furthermore, that monster was actually a Human in disguise, and he had somehow earned the Holy Lord''s favor and was darning enough to agree with the challenge set up by the Holy Lord as well.
If it were only that, the First Elven King wouldn''t be so bloodthirsty and irrational, but he wanted to skin that human alive because he killed Livia, who he loved more than anything in this world.
As for the news bearer, who was pretending to be Crown Princess Livia, she naturally ended up dead in the cruelest way at the King''s hands. Not even her ashes were left under the wrath of a Law Awareness Realm expert.
Furthermore, those other high-ranking officers who heard this grave news were also rmed, not because of Livia''s death, but because a human somehow entered their Holy Tower and even earned the Lord''s favor.
They couldn''t care less about one life of a princess when their entire race''s future and mostly because their interest was on the line here.
But they didn''t dare to speak up about their ''worries'' because they had never seen the First Elven King this mad, and they knew if they dared to give their opinions, they would meet the same fate as Livia''s double.
As for the Second Elven Price, Randall, and his younger brother, Third Elven Prince, Jerice, they had yet toe back.
But some of the high officers guessed that they most likely knew about the Princess''s death, and they won''t be appearing any time soon unless they wanted to meet with the enraged King.
They knew those two brothers always had their eyes on the sky and did many things topete with Livia, but they didn''t know the First King knew about everything, but he always ignored them and didn''t interfere in the children''s quarrels since he also thought of them as his children.
Still, they were somewhat relieved that the Human won''t be able to get anything as long as the three rulers were standing in his way.
That''s why they were all nning to enter the Holy Tower and started to search for more intruders and plunge them as fast as possible while the Kings and Queen dealt with the one in the light.
They didn''t dare to take their chances with this matter because if there was more than one foreign intruder within the tower and if they could enter without them known, they would definitely be able to leave without them knowing as well.
If the other intruders were not as greedy as that human, they will definitely alert their higher-ups, and once this news blew, they all knew there would be not only humansing after the holy tower but demonic beasts, hunters, demons, and even devils will not sit still.
The elven race was still not matched for the top five races together, so they had to bow their head. But they still wanted to salvage the situation.
At this moment, the First King stood right at the center of the formation and rolled up his sleeve, revealing the tower tattoo with seven floors filled. He poured his Qi into it and tried to activate the teleportation¡ again.
Again means he tried to enter the holy tower instantly when he received the news, but for some reason, the teleportation was not activated at all, which had never happened before.
So, he came here since there was no way the teleportation could not work in this ce since this was themon method the elves used to reenter the tower except for those who didn''t have the authority to directly entered, like the Elven King.
The others also do the same as they were sixth-floor contenders.
However, their expression started to change when the doorway did not appear, no matter how much Qi they channeled into their tattoos.
"What is going on?" An elder elf''s panicked voice rang.
"Could it be we can only enter after one week?" A schrly female elf guessed, but she regretted saying those words the very next moment.
Because the First King''s aura suddenly spikes, and terrifying pressure descends into the entire space.
All those elven instantly fell on their knees with paleplexion as they also guessed that the King''s tattoo was also not working and they will be going to suffer because of it.
However, the pressure soon vanished as the First King''s hoarse icy voice rang, "We''ll wait!"
Afterward, the entire space descends into eerier silence. No one dares to speak or move anymore as they all wait with stiff expressions.
A little over a day passed when all of a sudden, the entire floor suddenly lit up, and the formation had been activated by someone.
However, those elves were shocked, including the First Elven King, because this formation had never been activated before like this, and always a door would appear.
The Elven King''s danger sense started to ring in rm as those symbols got brighter and brighter.
"Imbecilic, quickly run!" He hollered before silver Qi started to gush out, covering Elven King''s body as he looked extremely majestic and holy before he shot toward the exit without hesitation.
For him to danger, he knew something was wrong, and staying will not be a decision. How could he take revenge for his daughter if he was dead or injured?
Those officers also snapped out of their daze and used their fastest techniques to flee behind the King.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Even they started to feel a sense of crisis while staying in the middle of this formation.
Because of their speeds, they managed to leave the underground passage, but the King didn''t stop as he was moving outside the pce at terrifying speed. Those officers didn''t dy and followed suit.
"Everyone, leave the pce. Something is not right quickly!" Elven King''s reverberating voice sounded in the entire elven pce; even some closer areas around it heard his voice, bewitching everyone.
Many thoughts someone was courting death and didn''t move at all. At the same time, those few who heeded this warning were those who were familiar with the King''s voice.
However, just a minuteter, after the King''s warning, something unimaginable happened.
"Boooommmmmm!"
A deafening voice rang in the elven capital, followed by a terrifying earthquake, shocking everyone, and they all hurried over to look at the source. Some of them thought they were under attack.
However, whoever looked toward the pce area was stunned-silly and rooted in their ce.
Because they all saw the debris of the once magnificent Royal Pce raining down with many flesh parts and blood. But their entire focus was on the huge tower which had magically appeared in the royal pce ce.
The Elven King in the sky was looking at the cracked tower with a gobsmacked expression as he had this terrifying guess about this mysterious tower''s origin.
But before anyone could react to it, the tower suddenly startled to tremble, and like some sand castle, it started to crumble down.
"Stop it!" The Elven King was spooked as he roared and used his sliver Qi to try to stop the destruction because if it was really what he thought it was, then he couldn''t let it get destroyed.
But s, no matter what he did, his Qi couldn''t cover the entire tower, and for some reason, his Qi waspletely useless against it, and the other elves'' experiences were different.
When one-third of the tower crumbled, two more elves appeared, hovering in the sky.
One was another handsome elf with the same kind of crown as the First King was wearing, while the other was an enthralling eleven beauty with a majestic golden tiara.
However, their faces were filled with bewilderment, as if they were in a dream. But s, if only it were a dream.
The Wise Elf Race is about to go absolutely bonkers¡
Chapter 659 Sailing Close To The Wind
The sky was clear, lit with countless bright stars, while the full moon was exceptionally bright today.
Under the beautiful moonlight, chaotic waves of water were raging, and there was nothing but rageful sounds of lonely waves, creating a strange mncholic melody.
At this moment, a strange phenomenon takes ce when a phantom dark image suddenly manifests and starts to ovep with the chaotic waves.
The clear blue water suddenly ovepped with murky ck water as this phantom dark image was filled with dark water.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
All of a sudden, the entire space around the waves distorted before the phantom image started to materialize, and the water level suddenly rose, creating tilde waves, and the water was also turning ck.
This strange phenomenon in spacested for over ten hours as the night was already at its end, and the dark sky was now starting to turn golden.
The chaotic waves also started to calm down while the ck water covered a veryrge area. If someone looked from high in the sky at this area, it would appear like a ck stain in the clear blue sea.
Three more hours passed as the sun was already on the horizon. At this moment, the calm murky ck water surface suddenly experienced ripples.
Thereby, a hooded head surfaced, and his dark blue eyes under the hood were filled with vignce while he looked around.
But when he saw endless water as far as he could see, he was bewildered and mumbled in dismay, "Don''t tell me, this realm merged somewhere in the endless sea?"
This person was naturally Ace, who had appeared on the surface after swimming his way through the flooded hole left behind by the Regal Fiend Tower. If not for that hole, he might have to dig his way out again.
Still, it took him a few hours to reach the surface, and he almost thought that he was still in the dark realm. But when he noticed the surface getting brighter, he knew he had returned to the world outside since that ce was exempt from any sunlight.
However, after seeing his surrounding, he wasn''t so optimistic anymore.
Because if he really ended up in the endless sea, then it was even more troublesome since he had no idea how to navigate his way from this unknown location.
At this moment system''s voice rang before a panel pooped up.
=====
[The Side Mission has beenpleted!]
--
[Side Mission: Escape the Mysterious Space!]
--
-Mission Introduction: The Host has stumbled upon a mysterious space that is filled with the unknown!
-Requirement: Find a way to escape the mysterious space!
-Status: Complete
--
-Reward(s):
1. 10 Million EXP
[im/ Later]
2. 10 Million SP
[im/Later]
3. 1,000,000 TP
--
-Conditional Reward:
1. Collect Independent Space Core: imed
---
[Thief Point(s): 51,810,950]
=====
"About time." Ace scoffed before he closed the interface while keeping those ten million EXP and SP for a rainy day.
He no longer needed to waste those precious herbs to increase EXP or SP count anymore, not until he reached the eighth realm. As long as he had sufficient Qi stones and Soul crystals, he''ll use them.
After closing the notification panel, he took out the small blue sailboat with the symbol of the Imperial Demon Family on the ck sail!
It was the same sailboat he used in the ck Sea in the secret realm.
After jumping out of the water, he finally sighed in relief since he had finally escaped the secret realm and was back.
But he knew it was far from over since he had to find his way out toward the Azure Wind Continent from this unknown ce.
Since he had no map, he could only rely on the second-best option, which was the live fate map''s direction.
Furthermore, his fortune sense was alsopelling him to head in the southeast direction, but it was too vague.
When he opened the fate map, he found nothing but gray with no terrain at all, so he could only look at thepass pointer, which was also pointed in the same direction as his fortune sense.
Ace frowned because he didn''t want to follow in this direction, blinding this time because if he was in the endless sea, then who knows how far this direction was and where it would lead him.
If it was a treasure like Regal Fiend Tower, then he was not in the mood for treasure hunting at all, and he was 90% sure that it was another treasure because his fortune sense was also pointing in the same direction.
But heading in another direction could also lead him into an unknown location, and who knows if he will find anynd or not and keep wandering aimlessly.
The endless sea was named ''Endless'' for a reason, and without any proper sea channel, one could simply travel round and round without even knowing.
Furthermore, the endless sea was filled with unknown dangers like sea demonic beasts that even Soul Manifestation Realm Experts dread.
So, he can''t be careless.
When he reached this conclusion, he gritted his teeth in exasperation because he knew he had no other choice at all.
"Some direction is better than no direction, I guess. Once I reachnd, I''ll instantly soul-probe some native to know where I am and then head in the right direction. I can''t be too far from the elven continent." Ace mumbled grimly before he activated the boat and headed in thepass direction at maximum speed.
Since he was free now, he looked in the thief''s space to check on Eva and was instantly baffled because he saw Eva had this annoyed expression as she was looking at this Elven beauty who had the same level of beauty as Freya and slightly inferior to Eva, she was naturally Livia the elven crown princess!
Livia was wearing tunic green robes; she was 5''11 feet tall with a perfect hourss figure. Her glistering bright silver hair made her look extremely holy, while her heart shape snow-white face, small nose, and pink lips perfectly matched her enthralling charm.
She has silver watery eyes like jewels, but the way she was looking waspletely out of ce with her current situation.
First, she didn''t seem angry, panicked, or even nervous. On the contrary, she had this strange smile that spelled nothing but happiness.
Second, she was tightly holding her right hand, and if looked closely, she kept rubbing an owl symbol very gently, which was quite creepy in Ace''s eyes.
Third, she was looking at Eva with admiration and longing, which was even more questionable. No matter from which angle Ace looked, Livia didn''t seem furious at all by her abduction. Instead, she was ecstatic.
Finally, seeing Eva''s pissed expression, Ace knew something was amiss!
Chapter 660 A Thief Fanatic
A few hours ago, when Eva had just entered the thief''s space.
Standing in front of the ck prison, Eva smiled deviously when she heard a panic-stricken yet threatening voice of Livia.
"I can hear you! Just answer me what is this ce, and why do you capture me? Do you have any idea who I am? So, what if you''re a little more powerful than me? I demand an audience with Holy Spirit this instant!"
"Who''s the Holy Spirit?" Cyrus asked in confusion while standing over Eva''s shoulder.
"Some bastard who was courting death." Eva''s voice was icy cold.
"I can hear you, you monster! Kill me if you dare!" Livia roared in exasperation.
Eva''s expression went cold and exempt from any emotion. Only Ace can draw a myriad of expressions from her, not anyone else. She moved and finally opened the door of the ck prison without any worry.
The moment the door was opened, veiled Livia lunged out like a tigress, but Eva was ready and was already sidestepped.
Livia then quickly twisted her slender body and vigntly looked toward Eva was started when she saw a crown-wearing devilish beauty who was far more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. For the first time in her life, she felt inferior to someone else when ites to beauty.
"How feisty." Eva chuckled coldly when she saw Livia looking dazedly at her.
Livia was instantly snapped out of her daze with a hint of humiliation in her eyes. She coldly questioned, "Who are you, and what is this ce?"
Her Qi waspletely suppressed in that dark prison, and she thought it was because the prison was specially made for detaining cultivators. However, now that she was out of that dark prison, she found her Qi was still suppressed as before, which was quite shocking to her.
But what she still didn''t understand was why that monster didn''t kill her at that time and how he sent her here without even her realizing it. Most importantly, why did he send her here, and was the Holy Spirit also involved in this?
However, this notion was quite absurd since the elves literally revered the Holy Spirit, and schemes were beneath it. Besides, it had never yed such a trick before and was always fair.
But now, after being captured and suppressed for days, she was no longer sure anymore, and Eva''s appearance added anotheryer of mystery to the mix.
Eva''s lips curled up in an enthralling smile that was not gentle but menacing, "Why are you covering your face? Unveil yourself, and let me see if you''re worthy of being my maid. If you''re ugly, I''ll give you to Cyrus then."
Cyrus instantly retorted in indignation, "No. I don''t want an ugly maid as well!"
Eva gave the little guy a side-up before she nodded in understanding, "Alright, if she''s ugly, we''ll let her be the janitor of this ce."
Cyrus instantly fell into contemted silence as if he was in deep thought while he still had no idea what a maid or janitor was, which made him even cuter in Eva''s eyes.
However, the person in question, Livia, was dumbfounded by this conversation as rage started to boil in her heart. She was the Crown Princess of the Wise Elf Race, and no one had ever belittled her like this.
Although Eva was really beautiful, she also had her pride and honor as the crown princess, and she wanted to fight it out with this arrogant woman in front of her. She was so angry she even forgot about special racial traits of Eva as well as the speaking bird.
Instinctively, she tried to use her storage ring, but she soon remembered it was already taken when she was sent to that prison. But because of darkness and her cultivation being suppressed, she wasn''t able to see the owl symbol on her finger.
However, now that the thief''s space was no longer dark, when Livia suddenly nced toward her finger, her angry expression froze as her eyes were affixed on her ring finger, or more urately, on the owl symbol.
Eva also noticed Livia''s sudden pause and her eyes affixed on her finger, and she also looked toward it with a somewhat intrigued look.
Eva also noticed the thief symbol and the name written on the owl''s wings. Her eyes lit up, ''So, this is the thief symbol he was talking about. How beautiful and unique. I should think about one for myself too. I should use fox or cat, or bird¡ no, they are not imposing enough¡'' She thought with a grave expression.
However, her thought process was broken when Livia''s stuttering voice sounded, "S-sky¡ St-Stealer?! Y-y-you''re Sky¡ Stealer?"
Eva noticed the sudden change in Livia''s eyes as they shone hysterically and reverently, which rubbed Eva the wrong way.
She squinted her eyes and said coldly, "So, what if I am?"
However, Livia suddenly shook her head and mumbled, "No, it can''t be you!"
"Why it can''t be me?" Eva was even more baffled by this suddenly changed in Livia''s demeanor. She was just about to lunge at her and start a fight, but now she didn''t even look furious and more like she was going frantic.
Livia ignored her and looked around frantically like she was searching for something, and she finally noticed all those storage rings scattered in four corners.
"I was right! My guess was right!" Livia''s eyes shimmered with brilliance as she shouted in mirth.
Eva was now sure there was something wrong with this woman. She suddenly released her bloodline pressure which wasn''t any lower than Cyrus''s. It was even a tidbit powerful.
Eva''s cultivation wasn''t restricted in the thief''s space because, like Cyrus or Thief House members, she couldn''t even think of harming Ace, and these criteria were set by the system itself.
That''s why these people are free in the thief''s space while the others are instantly suppressed.
When Livia felt the terrifying pressure descend on her, which was so deadly that she started trembling uncontrobly. This terror wasing directly from her bloodline. It was like she was a firefly standing in front of the sun.
Seeing Livia behaving like a jittery mouse, Eva instantly felt refreshed and nodded in satisfaction. She then coldly said, "What were you yapping about?"
Livia felt the pressure on her halves as she was finally able to breathe. She looked at Eva with fear as she panted. She finally understood just how terrifying this woman in front of her was.
But she was thinking about something else, and this time she spoke in a polite tone, "M-Miss, are you really sky stealer?"
"You fool¡" Cyrus was about to spill the beans when Eva quickly closed its beak and meaningfully nced at the confused little guy, "You talk too much! When adults are talking, children only listen."
Cyrus wanted to say something, but s, Eva didn''t let go of his beak and only gave him an ominous look before he finally stopped struggling.
''She''s even scarier than Big Sis, Freya!'' He thought seriously and finally decided to behave. Even his big bro was afraid of her, so he should listen to her more.
Eva then finally let go when Cyrus stopped talking and looked at Freya and coldly said, "I''m the sky stealer. Why did you doubt me?"
Livia inhaled sharply, but a hint of regret could be seen in her eyes, but she didn''t dare to shock it anymore as she remembered that terrifying feeling of being a mere ant in front of her.
So, she quickly unveiled herself, revealing her peerless face. She bowed slightly and said with mirth, "Miss Sky Stealer, I know it sounds absurd, but I''m your biggest follower in this world, and I would like to learn the art of stealing from you and conquer his entire world!"
Eva was baffled by those words and thought this woman was messing with her. However, when she saw the honest and obsessive looked in Livia''s eyes, she knew Livia wasn''t kidding at all.
''Don''t tell me she was in disbelief before because I''m a woman, and she wanted to seduce my Ace?'' Her thoughts instantly went derailed as her aura was spiked again with killing intent shining in her eyes.
Livia, this time fell on her knees with an ashen face; however, Eva felt goosebumps when she noticed the look of mirth in her eyes intensified.
She secretly swore, ''I can''t let her even close to him!''
"Are you worthy of learning from me?" Eva coldly spoke as she no longer cared about having fun with her.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Livia ground her teeth as she endured the pressure and said, "I-I was wrong. I''m willing to follow you as your¡ maid!"
Eva rejected her mercilessly, "You''re too ugly to be my maid!"
She was determined to keep her away from Ace as she felt this woman was up to no good and had vile motives.
Although Ace said Livia might be able to save him from some future crisis or whatnot, she first needed to make sure to educate her properly.
However, she underestimated Livia''s determination.
Livia wasn''t even flustered by this reply as she quickly said, "I know I''m not worthy, but I can be of great use to you because I have a special constitution known as Holy Divination Physique!"
Chapter 661 Ability Of Prediction
Present, looking at Eva''s pissed expression and Livia''s revered look as she looked at Eva, Ace knew something was amiss, and he might have missed something interesting.
So, he didn''t speak directly and used his thought transmission with Eva, "Why are you looking so aggravated? Is she that difficult to handle?"
Eva was startled momentarily when she heard Ace''s voice, but her expression went stern as she replied without opening her mouth, "This bitch is crazy!"
Ace felt amused when he heard Eva''s exasperated voice and curiously asked, "What happened?"
Eva then didn''t hide anything and told him about Livia''s thief-fanatic persona and how she wanted to be the Sky Stealer follower. She was even willing to be her maid or mere servant.
Ace''s expression was quite strange when he heard this, and he couldn''t help but look at Eva''s nasty expression and thought amusingly, ''Weren''t you the same when you met me and even forcibly formed a team with me so you could be a thief? At least she''ll know how I felt at that time.''
However, when he heard this, "¡ not only that, but she had some kind of constitution called Holy Divination Physique which is something. Although I''m pretty sure the name of her fantastic physique might not be the exact and self-created by her race, I''m not absolutely sure about it either."
"Wait, Fantastic Physique? You mean she''s born with a unique constitution like fabled element physiques, right?" Ace was astonished by this revtion since it was his second timeing in contact with the owner of a unique physique.
"Yes, these constitutions are known as Fantastic Physiques, and there are also Fantastic Meridians." Eva revealed, "Anyhow, this woman is not simple, and this Holy Divination Physique of her can help her divide and predict certain things about her future.
"ording to her, she was supposed to encounter a life-changing opportunity in that tower. But she didn''t know what kind of encounter, and she only thought it was that fake event created by that tower spirit."
Ace''s eyes narrowed, "But she ended up getting abducted by me because I needed her help. Didn''t this mean her life-changing opportunity was me?"
Ace found it hard to believe that such a physique could exist that could predict fortune like this. He did not doubt that the Thief House was the biggest life-changing opportunity anyone in the Golden Sky World could ask for.
''Fate ys tricks but does not make mistakes? Can this be considered a trick of fate?'' Ace couldn''t help but wonder.
Eva also reached the same conclusion as Ace, "I think that as well. Even she also thinks it is like this. However, she''s obsessed with you. You might not believe it, but she predicted that you have either a living space treasure or some sort of teleportation ability that you used to cover up your tracks and robe your victims from their identities."
Ace''s eyes widened, "Did she predict this because of her physique?" His expression was extremely stern because this was noughing matter.
If some Fantastic Physique can predict him to such an extinct, didn''t this mean someone can even predict his next move before he even made it and then set up a trap or even directly track him down?
Eva pulled an annoying expression as she said, "No, she reached this conclusion herself after she investigated your every thievery, and she even had this secret diary where she noted all this down to thest details. The Tower''s teleportation function yed an important part in her reaching such a conclusion. She even thinks you have a treasure like that tower.
"She thought that you are not alone and you have helpers. Lastly, she fantasized that the Sky Stealer''s goal was to conquer this world, and she wanted to be a part of it. She said if she hadn''t ended up meeting you like this, she would look for you in the Azure Wind Condition because of Alina and even helped you."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
With vignce, Eva said, "She was quite sad when she found out that the Sky Stealer is a female, which means she was nning to seduce you. So, I forbid you to reveal your identity until I educate her properly!"
Ac didn''t know whether tough or cry when he heard thest part and found Eva''s vignce quite adorable.
But still, he had to admit Livia was his fanatic, and this was not the first one he had ever encountered. He never even thought someone would be his admirer of another race, not to mention a crown princess of an entire race.
It won''t be a lie to say this was a strange yet good feeling. But he won''t be going to tell the devil unless he wants to feel real ''good.''
Nevertheless, since Livia has this strange physique, he is now even more inclined toward Moira''s suggestion to add her to the Thief House, and there might be some future cmity waiting for him.
But before that, Livia had to avoid the cmity before her. Ace didn''t have any intention of ruining Eva''s fun. He simply didn''t dare. So, he let her y as much as she wanted.
"Alright, you can be the Sky Stealer as much as you want. Don''t forget about cultivating, and don''t torture her too much. She''s a future member and, in a sense, my future benefactor. If she''s willing, then she will be the first thief house member who I don''t need to deceive." Ace sighed nostalgically.
"What? Don''t tell me you already have your eyes on her body?" Eva''s threatening voice rang.
Ace was speechless and retorted, "Why are you so hurried to reach these types of conclusions? Besides, she didn''t even as beautiful as you."
Happiness bloomed in her heart when she heard it, but she quickly hid it and scoffed, "As if I believe you after hearing about your deeds. You''re full of tricks! Now don''t disturb us!"
Ace was bbergasted when he was told to get out of his own thief''s space, and he mumbled in indignation, "Why do I feel like my thief''s space has been hijacked by my paranoid wife?"
Chapter 662 Current Situation
A dignified demon with a deep unfathomed aura, wearing purple armor with Imperil Demon Family''s crest, was looking at the three demons who were respectfully standing before him.
These three demons were also wearing purple sets of armor with the same crests, but their armors were less imposing than his, and their auras were nowhere near as majestic.
He impassively said in his raspy voice, "I summon all three of you to inform you that we will be arriving at our destination in three days. I want you to brief your fleets and have them on their best behavior. I don''t want to lose face in front of others, especially not in front of humans. Is that clear?"
The three solemnly stated in unison, "Yes, Admiral!"
"Dismiss if you don''t have anything to add." He coolly stated.
The three of them bowed respectfully before taking their leave without saying anything.
However, when the two demons left, only the demoness in the group suddenly halted her footsteps right at the door. She looked behind and spoke with a hesitant look in her eyes as she said, "Admiral, I want to ask something. C-can I?"
The Demon Admiral impassively looked at the demoness with a tense expression. He coolly said, "You may speak freely, Captain Hazel."
Hazel was overjoyed and quickly spoke without wasting any time, "I know I''m being presumptuous by asking Admiral this, so I''ll apologize in advance, and I have no intention of offending or doubting our orders. I just want to know why we must send such a huge army to the human continent. Is that thief really worth such attention and our effort?"
The Demon Admiral yellow eyeballs shimmered as he looked at Hazel with a tingle of approval. It was the first caption who dared to ask him such a dangerous question and didn''t seem to be just blindly following orders and using her brain as well.
So, he answered in the same impassive tone, "Your courage ismendable. All I can tell you is that you didn''t need to worry. We are not going there to be just some watch guards for Humans. We might encounter a worthy foe to show our might, and even Devils areing to join the fray. If you perform well, His Imperial Majesty will not hold back on rewards, and I also have high hope for you, Captain Hazel, don''t disappoint me."
Hazel was shocked when she heard this subtle answer filled with astonishing facts. She finally started to understand that this trip to the Azure Wind Continent might not be as simple as just capturing the elusive thief, Sky Stealer.
But she didn''t dare to overstep her boundaries and asked for further details. Just this much information was enough to show the Demon Admiral''s goodwill towards her, and she might end up offending him if she overstepped her jurisdiction.
"Thank you for your trust, Admiral. I won''t disappoint you." She quickly bowed before taking her leave.
The Demon Admiral''s lips curled up after Hazel left, and he muttered with killing intent, "The Demon Army has not shown its true color for ages, and everything started to think we are some sort of pushover now just because some petty thief able to steal some treasures by relying on some paltry tricks.
"We''ll skin those people of White Crown alive to establish our dominance in Golden Sky again and make sure that thief will regret ever poking our demon race. If the n goes well, the entire human race will vanish from the face of this world. This is the true punishment of stealing from us¡."
Captain Hazel had no idea about the true intention of Demon higher-ups as she returned to her room with a faint frown on her face.
She was about to summon her vice caption to gather the other members of the fleet when a ck translucent box materialized in front of her. But she didn''t look shocked as she read the words on it.
=====
[Iing House Call!]
-Caller: House Leader (Ace White)
-ept (Automatically ept in 10 Seconds)
[NOTE: You can''t Reject or Ignore House Leader (Ace White) call!]
=====
''Hmph, if not for this privilege, I would''ve ignored you for an hour!'' Captain Hazel, who was actually Winter in disguise, pursed her lips before she epted the call.
Ace''s spirited voice transmitted in her head, "Long time no chat."
Winter was startled since she expected his voice to be full of panic or anxiety just likest time, but for some reason, Ace returned to being himself again.
''Don''t tell me he no longer cared about that girl and call me to cancel this mission? Didn''t this mean my effort would be wasted?'' Winter thought gloomily.
But she didn''t reach the final conclusion so soon. She probed, "Why are you calling?"
"I''m calling to inquire about your progress with your current mission." Ace''s voice suddenly turned somewhat stern and filled with expectancy.
''Oh, it seemed I was just thinking too much.'' Winter sighed in relief.
She replied smugly, "Just how do you think I am? I''m already three days away from reaching the human continent!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"What? So fast?" Ace was surprised by this unexpected revtion since he was expecting her to be still in the demon continent or still in the middle of her journey toward the Azure Wind Continent.
"Hehe, I''m traveling with one of the fastest fleets of Demonic Marine Army, so it was only natural that we travel so fast, and with the personal sea channel of the Demon Race, it was even faster." Winter was quite pleased with Ace''s reaction, so she boosted even more.
Ace''s praiseful voice rang, "So, you managed to infiltrate the Marine Army, huh? Even I didn''t expect that. It seemed you might have some hope ofpleting the sixth condition of my mission."
Winter snickered, "Of course. Don''t tell me you''re regretting putting that condition and going to take back that five million reward now?" She was worried about this.
"Hah, as long as you can escape with Alina, you have my sincere gratitude, and I will owe you two favors, much less five million house points that you earn. But it won''t be easy. Don''t put yourself in danger.
"I want you to be my eyes and ears until I reach there and gather as much information as possible. Don''t take unnecessary risks. We are dealing with a potential Quasi-Law Comprehension Realm expert and not just one."
Winter didn''t retort since she knew this was the fact because the Admiral she had just met with was a Law Awareness Realm Demon, and she knew he was just the tip of the iceberg of the Demon Army.
"I know what I''m doing. I cherish my life more than anything else." She scoffed before her expression turned serious, "When will you arrive?"
A powerless sigh escaped Ace''s mouth as he replied helplessly, "I''m in the middle of the endless sea, and I have absolutely no idea where I am currently. But I''m pretty sure I''ll be to find out soon. I just need some more time before Ie rushing back."
Winter sternly replied, "Well, you better speed up your game. I just learned that another army from the Devil Race would also join the demons on the human continent, and you might not be the only target this time. They might be nning something big, and it''s all evolved around the human continent!"
Ace fell into silence since this was a piece of unexpected news. Although he was expecting the devil race to get involved but sending an army was another matter entirely.
"What about hunters? Is there any movement from their side? Especially from the Silver Ice n?" Ace asked with a hint of coldness in his voice.
He didn''t have a good impression of Alina''s family after they abandoned her and handed her over to Dream Shatter to use her as he wished.
"Actually, it''s quite strange because there is no movement from the Hunter Race, as they had gonepletely dormant after the Ice Lord''s announcement. I have no idea what those guys are up to." Winter replied with uncertainty, "But I do hear that they are still focusing on that ancient gathering. Even demons and devils are the same, as they didn''t give up on that secret realm either. Only a little over a year is left before that ce will open up."
Ace sighed ruefully, "It seemed they abandoned her. Or there''s a chance they are nning something. As for this fiery hell secret realm, this is not our concern anymore. Saving Alina came first. You just focus on your task while I find a way toward you."
"Alright. I know what to do." Winter quickly agreed, and the call was over.
She muttered uncertainly after the call, "Just who is she to you, really¡."
Chapter 663 The Terror Of Endless Sea (1)
Under the vague light of the crescent moon, Ace was sitting cross-legged on top of the sail as strong winds brushed past his long hair, making them flutter like dark mes.
A powerful aura was emitting on his person. However, his aura wasn''tpletely tranquil but slightly chaotic and dark.
It had been 54 days since he had left the secret realm and started traveling in the endless sea by following the live fate map and his fortune sense.
However, there was no trace ofnds as far as he could see, and he was now getting impatience. But he was still quite helpless in this and could do nothing but endure. The only thing worth mentioning was he was making progress in his skills, and he would encounter sea beasts asionally as well.
At this moment, he opened his eyes as lingering dark lightning shed past them. He suddenly looked ahead and frowned when he saw a veil of ck fog over a mile ahead.
''I need to enter that fog?'' Ace frowned as he confirmed his spection by opening the fate map despite his fortune sense pointing him in that direction anyway.
As he moved closer to the fog, he felt a familiar suffocating sensation, and suddenly he remembered where he had felt this kind of sensation before.
''It''s Martial and Soul Radiation!'' Ace''s expression clouded when he remembered his encounter at the entrance of the test of the Royal Demon Institute.
He was exposed to Martial and Soul Radiation up to 5 Points, so he knew the environment within the radiation was extremely suffocating for a cultivator.
Although this radiation was harmless to Ace, he was in the endless sea. Normally, any cultivator tends to avoid areas with radiation like the gue because any item with Qi will be started to wither in Radiation.
The higher the density of the Radiation, the higher the withering speed, and if a cultivator lost all the Qi in its body, it was over for them.
Ace looked at the sailboat quickly approaching the radiation fog and thought, ''If I use its protective barrier, the Qi stones consumption will be ten-fold in that fog or even more if that radiation is above 10 points.
''Furthermore, this indicator is clearly leading me toward some treasure since no continent is surrounded by any radiation fog in my knowledge. But I can''t just turn around aftering this far, and Ick anything but Qi stones.''
After binding his resolve, he activated the sailboat''s protective barrier, and a crimson translucent doom appeared around the boat.
If he wasn''t afraid of the sailboat getting destroyed by the radiation fog, he didn''t need a barrier at all to survive in that fog. This sailboat was the only one he had, not to mention the fastest, so he was quite careful while handling it.
As Ace entered the fog, the feeling of suffocation reached its peak because there was no even trace of Qi within this fog, and the Qi stones imbued in the sailboat''s formation also started to shimmer madly.
''This radiation fog is really above 10 points, which means this area is even the bane of soul manifestation realm cultivators. Just what kind of thing is hiding here which could be useful for me?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
''Unless it''s another elemental orb, and this fog is its natural barrier. This trip might be worth it if it is an elemental orb.'' Ace''s eyes shimmered with expectancy when this thought appeared.
He still remembered how he found the lightning orb and then even the regal fiend tower. So, it would be a lie to say; he wasn''t excited to see what kind of treasure he would end up with there.
His mind was at somewhat ease now that he knew Winter was already on the azure wind continent, and with her current skill set, she might be able to pull the impossible.
Ace kept the live fate map active as he moved with ck fog while keeping an eye on the Qi stone consumption and recing them with a new batch when thest one turned into dust.
The wealth he umted in fifteen years was really something that could make any green with envy, and only the Sky Stealer could endure such a huge Qi stone loss without batting an eye.
After moving in the ck fog for over three hours, Ace''s expression was stern because the Qi stone consumption had suddenly doubled as the ck fog had be thick as clouds.
Furthermore, the fate map was no longer gray, but it had turned red ten minutes ago.
''Should I turn around?'' Ace thought gloomily, but he persisted and stood his ground and continued ahead, but he was at full-time high alert.
But Ace''s expression suddenly wrapped, and his eyes widened in horror because a ck fate point suddenly appeared a few hundred meters ahead of him. It was moving right in his direction with a terrifying speed.
It was so fast before Ace could react, the ck fate point was already inclined with his own fate point, and Ace''s heart nearly stopped.
But he was bewildered when he noticed that the ck fate point was brushed past his fate point in the fate map and continued moving straight and soon vanished with its terrifying speed.
Filled with cold sweat, Ace muttered with a pale expression, "W-what just happened?"
However, he soon snapped out of his daze when the sailboat suddenly started to shake and lift, and when he saw ahead, his eyes contracted because a hundred-meter-high wave was rising.
''Don''t tell me that ck fate point was a sea beast, and it just swam past me? But what kind of beast could be so fast, and it could create such a wave by just passing by?'' Ace''s heart turned cold when he thought about it, and for the first time, he felt the true terror of the mysterious endless sea.
Although the boat could easily survive that huge wave, his problem was only getting started when he saw something that sent shivers down his spine.
Because all of a sudden, the red fate map was now turning into dark crimson before it wentpletely pitch ck!
Chapter 664 The Terror Of Endless Sea (2)
Watching the Live Fate Map turningpletely ck, Ace was ashen because he knew he had entered a fatal area.
Without hesitation, he controlled the sailboat to escape this ce post hastily, but to his dismay, the sailboat seemed to have lost all its power, and it kept moving ahead.
Ace quickly ran to the edge of the deck, and he was barely able to see the water current had turned up. It was so strong that the boat''s formation was not strong enough to go against it.
''Just what kind of ce I ended up in? The fate map is pointing in the same direction as this water current. But this area ispletely ck, and there isn''t even a sliver of Qi present. Should I try to swim back?''
The moment this notion came to Ace''s mind, he threw it away when he remembered the ck fate point he saw a few minutes ago.
Furthermore, his thief''s sense was still calm, which meant he wasn''t in fatal danger yet. Still, this was a ck area, and he would be an idiot just to stay still and wait for his demise.
Ace looked at the surroundings enshroud by thick ck fog. His vision was obstructed because of this radiation, and he could only see clearly ten meters around him.
The fate map was still open as he watched it for any sign of changes or some other color fate location.
At this moment, the sailboat started to flutter as the water current was getting stronger and stronger, and it was moving forward with a terrifying spell.
Ace looked at the chaotic water flow with a deep frown, ''I can''t just stay still, I need to make a decision, or I won''t be able toter.''
At this moment, Ace noticed something as he abruptly looked at the fate map, and his expression turned pale white like a ghost.
There were eight ck fate points with another red circle around them, and all of them were moving in his direction, and they would be here ten seconds from their speed.
This time, Ace was spooked seeing those eight ck fate points approaching in his direction, and his mind raced.
''They areing right in my direction, or are they just passing by like thest one? No, the red color indicates that they are enemies. It doesn''t matter if they areing toward me or just passing by. If they sense the boat, they will definitely attack, unlike thest one, who seemed to be not hostile. I need to get rid of this boat. It''s too shy!''
Ace quickly decided while gritting his teeth. The next moment, the entire sailboat vanished under his feet, and he came in contact with the radiation for the first time.
Although the feeling was ufortable, like some slimy substance all over his skin, overall, he waspletely fine.
The next moment, a green wood nk appeared on the chaotic water, and Acended on it. This wood nk was a grade-4 material.
But the moment it came in contact with the radiation fog, it started to lose its luster.
However, Ace''s attention is on those eight ck fate point as he rides on the nk in those chaotic waves without much difficulty.
As a cultivator, bncing was thest thing he was worried about unless he was riding in the middle of chaotic Qi water; this normal water was far from harmful to him.
Ace was astonished because all of a sudden, the red circles around the ck fate point faded away andpletely vanished into the ck fate map.
Realization dawn upon Ace at this moment, ''Don''t tell they were attracted by my sailboat or the Qi undtion created by the sailboat? This ce is exempt from Qi, so it''s quite possible they were drawn here by the sudden appearance of Qi waves created by the sailboat''s barrier.
''Now that the sailboat is no longer here and this nk is too small to create such Qi waves, they couldn''t find me? The only way to confirm this is¡.''
Ace decided to try his theory since it was the question of his survival.
When he put the sailboat away because he was nning to use this thick radiation mist to hide his aurapletely, he knew this radiation waspletely capable of that as anything with Qi would be useless in here, like the martial sense or soul senses.
Unless someone had an active sense as his Thief Sense, no one will be able to probe within the radiation by using martial sense or soul sense.
However, now, if his theory was right, he didn''t need to bother with anything and just make sure he won''t use Qi here, and he would be fine in this ck fate area.
At least, he hopes so since, in a sense, he can''t go back right now and only moved forward.
A formation te appeared in his hand, which was a grade-5 formation equivalent to the boat''s formation. He slowly activated it, and Qi undtion was created.
Almost instantly, Ace saw the eight ck fate points appear again with the same red ring around them, and without hesitation, he quickly stowed the formation te away.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Just like before, those eight ck fate points vanished again, and Ace''s eyes shimmered with a hint of hope.
''So, it was really about Qi!'' He was sure of it.
But it wasn''t the solution because he was still moving in an unknown direction, and he was nowpletely helpless to go back, and he was even regretting sailing in the fog.
Still, he knew he had no choice but to follow the fate map direction since he had no idea where he ended up in the endless sea.
At least he had a direction to follow, or he won''t even know where he was heading. While surfing on the water current, the nk, which was filled with Qi a few moments ago, was now turned into a wilted dry nk without any Qi.
However, Ace was bothered by it. As long as it could float over the water and pull his weight, he was fine with it, especially when having Qi could draw terrifying existences.
An hour passed as Ace was still pulled toward an unknown direction, and the cloudy ck fag was now even thicker as he could now feel some resistance from the fog as he passed through it.
Right at this moment, Ace''s eyes contracted because, in this darkness, he suddenly saw something absurd.
He saw the light within the ck fog and the silhouette of a mountain range!
Chapter 665 A Stanger
Ace was in disbelief when he saw the light and the shadowy mountain range, which waspletely absurd but not impossible as well.
He was who knows where, and this ce was filled with things that could kill any cultivators hundreds of times before they could even reach this ce.
Furthermore, even if someone by any chance reached this ce, can they even go back?
Ace wondered as he found himself approaching the light, and to his surprise, thepass was still pointing in that direction, and the water current also seemed to be going right toward those shadow mountains.
However, the ce was still pitch ck, which meant this ce was quite dangerous, so he waspletely on high alert as he approached the light.
With the water current, it didn''t take Ace long before he was a few feet away from the white glow. He didn''t find any danger from it as well as he let himself get submerged in it.
However, the moment he submerged into the light, a strange scene took ce. Ace seemed to cross over into apletely different ce because he saw his surroundings werepletely bright, and the water current from before was nowhere to be as he gently floated over a calm, crystal-clear water body.
The most absurd thing was the lush mountain range ahead of him, and this ce was filled with Qi.
Ace was inplete disbelief and instantly looked back, and he was bbergasted when he saw behind him a ckness as the ck mist and water from a moment ago hadpletely vanished. It was like an empty void behind him.
However, when he looked at the fate map, he was astonished because he was now in a gray area while the back area was stillpletely ck. The fate map was now half gray and a half gray.
''Just what is this ce?'' Ace scrutinized his surrounding as he could see the clear water and the mountain range ahead, which he couldn''t see the end of.
Ace then tries to use Qi to turn back into the ck zone, but to his surprise, the moment he approaches the ckness, he feels a wall blocking his way ahead.
His heart churned as he tried to use force, but he waspletely blocked by the indivisible wall, and his expression clouded because this was not good.
''Am I trapped in another realm again?'' Ace was in disbelief and quickly asked the system, "System is this another secret realm?" He didn''t want to believe that his luck was so rotten that he entered another secret realm right after leaving one.
Furthermore, he approached this ce on his own ord. No one forced him to.
However, the system''s reply left him bbergasted.
"[No. The host hadn''t entered any secret realm.]"
"Then you me I''m still in Golden Sky World?" Ace quickly shot another question.
However, he met with the system''s usual silence, which made him frown darkly. But he already got the answer he sought, so he could only try to figure it out himself.
''Since I''m not in the secret realm, this ce should be some strange ind like the demon''s three forbidden countries. I should try to explore and see where I am. There might be another exit on the other side of this ind.'' Ace quickly calmed down when he reached this conclusion.
He had seen quite a lot in these past years, so he wasn''t ignorant anymore, and panicking won''t lead him anywhere, so he could only keep his mind cool and hope for the best.
He used his Qi to control the nk and moved toward thend, which was still over two miles away from the edge of the nkness.
While going ahead, Ace looked at the sky, which was also golden, so he was now even more sure that he was really on the maind and no longer agitated like before.
Then he noticed the crystal-clear water, and he noticed the pristine silvery sea bed, which was really out of ce, and there was no sea beast or sea flora and fauna.
''Is this made by men or nature?'' He wondered since anything was possible in the cultivation world, and he didn''t dare to jump to conclusions.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
As he approached thend, he felt the Qi was getting even denser. It was almost at the level of the Royal Demon Country.
''Just what kind of ce is this? Who would believe that this ce is hidden within a thick radiation fog? If I''m not wrong, that radiation is over 20 points which are deadlier to even Law Awareness Realm cultivators.'' Ace mused with a grave expression as the fear of the unknown was something far worse than anything.
But Ace''s thought process was disrupted when he felt his thief sense tingle and instantly looked at the fate map. He was startled when he saw a red fate point approaching right in his direction.
Vignt, he quickly put his hood on, and his mask appeared on his face before his appearance started to change under the hood.
Since the other party was dyed red then, it meant it would definitely attack him when it saw him, so he was prepared.
Thereafter, just when he was a few hundred feet away from thend, the fate point also appeared in his view, and to his surprise, the fate point didn''t appear onnd but in the sky!
He thought it was some aerial beast, but to his astonishment, when he saw clearly, it was a humanoid figure ridding a sky-blue streak and was cutting past winds like a sharp de.
Ace felt his eyes were ying tricks on him, but they weren''t, and suddenly, that sky-blue steak suddenly stopped a few meters above him, making its appearance clear for Ace to see.
Ace''s eyes contracted when he saw this 5''11 feet tall figure wearing ancient blue design robes and a zing sun symbol over his chest, standing over a long sword with its hands behind his back like an imposing being.
But what made Ace stunned was that figure was a Human!
Chapter 666 An Idiot
Standing over top of the sword like a majestic statue, this person had a handsome face with a fairplexion, and he looked in his mid-twenties. His long ck hair and sword-shaped eyebrows gave him a dour look, while his dark brown eyes were cold and indifferent.
However, as he looked at Ace''s hooded face, naked disdain was brewing in those cold eyes as if he was looking at a bug.
After observing Ace for a few moments, a hint of astonishment shed past his eyes because Ace didn''t speak any word, much less panicked, and like him, Ace was also just looking at him without any intention of speaking first.
He imagined that Ace would panic to see him, even beg to spare his life, but it didn''t seem to be the case at all.
Furthermore, the more he looked at the long hood, which seemed like a ck hole, the more he felt ufortable because he couldn''t see Ace''s face clearly. But he disdained to use his martial sense on this ''mortal ant.''
''An Early Stage Qi Soul Manifestation Realm human and this young? Just when did humans be so powerful? Or his appearance is young, and he''s an old monster who likes to y young?'' Ace wondered as he looked at the guy standing on the sword.
Truth be told, Ace was quite astonished seeing someone riding on a sword like a flying beast, and he had never even heard of this kind of method in the golden sky world, especially humans using such a novel method.
Furthermore, the more he observed the other party, the more he thought something was not right, and he even felt a sense of danger from the guy standing over the sword.
Nevertheless, the other party was no doubt human, and this alone was enough to make Ace curious about this ce and where it was.
"System, activate face-3." His face suddenly started to twist under his mask¡
At this moment, the man on the sword finally opened his mouth as his deep voice sounded in the calm vicinity, "Show your face and identify yourself!"
His voice was filled with arrogance as he questioned. That arrogance even ran deep in his bones as he didn''t even lose his posture.
Ace then moved his hand and revealed his face behind the hood. A 17-year-old human face with an average look and slightly darkerplexion was revealed.
Face number three was Ryan''s face which he used in the middle-levelnds, and it''s been quite a long time since he had used those few human faces saved in his mask.
Most of the faces in his mask were of demons, but in this situation, he didn''t think it would be wise to show a demon face in front of this guy.
Ace wanted to see if he could fool the other party without having to go against him. That''s why he didn''t show any cultivation to catch him off guard if he attacked him while underestimating him. But it might work in his favor.
Because this man appeared right before he reached thend, and he was too fast, which could only mean the people behind him had a way to monitor this area, and they sent him to investigate it.
Furthermore, this guy didn''t seem to know he had appeared from the ckness behind him, or he would have morepany or the people behind him simply don''t care about an anomaly like him, which was quite hard to believe knowing human curious nature!
Lastly, since this guy didn''t attack right off the bat and give him a chance to identify himself, this means the possibility of the former scenario was rtively high, and he was only hostile because of the ''unknown identity'' factor.
But before Ace could even speak, when the man noticed Ace''s face, his eyes shed with icy killing intent as he said, "Impudent! How dare you leave the servant mountain and enter the crystal river with this rotten nk?!"
Ace was baffled by this sudden outburst and didn''t know what the other guy was talking about. However, he decided to remain silent as his facial expression was somewhat nk.
''Since this guy already jumps the gun, let him ride it.'' He thought, but he was ready just in case.
The man on the sword frowned disdainfully when he saw the nk expression of the young boy, and he looked nothing but an idiot in his eyes.
"Are you deaf? Mute? Idiot? Or all three?" He inquired again as killing intent in his eyes intensified while the sword under his feet released a sharp sheen.
However, Ace''s expression remained nk as he didn''t react. He was waiting to see what he would do under hisck of response. This situation was much better because he had no idea where he was, and speaking anything will only put him at a disadvantage.
He sensed the guy''s attitudepletely changed when he saw he was a fellow human, and vignce in his eyes vanished, and he became entirely at ease.
The killing intent he was showing was probably just to test if he was really an idiot or not, and even if he wasn''t, and end up attacking him. Ace was ready to subdue him as quickly as possible and without revealing his actual prowess, and the easiest way to do it was to let the other party underestimate him.
He knew he would appear a mortal in the other party''s view because he hadn''t masked his cultivation, and that guy won''t be able to sense it.
As for the people behind this guy, he will think of itter after saving his life.
However, when the killing intent in the man''s eyes started to fade, Ace knew his conjecture was correct. But now the question was what would he do to an ''idiot.''
"Sigh¡ it was only a false rm. But why do I have to be the one to deal with this idiot? Let''s just hand him over to servant mountain and then conclude my report." He muttered perplexedly before giving the idiot a death re, "Little bastard, if I wasn''t allowed to kill fellow human, then you''ll wish you were dead!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Ace''s eyes shimmered with a peculiar glint when he heard this piece of interesting news, ''Not kill a fellow human? Then there are other races than humans in here?''
Ace felt even more baffled by this possibility, but his thought process was disrupted when a blue haze suddenly rushed toward him from the sword tip.
After making sure it wasn''t dangerous, he didn''t resist and let it wrapped it around his wrist, and the next moment, the sword moved toward the sky while dragging Ace like a ragged doll!
Chapter 667 Sun And Moon Sword Union! (1)
Ace didn''t make any sound as he was dragged behind the flying sword like a kite. This also made the man controlling the flying sword even more assured that this person was mentally ill and even wonder why this guy was still alive to this day.
Nevertheless, he still disdained to waste his breath on this imbecile, and he was only doing his doing by dragging him back, not more, not less.
Ace, on the other hand, was closely watching the mountain terrain as they moved more deep within the mountain range. Ace felt the Qi was getting denser.
However, his eyes went wide when he saw something astonishing ahead. Now that he was up in the sky, he could have a beautiful view of this ce, but this view was right out of someone''s imagination.
He saw right in the middle of this web of mountains. There was a stone stairway
vanishing within a cloudy mist. But what was truly shocking was two mountainous bronze gates with Sun and Moon symbols at the feet of the mountain right before where those stairs start.
Besides, those gates were two vivid statuses of golden and silver wyverns. Even from tens of miles away, Ace could sense the majestic might of those gates, which could make any mortal kneel in reverence.
Ace also spotted a massive group of people gathering in front of those gates like ants.
''Just what the hell is this ce?'' Ace was really shocked just by seeing the vast gates and stairway which led within that white mist.
As for what was past that mist, Ace had no idea because everything past that point was enshrouded in thick white mist.
But what he could see was enough to give me a general idea about the ce he ended up in.
''If I''m not wrong, then this ce might not be any inferior to the Imperial Demon Domain of the Demon Continent, and humans seemed to have high status in this ce. Don''t tell me I''m ended in some hidden power''s territory of golden sky world?'' Ace thought with a grim expression as he looked at the fate map, which was now dyed in red.
If he wasn''t pretending to be the idiot, he might really ask the guy in front of him, but he knew right now he was best to stay shut and y dumb.
As for soul probing, he didn''t even think about it because he was sure it will be failed as long as that guy was still in his optimal condition. The Soul Manifestation Realm was no joke, and it was too risky for Ace to try soul probe without absolute confidence and in this unknown territory.
He was even d that this man was taking him here, or he might trigger some trap, or far worse, he might''ve exposed if try to fight back.
At this moment, the flying sword suddenly took a sharp left turn, and Ace was startled when he found they were not going toward those vast gates.
But to his shock, he saw ahead was a transparent silver barrier, and behind that barrier were run-down ancient-looking buildings all over a big mountain. It was like a mountain city.
Even a shocking scene yed out when they approached closer to this old mountain. This shock was bought by none other than the resident walking in old clothes on the stone roads, and those residents didn''t just include humans.
Ace felt like he was dreaming when he spotted dark brown skin tall demon walking with a human, and they were talking with smiles on their faces. This wasn''t the end of it; there was another tall blue humanoid person with small purple bat wings and an arrow tail on his back standing in front of a shop.
''A-a devil!'' Ace instantly identified that devil with his hard to ignored racial features.
There were also three different humans walking with retro hair colors, and they were most likely hunters.
Ace really felt like he was in a dream as he watched those different races of people mingling with each other instead of fighting. With his keen sight, he also noticed that everyone was wearing white color robes, and they were all rather skinny.
The man on the flying sword never expected that the ''idiot'' he was carrying could see everything as he started to descend toward therge mountain gates.
There were two white-d humans standing guard with spears in their hands, and their expressions were lethargic until they saw the iing blue streak.
They were like moues who had encountered a cat and quickly straight their backs with pale expressions and didn''t dare to move a muscle like they were stone statues guarding the gates.
The blue streak finally slowed down a few meters apart from the mountain gates, revealing the handsome man.
Those two guards were rmed when they saw the robes of this person and quickly kneeled down and yelled in unison.
"We greet Lord Immortal!"
''Immortal?'' Ace was amused by this greeting, but he was startled when he felt the Qi wrapped around his wrist loosen, and the next moment, it vanished, and he fell from over ten meters on the stone ground.
If he was really mortal, he might''ve ended up breaking a bone or getting terribly injured, which could only mean the guy on the sword didn''t care about his life at all, and he was probably bound by some powerful rules which were stopping him from taking any lethal action against him. Or he was simply too proud to deal with an ant.
Whichever the case was, Ace was happy for the ride, and that guy will definitely find in the future just who the real idiot was.
So, Ace didn''t use anything and fell with a nk expression andnded t on the stone ground. The guy on the sword merely nced at him before moving his head away toward the guards, who were bewildered by this sudden scene.
He coldly asked with a piercing gaze, "Who let this idiot out?"
Those two guards started to tremble whiles sweating buckets.
"W-we don''t¡" but before one of them could reply, a mountain-like aura locked on them.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"You still dare to y dumb!?" the guy on the sword roared in anger.
Since he can''t vent on that idiot because of hisck of expression, he''ll vent on those two who made him take such a tiring trip just to fetch an idiot back.
"Not only was he ''bathing'' in the crystal river, but he was there with a rotten nk. Furthermore, he''s wearing ''ck,'' which is a forbidden dress code outside the Sun and Moon Sword Union. Get your mountain lord here. I''ll see who dares to weave these clothes!"
On the ground, Ace was astonished by this name, ''Sun and Moon Sword Union?''
Chapter 668 Sun And Moon Sword Union! (2)
Those guards'' faces were extremely ashen as they finally noticed the t face lying, ck robe ''idiot.'' Realization dawned upon them, and they felt like skinning that guy alive.
"I''ll go and fetch the mountain lord!" One of the guards with a light beard quickly replied and turned around.
However, he was stopped before he could even start running toward the mountaintop.
"You''ll take too much time, and I don''t have that. Just handle this idiot and punish him ording to the union''s rules." Done stating, the sword under his feet shimmered in blue sheen before he turned into a blue streak and vanished toward the mountain top.
Those two guards felt like they were given a new lease on life and inhaled and exhaled sharply to calm themselves.
But the very next moment, malicious rage surfaced in their eyes as they both turned toward Ace in unison. They were indignant, and they nearly brushed with death, and all of this was because of this unknown fellow.
One of them hurriedly approached him, and instead of picking him up, he threw a vicious kick on the side of his stomach.
"You little shit! How dare you scheme against us!" The other one angrily barked as he joined in, and he was even more excessive and kicked right on Ace''s head.
They beat him while cursing and were so angry that they didn''t even notice theck of response from him until they kicked him three or four times.
"He probably lost consciousness when he was thrown down by Lord Immortal. Let''s just throw him in prison and wait for the mountain lord''s order. I''m pretty sure he''ll be venting on him soon." The small eyes guard scoffed coldly.
The guard with a light beard nodded, but his expression turned grim, "But we need to make him regain consciousness first. If he died, we won''t be able to live as well. That immortal probably wanted to wash his hands from this death as well." He said in an extremely tiny tone.
The other guard''s face changed as he was spooked, "You didn''t use your full strength to kick him, right?" He asked in a low voice.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Do you think I''m an idiot?" The other retorted.
Although they both were angry, they didn''t dare to murder anyone even because the punishment was simply too harsh, and they knew for a fact that they couldn''t be able to hide it no matter what.
The Union was not a ce where anyone could do as they pleased, and rules were followed by everyone, even ''Immortals.''
The punishment for killing someone without any proper trial was getting killed after that person and in the cruelest way possible.
Although those Immortals were not punished in the same manner as long as they didn''t kill a fellow immortal, they would still punish for killing a mortal.
After calming down, they picked up Ace by his armpits and dragged him through the mountain gates. They were going toward arge building which was the guard post.
After entering the building, the guard with a beard said to the other, "I''ll report it to Leader. You go and lock him up, and don''t forget to get rid of his ck clothes."
The guards, with small eyes, nodded before they dragged Ace toward a stone staircase and then dragged him down.
However, right when he entered the stairway, the guard felt like his mind jumbled, and almost instantly, his eyes went nk, and he started to fall down.
But he was gripped by Ace, who was now standing as if nothing had happened, and he had this cold grin on his face as he looked at the unconscious guard.
"Thank you for the memories and your face." He said in a whispering voice before lightning shed over the small eyes guard. The next moment Ace''s face started to change again and soon turned into the small eyes guard.
He had already annexed both guards'' memories while they were busy hitting him. They were both mortals, and their memories were simply a drop in front of memories Ace had absorbed, while their kicks were like features to him.
Ace was just waiting for that guy on the sword to leave, and now he was fish in water.
But first, he had to make sure to arrange another ''idiot.'' So no one will be able to tell the difference.
The only relief was these two didn''t even bother to look at his face, which was covered with his hood when he was dropped from the sky. So, the other one didn''t know his face, and this guy will no longer be able to tell anyone the truth either.
ck lighting suddenly shed in Ace''s hand, and he carefully controlled it to make the guard a vegetable by frying his brain. The next moment, the same lighting started to char his face and then mingle it enough that even his mother won''t recognize him anymore.
Ace then just fed him a lowest-grade healing pill which made him heal, and an idiot was ready to go. What was left were his clothes, Ace''s robes started to change as they now appeared the same as the guard, and he had plenty of ck clothes, so it was even more easily done.
After Ace made sure everything was perfect, he then dragged the ''idiot'' and threw him inside an empty cell and locked the door.
He finally sighed in relief after he was out of the woods. But his expressions were no longer peaceful but gloomy.
Because he got very basic information about this Sun and Moon Sword Union from these two mortal humans, but just this much information was enough to make Ace extremely cautious of this ce.
First, the Immortals were actually Cultivators, and only these mortals called them as such, and those cultivators didn''t bother to exin either.
Second, anything outside those gigantic gates Ace saw whileing here was known as ''Mortal Domain. Those gates were known as ''Sun and Moon Ascension Gate.''
Third, there seemed to be no racism in this ce, and the environment here was entirely harmonized between many races. But still, those races that were superior traits received special treatment as long as they used those traits for the greater good of the Union.
Thest and most important piece of information Ace found was the rules of the Union were absolute. In the history of the Union, there hadn''t been any incident where someone got away after breaking any of the Union''s rules.
They seemed to have eyes at every corner of the union, which wasn''t good news for Ace at all!
Chapter 669 You Were So Schemy!
Ace''s new disguise''s name was Adolph, and he was part of the guard force of this servant mountain which was usually called Servant Mountain City.
As the name suggests, the Servant Mountain City was a specific city for only Servant Rank members of the Sun and Moon Sword Union.
The Mortal Domain followed a specialw of the Union, and people were divided into four ranks. The lowest rank was Union Servant, then Union Citizen, Union Officer, and Finally, Official Union Member.
The people of the servant rank wore white color clothes, and they did odd jobs in Mortal Domains issued by citizens and earned Union Merits by doing those jobs.
The Union Merits were the currency of the Union, and they can be used in various ways. One of the mostmon and important uses of Union Merits was it could evaluate someone''s status rank in the Union.
A Union Servant can be a Union Citizen as long as he has enough merits.
However, it was easier said than done since there were seldom jobs for the servants and since those union citizens would do their own tasks instead of paying a servant Union Merits from their own pockets.
That''s why the Servant Mountain City was mostly filled, and those servants were workless. Moreover, they had to hunt for food in the forest at the back of the mountain, which was filled with low-level demonic beasts, and these mortals put their lives on the line just to hunt one.
However, Ace had nothing to do with any of it as he was nning to head toward the ''Official Mountain City,'' which was the city furthest away from the servant mountain and closest to the Sun and Moon Ascension Gates.
The Official Mountain City was also the residential area of the Official Union Member. As for why this was Ace''s destination, it was because the Official Union Members were eligible to be ''immortals,'' meaning they were given permission to cultivate!
Not only that, but they even had the chance to ascend the Ascension Stairways behind the Sun and Moon Ascension Gates and join the holynd of the Union in the clouds.
At least, this was what Adolph and every person living in the mortal domain thought.
But Ace knew it was nothing but a mirage put by the cultivators of the union to control these mortals and make them take care of the mountains for them. Or they were simply doing it to nurture true experts through hardship.
Whichever the case was, Ace wasn''t least interested, and he only wanted to get out of this ce as soon as possible, and the only way was to infiltrate the actual core area of the union and then find a way outside this ce.
Because ording to Adolph''s memories, the entire mortal domain was surrounded by the crystalke, and behind that crystalke was nothingness that Ace saw himself.
These people believed the world was only limited to the mortal domain, and if they wanted to go future going toward the clouds was the only way.
They were all forbidden to approach the crystalke, and it was punished by hundred thorny whips.
That''s why the man on the flying sword didn''t bother to do anything to Ace, as he knew he wouldn''t be able to live with this punishment, and it will also refresh the union''s control over their lives. They will think a hundred times over before breaking any rules.
''Aren''t they just ying Heaven?'' Ace couldn''t but snickered in disdain as, for some reason, he felt urged to teach them all a lesson just thinking about it.
Nevertheless, he didn''t go ahead of himself. The fate map was still dyed in red, which means this entire ce was built over a formation like the imperial domain.
He needed to be absolutely careful not to draw attention to himself while doing his best to get out of there.
''They won''t pay attention to one little ant, right? I can understand about that crystalke, but keeping an eye over every living being present in the mortal domain? I don''t believe it. But just in case, I need to experiment.'' He thought grimly before he appeared in the main building from the prison cells.
The light-beard guard, his name was Dous, appeared again as he was still fuming about what happened just a few minutes ago. He quickly asked coldly, seeing Adolph walking over, "Do you take care of it?"
Adolph smiled coldly, "I locked him in the cell with those nasty insects. He''ll die anyway when the punishment starts. This will be our little payback."
Dous''s eyes instantly lit up, and heughed coldly, "Very good. That bastard should die the cruelest way possible. How dare he almost drag us down with him."
Adolph suddenly came closed and gravely said in a whispering voice, "Brother Dous, although that immortal disdained dealing with us. What about the mountain lord? That fellow is always petty, and he won''t let us off after he gets disciplined by the immortal. He will seek us and make our lives miserable. He might even use his authority to call a trial against us!"
Dous''s gloating expression instantly wrapped, turning pale. He quickly said, "Then what should we do?"
Adolph seemed to think about something before he gravely said, "How about we go back to the mountain forest and volunteer to join the hunting squad? As long as he wasn''t able to find us, how could he take revenge on us?
"Then all he can do is vent on that little shit, and I''m pretty sure he won''t even know our faces. As long as we stay low in the hunting squad, we''ll be able to escape this cmity!"
Dous looked at Adolph speechlessly as he couldn''t help but click his tongue, "Brother Adolph, I never thought you were so Schemy!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Adolph''s lips curled up slightly, "It''s nothing. Then are you with me?"
Dous said matter-of-factly, "Of course, let''s quickly resign from our posts and report back to the mountain. Even that immortal won''t be able to find any fault with us anymore!"
With that, the two of them quickly left, but unbeknownst to Dous, he was going to be Ace''s experiment subject!
Chapter 670 Came From The Ten Continents!
Leaving behind their old posts, both guards quickly headed toward the back of the mountain.
The Hunting Squad was an open squad for any volunteer, but it was also the most dangerous squad to enter as well because of the demonic beast residing in the forest.
The death toll of the hunting squad was quite high. Humans seldom joined this squad because their physiques were not as robust as Demons or Devils, nor they had the innate ability to use the basic element Qi without even cultivating like the hunters.
Still, the hunting squad was quite lucrative because there was an ample amount of food here, and that''s why those daring souls still joined them.
Today was no different as there was a queue in front of a stone desk right in the open, and a blue skin demon was dismissively looking at those in the queue. After taking a single nce at someone, he would utter, ''Squad #4, Squad #5, or Squad #6.
Dous and Adolph joined the queue as they were holding their spears which were actually the property of the guard unit. But as long as they weren''t found, no one would care about two rusty spears.
Furthermore, in Dous''s mind, they were escaping the Mountain Lord''s detection, so they needed to live in the forest for some time, so they needed this weapon no matter what.
Soon, it was Dous and Adolph''s turn. The demon gave those two only humans holding spears and standing straight. His lips curled up slightly for the first time, "You both, Squad #2."
Ace''s eyes narrowed slightly as he felt malice from this demon. He was too familiar with the way demons do things. Still, this demon was only a mortal, so he didn''t need to worry about it.
All he wanted to do was to check if his theory was right or not before he would bounce from this ce without anyone noticing a thing.
This forest was the perfect face for him to go entirely since getting killed in that ce was a regr thing, and no one would investigate the life of nobody.
Besides, if the union''s rules were absolute, then why did this demon have ill intentions toward them?
Ace was looking forward to it!
---
At this moment, inside a bright hall filled with the smell of nature and decorated with exquisite jade and woodwork.
The blue robes man on the flying sword entered as his arrogance waspletely gone, and he appeared highly respectful as he headed toward the old man with long snowy hair and a long beard.
The old man was dressed in the same manner as the young man in blue. The only difference was the purple color, while the sun crest was also the same. He was sitting cross-legged with his eyes close on of prying mat like a peaceful ancient status.
The blue robes young man bowed his head and said respectfully, "Eighth Elder, I''m here to conclude my report about the disturbance in the crystalke. It was some mentally ill human youth who entered theke. And it has been taken care of."
The old man''s eyes trembled slightly before he opened them as gray pupils were revealed, filled with vicissitude and wisdom. He emotionlessly uttered in his husky voice, "Bring that human here."
The young man was shocked since he never expected this response at all because he knew no mortal was allowed in this ce unless they could ascend those stairs. He wanted to ask, but when he nced up, he saw the elder had already closed his eyes, so he swallowed his words.
"As youmand." With another bow, he quickly left the hall.
He knew that Mountain Lord might not spare that boy out of rage, and he chided him to achieve exactly this, but now he got his new orders. He was in a hurry to go and could only hope that boy was still alive.
However, just as the young man was about to take out his flying sword, Eighth Elder''s voice suddenly rang in his head, which startled him.
"Don''t react. Just listen carefully. I want you to kill that boy and only bring his corpse. Don''t get discovered, or you''ll be dead!"
His entire body shuddered slightly as he could feel the killing intent hidden behind that voice. He was barely able to control his emotions before he took out the flying sword and flew away with an ashen expression as if he was making a very hard decision.
After that young man left, a three-meter-tall burly figure appeared right beside the Eighth Elder. He was wearing a golden robe while the sun crest waspletely ck, and there was a golden sword right in the middle of this ck sun, and his face was covered behind a ck mask.
Eighth Elder huskily asked without opening his eyes as he already knew who could appear bedside him without getting noticed, "Sun Lord, did this matter really worth breaking our old tradition?"
Sun Lord''s hands were wrapped behind his back as he replied with a chuck, "Hah, Old Eight, you''re just afraid of that little boy inflicting harm to the human race if something strange was discovered. Will you feel any better if I promise not to target the human race?"
Eighth Elder still didn''t open his eyes and replied coolly, "Sun Lord, your imagination is still as rich as ever. Besides, in the Union, we followed the rules, and if someone breaks the rule, whether it is my human race or your devil race, they will be punished equally. Even the Sun Lord can''t change that."
"Hahahahah¡." Sun Lord suddenly burst into devilishughter when he heard this reply as a terrifying aura descended on the entire hall turning the harmonized environment into fright.
However, the Eighth Elder remained unmoved,pletely unbothered by Sun Lord''s wantonughter before it came to an abrupt halt as the freezing aura vanished with it.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Old Eight, oh Old Eight, you are still as dismissive as ever, and you only care about rules. Let me tell you something interesting. I think that boy came from the ten continents!" Sun Lord''s voice was extremely gentle, but there was a hint of madness in his voice and infinite hatred before he vanished from the hall, just like he appeared.
Eighth Elder finally opened his eyes as they were now filled with worry and terror!
Chapter 671 Why Only Humans?
Adolph and Dous could be seen walking in a thick forest behind the group of eight others. Furthermore, the leader of this squad was non-other than the same demon who appointed them in Squad #2.
There were five demons, two devils, one hunter, and two humans in this squad, and except for the two humans, Dous and Adolph, the others could be said to be a league above them.
Especially the red hair hunter scout who was quite proficient in pathfinding and he was using a bow and arrows.
As for the demons, they were all holding long spears while the purple-wing devils were carrying dual long swords. This left Adolph and Dous, who were too fragile inparison.
"Brother Adolph, it seemed your decision to join them was right. With these guys around, we''ll be safe in this beast forest." Dous happily whispered to Adolph.
"It seemed to be the case." Adolph nodded in agreement.
But inwardly, Ace was not as optimistic as Dous because he could sense far more than a mortal. Looking at the demons and devil following the hunter''s lead, his lips curled up into a cold smile.
Just like that, the night arrived, and the group didn''t encounter any danger or prey the entire noon. So, the demon leader named Johnnie ordered to set the camp in the open while the devils started to get busy setting up the perimeters. At the same time, the humans were ordered to collect firewood.
"I never thought this ce was so peaceful. All those rumors about this ce being filled with demonic beasts werepletely baseless. I even suspect those demons and devils deliberately spread them to hoard all the benefits." Dous articted with Adolph while collecting the firewood.
"Maybe," Acemented dismissively.
The hunting squads were filled with mostly demons and devils because of their superior physical trials, and that''s why the food was controlled by them as well. They sold their hunt to the market for othersmodities.
''Rustle¡''
At this moment, rustling sounds were suddenly heard from the woods, drawing Dous''s attention while Ace merely nced there without any hint of surprise.
"Who''s there?" yelled Dous as he threw the woods on the ground and pointed the spear in the sound''s direction with vignce.
''Rustle¡ rustle¡''
More sounds started to ring from all directions.
"We are surrounded." Ace coolly stated.
Dous''s face turned ashen when he heard it and blurted, "Let''s yell for help tighter. We are not far from the campsite. They will be able to hear us!"
Ace shook his head and nonchntly uttered, "I don''t think it''s possible, Brother Dous, because we are surrounded by none other than our squad members."
"What?!" Dous eximed as he looked toward Adolph in disbelief.
Ace ignored him and looked at the rustling sound direction and said with a cold smile, "Why don''t youe out and exin it to mypanion here, Leader Johnnie?"
Just as Adolph''s voice trailed off, Johnnie''s guffawed voice rang as all the rustling sounds suddenly vanished, and only his strange heavy voice was left in the silent vicinity.
Dous was bbergasted since it confirmed Adolph''s previous words. But he soonughed dryly as he said, "Leader Johnnie, please don''t scare us like this." He was relieved that they were not surrounded by demonic beasts.
"Good, very good. You are indeed somewhat special." Johnnie walked out from the woods while the other seven members of the group followed behind.
Ace looked at all of them and asked with a smile, "So, you lure us here in this barren vicinity just to scare us?"
Johnnie looked at Adolph''s smiling face and couldn''t help but feel something was not right, but it was just a feeling, so he ignored it as he had done this too many times, and this time won''t be any different.
He replied mockingly, "When did you find out? If you knew I was luring you here, why didn''t you do anything?"
"What are you guys talking about?" Dous was bewildered as he started to have a very bad proposition.
Ace answered nonchntly, "I found from the moment you have us instated in your squad as to why you lure us here. I got the answer a long time ago. I just want to make sure you won''tmit such a heinous act again."
"What did you say? Ahahaha, are you an idiot¡" the other demon suddenlyughed as he mocked, but his voice cut off, and the very next moment.
''Boommm.''
His entire body suddenly exploded, and all the other reaming seven were too shocked to care about the bloody gore on them. Dous''s eyes almost popped out of his eye sockets as if he was in a dream.
"Ambush!" Johnnie''s face was ashen as he roared.
Everyone snapped out of their stupor, and they quickly took stances with horrid expressions on their faces. This was their first time encountering such a situation. From start to finish, they never even suspect that it was the doing of those two humans.
At this time, Ace spoke again as he looked at them with an icy gaze, "Leader Johnnie, didn''t you enjoy hunting humans and feel thrilled when they begged you to spare them? Not to mention you enjoy the taste of human flesh above anything else.
"That''s why you only gather your squad whenever a humanes to register in the hunting squads. I could''ve ignored you killing them, but I don''t like anything else you do, especially the part about tormenting them and then eating them. Tell me, why only humans?"
Johnnie''s heart trembled as he abruptly turned toward Adolph''s direction, and so did everyone else involved with him.
"H-how do¡" But before Johnnie could finish.
"Bang¡ bang¡ bang¡"
Six more continuous explosions rang in the vicinity, and only Johnnie was left on this spot, standing there like a statue as he was now covered in hispanions'' flesh and gore.
But his eyes were now filled with terror as he looked at the human who was still smiling, and he felt he was too familiar with this smile because he used to smile this way whenever he was on a hunt for humans.
He never thought he would dread this smile so much that he wanted to wet himself right there and then. He always thought humans were inferior and only good for their food, but now he felt he was meeting a human first time.
"Since killing helpless humans have no consequences, then I''m sure killing you guys won''t be any different." Ace nonchntly said before Johnnie exploded right then and there, just like hispanions.
Ace had long seen their memories, and he could''ve just escaped after confirming his conjecture, but when he saw their conduct against humans, he wanted to kill them in the same way they did with all those helpless humans.
Although he had killed many before, and many might fall in his hands in the future, he never enjoyed it, nor was he proud of it. He only enjoys theft and the process of it.
"Y-y¡" Dous was about to go mad when his eyes went nk.
''Art of Mind Stealing: Bronze Thievish Hand! Ace''s pupils suddenly lit in bronze color before they returned to normal within a moment.
Thereby, Dous, who was standing nkly, suddenly fell face-first on the ground.
Ace coldly thought while looking at Dous, ''I guess this will do for now. He won''t remember a thing from the point we stopped for rest.''
Stealing the memory of a mortal was child''s y for Ace after he got the hang of the Art of Mind Stealing the first realm, Bronze Thievish Hand. Now Dous will fill that small missing gap in his memories himself after he wakes up and finds himself alone.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
After Ace was done, he started to fade like an illusion, leaving nothing but a bloody mess behind!
Chapter 672 In One Month…
The Royal Lands of the Azure Wind Continued were famous for faint azure wind drifting there all year long. No one knows where this wind came from, but it wasn''t harmful. On the contrary, it was rich in the wind element.
Five Ancient Sects were rulers of the Royal Lands, and the territories were divided into the east; the Soul me Sect, west; the Beast Tamer Sect, south; the Dark Nightmare Sect, north; the Yin Flower Sect and in the center was the Azure Wind Mountain Sect.
Each sect handles its own territories without interfering with each other''s business. These territories were filled with low-level sects of humans, which were directly under the Ancient Sects'' jurisdiction.
Normally the Ancient Sects were aloof and seldom interfered with these low-level sects'' business, and they recruited disciples every three years from all over the royalnds. This was the only time when the entire royalnds were stirred.
However, for the past few years, the peaceful environment of the royalnds hadpletely vanished when a sudden announcement was made about mass recruitment in the five ancient sects, which would be held every month without any ending period!
How could those small sects miss such a chance to have their sect disciples join the ranks of an ancient sect? Especially those arrogant and ambitious youths who didn''t think of themselves any less than those geniuses of the Ancient Sects.
This made the entire royalnds lively, but another piece of news started to spread just three months ago. It was the news of a thief who betrayed humanity and was the enemy of all living beings, and all races were going to coborate to get rid of him.
Furthermore, that thief might appear in the azure wind continent to save his kin, who was captured by the Grand Elder of Azure Wind Mountain Sect himself.
No one knows who spread this news or if it was true or not, but it instantly spread like wildfire and became a very popr topic among the masses.
However, when a demon was spotted entering the five sects, followed by devils, it became quite apparent that it might not be just a piece of baseless news after all.
This was the first time for almost all humans to see the top two races of the world gathering in their continent, and many became curious about why a thief would get so much attention from those two races.
At this moment, in the territory of Dark Nightmare Sect, within a small sect city.
A person with long dreadlocks filled with dirt, as his face was hiding behind those dirty dreadlocks, this bare bonny torso was filled with all kinds of wound marks and soil, and barely covered lower extremity with a short rag. There was an empty old bronze bowl covered with dust resting beside him. He looked like a schnorrer.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
He was sitting in an old dark alley that seemed quite secluded, and if not for his steady breathing, someone might consider him a dead body that was dumped there by someone.
At this moment, a small silhouette suddenly appeared in the only narrow entrance of this alley. As it walked toward the beggar, a short skinny boy with a paleplexion and big bright gray eyes around the age between ten and twelve came into view.
He was wearing rundown clothes, but they were clean, and he was holding a small loaf of bread in his hand as he walked toward the beggar with an eager look in his lively eyes.
The beggar seemed to bepletely oblivious to his arrival as he didn''t move, and only breathing could be there.
The boy, without hesitation, stopped a foot away from the beggar and fell onto his knees. With a serious expression, he put the loaf of bread into the empty bronze bowl, but there was a hint of reluctance in his eyes as he stole a nce at that bread.
Still, he didn''t take it back despite wanting to and said in his childish voice, "Old Master, thank you for saving me the other day. I''m here to repay you, and can you please teach me how to fight?
"I also want to fight back, just like what you did with those bullies, and I didn''t want to suffer again. I want to protect my mother the most, so please teach me. I won''t make you teach me for free, and I''ll pay you with a loaf of bread daily!"
His eyes were full of resolution as he looked at the old beggar with eagerness and worry.
If anyone heard his words, they would say he had gone crazy since he was asking a beggar to teach him how to fight instead of going to the sect that rules this city.
However, the boy knew that this beggar was not ordinary at all as just the other day, he was dragged into this barren corner of the city and was about to get robbed of his hard earn money by some street bullies. Still, he was saved by this old beggar who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and beat those bullies ck and blue without getting hurt at all.
The boy was fascinated by the old beggar''s moves and his hidden prowess, but he was too afraid of getting robbed and wanted to buy medicine for his ill mother, so he ran away without looking back.
However, after he thought it over the entire night, he finally decided to ask the beggar to teach him since he couldn''t leave his mother alone in this ce. She was his only family, and he worked very hard to support her.
Even this loaf of bread was quite a steep price for him to pay since he earned only enough to buy all those expensive medicines, and with leftovers, he bought these cheap loaves of bread and ate one loaf of bread in three portions a day while gave his mother full bread three times.
If he could, he might think of joining a sect, but he didn''t have the physique or skills to join any sect. The requirement was simply too high. So, he was not delusional enough to still try.
That''s why he was here to seek this beggar''s help and learn some self-preserving skills, so he didn''t have to avoid those bullies. He learned his lesson the other day.
The beggar''s face was covered under those dirty dreadlocks as silence regained the entire alley after the boy spoke.
The boy started to be agitated when no reply was given by the beggar, and he clenched his teeth and put in another offer, "I can even let you live in my house!"
Although it was quite dangerous, he had no other choice, and he believed his eyes more, and he knew this beggar was not a bad person after he was saved by him. That''s why he invited him to live in his small house.
Because it was still quite safe to have such an expert living in his home, this way, his mother would be safe, and he won''t have to worry about her all day whenever he left home.
However, still, no reply was given, and the boy lost hope since he had nothing more to offer, and he didn''t want to anger the beggar. He was grateful he saved him, and he was just trying his luck anyway.
So, he stood up, leaving the loaf of bread in the bronze bowl, and bowed his head, "Again, thank you for saving me." He then turned around to leave.
However, when he was at the edge of the alleyway, he heard a husky voice from behind.
"In one month, if you are able to steal everything from that gang, I''ll teach you!"
The boy was startled and frowned as he thought he had heard wrong. When he turned around to ask again, the beggar had surprisingly vanished from his spot.
But the bronze bowl was still there. However, the loaf of bread has vanished from his bronze bowl, and an eye-catching golden color book has reced it.
The boy was astonished as his attention was drawn by that book, but he quickly regained his focus and looked at the empty spot where the beggar was sitting motionlessly a moment ago.
He suddenly thought, ''Could it be he was one of those cultivators?''
His heart raced as he looked at that book in the bronze bowl. But he didn''t go there and pick it up instantly out of caution. Although he was sure that the old beggar wouldn''t harm him, everything involved in cultivation couldn''t be ordinary.
So, he found a broken tree branch first before he approached the bronze bowl and tried to touch the bowl and the golden book with the tree branch. After nothing happened, he ground his teeth and moved his hand to pick up the book.
But when his fingertip touched the cold book cover, he instantly retracted it and looked around vigntly. After confirming nothing had happened, a massive sigh escaped his mouth, and he finally picked the book up.
With ecstasy, he looked at the golden book and saw a few silver words on the book cover.
''Achromatic Theft Cultivation Art (Nine Soul Gates Manual)!''
Chapter 673 The Sun And Moon Ascension Gates (1)
Over a hundred miles away from the Servant Mountain City was the Official Mountain which was just over ten miles away from the Sun and Moon Ascension Gates.
Inparison to the Servant Mountain City, the Official Mountain City was like heaven as this ce was filled with liveliness and joy. Furthermore, the people who live in the Official Mountain City were given permission to cultivate up to the Peak of Qi Gates Realm. Moreover, they were all provided with nine gate manual!
However, despite that, only ten percent among were able to ascend the ascension stairway.
The Sun and Moon Ascension Gates open every month, and anyone under the age of thirty can try to ascend the ascension stairway. There was no limit to tries as long as they were Official Union Members and could pay 100 Union Merits with every try.
The official members earn merits by cultivating Qi herbs, mining Qi ores, or Qi stones from the ''mortal domain.'' This ce was rich with all kinds of lodes and Qi soil, and all of it was under the control of the Union!
Although there were no major conflicts among the races here, thepetition couldn''t be avoided, especially when races like Devil, Demon, Hunter, Elves, and such were blessed with superior connate abilities.
Thereby, the arrogance of being superior couldn''t be avoided, and there was a secret ranking among races in the Union that wasn''t official. Still, everyone secretly agreed with it, and Union didn''t stop them either.
This ranking was made ording to the number of official members in the official mountain city as well as who controls thergest resources among the races.
Devils, demons, and hunters were still in the top three. However, humans'' rank was much different than the ten continents. They were ranked ninth and fourth ce was held by the elves!
If not for their talent in cultivation, they would''ve been deadst in this unofficial ranking.
Today happened to be the day when the Sun and Moon Ascension Gates would be opened, and like usual, thousands of youths from different races were gathered outside the colossal gates.
These youths were gathered together with their races, creating differentrge groups, and these groups upied different areas outside the gates.
But the areas they upied were different in their numbers like the devils were standing at the very front with over three thousand winged devils'' youths. At the same time, demons were right behind them, with slightly fewer demons than them.
There were naturally a group of human youths which was only numbered 103.
Furthermore, this group was gathering behind two humans. One was a tall, handsome young man with a slim physique and long ck hair. He was d in a blue silk robe and gave off a solemn aura.
While the other was a dainty girl in a flowery pink dress with big bright eyes, and she had some resemnce with that handsome young man since they were both siblings.
As for why these two were at the very front, it was because they belonged to the As Family of the Human Race, which was the number one family among the humans present in the Official Mountain City.
But the real reason why the As family holds such status is that they held the honor of the household of the first human to ever became an official member as well as ascend the Ascension Stairway.
Every human in the mortal domain respects the As family.
That''s why these two siblings became the leaders of this human entourage despite the fact that it was their third try on the ascension stairway. However, this wasn''t something humiliating since only genius among geniuses could ascend the ession stairways on the first try. Even the top three races agree with this fact.
If someone was able to ascend the stairway in their first ten tires, they already consider genius among the mortal domain.
Within this human entourage, at the very end, was standing a tall young man who was even more handsome than the youth from the As family. However, there were many scars on his handsome face which made him stand out less.
He was wearing gray robes, and his long white hair and silvery eyes gave him a dreamy look while his eyes were sharp and astute. He has this inexpressible charm emitting from his person, which makes anyone feel closer to him.
This was naturally Ace, who had appeared here with his own face to take this test. It has been a long time since Ace wasn''t wearing his mask in public and using some disguise.
The reason for his discarding the mask was that he was going to enter the union''s true core area. He was quite sure they had high-level formations that could easily see through his mask especially when the ten-mile area around the ascension stairway was dyed ck in the fate map.
That''s why he didn''t dare to approach this ce while wearing his thousand-face mask, or he would be in huge trouble if, by any chance, those union guys found him.
However, he still has altered some of his unique facial features, like he has used a special ink to make his ck hair white. At the same time, his eye color was the result of another special rare grade-6 herb called eye charmer water lily which could turn the eye color into anything the consumer desire for one year. This was its only function.
But Ace couldn''t do anything about that natural charm of his, and despite creating scars on his face, many girls were ncing in his direction with a faint blush on their faces, and he could only smile wryly.
Still, since he was not using any formation or skill, he would not fall under the detection of anti-disguise formations. He had already tried such formation on himself beforeing here.
As for his cultivation, he knew better than anyone. No one will be able to tell, and he would only appear mortal unless he showed his cultivation himself.
Right now, he was emitting faint undtion of a peak Nine Qi Gate Realm, which could only be sensed by the foundation realm cultivator or higher.
This method was something unique to Ace as he recently discovered it when he was still wandering in the endless sea.
Since no one can sense his real cultivation and they will be fooled by the mask fake cultivation, then what will happen if he himself shows the aura of a fake realm?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
But it was easier said than done. It took him some time to figure it out, but with the thousand-face mask as a foundation and he has other skills that were created to achieve such an effect.
So, in the end, he managed to learn how to create a fake cultivation aura up to thete-stage foundation-building realm.
If another cultivator used an aura masking skill, they will be discovered by higher-level cultivators. But Ace can''t because after he opened the hidden part of his cultivation technique, no one ever discovered his true cultivation, so no matter what others try, his cultivation would appear what he was showing it to be.
Lastly, Ace''s true motive was never to stay in the union but to find a way to leave it, and the moment he managed to infiltrate into the core area, he would start right away!
At this moment, a solemn ethereal voice rang, drawing everyone''s attention.
"Attention! The Sun and Moon Ascension Gates are about to open!"
Chapter 674 The Sun And Moon Ascension Gates (2)
"Attention! The Sun and Moon Ascension Gates are about to open!"
Everyone looked in the colossal gates'' direction in unison.
Ace was also observing the bronze gates with sun and moon symbols, but he was more interested in the golden and silver wyvern status standing at each side of these two gates.
Looking at those two statues, Ace''s eyes gleamed in a dark light as a strange golden symbol suddenly appeared deep within his pupils, and it appeared slightly revolving.
The golden wyvern was standing on the side of the sun symbol, while the silver wyvern was standing beside the gate with the moon symbol.
He was feeling strange undtions from those two statues, which was quitepelling, especially for those Qi gates realm youths, as some of them were looking at them with worship.
Unlike others, he could see very faint crimson and purple haze emitting from them.
''ording to some heraldry books, the Wyvern is a legendary beast of war, envy, pestilence, and strength. But they only appeared in symbols or statues like these two, and no one had ever seen a real one even the beasts in the beast continent worship them.
''It''s even possible that they should be in the same ss as Cyrus and from another heaven. As for those statuses, they are quite unique as a massive amount of Qi is released from both of them. The silver one emits gentle soul Qi, and the golden is emitting fiery martial Qi.
''Even with my Intermediate Thief''s Vision at an early level, I can only see those two-color Qi. Which could only mean they are at least Grade-7 treasures!'' A thievish glint shed past his eyes before vanishing.
Even if he wanted to steal those statues, he didn''t dare to because he knew the moment he did, he could forget about getting out of here in one piece. Besides, since those union guys dared to ce those two treasures on the entrance gates, they should be quite confident in protecting them.
Still, if they had ced two grade-7 treasures on the entrance gates, then just how rich were they exactly?
Ace quickly threw those dangerous thoughts outside his head as he knew he was not ready to raid a ce with the possibility of having a grade-8 protection treasure.
The ck color in the fate map was more than reason enough for him not to try anything foolish and only focused on finding a way to get out of here and head to the Azure Wind Continent!
This ce wasn''t going anywhere after all.
The solemn ethereal voice rang again, "I will repeat the three rules only time, so listen carefully. Even if you are no neer, make sure you get your facts straight.
"First, anyone under the age of thirty is eligible to ascend the ascension stairway. But if you are even a day older than thirty years, the moment you cross the gates, you will suffer a torturous death. So, leave now while you still can and save yourself the torture."
No one moved as they were well aware of this fact and waited solemnly for the voice to continue.
"Second, the ascension staircase has 1,500 steps and is divided into three levels which will test three aspects of you.
"The first level (1st Step to 500th Step) will test your strength!
"The second level (501st Step to 1000th Step) will test your willpower!
"The third and final level (1001st Step to 1500th step) will test your courage, strength, and willpower all together!
"The first two levels are not deadly, and you will be saved by the invigtors. However, the moment you step on the 1001st step, you will lose your chance to be saved as from that point on, it is either go forward or perish scenario.
"So, know your limit and don''t die unjustly. There are always more chances to return in the future and take the test again as long as you are alive.
"The third and final rule, attack on fellow participants or using any underhanded tactics or treasures are prohibited. If found, you will be detained, including your loved one, and executed in the execution tform of the mortal realm!"
Everyone was silent as they had grave expressions since they were repeatedly warned about this particr rule because it wasn''t a joke at all.
In the past many families, whether they were influential or run-of-the-mill, anyone was foolish enough to try underhanded tricks. They were instantly caught and then executed because of this exact rule.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
This made this trial fair for everyone, and no one dared to y dirty, no matter how much guts they had.
Ace''s lips curled up since he wasn''t worried in the least since he had spent a whole month in the Official Mountain City to prepare for this trial.
At this moment, the ground suddenly started to shake as something huge was moving, and it was none other than the two sun and moon ascension gates.
The gates moved inward; dense Qi suddenly rushed out, but no one seemed to bother by it as everyone''s shimmering eyes were affixed to the stone stairway that goes all the way into the clouds.
Although the stone staircase looked extremely ordinary, as if it was carved by an ordinary stonemason.
But everyone knew better than to belittle that ''ordinary'' stone staircase because if they did, the moment they took the first step, they would be in a world of pain.
''The Qi is as dense as the imperial demon domain.'' Ace''s expression became solemn as he looked at the long stairway and the clouds blocking the other side.
The solemn ethereal voice sounded snapped everyone from their stupor, "Now, take out your Official Member Identity Token and cross the gates. If your Union Merit Points are below 100, then you better scram, or you''ll be punished the moment you are discovered sneaking!"
Everyone quickly flipped their hands, and palm-size gray cubic tokens appeared in their hands. Some take them out from their pockets and start moving toward the ascension stairway.
Since the Official Members could use Qi, they naturally had lowest-grade storage rings avable for 100 union credit, but only some rich family scions could afford them.
Ace also took out the same gray token from his pocket and followed behind the human group.
His lips curled up slightly, ''I had spent an entire month to forge this little thing. It better be worth it!''
Chapter 675 What Are You Doing?
As those youths passed the gates one after another, the gray token in their hand shimmered for a moment before going dormant again.
With all the races ahead crossing, it was soon the humans'' turn, and the two members of the As family took the lead, and everyone else followed suit.
Ace, who was at the end of the group, calmly followed behind while holding his own gray token. As Ace walked by the two statuses, he felt a terrifying probing power wash over him.
But he didn''t panic and continued to walk forward as if he didn''t feel anything like those youths. Thereafter, the token in his hand suddenly shimmered garishly, and like others, it went dormant the next moment.
He had now walked to the other side of the gate, and his lips curled up in a content smile.
''Now, on to the stairs.'' Ace didn''t show any reaction like the others around him and walked toward the first stone step, which was over two hundred meters away from the entrance.
The devils, demons, and hunters were on the lead as some of their members were already stepped on the first stairstep. At the same time, some of them were still not ready and calming their nerves. Lastly, there were also some who were using wait and see approach.
As for the time limit, there was three days limit, so they weren''t worried about not having enough time.
The humans belonged to thetter group as they all watched those other races'' participants pave the way for them.
Although they knew it was meaningless since, in the end, their own abilities matter the most. But they still decided to wait. At least they wanted to see those powerful races using their abilities so that they could have a clear grasp of the situation.
Even those two from the As family didn''t take the lead on this one, as they were watching closely.
---
Unbeknownst to those participants, they were closely monitored by ten purple robe figures standing above the clouds right above them. They were all giving off a dignified feeling as they stood on flying swords with their hands behind their backs.
However, five of them had zing golden sun crests on their robes, while the other five had full silver moon crests just like the gates. Furthermore, the five with the moon crest were all women, while the sun crest bearer were males.
"Sigh¡ nothing new." A wizened face human with long white hair sighed ruefully as he looked down in a particr direction.
"Heh, what do you expect, Elder Joseph? The ascension stairway trial is always like this. Only those with courage and strength could pass it, not those who are too afraid even to take a challenge." A mature demoness with purplish glossy skin and small curvy horns remarked with a hint of scorn.
Elder Joseph, as a human, knew this demoness was referring to those youths who decided to wait and watch, and humans were included in them as well.
However, before he could retort, a short elderly figure with a long beard directly snapped at her, "Jayden, how about you mind your own business? It''s not like, your demon race has passed the test for three years. What are you so proud of your little ''goodies''?"
Jayden was startled at the end and didn''t understand what ''little goodies'' meant until it finally came to her as she instinctively nced at her small chest, and fury reced her bewildered expression.
"You little dwarf! You dare to spout a vile remark! Do you think I can''t do anything to you!" Jayden aura instantly rose as killing intent shed past her rageful eyes.
"It''s not like you can''t do anything, but you little slut don''t dare to do a thing. Come,e, little bitch let''s see if you have the courage to bite!" The little dwarf, unlike his elderly age, his mouth was quite vile, and he waspletely fearless as he spat curse after curse at Jayden.
This action made the other four females frown in disgust while Jayden''s eyes were bloodshot as she looked at the dwarf with full of murderous intent, wanting to chop him into millions of pieces.
But just as the dwarf said, she didn''t dare to attack and could only ground her teeth in hatred.
"Alright, both of you, stop." A gray-winged devil coldly nced at them, "Elder Jayden, please refrain from remaking on others. As for you, Old Willie, can you keep that vile tongue of yours in check? It''s uncouth for a man such as your status."
Willie''s eyes instantlynded on the devil, and he was about to snap back at him when Joseph ced his hand over Willie''s shoulder and stopped him.
Joseph knew his friend''s personality quite well, and he didn''t want to make trouble for him since he was just speaking up for him.
"Old Willie, let''s just watch. It''s not worth it." He shook his head.
"Fuck, I''ll spare those bitches for your sake." Willie huffed in exasperation.
He was not just speaking for the human race; his mountain dwarf race was also among those who were still standing behind.
The Mountain Dwarf Race was ranked seventh in the golden sky world, but here they were ranked tenth, and their poption was quite low.
But their personalities were quite straightforward, and they only looked at the world as ck and white and fearless of consequence. If it was anywhere else, those demons and devils won''t even bat an eye before killing them, but here they can''t do anything.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Look, that little human doll is still moving?" A tall, burly figure with a wolf face eximed at this moment.
His words drew everyone''s attention as they looked in the direction of humans, and they all saw a tall young man with white hair and a scar-filled face walking past the humans with a calm expression.
"How handsome. Despite his scars, he''s so attractive." A female devil with a buxom figuremented with a peculiar glint in her ck eyes.
Not only just the female devil but e other four women were also looking intently at the young man.
"Haha, goodd. If he manages to pass, I''ll ept him in my runic smith department." Willieughed in satisfaction.
The others rolled their eyes at him and didn''t pay attention as they just watched the white hair human advancing toward the stairstep.
Joseph''s eyes were shimmering with hope as he looked at the young human, ''There''s something special about him.''
Ace had no idea he had just drawn the attention of ten invigtors above the sky just by advancing toward the stairway. Even if he knew, he would still choose to advance because he was not afraid of grabbing attention after passing through the sun and moon ascension gates.
On the contrary, he was now hoping to draw a powerful figure''s attention since it was the easiest way to get crucial information about the union and how to exit it.
Soon, the other humans also saw noticed Ace walking forward instead of waiting behind the members of the As family.
"Hey, where are you going?" A burly human youth with a bald head asked Ace, and his voice finally drew the attention of the people in front.
Ace looked at the bald youth and coolly said, "Of course, I''m going there to pass the trial!"
Chapter 676 Climbing The Stairway
"Of course, I''m going there to pass the trial!"
Hearing Ace''s words, everyone was looking at him strangely. However, no one tried to stop him either. Many of them were taking this trial for the second or even tenth time, but they had never seen Ace before, which meant he was a neer.
asionally, someone like him would appear, didn''t know how high the sky is and how low the earth is. These arrogant guys thought themselves superior to others and charged right down the stairs, only to end up more miserable than anyone else.
However, this kind of arrogant participant only appeared in the top three races. No human has ever done that before, as they always wait around to watch until someone passes at least a hundred stairs before moving.
But this human was going ahead when the participants were still at the third step, so this drew quite the attention of the others races.
Furthermore, despite his scary appearance, everyone has a good impression of him, especially those demons and devils. But it was too vague and hidden that no one found it strange.
As Ace walked under the eyes of everyone, he was not worried at all since he knew what he was doing.
Just as he was about to pass the humans, the young man from the As family''s impassive voice rang, "You''re making a mistake."
Ace nced at the young man with a solemn expression. He could tell he had kind intentions behind those words. So, he politely replied before walking away, "We''ll find out soon, aren''t we?"
The dainty girl was looking at Ace with curiosity and a tingle of blush as she wanted to say something as well but couldn''t collect her courage since she was feeling shy in front of Ace.
The young man didn''t speak anymore and merely grunted before returning to silence and watched the white-haired young man walking toward the stairstep, and there wasn''t a hint of nervousness in his stature.
Some demons, devils, and hunters were also waiting around the staircase as only their most talented and confident youths had gone ahead.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
They didn''t block the iing human''s way since it was against the rules and only watched him with great amusement.
Ace was quite pleased with the union''s rules as no one got in his way, or it was quite a hassle if he had to deal with these guys. He looked at the five-hundred-meter-wide stairway and over a thousand participants already on the first three steps while only fifty of them were on the eighth, and four were on the ninth.
Some of them were sweating as they were having difficulty just moving their foot, but no one was using their Qi yet because it was just the first ten steps, and wasting Qi at the start was a grave mistake.
Ace also picked up his step, ced it on the first staircase without any hint of worry, and climbed the first stairstep. However, the moment he did, a strong pressure enveloped him.
''100 KG force?'' Ace was quite amused as this force was nothing to him, but when he thought how those participants were only Qi gates realm cultivators, it was enough to test their strength, especially when this force increased with every stairstep.
As for how much it increased, Ace took another step, and the pressure instantly increased by 10 KG, which was still nothing to him. Ace then took another step, and the force increased by another 10 KG.
''If this force increases by ten at every step until the five hundred steps, this makes it 5,090 KG force if I include the 100 KG force of the first step. How vicious only those with powerful physiques or arge amount of Qi could pass through this hurdle while reaming in the Qi gates realm.'' Ace couldn''t help but look at those demons and devils about to enter the tenth stairstep.
In his opinion, this test was not fair toward races with weak bodies like humans unless they increased the cultivation realm cap to foundation building. The passing rate would be extremely pitiful for races like humans.
Still, it wasn''t his ce toment on it as there was no fairness in this world, and the union seemed only to want the best of the best from every race.
Ace then took the fourth and fifth steps as the force increased by ten kilograms with every step.
Although it was just walking on a normal staircase for Ace, for those spectators, he appeared extremely bizarre because even those demons and devils with powerful bodies were taking their time to take every step since just standing under that pressure would drain their stamina.
But Ace was ascending each step without even stopping for a second, like he was climbing a normal staircase. He was already stepped on the ninth step and was only a step behind the group at the very front.
"He''s using Qi to show off. What an idiot!" A handsome elf youth sneered disdainfully since, in his mind, Ace was using Qi to climb the staircase so fast.
Every participant had the same thought, and they sneered disdainfully since they knew he would be exhausted before he could reach the twentieth step.
Even those participants at the very front snickered in scorn when they saw Ace passing them. They weren''t worried at all.
Those humans, on the hand, were looking unkindly at Ace because his actions were implicating them as a whole. Still, they could do nothing but watch and wait for that guy to fail as quickly as possible to end this humiliation.
However, everyone''s disdainful expression started to change when Ace stepped past the twentieth stairstep, and he was still expressionless, just like when he started climbing the staircase.
Their expression turned into bewilderment when he reached the fortieth step and still climbed without any hint of stopping.
Step by step, Ace climbed, leaving those behind dumbfounded as they were still on the fifteenth step.
When Ace climbed onto the hundredth step, they were no longer calm as they looked at Ace solemnly. But when he reached the 200th step, their face was somewhat pale.
At this moment, no one knew who said it, but this voice was like a thunderbolt in deadly silence, "I-is he cheating?"
The humans were also snapped out of their stupor as their expressions turned nasty, and someone within their group retorted, "Do you guys think the immortals above would allow someone to cheat for so long? He''s a genius of our race, so stop spouting nonsense!"
Everyone nodded their head as they looked toward other races with cold expressions, and their attitude about Ace had turned upside down now. If they were feeling humiliated by his action before, now they were feeling pride as he was climbing the staircase so fast without breaking a sweat.
Even the youth from the As family couldn''t help but scoff, "They are just a bunch of losers. Let''s go; we can''t let that friend climb alone."
"Right, it must be lonely up there. Let''s keep himpany." A human boy scornfully remarked.
Those races'' faces turned nasty, but they didn''t have words to refute them. Even the top three races were silent. Some even think the trial this time might be easier, but when they saw their race''s geniuses were still only at the fiftieth step and struggling, they threw that thought out instantly.
At this moment, all the humans were moved and riled up as they instantly followed the As family, brother and sister. Ace''s climbing figure gave them hope and courage to think caution to the wind.
In the sky, those ten invigtors were also looking at Ace''s climbing figure solemnly.
Willie couldn''t help but exim when Ace stepped on 301st, and his pace didn''t decrease at all, "Is this guy really human?"
Despite his doubts, Joseph gave Willie a nasty look and retorted, "Do you leave your brain in your smithy? Of course, he''s a human!"
Even Joseph first thought that Ace wasn''t human and he was dreaming, but now that he knew it was not a dream at all and race finally gave birth to a prodigy after so many years.
A dark yellow-skinned demon beside the devil sneered, "Why are you guys reacting like this? He didn''t even enter the second level yet. So what if he had a strong physique? Only by having a strong soul could he pass the stairway."
Jayden quickly nodded her head in agreement and scoffed, "Don''t forget, in the past, our demon race also had a prodigy like him who passed the first level with pure physical strength but failed at the second level."
Joseph''s expression was clouded by he didn''t have words to refute even Willie didn''tment on this as their excitement died down!
Chapter 677 Life History Of ‘White’
Ace, without looking back, kept going up as the pressure on him increased, but it posed little challenge to him.
At this moment, he was already about to step onto the 500th step, and from the 501st step, level two would begin the test of willpower, which should be about the soul.
Ace suddenly stopped on the 500th step as he looked behind and saw the other participants were far behind. The furthest participant was only climbing on the 34th step, and it was a pale skin devil youth who was looking at him with bloodshot eyes.
Ace snickered softly before he turned around and took another step. The moment he stepped on the 501st step, Ace suddenly felt a faint soul force attacking his mind.
However, this soul force wasn''t even enough to hurt his skin, much less his mind, so he walked ahead without caring about the soul force. His speed neither increased nor decreased.
But his actions clearly rmed those invigtors standing above the sky.
The gray-winged devil''s gray eyes shone in dark hue as he said with great interest, "He''s still not using any Qi and climbing only using pure physical prowess, and the soul force also didn''t seem to be affecting him. Is it even possible for a human to have such a physique? How about we pull his records and see why he''s so special and why he appeared only now?"
Ace''s continuous climbing forward, even under the soul force, finally drew their curiosity, especially the elders from the top three races. They had never seen a human with pure physical strength, much less with a powerful soul as well.
Even among them, these kinds of juniors could only appear once every thousand years and not in the mortal realm.
Joseph, the only human among them, was also rmed by Ace''s astonishing performance, ''I need to get him to join the human sector!'' He thought gravely before looking at the devil and said meaningfully, "Elder rence, don''t tell me you are nning on inviting a human into your Devil sector?"
rence nced at him before he smiled, revealing his sharp teeth, "As long as he''s genius, his race doesn''t matter. Everyone is equal in the union. It''s the irond rule of the union, do you forget? Now should we look at information?"
"You wily bastard! You dare to bring out rules when you guys are the narrowest-minded among all the races?" Willie snapped instantly.
rence ignored him, looking at the demon elder and a red-haired hunter elder meaningfully. Those two knew what he was asking for, so they nodded.
"I agree to see his records." The demon elder nodded.
"He''s quite interesting. Let''s see where he was hiding all these years. I agree with Elder rence as well." The hunter snickered.
"What about you guys?" rence looked at the five women with a faint smile.
Including Jayden, the female devil, two huntresses, and a wise elf. All nodded in agreement as they were also interested in Ace''s past.
Joseph and Willie''s expressions fell the moment everyone agreed with rence''s demand. They were all treating them like the wind.
Joseph didn''t want them to see Ace''s past because they might use this information to draw him into their ranks or even use his weakness to threaten him.
It had happened in the past, but it was the first time with the humans since they had never threatened other races'' positions in the union.
However, Ace was clearly talented, and he might grow up to be a powerful figure in the union and earn resources for humans. But if these guys managed to snatch him from them, it would be a huge blow to humans.
But Joseph couldn''t do a thing because he knew these kinds of schemes were normal in the union, and no one did anything to keep a challenging environment.
Everyone was free to make their decision. It was another case of the ''free decision'' that could be forced as long as it wasn''t found out it was allowed!
That''s probably why the three races wanted to see Ace''s past to discover his weakness and might use it to draw him into their entourage. All they needed to do was gather majority votes to see his information in the mortal domain.
They can only do it right now when Ace has yet to pass the trial, and there won''t be any other chance the moment he joins the true union because his information will be sealed, and only the union master-level figure can see it.
As for how they could see someone''s entire life history, it was because of the gray identity tokens. When someone joined the ranks of an official union member, they were given an identity token which was proof of an official union member''s identity.
However, it had another function: to record the person''s life experience. Even if they put it in the storage ring, it could still record it without any restriction since those storage ring grades were only 1-star!
It was done because an official union member could be a true union member. Those tokens can tell their entire life story and eliminate any chances of someone else using others'' identities to sneak into the true union.
But in the history of the union, this never happened, so no one was on guard against someone try sneaking into the union. It was impossible since the union had a full grasp over the power level of the mortal realm, and any anomaly could instantly be noticed by a massive formation.
Furthermore, the union never stopped anyone from joining their ranks as long as they could pass the trial, so there wasn''t any reason to take such a risk and get killed with their loved ones.
So, Ace being someone else, never even urred to these invigtors.
However, this token could reveal all the secrets of the genius as well, including their personalities, without even them knowing. But no one cared about the feelings or privacy of someone from the mortal realm.
So, after getting eight votes, rence was free to check Ace''s personal history from his token. He didn''t dy, and a small crystal cube appeared in his hand. He poured his Qi before it shimmered in dark light.
He then moved the cube toward Ace, who was on the 558th stairstep, and instantly an impassive voice rang from the cube.
"Participant #4,349, Name: White (Human), Bone Age: 27"
rence''s lips curled up as he spoke, "We want to see Participant White''s token history in the mortal domain."
"Bunch of foxes!" Willie cursed as he knew it was toote, while Joseph remained silent and kept looking at those eight elders with cold eyes.
"Permission approved!" The same impassive voice rang in affirmation.
The very next moment, the crystal cube shimmered brightly before a projection started to materialize on the cube. Everyone looked at the projection attentively, even Willie and Joseph.
However, what they saw left everyone speechless. Because it didn''t start from ''White''s'' birth but from how he looked the same as he was now and was walking out of a building.
The building''s name was the ''Official Union Registration Center.''
"Don''t tell me he just became an Official from Officer?" rence couldn''t help but exim with a frown.
They knew the token was only given to official union members, not below-rank ones.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Furthermore, as they watched in fast-forward, they werepletely speechless because they saw ''White'' going into another building and exchanging his union merit for a soul cultivation technique avable for official union members.
Afterward, the entire thing was like an absurd dream because they saw White leave the city and found a ce in a forest and started cultivating, and in two hours, he opened his first gate and appeared extremely thrilled.
"So easy?" They heard his thrilling voice, and those invigtors'' lips spasmed.
One dayter, he opened the second soul gate, and two dayster, he opened the third gate, and on the seventh day after he started to cultivate, he opened his fourth soul gate.
"So, this is a path to bing immortal? How easy!" Heughed like crazy as he continued to cultivate it like he was addicted to it.
The entire thingsted for only fifteen minutes because White time as an official member was only one month before he appeared here to take the trial!
Everyone was staring at the motionless projection in a stupor since they watched it in full fast-forward, but they spotted everything like it was in slow motion.
It had never happened before that a Union Officer had be an Official Union Member at such a young age and then, in a month, became a Nine Gates cultivator and came here to take the test.
Normally the newly appointed union member would settle down in the city and then have descended who was born with an official status and then cultivate them to be a true union member.
Joseph guffawed at this moment, "Hahaha¡ a one in a ten millennia genius has appeared amidst our humans!"
Chapter 678 The Union High Elders
At this moment, Ace climbed the 1001st step, and only half an hour had passed since the trial had started. So, Ace decided to slow down on the third level and ''use Qi,'' or it would be too absurd if he passed the entire trial without using Qi.
''Qi Radiation!''[1]Ace was astonished as he didn''t even see any traces of the radiation; only after stepping on the 1001st step did he feel it.
(AN: Qi Radiation will refer to both Soul and Martial Radiations)
Still, Ace showed a pale face under 0.01-point Qi radiation and started emitting faint soul Qi undtions equivalent to a peak soul gates realm cultivator.
After ''catching his breath'' for around five minutes, he took the 1002nd step and climbed it. He again stopped for another one or two minutes before stepping forward.
In this exact pattern, Ace climbed to the third level. Sometimes, he fumbled as if he was going to fall, and sometimes he emitted a strong soul undtion before going back on climbing.
Everyone was watching him withplex emotions, while the humans were clenching their fists as they watched a fellow human keep climbing without looking back.
They were all climbing between step ten and hundred, and their blood boiled as they gritted their teeth and climbed like the white hair human youth. They knew today would be a history in which a human climbed the ascension stairway in one try and probably at the fastest speed ever.
Everyone wanted to know his name, but they had lost their chance and won''t get it anymore because now there was noing back from level three. He will either pass or die trying.
Even those ten invigtors were looking at Ace with different emotions. Joseph was fully anxious since he had seen with his own eyes that the ''one month'' recorded in White''s token.
If he died on the third level, it was a huge sin for humility since such a genius who could advance to peak soul gates realm in one month only appeared once in ten thousand years.
Even among the top three races, these kinds of genius could be counted on one hand, and they were all among the top figures in the union and qualified to vie for the Union Leader position.
Humans didn''t have such a figure among them, but now Joseph saw hope in White, but the problem was he wasn''t the only one aware of it.
While Willie was happy for Joseph since their races had excellent rtions, the others were not as kind as him. They were all hatching a different scheme to pull this human into their ranks, suppress his growth, or get rid of him entirely.
However, where the former was the easiest way, thetter was too difficult because they couldn''t openly kill or harm a fellow union member, especially if the other party was a once-in-a-ten-thousand genius who hadn''t appeared in the union for over a thousand years.
It would be far better to have a good rtionship with this kind of person than a grudge, or it won''t end well if you nt a seed of hatred and then fail to get rid of him.
"What a goodd. Even under 1-point Qi radiation, he''s never lost his mind and moving forward despite overdrawing his Qi. His determination alone can lead him very far in the path of cultivation. How about we report it to High Elders?" Willie suddenly spoke. Ace was now only fifty steps away from reaching the clouds.
Although he looked exhausted, and the steps were fumbling, he always managed to step forward, almost making Joseph and Willie''s hearts jump a few times while others were disappointed.
rence gave Willie a side eye before he coldly spoke, "Do you really want to disturb High Elders? It is still not clear if he''s a ten millennia genius. Unless he showed the same cultivation speed in the 2nd and 3rd cultivation realms, we can''t jump the gun and disturb high elders."
rence knew once this matter reached the ears of the High Elder, especially the High Elder of the Human Race, the other race won''t even get a chance to interfere and ''invite'' him to their side.
The Union territory above the clouds was known as the ''Cultivation Domain,'' and there were also different ranks like the mortal domain. Furthermore, the Cultivation Domain was divided into Sun Domain and Moon Domain.
Sun Domain was where men cultivated, while the Moon Domain was for women. But ranking was the same for everyone.
The lowest rank was Union Student, followed by Union Schr, Union Instructor, Union Elder, and Union High Elder. Above these five ranks were Two Union Domain Lords (Sun Lord & Moon Lord) and One Union Leader.
Hundreds of thousands of union students were in both domains, and Ace would get this rank when he ascended the stairway.
Union Schr rank was given to those students who reached the Soul Realm, while the Union Instructor Rank was for those who reached the early stage of the Soul Manifestation realm. In contrast, the Union Elder rank could be achieved upon entering the quasiw awareness realm state.
The Union High Elder were authentic Law Awareness Realm cultivators. There were 28 of them, and there was a ranking system for those High Elders. The humans have a High Elder backing them by some miracle, and he ranked Eighth. That''s why no one dares to seek trouble with them.
However, this didn''t mean they were strongest because devils had eight high elders, and three of them were ranked among the top five, while demons had six and hunters four.
The reaming ten belonged to; three magic beast races, three from the elven race, one dwarf race, one from the Tree Race, one from Stone Golem Race, and thest was from Myriad Bee Race.
As for the two domain lords and the union leader, they were both mysterious figures and only High Elders had ever seen them. No one knows their race or cultivation ranking, and they never interfere with day-to-day union matters.
That''s why the High Union Elder Council controlled the Union and made decisions.
Furthermore, when a race creates a High Elder level union member, they are given their own sector in the union, which is like having their own private territory, which is rich with cultivation resources.
There was no limit to how many sectors a race could collect from the Union, but the more sectors they had, the more and richer resources under their control.
Races without a sector lived in mon union grounds,'' and the difference between a sector andmon grounds was like day and night. Just Qi in them was like sky and mud.
Lastly, a High Elder had another authority they could use three times in their life. It was they could take three students from their race whenever they wanted, and other races couldn''t interfere nor the selected person.
It was another story that if the selected student was fancied by more than one high elder of its race. Then they can select between one, but the rejection was not an option.
However, those High Elders seldom use this authority since they only want the best of the best, and these kinds of genius only appear on a blue moon.
Not to mention, the Eighth High Elder of the human race was an ascetic, and he could care less about material matters and his race. He never showed any interest in their matter and had only appeared on three asions among the humans since he became High Elder.
Although Joseph''s eyes brightened by Willie''s suggestion, he knew the Eighth High Elder too well, and there was less than a one percent chance he would show any interest in Ace.
They had previous try introducing some geniuses of their race to the Eighth High Elder, but he mercilessly rejected them all.
''Still, it was far better than letting him end up in some other race''s hand. From what I''ve seen, he seemed to crave power, and he might flip to the other side if they offered him more benefits than us. Or it was only my imagination, but I can''t take rise he had to join our human race sector!'' Joseph thought.
He then nced at rence and others, who were clearly not pleased with Willie''s suggestion since there was a chance that the eighth high elder really took interest, and this would be over for them at that time.
Joseph pulled a cold smile as he replied to Willie, "I think your suggestion is not bad. As for consequences, I''ll handle it!"
Without hesitation, a yellow talisman appeared in his hand, and he used his Qi. The talisman started to burn, and he quickly transmitted his thoughts before the talisman was fully burned. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The next moment, a yellow streak materialized as soon the talisman waspletely burned, and like lightning, it vanished!
The other three elders snorted before they also took out yellow talismans, and like Joseph, they also sent messages to their races'' High Elders.
They knew there was a chance the eighth high elder won''t react, but their races'' High Elders will!
[1] (AN: Qi Radiation will refer to both Soul and Martial Radiations)
Chapter 679 Passing The Ascension Stairway
At this moment, Ace was only a step away from climbing the 1500th stairstep. The white cloud was also a few inches away from him, and now he could feel a terrifying oppressive might from that cloudy white mist.
''The formation here is probably at the same level as the imperial demon domain over even stronger. No wonder this entire area is a ck-fate location. I have to be more careful once I enter their core area.'' Ace thought calmly.
However, his outward appearance was now haggard, as his face was pale, and he was filled with sweat as if he would fall down right at this moment. With gritted his teeth and his eyes filled with great mirth, Ace took the final step while trembling. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
No one would believe that he was just acting as long as Ace won''t reveal it himself.
With extreme difficulty, he pulled himself onto the 1500th step, and the moment both his stepsnded on the stone stairstep, Ace felt all the Qi radiation pressure vanish.
The very next moment, the cloudy mist suddenly churned and directly encased Ace''s figure. Ace was startled for a moment, but he didn''t feel any danger, so he didn''t try to resist.
His vision suddenly blurred, and when he regained rity, he found himself standing in a great bright hall filled with white pirs on both sides, and a hundred meters ahead of him was a bright passage.
Before he could gauge his surrounding, an ethereal voice, which was the same voice he heard at the entrance, resounded in the great hall.
"Participant #4,349, congrattion on passing the entrance trial of Sun and Moon Sword Union!
"Participant #4,349 had broken the record of passing the entrance trial within 11 hours. You will be rewarded with 10,000 Union Merits and an Upper-Grade Mortal Skill!
"Hold your union token in your hand to receive your new identity and rewards!"
Ace was startled for a moment before he did as he was told and took out his identity token, which he had ''created'' after manipting some mortal domain union members.
The moment the token appeared, a golden light suddenly descended out of nowhere and shone on the gray token. Under Ace''s astonished eyes, the gray token suddenly started to turn golden, and the in surface also started to engrave with a white zing sun crest just like the one he saw on the young man in blue robes.
Right under the white sun crest, white words started to appear, ''Union Student (White).''
But it didn''t just end there. After the identity token''s transformation was done, a golden storage ring slowly descended within the golden light andnded right above the golden token.
The voice rang again, "Your Union Merits are transferred into your Union Token as well as information about your new identity with a miniature map of the Sun Domain can be essed through your token as long as you pour your soul Qi into your Union Token.
"Your union token now has other functions, and the details are all in there. Don''t lose your Union Token, or you''ll be punished heavily.
"Moreover, this 8-Star Storage Ring is a reward for passing the trial. Your Union Student Robes, Flying Sword, and 10 Soul Refinement Pills are also within this storage ring.
"Lastly, you can gain ess to the Union Sun Domain Library through your token and im your Upper-Grade Mortal Skill, as well as the Second Realm Soul Cultivation Manual and a Lower Grade Mortal Skill for passing the entrance test.
"Now, you may rest here before the entrance trial end, and only then can you leave this entrance hall!"
The voice vanished and no longer bothered Ace.
Ace was quite surprised by how resourceful the union was. Without wasting time, he quickly poured Qi into the golden token, and a projection appeared filled with information about the union.
Just like that, time passed, and on thest day, another person entered the hall. It was the pale skin devil youth with pale gray wings and a small pointy tail. He almost looked like a skeleton and was on the verge of copsing from exhaustion.
However, when his gray eyeballsnded on the white hair human who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, he couldn''t help but grit his teeth in humiliation.
It was supposed to be his spotlight since it was his third try, and he was very confident about passing, but somehow this guy appeared out of nowhere and, like a storm, passed the entire trial in less than half a day.
Furthermore, he was s human who they all looked down upon. But the fact was clear and right in front of his eyes.
Ace has already changed into gray union robes with a white sun crest on his chest, and he has already ''recovered.'' He was just waiting for the trial to be over so he could exit this ce.
Although the passage was right in front of him, he didn''t dare to try to leave and waited as the voice said.
He didn''t open his eyes despite sensing the neer''s arrival. That was simply worth nothing in his eyes. He had seen many devils in these past two months in the mortal domains, so now he was no longer fascinated by the number one race of this world.
They were just like other races, working for the union likeborers, so they seemed as superior as they were in the ten continents. They only have a strong body and bloodline heritage.
But for some reason, the devils didn''t seem to gain ess to their famous blood heritage and were like any other race without any prior knowledge of the cultivation system.
Because if they could gain ess to their blood heritage, those devils won''t be mere servants. Ace was collecting information on these races, especially devils, and he was quite startled when he found the union could even control something like the devil''s blood heritage.
But he wasn''t too sure about it since the only devil he had ever contacted beforeing into the union was his wife, who was now leagues above these devils.
He also noticed that the devils had too many simrities with demons, and the only difference was their wings and tails. Still, they were no longer as mysterious as before in Ace''s eyes, just like demons.
He was only interested in the union now and how to get out of this ce.
The same ethereal voice rang again and alerted the devil of his benefits like Ace.
The devil was instantly thrilled, and after getting his storage ring, he didn''t approach Ace and only gave him a cold re before he sat beside another pir to recover.
Just when half an hour remained before the end of the trial, another person entered the entrance hall. It was another brown skin female devil as she was also on the verge of losing consciousness.
She only nced at Ace before she quickly received the storage ring and sat beside the pale skin devil, and started recovering.
When only a minute was left, two more figures entered the hall. They were none other than the brother and sister of the As family.
Those devils opened their eyes, and shock surfaced in their eyes when they saw two more humans made it into this ce. They knew better than anyone that it''d been over six years since any humans had passed the trial, much less three of them passing altogether.
Because every time someone sessfully ascended the ascension stairway, a huge celebration was held in every race.
The brother and sister were extremely haggard as they held each other hand to spot themselves.
But their eyes were filled with mad resolve, and when they saw the white hair human sitting ahead, respect and tion reced their exhaustion.
They were only here because they were following this unknown guy''s footsteps. If Ace hadn''t continued to climb despite his fumbling figure, they were not nning on taking this risk at all.
But they did and somehow passed!
Just when they received their rewards and were about to go to Ace to speak with him, the ethereal voice rang again.
"The entrance trial has been ended. You all may leave the entrance hall!"
Chapter 680 Choosing A Side (1)
This voice was music to Ace''s ears as he stood up. However, before he could take a step, an exhausted voice rang, "Fellow Brother, please wait!"
Ace had heard this voice when he was about to ascend the staircase; it belonged to the As family young man named y.
He turned around and saw y and his sister Kaleying toward him despite their extremely exhausted state. Their eyes were filled with reverence, and Kaley was even blushing and ncing at Ace with adoration.
"How may I help you?" Ace impassively asked.
y wasn''t seemed as aloof as before, nor did he mind Ace''s giving them the cold shoulder. He knew if it were him in Ace''s shoes, he would do the same. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"I just want to congratte you on our stunning achievement, and I hope we can be friends in the immortalnds. My name is y." y pulled an unnatural smile as he said those words. It was quite clear he wasn''t good with speaking to others in such a friendly tone or putting himself below them.
However, Ace shook his head, "You and I are destined to be walked on different paths, so what is the meaning of being friends? I''m used to being alone, and I''m not nning to change that either. The name is White, though."
Ace merely stated the fact and turned around and walked away, leaving the dumbfounded y and Kaley rooted in their ce. Even those two devils were baffled by Ace''s cold attitude toward his own race.
Normally, the other races stuck together in the union, and they were very close with fellow race members.
But they all knew ''White'' was telling the truth when he said about walking on a different path since y had barely managed to ascend the stairway while White had done in less than half a day.
Just the difference in talent was massive between them, and genius tends to stick with their own kind, and all of them had entric personalities.
"Hehe, how rare. Normally, it was the As family that stood aloof among their own kind, and they only approached those they deemed worthy to stand beside them. Now, it seemed the tables have turned." The devil youth jeeringly remarked at this moment while walking past y and Kaley, with the female devil also snickering in disdain following him.
"Hmph, just a loser''s words." y was not mad by Ace''s cold attitude, but he would not let go of the devil.
The devil''s youth expression fell instantly since it was the only sore spot in his heart right now, and y''s words were like salt water.
Ace ignored those kids'' quarrels and walked past the bright passage.
The moment he crossed the bright light, he found himself standing on an open mountain expansion. His attention was instantly drawn by two colossal mountains, and even he couldn''t find their end.
Furthermore, those two mountains were golden and silver as rings of clouds surrounded their tops. It was like they were made out of gold and silver.
Then Ace noticed something extremely disturbing. He saw vague ckness behind those two mountains.
It was the same ckness one could see in the mortal domain, which was none other than the ckness ahead of the crystalke and also from where Ace hade from.
''Don''t tell me this entire ce is surrounded by that same ckness? Didn''t this mean I can''t leave?'' Ace''s joyous mood to finally be able to enter the core area of the union plummeted when this thought appeared in his head.
Although the union was quiterge, asrge as a continent, it was surrounded by that strange ckness like a barrier, which made it no less than a prison.
Ace then looked at the golden sky, ''Should I try flying over? No, my wings won''t evenst until I reach the peak of that ck wall. I need to gather more information. There has to be a way out.''
"Quite captivating, right?"
Ace was snapped out of his thoughts by this amiable voice and turned his head and finally noticed a ground of powerful beings looking at him with different kinds of light in their eyes.
Ace noticed fifteen of them were wearing purple robes. The only difference was that five of them were women with silver moon crests, while ten of them were men with golden sun crests.
However, the five figures, in particr, were giving off a terrifying feeling to Ace. At the same time, the reaming ten werepletely inferior to them, but they posed an absolute threat to him as well.
''Those four should bew awareness realm cultivators while the ten are most likely quasiw awareness realm.'' Ace guessed in his heart.
But he didn''t dare to reveal his true thoughts in front of them. He looked at the tall crimson devil with fiery bat wings behind him. He was the one who had spoken to him before and was smiling amiably toward him.
He quickly bowed and respectfully stated, "Please forgive juniorck of manners, Lord Immortals!"
Ten of them present in this group were the group of invigtors, while the other four were High Elders from four different races. Devil, Demon, Hunter, Elf, and thest one was from the Magic Best Race.
Joseph and Willie''s expressions were quite nasty at this moment since they got no response from their races'' high elders, while these four came here almost instantly the moment they received the news about Ace from their races'' elders.
If Willie knew this was going to happen, he would''ve never opened his big mouth and suggested alerting the High Elders at all.
Now, it was toote to cry as these five had already watched Ace''s one month of cultivation history, and they had instantly be interested in him. As for them, they be side characters.
In front of a High Union Elder, a Union Elder couldn''t show any disrespect, no matter the race difference. Even the fearless Willie didn''t dare to open his mouth.
The ck skin High Elder Demon who looked quite ghastly with his white eyes ball and white bullhorns, spoke with a smile, "No need to worry about formalities. Little guy, we are here to recruit you as a student. Are you interested?"
Chapter 681 Choosing A Side (2)
Ace wasn''t surprised by this recruitment at all because he knew once he showed his cultivation talent and essed the ascension stairway in half a day, this was bound to attract the attention of the upper echelon.
Furthermore, the five Law Awareness realm experts seemed to have quick a status that even those ten quasiw awareness realm experts were silent and didn''t dare to speak when they were talking.
Lastly, he noticed there was only one human among the ten quasiw awareness realm experts, and his expression was quite ugly as he looked at Ace with hope and apprehension.
''Don''t tell me the bigotry is at its peak in here?'' Ace made a wild guess.
But he still didn''t let his actual thoughts surface and looked confused as he asked, "Recruit me? But ording to my badge, I''m already a Union Student and a member of Common Union Grounds in Sun Domain?"
Ace was telling the truth because there was no information about sectors nor the ranks above Union Instructors.
ording to the information recorded in his badge, he will live in themon union grounds with other fellow union students. There, he can climb the ranks with cultivation and earn union merits bypleting Union Missions for students.
He can also attend the cultivation sses held by different Union Schrs or even Union Instructors as long as he can pay the lecture fee with Union Merits.
The blue hair hunter spoke with a kind smile at this moment, "It''s only natural you didn''t know about this since it''s very rare for a Union Elder to ept a private student right after the entrance test, much less us Union High Elders¡"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
He then exined the higher ranks and private territories granted to the High Elders, known as sectors, and the benefits of living in a sector.
Ace instantly understood what was going on here as he looked behind those union elders and then those five high elders. He didn''t think he would draw attention from High Elders, but it would be a lie to say if he didn''t think of this possibility.
"¡ But only Union Instructors are qualified to live in their race''s private sectors or a Union Elder or High Elder private student. There are even more benefits for being a student of a High Elder as you will get the richest environment with Qi in the sector and free ess to the first four floors of the Union-Sun Domain Library.
"You can also choose a High Grade-3 treasure from Union Sun Domain Weaponry Tower right off the bat, and these are just the benefits the Union will give you. The benefits you receive from us is another matter entirely."
The hunter grinned as he was quite confident in swaying this new student from the human race.
"Heh, Old 13th, you are right about thest part." The Devil High Elder chuckled before he said to Ace, who was ''dazzled'' after hearing about the benefits of bing their private student, "Now, little guy, are you willing to follow me as my private student?
"I''m ranked 10th in the ranking of High Elders, and if you choose to follow me, I will support your cultivation for one year without holding back. Then you have to pass my test to evaluate your cultivation resources further, and if you perform well, you will get even more rewards.
"I will also give you a small territory in my sector to cultivate, and you will have the devil race''s backing to boot."
Everyone looked at Tenth High Elder with astonishment as his offer was really quite enticing. Even those elders behind were shocked since this kind of treatment was normally given to them.
However, all those resources were not free since he clearly said Ace had to undergo a test in one year, which means if Ace didn''t pass it, he might not get anything from him at all.
It was like an investment in Ace''s potential, which was still unclear because he was only a Soul gates realm junior now, and it was still unclear if he could achieve the same in higher realms that he did with the first realm.
Their actual purpose of drawing him into their ranks was that as long as there was a possibility that he was really a once-in-a-ten-thousand genius, then they couldn''t let him enter the human sector or have anything to do with humans.
They wanted to brainwash him and mold him into their own race so he could bring benefits to their race once he grew up.
Lastly, once he chose to be their student, he couldn''t leave them as long as they didn''t kick him out themselves.
This was the biggest reason for them to act as soon as possible, and they were willing to postpone until he really showed his talent and that entric guy became really interested in Ace.
At that time, they would not be able to do anything if he turned out to be the genius they were all things about.
Thereafter, the demon also stated his willingness to take him as a private student, and his conditions were just the Tenth High Elder, and the only difference was he was giving Ace two years before he would test him.
The hunter was the same, and he also increased his test period by three years, while the elf was quite generous as he offered a Grade-4 treasure, and the testing period was five years.
Lastly, the magic beast, which looked like a humanoid vulture, offered a grade-5 treasure as well as a lower-rank earth-grade art and ten years of support without any test.
This shocked all of them as they knew the magic beast race was quite low in poption, but they were quite protective of each other and seldom let anyone enter their ranks.
Their poption was so low that in the mortal domain, there wasn''t even a single magic beast descended present, and all of them were born here. Those demonic beasts were nothing but lowly rats in their eyes.
Still, those four high elders didn''t raise any voices or increase their offers because they wanted to see who will Ace chose now. This wasn''t about just offers but also about who could protect him better.
The three top races were clearly the optimal choice, especially the devil race and demon race. These guys have ample resources and sectors, so anyone with a sane mind will pick them.
Even those four participants who passed the trial with Ace were looking at him with daze and almost drooling at the offers Ace was given.
White also looked quite in a daze, but inwardly, Ace was unmoved as everything they were offering was nothing but chump change to him.
He even knew those tests were put in those conditions, especially so they could kick him to the curb once he appeared useless. At that time, he will be degraded to their thrall.
However, he wasn''t here to stay as even the one-year offer by the devil was too much for him, and he needed to get out of there as soon as possible.
So, he knew how to proceed with this, and he looked at Joseph, who was pale with anxiety. He wanted to say something, but he couldn''t, as he knew he couldn''t offer anything like those races to Ace.
Because humans only have one sector and it was quite cramped, and thepetition was too fierce, and without the High Elder''s protection, he knew those greedy guys might even try to suppress Ace if he hoards all their resources.
Not all the human elders were like Joseph as they all put their families first and weren''t united as other races because their high elders didn''t care at all.
Now almost all of the human sector was annexed by the fifteen families of fifteen Union Elders, and Joseph was also a part of one of these families. Although he wanted to invite Ace into the human sector after seeing his talent, he knew those guys might try to control him.
White ''snapped out of his daze'' and looked at those five high elders and said with pained expressions, "Um¡ High Elders, it''s my choice, entirely right?"
"Yes, we won''t force you." The Tenth High Elder smiled kindly while the others also nodded as they knew he would choose one of them.
Ace then said something expected that made even Joseph dumbfounded.
White bowed ny degrees and stated, "Please ept my most sincere bow, Elders, as you guys were the first ones who show such kindness to me. But I won''t be epting any of your offers!"
The entire vicinity dropped into deadly silence.
Ace, at this moment, held his head high and stood straight while looking at the expression of those dumbfounded elders.
With aplicated expression, he exined with voice full conviction, "Please don''t be offended by my words as I''m not nning on joining any sector at all because I would like to climb to those heights myself as I made a promise to my dying parents.
"Without hardship, there''s no reward, and I have reached this ce by following this exact principle. And I will continue to follow it as hardship make me stronger!"
Chapter 682 The Path Of Hardship
Everyone was looking at White as if he was some kind of lunatic.
No one expected that there would be someone who could reject five Union High Elders at once just because of some silly promise and beliefs.
"Do you even know what you''re rejecting?" The tenth High Elder of the devil race''s voice was somewhat cold now.
White nodded and said, full of bitterness, "I know. But I''m a man of my word, especially if those words are myst promise to my parents. I promised my father that I would never run from hardship and always strive to be better. While I promise my mother that I will be a righteous man.
"From that day onward, I also live by these words, and I know if I chose to abandon this path now, I would never have a path of my own. Besides, Elders didn''t want someone who could flip to any side just because of some riches, right?"
Ace''s words rendered everyone speechless, and they didn''t know what to say anymore. They had never encountered such a scenario before.
"You are indeed valiant and someone with principles. But you are not abandoning your path by epting our offers at all. If you want, you can still keep your word to your parents by following our teachings." The 13th High Elder kindly advised.
He was now looking at White in a different light because his character was quite straightforward, and he was a man of his word as well, which meant he wouldn''t betray the power which showed him kindness.
People like him were quite rare, even among their races.
Just this trait of his was enough to earn him many people''s respect, much less if he had the absurd talent to boot.
"Thank you, but I''m still going to follow the path that every High Elder took. Tell me, Elder, you were once like me as well, right? Or were there always High Elders who were keeping you safe from all hardship and showing you the right way?
"Someone at your level will know better than anyone that poweres with experience and hardship. Those who persuade the easy path are bound to be mediocre!
"So, I would like to follow Elders'' footsteps and make the Union proud of me, not people. I hope Elders will only watch and not do anything. I will forever remember your kindness. Even if I perish, I will forever remember the kindness everyone showed me today, even as a ghost of union!"
White passionate words and righteous words rang in the silent vicinity, and they managed to stir everyone''s heartstrings, especially those five high elders.
As White said, they climbed through the ranks with their own efforts, especially those high elders before them. There weren''t always high elders to protect them or sectors for races.
Everything has a beginning, and in the beginning, everyone is the same.
They had forgotten why they started cultivating after they had a taste of authority and turned the union into their yground for silly racial games.
"The Union is for everyone, and everyone is for union¡" The demon high elder muttered these words left behind by the founder of the Union.
Everyone''s heart jolted hearing those words, which sounded empty before, but now they could feel that they somewhat understood the meaning behind them.
Then they looked at the human who was stubbornly standing there with a resolute expression, and his ambitions were as high as the sky. But he wanted to achieve those ambitions through his own effort, not by stepping over someone else.
This moved the heart of those four neers, and they looked at White with true admiration and respect.
The tenth high elder looked at White, who had ''bitterness'' and ''reluctant'' in his eyes, as if he was fighting the temptation with everything he had. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Sigh¡ I never thought I would meet a human like you, a little guy who can convince me. I just hope you won''t change like us¡" He sighed ruefully as he remembered something from the past and shook his head before he suddenly turned into a dark streak and vanished from his spot; he left!
"I''ll be watching you, little guy!" The demon also left after uttering those ambiguous words.
The other three also left after saying subtle words, but they no longer persuaded White. They all thought that since he could reject them and remain true to his path, he wasn''t someone who could get involved or distracted by the matter of race.
In their eyes, a soul gates junior could never hide his true feeling from them, and that''s why they were fully convinced that White wouldn''t join them or the humans. He had a heart of a true cultivator.
But it didn''t mean they would stop pestering him. The union environment was toopetitive, especially for those guys who lived outside the sectors. They had to fight tooth and nail for resources.
If White showed signs of getting derailed, they would not let him off lightly, especially if his talent turned out to be as they suspected it.
As for those other four who passed with him, those High Elders didn''t even look at them since they were only interested in White.
Now, only those ten Union Elders remained, and they were quite dumbfounded about this whole situation as they looked at the young human who had even convinced High Elder by his words.
In the end, they knew they couldn''t sway this youth as well as they decided to do their duty as invigtors.
The five women from the moon domain take the two girls from the group toward the silver mountain.
While the five men enveloped the three boys and flew toward the golden mountain.
Elder Willie finally couldn''t stay silent as he said to White, "Little fellow, I must say you might not get this kind of chance again. You might regret it for your life."
"I will naturally bear full responsibility for my actions, Elder." White solemnly stated.
Joseph was feeling far moreplicated than anyone else as he knew better than anyone just how difficult it was for humans to keep their greed in check, and yet this young man had done it!
However, for Ace, it was nothing but a small y. He was taking advantage of his charm fully as well as using his acting skills to the fullest to achieve this end result.
The reason he didn''t want to go into any sector was he didn''t want to be under these guys'' constant watch, while he also wanted them to have a strong impression of his ''character.''
This way, he''ll be free as well as appear too righteous in everyone''s eyes, and no one will suspect him for about toe!
Chapter 683 System’s Interference
At the foot of the golden mountain were magnificent golden mountain gates. The five Union Elders and the three Union Studentsnded a few meters away from these gates, known as Sun Gates because behind them was the sun domain.
Ace was watching everything with scrutiny whileing here, especially the silver mountain, which seemed closer in the distance to the golden mountain.
But now that he was up close, he knew these two mountains were at least over a hundred miles apart from each other. He can''t even see the end of the sun domain mountain from here because of how big it is.
One thing that he noticed was the rings of clouds which seemed naturally formed but not anymore. There were a total of five visible cloud rings at five different heights of the sun domain mountain while the peak waspletely encased in ayer of thick clouds.
Ace couldn''t help but think about clouds surrounding the ascension stairway and was more vignt about this sun domain.
At this moment, the sun gates slowly parted, making the ground under everyone tremble, and an instantly high-density Qi brushed past everyone.
''Just what kind of ce could have such dense Qi?'' Ace thought in astonishment.
"Alright, you little guy, you with me. Let''s go. I''ll take you to your family." rence impassively stated while looking at the devil youth, and without giving him a chance to speak, he enveloped him in his Qi and thenmanded his flying sword, turning into a streak, and vanished behind the sun gates. But before he left, he gave White a meaningful nce.
"Good luck. I hope you guys will not disappoint us, especially you, White." The Demon Elder smiled meaningfully before he also left.
The hunter merely nodded at everyone before he left as well.
Joseph, who was silent all this time, finally spoke while looking at White seriously, "I don''t know if I should be happy that you rejected those guys'' invitation or ashamed about human''s inability in the union and High Elder''sck of interest.
"But I''m d you didn''t go with them. Despite knowing the answer, I would still like to invite you to the human sector, and unlike them, I can''t promise you anything but my protection."
He sighed ruefully before he looked at y as well, "As for you, since your family is the number one family in the human sector, I need you toe with me."
Ace looked at Joseph and bowed before gratefully saying, "Thank you, but I would still keep my word and go through every hardship before one day I meet you again, Elder."
y looked at White with aplicated look in his eyes before he looked at Joseph, who was looking at White ruefully, but a hint of admiration was present deep within.
y then took a deep breath and said, "Elder, I would like to do the same as Brother White here. I will go through themon union grounds!"
Ace had the urge to roll his eyes at this guy but remain impassive as he knew y was purely driven by his emotions and wanted to be like him. But can he?
Joseph looked at y with a hint of appreciation, but he shook his head, "I''m afraid you don''t have a choice in this matter. Like that devil, your family lives in a sector which means you won''t be given ess to themon grounds.
"Themon grounds are ced for those who have no backing in the sector or if you don''t have more than ten family members already living in the sector. But I''m afraid your As family is not simple as the High Elder is also from your family, so you have privileges from being his bloodline. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"This was done, so students inmon grounds have more resources. Besides, the private sector areas are just part of the Inner Sun Domain, which is behind the first ring of the clouds, as you can see, and closest to the core domain behind the third ring of the clouds.
"So, you will see him soon. I''m sure of it." Joseph smiled as he exined when he saw y''s expression dim.
"Heh, just consider it. I''m giving you a head start. I''ll meet you soon." White finally speaks with full of fighting intent.
"Hahahah¡ I like this boy. You can find me in the dwarf sector once you enter the inner domain. I''m 21st Union Elder of Dwarf Race, Willie, and I''m a 6th-grade runic smith. I''ll make you a weapon for free." Willie guffawed as he suddenly threw something at Ace.
Ace saw it was a ck rectangr badge with engraving, ''Runic Smith Willie'' on it.
Willie said smilingly, "Just show it to anyone in the dwarf sector, and they will know where to deliver you."
Joseph gave Willie a meaningful nce before he also took out a yellow talisman paper and gave it to Ace, "This is a message talisman with my Qi mark. Just use your Qi, and it will start to burn, and then you can record any message in one breath of time, and I will get that message.
"If I had a choice, I could''ve given you treasures, but I can''t do that unless you be my personal student, which you won''t. So, I can only leave you with this message talisman. Just use it anytime you need my help. Don''t hesitate."
Ace was instantly fascinated by this message talisman which was vastly different frommunication cubes, and it seemed more reliable in different cases. Besides, he could tell this talisman was just a High-Grade-1 talisman.
"Thank you, I''ll remember your words." White bowed to both elders as he ced those two things in his storage ring.
This made both men happy since they were afraid this little guy would reject their help as well. But they thought too much since these two things were only helpful if he used them.
"Alright, I''ll wait for you, Brother White!" y then finally nodded solemnly. It was the first time he regretted being highborn as he really wanted to follow in this man''s footsteps.
"You just need to cross the sun gates, and a union schr will take you to your ce and introduce you tomon grounds. I hope to see you in the inner domain soon." Joseph smiled as he was now content with White.
He then enveloped y in his Qi and left with Willie before they nodded to White in goodbye.
Now Ace was standing alone at the entrance of the sun domain while he looked at his surroundings, which were filled with deep forests, and when he looked at the fate map, it was still ck as ink.
''I guess this entire thing yed out well. But this ce is still hidden behind the ckness. I need to think of a solution just in case I don''t find anything useful in the sun domain as well.'' Ace thought with a cold glint in his eyes before he walked toward the open golden gates.
However, just as Ace crossed the gates, the system''s static voice rang while an unexpected interface popped up, which made Ace''s rooted in his ce.
=====
[System detects host has stumbled upon the Mortal Sky Heaven''s Core Secret!]
[All conditions had been met!]
[All the active missions have been voided by the system!]
[Ramification: Any rewards included in the active mission(s) can now be bought from the System Shop!]
---
[Launching the Heaven''s Stealer''s First Heaven Mission!]
=====
"What?!" Ace was gobsmacked by these notifications, especially thest one!
Chapter 684 Heaven’s Secret
Before Ace could inquire what was happening, the interface changed again, and the mission was revealed, which made his eyes widen.
=====
[Heaven''s Stealer Mission: Mortal Sky Heaven]
-Synopsis: Heaven''s Stealer has a solemn duty to steal from Heaven, which includes the core secrets of heaven. These secrets could be anything and anywhere. But once Heaven''s Stealer got closer to these secrets, Heaven''s Stealer couldn''t retreat without taking that secret or die trying!
---
-Mission Type: Heaven''s Stealer
-Precept (1): The Heaven''s Stealer Mission has mysterious conditions which will be all locked. There will be certain prerequisites before the Host can unlock the mysterious conditions and all the information about the conditions.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Precept (2): The total conditions of Heaven''s Stealer Mission are unknown, and they willst until the system divulge the final ''Heaven''s Secret Condition'' and prerequisites to activate it.
-Precept (3): Each mysterious condition will have its own perquisites, time period, mission time period, and rewards.
-Precept (4): Failure is not an option; the punishment for failing any condition is Death!
-Precept (5): During the Heaven''s Stealer Mission, any thievery done will reward with a 2X Thief Point bonus.
-Precept (6): New random items will appear in the system shop after everypletion of a mysterious condition to aid the Heaven''s Stealer in acquiring the Heaven''s Secret.
-Precept (7): Mission Complete Tokens are invalid during Heaven''s Stealer Mission!
=====
Ace''s expression was extremely gloomy when he saw the synopsis as well as precept 4, "System do you want to kill me?" He couldn''t help but ask gloomily, but his voice was buried under the system''s voice and the new interface.
=====
¦Ñ¦Á§ád¦Á---n?¦Ía| §ãom -Heaven''s Stealer Mission: Embarking the Path of Heaven''s Stealer!
-Mysterious Condition (1): Locked (Unknown)
-Prerequisites to Unlock (revealed) this Mysterious Condition:
1. Fourth Realm in Marital and Soul
-Status: Complete
2. Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Rank: 5th Grade
-Status: Iplete
-Time toplete Prerequisites: 1 Year
-Punishment: Death
(NOTE: There is no reward forpleting Prerequisites)
=====
Ace''s expression was extremely dark as he looked at the mission''s punishment. Although the prerequisites were quite not difficult to fulfill, he wasn''t happy with this sudden deadly mission.
"System, what kind of shit are you pulling right now? If you want to push me to my death, then just do it already. There is no need to y the long game?" Ace coldly transmitted his gloomy thoughts.
It was his second time getting a mission with the death penalty, but this mission wasn''t like the first mission at all. It was rted to some core secret of heaven itself. Furthermore, this also had something to do with being a heaven''s stealer.
If it were any other time, Ace would''ve been not so indignant, but he wanted to leave this ce to save Alina, so he was naturally furious about the system pulling a fast one on him at this time.
Since this mission was triggered in this ce, then it meant it had something to do with the Union, and he wanted to leave this ce, not stay here to investigate these mysteries.
The system replied at this moment without any emotions behind its static voice, "[The Heaven''s Stealer Mission is very important for a Heaven''s Stealer. Any Heaven''s Stealer would have to go through these missions if they wanted to prevail.]
"[When a Heaven''s Stealer is born, they became sworn enemy of the Heaven and from that moment on, thest standing will either the Heaven''s Stealer or Heaven. The host has chosen this path and was not forced by anyone.]
"[If the host wants to survive longer, the System suggestspleting this mission, or there won''t be a point in living anymore since death wille eventually. So, it didn''t matter if it came sooner.]
"[The path of Heaven''s Stealer is only forward; any other direction contains death. This is the true consequence of having the power to steal from heaven!]"
Ace was speechless as he didn''t have any words to refute the system anymore because the system was right. No one forced him to choose this path. He was the one who decided to walk on it when he decided to steal from heaven.
From that day onward, his journey to this point has never been easy, and he became what he was today because he was walking the path of no return.
His rage dimmed down quite a bit. But it didn''t mean he was going to jump the cliff without knowing what was down there.
So, he asked, "At least tell me what is this heaven''s secret, and why is it so important, and why can''t you reveal the details like every other mission?"
"[Host only needs to know is the Heaven''s Secrets is key to Heaven''s Stealer survival. As for why System can''t reveal all the details, it is because Heaven''s Secret can''t be known to anyone unless the barrier hiding it bes weak to the point where heaven''s secret bes apparent.]
"[As long as the hostpletes the mysterious conditions, this would weaken the barrier hiding the core secret of heaven, and only then can you know the final condition to get that Heaven''s Secret.]
"[Even knowing the conditions of weakening that barrier without having the mastering over Heaven''s Stealer skills is akin to death.]
"[That''s why every mission contains the death penalty because the moment the host knows about the mysterious condition, you will only have a certain amount of time to fulfilling it before you will draw the Natural Order''s attention and then die in a heart-wrenching manner soon after. So, the system could at least make it painless.]"
Ace waspletely speechless when he heard the true reason behind all this, "So, I can either die painful or painlessly if I screw up, right?" He asked with a rueful expression.
This was really not the result he was hoping for, but he knew, as the system stated before, that death woulde eventually if he didn''t be stronger, so what is the point of living a little longer in some illusion?
"[Exactly!]"
"Hey, why are you standing there dozing off? Get out of the way, and let the gates get close!" A perplexed voice rang at this moment, awakening Ace from his daze.
He saw a green robe demon standing a few meters away from him, looking at Ace gloomily. The color of his robes indicated that he was a union schr.
Ace finally remembered that he was so startled by this deadly mission that he had almost forgotten that he had yet to cross the sun gatespletely.
"Please forgive me, senior. I was dazzled by the grander sun domain, so I was stunned on the spot!" White smiled wryly as he walked in.
Inwardly, Ace thought ruefully, ''Well, I guess this was going to happen sooner orter, and since the system said this secret is something rted to my survival, I have to get it since without it, I''m as good as dead.
''The only good thing that happened from it is I got all the rewards of myst chain mission in my system shop now, and the precept five and six are also to my advantage.''
Ace felt somewhat better as he suppressed his urge to open the shop until he found the ce in themon grounds!
Chapter 685 My Stepping Stone!
The Sun and Moon Sword Union was like an empire that was divided into fiverge regions of the one colossal golden mountain. The five cloud rings marked these five areas and also separated them from each other.
Themon union grounds were in the outer sun domain and also the first area which was at the foot of the golden mountain.
This ce was the starting point for all the union students who were not from Union Elder Lineage. However, there are no cities in this ce, butnds were divided into three sectors, the Living sector, Cultivation Sector, and the Union Enforcer Sector.
Although this sounds small, each sector contained at least over 300 miles ofnd rich with Qi.
Ace wasn''t too optimistic after learning all this since he now had a sword hanging over his head by a hair, and the name of this sword of Damocles was the Heaven''s Stealer Mission.
He was now even regretting stepping into this ce, but he knew sooner orter he had to go through this since it was a matter of his life and death. At that time, he might not even know about what Heaven''s Secret was or that it was important for his survival. He was led here by the fate map, which means it was important to him.
Whatever he had to survive against, but the system was serious this time. If he didn''t activate this mission, he might not even know why he died unjustly. At least now, he knew there was some kind of danger that would take his life. He needs to get this Heaven''s Secret to prevail over it.
Ace even remembered how Moira had warned him about some impending cmity when he met Livia. But he still didn''t know if this cmity was what the system was indicating or something else.
At least he knew when Livia''s fate point turned glittering golden again. It meant he was going to need her. But right now, she was still in his thief''s space, serving Eva, and Cyrus like a good maid, so he had no way of knowing if her fate point had changed color again without taking her out.
But he didn''t dare to take her out even if he had the chance because he was in the union, and this ce was still dyed ck. He could be under constant surveince for all he knows after his entry.
So, he won''t take such risks. At least not until he was absolutely sure of not being watched or if he would trigger something if some unregistered person appeared in this ce.
"Look, newbie, since you weren''t taken by the Elders, then this means you have no Elder Lineage backing you in the inner sun domain. Furthermore, you are from the Human race, and your kind could be considered a second-rate power in the outer sun domain.
"So, I would suggest trying joining a Union Company of Big Threes, which are Devil, Demon, and Hunter Races. We called them the big three here. However, joining apany of the big three is not easy. You have to be at least ranked 10,000,000 in the cultivation tower ranking.
"Only then do thosepanies of the big three show some interest in you." The demon who was leading Ace toward the living sector advised after he exined about the partitions of the sun domain, which was also in the map Ace was given upon passing the entrance, to begin with.
He was just doing his duty as a guide to a new student, which was actually a low-ranking mission that appeared out of nowhere a few moments ago, and he quickly epted it since it was like gaining free Union Merits.
But Ace had already annexed all the demon''s memories since he was only a peak Qi river realm cultivator. So, he knew what Companies were and about the big three as much as this demon.
Thepany was like a hunting team that was formed by the outer sun dominion members toplete missions and collect various resources or even control a rich area in the cultivation sector.
This ce wasn''t peaceful at all because fierce fights were fought over resources avable in the cultivation sector, andrge groups of individuals controlled those resources.
Most of thesepanies were controlled by Union Schrs or those Union Instructors who failed to pass the entrance test to enter the inner sun domain.
Some of the Union Instructors deliberately stay in the outer domain and hoard numerous cultivation resources for themselves and take full advantage of their superior power. Because they knew the inner domain power level was too high for them, and they won''t be able topete with those Union Elder Lineages or Union High Elder Lineages at all.
They were too used to living like Mountain Kings, so they won''t leave the outer domain indefinitely and gain more power and subordinates so they could hoard more resources and control more areas in the cultivation sectors.
The big three shine here as well, especially devils, because, for some reason, the devils have full ess to their blood heritage, unlike in the mortal domain, where they didn''t even know about the true power of their bloodline.
With all this information, Ace ignored the demon, which made the other guy even happier since hisck of questions meant he just needed to send him to the living sector and didn''t have to waste his time by answering his random questions since it was also part of his mission.
If he knew Ace even knew about where he had hidden his treasures which he was sneakily stealing from his mid-sizepany, he wouldn''t be celebrating at all.
Nevertheless, those treasures were simply trash for Ace now.
While in truth, Ace was contacting someone who could be useful in his current predicament while walking heading toward the living sector.
Ace''s voice rang in a particr space of his thief''s house at this moment, "Freya, are you free for a chat?"
At this moment, Freya was surrounded by a strange, ominous aura while she was sitting in a lotus position; she was the embodiment of an Evil Witch.
Furthermore, in front of her were hovering two books, one had dark gray pages with ck symbols, and it was giving off an extremely sinister aura, while the other book was pitch ck and filled with mysterious crimson runes. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
These two books were connected by a ck translucent Qi thread in the center, and the other sides of the two books have two more Qi threads which were directly connected to a ck spot shining over Freya''s be. Creating a triangle.
Furthermore, the runes on the dark gray pages were vanishing along with the fragments of that dark gray page, and thereby, new mysterious crimson runes appeared on the ck page.
However, the process stopped when Freya opened her eyes, and a ck current passed through them, and that pair of bewitching eyes appeared extremely evil.
Her alluring lips curled up in a charming smile as she spoke, "How may I help you, Leader? I thought you forgot about me."
After she got her confidence crushed by Ace''s heaven-defying cultivation method, it was the first time they talked again.
"Can I look in your cultivation space?" Ace''s voice rang again.
He didn''t like to sneak around in the private space of his thief''s house members, especially since they were all women. He didn''t want to appear as a creep as Winter made him be.
He was now even more careful because Eva was awake and would soon enter the thief''s house.
Freya''s smile widened, "Aren''t you a gentleman? You can look any time you want. You have my permission." She said in a lubricious tone.
Ace then finally looked into her private space when he saw Freya. She seemed quite different from her usual self. As for how he didn''t know, he could sense she was no longer arrogant like before, and she seemed more like a humble person.
If not for that strange, ominous aura emitting from her and her enthralling beauty, she would appear like a fairy.
Ace also noticed the two books hovering in front of her and also noticed the half-vanished page from the dark gray book and the half-filled page of the ck book.
p¦Ánd¦Á---no¦Í?1,§ão§® "Can Dark Grimoire really absorb your Ancestral Grimoire? And are you ok with it?" Ace asked in surprise.
He knew those books quite well, especially the dark gray one because it was the same Ancestral Grimoire of Witch Race he stole from the life demon auction, and after studying it for a while, he gave it back to Freya since it was useless to him.
Freya answered without having any intention of hiding it from Ace, "The Dark Grimoire is one of its kind, and it has the ability to devour the other grimoires and all the spells in that grimoire, turning them into its own spells, not to mention more powerful than the original."
Her lips curled into a cold smile at this moment, "Besides, the Dark Grimoire can only be used by me, and it''s now like my heart. The stronger it is, the stronger my magic is. Most importantly, my cultivation seemed to be rising as well with the absorption of the Ancestral Grimoire.
"So, yeah, I''m ok with turning this grimoire into my stepping stone!"
Chapter 686 My Priority Is…
After hearing Freya''s reply, Ace didn''t pry into the matters of her dark grimoire. As long as she didn''t impose on the thief''s house, he won''t interfere with her actions.
"Alright, I can feel you are about to break into the Soul Embryo Manifestation Realm very soon, and it''s seemed it has something to do with your race''s grimoire absorption." Ace coollymented.
"You''re as keen as ever, Leader." Freya giggled charmingly, "So, you''re not here to just check on little me, right? Because if you are, then I''m really tter." Stated Freya coquettishly.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace wasn''t in the mood to indulge her, so he stated his purpose for contacting her, "As long as you''re in this ce, I know you''re fine. The purpose of my bothering you is I want you to use your abilities to infiltrate into a very dangerous ce. You just need to do your thing, like collecting information, finding weaklings, and sowing discord when it needs it. Of course, you have to do it while remaining in the thief''s house."
Freya''s eyes shed with a peculiar glint, "Do you reached the azure wind continent?"
A hint of surprise shed past his eyes, "It seemed Winter has informed you about her current task."
"Well, it''s only natural for us fellow members to look after each other and keep tabs on their wellbeing. She''s the only one who is not present in the thief''s house right now, so it''s only natural I would give her a call now and then to inquire about her situation." Freya smilingly stated.
"Fair enough." Ace didn''t pry further and said solemnly, "No, I still haven''t reached the azure wind continent. On the contrary, I have stumbled upon an even more mysterious ce called the Sun and Moon Sword Union¡"
Ace then divulged how he stumbled upon the union hidden deep within a thick fog of Qi radiation somewhere in the endless sea. He needed her to know everything so she knew what she would be doing and how dangerous it was going to be.
Freya waspletely bbergasted by this unexpected turn of events. Still, she was equally fascinated by the mysteriousnds hidden under the Qi radiation and where all the races of the world live together.
"Hey, we are here. Tsk, tsk, you''re going to suffer with yourck of attention." The demon''s voice rang at this moment, drawing Ace''s attention.
Ace then told Freya to wait and absorb all the information before he returned.
Right now, they were standing in front of a ten-story gray building with an ancient design while the ck Qi barrier was on both sides like walls. He can''t see anything on the other side of the Qi walls, and the only way in is this building.
Ace instantly knew from this demon''s memory that this building was the registration building of the living sector where he would be allocated a resident in this ce.
"What is this ce?" Ace pretended to be marveled at the strange scenery.
The demon chuckled with a hint of disdain and said, "Heh, I guess for you little bumpkins from the mortal domain, this ce is really like dreams. This is the entrance barrier to the living sector of the outer sun domain. And the area between the sun gates and this ce is like an entrance courtyard.
"The true domains lie behind this barrier, and the only way inside or outside is four entrance passes around the foot of the sun mountains, and there are also four sun domain gates around these found passes. Each sun gate is separated from the other by at least a hundred miles apart.
"You have entered from western sun gates, which are closest to the moon domain, so this could only mean there should be a female mortal passing the entrance test with you.
"Anyway, if you ever leave the living sector for any mission and then want to return, then I would suggest never touching that ck wall, or you will turn to ashes within a single breath.
"Oh, and if you lose your union token and then try to enter or exit this building, you will also be punished heavily. Only with a union token can you pass this building, and it''s not free either.
"Only during missions required to exit this pass can you enter or exit without paying Union merits. Now keep your union token in your hand, and let''s go. Since you are new, you will get your living quarters the moment you enter this building!"
The demon exined tonelessly before he moved as he took out his union token and held it tightly. Ace does the same, and they both move toward the ancient building.
The moment they were a few meters close to the building, their union tokens started to shine before a heavy sound of door opening rang, which came from the building in front.
The moment the door was opened, an empty white hall appeared without any staircase or anything despite the building having ten floors.
The demon, followed by Ace, entered the building while their token was shimmering in their hands.
"Union Schr, Zarker: Free Pass!"
"Union Student, White: New entry!
"You have been allocated a 3rd ss cave resident in the Union Student Living Reign, 3rd ss area. Cave Resident Number XXXXXX has been registered to Union Student White.
"Your one-time entry pass has been expended. You may enter now!"
This voice was the same voice Ace had been hearing from the ascension stairway.
"Let''s go. I''ll drop you to the union student region third ss area. Afterward, you are on your own." Zarker snickered as he walked toward the newly opened entrance straight ahead of them.
Ace followed behind while he looked at the interior of the empty hall, which was as ordinary as it could get, but he knew it was far from being ordinary. Just breathing in this ce gave Ace the feeling of being naked, as everything about him was on the verge of exposure.
Without the system, he was afraid to even the content of his storage ring waspletely exposed within the space of this building.
This feeling onlysted until he exited to the other side.
The moment Ace walked outside the building, a vast golden incline road surrounded by lush forest with tall trees appeared. The pathway leads upward on the golden mountain.
Zarker remained dismissive as he had seen this scene too many times as he was used to it.
So, he flipped his hand, and a long silver sword appeared in his hand before he let it go and the next moment, blue runes shone on it before it suddenly hovered in the air, straight before it slowly started to hover down until it was at the length of Zarker''s feet.
He stepped on the flying sword before the sword started to expand, turning into a broad sword. He looked at astonishing White and said, "Hope on and focus your Qi on your feet. I''m not like those Elders who could envelop you with their Qi to protect you.
"So, you have to focus your Qi on your feet while you are flying with me, and you will remain stuck on my flying sword, or I won''t be responsible if you fall to your death!" He sternly warned.
Ace quite marveled at these flying swords from the moment he saw the blue robe youth flying over them. Now he even had one of his own, so he was nning to research them first. This was a very good means of transport, not to mention fast.
So, he did as he was told and stepped over the broad sword, and the moment he focused his Qi on his feet, they suddenly stuck to the smooth metal surface of the de like mas.
Zarker then controlled the flying sword as they started flying upward on the paved golden road five meters above the ground.
After getting the hang of standing over the flying sword using his Qi, Ace again focused on Freya, who waspletely solemn. At the same time, he also paid attention to his surroundings while going toward the union student region.
"So, what do you think?" He transmitted his voice.
Freya was no longer yful as before as she gravely asked, "I don''t know if you''re lucky or unlucky since this ce sounds even more terrifying than the All-Devil Continent. But it''s also quite an opportunity for us.
"I just want to make one thing clear before I would suggest something. Are you nning to robe this ce or leave?" She solemnly questioned.
Ace truthfully replied, "That''s the thing, actually. I received a mission that is rted to this ce. But my priority is still Alina. So, I want to leave this ce beforeing back. At that time, Winter will also be here, and she can provide even more help in this ce."
Freya remained silent for a moment as she already had some idea about how important Alina was to Ace after she had chatted with Winter.
But she also agreed with the statement about Winter. The Faceless Thief could really do wonders in a ce like Union and make this mission much easier.
So, she said after mulling over the situation, "Do you remember about the Yin Soul Possession Technique¡!"
Chapter 687 I Have No Solution!
Ace stood on the golden road as he looked at the numerous cave entrances up ahead. It was like a honeb.
All of those cave entrances were blocked by light barriers, and asionally, someone on a flying sword would fly out of those caves and fly upward while flying over a five-meter altitude on a paved road.
Those who preferred were walking below, while those on the flying sword were flying above them without anyone bothering anybody. It was quite a novel sight for Ace despite having already seen it in Zarker''s memoirs.
Zarker stood over his flying sword without having any intention to overstay. He said impassively, "As you can see, all those caves are at the outermost area of the living sector, the union student region, third-ss area, and the higher you go, the deeper you are in the living sector.
"But remember, you are only allowed to fly or walk over this road, and you are not allowed to wander into any area which forbids your entry, like the second-ss area of the union student region, which only allows foundation-building students.
"If you want to enter the cultivation sector, where lies the library and unique cultivation resources, as long as you walk on this road for twelve hours, you''ll be able to find the boundary of the cultivation sector.
"So, you better learn how to control your flying sword if you don''t want to waste time by walking between your cave resident and the cultivation domain.
"The union schr and union instructors usually give special cultivation sses for Union Students or even Union Schrs in Public Halls in the center of the living sector.
"But those sses are not cheap, especially the sses from the Union Instructors who seldom leave the cultivation domain. Anyhow, some union students can be hired for private lessons so you can learn how to control your flying sword from them if you satisfy them."
Ace knew all this, but he pretended to be in awe as he suddenly asked, "What about you, senior? You are also a Union Schr, right? How much will it cost to hire you for flying sword lessons?"
Zarker smiled in disdain as he said, "Newbie, I''m not cheap. It will cost you at least 1 thousand union merits to hire me for flying sword sses for only three days. Now tell me do you want to?"
In Zarker''s mind, Ace was a newbie who came from the mortal domain. There was a unique rule for anyone who descended from the mortal domain that all the union merits they bought from the mortal domain would be voided upon entry into the true union.
e¦Áglesn?¦Íel It was done so that some rich guys from the mortal domain would also go through the same hardship as their peers.
So, how could White have 1000 UM?
But if Zarker knew Ace had received 10,000 UM after breaking the entrance record. He won''t be so disdainful towards him and even treat him seriously.
Right now, the fact about White''s talent was only known by the inner sun domain. If he wanted to make a name for himself in the outer sun domain, then he needed to do something which was noteworthy enough to draw the attention of millions in the outer sun domain.
Anyhow, Ace already had all Zarker''s knowledge, which included the information about the flying sword, so he didn''t really need to take any lessons from those guys who were even weaker than him.
"I have no money. It''s a shame." White sighed with a reluctant expression.
Zarker''s lips curled up into a mocking smile, "It''s a shame, really. Alright, I have done my part. You are on your own now."
With that, the flying sword under his feet swished, and he flew upward toward the mountain.
After Zarker left, Ace''s expression returned to be impassive as he looked at all those mountain caves like honebs and sighed ruefully, ''If people from the ten continents knew just this outermost area for the union students are asvish as the demon domain, it would cause them to go bonkers.
''But it''s a shame I don''t have the luxury to enjoy all this since I still don''t know if those caves will be under surveince. Yet, I needed to gain mastery over my haven''s stealer dismantler principles as quickly as possible, so I could gain some clue from the condition about how to leave this ce.
''Freya will also be able to break into the soul manifestation realm by the time I wouldplete the perquisite of the Heaven''s Stealer Mission.'' Ace grimly thought before he activated his union token.
A white map projection appeared of the third-ss area with a ck-marked location. This mark indicated to his cave resident.
After finding the general location, he started to move toward the residential area. No one paid any attention to him as they were all minding their own business.
Especially since White was only a Qi gates cultivator like them, so they would rather waste their time cultivating and breaking into the foundation-building realm to go into the second-ss area.
The Union Students were all 1st Realm, 2nd Realm, and 3rd Realm cultivators. The higher their cultivation realm, the better cave resident will be appointed in the higher-ss area.
However, to leave the Union Student Region and get a cave resident in the Union Schr Region, they needed to pass a test to evaluate their rank in Union Schr First.
Any union student qualified for this test after they break into the third realm, or they can skip this test by directly bing fourth realm cultivators.
However, these prerequisites were quite difficult, especially thetter, because every union student had to buy cultivation manuals of different realms from the library with every major breakthrough. They needed union merits for them.
This process was even more lengthy, not to mention it was also a matter of talent. Although the union provides its members with the best cultivation techniques, talents still matter.
If someone without any talent can break into the foundation-building realm within one or two years, then someone with talent could do the same between three and six months or even sooner.
That''s why thepetition in themon union grounds was always fiercest since most of these people were not as talented as the descendants of the elder lineages in the inner sun domain and had limited resources.
That''s also why most of these guys are always busy cultivating to reevaluate their status and get a better life for themselves and their descendants. But only if it was that easy.
Ace walked for half an hour before he found himself walking in a remote area where all the cave residents were closed off with a golden barrier that couldpletely block off anyone''s sight.
However, not only Ace''s thief sense was working, but he could also use his fate map to spot fate points inside despite the terrain dyed in ck.
To his surprise, almost every cave resident in this area was empty. It wasn''t either upied, or the owners were gone out. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
After walking for another half an hour, he finally found his cave residence, which was in the middle of nowhere. Still, Ace liked this ce as no one was around this ce.
He then ced his token over the ck barrier, and like a bubble, it burst open, revealing a 10X10 space with a stone bed, and that''s it. There was nothing else!
"What a scam!" Ace sneered in disdain before he used his token to close the entrance again.
Although this ce was too humble for someone like him who had been visiting high-end ces for fifteen years and hadn''t seen a poor city ever since he left the lowernds.
He always preferred to enter those rich cities since they always had more things to steal, and he had developed a mentality that if he was going to steal and reveal himself, then he better make it big because the consequences would always be the same.
Still, he didn''t forget about his roots since he had lived in the slums for over a year after he sold the house his parents left him in themon district of the river flower city.
Suddenly he transmitted his voice, "I don''t think anyone would bother to ce some surveince in this shitty little ce. Still, I need to be as careful as I can get because this is still a ck fate location while his indicator is still pointing toward the top of the mountain.
"It might be pointing me right where heaven''s secret is. But I''m not so sure since even the system couldn''t reveal its position to me straight, much less an iplete grade-4 Eternal Soul Provenance Treasure, right, Moira?"
"Sir, Ace, you''re being rude." Moira''s unhappy cute voice rang, "But, you''re right, even I don''t know what a Heaven''s Secret is. Still, fate works in mysterious ways."
Ace chuckled and jokingly said, "I was just joking with you and also checking on you to see if you''ve been paying attention and have some solution."
"Thank you, and I''m always paying attention and avable at any time for Sir, Ace." Moira solemnly stated, "But I have no solution!"
Ace was speechless after hearing thest part!
Chapter 688 The Three Ghosts
Azure Wind Continent, on a colossal mountain peak, surrounded by azure winds. At this moment, three figures in dark mantles with capes appeared outside the small shack on top of the mountain peak.
However, before they could step further, another tall figure appeared wearing bronze color Taoist robes. He was a human who appeared to be in his early thirties with a handsome face with a long goatee and sharp eyebrows and astute sky-blue eyes. His long ck hair fluttered as he stood before the three figures.
He was surrounded by the aura of mystery; this human had a distinguished identity among the human race and held absolute authority over them, and he was as old as five ancient sects. He''s the Grand Elder of Azure Wind Mountain Sect, Dream Shatter Ancestor!
Dream Shatter''s peaceful expression crumbled into a faint smile on his handsome face as he said to those three capped figures in greeting, "I was just wondering when you guys will show up. It''s been a long time, Senior Devil Ancestor, Senior Demon Ancestor, and Senior Blood Ancestor."
"Tsk, tsk, and here I thought we managed to sneak into here without getting noticed." An eerie voice chortled from the 2''5-meter-tall figure stood in the center of the three as the cape on his head suddenly blew back, revealing a bewitchingly handsome face of an otherworldly man.
e¦Áglesn?¦Íel The crimson devil hornsplimented his long hair of blood color, and so were his eyeballs, while his irises were white and pupils ck, and two long sharp fangs were revealed from his crimson lips.
After his face was revealed, he started to give off a devilish aura. The aura he was giving off was extremely sinister, as if he was walking straight out of hell.
This devilishly handsome person with an aura like a true devil was none other than the most powerful person known in the Golden Sky World, the Devil Ancestor, Edward!
"Heh, he''s probably allowed you to sneak here to give you a false sense of aplishment, like he always does, right little Dream Shatter?" A coquettish voice rang from the 1''9-meter-tall capped figure standing right beside the Devil Ancestor.
The cape on her also flipped ck, and a transparent veil-wearing beauty appeared as her skin was pale white while the outline of her bewitching face was quite apparent. Her hair was purple while her big round bright purplish eyes shimmered in shrewdness, giving the sense that she was scheming something nefarious.
She was the most powerful Huntress of the Hunter Race and the third-strongest expert of the Golden Sky World, the Blood Ancestor of Blood Continent, Margret.
"Humph!" Lastly, the 5.1-meter-tall giant burly figure grunted coldly before revealing his face.
A wizened ck face of a demon appeared with pitch-ck eyeballs, and his two twisted gray antelope horns were 10 feet long while his head was bald. Still, his demonic aura was only the slightest bit weaker than the Devil Ancestor. He was the second-strongest expert of the Golden Sky World and the Ancestor of the Demon Race, Albert.
"Seniors, you guys know I don''t have the capability to fool any of you guys." Dream Shatter humbly replied with a smile. He was like a junior standing in front of those three terrifying experts.
But none of them believed Dream Shatter''s words as if they knew just what kind of thing this guy was capable of, but they had no intention of exposing him either.
"Alright, stop with your fa?ade." Edward dismissively said, "I hope you don''t mind me bringing along two friends, right?"
"I won''t dare. In fact, I''m d you bought two seniors with you. This way, those guys from the White Crown will get crushed for sure." Dream Shatter chuckled.
Margret spoke at this moment, "Heh, again, with your humble act? You clearly knew Edward woulde since he''s too greedy while Albert is desperate, and you have my student captured and even used her as bait, so I was going toe, no matter what."
Margret''s voice was somewhat cold at thest point.
Dream Shatter didn''t deny her words and coolly exined, "Trust me, Senior, I haven''t harmed a hair of her, and she''s living even morevish than me. You can even ask her yourself and can take her away any time you want to."
A faint smile appeared on Dream Shatter''s face, "Besides, I''ve done all this after informing you through the Ice Lord since I don''t dare to bother you. And since you didn''t contact me to stop me, I consider that as your approval, and your student also cooperated after she found out I''m your acquaintance."
Margret''s purplish eyes lips as her faint purplish lips visible behind her veil curled up, creating a breathtaking scene, "That better be the case, or you know me well, Little Dream Shatter."
"That girl is your student?" Albert looked down at Margret with a hint of shock. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Heh, I was as surprised as you when I found out." Edward chuckled.
"Why the hell am I the only one who finding it out now?" Albert pursed his lips as he felt betrayed.
"Because you''re a self-centered idiot." Margret giggled as shemented without holding back.
Albert''s expression turned nasty as his aura spiked, "You, Harlot, I dare you to say that again!"
"Why wouldn''t I dare call an idiot who lost the key an idiot? IDIOT!" Margret retorted while giving Albert a side-eye.
Before Albert flew into a rage, Edward stepped in, "You two, behave."
Without giving them a chance to speak, he then looked at Dream Shatter, who was silently watching the scene y out like a spectator; he coolly said, "Where is he?"
Albert and Margret could only stop as they knew it was not the time for bickering among themselves. They were all here for something, especially Demon Ancestor Albert, who wanted to find Ace no matter what.
Dream Shatter replied with a faint smile, "I''m afraid Prime One is not here."
Edward''s dismissive expression turned rather cold as an extremely eerie aura started to envelop Dream Shatter, "Do you think you''ve grown to such a degree that you can make me unhappy? Even your Master wouldn''t dare to make me unhappy." He questioned impassively.
Dream Shatter didn''t seem to be bothered by the aura at all, but he still bowed his head in front of Edward and respectfully said, "I''m still a nobody in front of Senior Devil Ancestor. However, Prime One had told me to receive you guys with utmost respect before he left three days. I have no idea where Prime One had gone, but before leaving, he gave me all the things necessary to handle the raid at the White Crown hideout."
"I only want my key in that thief''s possession. It doesn''t matter if I meet with that entric or not." Albert coldly dered.
Edward looked at Dream Shatter with scrutiny before he nced at the shack behind him. He nodded, "Alright, that guy always seemed to avoid my friendly intentions. So be it."
Dream Shatter smiled wryly as he replied, "It''s not like Prime One didn''t want to meet you guys. It''s just that something came up abruptly, and even I''m not aware of the matters of Prime One. Still, it''s been quite a long time since he left the azure mountain. But he''ll soone back, I''m sure. He''s as interested as us in the White Crown and that Thief''s secrets."
"Heh, even Little Dream Shatter didn''t know about someone''s origin? I don''t believe you." Margret scoffed.
"Believe it or not, I''m telling the truth." Dream Shatter shrugged, "Furthermore, before leaving, Prime One told me that the Beast Ancestor and Eleven Queen mighte here in half a month to cause trouble."
Edward seemed quite intrigued when he heard this, "Oh? Are those twoing together? Did something interesting happen that we are unaware of?"
"Yes, something like that. The Wise Elves seemed to have lost some kind of ancient inheritance they had been hiding for over two thousand years, and they''re ming humans for that." Dream Shatter sighed helplessly as he had no idea just how a human could appear in the elven continent and even snatch an ancient inheritance that they had been protecting for over two thousand years.
"Something like that happened? Don''t tell me it''s that thief?" Albert instantly med Ace as, in his mind, only he was capable of such a thing.
"No possible. They said that person didn''t hide his identity, nor did he use any skills like the Sky Stealer. I don''t know about the full matter, but I''m sure we''ll find out once those guys arrive. So, I hope you guys can lend a hand." Dream Shatter shamelessly asked for their help.
"You only told us about it so you could have us do your chores, typical Dream Shatter." Margret sneered.
"It doesn''t matter. It''s been a long time since all of us gathered together. Especially that old cowardly snake. He probably thinks of us as dead. Let''s give him a big surprise." Edward yfully stated, especially when he thought about the Beast Ancestor, a ruthless glint shed past his devilish eyes.
Dream Shatter smiled as he said, "Alright, let me escort you guys to the pce. I''ll give you details that Prime One left!"
Chapter 689 Blood Ancestor’s Offer
Within a luxurious grand hall, a veiled woman in body-tight white armor, unting her perfect figure, was shing her thin long silvery sword aesthetically in a strange rhythm. With every sh, she would gracefully move around the hall as if she was dancing.
As her long silver hair danced in the air like silvery mes with her sensational movements, her silvery eyes were like pristine pearls which didn''t have any emotions in them. Her movements were fluent and graceful, while her sword aura was sharp and frigid. She looked like a sword fairy dancing on her own rhythm,pletely oblivious to worldly affairs.
She was none other than Alina!
"Princess, you should rest. You''ve been practicing your sword dance for an entire week now!" A fidgety crisp voice rang from the corner of this hall.
Another graceful silver-haired woman with an oval bewitching face and 5''11 feet tall, wearing a blue flowery dress, was looking at Alina with antsy. Her name was Lillian, and she was Alina''s Royal Maid as well as a close friend.
Alina seemed to didn''t hear Lillian''s concerning voice at all and continued to dance around with her sword.
Lillian chewed on her lips as she saw Alina was ignoring her again and cussed, ''It was all that bastard Dream Shatter''s fault that Alina became so distant! If I had known, I wouldn''t have allowed her toe here even if it killed me.''
s, if only there were medicine for regret.
But it wasn''t Lillian''s fault either. She only thought that Alina''s fake brother was a mortal human, but not even Alina had even thought that he would turn out to be the enigmatic Sky Stealer!
Although Dream Shatter didn''t do anything to them and treated them like esteemed guests, the fact remains that they were still prisoners.
Not to mention, Alina was now part of a huge scheme to capture the Sky Stealer, and even her own race was ying a huge part in it. Even if they wanted to escape, where could they go exactly?
Although Dream Shatter assured them that Alina''s execution was an act, at this point, Lillian won''t believe anything as long as she won''t confirm it herself.
"Oh, you''ve improved, my little disciple." A melodious voice suddenly rang within the hall at this moment.
Lillian was instantly rmed when she was a tall, veiled woman with purple hair in a ck dress appeared out of nowhere a few meters away from Alina. If Alina''s figure was perfect in every way, that woman''s buxom figure was perfectly monstrous. Any man would drool after a single look.
Alina was also startled by the appearance of this woman as well as she knew that yful tone quite well. She stopped and confronted the woman with a hint of surprise in her beautiful silvery eyes.
"Who are you?!" Lillian was rmed as she quickly started to circte her Qi to confront the intruder. She didn''t trust anyone among the humans.
However, she wasn''t foolish enough to charge at her since she knew this woman had to be powerful since she could sneak right behind Alina without even rming her.
"Leave us." Alina softly spoke in her mellifluous voice.
"But¡"
"Leave us." She repeated in the same manner, but her tone was somewhat colder.
Lillian bit her lips, and after giving that woman a piercing gaze, she quickly left while thinking gloomily, ''I have to find and tell Grandpa Herman!''
"Sigh¡ even my own race couldn''t identify me anymore. So much for being Blood Ancestor, huh." The veiled woman was non-other than Blood Ancestor, Margret sighed ruefully. N?v(el)B\\jnn
The sword in Alina''s hand vanished before she bowed in front of Margret in greeting, "It''s good to see you, Mistress."
"Why are you still calling me Mistress? Call me Master." Margret retorted.
"No. I won''t be your disciple." Alina shook her head.
Margret wasn''t seemed to bother by Alina''s reply as she said while smiling, "Are you still angry about the fact that I killed your Grandfather and Grandmother? Or are you still dwelling on the fact that I''m the one who was behind your childhood exile?
"As I''ve already told you when thest time we met, I''m not the viin here, but your family nearly destroyed our race''s sacred treasure. So, I have to step in, or trust me; I wouldn''t be bothered by anything else.
"Besides, haven''t I alreadypensated your family enough for you? Are you still going to remain stubborn even with your current situation? Your Father and Mother begged me to send you back, and I can make it happen right now.
"Just ept my inheritance, and you can do anything you want, even control the entire hunter race." Said Margret as if she were talking about some small matter.
eaglesnov?1,§ão§® Alina''s eyes shimmered in coldness as she replied, "I don''t want any of that, and I wouldn''t dare to hate Mistress. You are our sacred mother, and our race was born from you. Whatever you do, it''s for the greater good of our race. I''m just not qualified to inherit your legacy."
Margret couldn''t help but giggle at this moment while she pped her hand amusingly, "You''re as stubborn as your Grandparents. I have warned them once to stop looking into a secret that would annihte them if they got too close. But they never listened, and the Silver Ice n nearly got annihted.
"But you, on the other hand, seemed to be the opposite. You are not interested in authority or secrets and always mind your own business while cultivating like a maniac.
"I''ve been observing you for years now, and I always wonder why you rejected the power which is right in front of you on a silver tter all this time. Now, I finally understand. It''s probably because of that boy named Ace, right?"
Ripples appeared in Alina''s cold eyes when she heard that name, but she quickly returned to being indifferent, "So, you knew I was leaving the continent, yet you didn''t stop me?"
Margret nodded, "What would I stop you? Do you think I would''ve let anything happen to you? I could''ve taken you back the moment Dream Shatter discovered you, but I wanted to see why you were so desperate to search for that boy. However, I discovered something even more interesting, which was out of even my imagination."
Margret eyes shimmered in a particr light, "So, how about this if you inherit my legacy, I''ll spare the boy and his kin as long as he hands over the secrets to him. Both Devil and Demon Ancestors would give me that much face.
"Even if he didn''te for you, he wouldn''t abandon his parents, would he? But if he did even abandon his own flesh and blood, wouldn''t this also mean he didn''t care about you anymore and had be a heartless ingrate?
"But if you remain stubborn, you might never see him again, and even if he didn''te. Do you think he would still like you if he found out that you had the power to save his kin, yet you chose to look the other way?"
Margret yfully said while she turned around gracefully, "You have time until the date of your so-called execution. If you remain stubborn, I can only guarantee your survival, but someone will be going to get executed that day."
With thatst sentence, Margret vanished from her position just like she appeared without waiting for Alina''s reply.
Alina looked at the empty spot where Margret was standing a moment ago as terrifying killing intent surfaced in her eyes, and the temperature of the hall started to decrease at a terrifying rate.
But that ghastly aura onlysted for a moment before anxiety reced Alina''s cold expression, ''I need to escape and somehow warn Ace¡!''
Chapter 690 Too Slow…
On the western bay of the Azure Wind Continent,
In the dark night, a ghastly scene was being yed as tenrge ships were brightly lit on mes like torches while the sounds of sea waves with the mixture of deadly shrills rang in the vicinity.
"Boomm¡"
A ship suddenly exploded into smithereens, which created a chain reaction, and other nine ships started to explode one after another, creating massive fireworks.
Watching this magnificent scene from the beach not far away was a tall silhouette d in ck robes with dark blue patterns, and the face was hidden behind a long hood.
After the explosions were over, the oncerge ships were now turned to debris as well as some corpses and limbs were afloat on the ming water surface. They would soon draw many sea demonic beasts.
At this moment, the hooded figure flipped its hand, and amunication cube appeared before it started to shimmer brightly.
Thereby, it was connected to the other side, and before the other party could speak, an appalling voice rang, "A-admiral, I''m Captain Hazel. We are under attack! There are enemies attacking my fleet from all sides! Please send us help¡
"You bastard¡ y-you do you even know you''re attacking the fleet of Imperial Demon Army?! I have already contacted Demon Admiral!"
"Who is it?!" A deep husky voice rang at this moment from the cube. There was a clear surprise and rage contained in it.
The woman''s voice suddenly changed as a raspy voice rang in derision, "Hahaha, so what if you''re some demon, I, the Blood Thirstily Disillusion, will kill all the lowly demons and then feast upon them, Die demon bitch!"
"NOOOO¡." The woman''s blood-curdling screams rang again before she clenched her hand, and the cube was crushed! The demon admiral didn''t even have a chance to speak another word.
After themunication cube was destroyed, silence returned to the vicinity, and the sounds of waves remained.
"Sigh¡ finally, I''m able to escape from the sea ande clean with this status. Now, this won''te to bite me. The situation is too sensitive in this ce. I can''t be more careful." Winter muttered in exasperation before her voice became spirited again when she looked at the interface in front of her, "Well, I got a big harvest out of this entire chore."
______
[Theft Sessful!]
[Theft: 1,000]
[Open to look at further the details]
[Reward: 210,800 House Points]
---
-Mission Introduction: Infiltration!
- Condition (1): Infiltrate the Azure Wind Continent!
-Status: Complete
-Reward: 25,000 House Points (imed)
- Condition (2): Infiltrate Dream Shatter''s Organization!
-Status: Iplete
-Reward: 50,000 House Points (Unimed)
- Condition (3): Find Alina''s whereabouts!
-Status: Iplete
-Reward: 100,000 House Points (Unimed)
- Condition (4): Map the target area and the threats!
-Status: Iplete
-Reward: 250,000 House Points (Unimed)
- Condition (5): Infiltrate the ce where Alina''s being held hostage!
-Status: Iplete
-Reward: 500,000 House Points (Unimed)
- Condition (6): Escape with Alina!
-Status: Iplete
-Reward: 5,000,000 House Points (Unimed)
--
-Time: 3Y: 5M: 29D
--
-Punishment (If not able toplete the first two conditions minimum): Call House Leader Ace: My King for 100 Years!
______
''Humph! I earned more house points by stealing from those 1,000 soldiers than that stingy leader''s mission first three conditionsbined.'' Winter scoffed in her heart before she opened her status.
______
[House Member: Winter Fox (Female)]
[Race: Magic Beast]
[Bloodline: Ice Illusion Fox (Grade-6 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
---
[Thief Genre: Faceless Thief (Trainee)]
[House Rank: Excellent Member (Upgradeable)]
[Next Rank [Expert Member]: 1,044/100,000 Thieveries]
---
[Marital Cultivation: tinum Qi Soul Realm (Advance: Stage-9)]
-Innate Martial Ability(s): 4
---
[Talent: Average (Upgradeable)]
---
[Technique & Skills: 9]
-Cultivation Technique(s):
1. Faceless Thief Secrets (1st Vol): Fifth Realm
-Body Refinement Technique(s):
1. Myriad Beast Body Transformation Technique: Hundred Transformations
-Cultivation Art(s):
1. Faceless Art (Vol 1):
Total Tiers: 12
Current Tier Mastery: Tier-5 Mastery
2. Foxy Illusionary Charm:
-Four Stages with three levels (Early, Intermediate, Advance)
-Current Stage: Second Stage (Advance)
3. One with World:
-Five Stages with three levels (Early, Intermediate, Advance)
-Current Stage: Third Stage (Advance)
-Skill(s):
1. Cold Steps: Perfection
2. Thief''s Charity (Inverse & Reverse): Perfection
3. Soul Threads: Perfection
Secret Skill & Arts(s):
1. wless Aura Disguise (Skill): High
-Treasure(s):
1. Faceless Thief Mask: Grade-9 (Upgradeable)
2. Soul Shattering Gauntlets: Grade-6
3. Faceless Thief Robes: Grade-8
4. Life Escape Coin: 3
---
[House Point(s): 789,300]
---
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 1]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
---
[House Shop: Faceless Thief]
______
She nodded in satisfaction seeing her tally of House Points and closing the status. She then turned around and looked at the dense forest behind her, and her lips curled up.
''I shouldplete my breakthrough before I go forward. The west is the territory of the Beast Tamer Sect, while I need to go to the Azure Wind Mountain Sect. Since that Dream Shatter is the Grand Elder of that ce, I can''t think of any other ce where he''s keeping Alina now.
''Besides, the devil and demon armies are still lying waiting in the endless sea, and they only sent a small fragment of these forces into the human continent. They are nning something big. It''s just a pity I wasn''t able to collect more information from the demon admiral since I can''t wait any longer.
''While I''m working my ass off, that guy is still who knows where. I should contact him to have an update after my breakthrough.'' She thought in annoyance before her figure started to blur before itpletely vanished into nothingness.
---
After entering his cave residence, Ace ced all kinds of concealing formations in the small room. Only then did he feel somewhat satisfied and then sat down on the stone bed and mused.
''Now, how should I proceed? My dismantler principals are only around grade-3 at the moment. I needed to get to grade-5, which would take two or three months if I put all my focus on them. I still have the pending reward frompleting Condition 1 from myst chain mission (+1 Grade in Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Principles).
''But it''s not worth it to use it on just grade-4 or grade-5. I should keep it until I reach a bottleneck or grade-8. In the meanwhile, I need to get the other reaming manuals of the cultivation technique from the Union.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
''I can''t ''breakthrough'' into higher realms without their cultivation techniques, or it would look nothing but suspicious. I''ll buy any cheap manual up to the fourth realm and enter the inner domain in three months.
''This will cause even moremotion. At the same time, I will maintain the image of a hard-working human who doesn''t want to affiliate with anyone and just wants to cultivate. This will keep me in everyone''s good graces. But in reality, all I want is¡'' Ace''s thought process was disrupted when the system''s abrupt notifications rang.
=====
[House Member Winter Fox Killed 127 Demons]
-Reward: 1,300 EXP & 1,000 SP
---
[Thief House Member Winter Fox theft sessfully!]
[Theft: 1000]
[Open here to check the detail]
[Reward: 2,108,000 Thief Points]
---
[Thief Point(s): 53,918,950]
---
[House Leader Mission: Infiltration]
[Condition 1: Infiltrate the Azure Wind Continent has beenpleted by Winter Fox. The rewards have been released!]
=====
Ace was bewildered by this notification, "When did this happen? And why I''m only hearing about it now?"
"[Host always wants only a full report of thief house members, not about every single thing. So, the system always sent the host the final report five minutester after the action ended.]"
"What, this is just five minutes ago, meaning she only took action today? Didn''t she say she was only three days away from the continent a few months ago?" Ace was even more confused.
The system didn''t reply to this irrelevant question.
Ace frowned as he finally decided to contact her in an hour since she might be n the middle of something right now.
Ace grimly thought, ''No, this is going too slow. I need to start moving, but before that, I should check my shop!''
Chapter 691 First Grade-9 Treasure!
Ace opened the system shop panel to see the promised ramification rewards system imed to put in the system shop.
=====
[System Shop]
[Avable Skill Books]
[Avable Techniques]
[Avable Weapons]
[Avable Pills]
[Avable Ramifications (Temporary)]
=====
''It''s been quite a while since something new has been put in my shop.'' Acemented before he opened the temporary section.
=====
[System Shop: Ramification Section (Temporary)]
[Ramification Source: Last Chain Mission]
--
Rewards of Condition 2:
1. 1,000,000 EXP & 1,000,000 SP
-Ramification Cost: 100,000 Thief Points
2. Soul Stealth Art
-Ramification Cost: 5 Million Thief Points
3. Fundamentals of Array Crafting (Grade-1 to Grade-3)
-Ramification Cost: 1 Million Thief Points
--
-Rewards of Condition 3:
1. 3,500,000 EXP & 3,500,000 SP
-Ramification Cost: 350,000 Thief Points
2. Absolute Pick Pocket
- Ramification Cost: 10 Million Thief Points
3. Intermediate Item Upgrade Tokens
[Description: Upgrade any Treasure purchased from the System Shop by 2 Grades]
-Avable: 3
-Ramification Cost: 10 Million Thief Points (Per Token)
=====
''So, even the EXP and SP involved in those rewards are also up for sale, huh? This really is a ramification. But this also showed just how much important the Heaven''s Stealer Mission is.'' Ace''s eyes went sharp as he ignored the EXP and SPpletely since they would be just going to waste if he imed them at his current stage.
Ace now knew the EXP and SP from the system were quite precious because they won''t be decreased no matter at which stage he used them, unlike the treasures in his possession.
The low grades items would give him a low amount of EXP or SP as he became stronger, while the higher-level items would take their paces soon after. But the pending system EXP and SP were not like that.
The system has never put any time limits on pending rewards, and this was a benefit on its own, and Ace was fully going to utilize it.
''My Heartless Stealth Art is already at its peak, so this stealth art came at the correct time. At the same time, I don''t have time for rune crafting yet.
''As for this absolute pick-pocket, this might be a higher version of my pick-pocket skill which is probably the only basic skill I still use. But using it with soul threats at this level is quite dangerous, especially if I try to use it on aw awareness realm cultivator.
''However, what I needed the most was myst reward!'' Ace''s eyes glow like the sun as looked at the three avable item upgrade tokens.
Right now, the only thing he was in need of was absolute secrecy of his identity as well as he needed a powerful tool that could help him move around without implicating his White identity.
But the only tool in his arsenal was the Thousand-Face Mask, but it has been of no usetely as it can no longer hide his true identity from powerful beings like the tower spirit or aw awareness realm expert.
Even a peak soul manifestation realm expert could also see through that mask as long as they locked on him.
This problem was also not limited to living beings. The biggest problem was powerful formations that could not make mistakes like living beings. That''s why he had to infiltrate the core grounds of the union with his true appearance in the first ce.
However, now, he can upgrade his Thousand-Face Mask!
"System, I want to buy all three intermediate item upgrade tokens and then use them all on the Thousand Face Mask!" Acemanded without hesitation.
As for paying thirty million thief points, he knew it was a small price in front of moving freely in this ce!
The system''s voice started to ring at this moment,
=====
[30 Million Thief Points have been deducted!]
[3 Intermediate Item Upgrade Tokens have been purchased sessfully!]
---
[Thief Point(s): 23,918,950]
---
[Are you sure you want to use all three tokens on the Thousand-Face Mask (Grade-3 Rune Item)?]
=====
"Yes, I''m pretty sure," Ace answered without hesitation.
=====
[Intermediate Item Upgrade Token has been used on Thousand-Face Mask!]
[Intermediate Item Upgrade Token has been used on Thousand-Face Mask!]
[Intermediate Item Upgrade Token has been used on Thousand-Face Mask!]
---
[Thousand-Face Deception Mask upgrade has beenpleted with three item upgrade tokens!]
---
[Myriad Vizard Thief Mask: Grade 9 Runic Item]
-Ability(s):
-Face Storage Capacity: 10,000
[Current Save Faces: 373]
-Face Delete (New)
[Description: Myriad Vizard Thief Mask has the ability to delete save faces!]
-Thievish Gaze (New)
[Description: The user can save face at will as long as it is within the user''s vision]
[NOTE: To use the Thievish Gaze ability, the user must wear the Myriad Vizard Thief Mask]
-Unseen Thief
[Description: As long as this ability is active, the user will be Unseen under any kind of surveince runic objects!]
-Martial Cultivation Disguise (1st Realm to 8th Realm)
-Soul Cultivation Disguise (1st Realm to 8th Realm)
-Racial Physical Aura Masking (New)n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Racial Soul Aura Masking (New)
-Limit(s): No limitation under Mortal Sky Heaven!
======
Ace''s heart raced after seeing the new Myriad Vizard Thief Mask''s abilities, and when he saw the Unseen Thief ability and thest line, he nearlyughed out of loud in mirth.
''No limitation under mortal sky heaven? I can even emit a cultivation aura of an 8th-realm expert while I can''t be detected walking in any surveince formations. This mask was the thing that I needed!'' Ace thought with ecstasy.
Without hesitation, Ace takes out the new Myriad Vizard Thief Mask. The mask was faceless and as soft and thin as a membrane, and its pitch-ck color changed as it was nowpletely transparent. The small red ruby-like gem in its center has also vanished.
If Ace didn''t know this was grade-9 treasure, he would think this was just some cheap mask. Furthermore, the moment he touched the mask, a strange current suddenly ran through his hand.
Ace was startled, but the next moment, a strange connection suddenly formed between him and the mask, and foreign memories started to enter his head. Ace was astonished as all those memories were about the abilities of the Myriad Vizard Thief Mask and how to activate them.
Now, he didn''t need to tell the system about to save a face. He can do it himself with a single thought while he can now also get rid of useless faces which have been saved for fifteen years.
He was never given the option to delete a face from the moment he got the two-face mask which was the first form of the Myriad Vizard Thief Mask. That''s why he was always selective in choosing faces since it couldn''t be undone, especially when he had limited slots.
However, now that he had ten thousand of them, even if he didn''t delete the old ones, it matters little.
''So, this a grade-9 treasure, huh?'' Ace was very content with this mask and felt the thirty million he spent on it was worth it.
Without wasting more time, he thought while pacing the mask right in front of himself, ''Scan my current appearance.''
The transparent mask suddenly blinked in ck light, and Ace got confirmation that it was done, which made him even more pleased as he ced the mask over his face.
The moment it contacted his face, it vanished without a trace, and Ace felt like he was wearing nothing. But he could clearly feel the connection with the mask, and he knew it was right on his face. But he would appear like he was in other people''s eyes as long as he won''t activate the mask. It doesn''t matter if he keeps it wearing.
Then Ace activated his newly saved face, and he felt a current run down his body. He looked the same as the moment before, but in reality, Ace was now wearing his own disguise.
He then activates the mask''s unseen thief ability with heavenly Qi. Furthermore, he can use any type of heavenly Qi to use this ability, and he needed to keep supplying the Qi to keep it active.
The moment he activated the ability, he discovered this ability took as much Qi as the fate map, which was quite a lot, but he didn''t mind as long as it was worth the price.
To check its capability, Ace opened the live fate map to see how the danger was for him now, and what he was left him absolutely awestruck because the ck fate location now turned into a gray location!
With a racing heart, Ace then cancels the unseen thief ability, and the gray map instantly starts to change color and turn red this time but not ck!
Although the result was satisfactory, the map was still red, which meant it was still dangerous for him.
''What a powerful surveince formation.'' Ace thought grimly. Still, he was more than happy with this much secrecy.
''I should start now!''
Ace then stood up. He was going to the cultivation sector to visit the Outer Sun Domain Library!
Chapter 692 An Invitation
Ace stepped out of his cave residence as White, but in truth, his true appearance was now restored, and he was now using his grade-9 treasure to keep White''s appearance. Although White was still Ace, their appearances were quite different.
The biggest difference was now his natural charm was gone, which only appeared once he showed his true face, which sometimes was not a good thing since he became too eye-catching.
Ace then flipped his hand, and a one-meter-long silver sword appeared, which was none other than the flying sword he received after passing the test. This sword was an 8-star weapon, and it was engraved with special ruins, which allowed it to fly using nothing but Qi.
With great interest, Ace pours his light element worldly soul Qi he was using as White all this time. Those guys didn''t even notice that his Qi already had an element because his control over worldly Qi was now meticulous.
The fly sword hummed faintly before it expanded to 1.5-meter length and 6 inches wide. He then let the hilt, and as he remembered from Zarker''s memories and then used his Qi to control the sword as he hovers in the air.
Within five minutes, the flying sword was now moving around Ace like an agile snake, and the more he got the hang of it, the more his eye brightened up.
''What if I was able to control normal swords using my Qi? Or turn my sword intent into a flying sword. Won''t I be able to fly on it as well?
''Furthermore, this flying sword control is even more deadly in a fight. If I can control my sword at will, no one will be able to see iting. This kind of technique greatly suits my style.
''I''m sure the union has some like-minded people like me. After all, they also have a Sword in their name, which means the union might have an inheritance rted to the sword path. I might make progress in my sword path here.'' Ace mused.
At this moment, the flying sword appeared right below his feet, and he stepped on it without hesitation. With his thought, he started to control the sword as he started to take flight slowly.
After getting the feeling, he started to increase the Qi output the sword speed increased. But he didn''t dare to use too much Qi, or he might draw some suspicions if he were able to find a treasure meant for a middle-stage foundation-building realm at full capacity right after acquiring it.
Now, that fate map was no longer ck, but it was still red, and he couldn''t keep using the unseen thief ability with its high Qi consumption rate, especially when there was no need for it.
With his flying sword, Ace''s journey, which took him over an hour, erased down to ten minutes, and he started to fly high up on the mountain toward the cultivation sector where the library lies.
Now, he was more confident in keeping himself safe, so he was nning to cause somemotion in the union.
As Ace was going upward, he saw the second-ss cave resident, which was not as cramped as the third-ss, while the first-ss residents had 10-meter entrances, and they were at least a hundred meters apart from each other.
But Ace didn''t go toward that area since it was a forbidden area for someone like him.
"Fellow Brother, are you new?" When Ace was close to the boundary of the cultivation sector, a voice sounded from behind.
Ace then looked behind and saw it was a 5''8 young human which long ck hair, above-average looks, and a slim build. He was emitting an aura of early stage foundation-building realm, and he quickly flew right beside Ace with his superior speed.
"I''m indeed new. Nice to meet you." Ace nodded in acknowledgment. This young man was the first human he saw after appearing in this ce. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The young man smiled amiably as he introduced himself, "It seemed you are not from those elder lineages, so you ended up in here. My name is Clifford, and it''s nice to see a new face of our race."
"My name is White." Ace nodded.
"It''s matched your appearance." Clifford chuckled in a friendly manner, "So, when do youe here?"
"Today."
"What?" Clifford was dumbfounded, and he looked at Ace''s flying sword and couldn''t help butugh, "Hah, brother White you sure like to joke. Just pretend I didn''t ask if you don''t want to answer. Are you going to the cultivation sector to try your luck? Whichpany do you belong to?"
Ace knew this guy won''t believe him because if he came here today, then his flying sword mastery shouldn''t be at such a degree. But he didn''t try to exin himself either.
"I''m going to the library to exchange for a cultivation technique. I have no intention of joining anypany yet." He replied.
Clifford felt Ace''s aura, and he knew he was just a peak soul gates realm junior, so he knew it made sense that he hadn''t joined anypany yet. Even a small sizepany won''t show interest in a soul gates junior.
The small-sizepanies only let foundation-building realm cultivators join them, and their members ranged from 10 to 1,000, and they didn''t have their own territory in the cultivation sector.
Then there were mid-sizepanies. Only those with a small territory could call themselves mid-sizepanies, and their member ranged from 1,000 to 10,000, and they had mostly union schrs in their ranks.
Lastly, the big-sizepanies were controlled by Union Instructors, and their member ranged from 10,000 to 100,000 or even more. These kinds ofpanies dominate the resources of the cultivation sector, and joining them was too difficult.
Especially for humans who didn''t have a bigpany and their high-ranking members were all forced to join bigpanies of the big three if they wanted to progress.
This was the stone-cold fact that no human was proud of, but what could they do?
"How about this, Brother White? If you want, I can introduce you to my smallpany. Our leader is a very gentle person. He might not reject you. We, humans, should stick together in the cultivation sector and look after each other." Clifford seriously stated.
Ace looked at Clifford and smiled as he knew this guy didn''t have any malicious intentions, but he wasn''t here to y around, so he rejected politely.
"I''ll think about it after I break through into the foundation-building realm. This way, it would be easier for yourpany to ept me, and you won''t lose any face."
Clifford was startled as he didn''t expect someone at a Soul Gates realm could reject a smallpany invitation so casually. He looked at White in a new light.
He smiled and nodded, "You can contact me in the second-ss resident no XXX at any time you want to join mypany. I''ll wait for you."
Ace merely chuckled and nodded without replying. If Clifford had known he was talking with someone who was going to stir an unimaginable storm in the Union, no one knew what his reaction would be!
Chapter 693 Cultivation Sector
The cultivation sector wasn''t like the living sector, as the former was like a dense forest while thetter was filled with cave residences.
There were three regions of the cultivation sector, the training region, where exist the outer sun domain library, and unique cultivation rooms. Anyone can ess these two areas as long as they can pay.
Then there was the Open Region which was open to everyone and filled with all kinds of cultivation resources like herbs, ores, and even Qi stones, and Soul crystal could be found in this region.
However, there were also powerful demonic beasts guarding these kinds of territories, and even big-sizepanies had to be wary of those old monsters.
The problem was this region was all fought over by the bigpanies, and scraps went to the midpanies while the small-sizepanies were like vagabonds who collected the crumbs.
The third region was the Cultivation Tower Region was actually the massive toward in the middle of the cultivation sector. It was a unique ce where a union member could participate in Cultivation Tower Rankings.
The higher the ranking, thevisher the rewards.
The top thousand in the tower rankings could receive 1000 Union Merits every month without doing anything. Furthermore, these types of experts were all members of toppanies in the open region, and every one of them was famous in the outer sun domain.
At this moment, White stepped into the training region, which was the first destination of anyone who entered the cultivation sector.
"Little Brother White, may we meet again. Don''t forget to visit me once you''re free." Clifford said his goodbye before he took out his flying sword and flew away.
"Sure." Ace bid farewell as it was nice to a friendly guy from his own race. If he was not in a bind, he might befriend the guy.
Ace then looked around as he now stood on a grass in. The forest was three miles away from the entrance, which was also the boundary of the open region.
But he was more interested in the south direction, where stood a tall golden pagoda that was quite eye-catching, and right beside this golden pagoda was a massive golden pavilion.
He spotted many union students like him going into the pavilion while the pagoda wasn''t as popr as the pavilion.
Ace knew where his destination was, so without hesitation, he took out his own flying sword and flew toward the pagoda because he could see the silver words written on its entrance, ''Union Sun Domain Library (Outer).''n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The golden pavilion was marked with the words, ''Union Cultivation Pavilion (Outer).''
So, it was quite obvious where he needed to go, and he was in a hurry to go back so he could start working toward his Heaven''s Stealer Mission.
Acended on the stone road outside the library and walked toward the entrance. Strangely there was a golden statue of a wyvern in front of the entrance.
"Union Token!"
Ace heard the same voice he had been hearing from the ascension area, which was quite strange as he wondered if this voice belonged to some bigwig who oversaw every important ce in the union.
Nheless, he took out his union token, and the moment he did, the golden eyes of the wyvern statue suddenly lit up before a golden beam shot from them andnded on the token in Ace''s hand.
Ace didn''t feel anything besides a warm light on his hand before it vanished, and then he heard the impassive voice.
"Union Student (White), you can choose 1 Upper-Grade Mortal Skill, 1 Second Realm Soul Cultivation Manual from the second floor, and 1 Lower Grade Mortal Skill for free from the first floor.
"If you want to choose more skills or cultivation manual, you will charge with union merits. Every skill, art, and cultivation manual has different prices. You may inquire about them at any time by asking out loud.
"With your current union student status, you have ess to the first three floors. Now you have 6 hours to choose before you need to leave, and once you leave, you can''t enter again for a month unless you paid union merits."
Done with the introduction, therge door of the library creaked open.
Ace dismissively entered the library, and the moment he crossed the gates, he was astonished when he saw rows of ancient bookshelves filled with books, and there might be tens of thousands of books on those bookshelves.
There are three sections, ''Cultivation Manuals, Cultivation Skills, and Cultivation Arts,'' and this was just the first floor which was most likely for Qi Gates Realm. This made Ace quite astonished since he didn''t think these guys even had arts for the Qi gates realm.
''These guys are really rich¡'' Ace thought with shimmering eyes as he walked toward the skills section, which was filled with lower-grade mortal skills.
Those skills were child''s y for Ace, so he chose a sword skill called ''m sh,'' which he can easily imitate.
"I want Lower Grade Mortal Skill m sh." He said out loud. There was only an introduction in those books, not the full skills.
It was clearly done so other people won''t remember any skills they wanted and take advantage of browsing through those high-grade skills.
Suddenly a light shed out of nowhere, and a gray book with the name m sh appeared in front of Ace. He was astounded as he took the thin book.
"You have used your free chance of lower grade mortal skill book. You will be charged with Union Merits if you choose more lower-grade mortal skills."
Ace chuckled lightly as he stowed away the book before he moved toward the second floor after taking the stairwell at the entrance.
The second was also massive, like the first floor, and virtually the same.
Without hesitation, he moved into the cultivation manual section. He was surprised when he saw there were all kinds of cultivation techniques, including the ones that can increase the chance of awakening a desirable element.
There were some that guaranteed to awaken the mentioned element, but the drawback to cultivating these techniques was the user had to continue to cultivate in the same technique all the way to the eighth realm.
Meaning if someone practices an element cultivation technique that can awaken a dark element, then they need the same technique''s higher realm manual or create one themselves.
In the former case, as long as they had manuals for every realm, they didn''t need to worry about this problem.
But in thetter case, if by any chance the cultivation manual only has three realms record, then they needed to destroy their own cultivation to re-cultivate in some other technique.
Because creating a higher realm technique for a particr element was only possible for those who had deep knowledge and insight into the element.
That''s why these types of techniques were not popr, and everyone decided to choose to follow the path of their innate element and only choose element cultivation techniques after awakening their elements. This way, they won''t be able to bind by the same cultivation technique.
However, cultivating in a single cultivation technique had its own benefits, especially if that technique was like the techniques provided by the system.
Still, Ace wasn''t interested in those cultivation techniques. He chose a random soul cultivation technique for the foundation-building realm.
He then moved toward the skill section of the second floor and chose another sword skill called Snake Sword Draw. It was a sword drawing skill that resembled his own Twin Demon Emergence.
After iming all free rewards, he moved toward the third floor!
Chapter 694 Empty Your Token!
The third floor of the outer sun domain library was the same as its first two floors.
Ace''s reason foring here was simple, he entered the cultivation section and said, "I want the cheapest cultivation manual for the Soul river realm."
Following by a few moments of silence, a white book materialized in front of Ace before the impassive voice rang, "This Focus Soul Cultivation Manual for 3rd realm, its price is 5,000 Union Merits."
''This is the cheapest?'' Ace was astonished as he knew in the mortal domain 5,000 Union Merits were the wealth of a first-ss family in the Official Union City.
He had to use some tricks before registering as an official member to collect enough union merits to pass through the ascension stairway.
Still, the union merits serve no purpose to him as there wasn''t anything in the outer sun domain that could probably draw his interest. Even this library only had four floors, so he knew there were not many interesting things there.
"Alright, I''m buying this manual." He said while taking the book.
The next moment he felt the union token in his hand heat up before it returned to normal.
"5,000 Union Merits has been sessfully deducted." The voice sounded.
Ace then suddenly thought of something as he asked, "Are there any sword skills that use the flying sword as its foundation?"
Since this guy can answer his question, he should probably ask what he wanted to know. The flying sword was quite interesting, and he wanted to further sharpen his own sword path by annexing this unique method of controlling a sword.
The voice replied. "Yes, Lower Grade Earth Twin Flying Sword Art is a sword art that has the method to control two flying swords to fight. Its price is 1 Million Union Merits."
Ace''s eyes brightened when he heard the first part, while he frowned when he heard the price, which was quite absurd.
"Thank you." Ace decided to leave as he didn''t have union merits to buy that art, so there wasn''t any need to waste time.
But it didn''t mean he gave up as his eyes shone thievishly, ''Now that I can change in appearance without being worried about getting noticed by anyone, I should use the same method to collect Union Merits that I used in the mortal domain. But only after unlocking the Heaven''s Stealer Mission."
Ace then exited the library and mounted his flying sword, and flew toward the exit of the cultivation sector since it was not the time to go deep into this ce yet.
However, when he was a few hundred meters away from the ancient building like the one he entranced as it was the only way out or inside, he was forced to stop because six devils on flying swords blocked his way.
The young devil, who had an aura of a peak foundation-building realm, seemed to be in charge of this group as he was riding at the very front, and he also spoke first with a malicious smile, "Junior, how have you been?"
White dismissively replied, "I''m fine. Now get out of my way."
The devils'' smiles instantly stiffened as they were all startled by this weak human''s reaction. They never thought this weak human would not cower before them and even told them to get out of the way like they were the humans and he was the devil.
"Little Junior, it seems you are new here. Don''t you know how to greet your seniors?" Another devil scoffed in disdain.
"If you don''t get out of the way, Lord Union Elder might get impatience ande here to find me. Trust me. I won''t lie to him about why he had toe here." White shrugged his shoulder.
This time, the devils'' expression warped almost instantly when they heard ''Union Elder,'' and the leader of the group instantly looked around in panic.
"Are you ying tricks with me? How can a union elder be waiting for you in this outer sun domain?!" The young devil retorted coldly as he clearly thought White was bluffing.
Ace didn''t want to waste more time with this bunch, so he merely flipped his hand, and a paper talisman appeared and waved it in front of the group, "Do you think I''m joking? How about we found out?"
The leader almost fell from his sword as his body trembled when he saw the yellow talisman while the reaming group looked confused.
"We are extremely sorry. We took you for someone else." The leader quickly changed his tone into a polite one and pulled an ugly smile, "Let''s go."
The other five were confused since they were here to rob the guy because they saw himing out of the library, but now they were running with tails between their legs, and all because of some paper.
''So, this guy had seen this talisman?'' Ace thought as he only took out this talisman on a whip that was given to him by Joseph. He just wanted to see if these guys would be scared off. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
But there was also a chance that they didn''t even know what this talisman was, so he then had to use another method to get rid of this bunch. But it seemed it worked.
Ace suddenly said, "Wait."
The leader almost fell from his sword as he sensed something amiss and looked at Ace with a stiff smile, "What it is, fellow brother?"
White suddenly pulled an amusing smile as he said, "I need all of your union merits to buy a present for Elder to quench his anger since I''m alreadyte because of you guys. Can you be so kind as lend me? If you don''t, I''ll understand and just use this thing to contact him. You lot can help me exin, alright?"
The leader''s expression went dark, ''He''s robbing us?!''
"You¡ what the¡! *p*"
Before the devil could berate Ace, he was pped by the leader, who coldly yelled at him, "Shut up, you dog!"
He then quickly looked at Ace and smiled with a twisted expression, "We''ll, of course, lend you all of our union merits. Contributing to a gift meant for the elder is our honor."
He then looked around his group and coldly said in a threatening tone, "Empty your tokens!"
Chapter 695 Humans Of The Union
In the inner sun domain, within the human sector in the private sector region,
Fifteen humans were gathered in arge hall, and their focus of attention was none other than Joseph, who stood there with quite an ugly expression.
"Why aren''t you answering me, Elder Joseph? Why didn''t you try harder to persuade that boy toe under our protection? If his talent is as good as High Elder, then you have made a grave mistake!" An old woman in a Union Elder robe sternly berated while the others remained silent in agreement.
"With all due respect Sixth Head, as I told you many times, I invited him, but he refused. He even refused the high elders of the other races, so do you think he wille with me just because we belonged to the same race?
"That boy''s ambition is grand, and I can''t go against his wishes to drag him into the private sector ording to the Union Rules. He''s not rted to any Elder or High Elder in our union. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Furthermore, I have already contacted the High Elder, but I got no reply, so I''m not to me for this!" Joseph retorted without holding back in exasperation.
"Presumptuous! You dare to me high elder?!" An old man with a gray beard instantly mmed his palm on the table.
Joseph''s expression turned cold as he scanned the room, "So what if I did? It''s not like he cared about us or anything, and now I understand why this is the case!"
Everyone''s expression sank as they looked coldly at Joseph with a dark expression they knew he was referring to them. They were the fifteen heads of the human sectors who had control over all the territory of the human sector.
Only High Elder could interfere with them, which he seemed to be didn''t care about, so now these fifteen were like lords of this ce, and everything went ording to their whim.
The moment they found out about White from y, they instantly summoned a grand meeting, and Joseph became a guest of this grand meeting.
However, Joseph knew better that this was not some invitation but an integration summoning, and he was as right. They made him spill all the beans, or they were just confirming the information they got from y.
The poor guy was helpless against these powerful union elders, so he had no choice but reveal everything about the entrance test and how White refused every invitation.
However, Joseph wasn''t like y. He was also a Union Elder and much younger than this lot. They were only the slightest bit more experienced than him in cultivation and had over five hundred years under their belt in seniority.
But now, Joseph feels extremely disgusted by these guys after he meets with White. He felt they were nothing but bunches of idiots who had lost themselves in power, and they were clearly not satisfied with it.
If anything, he was now quite relieved that White didn''te here and chose to walk on his own path, or he might''ve gotten corrupted by these bureaucrats. They were no longer cultivators.
Without giving them any chance, Joseph sternly said, "I''m resigning as a Private Elder and going back to be the Open Domain Elder. You guys can keep your resources."
Everyone''s expression changed when they heard, and a hint of panic appeared in their heart. They knew how precious a union elder rank cultivator was, and this would be a huge blow to their race if they lost even one.
"You! Have you gone mad?" A middle-aged man yelled before he appeared right in front of Joseph, who was turning around to leave.
"Family Head, you have been quite kind to me all these years. But I''m done with this gloomy ce. I''m going to cultivate in istion from now on. Give my ce to someone else." Joseph''s cold expression softened a bit, but he was resolute about his decision.
"You can cultivate here. About the boy, we are only frustrated and worried about his well-being since he might encounter some mishap in the outer sun domain. We never nned to me you. Don''t take it to heart." The middle-aged man quickly changed his stern expression to a kind one.
"Yes, just as First Head said, we were only worried about the genius of our race. We are not ming you."
The other also started to sing the same tone in sync.
Joseph was left speechless and at a loss about how to react. In the end, he shook his head in derision and started walking again without replying.
"Where are you going?" The first head squinted his eyes as he still blocked the way of Joseph.
Joseph inhaled sharply before his soft expression turned icy, "First head if you continue to block the way, I''ll activate the reinforcer trial against you. Don''t forget a Union Elder is free to join or leave the private sector region.
"If it were found that someone was forcing the other party or threatening him with underhanded methods, it would not bode well for the opposite side. And I happened to have very high confidence that I could prove that I was being threatened. Do you want to find out if I''m bluffing or telling the truth?" A purple union token appeared in Joseph''s hand at this moment.
This made the entire room deadly silent, and they all looked at Joseph in disbelief. He was really serious about all this!
The first head looked at Joseph and then the token in his hand with an ugly expression. He was really furious right now and wanted to p those two guys who made the situation worse.
"Joseph¡"
"No going to step aside?" Joseph cut him short before his token started to shine suddenly.
"Wait, I''m about to. I just wanted to say you are making a mistake. Despite that, this is your home, and you cane back anytime." First Head gloomily stated before he got out of Joseph''s way.
"Heh, I''ll make sure to remember that!" Joseph sneered before he walked past the first head and left the hall without looking back.
"What now?" the seventh head, who was a young woman, asked with a grave expression.
The first head replied gloomily, "We need to keep an eye on that boy. If he''s a genius, we need to get him, no matter the cost. Once he''s under our thumb, we can slowly turn him our bridge towards wealth!"
Everyone''s eyes shimmered with greed as they all solemnly nodded!
Chapter 696 Mysterious Condition: 1
It''s been 48 days since Ace came back from the cultivation region and closed off in his mancave.
During this entire time, he had beenpletely focusing on raising Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler rank.
At this moment, the back of Ace''s hands shone with two dark symbols, which were proof of his Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Gloves in work!
Right between his hand, a glob of inky ck mist was encasing something, and that ck inky ck mist was none other than Dismantle Qi.
Ace''s eyespletely focused as a faint sweat beaded on his forehead, and his eyes shed like lightning, ''Alchemy Dismantler Principles!''
Ace carefully began topress the dismantle-Qi with Dismantler gloves, and it entered the small pill, which was the sign of starting the synchronization.
The Dismantle Qi quicklypressed under his sharp eyes, and finally, the Dismantle Qipletely synchronized into the ck pill. Eight small royal blue dots had appeared on the ck pill.
These small dots were proof of the sessful synchronization, and the pill was ready to undergo the next phase.
The very next moment thereafter, fine royal blue strings began to creep from Ace''s fingers and connect with those eight royal blue dots on the pill.
Thereupon, the pill suddenly started to break apart from the eight dots, and it was dismantled into eight small pieces hovering between his hands. Ace''s eyes shimmered confidently when he saw the second phase was sessful and only the third and final phase was left.
With a solemn expression, he mumbled, "Alchemy Dismantler Principles, Dismantle, and Origin Condense!"
The moment Ace uttered those words, the Dismantler gloves'' dark symbols on the back of his hands started to glow darkly.
Under Ace''s solemn eyes, those eight small pieces trembled before their forms started to change, and he didn''t dare even to flinch as he knew it was the critical point.
Thereby, a piece suddenly turned into a white grass de, and then another turned into a small blob of yellow liquid. Just like that, one after another, this phenomenon repeated until thest reforming piece was left.
Ace''s solemn expression didn''t change as he looked even more dignified. He knew this was going to be the deciding factor.
At that very moment, thest piece started to develop into the shape of a diamond and turned into a peach color gemstone.
Thereafter, the symbols behind his hands disappeared since their job was done.
Ace looked at the eight materials with shining eyes as he muttered, "I finally managed to dismantle a 5th-grade treasure, a 5th-grade runic treasure, and now a 5th-grade alchemy treasure which means¡!"
Just as he was about to mutter system beat him to it with a notification a panel appeared right in front of him. N?v(el)B\\jnn
=====
-Prerequisites to Unlock (revealed) Mysterious Condition (1):
1. Fourth Realm in Marital and Soul
-Status: Complete
2. Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Rank: 5th Grade
-Status: Complete
--
[The first mysterious condition will be unlocked in 10 seconds!]
[Host, please envelop yourself with Dismantle Qi in 10 seconds!]
[Warning: There would be dire consequences if Host hadn''t enveloped himself with Dismantle Qi by the time the mysterious condition was unlocked!]
=====
Ace''s ecstatic expression warped when he saw that warning, and he didn''t even have the time to ask if this was even possible or will the dismantle Qi will end up dismantling him.
But since the system said he could, then it meant it was probably safe to do it, and he already had wasted two seconds. So, he quickly activated the Dismantler Gloves and dismantle Qi starting to gush out and starting to encase his body at terrifying speed.
It was his first time even thinking about using dismantle Qi on himself, much less using it. But to his surprise, nothing out of sorts happened, and he felt like he was enveloped by nothing. But he could clearly see himself encased in an inky ck mist. And he can now only see the system panel clearly but not his surroundings.
''Now what?'' Ace thought as he looked at the panel, and the timer just hit ''0'', so the condition was about to be revealed.
It would be a lie to say if he said he wasn''t afraid, but he was looking forward to what this condition was going to be and what he had to do toplete it. This entire Heaven''s Stealer Mission was pretty nerve-racking.
The panel finally changed at this moment while the system''s solemn voice, which waspletely different from its usual emotionless voice, rang.
=====
-Heaven''s Stealer Mission: Embarking the Path of Heaven''s Stealer!
-Mysterious Condition (1): The Secret Seal!
-Requirement(s):
1. Find your way to the two secret realms of the Sun and Moon Sword Union!
-Status: Iplete
2. Destroy the two Secret Realms!
-Status: 0/2
3. Collect the Secret Realms Independent Space Cores!
-Status: 0/2
-Thief House Members: Allowed
-Reward(s): Unknown
-Time: 5 Years
-Punishment: Painless Death
---
(Warning: Host can''t open this mission panel without encasing in the Dismantle Qi!)
=====
Ace was startled when he saw the mission, and as he read more, his expression turned grim, and at the end, he was frowning.
"Secret seal, you say? Then does this mean destroying those two realms will break this seal somehow? And there are two secret realms in the union? If you know this much, then you must also know where they are and why is it so important to destroy them?" Ace quickly asked.
This revtion about the secret realms waspletely out of his expectation, and he needed to not only destroy them but also needed to collect their two cores.
But he knew the union wouldn''t allow it to happen and just watched, sitting idle while someone was trying to destroy their secret realms, especially if they were packed with exotic resources or some treasure like the regal fiend tower resided there.
This mission was nothing but a crazy idea that he had to realize in five years, and he didn''t have a damn clue how he was going to achieve it.
"[System can''t reveal anymore, or there''s no point of doing all this. All it can say is ''Follow your Fate!'']"
Chapter 697 Ace’s Plan
"[System can''t reveal anymore, or there''s no point of doing all this. All it can say is ''Follow your Fate!'']"
Ace''s eyes instantly shimmered sharply when he heard the system''s ambiguous words. If he can''t even understand what the system was implying by telling him to ''Follow your Fate,'' then he should just quit while he can and wait for his death.
"So, I should follow Eternal Thief Fate Compass''s directions, huh?" Ace asked the system. But no answer was given like usual.
However, he didn''t push the matter as he already knew he was right, so he didn''t need the system''s confirmation. Thepass point was still pointing him upward in the sun domain mountain.
''There are two colossal mountains in the union, and the system also revealed that I needed to find my way to two secret realms within the sun and moon sword union. So, it''s highly likely these two secret realms exist in these two mountains separately.
''If it''s like this, then how I''m supposed to infiltrate Moon Domain? Did I need to turn into a woman?'' Ace frowned at this point.
Although he was shameless and could do anything when it came to thievery, he had never tried to impersonate a woman, as he always targeted men. It was like his natural instinct as a male.
''Well, it''s not time to go in the mortalne since my life is on the line here. If pushes to shove, I''ll see what my options are and then move ordingly. It''s still not clear if my conjecture is true or not.
''I should just focus on climbing the sun domain. I might be able to find some clues about these secret realms and solve this secret seal mystery. This might be the key to exiting the union, or at least it might push me closer to it. Time is of the essence!''
Without hesitation, Ace closed the interface before he stopped using the Dismantle Qi on himself. He then stopped the unseen thief ability of his mask and started recovering.
The unseen thief ability had be his bread and butter in these past 48 days because whenever he practiced the dismantler principles, he would use this ability with one type of Qi while practicing the dismantler principles with another Qi.
Although it was hard for the first week to use both his Qis at the same time, especially when he needed to be focused, he already had some practice with the fate map since it also used his soul Qi and he always used martial Qi to activate his heavenly martial skills.
However, easy as it may sound, it is extremely taxing to Ace''s body and mind, and the Qi consumption was five times greater inparison when he used only one type of Qi at a time. So, he always needed to rest for at least 4 hours before he could start again.
Now that he was done with heaven''s stealer mission''s prerequisite, he knew what he had to do now, so he was somewhat relieved and recovered for 18 hours straight since he knew he needed to be in optimal condition for about toe.
When Ace opened his eyes, he was full of energy, as if he had a long peaceful sleep. He stood up and collected every array or formation he had set up in the cave. He was clearly not nning oning back.
After making sure he left nothing, he opened the cave resident formation, and it was high noon outside. He hadn''t seen daylight for over one and a half months, so he wondered if something big had happened while he was closed off.
As he started to fly toward the cultivation sector, he found everything the same, so he started nning what he was going to do.
''If I wanted to enter the inner union sector, I needed to be a union instructor, and then I needed to pass an entrance test. So, first, I need to increase my union rank from student to instructor.
''But the threshold to be a union instructor is the river core realm, and I need a cultivation manual of the river core realm to show my cultivation at the river core realm, which will cost me at least 50,000 UM.
''Even those devils who wanted to rob me only have a little over 12,000 UM together. So it will take some time to collect them. I wonder if raising one''s cultivation from the soul gates of the soul river and bing a union schr within over a month would give me some kind of achievement reward like the one in the ascension stairway test. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
''It would not only pass this way; I will draw even more attention to myself. I need backing high enough to enter any ce I want and can ess the union''s secrets, and there''s only one person who could make it happen.'' Ace thought with a hint of wiliness.
''So, first, I should go into the Union Enforcer Sector to increase my rank and see if I can catch the big fish. If it''s not enough, then I should make it enough.''
The flying sword''s speed under his feet increased as he crossed many living sector denizens, and they were all shocked as they looked at him with bewilderment because Ace was wearing union student robes, but a union student shouldn''t have this kind of speed.
Ignoring all those guys, he entered the cultivation sector. This time, he headed to the southwest side, where another paved clear road was going straight up ahead toward the enforcer sector, which was quite vacant inparison to the path of the cultivation sector.
One of the reasons was this path led toward the edge of the outer sun domain, and above the enforcer sector was the inner union domain.
Only those who wanted to reevaluate their ranks or either those who were detained by the reinforced division could enter here.
If someone wanted to waste the enforcer sector''s time, they would be seeking bad luck on their own ords.
Because the Enforcer Sector was also like aw court that could give out punishments to anyone who broke the union rules, and even union instructors were afraid of the Reinforcer Division of the Enforcer Sector!
Chapter 698 The Enforcer Sector (1)
The Enforcer Sector was like arge fortress city, and there lived the Reinforcer Division''s mysterious members who were selected by mysterious means. No one knew what the criteria for bing a reinforcer division member were, but they always wore masks, and no one had ever seen their faces.
That''s what makes them even more terrifying, as they were all a ruthless bunch who would do anything to impose thews of the Union and always be impartial.
There were a few legends about this mysterious division. One of them was once a Union High Elder who tried to bribe a very high-ranking officer of the Reinforcer Division to let his son go from detention because of some crime hemitted. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, not only did he not give the Union High Elder any face, he even detained him for trying to bribe a reinforcer, and the terrifying thing was that Union High Elder couldn''t even retaliate against that officer.
That''s why everyone was afraid of the Enforcer Sector, and no one dared to poke this ho nest.
Acended outside the massive gates, which were guarded by two white armored figures holding long white spears. Not only that but their faces as well as eyes were hidden behind a white faceless mask, their skin was also covered in white cloths, and their hair was also hidden under a white helmet.
They werepletely white like statues, and Ace found it quite strange because he couldn''t sense any kind of fluctuations from those two either and wondered if they were really some decorative statues.
"State your purpose Outer Union Dweller!" A deep imposing voice rang from one of the white figures.
''So, they are alive after all.'' Ace thought and had an itch to soul probe them, but he couldn''t even sense their cultivation, so it was a gamble he didn''t want to take right now.
He respectfully replied, "I''m here to reevaluate my union rank!"
"Your Union Token?" The same voice impassively asked again.
Ace took out his token without hesitation, and thereafter, the token suddenly shed in a golden light before it returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
The same voice rang again at this moment, "Union Student White, you may enter the Enforcer Sector area# 21. Someone will escort you to your destination. Do remember that if you try to derail from your given path, you will be punished ording to Reinforcer Division Rules!"
Ace''s eyes narrowed as he found this restriction a little bit too much, and he became even more curious about just what kind of ce this enforcer sector was that everyone was afraid of.
Hiding his actual thoughts, he respectfully replied, "I understand."
No further reply was given, and the next moment, Ace saw a small pathway slide open within the massive red gates. So, he knew it was most likely his cue to move along, and he did just that.
The gateway was actually a dark pathway that was over fifty meters long, which should be the true thickness of thoserge gates which were quite a lot in Ace''s mind.
Anyhow, he continued to walk while trying to probe his surroundings, but his thief sense waspletely stable without anything out of the blue. But he knew better than to believe it blindly.
Then he opened the fate map, and it appeared red, and thepass point of still pointing straight up ahead. However, Ace suddenly noticed someone very strangely.
''Why didn''t those two outside gates show in the fate map?''
Ace was bewildered since he could still see the passage behind him, and he wasn''t in some other space either. The fate map range was three miles wide, just like his thief sense, so it was impossible to miss those two outsides.
It had never happened before, so he asked Moira the same question.
However, Moira''s reply shocked him.
"Sir Ace, only living beings have fate points!"
"Wait? Are you suggesting that the two guys outside are not alive? Are they like corpse puppets or blood puppets?" Ace felt rmed by this revtion as it was too hard to believe.
"Although they didn''t have any life fluctuations, they are not like those corpses either as they didn''t seem to have any death aura to them. I think you might''ve already noticed it if they were corpses because of your close encounters with them. So, they might be some other sorts of puppets. Nevertheless, they didn''t have a fate since they are not alive, which results in no fate points." Moira replied.
"So, that''s why I didn''t feel any kind of fluctuations on them." Ace grimaced as this turn of events was too strange for him.
''If they are not corpses, then does this mean someone in the union is using a technique like Undead Puppetry to make the members of Reinforcer Divisions? Or the entire reinforcer division is built on these puppets?'' Ace felt this possibility is simply too absurd to be possible.
But when he thought about how mysterious the reinforcer division was and their stories of almost blind loyalty towards the union, he felt a chill run down his spine.
Because if this was true, then someone was ying a terrifying game, and the union''s true face might not be asmendable as it would appear.
However, it was still just a baseless conjecture, and Ace truly hoped it wasn''t true because things would turn very grim for him if someone like Moon Fiend King were controlling everything behind the scene.
With a heavy heart, he stepped outside the passage and found himself standing in a valley. Not only that, but he saw another White figure standing a few meters away from him, and when he saw the fate map, his heart sank because he also didn''t have a fate point.
"Follow me." A crisp voice rang from the white figure before it turned around and started walking in the valley.
Ace took a deep breath and followed the white figure like he had no idea it was a freaking puppet walking. When they walked about fifty meters deep in the valley, Ace saw multiple roads emerge, and the white figure took a particr road and continued walking.
This time, they were walking between a road that was made of tall walls like an alleyway, and Ace couldn''t see what was around him. Only the fate map was showing pathways around him.
Nevertheless, it just made it even more clear that someone was trying to hide something.
Ace finally understood why the Heaven''s Stealer Mission was triggered in this ce, it was filled with unknown dangers and mysteries, and with just one wrong step, he might find himself falling!
Chapter 699 The Enforcer Sector (2)
Following behind the white puppet, Ace appeared outside a five-story old building that looked quite rundown at a nce. However, Ace felt a terrifying sensation from this old building.
In the fate map, this building appeared red, and inside, no fate point was present.
"You may enter. The Yellow Officer will judge your qualification!" The white puppet emotionlessly uttered before the old wooden doors of the building opened.
Ace nced at the white puppet onest time before he entered the old building.
However, Ace was startled when he saw the interior waspletely different from the outer appearance.
It was spacious and pristine, but what shocked him was the moment he felt he was naked as a strange force enveloped him, giving him a creepy feeling.
But he controlled his body not to tremble as it would be too obvious that he could sense that invisible force, and he was pretty sure he wasn''t supposed to sense it.
Ace''s eyesnded on the yellow figure standing behind a counter, and he was astonished because that guy was dressed in the same manner as the white puppets, and the only difference was he was color yellow.
''This Yellow Officer is also a puppet!'' Ace knew there wasn''t any present in this building, so he was most likely right, and he felt even more assured that this entire reinforcer division might be nothing but build-on puppets.
Hiding his emotions, Ace calmly walked toward the yellow officer who stood there like a statue. Ace was a meter away from the counter a husky voice rang.
"ce your union token on this counter and state what rank and what rank you want to be tested for?"
Ace did as he was told and ced the union token on the counter before he respectfully spoke, "I''m a Union Student and want to increase my rank to Union Schr. I''m already an Empty Soul River Realm Cultivator, so do I need to take any test?"
At this moment, Ace''s union token shone on the counter before the husky voice rang again, but this time a hint of surprise was contained deep within.
"It''s your 50th day in the union?"
"Yes," Ace replied, and his eyes shimmered peculiarly when he noticed the ripple in that emotionless voice.
Almost instantly, when Ace replied, Ace felt that mysterious force on him became ten times stronger and remained there for ten seconds before it vanished as if it had never existed, but he knew it was still there.
''I hope this mask is enough to fool whatever this probing is.'' Ace grimaced as he wasn''t feeling as confident as before after entering this ce and finding out about the puppets of the reinforcer division.
"Extraordinary! Truly extraordinary! Not only did you have Mortal Grade Fantastic Meridians, the Dark Meridians, you also seemed to have a Fantastic Soul Physique!" The voice rang again, and this time it contained clear ecstasy.
Ace''s eyes behind the mask went wide when he heard, ''Dark Meridians'' as it was the first time someone had pointed out his special meridians. Although it called them Dark Meridians while in truth, he has Primordial Darkness Meridians.
But still, he knew since he was capable of probing this much about his special meridians and reached that conclusion, then he had to be terrifying existence.
But he didn''t understand why this guy said he had a soul physique which he clearly didn''t.
Nevertheless, he knew he couldn''t be too obvious, and he needed to keep his calm and act like he was supposed to.
"Umm, what is Dark Meridians?" White appeared surprised and confused.
"Manifest your Soul Qi!" However, the voice had no intention of answering him as it gave anothermand.
Ace frowned behind his mask, but he knew he had no choice but to be obedient, so he manifested his worldly Light Soul Qi, which he was preparing to use with White''s identity.
But now, he felt it was not good for some reason.
"Light element, not Dark? How''s that happened?" The voice sounded confused before Ace felt that terrifying probing envelop him again, and this time itsted for a whole minute.
"Strange, too strange¡ you haven''t cultivated an element technique, so you should''ve awakened a dark element or some rare variant of dark element." The voice muttered to itself as the yellow puppet started to scratch its head.
''How can he tell I didn''t cultivate any element-rted technique?'' Ace felt even warier by this strange voice. But he knew this would not end well for him if he showed any strangeness at this point.
He was now riding a tiger''s back, and he couldn''t take off just because he wanted to.
"It might be rted to your soul physique, which is stopping me from seeing your soul space." The voice told Ace, which gave him another shock as he didn''t even sense this guy was trying to see his soul space.
"No worries, no worries. You are probably the most talented person born in my union after its foundation was built." The voice sounded in ecstasy.
Ace never thought things would turn out like this, as he never thought his uniqueness would create this massive misunderstanding.
He wanted to appear talented enough to draw Sun Lord''s attention, but he didn''t want to appear this talented that he might draw the attention of some terrifying old monster.
This bodes nothing but bad news for him, especially after he encountered the old ghost Moon Fiend King.
"I-I think you''re mistaken senior. I''m only human from the mortal domain. How could I can be worth such praise." White said wryly.
"Despite your talent, you are still humble, indeed, excellent. You don''t deserve to be rot in this ce. I know a person who has been looking for a capable student for a very long time. I think he might be interested in you. Let me contact him to see if he''s interested. Wait here!"
Ace was dumbfounded when he saw the yellow officer vanish and still felt it was all but a bad dream!
A very terrifying notion appeared in his mind at this moment, ''Don''t tell me this guy was talking about the true master of the union?!''n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 700 How Dare You!
Ace stood there with a somewhat dark expression on his face as he looked at the space where the yellow officer had vanished.
''Well, now that things have escted to this point, there''s nothing I can do. On the contrary, this might not be a bad thing. Since this guy didn''t try to hide the meridians and physique, he might not care about them at all.
''He also said this person has been looking for a student for a very long time, which means he might just really want to find a worthy sessor. Or, in the end, it might be just another scheme to fatten the cow before butchering it.''
He smiled wryly, ''In the end, I needed to know about the two secret realms, so this is a good opportunity as well. I just need to be extra careful of my action¡''
Just as he was mulling over this entire thing, he felt something and focused his eyes on the same ce where the yellow officer had vanished. He was surprised when he saw the yellow officer had returned, but he wasn''t alone. There was another person beside him.
It was a three-meter-tall burly figure, wearing a golden robe with a ck sun crest, and there was a golden sword right in the middle of this ck sun, while the face was covered behind a ck mask. He was none other than the Sun Lord, who was only below one person and above everyone!
However, Ace had no idea about it, but he felt like he was standing right in front of a deep abyss that would devour him whole if he wasn''t careful.
Ace checked the fate map and grimaced when he saw this guy had a ck fate point. Not only that, but he was terrified when he saw another red circle around this fate point, which indicated he was an enemy!
''How the hell did I offend this person?'' Ace''s heart sank, and he felt things were turning even worse.
The Sun Lord''s eyes werepletely hidden behind the ck mask, but he was clearly looking at Ace, and without any warning, he appeared right behind Ace. Before Ace could react, he was locked by a terrifying pressure that was as high as his previous heavenly punishment.
The next moment, Sun Lord''s hand pressed over Ace''s head, and a powerful current entered his body. He feels like this current wants to prate deep within his very being, and he can''t escape it.
"Hmm?" Sun Lord''s surprised voice sounded at this moment, and Ace felt that the current suddenly started to intensify.
Ace didn''t resist before because he didn''t feel any ill intent from this guy before and pretended to bepletely stuck. However, now he felt rmed as he felt his soul being under a stabbing pain. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
''He''s using soul search on me?!'' Ace''s eyes suddenly turned murderous.
He knew the system would no sit idle if this person entered his knowledge sea somehow, and he was ready to take full advantage of that moment to retaliate since he would be exposed at that anyway.
But right at this moment, Sun Lord felt something, and he stopped the soul search skill and quickly removed his hand.
"How dare you!" A terrifying voice full of oppressive might reverberated within the building.
Ace was surprised as he felt nothing by this voice, but the Sun Lord''s entire body trembled before his knees started to make cracking sounds.
''Thudd¡''
The entire floor trembled in shock as the Sun Lord fell on his knees and supported his body with his two hands while resisting being crushed. He looked like a dog who was about to get pulverized.
"F-for¡forgive me¡ master!" Sun Lord''s pleading voice, filled with terror, rang.
Ace was bbergasted by this entire turn of events as he looked at that terrifyingly powerful being kneeling there like a dog and wondered just who could make someone like him kneel with just pressure alone while he couldn''t even feel any pressure.
But one thing was clear, the owner of this pressure was absolutely not someone he could mess with, and by his current action, he seemed to care about White or his talent.
Whatever the case was, Ace started to feel like this entire Heaven''s Stealer Mission was impossible topete with such a terrifying figure overseeing the union!
Nevertheless, he first has to figure out a way to get out of this mess.
At this moment, the pressure on Sun Lord finally vanishes as he pants there like a dog before he slowly raises to his feet.
"Bring him to me, and if you try your petty tricks again, I''ll make sure you no longer have a brain to think about such tricks anymore." The same voice rang without any intent behind it this time. But it was as imposing as before.
Ace''s heart raced as he knew this was his chance to escape, but he knew he didn''t have any ce to run unless he could figure out a way to escape the union. This person will find him, and his abilities are limited.
So, he could only hope that this person was really searching for a student, or at least if he was nning something, it would involve a long process.
"I don''t dare!" Sun Lord quickly reassured before he approached Ace again and put his hand over his shoulder again.
Ace felt a strong feeling of hostility from this guy but no ill intent anymore, and he thought with what happened before, he would not be going to y any tricks.
The very next moment, Ace suddenly felt a strong force enveloping him before he found his vision warped as everything turned to blur, and the next moment, his vision turned dark before it returned.
Ace was extremely familiar with this sensation, and his heart went cold, ''Teleportation?!''
Just as he thought when he saw his surrounding, he wasn''t standing in that building anymore, but he was standing outside a magnificent golden pce gate!
Chapter 701 The Union Leader!
At this moment, the golden pce gates opened, and Ace was looking at the fate map with a gloomy expression because he couldn''t see anyndscape. The entire map was red, and there was only one ck fate point behind those gates.
But he does notice something, thepass arrow, which was pointing straight up ahead before, was now pointing downward!
Ace couldn''t help but look around and saw he was standing inside a grand hallway, and behind him stood the Sun Lord, who seemed to be now normal as if nothing had happened.
''I''m inside a building? Then these gates are inside some massive structure?'' Ace looked at the hundred-meter-tall gates, which were now fully opened.
"Only you are summoned. Just walk inside!" Sun Lord icily uttered.
Ace cocked an eyebrow as he still could feel deep hostility from this guy. Still, he walked inside as he didn''t have any choice in this matter.
The interior behind those golden doors were awestruck as it seemed to be made with the finest jade and architecture. There were massive pirs withrge golden statues of different races, which gave off the vivid feeling of oppression as if they were not just status but asleep monsters.
There were ten such statues, a devil, demon, hunter, elf, and even an extremely handsome human, present within those statues.
But Ace didn''t have time to investigate those golden statues because his eyesnded on therge golden throne in the middle of the room. An otherworldly man wearing a white crown and white emperor robes was sitting on that throne majestically like a holy emperor who looked down on the world.
''A human!?'' That thought appeared in Ace''s mind when he saw the appearance of this crowned person.
He was probably over two meters tall with a masculine build, appeared to be in his early thirties, and had an extremely handsome mature square shape face with inky ck hair and bright blue eyes as deep as clear as an ocean but equally deep.
Ace knew this guy was most likely human since he had yet to see a hunter who had different eye color than their hair. But it was also quite absurd since he didn''t think a human could be behind the terrifying union.
"There''s no need to be afraid. Come closer." The crowned man said with an amiable smile as if he were talking with a small child. His eyes were shimmering with great interest as he looked at baffled White.
But Ace quickly identified this voice as it was the same voice which made who suppressed that mysterious expert. He didn''t dare to be careless in front of this man who could make that expert outside like a beaten dog with just his oppressive might.
Ace calmed his nerves as he walked toward the throne and stopped when he was only five meters away from it. He couldn''t virtually feel this person despite being this close to him as if he didn''t exist at all, nor did he have any aura.
"G-greeting elder!" White bowed his head in greeting with apprehension.
"Are you wondering if I''m a human or not?" The crowned man suddenly asked with a faint smile.
Ace was startled by this question as he was really wondering this just a moment ago, and this man saw right through it. So, he replied respectfully, "I am."
"Well, for what it''s worth, I''m indeed a human." The crowned man admitted with a grin.
Ace was surprised and didn''t know what to say anymore; things were going in a strange direction all of a sudden.
"Anyway, I didn''t summon you here to discuss this trifle topic. I heard you have Dark Meridians with a mysterious, fantastic soul physique. Do you know what it means to have just one of them, not to mention both of them at the same time?" The crowned man asked without any intent behind his words.
Ace clearly has no idea as he only heard a little about these fantastic meridians and physiques from Eva as well as a little bit from the system. But he does know they were extremely rare.
"I''ve been born in the mortal domain, so I do not know the profound secrets of the immortals." White respectfully replied.
"Immortals? Hahaha!" The crowned man suddenly guffawed, and the entire throne hall rang with hisughter.
But Ace felt a chill to his spine when he felt a very deep antagonism within thatugh.
He suddenly stoppedughing and became expressionless, "Just like mortals called use immortals since we can fly in the sky and use our Qi to do wonder in their eyes, it didn''t make us immortals.
"We are cultivators, and cultivators persuade immortality, and unless you achieve it, you are nothing but a mortal in the eye of a stronger being than you. Just like mortals to us." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
A hint of profoundness shed past in his eyes as he asked, "Tell me, little fellow, if I give you a chance will you take over my position as the Union Leader of the Sun and Moon Sword Union?"
''So, he''s really the mysterious Union Leader of the Union!'' Ace felt his heart race in trepidation since this guy was simply too mysterious, not to mention scary.
Now he was asking this seemingly simple question which clearly wasn''t.
Ace thought for a moment before he replied, "Is this the highest peak of power?"
The Union Leader''s eyes shimmered strangely as he asked, "What if it is, and what if it isn''t?"
"If it is, then I''ll strive to persuade it, and if it isn''t, I''ll strive to surpass it. Lord Union Leader said himself, we should persuade immortality, and my goal is the same!" White''s eyes shone undying resolved.
The Union Leader''s eyes narrowed ever so slightly before an invisible aura suddenly released from him and encased Ace.
This time, Ace felt like he waspletely naked and was afraid that he might be seen through despite wearing the grade-9 mask.
He was even more afraid that the Union Leader might also try using a soul search on him as the Sun Lord did. He now wasn''t sure if he could even escape this guy even if the system didn''t let him probe anything.
Without any doubt, the Union Leader was probably the scariest person he had ever encountered in his life.
The soul wisp of Moon Fiend King was nothing in front of this Union Leader in his prime!
Chapter 702 Master & Disciple?
Under the Union Leader''s probing, Ace stood there like a statue since there wasn''t any escape at all. However, it onlysted for a moment before everything returned to normal.
Ace felt massive relief that the Union Leader didn''t soul search him, or this would''ve turned worse within an instant.
Furthermore, his mask was also working, so this could only mean this guy was still strong within the limits of the Mortal Sky Heaven. So he didn''t need to worry about getting exposed anymore.
"Hmm, your meridian is dark while your Qi is light, and even I can''t see through what kind of soul physique you have." The Union Leader said with great interest in his eyes, "Or, you don''t have a soul physique at all, and it''s some kind of effect of your meridians. Well, we''ll see it eventually, now, don''t we?"
"My knowledge is nothing in front of you, Lord Union Leader," White stated with uncertainty.
While Ace was thinking about what the Union Leader does now, this would decide the course of action he would take as well.
"Indeed. That''s why I''ll give you two choices," Union Leader smiled amiably, "Be my Disciple and inherit my legacy. You will also gain the status of Junior Union Leader, and you will receive an endless supply of resources and status that no one has ever had since the beginning of the Union. Even the Sun Lord standing outside had to call you Junior Union Leader respectfully.
"Second, you will still be my disciple, but you won''t inherit my legacy but the true legacy of the Sun and Moon Sword Union. However, this path is deadly and filled with different trials. I can only protect you from the people of the Union but not from the Union.
"However, if you managed to inherit the true union legacy, this path will also lead you to the peak, which I was never able to breach because of my limited talent. But as I mentioned, if you failed, you would die, and no one would be able to protect you."
Ace was shocked when he heard those two options. Although both options included bing the disciple of the Union Leader, they were vastly different.
In the case of the former, he would be the next union leader, while in the case of thetter, it was apletely unknown approach.
Because the second option was filled with ambiguity, especially the part about not being able to protect him from the union itself. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
''Then does this mean there is someone even more terrifying than this guy here? Or it''s some of the prerequisites to acquiring this true legacy of the union? Just what is the union¡'' Ace was nowpletely confused about this whole union thing.
First, the heaven''s stealer mission was rted to this ce, and now a human who stood at the top of the food chain wanted him to acquire the true legacy of the union, which even someone like him can''t.
This raised many red gs.
However, when Ace thought about the Union Leader''s protection he would receive after bing his disciple, it was something he didn''t want to miss.
There was no doubt that there were hidden motives in the second option, but Ace felt the second option might lead him into the core secrets of the union. While with the first option, he might have to remain in this ce under this guy''s watch all the time.
This wasn''t something he wanted at all costs.
So, he decided to go with White''s resolved cultivator''s character and said with full of resolution, "I promise my parents that I would always walk the path of hardship since every hardship also has rewards at the end of it. So, I will choose the second option even if it means death. I''ll choose death over mediocrity!"
Union Leader was startled by White''sst word as a hint of mncholy shed past his emotionless eyes before he burst into heartedughter.
"I don''t know if your ambition ismendable or just a mortal''s dream to achieve godhood. Maybe this is the reason you are blessed with this talent, and you are also human as well." The Union Leader uttered with a pleased smile.
His expression suddenly turned solemn, "I will now take you as my first disciple in this life."
The next moment, the Union Leader waved his sleeve, and a jade table with an antique teapot and a cup appeared, which made Ace surprised as he didn''t know what this tea table had to do with him bing a disciple, but the atmosphere was indeed solemn.
The Union Leader stated solemnly with an air of supremacy suddenly started to emit from his visage, "The ancient Master Disciple ceremony goes beyond that of an instructor and student; it followed the old Confucian principle of Filial Piety.
"Thus, the formal eptance of the student by the Teacher is also a type of adoption ceremony because we believe that a Teacher is a second father to a student.
"That''s why whenever someone epts a formal Disciple, it''s an unbreakable bond forged for life. Both sides have special filial duties toward each other; a Master protects, tech, and even punishes and corrects the mistake of a disciple.
"Whereas it''s a Disciple''s duty to never disgraces his master''s lineage, and always follow his teaching and even strive to surpass him one day. There''s no room for betrayal in this rtionship.
"So, if you''re willing to ept me as your Master, then kneel before me, bow, and then serve the tea. Me drinking the tea signifies your eptance as a Disciple!"
Ace felt those words were quite sincere, and it was his first time hearing about such a ceremony, especially the part about this ''Confucian principle of Filial Piety.''
Ace had no master or teacher as he was self-taught, and the system always said no one was qualified enough to teach him, and he knew it was a fact with his special cultivation technique and the path he walked.
So, he never thinks much about epting someone as a master, much less forging this bond like father and son. This was beyond him, and neither did he wants to experience it at this point!
The time of such bonding was long passed, and he was now a Heaven''s Stealer who was destined to walk a lonely path.
Besides, the Union Leader never even gave him the option to reject, so this one-sided forced rtionship meant little to him.
Now, he would do what he had to do to achieve his goal and to remain alive, go through the motions (pretend)!
While emotionally said as if he was moved beyond belief by the Union Leader''s speech, "It''s my honor, Master, I''ll never disgrace you or forget your favor!"
Chapter 703 Junior Union Leader!
White stood respectfully while serving tea to the Union Leader.
The Union Leader took it and took a small sip before he looked at White with a pleased expression and said, "Excellent! As a gift toplete this master-disciple ceremony, here I bestow you this Dark Feather Sword and Sun Chasing Sword Art, which I created during my heydays."
In front of Ace appeared a 5''5 feet long sword with ck shaped like a feather, and its insanely sharp de was engraved with tiny ruins and a thick red book. Both things hovered in front of him with some invisible force.
Ace was astonished since he wasn''t expecting such gifts.
Furthermore, when he took the sword, he was even more shocked because it was a High-Grade-7 runic weapon!
As for the Sun Chasing Sword Art, he mused since the sword was this precious, this sword art might not be bad as well. He looked at the Union Leader, who was now his master, with a hint ofplication as he didn''t expect this master of his to be so generous.
"Although these two things are still above your level, you''ll soon be able to use them with your cultivation speed. Especially the Sun Chasing Sword Art. If you managed to master it, you might awake half-sword intent.
"If you can achieve that, then I''ll teach you my core sword technique which is based on sword intent. As for what sword intent is, it is your intent to cut something with your sword.
"The rest you have to figure it out yourself. If you''re lucky, you might even awaken the element sword intent. If you do, I will teach you secret sword art. Just remember you will always get rewarded for your achievements and punished if you ever cross a certain line." The Union Leader sternly instructs like an elder.
Ace, on the hand, was truly relieved that he didn''t try anything funny in front of the Union Leader before, or with this new information, he could easily tell this man was too terrifying.
''He might also have element sword intent as well since he can teach me some secret technique. Didn''t this mean I could learn many things from him about swords and further refine my own ''Eternal Thief''s Swords Style!''
For the first time, Ace felt it wasn''t a bad thing to be under an expert''s wing. If he can''t use a soul probe on them, then he can just make them teach him their secrets.
"I''ll keep that in mind!" White respectfully bowed while keeping the two things in his storage ring.
The Union Leader smilingly said, "Bring out your union token." N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace did as he was told, and his union token appeared in his hand. The next moment, Union Leader pointed his finger at it, and a crimson streak suddenly shot out and entered the token.
The next moment, the token suddenly crumbled before it reassembled in a trigram shape, its color was pristine white, and there were new words written on it.
''Junior Union Leader (White)!''
Ace was shocked as he didn''t think this status would be granted to him just like that.
"With this token, you can enter any library in the outer, inner, and core domains of the sun domain and study as long as you like and anything as much as you want. This will help you learn faster and build up your knowledge about cultivation.
"You can also move between three domains as you wish, and no one will obstruct your way. Moreover, you can now enter the moon domain as well, just like the sun domain, with this token and gain ess to their libraries." The Union Leader coolly told as if he was telling some trifling things.
But Ace felt like he was holding the key to almost everything in the union while looking at the white token in his hand.
However, the Union Leader still wasn''t done as he continued, "This token will also be your proved as the trial taker of the union legacy, which is its true function. So, now I''m giving you an opportunity. Think of it as a mission that you need toplete in three months."
Ace frowned, ''There''s always a catch, huh?''
"Please do tell, Master!" White, with determination stated.
Union Leader smiled in satisfaction when he saw White wasn''t swayed by all those benefits and said, "You need to retrieve the first part of the Union Legacy. It is the true cultivation technique of the union called Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual."
"Where is it?" White asked curiously while inwardly he cussed, ''Don''t tell me he wanted me to cultivate this technique? Won''t I be exposed at that time?''
Ace felt heavy as he still didn''t have any skill or ability to emte a cultivation technique, and he didn''t even know if it was even possible or not yet.
"It''s actually hidden in the Six Cultivation Towers'' top floors. As you already know, three cultivation towers are in the outer, inner, and core domains of sun mountain, and three towers in the same pattern are in moon mountain.
"As for why they are divided into two domains and in six towers, because this cultivation manual is actually a secret cultivation technique which is made with two cultivation manuals and can only be cultivated when two manuals are cultivated together." The Union Leader revealed a shocking fact that made even Ace astonished, as it was his first time hearing about a secret grade cultivation manual.
"Even I only know this much since, to this day, no one has ever been able to get their hands on it." The Union Leader sighed ruefully as if he was remembering something painful.
"I tried three times and failed miserably in the outer domain tower. You see, there''s a limit of age restriction on that tower. Only someone with a Junior Union Leader token and an age below fifty can strive to collect the cultivation techniques in two mountains'' outer domains.
"As for the inner domains'' cultivation towers, their age restriction might be higher, but I''m not certain since it is mandatory for someone to cultivate the first part of the secret cultivation technique first. Only then can they take the trial of inner domains'' cultivation towers."
He then looked at White meaningfully, who had this fighting intent in his eyes, and he smiled, "But that trial is quite deadly as there are only three life chances which means you can take the trial three times and fail, but you won''t be in danger.
"However, the fourth time, it will be a life and death-struggle. I gave up after my third try since I knew my limit. You can also decide for yourself, as I won''t force you out toward your death."
"I won''t back down. Please tell me what I have to do!" White said without hesitation, but Ace was all gloomy inside as this spelled nothing but trouble, ''How the hell am I supposed to clear that trial in three months which even you couldn''tplete?!''
"Very good!" The Union Leader praised as he said, "Don''t worry, even if you didn''tplete it in three months, it won''t matter much. But if you do, I''ll send you into a secret realm of our sun domain which is going to open in four months.
"But if you didn''t, then you won''t be able to enter it ever again as it only opened once in 100 years, and it also has age restriction as well as cultivation restriction.
"Only 1,000 juniors can enter that realm from the inner sun domain unless you are a peak river core cultivator and defeat one of the selected participants or have the ability to retrieve the Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual; I won''t allow you to enter it!" The Union Leader sternly stated.
However, Ace felt his heart race the moment he heard ''secret realm'' and felt like a pie had fallen from the sky!
Chapter 704 Old Swindler…
"I''ll try my best not to disappoint you, Master!" White quickly promised.
Ace was really motivated now as this task of the Union Leader directly aligned with his current mission. Now, this opportunity really felt like an opportunity, and Ace wasn''t someone who would miss it.
The Union Leader has no idea that he just invited a wolf into his own backyard. He smiled in a content manner as he was quite pleased with White''s resolute personality.
"As I said before, there is no need to push yourself. Although this is one of the biggest opportunities present in our union, it won''t be thest. As long as you start cultivating in the Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual, the sky is your limit.
"I''ll always be here to guild you and have your back. You just need to focus on inheriting the full legacy of the Union." The Union Leader graciously stated.
White solemnly nodded, "I''ll keep that in mind."
Union Leader chuckled, "This pce is called the Above Mountains Pce, for it is above the union mountains, and only I lived here. But now, you have your own courtyard in the south of the pce, and you cane and go as you, please.
"Just pour Qi in your token, and you''ll know how toe here, and the same goes for leaving. If you have any questions, you can contact me through it, and I''ll summon you. As for cultivation resources, you can im as many as you want from the domain treasuries in the six domains."
Ace was astonished by the Union Leader''s generosity, he clearly knew just how big the union was, and now the resources of the three sun domains and three moon domains were at his disposal.
''Is it this simple to gain so many resources by bing a disciple of the top figure in an organization? It must say it''s easier than theft.'' Ace thought before he scoffed thievishly at his own thoughts the next moment, ''But this also means I need to pull up my weight if I want the same treatment forever, while with theft, I need to do it once, and everything belonged to me with no strings attached. Although I would gain enemies, it''s worth it as long as I got the treasures!''
Although he was giving White free rein, this didn''t mean he won''t monitor his actions.
This could also be a test to see White''s true nature, or all these benefits might end once White proved to be useless. No one could tell what the Union Leader''s true motives were, but Ace knew Union Leader did his motives.
Because in Ace''s experience, everyone was driven by a motive, whether it was good or bad.
The Union Leader has no idea about Ace''s true thoughts as he is done exining White''s new status.
"Now, tell me, how do you want to proceed?" He asked.
White answered without hesitation, "I would like to spend some time in the library of the outer sun domain before I would try challenging the cultivation tower trials."
The Union Leader didn''t reject White''s idea and nodded, "Very well, do as you see fit. But don''t waste your three chances."
"Understood."
"Go and tell the Sun Lord where to drop you. He''ll behave from now on." The Union Leader dismissively uttered.
"Farewell, Master!" White bowed before he left toward the exit of the hall.
The Union Leader''s amiable smile vanished the moment White''s figure left the throne hall, and the gates were closed.
A heavy yet spooky voice rang within the silent hall, "Three chances?! Hahahaha¡ Old Swindler, tricking a kid like this, it is even low for you."
Hearing the naked ridicule in this voice, the Union Leader''s face didn''t change at all as he merely nced at the ten statues with a hint of annoyance.
Strangely unlike their previous stable state, they were now glowing in different colors, and the voice sounded from a gray status of a Demon.
"I''m not tricking him. I just want to see if he has what it takes to free us all from this prison!" The Union Leader coldly dered.
"Hehehehe¡ still lying through your teeth, eh? Do you think anyone would believe a liar like you?" A devilish voice rang from the devil''s status shining in ck, and it was filled with hatred.
"Sigh¡ he just wanted to confirm if that little doll has what it took to threaten his position in this world. Even I have to admit that boy''s talent is probably peerless in this era, but s, he ended up born in this cursed ce." A sad melodious voice rang from the status of an elven beauty who was glowing in golden color. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The Union Leader sneered at this moment as a hint of madness shed past his eyes, "Believe it or not, I really wanted to leave this goddamn world for good. But trust me, there is only one chance, and the moment it fails, the Union will be reset like before!"
"You, sick pig, don''t sound so righteous. It made me want to piss on your nine ancestors'' graves!" A burly man''s status who was quite small inpared to the others started to curse vilely. He was Dwarf''s status shone in an emerald glow.
"You always talk about this ''Reset'' just what is?" A human-like status glowing in purple color questioned ruefully. It was a hunter!
The Union Leader''s expression remained the same even after the dwarf statue''s cursing, and he replied, "Even if I told you guys, you would never understand the horror of this ce. Like I told you guys millions of times, once you are born in the union, you will die in the union. There is no escape."
His eyes lit in madness as he uttered, "The world is nothing but a wastnd. To escape it, we must escape the union!"
At this moment, the statue of a handsome man glowing in white, how was none other than a human''s statue, glowed brightly before a horsed voice rang,
"Old Swindler, I once believed you and ended up in this state for thousands of years. So, I know you are lying. It took me thousands of years to figure it out, but I know you are the one behind everything, and your goal is something else!"
The Union Leader''s expression remained the same, but a peculiar ripple shed past his eyes as he called, "vus¡!"
Chapter 705 Abandon Her For Power …
At this moment, within a small sect city of the Azure Wind Continent royalnds.
Within a small rundown house, a young boy with rosypletion and big bright gray eyes was sitting over a small table filled with all kinds of dishes, and he was happily chunking down the meat with a content expression on his youthful face.
While a petite woman wearing an old apron was sitting in front of the boy watching him with a tender yetplex gaze.
"Mom, your cooking is the best in the world!" The boy happily dered.
The boy''s mother smiled with affection and said, "Then eat more. I''ll make as much as you want."
"Hehe, you should eat as well. It''s very good for your body. I hunt this demonic beast myself. It''s filled with nutritious Qi." The boy seriously revealed.
The boy''s mother couldn''t help but show a worried expression at this moment as she anxiously said, "Damian, you don''t need to put your life in danger anymore. Look, I''m fully cured, and I can now do work as well. The cultivation world is too dangerous, especially for someone who doesn''t have any background. Why don''t you find a guard job in the city lord manor? I''m sure they won''t reject a young man like you."
Damian''s gray eyes shed with disdain as he said, "Those guys are rotten to the core. I''ll rather be a beggar than join their ranks. But don''t worry, Mom, as I said before, I have a Master behind me and his protection, so I''m quite safe all the time. All this hunting is my training.
"When I get more strong, I''ll make sure to protect you and help you prolong your life. Then we''ll stay together forever!" Damian''s eyes were filled with resolution as he arrogantly dered.
His mother''s eyes were tearing up as she said, "I''m sorry¡ my boy, I¡ I should''ve done more for you. Y-you were the one who took care of me all these years when you should be ying around with children at your age. Now you even embarked on this dangerous path because of me. I''m¡ I''m a terrible mother¡"
Tears started to gush out of her eyes as she sobbed with grief.
Damian sighed as he stood up and hugged her. As she soothingly said, "Mom, why do you always bring that up? I told you already; those days are past us. I did what I wanted to for my mother. In this world, you are my only family, and if I can''t even provide for you as your son, then what''s the point of me being alive?"
"Silly boy¡ my silly boy¡" She sobbed in his arm softly with pain as well as relief while the childish look in Damian''s eyes was flickering between coldness and dilemma¡
After the meal, Damian massaged his mother''s legs despite her strong resistance until she fell asleep with a gratified smile. He then stood up and encased her in a soft nket that seemed to be made with very expensive wool.
He then kissed her forehead and left the room without making any sound and then left the house. Furthermore, he sighed with deep emotions aftering out. Before he flipped his hand, a green formation te appeared.
Damian stuck it on the house door before activating it, and an invisible barrier covered the house. After making sure the formation was properly working. His figure starting dissolved in his surroundings before he vanished entirely like a ghost.
A few kilometers away from the old house, in a dark alleyway, Damian''s figure appeared again, but this time was d in a ck dress, and his face was half covered in a ck cloth.
The very next moment thereafter, a person with his face hidden behind long dreadlocks filled with dirt and a bare bonny torso with wound marks and soil and wearing only a short rag walked over.
Damian''s eyes were filled with deep respect as he looked at this beggar and bowed in greeting, "I see you, Master!"
"I''m not your Master, boy." A husky voice rang behind those dreadlocks. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Damian seemed to didn''t care as he said, "It doesn''t matter if you ept or not. For me, you are and will be my Master, who bestows me with the power to change my destiny."
The beggar''s expression was unknown as his husky voice sounded again in question, "Do you made your choice?"
Damian''s eyes shone with predicament and pain as he said with uncertainty, "Why do I have to leave her? She''s the only person in this world who I care about, and I want to be at her side no matter what. If I leave her for power, I''ll be no better than an ingrate who abandoned his mother just because she might get in his way!"
"Then you don''t want the next realm manual of the Achromatic Theft Cultivation Art?" The beggar inly asked without any emotions in his voice, as if it didn''t matter what Damian chose.
Damian''s expression turned even moreplicated when he heard ''Achromatic Theft Cultivation Art'' as his heart raced with longing.
But when he thought about his mother, who he had to abandon to get his hands on this cultivation art, he shook his head. He ground his teeth before he said, "No, I won''t abandon her for power, or I''ll never be able to cultivate peacefully in my life. What the use of power if I can''t use it for my loved ones."
The beggar then poses another question in a strange tone, "Then tell me, if I decided to kill your mother right now, do you have the power to protect her?"
Damian''s body stiffed when he heard this, and his eyes shone with killing intent as he looked at the beggar with vignce. The respect in his eyes instantly vanished into a void as it had never existed before.
His mother was his reverse scale, and he would not tolerate any kind of threat rted to her as he coldly answered, "Then I''ll die protecting her!"
"Na?ve¡" The beggar''s impassive voice rang in derision before a terrifying pressure descended upon Damian.
Damian''s felt as if a mountain was crushing down on his back all of a sudden, and he instantly fell to his knees. Even after he tried to circte his Qi to resist it, it was like he was using a twig to support a boulder.
He felt he would crush to death at this moment, and there wasn''t anything he could do about it. He felt like an ant who was going stomped by an elephant before that pressure vanished.
When he caught his breath and looked toward the beggar, he found the beggar had vanished, and a bronze bowl was left in his ce, and this time there were three books inside, which made him shocked and also ted.
The beggar''s voice rang again, "Since you are still na?ve enough to reject power, let me open your eyes for you. Your next mission is to find your father, who is inside the Dark Nightmare Sect. I''ll protect your mother until you decide to kill her yourself¡"
Chapter 706 Free Access!
Ace exited the throne hall; the golden gates closed like they were opened.
The first thing he saw was the Sun Lord, who was still standing there while his appearance and racial features were hidden by that special mask on his face.
''So, this is the Sun Lord, and for some reason, he seemed hostile towards me? Is he felt threatened by me now when the Union Leader took interest and summoned me here?'' Ace thought as he looked at the Sun Lord with a somewhat cold gaze.
He heard the Sun Lord and Moon Lord were the two peak contenders to be the next Union Lord. But now, out of the blue, a human appeared out of nowhere who had peerless talent.
So, Ace felt it was quite natural that these two persons with authority felt uneasy and even tried to get rid of him. Because if he worked hard to get something for years and only found out that it could be taken by a brat who didn''t even do anything, he would also feel pissed and indignant.
However, this didn''t mean he would go out of his way to try turning the other party into a vegetable while knowing his superior clearly won''t stand idle.
This showed just how insane the Sun Lord was to take such a risk, or he was just crazy!
If Ace was now worried about someone, it wasn''t the Union Leader but the Sun Lord since he might try something like that again once he left the Union Leader''s protection.
Then there was still the Moon Lord, whose thoughts and attitude towards him were still unclear. If she turned out to have the same agenda as the Sun Lord, then Ace would have to think twice before he moved into the Moon Domain as well.
After all, he still needed to find the other secret realm, which should be in the moon domain.
But first, he was going to focus on the Sun Domain''s secret realm. He had three months to either retrieve that cultivation technique from both outer domains'' cultivation towers or be a peak River Core Cultivation Realm Cultivator.
For Ace, it was quite an obvious choice of what he would do.
White greeted Sun Lord respectfully, bowed a slight bow, and said, "I got to know Senior is the Sun Lord from my Master."
"Your Master? Did Milord ept you as his student?" Sun Lord''s voice was filled with bitterness and a hint of hatred as well as jealousy.
"Yes!" White replied without hesitation while he thought deviously, ''Since he''s afraid of my new Master, there''s no need to worry about him while I''m within the union.''
"I''m also anointed as the Junior Union Leader by my Master," White revealed while showing his new union identity token.
This time the Sun Lord''s figure visibly trembled as a chaotic Qi suddenly started to emit from him as if he was going to explode.
But for some reason, despite knowing the danger, Ace didn''t feel any kind of pressure or unease at all. He mused it might have something to do with this ce of the Union Leader protecting him.
Whichever the case was, he was rxed since his life wasn''t in danger, for now.
The Sun Lord seemed to have snapped out of his chaotic mind state almost instantly before that dangerous aura vanished, and he appeared like before.
Then the Sun Lord did something which made Ace astonished. He bowed his head slightly and said, "Sun Lord, greet the Junior Union Leader!"
"Please, Senior, don''t do this. Even with this status, you are still my elder, so please don''t lower your head. I hope I can learn from you, and together, we can make the union even better. I think my master wants the same." White hastily spoke, and he sounded extremely sincere.
While in truth, Ace was just being Ace by acting ording to his character. Now that he knew his masked was not even detectable by the Union Leader, he was even more condiment about all this.
Especially since now, he had to do nothing much but act ordingly to White''s personality and strike when the time was ripe.
The Sun Lord didn''t agree nor disagree as he asked an entirely different question, "Did the Junior Union Leader have an order for me, or am I excused?"
''This guy¡'' Ace''s squinted his eye as he couldn''t read the Sun Lord''s emotion anymore, as if he hadpletely cut off his feeling.
Still, he would keep his distance from him even if the Sun Lord had changed his attitude, so nothing changed.
"I would like you to send me to the inner sun domain library. I want to increase my cultivation knowledge." White respectfully requested.
"Very well." The Sun Lord agreed without hesitation before he waved his sleeve, and they both vanished from outside the throne hall.
Ace''s regained his vision and found himself standing outside a twenty-story golden pagoda that seemed quite familiar. He instantly recognized it as he saw the same golden pagoda in the outer sun domain, which was none other than the library!
Although those pagodas looked the same, this was twenty stories, while thetter was just ten stories, and it was three hundred meters wider than the outer sun domain''s library.
"If there''s nothing else, I''ll be taking my leave. If you need anything, just contact me through your token. It has such function." The Sun Lord''s emotionless voice rang before he vanished without giving Ace any chance to reply as if he was escaping.
Ace merely nced at stops where the Sun Lord had vanished and then looked ahead again as he didn''t care much as long as that guy won''t attack him.
He even opened the fate map just to confirm if he was sneaking around, but it turned out the Sun Lord really had left, so he moved toward the library.
There stood another magnificent golden statue of a wyvern in front of the entrance, and after sensing his presence, a familiar static voice rang,
"Union Token!"
Without hesitation, he took out his union token, and the golden eyes of the wyvern statue glowed before a familiar golden beam shot from them andnded on his new token before it vanished.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The voice rang again, but this time he could feel a hint of surprise from this voice, "Junior Union Leader (White), you have free ess to all the twenty-one floors of the Inner Sun Domain Library and can stay indefinitely inside!"
Chapter 707 Junior What?!
"Junior Union Leader (White), you have free ess to all the twenty-one floors of the Inner Sun Domain Library and can stay indefinitely inside!"
Ace wasn''t surprised by this deration at all since the Union Leader had already told him.
But he noticed something as he asked curiously, "21 floors? But this building only has 20 floors?"
"Indeed, but for anyone below High Union Elder Rank. For High Union Elders or above rank member, like for Junior Union Leader, you can gain ess to the Secret Floors that exists in the Inner and Core Libraries. As for the content on these floors, I''m afraid Junior Union Leader has to explore yourself." The impassive voice exined.
Ace felt it made sense to have such floors for high-ranking members of the union, and he was quite interested in these secret floors since they could contain valuable information on the Union.
However, he can''t appear too obvious as the Union Leader might be monitoring him. Furthermore, he can''t use the Myriad Vizard Thief Mask''s Unseen Thief ability right now because if he got monitored by some surveince formation, he would vanish.
Then, if that formation were observed by the Union Leader, he would be in huge trouble as it would be hard to exin how he was able to vanish like a ghost and reappear.
Although he got a huge boon by bing the Junior Union Leader, it also brought forth the attention of a being like the Union Leader. In a sense, it was riskier than rewarding.
But Ace knew as long as he yed along well and didn''t make any suspicious moves, even the Union Leader will not find any fault with him.
Ace was about to move inside when he heard a voice filled with surprise, "A Union Student Human? Why are you here?"
Ace turned around and saw a graceful huntress with currish eyes looking at him in surprise. She wore sky blue union robes, which made her a Union Instructor.
The Union robes had different colors with different ranks; students and schrs wore white and green. While the instructor and elder wore sky blue and blue, and the high elders wore the color purple. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, what drew Ace''s attention was this was a woman in the sun domain, which shouldn''t be the case since women were supposed to be in the moon domain.
So, without bothering to ask her, he directly started to probe her memories since it would be quite convenient in the long run, for he still didn''t know about the inner sun domain structure.
While he annexed the huntress''s memories at a terrifying rate, Ace decided to reply, "Why I can''t be here?"
The huntress with green hair replied coldly, with squinted eyes, "Why the hell are you asking a question instead of answering it? Do you learn no manner how to respect your seniors?"
Ace didn''t find the Huntress with a princess-like overbearing attitude offensive as he knew the people with lower union ranks were always respectful toward the people with the higher union rank.
However, White''s status now was equivalent to the Sun Lord and Moon Lord, even they had to show now some restraint in front of him as the Sun Lord did. So, he wasn''t afraid of anyone in this ce.
Besides, he was in a hurry to start the preparation to clear the requirement that the Union Leader emced on him so he could head into the secret realm of the sun domain.
"Just don''t bother me." White dismissively replied before he turned around and started walking toward the library''s entrance.
The Huntress was baffled by White''s dismissive attitude, and despite her warning, he still acted ruder than before.
"Y-you! Stop right there!" The Huntress yelled furiously as no human dared to talk to her this way, not to mention of mere Union Student brat. She even released her golden Qi river core aura.
If it were really a union student, she would''ve been fine since she could punish the Union Student for being rude toward her, a higher union-rank cultivator.
But s, White''s current status was something that even High Union Elder would fear right now.
So, the moment she released her aura on White, something shocking happened, which even made Ace startled.
Out of nowhere, a green reinforcer suddenly emerged right between the huntress and White andpletely blocked the huntress''s aura before it could even touch White''s clothes.
The huntress was also shocked, and a hint of fear shed past her eyes when she saw the green reinforcer appear out of nowhere.
She clearly knew these reinforcers woulde on the moment noticed when someone broke grave rules of the union. However, she clearly didn''t break any such rule, but for some reason, this reinforcer''s ghastly aura was locked on her.
A cold, emotionless voice rang, "Union Instructor Veile, for the crime of attacking the Junior Union Leader, you shall be imprisoned in the Union Penitentiary for three years without any trial!"
The huntress was dumbfounded and looked at White in bewilderment before horror started to creep into her body, ''J-Junior¡ junior what?!''
Before she could collect her thoughts and figure out what just transpired, the green reinforcer enveloped her in green Qi and then shot toward the sky with her, and any kind of resistance was futile.
Ace looked at the empty spots where the green reinforcer and the huntress stood just now and looked toward the sky as they were already turned into small dots.
In the end, he chuckled softly and thought, ''I can get used to this status thing.''
Although he didn''t get all her memories, he got enough to go around, and it wasn''t like he won''t encounter someone else, so he didn''t think much about this incident and headed inside the library in a good mood.
Now, he could just focus on the union leader while he didn''t have to worry about anyone else. Of course, he still hadn''t forgotten about the snake-like Sun Lord and mysterious Moon Lord¡
Chapter 708 The Union-Wide Announcement!
The Inner Sun Domain has a structure like the Outer Sun Domain, and the only difference was there had a fourth region, the Private Sector Region.
The Private Sector Region was quite big, and it was divided into private territories which could be imed by any High Union Elder Rank Cultivator.
Not only that, those High Union Elders then could decide to let their descendant live there and races rted to them as long as they were willing.
Furthermore, a High Union Elder has another interesting authority. They could get married in the Moon Domain to any woman they wanted as long as she was one rank below them. They could even marry High Union Elder Rank Women in the Moon domain as long as they were willing and had descendants.
Not only that, but High Union Elder of both sides could choose a hundred men or women to be part of their private sectors, and then those women or men could marry those people who were allowed to live in the private sector.
Not only those men and women who changed their domain will have to follow the domainws and rules, but they had to be under the ruling party of that domain.
Like if some men from the Sun domain were chosen to be brought back by some High Elder in the Moon Domain''s private sectors, they would have to follow their rules and can''t be disrespectful toward any Moon domain women living there. The same goes for the women present in the sun domains.
This was done to make the poption of the Union rise and produce excellent Union natives, except the ones in the mortal domains.
So, the private sector could be considered a private contrary under one King''s rules, and his descendants and close aid had absolute statutes. Of course, as long as those guys don''t break any domain rules or the King, aka High Union Elder, decides to remove them from power.
Furthermore, these private sectors could interact with each other from two domains as long as they were from the same race.
However, in the entire Union, including the Sun and Moon domains, there were only 28 High Union Elders, of which 18 were from the Sun Domain while ten were from the Moon Domain.
This also means in the Sun domain; there were 18 private sectors in the Private Sector Region.
The Hunter Race has four High Union Elders amidst them, and two of them were from the sun domain while two were from the moon domain.
Furthermore, to keep their bloodline pure like every other race, these High Elders were married to each other. One pair reside in the sun domain while the other is in the moon domain to keep the bnce and control over both domain resources.
In the two Private Sectors under the Hunter Race in the Sun Domain, one was known as High Sun Hunter Sector, while the other was known as the High Moon Hunter Sector.
The High Sun Hunter Sector was more powerful than the High Moon Hunter Sector in the Sun Domain, while it was reversed in the Moon Domain.
Anyhow, the High Union Elders were all entrics as they paid little attention to their domains unless it was an extremely important matter, so all the control was usually under the Union Elders among the High Union Elders'' Descendants.
Today, within the High Sun Hunter Sector, one of the ten main families of descendants of the High Sun and Moon Hunter n was taken by the reinforcer and imprisoned in Union Penitentiary for three years without any trial, which was too shocking.
"Why?! What did my daughter do to deserve it? Are those ruthless bastards bulling us?!" A beautiful mature green hair huntress hollered in resentment in front of a handsome hunter with emerald hair who seemed to be quite angry by the furious look in his emerald eyes.
"Shut up! Do you think I don''t want to know why my little girl is being imprisoned without any trial at all?" He shouted coldly as he felt even more rageful than his wife since he was quite fond of his precious daughter.
However, as a mother, the huntress wailed even more, "Why do you want me to shut up? My little girl would be scared in that nasty ce, and you want me to shut up, do something! Only if she had offended a High Elder could this be possible. But you and I both know it''s impossible since she''s not a fool, nor those High Elders live in the Inner Sun Domain!"
The hunter felt even more perplexed as he also knew this fact and was just as confused as anybody else upon this sudden movement of the Enforcer Sector.
Everyone knows that the Enforcer Sector are impartial toward everyone, and those guys were like a stone when ites to reasoning with them since they would always provide proofs for their actions which normally can''t be refuted.
Furthermore, they won''t care if you were amoner, noble, or straight-up royalty, they will punish you if youmit a crime against the union, and no one can save you!
That''s why the hunter was not so optimistic about this entire situation and wondered how his little girl offended a High Elder by just going into the Library to pick up some skill. This matter was too strange.
"I told you, Father has gone to the Main n to seek their help in this, and they quickly agreed as well. So, we''ll be hearing from them soon. Just stop making my head hurt!" The hunter perplexedly refuted.
"What if they can''t do anything!" The huntress insisted on this topic with teary eyes as she didn''t want to let her precious daughter rot in that vicious ce for three years.
Everyone knows the Union Penitentiary was where the Reinforcer Division sent the one guilty of a crime against the union. That ce was too strange as none of the people who spent time there were never the same upon their return, and they couldn''t talk about it as well.
Because just the Union Penitentiary name made them cry like mad, and it was like some trauma that no one seemed to avoid it. That''s why the natives of the Union feared any punishment rted to the Union Penitentiary, and they avoided breaking any rule that could lead straight into it.
"Then what can I do?! It on her then if she really had shit for a brain that she even offended a High Elder!" The hunter retorted furiously in exasperation.
"Y-you! You¡ heartless scoundrel!" The huntress''s eye went bloodshot as she suddenly released her aura of early-stage soul manifestation realm!
The hunter was shocked as he never expected his wife would lose her mind and intent to attack him all of a sudden.
"Enough, both of you idiots!" A heavy voice rang, filled with fury.
The huntress seemed to have snapped out of her crazy state when she heard this voice and quickly retracted her aura. Not because she was afraid but because this voice owner should know the condition of her precious daughter, and she couldn''t be bothered by her heartless husband.
"Father, where is my little Veile?" She quickly questioned while looking at the entrance before her husband could.
A middle-aged hunter resembling the handsome hunter entered the hall with a heavy expression on his face, and his eyes were filled with terror and disbelief.
"I''m afraid things are not so simple anymore, and we can''t bail Veile out of this. No one can save her." He sighed as he heavily stated.
The huntress''s expression went paled as she didn''t believe her ears and suddenly coughed blood.
"You fool, calm down!" The hunter was horrified and quickly spotted her with a pained expression. He never thought his happy family an hour ago would be turned into this mess.
"What does she do?" He asked, looking at his father with a bitter expression.
"You''ll know soon. They are going to announce it in the entire union to stop this from happening again. You can only me her for being in the wrong ce at the wrong time." The middle-aged hunter sighed before his expression turned extremely grim, "Everyone is going to change, and we, the hunter race, have to change with it."
"Just what in the world is going on?" The hunter felt fear from his father''s voice as he had never felt before, and he had a very bad proposition about this entire event.
Before he could speak, a deep impassive voice suddenly rang, and it could be heard in the entire Sun and Moon Sword Union and by everyone.
"Today, the Union Leader has epted a Disciple named White!
"Lord White is also anointed as the Junior Union Leader by the Union Leader!
"This made Lord White the direct sessor to the Union Leader position and the future Union Leader of the Sun and Moon Union!
"To celebrate this holy asion, the Union Leader has decided to bestow generous gifts on every Union Member.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Junior Union Leader White''s portrait has been issued in every union token; please treat him with the same respect as you will treat the Union Leader!"
Chapter 709 The Secret Floor (1)
Ace without care about what happened to Veile.
The first floor of the Inner Sun Domain Library was exactly the same as the outer sun domain library, but it was two times bigger, and there were more shelves.
But Ace wasn''t interested in those books at all as he said, "I want to enter the secret floor."
Like the previous library he visited, he can ask questions to this voice anytime he wants, but unlike thest time, he can nowmand this voice because of his superior status!
The voice rang in reply, but this time it was faint, and probably only White could hear it.
"Very well, please head to the cultivation technique section, shelf number 109!"
With great anticipation, Ace moved toward the given direction while ignoring some other Union students present in the library. They minded their own business, so it was a plus for him.
Ace stopped at the very edge of the cultivation section, right in front of an old bookshelf which has a number tag, ''109'', on it. He couldn''t be seen in this current position.
He suddenly heard a faint click before the shelf suddenly thudded backward, and like a door, it opened back, revealing a staircase going downward.
''Even with my thief''s vision, I wasn''t able to see this trap door at all¡'' Ace thought gravely.
But he didn''t have time toment his shorings and inability to see through the library''s formation. He knew the entire Union was a giant formation which was nothing but bad news.
He stepped on the staircase and headed down while the door behind him closed.
The staircase was fifty long, and at the end of it was a sealed door which was creak opened when Ace was only a few stairsteps away from it.
An ancient smell suddenly filled the air the moment the door was opened, and Ace was even more curious about just what kind of things were hidden in this ce that could only be essed by the High Union Elder or higher rank than them.
Furthermore, he wasn''t afraid of getting monitored by the Union Leader because if he wanted to hide this ce from him, he could''ve easily done so. He doesn''t believe the master of his didn''t have the ability to alter his new union token.
So, he was vignt but not afraid of exploring things that were opened up for him.
Ace entered a 20x30 room which was designed with old wood, and there were a study table and chair in the center while the sides were filled with bookshelves.
Furthermore, unlike the bookshelves on the upper floors, these bookshelves contained entire information within the books and scrolls on the shelves.
So, without dy, Ace moved to the first shelf from his left and took out an old blue book. He read the title on the cover and was surprised by it.
''The Founders of Sun and Moon Sword Union? Interesting.'' Ace''s interest was instantly piqued as he was looking for this kind of information in the first ce since it could give him a better picture of the union.
Ace opened the book and started reading the information on the first page.
"In the Era of Beginning, when there was nothing but the Sun and Moon watching over the world of nothingness in solitude.
"The Sun only knows how to burn and spread its brilliance in every corner of the work of nothingness, but despite its burning brilliance, it had to retreat when it was time for the Moon to rise.
"The Moon, cold, aloof, unprofane, spreads its gentle gaze over the world of nothingness and gives it coldfort from the burning brilliance of the Sun. But even Moon had to close its eye and fall into slumber, for it was the time for the Sun toe again.
"This is the cycle of the Sun and Moon, which is endless. They can never exist at the time, yet they exist for each other. This endless cyclested until the Era of Beginning came to an end, and the Era of Life began.
"Era of Life gave birth to Sun God and Moon God as they became more than just observers of nothingness. They want to observe more than nothingness; they want to see beings who can express their joy while basking in their brilliance and gentleness.
"This birth the Yin and Yang, the start of life, the start of Union Between Sun and Moon¡"
Ace frowned at this point, ''What does this feel like some cult story? In the beginning, there were only the sun and moon. Then what is heaven? Heaven is an existence that rules everything impartially¡ But is that really the case?''
A hint of confusion shed past Ace''s eyes, ''System is the strongest thing in my eye as it can go against heaven, but it is also afraid or wary of Heaven, not Sun and Moon. So, if I go by this analogy, then this book is nothing but gibberish of someone''s delusion.''
Still, Ace didn''t ce it back as he continued to read it, nor did he show his true emotions since it would look too strange that a boy who didn''t even know about cultivation a few months ago was now ridiculing the ''secret records.'' n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
So, he only showed an expression of fascination and eximed a few times throughout the entire book.
"¡ the Sun and Moon brought up the world and created the Union onnd until one day the Sword of Nothingness, who didn''t want the end of nothingness, finally decided to show its Power of Darkness!"
Ace frowned at this point because the book had ended, and there was nothing on this Sword of Nothingness and Power of Darkness.
Ace actually wanted to know more about this Sword of Nothingness than the entire sun and moon business, but the book ended.
Ace couldn''t help but ask, "Is there another part of this book?"
"It is in the inner moon domain library." The voice statically replied.
''Don''t tell me that almost all the information in this ce is only half, and the other half is in the moon domain?'' Ace found it quite possible as he picked up the next book.
''The history of all the Apostles (Union Leaders) of Sun and Moon.''
Ace''s eyes shimmered strangely when he read the title and opened the book!
Chapter 710 The Secret Floor (2)
With great interest, Ace opened the book called The History of All the Apostles (Union Leaders) of the Sun and Moon.
However, he was startled when he found an empty first page, and when he turned it, the other pages were also empty. He skimped through the book like this, and it waspletely nk.
"Why is this book empty?" He couldn''t help but ask at this moment with a frown.
This book should be far more informative than that gibberish, but it turned out it was empty, which made Ace think that this entire thing was nothing but fishy.
"This book was reevaluated and ced in the Secret Floor of the Core Sun Domain Library." The voice impassively replied.
''So why the hell did you leave this empty book here with a title?'' He wanted to retort like this, but he held back as he put the book back.
Since it was still present in the union library, he would get his hand on it eventually, so there''s no need to press the matter any further. He also needed to do here before he could ''cultivate'' for three months.
"Is there any book on the Secret Realm that is about to open in three months?" He asked directly about the purpose ofing here.
Since the Union Leader gave revealed the Secret Realm, it was only natural that White would be curious about it. So, he didn''t worry about anything while openly seeking information.
"Of course, there is a book on the Sun Secret Realm on the right shelf, third row, book number three from the right." The voice replied.
Ace''s eyes brightened as he quickly approached the given location and found a thin golden cover book with the title, The Sun Secret Realm of Sun God.
On its first page was written¡
''A realm made by God?'' Ace was intrigued as he now knew the Union believed in two gods, the Sun God and Moon God, like the Demons believed and worshiped Baphomet.
But there were no statues or pictures of them because, for them, the Sun and Moon in the sky were their Gods'' idols which they could worship anytime.
However, the thing was, Ace had yet to see anyone praying to the Sun or Moon god, and in all the memories he had annexed till now, no one seemed to know about the Union Gods.
Furthermore, he found the truth about Gods hidden in this secret library, which should be known to everyone in the union since it was in their hierarchy.
As someone who used ''God'' as a selling pitch for his thief house, he knew how easy it was to sway people by the name of God.
That''s why he doubted the information in that book or something entirely different was going on.
Anyhow, he was interested in the Sun Secret Realm, not how it was made or by whom. His only objective was to infiltrate it and then destroy it. He was founded on the former first before worrying about thetter, so he turned the page.
''The Sun God and Moon God created two Secret Realms as the founding pirs of the Sun and Moon Sword Union. The Sun Secret Realm and the Moon''s Secret Realm.
''Each secret realm represents two enteral gifts of the founding Gods. They showed the sliver of holy splendor and mercy to their children¡''
At this point, Ace''s guess was correct about two secret realms being in the two mountains, and the only thing remaining was their locations in the two mountains. So, he continues to read.
''The Sun Secret Realm was created in the heart of the Sun Mountain. It opened every hundred years for 100 days for Children of the Sun and Moon.
''Although the Sun Secret Realm opened for the children of the Sun and Moon, and it is divided into threeyers, Upper, Middle, and Lower. Eachyer represents the different levels of trials ced by the Sun God!
''Even though these trials are filled with hardship, but as long as the Children of the Sun and Moon pass these trials, the Sun God will bestow them with his grace and rewards¡''
Ace frowned, ''The Children mean should be the age and cultivation restriction ced on the secret realm. But these trials seemed quite cumbersome. Furthermore, if I''m not wrong, then the Children of the Sun and Moon mean there are no restrictions on who can enter as long as they meet the requirement.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
''Or it should be written the Children of Sun, not the Moon as well. It''s probably ced to hide the loophole or not to inflict tension between different races. Or if they called just one race the Children of Sun, then they would be the rulers of the Union, not just anyone.
''But the racial factor still exists in the union. I''m pretty sure this secret record is also unknown to any below the High Union Elder Rank figures, but they also didn''t reveal the content to their descendants or the races.
''Well, my problem is these threeyers and trials mentioned in this book. If I need to destroy that realm, I have to find the core, and I don''t think it was left vulnerable, or I would find it in a weakened state like the one I found in the Regal Fiend Tower space.''
The more he thought about this point, the more he felt it was going to be a very dangerous venture, and he had toplete it within hundred days limit before the secret realm time limit was up.
Although he didn''t know if he could overstay by some other means, he had to ce the limit of hundred days just in case he couldn''t.
Ace then turned the page and continued to read, and at the end of page four, his eyes suddenly widened when he read a certain line¡
''The Sun Secret Realm is the Blessing to the Chosen One who controlled the Yin Yang bestowed by the Sun and Moon. Because the Chosen One is supreme under Sun and Moon.''
Ace couldn''t help but think, ''The Chosen One who controlled the Yin Yang? Didn''t I hear Yin Yang''s name from the Union Leader as well? The Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual is scattered throughout the two domains. Could this Yin Yang be referred to that cultivation technique?''
Ace felt it was not impossible, especially if the Chosen One was the sessor of the Union''s true inheritance, then this thing would perfectly fit the puzzle, and his heart raced.
''I need to tweak my n. If there''s even a chance that this Chosen One thing was as I imagine it to be, then I can''t overlook it¡'' He thought with a devious glint in his eyes.
At this moment, his focus was broken when a deep voice rang close to his ears. It was the same voice he''s been talking to on the secret floor.
"Today, the Union Leader has epted a Disciple named White!
"Lord White is also anointed as the Junior Union Leader by the Union Leader!
"This made Lord White the direct sessor to the Union Leader position and the future Union Leader of the Sun and Moon Union!
"To celebrate this holy asion, the Union Leader has decided to bestow generous gifts on every Union Member.
"Junior Union Leader White''s portrait has been issued in every union token; please treat him with the same respect as you will treat the Union Leader!"
Ace almost felt as if he heard it wrong as he thought with a pitch-ck expression, ''My portrait spreading to everyone¡ this has to be a fucking joke!''
Chapter 711 The Identity Thief
After spending half a day on the secret floor, Ace left with a gloomy look in his eyes as he was still thinking about that absurd announcement that literally put him in the spotlight.
Now probably all the Union knew his face, and with his current status, he knew it was nothing but trouble. Although no one dared to bother or offend him anymore, he now became the most precious object in everyone''s eyes.
Now, everyone will do anything to rope in the future Union Leader, especially those in the private sectors.
Even if Ace didn''t mind any of this but what he concerns about was now he couldn''t move around freely since everyone would be watching him like hawks.
''I was nning to raise my cultivation for three months, but now that I see those books down there, the Chosen One is mentioned multiple times in many records, so I can''t ignore it anymore.
''If, by any chance cultivating the Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual can put really make me the Chosen One and give me some advantage during my mission, then I need to get those manuals in two domains.
''So, instead of cultivating and putting up a show, I should start absorbing all the knowledge about the sword techniques present in this ce first and create replications of them so no one could tell the difference.
''I also have to copy the Sun Chasing Sword Art so I can get that secret technique out of my Master. I can only hope those two sword cores won''t disappoint me.'' He thought with a grim expression.
''But first, I need to deal with the mess about my identity. I''m pretty sure the moment people know I''m here, they wille in mass to befriend me or try some other method to make sure I have a good impression of them¡'' His eyes went sharp, ''I should just deal with them as a Junior Union Leader should.''
Ace exited the secret floor from the hidden door and saw that no one was there. He was d and nned to move toward the skill section. He was going to absorb the knowledge of the sword-rted skills here so he could act wlessly.
However, the moment Ace excited that remote corner, he was greeted by multiple pairs of eyes, which were all the people present in the library before.
If they minded their own business before now, they were no longer concentrated; instead, all of them were holding their union token in their hands and had this astonished look in their eyes because a projection was opened with a handsome youth portrait in it.
"Isn''t that the same person in the picture?" Someone couldn''t help but exim.
The other eyes widened as they looked between the real deal and the portrait.
"J-Junior Union Leader! So, he''s here!" A demoness eximed with twinkling eyes.
Almost all the people were now looking at White with different emotions in their eyes, but one thingmon about their looks was that they were filled with envy and extreme jealousy!
Ace knew it was unavoidable, so he could only brace himself for what was toe and act like he usually did. It was just another normal thing for him.
However, right at this moment, the system''s unexpected notification buzzed, and a panel opened in front of him.
======
[Congrattion, Host, you unlocked a new Thief Title!]
--
[Thief Title: Identity Thief (Initial)]
-Identity Thief (Initial): Theft or Forge a Unique Identity that had never appeared in the Mortal Sky Heaven before and make Everyone (Cultivators from 1st Realm to 8th Realm) recognize (Believe) that identity!
-Title Effect: When Heaven Stealer is using theft or forge identity 10% extra cloaking effect will add on Cloaking Skills, Cloaking Treasures, and Cloaking Runes!
======
Ace was stunned by this sudden gain of this new Thief Title, and when he read the condition to activate this title, he couldn''t help but take a deep breath of cold air. N?v(el)B\\jnn
''So, I made Cultivators from 1st Realm to 8th Realm believe that I''m the new Junior Union Master? Then the 8th realm cultivation has to be the Union Leader!'' Ace felt his blood run cold when his conjecture about the Union Leader''s cultivation was spot on.
''I was indeed lucky that he took an interest in me, or I won''t be able to evade him if he wanted to harm me¡'' Ace sighed as he felt even more relief that he was able toe out of it unharmed and even earn this thief title which seemed quite difficult to earn.
When he read the details about the title effect, his eyes shone with ecstasy as the 10% increase was quite high, and the activation condition was quite simple as he just needed to be in disguise to enjoy that 10% increase in cloaking.
"System, do my Stealth and Unseen Thief fall in the category of Cloaking Skills?" He quickly asked.
"[Yes.]"
Ace almostughed out loud as this meant his heartless stealth became even more powerful, and he even had a new stealth art in his shop, so he would definitely gain huge from this title.
Not to mention the unseen thief ability of his mask was already peerless under mortal sky heaven. If he added ten percent more and his mask itself was a cloaking treasure, so he didn''t dare to imagine what kind of cloaking ability it now had.
Now he even felt it was all worth it!
But his gloating was broken by a heavy voice.
"Greeting Junior Union Leader!"
Ace closed the interface and looked ahead and saw a devil with a noble-like demeanor blocking his way with a polite smile on his face.
Instead of greeting him back, White''s dismissively said with a cold tone, "Get the hell out of my way before my mood is ruined."
The devil, with a polite smile, was instantly bbergasted by this rude response, and so did other people who were cursing the devil for being the first one to approach the Junior Union Leader.
However, now they were gloating at his misfortune. But still, they didn''t think the Junior Union Leader would be this overbearing, and he didn''t seem to care about his public image at all.
The devil''s smile was quite stiff, but he didn''t dare to show any anger. He didn''t want to get out of the way either and wanted to say something more, "I¡"
"I said fuck off." White cut him short as his eyes turned icy, "The voice in the library, I don''t want to get distrust during my training. Is there any way to make it happen or at least make this trash go away?"
Ace now decided to act like an arrogant prick who only had one goal, cultivation, and he will make White appear as a cultivation maniac who doesn''t care about anyone except cultivation.
The devil was even more shocked and paled even as he stepped back. He didn''t think that this Junior Union Leader, who seemed to be a hunter, had this kind of temperament.
He belonged to a High Union Elder lineage and wanted to get close to this seemingly simple Junior Union Leader, but he had misjudged one thing, the other party didn''t give a damn about his background or him!
The voice replied at this moment which sent chills down everyone''s spine, "Lord Junior Union Leader, you can call me Union Guardian.
"As to answer your question, yes, it can be done, you can use your authority to close off the entire library for one month once a year in any domain, and no one will be able to disturb you except your Master."
Ace was astonished as he was only trying to scare the guy away or hoping to get some minor privacy, like some private room, but he was not expecting this kind of authority.
''I think I know why the system deemed this identity as unique under heaven¡'' Ace''s lips curled up, and so did White''s, as hemanded.
"Then I shall use this authority. Please help me with it, Senior Union Guardian!"
Chapter 712 Famous In The Union (1)
At the peak of Sun Mountain was a magnificent golden pce. It was called the Pce of Sun because it was where the Sun Lord lived!
Within the Sun Pce was a colosseum-like structure, which was called the Sun Court.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
At this moment, many figures were gathered in the Sun Court as they all took high seats. Furthermore, they all wore purple Union robes, which clearly represent their status as the High Union Elders!
Additionally, there was a total of 28 High Union Elders present in the Sun Court at this moment, which also means all the High Union Elders existing in the union at this moment were gathered together, and this was theplete Union Elder Council!
Thest time this kind of gathering happened was a few centuries ago.
On top of the Sun Court were two empty thrones; one was golden, and the other was silver; these thrones belonged to the Sun Lord and Moon Lord.
But no one was paying attention to those thrones as they were all looking in the center of the sun court where a projection was ying where arge crowd was gathered outside the Inner Sun Domain Library, which now has a golden barrier surrounding it which clearly wasn''t present a few minutes ago.
At the very front of this crowd were standing d in Union''s blue robes, Union Elders, and all those Union Elders were only a step away from bing High Union Elders!
This scenery was rare in the Union when Union Elders at the top of their races were present outside amonce when normally they were all too aloof even to leave their sectors.
Furthermore, all of them were looking at a kneeling devil youth in Union schr robes who had an ashen expression. He was the same devil who approached White in the library a few minutes ago and could also be considered the reason for this barrier!
"So, you''re saying you approached Lord Junior, and he got annoyed with you that he sealed the entire library?" A Devil Union Elder with an impassive expression asked, but his tone continued with deadly intent as he looked at the youth of his race.
The devil youth trembled as he knew the exalted identity of this devil union elder. He was the former head of the top three devil ns present among all the private sectors under the devil race.
Like the High Union Elder Ranking, the Union Elders also have their own ranking, which could be determined by the Union Cultivation Towers of each domain. Both domains'' ranking was unified since all the cultivation towers were connected to each other.
An old retired monster like this devil was not to be trifled with because he ranked 19th in the Union Elder unified ranking!
One had to know there were 386 Union Elders and ranked, and a Union Elder was someone with Quasi Law Awareness Realm Cultivation. So, ranked 19th among 386 QLA Realm cultivators was quite a huge deal.
Everyone knew the Union Elders in the top 10 had over 80% chance of breaking into the Law Awareness Realm while the rank among 11th to 20th has 50%. That''s why these guys were akin to future high union elders, and no one wants to be on their bad side.
Moreover, these guys seldom leave their cultivation chambers. Still, today almost all the high-ranking Union Elders appeared outside the library because of only one reason, to meet the Junior Union Leader who appeared out of thin air!
All they wanted by doing this was to rope in the Junior Union Leader at their side or at least leave a good impression on him. These guys had ears and eyes almost all over the inner sun domain, so they easily tracked down White''s whereabouts in the library.
The Union Leader was the enigmatic figure in everyone''s mind who was akin to God, and now he had taken a student, and he was among them. It was akin to a god walking among the mortals for many of the union members.
The same goes for these Union Elders as they didn''t even dare to mess with High Union Elder, much less mess with someone who has an even higher status than the Sun Lord and Moon Lord.
But it didn''t mean they would back down. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to befriend the future Union Leader or even have him own them some favor.
But when they came here with all kinds of schemes in their minds, they were greeted with the sight of the barrier around the library, and even they couldn''t enter anymore, which clearly made them unhappy.
However, they didn''t dare to show it on their faces because the authority Junior Union Leader just showed nothing ever seen before, and they didn''t dare to pass anyment, fearful that the Union Leader might be listing to them.
Upon further investigation, they found the actual reason for this barrier, and they all surrounded the devil youth like hungry wolves.
Furthermore, some Elders of the other races gloat at the Devil Race''s misfortune since this youth belonged to their race. Now that he annoyed the Junior Union Leader, he must have a terrible expression of the Devil Race.
The Devil Race didn''t put others in their eyes normally, but now they were absolutely spooked by this small event.
Sharing the same sentiment as the Devil Race were the Hunter Race as their race''s girl directly attacked the Junior Union Leader. However, this matter was still quickly suppressed by the higher-ups in the Hunter Race, while the Devil Race didn''t even have time to do anything as this entire incident was witnessed by many.
Nevertheless, the Hunter Race was also determined to have the Junior Union Leader forget about this matter and bring the entire family of that girl to make them apologize by kneeling in front of him.
But s, now that the Junior Union Leader locked himself in the library, not to mention them, the other races can''t intrude either. This also made them reproach their view of the Junior Union Leader, who seemed to be quite a short temper.
The Devil Race could be said to have done them a great favor, so now they can make a strategy for how to approach the Junior Union Leader.
"I-I¡" The devil youth couldn''t speak even a word under the pressure of all those Union Elders, and he never thought this day woulde when a glorious young master like him would be made publicly kneel by his own family elders. They looked at him like they were looking at a dead person.
They might probably kill him if they needed it to get into White''s good books.
At this moment, before those elders could further inquire or make things worse for the Devil Race, the Union Guardian''s heavy voice rang.
"Do you all want to disturb Lord Junior Union Lord''s study?"
Everyone''s expression warped almost instantly, even the Union Elders, they knew things were going south, and then they finally remembered that a massive crowd was gathered behind them.
Before anyone could reply, the voice rang again, "You guys have 10 seconds to scatter, or everyone will be punished by the Enforcer Sector!"
Chapter 713 Famous In The Union (2)
Within the Sun Court, the projection of the inner sun domain library ended with the crowd quickly scattering in every direction. It was more like they were running for their life. Even those Union Elders weren''t any different.
"How disgraceful!" A Demoness High Union Elder wearing a blue manti uttered coldly. She was the 11th High Union Elder.
"Can you me them? Who is not afraid of getting punished by the Enforcer Division?" A dainty crimson hair huntress beside her snorted, but a hint of dissatisfaction was clear in her pretty crimson eyes. She was the 18th High Union Elder.
There were tendies sitting together in the west of Sun Court, and all of them were High Union Elders belonged to the Moon Domain. Although four of them were married in the Sun Domain, they still considered themselves from the Moon Domain.
There were three devils, two demonesses, one huntress, one elf, and one magic beast, and then there were two unique types of existence among them.
The first one was a four-meter-tall woman who had brown tree bark-like skin; her green hair was like grassroots, while her hands looked like dry tree branches and had roots for feet.
She was from the Tree Race, consisting of only women. Currently, ranked 9th among the top ten races in the Golden Sky World and upies the 9th continent, the Greend Continent.
The second was actually a 2-meter golden color Bee, which seemed quite strange among sitting within the nine humanoid women!
She was the Mother Bee of the Myriad Bee Race present in the Union, and her ranked 8th race also upied the Honey Sting Continent of the Golden Sky World.
Thedies also seemed quite harmonized with each other, unlike on the east side, where sat all the men from the Sun Domain, and they didn''t seem as friendly as the other side.
The only oddity among the males was a five-meter-tall Stone Giant, and his face was like a spotless oval boulder. There weren''t any orifices at all. He was from the Stone Golem Race, which considers a unisex race, but they all like to call themselves man.
They ranked 10th and are the owner of the 10th continent, the Stony Continent of the Golden Sky World.
One could say all the ruling races were present in the Union, yet they were oblivious to the fact that their races upied their own continents in the vast world. Their world revolved around the union and also ended there, which even they weren''t aware of.
However, this also wasn''t true because the first ten, High Union Elders, knew about the existence of the ten continents. Although vaguely not detailed, the fact remains that they knew.
Yet they decided to bury this terrifying secret deep within their hearts for some reason.
Today, they gathered here upon the summoning of the Sun Lord, which was as rare as them all gathering together like this, and they all knew this summing had something to do with the newly anointed Junior Union Leader.
It would be a lie to say they weren''t shocked when they heard the announcement.
Because everyone knew the Sun and Moon Lords were the true sessors of the Union Leader position, at least, they were all told so. However, now, this didn''t seem to be the case at all.
The Union Leader seemed to hold power to appoint anyone as the Junior Union Leader as long as he wished it, and if they were Sun Lord or Moon Lord, they would never want it to happen, but now it did.
Furthermore, five High Union Elders among the males knew this Junior Union Leader, and it could be said they were scared silly out of their minds when they saw White''s portrait and thought they were hallucinatory, but sadly they weren''t.
These five were clearly the five High Union Elders who approached White a few months ago to be their student, but he rejected them all.
They thought that they would not see him for some time, or he might even be suppressed by others once his talent bloomed or faded if he didn''t have any.
However, even in their wildest dreams, they never thought that guy would be the Junior Union Leader within three months after he joined the Union.
So, they all reached almost the same conclusion, White''s talent was something they couldn''t imagine, which seemed to draw the attention of the Union Leader himself, which even they didn''t have to meet yet.
The Union Leader even seemed a false entity to some of them because none of them had even seen him, and only the Sun and Moon Lords imed that they existed.
Now, they fully believed that he indeed existed since those two won''t shoot themselves in the foot by making a human Junior Union Leader since they both didn''t belong to the human race.
Speaking of which, the Human Race still wasn''t aware of the fact about White''s race since the people who knew about him were either ranked too low after Joseph left, and it would take some time to them found about him.
While those who knew clearly won''t tell them since once they found out, they were bound to rise if White decided to take them under their wings, the human race would definitely be sore, and then even those big three had to fear them.
Although this oue seemed inevitable who already got wind of it still wanted to change it by dying this news from reaching the human sector''s Elders.
Anyhow, another person knew about White''s race among the High Union Elder besides those five and their friends. It was an old man with average height, long snowy hair, and a long beard, and his demeanor was extremely noble.
He was the Eighth High Union Elder, also the only human High Union Elder present among the 28, and one of the oldest and wisest among them.
He also knew about White''s race since Joseph decided to inform him again when he found out almost instantly.
However, he still seemed aloof, as it didn''t matter to him, just like when Joseph told him about White''s appearance and urged him to take him under his wing. He seemed like an emotionless statue while sitting among the High Union Elders like nothing mattered to him.
At this moment, all the High Union Elders'' eyes shimmered in surprise before they looked toward the high thrones in unison.
At this moment, the masked Sun Lord appeared standing right in front of his golden throne while looking at all the High Union Elders.
All the High Union Elders rose from their seats and bowed their head slightly in greeting, and said in unison,
"We greet the Sun Lord!"
Sun Lord nodded acknowledgment before he sat down on his golden throne and said before saying huskily, "At ease, everyone."
Everyone then took their seats, but the chatter like before hadpletely gone, and the atmosphere was solemn, and everyone''s attention was on the Sun Lord.
The Sun Lord speaks again at this moment, "Lady Moon won''t be joining us as she is currently on an errand for the Union Leader.
"The reason for today''s meeting is to discuss two things. The first is naturally the sudden ascension of our new Junior Union Leader, and I don''t think it''s a topic not worth any further discussion.
"Let me rify all of your questions all at once so we can move to the more important topic. First, the Junior Union Leader is the most talented person ever born in our union''s entire history, so he''s worthy of his current position. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Second, he is a Human, and if any of you have a problem with that, let me warn you first, the Union is not a ce for racism, and it never will be, and I don''t need to tell any of that.
"Third, I fully ept the new Junior Union Leader to be my future Union Leader, and as a member of the Union, the same goes for every being living in the Union, under Sun and Moon!
"Lastly, it is an order, not a request which directly came from the Union Leader, and it''s quite simple.
"You guys have to order your descendants not to pester Junior Union Leader unless he looks for them himself. No one shall approach him with any kind of motives or anything that hinders his studies or progress in cultivation.
"If what happened outside the inner sun domain''s library happened again, your private sectors will be detained, your descendants will be put in the penitentiary for ten years, and as their ancestor, you shall join them as well.
"Now, if there''s nothing you couldn''t understand, you can ask, or should I move to the main topic?" asked Sun Lord impassively.
However, they did not speak as their expression was extremely grave as they were getting a hard time processing this sudden arrangement.
They never thought the Junior Union Leader was so protected that even the Sun Lord seemed to be afraid of showing his difort about his position getting snatched.
Since no question was raised, the Sun Lord continued,
"Very well, the next topic is actually quite special, and most of you might not know about this, so I''ll start by briefing you about Ten Continents¡!"
Chapter 714 An Intruder
At the secret location where Alina was kept.
Lillian, her Royal Maid, was looking at veiled with a horrid expression as if she had seen a ghost. She wasn''t alone as another 6''2 feet tall, long silver hair hunter with a wizened face, giving off a schrly yet distant aura, was also frowning darkly.
Herman was the famous butler of the Silver Ice Hunter n. Even the Ice Lord and Ice Queen respectfully called him Uncle, and he was also Alina''s godfather, and she called him Grandpa.
Herman was probably closer to Alina than her own parents as she was brought up by him from the time she was a baby and also didn''t know her parents existed or the truth about herself and her noble identity.
However, after she got captured by Dream Shatter, she became extremely distant from Herman as well, who came to take her back but ended up with her.
It was also Herman''s own choice as he didn''t retaliate since Dream Shatter seemed to know the Ice Lord and even treated him like an elder. He also didn''t have any intention of harming Alina at all.
Dream Shatter was even taking them back to the Blood Continent when he suddenly changed his mind halfway there and returned, and from that point on, Herman, Lillian, and Alina lost all contact with the outside world as they were caged in thisvish prison.
They were allowed to do anything here except for escape attempts.
Things became even moreplicated when Herman found their race''s fabled Blood Ancestor was here, and she even told him to stop Alina from doing anything funny as they were not in any kind of danger and could leave with her once she was done with her own business here.
This news was nothing but good for both Herman and Lillian, and they didn''t need to worry about anything anymore.
However, Alina seemed to disagree with their thought process as she summoned them today and told them about her n to escape this ce.
If the Blood Ancestor hadn''t instructed Herman not to try it, he would''ve agreed with her in a heartbeat, but now, he couldn''t be more disagree with her more. Even Lillian was the same.
"Little Aly, I want you to think about the consequences of your actions and how they will inflict on your entire n, your parents, and yourself. The Silver Ice n is still treading on thin ice, and the four other ns want nothing more than to eradicate us at any given opportunity.
"If you haven''t had the support of the Ancestor, do you think they would''ve left our n alone after they found out the rtion you had with that thief?" Herman sternly berated as he didn''t care about Alina''s status and treated her as his own daughter.
He considered it his duty to correct her ways, but everything seemed to go south whenever he mentioned that thief.
Truth be told, Herman never thought that the mortal boy from a backwater city who worked as a dishwasher would turn out to be the nightmare of all the races, his own worst nightmare, in fact.
He only thought that he was just a nobody with a kind heart who took care of Alina, even going as far as to sell his house and live in the slums so that he could buy precious medicine for her.
That''s right, Herman knew all about Ace. He had to when he found Alina living with a human boy.
However, he only thought this much about Ace when he found that he was just a pitiful mortal who needed the warmth of family, and he found it in Alina. She was also alone, abandoned by her only family, ording to her mindset at that time.
So, both of them quickly forge a bond like family. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
But Alina was destined with a great burden, and her world was greatly different from a pitiful human boy, and Herman made sure it would remain the same.
He took her away without letting her meet with him while leaving enough money which couldst him a lifetime. That was enough in Herman''s eye to repay the boy''s kindness.
He also thought she would forget about Ace in a few years and also when she found out about her true origin.
Yet, not only did she not forget about him, she seemed to yearn to meet him again, and she worked very hard to make sure she would seed as well. In the end, she even seeded in sneaking away from the Blood Continent.
But Herman wasn''t worried at that time since he only thought she would probably leave once she found that he had moved on and their worlds were too different from each other.
It wasmon knowledge that a moral would marry in the human continent around the age of 17 or 18, so this might be the best oue, and Alina''s obsession would''ve ended if that boy had his own family.
Even if he didn''t, Herman was sure the hidden message he left for Ace would make him fearful of Alina, and he won''t dare to treat her the same way as he did in his childhood.
Even then, if he hadn''t learned how to distinguish between mortal and noble, Herman was nning to make sure he would teach him this time around.
However, even in Herman''s wildest imagination, he didn''t think that the once pitiful boy would end up bing the menace known as the Sky Stealer, and now because of him, Alina was in her current situation.
Truthfully, if he had known things would''ve turned out this way, he would''ve ended him right there and then, even if Alina had hated him her entire life.
But s, there wasn''t any medicine for regret, and now, he not only has to live with this huge regret, he even has to make sure that thief would never approach Alina again.
Furthermore, secretly, Herman was fully supported by the strategy of drawing the thief out by any means possible and then getting rid of him for good.
He didn''t even have to do anything as the demons were hellbent on capturing him while the humans wanted his secret, and he also guessed that the Blood Ancestor was here because of that exact reason as well.
With so many terrifying figures aiming for him, he won''t dare to show his face, which would also end in their favor since it would mean he didn''t care about Alina''s life or death anyway, and he was now nothing but a vile thief as everyone described him to be.
But Alina''s stubbornness was on a whole different level as she was now instant on escaping, and he could easily guess the reason behind it. She probably wanted to warn him about the Blood Ancestor''s involvement after she found out.
Even if there was the slightest chance he woulde, she didn''t want it to happen at all.
But Herman was determined never to let that happen as it would literally destroy the silver ice hunter n if the Blood Ancestor became furious, not to mention Alina would lose everything as well. He didn''t believe for a second Alina didn''t know that.
Yet, Alina replied with a determined look in her icy eyes, "I''ll deal with consequences on my own. Just for once, listen to me and help me out just this once!"
Herman shook his head without hesitation as he rejected, "I would not let you destroy your future for a thief who probably didn''t even care about you!"
Alina''s eyes trembled as her aura spiked slightly, and she refuted sharply, "He is what he is because I abandoned him that day! You make me abandon him! If you have just let me take him with me, things would never have escted to this point!
"If he hates me and doesn''t care about me, it''s because I abandoned him in that city which got destroyed, and he probably would''ve been dead if he hadn''t be what he is right now!"
Tears suddenly surfaced in his eyes as her cold expression crumbled, leaving behind nothing but pain, regret, longing, and sadness¡ it was like she couldn''t help her suppressed emotions any longer as she trembled like a weak little girl. She no longer looks as aloof or strong as before anymore.
"Just let me meet with him one more time, and if he doesn''t want to see me, I''ll never show my face anymore. But at least let me apologize to him for abandoning him when he has given up so much despite knowing I was nothing but a stranger.
"Yet, I seemed always to cause him pain and suffering, and now, it seemed like I''m helping those bastards to kill him. If he hates me or abandons me, I won''t even care since I deserve it¡"
She sobbed as she muttered. Both Herman and Lillian''s expressions were filled with bewilderment because they had never seen the Ice Sword Fairy in this pitiful state, not to mention crying in front of others.
"p¡ p¡ p¡"
At this moment, sounds of pping rang within the silent hall, which made the three instantly rmed since they didn''t feel any presence or were too absorbed in their emotions that the intrusion escaped their senses.
When they looked in the direction of pping, they saw a tall masked woman standing at the door while pping gracefully.
When she saw everyone looking at her, a melodious voice rang, filled with sinister intent, "Forgive me, I couldn''t help myself when I saw the door was opened and hearing that pitiful story, I''m so touched.
"Let me introduce myself. I am the Third Imperial Demon Princess, Leona!"
Chapter 715 Sword Stealing Time
The twentieth floor of the Inner Sun Domain Library, this floor was only opened for the Union Elders or higher rank union members because it was a floor filled with Soul Manifestation Realm techniques and skills.
However, at this moment, in the skill section, a young man in white was studying a thick red book while sitting in the middle of the library while he was surrounded by piles of books.
This young man was naturally Ace, who had spent an entire month in the library doing nothing but studying any and every kind of sword skill, arts, and even secret skills present in this library''s every floor.
When Ace started this, his goal was simple. He wanted to annex these sword skills and mold them into his Eternal Thief''s Swords Style. He was still in the budding stages of developing his own sword path after condensing two heavenly sword cores.
Furthermore, he still had no idea what those two sword cores were capable of expect absorbing the heavenly lightning, which was already a heaven-defying ability, and his sword intent had be so overbearing that any normal treasure that came in contact with it would be destroyed eventually.
Although Ace knew his Heavenly Qi was poisonous for the normal treasure, but it wasn''t to this extent. Nevertheless, Ace came to terms with it now as he knew he had to pay some kind of price for creating something like the Thief Sword Cores and developing his own unique Eternal Thief''s Sword Style.
In his fifteen years of cultivation journey, he had only developed three sword arts afterbining different types of sword skills ording to his own unique understanding of sword path and merging those sword arts within the Eternal Thief''s Sword Style.
Furthermore, he had yet to study any new sword art or work on developing something new after his sword cores were created since many things happened after hisst heavenly punishment, and his mind was filled with other thoughts than studying sword skills.
However, in thisst month, when he intended to learn and mimic some sword skills of the union to keep a frontal appearance of White and not reveal his own sword skills, it would also be a lie to say that Ace wasn''t interested in sword skills of the union since the Sun and Moon Sword Union also has ''sword'' in its name and their flying sword skills were already out of this world.
Anyhow, when he started to study the skills above mortal grade, he discovered something astonishing. Ace found that the more he studied different types of sword skills, art, and secret skills, both tiny sword cores in his martial and soul space started to be active!
They somehow started to revolve as he immersed himself in the study of the sword path. The soul thief sword core revolved anti-clockwise while the martial thief sword core revolved cloak-wise,pletely opposite to each other. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Although their speed was even slower than snails and hardly noticeable, as their owner, Ace knew they were revolving, and the moreplex skill he studied, the more his sword cores moved.
But the main point was not those movements that left Ace shocked and gobsmacked, but it was the result generated from those revolving.
Ace discovered that once those two sword cores started to revolve, he could understand any sword skill''s essence almost instantly, forget about mimicking it. It didn''t matter if it was a martial or soul skill; he could directly perform them as long as he learned them while his sword cores were revolving.
This naturally left Ace awed by the hidden ability of the Thief Sword Cores. It was as if, like him, those sword cores could steal the very essence of those sword skills and give them to Ace.
So, Ace was even more thrilled after discovering this terrifying ability of his sword cores, and he named that duration of revolving Sword Stealing Time.
After some more experiments, Ace discovered that Sword Stealing Time could only be active once he learns more than 100 new sword skills, including arts or secret skills of Earth Grade (both upper and lower), and it would onlyst for around 10 minutes.
It was some kind of activation sequence, and he couldn''t repeat it with those old skills he had already learned, and it always required new sword skills.
Moreover, he also discovered this activation sequence wasn''t just limited to earth-grade skills. But if he could learn just ten sky-grade skills instead of 100 earth-grade skills, he could activate the Sword Stealing Time just the same, and it will also increase from 10 minutes to 20 minutes.
This led Ace to reach another conclusion, it was that the moreplex skill he learned, the more Sword Stealing Time would activate more quickly, and he would gain more time.
Nevertheless, just in those ten or twenty minutes, Ace could perfectly learn and perform all the skills he had remembered to activate the Sword Stealing Time and would still leave with over half the reaming time.
It was an absolute bargaining for Ace, who doesn''t need to copy or mimic any sword skills anymore and can just directly learn them and then even perfectly perform them.
But the only frustrating thing about the Sword Stealing Time was Ace couldn''t use this ability on any other type of skill except the sword skill, not even other weapon-type skills.
But he also knew it was just him being greedy since people would absolutely kill their own kin just to get the Sword Stealing Time ability which can help them reach the very pinnacle of the sword path.
So, he didn''t dwell on this stupid thought for much longer and started to learn the sword knowledge in the inner sun library even more seriously, and in one month, he had already learned all the sword skills present in the inner sun domain library.
This also gave him many inspirations about how to develop his own sword style further and etch all that knowledge into it.
Furthermore, Ace found himself on the verge of realizing another thing about the sword path, but every time he was about to grasp it, it just slipped away from his hand. Ace had this feeling that he needed something far more profound than just sky-grade skills to grasp that thing.
The inner sun domain library only had sky-grade skills, not sky-breaker-grade skills. But Ace didn''t need to go find those high-level skills as he knew if he triedprehending the Sky Sword Manual Jade Scroll!
That jade scroll was unmemorable, and he wanted to see what would happen once he opened it while in Sword Stealing Time!
But he can''t do that while still being in the library or while reaming in the union as White''s identity, as a matter of fact.
Just him studying these high-level sword skills on his current level was already quite suspicious, and the Union Leader might start to suspect something if he entered some kind of strange state during hisprehension of these low-level skills.
But this didn''t mean he wasn''t prepared and didn''t have another option other than the Sky Sword Manual.
Even if the Union Leader questioned him for studying all those sword skills, he could always say he wasying a foundation for the Sun Chasing Sword Art.
This sword art was actually a Lower Sky Breaker Grade Sword Art, and it was also Ace''s second option to test the Sword Stealing Time further!
Chapter 716 The Union Cultivation Tower (1)
The Sun Chasing Sword Art was a lower sky breaker sword art, which was split into seven sword styles. Each sword style for each cultivation realm from 1st to 7th.
Each sword style was then further split into three profound sword moves, and all 21 movesbined were called the true Sun Chasing Sword Art.
Ace, at this movement, was in the Sword Stealing Time state, and he activated it after remembering the entire book. Now, he was grasping the true essence of the 21 moves. Furthermore, he was in this state for over twenty minutes, which also proved his theory that the higher the skill he memorized, the more sword-stealing time he would get.
However, this was also a fact that the higher the skill he wanted to grasp, the more time he needed in this state. Just like right now, he was still only in the process ofprehending the 13th move, and he was nowhere done, and he had no idea when the time would end.
Nevertheless, Ace was fully absorbed in grasping this powerful sword art. Whileprehending it, Ace noticed that this art also seemed to contain the principles of life plexuses.
This only made him more fascinated by this sword art, and he wanted to ask the Union Leader if he had created it himself, and if he did, he wanted to know on what foundation.
This also made him realize that the Union Leader was a living treasure trove and he should try to reap more benefits if he could or steal them all if he got the chance. Although this thought process was dangerous and almost impossible to achieve, a man should have dreams!
After thirty minutes, Ace finally snapped out of his dazzle state and smiled sharply, ''I was only in sword stealing time state for 30 minutes, and it got activated with only one lower sky breaker skill as well. But I only managed toprehend half of it at this time.
''This could only mean two things, either myprehension capabilities are too low right now or my power realm. These factors might also further affect this strange ability of my sword cores¡''
Ace mulled before he stowed the Sun Chasing Sword Art away and finally stood up from his position. There were no more sword skills left in this ce, and he knew he should also get going and start his n about the secret realm.
The entire knowledge andprehension he gained in this month over the sword path were more than he had gained in fifteen years as a result.
=====
[Law(s): 5]
-Despair (Initial): 11.00%
-Shadow (Initial): 14.01%
-Sword (Initial): 24.09%
-Psyche (Minor): 3.05%
-Lightning (Minor): 7.09%
=====
Ace could feel he had encountered some sort of barrier at the 24%, and it seemed to be directly rted to the feeling he kept having about being able toprehend something, but when he was about to grasp, it would slip out of his hand.
So, he decided to inquire about this subtly to his Master the next time he met him.
"Union Guardian, how is the state outside?" White inquired at this moment. He was still somewhat perplexed about dealing with all those people who would approach him, but he knew it was unavoidable.
"Peaceful. Lord Jr. didn''t need to worry about the matter of someone disturbing you again if that''s what you''re concerned about. Lord Union Leader has taken care of it, and now you can concentrate on your studies." The Union Guardian''s impassively replied.
''Oh?'' Ace was astonished when he heard this unexpected response, ''It seemed I was worried about nothing.''
"If that''s the case, then please send my gratitude to my Master for taking this minor matter into consideration. Right now, I would like to head toward the cultivation tower in the outer sun domain and give it a try, and it''s also a good ce to practice my knowledge." White respectfully stated.
"If that is the case, then I would bid Lord Jr. the best of luck in your training. I hope you''ll achieve the greatest result expected from you." The Union Guardian sincerely stated.
"Thank you, I''ll try not to embarrass myself." White smiled wryly before he left toward the exit of the 20th floor and directly headed toward the first-floor exit.
This month was quite productive, and there were only two left before the secret realm would open, so Ace knew he needed to make them count.
As he was walking down, he found that the library was still empty, which could only mean the barrier activated by hismand was still active.
Just when he exited the main doors of the library, the translucent barrier around the library burst open like a bubble.
Outside, there was no one present, just as the Union Guardian stated, and Ace couldn''t be more pleased and directly took out the grade-7 flying sword gifted by his master, the Dark Feather Sword.
With a thought, the ck sword was enveloped by white Qi and then came alive like a spirit and danced in the air ording to his will before it levitated right before his feet, and with a faint smile, he stepped on its de.
Right now, he knew hundreds of flying sword skills and turned this skill into his own, and now he was confident that he could now even fly over a sword without even needing a special flying sword.
But it had yet to be seen since he still didn''t want to show his true sword skills, but only a very little portion of it befitting his image of a genius. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The next moment, the flying sword swiftly shed toward the sky, leaving behind a ck-and-white glow.
Ace controlled its speed up to peak soul river cultivator despite the fact he could probably go as fast as a peak soul embryo realm with his worldly light Qi and as fast as a middle-stage soul manifestation realm if he gave it his all.
But he knew if he gave it his all, this sword, despite being in grade-7, won''tst much longer, which he didn''t to happen with this new flying sword which was quite to his liking.
At this moment, when Ace was only halfway toward the border between outer and inner sun domains, he suddenly felt something and halted his flying sword in the middle of the air.
Thereupon, another flying sword appeared right in front of him, and a tall man came into his view, d in the purple robes of a High Union Elder!
Chapter 717 The Union Cultivation Tower (2)
Standing over a glowing red flying sword, in High Union Elder robes, was a tall, red head hunter who was handsome and appeared to be in his early thirties.
He was looking at White with his ruby-like eyes in scrutiny and held an amiable smile on his handsome face. He was the 22nd High Union Elder from the Hunter Race, Grady.
Ace was naturally surprised by seeing a High Union Elder, of all people blocking his way despite knowing his identity and the assurance he got from the Union Guardian.
Although he didn''t see anyone outside the library except for some hidden fellows who were clearly spying on him, but they didn''t dare to approach him, so Ace ignored them. But this guy couldn''t be ignored.
So, he appeared respectful and greeted, "Greeting, High Elder."
Grady''s smile widened, and he said amiably, "Greeting to you too, Lord Jr. It''s an honor to meet Milord, and the rumor about you being hardworking were not evene close to the real thing. I hope I didn''t bother you with my abrupt appearance."
''Is he a bootlicker?'' Ace thought, while White kept his calmposure and replied while shaking his head, "Please, don''t embarrass me, High Elder. I''m just pursuing the cultivation path like everyone else and working toward the Union''s better future. As for you bothering me, I don''t think someone like you will bother me at all."
Grady nodded in acknowledgment as the cordial smile didn''t vanish and said, "You''re indeed gant and virtuous. I expect nothing less from the future Lord of us all. So, I won''t waste more of your precious time and get straight to the point.
"I''m actually appointed as your escort by the High Union Elder Council for one month before another High Elder will rece me. The cycle will continue like this until you are as strong as us, which I''m sure you''ll be very soon."
''What?'' Ace was astonished as he never expected to get a High Union Elder as an escort. This was a de facto Law Awareness Realm Expert, and he was going to be a Soul River realm junior escort.
If it were anyone else, they would''ve been gloating at their luck, but for Ace, it was nothing but putting more restrictions on his freedom. But he can''t tell them that, now, can he?
"High Elder, how can I even dare to bother someone like you? Much less make you my escort. I''m ttered by the High Union Elder Council''s care for me, but I don''t think I need to waste High Elders'' time like this. I''ll be fine on my own." White quickly rejected.
Grady shook his head, "This is a final decision made with unanimous voting. Even the Sun Lord has approved of this, and your Master also didn''t make anyment on this as well.
"This was done because the event took ce here after you closed the library, and we were quite ashamed to see those juniors'' behaviors. So, I''m afraid you can''t reject this, and this is for your own safety and for the sake of your peaceful cultivation. So please don''t make it difficult on me, or I''ll be punished."
''Well, now that he put it this way¡ they probably sent him here after thinking about how everyone will try to approach me, and I got annoyed so easily. The Union Leader also took this thing into consideration, and that''s why he took care of it for me.
''Don''t tell me it''s also part of his countermeasure so no one will disturb me, and having a High Elder will me all the time will also be assured no one can approach me, and he can lead him anywhere I want even faster, or they''re simply afraid they might get implicated if someone from their family offended me¡''
After Ace thought about the benefits of having a High Union Elder as an escort, he finally gave in. Besides, he seemed to have no choice in this matter since even that wily Sun Lord approved of it.
"Then I''ll be troubling High Elder." White smiled wryly.
Grady couldn''t help but smile widely when White agreed and said, "Don''t worry, I won''t interfere with Lord Jr.''s actions, and you can go anywhere you want. Just consider me as a protector who protects from afar."
White nodded and said, "Alright then, let''s head toward the cultivation tower of the outer sun domain. I was heading there." N?v(el)B\\jnn
A hint of surprise shed past Grady''s eyes as he asked, "Outer Sun Domain? Why don''t you go to the Inner Sun Domain Cultivation Tower? It has more advanced trials and floors than the outer sun domain cultivation tower."
''Oh, they didn''t know about the true inheritance hidden in those cultivation towers.'' Ace remembered the Union Leader''s words.
"That''s not it. It''s a kind of task by my Master that without clearing both cultivation towers of the sun and moon outer domains, I can''t enter the inner domains'' cultivation towers. The same goes for the core domain cultivation towers. It''s better for me to gain and build my experience." White then quickly made an excuse as if he had just remembered something.
Ace deliberately appeared tense while lying to a high elder because he might be getting observed, and if he lies like a pro, then it would really arouse suspicion.
Grady naturally noticed the hint and thought, ''Could it be the Union Leader has given him far more than just this task? It might be true, but how could just someone bes the Union Leader just like that? There have to be far more difficult trials involved than we could even imagine¡''
With this thought process, Grady solemnly nodded, "It''s seemed I overstepped my boundary just now. Please forgive me, Lord Jr. Let'' go; I''ll take you there much faster. Please stand behind me."
Ace was more than happy toply since it would really save him much more time than he anticipated, so he stepped on the red sword of Grady, who had just increased his flying sword size, while Ace stowed away the Dark Feather Sword.
Grady then enveloped White in his gentle red Qi to protect him before he suddenly looked in a particr direction and coldly snorted. Then, his sword moved, turning into a red streak and vanishing almost instantly.
Just over a mile away from where Grady and White just vanished, a few figures suddenly came out from a forest while sweating profusely. They were a devil, hunter, demon, human, and every race present in the inner sun domain. They all have a person present in this group with grim and horrid expressions.
"It seemed the High Elder Council warning of not approaching the Jr. Union Leader was not just empty words. They even sent a High Elder to make sure we can''t bother him¡" A pale-yellow demon gloomily uttered.
"The High Elder clearly noticed us, so we might not escape punishment this time. Well, this will at least teach those blind fools who still want to sneakily approach Lord Jr." A devil snorted in frustration.
"Alright, I''m going and report this, and I hope I won''t see you lot anytime soon." A dwarf snorted before he quickly flew away.
The others were the same as they no longer dared to stay there, afraid the High Union Elder mighte back to punish him.
The human in the group was the same, but his expression was ugliest from the bunch as he thought while flying toward the Human Sector.
''Don''t tell me as the n Head predicted; those other races'' high elders are really doing this purposely to stop the human race from rising by forming a good rtionship with Lord Jr., who is clearly from our race¡.''
Chapter 718 The Union Cultivation Tower (3)
The Sun and Moon Sword Union Cultivation Towers were known as another name among the Union Members, the Towers of Trials.
Because the Cultivation Towers were filled with difficult trials for cultivators that were befitting for their cultivation ranks, these trials were difficult as well as rewarding.
Not only inexperienced cultivators experience the real battles, tests of wits, and even life and death experiences could be gained in these towers, as long as the person taking the trials was prepared for the consequences.
Then there was the Cultivation Tower Ranking. These rankings could be gained by performingpetently in the Cultivation Tower as well as by climbing the Cultivation Tower floors.
These rankings also represent a symbol of power and prestige in the Union, and high rankers were not only rewarded with more resources and unique rewards from the Cultivation Tower itself, but the private sector also sought them as the target of recruitment.
Both Sun and Moon Domain Rankings were unanimous, and there was a ranking limit ced on a domain ording to the Cultivation Towers floors present in a domain.
The Outer Sun Domain Cultivation Tower has only ten floors, so its rankings start from 50,000,000 and end at 1,000,000. The ranking can''t surpass 1,000,000th Rank unless the ranker moves into the inner domain Cultivation Towers and partake in its trials, and only the limits would go down to 1.
The thing was, ranking below 100,000 were all upied by the Union Instructors who were only a hair away from bing a Union Elder. At the same time, the top 10,000 were all Union Elders and old monsters like the old heads of a n in the private sector were all among the top 100.
These rankings also decided which race was more powerful than the other and had more experts.
At this moment, the Cultivation Tower of the Outer Sun Domain was crowded with Union Students and Union Schrs, all of them staring at the projection screen lit over a thousand feet tall Tower. This projection screen was as tall as the tower.
That screen was filled with names and numbers, which started from 1,000,000 and ended at 1,100,000. Newly appointed Union Instructors normally upied the top 100,000 rankers above the 1,000,000 ranks, and these spots and all of them mostly belonged to the Inner Sun and Moon Domains.
A Union Student can directly be a Union Schr as they either pass a test at Foundation Building Realm or directly enter the River Realm. While a Union Schr can be a Union Instructor only by passing a test when its cultivation reaches the tinum River Core Realm or higher.
Lastly, bing a Union Elder from Union Schr was even more difficult because not only they needed to be at least a Soul Manifestation Realm Cultivator, but they also needed toplete a special task as well as pass at least 20 cultivation tower floors!
As for a Union High Elder, the Law Awareness Realm was the only demand which was the most difficult requirement in its own right.
All those Union Students and Union Schrs outside the Outer Sun Domain Cultivation Tower were clearly not here to challenge the rankings as they knew even those Union instructors present in the outer sun domain couldn''t appear in the ranking list on the tower, much less weaklings like them.
They were only here to either gain experience or hone their fighting skills.
The Cultivation Towers entry was also not free as every try would cost 100 Union Credit, and that''s why only those rich guys woulde here while the others would rather spend those 100 UC on the Union Cultivation Pavilion.
However, at this moment, the calm atmosphere outside the Cultivation Tower suddenly broke when someone noticed a flying sword suddenly descend, and two figures walked down.
"I-isn''t¡ isn''t that¡ the Junior Union Leader?!" Someone suddenly shrilled while eximing like he had seen a ghost when he saw White''s eye-catching appearance.
Those two new arrivals were naturally White and Grady.
No one paid attention to Gray as they were all looking at White as if they had seen a ghost because these days, the hot topic of the youths among the Union was naturally the mysterious Jr. Union Leader. Even among the powerful figures, he was the focus of the conversation.
Furthermore, White''s portraits were already remembered by everyone by heart, so they could not offend him if they had once in a blue moon chance of meeting him.
It was especially the case for the people in the Outer Sun Union as White was akin to God for them, and why did a God appear in a mortal world like theirs?
Yet now here they were looking at the posh young man standing straight like a sharp sword, the Jr. Union Leader in the flesh right in front of them. How could they not react excessively?
However, they failed to notice the purple robe Grady beside him, and suddenly Grady''s aura spread like the wind. The next moment, those guys snapped out of their dazzle when they felt mountain-like pressure suddenly falls over them, and they finally looked at Grady.
Grady''s eyes were emotionless as they looked at all those juniors; with a hint of disdain, he coolly uttered, "Lord Jr. will be using the Cultivation Tower, empty the vicinity, and no one is allowed to enter a mile radius around the Cultivation Tower."
''How convenient¡'' Ace clicked his tongue secretly, quite pleased with Grady''s decisive performance.
But he needed to appear like someone who only cared about cultivation, not status or someone who enjoyed the spotlight.
So, he quickly said respectfully, "High Elder, please, there''s no need to send these fellow cultivators away. They''re here to cultivate as well, and I can''t implicate their training just for my selfishness.
"As long as they are minding their own business, I don''t think we should take this kind of measures. My Union Brothers, treat me like you treat your fellow Union brothers. I''m nothing but a mortal like you who wants to cultivate."
''Saying the person who closed off the entire library for a month just because he got annoyed¡'' Grady held his urge to roll his eyes as he couldn''t show such behavior towards the Jr. Union Leader unless he wanted to draw the wrath of his race as well as the Union Leader.
Furthermore, this was all going in his favor because he thought White would be overbearing and arrogant as long as he was with him and order him around, which was also the thoughts of almost all the High Union Elders.
But now, it seemed White was not as overbearing as he appeared because of his closing off the library. He seemed someone who only cared about his cultivation and minding his own business and won''t unt his authority as long as no one provoked him.
"As youmand, Milord." Grady smiled amiably before he retraced his ghastly aura, and all those guys suppressed by Grady''s aura a moment ago felt like they had escaped hell.
In front of the Law Awareness Realm Cultivator, everything was an ant!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Furthermore, the way they looked at White changed somehow as they now looked at him with more respect and reverence.
"I''ll be back." White nodded at Grady before he headed toward therge entrance of the Cultivation Tower, and everyone in his way quickly stepped aside with a respectful expression, and they even bowed their heads.
---
The Union Leader, sitting over his throne, was looking at arge projection of White who just entered the Cultivation Tower, and the very next moment, the projection went dark.
His unfathomed eyes shimmered in a peculiar glint while staring at the dark projection, ''One of the few ces where I can''t peer through¡''
Chapter 719 The Union Cultivation Tower (4)
The moment Ace stepped inside the cultivation tower, he was greeted by nothing but ckness, there was nothing but dark nk space, which made him surprised, and when he turned around, he found the entrance had also vanished.
Before he could open the fate map to see what was going on, a static voice rang, "The Sun and Moon Inheritor Token has been detected!
"The new Sun and Moon Contender for the Chosen One Seat has appeared.
"Sun and Moon Contender No.23rd, do you want to activate the Sun and Moon Sword Trial in the Lesser Sun Tower prepared by the Sun God?"
Ace was surprised when he heard what the voice stated, ''The Sun and Moon Inheritor Token? Is it talking about my Junior Union Leader token in my storage ring?
''It also called me the contender for the Chosen One Seat, which means the Chosen One described in the secret library books is really the true inheritor of the Union. But why do I feel like this is not just about the Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual alone? And I''m also the 23rd one toe here¡''
Ace couldn''t help but think in this direction as he couldn''t be too cautious when he was dealing with the union''s secret matters. This ce was rted to Heaven''s Secret, so he couldn''t be more careful.
Then Ace tried activating the fate map, and what he saw made his heart sink because his fate point appeared in the middle of a pitch-ck area with no terrain whatsoever. This could only mean he was in an absolute danger zone.
"Umm¡ how should I address you, Senior?" Ace controlled his unsettling emotions and tried talking to the voice just like the voice in the library. He wanted to see if he could get some answers.
"I''m the Sun and Moon Sword Custodian (SMSC), who overlooked the trials left behind by the Sun and Moon Gods and was responsible for selecting the Chosen One!"
"How many trials do I have to pass before bing the Chosen One?" Ace asked SMSC the most obvious question as anyone would seek the answer.
"Sun and Moon Contender No.23 need to pass the trials in Lesser Sun Tower and Lesser Moon Tower to be worthy of getting the answer to such question." SMSC statically replied.
"Then can I at least know what Chosen One is and what kind of status it will have? What is its role in the Union?" Ace asked another question which he was most curious about.
"Chosen One is the true sessor of the Sun and Moon Gods, the Overlord of the Mortal Sky and Protector of Heaven! When the Chosen appears, the Sun and Moon Union will rise to its glory!" SMSC dered without any emotions behind its voice.
Ace cocked an eyebrow, ''The Overlord of the Mortal Sky? Is it talking about the Mortal Sky Heaven? And Protector of Heaven is also quite ambiguous and leads to many meanings.
''It seemed even the Union Leader might not have any idea just what the purpose of the Union is and his true purpose of selecting a disciple was so he could get to that secret¡
''With such a mysterious secret right under his thumb, yet he can''t grasp it, he has to be watching my every move, especially right now¡''
The more Ace thought about it, the more he became vignt of the Union Leader. He never believed the Master Disciple rtionship was just born out of the kindness of the Union Leader''s heart. Like him, the Union Leader also had a huge motive and that had to be connected with the Chosen One.
"Very well, I would be troubling Senior SMSC to activate the trial." White respectfully stated.
Although Ace had many more questions, he couldn''t ask them as it directly drew the Union Leader''s suspicion or this SMSC''s. So out of caution, he held back and decided to go along with the trial first.
"Sun and Moon Contender No.23 have approved the activation of the Lesser Sun Tower Trial created by Sun God.
"The Entry level trial, the Sun Seeker, has been activated.
"Good Luck Sun and Moon Contender No.23!"
Ace suddenly felt a strange force start to creep over his body, and all of a sudden, the surrounding darkness started to twist before his vision blurred, and brightness appeared again.
''I was teleported?'' Ace thought as he couldn''t be more familiar with this sensation.
When he looked around, he was astonished because he found himself standing on top of a yellowish sand dune, and not only that, but as far as his eyes could seek, there was nothing but sand around him.
''Don''t tell me I was thrown in a middle of a desert?!'' Ace was shocked as he tried to use the fate map, but to his horror, he couldn''t feel the Eternal Thief Fate Compass at all!
Ace knew this had never happened before. No matter the situation, thepass has never reacted this way, much less lost its entire presence as if it didn''t even exist in the first ce.
Then Ace quickly tried to probe his soul space but only met with an even bigger shock of his life, he also couldn''t feel his soul space, and when he tried the martial space or his thief''s space, he met with the same result.
Thereby, he can''t use any of Heavenly Qis as well.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Now Ace was finally spooked. All this seemed like a nightmare where he lost all his powers, and he had no idea why it happened, and the worst thing was he had no idea where the hell in the world he was right now.
"System?! Status!?" Ace then finally called for the system.
In his mind, the system can''t be affected by these petty tricks no matter what, so he was sure that it would be present.
However, Ace is starting to lose it when no matter how much he calls, the system won''t reply no matter what nor can he open the system interface.
"Shit¡ shit¡ calm down, calm down¡ fuck!" Ace couldn''t help but start cursing while he tried to calm his nerves.
But it was easier said than done. All his cultivation, treasures, Thief''s Space, and even the system have vanished. How could he keep his calm under such circumstances?
However, Ace''s mindset wasn''t that feeble either, which could break just like that. He slowly managed to calm down before all the possible scenarios started to appear in his mind, which could result in this kind of situation.
A terrifying possibility surfaced in his mind at this moment, ''The SMSC said the trial is created by the Sun God, right? Then don''t tell me this is actually created by a real freaking God, which even the system can''t do anything about?!''
[AN: Join My Discord Server: https://discord.gg/w8GQdCD7sM]
Chapter 720 Sun Seeker (1)
Ace couldn''t help but be even more rmed at this terrifying possibility. But what choice does he have?
''I didn''t think that a trial design for a river or river core realm cultivator would be this strange and terrifying. That''s why I thought it would be a walk in the park to acquire the first part of the inheritance, even bing the Chosen One, so I could have more advantage in the Secret Realms.
''Yet here I am, lost all my powers, treasures, even the system. I should''ve just gone for the second option instead of being greedy. Sigh¡ I can now only hope that the Union Leader''s words about not being able to die for the first three times were true¡.'' Ace smiled bitterly. This was the first time his n had gone side hills like this.
Aftering to terms with his current situation, he took a deep breath and carefully looked at himself and was shocked when he discovered something he had missed before.
He found his hands were small, meaning his hands were only the size of a ten-year-old boy, not his original mature big hands, and his skin was now of bronze color and looked extremely skinny and haggard.
Then he finally noticed his eye level was quite small, and when he saw his small legs and even the clothes over his body had changed into in old clothes, and he was wearing barely intact tattered shoes.
"What the hell is going on?!" Ace eximed out loud with an appalled voice, ''Could it be I''m in someone else body, not mine?''
The moment Ace thought about it, things started to make sense since this was the only possibility of not being able to use his cultivation or the system. However, this was also absurd since he had no way of knowing how this had happened.
''Since it''s not my body¡'' Ace couldn''t help but feel this trial was not just as simple as survival, but there was a deeper meaning behind it.
This also helped him greatly calm down as he thought, ''The trial name was Sun Seeker? So, does it mean I need to seek the Sun or something else?''
Ace couldn''t help but look at the sky, which was spitting fire as it was the time of high noon, and the sun was right in the middle of it. N?v(el)B\\jnn
This also made him realize something else; he was thirsty and hungry, even fatigued; these feelings had almost be foreign to him.
''Just surviving this heat and thirst is a challenge on its own, much less the real trial. I need to find a water source¡'' Just as Ace''s thought about it and then looked around, he couldn''t help but shake his head in frustration. As far as he could see, there was nothing but sand dunes.
The feeling of hunger, fatigue, and thirst started to intensify as he slowly started to umte the true feelings of the body, and he even started to feel the heat which was nothing but hellish.
The mere irony of dying because of this normal sun heat was something that made Ace depressed as well as bitter. It was like he had returned to his lonely days. The only difference was things were much worse.
Right at this moment, when Ace was about to move toward the north direction since standing there was akin to dying anyway, a deep voice rang, which made him shocked because thenguage of this voice was something he wasn''t familiar with.
"Mortal from the City of Sun, you havemitted sphemy by throwing the rock at the sacred Statue of the Sun God and calling the God with profane words!
"This has greatly displeased the Sun God. But the Sun God loved its children and couldn''t see them walk on the wrong path when they could still be salvaged.
"You were once the true believer of the Sun God. Even when your n was executed unjustly, your belief in the will of the Sun God never wavered.
"Yet, you were swayed by the word of a mere sphemous girl and then exiled in the Sun Desert to die under the wrath of Sun God.
"But you still believed the words of the heretical girl despite the fact it is nearly time for you to embrace death and return to the cradle of the Sun God.
"The benevolent Sun God didn''t want its once devoted child to turn into a sinner. Rejoice, O'' Sinner, because considering your previous devotion and your sacrifices, the Sun God has decided to send a revolution.
"Kill the Sun Seeker, and you shall be reborn as the True Heir of Sun!"
Ace was bbergasted as that voice wasing directly from the sky, and just as fast as it came, it vanished just like that.
''Is this the background story of this body? This is definitely crazy. Just because he threw a rock at a god''s status, he was exiled to the desert, and now this so-called benevolent god wants this beat-up child to kill something, and only then will he be the Heir of the Sun?'' Ace thought with deep disdain, ''So, this is what the Sun Seeker Trial is¡''
Right at this moment, Ace suddenly felt tremors under his feet before all the sand started to shake, and Ace started to sink into the dune like a quicksand. But he quickly reacted, and with his nibbled feet, he escaped being sunk alive.
However, there was no hard surface, so the entire sand was the same, no matter how much he struggled.
Suddenly, right behind him, he heard s bang, and the tremor also stopped. The moment he twisted his head to see what was that small explosion about, his eyes widened.
He saw tworge yellowish pincers stabbing out of the sand a few meters away from his position, and the next moment those pincers started to crawl up, and soon the owner of those sharp pincers crept up from the sand.
Just its thick pincer arms were two-meter-long while its body was four-meter-long and with eighteen spider-like legs while at the back was a long five-meter-long tail which had three feet long razor-sharp ck needle, it was a massive scorpion!
But the most eyes catching thing about this scorpion was a golden shining symbol of a zing Sun right in the middle of its carapace.
Ace''s heart sank as he easily guessed why this thing appeared out of nowhere and that sun symbol was something he was too familiar with; it was the symbol of the Sun Domain, which made the massive scorpion¡
''The Sun Seeker, I need to kill!''
Chapter 721 Sun Seeker (2)
Ace looked at the giant scorpion, the Sun Seeker to be precise, a few meters away from his position, with a perplexed look.
''How am I supposed to kill that thing with this mortal body in a haggard state? It''s probably at the Empty River Realm. Just who created this impossible trial?'' Ace thought while he stepped back. He wants to create some distance between them.
However, the Sun Seeker wasn''t some dumb beast as it instantly moved toward Ace while straightening his vicious tail.
Ace''s heart sank as he was no match for the Sun Seeker''s massive legs, but it didn''t mean he would go down that easily. Although he had lost his Qi, it didn''t mean he had lost all the experience he had umted for fifteen years. Especially the experience with his thievish skills, which were his bread and butter.
''Every being has Qi in their body even without cultivation. Cultivation is meant to increase the Qi capacity and make the Qi more refine¡'' Ace remembered the basics before his crude steps suddenly became orderly.
The next moment, the sound of his movements vanished, and Ace''s small figure nimbly evaded the Sun Seeker''s charge. He was using the Silent Steps, the very first-moment skill he ever learned!
But he just barely evaded it as he was simply too small, and he needed to preserve the limited amount of Qi in this haggard body.
However, Ace suddenly discovered something the moment he performed the Silent Steps, ''Why didn''t I feel any Qi cirction or Qi exemption when I just performed the Silent Steps? It''s like¡ like that Qi just came directly from the surrounding environment?''
Ace couldn''t help but think this way as he was too familiar with how Qi would circte in his meridian and then diffuse through his body pours at his will. However, this wasn''t the case with this body at all when he used the Silent Steps.
But it might also be just his imagination, so he needed to test it further.
The Sun Seeker swung its pointy tail menacingly when it saw its prey has been escaped.
Without hesitation, Ace used the Silent Steps again, and this time, he even tried to use the Basic Stealth with it.
The moment he did, his small stature camouged with the surroundings as he vanished, and the silent step again was able to evade that lighting-fast tail. It was also because of Ace''s terrifying reflexes that he was able to evade those attacks from the Sun Seeker, which was clearly far stronger than him.
''What is this? I can really use these skills without refining the Qi in my body first. Instead, I can draw Qi directly from the environment and then use it at the moment noticed! Didn''t this mean I could use as much Qi as I wanted without worrying about Qi consumption?! Don''t tell me this body is some rare fantastic physique?'' The more Ace thought about it, the more rmed he became because it was the only exnation he could think of.
Furthermore, with this absurd trial, it was only natural that he would also be given someone kind of advantage to at least have a fighting chance.
If this strange ability of this body were his advantage, then Ace didn''t mind having such a body at all!
Furthermore, Ace also noticed that since the moment he started toe in contact with Qi, this body fatigue was slowly going fading, which was even more strange and rming.
Nevertheless, this was all to his advantage, so he didn''t mind.
Since he can now use his skills without needing to worry about Qi consumption, Ace didn''t need to run or be on the defensive.
After evading the tail, his eyes went ruthless before Qi started to materialize in his hand, it was pure golden Qi, and it started to turn into a sword de.
The next moment, Ace directly shed that Golden Qi de on the Sun Seeker''s massive leg.
However, the moment that Qi de touched the Sun Seeker''s armor-like skin, it instantly shattered like ss which made Ace rmed. The fine hair on his back stood, and without hesitation, he used lighting steps while ducking his head and lunged towards the side.
Thereafter, the sharp tail stabbed right at the stop where Ace was just standing a moment ago. If he were even a secondte, he would''ve been skewered. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace pants with rigid breathing after almost getting killed. Furthermore, after he used Qi skills for foundation building and river realm cultivators, he found his body started to get exhausted again, and this time, this feeling was far worse than before he started using Qi.
''How can a mortal body handle performing such high-level skills, especially the Lighting Steps, which is based on the Heavenly Qi? I''m just barely able to imitate it. However, I should be more concerned about that thing easily shattering my Qi bald without me even leaving a scratch¡'' Ace was now feeling depressed as that happiness came from discovering the special trait of this body was short-lived.
Although he seemed to be able to use high-level skills and draw that much Qi as well, however, there were consequences of performing Qi skills with a mortal body despite the ability to have virtually infinite Qi.
Nevertheless, Ace was more concerned that his Qi de didn''t damage the Sun Seeker, which should be more than enough to behead a Qi river cultivator easily.
Furthermore, his basic stealth also seemed to be quite useless against Sun Seeker, so he stopped using it entirely to lower the strain on this body.
The Sun Seeker didn''t have any intention to give Ace a chance to breathe as it moved its leg, wanting to squish him, followed by its vicious tail in the mix.
Ace didn''t dare to use any defensive skill as he wasn''t sure if it would crumble under the Sun Seeker''s attacks like his Qi de.
So, he again used the crude imitation of the lighting steps since it was his only movement skill that seemed fast enough to evade the Sun Seeker''s iing attack.
Ace also noticed another thing which was the Sun Seeker didn''t seem to be using Qi at all as it was purely using its physical prowess, which could be another advantage for the trial taken who was given a mortal body.
''Now, I understand just how powerful the Heavenly Qi is and the skills driven by it!'' From the start, Ace was used to using the Heavenly Qi and never really had the experience of not having it. He just knew it was the Qi originating from Heaven.
However, now, he finally understood just why this Qi was the acronym of perfection and why the one who stole it was called the Eternal Enemy of Heaven!
This was akin to having the same prowess as the Heaven itself, and that''s why the Heaven''s Stealer would have to die before it could challenge the Heaven!
Even this physique was not enough to make Ace give up the Heavenly Qi or the System, which was probably the sole reason he could refine the Heavenly Qi with the Heaven Stealer Technique and cultivate in both paths.
So, with that thought in mind, Ace stopped caring about this body condition since it wasn''t his, and this was just a trial.
The next moment, white Qi started to shimmer over Ace''s small body before it turned ck. However, the moment that ck smock rose from Ace''s small body, his skin started to crack as blood gushed out.
Yet, Ace was calm as he looked at the Sun Seeker, who was going tounch another attack as if it was a dead beast.
The very next moment, the ck smock suddenly rose, taking the shape of a three-meter-long pitch-ck de, while blood was now streaming from his eyes and ears as well.
''Eternal Thief''s Sword Style: Marital Shadow sh!''
Chapter 722 Sun And Moon Seeker
Although Ace was in someone else''s body, the Sword Intent and his other Lawprehensions were something that had etched into his very being. So, unless someone can reset his mind, these things will never go away.
The moment Ace used the newly developed, overbearing Eternal Thief''s Sword Style with a mortal body, the body was bound not tost more than a few seconds.
However, Ace didn''t care as he knew the trial was to kill that thing. It doesn''t matter how he killed it. So, despite this suicidal move, he should be fine. Even if he failed, at least he woulde prepared next time.
As for the matter of the Union Leader watching, he had a very good excuse for his month''s study as well as he could also lie about this body having such an ability already, like the ability to use Qi without refining.
The Union Leader had also gone through such a trial, so Ace was sure he would believe him and might also brush the entire thing off by simply thinking that it might also have something to do with his special physique.
Even if he remained suspicious, he won''t harm him since he clearly needed him to be the Chosen One, and White would be his only shot at it after he experienced what White was capable of!
The Sun Seeker, for the first time, seemed to feel fear as its venomous tail moved ever faster to kill Ace, who was now giving him a second to iing death.
Ace merely scoffed, and at his behest, therge ck de filled with shadow sword intent moved toward the Sun Seeker like a lightning bolt.
The Sun Seeker instantly sensed the terror of the shadow sword''s intent and quickly gave up on the attack and tried to dodge it.
But it still didn''t use Qi, which also means Ace was right about his conjecture of this guy not having the ability to use Qi to give the trial taker another advantage. Still, this was unfair as it could be for the trial taker.
Unless they were like, who hadprehendedw intents at such a young age, they would never have been able to kill the Sun Seeker.
The Sun Seeker, despite its quick reflex and effort, couldn''t move its body fast enough to evade the corporeal sword de, and it directlynded over its massive body. Without any resistance, it passes through it like a hot knife in the butter.
The Sun Seeker let loose an eerily shrill before its body and massive tailed cut in halves as it crumbled down on the sand, raising a massive dust cloud.
Ace, on the hand, was also not doing much good as his vision started to get darker while a cold sensation crept over his body.
''Am I going to die¡'' The thought surfaced in his fading mind before his voice suddenly twisted, and then darkness reced it.
The next moment, Ace''s fading consciousness strangely returned as his eyes were filled with bewilderment, as he had just awakened from a nightmare.
At this moment, a familiar voice rang, filled with strange ecstasy, "How incredible, toprehend full element sword intent to such a high degree, truly shocking! You are probably the most incredible genius Heaven has given birth to in a while!"
Ace quickly recognized this voice as it belonged to none other than the Sun and Moon Sword Custodian (SMSC), but it no longer sounded distant or emotionless. Now it sounded like an affable elder.
Ace then quickly understood that he had returned to his body as he now felt both his martial and soul spaces and couldn''t help but take a massive sigh of relief.
"You might still be feeling a little noxious after you experienced the Sun Seeker Trial. But don''t worry; it will go away in a jiffy." SMSC gently stated.
"I¡thank you for your assurance. Did I pass the trial?" Ace asked as he was more concerned about this, and from SMSC''s tone, he could guess it should be as he suspected.
"Although you died right away after killing the Sun Seeker, but the trial was to kill the Sun Seeker. It doesn''t matter how you could kill it.
"So, the Sun and Moon Contender No.23 have passed the Lesser Sun Tower Trial, the Sun Seeker created by Sun God!
"Furthermore, as the sole judge and overseer of the Sun and Moon Trials, I shall proim the Sun and Moon Contender No.23 to be fully capable of passing the Entry level trial of the Moon God as well.
"Thereby, Sun and Moon Contender No.23 haspleted the trials in the Lesser Sun and Moon Towers.
"The Sun and Moon Contender No.23 hereby be the third Sun and Moon Seeker in the history of the Sun and Moon Sword Union and are now eligible to take the Mid Sun and Moon Tower Trials.
"You are rewarded with the first half of the Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual to clear the Lesser Sun and Moon Tower Trials.
"Your achievement to be the fastest one to clear the Sun and Moon Trials, as well as to be the first one to clear at your very first try, will be rewarded with the Upper Sky Breaker Grade Sword Art, the Sword Array of Fallen Moon.
"You have also earned yourself direct entry into the third level of the Secret Sun and Moon Realms for one year in each realm!"
Ace was in a daze when he heard that not only he got a green pass from taking the Lesser Moon Tower Trial, but all the rewards he got from passing Lesser Sun and Moon Tower Trials were simply too astonishing.
Just the reward of gaining ess to both realms was enough to make this trial worthwhile. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Right at this moment, within the darkness, Ace suddenly noticed three shining objectsing in his way, and when they were only a few meters away, the bright glow slowly faded away.
By the time they were a few inches away from Ace, he was able to see what they were, and those three objects made Ace''s heart race because they were three Jade Scrolls!
Chapter 723 Union Caretaker
Looking at the three Jade Scrolls, two of them were silver and golden, while thest one was ck. Ace quickly guessed what they were and felt even more rmed by the Union''s resources!
"If you don''t know what these are, then don''t fret as they are known as Jade Scrolls, and profound knowledge could be stowed into them and then exist almost as long as an epoch.
"The Golden and Silver Jade Scrolls continued the first half of the Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual. At the same time, the ck one continued the Upper Sky Breaker Grade Sword Art, the Sword Array of Fallen Moon.
"However, no one can open those three Jade Scrolls because they can only be opened with your Sun and Moon Seeker Token now. The Sun and Moon Seeker Token is the higher version of the Sun and Moon Inheritor Token which only I can change ording to the Union rules.
"So, your token has already been changed into the Sun and Moon Seeker Token, and now it is like a storage ring that will be marked by your Soul Mark, and no one else would be able to use it!"
Ace was even more astonished when he heard about the token, but he controlled his tion while he quickly pocketed those three jade scrolls.
''If I can only get into the union''s true treasury!'' Ace thought with his thievish mind, but he quickly suppressed that thought as it would be nigh impossible with so many powerful characters guarding this ce.
He then quickly thanked the SMSC, "Thank you, Senior, I will remember you teaching!"
"I have nothing to teach you. I want you to be the Chosen One. This is my only purpose, and from now on, yours as well." SAMC''s solemn voice rang.
"I''ll try my best." White promised before he asked, "Senior, you said I''m the third Sun and Moon Seeker. Who were the first two before me, and did they fail?"
"Yes, they were stopped at the Mid Sun and Moon Tower Trials. Like the limitation of the Less Sun and Moon Tower Trials, there are limitations on the Mid Tower trials as well.
"This information has already been sent into your token. But I''ll still tell you, you need to be cultivated the first half of the Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual to its perfection. Second, you need toprehend at least Half Element Sword Intent. Third andst, you need to clear that trial before you exceed the age of 200 years.
"But I don''t think this would be any problem for you at all since the previous two were mediocre at bestpared to your monstrous talent."
''This is bad if I need to cultivate this technique first¡'' Ace thought gravely. N?v(el)B\\jnn
He asked another important question, "Then how many tries I have?"
"There are no limits to tries, just like the lesser tower trials."
"Wait, what? There is no limit to how much I can try, even in the first trial?" Ace was really shocked.
"There is none. Only the age limit is the true limitation in the lesser tower trials. Didn''t the Union Caretaker of the Inheritor Token exin it to you when he chose you to be the contender?" SAMC asked with a hint of uncertainty.
''Union Caretaker?'' Ace was even more shocked by the way SAMC called the Union Leader, and he felt something was extremely wrong with all this.
Ace suddenly had a bold thought as he said with an innocent look, "My Master told me there are only three tries before it would turn into a life and death struggle. I think he might have good intentions¡"
"Wait! You are calling the Union Caretaker your Master?" SAMC abruptly cut Ace in the middle as it coldly questioned.
''There is really something no right!'' Ace thought sharply as he said, "Umm, I don''t know if the Union Leader is the same person you are talking about because he is indeed my Master."
"Hmph! It is indeed the Union Caretaker. It seemed he had be bolder in these past thousands of years as he even dared to make the Union Contender his Disciple. I''m pretty sure he had performed the Master Disciple ceremony before he handed you the token, right?"
"Now that Senior mentioned it, it is indeed the case. But he treated me well as gave me ess to all the knowledge and resources of the union, so I don''t mind having such a Master." White righteously stated.
"Hah, little Sun and Moon Seeker, you are too innocent. Those things were never his to give in the first ce, as the moment you were given the inheritor token, you have all those things without needing anyone''s permission.
"Furthermore, now that you have be the Sun and Moon Seeker, you have the same status as the Union Caretaker, you can even order him around, and he won''t dare to disobey! He is not qualified to be your Master!" SAMC''s voice was filled with disdain.
''What?!'' Ace was even more rmed than he had been for the entire day, ''Why do I feel like I got cheated by some swindler?''
"Sigh¡ what done is done as the Union holds the traditions in very high regard, and the Master Disciple rtionship could be considered the highest bond like a family.
"It might be a good thing since I can''t do anything except oversee the trials and until the Chosen One appears. He will take care of you. You need protection until you mature, so he is the best choice, I must admit.
"You don''t need to worry or be on guard against him, he can''t harm you in the Union anymore, nor will he ever try since, despite his underhanded methods, he is most loyal to the Union and withheld the ancient traditions in very high regard especially a Master Disciple since he never took a disciple."
''What a fickle-minded fellow¡'' Ace sneered in his heart as he never trusted the Union Leader in the first ce, nor was he nning to start doing it now.
"Indeed, I fully trust my Master." White sincerely stated, just in case the Union Leader was watching, that he started to doubt if he could after he heard the SMSC''s disdainful remark, but he didn''t dare to confirm it.
So, he moved the topic to the most important matter, "Senior, you said I had earned a direct entry into the third level of the Secret Sun and Moon Realms for one year in each realm. Can you please borate on how this will work exactly?"
Chapter 724 The Sun And Moon Secret Realms
Ace''s true purpose in attending this trial was to get into the secret realm of the Union and have an advantage that could help him achieve his mission. This all could only happen with the Chosen One status.
Although he didn''t get that status, he clearly got the advantage he was looking for, and now all was left for him to move toward his goal. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"The Sun and Moon Realms are the Holy Lands left behind by the Sun and Moon Gods for the Chosen One.
"The Sun Realm is extremely hot and filled with Yang Qi while the Moon Ream is icy because of Yin Qi.
"Both realms are divided into threeyers, the Upper, Middle, and Loweryers, and eachyer has three levels.
"Eachyer holds unique trails created by the Sun and Moon Gods for the Children of Sun and Moon, and they contained unimaginable rewards to the higheryer trial one passed. To go into the deeperyer, one needed to pass all the trials on the previousyer, which is nigh impossible for the Children of the Sun and Moon because of the limitation of the cultivation realm.
"This was done because the Middle and Upperyers of both realms were specifically made for the contenders for the Chosen One seat. If someone can cross all the loweryer trails and enter the middleyer, they can directly be the Sun and Moon Seeker like you.
"However, since you already are the Sun and Moon Seeker, you can gain ess to all the trials of the Lower Layer and even directly enter the third level and try the entrance trial for the Middle Layer.
"Anyone with the status of the Sun and Moon Seeker would have special rewards prepared for them in eachyer.
"Furthermore, the environments of eachyer would have a special effect on the cultivator of the Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual. Just your cultivation speed will be ten times faster and continue to increase in the deeperyers.
"So, you could now understand what one year in each realm means for you while the Children of the Sun and Moon will only gain 100 days and how much you could gain from both realms if you use that time correctly.
"Furthermore, your biggest advantage over anyone is you have no cultivation or age restriction as long as your Sun and Moon Seeker status is valid, and you can enter any time you want into those realms with your Sun and Moon Seeker Token as long as you have time in your token just like now.
"You can gain more time bypleting the Mid Tower Trials as well or by stepping into the Middle Layer, which is a kind of achievement since someone in your realm has never done it.
"If you can pass the Middle Layer and step into Upper Layer, then you don''t need to clear the Mid Tower Trials as well, and your status will reevaluate again. As for the finalyer, if you can cross it, then you will be only a step away from being the true chosen and know why the Sun and Moon Secret Realms are the blessing for the Chosen One!"
SMSC patiently exined the true purpose of the Sun and Moon Secret Realms and their benefits.
Ace''s eyes shimmered thievishly as none of the other details mattered since all he cared about was entering that ce and then figuring out how to destroy it, and it wasn''t like the SMSC hadn''t dropped a hint about the core region of both realms.
"Then does this mean I can enter right now?" Ace asked without thinking twice.
In his mind, the Union Leader will be going to summon him the moment he left this ce if he was aware of him passing the trials with flying colors. He wanted to avoid the Union Leader as long as he could since it was not clear yet what he was after and how it would implicate him.
But one thing was clear, the Union Leader seemed to have no power over the trials or the secret realm, but SMSC did, which was a plus for him.
He would only appear as a cultivation maniac who didn''t want to miss a chance to increase his cultivation, and this was the whole point of bing the Jr. Union Leader in the first ce.
Furthermore, as SMSC mentioned previously, he didn''t need to worry about the Union Leader anymore as long as he was in the Union, especially after his status had been re-evaluated.
"You want to go right now? Don''t you need the time to adjust to the Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual first? You can cultivate in the Core Cultivation Chamber in the Above Mountains Pce now which even the Union Caretaker has no ess.
"Don''t be hasty with this opportunity. You are still quite young, so use this time wisely and umte more experience before you challenge the Secret Realms. There is no need to push things unprepared." SMSC kindly advised.
If it was someone else, they could''ve heeded this advice, but it was Ace, not someone else.
So, he showed a determined look on White''s face as he said, "Thank you for your kind intentions. But I would like to enter the Sun Secret Realm right now because I think I''ll grow there even faster than cultivating in a safe ce.
"My parents teach me that opportunities are better used on the moment noticed because life is fickle. So, please allow me to enter. Even my master agreed to this arrangement when he tasked me to pass both trials."
After a moment of silence, SMSC''s voice rang again with a hint of amusement, "Is that so? I must say you are very different from the previous two Seekers, who spent decades in preparations, yet they ended up achieving nothing.
"You have inherited Sun God''s daring, and God will be quite pleased as well. So be it. I''ll send you directly outside the fourth cloud ring of the Sun Mountain, which is the core of the Sun Mountain, and also where the Sun God created the Sun Secret Realm. More details will be in your token.
"The Sun and Moon Gods will be watching upon you. Don''t disappoint the Sun and Moon Gods, Sun and Moon Seeker White. I hope we''ll meet soon!"
Just the SMSC''s voice trailed off, and White''s figure instantly vanished from the darkness!
Chapter 725 Destined To Be Our Lord
The Union Leader was sitting over his throne while the nk projection screen was still opened wide in front of him.
"Hehehehe¡ I have to admit that brat hassted for over an hour, which is far more than any of our first tries." A sneering voice rang from the elven statue.
"He''s talented. I''ll give him that. But passing that absurd trial is akin to ascending the sky." A heavy voice rang from the dwarf status.
The Union Leader seemed not to hear the chattering from the ten statuses as his profound eyes remained affixed on the projection screen.
At this moment, an icy voice rang in the throne room, which surprised even the Union Leader.
"Union Caretaker, it''s been a while."
"Isn''t that?!"
"It''s the Old entric Thrall!"
"Yes, it''s the SMSC!"
Some statues eximing voices rang.
"How dare you Heretics speak to Lord SMSC like this?!" Union Leader uttered coldly as his voice contained a strange power, and all those glowing statues instantly lost their glow and returned to being ordinary statues.
"Lord SMSC, I wasn''t expecting you." Union Leader, despite calling SMSC ''Lord,'' his tone was impassive without any respect or intent, nor did he bother to stand up from his throne.
"I wasn''t expecting to hear from all those Heretics either. It seemed while I was asleep, you have be quite unrestrained to let those Heretics regain this consciousness!" SMSC''s voice contained extreme chillness.
"Lord SMSC, you don''t need to worry about such a trivial thing. Although I let them speak asionally, it didn''t mean anything except for some means of entrainment. You have to know just how boring it is to keep sitting here all day long." The Union Leader impassively stated.
"Is that why you dare to make the Sun and Moon Inheritor Contender your disciple? For entertainment?" SMSC coldly questioned.
The Union Leader''s eyes showed a hint of surprise, but it was gone as fast as it appeared, "Lord SMSC, is this about my Disciple White? I hope you won''t take it in the wrong way. I epted him as a disciple before he was the Sun and Moon Inheritor Contender.
"Only after knowing his potential did I select him as the inheritor, which is, if I remember correctly, my job. If he didn''t have the potential, I wouldn''t make him the inheritor contender, even if he was my son.
"If he can be the Sun and Moon Chaser, I''ll naturally void my Master and Disciple rtionship with him since even I don''t dare to be the Master of the Sun and Moon Gods'' Acolyte.
"My intentions were as pure as the light of Sun and Moon Gods. I can swear upon it with my life. You should know my loyalty toward the Union and Gods better than anyone."
SMSC remained silent for a while before it finally spoke again, and this time, his voice was much softer, "If I have doubted your devotion, why do you think I would be talking to you? But the Sun and Moon Seeker White is not qualified to be your Disciple, so¡"
"Wait?! Sun and Moon Seeker?" The Union Leader finally showed a shocked expression on his statue-like face as he abruptly stood up with widened eyes as he even cut between SMSC''s speech.
"Heh, I must say seeing you so shocked for the first time is quite a treat. Yes, the new Sun and Moon Seeker is extraordinary, far more than you could even imagine. Although I can''t reveal many details, he cleared the Lesser Sun Trial in 10 minutes.
"It also appeared you have no idea about your own disciple''s abilities, and that''s why I''m here to tell you to void your master-disciple rtionship with him. I have never seen someone who has over 80% chance of bing the Chosen One, and he will be the Sun and Moon Chaser soon.
"So, before you make the Sun and Moon Gods angry, I advise you to make amends as soon as the Sun and Moon Seekere out from the Sun and Moon Secret Realms.
"Do it in a way you won''t break his heart as he seemed to respect you, but you and I both know he is destined to be our Lord, so the sooner we ept it, the better for both of us and him.
"Oh, as you might know, you can no longer monitor the Sun and Moon Seeker movement. Only the Gods can now, and you better not try as well."
The Union Leader''s face was quite colorful at this moment, and he probably hadn''t shown this many expressions in all his life as he was showing them now.
"He passed the trial in 10 minutes? Are you messing with me?" He finally couldn''t contain his shock as he asked hoarsely.
However, SMSC didn''t reply any longer as if he had achieved his goal and no longer cared about the Union Leader''s feelings.
The Union Leader also knew the SMSC wouldn''t mess around with him because he knew the SMSC wasn''t capable of such a thing. But he was shocked nevertheless as it was simply too absurd.
Although he knew White was talented, he never expected him to be talented to such an extent, and even SMSC, who was too hard to impress, was touting White. This shows how high the opinion he has of White is.
The Union Leader then quickly calmed himself as he returned to his calm, aloof self before he sat on the throne again, but his normally dismissive eyes were now icy and kept bing shaper while he stared at the nk screen. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
This entire development of White bing the Sun and Moon Seeker within over a month has caught him off guard, but it didn''t mean he was someone who couldn''t deal with surprise development.
''My initial n was to form a strong bond of Master and Disciple, but now that annoying fellow has intervened, it''s nigh impossible. But White''s potential is something that shouldn''t exist in this heaven.
''My only advantage is he is someone who seemed to only care about cultivation, not status. So, I need a new strategy and wait until hees out of the Sun and Moon Secret Realms¡''
Chapter 726 First Requirement Complete
Ace, from the darkness, appeared right outside a thick mist wall while he felt a little lightheaded.
''Where am I?'' Ace couldn''t help but look at the mist wall in front of him, which seemed endlessly tall, and when he observed his surroundings, he found himself standing in an open square.
''The SMSC said he would send me directly to the fourth cloud ring where lies the entrance to the Sun Secret Realm. So, am I supposed to enter this mist?'' Ace remembered the five cloud rings surrounding Sun Mountain.
So, he was pretty sure he was quite high up in the sun mountain right now. Without wasting more time, he took out the new Sun and Moon Seeker Token, which was no one side golden and the other side silver and had sun and moon symbols on the golden and silver sides.
There were four words carved, ''Sun and Moon Seeker,'' on both sides like a coin.
Ace wanted to look at the information in his new token, but the moment he took it out, something magical happened.
The token suddenly glowed brightly before the mist wall ahead of him churned and started to part, forming a tunnel-like doorway.
''Well, I guess this is the entrance.'' Ace''s lips curled up as he stepped into the dark tunnel while holding the token.
Ace then suddenly remembered something while walking in the tunnel as his voice transmitted in his mind, "System, do you know what that trial where I appeared in someone else body was? Even you seemed to be helpless around it."
He was really curious about what kind of trial it was that could even render System useless and also apprehensive of the existence of who could make such a trial.
"[Host''s consciousness has been dragged into a dream like illusion which was actually someone else''s memory and you were just living it with your own memories.]"
"[System could''ve easily broken that illusion with TP, but it was harmless to host so system never bothered with taking any action.]"
Ace was surprised by the system''s response, and realization dawned upon him as well as he felt somewhat hurt, "You said that dream-like illusion was someone else memory. Does this mean that the entire event actually took ce?"
Ace was really shocked since if what the system said was true, then he wondered just who that exile boy was and how he did do against the Sun Seeker and then there was still the Moon Seeker, which he didn''t need to fight, but he was sure the conditions would be as harsh as the Sun Seeker.
"[It is hard to tell because the entire memory could be forged anew with new details. But this method used to create that dream illusion was established in someone''s memory. This rune crafting technique is quite advanced.]"
Ace grimaced as he thought the same, and he expected nothing less from the ce holding heaven''s secret.
"Then do the Sun and Moon Gods exist? What about that voice saying they are watching? Can my mask go undetected from their detection?" Ace grimly asked as he was feeling more pressure than ever.
Although he didn''t believe that Gods existed in this ce, he wasn''t sure anymore.
"[Mortal Sky Heaven is Godless!]" They were the same ambiguous words the system had told him a long time ago, but not the next words.
"[Host didn''t need to worry about anyone''s probing once you entered the ''special'' mission site. No one who doesn''t exist in the Mortal Sky Heaven will be able to spy on you or your house members. The host can consider it a special function of the system which would be avable during Heaven''s Stealer Mission.]"
Ace was surprised as he didn''t expect this would be possible at all, but when he thought about the death punishment, this much was the least the system could do.
Right at this moment, Ace''s vision at this moment suddenly blurred as from the dark tunnel he suddenly vanished, and the first thing he felt after regaining his sense was¡ heat, a terrifying heat!
When Ace looked around, he was shocked because he found himself surrounded by scorching red color, and that red color was pure because of where he was standing right now.
Ace stood on a crimson surface, which was literally emitting scorching heat, and not just the surface. Even the crimson sky was the same, and even for someone like him, he felt like he was standing in a furnace.
At this moment, the system notification rang, n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
=====
[Host has cleared the first requirement of the Heaven''s Stealer Mission!]
---
[Target site rted to the Heaven''s Stealer Mission has been infiltrated sessfully!]
[Did the host want to scan the target site and create a Treasure Blueprint?]
-Requirements:
1. Live Fate Map
2. Thief Point: 1,000,000
3. Time: 30 Minutes
[Proceed/ Cancel]
[NOTE (1): System strongly rmends that Host should make this Treasure Blueprint which will not only have the target entire map and locations of the treasures avable on the site and the main target treasure, but the safest and fastest routes to approach it as well!]
=====
Ace''s lips curled up in satisfaction when he read the notification and said without hesitation, "Start creating the Treasure Blueprint!"
=====
[Treasure Blueprint Scanning has been started!]
[Time: 29:59]
[Warning: Please don''t leave the target range before the scanning is done!]
---
[Thief Point(s): 22,918,950]
=====
Seeing the scanning had begun, Ace then thought of another thing as he asked with anticipation, "System, can I take out Eva here as well?"
Eva was busy with her cultivation in the thief''s space after getting bored with Livia, and they hadn''t talked after she entered the cultivation state.
Since she knew talking with Ace would only make her want toe out even more so, it was better to focus on cultivation and quickly be a Law Comprehension Realm Expert, so she could be with Ace without any restraints.
However, Ace knew once she heard that there was a chance toe out, she won''t miss it. But he didn''t want to jump the guns either, as he knew this secret realm was vastly different from the secret realm of the tower.
So, he asked the system''s opinion first, as it just said that the protection was only avable for him and Thief House members, which simply meant the people who were already connected with the system.
Furthermore, the protection was only limited to the probing of being not from the Mortal Sky Heaven, not from the aborigines. So, he won''t take risks without making sure it is safe.
"[Host can take her out anytime he wants as long as you know the consequences system has never put any restriction on your free actions just always warned you.]"
Ace pursed his lips as he gave up on the idea altogether and focused on the surroundings.
''Now, where should I go? There seemed like barrennds. Where are the trials? I''ll look around until the blueprint is done.''
With this trial of thoughts, Ace opened the fate map¡
Chapter 727 Live Fate Map (Treasure Blueprint Mode)
Ace looked at the fate map, which appeared nk and ck, which was proof of this ce''s danger.
When he activated the Unseen Thief ability of his mask, the ck area turned to a light shade of crimson, but no terrain appeared.
But Ace was surprised when he noticed thepass needle direction, which was surprisingly pointing in the west direction of this ce. As for the reason for his surprise, it was because, from the moment he had entered the Union, thispass needle had never pointed at anything except the peak of Sun Mountain.
"Moira, is thispass arrow leading me into this realm? Is this the final destination?" Ace quickly asked with anticipation, as he knew every time he followed thispass arrow, he would end up getting exactly what he wanted.
"Hard to say, but I think you are very close to discovering the end of thispass arrow. I can feel it." Moira''s answer was subtle, but it was enough for Ace to be extremely spirited!
"I knew I could count on you, Moira." Ace praised her.
"I''m happy to help anytime!" Moira''s voice also contained happiness as she replied in her childish voice.
He merely chuckled before he stopped wasting his Qi and disabled the map and his ability since he didn''t have to use any of them at this moment since he was still in the middle of nowhere and followed the west direction.
As Ace moved to the west, he felt the heat in his surrounding getting even more absurd, and he was now sweating like crazy.
''Is this the Yang element the SMSC told me about? Don''t tell me without that technique. I won''t be to move much deeper into this ce?'' Ace grimaced as he took out a storage bottle filled with tons of wine as he didn''t have water and started to drink because he was feeling thirsty for real.
Even the Qi radiation couldn''t make him feel this heat or thirsty, but this environment was something else.
''I can''t save Qi here, it seemed.'' Ace thought as he finally started using his heavenly Qiyer to cover his body, and that heat finally turned down quite a bit.
Ace then decided to see the jade scrolls while moving in the west direction since he still had time, and he was now really curious about this Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual, which he wasn''t interested in the least before.
As for the Upper Sky Breaker Sword Art, he was nning to study it after he was done with both realms because he knew the Sword Stealing Time would activate with it, and he didn''t want to waste a second of it.
Right now, he was going to focus on the mission since he only has a limited time of one year here and one year in the Moon Secret Realm.
Ace first peered into the golden jade scroll, and he instantly met a restriction. ording to the restriction, he needed to hold the Sun and Moon Seeker Token if he wanted to peer into it.
This restriction was just like the Sky Sword Manual Jade Scroll.
After Aceplied, he was finally able to see the information and was surprised when he saw the contents.
This was not the Yin Yang Sword Mortal Manual but only the Yang Sword Mortal Manual from Qi Soul Gates Realm to tinum Soul River Core Realm.
However, Ace was surprised when he saw the cultivation method. The cultivator of this technique in the first realm, one needed to first temper their body with pure Yang Qi (both Soul and Martial), which thereby temper the dormant True Soul (Soul Space) into half Yang True Soul.
But they can''t break into the other realm unless they repeat the process with the Yin Mortal Sword Manual and make the other half of the True Soul into Yin True Soul.
Once this process isplete, the cultivator will be able to create True Yin Yang Soul in the Foundation Building Realm. What is even more astonishing part was the user will gain an innate ability called Yin Yang Soul Control at the Foundation Building Realm.
Ace knew what that meant. This Cultivation Technique could grant abilities like the system''s cultivation techniques. Although there was only one ability written in the entire first half of the manual, it doesn''t make the cultivation technique any less precious.
Moreover, what truly drew Ace''s attention was to enter the Soul River Realm; the Half Sword Element Intent of Yin and Yang was mandatory!
This was not just one-half sword element intent but two elements!
But it was actually possible with the True Yin Yang Soul because the user can easilyprehend the Sword Intent of both Yin and Yang Elements with this technique. It was the biggest effect of this technique.
''A true Sword Cultivation Technique!'' This was the conclusion Ace reached after he read and memorized both parts of the entire technique.
Unlike the jade scroll of the sky sword, the information on these jade scrolls was easily rememberable.
However, what was raging through Ace''s mind at this moment was, ''Although I can''t cultivate this technique or gain this ability, I should be able toprehend Yin and Yang Sword Intent from it. Isn''t the whole point of this technique to cultivate these two elements'' sword intents?
''Although I had never tried this before, I never acquired this kind of Sword Cultivation Technique either, nor did I have my two sword cores. Who knows, I might be able to discover smoothing new about them, like the Sword Stealing Time¡''
The more Ace thought in this direction, the more his eyes brightened as he wanted to try it out right now, but he knew this was not the time to absorb into the study. So, he stowed away the two jade scrolls reluctantly.
Half an hour passed since Ace was moving in the west direction, and except for the heat, nothing was changed.
At this moment, the system voice finally rang, which Ace had also been waiting for all this time.
=====
[Treasure Blueprint Scanning of the Heaven''s Stealer Mission Site has beenpleted!]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
[Because of the uniqueness of this Treasure Blueprint, it has been etched into the Live Fate Map in Blue and White Format!]
[Live Fate Map (Treasure Blueprint Mode): Now, the Live Fate Map will show the entire terrains, even the hidden parts of the Sun Realm, and the host can scan through or scout the entire map now. All the grades and acute information of the traps, hidden formation arrays, treasures avable, and the final target will appear on the map with color names. The colors'' indication will be the same as the fate map''s innate colors.]
[Safe Routes Selection: Host can now select treasure locations by putting up Thief Mark on the location through the fate map. A purple passage will appear on the map, which will provide the shortest and safest route that leads toward the treasure location.]
---
[NOTE: Host can now use the Live Fate Map without spending any Qi as long as it is in the Treasure Blueprint Mode!]
[Warning: Treasure Blueprint will disappear after the missionpletion or when the time of the mission ends.]
=====
Ace was gobsmacked when he read about the Treasure Blueprint Mode, and when he was snapped out of his daze, he almostughed out loud in relish when he saw the new treasure blueprint information.
However, the system was still not done, as it left onest notification.
=====
[Important Reminder: System has detected [Nature''s Yang Elemental Orb] in the Sun Realm and marked its location in Glittering Golden Name!]
[Nature''s Yang Elemental Orb: The Third Mutation Form of the Fire Element Orb!]
=====
Chapter 728 The Deadly Treasure Trove
Looking at thest nonfiction, Ace was instantly startled, "There is an elemental orb in this ce?!"
Ace never expected that he would find another elemental orb in the sun realm of all ces, but when he thought about the Union''s mysterious background, it didn''t seem that much of a surprise after all.
"[Affirmative!]"
Ace calmed his excited nerves as he knew this time around, he had stumbled upon a treasure trove, but this treasure trove could also turn into his graveyard if he wasn''t careful and noticed by the guardian.
"You said it is Yang Element Orb, a third mutation form of the Fire Orb like the Ice Element Orb, which is the second mutation form of the Water Orb?" Ace quickly asked as he remembered the information about the Ice Orb, which was in the wind and was not in its supposed ce, and its guardian had turned into a corpse puppet.
"[Yes, the Yang Orb in the Sun Realm is a level higher than Ice Orb when it was taken from its altar. If the Host wants to know more, you need to explore on your own. The system has already done what it can during the Heaven''s Stealer Mission. Now host has all the tools he needs toplete the mission. The system can not be of further assistance!]"
"Well, for what it''s worth, I really appreciate what you''re doing for me in this mission. But if you could get rid of that death penalty, I''ll be even more grateful to you and can do this mission with more ease." Ace instantly tried to sweat-talk the system as it was really acting in a much more cooperative manner than it usually does, so he tried to use his acting skill.
However, the systempletely ignored him like usual after it was done with its job. Ace could only give up with pursed lips as he knew it was now time to do his job, and there was really no escaping the death penalty if he messed up.
But if he messed up even with the new treasure blueprint, then he was not qualified to be the Heaven''s Stealer at all.
Without hesitation, he opened the Live Fate Map again, and it was instantly opened, and he didn''t feel any Soul Qi consumption at all, just as the system said.
The live fate map was no longer nk as it now showed terrains with full details, and its color had changed to blue.
But what was different was that there were ck words on top of the map projection, spelled ''Death Zone.''
At this moment, Moira also spoke, "Sir Ace, the Lord (System) has granted me a very powerful ability to prove you with assistance. Now I can see all the terrains, formations, hidden treasures, and routes in the Sun Realm. If you want to inquire about anything or mark specific locations with the Thief Mark, you just need to tell me, and I''ll prepare the routes for you!"
Ace cocked an eyebrow as he was just wondering how he was going to see the entire map with just that small projection, but it appeared Moira was now his guide which was far more convent.
"Can I see the entire map as well?" Ace wanted to look at the entire map as it would be more convent to choose where he wanted to go and what kind of treasures were hidden in this ce. Most importantly, he wanted to look at the locations of his objective and the elemental orb.
"Of course, you just need to close your eyes and then focus on thepass symbol, which represents the live fate map, and then you''ll be able to see the entire map of the Sun Realm!" Moira quickly replied.
Ace quickly did as he was told, and the next moment, when he focused on the live fate map''s symbol, a huge map suddenly appeared in his mind. It waspletely virtual as he could see everything, and he was shocked when he saw this map was divided into nineyers like a building.
Not only could he now see the traps'' location, but he could also see where exactly they were ced and how they would work.
What truly drew Ace''s attention was the ''Layer Guardian Zone'' on eachyer which was in the core of everyyer. In detail, there were written that if he wanted to enter the nextyer, he needed to bypass these Layer Guardian Zones.
These Zones were like fortresses, and almost all the treasures on theyers were stored in these zones.
Expected these zones, there were Treasure Zones which were actually not old much significant in Ace''s eyes since they were just raw materials mostly. They were all named with colors, and most of them were the faint colors of silver which clearly showed their importance.
However, on the thirdyer, a treasure zone instantly drew Ace''s attention. It was marked with Glittering Silver Words, and when he read them, Ace almost didn''t believe his eyes. N?v(el)B\\jnn
''Treasure Zone: Fire Spirit (Low-Grade-8), there is even a Fire Spirit in here?!'' Ace was absolutely shocked as he never expected to see thising, and this fire spirit was not even in the Layer Guardian Zone.
Suppressing his excitement, Ace then looked through the otheryers and was even more shocked and felt he was dreaming.
There were two more fire spirits on the 6th and 9thyers, and they were intermediate and high grade-8s, respectively.
Not only that, but Ace also noticed that there were extremely rare Grade-8 treasures marked in glittering silver color, and he finally understood why this was a treasure trove.
However, those locations all had red names guarding them, and some even had ck names, like the three fire spirits were all guarded by ck names.
If he can clean this entire realm, he can be the richest in the ten continents!
Last but not least, the Yang Orb was in the Ninth Layer Guardian Zone, and to his surprise, it was right beside his target, which was written in ck color, the independent realm space core!
''Could it be the orb the core is guarded by some terrifying being together?'' Ace grimly presumed as he wasn''t expecting this turn of events.
Still, he had no choice but to proceed with it as he had no other choice.
Ace noticed another anomaly on the secondyer at this moment. A red name, ''Unknown Entity,'' has been moving toward theyer guardian zone at a very fast speed.
"What is an unknown entity?" He tried asking Moira, as this was the only unique entity he had found on the entire map. Because all the name entities were named ''Realm Entities.''
At this moment, Moira gave him an unexpected, startling response, "This person should be someone like Sir Ace, not from this realm, an outsider!"
Chapter 729 The Layer Guardian Zone!
Ace, after hearing Moira''s opinion on the ''Unknown Entity,'' was astonished.
"But how can there be someone else in the Sun Realm at this moment? If I''m correct, there are still two months remaining before it would open for the participants of the Union.
"Yet, you are telling me there is someone already here, and it seemed to be here before me. Unless the SMSC is hiding information on me about another Sun and Moon Seeker, it shouldn''t be possible." Ace frowned as this Outsider''s appearance was clearly out of ce.
"This I don''t know, and like you, I''m also confused. But I''m telling you what the Lord has shown me through fate." Moira answered with uncertainty.
"I''m not ming you, and stop calling the system ''Lord'' It''s annoying. Just call it system as it is not your lord." Ace said matter-of-factly in an annoyed tone.
Although he knew Moira was quite respectful toward the system since she saw it as a superior being, it still irked him whenever he heard ''Lord'' from her mouth.
"I-I¡ as youmand!" Moira agreed after some hesitation. She was still Ace''s treasure and bond to him, so she was more inclined to follow him over the system as it was also under Ace''s control. At least, it looks that way in Moira''s view.
"Good girl." Ace was pleased with Moira following his lead, "Now, I want you to mark the location of theyer guardian zone. I don''t think there is something else we need in thisyer except the treasury of theyer guardian zone.
"Since the SMSC told me that there are trials in this ce which gave corresponding rewards, I could cheat with this map and didn''t have to waste time for searching locations or avoiding traps. Furthermore, we need to be fast as someone is already ahead of us as well as cautious!" Acemanded with a cold look in his eyes as he gazed at the crimson fate point moving in the secondyer''s guardian zone.
''If this is an outsider who can avoid the restriction of this realm, then I need to be more careful. This realm is too mysterious, and it is still not clear if SMSC could watch me here or the Union Leader, as a matter of fact. But I should keep my Unseen Thief Ability active in the Layer Guardian Zone to avoid being seen. I can always make many excuses if they question this anomaly¡''
With this thought in mind, Ace used his lighting steps and headed into the firstyer guardian zone, which was only three miles away in the west direction.
He wasn''t worried about the lighting steps anymore since SMSC didn''t question him about them thest time he used them in the Sun Seeker trial, which mean he didn''t discover anything unusual about this movement skill. This was nothing but good news for him.
Thepass arrow was also pointing in this direction, so Ace was now wondering if this arrow was pointing toward the Yang Orb all this time. However, since the arrow was still there, this meant it wasn''t pointing at the Yang Orb at all, which was quite surprising.
Nevertheless, Ace knew he would find out soon where this arrow was leading him. Right now, he was more focused on the Sun Realm and how toplete his mission.
With the Treasure Blueprint Mode, it took Ace little effort to avoid all those wandering realm creatures and tripping or falling into some traps. However, the heat was bing more and more strong as he was using more heavenly Qi to block it.
When he reached his destination, he was surprised when he found that it was actually a cathedral-like crimson building, and just looking at it made his eyes heat up despite the heavenly Qi protection.
Not only that, but Ace saw there was only one passage opened inside this cathedral, and there was no door. Instead, there was a crimson swirl revolving.
''This zone is built on a grade-8 formation which I''m not capable of avoiding or escaping yet. I guess there is only one way to pass it, by following the rules!''
The Sun and Moon Seeker token appeared in Ace''s hand at this moment as he moved toward the swirl while the unbearable heat was getting even more intense, and he needed to use 10% of Qi to avoid being burned into Kindle.
Yet this was only the first level of the loweryer of the sun realm, and there were still eightyers left. He even started to wonder if he could even reach the third level of the middleyer, much less the finalyer.
As he entered the swirl, the token in his hand suddenly became active as it emitted strange Qi undtion, and Ace was surprised when he found that all that heat had suddenly vanished.
A static voice rang at this moment, "Sun and Moon SeekerToken detected!
"You have two choices; would you like to bypass the trial of the loweryer first level? Or do you want to continue with the Unique Trial solely made for the Sun and Moon Seeker?"
Ace wasn''t surprised by the bypass option as he was already told that he could directly go to the loweryer third-level trial. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"I would like to bypass this trial and enter the second level," Ace said without hesitation.
This was his biggest advantage that he could bypass the entire loweryer. Ace''s true purpose was not all those treasuries hidden in thoseyer guardian zones, but it reached the endyer somehow and then took the independent realm space core.
Ace was pretty sure once that realm core was removed, the entire realm would be shattered, and so does all the restrictions and formations put in those buildings.
It won''t be toote to collect his rewards by then and even if nothing like that happened.
Ace had already set his targets on what he wanted to take from this ce, and the spirit fire on the third level was definitely going to be the first treasure he wanted because it was important for Noa.
So, staying and wasting his time on these trials, which he could directly bypass, was not an option. He would rather waste his energy on the remaining six trials.
"Very well, you have given the passage to the loweryer''s second level of the Sun Realm!"
Chapter 730 The Unknown Entity
At this moment, Ace stepped out of a red swirl before the swirl vanished within the space.
However, his concern was not the swirl but the terrifying heat that attacked him the moment he stepped out of that swirl.
''Is this the second level of the loweryer or the surface of some volcano?'' Ace was shocked as he released more Qi to protect himself from the heat, as it was probably ten times more intense than the first level.
However, Ace was more shocked, seeing that he was literally standing on top of a red boulder that was in the middle of ava river that streamed toward who knows where, like a raging water river.
''I need a high-grade armor that can defend against this strange heat, or I''ll run out of Qi sooner orter at this rate, and I need to wear my robes as well.'' Ace thought grimly as he finally decided to use armor from his thief''s space.
He was refraining from taking out things from his thief''s space because he didn''t want to draw anyone''s suspicion. He wasn''t even wearing his favorite Deft Thief Robes in the Union because of obvious reasons.
However, now, he knew he couldn''t hold on or move forward like this. So, he decided to bring out his actual treasures.
Now he had a very good excuse to lead the Union Leader in the wrong direction by simply saying these treasures were from SMSC as a gift for passing the test, just in case that guy was watching, which he was 80% sure that he won''t.
The Union Schr Robes instantly vanished from Ace''s body, and instantly a ck soft skin-tight armor appeared on his entire before the next moment, the Union Schr Robes appeared over his body again.
However, these new robes were his Deft Thief Robes in disguise, while the soft armor underneath was a high-grade-6 skin armor that was as soft as a feather and as tough as a mountain, and it also had a special effect that was it can block off heat and cold alike.
But Ace wasn''t'' done, as Another brown light armor set started to appear over his robes which covered all of his vital parts and even his face with a full helmet. This was also a high-grade six armor that focused on pure defense.
Now all that terrifying heat which seemed to affect the very being finally lessened by 95%, and Ace felt alive again.
"How much further are we from thisyer''s guardian zone?" Ace finally asked Moira after he was done dressing.
"We are actually at the very edge of the secondyer, and the guardian zone is on the other side. It will take about fifteen to twenty hours to reach it if you avoid all those traps in the way." Moira stated.
"What about the other outsider? How far is it from the guardian zone?"
"Although it''s moving in the right direction. But there are a few traps in its route, and if it has some way to escape them, then I''m sure you two might bump into each other just outside the guardian zone."
A sharp glint shed past Ace''s eyes, "Well, it would only take us fifteen to twenty hours by foot, and I''m clearly not nning to go on foot!"
The next moment, the Dark Feather Sword appeared right below Ace''s feet, and almost instantly, he took flight and turned into a dark streak as he headed toward Guardian Zone.
However, Moira''s hesitant voice rang, "Um¡ actually, it would''ve taken you over three days if you were going there on foot. I was telling you the time on the flight."
Ace''s confident expression instantly turned dark as the flying sword under his feet trembled slightly. Still, he maintained his poker face and said nothing to save himself from further embarrassing himself.
''Since the sh is unavoidable, then it can''t be helped any longer. I have an advantage over this person in that I know it is here and where it will be. So, I''ll just be me and observe it first and then decide to weathered to avoid it or¡ eliminate it.'' Ace thought with cold eyes as he flew over the crimson sky.
---n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Somewhere in the secondyer was a strange red mist spread as far as an eye could see.
At this moment, within this mist, a dark gray Qi sphere was moving. Within this Qi sphere, a tall cloaked figure was holding a bronze formation te shimmering with ck ancient ruins in its gloved hand.
Within this bronze, the formation te was a pointing needle that was pointing straight ahead without moving.
The mysterious cloaked figure muttered with clear frustration present in its melodious voice, "I''ve been here for over eight months, and yet I have wasted so much time on the first level of this damnable realm.
"Although this ancient formation is leading me to the recorded location of the Law Source. But it is leading me in a straight line, leaving me to deal with all these annoying traps and aborigines.
"Furthermore, I never thought all those recorded trials in the ancient records were so cumbersome to ovee. Even with my past and present life experiences, I failed three times.
"And there is still one more such trial before I could get on the same level as the Ancient Law Source, and I only have around two months left before the realm will officially be opened from the site under the three races'' control and then the 100 days countdown will start before this ce closes for a hundred years again.
"Even with this hidden entrance discovered by the Ancient Beast Ancestor can only provide with extra ten months in this ce before it will close off for a hundred years.
"I need to get thatw source before the three race participants arrive. Since they had somehow reached the third level of the Fiery Hell Secret Realmst time, then this means they can do it again.
"My only advantage is they don''t have an ancient location marker nor any guide since all of their people died thest time. Since time is pressing and I also need to head to the Azure Wind Continent to settle my score with that thievish brat, I can''t hold back any longer!"
The very next momently, the cloaked figure suddenly started to contort before it expanded like a giant¡
Chapter 731 The Dark Nightmare Sect
Ace, avoiding all the danger, was quickly making his way toward the secondyer guardian zone. He also got to know how beneficial it was to keep the live fate map all time active.
Especially if he could keep the treasure blueprint version of it and apply it anywhere, not just the Sun Secret Realm, not to mention with no Qi consumption whatsoever.
But he knew it was just wishful thinking. The system clearly made it clear that it was only a one-time thing because of Heaven''s Stealer Mission.
At this moment, Ace''s eyes shone in astonishment when he noticed the Unknown Entity''s speed suddenly skyrocket. He had been paying attention to it all this time, and he was now familiar with its speed of moving. It was clearly in a trap zone named ''Toxic Mind Mist'' and moving very slowly.
However, now all of a sudden, its speed increased tremendously, and that trap zone seemed to be no longer able to contain it.
''I''m still half an hour away from this trap zone. I was hoping to collect some intel on this person by observing it from the shadow, but now it seemed I wouldn''t be able to do it anytime soon.
''Well, this might not be a bad thing since now it will enter the trial before me, and if it remained on the secondyer after failing, then this means its power level is not much higher than mine, and if it directly breaks into the thirdyer on the first try, then I need to avoid the confrontation at all cost¡''
With such thoughts in mind, Ace continued to fly toward the guardian zone without even realizing that he unknowingly entered the famous Fiery Hell Secret Realm, which he had heard so much about in the Demon Continent!
---
Back to the Azure Wind Continent,
The Dark Nightmare Sect was the only unorthodox sect among the ancient sects of the royalnds.
The sect members of the Dark Nightmare Sect were a notorious bunch who werepletely unrestrained in their sect territory, even in other sect territories, as they were all killers!
Because what the Dark Nightmare Sect was infamous for its assassination arts, and every year the sect members who learned these arts roamed thends, practicing these arts on all kinds of people. Most of their targets were cultivators from other sects.
This was a strange training method to train powerful assassins. However, this didn''t mean there were no consequences for those sect members who yed with fire or overestimated their abilities.
On the contrary, the Dark Nightmare Sect never seeks revenge for any killed disciples. They even encourage people to kill them.
Because to master the art of assassination, it was mandatory to kill the target in one fatal strike. The moment you miss that chance, you will either die or escape while your target is now alert. A target should never see an assassining, not before it takes itsst breath.
That''s what made the Dark Nightmare Sect dreaded by everyone because they were a bunch of lunatics who killed whomever they deemed to be strong targets and then collected trophies from each kill they scored.
The most exasperated by this nefarious custom of the Dark Nightmare Sect were naturally the locals of the Dark Nightmare Sect territories, especially those sects ranked below the ancient sects as they were the target of the assassinations most of the time.
Even if by some miracle they evade the attack, the assassin always managed to escape unharmed. The assassination arts of the Dark Nightmare Sect were simply too terrifying.
Now that the Dark Nightmare Sect was recruiting new disciples every month, people were naturally not going to let this chance fly by as thousands of youth participated in these entrance tests every month.
However, only a handful of them managed to pass since their entrance tests were always different, not to mention deadly.
Today was the same entrance test, and many came to try their luck despite the deadliness of the entrance test, and only 13 managed to pass the entrance test.
These 13 sessful participants were now standing in some underground cavern in front of a cloaked figure who wore a red mask.
"I must congratte you for passing the entrance test today." He spoke in his raspy voice, "However, I also want to ridicule you for choosing the path of hell. Did you expect that once you pass the entrance test, you would be showered with riches and status that would allow you to walk with your head held up high like some peacocks?
"If that was your goal, then I want you to leave right now because the Dark Nightmare Sect is no ce for a bunch of kids who only want to y aristocrats."
The thirteen youths didn''t speak as they were looking solemnly toward the masked figure.
"Since you are silent, then it means you want to continue the path toward hell. Very well, from today onward, you are official members of the Dark Nightmare Sect Newbie Training Grounds. This facility isrger than your imagination, and if you think you are special to be chosen by this facility, then you couldn''t be wronger because this is the facility formon trash among our Dark Nightmare Sect.
"You are Newbies, which is the rank of trash in our Dark Nightmare Sect, and if you want to be recognized as a Dark Disciple, then you need to prove yourself in this facility that you are not just trash.
"If you want to enjoy the true training of the Dark Nightmare Sect, then you have ten years to pass all the trials of this facility, or you will be appointed as servants of the Dark Disciples who can treat you like animals, and you have no choice but toply since the only way out of the Dark Nightmare Sect upon joining is death!"
The youths'' eyes went wide as chills ran down their spine when they thought about something.
The masked man sneered at this moment as his voice wasced with killing intent, "That''s right if you have chosen to back down, I would''ve killed you right there and then! Now you were given small caves in this facility, and you have one day to rest before we start with your training at dawn. Except for Badge Number 943427, you all are dismissed!"
The twelve youths nced at the handsome youth''s ck badge number on his chest, which has the number ''943427'' on it, as he was standing in the secondst position on the left.
Although they were curious about why he was told to wait but didn''t have the guts to question the masked man after hearing his cold speech as they quickly left.
As for the youth with the badge number 943427, his astute gray eyes shimmered with uncertainty as he looked at the masked man, wondering with trepidation as to why he was being stopped.
"No. 943427, your skills are extremely exceptional, and you are the first one to pass the entrance test in this batch. Or should I say, you are probably one of the fastest participants who has ever passed the entrance test at this kind of speed!
"This is evidence of your natural talent in the assassination, the sect has high hope for you, and if you are able to leave this facility in three months, then there will be a special reward waiting for you as well as you will be part of something grand. This is the reason I keep you behind, to inform you. Now you may leave!" The masked man impassively stated before he vanished without a trace!
The youth with badge number 943427 was in a momentary daze before sharp light shed past his gray eyes, and his expression turned gloomy, ''Now that I sessfully infiltrated the Dark Nightmare Sect, how in the world am I supposed to search for my father?
''I don''t even know if that darn old man has made all this up, and my father is still alive since Mom told me he died from the same illness she had. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
''Whichever the case is, I would never kill her even if she had done something heinous to me. I just want the truth and prove to that old geezer that power is not everything!''
This youth was none other than Damian, who had infiltrated the Dark Nightmare Sect in search of his father as well as prove the mysterious beggar wrong¡ or he just wanted the truth!
Chapter 732 A Sneak Attack
The secondyer''s guardian zone was another crimson cathedral, but it was located in the middle of a ragingva river, and the heat around was so intense that it could disintegrate away a mortal within seconds and turn it into ashes.
Even Ace was feeling intense heat despite all the protectionyers he had donned on himself. But this was the least of his problem because when he tried to fly toward the cathedral, theva river suddenly surged toward Ace as if it hade alive like a tsunami.
Ace never expected this sudden development since there was nothing but this peculiar attacking prowess of this river around the cathedral at all in the fate map, and it was just named red.
With his nimble movement, he managed to avoid being swallowed by theva river. To his astonishment, theva river seemed to have a mind of its own as it started to shoot burningva at him like cannonballs, and their speed was terrifying.
''I don''t have time to waste on this!'' Ace''s eyes turn cold as he finally decides to act instead of dodging. He knew with that massive river, thoseva balls were endless, so he needed to either run from here or charge in if he wanted to enter the cathedral.
The former was not an option for Ace, so on his behest, the Dark Feather Sword suddenly released powerful Qi waves before its speed increased ten times over, and Ace had already condensed the white Qi sword in his hand as he shed it toward the surgingve wave.
With the flying sword''s speed and his timely shing, a pathway in theva river finally cut open, and Ace sessfully cross theva wall blocking him from entering the cathedral range.
When Ace was only ten meters away from reaching the outer square of the cathedral, he felt he suddenly brushed past into some sort of thinyer. The next moment all those iingva waves seemed to lose their momentum before falling back into the river.
To Ace''s astonishment, not even a drop of that burningva was spit over any part of the cathedral, and all that intense heat was nowpletely gone without a trace. Even though it was still hot, it wasn''t at the level of boiling anymore.
''Was that some sort of test?'' Ace mused as he looked at the crystal stairway fifty meters away and the same swirling massive red entrance, ''Whatever the case is, the next level clearly won''t be easier.''
Sighing at the long journey ahead, Ace moved toward the entrance. He''s been paying attention to the Unknown Entity''s mark all this time, and it has been inside the cathedral for over three hours now.
This also means that the person was still on the secondyer, and unlike him, it needed to go through the trials. This made Ace relief as well as confused about the identity of this person.
Nevertheless, since that person has no advantage like him, then this means he didn''t need to care about their path entangling anytime soon, and he shouldpletely focus on doing his mission.
Upon entering the cathedral, the same static voice rang at this moment, "Sun and Moon Seeker Token detected!
"You have two choices; would you like to bypass the trial of the loweryer second level? Or do you want to continue with the Unique Trial solely made for the Sun and Moon Seeker?"
"I''ll bypass this trial," Ace answered without hesitation.
Just like thest time, the voice rang in affirmation before his red surroundings turned corporeal, and the next thing he knew, he was standing right in front of a bright passage.
However, right at this moment, Ace''s expression contorted. Without hesitation, he darted toward the passage using his lighting step at full power, without even caring about if someone was watching or not because he felt deathly intent from behind!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Just where Ace''s figure stood a moment ago, a three-meter-wide sharp wnded, leaving behind a booming sound. The w was actually corporeal gray, and it started to fade away right away.
"He dodged it?" An astonished eerie voice rang at this moment before a tall cloaked figure walked out.
Two icy gray snake eyes were glowing behind the hood in a ghastly gray hue and emitting bone-chilling killing intent as they looked at the bright entrance where their prey just vanished.
"How can there be someone else besides me in this ce?" The mysterious person muttered with uncertainty, and the killing intent in its eyes intensified even more, "Since I''ve already discovered it by chance, I can''t let this variable get in my way. This person can even escape my sneak attack, so he''s clearly not some nobody who might have stumbled upon this ce. Let me see whether to eliminate him or¡"
The mysterious person walked toward the bright passage as well. At the same time, a two-meter-long red staff suddenly emerged in its hand, and on top of this staff was etched a silver color pentagram-shaped gem. There were five golden rune symbols on its five-pointers while a ck rune was in its center.
Ace, on the other hand, after escaping the terrifying sneak attack, appeared in the middle of rocky terrain, which was as so red as it almost appeared ck. But it wasn''t extremely hot; instead, it was extremely normal.
But Ace didn''t care about any of it as he was extremely rmed by that sudden sneak attack that came out of nowhere. However, he was forced to care about it when he stepped over a ck pebble on the rocky surface.
''Bommm¡''
An instant explosion happened, which almost threw him off bnce, and left him bbergasted. But it was just the start as multiple explosions started to ur whenever he stopped over some pebble.
Ace instantly understood that this entirend was nothing but bad news, so he quickly avoided the explosion and then took out his flying sword and flew into the sky.
But he soon regretted it because his flying seemed to have triggered something, and all those explosive rocks and boulders on the ground started to tremble, and then they started to get attracted toward each other.
However, they didn''t explode; instead, they started to increase in size bybing, and soon they started to take the shape of rocky creatures like golems Ace had once seen.
But they were far from those simple golems, as those exploding rocks turned into bird shapes of all sizes and then started to chase after Ace like a gue.
This all happened so quickly that Ace was gobsmacked as he was still in the process of taking flight, and all those rocky birds were now behind him, and they were as fast as him.
As if it wasn''t enough, Ace felt his heart palpitate when he noticed an extremely horrifying Qi start to gather right below him.
He then heard a sneering voice, "Flying over a weapon? Now that''s new!"
''Shit!'' Ace cussed in exasperation.
He knew it was most likely his assant, and he was even more sure this was the Unknown Entity and this was nothing but bad luck that he bumped into this guy right when he was about to enter the thirdyer. He most likelypleted the trial right around the same time.
However, Ace was instantly surprised when he noticed a few of those rocky birds behind him change direction and head directly toward the voice''s owner.
Not only that, but the rocks on the surface started to turn into humanoid forms, and their target was also the owner of this voice.
''Now is my chance!'' Ace knew he was just a flying target if he didn''t do something, so without hesitation, he took out a stealth talisman and pped it on himself, vanishing.
Actually, the talisman was just a sham to use his own heartless stealth!
The mysterious person''s snake eyes shimmered in astonishment when it saw Ace vanishing even from its Soul Sense and all those iing rocks.
"Hmph, annoying pests, you let my prey get away!"
The next moment, it smashed the staff on the ground, creating a crack, and the next moment an invisible ripple started to spread, and all those rock figures touched by it turned into dust.
But the next moment, that dust suddenly caught a spark and¡
"Booommmmmmmmmmmmmmm!"
A huge mushroom cloud rose!
Chapter 733 The Mysterious Soul Signature
Ace, in stealth, was also shocked when he heard the massive explosion. When he looked behind, he saw the dark explosion cloud rising on the horizon.
''It''s probably deadly for even golden river core realm cultivator.'' Ace mused with a hint of gloating.
It would be nothing but good news for him if that mysterious guy had blown into smithereens. Because from start to finish in their short encounter, Ace never felt he was at a real advantage. Instead, he was feeling apprehensive of the other party despite its cultivation being at the tinum Soul River Core Realm''s peak.
Not only that, but Ace also noticed another strange thing. He felt the soul signature of that person familiar as if he hade in contact with it somewhere. But at the same time, he felt a new soul signature from it.
The Soul Signature ability of his was not to be taken lightly. Any being who has even a trace of Qi will possess their unique Soul Signature, and those soul signatures will be recorded through his thief sense as long as they weren''t hidden by some treasure treasures or other means.
Nevertheless, once someone uses their Qi against him or under the presence of his thief sense, their soul signature will be revealed, and then it would record in Ace''s mind forever. So, he called them Soul Signature Archive.
This was a pensive process that couldn''t be stopped even if Ace wanted to like his pensive thief sense, and the Soul Signature Archive seemed to have no limit.
Normally, these soul signatures won''t bother him at all, nor would he feel any kind of peculiar feeling whenever they are being recorded.
However, whenever he encountered someone familiar, something would trigger the Soul Signature Archive, and he instantly knew he had been in contact with such a person at some point in his life.
Furthermore, the Soul Signature Archive has a special effect on his victims, who were marked with his thief symbol.
He can''t put his finger on it, but whenever a victim affiliated with his thief symbol appeared in his thief sense, the Soul Signature Archive would be triggered almost instantly without needing any time to analyze the new soul signature.
Ace even used this Soul Signature Archive to remember important figures, such as the thief''s house members, his enemies, targets, and such. Because in the past years, he had discovered that even if someone''s face changed, or they wore some kind of disguise, their soul signature seemed to be never changed, only hidden.
This way, he found his enemies also instantly and react appropriately.
However, what just happened right now has never happened before. Not only the Soul Signature Archive reacted instantly to that mysterious person''s soul signature, but it also showed a new soul signature which shouldn''t be possible in the early case.
"System, is my Soul Signature ability being effective by something?" Ace had to ask the system since it was the only one that could appease his confusion.
Because if it was his soul signature malfunctioning, then it was grave news since it had never happened before, and he needed to get to the bottom of it so it could not affect him in the long run.
This ability was like his memories, and he relied on it like his brain, so if it could malfunction, then he had to change this long-developed habit.
But if it wasn''t, then he still needed to investigate, but not himself. Instead, that mysterious person who was making his Soul Signature reacted differently.
"[Soul Signature is a very special ability of a Heaven''s Stealer and it could only be stopped or escapable momentarily, but can never be wrong!]"
"Then, can a person have two soul signatures?" Ace didn''t beat around the bush any longer and asked the main question, which made him think this way.
"[It is achievable. But to understand this topic, you need to know what a Soul Signature actually is, and the system can''t tell you this because you are not qualified yet. Either figure it out yourself or wait until you''re qualified.]"
"And when will I be qualified, care to tell?" Ace was not pleased at all since he was so close to the answer, yet he got nothing.
It''s not like he never wondered about the soul signature origin, but as the system said, this entire thing was out of his current understanding. This was his only ability which was so simple yet soplex at the same time.
Now, it turned out to be even moreplex than he initially thought it would be, and all this was happening because of that mysterious person''s appearance.
"[Eventually.]"
The system statically replied before itpletely ignored Ace like usual. He knew this was the only help he would get from the moody system.
Even though it wasn''t much, but was more than enough not to doubt his abilities anymore.
Ace then looked in the live fate map, and when he saw the red name was still present, he knew the mysterious person was very much alive.
''If there is a familiar soul signature on that person, then this means I have eithere in contact with it at some time in the union and didn''t deem it worth remembering.
''But the reaction speed of my Soul Signature Archive was the same as whenever I''m close to one of my thief symbol victims, and I have yet to theft in the union because I don''t want to cause any suspicions. This reaction speed has never been wrong before.
''So, the chance of this person being from the Union and my victim at the same time is absolutely zero¡ then if it is my victim could it be he''s from the demon continent?
''But it also wasn''t felt like a demon to me. Something is very wrong with this person. But that is not the main point because if it''s really someone from the ten continents, then this means this ce is somehow essible to the people of the outside world, not just the union. Which means I might be able to leave¡'' Ace''s eyes glow like the sun as his heart race wildly when he thinks about this point.
Ace still hasn''t forgotten about Alina, as she was the only thorn in his heart, and despite the fact that his life was on the line, he still wanted to rescue her before her death sentence arrived.
He was doing all this in so much haste all because he wanted to leave the union as fast as he could head toward Alina in the first ce. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Now this person gave him another hope except forpleting heaven''s stealer mission, and even if this was his assumption, he still wanted to see if it was wrong and confirmed it.
Ace knew his actions were foolish right now, and he should focus on the matter at hand, but that heart of his was simply too stubborn and refused to listen to his mind.
In the end, Ace ground his teeth before the sword under his feet turned around, and he headed straight toward the explosion site. All those rocky birds stopped following him the moment he entered his stealth, so everything was clear.
''I''ll just confirm it, and if there is a way out, then I''ll clear the mission even faster without being worrying about the Union''s interrogation or them finding me after I''m done. In a way, this is beneficial for me in every way. Let me see who the hell you are!''
Ace''s eyes went deadly cold as he headed toward the red fate point with high expectations in his heart!
Chapter 734 Grim Winged Serpent
On his flying sword, Ace flew closer toward the rising smoke of the explosion while keeping a close eye on the red fate point''s movements. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Furthermore, he noticed that evenrger rocky beings started to emerge from the mountain terrain, and they were all moving toward the explosion area.
''Thisyer is even deadlier than just the first twoyers. Although there is no heat, I would prefer the heat over these terrifying walking explosives any day.'' Ace grimly thought.
Even though he was safe since those rocky beings couldn''t seem to see through his stealth. But if he ran out of Qi, then he had tond on the ground, and once he did, he knew even a small pebble could cause an explosion. It was even more tiring than exhausting Qi.
Nheless, Ace''s focus right now was the mysterious person. He needed to extract information, and to do that, he needed to subdue it, which won''t be an easy task.
So, Ace still decided to wait in the sky and stealthily observe his target before he struck at the appropriate moment. He knew that person wouldn''t go down with some explosion, so exhausting it was the best option.
However, Ace''s eyes widened slightly at this moment when he suddenly heard powerful sounds of wings pping and all that rising smoke suddenly blown away, revealing something right out of a nightmare.
It was a six-meter-long serpent with crystal-like diamond shape gray scales all over its body and a ghastly skull-like pattern that could be virtualized by the pitch-ck scales over its giant snake head, and there was a long ck de-like horn between its eyes.
But the most striking thing about that serpent was its ck bat wings with a wingspan of about ten meters connected a few feet down its head. There were even gray skull-like patterns within its massive wings.
Right now, those massive wings were pping, creating a massive among of wind current, and all those rocks getting closer to the serpent were sent flying like rag dolls.
But the serpent seemed to be unfazed by those explosive rocks as its icy, venomous eyes were affixed on the sky as it took flight.
Ace''s heart palpitated at this moment as an icy chill ran down his spine because those venomous eyes were locked right where he was standing.
''Was that person a magic beast of the extinct Grim Winged Serpent Tribe?!'' Ace felt cold sweat forming over his forehead when he thought about the Grim Winged Serpent.
Ace found the records about this magic beast and many other rare magic beasts not long ago in the secret section of the Union Library when he went through all those secret texts.
The Grim Winged Serpent Tribe was a de facto Magic Beast Tribe with Grade-8 Bloodline, meaning they could cultivate into the 8th Realm without any restrictions, and they were like nobles in the all-magic beast bloodline present in the mortal world.
They were a very mysterious bunch, and only their name and a handmade sketch were present in the old book. But they can be easily recognizable because of those skull-like patterns over their head and bat-shaped wings.
That''s why Ace was instantly able to recognize the magic beast''s species, and he also knew he was in huge trouble.
Because there was only one trait written in those records known to the public about the Grim Winged Serpent, it was their ability to see through elements. Simply put, as long as someone was using any kind of skill with any element, they would be able to see right through it; this includes Ace stealth!
Ace never expected this seemingly extinct species would be here of all ces, and he even knew this person somehow. If the system hadn''t assured him that there was nothing wrong with his soul signature ability, he would be hundred percent sure that the ability was malfunctioning.
But it was the least of his worries since that terrifying magic beast was moving right toward him with thick killing intent.
''Did he think I could be intimidated just by that killing intent and its size? Even though its aura is ten times deeper and more potent before its transformation. But I''m not some ordinary river core cultivator either. I need to know who he is and how did he know me, and most importantly, if there was a way to leave this ce without going into the union.'' Ace thought as he didn''t turn around the fled.
If it was some other time, then he might entertain that notion of running away instead of confronting that mysterious magic beast. But the thing was, he couldn''t, and there was no reason to do it either.
A hint of uncertainty shed past the Grim Winged Serpent''s eyes when it saw that guy who was clearly running away a moment ago was not running anymore.
Furthermore, now that he had a clear look on White''s face, it was somewhat in shock and disbelief, ''He is not a hunter, but a human. How could a human have appeared in this ce? Is he one of those Realm Aborigines described in the ancient texts? So, those aborigines were the human race? I should capture and interrogates him; these people might know more information about the Law Source¡''
The Grim Winged Serpent''s thought process was instantly disrupted as its survival instincts suddenly kicked it abruptly.
Confused and rmed, it looked at the human again because that feeling wasing directly from him.
The next moment, its pupils dted when it saw ck Qi swords start to emerge right behind the humans, and they were not just two or three swords but hundreds of them, and their numbers were still climbing.
If they were normal Qi swords, they would appear transparent in its eyes. However, they were not, and it knew what that meant. A horrified realization stuck it at this moment, ''Complete Element Sword Intent, is he really a Soul River realm human?!''
That killing intent in its eyes vanished without a trace, and so did the thought of overpowering Ace and capturing him.
Because right now, it needed to care about escaping those hundreds of sword-intent des as they were giving it an even more terrifying feeling than the normal element sword intent it felt once.
Ace also noticed the Grim Winged Serpent''s change in emotions almost instantly, and when he noticed it wanted to change its trajectory, his lips curled up, ''It''s toote to regret it now! Eternal Thief''s Sword Style; Soul Shadow de Rain!''
On Ace''s behest, all those swords turned into dark streaks and directly rained down on the Grim Winged Serpent, which was so massive it was hard for it to dodge all of them, and it was still in the process ofpletely getting out of Ace''s position.
So, those sword intents were going to hit him no matter what the Serpent did, and they were not some element sword de, butw-filled sword intent des so the damage would not be little, even its life was at stake.
"You, human brat, dared to make me use this treasure. I''ll remember you!" It yelled in hated before all of a sudden, a tatter white scroll appeared in front of it, and the next moment it lit up in white light.
Ace was surprised as that light was giving him a strange feeling but not the feeling of danger.
That light onlysted for a moment, like a blink, and then vanished, and with that light, that Grim Winged Serpent vanished as well, and all those sword-intent Qi desnded onto nothing but empty air.
Ace was startled as he looked at the empty space where the massive Grim Winged Serpent was a moment ago and about to be enveloped in his Soul Shadow de Rain.
''A teleportation talisman?!''
Chapter 735 Certainty & Confusion
Ace''s expression was not very good at this moment. He never expected the enemy would conjure a teleportation talisman and escape his grasp.
Just how rare was a space-rted treasure, especially a lifesaver like a teleportation talisman?
It was Ace''s first time seeing someone other than him using a teleportation talisman, and the speed of that talisman was not any lower than his own.
This made Ace reevaluate the Grim Winged Serpent again.
''Just was it, and how could Ie in contact with it?'' Ace wondered gravely, ''No worries, as long as it won''t leave the Sun Secret Realm, there is no escaping me!''
Ace then looked at the fate map, and within seconds he was able to spot the ''Unknown Entity'' again. He was surprised when he calcted its position, and it was fifty miles away from here.
''50 miles distant with a single talisman? It must be at least a Grade-7 talisman, and he used it without hesitation just because he knew he couldn''t dodge my sword intent skill. Then he must have even more terrifying trump cards hidden.'' Ace thought with scrutiny.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Then he noticed that the Grim Winged Serpent was now moving in the south-north direction, and surprisingly, the Spirit Fire was in the same direction while the Guardian Zone was in thepletely opposite direction.
''Could it be he''s after the Spirit Fire all this time? But how did he know there is a Spirit Fire in this ce if he''s from the ten continents?'' Ace mused as something started toe into his mind, and a sh of bewilderment appeared on his face, ''The only spirit fire known to the ten continents is the Spirit Fire present in the Fiery Hell Secret Realm¡''
Then it started to make even more sense when he calcted the opening time of the Sun Secret Realm and the Fiery Hell Secret Realm were almost identical, as well as their requirement to enter them and the same restriction.
Ace felt like a huge veil had been lifted from his eyes, ''If the Sun Secret Realm is the famous Fiery Hell Realm under the three top races'' control and opened for both sides, then why hasn''t the Union reacted in any way about the presence of the three races participants from the ten continents?
''And how can a magic beast have appeared here before the opening time? This is so confusing. One moment it makes sense, and the next moment it doesn''t. I have to interrogate that fellow. He is the key to solving this mystery. If this is the Fiery Hell Secret Realm, then I can definitely leave into the ten-continent side!''
The flying sword under Ace''s feet instantly turned toward the Grim Winged Serpent''s direction and then shot like an arrow.
Ace was now even more eager to get his hands on that snake, and he also nned to retrieve the spirit fire while he was at it. But this time, he was going to be the one who sneaked around, not the Grim Winged Serpent.
It has missed its chance to pull a fast one on Ace; there won''t be another such a chance.
Over fifty miles away, the Grim Winged Serpent was pping its massive wings at its fly with a terrifying speed in the direction of the Spirit Fire, which was showing in the direction formation te.
But its eyes were still filled with disbelief and humiliation as he thought about how he had to use one of these oldest and most precious treasures to escape from a Soul River Realm Human Cultivator.
If this news spread between the ten continents, he would be theughingstock of the entire world, and no one would dread his status or respect him anymore. Even his own race would see him with disdain and contempt.
''Just how can there be such a terrifying human aborigine in this realm? If he''s this strong, then what about the other stronger humans?'' A deadly chill ran down its spine, ''Here I was thinking this would be an easy task and no one would be able to stop me. But it seemed I had made a grave error in my judgment about the aborigines of this ce. I can''t even break through into the higher realm because of the damn restriction in this ce.
''But what if it''s the same case for the Aborigines? That human brat''s talent was simply too terrifying, and he should be around the tinum Soul Realm, but there he was, only a soul river realm.
''Well, it doesn''t matter anymore. As long as I can avoid meeting those abnormal aborigines or that boy and won''t provoke them, I can easily do my thing and leave. But if those Aborigines try to stop me from acquiring the Law Source, then I should just give up and leave.
''I can''t die in this hellhole when I haven''t even done anything after my long-awaitedeback and going through years of solitude to be alive again. I can always reach the Law Awareness Realm in due time without the Law Source. But my life is too precious to fight over it with those terrifying guys.
''If I won''t get it, then those brats from the three races would definitely can''t either. No wonder those guys were wiped out thest time. I need to be very careful now!''
The Grim Winged Serpent changed its entire strategy after encountering Ace and was no longer arrogant than before. He cherishes its life more than anything else because he knows what it feels like to have no life at all.
The Grim Winged Serpent continues to fly in the direction where the Spirit Fire was, and this time it avoids most of the traps because of its racial ability he could use in its beast form.
It took it five more hours to reach its destination, and there wasn''t any need to identify where the Spirit Fire was because it was simply too obvious to find.
There was a five-hundred-meter-tall mountain peak in the middle of the mountains, and the entire mountain was encased under ruby color mes.
Just the heating from it was enough to make even someone like Grim Winged Serpent keep a vast distance from it, not to mention the terrifying pressure and aura around hundred meters.
Most likely, the burning mountain was the home of the fabled Spirit Fire!
Chapter 736 The Bored Thief Assassin
The Grim Winged Serpent hovered in the sky over a mile away from the burning mountain with a solemn look in its snake eyes.
''So, this is the fabled Spirit Fire Mountain described in the ancient records. Previously, I didn''t believe the part about the intense heat that could directly affect the soul, but now, that description isn''t even close to the real thing.'' He thought gravely.
''The Spirit Fire should be in the core of that mountain, and it is impossible to retrieve it by going in there. The Spirit Fire would burn everything under 8th Grade Treasure, and only the Law Comprehension Realm expert could endure those mes and subdue the spirit fire.
''No worries, I should thank the old Fox Ancestor who made all those records and researched the Fiery Hell Secret Realm and Spirit Fire like a madwoman but ended up dead in the racial war, and I got her entire inheritance and records of her research.
''She wanted to subdue this Spirit Fire for alchemy by any means possible, and she engineered an ingenious ce to send her heir to retrieve it but ended up dying before she got the chance even to try. Now, I''m going to get all the benefits!'' n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The Grim Winged Serpent''s eyes glistered with greed as it was very pleased with all that effort he put in. All those years were finally starting to pay off.
But before starting his act, he decided to scout the area around the mountain just to be sure that one of those terrifying aborigines was not present to mount an ambush at a critical point and profit from his efforts.
However, under that terrifying effect of the Spirit Fire Mountain, no one was around it as this ce not worth living near it.
But if the Grim Winged Serpent knew that over two miles away from his position, Ace was watching everything like he was a spectator with great interest, he would''ve definitely not been at ease.
Ace was following the Grim Winged Serpent for an hour prior before he reached this ce, but he was also keeping his distance not to alert him.
Now that he saw the burning mountain, and even from this distance, he could feel a terrifying danger from it. Ace decided to wait and see what the Grim Winged Serpent did.
By his observation of the other party, Ace could tell the Grim Winged Serpent was here with a n, and now he even wanted him to get seed in acquiring the spirit fire for him.
Furthermore, Ace now has another n to make this entire operation goes even more smother.
"Are you free? I might have something which will interest you." He transmitted his voice into the thief''s house cultivation room of the Thief Assassin!
The Thief Assassin Cultivation Room was filled with the soul-calming scent of the herbs as over haft of the space was turned into a herb garden filled with exotic and rare herbs. In contrast, there was an alchemyb in the middle of it.
While the reaming space, half of it was turned into a training field while the other half had a humble small shack on it and a beautiful flowery field around it. If someone saw this ce, they would never believe that a terrifying assassin lives there.
When Ace''s voice rang, Noa''s figure suddenly emerged in the training field like a ghost. She wore her exquisite ck body armor, and her face was hidden behind a mask and a long hood.
"So, Leader, finally remember that I exist." Her icy voice rang at this moment with clear sarcasm in it.
Truth be told, she has been stuck in almost everything at this moment. Even her cultivation has stopped progressing at the peak of the tinum Soul Realm, and all her skills seemed to be reached the pinnacle of this realm.
She wanted to go outside, but she didn''t disturb Ace since thest time they talked, when the space increased in size, he told her that he was in the middle of some sort of crisis and he had to face it alone was the only thing he told her before vanishing.
She was worried, but she believed in Ace, so she practiced and sharpened her skills even more, but now she was not improving at all, and her house points were not enough to buy anything avable in the shop.
However, now Ace contacted her again after all these months, and she was incensed.
Ace could also tell that, and he was pretty embarrassed as well, but he was helpless since all this time, things were not going ording to his will and the ce where he was; it would be suicidal to send any of his thief members out.
Especially inside the Union, where he himself wasn''t safe, so the thief''s house was the safest ce for them right now.
However, now that he saw the Grim Winged Serpent roaming the Sun Secret Realm freely, he knew it should be safe to let Noa out as well, as long as she won''t appear by his side and he could make it happen.
Furthermore, Noa needed the Spirit Fire, and he wanted to get it for her in the first ce. Her specialties also lie in the assassination, and it was just he needed to catch the Grim Winged Serpent.
Still, he was embarrassed nevertheless and apologetically said, "I know this is not fair for you, but trust me, if I could, I would havee much earlier and exined it to you. But the things happening and escting so fast that I didn''t even get the chance to exin it to you guys.
"But now that I got the chance, I''ll exin it as much as I can, and it is rted to you as well. The thing is, I have found the Spirit Fire you need to increase your body refinement further. As for how I got here, this happened when thest time I contacted you¡"
Since the Grim Winged Serpent was still scouting around, Ace decided to exin about the Union to Noa and his current situation and how risky it was to let anyone out.
He even told her about how the Fiery Hell Secret Realm seemed to be none other than the Sun Secret Realm of the Union.
Noa listened while she stood there, and no one could tell what her reaction was and what she was thinking. But she clearly astounded by how far Ace hade and faced the danger he was in.
After Ace exined everything and his n about the Grim Winged Serpent, Noa finally spoke, but her tone was very gentler than her icy tone, "It''s been really hard on you, Leader. It seemed my skills were still not enough to be of any use to you, and it was always you who was helping me all the time. I''m ashamed even to call myself your sword."
"There is no need to get sentimental, this is the life I chose, and I dragged you guys into it, so if someone should apologize, it should be me. Still, you are more than capable enough to handle this big snake.
"This is just one of the three spirit fires present in this ce, and we''re going to take everyone one of them for you to use. So now I just need to make sure that you can enter the Sun Secret Realm despite the cultivation restriction, and then we''ll start with the first spirit fire. Are you ready?" Ace asked in a confident tone.
Noa is someone he trusts the most after Eva, Cyrus, or Alina, so he never acts like a superior in front of her as he did with those two other ambitious members.
Dark light suddenly shone under Noa''s hood as she nodded and coldly said, "I''m ready!"
Chapter 737 A Robber Got Robbed By A Thief!
After the Grim Winged Serpent thoroughly checked the surroundings around the Spirit Fire Mountain and confirmed that there weren''t any kind of ambush or people present in the vicinity, it finally rxed.
However, it didn''t dare tond on the rocky surface, afraid those rocky beings would emerge again and cause amotion, which might alert the aborigines. It was already a hassle enough to get rid of the ones chasing it before.
''I hope this will work¡'' The Grim Winged Serpent thought before a multicolor boulder like a rainbow emerged in front of it, and it was wrapped under its Qi. Still, despite that, a strange fluctuation was emitting from the two-meter boulder, and it was glowing in different colors.
After, it guided that boulder with its Qi andnded it on the ground gently, avoiding those pebbles.
''This Myriad Star Stone is an extremely rare high-grade-7 material that is used to create Fire Element Treasures. This boulder might be the only piece present in the entire world, and the Spirit Fire would also draw towards it because it contains faint traces of a Spirit Fire-like aura.
''The Fox Ancestor was really genius when it came to alchemy, and she was a lunatic for research and might be able to reach the very pinnacle of our world''s alchemy if not dying in that war and made our race the true overlord. But s, her brilliance caused her downfall since the other races won''t allow such a threat to exist.'' The Grim Winged Serpent thought pensively as images of the past rose in his mind before it buried away again.
The next moment, a vial appeared in front of the Grim Winged Serpent, which was filled with a glowing orange liquid, ''This will be the true catalyst to draw the Spirit Fire in the open. This High-Grade-7 Sun Essence Potion, the moment ites in contact with the Myriad Star Stone, should be able to create a fake Spirit Fire like Qi.
''ording to the Fox Ancestor, the Spirit Fire considers other weak Spirit Fire food and can evolve faster by devouring each other. I just hope she was right about this conjecture of hers basic on those iprehensible texts¡''
The Grim Winged Serpent''s expression was solemn as it shot that glowing ss vial toward the Myriad Star Stone, and it instantly shattered the moment it smashed onto the stone''s hard surface.
The very next moment thereafter, a strange phenomenon took ce when the Sun Essence Potion came in contact with the Myriad Star Stone. The boulder suddenly ignited into an orange fire while releasing a rainbow color projection on top of it, which was extremely hot. Just by looking at it, one could feel their eyes were burning.
As time passed, the orange mes started to burn even more brightly and rose higher, covering the ground below it.
''Rumble¡''
Suddenly a powerful tremor ran through thend because the burning mountain abruptly started to shake like crazy before the ruby color mes over it churned and burned brightly as cracks started to appear on the mountain.
However, the burning mountain wasn''t breaking. Instead, it was rising while making cracking sounds and taking the shape of something.
This scenepletely bbergasted the spectator, which also made their blood run cold because a terrifying aura started to emit from the creature, which was being shaped out of the Spirit Fire Mountain.
It took over a minute for the burning mountain to fully formed, and it turned into a four-legged giant turtle that was aze on the ruby mes andpletely made out of rocks; at least it looked this way.
The Grim Winged Serpent instantly flew a hundred meters back as it was getting a very dangerous feeling from that me turtle, and its expression was grave as it was clearly not capable of facing off with that thing.
Just the heating from those mes would burn it into ashes. It was never suspected that there was such a monster guarding the spirit fire. Clearly, the Fox Ancestor wasn''t aware of it either since she wasn''t strong enough to arouse the Spirit Fire''s interest.
Nevertheless, the Grim Winged Serpent knew the trap was working, and now what was left was getting the Spirit Fire under this massive turtle''s protection. He will only get one shot at it, and then he needed to flee with everything it had.
Right at this moment, the me turtle suddenly opened its massive stony mouth, and something extremely bright, like the sun, flew out from it, and temperature over ten miles rose massively the moment this thing flew out from the turtle''s mouth.
The bright thing was actually just a meter in diameter ethereal ruby me, which seemed to have a mind of its own as it flickered strongly in front of the burring Myriad Star Stone.
After a few moments, it suddenly churned crazily before it shot toward the burning boulder and thenpletely encased it.
''Now!'' The Grim Winged Serpent''s eyes shone decisively as if it was now or never.
A yellowish formation te appeared in front of it, and thereafter it glows in ck runes.
Thereby, the ruby spirit fire, which now fully encased the boulder, suddenly flickered as if it felt something was wrong. But s, it was toote because the Myriad Star Stone suddenly cracked open, and an antique ckmp suddenly emerged from it.
The moment that Antique Lamp appeared, a strange suction force surrounded it and started to suck every me around it. This includes the Spirit Fire.
Spirit Fire seemed to have sensed the danger as it tried to flee, but it failed as the mysteriousmp had a strange power that seemed to restrict it fully, and without giving the Spirit Fire even a chance to retaliate, it sucked it inside within a few moments!
It all happened too fast that the me turtle reacted toote, and the ckmp, which was now lit in ruby light, was already started to fly toward the sky like an arrow, leaving behind nothing but the charred ground and a broken boulder. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The Grim Winged Serpent''s eyes were filled with mirth as everything went smoothly, and the Spirit Fire was now its to take, and that massive turtle would never be able to catch up to him.
But then something happened. A ck streak suddenly emerged between the Grim Winged Serpent and the iing ck Lamp and grabbed the ck Lamp at lightning speed before fleeing under the gobsmacked Grim Winged Serpent''s eyes.
The formation te in front of the Grim Winged Serpent also explodes at this moment.
When the Grim Winged Serpent realized what had happened, his infuriated expression was a sight to behold as it roared wrathfully and quickly gave chase behind the ck streak.
"Thief! Stop right there!"
Chapter 738 Assassin Call
Ace flying like a shooting arrow over his sword, was smiling thievishly as he sensed the Grim Winged Serpent''s indignation while it chased after him,pletely forgotten about what had happened thest time it tried to confront him.
However, it wasn''t the Grim Winged Serpent''s fault either because Ace wasn''t wearing the same clothes he was wearing when he confronted the Grim Winged Serpent anymore. He now wore a cloak.
But even if he wasn''t wearing that cloak, Ace was pretty sure anyone would react in the same way if someone snatched away their treasure that they just had snatched after so much difficulty and didn''t even get to touch it.
Furthermore, Ace was quite impressed by Grim Winged Serpent''s performance of drawing the Spirit Fire out and even capturing it within a matter of seconds. He was afraid that if he had to confront that giant me turtle, it would be very difficult to get that spirit fire.
Just that heat emitted from real Spirit Fire was enough to raise an rming bell in his thief sense, and without that mysteriousmp, he couldn''t think of a way to capture that spirit fire. So, he was equally curious about that ckmp that could capture and contain the Low-Grade-8 Spirit Fire.
All those answers lie within the Grim Winged Serpent, who was now chasing after him with bloodshot eyes, emitting killing intent. This was what Ace wanted as well, or if the Grim Winged Serpent decided to flee instead of chasing after him, his n would not seed at all.
However, to both Ace and Grim Winged Serpent''s surprise, something unexpected happened when they both suddenly looked behind.
They saw the massive me turtle flying toward them like a meteorite!
''It can do that?!'' Ace was rmed as he never expected the turtle to have such an ability, and he clearly didn''t want to confront that things.
The cultivation level of the me Turtle was at the peak of the soul realm, but the true problem was that zing fire emitting from it was truly terrifying, just like the Spirit Fire''s mes.
That''s why even the Grim Winged Serpent was rmed and tried to increase its speed even more. But he was also in a dilemma because the turtle was going after the one with the Spirit Fire, which was clearly the unknown thief in front of it.
The Grim Winged Serpent was pretty sure that this unknown thief was one of those mysterious aborigines when he noticed the flying sword technique.
Despite having doubts about this person being the same one he encountered when he stepped into this ce, he wasn''t sure. Because his position shouldn''t be trackable, and he made sure of it.
Furthermore, by how this person was running instead of confronting it, the Grim Winged Serpent was sure it wasn''t the same person. Or a sword cultivator would never run as almost all the sword cultivators'' minds work in the same direction, direct confrontation.
Lastly, when he thought about how its treasure got stolen under its nose, a very distant memory surfaced in his mind when another hateful thief stole a very important treasure from it, and he absolutely abhorred that guy.
So, all those inner feelings led him to chase after this little thief who stole its precious spirit fire when it was just about to enter its grasp, not to mention that the ckmp was even more precious than the Spirit Fire and the most cherished treasure of the Fox Ancestor.
It was a huge loss and hard to swallow, so there was no way it would let it go that easily. But the turtle behind was catching up to him while the unknown thief was still quite ahead of the Grim Winged Serpent.
Now the Grim Winged Serpent was a sandwich between the turtle''s actual target and the turtle, and if it didn''t get out of the way or do something about the turtle, it would not be pretty for the Grim Winged Serpent and the thief would definitely get away.
Ace also thought as much, and he didn''t want that because, with Spirit Fire, he had another target, the Grim Winged Serpent itself. If the Grim Winged Serpent decided to give up on chasing him and fled, his n to abduct the Grim Winged Serpent would go down the drain.
There was also a chance that the Grim Winged Serpent directly decided to leave the Sun Secret Realm since there was nothing worth staying in this dangerous ce.
In any case, Ace will lose his chance to find a way to appear on the ten continents side, and it was uneptable.
"Noa, I need you to handle that giant turtle. I''m pretty sure it is hard to miss." Ace transmitted in his mind while looking at the active house call interface.
"Then what about the snake?" Her cold voice sounded in question.
"Leave him to me. It seems he didn''t want to give up on the Spirit Fire yet, and this is enough for me to make my move. Just make that turtle distract somehow, or our prey will be scared away." Ace gravely stated.
"Can I kill it? It seemed to have some resemnce to one of the materials I need for my body refinement at the higher grade." Noa suddenly asked this strange question which made Ace startled for a moment before his lips curled up.
He replied smilingly, "It seems you want to have some fun. Well, as long as you can handle it, you can do as you please. Just don''t overdo it."
"Understood!" Noa replied as her cold voice contained a hint of tion.
When the Grim Winged Serpent was just thinking about finally giving up on the chase and the turtle was only a hundred meters behind it, something strange happened.
All of a sudden, the meteor-like me turtle vanished from its spot and appeared a few miles ahead of both Ace and the Grim Winged Serpent and smashed into the ground, creating a massive explosion!
Both Ace and the Grim Winged Serpent were bbergasted by this sudden turn of events. Even Ace, who had some idea who the person behind this was shocked because this was simply too shocking.
Ace then quickly opened Noa''s status to see the new ability she might have awakened when she entered the Soul Embryo Realm. When he spots that new ability and reads the details, he was gobsmacked.
______
[Thief House Member Status]
[House Member: Noa Night (Female)]
[Race: Demon]
[Bloodline: Night Demon (Grade-6 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
---
[Thief Genre: Thief Assassin (Trainee)]
[House Rank: Excellent Member (Upgradeable)]
[Next Rank [Expert Member]: 2,193/100,000 Thieveries]
---
[Soul Cultivation: tinum Soul Embryo Realm (Advance: Stage-9)]
-Innate Soul Ability(s): 4
1. No Kill
[Description: Completely hide Thief Assassin''s Killing Intent and Life Aura]
2. Assassin Mark
[Description: Lock on a target soul will result in a 100% (Attack) connect rate. (Attack) Connect Rate range is equivalent to Thief Assassin Sense.]
3. Thief Assassin Sense
[Description (1): Exclusive innate Soul Sense of the Thief Assassin, which is untraceable.]
[Description (2): Any Target affected by the Assassin Mark can''t hide from the Thief Assassin Sense''s detection no matter the distance and protection!]
4. Assassin Call
[Description: Any Target under the Thief Assassin''s vision, no matter the distance, as long as the thief assassin can ''see'' the target, it can be called between the range of 1 Meter to 10 Meters away from the Thief Assassin''s standing position!]
[Limitation (1): Cannot be used against higher realm targets than the Thief Assassin Cultivation Realm.]
[Limitation (2): Once the Assassin Call is used, there will be a ten days cooldown period before it can be used again!]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
¡
______
Chapter 739 Help Me See…
Ace enviously closed Noa''s status, the Assassin Call ability was really something heaven-defying, and it was clearly a space-type ability. That ability was made for assassinating a target within an instant when it was still in a stupor about being teleported out of nowhere.
Nevertheless, Ace was happy for Noa to get such an ability, and she would be a force of nature with it. Even that powerful turtle seemed to be helpless against her.
Furthermore, Ace knew if he wanted to take down the Grim Winged Serpent, this was a perfect opportunity, or that guy might really be scared away this time by the me turtle''s uncanny demise.
The sword under his feet instantly maneuvered in the air, and Ace started to fly in the opposite direction where the Grim Winged Serpent was still dazedly looking at the me turtle''s crash site, covered in smoke.
However, it quickly regained its senses when suddenly the Unknown Thief started to fly toward him like a cannonball. They were only fifty meters away from each other, and the distance was quickly decreasing.
''Is this some kind of ambush?!'' The Grim Winged Serpent''s mind raced as it already thought of the worst possible scenario and was about to use another trump card to flee the scene post hastily.
However, he was stopped when he heard the desperate cry from the thief, "L-lord Serpent, please have mercy! You can have your treasure back, but please don''t do the same thing to me, you do to that turtle, O'' mighty serpent!"
The Grim Winged Serpent was gobsmacked when it heard this mysterious thief speaking in the magic beastnguage. But it was even more astonished by his words.
''He thinks I''m the one behind what happened to that turtle, so now he''s afraid I might do something like that to him? So, it wasn''t him behind that sudden incident?'' The Grim Winged Serpent quickly assumed.
The Grim Winged Serpent thought it made sense since how could a running thief have such an ability, or why in the world was he running in the first ce if he was capable of such a feat?
But it still was quite vignt as it might be some sort of trick to keep him here.
However, when it saw the Antique ck Lamp appearing, which was now lit in ruby light, appear in the cloaked thief''s hands, it finally hesitated as greed shed past its snake eyes.
''What if it''s true this guy has nothing to do with this attack at all? I''ll just another treasure deal with him quickly and then take themp and leave immediately!'' The Grim Winged Serpent finally decided to take the risk and was ready to attack.
When Ace saw the Grim Winged Serpent wasn''t seemed to be interested in running away anymore, his lips under his mask rose in a devious smile. This was exactly the result he wanted to achieve by ying a frightening sheep.
Right at this moment, when he was only ten meters away from the Grim Winged Serpent, and he could clearly feel the viciousness in the vicious beast''s eyes, and he knew it was going to try to finish all this within a single move, but so was he!
"Alright, little brat, it is your turn. Just do as I said, and don''t try to show yourself. If you messed it up, I''d have your Big Sis punish you until you cry for mercy!" Ace transmitted his threatening voice into a troublemaker''s mind.
The next moment, under his cloak, a tiny, cute ck chick appeared over his shoulder. Who could it be but Cyrus?
"Hmph, hmph, Big Bro just wants to bully me!" Cyrus ranted in his cute childish voice.
But he didn''t waste even a second as Ace had already told him about what he needed to do if Ace summoned him.
Cyrus was actually Ace''s n B if n A with Noa failed.
As the owner of a superior bloodline that far surpasses anything in the Mortal Sky Heaven, and the ability to suppress those with inferior bloodline, Cyrus was one of its kind.
But Ace didn''t want to show Cyrus in front of anyone until necessary. However, now that he had let Noa out and nothing happened, he was sure Cyrus would be fine as well.
Now he was almost sure that the Union had no control over this secret realm, so he didn''t need to be overly cautious.
The moment Cyrus appeared, an invincible aura suddenly spread like wind, and the Grim Winged Serpent, who was preparing to kill Ace, suddenly trembled like a dry leaf in the wind.
The colors on its face started to change like crazy and turned paler than a ghost, and all that majestic aura plummeted and shattered like fine ss, and it now appeared like a worm.
Ace knew it was his chance as the Grim Winged Serpent was finally intimated and affected by Cyrus''s aura, and he leaped from his sword as lighting shed under his feet.
The Grim Winged Serpent was almost losing its mind, and right at this moment, it let loose a shriek in horror, "Hissss, you fool, you want us to get killed?!"
But this also seemed to have helped him regain its sense, and without hesitation, he tried to take out a powerful escaping treasure.
However, he finally noticed somethingnded over his massive head, and that strange, terrifying aura was now weighing down upon its entire body, and he felt like he would be crushed at any moment.
Standing on top of the Grim Winged Serpent''s head, Ace wasted no time and took out another ''lightning talisman'' and smashed it over the Grim Winged Serpent''s giant snake head.
A dark lightning bolt suddenly struck the Grim Winged Serpent''s head, and for a moment, he lost all his feelings and vision.
Although it was only momentarily, when its vision returned, the entire crimson surrounding had been changed as it now found itself in a dark ce lit with light stones.
"Where am I?" It muttered hoarsely in uncertainly.
Then it finally noticed that all his Qi seemed to bepletely suppressed. Then its eyes darted toward the beautiful house a few meters away from its position, and a very small chick was jumping around the door and moring in its ecstatic voice. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Big Sis! Come out! Look, look, Cyrus caught a big pretty snake! Help me see if it is sufficient to be my Maid!" Cyrus chirped in excitement and anticipation as hepletely ignored the dumbfounded Grim Winged Serpent and kept jumping around the closed house door.
"Ah? It seemed we have a guest." A devilish voice sounded from the house as footsteps rang, and they wereing closer to the door.
The Grim Winged Serpent waspletely appalled by this strange turn of events¡ if it only had known, it was just the start of a very, very long nightmare!
Chapter 740 An Unexpected Situation
Acended a couple of meters away from the giant crater, which was now burning like a fire pit.
This crater was formed because of the me Turtle''s abruptnding, and right now, the rocky body of the turtle was deeply stabbed into this crater listlessly. Only the ruby mes on its body were still burning, but they were not as strong as before.
Within that crater, Ace could clearly see Noa''s fate point, which was now named ''Thief Assassin'' in the treasure blueprint mood of the live fate map.
"You really killed it." Ace transmitted while looking at the rocky mess in the crater.
No one would believe that those burning rocks were the carcass of a living creature, and more absurdly, it had been killed quite easily!
"It wasn''t much with my daggers." Noa''s impassive voice rang with a hint of pride present in it.
Ace didn''t know what to say as he knew Noa''s path was rted to killing her target at the first contact and the quickest way possible. So, this kind of thing would be normal for her.
She also helped him quite a lot by giving him the window to catch the Grim Winged Serpent by surprise, and this was a sessful mission.
Now that he has sent the Grim Winged Serpent into his thief''s space, it was as good as dead. He also got the Spirit Fire for Noa, so everything goes ording to n. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"You get what you''re looking for? I''m afraid we need to get going. Although you didn''t seem to be restricted by this ce, if you stay far too long, something might happen.
"We can''t take that risk, and I''m pretty sure you also want to get your hands on that spirit fire as well. This ought to keep you busy for a while, and hopefully, I''ll be out of the Union once you''re done with the spirit fire." Ace stated.
"Yes, I got the Spirit Fire Core of this Spirit Creature which has been born with the Spirit Fire and has been with it ever since and absorbing its undying fire. This was the rarest material to find for the final three grades of the refinement liquid.
"I need two more, and ording to Leader, there are two more spirit fire, so there is a chance they also have their Spirit Creatures guarding them. That''s why I would be troubling you to let me get those Spirit Fire Cores from those other two Spirit Creatures if they exist." Noa revealed the knowledge she got from the Night Demon Body Transformation Technique.
She never expected she would actually get her hands on the Spirit Fire, not to mention the Spirit Creature with it, and there seemed to be two more. This was a windfall for her, and she didn''t want to miss it.
However, she also knew Ace was in a bind here, so if it weren''t possible, she wouldn''t push the matter further. She already got one Spirit Fire, and she might find thest two Spirit Fire Cores from somewhere else.
Ace has already done her a huge favor by finding the Spirit Fire for her, which is the hardest to find and mandatory to cultivate the Night Demon Body Transformation Technique above the 9-Star Rank.
Ace was astonished when he heard the true background of that me turtle. He was only interested in the Spirit Fire because of Noa and didn''t actually need it for himself.
But this undying fire seemed to be even more fascinating than he had imagined. This was a Law Source like the Elemental Orbs as well.
Nevertheless, he was nning on grabbing those reaming Spirit Fire, to begin with, and now he also has thatmp which seemed to have powerful containment properties on the Spirit Fire.
So, this was quite easy as long as he got the Grim Winged Serpent''s method to drawing the Spirit Fire out. He can do the same as the Grim Winged Serpent did, and he needed to do is to kill the Spirit Creature.
At least that''s what he thinks and promises, "Not a problem. That snake seemed to have quite a lot of information on the spirit fire, so I''ll give you all of them when I get them out of him. You just focus on refining the spirit fire."
"Wait? You don''t need my help with him?" Noa questioned.
''I''m afraid the devil and bird residing in my thief''s space is more than enough. That snake will regret even being born after those two are through with him¡'' Ace thought as he felt somewhat pity for the Grim Winged Serpent.
Furthermore, the thief''s house members still didn''t know about Eva, and he wanted to keep it that way for as long as he could, at least until Eva was part of the Thief''s House.
"No, it''s all under control. You should know how terrifying Cyrus is, so you should just focus on refining the Spirit Fire now. We might need thatmp empty to capture more Spirit Fire." Ace quickly exined.
Noa found this quite convincible and agreed, "Alright, I''ll follow Leader''s arrangement."
Ace was d this all turned out perfectly and said, "Good, now just stay in your stealth, and when I''m about to pass you, grab my hand. Even if someone is watching, it would appear you just appeared and vanished out in the wind."
Ace had been using the Unseen Thief ability for a while now, and he was pretty sure no one would be able to see him. However, the same couldn''t be said about the others.
But his options were limited, and he was willing to take this sort of risk because he knew it was worth it.
The flying sword under his feet lifted from the ground again, and he started to fly over the crater while keeping an on the map. Anyone would only think that Ace was observing, but in trust, he was just pretending.
Just as Ace instructed her, Noa instantly moved without losing her window and easily grabbed his hand. The very next moment, she vanished without a trace.
"Leader, I would like to learn this flying weapon technique as well. It''s quite useful. Of course, if it''s your exclusive skill, then forget I ever asked." Noa''s hesitant voice sounded at this moment.
The moment sheid her eyes on Ace''s flying sword technique, she was fascinated by it and wanted to learn it. But she was hesitant all this time. However, now she couldn''t contain her longing to learn this powerful technique if she could.
Ace smiled as he said, "This technique I learned from the Union. So, you can learn it as well. I''ll give a Sky Breaker Sword Art, which also has a special flying sword technique written into it."
Noa ecstatically said, "Thank you, Leader!"
Ace brushed it off with a chuckle as it was hardly any effort for him to give her the Sun Chasing Sword Art. She might get some inspiration from it so that he won''t hold back on her.
After getting Noa back, he flew toward the thirdyer''s entrance while he shifted his focus to his thief''s space as he wanted to get all the information on that mysteriousmp first.
Because they still don''t know how to release the spirit fire from it yet.
However, when he saw the scene in his thief''s space, Ace was speechless as well as his expression darkened because Eva had a very dangerous smile on her devilish face as she sat on afortable chair while she looked at the kneeling figure.
It was an unfamiliar woman in a very sorry state!
Chapter 741 The True Identity (1)
Ace was speechless, seeing the unfamiliar woman on her knees in front of Eva.
Although that woman''s expression was extremely nasty and her appearance disheveled, she was quite a piece of art with a slim figure and fair color. Her hatred-filled eyes were of a snake while her long salt and pepper hair was cut short. Furthermore, ck glistering scales were visible under her chin.
It was the human form of the Grim Winged Serpent!
"So, my dear husband collected another woman yet again? You have no idea how proud I am!" Eva''s melodious yet cold voice rang in Ace''s head at this moment which made thetter sweat profusely.
He quickly tried to exin, "Dear, it''s all a misunderstanding, a big misunderstanding! I had no idea this snake was a woman. I can swear to upon your name!"
Ace didn''t know whether to cry orugh at this moment as he was telling the truth this time around. He was taking the Grim Winged Serpent as a male because its voice was simply too eerie, and no one could tell if it was male or female.
Furthermore, he didn''t have time to check the other party''s gender as he had a far more pressing matter to take care of.
Eve''s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but the coldness in her eyes lessened quite a lot, "Alright, since you sound honest, I''ll believe you this once. But why did you capture this beast? You even took the risk to bring Cyrus out when you clearly told me thest time what kind of ce this Union was?"
Before entering into seclusion, Eva naturally had a nice chat with Ace about his situation, and he didn''t hide anything from her either. At that time, Ace was still in the mortal domain, so she only knew that Ace was preparing to head into the core of the union, not what happened afterward.
"I''ll exin everything to you, but right now, we need to extract information from this snake. How about this you can keep ying to be me and do as I say?" Ace asked while thinking about how Livia, who now stood behind Eva like an obedient maid, would know about Eva''s identity if he spoke.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
So, letting her y the Sky Stealer was the only option, and he knew if he revealed his identity to Livia without consulting her first, he wouldn''t hear the end of it.
Furthermore, now that Ace thinks about it letting Eva y the Sky Stealer was quite a huge advantage in front of strangers because this would add anotheryer of protection to his identity.
Not only will this make Eva happy and keep her off his back, but this will also save the huge hassle of dealing with every person he abducts, and his identity will remain mysterious. He was killing three birds with one stone!
"Hmph, I was nning to do the same. As long as I''m in this ce, I''m the owner, and you can''t speak unless you want to make me unhappy!" Eva stated matter-of-factly.
''Why don''t you just take them in your own space ring if you don''t want me toe in contact with them?'' Ace wanted to inquire about this with indignation, but he didn''t want to make his life more difficult, so keep them to himself.
"Ha, ha, of course, of course, now can you please make her remove those gloves? I want to confirm something?" Ace stiffly asked.
Eva was quite pleased as she finally turned her focus on the woman in front of her who was staring at her like a venomous snake, "If you keep looking at me like this, I might gouge your eyes out."
The Grim Winged Serpent spat venomously, "Do your worse, little bitch!"
The Grim Winged Serpent now fully epted the fact that she couldn''t escape this ce no matter what method she tried. She can''t even use her to take out her treasures, and her magic beast form is alsopletely suppressed here.
She never expected that this kind of ce would exist that could fully suppress her and render every trick she knew useless.
The appalling part was this terrifying crowned woman sitting in front of her who was too terrifying as just her presence made her want to escape as far away from her as possible.
Then there was the small chick who sat over her shoulder and looked all innocent and quiet, but the Grim Winged Serpent knew that little thing was as terrifying as that woman but seemed to be under this woman''s control.
As for that elf standing behind her like a respectful servant and looking at her like she was looking at a corpse, the Grim Winged Serpent never spared a nce at her.
All in the mind of the Grim Winged Serpent was right now, how in the world she appeared in this terrifying ce when she was in the Secret Realm.
She even thought it was some sort of trap in the secret realm, which was triggered after the spirit fire was taken away by her, and this crowned woman seemed to be the true owner of this secret realm.
If not for Eva''s eyes, the Grim Winged Serpent even assumed that she was the leader of those terrifying two humans riding on swords.
Now her fate was sealed, but it meant she was going to sumb to it as she still had a final trump card which was ast resort that she didn''t want to use unless her life was on the line.
But now, there was no other way, and that''s why she was making Eva angry so she would act against her personally.
However, Eva has spent almost two decades in very. She was not someone who would just be triggered by some random insults or overlook the obvious provocation. The only she truly felt was losing control when it came to Ace, or even if the world burned in front of her eyes, she would remain as cold as ice.
"Livy, go and remove those gloves of hers." She coollymanded.
"Yes, mistress." Livia respectfully epted themand and moved toplete the order.
Livia has spent a full week of torment under Eva, and she knows just how terrifying she is, and she finally understands just what of existence the Sky Stealer was. Not to mention she was very willing to follow her because of the future prospect, and Eva promised her a position among her fellow thieves if she served her well.
Most time, she just has to take care of Cyrus and y with him and even educate him. But this task was even more tiresome because Cyrus was like a spoiled child who, most of the time, wanted to y and didn''t listen to her at all.
She was afraid if not for Eva forbidding him from bullying her too much, he would''ve already burned her to ashes just for fun.
Nevertheless, Livia remained persistent and took care of the little spoiled bird in the hope of pleasing the Sky Stealer so she could also learn how to be a thief like ''her!''
When the Grim Winged Serpent saw Liviaing toward her, she wanted to attack but failed because Cyrus seemed to notice it instantly pin her down on the ground.
The Grim Winged Serpent was now truly terrifying of Cyrus because of how easily he could suppress her, and his aura gave her a living nightmare for some reason.
Livia scoffed at her futile efforts and easily removed the gloves on her hand and was instantly surprised when she noticed an extremely familiar tattoo over the Grim Winged Serpent''s right hand''s middle finger.
"So, you are one of Mistress''s victims!" Livia eximed because that tattoo was none other than the thief symbol like the one she had!
But the difference was the Grim Winged Serpent''s thief symbol didn''t have horns like Livia''s.
The Grim Winged Serpent was startled when she heard those sublet words, and then it suddenly looked at her thief symbol, which was like a scar of humiliation to her.
Seeing the Grim Winged Serpent''s confusion, Livia, with a cold smile, also showed her pale white hand, and when the Grim Winged Serpent saw the new thief symbol, its eyes went fully wide.
It was also at this moment when it finally urred to the Grim Winged Serpent, as she looked at Eva behind Livia and shrilled with abhorrence and disbelief,
"YOU COULDN''T BE THAT DAMN THIEF, SKY STEALER!?!!!"
Chapter 742 The True Identity (2)
The Grim Winged Serpent was now literally trembling as she gawked at Eva in utter disbelief and abhorrence.
Secretly, Eva was also surprised to see Ace''s infamous thief symbol she heard about from Livia, on the Grim Winged Serpent''s finger. This could only mean the Grim Winged Serpent was someone who had been robbed by Ace at some point.
''So, she really is someone I have theft from before. But it still not exined why she has another soul signature¡'' Ace thought as he wasn''t that surprised seeing the old thief symbol.
But first thing first, Ace instantly took away her storage ring before he started the further investigation.
=====
[Pick Pocket seeded!]
[Host Steals]
¡
--
[Reward(s)]
-Rewards: 61,070,400 Thief Points
---
[Thievery Rank(s)]
-High-Level Thievery(s): 1
---
[High-level Thievery(s): 2/100]
---
[Thief Point(s): 83,989,350]
=====
Ace was astonished when he saw the rewards he got from stealing the Grim Winged Serpent''s storage ring, and it was the biggest tally of Thief Points he had ever stolen from pick-pocketing a storage ring.
''Just who is this woman, and how can she be robbed by me if she''s this terrifying?'' Ace waspletely clueless at this point.
Just those treasures present in the storage ring were enough to give him a shock, but possessing those treasures also meant this woman''s background was very noble and terrifying. So, he can''te in contact with her, not to mention robe her with all those treasures at her disposal.
Furthermore, he can''t use his soul probe on her as well; her soul defense was off the charts.
At this moment, something unexpected happened when Ace removed the storage ring from the Grim Winged Serpent''s finger. The old thief symbol on her finger vanished, and Ace''s new thief''s symbol appeared on the back of her hand with his name!
Eva and Livia instantly noticed it while the Grim Winged Serpent''s mind was too upied by the silly fact that she got caught by the same thief she wanted to catch herself. Not to mention she also found out how silly those thoughts of her capturing and torturing ''her'' were.
So, now it matters little if she has a new or old thief symbol because the real deal is right in front of her.
"Ask her how she knows me and when did I steal from her? I clearly didn''t remember stealing from a magic beast such as herself. Or trust me; she''s very hard to forget." Ace told Eva.
"Hmph, do you mean she''s very pretty and hard to forget?" Eva''s meaningful voice rang, which rendered Ace speechless.
But she still did as Ace told her to, for she also wanted to know how this woman became a victim of Ace. But her reason for inquiring out about it was the story behind it, not anything else.
She was always fascinated by the theft stories of her mother when she was young, so Ace''s stories were equally fascinating to her, and she was very proud of them as well.
"You seem to hate me a lot, yet here I am and have no idea who you are? I guess it''s only natural when I steal from so many people that I stop remembering everyone''s faces or even caring about them.
"However, you were able to appear in this ce, so you are not just a nobody, and that''s what makes it even more interesting. So if you don''t mind, can you tell me how you got robbed by me in the past?
"You can choose not to answer, but I will find the answer, and you can count on that because I''m very persuasive." Eva coldly inquired as her devilish aura started to emit from her faintly.
Livia didn''t dare to stay in her path, as she quickly returned to her position and observed the Grim Winged Serpent with relish. She also wanted to know how this terrifying magic beast ended up in such a sorry state.
Furthermore, she was also curious about how and when Eva captured the Grim Winged Serpent since all this time Eva was in seclusion. Nheless, she had many conjectures about the Sky Stealer''s mysterious crew. She didn''t dare to ask unless Eva told her so at her own expense. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The Grim Winged Serpent finally snapped out of the stupor, and she also noticed her storage ring had vanished and a new thief symbol like Livia had appeared.
Although instantly, her snake eyes turned bloodshot as she opened her mouth and startedughing madly in her eerie voice like she had gonepletely crazy.
Even with that terrifying aura weighing down on her, she stillughs without caring about anything else.
"I think the small snake gone mad, Big Sis." Cyrus innocentlymented before his tiny eyes brightened as he thought upon a terrific idea, "How about we ask the big snake toe out!"
Eva flicked the dumb bird''s small forehead gently as she said, "Silly bird, both small and big snakes are the same person. You didn''t seem to be learning properly while I was away, huh?"
"T-that''s a lie, ask Livy. I was learning properly!" Cyrus quickly exined as he hid his small head under his small feathers while sneakily peaking through her wings at Eva with a clear guilty conscience in his tiny eyes.
Livia was dumbfounded at how lightly Eva and Cyrus were taking the Grim Winged Serpent''s madughter while she felt chills to her spine for some reason.
At this moment, the Grim Winged Serpent stoppedughing while her eyes were affixed on Eva, who was nonchntly looking at her as she said, "If you''re done with your clown act, shall we get down to business?"
"I never imagined I, the Grim Ancestor, would fall under the hands of a newly born pup. How low have I fallen, how low¡ But no worries, no worries, it''s not the first time I''m fell under this sort of condition, and it certainly won''t be thest time!"
This time the Grim Winged Serpent has two types of different voices. One was the voice of a husky old man while the other was of a woman, and both voices were ovepping as if two people were talking at the same time.
However, it clearly wasn''t the concern of anyone at this moment because the Grim Winged Serpent or the Grim Ancestor''s snake eyes suddenly started to turn inky as if she was going to do something.
"Mistress, she about to do something!" Livia cried in rm as she sensed a terrifying crisis all of a sudden.
"Don''t worry. It''s not a ce where she can do anything but put up futile resistance." Eva calmly replied as she wasn''t even budging from her spot or Cyrus.
Their reason being extremely simple, Ace has assured them nothing would happen in this ce as long as he won''t wish it.
"Eva Dear, it seemed this woman has some very deep secrets, and she won''t open her mouth just like this. So, how about I call in an expert who can make her open her mouth like a loose-mouth parrot?" Ace coldly suggested, as his entire focus was on the Grim Ancestor.
If he felt anything amiss, he would throw her out instantly, but he hadn''t, so he knew everything was under control.
Furthermore, the name Grim Ancestor gave Ace a huge surprise because whoever has an Ancestor title with their name wasn''t some random big shot in this world, but they were all people of the highest status and terrifying prowess.
However, this made the situation even more confusing because he somehow robbed an Ancestor and didn''t even know about it and just when did an Ancestor be so weak.
That''s why he stopped holding back and decided to call in Freya, who had already broken into the Soul Embryo Manifestation Realm a few days ago. Now she was consolidating her cultivation.
The Evil Thief was at the pinnacle when it came to controlling other people''s minds!
Chapter 743 If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them!
The Grim Ancestor''s glowing eyes suddenly returned to normal. That crazy expression instantly reced bewilderment because the final trump card, a secret skill he wanted to use, suddenly disrupted halfway.
This sent chills down the Grim Ancestor''s spine when he started to have a very bad feeling about this as he looked at Eva''s nonchnt expression while her eyes were shing with disdain as if she was watching a clown.
''NO! How could this ancient secret skill have failed to active?!''
Appalled, she again tried to activate the skill but this time, she didn''t even get any response, and the Grim Ancestor''s colors on her face started to change like crazy.
At this moment, Eva uttered coldly, "Livy, I need you to stay put in a safe ce. This is about to get nasty."
Livia was surprised, for she didn''t understand the meaning behind those ambiguous words, but she was touched by Eva''s care for her.
Then suddenly Eva touched her hand as she said, "Don''t resist."
The next moment, the ring on Eva''s hand shimmered, and Livia found herself enveloped by a powerful suction force, and the next moment, she vanished without a trace.
The Grim Ancestor''s eyes went wide in horror when she saw Livia vanishing without a trace, and it finally dawned on her, "Y-you have a Living Storage Space Treasure?! Then this ce¡ can it be? Don''t tell me you somehow stole the Devil Race''s Legacy Treasure?!!!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Eva''s eyes shimmered with extreme coldness when she heard the Devil Race mentioned as well as she was intrigued by the Grim Ancestor''s assumption. This can only mean the Devil Race also has a Living Storage Space Treasure!
Even Ace was surprised by this revtion, and he was now even more sure that this Grim Ancestor was hiding terrifying secrets, and he needed them all!
Furthermore, when Ace heard two voices from the Grim Ancestor when he tried to activate some mysterious skill, he also noticed that two different soul signatures became clearer like day, as if there were two people present in one body.
So, it finally urred to Ace as he had encountered such situations where a soul was hidden in Winter while another soul wanted to possess his body.
''Now, I get it. It is most likely that this Grim Ancestor has used some sort of possession technique to rob someone from their body, a revival! However, the true owner of this body is somehow still alive, and that person is the one who I stole from at some point in the past. What in the world I''m encountering, these old monsters who know how to possess other''s bodies so often all of a sudden?''
Ace wondered with a strange expression as he knew his theory was most likely right. Nevertheless, this only made this old ghost''s memories even more precious to him, and this old ghost has been captured alive.
That''s why without hesitation, he found Freya and told her to enter the thief''s space post hastily.
Eva also sent Livia away in her space ring for that exact reason, as she didn''t want her toe in contact with other thief house members, yet not until she had a ''nice chat'' with them.
If the situation hadn''t demanded it, she would''ve preferred to talk with them all once she entered the thief''s house.
Furthermore, this snake intrigued her just like it did Ace, especially after she heard the Grim Ancestor seemed even to know some secrets of the devil race. So, instead of wasting time, it was only natural to call in someone who could save everyone the trouble.
The Grim Ancestor bes impatience because Eva nowpletely ignoring her. However, she was surprised again when all of a sudden, a hooded figure appeared out of nowhere.
Under the hood of her Evil Thief Armor, Freya looked around in the familiar surrounding, and then her eyes fell on the Grim Ancestor''s sorry figure.
She suddenly turned to her left side, and her eyes widened when she saw the devilish beauty sitting there like an Empress on her throne and coldly looking at her in scrutiny. Cyrus was also chirping happily at her as he was quite familiar with Freya.
"Treat her like you treat me. She is the Sky Stealer in my stead, and my identity is a secret. You just need to make that other woman talk, as you can see. This woman might be possessed by a soul and¡"
Ace then quickly exined to Freya how important the Grim Ancestor was and his theory about how this woman could''ve been possessed by an old monster. At the same time, he also warned her not to expose Eva in front of the Grim Ancestor or offend her in any way.
Freya''s astute eyes shimmered with surprise when she heard about the Grim Ancestor''s special situation as well as she felt fishy about this entire situation with Eva.
Truth be told, Freya had never seen anyone more beautiful than her, yet that woman was simply too beautiful. Even she paled inparison while she was feeling an extremely threatening aura from her.
Adding Cyrus''s behaving so restrained around this mysterious woman and Ace directly letting her y himself, Freya was extremely interested in who she was and what sort of rtionship Ace had with her.
Not to mention there was a fair possibility that this woman could be their next house member, and currently, there wasn''t any spot open, so she was just waiting in line.
Nevertheless, the Grim Ancestor''s memories were really precious. As Ace said, this guy could be a treasure trove of many secrets, and they could reap huge benefits.
As for Eva, she could always have a ''friendly talk'' with her since she seemed to be staying indefinitely.
"Just who in the world are you, people?" The Grim Ancestor finally couldn''t contain the horror in its tone because this situation was simply too strange even for an old monster like her to swallow.
She was pretty sure no Living Storage Space Treasure could send and receive people like this, and those treasures shouldn''t have this sort of restriction on them.
Furthermore, Freya seemed more like the Sky Stealer to her than Eva because of her getup and intractable aura.
"Do you think it''s your ce to talk? My dear, Leader is very interested in the information you have, and I have no choice but to obey." Freya charmingly stated before she gracefully moved toward the appalled Grim Ancestor.
Eva''s eyes twitched as she waspletely ignored by Freya, and the way she was calling Ace irked her in a very wrong way. But she didn''t say anything and coldly stared.
Meanwhile, both Ace and Cyrus decided to keep their mouth shut as they could easily sense gunpowder in the air, while Ace knew it was a terrible idea not to exin who Eva was to Freya beforehand.
Nevertheless, he was helpless as this sort of situation would ur, so he just focused on the matter at hand while preparing a countermeasure about how to deal with these women around him.
"Little girl, I admit you bunch are really not what everyone is thinking you are to be. So, I''m willing to cooperate as long as you let me join this organization of yours. Or you might be able to contain me here, but you will never get anything out of me. As long as you agree to let me join, I''ll give you all the information and much more than you could ever imagine. I know many secrets, and with my help, you all can stop being a bunch of thieves and be the true master of this world!" The Grim Ancestor stated with a stern expression.
The Grim Ancestor now knew the Sky Stealer was far more than just a thief, and the rumors of his prowess didn''t evene closer to the real thing.
That''s why the Grim Ancestor used another method for the sake of survival and offered his assistance since he could tell they all wanted her memories for the secrets she held.
As the saying goes, if you can''t beat them, join them!
Chapter 744 Jessie Campbell
"I guess we have to see if my associate here ispetent enough to get what we want first before we decide whether we need a snake in our ranks or not." Eva coldly uttered as she clearly just took a shot at Freya''s abilities!
Freya''s eyes went cold as she squinted them when she heard Eva''s clear disdain and hostility. But she didn''t retort since Ace strictly told her not to reveal Eva and treated her just as she treated him.
But the difference was Ace was very gentlepared to the she-devil sitting over there, and Freya finally met her match.
The Grim Ancestor, as an old snake, instantly noticed the tension between the two and quickly said, "Then this means I have a chance?"
"Heh, only the best of the best can be under my Leader''smand, and you are nothing but a ghost of the past who refuse to step into its grave. Let me see if I can''t get anything out of you or not." Freya icily uttered and no longer wasted more time.
Under the hood, Freya''s gray eyes with ck pupils suddenly started to shimmer in ck ethereal light, and like ink spread in water, her eyes suddenly turned inky ck. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
All of a sudden, a fine dark vertical line suddenly appeared on her be before, like an eyelid. It suddenly separated, revealing a dark eyeball with six golden pupils.
It was her connate ability, a racial trait, the Illusionary Dark Pupil, and unlike before, she has learned how to awaken it and gain control over this ability of her Evil Witch race.
Her previous tri-golden pupils were the result of her not able to control the Illusionary Dark Pupil fully. But when she gained control, her eyes returned to normal, and her racial trait vanished.
As for why she suddenly opened her Illusionary Dark Pupil, all of a sudden, it was to cast the secret spell she gained from the system!
The Grim Ancestor''s eyes went wide when she heard Freya calling her ''the Ghost of Past,'' as her heart suddenly raced in trepidation.
But when she noticed six golden pupils suddenly started to glow under Freya''s hood, and now she could only see that emotionless vertical eye staring right into her eyes, and a strange sensation suddenly started to envelop her mind.
However, the Grim Ancestor seemed to sense the iing danger, and all of a sudden, the snake-like pupils of the Grim Ancestor suddenly changed into normal human pupils, and her irises turned blue from gray. This happened so quickly that no one noticed it.
''Empty Sleep!'' Freya then activated the Empty Sleep Spell on the Grim Ancestor.
The Grim Ancestor''s eyes which had been changed were dazed for a moment before they suddenly saw the six golden pupils of the dark vertical eye under Freya''s hood suddenly start to spin!
The Grim Ancestor''s expression suddenly started to turn nk before the luster in her eyes was gone, and now she looked like an empty husk.
"Here, Leader, she''s under my control!" Freya''s sharp voice rang at this moment with clear hauteur present in it, "So much for being an old ghost of an ancestor!"
Eva''s eyes narrowed; despite not wanting to even, she had to admit Freya was really skillful at controlling other people''s minds. However, she wasn''t jealous or anything. She also has some methods to achieve such an effect, but the problem was she was too weak to use them.
"Ask her who she is and where did she meet me first." Ace was quite pleased with Freya''s efficiency, and she didn''t belittle her title as Evil Thief or lose face in front of Eva.
Freya kept eye contact as she posted the same question as Ace.
The Grim Ancestor nkly replied, "I am Jessie Campbell, from thend of Kingdoms in Azure Wind Continent, a former assassin of the Nightmare Ghost Organization. I met with Sky Stealer in the Zander City of Regal Kingdom when she was impersonating Javier!"
Both Eva and Freya were surprised, Eva because she was quite familiar with the structure of the low, middle, high, and royalnds. In contrast, Freya because she didn''t know whatnds of kingdoms were, but this woman seemed to be one of Ace''s early victims when he started to rise in prominence.
Ace finally remembered at this moment when he heard the Zander City, the first city he visited after he entered the middle-levelnds after finding it from Lane Town.
"Ask her if she''s Jason!" Ace quicklymanded.
"Yes. I was disguised as a Jason at that time." The Grim Ancestor or Jessie replied nkly in the affirmative.
Ace remembered encountering a very jolly guy named Jason, who was also in disguise and wanted to have ulterior motives for approaching him. At that time, Ace yed along because he wanted to get his hands on Jason''s disguise technique.
However, he got nothing except Jason''s identity token of being an assassin from the Nightmare Ghost Organization. But he never expected that guy was actually a woman, nor was he expecting to meet him ever again.
Yet here they are, meeting under such strange circumstances!
After sighing in nostalgia, Ace said, "Ask her which ancestor she is and how did she manage to possess this girl?"
Ace was now even more interested in the background of this old monster.
But when they heard her next words, everyone was shocked.
Jessie nkly stated. "I am not Grim Ancestor. He is my mentor and master, who I found in a secret ruin when I was on the job. He was attached to a scroll as a fragment of his soul, and he promised me his entire inheritance if I epted him as my master and took revenge for him.
"ording to him, he is one of the ancient beast ancestors of the magic beast race, and during the racial war, he met a powerful Devil Ancestor and only managed to escape with a wisp of soul and fell into slumber for thousands of years in the Azure Wind Continent!"
Chapter 745 Witch Soul Possession
"Something is not right. It''s like we are speaking to another person, not the Grim Ancestor. Are you sure she''s under your control?" Eva questioned Freya.
Ace also wanted to know the same because, ording to this, Jessie, the Grim Ancestor, was her master but also a whip of a soul, just as he guessed earlier. When he focused on Jessie, he finally noticed a very small change. The familiar soul signature now seemed somehow more powerful than the new soul signature he was feeling previously.
Freya''s eyes went cold when an outsider questioned her abilities, but even she was in a bind here so she couldn''t refute.
"Her eyes are different! I think you are controlling the original owner of this body. It''s like the Grim Ancestor had switched ces with her when he noticed your mind-controlling technique. Ask her if the person before was her or the Grim Ancestor, and we''ll know the truth." Ace quickly revealed his conjecture to Freya.
Freya''s dark eyes widened ever so slightly as she never expected this sort of situation, so she quickly followed Ace''s lead and asked Jessie the same question.
In reply, Jessie revealed, "You were not talking with me but the Grim Ancestor. He robbed me of my body after he tricked me into ingesting his magic beast bloodline. I don''t remember anything after he somehow locked my mind into a dark ce where I was constantly fighting for my freedom but to no avail. A few moments ago, I suddenly saw a crack in that dark prison and tried to escape, but it was futile. Now all of a sudden, I regain control over my body."
"How vicious. To escape being effective with her mental skill, that cunning snake quickly changed position with her. In my memories, there is an ancient technique named Ghost Soul Shift Technique, where one can change ces with different souls to escape any soul attacks, restrictions, or even death.
"However, in this case, it is a more coarse method, and this soul seemed to be only able to control and switch ces with one soul, and that''s mostly why he was keeping her alive and didn''t get rid of her soul.
"There are two options we can exploit this. One, if we kill this body, he will die as well if he can''t escape this body, or he will just appear in its true form without this body. While the second option is even more simple, ask her if she could directly search for the hidden Grim Ancestor''s soul and take control over it or not.
"In both cases, we''ll be winning," Eva suggested to Ace through mind transmission as she didn''t bother to speak out loud because the Grim Ancestor might be listening, and she also knew Ace was talking with Freya using the same sort of method they used to talk.
Ace was quite surprised by Eva''s suggestion, and he felt it was quite practical, so he quickly asked Freya if she could find and control the Grim Ancestor''s soul or not.
No one was interested in this girl; Jessie''s sob story and her information would bepletely useless. She was just greedy and already paid for blindly doing everything an old ghost told her to do.
The Grim Ancestor was what held the true information, and Ace also wanted to know how thatmp worked, but now it seemed he had to figure it out himself. Most importantly, he wanted to know how to get out of this ce.
As she looked at Jessie, Freya''s eyes were deadly cold with a hint of humiliation when she thought about how she got tricked and lost face in front of Eva.
Her lips suddenly curled up in a deadly smile as she said to the nk face Jessie, "I must admit I have underestimated those so-called Ancestors. Since you want to y this game, I''ll y along, I was just searching for another body to make another avatar, and yours seemed quite fine after all. You have spent quite a time nurturing it."
She then used the thought transmission to talk directly with Ace, "Leader, give me a few days to refine this body into my new Witch Avatar with my Witch Soul Possession Ability."
Ace frowned because he knew what Freya wanted to do; they had discussed it when thest time they spoke. N?v(el)B\\jnn
When Ace wanted to insert Freya into the Moon Domain of the Union so she could help him search for the secret realms, he wanted to use her Evil Thief abilities.
But Freya then told him about the Yin Soul Possession Technique''s true origin, which she only found after she fully awoke the Illusionary Dark Pupil and evolved her bloodline into Grade-7.
It turns out that the Yin Possession Technique was just a simplified version of the Evil Witch Race''s bloodline innate ability called the Witch Soul Possession Ability.
Not only did this ability not have absurd prerequisites like nurturing a fetus, but with this ability, a Witch can refine a soul and get all its memories and inheritance, and by doing so, also win control over the victim''s body!
Although the part about splitting the soul and experiencing a lifelong soul injury still remained if the Witch Avatar was killed. But if she remains vignt, then it can be easily avoidable, and the benefits fully outmatch the disadvantages.
That''s why she asked Ace to abduct some random Union Student at that time so she could use this skill on her and easily infiltrate the Union under her wless disguise.
But she wanted to break through into the Soul Embryo Manifestation Realm first because another drawback of this ability was if a part of her soul was missing and acting as her Witch Avatar, she couldn''t break through a realm wall, ever. Not to mention she''ll be stronger than ever.
So, Ace easily guessed that Freya wanted to refine Jessie into her Witch Avatar, and while doing so, she would devour the Grim Ancestor''s soul hiding within Jessie''s body.
But he has his concern as he sternly uttered, "Don''t be reckless. I know an ancestor''s memory is priceless. Just use your Evil Thief''s abilities; this will be a more safe approach. If this snake is one of the ancient beast ancestors, then I don''t need to tell you that every title Ancestor represents a de facto Law Comprehension Realm expert. You might suffer a terrible bacsh if that old snake has something up his sleeve."
Freya''s lips curled up as she replied, "I''m ttered by Leader''s care. But do you forget this ce is where only those affiliated with our Thief House can remain free or someone like Cyrus, who is your pet? Hence, this cunning snake won''t be able to do much, and I''m pretty sure he also knew it, and that''s why he wanted to jump the ship.
"Furthermore, I know my limit, and by the way that snake reacted to my secret spell, it''s clearly afraid of me and no match for my current prowess, and that''s why he''s hiding still.
"Thest reason for not using the evil thief''s abilities is this magic beast''s body. I can easily tell this body contains a powerful bloodline, and I''ll be able to fully use it for your advantage until I reach the Law Awareness Realm myself. Moreover, the cultivation of this body is simply too weak in front of mine.
"So, let me do it. I promise I won''t hold back on those memories if you''re afraid about this." Freya yfully stated, but her tone was firm, and she really wanted to devour the Grim Ancestor whole.
Ace frown, but he can''t find refutable words, and Freya really has a valid point about Jessie currently having a Grade-8 bloodline, and Freya having that body would be quite helpful in his future endeavor. While those memories are priceless, and they were better in Freya''s head than the Grim Ancestor, who he didn''t trust at all.
Lastly, he already has people wanting to join the thief''s house, and this was a woman on top of that, so he was more inclined toward handling it like this than incurring Eva''s irony.
The system was also a very important factor.
In the end, he had to admit this was really a good idea, so he approved it, "Alright, but be careful if you find anything amiss; stop right away. I''ll have Cyrus watch over you as well. He can easily suppress her bloodline."
Freya smiled enthrallingly, "You are the best. I won''t disappoint you. But what about that woman? She''s acting way out of her ce!" She finallyined about Eva. Furthermore, she was quite displeased with her tone.
However, what Ace said next almost made Freya''s mind explode with stupefaction.
"Hah, actually, I think there is no point in hiding it anymore since it will only create more misunderstandings between everyone.
"That woman''s name is Eva, and she is my childhood sweetheart as well as my Wife!"
Chapter 746 Spirit Fulcrum Lantern (No.7)
After dealing with Grim Ancestor''s matter which clearly didn''t go as Ace had nned, he turned his focus on the mysteriousmp that contained the Spirit Fire.
While looking at the illuminating ck antiquemp, which was now emitting a gentle warmth,pletely different from the terrifying and unbearable heat of the Spirit Fire.
Ace then has to ask the system assistance because Noa was waiting, and he needed thismp empty if he wanted to capture more spirit fires, "System, can you appraise this treasure?"
"[1,000,000 TP is required. Do you want to continue?]"
Ace cocked his eyebrow when he heard the price tag. He didn''t want to use the system appraisal because of this exact reason that it asked for too many thief points.
However, after getting over 60 million thief points from the Grim Ancestor, he wasn''t stingy anymore, so he continued.
Besides, he knew if the system was asking for so many thief points, then this meant hismp was extraordinary.
=====
[The Spirit Fulcrum Lantern (No.7)]
-Description: A mysterious treasure with unknown origin!
-Grade: Unknown
-Detectable Ability (1): Spirit Fire Bane
Description: Can capture and contain Spirit Fires so long as ites in contact with them!
Current capacity: 1/???
-Detectable Ability (2): Spirit Amalgamationn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Description: Able to titrate Spirit Fires to produce new and powerful spirit fires.
The requirement to use this ability: Grade-9 Qi stones or Soul Crystals
-Undetectable Abilities: ???
-Owner: In Untamable State
[NOTE: This treasure is out of the system''s current capabilities to fully appraise it! Please upgrade the system to appraise this treasure further!]
---
[Thief Point(s): 82,989,350]
=====
Ace was astounded when he saw the result, "Even you can''t fully appraise this treasure? Is this treasure even more powerful than an Eternal Provenance Treasure?"
Ace found it hard to believe that even the system couldn''t fully appraise this Spirit Fulcrum Lantern despite having the ability to appraise the EPT and even tame it.
Furthermore, this Spirit Fulcrum Lantern''s both abilities revealed by the system were quite terrifying on their own, and he knew he had really profited this time from the Grim Ancestor.
"[The Eternal Thief Fate Compass was a mere fragment of its former true self. While this treasure is not EPT but it seemed in a very peculiar state which can''t be fully analyzed by the system with its current capacity. However, there is more to this treasure. But those details will do harm more than benefit the host at the moment. Host first need to upgrade the system before you can gain ess to more details.]"
Ace frowned and asked with pursed lips, "Then why do you take 1 million thief points if you can''t give me all the details or even appraise it?"
"[System only took what was sufficient for Host''s request and in the future host might need to pay even more to appraise this treasure fully. However, the system can confidently reveal that this Spirit Fulcrum Lantern (No.7) can lead to something worth being possessed by the Heaven''s Stealer!]"
Ace squinted his eyes as a glint of uncertainty shed past them, "Alight, I''ll take your words for it. But you still didn''t tell me how I can retrieve the spirit fire already being absorbed by this Spirit Fulcrum Lantern?"
"[The Spirit Fulcrum Lantern (No.7) is untamable, which means it has no owner, so anyone can use it as long as they know how. If anyone else, they needed to be at least a Law Awareness Realm level Qi tomand it. But Host just needs to use his Heavenly Qi, and then you can make it give away the spirit fire. But be warned, the spirit fire will be fully free once ites out of the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern (No.7).]"
"Then can thief''s house space suppress the spirit fire?" Ace asked as he was nning to give this spirit fire to Noa in the first ce.
But he didn''t want to kill her by releasing that spirit fire close to her. Even though she might have received the method to refine the spirit fire from the system. But Ace found this highly dangerous after he personally experienced the terrifying might of the spirit fire.
"[If the Host is concerned about the Thief Assassin, then the Host didn''t need to bother. She is fully capable of refining this spirit fire because her body refinement technique grants her a certain level of immunity against the Spirit Fires. The higher grade her demon body reaches, the more she''ll be immune to the Spirit Fires of the Mortal Sky Heaven!]"
Ace was astonished as it was the first time he was hearing about this, and even Noa might not know this. So, he no longer hesitated about this and found Noa.
After giving her an update on the Grim Ancestor, he told her if she was ready to refine the Spirit Fire so he could let it out.
Noa was eagerly waiting for this for a long time already. She quickly gave her confirmation, and Ace also didn''t dy as he sent the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern (No.7) into her thief''s house space and followed system instructions.
The Spirit Fulcrum Lantern (No.7) darkly shimmered after it came in contact with Ace''s heavenly Qi and upon receiving hismand. The ruby color spirit fire shot out of it, and it turned dimmer instantly!
Upon getting its freedom again, the spirit fire seemed quite angry as the mes flickered madly. However, it failed to manage to produce even an ounce of heat and waspletely helpless.
Noa was ecstatic when she saw the Spirit Fire waspletely suppressed, and she didn''t have to go through the trouble of fighting it.
So, she quickly used her Qi to cage it and then sat cross-legged in front of the madly flickering Spirit Fire and started to use the refinement technique she received from the system with her body refinement technique.
Thereby, a faint ruby mist started to emit from the burning spirit fire, and that mist slowly started to fly toward Noa''s forehead before it vanishedpletely. Like a slow-flowing river, that mist was streaming toward Noa.
Ace was quite assured seeing Noa sessfully starting to absorb the Spirit Fire without any hitch. So, he leaves her alone in solitude.
Then his focus turned to the Grim Ancestor''s storage ring because he found very interesting things in it, and he was also hoping to find some clues about how the Grim Ancestor managed to enter the Sun Secret Realm, or he''ll know once Freya was done with Jessie!
Chapter 747 The Ancient Allied Gathering
At an unknown location over the Endless Sea, there was a small archipgo shaped like a spearhead. There was no trace of Qi present in this ce, and everything appeared extremely ordinary.
But many ships of different sizes and with different gs were anchored around this archipgo.
On the central ind of this archipgo, there was a small golden shrine, and within this shrine was nothing except a crimson tablet with a golden zing sun symbol on it.
At this moment, arge group of people just gathered in a camp a few meters away from this shrine. In this group, there were winged devils, demons, hunters, humans, and finally, magic beasts in their human form with quite distinguish beastly features.
Furthermore, everyone present in this room has the cultivation of Soul Manifestation Realm!
"Who would''ve thought I would be participating in the Ancient Allied Gathering one day? I must say we humans are honored." A middle-aged human with handsome features holding an amiable smile uttered as he sat at the very front of the human ground of six. He was clearly their leader.
"I also never expected that humans would send their famous First Azure Elder of Azure Wind Mountain Sect. Not to mention, those five behind you are no less famous than you are. You guys are really nning on snatching food from the tiger''s mouth, huh?" Thepletely ck Devil sneered coldly at this moment.
The First Azure Elder chuckled without showing any extensive reaction and replied, "In front of your excellency, Shadow Devil Duke, we all are not worth mentioning. Oh, and we are not here to snatch anyone''s food. We simply don''t dare. We are only here because we received the orders from our Grand Elder, or how could we have found this ce?"
The First Azure Elder then meaningfully snickered, "Besides, us, sitting in this ce between your excellencies are the proof that our races have already reached an understanding in this matter. So, there is no need to scare us. We are only here to give the younger generation some experience, and healthypetition between youths is what makes them stronger and wiser."
The eyes of the three races of the alliance were icy and unkind as they looked at First Azure Elder''s smiling expression. But no one has words to refute him because he was stating the fact.
If their higher-ups hadn''t agreed, not to mention sitting in this ce, those three races wouldn''t even let other races who weren''t part of the Alliance step onto thend before destroying them with full power.
Furthermore, they knew the human they were dealing with a venomous snake in human skin. However, the First Azure Elder was acting politely and respectfully. If the fight broke out, the first person they wanted to eliminate with be none other than the First Azure Elder!
The biggest reason was the First Azure Elder was the 2nd direct disciple of the Dream Shatter Ancestor, and there was nothing ordinary about him!
A demon spoke at this moment in an icy tone, "I''m more interested in knowing what gave the beast race the courage to step in this ce, and how do you find it?"
The focus instantly shifted to the lion face humanoid magic beast sitting there calmly with a long golden mane.
He growled coldly before replying in a hoarse voice, "Don''t act so surprised, Northern Council Minister. Unlike these wily humans, we had paid the price already, and that''s why we''re sitting here. If you have any problem, contact your Imperials, and you''ll know. Besides, I think we should all be questioning your Demon Race qualification instead of ours; who can''t even seize a petty thief!"
The demons suddenly shot up from their seats as all of them released terrifying auras on the four magic beast race people.
The humiliation the demon race had suffered from the Sky Stealer was simply too great, and unlike before, no one took them seriously anymore. Now the Sky Stealer has be maim on the demon race''s reputation, and every demon hated him to the core and wanted to skin him alive.
To make matters worse, the Demon Race now even has to ally themselves with the humans and seek help from the Devil Race to capture that thief. While the Hunter Race seemedpletely calm despite their princess''s impending execution.
So, their reaction was nothing out of the ordinary, and they all knew both humans and the magic beast found the courage toe to this ce exactly because of the demon race''s current declining reputation.
The magic beasts also didn''t hear to y as they responded by releasing their own terrifying aura, and they were ready to transform into their true form.
"Alright, that''s enough!" A crimson devil coldly uttered, "This time, the Ancient Allied Gathering will be held by five faces instead of three. If anyone has a problem with this arrangement, then they can leave. But if anyone tries to cause trouble before the secret realm opens, the other races will fully retaliate against them. Now, if you two sides didn''t stand down, then don''t me others for your own foolishness." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The demons had no choice but to swallow their anger since they knew they were not in the position, while the magic beasts merely sneered and sat down.
However, the demons have already marked the magic beasts as someone they had to kill one way or another, either in this ce or in the secret realm.
"Now, we''ll start with the distribution of the entrance slots, and this setting is final, and there will be no change made to it. Because this destitution was made by the three rulers of the top three races so anyone who has a problem can keep it to themselves." The devil coldly uttered, and no one retorted as everyone became solemn.
"The Fiery Hell Secret Realm will be opened in three weeks. I don''t need to tell anyone about the restrictions on age and cultivation since I know everyonees prepared, so I just save everyone time and go on with the slots.
"Every time the Fiery Hell Secret Realm opens, 1000 Participants can enter in total whether we send them all together or in small groups. The capacity is 1000.
"The Devil Race will have 300 slots, Hunters 250, Demons 200, Humans 150, and Beasts 100!"
"Ridiculous!" The Northern Council Minister instantly shot up from his seat furiously. They were supposed to have 350 slots but ended up getting 200, so his reaction was called-for.
Furthermore, even hunters were getting fifty more slots than them which were even more humiliating than getting 200 slots.
"As I said before, contact your imperials if you have any problem. Don''t make a fuss here, or I''m pretty sure everyone here will be happy to have 200 extra slots up for distribution." The devil nonchntly uttered, but his voice wasced with malice.
In the end, the demons could only ground their teeth and storm out of the camp as their hatred for the Sky Stealer climbed to a whole new level!
Chapter 748 The Burning Sun Refinement (1)
After the unpleasant turns of events, the demons returned to one of the inds upied by their fleet.
Despite a lot going on with the demon race right now, they still didn''t back away from the Fiery Hell Secret Realm because of the Spirit Fire. In fact, no one does because the Spirit Fire was just as important as capturing the elusive thief.
Not to mention the three races have been nning for this event for a century. So, nothing changed except the demons getting robbed of over a hundred original slots because of the Demon Ancestor''s predicament.
If it was just a matter of the demon race''s grudge against the Sky Stealer, then they won''t have topromise so much, but the thing was, it was far more than just that, so they had to pay the price for asking everyone''s cooperation.
"Lnd, summon 1st to 100th ranking participants. It''s time to pair them up with the Miasma Demon Soldiers." The Northern Council Minister coldly ordered while he sat in his camp, and his voice wasced with fury.
A demon in ck robes appeared out of thin air as he respectfully yet with rage spat, "Are we really going just to ept that ridiculous quota? They even give those hunters more slots than us! Do they think we are some sort of pushovers?"
"Sigh¡" Northern Council Minister sighed ruefully as he shook his head, "I know what you''re implying, Lnd, but I already discussed it with the Demon Emperor. We are to ept this sharing without making any fuss. Ever since the day that wrenched symbol stained our temple, nothing has been the same, and the Demon Emperor is always agitated and no longer seems like his past self."
Lnd remained silent for a moment before he hesitantly asked, "Is this to have something to do with that giant demon who was said to be our race''s Ancestor?"
Before the tragedy of the Imperial Demon Domain, only the Demon Emperor, Demon Empress, or another person knew about the existence of the Demon Ancestor who stayed in the Demon Temple indefinitely.
However, after the Imperial Demon Scepter was stolen right under everyone''s noses, the Demon Ancestor didn''t care about hiding his existence at all. Now, almost all the high-ranking demons in the Royal Demon Nation knew about the Demon Ancestor.
Although this gave the demon race more moral boost. As a result, the influence of the Demon Emperor also greatly plummeted as the ruler of the Demon Race.
Now, everyone respects the Demon Emperor because of the Demon Ancestor. They no longer seem to revere him like before as the most powerful demon. Some even thought of the Demon Emperor as a puppet emperor whose strings were in the hands of the Demon Ancestor.
"Don''t speak nonsense. It is not our ce to speak about the matter of Imperials." Northern Council Minister chided coldly.
"Please forgive me. I was angry and spoke out of my ce." Lnd knew his ce and quickly apologized.
He then inquired about another important matter, "Is it wise to send the Miasma Demon Soldiers with your limited slots? We should go with the original pairings of the ranked 1st to 200th participants and drop the Miasma Demon Soldiers. They are, after all, just sacrificial pawns."
Northern Council Minister coldly answered, "Although they are just pawns, but they are trained to be far more resilient in the Fiery Hell Secret Realm''s special environment.
"Especially when ites to those absurd trials. Furthermore, they will give away their life without hesitation and can make the one who killed them wish for death.
"Paring them with those top 100 participants who we nurtured for over two years and can evenst a little while against a new Soul Manifestation Realm Cultivator, they are a deadlybination.
"So, what if those bastards give us 200 spots? I''ll let them know that even if our reputation is maimed by that cowardly thief, we are stronger than ever. In the end, it will alle down to who can bring out and then able to keep the Spirit Fire at the end of this gathering."
Lnd nodded in agreement, "You are right, Minister, even if none of our participants got their hands on that Spirit Fire. What matters the most is someone can bring it out, and only then the true fight for the possession of the Spirit Fire will begin!"
---
While the five races were scheming against each other about outside the Fiery Hell Secret Realm for the Spirit Fire, without even knowing that the Spirit Fire was already stolen by the Sky Stealer yet again.
Ace finally found the cathedral of the thirdyer in the middle of tall mountains surrounded by giant hominoid stone statues.
After spending some time in the thirdyer, Ace knew just how dangerous this ce was for those who didn''t know how to fly. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Only with his map did he manage to avoid all those traps and reach this ce, and those 33 statues were giving him a very dangerous feeling, just like theva river on the secondyer.
But he knew time was essence here, and he still needed to pass the damn trial of thisyer to enter the fourthyer, and he was still a long way from reaching the ninthyer.
Ace used his stealth to sneak past those giant statues and enter the crimson cathedral. He was hoping since his stealth worked on those other rocky beings, it would work on those statues as well.
To his relief, those statues remained motionless as he flew over their heads in stealth, and without dy, he started to shoot down toward the cathedral. He knew that even if there was something wrong with those statues, these cathedrals seemed to have some sort of protection around them, like some safe zones.
Without any hitch, Ace safelynded in front of the cathedral''s peculiar entrance.
However, instead of entering right away, he decided to recover first because he was exhausted after continually flying for so long, and he hadn''t rested since the events with the Grim Ancestor.
After spending twelve hours in recovery, Ace was finally at his peak and entered the cathedral!
He appeared in the same redness, and the same static voice rang at this moment, "Sun and Moon Seeker Token detected!
"Wee Sun and Moon Seeker in the Lower Layer, Third Level Trial!
"Pass the Unique Trial solely made for the Sun and Moon Seeker to earn an entry in the Middle Layer, First Level!
"Unique Trial: The Burning Sun Refinement will nowmence!"
Chapter 749 The Burning Sun Refinement (2)
"Unique Trial: The Burning Sun Refinement will nowmence!"
Just as this voice trailed off, Ace''s surroundings suddenly wrapped, and the next moment, he was standing in apletely different ce.
Ace''s eyes widened in astonishment because ahead of him were three burning suns, the first on the left was green, the second in the middle was red, and the third on the right was blue!
Ace couldn''t tell just how close or far those three zing suns were, but he could easily feel the terrifying intents on each of them which gave different feelings. He has never felt anything like this before.
The same voice sounded at this moment again, "The Suns before you are the manifestation of three types of Fire Intents left behind by the Sun God for its sessor.
"The Green Sun represents the Life hidden in mes. The Red Sun represents Destruction. The Blue Sun mirrored the Disaster. Together these three mes are called the Yang mes. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Sun and Moon Seeker, your goal is to refine these three intents with the help of your Yang Mortal Sword Manual and manifest the Mortal Yang Intent!
"You have 30 days to achieve this before you fail and have to wait for 30 days before you can take on this trial again!"
Ace was baffled by this trial because this was thest thing he was hoping to get for a trial. Moreover, this was the time when he needed the Yang Mortal Sword Manual, which he was incapable of using.
Furthermore, it was his first time hearing that someone could have three types of different intents of the same element, and the Sun God seemed to be a terrifying existence now.
The intent was something that represented the desire of the intent holder as well as the intent medium. There are two types of intent.
The Weapon intent represents the desire to kill, which matches the weapon''s characteristics and how the holder wants to kill with this weapon.
Once a person figures out their inner thought and how they want to use a weapon that should be inclined toward weapon characteristic, and that weapon fully ingests itself within the holder''s very being, the weapon intent will be born, which give incredible prowess and open the path of weapon intent.
However, unlike the Weapon Intent, the Element Intent was vastly different.
The first difference was that the Element Intents couldn''t be used with other element intents like the Weapon Intent. Because a weapon''s intent is like a nk paper as it manifests from a nk weapon.
On the contrary, the element intent was not like the weapons as it represents a unique path, the path ofw. An element didn''t depend on someone''s will or resolve because it was an independent entity that represented the very origin of heaven and earth.
Once an element user starts to understand the element at a deeper level, they will slowly be walked toward the path of an element intent. Once they reach the threshold and understand the Law Intent of that element, they be aware of that element''sw, exit the realm of elements, and enter the realm ofws.
This was also the path of a Soul Manifestation to the Law Awareness Realm!
Although there was another aspect of the Law Awareness Realm, the matter at hand was Ace was told toprehend a Law Intent, and it was clearly not just any normalw intent but can only be achieved afterprehending the Fire Element at a significantly more profound level.
Although Ace hasprehended the sword''s intent and could use it with two different elements, but it was because of his fifteen years of experience and many fortuitous encounters.
Moreover, he has no idea how to use those elements independently without his sword intent because he didn''t have time to pay attention to the Element Intents since he was quite busy with his sword intent.
Ace has already nned to start learning the Element Intents after he is done with this mission and saving Alina. But now, he needed toprehend aplex element intent within a month, and that element just happened to bepletely different from the elements he understood.
This left Ace stumped, and he knew if he didn''t do something, he won''t be able to pass this trial no matter what he did, and time was a luxury that he was thoroughlycking at this moment.
ording to the fate map, he was still inside the cathedral, but he was not at the entrance but deep inside it.
''I need to find a way to exit this location. But I can''t unless I find a way to break free from this formation restriction which is a Grade-8 formation. None of my skills will work here or treasures.
''Even that old snake didn''t have a treasure to encounter a Grade-8 formation. Unfortunately, this mission is too high level for my current self, and I got it at the wrong ce and wrong time¡'' Ace thought ruefully as he looked at those three suns with a deep, grim frown.
Then a sudden thought surfaced in his mind, ''Wait, in that snake records, I found an old unknown journal which wasn''t written in the beastnguage, and it was about someone''s research on the spirit fires.
''There was also alchemy inheritance of an ingenious alchemist who was most likely the one who had made all those arrangements to capture the Spirit Fire, but somehow the Grim Ancestor benefited from it.
''ording to those records, the Spirit Fires have an ultimate affinity with firew and can mold themselves into different types of fires depending on their environments. I didn''t understand what this meant before, but now, I think it also refers to the various aspects of the fire elements.
''Furthermore, spirit fire can grow by devouring a weaker spirit fire, and if someone can nurture the spirit fire and control it to a full extent, that person will no longer be effective by the normal Fire at all.
''Then there were fabled existences described in those texts very briefly, those born with innate spirit fire and known as the Rulers of Fire. The only information written in those texts was the Rulers of Fire could control all the Fire in existence!
''I don''t know if it''s true or not, but I know someone who was born with an Innate Spirit Fire, but the question is whether I can take him out here or not¡.''
Thinking to this point, Ace again seeks the system out because if those records and his conjecture were urate, then the entire Sun Secret Realm might be nothing but a walk in the park for him!
Chapter 750 You Finally Found Me Good Food!
Ace standing under the three powerful intents, questioned the system, "System, I want your help in this situation, or I won''t be able to get passed thisyer, nor do I want to use my trump card at this point since there is a chance I will be found. So, just tell me if Cyrus is the Ruler of Fire, and can he appear in this ce without tripping something off?"
Right at this point, Ace''s n was quite simple, to bring out Cyrus and see if the little guy could help him with this situation or not. If Cyrus was really a Ruler of Fire, then he needed to be sure that nothing happened when he took him out.
This was an active trial, and he had no idea if that voice was alive or not, but with his experience in the Union, he was pretty sure it had to be alive.
He was hoping to take out Cyrus by using a grade-7 concealing talisman he found in the Grim Ancestor, and that talisman was also a limit talisman on top of that. But he needed to be sure that voice won''t detect it, and he''ll use Cyrus to trick the voice into thinking that he was the one whopleted it.
But for all of this to happen, he needed the system''s assurance as well as Cyrus to understand those three intents.
System voice rang at this moment, "[Not everyone who is born with an innate spirit fire is a Ruler of Fire, and there is only one Ruler of Fire in existence. So, the Nether Paradise Bird is not the true Ruler of Fire but one of its direct descends. But for what Host wants it to do, it would be quite easy to achieve.]"
"[Furthermore, it is bonded to the Host with Master and Servant Pack, which makes it lose its individual identity, and it only belonged to you. That''s why the Nether Paradise Bird will appear like a sentient treasure which belonged to Host under any sort of formation and probating not as an individual entity.]"
Ace''s eyes shone with tion when he got the system confirmation, but he also frowned slightly at the end, "This sound so wrong¡" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The system didn''t bother to reply anymore, which made Ace grunt in dissatisfaction. Nheless, he didn''t have time to correct the system''s manner of speech as he knew it would be meaningless.
The next moment, Cyrus, who was like a free spirit sleeping in his small nest within the house in the thief''s space, was summoned by Ace again. The little guy was quite happy after Livia was stowed into Eva''s storage ring for the time being because of Freya''s presence which meant he didn''t have to study anymore.
Nevertheless, when it came to having fun, Cyrus was always ready, and whenever Ace summoned him out, he would be very curious and active. This time wasn''t any different.
The little bird chirped happily but suddenly stopped as its tiny eyes were locked on the three suns, and without Ace even exining anything to him, he cried with ecstasy.
"Big Bro, you finally found me good food!"
Ace was astonished by this response, "You mean those three suns? You can eat them? And what do you mean by finding you good food? I don''t even know what you can eat. The entire space is filled with many things. If you have told you had told me you could do you think I won''t let you?"
Ace annoyingly transmitted his voice to the little frivolous bird. He was telling the truth when he said he had no idea Cyrus could eat because since his birth, he hadn''t eaten anything except the eggshells which he hatched from, nor has he ever told Ace that he wants something peculiar to eat.
Cyrus didn''t seem to care about Ace''s feelings as his eyes were affixed on those three suns, and he friskily transmitted its voice, "Can I eat them now? That flower is making me hungry even more!"
Although he was eager, he won''t do anything without getting Ace''s permission first.
Ace was again stumped, "What flower?"
"The flower in front of us with burning petals! Can I eat it now, please!" Cyrus was now cutely pleading as if he couldn''t wait any longer.
Ace frowned as he clearly couldn''t see any flower in front of him, but then Cyrus was nothing but simple, and what his eyes could see that Ace''s won''t.
"Alright, but be careful." Ace then gave his confirmation since the voice hadn''t reacted in any way, it confirmed that the system was right.
Furthermore, he wanted to see what would happen if Cyrus really ate those three suns, which were, ording to Cyrus, just the petals of a flower!
The moment those words left Ace''s mouth, Cyrus suddenly jumped off Ace''s shoulder and, like an arrow, shot toward the three suns.
Cyrus then suddenly levitated in front of the three suns and opened its small beak and shot out a small sky-blue me which was his connate Nether Spirit Fire.
But to Ace''s surprise, Cyrus didn''t aim at any of the three suns. Instead, he aimed at them.
Then something magical happened under Ace''s bbergasted eyes; the entire space where he was standing suddenly shook crazily.
"Crack¡ Rumbled¡."
The three burning suns, which appeared majestic and holy, suddenly started to crack, and the next moment, including those suns, all the space around Ace sted apart with a massive rumble.
Ace then found himself standing in a bright white hall and a ss doom which was now fully cracked around him.
But his eyes were instantly drawn by a flower with three heart-shaped petals. The petals of that flower were literally burning in the same color as those suns, and the flower disk was fully golden and emitting a terrifying heat while the stem was also golden.
The size of that flower was 1.5 meters. However, a small sky-blue me was burning in the middle of the flower disk, which made the flower tremble uncontrobly.
Under Ace''s baffled eyes, the sky-blue me started to grow and the majestic flower visible starting to dim down, and those mes on its petals were also decreasing.
Within a few seconds, all the mes and glow on the flower had vanished without a trace, and that small sky-blue me was now somewhat deeper and a centimeterrger.
When all the mes vanished from the flower, it started to turn into a fine ash, and the small sky-blue me shot back into Cyrus''s beak.
Thereupon, Cyrus, with blissful eyes, muttered, "How scrumptious!"
Chapter 751 The Generous Sun God
Cyrusnded back on Ace''s shoulder and chirped in happiness, "Big Bro, what is this ce? I''m sensing even more delicacies around here!"
Ace nce at the little guy, who looks like a cute, harmless bird with a strange look in his eyes, "Are you fine after absorbing that flower? And did you say there are more things like that flower that could make you hungry, and you can even sense them? Why didn''t you tell me before when I summoned you out to subdue the snake?"
Cyrus tilted its small head and innocently replied, "I''m fine, and there are many things not far away from here, but they are inferior to that flower! Oh, so the snake came from here? But I didn''t sense anything that time, strange¡"
Ace grunted in dissatisfaction as he knew Cyrus wasn''t hiding anything. Still, this was a great and weing development.
Because ording to the map, he was still inside the thirdyer cathedral, but the difference was he was no longer bound by the trial.
Ace was wondering why that voice hadn''t said anything after Cyrus literally ate the trial when it finally sounded again.
"The Third Sun and Moon Seeker, White, has taken the Sun God''s holy gift!
"The Unique Trial for Sun and Moon Seeker of the third level will no longer exist!
"ording to the dogma of the Sun God, if a Sun and Moon Inheritor has the ability to take the Holy Gift, all the rewards ced for the Unique Trial shall be handed down to that inheritor!
"Sun and Moon Seeker White will also be rewarded with 1000 extra days in the Secret Sun Realm!"
Ace was dumbfounded as this was thest thing he was expecting; to be rewarded instead of punishment.
Right at this moment, a golden ring suddenly flew toward Ace out of nowhere, and Ace''s eyes shone with ecstasy as he guessed this ring should contain those rewards the voice had just announced.
Ace also noticed something on the map, the glittering silver location at the edge of the cathedral was now gone, and only one more silver location was left. He has a very good idea of what has caused it!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
''If I knew this would be so easy and by destroying these trails, I could get the main treasures, I would''ve done this on the previous two trials as well!'' Ace regretted not thinking like this before.
But he had no idea Cyrus was capable of such a thing as well as the Sun God was so generous that it could give away the entire treasure upon breaking its trial!
Nevertheless, now that he knew, it was still not toote, and there were six moreyers, and now that he knew Cyrus wouldn''t pose any threat, he won''t be sending him back. The little guy was now his moneymaker!
"Oh, all the good stuff is in that ring! Big Bro, is that your friend? Can I thank him for all the food he''s giving Cyrus?" Cyrus frivolously questioned while its tiny eyes shimmered with ecstasy as he looked at the golden ring.
"Dumb brat, you have already eaten that flower, which was clearly more precious than anything else present in this entire ce. So, whatever in that ring is, it will be split 90/10 now! And you can''t speak until I said so, and that guy is not our friend!" Ace transmitted in exasperation.
Cyrus chirped a moment, and then his reluctant childish voice sounded, "I understand. Big bro can keep the 10 percent treasures in that ring."
Ace rolled his eyes, hearing those reluctant words, "I''m keeping 90%, and you will be the one taking the 10%!"
"That''s not fair! These numbers are so wrong! You can''t trick me. I''ve learned counting!" Cyrus instantly cried in indignation when the painful truth was revealed.
"Hmph, you didn''t say so when you quickly agreed to give me 10%. Besides, children shouldn''t have so many treasures, or bad guys will take them from them." Ace said matter-of-factly.
At this moment, the ring was finally in front of him, and he took it while ignoring Cyrus''s ranting chirps.
When Ace put the ring on and probe inside, he was astonished because this storage ring was ten cubic miles wide. The biggest storage ring he has seen to this day was three cubic miles High-Grade-7 which means this was at least a Low Grade-8 Storage Ring!
Furthermore, Ace was dazzled by the mountains of Qi Stones and Soul Crystals inside the rings, and the thick Martial Qi and Soul Qi emitting, was evidence of them being at least peak Grade-6, and they were just the lowest level Qi stones and Soul crystals present in the ring.
Then there were precious materials that were all emitting high levels of heat, and they were exclusive for the Inheritor of the Sun God. There were also ten beautiful swords, no less precious than his Dark Feather Sword, if not superior.
Despite almost all the ring being filled with fire-type treasures, what truly drew Ace''s attention were three things that stood out more than anything else.
First, there was a 1-meter-long rectangr box that was covered with a ss case, and inside this ss case were arranged 8 Golden Jade scrolls!
The second thing was an exquisite floating full-body ck armor with a golden sun symbol on its chest, and the floating armor was holding a long crimson sword in its grip. Thest and final thing was the most dazzling because it was as bright as the sun, it was a palm-size golden crystal, and upon looking closely, there seemed to be a small me burring within this crystal.
"The rewards of the Unique Trial have been bestowed!
"Sun and Moon Seeker will now grant the passage to the Middle Layer''s first level!"
Ace was still wondering about what that crystal was when the voice rang, and a swirling passage appeared in front of him.
Ace then put apprising that crystal on hold and stowed away the storage ring, and stepped inside the passage toward the nextyer.
Now Ace only had one goal, to find the trial grounds and then have Cyrus take the trial instead of him before reaping the free rewards until he reaches the 9th and finalyer where his true goal lies!
Chapter 752 The Baffled Beast Ancestor
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At an unknown location within the Azure Wind Mountain Sect. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Dream Shatter Ancestor, Devil Ancestor, Demon Ancestor, and Blood Ancestor were sitting in a luxurious hall around a table filled with exquisite and aromatic Qi fruits. Just their scent, which was filled with Qi, was enough to make any old mortal rejuvenate into youth.
However, the four were looking at two neers present at that table with different expressions on their faces.
One was a veiled woman with an enthralling figure and queen-like air, but her eyes were filled with grievance and hatred.
While the other was an old man with purple scales covering his skin and three horns over his bald head, while his eyes were yellowish with a dark slit between them. But he looked quite apprehensive as he gazed at those three most powerful ancestors as if he was watching ghosts sitting in front of him.
They were none other than the Elven Queen and the Beast Ancestor!
Both of them came to the Azure Wind Continent with their own motives and grandeur. Especially the elves, who had brought almost all of their armies as if they were going to war.
The reason for the elves'' madness was very simple; a human had not only infiltrated the elven holynds, he even managed to take everything while in the process destroying the Sacred Holy Tower. Moreover, in the process of doing all this, he even destroyed their ancestral pce and half of the city!
So, the elevens would not sit still after so much damage had been done to their homnd, and the biggest blow to them was the Holy Tower''s destruction. That was the way for the elves to reach the top, yet it got destroyed right under their noses.
It was akin to cutting off their entire race''s lifeline. The humiliation they suffered after not finding the perpetrator was even more embarrassing, and they even lost their revered Crown Princess.
While the Beast Ancestor and his armies were tagging along for another different reason entirely in the pretext of lending a hand to the Elves so they could get justice.
The appearance of the Beast Ancestor gave the elves even more courage despite the fact that they have a wariness about the Demon Armies present in the Azure Wind Continent and some of Devil Race''s top fleets.
At that time, the Beast Ancestor''s offering his help made the Elven Queen quite a surprise, but she took it without hesitation.
But to both of their surprise, not only demon fleets didn''t stop their advance. They even escorted them toward the shores.
Yet what was waiting for them was Dream Shatter with his other three esteemed guests.
When the Beast Ancestor saw the appearances of the three guests, he almost had a stroke and wanted to run away, but s, it was toote.
Although the elves were ignorant about the true identities of those three terrifying entities, heck, they didn''t even know about the Beast Ancestor''s true identity.
So, they were ready to attack, but at thest minute, Beast Ancestor made them stand down with everything he had. He even subdued the furious Elven Queen, which made thetter even more shocked since she thought the Beast Ancestor was of the same generation as her.
Only after she calmed down did the Beast Ancestor tell her about the true identities of those three, and she was the same as the Beast Ancestor was scared of her wits. That''s how these two ended up here!
"Old vermin, I must say you are really trenchers and refuse to join your old pals in graves." Devil Ancestor, Edward coldly threw a remark at this moment.
"Just how?" Beast Ancestor didn''t mind Edward''s words as he questioned with confusion.
The veiled Blood Ancestor, Margret, replied at this moment with an impish tone, "What do you mean how? Do you think you are the only one who knows how to preserve your lifespan? You must think that we are all dead, and it is your time to rise. But guess what, we are still alive and kicking and doing a far more good job at it than you."
Elven Queen''s eyes shimmered in shock as she couldn''t help but speak at this moment, "Is he also an old Ancestor like you three?"
"Ah, I almost forget there is a junior among us today. Little elf, your race was once under our Devil Race''s protection, and I know your Ancestral Mother. She was one of my maids. So, I''ll give her face and tell you one thing." Edward pulled a devilish smile, showing his sharp fangs and a thick bloodlust suddenly filled the room, which made the Elven Queen shudder despite her Law Awareness Cultivation Realm.
She felt like she was in front of an ancient monster who was about to eat her, and all that superior air around her vanished, and what was left was a little helpless girl.
Edward uttered coldly, "You are not qualified to speak when we Seniors are talking until you were given permission to, or I don''t mind collecting some old debt from your race who betrayed their master!"
As his words trailed off, that ghastly bloodlust finally vanished without a trace, and Elven Queen''s back was now filled with sweat as she pants to catch her breath.
She never thought the old monster from the Devil Race was this terrifying, and in front of him, she won''t evenst for a second.
"Hmph, tell me, what do you want?" Beast Ancestor had a very ugly expression on his face when he felt Edward''s aura was just as powerful as he remembered it to be. He wanted to curse the Grim Ancestor for putting him into this sort of situation.
Yes, he was here because the Grim Ancestor told him to be here when he came back so they both could snatch away Alina from them and use her to draw Ace into their side.
However, forget about snatching her, the Beast Ancestor would be lucky to just escape alive from those three monsters sitting there, and he also knew Dream Shatter wasn''t some run-of-the-mill like the Elven Queen either.
So, his only choice was toply with their demands, or he might find himself in the same situation as the Grim Ancestor.
As someone who lived for a very long time, he was afraid of dying even more.
Demon Ancestor Albert spoke in a hurried tone, "We don''t know why you are here, and we don''t care, truthfully. But whatever you are here for can be given to you as long as you sign a short-term soul contract with us, and once its conditions wouldplete, we''ll help you get that thing as long as it is not aligned with our own agendas.
"As for you, Elf Queen or whatnot, we don''t care about your grudge with the humans and also know why you are here. But we are happy to lend you a hand. Dream Shatter here will not hinder your search for whoever you think took your treasures, but you can''t harm the humans unless you have proof.
"In return, you have to guard one ce in the Azure Wind Mountain until we all return. If you can do that, sign the soul contract, and your elf race can start the search.
"Now, both of you chose or trust me; unlike these two, I''m in a very much hurry, and you two are hindrances in my way, which I will do anything and every to eliminate. Even this old devil won''t dare to face me when I''m in this sort of mood!"
Albert''s dark eyes shone with killing intent as he looked at both of the neers.
While Edward merely grunted coldly, Margret snickered yfully, and Dream Shatter remained expressionless all this time as he watched everything unfold like a spectator.
However, no one disagreed with Albert''s terms given to the both of them, which meant they agreed with him, and this was nothing but grave news for Elven Queen and the Beast Ancestor!
Chapter 753 Did He Trick Me?
Today, another entrance test for the Azure Wind Mountain Sect was concluded, with only a single person managed to pass it.
Unlike the other four sects, the Azure Wind Mountain Sect''s entrance test was ten times more difficult because of its superior lineage as well as the most powerful person of the human race residing here.
The person who passed today''s entrance test was an average human girl with in green clothes and big bright brown eyes, which were lively and somewhat apprehensive as she stood in front of an Elder d in gray robes with an azure mountain emblem.
"Little girl, your name is Niele, and you hailed from South Azure Wind Mountain Region?" The elder coldly questioned.
Niele respectfully yet timidly replied, "Y-yes, Elder!"
"You had shown an extraordinary performance, probably one of the best entrance test performances in the past hundred years. However, a talent like yours can''t go unnoticed in our own territory.
"So, we did a little background check ording to the information you registered during your registration and found that you are from a vige which had been recently destroyed by someone and everyst person there had been killed. But you are the only survivor and even a genius on top of that.
"It''s not like I''m doubting you or not feeling any remorse for your loss, but we are specially ordered to inspect people like you with ambiguous backgrounds. So, I''m going to give you a soul contract to sign, and if nothing happens, I won''t ask any further questions about how you get your cultivation knowledge since we respect individual secrecy.
"Once this doubt is clear, I''ll rmend you to an Inner Court Sect Elder, and I''m sure they will be thrilled to have a talent like you under their wing. Now, sign this soul contract, and you''ll be part of our ancient lineage, and we''ll do everything in our power to search for those degenerates who killed your loved ones as we protect our own with every fiber of our being!"
The Elder solemnly stated before he waved his sleeve, and an ethereal blue parchment appeared in front of timid Niele, who now appeared beyond moved with teary eyes and nodded, sniffing.
Without hesitation, she used her martial Qi to touch the parchment.
But the moment she touched that parchment with her Qi, a transparent interface appeared in front of her, and the elder standing in front of Niele seemedpletely oblivious about its appearance.
______
[Creating a Fake Soul Conscious for a Soul Contract (Grade-6)]
-Cost: 50,000 House PointsN?v(el)B\\jnn
-Continue?
[NOTE: If you do not choose within 30 seconds, the Soul Contract will be destroyed because the Thief House Member can''t be enved by anyone!]
______
Niele''s timid expression didn''t even flinch, but inwardly, she was grumbling with indignation, ''I need to spend 50K to enter this stupid ce while I''ll earn the same amount in return? Aren''t I just working for free for that stingy Leader? Did he trick me?''
Indeed, Niele was none other than Winter, who had finally found her way into the Azure Wind Mountain Sect after a long journey. In fact, she was the same person who was behind the annihtion of that vige and that girl she impersonated.
Winter''s personality was quite cold as she didn''t leave any loose ends behind because she couldn''t take any chance in this ce. Just one mistake, and she''ll find herself surrounded by enemies from every corner.
Although she knew the sects would be alerted because they might be afraid of Ace infiltrating their ranks as his reputation was not a joke. But she never expected they were this careful that even spending a Grade-6 soul contract on a nobody from a vige and even investigating her background.
Now she was d that she killed everyone and also didn''t hide any information about the owner of this body, or she might be under even more scrutiny.
As for the talent she showed, it was very calctive, and she only showed enough that can draw the attention of the Inner Court of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect.
The Sect was divided into Outer, Inner, and Peak Courts, and disciples were arranged in these three courts ording to their talent, not cultivation base.
Winter had thoroughly investigated the structure of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect. Still, there was only so much information in the outside world because the sect didn''t leak any core information.
But she knew if she wanted toplete the next phase of her mission, she needed to be at least an Inner Court Disciple, which was closer to the core areas of the sect because Alina might be held in one of those areas.
But the price for this endeavor she had to pay was simply too much, yet she had no choice but to pay it while she could only cuss Ace for it.
_____
[Fake Soul Conscious has been sessfully established!]
__
[House Point(s): 740,770]
_____
Seeing her 50k HP going in smoke on literally nothing, Winter felt her heart bleeding and swore to demand them back from Ace once she found him.
When the elder saw the soul contract was sessfully established, which was filled with all sorts of conditions and specific points about not having any connection to the Sky Stealer or having any intentions of harming the sect, his cold face broke into a gentle smile as he looked at the timid girl who seemedpletely innocent and loveable.
"Wee, Niele, to the Azure Wind Mountain Sect!"
The moment he uttered those words, another interface appeared in front of Winter.
_____
[House Leader Mission]
-Mission Introduction: Infiltration!
- Condition (1): Infiltrate the Azure Wind Continent!
-Status: Complete
-Reward: 25,000 House Points (imed)
- Condition (2): Infiltrate Dream Shatter''s Organization!
-Status: Complete
-Reward: 50,000 House Points (imed)
- Condition (3): Find Alina''s whereabouts!
-Status: Iplete
-Reward: 100,000 House Points (Unimed)
- Condition (4): Map the target area and the threats!
-Status: Iplete
-Reward: 250,000 House Points (Unimed)
- Condition (5): Infiltrate the ce where Alina''s being held hostage!
-Status: Iplete
-Reward: 500,000 House Points (Unimed)
- Condition (6): Escape with Alina!
-Status: Iplete
-Reward: 5,000,000 House Points (Unimed)
--
-Time: 3Y: 0M: 3D
--
-Punishment (If not able toplete the first two conditions minimum): Call House Leader Ace: My King for 100 Years!
-You havepleted the first two conditions; the Punishment has been voided!
__
[House Point(s): 790,770]
______
Chapter 754 The Secret Realm Opens!
On this day,rge groups of five races stood in front of the shrine with the sun symbol tablet in it.
Everyone wore cold and solemn expressions on their faces as they looked toward the shrine with scrutiny. They were naturally the five races who were going to participate in the Ancient Allied Gathering, which was about to start.
Today will be marked the full 100th year since the Fiery Hell Secret Realm has been opened, and ording to the three original races of the gathering tradition, the secret realm will be open on exactly this day.
Right at this moment, the sun symbol within the tablet suddenly starts to glow, and an invisible aura suddenly starts to ooze from the shrine.
The glowing sun continued to glow brighter and brighter until it was blinding, and the aura was extremely hot in nature as everyone present could feel the heat, and they all had solemn expressions.
Thereby, the shrine suddenly trembled, and the next moment, the blinding golden light started to grow as it enveloped the shrine and continued to rise above until it took the shape of a ten-meter light door.
"The gate of the Fiery Hell Secret Realm has been fully manifested! ording to the realm entry slots, the Devil Race will go first, then the Hunter Race, Demons, Humans, and Beasts. If anyone tries to send even one more participant than allocated, you can forget about ever leaving this ce alive!
"I will also like to warn everyone again, as you should be countless times by your elders. The Fiery Hell Secret Realm also has aborigines, and they are not to trifle with easily, so don''t overestimate yourself if you encounter them. They are always been a hindrance to us all, and each one of them is merciless!" The devil at the very front coldly announced.
No one raised any objections or questions as they were all well aware of these facts and were trained to deal with all sorts of troubles.
Thereafter, one by one, the youths from the Devil Race started to walk into the light door.
This marked the start of the Ancient Allied Gathering, which will be going to end out of everyone''s wildest expectations!
---
Within the Sun Secret Realm, Upper Layer, 2nd level (8thyer), Ace was flying on top of his sword. But down below him was the scene like hell because the surface was filled with red mes like a sea of mes and not just an empty sea of mes either.
Within this sea of mes were creatures made with fire, and they were roaming in those mes in hordes.
The temperature was enough to melt even Qi Soul Cultivators, but Ace waspletely fine, which might have something to do with the glowing gray armor on his body.
Over these past months, Ace hadn''t wasted even a moment as he continued with his advancement toward the depth of the Sun Secret Realm, especially after knowing Cyrus''s usefulness in this ce.
Not only he managed to pass the entire middleyers and the first upperyer with the little guy''s help. He even managed to capture the second Spirit Fire on the sixthyer and killed another dog shape guardian, and acquired its unquiet core.
This also led Ace to another discovery, which was Cyrus''s own Spirit Fire seemed to have a fight effect on other spirit fire as that Spirit Fire didn''t dare even to release its heat when the little guy was present.
Furthermore, if Ace hadn''t stopped the little fellow, he would''ve eaten that spirit fire with how eager he was after finding it. Nevertheless, Ace has already earned so much with his help, so he gave him some other snacks, and he was finally able to coax him into stopping pestering about that spirit fire.
As for those four trials, like the thirdyer trial, Cyrus always ended up destroying them while eating whatever those trials were built upon.
Furthermore, Cyrus had seemed to have gone into a small but clear chance after eating five Sun God gifts, his dark feathers were more lustrous, and the tiny crown over his forehead made with dark blue hair also had grown.
The biggest change was in Cyrus''s connate Nether Spirit Fire, which was no longer sky blue in color but pure blue, and the aura it emitted even gave Ace the chills because it was not hot at all, something entirely different.
As for the armor, it was actually an Intermediate Grade-8 armor with terrifying heat resistance capability, and he naturally earned it in the seventhyer trial. It was the most precious of all defensive-type items.
Ace didn''t even need this armor because Cyrus could also block all sorts of heat around him without much effort, but this armor was much better and far stronger than anything he had right now.
At this moment, Moira''s voice suddenly rang in Ace''s ears, "Sir Ace, 10,000 neers just entered the firstyer of the secret realm!"
"Hmm?" Ace was astonished and quickly changed the fate map to the firstyer and saw too many fate points suddenly starting to cover thends of the firstyer. Some were moving alone while some were in a group, and he even saw some of them suddenly vanishing, which could only mean they were killed!
"It''s quite strange, sir, Ace. The 9,000 people entered from the northern side while the 1,000 people entered from the east side of the firstyer." Moira uttered with uncertainty.
She was tasked by Ace to keep an eye on any kind of disturbance and alert him post hastily the moment she noticed it.
Ace''s eyes shimmered as he replied, "I think the 1,000 came from the ten continent side while the 9,000 came from the Union side. This means the gathering has been started, and I need to be even more careful." N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace''s focus then suddenly drew on a peculiar fate point which was a Light Golden Fate Point, and the name was also familiar, ''Alora Wild Yisrael! She''s the demon I saved from the Demon Prince Santos, and her fate color changed into Light Golden that day!''
Alora was from the Wild Demon Tribes who participated in the de Demon King''s training and was destined to die under the Mist Demon King''s son''s hands, but Ace changed her fate by killing Santos.
However, he didn''t get the chance to follow her around to exploit that golden fate point since it was simply not worth it because he didn''t have time. He never expected she would be here and still was a golden fate point.
But Ace''s eyes widened when he saw another fate point which was green, and this meant it was a friend, and its name was evidence of it, ''Thomas Wild Cheveyo!''
Chapter 755 Entry To The Final Layer
Ace, with a hint of nostalgia, looked at Thomas''s fate point. Thest time he saw Thomas was on fox mountain when Winter caught them and even invited him to join the Thief House, but he rejected him.
''He shouldn''t be here¡'' Ace frowned because he knew better than anyone just how dangerous this ce was, and he also knew Thomas wasn''t an idiot who woulde here.
Because his actual goal in going into the Royal Demon Nation was to get away from his tribe with his wife Milly, not to take this sort of risk, and he also didn''t spot Milly anywhere.
''You shouldn''t havee here.'' Ace thought grimly before he stopped paying attention since there was little he could do about it.
Although he cares about Thomas and considers him a friend, they are not that close, and he isn''t even sure if Thomas would take his help. Furthermore, he already had his own fair share of trouble, and demons won''t just send anyone to this ce.
So, he was pretty sure Thomas was quite capable of keeping himself safe, and once he destroyed this ce, everyone had no choice but to give up and return at that time. He was already very close to his final goal!
"Put a thief mark on Thomas and Alora," Acemanded Moira to turn the map back to the seventhyer.
After half an hour, he spotted his destination, which was in the middle of the burning sea. A magnificent golden cathedral seems to be afloat on those mes and surrounded by tall fiery golden giants. This was also the ce that led to the ninthyer, where lies what Ace was truly after!
Activating his stealth to its peak, Ace dived towards the golden cathedral, and Cyrus''s happy voice rang in his mind.
"We found another ce with delicious food!"
Ace rolled his eyes at the little bird. Only he can take all this like a game since this entire ce has been nothing but Cyrus''s yground all this time, and if Ace wasn''t forbidding him from taking excessive action unless told. Cyrus wanted to burn everything here.
Ace stepped in front of the golden swirling gate of the cathedral. The loweryers cathedrals were red, while the middleyers cathedrals were crimson, and the upperyers cathedrals were golden.
Furthermore, eachyer was more dangerous than the other, and without the live fate map, not to mention reaching this point within short months, Ace was afraid to even five years won''t be enough.
Ace then stepped into the golden gate without hesitation, and a familiar voice rang.
"Sun and Moon Seeker Token detected!
"Wee Sun and Moon Seeker in the Upper Layer, Second Level Trial!
"Congrattion for being the first person to ever stumbled upon this ce!
"Pass the Unique Trial solely made for the Sun and Moon Seeker to earn an entry in the Upper Layer, Third Level, and also the finalyer of the Sun Secret Realm!
"Unique Trial: The Sun mes Might!"
The very next moment, the surrounding started to change, and Ace found himself standing in the middle of a golden me sea, and the heat was so intense that even that grade-8 body armor couldn''t fully resist it.
"Found a way out of the Sun mes. You have ten days!"
Ace''s lips rose as he said as Cyrus was eagerly, looking in a particr direction with hungry eyes, "Alright, you can start."
"Yay!"
Cyrus chirped in happiness as he was waiting for those exact words and flew in the same direction as he was looking so eagerly. The next moment, he spits the blue mes in the same direction, and the entire golden me sea churned thereby.
Under Ace''s bright eyes, the sea of mes started to vanish, and what reced it was a small golden fire that was now half swallowed by Cyrus''s blue mes. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
''Is that a spirit fire?'' Ace thought, but then he didn''t think so because he saw under the golden mes a golden rock, and those mes seemed to be originated from it.
But not for long as Cyrus''s blue mes fully devoured that rock before they retracted toward his small mouth and vanished as fast as they had appeared, and Cyrus had this blissful expression like he was in heaven.
"This is the tastiest thing I''ve eaten so far!" Cyrus transmitted his happy thoughts, and Ace smiled wryly.
He was really d that he found the little guy when he did and hatched it instead of killing him. If not for him, he would be in so much trouble right now.
"The Third Sun and Moon Seeker, White, has taken the Sun God''s Holy Gift!
"The Unique Trial for Sun and Moon Seeker of the eighthyer will no longer exist!
"ording to the dogma of the Sun God, if a Sun and Moon Inheritor has the ability to take the Holy Gift, all the rewards ced for the Unique Trial shall be handed down to that inheritor!
"Sun and Moon Seeker White will also be rewarded with 1000 extra days in the Secret Sun Realm!"
As usual, Ace was given all the rewards in a golden ring, and he took them without hesitation.
However, this time, the voice said something which it never had before.
"You have been given the entry to the Final Layer of the Secret Sun Realm, and if you pass it, you will be one step closer to bing the Chosen One.
"May the Glory of the Sun and Moon God will be shone above the Mortal Sky. Good luck for the Final Trial, Sun and Moon Seeker White!"
Ace''s expression was solemn because, for the first time, he felt a hint of excitement from this usually emotionless voice.
A gate leading toward the finalyer finally appeared in front of him. Cyrus was already back on his shoulder and hurried him to move forward as he couldn''t wait to search for more delicious food.
''I just hope my n words¡''
With such grave thoughts, Ace stepped into the gate!
Chapter 756 The Sun Seeker’s Maze (1)
Ace stopped out of the golden swirl at this moment, and thetter vanished right after.
However, he was astounded when he saw he wasn''t in the middle of another fire sea or it wasn''t even hot anymore. Instead, he was standing in the middle of infinitely tall crimson walls.
''So, it''s a maze¡'' Ace looked at the ninthyer map, which was showing excessive pathways, and his destination was on the other corner from this ce.
Furthermore, by the looks of it, he knew he couldn''t just fly over straight toward that point like he usually did since he couldn''t see the end of those walls at all.
At this moment, out of the blue, the same voice rang again, "Wee Sun and Moon Seeker White in the Last Upper Layer, Final Trial!
"Congrattion for being the first person to ever stumbled upon this ce!
"The Ninth Layer of the Secret Sun Realm is the Final Unique Trial, the Sun Seeker''s Maze!
"All you need to do is found your way toward the final Holy Gift of the Sun God, and you will be deemed worthy of being the Sun Chaser!
"However, unlike other trials, the Sun Seeker''s Maze is not a ce where you can leave once you enter!
"The previous trials were all meant for preparing the Sun Seeker for this final trial, and from here on out, you will either persist or perish by the will of Sun God!
"There is no time limit in this final trial, there is no limit to the treasures you can spend, there is no limit to the survival tactic you could conjure up, found the way toward the Sun, and you shall be the first ever Sun Chaser!" The voice was extremely grand and solemn.
Ace frowned as he didn''t expect the final trial to be a death run which was quite cruel after nurturing someone for all this time.
Still, it wasn''t like he waspletely clueless about where to go and couldn''t see the traps and dangers in this ce.
"Don''t worry, big bro. We''ll win for sure!" Cyrus encouraged Ace with full of fighting spirit.
Ace snickered, "I''m nning to. But in this ce, you can''t just consume anything, especially two things, one is an Elemental Orb, and the other is the realm core. Because if you do, we''ll both suffer terribly."
In these past months, Ace came to know just how glutinous this little fellow was for anything that caught his fancy, and those things that fell in that category were all exotic treasures that were never seen before and probably left behind by that so-called Sun God.
That''s why he was pretty sure Cyrus won''t reject the Elemental Orb either since it was even more precious than the Spirit Fire, and if he really ended up consuming it, Ace would have no ce to cry. So, he warned the little gluttonous beforehand to keep its tiny beak shut.
"I won''t, I promise!" Cyrus quickly promised as he never took such action without Ace''s permission to begin with.
"Good." Ace was pleased as he stepped over his sword and started to fly a few meters above the ground.
Despite not having the ability to fly over those walls, this didn''t mean he needed to remain on the ground. It was far better since more of the traps were hidden on thends, and many of them were even etched on the walls.
Ace just needed to follow the path that led directly toward the both Realm Core and the Yang Orb. As for thest spirit fire, it was inpletely opposite direction, so Ace decided to first focus on the Realm Core and the Yang Orb since they were together.
Furthermore, he was pretty sure once his realm was destroyed, all those treasures would be his to grab. Especially that spirit fire, since he was the only one who had a method to both suppress and contain it.
But there was still a problem which was if this realm was destroyed, he didn''t know if this realm would be merged back into the Union side or the ten continents side. Before, he was sure it would be merged back into the union, but now he wasn''t sure.
Furthermore, if it ended up merging in the Union after all, then Ace would have to move quickly and enter the Moon Secret Realm right away before anyone could find out what had happened.
Although it would be nigh impossible, but he has various ns to handle those situations.
However, it could all be avoided if Freya could seed with the Grim Ancestor''s matter, and he also preferred it this way.
So, he sent his conscious back to the thief''s space to check up on her so he could change his route if she needed more time.
Freya sat cross-legged on an exquisite grade-6 yellow cultivation mat with her third eye opened as it shimmed with colored lights, and her other two eyes were closed, and right in front of her was a dark cocoon that was pulsing in golden symbols.
"Stoooppp! You bitch stop right now! You have no idea what you''re doing! If you stop now, I''ll tell you whatever you need. Just stop this!
"Ahhhhhh¡ I''ll curse you even if I die, I''ll take all you thievish bitches to the grave¡lyyyayayahhhhhh!"
Ghastly, high-pitch screams could be heard from the cocoon every time it blinked, and there were two voices; one was male, and the other was a female, and they hollered in pain while they cursed like crazy.
This was naturally none other than the Grim Ancestor, who cunningly avoided Freya''s secret skill that day but soon regretted it. Because he never thought Freya would have this sort of heinous method to refine his soul, which was unheard of even for someone like him.
As Freya slowly refined the Grim Ancestor''s soul, he started to panic as he thought it might not work on him since his soul''s rank was still higher than Freya''s.
When proven wrong, he tried to talk his way out of this impending death, but Freya was like a brick wall as shepletely ignored him. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Soon, those pleas turned into horrid cries and curses as the pain was simply too unbearable even for him.
Now the Grim Ancestor was at his wits end just like he was at the end of his life. When he started this venture, he never expected what he considered an opportunity for his rise would be turned out to be his demise.
Freya was unbothered by Grim Ancestor''s screams as she got used to it.
But what bothered her and irked her to no end was the fact that Ace''s unrevealed months ago about having a wife.
Although she remained calm and didn''tment on it since she waspletely lost for words at that time, this didn''t mean she was bothered by it at all, and strange frustration bundled up in her heart.
However, she put this conversation on hold until she was done with Grim Ancestor. It was also a sort of output to vent her frustration, and the process that could''ve been less painful turned into a hellish final torture for the old snake!
Chapter 757 The Sun Seeker’s Maze (2)
When Ace heard Grim Ancestor''s wails and looked at the cocoon, he didn''t know what to think about Freya''s ruthless innate ability. It looked simply too evil and torturous, and if he ever encountered an opponent like her, he didn''t want to be captured alive!
"How much longer do you need?" Ace tried asking Freya with a very mild tone as if he was afraid of breaking her focus through the house call, which had been activated since the day he contacted her so they could easily talk in secret.
But when he thought about themotions Grim Ancestor was making, he knew Freya would be fine.
Furthermore, after he told her about Eva''s status, he noticed that Freya appeared to be somewhat aggravated, and he knew things were not going to be smooth sailing anymore.
Although he understands that Noa reacted this way, as he wasn''t a dummy, but Freya was out of his expectations since she always acted cold and aloof and didn''t strike him as someone who was capable of liking someone.
Nevertheless, Ace wasn''t going to reach this conclusion so soon since there might be some other reason since Freya''s mind worked in myriad directions, unlike Noa. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Furthermore, despite having Eva''s blessings, he didn''t want to court more women, especially the women in the Thief House, as it would only make his life even more miserable in many ways.
Still, he could only sigh and decide to see how things y out since he also knew there was no escaping from the Thief House once you entered!
Freya emotionlessly replied, "I''m 94% done, and in about three days, this body will belong to me."
"Alright, contact me the moment you have his memories," Ace replied in a content tone.
"Hmph!" Freya coldly harrumphed before no longer bothering with Ace.
Ace tactically didn''t both her anymore and looked into the house, and a gentle smile appeared on his face when he saw Eva was cultivating with all her might and making massive progress.
After making sure she wasfortable before he retracted his sense back, and he was still flying betweenrge walls while he followed the map direction.
Even though Ace was on the right path, this didn''t mean he could take a detour from the dangers residing on this path anymore. There were many red areas on the pathways toward his goal, and he was hoping flying over them would work.
However, he had thoroughly underestimated the Sun Chaser''s Maze because, despite activating his stealth in the red zone, he suddenly felt an immense crisis.
A massive sharp dark w suddenly appeared out of nowhere a few meters away from Ace, and the intent behind it was extremely terrifying.
Two golden swords instantly appeared in Ace''s hands, and he shed them toward the w without holding back, and even Cyrus reacted by shooting out his spirit fire!
"ahhhh!"
Ear-piercing shrills suddenly rang the moment Ace''s dark sword shed, and Cyrus''s spirit fire sted apart that dark w. A hideous flying creature fell on the floor, and his body was already starting to turn into ashes because of the blue mes on it.
The golden swords in Ace''s hands suddenly experienced cracks on their des, but they didn''t break, nor Ace cared anymore since they were just grade-6 swords. He already acquired many powerful swords from the previous trials.
However, right at this moment, Ace''s heart palpitated because, out of nowhere, red fate points appeared on the map, and in the next movement, more than twenty ws were raining down on him.
Ace''s expression went grim as this red area was really going to be troublesome, but he had no choice but to go through with it.
However, the little guy was even quicker than him to react as it chirped in excitement, "I''ll burn them all!"
Under Ace''s astounded eyes, Cyrus''s tiny figure jumped toward those ws, and the next moment, he was suddenly enveloped in blue mes, and its tiny figure started to expand into a ming bird.
The moment that ming bird shed with those ws, eerie shrills rang, and one after another, more corpses of the same creatures started to fall down while turning into ashes!
It was Ace''s first time seeing Cyrus using this kind of skill, and right now, he looked nothing like a harmless little bird at all but a terrifying fiery creature that only knew how to burn everything in its path.
Ace then saw all those iing red fate points quickly retreat from wherever they came from, and Cyrus, after burning everyone he could see, returned as that ming form suddenly vanished, and hended back on Ace''s shoulder.
"Hahaha, those ugly guys deserved to be burned!" He ecstaticallyughs, clearly happy about his handy work.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Ace asked the little frivolous bird.
Cyrus looked confusingly at Ace before he replied, "I don''t know. I just feel like doing it, and I did it!"
Ace was speechless and smiled wryly, ''I guess this is what it means to have a terrifying bloodline lineage. He probably awakened it after eating all those materials. I suppress his growth, but it seems it won''t matter at all.''
Ace brushed the little guy''s small head with his finger, which he enjoyed very much, "Alright, I leave those guys to then. You can burn them all if you want, but if you can''t handle them, just tell me."
Cyrus was instantly thrilled, "Don''t worry. They are no match for me! No one is! Oh, except for you, Big Bro, Big Sis Eva, and Big Sis Freya¡" He started to call out all his big sisters'' names.
Ace gave him a side eye, "How humble of you."
He then started to fly at full speed again, and this time, no more attacks happened by those strange creatures, and he sessfully passed the first red zone.
Just like that, Ace and Cyrus traveled for a day and passed three more such red zones, and each time, Cyrus would scare those creatures so much they won''t dare to block their way anymore.
But to Ace''s surprise, for he was feeling somewhat tired, but the little guy seemed to be at his peak state like usual, and this made him somewhat depressed!
Chapter 758 The Memories Of Grim Ancestor (1)
On the fifth day after Ace entered the Sun Seeker''s Maze, his journey towards the space core and the yang orb was going smoothly, thanks to Cyrus''s help.
Today, he didn''t seem in a hurry to move anymore as he found a safe ce and stopped so he could finally unravel the Grim Ancestor''s memories which Freya had annexed after devouring his soul.
Within the Thief''s Space, Freya was still sitting in her position like five days ago, but there was a difference. Instead of a cocoon, another beautiful woman was sitting right in front of her like a mirror image.
That woman was naturally Jessie Campbell and Grim Ancestor''s former vessel. Albeit, she looked exactly the same. But there was a tiny ck rune between her eyebrows as it shimmered darkly.
Right at this moment, the third eye on Freya''s forehead slowly closed before vanishingpletely, and she opened her human-like eyes, and just like her, Jessie also opened her snake eyes.
"I never thought Witch Avatar would be this miraculous!" Freya muttered with a hint of ecstasy in her voice.
A smile bloomed on Jessie''s face as well, which appeared to be quite strange, "Hmm, I look not bad in this dress after all¡" She muttered, seeing herself hiding under the Evil Thief''s Robes. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
This was naturally the result of Freya''s Witch Soul Possession Ability sessfully creating a Witch Avatar!
Now, Jessie was Freya, and she had full control over Jessie''s body, unlike the Grim Ancestor''s half-baked method. As for the real Jessie and Grim Ancestor, they were now both part of Freya''s as her memories, nothing else.
"Aha, I was just wondering why that annoying wailing stopped all of a sudden. So, you were finally able to tame that snake? No bad, I guess." Eva''s cold yet devilish voice rang from Freya''s back at this moment.
Jessie''s expression went frigid as she shifted her snake eyes toward Eva''s smiling face, "Are you judging me? Do you have what it takes?"
Freya and Jessie suddenly stood up at the same time and faced Eva. Although her real face was hidden under the hood, Jessie''s expression direction represents Freya''s.
A sh of astonishment gleamed in Eva''s eyes when she saw Jessie now gavepletely different vibes than a few months ago. Although Ace had already told her about what Freya was up to so, she won''t disturb her, seeing her ability in action was still quite astonishing.
''An Evil Witch who holds the title of Evil Thief. I must say that husband of mine really stumbled on women with abilities¡'' Eva thought as she couldn''t help butment about not being the only woman by his side.
Nevertheless, she knew she was still the most extraordinary one, and Ace was the one who made it happen, so she wasn''t that surprised that he could make others extraordinary as well.
Still, she was going to make sure to show who was the one boss around here, or how could he maintain her status as his wife and first teammate?
Even though Freya, Winter, and Noa''s bloodlines were all upgraded with the help of the system, Eva''s bloodline was in no way inferior to Cyrus''s in any way, and she wasn''t restricted either.
So when the crown on Eva''s head glowed in dark light, and a dark malicious aura started to rise, Freya''s cold expression instantly crumbled and turned into one of disbelief and spectacle as she felt the same oppressive feeling when she faced Cyrus for the first time, not it was even more terrifying than that!
"Ahem,dies, give me some face and get along since we are all on the same team here." Ace''s somewhat depressed voice rang at this moment.
He was watching everything y out and even let Eva act before stepping in because he wanted Freya to understand Eva wasn''t some pushover, and even without the status of House Member, she was still a force to be reckoned with.
Eva''s alluring lips rose in a charming smile before the surrounding aura suddenly vanished, "Anything for you, Husband!"
Freya, on the other hand, was not happy at all about this small incident as she looked at Eva with disbelief and didn''t know what to feel after what she just experienced.
''Just who in the world is she?'' She thought as she clearly never seen racial features like Eva before, but she now gets it why she didn''t seem to be bothered by her at all.
Suddenly, Jessie smiled and performed a noble greeting out of both Eva and Ace''s expectations and said, "Now I know why you are our Leader''s wife. I hope you can forgive my previous uncouth behaviors. As his subordinate, it''s my duty to see if the woman he chose is worthy of his status or not since it would also directly affect us. Now I''m relieved. You are far more than what we could ask for our leader. Please ept my greeting Mrs. Leader!"
Ace was speechless as he never expected Freya to change her behavior as fast as him and couldn''t help but smile wryly, ''She''s still that scheming woman I met that day¡''
However, Eva was quite pleased with how Freya called her at the end despite knowing it was simply too unnatural.
"No worries, as long as you don''t cause trouble, I won''t mistreat you!" Eva said with a meaningful smile.
Although Jessie now held a smile on her face, Freya''s hidden face was as cold and impassive as ice while her eyes were shimmering with a peculiar light.
"Alright, since there are no more issues, can we get on with the task at hand?" Ace''s impatient voice rang again.
Although this doesn''t go as badly as he had imagined it to be, he knows Freya too well. So he was convinced there was something going on in her evil mind.
Jessie spoke again with a smile, "Of course, I must thank you for giving me this body, or I wouldn''t have found this kind of body that easily. I also know what Leader wanted to know. You want to know if there is a way out of the Fiery Hell Secret Realm which doesn''t lead to the Union, right?"
"Yes." Ace wasn''t surprised Freya guessed his actual motives since this was pretty obvious, as she also knew about his situation with the Union.
However, Jessie suddenly smiled, full of meaning, as she revealed, "Leader, I think that matter is not so important as the matter I''m stumbled upon in Grim Ancestor''s memories, and you''re really gonna wanna hear it!"
Chapter 759 The Memories Of Grim Ancestor (2)
Ace''s interest was instantly piqued upon hearing Freya''s ambiguous words, "I''m listening!"
Even Eva attentively listened as she was even more interested in stories and lore than Ace.
Freya smiled as she subtly said, "Before that, I want you to know what kind of status the Grim Ancestor has and his background. Do you know about the Resistance Cold War?"
"I don''t know much, only that it was the very first war between the Ancient Beast Race, who were once the only native of the Golden Sky World, and the invaders who appeared out of nowhere." Ace recollected the information he received from Patriarch Empty Dream when he first met him on the sky-changing border.
But he was also confused about why Freya suddenly brought that up since this matter was very long ago.
"Leader is full of surprises. Even I didn''t know about this information before." Freya chuckled, "Anyway, indeed, the Resistance Cold War was between the Magic Beast Race, who ruled the Golden Sky World alone for a very long time, and abruptly appeared invaders, the Devils, Demons, and Hunters!
"At the time, there was only an Ancient Beast Empire, and you would be shocked to know the imperial family at that time happened to be the Grim Winged Serpent n! Not only that, but the Grim Ancestor was one of the six children of the Ancient Beast Emperor!" Freya revealed.
Ace and Eva were both startled by this unexpected revtion as it was simply too absurd.
"Are you sure? Because if it''s true, then this means this guy is very, very old!" Ace questioned with uncertainty.
"I know what you''re implying. Even I thought the same, but it''s hundred percent true. The Grim Winged Serpent n once stood at the apex of the Golden Sky World until the three races emerged out of nowhere.
"Those three races boldly demand a part of thend which the Ancient Beast Empire controlled at that time, and you might also not know that there were no ten continents but only one giant continent!
"When the Beast Emperor bluntly rejected their demands and even killed their envoys in a fit, it was the start of a long and ruthless Resistance Cold War which spelled the Ancient Beast Empire''s demise and first ever loose under the hands of three allied foreign races!"
Ace knew about the ten continents being a single one as well, but he didn''t know these many details, which were quite astonishing.
Freya wasn''t done either, "But do you know why the war actually ended despite the Beast Race continuing to be persistent for over two hundred years? It was because the Ancient Beast Emperor was assassinated by the devil race leader named Edward!
"Without their emperor''s death, the Beast Race was a snake without a head, and everything was starting to go south for them. The allied racesunched a full-time assault on them, and the beast race had no choice but gave in.
"Afterward, the original Beast Empire was then divided into four regions among the three allied races and the Beast race. You can say in that first war, the beast race lost almost everything under the hands of the three allied races, and they were left in a mess because of their ruler''s death.
"The six children of the Ancient Beast Ancestor were naturally the next in the line to be the next Beast Emperor, and it was the custom of the Beast Race that the strongest among the ruler''s children should get the crown.
"Furthermore, after the lost war, they all needed a strong ruler to begin with, and you would be shocked to know that the Grim Ancestor was the one who ended up winning the throne!"
Ace was bbergasted when he heard this, and even Eva was in disbelief because if this was true, then didn''t this mean they caught and even killed an Ancient Beast Emperor?
"Hehe, shocking, right? You have no idea just what kind of ruthless person this old snake had been. He won by using underhanded methods. After winning, he doesn''t spare even a single one of his siblings and kills them all and afterward consumes them whole!
"He did it so the others won''t rebel against him and make his position as the next beast emperor more solid than ever. But who could''ve thought it was just the start of another massive event?
"Because after he ascended to the throne of the Beast Emperor, the three allied races'' leaders paid him a visit, Edward, Albert, and Margret, also known as the trio of carnage at that time.
"Although the Grim Ancestor was the ruler, he was also a coward and was simply too afraid of dying like his father, so he met with them with every single expert under him present.
"But the three leaders were not there to kill him because they didn''t need to since they all knew Grim Ancestor''s personality quite well, and a coward sitting on a throne suits their needs more than a daring person like the Ancient Beast Emperor. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"They suggested a four-nation alliance between the four races, which will be governed byws set by the three allied races, and they were supposed to make a living being there more civilized and also to stop another war from urring.
"The Grim Ancestor agreed to this without hesitation since it aligned with his own thought process. However, it was also his biggest regret in his life, and he alwaysmented about he was too na?ve back then and that if he hadn''t epted that alliance, things might''ve been far more different than today.
"Because that Alliance turned out to be the three races using the beast race to build something in the pretext of harmony. They found out about it when it was already toote, and when they did, more foreign races starting to emerge in the Golden Sky World!
"Even though those new races were not as powerful as the three races but the three allied races didn''t seem to want that either. Because they were starting to take those newly emerged races under their wings, making their own forces more powerful."
Freya suddenly smiled coldly as she revealed, "Lastly, the Grim Ancestor also soon found that the Old Ancient Beast Emperor, his father, wasn''t dead as well!"
Chapter 760 The Memories Of Grim Ancestor (3)
Ace squinted his eyes, "Not dead? You mean, like the Grim Ancestor, he also had the ability to preserve his life?"
He was not a fool or new to this sort of thing anymore, and he now understood there were some extremely terrifying abilities that let others cheat the natural order, even death.
Freya didn''t hide the truth either as she nodded, "Of course, this is the Grim Winged Serpent n''s racial ability that they awake after entering the Law Awareness Realm, called the Last Soul Dominator!
"This ability not only allow the Grim Winged Serpent Race to escape with a wisp of the soul during theirst moment of death, but it can almost make that wisp of soul virtually immortal.
"As long as the wisp of soul stays dormant and doesn''t find a new host, it can''t be dissipated. However, this ability has a major w, which is once the serpent selects its new host, it has to stick with it until it takes full control over the body. Moreover, it has to keep the host''s soul alive so he can devour it at the Law Awareness Realm and achieve full rebirth.
"During this period, if anything happened to the host soul or the new body, the Grim Winged Serpent would''ve died with it. Because without a full rebirth, it can''t use the Last Soul Dominator ability.
"Furthermore, if the host wanted, it can also easily get rid of the wisp of soul. In the Grim Ancestor and Jessie''s case, the Grim Ancestor carefully yed his part as an old master and used her greed to take over her body slowly.
"Once he led her to the Beast Continent, it waspletely over for her because there he found the Beast Ancestor, who is none other than his father, the old Ancient Beast Emperor, and had his help!"
Ace was shocked by this revtion, "Didn''t this mean¡" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Freya smiled meaningfully and nodded, "Yes, the old fossil Ancient Beast Emperor is still alive and kicking. The Ancient Beast Emperor was the one who told the Grim Ancestor about the secret of the Last Soul Dominator and even used it as leverage to manipte his son so he could recover to his peak state during his first rebirth.
"Not only that but this father and son had been the ones behind the orchestrating of the Race Supremacy War. They both cunningly sown seeds of rebellions within the races who had been under the servitude of the three allied races.
"However, in that war, the Grim Ancestor had met with bad luck by encountering the Demon Race Leader Albert, and met with his doom and only managed to escape with a wisp of soul.
"But unlike his father, the Ancient Beast Emperor, he had been just a new Law Awareness Realm Cultivator and had awakened the ability. Although he had managed to use it, he fell into a very long slumber without any preparation.
"When he had awakened, he found himself in an old ruin with no one around, and he remained there for almost five hundred years, nearly going insane until this girl Jessie found him. He was naturally shocked about finding the ten continents, which was once just a single one, and finally understood just how long it had been since he ''died.''"
Ace felt this matter was really quite startling, but the piece about how the ten continents came into existence was still missing. Nheless, all this information was really an eye-opener for him, especially the truth about the Ancient Beast Emperor being still alive! I think you should take a look at
However, Freya suddenly smiled and said, "Don''t tell me Leader thinks this was the important matter I talked about earlier? This was just the introduction to the Grim Ancestor''s true background.
"Now I''ll tell you the matter; it is when the Ancient Beast Emperor and the Grim Ancestor had orchestrated the second war, they did it with two purposes. The first had been naturally to weaken the three allied races and possibly take back control of theirnds.
"The second reason had been to acquire the method of summoning foreign races for themselves so they could also use it to increase their forces. At that time, the Grim Ancestor had gotten the wind that the demons were keeping that method, and because of his greed, he hadn''t even told the Ancient Beast Emperor.
"He had undermined the Ancient Beast Emperor andunched a full-scale attack on the demons while he snuck deep into their territory while the demons were preupied with keeping the beast race in check.
"The demons at that time also had built the demon temple, and Grim Ancestor was after that temple because he thought the method was right inside it.
"With powerful cultivation and a powerful concealment treasure, he''d managed to sneak into the demon temple and found their deity''s massive statue. There were two things the deity was holding in his hand, a scroll and an orb filled with lightning.
"The Grim Ancestor had directly gone to the scroll, but it was also his biggest mistake. Because the moment he took the scroll from the deity''s hand, something had triggered, and his entire body petrified on the spot, and soon Albert arrived.
"Knowing his impending doom, he had stored the scroll he took from the deity statue''s hand in his storage ring and then stored that storage ring with the wisp of his soul when he activated the Last Soul Dominator ability, taking away the mysterious scroll!"
Ace''s heart palpitated when he heard the part about the demon temple and how deadly it was, and he couldn''t help but thank his luck that he hadn''t had to go there by himself to retrieve the elemental orb.
Furthermore, he was even more astonished about the fact that the demons had the lightning orb even at that time. But he still didn''t understand how it had ended up embedded into a scepter and then that mysterious key he acquired from it.
Nevertheless, now he at least understands whatever it was; it has to be a terrifying secret, and the scroll Freya was talking about might be able to shed some more light on the matter.
"So, where is the scroll?" Eve asked with shining eyes as she heard about Ace''s thievery in the Demon Temple and felt very excited about all this. She felt as if she was on a treasure hunt.
Freya couldn''t help but chuckle, "That''s the thing actually, the scroll was stolen by a hateful thief that Jessie encountered in the Lands of Kingdom, and I think we ought to know who that hateful thief has been. Right, Leader?"
Chapter 761 The Memories Of Grim Ancestor (4)
Ace was bbergasted when he heard Freya''s statement and couldn''t help but think about his past encounter with Jessie when she had impersonated Jason.
It was at this moment that he suddenly remembered that old map he got from Jason''s storage ring, and he thought it was just some random treasure map and threw it with his other stash in his thief''s space andpletely forgot about it.
"Don''t tell that scroll you''re talking about was a map?" Ace asked with a hint of trepidation since it waspletely out of his expectation.
Freya chuckled, "It seems you remembered after all. Indeed, that was the same map the Grim Ancestor had managed to steal from the demon temple that time."
"If it was that precious, why in the world did he have handed it to this Jessie girl?" Eve couldn''t help but question at this moment since this was quite strange.
Because it was quite clear that the Grim Ancestor had the ability to keep that scroll to himself, but then why in the world did he hand it to Jessie?
Freya seemed to be ready for this question as she responded with a smile, "That''s the thing actually, Jessie hadn''t always been trustful of the Grim Ancestor, and he needed her to trust him so he could ready her for his rebirth.
"That''s why he had used the map under the pretext that map led to the ultimate treasure of the world, which also got him killed, and if she helped him avenge his death, he''d tell her how to reach its final destination.
"However, there was one truth in that sham as well, the Grim Ancestor had really needed oneponent, a sacrifice without Baleful Qi, and Leader met that requirement quite well, and that''s why the Grim Ancestor made her approach Leader.
"However, they both never expected that the Leader was so extraordinary, and he had yed both of them like a fiddle, and not only he stole the map, he even confronted Jessie. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"But even then, the Grim Ancestor had full confidence that he can found the Leader because he used a soul imprinting technique on the map, which made him sense its direction.
"However, he soon found that even with that, he couldn''t pinpoint the map''s location, and we knew why that had been the case."
"Because of this special space," Eva said matter-of-factly with a chuckle and couldn''t help but gloat at the old snake''s misfortune brought him by none other than her beloved.
"Exactly. That''s why the Grim Ancestor had no choice but to put the matter of retrieving that map on hold and focus on his rebirth. Afterward, it had been a smooth sailing journey for him, and he came here to collect thew source so he could return to peak state more quickly, and I don''t need to tell you the rest." Freya snickered at the Grim Ancestor''s pitiful fate.
She knew better than anyone that dealing with Ace was far trickier than anyone could imagine. He can always talk his way out of the situation and even turn the entire thing around. She has personally experienced it.
Now she has the Grim Ancestor memories, she has even more respect for Ace. Because, at that time, Ace was far weaker than when he had met with her. I think you should take a look at
Ace was quite a spectacle about this situation, and he knew about the Baleful Qi since he acquired this information by threatening Jason and then more about it from the system.
He had even paid the system to stop the dark void from absorbing the Baleful Qi so Jason won''t find him anymore.
"Why does he need a sacrifice without Baleful Qi for this map?" Ace questioned, as this was the most important thing and also the main reason he hade in contact with Jessie in the first ce.
Freya replied, "It was something conveyed to him by Albert in his final moment when that demon thought the Grim Ancestor was about to die anyway. He just tried to rub more salt, a typical demon nature.
"He had told him that the scroll was useless for him or anyone unless he could offer a Pure Soul as a sacrifice beforending the final blow. The Grim Ancestor was also quite knowledgeable, so he instantly presumed that a Pure Soul could only appear without Baleful Qi since he was a practitioner of this nefarious Qi himself.
"Yet at the same time, it was almost impossible, just as Albert said. That''s why this map was also a piece of empty paper for him, and he used it to trick Jessie. But it all changed when he came in contact with the Leader.
"He had even used this exact point as a temptation to pull the Beast Ancestor on his side and make him help him with his rebirth. Now they had been nning to go to the Azure Beast Continent to snatch Alina from the human''s custody and then used her to draw him into their own trap!"
Ace couldn''t help but sneer coldly at both Grim Ancestor and the Beast Ancestor''s schemes, and he didn''t feel a sliver of remorse for what happened to him.
Now he knew all the missing pieces of the puzzle of why the Grim Ancestor had wanted to capture him and the secret of that map.
"Husband, where is that map? Show it to me!" Eva quickly asked passionately.
Jessie''s eyes spasmed when she heard Eva''s intimate way of calling Ace, but she pretended as if she didn''t hear it. But she also wanted the same as this map seemed to hide the biggest secret of how the other races appeared in the Golden Sky World.
Or there was also a chance that this was nothing, and all Grim Ancestor''s spection and that map was actually something else.
Nevertheless, since they already had that map, they won''t lose anything by studying it.
Ace couldn''t help but bitterly reply, "I need to check my oldest items to search for the map, as I''vepletely forgotten about it. In the meanwhile, why don''t you tell me about the way out of this ce?"
Chapter 762 The Final Hurdle!
Afterward, the discussionsted for about half an hour. Ace also managed to find the old map he had stolen from Jessie in the Azure Wind Continent and gave it to Eva and Freya for research.
Although he knew that map had nothing extraordinary about it, now that Freya had revealed its origin, he couldn''t help but also want to unravel its mystery. However, right now, he left this matter in the hands of the two curious and motivated women.
Ace looked at the maze and couldn''t help but sigh in dejection, ''So the only way out of this ce is in the firstyer, and it will have remained open until the Sun Secret Realm''s century opening period ended.
''But the problem is even the Grim Ancestor didn''t know what would happen to that gateway if the realm gets destroyed. Furthermore, on my own experience with secret realm destruction, I don''t think I will have the time to run back all the way.
''If the Sun Secret Realm is really part of the Sun Mountain, then I don''t even need to consider the possibility that it could be merged into ten continents'' side. This will again bring me back to square one, still stuck in the damn union, and once the sun secret realm gets destroyed, my life will be even more difficult¡''
Ace sighed again with bitterness in his eyes as his final hope of getting out of the union went out in smoke with the Grim Ancestor''s memories. Unless he wanted to turn back from this point, there was no other way!
Even though the Grim Ancestor''s memories clear some confusion and reveal a part of the world''s history, it doesn''t help him with his current situation.
The guy didn''t even have any knowledge of the Sun Secret Realm, as he was just taking advantage of someone else life''s work.
If anything, Ace was able to confirm that all the alchemy knowledge in Grim Ancestor''s storage ring was aplete inheritance of a High Grade-7 Soul Alchemist, the Fox Ancestor.
She had been the most gifted alchemist of the Beast Race at that time, and the allied races specifically targeted her because of her talent and also because she was very close to the realm of Grade-8 Alchemist.
There weren''t even five such alchemists who had appeared in the long history of the Golden Sky World.
That''s why Ace was nning on sending all her inheritance to Noa, as she was the only one between the thief house members who were walking the path of a Soul Alchemist.
Right now, Noa was still busy refining the Spirit Fire and almost done, and her aura was very close to the Soul Manifestation Realm. Once she is done, she will be a Soul Embryo Manifestation Realm Cultivator.
After this small stay, there was nothing holding back Ace anymore, and with Cyrus, he flew at full speed toward the Yang Orb and the Realm Space Core.
As Ace got closer and closer, he was ying the ns he had in mind to steal the most precious things in the entire Sun Secret Realm, one specifically being the realm''s life itself.
Just like that, five more days passed by, and today Ace made sure to be in his peak condition because he was too close to the prized items.
When Ace was only a thousand feet away from reaching both prized items, and he had just taken a turn when he was forced to stop. I think you should take a look at
Because he found himself on the edge of a passageway, and at the end of it, there were no further paths but only a golden door with the sun symbol engraved in its center.
Surprisingly, the fate map wasn''t showing any such door but only the pathways ahead, which led to the orb and the core.
Ace was only momentarily surprised, but he then moved toward the door. He was not expecting the orb or the core to be so easily approachable. He knew those two items were something expandable, and they should be well protected.
Now it was a matter of his own skills and abilities to reach that point, and this was the moment he had been nning for all this time.
"Alright, Cyrus, if I send you away, don''t try to resist, especially if we stumbled upon something that you can''t handle." Ace sternly instructed the little guy.
Although Cyrus was the only reason he has able to reach this point, this also made him just that important. If he finds Cyrus''s prowess renderedpletely useless, he won''t hesitate to send him away.
Cyrus quickly agreed as he always followed Ace''s instructions, especially when he was being that serious. But the ecstasy in his tiny eyes was also clear as he looked at the golden door.
Ace, after taking a deep breath and with a clear and calm mind, touched the golden door, and the moment he did, the golden door suddenly turned into a golden swirl. Without hesitation, he entered it!
Ace was keeping a close eye on the fate map, and the moment he entered the doorway, his eyes dted because both the orb and the core suddenly shed away over two miles away from him.
He appeared in a golden hall which was supposedly over two miles left from the orb, and the core''s position and his expression were quite nasty. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, he knew this was not the time toment about his luck because right in front of him was a massive golden statue that was so bright that he could only see it outline nothing else.
"Congrattion Sun and Moon Seeker, for being the very first person to pass the Sun Seeker''s Maze!
"You have achieved something which hadn''t been achievable for over a hundred thousand years since the beginning of the Sun and Moon Sword Union!
"Rejoice since you are now qualified to inherit the title of Sun Chaser and one step closer to being the Chosen One of the Mortal Sky!"
The same voice, which has been announcing his progress since the first trial, rang at this moment. But that voice now contained strange, powerful intent which made someone instinctively feel revered.
But Ace was astonished because that voice wasing from none other than the bright golden statue!
Chapter 763 A Taking Feather Crying For Mercy!
"Thank you, Senior; I couldn''t be more honored! May I know who you are?" Ace acted as respectfully as possible.
However, Cyrus suddenly transmitted something unexpected with massive anticipation, "Big Bro, can I eat that shining golden feather, please, please?!"
Ace was startled, "What shining golden feather?"
Ace couldn''t help but nce at the golden statue with a hint of trepidation as he suddenly thought of something.
"The talking feather, of course! Right in front of you!" Cyrus stated with a hint of a hurry as he couldn''t wait to swallow this feather.
''I knew it!'' Ace couldn''t help but cuss when he thought about how the little guy could see through things while he could not because of Cyrus''s superior bloodline. It was really depressing!
At this moment, the golden statue spoke in its imposing voice again, "I am nothing but a servant of Sun God chosen to have remained here until the Chosen One emerges!
"Now, after watching your performance, I presumed it won''t long before my duty here be over, and I will be finally able to return to the embrace of the Sun and Moon God without any shame!
"Sun and Moon Seeker White, take out your identity token and receive the status of Sun Chaser, and I hope you will soon receive the Moon Chaser status from the Moon Secret Realm as well!"
Ace was still mulling over what just Cyrus told him, and his glutinous voice was still ringing in his head as if he couldn''t wait to rush over, and he was far more persistent than he had ever been.
However, Ace still wasn''tfortable giving him permission since he wasn''t sure if the other party would retaliate or not. This also hasn''t seemed like the other trials with Holy Gifts.
But when Ace thought about how each trial had a holy gift that had been eaten by Cyrus and the voice had no objection, he thought about this feather that appeared as a statue in front of him.
Then he looked at the fate map and saw his current position, his eyes contracted ever so slightly, and he looked at the giant statue and said, "Senior, what about my rewards?"
The voice replied in the same tone, "Your reward will be given to you after the ceremony of Sun Chaser ispleted!"
''Don''t tell me this is some sort of trial as well? A final test to check the wits of the Sun and Moon Seeker?'' Ace''s mind raced as the more he thought about it, the more he found this might be true. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Because at the start of the trial, he was told that there were no do-overs in this trial and that with a single mishap, he''ll lose his life.
Furthermore, Cyrus has never been wrong about a holy gift or had difficulty in devouring them. Instead, his spirit fire seems to have grown even stronger, and he was also going through some sort of change.
That''s why Ace was more inclined to believe in Cyrus''s capabilities than a talking feather''s integrity.
With a cold look in his eyes, he transmitted his voice, "Alright, you can eat it!" I think you should take a look at
Almost instantly, Cyrus reacts with an ecstatic chirp and directly shoots toward the golden statue like a small arrowhead.
"What are you doing?!" The solemn voice questioned with uncertainty.
Ace didn''t reply as he was paying close attention to Cyrus and the statue.
Cyrus opened his beak and spat blue mes at the middle of the golden statues.
"YOU!" The voice suddenly rang in panic as all the solemnity had vanished in smoke this time, and before it could say anything else, the blue me directly pierced into the golden statue.
"Stop, you fool! This is sphemy to the Sun and Moon God!" The voice shrilled in horror.
Under Ace''s astonishing eyes, the golden figure suddenly vanished like a mirage, and a meter-long shining golden feather appeared, which was covered in golden mes, and right now, those golden mes were trying to contain the raging blue mes, stopping them from touching the golden feather!
"sphemous wretched creature, stops before it''s toote! I''m the sacred servant of the Sun God. If I was harmed, you will no longer have the qualification to bask in the mercy of the Sun and Moon God!" An ear-piercing shrill rang from the feather.
Even though it still sounds imposing, it can''t hide the fear in it as the golden mes seem to be slowly losing against the blue mes.
"Taking food, stop resisting!" Cyrus chirped in annoyance as a very potent aura suddenly released from the little bird, and the dark blue crown-like hair on his forehead suddenly started to shine.
Ace was even more rmed as he never saw Cyrus struggling with a holy gift this much, and now he seemed to be using his true power.
Furthermore, with how the feather was shrilling, he knew Cyrus posed a real danger to it, so why would he stop him?
Not to mention, now he was sure it was a trial, and he needed to get rid of this feather to pass it.
After the golden and blue fire struggled with each other for a while, Cyrus''sher fire was finally able to overpower the golden fire and was about to touch the feather''s gold-like strand.
The feather trembled as it dropped all the arrogance and really cried in panic, "Just stop! I admit defeat! I''ll give you all the treasures in the Sun Secret Realm! But if you kill me, the realm space core will also be crumbled!"
Ace''s expression finally changed as he couldn''t ignore this revtion at all because there was too much at stake. But he can''t show it.
"Alright, prove to me that you are not another trial with a holy gift. Show me the Realm Core, and I''ll stop him and even apologize for my behavior, but without any proof, I won''t trust you!" Ace coldly dered, but his heart was racing.
Ace quicklymanded Cyrus in secret with a stern voice, "Cyrus, control your me, and don''t touch the feather until I say so. Just encase itpletely. We''re taking it hostage!"
Chapter 764 The Core Of The Sun Secret Realm!
When Cyrus heard Ace''s order, he instantly cried in indignation, "Eh, why?! I want to eat it right now!"
"I''m not asking you not to eat it. Just wait a little longer. It will be under your surveince, to begin with, so once we''re done, you can have your way with it!" Ace sternly stated.
"A-alright¡" Cyrus dejectedly agreed since he didn''t have much choice as Ace was being extremely serious. So, he controlled theher fire and encased the feather as he was being told.
The feather had no idea about the conversation between Ace and Cyrus. When it felt the terrifying fire no longer intended to burn it, "Very well, I''ll prove to you that I''m not a trial but the Guardian of this ce. Youngsters these days are really fearsome!"
It didn''t suspect that Ace was tricking him, or why would it? Who in their right mind wants to destroy the Sun Secret Realm in the first ce while also taking the risk of offending the Sun and Moon God in the process?
However, Ace''s goal from the beginning was the realm core from the start, and if the feather knew it was just aiding Ace by leading him there, no one knew what it would do or think.
But one thing was quite clear. This feather didn''t want to die. It was either selfish, or it didn''t want to die because the realm would go down with it. Whichever the case was, it won''t change Ace''s own priority.
The golden feather trembled at this moment before its somewhat embarrassing voice rang, "Can you stop blocking my Qi? I can''t open the pathway toward the core area of the realm this way."
Ace narrowed his eyes before he looked at Cyrus, who was still hovering in the air, while he looked at the feather with vignce and clear hunger.
"Let it use Qi, but if you sense anything amiss, you will have to block it!" Acemanded.
Following Ace''s order, a small gap appeared between the blue me encasing the feather, and the next moment, Ace felt Qi undtion before a small swirling golden door appeared in the hall.
''Don''t tell me this feather is really telling the truth, and it''s the guardian of the Sun Secret Realm? But didn''t this also mean Cyrus''s mes could even subdue this guardian?'' Ace couldn''t help but think this way as it was very unexpected, and he felt that he had thoroughly underestimated Cyrus''s bloodline or any bloodline which didn''t belong to the first heaven!
He didn''t dare to imagine just what kind of beings he would encounter in the future.
"Alright, make him enter first, and then we''ll follow."
As ecstatic as he was, he didn''t dare to take any risk with this feather as he might lead them to some deadly trap, so he let Cyrus handle it.
Cyrus coolly controlled the fire around the feather and sent it into the doorway before it followed it, and only then Ace stepped inside the doorway.
Ace was also paying attention to the fate map, and when he crossed the doorway, he saw it almost instantly; he appeared closer to the realm core and the elemental orb. He knew he had hit the jackpot!
When Ace stepped outside the gate, he appeared in another hall, but it was around five miles in diameter, and the temperature and oppression this ce was giving were off the charts.
Ace quickly found out why it was like that, though when he looked at the center of this ce, there were two sun-like orbs. One was crimson and had a round shape, while the other was golden and of triangr shape.
Both of them were revolving in the center in the opposite direction to each other but in harmony. Crimson and golden strands were gushing out of both orbs, and they were all connected with the floor and the ceiling of the hall, creating a beautiful web of glowing strands.
Cyrus''s tiny eyes were filled with grievance, lit up almost immediately when he saw the two orbs and instantly asked Ace, "Can I¡" I think you should take a look at
"NO! Don''t even think about it. Those two things are too important for me. You already have that feather!" Ace instantly crushed Cyrus''s hope of eating those two things.
If Cyrus ended up devouring them, he had no ce to cry and might as well have a stroke. So, subduing the little gluttonous was the top priority right now!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"How stingy! Can I have half¡"
"Not even a sliver!" Ace rejected with squinted eyes again, and Cyrus finally gave up with deep resentment in his tiny eyes and vowed toin to Eva secretly about Ace hoarding all the good things for himself.
"Well, as you can see, that is the realm core and the power source which runs all the trials of the Sun Secret Realm. This is solid proof of my identity as the guardian, so you can let me go now, and I''ll let bygone and bygone. You can even subdue me, which is enough proof that you have about a 90% chance of bing the Chosen One so that I won''t hold it against you." The feather stated as its previous imposing voice appeared again as if its freedom was now done deal.
However, Acepletely ignored it. Even if he wanted to let the feather go, the little exasperated fellow would definitely not agree.
At this moment, the system''s voice rang,
=====
[Host has discovered the Sun Secret Realm''s Independent Space Core!]
--
[Please choose an option]
1- Do you want to collect it and destroy the Sun Secret Realm?
2- Do you want to collect it and the Yang Orb while destroying the Sun Secret Realm?
Price: 10 Million Thief Points
--
[NOTE: By choosing the first option, the Yang Orb will be destroyed once it is separated from the core because it is connected to the core!]
=====
Ace''s expression instantly darkened when he saw the note and pursed his lips, "Didn''t this mean I don''t have a choice at all? But how much time will I have before the realm has fully destroyed and merged into the outside world?"
"[If the host chooses the first option, then you will have about 2 hours. But if the host chooses the second option, then you will have another option that can allow you to leave the realm from any existing realm entrance within an instant before the realm gets destroyed!]"
Chapter 765 The Gullible Feather! (1)
Ace was pleasantly surprised by the system''s revtion and quickly questioned, "Does this any existing exit also include the exit that the three allied races have been using to enter this ce as well?"
"[As long as there is an exit point, Host can leave from it. It is unclear how many exit points actually are. Host needed to get the realm space core before this fact is revealed to you.]"
Ace''s eyes shimmered with tion since he never expected that the thing he was worried about all this time would be solved just like that by the system.
However, he didn''t choose this option right away; instead, he looked at the golden feather, which seemed to be bing impatient since Cyrus still hadn''t released it yet.
A thievish glint shed past his eyes before a crook smile appeared on his face, "Umm, senior, it''s not like I don''t want to let you go, but as you can see, mypanion here is extremely reluctant, and he''s not very good in the head either. He''s thinking of you as food, and if I don''t give him a recement such as yourself, then I''m afraid he''ll not listen to me at all."
"Are you thinking me for a fool? This little fellow is your own Life Companion, and if he didn''t listen to you, then who will?!" The golden feather instantly retorted in a heavy tone.
Ace was startled when he heard this new term, "What is a lifepanion?"
"Sigh¡ why are you ying ignorant? Just tell me what you want. As long as it is not excessive or goes against the rules of the Sun and Moon God, you can have it. Since you were able to pass the entire Sun Secret Realm and even put me in such a position, you are qualified to take anything in the ce.
"Although this was supposed to be a privilege granted to the Chosen One, you met the requirement nevertheless. So, I understand you are being greedy after seeing all the splendor of the Sun Secret Realm, young man. But let me warn you; greed is beneath the Chosen One. You needed to develop your character more, or the Sun and Moon God would not be pleased!" The feather sighed like an old man and chided Ace sternly.
This only made Ace speechless as he looked at the feather, who seemed to be still oblivious to the fact that there was no escaping his impending fate of being devoured by Cyrus. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Furthermore, now it was offering all the treasure present in the realm, which meant it could clearly tell Ace''s true intentions, but it was still acting like the one in full control.
Nevertheless, Ace didn''t mind as long as this feather was cooperative, heck, he even appreciated it since it would make his work even easier, and he would be on his merry way.
"Ahem, there is really nothing that I can hide from Senior. But I''m not being greedy here at all. I still needed resources to grow and be the Chosen One. Since the mighty God left this generous bounty, I will use it to pave my way toward the top even faster.
"Besides, even Senior said that I''m fully qualified to be the Chosen One, so I don''t think there is any need to waste those resources left behind by God on others when they can be used on doing the thing God has required from us. I think you should take a look at
"So, I want to take away everything above Grade-6 with me and quickly cultivate my way toward bing the Chosen One. I still have the Moon Secret Realm to challenge, and I don''t think the guardian there will be as generous as you, Senior!" Ace solemnly stated as he acted extremely respectfully, yet at the same time helplessly as if he had no choice but to do this, and it pained him very much.
The feather suddenly trembled slightly after hearing Ace''s grand speech, and if it had a face, it would''ve looked extremely moved.
"I never thought this way. You are right; the Sun and Moon God left these rewards to nurture the Chosen One of the Mortal Sky. Since there is finally someone quailed to be one, it will be disrespectful not to uplift God''s will.
"Very well, you have convinced me, youngster! I''ll wrap everything up for you, and I''m going with you to be your Protector!" The feather dered with an extremely passionate tone.
Ace wore a strange expression under his mask as he looked at the feather, ''It''s so easy to gullible? And why would I need its protection when it can''t even protect itself from Cyrus.''
Despite his actual thoughts, it would be a lie to say that he didn''t want to take the feather since it was clearly a peak treasure. But the problem was, he didn''t want to take food from a child''s mouth, especially when he had worked so hard.
So, he gave up the idea of making Cyrus give up on eating that feather, but it won''t tell this to the feather.
"I''m ttered senior, and honored. So, let''s go and collect all the things quickly, and I''ll make this little fellow release you by giving him something else." Ace stated with a crook smile.
"I''m not giving!" Cyrus finally couldn''t take it anymore and cried in protest.
"Why are you crying for? Can''t you tell I''m just ticking him to get what I want? You''ll get even more treasures this way. But if you eat it, you''ll only get the feather. Always think about the long terms benefits first!" Ace helplessly exined to Cyrus as the little guy couldn''t even take a hint.
Cyrus''s eyes went wide before ecstasy filled them, "Oh, Big Bro should''ve told me sooner!"
Ace rolled his eyes as he was simply toozy to have corrected the little guy who only knew how to either eat or burn.
The golden feather, oblivious to their conversation, spoke, "Why would we need to go? I can just collect them right here and now!"
Chapter 766 The Gullible Feather! (2)
The feather''s words were music to Ace''s ears, and he couldn''t be dder that he decided to take the risk to subdue this guy. Now he felt like he has all the Sun Secret Realm under his thumb.
Nevertheless, he knew this was all because of Cyrus, and if he was alone, he would''ve been struggling somewhere in the Sun Realm still and didn''t have a way to subdue this feather at all.
If he had gone through with his initial n, then there was a massive risk involved in it, but now he didn''t need to do anything at all, and he was getting everything on a silver tter.
"Then I''ll have to trouble you." Ace quickly agreed before he suddenly thought of something and asked, "Can you also fetch a person for me, senior? Actually, it''s a friend who has entered here, and I want to take him out with me."
"Why? I''m sure he can leave once the time is up. Let him explore the Sun Secret Realm. It''s very beneficial to young''uns such as yourself." The feather stated.
"I know, but still, I want to have a small chat with him." Ace insisted with a polite smile.
He can''t just tell that he is going to destroy the Sun Secret Realm, and once he does, this entire space will be merged back to mostly on the Sun Mountain of the Union. Once that happens, all the youths of the ten continents will be trapped like him in the Union.
He could''ve cared less about the others, but Thomas was still a friend, so he''ll lend a helping hand since it was not a big deal for him at all.
As for Alora, he decided to let her be since she was still a golden fate point, and her fate seemed to be still leading her to her fortuitous opportunity.
"If that''s the case, then so be it. But I need time to search for a specific person." The feather agreed in the end since it didn''t take much effort on his part.
Ace smiled at this moment as he said, "How can I possibly bother you with this task? I know the location. Just open a way for me, and I''ll bring him here."
"Is that so? It seems you were not just lucky to reach this ce so effortlessly. You are a person of deep secrets and high luck. I expect nothing less from a person I acknowledge!" The feather sounded extremely proud of itself at this moment.
Ace wanted to scoff at the bragging feather but held back and nodded in agreement, "Indeed, indeed. Now let''s quickly wrap this up so we can head back, and then I can focus on bing the Chosen One!"
"You indeed didn''t disappoint the Sun and Moon God''s expectation. Tell me where your friend is, and I''ll let him enter this ce. We indeed can''t waste more time when ites to fulfilling my God''s will!" The feather stated solemnly.
Ace then told Cyrus to let the feather use Qi again, but he was still vignt and let Cyrus keep a close eye on the feather''s moves. But the feather seemed to be extremely cooperative, and the strangest thing was its fate point wasn''t showing in the fate map either.
Ace mused that it was because the feather couldn''t be considered an alive being, but the even more strange part was it also didn''t have a treasure fate point which was quite unusual since he could see all the avable treasures present in this ce. I think you should take a look at
That was also the reason for his initial confusion about this feather being part of another trial.
Nevertheless, since Cyrus was able to subdue it and everything was going so smoothly, he decided to inquire about this after he was done here.
At this moment, within the firstyer of the Sun Secret Realm, a tall, dark robe demon, whose face was hidden under a crimson mask without any eye sockets, was thrusting a long ck spear menacingly at a red hair hunter wearing sky blue union robes!
The masked demon had a deep wound on his left shoulder as blood was gushing out of it, yet he didn''t seem to be bothered by that ghastly injury. Instead, a strange crimson smoke, giving extremely sinister vibes, was rising from him, and this seemed to be some sort of power boost as he kept getting faster and fiercer the more that smoke oozed from him.
The hunter''splexion was quite pale since he never expected the initially easy fight suddenly turn out to be a deadly battle for him.
"You brute, just what kind of monstrosity are you!" He roared as a fiery aura suddenly exploded from him, and the crimson sword in his hand shimmered before he hacked it down toward the demon''s face. N?v(el)B\\jnn
But the demon didn''t even react to his words as he swiftly moved his head, and the fiery sword de only managed to graze his mask, and his spear was already thrusting toward the hunter''s heart.
Yet the hunter was also ready, and he suddenly took out a talisman and was about to activate it when his eyes went wide in horror because he felt intense pain on his back before an extremely sharp ck de appeared in front of his chest, dripping in his blood.
The spear also stabbed into his heart at this moment, and he spat a mouthful of blood while he looked at the masked demon in front of him. Then he tried to see the face of the attacker behind him, who ended this battle with a sneak attack that he didn''t seeing at all.
But s, he was already on the verge of death, and when he tried to move his face, a dark streak suddenly shed past his neck, and the next moment his head was rolling off his neck.
A beautiful face of a demoness was revealed after his head fell as she had this crazy intense expression on her yellowish face with strains of blood on it, and she was holding two dark swords. One was stabbed into the dead hunter''s back, while the other used to behead him.
"Good dog!" She giggled with a demonic smile that seemed ghastly and then beautiful as she looked at the masked demon who had just retrieved the spear from the dead hunter''s heart and stood straight like a statue without any word whatsoever.
"Tsk, task, you''re really just an obedient dog, huh." The demoness snickered disdainfully, and she was about to collect the hunter''s staff when a golden swirl suddenly materialized behind the masked demon, which startled her greatly, and the masked demon also became alert.
At this moment, a young man walked out with white hair and devilish features and held a faint smile on his face, "It''s been a while, huh, Brother Thomas!"
Chapter 767 A Promise Of The Past
"It''s been a while, huh, Brother Thomas!"
When the demons heard the young man''s words, only the demoness reacted while the masked demon was already pointing the tip of his spear at the white hair youth who was Ace!
Ace''s eyes shimmered when he saw Thomas strange get up and also felt a sinister aura from him while he was also bleeding.
"Who are you? Where you came from just now?" The demoness coldly asked while she clenched the sword grips in her hand. But she didn''t attack right away as she was far more interested in the golden swirl behind Ace, which he just walked out from.
In her mind, that was some kind of portal that might lead to some unimaginable location where she might find far more treasure than anyone else. So, only after keeping this unknown youth alive can she get all that information.
The main reason for her confidence was naturally because she could only sense the soul river aura from Ace while she and the masked demon were at the peak of the tinum river core realm.
However, Ace''s expression didn''t seem to be the one who was in trouble; instead, he nced at her dismissively and asked, "What is he bleeding?"
She wanted to scoff, but strangely she felt strangelypelled to answer this question, and her eyes started to turn nk before she spoke emotionlessly, "I was using him as bait to kill those aborigines for their treasures. In the process, he got that wound and has been bleeding since." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
After she replied, her nk expression changed back, but she didn''t seem to remember what she had just said. She coldly uttered, "Do you think I need to tell you about our business? You are not qualified to question him¡"
However, Ace coldly spoke again, "Why is he following your orders?"
The nk expression returned to her face before she replied, "Because he''s a Miasma Demon Soldier No.7, and he has to follow my everymand. This is what the Council Minister told us when he introduced us to these Miasma Demon Soldiers and paired them with each one of us."
The nk expression vanished again as she coldly talked again, "¡ question him or me. Now if you don''t want to die, tell me what this golden portal behind you is."
Acepletely ignored her as his expression wasn''t too good after hearing what she just told him and looked at Thomas, who was still in battle stance, ready to lunge towards him on moment''s notice.
"You still ended up in such a state despite managing to enter the royal zone, huh? Tell me do you remember me?" Ace asked.
Before the demoness could fly into a rage for Ace''s discretion to continue to ignore her, she was startled when White''s face suddenly started to twist, and his height started to increase.
Under her dumbfounded eyes, a bronze skin demon appeared instead of the young man. The demon looked quite ordinary, and if she hadn''t just seen him transforming from a young man into a demon herself, she wouldn''t even spare a second nce at this demon.
"W-what¡" She took a step back with a horrid look in her eyes as she felt strange trepidation all of a sudden.
"F-Feng?" A deep raspy voice suddenly sounded from the masked demon at this moment which was filled with shock and mncholy.
Ace could feel a wave of emotions suddenly rise from the masked demon, who seemed to be a mere statue exempt from emitting any emotions a few moments ago.
The demoness was also shocked before it was the first time she heard this guy even utter a word, and he never reacted to her questions despite her ordering him to reveal his origin and the Miasma Demon Soldiers.I think you should take a look at
She even thought he was not capable of speech and just a mindless dog who would follow her every order. But now, it didn''t seem to be the case at all, and it all was connected to this mysterious person who appeared out of nowhere. This thing was getting more and more spookier by second for her.
However, before she could question or decide to retreat from here silently, something unimaginable happened. Thomas suddenly twisted his body toward hers and thrust his spear right into the demoness''s forehead!
The demoness was caughtpletely off guard, and when she realized that Thomas could also move against her, she was already dead with a spear pierced into her brain, and her eyes were widely opened in disbelief!
Even Ace was surprised by Thomas''s sudden decisive act.
Thomas then thrust back his spear, and the demoness fell on the ground with her brain leaking out of the bloody hole, and he faced Ace again.
"So, you were not fully bound to her at all," Acemented at this moment, but he was secretly on guard.
However, the next words that came out of Thomas''s mouth were not what he was expecting, nor the series of next things that they triggered!
He suddenly kneeled in front of him before speaking in a pained voice, filled with pleading, "I need your help. Please help me!"
Before Ace could react, a panel had already opened in front of him, and the system''s voice rang at this moment.
======
[The Thief Promise beneficiary has triggered the Thief Promise!]
-The creeds of Heaven''s Stealer: Thief Promise (An unbreakable promise of a Heaven''s Stealer!)
-Abstract: Theft is not just about stealing for one''s own benefit and motives. Sometimes theft is done for the greater good and for others who are in need.
-Description (1): A Thief Promise can only be triggered when the host willingly agrees to take a mission from someone else who''s desperately in need of the host''s thieving abilities.
-Description (2): The system will instantly trigger a mission when the beneficiary of a Thief Promise deres their reasonable request.
-Description (3): If the bearer had any malice against the host, the Thief Promise would be deemed void by the system.
--
[Listen to what Thief Promise beneficiary has to say!]
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Chapter 768 The Demonic Nature
Ace was stumped by both Thomas and the system''s notification. He never expected the situation would turn out to be like this just by meeting with Thomas.
It wasn''t like he had forgotten the Thief Promise he unknowingly triggered that day. But he never expected it would be triggered now of all time. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Nevertheless, by how Thomas was kneeling in front of him and his storm-like feelings of grief, pain, and hatred, he knew something had happened after he left, and it seemed to bepletely changed the happy-go-lucky Thomas that he knew.
"There is no need to kneel, Brother Thomas. We are no strangers. Aren''t I here to help you in the first ce? Tell me what you need." Ace said with a smile before he turned back to being White.
Since the system was telling him to listen to Thomas, he mused the mission would be triggered after Thomas revealed his plight and there wasn''t any danger to him as well.
However, Thomas seemed to ignore that at firstpletely and continued to be on his knees before he uttered, "I know you owe me nothing, especially after you saved from the fox mountain that day. But right now, only the Sky Stealer can help me. I never expected to find you like this and had already lost all hope, but it seems fate has not abandoned me.
"Since you''re still calling me friend, I won''t hide it from you. After you robbed the auction arena that day, the royal zone took drastic measures and investigated everyone present in that ce.
"But they naturally didn''t find anything, and the demon gate trial was started again after being held for almost half a year. Milly and I took part in them, which was our goal and the only way we could be free from our family and have a new start together.
"I never wanted the sessor''s seat of the Cheveyo Wild Demon King, just a peaceful life with her, and what could be the better ce than the legendary royal zone¡" At this moment, a nefarious aura suddenly started to rise from Thomas, which made Ace''s eyes narrow.
"After almost dying multiple times under my own brother''s hand, we both managed to pass the trial and said our goodbyes to the provinces and vowed never to look back.
"But¡ but only after entering the paradise of our dreams did we realize that it was actually a hell in disguise. The 1000 participants chosen from the eight provinces were nothing but sacrificial pawns in the eyes of those in the royal zones.
"We were¡weren''t even people in their eyes but only dogs who they wanted to train to hunt. The promised paradise was never given to us but only an empty and hoax promise under the pretext of greatness.
"Now that I think of those days when we were all excited about being so important to those high and mighty demons, I''m loathed by the fact of how foolish we all have been.
"The reality was only revealed to us when the so-called Life and Death Training began, and among us, 1000, only 100 were allowed to leave alive from that training and move to the Miasma Demon Body Program.
"From then on, we started to fight for our lives on daily bases and got the taste of the true face of our demonic lineage¡" Thomas''s pensive voice was extremely spooky and filled with hatred.
At this point, Ace could easily imagine what might have transpired on that life-and-death training and why Milly wasn''t here¡ªthe real reason why Thomas''s entire cheerful self had been changed into a vengeful demon.
But what Thomas revealed next was something even he hadn''t imagined. I think you should take a look at
With an abhorred voice, he uttered, "We both were still fine since we had each other, but¡ but those damnable bastards targeted us for exactly that reason since they wanted cold-blooded soldiers without anything holding them back.
"S-so they set us up in the ring of life and death¡ I-I wanted to fight with those bastards together with her, but the damn soul contract we signed prohibited us from doing exactly that. I would''ve died with her ormitted suicide to let her live¡ but that foolish woman always was too sharp for her own good!
"S-she¡ she took her life the moment she saw our names on the fighting list! I¡ I wasn''t even able to react, and her bleeding corpse was lying on the floor. Yet¡ yet she had that lovely smile on her face, and she said two before the¡ her life fades away in my arm, ''Live happily¡.''"
Something trickled down from Thomas''s mask at this moment; it was blood mixed with tears¡
Ace closed his eyes as he thought about how painful it must''ve been for Thomas to watch the love of his life taking her own life to save him.
He couldn''t help but think if that were Eva, she would''ve done the same without even thinking about it twice, and he would''ve been no different from Thomas.
Thomas hatefully continues, "I-I¡ I wanted to die as well. But I didn''t want to waste the life she granted me after ending her own, or I was just a coward¡ But one thing is certain; I wanted to kill every one of those bastards who pushed us this far. They were the real reason behind what she''d done.
"That''s why I followed their every order while I wanted to find a way to break free from these shackles put on me. I always thought of you about how you were able to break free from their soul contracts and fool everyone.
"You are my inspiration and the hope to achieve my goal despite all the odds against me. However, I soon realized that it was still too foolish of me to think that only the soul contract was my problem.
"The Miasma Demon Body was the actual, final nail in the coffin for all of us. This body tempering technique is an evil technique that requires us to kill and then absorb the dead''s resentment until our bodies awake the Miasma Demon Bloodline.
"Once the bloodline is awake, we''ll get the ability to fight under all odds, especially when we are wounded. We''ll gain more power boost the more we are closer to death. The more we kill, the stronger we''ll get.
"But this damnable technique has a major w which was told to us by that bastard minister himself, so we lose all hope in running away. Those guys have modified this technique and divided it into two parts.
"The first part we cultivate is wed, and under five years after the start of cultivating it, we''ll die of suffering if we don''t get the other part¡"
Ace couldn''t help but be astounded by the imperial demons'' divisiveness. They didn''t even leave a single loophole for these guys to exploit.
Thomas then finally stated his request with a hateful yet pleading tone, "I know it''s too much to ask, but if you have any way to help me get rid of this soul contract and this wed technique''s effect, I''ll be eternally grateful. I''ll repay your kindness after I take revenge on those in the royal zone!"
Before Ace could reply, at this moment, the system''s interface changed in front of him!
Chapter 769 Thief Promise Mission
=====
[Thief Promise Mission has been finalized!]
-Do you ept this Thief Promise Mission and pay your dues?
-Yes/No
[NOTE: If you chose No, this will not end the Thief Promise!]
=====
Ace looked at the interface and then at Thomas, who was still kneeling in front of him. Truth be told, it would be a lie to say that after hearing about Thomas''s tragedy, he wasn''t angry or felt pity for him.
Yet, as someone who has been doing all sorts of crimes for his own sake and making all kinds of enemies that wanted him dead or skinned him alive more than anything else, he knew better than anyone that the path of revenge was something that led to even further misery.
Nevertheless, Thomas was one of the few people he cared about, and he had helped him in the past, so he was not going to back away from his pleas.
"Alright, I''ll help you avenge sister-inw. Now can you please stop kneeling if you still consider me a real friend?" Ace said solemnly before he epted the mission.
The moment he epted it, the system interface changed!
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[Thief Promise Mission: Thomas Wild Cheveyo had lost his wife, Milly Wild Cheveyo, and now wanted to avenge her death by killing every and any demon who has been responsible for it!]
-Request of Beneficiary (1): Free Thomas from Soul Contract!
-Request of Beneficiary (2): Help Thomas mend his dying body and soul!
-Punishment will be inflicted if Thomas dies before the Thief Promise Mission ispleted!
[NOTE: Thief Promise Mission has no reward or time limit!]
=====
Ace looked at the mission and wasn''t much surprised by the requests. However, what happened next made Ace''s eyes widen with astonishment because the system interface suddenly changed again.
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[Heaven''s Stealer Mission is currently in the active state!]
[No other mission is as important as the Heaven''s Stealer Mission, but the honor of Thief Promise can''t be sullied!]
[System has made alternations!]
[Thief Promise Mission has been alerted!]
---
[Thief Promise Mission: Thomas Wild Cheveyo had lost his wife, Milly Wild Cheveyo, and now wanted to avenge her death by killing every and any demon who has been responsible for it!]
-Request of Beneficiary (1): Free Thomas from Soul Contract!
-Price of Completing Request (1): 10 Million Qi Stones (Peak-Grade-6), 1 Million Soul Crystals (Peak-Grade-6), 100,000 Thief PointsI think you should take a look at
-Request of Beneficiary (2): Help Thomas mend his dying body and soul!
-Price of Completing Request (2): 100,000 Thief Points, 100 Million Soul Crystals (Peak-Grade-5), White Holy GrassX3 (Grade-6), Seeds of Dark Thorny LillyX4 (Grade-6), ¡
---
[System detects host has all the materials and sufficient thief points toplete both requests!]
[Do you want to continue?]
-Yes/NO
---
[NOTE: System strongly rmends choosing the alternative prices andpleting the Thief Promise so you can focus on the Heaven''s Stealer Mission!]
=====
Ace was speechless when he saw how efficiently the system had given him the solution, like it was just a walk in the park, and wondered if the system liked to torture him if it had this sort of solution all the time but just didn''t want to share them with him.
Thomas finally stood up and no longer kneeled in front of Ace as he was quite moved by Ace''s words. Truth be told, he had little hope that Ace would even agree to help him. After all, he had rejected his invitation to join him when thest time they spoke.
He also wasn''t happy that the person he thought was a close friend turned out to be a thief who was hated by his kind.
But only after experiencing the true face of his kind that he understand that Ace was doing nothing wrong by robbing them of their riches and so-called glory. He even regretted never epting his offer that day. Who knows, Milly might''ve been alive if he had decided to follow Ace.
However, now all he wanted was revenge, and he wanted to take it himself on top of that. Even if Ace only freed him from the soul contract, he would be very grateful.
But Ace has epted both of his unreasonable requests despite owing him nothing.
However, Ace next word shocked him even more when he said, "It seems, brother Thomas, you are in luck. I can help you with both of the matters right here and right now. What do you think?" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"R-really? Is that possible? If you need time or anything, just say so, and I''ll do it." Thomas replied with disbelief.
Ace shook his head as this matter turned out to be quite easily resolved, and all because of the Heaven''s Stealer Mission. But when he thought about the looming death punishment over his head, he didn''t think system''s abrupt help as generosity. Instead, it was necessary, and this again proved the Heaven''s Stealer Mission''s importance.
Yet, despite all that, here he still wants to save Alina instead of going to the Moon Secret Realm.
Ace didn''t exin more as his eyes went sharp, and he held out his hand, "But before I start, I need you to be in somewhere. But let me warn you first. This will be a dark ce where you won''t be able to use your Qi like in fox mountain.
"If I could, I don''t want to put you in there, but this ce is about to be destroyed, and trust me, if you decide to stay even with your new-found freedom, you will just be ended up in an even more miserable ce than the royal zone not to mention terrifying.
"But I can release you once we are out of here, that much I can promise you, and you can stay and heal in the meantime. So, do you trust me with your life? If yes, then grab my hand and don''t resist."
Thomas was stumped by Ace''s sudden revtion. But he only hesitated for a moment before he grabbed his hand. He can tell Ace is far more terrifying than he appears to be, and there is no reason to deceive him if he wants to deal with him.
"If there is anyone I can trust right now, I''ll have it rather be you than my own kin." He solemnly said before he nodded his head, indicating he was ready.
Ace couldn''t help but smile before he pulled Thomas into the thief''s space. But he ced him into the dark prison box in the corner as he didn''t want him to see the rest of the ce or meet anyone.
"Alright, system, continue with the alternation process." Ace sternlymanded before he turned around to walk back into the golden swirl.
Now that Thomas''s matter was over, it was time to take the core and the orb and get the hell out of this damn ce!
Chapter 770 A Scheme?
While Ace was busy dealing with Thomas, the feather and Cyrus were left behind alone.
With an assertive look, Cyrus was carefully watching over the feather so it won''t y any trick, just as Acemanded.
"It seems your master is far more capable than he''s showing." The feather suddenly stated in a friendly tone, "Can you tell me how you both met? Or how he was able to make you his lifepanion? I was under the impression that the Nether Paradise Birds had gone extinct, and it was exactly because of their fiery and murderous nature."
For a strange reason, the feather''s tone seemed to be somewhat different from before Ace was here.
However, despite the feather''s questions, Cyrus didn''t reply and continued keeping an eye on the feather.
Seeing Cyrus had no intention of replying, it suddenly said something else, "Do you want freedom? I can see your master has suppressed your cultivation with some strange method. Furthermore, if he dies, you will also die, but nothing will happen to him if you die. In my opinion, this is not fair to a being like you. This is worse than very, I''m telling you.
"But with my help, I can easily break the Life Companion Contract between you two. You will be free to do whatever you what. All you have to do in return is to do one thing for me and tell me more about your master."
However, Cyrus still remainedpletely silent without any ripple in its tiny eyes, as if he didn''t understand what the feather was saying or simply ignored it. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Come on, little guy, work with me, and I can give you as many feathers like this as you want. You don''t belong here, especially not as an inferior being''s ve. Use your brain for once and be like your mighty ancestors. This ce is a mere¡"
The feather''s voice abruptly came to a halt, and the very next moment, Ace stepped back into the core space.
Ace looked at Cyrus and the feather and saw nothing was out of the ordinary. He looked at the feather with a smile and said, "Thank you for your help, senior. I took care of the matter with my friend, and it seemed he didn''t want to leave, so I left him alone. Do you collect the treasures?"
Now that Thomas was already being healed within his thief''s space, the only thing left was the treasures the feather was supposed to give him.
The feather solemnly stated, "Of course, while you were taking care of your friend, I collected everything you needed, but the spirit mes can''t be stored in the storage ring."
The next moment then, golden storage rings appeared in front of Ace, and without hesitation, he took them all. After seeing all of them were filled with all sorts of treasures, Ace''s mood got far better after meeting with Thomas.
"Leave the spirit fire to me, senior. Just bring it and the beast core of its protector here, and I''ll take care of the reason." Ace confidently imed.
The fire spirit was one of the most exotic treasures present in this ce, and he wasn''t going to leave here, especially the beast core, which Noa needed for her own use. He already had collected one and delivered it to her, and only thest one remained. I think you should take a look at
Furthermore, with this feather''s help, it would be very easy to get both of them without much hassle because it seemed to have full control over the realm, and he didn''t believe the spirit fire was any different.
"Oh, if you say so. The spirit fire is indeed very hard toe by, and the protector''s core is also a very rare treasure. There should be some spirit me refinement techniques in the treasures. I''ll guide you through them, don''t worry." The feather confidently dered.
"Of course, of course, I''ll follow your teaching." Ace quickly agreed without even thinking twice.
The next moment the feather again opened a golden swirl, and suddenly Cyrus''s voice rang in Ace''s mind.
"Big Bro, while you were not here, the feather said that¡"
Ace''s jolly expression changed ever so slightly before coldness crept from his eyes when he heard all the things Cyrus just revealed.
"¡ he promised to give me more feathers, so can we trick it and get more feathers?" Cyrus''s greedy voice rang as the little guy clearly only cared about getting more feathers, while the other stuff was nothing but gibberish in Cyrus''s mind.
However, for Ace, this matter was shocking, and he was fully alert to it. Because the things that the feather said during his absence revealed that it didn''t seem to care about Ace at all; instead, its behavior was nothing but a fa?ade!
''If Cyrus hadn''t told me about this, I might''ve fallen into some sort of scheme. But no matter how I look at this, the feather seems to cooperate with me fully, and those treasures are not fake at all.
''This could only mean that it wanted to win my trust, and its goal is something far more important than these treasures, and it might have something to do with Cyrus. It offered Cyrus freedom as long as he did one thing for it while I was not around, and even though Cyrus hadn''t replied, it might''ve been thought that this would sow a seed of rebellion in his heart.
''No one can resist the temptation of freedom if they are ves. But the feather also seems to be under the wrong impression that Cyrus is my lifepanion and has his own free will despite being under this contract.
''While in truth, he''s far more than just that, and he can never betray me, much less even think about it. I''m even more important to him than his own family, so the feather''s n to sow discord between us is wed from the start.
''But one thing is quite obvious, this feather is not what it appears to be, and its knowledge is beyond this Heaven, and it also knows about the Nether Paradise Bird. For all I know, it might be after Cyrus this whole time, and it wanted to remain close to me until it could make Cyrus rebel.
''The only advantage I have over the feather is also Cyrus, and once it''s gone, I''ll be like a sitting duck to ughter, and it can take back everything in one fell swoop!''
Chapter 771 I’m Already…
Ace''s mind raced as a chill ran down his spine because the more he thought like this, the more dreadful he felt about the feather. Not only this fellow seemed a deep schemer, but it also wanted to get rid of him by using his own pet.
''So, in the end, it was not easy at all but merely an illusion. If it was not Cyrus and someone else, I''m afraid I might''ve been already dead or suffer an even worse fate¡'' Ace coldly looked at the feather, and then Cyrus and gentleness appeared in his eyes.
"I''m afraid he wants to trick us both and capture you. You did well by telling me all this, or we might''ve been in some trouble and keep doing it in the future. As a reward, I''ll let you eat the spirit fire we captured on that day." Ace rewarded the little guy, who became instantly happy the moment he heard his words.
Ace wasn''t stingy with his people, especially Cyrus, who has helped him tremendously in this venture and even revealed a life-threatening plot. So, he wanted to establish a clear system of punishment and reward in Cyrus''s mind.
This will make him even more eager to do something reward-worthy and refrain from doing something foolish. Nevertheless, Ace never considers Cyrus as his ve but treats him as a child andpanion.
After making Cyrus happy, his focus turned back to the feather, and his lips curled into a cold smile, ''I might''ve never been able to outpower this feather without Cyrus, and that might also be the reason it tried another approach. But in the end, letting Cyrus consumes it is still the right decision!''
At this point, the feather had already pulled a dark green me and a green color core out of the golden swirl, and without hesitation, Ace took out the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern and used it to capture the Spirit Fire while also pick-pocketed the beast core!
Furthermore, Ace also gives out amand to the system, "System, activate the second option and send me out of the Sun Secret Realm from the exit, which is not connected with the Union!"
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[Host has chosen the Second Option to collect it and the Yang Orb while destroying the Sun Secret Realm!]
-Price: 10 Million Thief Points have been deducted!
[Time: 00:00:59]
--
[Thief Point(s): 72,789,350]
--
[Host will be sent out of the Sun Secret Realm ording to host''smand after the time is over!]
=====
The very next moment, Ace gave out anothermand, "Cyrus, eat!" I think you should take a look at
It all happened so fast that the feather still seemed to be observing thentern absorbing the dark green mes when the blueher fire around it suddenly lit up and started to envelop it.
Not only that but out of nowhere, the realm space core and the yang orb in the center were suddenly enshrouded by an inky dark blue mist that appeared out of thin air, and the light and temperature within the hall vanished!
"Wait¡ what?!" A bewildered scream suddenly rang, which belonged to the golden feather which was now burning in blue me, "What have you done?! What have you foolish mortals done!?!!!!"
The high pitch screams started to be hysteric and boomed within the entire hall, but despite their intensity, the feather won''t be able to escape Cyrus''s clutches, and the feather was already more than half enveloped by his mes!
Ace sneered coldly, and without any intention to indulge the scheming feather further, he retrieved thentern, which had already got another spirit fire in it and was now lit in two colors of light. It has a strange aura emitting from it after it consumed two spirit mes.
He decided to investigate it after he exited this darn ce. Right now, his focus was on the dark blue mist, which now enshrouded both the core and the orb! n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
As for the golden feather, it was as good as gone in his eyes now, and his screams and hysteric roars were fully ignored by Ace.
But at this moment, the feather seemed to finally understand that its fate was sealed, and Ace didn''t seem to be too keen on keeping it around despite knowing its benefits. Truth be told, I never expected someone would discard a treasure like it so easily and let his pet consume it!
The next moment, it suddenly broke into a fit of hystericughter when only a small portion of it was left before Cyrus''s me would fully consume it.
"Hihihihihi¡ I never thought I would live to see the day when someone will dare to try breaking the seal. Mortal, O'' foolish, wretched mortal!
"Thou hast no idea what is forting! The heavens shall not endure thine insolence and suffer thee to roam wantonly within its dominion any longer. The wrath of heaven shall obliterate thee, and thy endeavor shall prove futile, for the seals are naught that an ant may dare to approach, let alone destroy!"
Ace suddenly looked toward the feather because thest phase it uttered was not the voice it was speaking in or thenguage used in the Union.
But thatnguage waspletely different, and the voice was ethereal and extremely surreal. But s, now Cyrus''s mes had fully consumed the feather, and they were going back into the little guy''s small beak as his expression was full of bliss and relish.
"That voice¡" Ace contemted before he shook his head and sneered, "Thou likewise hast no inkling that I am already the Eternal Enemy of Heaven!"
Done saying he stopped paying attention to the feather as he knew better than anyone what he was capable of or what the system was capable of it. Since the system said no one could peer or make a move in this ce as long as they are not from this heaven, he cares little who threatens him.
At this moment, the dark blue mist suddenly churned before it started to separate into two halves, and the next moment, the entire Secret Sun Realm started to shake like a boat in a raging storm!
Chapter 772 The Heretic…!
The Sun and Moon Union were as peaceful as ever, and everyone was busy dealing with minding their own affairs. If anything, the inner sun domain was somewhat rowdy because of the ongoing secret realm trials that started a few days ago.
Normally the small factions and youngsters used these trails topete with each other and also collect some exotic treasures from the Sun Secret Realm, as it only opened every 100 years for 100 days. Many paid special attention to this event, even the High Union Elders.
But this time, someone else was also keeping a close eye on the Sun Secret Realm enshrouded within the fourth cloud ring of the Sun Mountain. It was naturally the Union Leader, who normally didn''t bother with anything going on in the union at all unless it drew his interest or attention just the matter with White.
Sitting on his throne in the silent hall of statues, the Union Leader seemed to be deep in thought while he looked at the projection of the Secret Sun Realm entrance.
''I wonder if that talented disciple of mine has managed to enter the thirdyer. Highly unlikely since he might be busy cultivating the Yang Mortal Sword Technique and raising his cultivation levels...'' At this point, the Union Leader''s lips rose in a peculiar smile.
However, right at this moment, a terrifying aura appeared out of nowhere, enveloping the entirety of the entire pce, and even the Union Leader suddenly shuddered for an instant before his expression grew instantly pale with a hint of trepidation and disbelief.
But before he could even react to this situation or fathom what had happened, an imposing, ethereal voice reverberating in the entire pce,
"Heretic has appeared in the Mortal Sky!
"Captured him alive and offered him in the Sun and Moon Shrine!
"The heretic is..."
Right at this moment, the voice abruptly cut off, and including the pce hovering above the union, the entirety of the Sun and Moon Sword Union suddenly experienced a massive tremor as everyone, and everything was shaken to its very core as if the apocalypse had arrived.
The Union Leader''s expression grows horrid and bewildered as first that unknown yet terrifying voice and now these abrupt tremors, even a fool could tell something was happening to the Union and this might have something to do with the ''heretic'' that voice just said but cut off before it could reveal its identity. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
At this moment, the Union Leader suddenly noticed something, and his face lost all colors because, in the projection of the sun mountain, he saw the fourth ring was suddenly starting to dissipate, and not only that, but the entire sun mountain was experiencing cracks!
To make the matter even worse, as the cloud ring around the mountain peak was dissipating, the tremors were getting stronger and stronger, and right at this moment, the endless ckness surrounding the union, which has been keeping them within for who knows when, also experiences cracks!
The Union dwellers were all shocked and horrified, and they simply thought the end of the world was upon them and the sky was about to copse!
"Who dares to attack the union?!" I think you should take a look at
The Union Guardian''s voice suddenly boomed at this moment within the entire union. Right at this moment, both Sun and Moon mountains suddenly started to shine in golden and silver colors, and a powerful aura seeped out as if something was awakening.
The Union Leader was nowpletely dumbfounded as his entire focus was on the cracked sky as if he was dreaming, and his heart rate grew stronger and stronger with palpation as well as a peculiar ecstasy!
At this moment, the same voice, which rang in the pce just before this strange event started, appeared again, but this time, it rang with the entire Sun and Moon Union and sounded quite distressed and forced.
"T-he S¡ªun¡ and M-oon Inher¡ is a h---c..."
The voice sounded iprehensible towards the end, but it was filled with disbelief and horror, and it abruptly vanished the moment it spoke that broken sentence!
---
At this moment, within the thick Qi radiation, a massive fleet of ships which were covered with a powerful Qi barrier, were making their way toward even more thick Qi radiation.
The main ship of this massive fleet was in the center, and in themand room sat none other than the five ancestor title holders of the top five races!
The Beast Ancestor wore a deep frown on his scaled face and looked suspiciously at Dream Shatter, and questioned, "Are you sure we''re going to the right ce? This entire area is a forbidden zone that exists between the beast and elven contents since forever. If there was some sort of hidden power residing in here, I think they are out of their goddamn mind!"
Even Edward has a hint of suspicion on his face, "Although this is indeed a good ce to hide from the outside world, the Qi radiation in this ce is simply too high, and it''s still increasing.
"Unless this White Crown has an infinite amount of resourcing to keep up with this much radiation and then grow so much on top of that, I''m not so sure that if we are going in the right direction."
Dream Shatter remained calm under the suspicious eyes of the four ancestors and smilingly replied, "I know what you all think since there is no way someone could grow in this sort of environment. But I can assure you that we are in the right ce. Or don''t you find it strange that despite everything that is going on, the White Crown never appeared or has ever interfered with our world?
"ording to my and Prime One''s research, there seemed to be some kind of hidden ce within this Qi radiation, which also has the capability to survive in this environment. It might be even more rich with resources than our ten continents, and that''s why the White Crown has never been interested in ournds¡"
Right at this moment, Dream Shatter''s speech came to an abrupt halt when their ship suddenly started to rock back and forth under powerful waves that appeared out of nowhere!
Chapter 773 Back In The Game
The moment Ace ordered the system to take the independent realm space core and the yang orb, as well as the feather, waspletely burned off, far, far, away, a terrifying existence was alerted.
An enteral voice almost as grand as heavenly punishment and might as unfathomed endless ocean boomed lethargically, "Hmm? Hath one of the hair strands I left within the Mortal Union been obliterated?
"Did one of those ambitious fellows atst discover its location? How utterly atrocious! Did they truly believe they can overturn the heavens?!
"Let us behold who dares to court the embrace of death. ?????"
The voice scoffed and then suddenly started to chant strange words, and as those words were resounding in the air, the space around was starting to change colors.
But almost instantly, "???... hikkk? Blimey?!"
The chanting came to an abrupt halt, the entire space trembled, and the lethargic voice no longer sounded as grand or confident.
"Verily, this doth bode ill!!!!"
---
On the side of the allied races, the people of the five races were now camping around the ethereal gate of the Sun Secret Realm and keeping a close eye on anyone toe out.
It was only right for them not to leave this ce alone since there was a chance that someone mighte out with spirit fire. Everyone was ready to fight at a moment''s notice, but at the same time, it was also very unlikely since only a few days had passed since the realm opened.
At this moment, a faint ripple appeared within the realm gate. It was so small that no one noticed it. But after a few seconds, the entire gate suddenly churned before it started to wrap, and it instantly alerted the people who were paying attention to the gate.
One after another, the upper echelon of the five races started to appear closer to the gate with grim expressions. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"What is happening?" The devil questioned with a hint of trepidation.
"Your guess is as good as mine. This never happened before¡" The demon minister was replying when his voice stuck in his throat.
Because right at this moment, the secret realm gate suddenly shattered into golden particles, and the next moment, the shrine appeared again, but the sun symbol te was nowpletely crumbed!
Everyone was tongue tide and in utter disbelief at thispletely unexpected scene, and they were thinking as if they were now dreaming. This was the only passage that was connected with the sun secret realm, and its destruction signifies two things. I think you should take a look at
First, there will be no secret realm avable for them to enter again, period. Second, the people inside were lost for good, and their fate was unknown!
The moment this realization dawned upon them, they all paled in horror!
While the allied races were now inplete disarray, someone, high above in the sky, was flying at a terrifying speed and heading toward the ind shore.
It was a tall figure, wearing a pitch-ck attire with an imposing owl symbol on his back and hooded face. Who could it be but Ace?
Right now, Ace had a wide smile on his face, which was filled with ecstasy, and a hint of disbelief was also present in them. Not only he managed to get almost every treasure in the entire Sun Secret Realm, but he alsopleted his objective and all of it without taking so much risk as well!
The only hup on the way was either the Grim Ancestor or the Golden Feather, and both were dealt with swiftly and before they could do actual harm to him.
Now, Ace has not onlypleted one of the two conditions toplete the Heaven Stealer''s Mission, but he also got his hand on another elemental orb, and most importantly, he was able to appear outside the Union again, which was his main objective.
Thinking about the yang orb in his thief''s space, Ace felt giddy but also hesitant because he knew the heavenly punishment would be very terrifying this time, and he had to be absolutely prepared before he called it.
Anyway, the main objective right now was to leave this ce and make his way toward the Azure Wind Continent as fast as he could, and this time, he was nning to rely on the fate map pointer. Because despite clearing the sun secret realm, that thing was still pointing in the union''s direction, and he knew it most likely couldn''t bring him to Alina.
As for how he was going to achieve it and not end up in some ce like the Union or even worse than it, all he had to do was make sure he knew the endless sea routes and also had ample experience.
The only ce where he could get all that was natural among the sailors present in the Allied race.
While the allied races were still in disarray, Ace quickly descended to a remote area and chose his target, and the first thing he did was take his memories to familiarize himself with the current situation.
When Ace got the memories about the changes of this time in the allied race gathering, he couldn''t help but sneer at the demons'' bad luck, and he was also quite happy.
''So, the humans are also participating this time, huh? Doesn''t this mean all I have to do is grab one of them, and I''ll know how to go back? But what if I infiltrate their ranks and go back with them instead of going alone? This will save me tremendous time, and I might even learn more about the royalnds¡'' Ace mused as he found this n even more appealing and practical.
However, the problem with this n was, these guys didn''t seem to be going to start their journey back home anytime soon, at least not without fully investigating the abrupt destruction of the realm gate and the fate of their juniors.
Then another scheme started to devise in his thievish mind!
Chapter 774 The Helpless Allied Races
"What is the meaning of this?!" A First Azure Elder has a livid expression on his face,pletely different from his usual amiable one, as he demands an exnation from the original three races of the gathering.
Not him, but the beast race was also livid because they were not told that this would happen of all the things, and now peak geniuses of their races were lost, and some of them were even their rtives and kin.
Take the First Azure Elder, for example, he would''ve never reacted this way and lost this calm, but now he did because his third son was within the ground that had entered the Fiery Hell Secret Realm!
"How many times did I have to tell you all? We are as clueless as you all! Even my own nephew has been in the group. Do you think I would put his life in jeopardy?!" The Shadow Devil Duke strongly retorted.
They were really out of their wits, and this was the worst possible thing that could happen, and now they had no idea what to do or how to proceed with all this.
They even tried to investigate the broken sun symbol te, but it was nothing but an old rock, and the shrine was not any different.
Deep down, almost everyone knew that those youths were lost for good, but they were also flustered about the loss of the secret realm and the spirit fire even more.
"Let''s wait and investigate further. I also need to report this transgression to the Grand Elder." The First Azure Elder coldly harrumphed before storming away with his fellow humans toward their camp.
They were about 90% sure that the others had nothing to do with what just happened, and they needed to seek guidance from the higher-ups on how to proceed further from here.
The magic beasts were also quite helpless and could do the same as the humans.
The only people left on the scene were devils, demons, and hunters.
"Do you think someone has destroyed the realm?" The Northern Demon Council Minister asked in a grim tone at this moment.
The hunter with silver hair squinted his eyes as he replied gloomily, "Do you think it''s possible? All the records we have collected in hundreds of years indicate that there are more than threeyers of the Fiery Hell Realm, and we haven''t even explored the entirety of the thirdyer yet!
"Now, you tell me if you guys have someone capable enough to destroy the entire realm? Because as far as our concern, we have none. Only the Ice Sword Fairy is capable!"
The hunter was from the Silver Ice n, and he was extremely gloomy when he mentioned Alina as a reference. N?v(el)B\\jnn
The Northern Demon Council Minister coldly uttered, "Hmph! She''s probably that talented because that thief helped her! After all, she''s his sister!"
The demons were naturally aware of Alina''s importance. Truth be told, they wanted nothing but to capture her and then do everything to draw Ace out. Even if there was a tiny chance of that happening, they were willing to take it! I think you should take a look at
But for some reason, the humans were able to not only keep Alina but even convince the imperials to send their forces toward the Azure Wind Continent instead and help them protect her.
This entire matter was out of every demon''sprehension, and the other races were not much different either. This entire thing was simply too strange.
"What did you say?! You dare to profane our princess''s name?!" The hunter from the silver ice n was instantly enraged.
Alina was the Silver Ice n''s pride and joy, and everyone worshiped her and treated her like the future Ice Lord. She was supposed to be the one who would make the Silver Ice n the greatest of the elemental ns.
But then everyone goes side-track when she snuck out andnds herself in a massive dead trap. At the same time, the other four elemental ns were gloating at the silver ice n''s misfortune. The silver ice waspletely devastated and in utter disbelief that the Ice Lord or the Ice Queen were sitting still without doing anything to rescue their princess from the clutches of the humans.
"Enough, both of you! This is not the time to throw insults at each other or fight among ourselves. I also think we should first report this uncanny development to our higher-ups and see what they have to say." Shadow Devil Duke coldly stated before he also left with their entourage.
The devils were probably most anxious about this whole situation because they had invested a lot in this venture and even given their race-representative youths powerful and precious treasures so they would be able to snatch the spirit fire and even hide it from others.
However, now, all those resources appeared to be going down the drain, and it was quite a hard truth to swallow, even for the strongest race like the devil race!
The demon minister knew it was not the time to start fighting, and he really had to report it to the imperils as well.
"Let go!"
He gave the hunters from the silver ice n a murderous nce before leaving with his men.
"Sigh¡ we are really going to suffer massive losses this time around. With everything that has been transpiring for a couple of previous years, I''m starting to think some sort of cmity is about to descend, and no one will be able to escape it." A wizened hunter with azure color hair sighed with trepidation.
"Or we are just rubbing off from someone else bad luck! Hmph!" The middle-aged hunter with ruby-red hair sneered gloomily while looking at the silver ice n before he left.
The others also no longer linger. They simply didn''t have the mood or patience to and headed towards their own camps. The hunter race was divided into two factions, the four elemental ns on one side while the silver ice n on the other!
But they all have no idea that a pair of dark blue eyes were observing all this melodrama from high above in the sky!
Chapter 775 I Do What I Feel Like Doing!
After making up his mind to infiltrate the humans'' ranks and have taken him there themselves, Ace naturally came back to observe how these guys would react to this, and only then would he be able to n ordingly.
But after seeing the entire thing yed out, it would be a lie to say that he wasn''t d, and now he has a far better understanding of how these guys did not even trust each other, much less work together.
''ording to the memories of that demon, the demon minister would most likely contact the Demon Emperor or that giant demon, for all I know. As for the devils, they will also be going to contact their respective Arch Devils, and the hunters will contact their elemental lords. As for the humans...'' A cold glint shed past his eyes when he thought that they would most likely be going to contact the Dream Shatter Ancestor!
Ace was well aware of how the ranking system worked in the top three races. Unlike the demons, the devil or hunter races were not united under a single imperial family''s leadership.
The All Devil Continent was divided among 10 Devil ns, Blood, Dark, Vile, Ghost, Bone, Toxic, Imp, Lightning, Onyx, and Shadow ns were the names of the ten devil ns that rule the All Devil Continent, and each n was under the control of an Arch Devil.
As for the hunters, the Blood Continent was ruled by the five elemental ns, Purple Lightning, Sky Fire, Sword Wind, Life Wood, and the Silver Ice ns, respectively, and each n was ruled by the Elemental Lord.
The Azure Wind Continent was also distributed among the five ancient sects, but they all still bowed their head and answered to only one person, the Dream Shatter Ancestor, also the Grand Elder of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect.
Ace''s target was naturally the Azure Wind Mountain Sect because that Dream Shatter would let Alina out of his sight or keep her somewhere where he could reach in a moment''s notice.
So, Ace was interested in the First Azure Elder far more than another because he also got a piece of startling information from the demon''s memories that the First Azure Elder was a Direct Disciple of the Demon Shatter!
But Ace''s actual problem was the humans around the First Azure Elder were all Soul Manifestation Realm Cultivators, and he himself was a Quasi Law Awareness Realm Cultivator.
That''s why not to mention gaining any information. Even getting closer to him would be a fool''s dream. It was only the case for him, though.
Ace then turned his sword toward the west and headed toward a small empty Ind within the archipgo.
From the sky, Ace has already managed to get a good picture of where those five races were camping and where he would get absolute privacy.
The ind Ace cost was in the far west, and it was only around three hundred meters in size. Then he took out some formation tes, making it even more impossible for others to detect or pry into this ind.
With his new-found wealth, he was even confident of keeping a Quasi Law Awareness Realm Cultivator in check and might be able to hold up against a true Law Awareness Realm Cultivator for some time. I think you should take a look at
But he didn''t want to do it because it was simply too dangerous, and there wasn''t any need to take any risks when he could just use his head.
After making sure that it was nowpletely safe, Ace sent a transmission into thief space, and then a few momentster, he waved his sleeve, and Thomas appeared again!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Thomas was still wearing the armor and the mask, but his aura was nowpletely different from when Ace had stored him in the thief''s space. Not only the nefarious feeling he gave was gone, but his cultivation also seemed to bepletely reset, and he was now a mortal demon.
At this moment, Thomas finally took off the mask, and his tan, handsome face appeared, but it was filled with bewilderment andplicated emotions as he looked at the hooded figure in front of him.
Thomas had never expected that all his problems would be solved just like this, and it took less than an hour.
He didn''t know how to thank or even feel right now, but one thing was sure, he was absolutely grateful to Ace for granting him this new lease on life, and he didn''t even ask for anything in return. He even felt ashamed of himself for even thinking badly about Ace in the past.
Nevertheless, the pain and the hatred in his heart were still burning hotter than ever, and now that he was free and cured, he wanted to do nothing but work on his revenge against those bastards.
But first, he has to show his gratitude and is about to kneel again when a strong force suddenly stops him in his ce.
Ace''s solemn voice soon follows suit, "Brother Thomas, a man should only kneel in front of his parents and ancestors, and I''m none of those people. Don''t do this again, or I''ll consider it as if you are pping me on my face."
Thomas took a deep breath with myriad emotions in his eyes as he nodded, "Thank you for helping an ungrateful bastard like me. I will never forget this!"
"I do what I feel like doing. There is no need for you to thank me. Now that you are free and also have lost your cultivation, what are you nning to do?" Ace inquired.
Thomas was stumped by the question because he was also wondering about the same, not to mention revenge. Just going back to the demon continent would be an act of courting death.
Furthermore, if those demons saw him, he would be dead anyway, so now he was in another dilemma.
Ace had expected this much, so he didn''t beat around the bush and offered, "See? You are again treating me like an outsider and not asking for my help while I am still standing here. Here, I have already prepared some things for you!"
Chapter 776 Reward Pool Mission (1)
Without giving Thomas a chance to react, he threw a ck storage ring, and Thomas was utterly mortified as he caught it and even wanted to give it back, but when he thought about Milly''s death, he hesitated.
He knew he needed this, or he might never be able to avenge her, and despite his pride or unwillingness, he clutched the storage ring, and thick vines suddenly popped out on his temple.
"I-I... just know that this wretched life is yours!" Thomas knew the word of gratitude was no longer enough to repay Ace for what he had done for him. So, this was the final thing he could give, and he will give it as long as Ace wanted it!
Ace didn''t say anything. He knew there was no need to. The things he gave Thomas were something that not even the top three races have. But for him, they were useless, or he simply had too many of them at this moment, so he really didn''t feel any reluctance to give them to Thomas.
Instead, he felt a strange peace and fulfillment deep within his heart, and he can''t describe that feeling as it was quite novel for him.
If Ace had been looking at his fate map at this moment, he would''ve been shocked because Thomas''s fate point suddenly shimmered in a glittering amber color ring before it vanished almost instantly!
"Alright, brother Thomas, you may find a ce somewhere on this ind and peacefully cultivate in the technique I gave you. You''ll surely be surprised once you see it.
"In the meantime, I''ll make sure to pave the way for you to go back safely with the demons youe with, just wait for my talisman arrival. And don''t think for a second. I''m doing this for you. It just happened to be aligned with my own interest."
Without giving Thomas a chance to react, Ace vanished from the ind, leaving the demon dumbfounded and perplexed.
In the end, Thomas sighed before he bitterly muttered, "I don''t think even my life would be enough to pay him, right, Dear?"
No one was there to answer him, and theplicated look in his eyes was reced with ruthlessness and hatred before he unclenched his fist and wore the ck ring.
But when Thomas peered into the ring, he was absolutely gobsmacked and felt as if he was in some sort of dream.
Because within the grade-7 storage ring, a small pile of more storage rings rested on a corner, and in the center of this empty space ring was something out of the legends for Thomas. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
They were actually 24 Dark Golden Jade Scrolls arranged in a beautiful transparent crystal box lying on top of a pile of books. On the transparent box were written imposing dark golden letters.
''The Demonic me of Arcana Soul Cultivation Technique!''
---
After leaving Thomas on the small isted ind, Acended on another one close to where Thomas was.
Ace''s reason for leaving Thomas alone was not because he didn''t trust him. It just that he won''t be able to help him with what he was about to do. Furthermore, he didn''t want to shock too much to Thomas as well.
He could''ve also just kept him in his thief''s space and only released him once he was done, but he decided to let him out since that dark ce was not something he wanted Thomas to experience for longer than necessary.
As for introducing him to Eva and the rest, this was out of the question because the less Thomas knew about him or his people, the safer he would be, and some part of him still didn''t want to expose his house members to anyone.
At this moment, after putting another concealment formation, he summoned another two people out. Two tall, graceful figures wearing ck and hooded faces appeared in front of him.
"Oh, you''re all dressed up and even summoned my real body. Does this mean we are going out today?" Freya''s alluring voice sounded.
"There is no Qi in this ce. Where are we?" Noa questioned as she was more interested in the scenery around, as well as was excited about finallying out after she just broke into the Soul Embryo Manifestation Realm!
Ace looked at the two thief house members, and even he couldn''t fathom their auras anymore, and his lips curled up in a cunning smile.
"I summoned both of you out because I know you both are bored and want to test your newly found strengths against powerful opponents. So, here is your chance to do just that and also earn some House Points while doing so.
"First, you two should look at these missions before I debrief you further." Ace smilingly stated before he released two house missions for the twodies.
______
[Reward Pool Mission has been issued by the House Leader!]
[Discretion: A friendlypetitive mission for the House Members to test their abilities against each other!]
[Thief Assassin (Noa) and Evil Thief (Freya) has been selected by the House Leader to participate in this Reward Pool Mission!]
[Your performance will be monitored in [Performance Percentage (PP)], and the rewards will be distributed ordingly with the final performance percentage!] I think you should take a look at
__
[Reward Pool Mission: Hunting in Darkness!]
-Total Reward Pool: 2,000,000 House Points
-Thief House Participants:
-Thief Assassin (Noa): 0.00% (PP)
-Evil Thief (Freya): 0.00% (PP)
__
-Mission Introduction:
-You are all in the middle of the secret archipgo under the control of the Three Allied Races for hundreds of years, and right now, they are all present with two more races!
-But your concern is the Human Race alone, and your mission is to help each other to take control over their upper echelon!
-You will be rewarded with PP ording to how much you contribute to this mission.
-However, there are six high-risk and high-reward targets present within Human Race.
1. The First Azure Elder, Glen (10 PP)
[Details: ¡.]
2. The Fifth Soul me Elder, Rudolph (8 PP)
[Details: ¡]
3. The Eighth Azure Elder, Nathaniel (7PP)
[Details: ¡]
4. The Beast Tamer Elder, Alton (5PP)
[Details: ¡]
5. The 2nd Flower of Yin Flower Sect, Celia (5PP)
[Details: ¡]
6. The Dark Nightmare Wind (5PP)
[Details: ¡]
__
-Time: 10 days
__
-Punishment (For less than 5.00%): -100,000 House Points!
______
Chapter 777 Reward Pool Mission (2)
Both Noa and Freya looked at the mission for a while before they finally looked toward each other, and there seemed to be gunpowder in the air all of a sudden.
"Ahem,dies, although this seemed like apetition. But trust me, you both won''t be able to achieve much progress without each other''s help. So, I would strongly suggest that you two work together and then earn yourself rewards." Ace said with a straight face, but inwardly he wasughing.
Because he knew this was the fastest way to make these two work on the cloak and even showed wless teamwork. He knew he couldn''t achieve alone, but with the help of these two irondies, he was destined to achieve sess in this ce.
Ace''s n was quite straightforward; he wanted to take full control of the humans present in this ce, especially the upper echelon of the five ancient sects. The First Azure Elder, Glen, in particr, was the biggest target of his interest.
But he wasn''t fool to go after a quasiw awareness realm, and he even added these guys'' cultivation details below their names so both Noa and Freya would choose their targets wisely or won''t mess up identally.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace knew better than anyone with Freya''s controlling abilities and Noa''s might, they both could subdue almost every human on the list, and the only concern was these six elders.
Nevertheless, when he saw both women didn''t even seem to be bothered by the targets'' details, he knew they were most likely going after those guys since they were challenging for them so they could test their abilities.
It was also a good chance for Ace himself to have a throughout assessment of their new-found abilities and prowess. If they were able to subdue even Glen, then Ace would be even less worried about his venture to save Alina and have ample information to work on.
"Why don''t you just tell us where these guys are and let us decide how we should work together?" Freya spoke at this moment with a clear haughtiness in her voice.
While, Noa remained silent, which simply meant she agreed with Freya and wanted to fight out with her.
This mission was something they both took seriously, Freya, because she knew Noa was the first member and also someone Ace fully trusted, and she wanted to see who woulde off top, Evil or Assassin.
As for Noa, she wanted to prove herself, however, not to Freya but to Ace. But it would be a lie to say she didn''t want to teach Freya a lesson while she was at it.
So what Ace just did only pour oil in a small fire and turn them into raging mes.
How could Ace didn''t know this?
But he was far more concerned about those guys than these two, and he was also there to help them as he wasn''t nning just to watch and would step in if necessary.
With a willy grin, he nodded, "Alright, but I''m again telling you don''t kill or alert anyone. Now, let me show you the ying ground." I think you should take a look at
Ace then takes out his flying sword and then expands it.
Noa was familiar with this technique now, but Freya wasn''t, and she had no idea why Ace or Noa were standing over Ace''s sword so nonchntly and how this sword could even expand.
"What are you doing? Hope on." Ace urged her, which only made Freya perplexed, but she still did as she was told and wanted to see what this atrocity was all about.
But the moment, she stepped on the sword de, she instantly felt her feet suddenly glued to it when Qi was pouring into the de, and the next moment, she was dumbfounded when it started to lift from the ground.
"W-what¡ how miraculous!" She couldn''t help but exim, and Noa secretly agreed with her as she also wanted to learn this technique as well.
Ace chuckled as he knew what they were thinking and stated, "Don''t worry, we''ll all have ample time to study this technique. I have quite a bounty full harvest from the Sun Secret Realm and have gained many ancient techniques and skills. I think this will greatly enrich your library. Not to mention we all can learn many things from it."
Both women''s eyes shone with anticipation when they heard Ace''s words, and they knew Ace had most likely robbed the entire Sun Secret Realm with how much happy he was.
Ace then suddenly thought of something and asked Freya, "Evil, is your avatar free right now?"
Ace knew Freya''s witch avatar; Jessie couldn''t enter the thief house space despite her being Freya''s own avatar, as they had already tried. So, she was still in the thief''s space at this moment, and cultivating after both Eva and Freya hadn''t been able to have any breakthrough about the map.
"I guess so. I won''t need it until I reach the peak of the Soul Embryo Manifestation Realm, which will take some time since advancing in this realm is hundreds of times harder than in the previous realm. So, I''m nning on raising Jessie''s own cultivation in the meantime and probably awake some of the Grim Ancestor''s bloodline abilities." Freya truthfully revealed her n since there was nothing to hide.
Noa, on the other hand, became confused as she was still not aware of what happened in the thief''s space after she was immersed in refining the spirit fire. Nevertheless, she listened attentively.
Ace thought a moment before he asked ambiguously, "What if I want to send your avatar back to the Demon Continent? Do you think the Spica syndicate will still follow you, or will Aliya still be loyal?"
Freya squinted her eyes ever so slightly, "Despite my absence andck of contact, whether it''s Aliya or Spica syndicate, they will not escape from my grasp. But I was under the impression you might need Jessie in the Azure Wind Continent. What are you nning, Leader?"
Ace subtly replied, "Just helping a friend a little while also arranging a few things after we are done with the Azure Wind Continent. That''s why after we are done with the humans¡!"
Chapter 778 Reward Pool Mission (3)
The humans of the Azure Wind Continent have arranged their encampment on arge ind on the east side of the archipgo, which was just three inds away from the central ind.
At this moment, Glen was looking at the massive sizemunication cube in front of him with a gloomy expression while another middle-aged man, slightly overweight, was present with him, and his expression was even uglier. His name was Nathaniel, the Eighth Azure Elder!
"This is unexpected. But Master had left with the forces toward the White Crown hideout over half a month ago, and now that tried to contact him, there is some sort of hindrance blocking it." A grave husky voice sounded from themunication cube at this moment.
This voice actually belonged to the only Patriarch of the Azure Mountain Sect and also Dream Shatter''s first disciple and Glen''s Eldest Senior Brother, Carlos!
Glen couldn''t help but m the table to the side, shattering it into tiny shards, and cussed, "Curses! I think this is those three races'' scheme to get back at the master, and now they are finally showing their true color!"
Carlos''s husky voice rang again, "Second Brother, I know you are flustered because of my nephew, Lvion; I''m extremely heartbroken. But you should not say such words. Or do you doubt Master''s capability?" In the end, Carlos''s voice was as cold as ice!
Glen couldn''t help but ground his teeth, "I¡ forgive my slip of the tongue. But what should we do now? We have no idea what is going on in this wretched ce, and the other sects will also not sit still since their excellent genius has also been lost.
"Especially that lunatic, Nightmare Wrath will not sit still since his daughter has now gone missing as well. Once he finds out and without Master, he will surely cause trouble!"
"Heh, don''t worry. Even without Master''s presence, he has already arranged everything for such scenarios. Everything will be fine. Just focus on investigating this realm gate disappearance. The geniuses of our sect can''t be lost for no reason. I think there might be someone behind this all!" Carlo''s coldly stated.
"Don''t worry. I''m not nning on leaving until I get to the root of this goddamn problem!" Glen hatefully dered. He was clearly not going to give up on his precious son. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The night quickly descends upon the world, and the archipgo also falls under darkness.
Today was a very grim day for all the races as they had suffered massive losses and even close kin while gaining nothing in return. They all now had orders from their higher-ups, and just like the humans, they were going to thoroughly investigate this ce before reaching any conclusion.
However, they all have no idea that under the veil of night, two dark silhouettes suddenly start to move within the ind where the humans are located. Not only did the patrols not notice them, but even their traps had been rendered useless.
The human forces were around 600 strong after including all the five sects'' forces they brought here with them. They were all patrolling the ind together in different shifts.
Still, each sect has made its own camps a little over five-hundred-meter distance from each other. I think you should take a look at
At this moment, the dark silhouettes silently made their way toward the five human patrol teams, and one of them had a dark book hovering in front of it. They were naturally both Freya and Noa!
"Let me handle them!" Freya transmitted her voice through the house call before she used an upper-earth-grade spell.
"Illusionary Witch Charm!" The grimoire in front of her suddenly glowed darkly before its pages started to turn.
The next moment, the five humans suddenly rooted in their ce, and their eyes were now gleaming with dark mist.
"Now, they will only remember falling asleep. These small fries are not our target, and I have to use my limited evil seeds on high-reward targets." Freya stated matter-of-factly, but her voice contained a hint of provocation.
Noa eyes narrowed coldly. She never expected that Freya''s spell would be this deadly, not to mention so quick. She felt a sense of danger from this woman and thought she might really lose to her.
"I''m going ahead to immobilize the target. You are too slow!" She coldly stated, and before Freya could react, Noa vanished without a trace.
Now it was Freya''s turn to be shocked since Noa nowpletely vanished from her Evil Thief Sense, and a chill ran down her spine when she thought if Noa wanted to kill her, she would never see hering.
Ace, who was watching the two women, couldn''t help but shake his head in frustration and click his tongue, ''They didn''t even stick together for a full minute! How childish!''
Nevertheless, he was not going to interfere since everything seemed to be going quite smoothly and far better than he had anticipated. At this moment, he slightly misses Cyrus. The little one was quite chatty all the time despite his frivolous words.
If it were on him, he would''ve taken him out, but for some mysterious reason, the little guy suddenly fell into slumber after devouring the golden feather. So, Ace has no choice but to put him back carefully, and he has been sleeping ever since.
Although he was somewhat worried when he thought about how heavy defying the little bird was, it was all thanks to him that he was able to acquire all the benefits of the Sun Secret Realm. He knew nothing would happen to him, and he might be going under some sort of change or just too tired.
Whichever the case was, Ace let the little guy sleep to his heart''s content while he was going to focus on making these guys leave this ce whether they liked it or not.
Noa and Freya were just the starts of his crazy scheme, and he couldn''t help but chuckle evilly just by thinking of how devilish this n was!
Chapter 779 Reward Pool Mission (4)
Noa and Freya were heading in the direction of the Soul me Sect''s encampment, and while Freya was putting those guards under her charm spell, Noa had already infiltrated the enemy camp side.
She left those small fries for Freya, and with her thief assassin skill set, she easily evaded the security and entered one of the sixrge camps, which were actually their true targets.
They both needed to take control of the upper echelon of the human race, not everyone, but it should also be enough to hold real power in decision-making.
In this mission, Noa''s role was quite simple. She was the vanguard and was supposed to subdue targets of interest for Freya so she could then easily take control of them.
Ace naturally has given them both the entire information of people present in this ce and leaves the rest to them.
"I''m already entering the camp of target no 34 of the Soul me Sect." Noa coldly reported her location, and that was it.
These camps of the big shots of the sects were not normal, but all riddle with traps and rms, so one wrong step and the entire ind would be alerted.
If Noa hadn''t breakthrough into the Soul Embryo Magnification Realm, she would be in trouble, but now, she was a fish in the ocean.
She instantly activated her newly gained ability, ''Serene Assassin!''
The very next moment, Noa''s stealthily body suddenly starts to turn ethereal like a specter, and the next moment, she makes contact with the white camp, which is no different from arge house.
Then something magical happened, she directly passed through the fabric like a ghost, and it wasn''t even flinch!
The inside of the camp was quite spacious, and Noa using her Serene Assassin, quickly found her target, who was alone meditating on a mate.
It was a small delicate woman in white clothes, and she seemedpletely oblivious to the fact that Noa was already behind her. But even if she was looking for her, she won''t be able to detect her because she was only a tinum soul realm cultivator.
Without much effort, Noa cancels the Serene Assassin and then strongly strikes behind the woman''s neck, and that woman instantly starts to fall ahead.
But this wasn''t the end. Noa then quickly deactivated all the formation of the camp, and just as she was done, Freya entered the same.
Both women suddenly looked at each other, and no one could tell what they were actually looking at since their faces were hidden behind their hoods. But a strange spark was in the air.
"What kind of ability was that?" Freya finally spoke through a house call.
"The kind that allows me to kill anyone." Noa coldly replied before she vanished from sight again.
She was clearly not going to exin his own trump card unless it was Ace asking, but she had a feeling that he already knew, and that''s why he didn''t bother giving them any means to deal with these formations.
Freya was again left speechless on the scene, and she stopped looking down on Noa''s thief assassin genre or any of the thief genre, as a matter of fact. Each one of the genres was unique and terrifying in its own right!
Ace smiled, seeing Noa taking down the first target with a breeze, and he was very envious of her new ability, which he saw in her status this afternoon.
______
[Thief House Member Status]
[House Member: Noa Night (Female)]
[Race: Demon]
[Bloodline: Night Demon (Grade-6 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
---
[Thief Genre: Thief Assassin (Trainee)]
[House Rank: Excellent Member (Upgradeable)]
[Next Rank [Expert Member]: 2,193/100,000 Thieveries]
---
[Soul Cultivation: Soul Embryo Manifestation Realm (Early Stage)]
-Innate Soul Ability(s): 5
1. No Kill
[Description: Completely hide Thief Assassin''s Killing Intent and Life Aura]
2. Assassin Mark
[Description: Lock on a target soul will result in a 100% (Attack) connect rate. (Attack) Connect Rate range is equivalent to Thief Assassin Sense.]
3. Thief Assassin Sense
[Description (1): Exclusive innate Soul Sense of the Thief Assassin, which is untraceable.]
[Description (2): Any Target affected by the Assassin Mark can''t hide from the Thief Assassin Sense''s detection no matter the distance and protection!]
4. Assassin Call
[Description: Any Target under the Thief Assassin''s vision, no matter the distance, as long as the thief assassin can ''see'' the target, it can be called between the range of 1 Meter to 10 Meters away from the Thief Assassin''s standing position!]
[Limitation (1): Cannot be used against higher realm targets than the Thief Assassin Cultivation Realm.]
[Limitation (2): Once the Assassin Call is used, there will be a ten days cooldown period before it can be used again!]
5. Serene Assassin
[Description: Thief Assassin can fully integrate with her Soul Embryo Manifestation and turn into a Corporeal Soul Form. In this form, the thief assassin will be able to pass through all physical barriers, runes, and treasures!]
[Limitation (1): Cannot pass through Grade-7 barriers, runes, or treasures]I think you should take a look at
[Limitation (2): To use any attack or treasures, Thief Assassin needed to cancel the Serene Assassin!]
[CAUTIOUS: In this form, you are highly vulnerable towards Law Intents!]
---
[Talent: Above Average-Intermediate (Upgradeable)]
---
[Technique & Skills: 9]
-Cultivation Technique(s):
1. Thief Assassin Principles: Sixth Realm
-Body Refinement Technique(s):
1. Night Demon Body Transformation: 9-Star Night Demon Body
-Cultivation Art(s):
1. Endless Shadow Daggers Rainfall:
Shadow Rain Dance: Perfection
Stormy Shadow Rain: Perfection
Endless Shadow Rainfall: None
2. Thief Assassin Invisible Cloaking:
Invisible Stealth: Perfection
Soul Cloaking: Low
Invisible Cloaking: None
-Skill(s):
1. Thief Assassin''s Soul Steps: Perfection
2. Thief Assassin''s Soul View: Perfection
3. Thief''s Charity (Inverse & Reverse): Perfection
4. Soul Threats: Perfection
Secret Skill & Arts(s):
1. Shadow Escape (Skill): None
-Treasure(s):
1. Endless Night Daggers Set [32 Pin-Daggers]: Grade-4
2. Runic Windless Blowgun: Grade-4
3. Thief Assassin Armor Set: Grade-8
4. Life Escape Coin: 3
---
[House Point(s): 12,200]
---
[House Mission(s): 0]n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
[House Leader Mission(s): 1]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
---
[House Shop: Thief Assassin]
---
[Law(s): 3]
-Shadow (Minor): 9.99%
-Fire (Minor): 9.99%
-Dark (Minor): 7.04%
______
Chapter 780 Reward Pool Mission (5)
______
[House Member: Freya Witch (Female)]
[Race: Evil Witch]
[Bloodline: Illusionary Witch (Grade-6 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
---
[Thief Genre: Evil Thief (Trainee)]
[House Rank: Excellent Member (Upgradeable)]
[Next Rank [Expert Member]: 21/100,000 Thieveries]
---
[Soul Cultivation: Soul Embryo Manifestation Realm (Early Stage)]
-Innate Soul Ability(s): 5
1. Evil Rule
[Description: Complete Control over someone''s mind as long as they had a weaker soul than the Evil Thief.]
[Warning: Stop using this ability, or if the victim exits, the Evil Thief''s range will cause Victim''s Death.]
[Current Range: 10 Miles Radius]
[Controble Victims: 50]
2. Evil Seed
[Description: Envement Ability of Evil Thief which could turn anyone into an Evil Seed!]
[Limitation(s): Won''t work on anyone with Stronger Soul than Evil Thief. The Evil Seed could be broken if the victim''s soul became stronger than the Evil Thief! In both cases, the Evil Thief will suffer soul bacsh!]
[Current Evil Seeds No: 34/50]
3. Evil Thief Sense
[Description (1): Exclusive innate Soul Sense of the Evil Thief, which is untraceable.]
[Description (2): Any individual affected by the Evil Seed can be traced back with the Evil Thief Sense no matter the distance!]
4. Evil Descent
[Description: The Evil Thief could descend into an Evil Seed taking full control of its body and soul!]
[Limitation(s): Once the Evil Descent is used on an Evil Seed, the Evil Seed will be dead the moment the Evil Descent limit is over!]
[Current Time Limit: 10 Hours]
5. Evil Embryo
[Description: The Soul Manifestation of the Evil Thief, which can''t be seen or killed within the darkness, and all the Evil Thief''s innate abilities can be used through Evil Embryo!]
[Limitation: Cannot leave the limit of Evil Thief Sense (10 Miles)]
---
[Talent: Above Average-Low (Upgradeable)]
---
[Technique & Skills: 9]
-Cultivation Technique(s):
1. Evil Thief Scripture (1st Vol): Sixth Realm
-Connate Ability(s):
1. Illusionary Dark Pupil
Connate Skill: Illusionary Dark Pupil Awakening (Tier-9 Intermediate Control)
[Note: Grade-7 Bloodline Required to continue to enter Advanced Control Stages!]
(Total Control Tiers: 12)
-Cultivation Art(s):
1. Traceless Mind Evasion;
Traceless Sense Expansion: Perfection
Mind Probing: None
Mind Evasion: None
2. Dark Elemental Shadow: Soul Cultivation Stealth Art
Deep Dark Stealth: PerfectionI think you should take a look at
Deep Shadow Stealth: Perfection
Dark Elemental Stealth: None
Dark Elemental Shadow: None
-Skill(s):
1. Shadow Illusion Escape: Perfection
2. Evil Eye: Perfection
3. Thief''s Charity (Inverse & Reverse): Perfection
4. Soul Threats: Perfection
Secret Skill & Arts(s):
1. Empty Sleep (Skill): Middle
-Treasure(s):
1. Dark Grimoire: Grade-9 (Upgradeable)
2. Soul Maniption Chain: Grade-5
3. Evil Thief Armor Set: Grade-8
4. Life Escape Coin: 3n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
---
[House Point(s): 23,390]
---
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 1]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
---
[House Shop: Evil Thief]
---
[Law(s): 3]
-Illusion (Minor): 9.00%
-Dark (Minor): 8.04%
-Psyche (Minor): 5.01%
______
A pair of dark eyes were looking at the fainted body of an old man, and the next moment, that pair of dark eyes suddenly started to rise from the darkness.
The next moment, the blurry, dark eyes suddenly churned, and a strange marking suddenly started to appear over the old man''s forehead, and the dark eyes instantly vanished as if they never exist.
Freya stood on top of the main camp of the Dark Nightmare Sect''s Elder and one of the top six high-reward targets, the Dark Nightmare Wind.
Suddenly, something just crept under her show, and a dark shimmer suddenly ran through Freya''s eyes, and the next moment her lips curled up.
''With Evil Embryo, I can achieve the same effect as that arrogant assassin¡'' She thought as this made her feel much better since Noa was like a storm that left behind bodies, and she seemed unstoppable!
Truth be told, Freya was now a little bit shaken by Noa''s prowess as this guy was the fourth Middle Stage Soul Manifestation Realm Cultivator, which Noa had knocked out without much effort.
Now, all that was left were 12 targets from the Azure Wind Mountain Sect Camp, and she was pretty sure that Noa had already made quick work of them. So, without wasting more time, she quickly headed toward the Azure Wind Mountain Sect Camp.
Just half an hourter, Freya appeared at thest massive camp in the middle of Azure Wind Mountain Sect camp, and this was the biggest camp on the entire ind.
And how could it not be since it belonged to the First Azure Elder, Glen, a Quasi Law Awareness Realm Expert? Furthermore, this was the highest priority target and just as dangerous.
"You''re finally here." Noa''s voice rang in Freya''s mind, and the next moment, she appeared right beside her, startling her slightly.
Freya rolled her eyes at Noa at this moment, "Can you not sneak up on me? Oh, and you finally decided that you need my help with this one." Her voice contained a hint of indignation as she knew this time around, Ace had probably tricked her by making herpete with this terrifying demoness.
Noa paid little attention to Freya''s sarcasm, but deep down, she was feeling extremely refreshed despite almost feeling exhausted since she had given this mission her 200% out of 100, and now she felt it was all worth it!
"This person is a Quasi Law Awareness Realm Cultivator, and it might be quite a big problem to knock him down simply. Don''t forget; he has already started developing thew intent. My stealth or ability is still not at the level where I can easily sneak up on him." Noa stated matter-of-factly.
Although it appeared she was arrogant and reckless, in truth, she was as cautious as Freya and only decided to run rampant because she could, not because she was blinded by her prowess.
Before Freya could reply, a third person appeared in front of them, standing tall over a sword; it was Ace!
Acended in front of the twodies and praised them, "I never expected you two can achieve this much in so little time. Especially you, Assassin, you are full of surprise."
Ace was really praising Noa from the bottom of his heart and felt gratified that she was on his side.
Noa''s eyes shimmered like stars when she received Ace''s praise and felt even more giddy and prideful, ''It was all worth it!''
Chapter 781 Reward Pool Mission (6)
"She clearly has a field advantage, and it was an unfair fight from the start." Freya snickered with pursed lips.
She wasn''t the one who liked to lose or admit it unless she was thoroughly defeated, just like Ace hadpletely crushed her pride when she found out that he was a mythical Martial and Soul Cultivator!
Noa gave her a cold nce but didn''t bother to reply to the sore loser and looked at Ace, "Will you be joining us?"
Ace nodded without hesitation, "Of course, is there even a need to ask such a question? Since all the upper echelon is now under Freya''s control and has be her puppet, leaving this guy will only cause us inconvenience. Furthermore, if we have him under our control, my n would go even more smoothly, and we''ll be on our merry way."
"What? There is something more to this?" Freya''s eyes narrowed as she looked at Ace, while Noa was also surprised.
They both think that Ace would be content after he gains control over the entire human entourage, but it seems his n involves far more than just controlling the humans.
"You''ll know since I''m going to start right after, we deal with this guy. Although it pains me to use this precious talisman, we need to invest in order to get more benefits." Ace sighed ruefully before he took out a white talisman which appeared quite ancient and was filled with runes that were almost dissipated from the talisman.
Freya''s eyes shimmered when she saw the talisman, "A limit talisman!"
Ace nodded as he described, "Your eyes are as sharp as ever. Indeed, this is a limit talisman, but unfortunately, it can only be used one more time. I acquired it from the eighthyer of the sun realm.
"This is called the Prison of Soul. A powerful Grade-7 limit soul talisman. It can instantly make a Law Awareness Soul Realm Cultivator lose control over his body for full five seconds. So I''m guessing that it would affect a Quasi Law Awareness Realm Cultivator even more."
Then he looked at Noa and solemnly said, "I''m leaving this talisman to you, Assassin, since you can easily get close to him without alerting him. I want you to use it on him and then quickly disable all the security measures ced in that camp. But you have to be quiet, extremely quick, as a matter of fact, for I will try to reach him and take him into my thief''s space.
"This is the only method we can subdue that guy without raising any red gs and alerting the other races. But all this should be done in under 10 seconds or even sooner than this.
"Because I''m not clear on how longer this talisman wouldst on him, so if it felt even a little bit amiss, kill him right there and then without mercy!" Ace sternly ordered.
Ace knew this was a massive risk they were undertaking, but just for the sake of making things more advantageous to himself, he was willing to take it.
Ace was already deriving the n for Alina''s rescue from the moment he appeared back in the ten continent side, and controlling Glen could give him a massive advantage or at least talk his ce.
But he still prefers thetter option since controlling Glen from shadows and ying him are two different things. Even if he didn''t mind, this time around, he wanted everything to be wless without even a shred of mistake.
When Noa and Freya heard Ace''s almost suicidal n, they were lost for words, but that talisman was really magical, and they might be able to pull this off. I think you should take a look at
"You are really determined to save her, huh?" Freya couldn''t help butment with a peculiar tone.
If she hadn''t met with Eva, she thought Ace was blinded by love. But now, she could tell it was far more than just that, and she really wanted to know just what that terrifying devil resided in Ace''s thief space had to say about Alina.
But she knew better than to antagonize that woman and didn''t want to appear to be on her bad side. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Furthermore, she could tell Ace hadn''t told Noa about Eva at all, but she didn''t reveal either since she didn''t want to get on Ace''s bad side either, even more than Eva''s.
However, she forgot something else, Ace hadn''t told Noa about Alina either, and the moment she said those words, Noa was on full-on alert.
"Save who?" She instantly shot a question with an icy tone.
Ace coolly answered, "Ah, you are the only one out of the loop. I''ll exin it to you after we are with this fellow."
Noa squinted her eyes as he didn''t find any hint of panic in Ace''s voice at all but now wanted to know even more.
On the other hand, Ace was really d that he was always prepared for asions after Cyrus almost screwed him over.
After this small matter was over without any headache for Ace, they all got to work.
Noa took the Prison of Soul Limit Talisman from Ace and then used the Serene Assassin and cautiously entered the massive camp from the rear and appeared in an empty room that had a massivemunication cube.
She slowly crept toward the inner area of the camp, which was more like a massive house. She felt a powerful undtion in the center area, and she knew she had found her target.
But unlike the others, this guy was wide awake, and he seemed to be moving forth and back in a room, and his aura was slightly turbulent. Yet this is more like an advantage than a hindrance since it indicates that the other party''s mental state was not stable!
She carefully crept toward Glen and didn''t dare to be careless even more a second. When she appeared in front of a dimly lit chamber, she saw the silhouette of the man walking back and forward.
Without hesitation, she moved toward the finalyer between her Glen!
Chapter 782 Reward Pool Mission (7)
Noa carefully crept toward Glen and didn''t dare to be careless even more a second. When she appeared in front of a dimly lit chamber, she saw the silhouette of the man walking back and forward.
Without hesitation, she moved toward the finalyer between her Glen!
Noa very carefully entered Glen''s chamber when he was walking with his back facing her. She knew she had to be very careful with her timing of entering because needs to exit the Serene Assassin state before she could use her storage ring and talisman.
This was probably the biggest w of this ridiculous ability, yet it was not at the same time because an assassin like her only needed a single moment to make quick work of her target.
Glen has an anxious expression as he can''t find peace with the fact that his son might still be alive and stuck in that fiery hell. As a parent, this was the most torturous thing that could ever happen. But the irony of the situation was he couldn''t do anything without incurring the wrath of his own sect.
But he also knew it was his own fault since it was he who couldn''t stop his son, and now he was just suffering the consequences of his own choices and ambition.
Right at this moment, Glen suddenly stopped and twisted his head with a horrid expression because he suddenly sensed impending danger. As a Quasi Law Awareness Realm Cultivator, his danger sense was simply too sharp.
But s, despite his quick reaction, it was toote. The moment he turned around, he was greeted by a blinking white light, and before he could even put a protective barrier, he found himself just staring into the void, without having any ability to move his body or even channel his Qi.
Noa looked at the petrified Glen, and her eyes shone with ecstasy. She never thought she would be able to put a real Quasi Law Awareness Realm expert in such a vulnerable state.
She has reallye a long way from being a mere revenger of a backwater demon tribe to bing a terrifying assassin.
Without wasting much time, which she knew she had very little, she quickly found the formation te of the camp within the chamber and took care of all the security.
At this point, four seconds were already over, and after taking care of this, she instantly appeared behind Glen, and suddenly tiny dark streaks shot out from her sleeve and stopped right on a hair way from Glen''s throat.
They were ten tiny daggers circted around Glen''s neck, and at Noa''s behest, they will st Glen''s head off. The only thing stopping her was naturally Ace''s order. She will only go through with it if Ace isn''t able to make it in time.
However, it was Ace of all the people, and if anyone could make it, it was him.
Ace''s figure appeared when only the eighth second had just passed, and without hesitation, he grabbed Glen''s shoulder and sent it into the thief''s space within the ck box.
Only then did Ace sigh in relief since it was done just a second before Glen regained his senses, and Noa retracted her pin dangers as they vanished into her sleeve just as quickly as they had appeared.
Freya also appeared a secondte, and when she was only Ace and Noa were present in the camp, she knew they were able to abduct a Quasi Law Awareness Realm cultivator!
This was probably the biggest achievement for the Thief House Members, even for Ace, as he was still just a River Core Realm Cultivator.
"What a big haul! Once you put him under your control, we''ll be calling shot in the human entourage." Ace dered with tion. He was really d that he made this n and his thief house members were able to help himplete it. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
All his investments in them were now finally paying off, and he wasn''t alone anymore. He knew he hade a long way¡
Without hesitation, he released both of their rewards since the reward pool mission was over and done with magnificent results. Not to mention they had done it in a single night!I think you should take a look at
Both Freya and Noa received notifications at this moment, and an interface appeared in front of them.
______
[Reward Pool Mission has been ended!]
__
[Reward Pool Mission: Hunting in Darkness!]
[Final Result]
-Performance Percentage:
-Thief House Participants:
-Thief Assassin (Noa): 70% (PP)
-Evil Thief (Freya): 30% (PP)
-Total Reward Pool: 2,000,000 House Points will be distributed with a 70/30 split!
______
Freya was quite unhappy about this result, but she knew there wasn''t anything she could do. She might''ve been able toplete it alone, but it would''ve taken time and effort.
Furthermore, thest target was not something both of them could take on without alerting everyone else, so from the start, it always depended on Ace whether he wanted to use the Prison of Soul Limit Talisman or not.
Noa was over the moon seeing over a million house points getting totaled with her house points. But she didn''t think she had earned them on her own, but Ace still helped her, and this meant she was stillcking, and she was going to work hard until she wasn''t.
"Alright, you both should make quick work of that guy so we can move on to our objective." Ace smiled coldly before he sent them both inside the ck box to deal with fully suppressed Glen.
It didn''t take them long to subdue the guy as he hadpletely lost his cultivation, and even he didn''t understand just how in the world he appeared in this dark ce, who these terrifying assaulters were.
Ace then took them out again, and this time, Glen, in a sorry state, was also present with Noa and Freya.
Freya, in particr, seemed quite ecstatic for having Glen like Evil Seed at her disposal now.
However, Ace was excited for some other reason as he watched Glen standing there in a submissive manner. He didn''t waste time and directly questioned in an icy voice, "Where is Alina?"
Chapter 783 Where Is Alina?
Ace''s question was in and simple. This was the question he wanted the answer to more than anything at this moment. He was closely paying attention to Winter''s progress in the Azure Wind Continent, but it has been stagnated after she infiltrated the Azure Wind Mountain Sect.
Ace had no doubt about the cunning fox''s capabilities, but he was quite sure that she was in some sort of bind, and this would be a massive problem if she weren''t able to locate Alina''s whereabouts by the time he reached the Azure Wind Continent. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Right now, they are in the middle of nowhere, and from this ce, it will take them around 34 months to go back to the Azure Wind Continent or a minimum of 30 months if they give it their all.
So, Ace won''t have time left to locate her, and snatching her in the middle of her public execution was Ace''sst resort which was simply too dangerous. That''s why he wanted Winter to at least locate her whereabouts and scout the area so he could directly rescue her from there.
Now the Fire Azure Elder of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect and Dream Shatter''s direct disciple was under his control. He was not going to hold back. There were simply too many things he wanted to know, but this was the most important one.
Noa''s ears also perked as she narrowed her eyes. She knew this Alina was the one Ace wanted to rescue. As for why, she knew she had to ask Ace, or she''ll find out soon enough.
Glen didn''t reply to Ace and coldly looked at him before he nced at Freya.
"Just answer his questions without hiding anything," Freya smirked as she was quite pleased being in charge.
After getting his master''s approval, Glen didn''t hesitate and answered, "The Silver Ice Hunter n Princess is kept under the most secure location of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect, where even Law Awareness Realm will meet their doom if they dare to step into it. It is located in the depth of Prime Azure Mountain, where the Prime One resides!"
Ace narrowed his eyes grimly as this was quite an unfamiliar name, "What, Prime One? Is he stronger than Dream Shatter?"
"Of course, Prime One is stronger than my master. He is, after all, the sacred protector of our human race, and even my master deeply respects him!" Glen stated with clear pride in his voice.
Ace''s expression turned ugly and heavy because this was not what he wanted to hear. An existence even stronger than Dream Shatter was just too much for him.
"It appears your human race is also hiding quite a lot of secrets. So, this Prime One character is guarding the Hunter Princess, personally?" Freya questioned at this moment. She also wasn''t expecting that everyone was putting so much importance on this matter despite it only being a chance that Ace woulde.
But as someone whose life was directly connected to Ace, she won''t be going to sit idle and let himmit suicide on this foolish venture. I think you should take a look at
Glen then shook his head, "How can Prime One waste his precious time by guarding a little girl? We are still not sure if the elusive thief wille. Furthermore, Prime One seemed to be not present in the sect at this moment and had gone somewhere prior to the devil and demon forces'' arrival. Master only told us that he''d be back before the execution. No one truly knows what Prime One does except for Master since he only speaks with either him or my Eldest Senior Brother."
Ace''s mood instantly lifted when he heard this absolutely delightful news. If that guy was not present at the Azure Wind Continent, then he might be able to do this!
"So, all left is Dream Shatter, right? Who else is there guarding her?" Freya was also secretly relieved hearing this, or she didn''t know how to stop Ace except for awakening Eva from her cultivation. She was ready to incur his sort term wrath and then let him attempt this suicidal act.
However, what came out of Glen''s mouth next was something not thought, and those words were going to change everything!
He shook his head and replied, "Master is also not present at the moment in the Azure Wind Continent. He, the Beast Emperor, the Demon Emperor, the Blood Arch Devil, and over half of their and our forces have gone to another endeavor. Which will increase our chances of capturing the elusive thief even more."
Ace was startled, and so did the two women. He felt quite strange all of a sudden since he had no idea how in the world this endeavor was connected to him. For all he knew, only Alina could make hime there, and there wasn''t anyone else who he cared enough about to put his own life at risk.
Nevertheless, if this was the case and almost all the big wigs as gone on this fool''s errand, then didn''t this mean Alina was his to grab as long as he could reach there? Or even Winter might be able to do it since it would take Ace too much, and those guys might be back by the time he reached that ce.
But Ace wasn''t foolish enough to believe that Dream Shatter would leave her without any protection or countermeasures, so he wanted more information about this location now.
Furthermore, this piece of information might be only known to the likes of Glen, so nothing out of the blue happened. Yet, they were still able to get their hands on this information, and this wasn''t even their intention!
But first, he needed to know just what sort of thing they had gotten their hands on that they even took theserge forces with them. He was intrigued as well as quite eager to know this. He even thinks that someone is helping him by making them go in the wrong direction.
"Pray to tell us why are they so confident?" He asked with a clear hint of gloating at their foolishness.
But Ace''s exulted demeanor shattered like ss after what Glen revealed!
Chapter 784 The Past Revealed
"Pray to tell us why are they so confident?"
Glen replied, "ording to the High Elder of the Soul me Sect, Jonathan, the elusive Thief Sky Stealer seems to be rted to the evil origination called the White Crown and¡ hik.."
Glen''s words suddenly came to an abrupt halt, and a suffocated grunt reced them because his throat was being held by a powerful grip, and he was dangling his legs in the air as he was choking.
Even Freya and Noa were shocked about this sudden development because the person holding Glen by his throat was none other than Ace, and at this moment, a ghastly, dark aura was rising from his hooded figure, which made the air suffocating chilly.
Ace''s voice rang, but this time, it was riddled with killing intent, "Who is this, Jonathan? What did you know about White Crown?"
"You''ll kill him at this rate; how can he answer you?" Freya quickly spoke as she saw Glen was getting paler and paler, and Ace was on the verge of breaking his neck, and she couldn''t just order him to retaliate as well. That''s why that guy was as helpless a bug despite his superior cultivation.
But the most terrifying thing was Ace was able to make him choke despite Glen''s powerful body, and this just how powerful Ace''s own physique was.
Suddenly, Ace''s head moved toward Freya, and she suddenly shuddered, even Noa, because under his hood, a pair of dark blue eyes were glowing in a dark, murderous sheen, and they didn''t seem to belong to a human at this moment.
"Don''t stick your nose into this!" His voice was deadly calm and cold, but it contained absolute authority.
Freya felt a strange, terrible fear rise deep in her heart and quickly lower her head. She didn''t even have the guts to speak anymore. She never experienced anything like this before. It was like she was talking to an absolute existence and wasn''t capable of disobeying him!
Ace then turned his back and didn''t pay Freya much attention as if he knew she wouldn''t dare to speak again. Still, his grip suddenly loses, and Glen falls to the ground with a fit of coughs. But he was able to recover with his superior Qi quickly, yet he looked at Ace with fear and terror since he never expected to be manhandled by a mere Qi river realm junior!
"Now answer my questions¡please?" Ace''s chilly voice rang again.
Glen took a deep breath and replied that he didn''t want to get choked again or killed.
"High Elder Jonathan is one of the five High Grade-6 Rune Crafter of the Soul me Sect, a bit entric but one of the top figures of the Soul me Sect. He was actually the one who put us all on the Sky Stealer''s tale.
"ording to him, a few years ago, he came in contact with the elusive thief two times. The first time, when he was just a kid and a rising star of the low-levelnds, almost killed him on the second time in the middle-levelnds. I think you should take a look at
"But both times, it was not actually High Elder Jonathan but his clones which he sneakily sunk in there through the ancient passage.
"In his words, the Sky Stealer''s name is Ace White, and he''s the son of some traitors of the White Crown who he once identally met and then entrusted with their child safely but wasn''t able to find him because of an emotional w andck of intelligence in his clone.
"When he met him the first time, that thief backstabbed him for his treasures, but he was able to confirm that the thief was indeed the same son the traitors of the White Crown wanted him to protect.
"As for the second time, he was able to corner the thief into revealing his most guarded secret, which might also be the real reason why those two be the traitors of the White Crown and why they were after them in the first ce.
"Jonathan said the thief had confessed himself that he had a heaven-defying technique and treasure left to him by his parents, and that''s why he was so extraordinary. The name of that technique is Heavenly nkness Worldending Technique te.
"This treasure¡. this also seemed to be the real reason he had been able to escape that day and somehow ended up in the Demon Continent!"
Realization dawned upon Ace at this moment, and the face of ''Gordon'' appeared in his mind; who was really the reason that he had teleported to the middle of Demon Continent from the middle-levelnds of the Azure Wind Continent.
The hate he contained for that guy now has suddenly reached unimaginable heights.
But different from Ace, both Noa and Freya were gobsmacked by Glen''s terrifying revtion. Ace''s background has always been a mystery to them, and he was not too keen to reveal it to them since it was not that grand.
But now, they were finally able to know just humble his background had been and how he was able to appear in the Demon Continent, and why he just reacted that way when he heard the White Crown name. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
''So, his parents belonged to this White Crown, and they were also traitors, no less. Could it be the thief house was really left behind them to him?'' Freya''s mind raced as she felt she had just stumbled upon a terrifying secret that was probably very close to solving the mystery of Ace''s prowess and connection with the ''Goddess of Thief.''
As for Noa, she finally understands how Ace was able toe so deep into the demon continent and right in the middle of their demon city. It was also that fated day that she met him, and it changed her entire life course.
But for Ace, he didn''t care about any of it. What he actually wanted to know about the White Crown, which was probably the biggest mystery of his life and that sealed bloodline within him.
As for why he reacted so strongly, it was not because he cared about their wellbeing. Instead, he wanted to question them himself that why he had been abandoned in that miserable ce and why his own bloodline was sealed!
Chapter 785 The Twisted History
Glen looked at still silently standing. Ace quickly continued and answered the second part of the question, "We naturally didn''t trust Jonathan''s words right away, but then my master and even Prime One confirmed them, and he was not lying about any of it.
"That''s why to break the seal at the lowernds and found something important had been missing, and they knew it was taken by that thief as well. It was also at that time that the Ice Sword Fairy came searching for her so-called brother, and my master found her, and then it was revealed that her brother was none other than Ace White, the elusive thief, Sky Stealer!
"What happened next is known to the public. But we didn''t reveal anything about his connection with the White Crown. It was my master''s decision since we didn''t want to alert them.
"You see, the White Crown always has been a strange bunch. They only appeared a few times in the history of this world. ording to our master, the White Crown was established by the enemy of every being.
"He was once born as the most powerful human and then turned his back on the humans and even killed them for his own gain until the Five Humane Sages stood against him and then killed him with the help of the top three races, his name was the Evil Spawn, vus!"
Ace''s eyes narrowed at this moment, "Calvus? The white crown was established by Humane Sage Calvus?"
He wasn''t ignorant about this name since Empty Dream had told him about the savior of humanity. But now, Glen was portraying him as the enemy of everyone, and now there were five more humane sages in the mix.
But when he thought about how Empty Dream was betrayed by his own student, Dream Shatter, and the continent was only under the control of the signal sect of his n until it was divided, and then that one sect split into five. He didn''t find it strange anymore if Dream Shatter and his cohort, who had been behind the assassination of the Empty Dream, had to get rid of any and all the traces that could lead back to the truth.
However, Calvus''s connection to the White Crown was something unexpected, and this didn''t make any sense as well.
"What humane sage? He''s an Evil Spawn! The White Crown was an evil organization that had always been doing his dirty work for him. But after he was killed, they went under and seldom made appearances in the world because they were afraid of my master and Prime One.
"But my master has always been magnanimous, and he told us not to care much about them as long as they didn''t interfere in our business and let them live despite their heinous crimes against humanity and being the follower of Evil Spawn.
"However, after we made their connection with the elusive thief, my Master couldn''t sit still, and heunched an investigation with the Prime One. They finally found clues on their rathole and then instantly acted and arranged a raid with the devils and demons. The beasts were just courting their own death bying here with the elves and ended up bing pawns under my master.
"This is all I know about the White Crown. The information about their members or ranking only my master or Prime One should know. They keep this important information to themselves or share it with only important figures of the devil and demon races." Glen was finally done exining about the White Crown and how they were connected with all this. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, Ace wasn''t anywhere near satisfied with this information because, in his ear, this all sounded like nothing but an excuse for the weak who didn''t have the guts to speak up to the strong. I think you should take a look at
But one thing became quite clear, the Dream Shatter and the unknown Prime One were manipting the human race, and now they seemed to be manipting the other races to get rid of the hidden danger named White Crown.
Furthermore, they also wanted to probably find his kin, his parents if they were still alive or some other rtive to use them to draw him out if Alina didn''t work. They were going after two birds with one stone, and their final prize was Ace himself!
"So, they found their hideout and now making their way toward them as we speak, is that it?" Ace coldly questioned.
Glen nodded, "Indeed. My Eldest Senior Brother confirmed this afternoon himself."
"How long would this venturest?"
"This¡ I can''t be too sure since the details were only kept between the people like my Eldest Senior Brother or themanders of the allied forces. But they are nning on returning before the impending execution, that''s for sure." Glen stated with uncertainty, and he didn''t seem to be telling any lies.
But Ace still wasn''t done as he had so many more questions now, and he continued with his interrogation, whichsted for another hour or so. The two women were silently listening on the side and observing from the sidelines since they didn''t want to interfere, not after knowing the gravity of this matter.
Not only Ace''s childhood step-sister was involved in this, but probably his entire blood family was involved, and this matter was gettingplicated. However, they noticed that Ace wasn''t much bothered by the White Crown, not after his initial reaction. He was mostly asking questions about how to reach Alina and safe ways and such.
After Ace was done, he let loose a sigh and looked toward Freya, which made thetter flinch slightly. He said, "I want you to call Winter and tell her everything we just learned about Alina''s whereabouts. Thenmand your evil seeds and have them evacuate everyone about a hundred miles away from the archipgo.
"Also, take our Jessie and do as I''m going to tell you to¡" Ace then gave a lengthy instruction to Freya, which made both women shocked.
"W-what are you nning to do exactly?" Noa couldn''t help but ask with trepidation because one of the instructions he gave them made both feel amiss.
Ace coolly stated at this moment, "If I want everyone to leave this ce and achieve the effect I want to, then this archipgo has to be turned into and of death. While doing so, I also want to install some fear in those guys'' minds."
A ghastly glint shed past Ace''s eyes as he stated, "So, I guess I''m going to break through!"
Chapter 786 The Wraith Of Heaven!
The mysterious archipgo was enshrouded in gloomy silence, and some figures were moving silently on each ind, clearly didn''t want to be noticed by something.
However, a stern, imposing voice suddenly reverberated in the entire archipgo and alerted everyone.
"Humans of Mortal Sky, you all dare to disturb my peace, for it is an unforgivable sin worth death!
"But not only you all dared to disturb my peace, you ''Humans'' even stole my Spirit Fire and then tried to run away with it as if it belonged to you.
"O'' foolish ''Humans,'' you shall all perish under the wrath of heaven, for it will be your only salvation!"
The imposing voice was thunderous, and even after it was stopped, it echoed for a few moments. When everyone snapped out of their stupor, their expression started to change into disbelief before they turned hideous.
It was especially the case for the Devil, Demon, Hunter, and Magic Beast Races because if that voice was telling the truth, then this mean the humans have somehow got their hands on the spirit fire right under their noses, and now they are even trying to flee!
As for that voice, they didn''t care much since if the owner of that voice could even lose the spirit fire to humans, then they had nothing to worry about this guy. On the contrary, they should thank him since he alerted them, and now all of them headed toward the ind upied by the humans like mad dogs.
"Where are they?!" The Shadow Devil Duke emerged from the shadows like a ghost, and he roared when he didn''t find any humans or their ships around the ind at all.
"Those cunning bastards must''ve had the spirit fire, and they snuck out while we were busy sucking up our thumbs!" The lion-face magic beast growled in fury as hended on the ind with a bang, creating a small crater.
The purple hair hunter also appeared on the scene quite swiftly with an ugly expression.
The demon minister wasst to enter the scene and furiously cussed, "It''s seemed it was all but a ploy of that Dream Shatter. He should''ve given the humans some sort of treasure to steal that spirit fire. Hmph, I expect nothing less from a race that gives birth to the sted thief, Sky Stealer. All of them are thieves and should be rooted out from this world!"
However, for some strange reason, the Demon Minister didn''t sound that much furious. His anger even sounded somewhat¡ fake.
Nevertheless, the others were simply too upied with what happened and had time to pay the demon minister any extra attention.
But they all had no idea that a hooded figure stood on the central ind of the archipgo, right where the old shrine was located.
In the darkness of night, he stood there, appearing somewhat lonely and even tired. But the rage and resolve burning in the depth of his dark blue eyes tell another story.
A long sigh escaped from his mouth before the robes vanished from his person, reced by in ck clothes, and his peerless face was revealed. But suddenly, the white hair and scars on his face also started to fade, and a pristine handsome face with inky long ck hair appeared.
After Ace stowed away every treasure on his body, he felt somewhatfortable, but when he looked at the interface opened in front of him, he knew it wouldn''tst for much longer. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
=====
[All requirements for the next realm breakthrough have been fulfilled!]I think you should take a look at
[Process of absorbing Nature''s Yang Elemental Orb has begun!]
[The Fourth [Heavenly Punishment of Body and Soul] will start in ten seconds!]
--
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment will descend during the process of orb absorption. But it will be immediately stopped if the host faints or loses consciousness during the process. Thereby, the host will die!]
=====
Ace''s lips suddenly curled in a cruel smile, "Just as I thought, those guys didn''t even waste a second before they ran off towards the human ind like a bunch of hyenas. Now they will think what I want them to think. Now let''s see if those can live to tell the tail, though. I saw in the fate map earlier that there are some hidden Law Awareness Realm Cultivators among the three races¡"
Suddenly Ace looked up as a familiar aura suddenly descended on thends, and his smile became extremely chilly.
Just like Ace, the others also felt a strange aura suddenly descend on them, and they all looked toward the sky in unison, and their eyes contracted because, out of nowhere, pitch-ck clouds suddenly started to gather above the central ind.
Furthermore, those clouds were increasing in size at a terrible speed, and before they knew it, they had already covered the entirety of the central ind and still expanding strongly.
But this was just the detail about clouds because the pressure suddenly increased like crazy, and that made everyone shudder in horror as they all felt a primordial fear rise from the depth of their hearts like never before.
"T-that voice said something about the wrath of heaven, right?" The purple hair hunter suddenly spoke as his voice was filled with uncertainty and a hint of unimaginable horror!
"This is absurd¡" The Shadow Devil Duke tried to retort, but his voice instantly caught in his throat because that ghastly pressure suddenly doubled, and the dark clouds were now forming right above their head.
Furthermore, it was at this moment that they spotted a double color lighting swimming within the pitch-ck clouds. The moment theyid eyes on that lightning, they felt like their soul were starting to burn, and their bodies were losing all their strength.
They quickly avert their eyes and pant heavily with beads of sweat, and their body quivers slightly.
The clouds gathering above them grew even faster, and the pressure increased more and more.
"Run!"
No one knows who said it, but it sure does trigger something within them, and without hesitation, they used their strongest skills, trump cards, or treasures to flee from the clouds.
They all could feel deep within their hearts. No, they knew that if they didn''t hurry and escape from those terrifying clouds, they would never be able to!
Chapter 787 Fourth Heavily Punishment
Chapter 787 Fourth Heavily Punishment
Over fifty miles away, north of the archipgo, a small fleet of demons was swiftly moving away from the inds.
Standing on the ship deck were three masked figures. Two of them were demons, and standing between them and looking quite small was a woman without any demonic traits.
"How do you do it?" The demon in the ck mask questioned with disbelief while looking at the woman.
"Heh, if you know ''him,'' then you know better than to ask such a question. What I''m interested in, who are you to ''him?''" She questioned back with a cold tone.
The demon spoke again after a few moments, "I''m someone who doesn''t deserve his friendship, I guess. But I will repay him somehow, with all my life, if I have any after I''m done." He sighed at the end.
Then he suddenly looked at the demon standing on the other side of the woman, and a terrifying aura rose, filled with malice and hatred, "Lnd! How does it feel to be a puppet of somewhat else? I''m sure your soul will be burning right now, knowing that you had tricked your own master, and you will be going to harm the entire demon race. I will make sure you will stay alive to see how I kill everyone you guys loved with our own hands!"
Despite his menacing words, the masked demon remained motionless as if he couldn''t understand or retort to his words.
The woman couldn''t help but chuckle, "I must say, ''he'' really knows how to pair up teams. I never thought ''he'' would introduce me to a revenger like you, and our goals seemed to be the same, the destruction of demons. Knowing ''him,'' I''m pretty sure you are fully capable of this deadly endeavor."
Then suddenly, her voice grew colder as she looked at the masked demon, "But let me make it extremely clear that I''m your advisor, and you are going to follow my leads if you want any help from me, not the other way around. Or we can part ways in the demon continent. Only ''he'' is worthy ofmanding me!"
The masked demon stayed quiet before he looked at the woman and nodded, "I know, and I''m grateful for Lady Evil''s help and his kindness."
At this moment, both of their focus suddenly turned toward the archipgo''s direction, and the inky clouds suddenly gathered over it, and they were increasing at terrifying speed as they covered one after another ind.
Lady Evil''s heart grew cold with fear as she gave an order to Lnd in a hurried tone, "Make your men increase the speed more! I don''t want to be caught between those clouds, or we won''t even know how we all die!"
---
On the southern side, the entire human fleet was also moving fast away from the archipgo.
On the main ship, two hooded figures stood on top of the sail as they both looked toward the clouds gathering and the two-color lightning swarming in it, which gave anyone who looked at it soul damage.
"I still can''t believe that he has to go through this sort of ''trial'' every time he needs to break through. It''s like¡ like the goddess wants to kill him¡" Freya''s sharp voice sounded with a hint of fear.
She still vividly remembered when the first time she saw Ace going through his breakthrough and almost got caught in it.
Noa was the same, and she sighed with worried, "Nothing is free in this world. Everything has a price. Like we are bound to his life in return for our abilities. It isn''t strange he also had to pay some sort of price to be what he is. I just hope he will always prevail over everything."
"You''re right. All we can do is hope that his n will work like always. I am starting to doubt our Leader''s tendency to seek deadly trouble, or they are just drawn to him¡" Freya sighed with indignation.
---
In the center of the icky clouds, Ace stood under the horrendous pressure, but he wasn''t bothered. On the contrary, he looked at the eye-like vortex forming above his head, which was extremely familiar to him, and smiled coldly as if he was seeing an old enemy.
Furthermore, he can now clearly see the two-color lightning crackling within the punishment clouds, and he knew this time it wouldn''t be as easy as before.
The system voice rang at this moment,
===== n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
[Host has reached the halfway point of the Mortal Sky Cultivation journey. Heaven wants you dead more than anything, and its desire to get rid of burn is as furious as ever. The desire to kill has manifested as the time of mortal skye to an end¡] [The Fourth Heavenly Punishment [Abolishment Despair Thunder] has been detected!]
---
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment sensed Host''s Qi Sea Core!]
[Warning: The Heaven is seething!]
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment has been strengthened!] [Strengthened Heavenly Punishment: There is a 99.99% chance of a Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation to descend on Heaven''s Stealer!] ---
[System rmends fighting without holding back; use any means necessary you had, or your life will be forfeited today. Please find an isted ce, or the Heavenly Punishment will annihte all the living in a 50-mile radius around the host!]
=====
Ace was surprised when he felt the solemnity in the system''s voice today. But when he heard and saw the final few columns, Ace''s blood ran cold because the system sounded extremely grave, and he knew why because even he could tell this Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, whatever it was, it was awful news.
"What the hell is Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation? And why I''m only hearing about it now?" Ace''s instantly questioned as he had a very, very bad feeling right now.
"Rumbling¡!"
An apocalyptic sound suddenly resounded in the entire vicinity of the archipgo, and Ace''s heart palpitated as all the fine hair on his body stood up, and he looked up abruptly.
What he saw made his heart sink because if he wasn''t hallucinating, then within the vortex, there seemed to be a pair of giant glow eyes of blue and red colors, and they seemed to be staring right at him!
Chapter 788 The Heaven Defying Sword Cores
Chapter 788 The Heaven Defying Sword Cores
"[Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation is a manifest of Heavenly Punishment which only appeared when Heaven has failed to kill a target multiple times or when a target is deemed to be too strong for a Heavenly Punishment. Unlike the typical heavenly punishment, the Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation will not end after just a single thunder strike, and it willst as long as the target is either killed or the target finds a way to destroy it instead.]" The system finally replied to Ace''s question while he was looking at the giant glow eyes of blue and red colors. His expression was extremely solemn and indigent as he questioned again, "So this thing is alive?" "[Not alive, but more like a puppet who only knows how to either kill or be killed by the target. But even a puppet won''t be a good term to describe Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, but it''s the simplest term host can use to think of it until you''ll reach the level where you can truly understand what Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation is. Of course, if you were able to live that long, that is.]" Ace wanted to cuss, but he knew the system was just telling the truth, but still, he was a little bit shaken by the revtion that something like Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation could appear in Heavenly Punishment.
"Then how can I destroy it?" Ace asked the most important question as the small lighting bolt of blue and red were already started to bolt down all over the archipgo.
Those bolts were probably for those guys who were caught between the heavenly punishment, and they were as strong as the thunderbolts Ace had endured during hisst heavenly punishment.
Furthermore, Ace also noticed something which has never happened before. The red thunderbolts seemed to be martial while the blue was soul. In his previous heavenly punishment, the soul thunder always camest, but this time, it was raining down with the martial thunder.
This only made Ace''s expression even more solemn and grave because this heavenly punishment seemed, even more, ghastlier because of the presence of Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, and he needed to know just how to get rid of it as quickly as possible.
"[Host has to find yourself. Just like how you always did with your previous Heavenly Punishment. The only hint system can give the Heavenly Intent¡]" Ace was bbergasted by this rey, and his expression was quite dark, but he knew the system too well to bicker with it. He had already got what he should, and now he was on his own.
But the hint wasn''t too hard to understand either, for he had some idea what the system was hinting at.
''Heavenly intent? Does it mean Heavenly Law Intent?'' Ace mused as he thought it was most likely the case.
"Rumbleeee¡" A powerful thunderous sound reverberated at this moment, and Ace''s heart sank because over twenty metersrge, ten thunderbolts rained down over his head.
But they were clearly not the true heavenly punishment as it hadn''t even started yet because there were still many people scattered on the inds, and those small thunderbolts were for them.
Nevertheless, Ace couldn''tin; instead, he knew this was a chance, a chance to absorb these lesser versions of the heavenly thunder into his sword cores!
Ace was far stronger and more knowledgeable than he wasst time, and he knew just how extraordinary his both sword cores were. The heavenly punishment was nutritious for them, and he won''t be going to miss this chance while he had it. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
So, without any intention of dodging, Ace let those deadly thunderbolts strike him like a lunatic.
"cheeee¡"
Ace''s eyes winded as the thunder finally hit him, and he felt his body and soul both start to burn in terrible pain. He ground his teeth since this thunder bold was still in his endurance level and let them enter his martial and soul space where the sword cores were waiting for them.
The moment the heavenly thunder invaded his martial and soul space, the dark sword cores, which were usually dormant, suddenly trembled, giving off a powerful reaction that was out of Ace''s expectation, and then something even more absurd happened.
Without even Acemanding them, those sword cores seemed to be activated on their own, and suddenly, they were enveloped by dark golden runes!
Ace knew those dark golden runes too well since they materialized over them thest them when he condensed them with heavenly thunder.
However, this time, both his sword shape and sword cores seemed to fully submerge in those dark golden runes as if they were coated with them. The moment they appeared, the heavenly thunder seemed to have forgotten about everything else and menacingly bolted toward them.
But to Ace''s astonishment, the moment those thunderbolts touched the sword cores, they started to get absorbed into them instantly.
Furthermore, another phenomenon took ce right at this moment. The dark golden runes suddenly started to turn red in the Martial Thief Sword Core and blue in the Soul Thief Sword Core, just like the heavenly thunders they were absorbing!
But those thunderbolts didn''t seem to be enough as they quickly got absorbed, and only a tiny part of the runes on the sword cores'' hilts changed color before those two sword cores went dormant.
''Don''t tell me, the more they absorb those high-grade heavenly thunder, the more those runes will light up in their color and be powerful?'' A sudden realization dawned upon Ace as his eyes glowed like starry sky because the sword cores had absorbed the heavenly lightning simply too fast, and all that ghastly pain was gone in moments'' notice.
But what happened next was something even more unexpected, Ace suddenly felt a strange warm energy released by the sword cores in his martial and soul space, and he almost moaned because of that pleasurable sensation.
However, it vanished as quickly as it appeared, but Ace was gobsmacked because he suddenly felt¡robust!
Chapter 789 Abolishment Despair Thunder (1)
?
Pleasantly surprised by this strange yet weing development, Ace couldn''t help but look at those two sword cores and their runes as they were now again starting to be dormant with those runes fading away.
''Just what had I ended up creating?'' Ace really wondered at this moment.
But he didn''t have time to be distracted since he could feel the pressure was now increased to a terrifying degree, and the real punishment was about to start. Nevertheless, he was now even more motivated to collect the heavenly thunder as he wanted to fully light those runes in a new color and see what happened.
With such lunacy thoughts, he looked up, and those big glowing eyes were still looking toward him without having any intention of looking away.
Ace''s lips suddenly curled up as he roared out loud, "How about youe down? Or heaven is a coward and only knows how to strike when the enemy is on the verge of death?"
Ace''s voice reverberated in the entire vicinity with the thunder. A few figures in very sorry states were running away with everything they had, and when they heard his voice, they felt like coughing blood.
''Which bastard is cursing at heaven?! Did they want to make it even angrier? Just who in the world did we end up offending? I need to report this to Ancestor quickly. But first, I need to escape this damnable ce alive!'' A winged devil with dark brown skin, while over half of his body was charred and bleeding profusely, was diving deep into the sea with a bolt of red lightning right on his tail.
On another side, a purple hair hunter was the same, and many lightning bolts were following behind him like a menace. He was controlling arge cube that contained the other hunters, and things were not looking good for them.
Not far away from him, a silver bell was also sinking deep within the sea while a few lightning bots were continuing to strike it like hammers, and now there were multiple cracks on this grade-7 treasure.
Within the protection of this bell were hidden two demons. One was the demon minister, while the other was a wizened face white color skin demon with quite an ugly and fearful expression on his face.
"Is that really the heaven''s wrath, Grand Duke?" The demon minister asked in disbelief. They had already lost all of their men, and he was only able to escape because Grand Demon Duke saved him!
They were all taking the voice''s word as a joke but not anymore, and they felt deep-rooted fear after experiencing the terrifying heavenly thunder. Whoever was touched by it died horribly, and only those who were quasiw awareness realm cultivators were barely able to survive, but they were probably maimed for life.
Even their hidden Law Awareness Realm Experts suffered terrible injuries and were forced to run with whatever they could salvage. The magic beast was fully annihted since they didn''t have anyw awareness realm with them.
These guys were supposed to be their trump cards, just in case someone was able to bring out the spirit fire. But forget about the spirit fire; they were now running for their own lives!
The Grand Demon Duke palely replied, "Fool, do you think another else would be able to put us in such a sorry state?! Pray that we escaped. I''ll make those humans pay for what they''d done to us. Not only they took the spirit fire and run away as fast they could, they even tried to get rid of everyone, knowing that such an existence was guarding the spirit fire and it would seek us out!"
The demon minister replied hoarsely at this moment, "I¡ forgive me, Grand Duke, but I was told before that the humans were in possession of the spirit fire by Lnd. But to not arouse any suspicion from others, I send him after them with a small fleet of high-level navy officers. He might be on their tail right now, and once we get out, I''ll contact him, and then we can snatch it back and take revenge for all those good men!"
The Grand Demon Duke instantly looked at the Demon Minister as his eyes grew colder and colder, "Very good, you are indeed someone from the imperial domain. This way, we can keep the spirit fire and still pin the me on them. Giving them a taste of their own medicine!"
---
Ace was not aware of the thoughts of those fleeing fellows, even if he knew he would just scoff at them since he had achieved what he wanted to. From the start, Ace knew his fourth heavenly punishment might not be enough to kill thosew awareness realm cultivators since they simply have too many means to preserve their lives. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
So, he used them in the most sufficient way, and now, they will be filled with hatred for the humans who had fled with the spirit fire and even caused them tremendous losses.
His objective was quite simple. He wanted to sow discord between everyone and then make others put pressure on the human race and even fight each other. But it was still hard to tell if he would achieve it or not, but the seed of discord was nted, and all left to see was when it would grow and bear fruits.
Right now, he cares about the Heavenly Punishment more, which was really going to start after it got rid of the hindrance. Like always, it didn''t want anyone to interfere when it killed the darn Heaven''s Stealer.
At this moment, a vortex eye was shimmering with two colors of lightning like a glowing sun, but the Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation still didn''t make any move, or it was about to.
Ace soon found out, though, when a thick streak of two-color thunder shot down on Ace at a terrifying speed, and before he knew it, he was fully enveloped in it!
The central ind was also sted apart into smithereens under the two-color thunder streak, which continued to pour down on Ace like a thunder-waterfall, and his dead or alive states were unknown!
The Abolishment Despair Thunder has finally descended!
Chapter 790 Abolishment Despair Thunder (2)
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Submerged in the red and blue thunder, Ace was tremendously shocked and didn''t dare to take this lightly. He thought that Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation''s presence would make the heavenly thunder less potent, but he was extremely wrong.
It was nowhere near weak but gravely strong and destructive, far more than all the heavenly thunder he had endured in the pastbined.
Not to mention this was just the start, and there was still the unknown yet terrifying Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation lurking somewhere within the heavenly punishment clouds.
Under the massive onught of the heavenly thunder, Ace wanted to use the Pag-09 from the get-go because it was simply too powerful, and a strong sense of despair was gripping his heart. Yet, he endured and let those that heavenly thunder wreak havoc in his entire being.
Because the sword cores'' runes were already activated again, and all that thunder was getting greedily devoured by them, and the dark golden runes were slowly but surely changing into red and blue color, respectively.
Furthermore, the same unknown Qi was again released within his martial and soul spaces again, and despite the terrifying pain and destructive intent, he was being continually healed, and his endures were slowly rising.
This was first for Ace as he never expected that the day woulde when he would be able to turn the heavenly punishment into nutrition for himself. Nevertheless, the process the extremely painful, and only someone who has been going through the same sort of process could endure it.
Ace''s body was always getting refined after every heavenly punishment, or even the Law-Awareness Realm Cultivators won''t be able to endure much longer before perishing under the abolishment despair thunder.
After a few seconds passed, which felt like an eternity to Ace, the thunder-fall finally ended, revealing his charred and haggard body. But his eyes were still burning brightly with fighting spirit as his charred skin seemed to be shedding, and new pristine skin was quickly taking its ce.
''Over 40% of my sword cores have been changed just after the first volley of the heavenly thunder. Not to mention, I''m feeling tremendous strength seeping into my soul and body. There is also something else¡'' Ace thought with a hint of uncertainty but also extreme ecstasy when he looked at the rumbling heavenly punishment clouds.
The two giant eyes were still there, seemingly biding their time before they lunged at their prey.
The dark vortex eye again started to collect more thunder, and within a few seconds, another thunder-fall shot down on Ace; without giving him any chance to recuperate, but it failed to notice the anticipation hidden under Ace''s disdainful expression.
Just like before, Ace again felt entering a meat grinder, but this time, he visibly felt it wasn''t as bad as before. The pain seemed to be lessened by about twenty percent and continued to be.
However, another thing changed, though, when the thunder-fall was over, the sword cores were only changed about 25% more, unlike before. It appears as they were reachingpetition, they needed more heavenly thunder, or it was because Ace was also getting stronger.
Furthermore, Ace felt his mind was getting clearer, and he was starting to peer into a strange feeling or understanding of a gloomy destructive darkness rising, which was none other than his own despair lightning!
"Hisss¡ rumbleee¡"
A thunderous roar suddenly rang from the sky, and it was so loud and majestic that it could be heard from hundreds of miles radius. It was like the sky itself was full of fury and hatred.
Ace''s heart palpitated when his happy expression didn''tst for long as he looked up, and he became instantly solemnly because the giant eyes seemed to be moving¡ closer!
''So, this guy can''t wait any longer, huh? The Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation ising!'' Ace thought as he didn''t dare to let his guard down, and despite healing and getting stronger by the second, he quickly ordered the system to release EXP and SP so he could heal even faster. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The pitch-ck clouds were brightly lit in two color lights at this moment and started to split as something was slowly crawling out from within.
Two long sharp blue and red thunder horns suddenly appeared and followed by a giant red head which had no face and was only made with red thunder, the eyes were actually those two horns!
Followed by the face, a red torso of a female appeared with four arms gripping a sword, spear,nce, and bow, with an arrow. But the lower body was of a blue lion. The creature was made with entire red and blue lightening, and it was 40 meters in size.
Ace''s eyes burned slightly when he looked at the magnificent creature, and the aura it was giving off was the same as the heavenly punishment, or even stronger.
''Well, I should''ve expected nothing less from something named Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation¡'' Ace thought bitterly as he knew this was going to be a long battle.
Far away, the human and demon ships could also look at the heavenly punishment clouds, and all those people were looking at Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation with awed and horrid expressions. Even from that distance, they could still feel the terrifying aura that gave them nothing but a feeling of despair and the urge to kneel.
Noa and Freya were the gloomiest ones, not to mention shocked. They clearly remembered that there was nothing like that creature thest time Ace broke through. Even they felt tremendous fear from this distance, and they could only imagine how Ace, who was directly facing it, would feel.
"Just what kind of bloody trial is this? Who can pass them? This is too unfair!" Noa coldly stated as she suddenly felt a strange disgust rising from her heart.
Freya also agreed with Noa, but her concern was something else, "Now I kind of understand why we never heard of anyone who can walk on the path of martial and soul. I can''t even begin to imagine just how difficult it would be for some to pass each realm if they experience this sort of trial every time they attempt to break through. This sort of power is more like a curse than a blessing!"
Chapter 791 Heavens Terminate Manifestation (1)
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At this moment, the Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation''s one of the four arms, holding the thunder bow and arrow, suddenly moved, and it aligned with Ace''s figure standing down below.
The next moment, the bow string suddenly arches back, and the arrow, like a lightning bolt, suddenly shoots down. But not just one, instead that one arrow suddenly multiplied from one to two, then two to four, and before Ace knew it, he was facing a rain of lighting arrows made with heavenly thunder!
Knowing the gravity of the situation, a crimson armor suddenly appeared on his body which was a low-grade-8 defensive treasure, and two high-grade-7 swords appeared in his hands the next moment.
Without holding back, Ace used his Eternal Thief''s Sword Style with his true heavenly sword intent.
"Eternal Thief''s Sword Style; Soul Shadow de Rain!"
The soul sword core, which was now about 70 percent blue, suddenly released overwhelmingly potent heavenly soul sword intent, and the next moment, hundreds of ethereal dark sword des manifested behind Ace before shooting toward the arrow rain!
However, Ace also noticed something when he used his sword intent this time, and his eyes shimmered in disbelief and astonishment.
''My sword intent now also contained a small aura of the heavenly punishment!'' Ace didn''t dare to believe it, but the proof was right in front of him.
The moment the rain of arrows and the rain of sword des shed, thunderous sparks and explosions rang in the air, and a lightning shower filled the sky.
Looking at the scattered heavenly thunder, Ace suddenly had a bold idea, and without hesitation, he suddenly started to use the heaven stealer cultivation technique to suck the heavenly Qi in the air.
The moment he did, all that scattered heavenly thunder seemed attracted to him like a magnate and bolted in his direction again. Although Ace''s act was nothing but suicide, but he wanted to change his sword cores topetition now more than anything since the benefits were simply too massive.
Besides, he was quite sure this much heavenly thunder won''t be an issue, but he was quite wrong since it hurt even more than before as a strange intent was infused in this heavenly thunder used by Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation!
Furthermore, Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation clearly didn''t have any intention to let Ace do as he pleased and sensed Ace''s bold and sacrilegious action. It no longer relied on the long-range attack.
Instead, its other weapons moved in Ace''s direction before it started to move its massive lion body and charged toward Ace while emitting a terrifying aura of destruction and despair, leaving behind an abstract streak of thunder.
Ace''s heart was instantly gripped by trepidation and danger as he didn''t dare to take this attack lightly. Furthermore, he could feel being fully locked by Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, and that attack won''t miss him like the heavenly punishment.
So, his only choice was to take it head-on, which was far more dangerous than the heavenly thunder, which didn''t have that strange intent and was far more potent and dangerous.
''This is going to drain almost all of my heavenly Qi reserves, and these two swords might also break.'' Ace sighed ruefully before killing intent surfaced in his eyes. He suddenly changed his stance and sword, both swords vertical and horizontal.
''Eternal Thief''s Sword Style, First Stance, Hundred shes of Dark Life Plexus!''
A massive amount of pitch-ck heavenly Qi suddenly gushed out from Ace''s body as his sword released humming sounds, and a dark sheen fully enveloped them.
A hazy dark phantom suddenly formed behind Ace, which was just like him, standing in the same stance, but it was ten meters in size, and when Ace moved his swords, the phantom mimicked his exact movement.
The surrounding space suddenly vibrates as his sword moves at terrifying speed, and the extremely sharp and eerie, dark sword shes suddenly manifest.
The Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation was already upon Ace when he moved his swords moved, and suddenly sharp, piercing voices reverberated in the vicinity like thunder roars.
The Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, which seemed to be still charging, suddenly experienced something almost magical and, at the same time, ghastly.
Out of nowhere, a hundred dark cuts appeared on its massive body, and all of those cuts were at its vital. The very next moment, while Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation was still charging, it suddenly started to split apart from those hundred cuts!
The dark phantom behind Ace dissipated when the split Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation brushed past his figure.
With a pale and exhausted expression, his aura suddenly plummeted, and both swords returned to normal. However, the moment his heavenly sword intent left those high-grade-7 swords, they started to turn into dust particles.
Ace sighed bitterly as he knew this would''ve happened since he just used one of his strongest moves of the First Stance. Not only was he almost expended his heavenly Qi, but this took a massive toll on his body which had been pummeled by the Heavenly Thunder.
Nevertheless, when he heard the massive explosive sounds behind him, his lips curled in a cruel smile as Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation was now gone, and he was able to split it into hundred pieces.
However, his content expression abruptly changed, and his heart churned as he felt an extreme sense of danger from behind. But before he could even react because of his exhaustion, he felt hit by a mountain before pierced right on the spine, and a massive amount of ghastly heavenly thunder pumped into his body!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Behind Ace stood a ten-meter-tall Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, but it had two arms instead of four, and it held a long spear. Furthermore, from the dust, there were three more Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations of 10-meter size holding swords,nce, and bow and arrow, making their way toward Ace!
Somehow, they had been split into four, and one of themnded a critical blow to Ace, almost shattering his spine. If he didn''t snap out of his misery and do something, by the time those three attacks, he would be as good as dead!
Chapter 792 Heavens Terminate Manifestation (2)
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With widely opened bloodshot eyes, Ace puked arge amount of blood as the spear made with soul-type heavenly thunder pierced into his spine. Furthermore, he was feeling the approaching death, and he knew if he didn''t do anything, he could forget about his life.
With extreme difficulty, a talisman coin appeared in his hand, which was none other than the Space Step Talisman, and he crushed it.
However, Ace was horrified when he found despite activating the space step talisman, nothing happened, and at this moment, the three other Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations were only a few inches away fromnding the killing blow!
Although the sword core was still absorbing the heavenly thunder as fast as it could, but as long as that spear was in his body, he was as good as dead.
''Damn it all!'' Ace cussed while bleeding as he forgot about using the talisman since it won''t be going to work because of the heavenly punishment. It was his first time trying to use it, and he finally understood why he couldn''t run or hide from the heavenly punishment. He had to either die facing it or die trying.
In his desperate moment, many things shed past his eyes, and then he finally remembered. Page-09 appeared in his hand, and the moment it did, the heavenly thunder channeling through his body suddenly started to funnel from his body into Page-09!
Ace instantly felt much relief, but he wasn''t out of the woods and gritted his teeth before he activated the soul guardian and then the Apparition Wind Walk, expending a massive amount of Heavenly Soul Qi!
The Apparition Wind Walk was a soul movement art based on his Heavenly Wind element, and he never got the chance to use this strange yet powerful movement art despite learning it.
It wasn''t because he wanted to but because it was simply too heavy on the Qi consumption side, and he has yet even to grasp the Sky Steps of the Misperception Sky Steps Art.
Furthermore, despite trying to learn the Apparition Wind Walk, he only managed to understand it at level-1, and there were a total of 9 levels. The reason for it was quite simple; Ace found that if he wanted toprehend this movement art even further, he needed the understanding of Wind Law!
But with everything going on, he didn''t have time toprehend the Wind Law from scratch, and the Misperception Sky Steps Art was still more useful than level one of Apparition Wind Walk.
However, at this moment, when all of his martial Qi has been exhausted, and his life is hanging by a threat, he can only think of this movement skill.
The moment he activated the apparition wind walk, an ethereal red Qi suddenly gushed out from Ace, and then the next moment, his entire body turned blurry, like a ghostly figure.
Ace instantly felt the thunder spear losing from his spine, but the pain and suffering it caused made even someone like him groans in pain. But he couldn''t dy any longer as thence already seemed to be reaching the left side of his neck.
However, the injury in the spine was no joke, especially when it was caused by the heavenly thunder. His feet were as heavy as a mountain.
''Am I going to die?'' Ace suddenly thought at this moment since he felt like it would be toote because he could escape this impending fate of death. His mastery of this movement art was still too shallow.
Suddenly, when the death was staring at his door, and his figure was still blurry because of the apparition wind walk, the words on Page-09 seemed to be shimmed in heavenly thunder, and the sword cores in this body were still releasing that strange energy which was keeping Ace alive, trembled.
Ace''s eyes suddenly went ck. No fear, no terror of death, or even pain could be found in them. They were simply emotionless.
Then right at this moment, his blurry red figure, because of the level-1 apparition wind walk, turnedpletely corporeal, and the spear holding him seemed to have lost its steadiness and then its target!
Furthermore, thence which was about to pierce Ace''s neck suddenly pierced into nothing, but Ace''s ethereal figure was still there. It wasn''t just that they seemed to be no longer capable of touching him.
Not only that, Ace''s ethereal figure was slowly fading away even further until what was left was Page-09 in his hand. He was like the surrounding air, like the invisible wind.
The four Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations were terrifying but still mindless. Furthermore, they could clearly ''see'' where Ace was because he was still the target of the heavenly punishment.
But the problem was now they no longer seemed to touch him like the wind.
At this moment, Ace suddenly snapped out of his stupor and clearly returned to his eyes. He was shocked when he found himself surrounded by the four Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations. Two of them were red, while the two were blue.
Furthermore, they continued to rain down attacks on him, but those attacks were getting past him like his body was not there at all.
The strangest thing was, the heavenly thunder of those four Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations continued to suck in Page-09, and their mighty ten-meterrge figures were slowly shrinking.
''Just what in the world?'' Ace was utterly confused before he finally noticed a massive amount of his heavenly Soul Qi were keep getting dried up, and the reason for it was he was using the Apparition Wind Walk!N?v(el)B\\jnn
Suddenly vagueprehension started to appear in his mind, and it only took a few moments for him to understand what was going on.
His eyes widened in shock and disbelief because somehow, he fully understood the Apparition Wind Walk at level-4, which meant he should have at least 25% of Wind Lawprehension.
Not only that, but he was using a heavenly intent of Wind element, which enabled him to bypass those Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations attacks!
Chapter 793 You Almost Had Me…
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Ace quickly snapped out of his stupor, and a solemn expression appeared on his face because he just noticed the injury on his spine was also more than half-healed, and the sword cores were about 80% done.
Then he looked at Page-09, which was continuing to chip away the heavenly thunder from the four Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations while they were madly attacking him.
But the problem was, his Qi was ruing out as the Apparition Wind Walk was taking too much heavenly Soul Qi, and it was mostly because of the heavenly intent.
Maximum, he couldst about ten more seconds before he would run out of Qi, and then he would be in the center of the four Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations onught.
''Damn it. I guess I can''t just stand there and do nothing for once. I also have to absorb more heavenly thunder toplete those runes. Since Page-09 seemed to absorb this heavenly thunder directly from these four, and their figures were slowly shrinking down, then did this mean it was the only way to kill them?
''Or at least one of the ways, then what if I cut them into more pieces? It only split into four despite me cutting it into a hundred pieces, and they were all holding the same weapons the single one was holding all together. So, there is no way it was all a coincidence¡''
Ace''s mind raced as he finally decided, and a sharp, ruthless glint shed past his eyes. He was still feeling pain in his back, and he knew just how close a shave he had with death just a few moments ago.
The Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation had caught himpletely off guard and almost took his life. But now, he won''t make the same mistake again.
Sword intent suddenly sheens around his other hand''s fingers, and with the little bit of the martial Qi he has recovered, he performs another powerful attack.
''Eternal Thief Style; Martial Sword Despair Plexus Fingers!''
His fingers suddenly seemed to have turned into dark des as an aura of despair released from him, and not only that, but now there was a clear aura of heavenly thunder mixed in his sword intent.
His sword-like fingers suddenly moved in a blur, and with terrifying uracy, Ace''s finger stabbed into Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations vitals, leaving behind small dark dots all over their bodies!
This was a close-quarterbat sword move that was driven from the life plexuses, and it was as deadly as it could get if he were able to hit all the major plexus in the body!
The Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations were mindless, so they had no concept of dodging, and they all took his Ace like nothing and only paid attention to attacking him.
However, it was a mistake because suddenly those dark dots all over them bodes suddenly shimmered darkly before a powerful, sharp aura rose, and the next moment, they started to connect with each other like some diagram.
Before they could even begin toprehend what had happened, all the dots were connected with each other, and the next moment, those Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations started to spit into pieces!
Ace''s figure again materialized and became corporeal, and he was extremely pale, but he knew he didn''t have time to rest. Because those small pieces of the Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations turned into heavenly thunder and seemed to want to reform a Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation figure again.
''No, you don''t!'' Ace would be a fool to let something like this happen. He was not in a state to release another attack like the plexus fingers.
So, he did something crazy. He used Page-09 like a catching and started to wave it around on the scatter of heavenly thunder, and not only that, he even used his body to capture it.
Although it was extremely painful, the sword cores again started to change, and Page-09 was even quicker as it absorbed all the heavenly thunder thrown at it like an abyss.
It was to the point that Ace panicked that there might not be enough heavenly thunder for his own sword cores. But his intuition never came to pass as the heavenly thunder Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations were made of seemed to be far more potent than the first wave of the heavenly thunder, and his sword cores quickly reachedpletion.
After those mysterious runes on them turned fully red and blue, respectively, the sword core suddenly trembled a bit before they released a massive amount of ethereal red and blue mist in his martial and soul spaces.
Thereby, Ace felt all his exhaustion and injuries he sustained start to vanish, and what was left was pure bliss, and his aura started to change and turn like a true heavenly punishment.
Furthermore, now that he was touched by the heavenly thunder again, it no longer hurt him. Instead, it bounced off his skin which waspletely unexpected.
Now the only one left who was absorbing the heavenly thunder was Page-09, while Ace was utterly shocked.
"Rubleeeeee¡"
Powerful rumbling rang from above when Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations were fully absorbed by Ace and Page-09. But there were no longer any signs of more heavenly thunder being condensing.
This simply means the heavenly punishment wasing to an end, and for the first time, Ace waspletely fine and even gained so much without even breaking through into the new realm.
After making sure that no more heavenly thunder remained, Ace looked up and saw the heavenly punishment clouds were rumbling in rage, but like always, they could no longer do anything else as the time of their departure had finallye.
His lips rose in a cold smile filled with cruelty, "You almost had me this time, huh?"
Ace''s mocking voice seems to be directly heard by the heaven itself as an even more terrifying rumble rang before the inky clouds started to disperse and the pressure of the heavenly punishment also started to vanish. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The fourth heavenly punishment was finally over!
Chapter 794 The Dark Soul
Chapter 794 The Dark Soul
While Heavenly Punishment clouds were still in the process of dissipating, Ace panted as exhaustion washed over him, and he sat down in the center of a massive charred crater. The sword cores were already returned to their dark state, as there were no traces of the runes left.
Nevertheless, Ace was feeling quite robust at the start of Heavenly Punishment, and he then looked at Page-09, which again helped him with the Heavenly Punishment, especially the Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations!
His eyes contorted when a strange blurry golden gray image appeared in the center of the once dark page right below the words, [Avatar of Holy Twilight]. However, it was so vague that Ace couldn''t determine what it was.
Still, he knew some sort of secret was hidden in this Page-09, and the Heavenly Thunder was probably the key to unlocking it.
Nevertheless, the heavenly punishment was over, so he had to wait for the next one, and until then, Page-09 will be Cyrus''s bed like usual.
Stowing it away again, Ace was ready for the process of breakthrough, and the system didn''t keep him waiting either.
===== n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
[Congrattion, Host, for sessfully crossing the fourth form of Heavenly Punishment!]
---
[Martial and Soul breakthrough process has been started!] =====
Just as the system''s voice trailed off, the surrounding air, which still contained the heavenly thunder aura, suddenly stirred, and a massive amount of heavenly Qi started to pour into his martial and soul space.
The process of entering the Soul Realm was quite straightforward. It was basically the process of condensing your Qi Soul or Soul Embryo from the River Qi Core or River Soul Core.
That''s why it was called the Soul Realm as a cultivator would be finally able toe in contact with their own illusive soul. However, these condensed souls could be varied depending on a cultivator''s cultivation techniques and with what type of river core they are making the breakthrough.
Naturally, the Martial Path and the Soul Path are the most significant differences.
A martial cultivator''s soul will be far more resilient and give a massive boost to their physical aspects and martial Qi. At the same time, a soul cultivator''s soul embryo will be more inclined toward the soul aspects and give a boost in soul attacks and soul defenses.
As the fifth realm out of the eight realms of the mortal sky, both martial and soul cultivators start to walk on their own unique paths truly, and from here on out, the difference only grows wider and wider.
But for Ace, it was quite different. As the dense heavenly Qi pumped into his martial space, his revolving dark Qi sea was stirring with massive waves, and heavenly darkness Qi was getting more potent by the second. Thereby his Qi sea was getting even more, darker and dark.
At this moment, the pitch-ck Dark Sea Core with nine dark blue rings, right below the dark void and in the middle of the revolving dark sea, suddenly started to quiver as dark lightning crackled around it.
But it was just the start, as suddenly a dark blue chain shot down from the dark void and prated the Dark Sea Core, and then that chain suddenly pulled the dark sea core up until it was right below the dark void.
Thereby, a small dark vortex appeared below the Dark Sea Core, and the Dark Sea suddenly started to rise towards the dark vortex like a dark cyclone.
The Dark Sea Core quickly started to devour the Dark Sea, and Ace felt more and more heavenly Qi condensing around him, making the air around him wrap slightly, and his aura started to change.
To his astonishment, when the Dark Sea was on the verge of being fully devoured by the Dark Sea Core, emptying the entire Martial Space, the Dark Sea Core began to crack as more and more lightening was emitting from it.
Ace''s entire body trembled as he could feel something was about toe out from the depth of his very being, and it made him ufortable as well as anticipated like never before.
At this moment, the dark sea core finally cracked open, revealing the thing inside. Ace waspletely gobsmacked when he saw it was a tiny corporeal dark figure in a hood, and dark lightning was shimmering all over its tiny body.
The dark blue chain, which was connected to this hooded figure, suddenly started to shimmer in a dark blue hue, and tiny dark blue symbols began to emerge over the dark figure, and they slowly fads as fast as they appeared.
After the dark blue symbols were fully etched, the blue chain trembled before it retracted into the dark void, leaving the dark hooded corporeal figure, who sat in the middle of the empty martial space cross-legged.
Now, there was the Dark Void in the middle, the Martial Thief Sword Core above it, and the tiny hooded figure blow present in the martial space.
Ace knew the tiny hooded figure was his Martial Qi Soul, but even he wasn''t expecting it to look like this.
But then, just when Ace thought it was over, a majestic aura appeared from the dark soul, which had a strangepelling to it. Ace felt an even more powerful suction force appear around his body, and a massive amount of heavenly Qi poured into his martial space.
Furthermore, he noticed that now his heavenly Qi was getting processed at a breakneck pace, and his meridians seemed to be somewhat strange.
But what happened next made him even more surprised because dense dark lightning, which was none other than despair lightning started to fill his empty martial space.
If before it was like a sea of heavenly darkness Qi, now it is a pure sea of despair lightning, and it was far, far more potent than his despair lighting has ever been.
On the other hand, Ace''s true soul finally showed signs of stirring after his martial breakthrough was over.
Ace quickly shifted his focus toward his true soul while his martial space was still getting filled up with pure despair lightning!
Chapter 795 The Rewards & Status
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Within Ace''s true soul, all the Heavenly Soul Qi was getting absorbed by the red soul core, making it even brighter, and its color started to change into a deeper, brighter color. Furthermore, its size also started to grow as its color were getting brighter.
After an unknown time passed, the fiery red color finally started to appear golden, and when all the heavenly soul Qi was fully absorbed by the core, there was no trace of red left on it.
Because now, it was fully golden like a zing sun, illuminating the entire true soul in golden, and it was filled with powerful soul Qi.
The Soul Qi was now bright golden. At this moment, the golden soul Qi started to get absorbed by the Eternal Thief Fate Compass, and the treasure aura became more ethereal and majestic while the soul thief sword soul core remained dormant.
Right at this moment, Ace''s thief sense suddenly started to grow from 3 miles radius¡ 4 miles¡ 5 miles¡ and it finally stopped at a 7-mile radius!
But this was far from over because a crimson soul core started to form around the golden soul core, just like the purple, white, and green soul cores, and started to revolve around the massive heavenly golden soul core.
At this moment, Ace''s entire demeanor change as his aura climbs to new heights, and all his exhaustion is long washed away. Now he was feeling power on a whole different level than before.
System''s voice rang in his mind at this moment,
=====
[Congrattion, Host, on sessfully creating the Dark Soul!]
[Host has reached Stage-1 of Heavenly Dark Soul Realm!]
[Reward (1): 15,000,000 Thief Point]
[Reward (2): Dark Soul and Body Union (Secret Martial Skill)]
--
[Congrattion, Host, on sessfully creating the Golden Wind Soul Core]
[Host has reached Stage-1 of Heavenly Golden Wind Soul Core!]
[Innate Soul Ability: Thiving Switch has been awakened.]
[Reward (1): 15,000,000 Thief Point]
[Reward (2): Wind of Darkness (Secret Soul Skill)]
--
[Nature''s Yang Elemental Orb absorption has beenpleted!]
[Special Reward: Yang Qi [Martial & Soul]]
-Host can switch between Worldly Element(s):
1. Light [Soul & Martial]
2. Earth [Soul & Martial]
3. Lightning [Soul & Martial]
4. Yang [Soul & Martial]
[Warning: Worldly Elements'' and ''Heavenly Elements'' cannot be used together]]
--
[Host status has been updated!]
=====
Ace was quite surprised when he saw he got two secret skills of both martial and soul, this time after hepleted the breakthrough process. Furthermore, the new ability also appeared quite peculiar.
However, he wasn''t done with his breakthrough as he looked on the horizon, ''There''s still time before theye, so I just go and get it over with.''
His lips rose in a dark smile as he ordered, "System, use the Qi stones and the Soul crystals to fill with EXP and SP bars until the 9th stages!"
With Ace''s current wealth, he didn''t need to use any of his treasures, and just the Qi stones and soul crystals were enough to fill the EXP, and SP needed to break into the next realm.
Furthermore, he didn''t need to consolidate his cultivation at all, and the time of holding back was no past. So, he was going to enter the ninth stages of both realms right away so he could focus on other things while he was heading towards the Azure Wind Continent.
His gains this time were massive, and he needed all the precious time he could get to absorb them to the fullest. Only then will he bepletely sure to rescue Alina!
The system followed hismand, and Ace again started to experience a massive surge in power.
After he was done, his dark soul, which had been vague and blurry before, was now almost vivid and far more imposing than before, while the lightning sea was even more concentrated.
As for the soul core, it was also quite denser, and his thief sense was now 21 miles radius from the initial 7 miles.
Feeling even more powerful and on top of the world, he quickly checked his status after a very long time.
======
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human]
[Bloodline: Sealed]
[First Heaven: Mortal Sky Heaven]
--
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Soul [Stage-9]]
[EXP: 0/1,000,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Heavenly Golden Wind Soul Core [Stage-9]]
[SP: 0/1,000,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
---
[Skills: 6]
-Heartless Stealth (Art):
Breathless Stealth: Perfection
Pulseless Stealth: Perfection
Heartless Stealth: Perfection
--
-Misperception Sky Steps (Art):
Camouge Steps: Perfection
Lightning Steps: Perfection
Misperception Steps: Perfection
Sky Steps: NONE
--
-Soul Guardian Barrier (Art):
[Soul Barrier: Perfection
Soul Guardian: Perfection]
--
-Pick Pocket: [Perfection]
--
-Lock Eraser King Technique:
Lock Eraser Master: Perfectionist
Lock Eraser Grandmaster: Perfectionist
Lock Eraser King: None
--
-Apparition Wind Walk (Art): 9 levels
Current level: Level-4
---
[Secret Skills: 4]
-Thief''s Vision (Art):
Initial Thief''s Vision: High
Intermediate Thief''s Vision: Middle
Advance Thief''s Vision: NONE
--
-Thievish Soul Cord Control (Secret Soul Skill): High
--
-Dark Soul and Body Union (Secret Martial Skill)
???
--
-Wind of Darkness (Secret Soul Skill)
???
---
[Cultivation Technique: 6]
-Heaven Stealer Technique: Volume 1
--
-Dual Shadow Swords: Complete!
--
-Heavenly Rune Crafter Foundational Manual: Complete!
--
-Soul Words [Despair Manual]:
1. Deep Despair Soul Words: 32.00%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
2. Extreme Despair Soul Words: 0.0%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
3. Deadly Despair Soul Words: 0.0%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
--
-Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Manual [First Vol]
Three Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Principles:
1. Treasure Dismantler Principles: Grade-5 Treasure Dismantler
2. Alchemy Dismantler Principles: Grade-5 Alchemy Dismantler
3. Runic Dismantler Principles: Grade-5 Runic Dismantler
--
-Art of Mind Stealing: Psyche Soul-Path Technique
-Ten Realms of Art of Mind Stealing:
1. Bronze Thievish Hand (Currently at this Realm)
Introduction: Ability to steal one Short-Term Memory Permanently
[Restriction: Heavenly Dark Sea Realm & 1% Law of Psyche]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
2. Permanent Thievish Bronze Hand
Introduction: Ability to steal the entirety of a Short-Term Memory Permanently
[Restriction: Heavenly Dark Sea Core Realm & 10% Law of Psyche]
3. Bronze Treasure Hunter
Introduction: Ability to Infiltrate and freely search the surface of the Knowledge Sea for Short-Term Memories of Target
[Restriction: Heavenly Dark Soul Realm & 50% Law of Psyche]
4. ???
¡
5. ???
¡
6. ???
¡
7. ???
¡
8. ???
¡
9. ???
¡
10. ???
¡
---
[Law(s): 8]
-Despair (Initial): 32.00%
-Shadow (Initial): 24.05%
-Sword (Initial): 49.99%
-Psyche (Initial): 11.03%
-Lightning (Initial): 26.01%
-Wind (Initial): 27.00%
-Charm (Minor): 08.07%
-Heavenly Thunder (Minor): 00.09%
--
[Eternal Provenance Treasure: 1/2]
-Name: Eternal Thief Fate Compass
-Type: Soul (Fate)
-Current Grade: Grade-5 (Upgradable)
[Grade-6 at 6th Soul Cultivation Realm (ck Wind Soul Core)]
-Status: Iplete (10% Complete)
-Ability:
1. Live Fate Map (Grade-5)
[NOTE: Next ability(s) unlocked at 20% Treasure Completion]
-Completion Scheme: 1 (Avable)
---
[Thief Point(s): 102,789,350]
---
[Mission(s): 1]
[Side Mission(s): 0]
======
Chapter 796 Thieving Switch
?
Ace was stunned when he saw thew section of his status. Three newws have appeared, and the final one was somethingpletely unexpected, the Heavenly Thunder!
Ace didn''t even know if this was even possible toprehend the Heavenly Thunder since it belonged exclusively to Heaven and was part of the Heavenly Punishment.
''So that''s why I was emitting the faint aura of Heavenly Punishment. Could it be the sword cores have enabled me toprehend the Heavenly Thunder, and in the future, my understanding of it continues to increase as I absorb more?'' Ace couldn''t help but feel extremely excited as well as mystified. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Now he finally started to understand why Heaven loathed a Heaven''s Stealer and why it needed to be killed. Although his understanding of the Heavenly Thunder Law was pitifully low, it was still there, which meant one day he might control the same heavenly thunder on his behest, which was exclusive to Heaven.
Furthermore, with his new breakthrough, he was feeling extremely powerful, so powerful that he might be able to fight with a peak Soul Manifestation Realm Cultivator and even win! As for the Law Awareness Realm, he would be able to run away at least.
Grinning ear to ear, he quickly imed the two rewards he gained after the breakthrough. Thest time he gained the Apparition Wind Walk, and this time he gained two secret skills.
He first imed the Dark Soul and Body Union Secret Martial Skill, and when he saw the details, he was surprised. This secret skill required the Dark Soul to master, and its effect was quite straightforward.
Ace can fully amalgamate with the Dark Soul, and at the Perfection level proficiency, he will receive 20% boosts in all his physical aspects and martial Qi, not to mention it also has a 5% boost effect on dark element-rted skills!
[AN: Proficiency Levels of System (Low, Middle, High, Perfection)]
This secret skill was just like his title but more useful and potent, not to mention it will grow with his dark soul.
As for the sect''s secret skill, Wind of Darkness, it required at least level-6 mastery of the Apparition Wind Step or Wind Law at 50% just to start practicing this skill. This was a very particr skill that would give him a massive boost in speed, soul attacks, andstly, its true function was quite ghastly!
But Ace was quite far away from even thinking about practicing this secret skill, and he was nning on focusing on the Apparition Wind Walk since this soul art had saved his life and it could be a powerful trump card in his arsenal.
Lastly, Ace gained the knowledge of his fifth innate soul ability, the Thieving Switch!
When Aceprehended just what sort of ability the Thieving Switch was, he was in utter disbelief because the Thieving Switch function was quite straightforward.
It can enable him to switch position with any thief mark victim within his thief sense range. Meaning as long as there is a thief mark holder within the vicinity of his thief sense range, he can use the thieving switch to change position with that person instantly!
''After I formed the golden wind soul core, my Thief''s Mark capacity has been increased from 50 to 100, and only the eighth realm expert or runes will be able to detect its presence. This means¡'' Ace''s eyes glowed like the sun as his heart raced just thinking about countless possibilities of this ability.
If before, he only used the Thief''s Mark to keep track of someone and didn''t think of this ability as practical as his other soul abilities, but now, with the Thieving Switch, everything changes!
It was like teleportation, but far, far more useful and graver if it was used with proper nning, especially in thievery. In the hands of someone like Ace, it was an ability that could make him virtually unstoppable!
After gaining those two skills and his new terrifying ability knowledge, Ace was over the moon and finally done with his breakthrough and stood up as dark robes appeared on his body.
Looking at the charred crater, he sneered before a flying sword appeared under his feet, and he took flight, leaving behind a crimson streak.
From the sky, Ace could clearly see the damage the heavenly punishment had done to the archipgo, some small inds were even missing, and some were split into multiple pieces.
''I wonder how much of those guys had survived and if they will be able to rely on what happened here to their bigwigs. Well, it''s not like it matters anymore since Freya will take care of it¡'' Ace thought with a faint cold smile.
Ace then sensed the presence of his thief mark, which he left on First Azure Elder, Glen, and headed in that direction at high speed. He sent the humans away for two purposes, the first was to avoid getting killed by the heavenly punishment, and the second was to give the allied races the wrong impression of them. Now he had achieved both!
Ace also ordered Freya and Noa toe back for him since he wasn''t sure if he would be able toe out unharmed from the heavenly punishment like always.
But not only did hee out unharmed, but he was also far more powerful than ever, so instead of waiting for them here, he decided to go towards them and start the voyage toward the Azure Wind continent at full speed.
Ace didn''t have to fly for long as he was able to see a small group of ships heading in his way, and he could easily sense the thief mark''s presence in one of them. His lips suddenly curled up in a mischievous smile.
On the main ship of the humans, Noa and Freya were on edge as they approached the archipgo.
"Do you think he''s fine?" Noa asked with a worried tone.
"We are alive, aren''t we?" Freya calmly replied, but it was clear she was hiding her own anxiety.
At this moment, Freya looked down and coldly ordered Glen, who wasmanding the ships, "Move faster!"
However, before Glen could reply, he suddenly vanished from his spot, and a dark hooded figure appeared in his ce!
Chapter 797 A Perfect Chance!
?
Within the inner court of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect, Winter, in Niele''s disguise, was sitting in a massive library, and arge sack of books was lying in front of her. She had a very deep frown on her face, and she seemed quite exasperated.
As for the reason for her exasperation, it was none other than Alina''s whereabouts!
It had been more than four months since she had infiltrated the AWM Sect, but her progress had stagnated from that point on.
Although she has be a personal disciple of an inner court elder, which gave her many benefits, one of them was ess to this historical library, but despite that, she had yet to discover any clue about where Alina was being held.
It wasn''t like she hadn''t tried investigating in another way, but the problem was no one had no idea where she was. The closest answer she had managed to get was the Peak Court, and going to that ce would draw too much attention to her.
Nevertheless, she was still hoping to get at least a definite clue before she could take that risk, but s, she found nothing yet. Furthermore, she also noticed something was going on as many Inner Court Elders were being called toward the Sect Leader Peak; even her master was called. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Right at this moment, her thought process was broken when an interface appeared in front of her, and she couldn''t help but ground her teeth in even more frustration.
=====
[Iing House Call!]
-Caller: House Leader (Ace White)
-ept (Automatically ept in 10 Seconds)
[NOTE: You can''t Reject or Ignore House Leader (Ace White) call!]
=====
''He better calls me to tell me that he''s on his way!'' Winter grumbled inwardly as she was not very pleased with Ace still reaching the Azure Wind Continent yet, and he was using her to do all the manualbor, which was simply too dangerous.
In the end, she let the time runs out before the call was automatically epted, and she felt a little bit good about letting him wait for 10 seconds.
"How are you, Winter?" Ace''s jolly voice rang in her head at this moment which only made Winter''s expression even darker since he didn''t seem bothered by the wait at all.
She replied grumpily, "You''re working me like a salve; what do you think?"
"Now that''s a false usation. You''re wellpensated for what you''re doing, and I never force you to take that mission, remember?" Ace refuted.
Winter clenched her fist as she knew he was telling the truth, but she still felt exasperated by all the work she had to do.
Furthermore, she noticed Ace now sounded like himself, not as cold as before, so there might be something good that had happened to him.
"Do you finally decide to greet me with your presence?" She asked doubtfully. This was the only reason she could think of that could make Ace''s mood this good.
Ace replied in a happy tone, "Of course, I just managed to find my way out of the Union, and now I''m hitching a ride with humans of the Azure Wind Continent, I''ll be there in around twenty months or even faster, hopefully, if I don''t encounter any hurdle in the endless sea like thest time."
Winter''s eyes winded, and a hint of relief appeared, "Hmph, by the time you arrived, it would be toote to do anything. I''m stuck here as well."
"About that, I''ve called you to solve this exact problem. I know when I''ll be there, it might be toote, or security around Alina might be far tighter than it is right now. Furthermore, I think it is the perfect time to rescue her because the bigwigs are not present in the Azure Wind Continent at all. I don''t think there is anyone who can stop you as long as you don''t encounter any Law Awareness Realm Expert." Ace confidently dered.
Winter''s eyes narrowed, "What do you mean? How do you know all this?"
She didn''t understand how Ace was able to reach this conclusion, but she did know that he wasn''t the one who would put her life in jeopardy on a whim like this.
But she was still in disbelief that despite not being here, he knew so much more than she did, and she felt a ping of embarrassment and more frustration.
"Heh, you won''t believe it, but with Noa and Freya''s help, we were able to capture the First Azure Elder of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect and turned him into Freya''s evil seeds, and now I think we know as much as the Sect Leader of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect¡"
Ace then fully described what happened outside the secret realm, and Winter''s eyes were winded with shock and disbelief the more she heard. She never expected that Ace would appear in the famous fiery hell secret realm and even enve the entire upper echelon of the human entourage.
She was quite smug after breaking into the Soul Manifestation Realm, but now, she was nothing but depressed as she found the other house members even more powerful than her, and they were now in the same realm.
Nevertheless, Ace''s information about the Azure Wind Mountain Sect and the absence of their Grand Elder as well as the other high-ranking members of allied races, were nothing but good news for her, and this made her mission even simpler when Ace revealed Alina''s urate whereabouts.
It took Ace about half an hour to fully divulge all the information he had gathered from Glen to Winter.
"That''s the gist of it. Now do you think you are capable of taking Alina away?" Ace questioned sternly.
Although he wanted Winter to take full advantage of the absence of the bigwigs, he didn''t want to jeopardize their only chance of rescuing her. If Winter was still not feeling up to the task, then he won''t force her.
Winter''s eyes shimmered coldly, "Prime Azure Mountain, you say? I think it''s the same forbidden mountain in the center of the AWM Sect and closer to the Peak Court. I should''ve guessed it. As for whether I can do it or not, if what you told me is correct, then give me some time, and I''ll deliver you your sister!"
Chapter 798 The Detestable Humans (1)
?
Within the Blood Continent, the Purple Lightning Country was the biggest and strongest country among the Five Elemental Country of the Blood Continent.
In the capital city of the Purple Lightning, a wizened face purple hair hunter was looking at the long-rangemunication cube with disbelief and fury.
"You''re telling me the humans not only got the spirit fire right under your nose, but they even managed to flee, and over 98% of our forces were wiped out?! Are you trying to kill me with anger!?!!!" The old hunter was shaking with anger as purple lightning crackled over his body.
"Eldest Brother, I''m telling the truth. Even I barely escaped alive from Heaven''s wrath and only managed to take the soul manifestation realm with me. Those cunning humans had done this on purpose. They wanted to use that heaven''s wrath to wipe us all out so there won''t be any proof left.
"But they didn''t know with me, there were two more Law Awareness Realm experts present, and if I''m not wrong, those guys should manage to get away, and they will be reporting this same thing to their higher-ups!" A seething voice rang with humiliation.
The old hunter''s pale face was red with fury, and he cussed, "Those vile things dare to y with us?! Do they think just because the Ancestor is spotting them, they can do anything?!"
---
The same scene was being yed in the Devil Race''s Blood Devil n, and they were even more furious than the hunters since their losses were more massive than anyone else.
---
On the other hand, within the Prime Azure Mountain, in a bright hall, shes of sword des were ringing like sharp bells.
The source of those sword shes were two graceful figures as they both gracefully moved their swords.
The tallest, 2''2 meter, left behind a dark streak as she moved her sword surrounded by dark lightning, while the 1''9-meter figure had a silver sheen around her sword, which were far shaper than the dark figure.
They both were none other than Leona and Alina!
On the other hand, watching them sh from a corner were Herman and Lillian, and both of them had this murderous look in their eyes as they were seething.
Alina''s swordsmanship was graceful and elegant, but for some reason, her sword strike contained little power behind them, and her Qi seemed to be quivering. On the other hand, Leona''s swordsmanship was elegant as well as menacing. With every strike, she left a small cut on Alina''s pale skin.
Although Alina looked like she was standing on the ground with Leona, her body was filled with small cuts, blood was slowly gushing out of them, and some wounds were quite deep, but despite all that, she was still blocking Leona''s fatal strikes and stranding her ground.
Her bloodshot eyes were tranquil and without any emotions, but despite her heroic spirit, her body was still of a mortal, and she had long passed her limit.
"I must say, you''re far more resilient than anyone else I''ve known, but you''re mistaken if you think you have protection like before anymore¡" Leona''s coldly chuckled behind her dark mask as her voice contained ill intent.
The next moment, her dark sword suddenly shimmered in dark lighting, and a terrifying aura of a middle-stage soul embryo manifestation realm reached its peak.
The sword directly shed down toward Alina''s left shoulder after sting away Alina''s silver sword. With no protection and her almost exhausted Qi, Alina would lose her entire arm, and Leona also seemed to be aiming just for that!
"Stop!" Herman''s expression warped, but he realized it toote. He was not much stronger than Leona, so it would be toote before he could react. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, right when Alina''s arm was about to be shed off, another veiled graceful figure appeared between Alina and Leona''s sword.
A powerful aura suddenly filled with a grand hall, and the next thing everyone was, the veiled beauty in white was holding Leona''s sword de in her bare hand like it was nothing but a blunt spoon.
"Demon Princess, although I like your torturous methods, but maiming her will not do. So next time, I''ll kick you out if you try something like this." The white beauty coolly warned before she vanished as quickly as she appeared, leaving everything startled.
Herman finally reacted and quickly approached Alina with pain and hatred in his eyes while Leona''s powerful aura also retracted, and she retrieved her sword.
A yful dark chuckle rang in the hall, "You''re not fun, Queen. But I can y by rules." Then she looked at Alina, who was looking at her with a deadpan look in her bloodshot eyes, "You didn''t even flinch when I was about to cut off your arm, tsk, tsk. Why are you enduring all this for him? He might nevere for you, you know, yet here you are going through all this? Even I envoy a thief like him¡"
Herman carefully looked at Alina, and she was far skinnier than before, not to mention she was filled with wounds and some scars and almost bathed in her own blood.
He hatefully looked at Leona and furiously yelled, "Do you know who disciple she is?! Stop this madness at once, or even your father won''t be able to suffer the wrath of Blood Ancestor!"
Leona sneered coldly, "Oh, I''m so afraid that I''m trembling in shoes! Old servant, do you know who my master is and why I was given the permission to torture her to my heart''s content until she was ready to cooperate? How about we try asking the Elven Queen?"
However, the elven queen didn''t bother to reply.
"Now that''s awkward." Leona scoffed yfully before she answered her own question, "I''m a disciple of the Demon Ancestor, and thest time to check, he''s far stronger than your ancestor. Not to mention, the Blood Ancestor fully agreed as she said herself that the disciple of hers needed some oppression to wake up from her delusional fantasy! Now, get out of my way; we are still not done with today''s sparing. She still not bloody enough!"
Herman''s eyes were filled with disbelief and hatred as well as deep pain, while Lillian''s bloodshot eyes were filled with tears and killing intent.
Right at this moment, Leona suddenly sensed something, and she flipped her hand, and amunication cube appeared, and without caring about the murderous looks she was getting, she activated it.
A panicked voice rang within the silent hall, "Supreme Commander, we have just received grave news from the team of the fiery hell secret realm. Something big had happened!"
Chapter 799 The Detestable Humans (2)
?
On top of the Peak Court''s Mountain Peak was a magnificent pce; it was known as the Sacred Azure Pce because here resides the Azure Sect Patriarch, Shane!
But right at this moment, within the meeting hall of the Sacred Azure Pce, the atmosphere was filled with murder as the Devil''s Race representative, the Duke of Blood Devil n, the Demon''s Race representative, the Imperial Demon Princess, Leona, the Third Lightning Elder of the Purple Lightning n, and even a gray tiger face with ck horns from the magic beast was present here.
All of their focus was on the wizened, hunchback old man in white robes, and his appearance was like a wilted tree branch. His wily old eyes were filled with grim light as he looked at all the representatives who seemed to be ready to murder someone.
This hunchback old man was the Azure Patriarch, Shane, Dream Shatter''s First Disciple, and current Sect Leader of the Azure Mountain Sect.
"To what do I owe the owner for all of my esteem guests paying me a visit at such an hour?" Shane questioned in a cold raspy tone.
The Blood Duke grimly replied with a murderous look in his eyes, "Are you still ying dumb?! Or do you think we are idiots and afraid of you?"
Shane really didn''t have any clue why these guys were so apprehensive and demanded an audience with him so forcibly. As far as he knows, everything was going smoothly, and no one had ever done anything to offend these races.
Yet, here they were, and he felt he was in some sort of interrogation.
"If some offend you all, please feel free to tell me, and I''ll immediately do anything in my power to make sure it won''t happen again." Shane mildly stated.
"Is that so? What if we say all the human race has offended us?" Leona spoke at this moment with a sharp tone.
Shane''s eyes narrowed as he looked at masked Leona, "Your Highness if you can prove that, we''ll talk further on this topic."
The Third Lightning Elder suddenly gritted his teeth as if he couldn''t take it anymore and furiously roared, "Y-you¡ vile creature! Not only your race took the Spirit Fire, but you even anger someone you shouldn''t and use a borrowed knife to kill our brethren, yet you still dare to say that with a straight face!? How bold, do you forget who we are and your ce?!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Shane''s eyes finally widened with disbelief before coldness crept out, "This is nothing but a baseless usation! We never get any spirit fire, and like everyone else, our young ones are also trapped in that ce. If we talk about exnations, it should be me demanding them from you all!"
The tiger-face magic beast, who was from the Horn Tiger Race, suddenly showed his long sharp fangs furiously, "First, my son was trapped, and now my brother is also dead, but you still refuse to admit your wrongdoing. I expect nothing less from a human scum! Forfeit your life!"
Without caring about the consequences, the Horn Tiger suddenly started to transform from his 2-meter-tall humanoid form into his true beast form. The others weren''t surprised as if they were expecting it. They even bothered to tell him that information because of exactly for this reason.
They all wanted to see the depth of what Shane could do before taking the matter into their own hand, and what contender would be better than this hot-blooded Horn Tiger?
Shane was also surprised, and his expression turned nasty since he never expected someone would dare to try attacking him right in his own home. But this made one thing clear at least, this matter was quite serious, and somehow these people really believed that they took the spirit fire and even did something to wipe their people.
Yet he was not alerted by Glen, which was truly strange, and all he could think of was that they were being framed!
Nevertheless, he had to deal with the five-meter-tall tiger in front of him, who was a Law Awareness Realm Cultivator!
"If you think you are run rampant in my sect, then you are thoroughly mistaken!" Shane sneered coldly before suddenly the entire hall lightened up in blue runes, and a ghastly aura and pressure surfaced, making the other representative expression change.
But it was just the start, Shane then suddenly formed a hand sign, and powerful momentum was created. The blue runes turned darker, and the pressure became even more powerful, and suddenly, azure color winds started to rise in the hall.
"Stop, right here! Don''t go too far, or there will be no ce for you guys to make amends!" Even the Blood Duke was panicked when he felt the power of the Azure Winds, and he knew they couldn''t be foolish enough to attack Shane right here.
The Horn Tiger also seemed to be snapped out of his mad state of mind when he felt the sharp winds covering him, and his heart palpitated.
At this moment, the winds started to vanish all of a sudden as the pressure decreased substantially.
Shane coldly looked at the representative, "I hope this will make you all understand that we humans are not easy to bully. Furthermore, I''m telling the truth about not having to do anything with what you used me of. Someone is trying to frame us. Let me contact my junior brother, and we can all hear what he had to say, and this will prove my point, right?"
Although no one was willing to believe Shane, it might be the case since no one had seen the humans fleeing with their own eyes, so the voice''s words might really be just a false usation.
Besides, they can''t overpower Shane in this ce even if they work together, so they have to y along.
Shane also didn''t dy and quickly contacted Glen with a grim expression in front of everyone. He was hoping that Glen was alive and shed some light on this strange matter.
However, when the cube was connected, Glen''s guffawed voice rang. At that moment, no one knows better than Shane himself just how much he wished that this guy had been dead.
"Hahahaha, you contacted me at the right time, Eldest Brother! You won''t believe it, but we got the Spirit Fire, and we even get rid of those arrogant fellows while doing virtually nothing ourselves. Now there is no proof left. I wish I could''ve seen those arrogant guys'' faces when they found their races had been annihted and won''t even know we were the ones behind it. Hahahaha!"
Chapter 800 Greed Is the Root Of All Evil!
Chapter 800 Greed Is the Root Of All Evil!
Glen''s gruff voice rang in the silent hall like thunder, and it was deadly silent. Shane''s old expression waspletely warped and pale as he sensed thick killing intent in the air.
''How in the world are they able to do it!? Is this some kind of trap?'' Shane''s mind raced like lightning as he was in utter disbelief and thought there was an impersonator of Glen on the other side of themunication cube.
"Who are you!? Why are you framing us like this? Where is my junior brother?" He roared toward the cube as he knew if he didn''t salvage the situation, the humans would be in massive trouble.
If he was alone right now, he even thought that it was true and even ted because if he handed the Spirit Fire to Dream Shatter, he would get the method to enter the Quasi Law Comprehension Realm!
However, right now, the human situation was not good as both the Dream Shatter and the Prime One were not present while they themselves had let the demon and devil force right into the heart of their continent.
If they somehow really got the spirit fire and even killed their allied forces, these guys would not sit still, especially when it was the question of the Spirit Fire. Even Shane didn''t want to give up on it.
Greed was truly a strange thing as it could blind a person''s mind as long as it was strong enough, and that''s why it was the cause of many Dynasties'' ruins and called the root of all evil!
"What are you talking about, Eldest Brother? Do you forget once you fell in love with a girl who ended up dead in the beast forest, but weter found that Mizo killed her out of jealousy, and then you tortured him for a hundred days?
"Oh, it seems Master didn''t tell you either, and even I only found out when Lvion suddenly emerged at night from another hidden passage.
"The truth is, Master had secretly given little Lvion a map which led directly towards the sixthyer trial of the Fiery Hell Secret Realm and also a hidden key that can help him conquer the final trial of the sixth realm.
"But you would be surprised that when Lvion cleared the sixth trial, he gained full control over the entire Fiery Hell Secret Realm, and every treasure and resource became his, and he even got twoplete eight realms cultivation methods for both martial and soul!
"Afterward, he used¡boom!"
Shane cut themunication by shooting a powerful Qi at the cube and directly sting it apart. Right at this moment, his face was deadly cold, and his eyes were filled with greed and killing intent.
The other races'' representatives were utterly shocked and gobsmacked by the information they had just heard, not to mention greed was also written all over their faces except for Leona''s, as her face was hidden behind the mask. But she might not be any different from those three.
Now, forget about the spirit fire; just those two cultivation methods were enough to cause a bloody war between all the races!
Like why was everything putting so much effort into getting their hands on the elusive thief, Sky Stealer?
It was exactly because they believed that he possessed a heaven-defying technique and treasure that had never been seen in this world. Mostly, these people wanted his technique even if they didn''t get anything else.
However, now, if the humans suddenly got their hands on two cultivation techniques that could help them break into the eighth realm and even its peak. Then who will they go after, an elusive thief or the humans who were in the light?
The answer was so obvious that they didn''t even think that Glen might be spouting all this nonsense anymore. Just the chance of him telling the truth was enough to investigate and take any risk necessary to get to the bottom of it.
Furthermore, if the humans also got full control over the Fiery Hell Realm as well, didn''t it mean they now have a secret realm all by themselves, and if they were allowed to grow, they would be able to conquer all the continents in no time?
Why were the Elves so bloody when their holy tower got destroyed? It was exactly for that reason that their path of excellence was cut off!
Now, the humans were in the same position; these races would never let them grow, especially the three strongest races, and they didn''t hand over their gains. They will do anything in their power to annihte them all from the face of this world!
It has suddenly be the question of survival and power from mutual benefits! n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
cards, which they now suddenly possessed.
Now, he no longer cared about the alliance, the thief, or Alina Shane also knows this too well, and that''s why he destroyed the cube the moment heprehended that Glen might be telling the truth and any more information would directly expose their trump cards, which they now suddenly possessed.
Now, he no longer cared about the alliance, the thief, or Alina because if they had those techniques and full control over the fiery hell secret realm, then why did they need to lower their heads to these races?
Furthermore, he believed that Glen was telling the truth for another reason; it was before Dream Shatter headed out he left a subtle sentence for him.
''We will them rule all!'' Now, he suddenly started to make sense of these words by connecting them directly to what Glen had just said and no longer doubted his words or dared to take them lightly.
''Could it be master led those top figures of the devil, demon, hunter, and beast races towards some trap and left these guys for me to handle? Furthermore, only these four know about it since they identally hear Glen. ''So, if I get rid of them, there will be no proof left, and I can buy us more time and start to get rid of their forces until Master deals with those top figures. This way, these guys will be blind, and by the time they realize what has happened, we will all be in the wind!'' Shane''s eyes shone with killing intent as his heart raced.
At this moment, the four representatives alsoprehend just what sort of situation they are in; this information means nothing if they won''t be able to rely on their higher-ups.
The deadly silent hall suddenly started to stir in Azure Winds¡!
Chapter 801 The Heavenly Arrays (1)
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Within the main ship of humans, Glen was looking at the dormantmunication cube with empty eyes, and behind him were Freya, Noa, and Ace!
"It seemed we just started a wildfire." Freya couldn''t help but chuckle darkly.
Ace snickered coldly, "Now, whoever was listening will be dealt with by the Azure Patriarch. But we didn''t want that, did we? Spread this news in the demon continent using the imperial demon council''s connections. We will create such a mess that they don''t have time to pay attention to Alina, and Winter will be able to move freely!"
"You are also human, you know. They might get annihted by the all front." Freya stated superficially, as she already knew Ace didn''t care about the race that was currently hunting him down.
"I am human, and I''m proud of it. But what it has to do with others?" Ace dismissively replied, as he knew Freya too well, "Just get it done, and if the Azure Patriarch contact again, proceed with the same story. Remember, this story will only work if no one believes Dream Shatter. The more information you feed them, the harder it is for Dream Shatter to exin it all. That sly old bastard will regret ever scheming against me!"
At this moment, Noa suddenly spoke in a soft tone, "What about your family?"
From start to finish, Ace had never said anything about White Crown. It was like they didn''t exist at all. That''s what made Noa somewhat worried. Even Freya noticed this thing. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace nced at Noa before he turned around and walked away. His cold voice rang before he was out of the room, "I''ll be in seclusion, consolidating my gains. Reach me if something happened or if you guys need anything!"
Noa narrowed her eyes, "He''s avoiding the topic!"
Freya sighed as she replied, "His background is far moreplex than we can imagine. It''s not our ce to interfere. Don''t worry; as long as he''s capable of care, he won''t turn into a monster."
Noa suddenly looked at Freya and gave her a piercing look, "When did you two get close? You still didn''t tell me about that woman that you called your avatar?"
Freya snickered yfully, "We have our moments, and I don''t recall asking you about how in the world you are so damn strong, did I? We all have our little secrets! Let''s enjoy our voyage while we can. I have a feeling that we will not get any rest once our Leader starts moving!"
Ace walked on the deck of the ship and felt the cold winds of the sea on his face. Aplicated glint shed past his eyes, ''My family, huh? Are they qualified to be my family?'' Coldness crept in them as he threw those useless feelings at the back of his head.
He knew he couldn''t waste time anymore, and he needed to act as fast as he could if Winter failed to rescue Alina before returning to the union and entering the Moon Secret Realm.
It was a massive risk he was taking, and he knew this detour would cast him three to four years which meant he would have less than a year toplete thest part of the heaven''s stealer mission. It was in this case that Winter managed to rescue Alina, and he found the Union with a little bit of time left.
Still, he knew his selfishness would put all the house members and even Eva''s life in jeopardy, yet he was still taking this risk. He just refused to give up on Alina, and he knew if he didn''t save her, he''ll never be the same.
''What if I could increase this ship''s speed?'' Ace thought, looking at the grade-6 ship, and his eyes shimmered with hope.
Ace had the entire treasury of a secret realm, he was nothing but rich, and if he used all that knowledge wisely, he might be able to turn around the entire situation for good.
Then he suddenly remembered something and quickly opened the system shop!
=====
[System Shop: Ramification Section (Temporary)]
[Ramification Source: Last Chain Mission]
--
Rewards of Condition 2:
1. 1,000,000 EXP & 1,000,000 SP
-Ramification Cost: 100,000 Thief Points
2. Soul Stealth Art
-Ramification Cost: 5 Million Thief Points
3. Fundamentals of Array Crafting (Grade-1 to Grade-3)
-Ramification Cost: 1 Million Thief Points
--
-Rewards of Condition 3:
1. 3,500,000 EXP & 3,500,000 SP
-Ramification Cost: 350,000 Thief Points
2. Absolute Pick Pocket
- Ramification Cost: 10 Million Thief Points
=====
Looking at the unimed rewards, his eyes looked on the Fundamentals of Array Crafting. He was already a Heavenly Rune Crafter of tier-12, but he didn''t have the method to study the heavenly rune further. But when he got the method, he didn''t have the time to tangle with rune crafting.
However, now, he had time and objective to learn the heavenly runes even further, and he knew if he discovered something, he might be able to turn his whole situation around as the heavenly rune crafting was far more profound and potent than normal rune crafting.
Besides, with the Heavenly Rune Crafter Panel, he can create a talisman with the system''s help, and it might be the same case for the heavenly arrays as well.
Lastly, it was also time to learn the Soul Stealth Art as the Heartless Stealth Art was no longer enough, and the mysterious Absolute Pick Pocket which was the most expensive of them all and supposed to be the final reward of his chain mission!
Before, he didn''t have thief points to spare, but now, he had much more to spare!
So, without hesitation, he first bought the fundamentals of array crafting, and massive information flooded his mind. However, what happened next was out of Ace''s expectations.
System''s voice started to buzz as a panel appeared in front of him.
=====
[Host hase in contact with the Heavenly Arrays!]
[Heavenly Formation Coins are now avable in System Shop: Treasure Section!]
[Directive: Please purchase the Heavenly Formation Coins to Unlock the Array Section of the Heavenly Rune Crafter Panel and start with the Heavenly Arrays!]
=====
Chapter 802 The Heavenly Arrays (2)
Chapter 802 The Heavenly Arrays (2)
=====
[Host hase in contact with the Heavenly Arrays!]
[Heavenly Formation Coins are now avable in System Shop: Treasure Section!]
[Directive: Please purchase the Heavenly Formation Coins to Unlock the Array Section of the Heavenly Rune Crafter Panel and start with the Heavenly Arrays!]
===== Ace was startled when he saw the notification, but his surprise didn''tst long because the information rted to the Heavenly Formation Coins was in the very beginning of the fundamentals of array crafting!
The fundamentals of array crafting were vastly different from the traditional array crafting that Ace knows of because it was the Heavenly Array Crafting. For starters, he needed the Heavenly Formation Coins, not formation tes, to ''craft'' the heavenly arrays.
Furthermore, unlike talismans, array and formation could be used as long as their power source didn''t run out, and the Heavenly Arrays were the same. It was just that the method to form a Heavenly Array was somethingpletely different!
With a wildly beating heart, Ace quickly opened the system shop''s other section, which just got a new item!
===== [System Shop: Treasure Section (1 NEW)]
[Heavenly Formation Coins: Grade-9 Runic Soul Treasure]
-Avable: 9
-Price: 5 Million Thief Points (Per Coin)
=====
''45 Million TP for all of them?'' Ace frowned, seeing the absurd price, but he knew if he wanted to go further with Heavenly Arrays, he needed those coins and all nine of them, not one less.
Furthermore, those coins were grade-9 treasure which made them as precious as his thievish soul cord!
So, taking a huge breath, Ace bought all nine coins!
===== [Nine Heavenly Formation Coins have been purchased sessfully!]
--
[Heavenly Array Section has been unlocked!]
---
[Thief Point(s): 56,789,350]
=====
Right at this moment, something seemed to be opened in his mind, and profound knowledge of the heavenly arrays started to enter his knowledge sea.
Ace knew he couldn''t stay in the open, so he quickly found an empty room and sat down cross-legged and immersed in that vast knowledge. He didn''t even have time to look for those coins he spent so much TP for.
After an unknown time passed, Ace finally opened his eyes, shining with a profound light. The next moment, he flipped his hand, and a nine inches pitch ck disc appeared.
On top of this disc was carved the vivid thief symbol, while on the other side was a hooded head. Ace''s lips curled up slightly as he poured heavenly Soul Qi into this disc.
An ethereal golden sheen started to appear on the disc, and Ace felt a strong connection established with this disc, just like the Thievish Soul Cord.
The next moment, he issued amand with a thought. The dark disc suddenly started to crack and hovered above his hand. Then like a puzzle, the dark disc was disassembled into nine small pentagon pieces, which were exactly like Ace''s heavenly talisman coins.
The only difference was those coins were exempt from any marking andpletely nk, like pristine jades. They were the Heavenly Formation Coins!
''I''ve received nine heavenly array rune symbols, and all I need to do is to craft those array symbols on these nine coins with heavenly soul Qi! Afterward, I need to learn how to arrange those symbols with these coins in different array patterns to form a heavenly array. ''There are 999 lesserbinations which can form in 999 lesser heavenly arrays in this fundament manual. I''m missing the manuals for the 99 middlebinations forming 99 middle arrays and 9 upperbinations for 9 upper heavenly arrays. ''Once I gasp all thebinations, then no matter howrge the area is, I can arrange these coins into heavenly arrays on a moment''s notice at will and keep them active as long as I have heavenly soul Qi. I should''ve bought them long ago!'' Ace felt bitter when he thought about how much trouble he had gone through when he could''ve avoided them if he just had made this decision sooner.
Nevertheless, he was far more excited than bitter since the heavenly arrays were going to raise his arsenal like never before. Furthermore, because of the Heavenly Formation Coins, he got knowledge about 99 middle and 9 upperbinations as well, which were missing in this manual.
Lastly, the Heavenly Rune Crafter Ranks above the 12 tiers were also revealed, there were actually 10 Grades in Heavenly Rune Crafter Ranks, and each grade has Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced levels!
Now, Ace was extremely eager to get his hands on those two manuals as well, but he knew it depended on the system. So, he didn''t dwell on it as he first needed to craft the nine heavenly array rune symbols on those coins and thenprehend the 999binations.
Furthermore, he needed to understand those nine symbols to craft them on those coins just like the heavenly talismans. So even if he had those other two manuals, he didn''t have the time to learn them.
But it could be avoided with the system''s help, so he quickly opened the heavenly rune crafter panel. He wanted to learn a particrbination as fast as he could because that could help him with his current predicament.
===== N?v(el)B\\jnn
[Heavenly Rune Crafter Panel]
Rune Crafter Rank: Grade-1 (Basic)
Rune Crafter Trademark: Coin Rune Crafter Colophon: Thief Symbol
Rune Crafter Instrument: Heavenly Formation Coins (9) ---
{Talisman Section} (UNLOCKED)
{Array Section} (UNLOCKED)
{Formation Section} (LOCK)
{UNKNOWN Section} (LOCK)
--- [Talisman Creation Section]
-Heavenly Talisman Avable: 50 (Tier-1 to Tier-12)
-Worldly Talisman: Avable: 110 (Tier-1 to Tier-12)
---
[Heavenly Array: Grade-1 to Grade-3]
-Lesser Heavenly Array Combinations: 999
-Array Combination Unlocked: 0
[Directive: Pleaseprehend and craft the Nine Heavily Array Rune Symbols on Heavenly Formation Coins to unlock the Array Combination Unlocking Conditions in this section!] =====
''Thought so¡'' Ace thought, looking at the directive, ''I should get on right to it since opening thatbination is more important than anything else. I''ll deal with my skills when I''m done with this. It won''t take long with my current understanding. I only need about three months toprehend and craft these runes!''
Chapter 803 The Flames Of War
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In a dark surrounding, a brawny figure was sitting cross-legged, and a faint crimson sheen was revolving over his figure, giving off a nefarious eerie aura.
All of a sudden, a pair of maliciously cold eyes sprang open, and a husky voice sounded, "What is it?"
Just as his grouchy voice trailed off, multiple rune symbols shone in front of him, and a respectful old voice sounded with a hint of ecstasy, "Lord Nightmare Wrath, we just received words from Dark Nightmare Wind. The situation has taken apletely unexpected turn, and it appears the Grand Elder has done something amazing.
"Furthermore, the Azure Patriarch also sent a secret message, and he wanted to meet you but not in a formal manner, and I''m pretty sure this is rted to this exact situation which had been developed in the Fiery Hell Realm. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"We should leave right now, and I''ll exin everything on our way. If what Dark Nightmare Wind had said is true and time is of the essence!"
Nightmare Wrath was none other than the Sect Leader of Dark Nightmare Sect and the most heinous assassin and one of the most feared existents of the Human Race.
"Is that a fact? How is my little girl?" Nightmare Wrath''s grouchy voice contained a rare hint of gentleness, as if he cared more about his daughter than anything else!
---
On the side of the Soul me Sect, the Sect Patriarch also received the same summoning message as the Nightmare Wrath and a startling report from his sect representative, Rudolph, present in the entourage of Fiery Hell Secret Realm.
Not just Dark Nightmare or Soul me, but even the Beast Tamer and Yin Flower Sects also received the urgent secret summoning, and no one dared to miss this out as they already knew a massive storm was brewing and the humans were going to be the center of it all!
---
On the surface, the Azure Wind Continent was the same. But the upper echelon of the Five Ancient Sects knew that the mighty figures of their race were suddenly moving and forces were being gathered.
However, just three days after this sudden movement started, another massive development took ce. The entire Allied forces of Demons and Devils instated in the Azure Wind Continent suddenly made a massive retreat.
In response, the humansunch a massive-scale attack on those forces as if they wanted to kill them all, and anyone who participates would get massive merits and even a chance to enter the five sects if they umted enough merit points.
The entire royalnds suddenly plunged into war with their own allies, and no one knew what the reason was. But by the ferocity shown by the humans, it was quite clear they wanted to really kill all the forces on their continent and didn''t want to let them retreat.
---
In a hidden ce, Leona and Blood Devil Duke were looking at a projection, and for some reason, both of their auras were extremely chaotic and unstable.
The reason for their sorry states was very simple. It was because of the Azure Patriarch''s sudden full-force attack. Out of the four, only these two managed to flee, but they both had to pay a terrible price and used almost all of their trump cards.
If they both didn''t have trump cards left behind by their ancestors, they both would''ve perished under that deadly formation.
Nevertheless, after they escaped, they didn''t sit still and contact their forces so they could retreat at full speed before the humans stabbed them in the back. But s, the humans reacted too quickly, and now their men were dying from all fronts.
"Did you seed in contacting the Demon Ancestor?" The Blood Devil Duke asked in a horse voice.
After nearly dying, he and Leona stick together since both of them have a rtionship with their race ancestors, and they also don''t have a choice since going sole in this position will do nothing but do the human a favor.
"No, just like you, I can''t reach Master or My Father. In fact, I can''t reach anyone just like on your side. We should assume worse now, Dream Shatter Ancestor had yed us all like a fiddle, and our top forces might be in a deadly situation.
"On the other hand, the forces they left here are not enough to cope with the human''s continuous onught. They had already plundered or destroyed our ships, and now we are trapped here.
"I can''t believe we all fall for this, and now, with our top forces missing, we are all ying on equal grounds with the humans!" Leona''s voice was filled with killing intent and humiliation as she was still in disbelief that the humans tricked the top three races so easily.
Now, their top forces'' situation was unknown, and the reinforcement from their continent will take too long to reach this ce. By the time they''ll have arrived, the humans would be well-prepared.
This was the reason no one wanted to invade each other''s continent because it was simply too massive of an endeavor, not to mention the brunt of precious resources.
However, now that the humans have acquired all the resources of the Fiery Hell Realm and those eighth realm cultivation techniques, they can''t sit still and watch while the humans break into the eighth realm and deal with them!
It was either a do-or-die situation for them, not only for the demon or devil but all the other nine races.
Both Leona and Blood Devil Duke understood this point too well, so they still have hope.
"Where is Elven Queen?" The Blood Devil Duke asked darkly. He knew the Elven Queen was in charge of Alina''s security, but does it matter now? If anything, they needed the Elven Queen as she would be a massive help to control the Elven race.
Leona replied with a hint of frustration, "Do you think I have time to look for her while barely escaping myself? But I''m pretty sure the humans won''t let her live much longer as they are no longer the Elven Queen nor the Hunter Princess. If anything, they are now nothing but hostages to threaten their races!"
Chapter 804 The Faceless Thief Act (1)
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While the Humans were either busy getting rid of the Devils and Demons or umting massive amounts of merits, the prisoners in the Prime Azure Mountain werepletely oblivious to this fact.
However, since Leona hadn''t appeared for over a week, the hunters were quite relieved but could also sense something was not right because no one hade to give them their usual necessaries.
It was like they were allpletely cut off from the outside world, and Herman and Lillian even tried to call the Elven Queen but got no response.
The reason for it was that Alina required medicine for her wounds that Leona had instated with her cruel torture, whichsted for over a month, and now she required medicine urgently, or her meridians would be damaged, and she might lose her ability to cultivate, even her life.
While the old butler and maid were going anxious, the person in question remained calm in her room. She didn''t speak or express anything. Even when Leona used every means to make her scream for mercy, she remained silent and endured.
Now, she looked extremely skinny, while her once pristine pale skin was filled with scars and bandages. However, the look in her pearl-like eyes was still of someone with determination and longing.
''I need to escape¡ I need to meet him¡ just onest time¡ I want to feel his care one more time¡.'' She thought as she was immersed in old memories.
"Big bro, when I grow up, I''ll earn more money than you, and then we both buy lots and lots of food!"
"Lil brat, you only think about eating and money all day long. Money is not everything. What actually important is your health! As long as you are healthy, you can earn money and livefortably. Besides, isn''t it your big brother''s job to earn money? You, on the other hand, need education; it''s more important than money!"
"Hehehe, silly brother, only the people in the inner city can get the education, and I heard from Aunty Hawa that even if you sell this whole street, you still won''t be able to pay the tuition fee, andst time I check you are very, very poor."
"YOU!... I-I will find a way just you watch! Money is not everything. There is a thing calledpassion, you hear me? I will earn my way into the inner city and then send you to get educated! And brat, your tongue is bing more and more sharp each day. Stop ying with Aunty Hawa!"
"Hehehe, look how red your face is! It happens when you try to lie!"
"You Brat, I''m not talking to you¡"
Suddenly, her thought process was broken when hurried footsteps sounded. Herman and Lillian have entered, followed by another dainty woman in the azure mountain sect elder robes.
Herman''s face was filled with coldness as he looked at the woman while Lillian was chewing on her lower lip as she looked at Alina''s weak figure anxiously.
Suddenly that woman stopped in front of Herman and Lillian and coldly stated, "I need to perform a checkup alone. I want to see if she''s really in danger or if you lot are just making a fuss. Who knows, it was your ploy all along."
"Absolutely not! We will not be going to leave you with the princess!" Herman coldly rejected it without even thinking twice. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
He had a bad feeling about this woman from the moment she suddenly appeared. He knows this woman because she was the one always sent here by the Azure Patriarch to check on them.
But today, when they said they needed high-quality healing medicine, not only she agreed, but she put a condition that she would inspect Alina first before delivering them the medicine.
Herman thought it was too easy since this woman always made things difficult for them and never listened to them before. Yet now, she agreed so easily, and she didn''t even tell them why her visit was dyed.
But now that she was demanding privacy with Alina, and with her current fragile condition, Herman would never leave this woman with Alina alone because it was too dangerous.
Even though he can''t do anything about Leona, as her prowess is equal to his, and the statue is even nobler than Alina''s. But this woman was only a peak Soul Realm cultivator, and he was not helpless against her at all.
Besides, with Alina''s current situation, he won''t take a risk.
However, the woman didn''t seem to be bothered by Herman''s resolve to stay here and coolly stated, "Very well, then I''m leaving, and trust me, after this visit, there will be no visit for another month. Oh, and you guys will no longer get any luxurious items, and I''m happy to announce that you are true prisoners now!"
Her voice was icy and filled with disdain as she dered with ecstasy as if she enjoyed their miserable situation.
Herman''s heart sank, and he knew something had gone terribly wrong, so he stopped hesitating or acted obediently as the Blood Ancestor had demanded from him. If not for Blood Ancestor''s reassurance of Alina''s safety and her return, he would''ve agreed with Alina''s n to escape long ago.
He even allowed Leona to do as she pleased for this exact promise despite his wish to chop Leona into millions of pieces for what she had done.
However, now, it seemed that the humans were making another unexpected move, and Leona''s absence was evidence of it. So, there was no point in reacting obediently anymore.
His aura rose, and Lillian quickly noticed as she sighed in relief because with Herman''s action, it was clear she could finally act as well, and he won''t stop her.
However, the woman remained as calm as ake despite the ghastly cold aura released by Herman, while Alina''s eyes showed a rare hint of tion.
"So, you all wanted to escape, huh? And here I thought you don''t have a backbone." The woman suddenly smiled in a strange manner before she directly looked at veiled Alina and said ambiguously, "You made a promise once, ''[When I grow up, I will help you get rich!].'' Is it still valid?"
Alina''s entire calm demeanor crumbled as she shook like a violent tree in a storm while her eyes were filled with disbelief!
Chapter 805 The Faceless Thief Act (2)
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"Don''t attack her!" Alina cried at this moment, and a powerful aura surfaced her fragile figure, and she vanished from her spot, leaving behind silver ice.
She reappeared between the calm human and two bewildered humans, and her eyes were filled with icy might as she looked at Herman and Lillian.
"Stand down, both of you!" She ordered with an irrefutable tone.
Even Herman was shocked as he had never seen Alina so worked up or talking to him like this. Lillian waspletely dumbfounded and slowly retracted her aura while she nced at the human behind Alina, who had this strange smile on her face.
Both Herman and Lillian understood that Alina''s strong reaction was the result of that woman''s ambiguous words, which didn''t make sense. But Herman was different from Lillian, and a very absurd notion surfaced in his mind as his old eyes went widened with utter disbelief.
Alina turned around as her entire aura of early-stage Qi Soul Manifestation Realm was locked on the human in front of her, "Who are you?" She questioned coldly, but the agitation was present in her voice as well as deep anticipation.
The human replied with a mysterious smile, "It doesn''t matter who I am right now. What matter is if you want to leave with me or rote away here?"
Alina calmed her wildly beating heart, but it was impossible. She wanted to hear from this woman his name. It waspletely unbearable for her. But still, she knew as long as she was able to leave this ce, she might find him waiting for her out there, and this was enough to greatly kindled her spirit.
"Let''s go!" She nodded without hesitation.
"Alina, you mustn''t! We can''t just trust her. What if it is a trap!" Herman strongly opposed her decision as he warily looked at the human with clear hostility.
"Don''t stop me today, Grandpa, or you have to kill me to keep me here!" Alina''s aura spiked again as she faced Herman with a fiery look in her eyes.
Suddenly blood trickled from her veil''s edge, and Herman was shocked, "Stop burning your life force!" He quickly ordered her, but she kept releasing her aura as if she didn''t hear him.
Leona already took their storage rings, so they no longer had any Qi stones or medicine to heal Alina. In this state, she was using her life force to use her cultivation. If she continues, she will no longer be able to cultivate or recover from this.
"Fine! Just stop your childish act! Let''s leave!" Herman had no choice but to yield because he didn''t want any harm to Alina despite his own stubbornness.
Then he coldly stared at the woman behind her, who was still smiling as if she was watching a show, "If you really are here to help us escape, then give her healing medicine or Qi stones so she can recover. She is in no condition to face danger."
Lillian, on the other hand, was watching everything with a baffled expression as she clearly had no clue what was going on, but one thing was clear, Alina appeared far more lively than usual, and her eyes were shining like they used to.
"Oh, I was about to but then think it would be uncouth for me to speak between your family drama." The woman yfully chuckled, and then she suddenly took off the storage ring from her finger and tossed it toward Herman, who caught it with surprise written on his face.
"Take whatever you want and follow me." She coolly stated before she started walking toward the exit.
Alina was also surprised but quickly started following her without caring about Herman or Lillian, and she was also on guard if Herman tried to do anything.
"Let''s go." Herman sighed helplessly as he also started to follow them while he searched the ring for medicine for Alina. Lillian would naturally not be going to leave her precious princess''s side and quickly followed.
"Are you working for ''him'' from the start?" Alina couldn''t hide her curiosity anymore as she asked the human. She had also seen this woman many times, but she never expected she would be ''his'' pawn. If it was true, then she didn''t dare to imagine just how deep ''his'' approach was.
"Why are you so sure that I''m working for someone?" The human strangely questioned.
"Because you won''t take such a risk just for pity''s sake," Alina said matter-of-factly.
Herman, at this moment, handed Alina some pills, "Here, eat them. You will feel better. There are more, but taking them all will do more harm than good. You need to stop using your Qi if you want to recover."
Alina didn''t reject and took the pills and said, "I''m already feeling better, thank you, Grandpa."
"Who is that woman Grandpa Herman?" In a whispering tone, Lillian inquired, curiosity from Herman.
Herman replied with aplex yet dark expression, "She''s nothing but bad news!"
At this moment, they all reached the end of the white hall, and in front of them was a white gate. This was the boundary that the hunters couldn''t pass. No matter what they tried, they couldn''t even put a dent in that gate.
The human woman, on the other hand, put her hand on the door and then started chanting something in gibberishnguage while a pendant on her neck suddenly shimmered in azure light, and then the gate also shimmered in azure glow before it made creaking sounds and started to open!
Behind that gate was a long tunnel, and at this moment, the human turned around and said sternly, "Now, everyone, if you don''t want to alert the entire sect, you better follow my every step. One mishap, and you all can say goodbye to your freedom, and I also don''t want to go through all that trouble toe here again!"
Alina nodded while Herman was still reluctant but agreed nevertheless, and they all started to follow behind the human!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Chapter 806 The Faceless Thief Act (3)
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The hunters were carefully following every step the human was making without missing a single one as they walked in the tunnel, and now they could see the mouth of the mountain was just around the corner.
Herman was walking behind Alina, and he was coldly staring at the human''s back, ''Is she really affiliated with that thief? But how could that be? Is his background really that impressive, and that''s why everyone wanted to get their hands on him?
''If it''s true, then I can''t leave Alina with him. If that happens, their ambiguous rtionship will be clear, and thereby Alina and all the Silver Ice will be targets. But he came here to save her, which means he deeply cared about her, and Alina will no longer listen to me. Deep down, I want to let her leave, but I also want someone to find us. Things will never be the same if shees in contact with that thief. Even Ancestor will not spare us¡.''
Herman''s mind was a battlefield at this moment as he couldn''t decide what to do once they left this prison.
He knew if he let Alina go, the Silver Ice Hunter n would suffer a massive bacsh and might get executed by the rageful Blood Ancestor. On the other hand, he also knew if he tried to stop Alina, she would be going to resist strongly.
He never thought the mortal he disdained once would be turned out to be such a scourge, and if he just had been open about it and, as Alina said, took him with them at that, this might''ve never happened at all!
Yet now, there was nothing left but regret, and he had to decide a choice between Alina or the Silver Ice Hunter n.
After taking a deep breath, he finally said, "Little Aly, you do know what will happen to our n if you make a wrong choice, right?" His elderly voice rang in the silent tunnel.
Alina, who was walking ahead of him, didn''t look back as she replied, "Yes, I know."
"There might be another way we should discuss with your father and mother," Herman stated mildly.
"I have already thought of a way, don''t worry, Grandpa," Alina assured with conviction.
Lillian remained silent while she listened, and now she was finally starting to understand what was happening and who that woman might be, and she was really shocked.
Herman wanted to say something else, but no words came out as if he knew Alina had made her decision, and now it was his turn.
Thereupon, all of them stepped outside the tunnel, and a few meters away from them were raging Azure Winds as they surrounded the entire mountain, and those winds were giving them a ghastly feeling.
"I didn''t remember seeing those winds when we came here?" Lillian muttered in astonishment. Herman also has the same thought as Lillian. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The woman walking in front turned around and stated, "Of course, you don''t remember them because they weren''t there in the first ce. Those azure winds are a product of this very mountain you were detained in. This is the core of the Azure Wind Continent and the reason why this ce is called the Azure Wind, the Prime Azure Mountain!
"There is a very powerful formation installed in this mountain which controlled those Azure Winds, and when you came here, they were suppressed using the same formation, and when you were imprisoned, they were released again.
"I heard that only a Law Comprehension Realm Cultivator could endure these azure winds, any less, and they will shred by them with both body and soul. Lastly, this mountain is also the residence of the strongest existence of the Human race, the Prime One. So even if you had managed to escape from the cavern, you would be trapped by those winds all the same."
The woman smiled, seeing the hunter''s pale expression, "Oh, that should be one of the core secrets of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect. Well, whatever; it''s not like I''m under an oath to keep it that way. Now, on the main topic."
She looked deeply at Alina, who was also looking at her, and herplexion looked somewhat better after she took those pills. She said, "Let me formally introduce myself; I''m apanion of the Sky Stealer, titled the Faceless Thief. As you have already guessed, he sent me here to rescue his sister, you, and, if possible, your associates as well."
Her eyes went colder, "But after observing you guys, I don''t think you are all on the same page. You see, I can''t risk recusing someone who doesn''t want to be rescued and put my own life in jeopardy. Because after this checkpoint, we will no longer be alone, and I need your full cooperation.
"So, I need a definite answer, not just from you but your servants as well. Do you want to meet him or do you want to go home? He will respect your choice, and I will help you escape this ce as well. But I need to know your final choice so we can all be on the same page."
The woman, or more urately Winter, coldly stated without any room for subtly. Only she knew just how much trouble and big of a risk she had taken to acquire the body of this 7th Azure Elder who was in charge of monitoring Alina.
Thereby only after confirming that the Azure Patriarch and other high-ranking members were busy dealing with the demons and devils, she dared to make a move.
But after meeting with Alina and her servants, she found these guys'' minds were not aligned at all, and this was nothing but a risk for her, so she wanted to make things clear before moving forward.
Alina''s heart raced when Winter confirmed her association with Ace and felt extremely thrilled, and shepletely understood Winter''s plight, and this choice will change many people''s lives.
Herman, on the other hand, was not very happy after his hunch was confirmed, while Lillian was feeling the same conflict as Herman but not to the extent that she wanted to keep Alina here in this hellhole.
Now, the hunters needed to choose if they wanted to be associated with the most infamous thief or not!
Chapter 807 The Faceless Thief Act (4)
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Alina replied Winter without hesitation with conviction, "I want to meet him!"
Herman''s expression was not good when he heard Alina was still stubborn, and he knew it couldn''t be avoided, ''I can''t leave her alone. Maybe¡'' His wily old eyes shone in a peculiar glint as he replied, "I will follow Alina no matter where she goes."
Lillian hastily nodded after Herman, fully agreeing with that statement, "I will also follow Princess no matter what!"
Winter gave Herman a deep, meaningful look before her lips curled up, and she nodded, "Alright, there should be some robes of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect in the ring I gave you. Change into them and hide your head with capes. It''s going to be a dangerous journey from here on out. We are in the heart of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect, so be ready for confrontation on my signal."
The three hunters didn''t reject Winter''s n and started to change into the sect robes. Meanwhile, Winter was thinking while looking at the raging azure winds.
''I''m at the lowest level of this mountain, and even this elder only had ess to this level while this mountain is way bigger than this. Now that Prime One is not present. I wonder if there are hidden treasures or other secrets concealed on top of this mountain. Only the Azure Patriarch has ess to move to the top. Pity, it could''ve been a massive thievery¡'' She thought with a hint of regret.
Nevertheless, she knew her true goal and didn''t want to waste this chance on a treasure hunt which was far more dangerous than her real goal.
''It''s not like I''m nothing getting anything out of it, and that thievish leader will owe me a big one after this. Still, if not for what he had done and that mysterious expert''s timely escape, I would''ve never gotten such a chance¡.''
Winter was snapped out of her thought and turned around. Alina had already changed into loose azure robes and covered her head with a white cloak. Herman and Lillian were still changing behind their silver ice screens.
"I want to ask you something." She softly uttered.
"Ask away." Winter coolly replied while looking at Alina with scrutiny, ''His sister, huh? She must''ve known quite a lot about his past since he cares so much about her¡.''
Alina asked with anticipation, "I-is he here?"
Winter pulled a yful smile and replied, "No, he was busy elsewhere and sent me. You should know his ''noble'' identity, and he can''t just walk into dangers like it''s nothing." N?v(el)B\\jnn
"I-is that so¡" Alina''s voice was clearly shaky with a hint of sadness.
"Heh, look at you, all sad just because he isn''t here. You should think more carefully about his plight. For all we know, it could''ve been a massive trap, and you might''ve already betrayed him¡."
"I would never!" Alina strongly retorted with a chilly tone. She was clearly offended by Winter''s words and felt a sting in her heart.
Winter was a little surprised by Alina''s strong reaction, "Alright, let''s just say you will not do such a thing. But what about others? I can tell your old servant is clearly not happy about your decision, and he even contains hate for ''him.'' Don''t get me wrong, but emotions are the biggest enemy of living things, and your enemies will exploit them the moment they know you have them." She coldly replied.
Alina lowered her head in defeat as she already understood Winter''s point. She knew she had ced many people''s lives at risk when she got caught, and Ace was the main target.
They didn''t go too far in their methods because they had no idea if Ace would evene for her and her rtionship with Blood Ancestor. However, if they had known Ace deeply cared about her, they would do anything to make hime here by doing all sorts of things to her.
Nevertheless, even if given another chance, she would stille back to find him because she would never be able to live peacefully without meeting him.
Although she was dejected that he never came and even somewhat heartbroken about his absence and vignce, she still wanted to meet him just one time; she wanted to talk with him.
She wanted to say something, but Herman and Lillian were already done, and Winter didn''t want to waste more time.
Winter again chanted something in front of the azure winds, and something seemed to glow in the back of her. The next moment, the azure winds started to part, opening up a passage.
"Let''s go, don''tg behind, or this way will be closed in twenty seconds. You''ll be dead at that time." She sternly warned before she headed into the passage, which was going downward, and three hunters closely followed behind.
The four of them walked for around 1200 meters before they finally exited the azure winds and appeared on the mountain footing.
Looking behind, the hunters were astounded when they saw a four-kilometer-tall mountain, and it waspletely enshrouded with the Azure Winds while its peak was hidden behind a massive azure swirl.
"Quickly follow my steps like you did in the cavern. We can''t remain here for long." Winter urged them as she walked in a particr pattern and headed in the direction of a mountain pass 1000 meters away from the prime Azure mountain entrance.
Their speed also increased as Winter was in a hurry to leave this area since it was a forbidden zone. Even the 7th Azure Elder can''te here without Azure Patriarch''s permission.
The Azure Patriarch was absent, which means she wasn''t given permission. She can handle the others, but if the Azure Patriarch came back, it would be impossible to exin why she was bringing the prisoners out.
Furthermore, the atmosphere of the human continent was not good, and everyone was on edge, so things would be quite dangerous for the four of them if they got caught.
But Winter''s worries seemed unnecessary as they easily left the mountain pass and exited the forbidden area after crossing another formation gate and appeared in a web of beautiful mountain peaks.
At this moment, Winter gravely said, "We are in the peak court of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect. So, keep your head low and don''t interact with anyone, and let me deal with them. We are still quite far away from exiting this ce, so behave!"
Chapter 808 The Faceless Thief Act (5)
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The Peak Court of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect was divided into ten Elder peaks, one Grand Peak, one Leader Peak, andstly, the Forbidden Peak.
In this ce, only the core members of the sect could reside, and they were all members of one of the ten elder peaks. In total, there were around 30 thousand members residing in the Peak Court, and they were all the elites of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect.
However, because of the conflict going on in the continent, many of these members and elders were gone out to collect merits and make their name. That''s why the ce looks deserted.
At this moment, four figures were walking toward the inner court gates, and whoever saw them would bow toward the woman in front who wore the Peak Elder robes. They were indeed the Winter and the three hunters.
Winter''s entourage was very close to the exit of the peak court, and they hadn''t encountered any hurdle yet because of her identity.
However, when they were about to cross the massive mountain gates that lead into the inner court, someone blocked their way.
It was a handsome man with 6''1 height and a sharp jawline. His sharp blue eyes contained a hint of lust as he eyed the 7th Azure Elder, and he was wearing the same robes as her as well.
Winter''s expression didn''t change much when she saw that man and greeted, "3rd Elder, Dennis, do you need something?"
On the other hand, the hunters'' hearts sank when they heard the identity of this man, but they maintained their calm and kept their heads low, and waited to see how this would y out.
Dennis pulled a big smile and replied, "7th Elder Ling, what are you up to? Last time I checked, Patriarch told you, me and old 9th to remain on standby in Peak Court while they chase after the criminal, yet you seem to be going out. May I inquire why and who are those three and why are they hiding their faces?"
Winter''s eyes shimmered coldly as she saw Dennis''s lecherous smile, she knew this guy was deliberately making things difficult for Ling because she rejected his marriage proposal multiple times, yet he didn''t give up.
Furthermore, there was a reason for it, Dennis was infamous for his luscious nature, and he didn''t even spare sect disciples who caught his eyes, and many fell victim to this guy''s charm.
''I guess it can''t be helped¡'' Winter thought with pity before Ling suddenly pulled a bright smile as she replied, "I wasn''t going anywhere just escorting my peak disciples out with instructions as it was their first time heading out, so they are shy. Anyway, since we are already at the exit, they can move out on their own. On the hand, do you want to go to my ce and discuss cultivation with me?"
Dennis''s expression instantly changed into one of shock and disbelief when he heard Ling''s words. It was like he was dreaming since she would never even let him closer to her, much less inviting to her ce.
He even felt it was an impostor, but as someone with Quasi Law Awareness Realm cultivation, she could tell Ling was real, and he trusted his senses far more than anything else.
"A-are you serious?" He hastily asked as he almost forgot about the dumbfounded hunters behind Ling. He couldn''t care less about those small fires when the beauty of his dream just invited him to her ce.
"Of course, I''ve been stuck at the peak of the Soul Manifestation Realm for too long, and now that I think you are the only person I could turn to," Ling replied with an enthralling smile as she hadpletely changed her perspective about Dennis.
Dennis''s eyes burned with passion, and nodded, "Are you kidding me? If not me, then who else? You are finally able to see my true worth, Ling. Let''s go. We should not waste more time!"
Winter nodded before she turned around and meaningfully said, "You lot, go now, and don''t disappoint me." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Dennis looked at the three figures and coolly took out three formation tes and threw them toward them, "Since Ling cares about you so much, then I''ll give you these lifesaving formations that can block three attacks from Quasi-Law Awareness Realm. They also contained my mark. If anyone dares to block your way, show it to them, and they''ll not dare to mess with you. Don''t disappoint Ling, or you will be answering to me!"
The smug Dennis then leaves with Ling, leaving behind the three bbergasted hunters.
"The problem resolved just like that?" Lillian muttered in incredulity.
However, Alina had different thoughts as she quickly said, "We need to save her."
However, Herman didn''t let her as he said, "Don''t be na?ve. Since she dared to go with him, then it meant she had a way to escape him. On the other hand, we are only hindrances to her, and the longer we stay in this ce, the more danger we will put her and ourselves. Now, quickly move. I remember the way out from here. The inner court has no Soul manifestation realm experts."
Alina thought it made sense since that woman was able to infiltrate so deep into the sect then it meant she was quite resourceful. But what she was actually afraid of was not being able to meet with Ace if Winter wasn''t with them.
Nevertheless, what was important was their escape, and she was sure he would find her.
Those three then quickly left the peak court and entered a more bristling inner court. But unlike the peak court, the inner court limit was the soul realm, and the elders here were no match for Alina or Herman.
"Let''s use the Ice Mirage. The security seemed to begging today. It seems something big had happened by Third Azure Elder''s words, and that''s why that woman dared to make a move." Herman took full charge as his figure started to blend with the surrounding.
The girls followed suit as they used their ice bloodline skills and headed toward the outer court.
Afterward, they no longer found any obstacle except for the outer court gates, but they passed through by showing the formation tes that the third Azure Elder gave them, and no one dared to obstruct their way.
As for the exit, they found many people seemed to be leaving in groups, and no one was checking anything. Only those who were entering; they had to go through a deep inspection.
Once they left the Azure Wind Mountain Sect, they vanished into the woods surrounding the sect.
However, when they were only a few miles away from the sect, their footsteps were halted because right in front of them was standing a dark hooded figure.
A mischievous voice rang, "Took you guys long enough!"
Chapter 809 Tell Her…
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At this moment, Ace was fully focused on the Heavenly Formation Coin in front of him. With both hands, golden Heavenly Soul Qi was pouring out andpletely absorbed by the Heavenly Formation Coin.
Every time the coin absorbed a particr amount of Qi, Ace''s hands would start to move into blurry movements, and then a faint dark blue line would appear in the coin.
At this moment, 5% of the coin''s surface was filled with those dark blue lines, and their shape was iprehensive.
When Ace started to carve the heavenly array runes on the Heavenly Formation Coin, he thought it would not be much difficult. But only after starting did he understand just how na?ve he had been.
First, he needed to understand that rune, and then he needed to form hundreds of hand signs while focusing his Qi on the coin and shaping it into rune symbols. But even the slightest mistake would ruin everything, and then he had to start again!
It''s been three weeks, and Ace had only been able toplete craft a single coin with the array rune after failing multiple times.
Nevertheless, as he wasprehending these heavenly array runes and creating them, he was also starting to control his Heavenly Soul Qi more and could feel the Wind element in it.
He discovered that his windw attainment seemed to be also important in this rune crafting, and the more he practiced, the deeper he understood his own soul Qi which he had been neglecting for quite a while.
As for what was going on outside, he wasn''t worried since both Noa and Freya were holding the reins.
Right at this moment, a system interface abruptly opened in front of him,pletely startling him, and the dark blue lines on the coin instantly burst into particles.
A thick vein appeared on Ace''s temple after a few hours of his hard work, puffed into the smoke because of the system''s abrupt interference.
However, the system didn''t seem to care, and when he heard what it had to say and looked at that interface, his expression took a massive turn.
=====
[House Leader Mission: Infiltration]
[Condition 4: [Map the target area and the threats] has beenpleted by Winter Fox. The rewards have been released!]
[Condition 5: [Infiltrate the ce where Alina''s being held hostage] has beenpleted by Winter Fox. The rewards have been released!]
[Condition 6: [Escape with Alina] has beenpleted by Winter Fox. The rewards have been released!]
---
[House Points (House Leader): 1,300,910 (-5,750,000)]
---
[House Leader Mission: [Infiltration!] has been concluded!]
=====
Ace stared at the interface as if he was dreaming, but he knew he wasn''t because his house points were really deducted.
''This is far sooner than I had expected¡'' Ace''s eyes shimmered with ecstasy as he didn''t care about those house points since those rewards were set up ording to the difficulty of the mission.
Since Winter hadpleted this mission, it meant she had earned those rewards as well as his gratitude.
Nevertheless, Ace still felt Winter had acted too fast, and she didn''t even bother to alert him first. However, he was expecting to create this sort of chance for Winter by sowing discord within the humans and other races. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
But now that it was done, he felt somewhat bbergasted since he was under the impression that he needed to do the rescue himself. Ace had nearly forgotten that Winter was a spy, to begin with, and she had tons of experience in infiltrating enemy bases.
''Alina is with her!'' Ace''s heart raced just at the thought of Alina being with Winter now and safe and sound.
So, he quickly closed the panel and sent Winter a call post hastily,pletely forgetting about the rune crafting or his effort since he now felt rejuvenated by this excellent news.
Thereupon, Winter picked up the call after 10 seconds, and her sarcastic voice rang.
"I was just wondering when you''re going to call and give me praise me."
"Well done! I''m really thankful for what you''ve done for me, and I owe you a lot." Ace didn''t hold back on his praise since he was really grateful to Winter, and it wasn''t a lie.
Then he quickly asked multiple questions all at once, "How is she? Is she with you? Where are you guys¡"
"Woah¡ slow down!" Winter''s perplexed voice rang at this moment as she was somewhat surprised hearing her cunning leader''s childish questions. She even found a resemnce between Alina''s urgency and Ace''s. Both of them couldn''t wait to meet each other.
She even felt somewhat jealous of their bond. So, she lost interest in teasing him anymore and annoyingly said, "I''ll give entire details, so stop acting like a baby¡."
Ace didn''t care about his image right now as he was quite excited about Alina being fine, and they could finally meet after almost two decades of separation.
He then attentively listened to how Winter was able to act so quickly, and she even told him about Alina''s condition when she found her, which made Ace''s killing intent manifest.
She also told him about Herman''s having qualms with Alina meeting him, and he even seemed to be up to no good.
When Ace heard Alina calling Herman ''Grandpa,'' he instantly knew who this Herman was, and that hidden note appeared in his mind that Herman left that day when he took Alina without even letting them say goodbye. A chilly smile surfaced on his lips as he didn''t have very good feelings for Herman to begin with.
"¡ so this is the gist of it. Although I needed to discard a powerful pawn, that guy who showed up, in the end, was quite a massive trouble. Right now, we are moving toward the western shores from the central continent.
"The entire continent is raging in war right now, so I don''t think anyone would be able to bother with Alina for a little while. But that elder will soon regain her senses since now I''m out of her range. Although she won''t remember anything, when she finds herself in that elder''s arms, I''m sure things will turn worse.
"Leaving the continent as quickly as possible is our top priority right now!"
Ace''spletely agreed with her statement, and he was d that everything went ording to Winter''s n. However, he wasn''t happy about Winter using her new ability instantly to go there herself. Be couldn''t me her since he knew just how dangerous the mission had been.
"Alright, keep her safe and keep an eye on that old man. If he showed any strange movements, abandon him." Coldness crept into his eyes, "When you enter the endless sea, I want you to sail your ship towards us. This way, we''ll be saving tons of time."
A rare warm smile suddenly formed on his stern face, "Oh, and tell my Lil sis that I''m looking forward to meeting her, and don''t you dare hide it, or I won''t forgive you!"
Chapter 810 I Can’t Wait…
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The Azure Patriarch, Shane, was flying above the sky, leaving behind an azure streak, and had an ugly expression as his eyes were twinkling in azure while an active formation te was in his hand.
Seemingly flustered, he flipped his hand, and amunication cube appeared, and he activated it. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Did you find her?" He questioned grimly.
Another perplexed voice sounded in reply, "No, Patriarch, that Elven Queen used her life force to cast a secret skill. I can''t find any traces even after using a secret skill of my own. It''s been four days since she escaped. We should quit this and retune.
"Even if she had escaped, her vitality would be thoroughly damaged, her cultivation would regress, and all her treasure would be used just to keep her alive. So, she is no longer a threat to us.
"What we need to do is to focus on rooting out the devils and demons as well as found those two high-value targets. With the hunter princess in the mix, we would have enough leverage to hold off the three races until the Grand Elder returned.
"More importantly, we needed to draft a n to retrieve the first elder''s entourage safely, or it will all be for nothing. I''m pretty sure right about now; the other races will also be nning to intercept them."
The Azure Patriarch''s eyes narrowed as he had already thought of this possibility. But he wanted to get rid of the variable like the Elven Queen or at least contain her so she won''t cause any trouble for them.
Yet, not only she managed to escape despite their surprise attack, she even managed to flee from their sect''s massive formation, just like how the Devil Duke and the Demon Princess.
This was the second defeat as well as a wound to Azure Patriarch''s pride, who thought their sect formations were invincible under the Law Comprehension Realm.
Nevertheless, as the Second Azure Elder stated, it was not the time to hold grudges.
"Alright, call of the hunt. Let''s retune and change the hunters'' position before something like that happens again." He sternlymanded and turned around.
However, half an hourter, he received an unexpected call and received it with a frown, "9th Elder, is everything okay?"
An aged voice sounded riddled with panic, "No! Nothing is fine, Patriarch! Quicklye back, or the 3rd and 7th Elder might kill each other and thoroughly damage the peak court!"
Azure Patriarch''s expression went ridged upon hearing this unexpected, absurd news, "Wait? Why in the world are they fighting?!"
"I don''t know, but from how she''s been madly cussing at him and had lost her reasons and burning her life force whilepletely putting her life on the line to kill the 3rd Elder. I think the 3rd Elder might''ve defiled the 7th Elder!" The 9th Azure Elder''s grim voice filled with disgust rang.
Azure Patriarch almost fell from the sky, and his eyes went wide before fury surfaced, and he roared, shaking the surrounding, "HE DID WHAT!?!"
---
On the other side of the Azure Wind Continent, Winter and the three hunters were resting in an abandoned cavern.
Winter had just gotten off from the house call from Ace and couldn''t help but grumble as she clearly felt ufortable with Ace''s soft tone.
"Where are we going now?" Herman, who was sitting in a corner, couldn''t help but question the hooded figure who gave him the creeps.
He never expected that the 7th Azure Elder was nothing but a pawn of this woman, and whether she was the real Faceless Thief or not, he couldn''t be sure anymore. He had been under the impression that it would be hard for her to escape, and in the meantime, he could guide Alina away without her having to meet with Ace.
However, he was deadly wrong and even more rmed by just how terrifying Ace''s associates were, and he knew that meeting was inevitable.
Lillian was alsopletely awed by Winter''s abilities and even wanted to befriend her, but that woman gave her unapproachable vibes.
As for Alina, she was still continuing her recovery, but she was somewhat vignt of Winter and felt threatened because if such women surrounded Ace, then she was just above average, and it waspletely uneptable.
She never expected that her poor mortal brother, who always had spoken about righteousness and principles, would be turned out to be so extraordinary and be a terrifying existence like the Sky Stealer.
She even felt uneasy about Ace''s rtionship since it''s been 16 years since thest time they met, and time changed many people.
Winter red at the old hunter with coldness as her face was fully hidden. No one can tell what she looks like or guess her thoughts. She was sensing hostility from Herman, but he was being quite obedient, so she couldn''t just act because of Ace''s specific orders.
But she was keeping an eye on this old hunter, and if he did anything, she would not be merciful.
"Of course, we are leaving the continent. You might not know since you were trapped in that prison, but the continent is chaotic right now, and humans have turned into massive targets. So, this ce is not safe, but it also gave us the chance to sneak away." Winter coldly stated.
Alina spoke at this moment, "Where is my brother?" She had a very bad feeling about it since Winter''s words clearly implied that Ace wasn''t present in the continent at all.
This made her feel somewhat sad since this could easily be taken as she was no longer his top priority, but she didn''t want to believe it.
Winter then turned toward Alina, and she could feel her uneasiness and then remembered how happy Ace was and his message he wanted to rely on her.
If he had been all smug, she might''ve withheld it, but she didn''t feel like it anymore.
Because she knew if he found that she had been antagonizing Alina and her attitude changed because of it, he might punish her severely because he clearly cared too much about that huntress.
"He''s on his way but still quite far. But he did tell me to ry a message to his Lil sis. He said he''s looking forward to finally meeting you."
Alina''s sadness instantly vanished when she heard as her eyes turned into a crescent moon in happiness. It was like a massive relief washed over her when she heard those words.
She softly muttered, full of ecstasy and shyness, "I-I can''t wait either!"
On the other hand, Herman''s closed his eyes which were just lurking with foreboding gleam!
Chapter 811 Plan Of Separation
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After getting the good news from Winter, it took a while for Ace to calm his emotions down. If he could, he wanted to talk with Alina himself, but house call was only limited and exclusive to the Thief House members.
Nevertheless, since Winter had performed her mission and Alina was no longer at risk of getting executed, he could be at ease.
Furthermore, now it no longer matters if he reaches the Azure Wind Continent or not, and Winter could juste to him.
''Since Freya had spread the rumors of humans getting the entire secret realm inheritance and the entire secret realm. So, not only the continent but this entire entourage is a target now. But this is also an opportunity for us as a whole¡'' Ace''s mind raced as multiple new possibilities opened up. N?v(el)B\\jnn
''Then there is still my devilish wife. She''s really making groundbreaking progress, and even I''m jealous of her, and it won''t be long before she will be free. I wondered how Alina would react.'' Ace couldn''t help but smile with an anticipating yet foreboding glint shining in his eyes.
Ace then halted the formations protecting his chamber and then amplified his voice a little, and uttered, "Ladies, it''s time for an emergency house meeting!"
Thereby, Noa''s figure appeared like a ghost, and a momentter, Freya appeared as well. Now that they were in the Soul Manifestation Realm, they didn''t enter the thief''s house space right away since this realm was new for both of them, and they needed toprehend thew, which was a cumbersome process.
Although Freya no longer needed to be outside since her witch avatar was now outside, she still stayed outside and watched over the operation and ves.
As for Noa, she had halted her body refinement because she was worried that Ace might need some time to recover from his injuries or needed some time to consolidate his cultivation after the breakthrough. So, she stays to protect him despite knowing it is meaningless.
Ace''s hood was off, but he wore White''s disguise because he knew after his breakthrough that damn charm had reached a much higher level. It was to the point that the [Charm]w had appeared in thew heprehended.
So, he didn''t want to show his true appearance unless those two would be effective in the wrong way.
"Did you need something?" Freya questioned as this abrupt meeting was too sudden.
Ace dered with a smile, "I''ve summoned you both to give you good news. Faceless has sessfully rescued Alina and escaped the Azure Wind Mountain Sect. If everything goes smoothly, they should be able to leave the continent as well and head in our direction. For us, this means our entire n changed!"
Both Noa and Freya were startled before astonishment shimmered in their eyes because this sound was quite surreal.
"She really pulled that off? She''s even more capable than a certain assassin I know of." Freya muttered while ncing at Noa.
Noa rolled her eyes at Freya since she knew this woman was still not getting over her early defeat.
Still, it was quite apparent that Winter had grown quite a lot in the time she had been away from the thief''s house.
"Does this mean we are no longer going to the human continent?" Noa asked impassively.
Ace thought for a moment before he replied, "If she can leave the continent within a year, then I don''t think there is a need to go there. But the possibility is still there. Nheless, the chances of it happening are still slim, so let''s discuss our next move."
Freya squinted her eyes as she somewhat guessed Ace''s intentions, "Are we abandoning this ship?"
She knew there was no longer a need to travel with these humans since they no longer needed them to infiltrate the Azure Wind Continent and the AWM Sect. So, there was no need to keep this ticking trouble close to them anymore.
Ace didn''t deny it as he nodded, "Indeed, there is no need to trouble ourselves with them no more. Instead, I want you two to choose a ce of operation and start increasing your house ranks. It''s time for you two to start umting your thieveries and hone your skills further. It is also good for your cultivation since you will be umting more experience."
"Wait, why are you suddenly telling us this? Don''t you want us to go with you? What are you nning to do?" Noa sternly questioned with a clear tone of dismay.
Ace sighed as he replied, "It''s necessary for your growth as excellent thieves just like Winter. Furthermore, you guys are not tools to keep in the thief''s house, which I can use whenever I fall into trouble and have your free will.
"Instead, you guys will be more useful if you are operating in different ces. Just like how Winter was present outside when the news about Alina''s started to spread, or I don''t know when I would''ve found out if she hadn''t been outside the thief''s house at that time."
His tone was extremely firm, "It goes without saying that you guys will grow far more powerful and quicker in the thief''s house, but you also know solitude can only help you so much.
"Furthermore, you can earn more house points and evolve far more quickly if you are free to do thieveries, and it is also best for the thief''s house as a whole. Besides, you also have life-persevering methods and can''t be enved, so I don''t think I need to worry about you guys.
"On the other hand, my way forward is going to be different from now on, and Winter should be enough help. You two need to grow now because I think once I''m done with this cumbersome mission, we''ll be facing more than just ten continents."
Ace''s expression was extremely stern as killing intent was surfacing in his eyes, giving both women certain chills like never before when they heard his next words.
"Even Heaven might get greatly involved after I''m done with this next mission¡!"
Chapter 812 Meeting of Sect Leaders (1)
Chapter 812 Meeting of Sect Leaders (1)
12 months have passed since the humans started the attack against the demon and devil race armies.
As a result, those who could flee the continent had fled, and those unfortunate ones who remained were now either in the embrace of death or hiding like rats, no longer daring to make their presence known.
Furthermore, because of some unknown reason, almost every human with some influence now knows why the five ancient sects suddenly took such ruthless actions.
The humans sent by the five ancient sects on an expedition were able to snatch away an entire secret realm right under the noses of the allied races and even get their hands on two fabled 8th-realm cultivation techniques.
These rumors caused almost every human in power to stir with ambition and greed as they all wanted to get their hands on those techniques. Since the cat was already out of the bag, the Five Ancient Sect decided to use it to their advantage.
Six months ago, they all collectively announced a new program called the ''Holy Land of Humans.''
Holy Land of Humans program offered anyone with potential and merits a direct slot in the Secret Realm, and whoever joined would have a chance to cultivate in those two cultivation techniques.
The moment those five sects announced this program, every human responded with mirth, and as a result, almost everyone had forgotten about the elusive thief Sky Stealer, and they were all focusing on getting in the ancient sects'' good graces.
At this moment, the five ancient sects'' Sect Leaders were having a hidden meeting.
Azure Patriarch Shane spoke with a firm tone, "Sect Leaders, thank you for gathering at such short notice, but it is about the future of our race, and it can''t wait."
A tall ck-d figure, with his face hidden behind a hood and a crimson mask, spoke in a husky tone filled with maliciousness, "Azure Patriarch before we start, I want to know the status of the expedition entourage. I''m not able to reach my daughter. Is there something you''re hiding from me?"
This ck figure was the Sect Leader of the Dark Nightmare Sect, the Nightmare Wrath! n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Azure Patriarch, Shane coolly replied, "It''s only natural for Sect Leader not to be able to reach your daughter. Not everyone from the entourage ising back. The young ones are staying behind in the secret realm and cultivating in 8th realm cultivation techniques. I''m surprised your respective didn''t tell you that."
Nightmare Wrath replied in the same tone, "I was indeed told as such, but you see, I feel something is not right with all of this. I heard half of our sect representatives are staying behind as well, and your side happened to be the one in contact with them. I want you to do me this small favor and arrange for me to talk with my daughter. Or trust me, we both will have a very big problem."
Azure Patriarch Shane''s eyes narrowed at Nightmare Wrath''s blunt disrespect, while the other sect leaders weren''t much surprised by Nightmare Wrath''s insolence. Because they all knew only this lunatic would dare to talk with Azure Patriarch in that tone and even threaten him.
Furthermore, they all knew one of the biggest reasons why Nightmare Wrath was being so blunt today was because of the absence of Grand Azure Elder and the Prime One!
If those two were present, Nightmare Wrath might''ve shown some restraint, but since their whereabouts were unknown and the Azure Wind Mountain Sect seems to try hiding it but it can''t because of those rumors going around.
Without those two backings, the Azure Wind Mountain Sect didn''t have the qualification to be called the strongest sect of the Azure Wind Continent.
However, Azure Patriarch wasn''t a pushover either, and he coldly replied, "I''ll see what I can do. But I can''t promise you anything since even I can''t reach them unless they reach me.
"Despite that, if you still want to cause trouble when we are walking on thin ice, I wee you to try. I''m sure once we start fighting internally, Devils, Demons, Hunters, Beasts, Elves, and all the races sharpening their des will not hesitate to use them on us. Don''t forget without Grand Elder and Prime One; we need to be united to survive until they return."
Powerful ripples appeared between the two sect leaders making the atmosphere extremely suffocating.
But Azure Patriarch wasn''t just threatening Nightmare Wrath. He was threatening the reaming three sect leaders as well because he knew, unlike Nightmare Wrath, who was crazing for his only daughter, those three put benefits above rtionship.
Right now, those two cultivation techniques were something they could do anything to get their hands on, and they all knew the 1st Azure Elder was the most powerful being present in that entourage, and if he suddenly decided to run away with them, they might die from regret.
That was the Azure Patriarch''s biggest trump card to still be in the position of a collective leader!
Just as he expected, the Soul me Sect Leader in white Taoist robes spoke while releasing his aura on Nightmare Wrath and stated with a cold smile, "Sect Leader Nightmare Wrath, please consider the greater good of humanity first. I''m sure your daughter is doing fine, and there should be a good reason since she hasn''t contacted you yet. Right now, we need to work together to halt the advance of those vile creatures!"
coquettishly spoke, but her aura was as terrifying as the Soul me Venerable. She was the Sect Leader of the Yin Flower Sect, Mistress "Heh, Soul me Venerable just snatched the words out of this mistress''s mouth. Old Wrath, calm down a bit for me, please?" A poiseddy with an enthralling figure and fairy-like face coquettishly spoke, but her aura was as terrifying as the Soul me Venerable. She was the Sect Leader of the Yin Flower Sect, Mistress Yin Flower.
Lastly, a 2.9-meter burly giant with bronze skin, and bald head, and a long ck beard also released his aura onto Nightmare Wrath and spoke with narrowed eyes, "This Beast Lord is also with other sect leaders. We can''t afford to fight each other when so much is at stake."
Killing intent suddenly shone in Beast Tamer Sect Leader''s eyes, the Beast Tamer Lord as he cruelly spoke, "Or do you think I don''t want to collect the debt of my sect elders and those precious beasts'' deaths?"
Nightmare Wrath''s expression was hidden behind his crimson mask, but the four Sect Leaders'' auras weighing down on him were no joke, and Azure Patriarch had this victorious smirk on his face.
As an assassin, he knew this atmosphere bode nothing but bad for him, so he backed down in the end.
"Hmph, a bunch of ves for greed." He sneered with killing intent, "But mark my words; if anything happens to my daughter, I''ll vow to kill every single one of your loved ones with my own hands, and then I''ll kill you all!"
His killing intent almost materialized at this moment before it vanished with his aura, "Now, let''s hear what you have to say, you cunning old bastard!"
Chapter 813 Meeting Of Sect Leaders (2)
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"Now, let''s hear what you have to say, you cunning old bastard!"
Azure Patriarch Shane frowned darkly at Nightmare Wrath''s churlish words. If they didn''t need every expert on their side to work together, then the first one to be eliminated should be none other than Nightmare Wrath!
But right now, the humans need someone with Nightmare Wrath''s skills even more than the Azure Patriarch, and that''s why Nightmare Wrath''s transgression will be forgiven whether any more likes it or not.
Azure Patriarch decided to get straight to the point, or he might lose control and do something he will regret, and that lunatic wants.
"I call for this meeting to discuss three things, and I want your full cooperation because it will decide the fate of our entire race.
"First, I''m regretful to inform you all that the fugitive Demon Princess and Devil Duke are still on the run, and they both plundered another one of our warehouses in western Azure Wind Mountain Sect.
"Furthermore, I have a strong reason to believe that all those rumors are being spread by those two, and they are also feeding information to their sides." His expression went gloomy as he looked at Beast Tamer Lord, "That''s why I need Beast Tamer Lord''s help to track them down as quickly as possible, or we can''t operate with peace of mind."
"Heh, did I just hear wrong? The might Azure Patriarch asked another''s help?" Nightmare Wrath couldn''t help but take a wing at Shane with a voice filled with disdain.
"At least Azure Patriarch knows when to seek help instead of just killing innocent people when you find yourself frustrated like a mad dog." Beast Tamer Lord scoffed in mockery. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
He probably had the biggest grudge against Nightmare Wrath because many of his elders and disciples had fallen at the hands of the Dark Nightmare Sect. Rumor has it that Nightmare Wrath had once assassinated Beast Tamer Lord''s woman!
Soul me Venerable chimed in with an amiable smile, "Alright, gentlemen, we are not here to sow discord among ourselves."
They were not on the best terms with each other, but now they had to work together to fight this deadly war.
However, it was far easier said than done because Nightmare Wrath was not done with his provocation, especially when he was called a ''mad dog.'' If he didn''t prove Beast Tamer Lord right, then wouldn''t he be called a mad dog for nothing?
But his target was still Shane, who had a thick vein budging on his temple.
"Since you''re seeking help, why don''t you bepletely honest about it? I''m pretty sure this dog''s nose can find the Elven Queen and the Hunter Princess as well."
Nightmare Wrath''s jeering words cause massive changes in Shane''s face as well as the other sect leaders'' attention has also drawn by those words. They weren''t fools, and they instantly noticed the changes in Shane''s expression, and they knew Nightmare Wrath''s words just hit the bullseye!
Shane knew he just made a massive mistake, and an even bigger mistake was to get on Nightmare Wrath''s bad side. But there was no point in regretting spilled milk because the way the other sect leaders were looking at him right now, he knew they wouldn''t be swayed by simple excuses anymore.
Mistress Yin Flower squinted her pearl-like eyes and questioned in a mellow tone that contained a strange charm, "There is no need to hide it from us, Azure Patriarch. The trustes both ways."
Shane sneered coldly at this moment, "There is no need to use your charm arts on me; I''m not that weak-minded." He then looked at Nightmare Wrath with a hint of killing intent and questioned, "How did you know, and for how long? Do you have something to do with the Hunter Princess escape?"
Nowadays, this mystery was the biggest scorn in Shane''s heart, the disappearance of the Hunter Princess and her attendants, the 7th Azure Elder''s strange involvement, andstly, the 3rd Azure Elder''s inanity!
These facts were something that kept Shane and many other elders waking up many nights in session, yet they couldn''t even begin to imagine just what in the world had transpired that unfortunate day.
But they all naturally had onemon suspect who could''ve pulled something like this off, the elusive thief, Sky Stealer!
However, this incident was deeply hidden by them, yet Nightmare Wrath somehow got wind of it, and Shane couldn''t help but suspect him now and wondered if this guy had kidnapped the hunter princess so he could exploit the hunters alone!
Yet, Azure Patriarch refused to believe that this guy could sway or control the 7th Azure Elder to the extent she even through her chastity away just to let those hunters escape and couldn''t even remember a single thing!
Nightmare Wrath, coolly yet jeeringly, replied, "If I tell you this, don''t I''ll be revealing all of my secrets? But don''t worry; I can vow to death that I have no part in it. Just in case your shrewd mind is running in the wrong direction."
"Then it''s true? The Hunter Princess is no longer in your custody, and how in the world does Elven Queen appear here? Why are we hearing about it only now?" Soul me Venerable expression was stern as he demanded.
They were clearly not informed about how the Elven Queen was a hired gun to protect Alina while the Ancestors were away, and these guys were not qualified to learn such a secret.
Yet because of their own stupidity, they try to contain her instead of forming an alliance with her, and because of this exact reason, whoever came to rescue Alina got the chance to do so smoothly.
"Come on guys, do you think an ipetent person would admit their own ipetence?" Nightmare Wrath coldly scoffed at Shane''s pale and dark expression; he knew he had cornered him by using his second n.
So now it was time to get what he wanted, "How about this? I will track down those escapees for you if you let me have a chat with my daughter, and I can assure you that I''m fully capable of it!"
Chapter 814 I’ll Be There…
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Today a small sailboat enshrouded in an ethereal purple haze entered the sea boundary line of the All Devil Continent.
A pale middle-aged man with handsome features and slim stature was sitting cross-legged on the small sailboat as his long white hair swayed in cold winds, and his cold eyes filled with vicissitudes of life were staring at the outline of darknds.
"Who could''ve thought it would be so easy to approach the All Devil Continent." A mncholic old raspy voice rang in his head, filled with spectacle.
"We should thank the little swindler for this, I guess." Another raspy voice sounded with a hint of hate. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The tranquil expression of the middle-aged man crumbled, and he pursed his lips as hemented hoarsely, "Sigh¡ if only you two hadn''t lost the soul wisps, this retrieval would be even easier. Although the devils have sent theirrge forces to the Azure Wind Continent, don''t forget they were always unfathomable, and they didn''t have a deep grudge against the little thief as the demons so I''m pretty sure it won''t be as easier as our trip to the demon continent."
"Sigh, I never thought a little pup would trick us like this one day. But I''m not the one to me, but number 1 is! If not for him giving him that wisp first and soul contract, I would never have believed him and even given him the Psyche Invasion!" The first voice grumbled with frustration.
"Hmph! It''s not my fault that the little swindler is so cunning and even able to break the soul contract after tricking the Psyche Invasion out of you. Now he has our strongest art, and who knows where he is, and the only lead we have is that hunter girl!" The second voice sounded equally frustrated.
The middle-aged man sneered darkly, "We will be able to find that thief once I have another soul piece and soul wisp merged with me. That''s why this retrieval is far more important than some dumb luck. Thest soul piece and wisp had to be in the hands of our traitorous disciple, and we can''t face him without retrieving all the four soul pieces and wisps first."
His eyes shone with killing intent, "So after this endeavor, we are going after that little thief with everything we had, or we can forget about taking our revenge and all the things that traitorous bastard had stolen from us!"
The purple haze around the sailboat suddenly intensified and appeared like purple mes as the speed of the sailboat elerated tremendously as it headed in the All Devil Continent direction!
---
On the opposing side of the All Devil Continent, anotherrge ship was making its way toward the dark shores of the continent.
A tall hooded figure stood on the mast pole, and two pitch-ck eyes shimmering darkly were staring at the quickly approaching All Devil Continent with a hint of anticipation and conviction.
"The strongest race of the world, I let them know fear¡" A melodious voice filled with wanton pride and longing sounded, "Only then will I be his strongest sword and¡."
---
On anotherrge ship, another hooded figure was staring at the approaching beautifulndscape with astute yet mischievous eyes.
"Hmph, so much for giving me a choice. In the end, he had his own agenda, how typical of him. Still, I''ll show him what I can build up from scratch, and then¡."
---
Inside an empty room, there was nothing besides nine symbols engraved on nine different points of this room, and nothing looked out of the ordinary.
However, right at this moment, a transparent figure sitting cross-legged started to materialize before it started to turn corporeal as a faint golden hue shimmering around it.
Within a few moments, the figure fully materialized, and a dark hooded figure with an imposing owl engraved on his back appeared.
It was naturally Ace, who was sitting cross-legged, but a moment ago, it appeared there was nothing, and even now, despite his appearance, no one would be able to sense his presence at all, like he was a ghost.
Suddenly, he starts emitting powerful undtion, and golden winds circte around his figure. Furthermore, now his figure seemed to be outlined with pitch-ck paint.
Thereby, Ace''s figure again turned ethereal before vanishing, and sometimeter, he reappeared again like before and then again vanished. This strange process continued for a few hours before he received a house call!
Reappearing in the empty room again, everything around turned to normal, and then he received the call.
"We have appeared on the marked ind NO¡ of endless sea route NO¡ of human secret endless sea channels just like you ordered me. Now what?" Winter''s grumpy voice sounded in exasperation.
Behind his mask, Ace''s lips curled up in a smile filled with ecstasy, "Now, you should wait. I will be there in three days."
"Wait? How can that be?" Winter''s voice sounded in surprise, "Wasn''t that secret realm even further away than the demon continent? How can you be here in just 12 months? Tell me, honesty, did you have a Grade-9 ship or something?"
In reply to Winter''s disbelieving questions, Ace chuckled mysteriously, "Heh, if I had such treasure, I would be there even earlier. It took you eight months just to leave the Azure Wind Continent, and if I didn''t find a way to increase my speed, I''m afraid we''ll all be in very massive trouble.
"I''ll exin it once I meet you, just stay on that ind and don''t tell my sis, I want to give her a surprise, and I hope she''s doing just as great as you told me she was, or we will both have a serious issue."
"Hmph, can you just act grateful and not threaten me the next moment?" Winter grumbled furiously, "Whatever, since you''re here early, this means I can go back to my house space and finally can rest! I''ve had enough of being her babysitter!"
Ace chuckled before he ended the call, and his eyes shone with ecstatic anticipation before worry appeared.
"Now that I''m this close to being united with her, why do I feel this nervousness? Is it because now I had to find the union''s whereabouts in due time?"
Ace couldn''t help but sigh as he never expected to feel such disquietude when he was so close to finally meeting with Alina!
Chapter 815 The Reunion (1)
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In the middle of the endless sea was a small isted ind, just like countless other such inds scattered in this endless sea. Furthermore, the Qi of these inds were extremely sacred, and that''s why there were no inhabitants. These sorts of inds were mostly used in extreme situations.
There were a few camps in the middle of this isted ind secured and camouged by a few powerful formations.
Just a couple of meters away from the campsite, at the shore of this ind, a statuesque, tantalizing figure d in ck robes stood facing the unsurmountable sea. As the cold sea breeze brushed past her veiled face, her long silver hair fluttered in the air like silver mes while her bright silver eyes contained longing as she just stared at the horizon.
"It took us so long just to escape that ce, and now I have to wait even more. How insufferable!" Alina muttered in her euphonious voice with a hint of spleen, "I wonder how he will react¡."
She suddenly stopped as she felt someone approaching her but didn''t turn around as she could tell by the walking patterns just who it was.
Another graceful silver-haired woman with an oval bewitching face wearing white robes walked over. She was Lillian, Alina''s Royal Maid.
Lillian stopped right beside Alina with a troubled expression on her face as if she was contemting something very important.
However, Alina seemed to be known what she was troubled about as she coolly uttered, "Now that I won''t listen to him, he sent you to persuade me, huh? How typical of Grandpa, always looking out for Silver Ice n." Then she finally looked directly into Lillian''s startled eyes and coldly uttered, "But my answer to you will also be the same, I will not change my course!"
Lillian bit her lower lips as she knew there was no longer any need to pretend as Alina wasn''t a fool as she appeared to be whenever her so-called brother got involved.
"B-but this time, he said we should first return home and then invite your brother. Won''t it be safer for both of you? I''m pretty sure that L-lord Sky Stealer didn''t want to take unnecessary risks, either. We can just tell him to head to the Blood Continent instead!
"It would be far quicker since, ording to Miss Faceless, he''sing from somewhere around the all-devil continent. He should be in our content vicinity by now, right?" Lillian''s expression turned brighter as she exined, and Alina listened to her without cutting her short.
Alina''s eyes narrowed as he didn''t instantly refute since Lillian''s words were quite logical, but then she shook her head, "No, I can''t put his life at risk for my own sake anymore. Since he has alreadyid a n, we will follow it with no questions asked. Don''t forget who he is right now. Since he rescued me and is now willing to meet with me, it means he trusts me unconditionally, and he should be expecting me to trust him just the same.
"I know what Grandpa is worried about and why he has been pestering me to head home, but I know if I do that, he might never agree to meet me again and think of me as an ungrateful person. Even if I demand to change in n, that woman will surely make a big deal out of it, don''t forget she never let me talk to him. So, don''t blow this up for me, you two." She was literally begging towards the end.
Lillian felt ashamed as she looked at Alina''s almost teary eyes; she knew just how much Alina longed to meet with Ace and how it had almost broken her better than anyone when she discovered the destruction of River Flower City and the possibility of his death.
Furthermore, Ace has also proved more than enough that he really cares about Alina as well despite his sensitive identity, so she also wants them to meet. But the problem was Herman, who seemed to be still insisting on not letting Alina meet with Ace, at least not like this when they had an absolute disadvantage. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Because in thesest 12 months, they all have some idea about just how terrifying Winter is, and she also seems to be just waiting for an opportunity to discard Herman and Lillian if they try anything funny.
But Herman was a shrewd old man, and he behaved and fully cooperated with Winter''s every demand, no matter how ridiculous it had been. However, now that they were finally out of the human continent, he was finally starting to show his fangs.
But he was still resorting to verbal persuasion since if Alina agreed, Winter wouldn''t try to stop them from leaving. She had already made it clear long ago.
However, Alina was hellbent on meeting Ace and ignored Herman''s every word, and now, he seemed to be trying to use Lillian.
Nevertheless, Lillian wasn''t as stubborn as Herman and deeply cared about Alina''s emotions, not just about what was good for her. So, she didn''t say anything else after trying once.
Lillian then changed the topic to change the mood and smilingly said in a teasing tone, "You know what, princess? I think Grandpa Herman is afraid that your affection toward your ''brother'' is not sisterly but those of a lovesick woman. I''m afraid that even Miss Faceless is wry of you because of this exact reason, and you have toughpetition ahead!"
Alina blinked at Lillian''s mischievous words all of a sudden before a tingle of red surfaced on her snowy face, and she rapidly retorted with a hint of shyness, "Utter nonsense! You should be careful what you say, or I have to educate you!"
Lillian didn''t back down. She pulled a knowing smile as she giggled, "Why are you so shy? It''s not like he''s your real brother, and I think he''s also in love with you. That''s why he''s doing all of this! You should not hesitate or¡yiiippp!"
Lillian instantly cried in pain when Alina pinched her wrist with a bead red face and panic-stricken eyes, "Don''t spout nonsense, or I will really get mad!"
While the girls were messing around, Herman appeared with a stony face, and they instantly stopped. He sighed ruefully when he saw Alina''s vignt eyes and felt like a viin. But before he could say anything, his eyes contracted in astonishment.
Alina instantly discovered that she or Lillian wasn''t the cause of that astonishment; it was something behind them.
She also turned around, and finally, her eyes went wide as well when she saw a silhouette that seemed to be flying toward them!
Chapter 816 The Reunion (2)
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"What is that? A demonic beast?" Lillian''s eyes narrowed in scrutiny as she looked at the silhouette flying right in their direction. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Herman''s eyesight was far more powerful than Lillian''s as he grimly uttered, "That''s clearly not a demonic beast but a humanoid figure flying over some object. I think we have been discovered!"
They were still close to the Azure Wind Continent despite leaving its periphery, and they knew if the humans got wind of their whereabouts, they would be in massive trouble.
Because while they were still had been on the continent, almost every day, they had to sneak past a powerful searching party and almost got noticed two times. If not for Winter''s heaven-defying disgusting skills, they might''ve never made it out here without drawing attention to themselves first.
"You might be wrong, Grandpa." Alina spoke at this moment as she could also see the silhouette getting closer with squinted eyes, "For all we know, that person might be a wanderer. Don''t forget we are in the middle of an endless sea, and this is a secret route for humans. So, we are not the only one who knows about it. We can''t reach a conclusion so quickly."
"p¡p¡"
Sounds of pping rang from behind them, and they didn''t have to guess who it was as a hooded, graceful figure walked out.
"I expect nothing less from my favorite princess, and I feel disappointed like always by you, old man." Winter''s sarcastic voice sounded as she walked over.
Herman''s expression went cold as he looked at Winter and said, "Lady Faceless, what are your instructions?"
This is how Herman behaved around Winter, as he knew this woman seemed to make things difficult for him, but getting rid of him was far more tiresome than Winter could begin to imagine.
Alina, with a hint of unhappiness, nced at Winter and couldn''t help but think about what Lillian had just said to her, ''Don''t tell me she''s really¡.''
A tint of redness appeared on her face again, but her eyes went colder than ice, "What do you have in mind, Miss Faceless? If I guess correctly and by how you dealt with these kinds of situations in the past, we will be killing that stranger, right?"
Winter couldn''t help but giggle darkly as he replied, "You know me well, princess. Truly, I wish, but s, I''m afraid no one here is capable enough¡"
Winter''s ambiguous reply caused the hunters'' expressions to change ever so slightly since they weren''t expecting this answer from this ruthless woman at all.
Herman suddenly thought of something, and his expression turned dark, "Is that someone you know?"
''Damnable, just she alone is a headache enough, and now if another gets involved, it would be extremely hard to achieve what I want. Could it be she had guessed my intentions and called reinforcement?'' Herman''s heart sank as he felt even more terrified of the mysterious thief in front of him.
Alina and Lillian were also surprised as this was the only sane, logical exnation of that mysterious person and Winter''s words.
Winter''s lips behind her mask curled up in a mocking smile as she looked at Herman and nodded, "Old man, you guess right this time, but unfortunately, you''re wrong at the same time."
Herman felt extremely uneasy by Winter''s words, but he couldn''t think of why.
Nevertheless, since Winter had confirmed that it was someone in cohort with her, then there was no need to attack or be rmed.
The hunters then turned toward the silhouette, which was now only over a mile away. Now they can see clearly see a tall, dark robe figure in a dark hood, making it wave toward them while leaving behind a crimson streak.
"Is that a sword?" Alina was shocked when she noticed that the hooded figure was flying over a sword. She never thought such a thing was even possible.
Winter''s eyes narrowed with a hint of resentment, ''He has learned some new tricks, huh? How typical of him, humph!''
"This person¡" Herman muttered as he was also astounded by the flying sword and tried to sneakily use his soul sense since that person was in his range so he could probe him.
But he was thoroughly shocked because his soul sense didn''t pick anything at all. It was like that person didn''t exist at all. It was the same result when he used it on Winter. But the thing was, that person was using Qi, yet he still did not pick up another, which was extremely strange.
Now he was starting to wonder just how deep Ace''s forces were and how he could nurture such experts.
Alina also tried to secretly use her soul sense to probe the Qi emitted by the sword as a sword user herself. She was instantly captivated by that unusual way of using the sword as a flying medium.
She even wanted to learn it on her own if she could analyze it, but just like Herman, she got nothing which made her somewhat flustered and thought.
''Can I shamelessly ask for this person to teach me? Since he''s Ace''s subordinate, he won''t reject me, right?''
However, when that person on the flying sword was only a hundred meters away from her, she suddenly felt her heart race for some reason because she felt a foreign yet familiar gaze on her, and confusion surfaced in her eyes.
At this moment, the person on the flying sword stopped only ten meters above the ground and the hunters. The next moment, the sword under his feet suddenly vanished, and so was the person!
Before the hunters could react, they were all shocked because the very next moment, that hooded figure was standing right in front of dazed Alina.
Alina''s heart beat wildly at this moment, and she didn''t react at all as she confusingly looked under the dark hood as if she wanted to peer through that darkness and see the face of this person who suddenly made her heart race so much because of that familiar feeling of warmth.
She didn''t have to go through the trouble, though, as that person removed his hood, revealing his peerless face in front of everyone!
Chapter 817 The Reunion (3)
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Carrying unique charm, his peerless, shaped face, with a strong, sharp chin and sword-like eyebrows above dark blue eyes, filled with warmth and ecstasy as they looked at Alina. His long inky ck hair draped over his sturdy, broad shoulders, and he wore a gentle smile filled with nostalgia.
Alina''s stupor eyes started to widen in disbelief as that perfectly handsome, white face in front of her ovepped with a scrawny face of her dreams, and that familiar feeling emitting from him made it pretty clear who this mysterious person was.
"B¡b-big bro-" She wanted to yell out loud, but her soft voice was trembling as she gazed at those familiar dark blue eyes that also looked at her with tenderness.
Even after seventeen years of separation, nothing seemed to have changed in those eyes as they looked at her just like she remembered as if they were never separated.
Ace looked at Alina''s silver hair and eyes as they weren''t like what he had remembered them to be and that purple veil hiding her half face, but he knew for a fact that she was indeed his Lil Sis, just like Alina could tell that he was her Big Bro.
"You brat, you''ve grown so much," Ace said with a gentle smile, feeling surreal after finally meeting her.
Alina trembled slightly as she heard that familiar tone, and that final doubt in her heart vanished into smoke. She knew Ace was really standing in front of her, and it wasn''t a dream.
Thereby there was no point in standing there and contemting and the next moment, directly pounced on his arms, hugging him tightly, afraid he would vanish.
Ace felt the soft body in his arm and her unique scent waffled in the air, and feeling her strong emotions, he knew he wasn''t the only one who was longing for this reunion and hugged her back just like he used to do in the past.
Although both of them were enjoying that moment of union to its fullest, it wasn''t that wasn''t the case for the onlookers.
Winter merely grumbled while her expression was unknown.
Lillian waspletely captivated by Ace''s appearance and almost forgot about everything else.
However, Herman was utterly gobsmacked when he first saw Ace, not because of his heaven-defying appearance; instead, he was still under the impression that it would take Ace another year or two to reach this ce, yet here he was with Alina in his embrace!
Not only was this out of his calction, but his appearance had made his every n go down the drain because all those ns revolved around Alina not seeing Ace, at least not when there was nothing in ce to keep them in check.
However, Ace had again performed out of everyone''s expectations, and now that he had finally seen Ace, he knew even if he wanted to, he wasn''t Ace and Winter''s match.
Furthermore, with Ace''s flying skills and that mysterious skill, he performed to appear right in front of Alina when he can''t even detect him. It was pretty clear that Ace should be far more terrifying than Winter, who was his subordinate.
Not to mention, Ace has a terrifying reputation as the elusive thief, Sky Stealer, which is enough for anyone to take him seriously until they don''t want to earn his infamous ''mark.''
However, seeing Alina and Ace hugging each other like this gave Herman a sense of strong crisis, and he knew if he didn''t do anything, it would be toote then.
But before he could, Ace suddenly looked at him with a threatening re which sent chills to Herman''s spin for some reason.
Ace then open his mouth before ncing at Winter, "I want to spend some time with my Lil Sis alone. We''ll be back."
The next moment before anyone could react, Ace and Alina''s figures seemed to be surrounded by golden winds, and then they turned into a blur and vanished under everyone''s baffled eyes.
"Tsk, he didn''t even greet me first and just took off with his prize possession which I earned for him. How infuriating, humph!" Winter muttered with indignation.
Herman, on the other hand, had apletely different reaction than the perplexed woman, "Where did he go? And why didn''t you tell us about his arrival!?" He questioned Winter with his aura suddenly skyrocketing. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Winter looked at Herman as if she was looking at a fool and sneered with disdain, "Are you qualified to know his movements? How about you try and go after them and see what will happen? I''m pretty sure you don''t have guts, old man, or you wouldn''t be just paralyzed by his single glimpse. Give up; you''re way out of your head if you think you can outsmart or outpower him. He''s not someone you want to piss off or¡ Hehehe."
Winterughed darkly before she turned around the left towards her camp as she knew now she had to wait until Ace came back and didn''t want to debate with Herman, or she knew she might smack the stubborn old fool.
Lillian also snapped out of her stupor and couldn''t help but nce at the clouded face of Herman with a pitiful look and sighed.
"Grandpa, I hope you understand that princess is no longer a child and has long grown up. She knows better than anyone what she should or should not do and her responsibilities. If you continue to treat her like this, I''m afraid¡" She sighed ruefully before she left while shaking her head.
Herman stood there alone as he watched the raging waves on the sea as the sun was setting, and he couldn''t help but synonymize this with his own feelings.
In the end, a deep sigh escaped his mouth as his eyes were filled withplication and deep regret, ''Was I had been wrong not to take that boy or get rid of him for good when I had the chance? If I had, everything should be different. Old Master, I have sinned¡''
Chapter 818 The Reunion (4)
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On another small ind,
Ace and Alina sat on a beach close to each other while watching the beautiful sea sunset.
Alina was leaning over Ace''s shoulder with a blissful look in her dreamy eyes as if it was but a dream. Yet the sound of waves, cold winds brushing past her, and the familiar warmth she was feeling couldn''t be any more real.
"I missed you every day¡" She muttered tenderly at this moment for the first time.
Ace was enjoying this moment just as much as Alina and had a gentle smile on his face, "I as well, missed you. Thinking about you, wondering what you would''ve been doing, were you healthy and taking care of yourself. Now seeing you all grown up into a beautiful youngdy, time really flies, hasn''t it?"
"It''s been seventeen years, three months, and two days exactly since we''d been separated, so yes, time flies." Alina mncholically replied.
Ace couldn''t help but nce at Alina and chuckled in amusement, "So you''ve been counting, huh?" N?v(el)B\\jnn
Alina nodded lightly before ncing back at him with anticipation, "Of course, haven''t you?"
"I might''ve lost track of it at some point. Besides, you know I''m not good with remembering time." Ace replied honestly.
A hint of nostalgia shed past Alina''s eyes, and instead of getting dejected, she giggled, "Hehe, I know you remember months by the time of your monthly sries. When you get your sry, your new month starts, and the previous month ends."
Ace chuckled in nostalgia as he remembered how he used to be in the past, "You make it sound like it was just me who used to do silly things. Don''t you remember your glutinous self? I almost got broke by feeding you."
Alina blushed slightly as she retorted in embarrassment, "It was Big Bro''s fault as well! You shouldn''t have gotten me addicted to your cooking and then put up with my every demand. You even spent all your savings to fulfill my childish demands! And you just couldn''t let me get a job either!"
Ace smilingly replied while looking directly into Alina''s eyes, "I''d done what a brother should do for his only little sister. Besides, that money was just gonna rot anyway since I didn''t have anything to spend it on. So, don''t make it sound as if I regret what I''ve done because truly, I didn''t for a moment and will do the same if given another chance."
Alina was captivated by Ace''s words and couldn''t help but feel her heart race as she remembered Ace just like this, and it appeared he hadn''t changed it all. He still cared about her just as much as he did in the past.
Alina finally lowered her head with a guilty gleam in her eyes as they turned misty with tears, "I-I''m sorry! I shouldn''t have left you in that city and should have taken you with me. You have no idea just how miserable I felt when I returned and saw the River Flower City''s ruin. I-I¡I thought you¡*sob* I''m not qualified for your care or love. You''ve done so much for a stranger like me, yet I a-abandoned you¡ I''m an ingrate¡*sob*¡"
Ace could feel Alina''s trembling body and raging emotions filled with regret, sadness, guilt, and other negative feelings she had been bearing and suppressing in her heart for all these years. They all came out like torrents all at once now that she had finally been united with Ace.
It would be a lie to say Ace hadn''t thought about this direction, but he never med Alina; instead, he med their backgrounds and his helplessness.
Ace sighed and took her in his arm, and said softly, "It''s not your fault. You shouldn''t me yourself for something you had no control over. I was just a mortal back then, and you belonged to a prestige race and family. Even if I was in your shoes, I don''t think anything could''ve been different.
"Maybe it was meant to happen this way. Since those past events made us what we are today. If your grandpa hadn''te back in time and given you that pill, you could''ve been dead. Thereby, I would''ve med myself for that my entire life, just like I med my wretched fate. Heh, I even med Heaven for my own helplessness and ignorance.
"A mortal like me had no right to expect anything from you or anyone. So, don''t me yourself since it hadn''t been your fault in the first ce. We are just born different and in different circumstances.
"In fact, if you had taken me with you and your grandpa hade earlier, I won''t be what I am today and could never be able to stand toe to toe with you or face off with your family.
"And besides, you came back for me, hadn''t you? So, don''t me yourself unless you''re unhappy about my good fortune and jealous, huh?"
Ace''sst teasing words made Alina look at him in a moment of daze before she burst intoughter despite her still self-me expression. However, his words had some effect, and she didn''t seem that self-depraved anymore.
He didn''t miss this chance and continued, "I''ve heard you''re famous by the title, Ice Sword Fairy, but sorry to say, I''m even more famous than you, and my reputation struck like heavenly thunder. So, if you''re jealous, I can understand and send some of my reputation your way."
"Hahaha¡ stop that! Who''s jealous of you, huh? And you''re not famous but infamous, and don''t sound so proud, or you might bite your tongue!" Alinaughed as she retorted, and her guilt seemed to be almost gone, and happiness reced her heart.
Ace snickered, "So what if I''m infamous? It''s the same thing, anyway. At least admit my title is way more imposing than yours, right?"
"No way~" Alina shook her head vigorously.
Thereafter, both of themugh heartedly, and the gloomy atmosphere vanishes, and the atmosphere bes jolly and nostalgic again.
After messing with each other some more, Alina no longer seemed self-depraved or self-ming. She even seemed in a much lighter mood, as if a mountain had been lifted off her heart. It was as if they both had returned to the past.
At this moment, she questioned Ace in a hesitant tone, "Can I ask Big Bro how you became Sky Stealer? Why do you choose to be a thief instead of a being a fame cultivator? I know you are fully capable of that. Then why be everyone''s enemy and called a thief?"
The jolly atmosphere suddenly changed the moment this question surfaced¡
Chapter 819 The Reunion (5)
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After Alina''s abrupt question, Ace looked at her as the sunset was now over and darkness crept on the horizon. A strange silence took ce between the two.
Alina''s question was something many people should be wondering about in the entire world, and Ace never told anyone why he was walking on this path of no return when he could simply be far more than just a hateful thief.
If Alina had asked this question fifteen years ago, Ace won''t hesitate to say that it was because of her that he wanted to be a thief so he could save her life.
But now even Ace didn''t know why he was willing to do all this and be a thief. He could simply say it was because of some outer existence maniption, such as the system, but he knew himself far better than before.
He knew if he didn''t want to, the system couldn''t force him to do anything. Furthermore, he just needed toplete a mission, and then he could just remain idle and live his life peacefully. Who could stop him?
So, the answer that Ace has right now is something Ace of 17 years ago would never have thought he would have.
Alina felt a strange unfamiliarity from Ace for the first time after she revealed her question, and now that she looked at his contemted expression, she felt she didn''t know him at all. He appeared to be apletely different person than in the past because the Ace she knew would answer her honestly without thinking twice.
Yet now, Ace seems to be carefully measuring his words. She even thought that she had stepped out of her boundary by asking that question.
She wasn''t a fool, and after she learned about Ace from Dream Shatter, she always had that thought that she had probably yed the biggest part in Ace being a thief, and that''s why she felt even more guilty.
She had almost forgotten that they were no longer in the past and just asked that question in the moment of heat when she clearly wasn''t prepared to receive that answer which might break her mentally.
Alina bit her lower lip behind her veil in frustration as that silence was just weighing down on her like a mountain, but she didn''t take it back as she wanted Ace to me her for what she had done. Maybe only then could she repent for her selfishness and sins!
Ace finally smiled bitterly as he spoke, "You always asked the most difficult questions. Let''s see, first, I might be at the wrong ce at the wrong time, but I''d be d if I were. Thereby, I was given a choice, and because of that choice, I became a thief to save my little sister from dying. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"At that time, even I never thought about I was capable of doing such an immoral thing as thievery. But you would be amazed to learn that desperation could make you do things that you can''t even begin to imagine you were capable of."
Alina''s felt her heart stabbed by thousands of knives when she heard what she was afraid of hearing the most.
But Ace continued in a stern tone, "But as time passed, and I started to walk on this loathsome path, I''ve learned many things about the so-called righteousness, reputation, fame, fickle morals¡ and reached a conclusion that being a thief wasn''t so bad at all.
"At some point, I started to enjoy it, the thrill of walking on the edge of a de, the mirth of finding the treasury and robbing it clean. The ecstasy came after knowing just how much I have theft and finding some hidden treasures unexpectedly, learning about people and this world''s secrets.
"The best part is when you''re walking among those exact people who are bloody and searching for you without leaving a stone turn. There''s nothing better than watching them crumble when they know they can''t capture me, and their generations of treasures are gone in oblivion just like that and right from under their noises. The same feelings I had when I was just a helpless mortal."
His smile turned dark and cruel at this point which sent a sudden chill of baffled Alina''s spine. She now felt she was looking at apletely different person with twisted morals and personality.
"So, never even think for a second that what I am is because of you. You were indeed the trigger, but this is what I meant to be from the start, a thief, nothing else, and I will be one again even if I have another chance." Ace stated in an imposing manner as strange darkness roamed through deep into his eyes, making them almost seem pitch ck.
Alina waspletely gobsmacked and somewhat paralyzed by Ace''s expression. She had a strange illusion that darkness was about to consume her entirely.
But it onlysted for a split second before Ace''s twisted expression returned to a gentle one, and he sighed, "That''s why I''m an adventurous thief, not a boring cultivator. I love traveling to all sorts of ces, so it''s a plus. Now I think you owe me an exnation as well, right?"
Alina was snapped out of her stupor as she looked at Ace''s gentle smile with uncertainty. She could still feel her back sweaty, so she knew it wasn''t an illusion, and she had just talked with the infamous elusive thief Sky Stealer, not Ace.
Nevertheless, she now felt somewhat relieved after she heard Ace''s unexpected and twisted reasons to be what he was, and he clearly didn''t n to change himself, not for even her.
Now that Ace had answered her question, she knew it was now her turn, and she knew exactly what exnation Ace wanted. Despite wanting to say something, she decided to keep it forst, and she really owed him the truth about herself.
She finally started to speak after arranging her thoughts, "You want to know why I was there, in thend of cities, so far away from my home and parents. The truth is¡!"
Chapter 820 The Reunion (6)
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"The truth is I was exiled from the Blood Continent when I was only two months old." Alina revealed in a sad tone, "Grandpa Herman took me to the Azure Wind Continent and hid in the lowernds, the humans had sealed for some reason.
"But humans were once the hunter-race subordinate race, and we know some hidden passages in the Azure Wind Continent that are either long forgotten or only known by bigwigs.
"The ancient passage that led to the lowernds from the royalnds is of the former category, and that''s why Grandpa Herman took me here so no one could find us and raised me in a forest close to the River Flower City but never let me interact with any human.
"At that time, I didn''t know my background. I just knew that my parents were dead and Grandpa was my only family. He taught me cultivation so I can protect myself.
"Until one day, Grandpa Herman took me to the city with him that day because I wanted to see what a city looks like, and he probably thought that it would be safe.
"But in truth, he was meeting with another hunter sent here by our n and secretly made contact with him through our n''s unique bloodline ability. However, who could''ve thought that a human expert would somehow discover that messenger and follow him to us?
"That''s why Grandpa Herman and that messenger had no choice but to lure him as far away from me as possible, and I left alone in that city without even knowing what happened.
She then looked at Ace, who was attentively listening to her story with a gentle expression, and said tenderly, "Until I met you that fateful night. I was afraid that he abandoned me and was afraid to be alone. Yet, you took me in and treated me to the best of your abilities, just like your own sister. Despite your own living conditions, you gave me the best.
"That time spent with you was probably the happiest time of my life until I suddenly fell into my bloodline awakening, which I had no idea would ur when I reached ten years of age like any other hunter.
"But knowing nothing about my condition, you sold your parents'' house for cheap so you could buy me some alchemy pills. Yet, I left with Grandpa once he helped me with the pill he was saving up for me, and then he told me about my parents were alive, and I could finally be united with them. But I left without even giving you a proper exnation¡"
Her eyes turned teary again as those memories surfaced again. But she didn''t cry and continued. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Afterward, I''ve finally learned the truth behind my exile. It was because of a grave sin my Grandparents hadmitted against our entire race by trying to perform some kind of ritual with our race''s sacred treasure.
"Thereby, the Blood Ancestor personally acted and executed them on the spot, and in her wrath, she nearly annihted our Silver Ice n. However, she stopped because of one reason¡ me!"
Ace was surprised by this revtion and remained silent to let Alina continue because he suddenly felt hatred from her, and her eyes went deadly cold.
"Although I don''t know the exact details since my Father and Mother won''t talk about it much. But the information they had revealed to appease me was that the Blood Ancestor discovered a massive potential in me.
"So, in return for me being her disciple, she was willing to spare my parents and remaining of Silver Ice n. However, she had a twisted condition which was for me to raise away from my parents and races for a decade.
"Before this exile period ended, I couldn''t know if I had a family, my background, or even my race. Furthermore, if I don''t retune or am found dead after ten years, my n will sufferplete annihtion.
"That''s why they both were forced to sign this soul contract and made Grandpa Herman to raised me far away from the continent and them. Until the exile period was over, and I was finally able to retune.
"However, soon everyone realized my potential as once I started cultivating in my n''s cultivation technique after my bloodline awakening, I made progress at a terrifying rate.
"Furthermore, I had a strange affinity with swords as I seemed to learn sword techniques far quicker than anyone else, even geniuses, and awaken my element sword intent.
"Once my potential was revealed, the Silver Ice n''s prestige also started to rise, and I''ve be famous very soon. However, this joy didn''tst for long, as when I turned 18, the Blood Ancestor finally reached out and summoned me.
"Then she told me about the agreement she had made with my parents and why my thoroughly weakened n wasn''t fully annihted despite the other four ns having such intention.
"She seemed to be manipting the entire race from the shadows and watching my every move. I felt extremely unconformable when she revealed it and asked me to be her disciple.
"I might''ve agreed, but she told me that I had to sign a soul contract with her and then remained in close door seclusion with her for 500 years; once I epted her as my master, I instantly rejected her.
"But for some reason, she didn''t seem angry; instead, sheughed and said, "One day, I will agree to it, and she won''t force me to do anything." Thereby, I became vignt of Blood Ancestor, and even my parents didn''tment on this when I told them.
"They seemed to be neither happy nor angry and just acted as if they didn''t know anything and told me never to reveal this to anyone. But as I be stronger and stronger, I start to feel a foreboding feeling, so much so that I suppress my own cultivation speed."
Alina''s eyes brightened all of a sudden as she happily said, "Until one day, I was finally able to sneak out of the Blood Continent, and what happened afterward, you should already know. I came to find you but was detained by Dream Shatter Ancestor, and then they used me as bait to lure you out!"
Chapter 821 The Reunion (7)
After hearing about Alina''s past, Ace couldn''t help but ask, "So, all in all, everything that happened to you in the past is somehow rted to this Blood Ancestor, right?"
Ace could easily tell that whoever this Blood Ancestor was, she was the orchestrator of everything that happened to Alina. Furthermore, the part about Blood Ancestor wanting Alina to enter close door seclusion with her for 500 hundred years irked Ace to no end, and even he could tell Blood Ancestor was up to no good.
''This might have something to do with this potential she has just mentioned. Could it be she had some fantastic physique?'' Ace thought with a grim expression as he wasn''t ignorant about these things anymore.
Alina gloomily replied, "Yes, she''s involved in almost everything. You would be surprised to know that the Blood Ancestor Margret has been living since ancient times and was proimed as the First Hunter to be born in this world, and our race called her sacred mother. But this fact is only known to top figures of our race, while others think she died long ago. If not for my unique circumstances, I won''t know about this secret either."
Ace''s eyes shimmered with surprise at this moment after hearing this absurd news. Furthermore, he also remembered something when he heard the name Margret.
"Margret? Do you mean to say she is the first leader, the Blood Huntress Margret of the Hunter Race? Is she the Blood Ancestor? Then didn''t this mean she''s been living for tens of thousands of years?" Ace questioned with apparent astonishment.
Because he heard her name from the memory they had acquired from the Grim Ancestor, and that guy also thought that she was dead long ago. But it won''t make any sense since Grim Ancestor had his racial ability to help him cheat death, but even he had to suffer consequences.
''Could it be she also wants a body like the damn snake?!'' Ace''s mind jolted when this thought surfaced in his mind, and he looked at startled Alina.
"They should be the same, I guess. But you seemed to know the Blood Ancestor?" Alina asked with uncertainty as she thought this should be the most guarded secret of her race, and there shouldn''t be any records of Blood Ancestor out there, so how did Ace know?
Ace sighed as he looked at Alina seriously and sternly said, "I only know about her because I learned about the ancient wars, and her role in those wars is not small at all. But I didn''t know she was alive and kicking. Listen to me, Alina. You can''t go back while that old monster is still alive. I think she''s after your body!"
Alina''s eyes went wide, hearing Ace''s ambitious words before a tingle of redness crept on his pristine skin as she retorted, "H-how could¡ s-she a woman!
Ace was startled by Alina''s response before he finally noticed her blushing and then understood what he had just said and quickly corrected himself, "That came out in a subtle way! What I mean is she wants to possess your body so she can continue to live. Just hear me out¡"
Ace then told her about his encounter with the Grim Ancestor and told her about his status and then about Grim Ancestor''s father, the Beast Ancestor, who was also living by possessing others.
Alina''s eyes went widened with astonishment and fear. The more she heard about this Grim Ancestor, the more she understood what Ace meant about those words, and she also started to suspect the same thing.
Because it won''t make sense for someone to live for so long without dying of old age, and only with this kind of method could one live, and now the Blood Ancestor seemed to have chosen her as her new vessel!
A ghastly chill went down her spine as she looked at Ace''s grave face and asked, "But how did you manage to capture and acquire such information from him? What were you''ve been doing all this time?" She was more worried about Ace and even more astonished by his deadly encounter.
She couldn''t begin to imagine just how Ace had subdued such a character, and by the way he was talking about him, it didn''t seem a big deal for him at all!
Ace smiled bitterly, "You''re still worrying about these small things? Don''t worry. That guy was not my match since he wasn''t at his peak state. Although he did have some annoying trump cards, I also have my own ways, and once he got captured, even his father couldn''t have saved him!"
Alina was really lost for words as she could tell by Ace''s confident tone that he wasn''t joking and wondered just what sort of adventures he''s been up to that he even dared to capture someone like the Grim Ancestor and seeded even!
She dejectedly uttered, "Compared to you, I''ve been living too well, and here I was thinking that I would have many stories to tell you about when he met. But it seemed those stories are just child''s adventure to you now, huh."
Ace shook his head, "I would love to hear about your stories, trust me. That''s not important right now, though. What important is you can''t go back. Instead,e, be with me!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Alina was dazzled by Ace''s blunt invitation as her heart suddenly raced, and she had no idea how to answer this.
Still, she shuttered some words out with a mosquito-like voice, "D-do you mean¡ like living t¡together?"
Ace was surprised since, with his hearing, he clearly heard those words, and he knew she had taken those words in the wrong way again. But for some reason, he could feel her massive anticipation, and his own heart suddenly raced.
''What would you do if Alina had romantic feelings for you? She is not your real sister after all¡''
Eva''s words surfaced in his, and looking at Alina and sensing her clear feelings at this moment, he knew she had been right.
But what about himself? He can directly reject in a heartbeat at this moment, but something won''t let him.
Deep down, he knew what he wanted to do, but he didn''t want to let Eva down or Alina by lying to her.
So, he took a deep breath and was about to tell her when she spoke again, "I¡ I was also about to ask you to leave your life as a thief behind and live with me somewhere far away from all this madness!"
Chapter 822 Whys Dealing With Women So Difficult?
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"I¡ I was also about to ask you to leave your life as a thief behind and live with me somewhere far away from all this madness!"
This proposalpletely caught Ace off guard as he wasn''t expecting Alina to have such ambition. Furthermore, he could literally feel how badly she wanted this to happen.
At this moment, without waiting for Ace to respond, she removed the veil from her face, which she had been wearing since she was 12, and no one had seen her face ever since.
Because of a peculiar custom of the Royal Bloodline of the Silver Ice n and revealing her face to a man signifies something massive.
A nation-toppling gorgeous face like a fairy was revealed in front of Ace. She has a perfect heart-shaped face with snow-white skin, a small nose, and full pale pink lips. Matching with her sensual, silvery eyes like pearls and long silver hair, she was simply breathtaking.
Alina''s face was now no longer the face of a child which Ace remembered, and she had turned into a fairy maiden. She was no less gorgeous than Eva, but Alina stillcked her womanly and devilish charm unique to the enthralling devil!
Nevertheless, if Alina could gain a higher-level bloodline, then she would be no less deadly in charm than Eva.
However, Ace was concerned about her appearance, but the sentiments he had with her ran too deep in his heart. She was the very first girl in his life. Even if he doesn''t want to admit it, he knows Alina resides in his heart just as much as Eva does.
Alina directly looked at Ace into his nostalgic eyes, and her pink lips parted, "Live with me. We can be together and won''t have to care about anything else. I wasn''t sure about it before, but now I am. I will leave everything behind for you and will be dead in the eye of the world, and the sky stealer will forever vanish into the legends. We can even cultivate in seclusion and increase our lifespan."
Then her eyes suddenly trembled. She hadn''t thought she would have such an act of courage, but seeing Ace and hearing him gave her a sense of crisis.
Despite knowing Ace might not agree, she still wanted to ask no matter his response as this was probably her biggest wish, and she knew if she didn''t ask right now, she wouldn''t be ever again.
Meeting with Winter and Lillian''s words also implicated her decision as well.
Ace couldn''t help but think about Alina''s words carefully. It wasn''t like he hadn''t thought about such a peaceful life. Even Eva might want this life, but she knows him too well to say something like this ande between his ambition. She just wanted to be with him and help him with everything she had.
Nevertheless, Ace knew a peaceful life was something everyone wanted, and Alina''s words were his past wish as well. If she had said it just ten years ago, Ace might''ve agreed in a heartbeat.
Ace knew what he had to do now, leave everything to fate. He sighed as he looked at Alina and replied, "I''m ttered, Alina, really, and you have now grown into such a lovelydy from the little brat I remembered who loved to eat and y all day long.
"But before you tread on this road, I think you should know something about me and then take your time to think it over before you choose something you might regret."
Alina felt her heart tremble at this moment as she had a foreboding feeling all of a sudden. But she braced her heart for what was toe, but she clearly wasn''t ready for it.
Ace revealed, "After you left, I wanted to find you and appear as someone capable to your family. So, I need the power, and that''s when my journey began, and I left the outer city and entered the inner city to find more information and resources." A gentle smile appeared on his face, "There, I met with this crazy girl, Eva¡"
Ace started telling Alina about Eva and his story without hiding any details. But the more Alina heard, her expression went paler, but she just listened without interrupting.
But seeing Ace''s gentle expression as he told her about Eva, she felt extremely ufortable since she thought that expression was for her and for only her alone!
Yet now, seeing him talking about another woman with that same or even more lovable expression made her heart almost burst out of her chest. This feeling was even more terrible than being separated from him and then missing him every day.
However, the worse part came when, with a perplexed expression, Ace told her about Eva bound her life with his with a special devil race''s ritual called the Devil''s Love which was a sort of marriage ceremony.
Alina felt she fell into an abyss the moment she heard it, and her aura turned on like a raging tidal wave, startling Ace, and his word came to a stop right when he was about to tell her sealing Eva.
Alina''s eyes were filled with despair and killing intent as her aura was at her peak yet extremely chaotic. She was clenching her fist as she uttered with clenched teeth, "S-she tricked you into marrying her!?"
Ace found it quite disturbing to see this terrifying reaction. She seemed even more excessive than Eva when she learned about the women in the Thief House. But he felt guilty as well and felt he owes her an exnation.
''Why is dealing with women so difficult?'' Ace thought bitterly and even regrets telling her the truth now. But he knew he had to tell her the truth, or this spell an even bigger disaster for him when she learned from someone else or, worse, met Eva!
But first, he had to calm her down, "Well, she indeed tricked me. Since I was still too na?ve at that time and I didn''t know much about these rituals at all. But she didn''t harm me, but just bound her life with me at the expense of if I died, she died as well, and if she died, nothing would happen to me. She has done that on her instincts because of a peculiar factor of my cultivation technique." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Ace bitterly told her about that sted charm of his!
Chapter 823 Shooting Oneself On Feet!
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Despite Alina was shocked and dismayed by this incredible revtion, she listened to Ace''s exnation about what the Devil''s Love Ritual was really about.
In the end, even she now felt somewhat baffled by this woman named Eva''s daring and, despite not wanting to admit she, felt a grudging respect for this exact reason.
Nevertheless, this didn''t mean she would ept this with a grain of salt and objected vehemently, "This won''t change the fact that she tricked you into marriage and didn''t inquire about whether you agreed or not! How can you be so calm about it?"
Ace smiled wryly, "Calm? I was furious back then. But what else should''ve had I done? The deed was already done, and it was not something you could take back at will." He sighed ruefully, "Or trust me. I would''ve done so if it was an option the moment I found it about it. Furthermore, as I said, she was not in the right state of mind at that because of my unusual advantage over her race."
Alina bit her lower lips and asked, "So, you epted that forceful marriage?"
Ace looked at Alina''s anguish expression, and after a moment of hesitation, he ended up nodding, "Indeed. At that time, I was really moved by her willingness to die with me, probably because someone had never done something like this for me. Despite not wanting to admit it, after you left, I was again alone, just like before you came into my life. That was probably the reason I''d epted her in a heartbeat. But it wasn''t just that alone because right after that¡"
He then told her about the sealing process of Eva, and he had already turned the system into a ''god'' just like he usually does since it was far more believable, and Alina focused more on Eva than Ace''s backer.
The more Alina heard about how Eva was willing to turn into somethingpletely different so that she could protect him. She felt ashamed when she thought about how she left him there.
In the end, the fleeting animosity she felt for Eva or resentment towards Ace for not waiting for her and epting someone else turned into guilt and helplessness. Even a fool could tell Ace really loved Eva now, and there was nothing changing that unless she went to the past and changed everything.
Alina was left bereft after listening to Ace and Eva''s story and felt felt cold and hollow inside. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Now that Ace had told her about his truth, he felt a massive mountain had been lifted from his heart, but the state that the truth left Alina made him feel worried about her. Nevertheless, he knew this could happen, and it was far better than her finding outter before things would turn for worse.
In the end, he seriously stated, "Before, what I mean wase be a part of my crew, and it''s living together, kind of, I guess. You''ve already met Winter. There are still Freya and Noa.
"Because I can''t have a peaceful life even if I want to because of my backer as well as I''m not ready to stop. Furthermore, it''s quite beneficial to be a part of the Thief House, and it''s an opportunity like no one can give you under heaven and earth!"
Alina suddenly looked at Ace, clearly startled, and asked with a strange light in her eyes, "There are two more women, and you even want me to be part of your crew?" Tears fall from her eyes at this moment, "You womanizer!"
Ace waspletely taken aback by her sudden outburst, and that word caused his mouth to twitch, "I-I''m no womanizer! There is a valid reason for the Thief House only having women right now!"
"Oh, yeah? And you''re still nning to collect more? What your precious wife had to say about it?" Alina was now angry.
Not only was Ace now married to Eva, but he even had three more women in his Thief House, and her anger turned on Ace now as she thought he had turned into a womanizer. This wasn''t the Ace she knew, and she felt like he was tricking her like the other women as well.
Her imagination runs wild as all her despair, helplessness, and pent-up anger turn toward Ace.
Ace was speechless as he suddenly remembered in the past, Alina had thrown a tantrum, and things turned into a mess at that time. So, he didn''t dare to make her resentful again.
But now, she was behaving the same, which was the least Ace expected, and she was no longer the little girl but the Ice Sword Fairy.
He quickly tried to salvage the situation, "You''re getting it wrong. I''ve never had any feelings for besides Eva. She also knows about you, and she even predicted something like this might''ve happened. So, she¡" Ace quickly shut his mouth when he about said, ''She gave her support for him to have more.''
If he said that, didn''t this mean he was really a womanizer and seeking more wives? This would definitely turn things for the worse!
The rageful Alina was startled at this moment, while tears were still steaming from her eyes, "So, what? Did she tell you to court more women, even me?!" As a woman, her instincts were extremely sharp when it came to other women and this sort of matter.
Ace''s heart sank when she guessed it just like that, but as a professionalir, he salvaged his expression from changing and quickly told her, "It''s not like this¡"
"Stop! Where is she? I want to meet with this she-devil!" Alina cut him sort as her eyes were filled with chilly intent as she looked at Ace and demanded with no room negotiation.
''This is bad¡'' Ace didn''t know whether tough or cry as he knew meeting between the two would spell nothing but disaster.
Although Alina was strong, once she entered the thief''s space, her cultivation would be suppressed because she wasn''t a member of the thief''s house, nor was she bound to Ace like Cyrus and Eva.
Furthermore, Alina was not in her right mind, so he had to reject her, "She''s not here. How can I arrange a meeting?"
Alina looked at him as if he was an idiot, "Oh yeah? Then how about you let me visit this living space of yours which you had sealed her into. I''ve never seen one before!"
Ace almost cursed himself as itpletely escaped his mind that he just told her about his thief''s space, and now he could smell an iing catastrophe, ''Me and my damnable mouth!''
Chapter 824 A Devil & A Hunter (1)
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In scrutiny, Alina looked at silent Ace and said spitefully, "What are you silent? She''s with you, right? Let me meet her! Or you can drop me back, and I''ll return with Grandpa back to my home. You''re no longer the same person I used to know!"
Ace''s expression changed ever so slightly as he won''t allow it, especially after hearing about Blood Ancestor. If she returned, she would meet certain doom eventually, and that''s why he wanted to keep her with him.
But what she was demanding was something Ace desperately wanted to avoid. However, looking at Alina''s resolute expression, he knew she wouldn''t listen to him until she got what she wanted, and he had no way of knowing what she was even thinking.
Ace sighed ruefully, "I know you are angry, but trust me, I only want what''s best for you. But you''re making things difficult for me."
"Then let me meet her, and I''ll decide whether to follow you or not!" Alina sternly stated.
"Sigh¡ just when did you turn into such a headstrong girl. I really missed that little girl who listened to me." Ace smiled wryly.
"And I missed my Big Brother, who wasn''t a womanizer!" Alina snorted.
Ace shook his head before forwarding his hand. He knew this was unavoidable. He sternly said, "Alright, I''ll let you meet her, but remember you will be suppressed in that ce, and she is not."
Alina grabbed Ace''s hand and didn''t seem to care about it at all, "Oh, did this mean she will try to kill me?"
Ace was speechless and just decided to send her in, and he would send her out if things turned worse.
"Don''t resist."
The next moment, Alina experienced a strong pulling force giving her a surprise, and then a peculiar glint shed past her eyes before, and she vanished in a blink. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace then quickly looked inside with trepidation and contacted Eva, who was cultivating in the house.
Alina appeared outside a house, and curiosity shone in her eyes as she looked into this storage space that could store living things. Even she knew just how fabled such treasures were, yet Ace had one, and it was so massive.
She even spotted hills at the edges, and upon looking carefully, she was astounded, ''Storage rings?!'' She couldn''t begin to imagine just how many storage rings were there, and then she thought about the Sky Stealer, and things started to make sense.
''My cultivation is suppressed¡'' She thought grimly as she felt a mysterious powerpletely suppressing her Qi, and she knew Ace wasn''t lying.
However, the chinless in her didn''t decrease at all as she looked at the humble house in front of her, and she had some idea who this ce belonged to it.
''His wife¡'' She bit her lips just thinking about it and ground her teeth, ''That treacherous devil!''
"Hmph!" She snorted in indignation and moved toward the door.
However, she was just about to try to open it when she felt an abyssal aura suddenly surfaced out of nowhere before it vanished without a trace. But the aftermath, if left on Alina, was not small. She had never felt this kind of aura, even from the Blood Ancestor. It was simply too unfathomable and out of this world.
"Tsk, tsk, an unexpected guest, huh?" A euphonious, devilish voice sounded at this moment, making Alina snap out of her stupor.
''It was her!'' She instantly realized to whom that aura belonged, ''Did she do it on purpose to show her dominance?'' Her heart went cold.
At this moment, the door opened, and a tall devilish beauty d in a purple dress that fully showcased her godly figure appeared.
Even Alina, who had confidence in her beauty, was dazzled by Eva''s appearance, especially the crimson crown around her forehead that gave her the aura of supremacy and unique charm with those mysterious runes on the sides of her neck that made her look extremely mysterious.
Lastly, that pair of bewitching jet-ck eyeballs and crimson ruby irises seemed to measure her as well, with a hint of surprise and vignce.
''She is beautiful¡ humph!'' Eva thought while looking at fairy-like Alina, and she finally understood why Ace said in the past that Alina would be as beautiful as her when she grew up, and he wasn''t wrong at all.
Furthermore, she had no idea that Ace had already reached her since she was still cultivating and was under the impression that he was still far away from rescuing her.
Yet, now Ace abruptly approached her and told her she wanted to meet her, and he had told her the truth about them. This naturally surprised her, but she didn''t have time to reprimand him for not telling her sooner because Alina was already there.
Nevertheless, Eva also always wanted to meet Alina since she knew if Ace had a heart for another woman, then it was Alina, and she was the main reason she agreed to let him have more than one wife.
Now, finally seeing Alina, she somewhat understands why Ace didn''t want to give up on her, and she took it in apletely wrong way as well.
''That big phnderer!'' She thought with indignation and vowed to have a ''good chat'' with Ace after this.
However, her expression didn''t change as she smiled at Alina with a hint of goading and greeted her, "You must be Alina, the lost sister? I''m Eva, Ace''s Wife! Pleasee into MY humble home."
Alina dazzled expression went rigid the moment she heard ''wife,'' and her eyes almost spitfire. She tackled, "Nice to meet you. I''m Alina, the first woman in his life and always will be."
Eva''s lips twitched as this was probably the only scorn in her heart that she was the second, not the first.
At this moment, Ace''s somewhat sheepish voice rang when he sensed the lightning bolts between the two women, "Umm¡ Ladies¡"
However, he was cut short by the two rageful women in unison, "Shut up!"
Chapter 825 A Devil & A Hunter (2)
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After shutting down Ace, both of them looked at each other with a piercing gaze.
Eva smiled coldly as she said, "Since you want to talk, let''s talk. I so happen to be wanted to have a good chat with you for a long time now."
Thereafter, she turned around and headed towards a jade table withrge throne-like chairs and sat on the position of the head. Alina squinted her eyes, looking at smiling Eva, and then sat right in front of her.
"Since you''re a guest, I''ll give you the courtesy to go first," Eva spoke while putting her hand under her sharp chin. She just looked like a Queen looking down on her subjects.
However, Alina''s expression suddenly returned to impassiveness before she smiled all of a sudden and sat just as imposingly as Eva; she stated, "Alright, I want to know why you tricked my brother into a marriage without gaining his approval?"
Eva''s bewitching eyes flutter at this question, ''So he really went fully honest with her to even tell her about this? Well, at least he''s being honest with her, unlike the time when he tried to hide those three women¡humph!''
Her eyes when cold as she replied, "I don''t think this should matter to you, right? Besides, I''m a straightforward person, and since I discovered my soulmate, I don''t hesitate to act. Unlike a certain someone who just abandoned someone after using them."
Alina clenched the grip of the chair, but her expression didn''t change, "I never abandoned him, and I don''t need to exin it to you as long as he understands. I''ll seek his forgiveness, not yours."
"Heh, really? Then why do you think I need to exin my love life to you? But let me make something absolutely clear in case you have some very grave misunderstanding. My actions were indeed not right, but at the end of the day, without his recognition, I would''ve never told him about bounding my life with him.
"But you know what? He epted me right there and then, even gave me a life-changing opportunity. He''s not just my savior but the love of my life, and I can die for him and will die with him. No one matter to me more than him. I can proudly say that for I have this Ring of Endearment!"
Eva spitefully stated while showing her beautiful Ring of Endearment to Alina, who was almost seething at this moment.
Despite not wanting to admit it, Alina has no choice but to admit that Eva had made a gamble that time and it paid off far more than she could ever hope for. Although Ace omitted the details about how this Ring of Endearment was formed, he indeed told her just what kind of symbol that Ring was.
She was not angry at Eva but at herself, and she was jealous of her and envied her because she got the only thing that a woman wanted in their life, love.
But now it was Eva''s turn to ask her question, and she was not in conflict with herself like her, "Now, can you tell me why did you go back for him when you have everything?" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Alina was startled by this question and replied rage fully, "Because I wanted to take him back with me. To mend the mistake I''d made in the past."
"Is that so? Then what? I mean, you do understand that in human customs, a human married at around the age of 12. What if he had already married a mortal? Then what?" Eva questioned with a strange smile.
"Then I would''ve left him alone!" Alina replied without hesitation, "What you''re getting at?"
"If that''s the case, then why do you think his position is any different from that scenario? He''s already married, then why you''re interfering in his life?" Eva instantly hit the bullseye mercilessly.
"That''s enough, Eva!" Ace''s deep voice sounded at this moment in Eva''s mind. He didn''t want this thing to continue as this was not heading in the direction he was hoping for. On the contrary, Eva was destroying Alina!
Although what Eva said was logical and even painfully true, this didn''t matter to him since he wanted to keep Alina to himself, at least until he did something about the Blood Ancestor.
Furthermore, this reunion was turning into something Ace had never imagined, and he was really starting to wonder if he should''ve just told her a lie.
"You stay out of it!" Eva retorted with squinted eyes, "I know you care about her, but I need to know she cared about you enough not to put you in any harm''s way! Just let me do this, and trust me, everything will be fine once I bring out the true feeling of her heart. It''s also for her own good!"
Ace was speechless when he heard this unexpected response, "Just what in the world are you nning?"
"Guess!" Eva snorted unhappily, clearly having no intention of revealing it to her phnderer husband.
Alina waspletely silent by this question as her mind turned chaotic because Eva''s question was on the mark.
Why didn''t she leave now since this wasn''t any different from the situation Eva had described before? Yet here she was confronting Eva, for what exactly?
Did she want to seek justice for Ace or want to make Eva admit her mistake and then leave Ace? Was she even capable of that? Then what in the world was she doing here,ing between Ace and Eva headstrong like this?
Her mind turned chaotic just thinking about it, and she couldn''t get an answer. While her heart felt more terrible the more she thought about it. That pain kept increasing, not decreasing at all.
At this moment, Eva softly spoke again, "Let me tell you why you''re still here and doing all this."
Alina looked at Eva confusingly, and a ray of hope appeared since she couldn''t find that answer herself. So, she really hoped Eva told her about it.
Eva smiled meaningfully and replied, "You were never here to meet with your brother. Instead, you were here to seek your childhood sweetheart!"
Chapter 826 A Devil & A Hunter (3)
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"You were never here to meet with your brother. Instead, you were here to seek your childhood sweetheart!"
Alina was bewildered by Eva''s blunt deration before a tingle of redness surfaced on her pristine skin and retorted, "Y-YOU¡ don''t sully our r¡" Her words came to an abrupt stop as her face turned even redder.
Eva smiled, "What? Continue. You were about to say rtionship, not kinship, right? See, even if you don''t want to admit it, deep down in your heart, you know what you want. It''s just that you are too scrupulous, and your princess ego is your biggest shackle.
"It''s always the same with the woman like you who want a man to take the lead and then act all difficult and y hard to get. But when someone like me, who ispletely unscrupulous,es who doesn''t care about ethics and takes your man, you think of me as shameless and act all possessive.
"But I don''t think I''d done any wrong. I don''t hesitate when I found a man I love, and now he loves me back. Sometimes we should take a leap of fate. Just like I did when I allowed him to have more wives, but they need my sole approval before they can call him their husband."
Eva pulled a devilish smile, "Another reason was, of course, his obsession with his so-called sister. Even if he doesn''t admit it, I know he deeply cares about you as kin, but it was only until you all grew up, and you are not his real sister, to begin with.
"So, I knew something like this might''ve happened and just allow him to take more wives, not just one more. As long as he is happy and knows who the main wife is, I will ept his wishes. This is how much I love him.
"Now tell me, Princess, do you want to y hard to get before he has another wife? You might know my husband is extremely charming, and he can capture a woman''s heart as long as he shows that sted face of his, especially the women like me from certain races. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"You can wait and see what happens when another woman like me enters his life, and trust me when I say this, as cold as he may be, he is the biggest softy I''ve known. If a woman moved his heart like me, he would not hesitate at all¡"
Ace''s perplexed yet embarrassed voice sounded at this moment, "You do know I''m listening, right?"
"So, what if you''re listening, I just state the fact. She''s simply acting too high and mighty while we both know she''s just a girl with a princess ego imbued to her very core.
"If you want to really make her stay, then you have to break that ego and let her break free from her shell. Besides, following you mean she will also fall in the path of a thief, and you know far better than me that she is not a thief material." Eva stated matter-of-factly.
"But not like this! You''re literally arranging my marriage here, woman!" Ace retorted with a tingle of helplessness.
"Humph, I''m allowing it as per our agreement. Now you better be grateful and remember your promise. If you have any more women you like, you can send them in my way, and I''ll judge myself if they are quality to be my little sisters!" Eva arrogantly dered.
"Heh, you, crazy devil. Just don''t push those feelings on her. She just wanted to meet you, maybe because she was concerned about her sister-inw." Ace sheepishly stated.
"What are you pretending to be, blind? Look at her. Even I can feel her true emotions starting to appear the moment I talk about another woman. Hehehe¡" Eva retorted, but in the depth of her eyes, a hint of helplessness was present as he looked at Alina, who was breathing heavily.
''In the end, she indeed loves him, and here I was hoping this sister of his would be just a sister. Well, it''s better this way since now she knows who''s the first one. But after her, another woman¡'' Eva''s eyes be icy cold.
Alina, on the other hand, was in an utter mess as Eva''s words hit her where it hurt the most. She was indeedpletely fit with the former category that Eva described, and despite not wanting to admit it, she knew Eva had said nothing wrong.
Furthermore, what truly shook her was thest sentence. She didn''t doubt Eva for a second that Ace was kind no matter how much he turned into the sky stealer. He was still kind towards the people who showed him kindness.
''If another woman like heres and does something crazy for him, he might also ept her¡'' This was the biggest fear installed in her heart by Eva.
If before she didn''t think a woman like Eva existed who neither had a moralpass nor any qualms in taking the lead and adding Eva or her appearance in the mix, who can resist having such a woman, especially when they already had their other wife''s blessing?
She also didn''t doubt for a second that Ace was just ordinary and won''t catch another woman''s interest so easily. Instead, he was devilishly handsome, and with his special charm, he was a chick magnate.
Now, if she still has not made her priority straight, then she might not get another chance like this ever.
Alina''s haggard expression started to return to normal as her state of undergoes a startling change as if she had finallye to terms with something.
She took a few breaths before deadly calmness returned to her face, and Eva smiled in satisfaction as if she was pleased with this result.
Although it looked like Eva was doing all this to destroy Alina, she was destroying her empty arrogance and her princess pride.
Because here, it means literally nothing, for this was the house of thieves, and there was no ce for norms and hesitations.
Besides, as long as that cutthroat devil was here, she won''t let anyone affect Ace''s ambition and will be his inextricable shadow!
Chapter 827 Birth Of Epic Rivalry
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After regaining her calm, Alina spoke with a tingle of inquisitiveness, "Can you tell me why you agree to share your man with other women? Aren''t you afraid of discrimination?"
Eva''s eyes narrowed ever so slightly before she replied, "I''m more afraid than you could ever imagine. But this is where trustes into the picture. I trust him to do justice, and I don''t think there would be any need for it at all." Her eyes went deadly cold, "Especially as long as I''m here."
Alina could feel Eva''s true intent from that bone chilly coldness swirling in those dark eyes and sighed ruefully, "I never thought my brother would find someone like you after I left, and I guess it was a blessing for him. You give him another reason to move forward, and I should be grateful for that, but truthfully, I''m not.
"Nevertheless, it won''t mean I don''t mean I don''t approve of you as his first wife. I even admire you a little." Alina chuckled in self implore.
At this moment, Alina suddenly smiled, full of meaning, "You are right, maybe I was there to find Ace so I could live with him and spend a lifetime, and if he were still mortal and had married, I would''ve left or stayed, I guess we never found out about it now.
"But now that he''s different and belongs to the world of cultivation, I should also start thinking like the norms of the cultivation world, not some mortal girl living in her dreams.
"In the cultivation world, an excellent man indeed can have more than one wife since their lifespan is so long. But an excellent woman would never allow another to reach the same spot as herself by some mediocre woman.
"No matter what you say, you also have your pride and dignity far more than me because you are far superior to any woman who exists in this world.
"But I don''t care and just want to let you know this, I''m not your match right now. But in the future, I want to fight for that position you stole for me just one time, and if you lose, our positions will switch. If you can agree on this, I''m in." Alina dered.
Eva was astonished when she heard Alina''s bold words, ''She wanted to be the first wife?''
"Hahahahaha¡" Eva broke into a wantonugh. It was extremely melodious, yet at the same time, it was extremely eerie and filled with abyssal-like coldness.
Alina didn''t flinch as she kept staring at Eva, who wasughing as if she had heard the biggest joke. But she was dead serious.
Before, she never thought she would envy another woman since she never thought of others as her match or even bothered to evaluate them. But Eva was entirely different.
She bluntly took something that was supposed to be her, and she was peerless in both beauty and talent. She truly envied her so much so that she unknowingly made Eva her target which she had to ovee and take back what should be hers.
"That''s enough!" Ace''s cold voice rang in the house at this moment since he couldn''t watch this anymore. These two women were someone he cared about more than anyone else in this world. If they end up turning into enemies, he won''t be able to choose one over another.
Furthermore, he had already made a solemn promise to Eva that she would always be his first. No matter whoes after, this won''t change ever. Even Alina can''t change that!
"Alina, Eva is a good person, and she is someone I love, and this won''t change, ever. On the hand, you are also very important to me. There is no need to take our rtionship in this direction. It was all just¡"
"Stay out of it!" Eva uttered at this moment, "This matter is between us two. No one needs you to justify anything. Besides, tell me, can you her into another man''s arm?"
Ace was stumped by this question and wanted to reply, but no words came out of his mouth. On the contrary, his heart aches just thinking about Alina being another man''s wife.
"Heh, I think so as well. Now stay out of our girl''s affairs. It has nothing to do with you." Eva sneered with disdain, yet her heart was going wild with ecstasy because of Ace''s words, and she felt extremely giddy.
Then she looked at Alina, who had this peculiar expression with a hint of strange tion as well.
''She''s also happy, huh?'' Eva pursed her lips and finally said, "You want my position if you could beat me?"
Alina nodded without hesitation, "Yes." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Heh, let''s clear something first, I''ve never stolen it, but I''ve earned it. Now, to answer your challenge, I''ll ept it. If you can beat me, you can be the first wife. But you only have one chance, and if you missed it, I want you to call me big sis from that day forth. But let me also warn you. I will never lose to you or to anyone. You can count on that." Eva arrogantly dered with boundless confidence.
Alina squinted her eyes as she could feel Eva''s conviction behind thosest words.
Nevertheless, she got what she wanted, another shot to earn her ce back. She smiled icily, "We''ll see, won''t we?"
She then looked toward the ceiling and asked gently, "You agree, right? You won''t have any qualms about epting me as your first wife in the future, right?"
Ace was lost for words, and he could feel Eva''s piercing gaze, and he knew if he answered this question wrongly, he could forget about peace.
"Sigh, you two just figure it out among yourselves. Lately, I have no say in this sort of thing at all. You all can do whatever you want but leave me out of it. I''m Sky Stealer, not Women Stealer." Ace perplexedly replied as one could hear the pain in his words. No one asked for his opinion that if he wanted another wife or not.
This was truly a sad story, and he was finally starting to get why some of the memories he had from males were alwaysmenting about the fickle heart of women.
"Hmph, don''t sound so gloomy. You get another beauty of your dreams!" Eva snorted with disdain.
Alina snickered at Eva, "At least you know who''s in his dreams!"
The air instantly turned icy. It was the birth of an epic rivalry between two women and also the start of two legendary factions of the Thief House!
Chapter 828 Alinas Answer
After both women made peace on their own terms, Ace had a breath of relief since everything worked out, or he might have to step in with his not-so-amiable tone.
But it was still hard to believe that Alina agreed to have another rtionship with him.
"So, how can I join this Thief House? Do I have to undergo some ritual?" Alina questioned at this moment. She was quite curious about the whole thing about joining a goddess of thieves and then acquiring heaven-defying powers.
Eva was living proof of just much powerful Ace''s backer was, and if she wanted to defeat Eva, she needed to first have the same level of bloodline as her. But what she heard came as a surprise.
"Heh, join the line, sister. Even I''m waiting for a slot to open, and then there is also my maid, who will be joining soon after me. Only then, and if I mean, if my dear husband hadn''t found other women before you, can you join the Thief House!" Eva snickered yfully as she enjoyed seeing Alina''s rigid expression.
"Is it true?" Alina coldly asked, as Ace hadn''t told her about this at all. He just told her the names of the three Thief House members. So, she assumed Eva should be the fourth one. But she never expected that even Eva wasn''t a part of the Thief House yet, and the slots appeared quite limited as well.
It also made sense, though, since if Ace could have as many as he wanted, then won''t he create an unparalleled army with the goddess''s help?
Ace replied in embarrassment, "It is indeed true. But I''m currently working on it, and I promise, I have no other woman in mind. So, can you please stop teasing her, Eva? Livia can wait. You two will go first."
Eva merely chuckled yfully as she was clearly teasing Alina.
But Alina took it quite seriously, especially when another woman came into the picture, "Who''s this Livia?" She questioned.
"Oh, it''s a princess my dear husband kidnapped on a whim, but unlike you, she''s a Sky Stealer fanatic and would probably jump on him if given the chance." Eva giggled as she told with relish.
Alina''s expression went pitch ck as her eyes werepletely emotionless.
"Stop messing around!" Ace''s perplexed voice rang. He could feel the fury behind Alina''s calmness. He knew if he didn''te clear, it would be toote to handleter.
But he needed first to separate these two, or the mischievous devil just continued to push Alina''s buttons and take her revenge on him for not telling her beforehand that he was meeting Alina.
"Alright, you can go back to cultivation. I''ll exin to Alina what is going on!" Ace quickly made an excuse.
Since he made his decision, he didn''t give any one of them a chance to tackle and pull Alina out. He could handle the burnt from this, but not if they took things too far, and he might not be able to hold himself back.
"What? Too afraid that I might expose your dirty little secrets?" Eva snorted, looking at Alina''s empty seat with clear dissatisfaction.
"First, I''m not afraid because I don''t have any dirty little secrets. Second, if I had such secrets, would you have spared me? Lastly, I can tolerate this behavior since it''s between us three. But never do that in front of outsiders. People tend to take advantage of such things, I know, since I will." Ace annoyingly retorted, but towards the end, his voice was irrefutable.
"Hehe, at least you know me. As for thest part, I know my limits. Or are you nning to be a headstrong man and turn me into an obedient house cat?" Eva coolly stated with a meaningful smile.
"Do you think I would do such a thing? I love the way you are, and If I can''t even tolerate and give you the freedom to do the things you like, how can I tolerate those who want me dead? I''m a thief, and it''s in my nature to endure until the other party drops their guard.
"So, I was just giving you a warning since you be too emotional sometimes. I don''t want anyone to take advantage of such a thing." Ace replied solemnly.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Heh, alright, so you want me to go easy on you, huh?" Eva snickered.
"No, just behave when needed to, that''s all." Ace gently stated.
"Hmph, I said I know my limit." Then Eva giggled darkly, "Anyway, so when will you make your move?"
"Sigh¡ it''s not as easy as you both are making it to be. Even if she has feelings for me, I still think of her as my little sis. I need time to adjust." Ace sighed as he replied.
"Is that so? You didn''t restrain yourself when you saw me after so many years?" Eva narrowed her eyes seductively.
"Can you not go there? You are different, and it''s your fault for not stopping me." Aceughed slyly.
"Hmph, I dare you to say it in front of her!" Eva annoyingly stated with a tingle of redness.
"Oh, I need to go now. There are still many things to exin to her before I''ll send her back. Or who knows how you''ll defame me." Ace quickly made his escape.
Eva couldn''t help but smile annoyingly, but her eyes were filled with tenderness, "Hmph, you''re still mine!"
Alina appeared beside Ace and looked at him with a fuming expression, "Why did you take me out? Are you still hiding something?"
Ace, after dealing with the devil, quickly pulled a righteous expression and replied, "Don''t listen to Eva. She likes to mess around and enjoys tormenting me. I''ve only told you about Eva. How about I told you how I reached this point so you can understand what Eva was talking about?
"Since you already decided to follow me and¡" Ace hesitated before he said, "Marrying me, I think you should first hear my side of things, so you can be absolutely sure if you really want to do this."
Alina blushed when Ace said ''marrying me'' as it was far more embarrassing facing Ace than facing Eva about such a topic. She felt like she was doing everything against her very being, yet, she regrets nothing. She even felt the relief of sorts.
In the end, she didn''t say anything and nodded slightly as she felt calm by Ace''s side, unlike agitated when she was with Eva, not to mention furious.
Ace then, just as he did with Eva, told Alina about his adventure and how he met with the Thief House members and in what circumstances.
Alina has a different expression as she hears about his long adventure as Sky Stealer. In truth, she couldn''t even begin to imagine just how in the world Ace has experienced so much and grown into this legendary existence called the Sky Stealer.
Furthermore, unlike Eva, she was far more coherent about his situation when he had to trick those women into joining the Thief House and also about Livia''s mysterious involvement in some dangerous event in the future.
Nevertheless, she was still somewhat discontent about Ace having so many women in his life now, especially the thorny Eva. In these regrades, they both were the same.
"Now, if you still want to be with me, I won''t stop you. In fact, I wanted this for a long time. But now that I think about it, I think it''s not fair for you guys. Because once you be part of the Thief House, you can''t leave, and all will die with me.
"It''s like having your lives in my hand, and then you can''t have a life of your own. Eva and the other girls are still fine since they all didn''t have families to turn back to. But you are different. You have your parents and a happy, prosperous life ahead of y¡mhhh¡"
Ace''s emotional words came to an abrupt halt, and his eyes went wide when something soft blocked his mouth before the blockade was removed just as fast as it appeared, yet that warm and tender feeling was still there and a foreign taste.
Alina''s tender yet shy voice rang, "Is that answer enough for you?"
Chapter 829 Herman’s Scheme
Back on the ind where Winter, Lillian, and Herman were waiting for Ace and Alina.
Herman was walking in circles with great agitation as he was worried sick about Alina and Ace being alone, and it was already more than five hours since Ace had taken her with him.
If winter still wasn''t here, he might''ve even presumed that Ace had abducted Alina already. Nevertheless, things have gotten out of his hand. As a matter of fact, everyone else''s hands!
At this moment, Herman''s eyes shone with conviction as if he had decided and stopped at a remote corner of the ind and then created a special ice barrier around himself with Qi to make sure no one spied on him.
Flipping his hand, a silver limit talisman appeared, and he poured his Qi, activating it. The next moment, a solemn voice sounded from the limit talisman, "Does something happen, my lord?"
Herman grimly spoke, "Indeed, the Sky Stealer has appeared way ahead of time, and now he has taken Alina with him!"
"Wait, what?!" The voice on the other side was filled with disbelief and anxiety, "What should we do!? If the princess had been taken by that thief, won''t we lose her forever?" The panic in his voice couldn''t be clearer.
Who didn''t know about the legends of Sky Stealer nowadays? He was probably the only person who had been haunted by so many terrifying figures, yet, no one had evere closer to discovering his whereabouts, much less capturing him.
Herman''s expression was grave as he said, "No, they should be back this time, but I can''t say for sure afterward. Where are you guys? I want you to activate our spies in the human sects and reveal our location to humans as well as the information about the sky stealer!"
"What? You guys will be captured as well! Furthermore, I''ve heard that the human sects have been more united than ever, and if they learn you guys with the sky stealer are there, they will send their full power to capture you all!" The voice on the other side solemnly stated.
Herman sighed before coldness crept into his eyes, "You''re wrong. They would do anything to capture Sky Stealer. They won''t care about the bait anymore. Furthermore, first struck a deal with them before revealing this information via soul contract. They have to let us go once they capture the Sky Stealer. I''ll even help them deliver the first decisive blow!"
"Are you really going to do it?" The voice sounded in disbelief, "I know it''s not good to tangle with him. But he helped you guys escape that prison and seemed to care about¡"
"Shut up!" Herman''s eyes were filled with madness as he coldly uttered, "If you don''t want the entire Silver Ice n getting destroyed, then do as Imand you to. We can''t afford to lose Alina, or you have no idea what cmity will befall us, and no one will be spared!"
The voice on the other side bes silent for a while before sounding again, "I will see to you right now!"
"Just hurry. I will try my best to obstruct him." Herman gloomily stated before he stopped using the limit talisman and put it away.
A rueful sigh escaped his mouth as deep pain surfaced in his eyes, ''Forgive me, little Aly, but I can''t let you repeat the mistake of Old Mistress. The Blood Ancestor will kill everyone this time. You can resent me for living for what I''m about to do¡''
The next moment, he removed the ice barrier, but he was startled when he saw a hooded figure standing a meter away from where he stood. It was Winter!
''Was she listening?!'' His face went pale, but he calmed his nerves and tried to act normal.
"Is there something Lady Faceless wants?" He calmly asked, but a faint undtion started to emit from his two fists.
Winter''s doubtful voice rang, "What were you doing? I just felt Qi fluctuations and came here to check out, and I just happened to find you appeared out of that barrier. What are you cooking, old man?"
''So, she didn''t hear anything!'' He had a massive relief and became calmer. Because as long as Winter hadn''t listened and he was also confident in that barrier, so he felt everything was fine.
He quickly replied with a difficult expression, "I was just worried about little Aly. It''s been quite a while since Mr. Sky Stealer took her away."
"Heh, do you think you are more capable than him when ites to protecting something? Just stop poking your nose in the young people''s business, or are you a pervert?" Winter jeeringly remarked without caring about Herman''s ugly expression.
She always behaves unruly without caring about others'' feelings. But there was reason behind her behavior. She was neither arrogant nor a reckless person, not by a long shot!
Herman controlled his urge to p Winter just like he always does. He was now somewhat used to her taunting.
"I''m just worried. There is nothing so that sorts." Herman stoically replied.
"Heh, then why do I don''t want to believe you, though?" Winter questioned yfully.
"That''s something I can''t do anything about," Herman replied matter-of-factly.
He never understood why this woman always kept a keen eye on him, and he knew she had never done something like this for both Alina or Lillian. But for some reason, she was always keeping an eye on him as if he was her enemy.
That''s why he was always very secretive and made sure to be careful whenever he made contact. But today, he had made a mistake by losing his calm when he saw Ace, and he had no choice but to contact his men, or he knew only cmity awaited them.
However, Winter appeared right after, and he was caught off guard. But now it seemed she didn''t hear anything, but it won''t be a lie to say Winter was now on full-on alert. But this was only his spection.
"Is something happened while we were away?" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
A spirited, melodious rang at this moment, making both Winter and Herman alert!
Chapter 830 My Worth
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Herman and Winter turned around and saw Alina and Ace had appeared a few meters behind him like ghosts.
Winter was the most shocked because she was quite confident in her Faceless Thief Sense, yet Ace was still unfathomable, and it seemed no matter how much stronger she became, the House Leader was always a few steps ahead of her.
On the other hand, Herman was worried about whole another matter as he looked at Alina''s fairy-like overt face as her veil was gone. Furthermore, Ace and Alina''s hands were intertwined with each other''s, and with how Alina was literally glowing with happiness, his heart sank to rock bottom.
At this moment, Lillian also appeared after the suddenmotion, and when she saw Alina wasn''t wearing her veil, her eyes went wide with shock, and she blurted, "Princess, you removed your maiden veil?!"
Her abrupt words drew the thieves'' attention, especially Ace, as he looked doubtfully at Lillian and then looked at Alina, who seemed to be panicking a little.
"Maiden Veil?" He questioned, with an uncertain look in his eyes.
Winter finally paid attention to Alina''s unveiled face, and she clearly remembered she never took her veil off, no matter the situation, and she was extremely beautiful. So, she quickly sensed something fishy going on.
"I-it''s nothing!" Alina quickly eximed before throwing a fierce gaze at Lillian, ''I almost forgot about it!''
The very next moment, her veil returned to her face again. But s, it was a little toote for that since Herman looked absolutely bereft while Lillian lowered her head with a faint blush, ''Princess really went all out!''
"It can all wait." At this moment, Winter suddenly chimed in as she walked toward Ace, drawing everyone''s attention.
"Do you have someone to report?" Ace''s eyes narrowed as he looked at Winter.
Herman suddenly snapped out of his daze as he felt amiss for some reason. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Winter nodded as she stopped right beside Ace, just like Alina, and coldly uttered, "I have indeed an urgent matter to report."
Herman sensed Winter''s jeering gaze at the moment, and his heart went cold.
Winter revealed, "You see, Leader, this old man just contacted someone and told them to reveal our location to the humans¡!"
Winter directly exposed Herman''s entire conversation he just had within his barrier, making Herman''s expression ashen as he didn''t understand how in the world Winter was able to hear it!
But it matters little since Ace''s expression went icy while Alina and Lillian looked at Herman with disbelief.
"No, there must be some mistake. Is it true, Grandpa?" Alina quickly rejected it as she looked at Herman for rification.
Herman knew he had been exposed, and from Ace''s expression, it was pretty clear he trusted Winterpletely.
He took a deep breath and calmed his chaotic nerves, and replied, "Little Aly, you have to retune with me, or the Blood Ancestor will execute the entire Silver Ice, including your father and mother. She warned me before she left, and I can''t let another tragedy like your grandparents befall the n again!"
Alina''s expression went pale as she was shocked, but she also understood why Herman was so adamant about taking her back. The Blood Ancestor was really capable of doing such a thing, and that''s why she didn''t afraid of Alina running away.
The entire Silver Ice n was her hostage!
However, Ace was different. He didn''t have a good impression of Herman to begin with because of what he had done in the past, and that secret note Herman left for him was still vivid in his mind. He hadn''t forgotten a single word.
Now, it was pretty clear that Blood Ancestor wanted Alina for some extremely nefarious purpose, yet this guy who was supposed to be her Godfather wanted to hand her over.
Even if they don''t know about Blood Ancestor''s true purpose, those guys were no children, for they couldn''t even understand this small point. Yet, they still want to do it.
"I don''t think we have properly introduced yet. I''ve been looking forward to this day for a very long time." Ace spoke impassively, drawing Herman''s attention, "I''m Ace, the same brat that you thought could never meet with Alina his entire life. First, I would like to give this back."
The next moment, a small folded note and a ck pouch appeared in Ace''s hand.
Alina was astonished when she was the small ck pouch and that note, ''He still has it?''
Herman was shocked asplicated emotions raged in his eyes when he remembered what Ace meant by those words far better than anyone else.
Ace then shocked that ck pouch as metallic chimes of coins sounded and coldly smiled, "Remember this? The 10 Ruby Coins you left me as a charity that day you took Alina away without letting her say goodbye to me? You just judge my care for her with these ten ruby coins. I guess in your eyes, my feelings for her only amount to this much.
"But trust me when I say, with all the treasures and money I have collected in these past years, these ten ruby coins were the most precious to me because they reminded me of how much my feelings have been worth in your eyes.
"And this letter was a reminder that I won''t be able to see her ever again, yet it was also a light that showed me the path that led exactly towards her.
"Sigh¡ sometimes, I don''t understand how people like you have such short sight. You just had to implore that you are superior to others without even caring about their feelings.
"Well, I guess it''s also because of people like you that people like me exist. People like me move forward to show people like you that we can also be great without anyone''s help or background.
"Now, I don''t need them anymore, and I will return this letter and this charity money back to you just like you did to me. But with the hope that you will always regret what you''d done that day and in the future, you better remember to never look down onmoners like me.
"Who knows, they might take it to heart and then hunt you down in your nightmares!"
Herman was pale as a ghost at this moment with a look of defeat and regret as he looked at that pouch and letter, which he had almost forgotten about, appearing right in front of him like some unforgettable misery!
Chapter 831 Ace’s Countermeasure (1)
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"What are you talking about?" Alina looked at Ace''s doubtful expression. She clearly remembered she had only left one note for Ace, and the content of that note didn''t contain anything that he had just stated.
However, when she thought about how she was just a 2nd Qi Gate Realm cultivator, and Herman was a Qi Soul Manifestation Realm Expert, sneaking another note wasn''t a big deal at all, and her eyes went widened with disbelief.
She quickly moved her hand towards the note Ace was holding and blurted, "Show it to me!" N?v(el)B\\jnn
But Ace was quicker and quickly retracted the note and said to her with a smile, "It''s between me and him. Besides, now it''s a matter of the past."
Thereby, he threw the ck paunch and note back to Hermann, who caught it with aplex look and then sighed ruefully as he looked at the pouch and the note.
He finally spoke, "I was indeed short-sighted back then." His eyes went icy cold before that pouch and letter turned into silver ice, and then he closed his fist, crushing them and then opening back. Fine silver ice particles scatter in the air.
"But even if I were given another chance, I would''ve done the same because some things are inevitable." He uttered impassively while looking directly into Ace''s scornful eyes.
Alina couldn''t take it anymore, and her anger and deep hidden resentment finally ir out as she questioned Herman with indignation, "What did you do and why!? Don''t you want to see me happy and sacrifice me to the Blood Ancestor? Am I just a sacrificial pawn to you all!?"
Herman''s eyes widened with disbelief, "How could you think of such a thing? Blood Ancestor just wants to take you as her disciple and pass her legacy to you!"
At this moment, Ace stopped Alina and said coldly, "Did you really think that an old monster who''s lived for tens of thousands of years didn''t have any ulterior motives?
"Well, I guess your vision is limited because you have already lost your will to strive for greatness. Instead, you guys have fully submitted to Blood Ancestor''s rule and considered her an omnipotent existence.
"Nheless, I can''t me you guys since you hadn''t seen the true schemes and horrors of the powerful existences like me."
"Heh, said the person who can only hide in the shadows and stoop to be a petty thief. If you are so great, why don''t you just go and face the Blood Ancestor? If you cane out alive, I or anyone, as a matter of fact, won''t have anything against you." Herman scoffed with derision, "Tell me, are you capable, O'' great Sky Stealer?"
"Truly a frog in the well." Winter couldn''t help but snicker. She knew better than anyone, just why Ace couldn''t be anything else but a thief.
Furthermore, she was also once a pawn in someone else''s scheme, and only because of Ace''s appearance did she manage to escape. No one had any idea just how much potential Ace had. But with his backer, eventually, he will be able to stand toe to toe with the most powerful people in this world. It was just a matter of time.
Alina also felt the same way, especially after learning about a fabled god behind Ace, not to mention once that menace of a devil reached her full potential, there would probably be no one in the world who could stand in Ace''s way.
But she couldn''t just say it since it was Ace''s secret, and he had warned her never to discuss it with anyone or far powerful existence, then the Blood Ancestor will be after them.
Yet, just as Ace stated, Herman and anyone else in his position havepletely sumbed to their fate of being only subordinate.
"Haha, you''re correct, I''m not a match for Blood Ancestor, and I''m just a petty thief." Ace chuckled as he shamelessly said, "Furthermore, even if I had the power to go toe to toe with her, why would I even do that when I can just steal her everything? It''s more fun that way.
"Oh well, you won''t understand until you feel it yourself, so there is no point in talking to a wall. Let''s get down to business then, shall we?" Ace coldly stated, which made the girls curious about what he was talking about.
"So, are you going to kill me? Because without doing so, you can''t leave with Alina." Herman dered as his aura rose. The deadly determination in his eyes was as clear as day. He was ready to die!
"Why are you making things difficult?" Alina couldn''t stand still as she didn''t want Ace to fight with Herman.
Despite his stubborn act, she knew he loved her like his daughter and would never do anything to harm her. But he was loyal to a fault towards the Silver Ice n, and sometimes, this sort of thing bes the reason for conflicts, just like right now.
"Alina, I said, stay out of it. It''s between him and me." Ace looked at her meaningfully, and he could clearly sense her anxiety.
She didn''t want Herman to get hurt, but she also didn''t want to obstruct him. Yet, now she had to choose. He had never been in such a position before with the people around him, or he just didn''t interact with people like Alina, people who had too much to lose.
Now, he started to understand why he was always able to move forward without having any weaknesses until Alina came into the picture.
But he knew how to handle it and also not make Alina choose since it would be too cruel for her, and he couldn''t bear to watch her in such agony.
Ace then looked at Herman as the old hunter''s eyes were shimmering in icy silver sheen, but he didn''t show any intention to attack.
He said, "There is no need to go that far when we can easily solve all this. I have a suggestion that is a win-win for everyone. I wonder if you are willing to hear it or, trust me, if you go this way, you don''t have a snowball chance of doing anything to me, and we will only hurt Alina in the process even more and make her resent you."
Herman''s eyes shimmered with surprise as he squinted them and looked at Alina, who was looking at him with hopeful eyes, clearly implying to just listen to Ace.
In the end, he had to listen, "Tell me!"
Chapter 832 Ace’s Countermeasure (2)
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Ace smiled slyly as he said, "It''s quite simple, actually. Why won''t the Silver Ice Hunter n evacuate from the Blood Continent while Blood Ancestor is still not there? This way, you guys don''t have to live in constant fear of the Blood Ancestor."
Herman retorted coldly, "You want us to leave our ancestralnds and be wanderers? Are you out of your damn mind? Not everyone is like you, who can roam thends whilepletely forgetting about their roots!"
Ace didn''t mind Herman''sst remark as he continued, "You are right, I have no roots to return to, and I sure hope there won''t be any in the future as well. It is far better than living in constant fear like ves.
"But we are talking about you guys. For a moment, let''s just assume you guys wouldn''t leave your so-called ancestralnds. Then, tell me, are your roots more important than your lives?
"Or your loyalty towards the Blood Ancestor is more important; who is threatening and tormenting your n for years and even holding your lives hostage to intimidate Alina?"
Ace''s sharp questioning made Herman speechless and pale as he couldn''t find words to retort Ace. It was just as Ace said if they could just leave the Blood Continent, they could escape their misery, but they were too afraid of Blood Ancestor''s pursuit and also their attachment to their birthce.
Alina and Lillian were also thinking in Ace''s favor. His suggestion was really doable, and they knew since the Blood Ancestor was absent, they could pull this off and can be really free from reign once and for all.
Herman finally spoke after suppressing his raging emotions, "Even if we leave, you have no idea just how powerful the Blood Ancestor is and just how deep her connection runs. As long as we remained on the ten continents, she will hunt us down eventually. It''s impossible to hide from an existence like Blood Ancestor!"
"Heh, you won''t know until you give it a try. Besides, you still didn''t hear about myplete suggestion." Ace snickered, drawing everyone''s attention, and stated, "As you just said, as long as you guys are in the ''ten continents,'' you can''t escape her chase. But what if you are not on the ten continents at all? The endless sea is called endless for a reason, and she won''t be able to search for you guys at all there!"
"That''s even more impossible! If you want us to rote on some Qi-less inds, then we rather are hunted by the Blood Ancestor!" Herman rejected it without even hesitation.
"Sigh, just hear me out. If you agree to my suggestion, then I will provide you guys with a high-grade-7 Qi drawing formation design that can draw Qi from 100 miles radius and focus it on a single ce; the area can be adjusted. You can even add Qi stones or Soul crystals to make the Qi density even richer.
"Second, I will provide your n with an Eighth Realm Cultivation Technique, 3 low-grade-8 treasures, 2 Sky Breaker Grade Skills, 1 Sky Breaker Grade Art, 1 Sky Break Grade Secret Skill, 10 Sky Grade Skills, Arts, and Secret Skills.
"Third, Alchemy, Crafting, and Runic Inheritances up to Low-7 Grade¡."
Ace continued to add treasure after treasure, making everyone''s eyes widen with shock and disbelief. Even Winter was astonished by just where Ace got all those treasures. Then she remembered this guy hade out of a secret realm, and this wealth might be just a fragment of what he was showing!
Nevertheless, everything that Ace added could cause bloody wars between ten continents, yet he was giving them to the Ice Hunter n so that they could let Alina leave in peace and with their blessing.
The three hunters were dumbstruck by all those items, and Alina looked at Ace in a daze, and she remembered those hills of storage rings in Ace''s living space. She finally understood why Ace was so arrogant and why he didn''t want to leave the path of a thief.
Although it sounds like a path for degenerate, it was also a path towards riches!
"¡and finally, in the future, I will robe the entire Blood Continent and deal with the Blood Ancestor. Once I''ve done it, you guys cane back and be the continent master. It''s my promise to you and Alina.
"Now, tell me, how do you like my suggestion?" Ace grinned deviously as he looked at Herman, who seemed to have lost his soul.
He had added so many treasures that not even the five elemental ns of the blood continent couldpare to him or, as a matter of fact, even the ten continents!
Just the eighth realm cultivation technique was enough to make the Silver Ice Hunter n hard to reject. But made it impossible to reject him. Now even if someone was reluctant to leave, he was pretty sure most of the people won''t even take a heartbeat before agreeing. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
''Everything has a price¡'' Ace thought with hidden scorn in his eyes as he looked at Herman.
The old hunter was just bbering about all those beliefs and difficulties, yet now, he was too overwhelmed to speak. Ace knew how people''s hearts worked when it came to greed.
Even an upright person has needs, and if someone can grasp those needs, manipting them to one own advantage is quite easy.
Ace had already investigated the Silver Ice n''s situation beforeing here. He knew they were at the bottom, and their conditions were not great at all. The Blood Ancestor was clearly suppressing their growth so that she could keep them in check.
So, he knew all he needed to do was to show them a new path that led towards nothing but happiness, and for a n who had suffered so much misery, just a ray of warmth was enough for them to move them.
Now, even if Herman was a short-sighted old man, Ace believed that the others weren''t, and they would no longer dare to obstruct Alina''s way or make her anxious.
If this small price can make her feel happy and relieved, he will pay it as many times as it would take, and this way, she can be free like him!
Chapter 833 Buyout!
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Herman finally spoke with a quivering tone, "D-do you really have those items?"
If before, he thought of Ace as just a lucky fellow and a thief who was just good at fleeing, now he no longer dared to underestimate him. Furthermore, he also started to understand why all those powerful figures were after him, even the Blood Ancestor!
"Heh, of course, I''m an honorable thief, after all." Ace chuckled before his expression went cold, "But my only condition is, you all will never bother Alina again. Furthermore, you will never contact the hunter race until I tell you to do so. Lastly, you have to make sure no spy from the Blood Ancestor or other ns will end up following you. Only those who had signed a soul contract can be a part of this. If you agree, then I''ll initiate my n right away."
Herman didn''t find Ace''s condition unreasonable. In fact, he would do the same. Because if some spy ends up discovering this, not to mention the Blood Ancestor, the other four elemental ns will do everything to get their hands on all those treasures.
"I¡ give me some time to contact my men. I can''t make this decision alone." Herman sighed as he said with aplicated look as he looked ted Alina, "But you can''t separate Alina from her parents indefinitely."
"You don''t have to worry about it. I''m nning to find them once I''m done with a very important matter." Ace said matter-of-factly as he nced at Alina, who suddenly blushed when she heard this.
Despite getting her approval, he knew she wouldn''t be at ease until he did it the traditional way. She wasn''t like Eva, and he also didn''t want to separate her from her parents or marry her without their blessings.
If not for the Heave''s Stealer Mission, he would''ve directly headed to the Blood Continent himself. But now, once he was done with Alina''s matter, he needed to head towards the Union and enter the Moon Secret Realm!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
As for these treasures and knowledge, he promised the Silver Ice n, it was only to appease Alina. By giving those treasures away, Ace would only lose about 1/50 of the wealth that he had collected in the Sun Secret Realm!
Herman sighed ruefully again and headed toward the other side of the ind to contact the silver ice n. He has been thoroughly defeated by Ace. Even he couldn''t believe it, and despite his stubbornness, he knew all those treasures were the exact chance for the Ice Silver n to rise.
Furthermore, Alina really seemed happy with Ace, and with his abilities, she might be the safest with him, and he won''t let anything happen to her. He never thought his worries would be resolved by the same person who he looked down upon once and also the very reason for all those worries.
It was all resolved with wealth, and Herman felt like Ace had just bought them all with his astronomical wealth, which was a terrible feeling!
Nevertheless, it was far better than any other options he could think of, and Alina won''t hate him either.
"Are you really nning on giving all those things away?" Winter couldn''t help but ask at this moment while Herman was still using his limit talisman.
Alina red at Winter coldly, as she already knew about her now, but she was also worried that Ace was sacrificing too much for her sake. It was after all the wealth Ace had umted by putting his life on the line.
Ace nced at Winter and nodded without hesitation, "I have no use for that knowledge, and I can always get more treasures. It''s a small price for me to pay for Alina''s happiness."
Then he moved his hand toward her and stated, "Since, the matter here is dealt with, you should go back now. I might need you in the near future, and at that time, it will be far more dangerous. So, I want you to be prepared. You have done an excellent job, and I owe you."
Winter squinted her eyes, "Hmph, you better remember that!"
She wanted to say something more but decided not to since Alina and Lillian were there, and she really wanted to rx after experiencing years of danger. So, she took Ace''s hand, and the next moment, she vanished back into her thief''s house area.
Alina wasn''t surprised by this, but Lillian was shocked silly and wondered just where Ace sent Winter. She didn''t even think that Ace had a living space treasure since it was simply too absurd.
Ace then finally looked at the timid yet gorgeous huntress, who also seemed to be from Alina''s n and close to Alina as well.
He smiled and said, "Sorry for myck of greeting. I''m Ace. Are you Alina''s friend?"
Lillian was dazzled by Ace''s charming smiled and panicked a little, "I¡I-I''m Lillian! N-ni¡nice to meet you!" She replied blushingly.
She couldn''t believe this was the same man who just pacified a stubborn old man like Herman, and now he was politely greeting her.
Alina couldn''t help but giggle as she moved beside, blushing Lillian and teasing her, "Why are you so panicky now? Where is your confidence?"
She then looked at Ace meaningfully and said, "Lillian is my Royal Maid and also my best friend. She''s been with me ever since I returned to the n and always apanied me, and I don''t want that to change. So, can shee with me? She won''t be a bother?"
Ace looked at Alina''s peculiar gaze and felt strange, ''Don''t tell me she wants topete with Eva by having her own maid?''
He had naturally told her about Livia, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt it should be the case.
''Well, the ce will be livelier this way¡'' He thought with a hint of amusement.
Ace nodded smilingly, "As long as it''s ok with Little Sister, Lillian, I don''t mind."
"Of course, she won''t refuse, right?" Alina looked at Lillian, full of raging grit, and she had this feeling that Alina won''t take no for an answer.
Lillian couldn''t help but look between amiable Ace and then ecstatic Alina; for some reason, when she looked at Alina, she felt a very terrible sense of crisis!
Chapter 834 Ice Lord And Ice Queen
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Blood Continent, within the central region of the Ice Domain of the Silver Ice n, was a pristine silver ice pce.
In the grand hall of this Silver Ice Pce, two figures, a male and a female, sitting on silver thrones, were looking at a tall, silver hair hunter with burly stature standing down the throne tform.
The male in gray robes had a peerless icy face with his long bright silver hair draped over his wide shoulders, and giving off the air of a dignified lord. He was one of the five elemental lords, the Ice Lord, Bryan Silver, and also Alina''s father!
The female sitting beside him was wearing a white queen dress and had her face covered with a white veil. But despite that, she was enthralling enough, with a perfect womanly figure, and her skin was as white as snow, and her white hair was bound with a silver crown. She had the air of an icy queen as her silvery irises were coldly staring at the hunter.
Everyone knew that the only person who could sit side by side with the Ice Lord was his fearsome wife, the Ice Queen, Gloria Snow, and she was also Alina''s mother!
Bryan and Gloria''s expressions were stern, yet disbelief was written all over their faces as they looked at the hunter, who was the 1st Elder of the Ice Hunter n, Hogan Silver.
"What you just reported is all true?" Bryan couldn''t help but speak after his uncertain silence.
Hogan nodded with a solemn expression, "If Old Butler''s right-hand man hadn''t contacted me himself, I wouldn''t have believed it either."
"So, not only Alina and that thief have made contact prior to everyone''s assumptions. Now he''s offering us all those unbelievable treasures so that we could leave Alina alone in his care? Did that vile thief thinks our daughter is for sale?! Furthermore, Uncle Herman is okay with it?" Gloria''s coldly questioned as her voice was filled with fury and murderous intent.
Hogan wore a difficult expression as he knew who he was dealing with. Despite being rageful himself, he couldn''t help but think that Ace''s offer was extremely generous and they should take it. This was their chance to escape their miserable fate.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
So, letting Alina go with Ace was a small price to pay. Moreover, it was quite clear that she also wanted that, and nothing was happening against her free will.
But what truly moved Hogan''s heart was Ace''s promise of giving the entire Blood Continent to them once he was capable enough of doing it. The Sky Stealer''s potential was known to everyone, and if he were even half of what he was told, then they would be able to rule the entire Blood Continent one day!
However, Alina wasn''t his daughter, nor he had the power to make such a decision. In the end, it came down all on the Ice Lord and Queen.
It wasn''t a secret that both of them loved Alina dearly, especially after she wasn''t with them in her entire childhood. That sort of fate was worse than death for parents. So, they tried to fill that void after she came back and truly became happy again.
Furthermore, with Alina''s potential, everyone acknowledged her and treated her with utmost respect and care. It was a very peaceful and joyous time for the Silver Ice Hunter n until she snuck out of the continent, and then her connection with the elusive thief Sky Stealer was exposed.
But what truly baffled the people of the Silver Ice Hunter n was Bryan and Gloria''sck of response. They didn''t do anything when their daughter was captured and sentenced to death by the human race.
The Ice Lord was the one who announced it himself, which made him the target of ridicule from the other four elemental ns while he lost the Silver Ice Hunter n''s members'' respect as well.
Yet, despite all that, Bryan and Gloria remained silent until they heard the news of Alina escaping the humans'' imprisonment with the help of none other than the thief who was responsible for putting her there in the first ce.
Nevertheless, Bryan and Gloria provide instant support to bring their daughter back, and they also don''t want to let her meet with the thief and even want to capture him.
Yet, now, things have again escted out of their expectation, and the very thief, who they hate now, was offering them an unimaginable olive branch for taking Alina away with him.
Bryan spoke at this moment with aplicated look in his eyes, "Is Alina really willing to go with him?"
Hogan replied with a nod, "Exactly, or I don''t think that the Old Butler would''ve let her go if she hadn''t instead. I-I also have another piece of news which should be enough to tell us Ice Princess''s intention quite clearly."
"What is it?" Gloria squinted her eyes as she was still in disbelief about Alina''s choosing that thief over them.
Hogan hesitated and contemted whether to say it or not, but he knew if he wanted to convince them, he had to tell them, so he gritted his teeth and said it while bracing himself for the corory.
"A-ording to our hunter race custom, any woman with Royal Elemental Bloodline wore a Maiden Veil at the age of 12 and will only remove it willingly when she found a man they wanted to spend her entire life with or when she''s married. And this can''t be undone once done.
"What I''m trying to say is, p-princess Alina had removed her maiden veil for the Sky Stealer!" Hogan quickly blurted with a pale expression.
But his heart palpitated when he felt the terrifying killing intents locked on him, and the atmosphere climbed down like a raindrop.
Bryan and Gloria''s eyes were filled with disbelief and killing intent as they felt their hearts about to burst with absolute fury.
"O-our precious daughter decided this without even telling us?!" Gloria muttered as her eyes suddenly turned teary as she looked at Bryan and wailed without caring about Hogan, "She hates us, and all of this is because of you!"
Bryan had a dark expression riddle with defeat, but he could only clench his fists with regret and indignation. He knew why Gloria was ming him. He knew he was a coward and a terrible father, and on top of that, he was an awful husband.
''I''ve been running my entire life from this because of the fear that I will lose everything, just like my parents, and I didn''t want to repeat their mistake. But despite all that, I still end up losing everything. Were father and mother right back then?'' He thought as an inexplicable pain surfaced in his heart, ''Is there still time to make it right?''
Chapter 835 My Family
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In the end, the matters with Silver Ice Hunter n concluded on Ace''s terms. Not only Alina''s parents agreed to follow his n to evacuate the blood continent, but they ambitiously requested him to bring Alina back once they were done ''adventuring.''
Ace had no qualms with this demand as he was nning on doing it anyway. At least his opinion of Alina''s parents slightly increased after they epted his demands without causing any trouble.
On the other hand, Alina was the happiest after receiving her parents'' blessings. She might not show it, but she was anxious about her parents'' reaction to this matter. But it ended up quite well, and now, she can follow Ace without any burden on her heart, and the Silver Ice n can thrive with all resources Ace haspromised for her.
However, on this joyous asion, Herman requested to talk with Ace in privacy, and Ace epted it despite Winter''s misgivings.
Herman, with a determined look, stated, "I know what I have done in the past was not right, and my viewpoint is narrow. Furthermore, what you have done for us is really appreciated and helpful. You have changed the Silver Ice n''s fate, and for that, you have my utmost eternal gratitude!"
He bent his back and bowed his head in front of Ace, which made Ace startled. He never thought this stubborn old man would yield like this, not to mention bow in front of him.
But Herman wasn''t done as he again stood straight and looked into Ace''s eyes with coldness this time as he uttered, "This is a request from Alina''s parents and me as well, and we hope you can understand our intentions. You see, it''s pretty clear Alina didn''t see you as just her brother anymore; she wants you to be far more than just that.
"You are also a young man now, and it won''t be a surprise if you also don''t have the same feelings for her, especially after seeing her appearance. What I want to say is we are not against this, or simply put, we can''t stop you even if we want to.
"But despite our helplessness against you, I want you to know that we are still Alina''s family and loved ones. Our background is also noble, but I won''t try to implore it since it won''t matter anymore.
"Yet, there are still some customs that made us what we are, and they can''t be forgotten or ignored just because we want them to. They are also the symbol of our identities and beliefs.
"Such a custom is Marriage which exists in every culture in different ways but with the same intent. So, all we are humbly requiting from you¡ A-Ace is that we want you to follow this custom as well and also grant us the honor and joy to see our precious girl on the happiest and most important day of her life.
"This also includes¡"
"Alright, stop right there!" Ace cut Herman at this moment with a somewhat annoyed look as he stared at the frowning old hunter.
He wasn''t a two-year-old to not understand what Herman was trying to imply there in roundabout ways.
"I know what you''re trying to say. Marriage is really once in a lifetime event, and despite my misgivings, I respect this custom. I also have the same idea about your ways, so I''ll follow them without leaving anything."
Ace''s expression went frosty, "But I want to make one thing clear, don''t teach me how to treat my woman, nor can you stop Alina from doing anything. I will respect her wishes and not yours and do anything for her. So, don''t try to teach me how to suppress my or her emotions just because of some dead beliefs.
"All you guys want is a marriage, and I will give you one and one who had never seen. But before that, I still need to fulfill another promise. Nheless, you guys will get what you want, so if we''re done, can I leave?" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Herman was utterly baffled by Ace''s deviant-like response, and fury surfaced in his eyes as he clenched his fists. He has gotten Ace''s message loud and clear that if Alina wants, he won''t hesitate to go beyond, which was exactly what they didn''t want to see.
They were hunter royalties, and Alina was their princess, and for a princess to lose her purity without marriage was a pretty big deal to any culture. Yet, they were helpless against this guy who was simply too unreasonable.
In the end, Herman showed a hint of defeat as now he could only believe in Alina''s character, and she would know what was best for her and not cross a certain line.
A rueful sigh escaped his mouth, "As long as Alina wishes it, I will respect it. Thest thing, consider it my personal curiosity or just a worry of a grandfather for his granddaughter." He sternly asked while looking directly into Ace''s eyes as if he wanted to see through those dark blue eyes, "Are you going after your family, the White Crown, now? If you are, then I would like you to suggest reconsidering taking Alina with you. I don''t need to tell you that the strongest forces of the top five races are involved in that voyage, including the Blood Ancestor."
A faint ripple surfaced in Ace''s eyes, but it was merely fleeting. He was expressionless as if he didn''t hear what Herman had just questioned.
He impassively stated, "Family, huh? As far as family goes, my parents and grandparents died when I was just a boy, and now I''m an orphan. The only people closest to a family I have now been all fine and doing great.
"So, why would I involve myself with some powerful hungry buffoons? They can all kill each other for all I care. Of course, if an opportunity appeared, I mean my kind of opportunity, I don''t mind taking their ''gifts."
Ace smiled demonically, which sent chills down Herman''s spine, "But it''s a pity that I have another matter I need to attend to before I can get back on the ying field. But don''t worry, you guys will see me soon."
Herman really wasn''t expecting this sort of response from Ace, as no one can be indifferent towards their own flesh and blood. Yet, Ace appeared to be too dismissive about it from start to finish. He even wondered if White Crown was even his real family or just a false rumor.
After Ace made his intentions clear, he stated, "Now that you got the answers, I should get going. As for the things I''ve promised, my associate will deliver them in a few days. I''ve already handed over everything beforeing here, so you don''t have to worry about carrying any burden and can go back in peace. If you need anything else, you can ask me now."
Herman went widened with disbelief when he heard this and blurted, "Wait! You said you handed over everything beforeing here? Does this mean you were sure we would ept your terms?!"
Ace grinned deviously and subtly uttered, "What do you think?"
Chapter 836 Back To The Union (1)
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In a location between the Beast Continent and the Elven Continent, there was thick Qi radiation fog surrounding this ce all year long. This Qi radiation fog diameter was extremely wide, and no one has ever managed to measure it properly.
Because anyone with a sane mind would avoid such a high-density Qi radiation location in the endless sea. Especially when this ce was infamous for being a forbidden zone. Meaning no one has evere back after venturing into this fog.
So, both the elves and magic beasts avoid this ce and stay far away from it as possible.
However, today, a small ship enshrouded in a dark translucent barrier with dark blue symbols was making its way toward this very deadly Qi radiation fog at a terrifying speed!
Standing on this ship''s deck was a tall-hooded figure, as he looked at the fog with his astute dark blue eyes, "Now, who could''ve thought that this ce was so close to the human continent? Last time, I unknowingly stumbled here because of that damn secret realm''s merging, and I had no choice but to follow the live fate map. If I had known, I could''ve directly reached Alina and won''t have awakened a heaven''s stealer mission."
This person was indeed Ace as hemented on his bad luck. He started voyaging through the endless sea after picking up Alina, and he only had one goal, the Sun and Moon Sword Union!
Although he had left the Union from the Sun Secret Realm side, it didn''t mean he didn''t have a way to head back. He knew he had to promptly return after saving Alina, so before leaving, he used his thief marks on five people who were going to transport into the union after the Sun Secret Realm''s destruction!
It was a gamble on Ace''s part because it wasn''t guaranteed that the union dwellers would not kill them after what happened to the Sun Secret Realm. Although that fear came true, out of five of his thief marks, one somehow managed to survive, and thereby he could sense its general locations.
Furthermore, even if all the bearers of thief marks were to die, Ace still had the live fatepass, which was still pointing toward the Union or the Moon Secret Realm''s direction after he destroyed the sun secret realm.
Even though he wasn''t sure before, after following his thief marks, he was quite sure that he was heading in the right direction.
Moreover, Ace also noticed something when he wasing towards Alina. It was that he was moving exactly towards his thief mark, and thepass point was also pointing in the same direction.
Which means the Union should be in the same direction. He just doesn''t know how far. Nevertheless, it was nothing but good news for him. After picking up Alina, he quickly started his voyage again and started following the thief marks and live fate map at full speed.
However, even he never expected that he would reach here in just less than five months, and as he grew closer to the union, the familiar Qi radiation fog appeared, and he couldn''t be surer about this ce.
Now, Ace has around 26 months to destroy the Moon Secret Realm, and the more time he has, the lesser the chances of him making a mistake.
At this moment, Ace suddenly muttered, "Cancel arraybination no.849, Swift Wind Array, and activate arraybination no. 5, Lesser Heaven Concealment Array!"
The next moment, the dark barrier suddenly churned before the nine dark blue symbols on the barrier started to shift in a special sequence before they were rearranged in a different pattern.
Thereby, the translucent barrier started to turn ethereal until itpletely vanished, and with it, the ship was also nowhere to be seen. Even its movements on the sea surface had vanished without a trace.
This was the result of one of the most powerful heavenly arraybinations, the Lesser Heaven Concealment Array. As long as Ace supplies it with his heavenly Qi, only those who can see through him will be able to do the same with this array.
Although this arraybination was quite far away for him toprehend on his own, he could unlock it with thief points from the heavenly rune crafting panel and then use it through the system.
The Swift Wind Array was the same, and it was the main reason for his early arrival in this ce.
But now that he was about to enter that fog again, he knew he needed protection more than speed. Because he still didn''t forget about the ck fate points he spotted when he was heading towards the unionst time and barely able to escape.
With a grave expression, Ace entered the fog again and continued towards the thief''s mark direction as it was bing closer and closer.
After his breakthroughst time, the Qi radiation has an even more insignificant effect on him. As for the ship, it has a protection barrier, but he didn''t dare to use it, afraid of drawing those ck fate points attention. He only believed in his heavenly Qi at this moment.
So, even if this ship ends up rotting, it was an insignificant price to pay to go back. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Time passed as Ace remained on high alert as he was entering the depth of the Qi radiation, and he could feel getting closer to the union.
This time, Ace didn''t encounter any of those ck fate points like before, and the union was around the corner, but he still didn''t dare to let his guard down.
But Ace was proven to be wrong again as this time it was quite smooth sailing, and he finally entered a familiar space and spotted the familiar shadowy silhouette of a mountain range.
However, his excitement was short-lived as his eyes went widened with disbelief when he saw somethingpletely unfamiliar that wasn''t there thest time he was there.
"Are those cracks!?"
Chapter 837 Back To The Union (2)
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The scene in front of Ace was like some monochrome painting which was filled with narrow slits, and from within, colorful lights were emitting. It was like someone had torn through that strange barrier with a knife multiple times.
Furthermore, with Ace''s sharp thief sense, he could feel faint traces of Qi leaking from those cracks, and something was trying to prevent that. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Nevertheless, it wasn''t that important at this moment. Instead, Ace had pretty good assumptions about what had caused this.
''Could it be when I destroyed the Sun Secret Realm, the aftermath caused all this?'' Ace thought grimly, ''I should''ve known this would''ve happened since the Sun Secret Realm was a part of the Sun Mountain, and heaven is involved above all. It seems this mysterious barrier is deeply connected with the secret realms.
''Then this also means after I destroyed the Sun Secret Realm, the union members would do anything to protect the Moon Secret Realm. Furthermore, since I''d just vanished after the secret realm''s destruction, people would''ve presumed me dead.
''So, if I returned now and frompletely opposite direction, I don''t think I can escape the integration. Especially the Union Leader''s questioning. That guy is not simple, and I can''t begin to fathom his prowess.
''He might''ve already suspected me in his heart, so going back as White is nothing but suicidal. But this also means my advantage has vanished. I still have my union token that the feather upgrade into Sun Chaser and Moon Seeker Token before Cyrus get rid of it.
''ording to him, I can enter the Moon Secret Realm with that token as long as I enter Moon Mountain. But it won''t be easy since this ce is the union¡''
Ace sighed in frustration as he never expected this situation back in the union would be soplicated. He knew better than anyone just how difficult it was to sneak with the union without getting notice first.
Thest time he entered, he was instantly approached by a union instructor-level figure, and there were the stairways he needed to take before he could even begin to contemte entering Moon Mountain.
In the end, Ace had no choice but to move forward, no matter the consequences. His life was on the line here, and that''s why he needed to enter the Moon Secret Realm no matter what.
But this never meant he had no other options. He was not the same ignorant person who just drifted into this cest time. Now, he was stronger and also had a wealth of an entire realm to back him up.
Ace fingers suddenly formed a sign, and the next moment, the invisible ship reappeared. But nine dark streaks suddenly broke away from different parts of the ship and then attached to Ace''s body!
Those nine dark streaks were none other than the Heavenly Formation Coin, which now shimmered nine different dark blue rune symbols. Not only these nine heavenly array rune symbols could attach themselves to any object turning it into a runic medium, but they can do the same with living things, just like talismans!
Just like now, with a specialmand, Ace had detached those coins from the ship and directly attached them to his body, achieving the same effect as the Lesser Heaven Concealment Array!
That''s what made them unique and terrifying.
It was also the reason Ace came to love these HF coins and put so much time into learning all sorts of arraybinations and unlocking some important ones with TP.
But this was just the start of his preparation to enter the union. The next moment, a violet formation te which was filled with ancient symbols, appeared in his hand.
It was a low-grade-8 formation called the Windfall of Space that he got from the finalyer of the Sun Secret Realm, and it was one of the three grade-8 formations he got from there.
This formation has three functions, stealth, space tear, and small teleportation!
The stealth can only be discovered by an intermediate-grade-8 anti-stealth formation or a Law Comprehension Realm Expert''s soul or martial sense.
The Space Tear ability was also quite simple yet very useful. It can create a small tear within a formation barrier of any kind below grade-8 and then let its user enter it 100 meters deep without triggering any rm or traps.
Last but not least, the Small Teleportation can instantly teleport its user to 250 meters radius distance.
This was Ace''s biggest trump card. But any of these function costs were astronomical. Because Ace can''t supply the Qi needed to activate any of this formation''s functions. So, he needed Grade-7 or higher-level Qi stones or Soul Crystals to supply it with the power to operate.
Even with Ace''s wealth, he had a limited amount of Grade-7 Qi Stones and Soul Crystals of four quality grades that he only acquired from the Sun Secret Realm.
Nevertheless, they were still enough to be sufficient for a long time, but he still wanted to save as many as he could since those precious recourses were priceless.
Thereby, he stowed away the ship and then flew over this flying sword close to the cracked barrier. After he confirmed that there was no one behind that barrier with the live fate map, he finally activated the Windfall of Space''s stealth function and tried to use the space tear on that barrier.
He had no idea just what rank that barrier was, and if it were below the Windfall of Space''s rank, it would''ve easily breached.
However, the violet formation te shimmered in front of the dark barrier for a few moments before bing dormant, and nothing happened. This mean was this barrier was even higher than the low-grade-8 rank!
Ace frowned a little, but it wasn''t like he hadn''t expected this, so he tried to use the small teleportation direction of the barrier. He wanted to avoid touching this barrier if he could. He was even really to use his Space Step Talisman.
If none of that works, then Ace was willing to use his final trump card as well, but he doesn''t want to touch that damn barrier at all costs.
However, it never came to that when the formation te suddenly shimmed in violet-white, and Ace suddenly vanished from his spot.
The next moment, when he appeared, a feeling of pernicious enveloped his mind, but it was momentarily as he quickly regained hisposure.
Ace found himself in a bright, familiar surrounding as he was floating over a crystal-clear water body, and behind him was nkness just as he remembered it. It was like nothing had happened at all.
Even from there, he could see a massive stairway silhouette straight up ahead, and he smiled in satisfaction, ''I''m finally back!''
Chapter 838 A Strange Development
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After returning to the Mortal Domain of the Sun and Moon Sword Union, Ace didn''t waste time and continued towards the Sun and Moon Ascension Gates.
But the thing he noticed while heading there gave him a strange feeling. The first was there weren''t any traces of the slits within the union, but they were pretty clear from the outside.
The second thing was the Qi density of this ce had greatly plummeted, and the greatest proof of that was the greenery here was somewhat waned, and many herbs that grow in high-density Qi environment were now slowly withering away.
The third thing was the Sun and Moon Ascension Gates. As he grew closer, he noticed that the once-crowded ce was no longer crowded and was empty as a graveyard.
It was very strange because he knew what this ce meant for the mortal domain''s union natives. They always guard and even pray at this ce for their descendants. So, this ce can''t be empty no matter what, yet today, there wasn''t a single soul present.
Last but not least, the thing he noticed after almost reaching the Sun and Moon Ascension Gate was he didn''t spot any living thing!
This discovery was quite rming and spooky at the same time. Ace''s heart grew tense, and he decided to check the Official Union City closest to the SAMA Gates.
He was hoping that this was all but his imagination and there might be something going on in the Mortal Domain. However, he left baffled when he reached the Official Union City.
He found that the entire ce waspletely empty, like a ghost city. The city stalls, shops, house, and even city treasure was left open. No one had taken anything, as everyone had just vanished into thin air.
The ce was riddled with dust, so it was empty for quite some while.
''The mortal domain might''ve been evacuated within the two domains¡'' Ace thought with an unconvinced expression.
Although he thought like this, he couldn''t be sure since there wasn''t anyone there left to confirm his conjecture.
But whatever the case was, he was sure of one thing, the Union had undergone a massive change after he destroyed the Sun Secret Realm, and he had to tread very carefully.
Right now, Ace was using his mask''s ability, the Heavenly Formation Coins, and the Windfall of Space Formation to hide his traces from being discovered, and it was working since the Fate Map was still gray without any danger.
However, the first two things required arge supply of Qi, and even with his newly erged reserves, it won''tst forever. Although Heavenly Formation Coins were a magnificent treasure, the problem with them was they couldn''t be used with other Qi or Qi stones and Soul Crystals. They needed either Heavenly Martial Qi or Heavenly Soul Qi.
Ace, at this rate, will have to keep all these things running, and he had no idea what was going on in the first ce. But he needed to find out and move forward.
So, he decided to find a ce to rest and replenish his Qi and mental energy. He might not get another chance once he starts moving again. But this wasn''t resting as well since he was still using one type of Qi to keep the treasures active while replenishing the other.
Nheless, it was far better than taking the risk of exposing himself.
Three dayster, Ace appeared outside the barren yet imposing Sun and Moon Ascension Gates, which were tightly shut. Looking at the fate map, he found the area behind those gates was dyed in light red color.
''Since no one is left in the mortal domain, then it means they no longer care about this ce and probably locked these gates for good. So, they won''t be paying attention to an unexpected returnee like myself. At least, I hope so¡'' Ace thought gravelly.
Although he was still not sure what was happening, he had no other choice as he activated the small teleportation of the Windfall of Space formation!
The next moment, Ace again blinked from his initial location and reappeared on the other side of the sealed gates!
At this point, this teleportation function was working just fine, which could only mean the union had no protection against space-rted abilities.
With his flying sword, Ace started to fly upward, and there was no pressure or anything. The Ascension Stairways were also not working, which was plus for him.
Furthermore, the red area suddenly turned gray again when he got closer to the thick mist, which made Ace astounded, and no one was there to guard the ce either.
So, without any danger, Ace continued to move forward. He clearly remembered he was teleported into a massive hallst time, so it was his first time taking this route. So, he was quite vignt.
In the end, Ace easily passed the white clouds with the fate map''s help, and he appeared outside a mountain pass that was closed with the same kind of gates at the entrance of Ascension Stairways.
The area turned red again, and Ace used the small teleportation. It seeded again, and this time, he appeared in a familiar grand hall which was the same ce he first appeared when he passed the Ascension Gates.
This time, Ace was on full-time high alert because of the Union Guardian. That ethereal voice seemed to be everywhere, but it has yet to reappear. However, to his surprise, the area turned gray again. N?v(el)B\\jnn
''Don''t tell me the other hurdle in my way is those sealed gates, and once I cross them, nothing can stop me?'' Ace wondered with a little bit of ecstasy since it was nothing but good news.
Nheless, he wasn''t too sure since he knew just how unlucky he could be at some times.
Ace met with another closed door of the hall, which he crossed like the previous gates and finally appeared in the Sun and Moon Mountains'' periphery!
However, a massive surprise was waiting for him the moment he appeared, which left him gobsmacked and horrified.
Right in front of him, where once two magnificent Golden and Silver Mountains with could rings were used to, now only the Silver Mountain remained, for the Golden Mountain hadpletely vanished without any trace!
Chapter 839 A Silver Wyvern?
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If Ace hadn''t seen with his own eyes, he wouldn''t have believed that there were two colossal mountains instead of just one!
The Sun Mountain hadpletely vanished without a trace, and there was only an empty grass field in its ce, which gave Ace a very shady feeling.
''Can a secret realm vanish an entire mountain?'' Ace wondered with a grim look. But the answer to his question was right in front of him, and despite not wanting to believe it, he knew it had something to do with the Sun Secret Realm''s destruction.
''I think it''s called the Heaven''s Secret for this sort of reason¡'' Ace mused as this was the only exnation he could think of. Anything rted to Heaven was no joke, and he was living proof of just what it means to be going against Heaven.
Nevertheless, Ace collected his chaotic thoughts as he knew he couldn''t avoid this sort of aftermath on his current mission. He needed to be ready for all sorts of after-effects if he was dealing with Heaven''s Secret.
''So, if the Sun Mountain is gone, then what about the sun domain members? Are they now residing on Moon Mountain?'' Ace thought as it was a possible oue or, in the worst case, they were all dead, which was highly unlikely given the high union elders'' prowess.
But it didn''t change the fact that he needed to enter that ce for him to head into the Moon Secret Realm.
Ace then bound his resolve and moved towards the colossal silver mountain while flying at a very low altitude. It didn''t take him long before the moon mountain entrance entered his thief sense range.
(Thief Sense Range: 21 Miles Radius)
However, he was instantly stopped in his trace and almost fled when he suddenly spotted an anomaly right in front of the colossal silver gate of the moon domain. There was a ck fate point right beside the moon domain''s gate!
Ace instantly stopped flying to hide all the Qi fluctuations, if there were any. Then he scanned that ce with scrutiny. Then he noticed only one anomaly, which was a gigantic silver wyvern statue lying right in front of the silver gate!
Ace had seen the golden and silver wyverns'' statues in the union, but that silver wyvern was extremely vivid, and its scales were more shinning and glistering, like tinum, as if he was made of entirely tinum and sleeping right now.
''Wait, don''t tell me¡'' Ace''s eyes went wide with sheer disbelief as he looked at the ck fate point and then looked towards the statue of the silver wyvern.
Then he carefullypared the fate point and the statue''s locations, and his heartbeat widely, ''They are the in the same position. But isn''t a Wyvern legendary existence? If they are real, then they should be at least on the level of Cyrus''s race, or they are not as legendary as the ancient text made them be¡''
Ace mused as he wasn''t rejecting the idea that wyverns can''t exist. He was just confused about whether they were as legendary as they were imed to be or they were just rumors.
The magic beast race was no weak race, so to speak of, and Cyrus-like existences were part of that race. So, wyverns shouldn''t be any different. But their prowess was a mystery to him.
But if that statue was really alive and was the same ck fate point showing on the map, then that silver wyvern was at least at the peak of Law Awareness Realm, and Ace was no match for it.
''Don''t tell me the Union was hiding this Wyvern all this time, and it only appeared because of the matter with the Sun Mountain, and now it''s just a guard dog of the Moon Mountain.'' Ace mused grimly as it wasn''t good news at all since he needed to go past that Wyvern or whatever thing was hiding in its sham.
But just to make sure, he asked the system, "System, is that a real Wyvern or just a statue?"
Although he didn''t have high hope of getting an answer, he still wanted the system to shed some light so he could prepare ordingly.
"[That''s not a real wyvern for they can''t exist in the mortal sky heaven, but an Elemental Orb Guardian which had taken a shape of a Wyvern!]"
Ace was gobsmacked when he heard this unexpected answer, "Wait? It''s also a corpse?"
"[No, it''s alive and has fully integrated its intelligence with its corresponding elemental orb. Meaning, it''s as intelligent as any living being under the mortal sky!]"
Ace''s heart churned as he wasn''t expecting this answer at all, but at the same time, his eyes glowed with massive anticipation, "If it''s alive, then this means its elemental orb is also in the union, right?! So, if I''m not wrong about it, out of all the remaining elemental orbs, the Ice Elemental Orb''s guardian is dead, and the orb is missing. That guardian sure ain''t look like the orb guardian of a dark orb, which left with either the Wind or the Metal Element Orbs!" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"[It''s the Orb Guardian of the Metal Elemental Orb. But the Metal Orb is not in this space.]"
"Not in this space?" Ace asked with uncertainty before his eyes winded when he suddenly thought about the Yang Orb he got in the Sun Secret Realm, "So, that orb is in the Moon Secret Realm like the Yang Orb, which was in the Sun Secret Realm as its energy source?"
"[Your conjecture might be right or might not. It''s for you to find out. But be warned, host, the metal orb is also like the yang orb. It has also undergone three evaluations and now is trued into a tinum Orb! Which made that orb guardian a Law Comprehension Realm being!]"
"[Furthermore, if you spent 100,000 thief points, system will tell you about a very interesting fact.]"
Ace was speechless when he heard the tinum Orb Guardian''s strength and wondered just how the Union could control it. But it was also quite obvious since all the orb guardian has only one weakness. Once you control that weakness, they will be easily manipted, no matter their strength or intelligence. But it was still terrifying nheless.
However, System''sst crook-like suggestion truly drew Ace''s attention as it had never done that before, and that voice wasn''t emotionless as well. In the end, Ace was simply too curious for his own good.
"Alright, I''ll bite." He agreed, and then the system revealed something which almost gave him a stroke!
Chapter 840 The Peak Of Mortal Sky
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After hearing the system''s revtion, Ace remained rotted in his ce for a long time in a trace. It was impossible for him to believe what he just heard, but it wasing out of the system, so it was impossible to be a lie.
"I-is it really true?" Ace asked after snapping out of his stupor.
"[System never lies.]"
Ace inhaled sharply after System confirmed it as mirth bloomed in his thievish eyes and mulled, ''I need to calm down, or this revtion is nothing to me. I first need to enter the Moon Domain by going past that orb guardian. My first target is the Moon Secret Realm!''
Ace looked at the sleeping orb guardian and then the gate that led within the Moon Domain.
''Although I will lose my trump card for some time after this, it''s worth it as long as I can pass through that guardian!''
Ace suddenly sprinted toward the Moon Mountain before hemanded the system, "Summon the Devil Horn Dark Owl Wings and Devil''s Horn!"
=====
[Devil Horn Dark Owl Wings has been summoned!]
[Devil''s Horn has been summoned!]
---
-Devil Horn Dark Owl Wings (Intermediate)
-Description: Able to summon Wings of Devil Dark Owl!
-Ability: Fly
-Status: Active
-Time: 00:44:59
--
-Devi''s Horn (Intermediate)
-Description: Able to summon Horns of Devil Horn Dark Owl!
-Status: Active
-Time: 00:02:59
=====
Ethereal dark wings and horns started to materialize on Ace''s back and head as his entire demeanor changed while he was enshrouded in darkness. Ace hadn''t used these abilities for quite a while now since they were his trump cards.
After breakthroughs in a new realm, these summoning abilities also grew with him. Now, the only way to pass that Law Comprehension Realm Orb Guardian was to use these two abilities simultaneously.
The Devil Horn Dark Owl Wings will increase his speed by ten-fold, and their flying ability was far more powerful than flying sword, not to mention without any risk of unexpected Qi undtion as long as he was using the Devil''s Horn ability with them.
The Devil''s Horn ability was one of Ace''s biggest trump cards, but its time limit was extremely low, and only with the wings could he achieve its full potential.
So, both abilitiesplement each other, and this situation was perfect to use them, or if he keeps holding back, then he might wake that guardian, and then it will be toote for him.
Ace''s entire existence vanished without a trace, and his speed elerated like crazy as he headed toward the sleeping guardian. Within a minute, Ace was only a mile away from the gate.
However, despite his boosted confidence, Ace felt a terrifying pressure as he grew closer to the Orb Guardian, and that invisible pressure also increased. It was his first time being in the presence of a Law Comprehension Realm existence. Existence at the very pinnacle of the Mortal Sky Heaven, a myth among the cultivators!
Furthermore, now that he was up close, he could finally see the true size and its ghastly existence. A 23-meter-long and 9-meter-wide reptile body with diamond shape tinum scales like pristine gems. Two long arms withrge de-like wings spanning and sharp ws on their edges. Then resting above those ghastly ws was a fearsome face with a white horn above its nose.
Despite its sleeping state, Ace was still feeling palpitation as he grew closer to it, and that profound pressure seemed to be emitting unconsciously from that guardian who gave unfathomed and supreme oppression.
Ace, with a solemn expression, continued his advance and flew as high as he could from that terrifying existence. However, his expression paled when he was finally right above the guardian.
Because an invisible mountainous pressure which gave someone an illusion of a gruesome silver wall, descended on Ace, plummeting his speed by more than half!
Ace was instantly rmed and thought the guardian had awakened and found him. But when he looked down, he saw it was still sleeping with its eye close and sighed in relief.
''If my stealth is still working, then what the hell is this pressure?'' Ace grew tense as he tried to move forward, and the gate was only less than a hundred meters away from him.
Yet, as he grew closer, he fell under even more pressure, and he couldn''t understand just why in the world this was happening. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
''Just how strong is a Law Comprehension Realm?'' Ace wondered as he didn''t dare to underestimate the strongest existence under the Mortal Sky anymore.
Nevertheless, his time was running out, and there were only a little over 50 seconds left before the Devil''s Horn would be gone and fell under 30 days cooldown period.
''I should be close enough!'' Ace made his decision and instantly activated the small teleportation and hoped he could appear on the other side. Because if not, then he had to run away in the reaming time.
Furthermore, he was afraid of using this formation since it would create a space ripple that might get noticed by the guardian below him, which would be a disaster for him!
The moment the Windfall of Space formation was activated, Ace''s felt a powerful suction force, and his eyes lit up in ecstasy since it meant the teleportation was sessful!
But right at this moment, the closed eyes of the guardian sprang open, revealing entirely silver eyeballs filled with bloodlust and vignce as they swirled in tinum Qi!
Almost instantly, its fearsome head moved upward before, out of nowhere, a corporeal silvery doom materialized and started to spread at an insane speed. Within a few seconds, the barrier had covered 10 miles radius area.
A husky voice filled with killing intent rang like a thunderp in the entire union at this moment, "Who dared to sneak in my union?!"
The voice was so loud that the air churned, creaking small lighting sparks, and it came from the orb guardian.
However, no reply was heard, which made the orb guardian sneer furiously, "Gales of Moon!"
The next moment within the barrier, the lights seemed to have lost their meaning as ckness crept out of nowhere before. Within this nkness, an extremely bright silver light appeared.
Thereafter, the small light suddenly expanded within the whole barrier, creating a beautiful silver moon, and its moonlight was filled with killing momentum!
Chapter 841 The Threat Of Heretic
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The silver barrier burst like a bubble at this moment, revealing the orb guardian as killing intent shimmered in his eyes, and an uncertain voice sounded, "Strange¡"
At this moment, out of thin air, a handsome man in yellow with an aura not any weaker than the orb guardian appeared, floating right in front of the massive head of the orb guardian. It was none other than the Union Leader!
The Union Leader''s appearance was somewhat exhausted, and he seemed to be on edge,pletely different from his previous aloof and haughtily self.
"What happened, Moon Guardian?" He asked frowningly.
The Moon Guardian red at the Union Leader with clear hostility and replied, "Nothing, just an annoying flea, already dealt with."
The Union Leader''s frown deepened, and he sternly spoke, "I know you are unhappy about your new post, but I need you to understand that we can''t let anything happen to Moon Mountain!"
"Hmph!" The Moon Guardian sneered coldly, "If you really care, let me guard the Moon Secret Realm entrance. We both know no one is capable of getting past the seal gates, not to mention the gate behind me, unless they had a Grade-8 space treasure which is impossible to appear!" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The Union Leader was about to retort when another voice filled with ancient wisdom rang.
"I''m taking care of the Moon Secret Realm personality. If you''re worried about the same thing happening to you that happened to the Sun Guardian, then you can rest assured."
Both Union Leader and the Moon Guardian were startled before they looked towards the same location and saw a figure of white light. Despite their prowess and statuses, they both bowed their head and greeted respectfully.
"Sun and Moon Sword Custodian (SMSC)!"
The Moon Guardian was hesitant for a moment before saying, "Thank you for your trouble SMSC. Forgive my rude behavior. I was just still in disbelief about the old sun and lost my calm."
"No worries, I know you both were close like kin. I''m also still in disbelief about her sudden departure. But know this, once I find out the Heretic, I''ll make sure to invite you for revenge." SMSC sighed ruefully with a tingle of grief.
Before he suddenly spoke to the Union Leader and his voice turned colder than ice, "You, on the other hand, you''ve been isted for over a year to deal with those intruders. Did you find out how they were able to find this ce, or did I need to interfere? I don''t need to remind you that with the Sun Mountain gone, the Sun Altar is also destroyed, which means we have also lost the Sun God''s blessing. I don''t want any of your tricks, or you can switch with Moon!"
Union Leader''s eyes shimmered with indignation, but with meticulous control over his emotions, he replied respectfully, "It''s not like I was beingzy, Lord SMSC. You should know four of the intruders are Quasi Law Comprehension Realm Cultivators, and extracting information from their souls is close to impossible. While two of them are very close to being Quasi Law Comprehension Realm Cultivators, they are also quite troublesome to deal with.
"So, I focused on the Law Awareness Realm Cultivators, and I found that they were led here by pure luck. Those people seemed to be in a war with another continent and were leading their forces toward them when they identally entered the hidden illusory waters.
"As for how they were able to find us, it is rted to the destruction of the Sun Mountain. The sudden event caused a huge breach in the Heaven End Barrier, and they were able to find us.
"If anything, I think we should try to turn them into union members. Those people are all powerful and full of potential. In these troubled times, we can use all the help we can get until we find this ''Heretic'' that the Sun Envoy warned us about!"
"Are you really hearing yourself? Let those outsiders join the Union and abandon our founding creed? Let me deal with those ''troublesome'' guys. Who knows, I might get something out of them." The Moon Guardian retorted and directly rejected the Union Leader''s suggestion.
''This damnable hurdle, why he insists on obstructing my way?!'' The Union Leader nced at the Moon Guardian with a hint of exasperation and replied, "What creed? Do I need to remind you that Sun Mountain is already destroyed? The union is not what it used to be without the Sun Secret Realm! Furthermore, the Moon Altar is still dormant despite our effort to contact the Moon Envoy. So, I''m pretty sure they had already abandoned us or didn''t care about the union.
"If we still remain stubborn, the Heretic will win while we would be busy solving our internal dispute! Lord SMSC, please consider the bigger picture and the safety of our union. If not permanently, then we can use them until we find the heretic and then discard them once the danger is dealt with!"
The Moon Guardian''s eyes were filled with killing intent as his ghastly aura skyrocketed, "You¡"
"That''s enough! Union Leader indeed has a point." SMSC intervened at this moment with a hint of helpless.
The Moon Guardian''s eyes widened with shock as he quickly asked, "Are you really considering his suggestion?"
"Sigh¡ I know this is akin to abandoning our beliefs, but difficult times call for difficult measures. With a chance of Sun and Moon Seeker''s being the looming threat, the mysterious Heretic, we have to use everything in our arsenal.
"Nheless, you should be worry-free, for I''m not going to allow them to enter without any precautions. If Union Leader didn''t have any qualms with that, then bring those six you mentioned in the Moon Altar. I''ll personally nt Sun and Moon Soul Seals in their souls so they won''t betray the union!" SMSC stated.
The Union Leader appeared impassive, but a peculiar light shone in his eyes as he respectfully bowed, "It''s my honor that Lord SMSC has considered my suggestion, and I will do as Lord SMSC suggest. I''ll bring them there at dawn!"
"Very well, I shall wait." SMSC stated, before speaking with the perplexed Moon Guardian, , "We got distracted from the real topic. Tell me, why did you use your tinum Intent for¡ Wait what¡ NOOO!"
The SMSC sudden shriek in horror before its light figure instantly vanished, leaving the Moon Guardian and the Union Leader bewildered!
Chapter 842 Everything Will Belong To HIM!
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On the other side of the Moon Mountain Gate was a beautiful valley that was empty. But right at this moment, a faint space ripped appeared before everything returned to normal.
It was naturally Ace, who just teleported from the other side. However, hisplexion was paler than a ghost as he panted heavily like crazy while sweat was beating over his face.
''I-I felt death at that moment¡'' Ace felt deadly chills on his spine when he thought about hisst moment when he was teleported.
A deadly pressure, a sense of impending death, an illusion of nothing but silver as if he was going to turn into it himself¡ in that single moment, Ace felt all of this, and if he hadn''t teleported, he knew he would''ve died!
''It was too close forfort!'' Ace tried calming down by circting his heavenly Qi. Only then hisplexion started to turn normal while the lingering fear was still present, ''It really sensed the space ripple created by the formation and was able to react so quickly. So, this is the Law Comprehension Realm''s prowess or just the tip of the iceberg. I''m d I got this formation when I did or¡'' n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace perspired just thinking about it, but this also gave him a sense of crisis since he was now inside the Moon Domain.
''There are still a few seconds before the Devil''s Horn will be unsummoned. I should just get it over with. This ce is simply too dangerous¡'' He instantly made his decision as he pped his dark wings to levitate.
The next moment, he flipped his hand, and a triangr token appeared. One of its sides was golden, and a zing ck sun symbol was engraved on it, while the other side was silver with a purple moon symbol.
This was the Sun Chaser and Moon Seeker Token he got as a reward from the Talking Feather after he cleared the final trial and also when the Feather was under the impression that he had tricked him.
ording to the feather, this token can directly transport him into the moon''s secret realm once he steps inside the Moon Domain without any restriction.
Ace''s initial n was to wait before his summoning abilities exited the cooldown period. But after experiencing the feeling of sudden death, he changed his n because there were still Union Leader, and this ce would be even more heavily guarded.
So, entering the Moon Secret Realm right away was his best option while the Devil''s Horn was still in effect. He also wasn''t sure if the orb guardian outside had already noticed him or not.
But there was a chance that it did, and it might alert the Union Leader, and once that happened, they would activate all sorts of hidden formations, and Ace would be in massive trouble. There was even a chance that they might have the ability to restrict his ess to the Moon Secret Realm, which he can''t afford to gamble with.
Ace poured his Qi into the token, and golden and silver lights emitted from it, and the next moment, Ace felt connected with it, and the information on how to use it appeared in his head.
Without hesitation, Ace ignored the other privileges and directly found ess to the Moon Realm and used it!
Thereby, the silver side of the token suddenly shimmered in a purple hue before the light enveloped Ace''s invisible body, and the next moment, he vanished from his spot.
But just as he vanished, a white light figure appeared in the same spot. It was the Sun and Moon Sword Custodian (SMSC)!
"H-how is this possible¡ no, no, no, NOOOOO!"
His horrified voice grew louder and louder until the entire union heard it like a thunderp, startling everyone.
At this moment, the Union Leader appeared a meter away from the maddening SMSC, and then the Moon Guardian followed suit, as its colossal size had been somehow shrunk to only 5 meters.
"What happened, Lord SMSC?" Union Leader quickly with a deep frown. He suddenly had a very terrible feeling about this since it was his second time seeing the SMSC losing hisposure.
The first time was when Sun Mountain vanished, which means this time, the problem was just as much serious!
"I¡I¡just now, s-someone used C-Chosen One''s privilege to enter the Moon Secret Realm!" SMSC''s barely able to utter those nerve-racking words.
"What!?" Moon Guardian instantly rm as it started to tremble.
The Union Leader paled as he instantly asked, "But how is this possible!? Didn''t you say you have blocked the passage? Furthermore, Chosen One privilege can''t be given unless someone obtains the title of Sun and Moon Apostle, bing the Chosen One of Mortal Sky!"
"And it is the case!" SMSC retorted with an appalled tone, "Unless a God''s Envoy interferes, no one can alter the titles'' privileges. You might not know, but in Sun and Moon Secret Realms, there are wisps of God''s Envoys to monitor the contenders of Chosen Ones.
"If someone is able to impress them, they can earn unimaginable rewards and even God''s favor earlier than promised if they perform exceptionally. The Secret Realms exist for this exact reason to train a Sun and Moon Apostle.
"However, to earn the God''s Envoy''s favor, one needs to perform impossible feats. Like earning God''s Holy Gifts, hidden in every special trial. Which will then render those special trialspletely useless once those gifts are taken. Meaning the contenders after that person will no longer be able to undergo a special trial.
"So, if someone can clear all the trials and take the holy gifts of the secret realm, the God Envoy might grant them free ess to the other realm because there is no longer a need to search for another contender. This sort of person is destined to be the Chosen One, so why obstruct their way?
"But iming God''s Holy Gifts is almost akin to certain death if failed, not to mention iming all nine of them at once. I-I never thought such a heaven-defying person could even exist!" SMSC''s voice was trembling towards the end.
Union Leader''s eyes went widened with utter disbelief as he clearly caught what SMSC was implying, "Y-you don''t mean White was able to do such a thing? Then why in the world he destroyed the Sun Realm, and the Sun Envoy proimed him a Heretic!? Where the hell was he all this time?"
His voice turned sharper as his aura rose, it was as if he didn''t want it turns true, and a hint of panic was present.
SMSC''s voice turned impassive at this moment as he stated in a peculiar tone, "I don''t know what happened in the Sun Realm, but the Sun Envoy''s message wasn''t clear. It was we who assumed that White was the Heretic. He might be hiding because we came to a decision too soon and might''ve not listened to him if he had revealed himself.
"Or he might just be the heretic. But we can''t ignore the possibility of White being able to im all those gifts and refine them. Because if he does, and once he does the same with the Moon Secret Realm, he will be the Chosen One, heretic or not.
"Not to mention, he will have all the Union under his control, formations, treasuries that even you can''t open, this continent¡ the entire Mortal Sky¡ everything will belong to HIM!!"
Chapter 843 The Moon Secret Realm
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In the middle of a silver sand desert, a hooded figure with dark ethereal wings appeared with a purple sh. Ace instantly looked around, and he saw nothing but silver sand and dunes around him.
Furthermore, the desert was not hot at all. Instead, it was freezing cold!
"How peculiar, this is the Moon Secret Realm?" Ace muttered with a hint of tion as he wasn''t expecting the Moon Secret Realm''s firstyer to be a desert and cold on top of that.
The system''s next notification just confirmed it!
=====
[Host has cleared the second requirement of the Heaven''s Stealer Mission!]
---
[Target site rted to the Heaven''s Stealer Mission has been infiltrated sessfully!]
[Did the host want to scan the target site and create a Treasure Blueprint?]
-Requirements:
1. Live Fate Map
2. Thief Point: 1,000,000
3. Time: 30 Minutes
[Proceed/ Cancel]
[NOTE (1): System strongly rmends that Host should make this Treasure Blueprint which will not only have the target entire map and locations of the treasures avable on the site and the main target treasure, but the safest and fastest routes to approach it as well!]
=====
Ace''s lips rose, this was exactly what he was waiting for, and he proceeded without hesitation.
=====
[Treasure Blueprint Scanning has been started!]
[Time: 29:59]
[Warning: Please don''t leave the target range before the scanning is done!]
---
[Thief Point(s): 19,000,100]
=====
Ace sighed, looking at his thief points, ''I''m running low on thief points. We''ll all those purchases were worth it.''n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
In the time he had spent on the endless sea, Ace wasn''t sitting idle and had been using the TP to not only unlock the arraybinations but he had also bought the Soul Stealth Art and Absolute Pick Pocket!
The Soul Stealth Art was a stealth art driven on the Heavenly Soul Qi opposite to the Heartless Stealth Art. Furthermore, this stealth has the requirement of [Shadow]w in it.
It has three states, the Night Shadow Stealth State, which Ace easilyprehends because his [Shadow]w requirement was sufficient, and the thief title [Follower of Darkness]. Furthermore, stealth skills were always been his strongest suit.
The second state was the Shadowless Soul Stealth State, this state requirement was 49% [Shadow]prehension. Lastly, the final state, the Soulless Stealth State, with a requirement of 75% [Shadow]!
Although he was still far away from reaching the second state, just with the first state, only the Law Awareness Realm could detect him.
As for the Absolute Pick Pocket, it was a very unexpected skillpletely different from the original Pick Pocket. Although it followed the same principles as the Pick Pocket Ace has been using since the start of his journey, to learn the Absolute Pick Pocket, Ace is required toprehend the Law of [Space]!
Because this Absolute Pick Pocket can''t just pick-pocket the objects in front of Ace, but it can pick-pocket from within space itself!
Although this was very vague information and Ace clearly had no idea what it meant yet, he was very optimistic about this skill because of thest line in the description, ''The stronger the spacew, the absolute your pick-pocket will be until nothing can be safe anymore!''
This subtle line made Ace think of all sorts of possibilities because there was no limiter ced on this skill like his other skills, arts, or even secret skills.
But despite wanting toprehend this skill, Ace wasn''t evening closer to scratching its surface despite knowing the concept of Pick Pocket and even reversing it.
It was infuriating, but he could only give up focus on his other unlearned skills until he had insight into thew of [Space], which was by no means amonw.
Nevertheless, the TP he spent was all worth it since he gained this mysterious skill.
''I should rest¡'' Ace thought as he could finally breathe in relief now, and he knew no one was here who could threaten him.
So, he unsummed the Devil Horn Dark Owl Wings as well as stowed away the formation. Lastly, he made a hand gesture, and nine ck pentagon coins separated from his robes.
The Nine Heavenly Formation Coins were no longer ck, but all of them had a dark blue rune symbol etched on them. Those runes were the heavenly array runes that Ace had painstakingly engraved on them.
The next moment, with Ace''s thought, like a puzzle, they started to reassemble, revealing a pitch-ck disk, and then suddenly that disk started to shrink before turning into a beautiful ck ring with nine dark blue rune symbols.
Like it has a mind of its own, it swiftly put itself on Ace''s right-hand middle finger before vanishing without a trace, like it wasn''t there at all.
This function was discovered by Ace after he sessfully engraved those coins with the heavenly rune symbols. Just like his Thievish Soul Cord bracelet essory form, this treasure didn''t need to keep in his thief''s space all the time, and it can be worn as a ring. With just Ace''s single thought, it could react instantly. Ace even preferred it this way!
He mused this sort of function should bemon in the grade-9 treasures, but he has yet to hear about a grade-9 treasure, much less ''see'' it.
"Ahh, I finally feel rxed after constantly using my Qi. The two summoning abilities really took a massive toll. I''m only at 20% of my Qis."
Ace felt relief, but it didn''t mean he was letting his guard down. He flipped his hand, and the next moment, a ck chubby chick appeared, seeming to be sleeping peacefully.
Looking at Cyrus''s carefree sleeping posture, he smiled in exasperation and said, "Alright, stop pretending. I know you''ve been awake for over a month now. You just pretend to be asleep so you don''t have to take your lessons!"
Cyrus fell into slumber after eating the feather. Although his appearance hadn''t changed, with Ace''s breakthrough, Cyrus also entered a new realm. Now, he was slightly big as his baby feathers had grown and taken the shape of wings, while the crown-like hair on his head seemed to be grown.
Although it was a small change and no one would notice, Ace was different, he was connected to Cyrus, and he knew Cyrus had undergone some sort of metamorphosis after absorbing the feather, but he wasn''t sure what had changed because of hisck of knowledge.
However, the little guy''s personality hadn''t changed at all. He only wanted to y and hated to study, so despite being awakened over a month ago, he pretended to be asleep as no one bothered him about studying.
Despite knowing about Cyrus''s shenanigans, Ace let it slide since he knew once he entered the Moon Secret Realm, he needed him. Furthermore, with the addition of Alina and her maid Lillian, things might turn very bad for the little guy once Alina finds Cyrus''s rtionship with Ace and how Eva treats him.
She has yet to meet with Cyrus and is busy studying all the sword skills and arts Ace had given her since she can''t cultivate like Eva because she didn''t have a bond with Ace. So, the atmosphere was still harmonized for now, at least.
But he knew Cyrus was going to get much deserve ''love'' once Alina found out about him, and he has no pity for the little dishonest bird.
At this moment, Cyrus, who seemed to be sleeping, suddenly opened its tiny gem-like eyes filled with vignce. But when he saw he was not in the thief''s space, happiness appeared. He instantly stood up and chirped happily.
"Big Bro, I just awake, so where are you taking Cyrus to eat?"
Ace was speechless as he replied with exasperation, "It seems I need to tell your Big Sister Eva to increase your lessons."
Panicked appeared in the little guy''s eyes as it quickly retorted, "N-no! It''s not fair. You can''t bully me!"
Ace said with a devious smile, clearly enjoying himself, "I''m going to bully you. What can you do about it?"
Cyrus was lost for words as it trembled with teary eyes, "I-I won''t take to you! You big bully!"
Ace grinned as he replied, "Haha, good for me, since now I can get all those foods for myself!"
Cyrus panicked even more hearing about ''food'' and quickly changed his statement, "I-I mean, I won''t talk to you after I eat my food!"
After hearing Cyrus''s feverish reply, Aceughed before shaking his head, "Dumb guy, that''s why you need to study!"
Chapter 844 O’ Sacrilegious Mortal!
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After Cyrus threw a tantrum, Ace decided not to tease him anymore and agreed to give him ''food'' that he liked. Whether they discovered it or not was a whole different matter, though. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Nevertheless, Ace put the little guy on his shoulder before activating a grade-7 formation which cost him fewer precious Qi stones, and then he fell into a meditative state while waiting for the system scan to beplete.
However, just fifteen minutester, the silver sand around Ace suddenly started to tremble, breaking his focus.
''What''s happening?'' Ace frowned as the tremor was clearly growing with every moment. He quickly opened the fate map to see what was happening.
Ace''s eyes went wide at this moment when he saw hundreds or probably over a thousand red fate points charging right at his position.
''Am I exposed?'' Ace thought grimly as he looked toward the silver sand dunes, but he clearly couldn''t see anythinging his way. Instead, the sand under him was churning like crazing, and then it suddenly hit him before Cyrus eximed.
"Wow, so many worms!" Cyrus cried in rm at this moment.
Ace''s heart sank as he instantly reacted, and a sword appeared under his feet, and he flew off the sand before he looked at Cyrus, "You can see them?"
Cyrus strangely shook his head before replying proudly, "What there to see? Only worms move underground! I''ve learned it!"
Ace rolled his eyes, "There are many things that can crawl underground, not just worms. It seemed you only remembered worms and forgot about others."
"It''s not true!" Cyrus chirped in protest, but a hint of panic was apparent in his eyes like a child whose secret had been exposed.
Ace was really out of words and wondered if he was spoiling him too much. Nevertheless, there were more pressing matters than worrying about the little guy''s education.
Looking down, the silver sand seemed to be moving like sea waves, and he couldn''t help but think those ripples were all directed in his direction. But he couldn''t make sense of it since there were thousands of enemies all at once.
How can they target him, a person who has just appeared in this ce?
Furthermore, the surrounding temperature suddenly plummeted as those mysterious attackers grew closer and closer.
Ace was still mulling over this strange turn of events when an ethereal, imposing voice rang from the purple sky.
"Heretic! Surrender yourself to the will of the Sun and Moon!"
Ace fluttered as a chill ran down his spine as he looked up in shock, ''Don''t tell me¡''
Ace had a terrible feeling about this when he remembered the feather''sst words and couldn''t help but think that this voice might belong to another entity like the talking feather.
Nevertheless, he didn''t reply as he was still in stealth, and he even took the grade-8 formation again to strengthen it further. Thereafter, Ace used the sword to fly swiftly. He wanted to escape this ce.
But right at this moment, the same voice rang, "Hmph! You dare to use the Windfall of Space Formation in front of me! Have you forgotten from where you got that formation, you sacrilegious mortal!"
Just as the voice trailed off, the ripple under the sand turned in the same direction where he was heading.
Ace''s heart palpitated when he heard this rageful yet disdain-filled remark, ''Damn it! It''s really the guardian of this realm like that devious feather. So, even a grade-8 formation is useless!''
In the end, Ace calmed his panicked heart and stopped using formation and stealth, revealing himself.
While looking at the sky, he respectfully saluted and said dryly, "Sun Chaser and Moon Seeker, White, greet the mighty Moon Secret Realm Guardian. It seemed we have a misunderstanding between us!"
Ace appeared extremely polite and innocent, but he was growing nervous because, in the fate map, he could see the red fate points were growing as more and more wereing like a swarm of ants, almost dying the fate map in red.
The entire silver sand now seemed to be moving at a startling pace, just an ocean!
"You dare to profane the name of the Sun and Moon! Even ten thousand deaths won''t be enough for what you did to the Sun Mountain, and now you took your sphemous feet into the Moon Mountain. How bold! A mortal wants to defy the will of heaven. Only annihtion can erase your sin!"
Ace''s expression went cold, especially when he heard thest part, but he hadn''t lost hisposure over it.
"How could I, Senior? I think there has been a misunderstanding. The truth is senior Sun Realm Guardian found my potential to his liking and worthy of carrying the mission of Sun and Moon God!
"That''s why Senior decided to give away his life for me, and I will be forever in debt to him and carrying the will of Sun and Moon till myst breath!" Ace dered without any hint of difort.
"Hmph, sacrilegious mortal, your tricks won''t work on me! You shall be obedient and surrender, and I shall grant you a painless death! Resist, and you will know the wrath of heaven!" The oppressive voice coldly stated.
"Tsk, you''re determined to kill me, huh?" Ace''s tone suddenly changed, "Well, it is a bummer that I can''t rest. Whatever, but let me ask you this since you aren''t here yourself, does this mean you can''te here, or are you afraid of my little friend here?
"Or could it be since I was able to enter this space, and despite knowing the threat I posed, you still didn''t close it? This could only mean you are still bound by rules. Or should I say you calling me a heretic or believer had nothing to do with this token?
"So, as long as I''m qualified and have my token, I can still take those trials since they were designed this way, and you can do nothing but sit on your ass in the final trial and wait for my arrival before I kill you as I did with your friend¡"
"Shut up!" The voice boomed with boundless fury, "Let me show you why you should not go against the flow, O'' sacrilegious mortal!"
The next moment, thousands of one-meter-long purple worms crawled out f silver sand with sharp w mouths, and they had thin translucent wings. They pped their wings, creating buzzing sounds, and directly swarmed toward Ace like an unstoppable wind wave.
"Going against the flow is kind of my specialty¡" Ace sneered while looking at the sea of strange wormsing his way to swallow him whole.
He chuckled with killing intent before transmitting his voice, "It seemed you were right about them being worms. Now, I give you the permission to burn them all!"
Chapter 845 A Dangerous Game (1)
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Ace''s words made Cyrus''s eyes shimmer with ecstasy, and the next moment, the little guy sprang into action.
"Chirp (Burn)!"
Unexpectedly, this time Cyrus didn''t even use his spirit fire like he usually does, and with just his onemand, the purple sword of worms suddenly ignited in blue mes!
Ace was astounded as he watched thousands of worms turning into ashes without resisting and nced at the little guy who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself.
''He''s conjuring fire from the atmosphere without any Qi, don''t tell me he has already learned [Fire]w at the same level as a Peak Law Awareness Realm Cultivator?'' Ace thought with great rm before tion reced it, ''He''s really growing at a terrifying rate, and I''m the one holding him back.''
The icy surroundings turned fiery within a few moments as not even a single worm was able toe close to Ace.
"Y-you vile creature!" The voice of Moon Realm Guardian boomed with sheer anger, but there was a hint of panic present in its voice.
"What? Done already?" Ace teasingly grinned.
"Don''t even think about escaping from here alive!" The voice shrilled.
The next moment, something gigantic shot up from right below where Ace was levitating. It was another worm, but it was 15-meter-long and on its purple body were silvery patterns, and it had multiple mouths within its gigantic mouths.
Its aura rivaled a peak Qi Soul Manifestation Realm as its purple mist suddenly appeared beside Ace, clearly wanting to imprison him while the worm could gobble him whole.
However, Ace didn''t even have to use anything as Cyrus had already moved first, and the purple mist suddenly scattered before the entire worm ignited in blue mes.
But it wasn''t the end, as more than a hundred such worms appeared, and more wereing.
"Do you think I would just stand here and be their target? You''re even more na?ve than that feather." Ace sneered coldly before the sword under his feet moved at an rming speed.
Even though Cyrus could easily handle those worms, it wasn''t worth it since the Moon Realm Guardian was probably aiming to exhaust them. He had no idea just how many of these worms were there, and he didn''t want to stay to find out.
He had already figured it out; the Moon Realm Guardian was clearly known about Cyrus and probably afraid of him. Furthermore, since it hadn''t kicked him out of the moon''s secret realm yet, it meant it was either it was confident of killing him or it simply couldn''t.
Ace was now waiting for the system scan to beplete before he would head directly toward the firstyer''s trial location. From there, if this guy wasn''t able to stop him from taking the trial, then this mean it waspletely helpless.
But if it could stop him, then he had to use more violent methods since failure or turning back wasn''t an option.
"Sacrilegious mortal, face your demise!" The fuming voice roared as more and more hoards of worms, tiny andrge, started to chase after Ace.
Acepletely ignored them as his speed was superior to theirs and let Cyrus deal with the ones in front, while he focused on his martial Qi recovery first while using the soul Qi for flight.
The worms seemed endless as they kept appearing, and Ace''s expression was grim. But contrary to him, Cyrus seemed to be having a time of life as it was his first time burning to his heart''s content.
Somehow, Ace managed to pass the thirty minutes while being chased by hundreds of thousands of worms, and the system voice finally rang.
=====
[Treasure Blueprint Scanning of the Heaven''s Stealer Mission Site has beenpleted!]
[Because of the uniqueness of this Treasure Blueprint, it has been etched into the Live Fate Map in Blue and White Format!]
--
[Live Fate Map (Treasure Blueprint Mode): Now, the Live Fate Map will show the entire terrains, even the hidden parts of the Moon Secret Realm, and the host can scan through or scout the entire map now. All the grades and acute information of the traps, hidden formation arrays, treasures avable, and the final target will appear on the map with color names. The colors'' indication will be the same as the fate map''s innate colors.]
[Safe Routes Selection: Host can now select treasure locations by putting up Thief Mark on the location through the fate map. A purple passage will appear on the map, which will provide the shortest and safest route that leads toward the treasure location.]
---
[NOTE: Host can now use the Live Fate Map without spending any Qi as long as it is in the Treasure Blueprint Mode!]
[Warning: Treasure Blueprint will disappear after the missionpletion or when the time of the mission ends.]
---
[Important Reminder: System has detected [Nature''s tinum Elemental Orb] in the Moon Secret Realm and marked its location in Glittering Golden Name!]
[Nature''s tinum Elemental Orb: The Third Mutation Form of the Metal Element Orb!]
=====
Ace was somewhat expecting thest notification since he had already seen the orb guardian outside. So, he quickly opened the Live Fate Map again, which was now showing all the terrains with full details, and its color had changed to blue, just likest time.
The Moon Secret Realm waspletely identical to the Sun Secret Realm, built with nineyers, and eachyer has its own treasure zone, death zones, and Layer Guardian Zones!
''Now, let''s see what you do!'' Ace scoffed as he instantly searched for the firstyer guardian zone.
He was surprised for a moment when he discovered that he was heading towards the only Death Zone on the firstyer!
''So, that bastard was leading me there by manipting the worm''s ambushes. He might be even more astute than that feather and only pretending to be angry to let think he''s an idiot and making me drop my guard¡'' Ace thought with vignce.
Ace never thought that the Moon Realm Guardian an idiot from the start, and that''s why he wanted to waste enough time until he got his hands on the Treasure Blueprint. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
But now that he discovered that even in that short amount of time, he was being manipted towards a dangerous location, he knew this would be going to an extremely dangerous venture.
Nevertheless, since he had gotten the map now, despite being under surveince, the Moon Realm Guardian no longer manipted him into a death zone again.
The next moment, Ace discovered theyer guardian zone was inpletely opposite direction. Which made him curse the sly bastard since behind him were terrifying numbers of worms.
''It can''t be helped; I guess¡'' Ace sighed before a talisman coin appeared in his hand, and then he instantly made a maneuver.
"Hmph, finally sumbing to your pitiful fate!"
"Annoying!"
Ace perplexedly muttered before he crushed the coin and vanished from his spot!
Chapter 846 A Dangerous Game (2)
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After Ace entered the Moon Secret Realm three dayster.
In the grand hall with statues of the Above Mountain Pce, the Union Leader sat on his grand throne.
Standing below him was the Sun Lord, wearing a golden robe with a ck sun crest, and there was a golden sword right in the middle of this ck sun, and his face was covered behind a ck mask.
But the Sun Lord wasn''t alone. There was another 6''5 feet height, slim, curvaceous figure, and she wore a silver robe, but the crest on it was of a purple moon with a silver sword in the middle. Her face was hidden behind a silver mask like the sun lord, but her exposed long white hair was like snow. Her status wasn''t any lower than the Sun Lord, for she was the Moon Lord of Moon Mountain!
The atmosphere in the hall was extremely silent and eerie as the Union Leader wore an ugly yet grave expression on his face and seemed to be deep in thought.
At this moment, a white figure suddenly materialized beside the Union Leader. It was the Sun and Moon Sword Custodian (SMSC)!
The two lords instantly kneeled down in greeting the moment they saw SMSC, "We greet Lord SMSC!"
"No need for this." The SMSC said with a hint of exhaustion in his voice.
The Union Leader looked at SMSC and asked with a gloomy tone, "So?"
"There is no way to enter the Moon Secret Realm forcibly, as I told you before. The two realms were made by the Sun and Moon God personally, and no one can change the rules set up by them. Even God''s envoys only have a level higher status than me. They can''t do anything as well!" SMSC replied with a flustered tone.
"How about attacking the entrance?" The Union Leader persistently pressed.
"Heh, be my guest. If you can escape the killing array, you have my utmost respect." SMSC sneeringly replied.
The Union Leader''s face clouded as he gritted his teeth, "So we can do nothing but wait for the boy to destroy the moon mountain as well? You know if he did that, what would befall the Union, right?"
"I know more than you. But it''s still not clear that he is the heretic and he can destroy the Moon Secret Realm. I don''t think the God envoy residing in the realm would let that happen after what happened in the Sun Secret Realm." SMSC sighed helplessly.
"You''re still thinking that he''s not the heretic?" The Union Leader seemed indignant.
"I''m just hopeful. I can''t do anything besides that in this situation." SMSC said matter-of-factly.
"Do I have permission to speak?" A respectful voice like morning bells rang. Everyone looked at the Moon Lord, who just interfered.
"Speak your mind Protector of Moon." The SMSC kindly permitted.
"After hearing my lords'' conversation, are we facing the same kind of danger that happened to the sun mountain?" She questioned.
"There is a 50% chance we are and a 50% chance that we aren''t."
She thought for a moment before questioning again, "If it''s not out of my boundary, may I know what will happen if Moon Mountain is destroyed as well?"
The Union Leader replied this time in a grave tone, "The Sun and Mountain are not just random mountains. They are the founding pir of our union. Think of it them as the only anchors which are keeping the entire Union continent functional and protecting it from being exposed to mortals of ten continents.
"So, what would happen if both anchors were destroyed? You may have already discovered the wilting of the mortal domain and the decrease in Qi density. That was the result of broken bnce and all the burden falling on the moon mountain.
"To support those protective formations, we need to cut off the formations on the mortal domain and many other unimportant formations to keep the union functional.
"Now tell me, if the moon mountain was destroyed as well, what would support all those protective formations?" He coldly questioned.
Both Sun and Moon Lords trembled at this moment since they were never told about this secret before. But now that the union was on the brink of destruction, there wasn''t the point of hiding these facts from them any longer. If anything, this will give the acute idea of just how grave the situation was and what was at stake.
"Is there really no way?" The Moon Lord asked as the calm in her voice was reced by fright.
The hall fell into silence as neither the Union Leader nor the SMSC could not think of any solution despite their absolute authority. Both of them had never thought that such a day coulde when they couldn''t do anything.
"I have a way!"
An ethereal voice rang within the hall, startling everyone!
"Who!?!" The Union Leader was rmed as a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu overcame him.
The SMSC suddenly eximed, "The God Envoy?!"
"What? The same god envoy you told me about that day?" The Union Leader was astounded.
The voice rang again in affirmative, "I''m indeed, the envoy of Sun and Moon."
"So, you finally decided to pay attention to us!" The Union Leader coldly spoke with a hint of anger.
"O'' Leader of Mortal Sky Union, I can''t interfere with the matters of the mortal sky. I''m only the thrall of the Sun and Moon who has only one duty, to protect the Moon Secret Realm.
"But now that the safety of the Moon Secret Realm and all the Mortal Sky Union is at stake, I can''t sit still." The voice solemnly replied.
"So White really is the heretic?" SMSC questioned with a rueful voice.
"Indeed, he is the Heretic who wants to defy the will of the Sun and Moon and wants all the mortal sky to plunge into chaos!" The voice was filled with killing intent this time.
"So why don''t you just kill me or send him out!" The Union Leader quickly questioned.
"Like you all, I''m also bound by rules, and I can''t do anything to him as long as he has the Sun Chaser and Moon Seeker Token. Furthermore, he has an extremely powerful helper that I''mpletely helpless against.
"I''ve already tried to overpower him with everything I had at my disposal, but he''s too strange and ready for anything and seemed to know where he needs to go and what to avoid.
"He has already passed twoyers and imed the holy gifts and treasures which will be automatically given to him once he passes a special trial just like the Sun and Moon God had created it.
"I can''t interfere, or I''ll be razed to dust. But this didn''t mean I could just sit there and wait for our impending doom. All I can do is now to slow him down as much as I can. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"In the meantime, I will help you open the moon secret realm ahead of time and also raise the entry-level restriction to 500-year-old and cultivation restriction to Quasi Law Awareness Realm Cultivator. But you can only send 100 Cultivators with these new restrictions so you have to choose wisely and I''ll also assist them.
"Because if we made any mistake, we are all but doomed once the heretic reaches the 9thyer!" The God''s envoy grimly stated.
"What do you need from us?" The SMSC solemnly questioned.
"To make the aforementioned changes in the Moon Secret Realm, you need to sacrifice the¡ Moon Guardian!"
Chapter 847 A Dangerous Game (3)
Within a powerful blizzard, there was a silhouette of a massive structure, and not far from this blizzard were numerous snow-colored eagles flying as if they were patrolling their territory.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
But the strange thing was there weren''t just eagles, but wolves, bears, and even some crawling insects were there, creating an army of powerful beasts, and they weren''t attacking each other like they normally do.
At this moment, the flying eagles suddenly started causing amotion, alerting every beast in the vicinity as they all looked maliciously in the same direction.
"Tsk, tsk, here I was, wondering why I was being attacked by a few of your toys. So, you have already prepared a grand wee for me." A jeering yet perplexed voice rang at this moment as a tall hooded figure surfaced from the ice storm. There was also a small chick resting over his shoulder.
"O'' sacrilegious mortal! There is still time for you to repent and seek the mercy of the Sun and Moon!"
Ace smiled disdainfully, "First, you wanted to kill me since that didn''t work out well. Now you want to convert me? Have some backbone, at least. How about this? If you stop getting in my way and just hand over everything, I''ll plead to my little brother here and let you be his toy. What do you think?"
"YOU vile tongue scourge!" The God Envoy''s voice was filled with boundless fury.
"Heh, thanks. Now, if you don''t mind, I''ll be passing through." Ace sneered before he directly activated a space-step talisman!
"Hateful! Just how many of these talismans he had¡aagghhghhhh!!!" The God Envoy''s voice was filled with appalling indignation.
At this moment, Ace reappeared on a crystal floor, and in front of him was a magnificent purple ice cathedral that was surrounded by a blizzard but wasn''t affected by it in any way.
"Yay! New food, we areing!" Cyrus chirped in happiness as he looked at the cathedral with hungry eyes like it was a restaurant.
Ace smiled wryly, "Little brat, you still not full even after eating four holy gifts already? Don''t you feel cold? How can you eat such a pure ice element despite being a fire element connoisseur? How about you leave your big bro some?"
It''s been 15 days since Ace started his venture. He had cleared fouryers and naturally got all the treasures after Cyrus destroyed and ate the holy gifts. But contrary to the Sun Secret Realm, the holy gifts in the Moon secret realm were of extreme ice or yin element.
Ace first thought Cyrus wouldn''t like them, but it was thoroughly wrong, for the little guy was reacting the same as he did in the sun secret realm, and the moment he saw a holy gift, he would consume them whole while destroying the trial in process.
Although he wanted to have at least one of those holy gifts for himself, but he wasn''t shameless enough to snatch food from a child''s mouth. Furthermore, without Cyrus, he won''t be able to progress unrivaled with that pest of God Envoy obstructing his way.
Ace also confirmed one thing in these past 15 days. It was the God Envoy who couldn''t stop him or interfere with the special trial that automatically activated after his special token was detected.
This gave Ace ample confidence to conquer this ce, and the mission seemed to be going very smoothly with Cyrus by his side. Furthermore, his space step talisman helped him avoid any situation he just experienced outside the fifthyer''s guardian zone.
He had made around 1500 space step talismans after he got a huge amount of space crystals from the Sun Secret Realm, so he won''t hesitate to use them. Furthermore, all his losses would be recovered once he gets his hands on the wealth of Moon Secret Realm!
"What cold? It''s quite refreshing taste." Cyrus retorted while vigntly looking at Ace, "You promised that as long as I won''t take any treasure and the spirit fire you promised me before, I can have all the food I want to eat! So, no deal, no deal!"
Ace''s eye spasmed slightly, "I didn''t go back on my promise. I agreed to give you that spirit fire on the condition that you spear that feather. But it wasn''t turned out like that, was it? So, stop holding a grudge!"
"NO! A promise is a promise!" Cyrus protested.
"Alright, you win. Eat all you want." Ace replied in exasperation as he moved towards the purple swirling gate of the cathedral.
The next moment, he appeared in a familiar silver space before a static voice rang.
"Sun Chaser and Moon Seeker Token detected!
"Wee Sun Chaser and Moon Seeker in the Middle Layer, Fifth Level Trial!
"Pass the Unique Trial solely made for the Sun Chaser and Moon Seeker to earn an entry in the Middle Layer, Sixth Level!
"Unique Trial: The Yin Moon of Summer will nowmence!"
"Food, here Ie!" Cyrus excitedly chirped before he jumped off Ace''s shoulder and opened his beak, spiting a blue me that instantly made the atmosphere churn the moment it appeared.
Even the icy cold environment turned zing hot, but there was also a strange ghostly aura to it that Ace still couldn''t grasp.
Just as Cyrus''s new me appeared, and the trial hadn''t even before, the blue me suddenly took the form of an ethereal bird spreading its ming wings majestically.
The silver space instantly sted apart like a ss, revealing a glowing gray pearl about the size of Cyrus himself, and freezing ice energy were gushing out of it like mes.
The majestic me bird moved at this moment and thereafter,pletely wrapped around the gray pearl. Once the pearl was fully submerged in blue mes, a powerful suction force appeared, and the blue me instantly retracted back into Cyrus''s small beak, including the gray pearl!
''No matter how many times I see it, that damn me is too powerful!'' Ace click his tongue with a tingle of jealousy, seeing Cyrus effortlessly taking the holy gift like usual.
At this moment, the static voice rang again.
"The First Sun Chaser and Moon Seeker, White, has taken the Moon God''s Holy Gift!
"The Unique Trial for Sun Chaser and Moon Seeker of the fifthyer will no longer exist!
"ording to the dogma of the Moon God, if a Sun and Moon Inheritor has the ability to take the Holy Gift, all the rewards ced for the Unique Trial shall be handed down to that inheritor!
"Sun Chaser and Moon Seeker White will also be rewarded with 500 extra days in the Moon Secret Realm!"
The next moment a purple storage ring levitates toward Ace, and the purple swirl that lead toward the sixthyer materializes!
Chapter 848 A Dangerous Game (4)
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On the 29th day of Ace''s entering the Moon Secret Realm, a purple light pir suddenly materialized on the firstyer guardian zone, right in front of a purple cathedral.
Thereafter, one after another, oppressive and mature figures from different races walked out of that purple pir until the number reached 100!
"So, this is the Moon Secret Realm? How cold! I never thought I woulde here after missing my first time." The first figure to enter, who was an elegant golden hair huntress, eximed.
"And that is the Moon Trial Cathedral. I still remember the time when I came herest time. I barely managed to find it." A demonessmented with nostalgia.
Everyone was spectacle about standing right in front of the Moon Trial Cathedral, which was extremely hard to find on their own. But now, they were entered directly in front of it, which should be impossible!
At this moment, the God Envoy''s voice sounded, "Children of the Sun and Moon! I''m sure you were told by the Union Leader why you were chosen and what is your mission here?"
"We are to stop the heretic at any and all costs!" Everyone replied in solemn voices.
These hundred people were all Union Elders and not just any Union elders but the top 100 in the Cultivation Tower Rankings. They were only a hair away from bing a Law Awareness Realm Cultivators and gaining a High Union Elder status!
"Very good! The heretic has chosen the path of evil and wants to cause endless chaos. The only thing stopping him from achieving is the Sun and Moon Sword Union!
"But don''t underestimate him, for he''s also the one behind the destruction of the Sun Secret Realm and Sun Mountain. His abilities are strange, his treasures are unpredictable, and he has the entire wealth of the Sun Secret Realm that he had stolen. Most importantly, he has a pet with a legendary bloodline which is his biggest helper and the only thing stopping me from taking action personality!"
A blue-winged devil with four dark eyeballs respectfully speaks, "So we need to get rid of the pet?"
He was ranked 1st in the Cultivation Tower Ranking, the four-eye winged devil, Ossian!
"If you can really get rid of his pet, then it will be our victory! But as I said, it''s not going to be easy because that pet has a legendary bloodline that shouldn''t have appeared in the mortal world, not to mention be born. That''s why the heretic himself is the biggest danger!"
"I''ve heard the heretic is none other than the Junior Union Leader, White. Is that true? Because if he is, then why did he want to destroy the union, and how did he get his hands on such a creature? Why didn''t it was discovered before?" The golden hair huntress questioned respectfully, yet her astute eyes were shimmering with sharpness.
She ranked 3rd in the cultivation tower ranking, the golden hunter, Delma!
The God Envoy fell into silence from Delma''s questions and a few momentster replied, "He was indeed once a contender to be the Union Inheritor, but for some unknown reason, he chose the path of evil instead. As for his background and how he got that legendary creature, I don''t know because my only duty is to keep the Moon Secret Realm functional. If you want to ask these questions, ask your ipetent superiors.
"Now, enough of wasting time on meaningless questions. Remember, your goal is to eliminate the heretic even if you have to risk your life. But I''m asking you to throw your lives away like a bunch of fools.
"You all only have one shot at this, so I''ll help you as much as I can. First, you''ll go through all the trails, and passing them should be a breeze for you all. You will be able to get treasures that can further enhance your prowess.
"Thereby, raising your chances against the heretic. Furthermore, I''ll make sure no obstacle gets in your way and lead you to the nextyer. But you need to hurry, for the heretic is already approaching the sixthyer moon trial cathedral.
"He knows exactly where he needs to go. Whenever he falls into a disadvantageous situation, he uses a space teleportation talisman and breaks free. The origin of those talismans is mysterious, and I don''t know how many he had, but it would be safe to assume he has enough since he''s been using them without any care in the world.
"But your biggest concern should be the three low-grade-8 formations, one low-grade-8 limit talisman, five low-grade-8 weapons, and 2 low-grade-8 arrays that he got from the Sun Secret Realm!"
A wizened face gray demon with a ghost face and empty eyes, and a burly build frowned at this moment, "We were only given just one low-grade-8 formation by the union leader. But I don''t think that can stop the teleportation ability! Not to mention he is even stronger than us if he decided to use all those treasures despite our number advantage."
He was the 2nd in the cultivation tower ranking, the Bodach Demon, Lorcan!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"I know, that''s why you are to head in the 9thyer before the heretic. That is my domain, and as long as you pass a single trial, I can forcibly reward you with the only formation that can block all the space-type abilities.
"You will also arrange your ambush there, and I''m already shifting the strongest beings of the Moon Secret Realm there. But sadly, I can''t do the same with you guys since you are not born in this ce or unless you can clear the special trial of the 9thyer, which is unrealistic.
"Nevertheless, as long as you are quick and avoid being discovered by the heretic, you can y him to death and get great merits. He''s just a single mortal, after all!"
Everyone instantly riled up when they heard it. They were now all convinced by the God Envoy!
Although they were all at a clear disadvantage before, with the God Envoy''s help, they can effortlessly take down the heretic and earn astonishing rewards and might even have a chance to breakthrough in the Law Awareness Realm!
On the other hand, Ace is still moving forward and has no idea that the God Envoy has called for reinforcement and that a very dangerous game is about to start!
Chapter 849 Pitiful Cyrus (1)
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"The First Sun Chaser and Moon Seeker, White, has taken the Moon God''s Holy Gift!
"The Unique Trial for Sun Chaser and Moon Seeker of the eighthyer will no longer exist!
"ording to the dogma of the Moon God, if a Sun and Moon Inheritor has the ability to take the Holy Gift, all the rewards ced for the Unique Trial shall be handed down to that inheritor!
"Sun Chaser and Moon Seeker White will also be rewarded with 1000 extra days in the Moon Secret Realm!
"You have been given the entry to the Final Layer of the Moon Secret Realm, and if you pass it, you can take the final trial for the title of Chosen One. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"May the Glory of the Sun and Moon God will be shone above the Mortal Sky. Good luck for the Final Trial, Sun Chaser and Moon Seeker White!"
With ecstasy, Ace heard the voice, which was music to his ears. It had been 144 days since he had entered the Moon Secret Realm. After going through all the annoying obstacles, he has finally cleared the 8thyer of the Moon Secret Realm.
Well, of course, the trial was cleared by the little guy on his shoulder, who has a blissful expression right now.
''Final trial for chosen one title? I wonder what that could be and where its location is¡ I just hope it''s not rted to heaven''s secret, or I suppose I''m not done with the union.'' Ace thought as he sulked, just thinking about it.
The venture of Moon Secret Realm up to this point was nothing but exhausting just because the other party was able to keep an eye on his every move. Ace now started to long for the days when he could remain hidden and theft in peace.
Furthermore, the God Envoy was silent for the whole 50 days now, and Ace knew that guy was cooking up something, and with the live fate map, it was very easy to see through his scheme!
''Hmph! In the end, if you think this trick will work, you have another thinging. Still, just in case, I should prepare¡'' Ace thought as he looked at a purple storage ring levitating toward him and the purple swirl that led toward the finalyer materializing.
Stowing the storage ring away, Ace questioned, "Can I stay here as long as I want?"
"Affirmative. You can stay here as long as you have time in Moon Secret Realm." The static voice replied.
Ace then asked the system, "How much time before the deadline for Heaven Stealer Mission?"
Ace didn''t dare to open the panel as per the system warning, nor did he want to show off his dismantle Qi here, so he directly asked the system for his mission deadline.
"[283 days.]"
"Alright, Cyrus, you should go back and digest what you have eaten. I can feel you are lethargictely. I''ll call you after 120 days. Furthermore, I''m going to practice and prepare for our final showdown." Ace then transmitted his voice to Cyrus as he rubbed the little guy''s head with his finger gently.
Ace was very thankful for Cyrus''s help, and without Cyrus, he would never be able to reach this ce so effortlessly. Now that the final battle was drawing close, he decided to use some time to rest and raise some of his skills.
It wasn''t like he was always running away from fights. He was secretly practicing his stealth and movement arts, not to mention the [Wind]w.
Since the God Envoy was nning to go all out in the finalyer, he won''t hold back either.
"You''re not nning to eat alone, are you?" Cyrus suspiciously looked at Ace.
Ace smiled in exasperation, "Little guzzler, do you ever see me eat before? Besides, I can''t go forward without you even if I want to."
"Oh! Then you have to promise me there won''t be any sses!" Cyrus demanded.
Ace''s lips twitched, "You should say that to your big sis Eva. I''m afraid I can''t help you with that."
Cyrus wanted to protest and call Ace a big liar when Ace forcibly sent him away and shook his head wryly, ''He''s probably going to hide and sleep in the hills of storage rings until I call him. Should I expose him? Well, she''s still cultivating, and Livia hasn''t been out; who is Cyrus''s actual teacher. But that guzzler brat will turn rebellious at this rate...''
A sat cross-legged with a devious smile on his face as he decided before closing his eyes, ''Well, I should let him rest for a week before putting him up for study again!''
A weekter, within the thief''s space.
The once deserted thief''s space now has tworge identical houses in the middle, and they are right in front of each other. The only difference was one was colored white while the other was crimson, and there were even nametes outside the doors.
The namete on the crimson house door read, ''First Wife''s House,'' and it appeared it was handwritten by an elegant yet arrogant writer.
On the other hand, on the White House door, the namete read, ''First Love''s House,'' and the writer seemed to be as elegant as the writer of the crimson house, but there seemed to be boundless fury and indignation present in those words.
At this moment, the white door of the house opened, revealing Alina''s graceful figure wrapped in a blue dress, and her enthralling face was as cold as ice.
Behind her was charming Lillian in a white dress, and she seemed to be exhausted.
"Is there any movement?" Alina coldly questioned while she stared dagger at the crimson house in front of her, and her eyes glued on the namete before killing intent was raging in them.
"No, that house ispletely silent like usual." Lillian replied in exasperation, "Princess, I still can''t understand why you''re following Sir Ace if he already had a wife, and if you have epted it, then what are we doing spying on her like this?"
Lillian still vividly remembered her surprise when she discovered that Ace already had a wife and Alina would be his second. It was a very grave matter, especially because of Alina''s status.
But in the end, Alina seemed not to care at all. On the contrary, she seemed to have found something to purist other than Ace, and she was now focusing on raising her sword skills.
"Hmph! Stay out of it. You just keep an eye on her! She still hadn''t shown her face after she publicly ced that shameless namete on her door!" Alina ground her teeth at this moment as a hateful memory appeared in her mind.
Lillian was speechless and looked at the namete Alina ced right after Eva did and thought, ''You''re one to talk!''
But Lillian still cherishes her life, so she changed the topic, "Ahem, are you going to study the Yin Hellish Sword Art again today?"
Alina''s eyes brightened as she nodded without hesitation, "Indeed, that sword art really fits me well, and my ice sword intent seemed to be changing somehow."
"Who could''ve thought that sir Ace would have so many Upper Sky Breaker Sword Arts, and he has given them all to Princess like they are nothing. He truly cherishes you." Lillian stated with reverence.
An enthralling smile bloomed on Alina''s face, "You think so? Do you think he loves me more than that shameless she-devil?"
Lillian''s expression stiffened, and she felt like she was walking on the edge of a de. She didn''t even need to think twice as she replied, "Is there any need to ask such a question?"
"You''re absolutely right. Now I just need to make that she-devil understand it!" Alina''s eyes shone with fighting spirit.
At this moment, both Alina and Lillian were startled when right in front of their doorsteps, a small feather basket appeared.
Within that basket was a ck bird who seemed to be sleeping peacefully, and besides that small ck chick was an open letter. With both Alina and Lillian''s sight, they were easily able to read the letter''s contents!
Chapter 850 Pitiful Cyrus (2)
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In the letter were written,
''I can''t speak because if I did, Eva might get disturbed. So, I''ve left everything in this letter. I''ve already told you about Cyrus, right?
''This is him, my life-bound pet, and his bloodline is as special as Eva. But he''s more like a little brother to me and a family like you guys. He''s just a child, both physically and mentally. But he can speak, not to mention he''s very yful and hates to study¡''
In that letter were written some details that Ace missed when he told Alina about Cyrus, for the details about how Eva has appointed Livia to look after Cyrus and his study. She deeply cared about him, and Cyrus also called her big sis and was very respectful towards her.
But for Alina, those words were clear provocation as her eyes instantly narrowed, especially when she read about ''respect'' and ''big sis.'' Furthermore, when she read about Cyrus''s yful attitude and how he was hiding so he wouldn''t have to study, she beamed.
"Is this little bird¡ I mean, Cyrus, really that amazing?" Lillian was shocked, on the other hand.
She clearly heard about Eva and her amazing bloodline from Alina. But she has yet to meet her. Furthermore, Eva could also cultivate in this ce while both of them can''t, which was aplete mystery to Lillian, and Alina always sulked whenever she asked about it. So, she stopped asking altogether and focused on study skills like Alina.
However, now reading Ace''s letter, it was hard for her to believe that Ace had such an astonishing pet and that little thing was really on the same level as their devilish neighbor.
"Hmph, who do you think Ace is?" Alina scoffed disdainfully before she looked at Cyrus with shining eyes, "He told me he was sleeping in that she-devil''s house before, so he couldn''t meet me. But it seemed he was awake and taken by Ace and only now has returned."
At this moment, Cyrus''s eyes quivered slightly because of the voices, and he opened themzily as he muttered, "What? Is it time for a food journey?"
Alina and Lillian looked at each other with clear astonishment when they heard Cyrus''s childish, sweet voice.
Alina couldn''t help but smile gently as she bent on her knees and tried to pick up the little bird.
But instantly, theziness in Cyrus''s eyes vanished when he sensed an unfamiliar presence approaching and moved with a terrible speed, vanishing before Alina could even touch him.
Alina and Lillian were rmed as even they couldn''t catch a glimpse of Cyrus, and before they could search for him, his cold voice rang not far away from their position.
"Who are you!?" Cyrus stood in front of Eva''s house as he looked at Alina and Lillian vigntly.
But he didn''t attack them since he knew he was still in his ''nest'' and only his big brother could help someone enter there. Furthermore, he didn''t detect any malicious intent from Alina or Lillian, and since they were not caged, they should be Ace''s friends.
At this moment, Ace''s amusing voice sounded in Cyrus''s head, "Brat, that is also your big sis; her name is Alina. She''s as important to me as your big sis Eva, so listen to her, or she''s no less scary than Eva. Now, I''m off. I''ll call you when the times you keep your big sis Alinapany."
Cyrus''s eyes shimmered with astonishment as he looked at Alina and couldn''t help but think as realization dawned on him, ''As scary as big sis Eva? She''s also pretty as her, so this means all the pretty women like Big Sis Eva are scary and important to Big Bro?''
If Ace knew Cyrus''s thoughts, he would''ve definitely been sweating right now and quickly corrected him to get rid of future troubles. But s, he can''t¡
On the other hand, Alina was unaware that Ace had already introduced her to Cyrus, smiled amiably, and said, "I''m Alina, and I''m your big brother''s wife and big sis! This is Lillian, my maid and friend. I''ve heard so much about you from Ace."
Lillian was speechless when Alina proimed herself as Ace''s wife, ''She really has be bold.'' n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Cyrus didn''t find Alina scary at all, not like Eva, as she appeared very gentle, "I''m Cyrus, nice to meet you, big sis Alina."
"How cute! Let me hold you!" Alina was ted as she quickly approached Cyrus and picked him up. This time, Cyrus didn''t resist and let her hold him in her soft hands.
Alina fondled Cyrus''s soft feather with ecstasy as she liked the little guy instantly, and Cyrus also enjoyed her gentle touch.
Lillian also couldn''t help but approach them with curiosity. She had never seen such an intelligent bird before, and since it belonged to Ace, he had to be extraordinary, just like this legendary living space.
"You said something about the food journey? What that''s about?" Alina couldn''t help but ask amusingly.
Cyrus''s eyes shone with tion when his current favorite subject was mentioned, and he quickly answered frivolously, "Oh, big bro and I are on a journey where we found delicious food for me and burn whoever tries to stop us!"
Alina was startled as she found it quite interesting, "Can you tell your big sis more? I would love to hear it."
"Okay!" Cyrus quickly agreed, but suddenly, he showed a curious expression and asked, "Big Sis, you are Big Bro''s wife like Big Sis Eva?"
Alina nodded with a hint of redness on her cheeks, "Yes."
"I see. So everyone as beautiful as you guys is Big Bro''s wife?" Cyrus followed up with a hint of excitement as if he had finally figured it out.
However, he was startled when he saw Alina''s benevolent smile suddenly stiffened, and a strange coldness crept into her warm eyes, making the little guy think he was seeing Eva''s shadow in her.
Ace, who was observing with great relish, was also startled before he chuckled, ''Of all the things to say, you just had to say something like that? You''re digging your own grave, brat, and I''m not going to save you!''
Chapter 851 Coup Détat
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After the God Envoy suggested the sacrifice of the Moon Guardian, the very next day.
In the depths of Above Mountains Pce, the Union Leader in white robes and Sun and Moon Sword Custodian (SMSC) in his light form were entering an underground passage.
"Is everything prepared?" SMSC asked in an emotionless voice.
Union Leader nodded, "Yes, they agreed to serve the Union. I was only waiting for you to recover."
"Good, I was losing my patience."
Union Leader couldn''t help but ask with uncertainty, "Are you alright?"
SMSC''s voice remained emotionless as he replied, "What do you mean?"
Union Leader hesitated before saying, "About the Moon Guardian, I¡"
"No need to say anything. We all live by the Union and die by the Union. There is no need to make itplicated." SMSC emotionlessly replied.
Union Leader didn''t say another word as his eyes shimmered with a peculiar gleam.
They both reached a dark orange door filled with runic symbols, and the Union Leader chatted something before he ced his hand on the door as it started to glow brightly.
The next moment, a formation te appeared in his hand, and he activated it. Thereafter, the sealed door creaked open, revealing a spacious, gloomy hall.
On both sides of this hall were sealed doors with runic symbols. In the center of this hall was arge runic circle, and in that circle were four figures sitting crossed-legged, enveloped by a dark light. It was as if they were meditating, but there was no trace of breathing as if they were dead.
"They are indeed the intruders'' leaders." SMSC stated, "But something seemed strange about the three of them."
"Oh? You also think so?" Union Leader said, "I think they are hiding some secrets. But we don''t need to worry. As long as Lord SMSC imnts the Sun and Moon Soul Seals, they will tell us everything."
"Indeed. Let us begin without further ado." SMSC agreed as he moved toward the center of the room.
The Union Leader stayed in his ce without having any intention of moving since there wasn''t any need for his assistance.
However, as he watched the light figure of the SMSC approaching one of the figures, who was a handsome human with a long goatee d in a bronze color Taoist robe, coldness started to creep into his eyes, shimmering with foreshadowing.
SMSC stopped in front of this human and emotionlessly muttered, "Only a step away from being a Law Comprehension Realm. Indeed, a talent befitting for Union." He moved a light hand towards the human''s head.
However, right at this moment, the breathless human''s eyes sprang open, revealing astute sky-blue eyes filled with derision, "I''m unworthy of his excellency''s praise!"
SMSC was instantly rmed, and before he could react, the human''s hand moved like a bolt of lightning as an azure dagger appeared in his hand, and he directly stabbed it into the light figure of SMSC!
With SMSC''s ethereal light figure, it should be impossible for a tangible object to harm him.
"Wh-ahahhhhh!"
However, SMSC shrilled in pain as the azure dagger stabbed into his chest. There was an azure orb attached to the dagger''s handle as it shimmered brightly after the dagger was stabbed into SMSC''s ethereal figure.
"Now!" The Union Leader yelled loudly as a ck formation appeared in his, and he instantly activated it.
The human who stabbed SMSC instantly moved and vanished from his spot before reappearing bedside the Union Leader.
Not only him, but the other three figures opened their eyes, and like the Human, they vanished from the runic circle and appeared beside the Union Leader.
The very next moment, the formation circle suddenly changed as it turned crimson, and golden-azure symbols revealed themselves, and they fully encased SMSC''s figure as he screamed in pain.
"Your turn!" The Union Leadermanded while looking at the devilishly handsome man with crimson devil horns.
"Tsk, stop giving orders like I''m your underling." The Devil''s sneered in annoyance.
But he did as he was told, and a ghostly ck Scepter appeared in his hand, and he instantly stabbed it on the shimmering crimson formation. The next moment, the pitch-ck orb on top of the ck scepter glowed in the dark, and the crimson formation started to turn ck.
"I guess it''s my turn now~" A purple-haired, enthralling huntress with a transparent veil covering her bewitching face coquettishly chortled before she moved her hand. A Silver Scepter appeared, giving off an icy cold aura. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Like the devil, she stabbed it down the formation, and the silver orb glowed brightly, and a part of the formation turned purple.
The moment two scepters were connected to the formation, ck and silver chains gushed out and instantly wrapped SMSC''s encased figure, making him scream even more.
On the other, thest escapee, a wizened giant demon, was silently watching them with a peculiar expression.
"Seal!" The Union Leader roared with ecstasy as he poured a huge amount of Qi into the crimson formation te in his hand.
The formation glowed brightly before the corporeal cage started to solidify in crimson, ck, and silver color and SMSC''s light figure with it.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" SMSC''s shrill rang in the hall like a thunderp.
But the Union Leader coldly sneered and focused onpleting the solidification. No matter how much SMSC screamed or questioned, he didn''t dare to stop for a second.
A minuteter, the SMSC''s voice died downpletely, and just where his figure was located now stood a small tri-color hill emitting three ghastly energies.
"Done!" The Union Leader shouted with ecstasy as he was filled with sweat and exhaustion. But he was too excited to care about any of it as he looked at the tri-color hill with mirth.
The Devil and Huntress stowed away their scepters as their eyes also showed exhaustion, but they were also excited.
The astute human smiled with satisfaction and respectfully bowed toward the Union Leader and congratted him, "It''s a shame we lost the Azure Wind Orb, but we achieved our longsting goal. Congrattions, now the Sun and Moon Sword Unionpletely belongs to you, Prime One!"
Chapter 852 Element Law Proficiency
Time flies.
Ace opened his eyes today, and the next moment, a mighty wind burst from his body. His figure turned into dark winds before materializing again. He has taken another leap in Apparition Wind Walk by reaching level 5.
Furthermore, as he wasprehending this movement art and Windw, he also started to grasp the Wind of Darkness vaguely. However, his biggest harvest was he was very close to achieving the Sky Step, the final stage of Misperception Sky Steps Art!
As Ace was getting more and more proficient in these system-rted skills, he started to discover that they were all connected to each other. One skill was a foundation for another, like a stairstep, which can''t be skipped. He
Furthermore, the more he understood these high-grade skills, the more he found they were all rted to profoundws. He also discovered a strange thing, which was more of a hypothesis.
This hypothesis was based on the profound knowledge he now holds, especially the knowledge of the entire Sun Secret Realm. Ace found that worldly skill, art, and secret skill all seemed to be restricted and limited by ''something.'' Because of that exact ''something,'' he can''t learn those skills like the other people.
Simrly, the others can''t learn the skills that were provided by the system.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Of course, Ace knew it had to be rted to the heaven stealer and his heavenly Qi. He has known this for a long time now.
But for some reason, as he was getting stronger and his understanding of heavenlyws like the [Despair Lightning] [Heavenly Wind], and especially since the [Heavenly Thunder] has appeared in hisw status, those invisible restrictions were bing clearer to him.
Ace knew he was on to something big, but he wasn''t sure what it was, and he still needed more time and a deeper understanding of his own powers before he could reach the conclusion.
Nheless, hisprehension abilities have improved quite a lot after this strange understanding started to reveal itself. All he needed now was time to research further and absorb his gains.
But to earn that time, he needed to end this deadly mission, and only a singleyer was left before he couldplete the first stage of the Heaven''s Stealer Mission!
Looking at the purple swirl in front of him, Ace then looked at the live fate map and smiled sneakily, ''What a damnable lineup. Well, I guess they should be sufficient for my practical training. I want to see how far I can go without the little brat''s help and how much I have improved¡''
Having such ns in mind, Ace moved toward the swirl after 128 days ofprehensive cultivation. Although he took more days than he had nned, he was now fully confident in his strength, and it wasn''t like he was unaware of what the God Envoy was hatching in these past four months.
As Ace stepped out of the swirl, a heavily icy aura instantly weighed down on him, and an unusual cold wanted to infiltrate his very mind. But with all the treasures he was wearing, except for a slight cold, he wasn''t affected by the terrible environment.
Ace then looked around and saw he was surrounded by purple walls and couldn''t help but smile, ''As expected, maze, just like the sun secret realm¡''
However, right at this moment, not even a few seconds pass, a massive stampede consisting of demonic beasts, insects, worms, aerial beasts, and every type of beast he had attacked before on the previous eightyers was present in that hoard.
Furthermore, those beasts were not weak at all. Instead, the weakest among them was at the peak of the tinum soul realm, while the strongest was in the mid-stage of the soul manifestation realm.
"What a greeting." Ace smiled coldly as he was expecting this much.
The next moment, Ace''s body turned into ethereal dark winds, and he drifted right into the beast stampede without any care about getting injured because, like winds, he passed through them. No matter what they tried, they couldn''t contain the winds.
All those beasts controlled by the God Envoy madly attacked him with all sorts of skills and bombarded him with Qis, but nothing worked. Instead, those beasts ended up injuring each other.
Ace wasn''t worried, for he knew this was going to happen. Because to break the Apparition Wind Walk, someone needs to attack him with anotherw skill and at a higherprehension than his own Windw, no less!
Ace knew only a quasiw awareness realm could match his windwprehension because the four stages of the Soul Manifestation Realm mirror a cultivator''swprehension, which is also called the Element Law Proficiency.
From the soul manifestation realm, a cultivator has to increase their elementalw proficiency in its innate element, and only then can they increase stages and cross into a new realm.
The Element Law Proficiency was divided into four realms: Minor (0.00% to 9.99%), Initial (10.00% to 49.99%), Intermediate (50.00% to 89.99%), and Advanced (90.00% to 99.99%).
The Minor and Initial Realms mirrored the four stages of the Soul Manifestation Realm, and when someone crosses the threshold of the initial realm of elementw proficiency and reaches the 50.00% mark, they are called the Quasi Law Awareness Realm.
Because in this realm, the element would manifest its half-elementw intent like a sword intent. However, a half-elementw intent is far stronger than aplete sword intent because a weapon intent isn''t asplicated as aplex elementw intent, and that''s why a weaponw intent could be manifest at thepletion of a minor realm.
Only an element sword intent could rival it, which is even harder toprehend because a cultivator has to learn how tobine a weapon and elementw together so urately that the elementw would be a tool for killing.
Anyhow, once a cultivator fully develops their elementw intent from half elementw intent, they will reach the proficiency of 50.01%, and this is the realm of Law Awareness!
The Law Awareness Realm had three stages, Early, Intermediate, and Late, which mirror the Element Law Proficiency from 50.01% to 89.99%, meaning the entire intermediate realm is the foundation of the Law Awareness Realm.
Once a cultivator crossed this threshold and stepped into the domain of Advanced Realm 90.00%, they were known as the Quasi Law Comprehension Realm. But to step into the fabled Law Comprehension Realm, one needs to have elementw proficiency of 99.99%!
But reaching this threshold is as difficult as ascending heaven, and some people are stuck on the 99.98% in their entire lives and can''tprehend that final sliver no matter what they try.
That''s why aplete cultivation technique of the Law Comprehension Realm could cause bloody wars, especially between old monsters who were stuck at this level for their entire life and at the end of their lifespan. Who wants to die aftering so far and standing at the peak of the world?
That''s why Ace was fully confident that these mid-stage soul manifestation realms couldn''t do anything to him, as hiswpression was far above them despite hisck of cultivation realm.
Furthermore, his swordw was his biggest trump card, and he won''t show it unless necessary. He was nning to raise his wind and despair lightning to the peak of the intermediate realm, and he might be able to break the swordw, which seemed to have been stuck, and no matter what he does, he won''t enter the 50.00%.
But he has a feeling if he could raise an element up to the same standard as his swordw, he might be able to break that barrier, especially the shadoww, since his sword intent was born from the shadow element, after all.
"How peculiar!" A sneering yet charming voice broke Ace''s focus, and his heart lunged, and he instantly sidestepped.
Just the moment after, a golden arrow filled with sharpness and a powerful intent brushed past his hood!
''Arrow stained with faintw intent!'' Ace instantly looked into the sky and didn''t see the attacker.
"Interesting, try dodging these!" The same voice rang again with clear surprise, and at this moment, the clear sky suddenly started filled with golden arrows filled with sharp intent.
Ace''s eyes narrowed before his brows rxed as he smiled with interest and inspiration as he looked at those ghastly arrows, ''How interesting. I should also try to imitate those intent arrows¡''
Chapter 853 A New Path
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Standing under the rain of golden arrows, Ace didn''t appear to panic despite feeling a terrifying aura that was clearly far above the soul manifestation realm.
Suddenly, something invisible shot out from his sleeve. It was the thievish soul cord! Following Ace''s thought, the thievish soul cord turned into a whip and shed with the arrowsing in his way.
''Bang¡''
The thievish soul cord flung in the sky like lightning bolts, and those intent arrows shattered in sts in front of Ace''s first grade-8 treasure!
Now that Ace has mastered the thievish soul cord control to perfection, the cord is now like his limb, and he can move it as he wishes without any restraints. As long as he has soul Qi, he can increase its size infinitely.
Furthermore, the cord also has many useful abilities that Ace wasn''t using before because he focused too much on his sword. Only after mastering the secret skill did he understand just how wide the scoop of the thievish soul cord was and how he had been neglecting it all this time.
After destroying the golden arrows, Ace looked at the sky with a mocking smile before the cord instantly followed his will and bolted in the same direction.
''sh¡''
A sharp metallic voice of steel hitting together rang in the empty purple sky, and the next moment, a ck-d woman standing on top of a sword appeared with a small golden bow in her hand.
She seemed to be struggling by using her Qi to stop the invisible cord coiling around her body.
"What kind of skill is this!" She was quite rmed as she shouted in panic when she found no matter what skill or how much Qi she used, she couldn''t seem to destroy that mysterious skill that wanted to grab her.
Furthermore, she could feel a threatening feeling as if she would never be able to live if she was grabbed by this invisible rope.
"Useless." Ace sneered, ''Soul Binding!''
The woman who wanted to flee suddenly felt her mind jumbled as a terrifying pain struck her very soul.
''Impossible! Why isn''t my soul protective treasure working?!'' She was now really terrified as not only her almostw awareness rank soul but a grade-7 soul protective treasure was being affected by this powerful soul attack.
''She''s indeed a quasiw awareness realm cultivator. She''s still resisting the thievish soul cord.'' Ace was slightly impressed as he nced at the fate map before his lips curled up in an icy smile, ''I don''t have time to y.''
Ace turned into dark winds and instantly vanished into one of the passages, and the thievish soul cord retracted back before vanishing again in his sleeve.
''C-Crazy¡''
The woman with a golden bow panted like crazy and felt massive relief wash over her when she found the soul attack was finally over.
Shortly after Ace vanished, ten more flying swords approached the woman at a terrifying speed. Furthermore, all of these neers were women, and leading them were none other than golden hunter Delma!
"Where is the heretic? Did you put you in such a sorry state?" Delma questioned curiously.
"H-he''s gone! He''s too powerful and strange. I didn''t even know how he was able to attack me from 400 meters away without even moving a muscle, and he deflected my attack too easily. His soul is simply too terrifying." She exined what she had experienced.
"Really? It was the heretic, not the legendary creature?" A devil asked with disbelief.
"I didn''t see any creature with him at all. F-furthermore, he was able to see through my grade-7 concealment talisman quite easily, which should only be possible for an intermediate Law Awareness Realm cultivator. But we were told he''s around the level of mid to early Soul Manifestation Realm."
Delma showed a faint frown before he said, "Maybe he was using one of those formations? But it''s quite strange that since he was winning, why didn''t he finish you off and retreat while spearing you?"
"It''s because he knew you guys were approaching fast." The God Envoy''s imposing voice rang with a hint of frustration.
"Did he have such treasure?" Delma asked respectfully.
No one was surprised to hear God Envoy''s voice since they were too used to it now, and he was the one who wasmanding them in arranging ambushes. Alerting them of Ace''s arrival and also providing them with the shortest route.
"This I don''t know if he has a treasure or some strange ability. But I do know that he has a way of detecting danger and navigating like he can see everything in the Moon Secret Realm, just like me.
"That''s why I told you all not to underestimate him. I have yet to see him act myself, and he was cultivating for 129 days beforeing here like he was being ready for something huge.
"Just now, he used an unknown grade-8 treasure, probably of a high grade as well, to deal with yourpanion. So, now it would be safer to assume he has more grade-8 treasures than I''d anticipated, and he''s no normal being. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Right now, he''s heading straight towards the final cathedral and team 4. But they won''t be able to handle him, so I''ve decided to change our n a little. It''s far better than exhausting yourself while he hadn''t even shown his pet.
"Retreat back to the cathedral. I''ll contact everyone else." The God Envoy sternlymanded before his voice went dormant.
Delma sighed ruefully, "What a mess. Let''s go back; it''s either going to be a very, very long confrontation, or it might end in jiffy."
Ace moved using the apparition wind walk between the unmeasurable amount of demonic beasts. As he looked at the map, his eyes shimmered with astonishment.
''Why is everyone retreating back? Now, what is this bastard nning?'' Ace thought with scrutiny.
But he knew since everyone was going toward the guardian zone, it was the God Envoy''s doing. Yet he can do nothing but brace himself for what is toe. From the start, he wasn''t the one controlling the stage. All he could do was to prepare and continue to move forward.
''Well, since those guys are no longering. I should take my time while trying that archery style.'' Ace thought as he suddenly flew up with his sword and stopped using soul Qi, canceling the art.
The next moment, the aerial beasts lunged toward him in madness.
The thievish soul cord suddenly moved out and arced, turning into a simple translucent blow.
''Let''s see. Qi arrow imbued with elementw intent just like my Qi swords¡''
Pulling the string back, a dark arrow with lightning started to materialize, and a powerful lighting aura spread.
Ace couldn''t help but be astounded when the arrow was condensed, and he tried to incorporate lighting intent, and it increased the Qi arrow might 10-fold despite the fact that he was only able to imbue a faint trace of lighting intent in it.
Nevertheless, Ace felt a new door like the sword path had opened to him, and he arced his bow before releasing the arrow!
''Rumble¡''
Dark lighting crackled in the sky as the bolted arrow turned everything in its path into bloody mist!
Chapter 854 Deceitful Nature
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Six days have passed.
In the center of the Moon Secret Realm''s ninthyer was a magnificent cathedral, which was now encased in a corporeal barrier. Around it was a terrifying army of demonic beasts, and the top hundred cultivators of Cultivation Tower Ranking were gathered together behind the corporeal barrier.
Delma''s team was reporting their vague encounter with the Heretic to others, which made them disbelieve and grave.
They never thought the heretic would pose such a threat, and the legendary creature has yet toe into the picture.
"Lord Envoy, this situation is far graver than we anticipated." Ossian among the devils uttered as his four eyes shimmered grimly.
"What? Are you losing confidence? Don''t tell me even hundreds of you won''t be able to deal with that brat?" The God Envoy''s unhappy voice sounded.
Ossian hesitantly stated with a peculiar glint in his eyes, "No, it''s just that these preparations might not be enough since we mostly prepared them for the legendary creature. If I can break into Law Awareness Realm¡"
"Didn''t I already say, if you do that, you''ll be thrown out from the secret realm? Besides, you don''t have a talent for reaching that realm, at least not anytime soon." The God Envoy coldly stated.
Ossian''s expression turned ugly, but he didn''t dare to retort since he knew himself the best. He was just trying to see if he could use this chance to be a Law Awareness Realm with the God Envoy''s help.
But it was still impossible, and even if the God Envoy had a way, why would he risk doing it since he would lose a helper?
The Moon Secret Realm''s rules can''t be changed, and even the God Envoy can only do so much. This realm wasn''t meant to be aw awareness realm, and it was just a training ground for the Chosen One.
Only the Chosen One can bypass those limitations with no exception whatsoever.
Before someone else could say anything, the God Envoy''s gloomy yet furious voice rang, "He''s here!"
---
"What a magnificent scene," Ace muttered in derision as he stood on top of the flying sword and observed the huge army before looking in the direction of the cathedral. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
''There are nine quasiw awareness realm demonic beasts among their ranks. But the real problem is those hundred Quasi-Law Awareness Realm outsiders and that space-sealing barrier around the cathedral.
''They clearly want to render my teleportation ability useless and deal with me once and for all.'' His lip rose slightly in mockery, ''But if they think I will stay and fight them like some hero, then they''re thoroughly mistaken¡''
At this moment, he said, "I know you''re here, soe out. I want to have a chat."
"O'' sacrilegious mortal! If you''re seeking mercy, then it''s toote!"
Ace''s expression didn''t change as he coolly said, "Is it? How about this: let me take the trial, and I''ll sign a soul contract with you, and you can decide the terms as long as they are not too excessive.
"You see, I got some time to mull it over, and as you said, a mortal like me shouldn''t go against the will of God. Furthermore, you didn''t give me much chance to show my sincerity, so I have to prove my worth.
"We know I have a bright future ahead of me, and I can be the Chosen One who hadn''t appeared since forever. So how about we let bygones be bygones?"
Ace''s ''sincere'' words caused God Envoy to fall into astonishing silence. It was just as he stated, before Ace didn''t have the credibility to negotiate, and the God Envoy wanted to get rid of him because of what he did.
However, now that he was standing right in front of his front door and he was too unpredictable, his words carried heavy weight behind them.
''Just take the bait¡'' Ace thought deviously while he patiently waited for the God Envoy''s reply.
Ace knew he only had two options; fight and prevail or fight and die. But there was also a third option; submit on the right opportunity.
Now was the exact opportunity because he had already proved that he was not going to go down easily and might evene out winning.
So, this option was even more enticing for the God Envoy to make Ace its pawn or the Sun and Moon God''s pawn, to be exact, and his loyalty would be unquestionable.
But the truth was far from it. Ace is a thief, and deceitfulness is his biggest trait, and he''ll use it before he uses his fighting abilities.
At this moment, the God Envoy''s voice rang, "So that''s your y, huh? Alright, your words have indeed credibility. But with an additional soul contract, you have to let me put a Sun and Moon Soul Seal in your true soul as well. Only then I''ll let you go free!"
"It''s too risky. I know a soul seal is just another name for Soul Brand. I''ll fully lose my freedom, or you might even go back on your words. But I cherish my life more, and I want to achieve something no one ever has.
"So, I''ll agree to soul seal as well, but first, we''ll sign a soul contract, and then you''ll let me into the trial. Once the trial starts, you are free to nt a soul seal. You can write it in the soul contract as well. These terms are very fair, and they are also my bottom line. If you still do not want to, then let''s go to war." Ace coldly stated, but inwardly, he was very content with God Envoy''s response.
If he weren''t worried about the God Envoy using the soul brand to make him stop taking the trial, then his ability would be exposed, so getting within the trial was absolutely necessary if he wanted to achieve the effect he wanted.
"Do you think I would deceive a mortal like you?"
"Exactly." Ace nodded without hesitation.
"Hmph!" The God Envoy snorted with vexation, "Alright, but one of the terms in the soul contract would be that you can''t use your pet until you are branded with a soul seal!"
Ace showed a frown as he seemed extremely reluctant before he nodded, "Alright, it''s a deal. Do you have a soul contract, or should I take out one?"
"Hmph, do you think I''m an idiot? Wait here. Someone will approach you shortly with a soul contract!"
Ace thought jeeringly, ''Exactly, you are indeed an idiot!''
Chapter 855 Who Tricked Who?
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After the ''deal'' was finalized, Ace didn''t have to wait long as ten flying swords emerged from the cathedral''s direction and flew towards him. N?v(el)B\\jnn
There were four devils, three demons, two hunters, and one human, and all of them were Quasi-Law Awareness Realm Cultivators. Especially the four-eye devil leading them. As he pped his massive bat-like wings, he gave off a very powerful aura.
They all stopped a few meters away from Ace, who stood on top of his sword, and his face was hidden under the hood.
The ten neers were the top ten rankers of the cultivation tower ranking, and they all had their guards fully up as they vigntly looked at the infamous Heretic. Furthermore, they were feeling both relief and indignant as it came as a surprise to them that the heretic wanted to reconcile, and the God Envoy agreed.
Although this simply means they don''t have to fight him and put their lives on the line, they still feel it is quite strange. Nheless, it was good for both them and the union.
Ace, at this moment, removed his hood, revealing White''s appearance, and he beamed at them and greeted, "Seniors, I hope it wasn''t too much trouble."
Ossian''s expression crumpled even so slightly, "White, I presumed? You are indeed capable."
The Bodach Demon, Lorcan, squinted his eyes and coldly asked, "Why did you destroy the Sun Mountain? You do know it was our home, and you intended to do the same with Moon Mountain. How can we trust you after all you''ve done?"
Lorcan''s words struck deep within the hearts of all the males present here. They were all the prominent figures of the Sun Mountain, masters of their ownnds. Yet after it was destroyed, they had to relocate to the Moon Mountain under the mercy of the Moon Lord.
This was a humiliation they couldn''t forget, and the culprit was right in front of them.
"So, you hold a grudge, is that it?" Ace coolly replied, "It was indeed an unfortunate event. But it was an ident. I never intended to destroy anything. But who could''ve thought my talent surpassed even the God Envoy''s imagination."
His bragging caused everyone to frown, but they knew he was just stating the fact. They were all astounded when they heard about the junior union leader and thought it was just luck.
But only after everything took ce did they understand that it wasn''t just luck. White was too talented. However, he walked on the wrong path.
"Junior White, as a fellow human, I hope you no longer walk on the path of ruin and make us all proud. Your decision is the correct one." A wizened-faced old man with a long, snowy beard amiably smiles. He was the only human in the top ten rankings, ranked 8th, Percy.
"Shameless!" Delma snorted, "We were told you agreed to sign a soul contract?"
Looking at the gorgeous golden-hair hair huntress, he nodded, "Indeed, I need to clear the trial here so I can meet the final requirement to be the true sessor of the Union. I was doing what I could to show my worth. I never intended to destroy anything."
"We''ll see about that." At this moment, the God Envoy''s cold voice sounded, "Give him the contract, and if he shows any strangeness, you are free to attack him!"
"Tsk, you''re not very fond of me, are you?" Ace clicked his tongue in annoyance.
This made the ten somewhat astounded because they were extremely respectful to the God Envoy, yet White was talking as if to him like he was his equal.
Nheless, they had to take care of the business first since it would determine whether White was telling the truth or not.
Ossian then flipped his hand, and a corporeal sky-blue sheet appeared filled with crimson writing. He flicked it toward Ace.
Ace easily caught the soul contract and couldn''t help but exim, "This soul contract is grade eight, right?"
"Only this will ensure you won''t y any tricks!" The God Envoy sneered.
"Don''t tell me you''re using my treasures?" Ace asked as he had some idea of where this contract came from.
"What your treasures?!" The God Envoy was instantly enraged.
Ace sneered, "When Iplete the trial, those treasures will naturally belong to me. So, you better not use them wantonly, or I''llin about you to the mighty God!"
"YOU sacrilegious mortal!" The God Envoy seemed to be gritting its teeth.
This made the ten sweat and look at White in a new light. This guy really doesn''t know what death is. He dared to y with the God Envoy; how bold!
"Alright, I was joking. We arerades, after all. I''m looking forward to meeting you." Ace chuckled yfully before he read the terms of the soul contract.
The terms were the same as they had discussed before, and there wasn''t any loophole that he could exploit. Once he signed this contract, he couldn''t go against the Moon Envoy''s wishes, but if he tried to stab him in the back, this contract would be instantly voided.
That''s exactly what Ace wanted!
The next moment, he poured his Qi into it before biting his finger and then dripping his blood on the contract. The contract instantly shone in crimson light before it turned into a crimson streak and entered his forehead.
Everyone was astounded by Ace''s decisiveness.
"Alright, since the contract is formed. Now, you should believe I have no ill intention towards the union." Ace smilingly said, "Now, let''s get it over with."
"Hmph, it seemed you still know your limit. Very well, I''ll dly fulfill my part of the deal. Escort him to the trial door!" The God Envoy coldly said, but a hint of ecstasy was present in his voice.
Since Ace had signed the soul contract, he could no longer y tricks, and he had to bear the soul brand once he entered the trial. Which means his life would also belong to the God Envoy.
Once that is done, keeping the soul contract matters little, and White will be his puppet. At least, that was what he had thought.
Ace might appear emotionless, but inwardly, he was snickering, ''Idiot indeed!''
Chapter 856 Purple Feather
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Since Ace had signed the soul contract, no one made things difficult for him as per the contract agreement, and the top ten rankers escorted him toward the cathedral.
After crossing the massive demonic beast army, when Ace reached the square outside thest cathedral, the remaining 90 rankers looked at him in astonishment, some with deep hatred. He even spotted the woman he had encountered when he entered the ninthyer.
"Are we really letting him go?" A demoness coldly questioned as her aura became sharp.
"Step aside, he''s no longer a threat." Percy coldly answered.
Since White was a human, his rise would mean the rise of the entire human race. Heretic or not, White was still the most talented person in the union and the future heir. As a human, Percy was happy that things turned out the way they did.
As for him being under the soul contract influence, it was for the best.
Although they were all told that White had agreed to yield and the top ten seniors were going to finalize the deal, it was still hard to swallow that a person who was just their mortal enemy a few moments ago was now turned into an ally.
Furthermore, some of them harbor malicious intent toward him because he is a human, not from their race. So, this was a rare chance to get rid of him while he was under the influence of the soul contract.
"What if we don''t want to?" A devil with terrifying killing intent asked sneeringly.
"You fools, do you want to defy the will of God Envoy? Don''t forget where you are!" Lorcan coldly yelled while seeming flustered.
If not for the God Envoy, not to mention these low-rankers, everyone except Percy would''ve attacked Ace because they held the same sentiments. Yet, they were helpless because they were in no position to defy the God Envoy.
Even the terrifying Heretic has decided to yield, and inparison, they were nothing. They didn''t have either his talent or a legendary creature, so they were egging an iron wall.
Just as Lorcan stated, everyone''s expression fell as they knew it was impossible to do anything to Ace until the God Envoy didn''t want to harm him.
But they still couldn''t understand why he was keeping him alive after all this and knowing about the danger he posed.
"Heh, don''t worry, seniors, I''ll take care of you all. You don''t need to fear me. I''m but a humble servant of the Sun and Moon." White beamed at them with clear mockery.
This made almost everyone show killing intent towards this arrogant youngster.
"Now, if you please, I have a Union to inherit." White snickered as he walked toward the massive swirl gate without caring about their violent fury.
At this moment, Ace felt some restriction suddenly lifted from the swirl gate as his eyes shimmered with a hint of surprise, ''I''m d I tried this method, or who knows just how much preparation that bastard had made. He''s using a Grade-8 formation that can not only seal space but also this gate. Well, it''ll be mine sooner.''
With such thievish thoughts, he entered the swirl and vanished under everyone''s indignant gazes.
Paying attention to the fate map, Ace crossed the ethereal passage. The next moment, his eyes widened with sheer surprise. Because just as he crossed the passage, the fat map location instantly changed!
Ace appeared in a bright silver hall, and right in the middle of this hall was a purple moon, while right below it was a tinum orb as they both were revolving opposite to each other.
But the terrifying aura they emitted was both cold and sharp at the same time. Both of them were connected with a light pir with the ceiling and floor. Ace clearly remembered seeing the same scene at the Secret Sun Realm!
For some reason, he had appeared right where the realm core and the elemental orb were located, which meant he was right where he needed to be!
At this moment, the system''s voice rang,
=====
[Host has discovered the Moon Secret Realm''s Independent Space Core!]
--
[Please choose an option]
1- Do you want to collect it and destroy the Moon Secret Realm?
2- Do you want to collect it and the tinum Orb while destroying the Moon Secret Realm?
Price: 10 Million Thief Points
--
[NOTE: By choosing the first option, the tinum Orb will be destroyed once it is separated from the core because it is connected to the core!]
=====
''Has that guy gonepletely mad?'' Ace wondered as this waspletely unexpected since he was supposed to be going to the trial space, but the God Envoy had shifted him to this ce instead.
"Don''t be rmed. You should already be familiar with this ce, right? This space is also considered a trial space since it is the origin of every trial space. I needed you here to create the Sun and Moon Soul Seal." The God Envoy''s voice sounded with a hint of slyness.
The next moment, something suddenly appeared a few feet away from him. Surprisingly, it was another glowing feather!
But it was ofpletely purple color while it gave off a feeling of icy oppression,pletely opposite to the golden feather he encountered in the Sun Secret Realm. It was the God Envoy of Moon Secret Realm and also its guardian!
Realization dawned on him. He stared at the purple feather and coldly said, "You never nned of letting me take the trial, do you?" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Hihihihi¡and let you acquire the title of Moon Chaser as well? I don''t think so. At least not until you let me nt the Sun and Moon Seal. Now stop resisting and cooperate since it''s now your turn toplete your part of the deal.
"O'' sacrilegious mortal, let this be a lesson to you to never go against the will of God!" He arrogantly stated.
At this moment, Ace dropped the facade and chuckled with derision, "You go half of the part right. Everyone wants to be the one in control, and I''m not different. As for going against the Gods? Truthfully, I found it quite amusing for a mere feather to dare to represent God.
"Nheless, I deeply respect your y here. You were far more amusing than your counterpart. Now, let''s end this since I have more pressing matters to tend to than entertaining a feather."
"Wha¡hihkk¡" The feather was about to say something when it felt something amiss, and it suddenly trembled as if something just tore apart from it.
The next moment, Cyrus appeared over Ace''s shoulder, seemingly exhausted. He was about to throw a tantrum when he found Ace''s presence when he sensed something, and his tiny eyes instantly locked on the trembling feather.
All the grievances andints he thought he would throw at Ace vanished instantly, and ecstasy reced them.
"Alright, he''s yours." Ace smilingly permitted him to do what he wanted while he gave anothermand to the system, "System, I chose the second option!"
The very next moment,
=====
[Host has chosen the Second Option to collect it and the tinum Orb while destroying the Moon Secret Realm!]
-Price: 10 Million Thief Points have been deducted!
[Time: 00:00:59]
--
[Thief Point(s): 4,000,100]
=====
Seeing his reaming thief points, he sighed. He had used 5 million TP to create a fake consciousness for the soul contract, and now he used 10 million TP for the second option, ''It seemed after this I needed to start sealing like usual!''
Chapter 857 Absolute Upheaval (1)
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The moment Ace dered hismand, Cyrus sprang into action.
Readily, with a bell-like chirp, he opens his beak and sends out his blue me toward a seemingly stunned purple feather.
Ace also noticed that after he destroyed the soul contract, the purple feather''s consciousness seemed to have suffered a terrifying bacsh, and it was probably destroyed.
''The higher a soul contract, the more dreadful the bacsh.'' Ace''s eyes shone with understanding.
In the end, the purple feather was still a treasure that only contained a wisp of will from a being beyond the mortal sky. So, if he destroyed it, then what was left would be nothing but an empty husk.
On the other hand, out of nowhere, dark blue mist seeped out from the space and started to envelop the tinum Orb and Realm Space Core, just like what happened in the Sun Secret Realm.
''Since I didn''t get the treasures of the ninthyer, I need to take them myself once the system took the realm space core. All the formations will stop working at that time.
''Furthermore, I need to be extremely careful once the Moon Secret Realm merged back into the union. This time, I won''t be able to leave to the other side since there is no other exit at all like the Sun Secret Realm or the system would''ve told me already.'' Ace thought gravely.
At this moment, the God Envoy''s faint, broken voice rang while it was being fully enveloped by Cyrus''s mes, "Y¡u mak¡ing¡a¡terri¡mist¡" (You''re making a terrible mistake!)
Ace snorted, "I know, but nothing I can''t handle."
Thereby, the purple feather was fully enveloped by Cyrus before he sucked it back into his tiny belly, and he appeared back on Ace''s shoulder. This time, his tiny eyes were filled with sleep as if they would shut down at any moment.
"I want to sleep, no more study!" Cyrus lethargically muttered.
Ace couldn''t help but smile gently before stroking the little guy''s head, "Alright, you can sleep and take a small break."
He carefully sent him back into the thief''s space and put him in Alina''s house while leaving her a note so she wouldn''t be worried or distrust his sleep. He knew once Cyrus woke up, he would be far stronger just like thest time he digested the golden feather.
The very next moment, both the realm space core and the tinum orb separated, and then they vanished from space. Thereby, a terrifying tremor appeared as the entire moon secret realm started to tremble.
At this moment, the system''s voice rang,
=====
[The tinum Orb and the Independent Realm Space Core have been sessfully retrieved!]
[Host can use the only exit of the Moon Realm to retreat instantly. This option is only avable until the Moon Secret Realm is fully integrated with the Mortal Sky!]
[Time for Integration: 01H:59M:59S]
---
[Congrattions, host, forpleting the third requirement of Heaven''s Stealer Mission!]
[Please open the mission panel while encasing in the Dismantle Qi to view your rewards and the next Mysterious Condition of the Heaven''s Stealer Mission!]
=====
Ace smiled with deep ecstasy after he received the confirmation of mission clearance.
But he knew it wasn''t a time to celebrate because he needed to get out of this ce safely. However, first, he was going to try getting the treasures of the ninthyer.
Since the realm space core had been removed, the space where he was right now started to crack, and Ace knew now was the chance to move.
He looked at the fate map, which was still in its treasure blueprint state because he had yet to leave the Moon Secret Realm. He instantly ran toward the treasury location mark on the map¡
---
Outside the cathedral, the massive army of the demonic beast started to run amok hysterically the moment the first tremor appeared, and those vicious beasts started to attack anything in their view.
On the other hand, the top 100 rankers of the union were rmed because this situation waspletely unexpected. They were not sure what was happening, but the formations around the cathedral suddenly stopped working, and now the demonic beasts were attacking them like mad.
However, their expression turned extremely pale, and someone noticed a ghostly phenomenon.
"L-look, t-the sky! It''s cracking!"
That voice rmed everyone, and they looked up in unison and saw, like a mirror, the purple sky seemed to be cracking as the white mist seemed to seep in from those cracks.
It was like the sky would burst apart at any given second, and everyone seemed to have thought of a ghastly possibility since this all started to happen just a few momentster after the heretic entered the trial space!
---
Outside the Moon Secret Realm, the silver Moon Mountain suddenly started to shake violently as the cloud rings around it churned before they started to dissipate fast!
Absolute panic struck everyone''s heart, especially the people of Sun Mountain because they couldn''t forget this nightmarish phenomenon even if they wanted to. They had experienced the same thing before the destruction of the Sun Mountain, and now it seemed it was the Moon Mountain turns!
The High Union Elders werepletely out of their wits as they all flew towards the Above Mountain Pce, which was usually forbidden.
However, now wasn''t the time for following the rules since they could only turn to the strongest person in the Union, the Union Leader!
But they were soon met with horrifying screams booming like thunderps as they approached the Above Mountain Pce.
"Those trash failed! They failed! Just why is it so hard to get rid of a child? Even that moon envoy turned out to be rubbish!"
That lunacy reverberating voice belonged to none other than the Union Leader!
However, right at this moment, a mirthful voice suddenly rang,pletely overshadowing the Union Leader''s voice.
"Hahahahha¡ the day hase! Brother, the seals are losing. Let''s get the hell out of here. It''s time to pay for our thousands of years of suffering!"
Another maddening voice rang, "Hehehehehe¡ old swindler, you better wash your neck. Let''s see if you still dare to be that arrogant in front of us!"
One after another, different voice dered their hatred for the Union Leader as if they wanted to rip him apart, and their voices were filled with maddening fury and rage.
"You lot dare!" The Union Leader''s panicked voice rang before the entire Above Mountain pce shook as a terrifying aura suddenly exploded! n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
But a few momentster, the shaking stopped, and thereafter, the Above Mountain Pce, the symbol of authority that levitated over the Union for countless years, suddenly started to fall!
Chapter 858 Absolute Upheaval (2)
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Moon Mountain was shaking like a tree in the storm when suddenly, massive rumbling sounds rang as the mountain suddenly started to sink!
In the sky, the flying pce was falling, and right at this moment, within the throne hall, the ten statues were glowing and slowly cracking as powerful auras were emitting from them.
The Union Leader, in a wretched state, was trying to stop those statues from being destroyed with a golden formation te. But like the statues, the formation te also seemed to be breaking.
"Hahaha¡ old swindler, stop your meaningless struggle! It is the end of the rope for you!" The spooky voice from the devil statue rang with deep madness as the statue''s ghastly aura suddenly skyrocketed as if something was doing everything to break free.
"The day has finallye! I''m going to rip that annoying mouth of yours the first thing I came out!" A demonic voice filled with killing intent sounded from the demon statue as its aura wasn''t any lower than the devil statue.
"Shut up! You are mere relics of the past and nothing but catalysts!" The Union Leader roared furiously.
But the panic in his eyes was quite apparent as he watched the statues and the formation te shaking in his hand. He knew things had gonepletely out of control.
However, if he let them continue further, all his years of nning would be crumbled like a sand castle, not to mention his own life would be in danger if those statues broke free.
But deep down, he knew with both the Sun and Moon Mountains destroyed, he was dying the inevitable!
"What the hell is happening here!?" A deep voice sounded before the entrance door, which now wasn''t supported by a formation pushed open by an invisible force.
The Devil Ancestor, Edward, walked in with an unpleasant expression, and following him were the Demon Ancestor, Albert, the Blood Ancestor, Margret, andstly, the Human Ancestor, Dream Shatter, who entered the hall.
But all of them were shocked when they saw the crumbling statues and the disheveled Union Leader trying his best to stop them. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
After their coup, the four ancestors were given promised rewards, and they were still busy absorbing them when the entire pce violently shook before all the formations suddenly stopped.
The next thing they heard were furious voices, and they could feel the pce was falling, so they naturally came here to find the Union Leader to seek what was happening.
But now, they werepletely bewildered when they saw the glowing statues and the auras they were giving off were no less threatening than the Union Leader himself or even stronger.
They all had been in this ce, but like everyone else, they also thought those statues were just decorations, but now, it didn''t seem to be the case.
The Union Leader''s expression went uglier as he looked at the four ancestors. Helpless, he can''t hide it anymore, so he decides to seek their help.
"There is no time to exin. Just help me seal them, or we all have no ce in this world if they break free!" The Union Leader grimly spoke.
"Descendant! Don''t fall for this swindler''s tricks! Help me, and once I break free, I''ll help you enter the Law Comprehension Realm. I can feel you are struck at the realm wall!" The devil''s statue spoke with full of temptation.
"Yes! Help us! Nothing good wille from believing him! He will seal you guys as well once you break into the Law Comprehension Realm as he did with us!" The hunter statue roared.
Edward and the others were shocked as their eyes shone with disbelief. The Law Comprehension Realm was their biggest dream, and nothing was more alluring than it for them.
They were helping the Union Leader before because of this exact temptation as well!
"Don''t listen to them!" The Union Leader gloomily retorted, "They are the loyal dogs of the Union! If they break free, they won''t spear a single soul that includes you! So, help me seal them with your elemental orbs, and I''ll give you the full Sr Moon Technique!"
"Hahahaha, what gal do you have?! You dare to use my cultivation technique as a bargaining chip!" A mocking voice sounded from the Elf statue, "Listen well, I''ll give you the entire technique right now. In return, destroy that formation te. Don''t worry. He had exhausted too much Qi to keep us all in check, so he''s no match for you. Moreover, we are willing to take a heavenly oath never to harm you. He''s the real enemy of us all!"
This time, the Union Leader''s expression warped when he noticed his mistake. He could see the look in the four ancestors'' eyes had started to change. Even the loyal Dream Shatter had a faint, cruel smile.
Although they had a very long and productive rtionship, he knew better than anyone what kind of snake Dream Shatter was, and that guy would switch sides, like changing clothes, if he could get what he wanted.
In the end, the Union Leader had no choice but to offer something far greater than anyone else in this hall, or years of preparation would go to drain.
"I know you all do not trust me, and you guys hold a pretty deep grudge against me. But don''t you all always want to know my goal of doing all this?" The Union Leader coldly stated, "There is a very, very powerful treasure hidden in the mortal sky. Something you can''t even imagine and something that can make you break free from the restrictions of the mortal sky.
"The Law Comprehension Realm is just a speck of dust in front of that treasure because, with it, you can go beyond that realm and the mortal sky. For years, I''ve been searching for that treasure''s whereabouts, and I can guarantee you that it exists since I''ve had records written by the Sun and Moon God!
"I''m willing to share it with everyone as long as you all take the Heavenly Oath not to retaliate. I''m very close to finding it¡ NO! I know where thest clue is. Just think about it for a moment; I''m willing to take the Heavenly Oath, which can''t be broken.
"But if you all insist on petty revenge, you will never be able to know about it, as I will destroy everything rted to it if I die!" Madness shone in the Union Leader''s eyes as he clearly wasn''t joking.
This time, no one spoke as everyone seemed to be shocked by this revtion.
But right at this moment, the entire pce rumbled before a powerful shock wave spread, and with it, everything started to crumble down as the pce finally collided with the ground!
Chapter 859 Absolute Upheaval (3)
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The people on the Moon Mountain were evaluating flying swords while taking anything they could grab. They watched their homes sinking into the earth with saddened expressions as they fled.
They all knew with Moon Mountain''s destruction, the union might no longer exist anymore.
"Cheeee¡"
An eerie shrill like someone just happened on an iron te resounded all over the union, and the sour of it was the sky above them.
The moment everyoneid their eyes on the sky, they were instantly horrified because the sky seemed to be¡ splitting!
Not only that, but some people also noticed the debris of the huge Above Mountain Pce on top of the sinking Moon Mountain, and some people were paying attention to the seemingly endless darkness, which now seemed to be fading away.
The Union natives were always told that the Mortal Domain and Sun and Moon Domain were their entire world, and there was nothing behind that endless darkness that surrounded them.
However, even the sky above them was now cracking while the darkness was fading away; this could only mean it was nothing but a lie. At least some extremely clever people thought that not to mention the High Union Elders who knew about the ten continents all had peculiar glints in their eyes as they watched the sky breaking and the darkness fading away.
For them, who could not leave the Union in their entire life and wanted to see the world beyond it, this was naturally akin to true freedom for them as they no longer had to be caged just in the Union.
Some of them had read about the legends of the Endless Sea in the secret sections of libraries, and they longed to explore those dangerous waters.
If it was truly the end of the Union, then this meant true freedom for them. They can take their races and start anew or form their own organizations.
However, they were just their thoughts as they knew if they wanted true freedom. It still depended on whether the Union Leader would agree or not. Powerful they might be, but they were nowhere near the level of Union Leader or the two very much alive Sun and Moon Lords.
The Moon Mountain had already sunk up to the third cloud ring, and soon, when the fourth cloud ring fully dissipated, it would be over 80% under the ground.
At this moment, from the dissipating fourth cloud ring, something invisible puffed out of the faint clouds, and no one would''ve noticed such a tiny disturbance, especially when such an event was unfolding.
The invisible object was actually a flying sword, and a hooded person stood on top of it as he flew toward the massive crowd while he looked at the sinking mountain with his astute dark blue eyes.
''So that''s why I wasn''t able to find any traces of Sun Mountain. Strange¡ why do they sink into the ground? Are they part of some formation or something else that is rted to the secret realms?'' Ace thought curiously before his focus turned to the top of the moon mountain, and his eyes widened when he saw a huge broken pce lying waste on top of the mountain, forming a huge crater.
Surprised, he thought, ''Is that the Above Mountain Pce!?''
Ace knew about the Above Mountain Pce since he had gone there when the Union Leader took him as his disciple and handed him the position of the Junior Union Leader. It was the ce where the downfall of the Union started, so how could he forget it?
Suddenly, his expression turned grave as he thought, ''Since the pce is also destroyed, then this means the Union Leader is somewhere here. Furthermore, the sky and that endless darkness are also splitting apart. This could only mean that Qi radiation fog and the sky are also fake and were only functional because of the two secret realms.
''Now that they are gone, everything is returning to its original state. This means the union will be revealed as whole as a whole new continent¡'' A chill went down Ace''s spine at this point.
Because now that he thinks about it, the Union was actually a continent not any smaller than the Demon Continent. Furthermore, there were no ten continents at the start, and onlyter did the massive maind break into ten pieces.
But if the Union was also part of that maind once, then this mean it was divided into 11 pieces. Yet no one seemed to have any recollection of a massive continent disappearing at all.
''Could it be it''s also rted to the Heaven''s Secret?'' Ace could only specte this since he knew what kind of thing the Union was rted to.
Nheless, Ace knew he was going to find the truth about the deeply hidden secret as he continued with his mission. It is just a matter of time.
Right this moment, Ace heard the system''s voice,
=====
[Elemental Orb of Wind position has been locked on the Live Fate Map!]
[Elemental Orb of Ice position has been locked on the Live Fate Map!]
[Elemental Orb of Darkness position has been locked on the Live Fate Map!]
=====
Ace''s eyes widened ever so slightly before his lips curled up in an ecstatic smile, "You really weren''t lying when you said there were three elemental orbs gathered in the Union. I guess my 100,000 TP were well spent despite it being your job to tell me whenever I got closer to an elemental orb!" Ace grumbled towards the end.
When he stepped into the union, the system had asked him for 100,000 TP to tell him a fact that he was too curious to overlook. So, he spent the TP, and it was then when System revealed that, excluding the metal orb, all the reaming elemental orbs were gathered together in the Union!
It was hard for Ace to swallow such a massive piece of information, and he was in utter disbelief.
Furthermore, since he spent 100,000 TP and a rare chance, the system told him if he could enter into a certain range, it could easily mark those three orbs into his map as ''Dark, Ice, Azure Wind Orbs'' and thereafter, they won''t be able to escape him ever.
Now, the system has finallypleted its promise. This could only mean one thing: the owners of the final three orbs were within the vicinity, and Ace was sure those people wouldn''t be just any random person. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Right at this moment, Ace was about to open the fate map to see where those orbs were when suddenly terrifying pressures spread, and a huge st was heard.
It came right on top of Moon Mountain, right where the broken Above Mountain Pce was located!
Chapter 860 A Heavenly Oath
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Ace felt the terrifying auras, not just one but too many, and he never felt that sort of ghastly ambiance before. Furthermore, there was boundless killing intent emitting from these auras as if they wanted to kill everything in their path.
Ace''s heart palpitated when he suddenly sensed an extremely familiar soul signature within those auras.
Even though it was weak, Ace would never forget the soul signature of the giant demon who forced him into the space tear in the demon continent, and he ended up in the Regal Fiend Tower!
''But it doesn''t make sense! Isn''t that guy supposed to be on the voyage to subdue the White Crown with the Devil Race, humans, and the Blood Ancestor forces? Just what in the world is happening? How can he be here and closer to the Union Leader, no less!'' Ace''s mind raced as the more thought, the moreplex it all became.
Ace knew from Winter and Alina that the Devil, Demon, and the Blood Ancestor with the hunter race forces were heading towards the White Crown so they could force him out if he didn''t take the first bait.
He was pretty sure that giant demon would be with them since that guy seemed to be obsessed with the scepter he stole.
Now that he was proven to be right, this only made him more confused.
''Is the Union rted to the White Crown? Or they were bullshitting about everything?'' Ace thought with bafflement, but he forced himself to calm down since he knew it wasn''t the time nor ce to mull over these things.
Those ragging auras were extremely terrifying, far more than the giant demon he faced, and one of them was the auras of his fake master, the Union Leader.
Ace quickly opened the live fate map with a grim feeling as he wanted to see where thosest three orbs were.
The moment he opened it, his heart sank when he saw there were 15 ck fate points, and two of them were carrying the two elemental orbs while thest one was the Wind Orb was somewhere in the pce! n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Furthermore, he saw one of the fate points had a ring of glittering silver around it but didn''t have the elemental orb.
Ace didn''t even dare to get close to them, much less try to steal those orbs. It was also hard to tell which fate point belonged to whom since all of them were too close to each other. He really missed that naming function of the blueprint treasure mood. Even the separated Wind Orb was too risky to go after.
Nevertheless, at least now he knew what sort of entities he had to face to get the final three orbs, and he didn''t have to search around for them aimlessly.
However, right at this moment, a crazy thievish thought appeared in Ace''s eyes as his heart started to beat wildly, ''Should I try to use the Devil''s Horn and go for the Wind Orb? I won''t get such a chance again¡''
The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to do it because he knew if he missed this opportunity, he might never get another one like this. Furthermore, Ace could feel the tension; for some reason, they seemed to be facing each other, and they were in a stalemate.
In the end, the temptation was too good for Ace to give up. If he could have two elemental orbs, he would be able to reach the seventh realm, and he didn''t dare to imagine just how much power boost he would get, and the Heaven''s Stealer Mission would be so much easier!
''Shit¡ no risk, no rewards!'' Ace gritted his teeth andmanded the system, "Activate the Devil''s Horn!"
Without wasting a single second, Ace bolted toward the ruin of Above Mountain Pce!
The High Union Elders were also paying attention to the Moon Mountain peak with pale expressions, and they didn''t notice Ace brushing past them.
At this moment, an eerie voice guffawed in everyone''s ears before it spoke, "Hehehe¡ now, who could''ve thought you were hiding such a thing all this time? Old Swindler, consider us convinced. But your reputation is not so much of someone to be trusted. Take out a soul contract, then take a Heavenly Oath upon your Law! Let the children of the Union bear witness to it, and only then we''ll spear you and the Union!"
Ace was astonished as he was a few hundred meters away from the peak, and the closer he got, the more pressure he was under.
''What are they talking about? Who''s he calling the Old Swindler, and what is Heavenly Oath? But this also confirmed they are fighting against someone, and they clearly won''t have time to pay any attention to me. After all, who could be crazy enough to try sneaking past so many terrifying existences?'' Ace couldn''t help but smile bitterly at his own thoughts.
Ace not only found his act quite suicidal but also thrilling, and he was intrigued at the same time for the situation to take such a turn. If he recalls correctly, they should be bloody for him, but it appeared they were fighting among themselves for some reason.
So, this could only mean it was even more important than hunting down the culprit who did all of this, and Ace''s thievish institution tingled as he elerated even more. The pressures weren''t locked on him.
At this moment, a familiar voice sounded, not to just him but the High Union Elders as well, and the Sun and Moon Lords, who had just appeared from the rubble, were also shocked.
"Very well, I hereby take the Heavenly Oath upon myw that what I''ve told you is nothing but the truth, and I will help you acquire and share the ''secret'' with you all. Unless you betray me, I won''t betray you¡"
The thunderous voice belonged to none other than the Union Leader, and his words caused everyone to be shocked and curious about what he was ambiguously saying.
Furthermore, everyone suddenly noticed the moment the Union Leader took that oath, the splitting sky suddenly torn apart, revealing the dark sky filled with thunderous clouds, giving off an aura of oppression.
But those clouds soon dissipated after rumbling for moments!
Ace, who was the closest, felt that extremely familiar aura from those clouds and was dumbfounded!
''Those were heavenly punishment clouds?! Why in the world they were here? Don''t tell me because of that Heavenly Oath? What is going on here, and what secret he just vowed to share?'' Ace''s heart raced with uneasiness as he didn''t want to think about it.
But he knew things were going south as it seemed the Union Leader somehow knew about Heaven''s Secret and where to find it!
A sense of crisis and anxiety washed over him because if it were true, then it would turn into a race, and those guys were far stronger than him.
Not to mention, for Ace, it was a matter of life and death, not just a simple matter of stealing a treasure. The joy that he felt frompleting the first step washed away with disquietude, and now he was determined to get that orb no matter what!
''I need to see what is the second mysterious condition as quickly as possible!''
With that grave thought, Ace reached the foothold of the destroyed Above Mountain Pce and snuck in without those guys even noticing a thing.
Meanwhile, the sky and the endless darkness were getting vague, and the Union Continent was slowly emerging in the center of ten continents!
Chapter 861 Debut In Union (1)
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After the Union Leader took the Heavenly Oath, all auras quickly retracted, and Ace, who was carefully walking in the rubble of the Above Mountain Pce, felt like a massive mountain had lifted over his shoulders.
Ace looked at the reaming time with a hurried expression.
=====
[00:02:01]
=====
''Two minutes?'' Ace frowned a little.
Although the time was short because of the ruined state of the pce, he was quite optimistic about finding that orb within the remaining time. The problem wille after the time is over.
''Thest time, when I had used the teleportation, that orb guardian instantly noticed me. So those guys would, too. Well, I have few options, and I hope I don''t have to use the worst one¡'' Ace thought gravely.
But he focused entirely on the Wind Orb location, which seemed to be a few hundred meters away from his current position. He had to im that orb before he could think about the other thing.
The pce was in a very delicate state, as if it would crumble down entirely with a gust of wind. Furthermore, Moon Mountain was still sinking, and only the final cloud ring remained.
Ace wanted to get out of here before the pce touched the ground and save some time of devil''s horn enough to get out of here.
Despite its ruined state, the pce was like a maze, and without the fate map, it would''ve been hard for Ace to navigate his way toward the Wind Orb. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, after twenty seconds, Ace''s study steps came to a standstill because he met with a cracked wall, and there was no way ahead like the map was showing him.
But then he noticed a strangeness; a section of the wall waspletely fine, and Ace''s eyes shimmered with understanding, ''It''s a trap door¡''
Without hesitation, Ace tried to push that section of the wall, and thereby, it slowly shifted inwardly. After he pushed it openpletely, a narrow stairway going downwards was revealed.
Ace entered the stairway before carefully closing the door and heading down with an ecstasy. He never thought it would be so easy to infiltrate this ce after the formation was destroyed.
Furthermore, this ce seemed to be made from sturdy material and wasn''t damaged by the collision at all, or it could also be the case because of the formation destruction; the outeryer of Above Mountain Pce has suffered some damage.
Whatever the case was, things were going in his favor, so he didn''t think much of it, and he was getting very close to the Wind Orb.
Thereupon, Ace appeared at the end of the staircase and entered a dimly lit space. His eyes suddenly widened when he saw right at the end of the ce was a 10-cubic meter golden door filled withplex rune symbols. The Wind Orb was behind that door!
''Don''t tell me it''s the treasury of the Above Mountain Pce?'' Ace''s heart raced as he approached the door with anticipation.
However, his heart sank when he tried to probe behind the door, but his thief sense, even the heavenly sense, waspletely blocked, and he knew whatever formation was protecting that door hadn''t stopped working at all!
''What the hell am I supposed to do?'' Ace grimaced since he didn''t have time to crack that door, nor did he think he could because that formation protecting it was at least a low-grade-8 formation!
Then a sudden revtion hit him, ''It might be feasible!''
The next moment, Ace quickly approached the door, and after making sure it wasn''t dangerous, he ced his hand on the door. The next moment, he tried to stow it into his thief''s space!
It wasn''t like he didn''t have ample space for this treasury in his thief''s space, and he had already tested this method before.
He was confident that once this treasury with the wind orb was inside his thief''s space system, he could easily absorb the wind orb once he was ready, and nothing could block the system!
The very next moment thereafter, the massive door trembled slightly before it instantly vanished into his thief''s space, leaving behind a 10X50 meter wide empty space!
Thereafter, the system''s static voice sounded in his head,
=====
[Thievery seeded!]
[Host Stole]
¡
--
[Reward(s)]
-Rewards: 130,000,000 Thief Points
---
[Thievery Rank(s)]
-High-Level Thievery(s): 1
---
[High-level Thievery(s): 3/100]
---
[Thief Point(s): 134,000,100]
---
[System has detected Wind Elemental Orb in host thief''s space]
[Pleaseplete the EXP and SP requirements to start the absolution!]
=====
Ace''s lips rose in a victorious smile, ''I finally got it!''
The massive TP reward was a bonus. Although now he would leave a thief symbol behind revealing his true identity, it doesn''t matter anymore as it can''t be helped.
He was going to turn around to quickly leave this ce since only thirty seconds were left on the clock before the devil''s horn would have deactivated. Suddenly, the Sun Chaser and the Moon Seeker Token, which he was carrying in a space ring in his hand because he needed it to keep connected with the Moon Realm so the God Envoy wouldn''t y any tricks, trembled!
Ace was astounded by this sudden reaction because he thought this token would turn unless once he was done with the Moon Secret Realm, but now it suddenly started to react like crazy and right when the treasury was gone.
He was going to ignore it since it was too risky to take it out and was stowing it away to the thief''s space, where it would lose all connection with the outside world, when a creaking sound of something shifting rang.
Ace''s eyes instantly followed that sound, and he was baffled when he saw in the middle of the empty treasury space that rune symbols were shimmering!
Soon, the runes started to turn into a red-purple swirl, just like the portals present in the Sun and Moon Secret Realm that led to trials.
''What the hell is going on? Don''t tell me there is another secret realm hidden below this treasury?'' Ace thought with bafflement since it waspletely unexpected, and now he understood why the token in the space ring trembled so violently.
His time was running out, and now he was in a dilemma about whether to enter this unknown portal or not. He knew it was rted to the Union inheritance, and he was the sessor, and without these certain conditions, this portal might never have opened.
It was also at this moment when Ace''s sharp ears picked a faint noise from the stairway behind, and his expression turned pale as he looked at the life and saw all the ck fate points were nowing down here.
''I''ll be damned!''
Ace knew his escape ne had gone in the winds, and even if he used the teleportation formation or the talismans, it was impossible to escape so many powerful people.
So, looking at the portal, Ace sighed ruefully and sprinted towards it before vanishing into it.
The moment he entered, the portal instantly closed, leaving behind a small hole in the ground, and right at this moment, the thief symbol appeared majestically on the wall.
On one wing was written his thief''s name, while on the other, Ace left three simple words in the farewell note, ''So long, Master!''
It was time for the Union to know about the existence of the notorious thief, Sky Stealer!
Chapter 862 Debut In Union (2)
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From the stairway, a few delirious voices sounded, "So, you keep all the good stuff in the union here, huh? As expected of you, Old Swindler!"
"Hmph, there better be enough materials for all of us to create bodies."
"Now, now, don''t be impatient. We are all allies now~"
The Union Leader was at the very front and had a dark expression as he heard those annoying voices. He thought gloomily, ''How do things turn out to be like this? What a mess!''
He spoke coldly, "You guys better don''t be greedy. Some of the materials are probably extinct in this world, and we still need them to create a treasure that can¡WHAT!??!"
Suddenly, he shouted in rm at the end, like someone had punched him in the guts and he was rooted at the entrance of the treasury hall.
"What happened? Cat got your sly tongue or something?" The devilish voice sneered derisively.
Behind the Union Leader, the four ancestors were also surprised by his unexpected reaction.
"NO!" Ignoring everyone, the Union Leader scrambled inside the hall.
The four ancestors followed with curious expressions, but as they entered the treasury hall and looked at the empty space and then the owl symbol, they were also rooted in their ce with bewilderment. While the Demon Ancestor, Albert turned pale and started to quiver.
"What is going on?" The devilish voice finally sensed something was amiss.
After the four ancestors, one after another, corporeal, blurry figures of different colors entered the hall. Those blurry corporeal figures have features of the ten statues in the throne hall of the Above Mountain Pce as they all emit powerful soul oscitions.
They all saw the empty space and the owl symbol, and the Union Leader stood in front of the mysterious owl symbol, which had few writings on its two majestic wings.
"Sky Stealer¡"
"So long¡ Master?"
"What is the meaning of this?"
The corporeal figures questioned as they clearly didn''t understand what was going on or what was the purpose of that owl symbol. They all thought it was quite strange to make such a thing.
However, the quavering Demon Ancestor''s quavering voice rang, filled with boundless hatred, "H-he¡he was here?!"
"This is impossible¡ master¡master¡ don''t tell me¡" The Union Leader''s shock-stricken mumbling rang in at this moment as his bloodshot eyes were glued on that symbol.
Edward knew things had gone terribly wrong as he nced at his oldest friend, the Demon Ancestor. He then looked at Dream Shatter, who had a pale yet astounded look in his astute eyes, and asked gloomily, "So that''s where he had been all this time? But how did he manage to infiltrate so deeply without anyone noticing it?"
Dream Shatter was surprised by Edward''s question, "Are you asking me?"
"Who else? Aren''t you in cohort with him? You clearly said it is impossible to enter this ce without correct coordinates, and no outsider can join the Union without being a native.
"If I''m not wrong, he should have been here before everything started and from his style of doing things. That message ''So long Master'' is clearly a mockery to someone, and by that guy''s reaction, it''s not hard to guess for whom, either.
"So, he should havee in contact with him at some point, but he was clearly gone unnoticed. Furthermore, you''ve told us that the White Crown has long been dormant, and their whereabouts were unknown. That''s why I''m asking you, how the hell this happened?"
Dream Shatter deeply looked at Edward''s cold eyes as he could sense the deep murderous intent. He sighed ruefully and shook his head, "I have no clue. This is something not even the Prime One couldn''t have guessed. That thief is too mysterious and evasive. I''m also not part of a Union. I''vee here for the first time with you guys."
"White Crown?" The blurry gray human figure looked at Edward with a peculiar glint in his blurry eyes as he asked, "Can you, gentlemen, tell us what this is all about and why it is rted to the White Crown?"
The other corporeal figures were also lost at what was happening here and wanted to know why they were reacting so strongly and where the hall was their promised materials.
At this moment, before anyone could react, the Union Leader suddenly vanished from his spot and appeared right in front of the gray human figure. His aura explodes as killing intent rages in his eyes, "vus! You better spit out everything about the White Crown, or you can forget about living!"
"Calvus!?"
"Humane Sage Calvus!"
Margret and Edward''s eyes went wide as they looked at the blurry human figure. It was hard to tell how he looked, nor did they pay attention to his statue since it had been too long since they hadst seen the nightmarish Humane Sage.
But they never even dreamt that he was still alive and imprisoned in the union, no less. However, Dream Shatter didn''t seem so surprised, as if he had already known about Calvus for a long time.
As for the Demon Ancestor, he also snapped out of his rage and turned back. His killing intent was even deeper than that of the Union Leader. If anyone was frantic to search for Ace, it was Albert!
Calvus''s blurry figure trembled slightly under the Union Leader''s pressure since he had no real body and was just a soul, and because he had just been set free, he was nowhere near his peak.
But at this moment, the other nine also released their auras. Although they might be no match for the Union Leader alone, they were more than enough to wreak havoc if they joined forces. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
That''s how they also forced the Union Leader to yield and can''t take the risk of losing even one of them as that would greatly limit them, and they wouldn''t be able to stand against the Union Leader.
Furthermore, they had been imprisoned together for thousands of years and knew each other pain and suffering. They were even closer than their own kin with each other now.
The blurry devil figure spoke coldly, "Why don''t you try answering us first? Where the hell is our materials, and what is this all about? Who is that Sky Stealer, and what is this White Crown? Unless you''re not nning to be honest, we don''t mind teaching a lesson on how to treat your seniors!"
The Union Leader''s expression was twisted as his face was crimson with anger. How could he tell them that he not only let the thief infiltrate the Union right under his nose he even took him as his disciple?
Not only that, but the most infuriating part was that he was the one who handed that inheritance token to him so he could use it to reach his goal. But now, it turned out it waspletely the other way around from the start.
Normally, it was he who tricked others and used them like his pawns, but now, for the first time, he tasted that same feeling, and it was extremely unpleasant and awful.
Now, everything started to make sense of how he was so talented, and his reason for destroying the union was simple.
He couldn''t help but let loose a furious roar as he couldn''t suppress the raging wrath and humiliation he was feeling for the first time in his long existence, "That wretched thief wanted all the treasures from the start and destroyed everything while doing it! I''LL NEVER FORGIVE THAT BACKSTABBER!!!"
The Union Leader''s infuriated voice rang in the entire Union Continent that day!
Chapter 863 Identity Exposed!
?
After entering the portal, Ace felt his vision blur, and the next moment, he was standing on solid ground.
''Where am I?'' Ace quickly scanned his surroundings and was astounded.
He stood in the middle of whiteness as far he could see, and the only other in this strange space was a towering ck monolith. The moment Aceid his eyes on that monolith, he instantly felt the sword cores in his soul and martial space tremble, which waspletely unexpected. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"We meet again, Sun and Moon Inheritor, or should I call you Heretic now?" A deep voice sounded, which made Ace instantly rmed since he didn''t feel any presence at all, and the fate map waspletely nk!
Fully alert, Ace released his aura as he looked around with a grim expression, "Who?"
Although Ace was expecting this sort of thing when he jumped into that portal because of the Sun Chase and Moon Seeker Token, this ce was too strange, and that ethereal voice also sounded somewhat familiar.
"I can understand it is easy to forget about someone as irrelevant as me. But still, you should at least remember the person who showed the path to the Sun and Moon Secret Realms?" The voice sounded again with a hint of coldness.
Ace''s eyes narrowed slightly as he called a name from the hint he just got, "Sun and Moon Sword Custodian?"
"So, you do remember me. But it''s a pity I''m not d at all." SMSC coldly stated.
Ace''s heart sank after he received confirmation, and he knew he was in huge trouble. He dryly said, "Greetings, senior. It''s been a while. I hope you''re doing fine."
"Do you have no shame?!" SMSC shouted with indignation.
Ace smiled wryly, "I''m ashamed, but you won''t believe me anyway."
"Hmph, it seemed you''re not worried about your current predicament at all."
"I wouldn''t have jumped into that portal if I didn''t have a way to preserve my life." Ace''s voice turned cold, "So, do you want to kill me as well?"
After a moment of silence, the SMSC sighed ruefully, "I can clearly sense you still hadn''t cultivated the Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual. Was your intention being to destroy the Union from the start? What kind of grievance do you have with the Union?"
Ace impassively replied, "All I can say is I had no intention of destroying the Union, nor did I have any grievance against the Union. What I did was for my survival, nothing more, nothing less."
"From your words, it seemed someone put you up for it, and with your mysterious methods, it would be wrong not to believe you. However, I can sense you''re not feeling guilty at all. In fact, you appeared¡ thrilled?" SMSC stated with a hint of uncertainty.
Ace''s eyes shone with a hint of surprise, but he maintained his poker face as he said, "It''s meaningless how I feel. If you want to get rid of me, then all I can do is retaliate, so there is no point in discussing these things."
"Hahhh¡ you''re really something. Do you still think that portal was opened on its own because of your token? Sorry to disappoint you, but the truth is, I was the one who opened it after sensing your token." SMSC said matter-of-factly.
Ace was astounded since he wasn''t expecting this, and his expression turned pale, "Is this some kind of prison?!" This was the first thing that came to his mind since this could only mean the Union Leader might be on his way here right now with all those people. If this was a trap, then he had jumped right into it!
"Hahaha¡ I like your current expression, but unfortunately for me, I can''t let you die or be imprisoned by the traitor!" SMSC coldly revealed as his voice was filled with loathing when he said ''traitor.''
However, Ace wasn''t going to believe that, "If you''re telling the truth, then let me go!"
"Hah, do you really want to leave? Alright, I can send you back. But remember, if you decide to leave now, you will have the entire union on your tail. Furthermore, you will never be able to be the Chosen One!" SMSC coolly said, and the next moment, a portal suddenly opened right in front of Ace.
Ace was shocked as he wasn''t expecting it all. He even thought this was some trick, but he could tell that the portal was real. Now, he really started to doubt whether the SMSC really wanted to help him or if this was another trap.
However, thest part about the Chosen One still piqued his interest, and despite his vignce, he decided to inquire further, "Are you really the telling the truth? Who is this traitor? The Union Leader, if I presumed?
"But I''m also someone who destroyed the Union, so you''re helping me, and even handing me the position of the Chosen One didn''t make any sense to me. So, don''t take offense when I say it is hard to believe you!"
"Your crimes are indeed far graver than the traitor. Not only were your actions sphemous to the Sun and Moon God, but you even killed the Sun Guardian, and it was also because of you that the Moon Guardian was sacrificed.
"Now, you havepletely destroyed the Union, the sacred ground created by the Sun and Moon God. Even thousands of deaths will not be enough to punish your wicked crimes!" The hatefully uttered.
Ace didn''t deny any of it as he knew the damage caused by him was not small, but he didn''t regret any of it, and this was exactly his point. So, he questioned again, "Then why?"
"Because of me!"
Ace was shocked when he heard another voice other than the SMSC, and this voice was far more imposing that by just hearing it, he felt like his mind was pulling into a trance-like state. But his heavenly Qi keeps his mind in check.
Paled, Ace instantly looked towards the monolith because that voice came from it, and his sword cores started to vibrate even more violently!
But the next words of that imposing voice caused Ace''s mind to go nk with trepidation, "What a powerful soul you have. As expected of¡ Heaven''s Stealer!"
Chapter 864 Sun and Moon’s Will
Chapter 864 Sun and Moon¡¯s Will
"¡ Heaven''s Stealer!"
Those two mildly spoken words resounded like thunder in Ace''s mind as he had never expected to hear them from anyone other than the system. Maybe that''s why he was so shocked, or it was just that his biggest secret had been seen through by this mysterious voice like it was nothing.
Ace always thought that no one would be able to tell his true origin and what kind of status he represents. But now, the realization stuck with him hard. He always had this strange thought deep in his heart, which he never paid attention to, but it was always there.
It was now be quite clear that he wasn''t the first Heaven''s Stealer. There were others like him who had walked on the same path that he was walking. But just how many were before him, what were their endings, and how they met their ends?
But one thing was abundantly clear; since he was the current Heaven''s Stealer, the one before him was no longer in this world.
This was probably the biggest burden Ace had to carry. The risks involved in this path were too great, and one wrong step and he would be the next dead Heaven''s Stealer and vanish into the long history.
But now, all of a sudden, someone has guessed his origin, which means people out there knew about Heaven''s Stealer or at least about his predecessors.
Furthermore, with how the system did things, the thief symbols, the opposition against Heaven, and all the things, it was quite hard to remain low-key. So, Ace should''ve expected that the people might know about Heaven''s Stealer.
It''s just that he wasn''t prepared, or he might never be. Nheless, the situation had turned extremelyplex because of it, and now he didn''t know if he should do anything to get rid of this person who had guessed his identity or listen to what he had to say.
"What Heaven''s Stealer? I think you''ve mistaken me for someone else." Ace quicklyposed himself and inly denied.
"Oh, I''m pretty sure I found the correct person. There''s no need to deny it. Everyone like me knows the owl symbol represents the Heaven''s Stealer. It''s symbolized your kind, and I''m not the one saying it. It''s in every legendary story of the Heaven''s Stealer.
"It''s just that I never expected I would see the real thing myself in this long lifetime. What an honor it is." The voice sounded jolly and excited.
Ace''s expression grew heavier, and he med something that was behind all of this, "System, you degenerate! At least changed the thief symbol for individuality''s sake! Now I''m exposed!"
Nheless, no matter how indignant he felt, he knew this was unavoidable. Furthermore, he was also curious about the history of Heaven''s Stealers and just what kind of legends they had.
But his biggest concern was this person who seemed to know those legends, and he''s clearly been keeping an eye on him, or it''s just that only now he took notice after his recent thievery.
Moreover, even if they know about Heaven''s Stealer, they shouldn''t know about the system at all. After all, it was actually the true culprit behind making a Heaven''s Stealer.
"You can think what you want. Now, tell me, who are you?" Ace still refrained from admitting he was Heaven''s Stealer even if the proof was quite clear; he would deny it.
"Oh, where are my manners? I''m a wisp of will that my original body left behind in this final trial. I''m the founder of the Sun and Moon Sword Union!" The voice introduced itself. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace''s eyes winded at this revtion, "Y-you''re Sun God or the Moon God?!"
"Heh, there are no two separate gods, but the Sun and Moon God is one, and that''s me, alright. But I''m just a wisp of his will and have a part of his boundless knowledge, and after severing my purpose, I''ll vanish."
Ace''s expression sank even further because he never expected to speak a god, and he finally understood why he felt that terrifying oppression from that voice and how he knew about Heaven''s Stealer.
''If only just a wisp of his will is this terrifying, what about his real body?'' Ace didn''t dare to imagine, and that''s what probably being a God means.
The voice continued, "I''ve been observing you from the moment you entered the Union that day, but I have to admit, you didn''t make it easy at all, and you can vanish whenever you like. I was shocked at first and confused, but I couldn''t interfere with the Union no matter what, so I observed.
"Then youpletely went nk after you entered the Sun Secret Realm, and the next thing happened; it got destroyed, and you vanished. But you appeared again, and this time you destroyed the Moon Secret Realm¡"
Ace''s heart skipped a beat when he sensed a faint coldness in that voice. He felt like he was at the bottom of a boundless icyke for a moment.
"I don''t know how I should¡thank you."
Ace''s taut expression went nk for a moment, and he felt he had just heard wrong, "Thank¡you?"
"Oh, you must be confused. But the truth is, I''m really d you got rid of those two idiots. They were supposed to be the final holy treasures for whoever cleared all the trials and then followed that person as their one and only master.
"But they seemed to have developed sentience after a long period of time, and they took control of the independent cores of the secret realm. Hmph, if I wasn''t stuck here, I ought to have taught them a painful lesson, but I was as helpless as them since they were also bound by rules. No matter how much they resist, nothing can go against my original body settings, now even his own little will."
Ace could feel the bitterness in the voice, which made him surprised.
''Why did he exin all that to me? He just revealed almost all of his weaknesses. It''s like he openly admits he didn''t pry into my secrets, or he simply can''t. Even if it''s just a wisp of will, my knowledge in front of it is a speck of dust.'' Ace thought as he didn''t dare to trust this guy no matter what.
"Anyway, then those annoying guys came along, and they schemed against SMSC, who was the caretaker of the Union. If I hadn''t used all my umted power and saved his core before they trapped his visage, he would''ve been done for."
"What do you want from me?" Ace couldn''t help but ask with a frown hidden under his calm mask.
Ace clearly wasn''t interested in anything other than leaving here as quickly as possible, especially after learning about who dwells here and his identity has been exposed.
"Look, I know you don''t trust me, and you shouldn''t since I won''t as well. So, I''ll be straightforward with you. I know you''re after the secret my true body hid and sealed in the Mortal Sky Heaven.
"I don''t have those memories of what it was, but I know it was important enough to make my original body descend into the Mortal Sky Heaven despite it being absolutely impossible.
"And after he left, 531,000 yearster, an anomaly stuck the mortal sky heaven, which, unfortunately, I can only sense for a moment. But soon after that anomaly, I lost my connection with my real body!"
Chapter 865 Monolith of Sun and Moon Sword
Chapter 865 Monolith of Sun and Moon Sword
Ace was shocked by that ridiculous amount of time the voice just mentioned and also what it wanted to imply. He could feel the tension and worry in that voice. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
''Can a God die? And that treasure he''s talking about should be heaven''s secret?'' Ace wondered but didn''t dare to ask this out loud. It was simply too astonishing.
Furthermore, he still wasn''t sure if what he was hearing was even true and not just another misguiding sob story.
Unaware of Ace''s thoughts, the voice continued gloomily, "This could only mean two things. First, he''spletely dead or imprisoned somewhere where his godly abilities are fully suppressed. Whichever the case is, I haven''t made a connection with him again since that day.
"Now, a Heaven''s Stealer has appeared in such a ce as well, and I''ve heard the Heaven''s Stealer only appeared in ces with world-ss treasures. So, I know you are after that same treasure my true body hid here.
"And that''s exactly what my purpose is as well. I''ll let you be the Chosen One. Because the Chosen One was supposed to be the guardian of that exact treasure, and only he can know about its hidden location.
"Maybe my body had already predicted his ill fate and left behind his legacy for Chosen One, even his godly bloodline. Furthermore, I''m pretty sure you are not the only person who is after that treasure.
"The Union Leader, the traitor, he also knows about it, which means his background is not so simple either. His entire existence was a huge sham. If you hadn''t appeared when you did, it might''ve been toote before he could control the entire Union.
"But you disordered it all up by destroying the two secret realms, and hisst option was to capture SMSC. Yet, you take that away as well. So, he will now go after you with everything he had.
"However, I''m not holding a grudge against you. The Union of the Mortal Sky was just a branch built to protect the secret treasure. But my main body still left behind his bloodline and legacy in this ce, which means he has sensed something amiss or dangerous to his life.
"So, all I ask of you is to find someone to inherit that legacy and bloodline and then take that person as your follower. That''s all I want from you." The voice dered with clear sincerity.
Ace was surprised by this unexpected request. He was guessing that the voice would ask something excessive or have him do something. But all it requested was for him to find a sessor for the Sun and Moon God Legacy and Bloodline.
''He said this Union is just a branch, which means the original in another heaven, and the Sun and Moon God should be a powerful being who could even sense such a disaster and leave his legacy behind.
''Furthermore, he was powerful enough to get his hand on the Heaven''s Secret, and people might be after him for that exact reason. But then why did he leave it in this ce and not use it himself? It''s too confusing.
''But I still don''t know if it''s true or just deception. However, if it''s turned out to be true, then I can''t let just anyone get that legacy. I need to confirm it before I make a decision. The Heaven''s Secret is more important, and if I can get it, I''ll deal with the Heaven''s Stealer Mission in one fell swoop.''
For Ace, this opportunity was too alluring just to let it slide, and he had nothing else to lose either. Furthermore, since the voice knows who he is, it should also know that it won''t be easy to trick the Heaven''s Stealer. Or maybe this was also the exact reason it didn''t want to y any tricks.
But still, Ace has one more doubt he needed the answer to, "You could''ve asked anyone else, but why request a thief like me of all people? You can even choose anyone in the Union for this legacy. I''m pretty sure there are plenty to choose from, so why wait all these years, and why let your sessor be my follower? You still don''t know I''m the Heaven''s Stealer. Moreover, if you knew about the Union Leader, why didn''t you take action before?"
"Sigh¡ you can think of it as my narrow viewpoint and vanity. Truth be told, although I''m just a will, I''m still me, so I want my sessor to be the best, and no one is qualified enough in the mortal sky.
"Well, except for, of course, you. Even if you''re not a Heaven''s Stealer, I can still tell you already have a bloodline as good as mine, but it feels somewhat suppressed. But I know better than to pry.
"I don''t know how someone like you can appear in this ce, but I would rather trust you with clear motives than trust those with ruses. Furthermore, I''d be overstepping my boundaries if I told you to abandon being a Heaven''s Stealer since it''s the path you choose.
"And I can''t interfere with Union since I''m bound to this ce. Besides, I have this feeling that you wouldn''t be a bad choice to guide my sessor on the path of sess. So, what do you think?" The voice amiably questioned.
Ace was really speechless at this moment. He didn''t know if there was something wrong with this voice since it was trusting him too much. Furthermore, he was shocked to hear about his sealed bloodline from the voice.
''My bloodline is as good as his? Then what is my origin, and why was I abandoned with a sealed bloodline?'' A hint of anger shed past Ace''s eyes as this was a sore spot in his heart, and he didn''t want to talk about it either.
The other thing was he could tell this guy was dead serious about making his sessor his follower, which was even stranger.
''What are you hiding¡'' Ace''s eyes narrowed with scrutiny since there were many loopholes in the voice''s story.
But this offer was really too good for him to reject it, and he wasn''t losing anything. He didn''t even have to keep his promise once he got Heaven''s Secret. He''ll be as good as gone.
"Alright, I agree with your proposal." Ace impassively nodded in agreement.
"Good! I know you will understand my plight." The voice stated with gratitude before it turned solemn, "Since you agreed, then let''s not waste any more time. You still need to pass this final test before you can be the Chosen One, and the location of the secret will be revealed to you.
"You see the monolith? It''s called the Monolith of Sun and Moon Sword. The sharp sensation you have experienced on seeing it is a trace of Sun and Moon Sword Intent left behind by my true body.
"In the final test to prove your qualification, you need toprehend the Sun and Moon Sword Intent in that Monolith and then use the same sword intent to destroy it!"
Chapter 866 The Rewards and New Prerequisites
Chapter 866 The Rewards and New Prerequisites
Ace frowned behind his mask as he looked at the Monolith of Sun and Moon Sword, ''So that''s why I was so ill at ease. But then, why are my sword cores reacting so differently? Did that Sun and Moon Sword Intent excite them?''
Ace was somewhat confused; his sword cores were far from ordinary, and he couldn''t just ignore them because he didn''t understand them. Since he now knows what that monolith was and his sword cores were reacting strangely, he will find out soon enough.
Still, he couldn''t bring himself to trust the voice that imed to be the will of the Sun and Moon God. This could be anything trap for all he knows. So, first, Ace needed to see the next Heaven''s Stealer Mission requirement, and only then would he make his next move.
"I understand, but first, I need some privacy to rest. I''m pretty exhausted after running so long." Ace impassive said.
"Of course, you can stay here as long as you want. This is the only ce where only the union inheritor can enter. When you''re fully recovered, you may begin your training, and I''ll do my best to guide you." The voice replied.
Ace nodded, "Thank you for your help."
"There''s no need, we are helping each other."
Ace then directly took out a grade-8 and activated its concealment function before using another one. Then, he used his mask''s ability so no one could monitor him. But he still wasn''t sure if this was even working.
However, he had no other way since this was quite important as well, so after preparing, Dismantle Qi poured out of his hands and started to envelop his body.
When Ace was surrounded byplete darkness, he finally opened the mission panel.
=====
-Heaven''s Stealer Mission: Embarking the Path of Heaven''s Stealer!
-Mysterious Condition (1): The Secret Seal! (Completed!)
-Reward(s): 2X
1. 100 Million Thief Points
2. Advanced-Grade Insight Pill: 5
[Description: Instantly Raised any skill, art, secret skill, secret art proficiency to perfection! Instantly Raised Law base skills by a single level!]
(Note: It won''t work on cultivation techniques.)
[im/Later]
3. Intermediate-Grade Epiphany Pill: 2
[Description: The consumer will fall into an Epiphany for 6 hours.]
[im/Later]
4. Fundamentals of Array Crafting (Grade-4 to Grade-6)
[im/Later]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
5. Limit Heavenly Talisman: Great Escape (Grade-8)
[Use: 3 Times]
[Effect: You can use this limit talisman to escape to any ce you''ve been before, no matter the distance or restriction.]
(NOTE: Only effective under the Mortal Sky!)
[im/Later]
6. Limit Heavenly Talisman: Earmark Burry (Grade-9)
[Use: 3 Times]
[Effect: You can steal one thing from the target as long as you know its exact location.]
(NOTE: Target needed to be under Thief Sense range to use this talisman!)
[im/Later]
---
[ording to Precept (6) of Heaven''s Stealer Mission, 1 New Item has been added to the system shop. Please open the shop to check!]
=====
Ace was in disbelief after he saw all those stinking rewards of the first mission, and his heart raced widely when he confirmed his eyes weren''t ying tricks on him.
''Not only did I get five advanced-grade insight pills, I even managed to get two of the intermediate-grade epiphany pills. I used the low-grade version to create the sword cores. I don''t dare to imagine what I will be able to do with a higher version of it.
''As for thest two limited talismans, they are in no way inferior to those pills. With them, I can not only escape anywhere, but I can even steal anything from anyone¡'' Ace instantly thought about the remaining two elemental orbs. He instantly wanted to go back and steal them by using the Earmark Burry Talisman.
But he knew there was no point in making haste, ''I''ll let you guys keep them safe for me before I''ll take them.''
Furthermore, he also got the next manual on the fundamentals of array crafting that should contain 99 middlebinations of 99 middle heavenly arrays, and they should be very helpful for him.
Without hesitation, Ace opened his system shop to see thest reward unique to Heaven''s stealer mission.
=====
[System Shop]
[Avable Skill Books]
[Avable Cultivation Technique]
[Avable Weapons]
[Avable Pills] (New)
=====
''Something rted to the alchemy?'' Ace was surprised to see the glowing pill section, which meant the new item was an alchemy-rted item. So he opened it.
=====
[System Shop]
[Avable Pills]
[Grade-5 Healing Pills]
[Price: 50,000TP, Per Pill]
---
[Grade-5 Heaven Qi Recovery Pills]
[Price: 10,000TP, Per Pill]
---
[Elixir of Darkness (Grade???)]
[Description: Enter Darkness to Experience Darkness]
[1 Pill Avable]
[Price: 50 Million Thief Points]
=====
Ace frowned when he saw the elixir of darkness''s ambiguous description, not to mention the whooping fifty million TP price tag. This should be the most expensive item he had ever seen in the system shop.
"System what kind of effect this elixir has and why its grade was hidden? Is it of a higher grade than the mortal sky?" Ace had to ask the system since he clearly wouldn''t be ignoring such an expensive item, especially when he couldn''t read its grade.
"[The disclosable information has been divulged before the Host, the rest is up to you to find out yourself.]"
Ace narrowed his eyes and no longer pressed the issue since the system was clearly not going to tell him anything.
''Well, I''ll see once I purchase it. But first, I need absolute secrecy¡ let''s see the mission before deciding my next course of action.'' Ace''s eyes shone thievishly as he opened the next mission after iming all the rewards.
=====
-Heaven''s Stealer Mission: Embarking the Path of Heaven''s Stealer!
-Mysterious Condition (2): Locked (Unknown)
-Prerequisites to Unlock (revealed) this Mysterious Condition:
1. Sixth Realm in Marital and Soul
-Status: Iplete
2. Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Rank: 6th Grade
-Status: Iplete
3. At least 49.99% Element Law Proficiency of [Despair], [Lightning], and [Wind]
-Status: Iplete
-Time toplete Prerequisites: 6 Years
-Punishment: Death
(NOTE: There is no reward forpleting Prerequisites.)
=====
Ace''s jolly expression grew pale when he saw the third prerequisite, ''This is going to be a nuisance!''
Chapter 867 Because He’s the Heaven’s Stealer!
Chapter 867 Because He¡¯s the Heaven¡¯s Stealer!
Ace looked at the six-year time period with scrutiny, ''Is this enough to make the threews at 49.99%? All thesews are my innate elements, so it shouldn''t be a problem if I use my rewards correctly.
''But foremost, I should break into the soul manifestation realm and raise Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler rank. But I need a location where I can rx and be worry-free, and this ce is certainly not such a ce. Besides, if active the heavenly punishment, this entire ce might be torn down, and I''ll be exposed to the Union¡''
Ace mused with a grim expression. He knew he was in a very tricky situation, and the only way he could think out of it was the newly gained limit talisman Great Escape.
However, he only has three uses, so he wanted to see if he could get out of this situation on his own before using it. But with this trump card in his sleeve, he was no longer worried about escaping if things went south.
At this moment, Ace stopped using the Dismantle Qi and then pretended to recover for an hour before he deactivated the formations and emerged in the vast whiteness again.
"Are you ready?" It was SMSC''s cold voice that sounded this time.
"Where is Senior?" Ace asked with scrutiny.
SMSC coldly replied, "Milord has wasted too much energy on you, so he''s resting. You have already learned what needed to be, so there won''t be any need to disturb Milord. I''ll be your instructor until you reach a point where you won''t need me, and only then will Milord take my ce."
Ace didn''t find this exnation unreasonable, but he could easily tell SMSC hates him to the core. Yet he was going to help him, which could only mean that voice ims to be the will of the Sun, and Moon God has absolute authority over SMSC since he was the loyal dog Union.
"You said all I need to do is to destroy that Monolith to gain the legacy of the Union and be Chosen One, right? But is it mandatory to destroy it with Sun and Moon Sword Intent?" Ace questioned impassively.
"How bold! Do you think you have what it takes to destroy the wisp of Sun and Moon Sword Intent left behind by the Sun and Moon God? Unless you have even superior sword intent, don''t even think about leaving a scratch on it!
"I would suggest you put your arrogance aside and use this opportunity to learn. You have no idea what kind of honor it is even to experience the Sun and Moon Sword Intent, much less having an opportunity to learn it!" SMSC disdainfully refuted.
Ace''s lips curled up slightly behind his mask before he said, "Why are you being so angry? I was just curious. I know you hate me, but now we should set aside our grudges and work together for the bright future of ourselves."
"Hmph, if you''re done spouting nonsense, then let''s start." SMSC didn''t reply to that topic as if he was too indignant even to hear what Ace had just stated.
Ace didn''t mind as he walked toward the ck monolith. As he was getting closer, the sharper intent he could feel and the more excited his sword cores became as it was getting harder to control them.
Still, Ace tried to suppress them until he reached close enough to test one of two things. As he walked, he felt like the Monolith was just close, but he was very wrong because it was too far away, but it appeared close, like some illusion.
At this moment, SMSC finally spoke, "Initially, this sword intent was meant to beprehended by the inheritor who had learned the Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual up to the sixth realm and developed both Yin and Yang Sword Intents.
"Because the Sun and Moon Sword Intent originated from the Yin and Yang Sword Intents. However, you cultivate some otherws, and your sword intent is also of another element.
"So, you have to learn from scratch. The first thing you should need to understand is Sword Intent and Element are two different sets ofws. A weapon''s intent is like a nk page, and the colors you fill it with are the elements.
"It only depends on your own capacity of how many colors you can fill in that nk paper. Furthermore, weapon intent is fundamentally killing intent because they are made for killing, and you can only call it an Element Sword Intent when you learn to emit the killing intent of your element or any element, as a matter of fact.
"This is the second part, how to find the killing intent of an element. All I can tell is this, ''Everything can kill under heaven and earth as long as they have the will to live.''
"This is the chief dogma left behind by the Sun and Moon God, and only by understanding it will you be able to infuse any element with your sword intent freely. Only by learning how to use them together can we call a Sword Intent an Element Sword Intent and even infuse them together, creating a superior sword intent such as the Sun and Moon Sword intent!" N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace was astounded by this knowledge as no one told him before the principal of an Element Sword Intent, not to mention they can be fused together.
''Everything can kill under heaven and earth as long as they have the will to live? In the end, all it depends on killing intent, the will to kill. This much I do know, but how do I find an element''s will to kill? No, I should know this since I''ve awakened the Shadow Sword Intent. How do I discover the Shadow''s will to kill?'' Ace found himself on the verge of understanding something, and then all of a sudden, Ace looked at the monolith, and his pupils dted.
At that moment, he didn''t feel that sharp sensation anymore whenever he looked at it; instead, he felt a strange reasoning from that monolith, and it was at this moment his sword cores suddenly released their own sword intent when Ace fell into a trance like state while his eyes affixed on the monolith.
"This aura¡" SMSC''s astounded voice rang in utter disbelief as Ace suddenly started to emit pure ck haze from his body like ck mes, and they were filled with killing intent.
"How miraculous. He''s about to reach the intermediate Element Law Proficiency Realm of [Sword], and he''s clearly not a Law Compression Realm yet." The voice rang at this moment, filled with surprise.
"Is it even possible?" SMSC''s voice sounded in disbelief.
"Anything is possible whenever a Heaven''s Stealer is involved in it. Even with my knowledge, I don''t know what kind of Unique Sword Intent he''sprehending. But I can assure you it''s in no way inferior to the Sun and Moon Sword Intent in the monolith.
"Furthermore, the Sun and Moon Sword Intent, despite carrying only 00.01% of its actual might, is starting to submit to him, and that can only happen when a superior Unique Sword Intent shows its presence.
"Can you believe it that a mortal who is still developing his Unique Sword Intent case a fully developed Unique Sword Intent to submit to the point where it starts to get devoured by him willingly?" The voice sounded filled with emotions.
"B-but how he does it?" SMSC''s voice was now filled with disbelief. Hepletely believed every word of this voice.
"Heh¡" The voice chuckled in self-mockery, "It''s because he''s the Heaven''s Stealer! One thing you need to understand about Heaven''s Stealer is he can steal your entire being, and you won''t even know until you''ve be part of his treasure collection!"
Chapter 868 Thieves on Move
Chapter 868 Thieves on Move
"How''s the Province Plundering ning along?" Questioned a masked woman in dark robes sitting on a throne.
Standing in front of this imposing woman, d in a white dress, an enthralling demoness with an oval face, pale white skin, intelligent violet eyes, and long violet hair.
She respectfully replied, "We are ready to move at yourmand, mydy!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Behind that mask, two snake eyes filled with wiliness were shimmering. She nonchntly stated, "I don''t need your help. I ask you to collect information. I''m going alone."
The demoness''s expression changed, and her eyes widened with shock, "A-alone? Mydy, it is too dangerous!"
The woman on the throne suddenly stood up and started to walk towards the demoness while unting her otherworldly figure. She stopped right in front of her, and she ced her slender figure under the blushing demoness'' chin as her breathing quickened.
"Aliya, are you doubting my abilities?" She yfully questioned.
Aliya tried to calm her beating heart, but the reverence in her eyes burned intensely as she shook her head, "N-no, mydy! I''m just worried about your safety. You''ve just returned after all these years. I-I want to share your burden!"
"Hah, my burden?" The woman chuckled amusingly, "My little Aliya, I have no burden anymore. I''m just earning profit while using a borrowed knife."
Aliya bit her lips as she said, "I¡ you''ve changed mydy! It''s all because of that thief!"
"Hahaha¡" A peal of melodiousughter rang from the masked woman as she replied with, full of relish, "I guess you''re right. It''s quite strange, you know. I thought I would be like a free spirit once I left his shadow. Yet, now I want to prove myself to him. That cunning thief is really hard to get rid of.
"But I won''t let him do this to me. Since that scoundrel likes fame, I''m going to be even more famous than him, and the first step is to create a legend even grander than his, and what better ce is to start than the Demon Continent?"
The womanughed with indignation and killing intent as if she didn''t know what was happening to her and all those strange emotions were towards just one single person¡
---
"I''m finally back!" On the western shore of the royal demon nation, a small ship docked, and a masked demoness in a ragged cloak walked out as she shouted with deep emotions and relief.
"Who are you!? How do you find this ce?" A few powerful Royal Navy demons quickly surrounded the masked demoness while releasing their auras.
They were all shocked because this ce was known to only a few higher up as it was the closest ce to the imperial demon domain. So, an outsider''s appearance was quite an rming thing.
"You don''t recognize your owner?!" The demoness coldly said as she removed her cloak hood, and a widely known mask in the royal demon nation appeared.
The demons'' expressions turned pale before their eyes shimmered with viciousness as they looked at each other meaningfully, "You dare to impersonate the Imperial Demon Family member!? Surrender peacefully, or we''ll be forced to break your limbs!"
"Hmph, I guess you lot are also loyal to my perfidious brother, huh? I won''t kill you today because you have to rely upon my message to my dearest brother. Tell him his sister has returned, and I''m going to repay him in full for what he has done.
"And also tell him that father and ancestor are alive and they are very ''happy'' about his rebellious and usurper of the imperial throne. I wonder what all those idiots will do who helped him. I can''t wait to see their heads skewered on spears." Leonaughed darkly as her voice was filled with bloodlust, which sent chills down those demons'' spins.
Before they could react, dark lighting suddenly appeared before their vision, and the next moment their minds went nk.
Leona watched those unconscious demons falling and sneered, "I have many debuts to collect, and I''m going to start with you, my dearest brother. Since you try to kill your dear sister instead of saving her, I''ll just return the favor!"
---
In the All-Devil Continent, in the territory of the Ghost Devil n, the ranked fourth devil n among the ten ruling devil ns.
This ce was surrounded by thick mist all year long, and it was very hard to navigate in this ce without a Ghost Devil''s guidance. Furthermore, this ce was extremely deadly as it was filled with vicious demonic beasts and traps. Even the other nine ns'' high-ranking members won''t dare to venture into this ce.
In the central region of the Ghost Devil n territory was a massive city called the Ghost Devil City. It was the headquarters of the Ghost Devil n, where the main bloodline of the Ghost Devil n lives.
At this moment, a meeting was going on between the n Head and the n Elders.
The Ghost Devil n has distinguished features from the other devils. It was hard to tell who was who because they all looked the same. They had empty ghost faces, and they all wore dark cloaks. The only difference was the strange patterns on their faces.
They were entrics who didn''t bother themselves with other devil ns and liked solitude, and no one provoked them either.
Because these guys were like ho nests, once provoked, they would use their full force to avenge their grievances, and that''s what made them dangerous.
So, this meeting was very rare, and the only time this sort of meeting was held was when someone had provoked them.
At this moment, the ghost face devil sitting on the d head position said in his eerie voice as gloomy air surrounded him, "News has arrived. Someone has been assassinating top-ranking members of the devil ns before robbing their homes. Over 228 high-ranking elders of the Bone, Toxic, Imp, Lightning, Onyx, and Shadow ns have been killed in these past three years.
"The assassin never stayed in one ce as it instantly vanished once it was done assassinating its target. All we know is its name, which it left behind at every sessful assassination¡."
"Bang!"
The closed-door smacked open at this moment, disrupting the n head''s speech, and all the elders looked at the intruder murderously.
Another ghost devil was standing there while trembling.
The d head suddenly stood up and said in surprise, "What the matter, wife?"
A crisp voice rang from the ghost face devil filled with panic and hatred, "O-our firstborn has been assassinated! T-there''s a Qi stone left behind by the assassin, and it''s engraved with a name, the Skyfall Thief Assassin!"
Chapter 869 The Unification of World
Chapter 869 The Unification of World
Over two years had passed since the Union Continent emerged in the Golden Sky World and joined the ranks of the ten continents, making them eleven.
Not only were the top ten races rmed by this sudden appearance of an entirely new continent, but the biggest surprise came a few days ago when the top four races announced somethingpletely unexpected.
The Devils, Demons, Hunters, and Humans announced the unification of their races with the Sun and Moon Sword Union, making it the strongest power ever seen since ancient times. Now, everyone was calling the Union Continent the Central Continent.
This newspletely shocked the remaining six races, and this was the end of it at all. Soon after, envoys of the Union started to pay visits to the remaining six continents. Thereby, one after another, those continents also announced their willingness to join the Union as well.
Within a month, the entire ten continents were now unified under the Union. A new power system of the Union was introduced to the public, and now everyone was Union Members.
Those with authority and power were given high-ranking union ranks, and the power structure of the Union grew drastically and shuffled.
However, what happened next no one saw iting. The Union issued the highest wanted order on the elusive thief, Sky Stealer, and anyone rted to him. Furthermore, anyone who promotes thievery was given a direct death sentence.
As a result, a worldwide manhunt began because the rewards were too alluring for everyone to ignore.
However, despite the entire world''s efforts, there were no traces of the elusive thief anywhere. His symbol hadn''t appeared anywhere in ages. It was like he had vanished from the world.
Nheless, it didn''t mean the others who followed his footsteps were saved. Many individuals who idolized the Sky Stealer were either killed or captured and became the target of torture.
But six individuals shone brighter than anyone else and became famous. People even started to call them the Rising Thieves. They were as cunning as the infamous Sky Stealer, and all of them never left behind any traces after the theft except for their thief names and symbols.
Furthermore, despite the Union''s tireless pursuit, they always managed to avoid them, making the Union''s reputation muddy. There were even rankings of those six by how many thieveries they hadmitted and the difficulty level.
The first one was the thief active in the All-Devil Continent, and no one knows if it was actually a thief or assassin as its biggest achievement to this day was assassinating the n Head of the Vile Devil n before robbing the entire n''s treasury clean, the Skyfall Thief Assassin.
The second was the thief of the Almighty Demon Continent, and also the ce where the Sky Stealer has been active the longest, and its biggest achievement was the thieveries of every demon king''s domain, the All-Knowing Evil!
The third person was from the Azure Wind Continent, the Nightmarish Thief, and its biggest achievement was the thievery of the Dark Nightmare Sect, for it left nothing behind, stealing every single Qi stone!
The fourth one was actually active in the central continent, the Sword Thief!
The fifth one was from the beast content, the Sneaky Rat!
The sixth was the thief active in the Blood Continent, the All-Seeing Evil!
These six were at the top of the wanted list after the Sky Stealer, as they were considered to have ties with him. But it was still not clear, especially if they weren''t caught.
But they were too cunning to get caught, and this has made the Union put more effort into them than the Sky Stealer.
At this moment, the central content, the ce, has undergone a drastic change. In the open fields where once the sun and moon mountains were located, now there were rings of buildings, and in the center of these ces was a magnificent golden pce.
This pce was named the Union Lord Pce because the Lord of the Union lived there, and only those in very high positions in the Union could enter this ce. But the audience with the Union Lord was still impossible, and only a handful of people had seen him.
The Union''s day-to-day matters were normally handled by the Vice Lords, and they were also not to be trifled with.
In the spacious hall, the Union Leader, or now the Union Lord, sat around a round table. There were fourteen other individuals sitting around him.
The Devil Ancestor Edward''s expression was livid as he was saying something in full of killing intent, "We have be jokes because of those thievish bastards! We want to capture that hateful thief, yet we can''t even capture his copycats? Utterly ridiculous!"
The Demon Ancestor Albert''s expression was pitch ck as he supported Edward, "If this continues, our new order won''tst long!"
"Hehe, now, who could''ve expected that of all the threats in the world, we are facing the threat of emerging thieves? I don''t know if I was trapped for so long that this world has regressed or the thieves nowadays are just too strong." One of the ten souls, the devil, who now has a body, sneered. His name is Bryant.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Hmph, how about Senior Bryant give it a shot yourself?" The Blood Ancestor Margret scoffed yfully.
Bryant smiled coldly, showing his beastly fangs, and said mockingly, "Little junior, I want to, but our one and only lord won''t let me."
The Union Lord finally spoke with a grave expression, "I know you all are indignant with myck of response. But we can''t act so abruptly until it''s still not clear who among them is connected with that conniving thief.
"It''s just the start of the world unification. We should focus on strengthening our foundation first before taking action. If we control the world, we can easily capture those thieves whenever we wish.
"Right now, let them have their fun, and once they''re drunk on power and sess, we''ll just have to awake them violently and get everything back they took. Don''t forget our target is still the Sky Stealer, and without him, our ns and efforts are meaningless."
Everyone bes silent as they agree with the Union Lord. Their goal was the Sky Stealer, not those copycats, and without him, they couldn''t achieve their goal.
The Union Lord suddenly smiled with terrifying killing intent, "Don''t worry. I have this hunch that he''ll appear soon, and when he does, we''ll use everything in our power to crush him!"
---
At this moment, Ace was enshrouded in darkness, and the once white space was nowpletely ck!
Chapter 870 Symbolic Thief
Chapter 870 Symbolic Thief
At this moment, Ace was enshrouded in darkness, and the earlier white space was nowpletely ck. He has been like this since the first day he entered this ce, and his sword cores react abnormally.
He lost the concept of time as he was immersed in a strange state where all he could think of was the sword and the Sun and Moon Sword Intent in the Monolith. On the other hand, the two sword cores in his martial and soul space continued to revolve while releasing a mysterious aura.
Suddenly, the mysterious runes appeared on the sword cores and released a terrifying oppressive might.
The darkness around Ace suddenly churned, and the next moment, a mysterious suction force appeared and started to devour that darkness into Ace''s martial and soul space before the sword cores greedily devoured it all.
Focus finally returned to Ace''s eyes as his killing intent with the sharpness of a sword was swirling within them. Although he didn''t know how much time had passed, for him, it was like awakening from a dream.
The difference was he remembered everything in that dream, and as he watched, the darkness lifted from the white space while his sword cores were going through a massive evolution. He was starting to understand many things that he couldn''t evenprehend before, and he felt like he had just crossed a massive wall.
This entire processsted until the entire darkness was gone, and Ace''s eyes were finally clear.
''I think I''m very close to understanding the Sky Sword Manifestation of Sky Sword. My sword cores are probably equal to the perfect proficiency of the Sky Sword Cores.'' Ace''s eyes shimmered with ecstasy as he now fully grasped the first level of the sky sword manual.
Ace''s thief sword cores'' foundation was built upon the sky sword manual, and the deeper understanding he had of that manual, the more control he had over his sword cores. He was still too far away to break away from the echelon of Sky Sword because that art was tooplex.
Until he grasps the Sky Sword Crown stage of Sky Sword, he won''t be able to surpass that sword art created by the Executioner Sky Sword.
Nheless, Ace wasn''t worried about it since he was only following the fundamentals of Sky Sword to create his own unique sword path, and he was very sessful in it.
Right now, Ace''s sword intent haspletely changed, and he is no longer in the minor realm.
Ace''s eyes then suddenly trembled before confusion filled when he finally noticed the missing Sun and Moon Sword Monolith. He looked around, except for whiteness. He didn''t see anything.
However, before he couldprehend what had happened, the system''s voice sounded.
"[Host has been in the state of epiphany for the past 943 days, so the system has been blocking notification and house calls so the host won''t get disturbed. Now, the notification blockade has been lifted!]"
=====
[Congrattion, host, your Thief Title [Famously Infamous] has reached the Advanced Stage!]
[Thief Title: Famously Infamous (Advanced Stage)]
-Famously Infamous (Advanced): Infamous in Mortal Sky Heaven.
-Title Effect: Everyone is afraid of your name (Thief Name), and your deeds reverberate like thunder in every corner of this heaven. Your real name (Thief Name) will inflict [10% Fear] in others'' hearts as long as they know about your name (Thief Name) and deeds.
(Note: This title is ineffectual against House Members & unhostile lifeforms.)
--
[Congrattions, Host, your Thief Title [Cold Liar] has reached the Intermediate Stage!]
[Thief Title: Cold Liar (Intermediate)]
-Cold Liar (Intermediate): Made 50 Million Beings (Cultivators Only) wholeheartedly believed your lies!
-Title Effect: There''s a 7.5% more chance that people will believe in your liespletely!
--
[Congrattion Host, your Title [Follower of Darkness] has been upgraded to [Deacon of Darkness]
[Thief Title: Deacon of Darkness]N?v(el)B\\jnn
-Title Effect: Able to raise the proficiency of [Skills] & [Cultivation Arts] rted to Darkness by two proficiency levels instantly!
--
[Congrattions, Host, you unlocked the Thief Title: Symbolic Thief]
[Thief Title: Symbolic Thief]
-Symbolic Thief: Inspire others to be just like yourself and be their idol thief!
-Title Effect: With every thievery, you''ll get 1,000 Extra Thief Points!
--
[House Call Log]
-Noa Night (Thief Assassin): 19 Calls
-Freya Witch (Evil Thief): 4 Calls
=====
Ace''s expression paled as he wasn''t expecting over two years long epiphany, heck, he wasn''t expecting epiphany at all!
Not only had three of his titles been upgraded, but he even earned another one, which could only mean that while he was in that state, many things had happened in the outside world.
Furthermore, both Noa and Freya had tried to contact him, especially Noa. So, he was even more worried that something might''ve happened to them. He even forgets about the missing monolith.
He wanted to reprimand the system for blocking the notification when SMSC''s cold voice rang, "So, you''ve finally awoken."
Although he wanted to contact Noa and Freya right away, he had to deal with SMSC first, and it was also the chance to inquire about the monolith.
"How long has it been, and where is the monolith?" Ace feigned ignorance about the fact that he already knew about his over two years of epiphany.
"It''s been over two years. As for the monolith, didn''t you already have absorbed it all?" SMSC wryly said with a hint of disbelief.
"I''d absorbed it?" Ace was surprised by this revtion. But he wasn''t too much surprised since he knew the nature of his sword cores.
"So, what now? Since I needed to destroy it after Iprehended the sword intent of the sun and moon. Now that it had been absorbed by me, did this mean I passed?" Ace asked with narrowed eyes.
"Indeed. Even though your method was somewhat unorthodox, it''s the same thing anyway. You should also know that the will of the Sun and Moon God helped you in your enlightenment by using all of its remaining holy power, or you could never have reached this stage of the sword so soon.
"So, I hope you will keep your promise. The will of the Sun and Moon God believed in you to the end, and I''ll follow the Will of Sun and Moon God as well and hand you the inheritance and the map that leads towards the secret treasure!" SMSC solemnly stated.
On the contrary, Ace was astounded when he heard about what the Will of Sun and Moon God did for him. It waspletely unexpected, and now it seemed to have gone after helping him.
He now felt slight gratitude towards the Will of Sun and Moon God because even if it didn''t help him and this was just a lie to earn his sympathy, it still could''ve easily attacked him in that state.
The system''s interference was proof of just how miraculous that state has been, and if the Will of the Sun and Moon God had any malicious intention, it could''ve ruined it all for him, but it didn''t.
Although Ace seldomly trusts someone, much less, feels gratitude. But if he did, he would always repay his debuts, and finding a sessor for the Sun and Moon God was not a big deal for him.
He solemnly nodded, "Don''t worry, I''ll find someone worthy of Sun and Moon God''s bloodline and inheritance!"
Chapter 871 The Inheritance of the Sun and Moon
Chapter 871 The Inheritance of the Sun and Moon
The white space in front of Ace suddenly split apart, revealing a small hall.
Astounded, Ace walked into that hall after confirming with the fate map that there wasn''t anything unusual with the color.
However, when he entered that ce, he was surprised because there were six stone columns encased in corporeal barriers, and within these barriers were six different items levitating.
SMSC''s voice sounded, "This is the core inheritance of the Sun and Moon Union which is for the Chosen One. Those six items belonged to the Sun and Moon God, and they have been here since the creation of the Union.
"The first one is the map, which should lead you to the secret treasure. The second one is the key for unlocking the Sun and Moon Seal ced on the secret treasure. Without it, you or anything, as a matter of fact, won''t be able to acquire the secret treasure even if you find its location.
"Furthermore, you need someone with the Sun and Moon God Bloodline to use that key, or it will be useless for you. This is a security measure ced by the Sun and Moon God so no one other than the Chosen One would be able to get to the treasure.
"The third item is the Sun and Moon Sword Sutra; the Yin Yang Mortal Sword Manual is the part of the Sun and Moon Sword Sutra. This martial cultivation technique grade is far higher than you could imagine.
"The jade scroll is sealed with a powerful formation, and only someone with the Sun and Moon God''s bloodline can read the context in it. Even then, the inheritor can only look at the context of the realm they are in, not the entire sutra. If someone tries to decipher it forcibly, their soul will be destroyed, or worse, the Jade Scroll will! So, I suggest you don''t try to peer into it as long as you''re not nning to abandon your bloodline.
"The fourth item is called the Cmity Star Sword. This sword is also not from the mortal sky, and it holds intelligence. So, it will only acknowledge the bloodline of the Sun and Moon God as its master, no other. The sword is also sealed, and those seals will be lifted as the inheritor grows. Right now, it is only in grade-8 to match the grading of the Mortal Sky.
"The fifth is an identity token for the inheritor. This token was left for the inheritor as an assurance. It''s not only proof of the bloodline of the Sun and Moon God, but it also has another function that can be used only once as long as the carrier has the bloodline.
"It is called the Void Escape. It''s a powerful spell left behind by the Sun and Moon God in case of emergency for the inheritor. If a situation arises when the chosen one falls into danger and can''t protect the secret treasure anymore, he or she may use this one-time function. Thereby, they will be directly teleported outside the Mortal Sky Heaven!
"Thest item is naturally the bloodline of the Sun and Moon God, stored in a bloodline changing container. Only someone with a strong will and determination is worthy of this bloodline. If some riff-raff dare to ingest it, that person will be devoured by the bloodline instead.
"So, I suggest you found someone who is at least at the eighth marital realm and below the age of 500 hundred. Only this kind of person has a chance to integrate with the holy bloodline sessfully.
"The first two items belong to you, while the remaining four are useless to you unless you change your bloodline and cultivation path. You also need the Sun and Moon God''s bloodline inheritor with you to unlock the seal on the secret treasure." The SMSC finally concluded the item introduction.
Ace''s eyes were shimmering with greed when he heard the details about all the items. Especially the sword and the token. Those were probably the most precious items in Ace''s eyes. The sword was clearly far above grade-8, and he needed a good sword that could withstand his heavenly Qi and that token that could help him get out of the first heaven!
''Even I''m tempted to change my bloodline.'' Ace thought. His bloodline was sealed, which meant his parents or someone else didn''t want him to have that bloodline, so what was the point of having it?
However, when Ace thought about it, he discarded the thought. Because deep down, he wanted to know just what kind of bloodline he had and why he was unworthy to have it.
Furthermore, Ace already had a person in mind to give this bloodline to, but only if it was safe. Nheless, he needed to find the inheritor of this bloodline first if he wanted to get that secret treasure. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"I''ll keep that in mind, and I have no intention of going back on my words," Ace stated.
"I hope so because once you take those items, these hidden spaces will onlyst for an hour because there is no Sun and Moon Mountain to sustain it independently. This means I''ll be gone as well since my duty as the Sun and Moon Sword Custodian will be over as well.
"Although I never wanted to end it like this, it is fate, and no one can go against it. I hope the Sun and Moon God''s confidence in you was not in vain. I don''t know why his holiness trusted a thief. He left a few words for you, which baffled me still.
"He said, ''It is an honor for my bloodline to serve under the Heaven''s Stealer. I hope my sessor will be of great help to you, and if I''m alive somewhere, please find me!'' These were thest words left for you by the Will of Sun and Moon God." SMSC''s voice was no longer impassive but emotional, as it clearly was in disbelief that a God would say something like this to a mortal.
Now, even he was interested in knowing just who the Heaven''s Stealer was, but his master told him never to ask, no matter what.
Ace was also baffled by those words since they were talking about a God here, and his words were like he was a follower of Heaven''s Stealer. He really wanted to know just why he was being so generous and wanted his sessor to be his follower.
''Just what kind of history the Heaven''s Stealers had? Why is a God treating the Eternal Enemy of Heaven like his ally, or is there some motive? I can''t be sure, and there are many things I don''t know, so I have to be careful.'' Ace thought gravely.
The next moment, the corporeal barriers started to fade one by one, and those items suddenly floated toward Ace.
An ancient white scroll, a triangr shape ck key, a ck jade scroll, a starry ck sword that appeared to be made with pure ck crystal, and stars seemed to be engraved in its de¡ªa token with the half shape of a zing ck sun and half purple moon.
Thest item, a five-meter-tall and two-meter-wide, ruby rectangr box filled withplex and eye-catching engravings and the same symbol of half sun and half moon, was engraved on its center. It was the bloodline changing container with the bloodline of the Sun and Moon God!
However, Ace didn''t dare to store them in his thief''s space because if the Sun and Moon God''s Will had done something to any one of these items, he wasn''t sure if he could handle the consequences for his current power level.
No matter how good the Will of Sun and Moon God had treated him, he wasn''t going to trust it.
So, hemanded the system with scrutiny, "System appraise these items!"
Chapter 872 The Mystic Bloodline Cist
Chapter 872 The Mystic Bloodline Cist
After receiving Ace''smand, the system instantly responded, and one after another, the six items details appeared in front of Ace.
=====
[A Map made with grade-8 magic beast hides!]
--
[A ??? Formation Key made with ??? Materials!]
-Description: A ??? Formation key of an unknown lock, which has a special bloodline signature lock imnted. Without a particr bloodline, this key is useless.
--
[A Grade-??? Jade Scroll of a Grade-??? Cultivation Technique!]
-Description: A special jade scroll locked with a special bloodline signature lock and Seven Seals of ???. Only the owner of a particr bloodline can see the contents of this jade scroll and can remove the Seven Seals of ??? afterpleting certain conditions.
[NOTE: Please do not try to peer into it, or your soul will be annihted if you''re not the owner of the particr bloodline!]
--
[Cmity Star Sword]
-Description: A sword with sword ???! Currently, it is sealed with a special bloodline signature lock and Seven Seals of ???. Only the owner of a particr bloodline will be acknowledged by this sword and can remove the Seven Seals of ??? afterpleting certain conditions.
-Grade: ???
-Detectable Ability(s): Sealed
--
[A Grade-??? Bloodline Bound Token]
-Description: A special token made with the blood of a ??? which continued the ???''s slumbering, feeble soul. Once the owner of the same bloodline emerges andes in contact with the token, the sleeping will be nurtured and one day awake again after regaining its former power!
-Detectable Ability(s): 2
1. Martial Soul Bound (One time use only)
Description: A grade-??? Spell will be activated the moment the owner of the same bloodline as the slumbering, feeble soules in contact with this token. Thereby bounding both souls together by life and death pack until they integrate perfectly into one!
2. Void Escape (One time use only)
Description: If the owner of this token was detected to be in a perilous situation, a ??? Spell will be activated and transport the owner to another Heaven. Only the owner can be the target of this spell. If anyone else tries to interfere or go after the owner, they will be obliviated if they can''t go against ???!
--
[The Mystic Bloodline Cist]
-Description: A unique treasure that can change any being''s bloodline under heaven and integrate a new bloodline without any side effects. This treasure is one of a kind and gradeless and is indestructible. It seemed to have long lost in the unmeasurable history!
-Grade: Gradeless
-Detectable Ability(s): 4
1. Bloodline Swallow
Description: Ability to swallow anyone''s bloodline and then stow them into the Bloodline Storage.
2. Bloodline Storage
Description: Able to store bloodlines.
Capacity: 1/99
3. Bloodline Sweep
Description: The ability to sweep bloodline with a stored bloodline in the Bloodline Storage.
The requirement to use these abilities: Owner
-Owner: ???
[NOTE (1): Under the influence of a ??? Spell this treasure is set by the owner to automatically activate as long as the current existing bloodline won''t get sessfully swept! Once the process is done, the Mystic Bloodline Cist will be sealed! You can''t operate this treasure without being its owner!]
[NOTE (2): Please kill the owner of the Mystic Bloodline Cist or Upgrade System to the next level to remove the existing owner''s ??? Soul mark!]
=====
Ace was gobsmacked when the system revealed the exact details about the six treasures. Except for ???, which he knew were the words from another heaven, he got a pretty good idea of what these treasures were and their capabilities.
Everything was almost the same as SMSC had described except for the Bloodline Bond Token, which was clearly harboring a freaking soul with ???, which meant that soul was far more powerful than Ace could imagine despite its current state.
Furthermore, with its special description and its first ability, it won''t take a genius to figure out that if someone with the Sun and Moon Bloodline touches this token, they will be a catalyst for this mysterious soul''s revival without even knowing it.
The Mystic Bloodline Cist, which was called the Bloodline Changing Container by the SMSC, was alsopletely different from what Ace was told. Ace could clearly feel a hint of excitement when the system stated the NOTE (2) as if it wanted Ace to get ownership of this treasure as soon as possible.
Even without this hint, Ace knew this Cist was an extremely rare treasure because of its indestructible and gradeless state. Even the Eternal Provenance Treasure, like the Eternal Thief Fate Compass, wasn''t indestructible!
The only indestructible thing Ace could think of was the Page-09, but the system never confirmed it, nor did it ever bother to appraise it. The system always ignored Ace''s requests rted to Page-09, so he has long given up.
But this time, the system didn''t even ask for anything and directly revealed the details of the Mystic Bloodline Cist. Whatever the case might be, Ace wasn''t a fool, and he knew he must have this Mystic Bloodline Cist no matter what.
Because with it, he can change anyone''s bloodline as long as he has one. He would never have to worry about anyone''s bloodline limitations anymore, nor would he have to be at the mercy of the system to grant his women a superior bloodline like Eva''s case.
However, the first thing he needed to take care of was the soul in the token. He felt a sense of betrayal and felt he was schemed against by the Will of the Sun and Moon God.
Because this token was created by the Sun and Moon God, there wasn''t any need to find the culprit who left that soul in it. But Ace could also be wrong since the Will of the Sun and Moon God might not know the existence of this mysterious soul at all.
Furthermore, he knew Ace was the Heaven''s Stealer, so he should know it wasn''t easy to trick a Heaven''s Stealer and then turn him into his enemy. So, Ace still wasn''t sure if this was a scheme or simply an unfortunate coincidence.
''The will of Sun and Moon God said it lost its connection with the real body and this mysterious soul should be here since the Sun and Moon Good founded the Union to protect the secret treasure. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
''Furthermore, he also set up the Mystic Bloodline Cist in a way that it can''t be used by anyone once the bloodline he left in the Cist is integrated with someone else.
''For all I know, this bloodline might not even be the Sun and Moon God''s bloodline but rted to this soul in some way, and he had hidden it in here to protect it from someone or something since he himself no longer couldn''t.
''After all, that guy was titled ''God,'' and he can do anything on a whim. There is also a chance that this Gist''s current owner is that soul as well since the system also put ??? in the owner section.
''So, I can''t me anyone without solid proof. But it also didn''t mean I could rule out the possibility of this all being a huge scheme, and I just happened to stumbled upon it!'' Ace smiled wryly as he put all those treasures in his thief''s space. Since there wasn''t any actual danger, he was relieved.
Furthermore, he knew where the actual dangery, and his smile went colder than ice, ''As long as I keep that token out of the reach of the person who swept their bloodline with the one stored in the Cist, whoever hadprised this scheme, it will nevere into fruition.
''System might also have a way to destroy that soul in the token, or I can simply discard it and then wait until I upgrade and make the Cist my own. As long as it is in the thief''s space, nothing can snatch it away from me!''
Chapter 873 Progress of House Members
Chapter 873 Progress of House Members
SMSC didn''t react much when Ace took his sweet time to grab the treasures. He only thinks that Ace was so gobsmacked by the Sun and Moon God''s inheritance that he couldn''t react at all.
Nheless, when Ace finally stowed away all the treasures, he said with a hint of astonishment, "So, you indeed have a living storage space treasure. Now, I don''t have to worry about anything."
Ace didn''t deny it and nodded, "It''s a treasure I got from my inheritance. Anyway, how can I leave?"
Now that he had what he hade here for, it was time to leave this ce and contact Noa and Freya to find out what was happening in the outside world while he was here.
Furthermore, since the system still didn''t say anything about the map and key he got from the Union, he started to doubt that the secret treasure was really the Heaven''s Secret that he was looking for. Anyhow, he needed to unravel those mysterious conditions just to be absolutely sure.
"I''ll send you to the edge of the continent. It is as far as I can send you. After that, you''ll be on your own, and we will never meet again." SMSC nonchntly dered before a portal appeared in front of Ace.
Ace didn''t stand on ceremony and bid farewell, "Thank you for everything."
"You''re keeping your promise with his holiness will be the biggest thank you could give me." SMSC solemnly stated just as Ace was about to vanish into the portal.
Although Ace didn''t reply, he still waved his hand beforepletely vanishing into the portal.
Now, the space waspletely empty, but the next moment, a figure made out of white light appeared. But it seemed to be losing the light particles, and twenty percent of its body was gone.
"Sigh¡" A rueful yet relieved sigh escaped SMSC, "Was it really okay to do this? Handing over your hope to a thief? O'' Sun and Moon God, what were you thinking¡"
His lonely voice rang in the empty ce, but no answer was given, and slowly, cracks began to emerge in the empty space¡
---
Ace found himself standing in front of a shoreline as the sun was high in the sky, the sea waves were calm, and the cold, humid wind was brushing past him.
Taking a deep breath, Ace felt refreshed, ''Well, I''m d I didn''t have to use my precious talisman after all. Since this is the edge of the content, and I can see the clear sky and sea, this could only mean the ckness is finally gone.
''This continent has been revealed to the world, making it the eleventh continent of the Golden Sky World. I wonder how the other powers have reacted, but they were clearly no match for the Union. Even those top figures of the four races were in cohort with the Union Leader.'' Ace scowled.
After thinking about it, Ace decided to find a deserted ind in the endless sea and stay there until hepleted the prerequisites of Heaven''s Stealer Mission.
Staying on the Union Continent was no longer safe for him, nor was he in a hurry to retrieve that treasure. Because he first needed someone to integrate with the bloodline stowed in the Cist.
So, staying low in the endless sea was nothing but good for him. Especially if he wanted to break through into the next realm, he couldn''t afford to alert anyone.
After deciding his course of action, he took out a treasure ship and set sail towards the west and also the direction of the beast continent.
Only now did he open his status to see the state of hisws first, as he wanted to see the fruit of his over two years of epiphany!
======
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human]
[Bloodline: Sealed]
[First Heaven: Mortal Sky Heaven]
--
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Soul [Stage-9]]
[EXP: 32,990,050/1,000,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Heavenly Golden Wind Soul Core [Stage-9]]
[SP: 21,770,000/1,000,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
---
[Skills: 6]
---
[Secret Skills: 4]
---
[Cultivation Technique: 6]
---
[Law(s): 8]
-Despair (Initial): 49.00%
-Shadow (Initial): 49.00%
-Sword (Intermediate): 69.99%
-Psyche (Initial): 11.03%
-Lightning (Initial): 49.00%
-Wind (Initial): 49.00%
-Charm (Initial): 15.09%
-Heavenly Thunder (Minor): 00.09%
---
[Eternal Provenance Treasure: 1/2]
---
[Thief Point(s): 569,450,100]
---
[Mission(s): 1]
[Side Mission(s): 0]
======
Ace was instantly rmed when he saw all of his innate elements and shadoww had been increased so much. His swordw was already halfway into the Intermediate Realm of Element Law Proficiency. Now, all he needed to do wasprehend 00.99% more, and he wouldplete the most difficult prerequisites of Heaven''s Stealer Mission.
But then, Ace noticed another anomaly, and his eyes narrowed, ''How in the world did my TP grow so much? Last time I checked, after I got the 100 million reward from my mission, I should have around 230 million TP, so where did these extra over 300 million TPe from?''
All of a sudden, his eyes went wide when a realization struck him, and he quickly opened the thief house status.
=====
[Thief House]
[Rules & Regtion of Thief House¡]
-Rule Creation Remain: 2
-Rule Change Token: 0n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
---
[Thief House: Level-1]
[House Leader: Ace White]
--
[House Members: 3/3 (House Full)]
1. Noa Night
-Thief Genre: Thief Assassin (Trainee)
-House Rank: Expert Member
[Next Rank [Veteran Member]: 189,168/500,000 Thieveries]
[View More Details]
2. Freya Witch
-Thief Genre: Evil Thief (Trainee)
-House Rank: Expert Member
[Next Rank [Veteran Member]: 243,005/500,000 Thieveries]
[View More Details]
3. Winter Fox
-Thief Genre: Faceless Thief (Trainee)
-House Rank: Excellent Member
[Next Rank [Expert Member]: 23,593/100,000 Thieveries]
[View More Details]
---
[House Point(s): 1,188,000]
¡
¡
¡
=====
Ace''s eyes shimmered with disbelief when he saw Noa and Freya''s thievery count and muttered in astonishment, "Just what were those two doing while I was away?''
Even though it was he who gave them free rein to do as many thieveries as they could. He let them decide their own continents to perform thieveries so they could raise their house ranks.
But the result was something even Ace didn''t anticipate, and in these two years, they had achieved so much and earned him over 300 million TP as well.
Now, he was really interested in what those two had been up to and quickly made a call to Noa first!
Chapter 874 The Map of Secret Treasure
Chapter 874 The Map of Secret Treasure
A few hourster, in the middle of the endless sea, Ace''s small ship, encased in an invisible barrier, was sailing smoothly.
Ace was spectacle after having a lengthy conversation with Noa and Freya, and he was also relieved that they were doing fine; actually, they were doing more than just fine.
After he learned just how much the world has changed in these past two years, he was in disbelief somewhat. But it didn''te as a shock as well, for this was bound to happen.
As for Noa and Freya''s reason for contacting him, it was because they were worried since he wasn''t returning their calls. Noa especially sounded relieved when she heard he was okay, while Freya was as smug as always, but she was also secretly relieved.
Ace sighed while looking at the endless sea before a smile emerged, "A unified world, huh? Now, who could''ve thought? I guess only someone with absolute power could pull something like this off. Furthermore, what''s the deal with thieves appearing all over the world?" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
He wondered with a peculiar grin, "Now this is all getting interesting. I don''t think, after what I''ve done, the Union Leader would let any thief go since this could be me all along. Yet, not only is the new union not doing anything, but they are also letting the thieves thrive. Now, what are you up to¡"
Ace could sense the Union Leader was up to something since he didn''t make any move against any of the thieves, at least not seriously. From SMSC, he learned just how astute the Union Leader was at hiding his true motives.
The Union Leader was the third union leader of the Sun and Moon Sword Union. He seeded in that position when the Second Union Leader died mysteriously, and he happened to be the current Union Leader''s master.
After bing the Union Leader, he remained low-key and always followed every rule like a loyal follower of the Sun and Moon God. But he was always mysterious and vanished into seclusion cultivation for decades.
Furthermore, as a Union Dweller, it was impossible for him to leave the Union because of a special formation created by the Sun and Moon God so the Union could remain hidden from the outside world.
But somehow, he managed to contact the outside world, which was the biggest mystery. As for the other union members, they learned about the outside world from the people of the Ancient Allied Gathering participants, who somehow managed to invade the Sun Secret Realm.
They weren''t aware that there was another entrance to the Sun Secret Realm, and no one knows if the Sun and Moon God left it on purpose or if it appeared on its own.
But the higher-ups of the union decided to keep a tight lid on this finding and called the ten continents people the aborigines of the Sun Secret Realm.
If Ace hadn''t appeared when he did, the Union Leader was clearly waiting for something to make his move. But after Ace destroyed the Sun Secret Realm, he was forced to act and try to capture the SMSC, who knows all the secrets of the Union.
However, even he couldn''t have imagined that there was a will of the Sun and Moon God present in the Union, and even if Ace hadn''t stolen the entire treasury, he would''ve never gotten SMSC.
It was a pity he didn''t know, and now, he was naturally searching for Ace or any clues about him. That''s why Ace was sure that he was up to no good and warned Noa and Freya to be careful.
As for the ten souls entrapped in those statues, the only information he got was just this one line, ''They are not from the mortal sky, and their existences are nothing but disaster for the Mortal Sky!'' this was enough to give Ace many ideas.
Now, the Union Leader was most likely working with them, so those guys were virtually invincible, so unifying the world wasn''t a big deal for them.
"Hey, system, is this key I just acquired for the Heaven''s Secret I''m looking for? If I directly get it, will my mission be over, and I get the rewards?" Ace asked the system with anticipation.
"[It''s still remained to be seen if Host''s conjecture is true or not. But if it is, then the Heaven''s Stealer Mission will naturally bepleted, and deserving rewards, ording to host performance, will be given!]"
Ace nodded with a grin, "Remember those words." After confirming with the system, the map he just acquired appeared in his hand, and he opened it. He had already acquired many maps of the ten continents and even had the Union Map, so he was sure he could pinpoint the secret treasure''s location.
However, the moment heid his eyes on the old map, his jolly expression crumpled, ''What is this?'' Thendmass on the map waspletely new, and he had never seen such a ce before. It was full of details, but he couldn''t find any familiarity with it. Furthermore, thendmass denoted on the map was too big.
At this moment, his eyes went wide when he thought of a possibility, ''Don''t tell me this map was made before the splitting of the continents!?'' Ace had heard about the ten continents being a single massive continent once, and thendmass on the map was too big. So, he instantly thought of this possibility.
''It''s made more sense since the Union exists far longer than the ten continents, and SMSC said without this map, it''s impossible to find the secret treasure as it wasn''t in the Union at all.'' Ace frowned as he wasn''t expecting this at all.
Who knows how many years had passed, and the location marked on that map might be on another continent. Now the question was in which?
''This map is useless!'' Ace felt like crap after this realization struck him, and all his joy vanished.
In the end, he sighed ruefully at his bad luck and stowed the map away, ''I guess I had no choice but to follow the system''s instructions now.'' Although he was somewhat depressed by this blunder, he wasn''t disheartened and then decided to move on to his next objective.
Ace peered into his thief''s space, and after confirming something, he swept his sleeve, and the next moment, in front of him, the enthralling Alina appeared holding a jade scroll while her eyes were closed!
Chapter 875 I Want It!
Chapter 875 I Want It!
Donned in a golden dress, Alina sat cross-legged with her eyes closed while she was holding a blue jade scroll,pletely immersed in it.
However, when she felt the suppression on her cultivation suddenly lifted, the suppressed Qi in her body suddenly started to circte at high intensity like overflowing water.
She wasn''t sitting idle in the thief''s space. For her, over three years had passed since she had entered the thief''s space. First, she was verypetitive with Eva, but she soon realized that Eva wasn''t even considering her a threat as she was always in cultivation. asionally, she could feel a ghastly Qi fluctuation from her house.
Alina soon realized that Eva was growing at a terrifying rate, so she felt a sense of crisis. Although she can''t cultivate in the thief''s space like Eva, it doesn''t matter that much because as long as she canprehend her innate element''sw, she can break through easily.
Furthermore, Ace didn''t have any short supply of such techniques that could help her increase her elementw proficiency, especially after he rammed through the moon secret realm.
The techniques and skills he got in the Moon Secret Realm were mostly rted to Ice and Yin elements, with the majority being the yin element. The Yin Element was the superior form of the Ice element.
When Alina saw all those powerful techniques and skills, she was in utter disbelief and felt like she was in a dream. But she knew it was Ace who had done it.
She even wanted to change her cultivation technique to the Yin Element, but the thing was, she couldn''t!
The Hunter Race''s Elemental Bloodline was superior when it came to elementprehension, and there was no match for them when it came to controlling elements.
However, it was also their biggest weakness. Because a hunter can cultivate orprehend a lower grade element than their own bloodline, but they can''t cultivate a superior element than their own bloodline!
Like a hunter with a fire elemental bloodline can''t cultivate Inferno element, a superior element of Fire. At the same time, an inferno elemental bloodline hunter can easily manipte fire even more smoothly than a fire elemental hunter.
Simrly, Alina''s elemental bloodline was of Ice element; she can cultivate the water element, but she can''t even dream of cultivating the Yin element.
It was the price of having a natural advantage over other races!
Although she was depressed when she couldn''t even understand the Yin element-rted skills and techniques, this didn''t stop her from cultivating her ice and sword element.
Furthermore, there was a very powerful ice cultivation technique she discovered among Ace''s loot, so her ice and sword elementw proficiency skyrocketed. Moreover, she also discovered that she could understand the swordw even more quickly than the icew, which was quite strange.
Although she knew there was something going on with her insane innate talent in the sword, now it was bing clearer as she was getting stronger and reaching higher elementw proficiency.
She was so immense into it that she didn''t know that so much time had passed, and her maid, Lillian, never disturbed her as she knew Alina was getting stronger despite the cultivation suppression.
Lillian also didn''t lose this chance as she was also from the Silver Ice n. She also focused on increasing her elementw proficiency while she also had to take care of a naughty bird, which was the only thing she felt repulsive about the thief''s space.
Anyhow, now that Alina was suspended from the thief''s space by Ace, her stagnated cultivation finally started to catch up with her elementw proficiency!
Under Ace''s astounded eyes, Alina''s aura started to skyrocket, and within a few moments, she entered the middle stage of the Qi Soul Manifestation Realm!
However, it wasn''t over as her cultivation quickly consolidated, and her aura increased again as she made another breakthrough in the high stage of Qi Soul Manifestation Realm!
Only now that her rising aura started to subdue, but she was already approaching the peak and just a few steps away from achieving it. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Alina''s finally opened her eyes, filled with bewilderment, ''How did I break through?'' The answer was soon given to her in the face of Ace, who was standing a few meters away from her with a big grin on his face. Her eyes fluttered, and her heart raced, "So, you finally remember me?"
Although she sounded indignant, her eyes reflected her clear ecstasy after seeing Ace.
Ace pretended not to notice it and shrugged his shoulder, "I was, after all, busy collecting all those techniques and skills for you."
"Hmph, liar!" Alina snickered beautifully before she looked around and found herself in a close space, sitting over a bed, and suddenly she blushed as her heart beat wildly.
''Did he want to¡'' Her imagination suddenly started to run wild as her blush deepened, and a hint of panic appeared in her eyes, and she looked even more seductive.
Ace is unaware of Alina''s immoral thoughts, but he does admire her beauty. But he has a more pressing matter to ask of her, "It seems you have made quite progress. Sorry to disturb you and take you out without your permission, but I couldn''t help myself since I have a very important matter to discuss with you."
Looking at Ace''s serious face, Alina felt she had jumped the gun too soon and instantly felt embarrassed, ''This scoundrel!'' But she med Ace for not reading the mood.
Both ashamed and angry, she blurted, "What is it?"
Ace found Alina''s fierce yet blushing expression quite amusing and cute. But he couldn''t bring himself to smile since he knew what he was going to ask of her was akin to asking her to abandon her entire lineage and identity.
But he still wanted to ask her first before finding someone else since it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Ace solemnly said, "I know it''s not my ce to ask you or consider this, but I have to ask since you are the first person I will give this sort of opportunity before some outsider. But if you don''t want to, you have to say NO; it''spletely your call.
"You see, the thing is, I just got this bloodline, which should be not any worse than Eva''s. So, I¡"
"I want it!"
Ace was speechless when Alina''s instant reply cut him off and was bewildered when he saw Alina was now standing right in front of him with twinkling eyes filled with ecstasy and a peculiar fiery glint. It was like if Ace had now changed his mind, she would definitely fight him to death.
Ace waspletely lost for words, ''Well, this was¡easy!''
Chapter 876 Resolve to Jump in Abyss
Chapter 876 Resolve to Jump in Abyss
Looking at Alina''s shimmering eyes with anticipation, Ace couldn''t help but smile wryly, "Are you sure? You know that you might no longer be a hunter once you change your bloodline. I don''t know which race this bloodline belongs to besides its being powerful."
Although Ace was told that this bloodline belonged to the Sun and Moon God, he wasn''t told what race the Sun and Moon God belonged to. So, he naturally asked the system.
But to his dismay, except for the fact that this bloodline was extremely powerful, the system couldn''t analyze the origin because of the seal ced on the Mystic Bloodline Cist, at least not with its current level.
Only after someone sessfully sweeps with that bloodline could the nature of that bloodline be revealed, and that''s why he was uncertain about what would happen to a natural-born hunter like Alina if she sweeps with another race''s bloodline.
In truth, Ace was taking a massive risk by selecting Alina for this bloodline because of the uncertainty involved. However, since the system said the Cist was entirely safe for changing bloodline, he was willing to trust it.
After all, the Sun and Moon God also had to keep this fact in mind when he left this Cist and Bloodline here. If it were unsafe, he would''ve given specific instructions for only a particr race to inherit this bloodline, yet he didn''t. So, the Mystic Bloodline Cist was the key here.
Still, Alina agreed too quickly, so he was somewhat baffled since he thought she might have qualms about changing her entire identity into something else. Yet she was too fired up, as if it didn''t matter to her at all.
Alina replied without hesitation, with determination, "I know, but I''m ready. Since you asked me, it means you''re certain that it''s safe, and I trust youpletely. Even if I lost my bloodline, nothing would change the real me.
"Besides that, after living in your storage space, I discovered just how talented she-devil is, and it is all because of her bloodline, right? You were the one who gave it to her, so I''m sure you won''t discriminate between us. I''ll give her thepetition she wanted!"
Ace couldn''t help but smile wryly when he heard this and finally understood that it was all about Eva and Alina''s rivalry. He knew better than anyone just how powerful Eva was, and Alina couldn''t beat her without joining the thief''s house first.
So, he thought she might lose her will to fight after discovering just how talented Eva was now and how quickly she was improving. But he was now d to see that Alina hadn''t lost her determination and was more optimistic than ever.
Furthermore, she trusted him with her life, which was more than enough to warm his heart.
"You silly girl, at least think about how parents would react if they knew you abandoned your bloodline for another. Won''t they fight me to death?" Ace jokingly uttered.
A charming smile bloomed over Alina''s lips, "That''s your problem. I can say you forced me to do this. After all, it''s me against the infamous Sky Stealer." She giggled yfully.
Ace''s eyes widened as he looked at the cunning smile on Alina''s face and retorted, "When did you be so shameless?"
"What can I do? I have to be like this to earn my ce between your entourage of women." Alina replied with pursed lips.
Ace sighed and decided to change the topic before he dug a deeper grave for himself, "Anyway, at least discuss it with your maid. I do not know how much time will be needed before the process ispleted. Minimum it will need months and maximum years.
"Furthermore, you need to have an unbreakable will to integrate with this bloodline fully, and failure means certain death. Once you start, there''s no way to go back. But I''m not too worried about this since I know you are strong-willed.
"Still, talk with Lillian about it. After all, she will be constantly worried. Once you''re ready, I hand you the bloodline." Ace solemnly stated, making Alina''s expression grave as well.
"Alright, send me back." Alina nodded before Ace sent her back into her house.
Ace sighed gravely as he muttered, "System, you better be telling the truth about pulling her out if something goes wrong." "[Host can rest assure as long as the integration process is happening in the thief''s space, the system can interfere if Host spend sufficient TP and cancel the bloodline sweep process.]" This was the main reason Ace was willing to put Alina through such a risk, or if he didn''t have such assurance, he would never have put Alina''s life at risk, no matter the rewards involved.
The system seemed to be very optimistic about the Mystic Bloodline Cist for some reason so that it would answer some rted questions.
Now that Alina had agreed to change her bloodline, if she seeded, he would not only have another strong woman by his side but also the key to dig out the secret treasure.
If that secret treasure was the Heaven''s Secret he sought, he had to find someone to inherit that bloodline. If Alina couldn''t seed, he would then choose the other women present in the thief''s space.
But deep down, he hopes that Alina seeds, or it will be a massive blow to her and entirely his fault.
Nheless, he believed in her, and after seeing her determination, he was sure she had the will to endure anything.
Afterward, Ace peered into the thief''s space and observed the discussion between Alina and Lillian.
In contrast to Alina, Lillian''s reaction to Alina''s n to change her bloodline was more natural, and she instantly rejected it. However, Alina was adamant; no matter what Lillian tried to pursue her, she remained stubborn.
In the end, Lillian looked upward with teary and resentful eyes, and Ace could clearly feel that hostile gaze was for none other than himself.
On the other hand, Cyrus was hiding from Lillian somewhere in the thief''s space so he didn''t have to study. It has be somon that Cyrus even started to think of it as an entertaining game, while for Lillian, it was torture.
After the decision was made, Ace didn''t hesitate any longer, and the rectangr Mystic Bloodline Cist appeared in the living room of Alina''s house, drawing both women''s attention.
At this moment, Ace finally spoke, "Since you''re ready, just open the lid andy down. The process will start the moment you close the lid. Once it closes, only after you seed can youe out or in case of failure¡"
Alina and Lillian looked at the Cist, which was even more significant than their heights, with astonishment. They didn''t feel any trace of Qi from this strange Cist, but their martial senses lost meaning when they touched that Cist''s surface.
"Princess, are you really going to abandon your bloodline for another one?" Lillian asked again with an anxious expression. She didn''t even think it was possible before, but since it wasing from the Sky Stealer himself, she knew it wasn''t a joke.
"It''s just a measly bloodline; no matter what bloodline I get, it''ll still be me. My bloodline won''t define me." Alina coldly uttered, and the next moment, she created an ice staircase and opened the Cist lid, which was extremely light despite its size.
However, when she opened it, her heart skipped a beat because inside was like an endless abyss. Although she still feels nothing, her mind seems to be getting nk just by staring at that bottomless darkness.
Blood suddenly tinkled down the corner of her lip the next moment, and clearness returned to her eyes. She has to bite her tongue to keep her mind intact.
She could finally avert her eyes, but fear was evident this time. Furthermore, she felt fear just by thinking she had to enter that darkness and stay there for who knows how long. For the first time, her confidence wavered since she had never thought she had to enter this eerie thing to change her bloodline.
"If you don''t want to you, don''t force yourself." Ace''s concerned voice rang. It was also the first time he saw what was inside the Cist, and despite being only an observer, it gave him the chills just looking at that darkness. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Lillian also found hope in Ace''s voice and yelled, "Yes, princess, it seemed too dangerous! Pleasee down. What''s the point of having power if you''re not alive to keep it!"
Alina collected herself, and a determined smile emerged as she said, "You''re right, but I''m going to live. Just do one thing for me; tell her not to ck off when you see that arrogant she-devil, or she''s going to lose!"
The next moment, without waiting for a reply, Alina jumped into the seemingly endless darkness, and the lid mped down before the symbols on the Cist lightened up almost instantly!
Chapter 877 The Strong and The Weak
Chapter 877 The Strong and The Weak
The moment the Mystic Bloodline Cist''s lid was closed, all the rune symbols on it started to shimmer darkly. The next moment, ck glowing veins suddenly grew from the rune symbols, and they started to connect with each other until the entire Cist appeared like it was wrapped in tree veins. It was the end of the sealing process.
When the sealing process wasplete, the ck veins suddenly started to pulse in a crimson hue, and except that there was nothing but silence.
Lillian looked at the sealed Cist with an ashen expression as she couldn''t sense anything, as if Alina had vanished from this world. Furthermore, when she tried to probe the sealed Cist, her martial sense bounced back!
Ace''s solemn voice sounded, "Don''t worry, if someone goes wrong, I''ll pull her out. There''s no need for you to worry. I''ll leave this Cist with you so she''ll be close to you. You should cheer for her and hope she''ll seed!"
Lillian felt some relief when she heard Ace''s, but her expression became uncertain with pain as she asked softly, "Was that really necessary? Don''t you love her as she was? Do you have to make her give up her identity? Are only strong women qualified to be with you? What if she failed? Even if you have good intentions, she will never recover from this kind of blow! Do you have to be so cruel?"
Ace was startled by Lillian''s bombarding of questions. He felt silent as those questions appeared somewhat piercing.
''Why indeed?'' Ace thought as he himself didn''t know why he thought of Alina first when he got that bloodline and why he wanted to make her strong when he could just let her live in peace under his care.
Furthermore, deep down, he knew there was over ny percent chance that she would agree to the bloodline sweep. This was akin to putting her life in jeopardy by giving her such an ambiguous bloodline with an unknown background.
Yet he didn''t hesitate to make that choice for her, and she trusted himpletely. Now, upon hearing Lillian''s question, he felt like he was being selfish and didn''t care about Alina''s personal feelings at all.
Because he was still having qualms about epting her as a love interest, and he was avoiding this topic unknowingly.
"Heh, I never thought the silly girl''s maid would be even sillier than her master." A charming yet jeering voice suddenly rang, startling both Lillian and Ace.
The devilish Eva in a crimson has appeared right in front of the Cist at this moment, and on her shoulder was sitting Cyrus, looking very depressed for some reason.
"Y-YOU!" Lillian was rmed as she didn''t even sense this woman''s presence, as if she didn''t exist at all, yet she was right in front of her eyes while exposing her pale white back hidden under his long, pitch-ck hair.
She didn''t need to guess hard who she was since there was only a single person who was unrestrained beside Cyrus in this ce, and she was also Alina''s rival.
Eva smiled with a cold glint in her eyes as she looked at the pulsing Cist, but there was a hint of nostalgia as if she was looking at her own past self.
"So, my dearest also bestowed her with a bloodline to level the ying field, huh?" Eva snorted with a hint of jealousy.
"It seemed I''d disturb you." Ace''s wry voice sounded. That was the reason he didn''t want to speak openly in the thief''s space since Eva would be disturbed.
But he never thought her meditation was so shallow that she would awake so easily. So, the only reason he could think was she wasn''t cultivating too deeply, and she might be eavesdropping all this time. Her timely entry was proof of it.
Eva pursed her lips as she replied, "Hmph, you''re so busy paying attention to your new lover that you forget about your old one. You even brought her a gift. If you don''t give me an exnation, then we will have a serious problem!"
Ace sweated a little. He could tell Eva was not joking and felt like he was too na?ve to think he could keep this under wrap.
"You! How could you flirt after the princess is sealed?" Lillian fumed as she was in utter disbelief at Eva''s easy-going yet disdainful attitude.
Eva''s expression went cold. Her aura suddenly locked Lillian, and the huntress trembled when she felt like an abysmal beast suddenly stared at her.
"I have enough of your insolence. A servant should know better when to speak and when to keep her mouth shut. You have no ce for getting between a husband and wife, nor can you question their love for each other.
"It was her own choice to be strong, and no one forced her. What''s the problem with courting power? Weak is weak, and strong is strong. Just like right now, I''m strong, and you''re weak, so I can easily crush you like an ant.
"But if this situation switch, you would''ve done the same. Being weak is not a sin, but having a weak mentality is! If she had chosen to keep her meager bloodline just because of some silly beliefs, I would''ve always looked down on her.
"However, she didn''t, and this means she knew her own weakness and epted it. But instead of encouraging her, you want to me others for your own narrow-minded mentality. I hate people like you the most who are ves of their own beliefs. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"If you''re not under his protection, I could''ve killed you the moment you questioned his affection for us. But this is also your first and final warning: never speak between us nor question his love for us, or I''ll make sure you don''t have your life to regret it, you weak bug!"
Eva retracted her pressure, leaving trembling Lillian with a pale and suffocating expression as she panted heavily.
Cyrus, on the other hand, was covering his face with his little wings.
"You went too far." Ace''s dissatisfied voice sounded in her head.
Eva smiled nonchntly, "I just drew a picture for her of what being weak means and also made it clear for you never to doubt your decision made upon your care and consideration for us.
If we don''t like it, we''ll disobey them, so stop listening to other people''s opinions!"
Chapter 878 Hangman Eva
Chapter 878 Hangman Eva
Leaving utterly vanquished Lillian, Eva returned to her residence with Cyrus and satfortably on a couch.
She transmitted with a mischievous smile, "Now that I''m done teaching her a lesson. How about we pick up from where we left off? Where is my gift?" Ace smiled wryly and replied, "Sometimes I really don''t under what you''re thinking. It''s quite clear you meant well, but you don''t know how to be gentle with others, huh?" Eva''s smile widened as she appeared extremely alluring, "Don''t tell me you don''t like it~." Ace''s heart raced to hear Eva''s seductive tone, "Well, I can''t deny it." "Hehe." Eva giggled, very pleased with Ace''s reply, before her eyes narrowed, "Now don''t you dare change topic!"
"Just take anything you want. There are plenty of new toys you can y with and many new resources. I am sure with your cultivation speed, you might have already exhausted all the resources at your disposal." Ace replied.
"How generous of you. But I''m more interested in the story behind that huge sealed box in the west. It should be a treasury. Furthermore, that Cist thing is quite interesting. You do know that it is almost impossible to change a race bloodline with another race if they are notpatible, right? "From your words, it is quite clear you don''t know what sort of bloodline that huntress will get, but you sound confident enough that whichever it is, as long as she can endure, she will seed.
"So, tell me the story behind it without skipping any any juicy details. If you can avert my boredom, I''ll let your favoritism slide this time." Eva questioned curiously.
On the surface, she appeared indifferent, but she was very curious about the Mystic Bloodline Cist and, more importantly, what kind of bloodline Alina would get. It wasn''t like she was ignoring Alina or looking down on her. Instead, it waspletely the opposite.
She was cultivating even harder since the day Alina came back to Ace''s life so she couldn''t lose her position and keep a keen eye on Alina''s progress.
That''s why the moment Alina''s aura vanished from the thief''s space, she became alert and felt her heart churned when she thought about how Alina would be traveling with Ace now.
But unexpectedly, she returned, and now she was going to change her bloodline, which was even more unexpected.
Ace couldn''t help but chuckle in amusement, "Tsk, tsk, feeling threatened, aren''t we? You know you can''t hide your true feelings from me, right?" Eva''s eyes widened ever so slightly as her inner thoughts were exposed, but she kept her ambiguous smile, "I don''t know what you''re talking about."
"Hahaha, if that''s the case, then I''ll tell you how I get that cist, but I won''t tell you what kind of bloodline is in there. Let it be a surprise for all of us." Ace replied slyly.
"Hmph, you seemed to enjoy all this, huh?" Eva''s eyes narrowed, making Cyrus flinch, who was still thinking about how he should escape the devil''s clutches.
"Now, I don''t know what you''re talking about." Ace snickered, "First, tell me where is Livia? You didn''t release her for quite some time now. You do know that the longer you keep lying to her, the more likely she hates you after she finds the truth. "Furthermore, I think Lillian needs a friend, and also, that daring brat needs another pair of eyes to keep him in check now. I was about to teach him a lesson, but you got to him first. Well, he''s more afraid of you than me, so I guess I don''t need to do it anymore." Ace said with an amusing tone as he could feel just how depressed Cyrus was now and behaving like a scaredy-cat in Eva''s presence.
Eva cocked her eyebrow before she spoke, "You don''t need to worry about my maid. She can cultivate in my storage space as long as she won''t surpass me. So, I let her stay there, and she''s cultivating diligently. As for her hating me, I can assure you she didn''t have guts! "And if you''re so worried about that Lillian girl, you should leave her alone for now. Let me handle it. This is no ce for a weak-willed girl like her. If she can''t get over this, then it''s better to send her back, or she''ll drag down Alina eventually." Eva coldly dered before her attention was drawn to Cyrus as she picked him from her shoulder, making the little bird panic a little.
She finally used her voice as she smiled, narrowed eyes, "As for this little mischievous guy, you''re being too lenient with him. How about I hang him upside down for 100 days as punishment for skipping his study!"
Cyrus''s eyes winded with fear, and he quickly cried for mercy, "NO! I don''t wanna! I''m sorry, big sis Eva, I''ll be good! Please don''t hang me. I''ll be good and study, I promised!"
Ace almostughed out loud, seeing Cyrus jumping on Eva''s palm while pleading for mercy.
"Hmph, so you still remember to be sorry, huh?" Eva hid her urge to giggle as she strictly said, "But punishment is necessary for naughty children!"
"B-but¡" Cyrus''s tiny eyes winded with panic before something came into his mind, and he blurted, "But I-I''m a bird!"
Eva was speechless by Cyrus''s irrefutable retortion, but she can''t be defeated by a silly bird. She just refused to, so she refuted, "You dare to talk back? I''m going to hang you until you learn to be respectful to your elders!"
Cyrus was almost on the verge of crying now as he saw his bleak future. So, he had no choice but to use hisst resort. He transmitted his voice pleadingly to his final hope.
"Big bro, save me!" "You just have to talk back, don''t you? Brat, you''re digging your own grave. I can''t save you!" Ace scoffed as he was clearly enjoying this, so why stop the fun?
Cyrus almost flies into a rage after Ace shuts the final door of salvation right in his face. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Afterward, both of them ignored the perplexed bird, and they talked contentedly for a long time!
Chapter 879 Predator Coffin Fish
Chapter 879 Predator Coffin Fish
A few weekster, at high noon, Ace''s small ship was approaching a barrier ind.
''It''s about time¡'' Ace''s eyes shimmered with resolve as he knew what was about toe.
However, right at this moment, the calm surface of the water suddenly started to ripple, and Ace''s focus was instantly drawn to this abrupt anomaly.
His eyes suddenly widened when he saw a massive shadow creeping upward right under his ship, and the water''s surface was rising.
''Live fate map!'' Ace instantly activates the live fate map to gauge the threat level. It was his first time seeing a sea beast after he left the Union continent.
The moment heid his eyes on the fate map, his pupils dted because the fate point he saw was ck!
Right at this moment, a ghastly pressure descended, and Ace''s heart sank because it was quite clear that he wasn''t just imagining things.
''This sea beast is at least at the peak of thew awareness realm!'' Ace had never seen a sea beast of such a level before, but then it had to be expected because he was in the unpredictable, endless sea.
Just a moment ago, everything was fine, and now, everything was in disarray.
Ace knew he couldn''t stay still to be ughtered, so he quickly stowed away the ship, and a flying sword appeared under his feet. Although the pressure was very deep for Ace, who had undergone two years of epiphany and developed the swordw in the intermediate realm, it wasn''t as intimidating as it appeared.
Just as Ace took flight and was ten meters above sea level, the sea beast finally emerged and directly lunged toward flying Ace with its maw open wide!
At was a fifteen-meterrge white and blue fish, shaped like a toad, and its saw-like teeth were big enough to shatter a small hill. It was the seemingly extinct Predator Coffin Fish!
Furthermore, as it was moving toward Ace, the seawater was following its massive body like it had a will of its own.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace''s heart palpitated when that sea beast was locked on him. He increased his sleep while using his stealth to hide his presence. But the feeling of being locked was still there, and he knew that Predator Coffin Fish was not going to let its food escape so easily.
He wanted to avoid fighting Predator Coffin Fish because it was an absolute threat to him, and he was hoping that it would give up once he flew. But he had underestimated it, and now he was witnessing its prowess.
Seeing the Predator Coffin Fish now approaching his ankle with its huge maw, wanting to swallow him whole, Ace''s expression went cold.
"Let''s see if I can wound a monster like you!"
Ace''s body twisted, and two grade-7 swords appeared in his hands before they shimmered with pitch-ck enteral Qi. The aura around Ace rose and turned into sharpness, and it was strong enough to rival the humid aura around the Predator Coffin Fish.
It was his first time using his sword intent after the epiphany, and he was nothing like two years ago. Before, he would''ve definitely done anything to run away after seeing a ck fate point, but now he can fight as long as it wasn''t a quasiwprehension realm threat.
Although this Predator Coffin Fish was clearly manipting the waterw around it and using the sea to its advantage, it still far more showcasing the level of awprehension ream abilities.
The size of Ace''s sword des increased as the surrounding air vibrated with the sheer intensity of the shadow sword intent he was releasing.
''The intent of shadow sword is to cut the shadows!'' Ace shes down the two swords without hesitation.
The Predator Coffin Fish finally felt a foreign emotion for the first time in its life as it saw two ck shes asrge as its body weighing down. It was fear!
The beast, for the first time, thought about dodging that attack at any cost. The surrounding water suddenly moved, and like a shield, it appeared right in the nick of time before the ck des could hit it.
"Boom¡ssh¡"
However, the ck des were imbued with intermediate realm sword intent and minor realm shadow intent, which was almost at the intermediate realm.
The moment the shadow sword intent collided with the waterw, the air literally shook as powerful fluctuation spread far and wide, creating huge waves in the sea below.
However, unlike the Predator Coffin Fish, who were on defense, Ace sneered andunched another attack. But this time, the sword core in the martial space suddenly revolved.
"It''s my first time trying this move from the Sky Sword. Let''s see how powerful it is, and this time, I''m going to use the lighting!"
The next moment, one of the swords in his hand vanished, and he made a stance with the other sword in his right hand. Ethereal ck lighting started to crackle on the sword de.
Ace then moved, leaving behind an afterimage on the flying sword.
The Predator Coffin Fish felt even more rm when it suddenly sensed another danger approaching, and it was far more terrifying than the two shes it was struggling to deflect.
''Enteral Thief''s Sword Style; Splitting Sky Sword!''
Ace''s entire body suddenly turned into a huge sword de of ck lighting, and it shed with the Predator Coffin Fish''s water shield.
But this time, the moment two Qis came in contact, the light blue water Qi pierced like paper by the lighting sword''s tip and stabbed toward the Predator Coffin Fish''s huge face!
No matter how much Qi the Predator Coffin Fish released, the lighting sword would instantly cut it apart, and the surrounding water was getting electrocuted, which was stunning its body and mind.
The sword finally reached the Predator Coffin Fish''s slimy but thick sink and directly pierced into it!
"Boom!"
A huge lighting shockwave sted apart all the water, and Ace appeared, stabbing the huge fish''s face as his ethereal lighting de stabbed into its face and came out from one of itsrge gills.
However, Ace was in disbelief because the fish was still alive and only paralyzed because of his lightning sword. But it was gravely injured, which was a plus, and it made Ace thrilled to know that he could subdue a monster at Predator Coffin Fish level.
Although the sea beasts were vastly different from intelligent species, they were still very hard to deal with.
But Ace''s tion was short-lived when he suddenly spotted more shadows emerging from deep within the sea as he and the Predator Coffin Fish were falling down.
Upon quickly scanning the fate map, Ace''s heart sank to rock bottom because eight more ck fate points wereing his way.
Ace was barely able to subdue this one fish, and that was after using 40% of his marital Qi. He can''t begin to imagine fighting so many of them.
So, he decided almost instantly, hemanded without wasting any more time, "System start the absorption process of tinum Orb!"
Chapter 880 Fifth Heavenly Punishment
Chapter 880 Fifth Heavenly Punishment
On the ind about fifty miles away from where Ace has encountered the Predator Coffin Fish, two furry figures stood with tattered clothes as they were observing the battle.
"Now, who is foolish enough to wander closer to this forsaken ind?" A brown bear-like humanoid figure muttered with sheer astonishment.
"Uncle, do you think he''s sent here to search for us by grandfather?" The white fur hominoid bear asked in her gentle voice.
However, before the uncle could reply, they were both gobsmacked when they saw the huge ck lighting sword pierced into the terrifying fish.
The brown bear''s eyes widened with shock before excitement shimmered in them, "S-strong! If he can get rid of that monster, it doesn''t matter if he''s here for us or just stumbled upon this ce. We can easily go back!"
However, the brown bear''s happiness was short-lived when he noticed a few shadows rising above from the deep sea, and his expression was ashen as realization dawned on him.
"M-more! Are they more of those bloody fishes? How can that be? Why so many monsters are around this ind!?" He muttered in despair since it was his first time seeing more sea beasts around this ind except for the Predator Coffin Fish.
The white bear was also rmed, and as she looked at the dark figure with anxiety, it was their only hope to get out of this ce, or they both would die.
Her eyes suddenly shimmered as she quickly said, "Uncle, how about we sneak out while he''s drawing all the attention to himself? I''m sure those guys areing to get revenge for that big fish. They won''t pay attention to us!"
The brown bear looked at his niece in surprise as he was so upied by the number of monsters that he almost lost his rationality.
"Good idea!" He instantly agreed.
However, right at this moment, before they both could make their moves, they suddenly felt like the surrounding atmosphere was changing, and then they finally noticed the sky.
They saw the clear golden sky suddenly start covered with pitch ck clouds, which appeared out of nowhere, and they were increased at a terrifying rate.
"W-what is happening? Is he controlling those clouds?" The white bear asked with astonishment, but her face went ghastly pale when she suddenly felt a terrifying aura suddenly weighing down on them.
The brown bear also felt it, and he felt it far better than his niece and shuddered and looked at those clouds, which seemed to be expanding endlessly, and that aura was only rising until it became hard even to breathe properly!
If they were thinking about running away before, now their survival bes questionable.
At this moment, they noticed another thing: the pitch-ck clouds suddenly started to revolve, creating a vortex, and lighting started to sh within them, and that ghastly pressure skyrocketed.
As if it wasn''t enough, they saw the dark figure suddenly vanishing from its spot. And he appeared around 1000 meters away from his initial position, and he did the same in session.
"H-he¡he''sing here!" The brown bear blurted in sheer horror as he also noticed that the eye of the vortex seemed to be shifting towards them as if it was following that figure.
''Just what is happening!?'' He thought with distress.
Ace was using space step talismans to reach the ind quickly and wasn''t aware that he had dragged down innocent victims in his heavenly punishment. Even if he had known, he would''ve done the same because of the opponents he was facing right now.
Moreover, he was here to undergo the heavenly punishment in the first ce, so instead of wasting his time and Qi on running, he decided to activate it and let the heavenly punishment deal with those annoying fishes in his stead.
As for himself, he wanted tond on the ind because undergoing heavenly punishment in the middle of the endless was nothing but suicidal. So, he had to use his talismans to approach the ind before the heavenly punishment could start quickly.
Just as he was only a single talisman away from reaching the ind, a huge rumbling sound rang, and a pressure that Ace hadn''t felt before descended, almost smashing him into the sea.
But he gritted his teeth and endured and used the talisman to manage to hit the shoreline barely. Nheless, Ace wasn''t rxed because this pressure was too horrifying. He saw the vortex, and his eyes widened when he saw tri-color thunder lightning crackling.
Just by looking at it made Ace''s felt like his soul and martial space trembling a little. At this moment, the system''s voice rang.
=====
[The Fifth Heavenly Punishment [Vanquisher Despair Thunder] has been detected!]
---
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment sensed Host''s Qi Sea Core and Heavenly Dark Soul!]
[Warning: The Heaven is seething with humiliation!]
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment has been strengthened!] [Warning: The Heavenly Punishment has been strengthened!] [Warning: The Heavenly Punishment has been strengthened!] [Strengthened Heavenly Punishment: There is a 100% chance of a Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation to descend on Heaven''s Stealer!] --- n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
[System rmends fighting without holding back; use any means necessary you have, or your life will be forfeited today. Please find an isted ce, or the Heavenly Punishment will annihte all the living in a 100-mile radius around the host!]
=====
Ace dryly gulped as he looked at the tri-color thunder lightning bing stronger and more visible. The thunder, this time, was of blue, red, and green color.
Right at this moment, the tri-color thunder made oppressive rumbling before it bolted down all over the sea and even the ind Ace hadnded on.
Ace knew the entire ind was within the heavenly punishment range, and anything living in this ce would be dead without any mercy.
Suddenly, Ace noticed a strangeness. The thunderstorm was getting stronger and stronger towards the center of the ind as if it was increasing its power to get rid of something strong.
''Just what in the world is in this ce can handle this level of heavenly thunder?'' Ace wondered as he thought this was absurd since he had never seen the heavenly punishment take more than a second to get rid of any hindrance.
At this moment, a horrendous, eerie voice reverberated like a thunderp, "WHAT DID I DO TO YOU?!!!!"
Chapter 881 Vanquisher Despair Thunder
Chapter 881 Vanquisher Despair Thunder
"WHAT DID I DO TO YOU?!!!!"
This voice shook the entire ind, and Ace was astounded because the power behind that voice wasn''t any lower than the Predator Coffin Fish.
Furthermore, the heavenly punishment clouds seemed to be enraged when they couldn''t eliminate this hindrance.
"Rumble!"
A powerful thunderp rang, and thereafter, a thick pir of tri-color thunder bolted down right where the source of this voice was!
"Leave me alone!" The threatening voice rang again, and this time, a dark golden pir of light suddenly shot out in the counter to the lighting pir.
"Boom!" What happened made even Ace gobsmacked because that dark golden light pir directly smashed into the heavenly thunder pir, and instead of shattering, both powers seemed to be equal!
Ace had never seen another going against the heavenly thunder head-on, much less stopping it like this.
''Just who is hiding here?'' Ace wondered as he finally activated the live fate map.
Before, he didn''t bother to waste his Qi since he thought everything would turn to ashes, but now, he had to see just what kind of entity was hiding here. Ace instantly spotted a ck fate point, but it wasn''t just ck. A ring of glittering silver was also shimmering around it.
At this moment, Ace''s attention was again drawn by the sound of something shattering, and he saw it was the dark golden light pir that was finally shattered by the tri-color thunder, and the thunder thennded on its target!
"What kind of power is this¡ahhhhhh!" The startling words were followed by blood-curdling screams.
Just when Ace thought this guy was done for, another thunderbolt, even thicker than the previous one, bolted down.
"Ahhh, wrenched bastard! You win, I give up!"
Surprisingly, the person was still alive, and seeing another thunder pir on its way, it seemed to have decided to flee.
Under Ace''s curios eyes, a dark golden sh suddenly appeared, and then the next moment, it vanished without a trace.
''Boom¡'' The thunder pir finallynded.
However, Ace frowned in disbelief, ''Was that a gate I just saw?'' Ace was bewildered because, in that sh, he saw a dark golden gate, and now, looking at the fate map, the fate point waspletely gone. N?v(el)B\\jnn
''He escaped?'' Ace waspletely uncertain, but he had this feeling that the person was able to escape and probably because of that gate, ''Not only going against the heavenly thunder but even enduring it and then escaping just in the nick of time? And what was he so desperately guarding and unwilling to give up?''
Ace was extremely curious now and wanted to head to that ce to see if there was something on that ind that could draw such a terrifying existence.
However, he didn''t have the time because after that person was killed or fled, the heavenly punishment seemed to be finally focusing on its real target.
Ace''s expression became solemn, and he decided to investigate after dealing with the heavenly punishment. Furthermore, he could feel his sword cores trembling in excitement.
"Alright, bring it on!" Ace''s expression went cold as he looked up and was ready for the thunder strike.
But contrary to his expectation and unlike the previous heavenly punishments, the tri-color thunder gathers in the center of the vortex eye but does not descend. Instead, a giant head with three thunder horns started to creep out!
''It came right off the bat?!'' Ace didn''t have to guess what it was as he was very familiar with it and would never forget his previous encounter.
It was the Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation!
The only difference was it was entirely made with tri-color thundered and far bigger than the previous one. Furthermore, it didn''t have four arms but only two hands, which were shaped like sword des.
Its aura was far more terrifying than the thunder pir he had just seen, and without even wasting a moment, it directly bolted into Ace''s direction!
''What a cruel heaven!'' Ace smiled bitterly, and he guessed from now on, he wouldn''t be just fighting mere thunderbolts but Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations!
Since it was just start, it meant there should be more, so he had to be careful.
Nheless, he was ready for anything this time around, and dark martial Qi gushed out from his person, and a dark, ethereal image suddenly ovepped with Ace. He appeared to be a demon from hell, no longer human.
It was the result of secret martial skill, the Dark Soul and Body Union, and his power increased by ten times!
However, it was far from enough, as he even summoned the Devil Horn Dark Owl Wings.
Thereafter, a hundred ck swords with dark lighting started to manifest from his Qi, and those swords were giving the aura of despair. Ace could only use his despair-lighting sword intent in this state for some reason, as he still wasn''t able to figure out how he could mix two element intents into one sword.
Nheless, it was still sufficient as long as he could take down that iing Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation!
Right now, he was in his strongest state, and he was saving it for this exact moment. He no longer underestimates his eternal enemy.
"Eternal Thief''s Sword System, Sword Rain of Despair Lighting!" His voice haspletely changed as it ovepped without another eerie voice.
''Swish¡'' The ck swords instantly shed toward the Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, leaving behind dark streaks.
The Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation charged without changing its course and shed its two sword arms on the iing ck des.
Ace''s lips curled up as he controlled those hundred swords with his mind and focused ten sword des on Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation''s arms while the reaming was going towards every other part of its thunder body.
The Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation was a giant target, and it could only block a few sword des. But Ace''s sword intent was in the intermediate realm, which can''t be deflected without using equally strong force.
The moment they shed, metallic sounds rang in the vicinity as those ten sword des werepletely fine. At the same time, they keep the Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation''s arms upied while the other sword des cut its thunder body!
Despite that, the ck sword des were only slightly dissipated, and Ace controlled them with his mind and unleashed a torrent of shes all over Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation''s body.
He grinds it until it turns into a small thunder fragment, and then he does something even crazier: he directly charges into those thunder fragments by pping his dark wings!
Chapter 882 Battle with Full Power!
Chapter 882 Battle with Full Power!
Over a hundred miles away from the heavenly punishment clouds, a corporeal dark golden gate suddenly materialized in the middle of the endless sea.
The next moment, a person in a very sorry state walked out as his entire body was charred. But strangely, he didn''t sink in the water and stood on it like solid ground, and the next moment, the dark golden gate vanished. A talisman in the man''s hand also started to turn into ashes.
He twisted his head and looked back, and his bloodshot widened in shock when he saw a section of sea covered in pitch ck clouds, and a thunderstorm was raging as the apocalypse had arrived.
''Well, I''ll be! That''s not mad made at all! It''s like the fury of god! Could it be because of that strange herb I was trying to refine and achieve ascension? So, the ancient records about ascension were true all along! ''No, this didn''t make any sense. I''m still not there yet. It''s all because of that stranger I tried to kill that this has happened! Who was he? Don''t tell me there is someone else in this ce who is closer to the ascension than me. ''But how can that be?! Who could''ve escaped the heavenly restriction?'' He gritted his teeth as he stared at the dark clouds in disbelief, ''I should wait and observe. If this person seeds, then that''s fine, but if he failed¡'' Killing intent shone in this person''s eyes as he suddenly started to sink into the sea, and the next moment, his body started to twist and expand!
---
Ace stood on the ground with a somewhat paleplexion as the heavenly thunder filled his martial and soul space. He just killed and absorbed the second Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, which has soul thunder opposite to the previous one.
However, it wasn''t easy to endure while the sword cores were absorbing the heavenly thunder. Although their speed was fast, they were still not fast enough, and now he was starting to run out of Qi while he was mentally exhausted because controlling so many swords with wind wasn''t easy.
Nheless, Ace could clearly see the heavenly punishment wasn''t over as it was umting more thunder, so he had no choice but to im his reserve of EXP and SP as well as eat pills from the shop to replenish his Qis quickly.
Right at this moment, with a deafening thunderp, Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation crept out, but this time, it wasn''t one or two; there were four!
Two of them were giving off a terrifying aura of martial Qi, and their arms were made out of sword des and spears, while the other two were releasing soul undtions, and their arms were made like whips and bows.
''What a drag!'' Ace pursed pale lips, seeing the four iing Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation.
Ace was especially wary of Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation with bow arms as he just fought it, and that guy was a long-range attacker and soul arrows made with heavenly thunder. That Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation alone exhausts almost all of his soul Qi.
Furthermore, any attack other than the heavenly intent was almost futile, and that''s why he needed his heavenly Qi to counter them.
Still, Ace knew better than to take unnecessary risks, and the heavenly thunder he got from the previous two Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations seemed enough to light all the runes on his sword cores.
So, without hesitation, Ace took out his trump card, Page-09!
pping his wings, he directly flew towards the four Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations. The spear arms and sword arms Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations were at the very front like vanguard, while the bow arms Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations were at the rear.
''They''re nning a systematic attack!'' Ace easily saw through their tactics, and that was the exact reason he took out Page-09.
"Alright, you guys will be the first one I''m going to try sky steps against!"
All of a sudden, Ace''s straight flight suddenly seemed strange as afterimages started to appear, and his motions became unpredictable.
The Misperception Sky Steps Art''s final stage, the Sky Steps, was a mixture of Camouge Steps, Lightning Steps, and Misperception Steps. Only afterbining these three moves the Sky Steps could be achieved.
The aerial battles were the territory of the Law Awareness Realm Cultivators. But they could only fly after gaining an ability called the Elemental Resistance in this realm. This ability enables them to use their element to resist all other elements, including air.
Using this ability, a Law Awareness Realm Cultivator could step on air by using their element. But it still wasn''t flight, and only a Law Comprehension Cultivator could truly flight.
Furthermore, a neww awareness realm cultivator wasn''t a match for an experiencedw awareness realm cultivator because the Elemental Resistance couldn''t be mastered on a whim.
However, Ace not only had the ability of true flight, but he was very proficient in it, especially after he learned to manipte his Qi to fly on a weapon. So, not only will sky steps give Ace the ability to move on air as long as he has Qi, but they will also allow him to maneuver and fight like he was on the ground. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
After his epiphany, Ace was able to increase his skill levels like never before, and he achieved high-level proficiency in sky steps. It was just that it was too much Qi consuming, so he didn''t use them earlier.
But now, facing four Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations, he can''t hold back.
Looking at Ace''s afterimages, the Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation with arrow arms unleashed a rain of thunder arrows.
Already predicting it, Ace wasn''t startled and dodged the arrows while his afterimages were getting destroyed one after another like a mirage. However, as he kept increasing his speed, he left more afterimages.
The Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations with sword and spear arms finally moved as they almost aimed at iing Ace and released massive heavenly thunder strikes.
However, to their dismay, Ace hadpletely vanished, and only afterimages were left. At some point, Ace had used the Devil''s Horn ability of Devil Horn Dark Owl.
Although it was a gamble since he didn''t know if that stealth would work on them or not, he still wanted to try because this heavenly punishment was supposed to be for the soul realm cultivator.
Now, it appeared it had worked as those Heaven''s Terminate Manifestationspletely missed the real him. However, it was only a split second before they all moved in one direction when they realized Ace wasn''t in those afterimages.
''So, they could still lock on me, damn it!'' Ace cussed when he felt his n had almost failed.
Nheless, he was able to achieve his initial goal, which was to get closer to Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation with bow arms. Even that split-second difference gave Ace enough time to unleash his sword skill in the middle of those four Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations, with his primary target being the bow arms Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation!
''Enteral Thief''s Sword Style, Terror Sky Sword Storm!''
Chapter 883 Sixth Realm of Martial and Soul
Chapter 883 Sixth Realm of Martial and Soul
''Enteral Thief''s Sword Style, Terror Sky Sword Storm!''
A dark Qi storm suddenly descended right when Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations were about to pierce Ace, and thereby, they were sent flying while leaving huge chunks of their bodies made with heavenly thunder.
Taking advantage of this situation, Ace used Page-09 like a de and shed it into Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation with bow arms body, which had lost its helpers.
The moment page-09 came in contact with Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, a huge suction force appeared, and the heavenly thunder started to sink into page-09.
Furthermore, its speed was so fast that even Ace was astounded, ''Maybe it''s because it has be moreplete after absorbing so much heavenly thunder!'' Ace mused as within seconds, the bow hands Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation was gone.
Without losing his chance, he grabbed falling page-09, and he moved towards the whip arms Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, which was the second Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation with a ranged weapon made with soul-type heavenly thunder.
Using his footwork, he closed the distance and shed page-09 into Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, and it clearly tried to resist by releasing a massive amount of heavenly thunder, but page-09 was unfazed as it absorbed it like it was water.
At this moment, the fine hair on his back stood in rm, and Ace instantly swung his body and used page-09 as a shield.
"Chee¡"
Thereafter, a thunderous sound rang as the thunder spear was blocked in the nick of time before it could pierce into his neck. Moreover, like a ma, page-09 didn''t let go of that thunder spear the moment it came in contact with it and started to absorb it like the previous two.
No matter how much Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation tried to resist, page-09 didn''t let go, and its size decreased like crazy.
However, Ace didn''t have time to pay attention to it because the sword arms Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation was taking this chance to pierce his head from the left side.
Ace instantly let go of page-09, and two swords appeared in his hand, and he blocked the attack!
Cracking began to appear on the grade-7 swords as the heavenly thunder kept intensifying, and Ace found himself pushed back, which was bad news.
Nheless, Ace wasn''t worried, and he used his own heavenly Qi and dark lighting manifested on the des, which only intensified their destruction.
Still, he couldn''t care less about the swords and instantly performed another sword move.
''Despair Lighting Draw!'' Sword intent created with heavenly Qi rage between the two swords as the des made with thunder finally started to cut, and using his strength, he let loose a cry and released all the Qi. The next moment, his swords cut through not only the thunder des but the Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation itself, leaving a dark ''X'' mark behind while his swords turned into dust.
''haa¡'' Ace panted heavily as he looked at the spitting Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation and didn''t give it a chance to reassemble and search for page-09.
He instantly spotted it falling after it absorbed the Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation with spear arms and used his Qi to grab it and then throw it in at the decapitated Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation as it started to show the sing of reassembling.
Like before, once page-09 came in contact with the heavenly thunder, it didn''t let go until it fully devoured it. As for the thunder debris, Ace decided to absorb it himself.
After dealing with the four Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations, Acended back on the ground with a paleplexion and looked up with a grim expression. He was hoping that it was the end of it or things would turn dangerous if even more of Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations showed up.
At this moment, heavenly punishment clouds rumbled furiously, but they seemed to be finally empty after creating six Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations in total, and after leaving behind a final reluctant thunderous roar, they started to dissipate just as fast as they came.
Ace smiled with ecstasy because, this time, he had given his all without holding back anything and used any means necessary to deal with the Heavenly punishment, and for the time, he was without any injuries.
"I guess this is my win again," Ace muttered as he drooped on his back and caught his breath. He then looked at page-09 and found the characters on it were bing more apparent, but they were still unreadable.
"Just what kind of mystery are you hiding?" Ace questioned softly while looking at the page-09 with scrutiny.
In the end, he chuckled in self-mockery, ''Now I''m taking to a page, huh?'' Shaking his head, he stowed it away as he knew as long as he kept feeding it heavenly punishments, he would eventually find the mystery of page-09.
Right at this moment, the system''s voice rang, which he had been waiting for,
=====
[Congrattion, Host, for sessfully crossing the fifth form of Heavenly Punishment!]
---
[Martial and Soul breakthrough process has been started!] =====
Just as the system''s voice trailed off, the surrounding air, containing the heavenly thunder aura, suddenly vibrated, and a massive amount of heavenly Qi started to pour into his martial and soul space, just like previous breakthroughs.
At this moment, as the dense heavenly Qi pumped into his martial space, the corporeal dark figure in a hood, which was a martial dark soul, started to absorb all the heavenly Qi like a bottomless pit in its tiny body.
As the dark soul devours the heavenly Qi, its corporeal figure bes more and more solid as it grows slightly. Furthermore, the connection between him and the dark soul bes deeper. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Right at this moment, something unexpected happened. The dark soul suddenly started to tremble and jumped out of the martial space and appeared right above Ace''s head!
While his eyes closed, Ace could see everything around him through the eyes of the dark soul, and it didn''t stop there, as the dark soul grew even more until it was the same size as Ace, like an avatar, and the surrounding space was showing the sing of copsing.
This was the manifestation of the soul and a sign of sessfully achieving the soul manifestation realm where draw their soul outside their bodies and control it at will!
If someone looked at the dark soul''s hooded face now, they could only feel a bottomless abyss.
The next moment, the dark soul suddenly vanished from above his head and appeared back into the martial space, but it was of the same size as before, just more real.
Thereafter, a dark blue chain shot from the dark void and pierced into the dark soul''s hooded head and started to shimmer in a dark blue hue, and tiny dark blue symbols began to emerge over the dark figure, making Ace tremble with palpitations.
But it won''tst long as the symbols vanish quickly after being fully etched onto the dark soul. The blue chain trembled before it retracted into the dark void, leaving the dark hooded corporeal figure, who sat in the middle of the empty martial space cross-legged.
Right at this moment thereafter, a majestic aura spread from the dark soul, and a powerful suction force appeared around his body, and heavenly Qi poured into his martial space and started to fill it with despair lightning Qi at a breakneck pace.
His Qi has been evaluated not only in quantity but quality as well, and this could only mean he has sessfully entered the soul manifestation realm.
At this moment, his true soul started to stir and filled with heavenly soul Qi.
The bright golden soul core started to change color as it became deeper and deeper until it turnedpletely pitch ck and looked like a zing ck sun and started to release the ck soul Qi, which was far more potent than the previous golden soul Qi.
At this moment, the ck soul Qi started to get absorbed by the Eternal Thief Fate Compass, and the treasure aura became more ethereal and majestic while the soul sword core remained dormant after absorbing the heavenly thunder, but its aura was far stronger than before.
Finally, Ace''s thief sense also started to grow from a 21-mile radius to 25 miles¡ 30 ¡ and it finally stopped at a 33-mile radius!
But this was far from over because a tinum soul core started to form around the golden soul core, just like the crimson-purple, white, and green soul cores, and started to revolve around the massive heavenly ck wind soul core.
At this moment, Ace''s entire demeanor changes as his aura climbs to new heights, and all his exhaustion is long washed away. Now, he was feeling the power of a whole different realm!
Chapter 884 A Legendary Sea King
Chapter 884 A Legendary Sea King
After the breakthrough waspleted, the System''s voice rang again as he opened his eyes filled with a powerful lighting glow. =====
[Congrattion, Host, on sessfully Manifesting the Dark Soul!]
[Host has reached Stage-1 of Heavenly Dark Soul Manifestation Realm!]
[Reward: 25,000,000 Thief Point]
--
[Congrattion, Host, on sessfully creating the ck Wind Soul Core]
[Host has reached Stage-1 of Heavenly ck Wind Soul Core!]
[Reward: 25,000,000 Thief Point]
[Innate Soul Ability: ck Domain has been awakened.]
-ck Domain (Heavenly Soul Ability): Upon activation, an invisible domain of 10 feet will be materialized around the user. Anyone who steps into the ck Domain will be vulnerable to any and all types of thieveries! -Range: 10 feet -Limitation: Won''t work against someone above one whole cultivation realm than the user! n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
--
[Nature''s tinum Elemental Orb absorption has beenpleted!]
[Special Reward: tinum Qi {Martial & Soul}]
-Host can switch between Worldly Element(s):
1. Light {Soul & Martial} 2. Earth {Soul & Martial}
3. Lightning {Soul & Martial}
4. Yang (Fire) {Soul & Martial}
5. tinum (Metal) {Soul & Martial}
[Warning: Worldly Elements'' and ''Heavenly Elements'' cannot be used together]} ---
[Thief Point(s): 619,450,100]
---
[Host status has been updated!]
=====
''No specific skills this time?'' Ace showed fleeting surprise before he smiled in contentment, ''Well, I still have many skills to master, so it''s not a big deal. But this ck Domain seemed quite peculiar.'' Ace''s eyes shimmered as he could feel his newly awakened ability and its information in his mind. He could only exin this single ability with one word, and that was ''terrifying'', and its only downside was its small range! He wanted to try it out on someone, but there wasn''t anyone around, so he had no choice but to put it on halt for now. ''Should I try my luck and absorb the wind orb as well?'' Ace mused with a serious expression. It was the first time that he had ess to more than one elemental orb, so he was uncertain what would happen if he tried to absorb the second one right away. If it were dangerous, the system would''ve at least warned him, but it never had, even after he inquired. Furthermore, he was at his peak and far stronger than before, but then he shook his head, ''Nah, I should at least wait until my summoning abilities'' cooldown period ends or until Iplete all the prerequisites. There''s no point in taking the unnecessary risk. I should keep this as a trump card, just in case something happened like earlier. It''s a very good way to kill or scare off the enemies.'' Ace''s eyes shone as he didn''t forget about being surrounded by those sea beasts and the mysterious person on this ind who was able to flee the heavenly punishment. So, he decided to keep the elemental orb for now and will only use it if necessary. The next Heavenly Punishment will be to break into the Law Awareness Realm, which means it would be far more terrifying than this one. So, just to be safe, Ace wanted to prepare and polish his skills further and get more familiar with his newly gained power. Who knows how many Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations would descend the next time? At this moment, Ace was about to order the system to absorb the Qi stones and Soul crystals and raise his cultivation realm directly to stage 9 of both martial and soul, just as he didst time when a deep, familiar voice sounded. "Did you seed in ascension?" Ace jumped in surprise as he scanned the areas. In front of him was the endless sea while the ind was behind, but that voice clearly came from the endless sea''s direction. He couldn''t help but think that voice was extremely familiar. ''It''s that guy!'' It finally struck him when he looked at the live fate map, which was also upgraded a rank now, and he instantly spotted the ck fate point with a glittering silver circle around it. Ace''s heart sank. He thought that this guy had escaped using some teleportation treasures and wouldn''t bother toe back and mess with him after seeing the heavenly punishment, yet here he was.
''Could it be he''s here to reim his ind, and what is ascension?'' Uncertain but vignt, Ace tries to keep his calm while secretly ready to escape the moment things turn south. Since the other party wanted to talk and didn''t attack, things were still good for him. "It''s rude not to show your face while talking to someone." Ace coldly stated while looking in the direction where the ck fate point was hidden. Even with his improved thief sense, he still couldn''t get anything on this person, which meant he was too strong for him. Furthermore, since he was still hiding, this could only mean he was still considering the heavenly punishment and was just as wary of him as Ace was of him. Taking advantage of these sorts of situations was Ace''s biggest forte. "Hmph, I guess it was indeed impolite of me not to introduce myself first, and you''re worthy enough for the honor." Just as the voice trailed off, something started to rise from underwater, and Ace''s eyes widened when he saw the shadow, which was around 100 meters wide, and the surrounding pressure started to increase like crazy!
''Ssh¡'' The water sttered as a huge fusiform-shaped body appeared in his view. Its back was entirely made out of inky ck feathers, while its front was white with a small patch of crimson feathers below its neck. With twopletely purple eyes filled with intelligent, long, hooked ck beaks, it looked like a raven, but it wasn''t because it had two flipper-like wings. "I''m the Sea King from Cmity King Penguins Race; my name is Pen!" As Pen arrogantly introduced himself, its voice sounded without his huge beak being open, and its curious yet angry eyes were affixed on Ace.
Ace felt his heart palpitate when he felt he couldn''t fathom Pen''s cultivation, just like the Union Leader, and he knew this opponent was way out of his league. Furthermore, Pen''s body was still more than half underwater, yet it was massive enough to cast a shadow of half of the ind. Now he wonders how in the world he fit in this ce before or if he was capable of beast transformation like a magic beast race. Whichever the case was, one thing was clear: Pen wasn''t from thends, but the endless sea, and Ace needed to be very careful about how he proceeded from this point on!
Chapter 885 What is Ascension?
Chapter 885 What is Ascension?
"S-Sea King?" It was Ace''s first time hearing this term, and the rare this humongous creature just revealed. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Are you a Sea Beast?" Ace had to ask since it was his first time encountering a talking sea beast. He was under the impression that all the sea beast was bloodthirsty like the demonic beast, and there weren''t many records about them. Furthermore, this sea beast was standing at the panicle of power of the Golden Sky Word, and he seemed quite interested in him for some reason. Now, he needed to decide whether he wanted to flee or stay. "Why, of course! I''m not surprised you never heard of us before since yound dwellers are so weak you are not qualified to talk on equal terms with us." Pen disdainfully stated. Ace didn''t retort and calmly asked with a peculiar glint in his eyes, "I think you''re right. My name is White. What do you want with me?" "White¡ what a strange name. Anyhow, I will repeat my question: did you seed in ascension?" Pen repeated the same question again with a hint of anticipation. ''What is ascension?'' Ace wanted to ask this question himself but refrained since that arrogant sea king might turn hostile if he discovered Ace wasn''t something he was considering him to be. But Ace has this feeling that Pen''s question was rted to the heavenly punishment in some way. Ace calmly replied, "What if I had?" The water around Pen suddenly stirred into waves as Ace felt massive martial Qi undtion, and he clearly sensed Pen''s agitation and disbelief for the first time. Suddenly, Pen''s massive body started to shrink at breakneck speed, and under Ace''s startled expression, Pen turned into a 6 feet male in histe twenties. He seemed to be wearing a ck and white scaly armor spread to his entire neck. His ck hair was short while his icy cold purple eyes were shining with strange mirth, and a strange pattern made with crimson scales was on the left side of his face. The pressure and aura he gave were deep like the sea, not to mention grander than even the Union Leader or any other Law Comprehension Realm he had ever seen, and he was worthy of his title as the Sea King. Only now, Ace understood just what kind of entity he had drawn, and if he still didn''t leave, it might be toote. However, he still didn''t act because of the fate point, as he wanted to see what kind of opportunity this terrifying existence had for him. Pen gawked at Ace, whose face was hidden under the hood, and his cultivation was something even he couldn''t measure. It was the main reason he didn''t outright attack him because he was extremely wary of thisnd dweller, and he was too strange. But what he wanted, his lifelong dream could only be achieved with thisnd dweller''s help. He impassively spoke, "I don''t think you have achieved ascension yet. Because I had read that once someone achieves ascension, they will be rejected by the world and ascend to the sky. "Yet, even though you have somehow drawn the Ascension Heavenly Tribtion, you''re still here. Either the records are wrong, or you are hiding something. So, I would like to challenge you for a dual, and if you win, I''ll be your servant for ten years, and if you lose, I want whatever you''re hiding!" Pen finally revealed its fangs as he was also willing to gamble to achieve his goal. Although he didn''t sense anything from Ace, he wanted to test his strength, and he put his own ten years of freedom on the line for insurance. Because if Ace was really what he thought he was, then he would spare his life, and he would be able to follow him, which wasn''t a bad thing at all. But if Ace were weak, he''d take everything without hesitation. For Pen, it was a win-win whether he won or lost. ''Hmph, ind dwellers are all dumb! I want to know how this person managed to reach this point despite the ancient records stating otherwise.'' He thought as he still looked down on Ace as if it was in his blood to consider anyone from thends beneath himself. ''So that''s what he meant by ascension!'' Ace was really shocked when he heard the first part about ascension. He always wondered how someone would go beyond the mortal sky, and he had only guessed that the answer might be the next realm after thewprehension realm. Now, from Pen''s words, it also became clear that whoever want to enter the new heaven must go under something simr to the Heavenly Punishment, and he finally understood why Pen was asking if he had achieved ascension. It was all because he was thinking that Ace''s heavenly punishment was this Ascension Heavenly Tribtion. Furthermore, he easily saw through Pen''s schemes and thought with a thievish glint in his eyes, ''This guy is too arrogant and spouting so much information without even thinking twice. Additionally, he seems to know far too much about thends as well and knows about this ascension process.
''Maybe he knows something worth glittering silver rank fate point. Furthermore, there''s still a treasure on this ind, which he was very reluctant to let go of, and his other objective might be to retrieve it again. Since he''s so gullible, I might be able to trick him¡'' At this moment, Ace decided that Pen was too good to avoid, and since he was an arrogant sea beast who was still wary of him, he was nning on using it to his advantage even if he had to take some risks. Even if nothing works, he could easily get away. Ace''s tone changed as he imposingly replied while he released the aura of heavenly thunder, "Heh, you lowly fish dare to court my things? I was going to spare you since I was going to leave the mortal sky after testing your intentions. Now that I see how blind you are, you can perish¡" When Pen sensed the heavenly thunder aura suddenly rising from Ace, even though it was faint, he didn''t forget how he was forced to use his most precious talisman to flee death. Now, Ace was releasing the same aura, and that really scared him. From Ace''s confident tone, he thought he had made a huge mistake by showing his greed so openly. If Ace could really control that kind of power, then he was really capable of killing him, and from Ace''s words, it was quite clear he was just testing him. The thing that scared Pen the most was the gap in knowledge about ascension, and he had no idea how long a person could stay before leaving the world. Furthermore, the words ''mortal sky'' made him even more wary of Ace, and he almost believed that Ace was telling the truth because the name Mortal Sky was only mentioned in the records, and he never said it once. So, as Ace''s aura spiked, his previous arrogance vanished, and he quickly tried to salvage the situation since it was simply too risky now, "Please calm down. It was my mistake! I apologize for my transgression. I admit my defeat!" ''The more powerful you are, the more afraid you''ll be of death!'' Ace scoffed inwardly, seeing how easily Pen backed down just by his faint aura of heavenly punishment thunderw, which he had not evenprehended to 1% yet. Ace looked at Pen, who was afloat in the air, and decided to scare Pen further as he coldly stated, "What? So quickly? Didn''t you want to have a go at me? I''ll give you the chance to attack first. If you manage to touch me, I''ll let you live. But if you fail, you''ll be dead the very next moment!"
Chapter 886 Playing a Fox
Chapter 886 ying a Fox
When Pen heard Ace''s confident words imbued with heavenly thunderw and killing intent, even someone like him who stood at the pinnacle of the world felt his heart churning.
If he hadn''t experienced the heavenly thunder himself, he might''ve already attacked Ace because of his arrogance. Now, he was really confused about whether the heavenly thunder was natural or Ace was an old monster like him.
Furthermore, one of Ace''s thief titles, [Cold Liar], was also in effect, which made Pen sink even deeper into Ace''s deception.
Now, he would attack while keeping in mind that if he failed, he might die, and this result was exactly what Ace was looking for.
"Please forgive my previous transgression. I was way out of line because I never met someone like you before, and I no longer wished for us to fight." Pen tried to hide his fear as he sternly stated while secretly circting his Qi just in case Ace turned out to be as unreasonable as himself.
Ace almostughed out of loud when he heard and saw just how vignce Pen was, not to mention a coward despite his ridiculous cultivation.
"You wish?" Ace continued the fa?ade and coldly replied, "Hmm¡ since you''re surrendering, then it would be unreasonable for me not to give you a chance. Alright, if you wish to mend your mistake, I''ll let you follow me to the next heaven. You should be a good helper in a foreignnd."
Pen''s eyes went wide when he heard those absurd words, but his heart started to beat widely, "F-follow you!? Is¡is it even possible?" He didn''t dare to believe that someone else could take him with him to another heaven. It was simply impossible.
''If it''s true, then this heaven''s restriction won''t matter, and I can grow even more!'' His heart raced just thinking about it despite it being an absurd notion.
Ace smiled behind his mask, "Truth be told, I''m not from this heaven, and I fell into a space storm and somehow appeared in this sted ce. Now that I have recovered a part of my cultivation, I''m finally ready to leave this godforsaken ce.
"But I''ve never seen a creature like you before, which means you''re special, and you''re quite knowledgeable, so it would be a shame to leave a talent like you here when I can nurture you into the next grand expert of higher heaven.
"So, how about it? Are you willing to take me as your master?" Ace appeared extremely dignified as he said those grand words.
Pen, who hadn''t seen a real crock before and was as pure as a child when it came to how the world works, trembled and felt extremely proud when Ace praised him. Furthermore, he felt it now made even more sense if Ace wasn''t from this heaven since he knew better than anyone that no one should be able to leave this ce.
Now, he heard that Ace was willing to take him with him and even recognized his peerless talent; Pen felt like all the years of his hard work had finally paid off.
But it still felt it was too good to be true, and his pride still did not allow him to be an underling of and dweller. He was in a dilemma.
However, Ace knew as a professional liar that what he was offering was simply too good to be true, and anyone with somemon sense would hesitate and suspect the legitimacy of his ims.
So, he added the final touch, "Of course, you have to prove yourself first. Talent as you are, I need to know if you have the skills to survive in mynds. If you agree toe, then I''ll give you 100 days to prove yourself. If you pass, I''ll take you with me, and if you don''t, then don''t bother to seek me out."
Pen''s expression grew tense when he heard Ace''s cold words and thought, ''I knew it! How can it be so easy!'' He found Ace''s previous ims even more believable now.
Taking a deep breath, he asked, "May I inquire what you have in mind?" His tone was now somewhat respectful.
"Simple, go southwest, and you''ll find a continent called the Central Continent. Bring me the head of the most powerful person there in 300 days. Miss this time window, and I''ll be gone. But if you don''t want to, then scram out of my sight in three seconds." Ace coldly revealed his ''test'' for Pen.
Although he looked aloof and confident on the outside, inwardly, he was very tense since things could go wrong at any given moment. Furthermore, what he was asking Pen to do was probably only a lunatic would agree to do it.
Because the strongest person in the central continent was none other than the Union Lord, and Ace knew better than anyone just how dangerous and scheming that person was. So, if Pen really agreed, then the entire central continent would turn upside down, and this would give Ace more time to breathe.
But if Pen were able to eliminate the Union Lord, then he would get rid of a huge thorn in his path. He was ying fox who wanted to use the lion to get rid of the tiger or wound them both. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Pen showed a frown as he thought, ''Kill the strongest person on this central continent? Could it be those fools changed the name of thends again? It''s been so long since I''ve paid thends a visit, and this task is really too easy. Could it be he''s underestimating me!''
A fire ignited in Pen''s heart as he felt he was being looked down upon, and he quickly agreed, "I ept your test!"
Ace wanted tough when he heard Pen''s words, but he was startled when he saw Pen was about to turn around and leave toplete his mission promptly.
"W-wait!" Ace quickly stopped him.
"Do you have more instructions?" Pen frowningly looked back, ''Don''t tell me he changed his mind? Did he discover what I was thinking? Shit, you''re thinking too loud Pen!''
Unaware of Pen''s silly thoughts, Ace inly said, "You said you have records about ascension, right? Leave them behind and any other ancient records you have. I''ll research them while you''re away. Just to be sure something untoward won''t happen."
Pen was startled, but he didn''t think much about it since those records were useless to him now, and he had already remembered everyst word from them. Furthermore, he was now can go to his dreand as long as hepletes this simple task.
Although he didn''t know why someone like Ace wanted to research those ancient documents, he couldn''t fathom what someone of Ace''s level was thinking.
"Of course." He nodded before he flipped his hand, and a golden jade scroll appeared, and he threw it towards Ace.
Astounded, Ace caught the jade scroll and the next moment, "Please wait for me!" Pen quickly vanished like the wind.
Ace quickly nced at the fate map and just happened to see the glittering silver circle around Pen''s fate point vanish at this moment, and Pen was really gone!
Ace''s heart raced because he knew what it meant as he looked at the jade scroll in his hand, ''So this is it!''
Chapter 887 Ten Thousand Years Old Illusion Grass
Chapter 887 Ten Thousand Years Old Illusion Grass
?
Ace couldn''t help but stare at the jade scroll and then Pen, who had vanished towards the central continent.
''That was too easy¡'' He thought with a hint of disbelief as he never thought someone as strong as Pen could be tricked so easily, or it was just him who didn''t know how scared Pen had been and how badly he wanted to find a way towards the ascension.
Now Ace not only got his hands on this jade scroll that was allegedly a glittering silver-level opportunity, but he even sent Pen to wreak havoc in the central continent. Everyone knew who the strongest person in the central continent was, the Union Lord and that guy was too mysterious.
''If that dumb sea king can really kill the Union Leader, then the entire new power structure will be disrupted again. Even if he can''t, he would at least cause a hugemotion.
''Whichever ends up happening, it''ll be in my favor. And by the time that dumb sea king realized what had happened, I would be long gone. He might start wreaking havoc in other continents because of it, which is also good.'' Ace smiled coldly as this entire scenario he had created was in his favor. The chaos there was, the easier it was for him to reap benefits from it.
''I need to get the hell out of this ce just in case that guy''s brain works earlier.'' Ace thought as he stowed away the jade scroll for now and headed toward the depth of the ind where the heavenly thunder struck Pen.
Ace didn''t forget about the treasure that Pen was guarding, and he probably didn''t have the guts to demand it after he fell for Ace''s lies.
The ind has a thick forest, which was now almost burned to the ground, and many charred creators were here and there. It was the aftermath of the destruction that the heavenly thunder caused, and Ace knew all the living beings in this ce had been killed.
At this moment, Ace finally spotted a massive creator with the thickest aura of heavenly thunder on the entire ind except for the ce where he had killed the HTM.
Ace frowned slightly as he didn''t spot anything, and he opened the live fate map as this ce now entered his thief sense range.
But before he couldy his eyes on the map, Moira''s startled voice with a hint of ecstasy rang, "Sir Ace! I think I sense the material needed for mypletion!"
Ace was pleasantly surprised by Moira''s rming revtion. The Enteral Thief Fate Compass was the strongest and most helpful treasure he had. In Ace''s eyes, it was almost on the level of the system.
After his recent breakthrough, the Enteral Thief Fate Compass was now a grade-6 treasure, and as Ace''s thief sense grew, its range was also growing.
Thest time Moira found two materials for thepletion scheme in the regal fiend tower, the ck broken mirror. However, Ace had to use it to wake Eva and also to awaken a trace of Void Abyss Devil bloodline in her.
Ace felt sorry for Moira, but he knew his priorities. Today, Moira found another material, and this time, he wasn''t nning on using it for another purpose.
Ace knew how rare those materials were, and now he understood why Pen risked going against the heavenly punishment to guard it.
"What material is it?" Ace asked with ecstasy as he moved toward the creator because he could now see the silver area in the live fate map.
"It''s the ten thousand years old Illusion Grass! It''s hidden deep underground, and I think it''s essential is notplete." Moira stated with uncertainty.
Ace frowned, "That sea king might have absorbed the missing essential. Is it still sufficient?" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Yes, we need the roots of ten thousand years old Illusion Grass. If anything, this also yed in our favor because its essential is running thin. It''s unable to protect itself. Or if it was still healthy, I don''t think Sir Ace could escape the illusion it creates as a natural protection barrier to avoid predators." Moira conveyed.
Ace raised an eyebrow. He hadn''t expected that even with his current power, that herb could affect his mind. This means Pen helped him again this time.
"If it''s that amazing, then we should be thankful to Pen." Ace chuckled as he finally appeared in the center of the creator and finally saw a deep hole.
"Indeed. But you should also know that ten thousand years old Illusion Grass won''t be easy to retrieve. If you made a single mistake, the entire nt will die, and I think that''s the reason that sea beast didn''t take it but instead decided to absorb it directly." Moira revealed with concern.
Ace was about to jump in the hole when he stopped and frowned, "This is a big problem then. Even that guy wasn''t able to retrieve it. How am I supposed to do it?"
He didn''t think of this kind of problem to arise as he overlooked this important fact in his excitement. If a sea king like Pen wasn''t able to take this ten thousand years old Illusion Grass, then was he capable?
"I-I''m sorry, I don''t know what to do either." Moira''s apologetic, childish voice sounded.
"It''s not your fault. You were very helpful in providing me with this information. Let me ask the expert as well." Ace consoled Moira before he questioned the system.
"Hey, system, since you are the one who draws thatpletion scheme, you should also know how to handle those materials, right?"
"[As long as Host touched any material mentioned in thepletion scheme and pay 10 Million TP, system can directly absorb it into the Eternal Thief Fate Compass.]"
The system didn''t beat around the bush and directly revealed its demands.
Ace pursed his lips, "You really are a ck-hearted businessman."
Still, he was happy about this development as now he no longer needed to worry about damaging anything.
"See? Problem solve just like that." Ace said with a chuckle.
Moira sheepishly said, "T-thank you."
"What, thank you? I should be the one thanking you. Without you, I don''t think I will ever be able to reach this point safely." Ace solemnly dered. He was really grateful to Moira for all the help and directions thepass has provided in his journey. He didn''t think of Moira as a mere treasure spirit but a person and his friend.
Without hesitation, Ace jumped into the hole, and as he did deeper and deeper, he felt powerful martial Qi rising like a stream and a refreshing scent filled the air, and Ace felt his mind be clear just by breathing.
After dropping for around 1900 feet, Ace finally spotted the end, and he used the sky steps to halt his free fall. He jumped down andnded on the floor, which was covered with ayer of crystal yellowish liquid.
Just by standing here, Ace found his EXP was rising by 3 points per second. Furthermore, the scent was so intoxicating Ace wanted to stay there forever.
"Sir Ace!" Moira''s loud yell jolted Ace from his daydream.
Ace felt his heart turn cold when he found out what had happened, "I almost got affected, didn''t I?"
"Yes. I didn''t think the ten thousand years old Illusion Grass would still be this strong." Moira said gloomily.
"Thank you again." Ace wore a grave expression with a hint of fear because if Moira hadn''t used her voice, he might''ve really fallen into some illusion.
At this moment, he finally spotted the origin of this powerful martial Qi and that scent.
It was golden grass with seven grass des, and they were 3 meters tall, and faint yellow patterns like runes were engraved on the grass des.
Ace''s eyes shone with a hint of tion, "Ten Thousand Years Old Illusion Grass!"
Chapter 888 The World Lock
Chapter 888 The World Lock
Over thousands of miles away from the ind where Ace had undergone the heavenly punishment, there was another small ind around three miles in diameter.
At this moment, in front of Ace were hovering a few items enshrouded in Dismantle Qi as his eyes shone with ecstasy.
''I am finally able to dismantle the grade-6 pill!'' He thought, and right at this moment, the system''s voice sounded, and a panel opened.
=====
-Prerequisites to Unlock (revealed) Mysterious Condition (2):
1. Sixth Realm in Marital and Soul
-Status: Complete
2. Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Rank: 6th Grade
-Status: Complete
3. At least 49.99% Element Law Proficiency of [Despair], [Lightning], and [Wind]
-Status: Complete
--
[The second mysterious condition will be unlocked in 10 seconds!]
[Host, please envelop yourself with Dismantle Qi in 10 seconds!]
[Warning: There would be dire consequences if Host hadn''t enveloped himself with Dismantle Qi by the time the mysterious condition was unlocked!] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
=====
Ace was expecting this notification and quickly enveloped himself with the dismantle Qi. It''s been six months since he had a breakthrough in Heavenly Dark Soul Manifestation Realm.
Not only did he trick a powerhouse like Pen into getting information about the ascension, but he was even able to absorb one of the materials he needed to upgrade the Eternal Thief Fate Compass.
Afterward, Ace naturally fled the ce while focusing onpleting the other prerequisites of the second mysterious condition. After hisst breakthrough, Ace directly used EXP and SP to enter stage 9, and he found that as his cultivation stage increased, his innate elements became easier to understand.
That''s how hepleted the second prerequisite, and thief sense also increased to a 99-mile radius from the initial 33-mile radius.
Now, Ace was confident in killing an early-stagew awareness realm cultivator in frontal confrontation and winning against an intermediate-stagew awareness realm cultivator.
As for thete-stagew awareness realm cultivator, as long as he could increase his Element Law Proficiency to 89%, he was sure he could take them on, but for now, he could at least preserve his life.
At this moment, the system panel finally changed, and the mission panel opened.
=====
-Heaven''s Stealer Mission: Embarking the Path of Heaven''s Stealer!
-Mysterious Condition (2): The World Lock!
-Requirement(s):
1. Find the World Key of Sky!
-Status: 0/1
2. Find the World Key of Earth!
-Status: 0/1
3. Find the World Key of Connection!
-Status: 1/1
4. Find the World Lock Map!
-Status: 1/1
5. Unlock the World Lock!
-Status: Iplete
-Thief House Members: Allowed
-Reward(s): Unknown
-Time: 15 Years
-Punishment: Painless Death
---
(Warning: Host can''t open this mission panel without encasing in the Dismantle Qi!)
=====
Ace was gobsmacked when he saw the unraveled second mysterious conditions, and what made him disbelieving were the alreadypleted requirements number 3 and 4!
"System, do you make a mistake?" He asked with uncertainty. If he had something like a world key or world lock map, he should''ve known.
"[There is no room for errors in Heaven''s Stealer Mission.]"
Ace was baffled and quickly said, "Then can you show me where is this key and map? I mean, take them out from thief''s space."
The system didn''t dy, and the next moment, two items from the thief''s space vanished and appeared right in front of Ace.
It was a nine-inch-long ancient ck crystal key and an icy blue scroll.
The moment Ace''s eyesnded on those two times, he couldn''t help but exim, "Isn''t that the map I stole from the Grim Ancestor and the key I got after destroying the scepter staff with lightning orb?!"
Ace could never forget these two items since both of their origins were mysterious, and both of them came from the same ce in a sense, from the demon temple!
But he never expected that these two items would appear in heaven''s stealer mission of all the things. Furthermore, both of them seemed to be a part of a world-ss mystery called the World Lock!
Ace took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, as all of this was simply too much for him to take.
He sternly asked the system, "System, if these two items are part of this world lock. Then, ording to my findings, this map is useless without a baleful Qi-less soul, and I have no idea where the locations of this world lock are. Furthermore, the remaining two key locations are unknown. I can''t just search the entire world!"
Ace was now confused and worried about this condition. Although he got a head start, he was still clueless about where to go with this further. Both the map and key came into his possession by pure luck and coincidence.
There were still two more keys, and then there was the matter of finding a soul with no baleful Qi. This information wasn''t false, as Freya confirmed it as well.
"[The map is sealed with a powerful sealing formation, and its true secrets will be revealed once the host collects all the three world keys. Moreover, Host worry is unjust for the host had already marked the two keys in your fate map.]"
"What, when?!" Ace examined again in utter disbelief as the system dropped another bombshell.
Then suddenly, revtion dawns on him, ''Wait¡ I got this key from the scepter with an elemental orb. Now the reaming two orbs are also marked in the fate map, don''t tell me¡''
"Are you telling me the reaming two orbs are like the lightning orb?" Ace quickly asked with disbelief and anticipation.
System emotionlessly replied with a single word, "[Yes.]"
Ace remained stunned for a moment before heughed out loud as he didn''t know what to feel anymore. Because this seeminglyplex mission suddenly turned simple. His luck has never been that great before.
But he quickly calmed his nerves as he knew those two orbs were in the hands of powerful experts and getting them would not be so easy, especially if the opponents were like the giant demon.
Ace quickly opened the live fate map and saw the two marked arrows were still together, but surprisingly, they were no longer in the central continent.
Ace frowned, ''Why the hell is going on? Six months ago, they were still in the direction of the central continent, but now they''re pointing in the direction of azure wind continent¡ I need to go after them right now, and I might be able to ambush them!''
Without hesitation, Ace quickly stood up and prepared for his voyage as now he knew where he should go. The Sky Stealer was finally on the move!
Chapter 889 Regrets Of The Past (1)
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Arge fleet of massive ships was moving toward the Blood Continent.
In the central ship of the fleet, the three ancestors, Devil, Demon, and Blood, were gathered together in a closed room.
After they all settled the matters in the central continent, these three took their men and heads back to their own continents. It''s been years since they all had left their empires, and now it was time for them to return. At least, that was their pretext.
Furthermore, except for the All Devil Continent, the Almighty Demon Continent and Blood Continent were extremely chaotic. Especially the demon continent because of the imperial demon prince''s rebellion.
As for the Blood Continent, it was chaotic because one of the five elemental ns had gone missing without any traces.
But there was onemon problem in all three continents: the problem of emerging thieves!
"Sigh¡ I can''t help but think that our entire life''s work was only amount to this much." Margret sighed ruefully with a hint of resentment in her enthralling eyes.
Edward gloomily chuckled, "And all because we are too weak to protect it, heh¡ I''m starting to doubt if our decision back then was anything but ludicrous. We chose to live forever like leeches at the expense of our growth and freedom. Now, we need to choose again."
Albert, who was now like a wilted old tree, hoarsely said, "Living forever, eh? I''d even lost that privilege. Now, I''m just a dying old demon, and all of it because of a pompous thief!"
"Come on, old guy, you''re not dying on my watch, especially when the world is going crazy. Once we reach the Holy Land, we can replenish your vitality, and then you can try to breakthrough into the Law Comprehension Realm with us. It''s only a matter of time before we don''t have to rely on the world''s vitality to live." Edward stated as his eyes shone with uncertainty.
Margret frowned a little as she said, "Are you sure that''ll work? The keys are connected to our souls, and they work as a medium to channel the world''s vitality to us. Don''t try something on a whim. It''s not our responsibility to clean up his mess. It''s quite clear that the thief is too terrifying to consider him petty anymore. Even that sly prick (Union Lord) was tricked by him.
"That bastard even took Alina and helped the entire Silver Ice n vanish without anyone noticing it. If you want my advice, we should stay in the Holy Land until we''re strong enough to take the world back from the sly prick.
"I believe, dear Albert, has enough vitality to try for a breakthrough. This way, he won''t die in vain." Margret coldly stated with a hint of hatred that shed past her eyes when she mentioned Alina.
Albert didn''t say anything despite Margret''s harsh words, as he appeared stoic like nothing else mattered to him anymore, "You''re right. Only after losing my endless life did I understand the meaning of living every moment. Without death, what''s the meaning of life? So, I''ll follow Margret''s advice and enter life and death seclusion in the Holy Land.
"If I seed, I''ll see you guys again, and if I die, just bury me in the Demon Temple. I''ve lived long enough to see many of my descendants die. It''s about time I''ll face death, and who knows, I might be able to conquer it." He chuckled.
Edward frowned, looking at his best friend and rival, who seemed to be atplete peace with the fact that death wasing for him.
He couldn''t help but smile in the end, "Are you sure you''re the Battle Craze Demon Albert? The same demon who was the first one to ept the deal?"
"I guess the fear of dying can teach you many things." Albert smiled wryly.
Edward didn''t say anything else as it pained him to see Albert like this, and he looked at Margret, snickering with a cold expression, "You never told me what was so extraordinary about that Alina girl that made a witch like you cherish her so much. I''ve also heard rumors that you were as obsessive with Alina''s grandmother as you are with the granddaughter. But you ended up executing both fogies because they seemed to discover your secret, right?"
Margret''s expression went cold as she nced at Edward and scoffed, "Your spywork is as sted as ever, I suppose. Alright, I''ll tell you, but in return, you have to tell me about the Shadow Devil Thief."
Edward''s expression changed ever so slightly when he heard that name, which he never expected to hear from anyone, at least not from Margret!
"Hmph, it would appear you''re doing quite good yourself. Alright, since it''s a matter of the past, I don''t mind telling you. But you have to go first." Edward replied with a stoic expression.
Margret couldn''t help but smile in contentment when she caught Edward off guard, and he no longer appeared smug like before. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"It''s a deal." Margret giggled as she said, "The reason I was obsessed with the grandmother and granddaughter was because both of them have something inmon: a Fantastic Martial Physique!"
Both Edward and Albert showed an astounded expression as they looked at Margret in disbelief.
Edward coldly said, "The legendary fantastic physiques and two appeared in the same bloodline at that? Are you making fun of us?"
Margret snickered yfully, "Why would I lie to you? I know it''s hard to believe, even I was like you when I found it. It all started when Alina''s Grandmother, Snow, started to show terrifying talent in the sword.
"Sheprehended the sword intent of ice when she was not even ten, and that''s how she came to my attention. Her talent in swords was so ridiculous and brilliant that the moment I saw it with my own eyes, I knew she was a natural-born talent with special traits.
"But I have no idea what kind of fantastic physique she had because of our limited knowledge. It was rted to the sword, though that much I was sure of. So, I took her as my first disciple with an ambition to nurture her as the strongest cultivator in this world, and maybe through her, I wanted to mend my regret."
Margret showed a mncholic expression, "However, she ruined it all with love. First, I thought It would be fine to let her experience love, which should be a good thing for her in the long run, and I didn''t want her to end up like me. However, who could''ve thought that it was the start of her demise!"
Chapter 890 Regrets of the Past (2)
Chapter 890 Regrets of the Past (2)
Edward was intrigued seeing Margret showing this kind of sentiment, "Don''t tell me she rebelled against you because of her man?"
Margret red at Edward, "No, she was very obedient. By the time she married, she was only 22, and her cultivation was Qi soul manifestation at that time while her swordw was in the intermediate realm.
"But after her marriage, her cultivation and elementw proficiency came to an abrupt halt. At first, I thought she was just distracted, and since she was already so ahead of others, I didn''t think much of it.
"However, when a year passed, Snow herself noticed that something was strange going on with her. She told me that she could no longer cultivate like before, nor could sheprehend the sword or icew any further.
"I was naturally skeptical and told her to cultivate by my side. When another year passed, and she still made no progress, I realized that something had gone extremely wrong.
"Because not only can she no longer cultivate, but it started to regress instead, only by little, but I could tell it was happening. I tried feeding her all sorts of herbs and pills but to no avail. I even tried to use the Blood Scepter and took a risk of revealing it to her, but still nothing.
"It was like she had lost all her talent, and there was only one exnation: it started to happen after she consummated with that man, and her fantastic physique seemed to have stopped working altogether." She revealed while she unknowingly gritted her teeth.
Both Edward and Albert were shocked as they hadn''t expected this sort of twist.
"How peculiar. This could only mean that all that talent was only until she was a virgin. Such a waste." Edward sighed, but a hint of gloating was present in his voice.
Margret sneered, "Hmph, stop with your fake empathy. I know you must be over the moon since that girl could''ve thrown you from your high pedestal eventually."
"Hah, like now I hadn''t?" Edward scoffed, "She seemed quite important to you. So, why kill her?"
Margret eyes turned cold, "Since she was no longer the Snow I knew, I gave up on her and left her alone. She also didn''t seem bothered that much and even happy that she could live with the man she loved. It left me baffled and angry at that time, but I just cut my connection to the world.
"But after 34 years, it came to my attention that Snow now had a son, and from him, a girl was born who caused a phenomenon on birth. A white neon sword approximately a hundred miles in diameter appeared in the sky, which caused a sensation.
"When I heard this, you can imagine my surprise, and I headed to the Silver Ice n that very moment to meet that child. I saw Snow after three decades, and her cultivation had regressed to the river realm. But she seemed to be truly happy and blessed.
"She weed me like a mother, and she just couldn''t stop talking about her child and granddaughter. It was also the first time I met Alina. She was so tiny and fragile I could''ve cursed her like a bug, yet so beautiful.
"She had a birthmark of a white sword on her be, and do know she was emitting the aura of a soul realm cultivator!" Margret stated with a solemn tone.
"Absurd!"
"Impossible!"
Both old monsters jumped on their feet when they heard this, and their expressions were pure and utter disbelieving. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Margret solemnly said, "That was the same reaction when I had seen it with my own eyes. I knew at that moment that this child was even more brilliant than Snow and the most talented person in the entire world.
"Learning from failure with Snow, I naturally wanted to take her away with me at that very moment. But it was then things started to get hectic. Snow and that man opposed me, and it was then I found another thing that Snow had been hiding from me all these years.
"I only know half of the truth behind Snow''s decline in cultivation, while the other half was thoroughly hidden by Snow. The thing was, she had lost all her talent, but it wasn''t gone. Instead, it was transferred to that man after they consummated!
"He was as strong as me, and when I tried to use force to take away Alina, he finally showed his true prowess. He also knows about the Blood Scepter, and it was at that time I understood that Snow had betrayed me a long time ago, and she put me through all that misery."
Hatred shone in Margret''s eyes, "I couldn''t let it slide; I just couldn''t! So, I used everything at my disposal to kill that bastard and that traitor. But it came with a steep price. So, I ended up using a secret technique to alter the Silver Ice n members'' memories.
"I needed a decade to recover from my injuries, so I sealed Alina''s talent with Blood Scepter and banished her for ten years with certain memories nted in their butler.
"But it was all in vain because when Alina returned, I saw the same look in her eyes that I saw in Snow when she was in love with that bastard. I even tried to tell her about the story of her grandparents'' betrayal, but that girl never trusted me.
"So, I didn''t unseal her talent as well. But even without it, she was still so talented in the sword that she quickly rose to prominence. I also thought that she could forget about that boy she fell in love with as time passed.
"But that cursed love seemed to have run in her veins just like Snow, and she was never able to ovee it and fled to him the first chance she got. So, I tried using other means by revealing it to the Dream Shatter and asked him to kill that kid."
A depraved smile appeared on Margret''s veiled face, "But that boy turned out to be the sky stealer, and what happened afterward, you guys should know."
Edward and Albert were speechless for a long time after they found the truth about Alina and Snow. They hadn''t expected this at all, and they even felt pity for Margret.
"You''ve really suffered in all these years¡" Albert sighed ruefully as he didn''t know what else to say.
Edward wasn''t the one to show emotions as he was the ruthless type, "You should''ve killed her when you saw things were not going your way. Now, that girl is with our arch-enemy. What if he had a way to break that seal?"
Margret showed deep resentment before a maddening smile appeared on her face filled with hatred and malice, "Hmph, didn''t I say I learned from my past mistakes? The moment someone tries even to probe the seal or that thief took her virginity, she''ll die a horrible death in his arms, and that I can guarantee with my life!"
Chapter 891 Regrets of the Past (3)
Chapter 891 Regrets of the Past (3)
Albert sighed, looking at Margret''s hate-filled eyes, and asked, "You are indeed as vicious as ever. But what I can''t understand is, if you can alter her family''s memories, why not do the same with her? Shouldn''t it be much easier to keep her under your control?" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Margret retorted in anger, "You think I hadn''t tried? Although my intentions with Snow were pure, and I never tried to do anything underhanded to her. But with Alina, trust me, the moment I saw her for the second time, I tried to change her memories so she could forget that boy.
"But do you know what happened the moment I tried even peer into her knowledge sea? My soul suffered terrible damage. It was to the point that, for a moment, I thought I was a goner. If not for that seal I nted, you might have never seen me again!" Her eyes showed a lingering fear. She clearly wasn''t joking, as that experience left deep trauma.
Albert was shocked, and Edward squinted his eyes and said, "I still think you should''ve killed her the moment you found that she couldn''t be controlled. But I think you never wanted to control her. You just wanted to make her your obedient pet!"
Margret eyes shed with killing intent as she red at Edward, "Says the person who gets new women from his ns every generation to restock his collection of toys. Now out with it, who was the Shadow Devil Thief?"
Edward red back with a hint of malice, but he didn''t want to argue with the madwoman, and since she revealed such a thing to them, his matter wasn''t worth mentioning.
So, he calmly said, "Approximately a hundred years ago, in the Shadow Devil n''s territory, a thief emerged. It all started with small-time thefts. The most distinguishable trait of this thief was she always stole from the rich and then shared her loot with the needy and poor.
"First, no one took notice because the sheer size of the thefts was not worth noticing by us. However, three years after the Shadow Devil Thief made her debut, she stole the treasury of the middle-sized n under the Shadow Devil n. A monthter, another middle-sized n fell victim, and then another.
"It was then the Shadow Devil n took notice and took action. However, even after chasing Shadow Devil Thief''s trails for years, they failed to capture even her shadow.
"But those ipetent fools keep it all under tight wraps so that they won''t lose their reputation." Edward coldly snorted.
"Heh, here I thought only my descendants were ipetent. I never thought you had gone through the same thing." Albert coldlymented at this moment. He was clearly unhappy about Edward hiding such a thing from him and even used the sky stealer to humiliate him while Edward himself had gone through the same thing.
Edward shrugged his shoulder, "Buddy, it''s your fault to let it all blow up to the entire world, and trust me, the sky stealer is far more terrifying than the Shadow Devil Thief ever was. So, it''s not your fault that you got a more talented thief in your ce.
"Anyway, eighteen years passed since the first appearance of the Shadow Devil Thief, and she finally started to spread her wings as her range of thieveries grew from the Shadow Devil Territory to the other main n territory. It was also that the other ns started to take notice of the Shadow Devil Thief.
"In another twenty years, the Shadow Devil Thief became a nightmare for any n that wasn''t one of the ten main devil ns. Furthermore, the thief''s guts were as high as the sky because she even established a secret mission center where she would steal for anyone who met her requirements. Thief she was, but she had be a messiah of themon folks.
"It was also the time for the once-in-a-century matrimonial ritual of yours truly. It''s a tradition of our devil race that every century, the ten main ns will send their most excellent woman to their ancestor to marry, which would bring them prosperity and keep their position." Edward stated with a hint of pride.
Margret snickered with disdain, "Toys, as I said. You were always this fickle when ites to beautiful women."
Edward didn''t mind Margret''s disdainful eyes and chuckled, "And what''s wrong with that? What''s the point of having an endless life if you want to spend it in hiding? Besides, ten women per century for my protection is not a bad deal, don''t you think?
"And I never forced anyone. In fact, they considered it their honor to serve me. Furthermore, since this is a ritual, I only keep them for 360 days before sending them back happy. They are free to marry others for all I care."
"Shameless bastard!" Margret cussed with a scornful re while Albert frowned and didn''t say anything as he was aware of Edward''s debaucher personality and lustful nature.
Edward continued without paying the madwoman any heed, "Like usual, the ten ns sent their most excellent and beautiful women for the ritual. It then I saw her¡"
His eyes suddenly turn dreamy, "The youngest princess of Shadow Devil n, Eve Shadow. Her beauty was unmatched and nothing like anything I had ever seen. Everything paled inparison to her. She was too perfect like a devil goddess has descended herself. She was even more beautiful than you."
Margret squinted her eyes, looking at Edward''s expression of longing, "Don''t tell me she was¡?"
Edward finally snapped out of that unforgettable memory before killing intent shone in his eyes, "Indeed, she was the Shadow Devil Thief, and she was after my treasures! At that time, I wasn''t informed about the Shadow Devil Thief since those bastards thought it was a triviality to report to their ancestors.
"That insufferable enchantress was simply too good at her craft, and she seemed to know my nature too well and used it against me. She was able to steal my storage ring without even me realizing it."
Albert and Margret shook their head in disappointment, but they weren''t surprised by it at all since they knew Edward was fully capable of forgetting everything when beauty was involved.
Edward''s killing intent intensified, "But she made a terrible error. She underestimated me and overestimated her thievish abilities. My storage ring is no ordinary storage ring, but it''s a living storage space ring that is directly connected to my Devil Scepter.
"If someone is foolish enough to steal it, once they distance themselves from me to a certain extent, I''ll instantly know, and its location can''t be hidden because it can''t be stored in a simple storage ring.
"That thievish bitch might''ve realized it, but she was too greedy to give up on it. I tracked her down the moment she tried to escape. At that time, when she tried to retaliate, I realized that her cultivation was at the intermediate stage of thew awareness realm, and her cultivation method wasn''t from the shadow devil n but something far stronger.
"She was able to exchange a hundred blows with me despite her lower cultivation, and when she felt the danger to her life and realized that she had picked the wrong target, she threw my storage ring and broke the gem on her pendant.
"Before I realized it, she was gone, teleported somewhere." Edward gritted his teeth just by remembering that memory.
Margret couldn''t help butugh in amusement, "Hah, at least I killed the troublemakers on my side!"
Edward sneered in annoyance before a devilish smile appeared on his face, "Heh, it was only temporary, though. You know better than anyone that my target has never been able to live for long. She had just dyed the inevitable!"
Chapter 892 Regrets of the Past (4)
Chapter 892 Regrets of the Past (4)
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With a cold, devilish smile that showcased his sharp fangs, Edward continued, "In that fight, before she fled, I left a curse mark on her. Unless she died or had be stronger than me or someone else stronger than me helped her, that curse mark was impossible to remove.
"With my curse mark, I can sense her general direction no matter the distance. Furthermore, her cultivation won''t recover easily because of the curse mark. So, once she fled, I summoned leaders of ten ns and gave them a piece of my mind by crippling them.
"Thereafter, I transfer the tracking curse mark to my right-hand man and let him search for the harlot and bring her alive or dead. But who could''ve thought it would take almost fifteen years to find her?
"Because somehow she was teleported to the Azure Wind Continent of all ces. So, I used Dream Shatter to track her traces, and he wasn''t disappointed like always. That fucking snake." Edward cussed in anger, just remembering how Dream Shatter tricked them all, and now he behaves haughtily in front of him after the Union Lord took over the world.
"Sigh¡ we should''ve killed him while we had the chance." Albert ruefully sighed, and Margret nodded in agreement.
Edward merely scoffed and didn''tment on the topic since he knew more than those two about Dream Shatter and how slippery that bastard was.
So, he continued on the subject, "After that fucking snake helped us find her trace, that led back to their sealed grounds. It wasn''t hard to find that harlot once she got closer to the curse mark owner.
"But my men met with another surprise. It turned out that the harlot ended up in the territory of the Soul me Sect and was attacked by the humans because of her unique aura. However, she ended up saved by the youngest son of the Soul me Sect Leader.
"And the most ridiculous part was that idiot waspletely enchanted by her beauty and decided to elope with her, leaving behind his entire sect legacy. The Soul me Sect were also searching for the traitor, so Dream Shatter asked me to let them tag along, and I said why not.
"They tracked them down in the most barren part of their sealednds, and they were ying family there and even had a halfling abomination." Killing intent swirls in Edward''s ruthless eyes, "I ordered to kill. But that harlot used some strange skill to sacrifice herself for that idiot and the abomination.
"I think three of them died, and two were barely able to retreat. But the harlot was dead, so the curse mark was also gone with both the idiot and the abomination in the wind.
"They continued their search for six months but found nothing. From what I''ve heard, the idiot was gravely wounded, and he should''ve been dead while the little abomination won''t be able to survive alone, so the search was called off.
"This is how the notorious Shadow Devil Thief met her doom." Edward sneered towards the end with a hint of deep satisfaction.
Margret couldn''t help but jeer, "So all that fuss and resources to track down a single woman. I never thought you had it in you, dear Edward. Was it because she hurt your pride or because she was too beautiful to let go? Don''t tell me she managed to pull the strings in your stony heart since I never heard you talk about a woman so passionately, much less remember her name."
Edward red at her in annoyance, "I did what I did for the race. I can''t just let a thief walk all over my descendants and me, right? You would''ve done the same. But oh wait, that thief has already done that with your little pet project, if I''m not wrong, and you''re now helpless!"
Margret eyes suddenly shone with purple lightning, "Try saying that again."
Edward''s lips curled up as his sharp fangs were revealed, and a bloodthirsty aura suddenly oozed from him.
Albert, at this moment, suddenly yelled in bewilderment, "Key!" and he drew both of their attention.
"What?" Edward asked as he saw Albert''s almost hysteric expression.
"The key! I finally sense the key! That bastard finally takes it out!" Albert roared with mirth. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"What, where?" Margret forgot about what was about to happen and quickly asked with a grave expression.
The keys were connected to their souls so they could sense their general direction, and that''s why it was impossible to steal them. Furthermore, no kind of storage ring or formation could hide them unless they exceed the world''s criteria.
But for some reason, the Sky Stealer proved them wrong when he stole Albert''s key. No matter how much Albert tried, he couldn''t sense its direction, as it had vanished from the face of this world.
That''s why Albert had given up and made peace with his impending death, and the breaking through was his only option now.
Yet, suddenly, Albert felt the key, which could only mean the thief had taken it out from the restriction, which was nothing but good news for them. They can hunt the elusive thief down.
But before Albert could calm down from his excitement, his expression suddenly contorted and went ghastly pale as he screamed, "NO¡.no¡nooooooo!"
Edward frowned and asked while amiss, seeing Albert having a mental breakdown all of a sudden, "What happened now?"
Albert muttered with an ashen expression as if someone had lost his soul, "I-it''s gone again! It''s fucking gone!"
The cruelest thing in this world was to give a dying man hope to live again before taking it away right in that instant. The same thing was happening with Albert right now. Just when he epted his impending doom, he saw a ray of hope before it snuffed away just like that.
''I thought so¡'' Edward didn''t say it out loud and calmed Albert down, "Which direction was it?"
No matter the despair, Albert was still an old demon, so he was quickly able to collect himself and hoarsely replied, "Southeast."
Margret squinted her eyes as she muttered, "Isn''t that where the Azure Wind Continent is?"
"What in the world is that sly bastard up to now, and why did he take out that key for a moment?" Edward couldn''t help but feel extreme perturbation!
Chapter 893 The Arrogant Challenger at Door
Chapter 893 The Arrogant Challenger at Door
The Union Lord was sitting cross-legged in a dark space while faint golden Qi was emitting from his body, making him look holy. Furthermore, silvery rune symbols were shimmering where he sat. It was a blue altar. At this moment, the blue altar suddenly released a terrifying aura, and the next moment, within Union Lord''s head, an extremely ancient voice sounded, "Did you seed?" Union Lord''s eyes remained shut and expression tranquil as if he was sleeping, and he replied to that voice with his inner voice, "No." "Then why did you contact me? You do know the risk of contacting me?" The ancient voice asked with a hint of coldness. "I had no choice. I''m in a bind despite getting rid of the Union pests. The whereabouts of the treasure have been stolen, and I have no way to track down the thief. I think that thief is also like me." Union Lord transmitted. "You mean to say someone else is capable enough to do the same as me? Impossible only I know the information about the treasure!" The ancient voice rang in stupefaction. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The Union Lord replied, "I''m afraid so. After some investigation, I found that there''s a mysterious organization named White Crown¡" Before he could continue, the ancient voice abruptly blurted, "What Crown!? Are you sure?" Union Lord''s surprised voice rang, "I''m sure. Do you know about them?" "Curses!" The ancient voice cursed as if it lost all its dignity, "If the White Crown you''re talking about is the same one I''m aware of, then this is indeed very troublesome. But how did they know about the secret treasure? What did you find? Tell me everything!" The Union Lord conveys, "From one of the ten outer invaders, one of them was once in contact with the White Crown. ording to him, when he identally fell into a space storm and ended up in the mortal sky, he was on the verge of death when he met with a mysterious existence in his dream who saved him.
"Thereafter, that existence promised to guide him back to his homnd if he followed its instructions. I don''t know the details since he refused to reveal them, for he''s under oath. But from what he told me, the mysterious existence was the one who told him to establish the White Crown. "Once he was done, the mysterious existence guided him towards the Union under the pretext of his way back home. But what happened after he established the White Crown, he doesn''t know because the custodian detained his soul, and he turned into an energy source. I can bear witness to this.
"When I tried to investigate their traces from the natives, all I found was the White Crown was active in the Azure Wind Continent of humans. But they never seemed to interfere with local powers and were always mysterious. "No one had heard about them for over 50 years now, and their whereabouts are closer to non-existent. Until around 30 years ago, a native had a strange encounter with two people who were being chased by the White Crown, and ording to him, they were rogues and might''ve stolen some very precious treasure from the White Crown¡" The Union Leader recollected all the information. He beat it out from the Soul me Sect Elder Jonathan since he was the only one who ever came in contact with Ace twice, and both times, he was beaten like a dog. The ancient voice rang again after hearing Union Lord''s recounting the legend of Sky Stealer, and the voice seemed a bit shaken with fear, "This is simply too absurd. You said the name of that child who had be the thief is Ace White, and his parents'' names are Owen White and Ste White?" "Indeed." Union Lord replied. "Not I can''t be! But by any off chance, if this is true, then this matter is not something we can interfere with!" The voice grimly stated. "Why? It seemed you know that boy''s origin, and why are you sound afraid?" The Union Lord was in total disbelief. "If you know what I know, then you''ll be doing the same. Still, that treasure is not something I can give up on. Since that boy had be a thief, then we can safely assume he was abandoned by the White Crown, and he''s not worthy of his lineage."
The voice seemed to be soothing Union Lord or himself, no one knows, and after he made up his mind, he said, "Very well, even if the White Crown abandons that boy, he might really be left with some life-saving treasure or hidden technique which helped him wreak havoc in the mortal sky. Even if he''s a trash or cripple, he''s the trash of White Crown. "You are indeed not enough to take him down if he had even one of their hidden technique. But this is the mortal sky, and trash is trash¡" The voice turned confident and ruthless, "I''ll help them clean their trash then. But just to be safe, I won''t kill him with my hands. But I''ll leave him on the brink of death before letting someone else finish him off, and I''ll be fine. Prepared these materials and opened the seal of the ascension altar. It''s time for you to serve your purpose!"
"Very well, but you do know that once we start, this vessel would only have 1000 days before we need to leave." The Union Lord solemnly stated. "I know, don''t worry, no matter what technique that thief had, in front of my abilities, he''s nothing but a flea begging to be crushed!" The ancient voice sneered with disdain. The Union Lord was about to transmit something when, all of a sudden, the entire dark space trembled, and the altar where he was sitting instantly stopped working. Thereby, the Union Lord abruptly opened his eyes, and his expression turned ghastly pale, and the next moment, he vomited arge amount of blood. He had no idea where this abrupt earthquake came from. No, it was simply too powerful to be an earthquake because he could sense a terrifying Qi far more powerful than his own. Just as he was collecting himself, a mountainous aura filled with murderous intent weighed down on him, making his internal injury worse. The next moment, an arrogant and imposing voice rang like thunder in a hundred-mile radius, "The strongest person on this central continent, Union Lord, I know you''re hiding here. I, Sea King Pen,e here to issue you a death challenge!"
Chapter 894 The Faceless Thief On Board
Chapter894 The Faceless Thief On Board
It''s been over twenty-three months since Ace started to chase after the moving elemental orbs after conforming to his mission. First, he was quite confident in intercepting them, but soon he was spectacle because those guys seemed to be moving continuously without stopping. So, he had no choice but to continue to chase after them in the endless sea. He had no idea where they were going, but they were bound to stop somewhere, and this also gave Ace a chance to cultivate his skills further. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Moreover, two months ago, Winter finally exited her seclusion cultivation after she broke through to the high stage of the Qi soul manifestation realm and could no longer progress. So, she requested toe out to increase herprehension further. However, she had no idea that Ace was in the middle of an endless sea and only found out when Ace let her out. In the end, she became the captain of the ship, and Ace started to cultivate peacefully and only came out to give her directions. This made Winter resentful, but she had no choice but toply, and Ace seemed happy to have her on board. Today, Ace came out again and found Winter, who was sulking. "Just where do you want us to go? It''s been two months since I came out, and we are aimlessly drifting in the endless sea ording to your whim. Do you know how dangerous it is to deal with all those sea beasts?" Winter instantly began toin the moment she saw Ace. Ace looked at the charming, dainty woman who was emitting a powerful charm that could mesmerize any man. Winter wasn''t wearing her hood, and she now appeared just like the first time he saw her. Oval delicate yet fierce face with pristine white skin and her pink hair was cut short while her foxy eyes were looking at Ace in exasperation. She was far stronger than her previous peak state, and she looked just like a human. Her beastly traits werepletely gone because of her cultivation technique. Ace beamed at her and replied, "It''s also good to see you again." "Too bad the feeling is not mutual." Winter scoffed while ring at Ace, "I contacted Evil the other day, and she told me the current situation of the world. I never thought so much would change while I was away. Furthermore, both Evil and Assassin were making steady progress while I''m stuck with you. How about you let me head somewhere as well instead of wasting my time by sailing this damn ship!" Ace knew what Winter''s reaction would be like once she heard about the progress Noa and Freya were making, and she might want to leave to increase her thievery counts as well. "It is indeed unfair for you. But we have no idea where we are right now, so it might be a bit dangerous for you." Ace sighed ruefully as he didn''t want to keep her here as well, but this was the middle of the endless sea. He was following the fate map, so he didn''t know where they were, or he didn''t have any reason to stay here. In fact, he wanted her to increase her house rank like Freya and Noa so he could upgrade the Thief House. Winter pursed her lips, "What do you mean you don''t know? We are already in the territory of the Demon Continent, and if I''m not wrong, we are moving towards the three forbidden countries!" "What?" Ace was astounded, "How can you be so sure I didn''t see any sign of the demon continent." Winter disdainfully retorted, "Don''t you know I was living in this darn ce for years and was a spy? Not to mention, I was fleet captain a few years back when I headed to the Azure wind continent. I remember the sea routes and unique sea beasts of this route. From what I''ve observed, we should be approaching the Beast-Filled Forbidden Country Ind very soon.
"This ind is the furthest away from the demon continent, and a mirage mist surrounds it all year long, which also works as a natural defense. So, anyone whoes in this direction will never be able to find the demon continent. "So, don''t y dumb since you were the one who was giving instructions all this time, which means you knew this secret route." Ace couldn''t help but frown, ''So the fate map led to this ce? Is it a coincidence that theye here instead of avoiding this ce, or if they are going in the demon continent, they could go in another direction because there should be a vortex between the three forbidden countries?'' Ace found it very strange as he started to think this situation quite fishy, and if not for Winter, he might not know at all. "Trust me, I don''t know, and I''m only following the direction that the goddess provided me. I''m actually chasing after a mission that led me to this ce." Ace decided toe clean with Winter, "Since you were able to identify this area, you should''ve known that the three forbidden countries are hiding some secret, right? I think those guys are going to lead us to this secret, or they are simply up to something." Winter was astounded as it was her first time hearing this, and realization dawned on her, "You should''ve told me sooner!" She red at him unhappily, "Since the goddess herself is leading you here, this means this mission is huge, right?" Looking at her expectant look, Ace knew what she was thinking and chuckled, "Heh, since the demon continent is close, don''t you want to leave? Freya is also here, and she can help you a lot since you both are quite close." Winter sneered, "No, I''ve changed my mind. I want a part in this mission. I can earn more this way." "Alright, if that''s what you want. But I''m still not sure if those guys are really after the three forbidden countries or if this route is just in the way. For all I know, we might need to go even further. Furthermore, let me warn you, these people might be the strongest people of the Golden Sky World. Do you still want a part in it?" Ace sternly questioned. Winter''s eyes shimmered with uncertainty, "Just what are you after?" Ace mysteriously answered, "I need to acquire two keys from two of these people. So, do you want to follow me? It would be a lie to say I don''t want you onboard in this. But I won''t force you since this is too dangerous." Winter suddenly smiled charmingly with a hint of scorn, "Hmph, don''t pretend like a saint since you''re not one. Alright, give me a mission with proper rewards, and I''ll be your assistant. This sounds more interesting than simple thieveries anyway." Ace gave her a hard look, "I might not be a saint, but I still have my code of conduct, you know. So, it''s decided then, let''s steal from some of the most powerful people in this world!" Winter smiled with a hint of excitement, "Now you sound like our true leader!"
Chapter 895 Stealing Everything from This World!
Chapter 895 Stealing Everything from This World!
The ship Ace was sailing was a high-grad-7 treasure he got from the Moon Secret Realm, andbining it with his heavenly array, this ship might be the fastest ship in the eleven continents. It was exactly because of this ship that Ace was able to chase after someone who was months away from him and finally close in the distance. At this moment, the three inds forming a triangle known as the three forbidden countries of the Mighty Demon Continent were surrounded by ships of demon and devil races. The hunter race''s forces had already departed to theirnds on the order of their ancestors, and only a handful of them remained to see Margret off. The eighty-mile-wide vortex was still whirling at a terrible speed, making a dark hole in the center of three inds. But for some strange reason, the ships outside the triangle weren''t affected by the strong water current of the vortex. On the deck of the demon fleet''s main ship, in masks, the three ancestors were standing in front of kneeling figures from three races, and all those figures were nothing but terrifying and controlled the massive power of the top three races. Edward stood in the center between Albert and Margret, wearing a crimson mask, and impassively said, "Behind me is the only passage to our three races, Holy Lands. I don''t need to tell you all that only a handful of you know about the secret of the Holy Lands. Only the members of the royal lineage or those who have merit and proven their worth to their race can enter. "But why I''m revealing it to you now, might you wonder? It is very simple because now, the world is changing and we need such splendid people more than ever. We kept it a secret because we had no match, but things have changed. "Although the Union is united, there is still only a single lord. What this implies? It implies that power still regains supreme! Not empathy, kindness, love, equality, peace, or nothing! But only power can change everything!
"Today I, the Devil Ancestor, Demon Ancestor, and Blood Ancestor, will depart to the Holy Lands and enter the life and death seclusion cultivation! We will try to break the final realm wall of this world to snatch back what is taken from us! "Even if one or two of us perish, even if all perish in this endeavor, I want you all to keep my words in mind. Fight till you have the power to reach the heavens!" Edward''s solemn words made those top figures of the three races emotional and passionate. "After we leave, the holynds will remain open. I want you all to establish a system for the talented younger generation to enter the holynds to nurture further generations in the best environment in the world. "Even if the union found out about it, let them partake in selection because once they entered the other side, only death awaits those who do not belong to our three races. This way, we can easily nip the buds of other races." Edward smiled ruthlessly, "If we came back, and I know we will, the world shall witness the full forces of our three races once more, the true might of the Ancient Allied Conquers!" "May the Demon God be with you!" "May the Devil God be with you!" "May the Blood God be with you!" All the three races solemnly shouted with burning passion in their eyes. "Let''s go!" Edward smiled in satisfaction and started to levitate from the deck while the other two followed suit after nodded at their representative. The three former most influential and powerful people of the golden sky world started to fly towards the vortex eyes. However, the three of them had never even thought that about fifty thousand meters in the night sky, two hooded figures stood on a broad ck sword, and they had witnessed everything. "Heh, now, who could''ve expected this? The three ancestors who are supposed to be rotting in some graves are all alive." Winter eximed with a hint of trepidation. Ace, who was beside her, had a grave expression, "This is indeed something I wasn''t expecting. Although I know about the Blood Ancestor, the Demon and Devil Ancestors are even more terrifying than her. Furthermore, now I''m sure the giant demon who chased after me was the Demon Ancestor himself." "Ignorant are truly fearless, huh? I must say, leader; you are something else to survive after encountering that ancient relic." Winter jeeringly stated, but a hint of admiration was present in her voice. Ace smiled wryly, "Well, I think I''m unlucky most of the time. Anyway, with this information, it is now clear that, including the beast ancestor, the other three ancestors are all alive. But we also got to know that they are still not Law Comprehension Realm Cultivators, at least not yet. We can use this to our advantage." Winter showed a hint of surprise, "You don''t mean to say that your targets are the three ancestors?" Ace sighed ruefully, "Indeed, but if this made you feel better, we don''t need to go after the demon ancestor. However, these holynds give me the creeps. Do you remember the secret of the Imperial Demon Family? n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Whenever the crown changed heads, the previous imperial family, including the old demon emperor, would vanish except for the new demon emperor, and the ruling period is also fixed. "Now, after hearing the words of Devil Ancestor, it''s quite clear where they all had gone, and not just demons, but it''s the same case with the devils and hunters. I don''t know what''s going on with these holynds and why those three didn''t enter that ce before, but whatever the case is. This ce is probably hiding the most guarded secrets of the three races and their forces. "I''m willing to go as far as to assume that this secret is rted to the invasion of the Golden Sky World, which once belonged to the Magic Beast Race." Ace solemnly stated while ncing at Winter. She was basically the original native of the Golden Sky World before the other races invaded her homnds. So, he wasn''t sure how she would feel. But to his relief, she didn''t seem to care that much as she said with a smirk, "If you''re worried about me losing myposure because of the ipetence of my race, you don''t have to bother. I was betrayed by them once, and I don''t think such a race should even dream about ruling an entire world. What happened to them was just inevitable. "Now, it''s our time. So, tell me, leader, do you have what it takes to take over this entire world?" She looked deeply at Ace with never-seen conviction in her bewitching foxy eyes shone in a pinkish light. Ace couldn''t help but surprised for a moment before his lips rose in a thievish smile filled with confidence, "I''m not interested in ruling, nor I''m capable of staying in one ce. So how about we change our n from taking over this world to stealing everything from this world?" Winter grinned, "Sounds good to me." The night sky of a new moon was filled with cold winds as two thieves dived towards the vortex eyes. The world was unaware of the massive change about to take ce!
Chapter 896 The Secret of Top Three Races
Chapter 896 The Secret of Top Three Races
Ace and Winter used their stealth skills to hide their presence from being discovered as they descended into the vortex eye on a flying sword, where the three ancestors had vanished a few minutes ago.
No one had thought that two thieves would be bold enough to tail after the three most powerful figures in the world.
Ace was paying close attention to the fate map, and the area of the vortex eye was still surprisingly dyed in light silver color while the three ancestors were ck fate points, and two of them had unique marks of the elemental orbs on them, which was the result of his previous vague encounter with them when he escaped the moon secret realm.
Right now, Ace''s stealth was at a terrifying level that even those three ancestors wouldn''t be able to sense him if they didn''t use their full strength. Ace wasn''t sitting around while he was chasing after them, and right now, his skills have all increased tremendously.
As for Winter, her genre was made for this sort of mission, and when it came to stealth, she was on the same level as Ace.
Suddenly, the moment Ace and Winter dived into the vortex eyes, they felt a terrifying Qi undtion in the surrounding space, strong enough to tear anyone below the Qi soul realm apart. Furthermore, a powerful soul undtion was also affecting their minds.
But they only show minor concern, and Ace continued to steer down into the darkness while Winter trusted him enough to remain calm. She knew if Ace sensed danger, he would be the first one to retreat.
Ace continued to descend while keeping a close eye on the targets, which seemed to be right in front of them, but he couldn''t sense them with his thief sense. In fact, because of the strange undtion in the surrounding space, he couldn''t sense anything more than a few meters around him.
Right at this moment, a bright light spot appeared at an unknown distance away from them.
"That''s the way out?" Winter transmitted her voice through the house call.
They both decided tomunicate through the house call, which was far more secure and stealthily. So, they activated it just before diving into the vortex.
Ace replied while he decreased his speed and moved towards the light spot, "I hope so. Let''s hope they won''t close it after entering. I don''t know for sure, but this is clearly not just some water vortex. I think this is a teleportation channel within the space current."
"Oh, what is this space current?" Winter curiously asked since it was the first time she heard this term, and she could also tell this wasn''t just some water vortex.
Ace then gave her the general exnation that the system gave him once when he jumped into the space tear while escaping from the Demon Ancestor Albert.
Winter''s eyes shone with realization and astonishment after hearing about Space Turbulence that exists outside the world''s space.
She asked another question, "So, the secret realms exist in this space turbulence?"
Ace nodded, "As far as I know. But this is far above our level, so there might be more to it. Anyway, it seemed the three races were hiding a secret realm from the world, and no one had thought that it was hidden in the backyard of the demon race."
"Heh, I have to admit, it''s a pretty good hiding spot. Furthermore, I don''t think even if someone knew about this space, they could enter as they please. It''s quite clear only those three know how to open this passage." Winter stated.
Ace nodded in agreement, and they finally reached the light spot. But before entering, he gave Winter a stern warning, "Alright, we don''t know what''s on the other side. Just in case, we should change in demon disguises. Even if we were found, we can make up some story."
"I was just going to say the same." Winter gibed but did as she was told and activated the Demon Fleet Captain Hazel disguise. N?v(el)B\\jnn
On the other hand, Ace merely smiled before he activated Demon Sword Feng''s disguise. Their clothes also changed into traditional demon continent clothes, and then they both moved into the light.
The moment they entered the light, they both felt a powerful suction force and space gripping around their bodies, and the next moment, their entire vision changed.
The bright blue sky was above them, while below them was a mountain range, and what they both noticed next were dense martial Qi and soul Qi in the air. However, soon, their eyes suddenly widened when they spotted three triangr mountains, and they were the tallest mountain in this entire space.
"This is a secret realm?" Winter questioned with astonishment since it was her first time entering a secret realm, and it waspletely different from the outside world.
"Indeed, every secret realm has a different kind of static sky. The concept of day and night didn''t exist in a secret realm." Ace solemnly stated as he looked at the three triangr mountains on the horizon, "Our targets seemed to have headed towards those strange mountains."
"Do you want to chase after them? Let''s scout this ce first and gather information." Winter suggested.
Ace nodded whiteout hesitation, "Yes, this would make it much easier to devise a n. Let''s slowly move toward the three mountains while we keep an eye out for living beings."
Without dy, Ace moved toward the central triangr mountain. Since his targets were already marked in the fate map, he could find them easily, and he was sure that they wouldn''t be going anywhere any time soon, so collecting information was their top priority.
Furthermore, Ace didn''t know why, but this ce was not like the other secret realms he had ever been in. But he can''t put his finger on what was different about this ce.
Nheless, he focused on the matter at hand, which was to collect the remaining two keys before activating the map.
Just a few miles away from the triangr mountain, Ace and Winter spotted a city right on the footing of the mountain, and they immediately spotted people!
Chapter 897 The Trinity Alliance Mountains
Chapter 897 The Trinity Alliance Mountains
The city was built without any walls, and all the buildings were ancient and grand, and the natives were all from the devil race! Furthermore, all of them were strong.
Ace and Winter observed from the sky while Ace was also paying attention to the fate map. ording to the fate map, one of his targets was at the peak of this mountain, and right at this moment, three ck fate points suddenly flew out of the city and headed toward the same direction in haste.
"This mountain and city should belong to the devil race, right?" Winter said with shimmering eyes.
Ace nodded beforementing, "It''s pretty obvious at this point. The other two mountains should be where the demons and hunters are. I think the in charge of this ce left to greet the guests, which provided us with a chance to gather information. How about we head to the same building where those three just flew off?"
Winter''s lips curled up, "Alright, I never impersonated a devil before; this should be fun."
Without hesitation, both of them activated their stealth skills and headed toward the tallest building in the city andnded in an alleyway a hundred meters away from the gates, which powerful devils of the early stage Qi soul manifestation realm guarded.
They didn''t enter the building right off the bat because there might be some formations, and they needed information before they could n their next move, and those guards were the perfect target for that.
"I can take their memories; can you manage it?" Ace asked Winter despite knowing her abilities.
Winter smirked and replied, "Of course I can. Let me show you how I rescued your little sister, and don''t be jealous."
The next moment, she locked on one of the guards with her faceless thief sense and activated the fifth ability she got when she broke into the Qi soul manifestation realm.
''Faceless Possession!''
An untraceable aura suddenly released from Winter while her eyes shimmered in faint, murky light, and the next moment, right behind the devil guard, a tiny corporeal ck fox with seven tails entered the guard''s martial space!
No one even saw or noticed it, and even after the ck fox vanished into the guard''s martial space, he seemedpletely oblivious to the fact.
Ace knew what Winter was doing better than anyone because he could see her status, and this ability was too strong and a must-have for a thief.
======
5. Faceless Possession
[Description: Infiltrate the target''s knowledge sea with Qi Soul through the martial or soul space and take possession of the target''s entire mind while putting the target in a dream-like state. The Faceless Thief then can read all the memories and take possession of the target''s bodypletely!]
[Possession Forfeit: Forfeit the possession of the victim will put the victim in a chaotic mind state for 12 hours, and the target shall have no memories of the events that transpired during the possession.]
[Limitation (1): Target must be in the same or lower cultivation realm than the Faceless Thief.]
[Limitation (2): After the sessful Faceless Possession, the Faceless Thief will turn into a mortal until the possession is forfeit or the victim is killed.]
[Limitation (3): While in Faceless Possession, any damage dealt to the victim will also mirror the Faceless Thief''s real body. If the victim is killed while the Faceless Thief is still in possession, the same will happen to the Faceless Thief.]
[Cooldown Period: 30 Days]
======
However, this ability was a double-edged sword if not used carefully. But used correctly, it was simply too terrifying to ignore. Winter was able to easily rescue Alina while using this ability in the Azure Wind Continent and fooled everyone.
Furthermore, she can use all the abilities of the target or skills that the target learned to their full potential, and that is why she was so confident in herself.
As for the limitations, as long as she was careful and avoided being killed, she would instantly use possession forfeit, and everyone would return to normal.
The look in the crimson eyes of the devil guard suddenly changed at this moment as his lips rose in a cruel smile. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Winter nced at Ace smugly and proudly said, "It''s done. Now that guard is me."
Ace merely nced at her in annoyance and didn''t want to give her the satisfaction she wanted and sneered, "Took you long enough. I''ve already annexed all the memories of the other guard. You still have a long way to go before you can show off against me."
Winter''s eyes widened in disbelief because even she needed some time to read all the memories of her victimpletely, yet Ace was already done in a few seconds.
"Lair!" She instantly refuted and refused to believe it
But Ace was telling the truth. The soul probe had be ridiculously strong after he reached the peak of the dark soul manifestation realm that even a Qi soul manifestation realm cultivator was no match for his soul right now.
He was even confident in probing the memories of a Law Awareness Realm expert up to the intermediate stage. That was the advantage of him having a special cultivation path, and it began to be more apparent and wider as he reached higher realms.
Even though he was really envious of Winter''s abilities, he still was on top of the food chain when it came to thievish abilities.
"Don''t believe me? Let me tell you, this secret realm is called the Trinity Alliance Mountains Secret Realm, and we are currently in the All Devil City of Devil Mountain, which the Devil Race has controlled for thousands of years.
"Furthermore, as I said before, this is indeed the ce where all the top figures of the three races who prove their worth or the top powerful figurese.
"The former in case they reached the peak of the Law Awareness Realm, and they were relocated here and their families. Thetter is when they reached the Law Awareness Realm Intermediate Stage. These are the qualifications to enter these holynds of the three races.
"This is also the true hidden trump card in the three races sleeve. But there is a minor problem: no one can leave this ce without the help of three ancestors, and the three of them won''t live here because they were constantly in search of cultivation techniques of the Law Comprehension Realm.
"Those guards are actually the direct bloodline members of the number one Blood Devil n of the devil race, and they are elites. You can confirm it yourself¡"
Ace grinned yfully while looking at Winter''s dark and defeated expression!
Chapter 898 Steal Everything!
Chapter 898 Steal Everything!
The inner part of the Devil Mountain of Trinity Alliance Mountains was hollowed, and the Qi density in this ce was over a hundred times denser than the outside. Thereby, it turned into a crystal whiteke, and the air was filled with misty Qi.
In the center of this Qike was a ck tform filled with runic symbols, and at this moment, Edward was sitting cross-legged while in front of him were three kneeling devils from Blood, Dark, and Vile Devil ns.
These three were the strongest devils in the All Devil City, known as the three Devil Lords, and their prowess was only slightly less than Edward himself.
"It''s good to see you, Ancestor!" The 2''1-meter-tall middle-aged devil with a devilishly handsome face and his eyes were just like Edward''s, crimson eyeballs with white irises and ck pupils and a pair of crimson horns, and he was dressed like a gentleman in ck. He was the Blood Devil Lord of the Blood Devil n and first Lord of the All Devil City and also the 5th former n Leader of the Blood Devil n, Talon!
Edward smiled in content seeing Talon and nodded in acknowledgment, "I reckon it''s been a thousand years since Ist saw you? You''ve almost caught up to me."
Talon respectfully lowered his head and said with a faint, proud smile, "It''s all thanks to Ancestor''s blessings."
"Not need to be humble. You are my flesh and blood, and I expect nothing less from you, and I hope after me, you will be the second Law Comprehension Realm expert of our race." Edward chuckled.
The eyes of the three devil lords shone at this moment as they looked at Edward in disbelief.
The ck-skinned devil with bat-shaped gray wings quickly asked with anticipation, "D-does this mean Ancestor found the method to break through in the Law Comprehension Realm?"
Edward smiled smugly, "Of course, or why do you think we all came here in the first ce? Only the Trinity Alliance mountains are good enough to help us break through in the Law Comprehension Realm sufficiently and effectively with minimum risks.
"Furthermore, the world outside had gone under a massive change. In a few days, someone wille from the outside world and provide you with everything you need to know and the arrangements we''ve made.
"We need to break through in the final realm as quickly as possible, so we''ll be close this entire ce, and I want you to forbid any entries. If someone dared to go against it, kill them without mercy.
"Once I''ve seeded, I''ll hand over the method so you all can break through next. Now, go and wait for my return as the Law Comprehension Realm Cultivator!" Edward arrogantly proimed with oppressive might.
The three devil lords instantly bowed down in reverence and ecstasy, "Congrattion, Ancestor! We''ll obey yourmand. May the Devil God be with you!"
The next moment, the three of them vanished like ghosts.
Edward appeared quite pleased with their performance, and after making sure all of them were gone, he took out a ghostly ck Scepter. The top of the scepter was made with a devilish ck skull, and between the skull''s fangs was clinched a pitch-ck orb. It was the Ghostly Devil Scepter.
Edward then stabbed the Ghostly Devil Scepter right in front of him, and the next moment, the dark orb on the Scepter shone, releasing a gloomy darkness, and the symbols on the tform lightened up.
Thereby, the whiteke suddenly started to turn inky while the mist became ck as the entire space was slowly devoured by darkness.
"I''ll take the world this time!" Edward''s murderous words rang in the darkness before deadly silence enveloped the space, and no one could see what was going on anymore.
---
After Ace and Winter got all the information they needed, Ace ordered a temporary retreat from the residence of the Blood Devil Lord, and he made Winter forfeit her faceless possession, which met with stern criticism from Winter. Because there was a cooldown period, but Ace didn''t care.
Thereafter, they both entered the only marketce in the city and decided to steal both a small alchemy shop and the owner''s identity without a second thought. Thereby, Ace bes the owner of a Vile Devil with a bald head and strange ghastly marking on his dark gray body, while Winter bes the shop attendant, a Ghost Devil woman with an expression of a ghost face.
After closing the shop, Ace finally revealed to sulking Winter what he was nning, "I want you to increase your thief house rank. Steal anything you can in this city from anyone and anywhere. You have my full permission."
Winter''s eyes winded in disbelief as if she just heard something absurd, "Are you serious? Do you want those ancestors to go after me? So now I''m bait for you?" She angrily red at him.
Ace shook his head, "No, you''re overthinking. First, I don''t think those three will being after you because they are nning to break through in the Law Comprehension Realm, and do you think they can afford to pay attention to a thief?
"Furthermore, I don''t think the guys in charge of the city will even bother to report it since it will just show how ipetent they are, and I think their ancestors don''t want to be disturbed by them either. So, there are even fewer chances that they wille out to deal with a thief, which would waste their precious time.
"Second, you aregging behind too much from the other two, and at this pace, they will be Veteran Members in two or three years while you will remain an excellent member. So, this is a perfect opportunity for you to catch up or even surpass them.
"Don''t you know the house shop will be updated once you reach the Veteran Member Rank? Do you really want to get behind them?" Ace''s words were like the devil''s whisper to Winter as her expression grew graver the more Ace''s words made sense.
Ace could feel Winter was being tempted and quickly said, "Besides, you are more than capable of even avoiding the devil lords, and I''m pretty sure they won''t bother to chase after a thief since it''s beneath them. Don''t forget these people are cut off from the outside world, so they don''t know about us yet.
"So, before they know and be alert, I want you to steal everything you can from the All Devil City, Mighty Demon City, and Blood City. There is no need to go after high-profile targets. Just focus on increasing your thievery count, and this way, you''ll also earn more house points." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Winter''s eyes shone when she heard about house points, and she finally agreed to Ace''s n, "Alright, you made so much damn sense. But what about you? Do you want to go after the ancestors alone while I divert others'' attention?"
Ace shook his head and mysteriously smiled, "No, it''s too soon. I''ll give them some time so they can fully absorb into their cultivation while, in the meantime, I''ll focus on increasing my own prowess."
His eyes went ruthless, "Once I stole from either Devil or Blood Ancestor, the other one will be instantly alerted while the other one will be after me. So, I''m going to prepare for the disaster before I start it!"
Chapter 899 Elixir of Darkness
Chapter 899 Elixir of Darkness
After discussing their course of action, Winter left the small shop and headed toward the Blood City instead of starting with the All-Devil City. She chose to target the city of hunters because it would divert the attention from Ace in All Devil City.
As for Ace, he closed the shop and used his Qi to dig an underground chamber before sealing it with all sorts of formations. Once he was done, he opened the system shop and bought the Elixir of Darkness for 50 million TP, which he was putting up on hold up until now.
He didn''t dare to use it before because its effect was unknown, and he still needed to chase after his target. He was waiting for this kind of opportunity to arise, and now that his targets were literally immobilized, he didn''t need to worry about anything.
Furthermore, he didn''t want to underestimate his targets just because they weren''t as strong as the Union Lord. In fact, those guys were living legends, and to go against them, he needed everything he had.
The Elixir of Darkness was a special reward he got that could help him in Heaven''s Stealer Mission, so not using it was nothing but idiocy.
The moment he bought the Elixir of Darkness system''s voice sounded,
=====
[Elixir of Darkness (Grade???) has been sessfully purchased!]
[Description: Enter Darkness to Experience Darkness]
[Caution: Because of [Natural Order], the Elixir of Darkness cannot be revealed in Mortal Sky Heaven!]
[Do you want to consume it directly?]
[Proceed/Later]
---
[Thief Point(s): 569,450,100]
=====
Ace was startled by this unexpected notification. He knew about the [Natural Order] because of Eva''s special case. But it was his first time seeing something that could make the [Natural Order] react. Not to mention, he was supposed to consume it.
"System, just what is this Elixir of Darkness and its effect? Is it safe for me to consume it here?" Ace questioned sternly. If before he was only thinking about this thing as an extraordinary medicine, now that notification changed it all.
"[Host will naturally know once host consumes it. All system can guarantee that it ispletely safe.]"
Ace frowned a little, but since the system gave its words, he ought to believe it. He always does. So, taking a deep, calm breath, he solemnlymanded, "Proceed!"
The very next moment, Ace suddenly felt something icy injected directly into his heart before it started to course through his entire body, making him feel like nothing but ice.
The next moment, Ace''s widened eyes turned pitch ck before the darkness started to spread on his skin.
Right at this moment, out of nowhere, a dark blue cubic barrier appeared around Ace, and just as Ace waspletely enshrouded in darkness, inky smoke rose from his body and filled the entire cube, but none of it was leaked.
The chamber was deadly silent, and in its center was a three cubic meter corporeal dark blue cube that was filled with inky darkness, which appeared to be like an endless abyss.
At this moment, the system''s voice rang in Ace''s nk mind.
=====
[Host''s soul has sessfully entered the B.E.D]
[First Codex of Eternal Thief System has been sessfully awakened!]
[System restart/upgrade required!]
[System restart/upgrade will start after the retrieval!]
=====
Ace has no idea about any of it; right now, all he can see is darkness and nothingness. Even though he didn''t feel his body, he still felt icy and eerie as he was in the middle of endless emptiness without any clue what was happening.
Right at this moment, an ethereal voice rang, "You''ve finallye to me, Child of Darkness¡"
The voice was speaking in thenguage of Ancient Gods, and it was impossible to tell the gender. Furthermore, the voice was extremely gentle and gave Ace the feeling of warmth in that eerie darkness, but he still couldn''t see or speak anything.
"Let me have a good look at you¡"The voice gently proimed.
The very next moment thereafter, Ace found himself standing on an infinitelyrge dark tform while the surrounding was infinitely white. Ace, at this moment, was apletely dark figure in the hood, like his martial soul.
Then Ace finally saw the only other thing except for ck and white; it was a pitch-ck throne, and its size was insurmountable, and Ace was like a speck of dust in front of it. Furthermore, despite feeling close, Ace, for some reason, knew he was too far away from that throne and would never be able to reach it.
Furthermore, the throne was empty, and for some strange reason, Ace could feel strange closeness towards it and also indescribable loneliness that made his heartache. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"You have grown so much. I''ve seen your birth, your suffering, your grief, your warmth, your love, your conviction, your resolve, your anger, your hatred, your joy¡ I''ve been seeing you from the moment your pitiful fate was decided."
Ace started when he discovered that the gentle voice wasing from the throne itself!
He tried to speak, "W-who are you?"
"Child of Darkness, I''m your eternal fate, but I can be your enteral doom if you''re not careful, just like your doomed brothers and sisters." The voice replied as it was filled with grief and pain.
Ace had no idea what the voice meant, but he was feeling sadness unknowingly, which was a terrible feeling.
Then he suddenly thought of something and eximed, "Are you the system?" This was the only exnation he could think of.
"I am but a defeated throne. We don''t have much time here since you were able toe here. Let me help you, for that is my purpose."The gentle voice replied.
Ace was extremely confused since he couldn''t fathom just what that voice was trying to imply, and it clearly did not sound like the system.
"What is this ce, and how can you help me?" He asked for more information.
"The former is not for you to learn yet, while thetter I can tell you. I''ll construct the [1st Order of Darkness] into your soul. I just hope it won''t return to me; instead, it will be you, Child of Darkness!"
Ace was startled. But suddenly, the next moment, he let loose a blood-curdling shrill before it vanished because his entire soul suddenly shredded into countless dark particles!
However, the next moment, unknown symbols from the throne started to fly toward those dark particles and started to interweave together!
Thus, the construction begins!
Chapter 900 First Order of Darkness
Chapter 900 First Order of Darkness
After an unknown amount of time passed, the dark blue corporeal cube under the small shop started to be fainter while the darkness inside the cube seemed to be sucked into something.
Ace''s sitting figure was revealed to bepletely fine as if nothing had happened. But he appeared to be an empty husk as there were no signs of breathing.
But right at this moment, the space around Ace startled to churn, and any sign of light in this ce vanished as it became darker than ck within an instant.
However, this strange phenomenon only remained for a moment before it was gone, and at this moment, Ace''s eyes snapped open, revealing abyssal-like dark eyes before turning into normal. But his expression went ashen instantly as he started to pant like crazy, his body drenched with cold sweat.
At this moment, the system''s voice rang,
=====
[Congrattions, host, for sessfully assimting the First Order of Darkness!]
[First Order of Darkness (B.E.D): Lawless Darkness]
-Lawless Darkness: Darkness is everywhere and anywhere. Now, rule, mandate, or order can stop the Darkness.
-Lawless Darkness Authority: The authority to break any restriction,ws, rules, mandates, or orders!
-Description: You canbinews youprehend and gain the power of Lawless Darkness for a limited time. The morews youbine and the higher yourprehension ofws, the stronger the Lawless Darkness Authority you can use.
---
[First Order of Darkness has awakened the Darkness within you!]
[Attention: Because of the First Order of Darkness, the Darkness will rule over all the constituents of Darkness!]
[Attention: Darkness is devouring Law of Despair (55.01%) within you!]
[Attention: Darkness is devouring Law of Shadow (54.03%) within you!]
[Attention: Darkness is devouring Law of Charm (50.00%) within you!]
[Attention: Darkness has started to corrode and converge your other Laws!]
[Order: Darkness has been added to your Status!]
[Your understanding of [Darkness] has been increased!]
---
[Congrattions, Host, you have unlocked the Thief Title: Knight of Darkness!]
[Thief Title: Knight of Darkness]
-Title Effect: Any attack imbued with Darkness or anyw rted to darkness will deal 5% more damage and cause a corroded effect, which is hard to heal!
--
[Congrattion Host, your Title [Deacon of Darkness] has been upgraded to [Priest of Darkness]
[Thief Title: Priest of Darkness]
-Title Effect: Able to raise the proficiency of [Skills] & [Cultivation Arts] rted to Darkness by three proficiency levels instantly and a [Secret Skill] by one level!
=====
Ace circted his Qi to calm down and looked at those notifications with disbelief and scrutiny.
However, it was still hard to recover from the torturous experience he had while acquiring all these things.
Although he was in a dream-like state, the pain of being his soul shredded into Nano-particles and then entwined with those symbols wasn''t something anyone could forget and move over. He was in a state where he wanted to die, but he couldn''t, no matter how much he wished for it.
But Ace soon noticed that his Qi had changed somehow, as it made his mind calm almost instantly. Although it had this effect for a long time, this time, it was far more potent and faster.
Furthermore, Ace''s mind had be clearer, and he could feel thews of despair, charm, and shadow in the environment. But more importantly, Ace felt another new, eerierw even more clearly than even thew of Sword.
Moreover, thisw gave him the feeling he had when he was in front of that throne. It was too profound, even more than the Heavenly Thunder, yet he could now understand more clearly and felt close to it.
''Darkness?'' Ace''s icy cold eyes shone with a hint of ecstasy. Furthermore, many new profound memories were in his mind.
"System, what was that throne? And exin to me what is this 1st order of darkness?" Ace questioned the system sternly. He had too many questions after that strange meeting, and he knew that throne was far from normal, not to mention it called him the Child of Darkness.
"[That was the effect of Elixir of Darkness. The 1st Order of Darkness is the result of the host fully absorbing the Elixir of Darkness.]" System emotionlessly replied.
Ace scoffed coldly, "You mean to say this Elixir of Darkness can talk?" He clearly did not believe it.
"[Elixir of Darkness is very special, and it can have varied effectors depending on its consumer. The system can''t control it.]"
Ace frowned since it became abundantly clear that the system wasn''t going to tell him, so he changed the subject helplessly, "Then what is this order, and why is it devouring and corroding myws? But I can still feel them and use them. In fact, I think I can use them even better than before. Exin it more clearly."
"[The First Order of Darkness is like a part of Origin of Darkness. Simrly, origin brings forth the birth of sub-origins. So, it''s only natural the origin, no matter how small it is, still held authority over its sub-origins. The Order of Darkness is the origin of everything rted to Darkness, even Laws.]
"[Now that Host has obtained the First Order of Darkness, all the elements andws rted to darkness will return to their origin and strengthen the origin. But the host doesn''t need to worry. The Order of Darkness may devour thews; you can now use thew of darkness, and it has the same effect as Despair, Charm, and Shadow Lawsbined.]
"[Furthermore, the more your understanding of thosews increases, your darkness will be more powerful. If youprehend more branchws of darkness, their effect will also be added into darkness and strengthen it further.]
"[Remember host the Darkness is empty and cold, but it can devour anything and everything to quench its emptiness and make it its own. Furthermore, darkness can''t be hurt by darkness but only merge together by devouring each other!]"
Realization dawned upon Ace at this moment, and his heart raced to hear about the true benefits of the First Order of Darkness. He suddenly felt all that nightmarish pain was worth it.
"Then what about the corroding part?" He quickly inquired.
"[Darkness can not only devour but corrode even light, turning it into a part of itself.]"
Ace''s eyes winded ever so slightly, "Do you mean all thosews will eventually added to Darkness as well?"
"[Indeed, Darkness has no limit to its growth, and it can devour everything eventually. The host needs to focus on learning the true properties of darkness andprehend the First Order of Darkness: Lawless Darkness. Consider it the only fighting chance against Heaven.]"
Ace''s heart felt cold at this moment when he heard System''s grave voice and couldn''t help but remember the throne words, ''I am but a defeated throne.''
''Even that terrifying power was defeated¡'' Ace thought as all that excitement from gaining that power vanished, and he became somber.
After collecting his thoughts, Ace muttered, "Status!"
======
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human]
[Bloodline: Sealed]
[First Heaven: Mortal Sky Heaven]
--
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Soul Manifestation [Stage-9]]
[EXP: 32,089/2,500,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Heavenly ck Wind Soul Core [Stage-9]]
[SP: 21,040/2,500,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
---
[Skills: 5]
-Misperception Sky Steps (Art):
Camouge Steps: Perfection
Lightning Steps: Perfection
Misperception Steps: Perfection
Sky Steps: Perfection
--
-Absolute Pick Pocket: [NONE]
--
-Lock Eraser King Technique:
Lock Eraser Master: Perfectionist
Lock Eraser Grandmaster: Perfectionist
Lock Eraser King: None
--
-Apparition Wind Walk (Art): 9 levels
Current level: Level-6
--
Soul Stealth Art: 3 States
Night Shadow Stealth State: Perfection
Shadowless Soul Stealth State: Perfection (Priest of Darkness Thief Title Effect)
Soulless Stealth State: NONE
---
[Secret Skills: 4]
-Thief''s Vision (Art):
Initial Thief''s Vision: High
Intermediate Thief''s Vision: Hight
Advance Thief''s Vision: Low (Priest of Darkness Thief Title Effect)
--
-Thievish Soul Cord Control (Secret Soul Skill): High
--
-Dark Soul and Body Union: Perfection (Priest of Darkness Thief Title Effect)
--
-Wind of Darkness (Secret Soul Skill): NONE
---
[Cultivation Technique: 6]
-Heaven Stealer Technique (Vol 1): 6th Chapter
--
-Dual Shadow Swords: Complete!
--
-Fundamentals of Array Crafting (1st Grade to 6th Grade): Completed
--
-Soul Words [Despair Manual]:
1. Deep Despair Soul Words: 99%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
2. Extreme Despair Soul Words: 0.0%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
3. Deadly Despair Soul Words: 0.0%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
--
-Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Manual [First Vol]
Three Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Principles:
1. Treasure Dismantler Principles: Grade-7 Treasure Dismantler
2. Alchemy Dismantler Principles: Grade-7 Alchemy Dismantler
3. Runic Dismantler Principles: Grade-7 Runic Dismantler
--
-Art of Mind Stealing: Psyche Soul-Path Technique
-Ten Realms of Art of Mind Stealing:
1. Bronze Thievish Hand
Introduction: Ability to steal one Short-Term Memory Permanently
[Restriction: Heavenly Dark Sea Realm & 1% Law of Psyche]
2. Permanent Thievish Bronze Hand (Currently at this Realm)
Introduction: Ability to steal the entirety of a Short-Term Memory Permanently
[Restriction: Heavenly Dark Sea Core Realm & 10% Law of Psyche]
3. Bronze Treasure Hunter
Introduction: Ability to Infiltrate and freely search the surface of the Knowledge Sea for Short-Term Memories of Target
[Restriction: Heavenly Dark Soul Realm & 50% Law of Psyche]
4. ???
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5. ???
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6. ???
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7. ???
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8. ???
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9. ???
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10. ???
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---
[Order: Darkness]
-First Order of Darkness (B.E.D): Lawless Darkness
-Lawless Darkness: Darkness is everywhere and anywhere. Now, rule, mandate, or order can stop the Darkness.
-Lawless Darkness Authority: The authority to break any restriction,ws, rules, mandates, or orders!
-Description: You canbinews youprehend and gain the power of Lawless Darkness for a limited time. The morews youbine and the higher yourprehension ofws, the stronger the Lawless Darkness Authority you can use.
-Darkness Comprehension: 8%
Branches of Darkness (Current): 3
-Despair (Intermediate): 55.01%
-Shadow (Intermediate): 54.03%
-Charm (Intermediate): 50.00%
[NOTE: Please increase your understanding of Darkness with the help of its branches to further increase your Darkness.]
---
[Law(s): 6 (Corroded by Darkness)]
-Sword (Intermediate): 79.00%
-Psyche (Initial): 17.05%
-Lightning (Intermediate): 53.99%
-Wind (Intermediate): 51.46%n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Heavenly Thunder (Minor): 00.99%
[Corroded Progress: 1%]
--
[Eternal Provenance Treasure: 1/2]
-Name: Eternal Thief Fate Compass
-Type: Soul (Fate)
-Current Grade: Grade-6 (Upgradable)
[Grade-7 at 7th Soul Cultivation Realm (White Wind Soul Core)]
-Status: Iplete (10% Complete)
-Ability:
1. Live Fate Map (Grade-6)
[NOTE: Next ability(s) unlocked at 20% Treasure Completion]
-Completion Scheme: 1 (Avable)
---
[Thief Point(s): 881,861,580] (312,411,480+)
---
[Mission(s): 1]
[Side Mission(s): 0]
======
Chapter 901 Raising Thievish Skills
Chapter 901 Raising Thievish Skills
Ace''s eyes shone with ecstasy as he read his status and was very content.
"System, can you please exin this Lawless Darkness Authority more clearly? I mean, how should I activate it, and what is my limit?" Ace questioned since he still didn''t understand the Lawless Darkness Authority.
Furthermore, its description was too grand and ambiguous at the same time, so he needed more information before he could understand its true use.
"[Inyman''s terms, once the host imagined the use of Lawless Darkness Authority, all thews youprehend with activated to empower it. This also means both the Soul Qi and Martial Qi will be used at the same time. With the current capacity of Host both Qi, you should be able to keep the Lawless Darkness Authority active for 21 seconds before you run out of Qi.]
[Simrly, if youprehend morews, the Qi consumption will increase as well.]
"[As for its effects, simply put, no restrictions will work on you. For example, formations are a type of restriction, but with the Lawless Darkness Authority, they will be useless on Host. While any attacks continue,ws will also be useless. Host''s attacks, on the other hand, will be virtually undefendable with Lawless Darkness Authority.]
"[But this also has a limit, and that is your Darknessprehension. The higher yourprehension of darkness, the more powerful your Lawless Darkness will be. Right now, the Host can remainpletelywless in the Mortal Sky Heaven. Lastly, only someone with authority can counter an authority!]"
Ace''s heart raced instantly when he heard the system''s exnation. This was too overpowered of an ability. But he quickly calmed down because the consumption was too ridiculous.
21 seconds of invincibility wasn''t too great, especially if his opponent managed to survive or if he ran out of Qi while he was in some deadly formation. This authority was a double-edged sword that needed to be only used when necessary until he could freely use it.
Then Ace asked another grave question, "Then what is B.E.D, and since this is the First Order of Darkness, how many are there? Will I get more Elixirs of Darkness, and then will I gain another authority? Furthermore, what is Child of Darkness?"
This was what Ace was most interested in knowing. He couldn''t forget that dark throne and that feeling he had when he was in front of it. Not to mention, the Child of Darkness was an even more ambiguous title.
He had too many questions, and only the system can answer them.
However, the system didn''t reply this time, and his expression went instantly dark as he tried calling it more time. But like usual, the system was ignoring him again, which meant his luck had been run out!
Ace sighed in indignation before he gave up and decided to call Winter to inquire about the situation outside. He was curious about how much time had passed since he had taken the elixir of darkness.
Furthermore, by the amount of TP added, he knew he had been absent for a while now.
When the call was connected, Winter''s upset voice sounded, "What is it this time?"
Ace smiled wryly, "How much time had passed?"
"Hmph, do you think I''m your clock? It''s our 13th month since we entered this ce!" Winter replied annoyingly.
''A full year had passed?'' Ace mused, "How''s things going at your end?"
"What do you think?" Winter scoffed, "These are too annoying, I''m telling you. Although they can''t stop me, they are not making it easy for me to steal. Furthermore, I''m almost done with the Blood City, and only the Blood Lords'' territories are left for me to steal.
"But they are now too alert, and it seemed they had contacted the outside world. Four months ago, a few hunters entered this ce, and after that, those lords started to search for me like hounds.
"Still, they are no match for me, and I made sure they will suffer humiliation." Winter proudly dered, "Now, I''m leaving this sted city tomorrow and going towards the demon city. Oh, and I''m already halfway towards the Veteran Member Rank!"
Ace was pleased with Winter''s progress and said, "Very good. Just continue with your mission, and I''m going to start once you guys are veteran members."
"Just as I suspected. Alright, take your sweet time. Just be careful. I think the devils might have started tob through their city as well. It would be annoying if you were to discover." Winter giggled maliciously.
Ace chuckled, "Don''t worry about me. On the other hand, if you fall into danger, don''t hesitate to call for your mighty leader."
"Hmph, as if!" Winter scoffed in annoyance and ended the call.
Ace merely smiled and then opened the thief house status to check on all the house members'' progress.
=====
[Thief House]
[Rules & Regtion of Thief House¡]
-Rule Creation Remain: 2
-Rule Change Token: 0
---
[Thief House: Level-1]
[House Leader: Ace White]
--
[House Members: 3/3 (House Full)]
1. Noa Night
-Thief Genre: Thief Assassin (Trainee)
-House Rank: Expert Member
[Next Rank [Veteran Member]: 493,843/500,000 Thieveries]
[View More Details]
2. Freya Witch
-Thief Genre: Evil Thief (Trainee)
-House Rank: Expert Member
[Next Rank [Veteran Member]: 499,659/500,000 Thieveries]
[View More Details]
3. Winter Fox
-Thief Genre: Faceless Thief (Trainee)
-House Rank: Expert Member
[Next Rank [Veteran Member]: 255,002/500,000 Thieveries]
[View More Details]
---
[House Point(s): 1,188,000]
¡
¡
¡
=====
''Hmm, Freya will be the first one to enter the Veteran Member Rank. I wondered what she would get or if they had toplete the house upgrade mission before they could get the benefits. I hope the mission will be canceled because of the Heaven''s Stealer Mission¡'' Ace wondered as he was looking forward to it and was somewhat excited about finally being able to get more slots for members.
Thereafter, he closed the panel, and this time, he ate an insight pill to increase the Lock Eraser King Technique''s final stage rank. He was going to use two of the advanced-grade insight pills on the Lock Eraser King Technique and Absolute Pick Pocket. N?v(el)B\\jnn
He wanted to increase his thievish skills as high as possible before he started the thievery of the Elemental Orb of Ice and Dark!
The underground chamber fell into silence again while Ace slowly fell into trace, and all sorts of insights started toe to him!
Chapter 902 No Justice in this World?
Chapter 902 No Justice in this World?
Azure Wind Continent, royalnds, within the grand Azure City of Azure Wind Mountain Sect, built a few miles away from the sect location. This city was for sect disciples to rest or replenish their supplies when they went out for missions.
Furthermore, this city was open to anyone and was a major hub for cultivators all around the royalnds.N?v(el)B\\jnn
At this moment, a young man with in features and humble clothing entered the city after paying ten peak grade-4 Qi stones. His expression was impassive as he measured the busy streets of Azure City with scrutiny.
Everyone here was a cultivator, and most of these people belonged to sects, even ancient sects.
The young man silently walked around the city until he found a small inn to check-in.
Just as he entered the room, his eyes winded a little because he saw a beggar with long dreadlocks filled with dirt, while his face, hidden behind those dirty dreadlocks and exposed bonny torso with multiple wound marks and soil, was sitting in front of the window while he was drinking from a small white gourd.
However, despite his drinking posse, his face didn''t appear, not even his skin, as if it was enshrouded in darkness.
The young man scoffed, and his surprise turned into coldness as he closed the door and coldly said, "Can you at least change your appearance? Your beggar masquerade is starting to get on my nerves."
The beggar put the gourd away from his mouth and impassively said in his husky voice, "Not calling me Master anymore, boy? Besides, appearances are but molded skins; remove them, and everyone is the same."
The young man''s expression went dark as he said, "Just tell me why you want me toe here. I thought I told you I wanted to be alone for some time."
"Yet you still came." The beggar impassively replied, "I never force you to do anything, boy. You have your own free will. If you still can''t ept your own true feelings, then I''m afraid all that suffering was in vain."
"Said the person who caused all that suffering!" The young man gritted his teeth with aplicated look in his eyes. It was like he wanted to hate the beggar but couldn''t bring himself to. Yet he didn''t want to show him any respect or warmth either.
"I merely opened your eyes to the truth. But you still decided to spare that woman who was behind all your misery. So, don''t me me for your ipetence." The beggar emotionlessly stated before he started to drink again.
The young man was fuming at this point, and his expression was twisted with fury as if he wanted to attack the beggar but just couldn''t because deep down, he knew the beggar was stating the truth!
The young man took a few breaths to calm his bolding blood and coldly uttered, "Enough with your atrocious remarks. You wanted me to leave my moth¡ that woman and you seeded. So, I don''t want to hear any of it anymore unless you really want me to leave.
"I only came here to get the rest of the Achromatic Theft Cultivation Art from you. In return, I''ll do two jobs for you for the final two manuals of the cultivation art. After that, we''ll part our way for good." He sternly dered.
The beggar put the gourd down at this moment, and suddenly, he waved his hand. Thereafter, a bronze bowl appeared in front of the young man, and within was a thick golden book.
The young man''s eyes widened when he read the title of the book, ''Achromatic Theft Cultivation Art (Soul Law Awareness and Law Comprehension Manual)'', and he looked at the beggar in disbelief before he quickly grabbed the book and read the contents.
"Why?" He asked the beggar with aplicated expression.
"Isn''t that what you want? Now go. Your ambition is only limited to the Mortal Sky Heaven." The beggar emotionlessly said before he started to drink again.
The young man was Damian, who hadpletely changed from being a na?ve cheerful kid to a cold young man.
After he finds the truth about his origin, he trusts no one except for the beggar. But he didn''t want to give the beggar the satisfaction of admitting it. Furthermore, he wanted to find a reason to break his ties with the beggar because he didn''t want to experience another betrayal from the person he trusted.
Yet, now the beggar had handed him over thest two cultivation manuals he wanted without giving him much trouble.
But he still doesn''t understand what he meant by hisst words, nor he can fathom the depth of the beggar''s power despite cultivating to the peak of the soul manifestation realm and the beggar still appeared like a mortal.
Damian took a deep breath before he said with aplicated expression, "Why don''t you just tell me what you want? It''s not like I won''t do it. You should know better than anyone. It''s not to doubt everyone after what happened. But I want to believe you, so please give me a reason to believe you."
Towards the end, he sounded like a begging child who didn''t want to believe that his parent could lie.
The beggar gulped a few times before he finally replied, "Hmm, hmm¡ emotions are the bane of a man''s downfall. Alright, if you can reply to me honestly, I''ll give a clue about my purpose for every mission youplete from now on. But if you lie even a little bit, you will never see me again, and you can live your life peacefully or die for all I care."
Damian frowned a little as he knew the beggar wasn''t bluffing, and he really couldn''t find him if the beggar didn''t want to be found. He can''t even sense his presence despite his special ability granted by the cultivation technique he cultivates.
"Alright." He nodded solemnly since he was very curious about the purpose of this beggar and why he chose him.
Damian didn''t believe in coincidence anymore, and he guessed that the beggar approached him, knowing who he was and his background. It just appeared that he was the one who approached the beggar, which shows how powerful and shrewd he was.
Yet still, he wanted to know just why he gave him that power to break him emotionally.
The beggar asked in an emotionless tone, "Tell me, as a thief, what do you think about the world?"
Damian replied without hesitation in a cold tone, "Powerful people rule it, and those powerful people are rotten, drunk on their power and privilege. Their treasuries are full, while poor people are dying of hunger and begging for a loaf of bread in the streets. They live in their gigantic castles, yet they don''t have time to repair the slums. This world is putrescent!"
"To summarize your answer, there is no justice in this world?" The beggar questioned again.
"Yes." Damian nodded without hesitation.
"Then do you admit as a thief that what you''re doing also goes against justice?" The beggar''s tone grew cold all of a sudden.
Damian frowned, and this time, he hesitated before he replied, "Yes. But there is no justice; without it, thieves like me will rise to im justice for ourselves!"
"If that''s the case, once there is justice, there is no need for thievery or any crime, right? Then what should be done if, despite that, there is still thievery and crime?" The beggar questioned again.
Damian replied without dy, "Then it is the fault of the criminal who wants to sow discord in peace and take advantage of the justice system. This sort of criminal should be put to death to make an example out of."
The beggar remained silent for a moment before saying, "Your answer is satisfactory. Very well, I ept this answer. I''ll give you a clue about my purpose: it is Justice!
"Your mission is also rted to justice as well. If you perform well, I''ll give you another clue. The Azure Wind Mountain Sect had trapped the innocent people of lowernds for hundreds of years, harvesting their lives without them even realizing it.
"I want you to find a way to free them and expose their schemes to the world. Let''s see if can theft for justice or not¡" The beggar stated before his figure started to turn ethereal, and he vanishedpletely under Damian''s baffled eyes!
Chapter 903 All-Knowing & All-Seeing Evil
Chapter 903 All-Knowing & All-Seeing Evil
Blood Continent, in the Sky Fire Elemental n territory, was the Sky Fire City ruled by the n itself. The Sky Fire n was famous for its forging techniques, and their runic smiths were famous throughout the world.
Because of their special bloodline, Sky Fire, they had wless control over mes, and they were hot-tempered by nature, not to mention arrogant.
In the entire Blood Continent, only the Purple Lightning n could make the Sky Fire n wary.
However, for the past four years, the once mighty Sky Fire n was losing its reputation and had be aughingstock of the entire blood continent. It was all because of a thief named All-Seeing Evil!
No one knows where the All-Seeing Evil came from, but his rise was meteoric. The first thievery record by the All-Seeing Evil was in the small affiliated n of the Sky Fire n.
Because of the danger of the Sky Stealer, any thief or anything rted to thievery was no longer taken lightly, and the higher-ups had given the clear order to purge anything rted to thievery.
Furthermore, the blood continent had never experienced any thievery before, so they were even more inclined towards stopping it at all costs. They only acknowledge the Sky Stealer''s abilities to steal from them.
However, the All-Seeing Evilpletely turns their beliefs upside down. Much less the person they can''t even find clues about the thief''s shadow. But for some strange reason, the thief knew all of their secrets and always stole when they all least expected.
Furthermore, this thief, like the Sky Stealer, leaves a special symbol and his name crafted from high-quality Qi stone coin behind whenever he steals. This symbol especially became famous when the thief started to target people instead of treasures, and this quickly spread all over the Blood Continent.
If you lost your treasures and found a Qi stone coin with the symbol of a ck eye instead, it means the All-Seeing Evil had seen you!
The most flustered about this situation was naturally the Sky Fire n because the sted thief was only activated in their territory. It was like he knew just how much wealth they had and wouldn''t go away until he took it all away.
Nowadays, the entire Sky Fire City is filled with security, and to enter this ce, one needed to undergo a myriad of identity checkups, and this was only the case for those who were on the special entry list. Those on this list can''t enter, no matter what!
Within the southern courtyard in the Sky Fire Pce, this courtyard belonged to the eldest princess of the Sky Fire n, Zoie. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
In a luxurious room, a country-toppling fair beauty with long crimson hair was sitting while her red eyes were locked on the empty space.
There was an invisible corporeal dark panel in front of her, which only she could see. At this moment, this panel had suddenly opened, and an emotionless voice rang.
______
[Congrattions, Freya Witch, for reaching the Veteran House Member Rank!]
[Reward: 1,000,000 House Point]
[Congrattions on being the first member to reach the Veteran House Member Rank!]
[Reward: 100,000 House Points]
[Next House Rank: Locked]
[NOTE: No thievery will count until the House Rank is locked!]
--
[You have reached the qualification for Intermediate Thief!]
[Please prove you are worthy of being a Veteran of Thief House!]
[House Mission for thief rank upgrade and to unlock the next house rank has been issued!]
--
-House Mission: Qualification of Intermediate Rank Thief
-Mission: Please perform a thievery worth 10,000,000 House Points!
-Prerequisite: You are not allowed to seek help from the House Leader or another House Member!
-Time Limit: 100 Days
-Punishment: House Rank Demotion
-Reward(s):
1. 1-Star Intermediate Thief Rank
2. House Shop Upgrade
3. Veteran House Member Medallion
______
''This mission is from the top!'' Zoie, who was naturally Freya''s real body in disguise, showed a grave expression.
All the excitement from finally reaching the Veteran Member vanished in smoke. She never expected that there would be a test directly from the ''goddess'' to prove her qualification to be a true veteran.
''Since our dearest house leader didn''t warn us about this mission, this could only mean he either didn''t know or was not allowed to tell us. That prerequisite is a clear warning to not involve him in it or other members. It is my own test.
''Furthermore, I need to perform a single thievery worth 10 million HP, so I need to choose my target very carefully, or I''ll be back to square one!'' Freya''s eyes shone with a grimace as she was finding it hard to reach this goal.
She had yet to perform a thievery worth 10 million HP; her highest thievery score was 2 million HP. She was only able to quickly reach this house rank first because the thievery done by her Avatar also counted.
Furthermore, most of her thieveries were done by her avatar in the demon continent!
That''s how she was able to beat the maniac like Noa. But now that she saw this mission, she felt a huge pressure, and this mission wasn''t something she couldin about because this mission wasn''t from Ace.
''Sigh¡ just when I was nning to break through in peace and after acquiring this identity. I should''ve waited for my breakthrough before ordering my avatar toplete the remaining thieveries.
''The only ce worth 10 million HP should be the treasury of Sky Fire n. My avatar didn''t have my real abilities to infiltrate this level of ce. What a huge headache. Now I understand why the leader always takes such huge risks.'' She sighed helplessly before she stood up.
Suddenly, a gloating smile appeared on her enthralling face as she thought, ''Since I got this mission, didn''t this mean the others will be getting the same kind of mission once she reached the house veteran rank?
''I wonder what will they do. Especially Winter, who''s with the leader right now. She might get directly demoted because of it! I should keep it a secret from her. She''ll be really mad when she finds this and willin about injustice even more on call.
''As for our fearless Noa, she might be a real daredevil, and right now, the entire devil continent is after her because she''s killing like crazy, and she''s killing not just anyone but higher-ups of the devil race.
''I wonder how strong she had grown¡''
Freya chuckled with a hint of yfulness as she exited the courtyard and headed toward the Sky Fire Pce''s core area!
Chapter 904 Skyfall Thief Assassin
Chapter 904 Skyfall Thief Assassin
All Devil Continent, in the valley of blood, which was on the outskirts of the Blood Devil n territory, and this ce was filled with bloody mist all year long.
This mist had a powerful hallucination and toxic effect, and this worked as a natural barrier for the Blood Devil n against all kinds of enemies.
But at this moment, no one had expected that a demon had made a huge underground cavern and she was performing alchemy.
This was naturally Noa, also known as the Skyfall Thief Assassin by the world, and this name struck fear in every devil''s heart. She has be more of a killer than a thief because her target always ends up dead, and no one can escape once they are considered a target.
Even the Vile Devil n Head was assassinated by her, and now even the Blood Devil n feared her existence.
However, Noa still deemed herself not qualified enough to go after the Blood Devil n, and she focused on raising her thievery count before acquiring the next house rank.
She wanted to do it before others, and just yesterday, she seeded. However, when the notification of being first to reach that rank didn''t appear, Noa''s heart went cold, and she knew Freya had probably beat her to it, which was uneptable.
Freya had beaten her by just seven days!
However, her rage was subdued when she got the same mission as Freya, and it was the goddess no less. So, she didn''t dare to show disrespect and vowed toplete it before Freya and not fail Ace''s expectations anymore.
She already had a target in mind, and she even had performed an 8 million HP thievery before, so she wasn''t too worried about not clearly this mission.
But to do that, she needed to break through to the Law Awareness Realm or at least be a Quasi Law Awareness Realm cultivator. She was already very close to this realm because she had found a way to grow andprehend thew faster; it was Assassination!
The more she learned the art of assassination, and the more she killed, she seemed to be stronger and stronger, especially if she killed a stronger opponent than herself.
Now, she was on the verge of a breakthrough and just needed a little push, and that''s why she had chosen to stay here andplete the 8th-grade potion to reach the 8th-grade demon body.
She was confident that she should be able to break through once she achieved 8th grade, and this was her biggest trump card against her strongest opponents.
As the Spirit Fire raged around the crimson cauldron, the golden ck liquid was boiling while a rich Qi aroma filled the entire cavern. If she hadn''t used multiple formations, she might''ve attracted unwanted attention.
Right at this moment, she suddenly pulled out a burning beast core and threw it into the golden ck liquid, and the next moment, a phantom of a vicious beast materialized in front of Noa and roared at her, and the process became greatly unstable.
This was the will of a beast that once had spirit fire inside, and this was the most difficult part of the refinement process to subdue this will, or her entire potion would go to waste, and she had to search for another spirit fire beast core.
She only had three, and they were all given to her by Ace. She knew how difficult they were to gather, so she didn''t have the luxury to waste them.
"King Refinement Soul Technique!" She muttered as her dark eyes shimmered with killing intent while she looked at the beast phantom.
This was the alchemy technique Ace found in Grim Ancestor''s ring with the entire inheritance of the most powerful alchemist of her time, and he gave it to Noa.
The next moment, dark phantom hands appeared above the cauldron, and they instantly smashed that beast phantom back into the cauldron.
"King Refinement Soul Seal!" She instantly formed a few hand signs, and those phantom hands turned into seals thatpletely sealed the mouth of the cauldron and the next moment, the cauldron began to shake like crazy as if that beast phantom wanted to burst out.
But Noa expression remained unchanged as she released more Qi and didn''t lose her focus.
Slowly, the shaking of the cauldron was subdued until they werepletely gone, and she finally rxed and opened the seal.
Inside, a glistering golden ck liquid was present, which gave off the feeling of an intense inferno just by looking at it, and she knew the potion was ready for abortion.
''I need to absorb it in 9 days, or I''ll die. Even with my grade-8 bloodline, this is very dangerous. But I need to do it to be the strongest andpletely dominate the All Devil Continent!'' Noa''s pitch-ck eyes shone with deep resolve as she pictured only a single person she was doing it all for.
Her robes started to vanish, revealing her wless world-ss figure, and she jumped inside the fiery liquid before the lid waspletely sealed off and the cauldron started to tremble again!
---
While Noa was going through excruciating pain to be stronger, a ghost-like person had reached the core of the All Devil Continent, the Devil Tower!
The Devil Tower was the symbol of the Devil n, and it was just as holy to devils as the Demon Temple was to demons. Furthermore, the Devil Tower''s size and shape, even color, were exactly the same as the Demon Temple, as if they were clones of each other.
No one was allowed to enter this ce without permission, and like the demon temple, this tower was protected by the Blood Devil n and powerful formations around it. The security was even more ridiculous after the Sky Stealer robbed the Demon Temple.
However, this ghost-like man had somehow infiltrated this forbiddennd without altering anyone. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
He muttered in his ghost-like voice filled with malice and ecstasy, "Those devil bastards used my soul wisp to power this formation. How vicious yet foolish. They should''ve considered the possibility that once the true master of that soul arrives, it won''t work. Now, I''m going to im that soul as well as take their secret from this sacred ground of devils!"
Chapter 905 Myriad Thieving Fox
Chapter 905 Myriad Thieving Fox
The once peaceful Trinity Alliance Mountains had fallen into chaos in thest two years, and all this was resulting from the emergence of a mysterious thief!
No one knows where this thief came from, his race, or his true purpose. But the higher-ups of the Trinity Alliance Mountains considered this guy an outsider because he appeared right at the time when the Trinity Alliance Mountains Realm was left open by the three ancestors so the other members of their races could enter.
However, they couldn''tin or seek help from their ancestors because they were now in life-and-death seclusion, and disturbing them for a petty thief was akin to seeking death.
Furthermore, if the thief could sneak inside, it was also their fault for beingx in their security, and now they were facing a massive crisis.
The thief first appeared in Blood City of Hunters and remained active there for over a year, and in that year, he left his deep mark on everyone''s mind. He stole from almost everyone except for the lords of the city.
It was then the name Myriad Thieving Fox started to spread all over the Trinity Alliance Mountains Realm. Every time the thief stole, he left behind a Qi stone coin with his name on one side and a ck mark of a fox''s face on the other side!
The situation became even more grave when the people from the outside world entered for the first time and gave everyone theplete details about the events that happened in the outside world in all these years.
Only then did the natives of the Trinity Alliance Mountains realize that the appearance of the thief was nothing but trouble, and they put all their forces into capturing this Myriad Thieving Fox.
However, not only did they fail to find his traces, but he continued his thievery in the Mighty Demon City, and the situation was as bad as the Blood City, if not worse.
One had to know these people were all either elite of the three races or their descendants, yet they can''t even stop a thief from stealing, much less capturing him.
The situation turned so bad that the First Lord of the Demon City blew off almost half of the city just because he thought he sensed an unknown presence, but it turned out nothing.
Today, the thieveries started to in the All Devil City, and despite the devils making all sorts of arrangements, this turned them into aughingstock among the other two cities, and both demons and hunters were gloating and celebrating like it was a festival.
The devils could only fume in silence because they were berating and jeering at the two races for their ipetence in letting a thief walk all over them, and they even refused to help because they were busy raising their defenses. Yet all the preparation turned out for nothing.
Because they all knew that the thief would move on to their city once he was done with the demons, just like what happened to the hunters.
Although their prediction turned out to be urate, other than that, nothing went as they had nned, and now the thief was finally among them. The atmosphere of the devil city was gloomy and war-like.
The devils quickly responded, closing the entire city andbing through the city like crazy hounds on the first day after the incident. The three devil lords also partake in this endeavor, which was a pretty big deal!
At this moment, Ace was in a trance, and suddenly, the surrounding space started to tremble a little. Ace''s eyes snapped open the next moment, and the trembling space around stopped.
"Law of Space is infinite just like Darkness¡" Ace muttered as his eyes shone with realization, and he quickly opened hisw section in his status.
=====N?v(el)B\\jnn
¡
[Law(s): 7 (Corroded by Darkness)]
-Sword (Intermediate): 79.00%
-Psyche (Initial): 17.05%
-Lightning (Intermediate): 53.99%
-Wind (Intermediate): 51.46%
-Heavenly Thunder (Minor): 00.99%
-Space (Minor): 4.99%
[Corroded Progress: 4%]
¡
=====
Ace''s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, ''Even after consuming the insight pill. I was only able toprehend 4.99% of [Space]w. Furthermore, the Absolute Pick Pocket is directlybined withprehending thew of space and has four realms like Element Law Proficiency (Minor, Initial, Intermediate, and Advanced).
''At Minor Realm of Absolute Pick Pocket, I can only steal a random treasure from a storage space treasure around Grade-0 to Grade-1. While at Initial Realm, I could peek into a storage space treasure (Grade-0 to Grade-3) for a second and still could only grab one treasure. Only at the intermediate realm, it bes beneficial¡'' Ace mused and sighed ruefully as he was hoping to get a higher result than this.
However, the spacew was just tooplex, and he was onlyprehending it using the Absolute Pick Pocket as a reference, and he had yet toe in contact with any skill or art rted to spacew.
Furthermore, he had yet to see anyone using spacew or even heard of it; it was as if they didn''t even exist in this ce.
Still, he had at least taken a step towardsprehending thew of space, and despite it being only small, he could now feel a strange reasoning with the surrounding space.
Ace then didn''t think about it anymore and checked the house members'' progress to see if they had all reached the veteran member rank or not.
=====
[Thief House]
[Rules & Regtion of Thief House¡]
-Rule Creation Remain: 2
-Rule Change Token: 0
---
[Thief House: Level-1]
[House Leader: Ace White]
--
[House Members: 3/3 (House Full)]
1. Noa Night
-Thief Genre: Thief Assassin (Trainee)
-House Rank: Veteran Member
[Next Rank [Locked]: Undergoing Qualification Mission (View Details)]
[NOTE: Contact with Noa Night has been terminated because of Qualification Mission!]
[View More Details]
2. Freya Witch
-Thief Genre: Evil Thief (Trainee)
-House Rank: Veteran Member
[Next Rank [Locked]: Undergoing Qualification Mission (View Details)]
[NOTE: Contact with Freya Witch has been terminated because of Qualification Mission!]
[View More Details]
3. Winter Fox
-Thief Genre: Faceless Thief (Trainee)
-House Rank: Veteran Member
[Next Rank [Locked]: Undergoing Qualification Mission (View Details)]
[NOTE: Contact with Winter Fox has been terminated because of Qualification Mission!]
[View More Details]
---
[House Point(s): 1,188,000]
¡
¡
¡
=====
Ace was startled when he saw those notes and quickly opened the details, and when he saw all of them were undergoing the same mission, he was shocked even more.
''So, they all needed to score a ten million thievery without seeking my or others'' help. I had a feeling that the system would y a trick like this since it never gives away free things. But it''s bizarre: Winter was far behind both of them, yet the difference between her and Freya, who started first, is just 23 days.
''Last time I check, Freya was only a thievery away from getting veteran member rank, and Noa was over five thousand away from her. But Winter was over a hundred thousand. How did she cover this gap so quickly?
''Furthermore, was only in insight state for a few days? I can''t even contact her or find her since it might make her fail her mission, and I''ll hear no end to it if that happens.
''Well, whatever the case is, I should get going since they are now veteran members. Furthermore, if I raise an upheaval of my own, this won''t mean I''m helping Winter¡'' Ace''s lips curled up in a sly smile. Just thinking about undermining the system makes him giddy.
The next moment, Ace stood up and headed outside with a cruel glint in his eyes, ''Devil Ancestor, let me test my new authority on you, and then I''ll make sure to bury the Blood Ancestor for what she had done to Alina!''
Chapter 906 Stealing Elemental Dark Orb (1)
Chapter 906 Stealing Elemental Dark Orb (1)
Ace exits the shop in his devil disguise and walks toward Devil Mountain while stealing some devils'' memories to understand what is going on clearly.
He spotted many guards patrolling the city while the once blustering streets of the All Devil City were now almost barren. After he read a devil guard''s memories, he couldn''t help but click his tongue in amusement.
''Myriad Thieving Fox? She''s really enjoying this, isn''t she?'' Ace thought with a faint smile as he felt proud of Winter.
Nheless, Ace didn''t look for her because of the mission she was undergoing, nor did he need her.
"Halt!" At this moment, a heavy voice stopped him in his tracks, and when he turned around, he saw an ash-pale devil guard walking over. His aura was quite fierce, and he looked at him with clear suspicions.
However, Ace merely nced at him and said one word, "Leave!" and then he started walking again.
The next moment, the guard''s fierce expression turned nk, and he didn''t stop Ace either. In fact, he slowly turned around and walked away.
''Hmm, Soul Words have finally started to be useful.'' A content smile appeared on Ace''s face as he continued to walk toward the devil mountain as if he were on a stroll.
In fact, he could''ve just entered stealth, but he didn''t want to, and for some reason, he just wanted to walk without any stealth for some time.
As the humongous triangr mountain got closer and closer, Ace found more and more guards in the area. But whoever tried to stop him he would leave after a single word.
But when Ace finally senses the powerful presence of Law Awareness Realm cultivators close to the foothold of the mountain, he uses soul stealth instantly and vanishes without a trace.
Ace could clearly see the red area ahead of him in the fate map, and the formations there were all at least low-grade-7.
But he didn''t even flinch because he had already gone through far more terrifying formations, and he used the space step talisman without hesitation.
The next moment, he was on the other side of the blockade, and a hint of understanding appeared in his eyes, ''Just now, when I used the space step talisman, I felt connected to space¡ is it because of my spacew? I even felt like my staggeringw increased a little bit.''
Previously, Ace didn''t have a deep understanding of space, so he never felt like this before. But now, he could more clearly feel the space around him and its profound mysteries.
Nheless, Ace knew it wasn''t the time to mull over it for long, and he started to head toward the mountain peak while using grade-8 stealth formation.
This ce was nowhere near the Sun and Moon Secret Realm level, nor did they have an inheritance like the Sun and Moon Sword Union. Ace didn''t know how they could build these seals and keys, but he knew someone else was pulling the strings, and those three were mere puppets.
Ace mused that the true mastermind behind all of this might show up once he breaks this mysterious seal.
The journey towards the peak was without any hitch as the entire mountain was empty, and formations protected it. It was pretty clear that the Devil Ancestor didn''t want anyone near this ce while he was undergoing a breakthrough.
It wasmon knowledge that when someone was undergoing a breakthrough, they were at their most fragile state, and many cultivators with malicious intentions took advantage of this situation to get rid of high-level threats.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Since the Devil Ancestor was an old monster who cherished his life and was willing to live like a leech, it wasn''t surprising that he wouldn''t trust even his subordinates.
Furthermore, he had no idea that Ace had snuck here following them, and now they were all in immense danger while being utterly clueless about it.
Following his fate map, he reached a particr location a few hundred meters away from the peak.
Looking at the in rock surface, Ace narrowed his eyes, ''There should be a trap door here¡ since this is a grade-7 formation¡''
A devious smile rose on his face, and the next moment, dismantle Qi gushed out from his hands and started to cover the ground where the hidden door should be.
He was already a Grade-7 Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler, and now he could dismantle anything below grade-8!
Ace used his dismantle Qi, but not another else because he wasn''t interested in dismantling and gathering the materials used in this door. He just wanted to turn this trap door into dust.
If he weren''t focused enough, anything he was dismantling would turn to dust, and it was a considerable disadvantage and an advantage in situations like this. He doesn''t even have to bother to find the formation''s weak spots or keys. He can destroy it.
The next moment, the dismantle Qi started to corrode the mountain''s surface, and the rocky surface suddenly turned into a dark yellow door, which was slowly getting consumed by the dismantle Qi.
When Ace deemed it enough, he stopped supplying the dismantle Qi, and the moment the dismantle Qi lost its connection with the gloves, it instantly vanished. The door crumbled like a sand castle, revealing a spacious staircase.
Without hesitation, Ace took the staircase and headed downwards while he didn''t forget to use another illusion formation to cover the opening.
This entire passage was dyed in red, so Ace remained on high alert because he was now only a few hundred meters away from the dark orb.
Ace found a sealed ck gate shimmering with golden symbols at the end of the staircase, and the dark orb was behind it!
Furthermore, Ace suddenly feels a deep familiarity behind that door, as if a part of him was right behind it. It was pretty strange.
''This is a high grade-7 formation¡ but so what!'' Ace sneered before he used the dismantle Qi against it, and the luster of the gate started to vanish as dark dismantle Qi corroded it.
At this moment, Ace stopped supplying the dismantle Qi, and the next moment, the gate turned into dust, and the moment the passage opened, thick dark mist gushed out!
Chapter 907 Stealing Elemental Dark Orb (2)
Chapter 907 Stealing Elemental Dark Orb (2)
Ace would''ve typically be alert or slightly panicked when the cloudy dark mist appeared. Yet, this time, he remained utterly calm because the dark mist gave him the feeling of familiarity and warmth.
''Is this mist created by the dark orb?'' Ace thought as he felt cozy in that dark mist that was poisonous for everyone else.
Furthermore, despite the dark mist, Ace could see as clearly as day in it, and he felt he could also control this dark mist if he wanted to.
Ace knew it was all happening because he was now the owner of the First Authority of Darkness, and this dark element was nothing but another branch of darkness, so he waspletely fine.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he looked at the grand space behind the door. Only a single bridge led towards a tform while the surroundings were filled with ck liquid from where the dark mist originated. It was a pure dark Qi pool whose value was unimaginable!
However, Ace''s eyes were locked on the dark-lit ghostly scepter and an eight-meter-tall hideous crimson devil sitting in front of it, deep in meditation state. The devil ancestor, Edward, was in his proper devil form right now, which only Albert and Margret know about!
Now, Ace had also seen it, and Edward was utterly oblivious to the fact as he still didn''t feel anything amiss because, in his mind, this ce was imprable.
Furthermore, even if someone could appear here by some miracle, the devil scepter would react. However, it was only the case when someone touched the dark Qi released by it.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
But the Dark Qi not only reacted, but it reacted in the entirely opposite way, which shouldn''t be possible, and now, Edward was utterly clueless about a pair of thievish eyes locked on him.
''Devil Ancestor, the once strongest person of the ten continents and an old monster who lived for thousands of years, and now he''s just sitting all defenseless in front of me like a sitting duck. I''m afraid this thievery would be extremely cumbersome if I didn''t have the authority of darkness. But now¡''
Ace''s cruel smile spread before walking slowly toward the Devil Ancestor. He didn''t just take the scepter and flee, which was his primary objective. He changed his mind after what had just happened. Furthermore, he can''t let this opportunity pass by. He will never get another one like this.
Edward was utterly defenseless right now, and the dark Qi around him, which he so much trusted, was now Ace''s greatest ally, so he wanted to take full advantage of this and get rid of this future trouble for good.
After all, one less powerful enemy was better than having one more, and he could also get rid of the Blood Ancestor without alerting her this way. Moreover, he knew someone backed these guys, so if he could get rid of them, they might not be able to alert the mastermind.
Lastly, Ace wanted another thing from the Devil Ancestor, the Devil Race''s living storage space treasure, the only known space treasure that can store living beings in this world!
That treasure''s value was as high as the elemental orb or even more.
Ace quickly made his way to the tform, which was shimmering in rune symbols and channeling powerful dark Qi directly into Edward''s body. The tform itself was thest defense against enemies.
However, in the fate map, this entire area was gray, which meant there was no danger except for Edward''s red fate point, so he stepped on the tform, and Edward still didn''t notice him when he was only a few meters away.
At this moment, Ace spotted a crimson ring with blue veins on Edward''s ring finger, and except for that ring, he wasn''t wearing another ring.
''This should be it¡'' Ace thought, but he didn''t jump the guns and even ignored the devil scepter, which was only a meter away from him now.
The dark Qi waspletely hiding Ace within, making him appear a part of it, and that''s why Edward overlooked Ace despite him getting so close to him.
He walked toward Edward, and his expression was emotionless. The next moment, Ace raised his hand before he thought, ''Lawless Darkness!''
The moment he imagined activating the first authority of darkness, something seemed to be stirred within him, and his entire body suddenly turned cker than ck. Hepletely vanished into the darkness.
The surrounding dark Qi suddenly started gushing into the spot where Ace was like a ck hole, and the devil scepter shone even more brightly, turning the Qi pool into dark mist even faster.
The devil ancestor''s eyelid sprang open at this moment, revealing dark eyeballs filled with bewilderment and rm. The Qi supply suddenly cut off, and something within him started to feel extremely fearful, making him tremble like crazy, which was entirely new for him.
Furthermore, he was even more shocked when he tried to move his body because he couldn''t. It was like he had lost all control over it. He didn''t have permission to even flinch from this ce.
He wanted to speak, but his mouth was tightly sealed. The foreign fear gripped his entire being at this moment, and finally, at this moment, he felt something he had forgotten long ago: death!
Edward didn''t even notice the ring on his finger vanished at that moment. As death was approaching, he didn''t even have the guts to resist it because the death was granted by something far superior to his entire measly existence. This was the feeling of Devil Ancestor before an ethereal pitch-ck streak appeared between his body.
The next moment, that streak and ck hole behind him vanished, and strangely he wasn''t cut in half, but the life within the devil ancestor was wholly gone as he fell on the tform. The once mightiest figure who ruled over the world was now dead, which he couldn''t resist.
Ace''s figure appeared again, but he was ghastly pale and panted heavily while his eyes widened, ''I-I only activated it for two seconds, yet I-I''ve felt that endless emptiness wanted to engulf everything¡ was that darkness? And that guy appeared like a tiny particle of that emptiness, which I can easily devour on a whim. What a terrible yet magnificent feeling¡'' He thought with aplex look on his pale face.
He used his authority because he didn''t want Edward to escape or use some treasure, which seemed to y out well.
At this moment, the system voice rang a few times in session,
=====
[Thievery seeded!]
[Host Stole]
[Living Storage Space Treasure (Low-Grade-9): 1]
¡
[Time Space Fragment (Low-Grade-9): 1
¡
--
[Reward(s)]
-Rewards: 749,400,000 Thief Points
---
[Thievery Rank(s)]
-High-Level Thievery(s): 1
---
[High-level Thievery(s): 5/100]
---
[Thief Point(s): 1,521,750,400]
---
[You have killed a Quasi-Soul Law Comprehension Realm Devil.]
[Reward: 10,000,000 SP]
--
[You have absorbed an excessive amount of Dark essence!]
[Converting them to EXP and SP!]
[EXP: 2.4 Billion EXP
[SP: 2.1 Billion]
--
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Soul Manifestation [Stage-9]]
[EXP: 2,413,190,000/2,500,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Heavenly ck Wind Soul Core [Stage-9]]
[SP: 2,110,731,990/2,500,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
--
[NOTE: Your understanding of Darkness has been increased slightly!]
---
[The conditions for Living Thief''s Space final scheme (3X-Time eleration Function) have been met!]
-One Grade-9 Storage Space Treasure: Present
-One Grade-9 Time Treasure: Present
-100 Million Thief Points: Present
[Do you want to update the Living Thief''s Space?]
[Proceed/Not Now]
=====
Ace instantly felt rmed when a massive torrent of Qi broke into his body, and he felt warmth as his Qi(s) started to resort and then increase at tremendous speed.
''Dark essence?'' Ace was surprised by this sudden notification and looked around and was shocked when he found the entire Qi pool was empty. He knew when he felt rich Qi suddenly pouring into him when he was using Lawless Darkness wasn''t just an illusion.
But he was further rmed when he saw over 1 billion TP. Then, thest condition to upgrade the thief''s space waspleted, which waspletely unexpected but also pleasantly surprising.
He never expected the Devil Ancestor would have two grade-9 treasures, even a treasure rted to time, which was unheard of!
But then he frowned, ''If I proceed, didn''t this mean I''ll lose the precious living space treasure? No, it''s too much of a loss for me. I should find another space treasure to rece it¡''
Ace instantly decided, finally looking at the devil specter and smiling. This was his main prize!
Chapter 908 Devil Ancestor’s Space Ring
Chapter 908 Devil Ancestor¡¯s Space Ring
Ace moved to take the scepter and looked at the dark orb imbued within the skull''s mouth, and the moment he came in contact with it, he could feel the dark orb submission to him.
Satisfied, Ace stowed the scepter away since the dark orb was thest orb he had to absorb before absorbing the other seven orbs.
Then he looked at the corpse of the devil ancestor, and a thought surfaced in his mind before a thievish smile appeared, and he quickly stowed the corpse before leaving the space.
Just like that, the Devil Ancestor Edward vanished without anyone realizing it.
Ace exited the hidden space at this moment, and he was looking through Edward''s space ring, his first ever grade-9 treasure he stole from someone else.
Furthermore, this treasure was a living space treasure, no less. Since Edward was dead, the space ring was ownerless, and Ace quickly imed it.
Then he tried what he always wanted to do: he attempted to enter the space ring, and the next moment, he felt a strong suction force before his vision blurred, and he appeared in a 500-cubic meter space.
This space waspletely different from the gloomy thief''s space; there was a bright blue sky and soft grass bed on the floor, and there was even a medium-sized castle built with a water pool around it while fields of rare herbs were nted near it, giving the entire ce a pleasant scent and rich Qi. It was like a small paradise.
"I''ve seeded!" Ace muttered in ecstasy, and then he noticed that the space ring on his finger was missing, and he was startled. But he could clearly sense the presence of the ring and try to see outside.
He was shocked when he peered outside with a thought and found the space ring lying on the rocky surface.
''I can enter this ce, but the ring will remain outside. It''s just like any other space ring. Since this space exists within this ring, the medium naturally can''t enter it. It''s just like my thief''s space since it exists within me. I can''t enter it.'' Ace mused as he found this quite reasonable.
Only then did he look at the white castle built in the center of this space and smile, "I''ve always wanted to build this sort of ce for myself, but what''s the point if I can''t even enter it? No wonder the living space treasures are so rare. This space is like a small portable realm. Furthermore, I don''t think it has any restrictions on its entries like my thief''s space. Using it to upgrade my thief''s space would be a waste."
The more Ace thought about it, the more content he became with himself and really felt grateful towards thete Devil Ancestor.
''Now, where did he store all those treasures? That castle should be it.'' Ace smiled as he directly teleported in front of the castle gate. He could''ve found them with a thought, but he just wanted to explore his new toy.
Since he was now the owner of this ce, he could go anywhere with a thought, and it was pretty clear the castle was where Edward stored all the good things since it was a waste to use this ce as a mere storage space.
However, right at this moment, when he was in front of the castle gate, he was startled, and the next moment, the castle door began to open.
Just as the castle gate was opening, a few melodious voices rang in unison, "Wee back, Lord Husband!"
Ace was dumbfounded and speechless because he didn''t think that the devil ancestor would have anyone else living here since it was a precious space, so he ignored this detail.
Even if someone was living here, they should be quite substantial and decisive to the Devil Ancestor. But he didn''t imagine that the people living here would be Devil Ancestor''s wives, and there were 18 of them, no less!
''The Devil Ancestor was such a person even at this age?'' Ace wondered speechlessly as the gates opened, and 18 country-toppling beauties from the devil race stood there with anticipation in their eyes.
Furthermore, the weakest among them were in the Qi soul manifestation realm''s high stage, while the strongest were in the intermediate stage of the Law Awareness Realm. This was a terrifying lineup, and they were all his wives!
At this moment, Ace had a new-found respect for the Devil Ancestor. He can''t even handle two women, but that guy had tamed 18 of them. He even started to regret killing the guy and not saving his great memories.
Nheless, it was toote, and now he was the owner of this ce, so he didn''t bother hiding himself and also quickly searched for more living beings. But there were none other than those 18 in front of him.
At this moment, the strongest among the 18 devils, a woman from the blood devil n with alluring features, finally noticed that this hooded person wasn''t her husband at all.
The gentleness in crimson eyes vanished, and coldness reced it as she asked, "Who might you be, Sir?"
The others also noticed and were instantly on guard because Edward had never let another man in this ce, and without his permission, no one else could enter.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
That''s also why when they all sense someone else presence, they take it as Edward since he always announced first whenever he was sending another woman here. The possibility of him dying in this ce and exchanging the owners didn''t even ur to them.
So, they also didn''t attack him as they thought he was Edward''s underling.
Ace smiled wryly as he didn''t know how to break the news to them, but he wasn''t interested in plundering someone else harm, nor did he want to be strangled by Eva.
So, he quickly thought of a much more effective way to deal with this strange situation.
"System, will she be fine if I send Eva here?" He asked the system.
"[Yes, for this is a restricted space under Host''s ownership.]
ted, he quickly sent a voice transmission to Eva.
"Why aren''t you speaking?" The vile devil n woman coldly questioned as she released her earlyw awareness stage aura with a hostile look.
Ace finally spoke impassively, "Ladies, I hate to break it to you, but I''m afraid your husband is dead, and now I''m the owner of this ce. Don''t worry, I''m not a bad person. But it doesn''t mean I can ask you not to hate me. So I''ll let someone else from your race help with your grief."
His words shocked everyone, and before they could fullyprehend them, a devilish woman in white attire appeared beside Ace, and a tiny ck bird was sitting on her shoulder.
The moment Eva appeared, her eyes were deadly cold as she looked at all those beautiful devils with naked hostility, while Cyrus was extremely curious.
"How did you do it?" She looked at Ace with aplicated look in his eyes.
Although Ace didn''t give her much information, he only told her that he killed the Devil Ancestor, and now he wanted her help to deal with something, and she quickly agreed despite her initial shock.
She has highlyplex feelings towards the devil race because they were the ones who killed her mother and father. She even wanted to seek revenge herself once she could freely move around. Moreover, she wanted to know more about her mother and her death.
But Ace got rid of the top figure of the Devil Race, which is a huge surprise, and she doesn''t know how to feel about it.
Ace sighed as he felt Eva''s emotions. He knew she still resents the devil race despite not showing it, so he wanted to give her peace by letting her deal with these women, and also, since they were Edward''s women, they should know about many secrets. So, letting Eva deal with them was the right choice.
"I''ll tell you once I''m finished with this task. I''m still in the middle of it, and I thought you would be interested in a change of scenery, so do as you please. Once you are done, tell me." Ace gently stated with a smile before he vanished from the space.
He decided to give Eva some space now and put a hold on seeing Edward''s treasures, and he also took away Cyrus.
''This dummy¡'' Eva couldn''t help but smile tenderly before it vanished entirely as she felt multiple killing intents on her.
"You dare to spout nonsense!" The blood devil released her aura as crimson Qi gushed out from her person.
Eva suddenly smiled cruelly, "We have a long chat ahead of us. But first, let me show you your new ce!"
The next moment, she released her bloodline aura, and all the devil faces went deadly pale when they sensed that horrible feeling of being like an ant in front of their queen!
Chapter 909 Stealing Elemental Ice Orb
Chapter 909 Stealing Elemental Ice Orb
Embarked on his sword, Ace headed toward the final key, the Key of Earth, and Ice orb in the possession of Blood Ancestor Margret.
Ace never expected that the ice orb would be in the hands of the hunter race all this time, and he had no idea how they pulled this off right under demons'' noses, no less.
Furthermore, Ace also paid attention inside the space ring, where Eva showed off her superior prowess, making those devils utterly helpless.
She was already at the early stage of Law Awareness Ream, and even without her bloodline suppression, those devils were no match for her, even if they came together.
"I can finally go on holiday!" Cyrus chirped in happiness as he sat on his shoulder.
Ace almost forgot about the little troublemaker over his shoulder and chuckled, "What holiday? Did your big sis allow it?"
Cyrus trembled slightly as he timidly replied, "N-no¡ b-but I deserve a holiday after so much study!"
Ace stopped his urge tough as he looked at Cyrus''s resentful eyes. He knew the little guy was undergoing a hectic schedule after his dishonesty was exposed. Cyrus still wonders to this day how his secret spot was discovered.
Today, he was reciting everything he learned to Eva when Ace called, and she took him with her. Now, he ended up with Ace, which was nothing but good news for the little guy who was being suppressed all this time.
Ace smiled faintly, "Alright, but you must do as I said, or I''ll send you back."
Cyrus''s eyes instantly lit up, and he quickly nodded, "Okay! So, are we food hunting? I can feel the delicious food in that strange mountain!" He excitedly pointed his little wing at the triangr mountain where Blood Ancestor was located.
''His senses are sharp as ever¡'' Ace thought. He knew how sharp Cyrus was regarding treasures like elemental orbs. After all, this little guy subdued and ate all the holy gifts in the two secret realms.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"No, you are not going to eat that. I need it, so behave. Instead¡" Ace''s eyes went sharp as he said, "Don''t you want a maid? How about this: I''ll help you find one, and if you can make her submit, she''s yours. I''ll even help you."
Cyrus''s tiny eyes widened before they shed with excitement, "Really?! It''s finally my turn?"
''What do you mean your turn?'' Ace was a little speechless, still, he nodded, "Yeah, whatever. But if you fail, you need to burn her. She deserves the agony!"
Cyrus thoughtfully nodded, "Don''t worry, I''ll take care of her, and then I''ll have her y with me! If she doesn''t listen, I''ll undoubtedly burn her!" He excitedly revealed his grand n.
Ace couldn''t help but chuckle as his eyes shed coldly, ''I might be able to capture her alive with Lawless Darkness. I need to know what this seal is and who is the person behind them. These three hold too many secrets.
''I need to keep her alive at least until I break through to the next realm and then use my soul probe on her, and this way, I''ll also get some revenge for Alina. But if she resists, I need to get rid of her. Let''s see how this all ys out.''
Acended on the peak of Blood Mountain and headed toward the secret passage, which seemed to be the same as the Devil Mountain.
Using his dismantle Qi, Ace gets rid of the protective formation, and at this moment, Cyrus suddenly exims when Ace used the dismantle Qi, "Big bro, what is this? It''s so scary!"
Ace was surprised, "Do you feel danger from this Qi?" asked Ace.
It was pretty strange because, ording to the system, the dismantle Qi had no attacking power, but since Cyrus called it scary, he couldn''t ignore it.
Cyrus replied uncertainly, "I don''t know. I think I can''t burn it, so it''s scary."
"Is that so?" Ace impassively said, deep in thought, as he walked down the stairs.
This ce was utterly identical to the devil mountain, even the door blocking his way, and the moment he destroyed it, a frigid blue haze escaped.
Ace felt icy, and this time, he instantly used his stealth because this Qi wasn''t affiliated with darkness at all and remained vignt.
Conversely, Cyrus was excellent because he was immune to this level of cold and remained still.
The interior was the same as the Devil Mountain but wasn''t dark and gloomy. Instead, it was frozen in blue ice, and the Qi pool was crystal blue, and in the middle of it was a tform like the Devil Mountain.
Margret was sitting cross-legged while her peerless face was exposed as she was surrounded by purple Qi, looking like an ice goddess. In front of her was a beautiful silver specter with a glowing silvery orb imbued on top, giving off powerful frigid Qi.
Ace didn''t take risks this time and instantly used pick-pocket to steal the scepter before acting against Margret. Because he wasn''t sure he could get as close to her as Edward, using his authority so early was not good.
The moment Ace wrapped the scepter with his soul thread, Margret''s enthralling eyes snapped open, and she just happened to see the Blood Scepter disappearing.
She was bewildered momentarily as if she imagined things, but when the tform suddenly stopped supplying her with Qi, she knew she didn''t imagine things, and the scepter was gone.
"Who!?" She eximed as her pale white face turned appalled because her Qi suddenly became chaotic. She was in a deep cultivation state when she opened her eyes on instinct as her soul was connected with the scepter.
But now that she regained her sense and experienced a blow on her mind, she suddenly entered Qi deviation!
Ace quickly took notice of Margret''s chaotic Qi and moved and closed the distance between them, and the next moment, he was standing in front of Margret, making her widen her eyes in horror.
The next moment, Ace used Lawless Darkness before she could react, and the bright space turned ck. Margret, who was trying to suppress her Qi, stopped and started to tremble in fear, which rose from the depth of her very being, and she even forgot about the chaotic Qi within her.
Not only her, but Cyrus also started to tremble as he found himself in the center of this darkness, and if it wasn''t for his connection with Ace and feeling safe, he might''ve started to flee.
Ace''s eerie voice rang at this moment, and he sounded no longer human, "You have two choices: submit or die¡"
Chapter 910 Abducting the Blood Ancestor
Chapter 910 Abducting the Blood Ancestor
Lillian was living in Alina''s house after she entered the Mystic Bloodline Cist, and right now, the Cist was resting in Alina''s room.
Furthermore, after getting berated by Evan and experiencing the abyssal gap between them, she bes much moreposed and pays attention to herwprehension.
She doesn''t even have to care for the little troublemaker bird anymore, so her life is rtively peaceful. But deep down, she was still anxious about Alina and wanted to know her situation, but she was helpless.
Today, she was sitting in front of the window and looking at Eva''s house withplex emotion, and she looked at the Cist behind her and pursed her lips, "Princess, how much longer you''re going to be like this? You do know your rival is getting stronger by the second. I hate to admit it, but I think no one can beat that woman. Still, I have faith in you, and I want to punch her smug, arrogant face once youe out and suppress her!"
She often came here and talked with Cist and shared her resentment with Alina and always hoped for a reply, but s, it never came.
"Even your so-called lover had forgotten about you after sealing you. I wonder if he knew something and just wanted to torture me in suspense or simply get rid of me. But don''t worry, I''ll always be with you just as I vowed when I first met you." Lillian said matter-of-factly with a hint of loneliness.
Suddenly, she heard a furious yet fearful scream, "Where am I?!"
Lillian was snapped out of her stupor before her eyes narrowed, ''That voice¡ why did it sound so familiar? No¡ why is there an unfamiliar voice here in the first ce?''
Before she could reach a sound conclusion, Cyrus''s excited voice rang, "Be good maid! You are in my nest, and now you will be my ymate, and you can''t refuse because you are my maid!"
"Y-you dare!" The woman''s voice trembled with anger and humiliation.
Lillian was bewildered by Cyrus''smotion and became very curious about the unlucky fellow who got captured to be the little troublemaker''s maid.
She exited the house and finally spotted Cyrus jumping on an enthralling woman''s purple head. She had otherworldly features and seemed to be suppressed entirely and helpless.
Lillian''s curious expression crumbled in horror because she could tell this woman was from the hunter race.
Furthermore, her stature seemed to be highly familiar, and her voice gave her an impression that she had heard it somewhere else before, leaving a deep impression on her.
"What dare? You are my maid, and you must follow my order or¡there is no food for you!" Cyrus seriously gave Margret a warning, which sounded very cute.
The Blood Ancestor Margret was on the verge of exploding. She didn''t know how that person did it, but he used something to make her feelpletely helpless and terrorized. She cherished her life too much, so she gave up on all resistance, and afterward, she ended up here.
Only after she entered this ce did she feel free from terror ande to her senses, and the next thing she knew was her cultivation was now suppressed, and she was in this gloomy, strange ce.
The most humiliating part was the dancing bird over her head and calling her his maid, not to mention he was utterly suppressing her so that she couldn''t even move a finger. She was feeling fear from this little thing, which made her think she might''ve gone insane.
As for how this all transpired, she had no snowball clue.
At this moment, her eyes finallynded on the silver hair huntress a few meters away, looking at her with scrutiny. Margret''s eyes widened as she felt she had seen her somewhere.
But what was important was she was from her race, and she quickly yelled, "YOU! You dare to treat your ancestor like this!? Stop this charade, and I shall not punish you for your sin!"
"A-ancestor?!" Lillian felt her blood run cold as it finally urred when she saw this woman and heard her voice.
Although she wore a veil then, she could never forget when she learned Alina''s master was the Blood Ancestor, who everyone thought had died long ago.
But how did she appear here? No, how in the world did Ace have done it?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Cyrus berated in an unhappy voice, "What ancestor? You are a maid! My maid! Little maid, now be good, and let''s y!"
Margret felt like her blood wasing towards her mouth as she heard Cyrus''s childish words and wanted to strangle the bird, but s, she was helpless.
So, all she could do was to put her hope on the dazed huntress in front of her, "Why are you doing!? Order this little abomination to stop or¡or I''ll make sure your entire n will get exterminated!"
At this moment, Ace''s icy voice rang before Lillian could say anything, "Heh, it''s funny how you won''t even remember someone so close to your precious disciple. I guess it''s not your fault since she should be pretty insignificant in your eyes, even to be worth remembering.
"How about I''ll help you jog your memory a little and give you a clear picture of your situation? Just look at your right hand where your storage ring used to be.
Margret trembled as she felt instantly fearful of this mysterious voice. Although it wasn''t the same voice she heard in that darkness, she somehow knew it was the same person, and that fear was now installed in her very being.
At this moment, she finally looked at her pristine hand, and the next moment, her eyes winded in horror when she spotted a horned owl symbol on the back of her hand and there was a single arrogant line written between its de-like wings with a highly familiar name.
In fact, this name was something she hade to greatly loath in the past few years...
"I took HER¡ Sky Stealer!"
Chapter 911 Bad Appels Need Punishment!
Chapter 911 Bad Appels Need Punishment!
Looking at the thief symbol, Margret expression warped, and the look in her eyes turned appalled as she knew what that thief farewell note meant too well!
"Sk-Sky Stealer!?! But how!" She shrilled in horas voice. Ace''s coldly scoffed, "Heh, you asked something everyone wants to know ''HOW'' indeed. And just like everyone else, you are not qualified to know. Now, let''s cut the bullshit. Since you want to live, answer some of my questions, and you''ll be just fine. But if you don''t, I''ll leave it to your imagination." Margret was greatly shaken as she felt it was all just a nightmare, but sadly, it wasn''t because her cultivation had been entirely suppressed. The bird over her head was releasing a strange aura, robbing her of the ability even to flinch. Then she suddenly looked at bbergasted Lillian and quickly blurted, "You there! Now I remember, you are Alina''s maid, right? Where is she, and what is this ce?" Lillian was startled and didn''t know how to reply. She never imagined that the strongest existence of her race would turn into a prisoner, and she looked pretty pathetic. "Really? Do you think this will work?" Ace couldn''t help but disdainfully sneered, "If you ignore me one more time, I''ll consider it you''re choosing thetter option." Margret eyes released killing intent as she knew this wasn''t going to work, so she changed her strategy, "Kill me if you dare! Hahahaha¡ so what if you capture me? You''re still just a lusty kid who doesn''t know how high the sky is! Since you''re still keeping me alive, I gathered Alina is alive. But let me tell you this: if you kill me, Alina will also die!" Ace was startled by Margret''s sudden deration, and he could feel she wasn''t lying in the face. She was filled with confidence. Still, he didn''t show any sign of being intimidated and coldly said, "Alright, since you''re so confident, I''ll find out soon enough myself. In the meanwhile, you''ll be my littlepanion''s maid, his ything." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
At this moment, Ace transmitted his voice to Cyrus andmanded, "Cyrus, she''s yours, and I want you to make her obedient and punish her if she tries anything funny. But don''t kill her. She is an asset, but she is an enemy nheless. She''s not allowed to touch anything or go anywhere near our stuff. Likewise, she''ll live in the ck box. "But if she breaks these rules, then as her master, you''ll be held responsible, and I''ll let your big sister punish you and force you back to study. However, if you do well, then you don''t need to study until I deal with her!"
Cyrus''s eyes shone with excitement, "Really? You promise?" "Yeah, I promise. I''ll exin it to your big sister so she won''t bother you. Furthermore, Lillian is not allowed to approach her more than 10 meters. Make sure of that. This is your first mission, so be responsible and prove that you''re not a child anymore." Ace sternly stated. Although the Blood Ancestor was a cunning old witch, he still let Cyrus handle her because he wanted the little guy to experience what it meant to restrain someone like Margret. Cyrus was always lived under his protection and adored by everyone around him. But he was still too na?ve, and he had to grow eventually. So, making him deal with Margret was the best option. Even if he suffers some setbacks, it won''t cause any harm because he was in the thief''s space and would learn from them. As for Margret, Ace had already guessed that she wouldn''t open her mouth and she might use Alina to threaten him, and she did. So, he was now putting his hope in the soul probe once he broke into the next realm. In the meanwhile, he wanted to humiliate Margret enough that she wished she was dead, and it was revenge for Alina. As for Lillian, she wasn''t trouble, but he didn''t want her to be used by Margret. After all, she was the ancestor of her race, so he made sure to keep her away from Margret. Margret was startled by Ace''s venomous words and fumed in humiliation as she roared, "Yo-you dare!? Don''t you care about her!? Do you want her to die, you hypocrite man!" "Tsk, tsk, Blood Ancestor, we both know everyone with power is a hypocrite, and you no longer need to worry about Alina. I don''t think you have any control over her anymore. So, enjoy your stay while you can. I have Demon Ancestor to deal with as well." Ace menacingly dered before he stopped talking. "You vile man! Show yourself if you have guts!" Margret shilled, but Ace no longer entertained her. At this moment, Cyrus finally spoke in a severe tone, "Alright, maid, now be good, or I''ll get mad, and when I get mad, I''m very fierce!" Margret retorted angrily, "Shut up! You just a lowly bird!" "YOU¡you bad apple! Big Sister Eva said bad apples must be punished, and only then can they be turned into good apples, just like Cyrus!" Cyrus jumped in anger, and the next moment, blue mes suddenly surged out from the little bird''s body and enveloped Margret entirely like a human torch. Margret''s angry expression turned appalled when she felt that strange fire that wasn''t just burning her body but her soul, "Ahhhhh¡" Her harrowing screams rang in the entire thief''s space, and just like that, her torture began. "W-wait, Cyrus, what are you doing!" Lillian was appalled as she eximed. Even she felt horrified by those blue mes and intense heat oveing her very soul despite not being targeted by them. "Stop, Lilliani! If youe closer than ten meters, you''ll also be a bad apple, and then you''ll be punished and have to study!" Cyrus''s serious voice sounded before he seemed to be staggered and asked sheepishly, "Um, how much is ten meters exactly?" Lillian was instantly speechless and wanted to correct him when he called her ''Lilliani'' like usual. He just refused to correct her name, but she didn''t have the will to because those mes made it very difficult to approach him. Ace, who was watching this, clicked his tongue, ''Could it be that Cyrus''s race couldn''t learn at all and only knows how to burn things? Well, at least he''s controlling his mes to ensure he won''t kill her.'' Ace sighed ruefully, finally turning serious, ''Should I get rid of the demon ancestor first to avoid the trouble of dealing with him afterward? If he sessfully breakthrough it would be a problem. ''Well, I might as well get it done. I got over 400 million TP from Blood Ancestor, and this Qi pool is free EXP and SP. But it''s a waste since I have Qi stones and Soul crystals, so I should gather it for another time¡'' Making his decision, he flew towards the Demon Mountain!
Chapter 912 A Glass Case
Chapter 912 A ss Case
Albert was sitting within a swirl of liquefied Qi within the demon mountain, drawing from the Qi fool.
Since he had lost his scepter and lightning orb, he couldn''t use the tform or turn the Qi pool into lightning essence and draw the Qi into his body like Margret and Edward.
So, he had to do it in the traditional way, absorbing the Qi and then refining it into his lightning Qi, which would take a hundred times more effort and time. Nheless, Albert was still determined. He wanted to increase his lifespan or at least die trying.
However, right at this moment, his focus suddenly broke when a deadly chill ran down his spine, and from deep within, a primordial fear surfaced, and a never-felt pressure enveloped him.
His dark eyes snapped open in horror, and he saw nothing but darkness around him, nothing else. It was like he was sitting in the middle of the dark emptiness, exempt from any light, and he had lost all control over his own body.
At this moment, an eerie cackle rang, "Haha¡ once you hunted him and nearly killed me, and now, our positions have been switched. The sheer irony of that, really. I was able to escape you. Let''s see if you can¡"
It was like the surrounding darkness was speaking to him, and just as that voice faded, the feeling of death greeted him. He didn''t even have the chance to squeak before something cold touched his soul, and thereby, his life faded before his eyes.
The darkness at this moment began to fade away, and Ace''s figure stood at the entrance, and a dark Qi bow was fading away in his left hand.
Ace''s eyes shone with aplicated glint, ''Three mighty rulers of this world perished just like that, and in my hands no less. How far I havee¡''
At this moment, the system voice sounded,
=====
[Thievery seeded!]
[Host Stole]
[Storage Space Treasure (High-Grade-8): 1]
¡
--
[Reward(s)]
-Rewards: 440,219,200 Thief Points
---
[Thievery Rank(s)]
-High-Level Thievery(s): 1N?v(el)B\\jnn
---
[High-level Thievery(s): 7/100]
---
[Thief Point(s): 2,361,969,400]
---
[You have killed a Quasi-Soul Law Comprehension Realm Demon.]
[Reward: 10,000,000 EXP]
--
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Soul Manifestation [Stage-9]]
[EXP: 2,423,190,000/2,500,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Heavenly ck Wind Soul Core [Stage-9]]
[SP: 2,110,731,990/2,500,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
=====
Looking at over 2.4 billion TP, Ace couldn''t help but smile ear to ear. He got around the same TP as he got after pick-pocketing Margret''s space ring. But they both didn''t have any grade-9 storage rings, and Albert seemed to be the only one with one.
Speaking of the storage ring, now that Ace had collected everything he needed and also dealt with the three ghosts, he decided to meet with Eva. He was so upied with the mission that he almost forgot that he came in contact with her after years of separation, and now they can be together whenever they want.
With such thought in mind, Ace collected the Qi pool into a storage bottle before he headed to Edward''s storage ring.
But this time, he scanned the ring and could see everything, even a few hidden treasuries filled with storage rings. Within those treasuries, in the smallest treasury hidden underground, the castle, he spotted four objects that weren''t stored in any storage ring, which could only mean they couldn''t be stored in an ordinary storage space treasure or were too important to store with other treasures.
A human-sized silver egg, an ethereal white shard, a gray jade scroll, and strangely, there was a three-foot-tall dark statue of none other than Baphomet, the deity of the demon race.
Ace felt strange seeing the Baphomet statue in Edward''s ring, and he was feeling an extremely sinister Qi undtion from that status, which even gave him the chills despite only looking at it.
''What the hell is this?'' Ace was curious, but before he could further mull over this, he suddenly felt rming murderous intent spreading throughout the space.
''Eva?'' Ace was startled because of his connection with Eva. He felt her mind was chaotic right now.
He was instantly worried that something might''ve happened to her and quickly searched for her. Furthermore, he found her standing in the throne room of the castle, and the eighteen wives of Edward were now lying on the floor, unconscious because of the sheer pressure and crimson murderous aura she was releasing.
At this moment, Ace''s eyes winded when he saw where Eva was looking at this moment. Besides the dark throne was a pristine ss case, and with that ss case was an otherworldly woman dressed in a ck queen''s gown, and her eyes were closed as if she were sleeping peacefully.
But with a single look, Ace could tell she wasn''t alive but dead, and only her body was preserved so well that she looked as if she was sleeping.
However, this wasn''t important because that woman in the ss case looked 90% like Eva, and many thoughts surfaced in his mind.
Still, he knew he needed to calm her down first, and she needed him there, so he quickly appeared right beside her.
Eva''s eyes were bloodshot and teary as she looked at the woman in a ss case with raging emotions swirling in her torn heart.
"Eva¡" Ace gently called her as he walked in front of her while removing his hood and disguise, and he could see the grief and shock written all over her face.
Eva trembled slightly as her focus turned to Ace, and the killing intent in her eyes vanished, and grief overcame her as tears began to stream down her eyes, and she pounced into Ace''s arms, trembling.
Ace hugged her back as his heartache saw Eva like this and felt her soft, fragile body. He knew she was a strong-willed woman and wouldn''t cry for anything, and he was the only one she showed her weak side and expressed her grief.
He hesitantly asked, "Is she¡?"
Eva sobbingly replied with sorrow, "M-my¡m-m-mom!"
Ace closed his eyes as his fear came true, and he held her tightly and gently said, "If it was the Devil Ancestor behind this, then I killed him too early and painlessly. But this means your mother is avenged, and I hope you won''t me me for it since I didn''t know about what that sick bastard had done.
"Still, he is dead, and I hope you won''t me yourself for what happened in the past. I don''t know what happened to your mother, or it''s my ce to say anything. But I''m always with you and will be, and I vowed this in front of your mother!"
Eva calmed down a little after hearing Ace''s soothing words and feeling his strong embrace. She wept silently for an unknown time¡
Chapter 913 Abyssal Brand
Chapter 913 Abyssal Brand
After settling down, Eva finally broke free from his embrace as she was finally calmed down and smiled faintly, looking at his worried face, "Thank you for being here."
"Always." Ace solemnly dered.
Eva nodded with gentleness in her eyes before she nced at the ss cage where her mother''s corpse was being disyed as some trophy and ruthlessness surfaced in them.
She coldly said, "After I searched their memories, I found that the old dog Devil Ancestor held a lowly ritual called matrimonial ritual every century when he took the most beautiful woman from ten main devil ns and made them into his ything for a year.
"And those n bastards did everything to please his sick ass to get more benefits. The more beautiful the women are, the more benefits they receive. Moreover, if he ended up liking a woman, he would keep her and send her to this ce.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"They were then turned into his trophies, ything to vent his lust whenever he pleased, and they couldn''t leave once they entered here. They will receive cultivation resources to prolong their lives, and that''s it. They are just high-quality ves."
Killing intent began to emit in her eyes as she continued, "My mother seemed to be selected for this in thest ritual. But she turned out to be just pretending to get close to him so she could rob him of his treasures, and she seemed to have seeded even.
"But she had underestimated the old dog and was discovered. Yet, she still somehow managed to escape, and that''s how she ended up in the Azure Wind Continent.
"Afterward, the old dog seemed to be obsessed with finding her no matter the cost, as it hurts his pride that a woman gets the best of him¡ªespecially the woman he wanted to add to his collection.
"And sadly, he seeded with the help of a curse mark, the Dream Shatter, and the sect my father belonged to, the Soul me Sect. Although he doesn''t get her alive, he gets her dead, then turns her into this nauseous disy and ces it right here.
"It was a warning and also a show of his authority as he bragged about it in front of his ythings. Now, I know the identities of the people who took part in the attack that day and killed my mother." Eva softy told Ace about what she found.
She didn''t want to hide it from him since he was the one who killed Edward, and that''s how this secret was revealed to her, or she might''ve been still in the dark.
Furthermore, she trusts Ace more than anything; only he is her family in this world, so she wants to share her burden with him instead of hiding it.
Ace''s eyes were cold as he never expected killing Edward would lead to this kind of result. If anything, he regrets killing him so quickly.
He said nothing useless as he seriously asked, "What do you want to do now? I''ll help you whatever you want to do."
Eva tenderly smiled as he didn''t disappoint her at all like always, "I want to know what happened to my Dad. That old dog never said anything about him, and after my Dad left that day, there was no news on him. So, I first want to confirm if he''s alive or dead, and to do that, I need to ruffle the entire royalnds of the Azure Wind Continents!" She stated matter-of-factly with deep conviction.
"Only then would I set her free from that cage and cremate her with the devil race custom. I know she also would''ve wanted that and not turned into some sick disy. If my father is also dead, then there would be two burials, but if not, then¡"
Ace sensed deep hope hidden behind her brave front and sighed, "Then we''ll do just that after your breakthrough in thewprehension realm. And what do you want to do with them?" He nced at the unconscious devils behind Eva.
Eva''s eyes shed with aplicated light before she sighed ruefully, "They are all just victims and pitiful like my mother. They had no choice but to do all that for their ns who used them as means to earn riches.
"Some of them even had children, but that sick old ghost just took them away because he won''t allow anything else to contaminate this ce. He was a ruthless, vile lecher who had no remorse nor care for anyone else but himself. I''ll brand them with my abyssal brand and then just set them free. They won''t be trouble for us anymore."
Ace cocked an eyebrow as this was an unexpected response from the devil before him, "You want to release them, not torture them to death?"
Eva pursed her lips and snorted, "What do you take me for?"
"Not merciful, at least¡" Ace seriously stated.
Eva''s eyes narrowed dangerously as she meaningfully said, "Do you want me to be merciless with you?"
In defeat, Ace quickly raised his hand, "Nope, I was just joking. How could my gentle wife not be merciful? But what is this abyssal brand?" He quickly changed the topic.
"Shameless as usual." Eva scoffed, but the gentleness in her eyes deepened as she replied, "It is like a soul brand technique, but instead of artificially made, it formed innately in races with the same level as the abyssal bloodline who had the capability of divine traits.
"From the information I''ve inherited yet, these brands originated from the progenitor of a bloodline and are part of something called the Ancient Edict. The Abyssal Brand is just a signal function of an Ancient Edict.
"Even the Divine Traits seemed to be passed down generation after generation through this mysterious thing. This is all I know about it after Iprehended the abyssal brand when I reached thew awareness realm.
"The terrifying part about it is that if I''m willing to sacrifice a portion of my soul and brand, someone with this brand originated from the Ancient Edict, that person and his entire bloodline after him will be born with this brand, and they can''t disobey an order ced on them.
"Inyman''s term, this is akin to branding a bloodline as a ve for all eternity unless someone equally powerfule to save them!" She solemnly revealed.
Ace was astounded by this information and felt his blood run cold just by thinking what being enved for all eternity implied. This method of envement was so ruthless that not even your children and their children can''t escape from it.
Only after experiencing the authority and now learning about his mysterious Ancient Edict did he start to get the picture of just how boundless and ruthless the world outside the first heaven was.
The mostmentable part about all of this was he was probably the enemy of the ruler of all these terrifying existences with terrible means at their disposal!
Chapter 914 Faith Idol
Chapter 914 Faith Idol
After Eva decided to free the eighteen devils, she branded them with an abyssal brand and ced a singlemand, which was to forget about everything rted to Ace, Eva, and her mother. She also took away the ss case of her mother with sadness.
After that, it was Ace''s duty to drop them wherever he wanted, but first, he spent time with Eva as much as it was needed to make her feel better.
He also told her about what he''s been up to and how he gets his hands on Edward''s most cherished treasure.
Just like that, six days passed, and Eva felt much better after their peaceful time¡ passionate time.
At this moment, both of them appeared in the secret treasury, where four objects were stored separately from other treasures.
Eva was adorned in a peachy flowery dress, which fully fluent her devilish figure and curves as she looked at the three objects with great interest.
Her eyes were instantly drawn by the statue of Baphomet, which was emitting a ghastly, sinister undtion.
"A faith idol!" She blurted in great surprise, drawing Ace''s full attention.
"What? You know what that statue is?" Ace quickly asked as he was also very curious about what that statue was and why in the world it was giving him the feeling of dread.
Since Eva had memories of the abyssal devil race, he knew it would be shocking if she knew what it was.
Eva''s expression was somber as she replied, "Not much; I only have a small portion of awakening memories about the faith idols. Since you know gods exist and even have a connection with one, you should know the others can, too.
"A faith idol is a medium which would let someone establish a connection with a god, and they can receive prophecy, boon, or even missions. However, it is tough to make a faith idol because one needs to draw the attention of a god, not to mention convince the god to use his ability to make a faith idol, which naturallyes with a steep price.
"Baphomet is one of the many names of the God of Evil ult, and almost all the unorthodox beings like Devil, Demons, Abyssal Beings, and anything rted to unorthodox or evil worship him. But having a faith idol of him and in the Mortal Sky Heaven is nigh impossible.
"If I hadn''t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn''t have believed it. This could only mean, at some point, the old dog hase in contact with Baphomet or found this faith idol by chance but never used it.
"Because to form a connection, one needed to offer sacrifices suitable to God''s nature. If it''s Baphomet, I can''t imagine what kind of sacrifices needed to form a connection with such a being, and those sacrifices had to be vile, extremely sinister."
Ace was shocked and somewhat paled when he heard this unexpected information, and his heartbeat increased.
''A connection with a god¡'' Just thinking about what this implies made Ace tingle with trepidation.
Eva then looked at him with squinted eyes, "Now that we are on this topic, how could you form the connection with this Goddess of Thieves so easily? What do you sacrifice?"
Ace looked at Eva''s stern expression, and he knew she was suspecting his lies now, and he knew the more memories she awakes, the closer she''d be to the truth.
But, he still didn''t want to reveal the system to her because it was too dangerous for anyone to know, and now it was even more so after he heard about these faith idols.
"As I told you before, I have a treasure that can connect me to god anytime I want, and I don''t need any sacrifices. Well, if thieveries count as sacrifices, then that''s pretty much it.
"But that treasure is bound to my very existence, so I can''t show you, and I hope you keep it a secret since it would only bring cmity on us if something like God of Evil ult found it."
"So, you mean to say even a God, like Baphomet, would do anything to get his hands on this treasure?" Eva asked with a hint of sharpness.
Ace smiled wryly, "Maybe, it''s only my guess. But this treasure can''t be taken without me being dead."
Eva''s eyes shed with understanding as she nodded, "Then don''t tell anyone else. I might be able to do something about it once I get the entire inheritance."
Ace felt Eva''s deep conviction and the look in her eyes, which clearly meant, ''I will save you. Just you wait!''
''She took itpletely in the wrong way.'' Ace felt bitter but didn''t say anything since this topic was far out of his or even Eva''s reach. He didn''t think anyone else could take the system if it didn''t want to, especially after he saw that throne, which was clearly under the system''s control or was a part of it.
"You don''t have to worry about me." Ace gently said, "Can we touch this faith idol?"
Eva looked deeply into his starry dark blue eyes and nodded, "Yes, as long as you don''t want to activate it, there should be no problem. Just don''t try to use your inner Qi unless you want to be corrupted by it."
Ace nodded before he moved towards the faith idol. He wanted to see if the system could appraise it. Furthermore, despite that dreadful sinister aura, Ace somehow felt a strange feeling of closeness deep within him from that aura, as if it were a part of him.
At this moment, he touched the statue, and the moment he did, without even calling for the system, it spoke on its own, revealing a panel.
=====n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
[Host hase in contact with a trace of the Sub-origin of Darkness!]
-Faith Idol (???)
-Origin: Darkness
-Sub-Origin Type: Evil ult
-Quantity: 0.001%
-??? Laws: Need a System Upgrade to Release this Option!
[NOTE: Converging [??? Laws] into [Laws]]
-Laws: Evil ult (99.99%) Sin (99.99%)
[The First Order of Darkness has generated options!]
-Option(s):
1. Increased the Darkness by 10%
[Price: 100 Million Thief Points]
[Time: 1 Days]
2. Increased the Darkness by 5% and assimted the entirety of the Law of [Evil ult] and [Sin] within the Faith Idol!
[Price: 500 Million Thief Points]
[Time: 3 Days]
=====
Chapter 915 Heaven Imposing Sky Lock
Chapter 915 Heaven Imposing Sky Lock
Ace''s eyes shone with surprise, reading the panel before him, "Do you mean I can get two advanced realmws with 99.99% just like that?"
"[Yes, as long as thosews belonged to Darkness and are avable in palpable state!]"
Ace was stupefied as he didn''t see thising at all. He didn''t even have onew at 100% proficiency, yet now he can get two of them out of the blue by spending TP!
Furthermore, 99.99% elementw proficiency means the ability to fight against the Law Comprehension Realm!
The way he looked at the sinister statue wholly changed as an ecstatic smile emerged on his face.
Eva noticed the swig in Ace''s mood after he touched the statue and questioned with uncertainty, "What?"
Ace grinned as he looked at her and replied, "It turned out this thing is quite useful to me as I can absorb twows with 99.99% proficiency from it."
Eva''s eyes widened with shock, "Impossible!"
Ace chuckled and smugly replied, "Not for me, though."
"Is it the treasure?" She asked with narrowed eyes. She knew just how ridiculous the entire concept of absorbingws from a faith idol, not to mention two of them with 99.99% proficiencies.
Now, she was starting to feel like the existence behind Ace was far more unfathomable than she initially thought, or the treasure in his possession was just that ridiculous.
Ace didn''t deny it and nodded in affirmative, "Indeed. I told you, don''t worry about it. Now, stop making that face, or I won''t help myself to pinch you."
Eva calmed her heart as she didn''t have words to describe her shock, but she quickly regained her regal demeanor. Since it was Ace, she could only feel happy, and she wasn''t the least bit envious.
"Just be careful." She warned with a hint of worry because there might be some side effects to performing such an act. After all, this action could be seen as an impious act against a God.
Ace nodded with a gentle smile, "Of course. Now, let''s see the other things."
He then picked up the gray jade scroll and tried to probe the information, and to his surprise, it wasn''t any technique, skill, or art.
"The Blueprint of Heaven Imposing Sky Lock!"
Ace''s heart raced when he read that name, and his expression turned grave as he quickly read it.
The more he read, the more shocked and pale he became as the information was too unbelievable, not to mention horrendous!
"What''s inside?" Eva asked with uncertainty, seeing Ace''s expression change so drastically.
Towards the end, Ace was seething in anger as he gave Eva the jade scroll and coldly said, "Look for yourself. Those three bastards are truly egregious!"N?v(el)B\\jnn
Eva took the jade scroll from Ace with scrutiny and read it. Her expression also changed as he gritted her teeth, "How dare they!?"
The Heaven Imposing Sky Lock was actually a supermassive formation that not only stole the vitality of countless living creatures under its influence but also stopped them from reaching thewprehension realm!
To create this Heaven Imposing Sky Lock, one needed to build three Sky Towers in the three densest spots with Qi, and the countless materials needed to create those sky towers were all grade-7. But to make it all work, three sky keys were required.
As for how to make those sky keys, this method wasn''t described at all. This means the Heaven Imposing Sky Lock was iplete, and Edward only had a part of it to build the three sky towers!
So, Ace quickly skimmed through Albert and Margret''s storage rings, and to his surprise and dismay, he found nothing rted to this Heaven Imposing Sky Lock at all.
"Now, we know the secret behind their longsting youth and life. They were feeding on people''s lives without even them noticing it. The Devil Tower, Demon Temple, and the Blood Shrine those three are the sky towers. As for the sky keys, they are the three scepters those three cherish even more than their lives." Ace coldly stated as it all started toe together.
Eva nodded heavily, "This is also just the part of Heaven Imposing Sky Lock. But the method to make sky keys and how they worked is missing, and I think there might be other parts.
"This could only mean those three were doing someone''s bidding to build the three towers. But I don''t understand the intention of giving them the sky keys if they were mere pawns. If someone was trying to achieve the goal to live forever and rule over everyone by making them helpless to cultivate to the peak, why give it all away?" She frowned in confusion.
Ace also reached the same conclusion and loured, "It could be either that person didn''t need it, and this was all for another purpose, or the person behind all this just wanted to make sure this ce remained weak for some reason.
"Not to mention this secret realm and how those three mountains are built and Qi pools, the altars. Those three weren''t capable of such a thing. The most important thing about all of this is that the three of them remained Quasi-Lawprehension cultivators all this time while searching for the technique to break into the final realm all these years.
"So, we assumed that whoever put them up to this task also didn''t want the three of them to reach the eighth realm. But I think whoever did this didn''t count for the existence of the Sun and Moon Sword Union."
The more Ace thought about it, the moreplex it all became because the three scepters were not just keys to rob others of their vitality, but they were keys to a world lock.
If someone didn''t want others toy their hands on that world lock, why hand over all the pieces to reach towards it to mere pawns?
This was the biggest question that could shine the light on the whole truth.
Eva, at this moment, suddenly uttered something shocking, "Could it be those three killed the mastermind once they used him for their purpose?"
Ace''s eyes shone splendidly, "Hmm, I might be the case since we can ignore the possibility that the mastermind was like them and he might''ve stumbled upon the Heaven Imposing Sky Lock."
Eva nodded before suddenly looking at the statue of Baphomet with a sharp sheen, "Or¡ that person might''ve gotten this method from a God!"
Chapter 916 Life Jade of New Dawn
Chapter 916 Life Jade of New Dawn
There were many assumptions and conjectures, but these things only made reaching the truth even moreplex.
In the end, Ace decided not to invest in this issue more than he needed to because he already had all the pieces, and all that remained was to find and unlock this lock that might reveal the truth.
As for the remaining two items, the ethereal white shard was the time-space fragment, one of the two materials he needed to upgrade his thief''s space. Lastly, the five-foot silver oval, which was releasing a dense life force, was a beast egg of some unknown beast; at least it looked like one.
Ace also had many to them, but they never hatched in the thief''s space for some reason, nor did the system bother to entertain such a topic. The system was only interested in the egg of the Nether Paradise Bird.
He would''ve ignored it if this egg wasn''t ced with those three treasures, probably the most precious treasures of the Devil Ancestor, because there was another treasury with many eggs, so this one egg being here was quite suspicious.
So, without hesitation, he touched the silver egg and asked the system to appraise it, which cost him ten thousand TP, which was an insignificant amount at this point.
=====
[Life Jade of New Dawn]
-Description: Born after the Dusk of Death to see the new Dawn of Life.
-Rank: Above Grade-9 Natural Treasure
-Use: A wondrous panacea that can bring any mortal back to life from death after 12 seconds of their death, cure any curse or wounds in an instant, and it can also be used in alchemy as an ingredient!
=====
Ace''s eyes shone with surprise since it wasn''t expecting this ''egg'' to be a natural treasure. He took it as a living creature because of its dense life force, but it turned out to be a life-saving treasure and a scarce one at that, and he wondered where that old bastard found it and the time-space fragment.
Edward had too many rare things; his luck had been highly great until he met Ace!
''That old bastard probably stored it here because of its dense life force, or he might have other uses for it. I need to check his treasures once I get the chance thoroughly.'' Ace thought.
"Do you know what it is?" Eva asked as she was silently watching. She now knew that Ace also seemed able to appraise items after touching them.
Ace hesitated for a moment before he told her about the effect of Life Jade of New Dawn.
"Bring a mortal back to death?" Eva''s eyes shone with dense light before it dwindled once she heard there was a limited time, and looking at Ace''s worried expression, she knew what he was thinking.
She smiled helplessly as she said, "You were heisting because you think I would be disappointed since it has a feature to bring someone from death. But you don''t need to worry about it. Even I have some secret techniques that can help me achieve the same effect.
"But she died over three decades ago, and even with some heaven-defying mean by any chance I can bring back to life, I won''t do it. Because there is a steep consequence of bringing someone back to life, one of them being the thing thates back to life would not be my mom but something else. Unless the soul weren''t preserved and hadpletely vanished, it would be a true death, and nothing can change that.
"Even in the abyssal race, this kind of act is taboo, and death is part of the natural cycle of every living thing. No one can escape it unless they can conquer it, which is impossible. We should let the dead rest in peace, and I''m nning to do the same thing for my mother to honor her memories." She solemnly said with a tingle of grief.
Ace was startled by Eva''s assuring words and couldn''t help but feel somewhat embarrassed to think she was weak will. He just felt gratified that she was his woman.
"It was wrong to think like that. I apologize." Ace embarrassedly said.
Eva smiled freshly, creating a breathtaking scene as her devilish charm rose to the fullest, "As long as you know. Now, send me back. I know you have things to do, and I might be able to get some answers out of that old hag as well. Since she was that old dog''spanion, she might know more." Murderous shed past Eva''s eyes, "I also need to break through quickly to seek out the remaining murderers of my mom and find out what happened to my dad."
Ace saw the deep conviction in Eva''s eyes, and he didn''t want to be a hindrance to her or stop her from seeking revenge. However, their enemies were still too cunning, especially the Dream Shatter.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
But in front of absolute power, they can do nothing, and he had a clear path towards such power right in his hand. So, he gave her a tight hug and then kissed her goodbye.
Now, Margret''s already torturous life would be an actual hell, and Ace doesn''t have a sliver of sympathy for her, especially after learning about the blueprint. She deserved it all the more, if anything.
As for Ace himself, he sent himself back within the demon mountain, and then he let the system start the absorption process of Baphomet''s statue. The allure of getting two 99.99%ws was too great, and the power that came with it was something he needed right now.
Because he was going to do something extremely crazy before he got right back to his mission, and those twows were just a godsend.
Now that he thinks that there might be someone lurking in the shadows behind the three ancestors who had been pulling their strings all this time, he can''t hold back his progress any longer, especially when he can reach the top of this world with a simplemand!
Chapter 917 Sixth Heavenly Punishment
Chapter 917 Sixth Heavenly Punishment
The area of the three forbidden countries was peaceful as many patrolling ships were garrisoned around the vortex, which was the entrance to the Trinity Alliance Mountain Realm.
Furthermore, the security around this ce had be quite steep in the past months, and geniuses from the Devil, Demon, and Hunter racese here every month to enter the secret realm.
However, today, out of nowhere, jet ck clouds started to gather in the misty sky and spread in over 200 hundred miles radius within a few moments, and a dreadful pressure started to spread.
The entire vortex and almost the three forbidden countries were covered with these clouds, and the pressure rmed everyone in that ce. Especially the overseers of the three forbidden counties!
But before anyone could figure out what was happening, multicolor thunder began to churn in the jet-ck clouds, and powerful thunderps began reverberating that could be heard all the way back to the royalnds!
The next moment, a vortex eye was formed within the clouds, and it was right above the entrance of the secret realm, and four-color thunder started to gather within, illuminating the dark surroundings in blue, red, green, and yellow color.
"Boommm¡"
A mighty thunderp rang, breaking the sound barrier, and a massively thick four-color thunder beam descended on the vortex below, piercing through the very fabric of space!
At this moment, the secret realm was calm except for the All Devil city because of a particr thief they couldn''t find no matter what they did.
In the hidden underground area of the Blood Devil n, the strongest n in the city. A figure of a burly blood devil stood in front of a giant orange door as he looked at it with shining eyes.
"Those fools won''t even suspect me just because I''m the son of their lord." The devil couldn''t help but sneer.
The devil has an esteemed identity as the first son of the Blood Devil Lord and the next sessor to the seat, so no one obstructs his path when he wants to im some treasuries from the n''s treasury.
But what no has imagined that their young devil lord was in control of the same thief they were searching for like bloody hounds, Myriad Thieving Fox!
Winter was far away from the city,pletely safe as she was grinning evilly while she controlled the young devil lord to open the treasury and started to store everything away!
"How easy. I wonder where that hateful leader of mine ran off to. Hmph, he better repay me for attracting the attention of everyone." She muttered with a scoff, "With this, I''ll clear this mission and get new items in the shop¡ What is this?"
She suddenly felt rmed when she sensed a horrendous aura suddenly enveloped the entire realm, and she instantly vanished from her spot and appeared in the open.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
At this moment, she witnessed a harrowing scene of the calm sky splitting apart, and a four-color beam descended towards the central area between three mountains, shaking the entire realm!
"What the hell is that!" She felt a primitive fear enveloping her heart as she gawked at the beam despite being far away from it. It was her first time witnessing something like this.
However, something even more unimaginable happened next. The entire realm started to experience cracks in space as an image of the blue ocean started to ovep with it.
At this moment, a panel shed in front of Winter.
______
[Congrattions, Winter Fox, for clearing the House Mission!]
--
-House Mission: Qualification of Intermediate Rank Thief
-Mission: Please perform a thievery worth 10,000,000 House Points!
-Status: Complete
-Final Evaluation: Satisfactory
-Reward(s):
1. 1-Star Intermediate Thief Rank has been granted!
2. House Shop has been Upgraded!
3. Veteran House Member Medallion has been granted!
-Veteran House Member Medallion: A proof of your qualification and achievement as a veteran thief of the house!
-Effect: You will get 2% more House Points on every thievery!
--
[NOTE: Next House Rank is currently Locked. Please wait plenty for the House Leader to upgrade the Thief House!]
______
If it was any other time, she would''ve been thrilled to see this notification and already have jumped to check the shop. But right now, seeing the apocalyptic scene in front of her, she wanted to get as far away from here as possible.
But that aura releasing from that beam and the pressure that suddenly started to envelop her as the realm was being destroyed made her feel terribly helpless.
So, she quickly made a call as it was now open again, and she had a feeling that this person was also most likely behind this and wanted to criticize him for not warning her prior to this.
At this moment, Ace stood on the top of the demon mountain as he watched the bottomless pit left behind by the four-color beam, and he was the closest when it all happened.
His eyes shimmered with astonishment as he never expected the realm to be destroyed so quickly after he activated the heavenly punishment. Now, it was going to merge back to the mortal sky heaven.
''So, that''s what''s happened when you activate the heavenly punishment in this confined space. It simply can''t be stopped, huh?'' Ace thought without any panic or pity for those people present in this ce because after finding everything, he knew they deserved this.
They had enjoyed all those benefits that they plundered from others for too long, and this was retribution, for he was doing the same to them. As the realm was getting merged back, the system''s voice rang.
=====
[The Sixth Heavenly Punishment [Cmity Despair Thunder] has been detected!]
---
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment sensed Host''s Qi Sea Core and Heavenly Dark Soul!]
[Warning: The Heaven is seething with rage!]
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment has been strengthened!]
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment has been strengthened!]
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment has been strengthened!]
[Strengthened Heavenly Punishment: There is a 100% chance of a Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation to descend on Heaven''s Stealer!]
---
[System rmends fighting without holding back; use any means necessary you have, or your life will be forfeited today. Please find an isted ce, or the Heavenly Punishment will annihte all the living in a 250-mile radius around the host!]
=====
Ace merely scoffed at it as he was filled with boundless determination and confidence like never before.
At this moment, another notification rang, which was actually a house call from Winter.
His eyes widened briefly before he smiled, ''She must''ve cleared the mission already. Well, that''s good.''
Ace picked it up, and before he could congratte her, Winter''s rageful voice with a hint of fear buzzed in his mind, "Out with it! What the hell did you do this time?"
Chapter 918 Law of Evil Occult
Chapter 918 Law of Evil ult
"Out with it! What the hell did you do this time?"
Ace couldn''t help but grin as his surroundings were changing, and thendmass of the secret realm was being connected with the three forbidden countries as if it was a part of it which has been turned into a secret realm while the vortex was vanishing.
He replied jollily, "Oh, I''m about to break, though there is no need to worry."
"What? Do you take me for a fool? What kind of breakthrough is this?" Winter retorted speechlessly.
"I forgot you haven''t seen me breakthrough before. No worries, tell me where you are, and I''ll pick you up, and please hurry if you don''t want to experience the wrath of heaven with me." Ace coolly said with a hint of teasing.
He knew Winter was present in this ce and still activated the heavenly punishment because he wanted to cause amotion for her to make her move since it would take some time for the secret realm to merge back if it got destroyed or heavenly punishment appeared inside.
Furthermore, even if things don''t go as nned, he is now confident in protecting Winter, especially after getting two 99.99%ws under his belt. He also got a deep understanding ofws and what they truly represent now that he was only a hair away from achieving 100% elementw proficiency.
But Winter cleared her mission just in time so he didn''t have to wait for her and just went to her and sent her back to the thief''s house.
"YOU! You owe me an exnation¡!" Winter said through gritted teeth as she told him her general location.
"Just ask Freya." Ace chuckled before he stepped in the air and turned into a dark lightning blot as he bolted in Winter''s direction.
"Great, now everyone is hiding things!" Winter furiously yelled with a hint of panic in her voice because the aura was getting suffocating as the secret realm was being merged back.
Not just her, because everyone present in the secret realm or outside was feeling even more terrified.
At this moment, a perfect triangr ind wasing to fruition, connecting the three forbidden countries. They were clearly a part of this unique ind once before they were turned into three pieces and a secret realm.
Now, everything was returning as it once was, and as for the ships or people present in the sea or on the three inds, they were utterly helpless to do anything. They couldn''t even escape as they seemed to be locked down by terrifying pressure.
Even the few quasiw awareness realms and onew awareness realm demon were in the same situation. They were all nothing but mortals at this point under the terrifying power of heavenly wrath, and it was just the beginning of a nightmare.The most hateful part was they had no idea why this was happening!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
At this moment, beside Winter, a dark lightning bolt suddenlynded, startling her so much she almost yelped. But when she saw Ace''s figure appearing, she rxed but also shocked because he seemed to be turning into actual lightning a moment ago, nor did she sense him.
She asked, forgetting about her current plight for a moment, "What was that?"
Ace replied nonchntly, "You mean my lightning form? It''s actually the intent of the Law of Evil ult. It is quite a peculiarw that I have never heard of or seen before. Thisw seemed to have power over natural elements and their true meaning and could grant one thew intent to turn into those elements as long as you have that elementw understanding and many more things.
"Not only that, but it can also helpprehend naturalws. But the most ridiculous part is the EVIL. It can corrupt anyw I used through Evil ult, raising its overall power by 5%, and anything that gets in contact with thatw can''t heal unless they have something to counter EVIL. I must say, aw of God is somethingpletely else." He sighed as he appeared extremely spectacle as he still couldn''t believe that his kind ofw existed, and he felt deep fear of the existence of Gods.
Furthermore, he knew thisw was reduced in level to match his current level, so it wasn''t even at its peak state, yet it was still so overbearing.
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting now?" Winter had no idea what Ace was saying as shepletely lost him when he said thew of God.
"Rumblee¡."
Mighty rumbling rang, drawing everyone''s attention, and when Winter looked above, her eyes widened with horror when she saw the jet-ck vortex swirling with four-color thunder.
It was announcing its presence and was ready to bring down the thunderous cmity the moment the secret realm merged back. But before that, a bolt of four-color thunder started to rain down as the cleanup was starting!
"Alright, I''ll exin moreter. Now go unless you want to try one of those bolts?" Ace smilingly said, but that smile was filled with chilling, killing intent.
Winter felt a deep sense of apprehension when she heard his words, and for the first time, she felt fear from Ace and couldn''t bring herself to retort.
"Just b-be¡ be careful!" She obediently gave her hand, and Ace nodded confidently, "It''s just a usual thing, don''t worry." She vanished into her thief house''s space with a strange glint shimmering in her eyes.
After sending Winter to safety, Ace didn''t have any more reason to move around, and he stood there and just watched the destruction of the three races'' holynd coldly. He knew as long as even a sliver of life existed in the heavenly punishment clouds range; it wouldn''t pay him any attention.
At this moment, Ace spotted a few powerful auras rising from the three cities'' direction, and they were allw awareness realm experts; even the lords were among them.
They were all using treasures and escaping techniques to escape alone or with their families. Most of them were alone as they cherished their lives far more than anything else.
However, under the pressure of heavenly punishment, they were wasting too much Qi, and their speeds were decreased by over 80% because of the suppression. They were only able to move because of their higher realms.
But Ace only matched with mockery, "If it were so easy to escape heaven, I wouldn''t have to go through all those deadly encounters, would I?"
Chapter 919 Law of Sin
Chapter 919 Law of Sin
"Why is this happening?!" The blood devil lord roared furiously with a hint of terror as the four-color thunderbolt came in his direction, and he used a white-green bell to shield himself.
"Boomm¡!"
Instantly, the entire bell trembled as cracks began to emerge on this high-grade-7 treasure, which made the blood devil lord even more fearful as he used every essential in his body to flee!
While the others were in the same position as their defensive treasures, they were showing signs of destruction, and they were still nowhere near the end of this cmity.
The secret realm finallypletes its merging process, and the thunder strikes be more and more vibrant and ruthless.
Ace took a deep breath as he was finally returned to the mortal sky again and looked at the jet-ck vortex filled with heavenly thunder.
''Let''s try something new!'' Ace''s eyes shed cruelly as he turned into a ck lightning bolt and zapped towards the heavenly punishment clouds.
The surrounding pressure was not enough for it to stop his advance, and the heavenly punishment seemed to sense its advance towards it, and it rumbled furiously.
For the first time, it ignored the others and directly sent a thick thunder beam towards him as it wanted to stop him from approaching.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, Ace remained unfazed as he approached the thunder vortex while he didn''t try to dodge the iing thunder pir.
He seemed like an ant in front of this fifty-meter-long thunder pir, and the moment they came in contact, Ace felt powerful despair and heavenly thunderws as well as an instantly destructive force.
But he let it all sink into his martial space, and his trembling sword core instantly released a powerful suction force and started to absorb it all!
Furthermore, Ace was now using the heavenly thunder to increase his understanding of despair and heavenly thunder.
After he attains twows at 99.99% and the first order of darkness, Ace realizes a terrifying fact. First, thews can bebined and formed entirely newws. Second, thebinedw would have effects on allbinedws. Third, as long as he understood thatw even a tiny bit, he could increase it once he was exposed to thew.
Lastly, the higher his understanding of thew gets, the gentler its offensive effect on him. Like the despair within, heavenly thunder no longer has a potent effect on him, and heavenly thunder slowly exposes its secrets as heprehends them by absorbing them through his sword cores.
Only after assimting thews of Evil ult and Sin did Ace understand all this because thosews were as overbearing as the heavenly thunder, or it was just that thosews belonged to an existence far more terrifying than the Heavenly Thunder of the mortal sky heaven!
Ace shouldn''t havee in contact with them, much less getting 99.99% proficiency without the first order of darkness. But now that he did, he didn''t see the heavenly punishment as a thing to endure but as an opportunity to make it his own!
As he was nning to do it even faster, it was with his newly gainedw, thew of Sin, which was actually thebination of seven specificws!
Thew of Sin had seven intents hidden within, which belonged to the sevenws it was made with, which shocked Ace when he first discovered them, and he was absolutely gobsmacked. The intent of [Pride], [Greed], [Lust], [Envy], [Gluttony], [Wrath], and [Sloth]!
These seven intents were highly potent and had their unique characteristics, and one of them matched what he needed right now and gave him this ridiculous idea.
Just as Ace was within the heavenly thunder, a sinful, vile aura started to emit from him like it could devour everything. A ravenous aura shrouded the heavenly thunder as his eyes turned ck.
''Sin Law, intent of Gluttony!''
A phantom of a small ck hole appeared behind Ace, and thereafter, it began to suck the heavenly thunder within it even faster than his sword core.
As it devoured more and more heavenly thunder, Ace''s mind flooded withplex, profound information, and his momentum became more overbearing.
The intent of Gluttony was to devour everything as long as Ace had the mind and body to endure it, and it would make it his own. Although this wasn''t as powerful or profound as the darkness, he felt this was the key to getting to that point, and now he can use it on his own!
Within seconds, the entire thunder pir was absorbed as the ck hole behind released an even more ravenous aura like it wasn''t even enough to satisfy it.
Ace''s lips curled up as he felt the same hunger while he eyed the clouds in the sky, and his speed became even stronger than before as a white luster began to appear on his dark lightning bolt form, which gave the same aura of heavenly thunder.
The heavenly punishment clouds rumbled wildly and seemed to have sensed Ace''s bold gaze, and the next moment, a head made with thunder began to emerge from within before another followed and then another until four heads with different colors of thunder appeared. A four-headed humanoid body followed suit, which was over five hundred meters in size.
Ace was forced to halt as the ghastly aura from that body made his heart go cold, ''Another variety of the Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation! Furthermore, its body seemed to be somewhat corporal. Could it be, since it appeared before I could approach the clouds, the heavenly punishment didn''t want me to get closer to the clouds at all?''
Just thinking about it made Ace''s heart beat wild with astonishment and glee because it was the first time he had forced the heavenly punishment to act out of its natural course!
This meant he was on the right path, making him want to go there even more and see what was hidden behind those clouds!
Chapter 920 Heavenly Dark Law Awareness Realm
Chapter 920 Heavenly Dark Law Awareness Realm
"W-what in the demon''s name is that?!" A demon admiral instated as a patrol fleetmander yelled in horror as he looked at the humongous four-headed body of Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation gushing out from the jet-ck clouds.
Not only he but everyone caught in this heavenly punishment was gobsmacked with sheer horror as they felt the terrifying pressure emitting from that thing.
However, at this moment, the demons notice something even more unbelievable: a tiny silhouette seems to be moving toward the humongous four-headed Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation.
The next moment, something magical happened: a dark de started to form over the tiny silhouette and quickly reached a five-hundred-meter size. The aura emitting from that dark de was even more mysterious than Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, and they could sense it all the way down there, just like the heavenly punishment!
Like a lightning bolt, the dark de shed toward the humongous four heads of Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation under everyone''s disbelieving expression.
The four-headed Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation had eight arms, and all of them were holding different weapons, releasing powerful intents. Seeing the iing humongous de to behead them, mighty thunder explodes, and a myriad of thunder attacks torrent upon the de!
''Boommm¡''
A decisive sh between the heavenly thunder and darkness sword intent happened, and the de made with just 11.2% darkness cut through the heavenly thunder before shing through the four heads of Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation!
This scene was straight out majestic as every demon present watched it with bbergasted expression, and soon it changed into reverence and awe.
Someone shouted with mirth, "It''s Demon God! The Demon God is protecting our demon race!"
No one knows who was the one who shouted this. Still, everyone started to quickly believe because Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation was even suppressing the Law Awareness Realm cultivators, so whoever did this had to be a powerful being.
Ace watched the rolling heads of Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, but he wasn''t done because he knew cutting off heads of the Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation would only slow it down.
With a thought, the gigantic de moved with lightning speed and started to dice the remaining body of Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, starting with its arms.
The darkness was too powerful for this level of Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation to handle, and Ace took full advantage of it as he didn''t give it any chance to attack.
As for the scattering heavenly thunder, it was all drawn towards him with the ck hole made with the intent of Gluttony!
His sword cores quickly absorbed the heavenly thunder while hisprehension of Despair, lightning, and heavenly thunder was skyrocketing at terrifying speed.
But with all this, Ace didn''t stop approaching the heavenly punishment clouds, and he was now only over a mile away from reaching the center where four-color thunder was being gathered.
''Rumble¡''
The punishment clouds buzzed with booming sounds, but it was no longer as majestic after Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation was butchered.
Another head started to emerge, but it was very faint, and this time, Ace did something even more ridiculous. Page-09 appeared in his hand, and he directly shot it toward the eye of the vortex.
Although he can absorb more with the intent of gluttony, he wants to unravel the mysteries of page-09 as well. Now that his sword cores have been filled, he lets page-09 absorb the rest.
Furthermore, he knew page-09 wouldn''t let any heavenly thunder escape, so his route would be cleared.
But somethingpletely unexpected happened when page-09 touched Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, which had still not emerged entirely.
It began to absorb it, and not just the heavenly thunder but the jet-ck clouds started to enter page-09 as well!
Ace was shocked as he didn''t expect page-09 would be able to absorb not just heavenly thunder but heavenly punishment clouds as well.
Furthermore, its speed was even faster than usual, and by the time Ace reached the heavenly punishment clouds, only ten percent of them remained.
''Just what is this page!'' Ace''s eyes shimmered as he looked at the page absorbing the clouds, and at this moment, he saw something behind thest reaming heavenly punishment clouds, and his eyes widened.
There was a rift behind the heavenly punishment clouds, and heavenly thunder was pouring out from it like a waterfall, and as if it senses his gaze, the rift instant closed!
Ace squinted his eyes with astonishment, ''What is behind that rift?'' This thought surfaced, but there was no answer, and page-09 was done absorbing the reaming heavenly punishment clouds.
At least now, he knew about the origin of heavenly punishment, but it was still filled with mystery, and it only made him want to explore it more.
''No worries, I''m still no done¡'' Ace''s eyes shimmered coldly as he grabbed page-09 with Qi, and before he could look at the changes, the system voice rang.
=====
[Congrattion, Host, for sessfully crossing the sixth form of Heavenly Punishment!]
---
[Martial and Soul breakthrough process has been started!]
=====
Just as the system''s voice trailed off, the surrounding air, containing the heavenly thunder aura, suddenly vibrated, and a massive amount of heavenly Qi poured into his martial and soul space.
The breakthrough was starting, and Ace had no time to look at page-09.
His dark soul suddenly jumped out of his martial space and appeared above his head, making the surrounding space churn heavily.N?v(el)B\\jnn
The sky ckened as its size grewrger andrger before it was a hundred meters in height, and its ethereal dark body became more sublime and corporeal.
An aura of different despair, lightning blooms from the dark soul, and dark lightning begins to swirl around it, which is the sign of the soul resonating withws that Aceprehended. His body explodes with boundless power, and martial space expands.
This was the realm ofw awareness where the soul would start to resonate with the cultivator''s innerw.
With this, Ace couldprehend and sense thews around him even more efficiently and effectively.
Thereby, the aura even more terrifying than heavenly punishment bloomed in the sky as he was hovering there like a deity looking down on mortals, and myriad demons watched this scene with awe.
The dark soul hovered above Ace like a phantom before it started to fade, returning to his martial space. A dark blue chain shot from the dark void and pierced into the dark soul''s hooded head and started to shimmer in a dark blue hue, and tiny dark blue symbols began to emerge over the dark figure, making Ace tremble with palpitations.
An even more profound aura surrounds Ace.
As for his soul space, pitch ck soul core started to change color as it became more explicit, and whiteness bloomed within the darkness, illumining the entire soul space and white milky soul Qi released from the white soul core.
At this moment, the white soul Qi was absorbed by the Eternal Thief Fate Compass, and the treasure aura became more ethereal as his new white soul core released a deeper soul Qi.
Thereby, Ace''s thief sense also started to grow and break into a hundred-mile radius and stopped at 150!
=====
[Congrattion, Host, on sessfully entwining the Dark Soul with naturalw!]
[Host has reached Stage-1 of Heavenly Dark Law Awareness Realm!]
[Reward: 50,000,000 Thief Point]
--
[Congrattion, Host, on sessfully creating the White Wind Soul Core]
[Host has reached Stage-1 of Heavenly White Wind Soul Core!]
[Reward: 50,000,000 Thief Point]
[Innate Soul Ability: Thief Shelter has been awakened.]
-Thief Shelter (Heavenly Soul Ability): The user can take shatter in the fabric of space as long as the soul Qi is being supplied!
-Limitation: The user has to remain static, and no other ability can be used during thief shatter! Any movement or use of Qi, skill, or treasure will result in instant exposure. Cultivators with high attainment in spacew will be able to sense you!
--
[Nature''s Ice Elemental Orb absorption has beenpleted!]
[Special Reward: Ice Qi [Martial & Soul]]
-Host can switch between Worldly Element(s):
1. Light [Soul & Martial]
2. Earth [Soul & Martial]
3. Lightning [Soul & Martial]
4. Yang (Fire) [Soul & Martial]
5. tinum (Metal) [Soul & Martial]
6. Ice (Water) [Soul & Martial
[Warning: Worldly Elements'' and ''Heavenly Elements'' cannot be used together]]
---
[Thief Point(s): 1,961,959,400]
---
[Host status has been updated!]
=====
At this moment, Ace entered a whole new realm of power!
However, it was far from over as his eyes opened and dark lightning shed past them. His lips rose as hemanded, "System, use the Qi stones and soul crystals to fill the EXP and SP, and then start the abortion of Wind Core!"
Chapter 921 The Seventh Heavenly Punishment
Chapter 921 The Seventh Heavenly Punishment
Once the system epted hismand, billions of grade-7 Qi stones and Soul crystals started to vanish from his thief''s space, and a massive torrent of Qi broke free into his martial and soul spaces.
Right now, his martial space was filled with the dark lightning sea as the dark soul hovered cross-legged in the center, and above it was the dark void and martial sword core.
Furthermore, after this breakthrough, Ace felt a peculiar restriction on him was gone, and now he could fly without using any particr skill orw with just Qi. It was as if thews had acknowledged his existence and no longer retained his free movements.
While he was making leaps in his cultivation and about to start another heavenly punishment to enter the final realm of the mortal sky, the old three forbidden countries were now turned into arge ind around 300 miles in diameter, and the three trinity mountains were at its center.
Now that the deadly clouds were finally gone, the fleeing poption stopped at least what had left of them. Still, because of Ace''s intervention, the poption of the secret realm was 80% intact, while the people on the outside were all gone except for thew awareness realm.
However, even thosew-awareness realm cultivators were at the end of their rope and couldn''t help but look at the existence sitting in the sky with awed and dread.N?v(el)B\\jnn
They couldn''t fathom just how powerful that mysterious person was, and they had all seen the gigantic dark hooded phantom behind him.
Now, that person was floating there without any aura, like a statue.
At this moment, the Lightning Lord of the Blood City approached the Demon Lords and said gloomily, "ck Demon Lord, do you think it''s one of the ancestors?"
The ck Demon Lord frowned uncertainly, "No idea, but who could''ve had such a power besides the three ancestors? I gathered that thunder earlier was the legendary heavenly tribtion!"
The Lightning Lord''s purple eyes dted as he said in disbelief, "But how is this possible? I once heard from the Ancestor that only at the pinnacle ofwprehension could someone draw attention to such a legendary presence, and even she wasn''t entirely sure about it.
"Furthermore, do you think the four-headed figure that emerged from the clouds could appear from the heavenly tribtion? It was something far more terrifying, and that person who got rid of it was even more so. I hope it''s one of the ancestors or one of their allies who are here to help them."
The ck Demon Lord sighed with a hint of fear, "First, the thief, and now this cmity. We have lost our secret realm as well. It''s like¡" His dark eyes suddenly went wide with horror as he looked at the sky and yelled, "What the hell are those devil bastards up to?!"
His loud voice drew everyone''s attention, and they looked up and saw the devil lords flying towards the figure in the sky, and some of their race''s elders were following them.
The Lightning Lord couldn''t help but curse in anger, "That sly bastard Blood Devil wanted to approach that person first. If he''s not one of the ancestors, he might earn his favor. Come on, we can''t let that happen!"
''This person is no ancestor. I need to approach him and invite him to our n. But why aren''t any of the three ancestorsing out? Don''t tell me this person is their friend and helping them, and that''s why they are still not showing themselves. More reason to pay my respect to such a person!'' Blood Devil Lord''s eyes shone cunningly as he raced towards the person sitting in the sky.
Hepletely forgot about the terror a few minutes ago, and now he wanted to curry favor with this mysterious existence that was clearly in the eighth realm in his view.
Blood Devil Lord was highly ambitious and shrewd, and he knew the three ancestors didn''t have any way to enter the eighth realm, but then they suddenly had one.
After learning about the situation outside, he finally understood they had earned their cultivation method from the union, and he even wanted to go there and earn for one himself.
But s, he can''t leave the realm without the ancestors'' permission. This was a paradise and a prison for people like him who could challenge the authority of the three ancestors, and they sent them here before they could reject them.
That''s how most of the experts of the secret realm, like the Blood Devil Lord, looked at it.
However, now the secret realm was suddenly destroyed, and they were free to do as they pleased, and Blood Devil Lord was even more confident than anyone. He looked at Ace like this was his chance and wanted to plead allegiance to him temporarily.
It was like all those years of suffering and endurance had finally borne fruit!
But s, the ambitious devil or anyone else with the same thoughts as he didn''t know just how wrong they were, and at this moment, all of their advances halted.
The clear sky started to be dark as clouds began to gather together, and an aura hundreds of times more terrifying than minutes ago descended. Making even thew awareness realm cultivators who could at least move before being locked in their ces and those who were in the flight plummet from the sky like dead flies.
Horror was written on everyone''s face as they looked at the sky; more and more jet-ck clouds were gathering, and this time, they covered every nook and cranny of the massive ind, even beyond. Every living being had been locked in their ce without any leeway to move.
''Rumbling¡''
A mighty rumbling rang, piercing everyone''s ears, announcing its presence, and those who were lower than thew awareness realm directly lost their consciousness.
Ace sensed it all with his newly increased 250-mile radius thief sense, and he looked behind and smiled coldly, seeing the five-color thunder starting to emerge in the clouds.
=====
[The Seventh Heavenly Punishment [Ruination Cmity Despair Thunder] has been detected!]
---
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment sensed Host''s Qi Sea Core and Heavenly Dark Law Soul!]
[Warning: The Heaven is seething with rage!]
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment has been strengthened!]
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment has been strengthened!]
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment has been strengthened!]
[Strengthened Heavenly Punishment: There is a 100% chance of a Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation to descend on Heaven''s Stealer!]
---
[System rmends fighting without holding back; use any means necessary you have, or your life will be forfeited today. Please find an isted ce, or the Heavenly Punishment will annihte all the living in a 500-mile radius around the host!]
=====
Chapter 922 Irredeemable Fate?
Chapter 922 Irredeemable Fate?
Ace didn''t wait for the heavenly thunder to charge and instantly flew within the cloud''s vortex right above him.
Almost immediately, the five-color heavenly thunder rushed in his direction to get rid of him. But he was ready for this, and the intent of Gluttony manifested as he let the heavenly thunder wreak havoc within his body while he let his sword cores absorb it.
Right now, his sword cores shimmering with mystical runes as they were all bing more and moreplex and overbearing while absorbing the heavenly thunder.
Furthermore, his otherwprehensions were extremely high at this moment, thanks to the intent of gluttony and heavenly thunder. At this moment, the heavenly thunder only has a 40% effect on him despite being at the seventh rank already.
Ace''s target was the rift hidden within the clouds that he saw a few minutes ago, and he also wanted to see if Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation was naturally formed or if it had alsoe from that rift.
Lastly, he wanted to see behind that rift if he could, but he wasn''t nning on charging in because it would be simply too reckless since behind that rift might be something out of his wildest imagination. He just wanted to see the origin of heavenly thunder!
However, the moment he tries deeper into the clouds, all his senses suddenly cut off, and even his vision goes dark. He could not sense his body,ws, or even his vision was gone.
''It''s just like when I drink the elixir of darkness!'' A thought surfaced in his mind.
Right at this moment, he heard a majestic voice that was extremely familiar, "It is not time yet, Child of Darkness!"
The darkness suddenly broke like a mirror, and he regained his senses, and not even a moment had passed.
Ace was still within the clouds while the five-color thunder was rushing towards him from all directions to exterminate him.
''It''s not time yet? Was it a warning not to go there?'' Ace thought as he was filled with cold sweat, and he stopped his advance.
He knew the warning came from the throne that granted him the first authority of darkness, and it wasn''t his imagination because he knew this feeling too well.
Ace finally hesitated. Ultimately, he really put a hold on his n to seek the origin of heavenly punishment. His life was, after all, more important, and at least he found the heavenly thunder wasn''t from this world and wasing from a rift.
It wasn''t naturally formed, and he can stop it from worsening if he tries to go towards the rift. This result was already far more than he hoped to achieve, so he didn''t be greedy.
But he didn''t leave the heavenly punishment clouds because there were still no traces of Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation, and he was already getting heavenly thunder without much of a risk.
It was like a loophole.
As his sword cores absorbed more and more heavenly thunder of both martial and soul, his understanding of thews was getting skyrocketed with each passing second, which meant his strength was rising the same.
A minute passed, and the heavenly thunder was bing more and more overbearing, but it just couldn''t make Ace exit the clouds.
At this moment, the clouds suddenly started to expand for the first time since Ace started to go under the heavenly punishment, and the aura rose even more, and a trace of a new color of thunder began to show.
''Could it be the heavenly punishment is trying to get even stronger? Like I let it¡'' Ace coldly snorted as page-09 appeared in his hand again, and instantly the surrounding clouds started to suck into the page the moment it appeared!
Ace had almost confirmed that Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation is formed within the clouds or it needed some time to appear, which Ace wasn''t giving it.
His sword cores were already fully adjusted to this level of heavenly thunder, so there was no point in enduring it any longer. Letting page-09 end it was the right choice.
Since he now knew that page-09 could absorb the heavenly punishment clouds as well, it would be a waste not to use it to his advantage.
"Rubmlleeeee¡"
A thunderous boom rang within the clouds as the aura increased even more, but soon, it started to decline because it did not affect page-09''s ability to absorb the clouds. It was like it was the bane of heavenly punishment.
At this moment, when 95% of the clouds were gone, Ace again spotted a bright rift within the remaining clouds, and he was astounded when he discovered that the rift was even bigger than before.
But the moment he looked at it, the rift began to close again.
Yet this time, Ace heard an emotionless voice booming within his ears, "Heaven''s Stealer thy fate is irredeemable!"
There wasn''t any authority or majesty in this voice, but when Ace heard it, he quivered as an unknown fear coursed through his veins.
''Boomm¡'' N?v(el)B\\jnn
The next moment, the rift instantly closed, and Page-09 was done absorbing the remaining clouds.
''What just happened?'' Ace was stunned as he looked at his shaky hands holding the page-09. He had no idea who that voice belonged to or why it made him feel this kind of unknown fear, as if he was just a speck of dust in front of that voice.
But he didn''t have time to mull over it because, for the first time, page-09 showed signs of activity as it began to shake in his hands, and a gentle golden light bloomed from the pitch-ck page.
Yet, something even more startling urred when a dark blue chain shot out from his be and directly pierced into the glowing page-09.
Before Ace could even react, a vile force released from page-09, and the dark blue chain yanked strongly and pulled backward!
The page was freed from Ace''s hand and instantly drawn back into his be with the dark blue chain and vanished with it, leaving gobsmacked Ace there.
The system''s emotionless voice rang,
=====
[Congrattion, Host, for sessfully crossing the seventh form of Heavenly Punishment!]
---
[Martial and Soul breakthrough process has been started!]
---
[Page-09 [Avatar of Holy Twilight] from B.E.L.L has been acquired!]
[New Panel, [B.E.L.L] has been added to the system!]
=====
Chapter 923 Final Realm of Mortal Sky!
Chapter 923 Final Realm of Mortal Sky!
?
Ace''s eyes widened when he saw the new notification about Page-09!
"System, you better exin! You just took my freaking shield, and in return, you gave me a notification?!" Ace furiously questioned as he wasn''t having it.
Page-09 wasn''t just some ancient script that would render useless once it revealed its secrets, but it was an excellent shield against heavenly punishment that had never disappointed him. Moreover, he just discovered a new way of using it, yet now, the system just took it.
Furthermore, Ace was under the impression that the system didn''t know what page-09 was or wasn''t interested in it. But he was dead wrong. Not only does the system know what it was, but it even knows its origin.
But it was too much of a loss to hand it over without even receiving an exnation.
"[The contents of Page-09 have been fully revealed, and if the host had waited any longer, you would''ve drawn the attention of the [Natural Order]. In fact, with system help, the host has just unlocked a beneficial function, and you can now also track down the entirety of the B.E.L.L.]"
Ace wanted to debate further, but he didn''t have time because the heavenly Qi was rushing into his martial space and soul space, and both of them were expanding like never before.
A feeling of something breaking free from a shackle washed over him as his aura started to climb, making the air around him tremble.
The Dark Soul didn''t jump out of his martial space at this moment, but it waspletely encased in a dark lightning cocoon, and at this moment, a dark blue chain shot out from the dark void and entered that cocoon.
Dark blue symbols of the heaven stealer technique begin to emerge on the cocoon, and Ace senses a profound understanding dawn on him.
The Law Comprehension Realm was the realm ofprehension where a cultivator''s goal was toprehend their innatew to 100% proficiency, and only those in the advanced realm of elementw proficiency could step into this realm.
A Law Comprehension Realm Cultivator can controlws around him with just a thought, and the Qi requirement for it was reduced by half. Not to mention, thew intent bes more potent in the advanced realm, and someone''s uniquew intent would even manifest phantoms, like Ace''s intent of Gluttony.
Legend has it that once someone has reached 100%wprehension, they will ascend to the skies and enter the realm of true immortals. There were even urban legends about bing a god. But no one could confirm it because that step was too tricky.
There were Early, Middle, and Late stages of the Law Comprehension Realm.
At this moment, the dark blue chain yanked, and the cocoon around Ace''s dark soul broke open, revealing the dark soul, which appeared the same as before, but surprisingly, two dark blue mes had appeared under the hood like me eyes!
The moment the dark soul appeared, the dark sea churned as a suffocating aura broke out, and the rampaging Qi began to subdue down.
Ace was in a state of greatness as he felt like he was on top of the world and he could crush anyone at will.
The true soul has also undergone a new and final change. The soul wind core was ten times bigger than before. It was now half white and half ck. Smearing the true soul half white and half ck.
One side is filled with ck soul Qi, while the other is white soul Qi. It was an impossible thing to happen, yet Ace''s true soul has achieved it, and now, just by gazing into his eyes, others would feel their soul being suppressed!
His soul sense also increased up to 500 miles, which were now extremelyrge, and he would monitor regions now!
The system''s static voice sounded,
=====
[Congrattion, Host, on sessfully making the Dark Soul indisputable!]
[Host has reached Stage-1 of Heavenly Dark Law Comprehension Realm!]
[Reward: 100,000,000 Thief Point]
[Reward: Dark Law Sea Refinement (Secret Law Skill)]
--
[Congrattion, Host, on sessfully creating the ck and White Wind Soul Core]
[Host has reached Stage-1 of Heavenly ck and White Wind Soul Core!]
[Reward: 100,000,000 Thief Point]
[Reward: True Soul Law Refinement (Secret Law Skill)
[Innate Soul Ability: Thief''s Advent has been awakened.]
-Thief''s Advent (Heavenly Soul Ability): The ability to call forth an advent of a thief upon a specific target for ten days! Until this ability is activated, the target can''t hide, give away, or trade any treasures that were on it when this ability was used. The target can''t leave the area of the user''s thief sense no matter what. No space ability will work. Only when the target has lost its every treasure or the time limit is over would the thief''s advent end!
-Limitation: Only work on targets in the same realm as the user (NOTE: No stage limitations)!
--
[Nature''s Azure Wind Elemental Orb absorption has beenpleted!]
[Special Reward: Azure Wind Qi [Martial & Soul]]
-Host can switch between Worldly Element(s):
1. Light [Soul & Martial]
2. Earth [Soul & Martial]
3. Lightning [Soul & Martial]
4. Yang (Fire) [Soul & Martial]
5. tinum (Metal) [Soul & Martial]
6. Ice (Water) [Soul & Martial]N?v(el)B\\jnn
7. Azure Wind (Wind) [Soul & Martial]
[Warning: Worldly Elements'' and ''Heavenly Elements'' cannot be used together]]
---
[Thief Point(s): 2,161,959,400]
---
[Host status has been updated!]
---
[Warning: Host has reached the eighth and final realm of both body and soul! The next breakthrough will call upon the Ascension! Thereby, the breakthrough process has been sealed until the hostpletes the heaven''s stealer mission!]
=====
Looking at the warning, Ace frowned, but he could understand what the system was implying. If he made the next breakthrough, he''d probably leave this heaven and ascend just like the sea king Pen told him.
Still, even if this was possible, he wasn''t nning on leaving anytime soon because there were still many things and loose ends here to take care of. On the other hand, he was in the eighth realm of the mortal sky, the pinnacle of this world.
Who could stop him now?
Still, he was sulking over page-09 matters and opened this new panel to see if it was worth it or if the system was tricking him again!
Chapter 924 The Divine Talent
Chapter 924 The Divine Talent
=====
[B.E.L.L (???)]
[Description: ???]
[Total Page(s): Unknown]
[Active Page(s): 1]
-Page-09: Avatar of Holy Twilight
-Avatar of Holy Twilight: A one-of-a-kind ??? Divine Talent that only exists in the B.E.L.L, and without it, no one should ever glimpse at its secrets, for they are the secrets of ???!
-Description: A heaven-defying talent that had never been seen for eons is hidden in the gentleness of twilight, waiting for someone to unravel its glory and spender. The Avatar of Holy Twilight is born in a true soul, which is in no way inferior to a true soul, and continues to gain strength with the true soul.
-??? Divine Talent Divine Traits: 5
1.Forever Evolving
2. Divine Soul Substitute
3. Knowledge Gxy
4.Twilight Sage
5.Cherry blossom of Divine Twilight
(NOTE: Please assimte the ??? Divine Talent and create the Avatar of Holy Twilight to see the further details of the Divine Traits)
-??? Divine Talent Assimtion Cost: 5 Billion Thief Points
-Avatar Creation Cost: 1 Billion Thief Points (LOCKED: Please assimte the ??? Divine Talent first to unlock this function!)
(NOTE: Converted by System!)
--
[B.E.L.L Tracker: Nothing rted is in the system''s range]
=====
Ace''s eyes widened as he looked at the newly created panel with absolute disbelief.
"Divine Talent? Is it even possible to assimte talent? Furthermore, the divine traits are like Eva''s, right? So, divine talent could grant divine traits, not just bloodline?" Ace quickly questioned the system, as he had too many of them right now.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
He had never thought page-09 would be so powerful that it could directly grant him a divine talent that could only be learned from page-09. This was a real eye-opener for him.
"[There are many things the Host still has yet to learn. Divine Talents are indeed the source of Divine Traits. Bloodlines of Divine, like the Shadow Abyssal Devil Bloodline, can grant these traits considering the density of a bloodline and individual talent. But everything has an origin, and Divine Talents are not different. They result from someone''s achievement or products of entities like B.E.L.L.]
"[The ??? Divine Talent and Avatar of Holy Twilight isn''t inheritable and can only be learned through B.E.L.L. Host will understand more as you find more remnants of B.E.L.L or something simr as you continue to strive for heaven!]"
Ace''s heart raced when he heard the system''s words and a new world of possibilities opened before him.
He was now content and willing to forgive the system for taking his heaven-defying shield away. This avatar of holy twilight was quite substantial, and he could now handle the heavenly punishment alone. At least he was confident he won''t die.
But there was still one thing that made him perplexed, "But the price, that''s too unreasonable!"
"[System has converted 10,000 years'' worth of time into TP. If you want to spend 10,000 years in solitude, the system can release the Divine Twilight Breathing Technique right now.]" There was a hint of teasing in the system''s voice at this moment.
Ace''s eyes winded, "Te-ten¡ ten thousand years?! Are you serious?"
"[Yes.]"
This was utterly shocking and ridiculous because 10,000 years to spend on technique was simply too much for someone like him who hasn''t even lived past 40 yet.
Even with his superior lifespan to other beings, it would be around 100,000 years at this moment, and spending one-tenth of it in solitude was something Ace couldn''t wrap his head around. Not to mention, he wasn''t the type to stay in one ce for long.
So, paying thief points now seemed quite reasonable because he could collect them within a year if he really put his mind to it. Furthermore, the system has only told him one aspect that it converted, not the others, or he would be even more grateful for what the system did.
He smiled dryly, "Alright, continue the good work. Now, can you tell me what the hell ''B.E.L.L'' is?"
This was probably the biggest mystery that Ace wanted to unravel because, at this point, it had be quite clear that this was the name of the thing that page-09 belonged to. Something that grants a divine talent has to be unique.
However, this time, the system didn''t answer, which made Ace grimace because this was the only thing he hated about it. The system always bes silent at the most critical question, and Ace could only give up at the end.
After that, Ace no longer tries to bargain with the system and pays attention to the newly awakened soul abilities. They were pretty practical, especially the Thief Shelter, which could help him hide in the space itself. Even though it had its weaknesses, it was still quite valuable in the long run.
As for the Thief''s Advent, this ability was quite peculiar, especially with its restriction on a target that can''t allow it to drop any treasures nor let it leave Ace''s thief sense. It was like a locked cage that could only be opened by Ace.
Lastly, the newly gained secretw skills for martial and soul Qi. Furthermore, they were his first secretw skills.
The Dark Law Sea Refinement use was pretty straightforward, and only someone with a dark Qi sea can use it. Ace can use it to refine his dark sea further withws other than despair, lightning his innate element. This will make his Qi sea expand further, and his Qi will be more potent.
ording to this secretw skill, there were three sizes of Qi sea: Continent Size, Realm Size, and World Size. His Qi sea wasn''t even a continent size at this moment, and it was vaguely mentioned that the more significant the Qi sea, the higher the benefits at ascension.
But to make it happen, Ace needed toprehend morews and refine his Qi sea with thosews¡ªthe moreplex thew, the higher the refinement result. To increase hisQi sea to continent-size sea, he probably needs three element-levelws at 99.99% proficiency.
As for the True Soul Law Refinement, this secretw skill was the same as the Dark Law Sea Refinement, with the difference being it could refine the true soul withws. Simrly, the true soul (soul space) has different states: the unreal state, the ethereal state, and the corporeal state.
The higher the state, the more benefits one would acquire once they break through the eighth realm.
Once Ace was done looking through his newly gained knowledge, hemanded, "System released all the pending EXP and SP."
Ace was at the final realm, and he no longer needed to hold back on his savings. Furthermore, he now needed a grade-8 Qi stone lode and soul crystal source to convert Qi stone and Soul crystal of such level into EXP and SP.
Although he had arge amount of grade-8 treasures, he wasn''t willing to use them until necessary. Because he was sure that even if he used them all, they might not be enough to reach stage-4 of the eighth realm, much less peak. So, it was a waste. He needed to find that lode and source.
Furthermore, it wasn''t just Ace who had gone through a massive boost in power, but both Eternal Thief Fate Compass and Cyrus had reached the peak of the mortal sky once Ace broke into this realm.
Especially Cyrus, the little guy, was obediently sitting on Eva''s shoulder. At the same time, his new maid was being tortured by her when his aura skyrocketed, shocking everyone present in the thief''s space!
Chapter 925 We are not Saviors but Thieves!
Chapter 925 We are not Saviors but Thieves!
Cyrus''s aura suddenly erupted like a sea. His cultivation of the peak soul manifestation realm started to rise, and within a few minutes, the little guy was at the early stage of the Soul Law Comprehension Realm.
A blue me manifested behind him, and a phantom of an extremely ancient bird emerged that even made Eva shocked as she quickly put him down.
But that me phantom onlysted for a movement before the little guy''s body regained its peacefulness. However, the dark blue crown of feathers on Cyrus''s head had be more ethereal, as if it was made of mes and an air of majesty emit from him, which made even the Blood Ancestor shudder, and Lillian was no different.
It was too sudden, and Cyrus had an innocent look in his tiny eyes and quickly eximed to Eva, who was looking at him with a stern expression, "I promise it wasn''t me! It was big bro!"
He was afraid that Eva would hang him upside down, so he quickly pinned the me on Ace, and he wasn''t lying at all.
At this moment, Ace''s jolly voice sounded in Eva''s mind, "Sorry for startling you. Cyrus''s cultivation is connected with me, so it wasn''t his fault. You can continue, and I''m taking him away for now. I don''t think there is a reason to keep him hidden any longer, and it''s best for his growth as well."
Eva was startled as it was the first time she had heard about it, and her eyes shimmered with realization, "Did this mean you''ve already?"
"Heh, indeed, I''m at thewprehension realm now. It''s about time I stop holding back and end everything. I''m going to use soul search on her." Ace coldly stated before he used his soul probe on stunned Margret.
He didn''t have to wait any longer to gather information from Margret. Now, he was far stronger then. However, what happened next waspletely unexpected.
Eva was quite shocked and felt a sense of loss before her eyes ignited with resolved, ''How easily he surpassed me again. I should work even harder!''
Suddenly, Ace''s grave voice sounded in her head again, "Bad news; there''s some barrier stopping me from infiltrating her knowledge sea. If I try to be forceful, she''ll die!"
Eva''s eyes narrowed, "Even in this realm? No wonder my abyssal brand isn''t working either. It would appear whoever is behind them has to be an existence far surpassing our world''s strength. Now, I''m quite sure it''s rted to the God of Evil ult."
"It seems so. Well, I guess she''s destined to suffer then. You can continue, and I''ll see what I can gather. I don''t think the truth will hide for long. Even if we can''t find it, I guess it''s too bad. We are not saviors but thieves¡" Ace sighed ruefully as he said matter-of-factly.
Although he was curious about why all of this was happening, he wouldn''t provoke something he couldn''t handle to quench his curiosity. His purpose was stealing, not avenging the grievance of the past.
On the contrary, Ace''s eyes were now looking towards a higher tform that he was so close to achieving: Ascension!
Mortal Sky suddenly bes tiny in Ace''s mind.
Afterward, Ace retracted from the thief''s space, and Cyrus appeared on his shoulder, just as confused as he was in the thief''s space.
"Don''t worry, I''ve exined to your big sis. Now, we''ll travel together, and you''ll train with me." Ace smilingly said to Cyrus while rubbing his tiny head with his finger.
"Status!"
======
[Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human]
[Bloodline: Sealed]
[First Heaven: Mortal Sky Heaven]
--
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Law Comprehension Realm [Stage-1]]
[EXP: 120,021,110/1,000,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Heavenly ck and White Wind Soul Core [Stage-1]]
[SP: 100,004,800/1,000,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
---
[Skills: 5]
---
[Secret Skills: 6]
---
[Cultivation Technique: 6]
---
[Order: Darkness]
-First Order of Darkness (B.E.D): Lawless Darkness
-Lawless Darkness: Darkness is everywhere and anywhere. Now, rule, mandate, or order can stop the Darkness.
-Lawless Darkness Authority: The authority to break any restriction,ws, rules, mandates, or orders!
-Description: You canbinews youprehend and gain the power of Lawless Darkness for a limited time. The morews youbine and the higher yourprehension ofws, the stronger the Lawless Darkness Authority you can use.
-Darkness Comprehension: 28%
Branches of Darkness (Current): 5
-Despair (Advanced): 97.03%
-Shadow (Advanced): 93.89%
-Charm (Intermediate): 59.33%
-Sin (Advanced): 99.99%
-Evil ult: 99.99%
[NOTE: Please increase your understanding of Darkness with the help of its branches to further increase your Darkness.]
---
[Law(s): 6 (Corroded by Darkness)]
-Sword (Advanced): 93.63%
-Psyche (Initial): 30.84%
-Lightning (Advanced): 96.99%
-Wind (Advanced): 90.00%
-Heavenly Thunder (Initial): 49.99%
[Corroded Progress: 17%]
--
[Eternal Provenance Treasure: 1/2]
-Name: Eternal Thief Fate Compass
-Type: Soul (Fate)
-Current Grade: Grade-8 (Upgradable)
[Grade-9 after Ascension]
-Status: Iplete (10% Complete)n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Ability:
1. Live Fate Map (Grade-6)
[NOTE: Next ability(s) unlocked at 20% Treasure Completion]
-Completion Scheme: 1 (Avable)
---
[Thief Point(s): 2,161,959,400]
---
[Mission(s): 1]
[Side Mission(s): 0]
======
Seeing the chasm of EXP and SP, Ace smiled wryly while he was d to see hisws progress. Lastly, his TP seemed no longer sufficient because his new goal was to acquire the Divine Talent.
Therefore, Ace looked down on the myriad of demons who were still gobsmacked by what had happened just a few moments ago.
His lips rose in a thievish smile, ''I guess I deserve a reward to save all of their lives.''
The next moment, dual-color Soul Qi gushed out from his hand, which was utterly invisible to everyone, and it broke into countless soul threads and shot toward every demon''s space ring!
With his 500-mile radius thief sense, every living demon was under Ace''s gaze, and even thew awareness realm cultivators couldn''t detect his soul threads anymore as they all wrapped around their storage space rings.
Standing above the sky, a massive web of soul threads covered the ind, and the only other person who witnessed it was little Cyrus.
Within seconds, Ace achieved what he wanted, and the next moment, with a single thought, ''Pick-pocket!''
All the beautiful web of soul threads vanished after that, leaving behind thief symbols, and Ace''s figure also faded.
It was the first andst time those people would have even seen the legendary thief, and his mark would stay with them for their entire lives!
Chapter 926 Thief Point Predator
Chapter 926 Thief Point Predator
=====
[Picket Pocket Sessful!]
-Total Thieveries: 1,889,592
-Reward: 1,984,984,200
--
[Thief Point(s): 4,346,953,600]
--
-Low-level Thievery(s): 10,000/10,000
-Middle-level Thievery(s): 1,000/1,000
-High-level Thievery(s): 100/100
--
[Congrattions, your thief rank has been upgraded!]
[Thief Rank: Intermediate Deft Thief]
-Thievery Required for next Rank:
-Low: 100,000 Thieveries
-Middle: 10,000 Thieveries
-High: 1,000 Thieveries
---
-Low-level Thievery(s): 100,000/100,000
-Middle-level Thievery(s): 10,000/10,000
-High-level Thievery(s): 1,000/1,000
--
[Congrattions, your thief rank has been upgraded!]
[Thief Rank: Advanced Deft Thief]
-Thievery Required for next Rank:
-Low: 1,000,000 Thieveries
-Middle: 100,000 Thieveries
-High: 10,000 Thieveries
--
-Low-level Thievery(s): 743,857/1,000,000
-Middle-level Thievery(s): 32,335/100,000
-High-level Thievery(s): 2,209/10,000
---
[Congrattions, the Deft Thief''s Robes has been upgraded to Advanced Deft Thief''s Robe!]
[Deft Thief''s Robes (Advanced): Grade-9 Runic Treasure]
-Descriptions: A treasure that can only be used with Heavenly-Darkness Qi.
-Ability(s): Martial and Soul Defensive Effect (Grade-9), Self-Repair, Self-Sustain, Color Change, Shape Change, 30% Increase in Thief-rted skill, Auto-Qi Absorption, Element Qi deflection, Reduce 5% damage from any Law imbued Attack.
---
[A New Thief Title has been unlocked!]
[Thief Title: Disastrous Pick Pocketer (Initial)]
-Initial Stage: Collectively Pick Pocket from over 1 Million Cultivators!
-Title Effect: You will earn 1% more thief points from a pick pocket thievery!
--
[A New Thief Title has been unlocked!]
[Thief Title: Thief Point Predator]
-Description: Collect 1 Billion Thief Point from a thievery!
-Title Effect: Thief Point Meter has been unlocked! You can now see the Thief Point Value of everyone (NOT including Thief House Members or People deemed non-target and unworthy!)!
=====
Ace stared at the multiple notifications with delight. He had directly crossed two thief ranks at once, and his deft thief''s robe had now be grade-9 runic treasure. He could feel the terrifying defense and boost the robe now has. It was a delightful feeling, and now Qi continued to pour into his martial and soul spaces.
If he had known he could earn a grade-9 treasure this way, he would''ve done this far sooner. But then he knew he might not have done it so quickly and easily. It was all thanks to hiswprehension and current realm.
But what intrigued him the most was the second thief title, Thief Point Predator. This title didn''t provide boosts or effects but was like a function or innate ability.
''Able to see everyone''s thief points value? So now I would know who has more treasures just by looking at them. What an ability! I never thought Thief Titles could do this as well. I guess it''s my fault for always hiding and not trying new things.
''Just like right now, even though I used pick pocket on millions of people, the system still counts the thief points earned from it as a single thievery. This means that as long as I steal using a single skill or ability, the thief points will also count collectively, like in one thievery.
''But those thieveries will still divide into levels maybe because there is still individuality or the thievery count is connected with the thief symbol, not with skills. I''m finally starting to understand how the system works, even so slightly, but I''m getting there.'' Ace smiled in satisfaction as he flew towards the Demon Continent at ridiculous speed, leaving behind powerful shockwaves.
He no longer required any skills to fly. It was like the sky no longer had any restriction on him, and he could do as he wished. Especially with thew of wind, he felt like a wind, and his speed was probably the fastest in the entire world unless someone else had thew of wind and evil ult.
Cyrus was also enjoying the ride without caring about the winds. It was like the winds avoided him on purpose, and he was happily looking around as the scenery was changing.
As for why he was going toward the demon continent, he couldn''t stay in the three forbidden countries after stealing from those guys, and he knew the news about him appearing there and what had happened would spread very soon.
Furthermore, they would also find that the three ancestors had vanished, and everyone would suspect none other than him. He knew his fame was about to explode, and his enemies would be extremely wary of him.
But he didn''t care now. As long as his enemies were from the mortal sky, they couldn''t even see through his stealth, much less find him.
Lastly, he wanted to wait for the Noa and Freya toplete their missions like Winter before he would upgrade the thief house. This way, Eva didn''t have to wait long, and he wanted to surprise her.
Speaking of Winter, he opened her shop to see what rewards she had gotten from her mission.
=====
[House Shop: Faceless Thief]
-Knowledge Section
-Treasures Section
-Evolution & Pill Sectionn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
--
[Knowledge Section: Faceless Thief]
-Forgotten Traverse of Earth: Secret Martial Movement Art
-Requirement: Cold Steps & Faceless Thief Secrets
-House Rank Required: Veteran Member
Price: 1,000,000 House Points
--
-Dark Yin Charm Art: Secret Martial Cultivation Art
-Requirement: Faceless Art & Foxy Illusion Charm
-House Rank Required: Veteran Member
-Price: 1,500,000 House Points
--
-Stealth of Forgetfulness: Secret Stealth Law Skill
-Requirement: Faceless Thief Secrets (Seventh Realm) & Law of [Oblivion]
House Rank Required: Veteran Member
Price: 4,000,000 House Points
---
[Treasure Section: Faceless Thief]
-Intermediate Upgrade Token for Soul Shattering Gauntlets (Grade-6 Treasure to Grade-8)
Price: 250,000 House Point
---
-Low Upgrade Token for Faceless Thief Robes (Grade-8 Treasure to Grade-9)
Faceless Thief Rank Require: Intermediate Faceless Thief
Price: 500,000 House Points
---
[Evolution & Pill Section: Faceless Thief]
[Ice Illusion Fox Evolution: Two Avable]
-Ice Illusion Fox Bloodline: Grade-8 Evolution
Price: 5,000,000 House Points
-Ice Illusion Fox Bloodline: Grade-9 Evolution
Price: 10,000,000 House Points
--
-Beast Healing Pill: 7 Avable
Introduction: Grade-9 Martial, able to recover any injuries on the body & soul.
Requirement: Old Member
Price: 50,000 House Points (Per Pill)
--
-Qi Recovery Pill: Grade-8
-Avable: 99
-Price: 10,000 House Points
---
[Note: Please Upgrade the Thief House to unlock the following Shop Update requirement!]
=====
Looking at Winter''s updated shop, Ace was quite surprised to see the upgrade tokens there. But unlike his upgrade token, those tokens in her shop were for specific treasures. She can''t use them on anything else.
Other than thew, secret skill also draws Ace''s attention as it is his first time seeing the name of Law of [Oblivion].
''It has to be her innate element¡'' Ace thought before closing the shop and sending his conscious to Winter so he could exin about it early and also congratte her on her sess.
It was about time for Winter to go through the same experience that Freya had once gone through!
Chapter 927 World Lock Map
Chapter 927 World Lock Map
An hourter, Acended on the shore of the royal demon nation and couldn''t help but smile, feeling the nostalgic air, "It''s been years."
He muttered as he remembered how he was forced to flee the demon continent from Demon Ancestor, and now he was back far stronger than before.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Cyrus curiously asked, "Big bro, where are we? There is no food around."
Ace couldn''t help but shake his head, "We are in demon continent, and stop looking for food everywhere. Your pte is not something we can find everywhere."
Disappointed by this answer, Cyrus asked, still hopeful, "Then we are here to y?"
"It depends on the people whether they want to." Ace snickered as he moved towards the dense forest and looked for a secluded ce.
There were many demonic beasts in this forest; he even sensed a base where a few powerful demons were located, but they were not his match.
He quickly found a cave, and the demonic beast instantly fled when it sensed Cyrus''s presence. The little guy has a naturally oppressive effect on beasts, whether demonic or magic.
After that, Ace finally took out the old map and two keys, one from the demon scepter and one from the blood scepter, after he absorbed the ice orb. Furthermore, he also discovered a technique jade scroll just like the demon scepter. But that no longer interested him, and he nned to give it to Lillian.
Lastly, he takes out the Devil Scepter with the dark orb, and Cyrus''s eyes immediately lit up.
However, something magical happened the moment the four of them came together. The devil scepter hummed and shimmered in dark light before it began to dismantle on its own.
A crimson key, the dark orb, and a jade scroll appeared, and Ace stored away thetter two.
The next moment, the three keys instantly drew towards the old map and spun over it, and the old map started to shimmer in golden light.
Ace watched with scrutiny as the map grew until it reached three feet in size and turned golden.
At this moment, the system''s voice rang.
=====
[Do you want to merge the World Lock Map into the Live Fate Map?]
[Price: 10,000,000 Thief Points]
[Yes/NO]
=====
Ace raised a brow, seeing this option, and decided to go with it since it would be much simpler. The next moment, the golden map vanished from his hand, and the live fate map opened.
A goldenpass point named ''World Lock'' appeared on the map, and it pointed in the southwest towards the endless sea. His live fate map covered a five-hundred-mile radius area equal to his thief sense.
While the three keys lost their luster, which meant their job was done, and Ace stored them away.
''It''s not in the continent, huh?'' Ace mused as he looked towards the horizon. He didn''t know how far this location was, which might be dangerous. But he wasn''t in a hurry to go there because he wanted to wait for Thief House to upgrade.
In the meanwhile, he was going to raise thief points for the divine talent as he can''t be too prepared for this. Who knows what kind of trap was lying in this world lock?
''Freya''s Witch Avatar is also here with Thomas; should I find them? Let''s try contacting my old friend, Aliya. I hope she didn''t throw away thatmunication cube¡'' Ace couldn''t help but smile slyly.
---
While the demon continent was about to go under a significant crisis, the All Devil Continent was rtively peaceful. The only problem of every high-ranking devil was the deadly and elusive Skyfall Thief Assassin!
This thief has emerged as a true nightmare of the devil race, and they now fear him even more than the Sky Stealer because, unlike the Sky Stealer, who only stole, the Skyfall Thief Assassin was bloodthirsty and killed its every victim without batting an eye!
Especially if that person happened to be of high ranking with high cultivation.
At this moment, in the Dark Devil n''s territory, which is a chain of mountains called the Dark Devil Mountain Range, on the prominent peak of the n, a dark silhouette enters under the depth of night.
Despite an rm and defensive formation, this person could still enter without alerting anyone.
Her pitch-ck eyes were coated in dark luster under a hood as her graceful figure moved in a strange pattern under the moonless night. She was indeed Noa, known as Skyfall Thief Assassin these days!
''ording to that perv, there should be a trap door behind the mountain pce which leads to the inner area. I just hope they won''t suspect he''s dead yet, or this could be troublesome.'' She thought as she continued to move by stepping on the ws of the formation.
She was using an eye skill that let her see the ws in the formations below high grade 7 that she had recently stolen from a Vile Devil.
After Noa finds that she wasn''t the first one to im the rank of Veteran Thief, she bes dissatisfied and feels a danger from Freya because she knew only she could pull this off before her.
So, this time, she wanted to do this mission before her and please the goddess and Ace. So, she chose to target the Dark Devil n and started to collect the information needed to pull this off.
She already knew that the youngest son of the prominent Dark Devil n was a lecher who harassed and poked anything beautiful and took full advantage of it and got all the information she needed.
He was already her next target, so it became more essible, and now she was here to do her house mission.
As she moved further in, she masterfully avoided the guards and reached the ce she was looking for. Although it looked like an ordinary garden, she could see many rune symbols focused on a single ce.
After she confirmed her target, her pale pink lips turned up in a cruel smile as she activated her true trump card, ''Serene Assassin!''
_____
Serene Assassin
[Description: Thief Assassin can fully integrate with her Soul Embryo Manifestation and turn into a Corporeal Soul Form. In this form, the thief assassin will be able to pass through all physical barriers, runes, and treasures!]
[Limitation (1): Cannot pass through Low-Grade-8 barriers, runes, or treasures]
[Limitation (2): To use any attack or treasures, Thief Assassin needed to cancel the Serene Assassin!]
[CAUTIOUS: In this form, you are highly vulnerable towards Law Intents!]
_____
Chapter 928 All-Knowing & All-Seeing Evil
Chapter 928 All-Knowing & All-Seeing Evil
Royal Demon Nation, the Grand Duchy of Poison Wood Grand Demon Duke n, was famous for its poisonous cultivators and was one of the most feared tribes of the Demon Race.
No one dared to mess with them, but it was in the past before the world encountered the monster named Sky Stealer. Nowadays, peace can only be regained by iron fist; the order of the imperial demon domain has been significantly weakened, and the Grand Demons Dukes were resisting the imperial family in their territories.
It all started with the rebellion of the Eldest Demon Prince, which didn''tst long, and Princess Leona crushed him in a month. But the damage was already done, and now the high-ranking demons were less loyal than before.
But the strangest thing was, the imperil demon domain was silent and let them do as they pleased, and now the royal demon nation has be a divided battlefield between the Grand Demon Dukes and their forces.
Furthermore, the thievery rate has dramatically increased in thesest couple of years, and a new thief has risen, haunting the royal demon nation just like the Sky Stealer did. The only difference was there was no imperial demon domain to stop it anymore.
The All-Knowing Evil, the new thief face of the Mighty Demon Continent, and another character were feared even more than thieves!
In the Inner Poison Wood City of the Grand Duchy, where the Grand Duke Castle was, within a small shop in the magnificent market, a secret meeting was being held in the underground room.
Only three people were present; two were graceful veiled women. One in the ck dress was sitting with the demeanor of a queen, while the other in the red dress was standing behind her respectfully.
In front of them sat a handsome demon with a cold demeanor, and a suffocating air surrounded him. He wore a purple windbreaker, his long white hair covered half of his face, and his eyes were exempt from any emotions.
The woman in the ck dress smiled behind her veil as her snake pupils shimmered, "I can hardly recognize you anymore, Sir Thomas, or should I say, Demonic Ghost Revenge."
Thomas, who had gone through aplete transformation after his encounter with Ace, looked at Jessie, who was Freya''s Witch Avatar, impassively and said in his hoarse voice, "Did Lady All-Knowing find us a way to enter the imperial demon domain?"
He appeared utterly indifferent towards Freya''s teasing, and a sharp anticipation burned in his eyes when he asked that question.
Freya nonchntly replied, "Nope, you know better than me that something is up with those imperial dogs. They hadpletely closed the imperial domain since Princess Leona had be the Demon Empress.
"Even the royal demon nation seemed to be abandoned for the time being. You''ve killed so many of those royal demons, but we have yet to hear a whisper from them. Only those Grand Dukes are making a fuss. They are now like ownerless dogs, abandoned by their master.
"But don''t worry, that bitch empress is not something to just abandon her food and leave it for others. She''s scheming something; from my sources, it has something to do with the three forbidden countries. The security there is even more overbearing than the imperial domain these days. Three new demon admirals were appointed there three years ago. You can only imagine."
Thomas''s eyes shed with intense killing intent, "Do you want me to go after the three forbidden counters next?"
"Heh, are you really not afraid I''ll send you to your death someday? You even dare to do it after just because I told you to?" Freya sounds amused.
"I don''t care about my life as long as I can destroy the imperial domain, and I don''t trust you. I trust ''him'' and his judgment. To this point, you have yet to mess up even a little, and all of your targets always hit the demons where it hurts the most, and you can easily sweep treasures afterward. It''s a win-win rtionship between us, nothing more, nothing less." Thomas emotionlessly replied.
Freya''s eyes shimmered sharply, "Tsk, you''re really like a Muppet; I just can''t stand you despite you bringing me so much sess. You must tell me how my dear leader can make you this way."
"Why not ask him yourself? And I''m pretty sure you already know my background." Thomas replied without any hint of annoyance.
"Something tells me it would be more interesting to hear it from you." Freya giggled yfully before she said, "I seek you out because I''m in a little bind. I''m nning to go after the main house of Poison Wood Grand Demon Duke. I''ll robe them while you do your stuff."
Thomas''s eyes narrowed ever so slightly before he returned to be expressionless, "Very well, I was hoping to try my technique on a Grand Demon Duke. Let''s see how he''ll dance. When do we leave?" He asked without hesitation.
Freya''s lips curled up, "Tsk, that''s why I hate you. You never know how the word ''fear''. Very well, we''ll leave tonight. I''ve already acquired some old maps of the castle and a little helper from the inside."
At this moment, Aliya, who was silently listening to their conversation, suddenly frowned before she sent her sense into her storage ring, and suddenly, her eyes widened with shock and a hint of fury.
With their sharp senses, the two of them instantly noticed Aliya''s chaotic emotions, and Freya asked her, "What is it?"
Aliya finally regained her senses as she looked at Freya with aplicated look. She gritted her teeth and said, "I-I just received amunication signal on amunication cube."
"Who is it to make you so lively?" Freya couldn''t help but chortle.
''I''m afraid you''ll be the same very soon¡'' Aliya was indignant as he replied, "It''s Lord Sky Stealer!"
Both Freya and Thomas''s expressions changed, especially Thomas''s since he hadn''t heard anything about Ace in quite some time, and he didn''t bother to ask it from Freya.
Now, all of a sudden, he was contacting, and he was contacting Aliya, not Freya. Something seems wrong.
''What did he want? Didn''t he know I can''t contact him until the mission ends? I''ve already blown my cover in the blood continent and can''t miss this chance. Damn it, if the house call is not working, take a hint!'' Freya was extremely vexed when she thought about what had happened in the blood continent to her real body, and now Ace calling her was making it even more difficult.
''Wait¡ he didn''t call me but Aliya, so he should know, and as long as I don''t talk to him, it should be fine, and it might be something important.'' Realization dawned on her.
"Pick it up and tell me I can''t talk to him," Freya ordered sternly.
Aliya then hesitantly nced at Thomas, making him frown. He clearly wanted to listen. He thought Ace might be in some danger and need their help. Yet Freya was being wishy-washy.
"He''s fine." Freya annoyingly said as she could sense Thomas was getting impatient, ''He''s like a loyal dog, humph!''
Aliya finally removes the ck cube and activates it with aplicated loo.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace''s jolly voice sounded, "Oh, you really didn''t throw it away. I guess you didn''t forget about our friendship after all. You don''t know how happy I am."
Aliya''s expression went dark, and she ground her teeth in outrage, ''This shameless bastard!''
But Ace continued without caring, "I know she''s probably listening, and I know we can''t talk. So, I''ll get straight to the point: I''ve just arrived at the continent, and news will soon spread. I''m just warning you in advance that it is just the start, and you''ll hear lots of me in the uing days, so don''t be shocked. Tell Evil to contact me after she''s done, and we''ll meet then. Oh, and good luck!"
The cube went dormant afterward, and three people were entirely bbergasted by Ace''s subtle words. For a long time, no one speaks!
Chapter 929 Hijacking the Imperial Demon Domain
Chapter 929 Hijacking the Imperial Demon Domain
The Imperial Demon Domain has been closed for years now, and no one knows what happened. Thest news was about the first imperial prince''s abdication and the new Demon Empress''s rise.
At this moment, within the Throne Room of Imperial Demon Pce, Leona sat on the demon throne in a ck empress dress and face hidden behind a mask. She was giving off a majestic aura that made her seem out of the world and unapproachable.
Down the throne tform were two rows of seats, all filled with high-ranking pce officers and council members. The atmosphere in the entire hall was suffocating and gloomy.
Every demon had an ugly expression, and they didn''t dare to speak and agitatedly looked at the Demon Empress with fear.
"To conclude everything, three days ago, the secret realm was destroyed, three ancestors went missing, and now all those old men are gathering outside the imperial domain. The elusive thief, Sky Stealer, causes all of this. Did I miss something, Eastern Minster?" Her voice was icy and filled with hidden wrath.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The Eastern Demon Minster lowered his head in shame and fear as he hesitantly added, "Her imperial majesty missed the event that happened yesterday in the Life Demon Grand Duchy. ording to our spies, the thief robbed over half of the duchy, including the main city. Even the Grand Duke couldn''t escape, and now it''s absolute upheaval outside!"
Every demon was dumbfounded when they heard this impossible report. Over half of the territory was robbed in one day. What kind of concept was this?
Furthermore, most of them don''t know about the secret realm and their ancestors, so they can''t understand it. All they knew was that a huge powerful crowd had shown up a few hours ago, and they all demanded to enter.
Some of them even recognized the old imperial demon family members had vanished hundreds of years ago, and there were even two former demon emperors. These were the people they could identify. There were influential figures of devil and hunter races as well, and some of them were overlords of their time.
That''s why they were all gathered here in so much hurry to seek Leona''s permission. They didn''t dare to open a pathway for those terrifying existences. They didn''t even let the people they had instated in the three forbidden countries in.
They feared the terrifying thief would sneak in and rob them of everything!
''Why did you choose toe here? Why demons again?! What kind of grudge do you have with us that you won''t let us live in peace?!'' Leona''s mind was ragging with these thoughts, ''Could it be he''s back to take revenge on me for what I''ve done to his little hunter bitch?''
Leona felt extremely fearful at this moment as she no longer dared to go after Ace once she heard his new deeds, and he almost sounded invincible now!
"Activate the legacy formation andpletely iste the imperial domain. No one is allowed to enter as long as that thief is alive. Let those old fossils rote outside. They had lost everything and wanted to implicate us as well. There is no ce for such an ipetent bunch. They can live with those rebellious fools." Leona coldly dered in an irrefutable tone.
She would be a fool to open the passage now. Before, she wanted to let those Grand Dukes destroy each other and then sweep them in one go. That way, she pretended not to care about the continent.
However, now, with the Sky Stealer in the mix, everything changed. She would never let her empire fall so quickly like her brother. She wasn''t an idiot and powerless like him.
After so long, she had finally consolidated her position. She won''t let it fall under the hands of a thief!
If it were any other time, those old councilmen would be first to disagree, but now, they couldn''t be d.
But suddenly¡
"p¡p¡p¡"
Sounds of pping started to ring in the throne hall, and everyone was shocked as they couldn''t believe someone was courageous enough to perform such an act.
"Audacious!" Leona''s voice reverberated like a thunderp as she was utterly furious by this impudent act in her court.
"Oh, pardon me, Empress, amoner like me doesn''t know thew of the imperial court. Please forgive my audacity. But you see, I couldn''t help myself seeing such a decisive act." A jolly yet jeering voice sounded in the hall, which was unfamiliar to everyone.
Furthermore, this voice came from none other than the tform where the demon throne stood, and Leona''s heart palpitated when she looked to her left.
A tall figure materialized under everyone''s bbergasted eyes. He wore a long ck robe, and his head was covered under a long dark hood. On the back of his robe, a dark blue majestic owl symbol was engraved with mysterious tiny runes.
Before anything could react, a suffocating pressure descended in the hall, suppressing every signal demon. They felt like a mountain suddenly appeared on their backs, and they couldn''t move at all.
"Everyone, I humbly introduce myself. My name is Sky Stealer!" Ace nonchntly stated.
But in everyone else''s ears, his name struck like a thunderp, and a chill ran down their spins, and all they had but one thought in their mind, ''How!!?''
Leona felt like she was in a nightmare as her eyes couldn''t blink as she gawked at the dark figure standing a meter away from her.
"W-what¡do¡you¡want!" She spoke with every power she could muster as her heart beat like crazy, threatening to burst out of her supple chest.
Ace looked at the masked empress as he could clearly feel her chaotic emotions: rage, anger, resentment, helplessness¡
"Now, now, Empress, we are old acquaintances. There is no need to be so cold." He chuckled darkly, "But I''ll quench your curiosity. I''m naturally here to collect treasures from the imperial domain. But sadly, they are only subpar at best. I wonder if the imperial domain is so poor. So, I came to you to seek your opinion. How about you lead me to your treasury and chat while we''re at it?"
Despair filled Leona and everyone''s hearts. They had never imagined such a day woulde when they would be utterly helpless against a thief!
Chapter 930 Missions Integration
Chapter 930 Missions Integration
Ace and Leona were walking in the imperial demon pce''s grand galleries. Ace had already killed and robbed those high-ranking demons in the throne hall, so they were no longer his concern.
In fact, his action directly crippled the entire imperial domain, and once he got their treasury, they could forget about rising again. But he also has another goal ining here and showing himself.
"So, I heard from my men that you''ve used to pay visits to my little sister?" Ace asked in a mild tone.
Leona trembled slightly as she couldn''t sense anything from Ace. She had already experienced how Ace turned her court into a blood puddle even without lifting a finger.
All she could capture was pitch-ck lightning. She knew he was too strong to resist; she could only follow his instructions and hope he''d let her go.
But this question posed by Ace robbed her of that hope as well, and she suddenly stopped and faced Ace.
Ace was surprised by her sudden action, but he didn''t stop her as she couldn''t even scratch his clothes, much less him, and watched coldly.
The next moment, Leona suddenly kneeled and started to kowtow in front of Ace.
"Please forgive me for what I''ve done!" She begged with a fearful voice, "I''m willing to be your ve. Please don''t kill me!"
Looking at the dignified Demon Empress banging her head before him, Ace felt¡ nothing. Neither joy nor hate, he just looked at her begging as if he was looking at an ant.
It was pretty strange as he never expected he could feel such a way. Maybe it was high cultivation or something else. Still, he found himself bing more stoic and calmer after he inherited the First Authority of Darkness, and this effect became more apparent as darkness increased.
Still, Ace would never pity his enemy. He was sure if their positions changed, Leona would make sure he would experience a living hell. She has the nature of a true demon. She was confident and knew how to bend to the circumstances.
But there was one thing he couldn''t understand, ''Why is she a light golden color fate point? She had nothing in her storage ring nor her memories¡'' He mused.
"Sigh¡ you have no shame, do you? I thought you would at least try to act dignified. But in the end, you are just a lowly tramp who wants to climb higher, even if it means letting an old debaucher y with your body or the lives of your family.
"You could''ve been a great deviant thief of our time with your skills. Oh, well, I guess we are just born under different circumstances, you and me.
"I thought I might feel good by making you experience what Alina had, but now, I think she didn''t even put you in her eye and just took you as a whetstone. That''s why she didn''t tell me.
"You''re not worth my time, O'' the most talented prodigy of the demon race, who tarry from your path for mundane power. Farewell." Ace''s emotionless words shocked Leona as a hammer struck her heart, and boundless emptiness enveloped her mind.
When Ace took a second step, the light in her eyes was gone as she was still kowtowing towards him. The demoness who did everything for her greed for control and power died because of it!
Ace didn''t think much of the event, nor was he sad about losing a golden fate point; sometimes principles were more important than treasures, and he didn''t want to end up like Leona because he stepped over his principles.
In a sense, she was just being molded into that monster because she was born in such a ce, and her ambition was just her way to escape this hell, which she couldn''t have. So, she thought she could strive to control it.
For Ace, this was a kind of lesson never to cross his bottom line, or he might never be able to return. As for reprieve her to suffer, he knew she was too stubborn for it, and leaving her behind was nothing but trouble.
With the help of Leona''s memories and the formation key of the pce, he quickly reached the treasures and cleaned them.
Thereby, he looked at the thief points he collected in three days.
=====
[Thief Point(s): 7,050,004,000]
=====
Ace instantly felt refreshed when he saw the thief points, ''Now not only can I create the avatar, I''ll still have more than enough to spare.''
Ace then couldn''t help but look at the notification he received a few hours ago.
=====
[Congrattions, you havepleted all the Advanced Deft Thief Rank requirements!]
-Thief Rank: Advanced Deft Thief
-Thievery Required for next Rank:
-Low-level Thievery(s): 1,000,000/1,000,000
-Middle-level Thievery(s): 100,000/100,000
-High-level Thievery(s): 10,000/10,000
--
[Congrattions, Host, on oveing the three Intermediate Thief Ranks of Deft Thief [Initial, Intermediate, Advanced]]
[All the conditions have beenpleted, and the host has unlocked the second thief job mission to enter the level of Advanced Thief Ranks!]
--
[Job Mission]
[Alert!]
[The Heaven''s Stealer Mission is still active!]
[Job Mission has been integrated with the active Heaven''s Stealer Mission!]
[Mission: Heaven''s Stealer Mission Completion]
[Reward (1): Thief Connate Ability Token]
[Reward (2): Advanced Thief Symbol]
[Reward (3): Advanced Thief Rank]
[Reward (4): New Thief Title]
--
[Mission Fail Punishment: Thief Panel Reset]
--
[Note: Until the Hostpletes this Job Mission, the thievery count will remain stopped!]
=====
Truth be told, he quicklypleted all these thievery counts and didn''t hurry toplete Heaven''s stealer mission because he wanted to take advantage of the system loophole he discovered when the system automatically cleared thest thief mission and thief promise mission given by Thomas.
He thought it would also be the same case for the job mission.
But that wasn''t the case. That only happened because Thomas wasn''t under system control, nor was Ace''s timing to encounter triggering the heaven''s stealer mission.
However, the Job Mission waspletely under system control, so now, he could only earn TP, not thief count after each thievery, which was a letdown. Nheless, this was still an advantage that now he doesn''t have toplete a different mission and get the rewards afterpleting a single mission.
Besides, Ace was happy about finally umting the TP for the Avatar of Holy Twilight.
At this moment, Ace suddenly received another notification.
=====
[Detecting all House Members have proven their qualification of Veteran!]
[Thief House Upgrade conditions have been met!]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
[Thief House upgrade mission has been issued!]
--
[Thief House Upgrade Mission]
[Alert!]
[The Heaven''s Stealer Mission is still active!]
[Thief House Upgrade Mission has been integrated with the activated Heaven''s Stealer Mission!]
[Mission: Heaven''s Stealer Mission Completion]
-Requirement: Please issue missions to House Members rted to Heaven''s Stealer Mission and help them earn 50 Million House Points each at the end of the Heaven''s Stealer Mission! The system will set the House Points rewards at the end of each mission created by the House Leader!
-Thief Assassin: 0/50,000,000 House Points
-Evil Thief: 0/50,000,000 House Points
-Faceless Thief: 0/50,000,000 House Points
-Reward (1): Level-2 Thief House!
-Reward (2): Depend on House Leader Performance!
-Reward (3): Depend on House Members Performance!
--
[Mission Fail Punishment: Thief House Reset]
=====
''Shit, I almost forgot about this damn mission!'' Ace couldn''t help but curse seeing the house mission appearing for the house upgrade, and it was not as simple as the Job Mission either!
Chapter 931 What it takes to be a Leader!
Chapter 931 What it takes to be a Leader!
_____
[A new thief house mission has been issued!]
--
[Thief House Mission Upgrade Mission!]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Introduction: All the thief house members have be Intermediate Thieves and Veteran Members! Complete this mission to upgrade the Thief House to unlock the pathway toward the heavens!
-Requirement: Complete 50,000,000 House Point worth of Missions issued by your House Leader (Ace White).
-Your (Faceless Thief) Progress: 0/50,000,000
--
-Time: ???
--
-Reward (1): Thief House Upgrade!
-Reward (2): Depend on Your (Faceless Thief) Performance!
--
-Mission Fail Punishment: Kicked out of Thief House!
_____
Winter looked at the panel before her in a daze as she was busy cultivating when it appeared abruptly.
Appalled, she instantly shouted, "Ace White! What is this all about?"
Ace, who was also mulling over this sudden mission integration, looked towards Winter as she could sense her anxiety.
"Did you receive a mission?" He asked with a frown.
"So, you know! Why are we given this mission right after we proved our qualification to Goddess? Its punishment is our certain death!" She yelled with a hint of fear as she knew what it meant to be kicked out of the thief house.
Furthermore, she knew how difficult it was to find a thievery worth 10 million house points, yet now they have to do 50,000,000!
This was asking them to die, and she even felt it was happening deliberately.
''So, that''s what house reset means? Kicking out all the house members?'' Ace grimaced as it waspletely unexpected, and he knew the system was being system again, ruthless!
"Like you, I only found out just now. The previous mission was for your qualification, which led to this final mission to upgrade our thief house. Think about it: do you want your rewards without doing anything? The thief house is a ce where you have to prove yourself constantly.
"I''m not different than you. If I don''t prove myself from time to time again, I''ll suffer the same fate. Or do you think I got my heaven-defying talent for free? However, I can promise you that as long as it''s in my power, I''ll help you guys achieve this. I''m not abandoning you." Ace sternly stated as he suddenly received a house call from Freya and felt a headacheing over.
Winter fell into silence. She was still disbelieving that Ace had a talent for cultivating marital and soul paths, and he had to go through that terrifying heavenly punishment every time he had a major breakthrough.
Truth be told, after that day, shepletely forgets about surpassing him and even has respect for him. Now, seeing this mission, she started to realize that the goddess was not as benevolent as she had thought.
It was a rtionship of give and take, and they all were nothing but pawns who were being nurtured for something big. They all have to prove themselves again and again for power, and it is just the start of their journey.
That was the most straightforward and brutal truth of the world they lived in!
"Stay put. I need to sort it out with others before we start." Ace said before he epted the call.
Just as he thought, Freya was also pissed and appalled by this mission.
"Do you know how difficult it is to perform 10 million worth of thievery? I tell you, I stole the treasury of Sky Fire n and ended up with 9,548,400 House Points!
"If I hadn''t had a backup n in the demon continent, I would''ve failed or taken a massive risk. Now, it''s 50,000,000, and I know the goddess won''t let you give us a simple mission, right? The greater the risk, the more house points we will be given. Why do we need to go through all of this and put our lives on the line?" Freya was downright indignant, especially after she nearly failed on the first try.
''Isn''t that your fault for going after poor target?'' Ace sighed and annoyingly replied, "Look, I understand your position, but trust me, I''m in the same boat as you guys. We won''t get everything for free, and we must prove ourselves, alright?
"All I can do is help you all, so stop freaking out. There will be ample opportunity for everyone to earn their keep. Now, if you will, meet me at the Royal Demon Institute western wall. I''ll exin my n afterward. It''s time to regroup. I''m going to call Noa as well." Ace cut the call, and just about to contact Noa, she called herself.
Ace smiled wryly, epted the call, and was ready to hear another earful.
"Leader, what do you need me to do?" Noa''s calm, gentle voice sounded.
Ace couldn''t help but be surprised at Noa''s calmness, "You''re not going to me me for this or goddess?"
"What''s there to me? I''m your sword, and swords are meant to kill, or they will be rusty. If I can''t even do this much, I''m better reced by someone more qualified." Noa said matter-of-factly in a firm tone.
Ace felt Noa was an angel in disguise of a demoness. She was really his best member and understood his plight better than those two ambitious women who wanted everything for free.
"Don''t worry, I won''t let you get reced even if I have to do something dangerous. You are not a tool but a friend who I can rely on, so stop thinking of yourself as such. I''ve ovee more such situations many times, and I know it''s unfair towards us, but we''ll ovee it no matter what." Ace stated with resolve, "Leave the devil continent and head towards the Demon Continent. We need to regroup first."
"Thank you for your kind words." Noa replied gently, "I''m on my way, and Leader¡ I believe in you!"
The call ended.
Ace couldn''t help but smile bitterly, "You''re too good for me, Noa. I''m just a trickster who wants to survive. Sigh¡ what have I be for survival and power."
Ace shook his head as he couldn''t help but remember Leona and sighed ruefully before he vanished. He needed to rearrange his ns again.
This has be far more significant, and he needed to protect his people, or what''s the point of having so much power and authority?
It was the first time Ace experienced the actual burden of his title, the House Leader!
Chapter 932 Prime One & Dream Shatter
Chapter 932 Prime One & Dream Shatter
Sky Stealer''s sudden appearance on the demon continent caused another upheaval worldwide. Because this time, he didn''t just steal from a person or household. He stole from millions of demons and an entire secret realm of three races.
This causes another sensation, and every power under the Union has no choice but to reevaluate its view of the elusive thief again.
Today, almost all the influential members of every race that live in the central continent gather together outside the Union Lord Pce to do something about the Sky Stealer before he goes to their continents next and empties them.
At this moment, outside the Lord Chamber, in purple robes, Dream Shatter stood in front of a white door. His astute eyes were filled with uncertainty and a tingle of worry as he respectfully spoke, "I''m here as you requested, Prime One!"
The next moment, the door started to open, revealing a light hall and Dream Shatter entered.
Union Lord sat over a cushion and waspletely expressionless, and a strange, suffocating aura was emitting from them. Furthermore, a strange yellow marking covered half of his face, shocking Dream Shatter. But he tactfully pretends not to see them.
"Sit." Union Lord beckoned to another empty cushion in front of him.
"Thank you, your lordship." Dream Shatter bowed slightly before he sat in front of Union Lord and suddenly felt he was sitting in front of a mountain that he couldn''t see the limit of.
Union Lord suddenly smiled, seeing Dream Shatter''s nervous expression, and asked, "Are you still afraid of me? Even after achievingwprehension?"
''How did he see through it?!'' Dream Shatter was secretly rmed as he was clearly hiding his cultivation so no one knew he had a breakthrough, and he was pretty sure that no one could see through this skill. At least previously, the Union Leader couldn''t tell whether he was ate-stagew awareness or quasiwprehension realm!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Now, he could easily see through his sham and was in awprehension realm. It didn''t make sense. Or it simply means the Union Lord always knows, just doesn''t care about it, which was terrifying on its own.
Dream Shatter tried his best to keep his emotions in check and hurriedly bowed, "How could I not be? You are my lord, and I''m your servant. I can''t imagine having the same standing as you."
"You are indeed a talent, Dream Shatter, probably one of the top hundred prodigies ever born in the Mortal Sky Heaven. But it also means you are only talented in the mortal sky heaven." Union Lord meaningfully smiled.
Dream Shatter''s eyes shimmered, "So, there are more heavens?"
Union Lord chuckled, "There is space above the sky, the abyss below the earth, and heaven over heaven¡mortal sky is but the most insignificant and weak one."
Dream Shatter''s heart raced when he heard those words and quickly asked, "How can one reach such?"
"Heh, you''re being overly talkative today? You indeed have ambition and a vile greed to achieve that ambition by any means necessary. You have served me for thousands of years, helped me trick the union, backstab your master for me¡
"You have proven your loyalty more than once, so I''ll give you a chance to ascend into the paradise of cultivators. Tell me, do you have what it takes to grasp this chance?" Union Lord asked as an oppressive pressure locked on Dream Shatter, making him tremble in horror.
Dream Shatter gritted his teeth and rxed his mind, which was telling him to run away. He knew it was a test, and this chance was too tempting to miss.
"I-I have!" He barely uttered.
The pressure suddenly vanished, and Dream Shatter finally breathed usually. He was appalled as he didn''t know what kind of power could turn awprehension realm cultivator into a mortal.
"Very good. Do you remember that dumb animal that attacked me a few years ago?" Union Lord said as his voice was filled with bloodlust.
Dream Shatter''s heart trembled, "I-I was in close-door cultivation that time. But I received a report that an extremely powerful beast barged in and challenged you. You both fought for three days before you made it retreat!"
Union Lord snorted, "That thing almost won, and if I hadn''t used a secret skill, things would''ve gone awry that day. From what I gathered from him, he seemed to be quite anxious and desperate to beat me.
"It was like he was under someone''s order and can''t go against it. But after seeing that he was at a disadvantage against me, he fled and never returned. That beast alone could sweep through ten continents undefeated, and if there is someone who could make even him afraid¡" He looked meaningfully at Dream Shatter.
His heart sank as he quickly got what Union Lord was trying to imply, "What do you want me to do?"
"I left a secret trick on that dumb thingst time that can help me keep track of his location. I want you to follow his track and scout for me. What we are about to do, I can''t have any anomaly or variable appearing.
"Once we get rid of him and force behind him, I''m going to end that atrocious thief''s miserable life once and for all. Before they could break through, he had already killed the three fools of the devil, demon, and hunter race. He''s after something and won''t pay us heed, which will be his downfall.
"Once I seed, I''ll take you to heaven over heaven with me and provide you with a haven to cultivate new heights. Tell me, are you willing?" Union Lord''s words were filled with temptation.
Dream Shatter couldn''t help but feel his blood boil from Union Lord''s words as if some mysterious charisma was mixed within them.
Although Dream Shatter knew how dangerous it would be, he didn''t want to clip his wings and remained in the mortal sky heaven now that he knew there was an even greater peak, and he was still just a frog at the bottom of the well.
He was born talented and destined to be the strongest. How could he let this chance getaway?
Furthermore, he knew as long as people like Pen and Sky Stealer were present, it was only a matter of time before he would have to fight for supremacy. So, why now take this risk sooner and escape this cage?
He firmly looked at Union Lord''s m eyes and solemnly stated, "I''ll follow you to the end, Prime One!"
Chapter 933 Assimilating the Divine Talent!
Chapter 933 Assimting the Divine Talent!
A cloaked figure appeared a few miles from the royal demon institute in the shade of moonless night.
''Now, where is he? Or I''m the first to arrive?'' Jessie, Freya''s avatar, frowned with a hint of dissatisfaction. She was still indignant about the new mission.
At this moment, a voice whispered in his ears, "You''re finally here."
Shocked, she looked around, and there was no one, and she yelled, "I''m not in the mood!"
"Heh, you make it sound like something else." Ace''s figure appeared a few meters away from her like a phantom.
Freya narrowed her eyes, "Stop joking. Tell me, what''s your n?"
Ace didn''t reply to her question and said, "Are you alone?"
"Was I supposed to bring someone else?"
"No. I want to tell you that the imperial demon domain is finished. Every high-ranking court member is dead, including the demon empress. Their treasuries are empty, and right about now, another force might''ve already taken full control of it. You should ry this information to Brother Thomas. He can live in peace now." Ace coolly divulged.
However, in Freya''s ears, this information sounded like thunder as she looked at Ace in disbelief, "Y-you¡ is it true?" She also wanted revenge on the demon race and imperial family for a long time and never thought it would happen this way.
Ace chuckled, didn''t hide anything, and told her about the three forbidden countries'' secret and how he robbed the entire imperial demon domain.
Freya heard with utter shock and disbelief. She never expected that such a secret was hidden in the vortex between the three forbidden countries and that such a vast force was hiding there for ages.
More importantly, how strong was Ace to ovee everyone in his way?
The most astounding thing was the three ancestors, who were terrifying in her mind. Yet, they also met their end, and one was even captured. This feat was nothing short of legendary, and if people learned about this, they would fear and worship the Sky Stealer even more.
She had already heard about the incident at Life Demon Grand Duchy, butpared to this, it was nothing.
"Just how strong are you now?" She couldn''t help but question.
If he could even take down the three old ghosts, didn''t this mean he was almost invisible in this world? This mission would be extremely easy, and she had nothing to worry about!
"Almost at the peak." Ace ambiguously smiled, "Alright, now that you know, let''s fetch your true body. Head in the devil''s continent direction. I''m going towards Noa first, since she should be closer. Then, I''ll brief you on what I''m up to. Are you ready?"
Freya took a deep breath and nodded, "Alright, I''ll leave the blood continent ande in your direction. You should''ve told me sooner. I was afraid for nothing!"
Ace chuckled before he sent her into the thief space. This would also add another misery to Blood Ancestor''s already miserable life. She was still refusing to talk despite Eva''s efforts. He was hoping Freya''s true body might be able to affect her.
After that, Ace nced at the towering walls of the royal demon institute, ''I''ll leave you guys a way out and hope you can be better than your predecessors.''
He then turned into a blurry image beforepletely disappearing into the darkness.
Three dayster, Ace was flying above the endless sea, and heading toward the devil continent was a few months'' voyage away from the demon continent.
He could turn those few months into days if he flew at full speed. But he has to do something first. So, he took out his ship, let it head towards the devil continent direction, and activated all sorts of formations to ensure nothing wrong would happen.
After confirming everything was on track, he asked the system, "How long will it take to assimte the Divine Talent?"
"[24 hours!]"
''So fast?'' Ace was d to see this because he feared it might take years.
Without hesitation, he ordered, "Then start the assimtion!"
=====
[You have chosen to Assimte the ??? Divine Talent of B.E.L.L!]
-Cost: 5,000,000,000 Thief Points have been deducted!
[Warning: You can''t lose consciousness during this process, or the process will be stopped! Thief points will not be refunded!]
---
[Thief Point(s): 2,050,004,000]
=====
The next moment, Ace suddenly felt a terrifying power enter his body and threatened to tear it apart, and his expression changed!
A sublime dark golden energy was seeping into blood and piercing his bones. As time passed, more and more of this energy appeared, turning his blood into dark golden, and his white bones also began to change.
However, this process was nothing butfortable as Ace felt his entire being breaking and then reconstructing again from blood to bones and then his marrow. This strange energy wanted to change his entire construct from the origin.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
It was even more painful than being struck by the heavenly punishment, but he had to endure it since he didn''t want to lose five billion TP. Moreover, he might never be if he can''t endure it now. He needed more power to protect others from what was toe, and this was the way!
A few hours passed, and his blood, skeleton, and bone marrow all had turned dark golden, and his organs were started to be refined by this energy next, and then it started to affect his meridians!
However, the dark meridians were not so simple, as they seemed not to affect this energy. It was either too weak, or the system was protecting his cultivation foundation.
After all, he cultivated in heaven stealer technique, which was as heaven-defying as this talent or even more powerful.
At this moment, Ace''s flushed skin started to glow in dark golden, and he became a human torch. Dark golden patterns started appearing on his light figure, and strange glyphs were etching on his bones as those patterns became moreplex.
Ace suddenly fell into a strange state, and the world around him seemed to turn into a void.
An ethereal Kindle suddenly appeared in his mind, and it appeared so small yet sorge that he couldn''t describe it, and that Kindle appeared so holy and sacred that it seemed to be the most precious thing he had ever seen.
An arcane voice rang in his mind, "So¡I''m¡still¡remembered¡"
Suddenly, Ace''s eyes snapped open, and dark blue eyes filled with a dark goldenplex pattern and a mark of a dark golden cheery blossom glow on his be. He appeared extraordinarily holy and otherworldly as a strange aura released from him. The patterns on his skin seemed like tattoos.
At this moment, the dark golden light suddenly started to dissipate, and the markings started to absorb into his skin, and his eyes returned to normal. Only the mark of cherry blossom remained.
It all seemed like a dream to him, especially that voice.
The system''s voice rang,
=====
[Congrattions on assimting the ??? Divine Talent of B.E.L.L!]
[Please create the Avatar of Holy Twilight to acquire the Divine Traits!]
=====
Ace ordered emotionlessly as his demeanor changed, "Let''s continue then!"
Chapter 934 The Divine Traits Unlocked!
Chapter 934 The Divine Traits Unlocked!
The moment Ace gave the order, the system didn''t dy.
=====
[You have chosen to create Avatar of Holy Twilight!]
-Cost: 1,000,000,000 Thief Points have been deducted!
---
[Thief Point(s): 1,050,004,000]
=====
The next moment, his true soul (soul space) suddenly jolted as the dark golden markings began to reemerge on his pale skin.
Within his soul space, dark golden energy started to condense over the ck-and-white soul core and started to take the shape of a humanoid figure.
One after another, runes begin to emerge on this figure, and a mysterious aura starts to cover his soul, making the entire space tremble and illuminate the entire soul in a dark golden light.
As this figure was condensing, Ace visibly sensed his perception beginning to increase, and the world started to change as he could sense thews around him even more clearly without even meditating.
The dark golden figure became clearer and clearer as its facial features became incredibly sharp, until it was a stark-naked Ace with dark golden skin andplex rune markings on its body.
As his new avatar condensed, Ace''s senses merged with it, and he could clearly feel basking in a strange energy. His soul sense begins to be even more refined and almost reaches the level of Heavenly Sense while the soul space begins to expand, and the soul core follows suit.
Furthermore, as his soul expands, Ace starts to peer deeper into its mysteries, but his senses suddenly encounter an invisible wall that seems to hide the true secrets of his soul.
Only now did he understand that the soul space was just a portion of his soul to umte his soul cultivation.
Beyond the soul space was the knowledge sea, which was not under his control because he was simply not strong enough.
Before, he didn''t even find the walls of his soul space. Now, as the avatar was forming, he was finally touching the forbidden areas of his soul. But even with that, it still wasn''t to go beyond those walls as if something was restricting his ess.
Maybe this was the realm beyond the mortal sky. There was no way to answer that.
Nheless, his soul space was expanding, and he was going beyond the capacity of any soul cultivator could ever dream of.
His soul sense also started to expand at a terrifying rate from 500 miles to directly 1500 miles!
At this moment, the avatar haspletely transformed into Ace, and it appeared to be sleeping peacefully, and Ace was fully integrated with it!
A soul was the center of every being; without it, everything was an empty, mindless husk. But no being could have more than one soul, yet at this moment, Ace did!
Only after the avatar was fully condensed did he find that it wasn''t just a standard avatar but aplete soul and far more terrifying than his original.
Because it has a soul space of its own and was filled with dark golden mist!
It was a bizarre feeling as he felt he had another mind that could process information even faster, and the soulws literally resonated with it. It was like a new canvas that was waiting to be filled.
At this moment, the avatar''s eyes suddenly opened, revealingpletely white eyes as it looked around the ck-and-white soul space. It was extraordinary to look into his own soul space with another vision.
Suddenly, the ck and white soul Qi was to swirl around his avatar and begin to nurture him. It was bizarre. Only now, he felt the heavenly soul Qi''s true might, as it seemed to have a very powerful effect on his avatar.
It was a soul avatar, yet simultaneously, it was like a natural body, not any different from his real body. The only difference was that it was a body of soul!
At this moment, the system''s voice sounded!
=====
[Congrattions on sessfully creating the Avatar of Holy Twilight!]
[B.E.L.L status has been updated!]
=====
The markings of Ace''s true body begin to fade as he opens his eyes. "What a strange feeling to share two visions, but I''m not obstructed by it. Maybe it''s because of this new mind¡"
Ace was very pleased with the avatar and felt all those TP were worth it, and he quickly opened the status to see the details of the divine traits.
=====
[B.E.L.L (???)]
[Description: ???]
[Total Page(s): Unknown]
[Active Page(s): 1]
-Page-09: Avatar of Holy Twilight
-Avatar of Holy Twilight: This is a one-of-a-kind ??? Divine Talent that only exists in the B.E.L.L, and without it, no one should ever glimpse its secrets, for they are the secrets of ???!
-Description: A heaven-defying talent that had never been seen for eons is hidden in the gentleness of twilight, waiting for someone to unravel its glory and spender. The Avatar of Holy Twilight is born in a true soul, which is in no way inferior to a true soul, and continues to gain strength with the true soul.
-??? Divine Talent Divine Traits: 5
1. Forever Evolving
-Divine Trait Description: The Avatar of Holy Twilight ispletely independent and can be cultivated up to the realm of its owner without any limits.
-Passive Ability (1): Parallel Mind
-Description: The Avatar of Holy Twilight has an independent mind, which gives its owner the ability to parallel thinking.
-Passive Ability (2): Soul Cultivator of Holy Twilight
-Description: Any soul cultivation skill, art, spell, orw skill can be learned and emted to the fullest by the Avatar of Holy Twilight.
-
2. Divine Soul Substitute
-Divine Trait Description: The Avatar of Holy Twilight is True Soul and can take full damage for True Soul until it is eradicated!
-Passive Ability (1): Fake Soul
-Description: As long as the Avatar of Holy Twilight exists, no existence can peer into the secret of the True Soul of the Owner.
-Active Ability (2): Soul Body Sweep
-Description: The owner of Avatar of Holy Twilight can sweep positions anywhere and anytime unnoticed as long as the owner sacrifices half of the soul Qi. The true body can even hide in the true soul of its avatar, and it''spletely untraceable!
-
3. Knowledge Gxy
-Divine Trait Description: The Avatar of Holy Twilight has a Knowledge Gxy where endless knowledge in the shapes of stars can be stored on the owner''s fancy!
-Active Ability (1): Knowledge Stars
-Description: The knowledge store in the knowledge gxy can be condensed into one-time use, Stars Slips. Thereby transferring to others!
-Active Ability (2): Fiction Knowledge
-Description: Fake knowledge can be condensed into the Knowledge Gxy to hide the true knowledge. No one can tell the difference between reality and fiction.
4. Twilight Sage
-Divine Trait Description: The Avatar of Holy Twilight is invincible in Twilight!
-Active Ability: Sage''s Comportment
-Description: The Avatar of Holy Twilight cannot be overpowered, restrained, killed, or damaged till the twilight ends!
-
5. Cherry blossom of Divine Twilight
-Divine Trait Description: The might of the Avatar of Holy Twilight will bloom with the cherry blossoms.
-Cultivation Ability: Divine Scripture of Blossoming Twilight
-Description: The Avatar of Holy Twilight can only bloom (cultivate) with ??? Divine Twilight!
-Cost of Cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight to Cultivate Soul Gate Realm (Peak): 10,000 Thief Points
[NOTE (1): The Avatar of Holy Twilight cannot develop beyond the Cultivation Realm of its Owner!]
[NOTE: Host doesn''t have the means to create ??? Divine Twilight. The ??? Divine Twilight has been changed with Thief Points1]
--
[Avatar Recreation Cost in case of destruction: 10 Billion Thief Point]
--
[B.E.L.L Tracker: Nothing rted is in the system''s range]
=====n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 935 Divine Scripture of Blossoming Twilight
Chapter 935 Divine Scripture of Blossoming Twilight
Ace looked at all the descriptions of divine traits and their abilities, and his heart raced. Although most of the abilities were passive, they were all heaven-defying.
The Divine Trait Divine Soul Substitute will make it almost impossible for him to die unless someone can kill the true soul and him together.
Furthermore, he was most fascinated by the knowledge gxy, as it was like having another knowledge sea that he could control on a whim and even create limitless jade scrolls.
Although it was a one-time-use item, it still opens many possibilities. Especially the Fiction Knowledge; for a thief like him, this ability would give him wings to further master his craft.
The Twilight Sage was still ambiguous and needed more time to explore.
Last but not least, the first andst divine traits go hand in hand. The Cherry Blossom of Divine Twilight was a cultivation technique trait for the Avatar of Holy Twilight. Without it, I can''t cultivate despite having the ability to master any soul skill, art, orw skills.
At this moment, Ace started to spend TP cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight.
=====
-Cost of Cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight to Cultivate Soul Gate Realm (Peak): 10,000 Thief Points
-Avatar of Holy Twilight has sessfully achieved Soul Gate Realm (Peak)
-Soul Ability: Holy Twilight Qi has been awakened!
-Holy Twilight Qi: A unique Qi that can heal any wound, remove curses, heal disabilities, cultivate, and so on. The healing effect will depend on the Avatar of Holy Twilight and the person''s cultivation it''s being used on!
[NOTE: The Soul Abilities of the Avatar of Holy Twilight can be shared between the main body and the avatar!]
--
-Cost of Cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight to Cultivate Soul Foundation Building Realm (Peak): 50,000 Thief Points
[NOTE: The Avatar of Holy Twilight cannot develop beyond the Cultivation Realm of its Owner!]
=====
Ace suddenly stopped when he saw the soul ability awakened, and new information suddenly appeared in his mind.
''So, there was even more?'' He was astounded even more as he suddenly flipped his hand, and an ethereal dark golden Qi started to emit.
Although this Qi was extremely weak, it gave the feeling of gentleness and warmth. It was really holy, to say the least.
Ace''s lips curled up as he quickly paid the thief points for the next realm. He was even more excited now. Because he can use all those abilities without any restraints. The only downside was the power level was attached to the avatar, not his own.
So, if the avatar''s cultivation was low, Ace can only use that ability at that level. Nheless, Ace was still content with additional innate abilities.
=====
-Avatar of Holy Twilight has sessfully achieved Soul Foundation Building Realm (Peak)
-Soul Ability: Holy Sun mmily Palm has been awakened!
- Holy Sun mmily Palm: A Palm containing the destructive power of Soul Sun!
[NOTE: The Soul Abilities of the Avatar of Holy Twilight can be shared between the main body and the avatar!]
--
-Cost of Cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight to Cultivate Soul River Realm (Peak): 100,000 Thief Points
-Avatar of Holy Twilight has sessfully achieved Soul River Realm (Peak)
-Soul Ability: Holy Moon Sealing Palm has been awakened!
-Holy Moon Sealing Palm: A Palm that can seal heaven and earth, time and space. Nothing can hide under the ethereal light of Soul Moon!
[NOTE: The Soul Abilities of the Avatar of Holy Twilight can be shared between the main body and the avatar!]
--
-Cost of Cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight to Cultivate Soul River Core Realm (Peak): 200,000 Thief Points
-Avatar of Holy Twilight has sessfully achieved Soul River Core Realm (Peak)
-Soul Ability: Twilight Sense has been awakened!
¡
--
-Cost of Cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight to Cultivate Soul Embryo Realm (Peak): 350,000 Thief Points
-Avatar of Holy Twilight has sessfully achieved Soul Embryo Realm (Peak)
-Soul Ability: Soul Extraction has been awakened!
¡
--
-Cost of Cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight to Cultivate Soul Embryo Manifestation Realm (Peak): 500,000 Thief Points
-Avatar of Holy Twilight has sessfully achieved Soul Embryo Manifestation Realm (Peak)
-Soul Ability: Twilight Traverse has been awakened!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
¡
--
-Cost of Cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight to Cultivate Soul Law Awareness Realm (Peak): 750,000 Thief Points
-Avatar of Holy Twilight has sessfully achieved Soul Law Awareness Realm (Peak)
-Soul Ability: Twilight Life Controller has been awakened!
¡
--
-Cost of Cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight to Cultivate Soul Law Comprehension Realm (Peak): 1,000,000 Thief Points
-Avatar of Holy Twilight has sessfully achieved Soul Law Comprehension Realm (Peak)
-Soul Ability: Holy Domain of Twilight Knight has been awakened!
¡
[NOTE: The Soul Abilities of the Avatar of Holy Twilight can be shared between the main body and the avatar!]
--
Cost of Cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight to ??? Realm (Peak): Locked
[NOTE: The Avatar of Holy Twilight cannot develop beyond the Cultivation Realm of its Owner!]
---
[Thief Point(s): 1,047,094,000]
=====
At this moment, Ace''s avatar was releasing a terrifying soul pressure in his soul space, which was different from a few moments ago. The runic lines on its dark golden body have be more consolidated and mysterious.
Furthermore, in its empty soul space, a holy dark golden sea made with massive soul Qi has formed, and in the center of this beautiful sea was sprouting an ethereal white nt that kept growing until five small branches spread.
It was only a meter tall, but an archaic, arcane aura was emitted from it, covering the dark golden soul sea.
Ace mused as he watched the small nt in the middle of the soul sea, ''Could it be the result of Divine Scripture of Blossoming Twilight? I made my avatar an eighth-realm cultivator within a few seconds, and it''s quite cheap. This is all the result of a single page from B.E.L.L¡ what could aplete B.E.L.L do?''
Just thinking about it made Ace''s heart race as he looked at his avatar, which was now a tad bit stronger than even him, for it was now at the peak of the soulwprehension realm while he was still at stage one.
All those soul abilities in his mind made Ace extremely giddily, and he wanted to try them immediately.
After the avatar sessfully broke through, with a thought, it appeared in front of Ace. Its tiny size began to increase until he was at the same height as Ace, and his skin color, eyes, and hair started to change until it waspletely identical.
Ace couldn''t help but admire his avatar, which looked exactly like him. Although it didn''t have Ace''s devilish charm, it was still devilishly handsome.
Furthermore, it was extraordinary to watch him from two different sides. He could feel his thought process was split, but he didn''t feelfortable. It would take some time to get used to it.
Ace then tried speaking from the avatar, "Ahem¡ it''s my voice¡"
Even more pleased, he started throwing punches, creating a small vacuum around it, which was extremely powerful, "No bad." He smiled.
"Here." Ace threw a storage ring, and it caught it.
"You bring Freya, I''m going after Noa. Afterward, um, I''ll think about it." Ace found it quite strange to talk to himself.
The avatar nodded before clothes and treasures appeared on its body and, finally, a mask. They were all the best of the best Ace had. He can''t be stingy with himself now, can he?
The next moment, the avatar vanished, ignoring the formations as he used the Twilight Traverse ability!
Ace smiled as he closed his eyes and started to control his avatar as well as he tried toprehend thew. He wanted to control the parallel mind and grasp the full capabilities of his avatar!
Chapter 936 A Mysterious Traveller
Chapter 936 A Mysterious Traveller
On the bright night of the full moon, donned in silver-lining ck robes, the Avatar of Holy Twilight flew over a somewhat chaotic sea at high speed, leaving behind a streak of dark golden light.
''The Twilight Traverse can not only pass through restrictions in the same realm, but it''s a full-blown movement skill. It''s even faster than my movement skills. I''m afraid onlyws can match it.'' Ace thought as he was ecstatic about his soul ability.
He''d been flying for fifteen straight days without slowing down, and now he was entirely used to this new body and its features. The most note-worthy abilities were the Qi consumption and Qi recovery.
The avatar''s Qi was the Twilight Qi, which was incredibly potent and overbearing. But the most important thing about this unique Qi was its recovery depended on Ace''s heavenly soul Qi.
Simply put, only the main body''s soul Qi reserve could replenish the avatar''s Qi reserve. If the main body has worldly Qi, ten units of worldly Qi were akin to a single unit of Twilight Qi, so the time to replenish it.
However, in the case of Ace''s heavenly Qi, it was opposite and beyond. A single unit of heavenly Qi was equal to 100 units of worldly Qi and ten units of Twilight Qi.
This means that as long as Ace''s main body won''t run out of Qi, his avatar won''t either, and if he were hiding while focusing on recovering his own heavenly Qi, then the Twilight Qi would never run out.
Furthermore, the avatar won''t feel fatigued as long as it has Qi, making it even more terrifying.
Although it couldn''t use the system or thepass abilities of his main body, it was already strong in its own right, giving Ace even more confidence. Now, he could do almost anything while being safely hidden and do many more tricks.
At this moment, Ace''s eyes glowed in green shade as he spotted a crimson ship in the middle of chaotic waves, and his lips curled up, "I spotted her!"
---
On the opposite side of the sea,
Ace''s main body was flying as he smiled in satisfaction and called Noa.
Noa''s mild voice rang, "Yes?"
"Where are you? I''m about a hundred thousand miles away from the Devil Continent. I''ll reach the infamous Dark Devil Holm in a few minutes if nothing goes wrong. It''s the only inhabitednd between the Demon and Devil continents, right?" Ace stated confidently.
"So quick? I''m also around the Dark Devil Holm." Noa sounded surprised, knowing it would take around fifty days to reach this ce from the demon continent.
Ace chuckled, "Good, remain there. I''ll pick you up soon."
"Alright. But be careful. I''ve heard the Dark Devil Holm is under the Blood Devil n''smand, and the pirates there are deliberately installed to rob the other races. That''s why it''s still a safe haven for all kinds of criminals." Noa warned sternly.
Ace merely smiled and replied, "No need to worry. I''m not going inside. Even if those guys are foolish enough to block my path, only misery awaits them¡"
Suddenly, Ace spotted when he heard an unfamiliar husky voice from Noa''s side, "Oh, I didn''t think I would bump into someone on this chaotic night!"
Ace was surprised because it was clear that whoever was talking had appeared close to Noa, and it was almost impossible to approach an assassin like her without going unnoticed.
"Who is it?" Ace questioned with narrowed eyes.
"I don''t know. A man has appeared on the deck without my assassin sense noticing. I think it''s an expert," Noa grimly replied, clearly surprised.
---
Over a thousand miles from Ace''s position, Noa was facing a bonny man in gray with a golden Horsetail Whisk in his hand, standing on her dark ship.
This ship''s primary function was low-grade-7 stealth, yet this man saw through it and could even appear on the deck without her noticing it. This is quite uncanny, and that''s why Noa was on high alert.
"Who are you?" She asked coldly as she was on high alert because even now, she couldn''t lock on this man as if he waspletely invisible.
The bonny man smiled as his snow-white hair danced in the cold wind. He waspletelyfortable facing the dark figure of Noa.
He said in his husky voice, "I''m a lone traveler of endless sea, wandering different ces to seek pleasure. Your unique scent draws me here. I think we are fated!"
Killing intent surfaced in Noa''s eyes as she suddenly vanished from her spot!
"Oh, you''re a feisty one, aren''t you?" The bonny man chuckled darkly.
Suddenly, purple Qi condensed on the back of his, and the next moment,
''chee¡''
A sharp voice of metal colliding together rang. A dark de tip shimmering in a dark hue was forcing into purple Qi, but to no avail.
Noa''s eyes shimmered in shock as she quickly vanished again.
This time, another purple spot condensed around the man''s throat, and again, the de stopped just in the nick of time.
Within the next few moments, Noa tried to sh on different parts, but the strange Qi would always appear, blocking the fatal strike.
Finally, she appeared on her spot again; shock filled her eyes as her heart beat wildly. It was the first time after entering the thief house that she wasn''t able to touch her opponent, much less harming him. It was almost like she was facing Ace!
"Oh? Giving up already? This doesn''t seem right. I was having so much fun." The bonny man grinned, showing his nasty yellow teeth, "I''m afraid that even an early-stage Law Comprehension Realm might have difficulty dealing with you. It seemed my nose had picked up a treasure again."
Noa remained silent as that man gave her the creeps, and the next moment, she vanished again.
"Kikikiki¡ running away since attacking won''t work? How decisive, how fun¡" The man cackled, full of excitement.
The next moment, he suddenly waved his horsetail whisk like a brush, and purple rune symbols suddenly materialized in the air.
Then, Noa''s figure appeared right where she had stood a moment ago, full of appalled shock. She didn''t even know how she had gotten back. She just felt her vision blurring, and then she was standing in front of this man again.
Furthermore, when she tried to circte her Qi again, she was appalled because nothing happened, and she found she even moved from her spot.
The man suddenly appeared right before her, taking a good, deep sniff that gave her goosebumps.
His eyes shone with creepy mirth as she smilingly said, "Yes¡ your cent, how delightful, how unique. It''s decided¡ you''ll bear children!"
Ace, who was hearing from the start, suddenly said coldly, "I''ve spotted you, don''t do anything!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 937 Worse than Death!
Chapter 937 Worse than Death!
The bonny man''s eyes were shed with luscious light as he moved his hand to uncover Noa''s hidden face while her eyes were spitting naked, killing intent. She felt extremely humiliated at this moment.
"Scary, scary¡ but I like it¡" The man licked his pale lips as he took another long sniff while removing her hood, her long ck hair like moonless night revealed and a ck mask, only her pitch-ck eyes riddled with killing intent were visible.
"Don''t you think it''s offensive to touch a maiden without her permission?" An icy voice suddenly rang, making the man''s lecherous expression warped.
His heart churned. He didn''t even have time to give Noa attention before quickly waving his horsetail whisk at lightning speed.
However, as the purple rune symbols were condensing, a pitch-ck sword sh had already appeared on his left side, and it was filled with darkness that could consume everything, and those runes shattered in light dust!
''Not good!'' His expression turned ashen, and he quickly formed a hand seal. Suddenly, a wooden mannequin appeared in his ce in front of the dark sword shed and cut in half.
At this moment, a shadowy figure appeared beside Noa, and she instantly felt a familiar sense of relief. The mysterious force restraining her vanished.
"L-leader!" She happily called, but then her expression sank, and she felt mortified. She was extremely ashamed of herself. Furthermore, she was still saved by Ace, and if he wasn''t here, who knows what would''ve happened?N?v(el)B\\jnn
"It''s not your fault. That guy is in an intermediate-stagewprehension realm and is probably a low-grade-8 rune crafter. A hidden powerhouse, you can''t fight him yet. If you were in thew awareness realm, you could''ve fought him to draw. Now, rest, let me handle that lecher." Ace consoled her. He knew it was quite a blow for a headstrong woman like Noa. But he knew it wasn''t her fault. It was just her opponent was too powerful.
Noa was surprised when she heard that man was in the legendary realm, not to mention the legendary grade-8 rune crafter. These two titles were enough to scare the masses.
''No wonder I couldn''t sense him, and he easily snuck up on me. But then how strong is the leader to make him scared like that?'' She couldn''t help but look at Ace with adoration before her eyes turned resolute, "Be careful."
She locked her hand with his, making Ace surprised a little, and then he sent her away while the sensation of her warm touch remained and that gentle look of adoration.
He couldn''t help but smile wryly, ''I need to sort these things out¡''
But he knew it wasn''t time yet, as the expression went deadly cold. He looked on the fate map and spotted a red fate point a hundred miles away from his position.
''He sure has some trick up his sleeve, but he messed with the wrong people.'' Ace sneered before he vanished with the ship.
Now that his thief sense had a 1500-mile radius, the fate map was the same. It was now impossible to hide from its detection until someone had a treasure higher than the mortal sky''s level.
Furthermore, Ace had already used his new soul ability, the Thief''s Advent, on that man before he attacked, so it was even more impossible for him to escape from him now.
Ace also wanted to know this person''s background, especially if he was really a grade-8 rune crafter.
One had to know that there weren''t even five grade-7 rune crafters, yet this guy not only had the eighth realm cultivation but also had rune crafting skills of the same level.
Ace couldn''t help but think about the Sea King, Pen. There were more experts hidden in this world, and this man might be one of them.
Ace quickly covered a hundred-mile distance and looked at the chaotic sea as small waves were crashing into the sea one after another. He didn''t see anything, but with the thief''s advent, he easily pinpointed his target''s location without even looking at the fate map.
Smiling coldly, Ace suddenly entered stealth before he turned into a shadowy mist and headed down. This stealth was top-notch with shadoww addition, and no one can sense him if he doesn''t want them to.
On the sea, the man running on the chaotic surface of the ocean waspletely invisible to the naked eye as a myriad of runes covered his body. His expression was hideous, and a hint of trepidation was present.
''How can there be such a sword cultivator in this world? Why does that woman have something like that protecting her? She sure smells different from others. She might have some heaven-toppling background. But so, what? Can''t do anything to me! I''ll find her now that I have her scent, even if she escapes to the depths of hell. But next time, I won''t be alone!'' His luscious eyes were shimmering with killing intent.
But suddenly, he felt something was wrong. His senses were extremely sharp, almost reaching a terrifying level, and they''d never been wrong before.
A silver talisman appeared in his hand, and he ground his teeth before activating it, ''My life is more important than this myriad mile escape talisman. I can''t use another precious substitute doll.''
However, as the shimmering talisman was about to be activated, something strange happened; darkness surrounded him, and the talisman vanished from his hand!
But it wasn''t the end. His golden horsetail whisk and then two storage rings on his fingers before his treasure clothes until he was stark naked. Before he couldprehend what had transpired within a few moments, an impossible owl symbol appeared on his face with four words, ''Perverted Sod of Heaven!
Ace''s icy voice rang at this moment, "I wanted to kill you, but it would be too easy of an escape from your crimes. Since you like to y with women so much, what would happen if you didn''t have your ''toy''? Heh, now that would be interesting to see."
A dark streak brushed past the man''s crouch the next moment before everything turned normal.
"Ahhhh¡."
Well¡ except for the pitiful and horrified shrieking of a eunuch!
Chapter 938 Thief House Gathered
Chapter 938 Thief House Gathered
Thousands of miles away, Ace''s avatar wasforting, sitting in front of Freya in her ship and chatting with her when, within its soul space, Ace appeared!
''How magical.'' Ace couldn''t help but wonder as he looked around his avatar''s soul sea.
After robbing that guy in the ck domain, Ace used the soul body sweep ability of Divine Soul Substitute divine trait to summon his body into his avatar''s soul space!
It was even more convenient than teleportation. Now, even if he wanted to find Ace, it was nigh impossible.
Ace couldn''t help but scoffed, "It ought to teach that bastard a lesson. Furthermore, these memories are quite peculiar. Who could''ve thought such a force is hidden under the endless sea?"
Ace grimaced when he refined the memories he had stolen from that mysterious man. From the start, he had used his soul probe on him, and despite his high cultivation, he couldn''t detect it until it was toote.
Right now, Ace''s soul probe could easily steal a massive chunk of memories from awprehension realm, while aw awareness realm would lose half of its memories.
Now, he knew that man''s name was Freddy, and he was one of the three leaders of a hidden force underneath the endless sea called the Sea Kings Federation. He was also a sea king like Pen. Coincidentally, Pen was part of this federation and the Federation President.
This force was always paying close attention to the ten continents for ages, and they never showed themselves. Freddy came out to look for Pen because he had been missing for years without any contact and just happened to bump into Noa.
Although there were many more secrets, they were not his concern at this moment. Their base was far away, and he would ignore them if they didn''t get in his way.
Still, he knew Freddy was a petty person who didn''t let go of even minor grievances, and he liked to collect women with unique scents, whether they liked it or not, and force them to bear his children. That guy has over a thousand children due to his luscious nature.
However, now that Ace had stolen the entirety of the treasures that he had collected over thousands of years and literally castrated him by using his darkness authority, which might never be healed or grow back, he would go crazy and take revenge.
But that was for Union Lord to deal with, and Ace didn''t regret his action in the least bit. He already had more than five hundred million TP with this thievery and took revenge for Noa. This matter was as good as over.
Ace looked at his avatar, and he knew keeping it hidden would only waste its potential, and now that it was finally going to world lock, it would be foolish to keep it on him. This would easily be his escape route.
Right at this moment, Ace''s real body appeared beside his Avatar, and Freya was shocked and thought it was an enemy attack.
"It''s just me. No need to be rmed." Ace chuckled, seeing Freya''s appalled expression.
She was gobsmacked when she heard Ace''s voice. Looking at his avatar and then Ace with absolute uncertainty, she had no idea what was happening.
''Find a ce to cultivate thews.'' Ace ordered, which still felt strange.
The avatar nodded before it vanished right before Freya''s dumbfounded expression.
"What was that?" Freya questioned.
"What? Do you think only you have the capability to create an avatar?" Ace snickered, "Let''s go, Noa is already in there."
Freya was astounded; she didn''t expect Ace to have an avatar ability. Furthermore, Ace''s avatar seemed just like him, unlike her avatar, which can only be made by possessing others. This meant his abilities were superior.
She couldn''t help butment while putting her hand on his, "Just how many secrets are you hiding?"
"Now, this is a personal question. Think of it as a thief''s honor." Ace grinned before he sent her directly into the thief''s house.
Ace then opened the fate map and started to follow thepass point towards the world lock.
Meanwhile, in the thief''s house, the three thieves were gathered in the main hall, as it had been years since they had been together.
Freya had just arrived while Noa was sitting in front of grumpy Winter. She was as cold as ever and didn''t talk about that embarrassing encounter, afraid to lose face as the first thief under Ace.
Seeing Freya, a cold glint shed past her eyes as she was still quite dissatisfied about being beaten to house rank.
Freya regained herposure as if she wasn''t shocked by Ace''s new ability and happily said, "Long time no see you both."
"Yeah, wee to our funeral," Winter grumbled, while Noa merely nodded in acknowledgment.
"What funeral? Do you want to jinx this up?" Ace''s unhappy voice sounded.
"We''re already jinxed enough." Winter scoffed.
"So, what''s the n?" Freya turned serious.
Although she knew about Ace''s capability more than her fellow members, she still couldn''t help but feel fear whenever she thought about the house mission and the penalty upon failure.
Ace thought momentarily before expressing, "A few years back, I was given a chain mission by the goddess when I entered the Union for the first time¡"
Ace revealed the details about the world lock while omitting the part about heaven''s secret. He knew just how dangerous it was, so it was fair to tell them.
The women be astonished the more they hear. They never thought there was such a secret about their world. Ace also told them about the ascension and Sea Kings Federation, which made Noa eyes shimmer with killing intent when she discovered Freddy''s true identity.
"¡so that''s the gist of it. While I was still working towards my second part of the chain mission, you guys became Veteran Members, and a house mission was given to upgrade the thief house to the next level.
"But since my mission was top priority, this mission ended up assimted in my mission, and now you guys have toplete the house mission. I can''t give you simple missions, since they must be rted to mine." Ace ended his exnation.
After hearing all this information, everyone was deep in contemtion. It was too much to swallow, and they felt pressure because Ace''s mission was too difficult. Inparison, their missions were a walk in the park.
"Why is there a need to upgrade the Thief House?" Winter couldn''t help but ask, as she was also extremely serious now. She didn''t dare toment on this mission anymore, as she knew Ace didn''t have it easy either.
She had experienced just what kind of threat the secret realm of three races posed, yet Ace stillpleted it while she was busy enjoying her stay at his expense.
"There''s nothing free in this world. You''ve already got enough benefits from the Thief House. At certain stages, we need to prove ourselves to get even more. Right now, we are literally walking towards the territory of ascension, which I''m pretty sure would be outside the mortal sky heaven. Simply put, a new heaven.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"So, we need skills and treasures to match our new yground, or we''ll die eventually. We have the advantage of the Thief House in this regard, but we can''t utilize it unless we are worthy.
"I''m heading towards the final checkpoint of this mission. If there is something that needs your assistance, I''ll summon you, or you have to wait until the next mission starts."
Ace sternly dered, "Meanwhile, I need you all to cultivate diligently. Our enemies are no longer some random thugs but the true powerhouses of this world!"
Chapter 939 The Sea Kings Federation
Chapter 939 The Sea Kings Federation
Thousands of miles away from the ten continents, deep under the endless sea, is the Sea King Federation, a nation of sea tribes, also known by thend dwellers as the sea magic beasts, sea demonic beasts, or marine beasts.
However, no one could find this ancient civilization because the endless sea was too big and unfathomable, and the Sea Tribes also made sure never to reveal themselves or interfere with thend dwellers.
But it didn''t mean they weren''t curious about them. In fact, for ages, they''d been monitoring them from shadows, and sometimes, they even assassinated some of the ten continents'' brightest geniuses to ensure their nation would remain peaceful and without any threat.
But strangely, their confidence in being absolute rulers of both sea andnds was now wavering because their President, who had been missing for hundreds of years, returned, wounded!
This caused the high-ups to be alert because they knew their entric President was the strongest among them, and he was always looking for a way to break free from the shackle of the eighth realm so he could enter the ''Forbidden Boundary''.
Yet, he returned in terrible shape, which caused panic, and those guys didn''t dare to let another find out about it.
However, anothermotion arose today in the Sea Kings Federation, when their second leader and the most powerful rune crafter they have ever known, the Rune''s Child Freddy, returned, castrated!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
As for how Freddy revealed this embarrassing matter?
It was simple: he was going insane with pain and the strange energy that refused to let his wound heal, and he felt worse than death, and he had lost all of his treasures. Furthermore, because of that strange dark energy, he couldn''t transform into his beast state, as it was even more painful.
So, having no choice, he had to return no matter how it would ruin his image, and he wanted to get rid of that terrible pain.
When he returned, the elders were shocked as they saw the normally lecherous and arrogant Second Leader, extremely exhausted and whimpering in pain. Most importantly, he was naked, and a strange owl symbol with infuriating words was imprinted over his face!
Truth be told, Freddy wasn''t revered but feared, as everyone hid theirdies whenever he was around because he had a hobby of plundering women, and he didn''t care whether they belonged to anyone or their age. He was a scourge, yet no one dared to do anything because of his status and importance to the federation.
This behavior was significantly intensified after he became powerful, and he knew no one could do anything to him, especially with their President missing and their Third Leader always studying the Forbidden Boundary. Freddy has no one to fear.
Even among Elders, many hated them and wished to hack him into a million pieces, yet they didn''t have guts.
Now, seeing Freddy''s current state, many felt rmed, and they all secretly gloated at his misfortune.
Still, Freddy was a pir of their federation, so they had no choice but to help him.
However, theirplexion became ashen when they discovered that the ck energy couldn''t be expelled no matter what they did and what kind of medicine they used.
"It''s like a supremew that can''t be erased!" The most talented alchemy elder spoke gravely.
"Just who could''ve done this to him, and what kind ofw is this?" Another elder questioned with squinted eyes.
The alchemy elder shook his head helplessly, "It''s clearly not darkw nor corruption. It''s my first time seeing something like it. If we look at it more carefully, with how terrible thisw is, it shouldn''t just cause mere pain and stop this area from recovering. It should spread.
"Yet, it clings to this area as if it were following its owner''s wishes not to harm the Second Leader; instead, inflict pain and make sure he feels every second of it until he lives!"
His words made the elders shudder palely as they felt their legs begin to turn numb just looking at it, and they looked at the owl symbol.
"JUST MAKE THE PAIN GO AWAY!" Freddy roared at the top of his lungs as his entire body was filled with cold sweat, and he was terribly pale.
Even with all the exhaustion and all the pain, no matter how he tried, he couldn''t lose consciousness, which was even stranger. This entire thing was driving him so crazy that he couldn''t even think straight anymore.
Forget about revenge. He wouldn''t dare to look for that terrible, mysterious man and woman even if he got a hundred more guts. What happened was still vivid in his mind and haunt him like a living nightmare. That cold voice in that darkness still rang deep in his mind.
The Alchemy Elder''s expression changed as he gravely said, "There is a way to get rid of this energy."
"DO IT, DAMN IMBECILE!" His aura suddenly went chaotic.
"Calm down, Leader!" The elders tried to calm him down as he was on the verge of going berserk and under Qi deviation!
The Alchemy Elder knew things were going south, so he quickly said, "If we can cut the entire affected area, then it might be possible to separate this energy and even heal him!"
"Ahhhhhh¡" Freddy roared with bloodshot eyes as a purple Qi suddenly gushed out from his body, blowing everyone away!
"What the hell is going on? Who dares to be so rampant in my federation?!" An enraged voice suddenly rumbled from deep within the federation headquarters.
While the federation was going through its first real cmity since its founding, a pair of cold, astute eyes were watching the beautiful underwater nation like a snake from afar.
He took out a talisman and activated it before saying, "I''ve found them, Prime One. It''s just as you suspected. There is an entire nation of sea beasts!"
---
Millions of miles away from the eleven continents and the federation, there was nothing but water and cloudy Qi radiation fog covered this unknown and faraway region. Maybe no one has been here for a very, very long time, or even if they were, this ce was absolutely a forbidden area for living.
But strangely, a dark silhouette was looming in this mist like a ghost before he reached the central part with the densest Qi radiation, enough to even cause trouble for awprehension realm. There was nothing therepletely empty.
However, an emotionless voice rang in this silhouette''s mind.
=====
[Gateways towards the World Lock has been reached!]
[Opening the Gate!]
=====
The next moment, the space begins to split apart, revealing a blinding white light amidst the fog!
Chapter 940 The Three Shrines and Three Mysterious Items
Chapter 940 The Three Shrines and Three Mysterious Items
Since the system haspletely assimted the world seal map, it was the key to open the path towards the world seal.
Looking at the bright light in front of him, Ace nced at the fate map, which was now colored in silver, and without hesitation, he moved in!
Just as he entered, the light slowly retreated, and the gate closed; everything returned to normal.
The view in front of him changed as he was now standing on top of a mountain, and he was surprised to see that this was the only mountain in this ce and his surroundings were nothing but gray space.
In front of him were three small shrines, and there were three runes engraved on top, which read: Sky, Connection, and Earth. Inside them were three altars with mysterious runes, and in the center of those altars were keyholes.
It didn''t take a genius to figure out what that meant, and Ace smiled in relief, ''It''s good that there isn''t any hindrance this time.''
Ace imagined that there would be some kind of guards or that this ce might be hidden like the other secret realms, but it wasn''t. Maybe those three ancestors or whoever built this thought that no one would ever be able to reach this ce. After all, collecting the three keys and map was almost impossible.
Suddenly, Ace thought about something and quickly opened the house leader mission section of the Thief House panel.
====
[House Leader Mission]
- Make a Mission for All House
- Make a Mission for selected Member(s)
---
[Please Choose one option]
---
[Make a Mission for All House]
[House Members: 3/3]
[Write a Mission]
---
[Thief House Leader Mission Creation]
-Mission: Open the World Lock with the Key of Sky, Earth, and Connection!
-Requirement: Each member is required to find a key to world lock and open it!
-Calcting the appropriate rewards for this mission¡
-Reward: 2,500,000 House Points for Each Member
Time: NONE
Punishment: -10,000,000 Thief Points
---
[Are you sure you want to issue this mission to All House?]
[Yes/Edit Again]
=====
Ace couldn''t help but sneer, "So I still bested you!"
Without hesitation, he quickly selected ''Yes'', afraid the system would consider this a loophole.
The next moment, the mission was issued to the house members, and Ace quickly summoned them out.
When Noa, Freya, and Winter appeared, they were astounded seeing their surroundings.
"So, this is a secret realm? Isn''t it too small?" Freyamented as she looked around with scrutiny.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"This might be built small," Winter replied, as she had already seen just how big a secret realm can be.
Noa, on the other hand, instantly focused on the shrines ahead of them and looked at Ace, "Is this about the mission just now?" She asked softly.
Ace nodded with a grin, "Yes, I''ve already collected the keys, and all was left to insert them. But then I thought, why not try to create a mission out of it, and it works splendidly! Here, these are the keys, and those symbols represent Sky, Connection, and Earth from left to right. Just insert them, and you''llplete the mission. As I said, I''m going to help you all to the best of my abilities."
The next moment, three crystalline keys appeared in his hand. He gave the Sky Key to Noa, the Connection Key went to Freya, and Winter took the Earth Key.
"Go ahead." Ace nodded solemnly.
"What would happen once this lock is unlocked?" Winter asked with squinted eyes.
"Truthfully, your guess is as good as mine. Just unlock it, and then you should quickly retreat to the thief''s house. Let me care about what happened next." Ace sternly stated.
The three of them nodded and walked towards their corresponding shrines, and simultaneously inserted the keys!
Thereafter, the three altars and keys instantly lit up in dense lights, and the three of them quickly retreated as they also heard their mission waspleted at this moment.
Ace didn''t tarry and quickly sent them back as he looked at the glowing shrines.
Suddenly, three light pirs rose above the shrines and pierced into the gray sky. The entire mountain began to tremble as cracks started to appear. Ace quickly flew off the mountain as an extremely profound aura filled the air.
His expression was solemn as he watched the mountain crumbling into dust. However, the shrines were still floating, and it was at this moment that he finally saw a massive formation circle right underneath the mountain and runic chains connected to the three altars.
Ace had never seen anything like that massive formation before. It was too profound even for someone like him.
The three light pirs started to emit powerful waves, and the gray sky started to vanish and was reced by the golden sky. The secret realm space was being merged back!
Furthermore, its location wasn''t the Qi radiation region of the endless sea. Instead, Ace found that he was now in a massive underground space filled with dense Qi, and he could feel thews here almost visible to the eyes.
Being cautious, Ace decided to hide by using his thief''s shelter ability. An extremely thin membrane of mirror-like space started to cover his body, and soon, hepletely vanished!
The huge formation was now covering a giant ball of condensed golden energy. As the formation appeared on it, the golden ball suddenly started to tremble and then strangely began to smash into the formation as if wanted to get free from it.
Dark runes suddenly appeared on the shrines and started to light pirs like ants, and the next moment, in front of three shrines, three items appeared out of thin air!
In front of the sky shrine, a small broken ck bottle appeared. In front of the connection shrine appeared a pitch-ck sword, while in front of the earth shrine, a dry tree branch.
''That sword!'' Ace''s eyes narrowed while looking at the pitch-ck sword. He clearly remembered seeing the same sword on top of the demon temple when he was escaping!
An ancient voice rang, filled with fury at this moment, "Which degenerate dare to profane the God''s will!?"
Thisnguage was not thenguage of this world, but Ace clearly understood it in a heartbeat, and he was astounded because that voice came from none other than the pitch-ck sword!
''Is that a weapon with a spirit like Moira?'' Ace''s heartbeat fastened, but he didn''t reply and just watched while hiding in the fabric of space.
The three items being to sucked into the altars in the shrines as all those runic chains started to break one after another!
"NO! You''re making a mistake! If you let this Worldly Will escape, the Forbidden Boundary will also vanish, and a terrible monstrosity will escape its prison! Stop this madness before you bring cmity to your Heaven!"
Shocking words came from the Sword!
Chapter 941 Just a Cowardly Thief
Chapter 941 Just a Cowardly Thief
Ace was startled when he heard the Sword''s words and narrowed his eyes. He clearly didn''t believe it. But for some reason, he didn''t think it was lying. Just what could''ve made a Treasure Spirit so afraid? What was the forbidden boundary, and what was imprisoned there? The chains continued to break one after another as the golden mass of energy was bing more and more rampant with its thwacking on the formation and symbols on the formation were slowly fading. "YOU FOOL, whoever you are! Quickly retrieve the keys before it''s toote!" The sword''s appalled voice rang again, "There is a monstrosity that can''t be killed! It is sealed in the depths of the sea! Last time, too many lives were lost just to suppress it and then sealing it here far away from its followers where they can''t even imagine its location. "Trust me. It has a heaven-shattering origin and too many hidden followers who are still staying in the darkness, waiting for its reemergence! If you let it escape, it will absolutely ughter your entire heaven just to assuage its murderous urges. "You will be a Sinner of Heaven! I-if you stop this, I''m willing to follow you and even pave your path towards the ascension! Just let this madness go. If you want power, I can grant you, but if you unlock this lock, then there will be nothing left for you besides impending doom once that thing escapes!" The sword desperately tried to persuade whoever was opening this lock, and it was almost begging. Ace''s expression was grave as he couldn''t help but think more deeply about his matter. What if it was all true? He clearly didn''t know what this world lock was about, and all he guessed was it should be locking the world, not some kind of heaven-destroying monster. What if everyone died because of him once this lock was open? Ace''s expression was gloomy as it had been quite a while since he had thought about the consequences of his action and this time, it wouldn''t end with just some anger and small ughter. ''But if I don''t unlock it, I''ll die, and heaven is my enemy¡'' Ace thought helplessly as his line was on the line and even the lives of others he cared about. The thief house members, and Eva were literally connected with his life, so he can''t die no matter what. "System, just what are we releasing in this world?" He had to ask the system with an icy tone. From the start, he didn''t know what kind of heaven''s secret he was working towards, but the burden of billions of lives was not something he was ready to bear on his shoulders. Although he was a killer as well, he wasn''t a murderer who killed innocent mortals. That''s why he had long stopped thieving in poor cities where mortals live, and always goes after cities with cultivators. As a cultivator himself, he knew their hands were filled with blood. The world of cultivation was not a peaceful one, and here, power rules. Yet now, he was hearing about a cmity that would bring extinction. This wasn''t something he was ready for.
"[System didn''t know what is lock or seal through this world lock, nor did it matter because this world lock is the key to get to the heaven''s secret.]" System emotionlessly replied. Ace''s expression fell, "We are talking about billions of lives, even mortals?" "[Heaven is heartless, man is ambitious, and poor is sacrificial. The host can choose to be any, and no one is stopping you. Death is only for those who cower in the face of fate.]"
Ace''s expression grew darker, and he became silent because the system was stating the fact. If he wanted to sacrifice himself for others, no one was stopping him. If he wanted to save billions at the expense of his and his loved ones'' lives, he could easily do so¡
But was he capable of such a thing, he wondered as he watched chain after chain being destroyed, and the sword beseeches him to stop this¡ s he didn''t have the courage to move a finger as he remained there like a pale statue. At this moment, a loud explosion urred when only a few of the chains were left. The golden energy finally broke free from the formation,pletely shattering it and creating a humming sound as an extremely overbearing, profound aura released in the air. "NOOOOO¡" The sword shrilled in horror. The next moment, the golden energy suddenly started to submerge in the earth beforepletely vanishing. Suddenly, a big formation condensed under the three shrines, and with this formation, they started to shrink before they turned into a tri-color formation with three tiny shrines on top of it, and there were three small formation keys hovering above them. ''Heaven Imposing Sky Lock?'' Ace mused as he gazed at the unique formation te. This should be the core of the world lock. The system voice rang at this moment,
=====
[Congrattions, host, forpleting the fifth requirement of Heaven''s Stealer Mission!]
[Please open the mission panel while encasing in the Dismantle Qi to view your rewards and the next Mysterious Condition of the Heaven''s Stealer Mission!]
=====
A feeble voice rang from the formation te filled with hate, "What have you done, you degenerate foolish mortal! You lowly ant, you will suffer the wrath of heaven and earth. There will be no ce for you, even the abyss!" The sword''s voice seemed extremely exhausted at this moment. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace sighed as though he didn''t know what to feel at this point, and he broke the thief shelter and appeared outside. In the end, he chose himself over everyone. He made a grabbing motion, and the formation te appeared in his hand. "YOU!" The voice sounded extremely agitated and shocked, "H-heaven''s Stealer?! I should''ve known! I should''ve known!" It sounded extremely pitiful at this moment, as if it had gonepletely mad. Ace''s eyes dted when the sword spoke his true identity and impassively asked, "Why are you so sure that I''m this Heaven''s Stealer?" "Who else could it be?! Who else can be selfish enough to destroy everything in his path of riches?! Who else could it be but the Heaven''s Stealer who brings doom to wherever his cursed feet fell?! Have you no remorse for anyone? Are you even capable of feelingpassion or anything?!" He roared with fury. Ace''s eyes narrowed dangerously, "You seemed to know a lot about this heaven''s stealer, huh? How about you tell me a thing or two about him? Also, why do I feel like you also don''t care about others at all but only yourselves? "Let me guess, even if there was something that is imprisoned there, it''s yours and whoever is behind you, enemy. So, that person behind you decided to lock it in the mortal sky heaven using some gullible idiots who want to live forever. "Or I''m absolutely wrong, and you guys do have good intentions. But now that I think about it, I guess I cherish my own life more than that of some stranger. In the end, I''m just a cowardly thief¡"
Chapter 942 Rewards of the Second Condition
Chapter 942 Rewards of the Second Condition
Hearing Ace''s cold words, the voice from the sword roared furiously, "I expected nothing less from the Sinner of eternity! So be it; you will still meet with your impending doom. Your kind simply didn''t know the word ''peace'' and the dare to profane gods. I have nothing else to say to a devil spawn!"
Ace narrowed his eyes coldly, "It seemed you don''t like me very much. Very well, I''ll take my sweet time dismantling you. You ought to be made with some extremely rare treasures. Unless, of course, you submit to me." Although this sword''s words were quite hurtful, and it might be stating a fact, it still has more knowledge than Ace, and it was also connected with this formation te. So, he wanted to see if he could separate it and then maybe tame it somehow. Furthermore, the two treasures with it also did not seem ordinary, so there was even more reason to dismantle it unless he got the method to use this formation te. "You wish Heaven''s Stealer! Following you means only certain destruction, and I''m not afraid of death!" The voice sneered, filled with arrogance. "We''ll see about that." Ace scoffed and took out a treasure box before putting this formation inside, sealing it, and then burying it in a barren corner of the thief''s space. Ace then looked at the empty underground space and couldn''t help but sigh. He was still feeling mixed emotions about what had just happened, especially after he heard about the sword''s words. It was quite clear that he wasn''t liked by others. Maybe the union''s founder was a special case, or he was just using him to awaken whatever was hiding within his inheritance. Furthermore, he wasn''t going to believe every word the sword said; for all he knew, it was only spouting nonsense to save its own skin or its owner''s.
Whatever the case was, Ace knew he needed to move forward, or he''d really die, and he wasn''t ready for it. So, he covered himself in dismantle Qi and opened the mission panel to see the rewards of this mission. =====
-Heaven''s Stealer Mission: Embarking the Path of Heaven''s Stealer!
- Mysterious Condition (2): The World Lock! (Completed!)
-Reward(s): 3X
1. 350 Million Thief Points
2. Fundamentals of Array Crafting (Grade-7 to Grade-9)
{im/Later}
3. Forbidden Heavenly Runes (Grade 10) {im/Later}
4. Intermediate-Grade Epiphany Pill: 6
{Description: The consumer will fall into an Epiphany for 6 hours.}
{im/Later}
5. Low-Grade All Law Elixir: 1
{Description: This elixir can expose the consumer to the essence of Mortal Sky Laws for one minute!} 6. Heavenly Talisman: Dark Spire (Grade-9)
{Effect: A spire of absolute dark will descend in a hundred-mile radius, capable of rending all the soul sense and martial sense useless!}
7. Advanced-Grade Insight Pill: 9
{Description: Instantly Raised any skill, art, secret skill, secret art proficiency to perfection! Instantly Raised Law base skills by a single level!}
(Note: It won''t work on cultivation techniques.)
---
[ording to Precept (6) of Heaven''s Stealer Mission, 1 New Item has been added to the system shop. Please open the shop to check!] ---
[Thief Point(s): 1,864,501,500]
=====
Looking at the rewards, Ace was content, and the new thing among them was the All Law Elixir. Although its description was subtle, it was still enough to show its magical properties and rarity. With all those new pills and this elixir, he was now confident in raising all his skills andws to the limit in a short time. Ace didn''t open the shop right away because the next mission was already upon him, and he read it gravely. =====
-Heaven''s Stealer Mission: Embarking the Path of Heaven''s Stealer!
-Heaven''s Secret Condition: Locked (Unknown) -Prerequisites to Unlock (revealed) this Mysterious Condition:
1. Eighth Realm in Marital and Soul
-Status: Completed
2. Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Rank: 9th Grade
-Status: Iplete
3. 99.99% Element Law Proficiency of [Despair], [Lightning], and [Wind] -Status: Iplete n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
4. Cultivate all these skills to their final stages: [Lock Eraser King Technique], [Soul Stealth Art], [Thief''s Vision], [Wind of Darkness], [Soul Words], [True Soul Law Refinement], and [Dark Law Sea Refinement]
-Status: Iplete
-Time toplete Prerequisites: 10 Years
-Punishment: Death
(NOTE: There is no reward forpleting Prerequisites.)
===== Ace''s expression sank, seeing thest prerequisite because he knew those skills were not so simple, and they would take a massive amount of time to cultivate. But then he thought about how he now had the avatar of holy twilight toprehendws, so it might not be too bad. ''10 years, huh?'' He mused that this time was also enough for the house members to break into higher levels, and even Eva would be able toe out. Although he had never cultivated for ten years straight, he knew he needed this time to absorb all the insights he had gathered in all these years, especially thews. His skills also need refinement. Maybe it was a chance for him to stop and rest for a while as well. Furthermore, this was Heaven''s Secret Condition, so it was quite clear that this condition would be the final, and he needed to be fully prepared. Thinking at this point, Ace bes rxed, and then he finally opens the system shop to see the new item. =====
[System Shop]
[Avable Skill Books]
[Avable Cultivation Technique] (New)
[Avable Weapons] [Avable Pills]
---
[System Shop]
[Avable Cultivation Technique]
[Heaven Splitting Sword: Secret Cultivation Technique]
[Price: 100,000,000 Thief Point]
=====
Ace was surprised to see this peculiar sword path cultivation technique. It was the second technique that System had ever put up for sale in the shop, and thest one was the very foundation of his sword style. Furthermore, he didn''t know if there were Secret Cultivation Techniques as well since it was the first time he had heard or seen them. Still, he was d that he got it since he could use it further depending on his own understanding of the sword path and go even further in developing his Eternal Thief''s Sword System! At this moment, Ace suddenly frowned as his other vision observed something, and soon, his expression changed, turning bbergasted!
Chapter 943 The Secret of Union Continent
Chapter 943 The Secret of Union Continent
At this moment, the entire world was quacked like the apocalypse was at the door. No matter who it was, they all felt the ground under them waving like tidal waves. Many structures started to crumble down, and the cultivators were extremely rmed. However, what happened next was even more bizarre: the ten continents except the Union continent began to move and pulled in a specific direction by some unknown pulling force! It was extremely strange, and blood was churning in every living being. From the sky, one could see an entire continent moving like a ship, and the entire sea was extremely chaotic. This rmed the Union as it was between the center of ten continents, and those who were the members of the ten continents didn''t know what to do or why this was all happening. "What is going on?" The Union Lord also showed himself with a dark expression. Following him were ten masked men in cloaks. "Now, this is interesting. The ten continents suddenly began to move like this! What could''ve made that possible?" A devilish voice rang in curiosity. A mild, uncertain voice sounded from another figure, "I-I think I know." Union Lord frowned as everyone looked at this figure.
The Union Lord couldn''t help but cussed, "Calvus! Why is it you again? Why it seemed like everything is rted to you, and you just refuse to open your damn mouth! Are you scheming against all of us?!"
Calvus impassively replied, "Earlier, that matter was something that can''t help because I''m under an oath. I''m not trying to harm any of you. Just like you guys, I also wanted to see my home once more. I don''t want to be used like a pawn again. "This matter is something that I can tell you, so whatever you think, you are free to specte. The ten continents used to be one massive maind. But during the end of the racial war, they suddenly split into ten continents.
"That time, it was pretty rming as the earth began to split on its own, and then those ten pieces began to travel far away from each other on their own. It was a very strange event because the splitting happened when we humans were about to have the upper hand over the Ancient Allied Forces. "We were supposed to capture theirnds because they had the best and richest territories of all the races. But before we could, the Great Split happened, and surprisingly, the three races'' territories were all split at the precise margin.
"They didn''t lose a signal chicken that day. In fact, they got the richestnds, and since the continents traveled so far away from each other, the other races couldn''t dere war on them any longer to fight for thosends. "I''ve always thought that it was very strange, and those three races were behind the great split. Yet, we have no evidence, and even if we had, what could we have done? "But I do find something very peculiar while I was investigating." At this point, Calvus hesitated. "Out with it." A husky voice sternly demands. Calvus sighed as he revealed, "On the same night as the Great Split, a strange phenomenon urred in the sky. It was like the sky had suddenly torn, revealing boundless space filled with endless stars and strange images. "But it onlysted for a second before it all went away. Only a few people witnessed it, and one of them even imed that he saw a star breaking from that phenomenon and entering the endless sea." The Union Lord''s eyes narrowed dangerously, "Boundless space filled with endless stars and strange images? Are you sure?" Calvus looked at him with a strange light, "I didn''t witness it myself, but there were plenty of witnesses, and they had nothing to do with each other. What do you know something about that phenomenon? "In fact, now that I think about it, your union continent existed that time as well, but it was hidden. Furthermore, except for me, these nine entered the union when they tried to break into the mortal sky and were captured by the SMSC. While I only enter through an ident. "But what about you? You were not only able to infiltrate the Union, you even got to be its Union Leader. How did you achieve it, and how were you able to leave it despite the watchful eye of SMSC and the Union''s natural restriction on its cultivator? "Just what is the significance of Union Continent?" Calvus asked sharply. A beautiful voice sounded, "Sir Calvus is right. You should tell us now, since you''ve already know about our circumstances. We were all sent here by the powers behind us to explore, yet we all ended up in the union, not anywhere else, and were trapped in misery for thousands of years. "Just what is the treasure that everyone is after, and how do you know so much? Now, if those ten continents are going to merge back, then it means someone has undone something, and we need to find it fast. If you keep hiding your motives and information, do you think you can achieve your goal without us?" Everyone''s eyes were cold as they red at Union Lord. Grimaced, Union Lord stated, "Hmph, I guess it''s time to tell you some matters, or you would all think I''m hiding them from you and ruin my ns. I''m not trying to trick you, but these matters were quite dangerous for just anyone to know. "But I need your minds on this, so I''ll tell you some information that I can reveal at this moment. First, the Union Continent is the Ascension Continent of Mortal Sky Heaven. This means the only ascension altar formed in the Mortal Sky Heaven is on this continent. "Since you are not from the Mortal Sky Heaven, you might not know this, but for the people of Mortal Sky to enter our world, they needed an ascension altar to pass through the Heavenly Space Boundary when they were ready to break past the elemental state.
"But for us, who live above, it''s nigh impossible toe down without paying a massive price or some heaven-defying opportunity. Furthermore, even if you paid the price or stumbled upon that opportunity, you need to meet certain conditions. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"One of them being that your cultivation shouldn''t be above the elemental state and a very, very rare weakness in the Heavenly Space Boundary. If you canplete these conditions, then you can enter the mortal sky. "But the Union founder made sure whoever dared to try this method would end up in this ce when hepletely altered the Ascension Altar upon his founding of the Union!" Union Lord grimly revealed, making everyone''s expression change!
Chapter 944 Mortal Sky Heaven
944 Mortal Sky Heaven N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Is this even possible?" A dwarf figure questioned with uncertainty. The Union Lord nodded, "As long as you''re as strong as the Union founder, anything is possible." "Who was the union founder, and what was he doing in this ce?" The devil asked. "A legendary character enshrouded in mystery. His traces are everywhere. Even in our ce, he left a part of his legacy there as well." The Union Lord stated matter-of-factly, "But the mortal sky was different. I stumbled upon an extremely ancient ruin in a secret realm, and only then did I find clues about his presence in the mortal sky. Here, he left something that had caused an unimaginable war in a bygone era. That war shattered the sky and grind the earth. There was only a small detail about it. "But I concluded that the Union founder probably left on the verge of death despite being the final winner of that war. So, he uses some heaven-defying method to enter the Mortal Sky and then hide that item and his entire inheritance when he finds the Union. "After a very long research and spending countless hours, I finally found this ce. But he was too vicious and careful. Not only did he rigid the ascension altar, but he even made sure that no one could use it to ascend or find its location. "Furthermore, he also destroyed any legacy or inheritances rted to space. There was a very, very strong bloodline of the magic beast rted to the space here, but they were gone in a single night, never to be found again. Who do you think did it? If that tribe were present, it wouldn''t be the foreign races'' turn to rule this ce, nor could union match them. "He wlessly rid of every single obstacle that could possibly harm the Union. Although it appeared that he was protecting his legacy, I know better; that kind of existence''s scheme runs as deep as the abyss. He was preparing this all for something." Union Lord''s expression grew solemn, "Still, he might''ve never expected someone like me to stumble upon this kind of secret. But I had to admit, even for me, it took too many years toe this close to acquiring that treasury he hid here." Killing intent surfaced in his eyes as he gritted his teeth, "Yet¡yet a lowly thief came and destroyed everything. Not only did that bastard force me to reveal myself, but he even took the only clue about that treasure with him! If I don''t find him, then we won''t be able to leave this ce!" vus suddenly asked, "If that''s the case, then why do you think that thief was able to infiltrate the Union so easily that it took even you countless years? Furthermore, when I tried to go back, I stumbled upon the union. Is it also rted to the ascension altar?" Union Lord sighed and nodded, "I have no idea how that thief was able to enter without raising any rm. But you are right about your theory. You were probably the only one who had a way to break through the eighth realm, and as you came closer and closer, you were able to sense the ascension altar. "In the end, that was a trap of the union founder, and you ended up like the others the moment you crossed into the union. I have to admit, whoever the Union founder was, he was probably a deity. "As for you nine, you were all sent here to colonize the mortal sky but ended up trapped here." Union Lord sneered disdainfully, "Although I was the one who tricked you all, I just want you all to know that I had no choice in this matter." A huntress narrowed her pretty eyes, "Then how do you exin the foreign races'' entry into the mortal? How were they able to enter the mortal sky without being dragged into the union first?" Everyone nodded as this was extremely strange. They all knew about the past of the golden sky world. The Union Lord chuckled with derision, "Really now? As expected of ignorant sects who don''t even know the immensity of heaven and earth. You guys had stumbled upon a brief weakness in the heavenly space boundary, and your seniors just decided to throw you in? You deserve what happened to you all!" "Hmph, don''t try to act all mighty like you''re better than us. You''re just some vagabond who was able to stumble upon an opportunity, or do you think only you had the method to enter here like this? If all those true powers knew what was hidden in this ce, they would''ve long taken it. They didn''t need to scheme for myriad years. They just thought of this ce as barren wastnds, nothing else." The devil mocked harshly, "Now answer the damn question. Don''t forget, we are still stronger than you, and without us, you can forget about catching that thief or acquiring that treasure!" "Hmph." The Union Lord grunted coldly as his eyes shed with killing intent before they turned to normal as if nothing had happened, "It''s simple: those guys were able to appear here because they didn''t belong to ournds in the first ce. From the start, they are the aborigines of the mortal sky heaven." "Wait." vus was shocked, "So you''re saying the mortal sky heaven is not justprised of Gold Sky World?" This was a shocking discovery to all of them, as they had never thought of it like this at all. The Union Lord sneered, "What you think? Is heaven onlyprised of a continent? Don''t make meugh. This wasn''t evenpared to 1/1000000th of our heaven. When did a ''heaven'' be so tiny? "The truth is the Mortal Sky is 1/1000th of our heaven, and it''s mostly covered in water. The endless sea is also a part of mortal sky heaven, and it''srge beyond your imagination. There should be multiple continents like this one, but they are too far away from each other, and the endless sea is extremely dangerous for such a journey, even for someone like us, because there is too much Qi radiation. These people haven''t even discovered a way to travel in the Qi radiation yet, so they are still far away from knowing about this fact. "This separates myriad races from each other, and they rarely stumbled upon each other. The various races were able toe here by only a fluke, and they thought they were from another world or even higher heaven. What an ignorant bunch they are. "Just think about it: if they were from our ce, do they need to scheme for the eighth realm cultivation method or beg us? They''re simply delusional to think of themselves on the same level as us. "If I''m not wrong, they might''ve stumbled upon an extremely ancient teleportation formation and unknowingly able to lock on this ce''s coordinates because of the presence of the ascension altar. They were just lucky, nothing else." Everyone was tongue-tied at this moment because they really never thought that this was the case despite their backgrounds. It''s just that they always looked down on the mortal sky and never thought much about it. But now, they knew that this ce was still far from reaching its full potential!
Chapter 945 Nine Years Later
Chapter 945 Nine Years Later
Within a few months, everyone on the ten continents knew that they were moving in an unknown direction with their entire continents. This was extremely strange, and no one knew what was happening and why. Some were appalled, and some were excited, especially cultivators, as they thought this might be an opportunity. In the sixth month, a strange rumor started to circte in the ten continents that the ten continents were about to merge together into one massive maind, and the person behind this miracle was none other than the Union Lord!
This caused a massive sensation, and many revered the Union Lord and even feared him for his god-like prowess. However, the merging of the continents was still far away because they were millions of miles separated from each other. Just like that, three years passed, and the first continents to merge were the Azure Wind Continent, Blood Continent, and the Beast Continent!
However, the high-ups of these three races weren''t thrilled about it, especially the hunters, as they thought themselves above both humans and the beasts. But the Union has already approached them all prior to this so that conflicts won''t happen. But it wasn''t the case for those at the bottom of thedders, and soon, small skirmishes among the three races were to be reported. In the fourth year of the continents merging, the Eleven Continent and Iron Heart Continent joined the fray, and in the sixth year, the Mighty Demons Continent arrived!
When the seventh year started, the All Devil Continent, Ancient Forest Continent, Unbreakable Stony Continent, and Myriad Bee Continentpleted the full merging, and the movement stoppedpletely!
Now, all the ten races with their continents were merged into a single gigantic maind, and its location was far away from the ten continents'' old locations. The Union Continent was millions of miles away. Furthermore, around the maind, the sea was extremely chaotic, filled with whirlpools, and a few hundred miles south of the maind was an endless stream of Qi radiation. One could say this area was a forbidden zone, but the Qi radiation seemed to be static without any movement, which put the minds of other races at some ease. Still, this new ce and the changes were massive, and in these eight years, many conflicts were reported all over the maind, and every time a new continent joined, those conflicts continued to increase. If not for the Union''s presence, a war might''ve already started long ago. Still, the atmosphere was quite tense. Yet, some of the adventurous souls who hadn''t seen any continents before started to explore the new maind, and some races were even friendly and weed these travels. It was like the start of a new era where all the races existed unitedly.
Moreover, the legendary thief Sky Stealer seemed to have vanished and hadn''t appeared for eight years, and his legends began to fade away. However, it didn''t mean the era of thieves was over. On the contrary, a secret organization of thieves emerged in the eighth year after the maind appeared and dered itself to be the home of every thief in the world. The Thieving World Society was its name, and no one knows who created it or about its leaders. But soon after their emergence, they raided arge sect city of the human territory, making a hue wave. However, their momentum was short-lived because shortly after that, the Union Lord made a worldwide deration, which shocked everyone. There was a massive origination of Sea Beasts eyeing the maind, and they were extremely powerful. The Union Lord dered war on them, for he wanted to deal with this threat before a disaster would fall upon the maind. This revtion stirred all the races. More and more information about these sea beasts being flooded in the maind, and soon, the people found just how terrifying they were as they were as ancient as the beast race, but unlike them, they never lost theirnds. In fact, they seemed to be aware of the maind long before and secretly controlled everyone from the shadows. Many mysterious assassinations of the ten races'' supreme geniuses through history were directly connected to them, and this enraged them and sent chills down many spines. Taking advantage of this moment, the Union Lord created a Sea Annihtion War Council, and anyone was wee to join it to fight against the vile sea beasts. There were many mouthwatering rewards put in the council treasury, varying from cultivation techniques to secret skills, and anyone was eligible to im them as long as they had contribution points.
This motivated people even more, and many began to join in to earn both glory and treasures.
When the ninth year started, the entire maind had been united against the sea beasts, and this was probably the first time in history the different races were so united. The third war involving the myriad races of the entire maind was about to start, and this time, they were targeting the sea races. It was just like what the devils, demons, and hunters did against the beast race in the past. No one knows what the result will be¡
--- At the unknown location in the unimaginable depth of the endless sea was a huge region filled with darkness. At this moment, an ethereal white barrier filled with countless golden runes lit up, and the next moment, itpletely shattered like ss. The darkness contained in this region suddenly began to spread at a terrible speed, and any sea beasts in the depth engulfed by it turned into dust the moment it touched them!
In the very center of this darkness, a pair of extremely cruel and terrifying eyes snapped open, making the space around churn like crazy. An ancient voice filled with mirth guffawed, "Hahahahaa¡ what is this!??? Who freed me!? Hahahahaaha¡ could it be those self-righteous gods taking a nap, and those cowardly turtles have grown a pair!? Hahahaha¡ so be it¡ I''ve been sharpening my butcher knife for a long time and thought I had to use it to escape. Still, it seemed the viinous heaven had pity on me, finally, finally¡ even you gods are no different from pawns that could be erased at any time¡ since I''m free, I''ll take it as a signal that I''m free to ughter them now¡let''s see how my children are doing... hahahahaha¡" The madughter was filled with terrifying killing intent as the darkness began to rise like a tsunami, and soon, a huge rift appeared in space and time¡ ---
In the location where once exist the Heaven Imposing Sky Lock, Ace''s figure was surrounded by dark mist, and anyone who approached him would die without knowing why. Suddenly, the dark mist absorbed into Ace''s body, and his eyes opened, creating a terrifying ripple in the space.
A cruel smile emerged on his handsome face, "Seed!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 946 Heavens Secret Condition
Chapter 946 Heaven''s Secret Condition
In thest nine years, Ace had been in seclusion, and he chose the same ce where he destroyed the Heaven Imposing Sky Lock while his other body was still outside. He chose this ce because it was well hidden, and the Qi density andw presence in this ce were far richer than anywhere he had ever been. Furthermore, after the lock was unlocked, this ce was empty, and there was no danger to speak of, so it was a good ce for his training. Moreover, while he was in seclusion, his avatar was keeping an eye on the ten continents'' movements, and he knew everything about the merging of the continents and the current war against the Sea Kings Federation. Ace had never expected that the Heaven Imposing Sky Lock was the main reason behind the Grand Split thousands of years ago not to mention unlocking it would make them return to their original state.
Now, all the ten continents were one, and things were going in a mysterious direction, and the one controlling them all was the Union Lord. Lastly, the so-called cmity warned by the sword has yet to arrive, and now Ace is ny percent sure that those words were just a sham to stop him from unlocking the Heaven Imposing Sky Lock. Moreover, Ace''s avatar wasn''t just doing nothing after the ten continents werebined and was up to something. Another thing worth mentioning was he had turned forty-three this year, and Eva was only a hair away from reaching the Law Comprehension Realm while Alina was still in the Mystic Bloodline Cist. Lillian was also working hard as she was about to enter thew awareness realm. Furthermore, three years back, the Blood Ancestor Margret died because after losing the Blood Scepter, she started to grow old as her boundless vitality began to dry, andstly, the torture she was put through added oil to the mes. In the end, she didn''t open her mouth. Even Freya wasn''t able to achieve it because she was weaker than her, so she wasn''t able to use her abilities. Still, that woman only had boundless hatred for Ace and everyone around him until the end. Since she died, Ace could only sigh as he had already found many clues about the Heaven Imposing Sky Lock, and he knew it was a scheme from someone who did not belong to this world. He still has the Heaven Imposing Sky Lock''s formation te, and with it, he might be able to find something. Nheless, he wasn''t overly curious since it was necessary for him to know all that, and once this mission was done, he won''t be here to give a damn about it. At this moment, without hesitation, he covered himself in eerie Dismantle Qi, which was like ink at this moment, and opened the mission panel. The system''s voice rang for the first time in nine years. =====
-Heaven''s Stealer Mission: Embarking the Path of Heaven''s Stealer!
- Heaven''s Secret Condition: Heart of Mortal Sky -Requirement(s):
1. Find the Mortal Sky Heart Empire!
-Status: Iplete
2. Infiltrate the Mortal Sky Heart Empire without alerting the Heavenly Mortal Emperor!
-Status: Iplete
3. Search and infiltrate the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple!
-Status: Iplete
4. Find the Hidden Entrance and infiltrate it!
-Status: Iplete
5. im the Heaven''s Secret hidden in the Heart of Mortal Sky Ascension Temple -Status: Iplete
6. Instantly Begin the Heavenly Punishment and Ascend, or you''ll die within sixty seconds after taking Heaven''s Secret!
-Status: Iplete -Thief House Members: Allowed
-Reward(s): Unknown
-Time: 50 Years
-Punishment: Painless Death
---
(Warning: Host can''t open this mission panel without encasing in the Dismantle Qi!)
===== Ace was shocked seeing the new mission and its requirements. "Mortal Sky Heart Empire? Where is it?" He couldn''t help but ask since he never heard about it before. "[It''s the oldest power present in the Mortal Sky Heaven directly protected by the Mortal Sky Heavenly Will, also known as the Worldly Will. It is ruled by the Heavenly Mortal Emperor, created by Heaven itself to safeguard the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple for eternity. The Heavenly Mortal Emperor can''t interfere with other matters of Heaven unless someone threatens to destroy its rules andws.]
"[However, the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple and the Heavenly Mortal Emperor were in a sealed state because of the Union Continent''s Protective Formation, which shouldn''t exist in this ce. It''s a protective measure to protect the Heaven''s Secret. But it was directly hidden by Heaven when the World Lock locked the Mortal Sky Heavenly Will!] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"[Only by getting rid of the union and opening the world lock would they have appeared again. Now that the host had done it, both the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple and the Heavenly Mortal Emperor have returned.]
"[But the host needs to be very careful because the moment you alert the Heavenly Mortal Emperor, no one would be able to save you because he can use the Mortal Sky Heavenly Will, which would grant him ess to endless power, and nothing would be able to hide from him in the Mortal Sky Heaven.]
"[That''s why the host needs to use the Heavenly Punishment, which is akin to Heaven taking action itself, and the Heavenly Mortal Emperor won''t be able to interfere. Afterward¡]" Ace was bbergasted as he never expected the system would reveal everything to him about Heaven''s Stealer Mission like this and even told him about what he needed to do at the end. Furthermore, the presence of this Heavenly Mortal Emperor and this hidden power was astounding for him, not to mention finding out just how powerful this existence directly created by Heaven was. He also began to understand why he needed to destroy the Union and then unlock the world lock. It was all for goading the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple out. Nheless, it sends chills to his spine just thinking about how the system already knew so much and carefully guided him at this point. Just one mishap and he would''ve been screwed, and now that the final mission was revealed, the system directly told him about the grand n and his true purpose. It was to oppose Heaven and Steal its most protected and cherished secrets, which would put him on the true path of Heaven''s Stealer, making him the Eternal Enemy of Heaven!
Chapter 947 A Trapped Mouse!
Chapter 947 A Trapped Mouse!
At this moment, within the human territory of the maind, in a secret location of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect, Dream Shatter was cultivating a mysterious soul art, creating a strange phenomenon around him when suddenly he stopped as his astute eyes locked on a remote corner.
Shock surfaced in his eyes as he narrowed them dangerously, and he said, "Now, this is surprising. I wasn''t expecting a guest."
All of a sudden, a cloaked figure appeared out of thin air, "I guess I''ve entered uninvited, but you can''t me me since I can''t help myself when I see this crappy security." A scoffing voice sounded.
Dream Shatter smiled wryly, "I don''t know whether to cry orugh. If you''re calling a high-grade-7 formation crappy, then what will you call better security?"
"Heh, you''re not to me. It''s just that my standards are quite high." The figure replied.
Dream Shatter nodded, "Arrogant and confident, as expected of the Nightmarish Thief. Mister already surpassed the Sky Stealer."
"Oh? Why do you think I''m not the Sky Stealer?" The figure questioned with a hint of surprise.
Dream Shatter smiled humbly, "Because Sky Stealer has vanished for a long time now, and I''m pretty sure he didn''t need to poke around the lowernds anymore. Besides, we humans aren''t rich enough to draw someone like Sky Stealer''s attention."
"Sigh¡ and here I thought I was discreet enough, but you''ve been on to me for quite some time, it seemed. Still, I''m quite curious. Why don''t you take action?" He asked curiously.
"You must be joking, Mister. You''ve been extremely careful, and all I can do is find some traces. I''m afraid even the Sky Stealer won''t be able to achieve it. Furthermore, you, Mister, have always been active in human territory since your debut, and you are the only one who was able to bring the Dark Nightmare Sect to its knees. It''s an achievement not any worse than the Sky Stealer. You even manage to recruit the ruminates of the Sky Stealer Society." Dream Shatter sighed with a hint of coldness shing past his eyes.
The figure of the Nightmarish Thief replied, "I guess I messed up your bait n then, huh? You let them escape and pretend you are helpless only because you wanted to draw the Sky Stealer and thought he had past ties with them, right?"
"Who knows?" Dream Shatter didn''t admit it nor rejected this im, "Maybe I was being merciful and havepassion for my human race that''s why I give them another chance. Sigh¡ what I can''t understand why someone of your caliber is walking this path of thievery when you can have a more suitable position and be revered by the humans as a Sage."
"Are you trying to recruit me, Mr. Human Ancestor?" The Nightmarish Thief snickered, "And you''re talking about being merciful and sage without even batting an eye. Aren''t you afraid of heavenly punishment striking you down?"
"It seems there''s some kind of misunderstanding between us?" Dream Shatter pretended to be surprised.
The Nightmarish Thief snickered darkly, "Really now? Misunderstanding? Stop ying these word games; they won''t work on me. I''ve already investigated the entire region of the lowernds and the massive vile formation you have established there.
"If I''m not wrong, that formation was there to nurture the elemental orbs at the expense of refining the human souls. One in thends of the city, one in thends of the kingdom, andst in thends of the empire.
"Not only that, I even found that two of them in thends of city and kingdom were taken by the Sky Stealer before you could. As for the one in thends of empire it has been taken by you long before the Sky Stealer emergence.
"What I can''tprehend is how you found them and why were you nurturing them. What was your end goal? Furthermore, since two of them were taken by the Sky Stealer, how does it affect you, and why didn''t you unseal thosends and free those humans once it was done?" He questioned coldly with a hint of fury.
Dream Shatter''s expression changed ever so slightly with a hint of surprise since he wasn''t expecting that the secret behind the lowernds would be unraveled so easily by this thief.
He impassively replied, "So there was such a thing? I have no idea something so vile was there. All I know is thosends were sealed on their own one day, and I can''t do anything about it. I was helpless against it. It must be a scheme of some devil."
A terrible aura suddenly enveloped the entire space at this moment, but Dream Shatter remained unperturbed.
The Nightmarish Thief coldly said, "Hmph, I guess I was expecting too much from a snake like you. But no worries, it doesn''t matter if you admit it or not, for your retribution is already here. No one can save you. Even our backing, the Union Lord, is still busy with the sea beasts. He won''t even know you have vanished and thought that you''ve betrayed him just like everyone else."
"This is a very harsh indictment, Mister. You''re probably suspecting an innocent man." Dream Shatter''s eyes narrowed dangerously, "Do you really want to be the enemy of the entire world like the Sky Stealer? And rob your race of their hope?"
"Hahahahahaha¡" Suddenly, a burst of hystericalughter boomed in the silent space, filled with derision.
Dream Shatter''s expression finally changed as he looked behind and saw a pale middle-aged man with long white hair, handsome features, and slim stature standing a few feet away from him!
What made him overwhelmed was he didn''t detect this man''s presence while he was so close.
"Who might you be?" He asked as he was on guard and ready to retaliate.
The middle-aged man stoppedughing as his eyes were filled with killing intent and hatred as he gawked at Dream Shatter, "Traitorous Disciple, don''t tell me you''ve forgotten about your dearest master?"
"Empty Dream!? Impossible!" Dream Shatter blurted as he took a step back, and his expression was like he was seeing a living ghost, which wasn''t far from the truth.
Empty Dream smiled coldly as he liked Dream Shatter''s appalled expression, "Impossible indeed because you made sure I suffer for all eternity. Yet here I am, standing in front of you in the flesh despite you cutting me into pieces. Brother Nightmarish, what did I tell you about this hidden location? This traitor would never give up on my n''s sealed legacy."
The Nightmarish Thief coldly replied, "You were indeed correct. We''ve trapped a mouse in this cage. ording to our deal, his head is yours, but I want the key to the formation to free all those humans and the Azure Wind Mountain Sect''s treasury."
Empty Dream confidently replied, "No worries, I''m a man of my word."
He then looked at Dream Shatter with bloodlust as his ethereal, purplish aura oozed from his body, "Are you ready to suffer my traitorous disciple? Let your master give you a taste of the endless suffering that you''ve inflicted on me!"
N?v(el)B\\jnn
Chapter 948 Treasure Chest
Chapter 948 Treasure Chest
In the wide wilderness between the beast and elven regions, a masked figure in green was wandering in this forest filled with demonic beasts. At this moment, magically, a ck hooded figure appeared beside him and muttered, "I''m finally back ten continents or should I say the United Maind. Isn''t that the name they are going with nowadays?" It was naturally Ace who just used his divine trait to appear where his avatar was after mulling over the details of the new mission. Right now, he wanted to find the location of the Mortal Sky Heart Empire, and this was probably the biggest challenge. For starters, Ace decided to look into the fate map and follow the fatepass pointer, which could lead him to his most desirable fortune. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The second thing he did beforeing here was to give the house members missions to find the clues about this mysterious hidden power, and their searching area was the mysterious endless sea!
Ace naturally won''t leave the endless sea alone, since the system confirmed there was a most powerful and ancient lineage in the mortal sky heaven. Hence, it was quite clear that the ten continents weren''t the only inhibited areas of the golden sky world. The third part of his search n was his avatar. He looked at his avatar, and he was nowpletely integrated with his prowess. With a thought, his avatar vanished and headed towards another direction where he might be able to get some clues about this empire. As for himself, he was going after the fate map location once he was done in this ce. At this moment, a white map appeared in his hand, and he opened it with anticipation. This was the same treasure map given to him by the Sun and Moon God when he made a deal with him to search for a descendant. However, at that time, he discovered that this map was useless because it was made before the great split. But it all changed when the continents began to merge back. Before, Ace also thought that this map and the treasure hidden by the Sun and Moon God was Heaven''s Secret. But now, he knew it wasn''t the case. These two matters were entirely different. Still, he didn''t want to let go of this treasure because it belonged to a possible real God and someone capable of traveling between heavens and even able to acquire a treasure like the Mystic Bloodline Cist. Ace wanted to know what this guy was doing in this ce and why he hid this treasure and his entire inheritance behind in this ce. He also didn''t forget about the sleeping soul in the token, which was supposed to be given to the bloodline owner. If this were a scheme of the Sun and Moon God for revival, then this treasure would be going back to its original owner. s, then Acees into the picture, and he won''t let this happen while also taking all this treasure. That''s why when all the continents finished merging, he had his avatar search for this marked location in this map, and just as he thought, this map really belonged to the time before the great split. This forest was the exact ce where the treasure was hidden, and all that was left for to find its actual location. Ace looked around carefully and the map before he reached the depth of this forest. The demonic beasts can''t see him because his stealth has reached the pinnacle of the mortal sky at his point. Suddenly, Ace reached a gully, and the next moment, the map in his hand began to vibrate before releasing a white glow. ''I''m close.'' Ace''s eyes shimmered with excitement as he could feel the map being pulled in a certain direction like a ma. Ace followed without hesitation, as the closer he got to this pulling force, the more the map glowed and vibrated. At this moment, Ace suddenly stopped in front of an extremely old tree with dry branches, and it seemed to bepletely wilted, dead for who knows how long. But something magical happened: a white ray shot out from the map into the tree, and suddenly, the wilted tree began to emit an aura of life as its lush green color began to change to its dark color, and leaves grew at a visible rate. Within a few seconds, the dead tree was full of vitality andpletely revived, which astonished Ace. But it was far from over for the tree branches to move as if they were alive, and in front of Ace, a door was formed made with tree branches, and then a white vortex suddenly emerged in that door. ''Just how powerful that guy was actually?'' Ace waspletely bbergasted, seeing this magical scene. He had never expected that it was possible even to create something like this. Without this map, no one would be able to enter this ce, much less find the treasure, and the skills required to create something like this were unimaginable. Nheless, Ace knew one day he would be able to do something like this as long as he continued to move forward. Taking a deep breath, Ace entered the white vortex. The next moment, the tree, which seemed to be full of life, began to wilt again as the door made with branches vanished, and finally, a fiery spark emerged out of nowhere, torching the entire tree into gray mes before it turned into ashes!
Ace, at this moment, stepped in a bronze grand hall filled with rows of bronze columns and in the center of this strange ce was a wooden chest. It looked extremely ordinary, made with brown polish wood, and there was only a keyhole, nothing else. Ace''s eyes narrowed as he looked in the fate map and found that this ce didn''t appear on the map, which could only mean this area was even more powerful than his fate map detection ability, which was quite rming since his treasure was now a grade-8 treasure. With a grave expression, Ace slowly begins to walk toward the wooden chest with the glowing map in his hand. He was also ready to teleport out using his divine trait the moment things went south. However, nothing of that sort happened as he reached the chest, and upon close inspection, it looked even more ordinary. ''Is it really some heaven-defying treasure?'' Ace wondered as he tried to pick up the treasure chest. His expression changed because he couldn''t lift this one cubic meter wooden chest!
Chapter 949 Dismantle Qi’s Secret
Chapter 949 Dismantle Qi¡¯s Secret
With a clouded expression, Ace looked at the wooden chest and sighed helplessly. Despite using all his strength, he still couldn''t lift this chest. "I guess I still need that key to move and open this chest. But that key would only work when the owner of that bloodline would use it, and Alina is still not done. Sigh¡ and here I thought I could give it a try without Alina¡" Ace muttered before his eyes turned fierce. "System apprise this chest and the item inside it." He ordered. "[100 Million Thief Points.]"
Ace''s eyes widened, "So much? I guess it ought to be expected from this item hidden here by a god. Alright, tell me." =====
[A ??? Grade Storage Chest locked with a Bloodline Lock]
-Description: A chest crafted with an extremely rare material between heaven and earth. It can be used to store and hide the aura of Heavenly Items that can''t be stored using any type of storage treasures. It is currently locked with a special bloodline signature lock. Without a particr bloodline key, it''s almost impossible to unlock, and if opened by force, the item within will relinquish in chaotic space turbulence. --
[The Seed of Timeless Chaos Tree]
-Description: ???
-Grade: ???
-Usage: ???
--
[NOTE: Please upgrade the system to see the details of this item!]
===== n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace''s expression sank when he saw the hidden details of the seed of timeless chaos tree and berated, "Are you kidding me? You took a hundred million just to give me this crap?!" "[It''s not the system''s fault that the host can''t upgrade the system, and you can''t see the information. Furthermore, this item is extremely special, and there is only one between time and space.]
"[System also would like to rmend not to open this chest; instead, keep it locked once you unlock the bloodline lock on it. Instead, the host could be this treasure chest''s owner once the bloodline lock is removed.]
"[The thief''s space is not at the level where it couldpletely hide the Seed of Timeless Chaos Tree yet. If you take it out, only misfortune awaits you.]"
Ace was startled hearing this unexpected response, and his expression turned serious, "Just what is this Seed of Timeless Chaos Tree that even you can''t handle?"
He never expected that even the thief''s space was inferior to this chest and this seed could cause so much trouble by just taking it out. Now, he was extremely curious how the Sun and Moon God was able to get his hands on this seed and where he found it. Maybe his disappearance was also connected to it. "[Please upgrade the system to a precise level to see the usage of this item. All the system can tell you is that even after you upgrade the system again, you might not be able to see the details of this item. But it''s very useful for the host in the future.]
"[Right now, the host can move this chest by covering it with your Dismantle Qi, for it would directly cut off the connection of this chest with this space and then store it in the thief''s space. This is all the system can help you with.]"
Ace was even more shocked, "So you''re saying this item is helpful to me in the future but not currently even after I ascend?" "[Yes.]"
Ace inhale sharply, "Can you please tell me what else Dismantle Qi could do besides dismantling items and hiding from heaven? I had my doubts since Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Gloves were clearly not just made for dismantling items, right?" The more Ace understood the Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Principles, the more shocked he became because they were simply too magical and heaven-defying, and he was at the peak of right now. Yet they didn''t have any attacking power, which didn''t go well with their properties. The part about how Qi could hide from heaven was revealed by the system when he triggered heaven''s stealer mission, and now the system revealed another property of this unique Qi. It can also break the connection of an item that a God sets up despite having not effect on the treasure yet. So, his doubts about its true properties were many and justifiable. "[System had long told the host that the Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Gloves can dismantle anything and everything, and to dismantle something, their connection would naturally be separated as well. The host just didn''t pay attention enough.]"
Ace grunted unhappily, "Are you saying I''m an idiot?" "[Those are host words, not system''s!]"
Ace had dark lines on his forehead and decided to drop this matter since it was akin to throwing an egg on a steel wall. Nheless, he already has a solution to his current predicament, and he can now take this chest away without having to wait on Alina. He knew he needed to search for the Mortal Sky Heart Empire, and once he was done with it, he might not have another chance toe back. That''s why he wanted to get it over with. Without further ado, the inky Dismantle Qi gushed out from his hands, and it began to cover the wooden chest. The moment it fully covered it, the entire space quacked. Ace was startled and quickly tried to pick up the chest, and this time, he effortlessly lifted it and quickly stowed it away in the thief''s space corner. The next moment, the entire space began to crumble down, and another portal appeared right where the chest was, and without hesitation, Ace quickly entered it. Just as the portal vanished, a feeble voice rang before it vanished with the dying space, "Hehehe¡ it seemed my preparations were sessful¡" --- Ace, at this moment, walked out from the portal and appeared in the middle of a forest. However, his eyes suddenly widened as he took a step backward because in front of him stood a bony man with an exposed torso and his facepletely hidden by dirty dreadlocks. He was holding a bronze bowl with both of his hands in front of him like a beggar. But Ace didn''t even think for a second that this was just a beggar because he couldn''t even sense his presence despite standing right in front of him, and for some reason, his instincts were raising the rm. The beggar suddenly raised his bronze bowl in front of Ace, and his pitiful voice sounded as he begged, "O'' Lord Immortal, please have pity on this little thrall and grace me with your benevolence!"
Chapter 950 Dreadful Beggar
Chapter 950 Dreadful Beggar
"O'' Lord Immortal, please have pity on this little thrall and grace me with your benevolence!" Ace was taken aback when he heard those words since it was a first for him. If he didn''t know better, he might really take this man as an ordinary beggar. But it was neither the ce nor a situation where a beggar would appear right in front of him. So, there was only one possibility he could think of, and that was this person knew about the treasure chest before, but he couldn''t go in and was waiting here for this opportunity. As for how long, he had no idea, and it made this person even more dreadful! Still, Ace wanted to know who this person was, so he didn''t immediately escape and asked coldly, "Who are you?" The beggar remained unperturbed as he didn''t lose his posture and replied in a pitiful tone, "I''m just a little thrall who is alive because of others'' benevolence, milord!" Ace narrowed his eyes, and he waved his sleeve, and the next moment, the bronze bowel was filled with sparkling peak-grade-7 Qi stones. "Here, I think it should be enough benevolence for you," Ace stated, but he didn''t move and only stared at the beggar. However, something amazing happened: the Qi stones suddenly turned into countless particles, and the beggar remained unmoved as he again wailed, "Oh Lord Immoral, this pitiful one doesn''t need worldly riches. Please bestow this little one something to fill his stomach." Ace squinted his eyes, and he again waved his sleeve, and this time the bronze bowl was filled with Qi fruits. However, again, those Qi fruits turned into particles, and the beggar wailed again, "This little thrall didn''t dare to taste such delicacies! Just a signal seed would be enough to fill my wretched stomach!" This time, a strange charm was mixed in his tone, which could bewitch anyone. But Ace''s mind remained unaffected because of his heavenly Qi and first authority of darkness. ''Finally showing his fox tail. He really knew about the Seed of Timeless Chaos Tree. Just who is he?'' Suddenly, Ace''s lips curled in a cruel smile, and he decided to try something before running away.
The next moment, the surroundings begin to turn dark as he activates thewless darkness. This time, the unmoved beggar quivered as his head suddenly moved and stared right into Ace''s hooded head, and two torched-like eyes shimmered fiercely, wanting to see through him. "Impossible!" A signal appalled word came out from his mouth. He seemed extremely afraid of the darkness being released by Ace. "It''s this little one fault to offend Lord Immortal. I''ll repent in the abyss!" The next moment, the beggar''s entire figure turns ethereal before hepletely fades away. He had escaped thewless darkness! n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace was even more startled by this since it was his first seeing someone escaping from his first authority of darkness. He was under the impression that it was impossible to escape this authority, yet this guy was extremely quick to escape the moment he sensedwless darkness. Ace''s expression was grim as he stopped using thewless darkness and looked at the fate map. There was nothing there, and his surroundings were as normal as they could get. ''Who the hell was he?'' He was not very happy about this development since this could be a fatal disaster for him if someone like this beggar could appear unnoticed and even escape hiswless darkness. Furthermore, Ace had a feeling that the beggar knew too much, and he might even know who Ace truly was and now that he knew he had the Seed, he might not give up. After all, the other party took the risk of exposing himself in front of Ace and bluntly demanded the seed. In the end, Ace felt insecure and decided to use his divine trait to teleport directly into his avatar''s soul space. Just as Ace''s figure vanished, the Beggar appeared in the same position again, and the next moment, he vomited arge amount of blood!
He muttered hoarsely, "This¡ how did he get an authority of myths? And this teleportation was also not typical space teleportation, there was no space fluctuation nor any traces of formation. Did someone go wrong this time out of the Supremacy calction?
"I can''t use my power in the mortal sky. Just hiding from that authority greatly wounded me. I was supposed to find and bring back the seed, yet I failed since that degenerate hid it using another heavenly treasure, and now, of all the people, it fell into the hands of the new generation of Heaven''s Stealer¡ "I need to escte my n and go back to report it. This generation of Heaven''s Stealer is too strange¡" The next moment, he vanishedpletely with a hint of dread in his heart as he knew something had gone terribly wrong this time, especially the seed falling in the hands of a Heaven''s Stealer, which spelled nothing but a catastrophe for both him and the Supremacy behind him! --- Ace again appeared beside his avatar far from the forest, and his expression was extremely heavy as he still could get that beggar out of his mind since it gave him a terrible, rming feeling. "System, do you know who that person was?" He tried asking the system and got silent as an answer. He could only smile bitterly since he was expecting it anyway. In the end, he let his avatar continue while he headed in the direction that his fate map was indicating. He was now in even more hurry toplete this mission after encountering that beggar. As for the United Maind, he didn''t have anything here to do. The Union Lord was no longer his enemy or concern since his schemes were useless now that he had already got the treasure the Union Lord was searching for. A few dayster, he was again flying over the endless sea while following the fate map. As Ace was searching for the Mortal Sky Heart Empire on this day, he was stopped because he suddenly felt something and quickly looked into his thief''s space. At this moment, Eva was surrounded by a ghastly inky mist as the crown-like runes on her forehead were shimmering in crimson light and her aura was rising with every passing second. Her rising aura now covered the entire thief''s space, rming Lillian and woke the sleeping Cyrus. Ace couldn''t help but smile with ecstasy, "She''s about to breakthrough!"
Chapter 951 Taking Responsibility
Chapter 951 Taking Responsibility
Acended on a small, barren ind and merrily questioned the system, "Now that Eva has a breakthrough in the Law Comprehension Realm, can I let her out?" "[Yes, she can no longer draws the attention of the [Natural Order].] Thrilled, with a thought, Eva''s enthralling figure appeared in front of him. She wore a ck flowery dress, and her goddess-like features were even more sharp and alluring. Furthermore, the runic crown on her head and runic lines on his arms werepletely gone as she now appearedpletely normal except for her devilish eyes that could charm anyone. This was proof that she was now inplete control of her bloodline.
Eva smiled, brightened the secrecy around her when she saw Ace, and felt the worldly air after a long time. "So, I''m free?" She asked coquettishly, as she had been waiting for this day for a long time now. Without her bloodline and the resources, she would''ve never had a breakthrough so quickly, and it was also like a dream to her since she had never expected herself to be able to reach this realm. All of this was possible because she met this man in front of her, the love of her life. Ace smiled gently and couldn''t help but capture her alluring red lips with his, making her moan in surprise. But she didn''t resist and passionately metaled into him while wrapping her arms around his neck. His hands couldn''t resist the temptation to y with her big breast, making her moan lusciously. Soon, the entire ind was covered in a barrier, and no one could see their passionate love. Days passed just like that as both Ace and Eva indulged in each other. It was a rare moment of peace and love, especially for Ace. In the nighttime, the two of them gazed at the starry sky while cuddling in each other arms. Eva looked even more graceful as shey on his muscr chest and couldn''t help but tenderly ask, "Tell me, what are you up to?" She knew about his seclusion for nine years, but she had no idea about what was happening out in the world. Now that she was finally free, she wanted to help him like she always had. Ace didn''t hide anything and told her about the merging and his current goal rted to the Mortal Sky Heart Empire. But he still didn''t tell her about the Heaven''s Stealer matter and his recent encounter with the beggar because he knew she would be worried and might do something silly. Eva was bewildered by the merging, as she didn''t expect that the map was hiding a lock, and this empire greatly fascinated her. She was someone who liked adventures and always wanted to roam the world, and now she wanted to do the same with Ace. "So, once you get this treasure from this empire, you need to ascend right away?" She asked with a thoughtful look. Ace nodded as he looked in the starry sky with anticipation and nostalgia, "Yes. I never expected there woulde a day when I would have a chance to leave the Golden Sky World. Heh, I didn''t even know there was another ce except our world. We havee a long way from the tiny River Flower City, haven''t we?" Eva was also nostalgic as her past was now like a dream to her, "Indeed, I was a ve, and you were a mortal dishwasher." She couldn''t help but giggle while reminiscent. Ace smiled, reminiscing about his life as a mortal. It was like a terrible yet one of his cherished memories. He was already over forty years old, which was akin to half the life of a mortal. "It''s a pity we have to leave." Ace sighed, as deep down he knew he would never get to live a peaceful life, and he also didn''t want that. Now, he really liked his thievish life filled with adventures despite there being danger at every corner. Eva stated yfully, "I don''t mind a life of adventure as long as it is with you. Besides, how would you search for beauties if you stayed in one ce?" Ace felt wronged as he had never done anything like this, and he knew Eva was just taunting him, "You''re still using me unjustifiably. In my heart, you are the most beautiful." Eva felt happiness blooming in her heart, but she jokingly said, "Said that in front of Alina, I dare you."
"She is also beautiful, and you can''t deny that. Especially once she emerged after her bloodline change." Ace replied teasingly. Eva pped his chest gently and pretended to be fierce, "Scoundrel!" Ace grinned before he thought of something and said seriously, "After Alinaes out, I''m going to ept Noa''s feelings. What do you think about it?" Eva suddenly looked at him sternly, "She''s the first house member, the assassin, right? Is she pretty?" Ace smiled bitterly as he knew this wasing, "Truthfully, I have only seen her once, and at that time, her face was disfigured because she had applied some kind of poison on it to protect her purity from her mortal enemy. But I''m pretty sure she had healed now after she started the body tempering. She has a cold personality and always wears a mask, and I respect her privacy like everyone else." Eva''s eyes narrowed as it was her first time hearing this about Noa, she didn''t know about the house members'' past. "Then why? Do you like her, or does she like you?" She asked.
Ace smiled helplessly, "Thette and I also respect her. I''m not so dense to not notice it. Furthermore, after I think about it more carefully, the house members are bound to my life, and they can''t betray or leave the thief house unless they are dead. "They can''t have a normal, peaceful life, and even if they love someone, they will always be people of two different worlds. It''s unfair for them since I was the one who dragged them into this. "Although the conditions were perilous when I tricked them into saving my own skin, it doesn''t mean they are my ves. So, I''ve decided to give them sce in any way I could, and Noa probably wanted this for a long time now. If this could make her happy, then why not." Eva fell into silence as she could feel his guilt in those words, "Why are you thinking it was your fault? You have to do what you did to protect yourself, and they also get many things out of it, no?
"Without you, they would''ve never even dreamt of all this, so stop feeling guilty. If you ask me, I think they are pretty happy. As for their love lives, I think you should make a move on all of them, not just Noa. This way, they will be absolutely loyal to you, and they will be doing everything voluntarily." She said solemnly.
Ace was speechless since he wasn''t expecting this response!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 952 Elemental State
Chapter 952 Elemental State
Eva looked at Ace''s dazed face and giggled with full of seductive charm, "What do you imagine I would fly in rage or limit you? Come on, I have to keep my dominant image in front of others, but not in front of you." Ace couldn''t help but feel bliss. Suddenly, Eva''s expression turned serious, "Those girls are full of potential because of you, so giving them away would be a huge loss, especially if the fall of another man. This could be fatal for you and your purpose, so conquer them yourself. Good things should be kept in the house." Ace smiled wryly, "They are not essories, you know. But you do have a point. However, I''m not going to force anyone. But I''m also not going to reject them either if it''s okay with you. Life is really unpredictable." Eva smiled tenderly as long as it was, for she would do anything for him, even if it meant sharing him with the other. She was happy as long as he wouldn''t forget her and stay the same. She then teasingly said, "Do you think the huntress would agree to this?" "I don''t know, but I think she is also not narrow-minded. "Ace sighed, "Still, I''m not going to act before she agrees since it is her right. I don''t want any dispute among you guys. But I think it''s quite amusing." Eva''s eyes narrowed dangerously, "So you found it amusing to watch us fight over you?" Ace suddenly felt he had said something he shouldn''t have, so he quickly changed the topic, "What do you think about the ascension? Since you have memories of blood heritage, you might know far more than anyone else in this world, right?" Eva looked at him meaningfully and decided not to push it. She then replied, "I do have some insight. The Eight Realms of the Mortal Sky represent the Elemental State. Meaning, this is the state where we awake and cultivate our innate Element to the peak. "When the Element Law Proficiency breaks past the 100% barrier, a cultivator would then enter the Law State, which is above the Elemental State, which we call ascension. "However, to ascend from Elemental State to Law State, we need to go through Heavenly Tribtion, or some even call it the Ascending Tribtion because this act is against Heaven. "But to draw the Heavenly Tribtion in the lower heaven that has reached its limit of power, one needed an Ascension Altar. Because Heaven has its cultivation limit, and once that limit is reached, these altars are mandatory, and only with them could we ascend to a higher heaven right away. "Many died during this process because the stronger you are, the ghastlier the Heavenly Tribtion. On the other hand, if we try breaking through within heaven with a higher cultivation limit, then we don''t need this altar at all. "The Mortal Sky Heaven is limited to eight realms, and to go higher, we need an ascension altar once we are ready to break free from the Elemental State. This is the most traditional and direct method to ascend to higher heaven and go beyond heaven''s limit. "There is another unorthodox and most difficult method, which is to directly break the Heavenly Firmamentmonly known as Heavenly Space Boundary, which would directly draw the Heavenly Punishment. "But there is a massive difference between the Heavenly Tribtion and Heavenly Punishment. Heavenly Tribtion won''t actively try to kill you, as it is a test from Heaven to test the person''s qualifications and will; there is always a reward after it. "However, the Heavenly Punishment is the wrath of heaven, which is a hundred times stronger than a Heavenly Tribtion, and there is no reward but only death. Even if someone manages to cross it, they would be too wounded or on the verge of death to protect themselves from whates next. "These kinds of people are normally the strongest in Heaven. Although I don''t know much, there is only a vague mention of these people who could cross a heavenly punishment for their ascension. They are the Heaven Defiers who defy the rules of heaven, and only the abyss awaits them." Eva frowned at this point. Ace waspletely fascinated by this information, especially about the difference between tribtion and punishment. He was someone who knew the true horror of Heavenly Punishment. He had never thought that others could also draw it, and there was even a reward in heavenly tribtion, which made him somewhat indignant. Suddenly, he became worried about Eva and others because they needed to go through Heavenly Tribtion to break free from the Elemental State. Even if Heavenly Tribtion was less threatening than Heavenly Punishment, it was still dangerous the same, and there were high chances of death, especially if they were powerful. "When you are ready to go through the heavenly tribtion, you must have me by your side." He sternly said without any room for refute. Eva looked at him deeply as she heard from Cyrus about one of his breakthroughs and couldn''t help but ask, "You have gone through it, right? Just what are you cultivating?" Ace sighed helplessly and decided to tell her about his two simultaneous cultivations. The house members already knew, and since Eva knew about the Heavenly Punishment, he couldn''t hide it from her. Eva was extremely frightened since she knew more about the others and looked at Ace as if he was an otherworldly being. She eximed, "But how is this possible?! No one can cultivate both martial and soul paths simultaneously! Although there are body and soul refinement techniques to mend differences between the two cultivation paths, it is still impossible to have the effect of the original. No wonder you have to go through Heavenly Punishment every time you enter a major realm. Just who is behind you?" She sounded really worried and anxious. He was definitely hiding someone big. Ace gently brushed her peerless face and smiled, "Don''t worry so much. The Heavenly Punishment can''t kill me easily now. As for who is behind me, just believe me, I can''t tell you for good reason." Having said that, he suddenly put his hand in front of Eva, and white lightning began to swirl around his hand. Eva waspletely caught off guard, and when she felt the terrifying intent behind that white lightning, this made her entire body tremble as if she had met her natural nemesis. It was extremely strange, as that fear came from the depth of her very being. She looked at Ace in horror as an impossible notion struck her mind. Ace smiled as the lightning vanished from his hand and confidently said, "This is Heavenly Lightning Law from Heavenly Punishment, which I have stolen after going against Heavenly Punishments." Ace grinned coldly, "If Heaven wants to kill me, the Heavenly Punishment is no longer sufficient. On the contrary, it will only make me stronger, so you don''t need to worry at all. Now, tell me, do you still think I''m in danger?" Eva was gobsmacked, as she had never thought it was even possible to steal the Law directly from Heaven!N?v(el)B\\jnn
Chapter 953 The Sea King City
Chapter 953 The Sea King City
After a long time, Eva finally calmed down, but her entire view of Ace''s prowess had greatly changed, and she now had boundless confidence in him like never before. They both spend another peaceful night on the ind before they finally head toward the direction of the fate map. This time, Ace was no longer alone, but Eva was with him as she was enjoying this very much. It was her dream to roam in the world with Ace, and she was finally doing it after a very long time. To make it more interesting, Ace sent Cyrus out as well, and the little guy was very happy at first, but he shuddered when he saw his big sis was also beside Ace this time around. So, he had to behave like an obedient child unless he wanted to be punished. While traveling with Eva, Ace finds that time passes very quickly, and the rare feeling of happiness and peace is always present in his heart.
On this day, Ace suddenly received a call from Winter, and he epted it. "I think I found something. There is a ruin on an inhabited ind, and there are traces of some old civilization, and I even found some unique rune symbols and texts in a differentnguage from ours." Winter reported. Ace''s eyes shimmered before he ordered, "Alright, note down those runes and take anything useful with you. We''ll meet in five years if our search doesn''t bode any results, and even if you find its position, don''t go without the others. Now, continue your search; our lives depend on it." "I know you don''t need to repeat twice. I was just giving you a heads-up since my direction might be the correct path. Anyway, the endless sea is not easy to travel. I nearly fell into a storm caused by some terrifying beast, and there was a mist of endless Qi radiation in some parts. This won''t be easy." Winter sighed as sheined about this mission. Ace knew how hard it was to search the entire endless sea when they didn''t even know how big it was, but what could he do but move forward? The call ended after he gave her some advice, and he then looked into the endless sea and then at the fate map. He''s been following this direction for a month now, and there was still nothing in view. "Where are we going, aimlessly?" Eva asked, sitting beside him on the ship. She felt somewhat bored now as watching the sea all day long was not fun at all, so she started to pay attention towprehension. Still, she was happy about traveling with Ace the same. Ace smiled helplessly, "I don''t know. I just have an ability that could give me a general direction where I should go to seek a fortune most suitable for me. So, I''m just following it. It''s far better than going somewhere without any aim. Who knows, I may be able to find the damn empire with it? But if not, then at least I''ll get a treasure out of it, right?" Eva was surprised as she didn''t know such an ability even existed, but after thinking about how Ace could cultivate both paths, she doesn''t find this ability ridiculous anymore. In her view, Ace was capable of anything now. So, the aimless voyage continued. On this day, Ace''s attention shifted to his avatar. It was swimming in the depths of the endless sea, and right now, he was stealthily approaching an underwater city! This was the Sea King City of the Sea Kings Federation! When Ace chooses his targets to investigate, he naturally won''t overlook this ancient civilization of the sea beasts, which might be as old as the magic beasts or even more. Furthermore, he still remembered Sea King Pen and the memories he received from Sea King Freddy. The Sea Kings Federation has been keeping an eye on the ten continents for a long time, and they have many records, and they even know about the ascension. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Lastly, the most interesting part was a forbidden area that the Federation guards and studied for a very long time, and no one was allowed there besides the three leaders and nine vice leaders. This area was called the Forbidden Boundary. It was more like an invisible wall that stopped anyone from entering a peculiar section of the sea, and it was shrouded in inky mist. So, Ace was very interested in the records of the Federation as well as this forbidden boundary, so he sent his avatar here. The maind was also about to send its first army unit here to start the war, which was a very idiotic decision in Ace''s view because starting the war with sea beasts within the sea was simply courting death. But it had nothing to do with him since he couldn''t stop anything, and if they all wanted to die, he didn''t give a damn. But he knew better that it was the Union Lord''s scheme to achieve something, and he didn''t want to sh with him unless it was absolutely necessary. The underwater city was very strange and unique from the cities of thend. The buildings were made with some sea material, and they all glow beautifully, illuminating the entire ce. He spotted many sea beasts in their true forms roaming in the ce, and some were transformed like magic beasts, but their transformations were not as perfect as Pen and Freddy''s.
With Ace''s current strength and the uniqueness of his avatar, as long as he doesn''t want to be seen, no one can spot him unless they are a whole realm above him or have special abilities or treasures. Furthermore, his avatar can learn any soul-type skill within a few seconds if it is a lower level, and it would only take hours for a sky breaker-level skills and techniques. Not to mention, its own unique abilities were terrifying enough on their own, and with Ace''s treasure trove in the mix, fighting against his avatar was the same as fighting against his main body.
Ace''s destination this time was the Sea Kings Federation Headquarters, where they stored all their records and also met an old acquaintance. Spotting a citadel in the center of the city, his lips curled up behind his mask as speed increased!
Chapter 954 Forbidden Radiation Sea
Chapter 954 Forbidden Radiation Sea
In a luminous, wide space filled with water and dense Qi, a male seemingly in histe twenties was sitting cross-legged with his eyes tightly shut. His expression was extremely gloomy for some reason. This was the President of the Sea Kings Federation, Pen! Lately, Pen''s mood has been extremely perplexed, and he has kept encountering bad luck it all started from the time when he lost the natural treasure which he had been using for hundreds of years. Afterward, it was all like a bad dream for him. Not only did he not obtain the way to ascend, but he was even beaten by and dweller, which was extremely shameful. Moreover, he was forced toe back to the federation and had to handle this annoying ce, which he really didn''t like. But peace never came as Freddy went out and offended some old monster and then went on a rampage, and he had to step up and suppress him. Pen wanted to leave again, but the elders, this time, didn''t give him a chance and begged while grabbing his legs. In the end, annoyed, Pen had to stay since he really cared about his home despite his hate for the responsibilities. Furthermore, thend dwellers somehow found their kingdom, and they were now nning tounch an attack. To make matters worse, the leading figure in this war was none other than the same person he lost to. Just thinking about it made Pen ground his teeth in hatred, and he was preparing for his revenge. He hates the Union Lord because, in his mind, he was the one who stood between him and ascension, as he didn''t dare to hate that unfathomable senior or find him. He had lost all face. "If you continue like this, you''ll eventually suffer Qi deviation." A nonchnt voice rang. Pen''s eyes snapped open in shock as he waspletely startled since this ce was filled with traps and was the most secure ce in the entire federation. Yet, this unknown person appeared here without even alerting him or triggering any trap. A few meters away from him was a figure d in dark blue armor; his face was hidden behind a mask, and only his astute, calm, dark blue eyes were visible. Furthermore, he can''t sense this person''s cultivation at all, and he is extremely calm as he looks at him like he is nothing but a mortal. "Who?" Pen asked coldly while he was prancing secretly and preparing to flee the moment he got the chance. Ace couldn''t help but smile behind his mask and coolly said, "What do you already forget about our deal? Not only did you fail toplete my mission, but you didn''t evene to report it back, so I think I found you since I was bored." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Pen''s heart trembled as his eyes widened. He instantly knew who this person was and couldn''t help but eximed with a tingle of excitement, "S-senior, is that really you?" Pen was now really certain that this person was a hidden expert and the most terrifying one in the entire world. But then he felt even more ashamed about his failure and even felt slightly touched that the Senior came here to check on him. "Who else could it be?" Ace inly replied, "So, you ended up losing to the Union Lord, huh?" Pen blushed in embarrassment and cussed Union Lord for making him lose face in front of senior. "I-I¡" "Alright, no need to exin. It doesn''t matter since you dare to try. I can see your determination and resolve to achieve ascension. Today, I found you for three reasons, and based on your further performance, I might give you another chance to achieve ascension." Ace solemnly stated with an air of mysterious expert around him. Pen was instantly ted and quickly stood up, bowing in front of Ace, and promised, "I''ll do it! Please grant me this opportunity!" Ace''s lips curled up in a devious smile, "Alright, first, I want to skim through your records like the one you gave himst time. There is something I''m searching for if I find it. I''ll grant your race a fortuitous opportunity, so it all depends on your sincerity." Pen instantly agreed, "Senior, please, you don''t need to be reserved. The forbidden library is always open for you, and you can search for anything. No one will dare to restrict your steps. I can guarantee that!" This matter was very small in Pen''s eyes since, in his mind, an expert like this wouldn''t be interested in their race''s secrets or in their techniques. So, this was a very small price to pay for a favor. Ace nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Second, I want to know if you have ever heard about Mortal Sky Heart Empire ore in contact with a ce that other people like the ten continents inhabit?" Pen frowned a little as he thought carefully before replying, "Do inds count?" Ace shook his head, "No, at least another continent like the ten continents and Union continent of the past, or it could also be a maind like the current ten continents." He was really hoping to find some clues here, but seeing Pen''s expression, he had lost almost all his hope. "No, senior, if there was another continent or maind, we couldn''t have missed it all this time." Pen shook his head before he suddenly thought of something and said, "But if there was such a ce, it has to be on the other side of the Forbidden Radiation Sea, or at least the chances are very high." Ace''s eyes shimmered with surprise, "Tell me more about this forbidden radiation sea." Pen didn''t dy and quickly revealed, "You see, senior, when we travel a certain distance in the endless sea, we will eventually encounter a wall of Qi radiation mist that is as high as the sky and as deep as the sea. Not only we can''t fly over it, but we can''t even swim as the water is filled with Qi radiation. "Furthermore, that wall is in every direction like a box, isting this ce. I once traveled to that ce in search of ascension and wasted over a hundred years to avail. Moreover, Qi radiation in that ce is extremely potent. Even low-grade-8 treasure can onlyst about a year before corroding with radiation and then rotting away. "Even I felt a sense of death in that ce, so I quickly gave up on crossing the forbidden radiation sea." Pen felt a chill just thinking about that bad memory when he also killed himself in search of ascension. Ace was also surprised as he never thought there was such a ce, and he knew this ce was worth searching for. At least it was far better than nothing!
Chapter 955 Making Trouble
Chapter 955 Making Trouble
??955 Making Trouble
"So, if we go far enough, we''ll eventually encounter this Forbidden Radiation Sea, right?" Ace asked for confirmation.
''Strange, why he didn''t know about this? Could it be he never go in that ce to search for ascension?'' Pen thought with uncertainty and felt even more bitter when he thought about how he had been madly searching for a way to ascend, yet this man didn''t even need to.
Hiding his bitterness, he nodded, "Yes. No one can miss it if they want to go forward."
''Could it be the empire is really on the other side of this forbidden radiation sea? Although others might not be able to travel through it, it ispletely different for me.'' Ace''s eyes shimmered as he had already decided where to go with his main body if he didn''t find any clues about the empire in five years.
"What about the sky? Have you ever tried to go into the sea of stars?" Ace curiously asked.
Pen nodded before he replied with a lingering fear, "I had. But when I reached a certain height, I felt a strange presence, and the further I went an invisible pressure began to envelop me. At some point, I finally gave up because my instincts told me if I went any further, I might never be able toe back and die. The space above is really terrifying and cold."
Ace''s eyes narrowed. Now that he knew about the Heavenly Space Boundary, he knew there was some kind of barrier stopping others from going to another heaven and also restraining the upper heaven people froming down.
Furthermore, to ascend, one needed an ascension altar or break the heavenly space boundary, which should be at the highest point in the space. As for his own ascension, he already knows because of the system.
At this point, Ace stopped prying further since he already got what he wanted and stated hisst point, "The third thing is I want to know about what is the forbidden boundary that you guys are protecting?"
Pen''s heart trembled as this was the biggest secret of his race, and only a few knew about its presence, yet this senior even knew about it.
He didn''t dare to hide it and revealed, "The forbidden boundary wasn''t always there. It appeared around over fifty to sixty thousand years ago all of a sudden when the great split happened up there. The forbidden boundary used to be our race''s holy ground, and there was a secret realm filled with resources.
"However, one day, a storm appeared out of nowhere, and space shattered, creating chaos and everyone forced to flee. By the time things settled, we found the holy ground was enshrouded in darkness, and we couldn''t enter or break past it no matter what we tried.
"Almost half of our power was wiped out, and we also lost our secret realm and many powerful techniques and inheritances left behind by the sages of our race. So, we''ve been searching for a way to regain that ce, but to no avail." Pen sighed ruefully at this point with a hint of sadness because he lost his father in the forbidden boundary that day when the disaster struck.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace''s eyes shimmered with a peculiar glint as a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind. But he didn''t dare to reveal it.
The forbidden boundary wasn''t what he was thinking it to be, so he dropped any thought of going there and seeing a disaster if what he was thinking was true.
Pen suddenly thought of something before saying with uncertainty, "My junior reports a strangeness. He said the darkness in the forbidden boundary seemed to be moving, and it all started nine years ago when the ten continents began to move on their own and except that there isn''t anything strange."
''Don''t tell me, it''s really what I''m thinking it to be?'' Ace''s heart sank as he didn''t want it to be true, but if it was, he really had to flee.
"Alright, show me those records, and then I''ll give tell you how you can ascend." Ace solemnly stated.
Pen''s eyes shed with tion as he quickly began to move while Ace followed him. They both cross some hidden pathways without anything protecting them, and the entire ce is like a maze filled with formations.
If Ace was alone, it might''ve taken him some time to search through this ce, even with Live Fate Map''s help. Nheless, tricking Pen was the easiest, and he had already got a clue about his target.
Now, he just wanted to search through those records just to be sure that he was on the right track or if he had missed something.
The forbidden library wasn''t asrge as he imagined it would be. But it was filled with jade scrolls and many ancient scrolls and records. Without hesitation, he begins to read through all of them, and Pen apanies him like a junior.
Although this was one of the strongest people alive in this world, he was a simpleton and worshiped strength more than anything. Even if he was arrogant, he was willing to bow his head to get the method to raise his power. This was his only obsession, and Ace couldn''t help but admire it.
So, after half a day, Ace had memorized everything, and he left with a bbergasted Pen.
Once they returned to Pen''s cultivation chamber, Ace looked at him, which made Pen uneasy and somewhat anticipated.
In the end, Ace decides to give him clues about the ascension, "You really do me a favor by giving me all that information without asking for anything, and I like this kind of attitude the most. You are very decisive about your goal and willing to pay any price for it. I like this spirit."
Pen humbly bowed with a tingle of happiness, "It was nothing worth mentioning, senior. Those worldly possessions can''tpare to senior''s favor."
Ace smiled before he meaningfully said, "Alright, I''ll give you an important piece of information about ascension. Find the Ascension Altar, and you''ll get what you want."
Suddenly, a deviant-like smile appeared on his face as he couldn''t help but make trouble for the Union Lord and added a lie, "Oh, and I''ve sent you to get rid of the Union Lord because ites to my attention he has the Ascension Altar. What you will do with this information is up to you now¡"
Ace didn''t know how urate his lie was, and he had unknowingly put a massive target on Union Lord because Pen wasn''t the only one looking for ascension, for the Sea Kings Federation wasn''t the only power in hidden in the endless sea!
Pen trembled when he heard it and was about to ask something when he noticed the Senior was already gone, making him shudder in fear.
In the end, he took a deep breath to calm down and process what was just revealed to him, killing intent shed past his eyes, "So, senior wanted to help me from the start. No wonder he sent him to kill that day, so he''s hiding this Ascension Altar. Well, I guess I have to take this war seriously now and seek some help. Bastard, you dare to stand between me and my fortune. You are asking to be killed!"
From this day onward, the Federation President suddenly made a massiveeback and took fullmand of the war against thend dweller, shocking and rejuvenating the entire Sea Kings Federation!
Chapter 956 Entering the Forbidden Radiation Sea
Chapter 956 Entering the Forbidden Radiation Sea
After Ace got the information about the Forbidden Radiation Sea, he instantly contacted the house members and told them about this discovery. Even they think that the answer really lies past the forbidden radiation sea, so they all head towards it and agree to meet Ace. If it was anyone else, they might not be able to cross it, but it was a different story for Ace. Qi radiation didn''t affect Ace because of his heavenly Qi, so only he could cross it, and he was leaving his avatar here so he could retreat anytime if he felt threatened. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
As for the forbidden boundary in the endless sea, he didn''t dare to go there because he still thought it was the ce where that terrifying existence was locked, mentioned by the sword. In the meantime, he enjoyed his time with Eva and also raised his remaining skills andws to the peak. Of all the skills, his main focus was the Absolute Pick Pocket and the Art of Mind Stealing. After he reached the third realm, the Bronze Treasure Hunter in the Art of Mind Stealing, the fourth to nine realms were opened. They were named Silver Thievish Hand, Permanent Thievish Silver Hand, Silver Treasure Hunter, Golden Thievish Hand, Permanent Thievish Golden Hand, and Golden Treasure Hunter, respectively. As for the final tenth realm of the Art of Mind Stealing, it was still locked, which was quite shocking. The three silver realms of the Art of Mind Stealing would let Ace infiltrate and search the inner part of the knowledge sea and steal long-term memory permanently. Topete in this realm, he not only needs thew of psyche to be 99.99%, but he also needs anotherw, thew of [Oblivious], to be at least 49.99%. Lastly, the Golden realms of the Art of Mind Stealing will directly let Ace infiltrate the core area of the knowledge sea and steal something called an essential memory, like a name was an essential memory!
But toprehend the peak of the golden realm, the Golden Treasure Hunter realm, he needed not only thews of [Psyche] and [Oblivious] to 99.99%prehension but also anotherw at 99.99%. Thew of [Devour]. Only after mastering thesews would the final realm be opened, and he still had a long way to go. But as long as he understands theplete Art of Mind Stealing, no one would be able to escape his gasps as long as they don''t have protection higher than hiswprehension. Furthermore, this special art worked wonders with Soul Probe and also provided him insights into it, and that''s why he had powerful control over it. Lastly, the absolute pick-pocket was directly connected with thew of space, and the more heprehended thisw, the more his understanding of this skill increased, and it was like a bottomless pit. Another thing worth mentioning was that with the help of Dark Law Sea Refinement and the True Soul Law Refinement, both his Martial Space and Soul Space were now World Size and Corporeal State. Which increased his martial and soul Qi reserves a hundred times, and right now, his thief sense could cover 500 miles of radiation because of Corporeal State, and his soul and martial foundation were as perfect as they could be and unshakable!
He was also putting the Heaven Splitting Sword on hold because he wanted to increase his thievish skills to the limit since they were going to be absolutely necessary for what was toe.
Moreover, this secret cultivation technique''s requirements to enter its first realm were simply too absurd, and Ace didn''t even know how to achieve them.
Anyhow, afterward, he only needed to get to the peak of the eighth realm, and he needed to find resources of the same level. Grade-8 Qi stones and Qi crystals didn''t exist in the ten continents so that he couldn''t find any lodes of them, and he was unwilling to use his other treasures. So, he was hoping to find something in the Mortal Sky Heart Empire, or he had to steal the entire heaven to reach the ninth stage of the eighth realm. Just like that, three years passed, and Ace had traveled far away from the ten continents. He had encountered many inds. Some were barren, and some had life. They also encounter many sea beasts, but Cyrus takes care of them with pleasure while Eva apanies Ace, and she seems to really like this peaceful venture. However, today, the ship was stopped because in front of them was something like a gray radiation mist, and they couldn''t see the end of it. Even the sky beyond it was hidden. "Do you think we arrived at that point?" Eva asked as she was also told about the Forbidden Radiation Sea, and this ce seemed to match the criteria. They had encountered many Qi radiation regions, but they were no problem for them, yet the mist in front of them gave even Eva a sense of danger. Ace looked at the gray mist, which seemed to restrict his thief sense. Furthermore, the live fate mappass dark goldenpass point was pointing directly into this region, which could only mean his fortune was in that ce or beyond it. So, at least, he was on the right track. Nheless, it was still filled with unknowns, but the fate map made that area gray, which also meant it was still safe for him to enter. "Let''s travel around it and see if it is the boundary that Pen mentioned or not. If it ends, then this means we are still not there. Furthermore, I still needed to bring Noa and others with me, so we need to wait for them." Ace solemnly said as he didn''t dare to be careless, leaving his house members behind. They needed to be with him for the mission, or they will die. Eva nodded, she didn''t have any objection, and they started to travel around the boundary of that gray mist. However, even after an entire month, they didn''t find any end to it, and it was really like a wall, which made Ace even more sure that this was indeed the right ce. So, he decided to stop and contact the others and told them he was waiting for them just outside the radiation wall. They would eventually find him if they voyaged beside it. The first to find him was Winter, and when she saw Eva, she was surprised since she was under the impression she was still cultivating. She also knew about the rtionship between Ace and her, so she wasn''t surprised. On the contrary, she was quite interested in Ace''s woman and wanted to know how strong she was besides her beauty. But she didn''t pick up a fight and started to report her finding on the way here, and Eva also remained unperturbed but secretly measured this woman. The next person who arrived was Freya, a few monthster than Winter, and the reason was she had found a very strange ruin and even a treasure there. Lastly, Noa arrives a week after Freya, but unlike Winter and Freya, it is her first time meeting with Eva, and she is even more shocked when she finds she is Ace''s wife. Furthermore, Eva seemed to be overly interested in her, which made Ace smile wryly, and he also felt slightly guilty when he sensed a hint of indignation from Noa. In the end, he sent them all back to the thief''s space for bounding since they can''t travel in the radiation like him and let them sort out things among themselves. He knows Eva could handle it well, especially in the case of Noa. Afterward, with unyielding resolve, Ace flew into the thick radiation mist, hoping to find his target!
Chapter 957 The Devil’s Temptation
Chapter 957 The Devil¡¯s Temptation
??957 The Devil¡¯s Temptationn/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Entering the gray radiation mist, Ace was extremely rmed because even he could sense just how dense the radiation mist was, and even aw awareness realm cultivator might notst for more than a week in this ce.
Ace didn''t know how this much mist came into being or why it wasn''t spreading and static in this ce like some fixed boundary. But one thing was clear: it was hiding something.
Thankfully for Ace, this mist didn''t affect him as it was only slightly ufortable, like he was flying through fine ash. Furthermore, his robes and other treasures, which were driven on the heavenly Qi, were also not affected by that corroding effect of radiation, so he didn''t need to worry about them at all.
But Ace soon realizes that the most terrifying thing in this ce is nothing else but deadly silence. He could even hear his own heartbeat while the mistpletely obstructed his vision. There was no concept of day and night, so it was hard to tell how much time one had spent here if one didn''t have other means to check time.
Furthermore, without a keen direction sense, one could roam in the same ce without even realizing it and forever be lost in this ce.
If not for the fate map, Ace was afraid he might be lost after some time. But thepass was pointing him deep into the mist, so he decided to follow it and see where it led him, calmly.
As for any dangers, he has already left his avatar back as a retreat ce, and also, he was going to take care of some unfinished business in the human territory with it.
On the other hand, the atmosphere in the thief''s space was quite lively after the four women gathered together for the first time. Even Lillian was shocked as it was her first time meeting with all the house members and seeing Eva after she scolded her.
Lillian couldn''t help but feel depressed once she remembered Alina was still sealed in that damn Cist, and here Ace was continuing to increase his harem.
''All men are a bunch of unfaithful, fickle scoundrels!'' She cussed in her mind and snorted, didn''t bother to go out and greet them and take her position beside Cist and being to cultivate while muttering worriedly, "Princess, if you don''te out, your men might be distributed before nothing is left for you!"
Within Eva''s house, all of them were sitting around a table with all sorts of precious wines and liquors in the center. Only Eva could get all these extremely exquisite and rare drinks from Ace.
"Alright, everyone, it''s nice to meet you all. Although Ace has already introduced me, and some of you have even interacted with me before, this is a rare asion to see all of you together. Especially you two, Winter and Noa, you are very hard toe in contact with." Eva smilingly said, appearing very amiable.
Cyrus was also curious, looking at everyone while silently sitting on Eva''s shoulder. He thought secretly, ''So many big sisters for me? But I don''t have any big sister for big bro to introduce to¡ where did I find big sister for big bro like sister Eva and the others?''
Ace had no idea what kind of silly ideas the little guy was having, or he would''ve absolutely pulled a few of his fine feathers.
"Hehe, sister Eva, you are too modest. You''ll be a member of our house very soon, so you don''t need to be humble. In fact, I reckoned you will be our shadow leader." Freya couldn''t help but giggle with full of meaning.
She had seen how obedient Ace was around Eva and couldn''t help but secretly feel jealous, since a man like Ace might not appear again. If she had wanted to have the thief''s house for herself before, she had lost hope once she found out what kind of existence Ace was, and suppressing him was a pipe dream.
So, the second-best option was to control Ace, but Eva and Alina thoroughly crushed this option as well. These two were absolutely in love with Ace, and he also loved them like mad and could do anything for them. He had made it quite clear when Alina''s life was on the line.
So, getting the same spot didn''t mean she could have Ace for herself and let him do her bidding. Furthermore, she didn''t dare to do such a thing because Ace really treated them all well and trusted them with his life.
If she ruined his goodwill for her personal ambitions, she knew she would regret it for her life. Besides, she was living pretty happily, and her power increased day by day, and all she had to do was follow some instructions. She was only below Ace, which she could live with, so she no longer dared to ruin her current rtionship with him or anyone close to him, as a matter of fact.
"What Shadow Leader? I''m just like you guys, who want to shoulder his burden and remove any obstacle thates his way. Even without the thief''s house restriction, I''m willing to be his shield, and I hope you all also have the same mind." Eva smiled, but for some reason, she gave the feeling of a tyrant.
Winter''s eyes narrowed slightly, "You don''t need to tell us. Even without your reminder, our lives are already connected with Him, so protecting him means protecting us. But if you want us just to be sacrificial pawns, then I''m sorry to offend you, but I won''t agree to it."
Although Winter was now fully subdued and acknowledged Ace''s superiority over her and didn''t think about the house leader position, she still won''t ept Eva bossing them around.
Even if she was sleeping with Ace, she wasn''t the one who was being threatened with their lives, and she even suspected that Ace might not let her join the thief''s house at all since it would put her life in danger like theirs.
After all, it was a fact that they were all tricked by Ace because they all wanted to kill him at some point. But Eva and Alina were different, and he treated them differently. Winter was slightly resentful because of this treatment, as she found it unfair that they worked while Eva and Alina sat over their heads.
Even Freya was slightly surprised at Winter''s boldness. She was quite clear just how terrifying Eva was, and her prowess was nothing tough at, and Winter clearly didn''t know that.
Right now, Eva looked like a normal human without any aura, but those devilish eyes were far from being human.
However, Eva didn''t get angry as she smilingly replied, "You get wrong. I''m not treating you like pawns. Even if I want you, that guy would disagree; he''s not that kind of person, I can guarantee you that. If he considers you important to him, he would rather go through a sea of mes than sacrifice you guys, and that is what I love about him.
"What I''m trying to say is, if all ever thought that he''s worthy of your heart, then don''t hesitate to give it to him. He''ll ept you and treat you like he treated me. I just don''t want you to hesitate and think he has already taken it and then retrain yourself and develop some kind of resentment.
"This way, you''ll be able to fully devote yourselves to his cause and also experience his care and pampering. After all, you all are women in your prime, so if you want to have a man, then I want you to consider him first and thenpare him with the others. If you still find himcking, then you are free to choose anyone else." Eva nonchntly stated as if it was just some random statement.
But the three house members were bbergasted, as they had never expected Eva to be so bold as to pave the way for other women.
Even if they had never thought of it before and only admired Ace, a seed has been nted in their mind that would already make them think of Ace if they ever desired another man andpare him with Ace.
This also means Eva''s goal has been achieved because she knew no other man couldpare with Ace, whether it''s in looks or talent!
Chapter 958 Old Debuts
Chapter 958 Old Debuts
??958 Old Debuts
United Maind, demon territory, within a beautiful pavilion, Ace''s avatar was spilling on wine while in front of him were sitting somewhat aggrieved Aliya and emotional Thomas.
Unexpectedly, Aliya was still busy dealing with the change in the continents and expanding the syndicate in Freya''s shoes when she was suddenly visited by an unexpected guest, Ace!
She was shocked because her mistress clearly told her she was going with Ace to deal with some matter. But now he appeared here without any news from Freya, and without even giving her an exnation, he ordered her to summon Thomas.
Aliya clearly does not like Ace and always resents him because hepletely changes her mistress into a thief like him. Furthermore, she had no choice but to listen to him because Freya had strictly told her to treat Ace as she treated her, and the syndicate was fully under Ace''s thumb.
So, she couldn''t even retort and had no choice but to do as he said, and what infuriated her the most was his jolly smirk. She felt as if he teased and looked down on her in the guise of calling her ''old friend'' whenever they met.
But despite her displeasure, she couldn''t do anything to him because this person was a legendary existence who, despite being a thief, was a nightmare for everyone.
As for Thomas, when he heard Ace was looking for him, he dropped everything and instantly came back. Last time, he only heard that Ace had already dealt with the entire imperial domain, which shocked him greatly, and he didn''t know how to feel.
Although this matter waspletely suppressed by the people from the secret realm to save them some face, Thomas still dared to investigate. He found Ace had really robbed and killed the higher-ups of the entire imperial domain, even the arrogant demon empress. So, his revenge for his wife was practically over.
Grateful wasn''t the word to describe how he felt towards Ace. Not only did he save him that day and give him a strong cultivation technique to take his revenge, but he even ended up avenging his enmity as well.
Although Thomas knew Ace might have another purpose, he still felt extremely obligated and indebted to him, and he knew he couldn''t pay this kindness even if heid his life for him.
Ace never owed him anything, but he still helped him as much as he could for this friendship. So, nowadays, he fully focused on cultivation to increase his power so he could lend a hand if Ace ever needed it, even his life.
He knew better than anyone just how much those new authorities of the demon race hated Ace, and calling the entire world his enemy would not be wrong either. Only by getting powerful could he help him.
However,tely, Thomas found that his bloodline, which he once took pride in having, had be a shackle, and despite having a power cultivation method, his cultivation speed was like an old turtle. He was barely able to break into thew awareness realm, and his bloodline shackle became even more apparent.
This was the fate of low-level bloodlines. Escaping their upper limits was as hard as ascending heaven.
"How have you been, Brother Thomas?" Ace couldn''t help but smile nostalgically, seeing Thomas.
Although he didn''t have many rtionships, those he had, he cherished them dearly. Thomas was probably the only person he truly considers one of his friends in this world, so seeing him makes him happy.
Even though he can''t change what happened to his wife, at least he is d he has ovee it.
Thomas''s eyes trembled slightly, hearing Ace''s familiar tone, and he couldn''t help but sigh emotionally, "You''re still willing to call me brother?"
"What kind of question is that?" Ace shook his head, "No matter how much time passed or how strong I be, you will be my brother that I acknowledge. I hope you can still treat me as you treated me the first time we met. Even though I can''t understand your pain, I hope you can move on. I know a sister-
inw would''ve wanted that for you as well, to live happily, not like this."
Thomas''s eyes became misty hearing hisst sentence as he clenched his fist when Milly''s smiling face appeared in his mind. He still vividly remembered her smiling face when she took herst breath, and a tear streamed down from the corner of his eyes.
Aliya couldn''t help but be astounded when he saw the usually emotionless and fearless Thomas showing such an emotional side in front of Ace. She knew Thomas''s story, for Freya had told her to investigate him deeply.
Meeting Ace and gaining his favor was probably the biggest fortune in his life, but it was a real pity he only managed to understand this until it was toote.
Ace sighed ruefully as he felt sadness seeing Thomas, who was once a happy-go-lucky guy. Fate ys jokes on people like them who only want to live peacefully, while those rotten idiots are alwaysing on top.
In this view, Ace truly loath Heaven, who always wanted to kill him but ignored all the injustice and wickedness in this world. Although he was also not a good person, and maybe he deserved to die, there were even more heinous criminals out there who deserved to be struck by heavenly thunder more than he did. Yet, only he was targeted by the Heavenly Punishment.
"C-can I really?" Thomas couldn''t help but chokingly muttered.
"Everyone has a right to get a second chance, and even if life is unfair to us, if we don''t fight back, then it means we deserve all the misery. Just continue to move forward no matter what. At least that''s why I''m doing, and I have to admit, I''ve also found happiness in this path." Ace couldn''t help but smile with gratification as Eva, Alina, and his house members'' faces appeared in his mind.
Thomas inhaled deeply as he greatly calmed down after hearing Ace''s soothing words and solemnly nodded, "I will keep brother''s words in mind. Tell me what you want me to do now; I''ll try my best."
Ace smiled as he could sense the gloominess around Thomas had greatly decreased. He didn''t seem like a walking corpse anymore.
He looked at Thomas and said with a willy smile, "Brother Thomas, I have a suggestion for you; you should join this Thieving World Society!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Both Aliya and Thomas were surprised since they knew about this new haven for thieves, and they had been making quite wavestely.
Then he looked at Aliya meaningfully, smiling, "Don''t worry, I''m not going to order you around. This time, you''ll be working with me, so you should put away that hostility. I need you to confirm a person''s location from the human territory. He''s from Soul me Sect, one of their high elders named Jonathan."
Killing intent shed past his eyes, "I want you to locate him for me. It''s time to pay back some old debuts!"
Chapter 959 Miserable Humans
Chapter 959 Miserable Humans
??Over the years, there have been many changes in human territory. Despite not being targeted by anyone, they seemed to have incurred terrible misfortune.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
It all started with the venture of the Ancient Allied Gathering when they ended up ''winning'' an entire secret realm and were even willing to offend everyone for it. But in the end, they found that there was nothing like that, and their experts had gone missing.
No one was there to give them any exnation, but on the contrary, they had to appease everyone while secretly fuming and investigating that terrible liar who tricked them all.
In the end, the continents were just too far from each other, and since Humans didn''t get that secret realm, they were able to dodge that bullet. To make matters absolutely worse, that made even Dream Shatter furious. They let Alina escape right under their nose, which made many heads roll!
The higher-ups decided to remain low-key for some time being.
However, this time, another vicious blow was dealt to them right on their home territory. An unknown thief uprooted the entire inheritance and treasury of the Dark Nightmare Sect, almost crippling them.
But what no one knows was it only happened because the lunatic sect leader of the Dark Nightmare Sect went berserk when he found his precious daughter had gone missing on the venture of Ancient Allied Gathering, and to make it worse, the other sects tried to hide it.
This incurred the sect master''s wrath, and a huge battle urred. He wounded three of them and killed the sect master of the Yin Flower Sect. But his ending was not pretty either, as he died after using a secret skill that burned his life.
The Yin Flower Sect was naturally furious when their sect master died, and the other three sects were not different, as they wanted to collect some interest as well as secretly take part in the plundering.
However, before they could, someone else beat them to it, and this once again pulled a damper on their profits.
But spring came soon when they found that their prime one was the Union Lord and the world was now united under his banner, and their grand elder, Dream Shatter, was his right-hand man.
This brought massive honor to the humans and their status among the other races. Dream Shatter also didn''t let them down, and he delivered huge benefits to the humans.
The five ancient sects even announced that they would be merging into one sect, and it was supposed to happen but was dyed by Dream Shatter for some reason.
These things were moving peacefully, but then the great margining began to ur, and things became hectic. To make matters worse, the human continent was the first one among the ten continents to merge with another continent.
Furthermore, a portion of theirnds was sealed for a long time now and no one knows who put that seal, but everyone was helpless against it. No one can break it, and they had no idea how their fellow humans were doing there.
But this was just a front put by the ancient sects, as they all knew exactly who put that seal and then ordered them to suppress this matter and never look into it if they wanted to live longer.
However, when the merging began, their numbers were greatlycking, facing both beasts and hunters from each side. The most hateful part was they were right between the two continents, and the hunters'' strength was not something they could scoff at.
Both sides were invading them and almost driving them mad until their grand elder returned hastily and heroically to drive away the invaders and even killed their powerful members.
This made humans very excited, and they became bold and greedy. This time, they were the invaders, and they plundered till their eyes became green.
In the end, more and more continents began to merge, and the Union finally acted. With Dream Shatter''s support, a treaty was signed to stop the mindless wars and ughter. While only those who were involved in this war know just how much humans had plundered before Dream Shatter stopped them.
But against the Law Comprehension Realm Dream Shatter, in the hunter''s race, powerful experts were like rocks trying to break a mountain, and they all died in his hand, leaving the hunterspletely at humans'' mercy.
The magic beasts were the same. This also quickly rms the other races, and they quickly cozy up to humans orpletely avoid them.
Humans were again on the rise, but this again didn''tst long because a new power emerged out of nowhere, the Thieving World Society and they targeted none other than the greedy sects'' cities. They strike too quickly and leave before anyone can react.
The sects werepletely infuriated, but no matter what they did or how much they searched, the members of the Thieving World Society were simply too evasive, turning the humans into aughingstock among the other races.
Demons even gloat at their misery since they can rte with humans because they had suffered the same misery at the hands of the Sky Stealer.
But this didn''tst long, as the Thieving World Society finally extended their thievish hands to the other territories. Now that the ten continents have be one, no one knows where this organization was hiding.
But within a year after its emergence, its fame was almost on the same level as the Sky Stealer, and some even think they were more terrifying since Sky Stealer was a signal person. Some even believe the Thieving World Society was rted to Sky Stealer, and he was their secret boss.
Nheless, the Sky Stealer hadn''t made a move for over nine years now, so no one knew where the elusive thief was and when he''d emerge again and shock the world.
As if this mess wasn''t enough, a few days ago, a piece of terrifying news began to circte in the maind: The most powerful expert of the maind and also appointed suprememander of the sea extermination army, as well as the Union Lord''s right-hand man, Dream Shatter, has been captured by the Thieving World Society and the Azure Wind Mountain Sect''s entire treasury has been stolen!
Whoever did this was also a professional as they even spread Photographic Cubes, a special runic treasure they can record anything. It was extremely expensive, and few powers knew how to make it.
But to give a vicious blow to humans and make sure they won''t be able to deny that, they used this precious treasure, which records Dream Shatter pinned on a wall with ghastly crimson keels stabbed on his limbs, and he looked extremely miserable.
Moreover, it also showed a scene where a hooded person was walking in front of the massive treasury of the Azure Wind Mountain Sect.
Although there wasn''tplete footage, it was enough to tell the people that this news was absolutely urate.
Now, humans were in aplete mess, especially the Azure Wind Mountain Sect, which was on cloud nine, but now they were falling into the abyss!
Amid this chaos, a person snuck into the Soul me Sect and directly headed towards an isted mountain of a high elder!
Chapter 960 Soul Extraction
Chapter 960 Soul Extraction
In an abode on top of the misty mountain, High Elder Jonathan was cultivating as he sat cross-legged like a statue. He has a very high standing in the Soul me Sect and was someone only below the sect leader and above everyone. However, his life was quite miserable since he had encountered Ace in the lowernds, where he sneakily sent his clones to cultivate an unknown cultivation technique. Although he had thought that the danger was dealt with, Ace appeared again, shocking him to the core, and a sense of danger loomed over him. Afterward, he did his best to get rid of him by spreading his findings, but even that failed because Ace was simply too powerful and sneaky. He lived in constant fear of Ace. Jonathan even left the sect to hide from him, but even after many years, Ace never seemed toe for him and had vanished. This could only mean Ace either didn''t know his true identity or simply didn''t care about him anymore. This greatly lessens the burden on Jonathan, and after thinking about it, it made perfect sense that Ace didn''t know who he was or his origin since he only encountered him through his clones. Even if Ace came after him, it should be his clone, which he had already absorbed, and that person didn''t exist any longer, so in the end, Jonathan returned since he was unwilling to give up his position. But who could''ve thought over ten years ago that someone even more terrifying than Ace woulde to find him? It was none other than Dream Shatter and Union Lord!
However, the strangest part was he didn''t remember what happened that day. The only thing he remembered was that he was visited by those two, and afterward, everything was nk. He didn''t even dare to tell anyone, afraid of offending them, and since he waspletely fine and his treasures were still there, he buried them into his heart and continued with his life. Afterward, nothing out of the ordinary happened, and many things changed. Now, he was cultivating and trying to break through in thew awareness realm. His clone has already helped him reach the quasiw awareness realm. If he had his other clone, he would''ve already been in thew awareness realm long ago, and whenever he thought about it, he ground his teeth in hatred and wished Ace would die a horrible death. Furthermore, with the recent situation with Dream Shatter, he didn''t dare to go out and was hiding in his mountain in the guise of breaking through the Law Awareness Realm, which was still too far away from him. "Old ghost, you have an old friend visiting you." A calm yet mocking voice suddenly rang and startled Jonathan so much that he almost suffered Qi deviation, and he instantly opened his eyes. He was appalled when he saw a man in white with an otherworldly handsome face grinning at him. Jonathan couldn''t help but find that face somewhat familiar, especially those dark blue eyes that seemed to see right through him, but what was more important? How in the world did this guy enter here without rming anyone and escape his senses? "Who are you!?" Jonathan stood up with vignce in his eyes and secretly circted his Qi. Ace remained fearless as he replied smilingly, "Now, this is hurtful. Don''t you remember your old friend from River Flower City?" Jonathan instantly trembled to hear that name, and that mature face finally ovepped with the face of a twelve-year-old boy. He couldn''t help but take a step back as his expression was turning white and blue. "Y-y-y¡you''re him!" He stuttered as he tried. His legs were shaking now. He had never expected the brat from back then to turn out to be a terrifying existence of the present, and now he was standing before him in a nightmare!
"Now, what kind of expression is that? It''s very hurtful." Ace sneered with derision. He had waited for a long time to see that expression. He could feel Jonathan''s despair. Ace still remembered how this bastard almost killed him back then at the treasure mountain, and then he was sent into the demon''s territory. If not for the thief house, he wouldn''t been very miserable. Normally, Ace isn''t someone to hold a grudge so easily, but if he does, he doesn''t leave it unresolved. Even though Jonathan was like an ant to his current self, he had to pay for what he had done. Especially since Jonathan had tried to trick him using his parents, and he also knows about the White Crown. If not for Jonathan, Ace would''ve never found out about his parents and White Crown, soing here was also to resolve this knot in his heart. He had still yet to hear about the White Crown, and even after his own investigation, he found very little information about them. The White Crown was like a legend that only existed in people''s memories, and there were no clues about its whereabouts. So, after finding out about the Mortal Sky Heart Empire, Ace reached the conclusion that the White Crown might be from there, and they had a way toe to the ten continents as they pleased. But they were too mysterious and hid their traces meticulously. Only a few records prove their existence, and the people who know about them are rare. Even the Sea Kings Federation has very little information about them, but they also know about the White Crown. Nheless, the grudge against Jonathan was something Ace had to resolve, so he wasn''t here for the White Crown since he knew Jonathan didn''t know about them as much as he did now. To sum it up, Ace''s visit was personal. Since his avatar was free now, he decided to end it all. Jonathan also knew that the cmity he thought had passed finally came, and without hesitation, powerful Qi burst out from his body, and he shot towards the roof, clearly wanting to flee. As for fighting Ace, he didn''t even think about it since he knew all the legends of Sky Stealer. Looking at Jonathan''s reaction, Ace''s icy smile grew, and he pointed his finger at Jonathan''s back. The next moment, a dark golden sword Qi shot out. Jonathan''s fine hair stood all of suddenly when he sensed mortal danger approaching. But s, he was no match for Ace, and before he could even react, the dark golden streak directly prated into his body and destroyed his entire meridians! Although his soul cultivation foundation was untouched, without his meridians, he couldn''t channel soul Qi, and it became a potent poison for his body! n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
All his power scattered, and he fell instantly and vomited huge amounts of blood with some broken internal arteries. Now, even if he had soul Qi, he couldn''t use it, or his body would blow up. "Tsk, tsk, and here I thought you would at least have some guts to face me." Ace shook his head in disappointment before walking towards Jonathan. Jonathan''s mind was a mess as unimaginable pain raged in his entire body, and fear of death enveloped him. His vision was blurry, and despair gripped his heart, and he started to regret targeting Ace. If he wasn''t greedy, he might''ve had a chance to have a very good rtionship with Ace, yet he threw it away for his greed. He wanted to plead, but all that came out of his mouth was more blood. Ace finally stopped him in front of Jonathan. He had no pity for him, and he directly ced his hand on his head. Although he can''t use a soul probe with this body, he has an even more terrifying innate ability to extract what he wants and inflict even more pain than soul search, and the person wouldn''t even die unless he wanted them to. Without hesitation, he activated it, "Soul Extraction!"
Chapter 961 The Whole Truth
Chapter 961 The Whole Truth
??The Avatar of Holy Twilight''s soul extraction ability can extract a person''s soul weaker than the avatar and turn it into a Knowledge Star in the Knowledge Gxy!
This ability was extremely nefarious because extracting a soul was extremely painful. But it has its own benefits; the knowledge star condensed from this ability will have the owner''s full memories, his cultivation experience, and evenw insights to 100%. Even his soul probe can''t emte that!
Furthermore, these knowledge stars can also be used with fictional knowledge to trick others.
Right now, in Ace''s hand a gray translucent figure of an expression old man it was none other than Jonathan''s soul while his body were lying lump in his feet!
Ace couldn''t help but sigh, seeing the soul in his hand, it was his first time trying this ability because every time he used it his victim would die horribly.
"The enmity between us is over." He muttered before the gray soul twisted andpressed.
A few momentster, the gray soul turned into a bright, dark golden star in his hand, and Ace directly pressed it into his be, and it vanished. It then reappeared in his vast knowledge gxy, which was also his true soul, and shone in the sky like a star.
The very next moment, all of Jonathan''s memories were avable for him, and he quickly began to skim through them.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace wasn''t interested in Jonathan''s life experience or his secrets, all he wanted was the particr memory where Jonathan encountered his parents.
At his moment, Ace finally found it, he saw a wastnd where an extremely handsome man greatly resembled Ace was walking with a woman in a mask. Only her ster dark blue eyes, which seemed to see through everything, were visible.
Even with that mask, Ace body trembled because he knew that his father and mother. For some reason, his mother''s face was always blurry in his memory, and only her bewitching eyes were clear, and her gentle voice filled with motherly love.
Now, seeing his father and mother again after so many years, Ace couldn''t help but be emotional. No matter how much he denies that he didn''t care about his origin, he can''t change the fact that he wanted to know what happened to his parents and who was the one who sealed his bloodline.
Was it some enemy of his parents, or was it his parents? If it was thetter, then he wanted to know why they did something like this to their own child.
Furthermore, his parents werepletely different from what he remembered. Their demeanor didn''t represent mortals. Instead, they appearedpletely mysterious and out of ce.
From Jonathan''s eyes, Ace saw vividly that they were a few hundred meters away when they suddenly vanished and appeared right in front of him.
At this moment, Ace''s father, Owen, looked deeply at Jonathan, who was Mathies, the city lord of the River Flower City at that time.
"We didn''t have time." Ste, Ace''s mother, said coldly. Her voice was extremely charming, but a hint of helplessness was present in it.
Owen nodded with grave expression and without waiting for Jonathan, he said, "I''m Owen White and this is Ste White my wife, we are citizen of your city. We know you are the City Lord. This is our son, Ace White."
Owen flipped his hand and a projection of two-year-old Ace appeared, his eyes were filled with fatherly love and indescribable pain as he looked at his little kid.
Ste lovingly looked at Ace and said, "We hope you can look after our Son. If he ever encounters any danger, please lend him a hand, and we''ll be eternally grateful. Besides this, you don''t need to interfere and let him live as he pleases.
"You don''t need to show yourself until his life is in mortal danger. If that ever happened, and you meet him, just don''t mention us. He''s a good child, and we hope he can live a happy life without any danger." Towards the end, her eyes were filled with tears.
Owen sighed ruefully before determination shed past them, "This is in case we don''t return in ten years. In return for your troubles, I''ll seal a powerful cultivation method in your mind, and it''ll release in ten years if you have no malicious intentions towards our child."
His eyes turned cold as he said, "However if you have malice in your heart, not only will this technique be gone, but you also won''t be able to find him or tell others no matter what you do. But I do hope something like this won''t happen. But if we retune, I''ll release this seal, and you can escape this barren ce."
Ace was shocked when he heard this since Jonathan had never told him about this, and he finally understood what had happened that day. The reason Jonathan was never able to get to him was exactly because of this.
He doesn''t know just how powerful his father has to be to ce such a condition. But Jonathan''s heart was not pure, so he was never able to find him. This was simply out of his scoop of understanding.
But at least he was at peace now since his parents hadn''t abandoned him, and they seemed to be extremely reticent, yet they seemed to have no other choice, and they even said they would return in ten years.
Ace even suspects his grandparents because how could his grandparents be simple mortals if his parents were so powerful and mysterious? Everything doesn''t make any sense from his childhood.
At this moment, Ste''s eyes narrowed as killing intent raged in them as the world seemed to have lost color, "White Crown!" She hatefully uttered.
Owen gritted his teeth and looked at Jonathan, who didn''t speak from start to finish because of his absolute terror.
"Go, I hope we''ll meet again."
The next moment, he waved his sleeve, and the next moment, Jonathan appeared right outside the city gates of the river flower city,pletely bewildered.
However, he quickly recovered and instantly went back, but greed filled his heart at this point, and he didn''t take Owen''s words seriously since it was impossible in his view, and he thought Owen was just trying to frighten him.
Heunched a massive search for Ace. But no matter what he does, he can''t find him, and if he tries to tell others, he simply forgets about Ace''s name or his appearance. It was at this moment he realized that Owen''s words weren''t empty threats, and now endless regret filled his heart, but he didn''t give up and continued for five whole years to no avail before finally giving up.
Ace took a deep breath to calm his wild emotions. He finally knows the whole truth, and since his parents never returned, this could only mean they were either captured or¡
Ace couldn''t help but ground his teeth when he remembered his parents'' helplessness and their sad look, he hatefully muttered, "White Crown don''t let me find you!"
Chapter 962 The Other Side
Chapter 962 The Other Side
??Within the dense Qi radiation mist, Ace''s main body has been flying for an unknown time. He was using one Qi to fly before switching to the other and replenishing the other one.
Although this way he could few endlessly, it still took a mental toll, and he had no choice but to rest by using his ship since there were no traces ofnds in this ce.
''Just howrge is this ce?'' Ace mused gravely as he never expected this ce to be sorge, and if not for the fate map, he might''ve gone crazy.
On this day, Ace suddenly flew past the mist and was shocked when the sunlight shed on his skin. Just how long has it been since he had seen the sun?
In front of him was now a blue sea, and looking behind him was the wall of Qi radiation.
"I''m out?" Ace was bewildered before an excited smile appeared on his face. He quickly calcted the time and was surprised because it had been a whole five years since he had entered the forbidden radiation sea!
Now, looking at the other side of the forbidden radiation sea, it looked the same, and he couldn''t help but look at the fate map, which was still pointing in the northeast direction.
''I hope this is the ce I''m looking for.'' Hopeful, Ace took out a ship,nded on the deck, and set the ship''s direction before he got to rest.
He didn''t dare to use this treasure ship in the radiation mist for long because the deeper he goes, the more powerful the Qi radiation. Even awprehension realm cultivator would meet his end there, much less this high-grade-7 treasure.
Nheless, he preserved, and now he was closer to this destination, so he decided to rest.
Three dayster, Ace suddenly felt something and appeared on top of the ship sail, and his eyes narrowed because, far away, a silhouette wasing his way.
Although it was too far away, it couldn''t escape his thief sense, and he could tell it was extremelyrge. Furthermore, with the fate map, he saw many fate points, which meant people!
Ace didn''t do anything and waited as he wanted to confirm if they wereing his way or not. Furthermore, it excites him to know that there were people here and that he encountered them so soon.
Minutester, Ace was finally able to see clearly; it was a gigantic royal blue ship with an unknown white g with the symbol of a golden lion, and they were reallying towards him.
Furthermore, what shocked Ace was this ship was probably a grade-8 treasure!
At this moment, a person flew off the ship and headed in his way. Shockingly, it was a middle-aged human with blond hair and a beard, and he was wearing white robes with golden outlines. This clothing style was very different from the ten continents.
Furthermore, this person''s aura was at thete stage of thew awareness realm, which was quite a rare sight in the ten continents.
Ace didn''t move and calmly remained standing in his ce, and the man stopped a few meters in the air, looking coldly at Ace, d in ck and his face hidden under a hood.
"Who are you? This is the territory of the Golden Lion Kingdom! Remove that hood and identify yourself or suffer the wrath of Golden Lion Kingdom!" He coldly dered.
Ace''s lips curled up beneath his hood. That man still hadn''t discovered Ace was robbing him of his memories!
''So that''s how it is!'' Ace''s eyes shone with excitement.
It turned out that this ce was known as the Sky Heart ins by these people, which is ruled by none other than the Mortal Sky Heart Empire!
The Golden Lion Kingdom was one of eight subordinate kingdoms under the Mortal Sky Heart Empire, and they were in charge of overseeing the endless sea!
Furthermore, unlike the ten continents, the people in this ce had already conquered the entire endless sea andnds, and they were very strong. It was likeparing gold to bronze. The difference was simply too huge.
Moreover, they had technology far more advanced than the ten continents, as they could monitor any anomaly around the forbidden radiation sea. Ace just happened to fall in this category because the moment his shipnded in the sea, they were alerted by it.
These people have been studying the forbidden radiation sea, which they also called the world boundary, and they send multiple scouts in there but never manage to seed.
So, Aceing out of there would naturally draw their attention, and they quickly sent one of their most powerful fleets to investigate. The person in front of Ace was a fleetmander named Frugal, and there were thousands of naive soldiers on that ship closely keeping an eye on Ace.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
If he does anything, they will use full force to subdue him. But the thing was, they had underestimated Ace, and they were not his match. Furthermore, Ace was very excited because he had reached the destination that he''d been searching for and that five years were worth it!
There was really another ce besides the ten continents, and it was far more advanced.
But Ace didn''t act since he had another n. He removed his mask, revealed White''s appearance, and quickly raised his hands in surrender.
He smiled at Frugal and said, "I''m an independent cultivator from the Shadow Kingdom. I''ve been adventuring the great sea and seemed to have lost in the world boundary. If sir would be so kind to point me in a way toward my home?"
Frugal was surprised since this matched what they had thought Ace was; the Shadow Kingdom was one of the eight kingdoms, like the Golden Lion Kingdom. Furthermore, Independent Cultivators were terms they used to call cultivators who didn''t belong to any power and relied on adventures ormissions to support their cultivation.
If Ace was really from the other side of the world boundary, he shouldn''t have this information.
"Where is your identification tile?" Frugal demanded with narrowed eyes, only now he sensed early stage Qi soul manifestation realm cultivation from Ace after he moved his hood, which was quite strange.
Furthermore, Ace was too calm in front of him, which rubbed him the wrong way. But he can''t attack him without reason, since Ace wasn''t resisting.
Ace shook his head dejectedly, "I''ve lost my storage ring and all the treasures in the world boundary. Sir should know anything in there would rot away. I was very lucky to escape before my ship ran out of thest bit of Qi stones I had. I have nothing right now, sir can search if you like."
Frugal frowned slightly since this reason was very valid, and he knew the dreadful effect of Qi radiation, so an independent cultivator like him escaping from that ce could already count as a miracle.
"Then please cooperate with us. We''ll have to detain you and escort you back. Once we confirm your alibi, we''ll release you." Frugal stated.
Ace smiled gratefully and nodded, "I was nning on doing that from the start. Sigh¡ I was an idiot to try much luck there. I''ll be thanking you in advance."
Frugal nodded before he took away Ace''s ship and then escorted him back to the gigantic ship.
Ace smiled slyly as he entered the ship, ''How convenient!''
Chapter 963 Golden Lion Princess
Chapter 963 Golden Lion Princess
??"This is?"
Just as Acended on the ship with Commander Frugal, a tall green-winged devil wearing imposing ck armor with Golden Lion Kingdom''s insignia walked over, followed by a few other people from different races. Still, they were standing behind him with a hint of respect, which meant this devil''s status was quite high.
The Sky Heart ins were humongous. Even the ten continents together were only a small ind inparison.
In the Sky Heart ins, all kinds of races exist, and as long as someone has talent and power, they can join the ranks of the Mortal Sky Heart Empire. But they had to climb the eight kingdoms'' ranks first because they were all the faces of the empire.
In fact, the more talent they sent, the more resources they would get from the empire.
Frugal looked at the devil and introduced, "Captain Abner, this is an Independent Cultivator¡ what is your name again?" He asked Ace, since he didn''t get the chance to inquire about his name.
Ace replied smilingly as he politely greeted everyone, "White. It''s nice to meet Captain Abner and everyone. Sorry to cause trouble."
The moment Abner and others heard he was just an Independent Cultivator, disdain appeared in their eyes, as they clearly looked down on Independent Cultivators because they were talentless and couldn''t join any power.
"Alright, I''m about to report back to higher-ups. This was a false rm. You can prepare a room for Mr. White. He''ll be returning with us until we confirm his identity." Frugalstated before he left.
The disturbance in the world boundary has caused quite an rm, so Frugalhad to report back quickly. If Ace was really an Independent Cultivator, this was nothing but a false rm.
After Frugal left, Abner looked at Ace, smiled with a hint of contempt, and said, "What were you thinking going in the world boundary? Don''t tell me you were searching for treasure?"N?v(el)B\\jnn
The others snickered hearing this, as they all knew how the minds of Independent Cultivators work. They went to dangerous ces to search for treasures and opportunities, and most of them died. Everyone called them ignorant fools.
Ace didn''t mind this behavior as only he knew who was the ignorant one between them and replied politely, "I have encountered a bottleneck in my cultivation, so someone told me to go on a dangerous adventure to search for an opportunity, and what better ce could it be but the world boundary?"
He bitterly smiled at this point, "But I have to admit I have certainly overestimated myself this time and lost all my treasures. I hope you won''tugh at my foolishness."
"We won''t dare tough at your ''bravery''." A human jeered before Abner could say anything.
Everyone was smiling disdainfully at this foolish, Independent Cultivator.
"I was hard on you. I hope you haven''t lost your bravery. If I need some help in the future, I will certainly find Mr. White." Abner stated smilingly.
"It would be my honor." Ace quickly thanked him.
"What is going on here? Why are you not on your posts?" An icy voice rang, filled with authority, at this moment. But this voice was very pleasant to the ears.
Abner and his group were startled before infatuation shed past his eyes as he turned around.
A tall, heroic beauty in armor was standing there with an icy demeanor as she looked at all of them coldly. She was extremely gorgeous with an oval face and wless white skin, emotionless ocean-like eyes that were exempt from any worldly feelings, and long golden hair that was like a lion''s mane. She was like an ice fairy descending into the mortal world.
"Your Highness, we were just listening to Mr. White''s ''heroic'' adventures. He''s an Independent Cultivator, and he was the one who caused the rm." Abner replied with deep adoration in his eyes.
This woman was the top beauty of the Golden Lion Kingdom and First Princess, Riana. But she wasn''t like a typical princess, as she was both talented and warlike. She has a special fanatical physique and betrothal to the Crown Imperial Prince of Mortal Sky Heart Empire.
That''s why her position was equal to the Golden Lion King, and everyone treated her very respectfully and with reverence. But this princess was quite cold, and if she found someone displeasing, she would directly put them in their ce.
But despite that, Abner''s behavior was quite brazen as he didn''t hide his desire, and that was because he was sent here by the crown imperial prince as her assistant. However, it was more like he was here to keep an eye on her.
Nheless, Abner''s position was very special, and no one dared to offend Even Riana was helpless since it would directly affect her kingdom, and she didn''t want that despite being so powerful.
Riana looked at Ace, who was extremely handsome, yet his face was riddled with scars, and his long white hair ttered in the wind like white me. A hint of surprise shed past her eyes since she suddenly felt strange when she looked at him.
But she didn''t say anything about it and coldly said, "Whatever the case is, you guys are leaving your posts, which is akin to cking off on work, and if you don''t want punishment, then hurry back."
Everyone quickly scattered as they didn''t dare to treat her words as empty threats because they knew she would really do it. She was famous for her battle skills and upright character, and anyone who dared to break thew would be punished without exception.
Only Abner and Ace remained. The former was not afraid, while thetter didn''t have to do anything, as he wasn''t one of them.
"What are you still doing here?" She coldly looked at Abner. Although she couldn''t do anything to him,tely, he was too impudent, and now she was reaching her limit of patience.
Abner replied without any hint of fear, "Your Highness, please don''t take offense; themander ordered me to escort Mr. White to his room."
"You don''t need to anymore. I have some questions for him, and I''ll do it. Now go before I gouge your eyes." Killing intent shed past her eyes, making Abner''s expression sink.
"Hmph!" But he didn''t dare to try to go too far and test her bottom line and quickly left with clear displeasure before giving Ace a warning re.
Ace was quite surprised seeing this and smiled wryly as he didn''t have anything to do with this, but it seemed he had just earned some resentment from Abner. Nheless, he had already gotten his memories while he was busy jeering at him, and he had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
"You follow me." Riana coldlymands while looking at Ace.
Ace didn''t say anything and quietly followed!
Chapter 964 New Face
Chapter 964 New Face
??"Where are you from?" asked Riana while she led Ace into the corridor filled with rooms. Although her tone was icy cold, a hint of curiosity was present in it.
Ace didn''t know why this woman seemed interested in asking such a question, but he replied respectfully, "Leaf Kingdom, I was born and raised in a small vige in the mountains."
Riana nodded as she didn''t find this any suspicious since most of the independent cultivators have poor backgrounds.
She questioned further, "How many days were you in the world boundary?"
"Eight days, maybe more. I don''t remember since it''s very hard to keep track of time in there," Ace replied without hesitation.
Riana stopped before a door and looked at Ace deeply before she said, "You were very lucky to escape with your life. So, I give you a piece of advice to not resist the interrogation because you have no one backing you up.
"They will use a special treasure to go through your memories just to make sure you are telling the truth. The matter of four world boundaries is very sensitive. As long as you cooperate, they won''t harm you.
"Although I know going through your memories would reveal your secrets, if you resist, they won''t take no for an answer. So, I''m warning you in advance for your own good."
Once she had done the warning, she left without waiting for Ace''s reply.
Ace couldn''t help but see the woman walking away, as she looked extremely lonely and sad at that moment. Shaking his head, he entered the room since it had nothing to do with him.
''A treasure that can scan memories? These guys are really resourceful and forceful. They don''t want to take any chance, huh? It seemed the independent cultivators really have no authority at all.'' Ace thought with a cold smile.
Although it was troublesome, he didn''t have anything to worry about because he wasn''t nning on lingering for long.
Closing his eyes, he spread his heavenly sense in the ship. Although this ship was protected with a grade-8 formation, in front of his terrifying thief sense it can''t resist.
''Got you.'' Smiling, he vanished from his room like a phantom.
In another section of the ship, this ce was filled with luxurious rooms and this ce was for the high-ranking officers and VIP guests.
In one of these rooms, Abner was respectfully kneeling in front of a blurry projection. He was really bold as he was told to go back to this post, but he ran in here. He didn''t care about Riana''s status at all.
"What''s the report?" An imposing voice filled with authority rang.
Abner showed a rare hint of respect and reverence as he replied, "Replying to my lord, it seemed it was a false rm. We found a foolish, independent cultivator who was seeking his own death in the world boundary. Once we return to headquarters and use the Soul Water Mirror, we''ll find what he experiences there, but I''m not too optimistic about it. It''s not worth using such a treasure on that bumpkin."
"Curious." The person said, "There were no reports of anything touching the Western world boundary, but now someone hase out. There is something wrong here. Report me the result of Soul Water Mirror it is very important.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"It''s been a long time since we''ve been searching for a way to cross that ce, and we can''t overlook anything. Now tell me about how''s my dear fianc¨¦ doing?"
A hint of lust shed past Abner''s eyes, but his head was down, so it went unnoticed, and he quickly spat, "She still refuses to reveal her fantastic physique and keeps her progress to herself. We don''t know how much she had awakened it. I''m afraid she''s stalling deliberately."
"Hah, that stubborndy will learn, will she? She can''t escape her destiny no matter how much she stalls." He stated with full confidence and mockery, "Just keep an eye on her and make sure she won''t do anything foolish. Soon, the Sky Abyss Secret Realm would open, and she had toe into the empire no matter what. I''ll personally make a move. Let''s see if she continues to hide from her density."
"I''ll do as you bid, my lord!" Abner kowtowed before the projection vanished in front of him, and he finally stood up and sneered with disdain, "What an idiot!"
All the reverence and respect were gone, and his true thoughts were revealed.
"Indeed, an idiot, he can''t even tell a snake is hiding under his sleeve. So much for being the Imperial Crown Prince. I''m very disappointed." A jeering voice rang, making Abner jump in shock as he quickly turned around.
"Who?!" His eyes widened to the fullest when he saw a hooded figure standing in the corner with his arm crossed. A chill went down his spine since he didn''t even feel a tiny bit of presence from this mysterious person, and just how long had he been there?
"Alright, I''ve decided to take your identity." Ace''s nonchnt voice sounded as if he was saying something insignificant, but his words caused Abner to step back as his Qi began to circte at high speed.
But before he could do anything, Ace said a single world filled with mysteriousws, "Sleep!"
The moment Abner''s eyes became as heavy as a mountain, that singlemand was like themand of the veryws. The next moment, he fell asleep before falling on his carpeted floor.
"Soul Words are really a marvel. Even an early-stagew awareness realm cultivator can''t resist mymand." Ace muttered emotionally. He felt all those pills and years of hard work were really worth it. His soul has now reached a terrifying level, so no one can resist soul words unless their soul is stronger than him, which was nigh impossible at this point.
Without further ado, Ace''s face and body began to change, and the next moment, he had taken Abner''s disguise. After robbing Abner of his armor and treasures, he pointed his finger at his forehead, and a ck sword Qi shot into his head, destroying his soul, and then he stored his dead body.
There was no longer any Abner in this world!
A wily smile appeared on Ace''s face as he muttered, "Time to get to work!"
Chapter 965 Space Highway Buildings
Chapter 965 Space Highway Buildings
??In a few hours, the ship covered thousands of miles and docked at arge ind where more people were waiting for them.
Commander Frugal appeared, and all the soldiers performed a salute except Riana and Abner. He nodded beforemanding, "Where is Mr. White? Go fetch him out."
A human soldier quickly acknowledged hismand and hurried toward White''s room.
However, the soldier quickly appeared again, but his face was filled with panic as he quickly shouted, "H-he''s gone!"
Everyone''s expression changed, and Frugal was bbergasted for a moment before he raged, "What do you mean gone?"
"He''s not in his room. It''spletely empty!" The soldier didn''t dare to face Frugal as he trembled and replied.
"How is that possible?! Did someone forget to activate the formation?" Frugal''s expression was dark as he swept through all the soldiers with an icy re.
"The formation was active all the time. If someone tried to move around, I should''ve known." It was Riana who spoke. She was also shocked, but a hint of curiosity was present in his eyes as she remembered that mysterious, handsome man who seemed too calm in front of her as if she was just a normal girl in his eyes.
"Could it be he was really from the other side and tricked us? But it shouldn''t be possible! How did he get that information on us?" Frugal muttered as a chill ran down his spine since the implications of this matter were extremely threatening to Sky Heart ins.
Because they were also trying to get past the four world boundaries for thousands of years but to no avail. Yet, now someone suspicious to be from the other side has appeared, and he knows about them and even escapes their grade-8 formation. Didn''t this mean the other side knew about their existence while they didn''t know anything? This was a huge threat as they were now under threat of invasion.
This matter suddenly became so huge that it would shake the entire Sky Heart ins'' powers, and they had to find this person and get information out of him quickly, or no one would be able to sleep in peace.
"Quickly scatter and start searching. I want any anomaly report to me. I''m going to request for reinforcement. We can''t let him get away!" Frugal gravely ordered as he was about to leave when Abner moved forward.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
He said gloomily, "I''m going back to the capital to report this blunder to his imperial crown prince. Alert the Formation Guild, and close off all the teleportation altars. No one to leave without confirming their identity!"
No one found his interference and issuing amand, despite Frugal''s presence, offensive. Everyone knew who he was, and Frugal couldn''t fullymand him. Furthermore, this matter was very important.
Frugal nodded, "Give my regards to his imperial highness and ask for forgiveness. It was my fault. I hope it won''t affect the Kingdom."
He was taking all the responsibility for White''s escape. This matter has blown out of his reach, and this might also affect the Golden Lion Kingdom as a whole since he escaped in their watch. Frugal was very loyal, so he was willing to ept all the me on himself.
As long as they had a marriage alliance with the imperial family, they wouldn''t make things too difficult for the Golden Lion Kingdom.
Abner didn''t refute as he nodded, "I know it''s not your fault. We were all tricked. I''ll make sure Golden Lion Kingdom won''t take all the me. Now, time is very pressing. The more we wait, the more we are under the threat of invasion. Until we conform to that person''s background, we should use all of our power to search the Great Sea."
Frugal was very moved since Abner was always overbearing and didn''t give anyone face, but now he was speaking out for them, so he was very grateful. Both of them quickly left for the ind.
Riana''s eyes shimmered with uncertainty as she looked at all the soldiers preparing for a mass search and nced at Frugal and Abner heading into the city built on this ind.
''Could it be he ran away because of my warning? Who are you?'' She thought before she prepared for a search.
The Sky Heart ins were far more advanced when it came to alchemy or runes from the Golden Sky World. Their biggest advantage was their space runes. They had developed space teleportation channels all over the sky heart ins, and as long as someone paid a handsome fee, they could go anywhere and cover huge distances within a few minutes.
That''s why they were able to react quickly to any kind of danger, and this also made them scared. Because if they destroy these teleportation altars, no one will be able to infiltrate the maind quickly, and they will be well-prepared by the time danger arrives.
These kinds of ind cities with teleportation altars were set all over the sea or to cover such a distance by ship. It would take years to reach the Sky Heart ins. That''s why they were quite confident in finding White before he could reach the maind. At least they have time to gather a huge force to search for him.
As Ace entered the small city, he found it was filled with powerful cultivators, nomoner or unidentified people were allowed in here.
Frugal quickly bid farewell as he headed toward the headquarters in the city while Ace directly headed to the center of the city, reaching a small building guarded by the Qi manifestation realm.
This ce was known as the Space Highway Building, controlled by Formation Guild, which was a terrifying existence that controlled almost all the runic inheritance in the Sky Heart ins.
Seeing Abner''s armor, those guards won''t stop him from entering, and a youngdy receives Ace from the elf race.
"Which teleportation altar do you want to use?" She asked smilingly without any attitude, but she wasn''t respected as well. Anyone in this ce belonged to Formation Guild, and they won''t interfere with the power struggle of Sky Heart ins.
"I want to use a Middle-Level Teleportation Altar." Ace directly replied with extreme familiarity.
There were three types of teleportation altars: Low, Middle, and High levels. The low-level teleportation altar could teleport someone to tens of thousands of miles. At the same time, the middle level could cover distances of hundreds of thousands of miles.
But the high level one could teleport someone to millions of miles away. However, these kinds of teleportation altars were located in the capital cities of Sky Heart ins since they were extremely hard to build. So, this ce only had a middle-level one.
Furthermore, the teleportation fee also became greater the higher the tform you use. The Formation Guild''s 50% iees from these Space Highway Buildings.
The elf replied, "It would be 10,000 Low Grade-7 Qi Stones, and 1,000 Low Grade-7 Soul Crystals. You also have to register through your identification tile."
Ace didn''t even blink before paying and through a triangr violet tile with a formation symbol on it.
The elf quickly scanned the tile with a formation device before handing him back, and then she led him to the inner part of the building where a 50-meterrge circr tform was located, and an elder was sitting cross-legged on a prying mat on the side.
He was also an elf, and sensing Ace and thedy elf entering, he opened his eyes and impassively asked Abner, "Your destination?"
Ace coolly replied, "As closer to the Sky Heart ins."
"Stand in the middle." The elder replied, and Aceplied.
When he was in position, the Elder''s expression became solemn, and he formed a few hand seals before the entire formation lit up in runes. With a blink, Ace''s figure vanished, and he reappeared in another identical ce.
But the man in charge here was a demon as he beckoned him to leave. However, Ace merely paid another fee for another teleportation.
Just like that, he used the teleportation altars eighteen times before finally reaching the Sky Heart ins'' Golden Lion Kingdom''s Space Highway Building, which was far grander than the previous one.
However, he didn''t go to the empire''s capital yet and left since he needed to release his house members and issue some missions to help them with their house mission.
No one knows the Sky Heart ins were about to be very lively!
Chapter 966 Plans for Sky Heart Plains
Chapter 966 ns for Sky Heart ins
??After entering the capital city of the Golden Lion Kingdom, Ace changes his appearance again and clothing in a dark alley and enters an inn.
Once he was in his big room, he waved his sleeve and in front of five women appeared, and a small bird appeared on his shoulder.
They were naturally the three house members, Freya''s Witch Avatar, Jessie, Eva, and Cyrus, who were alerted by Ace a few minutes ago.
"Where are we? Are we really in another world?" Winter eximed as she sensed dense Qi around, and she looked curiously at the new designs of the room.
Not only she but others were also the same as they knew what was Ace''s goal, and now that he let them out, it could only mean he had seeded in finding his destination.
Ace smiled before he flipped his hand, and small translucent nine-pointer dark golden stars appeared in his hand; they were the manifestation of his divine trait ability Knowledge Star, Star Slips!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The girls curiously looked at those shining translucent stars as he handed them one each and said, "Just pour your Qi into them, and you''ll understand this ce."
Ace has made those star slips with all the important information he had gathered from stealing memories. They were one-time-use items and very easy to make. This also saves him the trouble of exining everything.
They won''t hesitate and quickly do as Ace said, and those star slips light up before a huge amount of information enters their mind, and the next moment, those star slips vanish into thin air.
"Hey! Where is mine?" Cyrus suddenly demanded as he also wanted to try these toys.
Ace smiled as he rubbed his finger on his tiny head and replied, "You don''t need it since you''ll be with me."
"But I still want one!" Cyrus replied as he found this unfair.
"Little brat, you''re bing more darning, huh?" Ace chuckled.
Cyrus was apanying Eva all this time while learning from her, and she had made sure to drill many things into his mischievous brain. Furthermore, she also trained with him as he was extremely strong, but he was never able to win against her.
So, he was even more obedient after some ''gentle'' beatings, but in front of Ace, he always acted like a child. Ace was helpless, but he didn''t mind since he didn''t consider him a tool.
At this moment, adorned in a silky rainbow dress, Eva finally opened her devilish eyes as she was astounded. She was the first to absorb all those memories and was very excited after learning about the Sky Heart ins.
Even though she was only second to Ace when it came to martial prowess and had her own inherited memories, her adventurous personality never changed. She now wanted to explore this marvelous ce with Ace.
Freya also opened her astute eyes as they shimmered with ecstasy. She was impressed and shocked after learning just how terrifying the Sky Heart ins were. Compared to Golden Sky World, they were too far ahead of them.
Noa was third as she still wore her mask, but the sharpness in her eyes was telling she was also surprised by this ce.
Winter wasst as she sighed in wonder. They were really frogs in the well; without Ace, their entire heaven and earth was just the Golden Sky World.
"What''s your n?" Freya asked smilingly.
Ace replied, "I''ll give you three chain missions, and they are enough toplete the house mission. You should divide the targets among yourselves, make sure to avoid each other targets, and don''t provoke those Kings'' families. They are terrifying existences at the same level as the Union back then.
"Of course, as long as you broke into the next realm, you can do as you please. Nheless, your goal is to cause upheaval and draw attention away from the Empire.
"On the other hand, I''m going to the empire with Eva. We''ll further investigate my real target. Once you guys are done with your mission, I''ll make my move. This ce is filled with treasures we haven''te in contact with, so I bid you all happy hunting.
"This n is very simple; I''ll leave the details to you guys since you are no longer newbies and capable of handling yourselves. If you find yourselves in trouble, just give me a call." Ace stated.
He hadid down the general n for this thievery. The house members were fully capable of handling themselves from here. He didn''t need to retrain their movement. They know about their abilities and how to utilize them, so he leaves the action details to them.
In the Sky Heart ins, the only people who could threaten the house members were the King families of each kingdom and the Imperial Family because they all had Law Comprehension, realm experts.
There were also the Formation Guild and Alchemy Guild, but their eighth realm experts were all in their headquarters in the Imperial Capital, so they should be fine as long as they were careful.
What Ace wanted was to draw attention away from the imperial capital and then swoop in one go.
Noa nodded as she looked at Ace with a hint of gentleness, "I won''t disappoint you." Then she looked at Freya and Winter and coldly stated, "I''m taking the Leaf, me, and Wonder Kingdoms."
Done saying, she didn''t wait for a reply before she was gone like a ghost.
"She''s as overbearing as ever." Winter scoffed before she also stated her targets, "I''m going to the Beast Kingdom first since this ce is filled with magic beasts. I want to see the difference between us, and then I''ll go to Charming Lake Kingdoms. You can take the remaining three." She was also gone.
Freya smiled wryly before looking at Ace with a peculiar gaze and then nced at Eva meaningfully, "I guess I''m going to be busy with Golden Lion, Forest, and Poison Kingdoms. Wait for my good news." She and her Avatar also left.
''What''s she up to now?'' Ace couldn''t help but feel something was strange with Freya''s gaze just now.
Eva gently smiled as she sat beside him, "I guess it''s only you and me now. So, where should we go first? I can''t help but remember our first meeting. It was in an inn just like this."
Ace chuckled with nostalgia as he clearly remembered the first time Eva appeared. She was holding a food tray for him in an inn''s room.
"How about I bring you to go shopping in the capital first? I''m not in a hurry to move." Ace suggested.
Eva''s eyes lit up, "You sure know how to make a woman happy."
Aceughed before he looked at her gently, her peerless face wless and charming while her moist crimson lips were perfect, "You''re really beautiful."
Eva blushed slightly under his heated gaze before she retorted, "There is a child here; no need to be so shameless."
Ace suddenly remembered Cyrus, who was curiously looking at them, and quickly stood upright, "Ahem, let''s go. You should cover your face. I''m afraid I''ll make too many enemies if I bring you to a stroll like this."
Eva giggled as a dark veil appeared in her hand, and she covered her face with it, but she was still a walking cmity with her devilish figure.
They both left while interlocking their hands!
Chapter 967 Wild Hungry Pavilion
Chapter 967 Wild Hungry Pavilion
??The Golden Lion Kingdom''s capital city can be described as gigantic as it covered hundreds of miles, and it was blustering with activities. People from other kingdoms also came here to do business and buy the specialty of the kingdom, which was its ores.
At this moment, Ace, in disguise as Feng and Eva, wearing a veil and slightly altered her facial fears, were walking in the market region holding hands. Then, there was Cyrus curiously looking at everything while sitting on Ace''s shoulder.
Eva appeared extremely happy and bliss as she would drag Ace in a shop every now and then and have him buy whatever she wanted. She knew Ace''s wealth could topple the entire Sky Heart ins, so she wasn''t worried about spending, nor did Ace bat an eye and pay any price for her happiness.
"Let''s try the spiritual cooking of this ce!" Eva suddenly pointed at a magnificent building named Wild Hungry Pavilion, it was a restaurant and not just any restaurant but a restaurant for cultivators.
Furthermore, Wild Hungry Pavilion was a very famous name as they had branches all over the Sky Heart ins, and they studied a branch profession of alchemy, Spiritual Cooking, which was thebination of alchemy and cooking. The practitioners of Spiritual Cooking were known as Spirit Chiefs, and they had the same ranks as alchemists and rune crafters.
Ace was also curious about a novel profession unique to the Sky Heart ins, so he entered with Eva.
They were received by a beautiful elf in golden attire, and she greeted them, "Wee to our Wild Hungry Pavilion, dear guests! Do you have a reservation, or would you like to reserve a pavilion?"
The elf race''s women and men were really beautiful as many organizations as such would hire them as attendants.
Ace politely replied, "Thetter. Give us a private pavilion."
"Please follow me." The elf nodded and led the way as there were private and open pavilions. The former was for private gatherings and was more expensive, while thetter was for everyone and cheap.
The elfdy led me to a beautiful pavilion surrounded by colorful Qi flowers, and in the center were tables and chairs. The air was extremely fragrant and refreshing, and the atmosphere was very rxing.
"Which grade meal would you like to order?" The elf asked. The meals were graded by the Spirit Chiefs who cooked them. The higher the grade, the more benefits and expensive they are.
"The highest avable. Bring out the full course for three, thank you." Ace smilingly replied as he already knew the customs here.
The elf nodded before she replied, "Please wait for half an hour. In the meanwhile, would you like to try our wine?"
"Stronger, the better," Ace replied without hesitation.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The elf quickly understood his meaning and headed back to make arrangements.
"I didn''t know you were such a drunkard." Eva meaningfully looked at Ace''s somewhat excited expression.
Before Ace could reply, Cyrus chimed in, "What''s a drunkard? Is it a food?"
"All you know is eat and y all day long." Ace chided smilingly before looking at Eva and seriously replying, "I found drinking quite refreshing. It can make one''s bleak life colorful."
"So, your life bleak?" Eva narrowed her eyes.
"Ahem, this was just something I heard along the way. As for my life, with you here, how could it be bleak?" Ace quickly tackled, sensing danger.
"Hmph, you really are a liar and scoundrel. Little Winter was right." Eva retorted while inside; she was feeling ted.
Ace was startled, "Little Winter? When did you guys be so close? I couldn''t help but notice that something was strange going on between you four. What did you talk about when I was busy crossing the forbidden radiationsea?"
In the Radiation Forbidden Sea, for a few weeks, Ace was extremely alert, and most of his attention was on his avatar, so he didn''t have time to pay attention to his thief''s space. Eva and others stayed there all this time, and only a monthter did the house members leave for the thief''s house to increase their cultivation.
Ace didn''t know what happened during that time. But now, after seeing the four of them, he couldn''t help but notice something was going on he was unaware of.
"What? Only you have social skills? Are you jealous of me getting closer to those three or wary?" Eva questioned without having any intention of revealing their girl''s talk.
Ace smiled wryly, "It''s not like that. In fact, I''ll be quite happy if you all remain peaceful and work together. After all, we need to work together to keep living and internal dispute would only spell danger for all of us."
Eva''s expression softened as she tenderly replied, "You don''t need to worry about it. I''m just sharing some of your burdens. As for the three of them, we just discussed our lives, and we found that we get along pretty well."
Ace suddenly stuck with a realization, but he didn''t dare to bring it up, afraid of getting misunderstood by Eva.
"Just don''t over-exhaust yourself," Ace replied.
Suddenly, Ace''s eyes narrowed, and Eva was the same.
"Boom!"
The next moment, the entire Wild Hungry Pavilion rocked before an overbearing voice rang throughout the pavilion.
"Everyone leaves; the Imperial Family is booking the entire Wild Hungry Pavilion! You all have five minutes, those who remains will be punished ording to the empire''sws!"
"So, it''s the imperial family. No wonder they dare to be unbridled in this ce and kick everyone out. But what are they doing here? Which member arrived?" Ace couldn''t help but muttered.
Eva said ruefully, "I guess we have to wait to try this Spiritual Cooking. Those nobles are really hateful."
Ace suddenly grinned deviously, "Now that we''vee, we can''t leave without eating, right?"
"What are you nning?" Eva asked, as she could tell Ace was up to no good.
"I''m just thinking about ''packing'' our food. But only if you want to?" Ace meaningfully asked.
Eva''s eyes shone with ecstasy, "Are we really¡?"
Ace shrugged his shoulder and stood up before his clothing began to change, and a hood appeared behind his robe, "Let''s test your thriving ability!"
Chapter 968 Robbing Wild Hungry Pavilion (1)
Chapter 968 Robbing Wild Hungry Pavilion (1)
??In stealth, Ace and Eva moved into the depths of Wild Hungry Pavilion. It was extremelyrge, and after passing the guest area, they entered the private region where only the staff members were allowed.
As for formations protecting this ce, they were useless against both of them.
"How do we find what we are looking for?" Eva transmitted her voice through her special connection with Ace.
Ace merely smiled, "Just follow me. Oh, people areping this way."
Both of them stopped and hid behind an aisle.
Soon, an extremely fat man in white clothes appeared; he was a bald human, and his tiny eyes were almost hidden under his fat face. But his aura was extremely shocking. He was atew awareness realm expert.
There were a few more men and women following him, and they all wore the same type of clothing. The most distinguishing feature about their getup was the crimson chief knives on his chests. It was the symbol of the Wild Hungry Pavilion.
All of them seemed annoyed for some reason.
"Pavilion Master, those arrogant bastards have gone too far! They dared to remove our guests and meddled in our business, and now they wanted us to greet them personally. The Imperial family is not giving us any face!" A human elder with a long gray beard uttered furiously, and everyone nodded in agreement with them.
Although the Wild Hungry Pavilion wasn''t as powerful as the Formation Guild and Alchemy Guild, they were still not to be trifled with. But because of their profession, people from such powers look down on them.
If it was Formation or Alchemy Guilds, they won''t even dare to make arge sound even if they were from the imperial family.
"Just bear with it. Sooner orter, we''ll overthrow the pricks from the alchemy guild and prove our spiritual cooking is far healthier and more orthodox than their stinky pills filled with toxic." The fate man, who was also the Pavilion Master of the Wild Hungary Pavilion, stated.
However, his eyes turned sinister as he said, "Still, this fourth imperial prick is really hateful. Since he dares to stop our business, they better be ready to pay with their asses and dignity. Sprinkle some fart powder in their dishes. As long as there is no proof, they can''t do anything. Who told those bastards to go against me?"
The other''s eyes brightened as they smiled wickedly.
"Pavilion Master is wise!" The elder quickly praised him as they walked away.
Eva couldn''t help butugh softly, "How sinister."
Ace also had an odd expression, "I have to admit they really have guts. They even dare to scheme against the imperials. I thought only I was capable of that."
"Heh, stop boosting. Are we robbing them or not?" Eva rolled her eyes.
"Of course, we are robbing. However, I might feel bad now since they don''t seem so bad anymore. But this is our profession as well. Good or bad, we need to eat, but to eat, we need to earn." Ace righteously stated.
"Shameless." Eva snickered as she followed Ace and felt he was returning to his old self and was no longer stiff anymore which was a good thing. She could tell his mentality had changed as if some huge burden had lifted from his shoulders. He didn''t seem reserved anymore.
She was right. Even Ace didn''t know that after knowing the truth about his parents, a huge weight had been lifted from his heart since he thought that they had abandoned him back then after sealing his bloodline and didn''t want him anymore.
Although he didn''t pay much attention to it, this has be a knot in his heart, turning it cold with time. If not for Eva and Alina, he might have slowly turned into a cruel killer without knowing it.
After passing some corridors, they finally reached a restricted building, and protection in this ce was the strongest. That''s why he was able to find it.
Both of them directly passed the closed door like ghosts, and once they entered, they appeared in a hall filled with cooking tools and cooking tforms.
"This must be their training area." Eva guessed.
"Oh, there is food in that direction!" Cyrus, who was silent for all this time, finally spoke with excitement.
Ace was surprised because he knew anything considered food by Cyrus was not normal.
Looking in that direction, he saw nothing but a wall, but as a veteran thief, he knew it was a trick door.
Furthermore, it wasn''t only a trick door, thought the fate map, he saw there were three more passages hidden in three directions.
"Alright, let''s go in this ce first." Ace decided to head in where Cyrus pointed first, and Eva followed curiously.
Passing the wall, they appeared in a hidden passage going downward, and the temperature instantly rose.
"What is this ce? Such dense fire Qi." Eva was surprised as they didn''t feel anything outside at all.
"We''ll know once we go down." Ace was also surprised as he headed down with Eva, and he could feel Cyrus bing more excited as they got closer to this heat source.
The closer they got, the more terrifying the heat. Once they reached their destination, they were surprised when they saw a huge formation drawn in a huge hall, and in the center of this formation was a silvery me emitting terrifying heat despite being restrained by the formation.
"A spirit fire!" Ace instantly recognized it since it wasn''t his first timeing in contact with it. All the spirit fires have special Qi waves, almost as if they were alive, and the silver mes were also the same.
Ace had never expected that he would find a spirit fire in this ce. This showed how terrifying the Sky Heart ins were. In the Golden Sky World, the spirit fire was something fabled and drove people crazy, yet here in a restaurant, they found one, and it waspletely restrained.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Spirit Fire was something every alchemist dreamed of having because it could make their refinement easy and more efficient and make it sore. Noa was a perfect example of it. Ace also has one spirit fire in the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern (No.7) he got in the sun realm.
"Food!" Cyrus almost flew off when he saw the silver me, and Ace quickly grabbed him.
"Slow down. If you eat it like this, we might draw attention." Ace sternly said as he still didn''t know the full function of this formation.
Cyrus unwillingly retrained himself, "Then what should we do?"
Eva was also curious about what Ace was nning as it was her first time stealing with Ace. She let him take the lead. She was just happy to be with him.
Ace thought for a moment before a simple solution came to his mind as he smiled thievishly, "I''m going to dismantle this formation, and you grab that spirit fire!"
Chapter 969 Robbing Wild Hungry Pavilion (2)
Chapter 969 Robbing Wild Hungry Pavilion (2)
??Ace covered the entire hall with his dismantle Qi, and the next moment, the spirit fire''s connection with the formation was also cut off, and its aura ignited as it begins to burn violently.
However, Cyrus was waiting for this exact moment, and after receiving Ace''s signal, he opened his beak and spit his own blue spirit fire toward the silver mes. The silver mes instantly churned as Cyrus''s me closed in and tried to run. It was clearly afraid of Cyrus''sher fire!
But it was already toote, and there was no way for it to run as the blue me instantly enveloped it before it dragged back into the little guy''s tiny stomach. The temperature also plummeted when the spirit fire vanished.
"Tasty¡" Cyrus cried blissfully.
Ignoring Cyrus, Eva focusedpletely on Ace and the pitch-ck Qi covering the hall. She was quite surprised as she didn''t sense any danger from that Qi, but for some reason, she found it quite dangerous.
Furthermore, she was startled when the spirit fire connection to the entire formation was cut off the moment it appeared. She finally began to understand Ace''s methods, and they were each more terrifying than the other.
Once Cyrus was done taking the spirit fire, Ace didn''t hesitate as hebined his hands and dismantle Qi in the entire hall, being gathered into a glob in front of him like a water bubble.
But the most surprising thing was the formation hadpletely vanished from the hall, turning it into an ordinary room. A few momentster, something magical happened.
One after another, materials and herbs were to pop out of the globe, and each one of them was high-grade-7, and even some low-grade-8 materials were present as more and more of those materials and the pitch-ck glob began to shrink until it waspletely gone.
In front of Ace was now a small pile of shining objects, and without hesitation, he stored them and turned around.
Seeing Eva''s gobsmacked expression, he grinned and said, "Don''t be surprised. It is one of the techniques that only I can use. Aren''t I great?"
Eva nodded in daze before snapping out of it, and her lips curled up, "Show off."
"I''m only showing off in front of you. Let''s go to the other ces." Ace shrugged his shoulders as it was the first time he used this in front of anymore.
Afterward, Eva and Cyrus follow him back, and they enter another secret room. This time, it was a small library with stone bookshelves, and there were even jade scrolls under the protection of a formation.
"Well, it seems we can learn this spiritual cooking on our own." Ace smiled in satisfaction before using the dismantle Qi and taking all the knowledge.
Then, they entered the final hidden section, and this time, it was a huge treasury divided into two sections with a formation. One section was filled with Qi herbs, fruits, and mountains of Qi stones and Soul crystals, and the other section was filled with skinned demonic beasts, and their lingering auras were extremely powerful.
This time, Ace didn''t take anything on his own and looked at Eva as her eyes shimmered with ecstasy and said, "If I take them, I''ll leave behind my thief symbol, which I don''t want at this moment. So, I''ll leave it to you. Of course, you can ask me for help."
"Hmph, no need. Just watch." Eva snickered before dark, ethereal Qi gushed out of her hands. It was filled with shadow intent, and it slowly covered the ground, turning it intoplete ck.
"Shadow Abyss!" Her eyes flickered with darkness as the next moment, a powerful suction force descended on the entire treasury, and all the treasures began to drown in that abyssal darkness before nothing remained. The formation was stillpletely fine, but no rm rang.
Ace was surprised seeing this skill, it was probably an innate ability of Eva.
"My shadow abyss can devour any inanimate objects and store them in the shadow abyss space which exists within my shadow. It''s my innate bloodline ability. Now, do you admit defeat?" Eva raised her nose proudly.
"Mistress Eva, you win." Ace quickly admits his defeat. Her abilities really started him, and they will only grow stronger with time. Her bloodline was extremely terrifying.
Eva bloomed with happiness, "As long as you know."
"Here, try learning these two skills, personally made by me for thievery. They are called the soul threads and Thief''s Charity (Inverse and Reverse). All the house members have them." Ace handed her another star slip.
"You can create your own skills?" Eva was surprised as she took the star slip.
"Just imitation of my unique skills, nothing much." Ace humbly stated.
"Where mine?" Cyrus again cried at this injustice as he didn''t get those shining stars again.
"Alright, you can have one as well. Learning it won''t hurt." Ace chuckled as he condensed another star slip with the knowledge of two skills and gave it to a jubnt Cyrus.
Eva curiously asked, "What about these stars?" She could tell they were also made by someplex ability and finally asked.
"It''s my innate ability." Ace mysteriously smiled and didn''t say much about the B.E.L.L.
Eva nodded and didn''t ask further before learning the skills, and she was quite surprised after she learned about the Thief''s Charity (Inverse and Reverse).
"It''s a space-rted skill!" She was astounded.
"I don''t know it''s natural. But it should be." Ace nodded as he had alreadye in contact with absolute pick-pocket, and he knew it was space skill, so the original pick-pocket had to be the same.
Cyrus also does the same and is too pounder about something without making a fuss.
"Let''s go. I''ll give you a chance to practice them." Ace smiled thievishly, "Let''s rob some imperials!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Eva''s eyes shone as she was very excited to try them, and they quickly left towards the outer area, but Ace sneakily left behind a note even though Eva was unaware of it. After all, he needed to cause some trouble!
Chapter 970 Skylar Giant Race
Chapter 970 Skr Giant Race
??In the biggest pavilion of the Wild Hungry Pavilion, eight youths were sitting around a jade table, and a few elves were pouring wine for them. They all have the air of nobility and their auras were powerful.
Especially a six-meter-tall giant d in silver imperial robes with the symbol of a golden dragon on his back. His masculine body was like a mountain, and his handsome white face wore an arrogant smile. His gray eyes were cold, and his long ck hair draped over his wide shoulder.
This was the fourth Imperil Prince of the Mortal Sky Heart Empire, Zion Skr. The Skr n belonged to the Skr Giant Race, as they were known for their powerful raw physical strength and mysterious bloodline abilities. No other race couldpete with them for the throne of the Sky Heart ins, and they were ruling the Sky Heart ins for thousands of years without any opponent.
The Imperial Family waspletely unfathomable, and no one knew their true strength, and whoever dared to provoke them had vanished from history without any trace.
The other youths sitting with Zion also have powerful backgrounds and they were his loyal supporters.
At this moment, the fat Pavilion Master and his men enter the pavilion with hidden anger in their eyes.
Following the Pavilion Master, they all bowed toward Zion.
"It is a blessing of nine generations that my Wild Hungry Pavilion visited by His Imperial Highness!" Pavilion Master respectfully said.
Zion smiled with a hint of arrogance and nodded, "Pavilion Master is very humble. I hope I haven''t caused trouble for you."
''Bastard!'' Pavilion Master cursed Zion for his shamelessness, but he maintained his fake polite smile and shook his head, "How could that be? It''s a blessing that Your Highness visited; I can definitely brag about it for a lifetime in front of my peers."
"Hahaha, you are really candid, Pavilion Master. I heard about your famous High-Grade-7 Sun Rendering Cuisine that only you can cook, so I came here to have a taste. I wonder if you honor me with your personal spiritual cooking." Zion smilingly said while sipping on his wine.
The others in the Pavilion Master''s expressions changed slightly because they knew the Sun Rendering Cuisine was something the Pavilion Master created after his lifetime of work.
Furthermore, to cook this entire cuisine, which has eight dishes, the Pavilion Master was required to use his own longevity for each of them, and it was a ridiculous amount at that.
So, Zion asking him to cook it for eight people was asking for him for at least five thousand years of his life, which might probably cripple his cultivation, and he would never advance to the next realm.
They wanted to retort, but the Pavilion Master spoke first as his smile didn''t vanish at all, "If it''s what your Highness wants, it''ll be my honor to serve you and also a blessing for my Sun Rendering Cuisine to be consumed by the imperial family. Please wait. I''ll make arrangements. If you have anything else, please don''t hesitate to ask."
He bowed and turned around, but his smile had vanished, and killing intent shed past his tiny eyes before bitterness reced it. He was really helpless against the imperial family, and if he offended, there would be an endless stream of trouble. If he was alone, he might not give two shits about it, but his disciples and close friends would also be affected, which he didn''t want.
Once the Pavilion Master and his entourage exit the pavilion, Zion excuses the attendants, and once they are alone, all of them burst intoughter filled with ridicule.
"I really never thought that that fatty would submit so easily. He didn''t even give my father a face when he asked him to cook the Sun Rendering Cuisine. Your Highness, you have my eternal admiration!" A skinny human raises his ss towards Zion. He was the son of the Golden Kingdom duke, Cayden, and this visit was mostly because of him.
"Hmph, as long as he didn''t want to live his life in misery, even his ancestor would have to submit." Zion''s humble smile was reced with a disdainful sneer. Who would dare to offend his n in this day and age?
"Hehe, it''s all thanks to his highness might." A demon belonged to another duke household from the empire chucked.
They allugh and toast to Zion and feed his vanity more.
"Your highness please forgive my bluntness, I want to know if you''re here for my sister?" A blond hair handsome human asked, he was the crown prince of the Golden Lion Kingdom and Riana''s eldest brother, Samson and he was in charge of receiving Zion. Furthermore, he was also jealous of his sister''s talent.
Zion nodded, "Brother Samson, I won''t hide it from you. I''m really here to escort Princess Riana back to the Sky Abyss Secret Realm of our imperial family. Since she will be a member of our family, she is qualified to enter. But I didn''t see her anywhere."
A hint of displeasure appeared in Zion''s eyes towards the end.
Samson sighed helplessly as he said, "She''s still being childish and serving in the Navy. Even I won''t see her in months, and she won''t listen to my father either. But don''t worry, this time, since it''s an imperial edict, she won''t cause trouble."
"It would be best for all of us if it''s true. My eldest imperil brother didn''t want to give her any hardship, but he also didn''t want to restrict her freedom. But his graciousness has a limit." Zion subtly stated as he was clearly warning Samson.
Everyone knows about the marriage between the Imperial Crown Prince and the Golden Lion Princess. But for some reason, the princess never visited the empire''s capital; instead, she became a soldier, which was a huge disgrace to the imperial family''s prestige.
Yet, the crown prince allowed it, showing his magnanimity and earning praise from many.
Only the imperial and the golden lion royal family know Riana''s true feelings, but in front of the towering empire, she was nothing but insignificant.
The others also didn''tment on this since this matter wasn''t something they could get involved in, and this made Zion displeased.
Suddenly, they all sensed something and looked at the entrance, and at this moment, an elf attendant ran in and hastily said, "Y-your highness, Pavilion Master wanted to see you hastily. Someone has robbed the entire Wild Hungry Pavilion!"
"What?!" Zion and others were bbergasted when they heard this absurd news.
Cayden suddenly thought of something and shouted, "Are you trying to find an excuse not to serve his Highness the Sun Rendering Cuisine?"
Zion''s expression darkened as it was very possible.
"N-no! I¡I don''t know. Pleasee with me and see for yourself!" She panicked and quickly said as she didn''t know what to do.
"Wait! Where is my storage bracelet?!" Another human in Zion ground was horrified when he noticed his storage bracelet was gone, and he frantically started to look over.
"What?! My ring is also gone!" This was Crown Prince Samson as he also looked at his own storage ring, and it was also gone.
Following these, two others quickly looked at their own storage devices, and their expression went pale because all of them were gone.
"W-who¡who did this!???" Zion howled furiously as his own storage was gone!
No one knows that this incident was just one of the many that were going to shake the entire Sky Heart ins!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 971 Parting Ways
Chapter 971 Parting Ways
??Just as Wild Hungry Pavilion was in turmoil, a man and a woman appeared among the crowd, and they began to walk away.
"Hahaha, this skill is really great. Those buffoons didn''t even sense me taking their storage treasures." Evaughed as she was extremely pleased with herself.
Ace smiled thievishly, "They were busy gloating over the Wild Hungry Pavilion misfortune, so how could they have reacted? Besides, your cultivation is way above them, so they can''t notice you even if you make some mistake. Still, I have to admit, that imperial prince was really an arrogant idiot."
They had arrived in the pavilion when the Pavilion Master and the Imperial Prince were still talking, but no one noticed them. They calmly hid there and waited for an opportunity to strike.
But Ace had never expected that they weren''t on guard against anything like nothing could happen to them. That''s why they all meet misfortune at Eva''s hand who was trying Ace''s thievish skills for the first time.
"Hehe, tell me, what is this Thief Charity Reverse''s about? I can understand the principle behind it, but why would we give away something?" Eva curiously questioned.
"I invented it to leave behind my name back then in the lowernds to grab some fame. Butter, my thief symbol awakened, and I never got the chance to use it again. However, the house members didn''t have such ability yet, so they''ve been using it to leave behind their unique marks to get famous.
"Although I never told them to, I can understand how satisfying it is to leave behind your name and make your victim fume helplessly. You can try doing the same or this skill can be use in other ways as well, it''spletely up to you, I never intended to limit your imagination.
"In all my years of thieving, I''ve learned there is always a new way to theft there is no limit to it. If you put a limit on yourself, you''ll get caught sooner orter since our enemies are not idiots, and the same trick might not work twice." Ace stated profoundly, like an old veteran.
Eva was amazed by Ace''s wisdom in thievery. She couldn''t imagine this was the same na?ve boy back then, and she felt very proud.
"Don''t worry. I also have a few tricks up my sleeve. I won''t slow you down." She promised.
"Silly girl, you can never slow me down. Just do as you please; there are not many things in this heaven I''m afraid of anymore. The Sky Heart ins is a yground for you guys to practice your arts, once we ascend we''ll face unknown so get as much experience as you can." Ace smiled gently as he felt gratified for having Eva and others at this moment.
He wasn''t alone anymore, and his heart was at peace. He felt his mind was going through a strange change after he learned about his parents, but he didn''t know if it was bad or good.
Nheless, he wasprehending new things about his own path, and he felt he was on the verge of some mental breakthrough.
Eva lovingly looked at Ace as she also felt bliss at this moment, "Since that''s the case, how about I go to the empire alone and make a name for myself as well? I know you have your own ns, and I don''t want you to change them for me. I also need some experience. I''ll pave the way for you in the empire."
Ace couldn''t help but look at Eva as she almost saw through him. He was really going to change his n and discard Abner''s identity, which was very helpful to him. But if he wanted to bring Eva along, then he couldn''t use that identity.
Furthermore, Eva also had a point, she needed experience and following him might limit her growth, his house members were the same. He had long since experienced how foolish it was to keep them with him in the thief''s house since they could help him if he fell into some predicament.
That''s why he gives them free rein to roam the world and do as they please as long as they won''t affect him or their fellow house members, and the result is very good.
Eva was the same in this regard, as they were extremely powerful, but she still didn''t have experience with her own abilities and didn''t know their limitation. If she remained with him, she would never feel pressure, and she also understands this.
Only after Ace said those words did she think like this, so she didn''t want to be selfish to slow him down. Before, she thought she could protect him, but now, she knew Ace didn''t need anyone''s protection. Now, she wanted to carry some of his burden, so she needed to be as strong and astute as him. Power means nothing if she doesn''t know how to use it properly.
"Alright, since you are determined, I won''t stop you. But you have to promise to alert me if you fall into any danger and bring Cyrus along. You two will be able to dominate even if those old monsters from the imperial pce take action." Ace nodded in agreement as she didn''t try to stop her since it would be selfish.
Eva smiled sweetly, "Don''t worry, I''m going to make a name for myself as well. Just wait for my news, and I''ll beat you on your own game."
She was verypetitive and proud because of her bloodline, and Ace somehow provoked her nature, so she wanted to prove herself. Mostly because she didn''t want to be left behind by the others, or how could she establish her dominance over other women by Ace''s side?
Ace chortled, "Good luck with that."
He then ordered Cyrus to go with Eva and protect her. Although the little guy was clearly unwilling, he didn''t dare to say anything to Eva, and she also promised to give him food, which instantly made him happy and willing.
After a passionate kiss, she left with Cyrus unwillingly.
Ace sighed seeing her leave, although he didn''t show it, he was very reluctant and worry about her.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
''I should get to work as well. I wanted to steal that prince''s memories, but he had a strange rune protecting them. If I was forceful, he might''ve died. What a vicious method to keep secrets. The imperial family is not simple.''
Ace''s eyes went sharp as he headed back to the inn and became Abner again and directly contacted the Imperial Crown Prince!
Chapter 972 Conning the Second Imperial Prince
Chapter 972 Conning the Second Imperial Prince
??Above a glowing white cube, the Crown Imperial Prince, Carlos''s blurry projection appeared. This cube was known as the projection cube, an advanced version of themunication cube that was capable of both voice and projectionmunication.
"What is it?" Carlos questioned sternly.
"It is not good milord¡" Ace, who was in the disguise of Abner, hurriedly begins to report what happened with White.
Carlos was surprised, "So it was someone from the other side?"
"We are still not clear about it, but the chances are quite high. I quickly left and came back to the Golden Lion Kingdom''s capital to make arrangements. I wonder what my lord has in mind?" Abner respectfully stated.
"This matter is indeed quite huge, and we can''t neglect it. You did well to report it to me first. I''ll hastily alert his majesty before anyone else. You have gotten massive merits for me. I won''t mistreat you." Carlos sounded very pleased, "What about my fianc¨¦? Did shee back? My fourth brother should be there to escort her back."
"No, Princess Riana volunteered for the search; she''s as stubborn as always. As for the fourth prince, I didn''t know anything about him yet." Abner replied.
"Hmph, she might think that capturing that otherworldly would give her some chance. How na?ve, I know how she thinks." Carlos sneered disdainfully, "Alright, you should takemand on this search, I''ll make an arrangement we can''t let anyone else get ahead of us especially my foolish second brother."N?v(el)B\\jnn
His voice turned frosty when he mentioned the second imperial prince.
Ace''s lips curled up mockingly, "Thank you, your highness, I won''t disappoint you."
"Good, I''ll pay a visit to his majesty and make arrangements." The next moment, the projection cube turns dormant.
"Heh, he still thinks everything is under his control." Ace shook his head as he was very clear on the imperial family struggle, especially the struggle between the crown prince and the second prize.
They were both the most talented members of the Skr n, but the second prince was even more talented. It''s just that the crown prince was first in the line of session, and ording to the imperial family rules, as long as he can cultivate and won''t die, he can be emperor.
Furthermore, the second prince is even more astute than the crown prince as he hides himself and his ambition pretty deeply and secretly gathers more forces. Both brothers were at each other throats and the Emperor won''t stop them either and secretly approve of thispetition.
At this moment, Ace took out another projection cube and activated it, and this time, only a calm voice sounded, "Since you contacted me, I gathered you have something important to report."
This was the voice of the second imperial prince, Darren. Abner was actually a spy of Darren nted on the Crown Prince''s side for many years. Even Carlos, despite being careful, he wasn''t aware of it.
Moreover, every action of the Crown Prince was under Darren''s watch because of Abner''s close contact with the Crown Prince. Furthermore, he was also after Princess Riana because of her fantastic physique and didn''t want her to go to Carlos.
Abner''s brazen behavior was all part of the second prince''s schemes to make Riana loathe Carlos even more, and he had seeded in doing just that.
Furthermore, even if Riana didn''t end up with Darren, she won''t be going to be with Carlos as well since she was extremely proud and might do something before her marriage. This would be a huge blow to the crown prince''s poprity and prestige.
Even Ace had to admit that this second prince was extremely sly and far more capable than the crown prince.
However, it was a pity that Abner ended up dying at Ace''s hands, and now everything was under Ace''s control. Even the second prince hadn''t expected that.
"Yes, Your Highness, I have something huge to report." Ace also told him about White, and in the end, he added, "Now the crown prince is nning to im the merits."
"Something like that happened?" Darren sounded quite startled, "You did well to give me a heads-up. How are things progressing with Riana? Is she prepared to side with us?"
Ace''s lips curled up as he was waiting for this exact moment, "Indeed, Your Highness. I have one of my men brought up this matter with her when she seemed very unwilling to go with the crown prince to the sky abyss secret realm. I''m happy to report that she was moved by High Highness''s favor!"
"Really?" Darren''s cold voice contained rare ecstasy since he thought that Riana wouldn''t sway so easily, or at least she wouldn''te to his side like this.
"Indeed, that person told her how High Highness is willing to help her with this unreasonable marriage, and she quickly agreed. Furthermore, she seemed to have a very good opinion of you. I don''t dare to lie. That man is extremely truth-worthy." Ace lied fluently.
"Hahaha, years of work have been paying off!" Darrenughed as he was even more excited hearing this news, "Approach her again and tell her as long as she''s willing to marry me, I can break her marriage with Carlos when shees here."
"Your highness we shouldn''t jump the gun, you know how proud and arrogant she is. If we take hasty action, she might not take the bait and even sense something." Abner gravely warned while Ace wasughing inside.
"You are indeed correct. I was too excited." Darren thought this made sense, "What do you suggest? I''ll leave it to you since you have proven yourself to be quite capable in all these years. Speak your mind, as long as you have a way there will be endless riches for you once I ascend the throne."
"I indeed have a very good suggestion that can move Princess Riana''s heart. I have nted a spy in her maids, and she told me that once Princess Riana mentioned that she wanted to see the Golden Lands. It was her dream." Abner solemnly stated.
The Golden Lands were Ace true goal, it was the ce where the Sky Heart ins Only Grade-8 Qi Stone Lode and Grade-8 Soul Crystal Source exist. This was also a cultivation paradise for the imperial family.
But this ce was extremely mysterious and one of the top secrets of the imperial family.
People with high status only know about this ce''s name but not its location. Legend has it that this ce was a paradise on earth. But the Imperial Family never let anyone anywhere near it and kept a tight seal on it.
What Ace wanted was to go there and absorb those lodes to increase his cultivation at the peak, and only then would he start his true mission at the imperial city.
But to get that information, he needed to trick it out of one of the imperial family members. After he noticed the seal on the fourth prince''s memories, he knew he had to acquire it by other means, and Abner''s identity was perfect.
"Hmm, this matter is not so simple." Darren finally hesitated as he knew the consequences if someone else found out about it.
He knew better than anyone how strict the rules were when it came to the Golden Lands.
"But Your Highness, if you fulfill her wish, she would instantly fall head over heels for you. Think about it: the crown prince''s esteem has hit an all-time low in her mind, and if you take this risk for her, her heart will be moved, and then, no matter what, she will be yours.
"To make sure it won''t implicate High Highness in any way if we were found, I tell my man to me it all on the crown prince, and he will take all the me, and I''m his majesty won''t be very pleased at that time.
"But if we seed, then Princess Riana will be yours. We only need to give her a view, and I''ll make sure she won''t go anywhere near danger. But I have to ask his highness to pave the way." Ace''s voice was like a devil extremely tempted.
Just as Ace thought Abner was extremely loyal to Darren, and after a moment of silence, Darren replied, "Good, I''ll make arrangements. Make sure everything goes as nned!"
Chapter 973 Sky Bandit
Chapter 973 Sky Bandit
??At night, in a dark alleyway, two cloaked figures appeared. One of them was Ace in Abner''s disguise!
"Fool of the dirt?" A coarse voice sounded from the other person.
"King of the earth," Ace replied impassively, as this was a secret identity verification code.
The other person didn''t tarry once he confirmed Abner''s identity and handed over a golden ring, "Good luck!" He said before vanishing without a trace.
Ace didn''t remain either and vanished; he reappeared on the streets with another disguise and saw the contents of the ring.
There were two golden talismans with white runes and a letter, ''Space runes? So, they are teleportation talismans, huh?'' Ace instantly recognized them.
The letter was from the second prince, Darren. There was written the use of those two talismans. Once they are activated, they will transfer two people to the edge of Golden Lands, and by using them again, they can send them back as well before those talismans turn into dust.
Furthermore, the user needed to keep these talismans on a person all the time, or they would get noticed by the security of the Golden Lands. Lastly, these talismans also have limited area ess; they can only give ess to the outer region of the Golden Lands, not the inner region.
Ace had to admit the imperial family was really resourceful in making these kinds of talismans. The second prince got two of them for Riana, and the other person apanied her. He was doing all this to win her favor, but he didn''t dare to go himself just in case things went south.
All the me would fall on the Crown Prince if they were discovered, so it was a win-win situation for Darren no matter the results, and that''s why he made arrangements so quickly.
But even the second prince hadn''t expected that he just handed Ace the key to their treasury and now Ace didn''t need Abner''s identity anymore.
"Attention, citizens of the Golden Lion Capital!" Suddenly a thunderous voice draws everyone''s attention.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
It was a burly demon in golden armor with a stream face, and he was holding a bronze color scroll with the golden lion royal family seal. Everyone was surprised because this was a royal edict from the royal pce.
Once the attention was on him, he sternly began to read the scroll, "This is a royal edict issued by His Royal Majesty the Golden Lion King in coboration with Wild Hungry Pavilion and the Imperial Family!
"This noon, a thief proimed himself to be the Sky Bandit raided the treasury of the Wild Hungry Pavilion, stealing their inheritance and all the treasuries. Not only that, but this vile viin also steals from His Highness, Golden Lion Prince, First Lion Duke Eldest Son, Cayden, Third Royal Left Prince¡, and Fourth Imperial Prince, Zion!
"The city gates and Space Highway Buildings have been sealed. No one can leave until the vile viin Sky Bandit is found. Please cooperate with the search; everyone is a suspect, and any resistance will be taken as a trace of guilt.
"As long as you are not the Sky Bandit, you have nothing to worry about. Now, I ask you all to return to your homes and lodgings. We''ll start the investigation in an hour. Anyone who is found on the streets during this time will be considered a suspect!"
A hugemotion breaks out when they hear someone dare to steal from not only the Wild Hungry Pavilion but also the Fourth Imperial Prince. Just what guts would it require, and what skills to make that happen?
There has never been such a huge thievery in the Sky Heart ins before especially involving so many big names. Moreover, this person even left behind his name because he was not afraid of the imperial family''s wrath.
Now, the entire city was in lockdown, and they didn''t dare to make a voice since this matter was too big, and they didn''t want to get implicated. As long as they were innocent, they had nothing to worry about. So, they quickly begin to leave for their homes.
These kinds of announcements were made all over the city, and soon, the city waspletely deserted. Soldiers of the royal family flooded the streets as they were to search every inch of the city and every person without any restraint.
Ace also returned to his inn, but he wasn''t worried at all. He was the one who left behind a small note and Sky Bandit''s name in the empty treasury of the Wild Hungry Pavilion, even though Eva wasn''t aware of it.
Although he didn''t use his own name, he couldn''t just leave without calming the thievery. It was a habit that he didn''t want to change, but he also didn''t want to reveal his thief symbol since this might alert the Heavenly Mortal Emperor if he was aware of his status as Heaven''s Stealer.
Nheless, the response he got was quite great, and the kingdom''s reaction was also decisive. He was sure that those who had left the Golden Lion Kingdom during this time were all part of the scrutiny and investigation.
At this moment, both of the projection cubes from the Crown Prince and the Second Prince begin to blink.
His lips curled, ''It seemed they also received the news and wanted to hear details from Abner. Too bad he''s no longer in the world.''
Smiling thievishly, he took out a golden talisman and poured his Qi into it, and the next moment, he vanished from the inn without any trace. When the peoplee to search, they will know that this room was booked in the name of Abner, an imperial envoy.
Now that he had vanished, no one knew how they would take it if he became a suspect. The Crown Prince wouldn''t escape the implication, or they might directly im him to be the traitor.
Furthermore, the second prince will also notice someone has gone wrong once this news reaches him.
Ace had caused huge trouble for both princes, but s, it was just the start!
Chapter 974 The Golden Lands
Chapter 974 The Golden Lands
??In the Sky Heart ins, there are three mystery ins: Berserker Beast in, Ancient Sky Battlefield in, and Devil Mountains in.
These three ins were called mystery ins because, first, their environments orws werepletely different from the Sky Heart ins, and cultivators experienced strange restrictions on them.
Second, no one has ever been able to discover their inner mysteries, for anyone who went deep into these ins never came back. Even the Mortal Sky Heart Empire was no exception.
In the entire Sky Heart ins these three ces were the only ce which wasn''t under the authority of the Mortal Sky Heart Empire. As for their names, no one knows who named them, but they exist as long as the Sky Heart ins. That was one of the unsolved mysteries of the mystery ins.
However, what no one knows is within the Ancient Sky Battlefield in, there exists a holynd for cultivators, which was under the control of the Imperial Family for ages, the Golden Lands!
ording to the imperial family records, this ce was discovered by one of their ancestors, and he discovered many things here, which was also the foundation of the imperial family''s power.
No one knows this secret, and the imperial family didn''t even need to protect it because no one dared to explore the mystery ins. Even they can only move in the goldennds and don''t dare to explore the other parts of the Ancient Sky Battlefield.
At this moment, Ace''s hooded figure appeared at the edge of a ruined ancient city. He was astounded when he saw ruins of buildings, and they seemed to be made of gold!
Furthermore, when he looked around, he found this entire ce seemed to have gone through a terrifying battle and was covered in a strange, gloomy aura.
''This is goldennds?'' Ace mused as he clearly wasn''t imagining this ruin when he learned about the goldennds, a paradise on earth.
Suddenly, Ace noticed that he was close to the broken wall of this ruined city, and outside it were crimson ins without any greenery. His heart jolted when he suddenly sensed terrifying murderous intent!
For some strange reason, that murderous intent wasn''t affecting the inside of the city.
''Don''t tell me that prince saw through my sham and sent me to some dangerous ce?'' Ace''s expression sank as this ce was giving him the creeps, and it was his first time seeing such a thing.
Ace quickly opened the live fate map, and to his surprise, this entire ce was dyed in light silver color, which waspletely unexpected. Even the crimson ins were the same!
''I should explore. I don''t believe that guy saw through my lies so quickly. He said this talisman could only send me to the outer region of the goldennds.'' Ace calmed down. He stored away the golden talisman and began to move toward the depths of the ruined city.
As he got deeper, he began to see broken armor and weapons scattered around; he could only imagine the massive battle that happened in this ce countless years ago. There was no one around patrolling the ce which made it even stranger since this was supposed to be the secret of the imperial family.
Soon, Ace footstepse to halt when he saw towering bronze walls which should be the inner region of the city and those walls werepletely intact, and he was surprised when he discovered a powerful grade-8 formation covered the inner region, the fate map easily discovered it.
Furthermore, only now did he spot a fate point, and this belonged to a cultivator of Early stage Law Comprehension Realm!
''This should be the ce. But it sure didn''t look like a mining site. Don''t tell me the part about grade-8 Qi stone and Soul crystal mines were really a rumor?'' Ace''s expression bes grave since he took this risk for those two things.
Nheless, he carefully crept toward the inner-city walls, and he made sure to take a detour around the cultivator overseeing this ce. Now that he was here, he wasn''t going to leave until he discovered what was this ce and its secrets.
Using the Twilight Traverse, he flew toward the inner city, and what he saw on the other side was shocking.
There were ancient buildings seemingly made with gold, and unlike the ruined city outside, they werepletely intact. In the center of this ce were two massive mountains with multiple caves closed with runic doors.
Just by entering this ce, Ace felt extremely dense Qi like never before, and in the fate map, those two mountains were dyed in glittering silver color. His lips curled up in an ted smile as he instantly guessed that those two mountains should be his targets!
There wasn''t anyone else in the buildings, and the cultivator within the walls didn''t notice him either, so he directly flew towards the center where the mountains were located.
Hended a few hundred meters away from the mountains, and now that they were within his thief sense range, the fate map finally spotted 14 more cultivators scattered throughout the mountains. Shockingly, 12 of them were Law Comprehension Realm Cultivators, and two of them were Law Awareness Realm Cultivators.
''Don''t tell me all these people belonged to the imperial family? They really hide their forces well.'' Ace thought as he slowly crept toward the left mountain, which was giving off dense martial Qi.
But he didn''t climb it, instead he headed in south side where he felt intense Qi fluctuation. Soon, he discovered a huge bronze door engraved with beast images and mysterious runes; it waspletely sealed, and no one was there.
''This should be the ce?'' Uncertain, Ace carefully approached the door and tried to pass through it with Twilight Traverse.
But he was shocked when the moment he tried to touch the door, he was repelled by an invisible force!
This was the first time the Twilight Traverse had failed him, and shock was written all over his face.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
''Don''t tell me a formation above grace-8 is protecting this ce?!'' Ace shuddered, just thinking about this possibility, ''Could it be the lost grade-9 formation?''
Ace had unlocked the grade-9 arrays, and he even had the forbidden runes of grade-10 from the system. He knew they didn''t exist in the mortal sky heaven and were considered forbidden for some reason. But now this ancient door was stopping his advance, so he couldn''t help but think about them.
Nheless, Ace had another method, the Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Principles, which has nine grades, and he just happened to be a grade-9 dismantler!
Chapter 975 Inside the Mountains (1)
Chapter 975 Inside the Mountains (1)
??Carefully, Ace raised his hands in front of the door, but he didn''t touch it, afraid some kind of rm would go off or something even more troublesome.
The Dismantle Qi gushed out of his gloves and quickly covered the huge door, dyeing it pitch ck. At this moment, if anyone saw this ce, they would instantly notice him.
Furthermore, as Ace tried to dismantle the runes, he found that the process was extremely slow. One had to know that even grade-8 runes were no match for his dismantler principles anymore, so this also meant that this door was made with grade-9 runes!
Moreover, the materials he would get from it would also be grade 9, so he didn''t want to mess it up. He could tell this door was made with some extraordinary metal.
While Ace was quickly dismantling the formation and the door, an ancient formation within the inner-city walls shed, and a giant handsome figure wearing imperial robes appeared.
He has a slim build and sharp eyes, but at this moment, a hint of panic was present in them; this person was none other than the second imperial prince, Darren!
At this moment, another giant old man appeared in front of Darren and bowed while greeting, "Your Highness, are you nning on going in seclusion?"
This old giant was exactly an expert who was watching the inner region of this ancient city, and he was also part of the Imperial family''s older generation. Old monsters like him have vanished from the eyes of the masses thousands of years ago, and people considered them dead.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
But no one knows that the imperial family was hiding their true forces in this ce. Upon reaching a certain point of age when there was no longer any chance of breakthrough into the next stage, these people woulde here and enter a hibernation cultivation state to prolong their life and protect the imperial family till their death.
"Sixth Elder, please, you don''t need to bow to me. I''m here because I heard the news that someone is trying to sneak into the goldennds." Darren stoically stated.
But the truth was, when he found that his fourth brother had been robbed in the golden lion kingdom, he suddenly had a bad feeling, and he tried to contact Abner. However, he didn''t respond, no matter how much he tried. He sensed something amiss and quickly sent his men to investigate, and they soon found that Abner had vanished into thin air.
Not only that, he quicklymands them to search for Princess Riana''s whereabouts and soon discovers that she has just arrived in the capital when she hears the news of the thievery and is visiting the fourth prince now.
Almost instantly, he sensed a huge scheme to harm him and quickly came here to alert this sixth elder before it was toote. He naturally didn''t want any me for this once Abner was caught, so he quickly thought of a n.
As for Abner seeding in infiltrating this ce, he didn''t even consider it since it was nigh impossible with the Imperial Family being in possession of the master formation te of this city. Except for two ancient doors in the two mountains, that formation te could control all the formation intact in the inner city.
That''s how they managed to control this ce for thousands of years, and no one has ever been able to enter the formation without their permission.
When the sixth elder heard Darren''s words, he was astounded, "Who is so bold to enter the mystery ins? Furthermore, how did they know about this ce? Who gave you this information?" His eyes were filled with doubt and suspicion as this was very hard to believe.
"Sixth Elder, you might not know about this, but just a day ago, Fourth Prince was robbed by a mystery fellow calling himself Sky Bandit. The Fourth Prince happened to carry two Golden Transportation Talismans.
"Although he didn''t tell anyone, I was worried about it, so I investigated. Please don''t get angry with Fourth Brother. He is a victim, and that vile viin is trying to harm our n. So, I quickly came here to report this matter to you just in case that bandit came here. Please kill him the moment you see him. He''s very crafty." Darren gravely stated.
He didn''t even blink when he put all the me on Sky Bandit and his fourth brother. If he didn''t have any choice, he would''ve med the Crown Prince, but it wouldn''t make any sense at that time.
Now, even if an investigation happened, all the me would fall on Zion no matter how he denies it since he didn''t have any proof, and once Abner was killed, it would be even more impossible to connect him to him.
If anything, if someone identified Abner, they would look for the Crown Prince, and Darren would walk away scot-free while also damaging the Crown Prince''s reputation.
Even if Abner got captured and spilled the beans, Darren could always say it was the Crown Prince''s scheme to harm him since there was no evidence of Abner''s association with him. All in all, he won''t be in any trouble.
Sixth Elder''s eyes widened when he heard this news in disbelief, "Someone dares to move against our n? It seemed we are being too amiable in these past thousand of years that others started to think we are pushovers." He was furious just thinking about the humiliation it would bring to Skr name.
While Darren was busy washing his hands from Abner''s matter, Ace lowered his hands as a huge pile of grade-9 materials and a massive bronze door were lying beside him, and in front of him was an open entrance leading to the inside of the mountain.
The moment he dismantled the door and opened the passage, an extremely ancient air filled with powerful, dense martial Qi enveloped him. No one knows just how long this ce has been sealed.
Furthermore, Ace used 10% of soul Qi just to dismantle this door, which was actually quite huge considering his new Qi reserves. Without hesitation, he stowed away those materials and entered the open passage with glittering eyes. He wanted to see just what kind of mystery is hidden in this ancient city!
Chapter 976 Inside the Mountains (2)
Chapter 976 Inside the Mountains (2)
??Ace didn''t dare to be careless as he walked into the mountain; it was a huge space, and the walls seemed to be carved from green crystals. Furthermore, rune symbols were etched on those walls, creating a grand grade-9 formation.
But this formation wasn''t for attacking or defending; instead, Ace found that this formation was keeping all the Qi within this space and stop from leaking. The martial Qi here was extremely dense like he was swimming in it, even the system being to notify him of massive EXP increase in his state.
Soon, Ace found the center of this formation and was astounded when he saw a small green serpent-shaped crystal vein twinkling like stars, and it was the source of the dense Qi!
"What is this? It didn''t seem like a Qi stone lode?" Ace muttered in bewilderment.
At this moment, the system''s abrupt voice rang.
=====
[System detects a Grade-9 Martial Beast Vein!]
[Do you want to absorb it?]
[Rewards: 10 Billion EXP and Ability to Absorb Grade-9 Qi Stones!]
=====
"What''s a Martial Beast Vein?" Ace was startled and quickly questioned since it was his first timeing in contact with such a thing.
"[When a Grade-9 Qi Stone Lode or Soul Crystal Source form or evolved from grade-8, they took the shape of auspicious beasts indicating heavenly fortune upon the earth, turning them into cultivation holynds. These sorts of ces are filled with good fortunes and have existed for hundreds of thousands of years.]
"[If a power cultivator built its sect, or cultivation empire on these ces, their power would soar, and it also showed their deep foundation, and it is very hard to destroy them. Simrly, if these beast veins were to be destroyed, thends would suffer misfortune, and the foundation would be broken, turning it into a wastnd.]
"[That''s why these kinds of ces would be highly sought after and also being protected with absolute power and security. Beast Veins would also produce identical grade Qi stones and Soul crystals every ten days numbered in tens of thousands.]
"[But this beast vein has been supporting this massive formation for too long, and thesends are no longer under the protection of heaven; that''s why this beast vein could only produce grade-8 Qi stones and a full of grade-9 Qi stones every 30 days.]
"[Furthermore, within five hundred years this beast vein would be degrading to a grade-8 Qi stone lode and all the formation would soon cease to function.]"
Ace was shocked when he heard this new information and looked at the serpent-shaped beast vein.
"You say this ce is no longer under the protection of heaven. What does this mean? Does it have something to do with the crimsonnds filled with killing intent outside?" Ace couldn''t help but ask as he remembered those crimson ins outside the city wall.
Now, he finally understood how this ce was not infected by the killing intent outside. It was all beast of this beast vein, and he even suspected that other mountains might have a soul beast vein!
Just how could and of fortune turn into nothing but ruins?
However, like usual, the system ignored him and didn''t tell him about the crux of the matter, which annoyed him to no end.
Nheless, it doesn''t matter if he absorbs grade-8 or grade-9 Qi stone lode since the result will be the same as he wanted.
"Alright, absorb it. The imperial family has taken advantage of this ce for a long time now." Ace stated without hesitation.
The next moment, a dark blue chain shoots out from his forehead and prates the serpent beast vein. The next moment, the chain yanked forcefully, and the entire serpent beast vein was uprooted and shot back at Ace.
Ace wasn''t afraid of this as he remained calm, and the next moment, the beast vein vanished with the chain, and huge Qi poured into his body like a broken river!
Soon, heavenly darkness Qi began to flood his martial space, and the system''s voice rang.
=====
[Congregation on breaking into Stage-2 of Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Law Comprehension Realm]
[Next Stage EXP: 2,500,000,000/2,500,000,000]
---
[Congregation on breaking into Stage-3 of Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Law Comprehension Realm]
[Next Stage EXP: 2,500,000,000/2,500,000,000]
---
[Congregation on breaking into Stage-3 of Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Law Comprehension Realm]
[Next Stage EXP: 4,500,000,000/4,500,000,000]
---
[Congregation on breaking into Stage-4 of Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Law Comprehension Realm]N?v(el)B\\jnn
[Next Stage EXP: 3,461,890,000/7,000,000,000]
=====
Ace was screaming with strength at this moment, but his expression suddenly changed when he saw the formation runes start to dim!
''If they noticed¡''
Without hesitation, he sprinted towards the other mountain as he knew the formation around the city wouldn''tst for long now, and those people cultivating here would soon notice.
Quickly, he reached the other mountain door and used his dismantle Qi and being to dismantle it.
Within the martial mountain caves, filled with cloudy mist Qi and runes were shimming like stars. But suddenly, those runes begin to dim down, and the misty Qi begins to vanish.
At this moment, a few pairs of scary old eyes opened one after another as they filled with befuddlement.
"Why the Qi cut out?" A husky voice muttered before this person vanished from the cave and appeared in the air outside the mountain. He was over ten meters tall and skinny and wilted as a dry tree, and he wore in white robes.
Right after him, six more such figures appeared, and following them appeared a young giant with handsome features; he was the third imperial prince of the Skr n, Calvin!
Calvin was in seclusion when he noticed the Qi vanishing and came out to see what was going on, but he was shocked when he saw the seven skinny men hovering not far away from him.
Instantly, the scary martial senses were locked on him, and he shuddered, "Who are you?" The ten-meter giant asked in his husky voice without any emotion behind it.
Calvin quickly bowed and hastily revealed his identity, "Calvin Skr greet, Imperial Ancestors! I''m the third son of His Imperial Majesty 501st Mortal Emperor, Antonio Skr!"
The powerful marital senses on him vanished once he revealed his identity.
The Ancestor''s eyes shimmered with nostalgia as he nodded, "Antonio is the Mortal Emperor now? He''s Brother Lawson''s great-grandson, right?"
Calvin quickly nodded, "Yes, Ancestor!"
He knew these people were ancient. Their identities were extremely noble, and their power was scary. Even his father, the emperor, couldn''t offend them and had to treat them respectfully.
"Does Senior Lawson manage to ascend?" Another ancestor questioned as his old eyes were filled with longing and bitterness.
"Indeed, Great, Great Grandfather ascended over 1800 years ago." Calvin quickly replied.
All the ancestors sighed with a hint of respect.
At this moment, the sixth elder and second prince appeared, and they were both shocked to see the ancestorsing out all at once.
They quickly bowed, and the Sixth Elder hastily asked with a hint of agitation, "A-ancestors, did something happen?"
"The Qi in the cultivating cave suddenly cut off. Since all of you are here, I can presume it is not just the case with my cave abode?" The first ancestor asked with uncertainty.
Everyone, including Calvin, nodded in agreement as they had no idea what was going on.
The Sixth Elder and Second Prince were startled as they looked at each other with shock. Especially Second Prince, he had a very ominous feeling at this moment.
Suddenly, seven more figures appeared in front of the other mountain, and they were all old women and a young, stunning giant maiden. They seemed to be as surprised as the group of men.
At this moment, an old skinny woman''s eyes were shimmering in a purple haze before shock shed past her eyes as she shouted with horror, "Someone has opened both the seal doors of the cultivating mountains!"
"What!?"
Everyone was shocked and gobsmacked!
Chapter 977 Imperial Princess of Giants
Chapter 977 Imperial Princess of Giants
??Ace was just done absorbing the soul beast vein in the second mountain as he looked at his cultivation states.
=====
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Law Comprehension Realm [Stage-4]]
[EXP: 3,461,890,000/7,000,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Heavenly ck and White Wind Soul Core [Stage-4]]
[SP: 2,998,124,780/7,000,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
=====
Although his soul cultivation has broken into the middle stages of the heaven stealer technique, this time, his thief sense didn''t increase from 500 miles, which was somewhat surprising. He reckoned that it has something to do with True Soul Law Refinement!
Nheless, it doesn''t matter since he had already gotten what he wanted, and now he can absorb billions of grade-8 Qi stones he had plundered from the Union treasury and the Union''s secret realms!
But it wasn''t the time since he noticed the formation dimming, and he knew he had to leave before anyone could notice him.
However, just as he turned around, giant figures began to appear in front of the mountain''s mouth, and quickly, he entered stealth before anyone could notice him.
"How is this possible?" The aged voice of a woman reverberated within the mountain space filled with disbelief.
Ace slowly crept toward the corner as he was still not being noticed and put some distance between himself and the core of the soul mountain before using Thief Shelter to hide in the fragment of space.
He knew these people were all hidden experts of the imperial family, and they were all in the eighth realm except for one woman. Although he wasn''t afraid of them, it still wasn''t time to show his presence.
Before, he was afraid that taking these two beast veins would make his thief symbol appear, but nothing like that happened since the system didn''t consider these two beast veins anyone''s property, so he technically wasn''t stealing from others.
Furthermore, even if they were someone''s property, the true owner should be the real owner of this ancient ruined city, not the Skr n. So, he was d that the thief symbol didn''t trigger, or it would be somewhat problematic if someone guessed his real identity with his thief symbol.
At this moment, hurried steps were heard as a few women and two giants approached the empty beast vein location.
"Where did those doors go, and how did this formation stop working? Who done this?" A giant old woman with deep eyes spokes as she scans the space with scrutiny with her powerful soul sense.
The Skr n''s special cultivator technique, Violent Heart Art, has two parts, Extreme Yin Soul Path, and Extreme Yang Martial Path, and it is aplete cultivation technique with three unique abilities in each manual that can cultivate all the way to the ascension.
The extreme yang martial path was for male cultivators, while the women cultivated in the extreme yin soul path.
ording to the historical records of the imperial family, their ancestors were the possessors of Extreme Yin Fantastic Physique and Extreme Yang Fantastic Physique, and this cultivation technique was bestowed upon them by a God. That''s why they never tarry from this path and cultivation technique, which has made them the overload of the sky heart ins for thousands of years.
The old woman''s soul sense enveloped Ace''s hiding space, and he was startled. He sensed a slight danger from her soul sense, which was quite astonishing.
The old woman nced at where Ace was hiding before averting her gaze; she still didn''t discover him.
At this moment, the giant men also appeared, and the skinny old man gravely said, "There is nothing in the martial mountain."
"There''s no one here either." The old woman replied.
All of their expressions were gloomy to the extreme because this matter was linked to their entire n''s cultivation and livelihood of old people like them. They had been using this ce for thousands of years to raise their strength explosively, and it was also an imprable fortress where they could retreat in case of mortal crisis.
But now, mysteriously, the formation has been broken, and they have no idea what the hell is going on or who did it. However, they still didn''t think it was done by men since they thought no one had that kind of ability.
Only the second prince Darren''s trails of thoughts were chaotic as he instantly thought of Abner. Still, he also discards that idea since it was just too impossible to open these two mountains, which generations of powerful figures from the imperial family can''t even scratch.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
At this moment, while the old monsters of the imperial family were still mulling over this issue, the entire ce suddenly trembled before a murderous sensation enveloped everyone.
"Not good!" The old giant''s expression warped as he was very familiar with this aura, and he yelled, "It seemed the killing intent of the Ancient Sky Battlefield in began to enter the ancient city! Just as we predicted, that formation was the only thing that kept it out. Hurry, use your talismans while you can. If we are fully enveloped by this aura, we might not be able to leave. We''ll discuss this issue once we''re back in the pce!"
No one dared to be slow as they quickly took out their golden talismans and vanished one after another.
''Ancient Sky Battlefield in? Isn''t it one of the three mystery ins of the sky heart ins?'' Ace was shocked as realization dawned upon him, and he finally understood where these goldennds were located and why no one had ever been able to discover them.
''Should I go back or stay?'' He was contemting now since the silver color on the map still hadn''t vanished yet, which meant this ce was useful for him. He might not get another chance.
However, he was suddenly startled when he noticed a pair of beautiful starry eyes were locked on right where he was hiding.
She was the only one left among the group of imperials, and she was not an old monster but a young woman. Her 8- meter-tall, beautiful figure was perfect, with curves where there should be curves but no excess curves elsewhere. There wasn''t the slightest bit of her appearance that should be changed.
An oval face like snow, bright starry eyes like sapphires, an image of the peak of beauty. Even each hair of her left and right eyebrows matched perfectly. That was a kind of beauty that shouldn''t exist in this world, yet here she was, staring deeply at Ace without blinking.
She was on par with the likes of Freya, and her identity were extremely noble, she was the only Imperial Princess of the Skr n that no one has ever seen or heard about, Sofia Skr.
Ace didn''t dare to believe that she could see through his ability since she was just an intermediate-stagew awareness realm cultivator. But he was perplexed about why she wasn''t using her talisman, and instead, she was gawking at his hidden space.
Until Sofia opened her pink lips, "I''m very sensitive towards space,e out!"
Chapter 978 Ancient Sky Battlefield Secret (1)
Chapter 978 Ancient Sky Battlefield Secret (1)
??Ace was startled when he heard Sofia''s shocking words, ''Sensitive towards space? Don''t tell me she had some shocking space ability! But then, why didn''t she expose me in front of the others?''
Ace was perplexed as he didn''t understand what this woman was up to. But at this moment, the ground beneath began to turn red as the killing intent enveloped the entire space.
The golden talisman in Sofia''s hand also dimmed down as it was no longer useful. But she remainedposed as her eyes remained affixed on Ace without any hint of panic.
In the end, Ace decided toe out. He wanted to know what this woman was scheming. He wasn''t afraid of her as he could escape whatever he wanted.
Sofia''s eyes shimmered in a peculiar light when Ace''s dark, hooded figure appeared before her. Although she sensed the disruption in the space, she couldn''t see past it.
She just knew something was strange and tried to probe, but she didn''t expect her conjecture to be true. But now, seeing Ace, she can''t see through his cultivation base. In fact, she didn''t even sense his presence as if he was a ghost. Instead, if Ace had used his stealth, she could''ve never been able to find him.
"Who are you? How did you get here and open those doors, and what did you find?" She asked impassively, looking at Ace, who was a dwarf in front of her while hiding her sense of unease.
Ace had already taken Abner''s disguise, as he coldly replied, "Shouldn''t you tell me first why didn''t you expose me in front of your seniors? You waited for them to escape. Maybe if they were here, I would be wary of you, but now, you don''t stand a chance. Either you''re pure arrogant or confident in your abilities."
Sofia''s eyes narrowed before she suddenly smiled like a blooming flower, "Fair enough. I''ll tell you honestly why I didn''t say anything in their presence. The truth is those old fogeys are too conservative and afraid of dying. Don''t you see how quickly and decisively they fled? They had lost their will of freedom and all they want is to live no matter the cost.
"If I had exposed you, they would''ve been wary of you since you opened the two mountains, which not even my ancestors couldn''t, and once they realized that it was too dangerous to fight you, they would''ve escaped without hesitation.
"So, I didn''t bother to waste time, and instead, I decided to hide it from them. Since you have the ability toe here unnoticed and open this ce, I want to make a deal with you." Sofia revealed her true intentions.
''This woman¡'' Ace was astounded as he looked deeply into Sofie''s eyes, and he could see deep ambition.
Intrigued, he asked, "What kind of deal?"
"Unlike the others who are too afraid to leave the protection of this city, I''m not afraid, and I have explored the Ancient Sky Battlefield in''s depths. There is a massive battlefield in the depth of this ce filled with corpses which should be the core of the Ancient Sky Battlefield in.
"But I didn''t dare to explore further as the restriction on that ce is the strongest. Furthermore, there is a strange formation protecting thosends. Simrly, in the center of that battlefield is a massive canyon.
"ording to the annals of the history of the Ancient Sky Battlefield and my own assumption, there was a battle of gods that took ce here, and that canyon was formed by a sword sh, and it should be the reason for this killing intent as well!" Sofia revealed solemnly.
Ace was shocked, ''A sword sh creating a canyon? Could it really be a battlefield of gods? But how could they appear in the mortal sky heaven? Wait¡'' His eyes widened, ''System hinted that this ce was abandoned by heaven, and it is also the heart of the mortal sky heaven. Don''t tell me it has something to do with the Heavenly Mortal Emperor?''
Just thinking about it made his heart race.
"Let me guess, you want me toe with you to dispel that formation, right?" Ace asked while looking at Sofie. He instantly guessed what Sofia was after.
After all, he had broken these mountain formations, so it was possible for him to have a way to dispel that strange formation.
Sofie nodded without hesitation, "Indeed, as long as you are willing toe with me, I promise I won''t reveal anything about you to my n. Also, I can take you away with my space abilities, so there is no need to worry about any danger. Space runes don''t work within the killing intent of this ce.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"As for what we found there, it''ll depend on our abilities. I want you to consider it carefully; that ce might be a graveyard where a god or gods fell in the past. Even just a drop of blood of a god is a priceless treasure that can help mortals like us to ascend." She emotionally stated.
It would be a lie to say Ace wasn''t tempted to check this ce as it was still dyed in silver color. So, there might be something useful for him here.
However, he didn''t need Sofia''s help at all, and he couldn''t trust her no matter how sincere she was. But she knew quite a lot about the history of the Sky Heart ins, and he knew he couldn''t probe the imperial family memories, so this was a chance to get the information he wanted.
So even if Sofia betrayed him in the end, as long as he got what he wanted, he didn''t care as he had his own methods to escape any danger.
"Aren''t you afraid your family would suspect you since you didn''t go back?" Ace was curious about this. Her mentality was quite different from the other members of the imperial family, and she didn''t seem to have any respect for them.
Sofia coldly replied, "Let me worry about my family. Are you interested or not?"
Ace chuckled, "Very well, but I want some information rted to ascension. If you are willing to answer some of my questions, let''s sign a soul contract to seal the deal. This way, we don''t have to be afraid of betrayal. This soul contract wouldst until we left the Ancient Sky Battlefield. Are you willing?"
Sofia looked at Ace''s hooded face as all she could see was endless darkness, "As long as this information didn''t touch upon taboo matters of my Skr n, I''m willing."
Ace''s lips rose, and he nodded, "Very well, let''s get on with it!"
Chapter 979 Ancient Sky Battlefield Secret (2)
Chapter 979 Ancient Sky Battlefield Secret (2)
??Thereafter, both of them signed a grade-8 soul contract with the aforementioned conditions. By doing this, Ace had made Sofia drop her guard as even she hadn''t imagined Ace could easily bypass the soul contract on his whim.
"Lead the way, Your Highness." Ace humbly requested while performing a noble gesture.
Sofia gave him a curious look, "You can call me Sofia; what is your name, and where did youe from?"
Although she was extremely daring and strong, in truth, Sofia had no real-world experience as she had never left the safety of the imperial pce, and from a young age, she had been cultivating in this ce.
But she has never liked this confinement atmosphere and always like to adventure whether it was in the imperial pce or the mystery in, she simply didn''t fear anything.
The biggest reason for her fearlessness is her unidentified Fantastic Meridians, which has something to do with space. Her fantastic meridians were awakened when she was three years old, and upon awakening, she was directly able to use small-range teleportation.
This incident naturally rmed the imperial family, and after long testing and research, they weren''t able to identify her fantastic meridians. All they could figure out was her meridians had something to do with space.
Nheless, this earned Sofia the full attention of the entire imperial family and resources. As she became strong, her fantastic meridians followed suit, and she awakened another space-type ability at ten and the third at the age of eighteen, and now she was 40.
The terrifying aspect about her abilities was nothing could seem to stop or seal her abilities. Even grade-8 space-sealing formations were useless against her. That''s why she coulde and go anywhere she wanted without even others realizing it.
But even with her astonishing space abilities, she couldn''t enter either the sealed mountain spaces or the core region of the Ancient Sky Battlefield in, which was the only drawback she had suffered in her entire life.
That''s why when she discovered that someone else was able to enter these confinement spaces where even she couldn''t, she couldn''t help but be extremely agitated and felt defeated.
She not only wanted to make a deal with Ace, but she wanted to know who he was and the space abilities he possessed. Because even with the Sky Heart ins'' history, they had very little inheritance regarding spacew. This legendary element was simply too rare, much less meridians rted to space.
But this somewhat na?ve yet ambitious nature was also the cause of her fearlessness of Ace, and he took full advantage of it.
"You can call me ck. As for where I''m from, the entire world is my home as I''m a vagabond who likes to collect shiny things." Ace yfully stated as they both took flight.
Despite the restriction and killing intent, it didn''t have much effect on him while Sofia was using some kind of ability emitting almost invisible space fluctuations, which didn''t go unnoticed by Ace since he had alsoprehended spacew in the minor realm.
He was extremely interested in this woman''s space-rted abilities as it was his first time meeting someone like her, just like Sofia was in him. That''s why he decided to talk candidly and a little foolishly to make her drop her guardpletely so he could easily dig out information.
Sofia was startled after hearing that unexpected answered, "Are you joking with me?" She coldly asked.
"Can''t you tell?" Ace shrugged his shoulders.
A deep frown appeared on Sofia''s face, "How did you get here? Did you travel all the way from the entrance?"
"Oh, to tell you the truth, it''s all thanks to your brothers that I managed to get a free ticket to the legendary goldennds. Once you see them, give them my gratitude." Ace inly revealed.
Sofia''s eyes narrowed with scrutiny, "Brothers? I don''t believe you. They would never try to harm the n, even if they had a hundred guts. Especially they won''t leave the job to a loose mouth fellow like you. You are clearly trying to sow discord among our family."
"Think what you want. I never lie to a princess," Ace stated with a smile.
"Hmph, if you don''t want to tell me, you don''t need to twist your words. I honestly don''t care since that ce is nothing but a den of conservative old fools. They had been in power for so long that they had started to scheme against each other to pass the time.
"All they care about is power and more power; they are afraid of unknowns; maybe your presence might open their fastened eyes. But it still depends on if you have the ability to make them sense true danger. If anything, you have my blessing if you want to mess with my n." Sofia coldly stated as a hint of sadness and hatred was hidden in her voice.
Ace was startled when he heard this rather unexpected request. He could sense Sofia''s loneliness and deeply hidden bitterness in those words. Just what had she experienced to have such an opinion and grudge towards her own family?
Still, it has nothing to do with him; on the contrary, this will make it much easier for him to get the information he wants.
"If that''s the case, how about you tell me where your n''s treasury is hidden? I might pay a visit to collect some shiny things." Ace couldn''t help but probe.
"You want to steal from our treasury?" She couldn''t help but look at him with deep disdain, "Even I don''t know the location of the treasury. In fact, only the generation of the n leader, who is also the ruler of the empire, can know the location of the treasury. Or do you think the treasury will be out in the open like the ancient city?"
Ace was startled, "Then how about you tell me something worth visiting at your ce, which contains lots of shiny things?"
Sofia suddenly smiled with hidden mockery, "The only ce with lots of treasures except for our treasury is the Ancestral Burial Ground. Are you interested in grave robbing?"
Ace was rendered speechless when he heard this unexpected answer, and his lip twitched slightly, "Are you serious?"
"Of course, it''s our n custom to bury the dead with their entire life''s wealth so they can use it in the underworld." Sofia solemnly stated.
''There''s such a thing?'' Ace had a strange expression as it was his first time knowing such a peculiar custom, ''The world is really filled with all sorts of beliefs and wonders. My eyes have really opened today. I guess, in the future, I should not overlook the burial grounds either¡'' He was seriously considering it.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Alright, if you help me, I''ll be your grave robber for hire. We can divide the loot evenly." Ace nodded in agreement at this moment.
Now it was Sofia''s turn to be speechless as she never expected this fellow not to have a sliver of morals. But a rare amusement shed past her pretty eyes, "It''s a deal then. As long as our corporation goes well, I don''t mind expanding this partnership."
As they were probing each other, after an unknown time, they finally reached the core of the Ancient Sky Battlefield, which was covered in an enormous crimson dome shimmering with pitch-ck runes!
Chapter 980 Breaching the Barrier
Chapter 980 Breaching the Barrier
??Ace''s eyes shimmered in astonishment as hended in front of the crimson barrier. Even though the other side waspletely suppressed, he could still smell the potent blood and feel the ghastly killing intent trying to invade his mind as if he could see a river of blood flowing right in front of him.
There were myriad skeletons scattered, broken weapons and armor on the other side. In the center was a canyon, and the killing intent was strongest there. Furthermore, unlike Sofia, he could feel another sharp, vague intentpletely assimted in the killing intent.
''Sword intent?!'' Ace''s heart raced as he couldn''t been wrong because he was also a sword cultivator, and his swordws were stuck at 99.99%.
But in front of this sword intent, his own was as weak as an ant''s, and he finally believed that the canyon might be formed with a sword sh. It wasn''t just a rumor.
''Just how strong was that person, and how many people did he kill to have such a dense killing intent to affect this massive area, and his killing intent could even render all the otherws useless?'' Ace''s expression was grim as he never expected to stumble upon this kind of secret.
"So, what do you think? Can you do anything about this barrier?" Sofia asked, seeing the silent Ace.
She hase here multiple times but has never been able to break past this barrier. She was very interested in the secret behind it. Ace was her only hope now.
Ace replied, "I might be able to break it, but do you ever think that this barrier might be sealing something, and if it was broken, whatever is sealed might escape and wreak havoc in the Sky Heart ins?"
Looking at the massive dome, Ace knew this wasn''t something that could be created by just anyone. Furthermore, he wasn''t even sure if it was a grade-9 formation barrier since it gave him apletely different feeling.
It was like this barrier was created with blood which won''t make it easy to break after all just the sword intent, Ace could guess whoever made it was not at the level ofwprehension realm.
This battlefield was proof of a terrifying battle, and for whatever reason it was fought, it was so simple.
Sofia winced when she heard Ace as she really didn''t think of this, "This ce was in existence even before our n came to rule over this ce. Do you think whatever is sealed there will be alive? I also have an assumption as well; this barrier might be the manifestation of this killing intent and form naturally like the natural formations."
"You do know a lot," Acemented; this was really a possibility.
"I''ve been studying since the age of three, and I''ve studied anything worth studying, or do you think I would''ve been foolish enough to explore this ce? You on the other, are aplete mystery, you probably know even more than my n which ispletely strange. I''m still not sure where you pop out of from? Oh, and you didn''t tell me what you get from those two mountains?" Sofia looked at Ace with her clear eyes and extreme curiosity.
Ace chuckled, "Didn''t I tell you I like to collect shiny things? I found shiny things in those mountains, and since they belonged to no one, I took them. What do you want me to give back what I''ve taken? Let me tell you, once I took something, it''s gone forever."
Sofia snorted, "Humph, you can continue to be mysterious. But I''m not a greedy person; I just want to unravel the mystery behind this ce. Now, can you open it or not? Even if we unleash something, let those old fogeys worry about it. This might reawaken their slumbering spirit."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Ace was speechless, "You think it too simply. Still, since you don''t care, it has nothing to do with me."
Shaking his head, he moved his hand in front of the barrier and unleashed the Dismantle Qi. Sofia was shocked when she saw this and tried probing the pitch-ck Qi, but to her surprise, she didn''t sense anything at all, which gave her another surprise as Ace became even more mysterious.
However, something out of Ace''s expectations happened; the moment the dismantle Qi touched the barrier, the dark rune symbols seemed to have met with their nemesis and started to retreat as if they were alive.
The next moment, the barrier waspletely reced by Ace''s dismantle Qi, and the more he poured it, the wider the break became!
Ace was startled by this, and he tried to retract the dismantle Qi. The next moment, the barrier instantly covered that area again before it waspletely sealed off like nothing had happened.
''This?'' Ace narrowed his eyes as this sort of situation had never happened before.
"What kind of sorcery is this?" Sofia spoke in bewilderment as she never expected Ace''s Qi would be able to breach the barrier that even she was helpless against.
She instantly guessed that this was the same method Ace used to breach the two mountains as well.
"Try to enter this time," Ace said as he didn''t answer since even he was startled by this strange change.
"You first. What if you decide to trap me in there once I''m on the other side? Do you take me for a fool?" Sofia sneered as she thought Ace was being quite obvious by using her as a test subject.
"We have a soul contract. Why would I try to harm you?" Ace was startled as he didn''t have such intention, he just wanted to see if she could pass the gap made with the dismantle Qi.
"Still, I won''t be your guinea pig." She remained adamant.
Ace rolled his eyes, but she indeed had a point since he might not do it either if someone else told him to.
Having no choice, he decided to test himself, but this time, he wrapped his body with the dismantle Qi and walked toward the barrier.
Like before, the runes on the barrier instantly retreated to the side and let Ace easily pass the barrier without any hitch. Once he was on the other side, the barrier instantly began to repair itself.
However, before the gap fully closed, Sofia vanished from her spot and appeared ten meters away from Ace. She muttered with ecstasy, "My teleportation worked!"
She then tried again to do the same, but now that the barrier was fully closed, she couldn''t teleport to the other side. Strangely, she found that if she wanted to use her ability inside the barrier, she didn''t meet any restrictions.
Ace was also surprised, and he didn''t expect Sofia to take advantage of this opportunity so wlessly. He had to admit her space-type abilities were extremely enviable.
But Sofia''s ted expression soon changed, "Not good, the restriction here ispletely different. My Qi is depleting too fast! What about you?"
She has been using her space-type Qi to protect herself from the restraints, but it does drain her Qi. She can still use soul crystals to recover faster than the draining rate.
However, here, her Qi consumption bes extremely massive, and she won''t be able to keep it up for long before she fully runs out of Qi, and the restriction affects her.
Ace also felt powerful pressure, but he was still fine because of his heavenly Qi, and he didn''t need Qi stones to recover it either.
But he can''t tell her this as he nodded and gravely replied, "I''m the same!"
Chapter 981 Lesser One Eye Abyss Devil Cores (1)
Chapter 981 Lesser One Eye Abyss Devil Cores (1)
??Listening to Ace''s confirmation, Sofia gravely said, "Then let''s hurry. Once we explore this ce, we should quickly leave."
Ace merely nodded before looking at the crimson battlefield, and he began to move forward while carefully scanning the ce. There were myriads of broken treasures that had already lost their luster and were nothing but a piece of junk.
However, what interested Ace was the broken skeletons as they didn''t belong to humans and were quite big; there were even unidentified beasts among them.
"Look at this." At this moment, Sofia''s astonished voice rang.
Ace hurried over and saw a menacing skull around three meters in size with broken ck horns and saw-like teeth, and it only had one eye socket. Ace was surprised when he saw a ck core giving off a ghastly aura imbued within the skull.
"This is?" Ace had no idea what kind of race this skull''s owner belonged to, but that core looked like a beast core, but its energy waspletely different. He sensed the aura of death.
"I don''t know what it is. Let''s collect the ck crystal core. Since I found it, you can''t fight over it." Sofia imed ownership of the core without hesitation as she was quite fascinated with it.
"Sure." Ace nodded as he didn''t have any objection since there were many more such skeletons scattered over the entire battlefield.
Sofia nodded before she used her Qi to take the ck core; however, the moment her Qi came in contact with the ck core, it suddenly trembled!
The next moment, the skull began to shake violently before dark mist oozed from the ck core and covered the entire skull, and it began to float. The dark mist quickly took the shape of a humanoid savage dark creature made with ck mist!
Ace and Sofia were shocked by this sudden development as a ghastly pressure enveloped them. The dark creature lunged towards Sofia, opening its dark maw!
Sofia quickly snapped out of her shock as a sense of death crept into her heart; the next moment, a long white spear appeared in her hand, and she thrust it toward the dark creature without hesitation, "Die beast!"
An ethereal violet phantom of a spear suddenly materialized and pierced the dark creature''s skull even though the space waspressing around the spear.
Ace''s eyes shimmered as he sensed a mountain-like aura from the spear, ''Spear intent and element one at that. This should be space spear intent!''
It was Ace''s first time seeing someone using the intent of space and spear. The sword intent was sharp and could cut through anything, while the spear intent was heavy and could pierce through anything. With the addition of different elements, both weapon intents can do wonders.
The dark creature churned under Sofia''s spear before the mist scattered, and the skull appeared gain before it turned into dust and the ck core fell off on the ground.
But Sofia''splexion was somewhat as it took a massive amount of Qi to use that attack under these restraints.
Grabbing the ck core with a hand gesture, Sofia examined it for a moment before storing it away. She looked at Ace, who hadn''t made a move from start to finish, and coldly said, "You''ll take the next one."
''Is shepeting with me?'' Ace smiled wryly as he could see the fighting intent in her eyes.
"Alright, but we should be careful. Even after dying for who knows how long, that thing stilles back to life. If those cores are useless, let''s just abandon them." Ace stated.
Sofia''s narrowed her charming eyes, "Are you afraid?"
Ace shook his head as he found this childish and moved forward while Sofia took out a grade-8 Soul crystal and began to absorb it, replenishing her depleted Qi.
Not far away from the previous skull''s location, there were three more skulls with the same ck cores imbued under their heads.
Sofia didn''t say anything and watched Ace with scrutiny as she wanted to see how he''d deal with them.
But her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw those three ck cores suddenly shimmered before they vanished from their location!
"This was easy." Ace chuckled as he moved forward.
Sofia gritted her teeth when she heard those infuriating words, which sounded like a clear taunt to her. She never expected Ace to have such an ability, and she even suspects that it is rted to space as well.
Ignoring thepetitive princess, Acemanded, "System, appraise those cores for me."
Although he didn''t know what they were, he knew the system did, so he quickly asked as he wanted to know if they were worth the trouble or not.
=====
[The Devil Core of Lesser One Eye Abyss Devil]
-Description: The lowest rank devil solider born in the ??? Abyss that is filled with killing intent and only knows to kill and devour all lives and light! Upon death, the Lesser One Eye Abyss Devil can be reborn through their Devil Core by devouring other lives. The Devil Core will attack any living once ites in contact with their Qi or life force.
-Grade: Grade-8
-Usage (1): Can be used toprehend the Law of [Devour]
-Usage (2): Can be used in forging, alchemy, and formation crafting.
-Usage for only Host (3): Host can collect 1,000,000 Devil Cores of One Eye Abyss Devil andbine them into One Eye Devil''s Core for Eternal Thief Fate Compass.N?v(el)B\\jnn
=====
Ace was astounded upon reading the information about the devil''s core, especially thest usage, which only he can utilize. His eyes shimmered as he never expected to get such a huge surprise.
But he was also confused, "Born in the abyss? So, this devil is not from the mortal sky heaven?"
"[Host will naturally understand in time.]" The system gave him a simple, impassive reply before bing silent.
Ace frowned, but he was now used to the system''s ambiguity, so he didn''t force the matter. He then looked at the huge battlefield, and his eyes shimmered with tion, ''I guess it can''t be helped now. As long as I collect a sufficient number of devil cores, I will have another material to upgrade Moira.''
"Alright, I''m going to collect these cores. You can do the same. As you said earlier, it will depend on our abilities to find treasures." Ace looked at Sulking Sofia and announced.
Before she could reply, Ace had already rushed toward the other skulls of the Lesser One Eye Abyss Devils. He was now fully motivated to grab a sufficient number of devil cores.
Sofia was startled for a moment before her eyes shed sharply, ''Since he showed such a reaction those cores should be treasure. Hmph, don''t underestimate me!''
With full ofpetitive spirit she also dashed in the other direction!
Chapter 982 Lesser One Eye Abyss Devil Cores (2)
Chapter 982 Lesser One Eye Abyss Devil Cores (2)
??Sofia finished another Lesser One Eye Abyss Devil phantom before she collected another devil core. It was already the fifteenth devil core she had collected. But herplexion was pale as a paper.
She hurriedly looked on the other side, and with her excellent sight, she saw hundreds of empty skulls of Lesser One Eye Abyss Devil and gritted her teeth in frustration.
''How did he manage to im those cores without getting a reaction from them at all? Could it be there is a difference between his selected targets and mine? No, it shouldn''t be the case since all of them look the same.
''At this rate, five more of those creatures and Qi will be fully depleted. Should I stop? But didn''t this mean I''ll be admitting I''m inferior to him?''
For the first time in her life, Sofia felt inferior to an unknown nobody, and this feeling was not a good one. But she had to admit she was really no match for the other party''s strange abilities.
In the end, she didn''t move forward to im more devil cores and decided to rest and replenish her Qi. After all, she had no idea what those cores were. She was justpeting out of spite. If she continued to be stubborn, she might fall into danger, and there was still the unexplored canyon, which was her true goal.
On the other hand, while Sofia was being flustered, Ace was moved all over the ce as soul threads were shooting out of his fingers one after another before they vanished, and more devil cores would appear in his thief''s space.
He didn''t pay much attention to Sofia and let her im as many as she could since he knew it wouldn''t be long before she would give up, and just as he thought, she really gave up after collecting fifteen devil cores.
After all, since she didn''t know what they were and their use, it was not worth falling into a dangerous situation.
Within half an hour, Ace cleared over ten percent of the battlefield within the barrier and imed over ten thousand devil cores. There were simply too many, and he wondered just where and how these many Lesser One Eye Abyss Devils were able toe here.
He also spotted other races'' bones as well and mused that they might be the ones who were battling against those Lesser One Eye Abyss Devils and lost their lives.
There wasn''t anything worth taking except for the devil cores, so he continued with his mass collection.
Sofia was still struggling to replenish her Qi and was barely able to recover a small amount while she was blocking the killing intent invasion.
However, the more she observed Ace, the more she found it absurd because he was still moving and collecting the devil cores without any break, and she wondered if he had an endless amount of Qi or if the killing intent simply had no effect on him.
Whatever the case was, she was solemn and felt huge pressure from this unknown man. She even felt danger from him, and his existence might pose a threat to her n.
Nheless, she knew she didn''t have any means topete against him. On the contrary, she reckoned that if she made a move against him before, she might be the one losing her life. It was a blessing that she had signed a soul contract, or without it, she would''ve never felt safe while he was around.
Although she didn''t have good feelings for her n, it was still the ce she was born in, so it was only natural that she was worried about them.
After a few hours, Ace finally cleaned up all the devil cores and collected 2,130,459 of them, which were more than sufficient to create aplete One Eye Devil''s Core for Moira.
While the rest, he wanted to see if he could raise hisw of devour from 99.99% or not. If it''s thetter, he would give them to Eva since they might be useful for the possessor of the abyssal bloodline.
Appearing in front of pale Sofia, he said smilingly, "How''s your harvest?"
"Are you taunting me?" She clenched her fist tightly as she felt Ace was looking down on her by asking this question.
"I wouldn''t dare." Ace coolly replied, "Are you prepared to head in the canyon? How about I go alone? You might not be able to withstand the killing intent in there. Earlier, I scouted that ce, and it is really the ce where this killing intent originates.
"After all, we are allies, and there might be a chance to work together in the future, so putting your life at risk here is not worth it. If anything, I''ll tell you what I found in there once I discover it since you only want to know the secret of this ce."
Sofia was still a valuable asset since she knew many secrets of the imperial family, and if he could turn her to his side, it would make his mission even easier. So, he showed his goodwill towards her.
But it seemed to have done the opposite as Sofia red at Ace with hostility and uttered, "You want the treasure for yourself? Dream on! Let''s go, you don''t need to worry about me. I can handle myself. You should be worried about yourself, or you might die for your greed!"
Ace shook his head in disappointment; he knew, as a talented princess of the empire, she had never suffered a setback before, so his goodwill did the opposite.N?v(el)B\\jnn
''Well, if she fell into any trouble, I''ll just save her, and then she might be willing to reveal the secrets.''
"Alright, let''s go then." Ace didn''t retort and began to move toward the canyon.
The fate map was still silver, so he knew there was still something here worth his while. Furthermore, he was very interested in the sword intent hidden in this killing intent, and he was sure it was far above his own sword intent.
He wanted to try to incorporate it with his ownprehension of the sword, break the final barrier, and reach 100% in swordw.
Sofia didn''t refute this time and quickly followed behind with a dark expression. She was only able to recover 30% of her Qi, and she was nowhere near her peak state, while she could tell Ace was still nonchnt.
But she didn''t want to miss this. After all, she had been interested in this ce for many years, and she wouldn''t be losing it to Ace unless she had no other choice!
Chapter 983 Secret in the Canyon (1)
Chapter 983 Secret in the Canyon (1)
??The canyon in the center of the Ancient Sky Battlefield was a mile wide and around a hundred miles long and pitch ck from the inside. Terrifying killing intent was gushing out of it like raging mes.
Even Ace was getting goosebumps just by standing on top of the abyssal canyon, and he could feel the sword intent even more clearly.
With a grave expression, he looked at the fate map, but there were no signs of danger to him, so he directly jumped inside.
Sofia was startled by Ace''s decisive action, but she quickly followed behind, kept a distance from him, and let him take the lead. If there were hidden danger inside, it woulde for Ace first, and she could at least flee.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
But just after diving over a hundred meters into the canyon, she felt mountainous pressureing from below, and she had to use even more Qi to protect herself.
On the other hand, Ace was still going faster and faster as if that pressure and killing intent had no effect on him, which shocked her even more.
As they dived deeper, they found that the canyon was extremely deep, and even after falling for over a mile, there was no sign of the bottom.
''Just how powerful was this sword attack to make such a rift?'' Ace''s expression was solemn. He knew if he went full strength, he might only create a small rift in the earth, but this person had created such a deep canyon.
After falling for around three minutes, Ace was finally able to see the ground and quickly used his Qi to slow down andnd without any hitch.
Sofia was the same, but she was now running out of Qi, and her breathing was somewhat rigid. Still, she gritted her teeth and looked around.
The ground was crimson and dested, and the pressure was ten times greater than the surface. The source of this pressure was right ahead of them.
Ace carefully proceeded ahead while using his heavenly sense to the fullest; as his heavenly sense spread, he found that there was nothing inside in the vicinity of fifty miles when suddenly his heavenly seemed to have touched something!
Almost instantly, he felt a sting of sharp pain in his mind and quickly retracted his heavenly sense.
''What the hell could cause the heavenly sense to suffer a bacsh?'' Ace was astounded since it was his first-time experiencing bacsh from the heavenly sense while his passive thief sense was still fine and didn''t discover anything.
Hastening his footsteps, he quickly approaches the area where his heavenly sense suffered the bacsh.
Sofia followed as she also sensed the pressure was growing stronger, and the killing intent was almost overbearing. Even with her space ability, she could still feel her mind being invaded by it.
In the end, she suddenly stopped as she knew if she continued, she would run out of Qi and fall into an extremely dangerous state.
"Wait!" She called hoarsely.
Ace stopped and looked behind and saw the ashen Sofia panting heavily, "What? Do you want to stop? No problem, you should quickly head out; I''ll follow after investigating this ce."
Even he was starting to use his heavenly Qi to protect himself from that killing intent so that he could tell Sofia was in even worse shape.
"I know I''m no match for you. But this is extremely important to me. S-so, please, if you could bring me with you, I''ll tell you whatever you want to know!" Her face had a shade of crimson as she felt extremely suffocated just to ask for his help.
It was the first time in her life that she had pleaded for someone else help, and she was asking for help from someone she wanted topete against. So, she felt extremely embarrassed and humiliated.
Ace was surprised as he knew Sofia was an extremely prideful person, so lowering their head had to be very difficult for her, worse than dying.
His lips rose up, "I can bring you with me as long as you answer this question. Tell me, what is the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple?"
His mission was to find the Mortal Sky Heart Empire and then infiltrate it, and he had done it. But now he had to find the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple, which was his true goal, where the heaven''s secret lies.
But despite stealing the natives'' memories of the sky heart ins, he still has not discovered anything about the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple. They don''t even know its name and there was also no clue about the Heavenly Mortal Emperor.
Before, he thought the Mortal Emperor was the Heavenly Mortal Emperor, but now, he knew it wasn''t that simple. Because the mortal emperor can die, and their ruling position can be changed, how could they be the Heavenly Mortal Emperor?
So, he reckoned that the Heavenly Mortal Emperor should be a hidden existence, and he might be in the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple. As for the Imperial Family, they might be his puppets, or they also don''t know about his existence at all.
Whatever the case was, he needed to investigate the empire, and Sofia should know about something since she was the genius of the imperial family.
Just as Ace spoke the name of Mortal Sky Ascension Temple, Sofia''s eyes widened to the fullest as if she had seen a ghost.
Appalled, she shouted, "How do you know that name?!"
Ace''s eyes narrowed since her reaction confirmed that she knew about it.
"I heard it in the passing. As long as you tell me where it is, I''ll take you with me and even help you recover." Ace impassively stated.
"No, it''s impossible. That name can''t be spoken by even the Mortal Emperor can''t speak it! Just the thought of it would mean a death sentence. B-but¡ you speak its name, yet you''re still breathing. Just who in the world are you?" She was appalled as she took a step back, even forgetting her fatigue.
Ace was bbergasted by this unexpected discovery, "Since I can speak its name, then it means I''m far stronger than your n. How about you tell me where it is, and I can promise no harm wille to you or your n."
Suddenly, Ace''s eyes shed darkly before he uttered, "Where is the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple?"
This time, his voice contained a strange power, and Sofia''s eyes became nk as she opened her mouth, "It''s in the An¡"
But all of a sudden, her nk eyes return to normal. However, she doesn''t seem to remember what she just said. Ace was shocked as his soul words failed in the middle.
Sofia took a deep breath to calm her raging emotions before her eyes went colder than ice, and the next moment, she uttered decisively, "I''m afraid I can''t tell you, simply because I''m incapable of it. The moment I tell you anything remotely rted to it, I''ll turn into dust on the spot. So, you can forget about it!"
Ace''s heart sank a little since the soul words were his trump card, but the moment she was about to reveal the location, she instantly broke free. Yet, she didn''t seem to be aware of it all.
''Could it be she really can''t reveal it, even if she''s under aw skill control?''
He didn''t know if she was lying or not, but he could sense the hidden fear in her voice. She was even willing to give up on her goal to keep her mouth shut, so there was some truth in her words.
After all, she just lowered her head to know the secret of this ce, yet now she was unyielding.
Ace thought for a moment before he said, "Alright, if it''s a matter of your life, then I''ll change my request, but this is my bottom line. Bring me into the Imperial Pce, and I''ll help you."
Since she can''t speak of its location, and he has a crucial clue, he just has to find it himself. Although he could enter the imperial pce on his own, with Sofia''s help, it would be very easy.
But if she still didn''t yield, she already knew too much, so he had to deal with her!
Chapter 984 Secret in the Canyon (2)
Chapter 984 Secret in the Canyon (2)
??Sofia felt very ambivalent at this moment since Ace was bluntly asking her for help to infiltrate the imperial pce. No matter how indignant she was towards her family, she didn''t want to harm them, and she had already deemed Ace capable of such a feat.
Suddenly, a thought shed past her mind, ''How about I take him with me and then alert His Imperial Majesty? This way, we can capture him before he can do any harm?''
With such a trail of thoughts, she nodded, "Alright, I''ll bring you with me!"
Although she didn''t show it, how could her abrupt change in emotions escape someone like Ace?
He already guessed what she might be nning, but it didn''t matter to him since as long as he entered the imperial pce, he''d be able to get what he wanted.
"Alright." Ace smiled before he moved his hand towards her, "Grab my hand."
Sofia looked at his hand suspiciously and hesitated, but in her current circumstances, she had no choice but toply.
Holding her soft hand like cotton, Ace used his heavenly Qi to cast a barrier around her.
Sofia''s face reddened slightly as it was her first timeing in close contact with a man, but her embracement quickly reced with shock when the pressure and killing intent instantly vanished. Without wasting time, she took out a soul crystal and began to recover.
"Let''s go." Ace pulls her towards the source of the killing intent.
"I¡" She wanted to retract her hand instinctively, but she managed to stop herself and followed him, ''Just who is he? This Qi is nothing like I have ever seen or heard¡'' She wondered as she felt his strong grip and blushed heavily.
Under Ace''s guidance, they both quickly reach their target before their footstepse to a halt.
In front of them was a pitch-ck humanoid skull over fifty meters in size. It has a pair of antelope horns and eight eye sockets, and its mouth is filled with vicious teeth. Furthermore, the dense killing intent was emitted from it, giving the illusion of endless ughter and destruction; this was probably the source of the killing intent.
But the skill wasn''t the only thing as there was an ocean blue de sword piercing right into its forehead; the sword was twenty-meter-long and five-meter-wide with a long white hilt, and there were clear cracks on its ocean blue de.
Nheless, a sharp sword intent was strongly emitting from it, shing with the skull''s killing intent as if they were still fighting over domination.
Ace''s attention was instantly drawn to the cracked sword, and his heart raced since this sword might be the strongest sword he had everid his eyes on. Even the sword imbued in the Heaven Imposing Sky Lock Formation can''tpare to it.
"I-is this the secret of the Ancient Sky Battlefield?" Sofia mumbled in a daze.
Ace nodded and replied with a hint of uncertainty, "This is probably it. If I''m not mistaken, that sword is probably stopping that thing froming back to life. It must be the head of the leader of the skeletons that we saw on the surface."
"What? That monstrosity can alsoe back to life like those abominable skulls?" Sofia shuddered with fear as she didn''t dare to imagine what would happen if that skull also came back to life.
Despite Ace''s Qi protecting her, she could vaguely feel a deadly sensation just by looking at that skull.
She suddenly looked at Ace; appalled, she asked, "Y-you¡ you aren''t thinking of taking that sword, right?"
She knew that the sword was a priceless treasure despite its rigid state, and since that sword had cut that head off and even stopped it from revival for all these years, it had to be something extremely precious.
"What? Didn''t you say you don''t care about the consequences if we freed whatever is sealed here before? Don''t tell me now you''re hesitating?" Ace asked with a sharp smile.
He knew better than anyone the difference between calming something and then doing it. The former was extremely easy, while thetter was difficult. Only when faced with the choice did you truly understand what''s at stake!
Sofia was the same before she casually imed that she didn''t care. Now that she had seen what was really sealed in this ce, she finally understood just how na?ve she had been.
"I¡ since you take those cores before those things cane back to life, you can do the same with this one, no?" Sofia hesitantly looked at Ace with anticipation. She knew Ace was very capable, so he had to have a way to bypass this difficulty as well.
Ace chuckled and didn''t deny it, "So, you didn''t want topete for that sword with me?"
Sofia shook her head vehemently, "I just want to know what was the mystery behind the Ancient Sky Battlefield. Furthermore, now I know my limit, without you, I might''ve never able to breach the barrier outside much less reach this point. So, you can take it since you earn it."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Heh, alright, I won''t stand on ceremony then." Ace didn''t say anything further and sprang into action.
He directly sent two soul threads toward the sword and skull to pickpocket them simultaneously. However, the moment his soul threads touch the skull and the sword, they turn to particles!
Ace squinted his eyes, "I need to release your hand to im them. Can you endure in the meantime?" He asked. Since the soul threads were incapable of touching those two things, he had to move personally.
Sofia nodded, "Since I''ve seen what I want, I''ll use teleportation to head to the surface. There is no need for me to stay here anymore."
Since she has already recovered 40% of her Qi, she can use her space-type abilities again. So, without hesitation, she used her space ability and vanished!
Ace was surprised for a moment before he focused on the prize again. Since Sofia was gone, he didn''t need to worry about anything.
He moved toward the massive skull while protecting himself with the heavenly Qi, the pressure was almost neglectable.
Just as he was about to touch the skull, an extremely frail voice rang in his mind, "Stop, or you''ll die!"
Chapter 985 Eight Eye Dark Devil
Chapter 985 Eight Eye Dark Devil
??"Stop, or you''ll die!"
Ace was rmed when he heard this frail voice in his head. He was sure that no one was around because of the fate map except for¡
His eyes widened as he stared at the giant sword, "You?"
"I mustmend you for reaching this point despite the seal outside. You are extraordinary to remain unaffected by the Eight Eye Dark Devil''s killing intent, and even my master''s sword intent has little effect on you.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"So, out of appreciation for your talent, I advise you to give up on the thought of taking this Eight Eye Dark Devil skull or me. The moment you touch this skull or try taking me out, the Eight Eye Dark Devil''s slumbering consciousness will be awakened and possess your body.
"Once it escaped, it will be over for the Mortal Sky Heaven. So, turn back now and nevere back and keep this secret to your grave, or it will only bring cmity to the world and your loved ones!"
Ace was bbergasted, but he didn''t think the sword was lying to him since he had guessed that this sword here was suppressing this skull. But he didn''t think it would be this serious.
"Can you tell me what happened here?" He asked as he was curious about how these devils were able to get here and who was this sword''s master.
"It''s an ancient secret, knowing it will only bring you harm and inflict karma." The sword frailly replied.
Ace frowned, "Alright, I won''t pry into this, but I might have a way to deal with your situation. What if I can store you in a living space treasure with this skull intact?"
Ace didn''t want to give up on this sword since he could tell it was extraordinary, and hecked a good sword. He had already dismantled the Heaven Imposing Sky Lock and imed all the treasures used in making it, including the ck sword.
But since then, the sword has bepletely silent, and he never heard it speaking again; it was like it had lost its consciousness or the spirit had died. Still, that sword was extremely powerful.
Now, he justcks another sword to utilize his two-sword style fully, and this sword was perfect, so he wanted to have it from the moment heid his eyes on it.
"It''s impossible to seal this skull''s spirituality with mortal sky heaven''s treasures. The moment you ce it in a living space treasure, it would burst apart, creating a space vacuum and vanishing into space turbulence.
"At that time, this vile thing will get a chance to retaliate against me and free itself. So, you should just give up on this idea. If it were that easy to deal with it, I wouldn''t have been stuck here and turned into this wretched state." The sword replied helplessly.
''But my treasure is not from mortal sky heaven!'' Ace''s eyes brightened since he knew the thief''s space was extraordinary and nothing could escape from it.
Still, he didn''t spring into action right away and asked the system, "System, would it be alright if I store this skull in the thief''s space?"
But the system didn''t reply at all. It was quite clear Ace''s question was unworthy of even bothering to respond.
"Well, I''ll take it as a yes." Ace scoffed.
"Don''t worry. My treasure is not something a mere skull can break. I just want you to tell me, if I were able to subdue this thing, would you be willing to be my weapon?" Ace hurriedly asked.
He knew the treasure a spirit was capable of selecting its own master, and without its reorganization, it wasn''t easy to use them, and it might even harm the user.
"Boy, you''re taking it too lightly. Let''s just assume you have such a treasure, but the moment you take this skull out of this space with me, the seal outside will also be gone, and at that time, millions of Eight Eye Dark Devil''s subordinates will be free to wreak havoc. The mortal sky heaven will suffer another cmity at that time. I would never agree to this! Don''t ruin yourself for greed. You have a bright future ahead of you." The Sword sternly advised as its opinion of Ace was starting to change.
Realization dawn upon Ace at this moment, he finally understood why those skulls outside didn''te to life all these years, it was all because of that seal created by this sword''s master.
"You don''t need to worry about those devils outside. I have already collected their devil cores. If you don''t believe me, look at this." Ace confidently stated before wave his sleeve and behind him a mountain of ck cores appeared!
"What?! How did you manage to take them without suppressing their spirituality?" The sword was bbergasted as it was extremely familiar with those devil cores'' nature.
They were like undying bugs, and even if you killed them, they woulde back to life within a short span of time, and it was almost impossible to destroy those cores. Even if someone takes them, as long as they are careless, those devil cores will regain their nature again and be reborn.
But the cores Ace takes out have their spirituality intact, which means he didn''t fight them at all, which waspletely out of the sword''s expectation.
With another wave of his hand, those cores vanished again, and Ace chuckled, "I told you my treasure is not so simple. So, tell me, are you willing to ept me as your master as long as I take care of this skull as well? If I''m not wrong, even if you remain stuck here, you''ll die, and then this skull will reawaken. So, why don''t you get rid of it once and for all ad? I''m pretty sure you also don''t want to die in a ce like this."
This time, the sword didn''t retort as it knew Ace was stating the fact. It was already at the end of its tether, and once the sword spirit died, there would be no one to keep the devil''s consciousness in check; the seal outside would also vanish, and it would eventually revive.
"If you really can free me and get rid of this abomination, I will acknowledge you as my master." The sword finally agreed.
Ace''s lips rose, "Don''t worry, you won''t regret it!"
The next moment, Ace again moved his hand on the skull, and an instantly ghastly sensation overwhelmed him, but because of the sword''s warning, he was fully prepared, and since the sword didn''t resist either, the skull and sword vanished without a trace!
Chapter 986 Violent Ocean Sword
Chapter 986 Violent Ocean Sword
??Once Ace took the skull and the sword, the entire Ancient Sky Battlefield quivered before the barrier in the core region began to dissipate.
The sword''s disbelieving voice rang at this moment, "What is this space? It''s really suppressed the killing intent. Even I am being suppressed here."
Ace looked into the thief''s space and smiled in satisfaction since the killing intenting from the Eight Eye Dark Devil had been really suppressed.
"Now that I proved myself, it''s your turn!" Ace calmly stated.
Although he no longer feared the sword since it had already entered the thief''s space, he didn''t want to use force unless he had to. After all, since the sword has made a promise, it shouldn''t go back on it, or he would be very disappointed.
After all, this weapon seemed to be quite righteous since it has been guarding and suppressing this devil for who knows when.
"Don''t worry, as a spirit sword, I will always keep my word. It would be my honor to serve someone like you; from this day forth, wherever you point me, I, Violent Ocean Sword, shall cut it down to pave your way.
"Please give me a drop of your blood toplete the Equal Bond Master Acknowledgment Ceremony!" Violent Ocean Sword solemnly stated.
Ace was astounded as he had already heard from the system when he found Moira that the treasure with a spirit would choose their own masters, and depending on their trust level or the person''s talent, the treasure spirit would choose to form different types of bonds.
There were two types of bonds, Equal Bond and Life Bond, while the Life Bond was further divided into three types, ''Master for One-Life,'' ''Together for Life,'' and ''Only Master for Life''!
Lastly, there was a bond that only the Eternal Provenance Treasures can form, the Provenance Life Bond. The Eternal Thief Fate Compass was bonded to him with this bond.
Now he heard that the Violent Ocean Sword wanted to form an Equal Bond with him, he remembered its details.
This bond was of mutual partnership rtion where the treasure and user will have equal standing. But its drawback was either party could easily break free from this bond if their own life was in danger and abandon each other at any time.
All in all, this bond was a double-edged sword and the mostmon bond ording to the system.
Ace frowned since he didn''t want the Violent Ocean Sword to form an equal bond because there would always be a chance that it might betray him if it sensed its own life in danger.
But he can''t me the Violent Ocean Sword for choosing the equal bond since they only met each other a few moments ago, and it was probably submitting to him to preserve its dignity.
After all, a treasure with a spirit was of a higher grade than grade 9, so it had its own pride, and Ace was still too weak in its eyes.
"Please wait a moment. Can you exin what this Equal Bond is?" Ace asked. He didn''t directly dere that he knew about the Equal and Life Bonds. He wanted to see if the Violent Ocean Sword had ulterior motives.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
If it dared to lie, then Ace wouldn''t hesitate to force a life bond on it, or he wouldn''t allow it to leave the thief''s space. But if it didn''t hide it then he''ll consider trusting it.
"Oh, I forgot you don''t know about the Master Acknowledgment Ceremony of Ascension Spirit Grade Treasures. I''ll give a general exnation since I can''t reveal too much, or you''ll be infected with karma.
"The Mortal Sky Heaven has Nine Grades, also known as Mortal Grades, ranging from Grade 0 to Grade 9, and each grade is divided into Low, Middle, and High Stages. Simrly, the rank above Mortal Grade is known as Ascension Grade, and it is also graded from Grade 1 to Grade 9, but it only has two stages, Lower and Upper.
"But there are some special materials that can provide spirituality to a treasure, thus Treasure Spirit is born. But the chances of it happening are extremely scarce. These treasures are known as Spirit Treasures, and they are graded in Ascension Spirit Grade. I''m an Upper Grade-5 Ascension Spirit Treasure.
"All the Spirit Treasures have their own will, and we can''t be used without acknowledging a worthy master first, and this process is called the Master Acknowledgment Ceremony.
"A spirit treasure has an innate ability to form two types of bonds known as Equal Bond and Life Bond. An equal bond is a mutual bond that can be broken at any time as long as the parties involved are not satisfied with each other.
"I know it sounds cold, but any spirit treasure will choose to form this bond first before moving to form a life bond because if it made a bad decision, it would bond to an ipetent or vile master for a lifetime.
"Consider it a testing phase to understand the worth and its prowess fully. I''m the same. Although you have mysterious means, I can''t form a life bond right off the bat.
"But I can give you my word as long as you canplete my requirements and prove yourself worthy. I will exin what life bond is that day, and I''ll follow you till the end." Violent Ocean Sword solemnly exined with clear sincerity in its feeble voice.
Ace was astounded, the Violent Ocean Sword really didn''t hide anything from it and even sounded sincere as it reveal the higher grades to him without hesitation. Now, he finally knows what lies ahead of grade even before he ascends.
It won''t be a lie to say he was a little moved by Violent Ocean Sword''s sincerity as he had read that sword cultivators were straightforward people, and their personalities could be reflected by their swords.
The Violent Ocean Sword was straightforward, which could also reflect its previous master''s personality. He has nothing but respect for such a person.
"Alright, I hope I''ll prove myself to you." Ace solemnly stated before he sent a drop of his blood to the Violent Ocean Sword.
The moment his blood drop fell on the Violent Ocean Sword''s ocean blue de, it vanished before a mysterious crimson rune appeared on the sword hilt. Ace felt a mysterious connection with the Violent Ocean Sword now just like the Eternal Thief Fate Compass.
But unlike thetter, this connection didn''t give him full authority over the Violent Ocean Sword, and he can sense that either he or the Violent Ocean Sword can break it at any time.
Furthermore, the moment the connection was formed, the Violent Ocean Sword trembled, and its giant size shrunk before it became a 2-meter-long sword with a slim depletely perfect for Ace''s use.
"I''m a Martial Spirit Sword, so I can stay in your Martial Space, where I''ll be nurtured by your Martial Qi. Although you are still an Elemental State Practitioner, I''m already downgraded to mortal grade-9 because of using my spirit essence all these years to keep this vile thing in check.
"So, it will take a long time before I''ll recover to my peak, and if you want to hasten my recovery, you can only do so by ascending. Now I need your permission to enter your martial space since we have an equal bond, I can''t enter on my own only the life bonded spirit treasures are capable of that.
"But if you don''t want to, I can just stay here since letting someone else into your martial space is equivalent to testing your life. In that case, I required some Qi stones of grade-9 or grade-9 ores and metals to recover some of my spirituality." The Violent Ocean Sword stated.
Ace looked at the Violent Ocean Sword''s new form with shinning gaze, as he was expecting to use with Qi, he didn''t know the Violent Ocean Sword was capable of size maniption.
After thinking about the Violent Ocean Sword request, he said, "I''ll need some time to think about it, but I have recently acquired tworge pieces of grade-9 metals. You can use them as you please."
The next moment, tworge bs of metals appeared, they were the doors of the mountains he dismantled from the ruin city.
"I understand. You have my gratitude!" The Violent Ocean Sword didn''t seem to mind Ace''sck of trust since they were not at that point yet and directly stabbed into the mind before an ocean blue sheen covered the sword.
Ace''s attention then finally fell on the skull, and he finally saw the big devil core hiding ghastly, killing intent.
He ordered, "System, appraise both the Violent Ocean Sword and that skull''s core!"
Chapter 987 End of Ancient Sky Battlefield
Chapter 987 End of Ancient Sky Battlefield
??"System, appraise both the Violent Ocean Sword and that skull''s core!"
This time system didn''t directly apprise and emotionlessly uttered, "[25 Million Thief Points.]"
Ace pursed his lips, "Take them."
=====
[The Devil Core of Eight Eye Dark Devil]
-Description: The middle-rank devil soldier born in the ??? Abyss that is filled with killing intent and intent to devour all lives and light! It has the ability tomand the lower rank devil soldiers of ??? Abyss. Without destroying the devil''s core, it is impossible to kill the Eight Eye Dark Devil. It can continue to revive by absorbing life force in the air and has the ability to possess others, turning them into its devil puppets.
-Grade: Above Grade-9
-Usage (1): Can be used toprehend one of the Laws among [Devour], [Dark] & [ughter]
-Usage (2): Can be used in forging, alchemy, and formation crafting.
--
[Violent Ocean Sword]
-Grade: Above Grade-9
-Detectable Ability(s): 3
1. Violent Sword Intent
Description: Unique Sword Intent born within the sword with its spirit. Can beprehended with Sword Spirit''s help.
2. Vast Ocean
Description: The Violent Ocean Sword can manipte its size up to 1,000 meters.
3. Ocean Splitter
Description: Unique Sword Skill of ??? Grade.
The requirement to use these abilities: The Sword Spirit Acknowledgment
-Current Owner: Ace White (Equal Bond)
[NOTE: The Sword Spirit of the Violent Ocean Sword is currently wounded and in a fragile state.]
=====
Ace was surprised to see the Eight Eye Dark Devil description; it was above grade nine as well, which means its cultivation would''ve been higher than the eighth realm when it was alive.
But he didn''t understand how this kind of creature was able to enter the Mortal Sky Heaven since it should be impossible. Furthermore, the master of the violent sword was also of the same prowess or even more powerful to y it.
''Just what is the secret behind this battlefield? The Violent Ocean Sword also refuses to reveal it. Then the other two mystery ins should also have these sorts of secrets as well. Should I make a trip there as well?'' Ace mused as he couldn''t help but think about acquiring more treasures like the Violent Ocean Sword.
"System, how can I kill these devils from the abyss?" Ace asked, as he was quite curious about this fact.
ording to the system, these creatures seemed to be undying as long as their cores were intact, and since the person who killed them left them behind intact, this could only mean he either didn''t have a way to destroy them or died before he had the chance.
The Violent Ocean Sword didn''t say anything about its previous master since it was rted to this battlefield''s secret. But he didn''t find any corpses in the canyon. It could either mean that person died without leaving behind any remains or left. But the chances of thetter were very low.
Nheless, he didn''t care much about it since he had already acquired what he wanted, and there was no need to be too greedy.
"[The Devil Cores can only be destroyed by thew of devouring of annihtion; otherwise, they can only be suppressed. The host can use thew of Devour to absorb thew intent hidden in the devil cores, which means certain death for the devil core owner. The host can also use the Heavenly Thunder or Powerful Lightning Intent as it is also the manifestation of annihtion and destruction. But to achieve thetter, yourw of annihtion should be above the Devil Core''s owner''s own prowess.]"
Realization dawns upon him at this moment, "So that''s how it is. I have to admit these devils from the abyss are really something else. Then didn''t this mean Eva is even more formidable, or is there a difference between her and these devils?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"[Host can take the Shadow Abyssal Bloodline as a royal bloodline while these devils'' bloodline is of peasants.]"
Ace''s eyes widened as this disparity was really huge.
Now that he had taken the treasure, Ace sensed the killing intent in the air was beginning to dissipate, and if he weren''t wrong, this ce would turn to normal in a few years.
Without hesitation, Ace took flight as it was time to go back.
When he exited the canyon, Ace was startled because the barrier around the battlefield hadpletely gone, and there was no trace of Sofia either.
His expression became somewhat ugly, ''Don''t tell me she took off the moment she got the chance so she didn''t have toplete her promise with me? What a fickle woman. I''ll give her a thief symbol on her face the next time I see her.'' Although they had a deal, he didn''t make her sign the soul contract since he didn''t think she would be able to run away because of the seal. But after he took the sword and skull, the seal also lost its core and dissipated.
So, without anything holding Sofia back, she decided to flee by using the teleportation talisman. She knew Ace could do nothing about it, and once she alerted her n about his presence, it would be nigh impossible for Ace to achieve his goal.
Ace sighed ruefully as he knew he had made a mistake this time because he was blinded by his greed. Still, even without Sofia, he was confident in infiltrating the imperial pce.
So, without wasting more time, Ace took out his own golden talisman, but to his shock, that talisman waspletely useless now, making his expression sink even more.
He had no idea where he was or how far he was from the closest city, but now he had to travel normally which might take months since the Mystery ins were extremely far away from any inhabitednds.
''Sigh¡'' He sighed bitterly before he decided to head east where he came from and hoped that he''d quickly leave this ce.
Another thing worth mentioning was that the live fate map has finally turned gray from silver, which means there was nothing here useful to him any longer.
---
While Ace was irritated about his current situation, far away from the Ancient Sky Battlefield, within a grand chamber, a formation lit up brightly.
The next moment, a giant curvaceous figure appeared with a somewhat paleplexion. She was none other than Sofia.
Her eyes shimmered with ecstasy, ''I''ve sessfully managed to escape and return. I need to report my findings quickly!''
Chapter 988 The Mysterious Deity
Chapter 988 The Mysterious Deity
??Sofia put a white mask on her face before she quickly exited the teleportation hall, and two imperial guards stood outside.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
They were startled and quickly kneeled, "Wee back, Imperial Princess!"
They knew only the imperial family members could use this teleportation hall, and within the entire imperial family, only the princess was most mysterious.
"Un¡" Sofia nodded before she coldly asked, "Where is his majesty?"
"Reporting to the princess, a few hours ago, many people appeared with Second and Third Imperial Highnesses, and they were led to the throne hall. We don''t know anymore." One of them respectfully replied.
"Stay on high alert," Sofiamanded because she quickly left toward the throne hall.
Within the spacious throne hall, the old ancestors from the goldennds were sitting on two rows of majestic chairs, and in the top center was another giant in imperial robes sitting on a golden ck throne, giving off a majestic aura. He was the current mortal emperor of the Mortal Sky Heart Empire, Antonio Skr.
The atmosphere in the hall was quite gloomy. Antonio was frowning deeply since he heard what had happened in the goldennds a few hours ago. But what he was mostly worried about was Sofia.
She hadn''te back with her ancestors, and she was very important to the imperial family because of her special meridians. But s, they can do nothing since the ruined city was very deep into the Ancient Sky Battlefield.
Even these ancestors would have a hard time going back since the teleportation formation within the ancient city had rendered them useless.
Furthermore, now that they had lost the goldennds, their core strength had been wounded, and these old fossils wouldn''t survive for long, which would put the imperial family in a very bad situation if words got out.
Then there was the mysterious person who was behind all this, so Antonio felt even more pressure and uneasy.
At this moment, a powerful voice rang in the hall, "Imperial Princess Sofia is seeking an audience!"
Everyone was surprised, and Antonio''s eyes lit up as he said, "Allow her to enter!"
The closed doors of the hall opened, and Sofia appeared. Seeing the ancestors were present in the hall as well, she was somewhat d. But there was no trace of her second and third brother neither the sixth elder was present. This simply means they were not qualified to be present in this discussion.
Sofia kneeled down and solemnly greeted, "Long live the Mortal Emperor!"
Antonio sighed in relief, seeing Sofia fine, and nodded, "Rise, my child. Where were you? Did something happen back then?"
The ancestors were also quite curious about Sofia''s dy, especially the women among the ancestors. They were quite close to Sofia as she practically grew up in the goldennds, and they even gave pointers to her.
So, they knew it shouldn''t be a problem for her toe back because of her space abilities. Furthermore, with their keen sense, they could feel the leftover aura of killing intent on her body.
Sofia quickly stood up, and without hesitation, she began to tell them about what happened after they left. But she hid the fact about approaching Ace on her own ord; instead, she changed it with Ace interfering with the teleportation talisman and forcing her to work with him.
When they all heard about this mysterious man and his uncanny abilities, they were all shocked, and their expression turned solemn.
Antonio''s expression grew ugly when he heard that this mysterious person proiming himself as ck was able to reach the core of the Ancient Sky Battlefield and take the sword there.
They all knew just how ghastly that ce was, and the treasure there wouldn''t be any less impressive; now it had fallen into someone else hands, and this person wanted to harm their n.
ording to Sofia, she was only able to escape because ck''s focus was drawn by the sword. He captured her so she could help him enter the imperial pce, and everyone believed her.
"Lastly, that person seemed to know about the temple as well!" Sofia gravely concluded her report, which was a mixture of truth and lies.
"What?" Antonio jumped to his feet in horror, and the ancestors weren''t any better.
"How can that be? No one can know about the temple. It''s impossible!" The old ancestor blurted with a dark expression.
"I was also surprised, and he was even able to say itsplete name without any consequence. Could it be he didn''t have any restriction on him like us?" Sofia hurriedly asked.
This was the entire reason she was willing to reveal all the information because this was the question of her entire n''s survival, including hers.
Antonio and others fell into deep silence with forlorn expressions. They could still ept the fact that this ck was capable of moving the mystery ins unscratched and even im its biggest secret, but it was hard to ept that someone else knew about their well-guarded secret, and he also didn''t have any restraint on him.
They were even indignant as well as wary. They knew if this secret was exposed and that ''entity'' got wind of it, their entire n would be wiped out in a single breath.
"I don''t think it''s that big of a problem since the Temple and the Deity haven''t appeared for thousands of years now. As long as we handle it well, no one would notice it." The old ancestor finally spoke with a bitter tone.
"No." Antonio shook his head vehemently, "Ancestors, since you were all in sleep, I didn''t get the chance to tell you, but around twenty years ago, the Temple resurfaced again, and simultaneously, I received the Deity''s edict that he is back.
"Although the Deity didn''t tell me where he has been for thousands of years, the Deity clearly wanted to show its presence as a warning so we won''t take his absence as an opportunity.
"That existence has no emotions, and if he found out about this blunder, we won''t be spared. First, let''s try to handle this person ourselves. Since he wanted the location of the temple, he''lle here searching for it eventually.
"Even if we can''t handle him, we''ll just alert the Deity; this way, we can at least escape the death penalty. But if dare to spread this news, then let''s just kill everyone before the deity finds out.
"This is the question of our n''s survival, and we can''t wait to be ughtered." Antonio solemnly dered with killing intent!
A huge cmity wasing in the Sky Heart ins!
Chapter 989 Thieveries Everywhere
Chapter 989 Thieveries Everywhere
??The very next day, an astonishing edict was released from the Imperial Pce, which was more of a wanted warrant.
ording to this Imperial Edict, someone has attacked the members of the Imperial Family, which was a crime worthy of n eradication. But strangely, the Imperial Family wasn''t able to find who it was; all they knew was that his person was mysterious and very powerful.
This shocked the powers under the Imperial Family since they all knew how powerful the Imperial Family was. Yet, someone was daring enough to attack them and even managed to get away with it.
Now, any suspicious activity or personal was to be directly reported to the imperial counsel, and the pce would act directly. Anyone who reports these activities will be greatly rewarded as long as their information is correct.
If they were able to apprehend or find this mysterious person, they were promised ten slots in the ranks of the Imperial Pce Guard Regiment, which was directly under the Mortal Emperor''smand, and they had to listen to no one else, even the imperial family couldn''t order them.
This moved everyone, and a wild search began all over the Sky Heart ins. Even the Imperial Pce Guard Regiment moves, and they begin to patrol the entire Mortal Sky Imperial City.
This decisive action also made many people uneasy, and no one dared to cause trouble, and they were all on their best behavior. Entry into the Imperial City was also closed off, and anyone who wanted to enter had to undergo a deep investigation and search.
Anshel, a middle-aged human, was a Golden Rank Imperial Guard, only below the Violet Golden Rank and above Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ranks. There were a total of 10,000 Imperial Guards, and only 100 among them were Golden Rank and ten Violet Golden Rank, and their authority was equal to a Kingdom''s King.
After the Imperial Edict, half of the Golden Rank Imperial Guards were dispatched to protect the city, and Anshel was one of them. He was in charge ofbing through the people who recently entered the city.
At this moment, Anshel was wearing a golden mask and sitting in the southern guard castle, and a Silver Rank Imperial Guard was reporting the result of a recent investigation.
"Lord Anshel, we have checked all the people who have entered the imperial city in thest thirty days except for one. This woman''s name is Amanda, and she entered the city five days ago, but we didn''t find any record of her leaving, nor we can find her in the imperial city. I''ve already checked with the four city gates and with the Space Highway Building, and we found nothing. It''s like she has vanished into thin air." The Silver Guard gravely stated.
Anshel''s sharp eyes narrowed as he knew every person who entered or exited the imperial city had to report their name, or they wouldn''t be able to enter or exit. Because of the imperial edict, they were keeping a close eye on these people, but he didn''t think he would really find this unusual incident.
"Did you check with the noble households?" He asked coldly.
"Yes, I''ve checked with every household and even the city market, but I didn''t find her trace at all. I also acquired her picture from the Space Highway Building, and no one has seen her since she exited the building. Another strange thing is there was a small ck bird on her shoulder when she arrived. Please take a look." The silver guard respectfully handed Anshel an array te.
Anshel activates it, and a projection image of a graceful elf in a veil and a ckbird sitting on her shoulder appears.
"Issue this image to the other units. I want her found no matter what. Even if you have to flip the entire city, do it. His Majesty has ordered us to deal with any suspicious personnel by any means necessary. This woman might be associated with that degenerate who attacked the imperial family!" Anshel coldlymanded.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The Silver Guard didn''t dare to tarry and quickly left to alert everyone.
At this moment, another Silver Guard entered and quickly bowed to Anshel, "I have something strange to report, milord!"
"What is it?" Anshel narrowed his eyes dangerously. Just having this one mysterious woman was enough of a blunder on their part, and if more such suspects begin to appear, he has to report this to the imperial council, and it won''t be good for anyone.
"We just received a report of mass thieveries in different kingdoms!" The guard hastily stated.
"What do you mean mass thieveries?" Anshel was baffled as they weren''t looking for thieves, and how big of amotion could a thief cause?
After all, no one dared tomit theft in high-ranking officers, and even if someone were daring enough, they would only mug Independent Cultivators in weak cities.
This kind of incident was beneath the Imperial Council to handle. The only thievery incident that shook the Imperial Council was the incident in the Golden Lion Kingdom Capital when someone emptied the entire Wild Hungry Pavilion treasury and stole the fourth imperial prince and other nobles'' storage rings.
The investigation bore no fruit, and before they could take further investigation, the Imperial Edict came, and now everyone was looking into this person. The investigation was agile with this matter as well.
"ording to the report, someone raided the Alchemy Guild in the me Kingdom Capital. Not only did this person empty their herb fields, library, and treasures, but he even assassinated the Guild Head and left behind a Pentagon coin with its name, Skyfall Thief Assassin.
"Shorty after another such incident took ce in the Beast Kingdom, someone raided the Spirit Eye Fox Duchess Castle and emptied the entire treasury and library. He also leaves behind a pentagon coin with a different name, the Myriad Thieving Fox.
"Lastly, within the Poison Kingdom Capital, two incidents took ce at the same time in White Poison Duke Duchy and Formation Guild''s branch; the thieves leave behind two pentagon coins, with the name All-Seeing Evil and All-Knowing Evil. We gathered that they all belonged to the same association!"
Anshel eyes were open wide, bbergasted by this. Every raided location was extremely well-guarded and almost impossible to break into. Yet these thieves manage to pull it off.
Especially the thievery in the alchemy guild, Anshel knew just how high their security is and the Guild Head is a quasiwprehension realm expect. Yet, he was also assassinated within his own guild.
This was a really huge incident, and if they also included the Sky Bandit, then these thieves were not to be taken lightly.
''Just what is going on with the Sky Heart ins? Don''t tell me it''s a well-organized n to antagonize the imperial family and challenge their authority. If we didn''t find this group and let them wreak havoc unchecked, the imperial family would look weak. I thought this was just some rebel, but it seemed it was far from it, and that''s why his majesty deployed us. This is really serious.''
He quickly gets up and is just about to rush to the Imperial Council when another Silver Guard quickly rushes in with a pale expression.
"What?" Anshel has a very bad feeling.
The silver guard quickly said palely, "Someone plundered the Flower Patel Demon Grand Duke''s Manor a-and then set it on fire!"
Chapter 990 Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase (1)
Chapter 990 Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase (1)
??The Mortal Heart Imperial City was the heart of the Mortal Sky Heart Empire, and every high-ranking noble from the Imperial Marquise to the Imperial Grand Duke was allowed to live there.
Except for the empire nobles, the Alchemy Guild and Formation Guild also have their main headquarters in the imperial city. But there was another existence that stood above all these powers and only below the Imperial Pce, the Sky Heart Imperial School.
The Sky Heart Imperial School was founded by the first Mortal Emperor when he conquered thends from myriad races and regained supreme over them, bing the one and only Mortal Emperor. At least, that''s what the historical records described it.
Anyhow, the Sky Heart Imperial School was a dream of every youth, for it was the best institute in the entire Sky Heart ins, and the Imperial Family also sent their members to learn.
They had nurtured many historical figures. Even the Mortal Emperors had to graduate from the Sky Heart Imperial School before they could be the Mortal Emperors; it was like a tradition.
Almost all the young prodigies of the Sky Heart inse here every year to try their luck and enter this legendary institute. However, their admission criteria were extremely strict, and if you failed twice, you would never be able to take the entrance exam again.
Today was the final day of the entrance examination, and the teachers were paying close attention to the youngsters just in case they found a diamond in the rough and could take it as their personal student.
The students also try their best to draw the royal teachers'' attention, and if they could draw the attention of the Imperial Teachers who ranked higher than the Royal Teachers, their social standing would soar.
The final test to the Sky Heart Imperial School was famous all over the Sky Heart ins; it was named the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase.
The Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase was a mysterious treasure, and legend has it that it was found by the First Mortal Emperor in one of the mystery ins, the Devil Mountains in!
The Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase was a staircase of 99 stairs with three different sections of 33 stairs each, which test people''s Strength, Courage, and Willpower.
But it wasn''t as ne as its name suggested. With each higher step, the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase will release powerful pressure and a dark aura that will give people lifelike hallucinations. Each section will have different tests, and there is even a chance of losing one life, and their souls and bodies will be devoured by the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase!
The Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase was by no means a simple treasure; it has its own rules, and no one can go against them. Not even the First Mortal Emperor was able to change them.
One of those rules was if someone wanted to give up, they had to leave behind a silver of their soul willingly, and this process was almost painless. But if they didn''t admit defeat in time and lost their mind, no one can save them not even Law Comprehension Realm Experts.
That''s why the participants were warned again and again to know their limits and give up before they lost their minds. Nefarious this method might be, it was an excellent method to test the new participants and anyone who could step on the 30th step was qualified to enter the Sky Heart Imperial School.
If someone can cross into the second section, the 34th step, they are considered a rare genius and allocated to different sses under more powerful teachers.
If someone can step into the third section, the 67th step, they are a genius worth learning from the Imperial Teachers, and normally only the Imperial Family members can achieve it.
To this day, no one has ever been able to reach the 99th step of the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase.
The highest record was set by the First Mortal Emperor himself, and no one has ever been able to break it to this day; he was able to reach the 89th step before he was forced to give in.
Everyone dreamt of breaking that record and making a name for themselves, but no one has ever done it. Even the 95th Mortal Emperor, who was considered as talented as the First Mortal Emperor, was only able to step onto the 87th step.
At this moment, over one thousand youths remained from 15,000, and they were the ones who had passed the first two tests, and now all that remained was passing the requirement of Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase.
One after another, they stepped onto a hundred-meter-wide pitch-ck staircase with mysterious crimson runes lining every step.
Among these youths, adorned in a white dress with blue lining, was a 2.5-meter-tall young devil girl with pristine gray skin and an elegant figure. Two ck bat wings were folded behind her back, and a pair of ck horns were curved over her head like a crescent moon.
She appeared aloof and cold as if nothing could move her in this world, and gracefully stepped on the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase.
The moment she fully climbed the step, the pressure of a mountain suddenly weighed down on her slender body; her dark eyes shimmered in a peculiar glint, ''So, this is the strength section, interesting.''
Astounded, she took the second step while the others were still struggling to be ustomed to the pressure, and this time, the pressure doubled, but she remained unmoved.
Suddenly, the scene changed before her eyes, and she saw a huge mountain-like w descending on her, filled with murderous intent.
"Hmph, paltry illusion!" A sliver of pitch-ck streak suddenly shed past her eyes, and the mountainous w suddenly shattered like a mirror.
Her expression was still as aloof and dismissive as she moved to the third step, and this drew almost all the observing people''s attention!
At the highest tower within the Sky Heart Imperial School, also known as Principal Tower, ten old men in ck gold robes were solemnly watching the projection screen in front of them, which was focused on the devil girl at this moment, and she had taken another step.
Those old men''s emotionless eyes shimmered with a hint of surprise.
"Who is she?" An old demon with empty eye sockets questioned in his husky voice.
A middle-aged giant woman from the Skr n coldly waved her sleeve, and a string of words appeared on the projection screen.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Participant No.19039. Name: Evie Gray Shadow, Affiliation: Gray Shadow Devil Grand Duke n, Third Daughter of Gray Shadow Devil Grand Duke. Age: 17, Cultivation: tinum Soul Embryo Realm.
"No bad." The Demon nodded in satisfaction.
At this moment, Evie sessfully stepped on the fifth stairstep.
Everyone''s eyes began to shimmer as they looked at Evie like they were looking at treasure!
Chapter 991 Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase (2)
Chapter 991 Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase (2)
??At this moment, every observer''s attention was glued on the graceful devil, Evie, as she was climbing the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase with a cold, aloof expression. She was already on the 33rd step at this moment, while the others were still struggling between the 10th to 20th steps, and some of them even gave up.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The Ten Imperial Teachers in the Principal Tower were watching without blinking, and their eyes brightened with each step Evie took.
"She has already stepped into the second section of courage in less than ten minutes; this has to be a record." The demonmented while nodding in satisfaction.
"Indeed, the strength section of the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase tests the participant''s strength through illusion, and the higher the cultivation, the more profound the illusion. She has literally speed-run the strength section, which means her fighting prowess is astonishing.
"Now, the courage section will test her courage by making her go through inhumane scenarios and choices. Even if she has strength, without courage, it means nothing." A giant woman from Skr n stated coldly, but her eyes didn''t leave the screen.
"Let''s see how much time she would take to break past the first staircase." A violet skin winged devil with schrly air said great interest in his tranquil eyes.
"She''s taking the next step. How fast!"
Everyone''s eyes brightened when they saw Evie take another step, but to their shock, she didn''t take more time and directly took the second step, then the third¡fourth¡ 38th¡
It was like she was climbing the normal staircase, and they all even wondered if the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase was functioning normally anymore. If not for the other participants behind Evie, they would''ve already suspected that the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase was broken.
"I don''t understand how she''s climbing so fast. Does this mean she fears nothing, or does she simply not care about her own life or death?" Another woman in the Imperial Teacher group furrowed. She was an elf with regal bearing and gentle features.
Even the other imperial teachers don''t have the answer to her question since this is the first time they have witnessed such a scene. They had all climbed on the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase not just once but multiple times.
Yet, they always encounter far worse trials than the previous time and never make progress. Furthermore, the continuous use of the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase could damage the soul permanently, so the School is only allowed to climb it after a cultivation breakthrough.
However, now Evie was already approaching the 60th step and some of the imperial teachers here hadn''t made it there themselves. Not just in the past 500 years, no one except for the imperial family has ever been able to climb up to the 60th step at all.
The current generation of the imperial family held the record of entering above the 60th step, but none of them were able to reach the 71st. The highest one able to climb was the Imperial Crown Prince; his record was the 70th step.
At this moment, Evie was already standing on the 66th step and about to step on the 67th step and enter the final section of the will.
In this section, one needs both power and courage to climb further, and this section was the most mysterious of the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase because no one can remember what they saw or went through here once they exited the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase.
It was like their memories werepletely wiped out once they exited from the third section of the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase.
"Inform the Vice Principal and Principal that a genius outside the Imperial Family has appeared." A burly giant coldly dered he was also from the Skr n.
Everyone nodded before an old human vanished from the room while the others were still observing Evie without blinking.
---
''Hmph, I have no fear in my heart except for losing him, and my Ring of Endearment is proof of his safety and love for me. So, all these illusions of pity, hatred, anger, killing, and so on are useless against me.
''What a useless trial. If not for my purpose, I wouldn''t be wasting so much time by going through all this nonsense and showing off.'' Evie thought with a hint of indignation as she stepped on the 67th step.
Although the pressure was enough to break evenw awareness realm cultivator bones, it was nothing to her, and she could easily overpower all the illusions because of her strong and unyielding will.
The moment she stepped on the 67th stairstep, the pressure suddenly vanished. Instead, she felt a strange force directly invading her body and seeping into her soul.
''Abyss Devour!'' She coldly snickered.
Within her pitch-ck soul space like an endless abyss, a devilish ck soul opened its empty eyes, and the next moment, its mouth was opened, and all the strange energy that was seeping into her soul directly channeled into its abyssal maw, forming a tiny vortex.
''Hmm? What is this Qi? It''s helping my cultivating to raise slightly!'' Evie''s eyes shimmered in astonishment before a hint of ecstasy shed past them.
A greedy glint shed past her eyes, ''If that''s the case, then don''t mind if you devour everything in this stupid staircase!''
Without hesitation, she took another step, and the strange force grew stronger, and an illusion of living hell appeared in front of her eyes. Shepletely ignored the bone-melting heat and focused on devouring the strange Qi, and her cultivation climbed even faster.
She has no fear of anyone as she continues to climb and absorb that Qi, and her cultivation is growing faster and faster with each extra step. She knew just how many resources she needed to enter the Law Comprehension Intermediate Stage, and she didn''t want to further impose on her lover, so she decided to part with him to collect her own cultivation resources and also helped him in the process.
Now, she has discovered this rare chance to raise her cultivation quickly; she wasn''t going to give up or remain low-
key, even if it meant blowing off her cover.
Once she enters the next stage, there might be no one who could stop her anymore except for ''him'' for she was none other than Eva and also the thief whose name has been circling in the Imperial City, Evil Venerable Angel!
Chapter 992 Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase (3)
Chapter 992 Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase (3)
??At this moment, within the Principal Tower, when the Imperial Teachers were gobsmacked by Evie''s peerless advance, a wizened face giant with a slender build, long white beard, and gray hair appeared out of thin air.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
He was wearing in white robes, and despite his presence, no one seemed to have noticed him. His tranquil old eyes were filled with ripples as he looked at Evie on the screen, who was already passing the 70th stair of Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase.
"She really broke the Imperial Crown Prince Carlos''s record of this generation!" Everyone eximed with emotions.
No one had thought that this day woulde when someone other than the Imperial Family would climb all the way up to the 70th step of the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase.
Even the most outstanding outsiders who have managed to give the imperial family some pressure had only made it up to the 67th step. Yet this record has been finally broken today.
At this moment, two more people entered the hall; one of them was the human who had gone to alert the Vice Principal and Principal, and with him was a giant, masked woman in ck robes and a graceful figure.
This mysterious woman was none other than the Vice Principal of the Sky Heart Imperial School, Jenna Skr, and she also had another status that only the Principal and Ten Imperial Teachers knew.
Jenna''s eyes shimmered sharply as she looked at Evie with shock, "Who is this youngdy?"
Her bell-like voice drew everyone''s attention, and when they saw it was Vice Principal, they quickly bowed respectfully.
The demon reports Evie''s information to Jenna.
The strangest part was no one had noticed the old giant floating in the air, not even Jenna. Neither did he seem to pay any attention to any of them, and all his focus was on Evie; it was as if he was a nonchnt ghost.
"When did Gray Shadow Devil Grand Duke n have such a talented genius? Why didn''t the Imperial n alert of it?" Jenna narrowed her eyes dangerously as she looked at Evie, who suddenly stopped at the 73rd step.
But her expression was still calm, and her eyes closed as if she was mulling over something, and there was no trace of any difort on her face.
"This¡"
No one has an answer for Jenna''s question since they all know that any talented genius is to be reported to the imperial n. If their talent were to the Skr n''s liking, they would make that genius part of their n and provide cultivation resources. But this also means they will be eternally loyal to the Skr n. The Princess of Golden Lion Kingdom was the perfect example.
Since no one knows about Sofia''s existence, Riana''s talent is rumored to be higher than any youth of the Sky Heart ins because of her Fantastic Physique, and the very day this was found, the Imperial Family set her marriage with the future Crown Prince of Skr n.
Now, this Evie popped out of nowhere, and her talent seemed to be not any less than Riana''s, or she might be even stronger since Riana never joined the Sky Heart Imperial School and climbed the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase.
Jenna''s position was extremely shocking in the Skr n as she was quite displeased with the Gray Shadow Devil n for hiding Evie up till now. If they knew about this, they had already arranged another marriage for her with their princes.
This was also the reason the Skr n was able to remain the ruler of Sky Heart ins all these years.
"Maybe the Grand Duke wanted to give us all a surprise, or if he had the intention to hide Evie, he wouldn''t have sent her here or at least warned her to remain low profile." The human imperial teacher behind Jenna smilingly chimed in.
Everyone''s eyes glistened; they didn''t think of it like this.
Jenna was also startled as this was very possible since this could earn Evie the Skr n''s favor quickly, and if her talent even surpassed Riana''s, the Skr n might have to consider the Empress position again.
Everyone knows about how astute the Gray Shadow Devil Grand Duke was, and he never showed his true strength. Of the three imperial grand dukes, he was the most mysterious.
"She''s moving again. It seemed this wasn''t her limit at all." Jenna''s eyes shimmered as she looked at Evie, who was starting to move again.
"His Imperial Highness, Mortal Emperor record is 74th step, right? Can she break it?" The devil emotionally muttered as they saw Evie stepping on the 74th step.
However, she didn''t stop and directly took another step and then another in session, and she only stopped when she reached the 81st step!
Absolute silence was lingering, whether they were the observers outside or within the Principal Tower.
Thest time some reached the 81st step was over a thousand years ago.
Furthermore, at this moment, a translucent ck mist begins to gush out from the 81st step and enshrouded Evie''s figure.
Just as everyone was still in shock, Evie took another step forward, and without stopping, she climbed higher and higher, and the translucent ck mist around her began to grow a darker shade.
"S-she¡ she stepped on the 89th step, the same as the First Mortal Emperor!" The old giant woman screamed as if she was seeing a ghost.
Jenna was trembling with a horrifying look in her eyes, ''She can shake our n''s foundation if she has talent like the Ancestor!'' She thought as her heart beat wide.
At some point, the old giant floating in the air has vanished.
"She''s taking another step! Is this the birth of a peerless prodigy?!"
Everyone''s expression was colorful as their hearts were in their mouth as they were witnessing the birth of a legend, and they knew if Evie took this step, the Skr n would lose their peerless position, and the First Mortal Emperor would no longer be synonym with invincibility.
"Should we stop her?" The old giant woman from the Skr n muttered.
Jenna coldly berated, "Do you think you can stop the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase? Not even the Principal can intervene with someone taking the trial. Besides, do you want to give everyone the impression that the Skr n is petty and afraid of a little girl?"
The old giant woman sheepishly lowered her head with a blush as she just blurted whatever came to her mind because of her shock.
''We need to control her or get rid of her.'' Despite her righteous disy, Jenna''s hands were clenched in agitation.
At this moment, Evie finally steps on the 90th step, and the translucent mist around her bespletely ck, and no one can see Evie''s figure anymore. She was like a dark silhouette!
Chapter 993 Heavenly Devil Soul Flag
Chapter 993 Heavenly Devil Soul g
??The moment Eva stepped on the 90th step of the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase, her soul space jolted, and her soul embryo began to grow rapidly while the suction force also doubled.
''Intermediate Stage 8th Tier Abyssal Devil!'' Eva''s heart raced with ecstasy.
Because of her unique inheritance and bloodline, her cultivation system was different from the normal cultivators. ording to her memories, all the abyssal bloodline races used this system to measure their descendants'' prowess.
The Abyssal Devil cultivation realms were divided into Tiers with four stages: Early, Intermediate, Late, and Pinnacle.
Each tier was equivalent to the cultivation realms of the Mortal Sky Heaven. The Eighth Tier was equivalent to the Eighth Realm of the Mortal Sky Heaven, the Law Comprehension Realm.
But the true difference lies within their ability to devour everything. This was the true foundation of abyssal devil races. However, since this cultivation system was unorthodox and different from the orthodox cultivation system of Heaven, they needed even more resources, and the difficulty of reaching the next realm was also many times difficult from the orthodox cultivation system.
In a sense, it was akin to Ace''s heaven-defying cultivation technique, but it wasn''t as overbearing since they can also only walk either the path of soul or martial.
Furthermore, the Abyssal Bloodline ys a huge part in it, and the higher and denser the bloodline, the easier and faster the cultivation speed.
Eva''s Shadow Abyssal Devil bloodline was an extinct bloodline, and its true potential was aplete mystery.
But after breaking into the eighth tier, her cultivation suddenly bes like a snail, and anything below grade 8 treasures bes useless to her.
However, she never expected she would be able to break through by devouring this mysterious Qi emitting from the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase and so quickly at that.
So, she was extremely excited, and now, at the 90th step, that mysterious Qi became even denser, and her cultivation was still climbing.
Without hesitation, she took another step, and that force became even more powerful; she needed to take some time to adjust to this devouring speed before moving forward.
It took her half an hour to reach the 96th step, and shepletely forgot about her surroundings. At this moment, her cultivation increased again to the Late Stage of Tier-8!
Her devouring power increased almost tenfold at this moment, and that mysterious Qi no longer overwhelmed her.
ted, she took another step and then another before she was only a step away from reaching the final staircase, and since she was fully adjusted to this force now, she finally stepped on the 99th staircase.
Right at this moment, Eva''s vision blurred, and she found herself in the middle of an endless crimson space like it was made of blood.
"I''ve finally found the worthy seed!" An eerie voice filled with mirth rang in her mind.
Startled, Eva looked toward the source of this voice and found a rusty old crimson gpole with a crystal red finial on top and a red tassel bound with the finial. The g color was translucent blue, and triangr in shape, with a crimson trigram engraved in its center. There were eight lifeless dark symbols in each section of the trigram, and a symbol of a half-white and half-ck moon was in the center.
Eva waspletely enticed by this g, and this g gave off the same mysterious Qi that she had been devouring all this time.
"What are you?" Eva coldly looked at the g and questioned.
Since this g can talk, and dragged her consciousness into this space, she was sure it was nothing but ordinary. She had some recollection about the spirit treasures in her memories.
"Heavenly Devil Soul g!" The g replied without hesitation, "Little abyssal devil, quickly ept me as your master, and I''ll bring you to the peak of Heaven!"
Eva was startled, "ept you as my master? Are you kidding me? Hmph, you are just a rusty old g. If anything, it should be your epting me as your master not the other way around!"
She wasn''t stupid enough to ept this strange g as her master, in fact, she was wary of this g who wanted to be her master. She knew if she fell for some old monster trick, she wouldn''t even know how she died.
Furthermore, she wasn''t greedy for this g at all, she had Ace, and she didn''t want to bring him any trouble.
"Hahahaha¡" The Heavenly Devil Soul g burst into eerieughter before saying amusingly, "Little abyssal devil, you indeed have guts to dare to talk with me like that. Do you believe me if I say I can suck away your soul and torture you for eternity?"
Eva scoffed disdainfully, "If you''re so capable, you won''t be stuck here and asking me to be your disciple. If I''m not wrong, you are within that strange staircase, right? Furthermore, with your tone, it''s quite clear you can only bring someone here once they reach the 99th step.
"All spirit treasures have their unique rules and trials to ept a worthy master, and you are the same. A spirit treasure is nothing without a master. You can kill me, but then you will remain stuck here until another person appears that can reach this ce.
"So, cut the crap and ept me as your master, or you can try keeping me here. Although I may not be as powerful as you, I still have a trick or two to escape from here. And trust me, I wille back, and next time, I won''t be this amiable!" She coldly threatened.
In this life, she doesn''t want to be bound by another or be someone else puppet; she has already had enough of that. She was finally free and would not be trapped by anything.
If it was in the past, she might''ve epted the Heavenly Devil Soul g''s offer, but now, she didn''t put anyone in her eyes, and no amount of power was enough for her to separate from Ace or bring him any harm.
"Hah, I''ve heard the Shadow Abyssal Devils were all lunatics and don''t fear anything, and that''s why they were hunted until nothing was left of them. But now I truly believed it.
"But what I''m curious about is how a seedling of Imperial Shadow Abyssal Devil Bloodline appeared again?" The Heavenly Devil Soul g didn''t seem to be bothered by Eva''s threat. In fact, it seemed very curious about Eva''s origin.
Eva was surprised by how easily Heavenly Devil Soul g saw through her origin.
"You''ll naturally know once you ept me as your master. Now let''s not waste each other time, sent me out if you''re not interested." Eva coldly stated.
"Interesting, very interesting. Your origin is worthy of being my master, and you are also hated by the Abyss, just like my previous master. Very well, if you promise me one thing, I''m willing to form a life bond with you." Heavenly Devil Soul g inquired.
"Tell me," Eva asked as she didn''t directly agree. If it were something too bothersome or could bring harm to her loved one, she would reject it without hesitation.
"It''s very simple, actually; I want you to kill anything remotely rted to Abyss. Don''t think that I''m asking you to put your life at risk because as you grow stronger, they will know about your existence, and once that happens, they will do anything to make sure you die before you can threaten their order.
"It would take a very long time before you could pose a threat to them, and they will not give you any chance to grow, so you need my power to grow quickly, and I can also hide you from them." Heavenly Devil Soul g revealed with a hint of animosity in its voice.
Eva''s expression grew grave as she asked, "Who are ''them''?"
"You''ll naturally know once you reach that point. For now, you should be worried about keeping your head down and making sure no one would find you." Heavenly Devil Soul g gravely replied.
"Alright, I''ll agree. As long as it could threaten my love, I will do anything!" Eva replied with killing intent.
"Love, huh? You''re just like¡" The Heavenly Devil Soul g sounded somewhat mncholy and nostalgic, "Let''s seal the deal. I don''t want to wait any longer, and you have already passed my first trial; we''ll form the Life Bond: Master for One-n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Life!
"If youplete all of my requirements in the future, only then you could have full authority over me!"
Chapter 994 Principal Zack
Chapter 994 Principal Zack
While Eva wasmunicating with the Heavenly Devil Soul g, only a second passed on the outside.
At this moment, everyone''s eyes were opened wide as they looked at the graceful silhouette of Evie standing on top of the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase.
It was like a dream as they were all watching the old legend being broken and the rise of a new legend. The ten Imperial Teachers and Vice Principal Jenna had already appeared a few meters in the air above the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase, and their expression was filled with myriad emotions.
Jenna was especially graved as she looked at the young devil encased in pitch-ck mist, which seemed like ayer of tar. She knew from now on, no one would remember the First Mortal Emperor as a peerless existence, and Evie would be the most brilliant talent in the history of the Sky Heart Imperial School.
''By hook or crook, I need to take her back to the imperial pce and make sure she will remain absolutely loyal to the imperial family. But if that old man appeared, he might get in my way. He''s always been impartial and doesn''t give anyone face.'' She thought grimly.
''Crack¡''
Right at this moment, a sharp, cracking sound rang in the vicinity, drawing everyone''s attention.
"T-t-t-that¡ the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase is cracking!" Someone eximed in horror.
Just as that panicked voice faded, everyone''s attention instantly fell on the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase, and there were really cracks began to appear. They were spreading like an unstoppable storm.
"What is happening?!" Jenna''s expression warped.
The Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase was an ancient treasure of unknown origin, and it was also one of the oldest treasures in the Imperial Family''s hands. Since it didn''t have attacking or defensive prowess, the First Mortal Emperor left it in the Sky Heart Imperial School to test the further generation, and it was also very helpful to temper one''s will and heart.
However, now it suddenly begins to break, so Jenna naturally panics since it means there will no longer be any Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase in the future for the Imperial Family to temper their people.
"It served its purpose. There is no need to panic. Nothingsts forever, and everythinges to an end." An aged voice rang at this moment.
Everyone looked at this voice and saw an old giant with a long beard and ne robes that had appeared right in front of Evie.
"Principal Zack!"
Jenna and the others'' expressions changed as they looked at the old giant; he was the legendary principal of the Sky Heart Imperial School and had always been very mysterious.
Even some of the Imperial Teachers hadn''t seen Zack because he never appeared in public and had always been in seclusion. Not even Jenna or the Mortal Emperor could meet him as they pleased, and he never liked to take part in worldly affairs.
Yet, now, this legendary existence had shown itself for this girl.
At this moment, the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase suddenly shattered and turned into dust. Evie slowly hovered down as the pitch-ck mist around her body began to dissipate.
Once shended on the ground, the mist vanished, and Evie''s beautiful stature appeared in everyone''s view. She still looked the same, and nothing seemed to have changed, and her eyes were still as cold as ever.
"Stupid g, how could to destroy that staircase?" Eva roared in her mind as she knew this was trouble, and she felt a powerful presence and looked up.
"Little devil, be more respectful to your elders. And it''s not my fault. I formed that staircase to find a master, and now that I''ve found one and entered your true soul, it can no longer exist.
"Don''t worry though, I made it look like it breaks, and those ants can''t see through me or you. Besides, if you want to escape, they can''t stop you, so stop shouting!" The Heavenly Devil Soul g dismissively replied.
"But I don''t want to escape! I have a mission!" Eva replied in indignation, as she was very displeased with this stupid g. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Now, if they attacked her, she had to escape, and the cover would blow.
"Evie Gray Shadow, you have reached the 99th step of Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase, achieving an impossible feat since the birth of Mortal Sky Heart Empire."
Before anyone could speak, the old principal Zack said in a warm voice like an amiable elder as hended a few meters away from Evie, and a smile was stered on his usually stoic face.
Eva was startled as she looked at the old giant. She didn''t think she would receive praise instead of me.
''He''s strongest among all of these people here, but now I can handle him!'' She thought with a hint of confidence. She was only a hair away from reaching the pinnacle stage of the 8th tier, and with the Heavenly Devil Soul g, even Ace wouldn''t be her match.
Still, she didn''t turn hostile as she didn''t want to show her prowess as long as she didn''t have to. After all, she was a thief in disguise, and Ace also warned her not to show her prowess and alert the imperial n, or their mission might be jeopardized.
"Thank you, Elder. I didn''t know the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase would turn into this state. If I had known, I would''ve stopped at the 98th step!" Eva pretended to be apologetic as she bowed in front of Zack.
Everyone''s lips twitched as they found Evie''s humble words somewhat offended. She sounded more like humblebragging not polite at all.
Zack couldn''t help but smile in amusement, "No worries, the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase was meant to test talents, and it served its purpose splendidly. If our school can get a genius like you in return, the price of Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase is nothing at all."
Suddenly, Zack''s expression turned solemn, and he expectantly said, "Let me introduce myself; I''m the 145th Principal of Sky Heart Imperial School, Zack Skr. In my life, I''ve never taken any disciple since no one was worthy, not even the scions of the imperial n.
"I''ve long lost hope, but then you appeared, and it seemed the heaven has not forsaken me and doesn''t want my inheritance to vanish from this world. Tell me, are you willing to be my one and only disciple?"
Although his voice was mild, in everyone else ears, it was like a thunderp!
Principal Zack, despite being from the Imperial Family, never gives them any face, not even the Mortal Emperor. Rumor has it that Zack was a genius who had created his own secret cultivation art that even the Mortal Emperor wanted to learn yet was rejected mercilessly. No one dared to do anything to Zack.
This showed just how astounding Zack''s status was in the entire empire, and now he was epting a disciple. If Evie epted, her status would be as high as the crown prince or even higher!
Chapter 995 Mortal Emperor’s Fear
Chapter 995 Mortal Emperor¡¯s Fear
"Utter nonsense! What in the world is happening!?" Antonio was trembling with rage as the entire throne hall felt like an icyke.
The courtiers were trembling with fear. There was also another handsome giant with sharp bearing and astute eyes, wearing golden robes, sitting at the first chair to the Emperor''s right; he was none other than the Imperial Crown Prince, Carlos!
On the left, right in alignment with Carlos, was the second prince, Darren.
This court gathering was different from the usual boring gathering of the past because of the emergence of mysterious thieves all over the empire. Not only did those thieves manage to theft from some of the most secure and prominent powers of the Empire, but one of them, Evil Venerable Angel, plundered a grand duke''s household and even set it on fire.
This made the imperial city a huge joke among their subordinary powers. After all, a Grand Duke''s status was equivalent to that of the Crown Prince, and there were only three of them. They all had peerless achievements under their belts, and they were the Emperor''s sworn brothers as well.
So, targeting them was a direct p to the Emperor''s face and a challenge to the Skr n''s absolute authority. If it hadn''t happened already, no one would''ve believed that someone had the guts to target the Grand Duke and then walk scot-free.
The most hateful part was no one what or how they tried to investigate this Evil Venerable Angel. They found nothing, and this person pulled this off under the curfew at that.
To add salt to the insult, the thieveries in the empire''s subordinary kingdoms didn''t stop after that first incident. In fact, they were bing more frequent and spreading in other kingdoms at an rming rate.
Those four thieves seemed to have multiple bodies, and they were like ghosts. No one could find their trace until it was toote. The most ruthless one among them was the Skyfall Thief Assassin, who had already assassinated a Royal Duke-level character of a kingdom.
Now, everyone was beginning to panic and started to doubt the Skr n''s authority, and chaos was slowly engulfing the empire for the first time since its foundation.
It''s been a week, and there was still no news on those five thieves. Today, another incident had taken ce in Poison Kingdom''s royal pce. That''s why Antonio was furious, as he knew if he didn''t do anything, no one would take the Skr n seriously or respect it anymore.
But he didn''t dare topromise the imperial capital security because there was that mysterious expert Sofia had reported to them looming over their heads. Then, there was also this Evil Venerable Angel hiding somewhere in the imperial city.
Furthermore, he even suspected that all these incidents were a huge scheme of someone to make the Skr n divide their experts. This all started around the time when that mysterious expert appeared in the goldennds, so Antonio was even more apprehensive tox the defensive of Imperial City.
But now, if he didn''t do anything, those kingdoms might revolt. Although they were afraid of the Skr n because of its power, if someone took their entire wealth, they would have nothing else to lose and might even be crazy.
Furthermore, the biggest pressure he was receiving from the Formation Guild and Alchemy Guild as their branches were raided by these thieves. If those two ces also joined hands, even he had to take them seriously.
"Sent a team of imperial guards led by a golden guard to each kingdom and have them investigate and protect the important personnel of the kingdoms. Send two teams to the Golden Lion Kingdom and bring the fourth Prince and Princess Riana to the Imperial Pce. There is no need to care about formalities anymore." Antonio coldly ordered.
The fourth prince was still in the Golden Lion Kingdom and searching for the Sky Bandit, who stole his storage ring while waiting for Princess Riana, who had yet to return.
However, things were getting hectic, and Antonio didn''t want anything to happen to the Skr n or his children. If they were taken hostage or killed, this would make it appear the Skr n could be killed, and they can''t do anything about it except ept it.
Princess Riana was also the fianc¨¦ and future empress of the empire, so she was already a member of the imperial n, so he would naturally summon her here for protection. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Crown Prince Carlos''s eyes shimmered when he heard the Emperor''s order to bring Riana back as soon as possible. He thought he had to wait for another week, but it seemed these thieves had made everyone worry.
At this moment, another courtier entered the hall and quickly said, "Your majesty, I have an urgent report!"
Antonio''s expression sank, "It is another thievery?"
"No, Your Majesty, this is a report from the Sky Heart Imperial School!" The courtier looked confused for a moment before quickly replying.
Antonio had a secret sigh of relief as he was really beginning to go crazy because of these conniving thieves.
"Speak."
The courtier quickly replied with a hint of excitement and disbelief, "Reporting to his majesty a few minutes ago, the daughter of Gray Shadow Devil Grand Duke, Evie Gray Shadow, has climbed all the way to the 99th step of the Heaven, Reaching Devil Staircase!
"Furthermore, once she ascended to the 99th step, the staircase ended up breaking. Even principal Zack was rmed by this incident, and he appeared in public and epted Evie Gray Shadow as his only disciple!"
The entire hall was deadly silent while Antonio''s eyes shimmered in disbelief and astonishment, and the two princes'' eyes were opened wide in disbelief.
They had all experienced the might of Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase themselves, and they knew how ghastly it was to climb every single step, especially once someone entered the third section.
Even the founder of Skr n, the invincible First Mortal Emperor, can''t climb past the 89th step. Yet now, some girl outside their n has broken the legend and even made a new legend that can''t be broken anymore.
The second prince, Darren''s eyes begin to shimmer with a trace of tion, ''If she can climb all the way to the 99th step, doesn''t this mean she''s on par with Riana or even more talented than her? If I can have her¡''
Carlos also thought of this point, and he looked at Darren, and his expression became somewhat grave since this wasn''t good news for him.
Antonio''s eyes brightened at this moment as he solemnly announced, "Summon, Brother Gray Shadow and his daughter to Imperial Pce, I''ll personally reward her for her peerless achievement and also grand her an imperial title!"
Chapter 996 Life is Coming to an End! (1)
Chapter 996 Life is Coming to an End! (1)
??While the Sky Heart ins were going through chaotic changes, the United Maind was plunged into war with the races of Endless Sea.
Although both sides seemed on equal terms, the sea races had a huge advantage when it came to fighting in the water, while thend dwellers could only remain passive.
Still, during this war, many young heroes were rising, and the power level of the people of the united maind rose extensively. Furthermore, the sea races have exotic treasures that didn''t exist on thends, so it gives thend dwellers even more movies to plunder and capture those deep-sea treasure troves.
On the other hand, the sea races weren''t showing any weakness as they had already garrisoned the western shores of the united maind, and they were slowly conquering thends of the west.
But despite this raging war, one organization was growing and causing trouble for both the United Maind and Sea Kings Federation alike: the Thieving World Society!
After they caught the human ancestor, Dream Shatter, their fame had already overgrown Sky Stealer''s, and many people were looking for their trace, including the Union Lord.
Yet no one could find their hideout or any detail regarding their members. Furthermore, ording to some sources, their numbers were still growing, and no one knew how they were recruiting.
But in these past few years, they had raided hundreds of rich people, including the folks of the Sea Kings Federation. Every time they theft, they would leave behind a palm size token with the engraving of a hooded figure; this has be the insignia of Thieving World Society.
At this moment, the Union Lord was sitting alone in his luxurious room, and his brows were tightly knit together as he looked at the new reports in front of him.
"It''s been so many years, yet the Sky Stealer or his infamous symbol still hasn''t appeared. Could it be he''s really hiding in Thieving World Society and controlling it from shadows so he can remain hidden?
"But the problem is those conniving bastards of Thieving World Society are too well hidden, and even if they are captured, they willmit suicide on the spot. If this continued, the people would lose interest in this war eventually. Just, where is he?" He sighed in indignation.
The Union Lord''s scheme behind starting this war was to draw the Sky Stealer out, and he also let the Thieving World Society grow so he could attract his attention. The Thieving World Society was his bait. Yet before he could even properly use it, the Thieving World Society already slipped past his fingers.
Not only were his spies rooted out, but even Dream Shatter had fallen, and when he realized this, it was already toote.
Now, he had another headache to worry about, and he was growing impatient day by day. His goal was still the treasure hidden by the Sun and Moon God, and he knew Ace had the key. So, he was guarding the Union continent like a hound.
He even tried to search through the entire Union continent, even digging in some ces, but he didn''t find anything. So, he was growing uneasy now and starting to wonder if that hidden treasure really existed.
Furthermore, his partners were putting him under a lot of pressure, and he didn''t like that, and now he was beginning to n how to deal with them. Lastly, he had one final trump card to search for Ace, but there was only a 10% chance it would work.
But he didn''t want to use it unless he had no other choice because once he used it, he had to leave the mortal sky heaven for good.
Furthermore, somehow, the secret of his having the ascension altar had been leaked to the president of the federation, and he has been attacking him like a wild dog every week.
That fellow was just too hateful because he always ran away the moment he sensed something amiss. He was just antagonizing him, which made the Union Lord hate him to the core.
At this moment, a thunderous voice that could make anyone''s soul shake reverberated throughout the golden sky world; whether it was the people of the endless sea or the united maind, no matter the distance or depth, everyone heard it.
"Viinous Heaven, you want to block my way?! I want to leave peacefully, but now I''ve had enough. Since my power is not enough to break this cage, I''ll just kill every signal ant and use their resentment to tear apart this cage. I''ll not be stopped this time!"
The Union Lord''s expression changed, "Who was it?!"
Even he felt fear from this eerie voice, and for some reason, he had a feeling that every word of this voice was true, like aw.
He appeared outside the pce, and he was appalled because the golden sky was beginning to turn dark, and this darkness was spreading at lightning speed as if it wanted to engulf the entire sky.
An eerie cold aura began to seep into the air, and the temperature dropped.
Furthermore, he wasn''t the only one who saw and felt this; every single living person was witnessing this, and those mortals directly lost their consciousness. The greenery began to wither, and the light turned dimmer.
---
Hundreds of miles away from the United Maind was an ind that appeared barren on the surface, and no one paid any attention to it.
However, under this ind was a huge base known as the Thief''s Den; this was the main headquarters of the Thieving World Society that everyone had been searching for years, yet no one was able to discover.
At this moment, eight cloaked figures appeared above the ind and looked at the iing darkness with appalled and disbelief. They had heard this eerie voice as well, and it seemed it wasn''t just an empty threat.
"President, what is happening?" A melodious voice rang with a hint of fear.
Everyone turned toward the tall, cloaked figure hovering in the center; this was the president of the Thieving World Society, also known as the Nightmarish Thief.
The other seven were vice presidents and known as the Sky Thieves, and only they knew about their president''s origin.
Damien looked at the iing darkness and icy cold aura filling the air with utter disbelief. He was as clueless as any living being.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"I don''t know, but whatever it is didn''t seem to be something that we don''t understand. This power is nothing like we have ever seen. Alert our men and let theme back. We''ll be safe here and only take further action after investigating this phenomenon further." Damien ordered gravely.
However, right at this moment, a beggar with his face hidden behind long dreadlocks appeared right in front of Damien like a ghost.
"Life ising to an end. We are leaving!" He impassively said those words, and before anyone could react, he vanished with Damien!
The remaining seven thieves were gobsmacked by this abrupt turn of events, and they felt dread by that beggar because they all knew Damien''s prowess, yet that beggar took him away without any effort.
However, what was even more appalling was his parting words.
"Who was he, and what did he mean, ''life ising to an end''? And why did he leave with the president? Don''t tell me we are abandoned?" A hoarse voice rang, filled with horror.
They all trusted Damien with their lives, yet he left just like that. Didn''t this mean they were left here to die?
"President didn''t leave willingly; that person was just too powerful, and he took him away without his consent. If I''m not wrong, he should be his master; he once told me about him. Let''s make arrangements. He mighte back for us!" The woman replied with a hint of uncertainty and a choking voice.
But no one believed her as they all knew she didn''t want them to feel despair or she herself didn''t want to believe it.
Still, they had no choice right now, so they quickly headed back to make arrangements. They still didn''t believe those words the mysterious beggar left.
However, one of them was still hovering in the air as he looked at the approaching darkness gravely, ''I have to contact brother Ace!''
Chapter 997 Life is Coming to an End! (2)
Chapter 997 Life is Coming to an End! (2)
??In the demon region of the United Maind, Ace''s avatar was leisurely sitting in a grand shop in the manger''s room when he heard that booming voice and his expression changed.
He appeared right in top of the shop and saw the darkness spreading in the golden sky, dying it pitch ck and the icy aura creeping over him.
''Viinous Heaven? This kind of hate, just how could it be? And this darkness, it even made my avatar feel fear. It''s probably on the same level as thewless darkness¡'' Ace was shocked as he didn''t understand who this person was and how he could be so strong.
But one thing was quite clear: whoever it was, Ace was no match for it, and this situation seemed quite grave as he could feel as the icy aura filled with air the natural Qi be thinner. For cultivators, this kind of feeling was extremely suffocating, just like a mortal without air to breathe.
He wasn''t the only one, as Aliya''s veiled figure appeared right beside him, and her expression was paled.
"What is going on?" She hurriedly asked Ace since he was the most knowledgeable one and also someone with many secrets.
He was overseeing the syndicate in all these, and under his leadership, it had expanded all over the United maind. Even Freya might not be able to do it in such a short amount of time.
Furthermore, Aliya also received an extremely powerful cultivation technique from him. Because of it, she managed to cover the barrier of the Qi soul manifestation realm and stepped into thew awareness realm.
Her previous indignation and hostility towards Ace havepletely gone, and she is as respectful to him as Freya. But she never showed it, yet didn''t try to go against him or make him angry either.
Moreover, he had also sessfully managed to infiltrate the Thieving World Society by using Thomas and even made him one of the organization''s vice leaders.
Even though she can''t get any dirt on the Thieving World Society or their whereabouts, yet, Ace has done it. Although he never told her his purpose for doing this, she didn''t ask since everything was under his control.
But right now, that voice made her extremely uneasy, and now that she saw the spreading darkness, she felt chills in her spine as if death wasing, and she couldn''t escape from it.
''If my main body were here, the system might be able to analyze this phenomenon or at least give some clues. But I can''t use the system with my avatar. Just who could it be? In the end, he said he wouldn''t be stopped this time. Could it be?''Ace''s mind raced as he couldn''t help but think about the ck sword''s warning, and his heart palpitated.
Because if this were really the sealed existence then it would exin its rage and ridiculous prowess. He had thought that it was just a ruse before since nothing showed after he broke the world seal, yet after nearly eighteen years, this sudden emergence of this entity didn''t seem like a coincidence.
His purpose in leaving behind the avatar was to tie some loose ends and also keep a retreat route open for himself if he fell into a dangerous situation in the Sky Heart ins.
But now, it seemed he needed to take drastic measures as quickly as possible.
"I don''t know what it is, but it''s bad news for sure. This power is nothing like anything I had ever seen, and I don''t think anyone would be able to stop it. Take whatever you need. We are leaving to fetch Thomas. If pushes to shove, I''ll just take you somewhere far away from here. In the meantime, you''ll be safe in my living space treasure." Ace gravelymanded.
He had left his avatar with Devil Ancestor''s living space ring just in case of emergency and convenience. So, he could bring back Aliya and Thomas with him once he''s about to leave the mortal sky heaven.
After all, they were both capable and had ties with him, so he didn''t n on leaving them behind unless they didn''t want to. But now it seemed he needed to hurry his n.
Aliya''s expression changed, "Are you taking us where the mistress is?"
"If that''s the only solution." Ace nodded.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Aliya didn''t tarry anymore and quickly left to pack up. She could also feel the Qi were getting thinner and this was not normal at all.
At this moment, Ace furrowed his browns slightly and flipped his hand. A blinking cube appeared, and he activated it without hesitation, knowing who it was.
"Brother Ace, something is happened in the Thieving World Society¡" Thomas didn''t waste time and quickly told him what happened with Damian.
Ace''s purpose of sending Thomas to join the Thieving World Society was out of curiosity about the person behind it. He wanted to know just how it was who brought down Dream Shatter so miserably and even freed the lowernds of the human region from their cage.
He soon discovered that it was the famous thief of the human region, Nightmarish Thief, who gathered together the remnants of the Sky Stealer Society and formed the Thieving World Society.
Although he wasn''t on his level, Damien was not any weaker than the house members, which made him quite interested in him. But he didn''t approach them despite their willingness to made him their leader, he simply didn''t need them and still didn''t know if they werepletely clean.
So, he lets Thomas climb the ranks and find their secrets. But Damien was far more careful, and no one knew his true identity or his real face except for a woman who belonged to the vice leaders'' group. ording to Thomas, she was Damien''s lover or at least quite close to him, and he trusted her unconditionally.
Yet now, he heard a mysterious expert, probably his master, take Damien away before he could even put up any resistance, and he also left those grim words behind.
Now, the Thieving World Society was in a mess because of the sudden departure of their leader, and the other vice leaders were trying to calm the situation. However, the spreading darkness can''t be hidden, and with the Qi begging to thin out, anyone would panic and take that voice seriously.
"What should I do?" Thomas asked gravely as he would follow Ace''smand without hesitation.
Ace thought for a moment before looking at the sky as it was nowpletely dark, and any sign of light was engulfed in darkness.
"Come back. There''s no need to stay there anymore. This Nightmarish Thief is very strange, and this master you describe is even stranger. From his words, he knew what was going to happen, yet he took him away without his consent or caring about others.
"If anything, try bringing these vice leaders, especially this lover. They might have some use. Tell them about me, but if they want to bring more people, abandon them." Ace coldlymanded as he thought about something.
"Alright, I''ll report to you as soon as I leave," Thomas replied.
"Hurry over, I don''t think we had much time!" Acemanded before he cut the call.
Ace''s expression went cold, ''Nightmarish Thief and this beggar-like expert¡ could it be him?''
Chapter 998 Life is Coming to an End! (3)
Chapter 998 Life is Coming to an End! (3)
The darkness was quickly spreading throughout the golden sky world, and the edge of the forbidden sea boundary was still normal. But, even from this distance, one could see the iing darkness like a dark curtain, and it wouldn''t be long before it reached this ce.
At this moment, two figures appeared. One of them looked like a beggar, while the other was wearing ck robes with a hood covering his head.
Damien finally snapped out of his daze. He quickly looked around and saw the endless wall of the Qi radiation giving him the chills, and in front of him was nothing but an endless sea.
However, he didn''t have the heart to pay attention to this ce as he angrily questioned the beggar beside him who brought him here without even waiting for his consent.
"YOU¡ why did you bring me here like this?! What about myrades? They will think I''ve abandoned them. Send me back!"
Under the furious gaze of Damien, the beggar remained nonchnt as he impassively said, "Feeling is for the weak; they will only hinder justice. Besides, they are not yourrades but soldiers you neutered to promote justice. But it appears, which means your time is up, and now you have gathered experience, it''s time for you to serve your purpose."
"Bullshit, they are not my soldiers!" Damien trembled with fury, "What''s the point in seeking justice when I''m abandoning myrades the first thing in the face of danger? No, it was you who decided this for me; I''m not going to agree with this. Send me back, I don''t give shit about your purpose if you don''t care about my feelings!"
His tone was unyielding and filled with agitation. He knew that voice and darkness were bad news, but he didn''t want to abandon his people. He had formed a bond with them in all these years, and they were the closest thing to a family for him.
Not only that, but he has also experienced love and just thinking about her all alone and thinking he had abandoned her, making him crazy.
He had already experienced the feeling of being abandoned, and his whole early life was a lie. He didn''t want to do the same thing to others, especially this woman. He would rather die than abandon her.
Furthermore, he was indignant towards this mysterious master of his, he appeared out of nowhere and always gives him strange mission to do and then vanished for months even years.
The forming of the Thieving World Society was also his master''s idea so he could seek justice with the art of thievery. So, when he was investigating the lowernds, he founded the Sky Stealer Society and made it the foundation of the Thieving World Society.
But even he never expected that he would fall in love with the previous founder of the Sky Stealer Society. He didn''t know when, but he just fell for that headstrong woman who was fearless and wanted to change the world just like him, and she was also abandoned and lied to by her own kin. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Yet, now his master had brought him away, and he knew she might not think that it was his own choice and not hate him for this, but he was unwilling to do such a thing.
Furthermore, from his master''s abrupt appearance and bringing him away like this, he knew that darkness was not something he could handle, and even his master seemed to be apprehensive of it. So, she might die, which makes him even more agitated, and he feels like his heart might explode from worry.
The beggar suddenly turned his head away from the faraway darkness and looked at Damien, "Stop hypnotizing yourself, boy. You know better than anyone if you really think of them as yourrades. As for that woman, it is nothing but your lower body messing with your head.
"She might have a fantastic soul physique and good skin, but she will only be your weakness and slow you down. Besides, if I''m not wrong, she never answered your feelings, and she''s always been waiting for the Sky Stealer. Isn''t that the reason she was willing to work with you, so that she could search for him? Furthermore, if I''m not wrong, she''s so gentle with you and shows you some goodwill all because she still thinks you are the Sky Stealer in the guise of Nightmarish Thief." His words were sharp and without any warmth.
Damien''s expression twisted with turmoil, and he felt like he might explode, but he couldn''t refute it because his master spoke nothing but the truth. He was never able toe clean with her about this misunderstanding because he was afraid that she would reject him, and this was the most painful part.
"You don''t know anything! She''s not like this, and she just admires Sky Stealer since he seemed to have helped her in the lowernds when he was there. Enough with this nonsense! Just send me back, or I''ll go myself!" Damien''s aura began to im as he was ready to fight or flee if he didn''t get what he wanted.
The beggar deeply looked at stubborn Damien, who seemed to have beenpletely blinded by his emotions.
"Since you told me they are yourrades, I''ll give you a choice, you can either save that girl or everyone else. Trust me when I say everyone will die once that darkness reaches this ce; every living thing that exists in this ce will die no matter how powerful they are, no matter how tiny they are, no matter where they are hiding, no matter how fast they run, death is all that left for them.
"Furthermore, do you know who brought this cmity upon everyone?" The beggar''s voice turned profound.
"Who?" Damien was shocked as he squinted his eyes with killing intent since he knew all of this was happening because of that damn voice. If he could, he would skin that bastard alive for doing such a thing.
"Sky Stealer! He unsealed something he shouldn''t have, and all for what? Just for a treasure! He was even warned that something like this would happen. Still, he chose himself over everyone else, and now he''s somewhere this darkness can''t reach,pletely safe and sound with his bevy, while everyone here is going to die without any corpse intact." The beggar''s voice was like a thunderp in Damien''s ears.
He was in utter disbelief as he even forgot about his anger. Many people admire Sky Stealer, especially those weak and helpless ones. Even he himself admires Sky Stealer and considers him as his goal and a hero of justice. That''s why he took in the Sky Stealer Society.
Yet, now, after hearing this cmity was brought upon them by none other than his hero, he felt suffocated.
"You''re lying! No human could do something like this!" Damien furiously shook his head,pletely denying this possibility.
"Heh, boy, I''m pretty sure if a God gave you a choice to choose between the world and your woman, you would choose her without hesitation because you don''t have the power to go against the god.
"Sky Stealer is someone who has nothing but greed, and this world is nothing but a stepping stone for him. He may appear a hero when he steals from the rich, but tell me, is very rich wicked? Some rich people be rich because of their own hard work and spending their entire lives to umte their fortune and live an honest life.
"Sky Stealer is not like you who discriminate between good and bad, honest and wicked; for him, everyone is a victim. Even Heaven is nothing but a giant treasure trove for him to plunder, and the consequences of his action will be toiled by people like you and this world.
"Even right now, when you''re fighting for those people, he''s still nonchnt about this and thinking of how to benefit from this situation and especially over you. If you don''t believe me, see this." The beggar waved his hand and the next moment a projection suddenly appeared.
In that projection appeared a tan skin handsome demon sitting in a room and holding a cube.
"Demonic Hands?" Damien''s eyes opened wide as he instantly recognized this newly appointed vice leader of the Thieving World Society, and he also had a very good impression of him.
But at this moment, Demonic Hands spoke, and Damien''s face went deadly pale as if he had seen a ghost, and he took a step back.
"Brother Ace, something is happened in the Thieving World Society¡"
Chapter 999 Life is Coming to an End! (4)
Chapter 999 Life is Coming to an End! (4)
??After Damien heard the unfamiliar cold voice sound from the cube, his heart went icy cold as he heard more of their conversation, and his body began to tremble.
"If anything, try bringing these vice leaders, especially this lover. They might have some use. Tell them about me, but if they want to bring more people, abandon them..."
At this point, Damien suddenly sputtered blood since this confirmed all the words his master had just told him!
The beggar waved his sleeve, and the projection vanished, and he impassively said, "Now, tell me, do you still think the Sky Staler is noble? Do you still want to save everyone who admires him?"
Although Damien didn''t know how his master managed to get that, he wasn''t an idiot, and he knew this was all real. The person on the other side of themunication cube was really the Sky Stealer, who had vanished from public view for years.
"W-why did he do it? If he wanted to know about me, couldn''t he just confront me?" Damien palely questioned. But his question was towards himself, not the beggar.
With how much he and the Thieving World Society admired the Sky Stealer, if he showed himself, they wouldn''t hesitate to reveal everything; they were even willing to work under him and let him lead.
"Are you worthy?" The beggar said indifferently, "As I stated before, everyone is his victim or his tool. Since you are not qualified to be his tool, you will naturally be his victim."
Although his words were merciless, Damien didn''t refute them since the proof was right in front of him.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
He looked at his master with aplicated look in his listless eyes, "If you knew Demonic Hands was a mole of Sky Stealer, why didn''t you take action? Furthermore, from your tone, it''s quite clear you know far more about Sky Stealer than anyone else; you even managed to find his subordinate, yet instead of acting, you''re showing it to me.
"Moreover, since you also knew that his action would cause this cmity, why didn''t you stop him? In my eyes, you are even more guilty than him, or you just want to defame him so I can stand on your side. Who knows if Sky Stealer''s interest in me is all because of you?
"You never told me who you were and what your purpose was. I''m still grateful to you for picking me up in the slums and granting me all this power to make the world a better ce. But with your prowess, I''m now sure it wasn''t a coincidence that you saved me that day and let me approach you.
"I''m no longer that na?ve kid; if you don''te clean with me, you are not different from Sky Stealer in my eyes, and you can forget about me ever doing your bidding again!" Damien''s tone was cold as his heart was icy at this moment.
He no longer dared to trust this person; he no longer dared to see the world as white and ck, no longer dared to judge others with just their face¡
It was like his whole existence was a lie, and his mentality was forged by this person. There was no justice in the world, only power equal to justice. That was his new conclusion.
"At least you admitted it." The beggar answered as he didn''t seem stumped by Damien''s questions and his vignce towards him.
"You are indeed right, I might''ve able to stop all of this from happening, I could even kill Sky Stealer in the cradle. But because of this exact reason, I can''t do anything. I''m just a bystander in this world. I can''t interfere with anything, nor can I meddle with Sky Stealer because he''s protected by an ancient treaty until he reaches my domain.
"But then, it would be even more difficult to find him because he''s not just a random thief. His entire existence is a cmity for Heaven and its inhabitants, and everything he touches is destined to perish; this world is the best example.
"However, this is exactly the reason he needed to be killed as soon as possible. I''ve belonged to a group of people who are bane and mortal enemies of people like Sky Stealer.
"Since we can''t take action against him, it doesn''t mean we are helpless and will let him grow and destroy the heavenly circle. Every time someone like Sky Stealer appeared, we selected someone who could tackle them and rid them of the heaven of this cmity.
"You are far more special than you think, and that''s why you are selected to go against him.
"But first, you need to understand the depth of the task, the mission you are destined to fulfill. That''s why I''ve made you a thief like him first, and then undergo all those missions and open your eyes to the world and what kind of enemy you will be facing.
"I can''t tell you any more than this unless you are ready to take your stand. Now, you may choose to follow your path or abandon it, and I''ll leave you alone, and you can do whatever you want and die. There will always be someone else who will take your destiny, but the Sky Stealer is destined to fall before he can harm Heaven''s Rule!" The beggar''s voice was profound and cold as he looked at ashen Damien and gave him a choice.
Damien was dazed as all this information was too much for him to digest in this short time. He didn''t know how much was true and how much was false, but he knew the reason for this person approaching was most likely what he revealed.
This was too much for him to take. He was just a mortal, and he didn''t find anything special about himself. He just wanted to live happily with his mother and give her all the happiness in the world. Yet, the path he took was vastly different from what he dreamt of.
The truth was far more profound than he could understand, and it was all rted to the Sky Stealer. Just what was he supposed to do?
If he agreed, he would be Sky Stealer''s enemy, and there was no going back after it, but if he refused, then he wasn''t sure if he could survive that iing darkness.
Damien took a deep breath and asked, without replying to the question first, "If I agree, will this cmity end?"
"No, you don''t have power to go against this existence, in fact, even I can''t stop it with this body. If you agree, I''ll be taking you with me to another ce where you''ll receive your inheritance that will help you hunt down the Sky Stealer.
"You might not be able to save this ce, but you will be able to stop another tragedy like this from happening." The beggar impassively replied without having any intention of sugarcoating his words.
Damien''s expression was filled with rage and helplessness as felt extremely powerless, he never thought he would feel like this after reaching his current power. Yet, the reality struck him hard.
"Let me talk with Emmie, and I''ll give you my answer." He decided to change his condition.
Emmie was the name of the woman who founded the Sky Stealer Society and also the woman he loved. He was still unwilling to give up on her.
"You still want to take that woman with you? She will be your burden and a hindrance to your path. Furthermore, she might even betray you for Sky Stealer. But since you are still unwilling, I''ll satisfy your demand.
"I''ll bring her here, but you can''t reveal what I just told you, or she''ll die. If she really agrees with you and truly wants to be together with you, I can make an exception and let her be your sword. But if she disagrees, it will be the end of your density with her, and I''ll wipe away all of her memories regarding you!" The beggar coldly stated, and without waiting for Damien to reply, he vanished!
Damien''s heart trembled as he clearly wasn''t expecting such a twist.
But even before he could calm down, the beggar appeared again, and this time, another person was with him!
Chapter 1000 Life is Coming to an End! (5)
Chapter 1000 Life is Coming to an End! (5)
??Adorned in ck robes, a dainty girl with delicate features and white skin was looking at Damien dazed as she was bewildered about how she appeared here when she was in the middle of cating the Thieving World Society.
She was also surprised when she saw this ce still unaffected by the darkness, and behind her was an endless wall of Qi radiation, giving her a feeling of death. But strangely, she didn''t notice the beggar beside her as if he was invisible.
"Miss Emmie¡"
However, she quickly snapped out of her stupor when she heard Damien''s soft call, and she knew it wasn''t an illusion. He really appeared again after being taken away by this mysterious expert, making her somewhat excited since Damien was the pir of their organization. With that expert''s mysterious means, their people might be able to avoid this cmity, so this made her hopeful.
"You''re back to save us, Leader?" She asked with a hint of hope and tion in her bell-like voice.
Damien felt pained in her heart. He saw Emmie''s hopeful expression, and he didn''t know how to reply. Within just a few minutes, his whole world had turned upside down, and he knew the truth behind his existence and the reason for this approaching cmity.
Still, he wanted to bring her with him instead of letting her fall into the hands of Sky Stealer, whom he now considered a viin instead of a savior.
"I¡ I''m here to save you, Miss Emmie. Pleasee with me." Damien crudely said as he didn''t know how to exin himself to her anymore.
Emmie''s eyes visibly dimmed as her heart sank. She knew the meaning behind Damien''s words, "Just me? What about all of our people?" She asked with a somewhat cold and disappointed voice.
Although she suspected Damien to be her savior, Sky Stealer, she was never able to confirm it. But with how mysterious he was and his point of view, she was quite sure that he was him. Yet now, she was feeling unsettled since, in her heart, Sky Stealer wouldn''t abandon those in need.
Damien felt even more pain, "I can''t do anything about this cmity; it is out of everyone''s scoop. I can only save one person, and you are the closest thing to a family in the world I have. So, pleasee with me, and I''ll exin everything to you!"
Emmie''s heart ttered slightly as she looked at Damien''s sincere eyes, and she couldn''t help but avoid eye contact as her heart raced slightly. How could she not know about Damien''s special feelings for her?
But she always avoided it since she still didn''t know if Damien was truly the same person who saved her in the past and showed her great kindness. He also never made it clear. She wanted to devote her life to him and always dreamed of standing behind him.
Instead of answering directly, she questioned with a tingle of nervousness, "Are you really Sky Stealer?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Damien''s heart raced as he still wanted to avoid this topic, at least not until Emmie agreed. He knew how much she respected and adored the Sky Stealer; it was her faith. Although he has also given her many things and even brought her out of the lowernds, he knows she still considers him the Sky Stealer.
He was never able to bring himself to clear this misunderstanding, he was afraid of loosing her. But now he was regretting it.
Taking a deep breath, he solemnly said while shaking her head, "No, I''m not the Sky Stealer. I should''ve told you sooner, but I was afraid you might not like me if you found out. But I''m not like him; I can''t abandon you, and I''m willing to put my life on the line for you to be together with you.
"Sky Stealer is someone who has everything, unlike us. We are different then. He might not even remember you anymore. Why are you still stubbornly fixed on him? I admit he saved your life, but that was it, and he never came back. Please stop looking in the past and look at the present." He sincerely advised, and he tried very hard not to hurt her feelings.
Emmie was slightly paled, but she couldn''t refute Damien''s words. She knew he was stating the fact. Sky Stealer indeed saved her, but it was unintentional and a coincidence. She just happened to be at that ce.
So, her insistence on finding Sky Stealer and being with him was nothing but her selfishness. He might really have forgotten about her and don''t even want her anymore.
On the other hand, Damien has also shown her great kindness and brought their group out of that cage and even helped them take revenge on Dream Shatter, who was behind the lowernds'' caged state.
He had done far more than Sky Stealer, and his feelings for her were sincerer; how could she have remained nonchnt? She was still a girl with a tender heart, and now that Damien hade back for her, she was moved.
However, as someone who had founded the Sky Stealer Society and then managed the Thieving World Society, she has many close friends, especially a group of sisters who have been with her since the start of her journey to look for Sky Stealer.
She still remembers Sky Stealer''s words to look after those sisters, and she can''t abandon them for her happiness.
She calmed her messy mind and replied with a look of determination, "I''m tter by your feelings, and I don''t think someone has ever cared about me in this manner, so I''m a little lost."
Damien''s heart raced when he heard those words, and a glimmer of ecstasy shed past his eyes, but Emmie wasn''t done.
She continued, "But I can''t leave those people who rely on me. My life was never mine alone since the day I embarked on this path. Please send me back. I''ll face this cmity with them and die together if this is what I''m destined for. If there is another life, I''ll repay your kindness and favor."
Towards the end, her voice was emotional, and she bowed in front of Damien.
Damien seemed to have be petrified. Although he didn''t get rejected, he wasn''t epted as well. This situation was something he never had imagined before.
He knew Emmie''s personality; she was not meek and had a sense of responsibility towards her people, and she would rather die than choose to abandon them.
"Alright, I have enough of melodrama." The beggar''s impassive voice rang at this moment, and Emmie suddenly stopped moving as if she had turned into a statue.
"What are you doing?" Damien snapped out of his stupor and angrily yelled as he panicked when he looked at Emmie''s statue-like state.
"Don''t worry, she''s under my spell and alive." The beggar said, "Now you get your answer, what is your decision? We don''t have much time left; once that darkness reaches here, the Rain of Death will start, and it would be troublesome to leave at that point."
Damien shuddered as if a hammer has been smacked to his head, he looked at Emmie and felt his heartache like never before. A hint of hatred crept into her eyes, ''If the Sky Stealer didn''t exist, would something like this happened?''
He knew if nothing like this had happened, he might''ve really been able to live peacefully with Emmie, and she didn''t need to take this stand. Yet now, everything was over.
Still, he was unwilling to give up, he suddenly looked at the beggar and plead, "I''m willing toe with you, in return, I want you to erase her memoriespletely and bring her with us. Please, it will be my one and only selfish request. I know you''re fully capable of doing it. So, please, just this once, ept this request of mine, and I''ll do everything to make sure the Sky Stealer will die a painful death!"
The beggar didn''t reply as he looked at Damien''s bowing figure without moving.
A sigh escaped his mouth, "What a foolish child you are. Forget it; since you''re willing to take responsibility and this girl also seemed to have a good opinion of you, I''ll allow it.
"But it will be the first andst time, and you have to pay the price as well. You both will share amon enemy from now on. Either live or die, you''ll be together. If she dies, you die; if you die, she will die as well¡ a life for a life.
"This is Eternal Justice, sempiternal and impartial¡"
Chapter 1001 Life is Coming to an End! (6)
Chapter 1001 Life is Coming to an End! (6)
??Within a few hours,plete upheaval breaks out all over the United Maind, and the eerie darkness shows no sign of fading while that voice that has started all this looms over everyone''s head like the sword of Damocles.
The warm temperature was long gone, reced by icy chillness; mortality was dying, the flora was wilting, and even the weak cultivators were being affected. The demonic beasts were going berserk, attacking everything in their path.
The top ten races were all panicked and all the top cultivators present in the united maind were heading toward the Union Continent to seek help out of this situation.
It wasn''t just the maind; even the endless sea was affected, tilde waves were rising, and the sea beings were fleeing towards the depth of the sea, but even that ce didn''t give any sense of security. It was like nothing could hide from that darkness. The Sea Kings Federation was in a state of emergency.
At this moment, the Union Lord and the ten otherworldly were gathered in front of a white translucent altar engraved with iprehensible golden runes.
"This is the Ascension Altar!" The Union Lord dered with a heavy expression on his face; there was clear unwillingness in his eyes and also hidden terror.
"Are you still nning on staying?" The devil among the group sneered, "Although I don''t know what kind of being that is and the source of darkness, it''s clear, much scarier than anything I''ve ever seen. If you want to stay, can are more than wee to, but it''s about time we leave. Your so-called treasure didn''t even exist!"
They were all in alliance with the Union Lord and staying here so they could share this fabled treasure. But even after searching for so long, there was no trace of it anywhere, nor did the elusive thief appear, so they had almost given up.
But the Union Lord still insisted on staying and refused to give up. Furthermore, he was the only one who knew where the Ascension Altar was hidden, so they had no choice but to be patient.
However, now, after hearing that voice and witnessing that darkness and its effects, they want nothing but to leave this ce as soon as possible. They knew far more than the people of Mortal Sky Heaven and could feel this darkness, and the owner of that voice was nothing but ordinary.
Even the usually calm Union Lord, who was the most mysterious of them, was rmed, and he had to admit even with his actual body, he wasn''t that dark match. So, getting away was the only choice, and from his informationwork, he gathered that every ce was being affected by the darkness, even the deep sea.
The union formation was alsopletely useless against the effects of that darkness, and he had no choice but to give in under the pressure of these ten.
Even if there was a treasure, they needed to survive to enjoy it and from their current situation, it seemed nigh impossible. Just that darkness was enough to scare them, and they didn''t want to stay to find out what would happen once the darkness stopped spreading.
Now, they are nning on using this ascension altar to flee heaven, yet the Union Lord still seems unwilling. He was truly greedy.
"How can we activate it?" The demon in the group asked coldly.
Union Lord didn''t have words to retort and sighed, "Just try breaking through in thew state on the ascension altar, and you''ll trigger the ascension tribtion. Once you sessfully ovee it, you''ll ascend."
Although it was not his real body, he had used an ancient technique to send a portion of his soul. But if this part of his soul dies, his main body will suffer a terrible bacsh, and he might never be able to recover and increase his cultivation again. So, he wanted to escape this ce or at least send away the part of his soul.
After hearing the method, no one paid any more attention to him, and the devil was the first one to step on the altar and instantly try to break thought into the next realm. They were all at the pinnacle of the 8th realm, and with the ascension altar, they could break through with their powerful cultivation techniques.
Everyone looked at the devil without any intention of stopping him.
However, a few minutester, the Union Lord''s eyes narrowed, ''Why isn''t the altar activating?''
The devil opened his eyes in disbelief, "I can''t absorb any Qi or sense the presence of naturalws!"
"Impossible! How could this darkness affect the naturalws? Let me try!" rmed, the Union Lord moved forward and tried to circte his Qi, and his expression twisted very soon.
"How can that be?!" He was utterly appalled.
Although he knew the Qi in the air was thinning, he never expected that even thews would be affected. This was nothing but bad news since without sensingws and receiving their acknowledgment, they can''t break through inw state even if they have Qi.
All in all, they were like trapped rats in a cage now!
---
Far away from the Union Continent, Ace''s avatar was making its way over the endless sea.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Soon, he saw a flying figure approaching, and he stopped. A cloaked figure quickly stopped in front of him and hurriedly called, "Brother Ace?"
Ace knew it was Thomas and nodded, "Why are you alone?"
He was heading to Thomas directly to fetch, but he clearly told him to bring the vice leaders of the Thieving World Society with him, yet he was all alone.
''Did he fail?'' Ace wondered.
Thomas replied with an uncertain tone, "I don''t know what happened, but all the personnel of the Thieving World Society vanished while I was talking with you. I don''t know what caused it, but after I searched the entire ce, I didn''t find any trace of struggle or battle.
"It''s like they had vanished into thin air, and all of their treasuries were still intact. I felt something amiss, so I quickly left." He stated with a hint of apprehension.
When he found that over five thousand people of the Thieving World Society had vanished within a few moments, he was spooked, and he didn''t dare to stay any longer there, afraid the same thing might happen to him.
But nothing like that happened, and now he was extremely confused. Why was he spared while everyone else vanished? He had no idea what was going so he could only report it to Ace.
Ace was startled since it was too strange, "They vanished? Was it the master of Nightmarish Thief?" He couldn''t only think of this mysterious person.
"I don''t know. But even if it was, why did they leave me?" Thomas replied with uncertainty. He was one of the vice leaders, so it didn''t make sense if the other party left him while taking everyone else unless¡
Ace''s eyes winded slightly as he also thought of this point, "Were you discovered?"
"This. I never revealed anything, and I was extremely careful when I contacted you. Unless they can read my mind without me noticing it¡" Thomas''s voice was gloomy as he was clearly not confident anymore.
''If they knew Thomas was a spy, then could it be they didn''t take action so they could reach me?'' Ace could only think of this possibility and felt rm.
"Alright, you go first. This situation is really strange. We should leave." Ace stated gravely before he let Thomas into the storage ring.
However, he didn''t leave because there was still something he needed to do, and he looked at the darkness, ''If this is really happening because of me, then I would be killing everyone in the golden sky world. Was my choice correct?'' He couldn''t help butment as a feeling of guilt enveloped his heart.
If this person was really that existence the sword warned him about, then he had really sinned just for his own selfishness, and now everyone will die. Furthermore, he didn''t know if this existence would stop there. What if it targets the Sky Heart ins next?
Ace didn''t even want to think about it since it would be over for him! So, he quickly headed in another direction, using his full power because he had a feeling that there wasn''t much time left.
A few hours passed, and at this moment, Ace was hovering over an ind covered with ayer of ice with a hint of relief, ''I barely made it.'', when the same eerie voice rang all over the world just like before,
"Heaven is heartless, treating everyone like ants. Everyone is nothing but a speck of dust in the eye of heaven. I''m going to sacrifice everyone, yet Heaven still has not opened a path for me to save you all.
"So, don''t me me; me the viinous heaven for being heartless and blind. But I shall not waste your lives, and I promise when I overturn Heaven, your sacrifice will be meaningful.
"I, Curse of Destruction, bestowed death upon everyone to open the path of Heaven!"
The words were overbearing and filled with killing intent and hatred. The next moment, the looming darkness suddenly stirred, and pitch-ck drops began to fall like ck rain.
Ace, who was still witnessing everyone with a heavy heart, was shocked and furious. But at this moment, the ck rain fell on his body, and just as it touched his treasure clothes, they instantly began to decay.
The moment it touched his skin, Ace''s entire soul shook as he felt a strange energy begin to erode his body and begin to devour his body and soul. Even his protective Qi was useless.
Without hesitation, Ace quickly used the soul-body sweep ability and instantly vanished!
But the rain of death never stopped, and caries of horror reverberated all over the world until there was nothing left but endless death and darkness!
Chapter 1002 Terrifying Power
Chapter 1002 Terrifying Power
Sky Heart ins, in the great wilderness, Ace''s hooded figure was sitting between arge tree crown crossed-legged.
At this moment, his body jolted, and he opened his eyes; a hint of fear and rage shed past them, ''That bastard really means it!''
Although it was his avatar who experienced the ghastly power of the rain of death, he could still feel it like he had experienced it with his own body. But he was even more furious about the Cruse of Destruction''s cruelty.
Even though he was ruthless himself, he still wasn''t at the level where he would sacrifice an entire world just to open some path. But there was no longer any point of regretting.
He did what he had to do to survive, but the weight of all those lives was something he had to live with from now on, and he vowed to take revenge on Cruse of Destruction if he ever got the chance. This was all he could do with his current power.
Still, he couldn''t forget about the power of darkness and that rain. It was something he had never experienced before. That kind of power could put anyone in despair.
"System, do you know anything about Cruse of Destruction, or did you see everyone in my avatar?" Ace tried probing the system, but all he received was the usual cold silence.
Furrowing his brows, he could only give up, and the next moment, the Avatar appeared in front of him. There was the same aura of the rain on him, and its clothes were slowly decaying while its skin was wilting. Its aura was also a little unstable.
Ace quickly got rid of those contaminated clothes, and he tried to use his heavy Qi to quell that strange energy in the avatar. But to his surprise, he wasn''t able to force that energy out of the avatar''s body, which meant even his heavenly Qi was ineffective, or it was simply too weak.
Nheless, Ace noticed that his heavenly Qi could at least stop this energy from spreading, but his expression was solemn. He didn''t dare to imagine what kind of entity this Cruse of Destruction was and this strange power.
If he let this energy run rampant on the avatar, it would eventually perish, which was not good, so he quickly stowed it into his soul space and let the heavenly Qi envelop it.
Although his heavenly Qi wasn''t effective, it didn''t mean it waspletely helpless; that energy seemed to be slowly vanishing as long as it came into contact with his heavenly Qi.
But even with that speed, it would take at least a few years before he could fully get rid of that energy and use his avatar without worry again. He had to pay a painful price for his boldness.
Still, even if he can''t use his avatar for fighting or infiltrating anymore, he can use it to increase hiswprehension all the same. But his trump card was gone, which made Ace somewhat bitter.
''I need to hurry. What if that thinges running here once it failed to open that path of his?'' Ace felt great pressure weighing down his mind.
Ace didn''t let Aliya or Thomas out at this moment since they didn''t have anything to do here right now, and he was still wandering in this wilderness. So, he told them to continue to cultivate after sending them to the Thief''s Space.
But he also moved Lillian into the living space ring because there were some guests other than Thomas and Aliya within the ring, and Lillian was quite familiar with them. However, he not only gave her strict instructions but also sternly warned her not to reveal anything about him or anything rted to him, or it wouldn''t be good for anyone.
After this small event, Ace used his full speed to fly toward the east and hoped to find some city.
Just like that, three weeks passed in a sh, and today, Ace finally saw the end of this wilderness. Although he didn''t know where it was, this ce was filled with powerful demonic beasts. He even sensedte-stagew awareness realm beasts the other day, so this ce was quite dangerous for 99% of the poption of the Sky Heart ins.
After exiting the great wilderness, Ace appeared with a clear n and soon found a paved road that was clearly man-made and followed it.
Half a dayter at night, Ace finally spotted the city walls, and without hesitation, he flew in. The city was protected by a grade-6 formation, but it can''t stop Ace''s advance or detect his infiltration.
The city was quite small, and after Ace stole one of the citizen''s memories, he found that this was a small city called Oli City, located at the edge of the Wonder Kingdom.
Ace didn''t have much interest in it, so he quickly flew towards the Space Highway Building. Although it only had a low-level space teleportation service, it was enough for him to head to therge city.
The next location was another small city. He continued until he reached arge city with a middle-level teleportation server and headed directly to the Wonder Kingdom''s capital city.
However, when he tries to go to the empire''s capital city by using high-level teleportation, he finds that all the teleportation channels to the Imperial City have been closed for over three months, and only someone with Imperial Noble status or a very influential figure like the kingdom''s crown prince or a king could use it.
Ace was surprised, but he didn''t inquire about the reason; instead, he used a soul probe directly to find out what was happening when he was wandering out in the great wilderness.
''Imperial Edict¡ thieveries all over the empire¡ Evil Venerable Angel?'' Ace quickly grasped the situation and finally understood the reason behind this tight security.
He could guess that this imperial edict was released because of him since it was issued at the same time when Sofia fled the Ancient Sky Battlefield, which also means she had revealed his information to the imperial family. Now, there were no guards against him.
As for those thieves, there wasn''t even a need to guess who was causing them since all the names of those thieves were Ace very familiar with, well, except for one.
Ace had a strange expression, ''Evil Venerable Angel? How did shee up with this name? Well, I''ll ask once I found her.'' n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
A gentle smile appeared on his face as he felt quite relieved after finding out that Eva was doing great. Despite her uncanny prowess, he was still a little worried for her, but now he wasn''t anymore.
''Well, since everyone is having so much fun, it''s about time I join the stage.''
Ace smiled thievishly before he vanished in the darkness of night¡
Chapter 1003 Entering the Imperial Capital
Chapter 1003 Entering the Imperial Capital
??Outside the Imperial City''s towering southern gate was arge line of caravans waiting to enter the Imperial City since it was fully locked, and only those famous merchants could enter after going through a full inspection.
However, at this moment, no one noticed that while the imperial guards were busy checking the carriage in front, someone had already snuck past them like an invisible ghost, and the formation stopping anyone from entering waspletely useless against him.
After passing through the gates and a group of guards, he was finally inside the imperial city, this intruder was naturally Ace who had taken the long path into the imperial city.
Despite the imperial family''s preparation against him, he was able to enter their domain without much effort, and now he was a step closer to his mission.
However, Ace didn''t go towards the Imperial Pce directly and after sensing something, he carefully made his way toward a particr direction.
The imperial city was quiterge andvish as there were numerous influential people living there, and most of them were the empire''s nobles. They had their own territories and businesses. Nomoner can enter, and only the rich exist in this ce.
However, because of the curfew, the city streets were somewhat barren, and everyone was still waiting for the imperial pce to release this curfew so everything could go back to normal.
Yet, even after three months, there was no news from the pce, and the public was restless as this affected many businesses and the usual lives of the nobles.
But everyone knows that this curfew wasn''t without reason as news of thieveries all over the empires reached theme every now and then, so they knew the threat was real. Especially after what happened to the Grand Duke''s treasury, the Evil Venerable Angel was the main reason for the fear in nobles'' hearts.
However, this thief was still not apprehended, and after its debut over two and half months ago, there was no clue or any movement from it. Everyone thought that the thief had already fled the city, but no one dared to let their guard down.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
After traveling for a few hours, Ace reached the center of the city, and here, he found himself looking at towering walls, and no one was in the vicinity as if this ce was a forbidden zone.
Furthermore, Ace could sense that those walls were protected by a powerful formation, not any weaker than the formation at the city gates, if not stronger.
''Isn''t that the walls of the Sky Heart Imperial School?'' Ace was astounded as he had already stolen a person''s memories on his way here, so he knew the structure of this ce as well as the powers residing in this ce.
The Sky Heart Imperial School was equally famous as the Imperial Pce and there seemed to a lot of going on in the Sky Heart Imperial School in these past two months, a terrifying genius has appeared rming even the imperial family.
''What is she nning?'' Ace wondered as he looked at the wall of the Sky Heart Imperial School.
Since this ce was equally famous as the imperial pce and also a very important power under the imperial n, Ace knew this ce should be well guarded, so infiltrating it required guts.
Smiling wryly, Ace didn''t stop and flew towards the walls of the Sky Heart Imperial School. If there was anyone else, they might think he was courting death, but this protective formation can''t stop his advance.
The other side of the wall were nothing a smokescreen to trapped any daring intruders from trespassing and it also have a powerful illusion effect on soul. Using twilight traverse, Ace passed through this hurdle.
The first thing that he noticed was dense Qi, and a clear field appeared in front of him. A few hundred meters away from him were imposing ancient structures and there were many people wearing navy blue robes walking together in the outer hallways, all of them were the students of the Sky Heart Imperial School and their cultivation base were around Qi soul realm minimum.
The Sky Heart Imperial School was divided into Royal and Imperial Schools. The former was for ordinary geniuses, while thetter was for the genius among geniuses, and mostly, the members of the Skr n study there.
Ace could sense his connection with Cyrus and Eva, and they were still quite deep into the Sky Heart Imperial School. So, he sneakily approached one of the students, who was a human, and tailed him until he waspletely alone.
The moment he got the chance, he directly struck him, rendering him unconscious, and quickly disguised himself while taking all of his memories. His human belonged to the imperial duke n of the empire, and he was one of the duke''s many children, named Leroy, and very talented since he was able to enroll in the Sky Heart Imperial School''s royal school.
Although he was a genius, there were thousands like him in the Sky Heart Imperial School. From his memories, Ace found more details about the Sky Heart Imperial School as well as the famous genius Evie Gray Shadow, who had broken an impossible record.
''Don''t tell me it''s her?'' Ace mused since the timing couldn''t be any weirder, and he knew what Eva was capable of. He didn''t contact her since he wanted to give her a surprise, and he was also afraid that it might be her pride if she showed too much consideration.
Furthermore, he also discovered that Evie was the principal disciple. She had been in the imperial pce over two months ago, where the Mortal Emperor bestowed her the title of Devil Marquis and another news that provoked his killing.
ording to Leroy''s information a duke son, in that gathering, the Emperor also bestowed her imperial marriage with the Second Prince and her father the Grand Duke also agreed.
However, Principal Zack suddenly makes an appearance and directly rejects the marriage on Evie''s behalf. Evie also seems to agree with this arrangement, which causes a huge stir among the imperial n.
Yet, shockingly, the Mortal Emperor backed down and decided to let the marriage go for now, which also showed just how high Principal Zack''s status was. He directly took Evie from the imperial gathering, and since then, she has been in seclusion in the Principal Tower and no one can meet her.
But surprisingly, the Second Prince suddenlyes back to the school and has been living there since then. He has also been paying her a visit every week since the gathering, and despite being rejected at the door, he never showed any hint of retreat and always came back.
This caused hugemotion among the students and teachers alike, and now it has be a hot topic among the youth. They admired the Second Prince''s persistence and his sincere affection, and many were cheering for him.
Principal Zack also became a demon in many people''s view who was stopping two lovers from getting together. It has be some kind of love story.
However, what caused even more sensation was the Crown Prince also came back to the Sky Heart Imperial School topete in his studies, and with him was the further empress and his fianc¨¦, the Golden Lion Kingdom''s Princess Riana, who was considered the most talented genius of the empire before Evie appeared.
All in all, the Sky Heart Imperial School was quite lively at this moment, especially the imperial school with all this drama going on.
Still, he had to admit, she really performed out of his expectations. But it was unclear if Eva was really Evie, only after finding her he could confirm it.
After getting the gist of the situation, Ace hurried toward the imperial school!
Chapter 1004 Imperial Student Promotion Exam
Chapter 1004 Imperial Student Promotion Exam
??The Imperial School of the Sky Heart Imperial School was divided with a wall. To enter the Imperial School, there were two ways; first, the acknowledgment of an Imperial Teacher means you have to be a genius among geniuses.
The second one was even harsher: a royal school student has to be at the soul manifestation realm before the age of fifty and then undergo a promotion exam. But even if someone couldplete this prerequisite, there were limited spots in the Imperial School, so if there were more students qualified to enter, then they had to go through another test.
Leroy was turning 49 this year, and he was at the peak of the tinum Qi soul realm, but to break into the Qi soul manifestation realm was still quite far away from him, and it required a stroke of good luck as well.
However, now that Ace had taken his ce, Leroy was about to rise. He could''ve directly gone to the imperial school if he wanted, but Ace decided against it since he didn''t want to cause trouble for Eva.
She clearly had some n, so if the students of the Sky Heart Imperial School began to vanish, it would draw others'' scrutiny, and everyone would know that someone capable enough to sneak into the Sky Heart Imperial School was roaming free. With all the drama with thieves and the mysterious enemy of the imperial n roaming free out there, no one would take this matter lightly.
As for taking the ce of a Royal Teacher, it was even more impossible to enter the Imperial School because a royal teacher was required to have at least an early-stage Law Comprehension Realm cultivation base, and they had to defeat one of the ten existing Imperial Teachers.
Although Ace was fully capable of this feat, it would be too high profile, and he knew this would also draw suspicion of the other Imperial Teachers since thest time someone was promoted to the Imperial Teacher was over a thousand years ago.
The Skr n put great care and resources into the Sky Heart Imperial School so they would keep tabs on every single teacher teaching in their school, so the identity of the student was more than enough.
At this moment, Ace appeared outside a building with a signboard, ''Governance Department''. This ce handles all the matters regarding students and teachers in the royal school, from their monthly allocation to promotion.
Leroy entered the building, and he was a middle-aged demon sitting close to the doorway like a statue with closed eyes.
"Your purpose?" He impassively asked without opening his eyes.
Ace didn''t falter and coolly stated, "I want to enter the Imperial School."
The demon suddenly opened his eyes, revealing empty sockets like dark pits, and Ace felt a powerful marital sense wash over him, but he remained unmoved and let this guy check as much as he wanted. Even an eighth realm expert can''t see through his disguise, much less thisw awareness realm cultivator.
"Bone age; 49, cultivation early stage Qi soul manifestation realm. You are indeed qualified to undergo the promotion exam. Head straight in the hallway and turn right; you''ll see the promotion examination hall; someone will receive you." Done saying, he closed his eyes again as if nothing had happened.
Ace nodded and then headed toward the ce the demon had pointed him to, and soon, he reached arge door and he entered. There was a massive space behind that door, and he saw three doors right ahead and there was a counter with an elfdy sitting just a few meters behind those three doors.
The elfdy''s bored expression turned into surprise when she saw Leroy entering, "Are you here for the promotion exam to raise your royal student tier?"
The royal students were divided into three tiers, from tier-1 lowest to tier-3 highest. Each tier represents different benefits given to students and cultivation resources, so she thinks Leroy was here to evaluate his student tier.
However, Leroy''s reply startled her, "No, I''m here for the imperial student promotion exam."
Surprised, she asked, "The Warden Elder approved?"
"Yes." Leroy solemnly nodded.
"Give me your student tile." She knew that the elder at the gate wouldn''t make mistakes, and he was also the first test for students who wanted to apply for a promotion exam. So, she quickly asked for his student tile without making a fuss.
Ace handed her a blue rectangr tile made with jade, and there were runes engraved on both sides.
She took the student tile and ced it on a formation te before all the information in the student title regarding Leroy appeared. After confirming that he was indeed qualified for the exam, she asked, "You need to pay 1000 Student Points."
Student Points were the currency of the school, and they could be acquired by doing missions and providing assistance to the school or breaking student records.
To take any kind of exam, the school charges student points, so those students won''t be reckless or waste the school resources. After all, the exams burn resources, especially the higher-grade exams, and if they can continuously take the exams whenever they want, there won''t be enough resources anymore.
Ace nodded, "Alright." He knew Leroy had over 2000 student points, which he had umted within three years of enrollment, and if it were the real Leroy, his heart would definitely ache while spending half of them on this exam, which he might have failed.
After receiving his confirmation, the elfdy didn''t hesitate and ced the student tile on another formation ce, and the next moment, the rune symbol on Door NO.3 lit up.
"You may enter now. Good luck." She smilingly stated while she kept the student tile on the formation te so it could record Leroy''s result.N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Thank you." Leroy appeared nervous, just like any other student taking this exam, as he entered door no.3.
Once Ace was inside, the dark space suddenly lit up in white, and in front of him were three gray mannequins holding a bow, sword, and spear, respectively. Ace was surprised as he could sense powerful auras emitting from them and those weapons.
At this moment, a static voice rang, "Imperial Student Promotion Exam will start now. Please destroy the Three Puppets, two realm stages higher than yours, within 30 minutes. This is a death match, and it won''t stop until you admit defeat, so please be cautious. Your time starts now!"
It was a simple introduction, and just as the voice trailed off, the mannequins suddenly came to life. The mannequins with the sword and spear directly charged at Ace with ridiculous speed while the mannequin with the bow aimed at him as a Qi arrow had already materialized on the bowstring.
Ace''s lips curled up as a green bow appeared in his hand; Leroy was a bow user with ice element affinity, so he could easily emte his fighting style and Qi.
Taking aim, three ice arrows materialized on the bowstrings, and he released them while sneering, ''How simple!''
Chapter 1005 Ambition of Humans
Chapter 1005 Ambition of Humans
??Five minutester, door no.3 opened again, and Leroy appeared with a pale expression. The elfdy saw him with shimmering eyes. She had watched everything inside the room from start to finish.
Although this test was about killing three puppets with two realm differences from the participants, those puppets were not like normal puppets who were only capable of manual and preprogrammed movements. Instead, the puppets used in these trials were all secretly controlled by royal teachers of the Sky Heart Imperial School!
That''s why the promotion rate of the students into Imperial School was extremely pitiful. It wasn''t done on purpose either, but only those who could surpass their teachers were qualified to move forward; this was the true belief of the Sky Heart Imperial School and also the reason why its students were all powerful figures.
The reason for Elfdy''s surprise was because Leroy killed those three puppets controlled by threebat specialist royal teachers within five minutes. She even wondered if those guys had gone easy on him, but she knew better than to suspect since this record would be sent directly to the imperial school for inspection. So, cheating there meant harsh punishment.
Previously, she thought Leroy would suffer since it was his first time if it was the case for everyone. But he cleared the trial quickly, and he didn''t even suffer from a signal injury. He was just exhausted, and that''s all. She knew this was nothing less of an astonishing achievement.
"Did I pass?" Acepletely emted Leroy''s exhausted expression as he palely asked.
She finally snapped out of her thoughts and smiled, "Congrattions, Student Leroy, you have passed splendidly. Here''s your student tile. I have already refreshed your information. You can go to the Imperial School Gate and show this badge to the Keeper Elder, and he''ll take care of you."
Ace took the tile, which has now turned purple, and thanked the elfdy before departing. He wasn''t interested in staying more than he needed to since the royal school didn''t interest him.
''I should inform Imperial School; this guy is an archery prodigy. Perhaps he can be the next Death Striker. Imperial Teacher Connor has been always searching for an archery student all these years, but no one has ever been able to pass his test. Maybe he has a chance¡'' The elfdy thought, and she quickly contacted the Imperial School.
Oblivious to the fact about drawing an imperial teacher''s interest, Ace reached a towering gate engraved with auspicious beasts images, and he saw an elderly human with gray hair sitting beside the gate like a status.
However, Ace could feel the quasiwprehension realm aura hidden in this elder despite the elder hiding it.
The elder suddenly opened his eyes, and a sharp glint shed past his eyes as he looked at Leroy, and the next moment, Ace felt a powerful soul sense scanning his body.
Unmoved, he directly shed his student tile in front of the elder and respectfully said, "I want to enter."
The elder''s eyes shed with a hint of surprise, and with a wave of his hand, the student tile appeared on his hand before it began to shimmer.
"Good, after fifty years, another human finally managed to be promoted to the imperial student rank. You''re not a bad boy. Keep it up; don''t let the human race fall behind others." The elder smiled amiably, and he seemed genuinely happy and sincere with his praise.
Ace was surprised slightly since he knew the school didn''t promote a radical mindset, especially those with racial beliefs. In fact, if someone finds out about promoting racism, they will be punished harshly.
The Sky Heart ins were home to many races, and the Empire weed them all without any discrimination. At least in public, this was the case. But how could the barrier between races removed so easily?
Especially those races with superior traits like Demon, Devils, and Hunters? Although these races weren''t the strongest because of the Skr Giant Race presence, like in the United Maind, they weren''t weak either, and they had many high-
ranking positions under their belts.
But humans weren''t weak either and stood beside these top races because of their ability to adapt, and they were also no bond with bloodline. The further empress, Riana, was also a human, so this naturally brought the humans immense pride and honor.
Now, this elder was showing subtle racism, and his action could be taken as leading Leroy astray and on the path of hatred.
"Thank you, elder, I''ll keep it in mind." Ace bowed, but he felt disgusted with this guy despite being from the same race.
He knew it was because of people like them that racism existed, and there was really no way to get rid of them since as long as people have free will, they can believe whatever they want.
The Keeper Elder nodded with satisfaction, "Go, I''ll be keeping an eye on what you do. I hope you will show the same grit that you showed in royal school and make us all proud."
"I will." Leroy nodded solemnly before the elder suddenly took out a formation te and ced his hand on it.
The next moment, the towering gate suddenly lit up in runes, and it began to move inwards, revealing a foggy pathway.
"Go, this mist is another small test of your will, which can also be considered a benefit. If you have the will to move forward without any fear and have a clear goal, you will pass it without any effort, or you will wander in it until the day you are strong enough; this is the benefit for your further cultivation path." The elder kindly instructs.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace nodded and entered after showing his gratitude to the Keeper Elder and vanished into the fog and the gate closed again.
The smile on the elder''s face suddenly vanished as a cold glint shed past his eyes, ''It won''t be long before we humans rule the Sky Heart ins!''
Closing his eyes, he returned to his peaceful state like nothing had ever happened, but if someone observed his fingertip, a tiny golden symbol just burned away.
It was so small that even a Law Comprehension Realm expert would have a hard time noticing it if they weren''t paying attention!
Chapter 1006 Divine Eyes Hunter
Chapter 1006 Divine Eyes Hunter
The moment Ace entered the foggy pathway, he felt a force trying to affect his mind, but it was too weak. Still, Ace didn''t move forward since if he passed this fog too fast, then it would be far stranger than passing the promotion exam.
Ace just stood there for about half an hour before he finally moved forward, and after walking for a few minutes, the fog in front of him finally disappeared.
The whole scene changed, and dense Qi washed over him, but what was more startling was thendscape; there were beautiful waterfalls beside paved roads made with exotic stones. Many auspicious beasts were flying around, and rainbow cranes were dancing; it was like a paradise,pletely different from the royal school.
"Leroy, I presumed? Not bad." An imposing voice suddenly rang, drawing Ace''s attention.
The next moment, a tall, handsome man with a slender build and d in ck gold robes appeared. He had long violet hair draped on his shoulder, and his violet eyes were sharp like a hawk and somewhat special. Despite not giving off any aura, his manners were imposing and refined like a King.
But Ace could still gauge this man''s well-hidden prowess; he was an intermediate-stage Law Comprehension Cultivator, and he knew only a few people in the imperial school should have this sort of cultivation, the Imperial Teachers!
This handsome man was really one of the ten Imperial Teachers, the Divine Eye Hunter, Connor, also known as the Death Striker. Connor was famous for his peerless archery and his ability never to miss a target. Furthermore, the title Death Striker came from his killing record of one kill per arrow, and he can shoot down targets from hundreds of miles away. That''s why he was feared and revered by many. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Many students of the Sky Heart Imperial School wanted to be his students, so they chose the archery department to draw his attention. But to this day, no one is ever able to earn his acknowledgment. His demands were simply too high.
Even Leroy mastered archery to get noticed by Connor, but only after enrolling into the Sky Heart Imperial School did he truly understand just how difficult it was to enter the imperial school. He had no chance after this year, so he had long given up on this impossible dream.
However, now Ace took his ce, and Leroy was finally noticed by the Death Striker, but in Ace''s eyes, this was nothing worth celebrating at all; it was a drag even; it was trulymentable.
"Leroy greets elders." Ace bowed in greeting, pretending not to know the true power of this guy. He was already inside the Imperial School, and he could sense Eva and Cyrus even more clearly.
Once he gets rid of this guy, he can use his true abilities to search for them.
Connor''s violet eyes suddenly shone in violet light, and his puppets changed into strange runes; at this moment, Ace''s heart suddenly skipped a beat because he suddenly felt danger.
Divine Eyes Hunter was the most mysterious and ancient hunter bloodline present in the Sky Heart ins. This bloodline didn''t have any element abilities; instead, the bloodline had an optical ability called the Divine Eyes that could see through all lies and illusions.
But this ability was so strong and mysterious that not all the hunters of Divine Eyes Hunter Bloodline could awaken it despite having the bloodline. In the past thousand years, only Connor was able to awaken it. But even he only managed to awaken it up to 40%.
Yet, even with only 40% of its mysterious prowess, he can see through all the illusions and lies. This ability was also the main reason his archery was peerless, and no one could hide or run from him.
At this moment, Connor was using his Divine Eyes to gauge Leroy since he received the news about a promising archery prodigy appearing in the royal school, and he just passed the promotion exam.
However, it wasn''t enough to draw his full interest. But after he saw the video of Leroy''s exam, his interest was finally piqued. So, he quickly hurried over and waited for Leroy to pass the fog, and he wanted to see how much time he would take.
Almost every student in the imperial school could pass this fog in about an hour, and thetest record was broken by the new prodigy of the Sky Heart ins and Principal Disciple, Evie; she cleared it within ten seconds, which left everyone speechless for a long time.
Even the previous prodigy, Riana, took a full ten minutes to pass it, which showed just howrge the gap was between the two.
But Leroy now cleared in half an hour which made him on the same level as the imperial children of the Skr n, so Conner was a little excited about him now and hopeful.
Ace was rmed, and he was ready to take action; he never thought there was someone who could see through his disguise, and he could vaguely sense a new type of power originating from Connor''s eyes.
But thankfully, Connor hadn''t awakened his eyes to 100%, so he only made Ace uneasy for a moment. If his divine eyes were fully active, he could''ve seen thought any illusion in Mortal Sky Heaven, even Heaven won''t allow such a thing.
However, not being able to see through Ace''s disguise didn''t mean he couldn''t see some vague clues, but he never thought that someone would be daring enough or have the power to masquerade as the school''s student and boldly pass the promotion exam.
So, he thought with a hint of ecstasy, ''How peculiar, there is something extraordinary about this boy that even I can''t see through. If he can pass my test, I will finally have a sessor to show off in front of those old sods!''
"Come with me. If you pass my test, I''ll take you as my direct student and allocate the best cultivation location and resources present in the imperial school. But if you failed, pretend we never meet." Conner stated with a mysterious smile that he had no intention of introducing himself, especially if Leroy couldn''t ovee his test.
Ace was startled, and he didn''t even have a chance to react before he felt a powerful force enveloping him and dragging him away. If he wanted, he could''ve easily broken free, but he knew if he did that, he would be exposed.
So, he could only helplessly go along with this forceful fellow and see what kind of test he had for him. Furthermore, since he knew this guy was an imperial teacher, bing his student was not a bad thing.
In fact, he could roam free in the Imperial School if he had an Imperial Teacher''s disciple status. He was also interested in that strange ability Connor used that almost exposed him!
Chapter 1007 Lightening Mountain
Chapter 1007 Lightening Mountain
At this moment, Ace and Conner appeared on the edge of a vast mountain forest, and shockingly, the top of the mountain was filled with lighting clouds as the lighting continuously struck the mountain summit without stopping. It was a very strange yet wonderful sight.
"This is Lighting Mountain, one of the eight training fields built in our imperial school and the most powerful of them all. This mountain was brought here by the Sixth Mortal Emperor from the Berserker Beast in.
"Strangely, this mountain had the ability to attract the lighting continuously and then condense that lighting into lightning beasts. This is an excellent ce to train yourbat abilities as well as dangerous.
"The higher one climbed, the more powerful the lighting beasts; there are even Quasi Law Comprehension Realm lightning beasts at the peak. Furthermore, these lighting beasts dropped lighting cores upon their death, and they are priceless treasures for those with lightning elements.
"Not only that, those cores can even awaken lighting elements. But they are useless to you, and I don''t bring you here to collect those cores. The lighting mountain is divided into eight levels ording to the cultivation realms of those lighting beasts. The higher the level, the higher-level lighting beasts one encountered.
"I want you to climb all the way to the sixth level edge by only using your archery. You have three days; if you pass my test, you''ll be my disciple!" Conner impassively stated before he vanished without a trace.
''What an unreasonable man. He didn''t even hear my opinion. He simply doesn''t care at all.'' Ace was speechless seeing Conner''s forceful attitude, and he seemed not to care if Leroy even wanted to be his disciple or not.
Still, Ace didn''t care about this conceited hunter; he was bringing a wolf into his own house so he''d naturally suffer the consequences of his snobbishness.
Ace then looked toward the massive mountain, which seemed to be about fifty thousand miles high, and the sky-blue lighting at the very peak. As an innate lighting cultivator as well as someone who was very familiar with heavenly thunder, he could feel this lighting was not normal at all.
The lighting aura covering the mountain was even stranger as he could feel the lighting''s destructive nature. However, mixed within this destruction was another kind ofw that Ace waspletely unfamiliar with. It appeared full of vitality and warmth, like nature.
''Could it be thew of Nature or the fabledw of Life?'' Ace wondered, as he didn''t know the lighting could even be merged with such a gentlew.
But he was sure that this lighting was also a mutant element like his despair lighting. From Conner''s early exnation, those lighting beasts condescended in this mountain seemed to be the result of this mutant lighting.
"System, can you appraise this mountain?" Ace directly asked the system.
This mountain was nothing but simple, but the imperial school was using it as a training field, so it meant they had no idea what it was, or they hadn''t left it here for children to y. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"[This is just an ordinary maically charged mountain. But it is just an outer shell of a very rare natural treasure above grade 9 called the Life Lightning Quartz. The Life Lightning Quartz is often filled with life lighting fment, which could help a cultivator toprehend the life nature of lightning. If it is refined using a specific formal, it can grant a fanatic physique of Life Lightning.]
"[The Life Lightning Quartz can only birth with most dense lightning areas filled with nature. It could draw natural lighting continuously and then absorb it to grow.]
"[But it''s very hard to find, especially seizing it since it has a natural instinct which allows it to flee the moment it senses danger approaching. I also have its manifested lightning phantom that will protect it at all costs.]
"[Even if someone managed to corner it, its natural outer defense is extremely hard to break and only someone with high enough lighting or thunderw can cut through it.]"
Ace was shocked as his eyes shone when he heard about the ''Fantastic Physique'' part. Furthermore, this Life Lightning Quartz was a natural treasure above the ninth grade, and it was also from a mystery in. Ace was bing more interested in those two remaining mystery ins.
"Aren''t fantastic physiques and meridians connate?" Ace asked since he was under the impression that those fantastic physiques and meridians can only be born with, not artificially made.
The system didn''t answer. Instead, it asked a simple question emotionlessly, "[Are host''s darkness meridian connate?]"
Ace stumped as he almost forgot about his own Darkness Meridian which appeared after he triggered the hidden part of the Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique.
Quickly hiding his embarrassment, he asked, "Then can I also acquire this fantastic physique as long as I collect those materials?"
"[It''s possible.]"
Ace''s eyes shone with tion, "Then how about you give me that form? The price is negotiable!"
However, this time, the systempletely ignored him, pouring cold water on his fantasies.
Perplexed, he retorted, "If you don''t want to give me that form, then you shouldn''t have told me from the start!"
Ace sighed helplessly, a bit indigent about the system''sck of response this time. Now that he knew what this Life Lightning Quartz could do, how could he bring himself to consume it? Isn''t this just wasting heaven-defying treasure?
Still, Ace quickly calmed down since he had to acquire it first, and right now, he knew Conner was observing him like a hawk. If he does anything foolish his cover would be blown.
''I guess I have toe back after getting rid of that guy.''
After making up his mind, Ace took out the bow and finally entered the mountain. With his fate map, he could easily spot all the lightning beasts in the vicinity, and they were extremely weak at the first level.
Ace also noticed that his mountain was a gray area; there wasn''t any silver or golden color, which meant there wasn''t anything suitable for him there. If not for the system telling him about the Life Lightning Quartz, he would''vepletely overlooked it.
Conner, who was observing Leroy quickly making his way toward level two up in the air, couldn''t help but nod, ''His movement speed is pretty okay, and he''s avoiding all the beasts, so he also had the perception of an archer. Let''s see if he had the table for Orbit Intent!''
Chapter 1008 Narcissist Death Striker
Chapter 1008 Narcissist Death Striker
Within two hours, Ace passed the level four area of the Lightning Mountain and sessfully ventured into level five, where soul realm level lightning beasts roam.
But he slowed down a little and no longer avoided those lightning beasts since his cultivation was ''just'' a breakthrough to the Soul Embryo Manifestation Realm''s early stage.
He deliberately begins to run into lightning beasts, but they are all shot down by soul arrows of ice elements. The lighting beast appeared to be made with gray corporeal lightning, and to kill them, one had to attack the lightning cores within their head directly.
Although it sounds easy, the gray lightning was extremely resilient and could destroy weak elements easily. So, only those with the powerful element Qi can pierce through the gray lightning.
Still, to kill them, the attack has to be very strong, or it would only slightly damage their gray thunder Qi.
Like a sneaky archer, Ace didn''t give them a chance to retaliate, and once they died, they dropped a gray crystal spherical core filled with gray lighting. Ace naturally didn''t leave those lightning cores, and upon picking one, he found that those cores were filled with the life of lightning that the system had described.
As someone who understands the lightning''s despair and thunder''s destructive nature, the life of lightning Qi within the lightning core can help him understand the life nature of lightning as well.
Not only that, but Ace felt that the lightning in the core was somewhat beneficial to his innate lightning as a whole, but the level of these cores was too low, so he had to wait to verify this matter until he got a high-level lightning core.
Then, there was still the Life Lightning Quartz hidden somewhere in this mountain. Just thinking about acquiring this exotic natural treasure made him somewhat excited.
As he continued to ughtered his way towards the sixth level, up in the sky, Conner''s eyes were shinning with a hint of appreciation. He was now seeing hope in Leroy as his archery was the best in the younger generation he had ever witnessed.
He had already decided that if Leroy could survive in the sixth level for a day and kill ten lightning beasts by relying on his archery, he would ept him as his disciple.
Ace was unaware of Conner''s thoughts even if he knew he simply didn''t care, as this test was a walk in the park for him. His entire attention was on the lightning mountain.
He noticed another effect of this mountain as he entered the sixth level. Thew of life lightning, was extremely dense here, and also, the lightning Qi were abundant. This ce was a heaven for lightning cultivators.
At this moment, he suddenly sensed something locked on him, and he quickly dodged. Just as he takes the sidestep, a ten-meter gray bolt of lightning crashes down where he was standing a moment ago.
But the gray lightning bolt didn''t vanish after missing its target, and like an agile whip, it instantly changed its direction towards Ace, wanting to pierce into his body.
With Ace''s current prowess, he easily saw through this lightning bolt; it was actually an early-stage Qi soul manifestation realm lightning beast who had turned into a lightning bolt by using lightning intent.
Ace was also capable of that, but he showed a little since he knew that thew of lightning required to convert into an element body was quite high, and this beast was just an early-
stage Qi soul manifestation realm.
Still, he didn''t have time to investigate, and he dodged again as he appeared to be struggling. He had to y his part as a new soul manifestation realm expert.
Drawing the green bow, five ice arrows appeared, and Ace predicted the lightning bolt trajectory. No matter how fast it was, it couldn''t outmatch Ace''s current reaction speed.
''Wiss¡''
The five arrows released from the bow, and the lightning bolt was about to turn again when those arrowsnded on it. Five icy sts rang, and the power of frost was released,pletely freezing the fifty-meter area around them.
Crackling sounds of lightning rang, and the lightning bolt suddenly shape-shifted into a ten-meter-tall tiger-like beast, and white frost was all over its body.
Before it could react, another volley of arrows appeared and didn''t give the lightning beast a chance to dodge since all the paths of the retreat werepletely blocked by arrows.
''Boom¡''
Frosty explosions rang in the vicinity as if an ice storm had suddenly appeared; by the time the ice storm was gone, there was no more lightning beast, and only a palm-sized lightning corey there crackling with gray lightning.
Ace picked up the core, and he could feel rich lightning within even more so than all the other cores he had collected till yet. cing the core into the storage ring, he moved forward.
Hours passed, and Ace had already killed many soul-
manifestation lightning beasts. Even intermediate-stage realm beasts can''tst more than a few seconds. After spending almost a day in the fifth level, Ace finally bumps into a peak-
level lightning beast of the soul manifestation realm.
After putting up a ''hard'' fight, he managed to y it while getting wounded a little himself.
Just as the beast fell, Conner appeared out of nowhere; Ace was calm inside but appeared surprised as Leroy. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Conner wore a content and gratified smile as he looked at Leroy in a haggard state, "Good! Heaven really didn''t abandon this old soul! Little brat, although your result is somewhat disappointing, what can I say? Beggars can''t be choosers. So, I reluctantly ept you as my first disciple.
"I''m the Imperial Teacher of Sky Heart Imperial School; my name is Divine Eye Conner, and people also call me Death Striker. Now, you can kneel down and acknowledge me as your master!" Conner appeared extremely haughty and majestic as he posed like some divine being in front of his disciple, and he couldn''t help but feel quite pleased with his introduction and thought he had established an immortal image in his disciple''s mind.
But in Ace''s eyes, he appeared nothing but a narcissist, and he wondered if he was all right in the head!
Chapter 1009 Orbit Intent & Mystic Abilities
Chapter 1009 Orbit Intent & Mystic Abilities
??After epting the narcissist master, Conner directly took Leroy to a mountain courtyard which was around fifty miles in diameter and filled with dense Qi andvish scenery.
"This is your personal courtyard from now on." Conner coolly stated, "Here are your resources for this month. I''m also giving you a high-grade-7 bow, Star Plucker, which I used when I was about your age, and it has followed me for hundreds of years before I acquired my current grade-8 bow, Death Bringer. It''s my gift to you as my disciple, so you need to treat it well.
"I''ve also left my personal cultivation method and first three levels of Death Striker Archery Art''s Jade Scrolls, which you need to learn from now on to refine your archery.
"The Death Striker Archery Art is my n''s legacy art, and it has six levels. Just mastering the first three levels will take you many years, and at that time, you''ll be around the intermediate stage of the Law Awareness Realm.
"Once you master it to a satisfactory level, I''ll give you the remaining three levels. But make sure you won''t leak this art, or I''ll me you; this is our lineage''s core archery art, and many people want it.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Let''s go. I''ll show you what the first three levels of Death ArcheryStriker Art could do and the satisfactory level you need to reach." Conner handed Leroy a white storage ring.
Leroy appeared excited and respectful as he received it, "Thank you, master. I''ll never let you down even if it''s cost me my life!"
"Good." Conner smiled very pleased with his new disciple''s earnest attitude, or he was just pleased about being worshiped by Leroy; no one knows.
Conner then led Leroy to an open field behind the courtyard, it was the training field.
Ace was very curious about Conner''s archery as he was the best archer in the Sky Heart ins, and Ace had never learned archery from anyone before. Everything he knows was self-taught through the memories of many cultivators.
Archery wasn''t like Swordy since it required more discipline and perception. Furthermore, Ace never came in contact with the intent of archery since no one has reached that level in the United maind, and there were no records of it. Just with this, one could imagine how hard the true archery was.
Conner''s bloodline also yed a part in his attainment of archery as it was very suitable for him. Despite Leroy''s identity as a human, he was still willing to take him under his wing because the archery geniuses were just so rare. Even his own nsmen can''t reach his standards despite having the same bloodline, so it wasn''t a question of bloodline but talent.
At this moment, Conner turned solemn as he begins to talk, "You might''ve heard of it that archery is just about hitting the target, in truth everyone underestimates archery as it could easily be blocked or avoided.
"But those bumpkins have never met a true archery master who truly understood the essence of archery. Archery is indeed about hitting the target, but at the same time, it is also about killing the target as quickly as possible. No one understands that to hit the target, there needs to be ample preparations.
"Like Bnce and Coordination, uracy, Calm and Composure, Precision, Perception of Depth, Arrow Drawing and Handling, Arrow Nocking, and most importantly, taking care of your Bow like it is your limb.
"Once you get these basics down and build a strong foundation through training, you will develop a distinct way of shooting an arrow. Every archer has his own way of shooting an arrow.
"Most archers follow the path of assassin archer, which is to kill a target with a single decisive arrow, but this path is for the weak, and these guys are the ones who have sullied the archery profession.
"I follow the path of a Warrior Archer, a true archer that could fight even without any need to be sneaky or resort to meaningless preparation. A true archer can kill its target even if it''s standing right in front of him, fully alert, and you''ll be following this path as well. This is the true essence of my Death Striker Archery Art.
"Furthermore, if you manage toprehend the true essence of Death Striker Archery Art, you will have the chance to awaken the fabled intent of archery, the Orbit Intent.
"I can''t teach you a weapon intent since everyone has their own way to awaken it. All I can do is to give you direction. As long as you understand the truew of archery, you will awaken the Orbit Intent.
"Like the other weaponws, upon cultivating to a higher depth, it can awaken thew intent and then the mystic abilities hidden within thatw. The most basic function of a weaponw intent is to increase your weapon''s attack prowess.
"But once you have enough experience and a deeper understanding of the Orbit Intent, you will awake the first mystic ability, the ability never to miss a target no matter how far or how well it is hidden.
"With this ability, you can even lock on a target for a very long time, and you can continue to shoot down the target until it dies; this mystic ability of Orbit Intent is called Orbit Lock.
"But there is also another mystic ability of orbit intent, which even I don''t know if it really exists or is just a myth. ording to the texts of my ancestors, with this mystic ability of the Orbit Intent can alsopletely bypass any defense or formation and directly hit the target, this realm is known as Overrule Orbit." Conner''s eyes were filled with longing as he revealed the overrule orbit mystic ability.
However, Ace was shocked because it was his first time hearing about these mystic abilities of Laws, and he trembled and instantly thought about the Heaven Splitting Sword Secret Cultivation Technique, which he was not able to cultivate since he didn''t understand the requirements.
But now, after hearing about the orbit intent and its mystic abilities, it was like the veil had been torn off in front of his eyes. He finally understood that his knowledge was still limited when it came tows, and justprehending them was not enough.
He wanted to confirm his conjecture as he respectfully asked with the true attitude of a learner, "Master, these mystic abilities, I''ve heard when someone reached a profound level of an elementw they can shape-shift into the element, does this also count as a mystic ability?"
Conner seemed surprised, and a hint of appreciation shed past his eyes as he was happy about this deep question, which meant Leroy understood his exnation.
"Yes, the ability to turn into an element is also the first mystic ability of an elementw; it''s called the Element Divergence, which grants the user the nature of the element. Thest lightning beast you killed was using Lightning Divergence, which turned it into a lightning bolt and gave it nature.
"It seemed yourwprehension is not too bad. But elementws and weapons are vastly different. Each weapon has its own unique nature, so it may be easy toprehend the weapon''s intent.
"Even merging the elementw and weaponw together is easily before of the weapon intent nk nature. But to understand the mystic abilities of a weapon is ten times different from elementws. The Heaven is fair; it makes the weaponws easy to understand, but it made the mystic abilities harder toprehend." Conner sighed with a hint of indignation as if he wasn''t happy.
Ace took a deep breath as he finally understood the difference between the inheritance of Sky Heart ins and the United Maind. His eyes were truly open today, and he finally understood the true terror of a Law Comprehension Realm powerhouse.
Although he had epted Conner as his master for ulterior motives and didn''t really think of him as his master, now he felt respect towards this old man who was willing to teach him this priceless knowledge or who knows how long it would''ve taken for him to acquire it on his.
Even though he never gets the chance to use the soul probe on awprehension realm expert, he didn''t dare to even if he had because these powerhouses have high attainment inws so that they might see through it, especially experts like Conner with extremely high soul perception.
Still, he was grateful for Conner and bowed from his heart, "Thank you for clearly my doubts, master!"
Conner felt slightly different from Leroy''s tone, which he can''t put his finger on at this moment.
But he still feels gratified and warmth in his heart, ''Having a disciple is really not a bad feeling!''
Chapter 1010 Imperfection means Death!
Chapter 1010 Imperfection means Death!
??Seeing Leroy''s earnest expression, Conner felt even more motivated and quickly continued his lesson, "Now that we have theplex stuff out of the way, I''ll show you the first three levels of the Death Striker Archery Art, so observe carefully, I''ll only show you once. If you have any questions, you may ask after my exhibition."
Afterward, in Conner''s left hand, a beautiful golden bow appeared, which was six feet in size and arced with a crimson string. There was a beautiful, vivid carving of a silver flood dragon coiling around the slick bow, and if someone looked carefully, there were tiny runes engraved on the dragon scales.
This bow was giving off a powerful and majestic aura, and the moment Conner took it out, Ace''s eyes lit up as he could easily guess that this bow was a Grade-8 Treasure.
Conner looked pleased seeing Leroy''s awed expression and gently creased the silver bow and said, "This is Dragon Sundering Bow, the legacy treasure of my n and one of its kind. This is the strongest bow in the entire Sky Heart ins that even those old sods feared.
"If one day you can surpass me in archery, I''ll bestow this bow to you since only the strongest archer is worthy of the Dragon Sundering Bow. Now, look carefully; the First Three Levels of the Death Striker Archery Art are called Arrow Marker, Mind Draw, and Roaming Shot.
"Once you master the arrow marker, you will be able to shoot an arrow right where your pupils can see with 100% uracy. Normally, the eyes and arrow of an archer would never be fully synchronized together because we use eyes to select a target and hands to hold a bow and then draw the arrow. There are four different limbs of the body working together just to shoot an arrow, and this is why archery is very hard to master. Therefore, it''s an overly underestimated profession, and very few have the guts to learn it.
"The arrow uracy of an archer and the sync with his body would be around 70 to 80%; a cultivator can further increase it to around 90 to 96%, and with our martial sense and soul sense, the synchronization can be further increased up to 98% to 99% but never 100% because there are too many factors involved.
"For if you increase the distances and someone is not within the range of your soul sense, you have to rely on your eyes and perception, and this factor could greatly reduce the synchronization, thereby affecting the uracy.
"But with Arrow Marker, you will learn to control your Qi to the pinnacle, which will also allow you tobine your vision and Qi together. Once you achieve this result, you will never have to worry about uracy, and you can even shoot arrows while moving as long as you can ''see'' your target.
"This also brings me to the Mind Draw, which can only be learned once you can shoot your target within a second after youid your eyes on it because Mind Draw is a quick drawing method that also covers and mends another problem of an archer: drawing!
"To achieve mind draw, not only do you need full control of your Qi, but you also need to merge with your bow like another limb of your body, and once you get that feeling, you will be able to draw a bow with lightning-fast speed as if you''re drawing it with your mind in less than a second.N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Once you fully mastered the perfect uracy and perfect draw, the archery would havepletely incorporated into your very soul. Only then can you start learning the Roaming Arrow, which needs both of the aforementioned perfect skills.
"A roaming arrow can follow a target even if it is able to move, just like the Orbit Intent, but its principles and effects are very different and limited. To make an arrow move with a roaming arrow, you need to predict its movement urately and incorporate those predations into your Qi arrow with your mind. While the Orbit Intent is aw itself, its effects are naturally more potent.
"Anyhow, the roaming arrow can only be done with the Qi arrow because the Qi can move with your order; it''s just like shaping it or using skills. But this concept is a step deeper and tricky. I can only exin it. You need to understand yourself.
"There is another easier way, which is to create a special treasure runic arrow that can be controlled through your mind. But this won''t help you to master the true archery.
"Because once you have outgrown the treasure grade, it would lose its power, and you will need to make a new, more powerful one, and this process wouldst forever.
"While the bow is just a medium, and you can use it for a very long time, I can even shoot down an early-stagewprehension realm cultivator with a mortal bow because of my Qi arrow. So, there will be no back door for you.
"Lastly, remember, well, boy, in archery, everything has to be perfect because you can''t miss, as in archery, imperfection means death!
"Now observe!"
After his profound lecturer, Conner became solemn as he pulled the Dragon Sundering Bow in front of him, and with his other, suddenly he flickered his finger, and the next moment, violet Qi suddenly took the shape of a tiny bee.
The violet Qi bee was extremely life-like, and just to create it, one needed an extreme and precise level of control over their Qi. The bee then suddenly pped its corporeal wings, and with a lightning-fast speed, it began to buzz around.
After creating a target, Conner pulled the silver string of the bow and a corporal violet arrow materialized, and it didn''t have any aura at all, it was just like a normal arrow.
At this moment, Conner''s eyes begin to follow the bee movement at lightning-fast speed, and as he is predicting its movements, the Qi arrow head suddenly begins to swirl at a terrifying speed.
Under Ace''s solemn expression, Conner moved, but it was so fast that even with Ace''s terrifying perception, he only saw a violet streak, and it was like Conner''s hand never even shook from his spot.
However, the arrows on the bow were already shot, and rmingly, it turned into a violet streak. Like an agile string, it began to move around the air right where the bee was moving, and after twisting three times, it finally hit the bee between its head with perfect uracy.
A small sound rang, and both the bee and arrow turned into violet particles like fireworks.
Although Ace wasn''t able to see the Mind Draw, he clearly saw what happened afterward, and he had to admit, Conner was probably the bane of existence like him, who depended on his swift movement skills to escape.
If Conner was using his Orbit Intent, Ace didn''t have confidence that he could avoid his arrow.
At this moment, Conner looked at Ace and, with a hint of smugness hidden in his solemn eyes, said, "Did you see it clearly, boy? If not, then I''m afraid I can''t go any slower than this."
Ace was speechless for a long time as Conner''s expert like imagine instantly crumbled, this guy was clearly showing off!
Chapter 1011 Formulating a Plan
Chapter 1011 Formting a n
After Conner''s exhibition, he let Leroy ask any question he had about the Death Striker Archery Art. Ace really had some questions about the roaming arrow since the concept of imbuingmands within Qi was quite novel for him, and it was also very helpful for him as a whole.
Conner answered to the best of his abilities, and he even appreciated Leroy more because of his insights and perception.
After an hour, Conner finally left satisfied before giving Leroy some instructions and also told him that he would check on him again in a week.
Ace was finally alone, but he didn''t hurry to find Eva or excavate the Lightning Mountain. He quickly begins to read the Death Striker Archery Art''s jade scroll that Conner left him and consolidates the new knowledge and insight he just received further.
With Ace''s talent and current prowess, it didn''t take him long to get the crux of the first level, Arrow Marker. This concept was like his Thief''s Mark, but unlike his innate ability, this was far moreplex and, more importantly, well exined.
In fact, it even helped him to have a deeper understanding of his own ability, and Ace began tobine archery with his own unique traits and skills. He never thought that archery suited him just like swordsmanship, and it was even more suitable for his thievish path.
This is how he begins to walk the path of a thief archer.
Within a few hours, Ace was already reaching the mastery level of the Mind Draw; the bow as a limb was just like the concept of the sword as a limb, which he had learned long ago. One could say he already had the foundation for learning this weapon with half the effort.
If Conner knew this no one knows if the old man would have any face to show off again.
At night, in the training field, streaks of lights were rapidly shooting in the air continuously, and their source was naturally Ace.
He was holding a purple bow, and his hands were leaving behind blurs as the arrows continued to rain down from the bow in quick session at a terrifying speed. It even looked like the bowstring was drawing itself!
''ording to the Mind Draw, when one fully mastered it, they can shoot a hundred arrows per second. I can only shoot fifty arrows per second. But it''s not aboutprehending the mind draw anymore, but I''mcking experience and practice.'' Ace thought before stopping and putting away the bow.
He has already mastered the first two levels, but the third level was somewhat tricky which would require some time. But he was confident that he could master it within a week.
''Since I''ve already got the feeling of the true essence of archery, now I should mull over the Heaven Splitting Sword Secret Cultivation Technique and see if I canplete the requirements.
''ording to the secret cultivation technique, there are thirteen realms of swords. Each realm has a unique sword stance that can release a single sword move. Only after mastering a stance to perfection can I learn the other, or it can directly damage my cultivation foundation.
''But each realm has prerequisites that need to bepleted first, or I can''t even learn it, and that''s why I gave up since I didn''t understand the first realm prerequisites before.
''Just to start learning the first realm stance and sword move, I not only need the Sword Intent and know how to integrate different elements into it, but I need to have this Initial Sword Heart and cultivation of at least an eighth realm.
''Before, the system refused to rify what this initial sword heart was, but now, after learning the mystic abilities hidden within thews, I''m 99% sure that this initial sword heart is a kind of mystic ability of swordw.
''So, I should look in the archive of the imperial schools and search for this sword heart. As long as I have some clues, I might be able toprehend this initial sword heart and then finally learn the First Realm of Heaven Splitting Sword: Sword of Mortal Heart!
''I can''t ask Conner, or he might get suspicious about how I know about the initial sword heart since I''m an archer. There has to be some sword master within the imperial teachers as well¡''
Ace begins to formte a n to learn the Heaven Splitting Sword Secret Cultivation Technique. He had nevere in contact with a secret cultivation technique before. But its principles were the same as a secret skill, or art, it required a person to master some abilities first before they can begin to learn it. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Furthermore, this secret cultivation technique was a pure weapon cultivation technique that belonged to the weapon cultivation system, which didn''t even exist in the Mortal Sky Heaven. That''s why Ace was confused and didn''t know how to start this mysterious sword cultivation technique he earned from his heaven''s stealer mission.
It was like having a mountain of gold but not the correct equipment to excavate it. So, he perplexedly gave up on it until he got some clues. Now that he finally had some clues, he was not going to miss it since just the first realm of the sword required him to have an eighth realm cultivator. He can''t imagine what kind of prowess it would bring out.
Although he had his Eternal Thief Sword Style, it was still at the initial stages ofpletion, and toplete it, Ace was required to understand the truew of the sword, and only that could he truly call the Eternal Thief Sword Styleplete and peerless.
After making up his mind, Ace quickly entered his courtyard, which was quitevish and filled with secr m, and there was a highest-level cultivation chamber built in here that operates on grade-8 Qi stones or Soul crystals. It can be adjusted depending on the cultivator''s path.
Conner has already given him five thousand low-grade-8 soul crystals, which were truly a lot, considering one can''t even buy them with money or connections. These levels of Qi stones and Soul crystals were all controlled by the imperial n strictly, and only their loyal and highly valuable members could enjoy them.
But for Ace, who had billions, they were nothing. However, it didn''t mean he didn''t want more since he still required more to achieve the 9th stage of the eighth realm peak. So, if he could also grab the treasury of the imperial school, he would not miss the chance.
As for altering the imperial n, he had already done so, and there was no reason to hide as long as he didn''t expose his true identity as Heaven''s Stealer.
But before he starts this conquest, he still needs to find the temple location. So, to start his n, he needs to find his wife first, who could help him a little, and he also promised her that he would find her first when he was ready to raid the imperial n.
So, after setting up an illusion formation in the cultivation chamber, Ace snuck out of the mountain courtyard and headed toward the silhouette of a massive tower in the center of the imperial school, the Principal Tower!
Chapter 1012 Infiltrating the Principal Tower
Chapter 1012 Infiltrating the Principal Tower
??In the middle of a moonless night, Ace''s invisible figure crossed miles and carefully made his way towards the principal tower, which was thergest and most magnificent building of the imperial school; it could see from all the way to the entrance.
But others can see it; this didn''t mean anyone could approach it because there wereyers of restrictions in the way, and at a certain point, there was a forbidden zone, and anyone who dared to enter this area without permission would suffer.
The principal tower was the symbol of the Sky Heart Imperial School, and all the imperial teachers, vice principal, and principal lived there, so everyone was careful not to cross the line.
However, in recent years, other than the school''s top powerhouse, the imperial n''s direct descendants were allowed entry into the Principal Tower so they could privately learn from the imperial teachers and note in contact with just any random nobles.
ording to the traditions, only the sessor of the principal or his disciple can enter the Principal Tower and live there. Even the imperial family can''t enter this sacred ground for teachers wantonly. Yet, for some reason, this rule has begun to change since the instated of Vice Principal Jenna Skr.
But this matter was only privy to the imperial teachers or some very high-level figures of the empire, and no one dared to discuss it with anyone else since this is not a matter just anyone can get involved in.
Using the twilight traverse, unhindered, Ace crosses the distance between the Principal Tower, and with the live fate map, hepletely avoids all the physical traps hidden around the tower.
The Principal Tower was around five miles radius wide and shaped like a hexagon, and it was over 5000 meters tall. At night, it magically twinkled with countless stars as if countless stars were hidden within the space of the tower''s outer walls.
There was only one entrance to the Principal Tower, located right in front of the pathway that led towards the Principal Tower, and there was a hundred-meter-tall crimson arc gate, and there were engraving of giants on the gate.
Ace didn''t even stop to measure the strength of the gate as he could easily tell that it was protected with just an intermediate grade-8 formation, which couldn''t stop his advance of the twilight traverse. Only grade-9 formations that he entered the goldennds would stop him.
Crossing the gate like a phantom, Ace appeared in a vast space. Many giant stone statues stood tall on both sides of the tower wall between the white crystal columns, and names were engraved on their statues. Ace nced at those names, and just as he thought, they were all the past important figures of the Skr n. Most of them were the statues of the previous Mortal Emperors.
This was the memorial hall of the Principal Tower on the very first floor, and every one of these statues was once a student of the Sky Heart Imperial School. Each one of them was a terrifying figure, especially those who weren''t an Emperor yet still had the qualification to have their statues stand between all these past Mortal Emperors.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
However, Ace wasn''t here to admire the relics of the past and the statues'' craftsmanship. His focused turned on the thick pir in the center of this hall, that pir was actually a spiral staircase leading directly to the upper floors of the Principal Tower.
''She''s up there.'' Ace didn''t dy, and after sensing Eva''s presence, his lips curled up as he began to climb the spiral staircase. No one knew that a thief had snuck into the most secure ce of the Sky Heart Imperial School and the second most secure ce of the imperial city!
Ace quickly reached a closed door; this was the entrance to the second floor, and he crossed. To his surprise, this ce was actually packed with old bookshelves filled with countless books.
''This¡ the forbidden library of the Sky Heart Imperial School that only the imperial teachers can ess. Who could''ve thought they had left it here? And here, I thought it would be hidden in some secret ce under peak-level security.'' Ace couldn''t help but think in disappointment. He was very disappointed with this security and even wondered if those books were just some front to trick others.
He was nning to search for more information on mystic abilities ofws, especially the sword-rted ones, and he was about to search for this library with Eva''s help. Since she was most likely the principal''s disciple, it wouldn''t be a problem for her to find out where the forbidden library was. Yet, he found it by just breaking into the second floor of the Principal Tower. So, he was a little doubtful since it was too easy.
With his powerful thief sense, Ace quickly activated the heavenly sense ability andpletely enveloped the entire library, and with a thought, all the information on those ancient books began to appear in his knowledge gxy in the appearance of countless knowledge stars.
With the Knowledge Gxy, Ace didn''t need to worry about straining his knowledge sea. He can take an almost infinite amount of knowledge into the Knowledge Gxy and make it his own. This was the true benefit of the Avatar of Twilight''s Knowledge Gxy divine trait!
If his avatar weren''t still recovering from that strange power, Ace wouldn''t even need toe here.
Within a few minutes, Ace skimmed through the countless knowledge stars, and he was shocked to see that all the information in them was important and could be considered true hidden knowledge that the public wasn''t privy to.
This was really the forbidden library!
Ace quickly begins to look for the mystic abilities rted to swordw. Soon, he quickly found some information on the swordw-rted mystic abilities. The information was quite limited because in the history of the Sky Heart Continent there wasn''t a great number of sword cultivators, instead, strangely any cultivator who had ever awakened sword intent had died mysterious or vanished.
This was the strangest part about sword cultivators, and because of it, not many dared to cultivate in swordw anymore. The most information about weapon intent recorded in these books was about the Spear Law, which was the signature of the Skr Giant n.
Still, it didn''t matter to Ace since he had already gotten what he wanted; his eyes shimmered with tion.
''There is only a signal mystic ability that has ever been witnessed and recorded in the history of the Sky Heart Mortal Empire, the Sword Heart!
''The mystic ability that allows a sword cultivator to control any sword with just a simple thought without any kind of Qi, and every sword must submit to sword heart!''
Chapter 1013 The Devil’s Trap
Chapter 1013 The Devil¡¯s Trap
??After Ace confirms the Sword Heart, he searches for any information about how someone can achieve it or any clue. But to his dismay, there wasn''t any information about it all, and there was just information on the vague concept of Sword Heart''s ability.
However, it wasn''t like all hope was lost; he had all this knowledge the imperial school had collected over thousands of years, so he had to go through all of it patiently, and who knows, he might find something.
Still, now that he knew that the Sword Heart was a mystic ability of sword path, Ace decided to use one of the insight pills to mull over the swordw heprehended till this day and also the Sky Sword Manual, the highestw art he had except for the Heaven Splitting Sword.
Now that Ace thinks about it, the Sky Sword was created by a Sword Emperor named Executioner Sky Sword, and Ace didn''t believe that someone calling himself Sword Emperor would not know about the mystic abilities.
In fact, the Sky Sword Jade Scroll was a token to enter the secret realm where the true legacy of the Executioner Sky Sword was hidden, and thew skill Sky Sword etched in the jade scroll was just a tiny part of the Executioner Sky Sword''s true legacy.
Ace has already incorporated the Sky Sword Core Creation and Sky Sword Manifestation into his Eternal Thief Swords Style foundation. In fact, it was the very foundation of his sword cores. But despite his achievement, he still can''t understand the Sky Sword Crown, thest realm of Sky Sword.
Previously, he thought that he just needed time toprehend it. Still, after learning about the mystic abilities, he was sure that thisck of understanding was because he was still not worthy enough toprehend it.
That''s why he was now nning on using the precious insight pill on the sky sword that he previously thought was a waste.
After getting somewhat enlightened, Ace hurried over to the third floor, and this time, he appeared again in another vast library, which astounded him.
Although this library wasn''t as grand as the lower one, there were fewer books and more jade scrolls stored here under a protectionyer of a formation. But how could they stop Ace''s heavenly sense?
Ace instantly copied all the knowledge again, and after skimming through a portion of it, his eyes brightened because most of the knowledge stored here was about professions of the Sky Heart ins, like rune crafters, alchemy, spiritual cooking, and such.
There were some novel concepts and many formation blueprints, array designs, and recipes among them.
''The second floor was mostly a history collection, while this floor is filled with professional knowledge. Could it be the knowledge is divided between floors of this tower? But then, is this really the forbidden library?'' Ace mused with a hint of confusion.
But it onlysted for a moment; it didn''t matter since he was getting free knowledge in mass, so he was on his way towards the fourth floor, hoping to get even more free knowledge.
Just as he thought, the fourth floor was also a library, but there were no books; instead, jade scrolls were floating in the air like stars, a work of a formation. If someone needed to study these jade scrolls, they needed to have the skills and precision to capture them first.
Although it was somewhat tricky, Ace found that his heavenly sense still covered them all, and he excitedly annexed them into the knowledge gxy.
''So, they are really skills and arts; some are even at the Sky Breaker Grade. Good stuff. The next should be either cultivation techniques or secret skills.''n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace quickly left towards the fifth floor, and this time, he wasn''t greeted by another cluster of knowledge like he was expecting; instead, he appeared in a giant hall with sixrge corridors leading in six different directions.
With the fate map, Ace quickly spotted several fate points in one of the corridors, and surprisingly, the person he was looking for was also among them. His lips curled up, and he quickly entered the corridor lit in luminous crystals.
Soon, he spotted doors in the hallway; there were ten of them. Ace quickly approached the fifth door to the right and directly entered despite the formation protecting it.
An enthralling scent filled his nostrils the moment he entered before a soft boy directly pounced in his arms.
"You''re finally here." Eva''s gentle voice sounded.
Ace smiled as he hugged back the curvaceous devil tenderly, "So, you were waiting for me, huh? And here I thought I would give you a surprise."
Eva snuggled in his arms before looking at him cunningly, "I''ve known the moment you enter the capital, do you think only you can sense me? Still, you''ve arrived quicker than I''d anticipated."
"I just miss my beautiful wife, so how could I resist?" Ace stated matter-of-factly.
"Tsk, slick tongue." Eva smiled beautifully; although she was still wearing Evie''s disguise, Ace could see her clearly because of their unique connection.
Escaping from Ace''s embrace, she held his hand and dragged him into the cultivation chamber before activating all the formations and even setting up her own formation just to be extra careful.
"Since you''re here, I presumed you are ready?" She asked directly with a hint of excitement in her eyes; she was clearly looking forward to this.
"Not yet. I still don''t know the location of the temple. That''s why I''m here. I''ve heard you are now the most talented person of the Sky Heart Mortal Empire and the Principal''s disciple." Ace grinned as he felt proud of Eva.
Eva smiled smugly, "Why, of course, I just couldn''t help but put those arrogant imperial idiots in their ce. Furthermore, I wanted to draw their attention to ess the imperial pce and its secrets. I thought it would be helpful to you, and I wasn''t wrong."
Ace was gratified as he knew Eva had taken the risk for him while he was searching for treasures.
"Before anything, tell me, are you the Evil Venerable Angel? And how did youe up with this peculiar alias?" Ace curiously inquired.
When he said her alias, Eve felt Ace''s tone wasn''t right and squinted her eyes dangerously, "Indeed, it''s me. As for the Evil Venerable Angel, it''s an abbreviation of my name E.V.A. I thought you would instantly get it, but it seemed not only did you not get it, but you also didn''t like it, huh?"
She suddenly smiled, which wasn''t a smile at all, and the temperature suddenly dropped.
Ace''s expression changed as sweat broke out on his forehead, looking at Eva''s chilly smile, ''Shit, it was a trap!''
Chapter 1014 Flaggy
Chapter 1014 ggy
After failing to notice and appreciate Eva''s ''innovation,'' Ace knew he was in a lot of trouble.
He quickly pulled a ttering smile and said, "Oh, I was just thinking of that; how extraordinary. You really left me miles apart in thief name, I suddenly feel ashamed."
"Oh, really?" Eva narrowly smiled, clearly not believing him.
"Ahem, how could I havepared with your innovative mind?" Ace coughed with a righteous expression and quickly tried to change the topic, "I''ve heard that you''d been to the imperial pce and almost betrothal to the idiot second prince?"
"Hehe, something like this indeed happened." Eva smiled mysteriously.
"That idiot really doesn''t know his limit, did he?" Ace sneered coldly, "After he failed to get his hands on his brother''s fianc¨¦, he quickly set his eyes on Evie, who is even more talented than Riana. It''s all about politics and the throne within the imperial family."
Eva''s eyes brightened as she sensed something, "It appeared you have some personal dealing with the imperial family? What happened?" Her gossiping spirit was instantly aroused.
Ace security sighed in relief when he sensed the danger was passed and quickly began to tell her what he did after parting with her.
When Eva heard how he tricked the second prince and then robbed the goldennds of the imperial family, she couldn''t help butugh. But she was astounded when she heard about Ace''s adventure with the imperial princess afterward and the secret of the Ancient Sky Battlefield.
"Hmph, so you were having a st with another woman while I was working my ass off for you? How very daring of you!" Eva coldly uttered.
"What? It''s not like this!" Ace quickly exined, "Don''t you get the part where that princess ran off without even keeping her promise? You think I''m so fickle?"
"Who knows?" Eva snorted unhappily, "Still, since you admit your wrong I''ll forgive you."
''When did I admit my wrongdoing?'' Ace was bbergasted but decided to remain silent on this.
"These mystery ins are really not simple. You should probably hear about what happened with the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase, right? Evidently, this staircase was also found in Devil Mountain, one of the three mystery ins, and when I reached the top, I also found a treasure: ggy! The Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase was a test created by ggy to find a master!"
Ace was surprised before he confusingly asked, "ggy?"
"You darn girl, I''ve told you to call me Lord g!" The Heavenly Devil Soul g''s exasperated voice rang in Eva''s head, "And why are you telling him this? Aren''t you afraid he''ll get jealous and try murdering you? When ites to treasures like me, there is no love or family. A heart of men¡"
"Shut up!" Eva coldly yelled with killing intent in her eyes; she would stand anything but someone ndering Ace or doubting his love for her. Even if God told her this, she would spit on their face.
Ace was shocked when he heard Eva suddenly yelling ''shut up'' and killing intent shing in her eyes. His eyes narrowed. He knew her killing intent was not towards him, and it was probably this treasure she was just speaking about.
"Is it a spirit treasure?" Ace asked. Since he found the Violent Ocean Sword in the Ancient Sky Battlefield core, then this treasure from Devil Mountains might be the same.
Furthermore, this treasure was probably even more powerful than the Violent Ocean Sword since it could create the test like Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase, and from all the records, he knew how difficult this test had been, and no one was able to clear for hundreds of thousands of years.
But now, seeing Eva''s killing intent, Ace felt this treasure might not be as good as the Violent Ocean Sword, and his guard was up. He won''t let any harme to Eva.
Eva calmed down her killing intent under Ace''s worried gaze and snorted, "It is, and this weapon spirit is an egocentric idiot who doesn''t know anything better to do but to sow discord. Its name is Heavenly Devil Soul g, and its previous master seemed to be killed before it ended up within Devil Mountains. Although it didn''t tell me the whole story, there seemed to be some war millions of years ago.
"ggy is currently damaged and needs many materials to recover, but it is still powerful enough to deal with anyone in the Mortal Sky Heaven. Tell me if you need it; if it refuses, I''ll throw it in a feces pool."
"You ungrateful little!" The Heavenly Devil Soul g or ggy seemed to be gritting its teeth as this was its first time suffering such a humiliation. Its origin was earth-shattering, yet this little girl has no respect for it; if not for Eva''s potential and some resemnce to its previous master, he might''ve already broken the bond!
"Women are really blind when they fall in love. Just don''te cry to me if this man of yours one day turns against you because of his jealousy!" He sorted and then began to ignore her. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Hmph, don''t worry if such a dayes. I''ll make sure to seal you in a fecespool!" Eva retorted as she didn''t take its word seriously at all. She would rather believe that the world will end tomorrow than believe Ace would betray her one day.
Ace was astounded when he heard Eva''s overbearing words, and he couldn''t help but think, ''Is this ggy a pushover, or she just conquered it like this? Should I try being overbearing with treasure spirit next time?''
"Just be careful. You don''t need to take risk for me. Don''t hesitate to tell me if you sense something amiss with this treasure, and I''ll take care of it." Ace sent a mental transmission so ggy wouldn''t hear it.
Although he wasn''t confident in handling a spirit treasure, he still had the system!
Eva smiled sweetly, "Don''t worry, it''s under control. It''s just like to spout nonsense, but I can sense it didn''t have bad intention." But she didn''t say it out loud just in case ggy became happy.
Ace was somewhat relieved, "These mystery ins are indeed a treasure trove, but their backgrounds are unclear. So, we should avoid them if we don''t have another choice. Oh, and see if it has some use for you."
Flipping his hand, a meter in diameter spherical pitch-ck crystal appeared in Ace palm emitting ghastly killing intent, this was the Devil Core of Eight Eye Dark Devil!
Eva''s eyes widened when sheid her eyes on the devil''s core, and she felt as if she raced and a strange desire aroused from the depth of her bloodline, and she directly wanted to devour it.
The devil''s core suddenly trembled when it sensed Eva''s gaze as if it had encountered its nemeses!
"It''s the core of an abyss being and has such a powerful killing aura and abyssal essence! Did you find it in the Ancient Sky Battlefield?" Eva quickly asked as she had already taken the devil core from Ace''s hand.
Ace was surprised by Eva''s reaction. Although he knew this might be helpful to Eva, he didn''t think she would show such a reaction.
"Indeed, it was the reason for the entire killing intent on the battlefield. I found it at the core, and the Violent Ocean Sword was suppressing it all these years, stopping it froming back to life. What is the abyssal essence?" Ace asked.
Eva suddenly hesitated at this moment before ggy''s solemn voice rang, "Don''t tell him about the abyss; he''s too weak, and it will only bring cmity. Since you have been hiding it till now, it means you know how dangerous it is to speak about the abyss. It is not time for him toe in contact with this information!"
"I''m sorry I can''t tell you about it yet, but I promise I''ll reveal it to you after you ascend. Just know that this abyssal essence is a heavenly cultivation resource for someone with an abyssal bloodline." Eva answered ufortably with clear guilt in her eyes.
Ace was surprised as it was his first time seeing Eva hiding something from him, and for some reason, she sounded just like the system.
''Is it rted to the karma thing the violent ocean sword warns me about? It''s probably rted to her blood heritage.'' Ace mused before he nodded, "Don''t worry, I understand. You can tell me whenever you feel like it. Here I have more of these cores but they not at the same level as this one."
Ace handed her a storage ring filled with extra one-eye devil cores. Since he already had enough for Moira, he decided to give them to Eva since she could use them right now, and if he kept them, who knows when he''ll be able to find another use for them? As for thew hidden within them, Ace didn''t need them.
Eva received the ring, saw hundreds of thousands of devil cores, and felt warmth in her heart as she felt even more guilty about not telling me, and even her eyes became somewhat teary.
She pounced in his arms, "Thank you for everything."
Ace sensed her emotions and gently brushed her hair, "Don''t worry, I''m not ming you."
Eva suddenly looked up, and her appearance turned back, and she instantly kissed him¡ the night of passion was beginning to bloom¡
Chapter 1015 World of Cultivation
Chapter 1015 World of Cultivation
??After a few hours of ''reunion'', the sun was also beginning to rise, and Ace had to leave the principal tower just to be careful. After all, he was now the personal disciple of an Imperial Teacher, and it''s only been a day, so once the news starts to spread, there will be many eyes on Leroy.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
While Eva arranged his ck robe with a loving smile and rosyplexion, Ace said, "This is Principal Zack; what is his rtion with the Imperial Family? From the rumors, they don''t seem to get along too well. Furthermore, since he can even force the emperor to back down to put the marriage aside, it means he''s not so simple."
Hearing about Principal Zack, a hint ofplicated glint shed past Eva''s eyes, "Teacher¡ Principal Zack has been very nice to me. He was very sincere when he took me as his disciple. Although he doesn''t talk about his past, he told me that I should keep my distance from the imperial n and focus on cultivating.
"When the emperor invited me to the ceremony, Principal Zack gave me the choice to reject it, and he was very confident that the imperial family couldn''t do anything about it. But since my goal was to gauge the imperial n and also form some connection with them, I chose to go under the pretext of giving Evie''s family the honor.
"But even I never imagined that the old sod would directly bestow the marriage with that little fool. The gal of that guy, he didn''t even ask for my opinion at all. If I''m not wrong, Evie''s father, the Grand Duke, has already received benefits from the Emperor, so he had already agreed to it.
"However, in the end, Principal Zack appeared he directly rejected it on my behalf, and to make matters worse, he even dered that as long as I wanted to marry, not only did the candidate need his and my approval, but he even has to beat me within the same realm and the age difference can''t be more than ten years!
"When he dered it, the faces of the imperial courtiers and every member of the imperial family, including the emperor, were a sight to behold. Hehehehe!" Evaughed with relish as her eyes shimmered with impish glint.
She was really mad and almost went on a rampage when she heard about the marriage, and if Principal Zack hadn''te, she would have rejected it even if she had offended everyone.
Although she was already venereal with Ace and, ording to the devil race customs, they were already married, especially with the absolute proof of their love, the Ring of Endearment, she still wanted a grand ceremony like any other girl, and Ace even promised her one.
So, before that, how could she allow such an atrocity to happen? Even if she were pretending, she would never allow another man to touch her, even if it was for the purpose of the greater good, much less marriage.
That''s why her impression of the imperial n was now all-time low while Principal Zack became a man of principles and gant in her eyes. If before she thinks of Principal Zack as just a tool to reach her goal, now she thinks of him as someone worthy of her respect and feels somewhat bad about tricking the old man.
Now, she started to understand that her dream of bing a thief was difficult to fulfill, especially when she needed good and honest people like Principal Zack. She even wondered if Ace ever felt like this.
Ace also nodded in satisfaction when he heard about the full event that took ce that day, and he also had a good impression of Principal Zack now since he seemed an honorable man with a bottom line.
"Afterward, the emperor could only swallow his words and put the marriage aside with an ugly smile. Then Principal Zack took me back directly, and since I was curious, I asked him about why he took a risk to go against the Emperor for me.
"After all, everyone knows that going against the imperial family means certain death orplete ruin. But he, despite being a member of the Skr n himself, still dares to go against them.
"He then told me that the Imperial n were a bunch of foxes using the lion''s might, and they all fear those with true power. Although he only used this adverb to hint at something subtly, I''m sure someone is behind the Skr n.
"Then he told me the true reason why the imperial family gave him so much, and it is actually a top secret of the Sky Heart Mortal Empire. He would''ve never told me if I wasn''t his personal disciple, which can also affect my future.
"Principal Zack told me that he was very close to breaking the final boundary of the eighth realm, and once he seeded, he would be able to ascend, and the imperial family wouldn''t be able to stop him because he''s the strongest person in the entire Sky Heart Mortal Empire.
"In the history of the imperial family, only 23 people had ascended to the upper heaven, and all of them were Mortal Emperors. Despite not having the Skr n''s monarchial bloodline, Principal Zack achieved something not even the current Mortal Emperor could dream of, so how could they not be jealous and wary?
"But this is all they can do since they can''t suppress him, nor can they break their own image of a united n. If anything, it would bring an honor for the entire imperial family. That''s why they won''t dare to do anything to Principal Zack, and they are now waiting for him to ascend.
"That''s also why he told me this: after he ascended, he knew those people would not fear anything and could easily control me. Moreover, there was another reason that Principal Zack was able to reach this point, and that is his terrifying Soul Art that he found from some ancient ruin when he was young.
"But no one knows about this as they all think that he was the one who created it. But he told me the truth and handed me the original jade scroll that contained the soul art.
"ording to him, he only managed toprehend it up to 10%, and he didn''t have enough talent to go any further or lifespan. He said that he was content with what he had achieved, and if he managed to ascend sessfully, it would be a dreame true for him, and he would spend the rest of his life enjoying the scenery of the upper heaven. He didn''t have any more ambition or regret in his life.
"But this soul art is also why everyone would target his inheritor, so he''s willing to stop his cultivation despite his limited life. He could guide me, so I''ll be strong enough to protect myself once he manages to ascend or perish trying¡"
Eva sounded somewhat sad at this moment as she respected Principal Zack, who only wanted to ascend and live the rest of his life peacefully.
But s, the world of cultivation wasn''t somece where one could enter and leave as they pleased.
To reach the current height of his power and authority, just how many people had Zack crushed or killed, and how many people had he suppressed with his overpowered self?
Now, he wanted to leave and live peacefully; that was really a flowery dream¡
Chapter 1016 Unstoppable Pair
Chapter 1016 Unstoppable Pair
Ace''s eyes shed when he heard about Zack''s aspiration, "If he wanted to ascend, then this means he needed an ascension altar, right? If I''m not wrong, the imperial family should''ve used the Ascension Temple to ascend or at least something rted to it. So, this could only mean that Principal Zack knew about the location of this temple or at least some clues about it. Did you try probing it?"
Eva nodded before gloomily saying, "I indeed did since I also thought the same. But he didn''t tell me anything about it. All he told me was that he needed the imperial family when the time came. But he also said that in the future, if I ever reached this point, he''ll make arrangements for me, and also, he''ll bring me along to see him ascend since it is beneficial for my future cultivation path."
"This¡" Ace mused before his eyes brightened, "Didn''t this mean that all we need to do is to make Principal Zack take that step, and then you can follow him, and then you might be able to get the location of the ascension temple?"
"It should be the case." Eva nodded as she knew what Ace was thinking, "But it won''t be easy, especially now that he wanted to train me until I obtain the power to protect myself. Evie''s persona is only at the peak of the soul realm, and he won''t be satisfied until I reach at least the early stage of thewprehension realm.
"If I show too fast of progress, then he might get suspicious of me, so this approach might take us a few decades, even centuries if we don''t want to draw everyone''s attention."
Ace frowned as he knew Eva was stating the facts. Even though they were in a very optimal situation, this was also their shackle. He didn''t have time if Ace really wanted to go with this n.
Eva suddenly said, "That''s why I have another n that won''t require us to waste so much time, or you don''t have to take a huge risk."
"Oh, do tell?" Ace was astounded.
Eva suddenly pulled a mysterious smile as she said, "Didn''t I tell you after that marriage incident? Although the emperor seemed to have given up, it wasn''t the case at all. The very next day, the idiot prince suddenlyes here in the sham ofpleting his studies, but everyone knows that he''s here to win Evie''s heart, and since he''s been discreet about it, Principal Zack can''t do anything.
"Furthermore, you might not know this, but the second prince also has the spot of the Vice Principal Jenna. Jenna has a very special identity that only the ten imperial teachers know about. She''s actually the wife of the Mortal Emperor, the Mortal Empress, which also made her the imperial children''s mother!"
Ace was surprised by this revtion since he didn''t expect the empire''s Empress to serve as the school''s Vice Principal. This was really a huge matter. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Ace suddenly thought of something as he asked, "Could she be here to keep an eye on Zack and diminish his authority over the school?"
Eva smiled coldly, "Indeed, as I''ve told you, Principal Zack is the strongest person in the entire Sky Heart Mortal Empire, and he''s not someone the Imperial Family could control. He could even start a coup and change the entire imperial bloodline, so how could they allow him to raise his authority and influence?
"That''s why the empress was instated as a vice principal to stop this sort of matter from urring. But Principal Zack didn''t have such ambition; in his eyes, they were just clowns performing a show.
"But he also warned that I should stay clear of Jenna as she''s very scheming and actually the true political mind of the imperial pce. Since Evie has extreme talent, Jenna naturally won''t allow her to turn into second Zack, and since she''s also a woman, it''s given them even more confidence to deal with her.
"Simply put, as long as the prince can capture Evie''s heart, what can he do even if Principal Zack won''t agree? His lifespan ising to an end, and even if he doesn''t ascend, he won''t be here for too long. So, it was a perfect strategy, and they had ample time on their side.
"If Principal Zack hadn''t taken me as his disciple and silently left, then it was all well and good, but now that I''m his sessor and also someone with peerless talent, they won''t sit still.
"But what I didn''t understand is the Crown Prince swaggering his way here with his fianc¨¦ and he wasn''t just sitting idly as well, I have already received many gifts from him." Eva sneered in disdain as she wasn''t a fool.
A cold glint shed past his eyes as he had already expected this much, those guys were fighting over Riana''s favor all these years especially the second prince despite knowing her marriage arrangement with his brother.
Although the second prince was very careful, the Crown prince wasn''t a fool, so he sent Abner to keep an eye on Riana. But he also turned out to be a second prince spy.
Now the crown prince also gets the chance to get back at him, how could he miss it?
Furthermore, Evie''s talent was even more astounding than Riana''s; she had already achieved something impossible that even their founding emperor couldn''t, so she was even more important.
"What is your n?" Ace asked again, as he had already guessed in his heart.
Eva smiled evilly, "I was supposed to stay on the tenth floor of the tower where Principal Zack lived, but Jenna still somehow managed to convince him to keep me here until I reached the peak of soul manifestation.
"And now that those two idiots are pasturing me endlessly so, all I can do is remain in seclusion. But what if, I''ve yed those two fools into revealing the information of the ascension temple?
"In five weeks, the imperial family''s secret realm, the Sky Abyss, will be opened, and all the children of the imperial family and the most talented talents of the empire could enter; I''m also invited, and even Principal Zack has told me that the secret realm is filled with opportunities so he told me to go.
"Furthermore, the soul art I''ve told you about also originated from the Sky Abyss Secret Realm. Principal Zack acquired it when he entered the Sky Abyss in the past, which is the cause of his rise.
"Only those below the age of 150 can enter the Sky Abyss, which means there would be no one to protect those brats. We can get all the information we want!" Eva stated confidently.
Ace''s eyes also brightened as he knew this was a very good n, and since everyone would be isted from the outside, no one would know what was happening.
Just Eva was enough to handle everyone, and if he was also added to the mix, then they were unstoppable. Even in the entire Sky Heart ins, no one can match them.
Ace''s lips curled up thievishly, "You''re indeed my precious wife."
Eva smiled smugly, "Hmph, as long as you understand!"
Chapter 1017 Uninvited Guests
Chapter 1017 Uninvited Guests
After discussing some matters with Eva, Ace quickly left just as he arrived, and no one noticed anything.
Once he returned to begin Leroy, he didn''t leave his mountain courtyard and started to practice again in Death Striker Archery Art. Although he wanted to eat an insight pill to mull over the sky sword, he decided against it since the insight pill was very precious, and once he ate one, he would fall into a state of daze for months or even a year if he managed to found the insight he''s looking for.
Since there were only five weeks before the Sky Abyss Secret Realm opening, he didn''t want to miss it, or if Conner arrived and found Ace in his peculiar state, he might get suspicious.
Furthermore, he still didn''t know if Conner would even earn a spot for Leroy to enter the Sky Abyss Secret Realm. So, he might have to find some excuse to leave the school.
However, at noon, he received a visit from an unfamiliar, uninvited guest. It was a demon wearing imperial school robes and a broad sword attached to his back.
"I''m Imperial Student Purple Sword, a direct disciple of Imperial Teacher Thunder Sword. I''m here to meet my new junior brother, Leroy!" He loudly stated while standing at the foot of the mountain.
The personal mountains where the disciple resides were all protected by a formation so no one could disturb them or enter without permission. If someone dares to trespass, it would be harshly punished.
So, if someone wanted to pay a visit, they need to seek the permission of the student living on that mountain first. Furthermore, Leroy''s status was even higher because of Conner, and the mountain he was living at was one of the best presents in the entire imperial school.
News about Conner epting a human disciple had already been spread. Even if Conner didn''t brag about it, he still had to register Leroy under his name to acquire the culmination resources. So, this matter can''t be hidden since an imperial teacher epting a disciple was a huge matter.
"Please, Senior, enter; Leroy wees you!" Leroy''s impassive voice rang.
Purple Sword frowned as he narrowed his eyes. He had clearly stated his status as another direct disciple of an imperial teacher, and he was far more powerful than him as well as his senior, yet Leroy not only came down to receive him personally, but his voice was dismissive as if he was greeting a nobody.
Although Purple Sword wasn''t the only disciple of Imperial Teacher Thunder Sword, he was still one of the top three, so he had his own pride.
''Did he think since he''s epted by Death Striker, he''s the son of heaven?'' Purple Sword''s eyes were filled with displeasure; if not for someone important sending him here, he would''ve already stomped away.
Suppressing his anger, he climbed the mountain, and just as he was halfway there, another crisp voice, much gentler and warm, sounded, "Imperial Student Gentle Jade, a direct disciple of Imperial Teacher Saoirse, is here to greet junior brother Leroy!"
Purple Sword''s eyes shed with astonishment because he knew who this Gentle Jade was, and unlike him, she was the only disciple of Imperial Teacher Saoirse and a true powerhouse among the imperial students.
"Please enter Senior Sister, wee." Leroy''s dismissive voice rang again.
''This brat really didn''t know the immensity of the sky, did he?'' Purple Sword''s lips curled disdainfully, but he didn''t say anything and waited for Gentle Jade.
Soon, a graceful pitied figure of a woman appeared, she was a beautiful elf with delicate white features and hourss figure and an aura of nature surrounded her as if she was one with it.
Gentle Jade''s beautiful eyes shed with surprise when she spotted Purple Sword waiting there with a warm yet hideous smile. But her expression remained tranquil and warm.
"Greeting senior sister, what a surprise." Purple Sword warmly greeted without any hint of arrogance; a hint of adoration was present in his eyes.
"I could say the same." Gentle Jade nodded in acknowledgment, "So you are also here to pay junior Leroy a visit? It seemed Ie at the wrong time." Her smiles were meaningful as they both knew they weren''t here for just pleasantries.
"I don''t dare to think such a thing." Purple Sword polity said, "Since we are here, let''s go together. This new junior is quite interesting."
Gentle Jade could sense the double meaning behind Purple Sword''sst sentence, but she merely nodded, and both of them climbed the mountain together.
''How interesting¡'' Ace, who was standing outside his courtyard, waiting for those two neers, couldn''t help but smile coldly.
Although those two were quasiw awareness and early-stagew awareness realm cultivators, they werepletely helpless against his soul prob. So, while they were climbing the mountain, Ace was stealing their memories to find the truth about their intentions of visiting him as well as getting a clear picture of the imperial school.
Since they were far older and high-ranking students of the imperial school, they naturally knew about many secrets of both the imperial school and the capital because of their backgrounds.
As for directly greeting and receiving them, Ace thought little of it since he didn''t care about how they felt. Leroy''s status was enough to protect him from anyone, and as long as the imperial teacher-level figure didn''te, he didn''t need to give someone else much face.
Soon, both of the visitors arrive, and when they see Leroy standing there, powerful senses wash over him. Although it was rude to probe someone with their martial and soul senses, as long as they won''t find out, it wasn''t rude at all.
But how could they see through Ace? They only saw what he showed them!
"Seniors, it''s my utmost pleasure to meet you two. Forgive myck of hospitality, but I''m new here, so I hope you can forgive me if I showed you something embarrassing." Leroy politely bowed.
Purple Sword sneered, "Heh, I can see that Junior is new andcks some manners. But don''t worry, I know you''ll learn in time."
Gentle Jade was courteous and warm. "You are really extraordinary to catch the eye of Imperial Teacher Death Striker. Here, I bring you a meeting gift. You have to ept it."
She flipped her hand, and a translucent jade bottle appeared, and inside was a ruby pill.
Ace could sense that this pill was a high-grade-6 soul-
gathering pill, only worth 1 SP to current him. But it was a very expensive and rare gift for any other soul manifestation realm.
"Thank you." He epted it.
Purple Sword frowned seeing this, but he remained silent as he didn''t bring anything, and he was nning to give it away to Leroy since he didn''t like him.
"Pleasee inside." Ace invited them in.
They didn''t decline and followed him into the guest hall.
At this moment, Gentle Jade suddenly said while ncing at Purple Sword, "I know Junior Purple Sword has some private matter to talk about with Junior Leroy, and I''m the same. So, since junior Purple Sword came first, I''ll wait outside before you talk over with junior Leroy. Don''t worry, take your time."
"You have my gratitude, senior sister." Purple Sword didn''t decline.
"Alright." Ace also agreed.
Soon, only Leroy and Purple Sword were sitting around a table.
Leroy said, "Please speak your mind, senior; I will do my best if there is a matter that I can help you with." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Purple Sword nodded before his expression became stern, "I won''t beat around the bush with junior Leroy. I''m here on behalf of the Crown Prince to invite Junior Leroy to join His Highness''s faction!"
Chapter 1018 Playing on Both Fronts
Chapter 1018 ying on Both Fronts
Since he already knew, Ace didn''t seem surprised by Purple Sword''s invitation. But Leroy still put an astonished expression before excitement flushed on his face.
"C-crown prince? Senior, are you really sent here by his highness crown prince?" He asked ecstatically.
Purple Sword''s lips rose with a hint of disdain as if he was expecting this sort of reaction. After all, the Crown Prince was the further ruler of the empire, and being noticed by him was a blessing of nine generations, especially for someone like Leroy, who was rising; at least, that is what he believed.
"Of course. His Highness appreciates talents like Junior Leroy and likes to support them to his full capacity. As long as you pledge your allegiance, I dare say that your future will be limitless." Purple Sword said matter-of-factly.
Leroy nodded in agreement before a hesitant look appeared on his face, "Would my teacher allow it?"
Purple Sword replied, "Look, I would be blunt with you, if you want to rise you have to grab every opportunity and this is an opportunity thate once in a blue moon. Even if your teacher won''t allow it, no one will know as long as you keep it to yourself.
"You will eventually surpass him in no time; the future belongs to youths like us, and the Crown Prince is the face of the young generation. We can all decide our future and choose a side. You are free to reject unless you also want to rot away in the imperial school and be content with your status."
''He''s even more professional in lying than me.'' Ace snickered in his heart. He knew Purple Sword was trying to trick him because Death Striker actually abhorred the policies, and he even once rejected the Mortal Emperor''s invitation to join his imperial court.
But some imperial teachers, like Purple Sword''s master, Imperial Teacher Thunder Sword, were overly ambitious and weren''t satisfied with just the status of the imperial teacher, so they secretly joined the emperor''s side, and even Principal Zack didn''t know it.
This was secretly done by Empress Jenna to reduce Zack''s authority over the imperial school further.
Now, even the imperial princes were sticking their noses in the imperial school by recruiting the future experts of the empire¡ªespecially those who wanted the throne of the empire like the first and second princes.
Since Purple Sword''s master was loyal to the Mortal Empire and enjoyed tremendous benefits because of it, how could his students not follow the same pattern?
The Crown Prince had over seventy percent chance of bing the future Mortal Emperor, so Purple Sword had chosen his side and wasn''t the only one. In fact, almost all the direct disciples under any imperial teachers have already chosen a side.
But the politics weren''t allowed within the walls of the school, so it was all done discretely and under extreme secrecy.
Just like right now, Purple Sword approached Leroy under the pretext of congratting him, and even if Death Striker found it, he wouldn''t be suspicious.
Purple was trying to trick Leroy into believing that his talent was extremely high and that he would surpass his master in the future, so why would he care about him? This was bluntly sowing discord between a teacher and his student, which was punished by expulsion and cultivation crippled.
Since Leroy was new and at the peak of his life, feeding his vanity, this should''ve been very easy, and it indeed would''ve been easy if it was real Leroy to begin with. But s, the person they were dealing with was Ace.
"If that''s the case, then I''m honored to be selected by his highness!" Leroy replied without hesitation.
''Heh, just as I thought, he''s a lucky fool.'' Purple Sword jeered in his heart before he smiled warmly approvingly, "I know Junior is sensible. Here, this is a soul contract you need to sign. But don''t worry; it is just a little precaution, and everyone signed it upon joining. Once you do this, you''ll enjoy evesting riches and High Highness protection!"
He quickly ced a soul contract in front of Leroy, which was already filled with many uses that made sure that Leroy wouldn''t betray the Crown Prince and, in return, the Crown Prince would provide Leroy with cultivation resources to the best of his abilities. In fact, this contract was very reasonable and wasn''t overly excessive.
Leroy appeared to hesitate for a moment before he signed it.
"Very good." Purple Sword approved with augh as he looks the soul contract, turning into a streak of light and entering Leroy''s soul. He then takes out a storage ring and gives it to Leroy.
"This is your gift. His Highness has personally prepared it. Take it there is plenty where that came from."
Leroy appeared excited as he took the ring with shining eyes, "Thanks, His Highness, on my behalf."
"Certainty. Now, I must leave, and oh, if Senior Gentle Jade asked what happened, feel free to tell you. She''s someone who belonged to the second prince faction. She''s here for the same purpose. Just ignored her and don''t worry about second prince, he can''t touch you now that you are one of Crown Prince''s men. Lastly, if you got selected for the Sky Abyss Secret Realm, you have to assist His Highness." Purple Sword sternly stated before he left the room.
"So, how did it go?" Gentle Jade inquired when she saw Purple Swording outside.
Purple Sword pulled a mysterious smile as she replied, "You should ask Junior yourself. Now, if you''ll excuse me, senior, I have other matters to tend to." He left in a very good mood.
Gentle Jade''s eyes narrowed coldly for the first time, ''Could it be this guy is an idiot and agreed without even hearing about the second prince''s condition first?''
She quickly entered the room and saw Leroy waiting for her. But she wasn''t in the mood to waste time as she directly asked, "Did you join the crown prince faction?"
Leroy suddenly snorted as he shook his head, "No way. I don''t like that guy, nor do I like the Crown Prince''s attitude. In fact, I''ve long since admired the second prince, and I think his highness is more suitable for the future of the empire."
Gentle Jade was shocked to hear Leroy''s disrespectful words. Her eyes suddenly shimmered, and her expression turned extremely gentle and warm as she nodded in approval.
Although she found it strange since Purple Sword''s reaction didn''t match Leroy''s tone, she didn''t think that Leroy would lie about something like this. After all, she knew the involvement of soul contract.
"You are indeed someone who could tell good from bad. Consider me impressed." Gentle Jade warmly smiled.
"You praise me too much. I''m just stating the facts." Leroy humbly smiled. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Nodding in approval, she didn''t waste time and took out the soul contract, and it was just like the soul contract Purple Sword offered Leroy. But the benefits were five times greater than what the Crown Prince had offered him. Just in this regard, one could see how cunning the second prince was as he knew what kind of man his big brother was and his bottom line.
"The second prince greatly appreciates your loyalty. I thank you for his highness. As long as you sign this, you will be our brother in arms!" She solemnly states with a hint of infatuation as she speaks of the second prince.
''Tsk, tsk, he really has a way with women.'' Ace sighed as she looked at Gentle Jade''s adoration towards the Second Prince.
He knew from her memories that she was already the second prince bed warmer and had promised her the imperial consort position as long as he rose to the throne.
Still, it has nothing to do with him, and he was just ying those two idiots, so he also signs the soul contract.
Gentle Jade also discussed the Sky Abyss and then left after handing him a storage ring.
But neither faction knew they were ying in Ace''s hands, and they would suffer very badly because of their own craftiness!
Chapter 1019 Life Lightning Quartz (1)
Chapter 1019 Life Lightning Quartz (1)
After Purple Sword and Gentle Jade left, no one came to disturb Leroy again, which was very appreciated by Ace, and as the night fell, it was time to take care of the Lightning Mountain!
Before Ace was still thinking about how he would handle the aftermath of taking the Life Lightning Quartz since the natural lightning and the lightning beasts on the mountain were all because of the Life Lightning Quartz,
Once he excavated the Life Lightning Quartz, the mountain would be normal, and since it was one of the imperial school''s special training fields, they wouldn''t just brush it off with an act of nature excuse.
In fact, this might raise some people''s guard and suspicion. Although Ace wasn''t nning on raiding the imperial school treasury, he still had to consider the imperial n, who were already wary.
Ace again left his mountain and headed toward the south, deeper into the mountain range. This entire mountain range was allocated to the personal disciples of the imperial teacher, so everyone living there was an elite among the elite.
After a few minutes, Ace entered arge mountain; although it was slightly smaller than his, it wasn''t anywhere near ordinary.
But the owner of the mountain wasn''t alerted of the intruder since it was way out of the formation and his own abilities.
In the cultivation chamber filled with blue mist, a burly demon was sitting cross-legged while the blue mist was swirling around his body.
Suddenly, Ace''s hooded figure appeared like a ghost behind him, and he used soul words tomand, "Sleep until you hear my sound!"
The demon''s solemn expression suddenly became peaceful as the blue mist around him quickly vanished. His soul was far weaker than Ace''s, so the effect of the soul words on him was even more powerful.
Ace didn''t waste any more time and sacked the demon into his thief''s space, and the next moment, a little chick appeared on his shoulder. It was naturally Cyrus.
Cyrus was with Eva all this time, but after she became Zack''s disciple, she had to hide him in her ring of endearment. But since Ace was already here, he decided to take him back because when it came to hunting natural treasures, Cyrus was very capable.
So, it would be quite easy to find the Life Lightning Quartz no matter its ability. Even if Cyrus can''t find it, Ace is confident in the fate map and his own prowess.
"Hmm? Is it time to eat?" Cyrus sleepily muttered.
"Yeah, I''m taking you to find something good. If you do well, I''ll reward you!" Ace smilingly said as he looked at the little guy who only knows how to sleep, eat, or have fun.
Cyrus''s drowsy eyes instantly became active and shone like two sapphires when he heard Ace''s words and quickly vitalized, "What are we finding? Is that food? How much you''ll give me?"
"It''s not something for you to eat. It''s not remotely rted to fire, so don''t even think about touching it. I''m only taking you out so you can have fresh air or go to sleep." Ace stated.
"Whaaat¡" Cyrus cried in indignation, "You''re just bullying me! Do you want me to starve to death?"
Ace smirked, "Little brat, say something believable."
Cyrus began to rant on and fight for his food with every method he knew, but he didn''t get past Ace. In fact, Ace found it amusing to tease Cyrus, and this was also helpful for his childish mentality.
Soon, after bypassing every security measure, Ace finally came back to the lightning mountain, which was extremely magnificent in the dark of night. It was like the lightning was dancing in the dark sky.
"There''s really something good in this ce!" Cyrus'' eyes shimmered with excitement as he gazed at the lightning mountain full of hunger.
Ace wasn''t surprised by this and also opened the fate map and carefully began to scan the lightning mountain. Finding the Life Lightning Quartz within so many red fate points was very hard.
At this moment, Ace finally spotted something; there was a signal fate point at the top of the mountain. Still, he couldn''t confirm if it was the Life Lightning Quartz he was looking for.
"Alright, I''m going to enter. Tell me where this treasure you''re sensing is." Ace asked Cyrus.
"I want half!" Cyrus instantly demanded, raising his tiny beak slightly.
"Forget it. I''ll find it myself, and you won''t even get the fire-type delicacies I''ve prepared for you as a reward." Ace shrugged his shoulder.
Cyrus panicked a little when the negotiation broke before it could even start, and hearing about those delicacies, he really began to crack.
"T-then just a little of this food as well as all the delicacies!" Cyrus put his new condition with clear unwillingness.
Ace smiled a little as his heart softened, "Alright, if it''s just a little piece, and it won''t affect the Life Lightning Quartz, you can have it." N?v(el)B\\jnn
Cyrus quickly cried in happiness, "Yay¡ alright, let''s capture this food quickly. It is hiding under this mountain!"
Ace''s eyes shed as he didn''t think it was under the mountain, not at the top, which meant his spection was inurate, and this Life Lightning Quartz was quite hard to deal with. If not for Cyrus, he might''ve had to waste huge time searching for it.
Furthermore, despite his own sensitivity to lightning elements, he can''t sense the Life Lightning Quartz because this ce is filled with natural lightning aura.
"Underground, huh? Alright, point me in the direction. Leave the drilling to me." Ace stated as he quickly headed toward the pointed direction.
The next moment, Ace''s entire figure suddenly turned into a hazy dark mist before he began to sink underground, and then he turned into a shadow streak and darted in the direction Cyrus was pointing.
This was the Element Divergence of shadoww, and it was very useful to pass through things without damaging them or leaving behind any traces. Ace''s proficiency inws rted to darkness had already reached an extremely profound level, and the more he understood the darkness, the more powerful the branch ofws became. He can even cover Cyrus under his shadow intent without hurting him.
Following Cyrus''s lead, Ace was shocked when he dived almost a hundred miles deep into the ground, and now he begins to feel even more dense lightning Qi hidden here.
After going five miles more, Cyrus finally cried, "It''s right up ahead!"
Ace also didn''t need to hear it from Cyrus because he suddenly entered an emerald lightning sea!
Chapter 1020 Life Lightning Quartz (2)
Chapter 1020 Life Lightning Quartz (2)
The moment Ace appeared within the emerald lightning sea, his element divergence suddenly broke, and his body became visible again, which greatly astounded him.
''This lightning is clearly far more powerful than eighth realm Qi!'' Ace concluded with shining eyes.
"Big bro, the food is running away!" Cyrus suddenly cried in rm.
''It''s really just as the system described it!'' Ace''s eyes narrowed, and he was about to give chase when all the lightning sea around him suddenly churned.
The dense life energy within the lightning suddenly contained destructive killing intent, and the lightning sea began to change shape. Soon, a ten-headed lighting emerald Wyrm condensed, giving off a world-destroying aura.
''Lightning phantom atte stage eighth realm?'' Ace''s eyes widened slightly, and he knew it was Life Lightning Quartz''s doing. It wanted to buy time to flee or directly kill the intruder with this Wyrm.
But Ace wasn''t going to give it a chance; since it could sense him, it was able to lock on him. However, what if it can''t sense Ace?
Ace quickly sent Cyrus back into the thief''s space and thenmanded the system, "Summon the Devil Horn Dark Owl Wings and Devil''s Horn!"
After he reached the eighth realm, the summoning time of his two summoning abilities also increased, especially the Devil''s Horn ability, which was most useful. Its summoning time was now five whole minutes!
The moment his figure turned ethereal and vanished, he could feel that the Lightning Wyrm''s killing intent lifted!
Ace has already locked on the Life Lightning Quartz within the fate map, so, taking advantage of the Wyrm''s static state, he quickly chased after it at full speed!
To his astonishment, the Life Lightning Quartz seemed to be moving upward, and its speed suddenly slowed down as it clearly sensed that the intruder had vanished as the Lightning Wyrm was created by it.
Taking full advantage of this, Ace quickly approached it and soon spotted an emerald glowing like a sun!
Ace was finally able to see the true appearance of the Life Lightning Quartz. Around two meters in diameter, the mineral crystal contained a dark green fment inside, which seemed to be the source of dense lightning.
However, what was strange was that in normal quartz, the strip inside the crystal would be still. However, the fment inside this quartz seemed to be slowly moving as it hovered inside it, unlike a small snake. It was simply a very magical and mysterious phenomenon.
The Life Lightning Quartz hade to aplete halt, and this gave Ace a chance to approach it quickly. Despite its highly sensitive nature towards danger, it wasn''t able to detect Ace''s Devil''s Horn form.
But as Ace approached it, he could feel extremely powerful. Lightning wanted to invade his body and mind. However, because of his heavenly punishment, thunder baptism, Ace was able to defend against this lightning.
If it were any other cultivator, even with the lightning element affinity, they would''ve turned into dying embers!
Even though Ace approached it, capturing it was another matter. Since this Life Lightning Quartz has a spiritual nature, it won''t obediently enter the thief''s space. In fact, it was the trickiest part, and he knew he had to force it.
But Ace didn''t think that just his heavenly Qi was enough. After all, this Life Lightning Quartz was a treasure above the 9th grade. So, he wasn''t going to underestimate it.
"Lawless Darkness!"
Ace coldly activated hisw authority, and right at this moment, the Life Lightning Quartz was finally able to sense the danger it was in.
But s, it was already toote. As the eerie darkness surrounded it, not to mention fleeing, it began to tremble while its lightning became chaotic as if it was extremely fearful.
Ace covered it in pitch-ck Qi without wasting even a second and then tried to take it inside the thief''s space forcibly. He didn''t have much time in this state.
Although the Life Lightning Quartz tried to resist, it was nothing against the authority of darkness. Ace even senses powerful lightning entering his body and merging with it. It was the devouring power of darkness!
If he continues, he would be able to annex the life lightningwpletely, but his purpose wasn''t to devour it. So, the moment it entered the thief''s space, Ace quickly canceled thewless darkness, and to make sure nothing untoward happened, he brought Cyrus out!
The moment Life Lightning Quartz was captured and entered thief''s space, something strange happened: the entire ground suddenly shook, and the ten-headed Wyrm down turned into nothingness, and above the lightning clouds over the lightning mountain began to dissipate as well as all the lightning phantoms within the mountain!
Ace knew now was the time to leave before the authorities noticed this sudden change. But before that, he initially headed down where the lightning sea was located, and now it was just a giant hole.
Ace threw the demon''s body into his hole and issued amand using the soul words, "Wake up after 10 minutes!"
Done arranging the scapegoat, Ace quickly leaves for his mountain.
After ten minutes, the demon suddenly jolted awakened, and when he sensed the lingering lightning aura as well as the dark surroundings, he was dumbfounded.
"Where am I? I was cultivating in my cultivation chamber. How can I appear here?!" He was shocked as well as spooked and quickly released his martial sense to see if there was some terrible enemy.
But when he found nothing, he was even more bewildered but even more horrid nheless. An array disc appeared in his hand, and he activated it.
Soon, his eyes opened wide, "I''m underground!?"
While the demon was getting scared out of his wits, the lightning mountain was nowpletely peaceful above the ground, and the lightning phenomena above it were now gone.
After half an hour, terrifying figures began to appear above the mountain, and one of them was Vice Principal Jenna!
"What happened to the lightning mountain?" She couldn''t help but ask the imperial teachers in a bewildered tone.
The lightning mountain was connected to the protection formation of the entire school, and it was one of the coreponents to keep the formation active without spending Qi stones on it. These coreponents were naturally connected to the principal tower, which was the eye of this ancient formation.
So, when the power source suddenly stopped providing power, the entire Principal Tower issued an rm, and the high-level authorities who lived in the Principal Tower were naturally alerted.
"The natural lightning clouds are gone! Could it be the lightning tower is finally exhausted?" A burly demon hesitantlymented. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
He was the most familiar with lightning elements and the lightning mountain out of all of them, and his title was also rted to lightning. He was an imperial teacher, Heavy Thunder Sword!
"How could that be? It was perfectly fine the other day." Conner retorted as he stated. He had conducted the test for Leroy just yesterday in this ce, and if the lightning clouds had dissipated, he would''ve noticed it.
"Not only that, but all the lightning beasts are also gone. Even if the natural lightning clouds dissipate, those lightning beasts shouldn''t, and this mountain was filled with lightning, but now it''s like an empty husk. It''s like someone has absorbed all the lightning from the root!" A human imperial teacher solemnly stated.
Jenna frowned even harder as this matter was bing extremely strange, but at this moment, she suddenly noticed something when her soul sense picked up something.
"Who''s there?!" She coldly spoke. Her voice was mild, but it sounded like a thunderp, and her figure vanished, and she appeared at the foot of the mountain.
The next moment, she waved her slender hand gently, and the entire ground was torn apart, and a figure in a miserable state was captured in her Qi.
"Spare me! I''ll do anything, just don''t kill me!" A hollered shriek rang like a pig being ughtered.
Jenna frowned as coldness crept into her eyes, and despite her face hidden behind her mask, her expression was clearly frosty, "Speak, what did you do to the Lightning Mountain!"
"What lightning mountain?" The demon cried in resentment and bewilderment.
At this moment, Heavy Thunder Sword suddenly moved in rm as he appeared right in front of this demon, his eyes wide open, "Purple Sword, what the hell are you doing here?!"
The demon, who was indeed Purple Sword, also a lightning cultivator, instantly burst into tears!
Chapter 1021 What If…
Chapter 1021 What If¡
While the entire upper echelon of the Sky Heart Imperial School was shaken, the real person responsible for it was busyprehending the archery like nobody''s business
As for the Life Lightening Quartz waspletely suppressed after entering the thief''s space and became like a vulnerable cat. It was nowpletely under Ace''s control, and when Cyrus appeared, it literally trembled under the little guy''s wolf-like, hungry eyes.
Ace kept his promise in the end, and since only the fment within the Life Lightening Quartz was important to him, he carefully cut a small outer shell with heavenly lightning sword intent and gave it to Cyrus. Only then did the little guy calm down. Furthermore, Cyrus fell into slumber after consuming that small part.
Ace also found that only an extremely high level of lightning could cut the Life Lightening Quartz, and his despair lightning was not enough, but the heavenly lightning was like the bane of the life lightning, so it was easily cut apart.
So, he carefully ced it under a sealing formation and hid it in a remote corner of the thief''s space. Only then did he return to cultivates.
Days passed, and in these past days, Ace could sense that the imperial school was filled with slight chaos, and he knew it had something to do with the lightning mountain. But no one came to disturb him, which meant his n worked, and now everyone was suspecting Purple Sword.
But he knew it was impossible to have Purple Sword take responsibility since there were many methods to find the truth. However, it would still give him time and keep others'' attention on Purple Sword.
A month passed, and the incident of the Lightning Mountain was now known to everyone in the imperial school, but no one knew who caused it, and ording to the information released by the Principal Tower, it was a natural phenomenon. As for Purple Sword, he has yet to return to his dwelling.
On this day, Conner finallyes to check on Leroy.
But there was a hint of fatigue in his eyes, "Sigh, I meant toe earlier, but too many things have happened. I hope you weren''t cking off."
Leroy seemed surprised as he inquired with some concern, "What happened, Master? Is everything all right?"
Seeing the concern in his disciple''s eyes, Conner suddenly felt very good; he waved his hand and said, "Nothing your master can''t handle. In fact, that old thief Heavy Thunder Sword almost gone mad with indignation!" A hint of gloating was present in Conner''s tone.
''Old thief?'' Ace was surprised as he could sense that there was some history between Conner and Heavy Thunder Sword. It also appeared that the matter of Purple Sword has somewhat affected his master as well.
"Alright, this has nothing to do with us. Show me how much you have progressed with the Death Striker Archery Art. If you make some progress in the first level, I''ll give you a good opportunity." Conner sternly stated.
''But I''ve already mastered the three levels. If I can get the other three levels, my progress will be faster, and I''m also on the verge of gasping for the bow and arrow intent, the Orbit Intent.
''However, if I revealed my progress, it would be too shocking. But I might not get another chance once I enter the secret realm since I have to start the final mission before something untoward happens, like the United Maind incident.
''Conner seemed to be sincerer, so if I showed my talent, he might be happy¡ what to do¡'' Ace was in a dilemma.
Although he wanted to remain low-key and avoid arousing suspicion, he also wanted to make progress with his sword intent so he could learn the Heaven Splitting Sword Secret Cultivation Technique.
Furthermore, he wasn''t going to stay here since he had other matters to tend to, and he was only here for Eva. Once the secret realm was opened, he had to take drastic measures so he might not return.
If he wanted, he could easily steal from Conner, but he didn''t want to since Conner had no malice towards him and was sincerely teaching him. Once he leaves, Conner would be greatly affected, so he wants to repay the kindness as much as he can, and stealing from him would have the opposite effect.
But as a thief, he knew emotions only get in the way, and his progress mattered the most. Only then can he survive on this path. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Determination shone in Ace''s eyes as he looked at Conner, who was expectantly waiting for him to show him his progress.
"Umm, master, what if Iprehend all three levels?" Ace stared deeply into Conner''s eyes as he wanted to see through his reaction.
Conner''s eyes widened when he heard this question; he was bewildered for a moment before he suddenly burst into wantonughter, "Hahahaha, master all three levels in a month? If you achieve that, then all my life umtion will be yours. Little brat, there''s no need to lie to make your master happy; such an archery genius is heaven-dying and might never appear in forever. Now stop spouting nonsense and show me your progress."
He clearly wasn''t going to believe Leroy since it was impossible for such a monster to appear, and all his life''s worth of achievement would turn into a joke.
Ace didn''t sense anything from Conner since this was a really ridiculous im.
In the end, he took out the bow, pulled the string, and said to Conner, "Master, can you make that Bee target for me?"
''Is he serious?'' Conner''s eyebrows shot up as he looked at Leroy''s serious expression, and his heart skipped a beat for a moment, "Alright, I''ll make a movement to match your cultivation level; let''s see if you''re really telling the truth or not."
He didn''t reject it, and a bee appeared just like the one he used to demonstrate. The next moment, the bee pped its wings and turned into a streak of lightning as it moved in the air.
Conner held his breath as he looked at Leroy as a Qi arrow appeared on his bow, and soon the Qi arrows suddenly churned as the arrowhead began to revolve lightly.
''T-this¡'' Conner''s eyes almost popped out when he saw this as he could sense that Conner had really mastered the first two levels to perfection.
When Conner was almost scared silly, the arrow was finally released, and like it had a mind of its own, the arrows instantly chased behind the bee.
After two seconds, the arrow directly pierced the bee, and with a small bang, both the arrow and the bee turned into particles!
Conner looked at this scene as if his soul had left his body with a dumbstruck look on his face, and his mouth was wide open.
Ace found it somewhat fully as he said with an innocent expression, "Do you believe me now?"
Chapter 1022 Sky Abyss Secret Realm (1)
Chapter 1022 Sky Abyss Secret Realm (1)
When Conner was almost scared silly, the arrow was finally released, and like it had a mind of its own, the arrows instantly chased behind the bee.
After two seconds, the arrow directly pierced the bee, and with a small bang, both the arrow and the bee turned into particles!
After two seconds, the arrow directly pierced the bee, and with a small bang, both the arrow and the bee turned into particles!
Conner looked at this scene as if his soul had left his body with a dumbstruck look on his face, and his mouth was wide open. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Ace found it somewhat fully as he said with an innocent expression, "Do you believe me now?"
Conner remained gobsmacked for a while as if he was in a dream and would awake in the next moment. But seeing Leroy''s solemn expression and the Qi lingering in the air, he knew it was far from beginning a dream.
His body trembled as he finally snapped out of his stupor, "I¡ you¡ you really did master the first three levels in a month?"
"Yes, master. The disciple was lucky to have sudden enlightenment after you demonstrated that day. I guess it''s all thanks to your excellent teaching method." Leroy ttered Conner as he respectfully bowed.
"E-enlightenment?" Conner''s mind jolted when he heard this, and his eyes shone the next moment, "So, that''s how it is! Although I only read about it, there are some legends about a sudden epiphany that can only ur by luck. It seemed you got lucky, and it also showed your talent in archery. Hahahaha, my disciple is so talented that he even managed to obtain enlightenment! Good!" Conner suddenly began tough widely as he seemed extremely proud.
Ace couldn''t help but feel relieved when he saw Conner''s reaction; there was really no malice hidden behind his joy. He seemed really happy for his disciple. If even a hint of malice had been detected, Ace nned to drop all pleasantries.
Afterughing heartedly for a while, Conner finally looked at Leroy, observing him from top to bottom, and then nodded in acknowledgment.
"It appeared I was quite narrow-minded earlier. I shouldn''t have doubted my own disciple that I''ve taken in personally." Conner smugly dered before his expression went stern, "Alright, disciple, I want you to keep this matter of your enlightenment to yourself. Under any circumstances, you can''t tell anyone, not even your kin, because this matter can rattle many people''s feathers.
"You might not know, but in the history of the empire, only three people had recorded to have epiphany. The founding emperor, the eighth mortal emperor, the 49th Mortal Empress, and all these people were able to ascend to a higher realm of immortals.
"But there is one thingmon among them: they were all the members of the imperial n. In fact, there was an extremely secret matter recorded in my n that no one knew.
"I''m going to tell you because it has something inmon. Over twenty thousand years ago, there was a peerless sword cultivator who was suddenly enlightened in thew of the sword, and with just that enlightenment, his sword became unstoppable, and no one was his match in the same realm. In fact, he can even fight by jumping a whole realm.
"But only after a few years of his glory, he suddenly vanished without a trace, and not just him, anyone rted to him was gone. Although no one knows what happened to him, there was no investigation or mention of his name ever again.
"I hope you understand what I''m hitting at. Since you were enlightened on the way of bow and arrow, I need you to be very discreet about it. Or cmity might strike, and I might not be able to protect you."
Although Conner didn''t use anyone, it was quite clear who he was hinting at. Ace was quite shocked as he didn''t know there was such a matter, and when he heard that it was rted to a sword cultivator, he suddenly thought about the history book he had read.
''Don''t tell me the sword heart''s information I''ve got in the library is rted to this mysterious sword genius?'' Ace thought.
"I understand, master." Leroy quickly promised.
"Good, as long as you don''t tell anyone, no one will be able to tell since no one knows the depth of your abilities yet. As for the quick rise in the future, we have to hide it.
"But this didn''t mean that we need to suppress your talent. In fact, if you can reach the level of Honorable Principal someday, you can show off as much as you want. That''s why you need to work even harder from now on. I''ll try my best to support you. You don''t need to worry about any resources." Conner promised with a warm smile before he flickered his hand, and a silver jade scroll appeared.
"Here, this is the original jade scroll of the Death Striker Archery Art. Since you were able to enlighten yourself, this means you have your own unique understanding of bow and arrow, so you need to learn the remaining three levels yourself. My interference might have the opposite effect.
"Let''s see how fast you can awake the orbit intent. Oh, and the good fortune I promised you, it is about a spot in the uing opening of a secret realm overseen by the imperial n called the Sky Abyss.
"The Sky Abyss is very mysterious, and not even the imperial n knew its origin. But there is something strange about it; it only opens every 500 years, and there is a trail inside with age restrictions. But the strange part is that no one can remember the trial once they leave the secret realm.
"However, there seemed to be astonishing rewards hidden in this trial that can be earned through good performance. But it is easier said than done. In the past ten thousand years, only the principal seemed to have the good fortune of earning a peerless art while even the scions of the imperial n didn''t get anything.
"But this time, many geniuses have appeared, and this might be the strongest lineup in the history of the empire that is going to enter the Sky Abyss. So, I don''t want you to miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Furthermore, now that you have enlightened yourself on the way of bow and arrow, you should definitely go. But if you don''t want to, I can understand." Conner stated with an easygoing tone.
''Intriguing!'' Ace''s eyes shimmered as he didn''t think such an interesting thing was going on in the Sky Abyss.
"I will go, don''t worry about me, master." He replied with a resolute look.
"Perfect, I expect nothing less from my disciple." Conner nodded with admiration, "Alright, you go back to practice the rest of the three levels; if you don''t understand something, you are free to find me. I''lle pick you up when the time to enter the Sky Abyss arrives. Oh, and you don''t have to pay attention to anyone. If they came here to disturb you, ignore them!"
Chapter 1023 Sky Abyss Secret Realm (2)
Chapter 1023 Sky Abyss Secret Realm (2)
After giving some more instructions, Conner left in high spirits. The discovery of Leroy''s epiphany made him gratified, and he looked forward to Leroy''s future. But at the same time, he was also worried since being too dazzling in this ce could be harmful, so he was nning on keeping a close lid on this news.
Ace then nced at the silver jade scroll, and there were all the six levels of the Death Striker Archery Art. The names of the six levels, including the first three levels, were Arrow Marker, Mind Draw, Roaming Arrow, Sundering Arrow, Vanquisher Arrow, and Bow Men Union.
The fourth and fifth levels were about the unique arrow concept to increase the power of the arrow, while the final level tapped into thew of archery, and if someone could master it to the fullest, they have a very high chance of awakening the orbit intent.
Without wasting time, Ace began toprehend the final three levels, and just like this, days passed by in peace and quiet.
However, on the fifth day after Conner left, Gentle Jade suddenly came with a message from the Second Prince. The contents of the letters were about the uing Sky Abyss Secret Realm opening.
The Second Prince Darren wants Leroy to assist him once they enter the Sky Abyss Secret Realm, but he has to be very discreet as he doesn''t want anyone else to find out about his allegiance yet.
Ace merely smirked as he pretended to be very willing to assist him in any way possible. This time, Ace''s targets were the imperial family members, and he was not going to be polite.
But then the next day, another letter from Crown Prince Carlos and the messenger, this time wasn''t Purple Sword but another faction member who was actually Purple Sword''s senior brother.
The letter''s contents were almost the same as the second prince''s, but the Crown Prince also wanted Leroy to be ready to strike Darren if the need arose.
Acepletely ignored them as he continued toprehend the Death Striker Archery Art. He wanted to obtain the orbit intent as soon as possible.
But it was far easier said than done, especially when he was learning from scratch, and the day of the Sky Abyss Secret Realm gathering came, and Ace was still a little bit off from acquiring the orbit intent.
The level of Bow Men Union requires someone to be a bow and his heart to the arrow, and once this is achieved, the arrow will follow the archer''s will even after being released from the bow for at least a few minutes.
This was just like the mind sword but far more difficult since the arrow couldn''t remain in his hand, and it required powerful willpower and a deeper understanding of the bow and arrow. That''s why the orbit intent was so rare.
On this day, Conner arrived with a jolly expression, and when he saw Leroy, he was even more pleased.
"How is your progress? Although I don''t want to disturb you, today is the day you guys must leave for the Imperial Pce. The Vice Principal will personally escort you." Conner stated. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace nodded, but before moving forward, he asked with a hesitant look on his face, "Master, could you please show me the orbit intent and the mystic ability Orbit Lock? I seemed very close toprehending the Orbit Intent, but I''m missing something. If I can feel the orbit intent, I might be able toprehend it sooner."
Conner''s eyes widened a little when he heard Leroy was close toprehending the orbit intent, and he felt his entire life was nothing but a joke in front of his disciple.
But since Leroy was his sessor, he was happy to hear about his progress, and he didn''t ask more questions and nodded, "Alright, if you just want to have a feel, I''ll show you."
The moment Conner''s eyes suddenly shone in a violet hue as an invisible pressure spread out of his body and directly enveloped Ace.
Ace suddenly felt like he had entered an absolute domain where he couldn''t escape from Conner at all. He deliberately put off his innate defenses to feel the orbit intent, which was marvelous.
"This is the orbit intent, and as long as you are in its range, you can never escape from my arrows. I can even imbue it with my innate element to make my arrows even more powerful, just like other weapon element intents.
"Once you can reach this level of freely imbuing your own element at will, you would halfway into the realm of mystic ability, the Orbit Lock.
"Now I''m going to show you what the orbit lock is, observe." Conner solemnly stated, and the orbit intent around him suddenly became nonexistent as if it hadpletely vanished.
Ace was shocked by this, but because of his remarkably sensitive thief sense, he knew the orbit intent was still there, and it was far more terrifying than before like a crouching tiger waiting to strike its prey.
Suddenly, Ace felt a mystical power lock on his very soul, and he even felt something was trying to imprint on his soul.
But Ace didn''t resist and let it continue as he felt it closely. The next moment, Ace found a mystical rune appearing within his true soul!
He could''ve erased it if he wanted, but he didn''t, as there was a strange mystery hidden in this rune like a marker, just like his thief''s mark. But this marker was made with aw, while his thief''s mark was a soul ability.
Furthermore, Ace could tell that his thief''s mark was superior because of his soul cultivation. But if he was a realm below, then this marker was far superior, and he mightn''t have been able to erase it if it had been sessfully imprinted.
"You can feel something is locked on your very soul, right? This is orbit lock, now no matter where you go or hide, my arrow will always find you. In fact, I can track you down no matter the distance.
"This orbit lock can only be removed by superior cultivation orw intent of the orbit lock. In the whole empire, only the Honorable Principal or some hidden monsters of the imperial n are capable of removing it." Conner proudly dered before he waved his sleeve. Ace found that orbit intent, and the marker in his soul suddenly vanished.
"So, what do you think?" Conner asked with a smug smile.
"Extraordinary. I think no one is your match." Leroy quickly ttered Conner and bowed in reverence.
While inwardly, Ace was making his avatar instantly begin toprehend that feeling. With two minds, he could make quick progress, and now that he knew what the orbit intent felt like and the mystic ability, he was sure that he couldprehend it in some time.
Not only that but after seeing that rune made byw, Ace felt that he was very close to making progress with the swordw as well.
Conner''s smile widened as he felt very pleased, "Alright, let''s go; we can''t let Vice Principal wait. If you want to sense the orbit intent again, you can do it aftering out of the secret realm as long as you want!"
Ace nodded before Conner was enveloped in his Qi, and they both vanished towards the Principal Tower!
Chapter 1024 Sky Abyss Secret Realm (3)
Chapter 1024 Sky Abyss Secret Realm (3)
Ten Imperial Teachers and 22 Imperial Students were gathered on the first floor of the Principal Tower.
In front of them was the masked Vice Principal Jenna, and besides her, four more youths, but since they were standing beside her, their status was clearly much higher than those personal disciples of the Imperial Teachers.
They were Crown Prince Carlos, Second Prince Darren, and two masked women with graceful figures wearing veils; they were Riana and Evie!
Ace, impersonating Leroy, was standing behind Conner with an impassive expression. He had just arrived and seeing all these people he wasn''t impressed. Instead, he could feel many eyes on him. Even some imperial teachers had secretly used their senses to observe him.
But Ace didn''t care about them as he nced at Evie, and a hint of joy was present in his eyes. Evie''s eyes also fell over him at this moment, and her lips rose slightly behind her veil.
"Found you. You didn''te to find me in this month? Were you messing around with other girls?" Eva''s yful voice rang in his head.
"Tsk, I was busy pleasing my ''Master''." Ace replied wryly.
While they were talking secretly, Jenna impassively spoke, "Wee, everyone; you are all the elites of our empire and its future. That''s why, to support you all, the Imperial Pce has opened its secret realm for you all. I hope you all work hard for the empire''s prosperity.
"Now, I know all of you are proud, but I must warn you first about the Sky Abyss Secret Realm. Although the Sky Abyss Secret Realm is a huge opportunity, it isn''t entirely safe. In the past, there were always some casualties, and even the members of the Imperial n had fallen.
"So, I must ask you for one final time if you''re willing to enter despite all the dangers. Remember, once you''re inside, no one will be there to protect you. Life and death will be in your own hands.
"That''s why if anyone wants to back down, now is your chance!" She coldly dered as she sharply swept over those Imperial Students.
But none of them showed any sign of backing down. They were all elites among elites, and they knew the Sky Abyss Secret Realm was a huge opportunity to rise in the empire. So, how could they miss it?
Not only that, but they all belonged to a prince faction, and they knew they had to follow their leaders. They were already alerted by secret messages like Ace, so they were ready. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Jenna nodded with a hint of satisfaction before she waved her slender hand, and beside her, arge runic circle appeared, "Alright, everyone, step inside this teleportation circle; it will bring us into the imperial pce. You may bid farewell to your teachers."
"I''ll be going, master. Take care." Leroy stated.
"Take good care, and don''t forget to use those treasures I gave you if your life falls into danger. Opportunities are good, but your life is more important." Conner solemnly advised.
Ace could tell Conner was worried about him, and he felt slightly warm in his heart as Conner had treated him well and even given him some life-preserving treasures. He knew this might be theirst meeting, so he felt somewhat sad and guilty.
He thanked him onest time before he stood in the teleportation circle with everyone else.
Jenna then activated a crystal formation te, and the next moment, they all vanished from the Principal Tower in a sh.
"Did I see worry in your eyes, Death Striker? Don''t tell me you''ve gone soft?" Heavy Thunder Sword suddenly said jeeringly.
Conner pulled a long face before he sneered, "I guess you''re right. After all, my disciple didn''t go around getting kidnapped. Tsk, tsk, you really have some shitting scheming ability. I would''ve never let you off for destroying the lightning mountain if it were me."
Heavy Thunder Sword''s expression suddenly warped as Conner directly struck his sore nerve, and his eyes almost spit lightning, "You dare to slender me!"
Conner merely sneered as his aura shot up.
"Alright, you two are not children. Let''s hope everyone returns safe and sound." A devil imperial teacher chimed in with a wry smile.
While the Imperial Teachers were talking, they didn''t notice the Old Giant standing on the staircase with a peculiar expression on his wizened face; he was none other than Principal Zack.
''Why was Evie looking at Conner''s Disciple? Did they know each other, or was it just my imagination?'' Zack thoughtfully looked at the empty teleportation circle before he vanished without a trace.
---
Jenna, with the Imperial Students, appeared within the grand teleportation hall of the Imperial Pce.
There were two imperial guards in golden armor standing there waiting for them. The moment Jenna appeared, they kneeled down.
"Greetings, Your Imperial Majesty!"
Except for Imperial Princes and two women beside Jenna, the imperial students were bewildered when they heard the greeting as they looked at Jenna.
Jenna didn''t pay any heed to those shocked Imperial Students and asked coldly, "Rise. Is everything ready?"
"Yes, His Majesty is waiting for Your Majesty''s arrival." One of them solemnly replied.
She nodded andmanded, "Lead the way."
The imperial guards didn''t tarry and quickly began to lead them towards the gathering ce.
On the other hand, Ace was closely observing the Imperial Pce through his fate map; he was suddenly astounded when he saw that the dark goldenpass pointer, which had been static all this time, had suddenly moved towards the west.
''Could it be this time thispass pointer is pointing me in the direction of Ascension Temple, or is there something here at the same level of the Elemental Orb?'' Ace''s mind reeled as he wanted to track down the location.
But he knew now wasn''t the time, and for some reason, his thief''s sense couldn''t cover the underground of the Imperial Pce, and even the fate map was showing a ck area below the Imperial Pce, which could only mean that under the imperial pce was an absolute dead zone for him.
This discovery was enough to alert Ace, and he was d that he didn''t recklessly barge into this ce.
Soon, they were all led to a luxurious grand hall, where more people were waiting for them, and they were all giants. The Imperial Guards didn''t enter; only the imperial students were allowed entry.
Among these giants was a giant in crimson imperial robes, giving off a majestic and suffocating aura. He was none other than the Mortal Emperor of the Mortal Sky Heart Empire, Antonio Skr.
Beside Antonio was a masked giant woman with a peerless figure wearing soft body armor. Her face was covered in a white mask, and only her sharp eyes were visible; she was none other than the Imperial Princess, Sofia Skr!
Behind them were eight more youths of the Skr n, including the other two princes. They were all going to enter the Sky Abyss Secret Realm!
Chapter 1025 Sky Abyss Secret Realm Opens!
Chapter 1025 Sky Abyss Secret Realm Opens!
Seeing the Mortal Emperor, everyone except Jenna and the two Princes kneeled and greeted, "We pay our respect to His Imperial Majesty, the Mortal Emperor!"
Meanwhile, the Empress and the two princes slightly bowed in respect.
Antonio nodded in acknowledgment, "Rise everyone. You all are the future hope of my empire, and I''m very pleased to see you all as well."
Then he smiled gently at Jenna while nodding, "It''s been hard on you."
"Your acknowledgment is enough for me, Your Majesty." Jenna gently stated as she walked beside the Emperor and stood beside him in her rightful ce while the two princes impassively stood behind the other imperial children.
On the other hand, Riana and Evie remained with the other Imperial Students. Although Riana was already engaged to Carlos, she still wasn''t an official part of the Imperial Family yet, so she remained with the school crowd.
Antonio looked at Riana and Evie with an amiable smile, saying, "Princess Riana, I hope Carlos has been taking good care of you in these past months."
"Thank you for Your Majesty''s care. His Highness has been very good to me." Riana nodded with a somewhat impassive look on their face, while Carlos, who was standing with his other siblings, smiled broadly upon hearing this.
Antonio nodded in satisfaction before looking at Evie, "Little niece, Evie, you have grown even more powerful these past few months since Ist saw you. It seems Honorable Principal Zack has been taking good care of you. I hope you also received my gifts and they were to your liking."
Darren suddenly smiled when he heard this since he was the one who was tasked as the gift bearer, or it would say he had volunteered. After all, despite Zack''s rejection, the imperial family would never let go of Evie so easily.
The second prince, Darren, has been ''working'' tirelessly to woo Evie and haspletely given up on Riana.
The only problem was that the Crown Prince had also joined the fray, and he didn''t care about how Riana would feel; in his eyes, he could do anything because he was the future emperor.
Moreover, Riana never acknowledged his advances and still treated him coldly. If it were before, he would''ve tried his best to win her heart, but he didn''t care anymore after Evie''s appearance.
Since Riana was bound to be his, he decided to win over Evie as well, whether Riana liked it or not. He wanted to obstruct Darren as much as he could from gaining a powerful helper.
Even the Empress and Emperor secretly allowed it since what mattered to them was keeping Evie within the Imperial Family, not the method, as she was even more important than Riana now.
"I like them very much, Your Majesty," Evie replied in a gentle tone. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Oh please, you can call me Uncle in the future. There''s no need for pleasantries." Antonioughed heartedly. This privilege wasn''t even given to Riana in the past.
"You''re quite popr, I''m jealous." Ace''s teasing voice rang in Eva''s mind at this moment.
Eva replied yfully, "What do you think only you are capable of infiltrating high-ss targets? Still, it''s very stressful to pretend to y like a docile girl when I can walk all over their heads."
Ace couldn''t help but smile wryly, "Well, it was you who wanted to be a thief. If you get tired, you can always give up and let me take care of you."
"Tsk, fat chance." Eva retorted, but she was very stratified with Ace''s response, and happiness bloomed in her heart.
At this moment, Eva suddenly nced at Sofia, who happened to be looking at her with a hint of curiosity.
"Is she the one who got away?" She asked Ace with a hint of coldness.
"What do me ''got away''? She escaped before she couldplete the deal. I''ll make sure she won''t break her promise with someone ever again." Ace coldly replied as he had already spotted Sofia.
Although her aura was hidden, he could tell she had be somewhat stronger. Her space abilities were the first and best Ace had ever seen. She wasn''t an easy target as long as she decided to flee, even if he could not stop her, just like thest time.
"I think she would be a very good addition to our ranks. After all, I''ve heard from my master that Sofia might not be any less talented than me. Of course, he didn''t know my true limits, but she had secretly climbed the 96th staircase of the Heaven Reaching Devil Staircase five years ago.
"No one knows about it except for the Emperor, Empress, and my master. This was a well-hidden secret of the Imperial Family. Sofia is their secret weapon, and if my master is not wrong, then she might be the first-ever Mortal Empress of the Empire in history.
"As for the crown prince and the second prince, they are actually just a smokescreen to protect Sofia, but they didn''t know about it. My master told me all this because I suddenly showed interest in those two idiots. He was very worried that I would be tricked and fall into the quicksand-named imperial family.
"So, what do you think? Wouldn''t the future empress of the Mortal Heart Empire be a good addition as your subordinate? Well, of course, it is under the condition that she would be my maid as well!" Eva directly revealed her true intentions.
However, Ace was surprised by this revtion as he had never expected this at all. The imperial family was really vicious to their own as they had been tricking both the first and second princes all this time. They were just clowns fighting for something that would never be theirs in their entire lives.
It was quite ironic and the truth of the world of power. Since Sofia was going to be powerful beyond belief, how could the first prince and second prince hold their heads high against her?
But Ace was still somewhat baffled by Eva''s suggestion and couldn''t help but smile wryly, "If you want a maid, you can get it. You don''t have to ask me. Didn''t I''ve already handed Livia to you? As long as they can serve their purpose, it doesn''t matter if they are under you or me; it''s all the same."
"How can that be? My maids will have the status of maid in waiting, so in a sense, they are still yours." Evaughed evilly with a hint of coldness.
''She''s testing me.'' Ace instantly knew and quickly replied, "What are you, an Empress? Stop ying around."
"We''ll see." Eva left those ambiguous words before she became silent.
While they were talking, Antonio was giving a speech about the Sky Abyss, which was aligned with Jenna''s earlier speech.
From start to finish, Antonio didn''t even nce at the other Imperial Students since they were not worth the effort. Moreover, he knew these imperial students already had secretly joined his sons, and their masters were under him except for a few of them. So, he didn''t need to pretend to earn their loyalty.
After giving the speech, he then turned at a masked giant as he nodded solemnly.
The giant moved forward towards an ancient altar in the top center corner of the hall, and he began to ce peak grade-8 Qi stones and soul crystals on it.
The next moment, he sped his hand and shouted, "Open!"
The ancient altar suddenly began to shimmer fiercely as a powerful aura filled the entire hall. The next moment, a ck vortex suddenly formed over the altar, and an ancient voice rang.
But thenguage it speaks was unknown, and its words were nothing but mumbling to others. Not even the imperial n knew the true meaning of these words.
However, today, there was something who could understand those words, and when he heard it, he was shocked.
"Vampyre n Army ss Trial for Common Vampyres has been opened!
Chapter 1026 The Vampyre Clan
Chapter 1026 The Vampyre n
''Vampyre n Army ss Trial for Common Vampyres? Shouldn''t this be the Sky Abyss? What is going on here? Furthermore, from the look of it, no one seemed to understand thisnguage¡'' Ace was startled as he mused gravely while looking at the dark vortex above the altar, which was still stabilizing.
Even Eva didn''t understand thisnguage, but something within did as an astounded voice rang in her head, "This is the Forsaken Language of Abyss! Not only that, but this is a trial of the extinct Vampyre Race, one of the ancient rulers of the Abyss!"
Eva was surprised when she was looking curiously at the secret realm opening. It would be the first time she would enter a secret realm with Ace, so she was looking forward to it. After all, thest time she awakened in a secret realm was when Ace had taken full control of it, so it naturally wouldn''t count.
But now, hearing ggy''s ambiguousment, she was startled, "So that mumbling wasn''t some chant? Instead, it was a foreignnguage that belonged to the Abyss. Quickly tell me what this Vampyre Race is. From your tone, they sounded quite mighty."
"Tsk, little girl, your luck is truly not bad. Let me tell you, the Forsaken Language of Abyss is rumored to be the origin of allnguages in the Abyss, and it belonged to a mysterious era called the Beginning and End Era that no one knows about.
"Even my previous master was only able to stumble across an inheritance that had some basic understanding of the Forsaken Language of Abyss. But even with that, she was able to reach a level you can''t even begin to imagine.
"My understanding of thisnguage could be considered as high as hers, but I didn''t dare say I can understand it all. I was only able toprehend that this trial belonged to the Vampyre n.
"ording to some extremely ancient records, the Vampyre n belonged to the Beginning and End Era. They were one of the rulers of the Abyss with unmatched strength and depth, but they all vanished without a trace.
"There was once an ordinary abyssal creature that stumbled upon the Vampyre n inheritance, and because of it, he became the Primogenitor of a new abyssal race that is currently one of the rulers of the Middle Abyss known as the Abyssal Vampire Race!
"So, you can imagine just what sort of background this Vampyre n had and what this opportunity means. Although I don''t know much since the matters of the Beginning and End Era are all enshrouded inyers uponyers of darkness, I do know that the current era is like an ant in front of the Beginning and End Era.
"I never had thought that in this barren ce, there would be a raiment of the Vampyre Race, not to mention these idiots are unknowingly sitting over this gold mine without even knowing it.
"I''m pretty sure no one here understands thisnguage, so they had no clue what is going on, so I want you to give it your all. If there is even a slight chance that there is the bloodline of a Vampyre or even just a drop of their blood, you have to get it.
"I can sense that there is a trace of Void Abyssal Devil bloodline in your Shadow Abyssal Bloodline, but in front of this Vampyre Bloodline, even these two noble bloodlines of the Devil Race are pale inparison.
"If you can acquire this bloodline, then with your devouring ability, you have a very good chance to awaken the trace of the origin of all Devil Race''s bloodline, the Primal Evil Bloodline! N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Only the Primal Evil Bloodline canpare with the Vampyre Bloodline. Even if you fail, your Void Abyssal Devil Bloodline and the memories within will be awake. You can then truly be the Void Abyssal Devil in a few hundred years.
"This will make you a being that is qualified to be the ruler of the Abyss. Even my previous master wasn''t able to reach that level. So, I beg you to take it seriously, and for the sake of your future, forget about that boy just until you clear this trial!" ggy, for the first time, was solemn and literally pleading.
Eva was also gobsmacked by this discovery, and she didn''t know how to react. Although she didn''t know what the ruler of the abyss or Beginning and End Era was and the weight behind those titles, she knew these were something far, far away from her reach.
Yet, now, she can embark on the path of bing a beginner just like them. It would be a lie to say that she wasn''t tempered. ggy had never talked about its old master before, but now he was speaking albeit ambiguously. Nheless, it was quite clear just how huge this was.
However, when she heard its final words, she snorted and was about to refute it when Ace''s grave voice rang in her mind, "Eva, this is not the Sky Abyss Secret Realm but some trial for Vampyre n Army and for Common Vampyres. Although I don''t know what this race is, I think we should be careful of this ce."
Ace wasn''t worried about himself but Eva as she was still not a member of the Thief House, so she didn''t have the system protection, so he was somewhat worried about her.
"You can understand the Forsaken Language of Abyss?!" Eva replied,pletely baffled by this discovery.
Eva was dumbfounded as she thought how ggy was bragging about this awesomenguage that couldn''t beprehended by anyone, yet Ace seemed to have an even deeper understanding of it. She even suspected that ggy was just a bragger.
But still, even though she didn''t understand thatnguage, she still somewhat believed ggy''s words.
''Just what kind of existence is behind him?'' She thought with astonishment.
However, Ace was as astonished as her since he didn''t know the name of thisnguage and was only able to understand it because of the Language of the Ancient Gods he got from the system.
Thenguage of ancient gods seemed to be universal as all thenguages seemed to have originated from it, and he had yet to find someone who could speak or anything written in it.
Still, he was surprised since Eva seemed to know about thisnguage, "You know about this race? Tell me." He was now begging to get more interested in this abyss, and he knewnguage, "You know about this race? Tell me." He was now begging to get more interested in this abyss, and he knew Eva knew something that she wasn''t willing to tell me, for she feared something.
Eva didn''t hesitate and repeated what ggy told her without hiding anything. Even if Ace hadn''t revealed it, she was nning on doing it anyway since this opportunity was huge even for Ace.
Even if she didn''t get anything, she would be extremely joyful if Ace got it. As for ggy, shepletely disregarded it.
Ace''s eyes shimmered with shock when he heard about this Vampyre n''s origin and the Beginning and End Era. Furthermore, he also got to understand some depth of the Abyss.
"If you need this blood of this Vampyre n, don''t worry if I stumbled upon it; I''ll get it for you. It seems ggy is quite useful. But don''t tell him that I know all this." Ace solemnly stated.
Although this ggy was a treasure, he was still notpletely sure about its true intentions, so he was always on guard against it. Especially now that he knows about the Void Abyssal Bloodline trace in Eva, it was clearly not a simple spirit treasure.
00:41
Eva felt warmth in her heart as Ace instantly promised to give her this blood, which could also be quite useful for him. In her heart, she condemned ggy for always doubting Ace.
She quickly agreed without hesitation, "Alright, but you have to be careful. I don''t need this blood; you are far more important to me."
Ace smiled gently, "I know. If I can''t get it, I''ll just run away. I''m very good at it. Besides, it is still unclear if there is some blood of this race in there."
At this moment, the vortex finally stabilized, and the giant loudly dered, "Everyone, enter!"
Chapter 1027 Entering the Secret Realm
Chapter 1027 Entering the Secret Realm
The moment the giant elder''s voice rang, Antonio solemnly stated to everyone, "You all may enter now. Remember, you must help each other; if you can''t handle the situation, you may seek each other. The secret realm is filled with opportunities but is also very dangerous, so don''t be greedy, for your lives are more important.
"The secret realm will remain open for 100 days, and afterward, you all will be sent out no matter where you are. Now go!"
Everyone''s eyes shimmered with excitement and anticipation as they quickly headed toward the vortex.
The imperials were the first ones, led by Carlos, and then the Imperial Students followed Evie and Riana at the very front.
Ace also entered within the middle of the group, and the moment he entered the vortex, he suddenly felt a suction force envelop his body before his body wrapped, and the entire scene changed.
When the vision returned to his eyes, he found he was standing in the middle of an ancient tform under a neon sky with everyone else. He was shocked when he found thends ahead of the ancient tform were crimson and filled with gigantic ck trees with strange markings on his bodies, giving off a ghastly aura. This ancient tform was right in the middle of this strange forest!
"Let''s vanish together, or it will be a hassleter!" Eva''s voice rang in his head.
"Hmm¡ good idea. Investigating this Vampyre n is more important for now. We can take out those imperials after they separate." Ace agreed as he vanished without trace with stealth, and no one noticed him since they were all still in a daze.
If it was before they learned about the Vampyre n, Ace, and Eva were nning to y for a while, but now things were different. The time was limited, so they needed to gather clues about this Vampyre n first.
Eva was the same as she instantly vanished before anyone could notice her, and with Ace, they both entered the strange forest.
At this moment, the others also started to snap out of their stupor and quickly began to walk over towards either the Crown Prince or the Second Prince. Now that they were already inside the secret realm, they could drop all the acts and join their factions.
Even if they didn''t want to, they knew exploring in teams was the best option because this ce was very dangerous. Not to mention, they knew that if they found a treasure, they might not be able to keep it.
Although the imperials never stated it publicly, they all knew that upon exiting the secret realm, they would have to reveal their discoveries and even have to undergo a ''safety inspection'' by letting the imperials check their storage treasures and their bodies.
But in truth, this safety inspection was just a sham to make sure they wouldn''t leave with something important. It was the price they had to pay for entering the secret realm, and no one could do anything about it.
So, risking their lives for someone else''s benefit was not worth it. That''s why forming a team with an imperial gave them at least a chance to keep the treasure to themselves or study it together.
However, some people like Riana still liked to take their chances, and two more male imperial students remained standing in their ce.
Carlos frowned when he saw Riana wasn''ting over; a hint of coldness crept into his eyes, and he was about to order her when Darren''s startling voice rang, "Where''s Evie?"
Finally, everyone noticed that Evie was missing; they were all baffled since they hadn''t paid attention before. But now that they were going to explore, they finally noticed it.
No one seemed to remember Leroy, who wasn''t as important or famous as Evie. But Evie was very powerful and at the peak of her fame, not to mention the Second Prince was trying to win her favor. So, he quickly noticed when he wanted to invite her.
"What is going on? Didn''t all the participants enter at the same point? Could it be she was teleported somewhere else?" Carlos frowned as he was uncertain since this had never happened before.
The impassive Riana was also shocked, ''I wanted to invite her¡'' She grimaced.
Although she had little interaction with Evie, she considered her a kindred spirit as well as a worthy rival since she thought Evie was in the same position as her. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Riana also envies Evie because she at least has a powerful master standing behind her, and she will be independent as long as Zack is there.
She even wanted to befriend her but never stated her intention because of Carlos. She thought this secret realm was her chance, but now Evie had suddenly vanished, and she was slightly worried about her.
"Let''s go, everyone. We can''t waste time, Miss Evie might be alone and in trouble, we are going to search for her." Darren dered with a hint of worry, incurring the envy of other women in his group.
He wanted to show off in front of her, but now that hope had dashed away, he was a little anxious.
Carlos wasn''t any different, and his group had more members than Darren''s, so he also gave the order, "We are also going. Riana, Brothers, and Little sister, are youing with me?" He asked masked Sofia, whose eyes were narrowed, and his other two brothers while coldly ncing at Riana.
Darren also stopped in his tracks as he knew Sofia''s abilities and that she would be extremely helpful in this ce. He nearly forgot about her in his search for Evie. His two brothers were also not to be looked down upon since they were as powerful as any other imperial students.
There wasn''t even a need to think about Riana, as everyone knew just how powerful she was because of her military achievements.
"You guys can also join me." He also extended his invitation.
"I''m going to explore on my own. Thank you, First Brother and Second, for your care." Sofia shook her head before her polity declined and vanished without a trace the next moment.
"I''ll go with you, First Brother." The fourth Prince, Zion, quicklyes over to Carlos''s side because of their close rtionship.
On the other hand, Third Prince Calvin silently walked beside Darren''s side. As for the other members of the imperial family, they also quickly chose their sides.
Now only Riana was left, as everyone was looking at her, especially Carlos, as his eyes were cold.
Riana took a deep breath before she said, "Forgive me, your Highnesses, but I would like to explore alone." She also used a movement skill before she dashed in another direction.
''This ungrateful wretched!'' Carlos''s expression was ugly, but he didn''t say anything and only clenched his fist in a fury.
"Hahaha, I really admired ''sister-inw'' for her courage!" Darren jeered with a gloating smile before he waved her hand, "Let''s go."
A thick vein popped up on Carlos''s temple as he snorted coldly, "Let us go as well!"
Chapter 1028 Vampyre Clan Army Class Trial (1)
Chapter 1028 Vampyre n Army ss Trial (1)
??The gigantic ck tree forest was deadly silent as nothing, but those monstrous trees covered the sky with their gigantic crowns.
Ace and Eva were moving south without having any idea where they were going. Ace had already tried using the fate map, but it turned outpletely nk, which means this ce was still above the grade-8 live fate map, which made Ace quite vignt and even more curious about this Vampyre n Trial.
"Wasn''t this supposed to be a trial? What is this? My master told me that he only remembered the ce where he appeared thest time with everyone else, which was in the middle of an ice mountain.
"He found that opportunity that changed his life there, but he didn''t remember anything about the trial or where he was when he was sent out. Maybe it has something to do with this ce''s background." Eva annoyingly stated through mind transmission.
Ace had heard about this anomaly of memoirs gone missing after this secret realm was closed, and now that they knew about the origin of this ce, it wasn''t hard to guess the reason behind it.
"Whatever the case is, we need to be careful. The imperial family didn''t tell us any of this information, and even your master only has a limited amount of information. But since he was entered from another pointst time, we can assume that this ce is extremelyrge and this forest is just part of it.
"As for the trial of the Vampyre n, we need to find it on our own, or it won''t be a trial belonging to such a mystical n, right?" Ace smilingly replied.
Eva couldn''t help but agree with Ace as her crimson lips turned up in a charming smile, "You are right; those useless fools from the Imperial n had no idea what kind of gold mind they were sitting on all this time, and they were using it to scavenge some gold dust."
"Heh, but it wasn''t like we didn''t have the means to find a way faster. I can sense some treasure in this direction, but I don''t know how far is it." Ace replied with some uncertainty.
Since the fate map was not working in this ce and the goldenpass pointer was locked on something within the imperial pce, Ace could only rely on his thief sense''s fortune sense ability, which could allow him to sense fortunate abilities around him.
Although this wasn''t as powerful as the Eternal Thief Fate Compass, it was better than nothing. Cyrus was also in slumber after absorbing some Life Lightning Quartz.
"Oh, I didn''t know you have such an ability." Eva was astounded a little.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"It''s just like chasing after something in utter darkness. You would never know how far or what kind of ce it will lead you to. How about you try asking ggy? Maybe it can lead us to the true ce of trial?" Ace quickly suggested.
Eva''s eyes glow as she nods, "Why didn''t I think about it."
"Hey, ggy, do you know where the trial is or the treasures of the Vampyre n?" She quickly questioned ggy.
"Tsk, what a greedy little girl; even if I know where the treasures are, do you think you can take them from the hands of the Vampyre Race?" ggy annoyingly retorted.
"That''s my problem. Who knows just how old this ce is? Maybe all the trails are already rotten away." She replied.
ggy thought for a moment before replying, "I don''t think so. Although you had a point, we can''t imagine the depth of the race like the Vampyre Race. Even if their creations can''t escape the corrosion of time, some things can, and there are many ways to preserve items for a very long time.
"Or why do you think people would still find ancient inheritances, even clues about previous forgotten ears? As for where this trial is, I don''t know. This ce is sealed with some powerful sealing formations; only those who match the conditions set up by the owner of this ce can enter.
"If I try showing my true prowess, I''ll be forced out the very moment. So, you are on your own. But don''t lose hope. There is still time; if you stop fooling around with this boy, it''ll be even faster to¡"
"He didn''t know anything. As expected, it only knows how to brag with no real ability to show for it." Eva snorted, cutting ggy in its speech, and loudly stated.
Ace could tell Eva was angry, and it had something to do with ggy again, "Well, there''s no need to get agitated; how about we fly? Since there is nothing on the ground, we might be able to discover something from the above?"
"Alright." Eva agreed to this suggestion as she quickly tried channeling her Qi to fly, but she was as shocked as she eximed, "What? I can''t fly! I think this is a flight-restricted space!"
Ace frowned; he knew about the restricted space from the library. The ability of the flight was to maniptews around a cultivator to lessen the restriction of the elements and make the body light; therefore, a cultivator of thew awareness realm could fly.
However, if thew restrictions were even more powerful, then that ability could be easily taken away, and these kinds of ces were called flight-restricted spaces. But it was easier said than done, especially artificially.
Ace then tried using his own Qi, but he didn''t use the worldly Qi; instead, he used the Heavenly Qi, and the next moment, he was easily able to levitate.
''It seemed the heavenly Qi can still bypass this flight restriction, which should be for the worldly Qi¡'' Ace mused since this was the only exnation he could think of.
Eva was also shocked when she saw Ace levitating, and she quickly tried to fly again, but she was not able to, making her frown even harder as it didn''t make any sense.
''This boy''s Qi is¡ special. But why can''t I get a good read on it? It''s like a riddle that can only be looked upon but can''t be solved. How strange¡'' ggy thought in bewilderment and, for the first time, said something nice about Ace, but Eva wasn''t able to hear it.
"Let me help you. It seemed I had an advantage in this ce." Ace couldn''t help but chuck seeing Eva''s somewhat dark expression, and he ced his hand around her slender wrist before enveloping her with his Qi, and they began to fly upward.
Although she was still unhappy, she ced her head on his shoulder and rxedpletely, "Hmph, you''re hiding many things from me."
"It''s just an advantage I have because I can cultivate in both paths," Ace replied. He didn''t want to tell her about the heavenly Qi as he had a feeling that it might be dangerous. Eva thought that it did make sense and let it go.
But right when they were about to enter the crown of those trees, both of them felt danger, and the next moment, the peaceful ck forest suddenly came to life!
Tree branches and tree roots suddenly shot towards Ace and Eva from all directions, like traps of death, and a dark sheen was emitting from those branches and roots, giving off an extremely ghostly feeling.
"This is¡" Eva was shocked because she sensed the aura of the abyss from the trees the moment they made their move. As the owner of the bloodline of the abyss, she was very sensitive towards the aura, especially after she devoured all those devil cores that Ace gave her.
She was now on the same level as Zack and far stronger than him, so she was very sensitive towards this aura now, and it was giving her a faint sense of crisis, which was a huge deal.
Ace''s eyes also went cold, ''So, they want to trap us in this ce? Hmph, fat chance. Twilight Traverse!''
Chapter 1029 Vampyre Clan Army Class Trial (2)
Chapter 1029 Vampyre n Army ss Trial (2)
??The moment Ace activated his ability, both of them vanished as the trees managed to grab nothing but empty air.
With Ace''s current strength, it was easy to escape these trees that seemed to have only instincts; they were no real threat as long as someone knew how to avoid them.
The next moment, they both appeared far above the ck forest under the neon sky and continued to rise above. Only now did Ace sense a powerful restriction ofws the higher he got, so he quickly stopped.
Eva''s eyes shone as she looked at the forest below, and she smiled, "Good work. I was about to obliterate them."
Then she hesitated before she told Ace through the voice transmission, "I think those trees are abyssal beings."
Ace was surprised, "Are you sure?"
"I''m 80% sure. It is a secret realm that belonged to one of the rulers of the abyss, after all. So, it isn''t a big deal for them to have beings of the abyss. We should be more careful." Eva gravely stated.
"Just what is this abyss?" Ace couldn''t help but ask as he became increasingly curious about the abyss.
Eva hesitated momentarily before gritting her teeth and revealing, "Since you can already understand the forsakennguage of the abyss, it won''t be a big deal to tell you. Within my inherited memories, I found vague knowledge about the Nine Evesting Heavens and Ten Eternal Abysses!
"The Heavens and Abysses are two sides of the same coin. This means that each Heaven has a corresponding Abyss, the only difference being that Heaven exists above while the Abyss is below. Both sides have their own rules andws. Most importantly, their own races and inheritances.
"But an extremely powerful wall separates the two entities and its people froming in contact with each other. Although I don''t know how the creatures of the abyss can infiltrate the heavens, I do know that both sides are natural enemies.
"Especially the creatures of the abyss are bloodthirsty for the people of the heavens. As for abyssal beings like me with a noble bloodline of the abyss, we can easily roam freely in the heavens without any danger from itsws.
"Furthermore, the races with an unorthodox background, like Devils and Demons, seem to share amon background: the Abyss. It''s just that their bloodlines have been altered to live in the Heavens. But their ancestors should have been from the abyss at some point and ended up in heaven.
"Anyhow, if the people from the heavens, who know about the abyss, found out about the noble bloodline of the abyss roaming freely in the heavens, they would stoop to any level to hunt us down because they can acquire many benefits from our bodies. In their eyes, we are like natural treasures; the same goes for the abyssal creatures.
"I didn''t want to tell you before because just mentioning the Evesting Heavens and the Ten Eternal Abysses could bring about cmity. And I also don''t want you to think of me differently. After all, I was born in Mortal Sky Heaven, and despite acquiring the abyssal bloodline, I have no feelings for the abyss¡" Eva said with a hint of dejection as she looked at Ace''s hooded face with some worry.
When she found out about this information after she broke into the 8th realm, she was shaken and didn''t want to tell Ace because she was afraid that he might think of her differently.
However, they wereing in contact with the abyss aftering to the Sky Heart ins often, and she knew Ace would find out about it eventually. So, now that she was in this secret realm, she decided to tell him since this wasn''t the mortal sky heaven. But she was still worried a little; she closely sensed his emotions.
''Nine Evesting Heavens and Ten Eternal Abysses!''
Ace was shaken a little by this huge secret. He always wondered how many heavens were out there, but he had never thought some abysses seemed to be on the same level as the heavens.
It took a while before he managed to absorb all this information, and then he looked at Eva''s worried expression and couldn''t help but smile bitterly, "You don''t need to worry about it; I can never hate you or think differently of you just because some bloodline from a different world. Do you think I love you because of your bloodline? You''re still as crazy as when I first met you all those years ago in that inn."
Eva felt a huge mountain lifted from her heart at this moment, as a bright smile bloomed on her face before she hugged him tightly. "I''m sorry, and thank you."
Ace hugged her back as he gently said, "Don''t worry about it too much. You did well telling me about this information. Now I won''t be in the dark and know my goal."
Ace''s eyes shimmered coldly, ''For each heaven, there is a corresponding abyss, huh? But there are only nine heavens, while the abysses are ten. Does this mean the abysses are more powerful than the heavens? Then there is the system, the enemy of Heaven, while I don''t know what stance the system had for the abysses.
''Tsk, what a headache. I''m still a slightly bigger ant in the grand scheme of things; I need the power to survive and protect those who are dear to me. I don''t want to end up like the previous heaven''s stealers¡''
Ace''s eyes were filled withplex emotions as he got some clues about his end goal or at least what needed to be done so he would not end up dead.
"Alright, let''s go. We need to find the trial or whatever is hidden in this ce. I have a feeling that this ce might have more mysteries rted to the abysses." Ace solemnly stated before he flew in the direction where his thief sense was pointing him with Eva.
The ck forest was massive; it had no end, even after flying for half a day.
However, after a few more hours, Ace suddenly stopped as his eyes went wide when he looked far ahead. Eva also sensed something as she looked in the same direction, and her eyes widened.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
A few miles away from their position, they finally saw the end of this grand forest; however, what they saw, they weren''t expecting it at all.
Because there was an endless ckness like space, and just looking at it, a chill went down both of their spines.
With trepidation, Ace couldn''t help but ask Eva, "That isn''t the entrance of this heaven''s corresponding abyss, right?"
Chapter 1030 Vampyre Clan Army Class Trial (3)
Chapter 1030 Vampyre n Army ss Trial (3)
??"That isn''t the entrance of this heaven''s corresponding abyss, right?"
Eve was as surprised as Ace and replied with uncertainty, "I don''t think so. It is nigh impossible to cross between two ces so simply. I have no memories of this. Maybe when I be more powerful, I might awaken those memories. But I can''t be sure now still since this is a trial; I don''t think it would be connected to the abyss."
Ace frowned a little, but he knew Eva''s knowledge was limited despite her bloodline of the abyss so that he couldn''t me her. He then nced at the fate map, and his eyes narrowed.
Although the fate map didn''t show the terrains, it could still show the danger this ce posed to Ace. Until now, the area was gray, even the ck forest, yet that abyss was dyed ck in the fate map.
''It might be the entrance to the true trial or some dangerous trap¡ I investigate it from the borders, and if found something amiss, I''ll retreat immediately.''
After making up his mind, he slowed down, approached the abyss''s entrance, andnded a few hundred meters from where the ck forest ended.
Eva was also fully alert as she closely followed Ace. She could sense the dense aura of abyss from the darkness up ahead, and it was bing denser the closer they got.
Ace also sensed that thew of darkness here was extremely apparent, and his stagnate Darkness Comprehension suddenly began to increase, which greatly shocked him. Not only that, but thews corroded by the darkness also begin to make progress.
''This ce has manyws rted to darkness. Not only are the ones I haveprehended but there are some new ones that I don''t know. But the heaviest presence is thews of sin. If I stay here, I might be able to make huge progress inprehension of darkness.
''I might be able to make the corruption of darkness reach 100%. Although I don''t know what might happen when it reaches 100%, it has to be something good since the system is behind this¡''
While Ace was mulling over this ce, they finally reached the edge of the mouth of the abyss.
Only now could they gaze at the endless darkness, and there seemed no end to its depth.
Ace could barely peer around a hundred-meter-deep, and his thief sense also seemed restricted up to a mile radius, which was shocking. Ace then tried using the heavenly sense ability to see if he could find something.
As Ace released the heavenly sense, he could ''see'' the depth of the abyss, but he was just a mile deeper when his heavenly sense suddenly stopped and wouldn''t move forward no matter what, as if there was some invisible wall blocking it, just like his thief sense.
But it wasn''t like Ace had discovered anything, not only his fortune sense was pointing below, with his heavenly sense he discovered something unusual.
"There is an escarpment around 900 meters deep with the wall of this abyss." He said to Eva while she was also using her soul sense to probe the depths, but she was even more miserable than Ace.
Eva was surprised, "Your innate sense is working?"
"No, I can only use up to 1% of my innate sense. So, do you want to go down?" Ace asked solemnly.
He didn''t tell her to stay here because he knew she wouldn''t listen, and she might be depressed if she thought he was thinking of her as a burden.
Eva didn''t ask further questions as she knew about Ace''s dual cultivation, so she thought it was because of it. She then nodded, "Alright, let go."
Ace didn''t say anything, and like before, he took her down since she was still restricted because of thews of this ce. Nheless, Ace also felt that the surrounding restrictions were bing more powerful, especially as he was descending into the abyss now.
If it was someone else, they might never be able to return to the surface.
Soon, they finally reached the escarpment, which was quite steep, and only a signal person could barely walk on it. But one misstep, and they will fall down into the abyss.
Ace also sensed that his thief sense was still restricted from this point, which made him somewhat flustered.
But he was using too much Qi to go against the restrictions ofw, so he had tond, or he might not be able to respond to sudden danger.
"This seemed like a pathway. But where should we walk back or front?" Eva asked with a frown as she was also blind in this ce, and the abyss aura was extremely dense here.
Ace sensed that the fortune sense was still pointing down below, so it was useless to follow it, so he decided to go front, "Hold me all the time, alright? If we sense some danger, we''ll immediately retreat." He stated sternly.
Eva nodded as they began to walk on the steep sloop with the dark, cold walls of the abyss.
After walking for who knows how long, Ace suddenly noticed something, "I think this slop is leading downward. Maybe this is the correct way to go deeper into this ce."
"Indeed, I also just noticed it. What a creepy ce; I wonder what kind of trial this is or who built this." Eva gloomily replied because she was feeling a strange pressure while Ace seemed to bepletely fine. But she didn''t tell me.
Because there was no trace of light, they both didn''t know how much time had passed, but at a certain point, Eva was sweating while Ace was also feeling a strange pressure now.
But the strange thing was Ace''sprehension of darkness was increasing even more quickly, so he was a little excited.
Then he finally noticed when Eva''s hand suddenly trembled, and her breath was a little uneven. He was so absorbed in that feeling that he didn''t pay attention to her.
"What''s wrong?" Ace finally looked at her and noticed that she was using her cultivation and was a little pale.
"Nothing, it''s just some pressure from this ce that is affecting me. I''m fine." Eva replied by suppressing her trembling body.N?v(el)B\\jnn
"No, you are not fine. Retreat in my space first and recover. This ce might have some effect on your abyssal bloodline. Don''t worry. After you recover, you cane back, or I''ll summon you once I reach the end. So, being stubborn will do us no good." Ace solemnly stated.
Eva gritted her teeth before she asked ggy, instead of replying to Ace, "Hey, can you do something about this?"
ggy replied, "This ce is very strange as it is filled with strangews even I had never seen before. Even more powerful abyssal beings would have a hard time if they came here. It is as if this was deliberately done to make things difficult for abyssal beings and abyssal treasures alike.
"Although I can help you avert some of this pressure, it would also worsen my condition, and I might fall into deep slumber if I use my power too much. So, you can decide whether you want to use me here or not.
"But this boy made me truly shocked; he''s still fine despite all these restrictions as if they don''t apply to him. But it shouldn''t be possible. If I hadn''t witnessed it with my eyes, I wouldn''t have believed it. Just what is his background?"
Eva frowned as she wasn''t expecting this sort of reply, and she coldly scoffed, "You''re really useless, aren''t you? Not to mention shameless for inquiring about him after belittling him all this time!"
Eva then looked at Ace and nodded in agreement.
Since ggy was useless and, as it said, this ce seemed to have some strange restriction towards abyssal beings, she was bing a burden to Ace this way.
Although she could still handle this, her Qi would soon run out, so there was no point in continuing. Not to mention, using ggy for this was not worth it since Ace was still fine.
But she didn''t know that ggy''s assessment of the restrictions was wrong, and if it had been someone other than Eva, they would''ve never even been able to make it 500 meters deep before dying here.
Ace was only fine because of his affinity with darkness and authority, thesews restrictions were even helping him to gasp more profundities of darkness. But how could they both see through this? In fact, no one can!
Afterward, Ace didn''t hesitate and sent her to his thief''s space, inside her house, so that she could recover. He then continued slowly while he wasprehending the darkness.
After an unknown amount of time passed, Ace''s steady footsteps suddenly came to a halt because, in the steep pathway, there was an opening within the dark wall!
''A manmade cave?!''
Chapter 1031 Vampyre Clan Army Class Trial (4)
Chapter 1031 Vampyre n Army ss Trial (4)
Looking at the cavern opening within the wall, Ace frowned because there was still a pathway ahead. So, the existence of this cave was quite strange.
Still, Ace didn''t sense any danger from within and decided to enter; his thief sense was already suppressed to only ten meters now so that he couldn''t rely on it.
The cavern was three meters in diameter and about two hundred meters deep. When he reached the end, he was surprised because there was nothing inside. However, at the end of the cave wall, there were engravings of mysterious runes on it.
But when Ace saw those runes engraved, he was shocked because he could understand them, for they were not runes but words of a foreignnguage!
''Could this be the Forsakennguage of the abyss?'' Ace presumed as he quickly read.
"Congrattions, Trail Taker!
"If you''re reading this, you have sessfully reached the 25,000-meter depth of the Army ss Trial Abyss and qualify to be a First ss Vampyre Soldier!
"If you are content, you may imbue your Qi into this checkpoint wall, and you''ll be instantly sent out from the trial with a Tier-1 Reward!
"But if you want to continue the trial of the Second ss Vampyre Soldier, then you may continue, but there will be no reward if you fail, and failure means death in Vampyre Race!
"So, think carefully before you proceed!"
Ace''s eyes shimmered as he didn''t expect this at all and thought, ''So, this is the trial I was looking for, and even after entering this deep, I''m only qualified to be a First ss Solider of the Vampyre Race? Truly unbelievable, just how strong were they?''
Ace then tried inspecting the wall, but no matter what method he used, he couldn''t see anything special about it, so he gave up, moved out, and continued deeper into the trial abyss!
Although thew restrictions were getting powerful, hisprehension of darkness was also increasing. It was already reaching 49.98%, and once he was at 50%!
This might be a difficult trial or even a death trap for others, but it was a huge opportunity for him. He knew thew of darkness was special and couldn''t beprehended by simple means, so he was not going to miss this chance to strengthen it further.
As Ace went deeper, he could sense that the pressure was rising and even starting to affect the soul. But it was still not enough to stop him.
Walking in the darkness, Ace suddenly fell into a trance, and at this moment, eerie pitch-ck enteral energy like mes suddenly gushed out of his body, making the space around him tremble.
This wasn''t all, as right after that energy suddenly vanished, Ace felt something click in his mind, and the surrounding restrictions were reduced by 10%. A special feeling arose in his heart as if he could attack anything within this range.
Ace suddenly snapped out of his trance-like state, and his eyes shone with astonishment before ecstasy rose in his heart as he knew what had happened!
At this moment, the system''s sudden voice rang.
=====
[Congrattion, Host, for Comprehending the Darkness to 50%!]
[You have awoken the First Rule of the Darkness Order!]
[You can now instigate the Rule within the First Order of Darkness!]
[First Rule of Darkness Order: Destion]
-Destion (Rule): Deste represents the emptiness and destruction within Darkness! There is no ce for Light or Life within!
[Your control over the Lawless Darkness has been refined, and Qi consumption will be less upon activating it!]
--
[Congrattions, host. The Corruption of Darkness has reached 50%!]
[Now all the Laws you used will have 1% Rule(s) of Darkness imbued in them passively!]
--
[Congrattions, Host, your Title [Knight of Darkness] has been upgraded to [Knight of Darkness (II)]!]
[Thief Title: Knight of Darkness (II)]
-Title Effect: Any attack imbued with Darkness or anyw rted to darkness will deal 7% more damage and cause a corroded effect, which is hard to heal!
---
[Order: Darkness]
-First Order of Darkness (B.E.D): Lawless Darkness
-Rule(s) of Darkness Order: 1
1. Destion: 1% Authority
-Darkness Comprehension: 50%
Branches of Darkness (Current): 6
-Despair (Advanced): 99.99%
-Shadow (Advanced): 99.99%
-Charm (Advanced): 99.99%
-Sin (Advanced): 99.99%
-Evil ult: 99.99%
-Dark: 99:99%
[NOTE: Please increase your understanding of Darkness with the help of its branches to increase your Darkness further.]
---
[Law(s): 8 (Corrupted by Darkness)] N?v(el)B\\jnn
-Sword (Advanced): 93.63%
-Psyche (Initial): 30.84%
-Lightning (Advanced): 99.99%
-Wind (Advanced): 99.99%
-Heavenly Thunder (Initial): 49.99%
-Space (Initial): 7.85%
-Sound (Intermediate): 51.19%
-Orbit (Initial): 10.00%
[Corruption Progress: 50%]
=====
Ace was surprised when he saw all those notifications, especially when he saw the [Orbit]w appearing within hisw states. Furthermore, hisw of space also progressed by three percent after heprehended the orbit intent!
''Could it be the orbitw has something to do with spacew?'' Ace mused.
But he had more pressing questions, as he quickly asked the system, "System, what is this rule? Is it the mystic ability?"
Ace was quite curious about the mystic abilities, and he had even been trying to awaken them for a while. But he never expected he would awake the Darkness Rule first.
However, he wasn''t sure since this was not Mystic Ability but Rule, which seemed to be only used with the Darkness Order, so he was notpletely sure. Nheless, Ace was feeling quite strong now, and the surroundingws had be clearer, and the restrictions of this ce had been lessened by 10%.
"[Mystic Ability and Rule are different but have a connection. In truth, a mystic ability can only manifest when someone taps deeper into a Law andprehends its Rules!]
"[Allws have their own unique Rules, and only byprehending all of them can one truly master a Law!]
"[When someone awakes a mystic ability, this means they hadprehended a Rule Authority of that Law. A Mystic Ability is the manifestation of rule authority that governs aw.]
"[But a Rule Authority can only beprehended up to 90%! Any further, and that would instantly draw the wrath of heaven because it would then enter the domain of a Law Ruler.]
"[A Law Ruler is someone that can rule a specificw rule with over 90% authority over that rule. It has nothing to fear from another person, even if they can showcase 90% of the power of that rule. But even this Law Ruler has a limit, which is a maximum of up to 98%!]
"[But the Order can bypass this absolute universal restriction and can enable a person to have 100% authority over the power of that rule, making it the Lord of that rule! The host would find more about it as you continue to increase your prowess andprehend more Darkness!]"
Ace was dumbfounded when he heard this huge revtion. He didn''t know that the mystic abilities would have such profound depths to them.
But when he thought about how he would be able to be a Lord of a Rule with the Darkness Order, his heart raced with anticipation.
Now, the mystic abilities have be far clearer to him than before, and he knew what he needed to do to make progress.
With such thoughts, Ace continues forward. However, he soon noticed that he could no longerprehend darkness any further despite feeling resonating with it.
He frowned, ''What is going on?''
Chapter 1032 The Forsaken One
Chapter 1032 The Forsaken One
Ace questioned the system about this new situation, "System, why can''t Iprehend Darkness any further? Is 50% the limit?"
"[System has already told the host that theprehension of darkness is rted to the branches of darkness. You will naturally progress as long as the hostprehends more branches of darkness.]
Realization dawned on him as he had already seen that all thews rted to darkness were at 99.99%, so unless he made further progress orprehended otherws rted to darkness, he wouldn''t make progress.
The Darkness Comprehension was different from otherws because he only awakened it after getting the first order of darkness. Now, he also managed to awaken a vastly different rule than a mystic ability.
Ace has already assumed that the Darkness was aw like the Evil ult and Sin, which were thebination of multiplews, yet it was even more advanced since those twows were also part of it. Evenws from God were just a portion of the Darkness.
''There are differentws of darkness within here, but how do Iprehend them?'' Ace mused with a frown, ''Or if I can directlyprehend darkness, I''ll get everything. But it is far easier said than done. Maybe I might be able to do it with the Lawless Darkness, but I can only enter that state for a few seconds, and after awakening the rules, maybe for a minute.
''But this would leave me in a weak state. I should just be content with my current progress and take it slow. This is not the ce, nor do I have time to enter seclusion. This ce will close off within 100 days, so I should hurry and get to the bottom of it. The Vampyre Race inheritance is more important, and since they can create this ce, they will have to have uniquews rted to the darkness.''
After thinking of this point, Ace didn''t hesitate and increased his speed. The pressure and restrictions ofws here have already decreased by 10% after heprehended the rule of darkness.
So, he can now use his thief sense up to a 150-mile radius from the original range of 1500 miles, which was more than enough for him to continue without worry.
But despite that, he was still not able to find the bottom of this ce, which was quite shocking.
As Ace continued, he found another cavern, and this cavern was another checkpoint at 50,000 meters deep for those who wanted to end their trial after passing the second-ss soldier requirements. N?v(el)B\\jnn
But Ace continued and headed deep towards the third-ss soldier trial checkpoint, which was 100,000 meters deep. He still continued towards the Vampyre Centurion.
This army rank passing checkpoint was 500,000 meters deep, and Ace continued towards the Vampyre Prefect. But this time, Ace finally felt powerful pressure on both body and soul. His Thief Sense was also restrained again to 50 miles only.
Furthermore, as Ace went deeper and deeper, a sense of unease washed over him as he felt danger looming over him for the first time after he entered this ce.
He became fully alert as he walked in this darkness. At this moment, Ace suddenly felt icy chills on his spine as an eerie ancient voice rang in the darkness.
"How long has it been since someone came here? Hehehehe¡ I can finally enjoy some delicacy!" The voice maliciouslyughed as it spoke in the forsakennguage of the abyss.
Ace instantly felt piercing pain in his head, making his soul core tremble, ''A powerful soul attack!''
His heart went cold as he still couldn''t pinpoint the enemy in this ce, but this soul attack was far too terrifying, and he had never experienced something like this before.
"Oh¡ you are not from that Vampyre n? Yet you still managed to pass the Prefect Trial?" The voice sounded in astonishment, "Hehehehe¡ it doesn''t matter which race you belong to; since you were able toe this far, this means you have a delectable soul filled with Abyssal Qi! Stop your meaningless resistance, and let me enjoy a decent meal!"
The moment the voice trailed off, Ace suddenly felt mortal danger from behind, and without hesitation, he used Twilight Traverse to flee at full speed.
Just as Ace moved, ck ethereal needles rained down on his spot, leaving behind faint, ethereal dark mes whenever they fell.
Ace''s heart turned cold because he could feel terrifying danger from those needles, especially those ck ethereal mes they left behind. He knew he wouldn''t be able to block it if he didn''t use thewless darkness.
"Hehehe, how interesting; you were still able to dodge my attack despite being a little pup of 8th Mortal Tier. Make it more entertaining for me, then!" The voiceughed with relish as if it was enjoying it very much.
Ace grimaced, ''Just where is he? He can also see through my cultivation!?''
No one had ever been able to see through his cultivation before, especially after he raised his authority over the system. Yet this voice managed to achieve it. Maybe it was because of the strength he used, but it was still noughing matter!
He was using everything, even the Live Fate Map, to pinpoint this voice location, but there was nothing. This kind of situation was a first for him.
He needed to find where this person was hiding, or he would be passive and might really fall into mortal danger. Furthermore, Ace had a feeling that this person had blocked the path of retreat.
Ace''s heart churned at this moment, and without hesitation, he flew upward using the sky steps.
"Boom!"
A ck phantom of a huge jaw suddenly appeared out of nowhere and closed in like a death trap where Ace was at this moment, biting nothing but air. However, it leaves behind ck ice this time, giving off a freezing aura.
"If you have guts, show yourself!" Ace finally spoke with trepidation because this guy was too terrifying, and he had a feeling that he was not at the level where he could handle him.
Even his stealth wasn''t working, and his speed, which he was most proud of, was easily countered.
At this moment, Ace had a terrifying proposition, ''Is this an existence above 8th realm!?''
"Whoa¡ you really dodge that as well? And your Qi is somewhat strange... I think you might be as talented as the royalties of the Vampyre n. Now, this is unexpected, alright, little pup! If you manage to block my next attack, I''ll let you pass this ce as long as you agree to my conditions. So, try not to die after arousing my hopes!"
For the first time, Ace was finally able to see the light, but it wasn''t some warm light from above; instead, it wasing from the depths of this abyss.
Countless crimson eyes filled with endless bloodlust and terrifying killing intent revealed themselves as if the hell had just opened its eyes to gaze upon a tiny ant!
Chapter 1033 Great Escape
Chapter 1033 Great Escape
??Ace felt like he was in the middle of an icy ocean, where neither he could breathe nor move as those countless glowing crimson eyes were locked on him. It was the first time in his life that he felt fully exposed without any way to hide or flee.
The next moment, those eyes suddenly began to glow, illumining the dark abyss, and in the middle, something began to condense.
Ace felt death enveloping him at this moment, and someone was locked his very; it was the same feeling that he felt when Conner used the Orbit Lock mystic ability on him, but it was far more terrifying!
Without hesitation, Ace directly activated his two-thief symbol summoning abilities; this wasn''t the end; nine dark coins appeared and arranged into an array before creating a runic barrier filled with countless dark runes; it was the second most powerful heavenly array. Heavenly Earth Protection!
However, Ace still felt the sensation of death, ''Just what kind of messed up thing is this?! Even the devil''s horn invisibility can''t hide my trace! I''m still fully locked!''
Ace''s heart was heavy as a mountain, and thest time he felt this kind of feeling was back in thend of kingdoms when Gordon almost killed him.
''Lawless Darkness!''
Ace was saving this until he found this guy''s true body, but now he had no choice but to use it since he couldn''t afford to waste the life coin and get teleported out of this ce. Not until he had no other choice!
The moment thewless darkness appeared, the crimson light locked on him suddenly engulfed by inky darkness, and at this moment, Ace finally felt that power locked on him vanish, and he could freely move!
"Y-You have primordial Qi, and you can even use it, and this strangew¡ what is this!???!" The voice rang again, but this time, it had lost all its previous confidence and mischievousness; a trace of dread was present in its voice.
Ace''s heart sank as the secret of his heavenly Qi was also seen through by this being, and he could tell this was not good!
Before, Ace''s heavenly Qi was vague and couldn''t be detected easily, but the moment he used thewless darkness, the heavenly Qi became extremely potent, and if someone were familiar with it, they could easily be able to see through it.
Furthermore, this being was not engulfed by thewless darkness, so it easily saw through the nature of Ace''s Qi.
''It seems I have no choice but to use the Great Escape Limit Heavenly Talisman here! This is not something I can ovee with my current ability!'' Ace''s eyes shed with decisiveness.
Although the other party had seen through his tricks and his Qi, he had also sensed thewless darkness''s uniqueness. Ace didn''t dare to linger here and try his luck any longer since he knew just what kind of cmity awaited him if hiswless darkness''s origin was revealed in front of this terrifying being.
This was the same as the system being exposed, which was uneptable!
So, while the other party was still in shock and he was finally freed, he knew he only had one chance to escape, or if that guy became serious, he might really have to use the life coin, or worse, if he got captured, it was all over!
"Just who are you?! I''ll know once I capture you!" The voice rang again with a hint of greed in its voice.
However, at this moment, a ck pentagon coin appeared in his hand; it was the grade-9 limit heavenly talisman Great Escape that the system rewarded him, and it could only be used three times.
Ace instantly activated it with a clear ce in his mind, and the next moment, the crimson beam suddenly shot toward him, covering the entire abyss. But before it could hit him, with the help ofwless darkness, now could retrain him, so the heavenly talisman instantly shed, and Ace vanished without a trace!
The Great Escape talisman can send Ace anywhere he has been before, no matter the distance. That''s why these three chances to use it were extremely important.
The next moment, Ace appeared in a dark cave, right in front of a wall filled with writing. This cave was at the 500,000-meter mark for rewarding the Vampyre Centurion!
Ace quickly looked behind and saw crimson lighting inside, and despite being far away from it, he felt his soul-shaking and his body trembling from the ghastly pressure. Even the heavenly punishment couldn''tpare with it.
"Eva, I''m about to take you out, and the moment you appear, directly pour your Qi into a wall right in front of you. Don''t waste a single second, or we might not be able to escape!" Ace gravely sent a voice transmission to Eva, who was now fully recovering.
The reason Ace chose toe here was because he didn''t want to escape empty-handed, and since he couldn''t go past that ghastly thing, he decided to take the Vampyre Centurion Trial reward.
Since that thing was guarding this ce, then this could only mean that it belonged to the Vampyre Race and was part of this trial. So, as long as someone used this ce to escape, it couldn''t stop them.
So, Ace directly came here and even wanted to make Eva benefit from this. This way, they would take two times the rewards instead of one.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Eva was first startled as she could feel Ace''s dread from his hurried tone; the next moment, she appeared within pitch ck darkness, and she suddenly felt a mountain crushed on her very being; her life was no longer in hand.
"T-t-this¡" ggy was also bbergasted, and a hint of fear was present in its usual arrogant voice.
They were within Ace''swless darkness because he didn''t dare to stop using it since he was worried that the thing in the abyss might lock on him again, so he had no choice but to summon Eva within as well, just in case she got targeted instead.
The thing in the abyss still didn''t seem to have realized that Ace had escaped its attack.
"Don''t worry, just pour your Qi in front of you, and everything will be fine." Ace''s voice, which was somewhat eerie and ovepping, rang.
Eva snapped out of her dreaded state and quickly did as she was told. She thought this was the great danger he was talking about.
Ace controlled thewless darkness and opened up a small gap within the heavenly array, allowing Eva''s Qi to touch the wall, and the next moment, she vanished!
Ace also didn''t dy and poured his Qi into the wall, and the next moment, he vanished as well, leaving the empty cave and lingering darkness behind.
This all happened within a few seconds, and at this moment, the blinding crimson light finally vanished.
The ancient voice rang again, filled with disbelief, "Where did his body go!?"
Chapter 1034 Army Class Trial Reward
Chapter 1034 Army ss Trial Reward
??When the mysterious being within the abyss used the ghastly unknown attack, the entire secret realm lit up in crimson light, and a huge crimson light pir became visible for everyone to see. No matter where the participants were, they all saw it.
"That direction¡" Sofia''s eyes shimmered with curiosity.
She was hiding a few hundred meters away from a grove of trees, and within this grove was a strange white nt with yellow runic patterns, and three strange golden white fruits were glittering.
This kind of scene was extremely strange within this ck tree forest, and even from this distance, Sofia could feel that those fruits were extraordinary. She was nning to grab the entire nt but felt faint danger from that grove, so she was still mulling over how to proceed.
But now, seeing that crimson light pir on the far horizon, she felt like her soul trembled a little and wasn''t the only one. Those trees around her began to shake like crazy.
Sofia''s heart turned cold as, for the first time, she sensed that these trees were not unmovable or like normal trees; even that grove of trees began to quiver, and faint eerie wails drifted in the air.
''This is my chance to grab that tree, and then I''ll investigate that light pir. Nothing like this had been recorded in secret records. This might be a treasure being born!'' She palliated her soul by circting the Qi as her eyes turned decisive.
---
The Crown Prince Carlos''s party also noticed the light pir, but they were fleeing for their lives as countless tree branches were on their tail, and their faces were deadly pale.
''God damn ce! That''s probably some powerful soul-type treasure that could make even my soul tremble in fear from this distance. I have to go there before others!''
His eyes turned cold as he nced at his loyal men, ''Don''t me me for sacrificing you for the greater good. Your lives belonged to me, and it''s about time you all paid your dues and opened a path of glory for me!''
---
The Second Prince Darren and his group somehow entered a purple icy ne, and the cold here could make even the soul shiver.
But they all saw the light pir, and Darren''s eyes were filled with greed, "Let''s go there before others!"
However, the frozen ground under their feet suddenly trembled at this moment, and cracks began to appear. The next moment, countless gray bone hands shot up from the icy as if someone terrifying was awakening.
Darren and the ground suddenly felt shivers when they saw countless ghastly gray skeletons of all kinds crawling out from the frozen ground as their empty eye sockets were lit in icy purple me!
It was like they had escaped from the underworld itself to bring about endless despair upon the living!
---
In another different region was a towering crimson mountain, and there were countless weapons stabbed on it, giving off thick killing intent.
Riana''s figure magically appeared, and strangely, her skin seemed to be translucent, and a peculiar silver rune shimmered over her forehead. Her eyes werepletely white with no Human emotions, like some otherworldly being.
She looked emotionlessly at the crimson pir, which seemed to be rising behind the towering mountain like a sun.
"A sign of death. You should stay away!" She muttered as her voice ovepped with another charming voice.
"Yes!" She spoke again in reply.
"As I''ve calcted, this mountain has a powerful weapon at its summit that can help you break the Soul Contract and the Soul Brand without alerting the owner and change your destiny, my poor child.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Taming it won''t be easy, so I shall lend you a hand. However, I will not be able to contact you for 100 years once I showcase my power. But tracking you won''t be easy once you have that treasure since itplements your Fantastic physique.
"I will be at ease, and you might even be able to ascend before the penalty ends. I have high hopes for you as the future hope of the Human Race. Escape this little well, my child. Your destiny is far bigger." Riana spoke majestically with a hint of sadness.
"Thank you, Your Holiness. I will not disappoint you!" Riana spoke again with a resolute voice.
"I know, let''s get it over with. This ce is extremely strange; I can''t even see through it. But whoever built this, it is pure evil!"
She coldly stated before a blinding white light gushed out of her body, and the crimson light seemed to have met with its nemesis as it quickly backed down wherever the white light fell!
---
Ace found himself standing within a neon space, and in front of him was over a thousand-meter-tall vivid ck statue of a strange majestic being. He couldn''t tell if it was a man or a woman because it had eight pairs of dark feather wings, one pair covering the face, the second covering its upper body, the third covering its lower body, and the fourth pair covering the feet!
The only visible part was six crimson antelope runic horns rising above its inky head like some demonic crown.
Ace felt like he was standing in front of a terrifying existence that he couldn''t fathom despite being only a statue. However, at this moment, Ace suddenly felt his blood boil for some strange reason, and a feeling of strange closeness bloomed in his heart.
At this moment, Ace suddenly snapped out of his dazed state because he felt some unknown Qi washed over him as he trembled a little.
An emotionless voice rang from the status, "Congrattions, Trial Taker, you have sessfully passed the Vampyre Centurion Trial!
"Your cultivation realm is 8th Mortal Tier, Bone Age: 55 Years & 7 Months, Race: Human, Bloodline: Not Recorded in Supreme Bloodline Universal Records (Unknown)
"Your time of approaching the Centurion Cave first after entering the Army ss Trial Abyss: 64 hours
"You managed to sessfully retreat in the face of trial guardians, achieving something the geniuses of the Vampyre ns of 55-year-olds had never had.
"Final Result: Peerless
"Forpleting the Trail of Centurion ss, you are rewarded with a choice for Bloodline Fusion with a First ss Vampyre Bloodline or 10 Drop of Vampyre Noble Blood Essence.
"For your impossible achievement: You may choose one of the top three rewards for Centurion ss!
"You will also be granted a Second Trial Entry Token that you may use before the age of 1,000 to retake the Army Trail one more time!"
Ace was astounded when he heard about the assessments and rewards. He was especially excited about the reward of bloodline and deeply anticipated the three top rewards of this army rank trial.
Furthermore, thest reward about the entry token was something Ace greatly appreciated because he knew just how precious the bloodline of the Vampyre n was from Eva, and their background was enough to turn anyone''s eyes green with greed because any one of their treasures could cause huge wars.
So, he nned on returning here to take all the treasures and settle the score with this deadly trial guardian.
However, at this moment, the system interface appeared in front of him out of nowhere!
Chapter 1035 Side Mission: 5
Chapter 1035 Side Mission: 5
Ace was startled when he saw the system interface and the system voice rang.
=====
[Side Mission has been issued]
---
[Side Mission]
[Mission: Please provide the system with a Drop of Vampyre Noble Blood Essence!]
[Time: 15 minutes]
[Reward: Unknown]
[Punishment: -1 Billion Thief Points]
=====
Astounded, Ace asked, "You want a Drop of Vampyre Noble Blood Essence, why? Furthermore, why am I getting a mission despite heaven''s stealer mission still being active?"
"[System can''t tell you and this side mission was only triggered because you have alreadypeted the condition!]"
Ace scoffed, "Even if Ipleted the condition, you made sure I couldn''t reject it by putting this ridiculous punishment in ce, huh? Well, I don''t mind giving you a drop as long as you tell me if this blood fusion can also give me the bloodline of Vampyre.
"After all, ording to this voice, I can have this bloodline despite being a human. Oh, and what kind of benefits would this blood essence have? If you don''t answer me, I might ept the transfusion, after all having this bloodline for 1 billion thief point didn''t sound a bad deal to me!"
Ace was always under the impression that the bloodline can''t change unless someone had a treasure like the Mystic Bloodline Cist, or it can only be further evolved withpatible bloodlines like the abyssal bloodline or his house members.
Although he also has a bloodline which is sealed for some reason, and it will be unsealed once he undergoes his final heavenly punishment. But he was under the impression that the bloodline rted to the abyss wouldn''t be useful for him since he was human.
However, now, he was given the choice to fuse with the Vampyre Bloodline; truth be told, he was very tempted. After all, ording to this voice, even if his sealed bloodline was extremely powerful, it wasn''t in this Supreme Bloodline Universal Records.
Although he had no idea what this Supreme Bloodline Universal Records were, he was sure that only extremely powerful bloodlines might have the qualification to be record within and the Vampyre Bloodline has to be one of such bloodlines.
That''s why he was willing to fuse with this bloodline and even discard his own bloodline since he didn''t have any close feelings toward this sealed bloodline.
As for Eva, as long as he could have that bloodline, he didn''t mind giving her his own blood, or she might even get her own since she had also entered this ce with him. So, he had no misgivings.
Lastly, Ace had another n in mind, the Mystic Bloodline Cist, if he could somehow acquire this bloodline and then imed the ownership of the Mystic Bloodline Cist, he can easily change his bloodline and be a true Vampyre which should be impossible otherwise.
But the system interference has made him stop in his tracks, and now he wanted to know why the system wants the drop of the Vampyre noble bloodline essence but not theplete bloodline.
"[Host can indeed undergo a bloodline fusion and be a half Vampyre, but your human bloodline will also be overpowered as a result. By doing so, you will lose the qualification to acquire something only you can.]
"[As for the Vampyre Noble Blood Essence, you can use it in many ways, such as you can refine the remaining blood essence into your body and directly unsealed your already weakened sealed on your bloodline and even strengthened it. If you are lucky you might even assimte some bloodline ability of the Vampyre Race and have trace of their bloodline in yours!]
"[But system would suggest you save it for now, at least until youplete your Heaven''s Stealer Mission!]"
Ace was bbergasted by this respond, system was directly telling him not to undergo the bloodline fusion with the Vampyre Bloodline, or he would lose something that only he can have.
Just this reason was enough for him to quickly give up since he knew this thing might be rted to system and system had never disappointed him. As for unsealing his bloodline, this made his heart raced, but he also gave up on it since as system said the seal was already weakened, and it would break once he undergoes another heavenly punishment.
"You better not make me regret this!" Ace gravely warned while musing, ''Well, I''ll keep it and if Eva needs it, I''ll give it to her since system seemed to have some other ns about this bloodline. And it''s not like I can''te back again to get everything here.''
Ace then looked at the statue and replied, "I would like to choose the ten drops of Vampyre Noble Blood Essence!"
"First reward has been selected!
"Prepare to receive ten drops of Vampyre Noble Blood Essence!"
The next moment, unexpectedly, a crimson beam suddenly shot from the statue towards Ace''s forehead, and it was so fast that even Ace wasn''t able to react.
Ace panicked a little, but he didn''t sense any danger, and just as he was about to use his heavenly Qi, he felt something icy cold settling between his eyebrows. A crimson moon mark had appeared on his be!
The voice rang again at this moment, "The blood essence has been sealed within your body as well as the Vampyre Blood Refining Technique because your human body is too weak to bear the power of a Vampyre Noble. When you reach a sufficient level, the technique will be unlocked, and you may start to refine the blood essence!"
Ace was startled as he touched his be, and he felt the cold moon mark on it before it slowly faded away within his skin as if nothing happened.
The system voice rang at this moment.
=====
[10 Drops of Vampyre Noble Blood Essence have been detected!]
[Required host permission to take one drop?]
=====
"Take it and can you help me bottled up the remaining drops and release that technique?" Ace asked with a somewhat depressed tone since this wasn''t as he imagined it.
He thought he would get those blood drops in some container or bottle or something, yet it turned out to be sealed within his body, and now he had no idea how to take it out. So, he would only ask the system, after all the system had stated itself that he didn''t need to refine this blood so leaving it inside his body would be not good.
"[Don''t worry host, without unsealing this seal, system can''t take the blood so, the remaining blood will be delivered to host and the technique will also be released upon unsealing this seal. Please wait for 5 minutes!]"
Ace finally rxed and didn''t say anything as the system began to work its magic.
The voice rang again, "Now you may select from one of these three treasures for your second reward; you only have 5 minutes to decide!"
The next moment, a white jade scroll with red runic marking, a somewhat tattler ck book, and a purple gold talisman appeared in the air. Strangely, Ace wasn''t able to probe or sense anything from the three things, so he waited for an exnation.
However, the voice didn''t speak again even after a minute passed and Ace frowned "Um¡ can I get description on those items?"
"No, choosing something is part of fate. If you are fated for something, it will be yours and if you are not then no matter what you do, you can never get it. So, you have to choose and leave it to your own luck and fate!" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
''What a scam!'' Ace cussed when he heard those profound words, as he was very displeased. He wanted to take everything but didn''t dare to overestimate himself, afraid he might offend someone he shouldn''t have.
"System, can you appraise them for me?" Ace then quickly asked the system for help.
"[You are not in contact with the item!]"
Ace''s expression was gloomy to extreme, ''This selfish little¡''
Now, he had no choice but to rely on himself as he used the fate map and didn''t find any help. So, could only give up and looked at the three items closely. He quickly excluded the talisman since he had enough of his own.
The only items remaining were the jade scroll and the tattler book. Ace deeply looked at the jade scroll and then the book.
In the end, he gritted his teeth and said, "I choose¡!"
Chapter 1036 Evolution?
Chapter 1036 Evolution?
??"Congrattions, Trial Taker, you have sessfully passed the Vampyre Centurion Trial!
"Your cultivation realm is 8th Mortal Tier, Bone Age: 61 Years & 11 Months, Race: Abyssal Devil, Bloodline: Shadow Abyssal Devil: Ranked 98th & Trace of Void Abyssal Devil: Ranked 61st in Supreme Bloodline Universal Records.
"Your time of approaching the Centurion Cave after entering the Army ss Trial Abyss: 102 hoursN?v(el)B\\jnn
"Final Result: Above Average
"You are rewarded with 100 Drops of Common Vampyre Blood Essence.
"Get ready to receive the reward!"
Eva stood in a dark space where she can''t see anything when this voice suddenly began to buzzed which she didn''t understand at all, and she was agitated, because she didn''t find or felt Ace trace here.
She still vividly remembered what she felt and saw upon leaving the thief''s space, and she trembled just thinking about it.
"Calm down, we are out of danger and this ce should be safe since all those powerful Qis vanished instantly. That wall was probably some kind of checkpoint that teleported us the moment you use your Qi, which should considered giving up on the trial.
"Furthermore, this voice is probably some mechanism triggered after you clear the checkpoint. So, stay m and let me figure out what had it said." ggy''s perplexed voice rang with a trace of fear. Even a treasure like ggy was shaken by that darkness, and truth be told, ggy didn''t even want to think about it.
However, before they could figure out their situation, a crimson beam suddenly shot out of nowhere and directlynded on Eva''s head!
She paled with fright at first, but the next moment, she suddenly stopped, and her body suddenly trembled with agitation because something triggered within her body as a terrifying icy energy spread in her entire body. Her blood suddenly begins to boil as it greedily absorbs that cold energy like a hungry wolf.
Eva''s entire body suddenly begin to twist, and her body suddenly started to grow as a ghastly me smoke begin to rose covering her entire body.
"This was¡ it''s the Vampyre Blood! You got extremely lucky! Girl, don''t waste your opportunity. Your abyssal bloodline is extremelypatible with the Vampyre Bloodline, which can benefit you.
"The biggest benefits is evolving into Void Abyssal Devil, now quickly try feeling the trace of the dormant Void Abyssal Devil bloodline in your body and then channel the Qi within the Vampyre Blood in that directly!
"You must not miss this chance, or you might never get another. Use your True Devil Form to control your bloodline!" ggy''s excited voice rang.
Soon, devilish wails filled with pain started to reverberate in the dark space where no one could hear them or witness a terrifying transformation taking ce in the midst!
---
The entrance of the secret realm, the secret hall, waspletely empty right now as everyone knows that no one can get out before 100-day time was up. So, there wasn''t any need to protect or wait at this ce until the time arrived.
However, at this moment, a vortex suddenly opened right above the altar, and a hooded figure walked out before the vortex vanished!
''I was directly sent out?'' Ace was surprised as he instantly recognized the familiar hall and the altar where he was standing.
After choosing the final reward, Ace was given a token that will allow him to reenter the trial before he turned 1000-year-old. It was an extremely long time for Ace, and he was nning to enter when he was absolutely confident in handling that guardian and taking everything.
He was content with what he got, especially the final reward, which surprised him right now.
Afterward, a vortex appeared in front of him, and it was his cue to leave, so he obediently stepped into it. He thought he would be sent to the ce right where he entered, but out of his expectation, he was directly sent out of the trial.
Furthermore, the entire ce was empty at this moment, and no one was around to guard it. After his encounters in the trial, he was far more powerful than a few days ago when he entered.
As for the side mission reward, the system dyed it until hepletes the Heaven Stealer''s Mission which made Ace almost explode. But he can''t do anything about it.
Afterward, Ace didn''t leave and began to wait for Eva since she should have entered some simr ce to get the rewards. So, there were high chances of hering out from the secret realm as well.
Ace didn''t leave and began to wait for Eva since she should have entered some simr ce to get the rewards. So, there were high chances of hering out from the secret realm as well.
Ace was also worn down after his encounter with the trial guardian, after all he had to used almost every trick in his sleeve to escape from him and even had to use a limit heavenly talisman.
So, now that he waspletely out of danger, he sat in a dark corner and began to recover while his thief sense was fully active.
However, almost a full day past yet there was no trace of Evaing out, and Ace was alsopletely healed. He frowned, ''Could it be she wasn''t sent out like me? That voice evaluated my performance urately so it might be possible for it to know the trick I used to make Eva passed as well.
''If there is such a possibility, she might end up back in the secret realm or worse¡'' Ace''s heart turned cold, thinking about Eva going back to the abyss.
He became anxious and even began to regret making such a reckless decision and putting her in danger out of greed. Still, Ace calmed his tightened nerves because he was helpless!
Beforeing out, he told that to use the token, he had to wait for 1000 days so some reason. Once this time period end, he can enter the secret realm even if the secret realm was closed for others.
As for now, he can''t go back because the Emperor told them all that the participants have to enter the very day the trial open and if this 24-hour window were missed, no one can enter again before another 500 years passed.
Ace should be in a simr situation since he was told to wait for 1000 days, or there might be some restrictions.
So, Ace cooled down and believed in Eva, after all he could still feel their connection so she was still fine. It was just that they couldn''tmunicate until they were in a certain range.
This gave him even more reason to upgrade the Thief House quickly and put her in so they could be in contact with each other no matter the distance or ce.
Just like that Ace''s begin to wait for Eva without moving from his spot!
Chapter 1037 Final Targets & Exit
Chapter 1037 Final Targets & Exit
??In the royal city of the Wonder Kingdom, a little human girl about the age of 8 to 10 with a doll-like appearance was fearfully following a cloaked man. Moreover, there was a ck cor around the little girl''s neck.
If people see this ck cor, they would instantly recognize it because it was amonly used grade-5 ve item to enve others. But in the Wonder Kingdom, it wasn''t a rare sight.
Because the Wonder Kingdom had the biggest underground ve markets in the entire Empire where all kinds of ves were sold.
The Wonder Kingdom was the kingdom of demons, and the demon nobles were involved in many malicious activities that most of the high-level figures of the Empire were aware of.
One activity involved collecting beautiful women from other races, like humans and elves. The ve traders captured these women from an ordinary background and then sold them as ves to the demon nobles.
The demon nobles then used those ves like toys and tormented them to seek pleasure until they broke. Some even ate them after they were done with them, and that''s why the Wonder Kingdom mostly didn''t have many visitors, and their reputation was at an all-time low.
Yet the demons didn''t care and did as they pleased because even the royal family was involved. No one could touch them because the Wonder King was a man under the Imperial Crown Prince, and unless the Emperor or Grand Duke-level figures took personal actions, the Wonder King was almost untouchable.
The Wonder King and his loyal men made sure never to leave behind traces, so they were free to do as they pleased.
The cloaked man with the girl was clearly a ve trader as he took her to a remote alley, where another cloaked man seemed to be waiting for them.
"Took you long enough." He coldly stated, clearly displeased since his statue was quite astonished.
"Please forgive me, my lord, but the goods arrivedte today. I''vee here as soon as I select the perfect toy that matches your taste!" The ve trader quickly exined before he forced the little girl in front of him, making the little girl tremble in fear.
The buyer''s eyes lit up when he saw the little girl, "Alright, I''ll forgive you this time. But don''t bete the next time, or I''ll make sure your little ve market ceases to exist!"
He then threw a storage ring to the ve Trader, and he quickly caught it. After ensuring the payment was right, he thanked the buyer and left the alley.
"Little toy, if you behave and entertain his highness, you might be able to live longer. Just ensure you scream well and endure, and everything will be fine. Hahaha!"
He breaks into sadisticughter, which abruptly ends because, like usual, the little girl doesn''t cry or beg for mercy. Instead, her frightened expression was gone entirely and reced with deadly calmness. He suddenly felt something was wrong.
The girl spoke in an icy tone at this moment, "You just said ''Your Highness,'' right? This means you are the ve collector who belonged to the royal family. This means my investigation wasn''t in vain."
"What kind of nonsense¡hikk¡" His furious words instantly cut off when he felt deadly pressure weigh down on him, and a chill went down his spine as he thought death was standing right behind him.
Even someone like him at the peak of the Qi Soul Manifestation realm waspletely suppressed by this deadly pressure.
The little girl''s eyes have now turned pitch ck as she icily stated, "Take me to this ''Highness,'' I''ll end thisst quest with the baptism of the Wonder Royal Family''s disgusting blood!"
---
The Charming Lake Kingdom belonged to the elves, and it was very beautiful. People from all over the Empire visit here for sightseeing and to enjoy the breathtaking scenery.
Charming Lake was the most beautiful ce in the heart of the royal city. Thiske was like the starry sky, and all-natural elements of Qi were present here, creating rainbows, a dense Qi environment, and tranquil scenery for cultivation. Very few people were allowed to visit thiske.
However, at this moment, in the center of the charmingke, a hooded woman in ck robes was sitting cross-legged, hovering over the starry water like a dark fairy.
Suddenly, five beautiful elves appeared in the air and kneeled in front of this woman, and one of them respectfully said, "Master, the preparations areplete!"
The woman awakened at this moment, and her charming voice rang, filled with ridicule, "I guess it''s time for me to leave. How disappointing! I thought the Empire would at least figure out some of our abilities and make it more interesting. But I guess they are just brutes in power, and we were worried about nothing. I wonder what our leader is doing right¡"
---
The Golden Lion Kingdom had the most prestige among the other kingdoms of the Empire because their princess would probably be the next empress. They also enjoyed special care from the imperial family because of it, and that''s why no one messed with them.
After the theft incident urred in the Golden Lion Royal City, the security here was very powerful; even the guards from the imperial pce were instated there.
However, despite all the security, a dark figure easily broke into the royal pce tonight, and a ck glowing dark light was opened in front of this person.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"I''m going to be the first toplete my chain mission. It''s about time I head to the imperial city. I''ve heard it is quite lively these days. I can''t let dear leader have all the fun¡" A chuckle escaped from this person, which was more like the dark giggle of an evil witch.
The next moment, a page of the book in front of her suddenly turns, and darkness eclipses the Golden Lion Royal Pce!
---
Ace had no idea that the house members were already about toplete their chain missions as he anxiously awaited Eva outside the secret realm. He wasn''t in the mood to cultivate or investigate the Imperial pce.
However, all of a sudden, Ace''s expression brightened because he felt undtion in the space above the altar.
Suddenly, a vortex formed above the altar, and Ace felt his connection with Eva strengthened as someone walked out of the vortex, and relief washed over him.
''I''m d you''re fine!''
Chapter 1038 Ascending & Descending
Chapter 1038 Ascending & Descending
??Eva stepped out of the vortex in Evie''s disguise. However, she was surprised when she realized she was sent out of the secret realm, just like Ace.
"Took you long enough." Ace''s figure suddenly appeared before her as he gently greeted her.
Eva''s eyes lit up, and without hesitation, she pounced in his arms and tightly hugged him, "I''m d you''re fine."
Ace felt warmth from her tender words, but at this moment, Ace suddenly felt something was different about Eva, and he knew it had something to do with the dy. Furthermore, he could feel her aura started to change; it was as if she was suddenly bing one with thews.
However, before he could ask her, the system voice suddenly rang in his head.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"[The Shadow Abyssal Devil has awakened 38% of Void Abyssal Devil Bloodline, and she''s on the verge of breaking through from the elemental state. Her presence is bing overbearing; she doesn''t need the ascension altar to break the shackles of Heaven. Please send her into Thief''s Space before she draws the attention of Natural Order; thereby, Heavenly Punishment will ur in five seconds, and once she passes it, she will descend into the Abyss!]"
Ace was shocked when he heard the System''s words, and he didn''t have time to question it since he knew the System had never been wrong before, and Eva''s current bloodline was also because of it.
Eva also sensed that her aura was quickly changing. She didn''t notice it because she was isted from the heavenlyws within the secret realm.
However, because of the change in her bloodline, she had already reached the very pinnacle of the elemental state, and the moment she came in contact with the heavenlyws, the breakthrough finally began.
After all, even her Shadow Abyssal Devil Bloodline was something that shouldn''t exist in Mortal Sky Heaven, but because of the System, she was able to be reborn into this bloodline.
But what Ace and Eva didn''t know was that a Shadow Abyssal Devil was born a Law State, yet because Eva was half Shadow Devil before, she reached the origin of her bloodline artificially, so she had to start cultivation from the start.
Nheless, her cultivation was without bottlenecks, so she quickly reached the eighth realm. But now that she has tapped into the Void Abyssal Devil Bloodline, which the System has left a trace in her too slowly to help her awake after she joined the thief house, a true metamorphosis of an Abyssal Being has begun!
She was now almost half Void Abyssal Devil, and this bloodline was even higher than the Shadow Abyssal Devil Bloodline. Unknowingly, she has be so powerful that it was now impossible for the heavenlyw to stop her cultivation!
Now, her presence can easily break the Heavenly Firmament, also known as Heavenly Space Boundary, which will directly draw the Heavenly Punishment. She was now qualified to be a Heaven Defier!
Although it should be good news, the crux of the matter was she was now a full-fledged Abyssal Creature, and like the Heavens, the Abysses also had their own unique rules, and one of them was if an abyssal creature broke the boundary of the Heaven they would not ascend to higher Heaven; instead, they will be forced back into the deeper Abyss by natural order!
This way, even if a terrifying abyssal creature managed to sneak into the heavens, it couldn''t grow to an extent that could wipe out everyone in that Heaven.
Ace didn''t even give her a chance toprehend what was happening as he quickly said, "Don''t resist; I''m sending you into my space!"
Eva was astounded when she sensed the urgency in Ace''s voice because Ace, at this moment, finally sensed a familiar aura in the air, the aura of Heavenly Punishment!
He knew the System wasn''t kidding around, so he quickly forced her into the thief''s space since it was enough to hide her from the heavenlyws!
Eva didn''t resist, and the next moment, she vanished from her spot and appeared within her house in the thief''s house.
However, she didn''t have the chance to inquire what was happening because an ethereal dark mist gushed out of her body, and she quickly sat cross-legged as she could feel her cultivation suddenly increase. Not only that, but the thief''s space seemed to be helping her!
A dark, misty cocoon suddenly formed around her as the mysterious power within the thief''s space began to be absorbed within that cocoon!
Ace was again shocked by this when the System''s voice rang again.
"[Because the system is not upgrade yet, you will be charged with 5 Thief Point per 1 Second until she breakthrough the next realm, and then you''ll be charged 1 Thief Point per 10 seconds to keep her within the thief''s space until you upgrade the system!]"
Ace was bbergasted as he saw his thief points start to go down. But truth be told, he didn''t care about all this as long as Eva was fine, and it benefited her.
Besides, his thief points tally has already broken past the 2.4 billion because of how active the house members were. So he could support her for a very long time!
However, what he was worried about was, "System, you just said she would ''Descend into the Abyss, not Ascend! What is going on?" He anxiously questioned.
He already knew about the abysses now, but this was unexpected news that he would never allow to happen.
The System replied, "[Since the host already knew about the Abyss, then you can also learn about the ascension process of the abyssal creatures.]
"[Just like the beings of Heaven will ascend once they reached the limit of Heaven by using either ascension altar or breaking the Heavenly Firmament. The abyssal beings will also use either the Abyss Descending Altar or break the Abyssal Space Boundary to descend into the lower Abyss.]
"[The Abyss bes more powerful the lower you go, opposite to the Heaven. But if a being from Heaven somehow ends up in the Abyss, they can return by breaking the limit of that Abyss''s power and ascending. The same goes for abyssal beings, but they will descend.]
"[The same goes for Shadow Abyssal Devil. Because she managed to awaken the Void Abyssal Bloodline, she can no longer control her cultivation, nor will the natural order allow a being like her to roam free in Heaven.]
"[Although she can breakthrough intow state in the thief''s space as long as you have thief points and even lives there, the moment shees out, she will trigger heavenly punishment for it is mandatory if she wants to be epted by thews of the Heaven or Abyss!]
"[But the only difference is, if she undergoes heavenly punishment in Mortal Sky Heaven, she will be forced back into the Abyss! However, if she repeats the same process in a more powerful heaven, she will trigger the Heavenly Tribtion instead and won''t be forced out.]
"[However, her heavenly tribtions will be ten times stronger than the other being from Heaven, almost reaching the level of heavenly punishment! Because in the eyes of Heavenly Laws, she''s from the Abyss now.]
"[The same could be said for someone from the Heaven who undergo Abyssal Tribtion in the abyss!]"
Ace expression went somewhat ugly after he heard it, if he wasn''t here or Eva has triggered this phenomenon in the secret realm, he would''ve never known that where she went!
"So, as long as she remained in the thief''s space until I''m in the mortal sky heaven, she''ll be fine, right? You can use the thief points as long as you ensure she won''t descend!" Ace gravely ordered.
"[Even with the System''s help, without being a member of the Thief House, the thief''s space can only keep her for 20 months. If you don''t upgrade the System, the System will force teleport her far away from the host unless you want to destroy the Thief''s Space and get caught by the Natural Order, which goes against the system rules!]"
"T-this! Are you serious?! How about if I double the amount of TP?" Ace quickly asked with a somewhat pale expression.
"[This is already the limit or if she didn''t have absolute connection with you, the system would''ve never allowed this!]"
Ace''s eyes turned deadly cold, ''No, I have toplete this mission and ascend before Eva is forced into the abyss!''
Chapter 1039 Secret Under the Palace (1)
Chapter 1039 Secret Under the Pce (1)
??Afterward, Ace observed Eva, and he could feel her aura going through a huge change. It was like she was turning intow itself, but slightly different.
''So, this is what happens when someone is through an elemental state. Her innatew seemed to be changing her body and soul. Thisw is almost the same as thew in the Abyss trial but slightly weak.
''If I can continue to observe her breakthrough, I might be able toprehend thisw and even break the 99.99% limit on some of my darkness-rtedws. But I don''t know how long it will take her to break through, and I''m out of time, so I need to hurry and take full advantage of this chance to search for the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple!''
Ace''s heart was heavy after knowing the consequence of dying his mission anymore. He didn''t want Eva to descend into an abyss where he wouldn''t be able to find her for who knows how long; he would never be at ease!
Thereby, Ace used his ability to exit this secret hall without tripping any rm or defensive formation of the pce. Using the fate map, Ace decided to follow thepass arrow as he believed it was leading him toward the ascension temple.
The Imperial Pce was ridiculouslyrge, and danger was at every corner. But most security was focused on the entry points of the pce, especially since the Imperial Family was alerted of his presence by Sofia.
If they knew Ace was already led inside by none other than the Empress herself, no one knows how they would feel.
The secret hall that leads to the secret realm was hidden underneath the Imperial Pce, which was the most secure and secretive ce of the Imperial Pce. Besides the Emperor, no one was allowed here without permission.
''It''s like a gigantic maze¡'' Ace mused as he gravely followed thepass arrow direction, and after crossing several long corridors filled with magic torches, he suddenly stopped.
In front of him was a towering gray door, but what made Ace astonished was the creature slumbering in front of this door.
It was a huge ck tiger with golden strips, and there were a pair of golden horns over his head and a pair of eagle-like ck-golden wings folded on his back. Although it was sleeping, its pressure was enough to make even a Law Comprehension Realm expert retreat in fear.
''Ate-stagewprehension Demonic Winged Tiger! How in the hell did that tame this demonic beast and turn it into a guard dog?! It is even more terrifying than the fully mature Grim Winged Serpent! It''s resident pressure almost on the level of that Silver Wyvern!'' Ace''s expression was grave.
He had already annexed a huge amount of knowledge from the Principal Tower, and he was aware of the demonic beasts'' species of the Sky Heart ins.
This Demonic Winged Tiger was supposed to be one of the most terrifying overlords of demonic beasts residing in the Berserker Beast Mystery in. Yet such a beast was now guarding a dog in the Imperial Pce!
Ace could also assassinate it in its sleep, but this would be troublesome since he didn''t know if this would alert someone or if someone came here, they would instantly know about the presence of an intruder.
''The arrows are pointing in the direction of that door, and since this Demonic Winged Tiger is protecting this ce, there has to be some huge secret behind this door¡'' Ace mused, ''I can pass through that door as long as it''s grade-8 or below, I just need to be extra careful not to awake this beast, or it''ll alert everyone in the imperial pce!''
Using his fully mastered soul stealth with his newly awakened darkness rule, even he wasn''t sure just how powerful his current stealth was. It might be almost on the level of his Devil''s Horn summoning ability!
The demonic winged tiger was over twenty meters in size, and it waspletely blocking the door while only leaving some gap in the top. So, if Ace wanted to pass it, he could only go by flying over it.
He used the sky steps to keep his Qi to a minimum and slowly walked in the air towards the door while his attention was focused on the sleeping tiger and its Qi fluctuation.
Ace suddenly sensed a faint disturbance in the tiger''s soul fluctuation when he was just inches away. Ace instantly raised his speed, and the next moment, he passed through the door!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The tiger opened its vicious eyes the next moment, and it raised its giant head with a hint of confusion before releasing a powerful martial sense. When it didn''t find anything, it went back to sleep.
Once Ace was on the other side, before he could scan his surroundings, the system voice rang, and a panel appeared in front of him!
=====
[Target site rted to the Heaven''s Stealer Mission has been infiltrated sessfully!]
[Did the host want to scan the target site and create a Treasure Blueprint?]
-Requirements:
1. Live Fate Map
2. Thief Point: 100,000,000
3. Time: 90 Minutes
[Proceed/ Cancel]
[NOTE (1): System strongly rmends that Host should make this Treasure Blueprint, which will not only have the target entire map and locations of the treasures avable on the site and the main target treasure, but the safest and fastest routes to approach it as well!]
=====
Ace''s lips rose at this moment in ecstasy as if he were waiting for this exact notification. Without hesitation, he ordered, "Proceed!"
=====
[Treasure Blueprint Scanning has been started!]
[Time: 89:59]
[Warning: Please don''t leave the target range before the scanning is done!]
---
[Thief Point(s): 2,412,193,115]
=====
Ace finally had a sigh of relief since now he would haveplete assurance in finding the ascension temple no matter where it was hidden.
Then Ace finally looked around as he was curious about why the treasure blueprint triggered after entering this ce but not the imperial pce.
He was surprised when he saw it was a cavern, its maw a jagged tear in like mountainside. Towering rock walls, etched with ancient veins of glowing mineral deposits, nk the opening, their sheer scale creating a cathedral-like hush.
The air hangs heavy with the scent of damp earth and a faint, metallic tang that hints at the secrets hidden within.
Faint light, filtered through the glowing minerals, struggles to prate the cavern''s depths, casting long, inky shadows across the uneven ground.
But the most eye-catching thing was the path split by awork of water channels. Some mere trickles weave between moss-covered stones, while others, wider and deeper, gurgle, and froth, their currents hinting at the subterranean depths they drain.
The water reflects the dim light, creating a mesmerizing mosaic of glistening ripples and shifting shadows.
The air chills as he approaches, the dampness clinging to his skin. The silence is broken only by the soft drip of water echoing from the cavern''s hidden corners, a sound that speaks of eons of erosion and the relentless passage of time.
As Ace surveys the maze of water channels, a sense of anticipation hangs heavy in the air. This was clearly a ce of secrets, a hidden world waiting to be explored!
Chapter 1040 Secret Under the Palace (2)
Chapter 1040 Secret Under the Pce (2)
=====
[Treasure Blueprint Scanning of the Heaven''s Stealer Mission Site has beenpleted!]
[Live Fate Map (Treasure Blueprint Mode) has been activated!]
=====
Ace has been waiting for this notification without advancing into water channel pathways. This ce was extremely strange as he could feel dense Qi in all the passages, yet his thief sense or heavenly sense couldn''t scan through them.
Only thepass arrow of the fate map pointed towards a particr pathway, which was the narrowest of them all. Still, Ace decided to wait for the treasure blueprint to finish so he could be certain about the terrain and where the target was hidden!
Furthermore, while waiting for the treasure blueprint to be finished, he contacted all the house members and told them to quickly return to the imperial capital after finishing their mission.
After all, Ace can''t start the mission without taking them all with him, or they will be left behind when he finishes the mission and triggers the ascension process.
Right now, Ace was only here to scout the ce and pinpoint the target''s location. He was especially wary of the Heavenly Mortal Emperor and didn''t want to alert this existence, or it would be all over.
Ace opened the live fate map, which no longer required Qi to keep active. He was finally able to see the terrains, formations, and hidden passages of the entire Imperial Pce and this underground maze.
When he moved the map towards the passage where thepass arrow was pointing, he found a golden area with the tag ''Mortal Sky Ascension Temple Portal''!
However, when Ace noticed the security details, his eyes contracted with disbelief. The passage was protected with a Forbidden Heavenly Space Maze Array (Grade-10), a Forbidden Heavenly Sanctify Array (Grade-10), and right where this Mortal Sky Ascension Temple Portal was, there was a Forbidden Heavenly Void Lock Array (Grade-10)! n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Ace''s heart sank when he quickly asked the system, "System, are you telling me these arrays are not only at the level of the 10th grade, but they are also heavenly arrays, the same one that I got from you?!"
This was Ace''s first time encountering such a situation because he had never encountered Heavenly Runes, as he always thought they were exclusive only to him. Yet now, this passage was made with heavenly arrays of grade-10 that even he didn''t know!
Ace only has the forbidden runes but not the method for using them, so he doesn''t pay much attention to them. He thought he didn''t need to waste time on them since he might never need them.
Yet now, he has encountered them, and since they were heavenly, they were without ws. He knew better than anyone in this world just how terrifying Heavenly Runes were, and they were perfect because they couldn''t be broken!
"[The Mortal Sky Ascension Temple is the domain of Mortal Sky Heavenly Will, and because of it, the Mortal Sky Heavenly Emperor can freely use not only Heavenly Qi of Martial and Soul just like host, it can also use Heavenly Runes without any restrains or bacsh from the Heaven.]
"[Especially the Forbidden Heavenly Runes. They are ''forbidden'' for a reason, and that is even if you know how to use them, you would never be able to draw them or etch them on any treasure; they will be turned into dust by heavenly punishment the very next moment!]
"[This is not just a thievery, but a true test of what you''ve learned in your journey up until now. Only a Heaven''s Stealer is capable of stealing from Heaven!]"
Ace''s expression went dark as he hadn''t been told this before, especially the part about the Heavenly Mortal Emperor using both Martial and Soul Heavenly Qis, just like himself.
Furthermore, since this Heavenly Mortal Emperor was an ancient existence, he has far, far more experience than Ace in the way of Heavenly Qi, and he won''t be surprised if the Heavenly Mortal Emperor had ridiculous skills like him as well or even stronger!
"Do you really expect me to break into this ce without alerting the Heavenly Mortal Emperor and then steal under his nose? At least give me something to counter the Heavenly Runes!" Ace stated in exasperation.
His previous confidence was almost gone now after seeing the security and hearing about the prowess of the Heavenly Mortal Emperor.
"[Host is fully equipped with everything to perform this thievery. You also still have over 30 years to finalize your ns since you have already gained knowledge of your target. Remember, host, despite all the power, the Heavenly Mortal Emperor is nothing but a guard dog who can''t even breathe without its master order while you are Free!]"
"I get it, but the thing is, Eva will be gone if I don''t upgrade you! If there''s any way around it, I''m happy to prepare for decades!" Ace berated, as he was tight on time because of Eva.
But he knew ming the system was not correct since it was his own fault for letting her into that trial without knowing anything.
"[Why does the host think it is a bad thing? If you look at it from another perspective, you are suppressing her growth by stubbornly keeping her with you. She has her own destiny. She even managed to awake the Void Abyssal Devil Bloodline on her own. She can now grow 100 times faster in the abyss.]
"[Moreover, you shouldn''t forget her life is connected with yours and if you died because of yourck of preparation, she will be perished anyway.]"
Ace''s expression grew darker since those words were extremely painful to hear, and also because this time, he knew this voice was different from the static voice of the system; he hadn''t heard it for a long time.
"Aren''t you the one who suggested she has to enter the thief''s house?" he coldly asked.
"[Thief House can indeed help her grow the same, but you don''t have that option right now, do you? The system can only give the host a suggestion. It''s your mission and life; you are free to decide!]"
Ace was frustrated, as he didn''t want to admit it, but the darn system was right. He should have been happy since that voice was now replying, yet he was annoyed and found it better when he didn''t get any response!
"Since you''re being generous with your suggestions, how about suggesting something that can at least help with this mission? Oh, and this is not the Ascension Temple, but a portal that leads to it, right?"
"[Indeed, the true Mortal Sky Ascension Temple lies behind this portal. The system would like to give you onest free suggestion: Perfection is Perfection because it can no longer grow or improve in any and all ways, faultless and wless! If you want to go against perfection, you should make it faulted and wed; you have the power to do so!]"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Ace was startled, but the system started ghosting him again, which made him perplexed.
''To go against perfection, make it faulted and wed? Does it mean there is a way to make the heavenly runes wed, and I even have the power to do so? Is it the Lawless Darkness? No, this power can help me be unrestrained, but it can''t make the heavenly Qi wed. In fact, it bes powerful with heavenly Qi instead. ''Then what¡ heavenly runes¡ heavenly Qi¡'' Ace felt deep in thought as he went through all his skills and techniques. After a long while, he finally reached a conclusion, ''If this is about making something Perfect, wed, the only method I can think of is by dismantling it!''
Ace''s eyes shone when he thought about the principles of the Dismantler. This profession literally means to take apart anything, whether it''s perfect or wed, and it was exclusive to Heaven''s Stealer!
''But I''m already at the limit of a Grade-9 with the principles and the gloves. If I want to dismantle Grade-10, I first need to upgrade my gloves to Grade-10, and ording to the system, the item upgrade token will not work on them.
''Then how am I supposed to break this limit¡'' Ace''s eyes suddenly widened as he trembled a little. The answer should lie within the Forbidden Heavenly Runes!
The system said that heavenly runes were not allowed within heaven and that anything made with them will be destroyed.
''Then what if my heavenly Qi had the same effect? I don''t need to know how to use them; I need to know how to dismantle them!''
Chapter 1041 Secret Under the Palace (3)
Chapter 1041 Secret Under the Pce (3)
After Ace calmed down, hepletely gave up on entering this passage since he knew he needed to polish his skills further. But he stubbornly decided to do it within a few months. He wouldn''t give up and let Eva go until he had no choice.
Then, he checked the rest of the passages. There were twelve passages filled with water channels, the narrowest one leading towards the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple Portal.
When Ace saw the end of one of the other eleven passages, his eyes widened with shock because he was a Forbidden Heavenly Space Locking Array (Grade-10). That passage was also filled with a terrifying number of red fate points, almost dying the area crimson. On each fate point, a simr tag was attached: Heavenly Martial Beast (Late 8th Realm), or Heavenly Soul Beast (Late 8th Realm).
''T-this¡ it''s a freaking trap! There are over 10 thousand of these Heavenly Martial and Soul Beasts! If someone entered this passage and triggered this array, they would never be able to escape!''
Ace felt a chill go down his spine. He asked the system another question and hoped he was overthinking it: "System, those Heavenly Martial and Soul Beasts, please don''t tell me they are named such because they can also use Heavenly Qi of Martial and Soul?"
"[Host is right. Heavenly Beasts can only exist in the domain of Heavenly Will, but they are born with either Heavenly Martial Qi or Heavenly Soul Qi.]"
Ace''s expression grew graver. "Can those heavenly beasts flood the main passage if someone enters unannounced?"
"[The Forbidden Heavenly Space Maze Array is there exactly for this reason, if you took a signal wrong step, you won''t even when you stepped into another space channel and entered entirely different space.]" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
However, his eyes widened because there was somethingpletely unexpected at the end of this passage.
There was no grade-10 array or heavenly beasts; instead, this ce was filled with high-grade-8 formations, and towards the end of it was a ''Space Treasury (Grade-9 Space Storage Treasure), Space Lock (Grade-9 Formation), and Bloodline Lock (Grade-9 Formation)!
Ace''s heart raced. "Space Treasury, not a treasury? It''s even had the Grade-9 Storage Space Treasure tag with it. System, is it like the space ring of Grade-9?"
"[A Grade-9 Rune Crafter proficient in space runes can tear through the space and then use space crystals to create storage space treasure in that space tear. You can even think of this as the initial stages of creating a secret realm. But it is still a world apart since there are many more steps required to create an independent secret realm.]"
Ace was astounded when he heard the exnation about this novel storage space treasure. He didn''t expect to encounter such a thing there. If not for the system, he would''ve never been able to discover the existence of this space treasury since it was a physical object like a storage ring.
''So, that''s where the imperial family treasury was hidden. No wonder Sofia told me only the Mortal Emperor knew about its location, and only he could ess it.''
Ace suddenly thought of something and quickly questioned the system, "System, can I use this space treasury to upgrade my thief''s space?"
"[Yes, it is a grade-9 storage space treasure so it meets the requirements.]"
"Then, after I upgrade the thief space, can Eva get more time?" he quickly asked, as he had not considered?this possibility before.
But now that he saw the Grade-9 storage space treasure, he suddenly remembered that an upgrade was still left for the thief''s space. So, he quickly asked the system for confirmation; if there was hope, he wouldn''t hesitate to sacrifice that living space ring he got from Edward.
"[No, this problem won''t be solved until you upgrade the system. But with this upgrade and time eleration function, and if you unlocked all the thief''s house locked functions, then the time can be increased from 20 months to 50 months!]"
Ace was ted before startled, as he confusingly asked, "What thief''s house locked functions?"
The system didn''t reply; instead, a panel appeared before him.
=====
[Thief''s House]
Description: Only Thief House Members can enter this private space for the thief house members to train their thief skills and cultivate!
-Current Capacity: 3
-Unlock Function(s): 1
1. Thief Cultivation Chambers
---
[Thief''s House Functions]
[Avable Functions: 3]
-Thief Training Rooms: Lock
Unlock Cost: 1,000,000 House Points
-Theft Stimtion Virtual Room: Lock
Unlock Cost: 10,000,000 House Points
-Time Multiplier: Lock
Requirement: Time eleration Function
Unlock Cost: 100,000,000 House Points
=====
Ace''s face turned slightly red with embarrassment as he cursed himself, ''Shit! How could I forget about it? But it wasn''t my fault since, at that time, I didn''t have so many spare thief points to convert into house points. So, Ipletely forgot about them! However, even now, to fully unlock these functions, I have to spend over 1.2 billion thief points. Well, if this means I will have more time, I can ept it since I might be able to recover this amount with this thievery!
''But if I take away the entire treasury, it will definitely alert the Imperial Family. I will leave behind a thief mark, and they might also alert the Heavenly Mortal Emperor if they have some way¡''
Ace''s eyes suddenly went deadly cold. ''But what if I get rid of the Mortal Emperor? He would be here in great panic if he sensed the treasure was gone. He''s the only one aware of this ce, and once he vanished, there would be no one left.
''But I can''t be fully assured that his death would not raise any rm, for there is that strange seal in imperial family members'' minds which stopped them from revealing the temple location.
''They have a very deep connection with the Heavenly Mortal Emperor, or why would their treasury be here where the entrance to the temple is? Then I have to keep Mortal Emperor alive¡
''Furthermore, since the Mortal Emperor can appear here and is connected with the Heavenly Mortal Emperor, I might discover some unexpected method to enter the Ascension Temple by using the Mortal Emperor''s¡'' Ace''sheart raced despite knowing his n was ridiculous.
But before proceeding, he asked the system a final question: "System, if I takethat treasury, will Heavenly Mortal Emperor be alert?"
"[If Heavenly Mortal Emperor can have such freedom to protect someone else treasures, do you think it will leave them with only grade-9 formation when it could set up grade-10 heavenly arrays? It only exists for Heaven, and this is also its biggest restrain!]"
Ace''s thievish eyes shone as he looked at the wide passage, filled with a powerful water current; his lips rose ever so slightly before he turned into a dark streak and vanished within the passage!
Chapter 1042 All Law Elixir
Chapter 1042 All Law Elixir
Ace''s thief sense was restricted outside the cavern entrance, but the moment he entered the passage, he suddenly felt he had entered another space with its uniquews, just like when he entered the trial abyss.
Furthermore, unlike the abyss, thews here seem even morepatible, and his thief sense was suddenly fully released. But the biggest change was that he felt abundant Heavenly Qi in the atmosphere for the first time after he started cultivating. He was like a fist returning to water.
Usually, heavenly Qi didn''t exist in the atmosphere, and Ace had to use his cultivation technique to steal it. Then, with the help of the dark void, it would process and turn into heavenly darkness Qi, or the system would use the Qi materials to process them into heavenly darkness Qi and then release them into his body and soul.
But this was his first time experiencing the presence of heavenly Qi, so clearly, just like an ordinary cultivator would feel the worldly Qi.
''ording to the mission description, this ce is either the heart of the mortal sky heaven or a part of it. And that cavern outside seemed to be the boundary between the world and the heavenly will domain. That might be why my thief sense couldn''t probe any pathways.
''However, when I cross that boundary, my heavenly cultivation is fully released, and I''m no longer restrained, unlike that abyss. If Ipare it, I have more advantage in heaven than in the abyss, or there''s another reason¡'' Ace thought while he traveled opposite the flowing water.
The pathways were dark, and he couldn''t hear anything besides the raging water. The only constion was that he had the fate map, and this passage was the only one without forbidden heavenly runes.
Ace found it quite strange why this passage was left alone. Was it purposely done and then given to the Skr Giant Race as a gift for their loyalty and to store their treasures?
After flying for around ten minutes, Ace finally saw the light in this dark water tunnel, and the heavenly Qi became denser.
The moment Ace crossed the tunnel, he was astounded because he appeared in a vast opening filled with sunlight. Arge river with crystal clear water was flowing from somewhere, and it was the source of water going into the dark tunnel. Around the river, there was a beautiful forest.
Ace also couldn''t believe his eyes; this clearly wasn''t the scenery he was expecting; it was like he had passed through another world. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
''The heavenly Qi here is simply too dense, yet those trees seem to be as ordinary as they could get. I don''t believe anything nurtured with the heavenly Qi would be ordinary. So, is this an illusion created by the grade-9 formation?'' Ace frowned before he activated his advanced thief''s vision, which was already at a high level.
He had used an Advanced-Grade Insight Pill on it, and now he can see through even grade-9 formations and illusions!
The surrounding scenery instantly changed; just as he expected, it was an illusion. The new scenery appeared utterly different in his view. It was a light goldenndscape with a milky white waterfall between it, and the waterfall''s top was hidden behind cloudy golden fog.
When Ace saw the golden fog, his heart raced, ''Heavenly Qi, and it''s not ck!''
It was his first time seeing this color of heavenly Qi, and it appeared extremely pure and holy,pletely opposite to the dark heavenly Qi that he was used to devouring.
Ace then focused on the milky waterfall and tried scoping his hand in it because, for some reason, he didn''t feel anything from it.
To his surprise, his hand passed through the milky water like an illusion, ''It''s fake? But I think I havepletely broken the illusion?'' He was confused.
''Well, it doesn''t matter. I''m not here to find the mystery behind this ce. In fact, since this ce has heavenly Qi, if I made anymotion, I might alert a certain someone I don''t want to,'' Ace mused.
But his eyes shimmered with reluctance, ''This is an excellent ce for cultivation, even more so than that abyss. I had a feeling that if Iprehended the Heavenly Thunder Law here, I''d make tremendous progress, not to mention in other worldlyws I have yet to reach 99.99%.
''Also, I still have Six Advanced-Grade Insight Pills, Three Intermediate-Grade Epiphany Pills, and that All-Law Elixir that will expose me to thews of mortal sky heaven for one minute. I still don''t know how it is relevant, but aftering to the Sky Heart ins, I have acquired new insights intows, especially the weaponws.
''Furthermore, I want to find a way to break the forbidden runes. Since this ce is used as a mere treasury vault, and I''m already here, I can use it to its full potential. I might be able to reap some unexpected benefits from a ce called the heart of heaven¡.''
Ace''s eyes shone with desire. If he had been after the treasury and Mortal Emperor before, hepletely changed his mind upon arriving at this ce. He knew he needed to grasp every opportunity and focus on the bigger picture.
This ce gave him a very peculiar feeling, so he wanted to cultivate it here before he moved to rob the treasury of the Skr Giant Race. He might not even get another chance like this.
But before doing it, he needed to confirm it with the system as this ce wasn''t something he could do as he pleased.
"System, can I enter seclusion in this ce without alerting the Heavenly Will or the Heavenly Mortal Emperor?" He asked with anticipation.
"[This is the outermost part of the Mortal Sky Heaven Heart, you don''t need to worry.]"
00:36
"System, can I enter seclusion in this ce without alerting the Heavenly Will or the Heavenly Mortal Emperor?" He With system confirmation, Ace was ecstatic before his eyes shone with resolution. ''15 months¡ I''ll take full advantage of this time and raise my skills andws to the limit before apprehending the Mortal Emperor. Then, if nothing happened, I''ll use another 20 months toprehend the forbidden heavenly runes and how to break them.''
The next moment, Ace quickly found a ce close to the illusionary waterfall after ensuring he wouldn''t trigger anything. He already knew where the space treasury was, but he didn''t go there.
After sitting down and arranging the Heavenly nk Array, one of the top nine heavenly arrays with the heavenly formation coins, to fully conceal himself, he ordered.
"System, release this All Law Elixir!"
The next moment, the system voice rang.
=====
[Low-Grade All Law Elixir has been injected into the Host''s heart! This elixir will expose the Host to the essence of Mortal Sky Laws for one minute!]
[Hidden Effect: In one minute, the Host canprehend ONE neww up to the Initial Stage (10%) or raise the alreadyprehendedw up to the Intermediate Stage (50%) under the Mortal Sky Heaven! There is also a 5% chance for the Host to awake a Mystic Ability of an advanced stage (99.99%)w if the Host focuses on an advancedw!]
[NOTE: All Law Elixir will not work on Order!]
=====
Ace''s eyes widened as if he hadn''t seen this ''hidden effect'' in the description, and before he could inquire about it, they suddenly turned dazzling white like pearls!
Chapter 1043 Only A Sword Knows the Heart of Sword!
Chapter 1043 Only A Sword Knows the Heart of Sword!
The moment Ace''s eyes turned white, he found himself among countless colorful particle clouds arranged in various shapes and giving off unique pressure and aura.
''T-this is the essence of the Mortal Sky Laws? I can feel familiarity with some of these dust-like particles, like that hazy ck ground particles arranged in a silhouette-like shape should be thew of shadow and that purple-blue particles in the shape of bolts are lightning and thunder¡
''But the number ofws I know is a mere drop in this ocean. I never thought there would be so manyws¡'' Ace''s eyes shimmered with astonishment. He never expected to witness such a scene; it was like witnessing the origin of the world.
''I don''t have time to admire this scenery. I only have a minute. Damn it, if the system had told me about the true effect of this elixir, I would''ve been more prepared.'' Ace was extremely frustrated.
''I can eitherprehend a neww up to the initial stage, raise an alreadyprehendedw to the intermediate stage, or focus on the already advancedw to tryprehending a mystic ability with only a five percent chance of sess¡'' Ace mused as his eyes bolted through thosews surrounded him.
His eyes suddenly stopped on ck ethereal particles that seemed to be vanishing and reappearing. They were shaped like ck holes and stuck out of otherws as if they were supreme among them. His heart raced, ''Spacew!''
However, his look shifted to the particles next to the spacew, and he was shocked since this scene was hard to describe as those white ethereal particles were like a spiral that seemed to have endless mysteries and depth.
Furthermore, Ace felt his mind pulled into that spiral like aw, and he suddenly felt like he was falling into a paradox. Something jolted his mind at this moment, and he quickly snapped out of that state.
A hint of fear appeared in his heart as he quickly averted his eyes, but his heart was trembling with ecstasy and disbelief because he had some clue what thatw was.
''T-time! It''s thew of time! The most mysterious and hardestw toprehend, even more so than space! And now I have a chance toprehend it directly to the initial stage!'' Just thinking about it made Ace giddy, and his heart raced with greed as he instantly wanted to select the timew!
However, he quickly became sober because he knew that even if heprehended the intent of time, it might not help him much against the Heavenly Mortal Emperor. Unless he could raise it up to 99.99% and then awaken a mystic ability, only then could he show the true terror of timew.
Not to mention he didn''t have time, he wasn''t confident he could pull something like this withw like time. He was even struggling with spacew all this time, and timew was even more difficult.
So, he quickly gives up on it, but he vows toprehend it if he gets the All Law Elixir again!
Ace''s attention shifted to a particr direction where he had previously sensed an extremely familiarw. It was milky white particles shaped like sword des, giving off a razor-sharp aura as if they could cut through anything. It was the swordw.
With a momentary hesitation, Ace''s eyes shimmered with resolution, ''This is the most practical way to increase my fighting prowess to the limit. I need toprehend the Sword Heart!''
As if something obeyed Ace''s will, the moment he fully decided toprehend the swordw, his vision suddenly pulled towards the swordw particles clouds andpletely entwined within. He suddenly forgot about everything and felt like he had turned into a sword himself.
Then, he began to experience the journey of a sword, which started with its forging under a cksmith''s hammer. Then a swordsman bought it from the cksmith, and this was the start of a sword''s journey¡
''A sword only knows how to cut, whether it''s flesh or stone, mountain or river, sky or earth¡ Its destiny is to cut or break while cutting¡ but this is the destiny the swordsman bestowed upon it. Did anyone ask the sword what it wanted to cut, or was it its only purpose?
''Only a sword knows the answer, but its creator never grants it a mouth to speak when it is born, and an old sword has already lost its infant innocence¡ ONLY a sword knows the heart of a sword¡''
Ace''s stoic voice, without any emotions, buzzed in his head like a raging storm when he suddenly opened his eyes to the goldenndscape beside the milky white waterfall.
The whiteness in his eyes faded at this moment. However, a white glimmer appeared, and his body suddenly released an extremely sharp aura as his robes ttered.
A phantom of a vague sword appeared behind Ace before it seemed to absorb into his chest, where his heart was located. His sharp aura continued to climb until the golden heavenly Qi on the horizon started to churn.
The next moment, an ordinary grade-1 sword suddenly appeared in front of Ace. That sword suddenly shed toward the sky with no aura or Qi behind it; it appeared as a casual sh.
However, the next moment, the golden heavenly Qi mist in the sky suddenly spit apart, creating a huge slit. But the golden heavenly Qi quickly filled the gap as if nothing happened.
''So, this is the mystic ability of Sword Heart; not only can I control any sword with my mind without using any Qi or trick, but I can even use sword intent without using any Qi. I can sh through anything now as long as someone doesn''t know how to counter Sword Heart. What a terrifying mystic ability!'' Ace''s eyes shimmered as the surrounding aura vanished, and he appeared like a sheathed sword.
But the grade-1 sword continued to float in front of him, and Ace could even feel a vague, peculiar sensation from it like never before.
At this moment, before he could further understand what was happening, the system voice suddenly rang.
=====
[Congrattions, host, forprehending the Sword Law''s 1st Mystic Ability: Sword Heart (Initial Stage: 1% Authority)]
--- n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
[Congrattions! Your Sword Law has reached 100% Element Law Proficiency!]
[You now have the option to break through into Law State with Sword Law!]
=====
"What''s this supposed to mean?" Ace was startled as he quickly asked since he was under the impression he couldn''t go through without fulfilling the mission first. Furthermore, he still needed an elemental orb to break through, so this notification was confusing.
"[Host will know once you call upon the final heavenly punishment!]"
This subtle reply dumbfounded Ace, ''Just what isw state? I''ll find out once Eva is done with her breakthrough! Right now, I should quickly use an Epiphany Pill and this momentum toprehend the First Realm of Heaven Sundering Sword Secret Technique, Sword of Mortal Heart!''
He was about to take out the epiphany pill when another unexpected voice rang in his mind, "How unexpected! You haveprehended the Sword Heart when you were so far away from it. I thought you wouldn''t be able to achieve it even after you entered the Law State. It appeared I have selected a good master."
It was the old voice of the violent ocean sword! Ace was surprised.
"You awake? Does this mean you recovered? And you seem to know about the Sword Heart and even how far I was from it. Yet you didn''t say anything?" His eyes narrowed. He didn''t think this sword knew about the sword heart before, but now it seemed he had underestimated a spirit treasure.
"Not just me. No one can help you in the path of thews except yourself, or your future prospects will be limited once you rely on someone else. And I haven''t recovered; I was awake by the unique aura of sword heart." Violent Ocean Sword calmly replied before it suddenly made a frightening request: "Let me enter your heart, and I can recover much faster!"
Chapter 1044 Avos
Chapter 1044 Avos
??"Let me enter your heart, and I can recover much faster!"
Ace''s eyes widened as if he had heard something absurd, "Did you just say enter my heart?"
"Oh, it seemed you took it the wrong way. My apology for being blunt and not exining clearly." Violent Ocean Sword suddenlyprehended that it had made a mistake and quickly corrected it. What I meant to say was thatafter youprehend the Initial Stage Sword Heart, you have already entered the domain of understanding the mysteries of Swords.
"Now you can control swords with just thought and use the swordw without wasting any of your innate Qi just as effectively as before, and most spiritual swords like me will submit to you. No sword cultivator would be able to cut you unless they haveprehended the sword heart themselves.
"You can now cut past any formation, defensive, orws as long as your understanding of the Sword Law and prowess surpassed them. But the biggest benefit you have is you can now hold a spiritual sword like me within your heart and use my innate abilities like they are yours! Simply put, you will be Violet Ocean Sword yourself!" Violent Ocean Sword exined as simply as possible.
Realization dawned on him, and his heart raced with disbelief. He hadn''t expected that it was even possible.
"So, you mean to say I will have the same power as you and the abilities engraved within you? I''ll be able to use them at will and don''t need to use you at all? What kind of concept is this?" Ace quickly questioned, finding far more mysterious hidden within thisw state, which even Conner didn''t understand.
"Yes. But you won''t be able to fully disy my power without reaching the same realm as me. As for this concept, only sword cultivators who have embarked on the true path of sword cultivators can ept a spiritual sword into their hearts and be the sword themselves, controlling the terrifying power that ghosts and deities fear.
"The more spiritual swords you can hold in your hearts, the more terrifying your swordw is, but at your current level, you can only hold one spiritual sword.
"I''ll be honest with you; normally, a cultivator with a Sword Heart would be extremely careful about selecting a sword to let it enter his heart. Once it is decided, the Sword will turn into a Life Sword of that sword cultivator and can''t be removed or changed again.
"That''s also the downside of this ability. If a sword cultivator''s Life Sword were destroyed, they will not only lose the Sword Heart but will also be abandoned by the Sword Law forever, meaning they would lose the ability to hold a sword!
"Some vile swords would never tell a sword cultivator with sword hearts about this because, first, cultivators with sword hearts are extremely rare. Second, and most importantly, a sword spirit will be able to grow with the sword cultivator once it can get a ce in a sword heart.
"Yet if their sword bodies had limited potential, it would require a huge amount of resources to grow, which eventually slowed down talented cultivators.
"Truth be told, my previous master wasn''t able to achieve sword heart despite his high attainment in swordw, and he even had a master with the Sword Heart. It''s simply too difficult. But you have achieved it even without breaking into thew state first and without the teaching of any master.
"This showed how talented you are in the path of the sword, and you seemed to have unique insight into it. I can sense it after youprehend the sword heart.
"So, if you give me the honor of being your first Life Sword, I''m willing to form the Life Bond: Only Master for Life with you! It''s an honor for a sword like me to meet such a master in a lifetime, and this way, I can recover far faster and help you tremendously!
"But if you don''t want a sword spirit with a broken sword body like me with low potential, Ipletely understand. I''ll still serve you with the same life bond to the end of my life; it would be a privilege of my existence!" Violent Ocean Sword solemnly dered.
Ace was moved by Violent Ocean Sword''s words and honesty. He never expected there to be such a hidden secret about the Sword Heart and about the bacsh of the Life Sword being destroyed.
If it were another selfish sword spirit, they would''ve tried to trick him into epting them as a life sword, and then Ace would have to do everything to protect them, even expanding resources on them to ensure they wouldn''t be his weakness.
Yet Violent Ocean Sword directly revealed everything, leaving him with the choice. It was even willing to form the most secret bond within the three life bonds: the Only Master for Life.
This means that Violent Ocean Sword would never have another master after this, and it wouldn''t hesitate to sacrifice itself before letting anyone else kill Ace. He never thought he would get absolute loyalty from a treasure.
Ace took a deep breath before he replied, "It should be me to feel honored to have acquired your acknowledgment. You''ve been nothing but honest with me from the start, but truth be told, I''m not an honorable sword cultivator.
"My sword path is the path of a thief; I only fight in a deceptive manner, not frontal confrontation. I''m a coward who will always first choose to run if I encounter an enemy that can endanger my life.
"But if you still want to follow a thief like me, I can promise you one thing; as long as I live, I''ll make sure you''ll never be inferior to any other sword!" He dered in earnest without any lie in his words.
Violent Ocean Sword trembled while it was still stabbed in the second steel door Ace had dismantled in the Golden Lands. The first one had already turned into dust after Violent Ocean Sword had fully absorbed it, and even this one had lost more than half of its luster.
"A path of a thief? I have never heard of this before, but if you canprehend the Sword Heart, then this means your sword path has received the acknowledgment of the Sword Law. This also proves you are nothing but a genius to walkpetently in the opposite direction from tradition yet still get the acknowledgment. So, there is nothing for me to hesitate about!" Violent Ocean Sword stated without any regret or hesitation.
The next moment, before Ace could reply, a rune lit up on the Violent Ocean Sword''s hilt, and the same rune suddenly appeared on Ace''s forehead.
Ace suddenly felt his connection with the Violent Ocean Sword be extremely strong, just like Moira''s, and he could easily decide its fate with a thought.
The rune suddenly turned crimson before vanishing without a trace; the Life Bond: Only Master for Life was fully established!
Ace sighed withplicated emotions. He wasn''t ustomed to other loyalty but wasn''t ungrateful to stab someone in the back if they showed him kindness and devoted their life to him, just like Eva.
"Life Master, please grant me a name!" Violent Ocean Sword''s voice rang, filled with respect and reverence.
"You can just call me Ace or Leader if you have to; I''m no noble or like to be called in such a manner. We are partners from now on. I''ll call you Avos from now on, simply meaning Ace''s Violent Ocean Sword!" Ace dered!
The Violent Ocean Sword suddenly seemed to have shimmered in dark blue sheen the moment Ace gave it the Avos name as an extremely sharp violet aura escaped from it before quickly vanishing!
Ace''s eyes shimmered with a hint of tion as he sensed how terrifying the Violent Ocean Sword was for the Mortal Sky Heaven. He asked, "Alright, now you can enter my heart. What do I need to do?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 1045 Unexpected Interference
Chapter 1045 Unexpected Interference
"epting a Life Sword is a ritual in which you need to manifest your sword heart by calling your sword intent. Then, any spirit sword that is bound to you with a life bond will be entered into it! You''ll be able to feel it," Avos replied solemnly.
Ace nodded before he tried to manifest his sword intent. An extremely sharp aura suddenly gushed out of his body, and unlike before, a vague white phantom of a sword appeared behind him.
Ace feltpletely different now that his swordw had be 100%, and heprehended the sword heart. He felt like he was now the sword itself and could cut anything in his vision with just sword Qi.
Furthermore, he hadn''t noticed it before, but now that he knew about the life sword ritual, he felt his sword heart was empty andcking in something.
"You have felt it. Let me out!" Avos''s agitated voice rang.
But right at this moment, before Ace could react, something stirred in his marital and soul spaces, making Ace tremble. He was bewildered because he knew exactly what it was. The very next moment, two pitch-ck streaks shot out from his sr plexus and be, bringing about the aura of heaven and darkness.
Those two dark streaks directly prated the vague sword phantom behind him, and the heavenly Qi in the atmosphere suddenly churned before an invisible suction forced the golden heavenly Qi towards the sword phantom!
Like a bottomless hole, the sword phantom began to absorb all the heavenly Qi, its vague image began to solidify, and its color began to turn glittering golden-ck!
"T-this¡" Avos were dumbfounded, the same as Ace.
"They are martial and Soul Thief Sword Cores!" Ace eximed,pletely bbergasted. He didn''t expect this turn of events at all.
The swords didn''t react when heprehended the sword heart, but the moment he showed the intention of epting Avos as his heart sword by manifesting his sword intent, both sword cores reacted on their own!
''No, they are not just sword cores manifested with Qi. Instead, they are the ck de Swords that I bought from the system before I turned them into my sword cores to imitate the Sky Sword Core!
''I wasn''t able to move them unless Iprehended the sword crown, yet they suddenly reacted on their own as if they had their own minds. Just what is going on?! Could it be that these swords already had awakened their own spirits, and now they reacted on their own when they sensed the sword heart?
''But it didn''t make any sense since Avos just exined that without a life bond and my will, no spirit sword can enter my sword heart. Not to mention, I should only be able to ept a single sword, not two¡''
Ace was incredulous, as he wanted to question Avos, but then he thought about how his cultivation andws were not worldly but heavenly, and the sword cores were once the system''s item, so he knew who he should ask these questions.
But at this moment, Ace''s mind suddenly became nk as a peculiar sensation spread into his body. The sword phantom behind him was pitch ck and kept expanding as it absorbed more and more heavenly Qi.
After the sword phantom reached 100 meters in size, the suction force finally vanished, but if any normal cultivator even nced at this pitch-ck sword phantom, they would shred into countless pieces!
At this moment, the sword phantom suddenly begins to shrink and ingest into Ace''s chest beforepletely vanishing, and in Ace''s heart, a ck ethereal symbol of a sword appears.
Thereby, Ace''s aura suddenly begins to rise like a tilde wave, and his staggered cultivation begins to move!
The system voice rang at this moment,
=====
[Congregation on breaking into Stage-5 of Martial and Soul Cultivations]
[Next Stage EXP/SP: 8,500,000,000/8,500,000,000]
---
[Congregation on breaking into Stage-6 of Martial and Soul Cultivations]
[Next Stage EXP/SP: 10,000,000,000/10,000,000,000]
---
[Congregation on breaking into Stage-7 of Martial and Soul Cultivations]
---
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Law Comprehension Realm [Stage-7]]
[EXP: 10,000,000,000/15,000,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Heavenly ck and White Wind Soul Core [Stage-7]]
[SP: 10,000,000,000/15,000,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
=====
Ace also snapped out of his nk state at this moment. When he saw all the notifications of him breaking three stages all at once and felt his power, he knew it wasn''t a dream!
"What happened? System, exin it to me clearly! First, my sword cores reacted on their own, and then I broke three stages without using any materials or Qi stones or Soul crystals?" Ace quickly questioned sternly.
"[Host will know once you undergo the 8th heavenly punishment and upgrade the system!]"
This was the simple and cold response he got after he waspletely ignored, no matter how much he called the system.
Ace''s expression was dark. The system didn''t tell him about the sword heart at first, and then, this sudden development of the sword cores and his receiving so many EXP and SP right after that filled him with uncertainty.
''Don''t tell me the system level is no longer sufficient to analyze things rted to the upper heaven? After all, despite me having the knowledge, it still didn''t reveal the full information¡'' Ace could only think of this reason to calm himself.
"Forgive me, Avos, but I don''t even know what happened just now. But do you know?" Ace then asked Avos perplexedly.
He felt extremely apologetic. He knew there was some kind of trouble with the sword heart, and now he might not be able to ept Avos in his sword heart since both sword cores had probably acquired that spot.
"I don''t know; my vision was cut the moment Master Ace fell into a trance. But from what I''ve seen so far, I think those two streaks of light were swords that you nurtured since you started walking the path of the sword, right?
"But even I don''t know how they could react on their own and even enter your heart in pairs when there should be only one spot while you''re still at the initial stage of sword heart!" Avos were incredulous, as he didn''t even know what kind of phenomenon it was despite his deep knowledge of the sword and upper heaven. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Indeed, they are my earliest swords, and I think I know why this happened. It''s probably because my cultivation is not orthodox. You once said you could enter my martial space and then recover there, right? I think you''ll know what I''m saying once you sense what kind of Qi I''ve cultivated."
Ace sighed. The next moment, Avos appeared in his hand, suddenly turning into a streak of violet light and then entering Ace''s martial space.
At this moment, Ace''s martial space was as vast as a world and filled with a dark heavenly Qi ocean. In the center of this vast darkness was the dark void, and above it was Ace''s hooded martial soul hovering cross-legged above the dark void, with mes flickering within its hooded face.
The moment a miniature version of Avos appeared right in front of Ace''s martial sword, the heavenly dark Qi suddenly stirred in his martial space and began to surround the sword.
This was one of the innate traits of the spirit treasures. Once they ept a master with their master''s Qi essence, they can be nurtured within the soul or martial space.
But the moment Ace''s heavenly Qi surrounded Avos, it suddenly began to tremble with fear and cried in rm, "T-this Qi! It''s harmful to me. Please send me out!"
Ace sighed in resignation as the Avos vanished and reappeared in his hand. "It appeared that if I wanted to ept a spirit treasure, whether in my martial or soul spaces or even the sword heart, it first needed to be able to endure my Qi like Moira.
"Forgive me, Avos, but it seems you still need to remain in my space until I find the problem to this solution. If I used you as you are, I think I''ll harm you just like other swords. But don''t worry, I found a way!"
Ace gritted his teeth in exasperation. He never expected the problem with his heavenly Qi''s overbearing effect on other treasures to remain even on spirit treasures.
Although it wasn''t as bad, he knew it would only be the case until he entered thew state. Once his heavenly Qi became more powerful, any treasure without a Heavenly trait would meet the same end.
"I¡ I understand!" Avos replied without asking further questions since he had experienced it himself; what kind of overbearing effect did Ace''s Qi have on him! Since he was injured, it was even more apparent.
So, he didn''t question or ask why and obediently kept his calm and useless thoughts to himself since he could now feel how frustrated Ace was with their new bond.
Ace really felt sorry and vowed to solve this problem no matter what.
"Thank you for your understanding." His eyes turned sharp like swords at this moment, "Now, tell me how I can use those swords in my sword heart. Because I didn''t feel anything except I have boundless power and the urge to split apart everything!"
Chapter 1046 Secret Realm Closed
Chapter 1046 Secret Realm Closed
Avos replied with uncertainty, "The step after epting a life sword is to have the sword spiritmunicate with the owner and fully integrate with the sword master, though I''m notpletely sure since I''d never been a life sword. Nheless, as long as you canmunicate with the sword spirit, you will be able to show the true might of sword heart."
Ace''s expression instantly fell when he heard it. He knew better than anyone that sword cores had never had a spirit before, and he couldn''t control them yet. Still, he tried to activate his sword heart again and probe the two sword cores that had vanished within.
However, this time, just when the sword phantom behind him began to materialize, Ace suddenly felt his heart being stabbed with excruciating pain, and he quickly stopped as sweat beaded on his forehead.
''Damn it, what is happening! I can''t even use the sword heart now?!'' Ace was fully enraged as he tried to activate the sword heart again and then again; his heart lurched and almost vomited blood before he quickly stopped. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
''It has to be those two swords!'' He mulled with an ugly expression. He never expected that when he was about to gain power, he would instead be weak!
"I don''t believe it! I have toprehend the Sky Sword and the first realm of Heaven Sundering Sword!" Ace''s eyes burned with resolution. He quickly calmed down and threw an epiphany pill in his mouth before hepletely focused on the Sky Sword and Heaven Sundering Sword.
Ten days passed since Ace was in a trance and stayedpletely still. At this moment, an invisible aura suddenly gushed out of his body, but strangely, it didn''t affect his surroundings at all like before.
The next moment, an ethereal dark sword symbol appeared on his be, making the space around him tremble as if it would break at any moment. This wasn''t the end as within Ace''s hand, two ck ethereal swords, one short and one long, appeared.
Qi suddenly began to circte in his body, following a peculiar pattern. Ace suddenly shed his swords at a speed impossible for the eyes to follow.
''Swaa¡''
Soul-piercing winds whistle, and at this moment, Ace''s eyes regain rity as the sword symbol on his be vanishes with the swords in his hand.
But he was shocked because in front of him was a huge slit in space, like a tear in the paper, and a lingering aura of terrifying sword intent and space fragment was there.
''Sword of Mortal Heart! I just used the Sword of Mortal Heart and split apart the space itself!'' Ace quicklyprehended what had happened just now, as the lingering feeling of using the Sword of Mortal Heart was already engraved in his very being.
As the space tear began to heal like crazy, ecstasy shone in his eyes. ''So, that''s why it required the sword heart! I needed the ck de swords in my sword heart toprehend this realm of the Sword of Mortal Heart. This wasn''t mentioned in the manual at all, and I''m afraid if I hadn''t got two swords in the sword heart, I would''ve never been able toprehend it. Even with Avos, it was nigh impossible!
''Now, I can also feel the faint fluctuations of the ck de swords, and they seem to havepletely changed from what they used to be. It has something to do with all the heavenly thunder they had absorbed after bing the sword cores.
''Not only that, but I think I havepletely diverted from the original path of Sky Sword and probably the swordw itself! That''s why I can''t use it to continue increasing the sword core prowess.
''I required more input to understand my situation fully. Not to mention, I just used my entire Soul and martial Qi reserve in this single attack of Sword of Mortal Heart, and my body felt heavy as a mountain! I can''t use it carelessly in the future!'' Ace mused as many things became clear at this moment.
But he was still nowhere near understanding what had happened before. However, he knew it had something to do with the power above thews of Mortal Sky Heaven. As long as he broke through, he might understand.
Now, since he had already achieved his goal so quickly, he was more optimistic about his other preparation. So, he quickly calmed down and sat down to recover his Qi before starting the next phase of his n.
---
Just like that, a hundred days had passed since the opening of the Sky Abyss Realm, and today was the day for the participant to exit.
Mortal Emperor Antonio, Empress Jenna, and an ancestor-level imperial, an old woman, are present in the altar hall to receive the youngster today.
No one else was allowed here on this day because the imperial family would be ''inspecting'' those participants, and if they found anything ''unusual'', they would keep it.
Of course, there was another reason. They all knew the participants would lose most of their memories of the Sky Abyss Secret Realm once they came out. However, some of them would still have vague memories, which were extremely precious to the imperial n for their future explorations.
"What do you think, Ancestor Monserrat? Can Sofia reach the core of the secret realm?" Antonio asked with a somewhat exhausted expression, but a hint of deep anticipation was present in his eyes.
The old woman, Ancestor Monserrat, was Sofia''s master and one of the two most powerful beings of the Skr n. After the Golden Lands were destroyed, the ancestors lost their hibernation chambers.
But it wasn''t like the Imperial n couldn''t afford it with their thousands of years of amodations. So, they crafted more such chambers, albeit inferior to the goldennds, so they could still keep them all alive for a very long time.
However, they will not be able to replenish their stocks of Grade-9 Qi stones or Soul Crystals because they were essential to operate these hibernation chambers since grade-8 Qi stones and soul crystals won''t work on preserving the vitality of these old fossils.
That''s why the oldest among them, Ancestor Monserrat and Ancestor Greysen, and four more decided to remain awake since they required the most resources to seal them and then continue to supply them with Grade-9 Qi stones and Soul Crystals.
Now, they can only live for a few decades, but they had no other choice, or the decline of the imperial family would havee much sooner.
Furthermore, with the cmity of thieves and the danger of that unknown person who destroyed the Golden Lands still looming over their heads, these ancestors had to stay awake to deal with them.
Ancestor Monserrat''s wrinkled face appeared stoic as she replied, "She is the most powerful descendant of the race, a blessing of the Deity. Even I can''t foresee her achievements. I have only guided her while still in her coffin; her achievements are all earned by her own efforts.
"You can be worry-free about handing her the position of the Empress once she enters the eighth realm. Besides, I don''t think that child would rule this realm for long since her ambitions go beyond this¡"
Antonio''s eyes were filled withplicated emotions as he clearly understood what Ancestor Monserrat was implying. Even though he had only a 10% chance of achieving ascension, Sofia was not even a hundred years old and was already reaching the same realm as him. He was proud as well as slightly jealous.
Jenna, on the other hand, was filled with pride and hope for the future since she knew her daughter would be the first Empress in the n''s history. As her mother, she was gratified.
Jenna''s expression suddenly turned gloomy as she said, "Ancestor Monserrat, to ensure nothing could go wrong, we need to rid ourselves of those vile thieves quickly. They are bing increasingly unbridled by destroying the Royal Pces and robbing treasures wantonly. Our vessels are losing trust in us!"
Ancestor Monserrat''s old eyes shone with cold glimmer as she nodded, "Don''t worry, Lord Greysen has personally gone this time. They won''t be able to run rampant anymore.
"Still, tomorrow, I''ll personally approach Zack and try to force him to act as well; after all, if he wanted to ascend, he still needed us to open the altar for him. I''m also nning on asking him to engage Evie in our n, or he can forget about ascending.
"He''s as old as Lord Greysen and, I admit, more powerful, but even he can''t force his way to ascension without our help. He''ll only live for another 90~100 years, but if we old bones attack him with everything we had when our life is about to end, the time will drop tremendously, and after he''s gone, there won''t be any hindrance to our n.
"So, I''m sure he''ll no longer be so arrogant if he didn''t want to die!"
Ancestor Monserrat dered confidently that everything was under her calction.
But at this moment, she didn''t know; Eva was already gone, and once Zack found out, he wouldn''t have any misgivings!
Chapter 1047 Urgency & Warning
Chapter 1047 Urgency & Warning
At this moment, the altar suddenly lit up, and powerful space undtions filled the hall. Thereafter, ck light began to sh after another, revealing youthful figures. Some of them were filled with relief, fatigue, dread, and even tion. Once over ten people appeared the glowing altar went dormant.
Antonio and Jenna''s eyes shed with shock because more than half of the participants were missing, which meant they had fallen into the secret realm. This had never happened before in history. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
However, Antonio''s eyes went wide as he loudly questioned, "Where''s Evie?!"
Jenna''s expression also paled, as she only now noticed that Evie was missing, and Antonio''s words made those participants finally aware of this fact.
"I don''t know; I haven''t seen her since the opening of the secret realm. She decided to go on her separate way!" Darren replied that his aura was somewhat weak, and his robes bore many traces of chaotic battle. It was like he had juste out of a huge battlefield, and his men were in the same condition, if not worse.
Sofia and Riana were the only two who were in perfect condition, and Riana even appeared somewhat different.
But because of Evie''s disappearance, no one had time to pay her any attention, which made Riana secretly relieved. But a hint of pity shed past her eyes: ''I want to offer her a position under me since she was in the same situation as me. But I don''t think she would''ve perished in this ce. It''s a real shame.''
''So, you only amounted to this much? I made a mistake in considering you as a worthy rival. Only that Vile Man is worthy of me suppressing him!'' Sofia''s eyes shimmered with resolution.
"I want to hear everything you remembered, and no one is to reveal this information about Evie''s fall, or they will punish without discrimination!" Ancestor Monserrat coldly announced, her voice a little hoarse and her wrinkled face extremely ugly.
She knew that once Zack found out about this, no one would know what he''d do. She was even thinking of calling those ancestors back just in case Zack went on a rampage!
In this situation, no one noticed or bothered with the others who had perished since their backgrounds weren''t enough to make them worth remembering, and Leroy was one such person!
---
While the imperial family was suddenly thrown into a maelstrom, the person responsible for this was sitting beside an ethereal milky white waterfall with a solemn expression.
Ace entirely focused on his thief''s space because he suddenly felt an otherworldly aura breaking through from a murky, dark-purple crimson cocoon.
All of a sudden, the murky cocoon began to shrink until the figure of an otherworldly beauty wearing a ck queenly dress seemingly made withw appeared.
It was naturally Eva, as at this moment, she didn''t appear any different from before. However, an invisible barrier ofw seemed to surround her, making her unapproachable by mortals.
Furthermore, the runic crown on her inky head has vanishedpletely, reced by a ck runic symbol shaped like a triangle filled with countless runs. Just by staring at it, one might lose one''s soul forever. Her eyes are nowpletely pitch-ck with purple-red vertical pupils.
Suddenly, Eva''s eyes looked at the house ceiling, and as if she could see through the dark thief''s space and sense Ace''s eyes on her, her purplish lips curled up in a loving smile filled with endless charm, "Thank you, dear. Let me out, and I''ll reward you!"
Ace''s heart trembled under her seductive re filled with endless desire, but he could tell she was too powerful right now. If the thief''s space didn''t restrain her aura, she could''ve easily made this space crumble like sand blocks.
Still, Ace was happy and also frustrated when he thought about how she might separate from him. He absolutely wouldn''t allow it.
"I''m sorry, Eva, dear, but it seems we have someplications this time around¡" Ace then ruefully told her about what the system had revealed to him.
Eva''s jolly expression turned solemn before she paled after hearing about Ace''s exnation.
"No wonder I''m feeling so different, so I''ve already made a breakthrough! I never thought your space could iste me from the heavenly tribtion. But I didn''t know such a rule existed for abyssal and heavenly beings. I haven''t seen it in my memories," Eva stated with an incredulous expression.
As she got stronger, she started to realize just how dreadful the existence behind Ace was, and it could even obstruct the naturalws. However, she felt her heart turn cold when she thought about how she would be forced out of this ce after a little over three years.
She never thought the price of bing an abyssal creature would be so steep, but she didn''t want to be separated from Ace. After all, her purpose in bing was Ace, so what was the point of all this if she ended up separated from him by an impossible-to-break wall?
Ace could sense her gloomy and anxious emotions. He quickly cated her, "Don''t worry. As long as Iplete this mission, we''ll be fine. I won''t let you go anywhere."
Eva felt some assurance, but it was only a little: "Please don''t do anything dangerous. Even if thingse to this, I''ll have to find my way out of the abyss to you. It''s not worth it if I hinder you for this simple reason."
Ace smiled wryly, as she could tell she was putting bravery in front of him. "Just believe me. I''ve already found theyer of the enemy. This will be a piece of cake. Now, tell me about how you''re feeling and what this realm is." He quickly changed the subject.
Eva''s eyes brightened a little before she dimmed down again, "I''m now half shadow and half void abyssal devil, which gives me ess to both bloodline memos. But this isn''t a good thing since both bloodlines have their own unique cultivation techniques, especially now that I''m aw state expert.
"It''s just like before, when I was half human and half devil; the information has be iplete and chaotic.
"Furthermore, the Void Abyssal Devil Bloodline is far more terrifying than the Shadow Abyssal Bloodline and would never allow such a low-ranking bloodline to coexist with it.
"That''s why I have to either find a way tobine these two bloodlines and then create a cultivation technique for the new bloodline, which is nigh impossible, or find more treasures like the blood of the Vampyre n to evolve into Void Abyss Devilpletely. Otherwise, it will create huge trouble for me in the future.
"I can also bypass it all if I have a cultivation technique that can overpower both bloodlines and let them exist in harmony."
Eva naturally got all this information from ggy and then transmitted it to Ace with a hint of worry. She didn''t expect bing a half-void abyssal devil to cause such a problem for her.
Now, she had to be a full-fledged Void Abyssal Devil either or seal this bloodline againpletely if she wanted to continue cultivating further inw state.
Ace''s expression became strange after hearing this, and he asked, "If I have more blood from the Vampyre n, will it be sufficient?"
Eva''s eyes winded, "It should be! How much do you get?" She had almost forgotten that Ace was the one who had provided her with this opportunity in the first ce, so it was only natural that he would''ve gotten more rewards.
But before Ace could reply, the system''s emotionless voice suddenly rang.
"[If host let her evolve into Void Abyssal Devil or if she gets the trace of Vampyre n Bloodline, the suppression time will be decreased by 70~90%!]"
Chapter 1048 Thieves Gathered
Chapter 1048 Thieves Gathered
??The Sky Heart ins has lost its peace in the past few years since the incident at the Wild Hungry Pavilion.
Thievery incident that started on a small scale has now turned into monstrous heists that will go down in the annals of history. Furthermore, as the ruler of the Sky Heart ins, the Imperial Skr Family wasn''t even able to capture a signal from one of these thieves despite using its best forces.
In thest thirty days, three royal pces of the three kingdoms, including the Golden Lion Kingdom, have been raided sessfully. This has caused huge upheaval, and the royals who were robbed have been bloody in their hunt for those thieves to retrieve their nation''s treasuries.
But before this storm could settle in any direction, another even bigger storm hit, and this time, the epicenter of this storm was the Imperial Pce and the Sky Heart Imperial School!
No one knows where this news started to spread, the full extent of this incident, or why it happened. But three days ago, the famed Sky Heart Imperial School principal, Zack Skr, entered the Imperial Pce by direction, raising their entrance to dust and wounding many imperial guards.
This was just the start. That day, many heardrge explosions from the Imperial Pce, and powerful earthquakes made the entire city tremble until it finally died down after a few hours.
But almost half of the imperial pce was raised to the ground, and Zack Skr went missing, never to be seen or heard from again.
In response, the Imperial Family kept their silence, and the school anointed a new principal today, who was none other than the Vice Principal, Jenna. Her other identity was also made public as the Mortal Empress of the realm, which shocked many!
However, this still didn''t quench people''s curiosity about the huge battle within the imperial pce, as many started to wonder if the imperial family was going through a civil war.
But then the Imperial Family made another announcement the very day Principal Jenna took the reins of the school. ording to the announcement, Principal Zack didn''t fight anyone; instead, all thatmotion was because he had taken the next step into cultivation and ascended into the immortal realm.
His breakthrough caused hugemotion, but he finally seeded in ascension, and the imperial family even announced a celebration for him once the imperial pce was fully restored.
Yet many sneered at this, no longer believing the imperial family after they had failed to deliver many times in these past few years, especially those royals who had been robbed.
Nheless, whatever the truth was, whether Zack ascended or was killed, the Imperial Family was still able to make him vanish despite his fame as the strongest expert of the Sky Heart ins. Many thoughts of rebellion instantly died down since the imperial family was still as strong as ever.
The imperial familypletely quashed what happened in the secret realm; not even a whisper was leaked. The families of the deceased students, especially Evie''s family, were heavilypensated with many hard-to-refuse promises.
While this drama unfolds within the imperial city, three dark shadows sneak into the imperial city without altering anyone and gather in an inn of the imperial city.
"Just when I think we have finally done something unforgettable, he always manages to do something worse!" A dark-hooded woman in dark robes unhappilyined to her twopanions, who were dressed in the same manner.
They were naturally the thieves who had been wreaking havoc in the Sky Heart ins for all these years, turning the upper ss into theughingstock ofmoners, Noa, Freya, and Winter!
"Sister Faceless, why do you think this incident is rted to him? It''s not like every big thing is rted to him in some way, right?" Freya giggled as she found Winter''s grumbling cute, yet there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice as she had doubts about this.
"Hmph, only that scoundrel can cause such amotion. I can bet 100 million Qi stones that this incident is rted to him!" Winter confidently dered.
A sharp aura suddenly locked on Winter at this moment as a pair of icy pitch-ck eyes glowed darkly behind Noa''s hood, "Watch how you address him!"
A chill went down Winter''s spine as she could almost smell the blood from Noa''s aura; still, despite her uneasiness, she was not going to be shunned as she growled, "You lunatic, what it has to do with you? Just how many people did you kill!? And why do you always kill your target after thieving? Sister Evil, I''m telling you someone is wrong with her!"N?v(el)B\\jnn
"I dare you to say that again!" Noa coldly retorted as the room''s light started to dim, and her shadow started to spread, threatening to engulf everything.
Even Freya was apprehensive of Noa''s deadly aura, and she smiled wryly when Winter dragged her into this, even daring to call Noa a lunatic. Although they all knew they couldn''t do anything to each other because of the Thief House rules, it was still going too far, and Winter seemed somewhat fiery and more fearless today.
"Ahem, respected sisters, if you want to spar, you should do it somewhere else. We don''t want to draw unwanted attention. Especially you sister Assassin, don''t forget what leader told her." She crisply stated with a cunning smile.
Just as she expected, the moment she brought ''leader'' into this, Noa''s deadly aura and the gloomy shadow suddenly vanished.
"Hmph, if you don''t show some respect, don''t expect to get any!" Noa grimly warned before shepletely ignored Winter.
"I don''t need respect from a lunatic!" Winter spat,pletely unafraid, and when she saw Noa no longer respond to her, she became angrier, "Hey, don''t you dare ignore me!"
"There seemed to be something wrong with you." Freya finally sensed something amiss with Winter''s behavior; even Noa''s eyes narrowed.
became angrier, "Hey, don''t you dare ignore me!"
"There seemed to be something wrong with you." Freya finally Winter was stunned, "What? You''re taking her side now?"
"No, you''re not behaving like usual. It''s as if you want to pick a fight." Freya stated with scrutiny.
Winter finally noticed it, and she couldn''t help but curse, "Damn it! It has to be something to do with this bloodline upgrade. For some reason, I''m feeling emotional after my bloodline evolved into grade-8, and I broke through in the eighth realm. Do you think something is wrong with my cultivation technique?"
Freya and Noa were startled; their bloodlines were now grade-8, and they had also broken into the Law Comprehension Realm, but nothing was wrong with them.
"It''s Impossible. Our cultivation technique originated from a God. How could there be something wrong with it? It might be something to do with your bloodline. You are a magic beast. So, you should know the reason behind your emotional state more than us." Freya made an educated guess.
Winter became silent as she started to mull over this strange issue. But she had no idea, and since her bloodline shouldn''t have the potential to reach grade 8, it was a mystery for her.
''Knock, knock¡''
At this moment, their room''s door was suddenly knocked by someone, which made them instantly raise their guards.
"Who?" Winter asked, but her voice was that of a male.
"Can Ie in?" A gentle voice rang.
Freya''s lips curled up, "When did you start to knock?"
The next moment, an ethereal dark figure appeared within the room. Then, canceling his skill, he revealed his smiling, handsome face behind the hood.
"A gentleman should always knock before entering ady''s space, no?"
Chapter 1049 The Backlash
Chapter 1049 The Bacsh
When these threepleted their chain mission, Ace was the first one to know, so he quickly told them to gather together and left the cavern under the pce through a new passage he found in the treasure blueprint.
"Everyone, you all did your part splendidly, and now it''s my turn to start on the final mission. I''ve already found the intel on the target and its location. Within three years, I''ll start the mission." Ace solemnly dered without wasting any time, "But you all have the right to know that after this mission, we''ll never have a chance toe to this time since this mission will end with my ascension. This means you''ll all being with me, so this might be thest time you''ll ever see the Mortal Sky Heaven."
"I''m okay with that since I don''t have any lingering attachment to this ce. Thanks to you, I''d gotten my revenge and even got the chance to enter a broader stage." Freya replied smilingly with deep anticipation in her eyes; as someone with huge ambition, she wouldn''t be content with just the Mortal Sky Heaven now that she knew about the higher heaven. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Winter snorted, "Why do I feel like you want to get rid of us? Only an idiot would miss this ce."
"I''ll follow you anywhere." Noa coldly dered.
Ace sighed as he looked at the three of them. They had alle a long way from being nobodies to the most powerful and influential people in the Mortal Sky Heaven. He was gratified but also afraid of failing this. If he failed, everything would be over, and he couldn''t show his fear in front of them.
Freya suddenly inquired, "But don''t you need our help with thisst mission of yours?"
"No." Ace shook his head.
"After gathering all the intel, I found that only I could do this because of my special cultivation path. Anyone else would be sending themselves to their graves if they infiltrated this ce."
"Even we?" Winter questioned in disbelief, and the other two had the same thoughts.
"Yes, you might not know, but there are two more grades above grade-8, especially the forbidden grade-10, and this ce is riddled with formations and traps of this grade and many more things out of your imagination.
"Even I don''t dare to enter without full confidence, so you can''t partake in this." Ace ruefully stated while revealing some secret information that only he knows. After all, as his allies, they had the right to know about this information.
"Grade-10? What kind of mission is this? Don''t tell me we are going to die?" Winter retorted with disbelief.
"Nothing like this wille to pass. And why did you seem different?" Ace asked as he finally noticed Winter was far more emotional than her usual self.
"We think there is something wrong with her brain," Noa replied coldly before Winter could.
"There''s nothing wrong with me, you lunatic!" Winter red as she red at Noa.
Ace''s eyes narrowed, "No, there is really something wrong with you. Tell me what happened."
"Damn it! I told you all that it''s just some reaction from my bloodline, nothing else. Let me enter my room, and I''ll be fine." Winter finally gave in, feeling very embarrassed in front of Ace.
"System, what is wrong with her?" Ace quickly asked the system with concern.
"[She has absorbed too many personalities with her victim''s memories, and now that she''s finally herself, it makes her agitate as she was experiencing minor personality disorder. You can think of it as a kind of bacsh for absorbing too many memories and pretending to be someone else.]
"[This is the biggest disadvantage of absorbing so many memories and then pretending to be the same person as a person will eventually lose their true self. But host didn''t need to be worry as long as she entered seclusion and cultivate the Faceless Thief Secrets (1st Vol) this bacsh will pass. This wouldn''t have happened if she hadn''t absorbed so many memories recklessly and overworked her soul.]"
Ace''s expression instantly darkened, "Then why didn''t you warn her? And why am I only hearing about this bacsh now? Wouldn''t this apply to me in the same way?"
"[She isn''t the host, and there''s nothing to warn about since the solution to this problem is already avable for her. As for the host experiencing the same, it''s not possible because of the Dark Void''s existence, or you should''ve been long-lost yourself. The system had already informed the host that the dark void can absorb all negative emotions and bacshes that normal cultivators would experience in their path of cultivation or with unorthodox ways.]"
At this moment, realization dawned upon him, and he couldn''t help but feel d and more assured. He then told Winter about this bacsh, and not just her. The other two were also shocked.
"Now that you understand the problem remember to always use your cultivation techniques if you feel like this again. I know we all have such skills, and this also makes our job easier, but if we take something to the extreme, it will naturally have consequences.
"Faceless, your role makes you annex your target''s memories, so you have to be extra careful. But your cultivation technique is the remedy, so you''ll all be fine." Ace stated, but he didn''t dare tell them about his privilege, or he knew they might start to resent the system.
"Thank you for telling me this; I can be more assured now." Winter was relieved.
"You don''t have to." Ace nodded before he suddenly remembered something and smiled mysteriously, "Oh, in the uing days, there will be a new facility opening in the thief''s house, so look forward to it. Even I don''t know what kind of function it would have, but it will be very beneficial for you guys."
"What kind of facility?"
Everyone''s interest was instantly piqued since they all knew anything rted to the thief''s house would not be ordinary.
"It won''t be a surprise if I told you now, would it?" Ace chuckled before he sent the curious members into the thief''s house.
After everyone left, Ace''s jolly expression turned grim.
''I don''t have much time. Once I stole this space treasury, the finale will begin!''
Chapter 1050 The Ancient Pathway
Chapter 1050 The Ancient Pathway
Not far from the Imperial City was a massive forest filled with vicious demonic beasts. In the center of this forest, a vast river flowed, connected to the endless sea. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
On this moonless night, in the dark forest, a barely visible dark silhouette appeared around the river bank, holding a strangepass in its hand.
After confirming something on thepass surface, "The hidden entrance should be here." It muttered to itself before diving into the raging river without any regard for the many marine demonic beasts in it.
Thepass in its hand began to tremble as it glowed brightly in a specific direction in the river''s depth. The ck silhouette continued diving as the river seemed quite deep.
Suddenly, because of the brilliant white light from thepass in this darkness, it was like a torch that could be seen from miles away.
Powerful auras locked on the silhouette and bolted in its direction with dense bloodlust.
"Hmph!" The figure snorted in disdain before a gentle, silvery light emitted from its body. The moment those demonic beasts came in contact with the gentle light, it was like they met with some poison and quickly escaped.
Paying no mind to this, the figure continued down while using this strange light, and no one dared approach it. After following thepass direction, it reached the riverbed, which was around twenty miles deep from the surface.
"Holy Light, show me the hidden mysteries¡" It suddenly begins to chant some spell as the silvery light around it expands.
Something strange happened. The riverbed suddenly lightened up, and all the sand, pebbles, and nts vanished, revealing a neon formation circle.
"Open in the name of Holy Light¡" Another chanting started before the rune symbols on the formation circle began to dim, and suddenly, a ck tunnel appeared under the formation.
The figure quickly entered without hesitation, and the next moment, the spell seemed to have lost its effect. The formation started to work normally again before vanishing again like nothing had happened.
"I''ve finally entered the hidden entrance!" The figure eximed in a hoarse voice filled with ecstasy and belief, "It''s all thanks to Holy Mother¡"
Without wasting more time, it used the whitepass again and swam through the hidden tunnel. But just after swimming a few hundred meters, many cross paths appeared.
The silhouette used thepass and entered a particr pathway without any hesitation, where thepass shined brightly. These hidden tunnels and pathways seemed endless and extreme. If someone else had entered without knowing this ce, they would''ve been lost forever.
After crossing many paths and swimming the whole night, the silhouette entered a tunnel with an extremely strong water current. But suddenly, the moment it entered the tunnel, some mysterious energy seemed to affect the surroundings.
At this moment, thepass suddenly shone brightly and enveloped its owner, and the strange energy finally seemed to have lost its effect.
''If not for thispass she made for me before dissipating that day, I would''ve never been able to scale the ancient pathway and reach this ce. Too bad, thispass will vanish once this holy Qi dissipates¡ I just hope I reached the altar before it happens¡'' it thought with agitation as it crossed the tunnel.
At this moment, the tunnel pathway ended, and the figure could finally hear the water current from the surface and quickly approached the surface.
The moment it broke out of the water, it appeared in a massive cavern with twelve water channels in front and a huge sealed gate at the back.
"I''ve finally reached the hidden ce where those guys are hiding the altar!" The voice was filled with emotions as it exited the water andnded on the ground.
After this journey and using its Qi continuously, it wanted to rest and recover its Qi. But at this moment, the whitepass seemed to be turning corporeal.
''It''s really going to disappear! But it''s too soon!'' The figure panicked before quickly waving it around in front of twelve pathways. When thepass pointed toward the narrowest pathway, it suddenly sted apart into white particles!
The figure was shocked and confused, as it didn''t know if this was supposed to happen while its eyes were affixed to that pathway. ''That might be the pathway towards the altar since the ascension guidance light showed such a reaction to it. I can''t go back now, even if I want to, so I just have to scale this pathway myself¡''
Deep resolution shed past this person''s eyes as it quickly decided.
"Well, well, I guess the show is over. I wanted to watch more, but I''m afraid I can''t let you enter that pathway for both of our sake." A voice suddenly rang out of nowhere at this moment.
The figure was startled as itsplexion turned ashen with fright and trepidation; silvery light suddenly gushed out of it, making it appear extremely holy, as powerful pressure covered the entire cavern.
"I never thought, even with my preparation, I would still run into an imperial family guard dog! I''ll have to silence you then!" the figure dered in its hoarse voice, with dense killing intent.
"I think we have some misunderstanding here. First, I''m not an imperial family dog, and second, you should stop using that voice; it didn''t suit a charming princess like you, Princess Riana Golden Lion.
"Andst, I''m curious about how you were able to find this ce. What was the light leading you here, and who is this ''Holy Mother'' you were muttering about? Don''t take offense, it''s just that I''m very interested in this thievish ability¡" The voice replied, filled with sarcasm.
The silhouette suddenly trembled as the beautiful eyes hidden behind this disguise widened to the extreme in horror, and the surrounding aura became chaotic.
"W-who are you, and how long have you been following me?!" Now, the hoarse voice suddenly became a charming woman''s voice.
The silver light around her brightened even more as she released her full power. Since this person knew what she was muttering on her way in, it was pretty clear he had been following her from the very beginning, and she didn''t even sense it.
Her back was drenched with sweat, and she knew she had to treat this seriously. She might even have to use her final trump card to preserve her life or escape. But once things were clear, she had run into someone far more powerful than herself, and this person might have an ulterior motive!
Moreover, he somehow knew who she was! She was indeed the princess of the Golden Lion Kingdom, the former number genius of the Sky Heart ins, and the owner of a Fantastic Physic, Princess Riana!
As for this person who sounded her out, in a dark robe and hood, he suddenly appeared in front of Riana, who now lit like a human torch.
The next moment, the silver light suddenly began to dim as darkness seemed to descend, and the source of this darkness was this person in the hood.
Riana suddenly felt like death was gripping her throat as she could literally sense a sharp de around her throat. She never felt so helpless before, but now she finally understood the person who brought this darkness with him was not someone she could dare to retaliate against.
''After all that I''ve been through to reach this ce, will I still fail in the end? Is it my fate to be forever a helpless mortal whose life is in someone else hand and die in the end without getting the freedom¡'' She thought as her eyes dimmed down considerably before madness surfaced in them, ''If I die, I''ll drag down this guy with me!''
But at this moment, the aura of death and darkness suddenly vanished before the person in front of her turned into an ordinary mortal, and he suddenly performed a noble courtesy, making her dumbfounded.
"Nice to meet you, Your Highness; my name is Sky Stealer, and I''m but a humble Thief. Now that I''ve shown you my power, I should be qualified enough to talk with you on equal terms, right? Oh, and this isn''t our first meeting either!"
Who could this be but Ace?
Chapter 1051 Overbearing
Chapter 1051 Overbearing
Riana was bbergasted by Ace''s words, "S-Sky Stealer? We''ve¡ met?"
She was extremely confused and more afraid because this person was overwhelmingly powerful than her, and she was clearly not on equal terms to talk with him, yet he was willing to reveal himself. This made her nothing but appalled.
"Oh, this might help you understand." Ace suddenly chuckled before revealing his face.
Riana''s heart skipped a beat when she saw this person''s handsome yet scar-riddled face as his long white hair draped on his shoulders. She instantly remembered this face as she had been hunting him for quite some time after their first meeting.
"Y¡ªyou¡ are you really someone from the other side of the world boundary?" She had to ask, as everyone was presuming Ace was someone from the other side of the Qi radiation wall after he suddenly vanished.
But his existence was forgotten and buried under the sudden events that took ce in the Sky Heart ins. But Riana was always curious about the other side of the world boundary. She was one of the few who even tried to travel through it, but she failed miserably and barely escaped with her life.
When Ace appeared, she saw another hope to escape her density, so she searched for him desperately, yet she failed, and the imperial family didn''t let her continue this quest for long either.
But now, that same man had appeared right in front of her and in the ce where she had least expected him to be. Not only that, but his power was unfathomable.
Ace grinned before he nodded, "If that''s what you called the other side, then I''m indeed from that ce. But sadly, that ce is not nothing but a graveyard." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
A hint of coldness crept into his eyes when he thought about the Curse of Destruction that killed every living being in cold blood.
Startled, Riana felt a chill running down her spine. She didn''t dare ask what Ace was implying, as she was not an idiot. But still, she felt relief when Ace confirmed that there was really another ce out there other than the Sky Heart ins.
''She didn''t lie to me!'' She thought with a hint of tion, but it died down when she looked at Ace''s nonchnt smile. She knew it would matter nothing if she couldn''t pass through this man.
"Forgive me, Lord Sky Stealer, if I have offended you in the past. Please state your purpose, and I''ll try to help you to the best of my abilities." Riana respectfully spoke with a hint of agitation.
She wasn''t a fool, and she knew that since he had revealed his identity, he wanted something from her, so her life wasn''t in danger for now.
Ace''s lips curled up, "Truth be told, I was curious about that light you were calling Holy Light because I wasn''t able to use one of my abilities on you with it. But now that it''s gone, I finally understand!
"You are a peak Soul Law Comprehension Realm Cultivator now. But when you first entered the Sky Abyss Secret Realm over three months ago, you were just an intermediate-stagew awareness realm cultivator. It seemed you had quite a fortuitous encounter there."
He mysteriously stated. Riana trembled, feeling extremely ufortable. It was as if her every secret was being exposed in front of this man.
When she entered the forest, Ace happened toe in the same direction after dealing with a minor issue in the capital after gathering the house members. Ace became curious, and when he sensed a familiar soul signature from Riana, he didn''t pay much attention to it.
However, upon discovery she was going towards the same hidden passage that he used to exit the underground cavern, he was shown, and his interest was finally piqued.
Furthermore, Ace discovered another thing: Riana''s fate point was dyed a glittering silver color, which clearly wasn''t the case before. So, this gave him even more reason to follow her, and it wasn''t like they were going in separate ways.
He even tried using the soul probe but surprisingly failed because of the whitepass in her hand. He then used his eye skill on her but wasn''t able to see through her disguise.
After observing her all night and even witnessing thatpass leading her to the same pathway as the temple, he couldn''t watch anymore. He didn''t want her to alter the others by entering that pathway, as he knew she was seeking her death by going there.
So, here they are, and once the protection of the white light vanished, even herte-stage Law Comprehension Cultivation wasn''t enough to hide under Ace''s scrutiny. He was really astounded when he found it was Riana, of all people.
"Lord Sky Stealer seems to know quite a lot. So, do you want to know what I got from the Secret Realm and how I achieved this strength?" Riana asked while trying her best to keep her wildly beating her as calm as possible.
She was finding this man in front of her even more terrifying. She couldn''t help but feel the imperial family was really nothing but all talk, as they couldn''t even tell when someone was watching their every action and unraveling their secrets.
"Well, that is one of many things I wanted to know. But what I want to know about is that white light and Holy Mother. You seemed to have been nning this for a very long time, and I know you didn''t intend to join the imperial family.
"I know how they deal with people who can outshine them, but here you are, not only able to betray them but even discover their most hidden secret. So, you have someone to rely on, and the only power that could achieve all this is Otherworldly Power!
"If I''m not wrong, you are in contact with someone from outside the Mortal Sky Heaven. Don''t try to deny it, for I can sense that white light is not an elemental power but imbued with a uniquew."
Ace''s words made Riana pale with terror. She took a step back as if she were seeing a devil who could read her mind.
Ace didn''t mind as his expression grew stern and certain the moment Riana reacted in this way and dered while releasing his sword intent.
"Lastly, since that power leads you here, and now you are at the stage where you can break free from this heaven, you are here for the Ascension Altar. So, if you can tell me everything, especially how you were nning on ascending, I might just let you live and help you with your problem!"
Chapter 1052 Riana’s Secret
Chapter 1052 Riana¡¯s Secret
??Riana looked at Ace with an ashen expression and a bit hard on her cherry lips. She had never felt this helpless in front of someone before. This feeling was the same as that existence, but unlike her, he didn''t have any gentle or friendly aura.
Taking a deep breath, she finally decided and started to speak, "Alright, but you need to guarantee that you won''t harm me in any way after I reveal this information to you and, if possible, help me reach the Ascension Altar."
Ace secretly sneered before he didn''t show it, as a soul contract appeared in his hand. He threw it to Riana, saying, "You can fill it yourself."
Riana was startled. After confirming that it was a grade-8 soul contract, she quickly used her Qi to fill it in. After ensuring there wasn''t any loophole, she threw it back, "Please check the conditions."
Ace nced at the soul contract before he looked at her meaningfully, "In return for the information, I will not attack you in any way, no matter the circumstance. Didn''t this mean you could attack me?
"Furthermore, you seemed to forget about writing what kind of information I wanted, and you would tell me nothing but the truth. This way, you can tell me all kinds of fake information. Now, Princess Riana, I thought a person with your intelligence wouldn''t miss such things. No worries; let me correct them for you. After all, losing your intellect is normal in a situation like yours."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Although Ace didn''t show it, Riana knew he was scoffing at her paltry tricks. This made her heart tremble a little and even blush in shame. She lost any thought of tricking him anymore.
Ace then altered the contract and threw it back. Although this didn''t mean anything to him, he still wanted Riana to give him urate information, so he had to be discreet to ensure he got what he wanted.
Riana sighed in resignation before she signed the contract. There weren''t any conditions binding or threatening her life as long as she told the truth and answered Ace''s questions.
Ace did the same, and the contract was finally established.
Ace suddenly waved his hand, and an exquisite table with two chairs appeared between them. Above it, there were wine sses and bottles. Riana was startled by this action and speechless when she saw Ace leisurely taking a set, pouring wine for himself, and then inviting her to the other chair.
"Please sit; you don''t need to worry about anyoneing or seeing us here, for I''ve already taken care of it." Ace coolly stated, and Riana apprehensively sat down.
Ace picked up a ss and said, "Alright, Princess Riana, let''s start with your backer."
Riana held back her urge to roll her eyes and said, "It all started when I was born, and that day, the sky above the golden lion castle was filled with auspicious phenomena.
"This is how the Imperial Family got wind of me, and since my Father was ignorant and the Imperial family didn''te with the attitude of requesting, he let them examine me.
"Because of their rich knowledge and having witnessed such a thing in the past, they instantly confirmed that I was born with a Fantastic Physique. So, just like how the imperial family always did things with talented outsiders, they didn''t give an infant a chance to be a thorn in their path.
"They arranged my marriage with their Crown Prince that very day and even used a soul contract to bind my Father. Nheless, it was thrilled news for a King to be the Father of the future Empress, so he agreed without hesitation.
"When I was four years old, I experienced my first awakening of my Fantastic Physique, and without any prior knowledge of cultivation, I direction opened nine Soul gates of the Soul Gates Realm and caused another huge phenomenon!
"This rmed the imperial family, as it surpassed their expectations. They didn''t know what kind of Fantastic Physique I had because they didn''t have the tools to measure it. So, the only way to learn was through me as I awakened the physique on my own.
"But to awaken a Fantastic Physique, certain steps and prerequisites must bepleted, which are different for every physique. However, some extremely powerful physiques started to awaken on their own, which rmed the imperial family.
"So, this time, they summoned me to the imperial pce and started to investigate, but I had no idea what was happening and was very afraid. In the end, they didn''t find any answers.
"But the Empress didn''t let the matter rest. She tricked me into signing a soul contract, and not only that, but she secretly branded me with her Soul Brand!" Riana''s eyes swirled with killing intent and loathing when she revealed this.
Ace was also astounded by the cruelty of the imperial family; after all, Riana was just a four-year-old child at that time, and to use the soul brand on her was akin to making a child her ve.
"I was just a child, so I didn''t overthink about the soul contract and even felt happy that Empress was treating me so well. I also had no idea about the soul brand she nted in me.
"Truth be told, I was pleased about my marriage and dreamt of bing the Empress, just like in a child''s fairy tale. But then, at the age of twelve, I suddenly underwent my second awakening.
"This time, I finally managed to understand the name and nature of my Fantastic Physique when I suddenly activated my innate ability and somehow connected with an entity out of this world, calling herself the Holy Mother!" She revealed solemnly.
Realization dawned on Ace at this moment, but he was also a spectacle, "What kind of physique do you have to connect you to such a being?" He was very curious.
Hesitating momentarily, Riana revealed her biggest secret, "ording to the Holy Mother, my Fantastic Physique is called the Astral Ster Fantastic Physique, which can allow me to peer into the mysteries of stars in the sky.
"Moreover, Holy Mother seemed to have the same fantastic physique, and that''s how I connected with her through the stars. She told me that this fantastic physique is extremely rare. I was the only fifteenth person to awaken this fantastic physique since time immemorial.
"Since then, she has guided me, taught me cultivation, and discovered the hidden soul brand in my soul. Since then, I have be aware of the imperial family''s disgusting tricks.
"But Holy Mother couldn''t help me get rid of the soul contract and soul brand because they had been with me for quite some time andpletely assimted into my soul, especially the soul brand.
"She also said it would alert some kind of causalityw if she helped me, and I might lose my power. That''s why I joined the army to search for a method to get rid of that soul brand so that I could be free. But it was far easier said than done, and I also couldn''t kill the Empress or take any action against the imperial family because of the soul contract and soul brand.
"If it weren''t for Holy Mother, I would''ve suffered a bacsh just by thinking about how to get rid of the soul brand. In the end, I found nothing, and then Holy Mother told me to start collecting materials to undergo a third awakening of my physique. She would help me awaken another ability to help me in my current predicament.
"It took me nearly a decade to secretly collect all those materials, and then I was finally able to undergo my third awakening. But I didn''t let anyone get the wind of it. The ability I awoke to after this awakening, with the help of the Holy Mother, is called Star Reading.
"This allows me to read stars like divination, but I can only read about matters rted to me. It would''ve taken me a very long time to master this ability if it hadn''t been for Holy Mother, and I could finally deduce some clues about the solution to my problem.
"This solution brought me to the Sky Abyss Secret Realm, which was also cut off from the outsidews so Holy Mother could use some of her power.
"Ultimately, she helped me find a mighty treasure in the Sky Abyss Secret Realm. Then, by sacrificing the wisp of consciousness she had within me for years, she managed to bond it to my soul, and my curse was finally broken.
"But before she vanished, she used thest bit of her power to increase my cultivation to the limit and gave me that Star Compass to bring me to the ascension altar.
"However, depending on the altar''s location and any danger in the way, I will use the starpass''s power more. In the end, I brought it here, and before it could lead me to the altar, it had exhausted all of its power. You had witnessed it yourself!"
Riana finally concluded her story as she looked deeply at Ace!
Chapter 1053 Karmic Scissors
Chapter 1053 Karmic Scissors
??Ace spoke at this moment with a hint of frown, "Although there are still loopholes in your information, I got the gist of it. In the end, you now do not have any method to reach the Ascension Altar, right?"
Riana''s heart skipped a beat. She wasn''t expecting Ace to be only interested in the method of reaching the ascension altar, not the treasure she possessed or her fantastic physique.
Still, the situation was already cleared, so she couldn''t only nod with trepidation, "Yes, but the Star Compass showed the right path towards it. The ascension altar is someone in there!"
''I had my hopes up for nothing. I thought that, with her backer, she might have some method to enter the ascension temple without triggering those formations. But it turned out, even the power of a being like this Holy Mother can''tst long in the face of Heavenly Power.'' Ace sighed ruefully before he looked at Riana, who was still in her dark outfit.
Nheless, he had to admit that Riana''s past was quite tragic, yet she still overcame all the difficulties and managed to reach this point. Not to mention, her Astral Ster Fantastic Physique was quite unique and might have more secrets that this Holy Mother hadn''t told her.
Ace had vast experience with otherworldly entities like the Holy Mother. They all had their own selfish motives for helping mortals like them, and he wouldn''t believe for a second that she didn''t have an ulterior motive in helping Riana.
''Since she''s a glittering silver fate point, and this Holy Mother also has some kind of motive because of her Astral Ster Fantastic Physique, what should I do¡'' Ace thought for a while before he finally decided.
Riana was quite nervous when Ace remained silent all this time. Although she had signed a soul contract that stated Ace couldn''t harm her, she still felt uneasy for some reason.
Furthermore, since Ace was here and seemed indifferent about her treasures, she wanted to seek his help. But she knew she didn''t have anything that could entice him, which made her sulk slightly.
Ace finally spoke, "Tell me, did this Holy Mother give you some instruction after you managed to Ascend?"
Riana''s pupils dted upon hearing this question. She didn''t want to answer it at all and deliberately avoided it by trying her best to keep Ace focused on other things. Yet it appeared it had been useless.
In the end, she gritted her teeth and replied, "She told me as long as I manage to ascend, she would be able to contact me again and arrange things for me there."
Ace''s lips curled up in a cold smile, "I thought so as well. Tell me, do you really believe the Holy Mother is doing all this because of the goodness of her heart? What if she''s just guiding you to a fate even worse than your previous situation?"
Riana bit her lips and retorted, "She doesn''t like them! She had helped him multiple times and even took the bacsh for me in the secret realm. She''s my teacher and has been like a mother to me more than my real mother ever had!"
"Heh, yet here your voicecks confidence. Even you don''tpletely believe what you dered." Ace scoffed, "Let''s be real with each other; you have already experienced that those in power will not help someone weaker than them unless they have something to gain from it.
"Why would you even think that the Holy Mother isn''t any different? I admit her method might be gentle, and she might really be doing all this from the kindness of her heart, but don''t forget that in the world of cultivation, only power matters!
"If you still want to be na?ve after what you went through, then I guess you learned nothing and deserve what happened to you."
Ace''s harsh words made Riana tremble. Her eyes were bloodshot as she red at him, full of hostility.
Ace acted like he didn''t notice her seething rage and asked, "What kind of treasure did you get from the Sky Abyss Secret Realm, and how did it help you break free from the Soul Contract and Soul Brand that even your Holy Mother wasn''t able to?"
Riana tried her best not to blow her top and really didn''t want to answer him now, but she was under the contract, so she revealed no matter how angry or unwilling she was.
"It''s a pair of scissors. Holy Mother called it the Karmic Scissors that can cut any Soul Contract, Soul Brand, or any kind of restriction. These Karmic Scissors were quite damaged when I found them, but despite that, their spirit was extremely strong, and without Holy Mother''s help, I would''ve never been able to tame them.
"Nheless, it''s still too strong for me, so Holy Mother used a secret art to bond it with my soul. After using it to get rid of my restriction, she sealed it within my Soul Space. She told me never to try to use it unless my life was in absolute danger, for I wouldn''t be able to seal it again."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Ace''s eyes shimmered with astonishment, ''This Karmic Scissors'' ability is simr to the system''s ability to get rid of the soul contracts or any restriction. But the system is far superior. Nheless, this Karmic Scissors might have other functions since it was in the Vampyre n Army ss Trial.''
"Holy Mother is the source of this information, right?" Ace asked suddenly with a strange smile.
"So what?" Riana blurted.
"Are you really that stupid? In your story, you said the Star Reading ability was awakened with the help of the Holy Mother, and it can only help you predict oues rted to yourself, right?
"Since Holy Mother also had the same Fantastic Physique and not only that, but she seems to have full control over it as well, then what if Holy Mother had used the same ability to find you?
"What if she was only feeding you lies so she could ultimately lead you to this Karmic Scissors, and then have you delivered it to her since she can''t descend in Mortal Sky Heaven?
"Think about it. How did she know the name of this treasure was Karmic Scissors, and how could it get rid of your restriction? Don''t even think that she had some kind of secret record of this treasure. Even if she had, why did she just seal it after releasing you from restriction and then even give you the starpass to find the ascension altar to leave this Heaven quickly?
"Are you still going to deny all this? Come on, princess. Don''t be childish. We both know there isn''t anything this good in this world." Ace''s voice was like the devil''s, wanting to break a fanatic''s faithpletely.
Riana trembled with a pale expression as Ace''s words struck her to the core like a hammer. It wasn''t like she had never thought of these possibilities, but for some reason, she always blindly believed in the Holy Mother.
But now, it was like some of the veil had been torn apart in front of her eyes, and she finally started to think in the direction Ace wanted her to.
However, right at this moment, Riana''s eyes turnedpletely white as a deadly aura emitted from her body, and like a bloodthirsty beast, she ferociously attacked Ace, "Die!"
Chapter 1054 Space Treasury
Chapter 1054 Space Treasury
??Ace''s pupils contorted when he felt the abrupt change in Riana''s aura. It was like she was an entirely different person. Furthermore, the white glimmer around her gave him the same feeling as the Star Compass.
"Humph!" Ace coldly scoffed,pletely unfazed by her beastly attack, and activated his ability before she could reach him, ''Thieving Switch!''
Ace had long marked her with a Thief Mark, and the moment he activated the thieving switch, their position instantly changed.
Riana, who seemed to be under some spell, couldn''t touch Ace. Shended directly on the chair and sted it apart.
Ace didn''t give her any chance to retaliate further, and a dark streak shot out from his sleeve. Like a snake, that dark streak coiled around her voluptuous body and instantly issued anothermand with a thought.
''Soul Restrain! Soul Binding! Soul Shackle!''
The dark, thievish soul cord instantly shimmered in a dark, ethereal glow before Riana''s squirming figurepletely stopped. Her white eyes turned back to normal and listless, like a corpse.
Ace mused with a grave expression, ''Was that some kind of trigger that Holy Mother left within her? The moment she thought about going against her, it was triggered, and she directly attacked me. Just as I thought, these ''helpers'' are nothing but conmen who only have their own interests in their minds.
''Well, I wanted to recruit her Eva to elevate her depressed mood, and she''s also a glittering silver fate point, so keeping her wasn''t a bad idea. Especially with these Karmic Scissors on her, which might be what this Holy Mother wants¡
''Sigh¡ it won''t be so simple now with this strange restraint on her. I had already used the cord to immobilize her, but what would happen once I freed her? Should I just get rid of her or send her to the thief''s space?
''I can''t have the cord immobilized, a Grade-9 treasure, when I''m about to start the mission. The thief''s space should be able to keep her in check, and Eva might not lose to this Holy Mother''s wisp of power anymore¡''
Ace felt slight pity for Riana because of her past, and he also found it a waste to kill a fantastic physique holder like that. So, in the end, he sent her directly to Eva''s house and told her about what had just happened.
Eva has been in a gloomy mood since Ace told her about the system warning, and she really feared she would be sent to the abyss despite not showing it. Ace was worried about her, but he knew he couldn''t do anything at this moment.
When Eva saw Riana''s dark-d figure and heard about her story from Ace, she was shocked before her eyes lit up.
"Don''t worry, as long as this Holy Mother isn''t abovews, I can take care of her." She confidently dered before she suspiciously narrowed her eyes, "But do you really capture her just for those words that I told you in the past?"
Ace smiled wryly, "You still have the mood to crack jokes?"
Still, he was secretly relieved seeing her reacting like her normal self.
She became depressed and gloomily replied, "Hmph, you''ve already promised me that if you sense danger to your life, you''ll let me go, or I''ll never forgive you!"
Ace didn''t reply this time for a while before finally sighing, "Just trust me, I''ll extend the time for now and then curb this problem for good. Oh, if I get the chance, I''ll send you Sofia as well."
Eva couldn''t help but feel warmth in her heart, but she was also worried. Yet she still pretended to pout displeasingly, "Just admit it. Youwant all these women to yourself."
"As long as you approve of those women," Ace cackled jokingly before he turned his focus back, and his smile vanished.
''I really had my hopes up this time around. I guess I have to go with the usual n.'' Ace''s eyes shimmered with resolution before he cleared the scene and then vanished into the pathway that leads to the space treasury.
Thereupon, he appeared in the familiar vast space with the white ethereal waterfall and golden heavenly Qi mist on the horizon. But this time, he didn''t head towards the waterfall; instantly, he turned right.
Soon, Ace appeared in front of ck space miles away from the entrance. Without hesitation, he waved his sleeve as dark Dismantle Qi gushed out of his hand and started to cover the surrounding area.
The Dismantle Qi suddenly began to rise above ground as if something tangible appeared in its path. Soon, the Dismantle Qi covered the empty space, shaped like a twenty-meter arced door.
''Let''s get rid of everything in one go!'' Ace decisively activated the runic principles, and the Dismantle Qi began to churn under hismand.
After a few minutes, the Dismantle Qi began to shrink before turning into a huge inky glob. Subsequently, grade-9 materials began to fall from the glob like rainfall, and the glob started topress further.
Soon, the glob was gone, reced with a mountain of materials emitting powerful Qi. Now, in front of Ace, a hole appeared in the space¡ªit was the space treasury!
Ace first pocketed all those materials and then approached the space treasury. He halted right in front of the hole, and now he could see a huge amount of treasures, mountains of Qi stones, and Soul Crystals inside.
He remained indifferent at such sight and coldlymanded the system, "System, assimte this space treasury and start the final thief''s space upgrade scheme!"
The system didn''t dy, and an interface appeared before his eyes.
=====
[The conditions for Living Thief''s Space final scheme (3X-Time eleration Function) have been met!]
-One Grade-9 Storage Space Treasure: Present
-One Grade-9 Time Treasure: Present
-100 Million Thief Points: Present
[Do you want to update the Living Thief''s Space?]
[Proceed/Not Now]
=====
"Proceed!" Ace ordered without hesitation!
---
=====
[Thievish Soul Cord: Grade-9 Soul Weapon]
-Ability(s):
1. Flexible & Inflexible (Depend on Heavenly Soul Qi)
2. Size Increase & Decrease (Depend on Heavenly Soul Qi)
3. Soul Restrain
-Description: Directly restrain the Soul of anything under Mortal Sky Heaven, andpletely seal off the ability to utilize Qi (Martial & Soul)!
4. Concealment
-Description: Completely concealed from the detection of any probing under the Mortal Sky Heaven!
5. Soul Binding
-Description: Can bind a Soul of a Being without any physical body!
6. Soul Shackle
-Description: You can ce a Soul Shackle on Martial Space or Space Soul, and without the Owner''smand, the victim will not be able to break through to a higher stage of cultivation!
-Limit of Soul Shackles: 1/100
7. Soul Capture
-Description: Soul Cord can capture a soul and seal it inside forever until the Owner decides to free it!
-Limit of Seal Souls: 0/100n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
8. Soul Kill
-Description: Soul Cord can bypass all defenses and can directly obliterate a soul under Mortal Sky Heaven!
9. Heavenly Soul Recovery (AN: He unlocked this ability after upgrading the soul cord to Grade-9. The upgrade wasn''t discussed in previous chapters.)
-Description: If the Soul Cord is destroyed, it can be fully recovered by feeding on Powerful Souls.
[NOTE: The higher the Grade of Soul Cord, the more powerful souls are required for recovery! It can''t be used during the [Destroyed State]!]
=====
Chapter 1055 New Upgrades
Chapter 1055 New Upgrades
??Within the depths of the Imperial Pce, Mortal Emperor Antonio was cultivating in hisvish cultivation chamber as dense cloudy Qi was filled with cultivation chamber.
But right at this moment, Antonio''s closed eyes sprang open, filled with confusion and disbelief.
He suddenly flipped his hand, and a formation te appeared. To his horror, the formation was now filled with cracks before shattering with a small st!
"What!!? Impossible!" Antonio''s eyes went bloodshot as he roared loudly before he vanished from the cultivation chapter, leaving behind an afterimage.
A few minutester, Antonio appeared in the hidden passage below the imperial pce as he hurried towards the locked door guarded by the Demonic Winged Tiger!
The Demonic Winged Tiger opened its vicious eyes at this moment, and when it saw it was Antonio, it growled with unwillingness and hate before it stood up and revealed the door.
Antoniopletely ignored the Demonic Winged Tiger''s behavior. He was aware that this guy held a deep hatred toward the Imperial Family for capturing it and then making him guard this ce.
But at this moment, Antonio was appalled, and his heart was filled with trepidation because of the broken formation te, which should be impossible.
The moment the Demonic Winged Tiger opened the path, Antonio ced his hand on the door. The next moment, the door shimmered with runes before it began to open.
"Hurry, damn it!" Antonio roared with bloodshot eyes as he found the speed of the door opening extremely slow.
When the door was open enough for him to pass through, he quickly used his movement skills to pass through it, and then, without stopping, he directly entered the pathways leading toward the space treasury.
The closer he got to the end of the tunnel, the more his heart sank because he clearly knew that this passage should appear differently because of the illusion formation.
When he finally crossed over, he was appalled because the illusion array had really vanished, and this ce was now in its original state. The formation te that shattered also happened to be the one that controlled the formations in this ce.
"Is this the punishment by the Deity?!" He muttered with a pale face and then quickly looked in the direction of the space treasury with a wildly beating heart.
Although the illusion formation te shattered, his blood was the space treasury''s key. It was only transferable through a ritual when a new mortal emperor ascended the throne, so it shouldn''t be opened even if its entrance had a surface.
He was hoping that the treasury was safe, but the moment heid his eyes in that direction, his entire body shook, and it was like all bones had vanished from his body before he fell down on the ground.
"W-what is this!?" He waspletely ashen and felt he was in a nightmare.
Because right where the treasury entrance should be, there was now a majestic symbol of a horned owl in the air, and on its wings were words, ''Sky Stealer, and Yes, you''ve been robbed!''
Antonio''s mind turned to a mess as this waspletely out of his wildest expectations. Before he could recover from this absolute shock, a dark hooded figure appeared right behind him!
Antonio, despite his intermediate stage Lawprehension realm cultivation, wasn''t able to detect this person when he appeared right behind him because of the sheer shock of this impossible event.
This person was naturally Ace, and taking full advantage of Antonio''s messy mindset, he used the soul cord without hesitation. By the time Antonio discovered the danger he was in, it was already over, for Ace had activated the soul restrain and soul-binding abilities of the soul cord!
Looking at the Mortal Emperor''s listless body in front of him, Ace sighed, "It was too easy. Well, I can''t me the guy since anyone would be in such a state after seeing their entire treasury reced by a symbol."
Ace smiled thievishly as he looked at the storage ring in his hand that he pick-pocket from Antonio the moment he appeared behind him.
''Still, he reacted too fast; I didn''t even get to see the rewards or the change happening to the thief''s space¡''
Ace then quickly opened the notification panel,
=====
[Congrattions on sessful Thievery!]
[Host Stole]
¡
--
[Reward(s)]
-Rewards: 6,800,120,000 Thief Points
---
[Congrattions on a sessful Pick Pocket!]
[Host Stole]
¡
--
[Reward(s)]
-Rewards: 1,300,991,000 Thief Points
---
[Thief Point(s): 10,313,128,010]
=====
No matter how depressed or worried he has beentely, seeing over ten billion TP, his mood elevated a little.
At this moment, another notification appeared.
=====
[Living Thief''s Space has been updated!]
[Living Thief''s Space function 3X-Time eleration has been sessfully activated!]n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
---
[Living Thief''s Space States]
-Storage Space Capacity: 1,000 Cubic-Meter Living Space
-Living Space Capacity:
1. 9 Humanoids (Humans, Demons, Hunters, etc.)
2. 99,999 None-Humanoid (Beasts, Herbs, nts, Natural Treasures, etc.)
-Living Space Function(s):
1. Time eleration Function
-Description: Time will elerate within the Living Thief''s Space from the outside world!
-Limit: 3X eleration
-Cost: 100 Thief Points per Hour
-Do you want to activate it?
=====
Ace didn''t waste any time and issued another order, "Activate all the avable thief''s house functions as well. You can convert the sufficient Thief Points into House Points!"
=====
[Unlocking the avable Thief House Functions [Thief Training Rooms] [Theft Stimtion Virtual Room] & [Time Multiplier]!]
-Cost: 101,100,000 House Points (1,011,000,000 TP) has been sessfully deducted!
[Thief Point(s): 9,302,128,010]
---
[Thief''s House]
Description: Only Thief House Members can enter this private space for the thief house members to train their thief skills and cultivate!
-Current Capacity: 3
-Unlock Function(s): 4
1. Thief Cultivation Chambers
-Description: Exclusive cultivation chambers for Thief House members with beast cultivation environments for their specific thief genres!
-Cultivation Chamber Space: 1,000 Cubic Meters (In sync with the Thief''s Space)
2. Thief Training Rooms
-Description: Thief Training Room can create Training Dummies at the same cultivation the House Members or Three Stages above. The Training Dummies will have the same skills and treasures as the House Members. The House Members can use these Training Dummies to fight and practice! (More Information)
-Cost: 10,000 House Points per Training Dummy
-Training Dummies Maximum Limit: 3
3. Theft Stimtion Virtual Room
-Description (1): The Theft Stimtion Virtual Room can perfectly stimte all the Thief''s Skills, Arts, Secret Skills, etc.¡ that the House Members have, providing insights and helping them cultivate their thievish abilities at an extremely high pace and perception.
-Cost: 1,000 House Points for 1 Natural Hour
4. Time Multiplier
-Description: Time will elerate within the Thief''s House Cultivation Chambers from the outside world!
-Limit: 3X eleration (In sync with the Thief''s Space)
-Cost: 100 House Points per Hour House Member!
[NOTE (1): The Time Multiplier effect will be avable in all the Thief House functions for whoever activates it until the time runs out! If someone activates the time multiplier, they will be able to enjoy the effect in [Thief Cultivation Chambers], [Thief Training Rooms], & [Theft Stimtion Virtual Room]
[NOTE (2): Thief''s House Members can activate all these functions at will by paying the House Points, or the House Leader can activate them by paying personally!]
---
[Thief''s House Functions]
[Avable Functions: 0]
=====
Chapter 1056 We Are Thieves!
Chapter 1056 We Are Thieves!
Ace was gobsmacked by the descriptions of the new thief''s hour functions, and his eyes shed with envy, ''Shit, if only I could also enter the thief''s house, this theft stimtion virtual room would''ve made a huge difference.''
He sighed ruefully and finally looked within the thief''s space to see the changes, and he was astounded because the changes were simply too big this time.
Just like the thief''s house separated space over the dark clouds, the living thief''s space was now also separatedpletely, and the dark space was now a vibrant, lush green filled with clear white sky!
The non-living thief''s space was now at the lowest level, right below the living thief''s space, keeping its original dark state. All the treasures that weren''t living things were there.
To simplify, the thief''s space was divided into three levels: the first level was dark space for nonliving beings, the second level was the living thief''s space that had converted into a field like a world outside, and the third level was where the thief''s house was located!
Eva also came out and looked at the huge changes with astonished expression. She thought she hade out of the thief''s space now, and if not for the houses in the middle of this lush field, she might''ve really believed it.
Furthermore, the house members within the thief''s house were also startled because they received the notification that the new house functions were being activated.
The staircase within the thief''s house was now no longer ethereal and could actually be used to enter the mysterious second floor. The [Thief Training Rooms] and [Theft Stimtion Virtual Room] were on this floor!
"This is really a huge surprise, especially this time eleration function¡" Freya muttered, her charming eyes filled with ecstasy and a hint of awe.
"With this theft stimtion virtual room, I will be able to improve skills that I didn''t understand before quickly." Winter was equally excited as she quickly made her way towards the second floor.
Although Noa didn''t say anything, the ecstasy in her eyes was evident that she was equally excited, especially when she gazed at the door of the Thief Training Room, fighting intent shimmering in her pitch-ck eyes!
"It seemed I didn''t need to exin these new features to you guys. You can do as you please then; I''ll have other matters to tend to." Ace''s voice rang with a hint of envy as he could only observe them.
It was very depressing to possess a treasure mountain but didn''t have the ability to use any of it. He could only sigh and cuss the system for being unreasonable.
Then he shifted his focus to the living thief''s space again, and at this moment, he saw Rianaing out, still in her dark robes.
Riana''s heart skipped a beat as she was bewildered when she saw Eva''s breathtaking appearance, and even she felt far inferior in front of this otherworldly beauty.
"Where am I, and who are you?!" Riana asked Eva with trepidation, and her heart was filled with anxiety because she couldn''t use her cultivation or any kind of skill; she waspletely suppressed.
Furthermore, she had only regained her consciousness, and she only remembered being with Ace before her mind went nk. Now, she was in this mysterious ce with this devilish woman who was giving her nothing but a feeling of dread.
"Oh, you''re finally awake." Eva finally averted her eyes from the new thief''s space and looked at her with a cold smile, which gave Riana shivers.
"Who are you? Where is Sky Stealer?" Riana asked again, but her tone was slightly timed.
"It seemed you don''t remember anything?" Eva was slightly surprised, but then her smile grew.
"Well, it doesn''t matter anymore. You''ll be severing me from now on, so you better behave," She dered in an overbearing tone while releasing just a wisp of her aura.
Riana trembled as she suddenly felt the same feeling she felt from the Holy Mother, if not stronger.
"S-serve you?!" She was in disbelief, and despair gripped her heart.
At this moment, Ace''s voice rang, "You don''t need to be hostile to us; if anything, you should be thanking me for saving you¡" He then exined what had transpired before.
Riana was first startled when she heard Ace''s voiceing from the sky before she became deadly pale after hearing about how she attacked him. She was filled with disbelief and fear.
She didn''t want to believe it, but for some reason, in this ce, she felt like her mind was clear and no longer suppressed, so she had no choice but to believe him. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Tsk, why do you need to exin it to her? Don''t tell me you have grown fond of her?" Through telepathy, Eva''s sharply questioned with a faint smile filled with dangerous intent.
"It''s not like that. She won''t cooperate with you if she doesn''t know the truth, and after this, I don''t think she''ll trust anyone anymore, so to win her over to our side, we need to show her some goodwill.
"Besides, I think whatever the Holy Mother had done to her is not useful in this ce anymore. So, I''m going to deliver you someone very special that could not only help you earn Riana''s trust, but I want you to try getting information out of him." Ace replied.
"Oh?" Eva was surprised and anticipated as she quickly agreed.
Riana''s thoughts were still in shambles when a giant wearing imperial robes appeared in front of her, seemingly unconscious. When she saw the giant''s face, her eyes went wide in disbelief, and she even forgot about her predicament for a moment.
"Mortal Emperor Antonio!" She blurted out in shock before hatred and killing intent shone in her eyes.
"Indeed, I just captured him. You can take it as showing our sincerity. As long as you followed my Wife in front of you, you''ll be far more powerful and could achieve far greater things in the future.
"It''s far better than falling into Holy Mother''s devious schemes. I''m pretty sure she won''t let you go easily since she has invested so much in you. So, you can decide on your own." Ace coldly replies before he leaves the rest to Eva.
"Wife?" A Realization dawned on her as she finally understood who this devilish woman was, and she found Ace even more unfathomable.
Furthermore, she can''t deny anything that Ace just expressed; she knows the Holy Mother has ulterior motives now, and she won''t have a good ending if she blindingly ascends to higher heaven.
In fact, Ace didn''t hide his intentions from the start, and his power was unfathomable. It was just his wife who was giving her the feeling that she had from Holy Mother. So, she finally felt a little moved.
Eva was very pleased when Ace rified things, and she smiled and said, "So, are you going to follow me?"
Taking a deep breath, Riana asked, "What is this ce, and who are you people, really?"
Eva replied nonchntly, and her words left Riana speechless for a very long time as if she were dreaming: "Hehe, we are thieves!"
Chapter 1057 New Variables
Chapter 1057 New Variables
??After Ace''s vague interaction with Riana, he leaves everything to Eva, especially interrogating Antonio, but he doesn''t have much hope since he knows the restriction ced on the imperial family''s knowledge sea was most likely to originate from the Heavenly Mortal Emperor.
But he does have Antonio''s space ring and the imperial family''s secret treasury now, so he carefully skimps through them to find something useful or any clue about how the Imperial Family was in contact with the Heavenly Mortal Emperor.
After an hour of carefully analyzing the treasures, he had to admit that the Imperial Family really knew how to hide their wealth. There was a huge amount of grade-9 Qi stones and Soul Crystals, as well as some grade-9 treasures carefully stored in a precious jade box.
Now, Ace had enough sources of EXP and SP to reach the peak of stage 9. Other than that, there were many treasures from which he kept the swords aside and put the rest away.
Lastly, Ace found something that he can''t urately judge. First, it was palm-size triangr ancient golden jade carved with tiny exquisite ruins. Upon carefully analyzing those ancient runes, Ace was shocked because they all originated from Grade-10 Forbidden Runes!
After carefully studying them, Ace became very proficient in forbidden runes. Although they were somewhat different from the 100 Forbidden Runes the system gave him, they were all crafted using those 100 forbidden runes.
This jade was within Antonio''s ring, so Ace didn''t dare disregard it. Another thing that caught Ace''s attention was a runic bronze key stowed within the space treasury. Surprisingly, this bronze key was engraved with grade-9 runes.
Ace knew the Sky Heart ins couldn''t use the grade-9 runes; they weren''t even aware of it. Only the imperial family hade in contact with them, but they were never able to decipher them.
Ace also found a peculiar star-shaped pendant that seemed to be broken. What caught his attention were multicolor gems engraved on its eight-star points. In the center, a cracked ck eye-like gem engraving was also present.
Ace sensed a powerful hidden fluctuation from this pendant, and he felt a strange sense of resonance with it, as if it had some kind of affinity with him. This pendant was also stowed within the space treasury and probably forgotten.
Lastly, Ace found a thick book, and his eyes shimmered with tion because it seemed to be the annals of the previous Mortal Emperors. Antonio had carefully ced it within a formation box like a very precious treasure. Ace had to use the dismantling principles to crack open this well-protected box to get it.
After making sure there wasn''t anything unusual, hemanded the system to appraise the triangr jade, the bronze key, and the broken pendant. He was especially concerned about the result of the jade with forbidden runes.
This time, the system asked for 100 million TP for appraisal, and Ace didn''t bat an eye and confirmed the transition.
=====
[Token of Passage]
-Description: This token is made with forbidden runes and hidden within the Heavenly Mortal Emperor''s aura. The Token Holder can enter the Heavenly Will Domain without incurring its wrath!
-Restriction: [Heavenly Seal] Only a Member of a special bloodline can use this token!
--
[Ascension Altar Key]
-Grade: Grade-9
-Description: This is made by the part of Ascension Altar to change its nature!
-Usage: The Alter Ascension Altar will not activate without this Key!
---
[Talisman of Heaven''s Approval (Limit Talisman)]
-Grade: Grade-10 (Forbidden Grade)
-Limit Talisman Description: This Talisman Pendant can be used to enter the Mortal Ascension Temple Portal. The holder of this Pendant will have the right to use the Ascension Temple to Ascend with the help of Mortal Heavenly Will!
-Limit Talisman Usage: 1/3
-Restriction: [Heavenly Seal] Only a Member of a special bloodline can use this token!
=====
Ace''s eyes shimmered with ecstasy when he saw the description of the Token of Passage and the Ascension Altar Key. But when he saw the details of the Talisman of Heaven''s Approval, his heart raced widely.
He never expected that this pendant was a limited talisman that could grant entry into the portal!
''If this Talisman of Heaven''s Approval has such use, then why was it stowed within the space treasury and not kept by the Mortal Emperor?'' Ace mused, thinking this was very strange.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
After all, this talisman could be used within the ascension temple, and even Heavenly Will must help the holder of this talisman ascend. Nheless, the Heavenly Seal was ced on it so only the members of the Imperial Family could use it.
''Could it be that even the Mortal Emperors were unaware of this limited talisman''s usage? Furthermore, it had already been used two times, so it wasn''t like the previous owners didn''t know what this talisman was used for.
''Moreover, there seems to be some kind of difference between ascending through the ascension altar and the ascension temple. How peculiar¡'' Ace mused with a grave expression, ''Nheless, this talisman is extremely valuable to me, but this heavenly seal is quite bothersome. I have to make sure I won''t draw the attention of the heavenly will once I use it. As for the token, I can also help if it got noticed within the forbidden rune formations. I need to adjust my ns if I want to use these two items...''
Although the usage of these treasures can make a world of difference in this mission, Ace was sure that if he wasn''t careful, there was a big chance that the Heavenly Will would notice him.
Nheless, Ace can make a solid n with these things in his hand, and he will have more options to infiltrate the Ascension Temple.
''It seemed I had to y the mortal emperor for some time if I wanted to use these items to my advantage. I still have toprehend thosest ten damn forbidden runes; my time limit is two years. Within this time, my avatar will also be avable.''
After calcting his course of action, Ace impersonated Antonio and then left the space treasury passage and headed back to the Imperial Pce!
Chapter 1058 Traitors of the Empire (1)
Chapter 1058 Traitors of the Empire (1)
Ace passes through the passage while impersonating Antonio, especially where the Demonic Winged Tiger is standing guard, using his stealth and twilight traverse ability.
Although he was disguised as Antonio, he still didn''t have his memories, so he needed to be very careful about how he interacted with the members of the Skr n. He had already decided that if someone doubted his identity, he wouldn''t hesitate to get rid of them.
It was also his first time leaving the underground pce without any need to sneak around. He already knew where the passage was because of the fate map, and he had been there before in Leroy''s disguise.
When he approached the hidden passage''s exit, he found that it was locked in a formation. After skimming through Antonio''s stuff, he found a formation te, and after using it, the passage was opened.
Ace''s current formation knowledge was on top of this world, so this grade-8 formation and its mystery were nothing in front of him.
When he appeared in the space treasury passage, Ace was dressed just like Antonio. However, Ace wasn''t nonchnt because someone was waiting for him outside the passage.
When he appeared, an old giant invish robes and a skinny constitution was waiting for him outside.
The old giant''s eyes were razor-sharp, and when he saw Antonio arrive, he asked gravely, "What happened? I noticed your chaotic aura a few minutes ago when you abruptly barged into the sacred passage. You make me stand guard here, yet you yourself are acting like barbarians."
His words were harsh, and he did not respect Antonio. He scolded him like an elder his junior. Furthermore, Ace could sense that this old giant''s hidden aura was at ate stage of the Law Comprehension Realm while Antonio was at the Late Law Comprehension Realm Stage.
Furthermore, Ace felt a familiarity with this giant''s soul signature, ''He was present among those giants in the goldennds, so he''s an ancestor!'' He instantly connected the dots.
Although Sofia didn''tply with the soul contact and ran away before he could force her, he still learned some things from her about the goldennds, especially about these old fossils.
''So, he instated an ancestor to guard this passage?'' Ace mused before he acted like Antonio with the limited knowledge he had of him.
"Forgive me, Ancestor, the beast suddenly went berserk, so I thought something had happened. But it was a false rm." He replied as subtly as possible.
The old giant frowned, "Demonic Winged Tiger? Well, it''s been guarding the sacred door for over nine thousand years now, and he only had around another thousand years to live. It''s about time we capture another beast."
"I have the same opinion." Antonio nodded with an impassive look.
"Alright, if something like this happens again, don''t forget to tell me beforehand; my old bones can''t keep the suspense." The old giant waved his hand dismissively, seemingly tired.
''They are indeed using unorthodox methods to cheat death and extend their lifespan. Even I can sense his every move somehow uses up his life energy. But why did they leave these guys outside?'' Ace wondered silently before he left for the main pce.
''Although I can''t remember the n members of Skr Giant Race, I can still use those servants for my act. As long as I don''t interact with imperial family members, I''ll be fine.
''I should first find Antonio''s cultivation chamber and then lock myself there and practice before gathering pawns for my final act¡'' Ace mused gravely as he walked around the huge pce corridors, and whenever he saw someone, he tried to probe their memories.
At this moment, Ace was passing by the throne hall when a heroic giant in golden armor appeared in front of him and bowed deeply, "You left seclusion, Your Majesty?"
"What is it?" He asked impassively.
"Your majesty, I''m here to report that the traitor has refused to give up the secret method. Please forgive your subject for his ipetence!" The heroic giant replied in a bitter tone as he bowed deeper.
''Which traitor?'' Ace wanted to ask but suppressed his curiosity.
He didn''t know what had been happening around the imperial pce for over the past year, and he was still desperatelyprehending the forbidden runes in the underground secret cavern. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
But Ace was surprised when he tried to use a soul probe on this giant because he seeded!
''Could it be that only the imperial family members who know about the Ascension Temple or anything rted to it are under restraint?'' Ace quickly guessed.
Whatever the case was, he could now get this person''s memories of someone who had a high rank in the imperial pce, and this would make things easier.
The giant was clueless about Ace assimting his memories, and he took Antonio''s silence as a sign of displeasure. But he didn''t dare speak up or raise his head as he awaited Antonio''s fury.
After a few seconds, Ace finally spoke, "Marshal Can, you don''t need to me yourself. I know you tried your best. Please raise your head."
Surprisingly, this guy was the marshal of the imperial army and the first-ranked imperial guard. But what Ace found startling in his memories was a ritual that every Marshal of the imperial army had to go through when they received their titles.
''They really didn''t believe anyone, did they? To ensure the Marshall of the Imperial Army remained on the imperial bloodline side, they secretly nted some kind of restraint on him. He can''t go against the Emperor''s order even if he told me tomit suicide¡''
Ace didn''t feel pity or good for Can, who had so much power, yet he couldn''t use it. He knew this was the rule of this world.
But at this moment, as Ace refined more and more of Marshall Can''s memories, his eyes suddenly went cold, and a hidden killing intent shed past his eyes because he finally knew who the traitor or, actually, traitors were!
Ace looked at Can coldly and ordered, "Bring me to the traitor!"
Chapter 1059 Traitors of the Empire (2)
Chapter 1059 Traitors of the Empire (2)
??Can was surprised by Antonio''s reaction, but he didn''t dare to question his order and led the way towards the Pce Prison. There, they kept all the heinous criminals of the empire or those who had shown signs of rebelling against the imperial n!
The pce prison was in the southern region of the imperial pce and was well guarded. Many powerful Imperial Guards guarded the passage, and the warden was also an imperial guard who ranked fifth in the imperial guard rankings.
When those guards saw the Mortal Emperor hade personally, they were shocked before they quickly kneeled in reverence.
Antonio merely nodded with a nonchnt attitude and paid them little mind. With Can memories, he now had enough memories to make Antonio''s profile, so it was very hard to find ws in his disguise.
Following a stairway leading towards the underground pce prison, Ace appeared in a gloomy ce filled with the scent of blood and despair. The warden was another Skr giant, Gerald, with a burly build, a menacing face, and a few ghastly scars on his beard.
"Wee, Your Majesty!" Gerald bowed respectfully. He had already heard about Antonio''s surprise visit, and when he saw Can with him, he guessed why Antonio was there.
Antonio nodded coolly before ordering, "Warden Gerald, I''m d you''re doing well. You should know why I''m here. Lead the way."
Then he looked at Can and stated, "You are dismissed now; you may return to your post. Thank you for your hard work."
"It''s my duty to serve the imperial crown!" Callen quickly bowed with a hint of excitement when he received Antonio''s praise, just like a loyal dog. He then quickly excused himself.
Gerald also didn''t tarry and quickly led Antonio to the most secure part of the prison. He was in the same situation as Callen, under the absolute control of the Imperial Family.
Although they both had their own thoughts, they were absolutely loyal to the imperial family, which was the sacristy of this strange ritual.
While heading deep into the prison, Ace observed the dark prison cells, and those imprisoned within were all tortured badly. Some of them were on the verge of dying, and some were wailing in pain.
These prisons were made with extremely rare and special materials that could suppress someone''s cultivation, and then there was also a formation engraved in those cells, which were specially crafted for torture.
This formation slowly ate away the prisoner''s Qi and soul, which was a very painful process, and the imperial family made sure those guys would die slowly and then couldn''t evenmit suicide.
But what surprised Ace was that most of these people seemed to be from the human race, and he couldn''t help but soul-probe Gerald at this moment. He found this quite peculiar, so he wanted to know more.
Gerald was naturally unaware of his memories being stolen by Ace, just like Callen. He led Ace through a few secret sections of the prison, and they finally reached their destination, which was actually the core of this prison, where there were only three prison cells.
Those cells were made to suppress the cultivators of thew awareness realm and were very seldom used since it was very hard to capture aw awareness realm cultivator alive.
But at this moment, two of those cells were upied by two people, and they were nailed on the wall withrge crimson runic clout nails, and their bodies were filled with wounds and blood. Those runic nails shimmered menacingly, and faint whimpers could be heard from those two prisons.
Ace''s eyes shed with dense killing intent when he saw the skinny figure with long violet disheveled hair.
Before Gerald could say anything, he coldly ordered, "You may go now. I don''t want to be disturbed by anyone and leave the formation key behind for their cells."
Gerald were startled, but he didn''t dare to object as he knew those two guys were no longer a threat for their meridians were broken and Qipletely dissipated, they were once extremely powerful but now merely cripples.
Furthermore, those runic nails were not ordinary either, they were Grade-8 Soul Torturing Nails, they were made to torture a person''s soul endlessly and dying was impossible as long as they were ced in there.
Not only that but if someone tries to remove them without the secret method only known to the Mortal Emperor, those nails will self-destruct and kill the prisoner. The st is also a soul attack that can even gravely wound awprehension realm cultivator.
After Gerald left, Ace used the formation te and opened the cell of this violet-haired prisoner. The prisoner suddenly trembled as his bloodshot eyes behind his hair moved slightly.
Despite his soul-curdling pain, he sneered in a feeble, hoarse voice, "Bastard Emperor, if you''re here to see me breaking down, then I had to disappoint you. These things are nothing but toys, hahahaha!"
He suddenlyughed manically despite the apparent torment in his voice, this sudden burst caused the Soul torturing Nails shimmered darkly, and his whole body trembled before hisughter turned into painful roars.
Ace''s eyes trembled slightly before he pointed his finger, and Dismantle Qi covered the nails. Although he didn''t know the secret method to turn them off or remove them, as long as he could dismantle them, it was all the same.
Soon, the nails turned into dark glob, and the figure was freed as he fell down on the floor, Ace wasn''t in mood toplete the process as he cut off the Qi and the next moment the dark glob turned into dust.
The figure who was suddenly freed from his torment was shocked. With extreme difficulty, he sat down and looked at Antonio in bewilderment.
Ace spoke bitterly at this moment, "Was it worth it? You attacked the imperial pce in a frenzy just because your disciple went missing, and you didn''t believe the imperial family.
"You even impeach your entire n for someone you only knew for a few months. Now, your cultivation has been destroyed, and you will never be able to use the archery you take so much pride in. You were once like a King, yet you turned into a dying prisoner, all of a person you didn''t even know well.
"Tell me, Death Striker Connor, was it really worth it?!" Ace''s voice was sharp and filled with emotions.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
This dying man was indeed the Divine Eyes Hunter, Death Striker Connor, Ace''s temporary identity, Leroy''s master.
Although everyone knew that Zack had attached the imperial pce, what they didn''t know and the imperial familypletely hid it from the public was that Zack had a helper that day who was hiding in the shadows and supporting him.
He was also the person who killed far more men of the imperial army than Zack with his deadly archery that day.
Connor did all of this because he couldn''t ept the news of his cherished disciple Leroy''s death!
Chapter 1060 Master & Disciple
Chapter 1060 Master & Disciple
??Conner looked at Antonio with listless eyes, and a hint of confusion shed past him, as all this was very strange to him.
Antonio suddenly released him from the Soul Torturing Nails and began asking him irrelevant questions. He didn''t know what kind of y Antonio was ying with him, but he sure didn''t like it.
"What can a heartless person who only knows how to cherish power would understand those who with a heart? Although I did something dumb in your eyes, I don''t think you have the capacity to understand why I did what I did. So, stop with your mind games and just end me, or if you have a new way to torture me, bring it on!" His eyes shed with undying determination and killing intent.
Ace sighed as he looked at Connor''s determined expression. He was ready to die for what he believed in, and he didn''t seem to regret anything he did.
Ace squatted down in front of Antonio and said with aplicated expression, "I don''t think you would be so kind of someone who you know nothing about just because you had epted him as your disciple; you are a worthy master that I never deserve."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Connor''s eyes trembled when he heard those strange words from Antonio''s mouth. He suddenly felt a strange familiarity. Before he could say anything, Antonio''s figure suddenly began to twist, and under Connor''s bbergasted expression, Antonio''s entire body changed into someone else, and this person was someone he was very familiar with.
This was the same person he med himself for pushing him to his death, the same person that haunted his dreams of not protecting him enough, and the same person he ended up in this miserable state.
"L-Leroy!?! No impossible! Bastard, are you trying to y tricks like this? You have no bottom line!" Connor roared like an angry lion with a murderous re.
"You''re right; I don''t have any bottom line." Ace smiled wryly. But I''m not ying any tricks on you this time. You can see this if you don''t believe it."
Ace then took out a bow before he released the orbit intent. Connor''s heart skipped a beat because that bow was exactly the same that he had given to Leroy. Not to mention, the orbit intent was something he was most familiar with, and he didn''t know anyone besides himself who had everprehended that intent. Not only that, but he sensed the Death Striker Archery Art''s unique aura as well.
Leroy was the only one outside his n who had ever thought of this art, and he was the only one who showed enough talent toprehend the orbit intent and even surpass him one day. That''s why he was so heartbroken and went on a rampage when he heard the news of Leroy''s death.
But now, the same dead person was standing right in front of him, and the most shocking part was that he was also the Mortal Emperor, whom he hated the most. He had no idea if he was now under the illusion and his mind was ying tricks on him, but it seemed so real to be false.
"I-is it really you? But how¡why?" Connor didn''t even know what to ask anymore as his mind was too chaotic to think straight.
"It is me, but I''m neither Leroy nor Antonio. I took Leroy''s face when I infiltrated the imperial school, and then I passed the test and became an imperial student, Leroy. I was the one you took as a disciple. I don''t think the real Leroy would''ve even made it into the imperial school, much less passed your ridiculous test." Ace chuckled slightly.
"B-but why?" Connor still didn''t understand why Ace did all this or what his purpose was.
"I don''t think you''ll understand even if I tell you. All I can give you is that I''m just a thief who goes around stealing from others as long as it suits me. The target was the Imperial Pce, so I needed an identity to infiltrate, and the Imperial School just happened to meet my requirements. There was another reason I went to the Imperial School; you''ll understand it soon.
"Antonio is also gone, and I''ve taken his ce just like I took Leroy''s. I don''t expect you to believe me, nor am I seeking your forgiveness. I''m here to repay you for teaching me archery and for showing kindness and care to me. You''ll be my first teacher in my heart, whether you acknowledge me or not." Ace warmly smiled.
Connor was dazed, as he didn''t know what to say or feel in this situation. On the one hand, he was relieved that his disciple was alive and somewhat ted because of his capability. On the other hand, he couldn''t ept that Ace yed with his kindness and goodwill.
Ace didn''t wait for Connor''s reply since he wasn''t expecting anything from him. He flipped his hand, and a glistering silver egg appeared in it; this was the Life Jade of New Dawn that he found in Edward''s space ring.
ording to the system, it can bring anyone back to life from death and cure any wounds in an instant.
Ace then used his Qi, and the Life Jade of New Dawn suddenly glowed in gentle silvery light. A silver wisp of smoke began to rise. Using his Qi, he guided that smoke toward Connor.
Connor entire body was filled with wounds, and his meridians were broken. After being tortured for so long, he was extremely weak, and even a simple p could kill him. So, he didn''t have the ability to dodge this strange smoke, and even if he did, he didn''t know if he would.
But suddenly, Connor''s eyes widened with disbelief because the moment that silver smoke touched his body, he almost moaned in pleasure because an extremely gentle current began to circte in his body, and the pain started to fade.
Furthermore, what shocked Connor was that his broken meridians were starting to heal as well. He had never heard of medicine that could heal the meridians like this; it was like he was being reborn again.
The five-foot egg in Ace''s hand began to shrink visibly as Connor''s body was taking that healing silver smoke. When it was shrunk up to 3''3-foot, Connor''s body suddenly stopped absorbing more silver smoke.
Ace also stopped at this moment and looked at Connor, who was no longer in a miserable state. Except for his tattered clothes, he looked just like before, even healthier!
Connor opened his eyes, filled with vigor andplex emotions, as his meridians werepletely healed. As long as he uses his cultivation technique to absorb Qi, he''ll be at his peak in time and might even break through the bottleneck of the next stage.
It was quite ironic that the same person who was responsible for his state had now healed him. He didn''t know if he should hate him or thank him.
"You said you are a thief who only knows how to steal and use others to reach your goals. Yet, you also know how to repay the kindness. I don''t know how to judge you anymore.
"But since you still acknowledge me as your teacher and even healed me, I think I don''t resent you. Having a capable disciple like you who can even infiltrate the imperial family and get rid of that bastard emperor, I can brag about it for life." Connor suddenly smiled warmly, feeling a weight lifted on his shoulders.
Ace was also relieved and smiled, "Thank you for your acknowledgment. It means a lot to me, Master."
Connor waved his hand and brushed it off, "Hah, I never thought I would have a thief as a disciple. It''s still hard to process. Anyhow, can you do me another favor and save Principal Zack? Although he didn''t know you, his purpose was the same as mine. He also lost his disciple and his reason to live.
"Furthermore, he should be in an even more miserable state than me since those guys were torturing him for his secret cultivation method." He sincerely requested.
Ace nodded without hesitation, "Even if you haven''t asked me, I was going to save him anyway. Didn''t I tell you I had another reason for entering the imperial school? Let me show you."
Connor was confused and suddenly felt something was not right as he followed behind Ace with a hint of strange anticipation!
Chapter 1061 Seeing is Believing
Chapter 1061 Seeing is Believing
??Within the other prison cell, an old giant was nailed on the wall with the Soul Torturing Nails, but his condition and injuries were even more ghastly than Connor''s, and he seemed to be dead without any movement or life force. If it weren''t for faint soul fluctuations emitting from the nails, Ace would''ve presumed him dead. Still, he wasn''t far from it.
This dying giant was once the strongest cultivator of the Sky Heart ins and a man who was only a step away from ascension, Principal Zack!
Zack''s current state is the result of his own recklessness. When he heard the news of Evie''s death, he lost his will to move forward. He was already too old, and at the end of his lifespan, he knew the chances of seeding in ascension were lower than 10% because of the heavenly tribtion.
He wanted to leave behind a worthy sessor who could continue his legacy. He didn''t have any descendants or people that he cared about, so maybe that''s why he treated Evie like his own daughter and couldn''t ept the news of her death.
In the end, he decided to cut off his path of progress forever and duke it out with the imperial family once and for all. But he had been very reckless, for despite knowing that a powerful formation was protecting the imperial pce, he still barged in with Connor and wreaked havoc.
But even with the powerful formation protecting the pce, Zack almost destroyed the entire imperial pce that day. If not for the desperate suicidal attacks from the imperial family''s most powerful ancestors, Ancestor Monserrat, and Ancestor Greysen, no one would''ve been able to stop Zack.
Still, Zack made the imperial family pay a bloody price, but he was captured because of a strange secret soul skill Ancestor Monserrat used. In the end, both of these powerful beings died, and they still failed to kill Zack.
Afterward, Antonio and Jenna decided not to kill Zack but to keep him alive so they could torture his secret cultivation method. But they had underestimated the old giant''s tenacity as he didn''t even say a word to them and endure the ghastly torture.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace didn''t know Zack, but since Zack also did all this for Eva, he wasn''t going to leave him here to die. He knew Eva also secretly cared about Zack since he treated her very kindly.
So, he didn''t say anything and used the Dismantle Qi to break the soul-torturing nails as he did with Connor. Zack didn''t react much as he fell down on the floor, and Connor quickly moved forward to support him.
"Principal Zack! Can you hear me? Look what they did to you. Those bastards deserve to die!" Connor cursed furiously before he looked at Ace for his help.
Ace didn''t dy and used the Life Jade of New Dawn on Zack. Zack was far stronger than Connor, and his wounds were worse, so it took the rest of the Life Jade of New Dawn to stabilize his condition. There were still some injuries left, but he was now out of danger, and his meridians were most healed.
So, as long as he takes high-grade medicines, he''ll recover quickly to his peak state.
"Principal, are you alright?" Connor sighed in relief and tried to wake Zack.
At this moment, Zack''s eyes snapped open with bewilderment. When he saw Connor supporting him and an unfamiliar young man standing there, he muttered, "Is this some kind of illusion?"
"Sigh¡ I''m d that you are okay, Principal." Connor smiled in relief, "And this isn''t an illusion; my disciple saved us both."
"Your disciple?" Zack was even more baffled as he looked at Ace, who had Leroy''s face. He really thought that this was all but a new trick of the imperial family.
"You should''ve made it at least somewhat believable, just kill me I have nothing to give you, as a loser I can ept my defeat!" He suddenly sneered coldly.
Connor was speechless. He didn''t know whether to cry orugh. This entire thing was too hard to believe, especially for Zack. Connor knew Ace beforehand, so he quickly epted it.
But Zack''s perspective was too high, and he had never met with Ace, so he naturally did not believe that a ''disciple'' could rescue them from the most guarded prison of the Sky Heart ins, not to mention heal them from their wounds and recover their meridians.
"If you don''t believe me, you should be able to believe your disciple, right?" Ace stated at this moment with a mysterious smile.
Zack''s eyes emitted killing intent when Evie was mentioned, as he thought these guys were ridiculing him by spreading salt to his wounds.
"Principal, he''s not what you think he is. Give him a chance to exin." Connor quickly tried to smooth things over when he felt Zack''s anger rising and red at Ace meaningfully.
"It seems you are already deep into this illusion." Zack didn''t believe Connor at all and looked at him with pity.
"Look, I know it''s too hard to believe, and you don''t know me. But the truth is you don''t even know your disciple. If you want to know more, then you should hear it from her. I just hope you listen to her with an open mind¡"
Ace didn''t waste more time exining to Zack because he knew Eva would want to exin on her own rather than let him exin and have Zack develop resentment toward her.
Connor didn''t understand what Ace was talking about, and he thought Ace was now going to take them out, but to his surprise, Ace came over to Zack, who watched the former with an unafraid raging re. He really didn''t believe a word that Ace just said and still thinks that this was an illusion.
But the next moment, Zack''s eyes widened because he thought his entire body was suddenly being pulled into a vortex, and he was too weak to resist. He knew this kind of feeling since he had used teleportation many times before, but it was slightly different from teleportation.
However, this wasn''t the important part because right after his vision became clear, he was shocked when he appeared in a brightly lit room, sitting on afortable chair, and a table was in front of him.
But he didn''t even look at other things. His widened eyes were affixed on the woman sitting on the other side of the table, who looked at Zack''s beggar-like appearance with a guilty look.
Zack''s shocked expression was reced with utter fury as he roared, "You really think by using Evie''s illusion you can fool me!? I never thought the n has fallen to such depths!"
Eva, who had taken Evie''s face, smiled wryly as Ace had already given her the heads-up so she didn''t waste her time exining to Zack and took out a violet-gold color jade scroll from her storage ring and ced it on the table.
When Zack saw this violet-gold jade scroll, his fury vanished like a smock, and all that remained was utter shock and disbelief as he looked at the jade scroll and Evie.
"You can see if it''s the Invisible Panorama Art or not. I''m the only one you have ever given this cultivation art jade scroll to, and without it, no one can learn it. So, I''m sure the teacher will be able to tell if this is an illusion or reality." Eva ruefully stated, trying her best to keep her calm and cool.
Zack didn''t want to believe it, but deep down, he suddenly hoped that it was all real. With a trembling hand, he picked up the jade scroll, and by just a touch, he could tell it was extremely familiar. After all, this jade scroll had been with him almost his whole life.
Using the little amount of Qi he had in him, he probed the jade scroll, and information appeared in his mind: "Invisible Panorama Art of Invisible Nature Alliance!"
Zack almost dropped the jade scroll when he confirmed that all the information was urate and that he wasn''t hallucinating and again looked at Evie. But this time, his rageful eyes were filled with warmth and confusion. He no longer understood what was happening, but he was now ready to listen.
Eva smiled wryly and said, "I better start by telling you who I really am, but I''d like to apologize to you first since I can''t tell you too much rted to my husband¡!"
Chapter 1062 Cruel Path of Cultivation
Chapter 1062 Cruel Path of Cultivation
??Zack became somber the more he heard about Eva''s background, and he was even shocked when he found that Eva didn''t even belong to the Sky Heart ins but on the other side of the world boundary.
"I was just there to infiltrate the Imperial Family by bing a Sky Heart Imperial School student to help my husband. But I didn''t think you would take me as your disciple. Still, I never had any intention of dragging you into this mess.
"Furthermore, there is a reason I couldn''te back after the sky abyss realm. I wanted to rify things with you before I left, but something happened in the secret realm, and I can''t leave this ce anymore.
"But I''m grateful for what you did for me, and I would like to apologize for everything you suffered because of me. I''m not worth your affection and care; I''m just a selfish person¡" Eva bitterly stated as she lowered her head in guilt.
Zack remained silent for a while before finally speaking with a rueful sigh: "I don''t know what to believe or what not to, anymore. Furthermore, I think if someone is to me for this, it had to be me who let his guard down and was blinded by your astounding talent.
"Sigh¡ this is a curse of the Skr n. We seem to only care about talent above character. I thought I was different from them, but ultimately, you proved me wrong. I never thought I would suffer this kind of setback in the hands of thieves."
Zack''s expression bes even moreplicated as he doesn''t know whether to hate Eva, y with his sincere emotions, or just me himself. He asked, "Can you tell me one thing honestly? With your talent, why are you following this path of a thief? This husband of yours seems to be just as talented as you. Then why are you ying around with people''s lives?"
Eva trembled slightly as this question directly stabbed into her heart, but she firmly replied, looking into Zack''s eyes, "We are not bad thieves; we never target anyone who doesn''t deserve it."
"But you guys don''t care about how many innocent people get hurt in the way you, right? Connor and I were both victims of your schemes. Furthermore, I can assume that the thievery incidents throughout the empire were also your doing, right?
"Do you know just how many people the imperial family had detained and executed just because of suspicion?" Zack''s eyes narrowed slightly.
Eva was lost for words as she didn''t know how to reply and felt even more guilty.
At this moment, Connor suddenly appears beside Zack.
Connor was surprised, and when he looked at Evie, he couldn''t help but admire his disciple even more. Ace had already exined about Evie and Zack to him, and he finally understood why Ace hade to the school.
Ace also told him about this astonishing treasure that can even store living beings when Zack suddenly vanished from sight. But he didn''t know why Ace sent him here since he didn''t want to intrude on Zack and Evie''s union.
Ace told me that he had to listen to what he was about to say, and he and Zack also needed to live in this space and recover until Ace took care of the imperial family.
"He''s right, you know; there''s always coteral whenever we steal." Ace''s cold voice rang at this moment.
Zack was startled when he heard Ace''s voice ringing from the space.
Ace continued, "Principal Zack, you are right; we are not good thieves. Actually, there is no good thief in existence. Thievery is thievery, whether it''s done for good or bad. Forgive my wife since it''s her way to ameliorate herself. Let me ask you a question: How many people have you killed since you started cultivating?
"We all know that a cultivator''s hand is stained with blood, and we all had killed out of necessity or wishfully because we are powerful and rules only exist for the weak. But when you kill someone, do you ever think that the person also had family or a loved one?
"Do you ever care about those who will be affected because of the person you''re killing? But now, you''re suddenly starting to implore righteousness on her just because you didn''t like to be the victim of someone more powerful than you?
"Although I admit that what we do is wrong, it''s just that we all follow our unique cultivation paths, and they are not significantly different. I chose to be a thief because this is the path most suitable for me, and she followed me for her own reasons, mostly because she loves me too much and wants to help me.N?v(el)B\\jnn
"I won''t ask you to forgive me or showpassion, but you can''t me her for everything. After all, she''s just following me. Furthermore, if you continue to be a hypocrite by ying the victim, I really might look down on you.
"The world of cultivation is cruel, and power rules everything; if you wanted to judge us, you should first peer into your own sleeve."
Ace''s words were merciless as Zack''s eyes trembled and realization dawned on him. Connor was also shocked and couldn''t help but look at Zack and guess what this was all about.
Furthermore, he couldn''t help but feel somewhat ashamed, as he still had some resentment regarding what Ace did. But now, he also understands the reasoning behind all that. He was just following his path, which suited him best.
Connor knew he wasn''t innocent as he had killed many people, and Zack was the same since he reached his position after kicking away many stones in his path. Now they had experienced something like that themselves and suddenly started to feel like victims?
Just as Ace said, this was the world of cultivation. Those with power could do anything, while the weak were all victims. In this ce, it''s always the survival of the fittest, whether it''s a thief or a guard. As long as there were powerful and weak among them, the powerful would always win.
Eva also looked upwards, and the guilt in her heart suddenly vanished, and she felt relief. She said to him through telepathy, "Thank you for standing up for me. I became confused for a moment."
"You don''t need to. I can''t take this stubborn old man''s remarks anymore. You don''t need to exin to him who you are; just follow your heart, and I''ll always support you. Just never feel guilty about anything. This world is not for the weak," Ace replied gently.
At this moment, Connor spoke wryly, "Principal, we should let it go. After all, they are just kids who are following their own paths. As their teachers, we should support them and forgive their little mishaps."
"Sigh¡ it seems I''m really bing senile." Zack spoke with a bitter smile as he looked at Evie, "Thank you for enlightening me; I have no right to y the victim when I''ve also done terrible things to others.
"In fact, you guys are far more righteous than me since you know your heart and have the guts to admit it. I really show something ugly in front of youngsters.
"Child, forgive me if you feel hurt just now. I was not thinking straight. Since you came clean and admitted everything, I shouldn''t have judged you too harshly as your teacher without understanding your circumstances."
Zack lowered his head in front of Eva, "So, you don''t need to me yourself, and I''m also d that I got to know you and have the privilege of bing your teacher!"
Chapter 1063 The Patsy
Chapter 1063 The Patsy
??After settling the matter between Zack and Eva, Ace arranges their amodations in the living space ring so Zack and Connor can recover. They can''t recover in the thief''s space because their cultivation will be suppressed.
Furthermore, when Eva wanted to enter the space ring, Ace first asked the system and got a startling piece of information that Eva couldn''t enter the grade-9 living space ring or that, with her current cultivation, the space within the space would be destroyed.
The grade-9 living space ring can only amodate elemental state beings, not those above it. So, she had to stay in the thief''s space no matter what. Although she was sulky, she tried not to show it and focused on Riana, who had submitted to her. However, they didn''t tell Connor or Zack about this.
Thereupon, Ace left the core area of the imperial prison and encountered Warden Gerald, who was waiting for Antonio. Ace now had to make an excuse for Zack and Connor''s sudden disappearance.
"Warden Gerald, you don''t need to pay attention to the two traitors anymore." Antonio impassively stated.
Gerald was taken aback and wanted to know what Antonio meant when he continued, "I''ve already dealt with them after acquiring what I wanted. Since they no longer serve any purpose, I''ve ended their lives by burning them to ashes. This matter ends here."
Gerald was shocked, "S-so, they are dead?" He wasn''t expecting that at all since it was Antonio himself who dered that he would torture Zack for a very long time because of his rebellious act, yet now he killed him just like that.
Antonio''s eyes went icy cold, "Do I need to exin myself further?"
Gerald shuddered, quickly kneeled down, and pleaded, "I don''t dare to question his majesty! Please forgive this humble subject!"
"Hmph!" Antonio snorted and left without saying anything, leaving sweating Gerald behind.
Only when Antonio waspletely gone did Gerald breathe a sigh of relief, thinking, ''Should I report this to Her Majesty?''
Ace left the imperial prison before his lips curled up in a cold sneer, ''He would most likely report this to Jenna. Even Antonio wasn''t aware that she had found a loophole in the ritual and that she could easily use his authority. She''s been secretly undermining him for a long time and spreading her influence in ces where she shouldn''t have.N?v(el)B\\jnn
''Furthermore, Antonio also doted on her, and even if he had known this, he most likely wouldn''t have said anything since he loved her. It''s a pity I can''t get that guy''s memoirs, and Eva has just started to interrogate him.
''But it doesn''t matter anymore. I just need to y Antonio for a year and then take full advantage of his identity to use those items¡'' Ace mused as he reached the Emperor''s cultivation chamber.
He looked at the empty corridor and coldly ordered, "Come forth!"
The next moment, from the empty corridor, a dark silhouette suddenly appeared in front of Antonio, kneeling; this was the protector of this cultivation chamber and Antonio''s most trusted aid, Dark Shadow.
"Bring Princess Sofia to my cultivation chamber," Antonio ordered, but Dark Shadow didn''t reply; instead, he vanished without a trace.
Ace didn''t mind, as he had long found Dark Shadow''s presence and stolen his memories. He was like a puppet who only obeyed the Emperor without any sliver of hesitation and did all the dirty work for Antonio.
''ording to those memories, this Ancestor Monserrat was Sofia''s master, and after her death, she seems to be mourning her. Since she had the imperial bloodline and was also the most talented in the Skr n, she''ll be perfect for my n¡'' Ace chuckled deviously as he looked forward to seeing this sly princess again and entered Antonio''s cultivation chamber.
After half an hour, he heard a familiar crisp voice, "You summon me, Your Majesty?"
Ace sat on Antonio''s position above the eye of the key gathering formation, which provided pure Qi, and impassively ordered, "Come in."
The next moment, the cultivation chamber''s door opened, and the masked Sofia in ck clothes entered with a hint of confusion in her eyes. She didn''t know why her father summoned her so abruptly into his cultivation chamber.
"Sit." Antonio beckoned her in front of him.
Sofia was even more confused as she sat down in front of Antonio, and she couldn''t help but feel Antonio in front of her was somewhat different. Although he was her father, he rarely showedpassion for his kids, and Sofia was closer to her mother.
But despite that, she didn''t have much attachment to her parents since they had sent her to the goldennds at a very young age and never showed parental love. That''s why she was far closer to Ancestor Monserrat.
"How are you feeling now?" Antonio asked.
"I''m feeling fine. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty." Sofia replied.
"You can call me father when there is no one around." Antonio suddenly smiled, startled Sofia as Antonio became more unfamiliar.
Antonio then continued, "I know you were close with Ancestor Monserrat, and we are all saddened by her death. But she sacrifices herself for the greater good of our empire, and that''s why she''s a hero. She had high hopes for you, in fact, we all have, so you need to do your best not to let her down and fulfill her wishes."
Sofia''s eyes fluttered with a hint of sadness as she nodded, "I understand. Thank you for telling me this; I won''t let you down."
"Good. Now that you seem to be on the right path, I don''t have to worry about others after I leave." Antonio sighed in gratification.
Sofia was startled as she asked, "Leave? Are you going somewhere?"
Antonio smiled mysteriously as he revealed, "Well, I summoned you to discuss this matter. Even your mother didn''t know that, and I hope you won''t tell her since it will make her sad. I''ll do it myself once she''s done stabilizing the school.
"The thing is, after many years of cultivation and experiencing the battle with the traitors, I finally managed to break through in the final stage, and I sense that within one year, I would be able to ascend."
Sofia''s eyes trembled in disbelief. She knew that her father''s talent wasn''t enough to reach this stage, and even her mother secretly told her that her father might not be able to ascend in his lifetime. Yet now, Antonio was confidently telling her that he would be able to ascend within a year. She was shocked.
"I-is it true, father?" Sofia questioned, still in disbelief.
"Heh, do you think your father doesn''t have what it takes to ascend?" Antonio asked sternly.
Sofia snapped out of her daze and quickly shook her head, "Forgive my insolence; I was out of line! Congrattions on your breakthrough, Father. Mother will be thrilled once she finds out."
Antonio''s expression rxed a bit as he nodded smilingly, "That''s why you have to keep it secret for now. The reason I''m informing you beforehand is that I want you to witness when I ascend. It''ll be very beneficial to your cultivation journey. Just follow me that day, and it''ll be an unforgettable experience for you!"
Chapter 1064 Let Us Go!
Chapter 1064 Let Us Go!
??After that day, the Sky Heart ins experienced peaceful days. There were no more thieveries; it was as if the thieves had vanished like a nightmare. Although the people were on the lookout for them, as time passed, they started to drop their vignce.
The imperial family was still as strong as ever because the thieves had never targeted it before. But soon, another matter came to the attention of the imperial family and the Golden Lion Kingdom: Princess Riana was nowhere to be found!
This matter was kept under tight wraps, and the Crown Prince people and the Golden Lion Kingdom royals conducted the investigation in secret. After all, if Riana had run away, it would have been a huge scandal, and the prestige of the imperial family would have greatly plummeted.
Even Jenna visited Antonio to discuss this matter since she had used a soul brand on her. It should have been quite easy for her to sense her presence, but she was startled when she found nothing at all.
Furthermore, she had already heard about how Antonio had dealt with Zack and Connor, so she wanted more details.
However, to her surprise, her usually doting husband, who always sumbed to her demands and kept very little from her, rejected her request for a meeting because he was at a very sensitive juncture of his cultivation.
Although it was somewhat strange, he did leave everything to her, so she wasn''t very suspicious, and she used the imperial pce resources tounch a search for Riana''s whereabouts.
Furthermore, the Crown Prince was the most agitated about this turn of events since Riana was very important to his path to the throne, especially after Evie''s ''death,'' and he was almost going insane as more days passed without any news.
This naturally affected the Golden Lion Kingdom the most, and the imperial family put them under huge pressure.
As for Sofia, who was thest person to see Antonio, no one found her, and she focused on cultivation. She was also looking forward to Antonio''s promise, and she didn''t tell anyone about it; she just promised him.
Fourteen months had passed, and today, the Mortal Emperor, who never showed himself, finally appeared. Although he looked the same, his aura was suffocating despite beingpletely suppressed.
"Dark Shadow, go summon Princess Sofia in the throne hall." He coolly ordered before heading toward the throne hall.
''Today is the day I finally managed to find a way to go around those damn runes. Although it took me more time than expected, now I have a 70% chance toplete this mission.'' Ace''s eyes were filled with confident as well as a hint of apprehension was present in them.
He knew this was going to be his biggest and most dangerous mission in Mortal Sky Heaven, and it was hisst mission before he left this ce for good. He was rather nostalgic and also excited to see the new heaven. But he knew that to achieve all this, he needed first to pass this wretched mission.
While musing over his n, he reached the empty throne hall and sat on the throne of the Mortal Emperor. Soon, the thorn room opened, but the person who entered wasn''t the one Ace was expecting. Instead, it was another graceful woman in a queen''s dress with a mask on her face, and her demeanor was dignified.
Ace was surprised since he knew who this was; she was the Empress of Sky Heart Mortal Empire, Jenna.
''This woman seemed to have ears all over the pce. I was hoping to avoid her and leave silently¡'' Ace frowned slightly, but he didn''t show it on his face.
"I was about to look for you, but I didn''t expect you to be still in the pce." Antonio smiled gently.
Jenna performed a curtsy greeting before she replied, "The matters of the school have beenpletely settled, so I was in the pce searching, helping the Crown Prince to search for the missing princess. Your majesty might''ve heard about this matter."
She said gently as she walked towards Antonio, and then unexpectedly, she directly sat on hisp while wrapping her hands around his neck. Ace was startled, but he controlled his urge to push her away.
Antonio was, after all, Jenna''s husband and their rtionship was very good, so this kind of intimation should have been normal for them when they were alone.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"I''ve heard about it indeed, but I was deep in cultivation, so I left the matter to my capable empress," Antonio replied while wrapping his hands around her waist.
Jenna''s eyes shed with helplessness as she replied, "You''re giving me too much credit. I still couldn''t find her whereabouts. It seems she had a helper." A faint coldness crept in her eyes as she suppressed her rage.
"Don''t fret over it; she can''t escape the Sky Heart ins. Let me tell you something important: I''m going to ascend soon," Ace said while looking at Jenna closely.
Jenna suddenly trembled, and her eyes widened in disbelief when she heard thispletely unexpected news.
"Are you serious?" she asked in disbelief, even forgetting about Riana. She was aware of Antonio''s talent more than anyone else, and she knew he might not have a destiny with ascension in his life, yet now he was suddenly dropping this bomb on her.
"Why would I lie to you? In fact, today is the day¡" Antonio impassively stated.
Jenna was again shocked, and suddenly, she sensed something strange. Antonio''s eyes suddenly turned into a dark vortex, pulling her into it.
"Now, you''re going to go back to your cultivation chamber and then sleep until someone touches you!" Ace''s words were filled with bewilderment as Jenna''s eyes became listless, and like a puppet, she stood up without saying anything and started walking towards the door.
''Her soul was quite formidable, and without giving her mental shock, soul words might not have worked on her at all this deeply. The moment I said those words, she instantly became vignt, and if I had exined more, she would''ve suspected something since she''s an extremely shrewd woman.
''Now, she might never awake again since no one would dare to touch the Mortal Empress. Even if she awakes, she will forget all about this ever happening, and I will be long gone. The imperial family will be in a huge mess¡'' Ace coldly looked at Jenna''s leaving figure.
Thereupon, Sofia finally arrived adorned in a white dress, and her eyes were filled with hidden excitement.
"Are you ready?" Ace smilingly asked.
"Yes!" Sofia replied without hesitation before she asked with a hint of confusion, "But where are others? I''ve heard that when someone ascends, it would be a huge event and a sacrificial ceremony for the ancestor to give good luck to the ascender."
''There''s such a thing?'' It was his first time hearing it, but he didn''t show any clues and waved his hand. "I''ve already discussed it with your mother, and with all the things going ontely, the fewer people know about my departure, the better. I''ve already taken care of all the things. Let us go without wasting any more time."
''He can really leave just like that? What about the sessor of the throne? Could it be that he left everything to Mother? Nheless, it has nothing to do with me since this is a hard toe by opportunity, I''ll be following father''s footstep in future!'' Sofia thought with resolution.
But she didn''t know that it was thest time she would step into Mortal Sky Heaven again!
Chapter 1065 Ascension Temple Portal (1)
Chapter 1065 Ascension Temple Portal (1)
??When Antonio and Sofia arrive at the entrance to the underground secret passage, the Ancestor Giant suddenly appears. But before he could inquire what Antonio was up to, Ace says, "Please make arrangements and find the Crown Prince. I''ll be going first."
The ancestor waspletely bewildered, and without saying anything more, he left. Sofia didn''t find anything strange since Ace used selective words. It was now impossible to tell if he was using a soul art unless someone had a more powerful soul than him.
After dealing with the ancestor, Ace led Sofia towards the cavern. As for the Ancestor, he wasn''t too worried about it since he knew once he regained his senses, he''dpletely forget about themands of soul words.
When they reached the gate guarded by the demonic winged tiger, Sofia was startled since it was her first timeing to this ce, and she saw an eighth-realm beast guarding the entry passage.
The winged demonic tiger growled at Antonio faintly before making way for him and Sofia unwillingly.
"Heh, he can''t do anything to the Imperial Bloodline and only gives way to the Mortal Emperor of the Generation. So, if someone from the Imperial Bloodline tries to enter here without my permission, they will be captured, or if they are outsiders, they will be killed," Ace coolly stated.
This information he got from the real Antonio, who had been tortured by Riana and Eva in this past year. However, they didn''t get anything about the Ascension Temple since whenever he tried to talk about it, his soul suddenly started to undergo a strange chaotic turbulence which almost killed him many times.
Still, he gave quite secret information about the Heavenly Mortal Emperor. Ace is surprised when he finds out that Antonio doesn''t even know about the Heavenly Mortal Emperor, for they call him the Deity of the World, and he has never seen him before.
The deity used dreams to send orders or revolutions, and in his entire life, Antonio had only received one revolution. In the end, even if he could talk about the Ascension Temple, he might not be able to provide any useful information.
Still, Ace didn''tpletely believe him, but he was no longer useful, so he decided to use him in another way if the need arrived.
Once they crossed the gate, they both appeared in front of the cavern with twelve water channels.
Ace looked at the cavern entrance like a jagged tear in the mountainside and at Sofia, who was also closely observing this ce. The next moment, he flipped his hand, and a triangr ancient golden jade appeared in his palm. It was the token of passage.
"Here, this is the token of passage; without it, no one can enter the vicinity of the temple. Since you''ll most likely be using it after me, you can use it now under my supervision. This will be good practice for you." Antonio smiled and handed over the token of passage to the baffled Sofia.
Sofia couldn''t help but feel moved at this moment because she suddenly thought that Antonio was treating her like a daughter for the first time. He was very considerate, and for someone like her who hadn''t received much love from her parents, it was a unique experience.
She took the token from him and clenched it in her hand while looking at Antonio gratefully for giving her such a chance.
"Now drop your blood on it and then use your Qi to activate it. This will form a barrier around us." Ace instructs, ording to the system''s information, to activate this token.
Sofia nodded and then cut her finger as her blood drop fell on the golden token. The next moment, the tiny runes on it suddenly lit up before turning crimson, and she suddenly felt connected to this token.
She then used her Qi, and a translucent golden barrier suddenly gushed out of the token and engulfed Sofia. She was astounded to feel that she could control this barrier now, and with a thought, she covered Antonio as well.
Ace was ecstatic, but his true expression didn''t appear on Antonio''s face as he nodded in approval, "You''re doing great now. Just maintain this barrier, alright? Let''s go."
The next moment, he ced his hand on her shoulder, and they both flew towards the passage where the temple portal was located.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
As they entered the passage, it was like a dark tunnel, and the only source of light was the translucent barrier around them. As they went deeper, soon, a faint mist suddenly appeared.
''This mist is made with heavenly Qi, and without this barrier, it would be hard to travel through it,'' Ace mused solemnly as he closely observed the fate map.
At this moment, Ace and Sofia stop because an entrance barrier appears in front of them in the tunnel. Sofia looked at Antonio for an exnation.
"Don''t worry. As long as we have this barrier around it, we''ll be able to pass this barrier," Ace confidently said, but in truth, he put a small distance between himself and Sofia and let her lead.
He knew this was the first forbidden barrier in this ce, and if he wanted to pass it, he would have to deal with forbidden runes first. But he wanted to see if this token of passage could help him avoid it.
Sofia still didn''t suspect anything and then fearlessly moved towards the barrier and submerged itpletely.
After confirming that Sofia was fine, he followed suit, but he still didn''t let his guard down and was ready for any unforetold event.
But the token of passage didn''t let him down, and with Sofia, he was able to pass through this barrier easily.
However, the other side was something that Ace wasn''t expecting at all. They were still in the cavern, but it waspletely different from the outside.
Awork of water channels snakes through the cavern floor. Some are mere trickles, while others are deep and turbulent, their currents hinting at the vastness of this subterraneanwork. The water glows in dim light, creating an ethereal, almost dreamlike atmosphere.
With the fate map, Ace confirmed that the seemingly tranquil water channels conceal dangers. With his thief''s vision, he saw that under the glowing water, razor-sharp bioluminescent ntsy submerged, and unseen aquatic predators were lurking in the depths.
These creatures were like mutated fish and monstrous eels. Furthermore, Ace could sense faint Heavenly Qi from them¡ª
they were the heavenly beasts!
Chapter 1066 Ascension Temple Portal (2)
Chapter 1066 Ascension Temple Portal (2)
??The moment they stepped into this maze-like cavern, Ace felt extremely ufortable. Furthermore, the bioluminescent nts and the fish, like heavenly beasts in water, seemed alert by their presence, but because of the token of passage, they didn''t react.
''I should quickly head towards the portal; the longer I stay here, the more danger I''ll be in of exposing myself. After all, this is the domain of heavenly will, so my disguise might not work.''
"I''ll lead from here. If we step into the wrong passage, we''ll meet a tragic end," He sternly stated to Sofia, who was admiring this ce with stars in her eyes.
Ace then followed the fate map, took a path with a turbulent stream, and went inside. As they entered this passage, the bioluminescent nts, which were small in the outer skirts, started appearing big until they were asrge as trees.
Soon, the entire passage was filled with those bioluminescent trees, and there was only a small way for a single person to walk. Furthermore, Sofia mightn''t have sensed it, but Ace was sure that those trees would''ve attacked them if he didn''t have this token of passage.
But it was just the start. As they went deeper, the cavern suddenly turned into a gigantic tree forest. This was the power of the Forbidden Heavenly Space Maze Array and Forbidden Heavenly Sanctify Array.
The Forbidden Heavenly Space Maze can easily lead someone to their death if they don''t know the way or have permission to enter this ce.
As they approached the temple portal, Ace suddenly flipped his hand, and a slightly broken star-shaped pendant appeared in his hand. This was the Talisman of Heaven''s Approval.
He handed it to startled Sofia and said, "Here, wear this pendant. This is another piece of the puzzle. Without it, we can''t enter the temple."
Sofia was surprised to receive the pendant before wearing it and asked, "Father, don''t we need the ascension altar to ascend? I didn''t know we could enter the temple since I''ve heard from the master that it''s a forbidden zone that our n has been entrusted to protect by the supreme deity."
"This is indeed the case, but it''s notpletely true as well. You see, our family has also bestowed three chances to use the ascension temple directly. If we use these chances to ascend, then we''ll get the help of the deity in ascension, and the chance of session will greatly increase."
Antonio smiled bitterly, "You should know my aptitude is not so great, so I''m going to waste this chance. I hope you won''t think little of me."
"I won''t dare." A Realization dawned on Sofia. ''So that''s why he''s so confident about ascending? But if that''s the case, why did the others leave this chance to others?'' she thought with uncertainty.
After all, she knew every mortal emperor longed for ascension, and if they had known about this opportunity, they would''ve never missed it or left it for the next generation. Doubts started to arouse in her heart, and she finally noticed something.
She looked at Antonio and hesitantly asked, "Father, then how would Mother and others follow us without this token and pendant?"
''She''s not aplete idiot after all.'' Ace though as he had already prepared exnation for his question and replied, "You don''t need to worry about it, you see once this pendant is used the pathway would be safe for others to enter for an entire day. They will be able to reach us in time."
''Was it thinking too much?'' Sofia thought. She didn''t have much information about this ce, so she could only believe Antonio.
"Besides, after I used this pendant, a final use would still be left. I''ve entrusted it to you to make a sound judgment. If you are confident that you can ascend without it, don''t waste it and leave it in the treasury.
"But you can''t tell others about it. If someone like me appeared who stumbled upon it by chance, they could use it. This is a custom of our family, and this is also the reason that this pedant still exists to this day." Ace directly told her a story that he had made up, and Sofia''s doubt finally cleared.
Soon, they both crossed the vast forest and appeared at the foot of an ethereal golden mountain that seemed to exist between illusion and reality. If someone tried to climb it, they would pass through it.
But at this moment, when Antonio and Sofia appeared, the Talisman of Heaven''s Approval on Sofia''s neck suddenly trembled, releasing faint hums. The next moment, a crystal engraved in the pendant suddenly lit up in golden light, and a fine ray of golden light shot from it into the token of passage in Sofia''s hand.
Sofia was startled as she felt someone within her blood suddenly stir when the Talisman of Heaven''s Approval was suddenly activated.
However, she didn''t have time to pay any attention because the very next moment, the ethereal golden mountain released a blinding white light.
When that light vanished, a beautiful ancient staircase leading towards the peak of this mountain appeared right in front of them. Even from this distance, they could see a golden vortex swirling at the end of this staircase, giving off a profound aura that made others want to kneel before it.
Furthermore, Ace felt an extremely familiar aura and pressure descending in the vicinity the moment this passage appeared.
''This is the aura of the heavenly punishment!'' Ace''s heart raced with ecstasy as he looked at the golden vortex, ''The Void Lock Array has been unlocked, and that has to be the portal that leads to the ascension temple!
''This also seems like the final test for whoever wants to ascend through the ascension temple. This heavenly punishment pressure is five times greater than the seventh heavenly punishment; no mortal would be able to climb under this pressure even if they are at the peak of the eighth realm. Tsk, and here I thought heaven was being generous for once¡''
"W-what is this?" Sofia asked, finding it hard to breathe. Her cultivation wasn''t at the level where she could withstand this pressure, and the heavenly punishment aura was giving her chills.
Ace looked at Sofia and smiled coldly, "Since you helped me reach this ce, I consider your debt to me voided, and I hope you''ll cherish this opportunity that I''m about to give you¡"
Sofia was startled as she didn''t understand what Antonio was suddenly saying, but she knew something was wrong.
But before she could react, Ace''s used soul words, "Sleep!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Sofia was already under the ghastly pressure of the heavenly punishment, and her soul was weaker than Ace''s, so she instantly fell asleep under Ace''s soul words.
Ace didn''t tarry and quickly grabbed the activated pedant and the token before sending Sofia to Eva in his thief''s space.
The next moment, ck, inky Qi suddenly gushed out of Ace''s hands and started to cover his body before it turnedpletely pitch ck, like a dark silhouette. He was using the Dismantle Qi to cover himself so he could avoid attracting heaven''s attention.
Ace thought of this method when he was researching the forbidden runes. He remembered that the system was using it to avoid attracting the attention of heaven. He knew there was something about the Dismantle Qi that could avoid heaven''s detection and even dismantle forbidden runes.
So, he knew this method was the only way to avoid detection and infiltrate the Ascension Temple! But there was just a single drawback: He couldn''t use his heavenly Qi for skills on top of the Dismantle Qi. This means he can''t use stealth or any abilities or skills that require Qi.
That''s why he prepared something to at least hide his pitch-
ck silhouette; a heavenly talisman appeared in his hand, and he activated it without hesitation, and soon, his ck figure vanished.
After he was done preparing, Ace took a deep breath and stepped on the first staircase that led toward the temple portal!
Chapter 1067 Mortal Sky Ascension Temple!
Chapter 1067 Mortal Sky Ascension Temple!
??Others found it almost impossible to climb the mountain staircase and reach the temple portal, but for Ace, it was another test of his will and strength, which he had umted in his cultivation journey.
Although the pressure was bone-shattering, Ace was now at the peak of the eighth realm, and hisws were mostly at the peak. He also has the swordw, which has surpassed the mortal sky heaven''s limit.
Furthermore, he noticed that the Dismantle Qi around him seemed to reflect the pressure to some extent, which was another surprise for Ace, so he didn''t waste any time and climbed without stopping.
Once activated, the Talisman of Heaven''s Approval has a 24-hour time limit, while the ascension altar is located in another passage. So, Ace can''t afford to waste any time, and he also needs to y his part well once he enters that portal.
After all, he was 99% sure that once someone used that portal, the Heavenly Will would be alerted, so he was ready for such a scenario.
The mountain staircase has 99 staircases, and each step closer to the temple portal meant more pressure from this staircase.
It took Ace around an hour to finally climb all the way to the 99th staircase. He was now standing right in front of the golden vortex, giving off profound, majestic pressure.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
''This is the final hurdle between me and the ascension temple!'' Ace''s eyes shimmered with determination and a hint of anxiety.
After making sure that everything was in ce, he stepped into the temple portal. The moment he vanished into it, the staircase and the portal started to turn into the golden mist like an illusion that was never there to begin with.
The golden mountain again turned ethereal, and peace returned to the ce. However, at this moment, right above the sky of the ethereal mountain, a colossal eye suddenly formed in the sky!
---
In the immensity of golden-white space gilded with an ethereal light, a colossal temple drifted. It was not a cold, sterile white but a luminous one, imbued with the warmth of spun gold. Its form was unlike any temple, a fantastical fusion of architectural styles, each whispering of a different realm.
The base stretches out like a luminous lotus, its petals vast enough to bending tforms for celestial ships. From this foundation rises a central ziggurat, its steps spiraling upwards like a pathway to the heavens. Babylonian influences meld with the soaring Gothic spires that pierce the golden expanse, their filigreed tracery catching the light like celestialce.
Towers reminiscent of minarets pierce the sky, their tips adorned with crescent moons that glow with an inner light. But these are not for the call to prayer; they hum with an otherworldly energy. Massive statues of forgotten titans nk the ziggurat''s ascent, their forms hinting at the power that resides within the temple.
The most striking feature was the absence of a roof. The temple seemed to bask in golden luminescence, its highest spires reaching out to grasp the unknown beyond. This was the most holy and mysterious ce of the Mortal Sky Heaven, the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple!
At this moment, within one of the vast lotus petals, in a vast hall with a floor polished to a mirror sheen that reflects the golden light, a golden portal subtly opened among the center of the massive pirs.
Each pir, carved from a different kind of otherworldly crystal, rises from the floor to support the unseen ceiling. Strange, bioluminescent flora lines the walls, its petals pulsating softly in time with the unseen hum ofws.
The walls are adorned with murals that depict stories from countless worlds and races, each rendered in a style that reflects the culture it represents. Here, an arcane hieroglyphic frieze mingles with a delicate brushstrokendscape.
The craftsmanship was breathtaking. Polished metals that shimmer with an unnatural sheen mingle with pearlescent stone and what appears to be petrified wood that glows faintly from within.
Scattered throughout the vast hall were doorways, each crafted from a different material and adorned with strange symbols that pulse with a faint inner light. These seem to be the entrances to unknown chambers, each holding its own secrets.
From the golden portal, Antonio''s figure appeared and fell on the crystalline floor without moving, and the golden portal behind him vanished!
After just a few seconds, right in front of Antonio''s unmoving body, a giant white silhouette made with light appeared. Just with its presence, the space around the hall twisted, threatening to fall apart. This silhouette gave off the aura ofws and heavenly Qi.
At this moment, an invisible force suddenly released from it, enveloped Antonio''s figure, and lifted him from the floor. Antonio floats in front of this white silhouette without any breath of life. A pendant shimmers around his neck, and his hand clenches a jade token.
"Despite sessfully climbing the stairways of heaven''s path, you still ended up dying. You were the first one to reach this ce, so I shallmend you for your spunk and forgive you for tainting it. O'' pitiful mortal, I shall personally send you back into the embrace of Heaven!" An ethereal voice ovepping between a man and woman rang in the entire hall as if it werew itself.
The next moment, Antonio''s body started to turn into a white stream of smoke and vanished into the void, leaving behind only the pendant and the token.
"Return to whence you came!" Another emotionlessmand rang from the white silhouette before the pendant, and the token vanished.
Thereafter, the white silhouette also fades away, just like it appeared, and the otherworldly hall is again returned to its peaceful state.
But what this white silhouette failed to notice was that behind one of the crystal pirs, an invisible figure stood there holding his breath. Only after confirming that the white figure was gone did he rx slightly.
Ace had used Antonio as a scapegoat to trick the white silhouette into thinking that Antonio had entered but died in the end, and it worked like a charm.
However, Ace was slightly shaken because he had felt the powerful undtion of that silhouette, and it was simply terrifying. Furthermore, Ace was astounded by thenguage that silhouette spoke¡ªit was thenguage of the Ancient Gods!
Chapter 1068 Thief in Temple! (1)
Chapter 1068 Thief in Temple! (1)
??After confirming that the white silhouette was gone, Ace breathed a massive sigh of relief and was able to observe the awe-inspiring hall. He had to admit that this ce really lived up to its name as the most sacred location of the Mortal Sky Heaven.
But he wasn''t here for sightseeing; he couldn''t afford to make even the slightest mistake, or that white silhouette, which he suspected to be the Heavenly Mortal Emperor, might emerge at the next moment.
"System, can you make a treasure blueprint for this ce?" Ace inquired as the fate map was nowpletely nk, and the previous treasure map was only useful until he reached the temple portal.
Furthermore, he saw many mystical doors in this hallway, and he had no idea where he should go from there, not to mention that those doors might trigger something.
"[Host needed to search for the heaven''s secret on your own now. If the system tries to scan this ce, the Heavenly Will might notice you!]"
"What? Even you can''t act wantonly in this ce?" Ace was surprised, as this was the first time the system had reacted this way.
"[This is the home of the Heavenly Will, and this is where it is the strongest. Furthermore, the host has already given all the clues you need to reach heaven''s secret. This is yourst hurdle, a test of your skills and thievish abilities!]"
"Tsk, just admit that you can''t do it." Ace annoyingly replied, and the systempletely ignored him.
But now that he knew he couldn''t rely on the system anymore, he had to rely on his own abilities. He then opened the mission panel to see the mission once again since the system had already dropped the clue.N?v(el)B\\jnn
=====
-Heaven''s Stealer Mission: Embarking the Path of Heaven''s Stealer!
- Heaven''s Secret Condition: Heart of Mortal Sky
-Requirement(s):
1. Find the Mortal Sky Heart Empire!
-Status: Complete!
2. Infiltrate the Mortal Sky Heart Empire without altering the Heavenly Mortal Emperor!
-Status: Complete!
3. Search and infiltrate the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple!
-Status: Complete!
4. Find the Hidden Entrance and infiltrate it!
-Status: Complete!
5. im the Heaven''s Secret hidden in the Heart of Mortal Sky Ascension Temple
-Status: Iplete
6. Instantly Begin the Heavenly Punishment and Ascend, or you''ll die within sixty seconds after taking Heaven''s Secret!
-Status: Iplete
-Thief House Members: Allowed
-Reward(s): Unknown
-Time: 50 Years
-Punishment: Painless Death
---
(Warning: Host can''t open this mission panel without encasing in the Dismantle Qi!)
=====
''It''s clear that the heaven''s secret is hidden in the heart of the mortal ascension temple. I just need to locate it. So, my first object is to reach the heart of this temple. But where am I right now?''
Ace closed the mission panel and then looked toward the end of the hall. He saw a gigantic crystal door with ancient carvings, and beside the door, two titanic armored statues stood.
However, Ace felt his heart palpitated when he closely observed those statues because he felt danger from them.
''Don''t tell me they are alive and guards of that door, and since I can feel danger from them, it''s quite clear they are not easy to get rid of. Even if I can go against them, I shouldn''t cause anymotion.
''But I can''t just randomly pick those small doors, and since that door is guarded by those two statues, this could only mean there is something worth guarding behind them. Let''s see, since that white silhouette, which is most likely the Heavenly Mortal Emperor, was emitting the heavenly Qi, should I try to emte him?
''No, it''s too dangerous since I don''t know what will happen if it doesn''t work. Should I try to approach the door like this? Since even that guy didn''t notice me with the Dismantle Qi on, they will most likely not notice me as well.''
After Ace decided, he stealthily moved towards the door at the end of the hall. Now that he wasn''t hiding behind a pir anymore, he could feel the air crackled with a faint electrical hum, a subtle undercurrent to the symphony of light.
As he moved on the crystalline floor, its mirror-like surface reflected a distorted kaleidoscope of golden light that danced in his vision. A low, melodic hum vibrated through the hall, resonating deep within his senses. It was a sound both calming and unsettling, hinting at the temple''s immense power.
If he wasn''t covered in the Dismantle Qi, Ace was afraid that he might lose his mind in this ce. This was simply too strange, and as he reached the door, he felt that power be more apparent.
Furthermore, he was using both heavenly Qis to keep up the Dismantle Qi, and he didn''t dare disable it unless he waspletely sure that he wouldn''t be in danger as a consequence.
But he couldn''t keep this up forever, so he needed to find his target quickly or at least a ce where he could recover.
As Ace approached the final pir, which was a few meters away from the crystal door, he didn''t get any reaction from those statues. This made him more assured, and he finally approached the door while holding his breath.
When he was just a few inches away from the door, Ace looked towards the statues. They were still standing without any movement or undtion. He sighed in relief and focused on the crystal door.
''This door is clearly locked with most likely forbidden runes, and I can''t use any skill in this state. So, the safest approach is to use the Dismantle Qi. Since the Dismantle Qi is driven from the Heavenly Qi, I should be fine, right?''
Ace was uncertain, but he couldn''t stay here forever, and he had to act eventually. After making up his mind, he carefully controlled the Dismantle Qi and released a wisp of it in the air while anxiously observing the statues.
But to his relief, they didn''t react at all, and Ace became slightly bolder as he released more Dismantle Qi and finally touched the crystal door with it. However, there was still no reaction.
However, when he thought everything was fine, something startling happened. The moment his Dismantle Qi touched the crystal door, sounds of cogwheels stirring rang from the door.
Ace was spooked, and he quickly ran back toward the pir and hid while he observed with a pale expression.
The crystal door started to open inwardly under Ace''s anxious eyes, but to his surprise, there was no one behind that door. A white pathway appeared behind, and the statues were still standing without any movement.
After a few minutes, nothing happened, and the door remained open before it suddenly started to close on its own.
Ace suddenly thought, ''Could it be the door reacted this way because of my heavenly Qi?! If it''s, then the heavenly Qi might be the key to unlocking these doors!''
Chapter 1069 Thief in Temple! (2)
Chapter 1069 Thief in Temple! (2)
??After making sure there wasn''t an imminent danger, his heart hammered in his chest as he sprinted towards the closing crystal door. With a satisfying hiss, the doorway sealed shut just as he slipped through. The air shimmered, and he found himself bathed in the ethereal golden light that filled the temple''s interior.
Gazing upwards, the vast chamber stretched before him, seemingly endless in its height. The spiraling walkway of the ziggurat dominated the central axis, each step wide enough to amodate arge carriage. tforms jutted out at intervals, adorned with intricate murals depicting fantastical creatures and celestial events in a kaleidoscope of colors that shimmered with inner light.
Ace felt a wave of awe wash over him. After a moment of wonder, his gaze fell on the spiraling walkway that snaked upwards towards an unseen peak. It was his only path forward. He also felt hurried since he didn''t know when the Heavenly Mortal Emperor would appear.
So, after looking around, he decided to step on the spiraling walkway leading towards the surface, which should be around 10,000 meters above where he currently stood.
As he ascends the spiraling walkway, the murals adorning the tforms along the walkway suddenly transform. The fantastical creatures depicted in the lower levels be more ethereal and abstract the higher he goes.
Some murals seem to move, their colors swirling and morphing like living things. Ace was startled when profoundws suddenly became apparent to him.
''What a magical ce. If I cultivate here, I might acquire an understanding of differentws by just meditating here. But it''s a pity I can''t.''
Ace sighed ruefully as he reluctantly continued forward while experiencing magicalws from this spiraling walkway. He didn''t lose sight of his goal.
As he climbs towards the peak, before his eyes, the golden haze resolves into a breathtaking spectacle. Thereafter, pinpricks of light emerge, revealing themselves to be colossal, swirling gxies, nebe in vibrant hues, and even rogues casting long, ethereal shadows.
These celestial bodies appear to hang suspended within the temple itself, defying thews and the temple''s mysterious connection to the cosmos itself.
Ace had never felt like this before. It was like he was witnessing the birth of something unimaginable as he continued. Furthermore, Ace suddenly found his darkness had started to grow.
Exhausted but exhrated after an unknown climb, Ace reaches the zenith of the ziggurat. The grueling climb has taken its toll¨Chis muscles scream in protest, and sweat beads on his forehead. However, the unexpected harvest he receives makes it all go away, and the breathtaking scene in front of him makes him even more alert and slightly awed.
The golden haze that shrouded the upper reaches was now gone. Instead, the temple''s upper level unfolds before him, a spectacle defying all logic and imagination.
Ace stands on a circr tform that seems to float in the emptiness of space. Beneath him, the entire ziggurat spirals downwards, a luminous ribbon disappearing into the swirling nebe below.
Around him, colossal spheres of pure energy hang suspended, each pulsating with a different vibrant color. Below them are gardens overflowing with flora that shimmers with an otherworldly luminescence.
At the very center of this celestial ballet stands a colossal monolith. It appears to be carved from a single, wless block of starry sapphire crystal, its surface radiating an ethereal, pearly light. The monolith pulsates softly, seemingly in time with the unseen Qi that hums in the air.
Ace was astounded when he saw that monolith because golden stars were attached across its surface, creating a strange celestial map¡ªunlike any map Ace had ever seen!
It depicts myriad constetions, nebe, and even entire gxies with an astonishing level of detail. The celestial bodies seem to shimmer with an inner light as if they are miniature versions of the real thing.
Ace had nevere in contact with such a thing before because there was little knowledge about astronomy in the Mortal Sky Heaven, yet after climbing the spiraling walkway of the ziggurat, he could tell that it was a map of celestial bodies.
''Who could''ve thought the Mortal Sky Temple held secrets rted to starry space? I''m absolutely stumped here since I''ve never encountered such a thing.
''Besides, I didn''t see anything useful besides that monolith, and that star map might be the clue I''m looking for. As for these strange gardens and those strange energy spheres, something tells me I shouldn''t approach them.
''Furthermore, after that climb, and because of strange phenomena I''ve experienced, my heavenly Qi is almost depleted. I had to stop using the Dismantle Qi to replenish my Qi. But my appearance might draw that damn thing; I had to find somewhere to hide and recover before doing anything.''
Ace felt extremely apprehensive when he considered his current situation, but he couldn''t go back. He had to take the risk, especially if he wanted to study that monolith.
So, he first decided to approach the blue starry monolith. Suddenly, as Ace approaches the monolith, he feels a surge of energy simr to what he experienced with the crystal door below.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Astounded, he got closer to that mysterious energy, which resonated with his understanding of the strange phenomenon he had experienced on the spiraling walkway. He felt the darkness start to grow again.
Just when Ace was a few meters away from the monolith, the system''s prompt suddenly rang in his head.
=====
[The Host has found the ''Astral Stele of Mortal Sky,'' which holds the mysterious secrets of Mortal Sky Heaven and the Mortal Ascension Temple!]
[You have the option to integrate the Astral Stele of Mortal Sky in Enteral Thief Fate Compass''s Treasure Spirit (Moira) by spending 1 Billion Thief Points!]
[Continue/ NO]
=====
Ace was surprised. His eyes lit up as he saw the ray of hope, and he quickly asked, "What will happen after this integration? It''s not about the Compass but Moira?"
"[The Eternal Thief Fate Compass''s Treasure Spirit (Moira) has the talent to grow by understanding the mysteries of Astral Space. Byprehending the Astral Stele of Mortal Sky and its alignment with the celestial bodies visible through openings in the temple''s ceiling, it will not be restrained in the Mortal Sky Heaven by grade anymore, even in the upper heaven!]"
Ace''s heart raced when the system briefly described the benefits this brings to Moira, and the next moment, he ordered without hesitation, "Continue!"
Chapter 1070 Thief in Temple! (3)
Chapter 1070 Thief in Temple! (3)
??The moment Ace gave his consent, one billion TP was deducted; he couldn''t be stingy in this situation, especially with Moira, who always helped him.
Thereafter, a dark blue ethereal chain shot out from Ace''s forehead and directly pierced the colossal Astral Stele. Ace nearly screamed out of trepidation, thinking this would cause amotion.N?v(el)B\\jnn
But to his surprise, nothing like that happened as the Astral Stele remained the same while the dark blue chain yanked slightly, and Ace could feel something profound injecting directly into his soul space.
At this moment, the Eternal Thief Fate Compass, which was revolving above his soul core, suddenly stabbed a dark blue China into its center, making it tremble.
"What¡" Moira''s startled voice rang before it quickly became silent as a starry blue light started to cover the Eternal Thief Fate Compass.
"Are you alright?" Ace asked Moira with slight concern.
But no reply came. She wentpletely dormant, and the starry blue light started to be brighter. Ace could only wait patiently now until the system was done with this integration.
Ace suddenly felt something, ''What is this¡''
Thereafter, Ace suddenly felt the depleted heavenly Qi start to recover on its own, and he also felt the profound mysteriousness of space suddenly open up to him at this moment.
''Space is the core of the universe; everything exists within space; without it, there would be nothing but darkness¡ but doesn''t this mean space exists within the darkness¡'' Ace''s mind jolted as he fell into aprehensive state, and unknowingly, his Darkness started to increase at a tremendous speed along with his spacew.
It was all the aftereffects of the Astral Stele being integrated into Moira, and Ace was receiving unknown benefits because of it as he stood in front of the Astral Stele without disturbance.
Ace didn''t know how lucky he was to have the Eternal Thief Fate Compass, which was nowpletely integrated with his heavenly Qi. If it were any other treasure, it would''ve been destroyed the moment it tried to understand the Astral Stele, which held the secret of heavenly astral space!
Furthermore, Ace himself wouldn''t be able toprehend anything and would''ve alerted the Heavenly Will if he hadn''t had the heavenly Qi and was hidden with the Dismantle Qi the moment he came closer to the Astral Stele.
After an unknown time, Ace''s heavenly Qipletely recovered and even became stronger. At this moment, the dark blue china suddenly yanked from the Astral Stele and shot back into Ace''s forehead.
Ace was jolted and awakened, and the system prompt rang at this moment.
=====
[The integration of the Astral Stele of Mortal Sky in Enteral Thief Fate Compass''s Treasure Spirit (Moira) has been sessful!]
---
[Thief Point(s): 8,302,068,010]
=====
Ace was ted and wanted to inquire about Moira''s changes, but before he could, a subtle tremor suddenly ran through the entire space. Ace''s heart palpitated, and he quickly ran behind the Astral Stele, hiding while holding it, hoping that what he was expecting was just his imagination.
However, a few momentster, the space right where Ace stood suddenly twisted, and a while silhouette appeared, bringing a suffocating pressure with it. But this time, there wasn''t this white silhouette. Behind him, an ethereal eye was present, swirling with omnipotent light.
The golden eye suddenly glows brightly, covering the entire upper level, while the white silhouette released a suffocating pressure; the entire temple seemed to tremble under their might.
Ace was ashen at this moment as he felt like something invisible trying to dill through his Dismantle Qi, and that pressure was forcing him to use all he had to stay static. He had a feeling that if he even breathed slightly, he''d be facing something he didn''t have the ability to fight against.
After a whole minute, the golden light and the pressure finally retracted, and the silhouette ovepping voice rang with uncertainty, "There is no one here, Exalted Supremacy!"
The golden eye behind the white silhouette shed in myriad eyes, and the white silhouette trembled before it suddenly prostrated in front of the golden eye.
"Please forgive my insolence, Exalted Supremacy! I shouldn''t have destroyed that mortal shell without your permission!" It pleaded in front of the eye.
The eye shimmered again menacingly before it vanished. But the white silhouette remained prostrated and trembled even more fiery as he proimed, "I understand! I''ll personally search every nook and cranny of the Temple and make sure there is contamination here!"
The next moment, the white silhouette vanished as well, clearly in a hurry for some reason.
''That was freaking close!'' Ace was sweating profusely as he nearly got caught and cursed the system, "System, I almost got done in by you! You could''ve been more discreet!"
"[They were not drawn by the system!]" System emotionlessly reported.
"Then why?" Ace was confused, as he could not think of anything else that had drawn them.
Furthermore, the thing that the white silhouette was calling ''Exalted Supremacy'' Ace felt profusely fearful of it from the bottom of his heart, and for some reason, he felt strangely familiar with it, as if he hade in contact with it at some point.
But the system didn''t reply to him anymore, which frustrated him to no need. At least this confirmed that they were not here because of the system and probably didn''t know that he had snuck in. Antonio was still drawing their attention, but Ace wasn''t sure how long this wouldst.
Furthermore, now that he had heard that conversation, he knew the white silhouette was in search of some contamination.
So, he quickly focused on Moira and hoped those billion TP were well spent, which brought him some hope in this messy situation. He was still clueless about where the heart of the temple was.
He opened the fate map and was disappointed that it was still nk, but his eyes suddenly narrowed when he saw that the dark goldenpass pointer that had vanished after he entered the temple was now visible again, making his heart race.
"Moira, how are your gains? You should be able to help me in some now, right?" Ace asked Moira with anticipation.
"Sir Ace, thank you for giving me such an opportunity!" Moira''s ecstatic voice rang, "Don''t worry. I can read stars and pathways without mypass body, and I can help you navigate in this temple as well. Furthermore, the thing you''ve been looking for can be essed through this star map on this Stele!"
Chapter 1071 The Door of Riddles (1)
Chapter 1071 The Door of Riddles (1)
??Ace''s heart raced when he heard Moira and quickly asked, "So, this Astral Stele is a doorway towards the heart of this temple?"
"Yes!" Moira stated, "You see, the golden stars arranged on this stele are a puzzle, and by rearranging them into a certain sequence, you can enter the heart of this temple!"
Ace frowned at this moment as he asked, "How should I rearrange them?"
"You need to imbue it with your heavenly Qi, and then you''ll be able to ess the star map and then follow my instructions," Moira replied.
''But I need to stop using the Dismantle Qi to use my heavenly Qi!'' Ace grimaced when he considered the actual problem here.
He didn''t want to stop using the Dismantle Qi, especially after experiencing the might of the white silhouette and the eye. But now he had to decide since this seemed to be the only way ahead.
''Should I try using the Dismantle Qi instead? After all, that door also opened by using the dismantled Qi since it is driven from the heavenly Qi as well¡''
Ace then tested this theory since it was a much safer option. He ced his hand on the icy cold stele and released the Dismantle Qi in it.
The next moment, the Astral Stele suddenly pulsed, and Ace felt his vision suddenly blur; Ace''s body vanished from the upper level of the temple. Thereafter, Ace found himself afloat in a starry sea filled with profound mysteries.
Furthermore, in this starry sea, there were 99 golden stars glowing brilliantly. The other stars looked pale inparison, and for some reason, Ace felt attracted to them.
"You''ve seeded in entering the star map!" Moira''s ted voice rang in his mind.
Ace was awake from his daze, and his eyes shimmered with ecstasy, "Now, what should I do next?"
"It''s simple. You just need to focus on those golden stars, and you''ll be able to move them at will. Then arrange them in this pattern¡"
Moira quickly started instructing while Ace followed her lead. Just as she said, he could easily move those stars as long as he focused on them. It was very magical as if he were the ruler of this ce.
Following Moira''s discrete instruction, Ace rearranges the 99 golden stars in different parts of the starry sea.
''I''m afraid if not for Moira''s instruction, I would''ve been absolutely helpless in this ce unless I was able to find this pattern on my own. What a ridiculous security measure. I don''t think even my Dismantle Qi was enough to break past this lock¡'' Ace thought gravely as he got the taste of the security measure that Heaven was capable of.
However, what he didn''t know was that the Astral Stele outside was the answer to this riddle as long as he couldprehend it. But to do that, he needed a deep understanding of astral space, spacew, and celestial bodies. Yet this type of knowledge simply didn''t exist within the Mortal Sky Heaven, as if it had been purposely erased from the annals of history.
Furthermore, the Ethereal Thief Fate Compass''s treasure spirit was the key here, and using it, the system was able to pave the way for Ace, or he had to waste a very long time at this checkpoint while the danger he would''ve been in would also increase.
After the 99 golden stars were arranged in a unique pattern, which actually appeared like a Bnce Scale, the next moment, Ace suddenly felt a mysterious, powerful oozing from those golden stars, and he found himself pulling towards the center of this Bnce Scale.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Thereupon, Ace vanished from the starry sea, and he reappeared in a golden void. nking in the center of this void stand two colossal doors, seemingly gateways to unknown dimensions.
One doorway, crafted from swirling obsidian that seems to absorb light, pulses with a crimson glow. Strange symbols resembling writhing serpents adorn its surface. Another, carved from luminous jade, shimmers with a cool, emerald light. Symbols resembling swirling gxies adorn its surface.
Ace was mesmerized by those two colossal doors, especially the one with the crimson glow. He felt his heart race with longing and wanted to approach it at all costs.
But his rationality didn''t let him, and he didn''t dare to open any one of them since he didn''t know where they were leading. So, he remained calm and asked Moira, "Where should I go next?"
"Actually, this is the heart of the temple. No information about this section is recorded within the Astral Stele. I''m sorry, I didn''t know there was such a thing here." Moira apologized sheepishly as she was also surprised.
Ace frowned slightly, but he didn''t me her, "No, you leading me here is already big enough help."
"I think you should follow the fate!" Moira suddenly hinted at him at something.
Ace''s eyes shed with understanding as his lips curled up, "See? You''re still helping me."
He then quickly opened the fate map and saw that the dark goldenpass point was now pointing in the direction of a door. He no longer dared ignore it; after all, it wasn''t visible until Moira assimted the Astral Stele, and she was clearly hinting at him about this right now.
But to Ace''s surprise, thispass pointer was not pointing towards the obsidian door with a crimson glow, which he found himself gettingpelled to do. Instead, it was pointing towards the luminous door with swirling gxies.
After thinking about it for a moment, Ace decided to trust the fate map, for it had never let him down before, and he also trusted Moira''s judgment rather than that unknown feeling.
He then approached the luminous door and felt profoundly oppressed by it, like an unapproachable holy existence, which made Ace even more determined to seek what was behind it.
Once he was in front of the door, Ace used the Heavenly Qi to touch it again to see if it would open.
The moment the Dismantle Qi touched the door, a starry light suddenly enveloped him, and an imposing ethereal voice rang, "[I have no form, yet I can bind, A weightless burden on the mind. I yearn for open skies and light, But fear can keep me locked in the night.]
"[I cannot be bought, nor can I be sold, Earned with courage, stories untold. Though whispers may tempt with gilded cage, My truest voice sings on a boundless stage.]
"[What am I?]
"[You have 90 seconds to answer before you''ll be deported to Heavenly Void Prison!]"
Chapter 1072 The Door of Riddles (2)
Chapter 1072 The Door of Riddles (2)
??Ace was startled when he heard this stoic voice, and he couldn''t help but think about the system''s voice for a moment. But he knew it wasn''t the system since this voice was far more majestic.
"System, what the hell is going on?" Ace asked as he was slightly panicked, especially about that strange riddle and the 90-second deadline.
"[This is the Door of Riddles. As long as you answer the riddle, you''ll be able to unlock the Door of Ascension! But if you fail, then you''ll be teleported into the Heavenly Void Prison, which is akin to falling into the Heavenly Will''s clutches!]" System replied.
Ace wasn''t expecting the system to really answer, but now that the system did, he at least got to know what was going on, and he didn''t like it in the least bit.
But since he could bypass this door of riddles as long as he answered the riddle, this means he wasn''t totally screwed, and he had a fair chance.
Ace calmed his nerves and quickly asked the system for assistance, "Can you solve this riddle?"
"[Each riddle will cost you 100 Million TP!]"
Ace frowned. He thought this was quite expensive and tried toe up with his own answer, but he didn''t have time to think about it since he had already wasted about ten seconds.
"Alright, just give me the damn answer!" Ace stated that he couldn''t be stingy with this mission.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
=====
[Riddle: I have no form, yet I can bind, A weightless burden on the mind. I yearn for open skies and light, But fear can keep me locked in the night. I cannot be bought, nor can I be sold, Earned with courage, stories untold. Though whispers may tempt with gilded cage, My truest voice sings on a boundless stage.]
[What am I?]
[Answer: I am Freedom!]
=====
"The answer is Freedom!" Ace quickly transmitted his voice to the door.
The luminous door suddenly pulsed in starlight, and a gray me lit up on top of it. But it was far from over, as that same static voice rang again.
"[I am a hunger that can never be sated, A shadow that grows with every conquest awaited. I whisper promises of dominion and might, But the more you consume, the darker your night]
"[I can bring empires to their knees and crowns to fall, But offer nofort, no sce at all. The more you crave me, the less you will see, A gilded cage, a prisoner you''ll be.]"
"[What am I?]
"[You have 60 seconds to answer before you''ll be deported to Heavenly Void Prison!]"
''The time decreased by 1/3!'' Ace was surprised and was d that the system was here to help him with this damn Door of Riddles.
"What about this one?" Ace quickly inquired, and the system faithfully replied while deducting another 100 million TP.
Answer repeated the answer, "I am Power!"
Another me suddenly lit up on the door of riddles, but this time it was a blue me, and that same voice rang again.
"[We are two dancers in a timeless waltz, One a graceful bloom, the other a chilling halt.]
"[I, the first, weave a tapestry of days, Filled withughter''s echo and the sun''s warm rays. I paint the world with vibrant hues so bright, From whispered dreams to the stars'' eternal light.]
"[The other, cloaked in silence, a hush descends, A curtain falls, the melody that ends. Though some may fear my touch, a cold embrace, I offer rest, a quiet, peaceful space.]
"[We share the stage, a constant ebb and flow, One giving rise, the other letting go. For a start without its end, a story untold, And an end without its start, a rose left to unfold.]
"[What are we?] "[You have 30 seconds to answer before you''ll be deported to Heavenly Void Prison!]"
''The difficulty increased even more!'' Ace didn''t even waste a second asking the system again and then answering, "We are Life and Death!"
This time, two mes lit up beside the gray and blue mes, and they were red and green. Thus, another riddle was given.
"[I offer two faces, a coin yet to be tossed, One a haven of bliss, the other forever lost.]
"[One brims with delight, a garden ever fair, Where worries dissolve and joy fills the air. Laughter echoes freely, a symphony of light, No pain can intrude, bathed in eternal white.]
"[The other, a prison, where shadows hold sway, Tormented by memories of a brighter day. Despair hangs heavy, a suffocating shroud, No escape from the mes, forever burning loud.]
[The choice lies within, a path yet to tread, One fueled by virtue, the other by dread.]
"[What are we?]
"[You have 9 seconds to answer before you''ll be deported to Heavenly Void Prison!]"
"Heaven and Hell!"
deported to Heavenly Void Prison!]"
Two more mes of golden and silver color lit up the next moment, but the riddles were still not over yet.
"[We are two sides of the same coin, forever entwined, One brings forth vision, the other leaves you blind.]
"[I, the first, dance with the sun, a radiant disy, Chasing away shadows, guiding you on your way. Flowers reach for me, bathed in my golden glow, Life thrives in my presence, where seeds begin to grow.]
"[The second, I lurk, where the sun cannot reach, A canvas for nightmares, a realm beyond speech. But within my depths, stars ignite and gleam, A silent beauty, a celestial dream.]
"[Though we seem in conflict, a constant push and pull, We are a necessary bnce, for both transparent and opaque are full Of mysteries waiting to be unraveled and known, Two parts of a whole, where existence is sown.]
"[What are we?]
"[You have 3 seconds to answer before you''ll be Ace almost cursed when he saw the given time, and the system answered quickly, and he repeated it almost at the same time, "The answer is Light and Darkness!"
Two more white and ck mes were ignited above the Door of the Riddles, for a total of eight mes.
Ace was now dreading this Door of Riddles since it kept lowering the time to a dangerous degree. He still found those riddles quite intriguing, but it was a pity he didn''t have time to mull over them in peace.
At this moment, those eight mes suddenly started to move, and soon, they were rearranged in a trigram before the Door of Riddles suddenly started to fade away under Ace''s astounded expression.
Just when he was sighing in relief that those damn riddles were finally gone, that emotionless voice rang again.
"[You are the sixth person toplete the Riddles of Paradox Ancient and the First Person toplete them since the Era of Beginning and End!]
"[You are rewarded with the sixth riddle of Paradox Ancient and the iplete Poem of Paradoxical Tale!]"
Ace was bbergasted, and the next moment, he felt something trying to drill into his mind. It was the same sensation he felt whenever he received knowledge from the system!
Chapter 1073 Behind the Door of Ascension
Chapter 1073 Behind the Door of Ascension
??As the door of riddles vanished, in Ace''s mind, a riddle rang and engraved itself into it.
"[Sixth Riddle of Paradox: I am the vast expanse where stars doth climb, Yet I''m bound by neither reason nor rhyme. Eternal, yet fleeting, I weave, and I twine, A cosmic dance in the grand design.]
"[In me, all beginnings and endings align, A tapestry woven with secrets divine. I am the echo of each ancient chime, A riddle whispered through reality beguile.]
"[What are we, in this celestial prime? A puzzle unsolved, in the fabric sublime.]
Ace felt a profound mystery behind this riddle. He suddenly felt something appearing in his hand, and when he looked astonishingly, he found a translucent tablet with ethereal words that shifted with colorful pules!
Furthermore, Ace was even more shocked when he found that those words engraved on that translucent tablet were in thenguage of the ancient god, and it read:
"[Poem of Paradoxical Tale [Iplete]]
"[They whisper tales, these riddles of the mind, Freedom, they say, is life, a treasure to find. But is it not freedom that leads one astray, Lost in the wilds, where shadows hold sway?]
"[Power, they tempt, a gilded, heavenly crown, To bend the world, on a throne of renown. But power unchecked, a poisonous draught, Can twist and corrupt, a promise bereft.]
"[White''s purity, they im, brings endless delight, A beacon of hope, dispelling the night. Yet darkness, they say, holds a secret untold, A beauty unseen, worth more than pure gold.]
"[These truths collide, a paradox untold, A tapestry woven, where darkness and gold, Life, death, and freedom, forever entwined, Leave reason adrift, a game for the mind.]
"[This is the dance, the never-ending quest, To find meaning''s core, where opposites crest. For in the unknown, the answer may lie, That truth wears no mask, and lives in the eye!]"
Ace instantly felt an arcane aura from those words, as if they held a profound truth about something, but he felt his currentprehension was not enough even to fathom the true meaning of this Poem of Paradoxical Tale.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
''It''s iplete. Then how should Iplete it, and what is its purpose? Could it be that the answer lies within this sixth riddle of Paradox? Furthermore, just who is this Paradox Ancient? It''s pretty clear this door of riddles was designed by this Paradox Ancient, or it has at least something to do with him, not to mention the Beginning and End Era mentioned by that voice¡'' Ace felt extremely confused at this moment.
He felt he was being exposed to secrets that were far from his reach of understanding, but all of them were rted to Heaven, which irked him profusely.
"System, what is the answer to this sixth riddle, and do you know something about the Poem of Paradoxical Tale?" Ace decided to ask the system.
"[Since the impending problem has been solved, the system can no longer help you. Furthermore, you should never repeat those riddles or show this tablet to anyone if you don''t want others to die. Only someone with Heavenly Qi can withstand these words. The system can reveal that as long as you canprehend the sixth riddle, you''ll be qualified to startprehending its mysteries!]"
Ace was solemn and no longer dared take this lightly. He quickly stowed away the translucent tablet in his thief''s space. But to his surprise, the tablet appeared in the living thief''s space, which meant it couldn''t be stowed in any living storage treasures.
So, he quickly ced it in the corner of the living thief''s space and buried it at the very depth of the grass in, which was startlingly 1000 meters deep, so that no one could find this dangerous tablet, especially that brat Cyrus!
Only then did Ace focus on the white space again, and the door of riddles was now gone, but at this moment, he heard something moving and looked to the left side and was surprised when he saw the colossal red door was now opening!
Realization dawned on Ace at this moment, ''So, that''s what the system meant when it said as long as I could clear the Door of Riddles, the Door of Ascension will be opened. Then this made this door the Door of Ascension. Didn''t this mean if I had followed that strange feeling and selected the Door of Ascension first, I would be in huge trouble? What a cunning way to make a trap¡''
Although Ace knew this was the enemy stronghold, he admired their craftsmanship and the way they had arranged everything. Even if someone managed to sneak into this ce, they would never be able to live for long without the Heavenly Qi and Dismantle Qi protection.
Ace stealthily approached the opening door. As the crimson door of ascension slowly swung open, a wave of cool, ethereal Heavenly Qi washed over Ace. Behind the door, there was darkness, and he couldn''t see anything, but despite that, he could feel no danger. When he looked at the fate map, this time, the dark goldenpass needle was pointing directly toward this dark passage.
So, Ace didn''t hesitate and stepped inside. Right after stepping through the threshold, his vision suddenly twisted, and he found himself in a vast hall that defied description.
Its ceiling seemed to vanish into an endless expanse of swirling gxies, dusted with millions of twinkling stars. Pirs of crackling lightning, frozen in time, held the structure aloft, their tips disappearing into the celestial vault. The floor was a polished expanse of obsidian, reflecting the otherworldly scene above in an inky mirror.
Dominating the center of the hall stood a colossal altar carved from a single, monolithic block of jade. Its surface was smooth as ss, and myriad runes were carved on it. An ethereal green light emanated from within, pulsing in rhythm with the distant heartbeat of a sleeping giant.
nking the altar on either side, colossal statues stood. Carved from an unknown, moon-white stone, they depicted angelic figures with six wings of shimmering light. Their faces, were wrapped around with a pair of wings, their outstretched hands, palms facing upwards, seemed to cradle the very essence of the heavens.
Ace couldn''t help but recall the simr ck statue that he saw in the Vampyre n Army ss Trial. That statue had four pairs of wings and didn''t have the holy aura like those angelic statues; it waspletely opposite¡ªpure evil!
But Ace didn''t have time to pay attention to those simrities because he saw something even more startling.
At the far end of the hall, a single, imposing throne stood upon a raised dais. Crafted from a white gold material that seemed glowing in celestial light, it radiated an aura of absolute power. Intricate carvings depicting scenes of unknown battles and cosmic creation snaked across its surface.
However, the throne sat empty, a silent monument to an unseen ruler. Yet, even in its vacancy, the throne held an undeniable presence, as if it awaited the arrival of a being worthy to im its dominion.
Ace felt his heart race because he couldn''t help but think about that throne that granted him the First Authority of the Darkness upon seeing that empty, golden white throne!
Chapter 1074 Primordial Ascension Altar
Chapter 1074 Primordial Ascension Altar
??The more Ace looked at the empty throne, the more annoyed he felt. It was like he was looking at something hideous when hepared it to the dark throne.
However, he didn''t have time to waste on this useless stuff since he had found the ce he was searching for. As for how he knew, on the fate map, the dark goldenpass point was now pointing in the direction of the empty throne, and not only that but the map was dyed in a color he had never seen before¡ªthe Glittering Amber color!
Ace knew what this color represented. The fate map''s fate points and fate locations that indicate the presence of a favorable treasure or favorable location to Ace were divided into three colors and three shades of these colors: lowest Silver (Light, Bright, Glittering), highest Golden (Light, Bright, Glittering), and highest Amber (Light, Bright, Glittering), respectively.
Which made this ce have something that Ace must have, and what could be more important than Heaven''s Secret? Not to mention now that Ace saw this color, he was sure this Heaven''s Secret was something extremely important, not because of the system but individually.
"System, is this where the heaven''s secret is hidden?"
Still, Ace wanted to confirm with a system that he was in the right ce since there was a possibility that this was another section of the temple with another treasure.
"[Yes! This is the Ascension Temple''s heart which is in the epicenter of the Mortal Sky Heaven. The Altar that you''re seeing is the Primordial Ascension Altar was birth with the Mortal Sky Heaven itself, and if anyone used that altar to ascend, the chances of them ascending would increase 100%, and they would also receive baptism from the Mortal Sky Heaven''sw, bringing unimaginable benefits!]"
Ace raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Oh? You''re being overly generous by telling me all this information. How about you also tell me how to reach Heaven''s Secret?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"[System is only telling you this because only by using this Primordial Ascension Altar can the host ascend without getting killed by the final heavenly punishment since the final heavenly punishment is very different from the previous ones!]
"[If you were able to found and sessfully steal the Heaven''s Secret, you need to step on this Primordial Ascension Altar before getting killed by the Heavenly Mortal Emperor supported by the furious Mortal Sky Heavenly Will!]"
Ace instantly grimaced. The system had already alerted him of this upon the start of this mission, and now that he was so close to his goal, he was feeling the pressure. He almost forgot that the true danger was getting out of there alive after stealing Heaven''s Secret!
He also noticed a peculiar point as he asked frowningly, "You just said I need this Prime Ascensions Altar to ascend, don''t tell from the start I wouldn''t have able to ascend without this altar?"
"[Indeed, host guessed it correctly. As someone with Primordial Qi, you needed the corresponding Ascension Altar, which is the Primordial Ascension Altar, to open your ascension pathway.]
"[Without it, you''ll have to break the Heavenly Firmament (Heavenly Space Boundary), and since you are the Primordial Heaven Defier, the Heavenly Punishment will turn into an execution, which means the Heaven will no longer be restrained to kill you and will be able to use its full force. You can think of your previous heavenly punishments, a speck of dust in front of this one!]
"[That''s why you need this Primordial Ascension Altar to keep that from happening!]"
Ace felt a chill running down his spine upon hearing this new eerie revtion, and he could tell this voice wasn''t emotionless anymore. He questioned agitatedly, "Primordial Heaven Defier? Why am I here about this only now, and how is it different from the Heaven Defier that I know of?"
"[Primordial Heaven Defier is another term for Heaven''s Stealer, and moremonly known among Higher Beings, to hide the TRUTH about the Heaven''s Stealer! You''ll understand in due time, Host!]"
Ace didn''t have any good feelings about this and decided to focus on his task at hand since thinking about these damn mysteries would only distract him. Even if he was this Primordial Heaven Defier, this changed the fact that he was Heaven''s Enemy, so mulling over these things would do him no good. He just needed to keep walking on this path.
"What about that empty thoron? Why am I feeling this hostility?" Ace asked the final question he was curious about.
However, this time, the system didn''t reply and went dormant again as if it had already said what needed to be said, and now Ace was on his own. He sighed perplexedly but didn''t dwindle on this any longer.
After getting the new information, Ace quickly made some adjustments in his n a little and he finally moved towards the empty throne.
As Ace drew closer, a new strange feeling stirred within him. He couldn''t shake the sensation that something more resided in this ce. His gaze drifted to the base of the throne, where a narrow shadow line separated it from the polished floor.
A faint luminescence seemed to emanate from that gap, and he thought, with shining eyes, ''This is strange. It''slike there''s something hidden in here.''
No matter how curious he was, a sense of caution held him back. This ce held a power beyond anything he''d ever encountered, and disturbing its tranquility could have unforeseen consequences, which he wanted to avoid at all costs.
Before he invaginate age that gap, Ace decided thoroughly scan the throne from every corner. As for why he was sure this throne was the ce he was looking, it was because that strange feeling that stirred upon approaching this throne was none other than his Fortune Sense!
Since he had entered the Mortal Ascension Temple, his thief sense waspletely restricted, and he didn''t dare to try using it because it was simply too dangerous.
But now, his Fortune Sense suddenly reacted as he approached this throne so he was sure there was something hidden here!
Chapter 1075 Star Lock
Chapter 1075 Star Lock
??Ace looked at the suspicious throne with scrutiny as his fortune sense was furiously tingling the more he saw the ancient throne. He was sure that this was his target.
So, without wasting more time, Ace first tried to move the throne by simply pick-pocketing it, but as he suspected, it didn''t budge an inch. Then, he finally focused on the faint luminescence gap that he had spotted before.
No matter how he looked at it, this gap seemed suspicious to him. When he used his thief''s vision, he didn''t find anything. He was also expecting it since his skill could only see through grade-8 runes.
In the end, Ace decides to use the only thing that has been working until now; he uses the Dismantle Qi and engulfs the throne.
The moment the Dismantle Qi touched the throne, Ace suddenly felt an invisible power ripple emitted from it, and the floor under his feet suddenly trembled slightly.
Thereafter, the lighting from the gap below the throne suddenly pulses, and under Ace''s astounding eyes, the throne begins to shift backward like a slid door. Just like before, his heavenly Qi seemed to be the key to unlocking whatever secret was hidden under this throne.
When the throne shifted, a passage of spiral stairway revealed itself going into the unknown depth of the floor, and Ace didn''t waste any time and quickly entered it. He was still afraid that thismotion might draw the enemies.
Now that this passage was opened, Ace suddenly felt his heart raced because something seemed to be drawing him in down below.
The spiral stairway was narrow, unlike the previous one, and as he descended, Ace found that every step he took seemed to exhaust his heavenly Qi more and more as if that stairway was absorbing his heavenly Qi before letting him take another step further.
When he reached the end, Ace was expecting another grand hall or some kind of exotic scenery just as he had seen up until now, but to his surprise, he found himself in a chamber glowing with an ethereal light emanating from the crystalline tiles beneath his feet.
Each tile pulsed with a faint rune symbol, their intricate patterns shifting like a livingnguage. Along the walls, trigram stars carved into the very stone shimmered with an inner light. Some glowed brightly, forming a constetion unknown to Ace, while othersy dormant, veiled in shadow.
Other than that, there was nothing in this ce that made Ace frown. But he could tell that whatever was drawing him here was within this ce. However, he couldn''t pinpoint it.
He was about to use the Dismantle Qi when, at this moment, Moira''s voice rang, "Sir Ace, I think this floor is another type of hidden mechanism like the Astral Stele driven from the astral space. You see those runic symbols and their shifting patterns; they are making astral constetions of Heaven and Earth!
"In the memoirs I''ve received, there is a peculiar lock called the Star Lock. This lock uses the astral constetion as its key and the space and timews as its foundation. It is veryplex but also very secure.
"You see, this Star Lock has no key because the lock itself is the key; only by arranging the astral constetions in a Key Pattern can you open the lock. Furthermore, the items stowed within the Star Lock arepletely connected to the lock itself.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Just in case someone tries to destroy it, the items within will either be destroyed or teleported into somewhere else. I''m telling you this because I think if you try to dismantle it, whatever is locked inside might be gone for good if this is the Star Lock, and I''m 80% sure that it is."
Ace was startled when he heard about this absurd Star Lock, he was also surprised that Moira knows about it. This made him quite curious about what kind of knowledge she got from the Astral Stele.
Still, he didn''t have the luxury of shifting his attention elsewhere. He grimly asked, "Didn''t this mean that without this key pattern, I can''t do anything?"
Suddenly his eyes shimmered as he thought of something, "What if I could erase the lock mechanism without dismantling it?"
"I don''t understand?" Moira asked in confusion.
"What I mean is that I have mastered the Lock Eraser King technique, which can erase any lock. In truth, the Lock Eraser King technique erases the mechanism that required a Key to open. Simply put, this technique erases theponent in a lock that requires a key to open it and makes it a keyless lock.
"So, if a lock needs a key before to unlock it after using this technique, that lock will no longer require any key to unlock it. This is the true core of Lock Eraser King. But I seldom used it since this change is not undoable. But I don''t care about it here.
"What do you think? Would be making this Star Lock a keyless lock work?" Ace asked Moira since it was very important. After all, if he made a blunder, he wouldn''t have a ce to cry.
"A keyless lock? If the Star Lock''s foundation remains but the method to open it changes, I think this could work! Splendid insight, sir Ace. You''ve always had a solution to problems that no one can think of!" Moira spoke in admiration.
Ace smiled wryly, "You make me sound amazing, but my profession forced me to be versatile in these kinds of situations, and sometimes I don''t even know what to do without relying on you guys. Anyway, what is the grade of this lock?"
"Please don''t say that; you''re amazing!" Moira retorted in an encouraging tone before she replied with a hint of embarrassment, "I don''t know the grade of Star Lock, but all I know is that the grade depends on the space and consultations the Star Lock is built upon. Since it''s a star lock from the Mortal Sky Heaven, itsgrade should be within its limit."
Ace''s eyes shimmered with uncertainty, "If that''s the case, then there''s no problem in trying. Let''s see if the Lock Eraser King, which has a limit to the grade-9 rank, would work on this star lock after all the amplification effects from my titles and treasures or not. After all, I''ve spent quite some time raising this technique to its peak state!"
Chapter 1076 Stealing the Heaven’s Secret
Chapter 1076 Stealing the Heaven¡¯s Secret
??Seeing the strange symbols on the floor seemed to shift and dance before his eyes, Ace focused on the feeling that drew him down. When he opened his eyes, they were emotionless, and the next moment, for the first time, he stopped using the Dismantle Qi.
Without wasting even a second, he activated the Lock Eraser King Technique, and his hands shimmered in dark metallic light. After that, dark mercury-like Qi started to flow out from his hands and spread into the star lock. This was the Eraser Essential of the King grade!
The lock eraser king technique was divided into three levels: the Lock Eraser Master, the Lock Eraser Grandmaster, and the Lock Eraser King. Each level was further divided into three stages: Novice, Expert, and Perfectionist.
The higher the level and stage, the more potent the Eraser Essential, which was the core of this technique. At the start, Ace didn''t know much about this technique, and he thought of it as a skill like the Treasure Opening Hands.
However, as he reached the higher levels of this technique, he found that he waspletely wrong; this technique was far more powerful than the Treasure Opening Hands, especially when cultivated to the Lock Eraser King level. He managed toprehend the part about erasing the need for the ''key'' from the lock.
Thereupon, the mystical chamber was now covered in dark mercury, like Qi, and Ace could feel a strange rhythm throughout the chamber as if something was trying to resist the infiltration of the eraser essential.
Ace also felt apprehensive since he was no longer under the protection of the Dismantle Qi. He didn''t know how much time he had before the Heavenly Mortal Emperor or the Heavenly Will would notice him.
But since he was so close to his target, he was willing to take the risk and ready to use everything he had when he grabbed the treasure.
''Please work¡'' Ace prayed while he focused on the eraser essential that was shing with the star lock. As time passed, the eraser essential started to vibrate furiously, and his heavenly Qi also started to exhaust like crazy.
While in absolute anxiety, Ace suddenly felt something click in his mind when the eraser essential suddenly trembled.
With an expectant look, Ace stopped using the eraser essential, and the mercury-like Qi started to fade away at his behest.
When the chamber appeared again, he found that the trigram stars glowed with an intensity that almost hurt to look at. They pulsed in a specific rhythm, like a celestial heartbeat.
He found that the stars were now glowing in a peculiar sequence, and something new was present in the center of this chamber; a pulsing runic pattern glowing brighter with each pulse.
"Boom!"
At this moment, with a deafening boom, the entire floor erupted in a blinding sh of light, making Ace''s heart palpitate with dread, and his expression went pale white.
But he didn''t avert his eyes from that spot. His heart was beating wildly like never before, and he could feel longing and greed from his very being. The strange attraction he felt at the start had returned, and it was far more powerful than anything. He had never felt this type of attraction towards anything before like he would give up his life for this thing.
When the light faded, the chamber had magically transformed. In its ce stood a swirling vortex of energy, emanating an aura of immense power. A faint outline of an ethereal object shimmered from within the vortex, beckoning Ace closer as his eyes turned red with possessiveness!
"Take me~!" An intensely mesmerizing voice suddenly rang in Ace''s mind.
At this moment, before Ace could react, a dark blue chain shot out from Ace''s forehead like a dark blue streak and wrapped itself around the object within the vortex.
After that, the dark blue chain suddenly vanished, and the object inside the vortex was with it!
The system''s voice rang at this moment, awakening him from his strange state of mind,
=====
[Heaven''s Secret Condition: im the Heaven''s Secret hidden in the Heart of Mortal Sky Ascension Temple has beenpleted!]
[Warning: You have 10 seconds before the Heavenly Will and Heavenly Mortal Emperor arrive. Please step into the Primordial Ascension Altar before they lock on you!]
[NOTE: The system has started the process of absorbing the Dark Elemental Orb!]
=====
''Was I just bewitched, and what was that voice?!'' Ace''s entire body trembled when, right after the system''s notification, he felt a sense of death approaching him. He didn''t have the time to inquire about the thing that the system had just grabbed from the vortex.
But since he had just marked the fifth conditionpleted, he knew he hadpleted his mission sessfully. Now, Heaven''s Secret was with the system, and he''ll know about it soon once he gets out of this mess.
Ace''s eyes shed fiercely, and without hesitation, the next moment, the Limit Heavenly Talisman: Great Escape appeared between his fingers, and he activated it without hesitation, keeping the location of the Primordial Ascension Altar in mind.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Although he was not far away from it, he could feel that if he tried to approach it now, he would meet with a tragic fate because he felt he wasn''t fast enough. So, he didn''t mind using this limit talisman one more time since his life was far more critical than saving its uses.
However, his expression turned pale white when the limit talisman didn''t activate, and he instantly knew there was some kind of space restriction here, just like in the abyss.
Without thinking twice, he activated thewless darkness and then tried to use the limit talisman¡ªthis time, he seeded!
The next moment, Ace appeared in the middle of the primordial ascension altar surrounded by colossal states, and he felt mountainous pressure suddenly released from those statues and pressing down on them!
Ace was extremely anxious. He could feel another terrifying presence approaching, and he was urging the system to speed up the absorption process of the Dark Orb. He was too close to escape from this ce, at least from the Heavenly Will.
Ace didn''t know that the heart of the ascension temple was a ce where teleportation was impossible even for the Heavenly Mortal Emperor or the Heavenly Will because it was the power of an Order and also a protection measure to stop other powerful beings from directly teleporting into this ce.
Only someone with the power of an order that could counter this order power can bypass this restriction, and Ace just happened to have the Lawless Darkness, a perfect counter for it.
At this moment, the altar under Ace''s feet suddenly trembled, and its pulsing runes lit up, creating an arcane aura that spread throughout the temple.
But Ace didn''t have time to pay it any heed because, right at this moment, a white silhouette barged into the heart of the temple, and behind him was an ethereal eye that was nowpletely crimson with boundless fury!
Chapter 1077 Eighth Heavenly Punishment
Chapter 1077 Eighth Heavenly Punishment
??Standing exposed in the altar''s center, Ace felt the full brunt of the unseen forces. An oppressive weight settled on his chest, squeezing the air from his lungs.
When he looked at the crimson eye, the power it emitted was simply unfathomable, and for some reason, he felt disgusted by its presence and deep hate.
''That eye should be the Heavenly Will or its projection?'' Ace guessed while his eyes were deadly cold and hostile despite that fear, and he didn''t even notice it.
"Heaven''s Stealer!!!" The Voice, like a booming thunderp, resonated through his skull while the crimson eye drilled into him with a silent, suffocating presence. This imposing voice, filled with boundless hate and disbelief, reverberated right in Ace''s head, making his soul tremble!
If Ace had just guessed before, now he was sure that after that voice called his name, he could tell that voice belonged to that eye.
"Thief, how dare you put your sphemous steps into this holy ce!?" The furious voice from the white silhouette boomed in the entire temple, and unlike the eye, which seemed to be only talking into others'' heads, it wasn''t the case for this guy.
''Despite their anger and urge to murder me, they''re strangely standing on their spot without doing anything? So, they really can''t interfere with me as long as I call the heavenly punishment, huh?'' Ace''s lips curled up as his fear almost vanished when their actions confirmed the system''s information.
A flicker of defiance sparked in his cold eyes, "If you have a problem with it¡" Ace suddenly spoke with a sardonic smirk. He spat back, "Bite me!"
The white silhouette crackled with white lightning, its fury a stark contrast to the crimson eye''s silent rage as they were both provoked by Ace''s words.
At this moment, suddenly, the altar under Ace''s feed erupted in a blinding light. Arcane hymns filled the air, a celestial melody that sent shivers down Ace''s spine.
The angelic statues zed with runes, their light piercing the starry ceiling, forming a luminous circle mirroring the one below. The ceiling convulsed, countless runes rearranging in a mesmerizing pattern. Then, with a deafening crack, it ripped open.
Ace''s breath hitched. Terror coursed through him, freezing his blood. A jagged tear in reality gaped above him, revealing a swirling vortex of vibrant lightning. Crimson and sapphire tendrils danced within, emitting a crackle that vibrated in his very bones. This wasn''t just a spectacle; it was a path, a road leading to somewhere unimaginable and utterly terrifying.
At this moment, the system voice rang,
=====
[The Eighth Heavenly Punishment [World Cmity Despair Thunder] has been detected!]
[Primordial Ascension Path of Mortal Sky Heaven has been revealed and merged with the Heavenly Punishment!]
[Primordial Ascension Path of Doom has been fully manifested!]
[Host has 9 Seconds to step in the Primordial Ascension Path of Doom before it closes!]
---
[Warning (1): If the Primordial Ascension Path closes before the host steps into it, you''ll miss your chance to use the Primordial Ascension Altar again forever!]
[Warning (2): If the Primordial Ascension Path is closed and the host is still within the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple, the Ascension sequence two will start, which will be 100X more difficult!]
---
[NOTE (1): Upon stepping into the Primordial Ascension Path, there is no turning back! You either ascend by reaching the end or die ascending in the middle of it!]
[NOTE (2): The Primordial Ascension Path of Doom will be riddled with the Eighth Heavenly Punishment [World Cmity Despair Thunder], so the system suggests not holding back or trying to fight the endless attacks of the Heavenly Punishment! Your goal is the end of the Primordial Ascension Path!]
=====
Ace was bbergasted when he saw and heard the system''s solemn voice. This punishment waspletely different from the previous heavenly punishments because it would also decide his fate, whether he would ascend or die trying.
He also understood why this step was called the ''Ascension.'' This literally means what he was seeing: He needed to ascend through this path of ascension right above him, and it wasn''t just any path¡ªit was a path filled with heavenly punishment of the highest kind!
Furthermore, he needed to hurry, or if he missed this nine-
second window, he''d be in trouble since the system had already warned him about the consequences of ascending without this primordial ascension altar.
But despite knowing all that, Ace felt mountainous pressure from the path above him, and he had never felt anything like that before. It was simply too strong, and he felt like his feet were rooted in ce.
"Return that thing you''ve taken from the secret chamber, and I''ll let you die without pain, Heaven''s Stealer!" The same voice rang again in his head like a hammer, and there was a tingle of urgency hidden in it.
Ace gritted his teeth as he fought against that pressure. The next moment, darkness started to fall in the luminous scene, and his figure started to turn pitch ck. He could finally breathe and move in this suffocating pressure.
Within the darkness, Ace didn''t jump right into the path but first looked towards the trembling silhouette, who seemed to be afraid. Then he looked icily towards the eye, which suddenly seemed to be shocked by this darkness. His voice, which sounded eerie at this moment, rang.
"I don''t know if you''re THE Heaven or just its minion; it''s our first meeting like this. Although I wanted to say many things and ask even more of you, I didn''t seem to have time. So, I just say something I want you say to you for a very long time¡"
The scenes of every suffering he experienced before bing the Heaven''s Stealer and after it shed past his pitch-ck eyes.
Although he wanted to condemn and demand an exnation, he knew it was just a waste of time. In the eye of Heaven, he was insignificant and not worth anything, so only a single line came into his mind that described the entirety of his feelings and determination.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Ace couldn''t help but smile in a thievish manner as he uttered, "I Will Steal Everything from You!"
Chapter 1078 No fool like an old fool!
Chapter 1078 No fool like an old fool!
??"I Will Steal Everything from You!"
Just as Ace''s voice trailed off, he, with the darkness, vanished into the Primordial Ascension Path of Doom, and soon thereafter, the path closed with the Primordial Ascension Altar returning to normal.
The temple heart was now returned to its serenity like nothing had happened, but the trembling eye and the white silhouette were proof of its credibility.
"Useless thrall begone!" The eye shimmered menacingly, its voice resonating with power. The white figure dissolved into light particles, disappearingpletely with these final words.
At this moment, the trembling crimson eye, which seemed to be furious, suddenly became stoic, and its crimson color began to fade away, returning to its ethereal state.
A starry streak suddenly shot out from it and struck the Primordial Ascension Altar. The next moment, the entire hall shook before runes began to emerge on the towering statues just like a few moments ago.
But this time, the runes seemed different, and streaks of neon lights shot out from the heads of those statues andnded on the throne at the other end of the hall.
The eye vanished and reappeared in front of the white throne, which was now shimmering in starry glow, and with a brilliant sh of light, an ethereal giant figure seemed to be made with endless neon lights descending on the empty throne.
At this moment, the golden eye suddenly twisted and shape-shifted into a person in a golden robe with blurry features. It was kneeling in front of this neon figure on the throne¡ªa sight that could shock anyone who knows about the Heavenly Will!
"Father, the Heaven''s Stealer has reemerged, and he managed to steal the item!" It said with a fearful tone filled with trepidation.
The neon figure spoke at this moment, "I know."
The person in golden robes suddenly raised his head in disbelief, "Y-you knew?"
"Heh¡" The neon figure chuckled, a sound that chilled the golden-robed figure to the bone, "Don''t forget the Primordial Temples are under my rule! Despite not fully transforming into my dominion, they are still under my RULE!
"So, when a sneaky thief steals something from them, I''ll be the first one to know, even before an ipetent Temr!"
The person trembled, as despite the neutral tone, it could feel the wrath behind it, and it quickly prostrated itself in front of the neon figure. "I deserve punishment, I deserve punishment¡" It hysterically started to mumble.
As for seeking forgiveness, it knew better than anyone that there was no forgiveness in the heart of this person before it, for he was the most ruthless dictator of them all!
"Heh, if you think admitting your mistake will lessen your punishment any further or begging would change anything, then you''re thoroughly mistaken. Even if you''re one of my creations, I''ll judge you the same as anyone.
"Since youmitted the most unforgivable crime, letting the Heaven''s Stealer get his hands on the [Symbolum Aeternum], you cannot pay for your sin even with your life. But it''s a pity that you don''t have anything but your life to pay for it.
"However, don''t worry, I won''t kill you, for you are the soul of Mortal Heavenly Will. Henceforth, your current personality will be erased from existence, and you''ll start anew and repent for your unforgivable sin!"
His words were like the highestws, and the moment he uttered hismand, the entire Mortal Sky Heaven shook for a moment. The prostrating person in front of him suddenly paused and was enveloped in a neon light before itpletely vanished.
Now, within the temple''s heart, only the neon figure on the throne was present, and suddenly, "Puff¡ hahaha hahaha!"
He breaks into boomingughter filled with mirth and madness; his previous anger seems to vanishpletely, and he even sounds amused by this whole situation for some reason.
After a while, he stoppedughing and muttered in merriment, "Well yed, my Antagonist. Just when I think you''re out of tricks, you always bring out something refreshing.
"You are the only Heaven''s Stealer I''d acknowledge and the only one who got close to threatening me, but you still end up being the only loser, just like the other Heaven''s Stealers!
"Yet it seemed that even after your doom, you still had a few tricks left to amuse me. For the first time, a Heaven''s Stealer appeared in the Mortal Sky Heaven, the only ce that can''t nurture one since I can easily crush him like a bug when he tries to ascend.
"But you proved me wrong again, and this Heaven''s Stealer seemed to be quite extraordinary even among the previous Heaven''s Stealers. He even managed to enter the Temple and stole the Symbolum Aeternum.
"How did he find out about it? I made sure not to leave any clues, yet it was still revealed. Most importantly, he was able to touch it and then even activate the Primordial Ascension Altar, with a method lost in time¡"
His voice turned stern and uncertain at this moment, "Something is different this time. I can feel it. There''s something you did that I''m unaware of. Well, no matter what, the result will be the same; this Heaven''s Stealer will soon have the same fate as the others.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"So, what if he managed to steal the Symbolum Aeternum? I''ve got it from you to begin with, and since only a Heaven''s Stealer can use it, I''d sealed it here. But so, what if it returned to its source? It''s not like since I can''t use it, I can''t do anything else to it, right, My Antagonist?" He questioned with amusement while he seemed to be looking at the empty void as if there was something there that could hear him.
His neon eyes suddenly turned into ck holes, and the temple in front of him started to vanish. He peered into the depths of an unknown space, and there was an unbelievable thing in that space.
Within this thing, he gazed upon a dark corner where a person was wrapped around in a cocoon of white chain, and its long, inky hair was covering its face.
Suddenly, this chained person seemed to sense something raised its head, and pitch-ck eyes suddenly glowed like an abyss. A withering voice rang that seemed to have remained silent for eons at this moment.
"No fool like an old fool!"
Chapter 1079 Path of Doom (1)
Chapter 1079 Path of Doom (1)
??Using the Lawless Darkness, Ace stepped into the Primordial Ascension Path of Doom before quickly stopping using it. Although he was able to enter here with the Lawless Darkness, the amount of his Qi was on the danger level at this moment.
Hisplexion was pale as he looked at the entrance closed and then at the path in front of him, filled with a sea of lightning. He couldn''t see the end of it, and his very essence cracked with nervous energy. The air thrummed with an oppressive aura!
''My goal is the end of this path, which means this Heavenly Punishment won''t end until I reach it¡'' Ace mused grimly. At this moment, the tendrils of lightning suddenly cackled and shot towards him like an endless rain of lightning!
Ace''s expression changed slightly as he used his movement skills. He dodged the lightning bolts filled with despair and destruction. Thew contained within them was far more potent than he had ever encountered in his previous heavenly punishment, and this was just the start of the path.
With each step Ace took forward, the intensity of the lightning increased. Bolts thicker than his body snaked towards him even more fiercely as if obstructing his path.
By using his agility and swift reflexes, he navigates a precarious dance, leaping over chasms of crackling energy and dodging bolts that seem to hone in on him with an unsettling sentience.
However, at this moment, Ace suddenly felt something trembling in his heart with great excitement, and before he could react, a huge sword phantom appeared behind him; it was the sword heart!
Ace was bewildered when those lightning bolts seemed to have encountered an invisible suction force. The lightning bolts that Ace dodged started to strike the sword phantom before they vanished.
A grimace contorted Ace''s face as the first bolt of lightning connected with the phantom sword, his body trembling from the sheer power coursing through it. Relief warred with apprehension as he felt his depleted Qi begin to replenish, sweet nectar washing over his exhausted soul.
But for some reason, Ace felt rejuvenated as his exhausted Qi began to replenish with this heavenly thunder.
Ace looked towards the sword phantom and was astounded when he saw pulsing runes slowly emerging on the dark phantom. He could feel the excitement from his sword cores, which were now within his sword heart!
''Well, I''ll be damn, I didn''t know they would evolve into something like this after I''dprehend the sword heart. Furthermore, they seemed to be far more active than before, and they''re somehow converting the lightning into Heavenly Qi of Martial and Soul now. Just what kind of monstrosities had I created?'' Ace wondered in amazement, and it wasn''t heining, if anything he was feel ted because this would make his journey easier.
Now that his Qi was replenishing with the Heavenly Thunder, Ace let a few bolts strike his body as well to see what happened. The moment those bolts touched his body, Ace''s eyes widened, and he groaned in pain.
''Bad idea!'' Ace quickly dodged other bolts and endured the extremely painful lightning bolts in his body, just like he remembered them.
''So only those bolts entering the sword heart can turn into heavenly Qi, huh? If I do this the old way, I''ll be screwed. I can''t let this lightning touch my body. So, I better focus on getting out of here while the sword cores are still absorbing the lightning. After all, from my previous experience, once they had their fill, they''ll stop absorbing the lightning¡''
Ace dodged the lightning bolts, which became increasingly potent and thicker as he moved forward, but his speed was still superior, and with his Qi replenishing, he was doing far better than he thought.
Furthermore, Ace noticed that there was something else mixed within the Heavenly Qi that was strengthening his body, and he suddenly felt like something deep within him was bing loose. It was a peculiar feeling that he never had before, and his body became more powerful as more and more lightning turned into heavenly Qi and refined his body.
When Ace traveled the path of lightning around 1000 meters deep, the crimson lightning suddenly had hues of blue and white mixed in it, and it was far more powerful than before.
Each step forward was a dance of elegant evasion, his muscles burning with exertion as he dodged ever-thickening bolts of crimson lightning tinged with blue and white.
The sword phantom behind him hummed with power. Its dark form was now half-filled with unknown crimson rune markings. As this tri-colored lightning got absorbed, the previous rune marking started to take the color of heavenly lightning, and new rune markings of the same color appeared.
It started to absorb the lightning even more fiercely, and Ace felt endless power coursing through his body. However, he still didn''t dare take the lightning directly through his body and continued to dodge while moving forward.
Another 1000 meters were covered like that, and at this moment, on the path ahead, thick pirs of lightning rose¡ªred, Blue, White, Green, and Purple lightning!
Furthermore, the pirs left a very small gap between them to cross, and with a single mistake, he would be within those lightning pirs he didn''t want to happen at any cost.
Moreover, the sword phantom''s entire de was now filled with rune markings pulsing in tri-colored lightning, and only its hilt remained. Ace could feel that it was reaching some kind of limit, so he was anxious about quickly reaching this ce''s end.
But how could his wish be granted so easily? This was the primordial path of ascension corroded with the heavenly punishment, also dubbed the World Cmity Despair Thunder. Together, they made the Path of Doom. There''sno way it would be so easy¡
Ace somehow managed to pass the sea of lightning pirs by covering another 1000 meters, while the sword phantom behind him was now fully lit in those rune lines and dyed in five-
color lightning.
This time, the lightning pirs became more thinker like walls, and two more colors of lightning were added, Yellow and Gray, making them seven-colored lightning pirs. For the first time, Ace felt a neww among them, which he wasn''t aware of, but he could feel it was far, far more dangerous than all thews present in itbined, and he could feel the faint killing intent in that seven-color lightning!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
At this moment, just as Ace was bing a little restless, the system''s voice rang,
"[Phantoms of Fallen Aspirants of the Primordial Ascension Path are about to materialize!]"
Chapter 1080 Path of Doom (2)
Chapter 1080 Path of Doom (2)
"[Phantoms of Fallen Aspirants of the Primordial Ascension Path are about to materialize!]"
Before Ace could inquire what the system was babbling about now, something happened.
A cacophony of crackling energy erupted as the seven-colored lightning pirs pulsed and contorted. From the swirling vortex emerged the Phantoms of Fallen Aspirants, their ethereal forms crackling with an otherworldly hum.
Their mournfulmentations echoed through the air, briefly clouding Ace''s mind with visions of failure. They whispered doubts into his mind as if they were trying to affect his will, but it was only for a moment as his mind became clear the next moment.
They were 10 meters in size, and seven-colored lightning swirled around their hominoid bodies, which seemed to be made with ethereal mercury. They were all holding different weapons. They were, without any doubt, the Phantoms of Fallen Aspirants that the system had just warned him about. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace''s expression warped, "Aren''t they just like the Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations?"
"[No, they are different; they are the warriors who have perished in the Primordial Ascension Path since the beginning of time, and now their fallen wills reside in the path to obstruct the new ascenders who walked on it. It is a test only to let the worthiest people pass it.]
"[But because of Host''s heavenly punishment, they are far more powerful and despite the Heaven''s Terminate Manifestations can''t enter this path, these phantoms of fallen aspirants are not any different, and they could be considered their recements!]"
"Just great!" Ace cussed as he saw hundreds of phantoms of fallen aspirants pouring out from those pirs. He didn''t dare stand still because he didn''t want to find out the limit of their numbers.
His eyes shed with coldness as two ethereal swords, a long and one short, appeared in his hand, and the sword phantom behind him released a hum. Furthermore, those two swords were shimmering with the same rune markings as the phantom behind him, and he could feel terrifying power within them.
''The swords are definitely undergoing some huge change¡'' Ace was astounded and finally made his move.
Like a bolt of dark lightning, he charged towards the hundreds of phantoms of fallen aspirants. Sensing his advanced status, they all released sharp wails and changed direction toward him, using the skills they were all proficient in before falling.
Ace didn''t stop and shed his swords. Two tendrils of darknessced with the bite of destion shot forth, cleaving through the phantoms'' desperate attacks with contemptuous ease.
The dark streaks shed with a myriad of skills, sted them all into light particles, and continued forward.
Those phantoms of fallen aspirants seemed too shocked, and they used more powerful skills to stop those dark streaks, while Ace performed another dual sword skill he had incorporated into his Eternal Thief Sword Style.
A rain of dark sword lights metalized behind him and poured towards those phantoms of fallen aspirants. Only now did Ace understand just how powerful his swords and swordw were, not to mention that the rule of destion was even more ridiculous.
Whenever the dark lights rained down upon the phantoms, their mournful wails morphed into screams of agony as they disintegrated. Huge holes were left in the lightning pirs. But he noticed that each of these strikes cost him 10% of his soul and martial Qi!
But he didn''t have time to worry about it since he needed to break past this blockade before it became even more cumbersome.
Taking full advantage of their disruption, Ace used his full power to use the Twilight Traverse while the sword phantom behind me kept devouring the seven-color lightning that Ace dodged.
However, he soon realized that it was just the start. As he went further and further, more and more Phantoms of Fallen Aspirants appeared, and he had no choice but to keep using his sword style.
Each strike felt like a bite taken from his very essence. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple as he acknowledged the growing drain on his Qi. If not for the sword phantom continuously providing him with Qi, he would''ve been long drained.
This time, Ace had to cover around a 3000-meter distance before the lightning pirs changed again, and a silver and golden color was added to the mix, creating nine-color lightning.
Furthermore, fragments of celestial scripture, glowing with an ethereal light, were now scattered throughout the path ahead. These fragments gave the feeling of remnants of past aspirants and contained cryptic knowledge and insights.
But Ace didn''t have time to pay attention to those fragments because towering Phantoms of Fallen Aspirants appeared from those pirs. They were 20 metersrge and had nine-colored lightning.
Furthermore, the pressure suddenly increased to a ridiculous degree, as Ace now had to use more Qi to endure this pressure while the phantom behind him waspletely riddled with rune markings pulsing with seven-color lightning.
Not only that, he noticed that the Phantoms of Fallen Aspirants with seven-color lightning were quickly approaching from behind without any hint of dissipating, making his expression ugly.
''The sword heart is still going on, which is good news, so I would be safe to use it now since those phantoms are far more powerful, and using normal moves would make me waste my Qi.''
His eyes turned deadly cold as he moved his sword, and the next moment, a dark sword symbol suddenly appeared on his be.
''Heaven Sundering Sword: Sword of Mortal Heart!''
The dark sword symbol zed on his be, violently shaking the surrounding space. Qi surged through his body, following a peculiar pattern that resonated with the newfound power of his swords. With a final roar, Ace shed his des, leaving behind a trail of afterimages.
''Swish¡''
A blinding light erupted from his swords, momentarily banishing the chaotic lightning. Within that light, a single rune flickered ¨C it was the rune of his Mortal Heart.
It pulsed with an ethereal glow, imbued with all his defiance, determination, and unwavering spirit¡ªthis was the true essence of the Heaven Sundering Sword Secret Technique!
Then, with a deafening boom, the rune shattered, showering the path in a storm of pure willpower.
It ripped through the phantoms, their mournful wails cut short by an awful silence. Even the phantoms with nine-colored lightning, empowered by the heavenly punishment, were utterly annihted.
The attack then mmed into the lightning pirs. Instead of simply cleaving through them, it carved a gaping maw in the swirling vortex of electricity. The very air crackled with the aftereffects, a testament to the devastating power unleashed.
But this came at a heavy cost. Ace stumbled, his vision swimming. His body trembled with exhaustion, a deep ache resonating in his very core. He felt as if his very life force had been momentarily extinguished.
Yet, despite the debilitating drain, a spark of triumph flickered in his eyes.
"System, release all the EXP and SP I had saved, as well as convert the remaining Qi stones and Soul crystals and the sufficient materials in my thief''s space into EXP and SP until I fully recover¡"
Ace issued amand, using hisst resort, before dragging his drained body forward!
Chapter 1081 Cinderfall of Doubt (1)
Chapter 1081 Cinderfall of Doubt (1)
Once the system released the saved-up EXP and SP, as well as converted huge amounts of Qi stones, Soul crystals, and some grade-8 materials, Ace quickly felt rejuvenated as his exhausted Qi began to recover.
However, using the Sword of Mortal Heart not only drained his martial and Soul Qis but also put a huge strain on him mentally. Although he had never used this technique twice, he felt that he couldn''t use it a third time without getting cked out.
He didn''t want to waste any time, so he quickly used his movement ability to make his way towards the path ahead, which was nowpletely empty. But he didn''t dare to celebrate because sparks of nine-colored lightning had already begun to appear, and they were slowly bing potent as if desperately trying to return to normal.
On the other hand, the sword phantom behind him greedily absorbed those small nine-colored lightning sparks as if trying to undergo another change, and Ace was now really wondering just what kind of changes appeared after the sword cores entered the sword heart.
Ace left this toter, and for now, he fully focused on the path ahead. His speed was lightning-fast, but despite that, he still didn''t see the end of this path. He didn''t know at what distance the Sword of Mortal Heart had annihted the lightning pirs and the phantoms of fallen aspirants, but it was ridiculouslyrge. Even after traveling for over a 5000-meter distance, he could still feel the lingering aura of the Sword of Mortal Heart.
Suddenly, his expression morphed into one of utter disbelief. A new section of the path emerged, a vision straight out of someone''s worst nightmares.
The once translucent crystal road abruptly ended, reced by a seemingly endless sea of burningva. The molten rock churned and bubbled, its surface dancing with towering mes of an ethereal golden white.
The heat was unlike anything he''d ever experienced. Even at a distance, it felt as if his very soul was being seared, a primal fear taking hold. He could sense apleteck of any physical defense against this inferno.
A chilling voice resonated in his mind at that moment.
"[This is the intermediate section of the Ascension Primordial Path of Doom, the Path of Cinderfall of Doubt. Here, your soul and host will be tested. You''ll experience more pain the further you go, and you''ll start to doubt yourself and want to give up.]
"[But the moment you did, you''ll really sumb to the Cinderfall of Doubt''s mes and be part of it just like others before you. Only those with unbreakable willpower and the will to move power no matter the pain or hardship can pass through this ce.]
"[Moreover, because of your Heavenly Punishment, even the slightest flicker of fear, the faintest whisper of doubt, and you will be consumed by the mes. Only with unwavering resolve host will be able to pass.]
"[Most importantly, remember never to turn back while you''re in the Cinderfall of Doubt; no matter what, continue to move forward, or everything will be over! This is all the system can help you with!]"
Ace felt a cold chill running down his spine when he heard about the Cinderfall of Doubt''s exnation from the system. He gulped as he stared at the endless sea of burningva, the golden white mes licking hungrily at the air.
Even without taking a step in that Cinderfall of Doubt, the heat was an oppressive force, threatening to melt him from the inside out. Fear threatened to take root in his heart, but he mmed it down. He hade too far to give up because of some damn pain.
"Just to be clear, I just need to move forward without caring about those mes burning me and not to turn around?" Ace asked, still finding this ludicrous.
"[Yes, nothing will work here. This is a true test of the Primordial Ascension Path. No matter what happens, you just need to move forward without giving in to your pain and desires. If you were able to pass the Cinderfall of Doubt, your final reward from the Primordial Ascension Path would be even greater!]"
Ace cocked an eyebrow when he heard about this reward, "Even I can get a reward from Heavenly Punishment?"
"[This is the Primordial Ascension Path. Although its difficulty has increased to maximum because of the Heavenly Punishment, it can''t fully interfere or change its functions. The Primordial Ascension Path is fair. The more difficult it is to clear, the higher your reward will be. Heaven can''t interfere with it!]
"[System can tell you this that the final reward is the key to fully dissolving the seal on your bloodline!]"
Ace''s eyes narrowed as he wasn''t expecting this at all, and he finally understood why the system told him that the seal on his bloodline would be removed once he cleared the final heavenly punishment.
"So, it''s always been like this, huh?" Ace sighed as his eyes turned deadly cold.
When he thought about his sealed bloodline and his missing parent, he could find nothing about their whereabouts in the mortal sky heaven except superficial information about the White Crown.
Now, he was finally close to knowing about his lineage, and he won''t give up no matter what, not to mention he still has Eva and Alina, as well as his house members'' lives, bound with him, so he can''t die for both his and their sake. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
After adjusting his state of mind, he stepped into the Cinderfall of Doubt, the sea of mes. Unexpectedly, Ace thought that he would start to drown in theva, but nothing like that happened.
''Was that an illusion?''
Ace didn''t have time to wonder as he suddenly felt an inferno suddenly explode in his soul, and he almost lost consciousness because of the fiery pain. Ace clenched his teeth and endured and took a step forward while trying to ignore the burning sensation of his soul and body.
Even he could tell that his Qi waspletely useless here and the sword phantom behind him also vanished the moment he stepped into the Cinderfall of Doubt. This was truly the test of his willpower.
But soon, Ace understood why this section of the Primordial Ascension Path was called the Cinderfall of Doubt, as indistinctive whispers began to ring in his mind, together with pain!
Chapter 1082 Cinderfall of Doubt (2)
Chapter 1082 Cinderfall of Doubt (2)
In the middle of the white me sea, Ace was running at full speed for an unknown time while experiencing excruciating pain, and his head was buzzing with voices.
He didn''t know how much time had passed since he stepped in the Cinderfall of Doubt or how long it had been since he started to run, but the pain he was experiencing continued to grow.
At this moment, he felt as if his skin was melting and his insides were filled with burningva; with each breath, he felt like he was inhaling pure fire, so he stopped breathing to lessen his pain.
However, it wasn''t working, for that fire was directly burning his soul, and this was far worse and more painful than physically burning. Moreover, he had to actively focus so he wouldn''t lose himself in those voices.
"Give up~"
"The pain will be over; give up~" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Why are you still going? There''s no end to this ce; there is no hope. Give up!"
These voices kept buzzing in his head and bing stronger the deeper he ventured. But Ace keeps telling himself that it is just an illusion and that he can''t give in to these voices, or everything will be over.
However, after a long time passed, there was no trace of the Cinderfall of Doubt ending, and Ace, at some point, stopped using his skill and started walking at a very slow pace while his vision was now blurry.
But he still didn''t give up and continued forward. He even forgot if he was walking in a straight line anymore or had lost his way. The only thing on his mind was to keep moving forward, no matter what.
"Why are you trying so hard? Rest for a bit~"
He ignored it¡
"You''re just an insignificant speck of dust that can''t go against the wind, give up and ept your fate~"
He continued to ignore it¡
But as time went on, his mind was bing hazy because of the pain, he can''t feel anything but pain right now like he was burning and burning without dying and with each passing second that feeling grows.
Before he thought that he might be numb to the pain, but he had underestimated the Cinderfall of Doubt. Some kind ofw was making sure that he felt every second of pain until hepletely sumbed to it.
Furthermore, despite the pain, he could hear those voices loud and clear, and they were bing increasingly alluring.
"With just a thought, the pain will go away, you can rest, you can be free from everything, you will be free from your burden¡"
Ace stepped halted for a moment before he continued again, his pace was extremely slow.
"Ah, my little Ace has grown up into a handsome young man; let me see you!"
At this moment, Ace suddenly shuddered as his footsteps came to an abrupt halt when he heard this voice, which he hadpletely forgotten but could still tell who it belonged to.
"M-mom?" His voice was hoarse, and he suddenly felt his vision bing clearer.
"Yes, my little baby, it''s your mom; I''ve missed you so much." The gentle maternal voice rang again from behind him, "Look dear, our little Ace has grown up to be such a wonderful young man, sob*, how long we''ve waited for this moment to meet him finally, sob* sob*¡" The voice suddenly started to cry in pain and longing.
"Don''t cry, dear. It''s a happy moment for us all!" A deep voice with imposing power behind it rang, but this voice was filled with fatherly love.
Ace trembled even more as he knew this voice belonged to his Dad, ''They''re right behind me!?''
Ace was too tired, he was suffering in pain, he wanted to give up, he wanted to rest and leave all this behind, and now his long-lost parents were standing right behind him. He can be with them and live happily ever after.
But at this moment, just as he was about to turn around, the dark void within him suddenly trembled, and Heavenly Qi in his body started to circte. He suddenly stopped, dering, "No! What the hell I''m doing? I can''t turn around! This is just an illusion!"
Ace gritted his teeth and moved forward while his heart was filled with fear, he almost screwed himself over, and if not for the heavenly Qi''s sudden surge, he would''ve done something foolish.
"Why are you walking away from us?!" The woman''s voice rang again. "Do you hate us?? B-but we didn''t have a choice; we do everything to protect you!" She began to wail in a heartbreaking tone.
"Son! You can''t treat your mother like this; she has suffered so much for you, we have suffered so much for you!" The man''s voice was filled with pain and exhaustion.
"Tsk, this will not work again! I''m no longer in that strange state! You heard me, Cinderfall of Doubt! This will never work! You better find another way, but I''m not going to fall into your schemes!
"Even if you bring my parents back here, I will not put others'' lives at risk just for my own selfish desires. If you want to kill me, you have to do far better than this! I''m a thief, and a thief would never expose his weakness!"
Ace roared furiously as he was fuming with rage and killing intent was swirling in his eyes, he found this act of using his parents extremely disgusting and wanted to destroy this Cinderfall of Doubt.
After that, no matter what he heard, he moved forward, and for some unknown reason, he found himself more focused. Something deep within his body was losing. He felt the same thing when walking on the lightning path.
"Fufufu, how interesting. Someone was able to escape my clutches? How long has it been? Furthermore, I can''t read his entire memories. Now I understand why the difficulty suddenly reached maximum for this little doll. He''s an amusing one, and there''s something about him that reminds me of that man.
"Maybe, just maybe¡ no, even that man ended up falling; he''s nowhere near that level. But it''s still quite interesting. Alright, I''ve decided!" An ancient tantalizing voice filled with intrigue rang from the center of the Cinderfall of Doubt!
Chapter 1083 A Trapped Narcissist
Chapter 1083 A Trapped Narcissist
??Ace was still walking in the Cinderfall of Doubt, and after almost falling into a trap, he was doing everything to avoid slipping into that state again. He was using the pain to stay away, but it was too difficult to achieve since he had to stop himself from sumbing to the pain.
At this moment, Ace''s footsteps suddenly stopped abruptly, and his eyes narrowed because right in front of him, a small sphere of ck mes appeared!
''What is this?'' Ace was cautious. It was his first time seeing another color in this white me sea, and for some reason, this small sphere of me me gave him an eerie feeling.
He was about to avoid it by walking around it when a melodious, gentle voice rang, "I can help you get out of the Cinderfall of Doubt!"
This voice was strangely speaking in themon tongue of the Mortal Sky Heaven.
Ace''s eyes narrowed, and he couldn''t help but scoff, "Tsk, another trick; like hell, I''m going to fall for such an obvious trap!"
He started to walk around it, but then that me moved and again appeared in front of him, "Hey, hey, hey, this is not a trick! I''m real!"
Ace was startled. He looked at the ck me suspiciously and tried to ask the system, "What the hell is this system!?"
However, from the moment he entered the Cinderfall of Doubt, the system went dormant and didn''t reply to him, and now it was no different.
''If this were some kind of trial, the system would''ve already alerted me like before. So could it be this is real?'' Ace thought with an iffy look in his eyes.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Look, I know you''re doubtful, but I''m really not here to obstruct your way anymore. I''m even here in front of you, so you won''t have to turn back. Just listen to me!" The voice spoke again with a hint of annoyance.
"Since you can help me get out of this ce, then you want something in return, right?" Ace finally spoke, but he didn''t let his guard down.
"Fufufu, I like dealing with intelligent beings like you, little doll." The voice replied as if in a good mood, "Indeed, I want something from you in return, and if you agree, then not I can help you with the Cinderfall of Doubt, but I can directly send you to the end of the Primordial Ascension Path of Mortal Sky Heaven. You won''t have to pass the upper section of the path!"
Ace was startled, for he wasn''t expecting this response.
"Who are you?" He was really interested now, but he didn''t dare agree since he had no idea what this thing was or if it was even real.
"Fufufu, if I tell you, you might wet yourself, little doll!" The voice replied with disdain and arrogance.
Ace''s expression fell as he didn''t like this narcissistic remark, "I knew this was a waste of time."
Without hesitation, he began to walk away. When he crossed the ck me, despite feeling its eerie aura, nothing happened. He became even more sure that this was an illusion.
"What!? Y-you have no respect for your elders!" The ck me was startled before quickly chasing after Ace whileining, "Don''t ignore me, boy! If you make me angry, you''ll lose the biggest opportunity of your life."
Ace looked at the ck me following him and felt perplexed, "I''m not interested; I can pass this path on my own."
"Curses!" The voice cursed in annoyance, "Are the youngsters these days this arrogant? They had no respect for their elders! Damn it, stop ignoring this lord! If you still don''t believe me, you''ll have to believe after this!"
The ck me suddenly shimmered, and Ace thought it was about to attack him. He was ready to fight when the excruciating pain suddenly vanished!
Ace was bewildered as he no longer feels like his soul was burning nor his body, he looked at the ck me which seemed to be slightly lessen in size and his expression were stern and iffy.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" He asked again, but this time, he was serious and far more cautious since this thing might really be telling the truth.
But this just made it even more eerie since it could easily get rid of his pain that the system was helpless against.
"Fufu~ you finally willing to take me seriously? About damn time, you little rude brat!" The voice unhappily huffed.
''Is this some child?'' Ace really wondered, but he didn''t say it out loud and replied in a neutral tone, "Forgive me ignorance, but I can''t trust anyone in this ce. If you can just tell me who you are and what you want in return for your help, I can judge better."
"Tsk, greedy brat, you have no respect for your elders, do you?" The voice sarcastically remarked, "Sigh, I''ll be magnanimous and forgive your rudeness. As for who I am, I really can''t say out loud or even repeat with telepathy since it will draw a very troublesome fellow''s attention. If that hateful thing found that I''ve regained consciousness, it''ll be a huge hassle. Just call me Your Holiness! I''ll allow you this honor."
''What a narcissist crone!'' Ace thought, but he was still astonished despite this voice''s antics. If someone could talk to him in this ce, then they were nothing too normal.
After mulling it over, Ace asked, "Then, Your Holiness, what do you want in return for helping me?"
"Fufu~ you can be taught, little doll." The voice was very pleased when Ace finally called her ''Your Holiness'' and spoke grandly, "It''s very simple. Actually, I''ll give you an insignia, and you just have to take that insignia outside the Primordial Path of Mortal Sky. Simple, right?"
He was startled again, for this task was really simple¡ªtoo simple, actually. But he wasn''t an idiot. As someone who had seen many old monsters using mortals for their personal schemes, he knew better than to trust a ''gentle voice'' giving him free benefits.
''Just what is this insignia? Don''t tell me if I take it out, this thing will be set free? After all, if this is so simple, then why didn''t it do itself? Or why would it still be here since it could''ve asked others before me to do the same? After all, I''m not the only one who has ever stepped in this ce¡'' He thought grimly.
But who was Ace? He was a thief, and it wasn''t easy to trick him or do something to him. So, if he ys along well, he can easily trick this entric fellow.
Ace finally decided what to do and said, "Your Holiness, I ept your generous offer. Thank you for showing such kindness!"
"Fufufufu¡ you can indeed be taught, little doll!" The voice sounded very pleased, "Let''s fucking go~, I can finally see the light of day! Oh shoot, I thought out loud!"
A deadly silence suddenly falls between the two as Ace looks at the ck me strangely!
Chapter 1084 Unexpected Revelation
Chapter 1084 Unexpected Revtion
After a long silence, the voice spoke again: "Ahem, ignore what I just said; it was just a slip of the tongue. I''ve been here for a very long time and don''t have ''visitors,'' so imagine my emotions when I talk to someone. Sigh¡ what a lonely soul I am."
"I understand," Ace replied in a neutral tone without showing my reaction.
But inwardly, he was really wondering if this voice was either cunning or a loose-mouthed idiot who thought everything was the same mindset as herself. He had already expected this much, and truthfully, he didn''t care.
"NO! You understand shit!" The voice suddenly blurted out with resentment, "I just robe that bastard''s ancestral grave, or maybe a couple of them, but let me tell you, that fucking race totally deserved it!
"But that wasn''t warned for that swindler to steal my body and then trap my soul here! Can you imagine your body being stolen and your soul suffering for eons of istion?! Just thinking about it makes me angry! Once I get out of here, I''m going to unearth every ancestor of his race and let them soak in sunlight!"
''Grave robbing?'' Ace was speechless as it was the first time he had heard something so absurd.
Although he was a thief, he had never robbed anyone''s grave and wasn''t nning to unless it was necessary. Furthermore, from this voice''s tone, she wasn''t some lowly grave robber at all but seemed to be a master who even dared to rob a race''s ancestral graves that could trap her soul in the Primordial Ascension Path!
Moreover, she seemed to bepletely derailed from the topic and started to spout whatever wasing into her mouth. But Ace wasn''t going to believe anything since it could be nothing but a lie to earn his sympathy.
"Ahem, senior, you don''t have to worry about it; I''m willing to take you out of here." Ace finally spoke as he really didn''t want to know more about this grave robber since he wasn''t nning to keep the end of his deal at all.
After all, once he left here, he would nevere back, so as long as he got out of here, it was good enough. Furthermore, he noticed that the ck me was bing smaller.
He guessed that since this voice was calming itself to be trapped here and was afraid of drawing attention, it meant that what it could do was very limited, and he didn''t want it to run out of steam before it could help him with what it promised.
"OHH, really!? Damn it! I finally meet a decent man who doesn''t ask any useless questions. If you''re not so weak, and I''m not interested in men, I wouldn''t mind epting you as my concubinus!" The voice eximed.
''Concubinus!!'' Ace was utterly speechless and decided not toment on this topic, as he said, "Cough¡ senior, can you help me with the Primordial Ascension Path now? Oh, and I also want to know if I get the same rewards if you helped me or not?"
"Don''t worry, little doll, who do you think I am? Although I was trapped here, I wasn''t wallowing in my misery; I could now interfere with thews of this ce. I bet that hateful bastard didn''t expect that, huh? As long as you reach the end of this path, you''ll get everything you deserve no matter what; this is the absolute rule of this ce. I''ll just be opening a little backdoor for you, that''s all." The voice confidently replied, clearly very pleased with her work.
Ace felt relieved since he didn''t know what to do if it wasn''t possible. After all, he wanted to get rid of the seal on his bloodline, and if this interfered with that, he mightn''t have epted this help.
"Alright, I''m really if you are, senior," Ace replied respectfully.
"Call me Your Holiness! Senior sound cringy and old!" The voice retorted.
''You are OLD!'' Ace wanted to retort back in exasperation, but he held back; this woman was really a marvel, and he was d he didn''t have to see her again after he left this ce.
"Very well, Your Holiness!"
"Fufu, good." The voice was pleased with his obedience, "Now, since cats are already out of the bag, and you seem like a decent person, I won''t lie to you. The insignia I grant you will only have a portion of my actual soul, not the entire soul, since it is still sealed in this ce, and you can''t even fathom how powerful it is.
"Only after years of painstaking efforts was I able to sneak out just two portions of my soul, and this insignia, or without it, even a wisp of my soul, can''t leave this ce. But still, it is dangerous, very dangerous actually, so you need to keep that insignia in your inner world!"
Ace was astounded as he asked, "What inner world?"
"Oh, I forgot you''re only an elemental state cultivator, so you should have inner space, also known as Soul Space or martial space. Once you break into thew state, your martial space or Soul Space will be converted into the inner martial world or Inner Soul World.
"Anyhow, you need to ept the insignia into your inner space, which means you can''t resist because if you did, my efforts would go in vain. Afterward, I''ll fall into a dormant state for some time.
"But don''t worry, once your inner world is open, I should be able to regain consciousness, and I will be able to leave once you find me a decent body. I''m warning you beforehand because I don''t want any mishap, and I have no ill intent towards you or have any interest in your weak-ass body. I just want to search for my body and a way to free my soul from this damn ce. If you understand, then let''s start." The voice solemnly exined.
''Even if you have interest in my body, I don''t think the system would let you have it. If she did anything, she''ll only end up in a miserable state.'' Ace thought as he had full trust in the system''s capabilities.
However, right when Ace was about to agree, the system''s unexpected voice rang, and after he heard what it said, he was baffled by shock and disbelief. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"[Host should tell that he has the Soul Resurrection Bead!]"
"What? Why!? And why are you suggesting this? This ispletely out of your character. Do you know who she is?" Ace instantly asked the system, agitated since he was shocked by the system''s suggestion, which had never happened before.
"[System is notpletely sure, but she is powerful beyond your imagination despite being only a tiny wisp of her soul. Because not just anyone can fiddle with thews of the Primordial Ascension Path, even if just a tiny bit, she was able to interfere with them.]
"[So, she should also know many secrets. That''s why it is impossible to restrain her with the system''s current level. If she did anything, you''ll bepletely helpless against her.]
"[Furthermore, not just anyone can trap her here, so if the system is not wrong, then her entrapment here is rted to Heaven, and she can be a very good distraction if she could cause trouble for Heaven and draw it attention to herself than you.]
"[After all, if she was trapped here instead of getting killed, then this means she can''t be killed by normal means, or she might be part of some scheme of the Heaven.]
"[Most importantly, she would not take NO for an answer, so you should just tell her that you have the Soul Resurrection Bead, and even if she had a scheme against you, she wouldn''t hesitate to go for the Soul Resurrection Bead. Once she has it, she will leave you alone!]"
Chapter 1085 End of the Path (1)
Chapter 1085 End of the Path (1)
??Ace was gobsmacked when he heard the system''s exnation about this mysterious voice''s owner, and he had to admit the chances of this information being true were pretty darn high.
Furthermore, the system was clearly telling him not to mess with her or let her enter his body, or if she did something, even the system wouldn''t be able to do anything to prevent it.
As for the Soul Resurrection Bead, he got it when he tricked Winter into joining the Thief''s House. There was a soul hidden in her using this Soul Resurrection Bead, but the system got rid of it when she joined the Thief House.
But Ace didn''t know what it was used for or what its grade was since the system only told him its name while its grade and description were filled with question marks (???), so he almost forgot about it.
However, now that the system was telling him to exchange the Soul Resurrection Bead to draw this mysterious voice''s attention away from himself, it was quite sure that she would go for it. So, he could guess this Soul Resurrection Bead was quite important, even for an old monster like this voice.
Lastly, Ace was astounded by how the system evaluated this voice as having some kind of enmity with Heaven, and she might be important enough to draw Heaven''s attention away from him.
He knew that after what he had done in the ascension temple, his existence was fully exposed to Heaven, and from now on, his journey would not be easy, and he had fully epted this fact.
However, if this woman could help him with that, he wouldn''t mind causing some trouble for Heaven. In fact, he would love it do it anytime.
"Hey, why are you mute all of a sudden? Look, if you have any misgivings, I can assure you that it¡"
The voice was about to assure Ace again about the process when Ace cut her off in the middle, "You Holiness, do you know about the Soul Resurrection Bead?"
"Oh? Soul Resurrection Bead? What a nostalgic name¡" The voice said in astonishment, "How do you know about the Soul Resurrection Bead? Very few people know about it, especially this original name that should''ve vanished from the annals of history¡ WAIT!"
The voice suddenly screamed from mumbling as the ck me trembled, and she asked with a hint of agitation, "D-don''t tell me you have the Soul Resurrection Bead? Or why would you suddenly bring up this random name? This could only mean that you knew exactly what the Soul Resurrection Bead is used for and how important it is for a soul like me. Tell me the truth, boy, do you have it!?"
Ace was slightly surprised, as he could sense just how shocked this voice was after hearing the Soul Resurrection Bead name. From her tone, he could tell she was really agitated about finding out if he really had one or not. She might even turn hostile if she didn''t like her answer. Moreover, this also conformed to what the system said; she wanted the Soul Resurrection Bead more than anything!
"Yes, Your Holiness, I have the Soul Resurrection Bead!" Ace replied calmly.
The ck me trembled before a burst into wantonughter, "Fufufufufu¡ my luck is finally turning, about damn time!" She screamed in ecstasy before her focus turned to Ace, and suddenly, Ace felt a horrendous presence locked on him.
"Give it to me!" Her irrefutable words reeked of horrifying power and authority as if she were the ruler of everything. Even Ace felt like kneeling and kowtowing in front of her.
The pressure of the Path of Doom or the pain from the Cinderfall of Doubt was nothing in front of this presence. He finally understood why the system evaluated her power as ''beyond your imagination'', and he couldn''t help but sweat when he thought about how he wanted to trick this kind of existence.
But Ace couldn''t just hand over the Soul Resurrection Bead. What if she decided to go back on her deal or even killed him to keep this matter a secret?
So, he endured the pressure and the urge to prostrate himself in front of her and said, "Your Holiness, I''m nning on giving it to you from the start. There''s no need to use force, or why would I tell you about it if I don''t want to give it to you? But pleaseplete your part of the deal first, or even if you can kill me, you''ll never get the Soul Resurrection Bead because only I can get it. If you do not believe me, you can even check this storage ring in my hand and scan my body to see if I''m telling the truth or not."
Although it was a risky move, he didn''t want to be disadvantaged, and he knew that if the Soul Resurrection Bead were as important to her as he thought it was, then she wouldn''t risk killing him. After all, this was her only chance of freedom.
Just as he thought, the moment he said those words, the horrifying presence suddenly vanished, and herugh, which was filled with amusement but not anger, rang, surprising Ace.
"Fufufu, you at least have some backbone. Don''t worry; I''m not petty enough to kill my savior~. Besides, I''ve already checked your ring; if the Soul Resurrection Bead was there, I can assure you it would''ve long fallen into my hands whether you like it or not.
"I was just confirming whether you''re telling the truth or not. You''re very interesting¡ you have a space that can hide from even my detection. This just confirmed that you''re not ordinary at all. Very well, I''ve decided you''ll be the one!" she suddenly dered and sounded very pleased with herself.
Ace was startled by this sudden mood swing and that final verdict, which was giving him a bad feeling for some reason.
"Umm, I don''t get it?" Ace asked with an iffy expression.
"Fufufu, since you''re going to give me the Soul Resurrection Bead, sending you to the end of the Primordial Ascension Path is nowhere near enough to repay you for your favor. So, I''ve decided that you''ll be my Steward!" She dered.
Ace''s expression changed slightly. He didn''t want to have anything to do with this old ghost, who seemed to be very troublesome. He just wanted to set her free so she could cause trouble for Heaven, not bring that trouble to him. Not to mention, bing a Steward was the least of what he was expecting.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Your Holiness, I''m very content with our previous agreement, and I''m not worthy of this noble status; I''m too dumb! So, there''s no need to trouble yourself." Ace politely declined.
"Fufu, at least you know what kind of opportunity I''m bestowing upon you. But you don''t have to worry. Once I''ve decided on something, even thews can''t change it. So, there''s no trouble, no trouble at all, my dear Steward~!"
Ace was perplexed, as he knew there was no escaping it now, and couldn''t help but sigh in frustration. He decided that once he got out here, he would make sure to run as far away from this ''Master'' of his as possible, and she wouldn''t be able to find him anyway because of his abilities.
"Steward White, greet Master!" So, he finally decided to get it over with, and it wasn''t like he hadn''t done something like this before.
"Fuu~ good, very good; as your master, I should give you the key of my treasuries to handle, but they are hidden somewhere; once I collect them, I''ll give you the key to handle them properly.
"Moreover, now that I''m your master, you have to help your pitiful master search for her body; I''m counting on you, my Steward!"
Ace was astonished when he heard the early part, but that astonishment turned into stupefaction, and he felt something amiss.
His new master didn''t give him any chance to respond and said, "Let''s get out of here, my steward!"
The ck me suddenly enveloped bbergasted Ace, and they both vanished from the sea of mes.
Although Ace got a master out of the blue, he was nning on running away. However, what he hadn''t expected was that this was just a pipe dream, and he would curse this very day in the future, the day when he met his first-ever Thief Master!
Chapter 1086 End of the Path (2)
Chapter 1086 End of the Path (2)
??At this moment, Ace''s hooded figure appeared in front of a path, narrowed to a single, precarious bridge. It arched across an endless chasm of pure, white lightning, the very embodiment of heavenly wrath.
The bridge itself was a shimmering construct of pure energy, its surface shifting and pulsating like a living organism.
Ace''s heart raced wildly when he noticed something. Across the bridgey a gateway that shimmered with vibrant colors and overflowing energy.
''Is that the end of the Primordial Ascension Path?'' Ace thought as his eyes were affixed on the other side of this bridge. But he didn''t dare take a step forward and looked towards the ck me, which seemed to have shrunk quite a lot.
"Sigh!" She inhaled deeply, "I didn''t think just bringing you here would take up so much of my soul power. No worries, it was all worth it. My dear Steward, this is the Bridge of Ascension, also called the Bridge of Change.
"Once you step on it, the Primordial Ascension Path will mark it as you have passed all the trials, and the Baptism of Primordial Laws, which might be known as the ascension, will begin.
"It is also your reward. Once your baptism ispleted, you will break free from your elemental state and ascend from the Mortal Sky Heaven. Your inner space will evolve into an inner world ording to the cultivation technique you practiced.
"Your Elemental Body will turn into a Law Body governed by your innatew or Prime Law while the rest of yourws will turn into your supplementaryws or Supportive Laws to strengthen your inner world. The morew you haveprehended up to the Advanced Realm, the more powerful yourw body will be.
"However, if your innatew or thew you awakened at the start of your journey from your cultivation technique is only subpar, then this is your chance to change it and turn a more powerfulw into your Prime Law.
"But there is also a catch, which is, the more powerful and profound thew you make your Prime Law, the harder it will be to advance in the Law State. For example, if your innate element is Sword or basic elements, but you choose to make the Space or Time Laws your Prime Law, then you will not only have to find the corresponding cultivation technique but also learn thosews to satisfactory stages to break through further.
"Because withoutpleting these requirements, your cultivation will never increase no matter which type ofw youprehend or how high yourwprehension is.
"Simply put, your Prime Law is directly connected to your future cultivation journey, so choose wisely. I will not interfere with your decision because you know yourself the best. All I have for you is this advice.
"But it goes without saying that as my Steward, your Prime Law should be equally profound, or you''ll only drag my face through the mud!" She dered solemnly, her words also containing a warning.
However, Acepletely ignored her final words, and he was more focused on the rest of the information.
''So that''s the secret behind the Law State, and it seemed my future journey would depend on the Prime Law. But Eva didn''t mention it before. Could it be she would only know after she undergoes her tribtion?
''If the Prime Law will be decided ording to the cultivation technique I''ve practiced up until now, then what will be my Prime Law?
''After all, if I consider following the norm, then I have two innatews: the Dark Wind and the Despair Lightning. Furthermore, I don''t think I have to worry about a cultivation technique since the system would give me a new one.
''Then all that remains is for me to walk on this bridge and see what the system does. I don''t think it would be a problem at this point.''
"Thank you, Master, for your advice." Ace still thanked his new ''master'' for this information.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Fufu, it''s the least I can do as your master. I have another advice for you, and following it is your decision.
"I''ve already noticed your Sword Law. You haveprehended the Sword Heart already, and it is even a mutated Sword Heart, unlike anything I''ve ever seen before.
"But you shouldn''t choose the Sword Law as your Prime Law because Sword Law is only a part of Weapon Law, which is then part of the War Law. If you ever encounter someone with Weapon Law, your inner world will be naturally suppressed, and the same goes for the person who has the War Law; the suppression will be even more powerful.
"In the not-so-distant future, you''ll learn about the Branch Laws and their Mother Laws. The Sword Law is a Branch Law of Weapon Law, and Weapon Law is the Branch Law of War Law. The War Law is the Mother Law of all weapons, ughter, and many more. A branchw has natural suppression towards its Mother Law.
"Even the Four Basic elements, Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth, are branches of Nature Law. So, whether you want to be mediocre or supreme, the choice is yours." She stated in a lukewarm tone as if she didn''t care about what Ace would choose.
However, in truth, she was curious and wanted to see if Ace was a genius who hadprehended Mother Law and if he had the ambition to walk the path of a Supreme. This would also decide whether Ace would have her interest or not.
Ace was again shocked by this revtion as it was his first time hearing about it, and he started to understand just how knowledgeable this new ''master'' of his was. It suddenly found it not too bad to have such an encyclopedia as a master.
"I understand." Ace nodded as he didn''tment on it further.
He knew better than anyone what kind ofws he had, and he also slightly understood the nature of Laws like the Sin and Evil ult. They were probably the Mother Lawsbined with otherws. Then what about the Darkness that was even above those two horrifyingws?
Suddenly, Ace felt deep anticipation about this and didn''t want to waste more time. He flipped his hand, and a small crystal bead with ck ethereal patterns appeared.
"Soul Resurrection Bead! You were not lying to me, and you also seemed to have a space-type innate ability that I can''t see through; how interesting! Fufufu!" The voice instantly recognized the Soul Resurrection Bead and started tough like crazy.
The next moment, the Soul Resurrection Bead suddenly started to float from Ace''s hand and flow towards the ck me. Ace didn''t stop it since he didn''t want any trouble with this entric voice.
After all, since she had kept part of their deal and even gave him this precious information, he would keep his promise. The thought of tricking her had long vanished from his head; it was simply not worth it.
Besides, the Soul Resurrection Bead was just rotting away in his thief''s space, and he didn''t even know how to use the darn thing or its true abilities. However, it was quite clear that it was an astonishing treasure since even this powerful existence was enticed by it.
The Soul Resurrection Bead suddenly shimmered when it touched the ck me releasing a powerful soul aura, and she eximed, "Fuck! It''s even the real thing, not a replica! Just where did you get it, and how did it end up in such a barren ce? It''s not like I care since it ended up benefiting me.
"Alright, little Steward, I''m going to transfer the portal of my soul in it. You can start with the Bridge of Ascension. No need to worry about me." Done saying the ck me with the Soul Resurrection Bead vanished.
''Is she really gone?'' Ace was astounded, and after confirming that there was no one there, he found it strange.
Nheless, Ace didn''t care as he looked at the bridge with shining eyes, and he quickly took his first step towards the ascension!
Chapter 1087 Bridge of Ascension
Chapter 1087 Bridge of Ascension
The moment Ace stepped on the Bridge of Ascension, all of a sudden, the white lightning below the bridge suddenly surged towards him!
Ace was shocked by this, but for some reason, he didn''t feel any oppression from this surging white lightning. However, he didn''t dare to let his guard down and thought grimly, ''Could it be that old ghost tricked me?''
Just when this thought came into his mind, the system prompt rang in his mind,
=====
[Congrattion, Host, on sessfully crossing the Primordial Ascension Path of Doom!]
---
[The Primordial Baptism of Laws is about to start!]
---
[Nature''s Dark Elemental Orb absorption has beenpleted!]
[Special Reward: Dark Qi [Martial & Soul]]
---
[Host has sessfully gathered all Eight Elemental Core Essences, [Earth, Metal (tinum), Fire (Yang), Water (Ice), Wind (Azure Wind), Lightning, Light, and Dark)!] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
[Congrattion, Host, forpleting the Heavenly Crystal Body!]
[The Host haspleted the Heavenly ck & White Wind Soul Core and thus sessfully created theplete Heavenly Soul Nuclei!]
[The Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique (Vol.1) has been 99%plete!]
---
[The final 1%, the merging of Martial Space and Soul Space, will beplete during the Primordial Baptism of Laws!]
[Primordial Law Body construction will begin!]
---
[Please Select your Prime Law!]
-1. Darkness Order (Rmended)
-2. Heavenly Despair Lightning (Martial Law)
-3. Heavenly Dark Wind (Soul Law)
[NOTE: Please select wisely, for there will be no going back once the Law Body ispleted!]
=====
Ace was surprised when he heard the system''s prompt because he wasn''t expecting that his Martial and Soul Space would merge together since they were twopletely different entities.
Furthermore, he was really given a choice to select a Prime Law. Of the three choices, two were his innate elements, while the other was the Order of Darkness, and the system even rmended it for this selection.
''After learning about the Prime Law''s significance and about the rtionship between the Branch Laws and Mother Laws, I was already suspecting that the Darkness would be my Prime Law since it came from Order. So, there''s no point in even thinking about it.''
"I select the Darkness Order!" Ace chose without hesitation, and at that moment, the white lightningpletely enveloped him.
He didn''t resist since this was the baptism he had been warned about, and it seemed to be the key topleting the Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique (Vol.1) as well.
However, what Ace wasn''t expecting was the moment the white lightning touched his body, his body started to incinerate!
He didn''t even have time to screen because it was simply too painful and too quick. His skin turned into dust, revealing his bare muscles and blood vessels. Thereafter, they turned into dust as well, revealing his bones, and lightning also ground them away.
What was left of Ace was now two spheres, one ethereal ck and white sphere in the ce of his head, the other corporeal pitch ck, and a sword mark in his heart position, which seemed to be absorbing this white lightning greedy and pulsing in excitement.
But despite his entire body being incinerated, Ace was fully conscious because his soul still remained.
The moment his mortal body turned to dust, white lightning suddenly poured into the martial and Soul Spaces.
=====
[Primordial Law Boy construction has begun with Prime Law (Darkness Order)]
=====
System emotionlessly announced, and the next moment, dark blue chains shot out from his martial space and directly prated the soul space. Thus, the two spheres began to pull towards each other!
The white lightning began to churn and enter the two spheres even more furiously.
At this moment, within his martial space, the dark lightning sea was fully covered by white lightning. His heavenly Qi hadpletely gone, and cracks had appeared around the entire martial space. Ace''s martial soul was also covered with this white lightning.
Only the dark void was fine, and dark blue chains were shooting out from it and pulling the soul space towards it.
The same scene takes ce in his soul space, and even the Eternal Thief Fate Compass is covered in lightning and trembling, but it doesn''t seem to be on the verge of any danger.
Then something strange happened. The spheres that represent each element that Ace had awakened after absorbing the elemental cores, around the ck-and-white soul core, which was now like a dying star, suddenly had dark blue chains appear and prate them.
Then, the eight-element spheres pulled outside the soul space when the martial space and the soul space were about to collide together and formed a circle around the two.
The dark blue chains suddenly lit up in dark runes, which seemed to have activated something. Both spaces suddenly shimmered in identical runes, and the element spheres suddenly shone brilliantly as fine threads started to shoot out from them and weave around the two spheres in a runic.
This runic made with the element spheres seems to help the two spaces merge and weave together. Ace, who was feeling excruciating pain, suddenly felt warmness filling every part of his being.
The sword mark was greedily absorbing the lightning when it suddenly trembled. It shot directly toward the merging spheres and vanished.
Just when the spheres were almostpletely merged together, from the reaming part of Ace''s soul space which was also his true soul, a menacing crimson symbol suddenly appeared.
The crimson symbol has an extremely vile aura, and then suddenly, it takes the shape of the face of the devil from the depths of hell.
However, this action seemed to have infuriated the white lightning, and it directly surged towards it.
The devil''s face let loose blood, blood-curdling, bone-chilling screams before it waspletely incinerated, and the crimson symbol on his true soul shattered.
Ace was unaware of it, but the moment the symbol shattered, he suddenly felt free from some kind of shackle, and a foreign power suddenly surged within him.
At this moment, the system''s prompt rang.
=====
[The Bloodline Seal (Devil''s Malediction of Destion) on host Bloodline has been sessfully removed!]
[Human Bloodline: Aetherial Crowned Empyrean has been unsealed!]
[Forbidden Bloodline: Child of Darkness has been unsealed!]
=====
Chapter 1088 Secret Hidden Within (1)
Chapter 1088 Secret Hidden Within (1)
"Mmm~hmm~mmhmm~hmmm~hmm~!" A melodious melody being hummed by a woman rang in Ace''s ears. He found it very soothing and strangely familiar!
''Where am I?'' Ace''s vision became clear, and he was astounded when he found himself standing in front of an extremely beautiful woman. Goddess was the only word to describe her beauty, and she was sitting with a little baby cocooned in a golden runic nket, cradled in her arm.
She was humming that tone for that baby with a loving smile on her face as the little baby was cooing happily in his mother''s embrace and dandling his hands towards her peerless face while looking at her with his big starry dark blue eyes filled with curiosity and vaguely intelligent. His eyes were just like his mother''s.
Ace felt his mind go nk as he stayed in a daze like a statue, watching this harmonized scene, which was unfamiliar to him yet familiar at the same time.
Because the woman with the baby was none other than his Mother, Ste White, and that baby was most likely himself, he didn''t know why but was 100% sure. He finally remembered his mother''s face!
He was bewildered and incredulously thought, ''What the hell is this? Some kind of vision because of the Bridge of Ascension? '' I was clearly undergoing the Law Body construction when I suddenly heard the system''s voice about something, but I was in that strange suspended animation-like state where all I could feel was pain and then warmth.
''And now I''m suddenly seeing this strange vision? Is this some kind of test? T-Then why I''m feeling this strange foreboding feeling and pain in my heart as I look at this? It''s like something bad is about to happen¡''
"System, what is this?" Ace tried calling the system, and even the status interface, but nothing happened, and he found this situation more amiss, and he couldn''t do anything about it.
So, he decided to investigate what was happening. He noticed one thing, though; he seemed to be invisible. Ste didn''t notice him at all despite him standing right in front of her, and she continued to y with baby Ace.
''I-I¡ let me observe it for a bit, and then I''ll try looking around!'' Ace thought as his eyes were affixed on his mother''s smiling face. He found her humming extremely rxing and wanted to hear more.
It was a feeling of longinging from deep within his soul as if he had waited for ages to hear that melody, and he would''ve given anything away to return to this scene.
"Bang!"
The sound of the door mming open rang at this moment, startling Ste and baby Ace. The adult Ace was shocked as he looked towards the door with narrowed eyes. Unbeknownst to him, his eyes turned icy, with a hint of killing intent in them.
An imposing, tall, wizened old man with long ck hair and a masculine build entered the room, and following closely behind him were two more.
A middle-aged man greatly resembled this old man. He was very handsome and slightly burly built, and his astute amethyst eyes were filled with hidden desire as he looked at Ste.
The third one was a woman with long white hair. Although she wasn''t as beautiful as Ste, she was still beautiful, like a fairy in the mortal world. Yet her golden eyes contained deep jealousy and malice as she looked at Ste like a snake waiting to strike and reveal its venomous fangs.
Ste''s sapphire eyes narrowed when she saw those three suddenly barging into her room. Her eyes shed with a hint of disgust when she was the middle-aged man, and she was especially vignt when she looked towards the golden-haired woman. Baby Ace was looking at those three with curiosity silently.
On the other hand, adult Ace, who was observing this, was trembling as hatred and rage suddenly filled his heart, like he was staring at his greatest mortal enemies; his killing intent exploded, especially when he saw that man and woman.
Stepletely ignored those two and looked towards the wizened man. While standing up and lowering her head slightly in greeting, she politely asked, "Father-inw, what brought you here today so abruptly?"
Ace was shocked when he heard his mother calling that wizened man ''Father-inw'' and couldn''t help but look at the old man''s narrowed eyes, ''Is he my real Grandfather? But why didn''t I remember this at all!? Is it a trick, or is it real, and why am I feeling this surging rage and hatred for them?''
Ace was extremely confused, it was getting harder and harder to calm himself like he would explode at any moment. He was no longer calm and was feeling anxious and restless.
But he knew this was just some kind of illusion and the people in this room couldn''t see him. This only made him even more uncertain and jittery.
The wizened man didn''t reply. Instead, he averted his eyes from Ste and looked towards baby Ace in her hands. She was also looking back at him with inquisitiveness and even shed an innocent smile at him.
A hint of difort shed past the wizened man''s eyes before cold determination reced it. However, this small change in the man''s expression didn''t go unnoticed by Ste. She instinctively squeezed baby Ace tighter, and her eyes went cold in warning.
"Ste, I owe you an exnation. First, look at this." The wizened old man didn''t answer. Instead, he flipped his hand, and an ethereal ck stele that seemed to be carved with the starry space itself appeared. There were shimming golden runes on it, seemingly alive.
He then gently pushed that ck stele towards Ste, and it slowly drifted near her. However, Ste didn''t dare grab it with her hands; instead, an invisible force flowed from her eyes, and that stele stopped a few meters away from her, shing the runes on it. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ste''s eyes winded when she saw those runes, "The God Runes!"
Ace was also able to see the runes on the stele at this moment, and his eyes widened slightly as he thought grimly, ''Language of Ancient Gods!''
Chapter 1089 Secret Hidden Within (2)
Chapter 1089 Secret Hidden Within (2)
??Ste''s eyes seemed mysteriously swirling as she stared at the ck stele. After observing it for a little while, she finally looked towards the wizened man and asked, "What''s the meaning of this?" Her tone was deadly cold.
"Little sister Ste, are you pretending to be ignorant? Everyone in the ??? Heaven knows the Alexandros n is the most proficient in deciphering the God Runes, and you are the most talented heir of the Alexandros n they have ever seen. You should''ve already recognized some characters!" The golden-haired woman replied with a hint of scorn before the wizened man could.
A faint starry lightning shed past Ste''s eyes at this moment, making the golden-haired woman''s expression pale, "Ahhh!" She moaned in pain.
"Enough!" The wizened man suddenly released his aura, and the golden-haired woman''splexion returned slightly. He then nced at her coldly and uttered in an irrefutable tone, "If you dare to speak again, you''ll suffer a penalty!"
The golden-haired woman''s eyes shed with a hint of fear as she quickly looked down in submission, but a malicious expression changed her fearful look.
The middle-aged man''s expression also turned slightly ugly, but he didn''t speak. He nced at Ste coldly and waited for the widened man to continue.
The widened man then shifted his focus to Ste again and spoke, "This ck stele was given to House White''s progenitor by a mysterious entity. ording to House White''s annals of history, this mysterious entity was the reason behind the Progenitor''s rise, and only because of this mysterious entity was House White able to stand in this lofty position today.
"This ck stele was bestowed to the Progenitor at the same time with an opportunity, and it contained an absolute prophecy that has been passed from generation to generation in House White. A prophecy that predicts not only the House White but also the doom of the entire ??? Heaven!
"You might not have known about this, but the entire alliance has known about this prophecy, even your Alexandros n. In fact, your Progenitor deciphered it for our Progenitor!
"The God Runes on the stele interpret a prophecy that was called by that entity [The Song of Dawn, Whisper of Doom].
"A babe of light, a herald''s song, Across thend, a melody strong. Twin beasts of fortune, a celestial dance, a fiery bloom, Golden light dispels the earthly gloom. For fortune''s smile, a fleeting guest, May shroud in darkness, all it blessed.
"But shadows lurk in the joyous light, A creeping dark, a starless night. The owl''s wing, a chilling breeze, A whispered doom on gilded knees. The light devours, a ravenous night, Hope withers, swallowed by endless blight.
"Heed the discord in the heavenly choir, The flicker of me, the dying pyre. Flee, child of dawn, from a shadowed guise, For light''s embrace may be a sweet disguise. Darkness beckons, a twisted delight, Despair, and Death, a chilling sight.
"Lost in a paradox, a twisted dream, Where light itself fuels a nightmare''s scheme. When darkness sings, it sees the sun''s embrace, But light reveals only an empty space!" Slowly, he spoke word for word while closely monitoring Ste''s wilting expression.
"What do you mean by this?" Ste asked cryptically, and at that moment, an invisible barrier appeared around the baby.
''Sigh¡'' A long sigh escaped the widened man as he clearly noticed her action, for he was beyond powerful. He gently said, while trying to hide his own helplessness, "After Progenitor got this interpretation, he didn''t believe it right away; he didn''t dare to ignore Progenitor Alexandros''s words either.
"Progenitor Alexandros also knew the gravity of those words, so he suggested cing this stele into the alliance so future generations could also decipher it. Who knows, his interpretation might be wrong.
"Thus, for a very long time, every Sage of the alliance spent a vast amount of time deciphering this prophecy, and in the end, it emphasizes the same thing; both the rise of a ''Babe'' and the doom brought by this ''Babe''.
"Everyone reached the same conclusion; if this really happened, then the ''Babe'' should be dealt with without any mercy or whomever it belonged to. But nothing like that happened, as countless geniuses were born in House White, and all were monitored without any reserve.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"However, when my Grandson Ace was born two days ago, celestial music could be heard from hundreds of miles away, auspicious dragons and phoenixes danced in the sky, and the sky was filled with golden celestial radiance.
"Everyone witnessed that scene, Peerless Beyond Beginning and End; that''s what White Sage expressed. I was happy beyond imagination about his talent and future. But then¡" His expression went dark, "That strange phenomenon, in the end, urred when that strange appalling darkness suddenly appeared and spread like doom and then devoured everything. The Sages strongly reacted to this, and after a long debt, they reached the same conclusion¡"
At that moment, his eyes fell on the smiling baby, and his heart ached as he said these words with absolute reluctance, "My Grandson Ace might be the prophesize ''Babe'' in the ancestral prophecy. So, effective immediately, he was to be sent to the Alliance for further monitoring. But don''t worry; I can assure you¡"
"STOP!" Ste literally screamed as powerful undtions released from her like tide waves, and the bright room suddenly turned dark as her sapphire was glowing with killing intent.
On the other hand, Ace waspletely appalled when he heard this conversation, which sounded familiar yet unfamiliar. It was like he had heard it before but didn''t understand it and had forgotten it long ago.
However, he didn''t have the mind to pay any heed to this strange detail because Ace felt cold creeping all over his body from the contents of this conversation. He didn''t know if this was just a nightmare or something he had experienced long ago.
But one thing was clear; this might not be just a dream. Instead, he''s remembering something from the time when he was born, which should have been impossible.
Furthermore, from their conversation and current situation, Ace has a pretty good idea of what this was about; it was exactly what he always wanted to know!
But for some reason, he was calm despite feeling a sense of betrayal. There was also a lingering fear as if something unbearable was about to happen. Lastly, he was feeling RAGE, enough rage to want to destroy everything and bring about this impending doom!
Furthermore, he feels even more rage towards the ''mysterious entity'' that foretold this horrendous obsolete prophecy!
Chapter 1090 Secret Hidden Within (3)
Chapter 1090 Secret Hidden Within (3)
??"You will not touch my SON!" Ste growled, her voiceced with raw power, "This prophecy... Even if it is inscribed in God Runes, it doesn''t mean it is going to be entirely true, not to mention there is no proof the Babe in this prophecy is my son!
"If you''re just suspecting him because of the darkness phenomena, then why don''t you guys go in the ??? and capture that Princess who was born on the same day as my son? I''ve heard that an ancestral devil appeared in her shadow when she was born, and darkness spread whenever she cried! I think she''s more like that babe in the prophecy than my innocent son!"
The wizened man paled under her gaze. He knew Ste''s strength, but defying the alliance would be reckless. However, he couldn''t find any to refute her since he knew Ste had a point.
However, the problem was that this prophecy was pointed toward the House White, not toward anyone else. If it were this easy, he would be the first to use this tactic since he was not heartless enough to do such a thing to his first grandson.
In fact, he was the happiest when Ace was born, but with just one damn phenomenon, everything changed, and he can''t defy the Sages, or it won''t be good for House White.
Between his own Grandson and House White, Leonard White will always choose House White, for he is its current Head!
"Sister-inw, you''re speaking as if we are vile viins who want to harm my precious nephew. He has to live in the Alliance for some time until the Sages are satisfied and confirm he''s not the babe in the prophecy." At this moment, the middle-aged man finally spoke with a gentle smile on his face, appearing very amiable.
However, Ste''s eyes were filled with disgust as she merely nced at him and disdainfully stated, "Brother-inw, how about you trying to say the same thing in front of your Big Brother, my husband?"
The middle-aged man, James White, who was also Leonard White''s youngest son and Owen White''s little brother, paled a little and couldn''t help but feel a chill running down his spine when he thought about his short-tempered brother. He decided to keep his mouth shut.
On the other hand, Ethel, the golden-haired woman who is also James''s wife, shows a hint of contempt for her cowardly husband. Owen White was James White''s trauma!
"Ste, think clearly," Leonard said gravely, "If you don''tply with the Sages, nothing good wille out of it. Let us resolve this in peace. Even your House Alexandros''s Sages are working with House White Sages to ensure Ace won''t suffer any harm."
Ste''s expression went colder when she heard that her house name was involved in this matter, and truthfully, she loath them all.
"Let''s assume nothing would happen to him," She said in a neutral tone, "But what if he turned out to be the child in the prophecy? Who will guarantee his safety? We all know that the Sages only have their own interests in mind and do nothing but scheme all day long.
"My son has talent that has never been seen in ??? Heaven, which is not only a danger to the Sage''s interests but many more. If you ask me, I think they are just using this prophecy as an excuse to suppress my son''s talent or make sure he won''t rebel against them. If he doesn''tply¡" Killing intent swirled in her eyes as they turned into ck holes, "So, I won''t give away my son to the Sages to turn him into their puppet. Even if I have to sacrifice my life, I''ll make sure of his safety!"
Witnessing this whole drama unfold, Ace couldn''t help but feel warmth in his heart seeing his heroic mother willing to stake her life for him. He cursed himself for being unfilial and for even thinking about his parents, who had abandoned him back then.
As for the others in the room, he didn''t have any good feelings towards them. In fact, he hated them for conspiring against an infant, especially this ''alliance'' and ''sages.'' He wanted to know where they were and steal everything, including their lives.
''I hope nothing had happened to her. But where is my father when something like this is happening to his wife and son? Moreover, this most likely hadn''t ended peacefully since I still ended up with that bloodline seal¡ wait, I''m really thinking this is all real now?''
Ace sighed but didn''t think more about it as he was anxious about his mother. He couldn''t help but feel ashamed when he saw his baby self still happilyughing.
Ignorance was really bliss, and for an innocent baby, this was just gibberish of adults, and as long as he was in his mother''s embrace, he would never feel afraid.
"Tsk, I''ve told you that stubborn girl won''tply peacefully!" An annoyed voice rang at this moment, and Leonard''s expression went ashen.
"Don''t you dare harm my n''s heiress!" An impassive voice a woman''s rang in warning.
Ste''s expression also changed as she felt her heart sinking to the bottom of the abyss because she knew things were turning hectic. Despite being confident in her abilities to escape from Leonard, she didn''t have the same confidence in the owners of these voices.
The next moment, the fabric of space suddenly lifted like curtains, and powerful auras beyond imagination enveloped everyone in the hall. Behind the torn space were gigantic silhouettes glowing in otherworldly radiance like revered deities.
Even baby Ace, who was amusingly smiling a moment ago, stopped and looked in the direction where the space had been tear-opened with curiosity. He was fully protected by his mother''s aura; she wouldn''t let anything happen to him.
The adult Ace was the most shocked about this as he witnessed this absurd scene. Despite knowing it was just a memory or an illusion, he still felt horrifying prowess, just like his new ''master''s'' from those multiple silhouettes.
Furthermore, his eyes began to burn as he tried to see through their radiance as if a mortal was trying to peer into the burning sun.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
''Are they the sages they were talking about?'' Ace wondered with a grim expression. He still felt the same way despite knowing how ridiculously powerful they were!
Chapter 1091 Secret Hidden Within (4)
Chapter 1091 Secret Hidden Within (4)
"Ste, we mean no harm to my descendant; we''ll return him to you safe and sound once we confirm he''s no threat to the ??? Heaven!" A gentle voice drifted from the space tear, which was extremely soothing and amiable.
This voice had a strange power presence that affected even Ace. He felt like all his negative feelings were nothing but an illusion and felt extremely peaceful.
But then, suddenly, something deep within him jolted, and his zealous expression turned back to normal. He was bewildered and became even more vignt as he looked at those Sages. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
''With just a few words, he almost brainwashed me, who wasn''t even present at that moment! Just how ridiculously powerful they are? No wonder my mother didn''t want to hand me over to them. I might''ve really turned into a puppet without even realizing it!'' Ace felt a chill in his spine as he got to experience the tiny fragment of Sage''s capabilities.
However, despite that strange power in this Sage''s voice, Ste remained headstrong and red at them with an unkind gaze, "Tell me this, O'' wise Sages, was the appearance of that monster an hour ago in our territory really just a coincidence?
"Or did you guys release it there to make sure my husband wasn''t present when you tried stealing his son? But let me tell you something that only my Husband knows, and that is¡" Ste''s body suddenly began to radiate in otherworldly brilliance as her silhouette seemed to grow infinitelyrger.
Witnessing this scene, Leonard, James, and Ethel were bbergasted while the silhouettes behind the space tear trembled in astonishment like they were witnessing someone out of a fairy tale.
"A SAGE!"
"How is this possible? We weren''t alerted about this!"
"This changes everything. If we fight her in Heaven, we''ll cause huge destruction to nature andws, and this will provoke Heaven''s Wrath!"
"She''s a lunatic, even daring to release her Sage Brilliance in Heaven!"
The sages started to make a fuss in agitation. They were clearly surprised and also apprehensive.
Even Ace was bbergasted. He didn''t know what to feel as he looked at his mother''s brilliant radiance, which was extremely warm and gentle, giving him apletely opposite feeling from those Sages.
"You all miscalcted. I became Sage before my husband, and just like him, I''m not interested in joining your alliance, which only knows how to scheme all day long and can''t make progress because you all are trapped by your own narrow-minded, power-hungry mindset.
"Anyway, this makes me even stronger than my dear. So, I want to ask you all again, do you still fancy the Son of two Sages?" Ste spoke at this moment, and her words wereced with killing intent that changed the colorful world around her into colorless. This was the power of a Saint
''Even I was tricked by her. I guess I need to distance myself from the alliance if I want to take that final step and be like her.'' Leonard couldn''t help but smile wryly as he looked at the world around him that had lost colors and couldn''t help but think about a famous saying, ''When a Sage Speaks, the World Listens!''
Just as Ste''s overbearing voice trailed off and the sages were still contemting this unexpected news of her being a Sage, a tear in the space opened not far away from Ste''s handsome, tall man with long ck hair and imposing demeanor walked out.
"Did I just hear someone wants to steal my son?" His voice was like a thunderp and filled with dense killing intent.
Leonard shook his head in frustration at the entry of this imposing man. ''We missed our chance, and everything is about to be feverish. Although the alliance arranged the blocking formations so she wouldn''t send Owen any signal, they had miscalcted her prowess.
''If they wanted to stop a Sage from doing something, it would''ve taken far more time, and they were in too much hurry to get Ace. Well, I guess in the end, my grandson will be protected, and I don''t have to live with such a sin and pay for it with my life to my son.
''A son of two sages, huh? Who will dare to harm him? Even the Alliance has to think twice before they offend two sages. He''s truly blessed by fortune and the heaven¡''
''Shit! Those damn old men schemed and failed! I need to me it all on the White Sage, or brother would skin me alive!'' James shuddered, thinking about the consequences of his involvement in this ne.
''That bitch again interfered with our ns! They were supposed to seal him by drawing him into this trap; this was a perfect chance to get rid of Power Saint Owen since House White had to hand over that bastard no matter what.
''But that hateful bitch again performs out of everyone''s expectation and became Sage with whose know what! Just why is Heaven so unfair to me!? Why is it always her but not me!?'' Ethel''s expression was filled with venomous jealousy as she gawked at Ste.
Ste''s frosty expression was gone, reced by a tender smile when she saw her making a dramatic entrance. This was indeed his style, and she also felt relieved.
Despite her attitude, she knew she wasn''t a match for the Sages, and protecting Ace while trying to flee from them would be extremely dangerous. That''s why the moment Leonard barged into her room, she already sensed something amiss and quickly sent Owen a signal to return.
She had already sensed something wrong when a monster that only Owen could handle appeared, and he had to leave. So, she had already nned this just in case her fear became a reality, and like always, her instincts never let her down.
Although the atmosphere changes after Ste''s revtion and Owen''s entry, Ace is the one who doesn''t feel any joy or confidence.
Even though he was happy to see his father finally making it in time and felt his blood boil after seeing his heroic demeanor, for some reason, he felt restless, as if something awful was about to transpire!
Chapter 1092 Secret Hidden Within (5)
Chapter 1092 Secret Hidden Within (5)
??Owen nced murderously at the Sages on the other side of the space tear, and some of the radiance silhouettes trembled slightly. He snorted in disdain and looked towards his wife, releasing her brilliance and having a sigh of relief.
The next moment, he vanished and appeared right beside her and apologetically said, "Forgive me for not listening to you; I shouldn''t have left you alone."
"Tsk, you always said the same thing and then go again and repeat the same mistake." Ste scoffed with a disdainful re, but the faint smile on her lips was filled with satisfaction.
"Cooo¡" A cheerful sound suddenly rang as the baby Ace dandled his tiny hands towards Owen with a big smile on his face as if asking him to hold him.
Owen felt his heart melt seeing his baby boy''s innocent smile, "Dad will take you flying after dealing with these ''guests,''" he promised Ace before he looked at the silent Sages and then his own Father. His eyes were deadly cold.
"Why?" He uttered a single word filled with coldness and absolute disappointment.
"I¡" Leonard wanted to exin, but no words came out of his mouth. He was too ashamed under his son''s harsh gaze.
"Here, you''ll understand after this!" Ste coldly stated before a starry stream suddenly shot out from her eye and directly entered Owen''s head. He didn''t resist, as he knew Ste was sharing her memories with him.
Within an instant, Owen understood what had happened, and his expression turned absolutely livid!
"Good! Good! You all really did well!" He was literally shaking with anger.
"Calm down, Owen. We have no intention of harming your son. It''s just a safety precaution. Now that your wife is also a Sage, can you both live in the alliance? You shouldn''t have any misgivings about joining the alliance now as well." The amiable voice suddenly rang from the other side.
"Indeed, there''s no need to blow this matter out of proportion. We admit our approach was a little bit cynical, but our intentions were not to harm anyone. In fact, we are only doing it to make sure that no harmes to House White or the??? Heaven." A woman''s impassive voice rang.
"Like hell, I''ll believe you guys!" Owen sneered with derision, "Do you think I''m a fool to live in that ce where I can''t even decide my own life and death and even take my wife and son down with me? Do you really think I''m so gullible like my old man over there?"
Leonard''s expression paled when Owen pointed towards him, but he didn''t retort as he knew Owen didn''t speak any lies.
Owen couldn''t help but sigh in disappointment, seeing Leonard''s reaction, "Old man, just what the hell happened to you? I always believed that the once fearless White Lion was always alive somewhere in there, but after what you just tried to pull, it is even lower for the current you!
"The White Lion, I remember, would rathery his life for his family than sacrifice one of his own! So, what if some shit show prophesized our n''s destruction? So, what if it would be in the hands of my son? Aren''t you doing the same thing right now by your own hands by bing their puppets?
"Didn''t you find it ironic that from the same person our heritage was born, that same person also prophesized our doom and by whom, an innocent child? Are you out of your damn senile mind, you damn old fool?!
"Aren''t you just realizing the prophecy by making your grandson hate you and our n? Look at him and tell me if you see a future doom of entire Heaven.
"Although I don''t believe this nonsense, I can promise you all that if you continue to have such a mindset and do this today, I don''t know if my son will be the doom of you all, but I can damn assure you that I''ll be the doom of your lofty lineages today!" Owen dered word by word in an overbearing tone as his aura rose like an unstoppable storm.
Leonard trembled after hearing his Son''s words and couldn''t help but look at his grandson, who was so innocent and filled with curiosity, and feel massive guilt weighing down his heart.
''Yes¡ aren''t I doing the same? Why did I be like this? Why did I start to believe the sages? Why the hell did I start relying on others to control my house?!'' It was like a cage had been broken, and something within was freed after a very, very long time.
An unexpected change began to take ce within Leonard, which they did not notice because they were looking at the husband-and-wife pair. At some point, both James and Ethel vanished from Leonard''s side.
Ace couldn''t help but feel emotional after listening to his father''s speech and how he stood up in front of his wife and child as an unbreakable shield.
However, at this moment, Ace felt his heart suddenly gripped by something, and his entire being shuddered. He looked towards his baby self in his mother''s embrace, who was cooing in dissatisfaction after Owen refused to hold him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Then, right at this moment, Ace witnessed something that sent shivers to his very bones, like it was a trauma that he had already experienced, and it was slowly surfacing again. He knew this was the very moment where all of this started!
A tiny tear in space suddenly opened up right above the baby''s head; despite both Owen''s and Ste''s protection, the space was still ripped open, despite only a tiny bit; it made both Ste''s and Owen''s expressions change.
However, whoever was behind this was extremely fast and knew exactly what needed to be done and how much time it had. Ace watched this in slow motion while trembling fearfully.
From that tiny space cracked, a sharp fingernail shimmering with a devilish crimson rune suddenly surfaced and stabbed into the baby''s head!
By the time Ste reacted, she had used her full power to protect Ace and had teleported away. But s, a loud cackling filled with eerie derision rang in the entire space.
"Kekekekeke¡ thank you, Sages, for giving me such a delightful chance to bury this era''s talent! I considered this service a favor to you all!"
Ace felt icy cold at this moment, as the entire scene suddenly turned ck, and he only heard faint furious voices of his Father and Mother, even his Grandfather seemed to be roaring out something in panicked.
But he couldn''t understand any of it. He only felt cold creeping all over his body, and the next moment, he felt like tiny ants crawling all over his body and then biting into his bones.
Pain¡ so much inhumane pain, fear, anxiety... it was too much; he felt like he could die at any moment!
But s, deep down, Ace knew this was just the beginning of something that he had long forgotten, and he finally understood the reason why his mind had sealed these memories!
Chapter 1093 Heaven’s Advocate!
Chapter 1093 Heaven¡¯s Advocate!
??The moment the mysterious Devil''s Malediction of Destion bloodline seal on Ace''s bloodline shattered¡
"Kekekekeke! It finally happened!" An eerieughter suddenly reverberated around a dark forest filled with crimson miasma, and multiple beastly eyes suddenly opened and glowed in a vile dark shimmer, "That little nuisance is finally dead! Finally, after resisting my Fiend Purgatory Curse for so many years, he finally died!
"Hmph! I was worried about nothing since the Fiend Purgatory Curse took so many years to im that little nuisance''s life, but I guess it was to be expected since those two should''ve tried their best to suppress it.
"Kekekeke¡ you dare to harm me just because of a little bug! I''ll make sure to torment you for eternity with the Fiend Spawn made with your own son''s era talent and all his resentment and hatred!
"What a delightful gift it was! With this, I can finally recover and even go beyond! Then I''ll personally find those hateful bugs and devour them all!"
The eerie voice was filled with deep resentment, yet at the same time, it was excited about getting the result it wanted, and it had waited for it for a long time. Truth be told, this voice owner had been afraid and filled with trepidation since the day it used the Fiend Purgatory Curse.
Because of his current realm, he was very prone to danger, and this exact heaven-defying instinct has kept him alive for who knows when. The same sense of crisis kept rising through the days ever since he had used the strongest curse he had known, the Fiend Purgatory Curse, on a baby.
Despite telling himself again and again that it was nothing when the baby didn''t die after a week, which should be more than enough to kill even a Sage, he became even more restless.
But he didn''t dare to leave because he was too wounded, and his enemies were numerous, so he remained hidden and slowly waited for the baby to die. However, with each passing, the wait became unbearable, and the longer the baby lived, the more agitated he became.
Because the Fiend Purgatory Curse was one of the crucial parts of his cultivation technique and part of his very being, he secretly used it on a baby to rob the baby of its peerless talent. Then, he would''ve used that talent for himself without others realizing it. Not even his secret associates were aware of this!
But if somehow the Fiend Purgatory Curse was destroyed, he would never be able to progress, and his path of cultivation would forever be lost. This was the price of cultivating such a vile yet heaven-defying technique that can rob others of their talent, and that was also the secret behind his current strength.
Although this was an obvious weakness, he never allowed anyone ever to get a hold of it; it should also be the case that day. However, he had miscalcted, and the baby tormented by the Fiend Purgatory Curse was able to get away because of his parents'' suicidal efforts.
To this day, he was always agitatedly waiting for the Fiend Purgatory Curse to kill that baby because only then can it return to him, and no one would be able to stop it at that time. Still, at the same time, it was prone to destruction as long as it was in the baby''s body.
Nheless, he was still very confident because he knew no one else in this entire heaven could do anything about that curse, for it was his biggest secret. Even a Sage was helpless against his curses, much less a baby.
And today, he finally sensed that his Fiend Purgatory Curse, which had been somehow dormant for so many years, was finally freed. Now, this ''free'' could mean two things.
First, either the curse was destroyed, or second, the curse had done what it was supposed to, and now he can finally call it back and enjoy his rewards.
He didn''t even think for a moment that it was the former case, for he still believed that his curse was indestructible. Why would it have been around for so many years if they had a way to destroy it?
He thought that the baby''s parents were using everything in their means to suppress the curse all these years, but they were also mortally wounded back then, so he knew they wouldn''tst long, and today, it finally happened.
"O'' Ancient Fiend, please heed this servant''s plea¡" He started to chant a spell as his multiple eyes glowed in crimson color. Runes emerged around the gloomy forest, and thews stirred like tide waves. An image of a fiendish being emerged, covering the sky. "Fiend Purgatory Curse, return!"
With a final ted yell, a blinding crimson light suddenly shot out towards the fiendish being in the dark horizon. Then it vanished, and so did the fiendish being.
There was an eerie silence for a while, and then the eerie voice rang again with a hint of incredulity: "Why isn''t the Fiend Purgatory Curse returning?!"
He suddenly started to have a very bad feeling about this, and he quickly chanted the spell again and again, and the same phenomenon appeared. However, just like before, nothing happened. Absolute gloomy silence dominated the area before the entire area started to tremble as if a volcano was about to erupt.
Then, a single word, filled with unwillingness, disbelief, hate, and boundless rage, a word that could be heard throughout the most vicious and dangerous ce ever to exist in this heaven, rang, and it was added to the ghostly legends of this ce.
"NOOOOOO!!!"
---
In another secret section of the temple, Mortal Sky Ascension Temple, which wasn''t disturbed by Ace''s sudden ''visit.''n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
This was a ce filled with countless stars, and in the center of it was a neon tform with ethereal runes shimmering all over it.
On this tform, the naked figure of a handsome man was sitting cross-legged, and ethereal golden Qi was being absorbed in his body, making it radiant with a holy light.
At this moment, a neon figure suddenly appeared right in front of this naked man. He didn''t notice the neon figure at all, as if he were under some kind ofa, and continued to absorb the golden Qi while some meticulous changes were taking ce in his body.
"Why is this generation''s Heaven''s Stealer different?" A distinctive, ethereal voice rang from the neon figure.
Suddenly, the space suddenly stirred, and a beggar appeared to be prostrating in front of this neon figure.
"I haven''t been able to find any clues, and I even let him take the ''Seed''! Please judge this iplete servant!" His voice was filled with self-me!
"Hah, if I even punish you for something so trifle, wouldn''t I be shooting myself in the foot?" He yfully replied, "We both know it wasn''t your fault. Your only job is to find and teach the Son of Heaven, who was born in the same Heaven as the Defier of Heaven, who also has the potential to be a Heaven''s Stealer.
"But this time, something interfered, and the Heaven''s Stealer got a head start from the Son of Heaven. As for the ''Seed,'' it was also an unexpected variable. Who could''ve thought it was hidden right under my thumb all this time?
"No worries, though. Since we already know where it is now, it''s very easy to take it back¡" The neon figure then looked at the naked man and pointed his finger at him, and a golden streak shot toward the man''s forehead.
When the light vanished into his forehead, the man started to tremble. Suddenly, a golden white scale symbol materialized on the man''s be. The next moment, golden threads shot out from the scale symbol and started to weave themselves on the man''s body.
After witnessing this scene, the Neon figure dered, "Let the mission to retrieve the ''seed'' also fall onto this generation''s [Heaven''s Advocate]!
"Of course, he still has his life''s only goal, which is the reason for his very existence, just like his predecessors, To Kill this generation''s Heaven''s Stealer!
"Even more important, the task that has never been given to other Heaven''s Advocates is to put an end to this meaningless battle between¡!"
______
[End of Fourth Volume: Thief vs World]
[AN (1): This marks the end of Ace''s journey through First Heaven: Mortal Sky Heaven. This volume contains many revtions that set the future stage for Ace''s thievish adventures and shed some light on his true enemies, his origin, and the danger he would have to ovee!]
[AN (2): I''m also very grateful to my readers for their support and love for this story, and I hope I''ll continue to write it without any blunder! Please don''t hesitate to share your opinion on the story so far with yourments and reviews. They are helpful and motivate me to improve the story and continue to write!]
Chapter 1094 Awakening (1)
Chapter 1094 Awakening (1)
The wind howled a lonely tune across the majestic mountain peaks, and colossal birds flew high above these mountain peaks.
Below, shrouded in mist,y a vast valley. Nestled within its embrace, a majesticplex shimmered of a grand City known as the Sect Alliance City!
The Sect Alliance City was around a hundred thousand years old, and despite the traces of time in this old city, it still stands strong to this day like a fortress.
Deep within the heart of the valley, however, the scene was far less glorious. Here, in the bowels of the earth, a young man named Kai swung his pickaxe with practiced ease, the rhythmic ng echoing through the damp, oppressive air. Sweat beaded on his brow, reflecting the dim glow of the glowing stones embedded in the cavern walls.
Kai was a Miner, the lowest rung on the Sect Alliance City''sdder. His days were spent hacking away at the earth, extracting the very lifeblood of the Sect Alliance City¡ªSpirit Stones!
The air hung heavy with the scent of dust and desperation. Each swing of the pickaxe was a monotonous beat in the symphony of drudgery that was Kai''s life. Yet, a spark of hope flickered within him.
Every chipped fragment of spirit stone brought him closer to the qualifying exam, his only chance to escape this subterranean prison and ascend to the rank of an Outer City Disciple of the Sect Alliance City!
Suddenly, a tremor shook the cavern. Dust rained down, momentarily obscuring Kai''s vision. He braced himself, fearing a cave-in, amon hazard in these vtile mines.
But as the dust settled, a new sight greeted him. A jagged crack had snaked its way across the cavern wall, revealing a hidden passage veiled in shadow.
Curiosity gnawed at Kai, momentarily eclipsing his fear, and even a hint of deep anticipation grew in his wildly beating heart.
''Could it be there is a hidden treasure here or a heaven-defying opportunity?! Is my luck finally turning for good, and has my chance of rising finallye?! '' He thought, ignoring the gnawing ache in his back; he approached the fissure with ambitious burning in his eyes.
A faint, ethereal glow emanated from within, beckoning him closer. With a deep breath, he squeezed through the narrow opening, his heart pounding a frantic rhythm against his ribs. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The passage opened into a hidden chamber, untouched by time. In the center, bathed in the otherworldly glow, stood an ornate altar.
As the brilliant light of the altar waned, atop ity a figure shrouded in a tattered ck robe. Unconsciousness painted the figure''s face with an ethereal serenity.
As Kai cautiously drew closer, he gasped. The figure appeared to be no ordinary man; etched upon his forehead, pulsing with an otherworldly dark light, was a runic mark that seemed like a pentagon, and there seemed to be some kind of mystery hidden within.
As Kai edged closer to the altar, a surge of energy suddenly pulsed outwards, washing over him.
At this moment, the unconscious figure on the altar stirred, a gasp escaping his lips before his eyes fluttered open, and the decagram on his forehead vanished under his skin.
Kai froze, momentarily blinded by the sheer dark brilliance that radiated from the figure the moment he opened his eyes before it vanished without a trace. But that momentary aura released from this man made him shudder in fear as if he were in the presence of some ancient being.
The man has otherworldly handsomeness with unearthly perfection and appears to be in his early twenties. The man''s skin seemed to shimmer with an inner light as if crafted from moonlight and stardust.
His long, inky hair, previously straight, now flowed with a life of its own, cascading down his back in ethereal waves that seemed to defy gravity.
His captivating dark blue eyes were like swirling gxies, flecked with stardust and harboring the secrets of the cosmos. His face''s chiseled perfection seemed to have been elevated after he regained consciousness, each line imbued with an otherworldly grace.
But this otherworldly man was marred by a stark contrast. A faint, swirling darkness emanated from beneath his skin, a counterpoint to the celestial light. It pulsed with a chaotic energy.
This darkness wasn''t malevolent, not entirely. It held a strange allure filled with immense power, yet it felt alien, unsettling even.
The tattered robes barely concealed the imposing physique beneath¡ªa lean, muscr build with hiddentent power. This man in tatter robes was Ace, who was finally awake from his strange state!
"Where am I?" Ace muttered as he looked up at the stone ceiling and sat up.
His gaze swept across the cavern with a newfound awareness. His eyes, the celestial gxies, seemed to lock onto Kai at this moment, and for a fleeting moment, Kai, who was awestruck by Ace''s appearance, felt as if his very soul wasid bare.
At this moment, Kai realized that this might not be some heaven-defying opportunity, but he might''ve awakened a being of immense power from its slumber, and his life was no longer in his control!
Ace''s eyes narrowed when he saw Kai standing frozen there with his breath caught in his throat. Ace''s sudden awakening and his early awe-inspiring aura had momentarily paralyzed him.
As Ace''s brilliance faded after he regained consciousness, Kai''s vision adjusted while Ace observed him.
Kai''s appearance wasn''t much to look at by conventional standards. Years spent hunched over a pickaxe, he had etched lines on his face, a map of toil and hardship. Sweat still clung to his brow, reflecting the faint, ethereal glow that persisted around them.
His clothes, a dull brown uniform of the Miners, hung loosely on his wiry frame. Dust and grime coated him.
Yet, despite the outward appearance of amonborer, there was a spark in Kai''s eyes. A spark of curiosity, perhaps even defiance that flickered amidst the swirling vortex of fear and awe he felt in Ace''s presence.
It was a look that spoke of a man who, despite his lowly position, hadn''t surrendered his spirit to the drudgery of the mines.
Ace''s first reaction was to use Soul Probe on him to get the information; however, when he tried to use his Qi, he was startled because he felt as if his Qi were extremely heavy to move and seemed blocked.
Since he didn''t have time to figure it out, he spoke again while the wariness in his eyes grew dangerously, "Who are you, and where is this ce?"
Although he just awakened from that nightmare, and it was hard to tell if this was an illusion or reality, he had a feeling that this was the reality!
Chapter 1095 Awakening (2)
Chapter 1095 Awakening (2)
??At this moment, the dazzled Kai finally snapped out of his stupor, went pale with fright, and replied to Ace''s early question, "S-sir¡ no¡ my lord, m-my name is Kai! I''m a Nominal City Disciple of Sect Alliance City! W-we¡ my lord is currently in the Lower Ascension Grade Spirit Stone Mine within the Sect Alliance City''s territory! Should I call the Mine Manager, my lord?"
Kai stuttered, his head low because he didn''t dare look at Ace anymore, afraid of offending him. But one thing was clear in his mind: this person in front of him was terrifying, and he shouldn''t offend him no matter what.
However, deep down, he was still hoping to get something out of it, like a little reward for ''unearthing'' this mysterious being. Yet he didn''t dare ask for it and behaved as respectfully as possible.
After all, the cultivation world can be very deceiving, and this person in front of him might look like just a young man, but for all he knows, he can be an old monster who was cultivating in this ce. He had unknowingly disturbed him, and the consequences of such offense were something he didn''t dare to imagine.
So, he had already decided to be truthful, and if he didn''t get anything out of it, he would be happy to just leave out of there alive. He can''t die here for his loved ones who were relying on him to be a true disciple of Sect Alliance City.
Ace was surprised seeing Kai''s fearful appearance and hearing his answer, ''Sect Alliance City, and Spirit Stone mine¡''
Foremost, Kai was speaking in the samemonnguage of the Mortal Sky Heaven; even in his nightmare, those people also spoke the samenguage, which made him wonder if thisnguage wasmon all over the heavens.
The second thing was that these names were novel to him, so it also confirmed that he was no longer in Mortal Sky Heaven, or at least this ce was somewhere he had never been before or heard of.
''So, this means I''ve ascended sessfully? But then, what was that dream? Was it really real, and all those things really happened to me?'' Ace''s expression grew dim, and faint killing intent swirled in his eyes when he thought about all the events in that ''dream.''
If that was reality, then his enemies weren''t restricted to his own family; the real enemy was the entire alliance of Sages!
To confirm that ''dream'' and whether this was really the reality, he tried to call the system: "System, what was that dream, and where am I?"
However, what he got in reply waspletely unexpected. A system interface he had seen since he teleported to the Mighty Demon Content appeared in front of him.
=====
[System Upgrade is underway; please wait plenty!]
[Estimate Time: 39D:11H:25M:19S]
=====
''Shit!'' Ace cursed when he saw this interface, especially the time on it, and he knew he was on his own until the system was done upgrading.
Because all his rewards and other system features were unavable, he had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill and endure until the system was upgraded.
Ace quickly calmed his nerves since this also meant that he wasn''t dreaming anymore. He finally focused on Kai, who was sweating while waiting for Ace''s response. Ace finally spoke, "There is no need to call anyone. Instead, if you can answer some of my questions, I''ll reward you."
Kai was stunned for a moment before tion rose in his heart. He quickly kneeled down and eximed, "My lord, I will answer anything to the best of my abilities!"
Ace was a little surprised by Kai''s response, but after observing Kai''s appearance and what kind of situation he might''ve had, he thought more carefully and guessed what Kai should be thinking about.
Despite his misgivings, he didn''t sense any danger from Kai. So, he decided to y along and get some answers from Kai about this ce.
Ace asked, somewhat amiably, "You said your name is Kai, right? Kai, my situation is a little bit unique, and I have forgotten about the world outside. Can you first describe exactly where this Sect Alliance City is and what its internal situation is?"
Kai was slightly surprised, but he then thought it made sense because if this senior had been in slumber in this ce since who knows when. This realization made him even more excited. This also confirmed that Ace was a hidden expert.
Ace noticed Kai''s excitement but didn''tment on it. Secretly, he started observing his own body more thoroughly.
First, his deft thief robe seemed to have been greatly damaged, but he wasn''t too worried about it since it had a self-repair function. As long as he channeled his Heavenly Qi into it, it would be as good as new.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
''My Qi didn''t seem blocked, but it seemed to have be somewhat stagnant and felt insufficient. It''s as if it is no longer enough, and I require far more Qi than I''ve already had to use my abilities. Is it rted to the Primordial Law Body and the merging of my two inner spaces?
''Because if I think it more clearly, if my Soul and Martial spaces really ended up merging into one, then shouldn''t my two Qis also be one? Maybe it is because of this that I can''t use my Qi at all. Even my passive ability, the Thief Sense, is alsopletely suppressed!
''Damn it, I don''t even know about anything now and have too many questions about the changes that happened to me, and what is thisw body? I can''t seem to connect with my inner spaces either now. Only the system can shed some light on this strange situation!
''Well, I can still feel Moira, Thievish Soul Cord, Myriad Vizard Thief Mask, and Thief''s Space presences just fine, so there isn''t much to worry about. But my connection with Moira seemed quite vague. Is it because of my inner space situation? Not to mention, the Myriad Vizard Thief Mask has be deactivated because of my Qi situation as well!
''Oh, and what happened to that woman who had taken off with the Soul Resurrection Bead before I stepped on that bridge? Shouldn''t she be supposed to stick with me?''
While Ace was frustrated because of his currentplex situation, Kai started to speak¡
Chapter 1096 Sect Alliance City
Chapter 1096 Sect Alliance City
??Kai said respectfully, "I don''t know much, my lord, since I''m only a Nominal City Disciple and my origin is very humble, but I''ll tell you what I know. The Sect Alliance City was founded thousands of years ago by Five Grand Sects and is located in the Beast Cmity Mountain Range.
"The Beast Cmity Mountain Range falls into the territory of the five Grand Sects, and that''s why they all named it Sect Alliance City. But the main reason for their collective control over this city is the Lower Grade Spirit Stone Mines!"
At this point, Ace asked, "You said earlier you mined Spirit Stone in this ce, so what are they used for?"
He had never heard of Spirit Stones before, so he wanted to know what they were used for. Since these five grand sects were willing to build a city for them, they had to be quite precious.
Kai finds this question strange and starts to doubt Ace, but he replies nevertheless since he still feels intimidated by him, "The Lower Grade Spirit Stones are above Grade-9 Qi Stones, which contain Spirit Qi instead of Elemental Qi in Qi Stones, and they are equally useful for cultivators of Law State."
''No wonder they built this city for these mines, so these Spirit Stones are like the Qi Stones, huh? But what is this Spirit Qi? A higher version of Elemental Qi, he said, means I might be required to use this Spirit Qi to use my skills and abilities now. Is this the reason I''m feeling like this?
''I want to ask this information, but I can''t be too obvious, or he might be suspicious. Since I''m in this state, I don''t know how powerful the experts are in this ce. I need to tread carefully¡''
Ace was secretly shocked by this information, but he still maintained his impassive expression and nodded, "Oh, it''s been so long, I nearly forgot about these lowly pebbles. You may continue."
Kai was rmed when Ace called the extremely precious Spirit Stones lowly pebbles so nonchntly, and his heart rate quickened, and he continued.
"ording to the history of the Sect Alliance City, it was created to mine all the Spirit Stones, but when the Grand Sects found that these Spirit Stone Mines were farrger than they had anticipated, they decided to make the Sect Alliance City into a cultivation city to recruit disciples for their sects from the human tribes scattered in the Beast Cmity Mountain Range.
"Since then, the Sect Alliance City has be a cultivation hub for people like me from nearby viges. Every ten years, when the Sect Alliance City opens its gates for the decade recruitment tests, many youths with great inspiratione here to try their luck.
"But not all of them seed in the end. There are three ranks of City Disciples in Sect Alliance City: Nominal City Disciples, Outer City Disciples, and Inner City Disciples. I''m only a Nominal City Disciple to the very bottom of the Sect Alliance City.
"Nominal Disciples like me are like servants, and any disciple of the Outer City can order us around. I was also a servant of an Outer City Disciple, and I made a terrible mistake. Then, I was transferred to Spirit Stone Mine to work as a miner. This information is also what I''ve gathered while working as a servant, so please don''t be offended if I''m wrong somewhere." Kai bitterly stated, with a hint of resentment in his voice towards the end.
However, Ace didn''t care about Kai''s personal affairs, and he was more interested in these grand sects after hearing about this Sect Alliance City.
"This only exins how you be a disciple of the Sect Alliance City, but you said the Sects recruit disciples for their sects. What''s this about?" Ace asked, still impassively.
Kai sighed when he found out Ace hadn''t been moved by his humble story and hardship. But he didn''t find it unexpected since he knew powerful cultivators were always cold towards lowly beings like him, and only true power could draw their attention.
He clenched his fists tightly, but he didn''t let it show and quickly replied, "This is indeed the case, my lord, but to be eligible for a disciple of one of the five grand sects, the City Disciple needs to first be an inner city disciple before the age of 50 and reached the Law Awareness Realm or Law Comprehension Realm cultivator before the age of 100!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Even then, an Inner City Disciple would only be eligible for the entrance test of Five Grand Sects because if they fail, they will be sent back to the Sect Alliance City and given the position of a City Guard, or if they have a connection, they can still be someone of a higher position.
"There is another way, and that is to be noticed by one of the five grand sects'' overseers anointed in the Sect Alliance City as City Overseers, which is the highest rank in the city. But this is even more difficult since only true geniuses can enter their eyes!" Kai clenched his fist even harder as nails threatened to dig into his rough flesh. His eyes were filled with unwillingness and resentment toward his own humble fate.
On the other hand, Ace was again marveled by this information since he wasn''t expecting the cultivation standards to join a cultivation power to be so high. The difference between the Mortal Sky, Heaven, and this ce was like earth and sky.
Ace couldn''t help but feel somewhat anticipated about this ce. He wanted to explore this mysterious heaven. But he knew he first needed to wait for the system upgrade to finish before he could dream of doing anything. This was especially the case for his current powerless state.
Ace then asked another question, which he had held out on for quite a while, but he still maintained his nonchnt attitude: "What about the Law State? Are they not wee in these sects? And are there such cultivation realm experts present in the Sect Alliance City?"
This time, Kai pulled a difficult expression and replied, "Forgive me, my lord. But the information about the Law State is strictly forbidden by the Five Grand Sects. I was only able to learn the name of this from the Outer City disciple who served preciously!
"But I personally think that the City Overseers should be in this realm since they are simply too powerful. I''ve heard a story about them killing vicious beasts who try to attack the city with a simple wave of their hands. They are like Deities revered by everyone in the Sect Alliance City!"
''Now this is problematic¡'' Ace''s heart sank a little since this meant he couldn''t make any kind of mistake!
Chapter 1097 Kai’s Ambition!
Chapter 1097 Kai¡¯s Ambition!
After getting the general information about the Sect Alliance City in the Cmity Beast Mountain Range and what kind of power structure and experts it had, Ace thought for a while about how to proceed.
Kai silently waits for Ace to speak again, agitated since he doesn''t know how Ace would respond to this information. He is also starting to wonder why Ace wants all this information if he doesn''t consider the Five Grand Sects a threat.
Ace finally spoke at this moment, "How do you leave the Sect Alliance City? How many exits are there?"
Kai was startled by this question but still answered, "There is only one entrance and exit in the Sect Alliance City, which is usually closed all year long. However, both entering and leaving the city is quite difficult.
"Only after passing the entrance test can we enter the city, and to leave, a disciple needs to have at least an Outer City Disciple Rank or above. A Nominal City Disciple can''t leave until they want to leave the city permanently for good. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Other than that, sneaking out is almost impossible because the entire city is protected by an extremely powerful formation, and guards patrol the city''s boundaries constantly. I''ve heard that since the city''s establishment, no one has ever been able to sneak in or out of the Sect Alliance City. Those who tried all met public execution.
"Do you want to leave the city, my lord?" Kai asked with uncertainty towards the end.
''Leave? Even if I can use my abilities and skills, I don''t think it would be possible if they hadid some Ascension Grade Formation in the city. It seems I need to stay in this ce for a while, at least until the system is done upgrading.'' Ace thought bitterly, but he didn''t let it show on his face.
He coolly replied to Kai, "I still need some time to recover my powers before I can leave this ce. But even if I want to leave right now, do you think anyone can stop me?"
Ace''s voice suddenly became dignified, and despite not having any power or aura behind it, Kai trembled slightly under his icy-cold gaze and didn''t dare speak anymore.
Ace was pleased that his bluff worked on Kai and said, "Tell me how you discovered this ce, and are there other miners like you out there?"
"I-it was an ident, my lord. I was just doing my job when a hidden passage to this ce suddenly opened. As for the others, they should be working on the other side, and no one will being here, at least for a while, or if I failed to check in for seven days." Kai quickly replied, thinking that Ace was displeased.
''Well, if he hadn''t dug this ce up, I would''ve been in a very bad situation since I might''ve ended up alerting those Law State experts if I had tried powering my way out of there. Furthermore, these Spirit Stones might be useful to me since those sects have been guarding them for so many years.'' Ace mused, and then suddenly, he thought of something and asked Kai.
"You said earlier that Spirit Stones can be used by Law State cultivators since they contain Spirit Qi. Does this mean an elemental state cultivator like you can''t use them? Is this the main reason they let you guys freely mine those Spirit Stones without having to worry about you all using them?"
Ace suddenly thought about this point when he thought how these Spirit Stones were above the Grade-9 Qi Stones and should be quite precious. Yet they were letting nominal disciples like Kai mined them without any supervision.
Kai replied with a bitter tone, "You guessed right, my lord. In the Elemental State, we cultivate with Elemental Qi, and some people even call it the Mortal Qi or just Martial Qi and Soul Qi. The treasures of elemental states are divided into nine mortal grades.
"However, aw state cultivator can draw a higher-level Qi into their body called the Spirit Qi. I''ve heard that Elemental Qi has no effect on a Law State cultivator and ispletely useless against them.
"But in contrast, the Spirit Qi is deadly for Elemental State Cultivators like us. Just a faint wisp of Spirit Qi is akin to a deadly poison for us. The same goes for the Spirit Stones; if someone of my level tried to absorb the Spirit Qi in them, we''d die by exploding into meat mush!
"Furthermore, a spirit stone can only be stored in an Ascension Grade Storage Space Treasures, so there are even fewer chances of someone secretly storing them. Those treasures are simply too high above for people like us.
"Lastly, the Spirit Stones can''t be mined by mortals ormon equipment. To mine them, a cultivator is required to have at least a grade-6 pickaxe, and only then can we scale these mines. Everything is provided by the city, and they control everything meticulously."
Ace''s eyes shimmered as a sudden realization dawned on him. This new world was bing more and more interesting by the minute.
Ace''s eyes shimmered as a sudden realization dawned on him. ''Just to use a grade-9 treasure for mining, howvish. Now I''m even more sure that these Spirit Stones are extremely precious and must-haves for a Law State cultivator. I should find one and analyze it in person. Maybe I might discover something unexpected. I wonder if my thief''s space can store these Spirit Stones¡''
Ace had already started making his thievish ns despite just waking up in this new ce. It had be a habit without him even realizing it. Ace then looked above Kai''s head and focused his eyes.
Thereafter, magically, a small ck translucent panel appeared over Kai''s head. This panel was just a small rectangle, and golden words were written on it: [Thief Point Meter: 0 Thief Point Avable].
''Well, he''s poor alright. Nheless, the thief point meter of the Thief Point Predator title is still working, which means my other titles are still in effect¡''
After confirming this, Ace spoke to Kai again, who was feeling uneasy under Ace''s piercing gaze, "Alright, I''m satisfied for now; tell me, what kind of reward do you want?"
Kai''s uneasiness instantly vanished when he heard those words he had been waiting for, and he knew his chance had finally arrived.
He had decided on what to ask for Ace ever since Ace had offered him a reward, so he respectfully prostrated in front of Ace, "My lord, it would be a privilege if you take me as your disciple! I''ll be satisfied even if it''s just as an in-name disciple!"
Chapter 1098 A Lonely Path
Chapter 1098 A Lonely Path
Ace looked at Kai sharply since this ''request'' was the least of what he was expecting. But from Kai''s point of view, this was really the best thing he could ask from Ace.
After all, Ace was simply too mysterious. Given how he was found in this ce, anyone would think that Ace was a hidden expert who had either been in seclusion for a long time or had been sealed here for some reason.
So, asking to be his disciple was a huge opportunity that could change Kai''s life forever. Not only that, but he would also have a huge background and shelter named Ace behind him. At that time, what would a measly Sect Alliance City backed by the Five Grand Sect amount to?
However, Kai was dead wrong when he thought Ace was a peerless expert, and because of his ignores, Ace''s charm, and his acting, Kai waspletely swayed by him.
Nheless, Ace was still aw state cultivator, and if he found a way to use his new prowess, he would still be considered an overseer in Sect Alliance City.
But Ace didn''t have any intention of taking any disciple because of his origin. His path waspletely different, and he already had the thief house members as his helpers, so it was even more unrealistic. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
If the thief house''s future member slots weren''t already filled, he didn''t mind considering Kai a potential contender. But when he considered that he was no longer in Mortal Sky Heaven and the bar of power had raised even higher, Kai simply didn''t have any chance of joining.
Still, Ace appreciates Kai''s ambition and willingness to take any chance to change his fate. Since Kai was the first person he came in contact with after his ascension, he gave him information about the Sect Alliance City and their general situation, so Ace didn''t mind ying along. Not to mention, he still needed Kai''s help until the system was done upgrading.
"You really know how to ask for a reward, huh," Acemented with a cold chuckle, making Kai tremble slightly.
But Kai still remained prostrated in front of Ace, hoping to move him.
Ace sighed like an elder and said in resignation, "Alright, since I owe you a favor for awakening me and providing all this information, and I had already given you my word, you can be my in-name disciple.
"But I will only give you a cultivation technique and cultivation resources, so don''t expect me to help you if you stir up any trouble. Cultivation is a lonely journey, and only by walking alone and without getting distracted can you reach the pinnacle.
"If you want to change your fate, you have to do it yourself; no one else can help you. Or you will always be mediocre and never able to achieve anything. Now, tell me, do you agree with my arrangement?" Ace asked as hepletely emted the appearance of a hidden master who was above the mortal realm!
Ecstasy bloomed in Kai''s heart as he trembled, and he quickly agreed, "I agreed! Please ept this disciple kowtow, Revered Master!"
''He didn''t care about my early words, did he?'' Ace was speechless as he saw Kai quickly start to kowtow in front of him, and Ace decided to ignore it; after all, they might never see each other once he got back his powers.
After Kia finished the ceremony, Ace nodded and asked, "Since you are now my in-name disciple, tell me which path you follow and what your innate element is. I''ll see if I have the cultivation technique suitable for you."
Kai was thrilled. He knew how important cultivation techniques were because even in Sect Alliance City, a nominal disciple like him could only ess the 4th elemental realm cultivation technique, and the others were all extremely ordinary.
Even an outer city disciple only has ess to the 6th elemental realm cultivation techniques. Only the Inner City Disciples have ess to apetitive cultivation technique of the elemental state, and some of those techniques even grant innate abilities.
That''s why Kai instantly agreed with this arrangement; he thought that someone like Ace wouldn''t have any ordinary cultivation technique. This means he can soar to the sky with one single leap!
"Replying to the Revered Master, this little disciple follows the martial path and cultivates the Chasing Storm Cultivation Technique that can awaken the element of Wind. I''m currently at the peak of the Qi River Realm!" He quickly revealed.
''So weak?'' Ace was a little surprised. He was expecting Kai to be at least a Qi Soul Manifestation Realm cultivator, but he was only at the Qi River Realm.
Because of his thief sense ofplete suppression, he wasn''t able to judge Kai''s cultivation, or he wouldn''t be so afraid of Kai.
Nheless, he decided to get it over with, and after searching through his stash of cultivation techniques, he finally found a suitable one from the treasury of the Mortal Sky Heart Empire.
Cultivation techniques always held little allure and importance to Ace since he didn''t require them. All they can do is serve him as a reference for his own insights, nothing else.
Furthermore, the elemental state cultivation techniques had be even less important after he became aw state expert. So, he was already nning on clearing up the inventory that he had umted in the Mortal Sky Heaven.
"Here, in this jade scroll, aplete cultivation technique of the wind-type elemental state is recorded. This willst you until you enter thew state. I''ll give you aw state cultivation technique once you reach that realm; having one now will only distract you." Ace threw a Jade Scroll towards Kai nonchntly.
Kai quickly caught it as if it were even more precious than his life. After all, it was his first time seeing or even touching a jade scroll; he had only heard rumors about them. He was now 100% sure that Ace was a peerless expert, and meeting him was his good fortune.
Acepletely ignored the thrilled Kai and took out a storage ring and gave it to him as well.
"In this ring are some wind-type skills, arts, a secret skill, some defensive and offensive talismans, andstly, I''ve filled it with Grade-9 Qi stones. They shouldst you for a very long time. Are you satisfied with it?" Ace asked with a faint smirk.
Kai was bbergasted when he heard it and quickly kowtowed to Ace while tightly clenching the ring and the jade scroll. His sobbing voice was filled with heartfelt gratitude and emotion: "Thank you, Revered Master! I will never forgive your kindness! Even if I have to go through hell, I''ll help you with anything you desire!"
Ace couldn''t help but sigh and feel skeptical, ''Come to think of it, I never had to worry about these things after I got the system, but if I hadn''t, would I be like him? Maybe¡ but I was also born in a very powerful family and then scheme against¡''
Just thinking about those events made Ace''s blood boil with resentment and anger, but he knew he couldn''t do anything about it until he had the power to oppose those sages.
"Alright, that''s enough." Ace''s mood became somewhat awful, and he ordered Kai coldly, "Now, you may go. I want to recover my power. You just have to make sure no one found this ce for at least 60 days. Even if you can''t do it, you need to alert me. Oh, and bring him those Spirit Stones. They might be able to assist me in my recovery."
Kai didn''t tarry and quickly promised Ace he would do everything to ensure Ace wouldn''t be disturbed and bring me all the Spirit Stones he mined.
Once Kai left, Ace was finally alone and had the chance to analyze this ce and the altar underneath him carefully!
Chapter 1099 I’m Back!
Chapter 1099 I¡¯m Back!
??Ace walked around the ornate altar, which now seemed like an ordinary antique. No matter how much he looked at it, there wasn''t anything extraordinary about it. The only thing he noticed was that the runes on top of this altar were just like those on the Primordial Ascension Altar of the Mortal Sky Temple, and it seemed to be a mini version of it.
Other than that, the chamber where this altar was located seemed ancient. The walls seemed to be made of some kind of metal, and there were some vague glyphs inscribed on the wall, which seemed to have faded with time.
''Hmmm¡ it seems there''s nothing useful here, and even if someone else discovered this altar, they wouldn''t be able to tell its origin. But if they knew about the ascension altars, I can''t be too sure. Well, this has nothing to do with me since I''ll be long gone before anyone can find this ce¡ probably¡.'' Ace sighed as he stopped observing the altar and looked at his tatter appearance.
''I should change my clothes and keep the deft thief robes in the thief''s space until I can repair them once I can use my Qi¡'' Ace decided. The next moment, his tattered robes were reced by an ordinary gray robe that looked slightly simr to Kai''s.
Although Ace had other grade-9 clothes, he didn''t have the Qi to operate them. He also decided to choose this gray robe like Kai because he just wanted to make sure that if someone else found this ce, he could pretend to be another miner.
Suddenly, Ace thought, ''Wait a minute. Since I can''t use the Heavenly Qi, what about the Twilight Qi and my avatar? Although I can''t gain ess to my inner spaces, I still feel connected to my avatar, and it has its own unique Qi!''
Ace quickly tried to connect with the Holy Twilight Avatar, but he was frustrated when he found he couldn''t summon it out, nor could he share his vision with it, or he would''ve known about what was going on with his inner spaces.
However, he didn''t give up and tried to use the Twilight Soul Qi, and he was instantly excited when dark golden Qi suddenly materialized above his hand!
''That''s what I''m talking about!'' Ace was thrilled because this meant that he could at least use the abilities of Holy Twilight Avatar and wasn''tpletely helpless!
''But this Qi is of the elemental state, and I can feel how weak it ispared to my body. Well, I guess it''s still better than nothing. Now, I don''t have to be so passive, and no one below thew state will be my match anymore. Kai also said that the elemental Qi didn''t work against aw state¡!''
After finding out about this advantage, Ace felt no longer helpless; he knew now that he could at least roam freely in these mines!
''Now, I should tell the others about my sess; they might be worried, especially the house member; they would be relieved to know that the mission has beenpleted¡''
A faint smile appeared on his face as he tried focusing on the thief''s house; however, the very next moment, his expression paled!
''What is going on?! Why can''t I assess to the thief''s house?!'' Ace started to freak out a little when a familiar system interface opened in front of him.
=====
[System Upgrade is underway; please wait plenty!]
[Estimate Time: 39D:11H:09M:43S]
=====
Ace calmed down a little, but the frown on his face only deepened, ''So, I can''t ess the space of the thief''s house while the system is upgrading? But what about the house members inside? Damn it, they better be fine¡''
Ace could only hope for the better, and he could do nothing but trust the system. Then he quickly looked in the living thief''s space section and was relieved when he found he could ess it just like his non-living thief''s space section.
However, his expression changed again when he noticed something peculiar. A powerful undtion was pulsing from the center of the thief''s space, and he was shocked to find that the source of this undtion was none other than Alina''s house!
A little worried, Ace quickly focused inside, where the Mystic Bloodline Cist was located, and was astounded when he saw Eva with Cyrus on her shoulder there as well.
At this moment, the Mystic Bloodline Cist was pulsing in neon light and trembling slightly as something inside was about toe out!
''Is she about toplete her bloodline change!?'' Ace was instantly thrilled when he thought about how long it had been since Alina had entered the Mystic Bloodline Cist.
At first, he thought it would only take a few months, but then years passed, and she was still nowhere near done. He was even worried about her, but he believed in her and waited patiently, and it seemed she was about toe out!
Furthermore, Ace also noticed something else: Cyrus, the little guy, haspletely changed!N?v(el)B\\jnn
He has grown considerably since Acest saw him. Now, Cyrus stands about the size of a small raven, roughly 10 inches tall. His fine ck feathers have matured into a sleek, glossy coat with an iridescent sheen and hints of sapphire shimmer along the edges of his wings and tail feathers, reflecting his fiery nature.
Cyrus''s previously undeveloped wings were powerful and well-
developed.
The ck plumage continues up its head, except for the crown area. The dark blue ''hair'' has grown longer and thicker, now forming a distinctive crest that resembles a stylized me.
His captivating sky-blue eyes remain, but they now hint at newfound awareness and intelligence alongside his earlier curiosity. His aura has alsopletely changed, and a subtle warmth emanates from him.
This once-tiny ck chick has matured into a captivating young bird. He retains his initial cuteness, but his iridescent feathers, vibrant crest, and intelligent gaze exude a regal air, a stark contrast to his power.
''Ipletely forgot that Cyrus''s cultivation could increase with mine, and he was suppressed on the level of Mortal Sky Heaven because of me! Now, he should be aw state cultivator just like me!'' Ace''s heart raced when he thought about how Cyrus might know about thew state now, and he almost forgot about Eva as well!
She had told him that once she undergoes her tribtion, she will unlock the memories of thew state, so he was even more excited. He might not have to wait for the system to upgrade to find out about thew state realm after all.
Eva was still as captivating as ever, wearing a ck dress that fully showcased her seductive figure. Her expression was somewhat solemn, and a hint of anticipation could be seen in her eyes as she looked at the pulsing cist.
"I''m back!" Ace announced at this moment, making both Eva and Cyrus avert their attention from the cist as their eyes shimmered with tion.
Eva sighed in relief when she heard Ace''s voice. She couldn''t help but feel a huge burden lifted off her heart. Although Ace hid theplete details of his mission from her so as not to make her worry, she knew whatever Ace was about to do was extremely dangerous.
That''s why she was always worried that something might happen to him and anxious, but she didn''t show it and believed in him. Now, hearing his voice, she waspletely at ease, and a breathtaking smile bloomed on her face.
"Wee Back, Husband~!"
Chapter 1100 Born as Law State! (1)
Chapter 1100 Born as Law State! (1)
??"Wee Back, Husband~!"
A warm smile appeared on Ace''s face when he heard Eva''s heartfelt words.
"Big bro! Where were you?! I tried calling you, but you didn''t answer! And you even hide away all my food! Not fair!" Cyrus spoke with a hint of resentment at this moment.
When Cyrus fell into a slumber, the thief''s space still hadn''t upgraded, and he had only awakened recently; after finding that all the storage rings were gone and the thief''s space had changedpletely, he panicked a little.
If not for Eva''s presence, he would''ve thought Ace had abandoned him. But he was still anxious since Ace wasn''t replying to his call, and he could sense that Ace was in a strange state at that time, but the little guy could do nothing.
Eva was even more anxious than Cyrus, but she knew she had to be brave and believe in him, so he always cated the little guy. Furthermore, she was shocked when she found that after Cyrus woke, his aura hadpletely transformed, and she could sense that he was like her, aw state!
However, unlike her, Cyrus seemedpletely different and even more powerful. This made her wonder if Cyrus didn''t need to go through tribtion to ascend to thew statepletely.
She even tried asking him, but Cyrus, being Cyrus, couldn''t exin anything except some gibberish, so she could only give up.
Ace chuckled and was d that Cyrus hadn''t changed much, and replied, "Tsk, all you care about is food. At least act like you have grown up."
"But I''m a grown-up now!" Cyrus retorted as he slightly raised his beak upward, which made him look cute, not grown-up.
"Dumb brat, you are still a child." Eva flickered gently on the little guy''s head with a gentle smile as she clearly liked teasing him.
"Big sis! You can''t treat me like a child. I''m big now!" Cyrus cried in indignation.
Eva simply ignored him with a chuckle and asked Ace with anticipation, "Did you seed?"
Ace replied in affirmation, "Yes, I''ve finally ascended, but there are someptions. I ended up¡"N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace then told Eva about his current circumstances, the Sect Alliance City, and his inability to use his Qi.
Eva''s eyes shimmered with tion when she heard he had ascended to a higher heaven. This also meant that she no longer had to worry about falling into the abyss.
However, when she heard about Ace''s strange state and about the Sect Alliance City, she frowned.
"You said you can''t gain ess to your inner spaces, and neither can you use your Qi. But it should be impossible since I can freely use my Qi despite entering thew state. As for whether it is this Spirit Qi or not, I''m not sure.
"Although I admit that I still need to undergo the heavenly tribtion toplete the breakthrough, your circumstances are very strange. Even this dumb brat can use his Qi, and he seems to be a truew-state cultivator. He has that spirit Qi, which is really potent and far more powerful than the Qi we are familiar with.
"Could it be that this is happening because of your special cultivation technique?" She spected since this was the only thing she could think of that was outside themon understanding.
Ace fell into silent as he was also having the same idea, "Well, whatever the case is, it won''t be for long." His voice became solemn at this moment, "More importantly, how long was I gone for, and when did the cist start reacting like this?"
Eva''s expression also turned stern, "It''s been 228 days since youst contacted me. Cyrus woke about 90 days ago, and this cist started to emit these strange undtions around the same time when Cyrus woke.
"I then sent those two maids (Sofia and Riana) into my personal living space, and I''ve been here since then. When this all started, the undtions were vague, but with each passing day, they started to grow, and as you can see, this is their current state."
''I was out for almost a year, huh?'' Ace was shocked, but he didn''t pay it any heed as he asked expectantly, "Alina is about to awake."
Eva''s lips twisted a little. "Heh, she took her sweet time. I was starting to think she''s too afraid to face me." Her voice was filled with provocation as she still remembered Alina''s challenge.
Ace decided to refrain frommenting on this and looked at the Mystic Bloodline Cist, which was pulsing even stronger after Eva said those words. He couldn''t help but think about Alina, and his heart raced with anticipation and a little anxiety.
"Hmph!" Suddenly a cold snort filled with displeasure rang like a morning bell within the entire thief''s space, shocking everyone.
''She''sing out!'' Eva''s devilish eyes started to glow dangerously as she could feel the fighting intent in that voice, and unknowingly, her lips curled up in a cold smile.
At this moment, the cist glowed brightly. ''Boom!'' The lid sted open with a blinding golden-silver light, and a powerful aura released from it, like a slumbering being of immense power had just awakened.
The blinding light started to fade away, revealing a graceful silhouette. Ace forgot to breathe as he stared at this silhouette with all kinds of emotions, while Eva stood there like an immovable mountain, her eyes almost turning crimson.
Cyrus was also witnessing this with curious eyes, and he could feel the threatening auraing from this silhouette.
When the light faded, the person behind it was revealed. With skin that seems carved from moonlight, she embodies ethereal beauty. Her wless face holds the gaze of the cosmos, with captivating eyes like mesmerizing twilight silver.
A perfectly sculpted nose and full, pale pinkish lips add a touch of sensuality to her regal bearing.
But it''s her hair that truly steals Ace''s breath away. Long and flowing, it defies gravity in shimmering strands of silver starlight with a moonlight sheen.
Her figure, tall and statuesque, radiates power hidden beneath an elegant grace. Every curve is perfectly proportioned, hinting at toned muscles beneath a wless exterior.
Subtle, golden-silver shimmering markings, like constetions, dance across her skin, which seems unique to her lineage. Her most striking feature was a vertical diamond-shaped golden-
silver gem embedded on her be, where all the markings on her body connect.
This goddess-forged beauty was a living testament to the power. Every aspect, from her mesmerizing face to her powerful physique, speaks of a being untouched by anything.
Lastly, the aura emitting from her was above all elementals, just like Eva and Cyrus''s!
There was no doubt that she was Alina, who had been reborn as a Law State after sessfully changing her bloodline!
Chapter 1101 Born as Law State! (2)
Chapter 1101 Born as Law State! (2)
The ethereal light around Alina''s body vanished as well as the shimmering marking on her skin started to fade away.
Thereafter, golden-silver Qi covered Alina''s body, and a silver dress materialized around her. Nheless, she was still extremely beautiful and didn''t lose to Eva in any way.
At this moment, Alina''s silver eyes and Eva''s pitch-ck eyes with purple-red vertical pupils met, and the two invisible auras shed together, causing the entire space around to start to shake.
Ace finally snapped out of his stupor, and his heart trembled when he felt their auras shing. He had never sensed anything like this before, and he had a feeling that if he didn''t stop them now, something untoward might transpire in the thief''s space, which was shaking for the first time since he had unlocked it.
Furthermore, Alina''s power wasn''t suppressed anymore, and she didn''t have any special connection with Ace like Eva or Cyrus. She seemedpletely unrestrained.
At this moment, it finally struck Ace as his eyes winded, ''She can go against Eva! Didn''t this mean she''s also a Law State cultivator?! And she even achieved it by changing into this mysterious bloodline that Sun and Mood God left! Just what kind of bloodline it is that can make an elemental state cultivator directly Law State?''
Ace was bbergasted and even envious of Alina, but he didn''t have time to waste on these meaningless thoughts as the thief''s space was trembling even more violently as they both seemed to be increasing their powers, and the uneasy feeling in his heart grew.
"Stop, or you two will destroy this ce!" Ace sternly dered.
Then he sighed helplessly when he saw the little guy, Cyrus, nowhere to be seen on Eva''s shoulder. He fled into the edges of the thief''s space and hid within the tall grass while sneakily observing everything with a relish expression.
''He hadn''t matured at all¡'' Ace thought with a wry smile, but he didn''t have time to pay Cyrus any heed, as he knew the little guy was just running away from the point of disaster. He might''ve done the same if he was in Cyrus''s ce.
"Hmph, she started it by badmouthing me behind my back!" Alina snorted with an icy expression, but she still retracted her aura, but her eyes never left Eva for a second.
"You''re giving yourself too much credit; I was just stating the fact. And what''s with those shing lights? Are you trying to defeat me by blinding me?" Eva scoffed with an equally cold expression, but she also stopped using her aura.
Ace could only smile wryly when he heard their childish banter. For some reason, he found it quite amusing, but he didn''t dare say it out loud.
"Alina, how are you feeling?" Ace gently asked, still a little worried about her since he didn''t know about her new bloodline.
Furthermore, he knew sweeping her bloodline with a new one was quite dangerous, and it all depended on the will of the person. Since she had taken so many years, he didn''t know just what kind of agony she must be suffering all this time.
Nheless, he could still tell that she was still the Little Sister he remembered, and her will wasn''t affected by this bloodline sweep at all; in fact, she seemed more confident and determined.
Alina finally broke eye contact with Eva, and she looked up as the iciness in her eyes vanished, reced by tenderness as if she could see Ace''s face past this space.
A faint charming smile bloomed on her face as she replied gently, "I''m feeling great. Again, thank you for giving me this opportunity!"
''Tsk, two-face bitch!'' Eva cursed as she was extremely annoyed.
But she knew she wasn''t in a position to ridicule Alina at all. In fact, she was in the same situation. Without Ace, she knew she wouldn''t be able to go against Alina even before she had swept her bloodline. Her current advantage over Alina was all because of Ace''s favor, and he had done it again in the Sky Abyss Secret Realm.
Furthermore, she knew she still needed Ace''s help if she wanted to be a full-fledged Void Abyssal Devil, and truth be told, just now, because of their little exchange, Eva could tell that Alina''s bloodline was superior to hers!
If Alina had not justpleted the process of her bloodline sweep and had not had the time to consolidate and familiarize herself with her new cultivation realm and prowess, Eva knew she might''ve lost to her.
This was something she would never ept, so she had already secretly decided that if things came to it, then she would rather descend into the abyss than lose her position to Alina and thene back stronger!
Ace was clueless about Eva''s dangerously extreme thoughts, or he wouldn''t be paying attention to Alina right now.
"There is no need to thank me; it was something I should do, to begin with," Ace replied in a jolly tone.
He was really happy right now since Alina had also seeded in sweeping her bloodline, and he had also ascended to the next heaven. Everything was on track.
"Can I see you now?" Alina suddenly asked with great anticipation in her eyes.
However, before Ace could reply, Eva already beat him to it and sneered, "Join the line, girl. If I can go outside, do you think it would be your turn to meet him? Heh, fat chance!"
Alina''s expression grew cold as she clearly understood the meaning behind Eva''s jeering words, "What''s the problem? Are you in some kind of trouble? I can help you!" N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace also felt awkward at this moment since he wanted to let Eva and Alina out, but he didn''t know what would happen if he did. He was sure about Eva, though. He knew the moment she came out, she would trigger her tribtion, and he knew better than anyone that a ''tribtion''es with a huge fanfare.
Now there were also Alina and Cyrus. He wasn''t sure about Alina, but he had a feeling that Cyrus might not trigger any tribtion because of his pack with him. That''s why it was quite dangerous to let them out, at least until he could control his powers.
"Well, the thing is, we are indeed in a little bind, but it''s not what you''re thinking. Actually, we are no longer in the Mortal Sky Heaven; I have ascended into the higher heaven¡!" Ace dropped a huge bomb on Alina!
Chapter 1102 Coming Clean…
Chapter 1102 Coming Clean¡
??Alina was astounded when she heard how much time had passed since she started the process of bloodline sweep, and Ace had already ascended to the next heaven.
Ace patiently summarized all the details while omitting useless ones until he reached the point of his current situation. Eva also remained silent and let him exin without obstructing him.
After Ace was done, Alina had a pretty good idea about their current situation, and she took a deep breath and muttered with a hint of sadness, "So we are no longer in Mortal Sky Heaven? The Blood Ancestor is also dead, and I won''t be able to meet my parents now, huh? Pity, I want to introduce you to them at least once¡"
Although she didn''t have the best rtionship with her parents, she didn''t hate them. She knew what they did was for survival and was forced to do it because of the Blood Ancestor.
She even wanted to avenge her grievance by killing the Blood Ancestor personally, but Ace had already beaten her to it, which means her parents and n didn''t need to hide anymore.
But now that she was no longer in Mortal Sky Heaven, she knew going back would be impossible. However, as long as she was with Ace, she epted it since she had already decided to be with him forever.
However, Ace revealed something at this moment with a heavy heart. He didn''t even tell Eva about it because he didn''t want to worry her.
"The Golden Sky World is no more."
Eva''s and especially Alina''s eyes widened when they heard this unexpected and vague sentence.
"What do you mean no more?" Alina asked as she had a very bad feeling.
"At that time when I released the world seal¡" Ace decided toe clean as he knew it was his fault for what happened back then.
Eva was bbergasted when she heard about the ''Curse of Destruction'' while Alina directly started to emit dense killing intent because this meant her parents and n were no longer alive!
"It was all my fault. But that thing was simply too powerful, so powerful that an entire world was nothing but sacrifice in its eyes." Ace''s voice was filled with guilt and self-me.
However, before Alina or Eva said anything, Ace revealed another thing, "But I''ve saved everything I could, especially people close to you. Alina, your parents, and n arepletely fine, and they are in this living space ring that I got from the Devil Ancestor Edward."
At this moment, a storage ring suddenly fell into Alina''s hand out of nowhere, and Alina felt huge relief wash over her as she didn''t know what she would''ve done. She didn''t want to me Ace for it despite him being the reason for what happened back then, but she was sure she would''ve gone after that Curse of Destruction.
Eva also sighed in relief when she saw Alina''s chaotic emotions calm down. She was different from Alina because she didn''t have anyone other than Ace who she cared about, so despite being shocked by the news, she didn''t care, even if it was Ace''s fault.
But she knew Alina was different. If he hadn''t saved Alina''s n, their rtionship might''ve taken a huge blow, and she didn''t want that since she knew how much he cared about Alina. Despite not liking Alina, she didn''t hate her and even considered Alina her rival.
"Thank you for saving them!" Alina spoke as she clenched the ring in her hand.
"Heh, you just doubted Ace for a moment, right?" Eva still decided to take a jab to feel good about it, but she sternly said to Ace, "You shouldn''t me yourself for it. That thing shouldn''t have been sealed in that ce, to begin with. It''s the fault of whoever created that seal to lock down something so terrible in the Mortal Sky Heaven because they didn''t have the guts to handle it on their own!"
Alina nodded as she agreed with Eva despite not wanting to and coldly stated, "She''s right; it wasn''t your fault. That thing didn''t belong in that ce, so you can''t me yourself. You did what you could, and it wasn''t like you had another choice. And I will never doubt him! It''s just that I would have to find that thing myself and make sure he''ll suffer for eternity for what it did!"
Ace didn''t know what to say, but he still felt a little better after hearing they weren''t ming him. But he wasn''t going to shun the responsibility away. He had long decided that if he had a chance, he would avenge the Golden Sky World!
"Thank you for your understanding," Ace said warmly. "Oh, other than your n and Lillian, there are Thomas and Aliya in that ring as well. They are my people. Let them stay there for a while until we find some ce for them in this ce, and I''ll meet your parents as well with you. I haven''t interacted with them because I was waiting for you and had Lillian take care of everything.
"This ring is yours now, but I think you should refrain from entering it since it might not be able to handle your presence, just to be on the safe side. Since you have also sessfully swept the bloodline, I should hand you over the inheritance that I got with this bloodline."
Alina''s eyes shone with anticipation when she heard it. She alsopletely forgot about her sadness or that hatred she had just felt because now she no longer had any attachment to the Mortal Sky Heaven. She also blushed slightly when she heard Ace would meet her parents with her, just like a girl in love.
At this moment, in front of her, a ck jade scroll, and a ck crystal sword with shimmering stars on its extremely thin translucent de appeared in front of her.
"This jade scroll is a cultivation technique called the Sun and Moon Sword Sutra, and it is sealed. Only you with your bloodline can ess it. This sword is called the Cmity Star Sword, and like this scroll, only someone with your bloodline can tame and use it. I don''t know its actual grade, but it has to be extremely powerful.
"There was also a token, but it was rigid, and there was a hidden soul in it. If you touched it, that soul might take over your body. So, I''m going to keep it hidden until I take care of that sneaky bastard!" Ace said, and towards the end, his voice was icy cold as he still remembered that Bloodline Bound Token fa?ade.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
If he didn''t have the system, he would''ve been tricked and killed Alina with his own hands.
Alina''s eyes widened when she saw the sword. Despite seeing it for the first time, she felt a strange attraction to it, and she was also shocked when she heard the part about that token.
Eva, on the other hand, grimly looked at the sword because she just heard ggy''s voice in her head.
"That sword is just like me!"
Chapter 1103 Little Idiot!
Chapter 1103 Little Idiot!
??"Is that so?" Eva stated.
She didn''t show any emotion, but a hint of shock was still present in her eyes as she looked at Alina, epting the jade scroll and the Cmity Star Sword.
"What do you mean, ''is that so?'' Don''t you understand what it means? I can see that this girl and you didn''t see eye to eye, and her bloodline is even a mystery to me. I know you also sensed that earlier; only because of the iplete Void Abyssal Devil Bloodline were you able to match her equally, and that''s because she still hadn''t learned to control her power yet!
"From your talk with each other, it appears this girl wasn''t born with this bloodline. Just who is that husband of yours, and how many secrets is he hiding? I''m starting to wonder if that boy is an incarnation of a God or Son of Heaven!" ggy said, its voice filled with disbelief and uncertainty.
After all, ggy had been with Eva long enough now, and the things that ggy had seen up until now could be described as unreal. This forced ggy to change its view of Ace entirely. If ggy thought Ace was just a random boy who got lucky by winning Eva''s love, now, however, ggy knows it waspletely opposite.
Furthermore, now seeing Alinaing out of that strange cist and Ace casually giving her the Cmity Star Sword like it was nothing, ggy didn''t know what to think about this bunch of monsters anymore.
But still, Eva was ggy''s master, so it had to look after her. Seeing that Alina and Eva''s rtionship wasn''t amiable so it warned Eva about what kind of enemy she was making.
"Don''t poke your nose where it does not belong. The matter between my husband and his women are between us; you have no right to interfere with our decisions or matters rted to us. You are my advisor and protector, and since I''ve received your advice, it''s on me whether to take it or leave it." Eva coldly retorted without even hesitation.
She knew ggy was bing overly curious after witnessing Ace''s means, and she wasn''t someone who would expose Ace''s secrets to anyone. But hiding his secrets was easier said than done because ggy was her soul treasure, which had integrated into her soul even more perfectly after she created aw body. So, it was part of her, and it could see everything she witnessed.
Nheless, she still didn''t trust ggy enough to reveal Ace''s secrets, and even if she did, she wouldn''t do it before discussing it with the man himself.
"Tsk, do as you wish, like I care!" ggy scoffed, clearly very displeased about being treated like that.
At this moment, Alina touched the jade scroll, and suddenly, the vertical diamond-shaped golden-silver gem on her be shone, and the markings on her skin materialized.
The next moment, the jade scroll seemed to react to this. It turned into a golden silver streak and directly shot into the gem on Alina''s forehead!
It happened so fast that no one was able to react to it, and even Alina was shocked when this abrupt event took ce. However, something even more absurd happened next.
The markings on her skin started to glow even brighter, and the Cmity Star Sword in her head suddenly trembled and released a powerful, hummed, and sharp aura.
A runic ethereal circle appeared under Alina''s feet, and at this moment, an imposing yet melodious voice rang in Alina''s head, "O'' bearer of the Celestial Titan Bloodline, ording to my contract with your ancestor, I shall now form the Life Bond [Master for One-Life] with you. If you agree, then drip your blood on my de toplete the ritual!"
"What is happening? Are you alright?" Ace''s solemn voice rang at this moment. He was worried about Alina just standing there in a daze, and that runic circle that suddenly appeared felt somewhat familiar to him, so he didn''t make a rash move.
Alina finally snapped out of her daze and said, in confusion, "Didn''t you hear this voice?"
Unlike Eva''s lineage, Alina didn''t seem to have inherited any memories, for her bloodline was quite different. However, for this exact reason, the Jade Scroll was very important for her. But before she could even start tapping into the Jade Scroll''s contents, the Cmity Star Sword suddenly became active because of her bloodline, just like the Jade Scroll.
Although she had turned into aw state, unlike Eva, her knowledge was still iplete, so she didn''t know about the bonds of treasures, and that''s why she was confused. After all, since she had awakened, she had only been following her unique instincts.
"What voice? What did it say?" Eva asked, somewhat amused when she saw Alina''s clueless expression.
Alina narrowed her eyes because she didn''t like that expression, but she still revealed what she had just heard.
Realization dawned on Eva and Ace at this moment, and then Ace quickly exined what was going on, and he also understood why he felt familiar with that runic circle.
Alina also understood what was going on as she looked at the Cmity Star Sword with shining eyes, and since it was a good thing, she didn''t hesitate anymore and gently slid her finger on the translucent starry de, and her skin easily slit.
Ace and Eva were startled when they noticed that Alina''s blood wasn''t red; instead, it was silver with a golden tint, like mercury.
The moment the blood dropped on the de, the circle under her feet shimmered brightly. Runes suddenly appeared on the gem on her be, and a mirror rune shimmered on the sword de before they both vanished with the ethereal runic circle.
At this moment, the Cmity Star Sword suddenly turned into a dark streak and vanished into the gem on Alina''s be.
The melodious voice again rang in Alina''s head. However, the voice sounded somewhat violent, and what the voice said also shocked Alina.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"The Life Bond is established. You can now call me Star, little idiot!"
Chapter 1104 Eccentric Weapon Spirit!
Chapter 1104 entric Weapon Spirit!
Alina was startled when she heard the arrogant voice. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and she asked through telepathy, "Were you referring to me?"
"Who else? I didn''t expect a Celestial Titan to not even know about the bonding ritual, and you haven''t even started to cultivate yet. It seems the Celestial Titan has fallen while I was sleeping. How disappointing." The Cmity Star Sword''s treasure spirit, Star, expressed disappointment.
"It seemed you weren''t taught any manners!" Alina coldly stated as she clearly didn''t like Star''s tone.
"Hehehe, what are you going to do about it, huh? Bite me? I bet you can''t even summon me now, not to mention you are simply too weak to wield me. Remember, girl, only the strong are respected, while the weak are trampled on by the strong. Talk to me when you have the power to summon me; I''m going to sleep. Tsk, what a letdown." Star stated disdainfully, and her tone was filled with disappointment.
"What''s wrong?" Ace''s voice rang again at this moment before Alina could retort because he saw Alina''s deep frown.
Alina didn''t know what to say since Star wasn''t entirely wrong; she had justpleted the bloodline sweep and wasn''t familiar with her prowess, and Eva was also listening, so she wouldn''t admit that she just got trash talk by her own weapon.
"Everything is fine. My weapon just told me how grateful it is to have me as her owner." She lied as if it was the most natural thing to do while she swore to properly educate this arrogant weapon spirit once she sorted out everything.
She then changed the topic, "Anyway, when can I meet you? I have to properly thank you for giving me all these opportunities. I don''t think it''s a big deal. You said there are only fivew-state cultivators in this city, right? Why don''t you let us go through this tribtion? Once we stabilize our powers, I''m sure we can easily overpower them or at least make them hesitate to attack us." She stated confidently while ncing at Eva with a provocation look.
Eva''s eyes also widened slightly as she said, "I hate to admit it, but she has a point. I''m sure they won''t be foolish enough to barge into our heavenly tribtion if they know their terror. We can even use heavenly tribtion to create an opening in their defensive system."
However, Ace quickly rejected their idea, "No, I know better than anyone just how powerful a heavenly punishment could be. Although you two will be going through a weaker version, I won''t let you take this risk until I''m sure I can protect you if someone untoward happens.
"Furthermore, it isn''t like we didn''t have any other option. In fact, just wait a few more days, and more spots in the Thief House will open. Then you two can join as well if you want.
"In the meanwhile, I want you two to think carefully about whether you really want to join the thief''s house or remain independent. It might have many benefits, but it also puts great restrictions on its members.
"I know you guys won''t listen to me, but I just want you to think it onest time. Alina should also be able to familiarize herself with her bloodline by that time. Moreover, these spirit stones seemed pretty important, so we can''t miss them out since we are literally sitting on them!" Ace dered in an irrefutable tone.
"There is no need to think it over; as your ''First Wife,'' I''ll be joining you no matter what. Oh, and you can''t back away from your promise of making the Vice Leader!" Eva dered. She especially emphasized the words ''First Wife'' and ''Vice Leader'' despite thetter being a blunt lie, which made Ace smile wryly since he knew she was doing it to provoke Alina.
And she seeded when Alina''s expression went dark after she heard this. ring at Eva, she said, "I''m also joining no matter what. As for the positions of First Wife and Vice Leader, only someonepetent will keep them!"
Both goddesses-like women red at each other, and there were sparks in the air.
"Ahem, let''s talk about it when the timees. For now, we need to be civil. Oh, and Alina, I also want to ask you if you know about the cultivation realms ofw state and what kind of bloodline you have?" Ace changed the topic before these two destroyed his precious thief''s space. He also wanted to know more about Alina''s bloodline, especially about that jade scroll.
Alina reluctantly broke eye contact with Eva and replied, "I don''t have inherited memories like this she-devil over there. But Star¡ I mean the Cmity Star Sword, just called me by the bearer of Celestial Titan Bloodline. As for the realms ofw state, I think there might be some information in the jade scroll you just gave me.
"Because the moment it entered my head, I can feel something foreign inside my head and as long as I focus on it, I should be able to tell you what''s inside."
She truthfully replied before she again nced at Eva, who was also interested in this information and coolly said, "That''s why if you can ask a certain someone to leave my house for some time so that I can focus on it. It''ll be helpful."
"Hmph, who wants to be in the same space as you?" Eva retorted before Ace could say another and vanished from the room. She was clearly displeased.
Ace couldn''t help but smile wryly as she knew he had to cox the devilter now. He said to Alina, who had a victorious smile on her charming face, "Take your time, and if you need anything, just call my name, and I''ll be here for you."
"I will." Alina nodded gently as the fighting intent her eyes were nowhere to be seen.
"Wow, what a melodrama. I never expected a Celestial Titan to stoop to so low as to marry a Bigamist!" Star''s jeering voice rang in Alina''s head again, making thetter grimace. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Shut up! No one asked for your opinion!" She coldly berated.
"Hehehe, I wasn''t giving my opinion to begin with; I was just stating what I''ve seen," Star replied, clearly enjoying Alina''s reaction.
''As if that she-devil wasn''t enough!'' Alina didn''t know what to say anymore and simply decided to ignore this entric, disrespectful weapon spirit. She would get back at it once she had enough power!
After interacting with Eva and Alina, Ace was clearly in a good mood, especially since Alina had woken up.
Ace then thought for a moment before he decided to test something. The next moment, Cyrus suddenly appeared on top of his shoulder!
Chapter 1105 Spirit Stones
Chapter 1105 Spirit Stones
Ace summoned Cyrus because he had a feeling that Cyrus might not trigger any heavenly tribtion. Nheless, he was ready to send him away if he sensed something because he couldn''t afford to draw any attention to himself.
However, if nothing happened, then this means he would have a powerful trump card that wasn''t restricted like him, and he wouldn''t have to be so passive.
"Oh¡ where are we, big bro?" Cyrus asked curiously and with a hint of excitement as he observed the stone chamber. He''d been in the thief''s space for quite some time now, so getting out made the little guy quite excited, especially when he thought Ace was taking him on food-hunting.
Ace didn''t reply and warily felt his surroundings. When nothing out of the ordinary happened, he sighed in relief, and his eyes shimmered with tion. This meant he didn''t have to worry about Cyrus triggering any supernatural phenomena.
At this moment, Cyrus suddenly says something astounding to Ace, "This ce is strange. The air is heavy, and a new, more delicious thing is in the air, and I like it a lot in here!"
Ace''s raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean, little glutton?"
"Stupid, big bro. I mean, I like it here a lot!" Cyrus eximed while looking at Ace as if he were an idiot.
"How brave, now you''re even calling me stupid?"
Ace narrowed his eyes, making the little guy quickly rub his tiny head with his cheek in affection, "I-I¡ I forgot what I said, and I''ve missed you a lot!"
Ace was even more surprised to see the little guy trying to butter him up. "Where do you learn to talk like that?"
"Hehe~ I''m an adult, and adult talk like this!" He proudly dered.
"No, they don''t, and I''ve missed you as well." Ace chuckled as he couldn''t be mad at the little sycophant, and he seriously questioned, "Well, I can understand you can''t exin. Just tell me if you can use your power to burn others who try to harm us."
"Of course! Who do you want to burn?" Cyrus quickly asked in excitement; apparently, burning things was his favorite activity.
"Hah, I''ll take it as a yes." Ace chuckled as he was reassured now.
"Alright." Cyrus also nodded seriously as if he understood what Ace was saying before a glint of excitement shed past his eyes, "Big bro! I can feel this delicious air bing more delicious in this direction! Let''s go there!"
Ace looked at where Cyrus had just pointed with his little wing, and he was surprised to see that Cyrus was pointing in the direction of the crack where Kai had entered this ce.
''Could it be he''s talking about these Spirit Stones?'' Ace mused.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to leave this ce instead of waiting for the system to finish its upgrade.
After all, now that he could use the Twilight Qi and Cyrus was also here, he didn''t have to be afraid of the miners. As long as he didn''t encounter those overseers, no one was his match. Not to mention, he was also curious about those spirit stones.
Ace then made his way towards the crack and slowly walked towards the opening. When he was close to the other end, he saw dimmed light, but there wasn''t any noise; it waspletely silent.
''He does say that he was the only one in this section of the mine¡'' Ace remembered Kai''s words.
Once Ace and Cyrus emerged from the crack, they appeared in therge tunnel, and he was surprised to see glowing green crystals growing out of the walls.
''Are those the spirit stones?'' Ace wondered as he looked at those crystals. Now that he was in this ce, he finally felt foreign Qi in the air, and his body and mind suddenly felt refreshed.
"Food!" Cyrus instantly cried in tion as his eyes were affixed to those crystals.
This littlement was enough for Ace to confirmed his conjecture and he walked towards the closet crystal while the other section of was seemed to be sealed by stones, they fell when Kai discovered the path that leads to where he found Ace.
Ace touched the glowing crystal, and it felt warm. Then he tried to pull it using only his physical prowess.
''Crack¡''
With a small crack, it easily came out from the wall, leaving behind a grave, and Ace was surprised a little.
''Didn''t he say it required Qi to mine them, but I easily pulled it out?''
Ace gripped the egg-size spirit stone and frowned, ''I can feel that foreign Qi, which should be the Spirit Qi, but I can''t absorb it into my body. Maybe the same rule as the Qi Stones applies here as well. I need to convert it first¡''
"Give me!" Cyrus suddenly said, his eyes filled with hunger.
Since Ace couldn''t use it, he decided to give it to Cyrus and see what he would do with it.
The moment Cyrus watched Ace''s gesture, he quickly opened his little beak, and a powerful suction force suddenly enveloped the spirit stone in Ace''s hand. The next moment, a green mist suddenly started to emit from the Spirit Stone and then flowed into Cyrus''s mouth.
After a second, there was no mist, and the glowing crystal lost its luster. The next moment, it turned into dust right in Ace''s hand.
''That''s it?'' Ace wondered as he looked at Cyrus, who seemed to relish whatever he had just absorbed.
"It''s not enough," Cyrus suddenly muttered.
Atthis moment, the little guy''s body suddenly jolted, and he instantly turned around with agitation.
"What is it?" Ace became alert as this action was quite strange.
Cyrus looked at the blocked section of the tunnel and said, "Now I can feel something even more delicious in that direction. How strange!"
Ace also looked towards the blocked section and then at Cyrus with a serious look because he knew that Cyrus was quite proficient when it came to finding treasures, and he had never been wrong before.
Ace instantly made his decision, "Then let''s go in this direction!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 1106 Secret Discovered! (1)
Chapter 1106 Secret Discovered! (1)
After Ace decided to follow the direction Cyrus had pointed him in, he simply used his twilight Qi to remove the rubble from the way, and the tunnel ahead opened. But he blocked it again just to make sure no one followed them.
However, after half an hour of entering the tunnel, two middle-aged men with burly masculine builds entered the tunnel from the other side, and following behind them was none other than Kai!
Furthermore, unlike Kai, who was wearing gray robes, these were wearing clean white robes; they were clearly not miners.
"Are you telling the truth, little Kai?" One of the men with brown skin asked sternly.
"Yes, Lord Lonnie. As I''ve mentioned before, when I was mining the spirit stones, the wall suddenly caved in, and that''s what caused the sudden tremor. But you don''t have toe personally. I could''ve removed the rubble myself and continued the mining," Kai said with agitation while hiding his apprehensiveness.
This Senior Lonnie was none other than the Manager of the southern part of the Spirit Stone mines. When Kai exited the secret chamber after getting benefits from Ace, the first thing he did was to report the blockade in this tunnel.
He knew that if he hid it, he wouldn''t be able to exin the dy in his delivery, and he knew some of the miners close by had heard the tremor caused by the sudden emergence of the secret chamber.
If someone else reported it, he would be in huge trouble, and they would also send people here to investigate. So, he decided to do it himself so no one else woulde here, and he would also be able to protect the secret of the hidden chamber, which Ace instructed him to do.
However, Kai had never imagined that this usuallyzy manager would suddenly be interested in this event and personally decide toe here to check the authority of his im instead of just sending one of his goons.
Now, the secret he had been supposed to guard for at least two months was on the verge of unraveling in half an hour. Although Kai knew Ace was powerful, he wouldn''t be pleased after he found out that he failed to do this simple task because of his own stupidity!
"Behave, you little nobody! How dare you give a suggestion to Lord Lonnie? I''m starting to suspect that you''re only lying and want to ck off on your job!" The other man with a thick bear coldly berated Kai.
Kai''s eyes shed with resentment because he knew why this man was going against him like this. This man, who was the Junior Manager below Lonnie, was also theckey of the same outer city discipline that sent him to be a miner, and this man was deliberately making things difficult for him.
"I would never¡"
"Enough!"
Before Kai could retort, Lonnie cut him short and red at him, "The quota of our Southern Spirit Stone mines can''t be dyed without no good reason. So, I need to personally verify it before reporting to the city management. Unless you''ve deliberately caused this, you have nothing to worry about." He said this while looking deeply into Kai''s expression as if he wanted to see his reaction.
Kai felt his heart sink, and he barely controlled his trembling eyes. He nodded, "I''ve done nothing such thing."
"Good, then keep your mouth shut!" Lonnie coldly stated, and the other guy merely scoffed disdainfully, seeing Kai sheepishly back down.
Soon, these three reached the tunnel where the rubble was blocking the way further, and Kai''s heart was threatening to explode from his chest. But he knew this was now inevitable and only hoped his ''master'' would forgive him.
Lonnie looked towards the rubble and frowned before his eyes suddenly fell on the crack in the wall. He was startled before he narrowed his eyes dangerously and looked toward Kai, "What is that?"
''Shit! How could you not notice such a crack!''
Kai cussed himself before he quickly replied, "I don''t know, Lord Lonnie. When the wall caved in, I almost got buried under the rubble, so I quickly headed back to report it to you in my panic. I didn''t investigate the ce entirely."
"Is that so?" Lonnie clearly did not believe him. He looked at the other man and ordered, "Go and check what it is. Little Kai will lead the way."
"You heard it? Now, lead the way." The bearded man quickly turned to Kai, who was feeling as if his world was crumbling.
In the end, Kai had no choice but to move forward since he wasn''t powerful enough to oppose either one of them, and he absolutely abhorred himself for it.
He vowed that if Ace spared him for this ipetence, he would cultivate diligently, even if it meant breaking his body. At least then, he wouldn''t have to suffer like this.
"What the hell is this ce?" The bearded manmented in shock when he entered the secret chamber, while Kai was even more shocked because Ace was nowhere to be seen.
''Master left?'' Kai thought, and he also felt huge relief since this meant Ace wouldn''t be discovered by them or furious at him.
But there was also another possibility that Ace had just felt their presence and left. If he was a hidden expert, it wouldn''t be a big deal for him to exit this ce, and no one would be able to stop him. Nheless, this also means he might never even see Ace again! n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Lord Lonnie, pleasee here, and you really wanna see this!" the bearded manpletely ignored the dazed Kai and loudly eximed.
Thereupon, Lonnie also appeared, and he was just as shocked as the bearded man when he saw the vague carving and the altar in the middle of this chamber.
''Could there be an ancient inheritance or some kind of treasure hidden here?''
The moment this thought appeared in Lonnie''s head, greed surfaced in his eyes as he looked towards the bearded man and Kai, and a faint killing intent leaked from him!
Chapter 1107 Secret Discovered! (2)
Chapter 1107 Secret Discovered! (2)
Lonnie''s heart beats wildly with greed just thinking of the possibility of finding an ancient inheritance or some world-defying treasure that could change his fate forever. More importantly, he needs to make sure no one ever finds out about this¡ªno one!
However, despite his greedy thoughts, he didn''t take action against Kai or the bearded man. First, he wasn''tpletely sure if this ce had hidden traps or other dangers, so those two were perfect to pave the way for him. Once he made sure there was nothing wrong, he won''t hesitate to strike.
"Kai, go and climb on the altar and see if there''s something unusual. Vime, you search the rest of the rooms for anything strange." Lonnie coldly ordered, as he didn''t have any intention of touching anything since he had others to do it for him.
Furthermore, he wasn''t worried about these guys running away or attacking him once they found something because he was a peak Qi Soul Manifestation Realm cultivator, while the bearded man, Vime, was a Qi Soul cultivator, and Kai wasn''t even worth mentioning.
He was only rotting away in these mines because he had already exhausted his talent, and he didn''t have any chance to get the cultivation method for the 7th and 8th realms.
That''s why he was already trying to cozy up to the talented outer city disciples just for a chance to soar with their help, and this was also one of the reasons that he treats Vime quite well because Vime''s connection with an outer city disciple and always look the other way whenever he antagonized Kai and even helped him in multiple asions.
However, now, if this ce had a hidden treasure or inheritance, he would no longer need to depend on anyone, and he could finally be the big shot he always dreamed of!
Kai clearly sensed the changed atmosphere around Lonnie, and he almost thought he was looking at himself. He reacted just like Lonnie when he discovered this ce. In his heart, he knew things were not going to end well, and he started to sweat profusely.
Vime also spotted some clues, and his heart turned cold. He wasn''t an idiot, and he instantly started to console himself with fake hope that Lonnie wouldn''t do anything to him because of the young master.
Nheless, now both of them have no choice but to follow Lonnie''smand because Lonnie is inplete control.
Kai btedly climbed onto the altar, where he found Ace unconscious. He couldn''t help but carefully examine it, which he hadn''t had a chance to do earlier. However, those old runes were aplete mystery to him, and the altar appeared to be an antique; there was nothing extraordinary about it.
Before, he also knew that this altar was a treasure but didn''t dare show it to Ace since he might offend him. However, now, he started to wonder if this was just a ''bed'' that his master had made for sleeping.
On the other hand, Vime carefully scaled the walls of the chamber, and he also didn''t find anything, no hidden mechanism or secretpartment. If there were such a thing there, it wouldn''t be his turn to find it.
When Lonnie saw the altar, he didn''t react to Kai, and Vime didn''t find anything. His expression started to turn ugly, and he was starting to panic a little. So, he finally decided to act and start searching personally.
However, the more he searched, the grimmer his expression became, for he found nothing, and he appeared frantic when he realized there was really nothing here.
"How is this possible?" He muttered in panic while Kai and Vime silently stood on the side and watched Lonnie with a grave expression because they knew things weren''t looking good.
At this moment, a sudden realization struck Lonnie, ''Wait! He was here before!''
Instantly, he turned towards Kai, and Kai felt a suffocating pressure suddenly lock on him as he sensed the presence of death.
Lonnie''s eyes were shimmering with killing intent as he coldly asked, "You were here before, weren''t you? And you also took whatever was here before you reported it back. That''s why you were insisting that you would take care of it, right?
"You were afraid that if you failed to meet your quota, someone might investigate this ce, and then whatever you took from here would be exposed!" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The more Lonnie spoke, the more vicious his expression became, making Kai pale with fright because he knew things were going south for him.
"I''ll give you a chance. As long as you hand over whatever you took, I''ll let you live!" Lonnie stated emotionlessly, but his aura became even stronger.
"I-I¡ I didn''t take anything. Please search me, if you want, but I''m telling the truth! I entered this ce with both of you! Please believe me; I have no reason to lie!" Kai spoke as he trembled under Lonnie''s pressure.
Lonnie''s expression bes even darker when he hears Kai''s words. He didn''t want to hear those exact words, but it wasn''t like he had no way to confirm them.
"Search him." He ordered Vime.
Vime didn''t hesitate and started searching for Kai because he was afraid Lonnie might attack him if he didn''t find anything.
Kai didn''t resist and let Vime search as much as he wanted because he had already hidden the storage ring Ace had given him before leaving to report the incident. He was hoping that Lonnie would give up once he found nothing, but he had underestimated human greed.
"There is nothing on him, my lord," Vime said, his face looking frustrated and somewhat panicked.
Lonnie''s expression was almost pitch ck, and his eyes were bloodshot. At this moment, veins were popping out on his temple, but he was unwilling to admit this reality!
Then suddenly, his expression grew extremely vicious as he looked at Kai and said, "Since there is nothing on you, this doesn''t mean you can''t hide it somewhere else. But it didn''t mean you can''t prove your innocence. Let me perform a soul search on you, and I''ll see for myself if you''re telling the truth or not!"
Kai instantly took a step back because he knew what it meant to undergo a soul search. If he didn''t turn into a vegetable, his mind would bepletely ruined, and he wouldn''t be able to cultivate anymore.
Furthermore, Lonnie might also discover what really happened here, but he can''t allow that. Gathering whatever power he could muster, Kai dashed towards the crack leading to the mines since he and Vime were standing very close to it.
Seeing Kai trying to escape, Lonnie scoffed disdainfully, as if he were watching an ant trying to get away from a human: "There is nowhere to run, little Kai!"
Chapter 1108 The Only Solution
Chapter 1108 The Only Solution
Kai was running; however, his pace was as slow as a snail since Lonnie''s entire cultivation pressure was locked on him. He was pale as a ghost, and hot tears were streaming out of his bloodshot eyes.
Despite knowing that it was the end of the path, he still wanted to run. At least, he wanted to reach the ce where he hid the storage ring since there were few protective talismans that Ace had given him.
However, with a Qi manifestation realm cultivator locked on a Qi river cultivator like him, it was nigh impossible to get away unless some miracle urred, which was also impossible.
"Stop struggling. I promised I''d make it less painful, and as long as you''re telling the truth, I promised to send somepensation to your family." Lonnie''s cold voice, which sounded like a grim reaper, rang in Kai''s ears, and his entire body shuddered because he could tell Lonnie was right behind him!
''Why! Why did I have to die just after my luck was turning for the better!? Why is this happening!?'' Kai thought as he felt suffocating and cold all over his body like he was thrown out of a cliff and soon met his end.
But he was absolutely unwilling, and he didn''t want to die like this in these mines, without any meaning or before achieving anything. He remembered the loved ones he left back in the vige who were counting on him to change their situation, and he wanted to reply to them for giving him everything and even a chance to join the Sect Alliance City.
At this moment, Kai instantly decided, and just as Lonnie was about to ce his hand on Kai''s head, he shouted, "Stop! I''ll give you the treasure!"
Lonnie''s hand instantly paused and even trembled a little. His eyes were wide open in shock before a frantic smile filled with greed appeared on his face.
"So, you took the treasure after all, huh?" Lonnie coldly sneered, but the mirth in his voice was difficult to hide, in fact, he was slightly shaking with ecstasy, "Where is it! As long as you hand it over, I''ll promise to spare your life."
Even Vime was shocked at this moment and couldn''t help but feel somewhat pity for Kai. But it was only momentarily before a gloating sneer appeared on his face. He felt very d about Kai''s misfortune and even relieved that Kai didn''t get the chance to use that treasure, or it would''ve been an absolute disaster for him and his young master.
Kai also felt slightly relieved when he found Lonnie had stopped, but he wasn''t going to spill the beans, and he believed none of Lonnie''s words.
"First, I need absolute assurance that you won''t kill me once you get the treasure!" He said with an ashen expression.
"Hmph, do you think you can negotiate with me? I can just do a soul search and still get the treasure. It seemed you don''t want to live." Lonnie coldly sneered without giving an inch to Kai''s demand.
However, Kai had already thought of this possibility and turned around. His eyes shimmered with resolve, and he said by looking Lonnie''s dead in his eyes, "Alright, go ahead, take your chance. I''ve heard how soul search words. Let''s see if you can get those specific memories where I hid the treasure or before my mind breaks!"
Lonnie was startled. He could see the madness in Kai''s eyes, and he no longer appeared like someone who was afraid of dying. This made him finally hesitate because he knew Kai''s words weren''t empty.
After all, soul-searching wasn''t perfect, and the number of memoirs someone could get from others depended on the strength of the victim''s mind and the searcher''s capabilities. Lonnie wasn''t a soul cultivator, nor was Kai, so he knew he might break Kai''s mind before he could get those memoirs he wanted. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Lonnie didn''t want to take such a risk, especially after getting his hopes up again. He would rather spare Kai, and Kai was betting on this fact exactly. He wanted to use Lonnie''s greed against him, and he knew if it was him in Lonnie''s ce, he would also hesitate since they were the same type of people.
Furthermore, just like Kai, Lonnie was now also afraid that someone else might notice this ce, and once that happened, he would be in the same situation as Kai, especially if the people from the city management discovered it.
Lastly, unlike Kai, he could leave the Sect Alliance City, so he wanted to get his hands on the treasure and then escape from there!
"What do you want?" Lonnie finally spoke with gritted teeth as he had already made up his mind.
Kai finally found light in the darkness and quickly said, "Soul contract! Let''s sign a soul contract; I know you have it! I''ll lead you where the treasure is, and in return, you won''t do anything to me or scheme against me. Lastly, you need to kill that guy over there right now since we both don''t want any trouble, right?" Lonnie wasn''t shocked by Kai''s demand since, based on his early reaction, he knew Kai wasn''t an idiot. Vime''s expression turned pale, as his gloating expression was nowhere to be seen.
"No! Lord Lonnie, you can''t trust this bastard! He''s definitely hatching some scheme!" Vime instantly cried out loud, as he was really starting to get afraid now. After all, he had seen just how greedy Lonnie was, and Kai was using his greed against him!
"Hmph, you''re telling me he can trick me?" Lonnie coldly looked at Vime, his pressure now locked on Vime, and killing intent leaked from his eyes. He was already nning on killing Vime, to begin with, so Kai''s demand simply aligned with his.
Vime started to tremble and directly kneeled down, and tears began to stream down his eyes as he quickly started to kowtow, "Please, don''t kill! I''ll also sign the soul contract! In fact, i-if you kill me, Young Master Wace will investigate this matter, he won''t let you¡ ahhhhhh!"
''Boommmm!''
Before Vime couldplete his threat, he suddenly screamed before his head blew off like a watermelon, and his cold, headless bodyy there while a fountain of blood exploded from his headless neck, dying the floor crimson.
Kai shuddered as he felt icy chills running down his spine when he saw the appalled scene of how easily Lonnie killed Vime, and he couldn''t help but look at Lonnie with fear and trepidation. He finally understood if Lonnie wanted to kill him, it was extremely easy, and he was only alive because Lonnie needed the information from him.
"Heh, do you think I''ll be afraid of some errand dog?" Lonnie scoffed before he finally looked towards Kai and pulled an icy cold smile. Now, little Kai, let''s sign the soul contract, and don''t try to test my patience or y any tricks, or your death will be far, far more painful!"
Chapter 1109 New Ascenders
Chapter 1109 New Ascenders
Lonnie didn''t wait around. He quickly took out a soul contract from his storage ring, wrote down the contract, and made sure that there were no loopholes that Kai could exploit.
Although he was taking a huge risk by letting Kai leave alive, he also had a secret n that would ensure that Kai would die after he fled with the treasure.
Since he can''t kill him, it doesn''t mean no one else can. Once this ce was revealed to the city management, they instantly found Kai. Since Kai could answer because of the soul contract, he would die by either soul search or by simply opening his mouth.
Even if someone finds out about him taking the treasure, he will be long gone, and he makes sure that Kai will protect this secret as long as he can to buy enough time for his escape!
Kai was biting his lips while clenching his fist tightly. He was feeling suffocating just by thinking how things were turning good from bad for him. Although he managed to preserve his life, he knew it was only temporary. But what can he do? He waspletely on Lonnie''s mercy.
"Sign this." Lonnie coolly gave him the soul contract, and his tone was irrefutable. He was clearly not going to change anything on the soul contract.
Kai epted the contract with extreme unwillingness. When he read its uses, his heart sank because the contract was extremely harsh for him. There was even a condition that he couldn''t leave the Sect Alliance City for 10 years no matter what, and he had to protect this secret to the best of his abilities. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
This means that even if he gets a chance, he can''t escape the Sect Alliance City for ten years, which means he''ll be doomed the moment this ce is discovered!
"Shh¡"
Right at this moment, when Kai was about to sumb to his fate, a sharp hum suddenly rang in the chamber, and both Lonnie and Kai instantly looked toward the source of this voice.
They were both astounded and shocked when they saw this hum wasing from none other than the static altar!
For some reason, the runes on the altars started to light up, and an imposing aura suddenly released like a tidal wave enveloping the entire chamber. A golden light suddenly started to bloom from the center.
"What the hell is this?" Lonnie was shocked beyond belief as his eyes were affixed on the brilliantly glowing altar. He thought that it was just some ancient antique that waspletely useless now or that it was a ce where the treasure was stored.
But now, the altar suddenly became active, and the auraing from it was making his heart palpitate with agitation.
Kai was equally shocked as a sudden glimmer of hope rose in his heart. ''Could it be master? Is heing back to help me?'' His heart suddenly beat wildly with hope and ecstasy since he couldn''t think of another reason for the altar to react this way.
"Is this your doing?" Lonnie red at Kai, but seeing his shocked face, he quickly dismissed that idea since he knew if Kai had such a trump card, he wouldn''t be forced into a corner without using it.
''Is this another hidden treasure?'' Lonnie suddenly considered this possibility, and his eyes shimmered with greed. He thought his luck was simply too good today.
However, Kai didn''t reply and merely scoffed secretly, ''If it''s my master, then you''re dead!'' At this moment, a powerful shock wave suddenly released from the altar, sending huge tremors through the entire mines. It was far more powerful than what Ace had caused, but the chamber still endured it without crumbling. Kai and Lonnie were sent flying and crashed into the wall!
Kai directly hurled blood, and hisplexion was paled while a stream of blood also trickled down from the corner of Lonnie''s lips.
At this moment, the blinding golden light started to fade away, and three silhouettes appeared on top of the altar. Lonnie''s expression finally changed because it wasn''t what he was expecting. They didn''t seem like a peerless treasure to him, and even Kai was startled.
When the light was gone, three figures were revealed. One of them appeared like a beggar, with his face hidden behind his dreadlocks, and he had a bear''s chest.
The other two, however, werepletely different. One was a tall, handsome man in white robes with a slim frame. His appearance could be described as otherworldly. His eyes were golden, giving off a sharp and heroic air, while his long golden hair, like fibers of gold, was draped on his wide shoulders. There was a golden symbol on his forehead, which seemed like a justice scale. Thest person was a dainty woman in a white gown and a white mask hiding her face. Her hourss figure was extremely seductive and perfect, and her ocean-blue eyes were impassive and aloof. Her long ck hair was arranged in a high bun, and a strap of hair was dropped on the left side of her mask.
The beggar seemedpletely indifferent to the bbergasted Kai and Lonnie''s presence, coldly stating in anguage that Kai and Lonnie couldn''t understand.
"Heaven''s Stealer should''ve ascended in this ce around a year ago. Now that I''ve safely led you here, your life mission will start, and I won''t be there to help you. Remember, only bypleting this mission can you enjoy your life freely. Failure means death. I bid you good luck!" he dered, and the next moment, his figure vanished into thin air like a ghost, as if he had never been there before.
The handsome man''s expression turned stern, and he solemnly nodded before he looked towards the impassive woman. A hint of pain shed past his eyes. "How are you feeling, Emmie?"
The masked woman named Emmie nced towards the man, and a hint of uncertainty shed past her eyes. "I don''t remember anything¡" Her voice was melodious and also contained a longing for something.
"Don''t worry; as I mentioned earlier, we are husband and wife, and you had a terrible ident that caused you to lose your memories; I''ll exin everything to you and keep you safe as long as I live!" The man solemnly dered with a gentle tone, and his eyes were filled with love, but there was also hidden a vague guilt deep within.
Emmie didn''t react to this much as if she had already heard this before, but the confusion in her eyes only grew stronger. Still, she nodded in acknowledgment without saying anything.
The man sighed, seeing herck of reaction, and couldn''t help but feel even more pain when he remembered her past cheerful and heroic self.
In the end, he decided to take it slow and finally looked towards Lonnie and Kai, who were pale with fright. They instantly shuddered the moment the man''s golden eyes locked on them; they felt as if their souls had been exposed to him. Lonnie''s heart was beating with trepidation. He could sense that these people who were taking in gibberish were not to be messing with, and he had no idea why things were suddenly turning into this mess when he was just a hair away from getting what he wanted.
At this moment, the golden symbol of justice scale on the man''s be suddenly shimmered, and he narrowed his eyes. He said coldly in amon tongue that Kai and Lonnie clearly understood.
"I sense injustice!"
Chapter 1110 Spirit Nectar
Chapter 1110 Spirit Nectar
Unbeknownst to what was happening back in the secret chamber, Ace stood on the edge of an open cave with molten rocks on its edges. After following Cyrus''s lead, he met with a dead end in the tunnel.
However, the little guy simply spit his mes and melted, opening a pathway for him that would''ve taken miners like Kai hundreds of years to open. Furthermore, Ace discovered that the Spirit Stones wouldn''t burn to ashes with Cyrus''s spirit fire; instead, they became more refined into small beads and dropped on the floor.
Moreover, these refined Spirit Stones seemed to carry even more Qi, so Ace didn''t hesitate to collect them all while the little guy seemed to be more focused on whatever he was sensing.
Hence, they reached this ce, and Ace was startled when he saw what was on the other side. His heart palpitated. It was a huge cavern filled with chunks of glowing Spirit Stones, even taller than Ace''s height.
But what drew his attention was the small pond in the center of this cavern. It was filled with a pristine emerald liquid, and extremely dense Qi filled the ce. Ace could feel something foreign stirring within the moment he breathed this Spirit Qi-filled air.
"That''s it!" Cyrus cried in ecstasy as he looked towards the emerald liquid pond with a greedy re, barely able to control his urge to fly over it.
Ace knew this had to be some kind of natural treasure since it was so deep in the spirit stone mines; he didn''t expect he would find something like this just after awakening. He was also d that he let Cyrus out.
"You really are my lucky start, little brat." Ace praised, and he was also ted. He stated, "Just as usual, you''ll take half of what you found, and half will go to me!" "Alright!" Cyrus instantly agreed without hesitation.
Ace nodded in satisfaction before he headed towards the pond. The closer he got, the more his heart raced and his body rejuvenated. He really wanted to know what this liquid was, but the system was out ofmission, and he didn''t even know if he could use it right now.
Nheless, Ace was nning on collecting it, and he would decide to fully utilize it only when the system was awake. Otherwise, there was a chance he might waste it by using it in the wrong way.
"Can I eat it now?" Cyrus asked, his body trembling with agitation.
"Wait, little glutton, let me collect my share first, then you can do whatever you want." Ace chuckled and told Cyrus, "In the meantime, why don''t you make yourself useful and refine those spirit stones with your spirit fire into those beads for me? We can''t leave them for others since we found them."
After knowing that the spirit fire had a strange effect on the spirit stones and that they always turned into beads, he had a feeling that there might be some kind of secret to spirit stones that onlyw state cultivators know, and turning them into beads might be the correct way to utilize them.
Cyrus reluctantly nodded before he flew towards the huge chunks of spirit stones and got to work. Truthfully, it didn''t take much from Cyrus to refine them at all. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace nodded in satisfaction at seeing Cyrus being obedient. Then his eyes finally fell on the pond, which was 30 meters in diameter, but he couldn''t see its bottom.
But it didn''t matter as Ace took out a storage sk and poured his twilight Qi into it, a powerful suction force locking on the pond. The tranquil liquid in the pond suddenly stirred and started to flow toward the small sk''s open mouth.
However, the moment the emerald liquid touched the sk, ''Boom!'' it instantly sted into Ace''s hand, shocking him as the liquid fell back into the pond.
Ace''s expression changed as he looked at the shards of the sk in his hand and then nced in astonishment toward the liquid.
Suddenly, a thought came to him, ''Could it be that the elemental-grade treasures can''t hold the spirit treasures, just like the spirit stones can''t be stored in elemental-grade storage treasures? Well, this is troublesome. But my thief''s space can still hold those spirit stones just fine. Should I try taking the liquid directly into the thief''s space?''
Ace didn''t forget what Kai had told him about elemental-grade storage treasures'' inability to keep spirit stones, and what just happened might be the same case.
"Master, can I have it?" At this moment, Ace suddenly heard Avos''s hesitant voice.
Ace was startled and pleasantly surprised, "You''re awake? Why weren''t you reacting before when I tried to speak with you?"
"I don''t know, master. For some reason, I suddenly fell into slumber when you entered that path, and only now have I suddenly regained my senses because of our connection when you found this Spirit Nectar!" Avos sounded uncertain.
Ace''s eyes shimmered as he quickly asked, "Fell into slumber? It might have something to do with the primordial path of ascension. But since you''re fine, it''s all that matters. Anyway, Spirit Nectar? Do you know what this is?"
Ace felt relieved because Avos was originally from this ce, which meant he wouldn''t have to worry about being ignorant anymore. He appreciates all the help he can get in this foreign ce.
"I have some knowledge about it. A drop of Spirit Nectar only formed in the heart of an Earth Spirit Vein after a hundred years. But not just any Earth Spirit Vein can form Spirit Nectar.
"You should know a grade-9 Qi stone lode or grade-9 Soul Crystal source would take the shape of auspicious beasts indicating good fortune of heaven onnds, right?" Avos asked.
Ace nodded as he learned about these beast veins from the system when he stole the beast veins from the so-called goldennds of the Skr imperial family from one of the three mystic zones of Sky Heart ins.
"Do you mean to say that this spirit nectar could only form in a beast vein? But you just call it an Earth Spirit Vein? Is this what you called a spirit-grade beast vein?" Ace questioned, wanting to know more about this ce and its knowledge.
"You are right yet wrong at the same time, Master." Avos softly retorted, "I guess, since you''re already ascending, it''s about time I tell about the general knowledge of the Mortal Ascension Heaven!"
Chapter 1111 Mortal Ascension Heaven (1)
Chapter 1111 Mortal Ascension Heaven (1)
"Mortal Ascension Heaven? Is this the name of second heaven?!" Ace hurriedly questioned with profound curiosity.
"Yes, the Heaven above the Mortal Sky Heaven is called the Mortal Ascension Heaven, and this is my birthce," Avos replied with a hint of reminiscence.
Ace took a deep breath as he finally realized where he was and urged Avos, "Tell me more."
"I don''t know about Mortal Sky Heaven since my master suddenly ended up there while chasing the Abyssal Beings and met his end. Then I was trapped there to keep that thing in check until you arrived.
"Although I don''t know if my knowledge is still urate since thousands or maybe millions of years have passed, Mortal Ascension Heaven is mostly ruled by Sects.
"In this ce, cultivators ranked their sects in three different grades, and then there were also sects that were gradeless because they only had Law State Cultivators or 9-Star Ascension Solider overseeing them.
"But any sect that can be called the First Grade Sect should have a 1-Star Ascension Grand General as Sect Leader and 9-Star Ascension Grand General Grand Protector. These sects also have ''Grand'' in their names. No one can use the title ''Grand'' without having sufficient power, or they will be destroyed by the Grand Sects. It is a silently acknowledgedw among the cultivators of the Mortal Ascension Heaven.
"Thenes the Second Grade Sect in the middle, and they would have at least a 1-Star Ascension Guardian and 9-Star Ascension Guardian Grand Protector. With their sect name, they will use the title ''Guardian'' just like a First Grade Grand Sect.
"After the Second Grade Sects, or the Guardian Sects, came the Third Grade Sects, which stand at the very pinnacle of the Mortal Ascension Heaven. They are very mysterious and always remain hidden in ces that no one dares to venture.
"I don''t know what the requirements are to be a Third Grade Sect, but they are known as the King Sects, and only they can use the title ''King'' with their names!" Avos solemnly stated with a hint of awe when it mentioned the King Sects.
Ace was astounded when he heard this new and important information, and then suddenly, he thought about how Kai had said the Sect Alliance City was under five ''Grand Sects'' control.
''So, they are the third-grade sects¡'' Realization dawns on him. But something even more important caught his attention, and he eagerly questioned with great anticipation, "You just mentioned titles like Ascension Solider, Ascension Grand General, and Ascension Guardian. Are they cultivation realm names of the Mortal Ascension Heaven, and 1-Star to 9-Star refer to their stages?" "You are right about your assumption. You see, in the Mortal Ascension Heaven, the paths of martial and Soul becamepletely different, and they had different names. So, to simplify them, there are titles given to a cultivator of a specific rank.
"The First Soul Path Realm of the Mortal Ascension Heaven is known as the Law Spark while the Martial Path''s is known as the Law Channeling.
"In the former case, a soul cultivator had to use and refine the Spirit Qi to turn their Law Souls into a Spirit Soul, and in thetter case, the Spirit Qi is used to turn Law bodies into Spirit Bodies. The progress is measured from 1~100%.
"This Realm is also titled the Ascension Solider. A newly ascended elemental state cultivator, like a master, would be called the 1-Star Ascension Solider. The more you progress in turning your body or soul with Spirit Qi, the higher you rank. The potency of Spirit Qi of a cultivator can also measure this realm.
"The Second Realm is called the Spirit Soul Integration (Soul) or Spirit Body Integration and is titled the Ascension Warrior. The Third Realm is Spirit Soul Formation or Spirit Body Formation and is titled Ascension Grand General.
"The Fourth Realm is Nascent Spirit Soul World, or Nascent Spirit Body World, and is titled Ascension Master. The Fifth Realm is Spirit Soul World Expansion, or Spirit Body World Expansion, and is titled Ascension Grandmaster.
"The Sixth realm is Spirit Soul Dominion or Spirit Body Dominion and is titled the Ascension Guardian. As for the rest, I don''t know because even my previous master was only a 1-Star Ascension Warrior and came from a second-grade Guardian Sect. I was also forged there!" Avos stopped speaking and let Ace absorb this information.
Ace''s eyes shimmered with realization as he finally understood the basics of Mortal Ascension Heaven and its cultivation system. Although it was a pity that Avos didn''t know the realms above the Ascension Guardian, it was still enough for him not to be ignorant about this ce anymore. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Besides, he was still just an Ascension Soldier, so by the time he became an Ascension Guardian, he was sure he would''ve known far more. Then there was the system, which should have given him more knowledge once he got his cultivation technique, just like back in the Mortal Sky Heaven. Avos spoke again, "I had already exined the Ascension Grades and Ascension Spirit Grades and their Lower and Upper Stages to you before. Now, on to the main subject of the Earth Spirit Vein.
"When a Grade-9 Beast Vein took the shape of an auspicious beast, the auspicious beast''s shape or kind also determined its future evolution potential, and that''s how we grade them into Mortal, Earth, Sky, and Heaven Grades. "A Mortal Grade is given to a Beast Vein that produces grade-9 Qi stones or Soul Crystals. Only beast veins in the shape of Serpents and Birds have a very small chance of further evolving into an Earth-grade Spirit Vein. "When a Mortal Grade Beast Vein evolved into an Earth Grade Spirit Vein, it expanded to arge degree, and its shape became closer to the auspicious beast it initially took.
"Furthermore, an earth spirit vein can produce Spirit Stones or Spirit Crystals up to the upper third ascension grade. It all depends on how old and untouched the earth spirit vein is. The raw spirit stones and spirit crystals also need to be refined with Spirit Fire to evaluate the potency of Spirit Qi further and make them gentler and easier for a cultivator to absorb. This ispletely different from the Qi Stones and Soul Crystals. Absorbing them raw is akin to wasting them. "As for the Spirit Nectar of Earth Grade, a single drop is akin to 1000 refined Upper Ascension Grade-3 Spirit Stones or Spirit Crystals and far more potent and easier to absorb without any side effects. Only an Earth Spirit Vein in the shape of a Wyrm, Wyvern, Fire Bird, Winged Tiger, Two-Headed Tortoise¡, or such auspicious beast veins can produce Spirit Nectar.
"While a Sky Grade Spirit Vein can produce Spirit Stones and Soul Crystals with different Element Law affinities!"
Chapter 1112 Mortal Ascension Heaven (2)
Chapter 1112 Mortal Ascension Heaven (2)
It took Ace some time to digest all this new information, and he was fascinated by it.
"So, what kind of earth spirit beast vein do you think this one is, and are we at the source of this vein?" Ace questioned, as he was really starting to miss the system.
After all, he might be able to directly absorb this entire earth spirit vein and make his cultivation much easier, just like in the Mortal Sky Heaven.
"No, this is not the vein heart of this vein but a branch. If my guess is correct, then the vein heart would be quite far from this ce. But since this vein could generate Spirit Nectar, I suggest you be careful and not go after the vein heart." Avos solemnly advised.
"Oh? Why is that? Is there some danger I should be aware of?" Ace asked with narrowed eyes, finding this quite strange.
"The spirit beast vein should be no danger to you, but this type of beast vein is normally upied by a third-grade or even a second-grade sect, and they guard it with everything they have. A spirit vein is like a sect''s lifeblood and the very foundation of its heritage, and it can bring good fortune to a sect and make it rise.
"However, since it''s not upied by aforementioned sects, it might be imed by a powerful entity that could deter such sects from converting it. Such entities would only care about cultivating in the vein heart and normally ignore others as long as they won''t disturb them.
"The chances of this spirit beast vein being unupied are almost zero, especially if we consider magic beasts ofw state. They had powerful senses that allowed them to sense natural treasures, especially a beast vein of this magnitude and a magic beast that this vein could attract and protect. They should at least be an Ascension Grand General or even an Ascension Master.
"Moreover, since the master found this untouched pond of spirit nectar, we can safely assume that this beast vein wasn''t touched for a very long time, and if we end up provoking something, the risk is simply not worth our lives." Avos sternly expressed its conjecture.
Ace took a deep, sharp breath. He could understand where Avos wasing from, and he wasn''t foolish enough to provoke an Ascension Grand General when he didn''t even have all of his abilities. Not to mention that Moira was also indisposed at this moment. So, he decided to follow Avos''s advice and not go any further. Even if he had Cyrus, the risk was simply not worth it. Not to mention, even if there was a chance of this beast vein being unupied, he couldn''t use it.
"Alright, I''ll remember your warning." Ace nodded before he asked, "So, is this spirit nectar useful for your recovery?"
"Yes, master. It should be able to help him recover up to upper ascension grade-1!" Avos stated with a hint of anticipation.
"Well, go ahead then, but you can only take half of it since the other half belonged to my little glutton over there. If you take it all, he''ll throw a tantrum, and we don''t want that." Ace quickly agreed that Avos''s recovery would be hugely beneficial for him and another assurance that could protect his life. But he didn''t forget about Cyrus as well since he was the one who found it.
"I''ll keep that in mind. Please let me out." Avos didn''t mind. In fact, Avos felt Ace was too good to his own people, as he didn''t even keep anything for himself. How noble.
Ace didn''t ask any further questions despite having many, but he knew he couldn''t waste more time in this ce, especially after hearing that there might be some kind of powerful entity sleeping somewhere. He would let the humans of the five grand sects deal with it.
He was pretty sure that they might not have ess to the information that Avos had, that they wouldn''t be mining in this ce for so many years, or that they were simply too greedy.
Furthermore, Ace also found it quite strange that if an earth-grade spirit beast vein was so important for a sect''s rise, then why didn''t they just take it and build their sects here instead of just building a city?
The reason might have something to do with the five sects finding out about this ce together, so they can''t get to an agreement of letting just one of them keep it. But there was still a chance they knew they wouldn''t be able to take over the Cmity Beast Mountain Range. So, they were only doing the mining until that can, and once they hit an iron wall, they would simply abandon the Sect Alliance City while remaining safe in their own territories.
Then there was the part about the Cmity Beast Mountain Range being connected to all five grand sects'' territories, and this being some kind of dangerous area that they wouldn''t dare conquer before. They were just taking a risk by mining the spirit stones at the edge of the Cmity Beast Mountain Range.
After all, Avos just said this ce was just a branch of the entire earth spirit beast vein. That''s all the more reason for him not to go any further, especially in his current state.
Right now, he is content about finding this ce, and he can alwayse back in the future when he doesn''t have to fear for his life and take this vein heart for himself.
The next moment, Avos appeared in his hand as its ocean de was still filled with cracks and instantly, Avos flew off from Ace''s and directly dived into the spirit nectar pond.
"Oh, it''s that broken toy I''ve been using as a decoration in the nest (thief''s space)!" Cyrus eximed as he was backed after refining all the spirit stones. Now, the cavern was filled with shining beads.
"That''s not a toy; it''s Avos, and it is my sword. So, remember to behave and don''t bully it much. It''s alive, just like us." Ace retorted with a wry smile, not knowingwhat to do with the little guy''s antics.
"Oh, can I have a sword that can move around? I can y with it, and it seems quite fun!" Cyrus demanded with anticipation.
"Swords are not for plying. Find one on your own if you want one." Ace shook his head andpletely gave up on correcting him.
"I will!" Cyrus confidently replied. The little guy now had a new goal: finding a sword that he could y with.
At this moment, the spirit nectar pond suddenly glows brightly, and then it starts to sink down little by little as the spirit nectar is absorbed at a ridiculous speed.
Ace''s eyes shimmered with tion because he could feel from his connection with Avos that he was getting stronger.
When the pond sank four meters, it finally stopped. An ocean-blue streak shot out from the pond andnded in Ace''s hand, revealing the sharp, cold sword. The cracks on its pristine de were nowpletely gone, and it appeared as if it had juste out of a forge.
"Thank you for bestowing me the spirit nectar master; now I can be more useful!" Avos''s heavy voice rang with a hint of ecstasy, and he was really grateful to Ace.
"Avos, I''m Cyrus, and I''m big bro''s best little brother. You have to y with me!" Cyrus suddenly chimed in before Ace could reply, and his voice was filled with anticipation as he looked at the shining Avos.
Avos was speechless and didn''t know how to react since this Cyrus appeared quite¡ unique.
Ace gently flicked on the little guy''s tiny head and retorted, "I''ve told you, he''s a sword, not a toy. Now, go and absorb the spirit nectar before I change my mind!"
"You can''t bully a child and take my things!" Cyrus instantly became vignt when he heard Ace was nning on ''betraying'' him. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Aren''t you an adult?" Ace found it quite amusing as he teased.
"Not right now!" Cyrus didn''t wait for Ace''s reply and quickly hurried over towards the pond!
Chapter 1113 I’m the Representative of…
Chapter 1113 I¡¯m the Representative of¡
Ace looked at the empty spirit nectar pond and then towards Cyrus on his shoulder. Although Cyrus still looked the same, his aura had be more powerful and deep, which was good for Ace.
Furthermore, the bed of the pond was covered with emerald crystals, which seemed to be even more powerful than the spirit stones he had seen until now. So, he had Cyrus refine them as well and then collected everything.
Ace had also stowed away Avos in his thief''s space since he couldn''t ess his inner space right now. He couldn''t risk losing Avos even if he could send the sword into his inner space since his other treasures weren''t answering his call yet.
"Big bro, I sense something even more delicious under this pond! Should I burn open a path?" Cyrus suddenly asked with anticipation.
Ace raised an eyebrow as he was already expecting this, but he still remembered Avos''s warning, so he shook his head, "No, it might be dangerous since we don''t know where we ended up. Let''s return to the future again. For now, let''s focus on finding a way out of this ce. How about you burn open a path that leads us outside these mines since we can''t afford to take the exit in front?"
Now that Ace knew Cyrus could easily tunnel through these spirit stones walls, which should be impossible for an elemental state cultivator, he was nning on making a tunnel that led directly outside the sect alliance city.
However, it was far easier said than done. Without any urate direction, his fate map was still not working, and it had something to do with hisck of heavenly Qi. So, he asked Cyrus if the little guy could help him with this, which he didn''t have much hope of.
"Going outside?" Cyrus asked confusingly, with a hint of reluctance. The little guy was clearly not willing to leave this ce filled with delicacies.
Nheless, since Ace had already stated his opinion, he could only agree and follow obediently. "Yes, can you sense a path that could lead us outside these mines?" Ace nodded.
Cyrus pulled a thoughtful expression and started to look around. Then his little eyes lit up. "Big bro, let me try something!"
Ace was surprised when he heard Cyrus''s unexpected reply, "What are you up to? Don''t cause¡"
Right at this moment, Ace was startled when the entire ce suddenly shook. A powerful tremor ran under his feet, almost making him fall.
"What is happening?" Ace squinted his eyes with uncertainty as he vaguely felt a faint wave of powerful Qi spreading with these unknown tremors.
"It came from there!" Cyrus quickly pointed his little wing towards the exact pathway they came from.
Ace was startled, and his expression became grave, ''Could it be someone powerful just entered the mines and found the altar, and these sudden tremors were the result of them doing something? Just what the hell that useless fool was doing? Whatever the case is, I can''t go back now with my current state, and even if Cyrus can overpower whoever it is, the sh will cause even moremotion¡''
"Ignore it for now. You are going to try something, right? Just make it quick." Ace gravely ordered.
Cyrus nodded, sensing the urgency behind Ace''s voice. The next moment, he flew off Ace''s shoulder and let loose a faint cry, "Nether Form!"
Ace was startled when he heard Cyrus''s words, but he was even more shocked by what happened next.
Cyrus''s dark body suddenly ignited into dark blue mes and turned ethereal, looking like a zing phantom from theherworld. Even Ace could feel his heart palpitating, as he could sense the chilling aura from Cyrus''s mes directly affecting his soul, and that was the case despite Cyrus''s not even locking into him.
''What are his mes cold now? Before, when he was using his mes, they were extremely hot. Could it be he can use both cold and hot mes at will? Furthermore, these cold mes felt even more powerful than his hot mes¡'' Ace mused with a hint of awe and tion.
The next moment, the phantom Cyrus suddenly turned into a streak and directly shot toward the northern wall, leaving behind a beautiful trail of dark blue mes.
Then Ace saw something absurd; Cyrus directly passed through the wall like they didn''t exist and vanished.
''It''s just like my Twilight Traverse, but he can pass through physical objects even if there are no restraints or formations engraved on it. To use my Twilight Traverse to pass through physical objects, I need them to be engraved with formations, and only then will the requirements be met to use it.
''Furthermore, this Nether Form seems far more profound and might have other uses. It seems the little brat awakened it after he becamew state with me. I should inquire about it from him and see if there are other abilities he has awakened. But he''s too yful and might not even be able to describe them, just like I asked earlier about the Spirit Qi¡''
Just remembering Cyrus''s antics, Ace pulled a wary smile and almost gave up on finding out about Cyrus''s new abilities. Nheless, he was happy about Cyrus getting new abilities, as this would mean Cyrus could be even more helpful, and he wouldn''t have to worry about Cyrus getting harmed.
At this moment, Ace was waiting for Cyrus to return when suddenly, his heart trembled. Out of nowhere, he felt a powerful pressure suddenly spread in the cavern, and Ace was horrified because this pressure was Cyrus''s presence or even slightly stronger, and despite not being directly locked on him, he could feel just how powerful it was. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
''An ascension solider?!'' Ace''s expression warped when he thought about this possibility. He thought he had been discovered, and a sense of urgency overwhelmed him. But he forced himself to remain calm.
Although the pressure was horrendous, he was still fine because of his unusual body, and he could clearly feel this pressure wasn''t directly locked on him, and he was just feeling a part of it.
At this moment, an aged voice suddenly reverberated in the entire mine, "Which fellow practitioner has entered my Sect Alliance City''s spirit mines without any prior notice? Pleasee out, or this old man will have to be rude!"
Ace''s expression darkened even more as he felt this old voice talking to him. He could clearly feel this person''s position despite him not being here. Now, he understood just how powerful aw state cultivator was, and he became even more indignant about his own strange condition!
However, before Ace could take further action or make sense of this situation, another cold, imposing voice from a young man rang.
"I''m the representative of Heaven''s Justice, and whoeveres in the way of justice will be judged by me, for I am Heaven''s Advocate!"
Chapter 1114 Justice Delayed is not Justice Denied!
Chapter 1114 Justice Dyed is not Justice Denied!
"I''m the representative of Heaven''s Justice, and whoeveres in the way of justice will be judged by me, for I am Heaven''s Advocate!" Ace was bbergasted when he heard this arrogant deration, and his mind raced, ''So, there is someone else who draws the attention of the overseer? But what''s with this intense name ''Heaven''s Advocate'' and being the representative of Heaven''s Justice? And why is this person here?''
Although Ace found this situation quite strange, he was still relieved that he wasn''t the one who drawn the Ascension Solider in this ce.
"Oh? You have some good humor, fellow practitioner. How about youe out and have a chat with this old man about Heaven''s Justice?" The old man''s voice rang again with a hint of ridicule.
"Very well, I was also hoping to inquire about someone; maybe you can help me with this matter." The young man nonchntly replied as if he waspletely unbothered by the old man''s hidden hostility.
''What an arrogant guy¡ but he might have the power to back his words.'' Ace couldn''t help but slightly admire the other guy. Nheless, he knew he wasn''t out of the woods, especially if these guys investigated the tunnel behind the rubble.
If they found the path opened by Cyrus, he would be exposed, so he quickly has to leave, using this mysterious Heaven''s Advocate as a smokescreen.
''Just where did the little brat go, and why is he taking so much time?'' Ace started to feel restless. He had a very bad feeling about this turn of events, and he quickly wanted to leave.
"Where are you?" Ace used his telepathy connection with Cyrus to ask quickly.
"I found the way out!" Cyrus suddenly replied, "I''ming back!"
Ace''s eyes lit up as he felt slightly relieved and sensed Cyrus''s position with his connection with him.
A few momentster, Ace saw the western wall of the cavern suddenly start to turn crimson before it melted down, revealing a burning path of molten rocks. Cyrus''s small figure appeared as he chirped happily andnded on Ace''s shoulder.
"Let''s go big bro!" Cyrus said without dy. "You don''t need to tell me twice. And I want you to keep an eye out for anyone closing in on us and make sure you won''t be discovered!" Ace quickly moved while issuing a gravemand to Cyrus.
---
On the other side of the spirit stone mines,
Five humans in different styles of robes stood a few meters away from the mine entrance, their facial expressions varying. Other miners stood quite away from them, watching this scene with shock and a gobsmacked look as if they were watching a dream.
Although they didn''t know who these five humans were, the suffocating air around them and the old man''s earlier words allowed them to guess their revered identities.
But this only made them even more shocked, and they wondered if they were here because of the sudden tremor or this mysterious person who had somehow infiltrated the spirit stone mines, hence the Sect Alliance City, which was unbreachable in their hearts.
At this moment, vague yet steady steps are heard from the mouth of the tunnel. Thereupon, a tall, handsome figure emerges from the shadows, radiating an aura of unwavering conviction. His white robes shimmer and a righteous fire burns in his. Matching his confident steps was a dainty woman in a white gown with a white mask covering her face.
Behind them were walking the bewildered yet horrified Kai with fumbling steps, and behind him was ashen face Lonnie with absolute agitation written all over his horrendous face.
The five humans who were known by the five overseers of the Sect Alliance City and representatives of Five Grand Sects showed various expressions when they saw the extremely handsome young man and the masked woman beside him.
Furthermore, what shocked them even more was they felt faint apprehension from both of them and a mysterious feeling of reverence from the young man in white as if they were in the presence of a grand existence.
The old man with a dwarf and skinny frame, short gray hair, and sharp eyes in the middle of these five overseers narrowed his eyes as he asked with vignce, "Who are you, fellow practitioner? And what are you doing in our five sects spirit stones mines? It''s impolite to trespass on someone else''s territory." He emphasized his background coldly.
This old man was Perry. He belonged to the Grand Myriad Law Sect and was the strongest of the five overseers¡ªa 3-Star Ascension Solider!
Perry and the others were drawn here by the tremors and the powerful undtion from the activation of the ascension altar, and they thought someone had attacked their spirit stone mines.
However, since their formation didn''t react at all, they thought that this infiltrator was either too powerful or there was another way inside the city they didn''t know of.
The chances of the former were quite low since this region was tightly guarded by the five sects. If anyone wanted toe here, they had to go through one of the five sects, so they were sure that it was thetter case.
In their initial dialogs with this infiltrator, they even thought that it was some lunatic who got lucky. But now, after seeing him in person, they no longer have those thoughts, and they take this extremely seriously.
Furthermore, none of them could measure the depth of this young man''s cultivation, so this only made him even more vignt, and they didn''t want to attack before making sure they could take him down. Moreover, they had already secretly sent singles for help to their sects, so as long as they could buy enough time, powerful reinforcement would be here.
The young man, or Heaven''s Advocate, said at this moment, "It''s indeed disrespectful to trespass into someone else''s territory, but from my view, thesends are the gift of Heaven. The air with breath is bestowed on us by Heaven, and even our insignificant lives belong to Heaven.
"Yet, Heaven doesn''t ask us for anything; it didn''t drive us away, so why do we, the children of Heaven, have such thoughts? In my view, as long as we are under heaven, nowhere is someone else''s territory but a shelter bestowed upon us by heaven." His righteous voice cuts through the air and into everyone''s heart, especially those miners.
However, those five overseers found it quite ridiculous. They werepletely baffled by those words and looked at Heaven''s Advocate as if he were an idiot. At this moment, a woman in somewhat revealing robes and a sexy figure suddenly burst into bell-likeughter as if she were extremely delirious. Her name was Winifred, and she belonged to the Grand Charm Sect.
"Little brother, I liked your theatrics very much. How about you apany this big sis for a chat? I really want to hear more about your unique views, and I might even reward you if you make meugh." Winifred seductively winked at the Heaven''s Advocate.
If there had been someone else, they would''ve been burning all over in heat because of her seductive actions, but the Heaven''s Advocate''s expression remainedpletely indifferent.
He sighed in pity, "Ignorant and disgusting, now it all makes sense why Heaven is filled with despair and gloom. It''s all because of cultivators like you! You guys took lives for granted; you kill indiscriminately, without mercy, without the faintest remorse; you kill for greed, kill for vanity, and some of you even killed your own kin for power and treasures."
He then gestures to the stunned miners, "Look at them! These are not your ves but your fellow creations under Heaven! Do they not deserve a life free from your tyranny? Do their cries for justice go unheard by your self-serving ears?
"No wonder this air is filled with suffocating injustice. There is no justice in this world because no one with the power to uphold it bothers to step forward!"
His expression became rigid, and his voice became deadly cold: "But worry not, for the scales of Heaven have finally tipped. Justice dyed is not justice denied. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"I, the Advocate of Heaven, are here to bring the judgment of heaven upon people like you who exploit others and thesends with avarice, blind to the suffering you cause.
"I shall judge you in the ce of Heaven, for Heaven is not blind and had sent me to be its eyes and advocate. Heaven''s judgment is swift and merciless!"
Just as Heaven''s Advocate''s words trailed off, the scales mark on his be suddenly glowed brightly, and a mysterious yet territory pressure started to spread like wildfire.
The five overseers'' expressions warped when they felt they couldn''t move under this pressure, which they even found familiar.
Perry''s eyes widened with horror as he suddenly remembered why he was feeling this pressure so familiar and why it triggered the biggest trauma of his life. He cried in rm, and hearing him, the others shuddered in fear.
"How can you use Heavenly Tribtion aura!?"
Chapter 1115 Huge Difference!
Chapter 1115 Huge Difference!
Ace used the twilight traverse to increase his speed to the limit as he made his way toward the exit of the tunnel that Cyrus had just opened. Although he was curious about the identity of that mysterious ''Heaven''s Advocate'' and how things might turn out for him once he met the overseers, he had no n of wasting this chance to slip away while that guy drew the overseers'' attention.
However, for some reason, the name ''Heaven''s Advocate'' gave him a very bad feeling because of the ''Heaven'' in it, just like the title Heaven''s Stealer. Nheless, he might never hear or see this person again, so he put this in the back of his mind and focused on the path ahead.
Ace finally saw the light on the other side, and he was ted since this meant he was finally out of these damn mines, and his first experience after his ascension was extremely dangerous. When Ace stepped out of the tunnel, he quickly halted because this tunnel was high above the ground. Even more shocking, a few miles away was a web of unique buildings spread throughout a vast mountain range.
''Is that the Sect Alliance City?'' Ace wondered as he saw the unique structures far ahead. The people moving around the city appeared to be ants, and their poption seemed quite dense.
''Well, I guess this is to be expected since the city was built around the mines to keep them protected and barricaded from others. But I had to admit, this city built around this mountain range is the biggest city I have seen, and those unique structures are vastly different from the Mortal Sky Heaven. I can also feel the spirit Qi in the air with the elemental Qi, but the sky seems sam¡ what?!'' Ace''s thought process suddenly halted when he looked towards the bright, sunny sky.
The first thing that shocked him was the sky was no longer golden but blue, and the biggest difference was on the far horizon. There were actually two suns instead of just one!
Ace was skeptical at the grand sight of two suns, now it became evident that he was no longer in the Mortal Sky Heaven but in the Mortal Ascension Heaven!
After a little while, Ace finally averted his eyes and pulled a wry smile, ''Nothing is the same here. I guess I better start my journey. But first, I have to leave this darn ce. Since I can''t utilize the mask, I have to use other treasures to lie low until the system is done upgrading.
''But I have to found a ce which no one found curious. Especially now that those overseers have entered the fray, and once they found these tunnels made by Cyrus, they will investigate more thoroughly.''
After Ace decides on his new move, he tries to fly downward using his twilight Qi. However, Ace was again startled when he found that he could no longer levitate, and he felt as if his elemental Qi was being suppressed byws or the spirit Qi.
A Law Awareness Realm cultivator could levitate and fly in the sky using the elemental Qi in the Mortal Sky Heaven because there was no elemental Qi present there, and itsws were also limited to the elemental state, so in the seventh realm, a cultivator would escape the boundary of thosews and no longer feel any restrains.
However, in the Mortal Ascension Heaven, since thews were far more limited, only a wind-type elemental state cultivator could barely fly with extreme limitation when they reached the eighth realm.
The only cultivators who could freely fly in this ce werew-state cultivators, and even they would feel the restraints of thews and could only fly for a very limited time by manipting the surroundingws. These restrictions will naturally be less as the higher they climb the realms ofw state.
Anyhow, Ace was again in another strange situation he didn''t think he would enter, and his experience after ascension kept getting worse. Furthermore, he started to notice just how much he relied on the system, and all of his cultivation was built upon the system, making him grimace.
Nheless, Ace knew he was far too deep into this, and the way out was probably impossible. But he didn''t let this minor setback discourage him. After all, he knew without the system, he would''ve never been what he is today, and it was also the price for having superior power over others!
"Can you take us on the ground?" Ace then asked for Cyrus help since it was far better than climbing down himself or try jumping down hundred of meters and causing a meaninglessmotion.
Cyrus looked at Ace with a hint of surprise before he quickly nodded with a yful expression, "Of course! Do you want to fly with Cyrus up high?"
Ace looked at him strangely, as if he could tell the little guy was thinking about ying around again. "Now is not the time, but in the future, I promise."
"Alright." Cyrus was a little dejected but stillplied with Ace and spread his wings, which were around the length of Ace''s shoulders.
Then Ace felt a warm, invisible aura enveloping him, and the next moment, Cyrus pped his inky wings, and they both lifted off from the ground and started to descend. ''Hisw of fire is probably his primew, and it''s on a whole other level than firew I had seen¡'' Ace thought as he wondered about his own primew and what kind of effect it would have on him.
Once they both reacted to the ground surrounded by the forest, Ace didn''t head towards those buildings he saw from above. Instead, he took out a grade-8 illusionary formation te, attached it to his chest, and altered his eye-catching appearance into an ordinary one.
Now, as long asw state cultivators don''t inspect him personally, no one will be able to tell any difference, or someone will touch his face. He also used the formation to put an illusion on Cyrus and make him invisible. As long as Cyrus doesn''t leave a 100-mile radius around him, no one will be able to see him.
Although this method was quite crude and burned both Qi stones and his twilight Qi, he had no choice but to use it until he found a ce to lie low. Once he can use his treasures and Qi, he doesn''t have to worry about anything else. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
At this moment, when Ace was about to start moving, Cyrus suddenly looked up and eximed, "Big bro, there are many powerful people going towards the same ce we just came from. Look, they are in that strange bird!"
Ace was startled and quickly looked up. He was astounded when he saw an imposing gray structure flying towards the mines, leaving behind a trail of ethereal light, which Cyrus had just called a ''strange bird''. Ace instantly recognized the structure as it matched with something he had seen quite often.
''A ship that can sail in the sky!?''
Chapter 1116 Huge Difference! (2)
Chapter 1116 Huge Difference! (2)
Ace felt awed as he looked at the grand flying ship with an emblem of rainbow mes on its frame, which was flying towards the spirit stone mines before vanishingpletely.
However, at this moment, Ace looked towards the city direction and saw one after another, four more flying ships with different emblems appeared magically and with terrible speed, headed towards the mines right where the first flying ship had vanished.
"Are there also powerful people on those ships?" Ace asked dryly. He didn''t know what was going on, but he had a nagging feeling that it had something to do with that mysterious Heaven''s Advocate.
"Yes, they are powerful!" Cyrus nodded in affirmation before proudly dering, "But don''t worry, big bro; I can protect you.If they dare to bully you, I''ll burn them all and those strange birds!"
"Heh, I feel more at ease now." Ace chuckled while gently rubbing the little guy''s head with his finger.
But his expression became stern again as he saw those four ships vanishing behind the tall mountains where the spirit stone mines were located.
''Just how powerful is that guy for them to call this kind of force, and why is he against them? Furthermore, why was he here? Well, I guess I should thank my luck that I got out before I could bump into him.
''But this is not good either. If those guys had already alerted their sects, then this could only mean there might be more powerful people on their way here. I should quickly leave this ce before this blows up out of proportion.'' "Let''s go and keep an eye out for anything powerful, just like you did now. We need to avoid them at all costs." Ace sternly ordered, and Cyrus nodded.
Since Moira was out ofmission at this moment, he decided to rely on Cyrus instead since he wasn''t restricted.
Ace and Cyrus quickly made their way toward the city, not too far away from his position. N?v(el)B\\jnn
There weren''t any walls or regions to distributes the residents of the city like the disciples except the Inner-City Disciples, they were in the middle of this Sect Alliance City and that ce was actually underground!
The rest of the city, on the surface, was divided into four sectors: the Nominal or Servant Sector in the West, the Outer Disciple Sector in the North, the Elder Sector in the East, and the Mines Sector in the South. Ace exited the mines from the opposite direction. The sector where he was heading was actually the Elder Sector, where people like Lonnie with the status or like mine managers, outer city instructors that teach the outer city disciple and sometimes even the nominal city disciple, city management stuff like the city guard captain, people from the cityw department, and such have residents.
In simple words, they were long past their prime for advancing their cultivation anymore and missed their chance to enter a sect. So, they all devoted their lives to the Sect Alliance City and climbed its ranks to live a life of luxury and authority. Furthermore, most of the people here were at least a Soul Manifestation Realm cultivator and the highest realm cultivators were here at the peak of the Law Comprehension Realm, and there weren''t just one but many!
Ace also noticed this as he approached closer to the bustling sector. He found that the people walking around were mostly middle-aged, some of them even old men and women, and their auras were quite easy to measure for someone like him.
''Where is this ce? Where are the nominal city disciples? Could it be I exit somewhere different? Well, I guess it doesn''t matter since they won''t be able to see through my formation. In fact, I think it''s quite great since I can easily hide in this ce where the superiors live, and no one will be there to investigate as long as I choose my target well. Or I can simply use their identity to leave this ce for good!''
Ace became excited and quickly used the illusion formation to make himself invisible as well. Although he was nning to mingle with the disciples first, he changed his mind after thinking about how he would be wasting the formation if he used it for mere disguise when he could use it to walk around freely and do anything.
When Ace started to walk around the paved mountain roads, no one noticed him, as he and Cyrus were curiously looking around on the streets. There wasn''t much to see since most of the surrounding structures were courtyards, and these people seemed to be leaving for work or something else.
As Ace reached the deeper, the courtyards became bigger and more luxurious, while the crowd started to decline until there was none. He entered a peaceful mountain road with grand courtyards around it, and he even saw guards standing at the gates.
''Is this some high-end area for high-ranking officers of the city?'' Ace mused as he started to evaluate the importance of the person living in these courtyards by the cultivation of their guards. He really missed his soul probe thought.
At this moment, Ace was carefully evaluating those courtyards when he saw something strange. All the guards standing outside the house collectively showed different expressions.
Under Ace''s curious gaze, he saw that the very next moment, fires suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of those guards. The next moment, Ace suddenly felt the road under him start to vibrate a little, and he heard a faint voice of something iing.
But this seemed to trigger some kind of strange phenomenon when the front gates of the courtyards suddenly started to open one after another, and people in luxurious clothing, followed by their servants, started to stand in front of their gates with respectful expressions and a hint of fear present in their eyes.
''What is going on?'' Ace wondered, as he didn''t know why they all were reacting this way. But he knew it had something to do with the sound that had drawn them near this ce quite quickly.
"Is there someone powerfuling this way?" He asked Cyrus sternly as he also got out of the way and hid himself.
"No, they are all weak as twigs!" Cyrus shook his head disdainfully.
Ace was relieved, but he was curious nheless as he looked towards the diagonal road to see who wasing to make these high-ranking people directlye out of theirfort zone. Maybe this was even the chance he was looking for to get out of this city!
Chapter 1117 Legend of the Diabolical Crow!
Chapter 1117 Legend of the Diabolical Crow!
At this moment, a huge carriage drawn by two rhinos-like beasts with spiky scales appeared in everyone''s view. Their every step sent faint tremors in the ground, evident of their mountainous weight.
Ace looked at therge house-sized carriage with great interest. He saw that whenever the carriage passed in front of a courtyard, the guards, including the owners, quickly bowed deeply towards it with a hint of apprehension. They were clearly after the person riding this carriage.
''Interesting.'' Ace''s lips curled up slightly as he finally decided on a target that could help him leave this city. He asked Cyrus, "How many people are inside that carriage, and can you subdue them without causing amotion?"
Cyrus was quite content to reply, "There is only one person, and it is as weak as a twig! Are we doing something fun?"
"Yeah, it''ll be fun. Now listen carefully¡" Ace replied and instructed Cyrus how to proceed as he quickly began to move.
The driver of this carriage wore a cold yet arrogant expression and leaned back straight as he watched those people bow whenever the carriage passed. He felt as if they were bowing to him, even though it clearly wasn''t the case.
He was also a peak Law Awareness Realm cultivator, so it wasn''t like he didn''t have a statue. However, because of his blind confidence and faith in the carriage''s owner, he failed to notice the vague changes in the two rhinos'' moods as fear shone in their eyes.
"Darn beasts! Walk straight, or do you want to be skinned alive!" The driver coldly smacked the reins when he noticed the rhinos'' steps be ridged. However, while he was busy keeping the rhinos in check, two ethereal beings passed the carriage door despite it being locked and protected with a powerful grade-6 formation. Inside the carriage were extremely luxurious amenities such as afortable bed, chairs, tables, and all kinds of fruits and drinks arranged on them. There was even a Qi gathering array embedded in a corner for cultivation.
However, all these luxuries seemed to be bleak in the eyes of a little boy around the age of 10~12 wearing a silver robe. He seems to be in a daze as he sits on a chair like a statue.
Ace was astounded when he saw the little boy inside this carriage. He had expected someone powerful or at least an adult, and a kid was thest person he had hoped to find in this ce.
Before Ace could mull over this strange situation, Cyrus moved since he was already instructed by Ace about how to proceed once they ''infiltrate'' this carriage. The boy suddenly felt a suffocating pressure locked on him out of nowhere, awakening him from his daydreaming. He was terrified when he found that he couldn''t move even a muscle or make any kind of noise. The pressure was simply too horrifying, and despite his soul river core cultivation, he felt as weak as an ant under this pressure.
''Someone trying to kill me!?'' He thought if the only possible scenario in this situation.
At this moment, an immature yet solemn voice suddenly rang, "You are now under my mercy! Don''t move or try any funny or¡ or¡ what was that¡ oh! Or I''ll break your limbs and¡!"
The other party clearly couldn''t remember the threat he was supposed to utter in this situation despite being exined just now, and he even insisted that he wanted to y the viin.
"Alright, you perform your role well!" Ace wryly conveyed at this moment. He felt slightly embarrassed for Cyrus, while Cyrus himself was not.
The boy was really startled at first when he heard a child-like voice and thought the attacker was toying with him.
At this moment, in front of the boy''s aghast eyes, a figure in gray robes with an ordinary face appeared, and sitting on his shoulder was a small crow, at least it seemed this way because of his inky appearance, but his beak wasn''t like a crow''s. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Nheless, it wasn''t important since the boy knew things were not looking good for him. After all, he knew in this ce, there weren''t many who dared to attack him unless they had a death wish.
Ace looked at the appearance of the terrified boy and felt slightly guilty for putting a little boy through this since he wasn''t expecting him to be in this carriage. But before he could leave, Cyrus had already ''done'' his job.
Since leaving now would spell trouble for him, he decided to just go with his n. After all, as long as he could leave this city, he would leave the boy alone.
"Listen, kid, I don''t want to hurt you, but I need your help, and I''m sure you can help me. Let''s make a deal; if you agree to help me, then I''ll leave without hurting you, and I might even reward you for it. What do you think?
"Because if you don''t want to behave, then my little partner over here will lose his patience, and let me tell you, we don''t want to see him lose his patience since he had already burned cities like these when he lost his patience!" Ace coldly exined and directly made Cyrus a viin.
"What? Really?" Cyrus asked in confusion by telepathy. Even he couldn''t believe he was this fierce, and why didn''t he remember doing any of these things?
''Could it be that I''m so fierce that I forget when I destroy things in anger? And why does it sound so cool?'' Cyrus seriously wondered as a strange thought took root in his mind. Ace wanted to face-palm himself, and he reproached himself for thinking about letting Cyrus out on his own. Despite iming to be an adult, he was still a na?ve child, and he was very worried about him.
The little boy wasn''t aware of the truth, and his expression paled even more as he looked towards the little ''crow'' with extreme dread, as if he were seeing a demon. He wasn''t easily tricked, but he knew someone this powerful shouldn''t have any reason to trick him, especially after that terrifying pressure was still locked on him. That slightly childish voice should also belong to that crow.
Having no choice, the boy quickly nodded his head since it was too hard for him to speak, and he agreed to help Ace since he didn''t want to die a horrible death under that menacing crow! This is how the first legend of the Diabolical Crow, the mount of the Sky Stealer, begins!
Chapter 1118 Incoming Crisis (1)
Chapter 1118 Iing Crisis (1)
"Alright, you can retract your pressure," Ace ordered after the boy nodded in understanding, and Cyrus quicklyplied.
After the pressure vanished, the boy could finally breathe with ease, but he knew it was far from over. With a dreadful look on his face, he asked, "W-who are you, and what do you want my help with?"
"I like sensible kids like you." Ace nodded in satisfaction as he sat in front of the boy and asked, "What''s your name, and what''s with the fiasco outside? You should know because of this ''grand disy,'' you have be my target. You shouldn''t unt your wealth like this, or you get targeted by someone like me who is less amiable." The boy blushed with frustration as he didn''t expect this showcase of his status woulde to bite him like this, ''Didn''t honorable master say the more you show your power and status, the more it''ll deter others from taking action against us, or he didn''t know about who I am?'' He started to doubt his dear master''s words and also suspected that Ace wasn''t ignorant about his status.
He was hailed as a genius, and his point of view of the world was quite different from others of his age. So, he didn''t behave like a scared kid and adapted to his dangerous situation. Nheless, he answered Ace truthfully in a respectful tone, "I-I''m Pascal, and youngest disciple under Overseer Perry of the Grand Myriad Law Sect! I was going to visit my vige."
Ace was astounded. He wasn''t expecting to catch such a huge fish in this ce, and he also realized why those people were paying their respects. Pascal''s status was simply too huge, even more than that of an Inner City Disciple; he was like a young city lord of Sect Alliance City.
"So, you''re one of those geniuses who caught the eye of an overseer from one of the five grand sects, huh? You must be quite talented since your master didn''t seem to mistreat you," Ace asked curiously. He wanted to know more about these grand sects, and Kai''s information was thoroughlycking.
Pascal''s face shed a little when he heard Ace''s praise, and he replied sheepishly, "T-thank you for your kind words; my master really treated me well, and if it weren''t for him recognizing my worth, I wouldn''t have all these things. I''m very grateful to him." His eyes were shining with reverence and respect when he mentioned his master, and he seemed very appreciative.
Ace could also see Pascal''s intelligence, and for some reason, he didn''t react like a kid his age. Nheless, it didn''t matter to him as long as he got what he wanted.
"You''re a good disciple, Pascal, and have a good future ahead of you." Ace nodded before his voice turned somewhat cold, "So, let''s keep it that way. Since you said you''re going to visit your vige, this means that you''re leaving this city, right?"
Pascal gulped dryly, seeing Ace''s stern expression, and quickly nodded, "Yes! My vige is not too far away from the Sect Alliance City."
"Good, then act like you always did. Once we leave the city, I''ll be out of here, and you can have a good stay in your vige. In the meantime, answer some of my simple questions just to make our journey together less awkward. Do we have an understanding?" Ace asked while directly staring Pascal in the eyes, wanting to see his reaction.
"Yes, senior!" Pascal quickly agreed since he wasn''t expecting Ace to have this kind of demand. He thought that Ace was after something else and far more troublesome, but if he only wanted a rid outside, then it was very simple.
''But why didn''t he leave himself if he''s so powerful? Why needs my help? Or is there something more to it?'' He was suspicious nevertheless but didn''t dare to ask out loud. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace finally dropped his stern expression, seeing Pascal agreeing, and he rxed slightly. He then asked curiously, "So, tell me, the Grand Myriad Law Sect where your master belonged, how far is it from Sect Alliance City, or what kind of status does the Grand Myriad Law Sect have among the other grand sects? Oh, and what are you doing here if you''re recognized by him? Shouldn''t you be in the sect instead if you are talented?"
Pascal was confused about these questions but still replied, "I don''t know how far the Grand Myriad Law Sect is from here, but my master once told me that we could easily enter the Grand Myriad Sect territory with the Grand Teleportation Formation in the inner-city hall. This formation is connected with all the sects, but to use it, they need a huge amount of resources akin to the 100 years'' worth they mined from the Spirit Stone Mines.
"That''s why no one used it, and it''s for only emergencies. Other than that, they used the Spirit Ships to travel normally, and I don''t know how much time it takes to travel between the city and sects.
"As for the Grand Myriad Law Sect''s position among the other sects, ording to my master, other than the Grand Unity Sect, it is stronger than the remaining three grand sects. "And I''m still here because I don''t want to leave my father alone, and my master respects my wishes and lets me stay here until I turn sixteen before I have to take part in the entrance exams of the Grand Myriad Law Sect." Pascal described his situation with a hint of pride and gratefulness.
He didn''t tell Ace how good his master was to him because he had heard that the other overseers didn''t care about the mortal families of their disciples and forced them to abandon them so they could focus on their cultivation by sending them away.
Afterward, some of them would never meet their families or simply forget about them and stop caring about their mortal lives. But he got the chance to prepare himself and even permission to meet his father from time to time to say their goodbyes properly. This showed just how kind Perry was to Pascal.
But Ace didn''t know that and wouldn''t care even if he knew since he was focused on the new information, especially about the Spirit Ships, which should be the ships that he saw earlier today.
''If what he said is true and those teleportation formations need so many resources, then the situation is far more serious than I had anticipated. If they were forced to call for reinforcements, then it would be safe to assume that ''Heaven''s Advocate'' isn''t a pushover. I have a very bad feeling about this¡''
Ace''s expression turned slightly grim as he ordered Pascal, "Tell your driver to move at full speed, or we might not be able to leave this ce."
Pascal was rmed by Ace''s sudden words, and he could tell something was wrong, but he didn''t have the courage to ask and do as he was told. Their journey was without a hitch until... When the carriage was approaching the colossal city gates, a huge shockwave suddenly appeared, violently shaking the entire carriage and almost turning it upside down. With this shockwave came a vague aura that made everyone''s heart tremble.
But Ace was more bewildered than just shocked because he felt some familiarity with this aura, and he thought with disbelief, ''Aura of Heavenly Punishment and Heavenly Qi, and why is it so different and strong?!''
Chapter 1119 Incoming Crisis (2)
1119 Iing Crisis (2)
Ace''s expression was terrifyingly solemn when he felt the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar Heavenly Qi and Heavenly Punishment aura appearing out of nowhere. It was unfair because this aura and Qi were far more formidable and potent.
''Just what in the world is happening?!'' Ace started to feel uneasy and felt a sense of urgency as if he had to leave the range of this auraor he would be in deep trouble.
Furthermore, it wasn''t just him who was feeling this; he was the only one who was fine because Pascal, who was talking with him, suddenly lost consciousness the moment he was exposed to this aura.
"Big Bro, I feel ufortable!" Cyrus whimpered, trembling slightly and sticking close to Ace''s neck to find some sce. Ace''s expression darkened even more because it was the first time that the fearless Cyrus had said something like this.
"Go back, you''ve done well. I''ll bring you out soon." Ace gently stroked Cyrus''s head with his finger to calm him down before sending him away.
''I can''t stay here any longer!'' Ace quickly decided and threw caution to the wind. He used the formation to scan the unconscious Pascal''s appearance and disguised himself as him before leaving the carriage.
Outside, the carriage stood around fifty meters away from the colossal bronze gates built between towering walls, and the city guards who were about to open the door after seeing the carriage were kneeling on the ground, trembling with fear with paled expressions.
The carriage driver and the beasts drawing the carriage were in a simr situation. In fact, almost all the people in the city were in the same situation; the bustling marketce suddenly fell silent, and birds started to drop from the sky!
When Ace, in Pascal''s disguise, stepped outside the carriage, the guards and the driver were shocked. He seemedpletely unaffected by this strange aura.
However, Ace didn''t have time to pay them any heed as he directly looked towards the location where the aura was the strongest and his eyes widened with shock.
Ace saw on the far horizon above the mountain peaks a majestic phantom of a golden hominoid figure with a white blindfold around its eyes. It was holding a golden justice scale in the right hand and a white justice scale in the left hand.
Even from this distance, it was extremely vivid, and he could feel that the heavenly punishment aura and heavenly Qi originated from that strange phantom. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Furthermore, the moment, Aceid his eyes on that phantom, he didn''t feel fear or anything, instead he found himself loathing that phantom and wanted to cut it into pieces as if it was his mortal enemy or something.
Ace found this strange hatred seeping into his bones very rming. He had no idea why he was feeling this way, but it didn''t take him long to guess since the clues were quite obvious.
''It has to be my internal enemy!'' Ace''s eyes were deadly cold as he almost took a step towards that phantom. He quickly snapped out of his strange state when a cold sensation suddenly spread throughout his entire body, suppressing the chaotic emotions he was feeling and calming his mind.
''I was about to do something stupid!'' Ace quickly realized, looking appalled. He averted his eyes from the phantom that seemed to bepelling him and stirring strange emotions within.
Ace quickly stopped looking. Whatever Heaven was up to was something he had never seen, and it was not good. If Heaven was no longer passive, then he couldn''t afford to make any more mistakes.
"Open the gates!" Ace quickly approached the guards and coldlymanded using Pascal''s face.
The guards instantly felt indignant, and they wanted to retort by saying, ''Are you blind?'', but they knew who this boy was, yet they were helpless at the same time because, for obvious reasons, they couldn''t even breathe properly, much less move under this terrible pressure.
"Useless idiots! I''ll do it myself!" Ace gave up and quickly approached the guard, who was wearing an eye-catching golden robe and gripping a formation te in his hand. Ace knew this was the key to opening these gates.
The golden robe man, who was actually the gate manager, wanted to stop Pascal from grabbing the formation te. It wasn''t like he wanted to stop him from opening the gates; it''s just that he knew Pascal didn''t have the necessary Qi to activate the formation te, and he might even suffer a terrible bacsh.
If that happens, his entire family''s heads would y a role, including his own. But s, his Qi wasn''t listening to him at all, and he felt as if his Qi hadpletely submitted to this unknown pressure.
But then, why could Pascal move? That was something everything present here wanted to know.
Ace quickly grabbed the formation te and, without caring about anything, quickly activated it; he wanted to leave this damn city quickly. Even if others found out about him, he couldn''t care less since no one knew what he looked like except for Kai, and he was pretty sure Kai wouldn''t sell him out if he didn''t want to offend his ''master.''
Under everyone''s startled expression, the sealed gates suddenly started to open!
Ace was anxiously looking towards the opening gates as he found them extremely slow and quickly nced towards the golden phantom and was startled at this moment when he saw its size had grown even more, or it was just his mind ying tricks on him, which he knew was impossible.
All of a sudden, a man''s ethereal voice rang in everyone''s ears as if he were whispering right beside them.
"I, Heaven''s Advocate, am here to pass the Heavenly Judgement to sinners and bring justice to pitiful!
"If you havemitted some atrocious and wronged anyone of their rights, then admit while you can and repent for your sins! If you are a victim of someone else''s atrocities or suffer injustice, let Heaven hear it!
"Trial of Justice shallmence now!"
The moment the voice trailed off, the golden phantom''s stoic expression suddenly started to radiate a sorrowful expression, and the scales in its hands started to release powerful undtions before golden and white lights started to spread all over the sky and form a dome of golden and white colors!
''I knew something was off about him!'' Ace''s heart palpitated as he suddenly felt dread from those two lights quickly approaching the city gates. Without hesitation, he dashed towards the opening in the gates without waiting any longer.
He had a feeling that if he was caught under that barrier, things might turn extremely hectic for him!
Chapter 1120 Beast Calamity Mountain Range (1)
1120 Beast Cmity Mountain Range (1) n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace used the twilight traverse while the white side of the light barrier was quickly approaching him despite getting outside the city gates. On the other side of the city gates was a huge za surrounded by a vast forest, and there were only two spacious inclined roads right ahead. However, Ace decided to take the closest route outside the za, which leads into the forest.
Still, Ace felt extremely slow. He felt he wouldn''t make it because the white light enveloped him, and the closer that light became, the more Ace could sense the grave danger it posed to him.
Having no choice, Ace took out a precious teleportation grade-8 talisman that he got from the Skr n''s treasury. He instantly activated it just when the white light was about to touch the boundary of the za,pletely sealing off his escape routes.
The next moment, Ace''s figure vanished, and at this moment, the entire Sect Alliance City was covered in a half-white and white golden light barrier!
A thousand miles southeast of the Beast Cmity Mountain Range, right above a plunge pool under a huge waterfall, Ace appeared and fell directly into the pool.
"Saved!" Ace didn''t care about falling into the water as he was feeling huge relief as if he had escaped a huge cmity which he did, and started to swim towards the edge of the pool.
Once he was outside the water, Ace sat down on the bank to calm his widely beating heart.
''Damn it. This is getting more and more dangerous. It''s like, after the ascension, my bad luck has reached another level.'' Ace cussed as he still felt surreal about almost falling into a deathly situation within a few hours of awakening into the Mortal Ascension Heaven.
However, he was more curious about Heaven''s Advocate, and his expression became even graver. He had never felt that kind of dread from anyone before except Heavenly Punishment.
''If that Heaven''s Advocate is someone sent by Heaven to hunt me down, how did he know I was in that ce? Could it be because of the altar? After all, he seemed to have appeared in the mines, and then he alerted the authorities.
''However, he didn''t seem to have any goodwill towards them. Instead, he directly confronted them like a mad dog, which bought me enough time to get out of there. Yet, the strange power that hemands with the aura of heavenly punishment and Heavenly Qi seemed extremely dangerous to me; it was like I had met my bane.
''Furthermore, he''s far more powerful than me right now, even overpowered those guys who should be there to subdue him; he''s powerful enough to make the entire city fall on their knees, and no one could resist him.
''It seemed that Heaven is no longer passive like in the Mortal Sky Heaven and sent this Heaven''s Advocate after me. Or was it just a coincidence? But the odds of that are almost null.
''But he still didn''t know that I was there, right? Or he wouldn''t be ying around and judging everyone. Well, I can at least confirm that this guy seemed to have a deep sense of justice, and maybe I can use it against him¡
''However, right now, I need to widen the distance between us while he still doesn''t know I''m close by. But I need to wait before the darn system is done upgrading, and I can use my full power, or I might find myself in another dangerous situation since this ce is filled with powerful beasts¡'' After a long time, Ace felt like he might get caught if he wasn''t careful, but for some reason, he felt a hint of strange excitement rising in his heart.
After gathering his thoughts, he looked around and saw the waterfall, which was connected by a huge river going downward while the other side was surrounded by forest.
If he wasn''t worried about the Heaven''s Advocate on his tail, he might''ve decided to open a cave and rest here until the system was done upgrading. But sadly, he didn''t feel like waiting in this ce.
So, Ace decided to take the path that he found fastest, which was none other than the flowing river. He took out a ship and let it sail in the direction of the flowing river. He also lets Cyrus out just to be safe since he can detect danger far quicker and even keep them safe from danger.
"Where are we going?" Cyrus,pletely forgotten about his earlier difort, asked with anticipation as he sat on Ace''s shoulder. They were on the rooftop of the ship''s cabin, looking closely at their surroundings.
Ace replied uncertainly, "I don''t know. For now, let''s see where this river leads."
"What? No more food hunting?" Cyrus sounded dejected.
"Heh, now isn''t the time to think about food. Leaving this ce is more important. We can go food hunting afterward." Ace smiled wryly, but he was d Cyrus was here to apany him.
Just like that, time passed, and the medium-sized ship continued to move downward. Ace''s fear of getting intercepted by the Heaven''s Advocate never became true, which was nothing but good news for him.
Furthermore, they entered some water-type magic beasts that attacked them, but they were all dealt by Cyrus, turned into ashes, and those with some sort of intelligence that could sense Cyrus''s aura didn''t dare to approach them. When night arrived, which was also Ace''s first night in Mortal Ascension Heaven, he saw that, like the two suns, there were two moons in the sky, and the view was breathtaking.
However, as the night fell, the forest suddenly became active, and he could hear indistinctive roars of different beasts.
''If I had taken the forest route, it would''ve been bothersome.'' Ace was d he chose the river route, which was quite fast.
Nheless, he was still somewhat astounded by the river route, which seemed to be extremely long. Despite traveling for hours, they were still going downstream.
Until Cyrus suddenly alerted Ace, "Big bro, someone is following us, and it is strong!"
Chapter 1121 Beast Calamity Mountain Range (2)
Chapter 1121 Beast Cmity Mountain Range (2)
Ace''s expression instantly taut when he heard Cyrus calling someone ''strong,'' which means at least an Ascension Solider-level existence!
"Is it stronger than you?" Ace hurriedly asked as he was ready to spend another precious teleportation talisman.
However, Cyrus confidently replied, "No, it is as strong as my talons! And I didn''t sense any bad intentions. Do you want me to burn it?" He excitedly asked.
Ace was somewhat speechless when he heard this strangeparison, but he quickly shook his head, "There is no need to fight meaninglessly. It might be some curious beast who''s observing us, and it hasn''t attacked yet because it might''ve sensed your presence like those rhinos pulling Pascal''s carriage. Just keep observing for now, and it might give up soon. But if it didn''t, then¡" His eyes turned cold as Cyrus''s words put him at ease.
As long as they didn''t encounter someone more powerful than Cyrus, Ace wasn''t worried about anything. Right now, their only purpose was to get away from these mountains as quickly as possible. Cyrus then nodded obediently and silently kept an eye on their unknown pursuer. A few hours passed, and the sky started to illuminate, but this unknown pursuer was still stealthily following them. Furthermore, the water current was bing increasingly powerful, and Ace mused that there might be another waterfalling soon.
Moreover, this mysterious pursuer was starting to get on his nerves as he didn''t like the feeling of being watched.
"Cyrus, take care of this nuisance! But be careful; your safety is of utmost importance!"Ace finally gave Cyrus the free rein to deal with this annoyance.
Cyrus''s beady eyes shimmered with tion as he chirped happily, "Leave it to me; after all, I''m an adult now!" He turned into a dark streak and vanished into the forest.
''He still has ways to go. Will, I guess, it''s partly my fault for always keeping in the thief''s space. I wonder if I''m restricting his growth by protecting him all the time. Whatever, he''s not a tool for me to use. He can enjoy his life and live it as he wishes. This is the least I can do as you, Big Brother.''
A warm smile appeared on Ace''s face, and he also felt slightly worried while he kept looking in the direction where Cyrus had left.
However, after a little while, the forest remained calm, and the huge sh he was expecting, or at least some kind ofmotion, never urred. Furthermore, his connection with Cyrus was bing vaguer, and he was out of reach where they couldmunicate with each other.
This made Ace uneasy as he waited on the roof of the ship which was now floating still on the raging river stream because it wasn''t a normal ship but a grade-8 treasure ship.
At this moment, just when Ace was thinking about going after Cyrus, he suddenly sensed his connection with Cyrus bing stronger. He felt a massive sense of relief since this could only mean one thing: Cyrus wasing back, and he didn''t seem hurt at all. In fact, he could sense Cyrus''s ecstasy.
''That brat really liked to burn things, huh?'' Ace smiled as he guessed the reason behind Cyrus''s mood. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
''What in the world¡''
However, his eyes widened with surprised when he saw Cyrus appearing out of the forest, but he wasn''t alone. Grabbing one of Cyrus''s talons with one of its four short, stocky yet wide feet was a stout-bodied creature around eight inches in length with a small tail, shorter than its body length. It has small ears covered with thick, silky yellowish fur, the same as the rest of its body, except the ck fur on its belly seems like a pattern of mes. This was quite a strange scene as this creature was hanging with Cyrus''s talon, like a hangman, while looking at the ship and Ace with curiosity yet with a hint of caution, with its tiny golden eyes.
At this moment, Cyrusnded on the roof of the cabin, but the little creature, which seemed like a cute hamster, didn''t let go of Cyrus'' talon as he looked at Ace warily.
"Little maid, don''t worry, this is my big bro. He won''t hurt you; he''s very nice and weak, so you have to protect him and listen to him!" Cyrus seriously stated, making Ace''s expression turn even stranger.
"Maid?" Ace didn''t know what to say anymore as he looked at the little hamster and then at excited Cyrus, who had a ''praise me'' expression written all over his cute face. "Chu¡" The little hamster cried in startle and quickly hid behind Cyrus when she heard Ace speaking, still extremely cautious of this giant creature.
However, Cyrus seemed not to notice it and proudly introduced her, "Big bro, this is Chuchu, and she was the one who was following us all night. When I met her and about to burn her, she said she wanted to be my follower!"
Cyrus''s eyes shimmered with ecstasy, "Big sis Eva said that maids are our followers, so this means she''s my maid now, and she''s even smaller than me! So, you don''t have to look for maids for me now!" He eximed proudly.
''What''s with this strange logic?'' Ace was speechless as Cyrus getting a hamster as a maid was the least thing he was expecting.
Furthermore, this cute hamster named Chuchu seems to have submitted to Cyrus on her own ord, and the brat took this entire thing the wrong way.
''There is definitely more to this! Furthermore, this hamster is definitely not an elemental state realm magic beast, and it''s obviously more intelligent than Cyrus. So, why did it suddenly want to be Cyrus''s follower?'' Ace thought as his eyes narrowed slightly, making the little hamster or Chuchu hide even more timidly behind Cyrus.
"Hey! You''re scaring my maid! You can''t bully Chuchu or take her away from me. You already have too many!" Cyrus quickly protected Chuchu while opening his wings.
Ace gave him an impassive, reproachable nce and started to think about handing the little brat upside down like Eva so more blood would flow in his head instead of his stomach.
But he knew it wasn''t the right time. He had to act like a big bro and protect Cyrus from harm. He couldn''t let anyone hang around him, especially when they were powerful and their motives were unknown.
"Do not speak ande here," Ace said in an irrefutable tone, making Cyrus shudder as if he were seeing Eva. It was his first time seeing the gentle Ace react so sternly towards him.
Still, he obediently flew towards Ace and sat on his shoulder silently since he could tell Ace was serious this time around, leaving the startled Chuchu behind. No matter what, Ace was the most important person for him!
Ace was very satisfied with Cyrus''s response but didn''t show it. He kept his strict act up because he knew he couldn''t be too lenient in this situation, or Cyrus might harm himself.
He then coldly looked towards the cute hamster and asked, "If you want to follow him, give me a good reason that could satisfy me. If I deem it good enough, I''ll let you follow him, but if you lie or hide it, then I''ll let you leave this ce without any harm for Cyrus''s sake.
"But then you''ll have to forget about following him, and this will also be thest time I''ll let you walk away or give you any chance to convince me!"
Chapter 1122 Beast Calamity Mountain Range (3)
Chapter 1122 Beast Cmity Mountain Range (3)
Chuchu looked at Ace with confusion and fear before she looked at Cyrus, who was sitting on Ace''s shoulder with a wronged look, and uttered, "Chu.. chu¡(Boss, what is your brother saying? He''s very scary!)"
Ace suddenly realized that Chuchu was speaking in the beastnguage, not themon tongue, which meant she didn''t understand what he just said. Since she might''ve never encountered humans, she didn''t know theirnguage.
Understanding his mistake, he repeats what he said in beastnguage for Chuchu without giving Cyrus any chance to speak first. After all, if he wanted to appear as Cyrus'' big brother, he needed to make sure Chuchu understood he couldmunicate with her, or the intent behind his words would have no meaning if Cyrus repeated them.
Chuchu was startled when she heard Ace speaking in hernguage. Truthfully, it was her first time seeing a human speaking in a beast tongue. It wasn''t her first time seeing humans; there were many settlements of humans on the outskirts of the Beast Cmity Mountain Range, and they often ventured deep into the mountains for hunting.
But she had only secretly observed them from far away and heard them speak, and she could never understand them. Furthermore, she never attacked them and always avoided them. It was her first time evening in front of Ace, and it was all because of Cyrus.
First, she didn''t understand why an existence like Cyrus was brother with a weak human because even she couldn''t feel any cultivation from Ace.
However, when she stood before him, her instincts told her that Ace was extremely mysterious. Despite not having any aura around him, his presence was enough to make her wary of him. Then, there was a strange attraction around Ace, which was why she was drawn to them and found Cyrus.
Now, he was even speaking in anguage that she could understand. She started to understand why Cyrus called him ''Big Brother'' and seemed to respect him. Still, she was indignant when she heard Ace''s words and thought he was being unreasonable by doubting someone harmless like her and questioning her loyalty toward her Boss.
"Chu¡ (Boss has a noble bloodline, and he''s the Lord of Fire! It''s only natural for fire beings like myself to follow someone like Boss!)" She exined to the best of her ability. Ace''s eyes narrowed when he heard this subtle yet somewhat reasonable exnation. He knew Cyrus''s bloodline was extremely terrifying, and he hadn''t seen anyone who could manipte fire as naturally as Cyrus.
But he was still not convinced, "How do you reach this conclusion? Can you sense his bloodline, and then just by that, you reached the conclusion that he''s the Lord of Fire?"
Chuchu felt even more wronged and didn''t know how to exin her feelings in words; she wasn''t a match for someone like Ace, who had tons of experience and was a cunning thief while she was just a herbivore magic beast around 20 years old and unaware of her own potential because her personality was simply too timid.
"I-I don''t know! I just be aware the moment, I sense Boss''s presence! His fire is even stronger than the mountain tyrant, and the moment I saw him, I was attracted to Boss. Please let me follow him; I mean no harm, and I know many things about these mountains.
"Boss told me you want to get out of here, right? But you''re going deeper into the mountains. However, I can help you with that and let you avoid all the territories of the mountain lords.
"Or if you keep following this river, you''ll enter the Water Lord''s territory. She''s very vicious and has killed many people like you, and she''s also the subordinate of the Mountain Tyrant. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"If she sensed the Boss''s bloodline, then she''d tell the Mountain Tyrant, and he''d do anything to hunt the Boss down. Right now, the boss is no match for the Mountain Tyrant!" Chuchu sincerely revealed with a hint of anger when she mentioned ''Mountain Tyrant'' and ''Water Lord''.
Ace was startled. If what Chuchu said was true, then he was going in the exact opposite direction, and these Mountain Lords seemed quite powerful, especially this Mountain Tyrant.
"You seemed to have quite an experience with these mountain lords, huh? Especially this Mountain Tyrant. I can tell that you hate him, and from what I can gather from your exnation, he also seemed to be a being who controlled fire, right?
"Then why didn''t you submit to him? Since he''s stronger than Cyrus, he''ll be a perfect backer for you, right? You might also be fooling us by leading us right into his trap!" Ace sternly questioned.
"No! He''s just a bully who hoards everything, treats everyone like his ves, and works them to death. Furthermore, he''s very sensitive towards beings of fire and kills them without hesitation before eating them and their fires to increase his own power.
"I''ve been hiding from him all this time. If he knew I could use fire, he wouldn''t rest until he ate me! He''s nothing like Boss, and I don''t feel any attraction to him; instead, he disgusts me! Only Boss is worthy of my loyalty. He''s also bestowed me the name Chuchu, so he''s very kind, unlike that bully!" Chuchu stated matter-of-factly with a hint of reverence and joy when she mentioned how Cyrus gave her a name.
Ace became silent as he deeply looked towards small Chuchu, who was looking at him with hope, and then nced at Cyrus, who was also waiting for his positive response with pitiful eyes.
''I can''t tell if she''s telling the truth or not since my abilities are still sealed, and my twilight soul sense is too weak to work on her. If she''s acting, then she''s as good as me since she sounds very sincere.
''Besides, this brat would probably be disappointed if I rejected her since it''s his first time making friends with someone like him on his own. Eva really leads him astray by teaching him about maids. I don''t understand why they are obsessed with having maids.
''Well, let it be an experience for him. If she betrayed him, he''d learn a valuable lesson, and if not, she''d be a great asset, and he might learn some vignce from her since she had survived in this ce on her own for all this time. I just need to make sure to protect him if the former bes a reality!''
''Sigh¡why are these kinds of things happening to me after just ascending in this ce¡'' Ace sighed in resignation at this moment. He knew it was toote and really didn''t want to see Cyrus disappointed.
He solemnly stated while looking at Chuchu, "Alright, I''ll let you stay by his side, but I''ll be keeping a close eye on you. If I ever feel like that you have an ulterior motive, I won''t be so kind. For now, let''s see if you can really lead us outside these mountains. Consider this your first test for earning my trust!"
Chapter 1123 Beast Calamity Mountain Range (4)
Chapter 1123 Beast Cmity Mountain Range (4)
Days passed, and Ace, following Chuchu''s lead, left the river and headed into the forest. Despite Ace''s wariness with Chuchu, Cyrus was extremely ecstatic when Ace approved of her, and hepletely forgot about what happened earlier.
Nheless, Ace still sternly reminded him to be vignt of their surroundings all the time and be ready for any unforsaken events that might ur if Chuchu had some ulterior motives.
However, even after two weeks, they didn''t encounter any trouble, and Ace started to believe Chuchu''s words. Although there were still many beasts in their way, they were all scared away because of Cyrus and Chuchu''s auras since they were all only Elemental State beings.
Furthermore, Ace learned more about the Beast Cmity Mountain Range from Chuchu. It was extremely vast, and he found that the human settlements and the Sect Alliance City were only the outer regions of it.
Not only that, but Chuchu revealed that she had seen humans approaching the territory of the Mountain Tyrant many times, and every time, they came back alive.
This was a very huge matter because the Mountain Tyrant seemed to be the King of the Beast Cmity Mountain Range, and no one coulde alive after barging into his territory, especially those humans who were quite weak, ording to Chuchu''s observation.
The Mountain Tyrant seemed to have eyes everywhere in the inner region of the Beast Cmity Mountain Range because every powerful beast was his subordinate. So, it was quite clear those humans had the Mountain Tyrant''s permission to approach his territory.
This was the only limit of Chuchu''s information since she didn''t dare venture too deep into the Beast Cmity Mountain Range except for the fact that she could sense many treasures close to the Mountain Tyrant territory that attracted her.
Despite theck of core information, Ace was able to make some guesses about this situation with humans and Mountain Tyrant. He suspected that they were most likely in some kind of agreement, or with how powerful Chuchu described the Mountain Tyrant and his greedy nature; there was no way he would allow the humans to mine the Spirit Stones in his territory.
He either didn''t put those spirit stones in his eyes, or he was getting something out of this. Whichever the case was, he was only interested in getting out of this ce and then waiting until the system was upgraded.
However, with their current pace, he felt that he wouldn''t be able to leave this ce, and the system upgrade would have to be finished first.
That''s why Ace decided to swallow this bitter pill and asked Chuchu if she had any safe ce where they could stay for a few days where no one could find them. He didn''t want to be in a dangerous situation when the system was done upgrading, so he decided to remain hidden here.
After all, ording to Chuchu, they were going in the opposite direction from the Sect Alliance City or any human settlements because this area''s Qi density was very low, and only low-level beasts that couldn''t venture into the inner region of the beast cmity mountain range lived or hide here.
Chuchu''s hideout was also here, so she quickly led them there. But that hideout turned out to be a hole in the ground, so Ace had to make it big enough himself, which somewhat displeased Ace as he was tempering with her home without her permission.
Ace didn''t care at all, and after opening a huge cave underground, he ced all kinds of formations and rms just to be safe and only then did he sighed in relief as he could finally have some rest.
"You did well." Ace calmlyplimented Chuchu, who was looking at him with a judging gaze.
"This nest is very bleak! Little maid, I''ll show you my nest!" Cyrus suddenly chimed in as he looked at Ace with an expectant gaze, "Can I, Big Bro?"
Chuchu''s eyes shimmered with anticipation as Cyrus''s words drew her attention instantly. She also wanted to see her Boss''s nest, but she was confused because a nest couldn''t move around.
However, Ace shook his head, "I can''t send her in; wait a little longer." He made up a subtle excuse since he still didn''tpletely trust Chuchu to send her into the thief''s space because her prowess wouldn''t be suppressed.
Although Eva and Alina were present, he didn''t want to risk something happening to the Thief''s Space if these guys ended up fighting. It was already a miracle that those two were still living in harmony without raising hell after that day, and he wanted to keep it that way.
Cyrus became a little dejected but still believed Ace''s words, "Alright, I''ll wait. Little maid, I''ll show you my nest when there is no more problem; just wait!" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Chu (Alright!)" Chuchu nodded in understanding, a little reluctantly, but she still looked forward to seeing her Boss''s mysterious nest that could move.
"Here, this is your reward for bringing us here. I can''t live in your home for free after all." Ace then decided to reward Chuchu with Grade-9 herbs. He already knew she ate Qi herbs and Qi fruits and disliked eating meat. Although he still didn''t trust her, it doesn''t mean he would take things from Cyrus''s adherents.
Chuchu''s eyes suddenly widened when she saw a small pile of herbs suddenly appear in front of her, and then she looked at Ace with apletely different gaze.
Normally, she would have to risk exposure to get these kinds of herbs from the inner regions since they exist in the territories of the Mountain Lords, and sometimes, she had to eat extremely low-level herbs that were akin tomon grass for her.
It was her first time seeing so many herbs at once, and they were all given to her by the big brother of her Boss. ''It was the right decision to follow the Boss! Now I understand why the Boss called him Big Brother. He has a moving nest and even has so much delicious food. He''s worthy of being Big Boss!''
Ace felt somewhat strange seeing Chuchu start nodding on her own. Her grateful nce made him somewhat embarrassed as if he had earned a child''s favor with candy!
Just like that, days passed, and on this day, Ace had a solemn yet excited expression on his face as he looked at the panel in front of him!
===== [System Upgrade is underway; please wait plenty!]
[Estimate Time: 00D:00H:00M:09S]
Chapter 1124 System Upgrade & A Problem!
Chapter 1124 System Upgrade & A Problem!
=====
[System Upgrade is underway; please wait plenty!]
[Time: 00:00:08¡07¡ 08¡ 07¡ 06¡ 05¡ 04¡ 03¡ 02¡ 01] =====
The moment the timer dropped to zero, Ace''s heart skipped a beat. The wait was finally over, and he couldn''t help but feel huge relief washing over him. He had been on high alert after almost falling into a dangerous situation right after his ascension, and his feeling of powerlessness was not very good.
If anything, it only made him appreciate the system and the power he was given more, and he had never thought he would miss the system''s emotionless voice so much.
Nheless, Ace had also started to think of ways never to let something like this happen again, which meant less reliance on the system or at least making sure his power would never vane even if something untoward happened with the system in the future. He knew it was far easier said than done, but he still had a new goal for himself.
At this moment, the interface changed, and the system''s voice rang in his head. This time, he could tell that the system voice wasn''tpletely static but somewhat different, but he couldn''t put his finger on it, and his attention was instantly drawn by the notifications.
=====
[System Upgrade/Restart has been sessfullypleted!]
[First Codex of Eternal Thief System has been sessfully integrated with Universal vis Symbolum!]
[The Eternal Thief System is online!]
---
[System Upgrade Reward(s)]
-1. Authority: Level-1 < Level-2
-2. Information Level-1 < Level-2
-3. New Living Thief''s Space Upgrade Scheme!
-4. The Beginner System Functions have been removed! -5. A New System Function has been unlocked after integrating the Universal vis Symbolum: Universal Key!
[Information is being transferred to the Host''s brain!] =====
The next moment, Ace felt a familiar sensation of something stabbing into his brain before a huge amount of foreign knowledge started to pour in. He closed his eyes and started to arrange the information. After a while, when Ace was done arranging and refining all the information, he opened his eyes, and there was clear shock written on his face.
Foremost, Authority Level-2 granted him higher-level control over the system. Now, the information and appraisal of the system that he needed to pay for most of the time were removed, and it became entirely free.
Meaning, as long as the information was under his authority level, he could get it free of charge and no longer had to pay for it!
It was rted to the fourth notification about the ''beginner system function,'' which has been removed. However, Ace didn''t like the other things that had been removed except for the costs of system information.
He found that with this Beginner System Function removal, the EXP and SP bars were also gone, meaning he could no longer just increase his cultivation with EXP and SP.
ording to the information he just got, EXP and SP were only avable to him until he went through the Elemental State, which made it easier for him to grow from aplete beginner. This was going to change many things for him.
However, he could still do without it, and his dissatisfaction didn''tst long because of the system''s new function, the Universal Key.
It turned out that the Universal vis Symbolum was actually the Heaven''s Secret that he stole from the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple, which the system grabbed before he could even touch it.
But he no longer had any grievance after knowing that the Universal vis Symbolum was integrated with the system, unlocking this ridiculous Universal Key function. This means that he can now use Heaven''s Secret without being worried about getting exposed.
The Universal Key function can unlock all the locks no matter their grades as long as Ace can pay thief points for it. This simply means that as long as he has a thief point, he can unlock anything!
That''s what excited him since this could mean he no longer needs to waste time unlocking doors! However, Ace was a little confused because, ording to the memories rted to the Universal Key Function, he can only use this function when hees in contact with a lock. In a strange way, this could be considered an innate ability rather than a system function, with the only difference between the required system to use it and, of course, thief points.
At this moment, the interface suddenly changed, as if the system knew that Ace had already arranged all the new information. But what Ace heard made all the excitement vanish like smoke. ===== [Warning! Warning! Warning!] N?v(el)B\\jnn
[System detects that the Host''s bloodlines are greatly damaged and on the verge ofplete depletion because of the Fiend Purgatory Curse and Devil''s Malediction of Destion Bloodline Seal!]
[The Primordial Spirit Qi has been supporting the bloodlines from fully depleting. Hence, the host can''t use his cultivation or Primordial Spirit Qi anymore!]
[Warning (1): If host Bloodlines arepletely depleted, you''ll die as a result!]
[Warning (2): If the host doesn''t take care of the damage to your bloodlines, you''ll never be able to use your cultivation again!]
=====
"What?!" Ace was shocked as cold sweat broke out all over his body, and a sudden chill randown his spine.
All this time, he was thinking that he couldn''t use his Heavenly Qi because the system was upgrading but now, he knew he was thoroughly wrong. It wasn''t the system that was behind the blockade of the Heavenly Qi. Instead, it was his own freaking bloodlines that he had just barely unsealed, and he was even looking forward to finding more about them.
Yet now, after knowing the gravity of the situation, he didn''t know what to feel since those bloodlines that he had unsealed after enduring so much were on the verge of killing him.
He even started to wonder if his bloodlines were cursed after remembering what happened in that vision right after he was born. First, he was schemed against by his own family and those sages, and then he was hit by that curse, destined to die.
But then, somehow, his parents were able to save him, and he could guess that it most likely had something to do with this bloodline seal called the Devil''s Malediction, which was keeping him alive.
But how could he have known this? He had already broken the bloodline seal, and just when he thought he could get revenge on the same bloodlines those cowards feared so much, it again came back to bite him!
He was afraid that if it were not for his primordial Qi, he would''ve been dead the moment he broke that seal!
Nheless, Ace was extremely indignant and unwilling to ept something like this. He gravely questioned the system with hope, yet his voice was icy cold, "Did you have a way to make this right? I know you have, or you would''ve waited all this time to break this news to me.
"You could''ve warned me long ago if there wasn''t a solution to this problem. In fact, you were the one who gave me the method to break the seal. So, I know there is a method, and I might not like it, but what choice do I have?
"I''m not going to die because of some damn bloodlines that gave me nothing but misery in the past. I''ve reached this point without them, and I''m confident in continuing the same way. So, even if this solution required abandoning these damn bloodlines, I''m willing to do it!"
Chapter 1125 New System Shop!
Chapter 1125 New System Shop!
After hearing Ace, instead of replying, the interface in front of him suddenly changed, making him frown. However, he patiently watched, and when he saw what it was, he was astounded. =====
[Thief Point''s value has been raised from 10 to 1 because Host has be a Law State Cultivator. Therefore, previously umted thief points will be calcted again and recounted ording to the new value!] ---
[Calction and Recounting Completed ording to the new value of Thief Points!]
[(Previous) Thief Point(s): 8,302,068,010]
[(New) Thief Point(s): 830,206,801]
=====
Before Ace could react to this startling news, the system had already recalcted his TP ording to the new value. When Ace saw his over eight billion TP turning into eight hundred million, he was appalled.
"This is bullshit!" He instantly cursed out loud and even forgot about his indignation and depression about his bloodlines.
"What happened?"
"Chu? (Big Boss?)"
Both Cyrus and Chuchu, who were nning something in the corner, suddenly looked towards Ace in shock and thought that someone had attacked him. But when they saw Ace''s flush expression filled with anger while furiously looking at the space in front of him, they found it quite strange since they couldn''t sense any kind of enemy.
"Is something wrong with Big Bro''s head? Is he also bored?" Cyrus asked Chuchu in a whispering voice, hinting at worry and slight guilt as if he had done something wrong.
"I don''t know, but Big Boss is scary," Chuchu replied in a fearful tone before she solemnly asked, "Should we invite him to y as well?"
Ace was in no mood to pay any heed to those mischievous brats. He was fuming with anger and felt his heart bleeding. Losing eight billion TP without even doing anything was just too much, especially when he knew he''d need them even more in this new ce!
Furthermore, he was even more furious because the system didn''t say anything about solving that damn bloodline problem; instead caused another problem right away.
However, the system wasn''t done andpletely ignored the fuming Ace, and the interface changed again.
=====
[Pending Rewards has been released!]
[Beginning the evaluation process...]
---
-Heaven''s Stealer Mission: Embarking the Path of Heaven''s Stealer!
-Heaven''s Secret Condition: Heart of Mortal Sky -Status: Completed!
-Advanced Thief Job Mission
-Status: Completed!
-Thief House Upgrade Mission
-Status: Completed!
-Final Evaluation: Extraordinary
---
-Reward(s): 5X n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
-1. 100 Million Thief Points -2. System Shop has been upgraded -3. Bloodline Shop is Avable (Open System Shop) -4. Thief Connate Ability Token -5. Advanced Thief Symbol: Devilish Wise Owl (Open Thief Panel) -6. Advanced Thief Rank: Wizard Thief (Initial) (Open Thief Panel) -7. New Thief Title: Wizard Thief
-Wizard Thief: Achieved the Advanced Thief Rank! -Title Effect: You can now reset the cooldown period of 1 Summoning Ability of Thief Symbol Summoning once per week!
-8. Level-2 Thief House (Open Thief House Panel) -9. House Leader Chamber has been installed in the Thief''s House! (Open Thief House Panel)
-10. Thief House Meeting Function of the Thief House has been unlocked! (Open Thief House Panel) -11. Basic Mission Completion Token: 1
[Use: Basic Mission Complete Token canplete any mission with an Average Evaluation Grade.]
[Warning (1): There is a 50% chance of gaining a Death Penalty in the very next Mission after a Mission Complete Token is used!]
[Warning (2): Only Three Mission Complete Tokens can be used continuously toplete Three Mission in a row before the Host has toplete the 4th Mission to use a Mission Complete Token again!] -12. Item Upgrade Token (Basic Ascension Grade): 3
-Description: Upgrade any Treasure purchased from the System Shop to Ascension Spirit Grade.
---
[Three Thief Titles have been upgraded (Open Thief Panel)]
---
[Thief Point(s): 930,206,801]
=====
Ace''s anger was greatly subdued when he saw the rewards he had been waiting for all this time were released. He was surprised when he saw the ''Excellent Evaluation'' he got from the system bypleting three essential missions at once.
Ace has always been curious about the system''s evaluation grades, but the system never revealed them. However, after he obtained the level-2 authority, he finally learned all the evaluation ranks and how the reward multiplier would trigger. The System evaluates the mission performance in twelve grades from the lowest grade: Poor (0X Multiplier), Below Average (0X Multiplier), Average (0X Multiplier), Above Average (0X Multiplier), Satisfactory (0X Multiplier), Good (0X Multiplier), Great (0X Multiplier), Grand (2X Multiplier), Extraordinary (3X Multiplier), Excellent (5X Multiplier), Imperfect (7X Multiplier), and finally the highest evaluation grade: Perfection (10X Multiplier)!
There are seven grades without any multiplier and five grades with a multiplier that could make his rewards greater than they initially were. So, now that he got an excellent grade with a 5X multiplier, he was ted.
But when he saw the rewards, he couldn''t help but feel they were somewhatcking. Nheless, when he saw the ''Bloodline Shop'' avable in the rewards, his heart skipped a beat because it seemed that he had spoken too soon. The system had already given him the solution for his condition.
Although he was still quite unhappy about losing eight billion TP, he knew he couldn''t do anything about them, and he had toe when he broke through thew state.
So, without waiting any longer, Ace quickly opened the newly upgraded system shop with anticipation, and he was surprised to see that it had changed slightly. =====
[System Shop]
{Techniques/Spells Shop} (NEW)
{Items Shop} (NEW)
{Alchemy Shop} (NEW)
{Bloodline Shop} (NEW)
=====
When he saw the newly installed ''Bloodline Shop'' section within the System Shop, Ace''s heart raced because it was just like his housemates'' bloodline upgrade option within their shop, which he always envied. Yet now he has his own, and without hesitation, he ignored the rest and opened the Bloodline Shop Section!
=====
[System Shop: Bloodline Shop]
[Introduction: The Bloodline Shop is exclusive to Heaven''s Stealer with the purpose of synthesizing a supreme and matchless bloodline for a Thief by integrating the best abilities of all bloodlines present in the ?e??n? ?? ?n?? ??i???s??!]
[NOTE (1): Pleaseplete the prerequisites to activate all the functions of the Bloodline Shoppletely!]
[NOTE (2): With eachpleted prerequisite, a new function of the Bloodline Shop will be unlocked until it is fully functional!]
[Warning (1): Please be warned that using the iplete Bloodline Shop is risky because once you integrate with the Core Bloodline Avable in the Bloodline, you''ll have to continue upgrading it at certain levels to increase your cultivation.]
[Warning (2): The higher the grade of your bloodline, the more bloodline shop functions you require to integrate and synthesize a new higher-grade bloodline. That''s why it is of the utmost importance that you only use this shop if you''re confident in unlocking all its functions!] ¡
Chapter 1126 Bloodline Shop (1)
Chapter 1126 Bloodline Shop (1)
=====
[System Shop: Bloodline Shop]
¡
¡
¡
---
-Prerequisite(s): 5
A Forbidden Bloodline
-Status: The system detects that you have a Forbidden Bloodline [Child of Darkness (Damaged)]; therefore, the First Function of the Bloodline Shop is ready to unlock!
-Function (1): Bloodline Analysis
Acquiring a Bloodline Sample three antiquity Bloodlines of the ?e??n? ?? ?n?? ??i???s??
-Status: The host has gathered the three antiquity bloodlines, so the Second Function of the Bloodline Shop is ready to unlock!
-Sample Slots:
-1. Vampyre Bloodline
-2. Aetherial Crowned Empyrean
-3. Celestial Titan
-Function (2): Bloodline Infusion N?v(el)B\\jnn
-3. Universe Nucleolus
-Status: The host has sessfully acquired the Universe Nucleolus [Seed of Timeless Chaos Tree], so the Third Function of the Bloodline Shop is ready to unlock! -Function (3): Bloodline Integration
-4. Primordial Cultivation Foundation
-Status: Completed!
-Function (4): Bloodline Synthesis
-5. Mystic Bloodline Cist
-Status: The host detects the Mystic Bloodline Cist in Living Thief''s Space and requires the Host''s permission to integrate the Mystic Bloodline Cist with the Bloodline Shop to unlock the Fourth Function of the Bloodline Shop!
-Function (5): Bloodline Authority [Bloodline Storage (Capacity: 0/99)/ Bloodline Sweep/ Bloodline Swallow]
---
[Required Host permission to unlock theplete and fully functional Bloodline Shop!]
[Continue/Later]
[NOTE/WARNING: Any items used in this process will be permanently gone!]
=====
Ace waspletely gobsmacked when he saw the end of the interface. At the start, his heart snaked when he saw the warnings about the bloodline shop, and it was an iplete function, unlike what he had expected it to be.
But he was prepared since he didn''t have a choice but to use this shop if he wanted to continue cultivating, and with a heavy heart, he read the prerequisites.
However, the final result turned out to be out of his wildest dream when he saw all those prerequisites gettingpleted one after another, especially the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th prerequisites, which were all part of nothing, a series of coincidences. Now he finally understood why the system insisted on getting the drop of Vampyre Blood by giving him a side mission and why the system took the Seed of Timeless Chaos Tree that day and told him it would be useful to him in the future.
But the Bloodlines of Alina and his own were still quite startling since he didn''t know they were bloodlines from antiquity, and he had no idea when the system got Alina''s blood sample just like his own.
Nheless, the problem he considered impossible to solve was suddenly solved on its own, and he even thought that the system had arranged it all. But it was too hard to believe.
In the end, he took a deep breath and instantly made his decision; it wasn''t like he was losing anything besides the Mystic Bloodline Cist, which was of no use to him anymore.
Although it was still an unranked and unbreakable treasure that can be used a shield or change others bloodlines with powerful ones, he still needed to be powerful to acquire those bloodlines while he had no idea about this mysterious seed that was the Unversed Nucleolus, so his final choice was obvious.
"Continue!" Ace solemnlymanded.
The moment Ace gave his conformation, the interface changed, and he suddenly felt a cold sensation washing over him the very next moment! Then, the system interface changed, and the system''s voice rang.
=====
[System Shop: Bloodline Shop]
-Introduction: Wee, Heaven''s Stealer, to the Bloodline Shop! This exclusive shop empowers you to forge a supreme bloodline, the Nirvana Thief Bloodline, by integrating the most potent abilities from across the ?e??n? ?? ?n?? ??i???s??.
-Bloodline Shop Status: Complete
-Having fulfilled all five prerequisites, you now possessplete mastery over the Bloodline Shop. Utilize its functions strategically to craft your ultimate bloodline:
-Function 1: Bloodline Analysis
-Description: Delve into the intricate details of any bloodline sample. Uncover its strengths, weaknesses, potential for integration, andpatibility with your current bloodline.
-Function 2: Bloodline Infusion
-Description: Carefully integrate a portion of another bloodline into your existing one. This process grants you a limited version of the chosen bloodline''s power. However,patibility is crucial. Utilize Bloodline Analysis to ensure a smooth integration and avoid potential rejection.
-Function 3: Bloodline Integration
-Description: This advanced function allows you to integrate a core of a bloodline into your Nirvana Thief Bloodline. The core bloodline forms the foundation upon which you build your ultimate lineage, shaping your core abilities and growth potential. Choose wisely, for this integration is permanent.
-Function 4: Bloodline Synthesis
-Description: This is the pinnacle of bloodline maniption! Combine multiple bloodlines, including your core bloodline and infused samples, to forge entirely new and unique abilities. This function allows for limitless possibilities but requires a deep understanding of bloodlinepatibility and the potential for unforeseen consequences.
-Function 5: Bloodline Authority
Description: This function will allow your bloodline to continue to grow as long as you canplete all the requirements for the upgrade and give you authority over other bloodlines! Bloodline Authority has three additional abilities:
-Bloodline Storage: You can store aplete bloodline in this storage without damaging the bloodline in any way!
-Current Capacity: 0/99
-Bloodline Swallow:Ability to swallowplete bloodline and then stow them into the Bloodline Storage!
-Activation Cost: 100,000 Thief Points
-Bloodline Sweep: You can use this ability to sweep others'' bloodlines with the stored bloodline in the Bloodline Storage.
-Activation Cost: 1,000,000 Thief Points
---
[Current Bloodline(s): Child of Darkness (Forbidden Grade: Damaged), Aetherial Crowned Empyrean (Immortal Grade: Damaged)
-Avable/Rmended Bloodline to utilize the Bloodline Shop: The Nirvana Thief Bloodline (Gradeless)]
-Requirements to Change the Bloodline: Bloodline Swallow & Bloodline Sweep (Avable)
-Cost: 1 Million Thief Point
--
[Bloodline Alteration/Upgrade]
[NOTE: Altering the Nirvana Thief Bloodline will require Thief Points!]
-Bloodline: Nirvana Thief Bloodline (Elemental Grade-10 (Forbidden Grade))
-Current Talent(s): Endless Nirvana
[Talent Description: This is a one-of-a-kind talent that allows the Nirvana Thief Bloodline to evolve through Nirvana endlessly without any restraints!]
-Evolve to Ascension Grade-1
-Cost: 10 Million Thief Points
-Add 1 Ascension Grade Bloodline Talent to Nirvana Thief Bloodline
-Avable List of Ascension Grade Talent from the avable samples: 4 -Cost: 5 Million Thief Points
[NOTE: You can collect more samples of other bloodlines at the same grade as your bloodline to increase your list of options. By using the bloodline shop functions, you can furtherbine talents or strengthen them as long as they don''t exceed the limitation of the ability grade that can be added to the bloodline''s current grade!]
-Evolve to TranscendentGrade (LOCKED: Required Ascension Grade-10 Forbidden Bloodline)
=====
"System, I freaking love you!" Ace eximed as his eyes shone like suns while he looked at the fully functional bloodline shop, and he forgot everything about his previous resentment as if nothing happened!
Chapter 1127 Bloodline Shop (2)
Chapter 1127 Bloodline Shop (2)
Although the Bloodline Shop was a littleplex, Ace didn''t mind since all the functions were exined in detail, and all he had to do was to further inquire about them. Furthermore, this Nirvana Thief Bloodline seemed even more powerful than his own bloodlines despite its lower grade. But as he can see, the bloodline can evolve endlessly because of the Endless Nirvana talent.
''It seems I was supposed to get this bloodline from the start, but without the fully functional bloodline shop, having this bloodline means nothing. Every function seems to correspond to one another, and if I miss even one, I can''t evolve it continuously.
''Furthermore, the Cist seemed the truly essential part of it since now I can use all the Cist abilities on my own using the system. Although it is still a pity that I lost its body, which could be an unbreakable shield. I guess, to have something, you have to sacrifice something sometimes,'' Ace thought with a hint of pity, but it was only momentarily.
He asked the system, "System if I change into the Nirvana Thief Bloodline, does it mean I''ll lose both of my bloodlines?" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"[Indeed, your bloodlines arepletely damaged, so they can''t be stored in the bloodline storage. But their talents will be avable for integration and appear in the bloodline shop as long as you can evolve the Nirvana Thief Bloodline to the same rank as those talents.]"
"If that''s the case, then I''m d." Ace sighed in relief, still somewhat reluctant to give up on these bloodlines that he had beenborn with.
"Then what about the sample gathering? How does it work? Do I only need a small amount of blood from any race that I want to have their talent, and when did you get Alina''s bloodline?" Ace asked another question that he was quite curious about, especially the part about Alina''s bloodline sample appearing in the sample slot. He knew the system asked for the sample from the Vampyre Bloodline, while his own bloodline sample should have been taken by the system when he unsealed it since the system was connected to him. However, he didn''t know how and when the system got Alina''s bloodline.
"[Host only needs a drop of essential blood for aplete bloodline analysis. However, essential blood can''t be taken normally unless it was willingly given, or you can only take it after you killed the bloodline owner.]
"[Blood that bleeds during injury or battle wouldn''t work since it is normal blood. Every bloodline possessor would have this protective mechanism to prevent the bloodline from falling into others'' hands.]
"[Moreover, you can only collect the blood sample of races that are deemed worthy of having their talents integrated into the Nirvana Thief Bloodline.]
"[As for the Celestial Titan Blood sample, the system collected it from the Cist when it was ownerless, and it didn''t affect the current inheritor of the Celestial Titan bloodline.]"
Realization dawned on Ace, but he was still somewhat displeased since the system didn''t ask him. However, when he thought that he wasn''t the owner of the cist, the system didn''t need his permission. Since it didn''t affect Alina in any way, he decided to let the matter rest here. After all, the system still helped him.
"Since that''s the case, what about if I gather Cyrus and Eva''s blood as well? Will I get their talent in the shop as well?" Ace quickly asked, and since he only required a drop of blood,he was at ease.
Furthermore, it was a rare chance to acquire Eva''s Shadow Abyssal Devil and Void Abyssal Devil, and Cyrus''s Nether Paradise Bird bloodlines into the bloodline shop. After all, they were both extremely talented.
"[Yes, their bloodlines are sufficient.]"
Ace was ted as he quickly called Cyrus. When his eyes fell on Chuchu, he suddenly remembered about her and called her as well. Although the two of them were confused, they still came close to him.
"I want a drop of both of your blood." Ace directly asked them. "Why?" Cyrus asked in confusion at Ace''s strange demand, and Chuchu looked at him warily, clearly as confused as Cyrus and even on guard against Ace.
"I just need a drop. Come on; it won''t hurt you, right?" Ace was embarrassed a little, seeing their confused expression, but he couldn''t exin the bloodline shop to them.
Cyrus didn''t understand but still nodded, "Alright."
As Ace said, it wasn''t a big deal to give Ace a drop of blood. Besides, he trusts Ace, or if it were someone else, they would''ve met with a fireball on their faces.
The next moment, Cyrus suddenly opened his beak, and a drop of crimson blood instantly appeared, raising the cave''s temperature, and floated towards Ace.
Ace raised an eyebrow since he was expecting to get the blood in another way, but it seemed he still didn''t know much about how bloodline works, and Cyrus seemed to have full control over his bloodline despite his normally na?ve behavior.
Chuchu showed clear reluctance, but seeing Cyrus giving his blood without hesitation, she also gave in. She stabbed her sharp nail on her w, and a drop of blood gushed out of her small wound and flew towards Ace. Her blood was also quite hot, but not like Cyrus''s.
Looking at the two drops of blood floating in front of him, Ace asked the system, "Now what?"
=====
[System detects the Nether Paradise Bird''s Blood Essence (TranscendentGrade-9) sufficient for the Bloodline Shop!]
-Do you want to gather it?
-Cost: 10,000 Thief Point
--
[System detects the Inferno Fortune Hamster''s Blood Essence (TranscendentGrade-1) sufficient for the Bloodline Shop
-Do you want to gather it?
-Cost: 10,000 Thief Point
=====
Ace''s eyes dted slightly when he saw the two notifications, ''TranscendentGrade should be a grade higher than the Ascension Grade. But I didn''t expect Chuchu''s bloodline to be a TranscendentGrade bloodline as well since Cyrus having it wasn''t as surprising as her.
''Inferno Fortune Hamster, huh? Well, I guess she can follow us since she gave her blood without much fuss and didn''t do anything these days. Cyrus also seemed happy in herpany.''
Ace nodded as he then looked towards Chuchu and smiled before he waved his hand and a pile of herbs appeared, and he said, "Thank you for your blood, this is for you."
He also gave the system a go to gather those blood drops, and the next moment, they instantly vanished.
"What about me?!" Cyrus instantly protested when he saw Ace giving Chuchu food but not him, didn''t he give his blood as well?
Chuchu, on the other hand, was ted when she saw another pile of herbs, and her wariness of Ace turned into gratefulness, "Chu (Thank you, big boss!)"
"The things you like, I don''t have them right now. But I''ll give you someter when we find something you like." Ace helplessly replied since he was telling the truth.
At this moment, the system voice rang,
===== [Nether Paradise Bird and Inferno Fortune Hamster''s bloodlines have been added to the Bloodline Shop''s collection!]
[Four new talents have been added to the Bloodline Alteration!]
=====
Chapter 1128 Bloodline Shop (3)
Chapter 1128 Bloodline Shop (3)
After getting some clues about how bloodlines are collected, Ace asked for Eva''s blood as well, which she gave him without hesitation. However, to his surprise, he was given the choice to select either the Shadow Abyssal Devil Bloodline or the Void Abyssal Devil Bloodline with only a single drop of blood.
So, while selecting the Void Abyssal Devil Bloodline, he shamelessly asked for another drop of blood, which Eva took away, but she still became curious this time and asked him what he was up to.
Ace promised to exin itter. He was going to try altering the bloodline now, as he needed to change it before he could do anything.
=====
[System Shop: Bloodline Shop]
-Function 1: Bloodline Analysis
-Function 2: Bloodline Infusion
-Function 3: Bloodline Integration
-Function 4: Bloodline Synthesis
-Function 5: Bloodline Authority
--
[Bloodline Alteration/Upgrade]
[NOTE: Altering the Nirvana Thief Bloodline will require Thief Points!]
-Bloodline: Nirvana Thief Bloodline (Elemental Grade-10 (Forbidden Grade))
-Current Talent(s):
-1. Endless Nirvana
[Talent Description: This is a one-of-a-kind talent that allows the Nirvana Thief Bloodline to evolve through Nirvana endlessly without any restraints!]
-Evolve to Ascension Grade-1
-Cost: 10 Million Thief Points
-Add 1 Ascension Grade Bloodline Talent to Nirvana Thief Bloodline
-Avable List of Ascension Grade Talent from the avable samples: 10 -Cost: 5 Million Thief Points
Ascensions Talent (Child of Darkness): Absolute Darkness Affinity
-Bloodline Analysis Report: Anything rted to darkness (Techniques/spellsws¡etc.) will be extremely easy toprehend. You''ll get insights and enlightenment in darkness in the presence of darkness, and darkness-rted techniques/spellsws¡etc.; attacks will lose 60% of their effect on you!
-Physique of Darkness (Fantastic Physique): Gain the absolute physique of Darkness!
- Bloodline Infusion Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Integration Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Synthesis of Talent is not possible!
Ascension Talent (Aetherial Crowned Empyrean): Aetherial Form
-Bloodline Analysis Report: Shift into a formposed of pure light, granting enhanced speed, agility, and resistance to non-Qi attacks. Increased affinity with Light by 40%!
-White sh (Talent Ability): Teleport anywhere in a 10-mile radius area with the presence of Light! -Limitation: Ascension Realms
-Bloodline Infusion Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Integration Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99% -Bloodline Synthesis of Talent is not possible!
Ascension Talent (Celestial Titan): Titanic Might
-Bloodline Analysis Report: Immense physical strength and durability.
-Mountain''s Wrath (Talent Ability): Stomp the ground, creating a powerful shockwave that can break any physical and Qi barriers.
-Limitation: The wider the area of stomp, the more increased in Qi consumption!
-Bloodline Infusion Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Integration Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Synthesis of Talent is possible!
Ascension Talent (Vampyre): Life Steal
-Bloodline Analysis Report: elerated healing and recovery abilities. Enhanced senses!
-Life Drain (Talent Ability): You can drain the life force from any living target, restoring your health and potentially weakening them.
-Limitation: Useless against creatures with Death Qi.
-Bloodline Infusion Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Integration Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Synthesis of Talent is not possible!
Ascension Talent (Nether Paradise Bird) (1): Nether Fire Spirit (Immature)
-Bloodline Analysis Report: Awake the innate spirit fire that can burn God and Ghosts, the Nether Fire Spirit!
-Limitation: The Nether Fire Spirit needs to consume fire-type resources and fire spirit to grow.
-Bloodline Infusion Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Integration Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Synthesis of Talent is not possible!
Ascension Talent (Nether Paradise Bird) (2): Nether Form
-Bloodline Analysis Report: Phase through solid objects and navigate the Nether Realm.
-Haunt (Talent Ability): Project a vivid illusory double to distract enemies or scout locations.
-Limitation: Limited physical interaction while phased. Vulnerable to attacks that target the Nether Realm.
-Bloodline Infusion Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Synthesis of Talent is not possible!
Ascension Talent (Inferno Fortune Hamster) (1): Pyrokinesis
-Bloodline Analysis Report: Control and manipte firew. Generate intense heat and mes.
-Molten st (Talent Ability): Launch a concentrated st of molten fire at an enemy.
-Limitation: Susceptible to water-based attacks. Increased risk of self-harm in close quarters without Spirit Fire.
-Bloodline Infusion Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Synthesis of Talent is possible!
Ascension Talent (Inferno Fortune Hamster) (2): Lucky Fortune
-Bloodline Analysis Report: Manipte luck in your favor. Increase chances of sess in endeavors.
-Fortunate Reversal (Talent Ability): Reroute a negative oue to a positive one for yourself.
-Limitation: You can only use Fortune Reversal once every 10 years by spending your Lifespan. The extent of fortune maniption is unpredictable, and the higher the fortune you try to reverse, the higher the lifespan it''ll cost.
-Bloodline Infusion Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Integration Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Synthesis of Talent is not possible!
Ascension Talent (Shadow Abyssal Devil): Deific Shadow
-Bloodline Analysis Report: Be one with shadows, gaining invisibility and enhanced movement.
-Shadow Switch: Teleport from one shadow to another, surprising enemies.
-Limitation: Requires a source of shadow to activate abilities. Vulnerable to light attacks and enemies, the stronger the user rank will be able to detect the user.
-Bloodline Infusion Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Synthesis of Talent is possible!
Ascension Talent (Void Abyssal Devil): Servant of Void
-Bloodline Analysis Report: Gain a weak connection to the void and be able to manipte its power slightly for various effects. Slightly increased resistance to void-based attacks.
-Void Passage (Talent Ability): Open a passage to the mythical void.
-Warning: Without the talent [Void Traveler] and a special physique rted to Void, using this talent is extremely dangerous!
-Bloodline Infusion Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Integration Rate with Nirvana Thief Bloodline: 99%
-Bloodline Synthesis of Talent is possible!
---
-Evolve to TranscendentGrade (LOCKED: Required Ascension Grade-10 Forbidden Bloodline)
=====
Ace''s heart raced as he looked at the list of avable talents that he could add to the Nirvana Thief Bloodline. He could even have Cyrus''s Nether Spirit Fire or Eva''s Deific Shadow ability, which she once showed him after she had awakened from the Shadow Abyssal Bloodline.
Furthermore, the talents rted to his own bloodline were quite peculiar, but they weren''t quite practical.
However, when he saw the talent Void Passage rted to the Void Abyssal Bloodline, his expression changed slightly because it was the only talent with a warning attached to it.
''I should warn Eva about it as well. She shouldn''t touch this ability before fully bing the Void Abyssal Devil. I''m sure it should be the key to venture into this mysterious void.'' Ace took a mental note.
"System, why are both infusion and integration rates at 99% for every talent?" Ace asked with a hint of confusion.
"[At this moment, the Nirvana Thief Bloodline is like a nk te so that you can add anything. However, once you start altering it, the rates of infusion and integration will change ording to the first alternation.]
"[That''s why the system suggests you to be very careful with this alternation while keeping in mind this choice could affect your future alternation as well. Alter your bloodline in a way that suits you the best and not by momentary benefits!]"
Ace realized this as he became serious and asked, "What do you suggest I should choose that will be more beneficial for me in the long run?"
Ace wanted to seek the system''s opinion on this as well since he knew the system had more knowledge than him and should know better than anyone how to shape a thief''s bloodline.
Because every choice in these options was extremely tempting, and if he didn''t have a limited slot, he would''ve chosen everything without hesitation, or at least there were 4 talents that he wanted.
But he wasn''t hopeful since he knew the system might not even bother to reply to this question as always, and he had to make a choice on his own. So, he was ready to try using the Bloodline Synthesis option and see what kind of talent appeared before making his choice. However, to his surprise, the system really suggested, and after hearing it, he was astounded and fell into a long, contemted silence.
Ace''s eyes turned decisive as he ordered, "Well, I''ll go with your suggestion this time since it does have some merits. Alright, add the talent you suggested, and then start the bloodline inheritance! I''ve waited long enough for this!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 1129 Reap What You Sow!
Chapter 1129 Reap What You Sow!
In a strange, mysterious domain filled with countless stars and cracked space, two silhouettes were flying at a terrifying speed, leaving behind trails of lights. One of them was a handsome man, and he was holding a tiny ethereal seed that was half ck and half white, enveloped in a translucent sphere.
"We finally found it! Now, we can cure him of that damnable curse!" The man eximed with excitement. He looked at the ethereal seed with agitation as if it were the most precious treasure, and he was afraid it might vanish from his grasp!
The second silhouette was a woman wearing a mask. She nodded with deep affection and worry in her starry eyes, "All we need to do now is give it to him, and he''ll be able to live on!"
"Heh, I''m happier about him not being a cripple anymore!" The man stated matter-of-factly with a hint of relief.
"Hmph, he can live as he likes. Besides, it''s been many years since we left him. With the seal, he''ll be aged just like normal humans, and he might already be at the dawn of his middle age. He might already have married someone! We have to be prepared!" the woman retorted with a clear anxiety in her voice.
The man''s tion suddenly vanished into smoke, and a pained expression appeared on his face. He gritted his teeth and spat, "Our son was destined to rule over heaven, yet he falls under those vile fossils'' schemes! I can''t ept outliving my own son! He''ll understand once we exin everything to him. Even if he has a wife or children, we can just train them as well!"
The woman hesitated for a moment before she said, "Maybe we should keep this to ourselves and keep him away from them. Don''t forget what the senior said to us when he saved him. He said even if we managed to find this seed, his inborn talent would be forever gone, and he''d have only ordinary talent. "So, we should keep our burden to ourselves and support him the best we could. This is the only way we can pay him for not being able to protect him. Let him live his life as he wants until he leaves this vile world, and then we can just follow him by dragging those old ghosts with us!" Tears suddenly filled her eyes before dense killing intent filled with hatred shone in them.
"Sigh¡maybe you''re right¡" The man sighed ruefully as his eyes were just like the woman''s,ced with hatred and killing intent when he remembered about the past.
However, at this moment, their expressions suddenly changed, and they instantly stopped flying. In front of them, there were nothing but cracks in space.
"Come out!" The man roared, and a powerful aura suddenly spread out, making the surrounding space tremble. He then quickly opened his mouth and swallowed the seed in his hand, afraid of losing it. The woman''s eyes also started to shine in ster light. She was ready for a fight. "Sages or White Crown, how did you find us?" She coldly questioned, hinting at disbelief. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
At this moment, an ethereal voice unknown and a figure unseen rang, "One who walks where time has been, and where time yet shall be. I hold the echoes of a forgotten lore, the whispers of futures forevermore. I am the paradox, the endless refrain, where beginnings meet and endings wane. Who am I?"
The riddle-like voice speaks with a knowing grin: "The answer lies not without, but within."
Both the man and woman''s expressions suddenly changed with disbelief as they blurted. "It''s you!"
"Senior Venerable Diviner!"
"Hahaha, long time no see, Sage Owen, Sage Ste!" The mysterious voice suddenly turned into an amiable old man''s voice as his heartyughter rang before a tall, skinny old man with a wrinkled face but long ck hair. His eyes werepletely white, and he was wearing full white as he walked out of the space. Both Owen and Ste were incredulous but wary when this Venerable Diviner suddenly showed up in this ce, which should have been a secret to them.
Still, they respectfully nodded in acknowledgment since they knew it was this old man who saved their son in the past and gave them clues about this ce that could probably save him. It won''t be wrong to say that they were only able to find this ce because of this old man''s clues. But his sudden emergence irked them in a wrong way. "What are you doing here, Senior?" Owen asked with his guard up.
The Venerable Diviner chuckles, his voice echoing in the scarred space. "Indeed, a long time has passed, Sages." He strokes his long, white beard, his eyes glinting with an unknown amusement.
"The winds of fate have shifted once more," He continues, his voice taking on a poetic cadence.
"A tangled thread I sensed afar, A tapestry woven with curse and scar. My sight, though dimmed, saw potential bloom, A seed of hope amidst the consuming gloom.
"Yet fate''s grand dance requires a guiding hand, To nudge it forward, across the shifting sand. Tell me, Sages, when fortune''s wheel does turn, Is kindness the only lesson, or a lesson to be spurned?"
The riddle was subtle, but Own and Ste could still guess what he was trying to imply. But they weren''t sure since no one had ever been able to guess this mysterious entity''s real thoughts, as he knew how to hide them in those strange riddles.
"We can''t understand your profound words, Senior. But if there''s nothing important, please let us pass since we need to save our son. You know better than anyone what kind of condition he''s in. We''ll properly thank you for your past kindness once we save him!" Ste spoke with a hint of coldness. She was starting to have a foreboding feeling. She knew the Venerable Diviner was aware of their plight and the importance of the seed. However, his intervention didn''t seem entirely selfless anymore, which is aplete contrast to the past.
Even in the past, she had guessed that he deliberately helped them when he saw an opportunity in them, but she didn''t care at that time since all she could think was saving her son.
The Venerable Diviner chuckled as if he didn''t care about the couple''s vignce against him and replied, "I think there''s no need for you to deliver this seed to young Ace anymore. My seal had already been broken, which could only mean two things.
"First, he''s no longer alive, or second, someone even more powerful than me intervened. But the chance of thetter happening is impossible. Still, even if someone else broke the seal, he won''t be able to live for long once the curse res up again, and you both won''t be able to make it in time.
"That''s why I''m here to demand the seed since young Ace didn''t have any more use for it. This will end the karma between us. In return, I can send you to him so you can be untied in the afterlife. So, please don''t make it difficult for this old man!"
Owen''s eyes widened in disbelief, and Ste''s body started to shake as a deadly aura suddenly gushed out when they heard the Venerable Diviner''s words.
"Die!"
The next moment a terrifying battle unfold in this strange domain which no one could witness!
Chapter 1130 First Nirvana
Chapter 1130 First Nirvana
In the hidden cavern within the Beast Cmity Mountain Range, a cocoon of pitch-ck darkness was pulsing in ethereal dark blue light like a rhythmic heartbeat.
At this moment, two little creatures, one an inky bird and the other a plump yellow hamster grabbing one of the bird''s talons, flew into the cavern.
"Big boss is still noting out," Chuchu said uncertainly as she let go of Cyrus''s talon andnded on the stone ground.
"Sigh¡" Cyrus sighed as if he was exhausted, which clearly wasn''t the case. Well, I guess we need to keep making sure no one approaches this ce while big bro is sleeping; we need to guard him."
He then quickly added sternly, "We also need to remove those foo¡ I mean, attractions, or they might draw some unwanted attention!"
Chuchu nodded seriously with clear admiration in her eyes, "You really think about everything, boss!" Cyrus''s eyes shed with smugness as he raised his beak high. "Of course, little maid, I''m an adult!"
Since he was feeling great, Cyrus quickly forgot he had just returned after going for almost five months and said, "Let''s go foodh¡ I mean, scouting again! I''ve already sensed a fo¡ a threat! We need to make sure it won''t approach this ce!" Chuchu''s eyes lit up as she thought about how every time Cyrus sensed a ''threat,'' they would always end up close to something very delicious. Furthermore, as her boss, Cyrus always shared whatever he found with her, at least as long as he could keep her in mind before swallowing the entire thing. Just like that, the two mischievous kids quickly left to y, and this wasn''t the first time at all.
Everything happened too quickly that day, and Ace didn''t have time to send Cyrus back into the thief''s space. The moment he ordered the system to start the bloodline sweep, he instantly fell into slumber before this strange cocoon of darkness enveloped him.
Cyrus freaked out at first, but when he sensed that Ace''s life wasn''t in danger, he realized that he was undergoing some kind of changes, which seemed extremely beneficial for him. He quickly calmed down.
However, after waiting around three months for Ace to wake up and faithfully guarding him, Cyrus and Chuchu got bored and decided to sneak out to y. It was Chuchu''s idea.
In the end, the little guy makes sure that Ace isn''t in danger, and as long as he doesn''t leave too far, he can quickly return.
That''s how they both started wandering the Beast Cmity Mountain Range while stealing Qi herbs from powerful beasts'' territories. Almost five years had passed since that day, and they both made a name for themselves as the Thieving Vermins.
However, today, the pulsing cocoon of darkness suddenly started to stir as the dark blue pulsing light started to increase before the cocoon started to tremble greatly, and the traces of lights around hundreds of miles suddenly vanished, and the darkness kept spreading without stopping.
It was like the nemesis of light had suddenly descended personally, and the fearful roars of beasts all over the beast cmity mountain suddenly started to reverberate far and wide!
In this darkness at this moment, the darkness suddenly started to churn and gather into the shape of an ethereal, humongous silhouette with two dark blue mes burning bright under its hood. The next moment, this humanoid silhouette suddenly turned into an inky owl with devil''s horns seemingly lit with dark blue mes. This eerie phenomenon made every living being tremble with fear before the dark phenomenon vanished like a nightmare.
Within the cavern, in the ce of the dark cocoon, stood a handsome 7''2 feet tall figure with a toned body wrapped in a gray robe and long, inky ck hair draped over his shoulder.
Ace''s appearance remained the same, but on his be, a dark blue symbol of the horned owl was visible now. Within the owl''s dark sockets were marks of a cherry bloom-like pentagram. "That suffocating feeling is finally gone!" Ace eximed as he clenched his fists. A small shockwave suddenly creaked little cracks around the cavern.
Ace was startled, and at this moment, the system''s emotionless voice rang. =====
[Congrattions, Host, for sessfully changing into the Nirvana Thief Bloodline (1st Nirvana)]
[Bloodline Shop has been updated!]
[Host Status has been updated!]
---
[System Shop: Bloodline Shop] -Function 1: Bloodline Analysis
-Function 2: Bloodline Infusion
-Function 3: Bloodline Integration
-Function 4: Bloodline Synthesis
-Function 5: Bloodline Authority
--
[Bloodline: Nirvana Thief (1st Nirvana)]
[Grade: Ascension Grade-1]
-Current Talent(s):
-1. Endless Nirvana
[Talent Description: This is a one-of-a-kind talent that allows the Nirvana Thief Bloodline to evolve through Nirvana endlessly without any restraints!]
Absolute Darkness Affinity
[Talent Description: Anything rted to darkness (Techniques/spellsws¡etc.) will be extremely easy toprehend. You''ll get insights and enlightenment in darkness in the presence of darkness, and darkness-rted techniques/spellsws¡etc.; attacks will lose 60% of their effect on you!
[Talent Connate Ability(s): Physique of Darkness (Ascension Grade)]
-- [Bloodline Alteration/Upgrade]
[NOTE: Altering the Nirvana Thief Bloodline will require Thief Points!] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Nirvana Thief Bloodline Evolution Chart: Nine Avable
-Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-2 -Evaluation Cost: 25,000,000 Thief Points
-Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-3 -Evaluation Cost: 50,000,000 Thief Points
-Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-4 -Evaluation Cost: 100,000,000 Thief Points
-Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-5 -Evaluation Cost: 150,000,000 Thief Points
-Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-6
-Evaluation Cost: 250,000,000 Thief Points
-Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-7
-Evaluation Cost: 750,000,000 Thief Points
-Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-8
-Evaluation Cost: 1,000,000,000 Thief Points
-Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-9
-Evaluation Cost: 1,500,000,000 Thief Points
-Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-10 (Forbidden Grade) -Evaluation Cost: 2,500,000,000 Thief Points
-Evolve to Transcendent Grade (LOCKED: Required Ascension Grade-10 Forbidden Bloodline)
---
[Thief Point(s): 915,166,801]
=====
Ace''s eyes shimmered when he saw the evaluation chart for further upgrading the Nirvana Thief bloodline from grade-1 to the forbidden grade and finally to the transcendent grade.
''If only that thief point division hadn''t happened, I could''ve already upgraded it to the forbidden grade¡'' Ace sighed ruefully with a hint of resentment, but he knew he shouldn''t dwell on it since he had already achieved what he wanted to.
Furthermore, he could feel the changes in his body were far greater than he had imagined. He was feeling a strange harmony with his Qi and his body like never before, and he felt as if his previous body was actually a fake one.
It was like he had broken from a cage and finally be free of all the restrictions, and he was d that he followed the system suggestion about choosing the talent from the Child of Darkness bloodline for his first integration!
Chapter 1131 Changes & Realization!
Chapter 1131 Changes & Realization!
"Sir Ace, I can finally sense your presence clearly!"
While Ace was still marveling at his body''s new changes, a familiar, anxious, yet relieved voice suddenly rang in his head.
Ace''s eyes lit up, "Moira? Are you fine?"
"I''m fine! It''s just that I wasn''t able to contact you, and I seemed to have been sealed. I can''t see anything. If not for our connection, I-I¡" Moira''s trembling voice was almost like sobbing.
"Sorry, I made you worried. It seemed I had been reckless this time¡" Ace quickly calmed her down while cursing the system inwardly, knowing it was all the system''s fault.
After his ascension, he wasn''t able to utilize the Eternal Thief Fate Compass or contact Moira because his Qi and inner space werepletely blocked, all thanks to his bloodlines, which were unsealed by the system.
However, now that he has eliminated that problem, Moira is able to contact him, and he can also sense her presence clearly.
Not only Moira, but he can also feel the connection with his inner spaces again and all his Qi, which werepletely different from the elemental Qi. In fact, he could tell it was hundreds of times more powerful than the elemental heavenly Qi.
However, Ace was shocked the next moment because there were no longer two inner spaces. In fact, the two inner spaces of Martial and Soul had vanished from his position of the sr plexus and be!
If it were someone else, they would''ve started to freak out by now because the inner spaces were the very foundation of a cultivator, and if something happened to them, they would be just like mortals¡ªjust like what happened to Ace upon his ascension!
However, Ace didn''t freak out because he could still feel his cultivation, and he felt even more powerful than ever. After scanning his body, he finally pinpointed Moira''s presence, who should have been in his soul space before.
''What is this?'' Ace was astounded to sense that the two inner spaces seemed to have already be a single entity, and this singr entity''s current location was actually his heart!
However, for some reason, when Ace tried to peer into this new space, he wasn''t able to and felt as if he was missing something to assess it.
''Could it be I need the next volume of Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique to gain ess to this merged inner space? Wait a minute, if my inner spaces have been merged, shouldn''t my two Qis would have merged as well? But then, could I still feel them separately?'' Ace mused as this was bingplex for him.
However, Ace suddenly felt something was not right, and he quickly looked around. When he saw that the cavern was silent and empty, his expression changed.
"Where did that brat go!?" Ace finally remembered Cyrus and Chuchu.
When he ordered the system to start the integration, he expected it to take a few moments, which should be enough for him to send Cyrus back into the thief''s space.
But he never had expected that he would instantly lose consciousness, and after his initial excitement from getting a new bloodline and finally having his cultivation back, he finally remembered about the little troublemakers.
"System, how much time had my bloodline sweep taken?" Ace quickly asked, knowing Cyrus wouldn''t have left right away to y around, as he should''ve been aware of his condition. So, he knew it must be Chuchu.
Still, he needed to know how much time had passed since, for him, it was like he had only slept for a few hours.
"[It took 1794 days!]" "What?!" Ace was shocked because almost five years had passed, and he finally understood why Cyrus wasn''t there. He knew he mightn''t have been able to sit around doing anything in a simr situation, much less Cyrus.
''I should''ve expected it after witnessing the time it took Alina to sweep her bloodline. Well, at least it didn''t take over three decades!'' Ace didn''t dare to imagine what would''ve happened if he had been doing bloodline sweeping for decades.
''I need to find him!'' Ace didn''t dare leave Cyrus alone. After all, in his eyes, he was still a little kid who was na?ve and only knew how to y.
''Live Fate Map!''
Ace quickly opened the live fate map for the first time after his ascension. Furthermore, now that he was no longer restricted by the bloodlines, his thief''s sense was back. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, for some reason, the thief''s sense was only limited to a 100-mile radius, and he could tell that it wasn''t suppressed at all.
When the fate map opened, it also only showed terranes of a hundred-mile radius, and his expression fell, ''Is it because of the merging as well?''
At this moment, Ace gloomily noticed that the color of the fate map was actually glowing in silver radiance, and the dark goldenpass pointer was already pointing in a certain direction.
Another thing Ace noticed was that the consumption of his Qi to keep the fate map active was lessened by at least fifty times, which was huge!
However, he didn''t care since he was still thinking about Cyrus at that moment, and since his thief''s sense was greatly reduced, he could only rely on his connection with Cyrus to follow him. Although it was extremely vague, he could still feel his general direction.
Without hesitation, Ace quickly headed in Cyrus''s direction, leaving behind a dark streak, and turned into a ruin.
While following Cyrus''s traces, Ace didn''t forget about the other important things as well, like he still had yet to fully explore the entire system shop. Not to mention, he seems to need the second volume of his cultivation technique to fully grasp what was happening with his inner space right now. So, without any dy, Ace quickly opened the system shop''s new section for cultivation techniques and skills, which now had turned into ''spells.''
=====
[System Shop: Techniques/Spells Shop]
¡
¡
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=====
Chapter 1132 Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique (Vol.2)
1132 Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique (Vol.2)
=====
[System Shop: Techniques/Spells Shop]
1. Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique (Vol.2): Architect of Thieving Heart (Soul/Spirit Path)
-Cost: 10,000,000 Thief Points
2. Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique (Vol.2): Universal Ascension ck Physique (Martial/Body Path)
-Cost: 10,000,000 Thief Points
3. Soul Words (Dark Charm Manual)
-Cost: 25,000,000 Thief Points N?v(el)B\\jnn
4. Heavenly Runes of Ascension (Basic)
-Cost: 25,000,000 Thief Points
5. Heaven Stealer''s Dismantler Principles of Ascension (Basic)
-Cost: 100,000,000 Thief Points
6. ck Tempest (Upper Earth Grade Spell)
-Cost: 1,000,000 Thief Points
7. Dark Revtion (Upper Earth Grade Spell)
-Cost: 1,000,000 Thief Points
=====
Ace was astounded when he saw the new system shop for techniques and spells. But what truly surprised him was the two Heaven Stealer Cultivation Techniques. Although he knew the Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique was divided into two parts, it wasn''t separated in the shop like this before.
Nheless, since the cost of the two techniques was still under what he could afford, he didn''t mind buying them separately. However, the other things in the shop also grabbed Ace''s attention.
''The Soul Words seems to have more than just the Despair Manual. Now, it is the Charm Manual. I guess I don''t have to worry about maniptingw-state beings with this manual of soul words.
''As for the heavenly runes and the dismantler principles, they should be from Ascension Grade-1 to Grade-3, knowing what the system called ''basic''. But those two spells seemed quite peculiar. I was under the impression that only the witches could use the ''spells'' while the others used ''skills,'' but it seemed I was wrong. Furthermore, those grades¡''
Ace quickly asked the system for an exnation on this topic since he didn''t want to be clueless, and the system didn''t disappoint him and exined.
"[The maniption of the Spirit Qi is far more powerful andplex than the Elemental Qi. A skill requires a cultivator to manipte the Qi within the body to release the desired effect, while a Spell requires both the maniption of the inner spirit Qi andws around the cultivator to create far more powerful effects, and it is quicker than a skill.]
"[Moreover, beings without certain lineages can''t manipte thews directly without reaching a certain level, and that''s why the skills were created. But after breaking into the Law State, everyone would have the ability to manipte the surroundingws, and they could learn the use of spells. Like the Witch Race, which has the ability to manipte the surroundingws from birth, they called it ''Magic,'' which grants them the ability to cast spells from the elemental state!]
"[Just the spells, the Cultivation Arts will be called the Spell Arts, and secret skills or secret arts will be known as the Forbidden Spells and Taboo Spells, respectively.]
"[There are five ascension grades of spells, Earth (Lower and Upper Stages), Sky (Lower and Upper Stages), Mystical (Lower and Upper Stages), Domain (Lower and Upper Stages), and Heaven (Lower and Upper Stages)!]"
Ace was astounded by the system''s information, and he finally realized the truth behind the spells. Furthermore, the system went beyond that and gave him information about the Spell Arts, forbidden spells, and Taboo Spells and their grades. Now, he wouldn''t be ignorant about the grades or new names of the skills he was familiar with anymore.
So, without hesitation, Ace first bought the heaven stealer cultivation technique and then the two spells and didn''t touch the rest of the knowledge in the shop for now because if he wanted to buy out everything, it would cost him 172 million TP, and he didn''t dare to spend so much without looking at the other shops as well.
After all, he was pretty sure that the rewards of heaven''s stealer mission were actually in the system shop, so he had to hold back a little before deciding to spend them recklessly.
The moment he issued the order, the system instantly released a torrent of knowledge in his mind. The moment the Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique: Architect of Thieving Heart and Universal Ascension ck Physique was absorbed into his mind, he felt as if some kind of lock had been clicked within him.
Suddenly, the system''s voice rang.
"[Spirit Qi is thebination of the Martial and Soul Elemental Qis. Long ago, everyone could cultivate Spirit Qi directly and construct a Law Body to enter the Law State while strengthening the Spirit Qi. This path is actually theplete Path of Soul!]
"[But this originallyplete path was split by Heaven, and now the Martial Spirit Qi and Soul Spirit Qi are the norms for cultivating the higher stages of the path of cultivation!]
"[This not only stopped the cultivators from awakening the Cultivation Heart but also left them extremely vulnerable to the Three Evils of Heart, eventually ending their journey before they could reach the realm that could threaten Heaven!] "[However, Heaven''s deception knows no bounds because it split the Path of Soul into two and named them the Path of Soul and Path of Martial, while in truth, in the sham of these two paths, it removed and buried the original Path of Martial, the Path of Universal Physique!]
"[The Universal Physique is of utmost importance in reaching the pinnacle of the cultivation world; without it, one can''t change one''s destiny to be part of Heaven!]
"[But even if you know about the path of Universal Physique, it is still impossible to cultivate it because Heaven haspletely cut off this path! Many Heaven''s Stealers died while trying to tread on this path. Cultivating Universal Physique will not draw the Heavenly Punishment but something far more terrifying!]
"[That''s why the system is giving the host a warning before he decides to choose to walk on the path of a Universal Physique, which is not for everyone to walk on. Although you have already met the initial prerequisites to start the Universal physique, even in the era forgotten by time, this path was considered extremely difficult because it required too many resources, and the pain one has to endure is inhuman!]"
Ace''s eyes widened when he heard the system''s grave voice, and he was even more shocked to know the truth behind the two paths and the real path revealed right in front of him.
"So, what I''ve been doing until now is simply cultivating theplete path of soul?" Ace asked, still in disbelief.
"[Yes and no! Since the soul path is greatly altered while the other ispletely cut off, you need toplete special conditions before you can cultivate these paths in present times.]
"[The 1st Volume of Heaven Stealer Cultivation was imperative to awaken the Cultivation Heart, which is the key to cultivating in the Soul Path. Acquiring the cultivation heart also opened the door for the Universal Physique Path, but you also required aplete Fantastic Physique with Bloodline and Meridians of an Absolute Element.]
"[Everything you''ve been doing was to pave your way for this choice, and now you can decide for yourself if you want to follow theplete path of soul and body or theplete path of the soul. Whichever you choose, it''ll be extremely difficult whether you decide to follow both paths and struggle toplete them or choose a single path and struggle against your eternal enemy!]"
Ace waspletely speechless before smiling bitterly and sighing ruefully, "Just say the damn thing directly that I don''t have a choice at all! But even if I had an easier path, I don''t think I would''ve chosen it after knowing that I would be mediocre!"
His eyes shed with deep resolution, "One thing I''ve learned after witnessing that nightmare is no matter what, as long as you have power, your words are absolute!"
Chapter 1133 True Path of Body and Soul!
Chapter 1133 True Path of Body and Soul!
After rearranging the information about the Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique, Ace finally understood what the system was talking about.
The Architect of Thieving Heart was all about cultivating the Qi and Soul while strengthening the Cultivation Heart. The Cultivation Heart also contained the inner space, which is now called the inner world.
He needs to absorb the Heavenly Spirit Qi or Primordial Spirit Qi into his soul andprehend the primew. Thereby, he expands the inner world with the primew and assimtes other auxiliaryws until it bes a real world.
Furthermore, his inner world''s primew was the Darkness, which was also the attribute of his inner world, and calling the Darkness World wouldn''t be wrong. The First Realm of the Ascension Realm was called the Law Soul Assimtion.
Although the name of this realm was different from what Avos had told him, the essentials of this realm were almost the same. He needs to turn his soul into a Law Soul and assimte it with his Law Body, turning his soul into Primordial Spirit, and the progress will be measured by 1~100% from 1 to 10 Stars! Furthermore, Ace also noticed a peculiar part about the Architect of Thieving Heart. Although he needed to cultivate like a normal cultivator by umting spirit Qi, he could progress faster by simply doing thieveries!
This means that even if he had lost the EXP and SP bars, as long as he performed high-level thieves, his cultivation would progress at an rming rate¡ªmaybe even faster than with EXP and SP. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The biggest advantage was he no longer needed to search something like Elemental Orbs to break into a higher realm. This advantage almost made Ace cry with joy.
However, things weren''t so simple with the Universal Ascension ck Physique. Because this technique waspletely different from the Spirit Qi cultivation technique.
First, there were prerequisites just to start cultivating this technique, and just as the system said, hepleted all of them. The prerequisites were his Cultivation Heart, Fantastic Physique, Fantastic Meridian, and Bloodline, which should all belong to a single Absolute Element.
Although Ace didn''t know what an Absolute Element was, he mused that Darkness was one such element. Moreover, the requirement system didn''t mention that his body had to be as sturdy as a forbidden elemental grade weapon (Grade-10)! Even though Ace didn''t know if he met this requirement or not, since the system didn''t mention it and give him a go, it could only mean that his body met this requirement as well.
After all, if Ace thought about it clearly, his body had always been quite strong because of constantly undergoing the baptism of heavenly thunder. However, this was the easiest to aplish because of the system because afteres the part about turning his body into a real weapon, capable of destroying reality itself! This was the true essential of the Universal Physique!
ording to the Universal Ascension ck Physique, his body will be measured by Weapon Grades of Ascension Realm!
To turn his body into an Ascension Grade-1 weapon, he needs 99 Upper-Ascension Grade-1 refined weapons with Darkness affinity or equivalent materials with said affinity.
Afterward, he needs a powerful cauldron to contain all the weapons or materials and, finally, a Spirit Fire with Darkness Affinity to melt them into a liquid form.
However, the most important part came next, which also revealed why the system had told him that this process would be inhumanly painful.
The final part was that he needed to be in that cauldron, absorb those weapons or materials into his body, and refine it with the Universal Ascension ck Physique technique.
Nheless, the only relief was that the Universal Ascension ck Physique waspletely irrelevant to the Architect of Thieving Heart. This means that now, he is walking on the true paths of body and soul, and he will only have to undergo Heavenly Punishment for the Architect of Thieving Heart.
However, this doesn''t mean the Universal Physique didn''t have its own tribtions; in fact, if he survived all the way, there would only be a single tribtion once he refined his body into the Forbidden Ascension Grade (Grade-10).
But there wasn''t any information about this tribtion, just a steep warning, so Ace decided to put this on the back of his mind and only care about it once the time arrived. After all, he was still far away from reaching the forbidden rank.
Lastly, once Ace started cultivating the Universal Ascension ck Physique, he would awake something unique to true body cultivators: "Force" and would be able to use a single until of it at Ascension Grade-1! Unlike the Spirit Qi used by regr cultivators, Force represented the raw destructive power of the body itself. One unit of Force could shatter mountains and level terrains, with a single unit packing the punch of a 1 Megaton bomb.
Just thinking about being submerged in molten metal while refining his body with such immense power sent chills down Ace''s spine.
Yet, the thought of his enemies. trembling before his might. Steeling his resolve, he gritted his teeth, determined to endure the pain and unlock the true potential of the Universal Ascension ck Physique!
As for the ck Tempest and Dark Revtion spells, they were actually enhancement-type spells with Early, Intermediate, Advanced, and Perfect proficiency stages.
The former was a movement spell. By using it, his overall speed will be increased from the early stage five times to the perfect stage twenty times, while thetter was an optical spell. By utilizing it, any optical spell or ability''s power will be increased by 5 to 20 times as well with the same proficiency stages!
''I need to quickly find Cyrus before starting to dive into my cultivation technique and these spells. Furthermore, now that my soul cultivation technique is directly connected with my thievery, I should see my thief panel. There is still some new stuff that the system didn''t fully exin!''
Without hesitation, Ace opened the thief panel!
Chapter 1134 The Wizard Thief!
Chapter 1134 The Wizard Thief!
======
[Thief Panel] --
[Job {NOT Changeable}: Thief]
[Thief Name: Sky Stealer]
--
[Thief Rank: Wizard Thief (Advanced Thief: Initial)]
-Thievery Required for next Rank: -Low: 10,000 Thieveries
[Low Level Thievery = 100,000 Thief Points]
-Middle: 1,000 Thieveries
[Middle Level Thievery = 1,000,000 Thief Points]
-High: 500 Thieveries
[High Level Thievery = 10,000,000 Thief Points]
--
[Thievery Count Section]
-Low-level Thievery(s): 0/10,000
-Middle-level Thievery(s): 0/1,000
-High-level Thievery(s): 0/500
--
[Thief Title(s): 12]
-Bishop of Darkness (NEW)
-Title Effect: Able to raise the proficiency of [Spell] rted to Darkness by a single proficiency stage instantly!
-Mind Thief
{Title Effect: Any Memory you steal will have 10% more chances of being the most precious memory in the target''s Knowledge Sea!}
-Famously Infamous (Advanced Stage)
-Title Effect: Everyone is afraid of your name (Thief Name), and your deeds reverberate like thunder in every corner of this heaven. Your real name (Thief Name) will inflict [10% Fear] in others'' hearts as long as they know about your name (Thief Name) and deeds. (Note: This title is ineffectual against House Members & unhostile lifeforms.)
-Cold Liar (Intermediate)
-Cold Liar (Intermediate): Made 50 Million Beings (Cultivators Only) wholeheartedly believed your lies! -Title Effect: There''s a 7.5% more chance that people will believe in your liespletely! -Grand Theft (Intermediate) (NEW) {Intermediate Stage: Acquired an Assessment Grade: Extraordinary!} {Title Effect: Any Theft of [Assessment Grade: Great] will automatically result in 2X Reward!} -Knight of Darkness (III) (NEW)
-Title Effect: Any attack imbued with Darkness or anyw rted to darkness will deal 9% more damage and cause a corroded effect, which is hard to heal! {??? Title Effect: ???}
(AN: Ace acquired this unknown title after creating his unique Sword Cores!) -Symbolic Thief
-Symbolic Thief: Inspire others to be just like yourself and be their idol thief! -Title Effect: With every thievery, you''ll get 1,000 Extra Thief Points! -Identity Thief (Initial)
Identity Thief (Initial): Theft or Forge a Unique Identity that has never appeared in the Mortal Sky Heaven before and make Everyone (Cultivators from 1st to 8th Realm) recognize (Believe) that identity! Title Effect: When Heaven Stealer uses theft or forgery to obtain an identity, a 10% extra cloaking effect will be added to Cloaking Skills, Cloaking Treasures, and Cloaking Runes! -Thief Point Predator n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
-Description: Collect 1 Billion Thief Point from a thievery! -Title Effect: Thief Point Meter has been unlocked! You can now see everyone''s Thief Point Value (NOT including Thief House Members or People deemed non-target and unworthy by Host!)! -Disastrous Pick Pocketer (Initial)
-Initial Stage: Collectively Pick Pocket from over 1 Million Cultivators! -Title Effect: You will earn 1% more thief points from a pick pocket thievery! -Wizard Thief (NEW)
- Description: Achieved the Advanced Thief Rank! -Title Effect: You can now reset the cooldown period of 1 Summoning Ability of Thief Symbol Summoning once per week!
-- [Thief Symbol: Devilish Wise Owl]
-Summoning Symbol Ability(s): 3
1. Devilish Wise Owl Wings (Advanced)
-Description: Able to summon Wings of Devilish Wise Owl!
-Ability: Unrestraint Flight under any space restraints or blockades!
-Limit: 2 Minutes
-Cooldown: 7 Days [NOTE (1): The Ability can be Upgrade by Thief Symbol Upgradation!]
[NOTE (2): The limitations of ability can increase with the host''s increase in realms!] 2. Devil''s Law Horns (Advanced)
-Description: Able to summon Horns of Devilish Wise Owl!
-Ability: Undetectable Stealth in Mortal Ascension Heaven! -Limit: 10 Seconds
-Cooldown: 10 Days [NOTE (1): The Ability can be Upgrade by Thief Symbol Upgradation!]
[NOTE (2): The limitations of ability can increase with the host''s increase in realms!] 3. Devil''s Insightful Eyes (Advanced)
-Description: Able to summon Eyes of the Devilish Wise Owl!
-Ability: Grants enhanced sight that can prate illusions, detect lies, and identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities in objects, formations, or enemies under the Mortal Ascension Heaven!
-Limit: 5 Minutes
-Cooldown: 8 Days [NOTE (1): The Ability can be Upgrade by Thief Symbol Upgradation!]
[NOTE (2): The limitations of ability can increase with the host''s increase in realms!] --
[Thief Fame: Unknown]
-Previous Thief Fame in Mortal Sky Heaven: Heaven-wide
--
[Job Mission: 0]
======
Ace''s eyes shimmered with excitement when he saw the new summoning ability and the previous abilities, which were now strengthened to a ridiculous degree. Although the summoning time had been readjusted, as long as he could reach higher realms, he knew he could easily ovee these limitations.
However, what Ace hadn''t expected was the moment he opened the thief panel, another system notification would appear right after that, and it was about something he had almost forgotten because of Cyrus''s absence.
===== [Congrattions, the Deft Thief''s Robes has been upgraded to Wizard Thief Robes!] [Wizard Thief''s Robes (Initial): Upper Ascension Grade-3 Runic Treasure]
-Descriptions: A treasure that can only be used with Primordial Spirit Qi.
-Ability(s): Martial and Soul Defensive Effect (Ascension Grade-3), Self-Repair, Self-Sustain, Color Change, Shape Change, 9% Increase in Thief-rtedw spells, Auto-Spirit Qi Absorption, Spirit Qi deflection (Ascension Grade-3), Reduce 9% damage from any Law Attacks, 100% defense against all Elemental State attacks! =====
Ace instantly halted his advance and quickly took out his Wizard Thief Robes, which had turned into a tatter old rag after his ascension, and he didn''t have the Qi to repair it at that him.
However, the tattered robes were now brand new. Their color was pitch ck without any markings; it was as if this robe was made with the very fabric of dark space. Behind the long robe was the dark blue of the Devilish Wise Owl, spreading its majestic wings. Its devil horns seemed longer and slightly twisted, and there seemed to be mysterious ck runic marks in its eyes.
Furthermore, Ace felt a close connection with the Wizard Thief Robes, as if something within him was extremely excited about his presence.
''Is there a spirit in there now?'' Ace wondered with anticipation. Since he knew about the spirits in the ascension-grade treasures, how could the system treasures not have them as well?
But when he tried tomunicate with it, nothing came out of it except for the feeling of joy, which was also quite vague.
In the end, he gave up and decided to explore it againter. Without hesitation, Ace quickly changed into his new robes. The moment he donned them, he felt as if a part of his body had returned to him and felt empowered.
Furthermore, a wave offort washed over him as he donned the robes. He could now distinctly sense Primordial Qi flowing into his body, passively fueling his cultivation.
With a single thought, he hid the thief symbol behind the robe since he didn''t want to reveal this to anyone. After all, he knew this symbol would be a target of everyone''s attention and rage very soon!
Chapter 1135 Final Benefits!
Chapter 1135 Final Benefits!
=====
[Thief House]
{Rules & Regtion of Thief House¡}
-Rule Creation Remain: 2
-Rule Change Token: 0
---
[Thief House: Level-2]
[House Leader: Ace White]
--
[House Members: 3/6]
1. Noa Night -Thief Genre: Thief Assassin (Deft: Initial)
-House Rank: Veteran Member
{View More Details}
2. Freya Witch -Thief Genre: Evil Thief (Deft: Initial)
-House Rank: Veteran Member
{View More Details}
3. Winter Fox -Thief Genre: Faceless Thief (Deft: Initial)
-House Rank: Veteran Member {View More Details}
---
[House Point(s): 10,092]
---
[House Mission(s): 0]
---
[House Leader Mission(s): (Edit)]
{NOTE: During House Mission, this feature will be unavable!}
---
[House Punishment(s)] -System Punishment: 0
-House Leader Punishment: (Edit)
{NOTE: During House Mission, this feature will be unavable!}
---
[House Shop(s): 3/6]
{NOTE: During House Mission, this feature will be unavable!}
1. Thief Assassin 2. Evil Thief 3. Faceless Thief ---
[Recycling Shop]
---
[House Points Exchange tform]
{NOTE: During House Mission, this feature will be unavable!}
{Exchange Rate: 10 Thief Points = 1 House Point}
---
[House Call: Spend 10 House Points to use this function to contact anyone in the Thief House at any time and ce! Your House Call can''t be ignored!] [House Meeting (NEW): Exclusive Function to House Leader!]
-Description: Summon House Members from any distance for a meeting within the Thief''s House space for 100 Minutes before they''ll be automatically sent back to their initial locations!
-Cost: 100,0000 House Points
-Level-2 Limitation: You can only summon each house member a single time before their House Meeting time will be at a cooldown for 60 days before you can use the House Meeting again! ---
[Thief''s House]
Description: Only Thief House Members can enter this private space for the thief house members to train their thief skills and cultivate! -Current Capacity: 6
-Unlock Function(s): 4
1. Thief Cultivation Chambers -Description: Exclusive cultivation chambers for Thief House members with beast cultivation environments for their specific thief genres!
-Cultivation Chamber Space: 1,000 Cubic Meters (In sync with the Thief''s Space) 2. Thief Training Rooms
-Description: Thief Training Room can create Training Dummies at the same cultivation the House Members or Three Stages above. The Training Dummies will have the same skills and treasures as the House Members. The House Members can use these Training Dummies to fight and practice! (More Information)
-Cost: 10,000 House Points per Training Dummy
-Training Dummies Maximum Limit: 3 3. Theft Stimtion Virtual Room
-Description (1): The Theft Stimtion Virtual Room can perfectly stimte all the Thief''s Skills, Spells, etc.¡ that the House Members have, providing insights and helping them cultivate their thievish abilities at an extremely high pace and perception. -Cost: 1,000 House Points for 1 Natural Hour
4. Time Multiplier
-Description: Time will elerate within the Thief''s House Cultivation Chambers from the outside world! -Limit: 3X eleration (In sync with the Thief''s Space)
-Cost: 100 House Points per Hour House Member! [NOTE (1): The Time Multiplier effect will be avable in all the Thief House functions for whoever activates it until the time runs out! If someone activates the time multiplier, they will be able to enjoy the effect in [Thief Cultivation Chambers], [Thief Training Rooms], & [Theft Stimtion Virtual Room] [NOTE (2): Thief''s House Members can activate all these functions at will by paying the House Points, or the House Leader can activate them by paying personally!]
---
[Thief''s House Functions]
{Avable Functions: 1} - House Leader Chamber: Lock
-Description: A residence for the House Leader in the Thief''s House! Unlock Cost: 10,000,000 House Points
--- [Living Thief''s Space Update Scheme]
-1. 2,500 Cubic-Meter Space + 25 Humanoid Storage Capacity
-Cost: A Hundred Upper Ascension Grade-2 Storage Space Treasures + 25 Million Thief Points
-2. 5,000 Cubic-Meter Space + 50 Humanoid Storage Capacity -Cost: Five Hundred Upper Ascension Grade-5 Storage Space Treasures + 50 Million Thief Points
-3. 7,500 Cubic-Meter Space + 100 Humanoid Storage Capacity + 4X Time eleration Function
-Cost: A Thousand Upper Ascension Grade-7 Storage Space Treasures + 2 Upper Ascension Grade-8 Time Affinity Treasures + 100 Million Thief Points
-3. 10,000 Cubic-Meter Space + 1,000 Humanoid Storage Capacity + 5X Time eleration Function
-Cost: 3 Advanced Independent Realm Cores + 1 Upper Ascension Grade-9 Time Affinity Treasure + 1 Billion Thief Points
---
[Note: Host currently has insufficient resources for any avable upgrade scheme!] ---
[System Shop: Items Shop]
1. Heaven''s Stealer Disassembler Gloves Ascension Upgrade Token
-Cost: 100,000,000 Thief Points
2. Bow of Vermin (Thievish Soul Cord 2nd Form) n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
-Cost: 50,000,000 Thief Points
3. Thief House Recruitment Tokens: 3
-Cost: 10,000,000 Thief Points
4. Heaven Fooling Coin: 3
-Cost: 50,000,000 Thief Points ---
[System Shop: Alchemy Shop]
1. Rejuvenated Heavenly Pills: 999 Avable
-Description: Instantly heal any internal or external physical wounds in the realm of Mortal Ascension Heaven, even from the brink of death!
[NOTE: Only someone with Heavenly Foundation can use this pill!]
-Cost: 1,000,000 Thief Points Per Pill
Heavenly Spirit Recovery Elixir: 999 Avable
-Description: Instantly recover the Spirit Qi to full capacity!
[NOTE: Only someone with Heavenly Foundation can use this Elixir!]
-Cost: 1,000,000 Per Elixir Thief Points
Heaven Stealer Pills: 3
-Description: One pill can help the cultivator of Heaven Stealer Cultivation
-Cost: 100,000,0000 Thief Points
=====
After Ace was done with the thief panel, he quickly skimmed through the remaining panels and the shop sections.
''The living thief''s space is still out of my reach right now while there are some important and peculiar things in the system shop now. However, what is most important is the thief''s house and the new function!''
Ac''s eyes shimmered with deep anticipation as he gawked at the House Leader Chamber in the avable function. He had always wanted to enter the thief''s house and enjoy all its perks, but the system never let him.
However, the chance he had been waiting for was finally here, and he would be a fool to miss it.
But there was still something he was dissatisfied with as he annoyingly questioned the system, "System, don''t you include this house function in rewards? Then why would I have to pay for it?"
However, the system''s answer was cold silence, making him indignant. All he could do was sigh and ept his fate. He knew he couldn''t save the thief points anymore, especially in front of such temptation.
Nheless, Ace still put this on hold because he was finally getting closer to Cyrus''s position. When he looked at the ce in front of him, he was shocked because he was standing in the vicinity of an active volcano!
Chapter 1136 Unexpected Encounter!
Chapter 1136 Unexpected Encounter!
Sensing the high temperature and profound firew in the air, Ace''s expression was solemn because his thief sense was raising a faint warning as he looked towards the towering volcano, emitting ck smoke from its massive maw. The sky was covered in thick, dark ash clouds.
However, what drew Ace''s attention was he walked into this ce without even realizing it. Although he was sorting out the system upgrade, he wasn''tpletely immersed in it.
Even though he was in stealth and running at full speed, covering almost tens of miles of distance with a single step, he could still feel this kind of huge change inw. After all, now that his cultivation was no longer blocked and even became more powerful after his bloodline change, he was even more sensitive to thews and felt profound reasoning with them.
But one thing he was absolutely certain about was that Cyrus was somewhere in that active volcano which was giving him a faint dreadful feeling.
''That little brat probably had found some kind of fire elemental treasure in that volcano. But it''s still strange that he isn''t replying to my transmissions. Knowing him, he should''ve alreadye running to me the moment he sensed my presence. Something is wrong!'' Ace''s eyes shed with a hint of worry before a faint killing intent shed past them.
Although he was somewhat angry at Cyrus taking this kind of risk, he was more worried about his safety. He was still a little kid in his eyes, and he had never let him experience any grievance or hardship since he considered him a family. So if anyone hurt him, he won''t be holding back.
Like a sh of dark lightning, Ace quickly made his way towards the mouth of the volcano. He also looked at the fate map, which was shimmering in silver.
But Ace was more concerned about the potential threats in the vicinity than about treasure. Just as Ace was reaching the top of the volcano, a sudden earthquake suddenly appeared¡ªthe entire volcano suddenly trembled! ALL new ??hapters ??n n??v(??)lbin(.
"Roar!"
A monstrous roar suddenly reverberated like thunder, and the temperature around the volcano suddenly rose to an extremely high degree, stirring the firews with it.
Ace suddenly felt an extremely terrifying pressure suddenly spreading from the core of the volcano, and the entire volcano seemed to be boiling, as if on the verge of erupting.
However, Ace''s focus instantly shifted when he sensed Cyrus''s faraway presence suddenly closing in, and he wasing right in his direction. Furthermore, Ace was horrified when he sensed Cyrus''s presence, which seemed quite weak.
Killing intent almost manifested in him, but he controlled himself and quickly tried to close the distance.
It didn''t take long before Ace was able to spot Cyrus finally, but he paled when he saw that Chuchu, with many bloody scars, was surrounded by pale yellow mes and was running directly towards him, leaving behind a trail of fire.
However, Ace doesn''t care about Chuchu in the least bit because he focuses on the small dark figure enveloped by Chuchu''s mes. It was Cyrus, and his wings seemed to bepletely burned, as well as his once glossy fur. There was a deep wound just below his small neck.
His beady eyes were barely opened, and he seemed to be looking in Ace''s direction, having difficulty leading Chuchu toward him. Cyrus''s barely opened eyes suddenly sparked with relief when he saw the familiar hooded figure suddenly appearing in the thin air. The figure seemed to give off a terrifying dark aura, but he wasn''t its target. In fact, he could feel amidst Ace''s raging emotions of anxiety and deep worry for him.
"B-b¡big bro¡ I''m so-sorry!" He was barely able to utter those words because he had lost consciousness. After all, he was only able to keep his consciousness because he wanted to lead Chuchu to Ace since he knew he would be safe once Ace arrived.
Now that he finally saw Ace, all the exhaustion from that injury and his escape washed over him.
Ace felt his heart ached when he heard Cyrus''s weak voice, and his eyes almost went bloodshot. But he didn''t lose his reason since he could feel that something terrifying was quickly approaching, so he didn''t have time to examine Cyrus''s condition or ask Chuchu what had caused such a great deal of injury to Cyrus.
But he knew whatever it was, he wasn''t a match for it as well, or taking revenge would be extremely foolish. Instead, he had a better way to make sure whoever did would pay a bloody price he would regret his entire life.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chuchu quickly stopped in front of Ace as her condition wasn''t any good from Cyrus, but her little eyes were filled with hatred as she cried in indignation, "Big Boss! It''s Mountain Tyrant! He hurt boss despicably¡!" Ace''s eyes narrowed when he heard this name, and he finally understood how Cyrus was hurt so badly. From Chuchu''s muddled exnation, it seemed that Mountain Tyrant yed some kind of trick to hurt Cyrus; it wasn''t a frontal battle.
However, he didn''t have time to hear the entire story, and he quickly picked up Cyrus and Chuchu: "Don''t resist. I''m sending you to a safe ce. But don''t think that I''ll let this go with that!"
Ace coldly red at Chuchu. He knew Chuchu would have a big hand in this, but since he saw her bringing Cyrus to safety, he wouldn''t abandon her. After all, Cyrus seemed to care a lot about his ymate. So, he decided to send her into the thief''s space, which was now reinforced after the system upgrade. He also alerted both Eva and Alina about Cyrus''s condition so they could tend to him in his ce.
The next moment, Ace quickly used the Thief Shelter. He could''ve easily used a teleportation talisman to flee the scene instantly, but he wanted to stay and see the face of this Mountain Tyrant, who hurt Cyrus and, if possible, gave him an unforgettable gift! After all, this is how Sky Stealer took revenge!
Chapter 1137 Crimson Platinum
Chapter 1137 Crimson tinum
From the mouth of the volcano, a massive silhouette suddenly emerged, sting moltenva with its colossal body.
Ace, not too far away, was coldly witnessing this scene while hiding within the fabric of space using the thief''s shelter. The colossal beast had a body like a bull, and its hide was filled with dark crimson scales. It had two bull heads with crimson horns lit in bright red mes, giving off an intense fiery aura. Just its presence raised the temperature to an extremely high degree!
It was the Inferno Two-Headed Bull, aw-state magic beast at the 9-Star Ascension Warrior Realm. For the Beast Cmity Mountain Range, he was known as the Mountain Tyrant. He was the ruler of this mountain range that not even the five grand sects dared to offend despite it only being a peak Ascension Warrior.
Ace was barely able to control his killing intent when he saw the two-headed magic beast, as he knew he was the one behind Cyrus''s current state. However, he knew it would be a lost battle since he could clearly sense the other party''s superior cultivation, and he had yet to fully master the Spirit Qi. So, he could only hold back the itch to take out Avos and behead that thing.
However, Ace suddenly noticed something, and his eyes shed with astonishment and disbelief.
At this moment, a blurry hominoid silhouette magically appeared right beside the Mountain Tyrant, appearing like an ant beside the colossal Mountain Tyrant. Yet this blurry figure dares to stand beside him despite the ghastly pressure released from the beast.
This could only mean that this person was either more powerful than the Mountain Tyrant or at least in an equal realm. Since Mountain Tyrant let this person stand so close to it, this means their rtionship was anything but ordinary.
"Where the hell did those two go?!" Mountain Tyrant furiously roared in his heavy voice, clearly incredulous.
"What? They escaped your detection?!" An aged voice questioned in disbelief and agitation; it was clearly the blurry figure.
''They''re in cohort?'' Ace was astounded, and his heart was very cold since this situation waspletely out of his expectations.
Mountain Tyrant released an invisible aura that covered the entire volcano, even far away ces; its two bull heads darkened even more.
"Did they use some forbidden spell to escape? We can''t detect them at all!" This time, the second head spoke in a feminine voice.
"No! Even if they were able to escape some forbidden space-type spells, they shouldn''t be able to remove our ''Law Mark'' so quickly!" The male voice head retorted with a hint of trepidation.
The aged voice spoke at this moment in a grim tone, "No, it''s not impossible to remove yourw mark as long as they had helped an existence far stronger than you."
The Mountain Tyrant went silent at this moment as its fury seemed to have lessened by half after hearing the aged voice conjecture.
"So, you''re giving up on that Bird''s innate fire spirit? Although I don''t know what race it belonged to, its innate fire spirit should be ranked in the Mystic me Chart!" The Mountain Tyrant hesitantly asked, clearly unwilling.
The aged voice replied in a cold tone, "I''m not the one to give up without knowing who I''m up against. But the thing is, we don''t even know where that beast had vanished and who helped him remove your Law Mark. If only you were able to keep them here until I arrive! That bird''s bloodline should be even more terrifying than you''re making it.
"After all, this ce is surrounded by a powerfulw illusionary maze formation, and only those who can see through illusion or someone at the Ascension Master Realm can enter here. But that bird was able toe here despite only being a 1-Star Ascension Solider, not to mention he was even able to escape from you!
"But there''s no point in thinking over this anymore since the chance is already gone. Nheless, since this ce had been exposed and if that bird has a powerful backer, we should move the Crimson tinum Volcano somewhere else. "There is still some time before the Crimson tinum manifest; I can''t take any risk! After all, if you weren''t protecting this ce, it would''ve been a disaster, and all that centuries worth of work would''ve been for nothing!" He stated in an irrefutable tone.
''Crimson tinum? Why did this sound so familiar?'' Ace was bewildered when he heard the blurry figure mention this familiar name. After thinking about it more deeply, his eyes widened as he finally remembered.
''Didn''t I need 1 kg of Crimson tinum to upgrade the Eternal Thief Fate Compass!''
Ace felt his heart raced slightly when he finally remembered the materials in the Eternal Thief Fate Compass upgrade scheme, and Crimson tinum was one of those materials.
He didn''t expect to stumble upon it in all of the ces, and it seemed that Cyrus had unknowingly helped him. Nheless, he wasn''t d at all.
Mountain Tyrant two heads shone with unwillingness since it knew what it meant to be moving the Crimson tinum Mountain from the Beast Cmity Mountain Range, this means its days as Mountain Tyrant were as good as over. This made it grit its teeth just thinking about how those mere ascension soldiers pulled such a humiliating stunt on it.
"But where are you going to move it? Do you have another unimed Earth Spirit Vein? Because without it, I can''t help you cultivate the Crimson tinum, and the time needed for its manifestation would increase exponentially!" Mountain Tyrant stated.
"Heh, when I discovered this ce and you, I was a mere outer court elder, so I had to tread carefully not to reveal the presence of Crimson tinum. However, now that I''m an Inner Sect Elder, I can protect my stuff, and no one would dare enter my territory.
"Furthermore, didn''t I promise you that once I have enough power, I''ll help you break your bloodline shackle? It''s time to show that the decision you made that day wasn''t wrong.
"Let me take you to the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect!" The aged voice proudly dered, and the reluctant Mountain Tyrant''s eyes shimmered with ecstasy as itpletely forgot about its grievance.
''A Guardian Sect? He''s from a second-grade sect!''
Ace, who was paying close attention to their conversation, was shocked when the blurry figure revealed this name.
At this moment, the blurry figure suddenly took out a gray formation te and ced it on the mountain''s surface. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The next moment, he started muttering a chant at ridiculous speed, and runes started to spread on the mountain surface.
Furthermore, the volcano''s ordinary appearance suddenly changed, and its stony surface suddenly turned into a crimson jade-like surface.
Ace suddenly sensed something, and his expression changed greatly, ''Spacew! Is he nning to teleport this entire mountain?? Is this what he means by changing the location? Would I also teleport with this mountain, or would it not work with Thief Shelter?
''Whatever the case is, should I try to teleport away with this mountain and see where this guy is going? After all, Crimson tinum seemed quite rare, and most importantly, I still have to pay them for what they did to Cyrus!''
Ace suddenly fell into a dilemma, and after thinking about the pros and cons, he finally made this decision despite the risk involved. After all, this was also an opportunity to distance himself from the Heaven''s Advocate!
Chapter 1138 Spirit Inferno Domain
Chapter 1138 Spirit Inferno Domain
Within the heart of Spirit Inferno Domain is located a Sky Grade Spirit Vein with fire affinity, which manifested in a fire bird.
Atop the spirit vein, nestled within a volcanic caldera, the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect thrived in the heart of scorching heat. Buildings of volcanic ss shimmered in the ever-present heat haze, and the acrid tang of sulfur hung heavy in the air. They were also the ruling power of the Spirit Inferno Domain.
Renowned for their unparalleled control over fire, the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect trained their disciples in the art of forging myriad ascension weapons.
But the cultivators not only forged ascension weapons of incredible power but also tempered their bodies and spirits in the relentless heat, seeking to be as invincible as the mes themselves.
The Artifact Inferno Guardian Sectmanded respect throughout the Spirit Inferno Domain for their unmatched skills in forging and their unwavering dedication to protecting the secrets of fire.
Shrouded in mystery, the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect guarded their knowledge and techniques fiercely. Few outsiders were ever granted entry to their fiery domain, and even fewer emerged with their secrets intact.
On the outskirts of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect, scattered around the main volcano, were smaller, extinct cinder cones. At this moment, within one such forgotten cone, shrouded in perpetual ash and smoke, a teleportation circle suddenly appeared, and the next moment, a crimson mountain appeared above the teleportation circle.
Standing on top of the volcano mouth stood the Mountain Tyrant and a 6-foot-tall figure in long crimson robes; he was no longer shrouded in blur. His appearance was a wizened human face with bright red long hair, and there was a crimson me mark between his sharp eyebrows.
"What an internee Fire Law presence! You weren''t lying to me when you said the Beast Cmity Mountain Range''s earth spirit vein couldn''tpare to the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect''s sky spirit vein! You should''ve brought me here sooner since I could''ve already refined the Crimson tinum by now." Mountain Tyrant eximed with dissatisfaction, yet a hint of ecstasy was quite apparent in his voice.
The old man chuckled as he reminisced about the past and replied, "If I had my current status back then, I would''ve happilyplied. But there is no need to dwell in the past. Although this ce is abandoned, it is still very close to the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect''s main entrance.
"Only outer sect disciples might stumble here when they go out of the sect for experience, but the chance of that happening is almost zero since in the straight line is the restricted zone, and unless someone had a death wish, they wouldn''te here.
"So, this is a perfect ce for you to stay. Once the Crimson tinum manifests, I''ll take you inside the sect andplete my promise. Nheless, just to be safe, I''ll arrange a few formations, and if someone happens to enter here, I''ll instantly know.
"Don''t take action against any sect disciple because if you killed someone marked by the sect, the sect will instantly know, and they can easily track the location. I won''t be able to help you at that time, so try buying time until I arrive! Just tell anyone whoes here that you are me Elder Emil''s spirit beast, and they won''t take rash action against you!
"But I''m confident that you won''t encounter any problems. Just focus on finishing the refinement. As long as no one knows you are the guardian of the Crimson tinum, no one will pay any special attention to your presence!"
After Elder Emil gave the Mountain Tyrant strict instructions, he started to range formation tes around the cinder cone, activating aplex array of formations to hide the crimson tinum mountain.
He was still not done, though. He used his prowess to manipte the ash cloud on top of the cinder cone to further obscure it before arranging another formation on the cinder cone''s entrance.
After making sure that everything was working in order, he left a special talisman for the Mountain Tyrant formunication and instructed it to contact him once the Crimson tinum manifested, and only then did he head back to the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect.
However, unbeknownst to both Elder Emil and Mountain Tyrant, a thief has also managed to teleport with the crimson tinum mountain!
After Ace decides to take the risk of hitching a ride with the Crimson tinum Mountain, just when the mountain is about to teleport away, he quickly exits the thief shelter and teleports away with it.
Elder Emit failed to notice this faint undtion in space because the teleportation formation had covered it up. Not even a space-type cultivator would''ve spotted the difference.
The moment the mountain was teleported, Ace quickly used the thief shelter again before the formation''s space aura diminished. He was sessfully able to hide again, and he was hearing everything Elder Emil had said to Mountain Tyrant.
Ace waited before the Mountain Tyrant vanished into the volcanic mouth of the Crimson tinum Mountain before finally sighing in relief. The infiltration of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect was aplete sess!
''I never thought I woulde to a second-grade sect, and it''s quite clear that this ce is far away from the Beast Cmity Mountain, so Heaven''s Advocate wouldn''t be able to find me. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
''But I still have to figure out how to snatch the Crimson tinum. It''s quite obvious that I can''t take it until it manifests or that Elder Emil would''ve had long taken it.
''The details of its exact manifestation time are also ambiguous now, but since he said the time is quickly approaching and this location seemed to have a great effect on its manifestation, I have to be alert. ''But I can''t just stay here like this. Even if I remained hidden here and waited for the crimson tinum to manifest, I wouldn''t be able to steal it in the presence of Mountain Tyrant, and going against Elder Emit is out of the question.
''I should almost leave this ce and thene back after getting full control over my Spirit Qi and raising my cultivation. Besides, it''s a good opportunity to gather more information about the Mortal Ascensions Heaven, and what better ce to do it than from a second-grade sect?''
Ace''s lips curled up with deep anticipation as he decided to sneak into the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect and use the sect resources to exact vengeance on Mountain Tyrant and Elder Emil for Cyrus.
Going out in the presence of all those formations was quite easy for Ace, as he called upon the Devilish Wise Owl Wings, Devil''s Law Horns, and Devil''s Insightful Eyes all at once!
Chapter 1139 Deadly Restricted Zone!
Chapter 1139 Deadly Restricted Zone!
A dark phantom with ethereal wings flew through the dense ash clouds, hiding the forgotten cinder cone. Past the ash clouds, a vast expanse of rocky ins, jagged crags, and volcanic ash fields were visible.
This type of area was difficult for anyone not familiar with this treacherousndscape. Furthermore, not too far away from the cinder cone in the west wererge, imposing signs, and written on them were stern warnings about restricted ess and potential dangers ahead.
However, the dark phantom didn''t seem to be deterred and headed toward the restricted area without hesitation. His speed was extremely fast, and he traveled hundreds of miles within seconds. When the phantom was almost a thousand miles deep into the restricted area, thendscape started to change.
A deste wastnd sculpted by volcanic eruptions appeared. There were jagged volcanic ridges crisscrossing the area, punctuated by deep chasms spewing superheated air with boilingva.
Large areas were solidified byva flows, creating a maze-like terrain that seemed difficult to navigate. Crimson geysers erupt with molten rock, posing a constant threat to anyone traversing the area on foot.
The deep cracks in the earth spew continuous mes, creating fire walls. Those fire walls were not normal, but they contained dense firews. Without a deep understanding of firew and fire resistance, even flight capabilities were useless in this ce.
''No wonder this is a restricted zone. I even feel quite hot despite my special physique. If there were an elemental state cultivator without firew as their prime element, they would''ve turned into vapors by now. Even someone with firewprehension couldn''t endure this heat for long.'' Ace solemnly assessed the restricted zone.
Earlier, he thought that as long as he didn''t go too deep into this restricted zone, it would be a fine ce to keep his head low for a little while, at least until he incorporated his new cultivation technique. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Yet, he wasn''t even a thousand miles in this area, and he started to feel rm. Furthermore, the fate map also showed this terrain in red, which meant this ce was quite dangerous for him.
Furthermore, as he went deeper, he suddenly felt a subtle pressure assaulting directly on his soul.
Ace didn''t know that this restricted zone could deter even an Ascension Grand General, and this assault on his soul he was feeling could cause fatigue, disorientation, and even hallucinations over time, while this heat could directly corrode the physical body the longer one is exposed to it.
He was only fine because of his heavenly foundation and fantastic physique. Nheless, he was still too weak to travel deeper into this restricted zone and explore its secret.
Since he had only arrived in the Mortal Ascension Heaven for a few months, he didn''t know that the entire heaven was riddled with such ces. Cultivators avoid such ces, and the sects also shield them from them.
The Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect also serves as a shield, and there was a guard post at the entrance of this ce, which stopped cultivators from entering. Not to mention, the cultivators of the Spirit Inferno Domain also actively avoided this ce since they knew about it.
However, there were still many holes in the security, and people could still unknowingly stumble into this ce if they were not careful enough because of the strangendscape of the Spirit Inferno Region.
After Ace senses the true danger within this ce, he no longer has any thoughts of going deeper, and he quickly finds a small mass ofnd made withva.
Although it looked solid, the moment he stepped on it, he could feel the hollowness under his feet. Intense heat wanted to prate his body, and he was even sweating profusely now.
Furthermore, the time of his summoning abilities was running out. The Devil''s Law Horns were already gone, and by the time hended, the Devilish Wise Owl Wings vanished as well.
Now, only the Devil''s Insightful Eyes remain, with three minutes left before their time runs out.
Ace''s normal dark blue eyes were pitch ck, with dark blue mes burning in the ce of his iris. With these eyes, he could see clear ws in formations and their hidden structures. It was because of them that he was able to pass through all those formations arranged by Elder Emil easily.
Furthermore, he didn''t know what these eyes were capable of, but he could also see strange, ethereal, dark blue threads spreading all over the restricted zone. He didn''t know what those threads represented. He needed to explore more before he could fullyprehend what was going on.
Nheless, Ace knew he couldn''t stay here for a long time, so he quickly took out formation tes and tried to arrange them. However, he was shocked when he found that the moment he activated those formation tes, they instantly started to rot, and within seconds, they turned into dust. One had to know that they were grade-8 formations.
''Damn it! Don''t tell me only ascension-grade formations could endure the environment in this ce?'' Ace could only think of this reason, and his expression wasn''t looking good, ''Didn''t this mean I can''t go into seclusion here?''
Ace was feeling frustrated when it suddenly urred to him, as his eyes instantly shimmered, ''Isn''t it the best time to test that?'' Before, he put many things on hold because he was worried about Cyrus''s safety. But now that he was fine and this situation also called for him to test one of the things he had put on hold before, he no longer hesitated; in fact, he was excited.
Ace''s heart raced with expectancy as he quickly converted 100 million TP into 10 Million HP and ordered the system, "System unlocks the House Leader Chamber!"
The system quicklyplied after deducting the house points, and the thief''s house, located in the thief''s space, suddenly started to undergo a huge change.
Furthermore, enshrouded by dense pitch-ck mist, three pairs of eyes that had been in a suspended animation state ever since Acepleted the ascension process suddenly opened. Ace waspletely unaware of this!
Chapter 1140 Thief’s House Manifests!
Chapter 1140 Thief¡¯s House Manifests!
Ace stood gobsmacked in front of a pitch-ck building loomed amidst the volcandscape, stark defiance of its fiery surroundings.
Although fifty meters in diameter, this building seemed to have been constructed from a material that seemed to absorb all light. Its surface, smooth as obsidian, reflected only the faintest glimmers of the ever-present heat haze.
The design, however, was far from ordinary. The building resembled a monolithic, squat Goliath castle. A single, imposing doorway served as the entrance, framed by a massive archway that resembled a grinning maw.
But the most striking feature wasn''t the imposing architecture. Above the entrance, a magnificent devil horn owl symbol spread its wings in a gesture of silent power. Carved from a material that seemed to faintly glow with an inner light, the owl''s piercing gaze seemed to follow anyone who approached.
More than just an ornament, the owl''s outstretched wings served as a billboard. Etched onto each wing in anguage that flickered with an otherworldly luminescence were the words in thenguage of ancient gods, ''Thief''s House.'' The inscription hung in the air, a tant deration of its origin!
''What in the world¡'' Ace was utterly speechless at thispletely unexpected turn of events, which urred after he gave the order to unlock the thief''s house chamber.
Ace imagined the House Leader Chamber would appear in the thief''s house space, and then he would be able to enter it like the other members directly. However, out of his wildest expectation, this building suddenly materialized, and Ace felt something slip from within him.
When Ace thought about this strange feeling, he quickly tried to look for the thief''s house within his thief''s space top level. But to his shock, the thief''s house structure above the dark clouds had vanished, and he didn''t need to ask the system where it went.
At this moment, the system''s prompt suddenly awakened Ace from his dazed state, which meant he wasn''t imagining anything.
===== [House Leader Chamber has sessfully been unlocked!] ---
[House Point(s): 10,092]
---
[Thief Point(s): 793,166,801]
---
-House Leader Chamber (Level-2)
-Description: A residence for the House Leader in the Thief''s House! -Function (1): Thief''s House Manifestation
-Description: The House Leader can only enter the House Leader Chamber when the Thief''s House is physically manifested outside the Living Thief''s Space! Whenever the House Leader calls upon the House Leader Chamber, the Thief''s House will manifest right in front of the House Leader, no matter the time or space!
-Function (2): Thief''s House Defense
-Description: Thief''s House Defense is directly interconnected with [Thief Rank]. The Thief''s House can defend against all kinds of attacks, treasures, abilities, probing, Heaven¡!
-Current Defense Grade: Ascension Grade-3 (Advanced Thief: Initial)
[NOTE: Defense Grade will be upgraded with Thief Rank Advancement!]
-Warning: If the Thief''s House is damaged up to 95%, it will be retracted back into the Living Thief''s Space, and the House Leader will have to pay House Points to repair it!
-Function (3): Thievish Camouge -Description: Thief''s House is equipped with powerful camouge and the ability to blend into its surroundings. It is directly interconnected with [Thief Rank]!
-Current Camouge Grade: Ascension Grade-3 (Advanced Thief: Initial)
[NOTE: Camouge Grade will be upgraded with Thief Rank Advancement!]
-Warning: Any treasure or cultivator with two grades or two higher realms could see through the thievish camouge with Spirit Martial Sense and Spirit Soul Sense!
-Function (4): No Invitation, No Entry!
-Description (1): Only House Members or the House Leader can enter the Thief''s House without an invitation from the House Leader!
-Description (2): An outsider''s cultivation will bepletely suppressed as long as they are within the defensive range of the Thief''s House. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Description (3): Force entry will suppress a cultivator''s cultivation ording to their cultivation realm!
-Description (4): The House Leader can void an outsider''s entry any time he wishes. Warning: Cultivators or treasures with two realms or grades can forcefully enter the Thief''s House!
=====
Ace inhaled deeply after reading through all the functions that the House Leader Chamber unlocked. Truth be told, he was somewhat flustered about the thief''s house manifestation since it meant he would bepletely exposed to his enemies.
But when he considered his inability to enter his thief''s space since the beginning, and knowing that a living space treasure needs a physical form to let someone enter it, and the thief''s space didn''t have any, this kind of result was only a little surprising but not unexpected.
Other than that, Ace was pretty content with the countermeasures installed to avoid attention as much as possible. Even though he had to be careful whenever he used the house leader''s chamber, as long as he chose the location well, he could enjoy the entirety of the thief''s house functions. The pros outmatched the cons by a huge margin.
After admiring the thief''s house''s gloomy yet majestic exterior, Ace finally decided to enter, and the moment he thought about it, the grinning maw-like entrance suddenly started to part, opening a way for the owner of the house.
Satisfied with the uncanny wee, with an expectant smile on his face, Ace stepped into the entrance before the door behind him started to close. Stepping through the imposing doorway of the Thief''s House, Ace found himself in a cavernous hall that defied logic. While the exterior was only fifty meters in diameter, the interior stretched outwards for a seemingly impossible 1,000 meters, just like his thief''s space!
The discrepancy was breathtaking, creating a sense of awe and unease in equal measure. The vast space was illuminated by a soft, ethereal glow emanating from the obsidian-like walls themselves. This internal light revealed an impressive structure. The side walls, smooth and polished like dark mirrors, were adorned solely with intricate, runic designs that pulsed with a faint, otherworldly luminescence.
Ace then spotted six individual grand doors at the end of the hall, divided equally and etched on the left and right walls. Each roughly ten meters wide and twenty meters long, they were carved from the same material with dark blue outlines at measured intervals.
Furthermore, on three doors on the left, there were carved words in dark blue writing within the small thief symbol, ''Thief Assassin,'' ''Evil Thief,'' and ''Faceless Thief.'' Ace instantly knew they were undoubtedly the cultivation chambers of the existing thief house members, while the remaining three with empty name tes were for the remaining member slots.
But Ace''s attention was instantly drawn to the center wall between the house member cultivation chambers. There resided arger, ornately decorated structure. It was an borately carved door with a dark blue color, depicting scenes of darkness that awed anyone who saw it.
In the center of this door was his imposing thief symbol, and written within its wings was ''Thief House Leader!'' Ace''s heart raced as he knew it was the long-awaited resident for himself!
However, this wasn''t the end of the interior; it was a grand, spiraling staircase of obsidian, its steps worn smooth by seemingly countless footsteps, dominating the center of the back center of the hall. It beckoned upwards, hinting at the second floor that remained unseen.
In the central area of the vast hall was a grand gathering space. A hefty, polished obsidian rectangr table stretched across the center, nked by three pairs of ornately carved chairs, each crafted from a different type of rare and valuable wood arranged in front of each other. In the top center, the position of the head of the table was a dark throne with a vivid small ck thief symbol sculpture on top of its throne frame.
The number of seats precisely matched the number of people residing in the thief''s house ¨C an unspoken symbol of hierarchy and camaraderie.
Ace waspletely awed by the interior design of the thief''s house, which hadpletely changed after it was upgraded to level 2.
At this moment, the three imposing doors of the three upied chambers suddenly opened, drawing Ace''s attention!
Chapter 1141 Lively Thief’s House!
Chapter 1141 Lively Thief¡¯s House!
Three charming figures adorned in ck robes with hoods walked out of the three upied cultivation chambers; they were Noa, Freya, and Winter, who had just awakened from their strange state.
However, the reason for their collective emergence wasn''t just their awakening; they all received the same notifications from the system.
=====
[Thief House upgrade mission has beenpleted!]
[Thief House has been leveled up to Level-2!]
[Your House Rank can be increased!]
[Your House Shops has been updated!]
[New Privilege...]
[¡]
[House Leader Chamber has been installed in the Thief''s House!]
[Please Wee the House Leader!]
=====
The final two notifications were the reason they came out to find out what was going on before they went through the rewards they had received. Moreover, the three house members could clearly feel they had undergone huge changes after awakening from their suspended animation state.
At this moment, the three women looked at each other before they noticed the huge changes in the interior of the thief''s house. Finally, they noticed an additional person standing at the edge of the vast hall.
Their beautiful eyes were filled with amazement, and Noa was the first one to run over to the tall man d in dark robes and his face covered in a hood.
To Noa''s surprise, with a single step, she was already in front of Ace; she was clearly not familiar with this speed.
Ace was about to approach them when he noticed Noa''s movement. He was surprised to see that Noa had turned into a ck streak and appeared directly in front of them.
In that split moment, Ace felt Noa''s aura, and his eyes widened in shock as he eximed, "You have achieved Law State?"
He wasn''t the only one who experienced it. Noa was also bewildered, while Freya and Winter''s eyes winded in great surprise, and they also tried to use their skills.
Just like Noa, they also noticed the huge power-ups, and Ace inhaled sharply, "You all through in Law State without going through the heavenly tribtion at all?" Ace was greatly rmed by this peculiarity because he wasn''t expecting all the house members to be able to break through in thew state with him. After all, he clearly remembered they were far from reaching the peak of the Law Comprehension Realm when he ascended.
"System, what is going on? How did they break through at the same time without going through the Heavenly Tribtion?" Ace quickly questioned the system.
"[It''s because of Thief House upgrade to level-2! It''s a reward that can help the House Members break through a single major realm. As for why they didn''t trigger Heavenly Tribtion upon their breakthrough, it''s because the Thief House Members have the privilege to bypass the Heavenly Tribtion as long as they break through within the Thief''s House. The House Members can also suppress the Heavenly Tribtion with House Points!]"
Ace''s eyes widened as he instantly questioned, "Can I do the same now?"
"[No, as the House Leader, you can''t avoid confrontation with the Heavenly Punishment. But you can avoid it depending on the house defense grade as long as you''re inside the Thief''s House and spend House Points!]"
The system instantly crushed his hopes, and he felt indignant, but thest part still brought him some sce, and he could only suppress his envy.
He congratted the house members and exined their great privileges, which would make anyone''s eyes green with envy. He wanted to make sure to alert them to what kind of privilege they had, which could help them avoid the greatest crisis in their cultivation path, the Heavenly Tribtion!
The house members were naturally shocked and instantly ted, especially since they had witnessed Ace''s Heavenly Punishment and knew what kind of deadly encounter it was!
Afterward, Ace took the main throne of the thief''s house, and the other members sat in their positions around him. They had many questions, especially about the new thief''s house, and Ace exined without hiding anything about the changes brought by the House Leader Chamber.
When they heard the thief''s house would be physically manifested whenever Ace used the House Leader Chamber, they were surprised and also somewhat worried. This meant that they had to be very careful not to expose this ce to anyone.
Ace also gave them the Star Slips containing his little experience and information about the Mortal Ascension Heaven that he had gathered so they wouldn''t be ignorant about it like he was. After they refined the Star Slips, they were all shocked and somewhat excited about the prospect of an entirely new Heaven!
Although Ace had alerted them before, it was still quite a novel experience since they had already arrived in it.
"You''ve worked hard, Leader. If not for you, I might''ve already been dead in the Demon Continent!" Noa suddenly deeply bowed towards Ace and gave him her heartfelt gratitude. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Freya''s eyes also shimmered with deep emotions as she could rte to Noa''s words. She bowed and sincerely said, "Please ept my gratitude as well, Leader. I might still be after my revenge if you haven''t shown me the way and met with a tragedy!"
Winter hesitated for a moment before she lowered her head: "T-thank you for¡for everything!" Still, she didn''t forget to add a ''Winter twist'': "But don''t think that you can order me around for free now that I thanked you!"
Ace was surprised by their sudden act of gratitude and didn''t mind Winter''s entric words. He quickly waved his hand, "There''s no need to lower your head before me. You were able to reach this point with your own merits and hard work. I only tricked you into this, and if anyone should say thanks, it should be me. You all helped me to the best of your abilities despite the unfair restraints on you, and I''m very thankful for your understanding and the sacrifices you made."
Ace sighed with nostalgia. He clearly remembered his encounter with thedies, and they had reallye a long way since then.
Furthermore, Ace also decided as his eyes went sharp, "Please sit down, I have another grave matter to tell you all about that I''ve been avoiding all this time. It''s about the origin of Thief House and also the reason I''ve embarked on the path of a Thief. Because the enemy is no longer passive and may have sent its executioner after us."
The house members were startled when they suddenly sensed the grave atmosphere around Ace and wondered what enemy Ace was talking about.
Ace didn''t directly exin. He looked towards the empty seats around the table and said, "But first, I think we should fill these empty seats as well since I also owe them an exnation. They can then decide if they want to join the Thief House after knowing what is at stake!"
Chapter 1142 Establishing Order!
Chapter 1142 Establishing Order!
At this moment, two tall women with goddess-like appearances, one devilishly charming like a cunning devil and adorned in a ck sleeveless dress, while the other was icily aloof like a regal celestial and wearing white robes that showcased her perfect figure, appeared beside the house leader throne.
Their appearance suddenly dazzled the entire thief''s house hall. Even the house members were shocked, especially when they saw the silver-haired woman. The house members had already met Eva before, but it was their first time meeting Alina after her transformation.
Furthermore, Alina was as beautiful as Eva, the most beautiful woman they had ever seen, and even Freya was somewhat inferior to Eva despite her bewitching witch-like traits.
However, while they were looking at Alina, thetter was doing the same with a hint of hostility.
Although Ace had told them that he was going to summon them into the thief''s house after he confirmed with the system that they both could still avoid heavenly tribtion within the space of the thief''s house, for Alina, it was more important to mark her territory.
Even though she met with the threedies of the thief''s house, she clearly didn''t have any good feelings toward other women close to Ace. Just Eva was enough to give her a huge headache, and she had no choice but to grit her teeth and ept her, but it was apletely different story when it came to other women.
Especially when she could tell that those three were far from unattractive, her woman''s intuition was on full alert.
Eva, on the other hand, was much calmer, and she even secretly gloated at Alina''s reaction, ''Hmph, now you know how I felt! And you didn''t even know the huge surprise waiting for you in the face of that vixen demon!''
Eva''s jolly expression instantly went cold when she thought about how Ace had discussed with her about epting Noa''s feelings. Her expression went extremely gloomy as she red at the cold ascension sitting closest to Ace.
Even though she had a rather amiable ''talk'' with the house members, she was still feeling ufortable and could only suppress her jealousy and dark urges.
Ace suddenly felt the atmosphere around thedies wasn''t right. He could now clearly sense Alina''s icy aura. While Eva was hiding it well, it was a different story when it came to Ace. After all, both of them were connected with the ritual.
"Ahem, everyone, you all should know about Eva and have already met her. You have also met with Alina in the past, especially you, Winter. But let me introduce her again. This is Alina, my fianc¨¦." Ace felt somewhat ufortable calling Alina his wife, so he called her fianc¨¦ since their rtionship wasn''t at that point yet or had developed furiously like his rtionship with Eva.
After all, Alina had her parents, and he knew that, as a former princess, she valued tradition, so he wanted to do it the correct way, but he knew it was inevitable.
Furthermore, his introduction caused Alina''s eyes to tremble as her attention instantly shifted to him, with a faint red hue on her cheeks. Her heart fluttered and beat wildly with ecstasy when he introduced her as his ''fianc¨¦'', and she felt like all the grievances vanished, leaving her with a sweet feeling in her heart. While Ace felt a burden had left his chest and a warning gaze at him, before he could enjoy that feeling and relief, a chill ran down his spine when he sensed faint icy res on him from all over the ce, especially from Eva, who had an icy smile on her face that was like a sweet yet deadly poison. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
''What is she so worked up about? I only call her ''fianc¨¦'' not ''wife,'' and what''s with the others?'' Cold sweat broke out on Ace''s forehead. He knew he had just stepped on and mine, but he was also confused.
Nheless, as a professional liar and thief, he pretends as if he didn''t notice anything and quickly the topic. The main reason he brought Eva and Alina here is that he wants to give them onest chance to consider joining the ranks of Thief House again while he also owed the House Members the truth, especially after he encountered Heaven''s Advocate!
"Please take a seat, you two. I need to tell you something extremely vital: It''s about my inheritance and the reason for choosing the path of a thief. Also, I want you two to consider it onest time if you really want to join the thief house after this since the spots are now avable." Ace solemnly stated while looking at Eva and Alina.
Eva and Alina were startled when they felt Ace''s grave and solemn mood. They knew it had to be something extremely serious for Ace to give off such an aura. Furthermore, their eyes shimmered with anticipation when they heard there were finally open spots in the Thief House. They had been waiting for this for a long time, especially Eva!
But in the end, they put their initial thoughts on hold and decided to hear out Ace while their determination to join the thief''s house hadn''t changed at all. If anything, they were even more determined to join it before Ace found other vixens to trick! However, somethingpletely unexpected happened when Alina was about to walk on the left side of the chair closest to Ace. Eva boldly walked in front of the throne, and under everyone''s startled looks, she directly sat on Ace''sp and wrapped her hands around his neck, showing blunt intimation.
Even Ace was shocked by the devil''s bold move. His heart raced as he felt her soft body in his embrace and smelt her rose-like scent, which made him infatuated for a moment. He thought about how it had been quite some time since they had been alone.
Eva''s devilish smile grew into a victorious one when she sensed Ace''s mood and felt her insecurely slipping away. But his mind quickly snapped out of his carnal thoughts when he sensed a murderous intent suddenly locked in his direction, and an infuriated voice through gritted teeth shouted, "What the hell are you doing!?"
Before he knew it, Alina was already standing in front of his throne, looking at Eva murderously. Her face was red, and she was gritting her teeth, especially when she saw Eva''s mocking smile.
"What are you talking about? I''m just sitting with my husband. Miss ''Fianc¨¦'' should know better than to ask. Now, if you take your ''seat'' so my darling can get to the topic," Eva wasn''t intimated at all. In fact, she was enjoying this to the fullest as her frustration about Ace introducing Alina as his fianc¨¦ waspletely gone.
Alina almost went berserk when she heard Eva''s shameless words. She wanted to release her aura, but to her shock, she couldn''t gain ess to her cultivation or Qi at all in this space; it waspletely suppressed.
But how could she let that shameless woman do as she pleased?
"Enough of this farce!"
Before things could escte further, Ace''s cold voice rang like a thunderp, as he finally couldn''t take it anymore, especially when these two were taking things for granted. Moreover, he knew if he didn''t establish his authority in times like this, who would bother to take him seriously? Although he normally just acted like a bystander and let them duke it out with each other, he only intervened when he knew things would be distressing. Now wasn''t the time for him to act like a bystander and timed.
Eva, Alina, and the house members were shocked when they suddenly sensed Ace''s appalling aura enveloping the entire thief''s house hall, and as if sensing his mood, the entire hall lights started to dim down, and the throne Ace was sitting on starting to seem like it had grown and the owl sculpture on its head, its eyes started to glow dangerously.
"Take your seats." Ace nced at Eva impassively yet irrefutably before looking at Alina in the same way. His emotionless eyes made both women tremble. They had never seen him like that before, and they knew they hadpletely infuriated him.
Eva''s expression paled as she wanted to apologize, but Ace''s aura was simply too strange and filled with authority. She even felt her bloodline was being suppressed by him and couldn''t speak against his order.
Ace''s eyes softened when he saw Eva''s panicked expression. He could tell she would hurt if he continued. He sighed in resignation, and suddenly, the icy cold atmosphere in the hall vanished, and everything turned back to normal as if it were only an illusion.
But Ace knew it wasn''t, as he clearly sensed reasoning with the thief''s house at that moment; it was like the thief''s house was reacting to his disposition. Ace then gently said to Eva, "Hear me out first, alright? It''s very important! Afterward, you both can ''bond'' with each other as much as you want!"
Chapter 1143 The Stakes and The Gamblers!
Chapter 1143 The Stakes and The Gamblers!
Eva and Alina finally sat on empty seats, their expressions somewhat gloomy. They looked at Ace with indignation. The other house members were also silent.
Ace knew there would be consequences for going against those two, but he really had to show them the servitude of what he was about to tell them.
"Since everyone I consider close to my family is here, I''ll be straightforward with you all. The first thing I want to tell you all is that my heritagees from a mysterious thief lineage called the Heaven Stealer, which makes me the Heaven''s Stealer. I got it from the Mortal Sky Heaven when I was twelve by the entity you all know as ''Thief Goddess.''
"Although I didn''t know it chose me, recently, I''ve learned something about myself, and I think it has something to do with my bloodline. Anyway, the main point is there are countless perks of being a Heaven''s Stealer, like the one you all are aware of, the ability to cultivate in both soul and martial paths.
"But since everything has a cause and effect, the biggest disadvantage of the Heaven Stealer heritage is that the moment they embark on the path of Heaven''s Stealer, they will be marked by Heaven itself as the Eternal Enemy of Heaven!
"I know it''s vague, but it is what it is, literally. My enemy is probably the creator of time and space or at least the same level of existence.
"The Heavenly Punishment is also the result of my status as Heaven''s Stealer. Don''t think of it as mere Heavenly Tribtion, which seems to grant rewards after you sessfully ovee it. The Heavenly Punishment has only one goal, which is to actively try to kill me by remaining within the boundaries of something called [Natural Order]¡"
Ace starts to exin the truth behind his existence, but he still doesn''t reveal anything about the system, not directly. He decided to keep the fa?ade of ''Thief Goddess'' because he felt that revealing the system''s existence would be detrimental to anyone.
As Ace recollected everything he knew about being Heaven''s Stealer, his final mission in the Mortal Sky Ascensions Temple, and then finally brushing with the Heaven''s Advocate, the five people listening to him thought they were hearing a ridiculous story.
Furthermore, as Ace exined more and more about the truth behind his existence, Eva and Alina''s expressions warped in horror as theypletely forgot about what happened earlier, and they paled with anxiety.
On the other hand, Noa had a simr reaction to Eva and Alina, while Freya and Winter werepletely ashen. Their hearts went cold with sheer fear and trepidation when they understood the gravity of Ace''s situation. Moreover, unlike Alina and Eva, who can still choose not to enter the thief''s house, they don''t have such a luxurious option. They werepletely in the same boat as Ace, whether they liked it or not.
Furthermore, all the benefits they received from the ''Thief Goddess'' by only doing some thieveries no longer appeared lucrative. They were simply being neutered to go against the freaking Heaven itself, and now those thief house''s benefits felt greatlycking in front of their true goal.
But they didn''t voice out their inner thoughts because, first, they had alreadypletely assimted into the thief''s house and had epted their identities as thieves. Second, they knew if they hadn''t joined the thief''s house, they would''ve been nobodies or already been dead with the grim circumstances surrounding them.
Third, Ace had it far worse than them, and despite having the authority to use them as tools, he actually never did, and he''s always fought on the front lines; theirst mission was a good example of it.
After they heard Ace had stolen directly from one of the most guarded ces by Heaven, just thinking about it made them shudder in fear. They knew they would never be able to keep their calm, knowing that they were going to steal from the creator of their very life.
Instead, they were filled with gratitude toward Ace for giving them an easy pass on thest mission and taking the most difficult part for himself. There was no doubt that he was apetent leader. Not to mention, he didn''t consider them tools; instead, he just called them family, which somehow moved them.
Lastly, despite their dread, deep down, they felt a tingle of excitement at the prospect of the very Heaven going after them. Just how many could they say that they were marked by Heaven, and it was actively trying to kill them?
Absolutely no one because they were nothing but a speck of dust. Now, all of a sudden, a minion of Heaven, Heaven''s Advocate, was personally here to hunt their leader and them down; just the implication behind this was so huge that no one could imagine.
Nheless, what Ace just revealed hadpletely turned their lives upside down, and their view of the world would never be the same. After all, Heaven was just a vague concept for them a few moments ago, but now they knew it really existed, and their leader was even marked by such an existence as its Eternal Enemy. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Doesn''t this mean Ace had the potential to take down Heaven? At that time, those who were closest to him would bask in endless glory with him. Although it was still an impossible dream, they wanted to believe it, and this also became their motivation!
Ace was unaware of how twisted the minds of two women were. After exining everything and making sure they all understood what was at stake, he fell silent, let them absorb all the surreal information, and waited for their response.
Eva was the first one to speak in an anxious tone, "Can''t you discard this Heaven''s Stealer business? Going against something as elusive as Heaven is a path of death! Please, if you could, give up on it! We have a long life ahead of us, and we can live it as we like!" Her eyes were bloodshot and filled with grievance.
"She''s right!" Alina also pped her hand on the table, making it tremble, as trepidation filled her eyes. "This is very dangerous, not it''s a death sentence, and I don''t want that for you! This ambition is simply a death trap! You are being beguiled into this, and I won''t let this happen!"
"Leader, even if it''s my death, as long as you can live, I''m willing to ept it!" Noa also grimly voiced out her opinion. "Wait a minute! Who cares if you''re willing or not because I''m certainly not agreeing to this!" Winter red at Noa before snapping at Eva and Alina. "And you two, if you''re afraid of death, then don''t join the thief''s house. Some people here didn''t have that opportunity!"
"What did you say?" Eva was enraged as she red back at Winter as an icy aura started to release from her; she wasn''t suppressed here because of her unique connection with Ace.
Alina again took the side of her love rival as she murderously looked at Winter as well. Although she had a good opinion of Winter since they had saved her from Dreams Shatter''s schemes, she wouldn''t just stand by and watch Winter sending Ace to the depths of hell just because she was afraid to die.
Noa also showed her hostility as her eyes started to turn darker, like ck holes.
"Everyone calmed down!" At this moment, Freya suddenly stated loudly, drawing everyone''s attention, but their looks were cold as they all waited for her stance.
Freya took a deep breath, ignored everyone, and looked directly at the man on the throne, who was watching this with a neutral look despite being the very reason for this upheaval.
"Leader, please make something clear for everyone here. Just like the members of the thief''s house, the only way to quit is to ''die,'' does the same rule apply to you as Heaven''s Stealer?"
Freya''s question instantly made everyone''s expression, especially the three who wanted him to give up on this path. Only now, this possibility urred to them that Ace was not doing this willingly, but he simply didn''t seem to have any other choice.
Ace was surprised by Freya''s calm demeanor in this situation and asking such a deep question. He hadn''t spoken before, and he wanted to see everyone''s reactions, and they were not out of his expectations except Freya''s.
But now that everyone''s attention was on him again, he thought it was a good thing the debate ended without his intervention, yet he also wanted to avoid this exact question.
Nheless, since he was being honest with them, he decided to answer it.
"In the past, it might have been possible. But now, not only is it not possible for me to back down, but I''m not going to back down even if I have the option because of two main reasons.
"First, Freya is correct because, like you guys, I have cleared many missions with the death penalty as punishment, including thest one. And I have no control over it, so all I can do is keep increasing my strength to avoid such an oue.
"Second, I have personal matters that I need to deal with in the future, and I don''t think it would be possible to achieve my goal without being Heaven''s Stealer!"
Chapter 1144 Love Above Death!
Chapter 1144 Love Above Death!
Ace''s readily acknowledgment of Freya and his final deration of his own willingness to continue down this unknown yet deadly path bring absolute silence to the thief''s house.
The three women who werepletely appalled by Ace''s deration, as well as when they realized that Ace had undergone multiple missions with death penalties, thoroughly shocked them to the core.
Winter and Freya were somewhat d that Ace didn''t seem to be swayed by others. They also felt more respected and were awed by his resolve and mindset despite the contestant''s threat of Heaven. If it was someone with a weak mentality or who didn''t have the resolve to go against something as fabled as Heaven, they might''ve already gone mad with the sheer pressure of being Heaven''s Stealer. "What is this personal reason?" Eva couldn''t help but ask in a cold tone. She was feeling extremely downcast and gloomy as she looked at Ace.
As someone closest to him, she could tell there was something he was still hiding from her. Although she had always known he had a huge secret, she never tried to probe it because she knew he would tell her eventually.
But this revtion about Heaven''s Stealer background was something she hadn''t even considered. Now, she knew Ace''s life was being controlled by this ''Thief Goddess'', and she even wondered if he was already brainwashed by it. But she couldn''t tell, and that''s why she wanted to know why he wanted to continue on this path and found some clues.
Ace looked at Eva''s cold expression, but he knew she was extremely anxious. In fact, she was the most worried one, and knowing her personality, he knew she might be hatching some crazy scheme and might have overthought things again.
So, he knew he needed to cate her the most, or the next thing he knew, she would be scheming against getting rid of the root of this problem, which was the ''system.'' Which, in a sense, means scheming against him!
Besides, Ace didn''t mind telling them about the truth behind his birth, but he wasn''t sure if that nightmare was really true or not. Although deep down he fully believed it, he still needed more information.
So, sharing it with them might be helpful after all; the house members were supposed to be his helpers anyway, and he knew after today, they would take their jobs even more seriously, especially with the threat of Heaven and Heaven''s Advocate looming over their heads now.
"When I was still in the Mortal Sky Heaven, I found that my background, which means my parents weren''t just moral cultivators. In fact, because of the inheritance I acquired, I found that I had some mysterious bloodline that had been sealed by someone.
"Just this discovery alone was riddled with deep schemes, and I found that my parents might still be alive, and whatever was going on had to be something to do with my sealed bloodline. So, when I was given a solution to unsealed my bloodline, I naturally took it.
"And during the ascension, I finally managed to unseal my bloodline, or bloodlines, as a matter of fact. But what happened next was somethingpletely unexpected. It was like a nightmare¡" Ace then describes his strange nightmare.
Everyone was astounded when they heard Ace''s unbelievable story about his actual background, especially when they heard those mysterious, powerful figures called the Sages schemed against baby Ace just because of some prophecy.
Eva, Alina, and Noa''s killing intent was instantly provoked, while Winter and Freya were also coldly listening to his story. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"If what you said is true, then those so-called ''Sages'' are worse than beasts!" Alina again mmed her palm on the table with rage,pletely infuriated.
"I didn''t know you were going through so much," Eva tenderly muttered, feeling Ace''s deep emotions attached to this event. She finally understood why Ace was unwilling to discard the status of Heaven''s Stealer.
If everything he saw in that dream was reality, then he needed every chance he could get to be strong and go against those Sages who seemed to be the rulers of Heaven or at least akin to the same status. The Heaven Stealer lineage, despite its deadly drawback, has everything Ace needs right now.
"At this point, I don''t know if you''re extremely lucky or extremely unlucky. You''re born with a diamond spoon, yet you were schemed against, and then you acquire an inheritance with God''s backing, yet your enemy is the fabled Heaven itself. If you think about it, don''t you find it quite strange that every time you luck out on something, you instantly run into bad luck of equal magnitude?" Winter suddenly uttered words of concern.
Everyone suddenly looked at her when they heard her twisted reason, yet for some reason, her words sounded somewhat¡ sensible.
Even Eva raised his eyebrow in astonishment when he also thought about Winter''s discretion, and he started to wonder if there was something strange going on with him. Still, he didn''t have any solid proof, or he wasn''t capable enough to understand the mystery of something abstract like luck or fortune yet. Still, he took a mental note to investigate this luck and fortune if he ever had the chance. At this instant, he suddenly remembered the tablet with the Poem of Paradoxical Tale written on it that he had received as a reward after clearing the door of riddles. ording to the system, he needed to solvethe sixth riddle to startprehending its mystery.
Ace didn''t know why he thought about the tablet, but he decided to start studying it after taking care of this current situation.
"Now that you all know about my reasons and the truth about the Thief''s House, I would like to ask the House Members to bear with it, and I promise I''ll do everything in my power to keep ourselves from any harm. I''ll continue to do my best against heaven and continue to escape from its clutches. After all, a thief never fights fair and square, nor a thief''s purpose is not to fight; it''s to steal until there''s nothing left!" Ace dered as he looked towards the three house members before he looked towards Alina and Eva and solemnly asked.
"As for you two, you can now decide if you want to join the Thief House ranks or remain independent. Whatever you choose, my feelings for you both will never change, and I respect your decision. After all, I personally didn''t want anything to happen to you both, but I also don''t want to force my beliefs on you or restrict your freedom!"
Evan was the first one to reply decisively, as her eyes were deadly cold, "So what if it''s Heaven or Sages? Since you have decided to point your sword at them, I''ll follow you to the bitter end! Don''t forget, my life is already connected with yours, and without you, I have no meaning to live either. So, don''t even dream of escaping my clutches!"
Alina gave Eva a fierce re, knowing this shameless devil was at her dirty tricks again. She quickly made her choice as well, "I don''t know what is in store for us on this path, but I''m not a coward. Your enemy is my enemy, even if it''s High Heaven itself!"
Chapter 1145 New Rank Up Requirements!
Chapter 1145 New Rank Up Requirements!
Ace sighed in resignation as he epted Eva and Alina''s decision to join the Thief House. Still, for some reason, he felt relief. Maybe it was because, deep down, he was afraid that they might abandon the thief''s house and take another path or directly seek power that could save him, which he knew at this point was impossible.
Furthermore, he was d that despite their lives being bound to him, they wouldn''t have to undergo Heavenly Tribtion. He can always keep in contact with them and can now summon them here with the new House Meeting Function.
So, wasting no time, he bought all three Thief House Recruitment Tokens for 30 million TP, and he was astounded when he read a new requirement attached to the Thief House Recruitment Token! =====
[Thief House Recruitment Token (Leve2)]
-Description: A Recruitment Token that allows anyone to join the Thief House!
-Requirement (1): At least Law State cultivation is required to use the Thief House Recruitment Token! -Requirement (2): The person who wants to join the Thief House needs to willingly drop their blood on the recruitment token and willingly touch it with its Spirit Qi!
=====
Ace instantly suspected that the new requirement was because of the Thief House''s level raise. But this requirement wasn''t a problem for Eva or Alina. This also means that the third token can''t be used yet since the third member was supposed to be Livia, the elven princess who had been with Eva ever since he kidnapped her. She decided to serve ''Heaven Stealer'' on her own ord because she was a thief fanatic.
She was supposed to save him from a deadly crisis, but her cultivation didn''t meet the first requirement yet, so he could only put that token on hold for now while another candidate, Thomas, also did not meet this requirement.
Ace then gave the two tokens to the determined yet eagerly waiting women and told them how to use them.
The atmosphere of the thief''s house was far more amiable than just a few moments ago, as everyone had calmed down.
While Alina and Eva were scanning the inky Thief House Tokens, Freya suddenly eximed at this moment.
"Did you two also receive this notification as well?"
Ace''s attention was shifted, and so did Noa and Winter''s, as they knew what Freya was asking about.
"What notification?" Ace asked curiously. He knew that since Freya reacted like this, there had to be something noteworthy, and he thought it might be about the House Meeting function. The yet-to-be members also listened closely.
Freya took a deep breath, but the excited shimmer in her eyes made everyone curious. She revealed, "Apparently, now that we can increase our ranks from Veteran Members house ranks to ''House Elder (I) Rank,'' there are two more requirements added.
"The first requirement is that I need to perform 50,0000 thieveries, and each thievery has to be worth at least 100,000 House Points; anything below this won''t count. The second requirement is my thief rank, which is now an intermediate rank named ''Deft Thief Rank,'' and at the ''Initial level,'' needed to be at an intermediate level. "But the final requirement is the most interesting one, and from your reaction, Leader, it seemed you werepletely unaware of it. The third requirement is that I need to recruit Three ''Evil Thief Acolytes.'' They can be mortals or in the Soul Elemental State, but they can''t be Law State or Martial Element State cultivators.
"Because I need to nurture them into the peak of the Elemental State with ''Thief Acolyte Scripture.'' Although I don''t know the reason for this final requirement, if I have to guess, I think I might have to perform some mission with them at some point to reach the next rank, like we did to prove ourselves in the Veteran Rank. It''s just like you have toplete some missions with our help.
"Anyway, the Evil Thief Acolytes Recruitment Contracts and the Evil Thief Acolyte Scripture are already avable in my house shop, and it also seemed that they would bepletely under my jurisdiction!"
Ace was shocked since he hadn''t been told anything about this Thief Acolyte business. He quickly looked towards Noa and Freya, who were also quickly checking their own system interfaces. He directly read their statuses to make more sense of this situation.
______
[Thief House (Level-2) Member Status]
[House Member: Noa Night (Female)]
[Race: Demon]
[Bloodline: Night Demon (Grade-9 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
--
[Thief Genre: Thief Assassin (Deft: Initial)]
[House Rank: Veteran Member (Upgradeable)]
-Next Rank: House Elder (I)
-Requirement (1): 0/50,000 Thieveries (100,000 House Points = 1 Thievery)
-Requirement (2): Intermediate Thief Rank (Deft: Intermediate) -Requirement (3): Three Thief Assassin Acolytes at the Peak of Soul Elemental State Realm (Law Comprehension Realm Late Stage) in Thief Assassin Acolyte Scripture.
-Thief Assassin Acolyte(s): 0/3
--
[Spirit Cultivation (Soul): Law Spark (0%) (Ascensions Solider 1-Star)] -Innate Soul Ability(s): 8
--
[Thief Assassin Acolyte(s): 0/3]
--
[Talent: High (Initial) (Upgradeable)]
--
[Technique & Spells: 2]
-Cultivation Technique(s): -Thief Assassin Principles: Completed (Next Cultivation Volume is avable in the House Shop!) -Body Refinement Technique(s): -Night Demon Body Transformation: Completed!
-Spell(s): 0 --
[Treasure(s):4] -1. Endless Night Daggers Set [32 Pin-Daggers]: Grade-9 (Upgrade Avable)
-2. Runic Windless Blowgun: Grade-9 (Upgrade Avable)
-3. Thief Assassin Armor Set: Grade-9 (Upgrade Avable)
-4. Life Escape Coin: 3
--
[House Point(s): 103,940, 200]
--
[House Call: 10 House Points]
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 0]
[House Punishment(s): 0] --
[House Shop: Thief Assassin]
--
[Prime Law: Thefty Assassination]
-Prime Law Progress: NONE
-Auxiliary Law(s): 11
-Life Stealing: 100%
-Shadow: 100%
-Fire: 100%
-Silence: 100%
-ughter: 100%
-Dark: 100%
-Sword: 99%
-Terror: 49%
-Illusion: 23%
-Space: 14%
-Death: 00.01%
______
[House Member: Winter Fox (Female)]
[Race: Magic Beast]
[Bloodline: Ice Illusion Fox (Grade-9 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
--
[Thief Genre: Faceless (Deft: Initial)]
[House Rank: Veteran Member (Upgradeable)]
-Requirement (1): 0/50,000 Thieveries (100,000 House Points = 1 Thievery)
-Requirement (2): Intermediate Thief Rank (Deft: Intermediate) -Requirement (3): Three Faceless Thief Acolytes at the Peak of Soul Elemental State Realm (Law Comprehension Realm Late Stage) in Faceless Thief Acolyte Scripture.
-Faceless Thief Acolyte(s): 0/3
--
[Spirit Cultivation (Martial): Law Channeling (0%) (Ascensions Solider 1-Star)] -Innate Martial Ability(s): 8
---
[Talent: High (Upgradeable)]
--
[Faceless Thief Acolyte(s): 0/3]
--
[Technique & Spell: 2]
-Cultivation Technique(s): -Faceless Thief Secrets (1st Vol): Completed (Next Cultivation Volume is avable in the House Shop!) -Body Refinement Technique(s): -Myriad Beast Body Transformation Technique: Completed!
-Spell(s): 0 --
[Treasure(s):4]
-1. Faceless Thief Mask: Grade-9 (Upgrade Avable)
-2. Soul Shattering Gauntlets: Grade-9 (Upgrade Avable)
-3. Faceless Thief Robes: Grade-9 (Upgrade Avable)
-4. Life Escape Coin: 3
--
[House Point(s): 87,003,000]
--
--
[House Shop: Faceless Thief]
--
[Prime Law: Forgotten Oblivion]
-Prime Law Progress: NONE
-Auxiliary Law(s): 10
-Forgotten Intent: 100%
-Oblivion: 100%
-Dark: 100%
-Illusion: 100%
-Charm: 100%
-Emptiness: 100%
-Despair: 54%
-Psyche: 40%
-Sound: 38%
-Gravity: 3%
______
[House Member: Freya Witch (Female)]
[Race: Evil Witch]
[Bloodline: Illusionary Witch (Grade-9 Bloodline) (Upgradeable)]
---
[Thief Genre: Evil Thief Deft: Initial)]
[House Rank: Veteran Member (Upgradeable)]
-Requirement (2): Intermediate Thief Rank (Deft: Intermediate) -Requirement (3): Three Evil Thief Acolytes at the Peak of Soul Elemental State Realm (Law Comprehension Realm Late Stage) in Evil Thief Acolyte Scripture.
-Evil Thief Acolyte(s): 0/3
---
[Spirit Cultivation (Soul): Law Spark (0%) (Ascensions Solider 1-Star)] --
[Evil Thief Acolyte(s): 0/3]
--
[Talent: High (Upgradeable)]
--- n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
[Technique & Spells: 2]
-Cultivation Technique(s): -Evil Thief Scripture (1st Vol): Completed (Next Cultivation Volume is avable in the House Shop!) -Connate Ability(s):
-Illusionary Dark Pupil
-Connate Skill: Illusionary Dark Pupil Awakening (Advanced Stage: 12th Tier) --
-Treasure(s): -1. Dark Grimoire: Grade-9 (Upgrade Avable) -2. Soul Maniption Chain: Grade-9 (Upgrade Avable) -3. Evil Thief Armor Set: Grade-9 (Upgrade Avable) -4. Life Escape Coin: 3
---
[House Point(s): 100,104,040]
---
[House Call: 10 House Points]
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 1]
[House Punishment(s): 0] ---
[House Shop: Evil Thief]
---
[Prime Law: Evil Designer]
-Prime Law Progress: NONE
-Auxiliary Law(s):10
-Soul Tether: 100%
-Psyche: 100%
-Dark: 100%
-Charm: 100%
-Sound: 100%
-Devour: 49%
-Shadow: 44%
-Terminus: 3%
-Time: 00.01%
Chapter 1146: Thief Acolyte
Chapter 1146: Thief Acolyte
?
-Thief Acolyte Recruitment Contract (Assassin, Evil, Faceless)
-Description: These contracts grant you, a proven Veteran Thief, the privilege of recruiting loyal underlings who share your Thief Genre affinity. These individuals will be your devoted, loyal Thief Acolytes,
-Thief Acolyte Recruitment Contract:
-1. All the Thief House Rules will be applied to Thief Acolytes!
-2. Every Thief Acolyte Recruitment will have to be approved by the House Leader before they can join the Thief House.
-3. Thief Acolytes can''t use ''Thief House Interface'' because their statutes will be directly controlled by their superiors (house members).
-4. Thief Acolytes are not prone to any information regarding the other House Members, especially matters regarding the House Leader, House Missions, and such unless the person in question willingly introduces/reveals such information themselves out of their free will. -5. Thief Acolyte will be given ess to their Superior''s (House Member) Cultivation Chambers, and they can also use the facilities of Thief House under their Superior''s (House Member) guidance.
-6. The House Leader has the right and authority to punish and remove any Thief, Acolyte! -7. The House Leader can''t interfere with a Thief House Member''s Thief Acolyte nurturement, for it is imperative for a House Member to nurture an excellent Thief Acolyte themselves!
-8. Any Thieverymitted by Thief Acolytes will result in House Points, and all the earnings will be split 50/50 between an acolyte''s superior (House Member) and House Leader. Therefore, all the resources for Thief Acolyte will have toe from their Superior (House Members),
-9....
...
...
-99. The House Leader has the exclusive right to rewrite any three terms mentioned in the Thief Acolyte Contract!
[NOTE: Choosing the right Acolyte for your genre depends on your own insights, strengths, and desired skill set.]
-Avable: 3 (Limit 3 Acolytes per Veteran Thief)
-Cost: 5,000,000 House Points per Contract
-Requirement (1): Below Law State cultivation matched with your (Soul/Martial) cultivation path is required to use the Thief Acolyte Recruitment Token!
-Requirement (2): The person who wants to join the Thief House needs to drop their blood on the Thief Acolyte Recruitment Contract willingly!
-Thief Acolyte Scripture (Assassin, Evil, Faceless)
-Grade: Elemental
-Description: The Thief Acolyte Scripture is a guarded text passed down through generations within the Thief House. It serves as a foundational guide for aspiring thieves, specifically tailored toplement and enhance the skill set of their chosen Veteran Thief Superior (House Member).n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Unique Feature: Innate Ability Bestowment
-Description (1): This scripture offers a unique incentive for Acolytes to excel. Upon achieving a breakthrough in every three major cultivation realms (e.g., Qi Gates to Qi River), the Acolyte gains the privilege of having one of their Superior''s innate abilities. This ability bes permanently imprinted on the Acolyte, significantly enhancing their skill set and fostering a powerful bond between them and their Superior.
-Description (2): The ability selection process requires the Superior (House Member) to invest House Points. This cost scales with the rarity and power of the chosen innate ability. -Cost: 10,000,000 House Points
Ace inhaled sharply when he finally skimmed through his house members'' statues and read all the descriptions of the Thief Acolyte Contract and Scripture avable in their shops.
"They are given the same privileges as the house leader, although only at a rudimentary level- impressive nheless. It''s not only solved the problem of having limited spots, but it''ll be much safer for them to have their own underlings.
''Furthermore, that scripture is quite unique. Although it didn''t grant the user innate ability for every major breakthrough, their superior can decide what to give them from their own collection of abilities, of course, using the house points.
''Not to mention, those acolytes'' thieveries will be divided 50/50 between me and their superiors, and I don''t even have to do anything at all. System, hateful you might be, but you''re a damn genius!''
Ace suddenly pulled a gentle smile, feeling his mood lifted slightly. He wasn''t the only one; those three house members were all quite excited about this novelty of the Thief Acolyte concept.
Although they will still have to share equal authority with Ace and even split their earnings with him, they don''t mind. After all, they all knew Ace wouldn''t interfere with them at all unless they crossed some line, which they wouldn''t.
"It seems that the Thief House has be even more interesting," Eva suddenlymented at this moment.
With her sharp perception, she easily noticed a change in Ace''s mood, and even she could tell this Thief Acolyte''s business seemed quite a big deal.
"Of course it is! You don''t know since you have yet to join the thief house, but I''m sure Leader had shared information with you two." Winter snorted, but the tion behind her voice was still apparent; she was in a very good mood, "Although I admit going against freaking heaven is too much if thief''s house continues to level up and advance, I think we might be able to pull it off. After all, you might be unaware of the new functions that the leader has unlocked, which include even time multipliers.
"Now, with these acolytes, I can farm... I mean, nurture good subordinates to earn House Points. After all, every function requires us to use House Points, and despite having almost a hundred million, it''s far from enough!"
Noa and Freya silently nodded in agreement with what Winter had just said, knowing that despite their material wealth, they were still poor in the Thief House.
From the start, just the evolution of their bloodline to Grade-1 Ascension Grade required 50 Million HP, and it also seemed that their initial races would also be changed. But it was none of their concern if they didn''t have HP to purchase them.
Furthermore, with their new realms, they need to upgrade their current weapons and techniques. Bloodlines didn''t matter much since they couldn''t grow with just bloodlines and
without any technique.
Eva''s eyes narrowed slightly. Although she had already heard about this currency of the thief''s house, she didn''t know about these facilities since Ace had only installed them not
long ago.
At this moment, she suddenly looked towards Alina, who was also curiously listening to everything. The recruitment token was still in her hand, and she was even clenching it with a
peculiar glint in her eyes.
Suddenly, she pulled a provocative smile and whispered, close to her ear, "Hey, Torchlight, it seemed my hubby had already expected this and had already arranged three excellent Maids for me. Which means I don''t have to look for random ''Acolytes'' anymore." Alina''s eyes suddenly fluttered and widened in disbelief as she looked toward Eva, who was wearing her devilish yet victorious smile. Eva proudly sat straight and was already dripping her blood on the Thief House Requirement Token!
Ace, who happened to hear what Eva just said, couldn''t help but smile wryly. He didn''t know why Eva liked to tease Alina so much. But when he felt a cold yet seemingly wronged re at him, he knew the devil wasn''t just teasing; she was causing disasters for him!
Alina, who had already decided to condemn Ace when they were alone and demanded an exnation for his bias towards the hateful devil, also used the recruitment token; she wasn''t willing to let the devil get the lead even for a moment.
At this moment, everyone''s attention was already on the two women who were about to join the ranks of the thief house, and they were all curious about what their thief genres would be.
But one thing they all knew was with those two joining in; peace would be but a lucid dream in the Thief''s House!
Ace sighed ruefully onest time before his eyes shimmered in anticipation. He wanted to know just what those two Thief Genres with ridiculous bloodlines would be and how high
their talents werepared to everyone else.
An interface suddenly popped up in front of him
=====
[Thief House Recruitment Token has been used!] (2X)
[New member entry has been sessful.] (2X)
[Please open the Thief House interface to see further information.] (2X)
Chapter 1147: Thief Genres for Abyssal Devil and Celestial Titan
Chapter 1147: Thief Genres for Abyssal Devil and Celestial Titan
?
[Please Select a Thief Genre for the new member!]
-Thief Genre: A specific Thief Path for house members. Only the house leader can choose this thief path as he prefers. This thief path will also further determine what kind of skill set, cultivation technique, treasures,..., will be avable in their House Shops.
-Compatible Thief Genre for House Member Eva Ace White: 4 Avable
-1. Devil Thief
-Introduction: The biggest trickster, liar, conniving... (99+more) of all time!
-2. Abyssal Architect Thief
-Introduction: A Thief of Abyss who is proficient in freely traveling between Heaven and Abyss! Thus, it carries the great burden of arranging appropriate missions for the Abyss for the Thief House!
-3. Void Thief
-Introduction: A thief proficient in Space and Time and can explore the depths of the void; there is no barrier that can stop a Void Thief from advancing, no right or wrong time for its advent; its only purpose is to help others keep the space ''empty''!
-4. Thief Enchantress
-Introduction: The Thief Enchantress is a charismatic master of maniption. It weaves beguiling illusions, forges irresistible bargains, and has the uncanny ability to influence minds and emotions.
[Please select one option.]
[Note: Once a thief genre is selected, it can never be changed again.]
-Compatible Thief Genre for House Member Alina Silver: 3 Avable
-1. Celestial Thief
-Introduction: A Thief proficient in finding unbelievable, hidden, and most precious treasures among countless stars of the ?e??n????n????i???s?? and beyond, nothing can remain hidden from its treacherous treasure detection!
-2. Thievish Hunter
-Introduction: No one can hunt a target or treasury with only a single clue in the entire the? e??n????n????i???s?? better than Thievish Hunter.
-3. Twilight Thief
-Introduction: Shrouded in mystery, the Twilight Thief operates within the liminal spaces -the twilight hours, the borders between realms, and the fringes of society. Masters of stealth and deception utilize illusions and shadows to vanish from sight, manipte perceptions, and pilfer treasures unseen. Twilight Thief''s skills lie in creating distractions, exploiting vulnerabilities during transitions, and navigating hidden pathways.
[Please select one option.]
[Note: Once a thief genre is selected, it can never be changed again.]
=====
Ace was astounded when he saw Eva and Alina''s thief genre options. Although there were not many, each option was extremely startling and could bring huge benefits to the Thief House as a whole.
Furthermore, he could deduce that Alina''s thief genres were all rted to finding treasures in some way or another, which were quite unique, while Eva''s were more inclined towards trickery and maniption,plementing her race.
Not to mention, the Abyssal Architect Thief made his heart race since its introduction was, although subtle, the true core of this genre was still quite obvious.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Eva and Alina, who had also received the notification from a foreign static voice, were looking at their own iplete statues with astonishment. Even though Ace had already told them about these ''interfaces,'' they were still novel to them.
The shock was even deeper because both of them had extremely powerful heritage and bloodlines, especially Eva, who had memories of her heritage. She didn''t find anything amiss or any kind of restraint on herself, which should''ve been impossible.
But now that they knew about Ace''s lineage of Heaven Stealer, they knew the existence behind Ace wasn''t so simple that even Heaven felt threatened by it.
At this moment, Ace finally spoke, drawing everyone''s attention as he revealed the thief''s genre options without hiding anything. Although he wanted to suggest thief genres that he thought would benefit the Thief House, he didn''t want to force any choice on them, just like he had never done with his house members.
"Tsk, I didn''t even receive an option back then!" Winter muttered with indignation.
Freya and Noa also felt quite unfair about the thief genres that both women had received. But they knew that those genres were all given to the ''thief goddess'' and depended on their personalities, talents, bloodlines, and even personal traits.
''Why does she have one more genre than me?'' Alina''s eyes narrowed as she thought, ncing at the amused devil, who was still thinking about the genres she could choose from. She sighed in relief.
She didn''t dare to voice it out since she didn''t want to give Eva any chance to tease her. Nheless, she looked at Ace gently and asked, "What do you think I should choose?"
Ace hesitated for a moment before he revealed his honest thoughts: "Celestial Thief. I think it had some of the traits from both Thievish Hunter and Twilight Thief. But they also have their own pros and cons. The former is inclined towards ''Hunting Treasures and Targets alike, '' while thetter is more inclined towards ''pathfinding,'' I think. But you don''t have to consider my opinion; just choose whatever you like."
Alina smiled in satisfaction since she also had the same trail of thoughts as Ace, and she said without hesitation, "Alright, you can select the Celestial Thief for me. As for her, I think only Devil Thief will do since it describes her personality quite well." She scoffed as she thought she got a good one on Eva.
Eva''s eyes also narrowed as she gave her a disdainful nce before she looked at Ace, who had a wry smile on his face. She also smiled charmingly and asked, "Ignore her since she didn''t have ''many'' options to begin with, so she''s just jealous. How about you select for your lovely wife? Furthermore, if you want my opinion, I think this Abyssal Architect Thief is quite a rule
breaker.
"I don''t think there is anyone in this world who can freely travel between Heaven and the Abyss. It''s simply impossible and can only happen with luck. I never thought this existence behind you could also make that possible."
Ace also became serious since he knew what Eva was implying. He could not help but think of the time when the system told him to let her evolve into the Abyssal Shadow Devil. He wondered if the system wanted Eva to have this thief genre from the start.
Nheless, he was also curious about the Abyss since there are Nine Evesting Heavens and Ten Eternal Abysses. There is one more abyss than heaven, which made Ace wonder if the abysses were stronger than the heavens. He wanted to explore it more and now was his
chance.
"Are you sure? It would be very dangerous, and I don''t know if we can even follow you into the abyss before you arrange some kind of mission. Don''t forget the details in the introduction are notpletely clear," Ace solemnly asked.
"Wait a moment!" Alina suddenly chimed in as she asked with squinted eyes, "Why do you two sound like this abyss is something different?"
Even the house members were curious about Ace and Eva''s interaction. They didn''t think the abyss was a big deal before and thought it might be some kind of secret realm, but now it didn''t seem to be the case.
"How about you call me ''Big Sis,'' and I''ll tell you?" Eva asked with a smug look on her face.
"I would rather die!" Alina snapped.
Ace shook his head as he intervened, "Alright, I forgot that you guys didn''t know about the abyss. Since you already knew about Heaven, you have the right to know about this as well. There are Nine Evesting Heavens and Ten Eternal Abysses...!"
Chapter 1148: Celestial Thief & Abyssal Architect Thief
Chapter 1148: Celestial Thief & Abyssal Architect Thief
?
Another shock filled the thief''s house hall when everyone heard the information about the Nine Evesting Heavens and Ten Eternal Abysses. Except for Eva and Ace, everyone was deeply thinking.
"If Miss Eva''s Abyssal Architect Thief is really rted to the Ten Eternal Abysses, I think it''s in our best interest to let her choose this thief genre. After all, if you''re really nning on going against heaven, we need to investigate and grave every opportunity we can." Freya softly stated at this moment.
"Indeed, ording to the memories I''ve inherited, the abyssal beings are enemies of the heavenly beings, and they treat them as prey. Furthermore, the origin of devils and demons are also from the abyss, yet they exist in the heavens as well. Besides, we''lle in contact with the abyss eventually, so having this advantage is a very good thing." Eva nodded while revealing her thoughts.
Alina didn''tment this time since she knew Eva was right. With Ace being the enemy of heaven, he might find refuge in the abyss or some unexpected help if the abysses were also the enemy of the heavens.
In the end, Ace nodded despite his worry for Eva. He knew this was an extremely dangerous endeavor, but it was also a huge opportunity, so he selected the thief genres for both Eva and Alina. The next moment, they both heard the system''s voice as the interfaces in front of them changed!
[Congrattions, you have been appointed as Celestial Thief by the House Leader!]
-Celestial Thief Introduction: A Thief proficient in finding unbelievable, hidden, and most precious treasures among countless stars of the ?e??n????n????i???s?? and beyond, nothing can remain hidden from its treacherous treasure detection!
-Celestial Thief Role: An expert tracker of celestial riches who can navigate the cosmos and ovee arcane security measures. Moreover, a skilled navigator with an uncanny sense of hidden pathways uncovers treasures guarded by puzzles and ancient traps. A cunning thief who utilizes knowledge of celestial bodies and ancient lore to bypass magical defenses and im arcane treasures and treasuries alike!
[Your thief house status has been updated.]
[House Member: Alina Silver (Female)]
[Race: Celestial]
[Bloodline: Celestial Titan (Infant) (Grade-??? Bloodline) (No Bloodline Upgrade Avable with Thief House Current Level)]
[Thief Genre: Celestial Thief (Newbie)]
[House Rank: New Member (Upgradeable)]
{Complete One Thief House Mission for rank upgrade}
[Martial Cultivation: Infant Grade (Ascension Warrior 9-Star)]
[Talent: Advanced King (Upgradeable)]
[House Point(s): 1,000,000 House Points]
[House Call: 10 House Points]
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 0]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
--
[House Shop: Celestial Thief]
[Prime Law: Primal Chaos]
-Prime Law Progress: NONE
-Auxiliary Law(s):15
[Congrattions, you have been appointed as Abyssal Architect Thief by the House Leader!] -Abyssal Architect Thief Introduction: A Thief of Abyss who is proficient in freely traveling between Heaven and Abyss! Thus, it carries the great burden of arranging appropriate missions for the Abyss for the Thief House!
-Abyssal Architect Thief Role: A master of interdimensional travel who leads daring raids into the Abyss, securing resources and treasures while coordinating missions for the Thief House. A devilish schemer and navigator who utilizes her knowledge of both dominions to design safe passage between the Heavens and the Abysses, overseeing missions and acting as a bridge between the two worlds. A fearless rogue who traverses the void between dimensions, bringing back unique Abyssal treasures and coordinating lucrative missions within the ?e??n????n????i???s??.
[Your thief house status has been updated.]
[House Member: Eva Ace White (Female)]
[Race: Abyssal Being]
[Bloodline: Half Shadow and Half Void Abyssal Devil (Chaotic} (Grade-??? Bloodline) (Remedy Avable to Solve the Chaotic Bloodline in House Shop)]
[Thief Genre: Abyssal Architect Thief (Newbie)]
[House Rank: New Member (Upgradeable)]
{Enter Abyss for rank upgrade}
[Soul Cultivation: Abyssal Solider (Tier-1)]
[Talent: Initial King (Upgradeable)]
[House Point(s): 1,000,000 House Points]
[House Call: 10 House Points]
[House Mission(s): 0]
[House Leader Mission(s): 0]
[House Punishment(s): 0]
[House Shop: Abyssal Architect Thief]
[Prime Law: Void Devour]
-Prime Law Progress: NONE
-Auxiliary Law(s):18
Ace was astounded when he saw Alina and Eva''s statues. Not only were their talents ridiculously high, but their bloodline grades couldn''t be measured by the system''s current capabilities. Alina''s bloodline couldn''t be upgraded, and Eva''s bloodline was in chaotic condition, as she had told Ace. There seemed to be a remedy in the house shop.
He also noticed that the initial House Points they received were many times more than what the other house members had received.
Furthermore, their cultivation paths werepletely different, especially Alina''s, who was judged as an ''Infant,'' yet her prowess was akin to that of a peak Ascension Warrior. She had directly bypassed the Ascension Solider rank, and her talent was two tires higher than Eva''s as
well!
Lastly, Ace grimaced because Eva''s first rank-up mission waspletely different from that of any other house member.
"System, what''s the deal with the Abyssal Architect Thief? Did she really have to operate in the abyss, and how is she going to go there and thene back?" Ace questioned the system sternly. "[The Abyssal Architect Thief is exactly what it is ording to the introduction and role provided by the system. Furthermore, contrary to the other house members, the Abyssal Architect Thief will grow more quickly in the abyss, and her missions will be slightly different from those of the other house members.]
"[But you don''t need to worry, the Abyssal Architect Thief is fully equipped with for the venture in the abyss, and she will be able toe back as long as she mastered her
abilities.]"
Ace felt slightly better after hearing the system''s reassuring information and then asked
another thing he was curious about, "What about Alina''s cultivation? Why is it so different from
others?"
"[Celestial Titans belonged to a fabled lineage of Celestial Race, and they are also the arch enemies of True Dragons, who are known for their innate mastery over the true martial path, ''Force.'' But the Celestial Race can directly rival them because just like True Dragons, the Celestial also have an innate talent for ''Force.'']
"[Celestial Titans have different life cycles instead of cultivation realms, and they grow by
eating natural treasures and tempering their bodies. They don''t need any cultivation orn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
body tampering techniques to grow.]
"[Although she is just an infant celestial titan and has yet to awake ''Force,'' even now, her body can''t be scratched without a Grade-5 Ascension Spirit Weapon!]"
Ace was bbergasted when he heard about the origin of Alien''s bloodline and suddenly felt a chill running down his spine since he never expected it would be so grand.
Furthermore, he was shocked by the revtion that Alina could walk on theplete path of martial cultivation, ''Force,'' without even needing to go through the trouble that he had to; all she needed to do was ''eat.'' He almost moaned from envy!
Lastly, another realization dawns on him, ''Wait, if Alina can cultivate theplete martial path just because of her bloodline, doesn''t that mean if I could find simr bloodlines for everyone...!''
Chapter 1149: Entering the House Leader Chamber!
Chapter 1149: Entering the House Leader Chamber!
?
After the recruitment ceremony was done, Eva and Alina were endlessly curious about the functions of the thief''s house and their individual thief shops.
Furthermore, when they both learn that they have to be ''Veteran Members'' before they can ept any thief acolyte, both women are filled with indignation, but they can do nothing about it, and they decide to quickly start working so they won''t be outshined by the old members of the thief house.
Moreover, Freya instantly requested to ept Thief Acolytes from Ace, who was naturally Aliya and Thomas, because she knew they had been with Ace all this time and resided in the living space ring now in Alina''s possession.
After all, Aliya was a close aide to Freya, and she had known her since forever. She had also worked with Thomas and knew he waspetent and talented. She knew that since Ace cared about Thomas, he would ept her request to have him as a Thief Acolyte, and Thomas would not go against Ace''s decision.
Just as she thought, Ace quickly agreed to her and asked Alina to take Aliya and Thomas out of her space ring, which also carried her entire Silver Ice Hunter n, as well as her close friend and royal maid, Lillian.
Once Aliya and Thomas appeared in the thief''s house, they were shocked when they noticed Ace and other members of the thief''s house. Freya didn''t waste her time but quickly gave an overview of the thief''s Acolytes and asked them to join her.
Aliya instantly agreed without hesitation, while Thomas, on the other hand, after regaining his calm, first asked Ace for his opinion. Thetter naturally told him everything and gave him the freedom to join or leave the thief''s house and explore the new heaven.
After all, Ace never considered Thomas his underling. As his only friend, he gave him the freedom to decide what he wanted. But he also told him he needed to wait some time before they were in a better and safer ce where he could drop him off.
But Ace still wanted Thomas to join the thief''s house so he could remain safe and help him. However, to everyone''s surprise, Thomas decided to join the thief''s house as a thief acolyte but not as an Evil Thief Acolyte, but instead a Thief Assassin Acolyte under Noa!
The reason he gave was that he didn''t like to pursue so many schemes, and he had honed his craft of killing when he exacted his revenge in the demon continent, so he was already walking the path of an assassin. So was his reason for following Noa since he could slightly sense vague kindred from Noa while thetter could clearly tell that Thomas was really suitable and worthy of having a subordinate.
In the end, under Freya and Aliya''s begrudging look, Noa epts Thomas, which makes them both acquire a thief acolyte. Winter slightly panicked when she saw both of her peers had acquired a thief acolyte while virtually doing nothing.
She even cussed herself for not having an eye for people, and now she was eager to go out in search of her own acolytes to start her far... ahem, nurture excellent acolytes quickly.
However, before they all officially enter the Mortal Ascension Heaven, everyone needs to absorb their gains and familiarize themselves with their new cultivation techniques and spirit Qi, including Ace.
This was especially the case for Eva, who noticed the changes happening in her body. The restraints on her were breaking, as she could sense she was officially stepping into thew state since the need for heavenly tribtion was finally gone.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Furthermore, she also acquired the remaining blood of the Vampyre n from Ace so she could fully evolve into Void Abyssal Devil and fix the chaotic state of her blood.
Because the solution system gave her the required 1 Billion HP, which was simply out of her reach, even Ace couldn''t afford this much. However, the system also hinted at another solution, which made Ace remember the time he was going to give her the Vampyre Blood. The system revealed to him that he shouldn''t since the thief''s space wouldn''t be able to handle her full evolution.
This is how the meeting between the old and new memberssted for a few hours before it finally came to a conclusion. Everyone returned to their own individual cultivation chamber, and some headed towards the second floor to use the facilities.
Ace also headed towards his own House Leader Chamber, which seemed to have independent facilities for every function on the second floor of the thief''s house, which brought him huge relief. After all, as a leader, he can''t fight with his own house members for a spot in those facilities.
Furthermore, something unexpected yet expected urred when he was moving towards his grand house leader chamber; two women decided to infiltrate it,pletely ignoring their own newly opened private chambers.
But a fight almost breaks out among them when they both find that both of them have the same mindset, and Ace quickly agrees to let them live with him if they promise not to fight each other, or they can''t enter, and he has to use his full willpower to persist before they reluctantly agreed.
However, Eva was still indignant and berated Ace for acknowledging her as his legal wife even though the system had acknowledged herst name was exactly his. This made Alina grit her teeth again, yet she was also secretly pleased that Ace didn''t disseminate among them.
Even Ace had to admit that Eva was right, and he had missed this little detail and was extremely embarrassed, but he knew if he didn''t cate both women, one of them would continue to make everyone''s life miserable, so keeping them by his side and enduring their little tantrum was still eptable.
Under their bickering, the grand door of the House Leader Chamber suddenly opened when Ace approached it and showed his interest in entering.
Everyone turned silent when they saw behind that door an extremely breathtakingndscape made with neon crystal floor, filled with dense primordial/heavenly Spirit Qi.
Although this space was the same size as the thief''s space, it waspletely different from the house member chambers, which were simple. At the edges of the space were rising massive columns of ethereal crystal, with starry waterfalls flowing among them endlessly from the dark starry sky on the ceiling. Those stars seemed to be making the shape of his thief symbol.
Right in the center of this dreamyndscape was a dark blue crystal castle, glowing under the starry sky with fields of crystal!
Chapter 1150 Entering Seclusion (1)
Chapter 1150 Entering Seclusion (1)
The castle within the House Leader Chamber was massive and had everything one could dream of, and the moment Ace stepped inside the castle, all the information about its infrastructure suddenly entered his brain.
Ace never expected the system to surprise him so much as he toured around the castle with Eva and Alina.
The castle was named ''Sky Stealer Castle'' after his thief''s name. There were three floors of the castle: the first floor was a spacious hall, while below it was a lower floor that had all the facilities of the thief''s house, and the upper floor was where all the living quarters were located.
However, what surprised Ace was that within this space, he could directly monitor the entire thief''s house and a massive area outside where the thief''s house gate was established.
But their tour didn''tst for long since Eva could sense she needed to go to seclusion as her breakthrough was bing apparent. She took the room directly beside Ace''s grand bedroom, and Alina was the same as she was assimting the inheritance she received from the jade scroll. She also needs to explore the house shop, and she secluded herself in another room on the opposite side of Ace''s bedroom while she is actually secretly keeping an eye on Eva.
Furthermore, the most shocked about this process was the two treasures of the women, ggy (Heavenly Devil Soul g) and Star (Cmity Star Sword).
The moment Eva and Alina entered the thief''s house, the two terrifying treasure spirits werepletely suppressed, and their connection with their owners was blocked. They didn''t even know how that happened until Alina and Eva officially became members of the Thief House.
Moreover, when that happened, the treasure spirit was shocked to find that strange restrictions were suddenly ced on them. They weren''t even able to retaliate or find out what kind of restrictions they were since it onlysted for a moment, and they even thought that it was just their imagination.
However, when their suppression was finally gone, they were able to hear the conversation between everyone, and they were shocked because, despite their past experiences, it was iprehensible.
Lastly, when they entered the House Leader Chamber, they sensed Primordial/Heavenly Spirit Qi, which shocked both treasures to the core since, as treasured spirits, they were very sensitive towards the changes in Qi.
ggy, who was more knowledgeable about Ace''s terrifying capabilities, was even more apprehensive and silently epted whatever was happening while Star was still in a stupor and waited for Alina to be alone and then seek her for an exnation.
Ace didn''t know that the moment both women were alone, they were instantly confronted by their treasure spirits. Even if he knew, he wouldn''t be worried since he knew now that they were members of the Thief House; absolutely no one could harm them in this ce.
Once he was finally alone, he entered his bedroom, which was marbled and already equipped with arge ck bed with a transparent manti decorated with runic designs.
However, he wasn''t here to rest as he summoned Cyrus and Chuchu into this room. Cyrus was still in slumber, but his injuries seemed to have healed under Eva and Alina''s care. Chuchu was faithfully beside her boss, waiting anxiously for his awakening.
"Chu?" Chuchu was startled when she suddenly appeared in this grand room and sensed the massive spirit Qi density. She also felt that this spirit Qi here waspletely different somehow, but it seemed extremely beneficial.
"Since I''ve already seen with my eyes, I don''t think I need any further exnation from you. But I hope that in the future, you will not take such reckless action for your own sake.
"This is my private space, and you both can rest here until Cyrus wakes up. Until then, you should reflect on your actions and learn from them. I don''t want to see his friend getting hurt, and I know he wants the same thing. So, be strong, so nothing like that happens again." Ace softly stated. He didn''t have the heart to berate the na?ve hamster, as he knew, in a sense, she was also like Cyrus, a child who had endured much more to survive.
Furthermore, after he learned about the secret of the Crimson tinum, he knew it was aplete ident that they had barged into the Mountain Tyrant''s protective formation, and Chuchu didn''t lead Cyrus towards him.
He had already nned to pay back those two for what they did to Cyrus once he woke up, so there wasn''t any need to punish Chuchu anymore.
Furthermore, he mused that this should be a valuable lesson for the little brat as it was his first defeat, and in the future, he won''t be as reckless as before. He knew if anyone was at fault, it was himself for sheltering him too much.
Chuchu was surprised when she saw Ace, and after hearing his words, she was moved. Not only was Ace not ming her, but he seemed to be trusting her with Cyrus. She was also endlessly curious about Ace''s secret space and those two women who seemed to be extremely terrifying. She knew her senses weren''t wrong, as when they saw Cyrus in that condition, they almost went berserk.
This heightened her fear and reverence for the Big Boss, and she had already decided to follow her Boss and the Big Boss faithfully.
"I''ll do my best!" Chuchu promised in a cute yet solemn voice.
"I look forward to it." Ace nodded in stratification before he waved his hand, and a mountain of nature treasures suddenly filled the room, "Use them without reserve; there are plenty more where that came from."
Leaving the dazzled Chuchu behind, Ace vanished and appeared right in front of a grand door on the lower floor. This was another one of the perks of being within the House Leader Chamber: He could teleport anywhere with a thought.
Ace ordered with a hint of anticipation, "System, activate the Time Multiplier for the entire house leader chamber until I leave this ce, and also open the Theft Stimtion Virtual Room for me!"
=====
[Time Multiplier 3X for House Leader Chamber has been activated!]
-Cost: 100 House Points per Natural Hour!
---
[Theft Stimtion Virtual Room for House Leader Chamber has been activated!]
-Cost: 1,000 House Points for 1 Natural Hour
---
[House Point(s): 8,992]
---
[Thief Point(s): 773,166,801]
=====
n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 1151: Entering Seclusion (2)
Chapter 1151: Entering Seclusion (2)
?
Ace entered thepletely white Theft Stimtion Virtual Room. It was empty, but the moment Ace stepped into it, he felt his mind be clear, and his connection to thews deepened.
At this moment, an interface suddenly opened in front of him before he could fully digest that feeling.
-Theft Stimtion Virtual Room Menu
-Avable Skills/Spells for Virtual Stimtion:
-Art of Mind Stealing
-Current Realm: Permanent Thievish Silver Hand (5th Realm)
-Remaining Realms: Silver Treasure Hunter (6th), Golden Thievish Hand (7th), Permanent Thievish Golden Hand (8th), Golden Treasure Hunter (9th), Locked (10th)
-Stimtion Cost for Next Realm: 10,000 House Points for Nine Stimtions
-Absolute Pick Pocket: 9% (Sync with Space Law)
-Stimtion Cost for Space Intent (10-20 Space Comprehension): 100,000 House Points for
Nine Stimtions
-ck Tempest (Upper Earth Grade Spell)
-Current Proficiency: Early (1 Thief Title Applied)
-Stimtion Cost for Intermediate Proficiency: 1,000 House Points for Nine Stimtions
-Dark Revtion (Upper Earth Grade Spell)
-Current Proficiency: Early (1 Thief Title Applied)
-Stimtion Cost for Intermediate Proficiency: 1,000 House Points for Nine Stimtions.
=====
Ace was speechless when he saw the menu and asked with pursed lips, "Why is there a cost for every skill/spell that could be stimted? I thought they would be included in the theft stimtion virtual room as long as I activate it! I didn''t know that I had to pay for whatever skill I wanted to stimte separately!"
"[Host''s skills/spells arepletely different from other house members, that''s why the host needs to pay for every stimtion ording to the skill/spell difficulty. Furthermore, the host should''ve already noticed that the Theft Stimtion Virtual Room can also help withwprehension without using the stimtion feature. Please don''tin without good reason.]"
Ace cocked an eyebrow before he retorted, "Then don''t give me a reason toin, dammit!" But the system no longer paid him any attention, so he could only fume silently before he let it go. After all, he knew the system wouldn''t bend its ridiculous rules for him.
Furthermore, thetter part about the system exnation was true because he could really feel the densew in this ce.
Not to mention, the avable skills/spells were really difficult to master, especially the first two mentioned in the list. He had already mastered everything except these two from the Mortal Sky Heaven.
The Absolute Pick Pocket required him to increase hisprehension of Spacew, and he felt that he couldn''t use his normal pickpocket on a Law State cultivator since they were extremely sensitive tows and elemental skills were childish in front of them.
But before he starts with anything, he still has some things he put on hold since he was in a hurry. The first thing was the remaining reward he got frompleting the Thief Job Mission.
He flipped his hand. A corporal inky pentagon coin appeared in his hand. There was his new thief symbol, which seemed to be made with countless starry runes. On the other side of it was engraved a runic image of a hood. He opened its description.
-Thief Connate Ability Token (Grade-???)
-Introduction: Thief Connate Ability Token allows Heaven''s Stealer to incorporate any Thief-rted skill/spell into a Thief Connate Ability. Henceforth, the skill/spell turned into a Thief Connate Ability, which will no longer have any limit and can evolve and grow with Heaven''s Stealer!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Disimer: If the Thief-rted skill/spell is much higher grade and more powerful than Heaven''s Stealer, upon incorporating it into Thief Connate Ability, its power/grade will be readjusted to match Heaven''s Stealer''s current realm/prowess!
-Warning: While selecting a skill/spell, please keep in mind that upon turning the skill/spell into a connate ability, any evolved/upgraded version of this skill/spell will permanently disappear from the system archive if it exists!
-Use: To activate, please speak the name of the thief-rted skill/spell you want to turn into a Thief Connate Ability while enveloping the Thief Connate Ability Token with your Qi!
bbergasted, Ace''s eyes trembled with atonement before ecstasy took over; he wasn''t expecting the reward he was ignoring all this time, which turned out to be so huge.
He knew the biggest weakness of any skill set was once he became stronger, then the skill would lose its value, and he needed to search for a more powerful skill set.
Especially his own skill set; although higher-grade skills were quite potent than the lower- grade ones, some skills were still far more useful than higher-grade skills in the same category.
Just like the pickpocket, one of his first skills from the system, it is still supported to this day despite notprehending the Absolute pickpocket yet. But now, the initial pickpocket has reached its absolute limit, and he needs the Absolute pickpocket to rece it.
However, he knew even the Absolute Pick Pocket would eventually reach its limit, and if he didn''t have a recement, he would lose his most profitable and used skill. Even if he could create a new one, he knew it wouldn''t be the same.
That''s why the Thief Connate Ability Token shocked them. It was like a godsend because it would allow him to turn a skill into his personal connate ability, and then no matter how strong he grew, the connate ability would follow suit and never grow weak.
As for what skill he wanted as a connate ability, Ace didn''t even need to think twice about it after all, he won''t miss this chance to have his favorite skill as a permanent connate ability! Ace grinned widely as he enveloped the token with his Qi and spoke, "Turn the Absolute Pickpocket into Thief Connate Ability!"
The moment Ace''s words left his mouth, he suddenly felt something stir deep within him. The next moment, a dark blue light suddenly shot out from his be out of nowhere and entered the shimmering token in his hand.
Before he could react, the token suddenly turned into a dark streak and shot back into his
be.
At this moment, the system''s voice rang.
=====
[Thief Connate Ability Token has been used on ''Absolute Pickpocket!]
[Three evolve/upgrade versions of Absolute Pickpocket have been removed from the system
archive!]
[Formatting the viable Connate Divine Talent to create Connate Ability for Absolute
Pickpocket (Final Grade: ??? Forbidden!]
-Connate Divine Talent: Legacy of the First Thief
-Divine Talent Ability (Ascension Grade): Absolute Pickpocket (Sleight of Hand)
=====
Chapter 1152: Exiting Seclusion
Chapter 1152: Exiting Seclusion
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The Spirit Inferno Domain was extremelyrge and ruled by the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect, a second-grade sect.
However, this didn''t mean there was only the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect was the only ce that existed; in fact, because of the Spirit Inferno Domain''s size, the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect couldn''t oversee everything all at once, especially with their main focus on forging.
So, the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect naturally had its subordinary first-grade sects (Grand Sects) under it that handled the Spirit Inferno Domain, and then there were elemental-grade sects, which had subordinary powers below the first-grade sects.
Even the Beast Cmity Mountain, under the rule of five grade sects'' Sect Alliance City, was just a small part of the Spirit Inferno Domain''s outskirts, and they were so far away that those five grand sects were still unaware of the existence of Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect nor the Guardian Sect put them in their eyes since they were too weak, and they already had their te full of peak level first grade sects who were waiting for their singlemand to prove themselves and earn their goodwill.
The territory of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect was called the Artifact Inferno Guardian Region, and there were four Guardian Sect Cities located in four directions of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect.
These Guardian Sect Cities were managed by the four main ns of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect, who were in charge of handling all the material matters for the main sect. These matters ranged from collecting tribute from their subordinary first-grade sects to gathering exotic resources from all over the Spirit Inferno Domain.
Furthermore, these cities also nurtured at least 80% of the new sect disciples for the main sect. Every 25 years, when the main sect opens its gates for new recruitments, over 90% of the new disciples belonged to these four cities, while the remaining came from their subordinary powers, as they were also given fixed allocated slots to those subordinary sects for their excellent services and merits.
No one without a deep background check was allowed in these cities, not to mention into the main sect, and bypassing their security measures was a pipe dream.
The Western Guardian Sect City was located in the western direction of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect and was under the Weston n, one of the four most powerful ns of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect.
Furthermore, the Western Guardian Sect City was furthest away from the sect entrance, exactly opposite it, and the forbidden region was also a few thousand miles away from this city.
If someone travels a few hundred miles in the forbidden region direction, they would be able to see the silhouette of towering walls piercing the clouds. These walls separate the forbidden region of the Spirit Inferno Domain, and no one can bypass them because those walls are riddled with formations that restrain flights and even space-type abilities.
One could only imagine just how much the sect had invested in those walls to keep others from entering the forbidden region.
However, today, a dark streak of light suddenly pierced through the so-called impossible fly thought formation, flew past the towering wall, and entered the Spirit Inferno Domain from the forbidden region.
If the sect had heard about this incident, they would''ve been shocked because no one came out from the forbidden region in this matter, and they had to take the main path that had the sect checkpoints. But today, the impossible had finally transpired.
The dark streak of light quickly started to descend toward the dense forest filled with tall red trees, leaving behind a faint trail of darkness.
Soon, the dark streaknded on the forest, revealing a dark, hooded, tall figure with ethereal wings on his back before they began to fade away.
Under the inky hood, a pair of astute dark blue eyes were solemnly looking toward the void as if there was something invisible there.
"Who could''ve thought that there was a freaking wall in that ce. Well, it saved me the trouble of going back and dealing with those checkpoints. Now, I just have to wait for the crimson tinum to manifest before I''ll take it.
''Meanwhile, let''s explore this ce. I can already sense the fire spirit Qi in this air, which is far less potent than in the forbidden region here. So, this ce should be where the inhabitants might be.
''I can''t recklessly infiltrate the second-grade sect without knowing anything about it first. Especially since most of my abilities are limited to the Ascension Solider realm...''N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace thought with deep anticipation in his eyes. It had been almost two years since he had entered the thief''s house for seclusion, which means six years had passed in the thief''s house with a time multiplier.
But six years were enough for Ace topletely absorb his gain, get himself ustomed to the Heavenly Spirit Qi, and step into the initial realm, the Law Soul Assimtion, of his Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique (Vol.2) Architect of Thieving Heart.
Now, Ace could clearly feel the power surging through his body directly from his heart, and every beat was pumping Heavenly Spirit Qi in his meridians. This feeling waspletely different from before because now there weren''t two different Qis in his body, and these Qis were far more powerful.
However, he still couldn''t gain ess to his inner world within his heart because, ording to the Architect of Thieving Heart, he needs to reach 100% I Law Soul Assimtion/10-Star Ascension Solider before he could open his inner world again and start his ''First Transformation of Thieving Heart!''
He doesn''t have anything to start the Universal Ascension ck Physique, and his reason for leaving the forbidden region and wanting to infiltrate the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect was exactly because of it!
Lastly, to make quick progress in the Architect of Thieving Heart, he needs to steal as much as he can. The more he steals, the quicker his progress with the soul cultivation technique. Even though he was limited in the Universal Ascension ck Physique or Martial Path department, that wasn''t the case for the soul path, and he was nning on fully utilizing his advantage!
"You Sutton Bastards, even as a ghost, I''ll never leave you alone!"
A high-pitched, shrilled scream suddenly startled Ace at this moment!
Chapter 1153 A Forbidden Spell!
Chapter 1153 A Forbidden Spell!
A middle-aged man with a tattered and bloody robe, because of a few small dangers, was stabbed deep into different parts of his body and was surrounded by eight ck-d individuals wearing ck masks to hide their faces.
However, the middle-aged man''s aura waspletely expanded and chaotic as there were ck markings spreading all over his neck and face, and from his bloodshot eyes, dark blood was streaming out.
The ck-d individuals werepletelyposed, and their auras were stable. They weren''t making any haste moves since they knew the middle-aged man was on hisst leg, and a cornered rat was extremely dangerous in this kind of state.
"You Sutton Bastards, even as a ghost, I''ll never leave you alone!" The middle-aged man roared with hatred as he tightly gripped the bloody whip in his hand.
But the ck-d individuals didn''t retort to his curse; only theirpletely crimson eyes remained impassive and emotionless.
However, since their focus was entirely on the middle-aged man, they didn''t notice a stealthy figure suddenly appearing a hundred meters away from their position on a tall tree. Even if they could, they would''ve been able to see through that person''s stealth.
However, the middle-aged man''s probe wasn''t answered as the assassin didn''t even react, and suddenly, their auras started to churn before their surroundings started to turn dark as a sinister silence descended, where only the erratic breaking of the middle-aged man could be heard.
Ace couldn''t help but watch those nine with deep interest since he didn''t expect to stumble into an assassination scene right after leaving the forbidden region. Not to mention that the middle-aged man was a 1-Star Ascension Solider while the eight assassins were also in the same realm.
Furthermore, Ace instantly sensed the potent malicious aura on the middle-aged man and knew that he was being poisoned, and that poison seemed to have the aura of apletely neww he hadn''t seen before: thew of poison!
''Whoever those assassins are, they are extremely resourceful, and that man seemed to be quite important since they are even using ascension-grade poison withw imbued in it. I guess my decision not to infiltrate the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect recklessly was spot on.
''As for these guys, they can be my source of information and targets for ''them.'' After all, they had been waiting for a long time to test their new techniques¡''
Ace''s lips curled up in a cold smile before he sent a voice transmission, and the next moment, a few figures appeared on the ground!
Seeing the ck-d individuals''ck of response, the middle-aged man gritted his teeth, sighed in resignation, and spoke in a defeated tone: "Since I''m going to die anyway, could you please tell me this much if it was really the Sutton n of Southern Guardian Sect City that hired your Fiend Assassin Guild to assassinate me?"
However, the middle-aged man''s probe wasn''t answered as the assassin didn''t even react, and suddenly, their auras started to churn before their surroundings started to turn dark as a sinister silence descended, where only the erratic breaking of the middle-aged man could be heard.
"What a cruel bunch, just as rumor described you. But don''t think I''ll go down this easily just because your sneak attack and poison were able to work! I''ll take down at least one of you fiend bastards with me!" He roared as brown mes suddenly ignited from his body, enveloping his entire body and illumining the eerie dark surroundings.
The temperature started to rose as the middle-aged man was about to take hisst stand, he even ignited his life spirit fire which was a taboo for a fire type cultivator. But he was determined to take them down with him. After all, he knew he was going to die from this mysterious poison directly infiltrating his soul, and he could sense it was eating away his cultivation.
However, despite the light from this fire, the assassins were nowhere to be seen, but he didn''t stop. His whip suddenly came alive, and brown mes covered its surface.
"Slithering me Upheaval!" He cast a spell and whipped towards his left, leaving behind an inferno trail.
"Bang¡"
The whip suddenly shed with something metallic; it was the assassin who was about to close in, and the moment he blocked the whip from piercing into his head and blocked it with his dagger, he was sent flying back. However, the whip didn''t stop. It maneuvered in the air and circled around his back like a snake. It shed with another hidden assassin and forced thetter to block it like the previous assassin.
The middle-aged man was blocking eight assassins with his whip technique at a ridiculous speed. But the assassins seemed relentless and kepting back, masterfully blocking the whip every time it discovered their weak spots.
It was quite clear that they knew the middle-aged man was burning his life and wouldn''tst long; they just needed to make sure not to give him any breath or leave any opening for him to exploit.
Their attacks were extremely coordinated, and they also seemed to use some attacking formations. Furthermore, with each sh, their surroundings exploded, and the ce where the middle-aged man was standing was now a huge crater filled with a charred surface and brown mes. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Bastards! Just why won''t you die! Since you''re waiting for my life to run out, I''ll grant your wish right now!" He roared as his eyes shed with madness, and the mes surrendering him suddenly intensified and almost reached the sky!
"Forbidden Spell, me of Destruction!"
Suddenly, the raging mes around the middle-aged man retracted back into his body, creating a tiny point in front of his chest. However, the temperature started to rise as his surroundings seemed to have lost color, and even the surrounding space started to tremble.
The middle-aged man, whose face was now filled with a dark web, shed a weak yet hatred-filled smile as his cracks started to appear all over his face and body before his hands started to dpose into fine ashes.
"I''ll pray for everyone''s retribution in¡" His final words were cut off because his facepletely dposed at this moment, leaving behind only the tiny point of me, which suddenly started topress even more and then tumbled violently.
The assassins who sensed death iing were already fleeing at full speed, but s, the forbidden spell was named ''forbidden'' for a reason.
Even an uninvited party sensed a sudden crisis gripping their hearts, and they also stopped in their tracks.
''Crack¡''
At this moment, the focal point of me suddenly cracked, faintly destroying the surrounding space before it instantly started to expand, bringing forth endless destruction. "Booooommmmmmm¡!"
Chapter 1154: Pieces of Past
Chapter 1154: Pieces of Past
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A huge vocalic creator left where the middle-aged man cast the forbidden spell, and there was nothing left in the vicinity of a hundred miles.
However, from the infernal ground, eight ck-d figures rose with cracked barriers
around their bodies; they were the eight assassins who managed to survive the explosion, which would make the middle-aged man shocked to his core if he were alive to witness this
scene.
"Target has been neutralized; Mission Complete!" A static voice sounded from one of the eight assassins.
The assassins turned around and were about to leave when suddenly, out of nowhere, inky daggers appeared around their necks and remained in their position. But those assassins didn''t move even a little because they could feel the sharp edges of those pin daggers on their skins despite wearing defensive treasures. It was as if those dangers could bypass all their defenses.
"What a lunatic!" A crisp yet vexed voice rang at this moment.
The next moment, those eight assassins were surrounded by another eight dark-d individuals. Their outfits were more on the aesthetic side, and although their colors were the same, one could tell they werepletely different from each other. Well, except for two tall figures who were wearing cloaks. One of them even had a little dark bird and a cute hamster on his shoulder. It was the entire Thief House with two thief acolytes, Cyrus and Chuchu!
"I had to admit, that forbidden spell almost caught us off guard. It''s truly another heaven. I can feel the air and pressure of this ce, which is vastly different from our birthce." Another melodious voice sighed, and with a hint of excitement present in her voice, it was Freya.
Winter, whomented early, retorted, "And I also admit that the people here are even more idiots than back home. Who could''ve thought the first thing we experienced aftering to this ce would be an assassination attempt? And those fuckers even survived it! They are filled with treasures, and I call dibs!"
Winter quickly changed her tone as her foxy eyes shone with greed. He red at those eight assassins who were nowpletely at Noa''s mercy; they weren''t living beings, but HP was in her eyes!
"How wasteful, he blew up decision food!" Cyrus''smenting voice rang at this moment, making the women chuckle as they were d seeing the mischievous child wasn''t traumatized by his early experience.
"Indeed, he used the Spirit Fire as a catalyst to cast that spell, and that Spirit Fire was extremely powerfulpared to the one I have. It seemed the resources of this Artifice Inferno Guardian Sect are far richer than we had thought. A second-grade sect is a force to be reckoned with." Noa''s sedated voice rang as she coldly looked toward the immobilized assassins, and the only thing stopping her from killing them was she was waiting for Ace''s order.
After they all knew about Ace''s ability to steal memories and then turn them into Star Slips, and now that they were in this unknown ce, they needed every bit of information they could get their hands on.
"Indeed." Ace nodded at this moment in a calm voice as he looked towards those assassins curiously, "Then imagine the resources and riches of people who dared to assassinate the people from the second-grade sect''s people? Fiend Assassin Guild, I presumed, since that old guy called you that."
"So, he was from sect? Did you get his memories before he died?" Alina asked curiously as she was standing on his left side, wearing a dark cloak since she didn''t have enough HP to buy robes from her shop.
Ace nodded as he replied, "Yes, but I wasn''t able to get all of them since he was quite strong and, for some reason, his knowledge sea was damaged. Furthermore, there seemed to be a seal in his knowledge sea, and I should thank them for that. After all, whatever poison they used created a crack in that seal, and so I was able to salvage some memories before he blew up. But they are sufficient for us to go forward."
Ace''s eyes suddenly went sharp as he looked towards the eight assassins who were silent all this time, and he grimly stated, "As for them, they didn''t have knowledge seas at all because they didn''t have souls."
Everyone was surprised when they heard Ace''s unexpected revtion. Winter and Eva''s eyes suddenly widened as they blurted out at the same time.
"Corpse Puppets!"
"Undead Puppetry!"
Ace knew if anyone had any idea what he was talking about, it would be Eva and Winter.
The former because when she finished her evolution, she was in the Regal Fiend Tower, where blood puppets were being used as trial puppets to manipte and corrode the contenders for the rebirth technique of Moon Fiend King, and the reason for Eva to quicklyplete her evolution was also because of him.
Thetter was because she had got the inheritance of the Corpse Demon Tribe in the Demon Continent, and she almost got possessed by one of their members, and the soul resurrection bead was also looted from that member of the Corpse Demon Tribe.
However, the moment Eva and Winter said those out loud, it didn''t matter by whose words, but the eight assassins suddenly trembled, and their bodies started to glow in crimson light.
Ace didn''t have time to exin because he instantly sensed the same kind of aura he felt before the middle-aged man cast the forbidden spell and ordered Noa, "Attack in the middle of their necks; there is some kind of power source in there!"
Noa, who was about to behead them all, instantly reacted to Ace''s words, and the pin dangers followed her will and shed towards their necks, bypassing their spirit Qi barriers or any protection and piercing deep into their necks!
Almost instantly, a voice like ss being shattered rang, and the crimson glow from those assassins suddenly vanished as they dropped to the ground without any sign of life.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, before the house members could sigh in relief, one of the corpse puppets, who had spoken statically earlier, suddenly released a dark, sinister fog from his body, followed by the other puppets, and turned into a dark, fiendish face.
"Whoever dares to kill the members of Fiend Assassin Guild shall plunge into endless misery! "I shall bestow upon you the Killing Fiend Curse!"
Chapter 1155: Lock Masters and Master Locks!
Chapter 1155: Lock Masters and Master Locks!
?
The house members and Ace were shocked by fiendish face''s deration.
The next moment, the fiendish face suddenly turned into a dark, eerie streak and directly shot toward Noa.
Noa''s eyes narrowed as she sensed the nefarious aura contained in the dark streak, but it didn''t have any attack power. Nheless, she knew if she were touched by it, it would be nothing but bad news.
A dark, ethereal barrier suddenly appeared in front of Noa to block the streak. However, she was startled when the dark streaknded on the Qi barrier in front of her, and the next moment, it started to spread around the barrier.
Everyone''s expression changed because they could sense the dark streak''s aura was corroding Noa''s Qi.
"Quickly cut off your Qi!" Winter loudly yelled at Noa, who seemed to be in a stupor.
"I...I can''t!" Noa replied in trepidation. She was shocked beyond words and was already trying to cut off her Qi, but for some reason, she couldn''t!
At this moment, Ace decides to intervene. He directly appears in front of Noa and uses his own Qi to contain the corroding fog.
When Ace''s heavenly Qi enveloped the corroding fog, it finally reacted. The sizzling sound of something burning rang, and Ace Qi seemed to be the bane of whatever this Killing Fiend Curse was. Dark smoke started to rise, clearing Noa''s Qi barrier.
It was as if some kind of shackle had been lifted from Noa, and she could finally stop her uncontroble Qi, and the barrier finally vanished the moment she cut off her Qi.
Ace''s expression was grim as he saw the dark smoke vanishing. "It seemed we just dodged a bullet. This Fiend Assassin Guild isn''t as simple as we''re making it be. This curse could''ve been some kind of tracking mark or, worse, some kind of poison. Only my primordial spirit Qi was able to counter it!"
"Thank you, leader!" Noa quickly thanked Ace as she knew he just saved her from an unknown danger before killing intent shed past her eyes as she looked towards the eight puppets lying there dead.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
She wouldn''t forget this grudge that humiliated her in front of Ace, and this Fiend Assassin Guild was already at the top of her kill list.
"No need. I told you to kill them. Besides, I''m sure you would be able to encounter this curse in no time once your spirit Qi andw be more powerful than this curse''s origin. Not to mention, once you upgrade your robes, they should have defense against curses." Ace shook his head. But we should be more cautious from now on. We are still new to this ce and don''t know much about the ascension realms."
Everyone nodded in agreement since they were all from the lower heaven and were still learning about the ascension realms.
This would also serve as a lesson for them not to underestimate their opponents. After all, towards the end, before Ace''s ascension, they were all almost undefeatable in the Mortal Sky Heaven, so they weren''t as vignt as they used to be.
"Now, can you exin what this Undead Puppetry is about?" Freya suddenly asked, still somewhat fearful of what happened. After all, she knew Noa was the strongest, yet she was almost cursed without Ace''s intervention.
Ace nodded and created star slips for everyone. "All the information about what I know about Undead Puppetry from Eva and Winter is in them. I also included information about the Spirit Inferno Domain that I got from the old guy before he blew himself up."
Everyone quickly used those star slips as they were now extremely curious about this Undead Puppetry.
At this moment, Eva suddenly sent Ace a mind transmission, "Do you still have that storage ring that you couldn''t open?"
Ace gravely nodded, "I almost forgot about it. If not for the emergence of these corpse puppets, I mightn''t have remembered it. That ring was something that Moon Fiend King kept under extremely tight security, so whatever was inside it, it should be quite precious. "
Ace then quickly searched for the storage ring in his thief''s space that Eva had gotten for him in the Regal Fiend Tower that day, using one of her divine traits. But he couldn''t open it since the system required an upgrade, so he stowed it away andpletely forgot about it.
But now that he encountered the corpse puppetry again, he finally remembered it, and it wouldn''t be a lie to say he wasn''t excited to check what was inside. After all, the Moon Fiend King was from the Mortal Ascension Heaven, and he seemed to be a big shot from some sect, so this also means treasures of the Mortal Ascension Heaven grade!
At that moment, Ace finally found what he was looking for; a ck ring with a crimson ruby embedded in its top. It was the exact same ring that he had gotten from the secretpartment of the Regal Fiend Tower.
Furthermore, now that he was far stronger than before, he could clearly sense a profound aura from the ruby embedded on top of the ring.
At this moment, before he could order the system to open, the system interface suddenly appeared in front of him, startling him.
=====
[Universal Key has detected Ascension Grade-7 Spiritual Law Master Lock on Lower Ascension Grade-7 Storage Space Ring!]
-Unlocking Cost: 10,000,000 TP
-Continue/Later
=====
Ace was astounded when he saw the universal key suddenly trigger on its own and was even more shocked when he found that this storage ring was an Ascension grade-7 treasure!
But he furrowed his brows slightly and asked the system before he continued, "System, why would I need the Universal Key to open this storage ring? Shouldn''t you be opening it like you have been doing in the past?"
"[The Universal Key Function only triggered for ''Locks,'' and this storage ring didn''t just have a ''Spiritual Mark,'' which is an evolved version of Qi Mark. The Spiritual Mark contained the owner''s primew in it, and itsted for a long time, even after its owner''s death.]
"[Normally, a Spiritual Mark can be simply destroyed as long as it is attacked by a stronger Spiritual Mark. However, this ring also has a special lock imbued in it, a Spiritual Lock, that can only be created by a unique branch of Rune Crafters, Lock Masters, and that''s why these locks are called Master Locks!]
"[A master lock is a proper lock, far moreplex than formation locks, and it is made with different mechanisms andplex arrays of formations. Just like you are used to opening the formation locks by breaking the formations, but unlike them, you need to break each formation in a special sequence for a master lock while making sure that a single wrong formation doesn''t trigger the self-destruction sequence of a Master Lock!]
"[That''s why Master Locks are the most protective forms of locks. Each master lock requires a special Key to unlock it, and without it, if anyone tries to open it after a set of failed attempts, the master lock would self-destruct while sending everything in it into the void,
forever lost!]
"[In this case, this ring''s master lock key is the Soul Signature of its previous owner. If you try to forcibly open it, after three failed attempts, everything inside will be gone, along with
the ring.]
"[Of course, if host have deep knowledge of Lock Masters, you could try breaking it which also required special Lock Master Tools for Lock Masters!]"
Chapter 1156: Good ‘Old’ Loot!
Chapter 1156: Good ¡®Old¡¯ Loot!
?
Ace was shocked when he heard about the Lock Masters, apletely new profession entirely devoted to creating locks.
''Doesn''t this mean the treasuries here would be imbued with Master Locks? If I hadn''t gotten the Universal Key, I would have been in huge trouble if I had tried to unlock a treasury with a Master Lock ignorantly. Furthermore, my dismantler principles are still not enough to dismantle this Master Lock.''
In the end, Ace proceeded with using the Universal Key since ten million TP was worth spending on whatever treasures were inside this ring, not to mention that just this ring was enough to spend the TP.
The system quicklyplied after receiving Ace''s confirmation.
=====
[Universal Key has been used on Ascension Grade-7 Spiritual Law Master Lock!]
[The Lower Ascension Grade-7 Storage Space Ring has been unlocked, and the Ascension Grad-7 Spiritual Master Lock has been reset!]
[Thief Point(s): 29,849,000]
=====
Looking at his remaining TP, he sighed. He had spent almost all of his TP buying the contents of the system shop, using the Thief''s House facilities, and,stly, on his Avatar. He was
feeling quite poor now about getting his hands on more TP.
"Make a list of contents within this ring," Ace ordered the system.
After his authority level had been raised, he knew how to use the system better and more efficiently. The next moment, a list appeared in front of him.
=====
[Space Treasure(s)]
- Lower Ascension Grade-7 Storage Space Treasure: 1
[Details: 10,000 Cubic Meters None Living Storage Space with Spirit Qi endurance...]
[Alchemy Treasure(s)]
-Lower Ascension Grade-5:7
[Details: Blood Soul Pills (1), Earth Spirit Poison (2), ...]
-Upper Ascension Grade-5:3
[Details: Corpse Poison]
-Lower Ascension Grade-6:1n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
[Details: Soul Tormenting Elixir]
-Upper Ascension Grade-6: 1
[Details: Earth Swallow Pill]
-Upper Ascension Grade-7: 1
[Details: Bulwark Toxic Blood Essence]
--
[Weapons/Spirit Weapons]
-Upper Ascension Grade-7:1
[Details: Soul Blood Spirit Cauldron (Damaged)]
[Runic Treasure(s)]
-Upper Ascension Grade-7:1
[Details: Grand Space Splitting Formation (Damaged)]
[Refined Spirit Qi Stones/Crystals]
-Lower Ascension Grade-3 (Spirit Qi Stones): 132 Million
-Lower Ascension Grade-3 (Spirit Qi Crystals): 38,941
-Upper Ascension Grade-3 (Spirit Qi Stones): 98 Million
-Upper Ascension Grade-3 (Spirit Qi Crystals): 19,001
-Lower Ascension Grade-4 (Spirit Qi Stones: Earth Element): 42 Million -Lower Ascension Grade-4 (Spirit Qi Crystals: Wind Element): 12,409 -Upper Ascension Grade-4 (Spirit Qi Stones: Earth Element): 132 Million -Upper Ascension Grade-4 (Spirit Qi Crystals: Fire Element): 10,000
-Spirit Nectar Lowe Ascensions Grade-3: 100,300 Drops
-Spirit Nectar Upper Ascensions Grade-3: 90,000 Drops
-Spirit Nectar Lowe Ascensions Grade-4 (Dark Element): 10,748 Drops
-Spirit Nectar Upper Ascensions Grade-4 (Fire Element): 4,119 Drops
(AN NOTE: Spirit Nectar can be used by both Martial and Soul paths; hence, there is no dividence!)
-Spirit Beast Vein Core Fragments Upper Ascension (Sky) Grade-5 (Light Element): 34
[Details: Spirit Beast Vein Core is the true essence of a Spirit Beast Vein, containing the purest form of Spirit Qi of Martial and Soul within it, almost endless! When the Beast Vein Core shattered, its fragments also contained the purest form of spirit Qi, but in a limited amount, and can be used in various different ways!]
[Knowledge(s)]
-Cultivation Technique(s): 2
[Details: Sin Rebirth Scripture (Upper Domain Grade), Blood Puppet Master Records (Lower
Domain Grade)
-Upper Sky Grade Spell(s): 21
[Details: Blood Bullet, Bone Armor, Mind Puppet...]
-Lower Mystical Grade Spell(s): 9
[Details: Blood Mystic Eyes, Ghost Palm...]
-Upper Mystical Grade Spell(s): 7
[Details: Iron Bones, Mind Switch...]
-Lower Domain Grade Spell(s): 1
[Details: Blood Ghost]
-Lower Domain Grade Spell Art(s): 3
[Details: Ghost Steps, Blood Dominion, Ghostly Stealth Sword Strikes
-Upper Domain Grade Forbidden Spell(s): 1
[Details: Blood Ghost Cmity
-Upper Sky Grade Taboo Spell(s): 1
[Details: Poisonous Ghost Advent]
[Raw/Natural Resources/Treasures]
-Lower Ascension Grade-3: 34,499 [Details: Earthen White Iron, ...] -Upper Ascension Grade-3: 40,138
[Details: Volcanic Grass, ...]
...
-Upper Ascension Grade-6: 1
[Details: Deste Poisonous Mushroom]
[Unimportant Items: 93,294]
=====
Ace took a sharp breath when he saw the list of contents of Moon Fiend King''s storage ring. Although this guy wasn''t extremely rich, or it was just that since he was injured, he had used most of the treasures he had umted in his life. This would also exin theck of high- grade healing treasures and broken weapons and formations.
Nevertheless, just this much wealth was enough to leave a first-grade sect and even a second- grade sect to dere war on everyone war!
A peak first-grade sect only has inheritance knowledge up to Upper Sky Grade, while a peak second-grade sect should have knowledge up to Upper Mystical Grade and, in rare cases, Lower Domain Grade.
Yet, Moon Fiend King''s storage ring had upper domain grade knowledge and a cultivation technique that even Ace was interested in, among the knowledge with another lower domain
grade cultivation technique.
''Could it be Moon Fiend King was from the mysterious Third Grade Sect, a King Sect?''
Ace could only think about this possibility, or he simply was too lucky to find an inheritance of
a King Grade Sect, and maybe it was also the case of his doom.
But Ace wasn''t sure since there was too much missing and the old ghost seemed quite desperate for revenge, s, he encountered Ace and now all his wealth was his.
Ace was also intrigued by the Spirit Beast Vein Core Fragments and elemental-type Spirit Stones and Spirit Crystals. Although Avos had already told him about the elemental-type Spirit Stones and Spirit Crystals, he still didn''t haveplete information on their uses.
But now he not only got some but also got this even rarer Spirit Beast Vein Core Fragments of
Light Element.
"Did you unlock it? It seemed there was something good inside." Eva''s curious voice rang at this moment in his mind, and she could sense Ace''s mood lifted after that ring appeared in his
hand.
"It''s more than good. I guess we won''t be starving anytime soon." Ace joked as he finally used his soul signature to bind the unlock Master Lock with him. Then, he finally saw a massive space inside, which goes without saying.
All the treasures were neatly arranged, and at this moment, his eyes suddenlynded on something, apparently an ''Unimportant Item'' dered by the system. He was astounded when he saw what it was!
Chapter 1157 Spirit Coins
Chapter 1157 Spirit Coins
In a secret subterranean city that seemed like a ghost city with its gloomy and dim environment and dark infrastructure, a ck-cloaked figure was sitting cross-legged, surrounded by crimson mist.
At this moment, a pair of glowing crimson eyes filled with eerie sharpness opened, and a husky muttering rang, "My Blood Puppets died right afterpleting the mission? Even the Killing Fiend Curse was neutralized? What is going on?"
The ck-cloaked figure suddenly took a formation te and activated it. The more the formation te shimmered, the brighter the sharp glow in his eyes became.
"Spirit Inferno Domain of Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect, and the target was John Weston, the Second Brother of the current outer branch''s head of the Weston Family. Themission came from the Steward of the outer branch of the Sutton Family¡" He muttered before a sharp glint shed past his eyes.
"Could it be that the Sutton Family killed them to keep this from getting out? No, they should know better if they were able to approach us. Whoever did it must be at least an Ascension Guardian or the Killing Fiend Curse won''t be neutralized. "Nheless, whoever it was, they killed my Ascension Solider grade Blood Puppets and went against the integrity of our cult. They must die and be part of my collection!" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
His killing intent made the crimson churn violently before he suddenly stood up. Suddenly, from the crimson mist, numerous silhouettes appeared behind him.
"It''s been a while since I was personally out in the field¡" His husky voice was filled with murderous intent and a hint of cruel ecstasy!
---
The Western Guardian City has towering dark red walls and two city gates that are always bustling with crowds as they enter and exit, just like the other three-sect cities.
These cities were the biggest economic hubs of the Spirit Inferno Domain, and many people of the domain came here to do business. Even the first-grade sects of the domain had their own personal properties and had opened shops in these cities.
Only the powerful and wealthy could enter and live in these cities, and there were no mortals present; everyone was a cultivator.
"Your Identity Token?" A city gate guard in menacing-looking light red armor asked a youth wearing ck robes and a handsome appearance, but not over the top, for the Identity Tokens.
But what truly drew the guard and other people''s attention were two little beasts sitting resting on his shoulders.
The youth smiled in acknowledgment before flipping his hand. A small violet jade token appeared in his hand, and he respectfully handed it to the guard.
The guard nced at the little bird and the hamster on the youth''s shoulders before he took the token impassively and put it on the runic circle on the small pir beside his booth.
"Violet Yang Grand Sect''s core disciple, George Edward?" The guard impassively asked as the information appeared above the runic circle while he secretly activated a formation under the booth that could detect lies!
The youth nodded nonchntly, "That''s me, sir."
The guard paused for a second before nodding his head. He removed the token from the formation, handed it back to George, and asked, "The reason for your visit?"
"To earn a slot for the uing Artifice Inferno Guardian Sect''s me Disciple entrance test in six years," George replied, his eyes filled with youthful ambition. The guard wasn''t surprised by George''s reason since it was normal for aspiring youths from the first-grade sects to be sent here by their sects to try their luck. But s, most failed before the main entrance test started. The slots for each sect city were very limited, and to get them, one needs talent!
"Sigh¡" The Guard sighed as he looked towards George, who was filled with fighting spirit. He wondered if this guy would break when he realized just what kind of bloody battlefield he was about to enter.
The guard slightly shook his head before he sternly asked, looking towards the two beasts on George''s shoulders, "What about those two beasts? Are they your tamed beasts? You need to register them before you can take them inside the city, and if they cause any trouble, you will be responsible for them, not to mention punished if the damage is too great." George replied smilingly, "No, they are not my tamed beasts but my friends, and they arepletely harmless. You can register them using the names Cyrus and Chuchu. Cyrus is a Fire Raven with an elemental-grade bloodline, and Chuchu is an Inferno Mouse with the same bloodline. If they caused trouble, I''m willing to take full responsibility."
When George introduced them, the two beasts slightly tilted their heads and looked towards the guard with their tiny beady eyes.
The guard couldn''t help but feel that those little fellows looked somewhat excited, like a child ying some game, smug even. He thought it was his imagination before he nodded and operated the runic circle in his hands.
He had been using the lie-detecting formation all this time, and since George''s words weren''t lying, he was clear to enter.
"You and your beast¡ friends are registered. That would be 10 Tier-3 Spirit Coins." The guard asked for the entrance fee for all three of them.
Spirit Coins were actually themon currency of Mortal Ascension Heaven since whether they were Qi stones/Soul Crystals or Spirit Stones/Spirit Crystals, they had different grades and Qi density values. Higher-grade Qi/Spirit stones and crystals became increasingly important as the cultivators increased their cultivation.
This was especially true for the Spirit Stones and Spirit Crystals, which could only be used by Law State cultivators and were poisonous for elemental state cultivators. The elemental grade treasures werepletely useless for Law State cultivators.
That''s why the Spirit Coins were introduced by a very powerful existence known throughout the Mortal Ascension Heaven, with an unfathomable background: the Prime Heavenly Bank, the most secured and wealthiest power known in existence.
Their branches were spread in every territory known to men, and their currency was acknowledged by everyone, not to mention their integrity and protection were top-notch, and many high-level existences used their services. They had also earned the reputation as the safest ce in the entire Mortal Ascension Heaven, and no one knows just how old their linage actually was, the Prime Heavenly Bank was a true Ancient existence which no one wanted to offend! The Spirit Coins were divided into Tier-0 to Tier-9. One Tier-0 Spirit Coin was equal to One peak grade-9 spirit stone or soul crystal, and anyone could exchange them for each other anytime from any power or directly from the Prime Heavenly Bank branch.
The Tier-1 to Tier-9 Spirit Stones can be exchanged for Upper Ascension Grade-1 to Upper Ascension Grade-9 Spirit Stones or Spirit Crystals at an equal 1/1 exchange rate.
However, if the Spirit Stones or Spirit Crystals were ''raw'' instead of ''refined,'' the exchange rate would be 10 raw spirit stones or spirit crystals of upper ascension grade for 1 Spirit Coin all the way from Tier-1 to Tier-9.
Furthermore, Spirit Coins can''t be exchanged with ''Lower Grade'' spirit stones or spirit crystals, which increases their value and gives them the same credibility as thetter ¡ªeven slightly more!
George wasn''t surprised when he heard the guard demanded ''Spirit Coins.'' He ced ten upper grade-3 refined spirit stones, which seemed to be like emerald pearls with three visible white rings around the peals.
"I don''t have Spirit Coins, but these would be sufficient, right?" George asked politely.
The guard checked the quality of the spirit stones and nodded before putting them away. He suddenly shed a smile and said, "You may enter. Wee to the Western Guardian Sect City. I hope you achieve what you''vee here to aplish, young man, and remember, don''t cause trouble!"
"Oh, I will!" George ambiguously chucked as he moved towards the entrance, his eyes shimmering with anticipation, ''Prime Heavenly Bank, how fascinating. Although they are extremely powerful, they also literally hold the title of the wealthiest target of them all!''
Chapter 1158: Western Guardian Sect City
Chapter 1158: Western Guardian Sect City
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The Western Guardian Sect City was marvelous and built like a fortress
The first sight that greets any visitor is the colossal ramparts. Constructed from magical granite volcanic rock that shone in the night, these walls stretch for miles, punctuated by fortified towers that pierce the sky like watchful giants.
A contingent of guards manned each tower, their watchful eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of threat. At the base of the walls, a deep moat snakes around the city, acting as an additional barrier.
At this moment, George, or Ace in George''s disguise, with hispanions, Cyrus and Chuchu, stepped through the heavily guarded gates and entered a bustling metropolis unfolding before them.
Surprisingly vibrant for a ce built in the volcands of the Spirit Inferno Domain, narrow, cobbled streets wound their way between tightly packed houses, all built with sturdy practicality in mind. Every inch of space seemed to be utilized, with workshops tucked beneath overhanging balconies and gardens flourishing in rooftop plots.
The air thrummed with the sounds of daily life - the rhythmic ng of the cksmith''s hammer, the shouts of vendors hawking their wares, and the rhythmic clip-clop of strange, six-wheel carriages, without any beasts that navigated the crowded streets with surprising agility.
"Young Master, are you looking for a guide? I''m the best Guide in the city, and I know every ce; my servers are very cheap, only One Tier-1 Spirit Coin an hour!"
"Lies! Go fool someone else. How could this dashing young lord fall into your tricks? Don''t believe this old geezer; I''m the only one who knew every nook and canny of the city! I only charge 1 Tier-Spirit for 2 hours!"
Ace was suddenly flooded by a bunch of excited guides when they saw his lonely figure just entering the city, and he was alone. Many guides were also approaching those without carriages and walking out of the gates.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The carriage passage was a few meters away from the walkers. It was a vast road, and no one dared stand there to bother those people in carriages.
Cyrus and Chuchu were a little surprised, especially Chuchu since it was her first time seeing so many humans surrounding them like this.
At this moment, Ace suddenly rubbed his finger on her head to cate her before he smiled and replied to those guides, "Gentlemen, it''s not my first time in the city, so I would
apologize for wasting your time. Now, if you''ll excuse me."
Those excited guides instantly stumped; some even clicked their tongues in annoyance, knowing they couldn''t earn anything from this young man.
Furthermore, they could tell that he wasn''t new here since new people would be agitated by their sudden approach. Especially those youths who belonged to the first-grade sects/bumpkins, as they were rtively afraid of offending anyone here because of the background of this ce.
However, what they didn''t know was Ace didn''t need them, just their memories were enough, after all, most of them were Soul Realm cultivators or weaker. He can easily steal their memories within seconds after his newly controlled power.
Ace nonchntly passed the crowd of guides and started to stroll around the city while admiring the peaceful, bustling ce. It had been a while since he had been in such a ce without any pressure of mission.
Furthermore, he was alone because the house members decided to venture out into other cities with different purposes in mind like to infiltrate and raise their influence, seek out a certain assassination organization for revenge, acquire HP farmers, prepare for descending into a chaotic yet unknown world, and tie up some loose ends like family.
Ace didn''t restrict anyone since he knew that after they found out about their true origin, they all had their own ns to help him or preserve their lives. On the other hand, Eva''s case was special, so he could only tell her to be careful and alert him if she was in danger since he had the means to help her or any house members.
But Alina''s decision truly shocked him, and one of the biggest reasons was that she had finally refined knowledge in the first seal of her inheritance. She told Ace that she needed to seek her own resources and grow her power in a special way, and this was also for training in Celestial Thief methods.
ording to her, she can''t stay in one ce if she wants to raise her power and tap into the secrets of the celestial thief, especially after Evapleted her evolution into a true Void Abyssal Devil. She can tell the she-devil has be more powerful, and she doesn''t want to stay behind to give her any chance to be stronger than hers.
In the end, Ace could only tell her the same thing he told Eva before they all parted ways, and he was left with Cyrus and Chuchu. He also decided not to keep them in the living thief''s space anymore and let them experience the world, especially after the incident with Cyrus.
Now, here he was in George''s disguise after upgrading his mask to a Grade-1 Ascension Spirit Treasures, the Millennium Change Wizard Mask. As for who George was, let''s say he was some unlucky fellow who had offended someone and was on the verge of dying when Ace found him.
Ace took his memories before he died since he was a 1-Star Ascension Solider and got his identity, which was actually the only thing he had at that time-only his identity token. All of this was done with George''s consent and with one promise to avenge his unfair death, which was also one-sided since Ace never agreed to it, but it was still quite convenient for him.
"Big bro, where are you going now?" Cyrus asked through voice transmission with a hint of excitement. The little guy could sense many ''delicious'' things in this ce. But he knew better to run off independently since Ace was present and had already warned him against it.
"We are going to scout this ce first before making a n. There are many rich people here, but we need to avoid anyone with any connection to the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect or anyone directly rted to them. This will dy their reaction since it will be toote by the time they realize something amiss." Ace exined without hiding his thoughts since this was about ''teaching'' the little guy the way of a thief or how to remain cautious.
"Another important thing, every bright ce has a dark side to it. No matter what you see on the warm surface, the deeper you go, the more dark and cold it is. Dark is where we''ll operate. Nothing is perfect nor absolute."
Ace knew there were many sects'' businesses in this ce, some merchants who roamed around the Spirit Inferno domain, and he knew there had to be some shady, hidden businesses and under-the-table deals. They would be his first targets before he moved up thedder and targeted the Weston Family!
Chapter 1159: Inferno Weapon Smith Association (1)
Chapter 1159: Inferno Weapon Smith Association (1)
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In the central region of the Western Guardian Sect City, this ce was also called the Weston District because it was where the people of the Weston n lived, and no one was allowed here without permission.
At this moment, a few figures were gathering in avish meeting hall, sitting around arge table and looking solemnly at the gloomy middle-aged man with short light red hair and a thick beard. He was the one with the title Western Guardian, also the head of the Weston n''s outer branch, Lloyd Weston. The people sitting around the table were Elders, with status only below Lloyd.
"John was assassinated five days ago!" Lloyd spoke in a grim tone as a hint of sadnessced with dens killing intent shed past his eyes.
"What!?"
"Is this true!?"
The elders'' expressions finally changed as they all eximed with different reactions. It finally dawned on them why Lloyd suddenly pulled them out from their posts and also exined the reason for his gloomy mood.
"I''ve confirmed it. Five days ago, his Life Jade broke, and after I personally investigated, I found traces of Forbidden Spell, me of Destruction, being used on the outskirts of Forbidden Wall.
"We all know that spell is ourst resort, and once used, the oue is certain death. So, this also brings to my conclusion that John was assassinated, and the assassins were too strong for him to even have him use the forbidden spell to sacrifice his own life." Lloyd stated as his killing intent intensified.
After all, John was his brother, and they had a very good rtionship. Not to mention, John was special as he was a prot¨¦g¨¦ of Spirit Weapon Forging, a One-Star Spirit Weapon Forger above the Grad-9 Runic Smith!
Furthermore, he was also one of the ranked Forger Disciples of the outer sect court of Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect and a direct disciple of an Outer Court Forger Elder. He was here to gain experience, while the truth was he was here to help Lloyd evaluate the status of Western Guardian Sect City and, with that, his own outer branch family as well.
After all, although they are named Weston, one of the four ruling ns of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect, they do not belong to the main n''s direct bloodline, and to get their attention and resources, they need merits and achievements.N?v(el)B\\jnn
It was also the same case for the other three guardian sect cities as well, and what could be a better way to earn merits by directlypeting with each other? After all, the four ns were bitter rivals as they always secretly shed with each other for the Sect Master, otherwise known as the Artifice Guardian Master''s position.
Furthermore, only the ''Forger Disciple'' or ''Forger Faction'' has a true say in the sect because they are the sect''s true backbone, while the other faction, the ''me Faction'' of ''me Disciples'', is the sect''s shield, as they are all fighters.
That''s why their background status was also elevated whenever a Forger Disciple appeared. The requirement to be an Outer Forger Disciple was a ''One-Star Spirit Weapon Forger'' that can create at least a lower ascension grade-1 weapon, while an Outer me Disciple status can be achieved by bing a 1-Star Ascension Solider and passing the corresponding entrance test. The difference in treatment was too big!
Overseeing the Outer and Inner me Disciples and Forger Disciples were Outer and Inner me Elders and Forger Elders. Both were part of the Outer and Inner Court of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect.
Above them were the Chief me Disciples and Chief Forger Disciples, and overseeing them were the me Masters and Forger Masters. Then, finally, the Sect Leader, the Artifact Guardian Master, and above him were elusive Grand Guardians, the Grand Artifact Guardian Masters.
"It has to be those Sutton bastards! Don''t you know the moment Elder Brother came out from the sect, the fourth sessor of the Southern Guardian Sect City'' Sutton n also made his appearance? The Second Lord had also made that vile fellow suffer great humiliation in a Forging Challenge!
"Since then, those Sutton Bastards are alwaysing in our way, yet Elder Brother always managed to make them suffer losses. But now, the thorn in their path is gone! n Head, please give me permission to avenge Elder Brother!" A woman with charming features eximed while trembling with eyes full of grievance and hatred.
"Elder... Little Marguerite..." Lloyd and everyone else sighed ruefully, as they knew Elder Marguerite and John were lovers.
Marguerite was also a me Disciple, while John was a Forger Disciple of Outer Court, and not only that, they had been together since childhood.
Lloyd clenched his fists as he felt even more indignant and had the same thoughts as Marguerite. He knew the Sutton n was the prime suspect behind John''s uncanny death.
But he can''t let his emotions get the better of him; without any evidence, the Sutton were untouchable, and if they made some reckless move, they would suffer. He can''t let Marguerite take rash action, either.
"Don''t worry, Elder Marguerite. I''ve already contacted John''s master, and I''m sure the Outer Sect Court would''ve already been alert by John''s death since they took a Forger Disciple''s uncanny death extremely seriously, which is a matter of upholding the sect''s integrity. "I''m sure John''s master would be here any moment now with Sect Enforcers. They can easily find out what happened to John, and those Sutton bastards won''t be able to hide for long!" Lloyd gritted his teeth as he suppressed his fury and urged to go on a rampage in Southern Guardian Sect City.
While a slight undercurrent raged, Ace stood before a grand fifty-floor pagoda with rows of lines outside. Everyone seemed extremely respectful as they waited for their turns.
He saw the grand sigil of an imposing crimson ''Fire Bird'' craved from some glowing crimson mineral. Just by looking at it, one would feel a burning sensation. It was the symbol of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect.
Ace looked towards the imposing name carved on the entrance, which seemed to be burning like a living me, ''Inferno Weapon Smith Association.''
''ording to the memories of those guides, this association was established by some Forger Master many years ago to give the Forger Disciples a tform to practice their forging skills with other people''s materials and forge weapons for others. It''s a win-win scenario.
''But who could''ve thought that the same Elder''s sessor turned it into a huge business and spread the Ascension far and wide? Now, they not only ept requests but also let unaffiliated forgers join the association and seek talented disciples through it.''
Ace''s eyes shimmered with intrigue as he walked towards a line and mused, ''Not only that, they also sell weapons... let''s see if I can gather some materials for Universal Ascension ck Physique from here before going into the ck Market!''
Chapter 1160: Inferno Weapon Smith Association (2)
Chapter 1160: Inferno Weapon Smith Association (2)
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The first floor of the Inferno Weapon Smith Association pagoda was massive and divided into multiple sections ording to their services. The most crowded section was the ''Forger Commission Section,'' and there were private VIP rooms.
Ace entered the pagoda with Cyrus and Chuchu on his shoulders. Both children looked around thevish interior with twinkling eyes. The truth was they were both excited because they could sense an ''abundance of food'' in this ce, and if Ace had told them to do as they wished, they would''ve long caused amotion.
"Please don''t block the entrance, Sir." A beautiful petite woman wearing a red uniform with white outlines impassively called when she saw Ace looking around the shop while standing a few meters away from the door.
But Ace was clearly not blocking the way, as he wasn''t a neer to such a ce. He nced towards the woman who seemed to be a staff member. Although she may sound polite, Ace knew she was hiding her contempt. But this contempt wasn''t towards just him, but for everyone, as if she considered everyone beneath her, and she had this unapproachable aura around her.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace''s eyes shimmered with a peculiar glint before turning to normal, as he didn''t mind, and smiled apologetically.
He moved towards the impassive-faced woman, "Forgive me, miss. It''s my first time on an adventure, so I was just admiring the novelty of the Inferno Weapon Smith Association. Can you please point me where the Association sold goods?"
The woman''s eyes narrowed slightly when she saw Ace suddenly approach her, which no one dared to do after they saw her stoic yet stern face and disrespectful attitude.
But whenever someone with some backboneined, no one dared to do anything to this woman, which gave everyone the wrong impression that the Inferno Weapon Smith Association wouldn''t punish its people even if they were impolite.
The woman then nced towards the two cute fellows on this young man''s shoulders, and a hint of interest shed past her eyes. She hesitated momentarily before saying, "If sir is here to purchase, then you should head to the second floor after paying the entrance fee of 1 Tier-3 Spirit Coin."
"You even charge Spirit Coins just to enter the second floor? Not to mention a Tier-3 one at that. Then how much would your weapons cost?" George smacked his lips in dismay and dissatisfaction.
"No one is forcing you, Sir; you can always go to another business." The woman impassively replied without intending to exin what a staff member shouldn''t do.
"Tsk, only if another business could meet my demands." George sighed ruefully.
''Is he pretending to be some big shot?'' The woman''s eyes shed with contempt, and she subtly retorted, "Don''t worry, sir. We will fulfill all your demands as long as you can afford it."
"Then do you guys have 99 Upper Ascension Grade-1 Weapons with Dark Element Affinity?" George asked, full of provocation.
"What?! 99 Upper Ascension Grade-1 Weapons with affinity? Are you messing with me?" She was shocked before she red fiercely at George, who casually demanded many weapons as if he were buying cabbages. Not to mention, he wanted all of them to be upper grade, and their affinity needed to be Dark elements as well.
Everyone knew what an Ascension Grade Weapon with an ''Affinity'' implied, a Quasi Spirit Ascension Grade Weapon because, at Ascension Grade, the affinity wouldn''t be mere ''Element'' but it would be ''Law'' because only Law State cultivators would use Ascension Grade Weapons.
That''s why making an ascension-grade weapon with a certain affinity was very hard because it allowed a weapon to interact with the naturalws and manipte them. Only 4-Star Spirit Weapon Forger were qualified to start researching this aspect of Spirit Weapon Forging. Furthermore, granting an ascension-grade weapon an affinity was also the main requirement for a ''Spirit Ascension Grade Weapon.'' Which was the territory of 7-Star Spirit Weapon Forgers. That''s why an ascension weapon with element affinity was also called a ''Quasi Spirit Ascension Grade Weapon.
Now, Ace was suddenly demanding 99 of such weapons, which only a 4-Star Spirit Weapon Forger was capable of making. Even though they didn''t have a 100% sess rate, even a 30% sess rate was a miracle, and that''s the case for Ascensions Grade-1 since the sess rate would only decrease by a huge margin as the grades go higher.
Even the President of the Inferno Weapon Smith Association of Western Guardian Sect City was only a 3-Star Spirit Weapon Forger and an Outer Sect Forger Elder of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect.
A 4-Star Spirit Weapon Forger could only be found among the Forger Elders of the inner sect of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect.
Ace sighed in disappointment. Although he already knew this, he still tried his luck here since this ce was directly under the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect. However, it seemed he could only try his luck in the ck market.
He bickered with this woman because she had the same kind of seal on her memories as John, which stopped his soul probe when he wanted to acquire information from her about this ce. He didn''t dare use his thief sense in this ce either since he might trigger some rm or, worse, alert someone he shouldn''t.
Anyhow, just this much was enough for Ace to know that this woman''s background wasn''t simple, and her being here seemed to have some deeper meaning.
"See, didn''t I tell you no one can meet my demands? Even the Inferno Weapon Smith Association couldn''t? Sigh..." George sighed with frustration as if he was extremely
disappointed with Inferno Weapon Smith Association.
The woman was speechless seeing George''s reaction: ''And here I was punished because I was arrogant and didn''t know my limit? This guy is clearly worse than me!''
Deep indignation shone in the woman''s eyes as she secretly despised her master for punishing her like this just because she pped some perverts and maybe she was somewhat ''loud'' with some respected elders, but she clearly didn''t deserve to be a door receptionist, and this annoying guy was behaving as if he owed the world. If not for her punishment, she would''ve already pped him to the end of the world.
However, she was again startled when she saw the guy silently turn around while shaking his head and walking towards the exit. This made her even more speechless, as she thought he was too deep into his act.
The woman has no intention of stopping Ace as she knows this guy is only here to fool around, even secretly ''flirt'' with her by using his strange pickup lines.
But at this moment, Ace''s step suddenly halted because in front of him stood a slim young man wearing the same kind of uniform as the woman, and he had this gentle smile on his face which gave others a feeling of warmth, but his eyes were extremely narrow, and with his smile, they werepletely hidden like two slits, but for Ace, his smile was more like a
devil''s greeting.
"Junior Sister, is this guest bothering you?" The young man still smiled as his narrowed eyes curled slightly.
"I hope you''re not blind because if you could see, then I was about to leave if you haven''t blocked my way. Now, if you could get out of me before I help you seal those eyes for good," George dismissively berated before the young woman could reply.
The young man with narrowed eyes was shocked, as was the woman and everyone who heard themotions. They were in disbelief, and some even gloated at the young man''s misfortune, who clearly didn''t know the difference between sky and earth.
After all, those who recognized the narrowed-eyes young man knew George had just stepped on andmine because the former ''Pagoda Manger'' and also one of the two direct disciples of the President of the Inferno Weapon Smith Association of Western Guardian Sect City, Wace Oriente!
Chapter 1161: A Thief without Patience…
Chapter 1161: A Thief without Patience¡
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Wace''s eyes shed a cold glint when he heard George''s overbearingment before he pulled an icy cold smile and asked, "Are you new here, dear customer?"
Although his voice was still warm, the people watching could tell that he was angry. Some even coldly sneered as they looked towards George''s and gloated. Some even remembered his appearance and decided to secretly ''teach'' the guy a lesson to please Wace.
"Wace, don''t create a scene. He''s about to leave, and I don''t need your help." The woman, who Wace called ''Junior Sister,'' coldly retorted before George could reply.
Although she was also annoyed by George''s over-the-top attitude, she had to admit that this guy was fearless. From their conversation, she knew he was new in this ce and didn''t know who he was messing with. Nheless, she didn''t want to create a scene unless she wanted to be punished for it for no reason.
"Well, indeed, I''ve arrived in the city not long ago. Do you have a problem with that? Are you going to stop me from leaving because you can''t ''talk''?" George suddenly scoffed as he looked directly into Wace''s narrowed eyes.
Wace''s smile suddenly grew even colder, and his eyes seemed almost closed. Before he stepped aside, he said, "Please, dear customer, you are free to leave, and I apologize if I offended you. The doors of the Weapon Smith Association are always open for you if you ever decide toe back."
Wace then didn''t pay the ignorant guy any attention and looked towards the woman behind him and smilingly said, "I was here to notify you that your ''shift'' is over, Junior Sister. Follow me."
Without waiting for the woman''s reply, he turned around and started walking towards the upper floor, and no one dared stand in his way.
"You should know when to take a step back." The woman faintly said that only George could hear and shook her head ruefully before she followed Wace under everyone''s curious gazes. After all, they were quite curious about whom this woman was that made Wace personallye here, and some of them had some pretty good ideas about her identity. They sighed regretfully when they thought how they had missed a huge opportunity.
On the other hand, George simply smiled without any fear and left, and some people, at this moment, quickly left as well.
"Why didn''t you let me burn that prick?" Cyrus suddenly questioned with a dissatisfied voice as Ace exited the Weapon Smith Association.
"Language." Ace chided smilingly before he cated the little fellow by rubbing his head, "He''s probably in thete stages of Ascensions Solider (7-Star~9-Star), and he clearly has a backing, not to mention he was on his own turf. Furthermore, do you think I would be so rash to offend him? Do you think I like to make enemies like yourself?"
"Then why?" Cyrus asked with clear confusion.
"It''s because he has massive influence, and people like him had many others who do their bidding just so to earn his favor. But if they failed, then he would send his own people if he had a vain personality and arrogant ego.
"That''s why I target him because he''s such a person, and now, he''ll be our treasure farm who would personally deliver free treasures to us without even doing anything. All we need to do is to select a location where we can harvest those treasures. And don''t forget that he has someone else above him; once we harvest this farm, a much richer and bigger one will take his ce.
"However, this strategy only worked on people who are drunk on power and status and thought themselves the center of the world." Ace chuckled as he recounts his personal experience with people like Wace.
Furthermore, he was paying attention to the fate map, which now showed multiple red fate points following behind him. One had to know that before meeting with Wace, there weren''t any red fate points at all.
However, when Wace appeared before him and questioned him for the time, his fate points suddenly changed into a red one, which made Ace somewhat baffled since he didn''t even know the guy, yet he showed malicious intentions for no reason.
Although he didn''t want to tangle with the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect''s people yet, it was another story if their people targeted him for no reason. That''s why he decided to show an overbearing attitude. After all, this won''t change the fact that Wace already had vile intentions towards him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
So, why not directly offend him and take full advantage of the situation? After all, he was going to start harvesting the TP eventually, and Wace just had to go ahead and volunteer himself.
"OH!" Cyrus''s eyes shone with admiration when he finally understood why Ace did what he did, although it was still unclear which part he understood, "H-how do we find people with lots of delicious food? Cyrus also wants to farm!"
Ace smiled wryly, "You need to experience to spot such people, and even then, it''s not always spot on. Sometimes, people do what they do for other reasons, as they hide behind the mask of curtly. Take me for example. I''m not arrogant or someone who seeks trouble without any cause, but I still pretend to be like one. And now, that guy will suffer under my hands because he wasn''t able to see through me.
"The same goes for us. If we judge someone wrongly, we''ll seek our own doom, and there will be no one to me but ourselves. You have already encountered the mountain tyrant, who was doing the same thing. We should always keep our distance from people like them and quickly retreat while we still have the chance.
"Lastly, always take targets who can handle them; there is no need to be greedy from the start. I''ve suffered enough to know patience is the key to wealth, and a Thief without patience is nothing but a freebooter!"
Ace smiled thievishly as he found himself in an alley with a dead end. When he turned around, no one was there, so he said coldly, "Well, gentlemen, why don''t youe out and tell me why you are following me? Let''s chat!"
Chapter 1162: Devilish Wise Owl Surfaced!
Chapter 1162: Devilish Wise Owl Surfaced!
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"Well, gentlemen, why don''t youe out and tell me why you are following me? Let''s chat!"
When George''s voice rang, two cloaked figures suddenly appeared at the alley entrance; one of them guffawed, "Hahaha, for an ignorant brat, you sure have a keen sense. Or it''s just that you know that you have offended something you shouldn''t have, and now you are going to bed for mercy?"
Ace didn''t reply right away and instead focused on the two cloaked figures'' heads. The next moment, two invisible interfaces appeared on their heads.
=====
[Thief Point Meter: 14,300 Thief Point Avable].
[Thief Point Meter: 20,020 Thief Point Avable].
=====
"Tsk, not even enough for a Low-Level Thievery. Well, I guess I should expect this much after the system''s damn adjustment.'' Ace sighed with righteous indignation in his heart.
"It''s not the matter of whether I''m going to for mercy or not, but the question is the others who are hiding, aren''t you going toe out before these two grab the ''merit''?" George dismissively stated as if those two 2-Star Ascension Soldiers were nothing annoying flies. "Still arrogant and ignorant? I see; it seemed your elders didn''t teach you respect. A pity, it''s going to be your doom." The other man coldly sneered.
But no one other than these two men stepped forward as if they were still watching to see what George was capable of, especially with his arrogance. These two were clearly cannon folders and the most impatient of the people who targeted George.
However, Ace didn''t mind, as his cold smile didn''t leave his face, and his fingers twitched slightly at this moment. The next moment, the storage rings around those two cloaked men suddenly vanished without a trace, and an inky symbol started to bloom in their ce. But those men still didn''t react, as they had no idea what had just happened.
Ace didn''t even bother checking the system notifications or the contents of the storage rings he had stolen. What he was paying attention to was that the Qi within his body suddenly churned ever so slightly and increased by a sliver.
Although it was minuscule and almost non-existent, Ace was ecstatic since the thing about hastening his cultivation with stealing was legit. Not to mention, he vaguely felt a strangew suddenly stir, but it was so vague that Ace thought it was only an illusion.
Nheless, since his thief symbol had already surfaced in the Mortal Ascension Heaven, there was no point in restraining himself anymore. After all, he had done this knowing about the consequences, yet this time, his n waspletely different. The biggest change was that he wasn''t going to discard George''s identity and hide him for the time being.
"Well, it was nice talking with you. Remember not to provoke others just because of some big wig favor. It''s alwayse to bite back to your ass!" George suddenlyughed with disdain.
"Bastard...wait! Where did he go!" The first person who spoke was instantly enraged, but before he could take action, the ''brat'' in front of him suddenly turned translucent before hepletely vanished. His presence waspletely gone as if he was a ghost!
"I can''t sense him!" His partner was equally shocked and fearful. He released a translucent blue Qi thatpletely enveloped the entire alley, yet he still couldn''t find any trace of George.
"Did he use some teleportation treasure to escape?" He muttered with disbelief.
First, he didn''t sense any space fluctuation at all since his martial sense waspletely locked on George from the start, and he clearly didn''t sense any strange movement from the other party. Second, a treasure that could teleport someone without anyone''s notice was extremely rare. Even the big wigs of the four guardian sect cities might not have such a luxurious item to spare.
His disbelief turned into greed almost instantly the moment he realized this, and it wasn''t just him, his partner, and even those hidden experts who were observing all this time had the same trail of thoughts.
Nheless, this still deterred many because it could only mean that George''s background was not simple at all, and they started to drop their thoughts about George.
After all, if they unknowingly provoked someone with an even deeper background just for an imaginary favor to please a guy who might not even acknowledge them, they would take serious risk for nothing and instead earn themselves a terrible enemy instead.
However, those guys who were nning to drop the matter didn''t know that the ''mysterious brat'' wasn''t gone at all, and he didn''t use any teleportation treasure to escape. Instead, he was using stealth with the Prime Law of Darkness imbued with it, and it was so strong that no one could detect him unless they had powerful detection abilities or spells above his Prime Law! Furthermore, it wasn''t just a simplew but an Order!
Furthermore, with his Apparition Wind Walk at level 9 and supported by the enchantment spell ck Tempest at the intermediate stage, his speed could rival a 1-Star Ascension
Warrior!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Using this exact speed, Ace was crossed by the hidden spots of those experts, and as his finger tapped the empty air in rhythm, system notifications rang continuously in his head.
It was like he was ying an instrument, and the system voice was like a tone. It was a strange, harmonious feeling that Ace absolutely enjoyed since his TP and his cultivation were increasing.
Once he was done stealing from 23 more people who were foolish enough to follow George to please Wace and earn himself around 250,000 TP without triggering any level of thievery, he vanished while those guys were still making up their minds, leaving the irrefutable proof of his existence, his thief symbol.
But they still weren''t qualified to know his name, ''Sky Stealer'', all because they were
extremely poor.
"Wait! What the fuck is this ghastly sigil!? Where is my storage treasure!?" A sudden shrilled scream suddenly rang around the block, filled with disbelief and horrible anguish.
"What in the actual name of Heaven! Is this some kind of curse!? Who did it? Who stole this old man''s treasures!"
"NOOOOOOO... just w-w-w-w-whoooooo?! I''ll kill you!"
That peculiar evening, people heard powerful hollered like pigs being ughtered, from a remote block of the Western Guardian City, and what terrify everyone was those hollered were followed by extremely terrifying auras, the aftermath almost turned the entire block into
ruin.
The City Guards quickly took action against those ''lunatics'' before the truth of the matter finally surfaced, which caused a small sensation among a selective ss of people!
Chapter 1163: Entering the Black Market!
Chapter 1163: Entering the ck Market!
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"So, you''re telling me that bumpkin escaped under your watch and even stole your storage ring, and if it wasn''t humiliating enough, he even left his ''mark'' on you that you can''t remove!?"
Wace stood in his private herb garden, in front of a glowing herb as he watered it with extremely precious Ascension Grade-1 Spirit Nectar, as he spoke coldly to a burly man wearing the same kind of uniform as the Inferno Weapon Smith Association members. Still, there was a glowing crimson me symbol on his rob, different from the ''Crimson Cauldron'' symbol on Wace''s.
This burly man with stern features and fierce eyes was a me Disciple, Irv Oriente, and the most loyal follower of Wace and his cousin. He also belonged to the Oriente family, one of the four top ns of the Artifice Inferno Sect, who control the Eastern Guardian Sect City.
At this moment, the normally arrogant and overbearing Irv had a vicious expression on his ghastly face, filled with fury and hatred, as he looked at the small horned owl tattoo on his finger, which was extremely vivid and imposing.
But in Irv''s eyes, it was a symbol of mockery and humiliation because, just half an hour ago, there used to be a storage ring instead of this hateful owl symbol. He still couldn''t believe that it was the work of an ''ant'' whom he could crush as he wished; it was like a nightmare.
"Lord Wace, I don''t know how he did it, but it happened too fast, and I''m not the only one who was caught off guard by that vile bastard! I''ll make sure to pay him a hundredfold next time!" Irv gritted his teeth as he vowed.
If previously he was only going after George under Wace''s secret order, now it was personal, and he won''t rest until he avenges his grievance and wash away this humiliation with that hateful fellow''s blood.
"Next time?" Wace finally stopped watering the herb and looked towards Irv before he nced at Wace''s finger, and his narrowed eyes almost turned into slits; killing intent shone in his eyes as he looked towards the owl symbol.
"Does this mean you''ve already found his whereabouts and know who he is?" He asked coldly. Irv was pale as he shook his head, breaking into a cold sweat. He knew the calmer Wace seemed, the angrier he was. Irv quickly exined, "N-no, Lord Wace, but he had stolen from many people, and the City Guards won''t sit still and detain him, no matter his background. I''ve also sent some men to gather information about him."
Wace scoffed with disdain, "You''re still as dumb as ever, cousin. Think about it for a second with me; a 1-Star Ascension Solider not only managed to pull the wool over many Ascension Solders, who were all stronger than him, but he even managed to steal their storage rings right under their noses and even a 6-Star Ascension Solider like you are his victim. Tell me if you know anyone who can do the same within a matter of seconds!"
Irv was ashen, as he had no excuse or words to refute that statement. He knew this was surreal, and no matter how much he hated that fellow, he had to admit that guy was
extremely mysterious and had strange abilities.
Seeing Irv speechless, Wace continued, a peculiar glint shing past his eyes, "Now, think if he used the ability for assassination instead of petty thievery? I''m pretty confident that I wouldn''t be seeing your grumbling about your failure but your corpse right now!"
Irv''s eyes widened as he trembled slightly. A sudden chill ran down his spine just thinking about the consequences of Wace''s implication. He suddenly started to feel somewhat lucky that he had escaped a cmity. Although he lost his treasures, his life was more important. "Hmph!" Wace sneered, seeing Irv''s reaction before he solemnly said as he looked towards the symbol on his finger, "That guy is far more conniving and insidious than I''ve thought. If I''m not wrong, what he did back then was all part of his n, and what he actually wanted by not killing anyone, only taking away your treasures, and then leaving behind this mysterious curse mark is all because he wanted to promote himself, and draw the attention of the big wigs of the Western Guardian Sect City.
"After all, with his uncanny abilities, even the sect elders might be interested in him, not to mention the Weston family, who is at loggerheads with the Sutton family. Those so-called city guards are all loyal to the Weston family, and once they report it to the Weston family, I''m pretty sure the result won''t be what you expect it to be. I''ve already got contact from our spies, and they have already started to investigate his background."
Wace''s eyes suddenly shed with killing intent as he uttered, "All in all, that guy used me as a stepping stone to show off his abilities. He directly pped my face, and I don''t like being used by others, especially by ignorant vermin who didn''t know the difference between us.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"If he thinks I would back down after his clown show, he didn''t know who he''s messing with. Go, I''ve already contacted the n, and they are sending a few people; I''ll leave you in charge. But this is yourst chance!"
Irv''s eyes glowed with murderous intent as he quickly nodded, "I won''t disappoint you, Lord Wace!" He then quickly left while rubbing the tattoo on his finger as the rage in his heart burned even more fiercely.
Once Irv was gone, Wace clenched his fist, releasing a powerful shockwave, and muttered, "I won''t be humiliated by some unknown clown!"
While the Western Guardian Sect City was slowly learning about George''s ''disy,'' the man himself was walking in a maze of dark alleyways, wearing a dark hood over his head.
It was bizarre because there wasn''t such a huge maze of alleys in the city, yet as he turneders, multiple crossroads appeared before him, and he took careful and calctive steps.
At this moment, when he stepped inside another alleyway, the vision in front of him suddenly changed, and he appeared in front of bleak streets filled with cloaked figures walking silently. It was a stark contrast to the bustling city.
Ace''s eyes shone when he saw the ce, and his lips curled up, ''I''ve finally arrived in the ck market!''
Chapter 1164: Sea of Secrets
Chapter 1164: Sea of Secrets
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The ck market of the Western Guardian Sect City didn''t have an ordinary background, for it was spread throughout the entire Spirit Inferno Domain, and the person who established it was an unknown expert.
The formation used to hide the ck market was enough proof of this unknown expert''s resourcefulness, and despite being awless ce, no one dared mess with the ck market''s mysterious management.
The reason for its poprity was simple: all kinds of goods, from treasures to ves, even stolen goods, were sold here without question, and those who had the privilege of knowing about this ce had something inmon: they all wanted to hide something.
Although Ace was aware of the concept of the ck market, even he had to admit that the scale of this ce was extremely huge, and they were fearless while running this kind of ce right under the Artifice Inferno Guardian Sect''s nose.
As he walked on the streets of the ck market, he observed the stands of cloaked pers filled with all kinds of items. Some even stood with cages filled with ves, and those cloaked buyers were gathered around them, clearly interested in those ves.
Although the Spirit Inferno Domain didn''t have the custom of selling ves, especially humans, the Domain was dominated by humans, and Ace had yet to see or hear about any other race except for the magic beasts.
But in this ce, there were no morals, and some people especially caught these human ves from viges. People bought them for different reasons, whether sexual or experimental.
Moreover, he also found many shops that specifically sold magic beasts of all varieties, from adults to infants. The higher their bloodline, the more experienced they were, not to mention that some extraordinary magic beasts with special bloodline abilities were highly sought after.
The concept of beast tamers here was not as secretive as in Mortal Sky Heaven; in fact, this was a special cultivation path for Soul Cultivators. Nheless, even an ordinary persona could bind a magic beast with a ''Beast Contract'' as long as the magic beast was within the realm of their soul capabilities, and the number could increase with soul power.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
These beasts bind with Beast Contracts and are then bound with their contactor for life. They can''t betray or disobey their masters. High-level cultivators neutered powerful beasts with specific abilities theycked themselves. That''s why this market was extremely broad and profitable; even the main city has such shops.
Although Ace was calm, it couldn''t be said for the two children observing everything with him; after all, those caged beasts sold like goods were from the same race.
Cyrus even wanted to free them and burn those ''bad guys'' for their heinous crimes, and he has Chuchu''s full support.
But Ace calmed them down and sighed ruefully. He could''ve hidden these things from them, but he didn''t and let them observe. He wanted to show them how cruel this world was, and if they weren''t careful, they would be exposed to this cruelty.
The ck Market was quiterge, almost as big as a small city. Some areas wouldn''t allow just anyone entry, and some were extremely mysterious. These ces required some kind of guarantee or status in the ck market.
One such ce was ''Sea of Secrets,'' which was actually a small dark tower with ten floors. The building had crimson runic markings around it, making it appear quite mysterious.
When Ace saw the mysterious Sea of Secrets, he was instantly intrigued because he couldn''t probe that building at all. He knew it was the case because of those runic makings, which means that the entire building was a powerful ascension-grade treasure.
Furthermore, unlike the guarded buildings of the ck market, there was no one guarding this mysterious building.
''For this kind of treasure building to remain untouched and unguarded in this kind of ce, it has to have some kind of massive background that could deter these people. Let''s see what they sold...'' Ace finally decided to enter this ce and see what the mystery was about.
As he walked closer to the ck obsidian door etched with a symbol of a Crimson Book with a ck vertical eye on its cove, the door suddenly opened on its own.
Ace''s eyes narrowed slightly, as he still wasn''t able to sense any behind the door, even in the fate map, this building waspletely nk, which means, it was out the scope of fate map''s detection abilities.
Nheless, Ace still decided to enter since he was bing more curious about this ce, and the moment he stepped inside, he appeared in a dimly lit narrow corridor.
"Wee to the Sea of Secrets, Mr. George!" A bell-like warm voice suddenly rang from the left side, startling Ace.
He quickly looked to the side with astonishment and a hint of apprehension and saw a talldy wearing a ck sheath dress, which was tightly wrapped around her voluptuous figure. But he wasn''t startled by her fair skin or sexy figure; instead, it was her face, which was covered in a crimson faceless mask. Etched on the center of this mask was a vertical dark eye. Somehow, she knew his disguise''s name, and she appeared two meters away without even alerting him.
He wasn''t sure if she had been standing there from the start or if it was another effect of this treasured building. Lastly, he couldn''t sense her cultivation at all, as if she were a mortal, but he didn''t even entertain that thought.
Still, he didn''t lose his calm on the surface, or all his experience would be for naught. He dropped the hood covering his head and smiled at the maskeddy, "It seems I''m quite
famous."
"Indeed, Mr. George''s ''debut'' was quite high profile and a sess." Thedy in the mask replied in a charming voice as she praised.
Ace chuckled, clearly didn''t believe her, and replied while rubbing Cyrus''s head, "Well, I wouldn''t call it a debut, but I''m still tter by Miss''s acknowledgment. But I''m pretty sure the reason you were able to identify me is because of these two little fellows, and to tell you the truth, I wasn''t trying to hide it."
Ace deeply looked towards thedy in the faceless mask, as it was impossible to see her react, and confidently said, "In fact, I wanted to see who would approach me first and what they would do. Although I''m the one who walks in here, you are still the first person who identified me, so, ''What will you do?""
Thedy in the mask remained silent for a moment as if she were mulling over something before she finally spoke, "Mr. George, please don''t misunderstand. The Sea of Secrets is the most powerful informationwork in the Mortal Ascension Heaven. There is no ce where we don''t have eyes, and nothing can escape from us. Mr. George has not even seen the tip. "We are in the business of Secrets, and we sell them for a fair and reasonable price. We also buy them after analyzing the value of Secret. We are a neutral organization, and our customers are countless, and we have a peerless reputation among our patrons.
As she gave a passionate introduction, the corridor suddenly dimmed down. Thedy''s show seemed to grow as an icy aura was released, rming Ace.
But it quickly vanished, as if nothing had happened. Thedy spoke again amiably, "As long as Mr. George won''t vite our rules, no matter what you do, you''ll be our valuable patron. Now, if Mr. George is satisfied with my introduction, please follow me!"
''It was a warning!'' Ace''s eyes shimmered darkly as he watched thedy start walking towards the entrance, and lips curled up with a hint of excitement, ''Buying and selling secrets at fair price and the biggest informationwork in the entire Mortal Ascension Heaven? Well, you''re already wrong about me. But still, let''s see if you can back this im, Sea of Secrets!''
Chapter 1165: Law Contract!
Chapter 1165: Law Contract!
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Ace was led to a hall with an obsidian jade table and chairs by thedy in a mask. Thedy respectfully gestured towards a chair for Ace to sit in, and heplied. His eyes were drawn to the white crystal ball in the middle of the table, which gave off a peculiar undtion.
Thedy didn''t take the main seat immediately. With a flick of her hand, a tea set appeared, and she started brewing tea before gracefully pouring a cup for Ace.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Please try this Calm Lake Tea; it''s a specialty in a ce far away from the Spirit Inferno Region." She calmly said as she took her main seat.
However, Ace didn''t move as he looked towards the steaming emerald tea. He could tell that it was extraordinary because he could feel a vaguew aura from it. He looked towards thedy in the mask and inquired, "Do you treat all your guests with such precious tea?"
"Of course." Thedy in the mask replied without hesitation, "Only people acknowledged by us can enter the Sea of Secrets, and without it, no amount of wealth or treasures can grant passage."
A sudden realization dawned on Ace, but he was still a little confused. "So, just my previous act of retaliation was enough to get your acknowledgment?"
"Mister can take it like that, but forgive me for not giving you full details." She ambiguously replied without admitting or denying it.
Ace didn''t ask further questions and took the tea. With a single sip, he felt a warm energy spread throughout his entire body and a cooling sensation released in his mind; he instantly felt his mind bing clearer, and a peculiarw started to stir on its own.
"Law of Psyche!" George eximed as he looked towards thedy and asked, "What a magical tea that can help with theprehension of the Law of Psyche! I wonder if I can buy some from Miss?"
"Mr. George is indeed amazing. With just a sip, you were able to tell the profoundw of Psyche hidden in it." Thedy praised, clearly slightly surprised, as she continued, "But forgive me, Mr. George. I can''t sell you any. We are not in themerce business."
"It''s a pity." George sighed with regret.
"Since Mr. George liked our hospitality, let''s get to the point as I''ve already introduced the Sea of Secrets business. But the range of secrets is divided into different Secret Levels. Since Mr. George is our new patron, you have ess to Level-1 secrets, and to increase your Secret Level to Level-2 secrets, you need to sell us ten Level-2 Secrets or a Level-3 Secret. The same process will follow if you want to increase your secret level further. The highest secret level is Level-9." Thedy introduced the Sea of Secrets to George.
But she wasn''t done, "However, please be aware that before exchanging any secrets with us, you need to sign a Law Contract with our rules and regtions. It''s to prevent others from leaking any high-level secrets. Or, you can choose not to, and you are free to leave. But you may never have another passage to any Sea of Secrets branch if you decide to leave."
"It''s pretty harsh, don''t you think?" Acemented as he was surprised by how the Sea of Secrets handled their so-called patrons.
But when he considered their unique business, it also made sense for them to take precautions since high-level secrets could be leaked from others, and they normally require high levels.
Furthermore, it was Ace''s first time hearing about the ''Law Contract,'' but he wasn''t afraid of signing it since nothing could really bind him. It was the case back in the Mortal Sky Heaven, and it will be the same in the Mortal Ascension Heaven. However, he can''t easily agree just to make sure thedy won''t suspect anything.
"Although it''s harsh, please understand that without this contract, the Sea of Secrets won''t be able to do its business, and we never force anyone." Thedy replied impassively.
"What is a Law Contract?" Ace asked, knowing that any furtherments on that topic would waste time and make her impatient.
"Mr. George didn''t know?" Thedy sounded surprised.
"You''re overestimating me, miss. I''m just a little man from the countryside who has just started to make his way into this world. There are many things I still need to learn." George candidly stated that without any embarrassment, it was impossible to tell if he was telling the truth or ying ignorantly.
"If that''s the case, then consider this information as my goodwill since you will be able toe in contact with it as long as you join a second-grade sect. A Law Contract is a higher version of Soul Contracts that only someone with a Law State can sign because a Law Contract will record not only your Law Mark but also your Prime Law, making it impossible to break.
"Furthermore, Law Contracts didn''t have any grades like Soul Contracts because they are made with Law Rules, and unless someone is abovew rules, it''s even more impossible to break them. This is the limit of information I can provide you for free."
Ace was secretly shocked. He knew what Law Rules were, as he had already unlocked one Law Rule of the Darkness Order, and the mystic abilities also originated from Law Rules. Now, hearing that Law Contracts were made with Law Rules, he was even more skeptical and wanted to know how they were created.
He finally started to understand the value of this Sea of Secrets, and maybe they will be extremely useful in the long run. Furthermore, he knew someone who would be extremely interested in them, and maybe she could pull something wonderful out of them.
"Alright, I''ll sign thew contract." George nodded solemnly.
Thedy in the mask has already expected it. After all, knowledge is akin to control no matter the day or age, and that''s why the Sea of Secrets is revered and feared by everyone who knows about it.
She then tapped on the table, and a translucent golden scroll appeared in front of Ace. It opened, revealing the ck writing on it.
Ace quickly memorized every term and condition in the contract, but towards the end, his eyes suddenly trembled slightly because at the end of the contract was the symbol of the Sea
of Knowledge.
However, unlike the symbol he had seen, this time, there was a tiny symbol within the eye, which seemed like a decoration since this rune didn''t match any known runes, and even a Rune Crafter would take it like this.
But in Ace''s eyes, this decorative symbol was enough to rattle him because it was driven from the Ancient God Language, a crude imitation. Yet despite that, the Ancient God Language has a very special charm to it, and anyone who is proficient in it can easily see through it, and Ace can do the same.
Although it was clear that whoever made it wasn''t proficient in thenguage, they were still able to imitate this word, which means something that even provoked Ace''s killing intent.
Ace''s eyes were icy cold as he gawked at the symbol, which means, ''Worshipper of Mystic Secret Saint!''
Chapter 1166: Crystal of Secrets (1)
Chapter 1166: Crystal of Secrets (1)
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Although Ace didn''t know who this ''Mystic Secret Saint'' was, it didn''t matter since he considered all the saints his enemies. After all, it was because of these saints that his entire life changed, and the enmity was too deep to just forget about it.
"Is there something wrong, Mr. George?" Thedy in the mask asked when she saw George in a daze. She didn''t know if she had imagined it, but she sensed killing intent from him, but it instantly vanished, so she wasn''t sure.
Ace quickly regained his calm and smiled, shaking his head, "Nothing. I was just admiring the craftsmanship of this Law Contract."
Without any further exnation, Ace directly enveloped the Law Contract with his Qi. The next moment, the Law Contract pulsed in a mystical light before it turned into a streak of golden light and directly pierced his be.
[Faith Contract (Ascension-Grade) detected!]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Option(s):
-1. Reject It
-Cost: 1,000,000 TP
-2. Create a Fake Prime Law Foundation
-Cost: 10,000,000 TP
-Disimer: If the host doesn''t choose any of the given options within 30 seconds, the First Option will be automatically selected!
-Warning: In case there is no TP, the host will be bound by the Faith Contract and have to pay 100 times the original cost to cancel it!
=====
Ace was startled for a moment when he saw the real name of this ''Law Contract'', and his eyes shimmered with even more coldness as he had already suspected some kind of trick in it when he saw that symbol, and he wasn''t wrong. Furthermore, this contract was even above the Ascension Grade!
"What is this Faith Contract?" Ace questioned the system.
"[Faith Contracts are created by Rulers of Laws to gather ''Faith Power'' for empowerment and to seek the realm above Mortality. The people who signed a Faith Contract would be Faith Believers, forever to be under their Ruler''s rule and be their cattle for Faith Power.]
[But the Faith Believer will also be able to get a portion of the Ruler''s power and the Ruler''sws, making it easier for them to increase their power by tremendous speed and with half the effort. Of course, the Ruler can control how much authority he/she wants to bestow on the Faith Follower. They can even control their free will and freedom without letting the Faith Followers realize it.]
"[To know more you need to upgrade your authority another level!]"
Ace was secretly bbergasted as this was almost like a religion, and this ''Faith Power'' seemed to be quite essential after reaching a certain realm. Nheless, he now has another clue about the power of Saints and another reason for him to be wary.
Now that he knew what kind of contract this was, he secretly sneered at the Sea of Secrets, who seemed to be a chess piece of this Mystic Secret Saint, and they might not even know about it.
Without dy, he selected the second option without hesitation despite running out of the Thief Points. After all, now that he knew this Sea of Secrets had something to do with a saint, he wouldn''t miss any chance to investigate. If he was partially interested in them before, now he was fully invested.
[Fake Prime Law Foundation has been created, and the Faith Contract has been established sessfully!]
[Thief Point(s): 20,010,390]
Thedy in the mask didn''t know the truth behind the Law Contract had been exposed. She thought it was already done since she had seen it herself, and no one could break the rules of a Law Contract or y any tricks.
At this moment, she tapped on the table again, and a white badge appeared in front of Ace. It bore the same symbol of a book and eye, and on its other side, his name, ''George Edward,'' and ''Secret Level-1'' were engraved. This token was far from simple since he saw many hidden runes engraved on it.
"Congrattions, Mr. George. You are now our official patron, and you have level-1 ess to our secrets. This Badge of Secrets is proof of your identity. Next time you enter any branch of the Sea of Secrets, you will be required to hold this Badge.
"This Badge also records all the transitions between you and the Sea of Secrets. Once you are qualified to reach the next level, any of our branches will automatically upgrade it.
"You can also use it to find our branches in your vicinity, and the range is the 100,000-mile radius. But as per the contract use, you can''t bring or divulge any of this information to anyone under any circumstances.
"This Badge is now directly connected with your Law Contract, and if god forbids anything to happen to you or thew Contract vanishes, this token will alert us before self-destructing, so there is no chance of it falling into any unrted person''s hand.
"If you lose it, then you have to pay a huge amount and another penalty before you get a new one after alerting us. Now, let me officially introduce myself. I''m a Carrier of Secrets of this branch, Carrier9,309.
"Please tell me what you want to know, and if it is within the scope of your level, I''ll tell you the price for it. You can also sell or exchange secrets of equal value or for any kind of resources or money," she dered in her alluring voice.
She then pointed towards the crystal ball in front of her, and it started to shimmer. "This is the Crystal of Secrets, and it can judge the secrets you want to know fairly. If you want to sell any secrets, it can detect truth from lies and then categorize your secret''s value."
Ace picked up the Badge of Secrets before looking thoughtfully at thedy in the mask, who introduced herself as Carrier9,309, before looking towards the glowing crystal ball.
He asked, "How big is the Mortal Ascension Heaven?"
The Crystal of Secrets shimmered for a moment before a static voice rang, "This question is too ambiguous!"
Ace cocked an eyebrow when he heard it and asked again, rephrasing the question, "I want to know where the Spirit Inferno Domain is located and the magnitude of this location, and the top power or powers of thisnd!"
Ace thought this question might not be enough for his current secret level, but to his surprise,
the answer he was unexpected.
"Secret can be divulged!
"Price: 10,000,000 Tier-4 Spirit Coins!"
Chapter 1167: Crystal of Secrets (2)
Chapter 1167: Crystal of Secrets (2)
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Ace was surprised when he heard the confirmation from the Crystal of Secrets, but he frowned slightly because the price was quite high. Still, it wasn''t like he couldn''t ''gather'' the money again, nor was it his own hard-earned money that he needed to spend.
But there was a small problem. If he really paid this price, then this means that his background was not as simple as it appeared, and he had no doubt about the Sea of Secrets intelligence gathering.
If they knew George was from the Violet Yang Grand Sect, then 10 million Tier-4 spirit coins or upper ascension grade-4 spirit stones or spirit crystals were an impossible price for him to pay, even for the entire Violet Yang Grand Sect; this price was simply too much.
He even suspected that Carrier9,309''s silence was because she was testing him, but he couldn''t miss this chance. There was no alternative because the soul probe was too low-level to work on that woman, and even if it worked, he had a feeling that she might also have those strange seals on her mind that he had beening in contact withtely.
Nheless, he needed this information to make more ns for his future endeavors, and he couldn''t miss it even if he had to reveal a little bit.
So, without hesitation, he asked the Carrier9,309, "I don''t have any Spirit Coins, but I do have Upper Ascension Grade Spirit Stones of Earth Element, and all of them are refined. I wonder if they are sufficient for trade?"
Ace found over 132 million upper ascension grade-4 spirit stones of earth element in the Moon Fiend King''s storage ring, and they were the highest-grade spirit stones he currently has.
However, it wasn''t Carrier9,309 who replied; instead, the Crystal of Secrets'' static voice rang, "They are sufficient."
Ace was again amazed by the Crystal of Secrets'' reasoning abilities, and he started to be interested in its mystery. For some reason, the way this crystal interacts with him reminded him of the system.
Still, since the trade of spirit stones was eptable, he didn''t dy, and he waved his sleeve. The next moment, on the side of the hall, a massive pile of emerald marbles appeared, and a powerful earthw suddenly filled with air.
Carrier9,309 finally reacted as she gently tapped on the table, and the massive pile of spirit stones vanished just as quickly as it appeared.
"Payment received." She impassively stated the next moment, but her voice carried a hint of peculiar emotion.
However, the Crystal of Secrets didn''t care. The moment it received the confirmation from the Carrier9,309, it started to emit a mystical, ethereal glow, and the next, a beam of ethereal streak suddenly shot towards Ace''s be.
Ace didn''t dodge it because he sensed no danger from it. He was correct because this light was actually knowledge, and after refining it a little, Ace knew it was exactly what he wanted.
If it were someone else, they would''ve already started refining it, and it would take some time. However, Ace had a parallel mind, so he used it to start analyzing and absorbing this knowledge. He decided to ask for another secret, which was also quite important in the bigger picture.
"What is a King Sect, and where are they?"
However, this time the Crystal of Secrets'' reply was different, "It is a Level-5 secret. Your Secret Level is not sufficient dear Patron."
''So, they indeed had the information about these elusive King Sects, and I can even buy them...'' Ace''s mind raced, but he didn''t show any excessive reaction.
"Then I want to know about the Fiend Assassin Guild."
"Secret can be divulged!
"Price: 1,000,000 Tier-3 Spirit Coins!"
This time, the price was quite low, so Ace paid again with spirit stones without hesitation and got the information about the Fiend Assassin Guild.
After Ace had thought about it, he asked, "Where can I find Soul Gold, Lighting Wyrm Beast, and Time-Space Segment?"
These were the remaining materials for Eternal Thief Fate Compass''s Completion Scheme, and even then, it would only reach 20%pletion.
He had already gotten the Illusion Grass from the Golden Sky World and also had formed the One Eye Devil''s Core with his trip to the Sky Heart ins. He also has the whereabouts of the Crimson tinum and was just waiting for the right moment to snatch it.
So, he was already nning on investigating the final three materials and upgrading the Eternal Thief Fate Compass because it was simply an irreceable treasure for him. He was looking forward to what kind of surprising ability it would bring upon its nextpletion. The Sea of Secrets just made it even easier.
"Lighting Wyrm secret can be divulged!
"Price: 5,000,000 Tier-3 Spirit Coins!
"Soul Gold is a Level-3 secret. Your Secret Level is not sufficient dear Patron.
"Time Space Segment is a Level-5 secret. Your Secret Level is not sufficient dear Patron."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace was astounded to hear he couldn''t get information about Soul Gold or the Time Space Segment, and thetter was even at the same level as the information about the King Sects. Nheless, he bought what he could instantly and paid in spirit stones again.
Ace had many more questions he wanted to ask, like about the ''Saints,'' but he held back because it might spell trouble if this was some kind of taboo, and he might draw Sea of Secrets'' greatest attention on himself if they knew he was aware of the ''Saint.'' Of course, it was still not clear even they knew about it, but the risk was simply not worth the gains.
Afterward, Ace asked where he could find arge quantity of Quasi Spirit Ascension Grade weapons and the Spirit Fire of Darkness element. He got the information about the weapons, which was actually quite startling. The information about the spirit fire was only rumors, not urate, which made it quite cheap. But for Ace, any clue was enough.
After an hour, Ace finally left the special building of the Sea of Knowledge with a content look on his face, but he was still wary of this power. In fact, this trip forced him to reform his entire n and reevaluate the Mortal Ascension Heaven again because this ce was far more terrifying than the Mortal Sky Heaven!
After George left, Carrier9,309 appeared on the highest floor of the Sea of Secrets ten-story tower, kneeling in front of a blurry figure as she said, "Your judgment about George Edward was correct, Controller. Although he didn''t sell us any secrets, the secrets he was inquiring about were extremely rming, and I''m afraid even a sect leader of a second-grade sect might not know about these things..."
Carrier9,309 quickly reported everything about George without daring to hide anything despite knowing this blurry figure could monitor everything in the tower.
"Secrets are meant to unravel by those who have a destiny with them. I have a feeling that if I can unravel this George''s secret, I might be able to take the final step..." A wishful yet
uncertain voice rang.
Carrier9,309 trembled with shock because she knew what this ''Controller'' meant by those words; she knew it wasn''t thest time she would see George!
Chapter 1168: Abduction…No, Invitation!
Chapter 1168: Abduction¡No, Invitation!
After leaving the Sea of Secrets, Ace didn''t exit the ck Market; instead, he entered an inn to absorb all the information he had gathered from the Crystal of Secrets and share it with his house members.
Although he was under the so-called ''Law Contract'', he has his Avatar of Holy Twilight, which was another existence entirely, and since his avatar has the same memories as Ace, he can divulge anything he wants.
Furthermore, the Avatar of Holy Twilight had already been upgraded by him to the peak (9-Star) of the Ascension Soldier realm after spending 100 Million TP. Thereby, the Holy Twilight Qi of the Avatar of Holy Twilight evolved into Holy Twilight Spirit Qi. As for where it was, only Ace knew, but the Avatar of Holy Twilight was his biggest trump card to escape perilous situations.
Night descended as two half-moons surrounded by an endless sea of stars illuminated the sky in their gentle, silvery light.
However, the ck Market and the Western Guardian Sect City were still bustling like a day, and at this moment, four figures in cloaks appeared within the same inn where Ace was staying.
A tall cloaked figure ced a bunch of crystal white coins with exquisite craftsmanship and peculiar Qi emitting from them like a special signature on the counter where a masked man was sitting.
On one side of this coin, there is a symbol of an imposing golden-winged beast with a bifurcated tail and ming mane, with two antelope horns and a string with a runic character on its broader side. On the other side, there is a runic symbol characterized as ''Tier-3''.
These coins were the Tier-3 Spirit Coins of the Prime Heavenly Bank, which are simr to Upper Ascension Grade-1 Spirit Stones or Spirit Crystals.
"A man with two magic beasts on his shoulder, where is he?" The cloaked man questioned in a gruff voice.
The inn owner in the mask looked thoughtfully at the cloaked men before he kept the spirit coins and answered impassively, putting on a runic card in front of the cloaked man: "203. If you break anything, you''ll have to pay."
The cloaked men act as if they didn''t hear thest sentence, and after picking up the runic card, they move towards the lodging area.
Thereupon, they reached room 203, which was on the fifth floor of the inn, and the man in the lead nodded toward them. He put the runic card below the door knob. The lock on the door instantly opened, and without wasting any time, they all barged into the room while releasing their pressures and senses to the fullest.
The room wasn''trge, as there was only a small alchemyb, a cultivation room, and a bedroom; this was a typical cultivation lodging.
Those four men quickly checked the alchemyb and cultivation room. After making sure they were empty, they all quickly entered the bedroom. But to their shock, it was also empty; nothing seemed to be touched, and there were no signs of anyone staying there.
"Gentlemen, it isn''t very polite to barge into someone''s room, now isn''t it?" A jolly voice suddenly rang behind those four men, startling them so much they jumped in rm and quickly turned around to fight this powerful enemy who could appear behind them without alerting them.
However, when they tried to remove their weapons, they were horrified to find that their storage rings were gone and that the recently infamous owl symbols had reced them.
"It''s him!" The man who was leading them roared with clear anger and a hint of disbelief and fear.
Although they knew who their target was and his strange ability, only after experiencing it did they finally believe it. This guy was simply too uncanny, and even at the peak of Ascension Soldiers, they had already fallen victim to his ability before they could even react.
Ace looked at the four men, who were clearly enraged after he stole their treasures. Yet he was surprised they didn''t attack him. For some reason, they suppressed their anger after they found that he was ''him'', which surprised him a little.
He wanted to taunt them before running away so they could send more ''fat sheep'' to him, but it seemed it wasn''t as simple as he thought, so he decided to use his soul probe on them. But to his surprise, the person who was leading them had a seal on his knowledge sea.
At this moment, that man suppressed his fury and urge to attack this unscrupulous bastard with a thievish tendency and said, "We are from the Weston n and here to invite Mr. George to the Weston n Estate for a chat. It was a misunderstanding, and we would like to apologize for our uncouth entry. Aspensation, you can keep my storage ring, but please return my men''s storage rings; it is their hard-earned wealth." Ace was surprised by this man''s words, not because they belonged to the Weston n since he was already expecting this kind of reaction after he exposed his abilities, but because of this man''s self-sacrifice and righteous nature, a very rare quality for a cultivator.
Still, he wasn''t going to fully believe it after just a few words. For all he knew, he could be nning on taking revenge once he was no longer in a disadvantageous situation. After all, they were clearly not here to talk peacefully after being forcefully barged in, and only after witnessing his ability did this man decide to back down and use a soft approach.
Nheless, Ace was very interested in the Weston n, and it should be even easier for him to enter the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect with them as his backers.
"What if I refuse?" George asked with a cold smile.
The man in charge of this mission snorted coldly and replied unkindly, "Then all we could do is return and report this to the n. But I would like to warn Mr. George that you will earn yourself an enemy like the Weston n instead of their friendship.
"Once they happen, I''m afraid you won''t have any ce in this city, and maybe not even in the main Sect. After all, you have already offended the Oriente family member, Wace, who is the second son of the Oriente family head and also one of the top Forger Disciple of the Outer Sect.
"Only with Weston''s family backing can you escape this predicament. So, I would humbly suggest youe with us if you want to have a better future for yourself and Violet Yang Grand Sect." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Hehehe, good ol'' threats." George suddenlyughed and appeared like a madman in those four men''s eyes before he grinned coldly towards them, "But I liked it. Let''s go, I want to see what the Weston n has to offer, and I''ll return these storage rings to you. What a poor bunch you are!"
They were dumbfounded when they heard George calling them ''poor'' before they became even more furious despite getting their rings back.
The man suppressed his urge to p this arrogant brat and asked, while showing his ring ringer, "What about this curse marker?"
George shrugged his shoulder helplessly, "It''s my style to leave behind my ''mark'' since I can''t let anyone else im the credit for my glorious deed. But to remove it, I''m afraid you have to wait for 50 years before it goes away, or you can try it yourself. But I have no other to remove besides this!"
"5-5-50 years!?"
Everyone''s eyes widened with horror as they gritted their teeth while looking towards George, and what made them almost caught up in blood was his next sentence.
"Don''t worry, poor sods; my mark ispletely harmless and has an aesthetic value, so there is no need to be shy!"
Chapter 1169: Back Door Opened!
Chapter 1169: Back Door Opened!
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Ace followed the four cloaked men back to the Weston n Estate. After leaving him in the guest hall, they quickly reported their encounter to the elders of the Weston ns.
However, this has nothing to do with Ace, as he has been closely observing the Weston n Estate ever since he entered it, and he has already memorized the key points at the entrance. "Big bro, there is lots of good food in this ce!" Cyrus''s excited voice rang in his head.
Ace pulled with a wry smile, "I''m sure there is, but taking it is another story. Let''s be patient. We are not here to steal, at least not yet. It''ll depend on the attitude of the Weston n." He ambiguously stated.
At this moment, the closed door of the guest hall opened, and five figures in luxurious clothes walked in.
However, Ace''s expression changed ever so slightly when he saw the skinny old man with long crimson hair in the middle and a burly man beside him.
The old man was wearing a white schrly robe with a crimson cauldron symbol surrounded by golden mes, and there were two golden crystalline stars were attached to his cor. The burly man with fierce features was wearing a darkbat robe with crimson ming borders, and there was a symbol of crimson mes in front of his chest, and two crimson stars were attacked to his cor.
Ace instantly recognized these special attires, which were the symbol of Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect''s Forger and me factions. Those two crystalline stars of golden and Crimson color were also quite famous because only a Forger Elder and me Elder of the sect was eligible to have them!
Furthermore, the moment these two appeared, Ace instantly felt dangerous air around this burly man; he was extremely dangerous. As for the other three, one was a middle-aged man with short red hair and a thick beard; he was the Western Guardian Lloyd Weston. Besides him was a charming woman with a fierce expression on her oval face; she was Elder Marguerite. Lastly, a tall, muscr man with a hint of hostility in his round eyes rubbed his finger with an owl tattoo on it. This man was none other than the leader of the ground who was in charge of abducting... inviting George here, but he ended up being ''marked.''
Nheless, Ace didn''t give a damn about the other three as he was feeling quite skeptical seeing those two men who should be the outer sect elders of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect, and he wondered what they were doing here.
It waspletely out of his expectations since he knew these elders didn''t bother with the worldly matters of mortals and always stayed in the sect unless something extraordinary happened.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
He knew he didn''t show a threat that could alert the sect, yet here they were, and Ace had already started to make ns for his exit if things started to go south.
"You recognized us,d?" The skinny old man, who should be a Forger Elder, asked in an amiable tone, but his eyes were sharp like a hawk.
"Please forgive my disrespect. I never expected to meet someone like two lords so soon. Violet Yang Grand Sect George Edward humbly greets two Lord Elders!" George quickly pays his respect without any haughty air.
"He finally knows how to respect others..." The tall man muttered with a hint of gloating at this moment.
No one paid him any heed as the Forger Elder pulled a meaningful smile and said, "It is indeed an unexpected surprise since I was here for a personal matter, but I never thought I would find someone interacting like you."
"Lord Elder is too kind. My little tricks are not worth mentioning. Please forgive me if I have offended you. But what I did was purely for self-defense, and I have no malicious intentions towards the Western Guardian Sect City. I''m here to join the AIG sect, not to antagonize anyone." George humbly stated in a respectful tone.
"Oh, do you think you can antagonize the Western Guardian Sect City or the AIG Sect? Just with your thievish tricks?" This time, the me Elder spoke in a heavy tone as he coldly looked at George while releasing some of his pressure. The temperature of the room instantly
rose.
Ace''s heart raced when he sensed the threatening pressure of the me Elder, and he had to admit he was no match for the other party and could only escape by using teleportation; otherwise, there was no escape.
Taking a deep breath, he replied, "I''m not delusional. I wasn''t trying to offend Lord Elders. Please forgive me if I was out of line." He quickly backed down since appearing too overbearing would only make him look like an arrogant idiot who seeks death.
Although he wanted others to see him as an arrogant guy who wasn''t afraid of anyone, he had no intention of creating an image of a suicidal maniac who didn''t know his limit. This kind of person was not worth anything but a pawn.
The me Elder deeply looked towards him before he retracted his aura, as he looked towards the Forger Elder and asked, "What do you want to do now?"
The Forger Elder sighed as he looked towards George and then Lloyd, who seemed agitated but didn''t dare speak; his back was drenched with sweat.
Lloyd hadn''t expected that the same day he sent his men to find George, who had drawn many people''s attention, these two Sect Elders would arrive as well. He knew they were to investigate his brother John''s death, and this Forger Elder was John''s master, while the me Elder was from the Sect Enforcer Hall.
However, what was truly out of Lloyd''s expectation was that these two would take an interest in George when they heard the report from his men about George''s arrival. After hearing about George''s uncanny abilities and what happened in the ck market, they even came personally to meet him.
It was clearly not Lloyd''s n. He wanted to rope George into the Weston n by backing him and making him loyal so he could use George''s talent. Yet, these two elders had thrown a wrench in his ns, and now it seemed he might lose this talent.
"I must say, it''s been a while since I havee in contact with a daring youth like yourself,d. Even the top outer sect disciples can''t speak under Elder Homer''s aura, but you seemed to be only a little bothered by it."
The Forger Elder praised, causing the three bystanders further shock. But his next words caused them even more shock and disbelief.
"If you want to join the AIG Sect, then there is another way besides the entrance test. But it''s equally dangerous, if you can prove yourself then you can directly join the outer sect. So, are you willing youngd?"
Even Ace was surprised by this sudden turn of events as he looked at the Forger Elder with a
strange gaze.
In the end, his eyes shimmered with resolution as he nodded, "Please give me your instruction, Lord Elder!"
Chapter 1170: Dual Runic Talent
Chapter 1170: Dual Runic Talent
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"Are you really going to use your Elder apportionment on him? I know you lost your disciple, and we found no clues about his killer since they used some kind of method to block the surveince on the Disciple Seal in his Knowledge Sea.
"Whoever did this knows exactly what they were doing, and they didn''t leave behind any clues. But still, using your Elder apportionment on this unknown brat with strange abilities is too much.
"We don''t even know if he''s capable of Spirit Forging. If anything, he''s more perfect to be a me Disciple. I advise you to think it over and let him take the exam naturally. This also gives us time to see what he''s capable of and investigate his background thoroughly."
Elder Homer''s voice suddenly rang in Forger Elder Dewey''s ears, and no one seemed to hear him, even Ace. It was like he was directly talking into Elder Dewey''s head.
This sort ofmutation method was called ''Spirit Transmission,'' which used the Spirit Qi to contain their voice and send it to the target. But this required not only deeppression ofws but also extrema contract over the spirit Qi to seal the voice in the spirit Qi and then send it to a specific person.
If someone is not careful, others can even spy on their secret conversation. Only an Ascension Grand General (Spirit Soul Formation or Spirit Body Formation) was capable of using the Spirit Transmission!
Elder Dewey didn''t seem startled by Elder Homer''s voice; he was also capable of Spirit Transmission and replied using the same method.
"I appreciate your kindness, old friend. But let me do this. Consider it a hunch, but I have this feeling this brat is extraordinary. Besides, I''m already approaching my first Law Tribtion, and I can sense iting closer every day, and I can''t dy it anymore. You and I both know there is over 90% chance of me perishing under it because I have already exhausted my potential.
"John was my only disciple, and now he''s dead, and there is no one to carry my legacy while those talented disciples are taken by the others or have their own ns and factions, not to mention their arrogance knows no bounds.
"I, Dewey, have imed my way from an ordinary mortal to be the Forger Elder of the outer court of the AIG Sect and be a half-4-Star Spirit Weapon Forger without anyone''s help.
"Consider this any dying man''s ranting, but I feel a sense of kindred from this George. Besides, what would I do with my Elder apportionment after I died? Let me give it to someone deserving. As for what happened afterward, I''ll leave it to fate. If the high heaven wants my legacy to die with me, so be it. But I''m still unwilling to go like this!"
Elder Dewey''s eyes shimmered with determination as his voice was fully resolved and solemnity.
Even Elder Homer was moved. Aplicated glint shed past his eyes as he only sighed ruefully since he could rte with Elder Dewey, for they were the same kind of people without any backing or grand legacy. In the end, he said nothing.
Their private conversationsted mere seconds, and no one was aware of it because of the Spirit Transmission.
Since George agreed, Elder Dewey was content as he replied, "Since this is not an official entrance test, it''ll be ten times harder than the normal one. But if you were able to pass this test, the benefits would be equallyvish. But before we can proceed with it, I need to know how your Forging skills are since, without them, this opportunity is wasted on you."
Ace was startled when he heard about the involvement of forging skills in this unknown test. Although he had many Runic Smith memories, he had never tried to forge anything since he never really cared about it. After all, when he can just steal any kind of weapon, why should he bother learning how to make them?
However, now that he had to cultivate the Universal Ascension ck Physique, which required a massive number of special weapons, he started to think differently. Especially after The discovered he couldn''t get his hands on any affinity-type weapon. They were simply too hard to find and treated like heirlooms by any family since they were the desired weapons of even Ascension Grand Generals.
The only ce he could find any was the AIG Sect, and now that he got the chance to enter it, he didn''t want to miss it for this silly reason.
After thinking about it, Ace replied, "I''m Grade-9 Runic Smith, but my attainment in Spirit Rune Crafting has reached 1-Star Spirit Rune Crafter grade. I wonder if it''s enough? If not, I''m willing to learn Spirit Forging as long as I have the knowledge!"
Ace''s confidence in Spirit Rune Crafting was naturally due to the Heavenly Runes of Ascension (Basic) he bought from the system shop. It contained all the knowledge up to the 3-Star Spirit Rune Crafter or Heavenly Spirit Rune Crafter.
The ranks of Spirit Forger and Spirit Rune Crafters were the same, from 1-Star to 9-Star. Furthermore, the Spirit Forging required attainment in runes, it was a must if to forge spirit weapons. The only difference was the runes used in forging were quite different from the rune crafting. They also have a special name, ''Codex Runes,'' while the runes for the runes used in rune crafting were called ''Philosopher Runes.''
However, with the Heavenly Runes of Ascension, Ace found that whether it was Codex Runes or Philosopher Runes, they were driven from the Heavenly Runes. With Heavenly Runes, he could create or imitate any runes as long as he knew their original Heavenly Runes.
Moreover, he even suspects that the Heavenly Runes have some kind of deep rtionship with the Language of Ancient Gods. But it was just his spection since he was nowhere near acquiring the entirety of the Heavenly Runes.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Everyone was surprised when they heard George say that he was a 1-Star Spirit Rune Crafter. After all, they all knew Spirit Rune Crafting was as difficult as Spirit Forging.
Furthermore, since George also said that he was a Grade-9 Runic Smith, then this means that he was learning both of them without focusing on a single path.
Although it sounds quite easy to be a forger and crafter, it was by no means that simple because of their affinity with Codex Runes and Philosopher Runes.
The majority or 99% of the people have affinity with only one types of runes and that''s why despite having simrity with runes in both professions, they can only choose one, the difference be massive as they progress especially the boundary between the elemental andw states.
But those one percent of people who had an affinity with both types of runes and could walk on both paths of Spirit Rune Crafting and Spirit Forging were the focus of envy from both sides. They were known as geniuses of the true Runic Path, also called the Dual Runic Talents, and treated like treasures by their organizations.
Although they had yet to see themselves, even a faint possibility that George was telling the truth and that he was really a Dual Runic Talent would cause a hugemotion.
Ace had no idea about such information since it was kept secret among second-grade sects. First, to not discourage others until they were mature enough, and second, to quickly grab these kinds of talents the moment they appeared, which was simply too rare. However, seeing everyone''s reactions and feeling the massive swings in their emotions, Ace knew something was wrong. Before he could figure it out, Dewey was already standing in front of him with shining eyes as if he were watching a priceless treasure. This startled Ace, who didn''t even feel his movement and had goosebumps as he took a step back.
Dewey, with a burning passion, solemnly said, "Show me!"
Chapter 1171: First Try at Forging!
Chapter 1171: First Try at Forging!
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Without wasting any time, Elder Dewey ordered Lloyd to lead them to the Weston n Estate Forge. Since the Weston n have a rich background of Spirit Weapon Forging and their ties with the AIG Sect were extremely deep, the n estate of the sect city naturally had a forge, which was the best forge in the entire city except for the Inferno Weapon Smith Association.
Now that George was under the scrutiny of being a Dual Runic Talent, no one dared take it lightly. Even Elder Homer waspletely solemn and wanted to see if George was really what he was iming to be.
As for Lloyd and the elders under them, their hearts were racing and filled with ecstasy and a hint of worry. The former because if George really turned out to be a Dual Runic Talent and since he was found in their n''s city, they would earn massive merit, while thetter because they were regretting their approach with him and weren''t able to establish any kind of goodwill or able to rope him in.
s, it was already toote with Elder Dewey. They knew they wouldn''t be able to rope him in unless Elder Dewey lost his interest, which at this point waspletely impossible.
On the other hand, Ace was quite confused as he could clearly feel something was wrong with everyone''s emotions, and despite him asking about what led to this, no one bothered to tell him. He was only told to show them his talent in both Spirit Rune Crating and Spirit Forging before any further information.
Nheless, Ace was still fine with it as long as he got to enter the AIG Sect, and from what he could tell, if they confirmed whenever they were hoping for it, it might bring him an unexpected surprise.
The forge was quiterge, almost spreading out over a mile square meter. There were all sorts of equipment for Spirit Forged, and there were many disys of beautiful weapons, blueprints, and murals. It would not be wrong to call this a museum rather than a Forge.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"John designed it?" Elder Dewey was full of mncholy and nostalgia as he thought about John''s personal forge in the sect. He knew John loved to disy his proud creations and treat them like art.
Lloyd''s expression was pained as he nodded in reminiscence: "Yes, my little brother personally designed it, and he always loved to spend time here. But now, s...sigh..."
Even Elder Marguerite''s eyes were misty as she watched the beautiful forge and instantly thought about how John loved to brag, show her around, and talk endlessly about his new creations.
However, one person asked this mourning bunch, ''Are they talking about John Weston, who was assassinated by the Fiend Assassin Guild''s blood puppet assassins?'' Although I only got a very small portion of his memories because of the broken seal, I do know he belonged to the Weston n. But I never expected he would have this kind of standing!''
At this moment, realization dawned on Ace as everything finally started to make sense as he nced at Elder Dewey''s mncholic expression.
''So that''s why they were here! It''s all because John Weston and seemed to have an extraordinary rtionship with this Forger Elder, probably a master-disciple rtionship. If only his storage ring had survived his suicidal explosion, I might''ve got some clues...'' Acemented in secret.
That day, after getting rid of the blood puppets, he searched for John''s belongings, but there was nothing but ashes; even his storage rings hadn''t survived. So, he didn''t know John''s actual status in the AIG Sect.
Elder Dewey no longer thought about the past as he knew John was already gone, and he wasn''t here to reminiscence.
He looked towards George and said, "Alright,d. You can use anything you want here. Those materials stored here should be enough to forge a Grade-9 Runic Treasure. I don''t know what your specialty is, but it doesn''t matter if it''s armor, weapons, or even essories.
"If you create a Grade-9 Runic Treasure, I''ll provide you materials for 1-Star Spirit Rune Crafting. Once you manage to pass both of my tests, I promise I''ll personally teach you and help you break into the 1-Star Spirit Forger Realm of weapon specialists!"
Although Ace had never really forged, he was still confident in his imitation abilities as long as he had memories. Furthermore, Elder Dewey didn''t have any specific treasure forging request.
He knew whether it was a runic smith or spirit forger. They all had their own specialty. Some were proficient in forging weapons, and some made the best armor. This is simr to rune crafting, which has talismans, arrays, and formation arrays.
Nodding in acknowledgment, Ace moved towards the forging tform, which had a towering ck furnace in the center, an anvil filled with runes. There was a thick iron forging table, and there was a shelf disy with a dark brown hammer, which was like a work of art in the center of this shelf, and within the other sections were tongs, chisels, and such tools.
It was the entire collection for Spirit Forging, and Ace could tell with a nce that they were all at least Upper Ascension Grade-1, especially that hammer.
However, Ace didn''t have any intention to touch them because, from all the memories of runic smiths, their most sacred treasures were none other than their forging tools, and it was taboo to touch them as they were equal to their lives.
Furthermore, a true runic smith would always use his own tools until they break, it was some kind of bond between a smith and his tools, they will never discard them and keep them as a memorial for they represent their blood and sweat, an embodiment of their achievements. Although John was dead, and he even got permission from Elder Dewey to use his tools, Ace had a hunch that it was a test to see his ''smith integrity'' and how he honors his fellow craftsmen. It should also be about to see his nature.
After all, Elder Dewey was a smith through and through, and he would notice these small details even if others overlooked them.
That''s why Ace selected tools from his own ''warehouse''; he has plenty of them, and he knows what to do with them. At this point, elemental-grade treasures were even akin to trash for him, but he still kept them as a memorial of his past and had no intention of getting rid of them unless necessary.
Seeing George didn''t take any of John''s tools, and he even bowed slightly towards the hammer as a gesture of respect before starting to take out his own tools, a small smile broke on Dewey''s face as he nodded in appreciation. Others also have quite a favorable impression of George because of this small gesture.
''He did have the integrity of a forger. Not bad!'' Elder Dewey nodded in approval.
Just as Ace suspected, this was really a test, and he hasn''t even started forging yet!
Chapter 1172: Beast Spirit Flames
Chapter 1172: Beast Spirit mes
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In the forge of the Weston n, George stood in front of the forge table as he took out his own materials without touching any of the avable materials. No one said anything, as everyone observed closely without making any sounds so as not to disturb the young forger.
Ace looked at three types of grade-8 ores, one had the appearance of a crystal ruby, it was a Soul Fire Crystal, one was like raw iron ore but with ck markings on its surface, it was an Earthen Soul Iron, andstly, a tinum ingot pulsing in blue hue called the Ocean Soul tinum. They were all peak Grade-8 materials, and a peak Grade-9 Runic Smith can easily forge an Initiate stage Grade-9 Weapon with or treasure with them.
But they were clearly not enough because he needed to etch the Codex Runes on them toplete the process, so he also took out more materials for it.
Although Ace didn''t have any memoirs of Grade-9 Runic Smith, he did have Grade-8 ones, and he even had many techniques and information about them. All of this was from the Mortal Sky Heart Empire treasury. With his current level and all those memories with experience, he was confident that he could pull this off!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Without hesitation, he enveloped eight materials for the codex runes with his dark-golden Twilight Soul Spirit Qi since he couldn''t show his real Heavenly Spirit Qi here, as he knew those two elders might sense its uniqueness. The Twilight Spirit Qi was also unique, but he was sure that it wasn''t enough to rm them as long as they didn''t know its true properties or look for the mystery behind it. But he still underestimated a 9-Star Ascension Grand General.
"That Spirit Soul Qi is special..." Elder Homer solemnly voiced while using Spirit Transmission on Elder Dewey.
Even Elder Dewey''s expression was dignified as he looked towards the ethereal dark golden spirit Qi, "Yes, I have never seen that kind of Qi before. It has to be a unique elementalw. It seemed thisd was hiding even more than he was showing us. Nheless, this only proved that he''s talented, and he might really be able to pull this off. But I''m interested in seeing what kind of method he uses for forging."
Unaware of the two Elders'' secret conversation, Ace lifted the materials with his Qi in front of him, looked towards Chuchu on his shoulder, and said softly, "Chuchu, I want you to use your spirit fire on these materials. You don''t need to worry about burning them; just use it normally."
Surprise shed past Elder Dewey''s eyes when he heard George''smand, and he finally looked towards those two tiny beasts on his shoulder. ''So, they weren''t just normal pets, but Magic Spirit Beasts with Spirit Fires! But why haven''t I seen them before, and there are no records of such beasts? But this boy is too soft. He should''ve refined and taken their spirit fires. There is a massive difference between controlling the Spirit Fire yourself and borrowing it...''
''It co-couldn''t be...'' However, Elder Dewey''s eyes widened suddenly when Chuchu nodded and raised her small w, and golden ethereal fire suddenly appeared around those eight materials. He wasn''t shown by Chuchu''s intelligence but because of the Golden Spirit Fire!
As someone who also has a spirit fire of his own, without it, one can''t truly be a Spirit Forger. Each spirit Fire has its own grade. The lowest grade was the Elemental Grade Spirit Fires, which use Elements in the attoampere as fuel and could burn forever as long as the elementals exist.
Thene the Law Grade Spirit Fires, which use the Laws as fuels, and they can easily overpower Elemental Grade Spirit Fires no matter their grades.
But there was another aspect to Spirit Fires that only second-grade sects know. The Spirit Fire originated from the Beast Bloodline, and that''s why these Spirit Fires also have another name: Beast Spirit mes!
There were two types of Beast Spirit mes: Limited and Growth. The former Spirit Fire would remain the same once it came into existence. Even if the Magic Beast rted to the Spirit Fire managed to break past the limit of the Spirit Fire, it would never grow.
If a Grade-5 Spirit Fire is born in a magic beast of the Qi Gate Realm, even if that beastter breaks into the Law Comprehension Realm, the Spirit Fire will remain Grade-5. The only possible way to raise its grade was to break the bloodline shackle and reach the Law State, which was as impossible as raising the Spirit Fire grade. It was the same case for magic beasts of the Law State.
Lastly, about 99% of beasts with the gift of Spirit Fire are born with limited type beast spirit mes.
However, the remaining 1% were born with the gift of Growth-Type Spirit Fire, which means their Spirit Fire can grow by absorbing other resources and spirit fires until they reach their true potential, which was extremely high. Furthermore, if they manage to break their limits, the growth-type spirit fire''s growth potential will increase again by a ridiculous degree. These kinds of magic beasts usually have extremely powerful and mythical bloodlines. They were natural disasters, as no one dared provoke them. Their fighting potential was terrifying, as they were capable of fighting over their realms.
Furthermore, the limited-type and growth-type Beast Spirit mes were easily recognizable, for the former has a corporeal form while thetter has an ethereal form!
That''s why Elder Dewey was gobsmacked when he saw the form of Chuchu''s golden mes, and even Elder Homer''s eyes widened. They were both extremely knowledgeable because of their statues, and they both used Spirit Fires, whether for fighting or forging. The IAG Sect has many records about Beast Spirit mes, so it was even more impossible for them to recognize the difference.
But they were still filled with disbelief as they eyed the little beast on Ace''s shoulder since they knew a magic beast with growth-type spirit fire was impossible to tame, not to mention order it around like a house pet unless they wanted to turn it into ashes.
If the news got out, no one would dare believe it, yet they were witnessing this ridiculous scene themselves.
They also looked towards Cyrus, who was curiously watching everything with great interest. They looked at each other with clear disbelief since they knew their spection was simply ridiculous. Still, theplicated expressions in their eyes were evident, as if they were watching an illusion.
However, despite this world-breaking realization, they didn''t say anything since they knew if the people behind them watching knew that one of George ''tame beasts'' had a growth-type Beast Spirit mes, they would do anything to acquire it.
Even though they were tempted, they knew George''s talent and his importance to the sect while knowing that integrating with a growth-type Beast Spirit mes was almost impossible for them before it burned them to cinders first.
Still, this news should be kept secret at all costs since the allure of growth-type beast Spirit mes was simply too great to drive even an Ascension Guardian made with greed.
There was only one person in the entire Spirit Inferno Region who had ever managed to integrate with a growth-type beast me ande out barely alive. Afterward, he conquered the entire Spirit Inferno Region while leaving behind his legends. This person was the Founder of the Artificial Inferno Guardian Sect, Founder Anomalous me Lord!
Chapter 1173: Soul Piercing Dagger
Chapter 1173: Soul Piercing Dagger
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Ace didn''t know that his action of refining the materials with Chuchu''s spirit fire had just revealed something extraordinary about Chuchu to the two outer sect elders, as he was fully focused on the forging.
He could do without it, but then he knew he wouldn''t be able to forge a grade-9 treasure because using a spirit fire raised the chances of the final product tremendously, whether it was in alchemy or forging; even the rune crafting was the same.
Furthermore, he had another reason to use Chuchu''s spirit fire: He wanted to hide the extraordinary properties of his Holy Twilight Qi, which he upgraded with his avatar and called the Holy Twilight Spirit Qi.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
It shocked even him when it happened while he was still in the thief''s house.
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-Cost of Cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight to Law State with Prime Law: Holy Twilight: 100,000,000 Thief Points
-Avatar of Holy Twilight has sessfully achieved Law State with Prime Law: Holy Twilight -Prime Law (Holy Twilight): Holy Twilight is a unique and powerful force within the B.E.L.L. It is the cornerstone of the Avatar of Holy Twilight, granting it extraordinary abilities and potential.
-Core of the Prime Law:
-1. Unity of Mind and Body: The Prime Law fosters a deep connection between the Avatar and its creator, allowing for seamless sharing of abilities and consciousness.
-2. Endless Potential: The Prime Law implies limitless growth and evolution for both the Avatar and its owner.
-3. Divine Essence: It is a manifestation of a higher power, granting and strengthening the Avatar''s divine-like attributes.
-4. Bnce and Harmony: The Prime Law embodies the concept of bnce using the elements of Creation and Light.
-Effects on the Avatar:
-1. Enhanced Abilities: The existing ??? Divine Talents and Soul Abilities of the Avatar are amplified and refined under the influence of the Prime Law and will evolve with every new realm.
-2. Divine Protection: The Avatar gains a higher level of soul protection and resistance against harm from the Divine.
-3. Cosmic Awareness: The Prime Law grants the Avatar a deeper understanding of the universe and itsws.
-Cost of Cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight to Law Spark Realm 100% (9-Star Ascension Soul Solider): 10,000,000 Thief Points
-Avatar of Holy Twilight has sessfully achieved Law Spark Realm 100% (9-Star Ascension Soul Solider)
-Soul Ability (Passive): Holy Twilight Qi has evolved to Holy Twilight Spirit Qi!
-Holy Twilight Spirit Qi: A unique Spirit Qi with a passive Law Heal. It can heal anyw- inflicted wounds, removew curses, heal disabilities, purify any impurities, and so on. The Law Healing effect will depend on the Avatar of Holy Twilight''s realm and the user''s will!
[NOTE: The Soul Abilities of the Avatar of Holy Twilight can be shared between the main body and the avatar!]
-Cost of Cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight to the Spirit Soul Integration Realm (100%) (9-Star Ascension Soul Warrior): 25,000,000 Thief Points
[NOTE: The Avatar of Holy Twilight cannot develop beyond the Cultivation Realm of its Owner!]
At that time, Ace instantlyprehended the Law of Holy Twilight, which was actually thebination of the Law of Light and Creation, at 100% proficiency. Thereby, he not only gained a massive boost in his own power but alsoprehended one of the most powerful and mysteriousws of Creation, which can only beprehended byprehending the concept of Life first. It was a true Mother Law!
Anyhow, the Holy Twilight Spirit Qi can purify anything with its passive Law Heal, which is exactly what the forgers did with the materials. Although he wasn''t sure if it''d work or if they were the same concept, he had a feeling that he was on to something.
So, now that he had a chance to refine the materials, he wanted to test his theory but didn''t want to show it to the others since he knew Twilight Spirit Qi was unique to the B.E.L.L. He won''t be able to avoid others with greed if they find out about his Qi special aspect.
Nheless, Ace wasn''t afraid, even the slightest, since he already had a contingency n in case things didn''t work out. Or he wouldn''t be swaggering around his abilities.
In fact, once he got into the AIG Sect, he wanted others toe after him and give him a reason to retaliate. His goals weren''t simple and short-term this time around.
Once Chuchu''s mes encased the materials under his Qi, Ace instantly felt a scorching sensation through his Qi, but since Chuchu had no intent of harming him, he was able to endure it. That''s the power of a Spirit Fire.
Furthermore, at this moment, when Ace starts using the Law Heal on the materials while using his memories of the runic smith to create ink for special codex runes, he finds that Chuchu''s spirit fire seems to be amplifying his Qi for some reason.
Moreover, he was also using his Qi control to let some mes reach the materials, using the me control principles of the Runic smiths.
Since those materials were only Grade-8, they started to melt within seconds under Ace''s control as he immersed himself in the task.
His mind was a whirlwind of calctions and techniques. Chuchu''s spirit fire, a zing inferno, engulfed the raw materials. As the metals melted, Ace injected his Holy Twilight Qi, a counterbnce to the intense heat.
The Qi imbued with the Prime Law, began to purify the molten mass, drawing out impurities like dark tendrils.
The transformation was rapid. Eight molten spheres formed, each a pulsating orb, and he ordered Chuchu to retract her mes before he manipted them with precise movements,
combining them into a single, inky, viscous liquid.
This ink was called the Piercing Soul Ink and used in creating the codex runes, the Piercing Soul, which granted a weapon not only a passive soul attack ability every time it shes someone but also an active ability called Piercing Soul sh, which was a soul attack. He naturally got this form from one of the jade scrolls.
Creating runes was his bread and butter since whether it was codex runes or philosopher runes; they followed the same principles of rune crafting. So now that the ink was in, the easy
part was done.
cing the Piercing Soul Ink in a pod, he enveloped the three main materials and refined
them using his Qi and Chuchu''s mes. This method was actually quite a high-level technique of a peak Runic Smith of Grade-8 called Active Qi Fire Smiting, whichpletely suits Ace''s
needs.
Soon, the three materials were melted, and using the Qi control, he againbined them in a special sequence, little by little, before he put the molten mixture on the anvil, and a ck runic hammer appeared in his hand.
He started to hammer the molten mixture while shaping it with his Qi using the Twelve Soul Hammer technique in his memories. Even though he didn''t expand much Qi, he still felt the strain and was slightly anxious as he hammered that molten mixture into the shape of a
dagger.
Ace never thought he would forge something someday, and since it was his first time, he waspletely invested in it andpletely forgot about the test or the crowd behind him. He felt the same way whenever he focused on rune crafting, which gave him a strange peace of
mind.
With a solemn expression, while the mixture was still not cooling down, Ace used his Qi again, and the ink in the pod appeared again. Ace masterfully controlled the ink and started to shape it into fine runes-like threads, slowly etching them into the molten metal one by one in
sequence.
Powerful Soul undtions started to rise as he etched the ink onto the surface of the de while making sizzling sounds. Once the runic sequence wasplete, the dagger was sounded with a hazyyer of dark blue mist, and Ace knew it was time to finish the job as he quickly used the hammer and struck the metal in a peculiar rhythm.
With every smite, the hazy mist seemed to be absorbed by the de, revealing its fine and shining surface with intricate patterns. With one final smite, ''Bang!''
A powerful force suddenly appeared before it vanished, revealing the shining ocean crescent blue dagger with tiny runes etched on its razor-sharp edges. This gave the others a feeling of
invincible death!
"Soul Piercing Dagger isplete!"
Ace muttered while whipping his sweat with a hint of pride as he looked at his very first
forged weapon, an initial-stage Grade-9 weapon!
Chapter 1174: First Test Passed!
Chapter 1174: First Test Passed!
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Elder Dewey couldn''t help but nod with fondness as he watched the entire forging process without missing anything despite his initial shock brought by Chuchu''s spirit fire.
Furthermore, he had to admit that despite not having personal control over the spirit fire, George''s Qi control was enough to make up for it. For some reason, he also senses a
peculiarity in George''s Qi, which he can''t put his finger on.
Nheless, the entire forging process has earned his approval, and even without examining the Soul Piercing Dagger yet, he had already given George a pass.
The others were also impressed by George but didn''t say anything. They let Elder Dewey take the lead as he moved toward the Soul Piercing Dagger.
"You did well. But there is still some room for improvement." Elder Dewey smilinglymented as he picked up the Soul Piercing Dagger.
Ace nodded without any arrogance as he already knew that, as his first time trying to forge, he had gone above and beyond for a neer perspective. If Elder Dewey and others found out about it, they wouldn''t be soposed.
But Ace had no intention of telling them the truth as he had already passed the test. After all, he made a grade-9 treasure using grade-8 materials, which can only be done by peak grade-9 runic smiths. However, only he knew that he was able to pull it off because of his Holy Twilight Spirit Qi and Chuchu''s spirit fire.
Elder Dewey, after picking the ocean blue soul-piercing dagger with dark blue runic symbols on its de, used a special spell, and his eyes suddenly glowed as the mystery of the daggerpletelyy bare in front of him.
''96% purity...'' He thought with a hint of hidden shock before he stopped using the spell, but his eyes were far from calm.
The purity of the materials in any refinement was tantamount to any profession because it directly affects the final product, and the higher the purity, the chances of the final product evaluating to a much higher rank increased tremendously.
However, even Elder Dewey had only achieved 64% purity in his refinement process, and increasing even a single percent was like climbing mountains and crossing rivers. Yet George had achieved 96% purity which was a threshold almost impossible to reach.
Although this could still be med on the difference between George''s and the materials'' power potency, Elder Dewey wasn''t sure if he could even pull a 96% potency using the same materials. The highest he could do was 87%.
Lastly, 96% purity was the highest he had ever seen or even heard, which made the old man, who had lived for tens of thousands of years, utterly baffled and shocked.
As for ming it on Chuchu''s special spirit fire, this thought didn''t even cross his mind because even though Chuchu''s spirit fire was extremely powerful and a dream of every forger, in the end, if George wasn''t the one controlling it with masterful control, the spirit fire would''ve turned the materials into ashes within seconds.
So, it was George who utilized all his skills and tools to his advantage perfectly and created this miracle.
Elder Dewey even had a feeling that George waspletely clueless about his own achievement. After all, he seems to not know about the growth-type spirit fire, and he wouldn''t be showing it around in front of everyone if he had known its implications.
So, he decided to property tech him about it without any malicious intention towards him and stop himself from bringing any of it out in front of everyone, even Homer, who he trusts with his life. George''s talent was simply too high at this point, and he knew there was a high possibility that he was really a dual-running talent. Even if he wasn''t, his future achievement in the forging would shock thends!
Elder Dewey then looked towards George and smiled kindly, "You passed my test. Do you want to rest before showing us your Spirit Rune Crafting?"
"Thank you for your kindness Lord Elder, but I''m fine," Ace replied without hesitation. He wanted to get it over with as soon as possible because he now really wanted to enter the sect and explore more about forging because of the strange feeling he had towards the end.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Because of that feeling, Ace could feel his cultivation had increased slightly, which came as a shock to him but also a present surprise.
''Is it because I fell into a special state of mind while forging that cultivation increased? Or it''s something else? After all, I never really cultivated like this before, so I never sense anything like this while I craft runes. Maybe it''s a special thing to onlyw states? I''ll have to see if I can get into the same kind of state while rune crafting. I haven''t tried creating an ascension grade runic treasure yet and only study the principals because ofck of time and materials...'' He mused with a hint of anticipation.
Elder Dewey admired young George''s spirit and nodded in approval as he said, "As promised, I''ll provide you with materials for ascension-grade rune crafting. So, what do you need? I can see what I have, and if weck anything, Weston n can provide them for us. I''ll naturally pay the cost for them."
"What are you saying, Elder? Please take whatever you need; it''s our honor to provide materials for a prodigy like Sir George." Lloyd quickly chimed in as he directly rejected any payment.
Even he knew George was far from simple, and he was about to soar, especially if he pulled this off, so forming at least this small goodwill with such a figure would do them more good than harm.
Elder Dewey naturally caught on to Lloyd''s intentions, but he didn''t say anything for his deceased disciple''s sake, and it was Lloyd who led George to him, so he wasn''t against it as long as George was willing.
Ace naturally won''t reject free materials to test his theory, so his mind begins to work at lightning speed as he selects one of the 9 Heavenly Ascension Runes of Grade-1.
Yes, there were only nine Ascension Grade-1 Runes in Heavenly Runes of Ascension, and simrly, nine Ascension grade-2 and nine Ascension grade-3 runes.
But those nines runes were the origin of every rune at the same grade, and as long as he knew how to break them and create more runes from them, he could create or copy any runes at the
same grade.
That''s where his foundation in the Mortal Sky Heavenes in handy, especially the Forbidden Runes. As for the names of materials, although he had yet to get proper talismans, arrays, or formations from the system in his rune crafting panel, he had already remembered many from his knowledge of Moon Fiend King''s storage ring.
That guy had collected a vast collection of knowledge about herbs and materials to practice his Undead Puppetry, and now they were all his!
Chapter 1175 Limit Talisman: Life Star
Chapter 1175 Limit Talisman: Life Star
Ace then quickly voiced out around fifty Ascension Grade-1 materials. Although there were many, for a n like Weston n and a sect elder like Dewey, they were nothing.
Furthermore, the materials were quite easy to find, considering their rarity, and even Ace had tonnes of high-grade materials in Moon Fiend King''s storage ring. Still, he didn''t dare to take them out since they would be conspicuous in many ways.
The materials were quickly fetched under Lloyd''s order, and he insisted on providing every one of them. He didn''t let Elder Dewey take out anything himself, to which Elder Dewey didn''t say anything and let Lloyd do as he pleased.
All Elder Dewey cared about was watching George rune crafting, and he was quite curious about what he would make. After all, like Spirit Forging, Spirit Rune Crafting has different specialties like talismans, arrays, and formations.
However, with the amount of materials George asked for, Elder Dewey mused that he was making a talisman or an array since a formation required way more materials.
Once the materials arrived, Ace sprang into action, and using the same method, Chuchu''s spirit fire, and his Qi, he started the purifying process on all the herbs, leaving behind only a 4-Star Ascension Solider grade beast core of wood affinity alone. The refinement process goes smoothly now that Ace is somewhat familiar with it, and since it is his own territory of rune crafting, he is way more rxed. This directly affects his speed, making the audience secretly shocked by the young man''s efficiency. It was quite clear that he was way more familiar with rune crafting than forging.
Once the purification and refinement process was done, Ace was left with glistering colorful liquids and some powders as he quickly started the mixing process.
"Although I''m not familiar with Spirit Rune Crafting, I''m sure what this boy is currently doing is nothing but normal. Do you think he can match those geniuses in the Yin-Yang Formation Domain?" Elder Homer solemnly inquired through spirit transmission.
Elder Dewey replied with uncertainty, "I don''t know for sure, but I have once seen an Elder of Yin-Yang Formation Guardian Sect using his technique to craft a Limit Talisman, and his refinement process was nothing like George, and he was somewhat¡slow.
"If I hadn''t seen his forging process myself, I would''ve thought George was a spy sent here to poach our secret techniques. But now, I don''t think so since those arrogantly greedy bastards aren''t foolish enough to send a dual-runic talent here to be a spy.
"From what I could tell, George isn''t using any secret techniques at all and using most ordinary and primitive methods for refinement. You can say that he''s only using the very foundation of all those fancy techniques that let him achieve these results without wasting any materials or time. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Furthermore, the difference is even more apparent in his rune crafting. I wonder where the Violet Yang Grand Sect even found him and why they didn''t directly bring him here to im the credit?"
Elder Homer slightly nodded, "I''m also wondering about this; it''s too strange. Furthermore, don''t forget about his uncanny thieving abilities and those marks. I''ve personally examined that so-called curse mark of that owl, and I can''t do anything about it.
"This boy is cunning and decisive while he also isn''t afraid of trouble. Maybe he was hiding his true abilities from even his own sect because of potential enemies. There is also a massive chance that he has acquired some secret inheritance. "Once his talent was shown to the sect, they will naturallyunch a massive investigation on his background. But there will be more greedy bastardsing after him.
"Just as you said, the Yin-Yang Formation Guardian Sect is a den of arrogant and greedy bastards; our sect is no different. Once they suspect the involvement of an inheritance, they will start scheming against the boy. Although he would be safe in the sect since no one could harm him openly, I couldn''t say the same once he was sent out.
"Don''t forget what happened to John. The four main ns would never let some outsider rattle their absolute authority. He''s either with them or against them." Elder Homer''s expression was grim as he said those things, which he didn''t dare say normally, but George had really moved him.
Elder Dewey''s expression also turned gloomy, "Even if he submits to them, he can only choose one, and the other three will still be his enemy, even more so since they won''t let anyone else acquire a dual runic talent.
"After all, once this fact was out, he''d be eligible to fight for the Artifact Guardian Master position. The Guardian Spirit would only choose a Dual Runic Talent for Artifact Guardian Master, and that''s the only reason the Junior Artifact Guardian Master position has always been empty!"
Elder Homer sighed as he knew this matter was tooplex, and earlier, they had forgotten about them in their excitement. They were both loyal to the AIG Sect and always wanted what was best for it, and George was absolutely best for the sect.
But they know that corruption in the sect was simply too deeply rooted, and George was a tiebreaker, an anomaly the four ns would do anything to either rope in or eliminate before someone else acquired him.
Their thought process was disrupted by sudden blinding light at this moment as George had already concocted the emerald color runic ink, and a golden brush had appeared in his hand.
At this moment, Ace gracefully swayed the golden Rune Brush, and the ink suddenly parted into multiple fine fibers and started to connect with the brush hairs. He then looked towards the corporeal beast''s core, which was like a star, and started to move the tip of the brush on the beast''s core.
Glowing runes started to appear under Ace''s grace moments as his strokes were precise and decisive without any doubt or hesitation, and the ink slowly started to wane. Within seconds, the beast''s core was filled with tiny rune strings, and Ace felt that strange state of mind again at this moment. But the moment he stopped, it started to slip away again.
Ace didn''t wait toprehend it as he felt it wasn''t like thewprehension and quickly formed hand seals. The runes on the beast cores lit up, and an aura rich in woodw started to fill the entire workshop.
The beast core, at this moment, seemed to have turned ethereal, and Ace quickly took out a pendant. With a thought, he guided the ethereal beast core toward the pendant.
The moment it touched the pendant, it started to integrate into the white gem before itpletely vanished. Now the white gem was emerald, and there was a single runic symbol within the gem, like a star.
Ace sighed in relief with clear excitement in his eyes as he presented the pedant in front of everyone, "This is an Upper Ascension Grade-1 Limit Talisman: Life Star that can be used to instantly heal 60% of anyw-inflicted wounds, whether internal or outer for five times. Even an Ascension Warrior can use it. Please inspect it, Lord Elder!"
Chapter 1176: Investing in a Thief! (1)
Chapter 1176: Investing in a Thief! (1)
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"You made an Upper Ascension Grade-1 Limit Talisman?!" Elder Marguerite blurted in disbelief as if hearing something absurd, and Lloyd was the same.
After all, they all knew that a limit talisman was a hundred times more difficult to makepared to a normal talisman, as they required a deep understanding of arrays and formations.
Not to mention, George was a 1-Star Ascension Solider yet sessfully created an Upper Ascension Grade-1 limit talisman on his very first try. This means he was really a peak 1-Star Spirit Rune Crafter!
Normally, any profession, whether Spirit Forging, Spirit Crafting, or Spirit Alchemy, can only create Upper Ascension Grade treasures when it reaches the peak middle stage (6-Star) of an ascension rank or advanced stages (7-Star9-Star) because it requires not only powerful souls and deepprehension of ascensionws but also potent Qi.
This means that either George''s soul was extremely powerful from his current cultivation or his Qi was that special.
Whatever the case, if they had taken his words for granted before, they allpletely believed him now, and they knew that George was a true genius of Runic Path.
Although his Spirit Forging was far behind his Spirit Rune Crafting, he had said himself that he didn''t have the knowledge and method to train in Spirit Forging, which means his Spirit Forging talent might be equally terrifying.
Elder Dewey and Elder Homer ignored the skeptical duo and quickly made their way toward George. The former quickly took the pendant from Ace''s hand to examine it.
Ace didn''t care as he was mulling over that strange feeling again because his cultivation had increased slightly and more than from the forging before.
"System, is there something you''re not telling me? Can my cultivation increase by simply forging and rune crafting?" Ace questioned the system with uncertainty.
"[There are many mysterious things, and sometimes it would be more beneficial for host to figure them out yourself than learning them in advance and harming yourself by losing the benefits.]"
Ace''s expression changed slightly as he somewhat understood what the system was implying, so he gave up on seeking system help. Although he knew something was up, he could tell that whatever the secret was, it was really beneficial for him. He even had some clues that this strange phenomenon was rted to his Fantastic Physique and Meridians or maybe the Darkness Order.
He knew he''d figure it out eventually as long as he did more forging and rune crafting, and he was nning on doing exactly that.
"What wless craftsmanship. I''m afraid if not for theck of materials and your cultivation being too low, this limit talisman might''ve been a lower ascension grade-2." Elder Dewey eximed while praising George, thoroughly impressed.
"You''re too kind, Lord Elder. I''m still too far away from reaching 2-Star Spirit Rune Crafter." George humbly bowed before excitement shed past his eyes, "Does that mean now I can join the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect?"
"If you can''t join, I''m afraid no one can." Elder Homer''s tone contained rare praise and humor, as he waspletely won over by George''s talent.
If Elder Homer hadn''t already used his Elder apportionment, he would''ve used it on George without hesitation. But his jolly mood suddenly changed when he thought about something, and he became gloomy.
Elder Dewey sensed the change in Elder Homer''s mood and sighed as he looked toward Lloyd and Marguerite before he sternly said, "I want you two to keep this news to yourself. By no means, and I mean absolutely by no means, George''s talent should get out. Know this; this matter is rted to the rise of our sect, and since you both were close to John, I''m not making you sign Law Contracts. Don''t make me regret my decision, and in return, I''ll make sure your n remains safe in the sect."
Lloyd was startled by Elder Dewey''s sudden change in tone. He wondered why Elder Dewey suddenly changed his attitude and was acting so protective of George now.
Nheless, the promise was enough for Lloyd to cheer in joy, and he was sensible enough to know Elder Dewey wasn''t joking about George''s position. George was destined to rise with his talent, and offending him or Elder Dewey was nothing but shooting on his own feet.
"Please be worry-free, Elder. In the name of my ancestor, I hereby pledge to keep everything that happened here to myself and take it to my grave. If I ever reveal it, may the heaven smite me to death!" Lloyd took a solemn vow without hesitation, and Marguerite quickly followed suit.
Elder Dewey nodded in satisfaction before he said, "Now, give up some privacy; I need to discuss the uing trial with George."
Lloyd and Marguerite quicklyplied and left them alone. Ace also felt strange seeing the old guys react like this, and he thought it had something to do with that ''back door'' entrance.
But Elder Dewey''s next words made him realize that it wasn''t that simple, "George, my boy, what I''m about to say to you will be unfair to you, but know this that I have no ill intent. I''m doing this for your own safety because your talent is a thorn in many people''s ambition, and they didn''t care about the rise or fall of the sect as long as it benefitted them."
''Heh, typical internal conflicts.'' Ace instantly guessed what Elder Dewey was talking about, as he wasn''t an idiot and knew about corruption in massive organizations.
The Sects were extremelyrge, evenrger than empires of Mortal Sky Heaven, and they were without any doubt the true rulers of the Mortal Ascension Heaven, so he had already taken their arrogance and disdain towards the humble into ount.
Still, Elder Dewey and Elder Homer seemed like honest and upright people, so he didn''t have any bad impression of them. He knew people like them existed everywhere. Nheless, he won''t change his goals because of such people; all he can do is avoid them.
"I understand." George solemnly nodded.
Elder Dewey knew that George was far from being na?ve. He was also part of a first-grade sect, so he should know that every sect has filth, and the AIG sect wasn''t any different. However, Elder Dewey knew that not everyone had their own benefits in mind; most of them cared for the sect, like Elder Homer.
Only some people were rotten to the core, and they affected everyone else, and he wanted George to avoid those people at all costs.
"If you understand, then I can be at ease. So, for the time being, you can''t show your rune- crafting talent. You''ll enter the sect as a Spirit Forger, and I''ll teach you everything you need to know until you be a one-star Spirit Forger.
"To avoid any suspicion, I can only teach for a month, and since you are already familiar with Spirit Rune Crafting, your foundation is absolutely solid. So, I think it would be enough for you to be able to forge a lower ascension grade-1 weapon.
"But this doesn''t mean that you can ck off with your Spirit Rune Crafting. Once you enter the sect, I''ll provide you with Spirit Rune Crafting knowledge, but you can only practice it inn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
secret."
Seeing that George was taking everything seriously, Elder Dewey solemnly stated, "Your goal is to be a Core Disciple or Chief Forger Disciple of the sect before you can show your dual
runic talent!"
Ace was surprised by this foreign term and tentatively asked, "Dual Runic Talent?"
Chapter 1177: Investing in a Thief! (2)
Chapter 1177: Investing in a Thief! (2)
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Afterward, Elder Dewey told Ace about the dual runic talent, and Ace was astounded and grimaced as he understood its implications.
Not only that, he even regretted showing off slightly, but he can''t be med since he had no idea that there was such a thing as runic smiths and rune crafters back in the Mortal Sky
Heaven.
Furthermore, when Elder Dewey told him about the part about only the Sect Leader, the Artifact Guardian Master, the Sect Leader of the AIG Sect also being a Dual Runic Talent, which made him eligible to fight for the same position, he finally understands why both elders were telling them to hide his Rune Crafting talent for the time being.
Even he could tell how those four ns would react if they found out an outsider could overthrow their absolute control over the sect-he was a tiebreaker!
But what truly shocked him was the next topic, which was the fire spirits and the reality behind Chuchu''s mes being a growth-type fire spirit. When found, a hidden killing intent surfaces in Ace''s eyes. Even the Artifact Guardian Master might bepelled to act if he found out Chuchu had a growth-type spirit fire.
However, when both elders assured him that Lloyd didn''t know about this, that this information was only privy to sect elders and core disciples, and that it was almost impossible to tame a growth-type fire spirit, he calmed down a little.
From what Ace could tell, both elders had upright characters and werepletely loyal to the sect, so he believed them for now. Still, he had already decided not to show off Chuchu''s spirit fire anymore since if someone with ill intentions finds out or reports it to the four ns; they will do anything to capture Chuchu.
Moreover, Ace was pretty sure that Cyrus also had the same spirit fire and was even stronger than Chuchu''s, or she wouldn''t have willingly submitted to him. He even thought about sending them back to the thief''s space, but he knew it wasn''t fair to both of them.
After all, Cyrus had already suffered because of hisck of awareness andmon sense, all because Ace was sheltering him too much. At least he didn''t want him to be ignorant and observe what he does all the time so he wouldn''t be reckless in the future.
However, at this moment, Elder Homer revealed something that instantly caught Ace''s attention.
"You can''t keep your magic beast exposed all the time, especially with her uniqueness. Although I don''t recognize her race, the same couldn''t be said for the others, especially the upper echelon of the sect. They might''ve had records about her race and fire spirit.
"So, you should consider learning an Upper Sky Ascensions Grade Spell of Beast Tamer path called the Beast Law Channel. This will allow you to keep your contracted spirit beasts in your inner cultivation space just like a spirit weapon!"
Ace was astounded and quickly posed a follow-up question, "Is that even possible?"
Ace knew the importance of this method since he knew a spirit weapon could share all his senses and vision and interact with him easily. After all, Moira was an example of this, not to mention that Avos had also told him the same thing.
Furthermore, Cyrus was already under the Master and Servant Pack, with him implicated by the system when he was born, which was different from a Beast Contract, but he still wanted to try if it meant he could keep them out of the thief''s space.
Elder Homer solemnly nodded before he rified, "It is indeed true. The Beast Tamer Path is one of the top soul paths in existence, and its methods are mysterious and deadly. They tame powerful magic beasts and then use their powers as their own, and they all have extremely powerful souls but equally weak physiques. They walked on apletely different path than ours and kept their secrets very close.
"But the spell Beast Law Channel can be used by other Law States, and any second-grade sect would have a copy of it. This spell is a ritual type and can only be used once. It will open a Beast Law Channel in your soul and then allow you to take your contracted magic beast into your inner cultivation space.
"However, don''t think that you can keep as many magic beasts as the size of your inner space. You can only keep a magic beast inside that your true soul allows and within its limit.
"The maximum limit of magic beasts an Ascension Martial Soldier can keep in its martial inner space is 8 elemental beasts or 2w state spirit magic beasts in the same realm. While an Ascension Soul Soldier can keep twice that amount with the addition of a single 1 ascension warrior of 1-Star.
"Cross this limit, and one will suffer a terrible bacsh, or in worst cases, their true soul will burst, meaning certain death!
"But this limit is not absolute; this can vary if you include different factors like powerful souls, fantastic physiques, fantastic meridians, bloodline, and even races. The limit I told you is of humans, and rarely anyone surpassed them unless they walked the path of a beast tamer."
Ace''s eyes shimmered with intense light as he knew he needed to get his hands on this damn spell no matter what and then try to see if he could keep Cyrus and Chuchu within his own inner space.
Furthermore, Ace knew he should have a high limit, far more than what Elder had told him, because there were simply too many factors involved with his true soul, and his cultivation was anything but ordinary.
"Can you teach me this Beast Law Channel Spell, Lord Elder? I''ll be eternally grateful to you. I can''t put my friends in danger." George quickly bowed his head in a pleading tone.
"Friends, huh?" Elder Homer seemed pleased with George''s way of thinking as he approved of his attitude.
''Although he''s cunning and shrewd, he cares about his bounds even if that bond is with a beast. He''s exactly what the sect needs to rise.''
Elder Dewey also nodded approvingly with a gentle smile as he replied to George''s question since he knew his old friend wouldn''t be able to exin clearly.
"I''m afraid Elder Homer won''t be able to teach any spells belonging to the sect, and neither can I. It''s not like we don''t want to, but as long as you are not an official member of the sect, we can''t share any knowledge that is considered ''sect knowledge,'' and all the elders are the
same.
"Know this: It is a security measure to keep the sects'' secrets from being exposed to outsiders, and you''ll know once you join our ranks. But don''t worry: Once you enter the sect, you''ll get a chance to enter the Sect Knowledge Spectrum, and you can easily select the Beast Law Channel Spell.
"For now, just don''t use your friend''s fire spirit, and I advise you to leave them here when you''re going to take the test and thene back to fetch them. I can guarantee their safety in
the Weston n."
''So, they are under some kind of contract? Is it rted to the seals on the memories I''ve been seeingtely? Well, since I can get that spell once I enter the sect, there is no need to keep pressing. As for leaving these two here, not in a million years...''
Ace didn''t even entertain that thought since he could just temporarily keep them in the thief''s space while pretending to leave them in the wild.
"I understand."
Elder Dewey nodded again at George, quickly regaining his calm, "Then let us begin your training. I can only teach my own knowledge and insights, and we have only a month to get you ready, so we can''t waste even a little time. So, you have to bear with it until you can forge a lower ascension grade-1 weapon!"
Ace agreed without hesitation, "Don''t worry, please be worry-free, Lord Elder. I can take itn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
all!"
Just like that, his training began, and unbeknownst to both elders, they were literally investing in a thief so he could enter their home!
Chapter 1178: An Unstoppable Power Surface!
Chapter 1178: An Unstoppable Power Surface!
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"Those meddlesome Westons!" Wace winced as he heard Irv''s report about George''s whereabouts, and five more people were present in his personal chambers.
"Did you guys find out if he had joined the Weston n?" Wace asked, knowing that fuming in this situation would do him no good.
Now that the Weston n has been involved, it won''t be easy for him to get his hands on the thievish bastard, especially since they were on their own turf. If it was the Southern Guardian Sect City, it would bepletely opposite since the Oriente n was thew there, and the same thing goes for the Western Guardian Sect City!
Irv shook his head with naked rage in his eyes, "No, thest thing we were able to get from our spies was the chief city guard escorting that thievish rat into the main estate, and it''s been two weeks since he wasst seen. Now, what should we do? Are we going to let him be after what he did!?"
"Anger is not a solution to your problem, Young Irv. This matter is no longer so simple." An old man suddenly chimed in with a stern tone and dismissive expression. He was clearly not invested in this silly charade.
Wace nced at the old man and coldly asked, "Then what do you suggest, Sixth Elder? I''m positive he''s hiding something. From our investigation, that guy was nothing but an ordinary core disciple of Violet Yang Grand Sect, a backwater sect at the edge of Spirit Inferno Domain! The abilities he showed here had never been seen before, so it''s quite obvious that something happened to him when he was traveling to this ce.
"Not only that, but we even found quite an interesting thing about this George. He left the Violet Yang Grand Sect because he had offended their Grand Elder''s granddaughter, and that woman seemed to have sent assassins after him.
"But since he''s still alive, I reckoned they had failed, or he had managed to avoid them. Furthermore, that guy was a coward; his personality didn''t match his arrogant behavior here at all. So, I''m pretty sure he had gotten something that gave him enough courage to run rampant here.
"Oh, and you know, want to hear another interesting thing? From our source in the Western city''s ck Market, that brat had been spotted exiting the Sea of Secrets!" Wace sneered, seeing the Sixth Elder''s expression change the moment he mentioned the Sea of Secrets!
"Are you positive?! He''s really been in the Sea of Secrets!?" Sixth Elder asked in an agitated tone, his dismissive expressionpletely gone.
"Unless the ck Market wanted to lose their credibility, I''m pretty sure." Wace replied without hesitation, "In fact, just before the Weston n made their move, the steward of the ck Market was already nning on making a move on George. We all know the importance of any connection with the Sea of Secrets, and it''s been decades if not centuries since they made a mistake and exposed their so-called patron''s identity in the Spirit Inferno Domain despite having many branches.
"If my knowledge is not wrong, thest person who was exposed was kidnapped by a mysterious person and never heard from again. As for fearing the Sea of Secrets, we all know they won''t care about anyone as long as we don''t cause trouble for them.
"But we can''t miss this. Even the sect didn''t dare to do anything to the Sea of Secrets despite their treasure trove of knowledge, and everyone wanted it. Let''s put my personal matter aside. If we capture George and use his connection with the Sea of Secrets for our n, it would be a huge merit."
The Sixth Elder and everyone else beside him nodded, knowing Wace''s words weren''t lies. "I need to report this to the patriarch. Since Weston n already took him, it won''t be easy to get him back. But don''t worry, Young Lord Wace. We won''t let anyone who offended the offspring of Oriente walk free for long!"
Not waiting for Wace''s reply, the Sixth Elder quickly excused himself, and those others with him followed suit, leaving Wace and Irv alone.
"Tsk, greedy bastards!" Irv scoffed with disdain before he turned to Wace and asked, confused by Wace''s actions, "Why did you tell them, My Lord? Now, they''ll do everything to catch him alive."
"So what?" Wace''s rageful attitude waspletely gone as he appeared extremely calm, "That guy is too strange, and even the Sea of Secrets thought so as well since they allowed him to enter their mysterious den. Having that kind of enemy is not good, and Weston n had already acquired him, so he''s untouchable unless an Elder from the sect moves, which we both know is impossible.
"In fact, if we told them the same thing, they would first try to recruit him into the sect, and he''d most likely agree with it, making him even more untouchable. So, letting those greedy fellows take action and make his life difficult is the only thing left. I even secretly released this information to the other two cities as well."
A cold smile appeared on Wace''s face as he knew George''s life was about to be hellish. "As for us, we are not going to take any action against him any more; we just watch from the sideline. If he somehow survives this, he won''t be able to find our involvement. Although it''s somewhat regretful, it''s the best course of action with how things are turning. Oh, and I also revealed the fact about him being alive to his enemy."
Irv''s eyes shimmered with awe and reverence, "So, we are muddling the waters and letting the others fish for us. Hahaha, you have my utmost respect, my lord! You have won without even doing anything, and it''s serving that thievish rat right!" He quickly bowed his head.
Wace chuckled and epted Irv''s bow before he frowned slightly as he asked, "Since this matter is handled, did you receive any message from the Beast Cmity Mountain Range''s Sect Alliance? It''s about time for them to send my portion of Spirit Stones and Spirit Nectar, but they haven''t made contact, nor are they replying to my messages."
Irv was surprised before he sneered, "No, Lonnie or his goons haven''t contacted me. Could it be that those ants have be daring and think they can double-cross my lord? Please give me permission to head there personally and teach them a lesson on your behalf." Wace shook his head, "No need; there should be some other problem. They knew better than to cross me unless they wanted to lose the entire mine to the sect and then suffer punishment for not alerting the sect. Still, send a Ranger Hawk there, and we''ll see what is going on with them."
Meanwhile, the Sect Alliance City had undergone a massive revolutionary change at this moment. The masses were kneeling in front of a high pedestal with reverence in their eyes. They looked towards the imposing young man standing on the pedestal, and behind him were kneeling many figures with ragged appearances and listless eyes.
At his moment, the Heaven''s Advocate spoke in a solemn tone as he pointed towards the people behind him, "Everyone, these people in power had exploited you all for years for their own avarice and personal gains without caring about your lives and feelings.
"But today, following the will of high Heaven, I have brought them on the sword tip of justice, and they will suffer for everything they have done under the pretext of righteousness. And make no mistake, this is just the beginning of Heavenly Justice, for I shall purge any and all injustice in thends of High Heaven and turn them into a real paradise for everyone. "Let the hammer of justice m in this ce and let its echo reverberate throughout thends!"
The moment Heaven''s Advocate''s voice was filled with a strange charm, it rang. Those people''s eyes shimmered with reverence almost to an oundish degree as they all cheered
frantically.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
At this moment, a phantom of a blindfolded humanoid carrying a scale of justice appeared behind those people on death row, and they started to tremble the moment they sensed the horrifying aura that caused their downfall-the downfall of the most prominent figures, including but not limited to the Sect Leaders and sect Protectors!
As the scales started to trip, the Heaven''s Advocate dered, "I hereby announce the establishment of the Heavenly Justice Court!"
Chapter 1179 Not So Simple!
1179 Not So Simple!
On the third week after George went ''missing'' in the Weston n Estate, the Weston n was visited by two unexpected yet esteemed guests: the delegate0 of the Oriente n. Following him was the Sutton n as well, which made the Elder in charge of n diplomacy frown and show hostility.
After all, the matter regarding John''s death was no secret among the n elders, and they all knew that it was most likely the Sutton n behind that assassination. But without any solid proof, they can''t do anything but swallow their rage and grievances.
The diplomatic elder''s name was Brycen. He was a middle-aged man with a bony frame and astute personality. Although he had no good feelings toward the hunched-back old man from the Sutton n, he knew confronting him would only make the matter worse for the Weston n, especially when the Sixth Elder of the Oriente n brought him here. They can''t afford to have a hostile rtionship with the Oriente n as well.
"It''s nice to see you after a long Elder Enrique, Sixth Elder Darius." Brycen greeted politely with a smile.
"Indeed, it''s been a while, Elder Brycen. Thest time we met was at the century n gathering meeting, and I still remember you taking over Elder Brodie''s seat. It''s a real pity the old man died too soon." Elder Enrique Suttonmented as if he were mourning an old friend.
But Brycen''s expression immediately fell because Elder Brodie was none other than Elder Brycen''s father, and he died while fighting the Sutton n. So Elder Enrique''s words were like a taunt to him. He clenched his fists under the table, and it took great willpower to suppress his urge to attack the old bastard.
Sixth Elder Darius quickly intervened as he knew agitating Brycen would only make matters worse for them. He secretly cursed the old goat for not being sensible and even regretted taking him here with him.
"Ahem, it''s very pleasing to see you, Elder Brycen. You have be even stronger than thest time I saw you."
However, Brycen had already lost interest in talking with them, especially with Enrique present, so he dropped all the pleasantries and asked, "Let''s cut to the chase, shall we? How may I help you, gentlemen, today?"
Darius was more than happy to oblige. He knew beating around the bush wouldn''t work here, so he directly stated their reason, "Elder Brycen, ites to our knowledge that you are harboring a criminal in your n, and we are here to take him under our custody!"
Brycen was startled when he heard this unexpected reason before he thought of something, and his eyes went cold, "I don''t know what you''re talking about, Elder Darius."
Enrique sneered at this moment, "We are talking about the vile thief George from the backwater first-grade sect, and you know it. Don''t bother to pretend; we know he''s here!"
However, Brycen suddenly pulled a smile filled with disdain instead of getting angry, which startled Enrique since he was expecting a more negative response. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Oh, you''re talking about, Sir George? First, let me rify: He is not a prisoner but our esteemed guest, and we have no intention of handing him over to anyone. Furthermore, if he wants to leave, he is a free man and can leave anytime he wants, but as long as he''s staying here, the Weston n will make sure to protect him with everything we have."
Both Enrique and Darius were shocked by how Brycen addressed George and his clear stance on this matter. They were both old foxes, and they instantly sensed something wrong with all this since Brycen''s reaction was simply not what they had expected, and he seemed full of confidence.
Still, they knew George''s importance, so they weren''t going to be scared so easily, as Darius probed again in a harsh tone.
"Elder Brycen, don''t you know that the vile thief George had robbed many people from small sects within your city? Not only that, but he even robbed my n''s young talent and a me Disciple, Irv, who was passing by that day and left him with that cursed mark. I don''t need to tell you if this news reaches the Sect Law Enforcement, you will also be punished for harboring the criminal in your n.
"So, I want you to consider this again if you really want to protect the criminal and suffer the consequences. However, if you are willing to hand it over, you will have the Oriente n''s gratitude, and we''ll owe you a favor. It''s far better to make friends than have enemies on every side."
Thest part was clearly a threat, and Darius was making it pretty clear that he wouldn''t back down today, no matter what. If Brycen still didn''t choose wisely, the Weston n would have the Oriente n on top of the Sutton n as their enemies.
Furthermore, Darius knew that Brycen was aware that the Oriente n had far more influence in the Western Guardian Sect City than the Sutton n, and if they turned hostile, it would be a disaster for the Weston n.
However, Brycen''s smile only grew colder as he replied ambiguously, "Again, I want to make it clear that Sir George is no criminal, and what he did back there was an act of self-defense. If you want to take it to the sect, be my guest. If there is nothing else, then please excuse me. I have more important matters to tend to than this baseless farce. I won''t be seeing you out." Without waiting for Enrique and Darius''s reactions, Brycen boldly left the meeting hall without any intention of entertaining them anymore. Secretly, he was cheering for them to take action against George and burn themselves because he knew George''s status waspletely different from three weeks ago.
If they can''t bring at least an inner sect elder into this matter, they can''t do anything to George, and instead, they will offend both Elder Homer and Elder Dewey as well as George, who was destined to rise to the heights of their outer ns can''t even dream of.
Once their rtionship with George turned hostile, the Weston n didn''t need to do anything; they could just wait for them to get burned from the fire they started on their own. That''s why Brycen didn''t even bother to pretend and followed Lloyd''s instructions.
''Now, let''s see if you dare to dance or not¡'' Brycen left while sneering with thisst fleeting thought, feeling quite refreshed about getting one up on both old foxes.
Enrique and Darius leftpletely bbergasted. They looked towards each other with dace, as if they still couldn''t believe that really happened, before their brows tightly knit together and expressions turned grim.
"Are we missing something here?" Enrique asked Darius, as his information on George was almost the same as Darius''.
But Brycen''s confidence had really shaken up the old man, and he was starting to be vignt and wanted to make sure they weren''t ying in the Weston n''s favor. After all, the Sutton n had been fighting the Weston n for too long, and they knew them far better than anyone, so he knew Brycen had something that gave him the confidence to treat them like mere riffraff.
But Darius was equally confused, "I don''t know. Let''s get out of here first and investigate again. If he''s bluffing¡humph!"
Although unhappy, Darius didn''t want to take this gamble until he was absolutely sure that they weren''t overlooking something.
So, both nsunched another investigation this time, which turned out to be a massive waste of time and resources. What they didn''t know was that the time they had wasted was enough for Ace toplete his preparation!
Chapter 1180 Elder Apportionment Token
1180 Elder Apportionment Token
Elder Dewey looked at George with a hint of pride and hidden disbelief as he still couldn''t believe what he had witnessed in the past month. Elder Homer had already left five days ago to report back to the sect about John''s death investigation and not to alert others about George yet.
Ace also had to admit that this old man was a great teacher. He taught him about forging without holding back and with such a passion that even he was moved. N?v(el)B\\jnn
He couldn''t help butpare Elder Dewey with his other teacher, the Divine Eye Hunter, Death Striker Conner. He left with Principle Zack after they found they were in higher heaven to find their own opportunity and rejected joining their disciples; their pride simply won''t allow them to mooch on their students.
Ace and Eva could only agree to their wishes, and after he provided them with everything he could, they parted ways with a promise to meet again if fate allowed it. Anyhow, forging was Elder Dewey''s pride and joy, and he never messed around when it came to forging. So, he also didn''t hold back and learned everything from the old man, and now his foundation of forging was probably only slightly inferior to his Rune Crafting.
Furthermore, Ace still hadn''t shown his entire capabilities by using his own heavenly spirit Qi because he knew if he used primordial Qi in forging, the result should be as astounding as Heavenly Rune Crafting.
Moreover, after learning these facts, he had a strange proposition: He should use his own weapons forged with his Heavenly Spirit Qi for Universal Ascension ck Physique, and it was the correct path.
Although he didn''t know why he thought like that or had this feeling, he knew his instincts had never failed him. After all, he had opened the secret parts of the Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique''s first volume by following these instincts.
It also now made more sense to him since a weapon forged by an iplete spirit Qi would never be sufficient to cultivate aplete path of martial/body cultivation. That''s why he had already decided to forge his own weapons using the Heavenly Spirit Qi and then use them to start the true path of martial cultivators.
Furthermore, Ace had never considered it previously, but if he could forge Heavenly Weapons, the problem of breaking normal weapons would also be solved. He just never thought it was possible, but now, after learning and practicing forging, it was apletely different story.
Lastly, the biggest benefit was that his cultivation was improving. In this past month, Ace''s true soul assimted with his Primordial Law Body at least 9%. This means Ace has already reached the peak of a 1-Star Ascension Soldier (Law Soul Assimtion Realm), and with another 1%, he''ll be a 2-Star Ascension Soldier.
Furthermore, as he made progress in the Law Soul Assimtion Realm, Ace could feel something awakening in his heart, something too familiar to him. He knew that he had just started tapping into the true potential of the Cultivation Heart. "George, my boy, in this month, you have absorbed everything I teach you like a sponge, and what is restating you now is your cultivation base. Although I''m ashamed to say it, there is nothing else I can teach you about forging anymore. Yet, I''m more d that I got to meet someone like you in my twilight years, and it''s my honor to be a small part of your future journey." Elder Dewey sighed with gratification as his voice was filled with emotions.
Ace was surprised by Elder Dewey''s words, "Is there anything wrong with you, Teacher?"
Elder Dewey''s smile grew in gratification when he heard George calling him ''teacher'' and shook his head, "Don''t worry, it''s all part of the life cycle. Besides, it''s not like I don''t have a chance. We cultivators walk the path of heretics and go against nature to acquire power mortals will never have. Cultivation is all about walking opposite to the natural order; it''s a journey of will and conviction, an evesting battle, win, and you have to live to fight another battle, lose, and it''s all over. And I''m not nning on losing." His old eyes were filled with sharp battle intent and conviction.
Ace didn''t know what Elder Dewey was talking about, but he could tell that whatever it was, it was about his cultivation. His profound words also made him think about his own journey.
Nheless, Ace knew that with his current power, he couldn''t help Elder Dewey even if he wanted to, so he decided to force his cultivation for now. The first step was to join the AIG Sect.
Elder Dewey quickly snapped out of his peculiar mind state and changed the subject, "Anyway, now that you are ready, it''s about time I leave. I don''t think this test will be a problem for you anymore. Just don''t surprise them too much."
Elder Dewey chuckled yfully before he flipped his hand. A golden token with the AIG sect''s symbol appeared in his hand. It had runes engraved on it and a single word written on it: ''Apportionment.''
He handed the token to George before he said, "This is an Elder Apportionment Token of Outer Sect Court. We outer-court elders only get three of them upon our Elder Anointment, and only after raising to the rank of an Inner Sect Elder can we get ten more.
"Anyway, this Elder Apportionment Token will allow you to take the Entrance Test for an Outer Forger Disciple anytime you want without question. Heh, and for free at that; you should know the sect charges a limb for the entrance test. I still remember how I gathered the funds for the entrance test like it was yesterday¡" A nostalgic smile appeared on Elder Dewey''s face.
Ace looked towards the token before he solemnly nodded to the old man, "I won''t waste it."
"Heh, I know you won''t." Elder Dewey chuckled as he waspletely confidence, "Now, I better take my leave, remember my instruction, and leave your little friends here; I''ve already instructed Lloyd, so you can retrieve them once you enter the sect and leave for a mission. I''ll wait for you in the sect!"
Chapter 1181 Inferno Mountain Pass
1181 Inferno Mountain Pass
Within a dark mountain pass seemingly made with magma, a fiery heat radiated from it as if there was still moltenva coursing through it. In the middle of the Inferno Mountain Pass, a towering crimson gate with the AIG sect''s symbol carved on it stood there. There was a hint of ancient air around this ce as if it had stood for hundreds of thousands of years like an unshakable mountain.
This ce is the Inferno Mountain Pass of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect, and the imposing gate marks the territory of the Guardian Sect. Only sect members or esteemed guests were allowed to pass this point, which normally remained barren. Seldom do sect disciples appear in this ce when they are leaving oring back from sect missions, or it bes extremely lively upon the sect entrance test.
However, today wasn''t such a day. Two cloaked figures could be seen approaching the Inferno Mountain Pass; one was tall, while the other was dainty.
"Are you sure your magic beasts would be fine on their own in the wilderness? You should''ve left them back in the estate," The dainty figure, Elder Marguerite of Weston n, asked with a hint of uncertainty. She was also an outer court me disciple of the sect. The other figure was Ace in George''s disguise, and he replied with confidence, "Thank you for your concern, Elder Marguerite. But I know my friends the best, and they won''t like to be confined in a space. So, it''s better to leave him in the wilderness and roam free instead of having them cause trouble for your n. Furthermore, I''m sure they can survive on their own, and it''s only temporary."
They were naturally talking about Cyrus and Chuchu, who were now actually in Ace''s thief''s space. Still, Marguerite naturally didn''t know about it since, whileing in here, Ace had made an excuse to leave them in the wilderness around the sect.
Ace had to do this because Marguerite insisted on tagging along with him, the reason for going back to the sect and as his guide. Furthermore, he can''t refuse since Lloyd and the other elders of the Weston n seem pretty persistent.
Although they didn''t tell him the true reason, he could guess that there was something going on, and Marguerite seemed to be his bodyguard instead of a guide. Moreover, his guess became more solid when he was giving this cloak which was actually an ascension treasure that could hide other probing and how they left through the secret passage instead of the front door. Even though it was bothersome and Ace was more than capable of protecting himself, he didn''t refuse their goodwill and went along with the flow. But he didn''t leave Cyrus and Chuchu in the n despite their persistence since Elder Dewey had already talked about this matter.
After all, what could be the safest ce for them than his thief''s space? He won''t be at ease if he leaves them alone, especially Cyrus. So, he had to trick Marguerite so he could send them to the thief''s space until he learned that Law Beast Channel spell.
"Alright, if you''re confident, then I won''t say anything. Oh, and you should call me Senior Sister in the sect; I''m no elder here." Marguerite ordered and didn''t push any further.
Since it was George''s decision, she could only respect it. Furthermore, she knew George was, in a way, John''s sessor, and she would do everything to make sure he wouldn''t suffer in the sect while she exacted her revenge on the person who was behind John''s death.
At this moment, they were both suddenly stopped when they were only a mile away from the Inferno Mountain Pass because a burly man in a darkbat robe with a crimson me symbol on his chest; his attire was almost like Elder Homer''s, but he didn''t have any crimson stars around his cor, which mean he was a me Disciple.
"Who are you, and what are you doing in this ce? This is a restricted area of the AIG Sect. If you''re lost, then you only have one chance to turn around, or don''t me me for being impolite." The man, with a solemn expression, coldly questioned while releasing his cultivation pressure. He was at least a 4-Star Ascension Warrior.
However, both Ace and Marguerite were unfazed by his pressure. Ace was obviously immune to this kind of pressure at this point. At the same time, Marguerite was a 9-Star Ascension Solider and only a step away from bing an Ascension Warrior, far stronger than this man.
But she didn''t take any action, and the next moment, the cloak on her figure vanished, revealing the same kind of attire as the man, but hers was more famine, startling the man.
But then, a me-shaped badge appeared in her hand, and she shed it in front of the man and impassively said, "I''m me Disciple Marguerite Weston,ing back to the sect. This is Sir George, a holder of the Elder Apportionment Token. He''s here to initiate an Apportionment Trial. Open the gates and let us pass through."
The me Disciple was even more shocked when he heard the term Elder Apportionment Token because he knew those tokens were considered extremely precious. Elders wouldn''t give them to just anyone. Every holder of an Elder Apportionment Token should have talent far greater than normal disciples because only this could move the elders or if the holder had some very close connection to an Elder.
Furthermore, it''s been almost two centuries since thest Elder Apportionment Token was used. This information can easily be found in the sect''s public library.
"So, it''s a senior sister returning to sect. Please forgive my offense." The me Disciple quickly changed his tone into a more respectful one before he looked towards Ace, who was still in a cloak, and politely said, "May see the Elder Apportionment Token of Sir George? It''s protocol, and without it, I can''t let him pass. Please try to understand. I''m only doing my job."
The me Disciple smiled wryly as he told the truth. If it had been on him, he wouldn''t have stopped Marguerite at all because she had the surname Weston. He wasn''t part of the four ns, and he knew better than to offend them, whether they were from the outer branch or the main branch.
Nheless, he knew his every action was being monitored, so he couldn''t give special privileges to anyone, especially those who entered the sect. The sect took this matter extremely seriously.
Marguerite didn''t make things difficult for him, either. She nced at George and said, "You can reveal yourself; no one will trouble him, and show him your token."
Ace was finally convinced, and he was even more surprised when he found a seal on this man''s knowledge sea as well. His conjecture about it being a norm turned out to be true. He was already working on a solution to this problem, or his Soul Probe would be useless, and the only solution he could think of was Mind-Stealing!
But at this moment, he had to enter the sect first without any hitch. The cloak on his figure also vanished before the golden Elder Apportionment Token, which was actually shaped like a cauldron, appeared in his hand.
The me Disciple was astounded, "A Forger Elder Apportionment Token!" He then promptly took out a white formation te and said to George in a polite tone, "Senior Sister and Sir George, please put your badge and token on this Identity Scan Spirit Device. Once the authenticity of your badge and token are confirmed, you can pass."
Marguerite didn''t question and ced her token on it, and the next moment, the token shimmered in ethereal light, and a projection appeared with all the information about Margret written on it.
The me Disciple nodded, "The Spiritual Mark is still active. Please take your badge. Your identity is confirmed. Wee back, Senior Sister."
Marguerite nodded to take her badge away, and it was George''s turn. Ace was secretly surprised by this ce''s security measures. Although he didn''t know how they determined that the badge holder was the real Marguerite, he guessed that it had something to do with Spiritual Mark.
Nheless, he ced the token on the formation te like Marguerite, and the next moment, it lit up, and another projection appeared.
The me Disciple nodded again, his tone bing more respectful, "It is a real Elder Apportionment Token. You can take it back, and I''m sure someone will be there to receive you. Good luck with your trial. I hope the next time we meet, you''ll be my Junior."
Ace found this me Disciple personality to his liking as he nodded, "Thank you, senior. I''ll try living up to senior''s expectations."
At this moment, the massive gate of the Inferno Mountain Pass started to pass. At the same time, the appearance of the Elder Apportionment Token suddenly triggers an rm, drawing many powerful figures'' attention!
n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Chapter 1182 Apportionment Trial (1)
1182 Apportionment Trial (1)
The Sect Core area was in the very center of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect. It was a restricted ce; even the me Master and Forger Master needed permission to enter.
The core area was also the heart of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect, a ce filled with immense fiery spiritual Qi and hidden knowledge. It was a subterraneanplex bathed in an otherworldly, crimson light.
The walls were adorned with ancient tapestries depicting the sect''s history and the creation. At the center of the Core Area was a massive, pulsating, ethereal bird-shaped crimson me above an ancient formation; it was the manifestation ofSky Grade Spirit Vein, the source of the sect''s power.
Furthermore, this was the most protected area of the sect and safest because the sect leader and grand elders'' dwellings were located here, a solitary tower that reaches towards the sky, its peak lost in the perpetual twilight. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
At this moment, on the top floor of this tower, a schrly man in white robes with long dark hair and pale skin who appeared to be in histe twenties sat cross-legged, an antique cauldron hovering above his head.
He seemed immense in his training when the antique cauldron suddenly released a gentle light. His ruby-like eyes snapped open, and a surprise shed past them.
At this moment, an impassive voice suddenly rang, "Someone with an Outer Elder Apportionment Token has entered the sect, and he seems very special."
The schrly man''s eyes widened ever so slightly before a hint of intrigue shone in them: "A holder of an Outer Elder Apportionment Token even alerts you, Guardian Spirit?"
"Indeed, and I can''t see through him; he''s very strange." The Guardian Spirit''s voice rang again with uncertainty, yet there was a hint of interest in it.
The schrly was even more astounded. The next moment, he seemed to mutter something before a mirror appeared in front of him, and an image started to y.
It shows George and Marguerite crossing the Inferno Mountain Pass. Crossing this ce was also a kind of test, for the temperature rose exponentially, and the air became increasingly difficult to breathe. No elemental state cultivator could pass this ce without any protection, and even Ascension Soldiers would have a difficult time if they didn''t have the protection of sect badges.
Furthermore, it wasn''t the only test; as soon as the cliffs began to morph into grotesque, demonic statues, their faces were contorted in eternal agony, which directly affected one soul. The sky above was a perpetual twilight, suffused with an ominous, crimson hue that made one feel like they were walking on top of magma, and they could feel the heat with their souls. The sounds of the roar of the inferno and the echo of one''s own heartbeat made it even more difficult.
Yet, the schrly man observed George and noticed that George didn''t show any reaction, as if he werepletely immune to all of that.
"His soul is indeed more powerful than normal Ascension Soldiers. But what do you find special about him, and why can''t you see through him? Don''t tell me he''s a ''Lord'' ying with us." Hisst words were more of a joke since he knew it was impossible to draw a ''Lord''s'' attention for a second-grade sect.
"Heh, your humor is still as bad as ever. Do you think if a Lord decided to target the sect, you''d still have time to joke around? With a single flick of a Lord, the entire sect would tter." The Guardian Spirit retorted, "What I''m saying is, I can''tpletely scan him and could only measure his bone age, and cultivation, I can''t see thought his Spirit Qi or Prim Law, at least not while only using the grand formation of the sect.
"Furthermore, as a Cauldron Spirit, I can notice things that you humans can''t. There is someone extraordinary about him. As for what it is, it still eludes me. Nheless, it''s been many years since I''ve noticed such an interesting doll. Maybe he can meet your ridiculous conditions and be your disciple. I''m tired of seeing your annoying face." The Guardian Spirit snorted, but there was a hint of anticipation and care in its voice.
The schrly man didn''t mind as he chuckled before looking at George with great interest. He had been with Guardian Spirit for hundreds of thousands of years and knew the Guardian Spirit''s standards were even higher than his, and it had never praised anyone like this. So, his interest in George was finally piqued.
"Then let''s see what this ''special'' kid can do¡" He said as he looked towards George with anticipation. His boring life finally had some amusement in it.
---
Ace didn''t know that he had alerted a terrifying being as he was curiously walking past the Inferno Mountain Pass. Although it may look like he was fine, he could still feel the strange anomalies in this ce that seemed to be targeting his soul. But he didn''t have time to mull over them as he reached the end of the passage. Beyond the Inferno Mountain Pass lies the Outer Court, a vast, barren expanse of volcanic rock. The architecture was stark and imposing, with structures resembling jagged, obsidian spires.
The buildings seemed to be heated from within, casting an eerie orange glow against the twilight sky. The air was filled with the constant hum of machinery and the faint distant rumble of forges.
Thew of fire in this ce was so dense that he could literally feel them on his skin and sense their mysteries.
However, at this moment, Ace''s attention shifted as he looked towards the twilight sky, which seemed to be the result of firew or some formation. Three figures in white schrly robes with a crimson cauldron symbol surrounded by golden mes descended a few meters away from him, and they were all looking towards him curiously.
Furthermore, Ace instantly noticed two golden crystalline stars on each of their cors; they were the outer court forger elders of the sect!
Marguerite was surprised before she quickly bowed her head and greeted in respect, "me Disciple Marguerite, greet three Forger Elders!" George quickly followed suit.
They nodded in acknowledgment before the tall, middle-aged man with a bald head and thick beard questioned while looking at George, "You are the one with a Forger Elder Apportionment Token?"
George quickly replied respectfully, "Yes, Lord Elders. George Edward from Violet Yang Grand Sect is here to initiate the Apportionment Trial."
"Which elder gave you the token?" The dwarf old man asked curiously.
Before George could reply, an amiable elderly voice rang, "I was the one who gave it to him."
Everyone looked toward the voice''s owner and saw an old man followed by a middle-aged womannding beside the three elders; it was none other than Elder Dewey, who hade back a few days prior to George.
"Elder Dewey?" The middle-aged sect elder frowned ever so slightly before he quickly hid it, but Ace didn''t miss it, and he could feel hostility from him.
''Don''t tell me¡'' Ace instantly knew things weren''t going to be simple!
Chapter 1183 Apportionment Trial (2)
1183 Apportionment Trial (2)
The moment Elder Dewey and the middle-aged woman appeared, Ace instantly felt the tension between Elder Dewey and the tall, middle-aged man.
"Greeting teacher." He quickly greeted Elder Dewey without showing any excessive reaction. Elder Dewey smiled as he nodded, "You''ve finally arrived."
However, their short interaction astounded the others. The middle-aged man asked, "He''s your new disciple, Elder Dewey?"
However, Elder Dewey shook his head as he replied, "No, Elder Roscoe. George is not my official disciple but a student. I don''t dare take such a talented disciple and embarrass myself."
He was telling the truth, but in other elders'' ears, these words were akin to bragging since they clearly did not believe him at all.
At this moment, the gray-haired old man in Elder Roscoe''s group suddenly said, "I''ve heard about the death of your official disciple, Elder Dewey. You have my condolences."
Elder Dewey''s expression fell slightly, but he still nodded, "Thank you for your kind words, Elder Emmett. " A strange light shed past Elder Roscoe''s eyes before it vanished as quickly as it appeared. "I also heard about it, and it seems the killer is still atrge. If you need anything from me, don''t hesitate to ask, Elder Dewey."
"I won''t." Elder Dewey stiffly replied.
Even Marguerite''s expression was somewhat unnatural at this moment since they were discussing John, not to mention she was suppressing herself not to re up for some reason. "Why are you all doing by discussing such a thing in front of juniors? Since this little boy has been here with a Forger Elder Apportionment Token. Shouldn''t you be taking him to Apportionment Trial?" The middle-aged woman, Elder Norma, coldly interfered as she seemed also hostile to Elder Roscoe''s group.
But she seemed to be someone with a sense of duty and didn''t want to show such a sight in front of Juniors. After all, as sect elders, they should be an upright example in front of Juniors, not like quibbling children.
Ace could only sigh secretly, as he knew Elder Dewey''s enemies were his enemies now, and he couldn''t do anything about it. Nheless, he didn''t mean he was afraid; as long as he entered the sect, things would be quite interesting.
As for those elders, they quickly stopped after hearing Elder Norma and quickly looked toward George.
"Since you are here to take the Apportionment Trial, I should assume you are well aware of what kind of trial it''ll be. Let me warn you, even if you are Elder Dewey''s student, no one will give you any special treatment. If you failed, you can only try in the official entry test again." Elder Norma coldly looked towards George as she questioned without holding back.
Although she had an amiable rtionship with Elder Dewey and disliked snakes like Elder Roscoe, she would never give anyone special treatment. She would remain impartial as long as it included the sect.
Ace could also tell that this woman was not to be trifled with, so he quickly replied solemnly, "I''m aware of the risks, and I''m ready."
Elder Norma nodded as she liked George''s decisive answer without any hesitation, "Good. You need to wai¡"
"Bring him to ForgerAbyss''s first level!" At this moment, an imposing voice suddenly rang within Elder Norma''s head, startling her. Hereyes went wide to the extreme as she guessed who could send her spirit transmission without showing himself, and her hand trembled slightly.
Furthermore, it wasn''t just her as those three elders and Elder Dewey had expressions of shock and disbelief; they seemed to clearly hear the same voice.
At this moment, the way they looked at George suddenly changed, and Elder Dewey became somewhat agitated.
"Alright, follow us. You may go back and report to the mission hall." Elder Norma quickly changed her words, her expression extremely solemn, but there was still a hint of confusion hidden deep in her eyes.
The other elders didn''t dare to say anything and secretly sent spirit transmissions to each other to confirm if others had the same assumption as them. Why was George under that ''person''s'' radar?
Elder Roscoe even started to believe Elder Dewey''s words about George being a genius that even he didn''t dare to take as a disciple.
''I need to quickly report this to the n¡'' This thought quickly surfaced in his mind, but he knew that person was watching everything, and if his action irked him, it would be over for him. So, he could only behave for now, and other elders in his group also had the same train of thought.
Although Ace didn''t know if he was imagining it, he was sure that someone had happened that made these elders'' emotions run wild.
"Be careful; things are not going as nned!"
Ace was then startled when Elder Dewey''s voice suddenly rang directly into his ears as he was whispering. He looked towards Elder Dewey in astonishment, and thetter''s expression was stiff and helpless.
Ace was instantly vignt and wondered what had happened, but s, he knew asking Elder Dewey was impossible at this moment, and running away was even more impossible. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
''m down, they shouldn''t know who I am, and it''s impossible. But if things look grim, I''ll just run away. It''s not like they can stop me.'' Ace quickly calmed down.
At this moment, Elder Norma waved her hand, and Ace felt an invisible, gentle force grip him. The next moment, his feet left the ground, and he flew with Elder Norma toward the depth of the sect; she also seemed in a hurry.
The other elders nced at each other before quickly following them. They knew this matter was huge and wanted to witness it with their own eyes.
---
Meanwhile, in the core area,
"You just couldn''t help yourself, huh?" The Guardian Spirit annoyingly muttered as the scene in the mirror of George being taken towards the depth of the outer core was ying.
The schrly man chuckled as he watched with great interest, "If he''s special, then only the Forger Abyss can measure his true capabilities! If he can''t even pass the first level, then he''s not worthy of being my future disciple!"
Chapter 1184 Forger Abyss (1)
1184 Forger Abyss (1)
Every sect has its secrets, and what makes it unique among the other sects, especially its inheritance, is if the sect in question is a second-grade sect. The Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect is the same, and what makes it unique and flourish and helps it dominate the entirety of Spirit Inferno Domain is actually the presence of Forger Abyss!
The Forger Abyss was more than just a testing ground for the sect; it is the lifeblood of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect and what made it dominate the forging market and neuter so many talented forgers.
Because the Forger Abyss was more than just a physical location, it represents the sect''s core values. It symbolizes the constant cycle of forging and breaking down materials, which mirrors the cyclical nature of life and death.
Not only that, but the harsh environment of the Abyss represents the trials that disciples must endure to reach their full potential, gain opportunities, and rise through the ranks.
The secrets hidden within the Forger Abyss also represent the pursuit of knowledge and the mastery of one''s craft. The sect''s ability to control and thrive in the Forger Abyss was a testament to its indomitable spirit.
The Forger Abyss is not merely a ce; it''s a secret realm discovered by the founder of the sect with the spirit beast vein!
The Forger Abyss background was unknown, and no one knows who created it and left it behind. But within the records left behind by the founder, it birthed from the heart of a dying star. It was a ce where thews seemed bent and twisted.
But not just anyone can enter this ce. Sect disciples, even elders, need to spend merit points to enter the different levels of the Forger Abyss, which has five levels. Only afterpleting the previous levels can one advance to the next level.
The sect disciples fought for spots in the Forger Abyss, not only Forger Disciples but me Disciples as well, since there were many strange trails, and the sect wasn''t sure of their origin.
But the Forger Abyss was without any doubt the most guarded ce of the sect, and without it, the AIG sect wouldn''t be what it is today. Furthermore, these types of secret realms were scattered throughout the Mortal Ascension Heaven, and sometimes, they opened up out of nowhere, causing massivemotions.
The entrance of the Forger Abyss was between the Outer and Inner Sect Courts. Located within the deepest recesses of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect.
As Ace was being led toward the Forger Abyss, he observed the pathway. He was astounded as he went deeper and passed many restrictions and security checks. He even saw sect disciples queuing at the entrance, seeming to be waiting for their turn to enter this mysterious ce.
He was now even more curious about where this Apportionment Trial was. Even Elder Dewey hadn''t given him any clues. But he could tell this wasn''t supposed to happen, seeing Elder Dewey''s solemn expression with a hint of agitation.
They finallynded in a hall filled with ancient architecture and symbols. Many disciples stood in front of ten shimmering gateways flickering with spirit Qi. Ace was startled because he could feel the space fluctuations from those gateways.
''Space Portals? Where did they lead?'' He thought with curiosity.
While Ace was observing, the others present looked towards the group of five elders and the young man with them. Some started to discuss in a hushed tone since it was rare to see so many elders with a single disciple, and he wasn''t even wearing the sect uniform.
"Everyone, the Forger Abyss Hall is closed today. Return to your lodgings. Those who were waiting for their turns will bepensated with 10 merit points each." An aged, imposing voice suddenly buzzes throughout the entire hall.
The disciples were shocked as they mored, but no one dared voice their discontent, especially those disciples from the inner sect core. They knew only a few could make this kind of announcement in the entire sect.
So, without hesitation, they quickly left, but they were still looking toward George and the group of elders as some of them assumed that the reason behind this sudden announcement was because of their arrival.
Soon, the hall waspletely emptied, and only George and five elders stood there with solemn expressions on their faces. The elders knew who this voice belonged to, and they guessed that the owner of this voice was noticed in advance by the same person who told them to bring George here. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Let him enter through the first gate!" The same aged voice solemnly ordered without beating around the bush.
Elder Dewey knew things were extremely serious, so he quickly sent George a spirit transmission:" Do your best, and everything will be fine."
Although he was soothing George, the truth was he was giving himselffort since he had never imagined that those kinds of existences would get involved right off the bat. He wondered if there was something to more George that he couldn''t see through. "Go; if you can pass this test, good fortune awaits you." Elder Norma solemnly looked towards George, who was clearly bewildered by this situation, while Ace''s mind reeled with ecstasy inwardly.
Because those portals were glittering silver color in the fate map!
"Thank you." George solemnly nodded before he moved towards the first portal on the left. Under the elders''plex gazes, he entered it and vanished from the halls.
At this moment, a bony old man with fiery long hair and a beard in white golden robes, five golden stars pulsing on his cor, suddenly appeared in front of the elders.
Those five elders quickly bowed in respect and greeted, "We greet Forger Master Clifton!"
However, Forger Master Clifton didn''t seem interested in pleasantries. He sternly said, "I think I don''t need to tell you that this matter can''t be exposed to anyone, or I don''t need to tell you the consequences."
"We understand!" They all replied without hesitation.
"Good." The Forger Master nodded, "Now, you may go back to your duties. Elder Dewey, you stay!"
Chapter 1185 Forger Abyss (2)
1185 Forger Abyss (2)
Crossing the portal, Ace entered the first level of the Forger Abyss. It was a vast, cavernous space filled with raw materials in their purest form. Floating chunks of metal, crystal, and stone of every hue and texture drift in a chaotic dance. The air was thick with the scent of sulfur and ozone, and the ground was lit in runic lines.
Giant, pulsating veins ofw energy snake through the cavern, seeming to provide the power for forging. These veins seemed vtile and could erupt with devastating force if disturbed. The temperature was extreme, with pockets of intense heat and cold. At the heart of this level, a massive, forge-like tform was present!
Ace clearly felt that he wasn''t in the AIG Sect anymore, which confirmed his suspicion that this was a secret realm.
''A sect controlling a secret realm? If it was back in the Mortal Sky heaven, everyone would''ve had raged war to get a share of it. The Mortal Ascension Heaven is really something else¡'' Ace''s eyes shimmered in wonderment as he looked towards all those raw materials, floating ores and crystals.
Some of them he didn''t recognize, but he knew most of them, and they were all in ascension grade-1 to ascension grade-2! It was as if he had appeared in a treasury, but he could also tell that all those materials had strange, unknown restrictions that seemed to be driven by spacews. So, if he wanted to take them, he needed to ovee those restrictions first.
Furthermore, this entire ce was dyed with a glittering silver color in the fate map, which means it was a fate area and nothing but beneficial for him, and he could guess why.
Nheless, he didn''t dare take any reckless action since he knew there might be some kind of monitoring formation here, or those guys wouldn''t have sent him to this treasure trove without any surveince or guide. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Just when he was wondering what he needed to do, a Stoic voice rang, "Wee to the First Level of Forger Abyss, aspiring forger!"
Ace instantly looked in the direction of the voice, which wasing from the direction of the tform. At this moment, a projection of a dwarf man with a long beard and burly build appeared wearing a forger outfit.
Before Ace could ask, the dwarf man spoke in a Stoic tone, "I''m the Guardian Spirit of Forger Abyss and also a guide who seeks the worthy ones who could inherit Grandmaster Smith''s Forger Legacy!
"Your bone age is less than a hundred years, and you are an Ascension Soldier. The Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect finally sends someone decent to take the entry trial for the Legacy Inheritor.
"The rules are simple: you will only get one chance to be a Legacy Inheritor; if you fail in one try, you will lose your qualification and can only be a Nominal Legacy Inheritor like your other peers.
"It will also reflect on not only your final rewards but what kind of future trials you would take. Your destiny is in your own hands; whether you can acquire my master''s legacy or be like numerous failures will all depend on your forging skills."
''A legacy inheritance? Just like the Vampyre n Army ss Trial?'' Ace raised his eyebrow in astonishment since he wasn''t expecting to get a chance to inherit the legacy of a forger.
Although he didn''t know what grade Grandmaster Smith achieved in Spirit Forging, since the legacy still exists to this day despite the AIG sect''s deep history, it could only mean that this legacy was extremely precious.
"If you''re ready, then approach the Forger tform. The entry trials of your forger''s skill will begin here. Only after seeing your result will the true first-level trial begin and prepare for the rigors of the deeper levels."
''You don''t give other chance to speak, do you?'' Ace chuckled with a hint of amusement before he did as he was told since he wasn''t nning on missing this chance to acquire this legacy.
After all, what he wascking at this moment was forging skills, so he would dly ept the legacy that the AIG sect had generously provided him.
Once he was on the forger tform, it rumbled, and forging equipment began to appear from the floor.
At this moment, the Guardian Spirit appeared above the tform and waved its hand. A scroll with many materials appeared in front of Ace''s forger table.
"This is the blueprint of Upper Ascension Quasi-Spirit Grade-1 Spirit Aqua Armor. To be a Legacy Inheritor, you need to forge this Quasi-Spirit Armor and to be a Nominal Legacy Inheritor; you need to forge it to Upper Ascension Grade-1; it didn''t need to be a Quasi-Spirit treasure.
"All the materials are given to you, and everything you need is here. The forging furnace is also equipped with top-grade beast mes. You have an hour to familiarize yourself with the blueprint, materials, and all the equipment here. If you want, you can also use your own equipment; there is no restriction on it.
"Once the preparation time is over, you will have 3 days toplete your task. If you fail to achieve any of the two aforementioned results, you can never enter the Forger Abyss again.
"May the Forging God guide you, aspiring forger!"
When the Guardian Spirit had finished saying its piece, it vanished without even giving Ace time to ask any questions since it had already exined everything. This left Ace somewhat baffled, as he could clearly tell that the Guardian Spirit had no hope for him, or was it simply made like this?
''A quasi-spirit treasure right off the bat? No wonder this legacy still exists to this day. From his tone, it seemed that there were also restrictions on the age and realm of the trial takers. The standards of this Grandmaster Smith were pretty high.'' Ace smiled wryly as he looked towards the blueprint scroll in front of him.
But a faint smile suddenly appeared on his lips, ''But no matter what, I''m already nning to forge quasi-spirit-grade weapons. So, it''s not toote to start, especially since I''ve given all the materials and blueprints. If I can''t even ovee this, then I should forget about walking on this path!''
With deep resolve, Ace solemnly picked up the scroll and started to read it. Although he only had one hour, he was nning to use it to the fullest, and he had decided to go all out!
Chapter 1186: Spirit Aqua Armor
Chapter 1186: Spirit Aqua Armor
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Afterward, Ace carefully examined the blueprint, his mind racing. The materials on the list were also extraordinary, especially the four main ones.
The first was the Spiritual Aqua Essence, a rare substance extracted from the depths of ancient oceans, possessing a unique watery typew signature. The second was the Starlight Crystal, a crystalline formation found in the heart of a burning meteorite imbued with ster power.
The third was the Lunar Iron, a meteorite metal forged in the crucible of the moonlight, known for its durability and resilience. Last but not least was Shadow Silk, a fabric woven from the silk of a Pure Shadow Silk Worm. This silk was capable of absorbing and manipting darkness, and only a single ascension grade-2 material was given to him.
Each material was a treasure in its own right, and some of them didn''t even exist in the outside world or were simply too hard to find in the Spirit Inferno Domain. Ace''s desire to get this entire realm bes even more resolute.
Soon, the time for preparations came to an end, and it was now time to start the forging process.
Following the blueprint, Ace set up the forge, feeding it with a steady stream of his Twilight Qi, and ethereal gray mes suddenly enveloped it.
Once the temperature seemed sufficient, the raw materials were ced within the crucible, their properties merging and interacting under the intense heat.
Ace carefully cleansed the materials of impurities and aligned their Qis. He uses techniques and his own unique insights to ensure that the materials are in optimal condition for forging. This entire process took eight hours.
As the materials melted and began tobine, Ace began to chant the incantation inscribed on the blueprint.
The words echoed through the cavern, their vibrations resonating with the materials'' Qi. The molten mixture began to glow with an ethereal blue light, and intricate patterns of runes began to form on its surface.
For over six hours, Ace solemnly guided the process, channeling his Twilight Qi into the forging and shaping the material into the desired form.
Using his enhanced control over his Holy Twilight Qi, Acebines the Aqua Essence, Starlight Crystal, and Lunar Iron in a crucible. The materials begin to melt and merge, their properties intertwining.
Another two hours passed, and when the materials were molten, Ace started inscribingplex runes onto the surface. These codex runes in the blueprint were designed to draw upon the unique properties of the materials, enhancing the armor''s capabilities.
After six more hours, the runes were etched with precision, each stroke charged with his Qi.
At this moment, Ace maniptes the molten iron and crystal, shaping them into the desired form of the armor. He uses his enhanced physical strength and control over his Qi to mold the materials with incredible precision.
Once the armor had taken shape and the runes were etched, only the final step was left, which involved weaving the Shadow Silk into the armor''s structure. Ace used his Qi to infuse the fabric with the armor, creating a seamless integration.
Hours passed, and Ace waspletely immersed in the forging process. As the forging process neared its conclusion, Ace focused his mind, channeling his Qi into the molten metal.
The runes glowed brighter, pulsating with a life of their own. With a final, powerful strike of his hammer, the molten metal solidified, forming a shimmering, azure armor.
The armor seemed to be like a living entity, a conduit for the Aqua Essence and Starlight Crystal. The Shadow Silk wove itself into the armor''s surface, giving it a touch of darkness.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The armor suddenly hummed with spirit Qi, its presence a testament to his skill and the extraordinary materials he had used.
Ace finally snapped out of his daze. As he held thepleted Spirit Aqua Armor, he felt a surge of power coursing through him, and something seemed to stir within him as he felt his entire Qi be more vibrant.
The rush of the Qi was simply too intoxicated as if he had been born anew, but it didn''tst long.
But the disbelief and ecstasy still shone in his eyes as he knew what just happened, ''I broke thought into 2-Star Ascension Soldier!''
But Ace didn''t have time to celebrate his sudden breakthrough as the Guardian Spirit suddenly appeared in front of him, drawing his attention.
Ace instantly noticed that the stoic Guardian Spirit wasn''t looking at him but at the Spirit Aqua Armor in his hand. He instantly became somewhat agitated since he didn''t know if he had seeded or not.
After all, he had never forged a Quasi Spirit Grade weapon before, but looking at thepleted Spirit Aqua Armor, he could feel it was extraordinary and somewhat different from other ascension grade treasures; it almost gave him the same feeling as Avos but vague. Moreover, he felt a strange intimacy from this armor.
"It took you 42 hours toplete the forging process, quite impressive." The Guardian Spirit suddenly praised with a stoic tone before it said, "Now, let''s see if you meet the mark or not." Without waiting for Ace''s reply, the Guardian Spirit pointed his finger towards the Spirit Aqua Armor and an ethereal streak shot towards the armor.
Ace was a little surprised, but he didn''t dodge because he didn''t sense any danger from it. He let the light streak enter the armor.
The next moment, the armor suddenly shimmered in an azure hue, and a hint of astonishment shed past within the depth of Guardian Spirit''s emotionless eyes.
"This Spirit Aqua Armor is lightweight yet incredibly durable, capable of deflecting even an Ascension Warrior attack. The armor''s aquatic properties grant it the ability to move effortlessly through water and even breathe underwater. The Shadow Silkponent allows it to be nearly invisible in darkness.
"The runes inscribed on the armor enhance its capabilities further, granting it properties such as increased speed, strength, and resistance to elementalws. You havebined all the properties of materials almost to a perfect degree and forged a real Spirit Aqua Armor. You have some skills, boy." The Guardian Spirit really seemed impressed as his voice was no longer stoic like before.
But Ace was surprised since the Guardian Spirit described the armor''s entire properties. His appraisal skills were simply too wonderful. He didn''t even know much about this armor.
However, the appraisal was still not over as the Spirit Guardian continued, "Now let''s see if it had a Quasi Spirit or not."
Before Ace could react, the Guardian Spirit suddenly moved again and sent an ethereal palm filled with dangerousw power. It was an attack and a powerful one at that!
Chapter 1187: Legacy Inheritor
Chapter 1187: Legacy Inheritor
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A quasi-spirit treasure is a unique type of treasure that not only has a high affinity withws but also possesses a nascent treasure spirit born from the very samew affinity it was made with.
A nascent treasure spirit only has the basic instincts of a proper sentient treasure spirit. While not as powerful or profound as a fully sentient treasure spirit, this spirit grants the treasure special abilities and properties rted to itsw.
Nheless, it was still way above the level of ordinary treasures without any quasi-spirit or treasure, which are primarily crafted based on materials and techniques.
There was also an old legend about the quasi-spirits, which was an ancient technique of forgers that allowed the spirit within a quasi-spirit treasure to be nurtured and grown, eventually reaching a level of sentience. Legend has it that this process requires a deep connection between the creator and the treasure, as well as a constant infusion of Qi.
However, no one was ever able to achieve it, and forgers no longer believed in it.
Anyhow, testing a treasure to see if it had a quasi-spirit was fairly simple. The Quasi-Spirits were purely driven by their instincts, unlike true treasure spirits, who were capable of reasoning.
For some reason, a quasi-spirit''s most powerful instinct is always protecting its creators, even if it means destroying them in the process!
At this moment, when the Spirit Guardian suddenly attacked Ace with an Ascension Warrior realm power, Ace was about to act when he suddenly stopped because the Spirit Aqua Armor in his hand suddenly released a powerful hum.
The very next moment, the armor trembled, and the runes on it lit up. The armor instantly turned into an azure liquid and spread around Ace,pletely enveloped like a bubble of water!
At this moment, the palm reached Ace and directly shed with the azure liquid. The palm couldn''t pierce the liquid at all. Instead, pulsing ripples appeared on the surface of the liquid, and the Qi palm started to lose its momentum like an arrow shot into the sea before it lost all its power.
Ace was shocked when he witnessed this unexpected scene. He was still enveloped in the liquid, which gave him an extremely warm feeling of astonishment.
At this moment, the liquid churned and suddenly retracted into the shape of the Spirit Aqua Armor, which was now tightly wrapped around Jacob''s upper body. However, the runes on the armor seemed slightly diminished, and this was because the armor had used its own power to deflect the attack on Ace without any support.
Ace couldn''t help but touch the smooth surface of the azure armor. He felt a vague sense of aplishment from the armor as if it had served its purpose.
"Reservoir Abortion. It was indeed the third mystic ability of Water Law that the Spirit Aqua Armor just showcased to protect you." The Spirit Guardian suddenly spoke and this time a hint of tion was present in his eyes, "Congrattion, you have formed a true Ascension Quasi-Spirit Grade-1 Treasure. You are qualified to be a Legacy Inheritor and take the legacy trials to inherit Grandmaster Smith''s legacy!"
Ace was astounded when he heard ''mystic ability'' from the Guardian Spirit and quickly asked, "A treasure can use mystic abilities ofws?" He was far more curious about this than about acquiring the qualification of inheriting the legacy.
The Guardian Spirit was also somewhat surprised but replied nevertheless, "Indeed, a Quasi Treasure Spirit or True Spirit is born from thews. You can even say that they had the blessing ofws the moment they were born.
"So, they can utilize the mystic abilities ofws like living beings, depending on their power andw affinities. But there is still a vast difference: depending on a treasure''s nature, the mystic ability it acquired would also change to match its properties.
"Like the Spirit, Aqua Armor is a defensive-type treasure with a Water Law affinity, so it would naturally have mystic abilities rted to defense or the only defensive aspect of Water Law. If it was a sword, then I''m sure it had awakened a unique sword intent of waterw.
"Anyhow, the power of mystic abilities also depends on a treasure grade, just like cultivation realms. Since the Spirit Aqua Armor grade is too low, it only has a single mystic ability, and the range of its power is also limited to that of Ascension Warrior.
"Lastly, unlike you, living beings, a treasured spirit can''t raise the efficiency of a mystic ability to cultivate a primew and achieve a breakthrough; it always stagnates and decides upon the birth of a treasured spirit."
''Avos is also simr...'' Ace narrowed his eyes as he heard something new and asked, "Senior just said that we can raise the efficiency of mystic abilities to cultivate our primew and achieve a breakthrough? Can you please tell me what this is about? Junior never heard it before."N?v(el)B\\jnn
"It''s only natural that you haven''t heard it since you are still an Ascension Soldier. But when you be an Ascension Warrior and reach the Spirit Soul Integration realm, you will awake your inner space.
"At that time, you need to integrate your primew into your cultivation foundation, and the quickest way to do so is toprehend your primew and awaken its mystic abilities. Depending on the nature and rarity of your primew, the mystic abilities can vary, and how much you can get from a single mystic ability also depends on these factors.
"Like someone with the Prime Law of Space can probably reach the peak of Ascension Warrior as long as they canprehend its first mystic ability to its highest proficiency or even go beyond.
"King Sects also have Law Sigils which record mystic abilityprehension of specificws which allows cultivators of the same type of primew to cultivate those mystic abilities in the shortest time depend on the cultivatorprehensible abilities. This is how they also ruled over the Mortal Ascension Heaven.
"If you want more information, I''m afraid your realm is still too low. But I can assure you that as long as you can acquire Grandmaster Smith''s inheritance, you won''t be ignorant to the secrets of Mortal Ascension Heaven anymore."
Ace was bbergasted when he heard the part about ''Law Sigils'' that can helpprehend mystic abilities and even more shocked when he heard they were all in the hands of King Sects.
''If it''s true, then no wonder those King Sects are so mysterious and powerful. Who would dare to offend them?'' Ace gravely thought as the King Sects were bing more terrifying the more he knew about them.
"Thank you for your guidance, senior. I know what to do." Ace still thanked the Stoic dwarf.
"No need; you''ll learn this eventually." The Guardian Spirit nodded before he said, "Now, on to the main point. Since you are the inheritor of Grandmaster Smith''s legacy, I would advise you to keep this fact to yourself if you don''t want to be targeted by others with avarice.
"I''ll give the Legacy Token, which would allow you to take the five legacy trials with another Nominal Legacy Token to show to your sect so they won''t suspect you.
"But it won''t change the fact that you are still far from inheriting the entire legacy, and don''t becent since you would only have three chances toplete each legacy trial. If you fail even one of them, you''ll lose your qualification forever.
"Furthermore, you need to take those trials within a certain amount of time afterpleting one. Just like now, you are still not prepared for the first trial. You should first break into the Ascension Warrior Realm and when you can forge an Ascension Quasi Spirit Grade-2 treasure. Only then will you be capable of oveing it!
"However, your time limit is that you can''t go past the age of a hundred, or you''ll lose your qualification. These are the rules set up by Grandmaster Smith, and no one can go past them!"
Chapter 1188: Malicious Intent
Chapter 1188: Malicious Intent
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The hall where the portals of the Forger Abyss Secret Realm were located waspletely empty at this moment, and this was the case for almost three days. Not only the disciples but even the elders were curious about the sudden close of the ce since it seldom happened. Thest time this kind of thing happened was when a core disciple or a Chief Forger Disciple of a Forger Master entered the Forger Abyss.
As for what happened afterward, it was a well-guarded secret among the Forger Masters and me Masters. But one thing that everyone knows is that after that day, the same Chief Forger Disciple climbed the Chief Forger Disciple ranks like a shooting star and became the current first-ranked Chief Forger Disciple of the entire sect!
So, everyone was paying close attention to this, especially the me Masters and Forger Masters, while the others relied on their connections.
At this moment, the first portal of the Forger Abyss suddenly lit up, and the next moment, a young man in in robes walked out of it into the empty hall; it was obviously Ace in George''s disguise.
Ace was in a good mood at this moment since he not only qualified as a Legacy Disciple, but as a reward for passing the entry trial, he got an exclusive forging technique, which was actually just a tiny part of Grandmaster Smith''splete technique. He was also able to keep the Spirit Aqua Armor he had forged.
Although it was far from enough, Ace was content since he knew he could take his time to acquire the entire treasury of the secret realm. That''s why he also decided to heed the Guardian Spirit''s advice ande backter when he was able to forge an ascension grade-2 treasure, and he knew it wouldn''t take long.
''So, no one is here?'' Ace was surprised when he noticed the empty hall.
He thought those elders would be waiting outside for him to see his result, but there was no one. He suddenly remembered that voice, and his expression became somewhat dignified.
At this moment, Ace was about to investigate with his fate map when he sensed something. Suddenly, a bony old man with fiery long hair and a beard in white golden robes appeared a few meters away from him. It was Forger Master Clifton!
Ace was startled. He instantly felt terror from that old man, and he seemed to bepletely merged with the space around him as if he were one withws.
Unfathomable, this was the true feeling he got from the old man, and he knew he wasn''t his match. No matter what kind of trick he pulled, he could only retreat. When Ace noticed the five golden stars pulsing on his cor, he quickly guessed the identity of this old man.
But he was more shocked by the implications behind this kind of figure appearing here, and he became extremely vignt.
"George, greet, Lord Elder!" He quickly put up a humble and respectful front.
But Forger Master Clifton didn''t reply and suddenly released a terrifying pressure on George, and he instantly ''kneeled down'' as his breath turned ridged.
However, Ace waspletely fine and only pretending. He still cursed inwardly, knowing this old man was using his soul sense to probe his cultivation and peer into his secrets, which was extremely rude in the cultivation world.
But since George was weak and wasn''t an official disciple of the sect yet, Forger Master Clifton didn''t need to care about him.
Ace was now extremely worried since the Millennium Change Wizard Mask was only an Ascension Grade-1 Heavenly Treasure.
Although it was actually a Spirit Treasure with true spirit in it, its treasure spirit was still newly born, and it couldn''tmunicate with him yet. Nheless, this still gives the Millennium Change Wizard Mask a massive advantage against other ordinary treasures, even quasi-spirit grade treasure, for it can even fool an Ascension Master (4th Ascension Realm).
But this old man in front of him was clearly not an Ascension Master but probably an Ascension Grandmaster (5th Ascension Realm). If he continued, he would be able to break through his Millennium Change Wizard Mask!
Furthermore, he had overlooked it before since he was under the impression that the high- level members of a respected sect would have some dignity like Elder Dewey and Elder Homer; even Elder Norma''s group behaved uprightly in front of a junior, but now, he knew he had miscalcted a little.
This old man was terrifying, and he didn''t seem to care about his face. He had clear malicious intentions and seemed decisive. But Ace didn''t even know him or offended him before, which drew Ace''s killing intent.
Just as Ace felt the Millennium Change Wizard Mask''s disguise was about to tear apart, and he was ready to flee, Forger Master Clifton''s expression suddenly changed as he tried to retract his soul sense.
''Bang...''
It was already toote as something seemed to have interfered and sent Forger Master Clifton flying backward while he coughed blood!
The pressure on Ace instantly vanished, but he was more bewildered when he saw this scene yed out and wondered if the spirit in his mask had taken action. After all, he was now more aware of the treasure spirits after forging and testing the Spirit Aqua Armor, and the treasure spirit of a Heavenly Treasure would be clearly above a normal treasure spirit.
But he quickly removed this thought from his head since he knew the mask was simply too weak right now, nor did he feel any kind of undtion from it. In fact, it was not an attack- type treasure to begin with.
Someone had helped him, and this someone was even more powerful than this Ascension Grandmaster.
At this moment, Forger Master Clifton quickly popped a pill in his mouth and stabilized his condition, his eyes filled with stupefaction and humiliation. The former was because he couldn''t believe that ''it'' made a move against him just for nobody, while thetter was because it did it right in front of George, and he lost all face.
Yet, he knew he had provoked it, and it wouldn''t be good for him if he entirely offended it. After all, as an old sly fox, he knew when he retreats and when to advance. If his early actions were to find George''s secret before he became an official disciple and why that person took interest in him. Now, he was sure that George was special, and he needed to be more careful and more prepared.
So, he quickly got up and bowed before apologizing, "Thank you for showing mercy. This disciple was only testing the new disciple and had gone overboard!"
Ace was again shocked, but he didn''t say anything; he just watched the show while coldly ring at the old man. He wasn''t someone who provoked others, but if others provoked him, he would do anything to get back at them. In fact, he prefers if they provoke him since it would give him a valid reason to steal their everything without having any qualms, and that old man had earned a spot on this list.
At this moment, sensing his emotions, the system was also triggered, and an unexpected prompt rang in his mind before an interface appeared, startling Ace.
An enteral, cold voice filled with authority suddenly rang in the entire hall, "Sutton n will pay fifty slots from their Forger Abyss quota every year to the sect for 100 years. Do you have
any problem?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
A cold glint shed past Forger Master Clifton''s eyes, but he quickly hid it under his respectful gaze and replied, "No problem! It was the disciple''s fault for not doing his job
correctly!"
"Hmph, then do it properly this time!" The voice sneered before vanishing, leaving the resentful Forger Master Clifton and George alone again!
Chapter 1189: First Mission of Mortal Ascension Heaven!
Chapter 1189: First Mission of Mortal Ascension Heaven!
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''He belonged to Sutton n?'' Ace finally discovers the identity of this old man, but he is still curious about the identity of this voice who can order him around.
Furthermore, now it also started to make sense why Clifton suddenly tried to discover George''s secret. After all, from the start, Ace could feel that this entire test was not simple and that, for some reason, he was getting special treatment.
Especially after learning the truth behind the Forger Abyss. How could they allow an outsider to enter their sect''s secret realm just for an Apportionment Trial?
Although he was told that the Apportionment Trial was special, he didn''t believe it was special enough to allow anyone to enter. What if someone else with ill intentions sneaked in using the same method?
Ace didn''t think these guys were this dumb. Now that he heard the voice, he knew someone with extremely high status was paying attention to him. This person was probably the one who changed the actual Apportionment Trial with Forger Abyss.
But by doing this, he was now the center of attention, and these powerful sect figures were extremely curious about him, especially the four ns, who almost owed the entire sect.
So, the Sutton n might not be the first to try to probe him, and Clifton was probably just a poison tester. Now that they knew he was under that mysterious person''s scrutiny, they wouldn''t dare make any rash move against him, but he also knew that they wouldn''t give up, and the next time they tried something, they woulde prepared or use a more roundabout manner to win him over.
Nheless, Ace wasn''t here to get pushed around, either. He was here to find trouble in the first ce, and the system seemed to think the same. The interface in front of him was a mission¡ªthe very first mission he got after appearing in Mortal Ascension Heaven!
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[Mission Panel]
[Mission (Basic): Fame of Sky Stealer!]
-Synopsis: As the new ascender of Mortal Ascension Heaven, you are at the very bottom of the food chain! But you are not just any ascender; you are the Heaven''s Stealer!
-Mission Task: Use the Artifact Inferno Sect as the central stage for your thievish debut and spread your thief fame far and wide!
-Prerequisite: Reach the Domain Wide Fame in Thief Fame by spreading your Thief Name within three thieveries!
-Thievery Used: 0/3
-Reward (s): Calcte based on mission progress and final mission evaluation!
-Thief House Members: Not Allowed
-Mission Complete Token: Allow
-Time: Three Years
-Punishment: Disguise Treasure, Skill, Spell, or anything rted to disguise will not work on you for 10 years!!
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Ace was surprised when he saw the mission and the peculiar punishment for failing it. But he wasn''t surprised to see the ''basic'' tag with the mission because after his authority increased, he was also given information about the mission levels.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The basic-level Missions were the easiest ones, followed by intermediate-level missions, almost ten times more difficult than basic-level missions, and finally, advanced-level missions, the most difficult missions, which also included chain missions. Simrly, the missionplete tokens also have these three levels that can help himplete a mission instantly as long as his token is on a simr level or higher.
However, he knew the most difficult missions were the Heaven''s Stealer Mission, which had no leeway or loopholes.
Still, this new basic mission was not as simple as it seemed. After all, he was given three times to achieve the mission goal, or he would fail. As for using the basic missionpletion token, he had no intention of using it when the rewards were ambiguous, and he wanted toplete it on his own.
Currently, he has one basic missionplete token and one advanced missionplete token, and with how stingy the system was in rewarding him with these tokens, he knew they were very precious, and he wanted to keep them for rainy days.
For this mission, since he didn''t provide an actual target, he was given the freedom to choose himself. He just has to make sure his name is spread far and wide.
However, Ace didn''t have time to mull over it since the old fox wasing his way at this moment, so he closed the system interface. It only took him three seconds to read the mission, so Forger Master Clifton didn''t notice anything, and he couldn''t even if he wanted to.
Forger Master Clifton wore an impassive expression as if nothing had happened; his face was definitely thick as he asked, "What were the results of your Forger Abyss trial? If you want to join the sect, then you need to tell the truth."
Realization dawned on Ace at this moment as he instantly guessed what they were ying at, and he also remembered the Guardian Spirit warning.
So, without exining anything, he flipped his hand, and a hexagon gray jade token with a golden hammer symbol and ''Nominal Legacy Disciple'' written below it appeared on his palm. "I passed the trial for Nominal Legacy Disciple and earned this Nominal Legacy Disciple Token."
However, even before he said that Forger Master Clifton''s expression changed; he was shocked when he saw that token. He recognized this token better than anyone; in fact, all the higher-ups of the sect recognized it since only 14 such tokens appeared in the sect throughout its rich history.
Ace didn''t know that acquiring a Nominal Disciple token was a huge deal, and the Guardian Spirit also didn''t make things entirely clear. The entry trial didn''t just grant the status of nominal and true legacy disciples; this entry test was given to every person who entered for the first time.
If they passed this entry test, they would earn one of the aforementioned statuses, but if they failed, it didn''t mean they couldn''t enter the secret realm again; it just meant that those failed trialists with sufficient results would no longer have any qualification to enter the legacy grounds of the Forger Abyss.
If the failed trialists could achieve the minimum satisfactory result, the Spirit Guardian would give them the status of Legacy Retainers, and they can only enter the outermostyer of the secret realm for Legacy Retainers.
It''s just that the Spirit Guardian never exined or revealed this since it knew the sect already had exined it to its disciples. But the Spirit Guardian didn''t know that Ace wasn''t an official sect disciple, and it only gave Ace the nominal legacy disciple token because it didn''t want the sect to treat Ace badly. In contrast, he knew that Ace would be targeted if he showed his true
status.
That''s why Ace also believed that the status of Nominal Legacy Disciple was quite normal within the sect. But if he had known about the legacy retainer status, he would''ve asked for this token instead since it was more low-key. s, it was toote now.
The moment he showed his Nominal Disciple Token, Ace was startled when he saw more people suddenly appearing around him. They were all wearing robes simr to Forger Master
Clifton!
Sensing their shocking and somewhat strange gazes, Ace''s heart stirs, and he instantly knows that something is amiss!
Chapter 1190: Under Limelight
Chapter 1190: Under Limelight
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Surrounding Ace were seven other Forger Masters, including Forger Master Clifton, and their eyes were filled with shock and a peculiar zeal.
"Youngd, be this Stetson''s disciple and join the Spirit Armor Hall? You''ll not have to worry about resources in the sect! In thirty years, I''ll make a three-star spirit armor forger!" A burly man with a bald head quickly said to Ace before the other could react.
"Shameless! Your disciple isn''t even ranked in the top ten of the Chief Disciple Ranking! How could you take this young genius and ruin his talent with your dull teaching!?" An old woman smacked her cane on the floor as she scoffed disdainfully at Stetson.
But she quickly pulled an amiable smile as she looked at George and kindly said, "Little genius, you should be a disciple of my Spirit essory Hall. I can promise you all the resources you need, whether for cultivating or spirit forging! You''ll also have many senior sisters to take care of you!"
"Heh, now who''s acting shamelessly, old crone, Alma!?" Another middle-aged man with a schr-like demeanor spat jeeringly, "How could a genius like this young friend fall into your obvious honey trap? Besides, you don''t even ept males in your Spirit essory Hall! He''s clearly suitable for my Spirit Sword Hall!"
Ace was overwhelmed to see those old monsters bickering with each other and offering him a ce in their specialized forger halls. Even Forger Master Clifton shamelessly made him a very generous offer as if the previous event had never happened between them.
But there was an expectation, an extremely old man with a wrinkled face and snow-white long hair was calmly standing there as he observed him and the token in his hand with his sharp eyes without saying anything.
Nheless, their reactions werepletely out of his expectations, and he knew the Nominal Disciple Legacy Token was a huge deal for the sect. Now, he wondered if the Guardian Spirit had tricked him, but he quickly thought against it since that Stoic dwarf had no reason to trick someone like him.
After all, if he had such intention, the Guardian Spirit wouldn''t have given this second token or warned him about the danger. But this situation was still not something Ace wanted.
Although these people behaved like children, he knew they were as strong as Clifton, or maybe stronger. Furthermore, he had already guessed who they were by the five stars on their cors and how they invited him into their ''halls.''
Elder Dewey had already told him about the seven spirit forger halls of the Forger Faction of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect. These seven halls have their own forging specialty that they were proficient in.
Like the Spirit Armor Hall, which specialized in forging armor-type treasures, the Spirit essory Hall specialized in forging essory-type treasures, and the Spirit Sword Hall specialized in forging de-type treasures.
The remaining four halls were Spirit Space Hall, which specialized in forging space-type treasures; Spirit Spear Hall, which specialized in forging spears and long weapons; and Spirit Myriad Weapon Hall, which specialized in forging other types of custom weapons.
Last but not least, the Spirit Formation Hall specialized in formations and was the only hall not rted to spirit forging. After all, a sect without formation experts was nothing. Although the AIG sect was famous for its Forging, its formation inheritance can''t be looked down on. Nheless, it was still thoroughlyckingpared to its Forging inheritance. Anyhow, upon sessfully joining the sect, a Forger Disciple could choose to join any of these seven Forger halls and choose a Forger path to follow. The Hall Masters of these halls were the Forger Masters!
Elder Dewey was also an outer elder of Outer Sect Myriad Weapon Hall, and Ace was supposed to join this hall upon sessfully oveing the trial.
But even Elder Dewey hadn''t expected that Ace would draw the attention of the top figure of the sect and send him to Forger Abyss, and an even more unexpected thing was he would be a Nominal Legacy Disciple of the Forger Abyss.
Earlier, these Forger Masters were only slightly curious about him and paid attention to him to see why ''that'' person paid attention to George. Still, now, they knew George was a Forger genius on the same level as the current first-ranked Chief Forger Disciple, who was also another Nominal Legacy Disciple Token holder, and he belonged to Spirit Spear Hall!
Furthermore, unlike George, this person belonged to one of the main four ns of the AIG sect, the Norberg n. He was the great-grandson of the Norberg n''s Forger Master. Even the four Grand Artifact Guardian Masters were paying attention to him, and his name was Nathaniel Norberg.
But George was an outsider, and with his talent at the same level as this person, everyone wanted to rope him into their own halls and then into their affiliated ns. After all, no outsider had ever managed to climb the position of the Hall Master.
It wasn''t like there were no other people on their level; it''s just that these people were part of these ns, and if they weren''t, they had already be affiliated with them through many political means and benefits. As for those who didn''t take their goodwill, they vanished in the history of the sect, never to be mentioned again.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
There was another reason the Sutton, Weston, and Oriente would do anything to rope George into their ns. The Norberg n already had Nathaniel, and with his progress and the status of Nominal Legacy Disciple, no one could stop his rise.
Furthermore, some people also believed that he would be the next sect master, giving the Norberg n even more boost, but it has remained to be seen. No one knows if he was a Dual Runic Talent since the Norberg n never revealed it.
But many believe it might be true, and the Norberg n was waiting for Nathaniel to grow stronger and establish his authority before revealing this to the public and grabbing the junior sect master position, which has been empty for many years.
Even the current sect master, who was from the Weston n, couldn''t do anything about it, nor did he seem to care or have any intention of helping the Weston n suppress Nathaniel.
So, the three ns could only secretly plot and do nothing else directly to Nathaniel. But Nathaniel was a cunning and ruthless person. He has never given them any chance to act against him, and the entire Norberg n was behind him.
However, this sudden stalemate suddenly breaks with George''s appearance; he has the talent to go against Nathaniel and put him under pressure. So, the three ns would do everything to rope him in, while the Norberg n would do anything to make sure Nathaniel''s position remained unshakable.
But no one had expected that at this moment, another person suddenly appeared right beside
Ace.
Before anyone could react, even Ace, he gently ced his hand on George''s shoulder, and they vanished, leaving the deadly silent hall and dumbfounded Hall Masters as if they had seen a ghost just now!
Chapter 1191: What’s there to be afraid of the World?
Chapter 1191: What¡¯s there to be afraid of the World?
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At this moment, Ace found himself standing at the edge of an active volcano, where rivers of moltenva were flowing like waterfalls. Moreover, for some reason, the other side of the volcano was enshrouded in thick, dark mist, and no one could see what was behind it.
But Ace didn''t care about this strange ce. As he looked beside him, he saw a long, dark- haired, handsome man with a schrly demeanor, adorned in white robes, standing beside him. The temperature didn''t seem to affect him at all.
Although Ace didn''t know who this man was, by how he could bring him here under all those forger masters'' eyes and even bypass his own senses, he knew this man was the most terrifying being he had encountered till now in the Mortal Ascension Heaven.
Ace even wanted to escape, but he didn''t because he still didn''t sense any kind of danger from this man. He knew if he had ill intentions, he might not be able to react before it was toote. Not to mention, Ace knew if this man tried to see through his disguise, he would be able to do it almost instantly, but unlike Clifton, he didn''t.
Furthermore, even since he hade here, he had wondered who could''ve influenced his trial, and now, seeing this man and his means, he knew it was most likely this person.
"Impressive, you be calm quite quickly without me needing to do it myself." The man suddenly said with a faint smile as he looked towards Ace with a hint of curiosity.
At this moment, Ace felt ufortable under this man''s gaze, as if he could see through George''s face, but he still had not escaped and replied with a wry smile, "Freaking out in front of Lord Elder will not do me any good. I will only humiliate myself."
"You''re pretty interesting for a brat." The man grinned amusingly as he asked, "Tell me, what do you think of the AIG sect? And you can be honest with me; I won''t mind."
This was an unexpected question, and Ace knew this man was testing him for some reason. However, since he still didn''t sense any danger, he decided to y along.
"If Lord Elder wants my honest opinion, then please forgive me when I say the sect is drowning under its own glory and power," Ace replied ambiguously, looking directly into the man''s eyes, his senses fully active.
The moment he senses danger, he will escape. But contrary to his expectation, a thoughtful expression appeared on the man''s face.
The man nodded as he sighed wishfully, "Drowning under its own glory and power? Are you referring to the four ns who use their authority to their own advantage and suppress the sect''s progress?" He asked with a somewhat solemn tone.
Ace was slightly surprised since he didn''t expect this person would admit it so bluntly. If it was an outsider, he wouldn''t be surprised, but this person was clearly someone with power and high status, yet he knew exactly where the fault lies.
As a thief, Ace sees things differently. Since his actions represent his will to steal, he always chooses his target carefully and then observes it, searching for vulnerabilities and cracks to create a chance for perfect thievery.
The AIG sect was his target from the start, so he observed it closely all this time, and that''s how he reached that conclusion.
But this man was different. Despite knowing the sect''s vulnerabilities, he was just sitting on the sidelines like a bystander, which confused Ace.
Still, since this man wants his opinion, it also means that he has a purpose and is waiting for something to concede it. In a sense, this man is just like Ace but with differing goals and beliefs.
After thinking for a moment, Ace replied, "The four ns are just part of it. I think the actual reason for the sect''s situation is fear of losing everything. After all, despite not progressing, the sect hadn''t regressed either. But to progress, one needs to take the risk of regressing, and this requires conviction, not fear."
The man''s eyes widened ever so slightly as he looked at the young man who hadn''t even lived for a sliver of what he had, yet he could still reach this kind of conclusion.
He couldn''t help butpare himself with him, and he reached the conclusion that he wasn''t like him when he was his age. In fact, he was just like the others in the four ns until an event opened his eyes to reality. But s, it was already toote.
Still, he knew that if he had held his current sentiments at that time, he might never have reached this position and might have been uprooted like others who shared his ambition.
"It seemed I was truly getting old. Even a brat like you know what needs to be done." The man chuckled in a self-deprived manner before he suddenly said, "But giving an opinion is simple and easy, while acting on it is an entirely different thing. Tell me, if you have the authority, will you still have the conviction and confidence to bring about the change? Even if the entire world is against you and stops you from doing it?"
Ace was startled when he suddenly sensed a deep aura releasing from this man, sending a shiver down his spine. He didn''t know what this person''s goal was or why he was asking him these questions, but he knew his next answer might be the deciding factor.
So, thinking about his own beliefs and convictions, he replied solemnly, "We cultivate against the rules of heaven; if we don''t even fear Heaven, what''s there to be afraid of the world?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Even Ace didn''t know that a strange kind of oppression had suddenly been released from him at that moment, which shocked and even made the man in front of him frightened. It was like he was gazing at someone out of this world and terrifying.
But that strange aura instantly vanished, and the man also thought that he was hallucinating from wishful thinking since how could he feel fear from a young man so weak he could obliterate him with a single flick of his finger? Still, Ace''s words and the way he said them were engraved deep in his mind, and he felt his mind suddenly open.
"Hahahaha..." The man suddenly guffawed thunderously, making Ace startled and confused. He was starting to think that this man was not right in his head.
But he felt that this man''s aura had suddenly changed, and he could feel a sense of freedom from it.
The manughed for a while before he finally calmed down; he looked towards Ace with shining eyes and said, "Well said. If we aren''t afraid of heaven, why are we afraid of others? Well-ced! Alright, I''ve decided you''ll be a Chief Forger Disciple from now on! Show me what you can do, and you''ll have my full support, but if I saw you wavering, I''d be the first one to oppose you!"
Chapter 1192: Chief Hall Court
Chapter 1192: Chief Hall Court
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The man in white robes stood alone on the edge of the strange volcano, and Ace was nowhere to be seen.
"Why did you bring him here if you weren''t nning on epting him as your disciple? Are you really nning on letting that little doll go and let him be contaminated by the others?" The Guardian Spirit of the AIG sect''s impassive voice suddenly rang at this moment.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The man suddenly smiled and replied, "Can you please not pretend to be benighted? He''s wearing a disguise treasure, and I can''t trust someone who isn''t willing to trust me."
"Then why not just expose him and let him believe you?" The Guardian Spirit asked with a hint of intrigue.
Just as Ace guessed, this man could easily see through his disguise if he wanted. Even the Guardian Spirit, who was secretly watching everything, could expose him when he was within its detection range, unlike the formation. But for some reason, they didn''t do anything. The man shook his head as he replied, "Heh, I had a hunch that if I had done that, that brat would''ve escaped or simply thought that I was after his secret and had an ulterior motive. Although I don''t know where his confidence came from, I''ve lived enough to tell when someone is fearful or just wary.
"Besides, I found that brat quite interesting, especially the way he observes and judges things around him. As for getting contaminated by others, I''m afraid it''s the other way around. Don''t you think so as well?"
"I hate to admit it, but you''re right. There is someone unusual about that youngster. But act like the Sect Master for once. You just gave him the status of Chief Disciple despite him hiding his identity and possibly having ulterior motives. Don''t tell me you''re taking his words seriously and going to use him to cause trouble for the four ns? But what if it''s backfire?" The Guardian Spirit eximed with a hint of teasing; it was clearly in a good mood.
"Hah, can you not expose me?" The man smiled wryly, but a hint of deep resolution shone in his eyes. "As long as he doesn''t harm the sect directly, I don''t care about who he is or what motives he has. Just as he said, ''We cultivators aren''t even afraid of heaven, so afraid of the world?'' I think it''s about time I joined the stage and took control from those meddlesome fossils; the sect had stagnated enough."
"Although I don''t know what you''re nning, I like where this is going. Since you''ve decided to move forward, I''ll make sure no one gets in your way. Our sect was built to seek wisdom and development, not for fostering cowards!" The Guardian Spirit coldly dered.
The man, the Artifact Guardian Master of the Artifact Inferno Sect, also smiled coldly as he looked towards the mist enshrouding the other side of the volcano. He suddenly felt the mist bing slightly flimsier...
The most prominent area for the AIG sect disciples was, without question, the Chief Hall Court. It was a ce of greater power and mystery.
Here, the volcanic rock was infused with fieryws, giving it a translucent, almost crystalline appearance. The buildings are more borate, with intricate carvings and runic symbols adorning their surfaces. tforms and bridges connect the various structures, creating a sense of otherworldly grandeur as if they were floating.
The inhabitants of the Chief Hall Court were Chief Disciples and high-ranking officials, and the four ns'' territories were also established there. Their power and influence were evident in their surroundings.
The northern region of the Chief Hall Court divided the area into four ns. The headquarters of the Forger Halls of the Forger Faction are in the south, and the me Halls of the me Faction are in the west. The east is where the Sect Enforcement Hall and other important buildings of the sect are, and this is thergest area of the Chief Hall Court.
Also, on the east side of the Chief Hall Court was located the Chief Ignite Hall. Every newly promoted Chief Disciple would firste to register in this ce before the disciple was given the passage into the Chief Hall Court.
At this moment, Ace appeared outside the Chief Ignite Hall, baffled by what had happened. Once that mysterious man said those words to him, he gave him a golden cauldron-shaped badge and, without waiting for his response, teleported him to this unknown ce.
''Don''t tell me it''s some old entric,'' Ace wondered as he considered his entire encounter and felt something was really wrong with that person.
Still, since he didn''t do anything to him, Ace was relieved and thought about that man''sst words more carefully.
''Could it be he wants me to cause trouble for the four ns? As long as I do that, he won''t care about how I do it. This is the only reason I could think of after that strange conversation...'' Ace mused as he was sure he was thinking in the right direction.
But he was still unsure. For now, he decided to figure out where he was, and then he could proceed with this topic in the future.
When Ace finally looked around, he was startled to see the appearance of Chief Ignite Hall. It was a towering structure shaped like a fire bird rising from the mes. The exterior is primarilyposed of obsidian, infused with fire runes that glow with an ethereal orange light. The building was crowned by a colossal bronze statue of a ming bird; its wings outstretched as if embracing the rising sun.
Although Ace didn''t know what kind of magic beast it was, he was still awed by it and wondered if this kind of bird existed in the Spirit Inferno Domain and what kind of existence it was for the AIG to sculpt its status and ce it there.
"You, who are you, and where did youe from?!" A harsh voice suddenly drew Ace''s attention, and he felt a powerful pressure suddenly lock him in.
When he looked around, he found it was a middle-aged man with a stern expression. He was looking at him with hostility and seemed ready to strike the moment he sensed anything amiss from him.
Ace quickly shed the golden badge in his hand in front of the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man''s expression instantly loosened a bit when he saw the golden badge in his hand. But he was still uncertain since Ace wasn''t wearing the sect''s attire.
"A new Chief Forger Disciple? I wasn''t alerted about any of the inner court disciples passing the Chief Forger Disciple trail?" the middle-aged man mumbled before flicking his finger, and the badge in Ace''s hand appeared in his hand.
Without waiting, he imbued it with his Qi, and information appeared in his head. His expression suddenly changed as he looked at Ace with disbelief, making Ace ufortable. Things had been going out of his hands since the moment he hade to this ce, and now he had be somewhat numb to them.
The middle-aged man seemed to be suppressing his burning curiosity. He quickly handed Ace the golden badge and solemnly said, "Wee to the Chief Hall Court, young man, George. You can enter the Chief Ignite Hall and register yourself first. Only then will you get your chief disciple robes, cultivation lodging, and disciple benefits!"
Realization dawned on Ace, and he understood why he had appeared in this ce. So he politely thanked the middle-aged man before entering Chief Ignite Hall.
Once Ace left, the middle-aged man thought for a moment before a talisman appeared in his
hand. It turned into a streak of light and vanished towards the northern side of the Chief Hall Court. No one knew its destination except the middle-aged man!
Chapter 1193: Chief Disciple Privileges!
Chapter 1193: Chief Disciple Privileges!
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The interior of the Chief Ignite Hall was a blend of warmth and efficiency. The registration chamber was a vast, open space with high ceilings adorned with intricate fire-themed carvings. The walls were lined withrge murals disying information about the sect, its history, and the various forger paths.
Ace looked at those murals with great interest while he made his way toward a long, curved desk in the center of the room. It was made of a heat-resistant metal and iid with fire- opal.
Behind the desk, a wizened man with gray hair was sitting with closed eyes. When he sensed Ace''s approaching, he instantly opened his eyes. A hint of surprise shed past in his sharp eyes when he saw he wasn''t wearing disciple robes. But he didn''t jump to conclusions like the middle-aged man at the entrance.
"Greeting, lord elder!" Ace quickly greeted the wizened man as he could tell this wizened man was an expert despite his lukewarm appearance.
"Elder? Heh, you must be new here. I''m just an old janitor. I''m not worthy of Chief Disciples'' respect. Just call me Old Lue," he nonchntly replied.
Ace almost rolled his eyes; this Old Lue was not fooling anyone. After all, who would let an ''old janitor'' watch over such an important ce? Now he really wondered if this sect was filled with entrics.
Ignoring Old Lue''s words, Ace ced the golden badge on the desk and politely said, "I was told I have to register here before I can officially be a Chief Forger Disciple."
Old Lue looked at the golden badge and nced at George as he curiously asked, "Were you directly appointed as a Chief Disciple? Which Forger Master is your master?"
Although he knew such information would be in the badge, he didn''t check like the middle- aged man; instead, he was more interested in hearing it from George.
After all, he knew that to be a Chief Disciple through the sect trials, a Forger Disciple had to be at least a 3-Star Spirit Forger, and a me Disciple had to be a 1-Star Ascension Grand General (Spirit Soul/Body Formation) Realm cultivator.
But Ace''s aura was that of a 1-Star Ascension Soldier, which means he didn''t qualify to be even an inner disciple. So, the only way he could acquire a Chief Disciple rank was if he had the backing of Forger Master or me Master or the four ns and talent far surpassing that of other disciples.
Furthermore, since he wasn''t wearing the disciple uniform, Old Lue was even more sure that this was the case. But if he had seen the information on the badge, he would''ve never thought like that.
Ace thought for a moment before he replied, "I''m not a Forger Master disciple, and to tell Elder the truth, even I don''t know why I''m given the privilege of being a Chief Disciple."
Old Lue was startled when he heard this unexpected reply as he retorted angrily, "You, mischievous brat, do you think I''m senile? Who would believe something so absurd?"
Ace was speechless. He was telling the truth, and he knew how ridiculous it sounded, but he was really telling the truth. Even he didn''t know how he had reached this point.
"Hmph, children these days really don''t know how to respect their elders." Old Lue didn''t wait for Ace''s exnation, as his impression of him had already hit rock bottom, and Ace could only smile wryly.
Old Lue sneered as he tapped on the table. An old tatter register appeared in front of him, and the next moment, the old register flipped open on its own, revealing gray sheets.
At this moment, the golden badge suddenly floats towards the gray sheet and gently drops on it. The next moment, under Ace''s curious gaze, runes began to spread on the gray sheet as the badge shimmered brightly.
"Drip a drop of your blood into your disciple token, and it''ll then connect with your soul and your spiritual mark will be registered in the Sect Registry. But be warned that if you betray the sect, we''ll know; if you die, we''ll know and avenge you.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Furthermore, your Chief Disciple Badge is special, for it is an Ascension Grade-4 protective treasure. Once you connect with it, if you fall into a dangerous situation, you can activate a spiritual barrier that can protect you from an Ascension Master expert for ten minutes and even block a blow from an Ascension Grandmaster. Not only that, but you''ll also be teleported ten thousand miles away in random directions.
"So, I advise you to run for your life if you ever encounter such a situation and hold on until the sect sends someone to rescue you. Since you are a Chief Disciple, the sect will instantly respond. But in such a situation, you must never lose your sect badge, or we won''t be able to find you.
"This is the privilege of a Chief Disciple, so cherish it and never betray the sect!" Old Lue solemnly dered.
Ace was astounded when he heard about this badge''s function. He never expected it to be such a treasure. But upon thinking about it, all of this made sense. Since Chief Disciples were the most talented disciples of a sect, a sect would do everything to protect them, especially a disciple of a second-grade sect.
Furthermore, this also means that killing a core disciple of any sect was extremely troublesome.
But this sect registry was the one that most intrigued Ace. After all, this tatter register didn''t seem extraordinary, but after hearing about its function, Ace knew it was anything but
simple.
''It''s seemed like a special contract...'' Ace thought, but he wasn''t too worried and cut his finger before dripping a drop of blood on the badge.
However, both Old Lue and Ace were shocked when they saw Ace''s blood was actually inky ck!
''Shit!'' Ace had yet to bleed after changing his bloodline to Nirvana Thief''s bloodline, so he was unaware that his blood color had been changed.
After all, this was the only exnation he could think of, and now Old Lue had seen it as well.
But Old Lue didn''t say anything. Yet, the way he looked towards Ace had changed dramatically, and no one knew what he was thinking.
At this moment, Ace heard the system''s voice, and he quickly agreed to form a fake soul for 1 million TP since he had already expected this registry to be a loyalty Law Contract.
But he was now worried about his bloodline being found, and he didn''t know how these people saw someone with a bloodline. After all, he had yet to encounter other races, or anyone with a special bloodline, and Old Lue''s gaze made him even more agitated.
But s, he knew he couldn''t do anything about it now. If he had known about it, he would''ve been more careful and discreet. But he had no idea how to hide the color of his blood since it was inherited, and despite changing his outer appearance, he couldn''t change his inner body
structure.
Old Lue picked up the badge from the registry, and it closed the next moment before
vanishing.
He impassively gave the badge back with a storage ring and said, "All the information about the sect, a map, and your discipleship has been stored in this badge, and you can see if as long as you imbue it with your spirit Qi. This storage ring contains your chief disciple robes, cultivation lodging key, and 10,000 Tier-4 Spirit Coins.
"You can exchange spirit coins for spirit stones or spirit crystals from Sect Treasury Hall or any cultivation material, pills, or potions you want. You will also be entitled to 1,000 tier-4 spirit coins as your monthly allowance.
"Last but not least, you are given 1,000 Sect Merit Points; they are in your badge. They can be used to exchange for spells and techniques in the library and extremely rare materials and
treasures.
"But you won''t be given any extra, and you have to earn them bypleting sect missions you can find in Forger Halls or exchanging unknown treasures or knowledge the sect is interested in with the Sect Treasury Hall at a fair price.
"Now, if there isn''t anything else you want to know, you can leave," Old Lue said.
Ace looked at Old Lue and could only secretly sigh. He knew this old man was in a hurry to chase him out for some reason, and he had a foreboding feeling about it.
But he was helpless because of his cultivation, and he felt frustrated. All he could do now was prepare for worse as he thanked Old Lue and left the registration chamber.
Once Ace was gone, Old Lue''s expression instantly turned dignified, and he stood up. But before he could take any further action, a handsome man in white robes appeared in front of him and gave the old man the shock of his life.
The Sect Master had this warm smile as he looked towards Old Lue and gently said, "Where
are you going, old friend? Don''t tell me you''re going to that old witch to report about his strange blood. Tsk, tsk, you''re still as loyal as ever to her; it makes me jealous. It''s been so long since I saw you. How about we catch up?"
Chapter 1194: Walking Treasuries!
Chapter 1194: Walking Treasuries!
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Once Ace left the registration chamber, he quickly sent his Qi into his chief disciple badge, and arge amount of information appeared in his mind like a jade scroll.
After a minute, Ace refined all the information in it, and his eyes shimmered with surprise. Although Old Lue exined the main privilege of the Chief Disciples, there were still many things he didn''t bother to exin.
The Chief Disciple uniform was also a defensive ascension grade-3 treasure, but Ace wasn''t nning on using it since his own robes were enough. Another thing was the Cultivation Lodging, which was located south of the Chief Hall Court in the Chief Forger Disciple District, also where the Forger Halls and me Halls were located.
All the Chief Forger Disciples lived there, even those from the ns until their discipleship ended. At that point, they reached the peak of Ascension Grand General and joined the ranks of Sect Elders once they became Ascension Masters.
Furthermore, a Chief Forger Disciple status was higher than outer and inner me and Forger Elders, and only me Masters and Forger Masters were above them. At this moment, there were 194 Chief Forger Disciples in the AIG sect, and he was 195th, and his ranking in the Chief Forger Disciple ranks was also 195th!
The ranking system existed in the entire sect. There were different rankings for outer disciples, inner disciples, and core/chief disciples for both factions.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
If someone ranked in the top hundred, they would earn Sect Merit Points andvish privileges with higher ranks every month. The rankings also changed every month, and the disciple badge even showed the top hundred rankings.
Furthermore, there were different ways for Forger Disciples and me Disciples to climb the rankings, so they usually mind their own business.
But Ace noticed something different in his disciple badge than the information Old Lue gave him. It said that it was mandatory for a chief disciple to be a member of a forger hall or me hall, and their disciple badge would carry the symbol of their halls.
Yet, Ace''s badge didn''t have that symbol with the information, and in that row, it was written ''Free.''
Old Lue clearly didn''t look at this information, or he would''ve treated Ace like that from the start.
Ace knew that the entric had given him his disciple badge, so he was sure that there was something unusual about it. He could only make wild guesses.
''Could this ''free'' mean I can freely move in any foreign hall, or does this give me a choice to select the hall I want to study in? After all, I''m new in this ce. But for some reason, I have a feeling that it is not that simple, I should find someone to get more information on this. If it''s former, then I can learn all the techniques of the forger halls, but if it''stter, then I''ll have to select a hall for the time being...''
While in deep thought, Ace exited the Chief Ignite Hall, but he was stopped when he noticed some familiar figures standing there with strange smiles on their faces.
Ace''s expression sank because that group of people were exactly the seven Hall Masters of the Forger Faction. Although he knew he would encounter them again, he didn''t expect it to be so soon, and they seemed extremely persistent.
Furthermore, Ace instantly spotted the middle-aged man who had investigated his token when he appeared here, standing behind Forger Master Clifton!
''Since you told me to follow my beliefs, then don''t me me for doing just that!'' A sharp glint shed past his eyes as he had already decided to throw causation to the wind since he was almost exposed, especially after his blood was seen by Old Lue.
Since these guys still didn''t do anything to him, he can assume that they were still afraid of something or under the sect''s rules. As long as he won''t harm the sect directly, they won''t move against him openly. Not to mention that entric was his backer for now, so he didn''t have to worry about these Forger Masters.
"Haahaha, we meet again, young friend, George, and it seems you are already a Chief Disciple now. Congrattions, here, take this small gift." The schrly middle-aged man who was the Hall Master of Spirit Sword Hall quickly approached Ace with heartfeltughter and handed him a silver sword that looked extremely sharp.
Ace''s eyes lit up when he saw the silver long sword. He instantly knew this sword was a treasure, and an extremely high-grade one at that, just what he needed to hide Avos. Without hesitation, he epted the sword; after all, why would he reject such a gift?
He quickly thanked the Spirit Sword Hall Master, "Thank you, elder!"
The Spirit Sword Hall Master''s eyes twinkled when he noticed something andughed in satisfaction, "Oh, you seemed to be a sword person as well, not bad, not bad at all. So, how about joining my Spirit Sword Hall?"
"Shameless! Zachariah, do you think just by giving him a lower ascension grade-3 sword, you can bribe him into joining your Spirit Sword Hall!" The bald Hall Master of Spirit Armor Hall, Stetson, spat disdainfully as he quickly came to Ace and gave him a ck heavy armor with golden lining and said with a smile, "Real man only like armor! Here this is a gift from this Stetson, it''s a dark elemental affinity upper ascension grade-3 armor! It can even block an Ascension Master for a full minute and have the third mystic ability of Dark Element Dark Stealth, which can turn you one with darkness, and not even Ascension Grand General Law Sense can detect you! You will get more once you join my Spirit Armor Hall."
Jacob was again shocked as he looked towards the dark armor and then the bald hall master. He couldn''t help but find this hall master quite pleasing to the eye, especially with his shining bald head. The Spirit Sword Hall master now appeared somewhat stingy inparison.
He quickly epted the armor, as he wanted to study this mystic ability, which was rted to dark elements and stealth; it was simply something tailor-made for him.
Ace didn''t reply instantly as he looked toward the other Hall Masters with an expectant gaze. If he had previously found them annoying, now he thought of them as walking treasuries. He had to get something out of them first before he initiated his n!
Chapter 1195: Backing of the Sect Master
Chapter 1195: Backing of the Sect Master
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Afterward, Ace received ''congrattory gifts'' from every Forger Master; even Forger Master Clifton gave him a grade-3 cauldron.
But still, the most precious gift he received was from Spirit Armor Hall Master Stetson, and the least precious gift was from the old man with a wrinkled face and snow-white long hair. He gave him an upper ascension grade-2 herb, and to his surprise, no one seemed to belittle or jeer at him. That old man was the Hall Master of Spirit Spear Hall, Horace, and for some reason, Ace sensed hidden hostility from him!
However, Ace didn''t mind since he knew these guys were trying to rope him into their own halls and even had a motive to assimte him into their ns. Moreover, Ace could guess another reason for their generous gifts: it was most likely because of that entric, and they might want to find out what happened after he took him away.
After all, they were all old foxes and wouldn''t give these gifts for nothing. Now, he really wondered who that entric was, and he even had an absurd conjecture about his identity. "Thank you, Lord Elders, for your care and gifts!" He quickly thanked them again before sheepishly saying, "But forgive me; I can''t ept any of them as my master, for I have already epted that senior as my teacher!"
The Forger Masters were surprised and in disbelief when they heard it, their smiles frozen as if they had heard something absurd.
"Is that true?" The Spirit Spear Hall Master, Horace, questioned with a stern tone.
Ace looked at him and innocently replied, "I won''t dare to lie to lord elders."
"Hahahahaha!"
Suddenly, Stetson burst into wantonughter, and another middle-aged man with a slim build and tan skin started grinning happily. He was the Hall Master of Spirit Space Hall, Morris. The others looked shocked, disbelieving, envious, and hostile.
Even Ace found Stetson and Morris''s reaction somewhat strange, and he had a terrible feeling about this.
"Good, good. I guess there is no need to say anything further. You are already one of us!" Stetson loudly proimed as his bald head seemed to shine even brighter.
''Don''t tell me he knew that entric and had some kind of deep ties with him?'' Ace thought, as this was the only possible exnation he could think of for Stetson''sment.
Still, he put on a confused expression and asked, "Do you know my teacher?"
Now it was the Forger Masters'' turn to get confused.
"That person didn''t tell you who he is?" Morris hesitantly asked, and others also wanted to know the answer to this question.
"No, can Lord Elder tell me?" Ace inquired, as he really wanted to know who that guy was.
Stetson looked at Morris as they smiled wryly before he replied, "Since he didn''t tell you, then we can''t either. But don''t worry. I''m sure there is a reason for it, and he will tell you when the timees. We won''t interfere in this matter between you and your master. Right, everyone?"
Hisst words were for the other Forger Masters as if he were warning them not to meddle in this matter. Stetson knew they wouldn''t dare open their mouths unless they wanted to punish like Clifton. And just as he thought, they agreed with stiff smiles.
Ace was now 90% sure about the identity of that person when he noticed the Forger Masters'' reactions, and he even found it strange.
Still, since they didn''t want to interfere, Ace couldn''t be happier. At least they won''t bother him again, and he had no intention of returning their gifts either.
So, he quickly inquired about another thing he was curious about, "If that''s the case, then I understand. There is another matter I would like Lord Elders'' guidance. I don''t understand something about my disciple badge, it''s rted to joining a Forger Hall. Please guide me." "What''s strange about it?" Spirit Assessor Hall Master Alma inquired curiosity.N?v(el)B\\jnn
George, epted by that person as a disciple, was still shocking news for them, and now that he mentions this strange thing about his disciple badge, they are even more curious. They had given up on roping him into their halls and had other ns.
"Let me see." Forger Master Stetson was also curious. He took the chief disciple badge from Ace''s hand and investigated it using another method, which was only known to the elder- level figures of Chief Hall Court. This method revealed different and more confidential information about a disciple.
"This?" Forger Master Stetson was shocked.
"Let me see." Forger Master Zachariah quickly snatched the badge, and soon, his reaction was just like Forger Master Stetson''s.
The others were even more curious, and one by one, they took the badge and saw for themselves. Forger Master Clifton and Forger Master Horace''s expressions were instantly gloomy, and the other three also shared their feelings.
At this moment, Forger Master Morris took a deep breath before he said, "Your badge is indeed special. You don''t need to join any Forger Hall because you are already a disciple of all the Forger Halls, and as long as you can pay with sect merit points, you can learn any secret techniques of Forger Halls, even from the Spirit Formation Hall."
Although Forger Master Morris was calm, he wasn''t really, and neither were the others, especially when he said thosest words. If George could even learn about Philosopher Runes from Spirit Formation Hall, then this means he had a dual runic talent!
It was also possible that it was just a status given to him because he was that person''s disciple, and they wouldn''t know for sure until he actually went there. But the implications behind this matter were huge!
Ace was baffled when he heard it, as his second guess turned out to be the truth. He was even ted about it since he also wanted to do the same thing. Now, he was 99% sure about the
entric''s identity.
However, when he considered it more, it wasn''t as simple as it seemed. After all, he needed to pay for those techniques with sect merit points, and they weren''t free.
Although he didn''t know if they were free for the members of forger halls, he had a feeling that they weren''t, which was a problem for him.
Nheless, Ace wasn''t too worried since now that he was that person''s ''disciple'', he knew these guys couldn''t do anything to him and had to obey his arrangements.
Ace thought with aplicated glint in his eyes, ''Who could''ve thought that the Sect Master of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect would be my backing? But I wonder if he minds since I lied about our rtionship! But what is he up to?''
Chapter 1196: Meeting of Norberg Clan
Chapter 1196: Meeting of Norberg n
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In the northern region of the Chief Hall Court, within the territory of the Norberg n, many high-level figures of the Norberg n were summoned for a meeting, and the same thing was happening within the other three ns as well.
At this moment, a few old men were gathered in arge hall, all looking towards the Forger Master Horace Norberg. The Forger Master Alma was also present because her surname was also Norberg.
Furthermore, sitting with them was another burly middle-aged man with a stern face and
sharp eyes. His robes were also different. He was wearing a crimson robe with a golden me bird symbol. Since he was able to sit together with two Forger Masters, his status was also equal to theirs. He was one of the four Hall Masters of Inferno me Hall, me Master Willis Norberg!
Unlike the seven forger halls of the Forger Faction, there was only a single Inferno me Hall of the me Faction, which was overseen by four me Masters from four ns.
But that doesn''t mean they were weak. In fact, the Inferno me Hall was the strongest force of the entire AIG Sect, for it was focused on battles.
Furthermore, each Hall Master was far stronger than any Forger Master in both cultivation and fighting prowess, not to mention their Vice Hall Masters, who were also me Masters, could hold up against any Forger Master; the Hall Masters didn''t even need to make any move!
It''s just that the AIG sect was a heritage of forgers, so the me Faction could only be lower than the Forger Faction. Since these Hall Masters belonged to the four ns, there was no way to revolt against the Forger Faction, and they also kept each other in check.
Surrounding these three second-highest authority figures were the other elders and experts of the Norberg n. Although no one knows why two Forger Masters who usually didn''t show themselves suddenly appeared today and summoned them all, even the me Master Willis was out of the loop.
Once everyone was gathered, Forger Master Horace solemnly spoke, "Today I summon everyone here because an unexpected event took ce today.
"An outsider named George Edward from a first-grade sect was given an Elder Apportionment Token by an outer sect elder, Dewey. But instead of the usual Apportionment Trial, he was directly sent to the Forger Abyss!"
The elders, who were listing with somewhat uninterested expressions since it was only about an outer sect elder, were suddenly jolted awake by this revtion, and shock filled their faces. me Master Wills was also surprised. He asked curiously, "Wait, is that even allowed? I don''t think even Senior Brother Horace and Junior Sister Alma can do it, right?"
This was also why everyone was in shock, and this George finally piqued their interest. Horace expected this reaction since he had also reacted like this when he heard the news and exined, with a grave tone, "Although we can''t do it, the Sect Master and Grand Elders can. But this time, it was the Sect Master who changed the trial!"
"What?!" Wallis was shocked as he looked at Horace with disbelief.
Although he was a Hall Master of Inferno me Hall, he couldn''t spy on Forger Hall matters, and he didn''t need to do it either since he could learn everything from Forger Master Horace or Alma.
But the news that theid-back and impassive Sect Master suddenly made this kind of move was a massive shock to everyone in this room.
Because they all knew the Sect Master never interfered with the ns or took part in any kind of dispute, he didn''t even help his own Weston n or meet with them.
Although no one knows the reason for it, they have their own conjectures. Furthermore, it was even a good thing for these three ns since they didn''t have to worry about being suppressed by the Weston n.
However, now, the same nonchnt Sect Master has suddenly appeared out of nowhere for an unknown disciple. They all be curious and wary instantly since this means nobody is either special or has something that draws the Sect Master''s interest, and no one dares belittle George anymore.
"Although I don''t know what drew Sect Master''s attention, it might be his whim, or he found something in him. But he wasn''t wrong either because that youngster cleared the Nominal Legacy Disciple trial of Forger Abyss!
"Not only that, but Clifton seemed to have made a move on him before he could reveal his status as the Nominal Legacy Disciple, but he was instantly castigated by the Sect Master, and the entire Sutton n was harshly punished!
"After that, just when we reached there and could probe him or do anything, the Sect Master appeared and took him away. When he appeared again, he was already given the status of a Chief Forger Disciple, and the Sect Master had already epted him as his disciple!
"Last but not least, the Sect Master had also given him a special privilege which allowed him to learn any knowledge from any forger hall as long as he had merit punts!"
This time, the entire ce was deadly silent. They were still absorbing this ridiculous information, and their expressions were instantly gloomy as they knew what this implied. "Great Grandfather, does this mean he''s a dual runic talent?"
A handsome man with long hair suddenly asked with a hint of malice in his sharp eyes. This man was the current head of the Norberg n, the father of the top genius, Nathaniel, of the AIG sect, and the Vice Hall Master Spirit Spear Hall, Bert Norberg!
It won''t be wrong to say that Bert had the highest authority after the three hall masters in the Norberg n, not just because Horace was his Grandfather but also because his son, Nathaniel, would be the future Sect Master of the AIG sect.
However, now that George had appeared out of nowhere and even earned the Sect Master''s favor, Bert was also the most agitated and worried.
"I don''t know." Horace sighed helplessly as he replied, "But we have to assume that he is, or Sect Master wouldn''t have made such a move after so many years. So, now, I think it''s time to move our n forward."N?v(el)B\\jnn
A sharp glint shed past Horace''s eyes, "If we continue to wait and give George time to grow, it will be a disaster for us. The time for holding back is over!"
Chapter 1197: What is a Thief?
Chapter 1197: What is a Thief?
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After the ''truth'' about him being the ''disciple'' of the Sect Master and his Disciple Token was revealed to the Forger Masters, they all seemed to be in a hurry to leave, especially the Forger Masters of three ns except the Weston n.
Once those five left, Forger Master Morris also left after giving Ace a warm invitation to his Spirit Space Hall and telling him, he coulde to him any time if he needed anything.
Forger Master Stetson remained behind and took Ace directly to the Chief Forger Disciple District, which was in the south. Furthermore, Stetson also revealed to him that the Sect Master was actually from the Weston n, so since he was his disciple, Ace had their backing.
Ace finally realized why these two Forger Masters were so warm to him. He unknowingly had earned the favor of the Weston n because of his fake status. Nheless, Ace found this a good thing since, with the Weston n on his side, the three ns won''t move on him openly, nor can they make things difficult.
Stetson also told him more about the Chief Hall Court and the chief disciples, and he warned him to be careful of the chief disciples of the three ns, especially the First-Ranked Chief Forger Disciple, Nathaniel Norberg.
Furthermore, Ace finally understood why everyone reacted so excessively when he showed the Nominal Legacy Disciple token of Forger Abyss. It was all because the First Rank Chief Forger Disciple had it, and he was considered a top genius of the sect.
Ace could only smile wryly. He knew things were extremelyplicated for George, and if he had shone the true legacy disciple token, he wouldn''t dare imagine what kind of storm this would have brought.
Still, this didn''t mean he was out of danger; in fact, he knew the Norberg n would do absolutely anything to make sure he wouldn''t threaten their heir''s status.
But Ace also saw this as an opportunity since the Sect Master''s motives obviously revolved around him, especially since he didn''t stop or make things clear when he lied about their rtionship.
Now, the Weston n was also behind him, so this means the Sect Master wanted this to happen, so Ace could cause trouble, which he was nning to do.
At this moment, Forger Master Stetsonnded in arge andvish courtyard within the rows of courtyards, with George as he said, "This is Cultivation Courtyard No.195th, also the ce you''ll live until you finish your discipleship. There are other chief forger disciples living around you, and they should be either cultivating or researching spirit forging. They won''t disturb each other usually, and some of them have their own clique.
"You should make friends with Weston n disciples. I''ll make sure they treat you nicely. If the other n disciples bully you, don''t hesitate to give them a good thrashing."
Forger Master Stetson chuckled, "Oh, I guess you shouldn''t have a Communication Spirit Totem yet. Here, take this one."
Ace epted a palm-sized white corporeal monolith engraved with tiny golden runes and looked at Forger Master Stetson for an exnation since he didn''t know what this Communication Spirit Totem was.
Stetson patiently exined, "This Communication Spirit Totem is very special, and you would only find them in second-grade sects. It''s an ascension grade-4 treasure that allowed cultivators ofw status tomunicate with each other. Unlike themunication cubes, this Communication Spirit Totem didn''t need a corresponding cube.
"You just need to imprint their unique spiritual mark on it, and then anyone with a Communication Spirit Totem would be able to copy your Communication Spirit Totem''s distinctive spirit signature on their own Communication Spirit Totem, and the same goes for you.
"Once you have other Totem spirit signature records in the Communication Spirit Totem, you can contact them any time as long as they are within the Communication Spirit Totem''s range. This Communication Spirit Totem has a 500,000-mile radius range.
"The good thing about this Communication Spirit Totem is that even if you acquired a higher-grade Communication Spirit Totem, you easily copy all the totem''s spirit signatures within a new one, and the new Communication Spirit Totem will have the same spirit signature as your previous one, so there is no need to go through the same trouble again.
"Although your disciple badge had the same function, it''s not as meticulous as the Communication Spirit Totem."
Ace was astounded as he looked at the monolith-shaped Communication Spirit Totem in his hand. This was really a miraculous invention and far more useful than those cubes.
"Thank you!" Ace quickly thanked Stetson since he could guess how precious this Communication Spirit Totem might be, and Stetson also gave him dark affinity armor.
No matter what the Sect Master or Weston n had in mind, Stetson''s character seemed straightforward, and it had nothing to do with his background.
"Hahaha, it''s no big deal. It should be what I do for the future of our sect. You don''t need to feel pressure; just do as you please and make sure to live your life as you wish. If you don''t want to do anything, no one will force you, or you can just contact me, and I''ll make sure they pay!" Stetson grinned as he proudly said.
As an old monster, Stetson had already guessed what kind of character George had, and he knew George didn''t want to be afflicted by any ns. So, instead of just forcing him, it was far better to have a good rtionship with him. George already had the biggest backing he could get right now, so he would be fine.
Ace silently epts Stetson''s goodwill and imprints his spiritual mark on the Communication Spirit Totem, and then Stetson exchanges his own totem spirit signature with his.
Ace instantly felt a new totem spirit signature appear in his own, and he could use his totem to connect with it. This Communication Spirit Totem was quite handy, and now he had a Forger Master at his beak and call. But he wasn''t nning to use it unless it was absolutely necessary.
After all, he knew Stetson might be testing him by giving him his totem spirit signature to see if he used his authority and privilege to bully others.
Once it was done, Ace hesitated for a moment before he asked, "Umm, Lord Elder, I got this chance to join the AIG sect because of outer sect Elder Dewey, and he taught me many things about forging. I want to repay him, and I think there is something about his cultivation, if you can tell me and if I can help him somehow."
Although Ace had sessfully infiltrated the AIG sect, he knew he only had this opportunity because of Elder Dewey. That old man had treated him with kindness without holding back, so he wanted to repay him somehow. From his interactions with him, he knew there was some problem with Elder Dewey''s cultivation.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Now that he was a chief disciple with many privileges, he wanted to help him, and for some reason, Ace felt he had to do it. It was a strange feeling, but it wasn''t like it was against his will.
Forger Master Stetson was surprised as his eyes glowed, and he couldn''t help but nod in approval, "We should never forget about our benefactors, especially those who helped us when we were at our lowest. This is what makes us human, and believe it or not, repaying kindness and favors is essential for aw-state cultivator.
"You''ll know once you reach my realm unless you''re willing to lose your humanity and be Evil path cultivators who only know how to harm others for their beliefs and benefits. "You needn''t worry. I''ll investigate Elder Dewey, and you don''t have to pay him personally. After all, since he brought us a talent like you, it''s the sect''s duty to reward him generously. You should focus on your cultivation and forging without any reservations."
Ace was astounded when he heard those profound words, but he didn''t pry any further. Once Stetson had promised him, he really felt a burden lifted from his shoulder. Afterward, Stetson gave him some more instruction before he finally left in a jolly mood.
Once Ace was left alone, he sighed in a daze, ''Even favors have an effect on cultivation, and it''s made us human? But then, what is evil and inhumanity? What is the boundary between good and evil? Am I evil and inhuman because I''m a thief?''
After a long time, Ace''s eyes suddenly glow with a profound light, ''NO, a thief is neither good nor evil; a thief is free from morals!''
When he thought about this, Ace fell into this strange trance; his cultivation suddenly surged
like a tilde wave!
Chapter 1198: A Painful Interview!
Chapter 1198: A Painful Interview!
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A vast mountain rangey north of the Spirit Inferno Domain. At this moment, a ck- cloaked figure shed past the trees, his cloak tattered and filled with warm blood. It was clear that this person was running from someone or something.
"Just who the hell is that crazy lunatic, and why can''t I get rid of him!?!" A husky voice cursed in frustration with a hint of deep fear.
At this moment, the cloaked figure seemed to sense something, as all the fine hair on his body stood with a deep sense of fear. A runic crystal appeared in his hand, and he instantly crushed
it!
The next moment, a barrier appeared around him. As the barrier manifested, multiple dark streaks appeared out of nowhere and directly shot toward him like lightning bolts.
The barrier trembled under the volley of the sharp bolts, and it managed to block most of them, but s, there were too many. At this moment, the barrier instantly shattered, and those directlynded on the man''s body as he instantly let loose a shrill scream filled with gut-wrenching pain.
But strange, those ck streaks didn''tnd on any of his vital as if the attacker was deliberately avoiding them for some reason and didn''t want to kill him but just pulverize him.
The many on the group as blood gushed out from his body as he cried in pain. He knew he was no match for the other party, and at this moment, in front of him, a graceful figure adorned in ck robes and hood above it appeared like a ghostly phantom.
Furthermore, another person was standing behind this hooded figure like a shadow.
The man suppressed his pain as he looked towards the hooded figure in front who had been chasing after him for three days. He didn''t think about it at first because of his arrogance, but now, he knew that the other party could''ve killed him on multiple asions, yet he somehow managed to escape every time.
Only now did he realize that this person wanted him to feel hope while driving him to utter despair, even though he had never done something like this despite being a sadistic himself who found joy in other misery.
Yet, now he was feeling the same misery he had inflicted on countless people himself, even more so when he thought how he couldn''t even resist or fight back despite living for many years and being proficient in assassination techniques.
The other party seemed to be the bane of assassination techniques he knew, and no matter what he did, he was always discovered. At this moment, he finally lost all hope of running away. Still, he was unwilling to die in this ce, especially meaninglessly, without knowing why this madman was after him.
The only reason he could think of was that his identity had been exposed, and this person was some revenger. Yet it seemed impossible since betraying the organization behind him was impossible, not to mention that he was very careful hiding his traces, which made him even more confused.
Furthermore, the other party''s carefree attitude humiliated him even more.
He clenched his teeth with hatred as he spat, "W-who are you!? Do you even know who I am, and what will happen to you if you kill me!? My sect will avenge me even if they have to chase you to the end of heaven!"
The hooded figure didn''t reply instantly as it raised its hand, and the next moment, that dark streak that was now stabbed deep into this man''s body suddenly retracted, making the man scream in pain.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
All those dark streaks vanished into the hooded figure''s sleeve, and at this moment, it finally spoke for the first time in her crisp voice, "You are a 2-Star Fiend Assassin of the Fiend Assassin Guild branch of Spirit Inferno Domain, also the Vice Branch Guild Leader. Your code name is Blooded Fiend. You were going to the Southern Guardian Sect City''s Sutton n to investigate the sudden death of your blood puppets, right?"
Blooded Fiend''s eyes widened with shock when he heard the other party knew who he was and why he was in this ce. This waspletely unexpected yet frightening since he knew very few people knew his code name, and they were all part of the Fiend Assassin Guild.
"Who are you!? Are you an assassin of the Fiend Assassin Guild? Do you know that killing fellow members is punishable by death?" He asked again.
The hooded figure replied, "I''m not a part of the Fiend Assassin Guild. As for how I know who you are and how I track you down, consider them my unique abilities."
Blooded Fiend was shocked by this unexpected answer, and he was perplexed now, "Why did you want to kill me? Do you want revenge?"
"You are not worthy of my revenge. If I wanted to kill you, you would''ve been dead without even being able to retaliate, and you know it better than anyone." The hooded figure replied dismissively, "But what I want is to join the Fiend Assassin Guild, and I thought the easiest way would be to prove myself to the Vice Guild Leader. So, what do you think, do I qualify to join the Fiend Assassin Guild or do I have to find the Branch Guild Leader?"
Blooded Fiend, who had lived for over five thousand years, was rendered utterly speechless when he heard the reason for the other party to hunt him down for three straight days was to ''prove'' herself.
"Y-y-y-you goddam lunatic!" He cursed in resentment and directly vomited blood in anger. At this moment, a dark interface suddenly opened in front of the hooded figure. She heard an emotionless voice speaking in her head, and her pitch-ck eyes suddenly widened with shock and pleasant surprise.
This might be the most bloody and painful ''interview'' for the ''interviewer'' in the history of the Mortal Ascension Heaven!
In the Eastern Guardian Sect City, two cloaked figures were standing in an alleyway of the ck market, and they were observing a ten-floor dark tower with crimson rune markings not far away from their position. This dark tower was none other than the branch of the Sea of
Secrets!
"Madam, although we found the Sea of Secrets, how do we join them? From what I gathered from the ck market, the Sea of Secrets is an extraordinary ce; they won''t allow just anyone to enter; they select their ''guests'' on their own, and no one knows the criteria. Furthermore, almost everyone wanted to be their guests, even the AIG sect. They are too mysterious and hold unfathomable power." A woman''s worried voice rang from one of the cloaked figures as she advised her ''madam'' to drop this ridiculous n.
The ''madam,'' however, didn''t seem too worried about it at all as she nonchntly chuckled and replied, "Others might not know their criteria for choosing their guests, but from ''his'' words, it''s pretty clear they select talented and famous people who have the potential to bring him information. Although it''s vague, and there might be more to it, it''s still enough to know what they are after.
"But we are not here to be mere ''guests,'' instead, we want to join the Sea of Secrets ranks. What we should be thinking about is how to be their member. Ever since I heard about them, I have known what my target is, and you know I like challenges like this."
The next moment, the ''madam'' turned around and started walking away from the alleyway, and the other woman quickly followed.
"Since they like gathering information, I need to prove my abilities. Hehe." The madam giggled with anticipation in her voice as her golden eyes shone with excitement.
At this moment, an interface popped up in front of her as she heard the emotionless voice. She was startled before she clicked her tongue: "Even our mighty backer wants me to do the same. Now it''s even more interesting!"
Chapter 1199: Ancient Eldoria Woodland
Chapter 1199: Ancient Eldoria Woond
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Far away from the Spirit Inferno Domain was the Ancient Eldoria Woond, an ancient forest steeped in Qi, which was a haven for magic beasts and a forbidden zone for other races.
Its towering trees, draped in emerald moss and vibrant fungi, seemed to touch the heavens. Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting dappled patterns on the forest floor, where strange, bioluminescent nts bloomed.
The air was thick with the scent of ancient wood and exotic herbs. The symphony of nature was ever-present, with the rustling of leaves, the chirping of magical birds, and the low growl of hidden creatures.
The appearance of Ancient Eldoria Woond was a testament to the power of nature that permeated this wondend. It was a ce of wonder and mystery, and among the magic beasts, it was known as a sanctuary and a source of inspiration for those who sought to understand the true nature of naturalws.
Even the second-grade sect wanted a piece of this ce, yet no one has ever been able to conquer it.
At this moment, a dark hooded figure stood before a massive, ancient oak tree deep in Ancient Eldoria Woond. Its gnarled branches were adorned with strange, glowing symbols.
Furthermore, besides this hooded figure, it was a cute little girl, seemingly around the age of twelve, but her appearance was not human. She had bark-like skin, leafy green hair, and branches for limbs.
At this moment, the strange little girl loudly, in her chirpy, innocent voice, spoke in front of the mysterious oak tree, "Big sis Oakley, look who I brought here!"
At this moment, the branches of the runes on the oak tree suddenly glow brightly, and a beautiful being materializes in front of it the next moment.
It was a beautiful woman with flowing green hair and leaves adorning her crown. Her emerald skin was covered in intricate tattoos, representing the runes on the oak tree. Her eyes werepletely white and shimmered with gentleness. She seemed to be surrounded by naturalws, giving an unfathomable yet friendly feeling, just like nature.
This woman shed a gentle smile when she saw the little girl who was smiling with delight, but her eyes turned sharp and wary when she looked towards the hooded figure beside the little girl.
"It''s been a while since we have had guests, not to mention the guest is a Fox." Oakley''s words were neither warm nor servile as she spoke to the hooded figure. "Since little Birch brought you here, this means she had approached you herself. How should I help you?"
But before the hooded figure could reply, the little girl named Birch suddenly eximed, "No! Actually, this big sis found me on her own when I was observing her. She''s very skilled, and I was even surprised. But she didn''t do anything to me; in fact, she gave me many snacks. You have to help her!"
Oakley''s expression changed slightly when she heard little Birch''s unexpected words because she knew it was impossible to detect her kind until they willingly showed themselves.
Moreover, her kind only approached people with kind natures and strong auras of naturalws, and she didn''t sense anything like that in this mysterious person except that she had the bestial aura of a magic beast race, which initially confused her. Still, now, things were starting to make sense.
Furthermore, only her kind could bring people to this ce. This was apletely unexpected thing that hadn''t happened in a very long time. But this also means that this ''fox'' was not simple, and little Birch was still just a na?ve child, so Oakley raised her guard instantly.
At this moment, the hooded figure finally spoke, "You don''t need to be on guard, I just like this little girl, so I give her some gifts, it''s not a big deal and I never force her to bring me here. She brought me here on her own when I asked her the direction of the Illustrative Feral Monastery. She told me only her big sis could help me, so here I am." Her voice was very pleasing to the ears, but there were hints of arrogance present in it.
Oakley looked deeply toward the hooded figure, wanting to see through the darkness within the hood, but she couldn''t see anything except an endless void, which made her somewhat uneasy.
But since little Birch was looking at her with an expectant gaze and this person didn''t do anything to Birch, she didn''t bring herself to act against her. After all, she knew if this person was aware of their race, she could''ve captured Birch and then tried to sell her. Even King Sects would pay any price to get their hands on Birch.
Since this person could detect Birch, Oakley knew she had some mysterious abilities despite being a mere Ascension Soldier. Birch could easily take care of her if she had shone any malicious intention.
But even then, if she managed to escape the other and told them about their race''s presence in this ce and that she could detect them, she would instantly be an essential and well- guarded figure in power sects. Yet she didn''t do any of it, so she didn''t attack her.
"Do you want to join the Illustrative Feral Monastery?" Oakley questioned sternly.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The hooded figure nodded without hesitation, "Indeed. I''ve heard the Illustrative Feral Monastery is the strongest organization of magic beasts, and they only ept magic beasts in their ranks, so I naturally want to join them. But their whereabouts are unknown, and the only clue is in the Ancient Eldoria Woond, and it seemed the rumors were not baseless."
Oakley thought momentarily before she finally replied, "You are indeed qualified to join Illustrative Feral Monastery despite your cultivationcking a little-just your ability to detect little Birch enough.
"However, the Illustrative Feral Monastery is very strict when ites to epting new members, and despite my connection with them, you have to rely on your abilities to enter it. I can only give a rmendation token allowing you to take their entrance test, but this is as far as I can help you."
"It''s enough as long as they won''t turn me down. I can pass their test." The hooded figure replied without any hesitation while she was secretly pleasantly surprised by this unexpected
windfall.
She had never thought the cute tree girl she helped would bring her such an unexpected
fortune.
After all, she was just shooting in the dark when she came to search for the Illustrative Feral Monastery, which she had heard about from her leader. This Illustrative Feral Monastery fascinated her.
But she never expected it would go so smoothly. She felt very pleased with herself and thought about bragging in front of her colleagues and that arrogant leader of hers.
Oakley nodded. Since this was a small matter to her, she could even directly help her join the Illustrative Feral Monastery, but she didn''t do it because she was still wary of this person. Nheless, she didn''t want to send her away, especially with her ability to detect her kind, so she wanted to keep her close, and the Illustrative Feral Monastery was the best option. She flipped her hand, and a golden oak leaf with a rune symbol appeared. She handed that left to the hooded figure.
"This leaf will guide you where the Illustrative Feral Monastery is, and as long as you show it to the people of Illustrative Feral Monastery, they will allow you to take the entrance test."
"Thank you, treedy," The hooded figure happily said before an interface appeared before
her.
After a short silence, she suddenly looked towards little Birch, who was very happy for her. Then she looked towards Oakley as her eyes behind the hood shone brightly.
For some reason, Oakley felt ufortable when she asked, "What is it?"
The hooded figure thought momentarily before she seriously asked, which left both Oakley
and little Birch confused.
"Are you two interested in bing thieves?"
Chapter 1200: Abyssal Architect Thief Descends!
Chapter 1200: Abyssal Architect Thief Descends!
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In mysteriousndscapes with forests of shimmering trees, crystallinekes, and fields of ethereal flowers, the pitch-ck sky above was illuminated in the gentle glow of two crimson moons like a devil''s eyes. There were no traces of stars and clouds as if the pitch-ck darkness had engulfed them all.
At this moment, in the middle of this eeriendscape, the space suddenly ripped apart, revealing an endless void. The next moment, a graceful figure walked out of this tear andnded gracefully on the ground before the tear in the space instantly mended.
[You have used the Inter-Void Travel ability!]
[Inter-Void Travel ability will be on cooldown!]
[Cooldown Period: 1,999 Days]
[Congrattion, House Member (Eva A. White), for sessfully entering the First Eternal Abyss: Abyss of Wandering Souls!]
-House Rank: [Newbie Member] has been upgraded to [Normal Member]!
-House Reward: 10,000 House Points!
[Congrattions onpleting the House Leader Mission [Stay Safe!]!]
-Reward: 100,000 House Points!
[House Point(s) (Eva A. White): 125,000]
-A New House Rank upgrade mission has been triggered!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
-House Mission: Find the most powerful authority of the Abyss of Wandering Soul!
-Reward(s): 1,000,000 House Points & House Rank Upgrade to [Old Member]
Eva looked at the system interface with shimmering eyes. She couldn''t help but feel joy, not because of the system reward but because of the reward she got from Ace''s mission, which was essentially a freebie, yet it carried his love and care for her.
"I can''t believe you could travel between the Evesting Heavens and Eternal Abysses! It''s simply iprehensible!" ggy eximed with shock and delight.
Eva closed the system interface after ncing at the new mission and her house points which weren''t enough to buy a new item from her house shop yet. After all, her shop differed significantly from the other house members, which astounded Ace.
"Hmph, why of course, my man can do anything. Are you still not convinced?" She arrogantly expressed.
She knew that ggy couldn''t see the system panel, and she had no thoughts of telling it, so she gave all the credits to Ace. Furthermore, since this was Ace''s biggest secret, no one in the Thief House wanted to reveal it to anyone who wasn''t a part of it, and even if they wanted, they simply couldn''t.
But after knowing Ace''s secret and the true purpose of his heritage, no one was foolish enough to do anything stupid. Ace also trusted them, and they trusted him.
"I''m convinced, mydy!" ggy instantly replied, its tone no longer arrogant like before. The treasure spirit had already decided that it might go against its master, but it would never dare to go against her husband.
"Anyway, it''s quite nostalgic seeing the Eternal Moons of the Abyss again and this special abyssal Spirit Qi. I can recover faster here, and the materials I need to repair fully might be hard to find in the Evesting Heavens, but they can be found in Eternal Abysses as long as we look for them in the right ces.
"Nheless, since there are only two Eternal Moons, we are in the First Enteral Abyss, which is on par with the Second Evesting Heaven. Don''t take these beautiful sceneries around you seriously. "The soft, ethereal glow of the Eternal Moons emanates from the countless souls of the abyss. This light is extraordinary; it isforting and unsettling, creating a surreal and dreamlike atmosphere. "But it won''t change the fact that this dreamlikendscape around is nothing but an illusion, for they often vanish as quickly as they appear. The Abysses are timeless and ever-changing; there is no hope but only despair.
"Only with your own abilities can you survive in this ce; no one is your friend, everyone is your mortal enemy, and only the apex predictors survive in this ce!
"Although you are now a full-fledged Void Abyssal Devil, you need to hide this fact with your life. Those with low bloodlines will do anything to acquire it, while those with the same rank bloodline would do anything to get their hands on you so they can strengthen their bloodline and awaken the abilities of Void.
"Any bloodline rted to Void is extremely precious, so you have to be extremely careful not to draw the attention of those old monsters of Abyss!" ggy''s tone was extremely solemn.
Eva didn''t refute, as she knew ggy was telling the truth. She had already awakened the new Ancient Edict of Void Abyssal Devil bloodline and assimted the new Abyssal Brand of Void Abyssal Devil. She had also unlocked her bloodline''s Dive Talents and first and seal of blood heritage memories.
She knew better than anyone the rules of the Abyss and how her bloodline was divine medicine for lesser abyssal beings and even those with noble and royal abyssal bloodlines like herself.
But the same things go for her as well. After she absorbed more blood from the Vampyre n, her evaluation potential was limitless, and the system shop will also help her once it is upgraded to a sufficient level.
So, she knew she had to be careful in this unknown ce and not bring trouble to her beloved. Instead, she wanted to help him with everything she had.
Eva''s eyes shone with determination as she looked at the breathtaking yet eerily silentndscape around her and waved her hand.
Three charming figures appeared in front of her, and they were all stunned when they saw this ce and the crimson moons on the pitch-ck sky. These three were none other than Livia, Riana, and Sofia that Ace had abducted...ahem, recruited for Eva!
Livia was the oldest among them, while Riana and Sofia camete. Yet, like Livia, they had already epted their fates, especially the cunning Princess of the Empire, Sofia, after she received some ''tough love'' from Eva.
Furthermore, just like Livia and Riana, when Sofia heard about their backgrounds, she quickly agreed since she also wanted to be powerful. Livia also brainwashed her when she told her about the fame of ''Sky Stealer''!
Thest straw that broke the camel''s back was naturally the status of Thief Acolytes. All the women were fully convinced and epted Eva as their mistress, who controlled this
mysterious power.
Eva also had no intention of revealing the truth or making things clear for obvious reasons.
Eva''s lips curled slightly at this moment as she said, "My cute maids and acolytes look alive because we are on an advantage of Abyss!"
Chapter 1201: Forget the Past, Live in the Present!
Chapter 1201: Forget the Past, Live in the Present!
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In a beautiful valley, a fairy-like woman adorned in a silver dress, her peerless face half covered in a veil, looked around the valley with her mesmerizing silvery eyes as if she were confirming something.
After a little while, she waved her sleeve, and the next moment, four figures appeared in front of her. But the moment they appeared in the atmosphere of the Mortal Ascension Heaven, their confused expression instantly stiffened as they felt suffocating and hard to breathe. The Qi here was extremely potent for them.
The veiled woman sighed, as she had expected this, and then released an invisible aura, enveloping the four people. They were almost suffocated, and only then were they able to breathe again.
However, they all didn''t care about this strangeness as they instantly looked at the woman in the silver dress with bewilderment, disbelief, and ecstasy. They were two men, one middle- aged and one wizened, while the other two were beautiful women.
"A-Alina?!"
One of the women, with a mature, charming face and bewitching figure, her skin was as white as snow, and her white hair was tied in a high bun, uttered with a hint of disbelief and motherly joy.
She didn''t wait for Alina''s reply, for she was a mother, and she knew the woman in front of her was none other than her daughter, whom she missed terribly. She quickly ran over to her and hugged her tightly with teary eyes.
Alina didn''t avoid her warm embrace, as she was also emotional. No matter what opinion she had of her parents, she still loved and cared about them, especially her mother.
"M-mom..." Alina called softly as she hugged her mother back. Her heart was filled with warmth, yet there was an unknown hesitation.
The middle-aged male in gray robes, handsome face, and long bright silver hair draped over his wide shoulders, couldn''t help but feelplex emotions as he saw his daughter, who hadpletely changed, hugging her mother. He wasn''t like his wife, and he knew what he had done in the past, and he couldn''t bring himself to face his daughter.
After all, he knew that if he and his n were alive today, it was all because of his daughter''s man, or they would''ve perished with the Golden Sky World that day.
It was also the same man he and his wife held in contempt and scorn in the past, yet after they realized his capabilities and experienced his unknown means, they felt ashamed, and the same goes for the old man, Herman.
In fact, the entire Silver Ice Hunter n was indebted to that person, and they all knew they were living without care because of him. Now, seeing Alina, they can''t even see through her cultivation anymore, and on top of that, this unfamiliar environment, they knew it was probably also because of that person.
Lillian, who had lived in the thief''s space and knew about Alina''s decision about the bloodline change, was the only one who was rtively calm. Ace had shifted her into the living space ring because she was alone in the thief''s space and always worried about Alina.
Lillian also revealed some matters to the Silver Ice n about Ace but never revealed his secrets or Alina''s decision about changing her bloodline. She was afraid it would not only offend Ace but also worry Alina''s parents, Bryan and Gloria.
But now that Alina had appeared again, it meant she had seeded in acquiring that powerful bloodline, lifting a huge burden over Lillian''s heart. She was also d that Alina wasn''t avoiding the people closest to her.
At this moment, Gloria finally let go of Alina and looked at her with love and worry, "How have you been? What took you so long to reach out? Your dad and I were worried sick. Even little Lillian won''t tell us anything. Where is our benefactor? We want to thank him personally for saving us and taking care of you!"
Alina was slightly surprised. She could tell that her mother''s words were genuine, and she couldn''t help but feel a tingle of happiness, as she was worried they might still have misgivings about Ace.
For this exact reason, she didn''t let Ace meet them and put this meeting on hold because she wanted to see her parents'' attitude first. If they still didn''t acknowledge Ace or acknowledge his saving grace, it might hurt Ace, and she didn''t want that.
She even thought that she would cut ties with them if they still didn''t turn a new leaf. But it seemed that wasn''t the case, and they were grateful to Ace for being their benefactor.
"I''m fine, Mom. I couldn''t reach you because I was epting a very powerful inheritance he gave me. He didn''t meet you all because Ace had an important matter to handle. He couldn''t make it, but he gave his regards and promised to meet you guys once he took care of that matter." Alina replied.
Everyone was surprised when they heard about ''powerful inheritance'' except for Lillian.
At this moment, Bryan spoke hesitantly, "He never met us, even when he saved us. Could it be he didn''t like us? I know we haven''t treated you well in the past, but I want to tell you that it was all me; your mother was always against it. But I have no choice. So, if you are angry, please don''t hate your mother. I''ll also apologize and thank him on behalf of the entire n. I don''t want any rift between him and you because of us!"
Alina looked towards her father with aplicated look in her eyes. She never expected the dignified Ice Lord to apologize and lower his head one day. She knew how prideful he was, and she could also understand that what he did in the past was to protect the n from the Blood Ancestor. His words almost extinguished her resentment for him.
Gloria sighed as her heart ached. She knew her husband better than anyone, and despite her own resentment, she never showed it.
After all, as the n leader, he had to make decisions for the entire n, and he couldn''t choose his daughter over everyone. She knew sending away Alina and then handing her over to the Blood Ancestor was like cutting off a piece of his own heart, yet he had done it! That''s why she could never hate him; she knew he was the one in most pain. She looked at Alina with hopeful eyes, as she really wanted her daughter to forgive Bryan. It might not change anything, but she knew Alina''s words meant a lot to him.
After a little silence, Alina finally spoke, "I don''t hate anyone, and I know what you guys did was for the survival of the n. But it''s all in the past. After all, I was able to meet him because of your decision, and meeting him was the happiest thing that had ever happened to
me.
"You don''t need to worry about it. He also didn''t hate you all. He wanted to meet you all with me. But he held himself back because I wasn''t around, and he wanted to follow our tradition and officially asked my hand in marriage by receiving your acknowledgment and blessings." A hint of redness appeared on my face when I said thest part.
Everyone was surprised and astonished, as they never expected Alina to be able to say something so bold.
Gloria even grinned as she nodded in understanding, "I guess we were worried for nothing. Our future son-inw knows how to follow traditions. Don''t worry. I can tell that you are also in a hurry, so we''ll quickly marry you to him. After all, our future son-inw is very capable, so you have to make sure to stick with him, or else someone might steal him from you!" Alina blushed even more before a bitter look appeared in her eyes. She knew thest part had already happened and couldn''t help but secretly clench her teeth when she thought about that hateful she-devil''s gloating face.
"Anyway, things are different now because you guys are no longer in the Golden Sky World, which was actually just a tiny part of the Mortal Sky Heaven. We are not even in the Mortal Sky Heaven but in the upper heaven known as the Mortal Ascension Heaven!
"The Qi suppression you felt before is also because you were exposed to the Spirit Qi of Mortal Ascension Heaven. You need to slowly cultivate and get ustomed to the Spirit Qi if you don''t want to suffocate to death.
"I''ll help you and all the nsmen familiarize yourselves with the Spirit Qi and help you settle down before I leave!"
This massive revtion left everyone bbergasted. They had never even heard about Mortal Sky Heaven before, but now they were suddenly in Mortal Ascension Heaven!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 1202: The Unrestrained Chief Disciples!
Chapter 1202: The Unrestrained Chief Disciples!
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In the Chief Hall Court of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect, cultivation courtyard no.195, Ace spent two nights of peace here.
After that sudden epiphany, he spent an entire day and a half breaking through, and to his surprise, he directly broke through to the 5-Star Ascension Soldier stage in one go!
Ace started to experience real cultivation, and his cultivation was extremely fast because of his bloodline, physique, and meridians.
After familiarizing himself with his new prowess, he spent the rest of his time getting to know the new ce and making his ns ordingly.
On the third morning, Ace left his courtyard. His destination was the Chief Hall Court''s Sect Library, which held all the top knowledge and secret manuals of the AIG Sect.
Ace hadn''t forgotten about the Beast Law Channel Spell that Elder Dewey told him about, which would allow him to keep his contracted magic beast in his inner space. It was his main priority, and he also wanted to see what kind of umted knowledge the Sect Library had, especially the knowledge rted to thews and his primew, Darkness!
However, just as Ace left the courtyard, a cheerful voice suddenly rang from behind, "You finally came out!"
Ace was surprised. This person was clearly waiting for him, and when he looked around, he spotted a handsome young man with short ck hair and a slim build, wearing the same white and golden chief forger disciple robes with a cauldron symbol as he hurried over towards him.
Despite his annoyance, he still smiled politely and greeted the young man, "Greeting, Senior Brother. I''m George. Are you looking for me?"
The young man stopped a meter away from George and closely observed him from top to bottom with judging eyes before he clicked his tongue, "Name''s Ted. You are really weak, no wonder. The elders told us to take care of you. I wonder what made them pay so much attention to you. But you still made Senior Brother Floyd wait for three days-not a good thing to do, I''m telling y''!"
Ace was startled. He had no idea what Ted was talking about or who this Senior Brother Floyd was, but he could guess that it was Forger Master Stetson doing it.
"Forgive me, but I didn''t know you were waiting. I joined the sect three days ago and was busy familiarizing myself with the new environment. May I ask who Senior Floyd is and why he is looking for me?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ted nodded slightly as he replied, "We know you joined three days ago, and I have to admit, not only us but the entire district knows about you. If you came out the other day, there were many representatives of the other three forger disciple factions here."
At this moment, Ted''s expression suddenly changed as he cursed, "Tsk, they''reing. Let''s go, or it''ll be annoying. We can''t let Senior Brother Floyd wait, and you won''t want to deal with those annoying guys as well."
Ace also sensed more people approaching, and after thinking for a moment, he nodded. Ted quickly started leading the way, and Ace followed.
"Fuck, that''s Ted! He''s escaping with the new guy!" An indignant voice suddenly rang.
"Follow them!" A cold voice instantly replied as they quickly chased.
"Damn it! Those fuckers detect us! Hey, new guy, keep us!" Ted cursed as he quickly increased his speed.
Ace was speechless. He never expected the Chief Disciples of the AIG sect to behave like a bunch of hooligans and tugs. Furthermore, he knew they were all chasing after them because of him, and his expression grew grave. This was no good at all since he couldn''t do anything if these guys kept chasing after him all the time.
Still, he had no idea who these guys were, and he could only find out about them from this Ted since he seemed to be rted to Stetson, so he followed him.
"Ted, stop right there!" An infuriating voice rang.
"Heh, so it''s the little fucker, Harper-Rose! Just like your forging skills, your speed is also slow. If you have a problem,e and catch this father, and I promise I''ll change your name!" Ted hooted as he burst into wantonughter, leaving Ace speechless.
A burly man who was following behind them with others, when he heard those words, his expression instantly changed, and hisplexion turned bright red as he gritted his teeth.
He roared with bloodshot eyes, "Bastard! I''ll kill you!"
"How about you kill your father, who gave you that name? Oh, that''s me!" Tedughed even more wildly as his speed exploded, leaving everyone in dust!
''Shit, I use more speed!'' Ted''s expression suddenly changed as, in a hurry, he used Ascension Warrior-level speed and quickly looked around. But to his shock, George was keeping up with him!
''He''s only a 1-Star Ascension Solider, yet he keeps up with the Ascension Warrior''s speed? Is he hiding his strength? But how could it? I''m a 9-Star Ascension Warrior; he can''t fool my Law Sense!'' Ted was shocked as his view of George started to change, and he began to understand why the elders were paying so much attention to him.
Ted started to observe George as they moved like lightning seriously, and the more he observed George, the greater his shock.
''What''s the deal with this guy''s expression? He''s not even sweating!?''
"Um, senior, is this the ce?" Ace suddenly asked as they were already stopped in front of a massive courtyard. Calling it a manor wouldn''t be wrong since it was ten times bigger than his cultivation courtyard.
But Ace knew they were still in the disciple district, and this ce probably belonged to someone with a high disciple ranking.
Ted finally snapped out of his stupor. He quickly looked towards the massive courtyard and smiled awkwardly. He was so absorbed in observing George that he had already instinctively led him to their destination.
"Oh, Senior Ted is back!" As the courtyard door opened, a timed voice suddenly rang, "And he even brought the new guy!"
Ace looked towards the opening door and saw another young man, 1.4 meters tall and with a sunken face, in chief disciple robes behind the door.
Ted quickly pulled a smug smile, "Little cuz, Maci, do you still doubt my abilities? Of course, I''ll bring the new guy despite being chased by those hyenas!"
Maci''s eyes shone with reverence, "Of course, I know that when ites to fleeing, no one can beat Senior Ted!"
Ted''s expression stiffed slightly, "Are you praising me or cursing me!?"
"Stop disgracing yourself before the new junior; bring him inside!" An icy voice of a female rang in amanding tone at this moment.
Both Maci and Ted''s expressions changed as they quickly stopped talking. Ted looked towards Ace and said, "Let''s go, new guy."
He then suddenly approached Ace and whispered in his ears, "That was Senior Sister Avery, and I''m telling you she''s a control freak and demon in a fairy''s appearance! So, never try to go against her, or she''ll skin you alive."
Ace was startled, but he was more amused. Although this atmosphere was very strange, especially how these guys behaved, he could tell they were all friendly and warm towards each other, and he somehow liked it.
"I understand." He smilingly replied.
"Tsk, you''re fearless, aren''t y''? Don''te crying to me when you fell in the clutches of that demon!" Ted scoffed, but his voice was extremely low as if he was afraid that a ''demon''
would hear it.
Ace didn''t say anything and only smiled while he followed Ted and Maci into the courtyard; now, he was curious about these people!
Chapter 1203: An Equal?
Chapter 1203: An Equal?
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The disciple courtyards in the chief disciple district werevish and equipped with all kinds of cultivation facilities. They also symbolized the chief disciples'' status, and the number of courtyards also represented a chief disciple ranking, whether they were Chief me Disciples or Chief Forger Disciples.
The lower the number of courtyards, the higher the ranking of chief disciple and the more facilities and space these courtyards had, especially the courtyard numbers from 1 to 10.
These courtyards were like castles, and the disciples who resided here were all top geniuses of the AIG sect. Furthermore, ranking in the top ten had another benefit: the disciples could form their own disciple factions and ept other disciples as long as they were willing.
However, the most prominent factions of these disciples still belonged to the top geniuses of the four ns. Since 97% of these chief disciples belonged to the four ns, as decided by the rankings, only the most powerful and talented genius of each n could be the leader, while the others could only be under these four disciples.
The courtyard Ace was brought to was courtyard no.3, which belonged to the third-ranked disciple in chief forger disciple ranking, Floyd Weston, the top genius of the Weston n and the leader of the Weston Forger Disciple Faction!
At this moment, Ace looked at the handsome man, seemingly in his early twenties, with long ck hair tied with a golden dragon hairpin and a schrly temperament. He was wearing chief forge disciple robes. He was sitting on the main seat of arge jade table with a cup of warm tea in his hand, with a gentle smile on his face as he looked at George with great interest. He was Floyd Weston!
Sitting beside him was a fairy-like woman with the temperament of an aloof goddess and icy cold eyes as she looked towards George with a hint of curiosity. She was Avery Weston, ranked 6th on the Chief Forger Disciple Ranking.
There were more people, but they were sitting far away from these two. Everyone was looking at George with all kinds of expressions: curiosity, jealousy, envy, disdain, even unwillingness. But they were all silent, for they didn''t dare speak up first in Floyd and Avery''s presence.
Ted and Maci joined them and took their designated seats without saying anything. Ted has this amusing grin as if he were about to watch a show.
While they were observing Ace, he was also observing them and was quite surprised because they were all ascension warrior realm cultivators, at least, while the man and woman sitting at the top were even stronger!
"Junior George greets all seniors!" Ace politely greeted everyone.
Floyd nodded with a smile, "Wee to the AIG sect, Junior George. I must congratte you on bing a Chief Forger Disciple directly. Even my father has a very favorable opinion of you. I wonder just how talented you must be to draw so much attention. I must confess, I''m envious."
Ace was slightly surprised; since he wasn''t expecting this big shot to openly say those words, he was secretly amused.
"My achievements are not worth mentioning in front of Senior, who is a dragon among men; I was just lucky," He replied with a faint smile.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
A hint of surprise shed past Floyd''s eyes as his smile grew, "Luck is also part of one strength. You don''t have to be so humble. We are all Chief Disciples of the Sect, which means we are equal now. Your background or previous status has no meaning. You are the pir of the AIG sect, and you should be proud. Don''t let anyone look down on you!"
Ace couldn''t help but look deeply at Floyd and think, ''This guy has excellent control over his facial expressions. I can''t tell if he''s kind or just acting. Let me see...''
At this moment, under everyone''s astounded expression, George suddenly picked up a chair and dragged it towards the position where Floyd and Avery were sitting.
But what he did next stunned everyone. He ced the seat right next to Floyd andfortably sat down, but this wasn''t the end; he picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup,
and leisurely started to sip on the milky white tea.
Even Ted was dumbfounded and started to sweat like everyone else, even he wasn''t this daring.
"What a good tea!" George smacked his lips as he ced the teacup down. He looked at bbergasted Floyd and Avery and grinned, "Since we are equal, I hope you don''t mind me acting as an equal right brother, Floyd?"
The entire ce was deadly silent. Everyone was holding their breath as they looked between George and Floyd. They all thought that the new guy was finished.
After all, they knew Floyd was just being polite, yet this guy wasn''t sensible enough and had done something presumptuous. He even called Floyd without any respect.
But now, if Floyd reacted to him, it would be the same as pping his own face. Even Avery''s eyes turned hostile as a cold aura released from her. Everyone trembled as they were all ready to escape. They all knew that this cold woman would only react to Floyd or anything rted to him, and when she responded, she was extremely dangerous. That''s why everyone among the disciples knew they could offend anyone, but Floyd or this madwoman would go on a rampage!
Ace also sensed the dangerous predatory eyes locked on him, but he didn''t flinch as he only looked at Floyd. A hint of surprise shed past Avery''s eyes when this weak ascension soldier didn''t even blink under her gaze.
"Hahahaha!" Floyd suddenly burst intoughter, extremely amused, and didn''t seem offended at all. "Interesting. You know, even Nathaniel and Avalynn didn''t dare to do what you just did." He suddenly released powerful pressure on George.
''He''s done!'' Everyone thought they shuddered when they sensed Floyd''s spiritual pressure.
However, at this moment, everyone''s expression changed. Floyd''s expression turned solemn, and George merely grinned as he casually picked up the teapot again and poured another cup of tea for himself.
He casually took another sip under Floyd''s powerful pressure, making everyone look at Floyd as if he was ying around. Yet the most shocked was Floyd because he was clearly using Ascension Grand General realm spiritual pressure. Although he wasn''t using his entire strength, it was still enough to cause any Ascension soldier to shudder in fear.
Yet George acted as if the spiritual pressure didn''t exist at all, casually sipping tea with a releasing expression before he finally spoke while looking at Floyd.
"Although I don''t know who Nathaniel and Avalynn are since they can''t even do this much, are they even qualified to be your equal? As for me, as you said, we are all chief disciples and equal; if I can''t even sit where I want, am I even qualified to be a chief disciple?"
Everyone was speechless by this arrogant guy''s words; even Floyd was lost for words and didn''t know what to say.
But Ace wasn''t done. He casually stood up and walked towards the exit under everyone''s dumbfounded expression.
Without looking back, Ace said, "It was nice meeting you, Brother Floyd, and I really appreciate the Weston n''s consideration. But I don''t need it, nor am I interested in politics among the four ns. I''m here to cultivate, and I hope everyone can understand that."
Suddenly, he looked around with icy eyes, making Avery and Floyd shocked for a moment as disbelief surfaced on their faces. They felt fear from an Ascension Soldier!?
"But if others didn''t leave me in peace, I can assure you I have the means to flip the entire Chief Hall Court." He then suddenly smiled warmly, "I hope you can ry this message to the three ns. Other than that, let''s talk again if you want to be friends at my ce with tea. Oh, and you''ll be the one bringing the tea!"
Chapter 1204: The Thievish Owl in Sect!
Chapter 1204: The Thievish Owl in Sect!
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After George left, the members of the Weston n faction remained in a stupor until Floyd''s jollyugh rang, and everyone returned to their senses.
But they knew it wasn''t a dream or that they were imagining things. George, the newbie, stood against Floyd, arrogantly sat beside him, and left after leaving a warning. The most shocking part was that George did all this under Floyd''s spiritual pressure!
What was spiritual pressure? It was a unique trait of an Ascension Grand General''s Law Sense; they awakened it after they stepped into this realm. Spiritual pressure originated from the primew of a cultivator, and the stronger the primew, the more deadly and powerful their spiritual pressure.
After entering the Ascension Solider, a cultivator''s soul/martial sense evolved into Law Sense. Once they stepped into Ascension Grand General, thew sense had spiritual pressure that could actually attack or restrain a cultivator without any spirit Qi or spells.
All in all, spiritual pressure was a symbol of a Grand Ascension General, and without spiritual pressure to counterattack, no one could escape.
That''s why everyone was shocked that George could move around as he pleased under Floyd''s spiritual pressure. Although they knew Floyd didn''t release his entire spiritual pressure or intend to harm George, it was still a massive deal for an Ascension Soldier to move even a finger.
Ted also remembered how George could keep up with him despite using his Ascension Warrior speed, and now he could even move around under Floyd''s spiritual pressure. He sucked a cold air as he nced towards Floyd, who wasughing while Avery had a thoughtful yet icy expression, and he didn''t dare to say anything, or anyone, as a matter of fact.
"What do you think?" Floyd suddenly stoppedughing and asked Avery gently through spiritual transmission.
Avery thought for a moment before she hesitantly replied, "Extraordinary, but too arrogant!" A cold glint shed past her eyes as she couldn''t forget how George behaved in front of Floyd.
Floyd chuckled as his eyes shimmered mysteriously. He remembered the feeling he had when George suddenly warned them, and his heart stirred slightly.
However, he didn''tment on this and looked at everyone, "Everyone, please give me some face and keep what happened here today a secret. I''ll personally exin it to the n. Oh, and don''t do anything to him. I don''t think he needs any faction to protect him.
"In fact, we approach him too hastily without even asking if he needs us or not. It was an error on our part. But do keep an eye on his activities. Let''s see if he can really flip the entire Chief Hall Court, or he''ll stumble to reality." He phrased with anticipation in his eyes.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Everyone hesitated, but they still nodded in agreement since no one was bold enough to do what George did. They secretly sneered in their hearts because they knew George would suffer, and he didn''t know how to acknowledge their kindness.
Floyd nodded in satisfaction as he said, "Alright, you may go back and do whatever you were doing."
Before long, everyone left, leaving only Floyd and Avery. At this moment, Floyd picked up the teapot, but he was startled when he found it empty.
"Hahaha... that prick drank all the Heart Calming Spirit Tea like water. Even Ascension Warrior can only handle a sip or two before they are filled with spirit Qi. He''s no simple." Floyd stated with a cold yet amusing smile.
"I''ll brew more for you." Avery gently said as her icy demeanorpletely vanished.
"No need. It would be best if you focused on your cultivation and forging. Don''t you want to challenge her? I hope you can raise your rank." His expression was stern and filled with care.
An enthralling smile bloomed on Avery''s face as she felt happiness in her heart. "Don''t worry. I''ll definitely raise my rank and have my revenge. Didn''t you want to beat Nathaniel and Avalynn? You should also be cultivating. This was just a fool''s errand from the start. You should''ve let me handle it."
Floyd smiled bitterly, shaking his head, "There is no hope for me this time. As for George, it wasn''t bad at all. If he''s as talented as my father told me, then I think the steel wall named Nathaniel and Avalynn would soon be breached!"
Creepy coldness shimmered in his eyes when he said those names; they were his biggest rivals, yet also enemies!
After Ace left Floyd''s courtyard, he couldn''t help but smile meaningfully as he had already got what he wanted.
''So that was Spiritual Pressure of an Ascension Grand General, huh? Even though he was only using a portion of it, I still felt quite oppressive. But I''m confident that as long as I use my primew, I can escape from spiritual pressures!
''Anyhow, it seemed despite being unruly, they still cared about the rules and their own image. As long as I don''t give anyone a reason to attack me, no one would try anything funny, especially with all the attention on me at this moment.
''But this also means, if I make mistakes, they''ll instantlye after me with everything they have. But since the Sect Master is behind me, I want to see how much they can tolerate or how far I can go. The easiest way to check this is...''
Ace''s eyes shed with thievish glint as he looked towards an alleyway, and his lips curled up. "He''s out! But it was too quick. What could''ve happened?" Harper-Rose, who was hiding in the alleyway and observing the third courtyard, said to the other people hiding here with him. Although their faction leaders told them to ''invite'' George, they didn''t dare do anything once they reached Floyd''s territory, no matter how much guts they had. Unless their faction leaders came personally, they wouldn''t do anything stupid.
"Since he''s out, nothing else matters. Let''s capture him once he leaves Floyd''s territory!" A dainty woman coldly stated, "As for who takes him first, how about whoever captures him first will decide?"
No one rejected this idea, and they all nodded in agreement as if they were dividing spoils.
But then, Harper-Rose''s expression suddenly changed, "He''s gone!"
"What do you mean he''s gone?" a crook-looking guy asked with disbelief as he looked towards the spot where Ace had vanished. He was shocked: "I only take my off of him for a moment, and he''s gone!"
"Dumbass, was I speaking in the beastnguage just now?" Harper-Rose cursed before quickly saying, "Quickly scatter and find me, or I don''t know about you, I''ll be punished!" They were all anxious and were about to search for him when suddenly, "ahahhh!"
The dainty woman suddenly screamed, and everyone looked over in shock. They thought someone had attacked them. But there was no one.
"What are you screaming for!? Do you want to cause a scene here, dumb woman?!" Harper- Rose cursed again as he wanted to p her.
But that woman didn''t care, as her eyes were affixed to her finger. When they all followed her eyes, they were startled because there was a vivid owl tattoo on her finger.
"What''s this?" The crook-looking guy asked currishly.
"I-I...I don''t know! My strong ring was there, and I was about to take out a treasure when I sensed it was gone, and this strange tattoo had appeared!" The woman truthfully revealed
with a hint of fear.
"Do you think we are fools?!" Harper-Rose didn''t believe her and thought she was just trying to distract them. He tried to take out his own treasure, but his expression instantly changed, and a terrible feeling rose in his heart.
With trembling eyes, he looked at his finger, where his ring was, and just as he suspected it was gone, the thing that sent shivers all over his body was the same owl symbol on his finger.
"Fucker... whoooo!!!!!!!!"
Harper-Rose''s painful roars rang in the disciple district, followed by many more, rming
everyone!
Chapter 1205: Sect Library! (1)
Chapter 1205: Sect Library! (1)
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Hundreds of miles away from the disciple district, Ace appeared, looking at the system interface before him with a faint smile.
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[Absolute Pickpocket (Sleight of Hand) has been sessfully activated! (x5)]
{Host Steals}
...N?v(el)B\\jnn
[Reward(s): 590,100 Thief Points]
[Thievery Rank(s): Low-Level Thievery(s): 5/10,000]
[Thief Point
''Hmm, all five of them were able to provide me with low-level thieveries, and my cultivation has increased by at least 1%. As expected of the Chief Disciples of the Forger Faction-they should rank in the middle of the disciple rankings. When I checked Floyd and Avery''s thief point values with the thief point meter, they''re worth 21 million and 19 million Thief Points!
''Which means all the disciples in the top ten or top hundred are probably worth this much. Now, I want to "meet" them. But I can''t be reckless; let''s see how the higher-ups react first.
"The only problem is the thief symbol. They might ept their treasures being stolen and brush it off as a disciple quarrel and won''t interfere, but the thief symbol is simply too overbearing and mysterious, and they might react strongly.
''However, there''s still a chance they won''t do anything after finding out it was me, and I already have an exnation ready. Now, the question is how long it will take them to connect it with me. Or there is a massive chance that those arrogant guys won''t even report it to the higher-ups because it''s simply too embarrassing and humiliating to get their things stolen by a mere Ascension Soldier, despite being Ascension Warriors themselves.
''Furthermore, if the sect master really intends to use me to deal with the four ns, as long as I show my worth, he won''t do anything and might even support me. Tsk, there are too many probabilities. Just in case things don''t go my way, I''ll simply escape!''
Ace knew the AIG sect valued George''s talent and status as the Nominal Legacy Disciple, especially the Weston n, which still thought George had ties with them since he was the sect master''s "disciple." So, they wouldn''t let anyone move against him unless hemitted an unforgivable crime, like killing a fellow disciple.
Although stealing was also an unforgivable crime, it was only effective if he stole directly from the sect; private properties like an individual''s belongings or the umted wealth of a n weren''t "sect properties."
If their own things got stolen, they only had themselves to me for not protecting them enough; in fact, it was an extremely humiliating matter. Even if they involved the sect in this matter, it would be considered a private grudge, and the sect would only mediate between them to peacefully resolve it.
However, if this matter couldn''t be resolved with words, then extreme measures were also taken. Those extreme measures didn''t involve anyone else, only the people involved in the incident. It was all in the rules in his disciple badge.
That''s why Ace was not too worried, and he chose his targets carefully. Although the Chief Disciples were still more powerful than him, he was confident he could handle them as long as he used his wits. If wits didn''t work, Ace would have to ensure that no one provoked him anymore!
If Ace had learned anything aftering in contact with sects, it was that every sect cherishes talents, especially monstrous talents. Even if they had no good character and ruthless personalities, as long as they didn''t directly harm the sect or go too far, everything would be forgiven.
Ace had already shown his talent that could rival the top forger disciple of the AIG sect. He had also seen how the Sect Master didn''t expose him despite knowing he was in disguise.
After all, the sect master probably thought that once Ace signed in the sect registry, there was no way for him to harm the sect, and no sect would be foolish enough to send such a talent as a spy.
All these points solidified Ace''s belief even further, and he knew that if he showed even more worth, the Sect Master would be even more unwilling to let him go.
Furthermore, Ace already had a mission rted to the sect, so he wasn''t nning on falling out with the entire sect so soon. He was now testing the water before making ns for his mission.
After mulling it over, Ace was significantly rxed and immediately headed toward the sect library, which had been his initial target before Ted dragged him around, and he ended up causing trouble.
Following the map in his disciple token, Ace appeared in arge za that wasn''t crowded. He knew the reason for this was that there weren''t many disciples in the Chief Hall Court. This library even had knowledge that elders of the sect coveted. However, only those with merits could gain ess to it, with the exception of the Sect Master and the four grand elders. Even Hall Masters had to pay sect merits to learn any knowledge.
Furthermore, the knowledge that an elder required was different and extremely high-levelpared to that of disciples.
Ace then quickly spotted an extremely ancient building that appeared to have been carved directly into the heart of a mountain. Its exterior wasposed of crimson obsidian, etched with countless arcane symbols that glowed with an ethereal light, giving a sense of mysticism
and awe.
When Ace reached the golden door of the library, no one was there, and he was wondering if he should just open it with his badge when a heavy voice rang out.
"Oh, a new face?"
Ace was startled, as he hadn''t seen anyone or felt any presence, but he quickly bowed respectfully. "Chief Forge Disciple greets, Lord Elder! I''m here to use my new disciple privilege to choose two spells and one cultivation technique from the Sect Library!"
"Then why are you still wasting time? Tsk, kids these days. Show me your disciple badge!" the voice demanded with evident annoyance.
Ace was somewhat speechless, but he couldn''t be bothered with these entrics anymore and directly took out his disciple badge.
The next moment, Ace felt an invisible force around his disciple badge before it vanished, and the voice rang out again with a hint of surprise. "How intriguing. Alright, you may enter now. Just remember, you are not allowed to step into any ces that have a light barrier, or you''ll be attacked by the protective formation. The areas without any barriers are open to you. "Furthermore, all the jade scrolls in the library are restricted with a spell, and you can only see their basic-level introduction, so don''t try to be smart, kid. Once you select two spells and one cultivation technique, tell me, and I''ll release the restriction, and then you can directly learn the knowledge inside the jade scroll.
"But you are not allowed to take the jade scrolls outside or damage them in any way, or you''ll be sanctioned ording to the sect rules, and let me tell you, you don''t want to be sanctioned!" the voice warned sternly.
"I understand!" Ace quickly agreed without hesitation, as he had already read the rules.
"Good!"
The voice sounded in acknowledgment, and the next moment, the library door opened!
Chapter 1206: Sect Library! (2)
Chapter 1206: Sect Library! (2)
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Ace entered the sect library. Upon entering, the air inside was thick with the scent of aged wood, mingled with the faint aroma of burning incense that seemed to hang in the air perpetually. The walls were lined with towering shelves, each one filled with jade scrolls containing the umted knowledge of countless generations.
Yet, only two sections of these shelves were essible; the rest were shrouded in translucent barriers, their contents locked away.
Ace''s eyes were drawn to the center of the library, where an ancient door stood. Above it, inscribed in bold characters, were the words: Hall of the Inferno Guardian. A surge of power swept through him at the sight as if the door itself exuded a potent aura.
''Could this be where the most powerful and forbidden texts of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect are kept? Or is this chamber essible only to the highest-ranking members of the Sect?'' Ace pondered, his curiosity piqued. He longed to see whaty beyond that door but hesitated.
He knew he was being watched, and the restrictions in this ce weren''t just for show. Although he was confident that his mastery of thewless darkness could bypass any barrier, he refrained. If he were to steal or act against the sect, and they discovered his true nature, his journey within the AIG Sect woulde to an abrupt end.
Moreover, Ace wasn''t particrly interested in acquiring more knowledge at this moment- he had enough of that already. What he sought were treasures that could help him grow. The AIG Sect still had its uses, especially the Forger Abyss, which was even more affluent than the Sect itself. For now, it was wise to maintain a low profile.
Ace then approached the first section of the library that was open to him. Rows of jade scrolls greeted him, each one containing Sky Ascension Grade Spells (Lower/Upper). There were not only ordinary spells but also Spell Arts and Forbidden Spells. However, there were no Taboo Spells in sight.
Nevertheless, he was particrly interested in the Forbidden Spells, having witnessed one being used by John-a spell of immense destructive power. Moreover, these spells were not limited to forger disciples; spells for me disciples were also present.
The jade scrolls were neatly arranged, with their names carved into the wood beneath them, making it easy to discern the nature of each spell.
At that moment, his attention was drawn to a jade scrollbeled ''Spirit Ember Infusion (Spell Art)''. He sent his thief sense to probe the jade scroll, and information rted to the spell appeared in his mind.
''Spirit Ember Infusion: An Upper Sky Ascension Grade Forger Spell Art. Imbues an object with Fire Spirit, granting it the characteristics of Spirit Fire and the ability of Fire Spirit!''
Ace raised an eyebrow when he read this introduction and mused, ''Imbuing an object with fire spirit and the object will gain all the characteristics and abilities of the Fire Spirit? What avish Spell Art to use Fire Spirit with as a material. I still don''t have any Fire Spirit for myself. I was nning to visit the sect treasury to see if there are any and then create a unique Fire Spirit for my own use using the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern (No. 7). I can''t afford to waste any Fire Spirit; maybe in the future...'' Ace instantly gave up on this Spell Art despite its uniqueness and moved on.
Then Ace saw another interesting jade scroll and probed it with his thief sense.
''Molten Alloy Creation: An Upper Sky Ascension Grade Forger Forbidden Spell. Allows the caster tobine various metals into a unique, more powerful alloy, enhancing the properties of the forged item with their primew.
''NOTE: The probability of creating a unique alloy is extremely low, and the more powerful and profound the primew, the more difficult it is to seed! Only use this Forbidden Spell if you have an endless amount of resources!''
Ace was astounded. ''If this spell can really help create a unique alloy with primew, then it''s beneficial for me if I canprehend it and create my own version using an epiphany pill. After all, if I want to create dark-element treasures for my cultivation, I need the same elemental-type materials! As for burning resources, I won''t have to worry about them once I score a massive thievery. In fact, I already have a massive amount of useless elemental-state treasures; I might be able to raise their grade tow-state with this spell...''
The moment this thought came to his mind, it took root, and Ace instantly decided. He loudly said without any hesitation, "Lord Elder, I choose the Molten Alloy Creation Spell, and for my second spell, please help me find the Beast Law Channel Spell!"
The next moment, the mysterious voice rang again, "Are you sure you want to choose Molten Alloy Creation? Although this spell is really amazing, you need some superficial understanding of the ''Creation''w, which is one of the most profoundws under heaven and earth!
"Even if you canprehend the superficial Creationw, creating a new alloy would still be very difficult. This spell might''ve been a domain-grade spell, but because of the extreme prerequisites and the resources it needs, it was ced here and acknowledged as a sky-grade spell.
"Don''t waste this precious chance and your time chasing after quick benefits!" The voice sternly advised.
Ace was surprised, and a strange glint shed in his eyes. ''Law of Creation?''
He became even more resolute and quickly said, "Lord Elder, I won''t change my mind. If I fail toprehend it, I won''t waste my time, but this disciple still wants to give it a try!"
"What a stubborn kid. All right, it''s your time and chance; you can use it however you like. But don''te here crying after you realize your mistake!" The voice was clearly unhappy, but since Ace didn''t want to listen to ''his'' advice, he couldn''t be bothered.
The next moment, the jade scroll of the Molten Alloy Creation shimmered in golden light before it flew towards Ace. A few momentster, another jade scroll flew towards Ace from another shelf.
Ace grabbed them, and when he saw the second jade scroll, he was instantly happy because it was the Beast Law Channel Spell!
"Alright, you have already used your two free chances to choose spells. Now choose a cultivation technique, and I''ll open a room for you where you can memorize the contents of these jade scrolls," the voice stated, as if it wanted Ace to leave, showing a hint of irritation. Ace didn''t mind, knowing better than anyone else if the spell was helpful to him or not. At this moment, he thought for a moment and asked, "Lord Elder, I don''t want any cultivation technique; I''ve already got one from the Forger Abyss after Ipleted the Nominal Disciple Legacy test. Can I exchange it for another Forbidden Spell, the Devouring Inferno Sword?"N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Is that where your confidencees from?" The voice seemed to already know about this matter as it asked sarcastically but didn''t waste more time and said, "Alright, the Devouring Inferno Sword is yours."
The next moment, another jade scroll flew towards Ace. After grabbing it, Ace smiled as it was precisely the Devouring Inferno Sword Forbidden Spell.
"Thank you, Lord Elder!"
"Tsk, tsk, you should''ve chosen another Forger spell, yet you decided on an attack-type spell that requires sword intent. Your heart is not steady enough, young man. Well, it has nothing to do with me. From now on, if you want to enter the sect library and choose any spell or technique, you have to pay 500 Sect Merit Points for a single chance!
"Tell me, are you regretting it now?" The voice asked with a hint of gloating and anticipation,
as it wanted to see Ace panicking.
But Ace was more speechless about this guy''s childishness. He smiled wryly and didn''tment on this. Instead, he asked, "Where should I use these jade scrolls?"
"Tsk..." The voice was extremely perplexed!
Chapter 1207: Sect Treasury Hall (1)
Chapter 1207: Sect Treasury Hall (1)
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After an hour, Ace left the sect library. He had already memorized all three spells in the jade scrolls and could nowprehend them independently. However, these spells had the same issue as the skills in Mortal Sky Heaven: they couldn''t be used with Heavenly Spirit Qi.
But Ace had already discovered a loophole. He could use them with his Holy Twilight Spirit Qi, especially since the ascension spells could be learned by both martial and soul cultivators. These spells were all driven byws, and very few had restrictions on the cultivation paths, making those particr spells extremely precious.
Moreover, the main cultivation heritage of the AIG Sect was of the Soul Path, which aligned with his Holy Twilight Spirit Qi, also of the Soul Path.
Despite having this advantage, Ace nned to use one of the precious epiphany pills to create spells based on his Heavenly Spirit Qi, using these spells as a foundation. The Molten Alloy Creation spell was particrly important for his future ns.
As for the Beast Law Channel spell, it was a simpler matter. This spell introduced a particr type ofw called the ''Beast Law'' into his inner world, allowing any contracted beast to enter it as long as his inner world was strong enough.
Lastly, the Devouring Inferno Sword was a forbidden sword path spell. He learned it mainly to use as a reference to strengthen his own sword path and make progress with the Heaven Sundering Sword''s second realm.
Furthermore, Ace hadn''t forgotten about Avos''s problem with not being able to enter his inner space because it wasn''t a Heavenly Treasure, and it couldn''t handle his Heavenly Qi. When he decided to embark on the path of a forger, he also wanted to solve this problem. After all, Avos had a life bond with him and was destined to be his next Life Sword once he made progress with the Sword Heart.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Now that he had finished with the sect library and had seen it, he headed toward the Sect Treasury Hall, the sect''s most guarded ce after the Sect Library.
After all, without sect resources, no matter what kind of inheritance they had, it would be useless if they didn''t have resources to nurture the future generation.
Ace was a little excited since this was a second-grade sect''s wealth, and he wanted to see how much they had and what kind of treasures they had umted over thousands of years.
Although he knew they might not show him their most precious treasures, it was still enough to broaden his horizons.
The Sect Treasury Hall was enormous, its exterior a blend of opulence and security, with gold and tinum ents contrasting with the imposing, fortress-like structure. Even Ace felt a sense of danger just by looking at it, and unlike the library, it wasn''t barren; he saw many disciples from the forger and me factions going in and out.
Without hesitation, Ace entered through the open doors and found himself in a massive interior that was nothing short of luxurious, with all kinds of murals, rising pirs, and antique decorations.
There were only three open counters in this ce, and Ace was surprised to see three sect elders personally overseeing them.
Ace''s eyes were drawn to the golden tiles above the counters, which read: ''Treasure Exchange,'' ''Material Exchange,'' and ''Spirit Coin Exchange.''
Ace instantly understood what these counters were for. Without hesitation, he headed toward the Treasure Exchange Counter first, which was currently unupied, unlike the Material Exchange and Spirit Coin Exchange counters, which were busy with disciples.
"Greetings, Elder!" Ace quickly greeted the charming, mature woman behind the counter, who wore a stern expression.
The female elder nced at Ace, and a hint of surprise shed in her eyes. "Are you the new chief forger disciple, George?"
The moment she uttered the name ''George,'' despite not speaking loudly, everyone heard it since they were powerful cultivators. Almost everyone stopped talking and looked in their direction with various gazes.
Ace was startled and suddenly had a bad feeling as he inquired, "Elder, you know me?"
Since his identity was confirmed, the female elder''s stern expression softened as she replied kindly, "Of course. There aren''t many chief disciples in the Chief Hall Court, and we know everyone. And since you''re the only one who joined recently with an unfamiliar face, it was only natural for us to identify you."
She chuckled softly. "You''re quite famous and almost a household name in the Chief Hall Court. So don''t underestimate your own poprity. Since you''re here, I reckon you want to buy treasures?"
Ace could only secretlyment upon hearing this. It seemed he wouldn''t be able to maintain a low profile, so he had no choice but to ept reality. Furthermore, this elder didn''t seem to have any bad intentions, only curiosity. Even if she did have ill intentions, she wouldn''t try anything funny in this ce.
"Disciple is indeed here to buy a treasure for forging," he replied politely.
She nodded, and a golden jade scroll appeared in her hand the next moment. She handed it to George and said, "All the treasures you can exchange with Spirit Coins are listed in this jade scroll. If you want to sell something, there are also details about that as well. You can buy most treasures with only Spirit Coins, while the most precious treasures require not only Spirit Coins but also sect merit points. Take your time going through them!"
Ace respectfully received the jade scroll and quickly probed it with his thief sense, a hint of excitement in his eyes. He was already aware of the exchange system in the Sect Treasury Hall, so he wasn''t surprised by it.
When Ace saw the list of treasures inside the jade scroll, he was astounded and couldn''t help but inhale sharply. There were not only all sorts of weapons, essories, armor, talismans, formations, and arrays, but there was something that made Ace''s heart race; he saw Fire Spirits in the list and not just one but almost fifty of them!
Ace was instantly tempted to n a heist!
Chapter 1208: Sect Treasury Hall (2)
Chapter 1208: Sect Treasury Hall (2)
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Ace didn''t pay any attention to the other treasures when he saw the Spirit Fires on the list.
Elder Dewey had already told him that he would be rewarded with a Spirit Fire if he performed well in the Outer Sect Court.
After all, the disciple poption of the Outer Sect Court was in the tens of thousands, and every forge disciple and even me disciple wanted a Spirit Fire to raise their forger grade and power. So, thepetition was extremely fierce there, even in the Inner Sect Court.
Furthermore, the Spirit Fires allocated to the Outer Sect Court were extremely ordinary since the good ones, especially those with unique characteristics, would be taken by the Inner Court if the Chief Hall Court didn''t want them.
Yet in the Chief Hall Court, 52 Spirit Fires were avable on the list of exchanges that any chief disciple could buy-the difference was massive.
But Ace knew that these Spirit Fires in the treasury were still ordinarypared to the Spirit Fires the four ns had. All those juniors in the n got their own top-grade limited Spirit Fires from their ns.
Moreover, when their limited-grade Spirit Fire reached its limit, their n elders would help them find a new, more powerful one.
The Spirit Fires in the treasure exchange were mostly Ascension Grade-1, and some of them were Ascension Grade-2, but they were not top grades; rather, they were inferior grades.
The top-grade Spirit Fires were beast spirit mes that had peak potential within a cultivation realm and could surpass it a little, like an Ascension Grade-1 Spirit Fire that could support a peak Ascension Soldier and was even helpful for a 1-Star Ascension Warrior. Such a Spirit Fire would be considered top-grade.
As for inferior-grade Spirit Fires, their potential would not be high and would be limited within a cultivation realm.
There was an exception: the growth-type Spirit Fires, which even cultivators like the Sect Master and Grand Elders coveted!
But Ace didn''t care about such things because he had the mysterious treasure, the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern, which could not only capture any kind of Spirit Fire but also amalgamate them into new ones!
So, these fire spirits that were unworthy in the eyes of others were absolute treasures in Ace''s hands. One of the requirements to cultivate the Universal Ascension ck Physique was a fire spirit with a dark affinity, and the only way to get one quickly was with the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern!
Taking a deep breath to calm his excitement, he looked at the Spirit Fires and their prices.
"Earth Magic Fire Lizard Spirit Fire (Inferior Ascension Grade-1)
Price: 1,000 Tier-4 Spirit Coins"
"Twin Tail Ash Lion Spirit Fire (Inferior Ascension Grade-1)
Price: 1,000 Tier-4 Spirit Coins"
"Demonic me Locust Spirit Fire (Inferior Ascension Grade-1)
Price: 1,000 Tier-4 Spirit Coins"
"ck Ghost Wyrm Spirit Fire (Inferior Ascension Grade-2)
Price: 10,000 Tier-4 Spirit Coins, 100 Sect Merit Points"
"Inferno White Hawk Spirit Fire (Inferior Ascension Grade-2)
Price: 10,000 Tier-4 Spirit Coins, 100 Sect Merit Points"
Ace frowned ever so slightly when he saw the nine Grade-2 Spirit Fires prices on the list. Although he could still afford the spirit coins, the sect merits were a problem, and he only had 1,000 of them.
Still, he wasn''t deterred as he had already made up his mind. After looking at another section of the list, he turned to the female elder who had been waiting for him. Furthermore, the other elders behind the other two counters were also paying attention secretly.
"Elder, I want the 11 Ascension Grade-1 dark affinity Spirit Fires on the list, including the two Ascension Grade-2 ones. Lastly, I would like to buy the Upper Ascension Grade-2 Myriad ck Spirit Cauldron!"
The female elder was startled when she heard Ace''s purchase order and asked, "Why do you want so many Spirit Fires?"
Although those Spirit Fires weren''t of much importance to them and were avable for sale, they were still quite precious, and a single disciple buying so many was something that had never happened before.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Oh, I just chose a unique spell from the Sect Library called the Spirit Ember Infusion that can infuse Spirit Fires into treasures. You might''ve heard of it. So, I want these Spirit Fires to practice this spell," Ace replied matter-of-factly.
The female elder was astounded as she really knew about this wealth-burning spell, and she was even more shocked when she heard Ace dare to choose this spell, which even they didn''t want to. After all, using a Spirit Fire as a material was simply too wasteful!
"You should reconsider. The sess rate of Spirit Ember Infusion is too low, and if you fail, the fire spirit will be gone. You won''t be able to recover the cost of what you''ve used, even if you seed and sell the treasure to the sect," the female elder kindly advised.
"Thank you for your kind advice. But I still want to try, and if I fail, I''ll simply give up," Ace solemnly promised while he secretlyined about these meddlesome people who liked to poke their noses into every little matter.
"Well, if that''s the case..." The female elder didn''t say anything further since she wasn''t the one wasting her money. "The 11 Ascension Grade-1 dark affinity Spirit Fires will be 11,000 Tier-4 Spirit Coins or any item of equivalent value, the 2 Ascension Grade-2 Spirit Fires will be 20,000 Tier-4 Spirit Coins and 200 Sect Merit Points, andstly, the Upper Ascension Grade-2 Myriad ck Spirit Cauldron will be 15,000 Tier-4 Spirit Coins and 150 Sect Merit Points!"
Ace nodded as he ced his disciple badge on the counter, and then, with a wave of his sleeve, 46,000 Tier-4 Spirit Coins appeared on the counter. As for how he was able to have so many Spirit Coins, it was all thanks to his victims'' ''contributions,'' especially the chief disciples he had robbed a few hours ago.
Ace had already stolen more than 10,000 Tier-4 Spirit Coins in the Western Guardian Sect City, including Tier-1, 2, and 3. Today, he stole over 130,000 Tier-4 Spirit Coins from the chief disciple, not to mention the raw materials and other treasures.
The female elder didn''t think much about it as she took the Spirit Coins and his badge and stood up. "Wait here, I''ll bring your order."
Ace nodded before quickly moving toward the spirit coin exchange counter where an old man sat. When the old man saw Aceing his way, he frowned slightly, and Ace instantly sensed hostility from him, which surprised him.
But he didn''t care as he didn''t greet him and handed him a storage ring. "Elder, I want to exchange everything in this ring for the highest-grade Spirit Stones or Spirit Crystals with
dark affinity!"
The elder narrowed his eyes at Ace''s attitude, but he didn''t say anything and took the ring. When he saw the contents, he was shocked!
Chapter 1209: Sect Treasury Hall (3)
Chapter 1209: Sect Treasury Hall (3)
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Within the storage ring that Ace handed to the elder were all the weapons he had stolen from the chief forger disciples and some alchemy treasures that were useless to him.
That''s why Ace wanted to turn them into spirit stones or spirit crystals with dark affinity. They were very useful in forging, especially when creating an elemental affinity treasure.
Furthermore, Ace also had a huge amount of wind and earth affinity spirit stones and spirit crystals he found in the Moon Fiend King''s storage ring, and he was going to use them to buy dark affinity materials as well.
But the elder said something that surprised Ace, "Why did you have so many treasures with other chief forger disciples'' Forger Symbols?" he asked sternly.
"What forger symbols?" Ac asked,pletely clueless.
At this moment, the elder from the Material Exchange suddenly stood up and looked towards the disciples who weren''t leaving and watching George. He sternly said, "Alright, everyone, there is no show here to watch! If you''re done here, then go back and cultivate!"
The chief disciples didn''t dare to disobey and quickly left, somewhat reluctant as they wanted to jeer at George for his ignorance.
At this moment, the elder from the Material Exchange walked over; he was a middle-aged man with a built-in tone.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
With a smile, he exined to George, "Every forger, alchemist, and rune crafter would have their unique identity marks, earning them recognition for their skills. It also helps them gather fame, and these marks can''t be fake because every mark has its creator''s spiritual mark.
"Especially when a runic smith stepped into the realm of Spirit Forger, their Forger Symbol became their identity symbols. Any craftsmen would be recognized with their Forger Symbols. The forger disciples of the AIG sect all create their Forger Symbols to earn fame and recognition among the sect and Spirit Inferno Domain!"
Thereafter, the old elder said nothing further. With a frown, he took out a sword and pointed towards the top of the hilt, where a unique symbol of a hexagon star with a rune was etched on it.
He said, "If I''m not wrong, this forger mark belonged to the Spirit Sword Hall''s chief forger disciple Harper-Rose. He always exchanged his treasures with the Treasury Hall for resources like the other forger disciples. That''s why I''m asking how his and other forger disciples'' forged treasures are in your possession?"
Realization dawned on Ace as he didn''t expect these treasures would be recognized so easily; still, he didn''t panic and politely replied, "Oh, thank you for telling me; I really didn''t know since I''m new here. But you don''t need to worry. These treasures were gifted to me by my seniors today. They were very kind to me. But I can''t use them all, so I want to exchange them for useful things! I hope they don''t mind!"
Both elders were startled. They didn''t find anything wrong with George''s exnation, but for some reason, they felt something was wrong, especially the old elder. He knew the owners of these treasures should have a hostile or neutral connection with George, yet they gave him so many treasures. This was simply too strange.
Yet he couldn''t think of any other reason for George to have all these treasures in his possession. After all, George was only an Ascension Soldier, while the other chief disciples were mostly in the advanced stages of the Ascension Warrior Realm. George couldn''t snatch their things even if he wanted to.
In the end, the old elder dropped the matter since he might make things too obvious. After all, even though his Norberg n wanted to suppress George, they had to do it in the right way.
His identity as the disciple of the Sect Master was simply too dazzling. No one wanted to offend the Sect Master, and if they yed any tricks, it might backfire on them.
"Alright, since you want to exchange them for spirit stones and crystals with dark affinity, wait here." The old elder finally gave in and left with the storage ring.
Ace nced towards the door behind the counter. The female elder had also gone there, and he wondered if the main treasury was there, too.
"Don''t take Elder Jeremiah''s attitude to heart. He''s just loyal to the Norberg n," The middle-aged elder said with a hint of bitterness.
''Norberg n, the n with the highest chance to birth the next Sect Master. No wonder they are all hostile to me since I''m a thorn in their side!'' Ace knew very well about this fact, the reason for the Weston n''s kindness and the Norberg n''s hostility towards him.
Nheless, Ace really didn''t care about the position of the sect master. Right now, what was important was to raise his own prowess and start the mission.
"I don''t mind. But shouldn''t everyone be loyal to sect, not n?" He asked, leaving the middle-aged elder stumped.
The Treasury Hall was nowpletely empty. The disciples who had been there before had all left. They might have been going to report it to their factions, and now only George and the middle-aged elder were present.
The middle-aged elder looked towards George with a hint of surprise and appreciation. ''No wonder the Sect Master chose him as his disciple...''
"If only everyone had your mindset." The middle-aged elder sighed ruefully, "All I can tell you is that people change with time and power."
At this moment, the female elder appeared, holding a crimson container with runes engraved on its jade-like surface and a pitch-ck palm-sized cauldron.
Looking at George, who was now standing in front of the other third counter with Elder Jaiden Sutton, a hint of surprise shed past her eyes as she also walked over. "Where did Elder Jeremiah go?"
"Young friend George here wanted to exchange some treasures for spirit stones and crystals. Elder Jeremiah went to bring them." Elder Jaiden replied smilingly.
The female elder named Amirah nodded in realization before she ced the container and cauldron in front of George.
"This container is called the Spirit Fire Vessel. It can hold a hundred ascension grade-1 and five ascension grade-2 spirit fires inside. You can keep it since Spirit Fires can''t be stored in a storage treasure without a living space.
"But be careful when you extract a spirit fire. You have to be ready, or it''ll retaliate against you. I''ll teach you how to operate this Spirit Fire Vessel. As for the Myriad ck Spirit Cauldron, you only need to use your spirit Qi to operate it. It can change sizes, so it''s very easy to carry around, and you can also keep it inside your storage ring."
Ace''s eyes shed with excitement as he looked towards the container with spirit fires. He was a step closer to start cultivating the Universal Ascension ck Physique!
Chapter 1210: Hope or Disaster?
Chapter 1210: Hope or Disaster?
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In the Cultivation Courtyard No.4 of the Disciple District, Harper-Rose and another chief disciple with their head low in shame were standing in front of a tall man seemingly in his twenties and blue eyes filled with fury at this moment as he looked towards Harper-Rose and other disciple, who were part of his Sutton n faction!
This man was the leader of the Sutton n disciple faction and ranked fourth in the chief disciple ranking, Euan Sutton!
"Not only you''ve failed to bring that nobody. You''re telling me someone stole your storage rings and left you with some curse that you can''t get rid of? And this thief is most likely that nobody who is still in the Ascension Soldier Realm? Am I getting it right?" The more he spoke, the more his face twisted with fury, and he felt his blood boil; he had not heard something so ridiculous in his entire life.
"I know it sounds ludicrous, but you see yourself. We are not lying! Although we didn''t see him, it has to be him!" Harper-Rose cried in indignation as he gritted his teeth in hatred and shed the owl symbol on his finger. He had the urge to cough blood whenever he saw this damn owl, "Please, Brother Euan, you have to seek justice for us! Or we''ll be theughingstock of the entire sect!"
Euan was even more furious as he retorted furiously, "You don''t even know if it was him, neither do you have any proof! Useless bitches, you''ve already loose enough face already, and now you want me to go and interrogate him without any evidence?! Get out of my face!"
Harper-Rose and the other guy who had their entire wealth stolen felt like crying, but they had no tears, for they knew without any proof, it would be impossible to do anything to George.
Furthermore, it was an extremely humiliating matter, and they really didn''t want others to know about it, but they had to get back their treasures no matter what.
At this moment, the other guy with a birthmark around his neck suddenly said, "No! Senior, we have proof! Our disciple badges were also in our storage rings. We can go to the Sect Enforcement Hall and have them track down our badges. No storage treasure can hide the disciple badges, and we''ll catch that thievish bastard red-handed! I''m sure he didn''t know about this!"
Euan''s eyes suddenly lit up, and Harper-Rose also felt hope as he looked at his fellow sufferer with a gentle gaze. He suddenly found this fellow quite likable.
"Alright! Quickly, you two go! I''m still not going." Euan quickly ordered them with a cold glint in his eyes, "Since Nathaniel and Avalynn''s people also get done in by that nobody, I''m sure they will do the same! We need to show that sneaky rat who is the ruler of this ce!"
The same scene was being yed in the disciple courtyard no.2 and no.1 as all the people who were the victims of George''s ''assault'' made their way towards the Sect Enforcement Hall.
However, like Euan, they were only going to tell the truth that they had lost their badges without making things clear since no one wanted to reveal the truth.
This would dumbfound the entire Sect Enforcement Hall, as this had never happened before. The news would soon reach the higher-ups, making them even more baffled!
"Hahahahaha, that little brat sure is mean!" A boomingugh filled with joy rang in the cultivation chamber of the Sect Master!N?v(el)B\\jnn
Sect Master Vincent also wore a wry yet amusing smile as he looked in a mirror in front of him, ying the scene of George''s theft.
"I''m d you are amused, but this matter is still not simple. Theft is still a crime, and we ought to punish him. Furthermore, that brat is too bold; he bluntly lied about being my disciple, and then he not only stole from his fellow disciples but also sold their things to the sect without even any care. He''s fearless of the sect rules because of me. He''s sullying my name!"
Although his words were harsh, no hint of anger was present in his voice. If anything, he was curious about how George did it and why he was so good at it, especially lying without even flinching.
If he didn''t know better, even he would''ve believed his words.
"Hmph!" Guardian Spirit scoffed, "Stop being a hypocrite! You were the one who put him up to it, and you even helped him protect the secret of his bloodline from leaking.
"You were using him to deal with the ns and want to shatter their control over the sect, so what if he''s using your name? It''s not like he''s killing others. In fact, that brat is extremely cunning.
"I''m sure he''s using your name because you want to use him, and he knows about it better than anyone. Have you ever seen those useless idiots doing something like this? They only know how to follow orders or unt their authority as long as it suits their needs.
"Furthermore, as long as he didn''t leave any proof behind, he knew no one could do anything to him, even you. Don''t you see, even the sect protective formation wasn''t able to catch how he did it? We can only see the rings on their fingers vanish before that strange mark appears. I''m telling you, that brat is exactly what we need!" The Guardian Spirit was full of praise, But there was a particr uncertainty in its voice when it mentioned the thief symbol.
Sect Master Vincent''s expression was also serious, as he shared the same opinion, with the only exception of how George did it and that symbol.
He sighed, "Since he had already signed in the registry, he can''t directly harm the sect, and that''s the only reason I''m not doing anything despite him hiding his actual appearance and his uncanny abilities.
"Furthermore, since he had a mysterious bloodline, I''m sure he isn''t a spy. After all, bloodline inheritors of the human race are extremely rare in the entire Mortal Ascension Heaven; even those mighty King Sects might not have one. So, it''s pretty clear he''s on his own and has his own motives.
"As long as he won''t go against the sect, I''m willing to look the other way. If we can earn his loyalty, I''m sure our sect will rise once he grows up!" His eyes were filled with ambition yet wariness as he looked at George in the mirror.
"Heh, you''re finally thinking like a Sect Leader for once. This kind of talent can only be stumbled upon by luck. When such talents appeared in a sect, the sect would either directly rise or get destroyed.
"As a Sect Leader, you must protect the hope of the sect and do everything in your power to help him grow. As for his entric tendencies, what genius didn''t have any? Even you had them, so stop being a worrywart!" The Guardian Spirit chided.
"Tsk, is he a hope or disaster? I''ve really grown old...'' Vincent sighed, but his smile was far from being someone who was in a dilemma.
Ace left the Sect Treasury Hall after acquiring everything he wanted. Not only did he get over 200,000 dark affinity grade-4 spirit stones and 100,000 spirit crystals, but he also exchanged the wind spirit stones and crystals for many dark affinities forging materials.
The three elders of the Sect Treasury Hall were naturally shocked by George''s wealth, but they didn''t question it since they all thought it was the Sect Master who gave him all of it.
Without stopping, Ace entered his courtyard and closed it off without knowing he had already stirred up the entire Chief Hall Court!
Chapter 1211: The Mystical Spirit Fulcrum Lantern!
Chapter 1211: The Mystical Spirit Fulcrum Lantern!
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Ace entered the cultivation chamber in his courtyard and activated all the formations before setting up his own formations.
But he still felt unsafe and surrounded himself with a dismantled Qi barrier. Which was now actually Dismantle Spirit Qi after he bought the Heaven Stealer''s Dismantler Principles of Ascension (Basic) from the system shop and upgrade the Heaven''s Stealer Disassembler Gloves to the peak of Ascension Grade using the Heaven''s Stealer Disassembler Gloves Ascension Upgrade Token!
Ace hasn''t started practicing the Heaven Stealer''s Dismantler Principles of Ascension (Basic) yet since he hasn''t had any Ascension-grade treasures to dismantle.
But he didn''t forget that the Dismantle Qi could even avoid Heaven''s detection, so he was confident that its upgraded version, the Dismantle Spirit Qi, would be enough to block any kind of formation or detection abilities.
Previously, he had also used the Dismantle Spirit Qi to steal from the Chief Disciples so no one would detect him, especially the Sect Master.
Once the preparations were done, Ace took out a ck antiquentern that seemed ghostly. It was the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern that Ace snatched from Grim Winged Serpent!
Looking at the ghastlyntern, Ace''s eyes shed with a hint of excitement. He still
remembered thest time the system took a million TP to appraise it, but it couldn''t reveal all the details, so now that the system had been upgraded, he quickly opened its details again.
=====
[Appraisal Item: The Spirit Fulcrum Lantern (No.7)]
-Description: One of the pieces of a mysterious treasure with an unknown origin! Please gather the remaining pieces to unravel its secrets!
-Grade: Transcendent
-Detectable Ability (1): Spirit Fire Bane
Description: Can capture and contain Spirit Fires as long as ites in contact with them up to Transcendent Grade!
Current capacity: 1/33
-Detectable Ability (2): Spirit Amalgamation
Description: Triturate Spirit Fires to produce new and powerful spirit fires including but not limited to Limited Type, Growth Type, and Quasi-Empyrean mes up to Transcendent Grade!
-The requirement to Amalgamate Limited Type Spirit Fire (Limit: Transcendent Grade): Limited Type Spirit Fire, Qi Stones, and Soul Crystals.
(NOTE: The higher the spirit fire grade, the higher the Spirit Stones and Soul Crystals required to finish the amalgamation!)
-The requirement to Amalgamate Growth Type Spirit Fire Seed (Limit: Transcendent Grade): A wisp or fragment of any growth type spirit fire or aplete growth type spirit fire as a base, Mature Spirit Fires, Qi Stones, and Soul Crystals.
(NOTE: To amalgamate a growth-type spirit fire seed from a wisp or fragment of a growth-type spirit fire, the recourse needed will be ten times more than using aplete growth-type spirit fire, depending on the growth-type spirit fire grade used as a base!)
-The requirement to Amalgamate Quasi-Empyrean mes Seed (Transcendent Grade): A wisp or fragment of Transcendent Grade Quasi-Empyrean mes or aplete Quasi- Empyrean mes as a base, Transcendent Grade Growth Type Spirit Fires, Transcendent Spirit Stones, and Transcendent Soul Crystals.
-Detectable Ability (3): Fulcrum Detection
Description: The Spirit Fulcrum Lantern can detect its other counterparts from vast distances, bypassing all barriers as long as the counterpart is in the same space!
-Owner: Can''t be tame until all the counterparts are gathered together!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
''It has changed, and this change is massive!'' Ace was shocked when he read the new details of the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern!
The first part was about it being part of a mysterious treasure, and the most shocking thing was that despite being only a piece, it was at Transcendent Grade!
The next thing that caught Ace''s attention was that its abilities were now fully revealed, and its limits were also set to the Transcendent Grade.
However, when he saw the new details of the Spirit Amalgamation, he was bbergasted because an unknown spirit fire type, ''Quasi-Empyrean mes,'' had appeared, and to create it, all the materials needed to be of Transcendent Grade.
As for the new ability ''Fulcrum Detection'' and details about its owner, he wasn''t surprised by them so much.
"System, what are these Quasi-Empyrean mes?" Ace quickly asked about this unknown type of spirit fire, which seemed quite imposing.
"[Host needs to increase your authority if you want the details about the Quasi-Empyrean mes and Empyrean mes. The system can only divulge that there are only 101 Empyrean mes in the Nine Evesting Heaven and Ten Eternal Abysses!]"
Ace was floored when he heard this unexpected response. Although the system didn''t tell him anything, it still revealed a crucial piece of information.
''Only 101 empyrean mes exist in the entirety of Nine Evesting Heaven and Ten Eternal Abysses? This means these Empyrean mes should be terrifying, not to mention a treasure that everyone sought. Yet the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern can create Quasi-Empyrean mes, and it''s not evenplete, then didn''t this also mean, if I canplete thisntern by finding its other pieces, it might be able to create aplete Empyrean me!?''
Just thinking about it made Ace''s heart race, but he quickly calmed down since he knew this was just a dream. Not to mention, when creating an Empyrean me, he didn''t even have the resources to develop a Quasi-Empyrean me, and he didn''t even know where the other Spirit Fulcrum Lantern pieces were
Dwelling on this was meaningless at this moment, and it would only affect his mind state, so Ace quickly returned to his calm self. However, he remembered this information in his heart, and if he got the chance, he wouldplete this Spirit Fulcrum Lantern.
Ace then examined the details of creating a growth-type spirit fire and asked, "System, what does it mean by a wisp or fragment of a growth-type spirit fire?"
"[Host already knows that the limited spirit fire has limited potential with corporeal form while a growth type spirit has ethereal form, and they can grow by absorbing other resources and spirit fires until they reach their true potential and if master of growth type spirit fire manages to break the growth type spirit fire limits, the growth-type spirit fire''s growth potential will increase again. It all depends on a spirit fire''s master, no matter the race.]
"[But the host didn''t know that a spirit fire also has its own essence called the me Essence, which is the core of a spirit fire, just like a cultivator''s foundation. The master of the spirit fire draws spirit fire generated by the me Essence. Moreover, depending on the rank of a spirit fire, especially if it''s a limited type of fire spirit, the spirit mes a me essence can generate are limited. Once all of it is used, the me essence needs some time
before it can be used again.]
"[However, if someone still used spirit fire in me essence''s exhausted state, it would use the essence of a spirit fire, which is called the Core mes. Core mes are mighty and destructive, but they are limited.]
"[If someone uses the core me of a limited spirit fire, it will directly damage the limited spirit fire, and the damage is exacerbated and unamendable. A growth-type me could still recover by absorbing resources and other spirit fires'' me essences unless all the core
mes are used.]
"[Lastly, a Growth type Spirit Fire''s core me can keep burning if their masters don''t extinguish them, and there are even chances of a new limited type spirit fire born from it.] "[The same principle applies to Quasi-Empyrean mes, which can give birth to a growth type spirit fire while a limited type spirit fire would be extinguished after some time and didn''t have such ability. This kind of spirit fires that are not innately born and nurtured by the world''s Qi are known as World Spirit Fires!]
"[The Wisp or Fragment required in the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern is exactly the core me of a growth type spirit fire! As long as the host imbued wisp or fragment of a core me of a growth type spirit fire or Quasi-Empyrean mes, the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern can create a
new one!]"
Realization dawned on Ace at this moment; he didn''t expect the spirit fires to be soplicated yet fascinating at the same time. This information revealed the core of a spirit
fire and its magical properties.
''So, as long as I can find a wisp of core mes, I can get a new growth-type spirit fire, and since it is recoverable, it won''t harm the master of a growth-type spirit fire.''
Ace''s eyes shimmered as he instantly knew where he could find this wisp of core mes, and it just happened to be a core me with a dark affinity. In fact, this part was too easy!
Chapter 1212: Cyrus’s Potential!
Chapter 1212: Cyrus¡¯s Potential!
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Ace has no more misgivings after the system reveals all the details about the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern. The next moment, he flips his hand, and Cyrus appears on his palm.
"Where are we? Oh, I can''t see you?" Cyrus excitedly asked as he looked around. He saw only pitch-ck darkness, and despite his spiritual vision, he couldn''t see anything. If not for Ace''s presence, he would''ve started to panic.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace also noticed and felt Cyrus''s sudden difort and was surprised since it was his first time bringing others into the dismantled spirit Qi. He asked curiously, "You can''t see me? Even with your vision?"
Ace knew a cultivator''s vision couldn''t be restrained by ordinary darkness. The more powerful a cultivator, the more difficult it was to restrict their vision, and Cyrus was by no means weak. The little guy could still keep up with his cultivation progress which means Cyrus still hadn''t reached his true cultivation realm that he was supposed to be born with.
"No, this ce is very strange. It''s like I''m inside the ''nest,'' but this ce is not warm!" Cyrus replied with a hint of distress.
Ace raised his eyebrow when Cyruspared the confinement of the Dismantle Spirit Qi to the thief''s space, ''I learned something new about Dismantle Spirit Qi.''
He didn''t ask any more questions since he knew the little guy wouldn''t be able to exin even if he asked, and he didn''t think Cyrus would see through Dismantle Spirit Qi, even Heaven was helpless against.
"Don''t worry, it''s one of my abilities. I summon you here to ask for your help. Once I''m done with this matter, I''ll deal with yours and Chuchu''s matter. It won''t be long before you don''t have to spend time in the ''nest'' and can observe everything I can." Ace promised with a gentle tone.
Cyrus instantly calmed down, and his beady eyes shone with excitement. "I believe you, big bro. What do you need Cyrus for? I''ll do everything to help you!"
Ace''s smile grew as he didn''t hide anything from Cyrus and told him about fire spirits, me essences, and even Empyrean mes. This information was good for Cyrus''s own knowledge, and Ace wanted to warn Cyrus to be careful when he used his spirit fire.
After all, even Elder Dewey and Elder Homer knew about Chuchu''s growth-type spirit fire, and Ace was sure that Cyrus''s spirit fire was also growth-type.
But Ace was surprised that the little guy didn''t seem too shocked. In fact, Cyrus didn''t even react as he innocently eximed, "What? Big bro, didn''t know about this?"
Now it was Ace''s turned to be shock as he suddenly had a bad feeling as he asked, "Don''t tell me you''ve already known?"
"Of course, I know! When I reach thew state, I''ve awakened my inherited memories of Spirit Fires and my Nether Spirit Fire!" Cyrus proudly replied, very pleased with himself.
Ace''s eyes spasmed when he heard it and asked, "Then why didn''t you tell me?" He was startled yet aggrieved that Cyrus didn''t tell me such crucial information, but knowing Cyrus, he knew the little guy''s thoughts were unique, so he didn''t me him.
As he expected, Cyrus replied, "I thought big bro knew it! After all, you know everything!"
Ace pulled with a wry smile, saying, "Even I don''t know everything. This world is filled with mysteries that are far above our wildest imaginations. Even Gods might not know everything."
"Sorry..." Cyrus quickly apologized as if he had done something wrong.
"No need to apologize. It wasn''t a big deal since I''d already learned it. But in the future, if you have more such knowledge, discuss it with me." Ace smiled gently as he rubbed the little guy''s head, and Cyrus instantly felt happy and promised, "I will!"
Ace nodded, not doubting Cyrus for a second that he would hide anything from him. His expression turned serious, "You said you knew about all the spirit fires I''ve told you. Does this mean you also know about Empyrean mes?"
''Even the system refused to tell me about the Empyrean mes, yet Cyrus knows about it?'' Ace thought with a hint of uncertainty.
"Oh, I know!" Cyrus quickly proimed as he revealed, "That time when I ate some of that sparkly thing (Life Lightning Quartz), it suddenly appeared in my head. It said that my Nether Spirit Fire has the potential to be Quasi-Empyrean mes called the Nether Sun mes as long as I eat a lot of delicious things like that!"
Ace was astounded when he heard this unexpected news, and his heart raced, "Wait, not Empyrean mes, but Quasi-Empyrean mes? And do you know what Quasi-Empyrean mes are? I mean, how are they different spirit fires?"
Cyrus innocently replied, "Isn''t it the same Quasi-Empyrean or Empyrean mes? As for how they are different, I don''t know. I just know that if my spirit fire bes Nether Sun mes, I can burn anything! Well, I can still burn anything, but it''s kind of different, I guess." Cyrus was immediately excited when he talked about burning everything.
Ace sighed helplessly and was somewhat disappointed, but he didn''t dwell on it since this discovery about Cyrus''s spirit fire, which has the potential to be a Quasi-Empyrean mes as long as he eats ''food'', which should be fire-type resources, excites him to no end. After all, Ace had just discovered the Empyrean mes, and there were only 101 in existence, so Cyrus''s background has to be terrifying. If he can help Cyrus evolve his Spirit Fire into Quasi-Empyrean mes, he will have a way to create one for himself!
But at this moment, Ace knew it was too far away, and he didn''t ask anything further since it would only muddle his thoughts.
"Don''t worry; I''ll help you evolve your spirit fire into the Nether Sun mes to the best of my abilities." Ace quickly promised before he ced the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern in front of Cyrus and said, "I want you to send just a wisp of your core me into thisntern. Just a wisp, no more, no less!"
"Alright, and thank you, big bro!" Cyrus said happily, and without hesitation, he opened his small beak.
The next moment, a tiny ethereal purple me,pletely different from Cyrus''s blue spirit fire, appeared. The moment this tiny me appeared, its insanity illuminated the darkness.
Ace was shocked and felt a chill running down his spine the moment that tiny purple me appeared. He felt absolute dread from it.
''So, this is Cyrus''s core me!'' Ace''s eyes shone excitedly as he let the purple me touch the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern.
The next moment, thentern suddenly shone with countless dark runes before a suction force appeared, and it directly absorbed the tiny purple me. Thereafter, the dormantntern suddenly glows in purple light and appears more ghostly.
Ace knew he had seeded, but he nced at the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern only once before he looked at Cyrus with worry. He sensed Cyrus''s aura was somewhat weak. "Are you alright?" "I''m fine. It was nothing. I want to sleep." Cyrus said, somewhat lethargic. "Alright, you can rest all you want, and I''m sending you some things. Eat them before you sleep."
Ace quickly said before sending Cyrus to his nest, which was actually a small,vish house built on a massive crimson tree he found in a forbidden area of the Spirit Inferno Domain. It released natural firew, and Cyrus liked it very much, so Ace decided to move it into his thief''s space for Cyrus and Chuchu and create a house for him in the tree crown, making the little guy excited to no end.
Ace also sent Cyrus every fire-type resource he had amassed so he could absorb them and alert Chuchu to take care of him.
Only then did he sigh in relief and look at the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern excitedly, ''Let''s see what kind of Growth Type Spirit Fire I can create. It must be extraordinary since Cyrus''s spirit fire can potentially be a Quasi-Empyrean mes. I hope the materials I''ve gathered are enough!''
Chapter 1213: New Spirit Fire!
Chapter 1213: New Spirit Fire!
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"Alright, system, start analyzing how many resources I need to create aplete growth type spirit fire of darkness affinity..." Ace quickly ordered the system while looking at the glowing Spirit Fulcrum Lantern.
Although Ac knew that he now needed to feed the resources to Spirit Fulcrum Lantern
mentioned by the system, he didn''t know how much it required.
However, with the system, it was pretty easy after all. He can now control the system to some extent, so why should he waste his time on uncertain things?
The next moment, the system opened a panel in front of him.
=====
[System detects a wisp of Nether Spirit Fire (Ascension Grade-1 Growth Type) in the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern!]
[Task: Create a Darkness Affinity Growth Type Spirit Fire]
[Calcting the probabilities...]
[Calctionpleted: It is possible to amalgamate Ascension Grade-1 Growth Type Spirit Fire!]
-Requirements to activate the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern''s Spirit Amalgamation and create a growth type Darkness affinity Spirit Fire: 3
-Requirement (1): Darkness affinity Growth Type Spirit Fire (Ascension Grade-1)
-The requirement has beenpleted!
-Requirement (2): 30 Limited type Spirit Fires of Ascension Grade-1 with Darkness or rted elemental affinities, or 3 Limited type Spirit Fires of Ascension Grade-2 with Darkness or rted elemental affinities, or 1 Limited type Spirit Fires of Ascension Grade-3 with Darkness or rted elemental affinities.
-The requirement has not beenpleted!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
-Requirement (3): 100,000 Upper Ascension Grade-4 Spirit Stones and 100,000 Upper Ascension Grade-4 Spirit Stones Spirit Crystals or 10 drops of Lower Ascension Grade-4 Spirit Nectar of Darkness or rted elemental affinities, or 10,000 Ascension Grade-5 Spirit Stones and 10,000 Ascension Grade-5 Spirit Stones Spirit Crystals or 1 drop of Lower Ascension Grade-5 Spirit Nectar of Darkness or rted elemental affinities.
=====
Ace''s lip twitched when he saw the second and third requirements to create this growth-type spirit fire of Ascension Grade-1 with darkness affinity. Although he had already expected this much, he didn''t think it would be this ridiculous.
After all, Ace didn''t have 30 Ascension Grade-1 limited-type spirit fires, 3 Ascension Grade-2 limited-type spirit fires, or an Ascension Grade-3.
Lastly, he barely meets the third requirement since he had already exchanged 200,000 Ascension Grade-4 dark affinity spirit stones and 100,000 Ascension Grade-4 dark affinity Spirit Crystals from the Sect Treasury Hall.
Although he also had over 10,000 drops of dark affinity Spirit Nectar of Lowe Ascensions Grade-4 from the Moon Fiend King''s ring, they were too precious, and he didn''t want to use them unless it was absolutely necessary.
Nheless, the problem was he didn''t meet the second requirement at all since he only had 11 Ascension Grade-1 spirit fires and two Ascension Grade-2 spirit fires with dark affinity, and even the Sect Treasury Hall didn''t have any more spirit fires with darkness affinity.
"System, what if I use 11 Ascension Grade-1 spirit fires and two Ascension Grade-2 spirit fires with dark affinity? Since a single Ascension Grade-2 spirit fire equals 10 Ascension Grade-1 spirit fires, will it work?" Ace quickly asked, hopefully.
If it couldn''t be done, he would have to put this matter on hold and search for spirit fires first.
"[It is possible, but then the host has to use 1,000 drops of Lower Ascension Grade-4 Dark affinity Spirit Nectar or 100 drops of Lower Ascension Grade-5 Spirit Nectar! Spirit Stones and Spirit Crystals will not work.]"
Ace''s eyes widened ever so slightly when he heard this and thought, ''1,000 drops of lower- grade spirit nectar are equivalent to upper 10,000,000,000 spirit coins while upper-grade spirit nectar is almost priceless. A single drop of upper-grade spirit nectar can be exchanged with 100,000 higher-tier spirit coins from the spirit nectar grade.
''I have 10,748 drops of Lowe Ascensions Grade-4 dark affinity spirit nectar and 4,119 drops of Upper Ascensions Grade-4 fire affinity spirit nectar. Lastly, I also got 34 Spirit Beast Vein Core Fragments of Upper Ascension (Sky) Grade-5 with light affinity, which is priceless. Many cultivators didn''t even know about them since all the sects kept them for themselves.
''Well, if I can exchange 1,000 drops of spirit nectar for a growth-type spirit fire, it''s worth it!''
Ace quickly made his decision and asked the system, "How should I activate the Spirit Amalgamation of the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern?"
"[Host only need to pour your Qi into the rune symbol on the base of the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern and then think about activating the Spirit Amalgamation.]"
Ace nodded in realization as he followed the system''s instructions and used the Holy Twilight Spirit Qi. The moment his Qi touched thentern''s base, Ace suddenly felt a connection. When he thought about activating the Spirit Amalgamation, thentern suddenly activated as runes began to spread from thentern base.
Soon, an ethereal runic triangle one meter in diameter appeared around the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern.
"[Now host should ce the materials into this formation one by one!]" The system''s emotionless voice rang.
Ace quickly acted and took out the Spirit Fire Vessel where the spirit fires were stored. Thereafter, Ace started chanting a spell Elder Amirah taught to control the Spirit Fire Vessel.
The next moment, the crimson container lit up in runes, and a small opening appeared on the top, and a palm-sized translucent bubble containing a dark gray spirit fire appeared.
Ace then guided the bubble, which was actually a restraining spell to keep the spirit fire in check, towards the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern, which was now surrounded by the ethereal formation. The next moment, the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern again lit up in dark runes, and a suction force appeared.
Without Ace needing to open the restriction, the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern directly destroyed the restriction spell, and the spirit fire sucked into the triangr formation without giving it a chance to react.
Ace was even happier as he repeated the same process until all the spirit fires were absorbed into the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern''s formation, which now shimmered brightly and released a powerful aura of mysticalw.
Then Ace took out a translucent golden sk and opened its lid. This sk was an Ascension grade-5 treasure used to store spirit nectar. The space inside was massive and divided into ten sections, each able to store a different type of spirit nectar.
Currently, two of these spaces are upied with dark elemental and fire element spirit
nectar.
With Ace''s thought, the small sk shimmered. The next moment, pitch-ck droplets of dark spirit nectar gushed out of the sk, and a dense spirit Qi filled with darkw instantly
spread the air.
Without hesitation, Ace gathered a thousand droplets of the dark spirit nectar and sent them to the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern''s formation.
The moment the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern absorbed all materials, the formation suddenly revolved as thentern released a powerful aura.
Ace was shocked and then d that he put the Dismantle Spirit Qi barrier up; otherwise, this aura might''ve drawn unwanted attention since those formations wouldn''t have been able to
contain it.
Ace gawked at the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern without blinking as he watched and tried toprehend this entire process, but it was too mystical, and he could only sense the powerful
darknessw within.
Soon after the process waspleted, the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern returned to normal, but the light growing from within thentern was no longer purple; instead, it was eerie dark. "System, is it done?" Ace quickly asked the system with expectance and a hint of anxiety, afraid it would fail, and then he would have no ce to cry.
[Analyzing the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern...]
[Analyze Complete!]
[A new Growth-type spirit fire seed has been detected!]
-Spirit Fire Seed (Growth Type): Demonic ck Spirit Fire
-Grade: Ascension Grade-1 (Can grow by absorbing Law State Spirit Fires)
-Affinity: Dark/Demonic
[System detects Spirit Fire Seed with Darkness affinity!]
[Do you want to integrate it with your Cultivation Heart?] [Cost: 10,000,000 Thief Point]
Chapter 1214: Cultivation Breakthrough!
Chapter 1214: Cultivation Breakthrough!
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Ace was surprised to see this prompt and asked with a frown, "Why would I need to spend 10 million TP to integrate spirit fire with my cultivation heart? Couldn''t I do it myself like everyone else?"
Ace''s question was reasonable because he knew how cultivators absorb and integrate spirit fire with their own foundation. It was fairly simple since all one needed to do was ept the spirit fire into their inner space and then let it integrate with their cultivation foundation as long as the spirit fire couldn''t overwhelm them.
Furthermore, this Demonic ck Spirit Fire wasn''t naturally born. It was still in its seed state, the earliest growth stage of spirit fire, which means it didn''t have its own intent or
spirituality yet. Spirit fire seeds were the easiest and most gentle to integrate, and cultivators actually preferred spirit fire seeds to mature ones.
Still, since the system brought this matter up, Ace wanted to confirm if there was something he was missing.
"[Host can indeed integrate this spirit fire seed on your own, but please remember that your cultivation foundation is Heavenly/Primordial, and you have already awakened Cultivation Heart.]
"[If you try to integrate like ordinary cultivators with wed foundations, you won''t be able to utilize it thoroughly. Instead, you will end up using the core mes because your heavenly Qi won''t be able to support this Spirit Fire and will harm it.]
"[But if you used the thief points, the system will convert this spirit fire to integrate into your primew heavenly Qi, and then you can use it like normal cultivators. This spirit fire will also turn something far more powerful in due time as you neutered it with your
heavenly/primordial spirit Q, and it can grow with your cultivation realm without needing any resources or spirit fire.]"
Ace was astounded to learn the implication behind the system''s words, and his heart raced as The quickly expressed, "Then do it!"
[10,000,000 Thief Points have been deducted!]
[Thief Point(s): 8,530,900)
[Starting the integration process!]
The next moment, an ethereal dark blue chain shot out from Ace''s be and directly prated the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern''s base under Ace''s suppressing gaze.
The Spirit Fulcrum Lantern lit up in runes, and the next moment, the dark blue chain yanked and pulled back, but this time, on its end was an ethereal pitch-ck sphere emitting ck mes like a ck sun.
Ace felt an eerie aura from this sphere. Before he could sense it further, the chain suddenly curved into an arc and then prated Ace''s chest with the ck sphere.
Ace''s body trembled as he felt extremely fiery and destructive might spread throughout it. His heart seemed to be lit on fire. His skin turned crimson as veins popped out all over it. At that moment, Ace felt like he was inside a magma pool.
But he endured the pain and didn''t let out any scream and endured with his eyes closed, and he tried to cultivate the Architect of Thieving Heart, using his Qi to suppress the pain.
However, Ace was surprised when his Qi not only elevated his pain but also started to absorb that powerful might, and his cultivation increased rapidly.
It was unexpected but painful, but Ace didn''t stop and continued since it was a rare chance to raise his cultivation.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace didn''t know how much time had passed, but at some point, the pain was gone, and instead he felt something new within his heart, it was a part of him now. But he didn''t break his cultivation state as his Qi was still bing denser, and his heart was active.
After an unknown time, powerful ripples spread from Ace''s body one after another, and Ace finally opened his eyes as a sh of dark lightning flickered past them.
"9-Star Ascension Soldier!" Ace pulled with a satisfied smile as this was really an unexpected surprise.
After integrating with Spirit Fire, he never expected to climb to the 9-Star Ascension Soldier Realm. Now, he was only a step away from reaching the 10-Star Ascension Soldier Realm before he could break into the Ascension Warrior Realm!
Nheless, Ace quickly calmed down and flipped his hand. The next moment, his heavenly Spirit Qi flowed out from his palm, and with a thought, the heavenly Spirit Qi turned into ck mes, releasing destructive and fiery might.
Ace then looked at the notifications he received while still in a cultivation state.
=====
[Host has sessfully integrated with the Demonic ck Spirit Fire Seed!]
[Congrattions, host, forprehending the Fire Law at 100% and awakening its 1st Mystic Ability (Law Rule): me Ignition (Initial Stage: 7% Authority)]
[Congrattions, host, forprehending the Destruction Law at 100% and awakening its 1st Mystic Ability (Law Rule): Destructive Spirit (Initial Stage: 9% Authority)]
[Congrattion, Host, your Prime Law: Darkness has reached 9%pletion (9-Star Ascension Soldier)!]
[First Rule of Darkness Order: Destion''s authority has increased to 9%]
Ace was astounded when he saw he had awakened two mystic abilities of twopletely different elementalws that he had neverprehended before. Now, he finally understands why he feels two unknown abilities within, like the Sword Heart.
"Those ten million TP were well spent!'' Ace was ecstatic.
Not only did he get the growth-type spirit fire, but his cultivation also increased by a huge margin. Now, he has two new mystic abilities, and his primew and its rule have also
strengthened.
Ace even had an itch to go out and test these abilities and his new prowess, but he knew he couldn''t show off his actual skills, especially anything rted to his Order of Darkness.
After calming down, he closed the system interface and stowed away the Spirit Fulcrum Lantern since it had served its purpose. He then moved on to the next thing, which was starting to refine weapons for his Universal ck Physique. He wanted to awaken the force before he entered the Ascension Warrior realm.
The first step was to integrate all the knowledge and techniques he had gathered, especially the forging technique he got from the Forger Abyss, the Star Refinement Hammer Strikes (Upper Ascension Sky Grade Vol.).
But before that, Ace wanted to use the Beast Law Channel Spell, a ritual to create space for one''s contracted magic beasts. After all, he got all these benefits because of Cyrus''s core mes, so he wanted toplete his promise to the little guy first!
However, before he could start, a heavy voice filled with spirit Qi rang like a lightning bolt, "Chief Forger Disciple George,e out and meet the Sect Law Enforcer Elder!"
Chapter 1215: Plead Guilty!
Chapter 1215: Plead Guilty!
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Outside George''s courtyard, a tall, middle-aged man with long crimson hair and a stern face stood in ck robes with a golden me symbol on his chest. The ck robes were the symbol of Sect Law Enforcer Hall.
Furthermore, crimson hair was a trait of me disciples because the AIG sect''s me
cultivation technique changed the hair color to match pure mes.
This middle-aged man was one of the nine Chief Enforcer Elders of the Chief Hall Court''s Law Enforcer Hall, Flynn Norberg, and above them was the Hall Master of the Law Enforcer Hall.
Nheless, these Enforcer Elders'' status was special since they held power above the normal elders of the Sect and could punish even elders if they broke any sectws. However, they can''t interfere with the sect openly or use their power for tranny.
Behind Flynn stood five chief forger disciples. They were none other than the group of Harper-Rose, who got robbed by Ace over a day ago before they gathered together toin about him in the Law Enforcer Hall.
Although they wanted to hide the fact that they were robbed by an Ascension Soldier and only reveal a part of the truth to throw dirt at Ace, things didn''t go as they nned when a crook- looking guy named Hudson, among them, directly revealed everything.
They all knew he belonged to the Norberg n''s faction, so they guessed it was most likely their leader or the Norberg n''s scheme to suppress George''s momentum. The others could only grit their teeth and suffer this humiliation together.
Nevertheless, when this matter escted, Flynn personally took charge instead of letting the enforcer hall''s disciples handle it. This made the others happy since it meant they would regain their treasures, and that wicked guy would suffer terribly.
Moreover, they all wanted to remove those owl tattoos on their fingers, which were even more humiliating and a constant reminder of their shame.
But even someone like Flynn was helpless to do anything to the thief symbol, no matter what he did. No spell worked, now was enough, and even peeling the skin or cutting that limb was insufficient. The owl symbol always came back like a nightmare.
This secretly rmed many people who were paying attention to this matter, and they even thought that George might not be behind this since it was too strange.
But George was the only suspect, and once they confirmed it, they would suspect that George might''ve had a fortuitous encounter before. He has a very powerful heritage of some powerful cultivator.
Although every sect''s policy was not to probe their members'' secrets and harm them, words were words; no one could change orprehend one''s heart. Snatching treasures and killing others for their secrets was the most prolonged practice in the cultivation world.
At this moment, the courtyard door opened. George walked out with an impassive expression. He looked at Flynn and the five victims behind him, and he knew what they were here for. He even sensed hidden gazing on him, but he didn''t care. The truth was Ace was angry right now because his cultivation was disrupted.
If he had taken the epiphany pill, and they had disturbed him at that time, or while he was cultivating a few moments ago, it would''ve been an opportunity lost for him.
Still, hiding his true feelings was a norm for him when the fight wasn''t in his favor. Flynn gave him a bad feeling, and he could tell he was way out of his league. He knew thising.
"Greetings, everyone. How may I help you?" His tone was neither overbearing nor servile. Flynn''s eyes shed coldly as he looked at George. He was aware of his identity and how his n viewed this new rising star. But he didn''t speak and merely nced at Hudson.
Hudson instantly knew it was a signal and quickly reacted angrily, "Cut the crap, you thief! We know you stole our storage rings! Thievery is a heinous crime! Admit your wrongdoing, hand over our storage rings, and plead guilty to Elder Flynn!"
"He''s right. Hand over my storage ring and remove this curse mark!" Harper-Rose also roared with indignation.
Although he knew he was a puppet of the Norberg n, he didn''t care as long as he got his wealth back. The other three were the same as they started to vilify and admonish George.
Flynn was secretly pleased as he looked at George and wanted to see him panic and despair, but to his surprise, George was impassive and looking at those disciples as if they were clowns.
''Where did his confidencee from?'' He felt something was wrong, but he quickly brushed it off since they had a method to verify it, and George was bound to suffer today.
At this moment, Ace finally spoke with an innocent expression, "Seniors, please don''t nder me. Wasn''t you guys who gifted me all those treasures? Now, you''re saying I''ve stolen them? Don''t you think it''s too absurd for me to steal from powerful seniors like yourselves? Am I right, elder? Please seek justice for me."
Everyone looked at George dumbfoundedly, and they were speechless by his words. Does he want Flynn to punish them? THEM?! But his words made too much sense, and those disciples instantly started to blush in shame.
"Hmph!" Flynn suddenly sneered coldly as a powerful spiritual pressure suddenly released from him and locked on Ace. He wanted to intimidate him into submission.
Yet, he was shocked when he saw George didn''t even twitch under 1/10th of his spiritual pressure. But he quickly hid his expression and coldly said, "What proof do you have they are denigrating you?"
However, George didn''t answer and asked, "What proof do they have that I stole from them?"
"This brat is really something...'' Flynn''s expression was solemn as he didn''t expect this outsider who was from a first-grade sect to be so fearless in front of him.
The four ns had already thoroughly checked George''s background, habits, love interests, and even his enemies. However, ording to their investigation, George was a coward who feared the strong and bullied the weak. Yet, now, this didn''t seem to be the case. He seemed more like a sly fox.
"Since you didn''t want to admit your wrongs, don''t me me for taking action!" Flynn no longer wastes his time on words. He takes out a formation te and activates it: "This is a special formation te that can detect disciple badges from thousands of miles away. These disciples'' storage rings contain their disciple badges!"
Flynn clearly implied that ''you''ve made a huge mistake, and you''re done!'' but George''s expression remained unchanged, making Flynn irk even more.
''ording to these five fools, they didn''t sense their spiritual marks being removed from their rings, which means he shouldn''t be able to throw them unless he throws them all together. As long as those rings are on him, or he has hidden them in his courtyard, he won''t be able to escape punishment!
''It could''ve been easier if the monitoring formation had captured how he stole those rings. But we found nothing; we aren''t even sure if he stole them. But this kind of thing had never happened before, and only after he appeared did this happen, so he''s most likely behind it!'' Flynn assured himself as The regained his confidence.
But at this moment, his expression changed when the formation sent him information about the disciple badges. He looked towards the five disciples, who were grinning malevolently and even looked hopeful and excited as if they were waiting for their treasures to return. However, when they found Flynn looking at them and his expression turning ugly, as if he had swallowed a fly or something, they were confused.
But then their confused expression turned into horror because Flynn''s spiritual pressure suddenly appeared on them. They instantly started to tremble before their knees caved in, and they kneeled in front of Flynn. This was the normal reaction.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Flynn didn''t even bother to exin as he flicked his finger on the formation te. The next moment, something unimaginable happened: Five storage rings flew out from the various hidden spots of the five disciples'' robes!
The next moment, the storage rings, which were now actually opened and without any spiritual mark, flicked, and five disciple badges appeared before the rings fell in front of the
five disciples'' disbelief faces.
Their eyes were opened wide as if they saw a ghost as they gawked at the five disciple badges. Bulging nerves were popping out on Flynn''s temple as his eyes emitted killing intent; this
was simply too humiliating.
"See, see!" George eximed at this moment, breaking the suffocating atmosphere. I''ve told the Lord Elder that they were ndering me. Look, they were hiding their storage rings in their robes and even daring to take advantage of Lord Elder''s austere nature. How brave, how daring! Y-you, you really didn''t put the enforcer hall into your eyes, huh?"
Ace fanned the me with a righteous expression and appeared angry in Flynn''s stead as he
nced at horrified Hudson and said, "What are you waiting for? Quickly plead guilty of your crimes to kind Elder into ''tricking him so daringly,'' as if he was a simpleton like you lot, and
he might spare you!"
At this moment, not only were the people present in the courtyard dumbfounded, but observers as well, including the Sect Master. They all thought this shrewd guy was simply too shameless and audacious!
Chapter 1216: Hoodwinking the Enforcer Elder!
Chapter 1216: Hoodwinking the Enforcer Elder!
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n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Absolute silence enthralled the courtyard, and one could even hear the sound of heavy breathing from the five chief forger disciples. Flynn''s aura was gloomy, and the nerves on his temple twitched like crazy when he thought about what George had just said to him.
Although George had reprimanded the disciples, he was clearly insulting him in a roundabout manner, even calling him a simpleton who fell for other tricks because of his ''simple mindset''.
But the thing was, he couldn''t refute any of it at this moment because the only thing that made them confident about dealing with George turned out to be a huge farce, and now the tables have turned on them.
If he still insisted on condemning George despite all the proof, he knew those people from Weston n would be involved. After all, as long as George had proof of his innocence, Flynn would lose any time, and the most hateful thing was that he was the one who had proved his innocence while making aughingstock out of himself!
But what Flynn or anyone who was observing failed to notice was that when Flynn''s emotions were in disarray, and everyone''s attention was on the hovering disciples'' badges and the five disciples, the storage ring on Flynn''s finger vanished for a moment before reappearing again. It was so fast and sleek that Flynn didn''t even feel it, and Ace secretly smirked!
"E-Elder... there is clearly a mistake!" A female disciple named Ciara in the group was almost on the verge of crying as she tried to exin, and she looked at George with a venomous look in her eyes as if she wanted to y his skin and eat him alive.
George instantly pulled a frightening expression, quickly hid behind Flynn, and cried in indignation, "L-look! Look, Lord Elder, she''s still not admitting anything despite all these proofs, and she''s even threatening me in front of you! I''m afraid she''ll beat me!"
"Y-YOU... when...!" Ciara almost spat blood when she saw George''s acting, and she wanted to beat the hell out of this crafty bastard.
But before she could finish her word, the spiritual pressure on her increased, and Flynn''s icy cold voice rang, "Silence!"
Flynn was secretly gritting his teeth as he looked at five of them, who had made a fool out of him in front of everyone. Now, he had lost all face. He knew he was going to suffer this time because this humiliation wasn''t just his alone but for the entire Law Enforcement Hall.
Then he nced at George and looking at his innocent yet frightening expression, he suddenly had the urge to p him, but he couldn''t.
He suppressed his fury and looked at the five disciples; his anger surged, and he spat, "Go to punishment hall and receive your punishment for ndering your fellow disciple and lying to the Enforcer Hall!"
"Lord Elder is wise!" George quickly cheered.
Flynn almost fell on the ground, but he could only grit his teeth and quickly left this ce before he further made a clown of himself, vanishing without any trace. The disciple badges fell on in front of the ashen chief disciples.
Although the spiritual pressure had vanished, they were still deadly pale. They knew this was far from over, and once they went to the enforcer hall, Flynn would deal with them.
They don''t know how it turned out like this, what went wrong, or how those storage rings appeared on them when they went missing.
At this moment, George suddenly sighed ruefully and said with a hint of pity, "Seniors, I know you don''t like me, but this is still too much. After all, we are all fellow sect members and should look after each other like family. If you have any problem with me, there is no need to lie to elders. Come here, and we can have a hearty chat over a cup of tea. I''m sure we can all reach mutual understanding, live in harmony, and make the sect great together!"
"Harmony your head!" Harper-Rose cursed out loud as his aura red; clearing wanted to attack George.
But George was gone, and before they could find him, they heard a frightened voice say, "So much violence is not good for your health, everyone. Now, if you all excuse me, I''ll still have to cultivate!"
They quickly looked around and saw George running into his courtyard as the barrier was activated; the disciples'' expressions were even more colorful.
Hudson couldn''t help but sigh in defeat. His angry yet bitter expression lessened as he picked up his storage ring and disciple badge. "At least we got our treasures back."
Some colors returned to the victims as they quickly picked up their storage rings. Although they had brought cmity on themselves, with Georgepletely reversing the situation with his mystical means, they at least got their treasures back.
But at this moment, Hudson''s expression changed when he looked inside the storage ring, and he lost all his calm as he cursed out loud, "Motherf*cker, it''s empty!"
Ace, who had cunningly avoided the punishment and escaped inside the safety of his courtyard, couldn''t help but sigh in relief before a cold smile appeared on his face. ''You guys are still too green if you want to punish me based on some proof. Even if I hadn''t used the Thief''s Charity, with those badges in my thief''s space, that formation would''ve never been able to detect them
on me.
''But I ought to teach them a lesson and ''clear'' my name so they think twice before moving against me while they will also suspect the entire event. After all, as long as they don''t confirm it was me, they would still think it was someone else.
''But I know those cunning old fossils would still suspect me since it all started after I appeared here. However, they could do nothing about it and could only fume in silence. Nheless, now that they knew I have some mystical means to freely steal and return their treasures, they will be on guard next time they made a move and some of them might even want to rob me of my abilities.....However, I won''t make it easy. In fact, I got quite a haul out of this situation!''
Ace grinned thievishly as he looked at the notification in front of him.
=====
[Absolute Pickpocket (Sleight of Hand) has been sessfully activated!]
{Host Steals}
...
[Reward(s): 10,110,000 Thief Points]
(AN: The final rewards will always include the effect from Ace''s Thief Title: Symbolic Thief (1000 Extra
TP on each theft) & Disastrous Pick Pocketer (1% Extra TP on every theft).)
[Thievery Rank(s): High-Level Thievery(s): 1/500]
[High Level Thievery = 10,000,000 Thief Points]
[Thief Point(s): 18,640,900]
This was the pickpocket result he got after he sessfully pickpocketed Flynn''s storage, and he only did it because the reward was over 10 million TP.
This way, he could control the spot where the Thief Symbol would appear on Flynn''s body, and he made sure it would appear in a ce that Flynn wouldn''t even dare to discuss, much less reveal. However, he had to find it himself first!
Although it was still a pity that he had to return his ring, it was enough he got over ten million TP, and his Ascension Soldier Realm reached 96%, which was only 91% before. This means that this high level of thievery increased his cultivation by 5% in one go!
That''s why Ace was happy and secretly sneered at Flynn, who was ''generous'' enough to
provide him with both TP and cultivation. This was also his strategy for stealing from the elders, who gave him at least high-level thieves so he could make sure the thief symbol wouldn''t appear somewhere that everyone could see.
Ace was happily about to go to his cultivation chamber to continue where he left off when his expression changed upon turning around.
At this moment, a handsome man adorned in schrly white robes was sitting on a chair in
the main hall, looking at him with an ambiguous smile.
"S-sect Master!"
Chapter 1217: Importance of Human Bloodlines! (1)
Chapter 1217: Importance of Human Bloodlines! (1)
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"S-sect Master!"
Vincent''s smile grew deeper when he saw George''s startled expression. He ambiguously said in a teasing tone, "Oh, shouldn''t you be calling me ''Master''? After all, you are my ''disciple''!"
''Shit! Is he here, for that matter? Or for the theft matter?'' Ace''s mind raced as confronting Vincent was thest thing he had expected since he thought he might not intervene.
After all, from his encounter with Vincent, Ace knew he wanted to use him to cause trouble for the four ns. But Ace wasn''t delusional enough to believe that Vincent would really remain on the sidelines once he witnessed his uncanny abilities.
However, this was still too soon since he thought Vincent would continue to observe. Now Vincent had appeared, and he didn''t even sense his presence, which sent a chill down his spine. The gap in their strength was simply too great, and those elders like Flynn or Hall Masters couldn''t hold a candle to the Sect Master.
If he was wary of anyone in this ce, it would be Vincent and the enigmatic Grand Elders, but he was more afraid of Vincent because he seemed to be aware of his disguise yet still let him roam free to achieve his own goal.
Still, Ace was ready to flee the moment he sensed something amiss. For now, he didn''t sense any kind of danger or hastiness from Vincent, just like in their previous encounter, so he decided to act like his current persona.
"Ahem, it''s a misunderstanding!" He quickly exined with an abashed yet fearful tone, "I never said Sect Master is my ''Master,'' but I told the Forger Masters that you are my ''Teacher.'' There is a huge difference between an official disciple and a student. Since Sect Master is the Lord of the AIG sect, you are everyone''s senior, and we follow your teachings, so it would naturally make Sect Master our titr teacher!"
Vincent was startled for a moment and couldn''t help but be amused and astounded when he thought about it. It was just as George said; he had told everyone that he was George''s ''teacher'' that day, not ''Master.''
Since those Hall Masters were all shocked by his appearance that day, they didn''t seem to pick up on this fact, which caused a huge misunderstanding. He didn''t even consider this loophole in George''s words.
Nheless, this also proved how shrewd George was as he had left himself with an escape route so he wouldn''t be punished, which made Vincent even more curious about him.
"You really have a way with words, huh? Even I was tricked." Vincent smiled as he subtly admonished him.
''He wasn''t angry?'' Ace was startled, thinking Vincent might fly into a rage once he discovered George had tricked him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
After all, Vincent was someone with the highest authority in the AIG sect, and being bested by a mere disciple at the Ascension Soldier Realm was nothing but humiliating, yet he didn''t react at all. If anything, he sounded more amused, which also gave Ace some confidence. "I won''t dare to trick my lord. I can definitely clear this misunderstanding!" He probed. "No need." Vincent casually rejected this idea. "It''s better this way. Since they can''t even see through such a paltry trick, they deserve it. I was the one who told you I''d back you up as long as you showed me something worthy of my support, and I must say you didn''t disappoint me."
Vincent sounded pleased, which made Ace secretly sigh in relief, but Ace became more confused because this meant Vincent wasn''t here to detain him.
As if discerning Ace''s thoughts, Vincent said, "I''m here for another matter. I have a mission for you, and if you canplete it, I''ll not only reward you but also grant you a massive amount of Sect Merit Points."
Ace was startled by this unexpected proposition and looked at Vincent, who still wore his friendly smile with a hint of vignce, and probed, "I''m a chief disciple of the AIG Sect, and it''s my honor to receive your trust. Despite my lowly cultivation, I''ll do my best toplete this mission."
"Don''t be humble. You can even move around under an Ascension Master''s spiritual pressure. Although Elder Flynn didn''t use his full strength, it was still something that could crush an Ascension Soldier, yet there you were, acting as if nothing was wrong.''
Ace''s expression changed slightly, but he didn''t say anything and only looked at Vincent with his guard up. He knew what he did waspletely out of the ordinary, but he had his reason to do it, which was to show others his talent, especially Vincent, so he would ce more importance on him while it would also deter the others from making trouble for him.
Nheless, it was still quite risky, and he was ready to shift to n B the moment he found things not going his way. But now that he had seen Vincent and from the way he was talking, Ace knew it had worked, but he was still on guard.
"There is no need to be so stiff about it. I know about your mysterious bloodline, and for your information, you don''t need to worry about others finding out about it as well. I''ve taken care of Old Lue for you. He won''t be opening his mouth." Vincent revealed as if it was a trivial matter, yet his eyes were locked on George as if he wanted to see his reaction.
But Ace was still calm on the outside, yet he was shocked inwardly because he was aware of his own blunder that day and worried about the consequences. However, nothing happened, and he thought Old Lue didn''t suspect anything. Yet now that Vincent revealed the truth behind it, he knew Vincent was paying attention to his every move, and his bloodline was really exposed that day.
But what made him somewhat apprehensive was the way Vincent exined how he ''took care of Old Lue'' to hide this fact. Vincent became even more dangerous in his eyes.
Still, since he openly admitted it, this could mean he had no intention of moving against him, but it also means that the reason behind it was something only Vincent knows.
Although he didn''t know what it meant for a human to have a bloodline, he knew the implication behind it since he had never encountered a human with a bloodline.
"Thank you." Ace thanked him, as he didn''t waste his time feigning ignorance since Vincent knew too much about him.
"Oh, you''re admitting it?" Vincent was amazed.
"Even if I try to deny it, I don''t think Sect Master would believe me. But please believe me when I say I had no idea about my bloodline until I reached the Law State, and it awakened on its own. So, can Sect Master tell me what kind of danger I encounter if others discover it?" Ace directly asked while hiding the truth in his lies.
After all, he could guess that it was dangerous for others to know about his bloodline from how Vincent took action against Old Lue, but he still wanted to know more.
A hint of uncertainty shed past Vincent''s eyes as he wasn''t expecting George to be so open about it since he imagined he would deny it and might even try to leave once he discovered his secret was exposed. But from his tone, he seemed to be telling the truth and unaware of what
his bloodline represents.
Truth be told, he was shocked when he discovered George had a bloodline and even tempted to dig deeper into George''s secrets. But he didn''t do so since he has some insight about bloodlines and how they work. Still, human bloodlines were extremely rare, and there was little information about them!
Chapter 1218: Importance of Human Bloodlines! (2)
Chapter 1218: Importance of Human Bloodlines! (2)
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After mulling it over, Vincent said, "Since you are being honest with me, I won''t hide it from you. You should never expose your human bloodline to any human or other races under any circumstances, or even if you have your means, you will never know peace. You will be hunted down by people far more terrifying than you can imagine.
"This is especially the case for foreign races who have hostile rtionships with us humans. Because a human bloodline only forms after one breaks past the Law State, meaning it represents a lineage above the Ascension Realm, I don''t need to tell you what the others would do once they discovered you have a bloodline.
"This is especially true for the Two King Sects of the Human Race. They are the only ones with humans with bloodline, and they are extremely secretive about it as they never let their bloodline secret spread. All we know is that they can be the King Sect because of their human bloodline.
"So, you can only imagine how they would react if they found out another foreign human bloodline had appeared outside their control that could threaten their millions of years of rule over Humans and resources.
"I won''t tell you more since this matter is still way out of your league. Even I only know too little about the King Sects of the Human Race since they seldom bother with existences like us, much less about the other races'' King Sects!
"If you really don''t belong to the King Sect lineage, then it would be better for you to stay out of their way until you have the power to protect yourself." Vincent''s expression was solemn as he warned!
Ace was shocked. He never expected to learn something like this today, especially about the king sects.
Although Vincent didn''t reveal much, he still hinted at many things and the importance of his human bloodline. He even warned him earnestly despite Vincent knowing he was not George. Ace knew his initial bloodlines were all extremely powerful, and their origin should be mighty since all those Sages shamelessly moved against an infant. Moreover, he knew his current bloodline, the Nirvana Thief, should be even more powerful because it wasn''t bound by limitations.
Now Ace could guess why Vincent was protective of him. It might be because he wanted him to grow loyal to the sect and bring the AIG sect to new heights.N?v(el)B\\jnn
After all, he just told him that the bloodline was the reason for the King Sect to unravel, and if Ace felt he belonged to the sect and was grateful to Vincent for protecting him when he was weak, he could make the AIG sect a King Sect.
But this matter was still too huge, and there were still many things Vincent didn''t make clear, nor did Ace have any intention of asking them since he had no intention to follow Vincent''s ns if he had any regarding the sect''s rise.
After all, even if the AIG sect had a human bloodline, they needed power to protect it and go against those King Sects.
"Thank you for telling me this, my lord. I''ll be careful!" Ace thanked him since this matter seemed like a huge secret among the second-grade sects.
"No need to thank me. After all, you seemed like a careful person, and if your bloodline is recently awakened, I can understand why you made such a mistake." Vincent chuckled, "Just be careful about drawing your bloodline in the future. It would still be fine if the color of your blood were the same, but it seemed your bloodline was powerful enough to change the nature of your blood. It would be best if you learned some illusionw spells that can hide the color of your blood. But it needed to be high enough rank, at least Domain Grade, to fool someone like me. Pity I don''t have any."
Ace took a quick mental note of this, and he might not even need it as long as his mask raised in its grades; he might be able to hide his blood with it.
Since this matter was done, Vincent no longer dwelled on it. He felt that Ace was starting to trust him since he didn''t seem to be bothered by knowing that he had discovered his secret, or Ace was simply too confident to protect himself. Whatever the case was, Vincent didn''t want to test it since, in any case, it would sore the little rtionship that they had developed, and he might lose George altogether.
"Alright, since we now have little understanding between us, I can entrust you with this mission." Vincent finally reveals his true intentions, "As you might''ve already guessed, the Four ns didn''t see eye to eye with each other, and instead of developing the sect, they scheme against each other, which is harming the sect and eating it away.
"Even a Sect Master like me can''t do anything without proper reason and proof, for they are very discreet about it and never leave any evidence behind. Furthermore, the four ns are evenly matched, and they won''t take excessive actions because they are afraid of each other''s retaliation and bing weak, creating an opening for the others to reap benefits.
"Normally, when a Sect Master appeared among a n, that n will gain an edge over the others since all the previous Sect Masters were loyal to their n, but even that wasn''t enough to significantly weaken the other three ns because, at that time, the Grand Elders belonged to those ns be active to make sure their ns won''t deter too much.
"However, I''m different. I never supported the Weston n; instead, I became impartial, which made the Grand Elder of the Weston n, my Grandfather, unhappy while it was good news for the other three grand elders and their respective ns.
"If I hadn''t gained the acknowledgment of the Sect''s guardian spirit, I would''ve been reced long ago. Don''t think for a second that since I became impartial the other three ns would let me be, in fact, the Grand Elders have their own schemes and my impartiality didn''t go well with those schemes.
"I''m still here because they are afraid of the Sect Guardian Spirit and could do nothing but y by the sect rules. But it is still not enough because the Guardian Spirit is bound by the sect rules set by the Founder, and if they made a grave mistake, I would never be able to do anything to them.
"Nheless, this still through a wrench in their ns, and all the ns have no choice but to be wary, and that''s why, under my rule, many things that should''ve happened nevere to be because they are all afraid that I''ll move against them!" Vincent''s eyes were deadly cold as he revealed his difficulties and the truth behind the weakening AIG sect.
But Ace was shocked because he didn''t know why Vincent was revealing all this to him. Did he trust him so much? Ace didn''t think like that at all because he had only been in the sect for a month, yet the Sect Master was now revealing all this to him, which made him even more vignt and wary about this ''mission''.
Vincent didn''t seem bothered by George''sck of response as he continued, "If you''re wondering why I''m telling you all this, it''s because you are an anomaly that could truly change everything, especially the Norberg n''s n to rece me with Nathaniel.
"They have been nning this for many years ever since he was born with the Dual Runic Talent, and ording to the sect rules, as long as I clear a trial, he''ll be the Junior/Vise
Sect Master.
"All this time, they were waiting for him to grow and break into the Ascension Grandmaster Realm to secure this position. Once that happened, I''m pretty sure they will try to assassinate me, and at that, Nathaniel would be the legitimate Sect Master, and I''m afraid all the Grand Elders are involved in this as well."
Ace felt a chill running down his spine when he heard this massive secret, and he couldn''t help but look at Vincent again. Vincent seemed calm as he talked about the assassination. Although he knew the AIG sect was ruled by the four ns, he never expected them to go this far to assassinate their own sect master, a pir of their sect, just because they were wary of
him.
Ace suddenly felt like he had involved himself in a huge power vortex because he knew what Vincent was implying by saying he was an anomaly. He was hinting that he had unknowingly made the Grand Elders uneasy after he showed the talent of Nathaniel, and he also had the potential topletely destroy their ns, especially after he caused that misunderstanding about being Vincent''s disciple!
This means that his life was in danger more than Vincent''s since he was still only an Ascension Soldier. Furthermore, by telling him all this, Vincent cut off any path of retreat and pulled him
on the boat.
Now, Ace finally understood why this guy was so candid about everything and revealed all this
information.
Vincent suddenly pulled an ambiguous smile and said, "Since you got my meaning, I don''t need to tell you the importance of this matter anymore. Now, what you need to do is...!"
Chapter 1219: Preparing for a Ritual!
Chapter 1219: Preparing for a Ritual!
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Ace stood in the hall as he stared at the spot where Vincent had sat a moment ago. He mused, ''Well, I didn''t expect the AIG sect to be such a mess. On one side, the four ns and four nd elders want to get rid of the Sect Master because he''s getting in their way, and on the other side, the Sect Master, who wants to overthrow their rule and gainplete control over the Sect.
''Even a fool could tell who has the advantage. But despite the Sect Master''s dangerous situation, those powerful Grand Elders are helpless against him because of this Sect Guardian Spirit, and they can do nothing because of these so-called rules.
''Just who is this Guardian Spirit, and why does it hold so much deterrence? Yet, despite all of this, it is still bound by rules set up by the Sect Founder, so I can assume that this Spirit Guardian might not be a person.
''Nevertheless, since Sect Master told me all this and even gave me this mission, I can safely assume that this Guardian Spirit is in cohort with the Sect Master and might also be paying attention to me.''
Ace''s brows knit together in grimace before he became calm again, ''But I had to admit, this mission is a huge opportunity for me to do my own mission, and I don''t even have to worry about the Sect Master or this Guardian Spirit taking action against me as long as I won''t get caught by the four ns or those enigmatic grand elders.''
Ace took a deep breath before he looked at the crimson jade scroll in his hand; this was given to him by Vincent before he left, and to Ace''s surprise, this jade scroll records all the Spirit Forger knowledge and core forging techniques of all the Forger Halls of the AIG sect from 1- Star Spirit Forger to 4-Star Spirit Forger Grade.
Even Ace didn''t expect Vincent to give him this boon, and now he didn''t need to bother himself with those Forger Halls anymore. But Ace knew Vincent only gave him this jade scroll to earn his trust, and this jade scroll was also important for the mission that Vincent gave him.
Furthermore, Vincent also promised that if he couldplete this mission, he would be given knowledge about the Five-Star Spirit Forger Grade and even the Six-Star Spirit Forger as long as he could be a Five-Star Spirit Forger.
One has to know that the 5-Star Spirit Forger inheritance was exclusive to the Hall Masters, and even they needed Sect Merit Points to learn it and prove themselves. As for the 6-Star Spirit Forger, it was the core inheritance of the AIG sect, and only the Sect Master and Grand Elders were privy to it.
After all, in the entire AIG Sect, only the Sect Master and Grand Elders should be 6-Star Spirit Forgers.
Since Vincent gave him this jade scroll, it means that he had acknowledged George as his disciple, or at least he was nning on taking him in once he proved himself.
But for Ace, this mattered little since he didn''t need a teacher. This knowledge was far more sufficient for him to start his path of the Spirit Forger, and it wouldst him for a while until he got the inheritance from the Forger Abyss, which was even more powerful than the AIG Sect!
After arranging his thoughts, he headed into the cultivation chamber again, but he didn''t start with the Jade Scroll; instead, he picked up where he left off.
Ace remembered the Beast Law Channel spell, which was a ritual-type spell, and one can only use it once. Although Ace didn''t know if it would work or not, he still wanted to give it a try first since Ritual Spells were different from other spells.
The Regr Spells are usually cast in an instant, drawing from a caster''s internal Qi and thewprehension, and require little to no externalponents or materials. They are moremon and versatile, used forbat, defense, or daily tasks. While they can be powerful, they are often limited by the caster''s cultivation realm.
On the other hand, the Ritual Spells transcend the caster''s personal strength and tap directly into the Laws and Rules of the world. Some may require coboration between multiple participants and involve the use of sacred artifacts or secret knowledge. Their effects tend to be grander and more permanent bute at the cost of great preparation and risk.
Because ritual spells require more intricate and specific conditions than regr spells, they also involve an borate process, often drawing on external factors like specific materials, environmental conditions, or alignment ofws.
ording to the jade scroll, the Beast Law Channel Ritual Spell was a highly specialized and ancient spell that allows cultivators to bond with their contracted magical beasts on a deeper, spiritual level. Unlike simple beast contracts, this ritual creates a permanent link between the caster''s soul and their beast, allowing the magical beast to reside within the caster''s inner cultivation space, much like a spirit weapon.
But it also needed preparations and materials. Luckily, the Sect Treasury Hall had all the materials to perform this ritual, and he bought them before leaving.
Ace stood up and prepared the first step, which was to create a sacred space for the ritual. He made sure the chamber was wide enough, ensuring nothing would disturb the flow of Spirit Qi. He then ced five Ascension Soldier Realm Beast Cores with the affinities of fire, earth, water, lightning, and wind!
At the cardinal points of the chamber, each representing one of the fundamentalws of the world. These beast cores would attune to bnce and strengthen the ritual.
Once the beast cores were in ce, Ace sat cross-legged at the center and closed his eyes, feeling the soft hum of Qi already forming between them. He needed this space to be aligned perfectly with the naturalws of the world, allowing the ritual to transcend his own personal strength.
Next came the most crucial part: drawing the runic circle. Ace had memorized the intricate runes from jade scroll, each symbol carrying the essence ofw, soul, and the most important part, the beastw.
With steady hands, he dipped a runic brush into a mixture of spirit beast blood and powdered spirit stones and spirit crystals, abination that would stabilize the ritual.
Carefully, he traced theplex runes onto the stone floor, forming a vast, interwoven circle around himself. The runes connected to one another in a precise geometric pattern, and at the circle''s center, he inscribed the sigil for Beast Law, the key to merging his inner space with the Beast Law.
This step usually requires one to have the knowledge of at least 1-Star Spirit Rune Crafter, which Ace has better than his peers.
The moment he finished, the runes began to glow faintly, a sign that the ritual was responding to the ambientws of the world.N?v(el)B\\jnn
With the preparationsplete, Ace took a deep breath, feeling the air within the chamber grow heavier as the ritual finally started!
Chapter 1220: Beast Ruler!
Chapter 1220: Beast Ruler!
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Once Ace felt the ritual start, he ced his hands on the ground, palms t against the cold stone, and began channeling his Heavenly Spirit Qi with anticipation.
Because he knew if he wanted to create a space within his cultivation foundation, the only way was to use the Heavenly Spirit Qi. Since it was a ritual-type spell, the oue depended on the catalyst used in the ritual, and he really hoped it would work with his Heavenly Spirit Qi.
However, if it failed, Ace also had another n of using his Holy Twilight Avatar! After all, his avatar also had a cultivation foundation of the soul path, so if this ritual does not work with his heavenly foundation, it will work with his avatar.
As Ace poured the Heavenly Spirit Qi into the ritual array, the entire array suddenly lit up, releasing a powerful oppression aura. Ace was already aware of this, so he had created a Dismantle Spirit Qi barrier beforehand.
Slowly, the power flowed from his cultivation heart, traveling down his arms and into the runic circle. As his Heavenly Spirit Qi filled the runes, they began to ze with dark light.
The air shimmered with power, and suddenly, Ace could feel his connection to the true soul- the deepest part of his being-awakening. His eyes shed with ecstasy because he knew this ritual spell was working with his Heavenly Spirit Qi!
Little by little, he could feel his essence merging with the runic patterns, and a direct link between his cultivation heart, soul, and thews of the world began to form.
The process was exhausting and required absolute focus. Ace''s breath grewbored as he maintained the delicate bnce between his Heavenly Spirit Qi and the mystical forces of the ritual.
The essence of the Beast Law Channel wasn''t just about casting the spell-this was about opening a channel between his true soul and the essence of the Beast Law.
Now came the most critical part of the ritual: aligning his soul with thews governing the beasts, the Beast Law. He could sense a neww awakening deep within him.
Ace extended his awareness, attuning his Heavenly Spirit Qi to the neww. At this moment, he suddenly started to feel the ancient, primal Qi that connected to the world, and to his shock, he knew what this primal Qi was the Primordial Qi!
''Just what is the background of this Beast Law Channel?'' Ace was shocked as he knew he couldn''t be wrong about the Primordial Qi. He also suspected this Primordial Qi''s appearance was because of his Heavenly Spirit Qi!
But still, this ritual spell has changed Ace''s understanding of ritual spells again.
At this moment, a wave of Primordial Qi rushed over Ace, but he held firm, directing that energy into his cultivation.
Ace opened his mind as time passed, allowing his soul to adapt to this unknown Qi. A strange, earthy resonance filled the chamber, vibrating through the floor and into the runic circle.
At this moment, Ace felt the new Qi within him solidify and merge with his Cultivation Heart and something newly formed within him.
Suddenly, his vision shifted, and he appeared in a mysterious white space filled with light. To his surprise, he could sense the limit of this space, and the next moment, it started expanding...500 meters...1 mile...10 miles... 100 miles...
When this white space reached 10,000 miles, it finally stopped expanding, but it wasn''t over because the next moment, Ace sensed something and looked in its direction. He found a dark blue sigil shaped like a hooded head appeared, and thereafter, pitch ck mist started to spread in the white space.
Ace was even more surprised because this mist was none other than his own Heavenly Spirit Qi!
''Is this my Beast Space that I will acquire once I sessfully perform the Beast Law Channel? How fascinating...''
Furthermore, at this moment, once the Heavenly Spirit Qi enshrouded the entire space, Ace sensed something else: a powerful connection. Upon tapping into this connection, someone appeared in this space the very next moment.
''Cyrus?!''
Indeed, it was none other than Cyrus who seemed to be in deep slumber. The moment Cyrus appeared here, the Heavenly Spirit Qi instantly surrounded the little guy, and before Ace could do anything, Cyrus''s body started to absorb his Heavenly Spirit Qi.
Ace panicked at first because he knew how dangerous his Heavenly Spirit Qi was for others. It was poisonous for anyone who didn''t have a primordial foundation, and even then, because of the Darkness Order, his Primordial Qi was even more potent.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
But Ace suddenly stopped because he suddenly found that his connection with Cyrus was extremely strong in this ce. He could feel everything the little guy was feeling, and to his surprise, Cyrus didn''t feel any difort. In fact, the moment the little guy''s body started to absorb the Heavenly Spirit Qi, Cyrus was feeling extremelyfortable and warm.
''Could it be because of the contract between Cyrus and me? The moment I opened this Beast Space, I was given the power to summon him here. But that contract is not a beast contract, so could it be because he''s a magic beast?
''Furthermore, how is he absorbing my Primordial Qi without getting harmed? Is this also because of that contract? Or is there something I''m missing? Moreover, my beast space is 10,000 miles in
diameter.
''But ording to the records in the Beast Law Channel, even someone with a powerful soul can only open up to 200 miles diameter of Beast Space. Could it be because of my Primordial Cultivation Foundation?
''Not only that, but this Beast Space could also nurture contracted magic beasts and help them recover from injuries. Cyrus is directly absorbing my Heavenly Spirit Qi and seems to be undergoing some change. Not to mention, he''s not bound by beast contract...''
Ace was deep in thought as this Beast Space gave him a huge surprise. He knew there was something more to it, and he knew who to ask.
Ace tried to retract his vision from the Beast Space, but the next moment, his vision shifted again, and he was back in the cultivation chamber. He saw that the ritual array was gone and that the materials used in it were dust.
Furthermore, when he tried to sense the beast space again, he was able to do it without much effort at all. He could feel that his beast space was now hidden deep within his cultivation heart and had be a part of it.
"System, what is going on with my beast space?" Ace questioned the system right away.
"[Host has just used the Ancient Ritual of Beast Tamer Path to create your own Primordial Beast Space, which is the pinnacle Beast Space of the Beast Tamer Path and vastly different from the current era''s beast spaces that a beast tamer awakes.]
"[Not only the Primordial Beast Space can store any magic beasts as long as they are willing to follow you, but your Primordial Beast Space is very beneficial for any magic beasts since it can help them awake their ancient heritage and ancestral bloodlines because the Primordial Qi in the Primordial Beast Space is different from your innate Primordial Qi. It is automatically transformed to nurture magic beasts!]
"[Your Primordial Beast Space will also evolve every time you break through an entire cultivation shackle. Like right now, your Primordial Beast Space is Law State Realm, but when you achieve Transcendent Law State, your Primordial Beast Space will follow suit and be Transcendent Law State as well and expand.]
"[You also have the power to store any magic beast in your Primordial Beast Space as long as you have their consent without any contracts or ve items. But the system would like to advise you not to do it, especially if the magic beast is three realms above you because it can directly harm you and even destroy your Primordial Beast Space, creating a foundational injury that is very hard to heal.]
"[On the other hand, if the magic beast is in the same realm as you or a single realm higher than you, once it enters your Primordial Beast Space, it will automatically have your Primordial Beast Imprint and be entirely loyal to you and would never betray you.]
"[Lastly, Law State Grade Primordial Beast Space also grants you an innate divine talent called the Beast Ruler!]
"[Beast Ruler will let you borrow a single innate ability of any magic beast with your Primordial Beast Imprint. Although Beast Ruler didn''t have any limit, the system would suggest you only do it for 60 minutes before you should wait for a day before you can borrow another ability from the same magic beast.]
"[Because when you use the Beast Ruler, you will be connected with the magic beast, and
using the magic beast''s Qi with your own, this will put a massive strain on the magic beasts, and if you don''t stop, not only it will harm the magic beast''s foundation and put them in a longma or worse, kill them!]
"[Once the Primordial Beast Space evolved into Transcendent State Grade, your Beast Ruler Divine Talent will also be evolved and grant you more benefits!]"
Chapter 1221: Scheming Against Each Other!
Chapter 1221: Scheming Against Each Other!
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While Ace was shocked by the Primordial Beast Space''s information provided by the system, he didn''t know that the moment he opened the Primordial Beast Space and acquired the Beast Ruler Divine Talent, the sky above the entire AIG (Artifact Inferno Guardian) Sect suddenly turned ck, and dense lightning clouds gathered.
However, a few momentster, the lightning clouds vanished, revealing a clear blue sky again. This sudden phenomenon didn''t go unnoticed by the Sect members and some higher- ups.
Ace didn''t know the Dismantle Spirit Qi barrier had saved him from being struck by Heavenly Punishment because he opened the Primordial Beast Space.N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Is someone going under the Early Law Tribtion?" Vincent, who was back at his dwelling, muttered. His eyes peer through everything and deeply look at the clear sky.
"No, it wasn''t tribtion clouds, or they wouldn''t havested for a few seconds. Besides, no one is currently using the tribtion tform, nor is anyone foolish enough to undergo the Heavenly Tribtion without it, so it wasn''t caused by a breakthrough from an Early Law State to an Intermediate Law State.
"However, in those few seconds, I sense something even more terrifying from those clouds. Those clouds had nothing but the intent to destroy and were filled with death. There was no life in them..." The Spirit Guardian''s voice was solemn.
Vincent''s eyes widened with shock as he instantly blurted out, "You''re saying that was the legendary Heavenly Punishment? But how is this possible?! Who would dare incur the wrath of heaven in our sect?"
"Heh, don''t let your imagination run wild. I''m only saying there was an aura of destruction and death; it''s still too soon to consider those clouds Heavenly Punishment.
"Besides, you should know if that was Heavenly Punishment, why would it have vanished without punisher the Defier? It was most likely someone practicing some power spell and achieved a breakthrough in it." The Spirit Guardian assured.
Vincent''s expression was visibly relieved before he became serious again. "There shouldn''t be this kind of spell present in our sect, and even if someone had it, they wouldn''t be foolish enough to practice it in such a high-profile manner."
At this moment, Vincent''s expression changed again as he couldn''t help but say in exasperation, "Don''t tell me it''s that brat causing trouble again. Tsk, I''ve warned him not long ago to keep his head low for a while..."
"Hahahaha... I also agree with your conjecture. I had to admit that little brat is full of tricks. Nheless, it''s good if he had that kind of spell under his sleeve; he would be able to protect himself. Now, you should be more grateful and d about my suggestion to tell him everything and pull him on your side." The Spirit Guardian sounded proud of itself.
Vincent couldn''t help but smile wryly, "No, I still think we were too hasty, but what''s done is done. Now, I need to make sure those guys won''t connect this phenomenon with him, or it will be even more troublesome. The Norberg n seemed to have already finished preparing, and they would make their move soon. I hope he can obstruct them in time."
"Hmph, there are only two ways to be the Junior Sect Master, the first is to have Dual Runic Talent and then pass my test, but I don''t think they will go for it since they know how I feel about them. So, they will go for the next option, passing the entire Forger Abyss''s nominal legacy disciple trial.
"I still don''t know why that old man set this rule. Nheless, as long as George exists and can pass the first two trials, the Forger Abyss''s Spirit Guardian will force them to give the most challenging trial to Nathaniel since there is more than onepetitor and would naturally choose the best one among them.
"At that time, even my trial would look easypared to the Forger Abyss. After all, didn''t those old fellows use the same method to ensure you failed to pass and lost your qualification? Now it''s about time that annoying guy''s son will have a taste of their own medicine, hehehehe..." Spirit Guardian gloated as it was clearly holding a grudge.
"But George still had to pass two more trials first, and the time is too short, and he''s wasting time learning some spell instead of learning from the Jade Scroll I gave him..." Vincent sighed as he looked in the direction of Georg''s courtyard.
At this moment, within the Norberg n''s territory of the Chief Hall Court, a tall, handsome young man with long ck hair and blue eyes filled with sharpness was sitting in the pavilion in the middle of a beautiful garden filled with dense spirit Qi.
Sitting in front of him was a middle-aged man with outstanding bearing. The young man greatly resembled this middle-aged man, a testament to their blood rtionship.
This middle-aged man was none other than Bert Norberg, and the young man who resembled him was his son, Nathaniel Norberg, the top genius of the AIG Sect.
Nathaniel picked up the cup of tea before him and elegantly took a sip as he asked, "So, they failed?"
Bert''s expression darkened slightly, and his attention from the dark clouds a moment ago instantly shifted. Since he didn''t have the Spirit Guardian''s wisdom on his side, he didn''t think much about this phenomenon and thought it was caused by the environment of the Spirit Inferno Domain. Not to mention, the topic brought up by Nathaniel was more important than wasting time investigating someone''s unknown phenomenon.
He nodded while he gritted his teeth and said, "We all underestimated that nobody. He''s far more cunning and mysterious than we anticipated. Although we didn''t know how he did it, now it is confirmed that he was behind it, and it won''t be wrong to suspect that he might''ve deliberately caused it or that the Sect Master instructed him so they could stop our Norberg n momentum!"
Nathaniel''s eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke about his own doubts, "This still doesn''t exin those strange owl marks. I inspected it personally, and I can''t see through it at all. In fact, it appeared just like a normal mark, but it''s clearly extraordinary!"
When he mentioned the thief symbol, Nathaniel seemed greedy. Like everyone else, he was fascinated and shocked by George''s actions and mystical abilities.
At first, Nathaniel didn''t think much about him. Even if he managed to im the Nominal Legacy Disciple position from the Forger Abyss and be the Sect Master''s disciple, there was a huge gap of power between them, not to mention their forging skills were worlds apart. So, he wanted to put George in his ce by ''inviting'' him for a chat, but Floyd beat him to it. Then, the thievery incident happened, which revealed George''s true capabilities.
Still, Nathaniel didn''t worry. In fact, he became extremely interested in George''s secret, and they had nned to detain him using the Law Enforcement Hall. That n backfired, and the most shocking thing was that George did it all by himself without any intervention.
Now, everyone had be wary of the ''nobody'' and didn''t dare underestimate him anymore, especially the Norberg n. Yet Nathaniel was still not taking George seriously. He was more interested in getting George''s secret and was very confident in getting it.
Bert also agreed with Nathaniel''s statement since he had also probed the owl symbol and had gotten nothing out of it.
"He''s nothing but lucky to get someone unknown inheritance. But we can''t do anything to him without any solid evidence, and I even suspect that the Sect Master is helping him hide
his traces.
"Furthermore, we can''t take action against him now, especially after what happened today. The only way is for you to be Vice Sect Master first, and then we won''t have to worry about him, and we''ll even get his secret," Bert said with a malicious smile.
Nathaniel agreed with Bert, nodding, "Don''t worry; I won''t disappoint you. Just a little more, and I will be able toplete the Forger Abyss trial. Still, we should teach him a lesson for
what he did.
"Isn''t the Decade Meeting between the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect and the Yin-Yang Formation Guardian Secting in eight months? That will be our chance to curb his arrogance. If he fails in front of the Yin-Yang Formation Guardian Sect, not only will he lose face, but because he also represents the Sect Master, it will also sully the Sect Master''s prestige since those Yin-Yang Formation Guardian Sect''s fellows won''t let such an opportunity slid by. At that time..." Nathaniel didn''t say anything further and only smiled meaningfully toward his father.
Bert instantly understood what Nathaniel was implying, and his eyes lit up as he also pulled a shrewd smile, "You''re indeed the hope of our Norberg n. Don''t worry; your father will make sure everything is set perfectly. We''ll allow that nobody to be arrogant for a while
more!"
Chapter 1222: Crimson Platinum Manifests!
Chapter 1222: Crimson tinum Manifests!
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After that day, George almost vanished from the public eyes as he closed himself in his cultivation courtyard.
The four ns closely observed his every action, but they couldn''t do anything if he didn''t leave or do anything. Although this was strange, everyone believed George was in seclusion and working on his spirit forging.
But George never went to Forger Hall to seek knowledge or advice from the elders or the Hall Master. The Weston and Norberg ns were the most uneasy about this.
The former was because they were ready to provide him with every resource, knowledge, and even instructors to help him grow, while thetter was prepared to obstruct George in any way possible.
Furthermore, the top forger disciples were also paying attention to him, but they soon lost interest when three months passed, and there were no signs of Georgeing out of his courtyard. Everyone''s time was precious, so attention to George started to decline, and since not many people knew about it, his name began to fade.N?v(el)B\\jnn
On this day, on the outskirts of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect, scattered around the main volcano, within an extinct cinder cone shrouded in perpetual ash and smoke, a crimson mountain suddenly started to tremble and pulse with an ethereal crimson glow and released a terrifying fiery aura.
The moment this aura spread, in the dark corner of this cinder cone, a pair of dark blue eyes suddenly snapped open, and a hint of surprise shed past them.
''Is it time?'' This pair of eyes belonged to none other than Ace''s Avatar of Holy Twilight, whom he left here before he left for the AIG Sect.
Ace naturally wants the Crimson tinum because it was one of the materials to upgrade the Eternal Thief Fate Compass, but it wasn''t ready when he found it, and he can''t wait here since he doesn''t know how much time it would take for it to manifest, and he has many things to take care of.
But it didn''t mean he would give up. In fact, Ace had already nned on sending his Avatar of Holy Twilight here once he sorted out things and upgraded it, and he just did that. Moreover, the Avatar of Holy Twilight was special as it was also his biggest trump card that could help him escape if he fell into any danger.
Now, it''s been over six months since the Avatar of Holy Twilight sneaked back into this ce andy in wait for the Crimson tinum to manifest. It was alsoprehendingws for Ace, making his cultivation progress faster.
Today was just another day, but it seemed his wait was over. As the Crimson tinum was nearing its manifestation, an ominous change began to stir above the cinder cone.
But Ace didn''t move as he attentively observes everything since he knew he only had one chance at this and he was waiting for the right opportunity!
But he didn''t expect the manifestation of the Crimson tinum would cause such a scene. The ash-filled skies that had once been still now churned violently as if the very air was igniting with anticipation.
The clouds, thick with soot and embers, twisted into a vortex of fire, casting a reddish glow that bathed the entirendscape in an eerie crimson hue. A strange, supernatural phenomenon enveloped the silent volcano, signaling the beginning of the final stage of the Crimson tinum''s birth.
Suddenly, a low hum vibrated through the caldera, resonating deep into the ground. From within the mouth of the long-dormant volcano, Crimson tinum began to rise.
Slowly, as if reluctant to leave its fiery cradle, the molten metal floated upward, defying gravity. Its surface shimmered like liquid fire, a radiant blend of molten silver and deep scarlet. The temperature in the vicinity soared, but the heat wasn''t oppressive; it was filled with the essence of pure Fire Law, potent and undeniable.
The Crimson tinum wasn''t just any metal-it was alive with power-a Spirit Metal, one of the primary materials to forge a Spirit Weapon!
As it hovered above the volcanic mouth, it greedily absorbed the potent Fire Laws in the atmosphere, glowing brighter with each passing moment. The surrounding air seemed to tremble as waves of heat and energy rippled outward.
A mesmerizing dance of fire element particles swirled around the floating metal, drawn to it like moths to a me.
Not only did the Crimson tinum feed on the ambient fire energy, but the volcano below responded in kind. Spirit Crimson Lava-the very lifeblood of the volcano, rich with spiritual essence-began to bubble up. This Spirit Crimson Lava was born with the Crimson tinum and has been nurtured along with it.
Thick streams of glowing redva surged upward, flowing toward the hovering metal as though summoned by a spirit metal. The Crimson tinum eagerly drank in this molten energy, the glowing liquid merging into its form toplete its final stage of manifestation. Nearby, the Mountain Tyrant had also appeared at the foot of the mountain. The volcanic spirit beast that had safeguarded the metal''s growth for so long stirred as the process began. Its mission wasplete. The massive, imposing creature, with scales like molten rock and eyes burning with fiery wisdom, retreated toward the far side of the cinder cone.
As the Crimson tinum absorbed the Spirit Lava and Fire Laws, the Mountain Tyrant''s cultivation surged. mes swirled around its body, signaling the culmination of the long- sought benefits it had patiently awaited.
Its power expanded rapidly, reaching heights it had long desired. This was the reason the Mountain Tyrant had guarded the Crimson tinum so diligently-this very moment when it would receive the pure mes ofw.
Now, having fulfilled its role, the Mountain Tyrant calmly observed the ongoing manifestation, knowing that any interference during this critical stage would be disastrous for both the spirit metal and itself.
The beast let out a low rumble of satisfaction before disappearing into the shadows of the volcano, leaving the Crimson tinum toplete its final transformation and start its long-awaited breakthrough to Ascension Grand General Realm!
It didn''t seem to be worried about any disturbance because me Elder Emil had arranged many powerful formations, and he wasn''t nning on alerting Emil as well, not until hepleted his breakthrough.
Ace naturally noticed this, and his expression was grave because if the Mountain Tyrant seeded, it would be impossible for him to kill it and take revenge for Cyrus.
Nheless, he didn''t let his personal vendetta cloud his judgment. After all, now that Mountain Tyrant had left for its breakthrough, the Crimson tinum would be unguarded, and he could grab it easily.
Ace was sure that once Elder Emil found that Crimson tinum was gone, he wouldn''t spare Mountain Tyrant, and they might even fight with each other. So, he again pays attention to the Crimson tinum, which was nowpletely manifested.
Hovering above the caldera, the Crimson tinum was a sight to behold. Its surface was polished to a mirror-like shine, with veins of molten fire coursing just beneath its metallic
exterior.
It seemed as though the metal was breathing, pulsing with life, its surface swirling with an inner heat that defied the natural world. Shaped like a jagged gemstone, the Crimson tinum radiated raw elemental power, embodying firew itself.
The sky crackled with fiery arcs of energy, and the ground beneath quivered as the spirit metal hovered silently, absorbing thest of the Spirit Crimson Lava. The final moments of its manifestation were approaching, and it was bing clear that no mortal or beast would dare interrupt this awe-inspiring spectacle.
The Crimson tinum was on the cusp of reaching its perfected state, and once it did, its power would be coveted by all who sought this top-tier Spirit Metal, but s, there was no one here topete for it with Ace.
Ace''s moment has arrived. Sensing the exact moment of the Crimson tinum''spletion, Ace directly activated his divine trait''s ability, ''Soul Body Sweep!''
Chapter 1223: Stealing the Crimson Platinum!
Chapter 1223: Stealing the Crimson tinum!
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The moment Ace activated the Soul Body Sweep, his real body instantly reced his avatar! The Soul Body Sweep allows him to sweep position with his main body with the sacrifice of half of his Spirit Qi and also hide within the Avatar''s true soul. This ability was Ace''s biggest trump card and the reason he was so fearless of roaming in the AIG Sect and doing reckless thieves openly.
Although the Avatar of Holy Twilight can use any soul skill/spell, Ace doesn''t have any useful ascension-grade soul spells at the moment, so he has toe here personally.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Moreover, Ace had already achieved his goal in the AIG sect, learning all about spirit forging he could and even developing his own technique using the epiphany pills. However, he didn''t dare forge using his Heavenly Spirit Qi or Demonic ck Spirit Fire in the AIG Sect because he knew he was under the watchful gaze of everyone, especially the Sect Master and, most likely, the Sect Spirit Guardian.
He was already nning to sweep his body with his avatar and forge into this hidden ce where no one was watching. The Crimson tinum manifested at the right time, and now he can get the crimson tinum and then hide himself in the forbidden zone of the Spirit Inferno Domain where no one would find him.
As for his Avatar, he wasn''t worried since all he needed to do was remain in seclusion in his courtyard, and no one would discover any anomaly unless they barged in. Although the Avatar of Holy Twilight also had grade-9 disguise treasure, that can''t escape the sharp senses of Law State cultivators.
Ace also had another n if the Avatar was exposed, and he left many things behind to make sure no one would suspect anything. Not to mention, the Avatar could continue to study andprehend thest part of the jade scroll that the Sect Master gave him.
Once Ace appeared, George''s face was gone and reced with a dark mask, and his robes started changing into their authentic form. Ace swept his hood on his head, and using the Twilight Traverse with stealth, he quickly reached the mountain''s foot. As he got closer, he could feel dense firew, and he even sensed powerful Spirit Qi fluctuation.
"That Mountain Tyrant will soon break through; I have to hurry!'' Ace''s expression was solemn. He knew Mountain Tyrant would soon step into the Ascension Grand General Realm, and the beast seemed to be waiting for this exact opportunity.
Ace carefully ascended the mountain, which was no longer shimmering like before. It had turned into an empty husk after the Crimson tinum was born, and Spirit Metal was still absorbing thews in the vicinity.
Ace had read about the Spirit Metal. They had their own instincts, and the older the Spirit Metal, the more difficult it was to acquire it. Some powerful Spirit Metal could even escape or attack anyone who dares toe after them.
Crimson tinum was just born, and it had not developed its instincts yet, at least not at the level where it would cause anyone trouble. So, Ace can easily subdue it.
However, Ace didn''t go towards the peak of the volcano because he didn''t need to. Once the Crimson tinum was in range, Ace suddenly performed a grabbing motion as his heavenly spirit Qi suddenly stirred.
The next moment, right above the Crimson tinum, the space suddenly wrapped, and instantly, a lightning-fast shadow seemed to grab the Crimson tinum, and the next moment, it vanished!
Ace looked at his hand and saw the Crimson tinum. It was scorching like he was holding a sun in his hand, so he quickly sent it to his Thief''s Space before he burned his hand.
The Absolute Pickpocket was simply too fast, and even the Spirit Metal was unable to react before it was captured by Ace. As Ace''s cultivation increased, the Absolute Pickpocket became more powerful.
But he didn''t receive any TP since the Crimson tinum was still no one''s property, so the system didn''t consider it a thievery. Ace didn''t care too much about it since he already had another material to upgrade the Eternal Thief Fate Compass!
Now, he only needs to find the Lighting Wyrm Beast Core, Soul Gold, and Time-Space Segment. From the Sea of Secrets, he already knows where he could find the Lighting Wyrm Beast Core, a light element spirit beast.
While the Soul Gold and Time Space Segment were still a mystery, the Sea of Secrets had information about them, and as long as his secret level was sufficient, he would get it, not to mention that he had already put someone on it.
Ace could still feel the lingering fiery sensation in his hand, which had grabbed the Crimson tinum. He mused that it was another Ascension Soldier; they would''ve been instantly turned to ashes if they hadid their hands on the Crimson tinum.
"Who?!!" A thunderous voice filled with killing intent suddenly reverberated in the cinder cone. It was none other than Mountain Tyrant!
Ace''s expression changed slightly as he instantly sensed that the densews in the cinder cone had almost vanished now that the Crimson tinum had been removed. This enraged the Mountain Tyrant since it would significantly obstruct its breakthrough.
How could Mountain Tyrant take it sitting? After all, it has been nning this for a very long time and putting a lot of time into nurturing the Crimson tinum for this exact opportunity to not only break through but also get a higher chance of evolving and breaking the bloodline shackle.
The moment Ace realized this, instead of feeling apprehensive, a cruel smile appeared on his face, ''What could be a better revenge than cutting off your cultivation path?''
As the mountain started to tremble under Mountain Tyrant''s rage, Ace snickered, activated all the thief symbol summing abilities, and bolted towards the cinder cone opening. Nothing could detect or stop him now.
The moment Ace took flight, a massive volcanic eruption urred, sting the entire crimson mountain apart. This revealed the colossal Inferno Two-Headed Bull with bloodshot eyes, itsw sense spreading all over the cinder cone as it furiously searched for the person who robbed him of his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
But as time passed, Mountain Tyrant''s killing intent became denser, as the entire cinder cone''s temperature rose and the ground started to melt under the beast''s fury.
Mountain Tyrant finally couldn''t take it and took out a talisman. He activated it before he roared, "Emil, get your ass here!"
Chapter 1224: Inner Sect Elder Emil!
Chapter 1224: Inner Sect Elder Emil!
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Just a few minutester, after the theft of Crimson tinum, a tall, wizened human with long crimson hair and donned in long crimson robes appeared; it was none other than the Inner Court Elder of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect, Elder Emil.
Elder Emil was one of the few elders who didn''t hail from the four ns; nheless, he was still part of a n that had been under the Oriente n''s rule for six generations.
This means that his n ancestor achieved inner-sect elder status on his own before the Oriente n took him under its wing. After Emil achieved the Ascension Master Realm, he and his n got to enjoy the fruits of his ancestor''sbor because of his ancestor''s connection with the Oriente n.
There were many such cases in the AIG Sect, like Emil and his n, especially in the inner sect court of the AIG sect because that was the ce where the four ns normally recruited members for their ns, who were actually servants and guards. Only those who could climb their way into the Chief Hall Court could join the four n branches or even the main n, depending on their talent and importance.
Emil, because of his Inner Sect Elder status, was also in the Oriente n''s good books, and that''s why he was even given a Hall Elder position in the Inner Sect''s Inferno me Hall, which was slightly higher than an ordinary Inner me Elder.
But Emil was always ambitious. He wanted to join the main n of the Oriente n because he knew it was the only way to truly enter the upper echelon of the AIG Sect and have a truly powerful backing.
However, he knew it was impossible because his talent was only above average. He had exhausted itpletely after reaching the 1-Star Ascension Master Realm (4th Realm), and there was no more hope for any breakthrough unless he stumbled upon some heaven-defying opportunity before his lifespan ran out.N?v(el)B\\jnn
In Early Law State Stages (Ascension Soldier, Warrior, and Grand General), one''s lifespan increased by 10,000 years every time one breaks into a new realm until one reaches the Ascension Master Realm.
This also marks the start of the Intermediate Law State (Ascension Master, Grandmaster, Guardian). In the realms of Intermediate Law Stages, each realm provides a lifespan of 20,000 until they enter the Late Law Stages (7th, 8th, and 9th Realms).
However, each stage of the Law State was extremely difficult to cross because, at each stage, one had to undergo a Heavenly Law Tribtion, which was a hundred times worse than the Heavenly Tribtion. One also needed to cross the Elemental State and be a Law State. Like the three stages of the Law State, the Heavenly Law Tribtion was divided into Early, Intermediate, and Late Stages. It was rumored that thete stage of the Heavenly Law Tribtion needed to be crossed at the eighth realm if someone wanted to reach the 9th ascension realm because it was the peak of the Law State. The following state was above it, and the heavenly tribtion would be even more dreadful!
Anyhow, every cultivator fears the Heavenly Tribtion, and they make ample preparations before they undergo any of it. Some sects even have special treasures and formations that can greatly increase their chances of crossing the heavenly tribtion.
But still, there was always a 90% chance of one dying in Heavenly Law Tribtions if they didn''t have the resolve of a true cultivator, and that''s why some people didn''t dare to undergo Heavenly Law Tribtion for their whole lives and waited for their final years before taking their chances.
Now, Emil was one such cultivator who didn''t have the guts to undergo the Heavenly Law Tribtion of Early Law State because he was afraid of death and knew he wouldn''t be able to cross it. He was also not influential enough that the Sect or Oriente n would provide him with help to undergo this tribtion.
After all, it wasn''t cheap to go against thew of heaven, and the things that were capable of it were very rare and precious. The AIG Sect had a Law Tribtion tform for earlyw state heavenly tribtion that could increase the chances of someone crossing into the
intermediate state by 15%.
But using ites at a huge cost, and the entire wealth of an Inner Sect Elder wasn''t enough unless they had connections or performed an achievement worthy of the price.
In the end, Emil didn''t have any, so in his final years, he left the sect to try his luck and undergo the tribtion because if he somehow seeded, he would have 20,000 years of lifespan again, a gamble that he had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
By some miracle, he really seeded and became an Ascension Master, but suppressing his cultivation and dying the tribtion for such a long timepletely ruined his talent, and he could no longer break through further.
This was an effect of dying one''s breakthrough, especially a breakthrough rted to the Heavenly Tribtion. Every sect knew this, and that''s why a sect would not let its members'' talents dy such breakthroughs and help them cross the heavenly tribtion as soon as possible before it affected their talents.
Still, the person should also have the guts to face the Heavenly Tribtion. Otherwise, no matter how much effort or resources the others put into it, it would be meaningless and wasted because of a crucial factor of the Heavenly Law Tribtion.
Anyhow, at that time, before he undergoes the life and death struggle, he stumbled upon the Beast Cmity Mountain Range and discovered the Crimson tinum Mountain guarded by Mountain Tyrant.
At that time, the beast was only at the peak of the Ascension Soldier Realm, and with Emil''s prowess as a peak Ascension Grand General, the Mountain Tyrant had no choice but to submit to him.
Furthermore, Emil knew what crimson tinum was, a Spirit Metal that could make Spirit Treasures. From the moment he discovered it, he knew it was an opportunity for him to cultivate further as long as he could exchange it for alchemy treasures that could rejuvenate his cultivation talent to some extent.
But at that time, the Crimson tinum wasn''t even born yet. It was only in its embryo state, so Emil knew if he wanted to benefit from it, he could only do it if he were able to live long enough, and if he told anyone about it, there was a risk of getting backstabbed.
So, he decided to leave it to fate and undergo the tribtion. If he seeded, he would have a way to further cultivate once the Crimson tinum was born, and in the end, he seeded.
It''s been over three thousand years since he had undergone his firstw tribtion, and the Crimson tinum was almost in his clutches.
Yet, at this moment, what he saw made him bewildered. The crimson tinum mountain was raised to debris without any trace of the Spirit Metal, and at this moment, a colossal silhouette appeared right in front of him, roaring, "Emil! Where is the Crimson tinum!?" ''It''s not an illusion?!'' Emil snapped out of his stupor and looked at Mountain Tyrant, who was looking at him with bloodshot eyes as if Emil had murdered his entire race.
Startled at first, he quickly felt rage and anger take over as he instantly released his spiritual pressure, filled with fiery heat, on the Mountain Tyrant and Beast. Despite being so close to reaching the Ascension Grand General, the beast was no match for Emil''s Ascension Master cultivation and plummeted to the ground under Emil''s pressure.
Emil''s emitted terrifying killing intent as he icily questioned, "Where the fuck is MY crimson tinum!?"
The situation instantly reversed, and because of its own anger, Mountain Tyrant lost his reasons andpletely forgot that he was no match for Emil. Just like Mountain Tyrant considered the Crimson tinum his life, Emil was the same!
Mountain Tyrant failed to consider the consequences of Emil discovering the absence of Crimson tinum. He should''ve escaped while it could, but now, it was all over!
Chapter 1225: Everlasting Endearment Palace!
Chapter 1225: Evesting Endearment Pce!
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A few hundred miles away, Ace was going into the depths of the forbidden region of the Spirit Inferno Domain. He knew his way around since it was his second time in this ce.
Although he didn''t know why this ce was called the forbidden region and protected by the AIG sect, there was no information about this in the sect at all. Everyone only knew that as long as the AIG sect existed, this region has always been a forbidden region, and only the higher-ups of the sect might know the truth behind this ce,
Nevertheless, for Ace, this was a perfect ce to flee and hide from the prying eyes, and now that he had stolen the Crimson tinum, this was perfect to lie low for a while.
''Oh, he''s here!'' Ace''s eyes shed coldly when he sensed the spirit Qi around him suddenly turn restless. He could feel the vague undtions ofwsing from the same direction as the Crimson tinum Mountain.
Ace knew Emil was probably called by Mountain Tyrant here after the dumb beast failed to find him and lost its reasons. But Ace knew Emil wouldn''t be amiable after he saw the Crimson tinum was gone, and the first target of his anger would be none other than the Mountain Tyrant.
Furthermore, Ace wasn''t worried about being discovered as long as his thief symbol summoning abilities were still active. By the time Emil was done with the Mountain Tyrant and started searching for the thief, Ace would be far away.
Ace can also just use the Soul Body Sweep again and summon himself back to his avatar''s truth soul, which would make it much easier. But by doing so, he won''t have a way out of the Sect if he falls into some dangerous situation.
Furthermore, even if he went back, he would have to send the Avatar out again, which was even more dangerous because of all the eyes on him, so he didn''t want to take this risk and resolve it by his thievish means.
As time passed, Ace headed deeper and deeper into the forbidden region, and his invisibility finally ran out. But there was no trace of Emil, which could only mean he had sessfully escaped.
But Ace still didn''t stop and continued to go deeper until his other summoning abilities ran out of time. When Ace descended, he was in the middle of nowhere, and not far away from his position, rivers ofvas spread through the volcandscape.
The temperature was extremely high, and the Spirit Qi was extremely thin. For some reason, it felt a little suffocating, and Ace started to wonder if this was why this ce was a forbidden region.
After all,st time, Ace didn''te so far away. Still, he didn''t care much since it wasn''t a big deal as he started setting up all kinds of formations before he opened the door to the thief''s house and directly entered his House Leader Chamber, which was unaffected by the outside environment.
The moment Ace entered the House Leader Chamber, a warm smile appeared on his face. He felt cozy looking at the dark castle surrounded by a beautifulndscape and fields of lush trees and flowers. This was the handy work of his women, especially Eva, who told him that this was their home, so it needed to look like one.
She even secretly named this Castle Evesting Endearment Pce, and Ace had no say in this despite his embarrassment. He even had to take the responsibility of making sure Alina would ept it and that this name was his idea.
Thinking about all of this, Ace felt somewhatplicated since he had always been on adventures, and the concept of home was rather blurry to him. So, this ce brought some good changes to his mentality.
Still, Ace felt it was somewhat empty, and he knew why he was feeling this way because this ce had no meaning without his loved ones. He thought for a moment and sent a house call while walking towards the entrance of the Castle.
Almost instantly, the call was epted, and a seductive yet indignant voice rang, "Hmph, you finally remembered me, huh? Could it be you got dumped by some Harlot, and it finally urred to you that you have a wife?"
Ace was momentarily stumped by this ridiculous usation and felt wrong, but he still remembered that he had told Eva that he would call her every month or two. He was so busy with the AIG sect that he almost forgot.
"Ahem, I swear there is no feminine involvement here, and I was stuck with the matters of Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect, so I wasn''t able to contact you. So, it was my fault, and I would like to apologize to mydy in person if you can grant me the honor to make amends?" Ace smiled as he entered the castle and headed towards the bedroom. He had a hint of anticipation in his eyes, waiting for Eva''s reply.
"Heh, why do I feel you''re up to no good?" Eva yfully asked, but she no longer sounded aggrieved.
"How could I? I just want to make amends. I swear by the Heavens!" Ace righteously snickered.
"Hahahah..." A peal ofughter suddenly rang, "I would believe you if you''ve sworn by the Abysses, but swearing in the name of your enemy, who''re you kidding, Mister Heaven''s Stealer?"
Ace merely shrugged his shoulders. "Well, it was worth trying. Who knows, my sin would be enough to drag down my enemy?"
"You''re really something, huh?" Eva giggled, "But I liked it. However, I can''te there at the moment. I''m a little bit upied."N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace raised his eyebrow. Knowing Eva''s personality, he knew she wouldn''t miss this chance to be with him. He dropped the act as he asked, with worry, "What are you doing? Is it dangerous? Have I interrupted you at a bad time?"
"Who do you think I am?" Eva clearly sounded unhappy for being underestimated, but a hint of joy was clear in her voice since Ace was worried about her as she tenderly replied, "You see, I got this mission from the Thief House, and I''ve been working on it for months now. I finally found a clue with the help of my capable maids. But this clue is rather troublesome and hard to get a hold of."
"However, I set a trap, and I think it''s about to be triggered, so I can''t leave right now, or all my efforts will be wasted, and I won''t get any reward. Tsk, I''m telling you the Abyss is really a barren cepared to the lively heaven."
Ace narrowed his eyes and felt bad, as he could sense the loneliness in Eva''s voice, "You don''t have to do any of this, you know that, right? Juste back. Your presence is more than enough help for me, "he solemnly stated.
"I know, but it still wants to do this. You don''t need to me yourself. I chose this on my own, and after I entered the Abyss, I felt it was fate because I was thriving here. So, don''t worry. I''m fine; you should just focus on yourself. Besides, if I fall into any danger, I''ll make sure to give you a chance to save me." Eva lovingly said as her voice was filled with love and soothing tenderness.
Ace could only sigh helplessly. He knew Eva was doing all of this for him, and he med himself for dragging her into all of this. Yet he was also proud of her and gratified to have her in his life.
With undying determination, he dered, "Don''t worry, I''ll save you even if I have toe to the abyss myself!"
Chapter 1226: A Band of Thieves!
Chapter 1226: A Band of Thieves!
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Afterward, Ace chatted with Eva for a while before reluctantly cutting the call. He ruefully sighed, "What kind of mission did the system give her?"
Ace became curious and couldn''t help but open the Thief House Panel and look at Eva''s member panel. He was satisfied when he noticed her growth. She was already an ascension warrior, which means she wasn''t lying when she told him that she was thriving in the abyss.
Soon, Ace saw the active mission on her status panel, and upon reading the details, he was surprised, ''Find the most powerful authority of the Abyss of Wandering Soul, and the reward is a direct rank upgrade? The Abyss of Wandering Soul should be the name of the first abyss, but why would she need to find this authority? Are they hidden? Nheless, Eva''s missions differ from those of the other house members. The position of Abyssal Architect Thief is not simple...''
Ace grimaced. He knew how system missions worked: the higher the reward, the more dangerous a mission would be. Although Eva didn''t tell him anything rted to the mission because she didn''t want to make him worry, he still couldn''t help it.
In the end, he could only hope that she would be alright and call for help if she fell into a dangerous situation.
Thereafter, Ace curiously checked the other house members'' statuses. Alina was also a Normal Member now, which means she might have already taken care of her n.
Then he looked at Noa''s status, and he was again surprised when he found that not only had her cultivation grown, but she also had an active system mission. He quickly read the mission details, and he was astounded.
''This... how interesting...'' Ace''s eyes shimmered with intrigue. He quickly checked Freya and Winter''s status as well, and just as he suspected, they also had system missions.
''System had never given them these kinds of missions. Could it be because they are now intermediate thieves with high member ranking, or is it rted to Mortal Ascension Heaven?
''Furthermore, their missions are all rted to the information I have given them before. Is the system following my will? Well, I was nning on giving them simr missions after I gathered some TP, but the system beat me to it. It''s not like I''mining. Tsk, but no one informed me or sought my help. It''s not like I won''t help them or anything...''
Ace felt vexed at the senior members''ck of trust, but then he chuckled. He knew those girls were proud, just like Eva, and they always secretlypeted with each other, so they wouldn''t ask for his help unless it was thest option.
After going through the house member status panels, Ace decided to give a call to Freya first because her mission was something Ace was most interested in.
After a few seconds, the call was picked up, and Freya''s charming voice rang. "Oh, I thought I was hallucinating for a moment. To what do I owe the pleasure of this secret call from our enigmatic leader? Is it business or something else?"
Ace sighed helplessly as he thought he was surrounded by entrics. He started to wonder if he was an entric ma or something, and for some reason, Freya''sst words sounded wrong in many ways.
"Can we please not?" Ace sighed helplessly, "How are you doing?"
"Hehe..." Freya giggled teasingly, "Truth be told, I''m not doing fine at all. The task you gave me is simply too difficult. The Sea of Secrets is almost impossible to infiltrate. But since our leader needed me to do it and thought I would be perfect for this job, I''m not giving up. If that''s what you want to hear." Ace ignored her useless remarks. He knew this shrewd woman wouldn''t do anything unless there were benefits involved, and he knew she even enjoyed this kind of mission, which challenged her intelligence. Not to mention, he knew it was no longer just a task for him
alone!
"As I''ve told you, the Sea of Secrets is a very secretive organization, and it won''t be easy to infiltrate its ranks. Even the AIG sect wants to form a connection with them, but they have always been very careful about who they choose to contact.
"Capturing their attention was a fluke on my part, but I can''t say my stealing abilities were the only reason they gave me passage. Did you try doing the same thing?" Ace asked.
"Oh, I did more than just that, but they still won''t let me in. So, now I''m starting to wonder if they were after something or if they might''ve discovered something about you to give you their membership so easily, just like you''re suspecting.
"But no worries, as I said, I''m not going to give up. The more they act like this, the more I want to join them and take everything from them!" Freya''s voice was icy, and Ace felt she was angry.
So, Ace didn''tment on this and warned her, "Just don''t do anything reckless. Sea of Secrets probably had the backing of a King Grade Sect since they had information about them. Since King Sects are elusive existences, it would be hard to join them. But we must avoid their irony until we are powerful enough to tackle them."
"I know, but I think I have found a way to draw the Sea of Secrets'' attention." Freya suddenly revealed in a mystified tone.
Ace was astounded, "What is it?"
Instead of answering Ace, Freya asked ambiguously, "What do you think about the Prime Heavenly Bank?"
"The wealthiest power of the entire Mortal Ascension Heave, at least that''s what everything called them, and I think they weren''t wrong since Spirit Coins are epted everywhere. Even the AIG sect used them for trading.
"But Prime Heavenly Bank should also be a King Grade existence and might be even more powerful than the Sea of Secrets because they are literally controlling the currency of the Mortal Ascension Heaven.
"Please tell me you''re not nning on provoking the Prime Heavenly Bank at this stage?" Ace asked with a hint of peculiar light in his eyes because when Freya mentioned the Prime Heavenly Bank, he suddenly thought of something.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Freya replied, "Actually, it''s not me. To tell you the truth, I''ve been spreading my influence in the ck Market, and you should be surprised to hear it. However, the ck Market also exists, like the Sea of Secrets and Prime Heavenly Bank; it is everywhere.
"The ck Market worked in the dark, and their ways are unorthodox. This is a haven for all sorts of criminals, and no one dares to make any trouble because there are many powerful existences behind the ck Market as well.
"Although I have yet to discover who is behind the ck Market, whoever it is, they are making wealth as easy as drinking water, and their wealth might be no less than the Prime Heavenly Bank and informationwork like the Sea of Secrets. After all, why would a power like Sea of Secrets only make branches in the ck Market, right?"
Now, Ace''s interest was finally piqued since he wasn''t expecting the ck Market to be a hidden giant, and he was even more d that he had assigned Freya this task.
"You did good work. But it had to do anything to the Prime Heavenly Bank?" Ace asked again.
"Hehe, when I was poking around the ck Market, I found something very interesting. There is a band of thieves called themselves the Nightfall Ravenhood. They had quite a notorious reputation in the ck Market, and Prime Heavenly Bank hates their guts. "Because the Nightfall Ravenhood had raided many of Prime Heavenly Bank branches over the years and stole who knows how much from them. One of the pieces of information I gathered even states that the Nightfall Ravenhood once stole an extremely precious treasure from the Prime Heavenly Bank that made the Prime Heavenly Bank destroy a second-grade sect in fury because they suspected that the Nightfall Ravenhood got the information from this sect." Freya revealed with a hint of excitement.
Ace was also astounded when he heard about this Nightfall Ravenhood, a band of thieves with such a reputation. They seemed as famous as him when he was in the Mortal Sky Heaven. Furthermore, from their deeds, they seemed strong enough to go against the Prime Heavenly Bank. Although Ace knew that once he became slightly more powerful, he could also do the same, it was his first time hearing about a band of thieves with achievements far higher than his own. A strangepetitive feeling aroused in Ace''s heart at this moment. "Don''t tell me you found the Nightfall Ravenhood, and they are nning to rob another Prime Heavenly Bank?" Ace asked with a hint of anticipation.
"How could that be? Those guys are as elusive as you. You can say they are the Sky Stealer of Mortal Ascension Heaven. But they never target anyone other than the Prime Heavenly Bank for some reason.
"I have more information about them. If you''re interested, you can summon me, and I can exin everything, including my n because I need your help with this!"
Ace thought momentarily before his eyes shimmered with enthusiasm, "Alright, I also want to hear more about this Nightfall Ravenhood. I''m summoning you now!"
Chapter 1227: White Raven!
Chapter 1227: White Raven!
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In the main hall of the Evesting Endearment Pce, Ace was sitting on a throne-like chair at the top of a long obsidian jade table. Freya, adorned in avender dress, showing off her perfect figure and bewitched face, was sitting right next to him on one of the two thrones at the same level while she poured him a drink with an enthralling smile.
Normally, these two thrones belonged to Eva and Alina since those two arranged these sitting positions, but since they were not here, Ace didn''t think much of it and let Freya sit whenever she wanted.
Ace summoned Freya here using the new thief house''s function, the House Meeting. This function lets him summon the house members from any distance after he spends 100,000 House Points for a hundred minutes, and they return automatically to their initial
summoning positions.
But the House Meeting had a cooldown of sixty days for each member he summoned, which means, after today, he won''t be able to summon Freya before the 60-day cooldown period has passed.
Ace had already told everyone about the House Meeting function, which was exclusive to him, so the house members would know they could contact Ace to save themselves from any dangerous situation.
This function can also be used in other ways. Right now, Freya used it to give Ace all the information she had gathered from the ck market, which would''ve taken too long on the house call, within a minute using a Jade Scroll.
Speaking of Jade Scrolls, it turned out that normal Jade Scrolls were amonmodity among the Law Statemunity. They were sold in markets all over Mortal Ascension Heaven and made by 1-Star Spirit Rune Crafters.
Still, thesemonly sold Jade Scrolls were of the lowest quality, and the higher ones with other features were not sold in the market, or one at least needed contacts to acquire them.
Freya was using thesemon jade scrolls to stow all the knowledge from her knowledge sea that she wanted to divulge to Ace, and he was going through it all.
But Freya suddenly pulled wine sses and started pouring him drink, which made Ace somewhat uneasy. He knew this cunning woman was up to no good and might be scheming. Still, he acted like nothing was out of the ordinary and focused on the information he got.
Ace picked up the wine ss and took a sip. He was surprised when he found dense spirit Qi in it, but what surprised him most was the intoxicating, strong taste.
"Where did you get this wine from?" Ace asked curiously.
Freya smiled with a hint of pride. She seemed pretty happy about Ace liking the wine. She replied, "I know Leader likes wine, so I paid a ''visit'' to a famous wine collector in the ck market and ''asked'' him nicely, and he gave me everything he had."
Ace instantly understood the hidden meaning behind Freya''s words. He pulled a wary yet acknowledging smile and joked, "If you''d shown your face, then there is no way he''ll decline your ''request."
Freya was startled. Her golden eyes shimmered with a peculiar glint, and she asked, in a soft tone with a hint of expectation, "So, you''re admitting I''m beautiful?"
"Of course you are," Ace answered without hesitation as he looked deeply in Freya''s eyes, suddenly making her avert them. He smiled victoriously, "Alright, enough for ying around. I''ve retained everything in the jade scroll, and I must admit, this Nightfall Ravenhood is really worthy of being thieves."
"We had never encountered such a proficient and disciplined group in thefts. Based on all the information, their every theft was performed almost wlessly. I can only imagine how much preparation and scouting they had done before pulling these thefts.
"I might be willing to befriend the leader of Nightfall Ravenhood if our paths crossed and he''s not insisting on bing our enemy." Ace''s praise was genuine, from a thief to a thief. In Mortal Sky Heaven, Ace has inspired many thieves and even knows an organization has been formed after him. But Ace never admired them since they followed in his footsteps. However, if the information about their debut was correct, Nightfall Ravenhood was active in the Mortal Ascension Heaven for over two thousand years.
In a sense, the Nightfall Ravenhood''s Leader is his senior, and after reading all the information about the leader, he acknowledged it.
Freya looked at Ace with a hint of disappointment when he changed the topic, but she didn''t show it. She pulled her yful smile again as she nodded, "Indeed, I think the same, and there is another simrity between the Nightfall Ravenhood and you. Look at this."
Freya then took out a ck scroll and opened it in front of Ace. The moment Ace saw the contents of the scroll, his eyes instantly narrowed with astonishment and disbelief.
On the ck scroll was a picture of a vivid white raven, spreading its wings as if about to take flight. It was holding a golden coin with its sharp talons, and two words were written on this golden coin: ''White Raven''.
Freya exined without needing Ace to speak since she could tell what he was thinking because her reaction was the same.
"Quite surprising, right? This Raven''s posture is just like your Owl symbol, with the only difference being the coin gripped in its talons. Apparently, this White Raven is the brandmark of the Nightfall Ravenhood.
"But unlike your Owl Thief Symbol, which can appear on another person''s body or the location of theft and can''t be removed, the White Raven is a sculpture made of precious White Rainbow Crystals that the Nightfall Ravenhood leaves on their theft locations.
"Furthermore, Nightfall Ravenhood never steals from any individual as they only target the Prime Heavenly Bank, so no one knows how many members they had, but it is confirmed that there are more than one, and there is a rumor that the White Raven is the alias of the Leader of Nightfall Ravenhood, but it is not confirmed," Freya revealed with a hint of curiosity.
As a woman, the more mysterious things are, the more she feels attracted to them. Since the Nightfall Ravenhood''s White Raven could possibly rival the Sky Stealer, she was even more interested in this band of thieves.
Nheless, she never considered them an opponent for Ace but only his stepping stone since she knew Ace had gathered his fame in a very short time, and once his power grew to a sufficient level, he would be even more infamous than the Nightfall Ravenhood''s White
Raven.N?v(el)B\\jnn
But it wasn''t Ace''s main concern as he looked at the white raven. No matter how he thought about it, it just looked the same as his thief symbol when he acquired it, and it had evolved two times. Now, that Devilish Wise Owl was quite different and far more imposing.
Still, this matter irked him as he looked at Freya and asked, "Are you suspecting that Nightfall Ravenhood might be rted to our lineage?"
Freya nodded thoughtfully as she said, "I think there must be some connection, but they are clearly not on the same level as your Heaven''s Stealer lineage, or they won''t be leaving just sculptures and stealing from only one target all this time.
"My theory is someone might''ve found another Heaven''s Stealer inheritance or something rted to it, and this person is most likely the White Raven, who is using it for revenge or personal vendetta against the Prime Heavenly Bank.
"After all, you''ve told us there were previous Heaven''s Stealers, right? So, it won''t be wrong to assume they might''ve left some inheritance behind or treasures. But they are just spections since we don''t have any urate information about Heaven''s Stealer."
Ace nodded,pletely agreeing with Freya. However, he also knew more about it and believed that there could only be a single Heaven''s Stealer at a time unless there were more Eternal Thief Systems.
Even if some Heaven''s Stealers leave behind the exclusive cultivation technique, it is
impossible to cultivate without the system. So, he didn''t think there was another Heaven''s Stealer out there, and the White Raven of Nightfall Ravenhood was definitely not one.
So, he also agreed with Freya''s conjectured Nightfall Ravenhood, finding something rted to the previous Heaven''s Stealer that might also be the reason for their rise. Furthermore, now that he knew there was such a thing, he wanted to get his hands on it because this might be helpful to him or reveal some secrets.
If before he treated the Nightfall Ravenhood as rivals he needed to surpass, this revtion made them the target he needed to steal from!
Chapter 1228: The Plan of Robbery!
Chapter 1228: The n of Robbery!
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Ace said at this moment while looking at Freya, "Let me guess your n. You want to raid the branch of Prime Heavenly Bank, right? That''s why you need my help.
"As for how it is rted to the Sea of Secrets, after learning all this information, I supposed the Sea of Secrets gave me the membership because of my thief symbol and its resemnce to the White Raven.
"They either think that I''m part of Nightfall Ravenhood or somehow rted to them. In fact, they might want something in Nightfall Ravenhood possession and want my help with it if they confirm I''m from the Nightfall Ravenhood. Am I right?" Ace asked with a casual smile before he picked up his wine ss.
Freya''s eyes shed with a hint of surprise before she smiled charmingly, "Are you sure you don''t have any mind-reading ability? You reached this conclusion so quickly."
Ace shrugged his shoulders and chucked, "Even if I had one, I wouldn''t use it on you guys. I respect the house members'' privacy and your secrets. Anyway, I still won''t understand how you would use this to join the Sea of Secrets. If you reveal that you are with me, they will consider you my partner or subordinate and give you the same membership you gave me. How are you going to tackle this problem?"
Freya nodded in acknowledgment as she replied, "That''s the thing, actually. The Sea of Secrets deals with information, and they are very secretive about it. But they are, after all, an organization that also needs people to run it, and I don''t think any information organization would just ignore a talent who could gather information even if they can''t."
Freya pulled a cold smile filled with scheming snark, "I just need to make sure they notice me, and once that happens, I''m confident of joining them."
Ace was astounded as he instantly guessed what Freya was nning, and he couldn''t help butugh, "Hahahaha, so that''s your n, huh? You''ll inform the Sea of Secrets about a possible robbery of the Prime Heavenly Bank before it even happens.
"But since you are a nobody, they will clearly ignore you even if they know about your tip. However, if I seed, then your information will be credible and hold incredibly high merits because if you can even find something that dared to n on robbing the Prime Heavenly Bank, you are capable of finding even more.
"However, it''ll be perilous for both of us. Since if something ended up believing you and informed the Prime Heavenly Bank beforehand, not only would I be in trouble, but they mighte after you to get your secret."
Ace stopped grinning as his expression became solemn, "Nevertheless, I just happened to need a little publicity, and if you''re confident in handling the repercussions, I''m on board with this n."
Freya fell into silence since Ace had already guessed her n. She didn''t need to exin anything to him, and he even agreed to go with her n. She also knew about the dangers involved, and the person who would be in the most danger would actually be Ace himself.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
After all, they were talking about robbing the Prime Heavenly Bank, and even though it was just a mere branch, not even a second-grade sect dared belittle it. These branches were treated with the utmost respect because they were the Prime Heavenly Bank''s branches!
Although Freya''s n was solid, she knew she couldn''t do this alone. She needed someone daring enough with skills to pull it off, and she could only think of one person: Ace.
But truth be told, she wasn''t expecting him to go along with it so easily and expected him to reject her. Yet, he agreed, and he was worried about her, not for himself, which made Freya feel an inexplicable emotion in her heart.
"I can always escape using various methods and still have all the life coins. But you''ll be in the eye of the storm, so you need to worry about yourself. However, I won''t let you walk in this without any preparation.
"I''ve already had detailed information about the bank branch in the Northern Guardian Sect City, even the outeryout and the interior that is open to everyone. Furthermore, I''ve had Aliyay a honey trap for an inside member, infamous for hisscivious tendencies at the Bank Branch. This will be your face once we draw him out and..." Freya revealed with a severe expression.
But Ace suddenly raised his hand and stopped her. He looked at her with an astounded expression and nodded, "You have really nned this thing well. But it''s a pity I can''t take your help in this. You see, it''s my mission, and I''m not allowed to take any of the house members'' help."
Ace sighed ruefully under Freya''s startled gaze as she realized, at this moment, "What kind of mission is this?"
"To be famous." Ace casually replied, "I was nning on stirring up trouble in the AIG Sect, but after I heard from you, I reckoned it''d be far faster if I go after the bank instead since the sect is not open to the public and they will definitely not let anyone know about the shame of being humiliated by a thief.
"So, since Bank is the most optimal target, you can leave the scouting to me. All you need to do is prepare for whates next because robbing the bank will be like provoking the King sect behind them. I''m sure the AIG Sect would also be dragged in since we are targeting the sect in their afflicted cities.
"Therefore, I need a few months to prepare. Do you think you can wait that long?" Ace asked.
Freya mulled over all the information Ace gave her and thought for a while before she replied, "No problem. I''m also working on climbing my way into the ck market because I think there is also a connection between the Sea of Secrets and the ck Market since the Sea of Secrets creates its branches only in the ck Market. Who knows, I might get lucky."
Ace nodded with a hint of gratification as he raised his win ss for her. "You did a good job gathering all this information. I guess my decision to recruit you ever since I discovered your moniker, All-Knowing Parrot, wasn''t wrong. You are born to be a thief; you justcked a tform and support."
Freya chuckled as she also raised her ss, "Heh, it was really a ''peaceful'' recruitment! But I''m d you found me!"
Chapter 1229: Time to Start Forging!
Chapter 1229: Time to Start Forging!
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Once the House Meeting time was over, Freya teleported away, leaving Ace behind as he sat on his seat, deep in thought. He was still mulling over all the information Freya had given him and what his next course of action should be.
''If I want to rob the Prime Heavenly Bank''s branch, the most optimal choice should be to wait until I''m at least a peak Ascension Warrior or if I awake the Force.
''Going after the bank branch in the second-grade sect''s territory is way out of my league, and with threats like Nightfall Ravenhood looming over the bank, they won''t be shallow about their security. ''But if I can pull this off, the system mission will be as good asplete, and not only that, but I might even draw the attention of the Nightfall Ravenhood. However, the downside is, I''ll also reveal my whereabouts to that Heaven''s Advocate if he''s still searching for me in the Spirit Inferno Domain...''
Ace pulled an irritated expression when he thought about the Heaven''s Advocate. He hadn''t forgotten about the loyal dog sent by his enemy, and from their first encounter, he knew that guy had the ability to counter his.
It wasn''t like Ace couldn''t leave after he was done with the thievery. Not to mention, once he does this and seeds, the AIG Sect will also hear about it, and it''ll be over for George at that time.
However, he didn''t want to leave the AIG Sect yet, not until he got whatever was hidden in the Forger Abyss first. So Ace decided to put this matter on hold for at least a year, and Freya agreed with him since even she knew that with Ace''s current strength, it would be nigh impossible to pull this off.
Once Ace decided on this ne, he called Noa and Winter and asked them how they were doing. Although their conversations weren''t as fruitful as his conversation with Freya, he still learned exciting things from them. Lastly, Ace called Alina.
After their greetings, Ace asked, "So, how did it go with your n?"
Alina replied with a hint of concern, "They were startled when I told them where we were, and it took some time for them to get used to the environment of the Mortal Ascension Heaven.
"But I wasn''t able to find any suitable ce for them to settle down, and they are simply too weak in this ce, so we decided to travel together, and I ced them back in the living space ring until I discover a suitable ce for them or some hunter race''s territory.
"I recently discovered the human race didn''t seem to have amiable rtionships with other races, and the territory of the other races is quite far, just for your information. But you don''t need to worry about it; I''m already heading towards the rumored hunter race territory, and I even s-stole from some bandits!"
Towards the end, Alina sounded extremely embarrassed and somewhat flustered. After all, she had been a princess back in the Mortal Sky Heaven, so stealing was not something she wasfortable with.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace also understands this point, as he says gently, "You don''t need to force yourself. Just do what you want to do, and you can always return. I''ll always be here for you. As for your n, I know you''ll find a good ce for them. Just make sure they won''t be your shackle."
Ace didn''t mince his words in the end. Although Ace had saved the Silver Ice Hunter n for Alina, he didn''t have a good impression of them. But he knew Alina wouldn''t be able to forgive herself if he hadn''t done it, and this might''ve caused a crack in their rtionship. However, this didn''t mean he would let them drag her down. After all, he knew how people would exploit those with such weaknesses. He had done it many times himself.
Alina remained silent for a moment before she said, "I know. That''s why I''m nning on leaving the rest of the Silver Ice Hunter n in hunter territory. I''ll only keep my parents and Grandpa Herman with me until they be Ascension Soldiers. I''ve already taken Lillian as my acolyte.
"I had also discussed it with my father and mother, and they agreed since they knew what kind of ce this is. Can I ask you something?" Alina suddenly questioned with a hesitant tone.
Ace was content with Alina''s arrangement as he replied, "You can ask me anything."
"You don''t like my parents or grandpa Herman, right?" Alina asked hesitantly.
Ace raised his eyebrow as Alina had asked the same question when she took them away, and she was the one who didn''t let him meet her parents.
"As I said before, what happened in the past is behind us. Although they wronged you, I can understand their reasons and not me them. You can be worry-free if you think that your parents would change my opinion of you.
"We''ve been given a chance to start anew, and so does your family. If they''re willing to turn to a new leaf, I have no qualms with them, and neither should you. So, stop overthinking about this, or Eva might take advantage of this..." Ace chuckled as he joked in the end to lighten up the mood. "Hmph, that she-devil will be defeated by me; just you wait!" Alina instantly retorted when Eva was mentioned, and Ac almostughed, but he controlled himself.
"Alright, I''ll believe you, and thank you for forgiving them and saving them for my sake." Alina tenderly said, "A-also, they want to meet with you."
"No need to thank me." Ace sighed in relief when Alina seemed to have returned to her cheerful self. He teasingly said in an ambiguous tone, "I''m ready whenever you are."
"Why are you bbering about?" Alina retorted in a panicked yet shy voice, "I''ll let you meet them once I take care of my n."
Ace merely shrugged his shoulders, "It''s your decision; I''m fine with it."
Afterward, Ace chatted with Alina for a little longer before he cut the call. Since everyone was doing great and working on their own tasks, Ace didn''t waste more time and headed towards the cultivation chamber while he used HP to increase the time speed of the House Leader Chamber.
''It''s time to start forging and test the new forging technique that I created with the epiphany pill!''
Chapter 1230: Wealth Burning Venture!
Chapter 1230: Wealth Burning Venture!
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Time passed, and Ace had spent over three months in the House Leader Chamber doing nothing but forging and perfecting his technique, which he called the Universal Forger Technique. This name was apparently inspired by the Universal Ascension ck Physique because he created this technique solely to cultivate the Universal Physique!
This technique was solely based on his Heavenly Spirit Qi, and without it, no one could utilize it. This was just the technique he needed to forge Heavenly Weapons, far stronger than weapons forged with Worldly Spirit Qi.
Furthermore, Ace also created another technique called Heavenly Metal Creation on the foundation of Molten Alloy Creation. Unlike its predecessor, the Heavenly Metal Creation purely worked on Heavenly Spirit Qi, and it has massive room for growth as long as Ace''sprehension of Creation Law increases.
Moreover, this spell sess rate was over 50%, far higher than the Molten Alloy Creation. Although it also required more materials, thewprehension of the element he wanted to create, and Heavenly Spirit Qi, Ace found it worth it since he could create any metal with thew of creation and the elementalws.
As for hisprehension of the Law of Creation, he was already at 100% after the seal on his bloodlines had been lifted! Although he didn''t know the reason or how it was relevant, he was d and didn''t mind small details.
Still, for now, he can only make dark and lightning-type metals because they are his innatews, especially darkness, which he mended with his Heavenly Spirit Qi.
But for Ace, it didn''t matter since he was only learning to forge because he wanted to create dark element weapons so he could cultivate the Universal Ascension ck Physique.
Once Ace started forging, the first thing he did was forge the forging tools with his Heavenly Spirit Qi since ordinary tools would eventually crumble once they came in contact with his Heavenly Spirit Qi.
It took him ten days to create them, and he was able to create Upper Ascension Grade-2 Quasi-Spirit Forging Tools with Dark Affinity. This was also his limit in his current realm, and it was also thanks to the Jade Scroll given to him by the Sect Master, he made such progress.
Furthermore, the more Ace forge, the higher his me control over the Demonic ck Spirit Fire, and he had to admit, this growth-type spirit fire was extremely potent and perfectly matched his needs.
Although he was new to the use of spirit fire, he learned quickly, and soon, he was a bona fide 2-Star Spirit Forger!
Not only that, but learning Spirit Forging also seemed to affect hisprehension of Spirit Rune Crafting, and soon, he was immersed in it.
Since he could forge his own weapons, he decided to forge ''Daggers'' to use as the medium to cultivate the Universal Ascension ck Physique. It wasn''t stated what type of weapons he needed in the cultivation technique; all he needed were weapons with darkness-rted affinities.
That''s why he chose daggers: They require less material and less perception than other weapons or armor.
However, Ace soon learned that he was wrong because forging Heavenly Grade weapons was even more taxing than forging normal weapons, even with the Holy Twilight Spirit Qi, and the materials'' requirement was double or even triple.
Furthermore, upon forging his first tool with the Heavenly Spirit Qi, Ace made a huge discovery: the presence of Heavenly Punishment!
The system instantly notified him that anything that reached perfection would suffer the wrath of heaven. Heavenly Grade tools or treasures were the same case. But to Ace''s relief, since he was forging in the Thief''s House, the Heavenly Punishment could find him, which made him sigh in relief, or he couldn''t imagine suffering from Heavenly Punishment every time he forged a heavenly treasure.
Nheless, Ace was still shocked, and he decided never to forge using the Heavenly Spirit Qi outside the thief''s house.
After this, Ace again focused on forging and started to forge the ''Upper-Ascension Grade-1 ck Heavenly Dagger'' with a pure darkness affinity.
Ace also had another advantage: the Heaven''s Stealer Dismantler Principles. Even if he failed, he could always salvage some forging materials. Moreover, with his wealth of treasures, he has vast materials as long as he dismantles them, and that he did.
With the help of Heavenly Metal Creation, he was able to turn lower-grade materials into higher ones until they were at a sufficient level. Since newly created materials were always of dark affinity, Ace couldn''t be happier. Despite this method being extremely wasteful, he didn''t care since all those lower-grade materials were no longer useful for him.
Not only that, but in these three months, Ace''s cultivation has raised again, and he was now a 10-Star Ascension Soldier, a realm that no one in the entire Mortal Ascension Heaven can reach unless they had a primordial foundation like him.
Furthermore, Ace discovered that forging heavenly-grade treasures increases his cultivation even more than forging ordinary treasures. Before he knew it, he was already at the peak of the Ascension Soldier Realm and just a hair away from breaking through to the next realm!
It was also a novel experience for Ace because he had never breakthrough a major realm like the other cultivators before. He needed the Elemental Orbs, and the system would also initiate the breakthrough process.
But not anymore. He was now inplete control, and he could sense his cultivation increasing and the realm wall that he could cross at will, which was a very peculiar feeling.
However, despite the feeling of breakthrough, Ace didn''t try breaking through because he might be able to avoid the Heavenly Punishment as long as he was inside the Thief''s House. The moment he stepped outside, the Heavenly Punishment would instantly descend. With his previous experience with the Heavenly Punishment, he didn''t dare belittle it even if he was now a Law State cultivator because the next Heavenly Punishment would also be on the same grade, and he needed to prepare before he confronted it.
That''s why he suppressed his breakthrough and focused on creating more ck Heavenly Daggers so he could first cultivate the Universal Ascension ck Physique.
But things always don''t go as nned. Today, Ace stopped forging as he looked at the rows of crescent-shaped pitch-ck daggers neatly arranged on a table and then at the newly forged dagger of the same kind in front of his runic forging table.
"Even with all those materials, I could only forge 72 ck Heavenly Daggers!?" Ace muttered in disbelief as he looked at his thief''s space and found no more materials to work with or any treasures to dismantle. He knew he wasn''t dreaming.
Unknowingly, this little venture of his had cost him all the treasures and materials he had gathered ever since he started his journey as a thief.
Ace had never expected that forging Heavenly Grade Weapons would be this costly, but when he considered that most of his treasures were only elemental states and that he needed tobine hundreds of them to create a single ascension grade one material, he wasn''t
surprised anymore.
But still, his heart ached. The Universal Ascension ck Physique was really turning out to be a money-burning technique, and he finally understood why the system said it was challenging to cultivate it.
Furthermore, he was sure only after forging the heavenly weapons that the weapons mentioned in the cultivation techniques were really heavenly weapons, not ordinary ones.
But now, he had run out of materials, and he knew he needed at least the treasury of a first- grade sect to forge the remaining daggers.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Although he still had billions of Qi stones and Soul crystals, with alchemy herbs and alchemy treasures, he knew only fools would trade them withw state materials even if he offered a higher price. So, the truth of the matter was he needed to gather those materials now!
Ace thought momentarily before his eyes shimmered with resolution, ''It seemed I really need to ''gather'' all those materials on my own. But first, I need to break through; I can''t dy it any longer. Let''s hope I''ll ovee my first Heavenly Punishment of Law State!''
Chapter 1231: Start of Breakthrough!
Chapter 1231: Start of Breakthrough!
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After Ace decided, he retracted the Thief''s House back to his Thief''s Space and reappeared in the dested forbidden region of the Spirit Inferno Domain.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Not only was this ce barren, but the spirit Qi was extremely thin, and no sign of life could be seen, which made it even more perfect for his breakthrough. Although he wanted to undergo the heavenly punishment after cultivating the Universal Ascension ck Physique at its first realm, he had no choice now since he was able to refine the 99 required weapons.
Furthermore, if he wanted to gather material quickly and without leaving any traces behind, the quickest way was to steal, and he needed to be more powerful to do that, so he decided to take his chances this time.
Moreover, since he only needed to undergo Heavenly Punishment for the cultivation of his soul path, he was sure that he could handle it since his body was still quite powerful. Not to mention, he had grown tremendously ever since he hade to the Mortal Ascension Heaven. But at this moment, the first thing he did was to open his status panel to see the fruits of his progress!
"Status!"
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[Status Panel (Personal Information)]
-Host: Ace White
-Race: Human
-Bloodline: Nirvana Thief (1st Nirvana)
-Dominion: Mortal Ascension Heaven (2nd Heaven)
[Innate Ability/Talent(s): 5]
-1. Endless Nirvana (Bloodline Talent)
-2. Absolute Darkness Affinity (Bloodline Talent)
-3. Avatar of Holy Twilight (??? Divine Talent from B.E.L.L)
-4. Beast Ruler (Divine Talent)
-5. Absolute Pickpocket (Sleight of Hand) (Divine Connate Ability)
[Eternal Provenance Treasure: 1/2]
-Name: Eternal Thief Fate Compass
-Type: Soul (Fate)
-Current Grade: Ascension Grade-1 (Upgradable)
{Next Grade: Ascension Grade-2}
-Status: Iplete (10% Complete)
-Ability:
Live Fate Map (Ascension Grade-1)
[NOTE: Next ability(s) unlocked at 20% Treasure Completion]
-Completion Scheme: 1 (Avable)
[Thief Point(s): 18,100,000]
[Mission(s):1]
[Side Mission(s): 0]
[Status Panel (Cultivation Section)]
-Soul Path: Law Soul Assimtion (99%) / Ascension Solider (10-Star)
-Primordial Qi: Ascension Spirit Qi
-Martial Path: Ascension Grade Physique (Grade-0)
-Force Unit: NONE
[Order: Darkness]
-First Order of Darkness (B.E.D): Lawless Darkness
-Authority(s): 1
-Lawless Darkness: The authority to break any restriction,ws, rules, mandates, or orders!
[Prime Law: Darkness (9.99% Comprehended)]
-Rule(s) of Darkness Order Acquired: 1
Destion: 9.99% Authority
-Destion (Rule): Deste represents the emptiness and destruction within Darkness! There is no ce for Light or Life within!
[Complete Auxiliary Law(s): 14]
-Despair: 100%
-Shadow: 100%
-Charm: 100%
-Sin: 100%
-Evil ult: 100%
-Dark: 100%
-Destion: 100%
-Sword: 100% (1 Mystic Ability)
-Lightning: 100%
-Wind: 100%
-Heavenly Thunder: 100%
-Orbit: 100%
-Creation: 100%
-Fire: 100% (1 Mystic Ability)
- Psyche: 100%
-Sound: 100%
[Iplete Auxiliary Law(s): 4]
-Terminus: 00.07%
-Oblivion: 1.00%
-Space: 21.99%
-Destruction: 3.49%
[Spell(s): 2]
-1. ck Tempest: Advanced
-2. Dark Revtion: Advanced
[Spell Art(s): 2]
-1. Soul Words (Dark Charm Manual) (NO Progress)
-2. Art of Mind Stealing
-Current Realm: Golden Treasure Hunter (9th Realm)
-Remaining Realms: Mind Stealer (10th Realm)
[Forbidden Spell(s): 0]
[Taboo Spell(s): 0]
[Cultivation Technique(s): 5]
-1. Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique (Vol.2): Architect of Thieving Heart (Soul/Spirit
Path): First Chapter
-2. Heaven Stealer Cultivation Technique (Vol.2): Universal Ascension ck Physique (Martial/Body Path): NONE
-3. Heavenly Runes of Ascension (Basic): Ascension Grade-3 (Completed)
-4. Heaven Sundering Sword (Secret Cultivation Technique): 1st Realm (Sword of Mortal
Heart)
-5. Heaven Stealer''s Dismantler Principles of Ascension (Basic): From Ascension Grade-1-3
1. Treasure Dismantler Principles: Ascension Grade-3
2. Alchemy Dismantler Principles: Ascension Grade-1
3. Runic Dismantler Principles: Ascension Grade-2
=====
After the system''s upgrade, his status panel underwent a massive change, and his personal information and cultivation information were separated into two different sections. After looking through the progress he had made ever since he came to the Mortal Ascension Heaven, Ace smiled in satisfaction and closed the status panel. Thereafter, he sat down cross-legged without caring about his surroundings since he knew that even if someone dared to enter his heavenly punishment, they would be seeking their own death. For others, they might need the safest location to break through a major realm, but for Ace, it waspletely the opposite.
Once he calmed his mind, Ace instantly started the breakthrough process, starting to circte
his spirit Qi ording to the Architect of Thieving Heart''s Law Soul Assimtion Chapter.
In this realm, Ace needed to absorb the Spirit Qi into his soul until he reached the 100% margin and made his soulpatible with the Spirit Qi, creating a Law Soul before he started the assimtion process of his Law Body and Law Soul.
Once hepleted the assimtion process, his body would turn into a Primordial Spirit Body, and he would enter the next realm of the Architect of Thieving Heart, the Law Heart Spirit Integration, and be an Ascension Warrior! Furthermore, once he sessfully bes an Ascension Warrior, the inner space inside his cultivation heart will open again, but it will turn into a World Seed, and he''ll awaken the Law Sense of Law State cultivators.
But he wasn''t too optimistic about it since it would only happen if the Law Heart Spirit Integration followed the same rules as Spirit Soul Integration or Spirit Body Integration of
the Mortal Ascension Heaven!
Nheless, Ace peacefully focused on his breakthrough. He had already felt the next realm days ago, but he was suppressing his cultivation for obvious reasons. However, now that he stopped suppressing, his Heavenly Spirit Qi poured into his cultivation heart like a tilde wave.
As he started the breakthrough process, suddenly, an ethereal hooded phantom appeared behind Ace, instantly releasing the terrifying pressure of a peak Ascension Solider. It was none other than Ace''s true soul!
But unlike before, his true soul was now cker than ck, and the mes in its eyes had
vanished. Its hooded face was now like an endless abyss, and any trace of light seemed to
avoid it.
The next moment, his true soul suddenly started to merge with Ace''s body, creating an
ovepping image. At this moment...
"Rumbbleeed!''
Terrifying thunderps rumbled through the forbidden region, and eerie dark clouds started
to cover the skies as if the apocalypse had arrived!
Chapter 1232: Heavenly Law Punishment!
Chapter 1232: Heavenly Law Punishment!
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The sky trembled.
Ace floated midair, his eyes narrowing as the world around him bent and twisted, warping under immense pressure.
It was different this time¡ªthis wasn''t just another heavenly punishment like the Elemental State. The very essence of reality seemed to quiver, and thews he had spent years
comprehending were flickering as if they were fragile mes on the verge of being snuffed
out.
This suppression was unlike anything Ace had experienced before, and his expression became dignified and solemn.
At this moment, the system''s static voice rang.
[The First Heavenly Law Punishment [Heavenly Law Destruction Thunder] has been detected!]
[Warning: The Heavenly Punishment sensed Host''s Primordial Foundation and Cultivation Heart!]
[Warning: The Heaven is agitating with rage!]
[Warning: The Heavenly Law Punishment has been strengthened to the maximum!]
''Heavenly Law Destruction Thunder?'' Ace grimaced as he looked at the mass of dark clouds condensing into an eerie ck vortex.
At this moment, the air crackled, and for a brief moment, silence enveloped the world. Then, abruptly, a piercing tear resounded across the sky.
ck lightning, wrapped in fracturingw symbols, tore through the heavens. Each bolt was jagged and unpredictable, dancing like the ws of a beast, eager to rip apart the very fabric of existence. This wasn''t lightning meant to harm his body-it was a force far more dangerous.
The Law Destruction Thunder had arrived!
Furthermore, Ace had never seen anything like thosew symbols before, and he realized just how terrifying this first heavenlyw punishment was going to be.
Ace''s eyes gleamed with understanding, and a hint of shock shed past his eyes. He suddenly realized that this punishment, unlike the previous Heavenly Punishments, was aimed at his mastery of thews themselves.
He felt the weight of Heaven''s fury as if the entire world was personally offended by his defiance, by his existence. The air became thick with raw, chaotic power, and the earth below him warped as thews governing it started to unravel.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Well then, let it begin!" Ace whispered to himself, his voice low but resolute. He stood up in the air, opposing the ghastly pressure like he always did, killing intent swirling in his eyes.
He was no longer afraid because he had epted his fate. Running from it would only make him die much quicker and make it easier for his Eternal Enemy!
At this moment, the thunder descends!
The first bolt of Law Destruction Thunder shot toward him, its path erratic and filled with malice. As it approached, the symbols of thew surrounding it began to shimmer, trying to disconnect Ace''s grasp on his own power.
He sensed the assault not just in his body but in his cultivation heart, where hisprehension ofws began to tremble.
With a sharp breath, a dark symbol of a sword suddenly shimmered on his be, and a massive phantom sword appeared behind him. Ace raised his hands with an icy re, and two pitch-ck swords, one short and one long, appeared!
For the first time in Mortal Ascension Heaven, Ace summoned his life swords, which were also his sword cores forged with heavenly thunder.
Each of his swords zed to life, and the moment the thunder''s presence was noticed by the swords, they were shimmering with mystical runes, the essence ofws swirling around them in perfect harmony. He didn''t attack, though. Instead, he allowed the ck lightning to strike him directly.
The impact was violent. The lightning tore through his body like a ravenous beast, but Ace didn''t flinch. He weed it.
The next moment, the swords in his hand suddenly released a powerful hum as they trembled. They suddenly started to absorb the Law of Destruction Thunder.
Furthermore, at this moment, he could feel his understanding of thews deepening with those runes imbued within the thunder, especially the Heavenly Thunder Law. It seemed to start to change! But the risk was immense.
Ace''s expression tightened slightly. The lightning was trying to tear apart his connection to thews and destroy his heart, but he knew that as long as his will was resolute, he''d survive -just like he always did!
At this moment, his swords hummed, each vibrating under immense pressure. The runes on the des had a dark hue and were turning dark.
But it wasn''t as the dark runes across their surfaces flickered and thews they were tied to began shifting. For a brief moment, Ace felt his mastery slipping as if the thunder was erasing his years of cultivation.
Another thick bolt came, this time aimed at his soul, which was merging with his body.
The strike hit with such force that Ace''s vision went ck, and he found himself floating in a void. There was nothing-no sound, no sensation, nows. It was as if existence itself had ceased.
Ace was shocked because it had never happened before; this was apletely new thing, and he became agitated!
In the silence of the void, Ace felt the pull of the world again, trying to strip him of everything he had worked for. Hisprehension ofws and his very foundation began to crumble in
this empty expanse.
But Ace gritted his teeth. He wasn''t one to be defeated by Heaven''s wrath.
With an unyielding will, he summoned his inner strength. His sword began to glow,
illuminating the darkness.
Killing intent swirled in his eyes as he dered as he shed his swords, "If the heavens seek to destroy my connection to thews, then I will make them one. Heaven Sundering Sword: Sword of Mortal Heart!"
When Ace used the Heaven Sundering Sword, his mind raced as he poured every ounce of hisprehension into this attack-the fusion ofws. His understanding of lightning, darkness, space, and everyw he knew with his Spirit Qi suddenly converged into one, melding into a unified, imprable strick.
In an instant, the surrounding void shattered. Ace''s eyes snapped open, and the world returned, the clouds above still rumbling with power.
''It was an illusion or soul attack?!'' Ace was shocked but knew it was far more real since he could still clearly feel what he had done in just a moment.
The Law Destruction Thunder continued to rain down, but now he was different. His swords hummed in perfect unison, no longer separate entities but a singr force, resonating with a deeper understanding of the very world that was trying to destroy.
Furthermore, the sword phantom behind him also seemed to have undergone a profound change, bing twice asrge and more vivid as if his Sword Heart had evolved.
Ace''s eyes went wide with delight and disbelief as he instantly understood what it meant, ''My Sword Heart has breakthrough to the Intermediate Stage, and I can finally understand the Second Realm of Heaven Sundering Sword Technique!''
Chapter 1233: Eclipse of Heaven Blade!
Chapter 1233: Eclipse of Heaven de!
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The moment Ace''s sword heart entered the intermediate stage and his aura surged, the heavens, sensing its defiance nature, grew more furious.
The clouds roiled, expanding across the sky as the destructive force of the Law Destruction Thunder grew even more chaotic. As the heavens rumbled with growing fury, the sky darkened even more, and the final strike of the Heavenly Law Destruction Thunder began to manifest.
Unlike before, Ace could feel the wrath of Heaven summoned to crush him entirely. A deafening roar reverberated across the sky as the storm clouds churned, twisting into a vortex of pure, malevolent energy.
The ck clouds thinned, revealing a monstrous bolt of thunder, thick as a mountain and dense with the weight of the world''sws, filled with nothing but destruction.
This thunderbolt was above the force of nature-an impossibly vast column of energy that seemed to pull in the very light around it, leaving the world beneath in a shadowed gloom. The bolt was darker than night, wrapped in spiraling red and ckw symbols that twisted and fractured the surrounding space. It exuded a terrifying power that caused the very air to crackle and warp, distorting reality in its wake.
The vortex spun faster, and the bolt began its slow, inevitable descent. As it moved, space itself constricted around Ace like an invisible prison. He could feel the immense power locking him in ce as if thews of the world had conspired to prevent any escape.
The thunder was not just attacking his body but shackling the very space around him, sealing him in a cage of pure destructive force.
Ace''s body tensed as he felt the prison of space tightening. His movements were sluggish, and his Spirit Qi struggled to circte under the oppressive weight of the descending thunder. Every fiber of his being screamed of impending doom. There was no dodging this strike. Thews had locked onto him like a predator upon its prey, and the bolt''s descent was slow but unstoppable as if savoring the moment before destruction.
Ace had never felt something like this before. He was expecting Heaven''s Terminate Manifestation''s presence next, but this was far more terrifying than them. This Heavenly Law Punishment was giving me many terrifying surprises.
But Ace''s mind was clear, his will sharper than ever. He could feel it-this was not just the culmination of the Heavenly Punishment but the very edge of his own understanding of the sword. His mastery had reached a new height.
Ace''s eyes gleamed with a defiant light as the thunder loomed closer, threatening to consume him. The Sword of Mortal Heart had been his first revtion, but this was something more profound¡ªan understanding that went beyond his own heart, a technique that could tear apart the very fabric of Heaven, and he was going to use it!
"The Eclipse of Heaven de..." Ace whispered, his voice carrying through the roaring storm as the dark sword symbol on his be, glowing with a sinister light.
The surrounding space trembled violently, cracks forming as if it could shatter at any moment. The two ck ethereal swords in his hand-one short, one long-pulsed with ominous energy. These swords were more than just weapons; they were extensions of his very soul, forged through the trials of heavenly thunder.
Ace''s Heavenly Spirit Qi surged wildly, filling every inch of his being. The swords in his hands hummed with an ancient power, and the essence of the Sword Law intertwined with his Qi, spiraling in perfect harmony. The weight of Heaven pressed down on him, but Ace''s resolve was unyielding.
As the thunder approached, its destructive force expanding, Ace drew in a deep breath. His body felt like it was about to copse under immense pressure, but he channeled everyst drop of his Spirit Qi into his swords. The Qi within him began to circte in a peculiar, intricate pattern, and he raised his swords high.
"Heaven Sundering Sword: Eclipse of Heaven de!" Ace roared, his voice echoing like a p of thunder itself.
In an instant, he shed his swords downward with a speed that defied the eye. The air screamed as the des cut through space, leaving an ethereal trail of dark Qi.
This wasn''t just a strike but a force of will, a manifestation of Ace''s determination to defy Heaven itself. The darkness within his Heavenly Spirit Qi surged forward, consuming everything in its path. Thews that tried to bind him crumbled beneath the sheer force of his sword intent.
The space in front of him seemed to split apart, and a massive tear appeared, swallowing the light and twisting reality. The Eclipse of Heaven de carried the intent to sever everything ws, space, even Heaven''s will.
The darkness of the de expanded outward, cutting through the restraints that bound him, and at that moment, Ace was free.
The world seemed to hold its breath as the final bolt of Law Destruction Thunder shed with the Eclipse of Heaven de. The thunder, thick as a mountain, collided with the dark sh, and the sky seemed to crack open for a brief second.
Time slowed as the forces met. The thunder roared, crackling with the raw power of destruction, but the Eclipse of Heaven de surged forward, cutting through the very essence of the thunder.
ck and redw symbols disintegrated as the de ripped apart the heavenly thunder. The heavens trembled as the monstrous bolt was cleaved in two, its energy dispersing into the void.
The oppressive weight of the Heavenly Punishment began to lift, and the vortex in the sky shrank. The once-mighty storm clouds were now thinning, exhausted from their failed assault.
Ace stood amidst the chaos, his swords still glowing with the remnants of his power, but he was utterly drained. His Spirit Qi had been entirely depleted, leaving him barely standing. His breathing was ragged, his body trembling from the strain. The dark sword symbol on his be flickered before vanishing, and the ethereal swords in his hands dissipated into mist. The final sh had ended, and the heavens were silent.
Ace looked up at the sky, which was now clear save for a few fading clouds. His eyes were filled with exhaustion but also triumph.
The Eclipse of Heaven de had not only shattered the Law Destruction Thunder but also left an indelible mark on the world. His sword heart had reached a level he hadn''t thought
possible.
But the cost had been significant.
With a final, deep breath, Ace''s knees buckled, and he copsed to the ground,pletely drained. He had won, but at the edge of his limits, the battle had taken everything from him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
In the silent aftermath, a faint smile crept onto Ace''s face. He had defied the heavens once more, and he wasn''t nning on slowing down either!
At this moment, vast Qi suddenly surged into Ace''s body, and it wasn''t long before the fading symbols from the Law Destruction Thunder started to surge toward him with the Qi!
Chapter 1234: A Crucial Aspect!
Chapter 1234: A Crucial Aspect!
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Ace knew the final step of the breakthrough was upon him. He quickly sat down cross-legged and let the torrent of Qi enter his body, then refined into his cultivation heart, as his aura
began to climb!
Furthermore, the atmosphere was thick with the remnants of power left behind by the Law Destruction Thunder. His breathing steadied, yet his heart raced with anticipation.
The moment of breakthrough was near. As he meditated in perfect silence, a sudden surge of Qi exploded within him, shaking his very core.
A blurry pitch-ck phantom materialized behind Ace, towering and ominous. The phantom''s form was shrouded in shadow, but a single radiant light pulsed at its core-a fiery pale blue heart!
It was his cultivation heart, which shone brightly as though it were the only source of light within the phantom''s endless void. Each beat reverberated through the space, resonating with thews of the world around him-it was supreme!
The darkness of the phantom flickered as Ace''s aura burst forth like a tidal wave, and his Cultivation Heart began to draw in the Law Symbols left behind by the Law Destruction Thunder the next moment, making Ace tremble!
They swirled around him, forming intricate, arcane patterns, each one representing a fragment of a mysticalw. His heart absorbed these symbols greedily, fueling the power of his breakthrough even more. A spark ignited within, and the surrounding air crackled with primordial Qi.
At this moment, inside his inner space, the process began. The Qi sea was now an endless void of darkness filled with Dark Primordial Spirit Qi mist, and the dark void was its epicenter!
A small, faint, dark blue light pulsed in the center of the dark void, and something started to grow above it, growing with each moment. Slowly, the mist primordial spirit Qi started to churn and absorb this pulsing light!
As more of his Qi was absorbed in it, that light twisted and morphed into a tangible form-a seed. It was small but held the essence of his newfound power within it.
Furthermore, the next moment, the seed suddenly started to expand, slowly recing the void while the dark void remained in its center. It was the birth of the World Seed, and now it was recing Ace''s inner space!
Moreover, it was not just any world seed-it was a world seed of darkness. As the World See came into existence, on the outside, shadows danced around the seed as though they were alive, clinging to it as if they were drawn to its dark presence.
A swirling vortex of darkness began to form, circling the seed like a cocoon, radiating an unholy sense of calm and chaos in perfect bnce. The surrounding space bent and twisted as if reality itself was adjusting to amodate the birth of this never-before-seen world seed.
The World Seed floated toward the center of Ace''s cultivation heart, where it hovered, pulsating with primordial energy that seemed to absorb everything around it.
Darkness seeped into every corner of his inner space, consuming it and reshaping it. It was no longer just an abstract space-it was now the foundation of something much more powerful. The very fabric of his cultivation was evolving into the most primal aspect of creation: an initial world far stronger than any cultivation of this era!
His heart thumped, syncing with the pulse of the World Seed now anchored within it. The World Seed within his heart glowed with an eerie, godly light. Its surface was smooth and crystalline yet made of pure, solid darkness.
The light surrounding it wasn''t normal; it was its absence. The darkness that clung to the seed seemed alive, moving and shifting in a way that defied understanding, as though the shadows themselves had purpose.
The seed was beautiful in a terrifying, ethereal way-an embodiment of pure, raw creation but tainted with the power of destruction that it had absorbed from the Law Destruction Thunder.
It radiated a divine pressure as though it were destined to grow into something unimaginable. Its presence dominated the space, exuding endless possibilities for what it could be.
With every beat of his heart, the Law Symbols merged deeper into the seed, further strengthening its foundation. The energy of the Law Destruction Thunder coursed through it, forming intricate lines of power that wrapped around the seed-like veins, enhancing its birth. Ace could feel the seed''s potential swelling, yearning to grow into something far more significant.
But right at his moment, a system notification echoed in Ace''s mind, its voice cold andmanding,
=====
[Congrattions Host! You have sessfully birthed a Primordial World Seed of Darkness and evolved your Inner Space into Primordial Inner World (Seed State).]
[You are only a step away from bing an Ascension Warrior!]
[To advance as an Ascension Warrior, merging your World Seed with an Auxiliary Law is mandatory!]
[Please note: The chosen Auxiliary Law mustplement your Prime Law. The harmony between thesews will determine the future strength and foundation of your Inner World. You can only choose an Auxiliary Law from the Laws you have alreadyprehended up to 100% proficiency! The stronger the Auxiliary Law youprehend, the greater the benefits to your Inner World upon itsplete formation!]
[Please choose the Auxiliary Law within 60 Seconds of the system. You will randomly select an auxiliaryw from the Auxiliary Law List you have alreadyprehended!]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
[List of Complete Auxiliary Law(s): 15]
-Despair: 99% Compatibility
-Shadow: 99% Compatibility
-Charm: 99% Compatibility
-Sin: 99% Compatibility
-Evil ult: 99% Compatibility (Rmended)
-Dark: 99% Compatibility
-Destion: 99% Compatibility (Rmended)
-Sword: 76% Compatibility
-Lightning: 60% Compatibility
-Wind: 40% Compatibility
-Heavenly Thunder: 99% Compatibility (Rmended)
-Orbit: 43% Compatibility
-Creation: 100% Compatibility (Highly Rmended)
-Fire: 33% Compatibility
- Psyche: 9% Compatibility
-Sound: 4% Compatibility
-Destruction (NEW): 98% Compatibility (Rmended)
=====
The moment Ace heard this notification, his eyes snapped open, and he became solemn as the
weight of the decision settled upon him. He hadn''t been warned about this selection before, but now that the system revealed this fact, he finally understood why there was a list of
auxiliaryws in his status.
''So, a world seed required auxiliaryws toplete its birth, huh? And the more powerful an auxiliaryw, the more powerful a world will be once it''s born.'' Ace solemnly looked at the list, and a hint of surprise shed past his eyes when he saw thepatibility rate. Furthermore, the Law of Destruction seemed to have reached 100% proficiency and made its ce in this list. He knew it was all because he had absorbed thosew symbols of the Law of Destruction Thunder. He could feel the deadly might of the Law of Destruction and its intent within him and emitting from his world seed.
But what surprised Ace even more was the Law of Creation''spatibility rate. It was the only auxiliaryw on this list with a ''Highly Rmendable'' tag attached to it.
Ace knew how extraordinary the Law of Creation was, and he wasn''t even close to scratching its surface. Now, it seemed it was very beneficial andpatible with his world seed. Moreover, the Auxiliary Law would be crucial-he understood this. It wasn''t just about his power now but the future of his world, the foundation upon which all his cultivation would be
built.
But now, he had to decide the next step-choosing the Auxiliary Law to shape his future
world.
So, he quickly decided as hemanded, "I choose the Law of Creation!"
Chapter 1235: 1-Star Ascension Warrior!
Chapter 1235: 1-Star Ascension Warrior!
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The moment Ace chose, the surrounding space trembled, and the World Seed floating within his cultivation heart began to pulse with a deeper, more resonant Qi. It was as if the very fabric of his inner world recognized the magnitude of the choice.
A golden light descended from above, divine and pure, illuminating the endless darkness that shrouded his World Seed.
This was the Law of Creation, a concept that transcended all others, embodying the primal essence of life, growth, and genesis. As the light touched the World Seed, the surrounding darkness did not resist but seemed to wee it, intertwining with the golden glow in a perfect harmony of contrast-creation and destruction, light and shadow.
The Law of Creation wrapped itself around the seed like a cocoon, slowly sinking into its crystalline surface. The seed began to transform. Its smooth, dark surface shifted as glowing veins of gold intertwined with the ck. The divine essence of creation flowed into it, solidifying its foundation. It was a sight both terrifying and beautiful, a blend of raw darkness and radiant life.
Ace felt the immense power radiating from the merging process. The Law of Creation didn''t simply blend with the World Seed-it integrated into it, nourishing it like soil to a tree.
Ace''s entire inner world responded as the golden light poured into the seed. The dark void surged, bing more vivid, more alive. The ck mist that had once filled his inner space began to churn faster, drawn into the seed as it continued to absorb both the power of darkness and the essence of creation.
Ace''s heart pounded in unison with the World Seed. He could feel the seed''s growth, its potential swelling.
The chaotic swirl of creation and destruction within it was forming something entirely new- a primal force that transcended bothws individually. It was as though his inner world was taking its first breath, an infant cosmos in the earliest stages of life.
Suddenly, a deafening silence filled Ace''s mind. The dark void froze, the swirling golden light halted, and for a single moment, everything stood still. Then, the World Seed emitted a resounding pulse that reverberated through his inner space. The dark void trembled as if bowing to the new force within it.
At that moment, Ace''s cultivation surged to new heights. The Qi within his body expanded, overwhelming, and almost boundless. His inner space had fully transformed, no longer a simple abstract space but a beginner Primordial Inner World, brimming with potential. It was still in its seed state, but its presence was undeniable. Ace had crossed the threshold.
Ace exhaled deeply, his body slowly returning to a state of calm. But this calm was different- it was the calm before something far greater. He had finally crossed the threshold. He had be a 1-Star Ascension Warrior after oveing the first Heavenly Law Punishment!
His World Seed, a tangible entity radiating pure potential and power, now pulsed within his cultivation heart. The endless dark void within his inner world had be something more -a realm of creation waiting to be born, filled with infinite possibilities. The bnce between destruction and creation had be his to wield, and both of them were connected to his primew, darkness!
Yet, even as the breakthrough was finalized, Ace felt a shift within him¡ªan unexpected, profound change. Suddenly, his Thief Sense, which had been dormant throughout his breakthrough, suddenly stirred!
At first, it was subtle, just a faint ripple, but then it began to grow stronger-far stronger than he had ever felt before. Ace''s eyes snapped open as the sensation overtook him. Once sharp and keen, his Thief Sense was now evolving, twisting into something far more profound.
A wave of insight washed over him. This was no longer the simple, instinctual perception he had grown used to-it was bing something far greater.
Thief Sense evolved after merging three types of senses: Soul Sense, Heavenly Sense, and Fortune Sense. He thought it wouldn''t develop any further since as his cultivation ability, it grows with his cultivation.
But aftering to Mortal Ascension Heaven, he learned about the Law Sense. He realized that despite the thief sense''s unique characteristics, it was somewhatcking, so he was really hoping that it would evolve further once he had a breakthrough.
However, he also knew that his cultivation technique was special. Every time he breakthroughs, it grants him a new ability, and this time, it might be the same, especially after his cultivation foundations merged.
Yet, now he knew he was wrong, and the Thief Sense had undergone a metamorphosis. It had not only expanded to a 10,000-mile radius but seemed to have transcended into a higher state. He could feel it clearly!
At this moment, a system notification echoed in his mind,
=====
[Congrattions, Host! You have sessfully merged the Law of Creation with your World Seed. Your Inner Space has sessfully transformed into the Primordial Inner World (Seed State)!]
--
[Congrattions, Host, you have advanced to the Law Heart Spirit Integration (5%) Realm/Ascension Warrior (1-Star)!]
-Reward(s):
-1. 10,000,000 Thief Points
-2. Prime Law Phantom (Forbidden Spell)
--
[Thief Point(s): 28,100,000]
[Innate Soul Ability, Heavenly Thief Sense has evolved into Innate Spirit Ability, Primordial Law Thief Sense!]
-Primordial Law Thief Sense (Innate Spirit Ability): An exclusive Innate Sense of the Heaven''s Stealer!N?v(el)B\\jnn
-Effective Range: 10,000 Miles Radius
-Ability (1): Soul Sense < Spirit Sense (Passive)
[Description: Undetectable, this sense not only detects danger and soul-rted threats, but now it also enhances the user perception, enabling the user to detect weaknesses in Law- based abilities, constructs, and formations!]
-Ability (2): Heavenly Sense < Primordial Law Sense (Active Ability)
[Description: This grantsplete control over a target area, allowing the user to see through any illusions or hidden aspects and lock onto specific beings or objects within range. It can now extend to perceiving and analyzing the flow and intricate patterns of Laws in the surrounding environment. It allows for deep insight into the essence of Laws, offering unparalleled understanding and helping find ws in imperfection!]
[Limitation: Anyone with two realms above the user can detect the Primordial Law Sense!]
-Ability: Fortune Sense < Fortune Law Sense (Passive)
[Description (1): Still offering guidance toward treasures, it now has an expanded scope, granting the user instinctive awareness of treasures, resources, and even hidden dimensions that are intrinsically bound to Laws. This can also lead the user to ces where Laws are most concentrated or to treasures forged from pure Laws!]
[Host status has been updated!]
=====
Chapter 1236: Avoiding the Storm only to be Caught in a Hurricane!
Chapter 1236: Avoiding the Storm only to be Caught in a Hurricane!
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After the notification, Ace''s mind buzzed with this newfound perception and a new kind of feeling. He could now vaguely but surely feel the world around him like never before the air, the Qi, even the very Laws that governed existence itself.
It was like an invisible veil had been lifted, revealing the intricate web of Laws that wove reality together. He could sense them-different forces, different rules-some stronger, some weaker. And most importantly, he could feel a faintprehension of how to manipte them.
The Thief Sense had be more than a tool; it was now a direct connection to the very essence of the atmosphere. Primordial Law Thief Sense''s potential was overwhelming, and the possibilities were endless.
Ace clenched his fists, feeling the surge of newfound power coursing through him. The World Seed thrummed in perfect harmony with his cultivation heart, and the Law Thief Sense heightened his awareness to a level he had never imagined possible.
He had ascended further in his path of ascension. This was the realm of Ascension Warrior, and he could feel that he might even be able to fight against Ascension 1-Star Ascension Grand General now!
At this moment, Ace looked around and smiled wryly because he was in the middle of a massive charred crater spread over miles. It was caused by the destructive might of the Heavenly Law Punishment!
"Themotion of this Heavenly Law Punishment was probably hundreds of times more than myst heavenly punishment, and if there was someone in the forbidden region''s vicinity, I''m sure they might''ve noticed it, especially if they had a high cultivation base.
"That Inner Court me Elder Emil might also be here searching for clues from the Crimson tinum since only a month had passed outside. So, I should leave this ce first before I count my gains.''
Ace gave up on learning the Prime Law Phantom Forbidden Spell that he got from the system for now because he didn''t want to take any chances of being discovered by anyone.
So, without hesitation, Ace started heading towards the exit of the forbidden region since he didn''t want to explore this barren ce further, at least not without any potential gains.
Furthermore, he hadn''t forgotten about his deal with Freya and his own need for resources. After this first heavenly punishment, Ace knew how terrifying it would be in the future, so he wanted to cultivate the Universal ck Ascension Physique at all costs.
Ace didn''t know how correct his decision had been because, just as he suspected, his Heavenly Punishment was simply too overbearing and grand. Despite the secluded environment of the forbidden region of the Spirit Inferno Domain, some very powerful people sense the chance, primarily because of the forbidden region''s importance!
Not even an hour had passed since Ace left. Elder Emil appeared floating above the gigantic charred crater, somewhat exhausted yet disbelieving as he looked at the sheer destruction. "Someone had undergone Law Tribtion? But the destruction caused is far more than an Early Law Tribtion... could it be someone had triggered an intermediate stagew tribtion?!" Elder Emil was shocked by his own words, as he knew it was impossible because an Intermediate Law Tribtion means someone has tried to reach ''that'' realm!
However, he knew that in the entire Spirit Inferno Region, only the Grand Elders of the AIG Sect were at the peak of the Ascension Guardian Realm. Those old men wouldn''t dare to undergo heavenly tribtion unless they were at the end of their lifespan since he knew each Grand Elder level figure was an indispensable asset for a Second Grade Sect!
So, even if a Grand Elder wanted to cross to the next realm, the sect wouldn''t allow it, especially if there were less than 50% chances of survival because the intermediatew tribtions were hundreds of times deadlier than the early stage.
Another reason was that the inheritance of a second-grade sect was thoroughlycking to create that level of cultivators, and only the King Sects had methods to raise the chances of sess. This was also the reason the King Sects were feared by many and how they hoarded talents.
"You are right, whoever tried it was a reckless fellow and now probably turn into ashes... what a pity we won''t be able to know who this hermit cultivator was!" An old voicemented as it was filled with pity.
Elder Emil was instantly startled as his eyes widened. He was horrified because he didn''t sense any presence around him at all despite being an Ascension Master, and if this voice hadn''t revealed itself, he probably wouldn''t be able to tell either.
Sweating profusely, Elder Emil looked up, and his eyes contracted because, at this moment, floating above Elder Emil were five figures with regal bearing. Four of them were extremely old, wearing crimson robes with purple marks, but thew around them was extremely submissive. In the center of these four old figures was a handsome man wearing white schrly robes.
Elder Emil might be an inner elder, but he instantly recognized those crimson robes with purple markings, especially the six stars embedded on the three figures'' cors. He knew what that meant and instantly guessed their identities.
However, this made Elder Emil even more terrifying, as he never expected these enigmatic figures to appear all at once.
He stuttered, still in disbelief, "G-Gr-Grand Elders?!"
The white-robed schr, who was precisely the Sect Master of the AIG Sect, Vincent, smiled ambiguously at Emil as he spoke first, "You must be Inner Sect me Elder Emil, right? Can you tell us what you were doing this deep in the Forbidden Region, and do you have any idea who this senior was?"N?v(el)B\\jnn
Elder Emil paled. This was the exact question he didn''t want to hear, but he knew that in front of these five, he was an ant no matter what kind of status he had. If he dared to lie, they would instantly know because their cultivation base andwprehension were far higher than his.
Furthermore, now that he looked at this ce, he instantly thought that this person had also taken the Crimson tinum, and he finally understood why the Mountain Tyrant wasn''t able to detect it at all.
Emil couldn''t help but curse whoever it was. Now that this person was dead, his crimson tinum should be destroyed since the Heavenly Tribtion would permanently destroy everything of a cultivator who failed to cross it, even the storage treasures!
But the thing was, if he confessed, these guys would instantly know about his selfish n and how he had been hiding the existence of Crimson tinum all this time!
Now, Elder Emil''s situation was like avoiding the storm only to be caught in a hurricane!
Chapter 1237: A Chance!
Chapter 1237: A Chance!
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Elder Emil thought for a moment before he finally decided to tell the ''truth'' in a way that wouldn''t reveal much but also not affect him much because he knew lying in front of those five and getting away with it was almost impossible.
"I...I entered the forbidden region after getting a message of disturbance in one of the barren cinder cones, and when I reached it, I found a Crimson tinum Mountain hidden by a formation!"
"Wait! Crimson tinum Mountain?" One of the Grand Elders, a tall, wizened man with long snow-white hair and sword eyebrows, his name was Edwin Weston, suddenly spoke with a hint of disbelief and a hint of desire, "Do you mean the Spirit Metal, Crimson tinum?" Not only Grand Elder Edwin but also the other three Grand Elders and Vincent were astounded when they heard about the ''Crimson tinum'' because they all knew how rare Spirit Metal was. If someone wanted to forge spirit treasures, a spirit metal was a must. Simrly, forging with a spirit metal can also provide a spirit forger with insights into forging and even increase their cultivation.
Furthermore, Crimson tinum was an Upper Ascension Grade-5 Spirit Metal, which means it was valuable to Grand Elders!
Vincent''s expression changed ever so slightly as he looked at Elder Emil and then subtly nced at the four Grand Elders. They were only here because they all sensed the powerful Heavenly Tribtion, but they never expected that by the time they arrived, it would already be over, and now Elder Emil had revealed even more shocking news.
"This guy is suspicious!'' Vincent thought but didn''t show it to the grand elders and decided to interrogate Emil alone.
Elder Emil sighed secretly in relief since he had sessfully diverted everyone''s attention on the Crimson tinum from himself and quickly told them the other half of the story about how Mountain Tyrant attacked him because it thought he had taken the Crimson tinum it had been protecting all this time while he missed the part about how they know each other.
After hearing Emil''s exnation, all the Grand Elders frowned while Vincent remained impassive as if the disappearance of Crimson tinum had nothing to do with him, nor did he seem interested in Crimson tinum, at least it didn''t show on his face while he was secretly relief because he knew even if they found the Crimson tinum, these old men won''t let him have it easily under many pretexts.
"Junior Sister Inez, can I trouble you with checking the location, me Elder Emil just described and see if you found any hidden clues?" Grand Elder Edwin asked from the only woman in their group with spirit transmission, an old woman with fierce eyes; she was Grand Elder Inez Oriente!
"Alright." Grand Elder Inez agreed and vanished the next moment.
She has the highest attainment in spacews and detection ability, and if any space-type treasure was used in that ce, she could find it as long as it wasn''t above her cultivation realm.
Among this group, the Grand Elder, without any stars on his cor, was burly and had the aura of a fierce warrior who had been on countless battlefields and didn''t have the aura of a forger. Instead, he was a me cultivator and also the strongest person in the entire AIG Sect, Grand Elder Chester Sutton!
Grand Elder Chester coldly looked at Elder Emil and asked, "Do you mind if we check your storage treasure? Just to be sure you''re not hiding the Crimson tinum and wasting our time."
No one speaks despite this matter being extremely underhanded and emting for Elder Emile. If Elder Emil had the same power level as them, they wouldn''t have asked for such a thing, but he was too weak, not to mention he was also part of their sect.
''Showing your true colors by bullying a junior...'' Vincent''s eyes shed with disgust and disdain, but he didn''t say anything since he knew these greedy old guys also had some ''righteous excuse.''
Besides, he also has some doubts about Elder Emil and knows Emil is withholding something from them.
Although Spirit Metal can''t be stored in a normal spirit storage treasure, there are some ways to store it, like a special container that can hide a spiritual treasure''s life aura, and then it can easily be stored within the storage ring.
Even though this kind of container was also quite precious and rare, one can still find them if one has connections. Elder Emil shouldn''t have that kind of connection, but these Grand Elders weren''t going to take that risk.
Elder Emil''s expression changed when he heard it. Still, he knew he couldn''t do anything; in fact, he might''ve done the same thing if their position were to change, and besides, he didn''t have the Crimson tinum, nor did he have anything noteworthy of these Ascension Grand General''s attention.
If this can help him escape this situation, he doesn''t mind letting them inspect his storage ring. So, he quickly removed his storage ring and removed his spiritual mark. Also, if they were able to discover the missing Crimson tinum, they''d reward him for his contribution!
"Please feel free to check it." He said respectfully.
This time, the third old man with a long white beard and hair moved. He was Grand Elder Bernard Norberg. The storage ring flew into Grand Elder Bernard''s hand, and he sent hisw sense to inspect every item in it while the others remained stoic.
After a little while, a hint of disappointment shed past Grand Elder Bernard''s eyes as he said, "He''s clean." He returned the storage ring to Elder Emil, who sighed in relief.
Vincent spoke at this moment with a hint of smile through spirit transmission with all the Grand Elders, "Grand Elders, there are high chances that the Crimson tinum was taken away by this mysterious person who had undergone Heavenly Law Tribtion, which also means that it is gone with him.
"But what we should be investing instead is who that person was and how he was able to sneak into this ce without triggering the ancient formation. There is also a chance he had entered from ''that'' ce. What do you think?"
The three Grand Elders looked at Vincent with a hint of annoyance, but they didn''t have words to refute him since they knew there were high chances that hisst words were true. Furthermore, they knew the implication behind Vincent''sst words.
"Now that we are here to investigate, we''ll naturally examine this matter since it''s rted to the ancient treaty." Grand Elder Edwin stated through spirit transmission.
Vincent was waiting for those exact words as he quickly replied, "Excellent. I''ve already informed Senior Guardian Spirit about the Grand Elders'' concern and willingness to protect the sect. So, Senior has agreed to let Grand Elder Chester and Grand Elder Bernard go to the ''boundary'' and investigate this matter thoroughly!"
The Grand Elders'' expression instantly changed when they heard it. They looked at Vincent with disbelief and dark expressions-it was as if Vincent had killed their ancestors!N?v(el)B\\jnn
Chapter 1238 Trouble Within!
Chapter 1238 Trouble Within!
Ace didn''t know what had happened in the forbidden region of Spirit Inferno Domain after he left, but even if he knew, he wouldn''t care since this had nothing to do with him. He also didn''t want to get involved with those powerful figures since he had no way of resisting or countering them.
At this moment, he had already left the forbidden region without a hitch, and he was far faster than thest time because of his increased cultivation.
Once he felt he was out of the danger zone, Ace decided to stop in the forest to finalize all his gains. The first thing he did was ept the Forbidden Spell Prime Law Phantom, the reward he got from the system after he entered the Ascension Warrior realm.
Instantly, the knowledge of the spell started to flood his mind, and soon, he refined it all. Once he grasped the entire spell, a hint of shock appeared in his eyes.
The first thing about this Forbidden Spell was that it didn''t have any grade or proficiency levels. Instead, its prowess solely depended on the power of his inner world. Furthermore, as a forbidden spell, it has a tremendous cost to use, which his entire Qi reserves!
Nheless, this Forbidden Spell was still worth the price because it can summon a phantom of his inner world outside. Not only will it increase his power by ten times, but it will also suppress anyone around him, depending on the difference in the cultivation realm.
Ace never expected the forbidden spell from the system to be so overbearing. He knew that with his primew, which originated from the Darkness Order, and his world being a primordial world, the suppression of his enemies would be massive! The most exciting part for Ace was that he only needed to cast it once he learned it, which was quite easy since this forbidden spell only required him to create the Spell Runes with his Qi and create the structure of the forbidden spell. The time of the cast also depends on his proficiency in casting the spell runes.
Although he had never seen or heard about the ''spell runes'' before, upon reading them in the forbidden spell, he instantly knew these runes originated from the Heavenly Runes as well!
It was like casting a formation with a thought and a novel concept for Ace, which also provided him with new insights into his rune crafting. He became even more curious about what the runes could do, especially after seeing them being used in the Heavenly Punishment! Afterward, he inspects his inner world. Now that it is finally connected with his cultivation heart, he can see the things within. The inner world is filled with dark primordial Qi, with thew of darkness holding supreme while thew of creationplements it.
Furthermore, the runes he had absorbed from the Law Destruction Thunder also seemed to have a strange yet harmonious effect on his primordial world, as if they were nurturing it until it finally bloomed from its seed state. After admiring this mystical yet unfathomable phenomenon, he saw the Enteral Thief Fate Compass basking in his Primordial Spirit Qi above the dark void in the center of his inner world space, and he could feel its power increasing again.
Another thing he noticed was that a section of his inner world seemed to be separated yet connected with his world like a secret realm. It was precisely the Primordial Beast Space, and it seemed to have strengthened as well. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Furthermore, Ace observed the two small creatures in his beast space, who seemed to be sleeping yet were both wrapped in his Primordial Spirit Qi like ethereal cocoons. They were none other than Cyrus and Chuchu.
Cyrus seemed to have fallen into a hibernation once he entered his beast space. With Chuchu''s consent, he let her enter his beast space as well, and the moment she appeared, she also fell into a deep sleep while absorbing his Primordial Spirit Qi.
Although Ace was expecting this, it was still quite unexpected, and he knew they weren''t in any danger. In fact, he could feel they were undergoing some kind of metamorphosis, and once they awakened, they would be powerful!
He even considered raising more magic beasts in his primordial beast space since it was massive, and Cyrus and Chuchu didn''t seem to have much effect on him, no matter how much Qi they absorbed. But then Ace dropped the idea since it was too much for him to raise more magic beasts, especially if their personalities were Cyrus. If Cyrus had made more friends like Chuchu, he''d have thought about it at that time.
Ace was about to retract his sense from his inner world when he suddenly sensed something else being nurtured by his Primordial Heavenly Qi. The first thought in Ace''s mind was his sword heart, but he knew the sword heart was a special independent existence directly connected to the heart; it had nothing to do with his inner world space.
His Spirit Fire was the same since it is also directly imbued in his cultivation heart, into his foundation of cultivation. When Ace tracked his source, he reached the ce where the Dark Void was again, and he finally saw what it was. Before, he didn''t see it because it was hidden right under the Dark Void.
It was a small crystal bead with ck ethereal patterns. A dark, ethereal me surrounded this bead while his Primordial Spirit Qi was slowly being absorbed by it. It was very vague and almost untraceable, and if Ace hadn''t opened his inner world space, he wouldn''t have noticed it at all.
But it wasn''t the important part because the moment Ace saw the bead, his expression warped with disbelief and a hint of fear, "I-it couldn''t be¡" Just as Ace thought he was hallucinating, a charming yet yful voice rang in his head, "Fufufufu¡ you finally opened your Inner World and noticed your master, my dear Steward~!" ''Mother*ucker¡how?!'' Ace cursed in his mind when he heard that familiar voice because that crystal bead was none other than the Soul Resurrection Bead that he had given to that mysterious woman in the Primordial Path of Ascension in exchange for her help to send him to the end of the path!
Chapter 1239: Helplessness!
Chapter 1239: Helplessness!
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Ace wasn''t expecting that he would reencounter this woman in such a way because after she took the Soul Resurrection Bead that time, she had vanished, and he didn''t wait for her to finish whatever she wanted to do with it.
ording to the system, this woman should have a terrifying origin, and he only freed her so she could cause trouble for Heaven and leave him alone since he couldn''t handle someone like her.
Furthermore, once he ascended to the Mortal Ascension Heaven, Ace was sure that he had gotten rid of her and that now she could cause all the problems for Heaven. However, what he didn''t even dream of happening was that she would be hiding right in his inner space all this time, and he didn''t even know she was there!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace didn''t know if it was because he hadn''t created his world seed yet. Still, he was sure that if his primordial Qi of Darkness wasn''t evaluated after he added thew of Creation, he might still be unable to find the Soul Resurrection Bead hidden right under his nose.
Nheless, this made Ace even more fearful of this woman''s means, and he wondered if the system was also unaware of this fact or simply didn''t bother with her because it couldn''t deal with her. Or she might be no longer a threat once she entered the Soul Resurrection Bead, so the system didn''t bother to warn him.
But whatever the case, Ace didn''t like it a bit because he didn''t know what she could do or how much she could observe him while remaining in his inner world space. By her tone, he had a feeling that she was observing everyone he had been doing all this time!
Ace quickly calmed his uneasy feelings and secretly tried to control the Soul Resurrection Bead, sending it out of his inner world space. However, to his horror, he couldn''t seem to reach it, as if it wasn''t there in the first ce.
''Is it because of that ck me?'' Ace guessed with a gloomy expression because that ck me seemed to be the same that he saw when he met her in the Path of Ascension.
Still, since there was nothing he could do, and he still remembered her telling him that she needed his help to find her real body, he guessed that she wouldn''t do anything to him unless she got what she wanted or if she had any intention of harming or even possessing him, she could''ve done it a long time ago since she was directly within his cultivation heart, the foundation of his cultivation and soul!
"M-master, how have you been? You should''ve told me that you were here. I''m sure you werefortable all this time..." Ace pulled with a fake fawning smile and said respectfully. "System, what the hell is going on?!" While he quickly questioned the system secretly.
"Fufu~, I''ve been pretty well, actually." The woman cheerfully replied, "As for telling you, I just wanted to see how long it would take you to notice me, and I must say, it was far quicker than I had initially guessed. You should know that I''m rarely wrong with my predictions. Well, I think it''s only natural since no one can predict a Heaven''s Stealer!"
Ace''s eyes instantly widened in rm and disbelief when he heard ''Heaven''s Stealer.'' He instantly knew that she had seen everything, and from her tone, she even seemed to know what a Heaven''s Stealer was!
At this moment, the system voice sounded, "[She has used an ancient soul spell to mark your soul directly, and with the system''s current level, there is nothing you can do.]
"[With this spell, she was able to teleport directly into your inner world space once she entered the Soul Resurrection Bead, and then she used another ancient spell to bind the Soul Resurrection Bead with your soul, making it your bounded treasure!]
"[But because of her power level and the peculiar nature of that spell, she held full control over the Soul Resurrection Bead despite it being your bounded treasure, and unless your soul surpassed hers or the system level increased two more times, there is nothing system, or you can do.]
"[However, because of the Soul Resurrection Bead, she can''t do anything to you, and she won''t dare to do anything to you because she needed your primordial Qi to nurture her soul, and by now, she should''ve already realized that the old path of cultivation has been changed, and only you have the Primordial Qi!]
"[Furthermore, she can''t see or detect the system, and as long as she continues to absorb your primordial Qi and remains close to the Dark Void, even if she tries to do anything, it will be toote for her to move against you!]
"[So, system will suggest you to y along with her for the time being!]"
Ace was gobsmacked when he heard this unexpected reply from the system, and he became even gloomier because the system was directly telling him that she was way too powerful for now to handle, and he was on his own.
But the system had revealed some crucial information, which gave him some sce. At least he was safe for now, and she couldn''t do anything to him.
At this moment, "Fufufufu...."The woman instantly burst into joyousughter, "Your expression is just priceless! But I can''t me you since I know too well what could happen if a peculiar bevy of old ghosts discovered that you were Heaven''s Stealer.
"Even I was surprised when I found it, and I had never expected that I would have the honor to take the enigmatic Heaven''s Stealer as my Steward after being imprisoned in that ce for so long. I guess my luck is finally turning for good after all that suffering I''ve endured, yet I also know it''s the most terrible bad luck that anyone could have... sigh... I''m truly pitiful..." Shemented, but the joy in her tone told another story.
Still, Ace was not in the mood to indulge her anymore, especially after hearing her cryptic words. Now, it was confirmed that she knew exactly what a Heaven''s Stealer was and even
seemed to know it!
Although Ace didn''t trust her and even wanted to get rid of her, he knew he couldn''t at this moment. Now that the cats were out of the bag and the system told him to y along, he could only go along with it.
Moreover, he wanted to know anything about Heaven''s Stealer from this old monster. He knew that, given how long she had been alive and wasn''t killed despite being imprisoned in that ce for an unknown time, she would be in possession of many ancient secrets!
"Since you know who I am, I don''t think there is any need to fool each other. I''m also sure that you know what kind of enemy I have, and from your situation, I assumed that we share the same enemy. So, why don''t we drop the act and help each other?
"I can help you find your body and even take revenge, but I need a reason to trust you and make sure that you won''t backstab me or scheme against me once you achieve your goal," Ace said in a grave
tone!
Chapter 1240: Malservus!
Chapter 1240: Malservus!
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n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Hearing Ace''s straightforward words without any of his usual fake fawning, the womanughed, "Fufufufu... how bold of you!"
Ace''s nerves instantly tensed as he thought she was angry and might try to do something, but he didn''t sense anything amiss from the Soul Resurrection Bead or from the woman''s voice.
Furthermore, since the system had told him that the Soul Resurrection Bead was now his bounded treasure, it couldn''t harm him despite hisck of control over it.
Although he didn''t know what kind of treasure the Soul Resurrection Bead was, and the system could still notpletely analyze it, especially now that this woman was residing in it, he was sure that this was some extremely high-level treasure that was even useful to an ancient monster like this woman.
"But you know what?" The woman said with a hint of teasing, "I liked it! After all, only this kind of attitude befits Heaven''s Stealer and my Steward!"
Ace was astounded by this unexpected response, "Are you still on about that Steward business? Although I admit you are strong, very strong, and I can''t fathom your true power, I''m not stupid to believe that you were sincere with words at that time and even more so now.
"Furthermore, it seemed you know a lot about Heaven''s Stealer. Can you tell me since I''m not informed about any of the previous Heaven''s Stealers?" Ace couldn''t help but ask since this was the main reason he wanted to agree to work with her, at least until the system was strong enough to deal with her.
"Fufu~, I sure do know about Heaven''s Stealer; in fact, because of mutual upations, I even have close ties with one," The woman revealed.
Ace was shocked by this unexpected answer. He knew what it meant to have ties with a Heaven''s Stealer; it was like bing the enemy of the entire world because of what a Heaven''s Stealer represented. He also knew that a Heaven''s Stealer wouldn''t reveal itself to just anyone at least he hadn''t yet, except for the thief house members.
If he didn''t know the rules of the Thief House, he would even suspect her of being a member. Furthermore, he can''t just take her word for it since she might be lying to earn his trust. But s, he had no way to verify it, and she also told him that she was in her current predicament because she had robbed someone''s ancestral grave.
"I know you''re not going to believe me, but I''m not going to tell you anything either since it was all in the past, and knowing that will only hinder your own path, or it might lead you into the wrong path all along.
"I''ve been observing this ce ever since you crossed the Path of Ascension, and it is no longer the same world I used to know. It seemed those old ghosts had seeded, and with your weak cultivation base as a Heaven''s Stealer, it''s also clear that they had learned how to deal with Heaven''s Stealers.
"I never expected I would be into this kind of surprise after escaping my imprisonment..." Her tone was filled with dismay and a tingle of chilling killing intent.
Even Ace was shocked. For some reason, a chill ran down his spine because what she had just said hinted at many things, and the implications behind it were nothing but terrifying and bad news to him.
"Just who are you?" Ace asked with a grave tone.
"Apparently, nothing but a relic of the past who has lost everything she knew..." She whispered before her tone changed into a jolly one again, "But it seemed it was fate that I encountered you, or I can say that it was the Heaven''s Stealer fate that led you to me.
"After all, a Heaven''s Stealer is both the luckiest and unluckiest person between Heavens and Abysses and whoever has any rtionship with a Heaven''s Stealer can either sore or directly turn to ashes. Just look at me..." Sheined with a hint of mncholy.
Ace instantly asked, "So, you''re saying the reason you are in this state is because of your ties with Heaven''s Stealer?"
"Fufuf, nope. That was just my bad luck, I guess, and all those things I did finally caught up to me. Still, who knows? I stopped caring about it a long time ago, especially now that everything has changed, and you are just too weak to evenprehend my situation or what kind of enemies you are dealing with.
"But since you are a Heaven''s Stealer, you''ll be going to encounter them eventually if you reach that point. Just as you said, your enemy is my enemy as well, even more so since I know many secrets that should''ve been erased from history."
Her voice became chilly as ice, "So, little Heaven''s Stealer, since I have karma with your predecessor and now with you, I''m willing to instruct you on your path to bing a thief.
"I know no one can train of Heaven''s Stealer since it would only limit your path, but since I''ve also been a thief for a very long time, I can give you some advice on some asions.
"However, what I want in return from you is your promise to help me three times without any questions asked and that you will never harm me, even if you have the strength.
"I know very well just how unpredictable a Heaven''s Stealer is, and your lineage is the biggest mystery under Heavens and Abysses, so I know you can''t be controlled or threatened by anyone.
"In fact, I''m ying with fire and raising the most dangerous snake of them all, but you are my only hope, and I''m willing to take this risk. But in return, I want your sincere promise or pretend that I didn''t exist, and I promise you that I''ll leave you alone once you break the Law Shackle!"
Ace''s eyes instantly narrowed as he was again shocked by her words, ''Did she perhaps know about the Thief Promise? And from her tone, it''s clear that she also knew that I''d eventually gain the power to tame her. Just how the hell is she and what kind of deal she had with a Heaven''s Stealer to know so much?
''Furthermore, from her tone, she also seemed to be absolutely confident in her ability to find out if I was lying to her or made a superficial promise... but just as she said, just her knowledge is absolutely precious to me, and if she was really a thief, then she can really give me advice... ''I already have the most terrifying enemy there is in this world, and she also seemed to know about it more than me... so, having her as a backup is even more beneficial to me than having her as an
enemy...
''Besides, even if she knew about the Thief Promise, she didn''t seem to know its rules...''
At this moment, Ace finally made his up mind and said, "Alright, as long as you won''t scheme against me or put me or anyone close to me in danger, I give you my word that I''ll do three things for you and won''t harm you, and I expect the same thing from you!"
The moment Ace uttered those words, the system voice rang,
=====
[Host has just made a Thief Promise]
-Thief Promise: An unbreakable promise of a Heaven''s Stealer
-Abstract: Theft is not just about stealing for one''s own benefit and motives. Sometimes, theft is done
for the greater good and for others who are in need.
-Description (1): A Thief Promise can only be triggered when the host willingly agrees to take a mission from someone else who''s desperately in need of the host''s thieving abilities.
-Description (2): The system will instantly trigger a mission when the possessor of a Thief Promise deres their reasonable request.
-Description (3): If the bearer had any malice against the host, the Thief Promise will be deemed void
by the system.
=====
"Fufufuf..." The woman instantly burst into joyousughter as if she knew that the Thief Promise was established among them, which made Ace even more sure that she knew.
"Alright, it''s a deal, Heaven''s Stealer! Please take care of your master from now; you can call me Malservus!"
Chapter 1241: A Rival Sect!
Chapter 1241: A Rival Sect!
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The Northern Guardian Sect City stands as one of the crown jewels among the four
subordinate cities of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect, under the stewardship of the Norberg n, who was currently under the most limelight!
It sprawls across a vast expanse, surrounded by towering ck iron walls inscribed with powerful runes. It serves as both a fortress and amercial hub. The streets are alive with the bustling energy of traders, cultivators, and artisans from all corners of the Spirit Inferno Domain.
Grand buildings and pavilions crafted from polished obsidian and crimson stone line the avenues. Each is adorned with banners disying its affiliations with various sects and businesses.
A colossal central square serves as the heart of the city. Statues of the Norberg n''s ancestors and the sect''s insignia tower above the square. Here, auctions and trade fairs are held, attracting merchants and cultivators alike for the exchange of rare treasures, alchemy treasures, and even some secret techniques.
With its reputation as one of thergest business hubs in the domain, Northern Guardian Sect City is a convergence point for wealth and opportunity, where every deal made could change one''s fate.
In the most prominent area of the city stands the imposing structure of the Ambrosia Wine Sanctuary!
The Ambrosia Wine Sanctuary was known far and wide across the Mortal Ascension Heaven for its exclusive and exquisite wine, Evesting Ambrosia, crafted from unknown spirit fruits and herbs only known by the Ambrosia Wine Sanctuary.
Only the most distinguished and wealthy could afford entry, as the establishment''s high standards ensured that only those with status or wealth gained ess to its luxurious chambers.
The Ambrosia Wine Sanctuary was structured like a grand pagoda, with each floor offering a higher grade of the Evesting Ambrosia and higher levels of service. The VIP area, located on the topmost floor, was reserved for the most elite guests-those who could afford wines that cost a fortune with each sip.
Even an Ascension Warrior, a cultivator of immense strength, was typically not powerful or influential enough to be allowed to enjoy the privileges of this area unless they had affiliations with high-grade sects or possessed a high cultivation base.
At this moment, inside the famed ''Ambrosia Wine Sanctuary,'' a young man invish, deep crimson robes embroidered with golden thread satfortably by a window, his eyeszily observing the cityscape.
As the young man swirled, his ss of the Ambrosia Wine Sanctuary''s famed ''Evesting Ambrosia of First Grade,'' a rich, crystal white wine emitted faint wisps of dense invisible Qi with an unforgettable intoxicating scent.
There were higher grades of Evesting Ambrosia, from first to the legendary ninth grade, which was only served in their headquarters. Even the Inferno Spirit Domain wasn''t qualified to have it!
Just this small ss of First Grade Evesting Ambrosia in this young man''s hand cost 10,000 Tier-1 Spirit Coins, while a first-grade Evesting Ambrosia wine bottle cost 1,000,000 Tier- 1 Spirit Coins, and one cultivator was only limited to buying one per month, no matter how they were!
Moreover, only aw state cultivator could drink it, and any elemental state cultivator would st apart with a tiny sip. Not only that, but a cultivator could only buy the Evesting Ambrosia of the same cultivation realm, not higher, and the spirit coins'' tier will also increase with the wine''s grade.
These were the rules of the Ambrosia Wine Sanctuary, and no one dared to go against them if they didn''t want to be cklisted for life and also because the Ambrosia Wine Sanctuary background was mystical and posed great deterrence to even a Second Grade Sect!
The young man was relishing his wine; as one could guess, it was his first time tasting it. He also overheard the whispers and conversations from around the room.
However, at this moment, themotion at the entrance soon caught his attention. He leaned back slightly, a spark of interest lighting up in his eyes.
A group of people entered the pavilion, their presence causing a ripple of exmations from the guests.
They wore unique robes marked with a peculiar insignia. Their robes were a unique blend of ck and white fabric, patterned with interlocking circles representing the duality of Yin and Yang.
Each circle had glowing runic symbols etched within, signifying their affinity with formations and rune-crafting techniques.
"Yin Yang Formation Guardian Sect!" A middle-aged cultivator sitting not far away from the young man suddenly eximed with a grave tone.
The young man''s eyes shed with a hint of astonishment because he knew about the Yin- Yang Formation Guardian Sect-a prominent rival to the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect!
Furthermore, the moment those Yin-Yang Formation Guardian Sect people entered, the tension in the room was palpable as everyone eyed the neers, a rare sight in Northern Guardian Sect City, given the long-standing rivalry between the two sects.
The young man took another sip of his wine, his expression calm but his eyes gleaming with intrigue. He listened carefully to the murmurs around him, piecing together the significance of the Yin Yang Formation Guardian Sect''s appearance in a territory so deeply controlled by the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect.
"Interesting..." He muttered, his fingers drumming softly on the table. "What could have brought them here?"
The people of the Yin-Yang Formation Guardian Sect''s eyes shed with disdain and arrogance as they didn''t even nce at anyone. They directly headed towards the upper floor, where one of the sanctuary staff respectfully led them to higher floors where the high-grade Evesting Ambrosia was sold.
After all, as a second-grade sect like the AIG Sect, the Yin-Yang Formation Guardian Sect people can directly ess the third floor, and if they have an Ascension Master with them, they can go to the fourth floor. Mind you, there were only six floors in the Ambrosia Wine
Sanctuary!
One of the people of the Yin-Yang Formation Guardian Sect, the people started to discuss heatedly.
"What do you think those arrogant guys from the Everchanging Domain are here for? Are they going to pick a fight with the AIG Sect?" A man asked his friend.
"Tsk, tsk, don''t you know that the Decade Meeting between the two sects in five months? Although they called it a friendly meeting where both sects took turns going into each other''s domains with their most talented disciples to exchange pointers, everyone knew that it was fiercepetition between the two sects! And thest time I heard, thest meeting when the AIG Sect went in the Everchanging Domain, they lost from the Yin-Yang Formation Guardian Sect!" The other man replied with a somewhat angry tone.
"What!? It''s that fierce? But aren''t the AIG Sect and Yin-Yang Formation Guardian Sect following the path of Spirit Forging and Spirit Rune Crafting? What do theypete in?" The
other guy asked again curiously.N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Although it''s true that both sects followed different paths, the thing is, both sects also have formations and forging inheritance, and there are even core disciples among both sects who followed the formation and forging paths. There are even special halls and elders.
"So, both sects alwayspete with each other using those two halls, especially the disciples with dual runic talents. Unfortunately, dual runic talents are scarce, and the Yin-Yang Formation Guardian Sect has one, while the AIG Sect has yet to find any. You can only imagine how humiliating it is for the AIG Sect to get beaten in thepetition of the forging that they
took pride in..."
The young man, who had been attentively hearing their conversation, was astounded and finally understood what was going on.
He couldn''t help but think, ''Decade meeting between the two second-grade sects? Didn''t this mean
I''d be forced to take part by the sect master? From everyone''s conceded opinion, it seemed like a pretty
big deal.
''But what if the bank got robbed before the meeting?''
The young man, or Ace in disguise, couldn''t help but think, with a grim yet curious look in his
eyes!
Chapter 1242: Prime Heavenly Bank Branch!
Chapter 1242: Prime Heavenly Bank Branch!
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The Ambrosia Wine Sanctuary was rmended to Ace by Freya when he informed her about her arrival and permitted her to start her n.
At first, he didn''t think much about it, but after discovering the poption and prestige of the Ambrosia Wine Sanctuary and tasting the Evesting Ambrosia, he was convinced and even wanted to raid the Ambrosia Wine Sanctuary''s entire wine collection.
However, he decided against it because, despite the Ambrosia Wine Sanctuary''s mysterious background and unknown power dynamic, its wealth and prestige were stillcking inparison to the Prime Heavenly Bank.
Furthermore, this was a good ce to gather information, and now that he saw the Yin Yang Formation Guardian Sect here, Ace was fully alert. After hearing people talk about them, he was sure that the AIG sect and the YYFG Sect were more like enemies than rivals.
The people of Spirit Inferno Domain seemed to loathe the people of Everchanging Domain, and he could guess that it was also the case on the side.
Although he didn''t know what past these two sects had, he knew that once this decade-long gathering started between them, he''d be dragged into it because he was the sect master''s disciple. At least in everyone''s eyes, and ording to what everyone knew, he was in seclusion.
Furthermore, Vincent had already told him that he''d have to follow hismand in order to deal with the four ns, and this chance was one of those that could greatly weaken the four ns'' status.
But after he saw the YYFG Sect people here and heard that there were still five months before the meeting started, and this city was also under the control of the Norberg n, he was sure that something was not right.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Nheless, Ace didn''t have the luxury of distraction, and the decade meeting couldn''tpare to what he was about to do. Not to mention, if he seeded, that meeting might not have happened at all!
Ace remained in the Ambrosia Wine Sanctuary for the whole afternoon, enjoying the Evesting Ambrosia while listening to gossip and any events happening in the Spirit Inferno Domain.
In the evening, exiting the Ambrosia Wine Sanctuary, Ace adjusted hisvish crimson robes, the golden embroidery catching the glimmer of the city''s light. He deliberately wore this outfit because he wanted to appear like a wealthy scion of a sect.
As he walked down the bustling streets of the Northern Guardian Sect City, the murmur of cultivators and merchants echoed around him. His eyes held a glint of anticipation as he made his way towards his next destination-the Prime Heavenly Bank Branch.
The Prime Heavenly Bank Branch loomed ahead, its colossal structure standing as a testament to power and wealth. It was a towering building, crafted from pure white marble and reinforced with shimmering silver runes that reflected the light, making the entire structure gleam like a beacon in the city.
Statues of auspicious beasts, signifying protection and prosperity, nked the entrance, while massive golden doors embossed with intricate patterns disyed the Prime Heavenly Bank''s insignia¡ªa white coin surrounded by swirling energies, with the symbol ''Prime'' engraved in it.
As Ace approached the bank, he paused momentarily to admire its grandeur. The Prime Heavenly Bank symbolized stability and prestige in the Mortal Ascension Heaven.
Spirit Coins, the currency introduced by the bank, had be the standard across the realm, and everyone long ago-from rogue cultivators to influential sect members-relied on it for transactions. The bank''s influence spread far and wide, and its reputation was unassable despite its humiliating history with the Nightfall Ravenhood.
Besides the Spirit Coins, the Prime Heavenly Bank offered many services beyond currency exchange. Cultivators flocked to its branches to trade spirit coins for treasures, spirit stones, and spirit crystals or even to open personal vaults where they could safely store their most prized possessions.
The bank guaranteed the security of these items, charging a modest fee that was trivialpared to the immense wealth cultivators amassed. It was widely known that any item held within the Prime Heavenly Bank''s vaults was as secure as if it were sealed in an imprable fortress.
Furthermore, the bank''s policy was a point of intrigue and practicality. If a cultivator met an untimely demise or misfortune, their wealth wasn''t lost. If someone possessed the deceased''s unique bank identity medallion, they could im the items stored in their vaults.
This practice not only ensured that a cultivator''s assets didn''t go to waste but also added ayer of strategy and caution, as these medallions often became valuable and sought-after items themselves.
Ace grinned as he reached the towering golden doors, which were opened for everyone. Many cultivators were going in and out, and surprisingly, there weren''t any guards. From Ace''s experience, he instantly guessed this building was also a treasure building.
''This is going to be a problem...'' Ace mused as he continued.
He entered the grand hall of the bank. The interior was even more magnificent than the exterior-polished floors of ck obsidian, enchanted chandeliers that emitted a soft blue glow, and walls lined with priceless tapestries depicting the bank''s glorious history.
Numerous counters stretched along the sides of the hall, each manned by bank members dressed in uniform white robes. Uniquely, the lower-ranking members wore smooth, expressionless masks, concealing their identities.
It was a measure that intrigued many ensuring that no one could recognize or trace them outside their duties and guaranteeing the anonymity and neutrality of the bank''s staff. This anonymity was part of the bank''s mystique, fostering an aura of impartiality and trust.
Ace''s gaze swept over the bustling activity inside the bank. Cultivators of varying ranks and appearances stood in line, some exchanging spirit stones, others depositing treasures, while a few signed contracts to secure vaults.
The air was filled with the hum of activity, the clinking of spirit coins, and the faint whispers of deals being made.
Ace''s eyes flickered with a hint of greed as he moved further inside, blending seamlessly into the crowd. He had a n in mind¡ªa heist that only he could pull off.
With a confident stride, he approached the reception counter, ready to make his next move. He was fully aware that the bank''s reputation was as much a challenge as it was an opportunity!
At this moment, Ace also issued amand to the system, "System, I''ll use one of the thievery changes on this branch of the Prime Heavenly Bank. Please start making the Treasure Blueprint!"
Chapter 1243: Upgraded Treasure Blueprint!
Chapter 1243: Upgraded Treasure Blueprint!
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Ace was sitting in a luxurious room, and in front of him was a masked man wearing the uniform of the Prime Heavenly Bank. This room was one of many private rooms inside the Prime Heavenly Bank, and it was reserved for those who wanted to register with the bank and acquire its services.
At this moment, the masked man respectfully ced an exquisite white crystal card that seemed to be a work of art. In the middle of this bronze crystal card was the insignia of the Prime Heavenly Bank.
But it wasn''t all as one could feel the aura of profoundw formation on this card if they focused theirw sense it.
At this moment, the man spoke in a respectful manner, "Congrattions, Mr. White. All the procedures arepleted, and after sessfully signing the membership contract, you are now a Bronze-Tier ount Holder."
"This is your Bronze-Tier Bank Identity Medallion. It contains all the details about your membership and is also the ''Key'' to your Bronze-Tier Security Vault. Without it, you won''t be able to ess it. Please remember that if you lose it or destroy it, ording to the Bronze Tier Membership rules, any items in your security vault will be lost, and the bank will not take any responsibility!
"Please inspect it and use your spiritual signature to im ownership." The man''s words were respectful yet impassive as if he didn''t care about Ace''s reaction to this information at all since almost everyone knew about it and no one had ever dared to make a fuss.
Ace nced at the masked man dismissively as he picked up the Bank Identity Medallion and inspected it. To his surprise, this Bronze Tier Bank Identity Medallion was an upper ascension grade-3 treasure metal, which made it quite hard to destroy!
But when he thought about how he had to pay the membership fee of 50 million tier-1 spirit coins just to join the bank and be this Bronze Tier Member, he didn''t find this medallion made with an upper ascension grade-3 metal any exaggeration at all.
Furthermore, although he was given this bronze-tier security vault, as long as he keeps any items inside, no matter how insignificant or precious, he will have to pay 100,000 Tier-1 Spirit Coins annually.
No matter how Ace looked at it, this Prime Heavenly Bank was a money-making machine, and its title as the wealthiest organization of the Ascension Heavenly Bank waspletely justifiable.
Ace couldn''t help but ask, "Since this is only a bronze-tier membership, I''m curious if there are silver or golden memberships as well?"
The man in the mask wasn''t surprised by this question as he nodded, "Indeed, there are Silver, Gold, and tinum Tiers memberships above the Bronze Tier. If you want to be a Silver Tier Member, you need to deposit at least 1 Billion Tier-5 in our bank.
"You''ll also have the Silver Tier Security Vault at that time, which will allow you to im your items in any of our bank branches throughout the Mortal Ascension Heaven, and we''ll also provide a special privilege to you, which will be revealed only after you be a Silver Tier Member, Mr. White. As for Gold Tier memberships, you need to be a Silver Tier member first to know the conditions, and the same rules apply to the tinum Tier Membership; you need to be a Gold Tier member first."
Realization dawned on Ace at this moment, and he was secretly shocked when he heard about 1 billion tier-5 spirit coins. He knew only the top figures of a second-grade sect could match this requirement if they gathered their entire assets.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Still, Ace was even more convinced that he had chosen the right target to steal from since they were filthy rich. Their system of bank vaults contained an unimaginable amount of wealth, and cultivators used them on a daily basis to secure their treasures or hide them from probing and greedy eyes.
However, the location of the security vaults has always been elusive because they are all kept in secret ces. The vault owner always needs to use the bank''s secret teleportation channels to gain ess to them, and to this day, not even the Nightfall Ravenhood has been able to reach any location of the security vaults.
They were only able to steal the wealth of bank branches present in the bank branches'' vaults, not the security vaults. That''s why, despite getting robbed by the Nightfall Ravenhood, the bank''s reputation never took a serious hit, nor did it lose the trust of its members. Lastly, the bank members were all selected through unknown methods, and their identities were kept an absolute secret. The bank managers were allowed to show their faces, but every manager of a bank branch had at least an Ascension Guardian Realm cultivation base. Not to mention, it was only the tip of the iceberg, and there should be many more hidden experts protecting this ce!
Even Ace had a hard timeing up with a n to break into this imprable fortress, and he wondered how Freya was able to find an insider. But he couldn''t take any help from a house member in this mission since the system didn''t allow it.
So, he was on his own, but despite the difficulty, Ace was filled with resolution and a sense of excitement about this difficult challenge. After all, he had ovee Heaven''s Stealer Mission and literally stole right under the nose of Heavenly Will in the end, so why would he be afraid of these mortals?!
Furthermore, since others can''t discover the security vaults, it doesn''t mean he also can''t because he was the Heaven''s Stealer!
At this moment, the system prompted,
=====
[Treasure Blueprint Scanning of the Mission Site has beenpleted, and the Live Fate Map (Treasure Blueprint Mode) has been activated!]
-The Treasure Blueprint has been etched into the Live Fate Map in Blue and White Format!
-Live Fate Map (Treasure Blueprint Mode): The Live Fate Map will show the entire terrain, even the hidden parts of the Mission Site, and the host can scan through and scout the entire mission site!
-All the grades and acute information of the traps, hidden formation arrays, and treasures avable will appear on the map with colored names. The colors'' indication will be the same as the fate map''s innate colors!
-Safe Routes Selection: Host can select treasure locations by putting up Thief Mark on the location through the fate map. A purple passage will appear on the map, which will provide the shortest and safest route that leads toward the treasure location.
-Enemy Detection Alert (NEW): The host can now mark ten target enemies within the vicinity of the mission site through the treasure blueprint mode. If the marked enemies be alert or show signs of doubt or any movement toward the Host, the system will automatically alert the Host!
[NOTE: Until the mission is active, the Host can now activate the Live Fate Map Treasure Blueprint Mode of the already scanned site at will, and you can use the Live Fate Map without spending any Qi as long as it is in the Treasure Blueprint Mode and in the vicinity of the target!] [Warning: Treasure Blueprint will disappear after the missionpletion or when the time of the mission ends.]
Ace wasn''t surprised, but when he saw the new ''Enemy Detection Alert'' appear on the treasure blueprint, he was startled before he cheered secretly in tion. This function was extremely handy and useful for him in many ways and could save his life in difficult
situations.
Ace didn''t have time to study the new map, so he put it on hold. He looked at the masked man and smiled, "Thank you for telling me. Now, how can I ess my security vault?"
Chapter 1244: Treasure Digging?
Chapter 1244: Treasure Digging?
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The masked man didn''t find Ace''s request suspicious since almost every cultivator paid for the membership to gain ess to security vaults. It was also the most significant selling point of the bank memberships and one of the secrets to their wealth.
"Please follow me, Mr. White. I''ll lead you to the Vault Warden, and he''ll take over from there." The masked man replied before standing up and gesturing to Ace to follow him.
Ace nodded as he started to follow the masked man while he secretly transmitted his voice, "So, do you have any opinion?"
"You still want my opinion?" Malservus''s yful yet somewhat aggravated voice sounded, "This is just a waste of time; you shouldn''t let your pride cloud your judgment. Heed my advice and find some sect''s ancestral tomb!
"Trust me; it''s far safer and always paid off, not to mention the stronger the sect, the more likely they''ll bury the entire wealth of their ancestors and seniors with them just to show their glorious past and unt their power and wealth.
"Those fools think that the dead will have any use for those treasures, so instead of letting them rot, why not just give them away to the needy and gather some good karma?
"So, don''t you dare think that this is some lowly act! Instead, you are just digging for treasures, and those rotten bones just happened to be buried there. This is called treasure digging, not graverobbing, I''m telling you!
"Moreover, some extremist even buried their entire life''s worth of wealth with them without giving them away to anyone. Some lone cultivators create inheritance grounds to find a worthy inheritor that they couldn''t when they were alive.
"Some evil cultivators create death grounds using their entire wealth just because they can''t ept their death and want to drag the world as a whole down to hell with them.
"Some cunning fellows even use graves as a treasure vault to hide their own secrets because not even a demonic cultivator would stoop to so low as to destroy graves unless the enmity goes way back.
"Trust me, you should stop ying this fancy rich boy, pick up a spade, and follow my instructions! We might stumble upon some secret realm tomb!"
The more Malservus spoke about ''treasure digging,'' the more excited and agitated she became, rendering Ace speechless. Although he had epted her request since she was very knowledgeable about thievery and knew many secrets, as well as about Heaven''s Stealer, he wasn''t expecting she would be crazy about graverobbing!
Not only that, she also seemed to enjoy tormenting her dead victims because after she robbed their graves, she would leave behind her name by writing with the very bones inside the grave.
Apparently, she also wanted Ace to do the same, which he instantly rejected, making Malservus greatly displeased. She rants to the end about how Ace doesn''t know better, does not appreciate her kindness, and is too arrogant, and she even stops talking with him.
But Ace didn''t listen to her at all. No matter how crooked he was, he really wasn''t into digging people''s graves, and finding treasures in the graves was like a gamble.
Furthermore, just as Malservus said, those who can bury treasures with the dead were either extremely wealthy and powerful or simply cared about the dead too much. In both cases, this enmity form wasn''t something anyone would let go of.
After all, Malservus was in her current state because she dug a terrifyingly powerful n''s ancestral tomb, and he even suspected that she wasn''t killed not because she was immortal but because that n wanted to torment and punish her for what she had done.
Nheless, Malservus won''t tell him the entire story or all the parties involved. Still, Ace guessed that whoever she had offended was strong enough to imprison her in the Primordial Path of Ascension for an insurmountable amount of time!
But he was sure that this enemy was not friendly to him either. Ace had already decided to dig for more information from Malservus, so he asked her opinion. But her words left him speechless again.
"Umm... Master, even if I agree to dig some graves, do you think graves in Mortal Ascension Heaven would hold anything valuable? Furthermore, don''t forget this is a different era, and people might no longer follow the same customs they do in your era.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Besides, I''m not doing it for treasures, but to be famous and the Prime Heavenly Bank is the ideal target not to mention if I can find a way to track down the location of their secret vaults, think about all the treasures those cultivators entrusted to the bank?
"Isn''t this the same as ''treasure digging?'' We are just not digging treasures of the dead but the alive!" Ace stated matter-of-factly as he entered a brightly lit, long underground corridor and followed the masked man.
"Well..." Malservus''s voice suddenly lost her confidence, as if she was really mulling over what Ace said, "Alright, at least I agree with your statement about the Mortal Ascension Heaven being too weak to have anything noteworthy. But don''t think that you can trick me into helping you with this fancy heist of yours.
"I, Malservus, was the Dirge Pioneer Spade, and I''ll always be the Dirge Pioneer Spade! I have always stolen from the dead because they don''t mind, and those who mind have nothing to do with it. Even a Heaven''s Stealer can''tpete with my art of treasure digging!
"So, I''ll only advise you when you''re digging for treasures, not fishing for them! Humph!" Malservus scoffed, her voice filled with confidence and unyielding pride.
Ace didn''t know how to respond since he never expected Malservus to be this stubborn and so cultish about her profession. She simply refused to listen; it was as if she waspeting to prove herself.
Nheless, Ace can''t do anything about it since he wasn''t going to start ''digging graves'', at least not yet. But this also gave him more insights into what kind of character Malservus had, or there was also a possibility of her deliberately portraying this image in his mind.
After all, Ace knew better than anyone; thieves were liars, and there was no honor among thieves!
Chapter 1245: Security Vault!
Chapter 1245: Security Vault!
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As Ace continued to follow the masked man through the corridor, they soon approached arge metal door engraved with intricate runes.
The masked man paused, cing his hand on the door. A faint glow emanated from the markings as the door smoothly opened, revealing a grand chamber.
Inside, a tall figure dressed in a long gray robe with silver patterns awaited them. His face was obscured by a in mask simr to the first man''s, but the aura he exuded was far more profound.
This was the Vault Warden. The air felt heavy, and there was an overwhelming sense of authority and control as the Warden''s eyes locked onto Ace.
"Mr. White," The masked man who had led Ace announced, "This is the Vault Warden. He will handle your vault registration and any query you may have rted to it."
Thereafter, the masked man bowed towards the Vault Warden and respectfully said, "I''ll take my leave now, my lords!"
The Vault Warden nodded as the masked man quickly left without any waiting for Ace''s reply and closed the door behind him.
At this moment, the Vault Warden, "Please present your bank identity medallion," said in a deep, measured voice.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Ace was also observing the Vault Warden and was secretly rmed because this Vault Warden was giving him the same oppressive sense of danger that the Sect Master of The AIG Sect, especially now that his Thief Sense had be Law Thief Sense.
Keeping up his calm facade, he reached into his sleeve and produced a bronze medallion engraved with the Prime Heavenly Bank''s emblem. The Vault Warden took it with a practiced hand, holding it up as he infused a sliver of his spiritual Qi into it.
The medallion glowed, and symbols began to appear on its surface, forming a series of runes that etched themselves into the metal.
"This will be your ess key to a Bronze Tier Security Vault," the Warden stated. "The vault''s information and the unique spatial lock have been embedded into your medallion. Only with this medallion will you be able to ess your vault and its contents."
With a flick of his wrist, the Warden summoned a small, key-like rune made of light, which floated in the air. He then pressed it into the medallion, merging it with the runes he had just etched. The light red briefly before settling into a dim glow.
"Now, follow me," the Warden instructed as he turned and moved deeper into the chamber, stopping before arge teleportation circle engraved withplex and ancient symbols on a tform.
The formation pulsed with restrained power, and its center remained dark as if waiting for something to activate it.
The Warden held up a silver tablet inscribed with even more intricate runes-his special identity tablet. He ced it in the center of the teleportation circle and infused it with his spiritual Qi.
The runes lit up, and the circle hummed with energy, but it didn''t fully activate. He then pressed his hand against the edge of the formation, and a faint light emerged from his palm, spreading throughout the circle and forming an intricate spiritual mark.
"This teleportation circle can only be activated with my identity tablet and my spiritual mark. However, it also requires confirmation from the Bank Manager." The Warden pulled out a small, glowing talisman from his sleeve, amunication talisman specifically linked to the Bank Manager.
The talisman floated into the air and burst into a sh of light. An instantter, the circle''s runes red brightly as the Bank Manager''s approval signal came through. The Warden nodded and pressed his hand to the tablet once more. "Only now can the teleportation circle be fully activated."
The air grew heavier as the teleportation circle surged with energy, and the formation beneath Ace''s feet began to emit soft light.
"The moment you step into the circle, you will be transported directly into your Bronze Tier Security Vault," The Warden exined, his voice strict, "This vault has been constructed using secret means of the bank to make sure yours and everyone else belonging remained absolutely safe, we take many strict measures to achieve maximum protection from any malicious schemes and threats.
"Your bronze tier security vault has dimensions of 100x100 cubic meters, and you may store anything within it. To exit the vault, simply infuse your Qi into your medallion, and you will be teleported back here. Don''t try to go pass the set boundary of your vault, it''s futile. "There are other measures there that will ensure no foul y, and I can''t tell you in detail. All in all, what I''m trying to say here is, please don''t try anything that makes both of us regret our choices. We want to serve our members to the best of our abilities and are here to help, but we don''t take kind to those who don''t show us the respect that we deserve!"
"This guy is openly threatening me? Well, since they had the power to back it up, what can a little cultivator like me do?'' Ace thought while he nodded, hiding his surprise and shock, ''Furthermore, the security around their security vaults is extremely high, especially their security vault''s opening method,
''I imagined something far less advanced. But these vaults probably aren''t just ordinary storage locations; they might be constructed with high-grade space maniption techniques and powerful runes just like that treasury of the Imperial Family of Mortal Sky Heart Empire. If that turns out to be true, then... well, I still need to confirm it before I reach any conclusion!''
The revtion left Ace intrigued and worried. The bank''s methods were far more sophisticated than he had anticipated, confirming just how formidable the Prime Heavenly Bank was.
''If the Bronze Tier vault is this advanced, then the higher tiers must be guarded by even more powerfulws and formations!'' He mused.
Stepping into the teleportation circle, he felt the power surge beneath him as the light enveloped his form.
In a blink, the surroundings shifted, and he found himself standing in the middle of his new vault¡ªan expansive, empty space of 100x100 cubic meters, its walls lined with shimmering
runes.
At this moment, without even him needing to confirm anything, Malservus''s faint voice rang, "Spacews and top-grade runes... this Prime Heavenly Bank is truly living up to its reputation. They had put quite a lot of wealth into creating these vaults within the space tribtion and then locked with a master lock.
"I''m even more amused by how they are using them for others since it''s not easy to create even a single one like that in a ce like the Mortal Ascension Heaven. Little steward, it seemed you have targeted something exciting!"
Ace was shocked when he heard Malservus'' evaluation, but he didn''t doubt it since she didn''t need to lie to himself about something like that, especially when she seemed so against anything but ''treasure digging'' and when he heard ''master lock'' a strange glint shed past his eyes!
Chapter 1246: Everything in Place!
Chapter 1246: Everything in ce!
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Ace scanned the vault. Now that he had seen its inner workings, Ace''s mind began to race with new possibilities and ns. But for now, he would y his role and proceed cautiously. After all, even the slightest misstep here could alert the bank''s formidable security system.
Nheless, he was still amazed by Malservus''s detection ability, as she could instantly tell that this ce was locked with a master lock.
"Master, how can you tell this ce has a master lock?" Ace couldn''t help but ask since if he could learn this, it would be a tremendous help to him.
"Fufu~ and here you call yourself a Heaven''s Stealer? Well, I guess it''s not only natural since you seemed to be wasting your time in the Mortal Sky Heaven before, which didn''t have any master locks. "A master lock is made withplex mechanisms, and each mechanism has its own unique array of formations and runic patterns. This is the highest form of lock. Furthermore, a master lock can be used in different ways. You should also know that one of the requirements to create a secret realm is also having a master lock because without it, the space will crumble, and only a master lock can hold a secret realm together and lock it in ce.
"Moreover, a master lock''s key is called a Master Key, which is the only way to open a master lock. A master key can be anything, and it can even merge into things that you can''t even imagine. Not only that, but the higher the master lock and depending on its design, the master key can have different functions and even have its own spirituality like a spirit weapon.
"It can also be programmed to create Alternative Keys that will give ess to different parts of a master lock ording to the will of the master key bearer. If the Master Key has its own spirituality, also known as the Master Spirit Key, the spirit will also monitor the entire master lock and even restrict an Alternative Key''s ess or lock the entire mask lock like a cage if someone tries to break in or break out.
"This ce is also created with a master lock, and if I''m not wrong, it''s probably an Ascension grade- 9 master lock. I can tell for three reasons. The first one is that this space you are in is actually just a tiny part of aplete master lock, which is a secret realm.
"The second is because the card you''re given is actually an ''Alternative Key,'' which is programmed to give you ess to this limited space in this entire secret realm.
"The third and the most important reason is that I''m proficient in spacew and master locks because of my years of hunting treasures, so I can tell when I''m in artificial space locked with a master lock.
"Because a master lock will fully lock a space, the naturalws and Qi within are limited and give a unique undtion. Not to mention, the master lock and spacew used here is very mundane.
"Let me tell you another thing just in case you still lock down on my expertise: the graves of extremely powerful individuals are also locked with a master lock most of the time because their bodies are nothing but treasure trove, and no one wants to be used as medicine herbs after they died.
"Now, you should understand how difficult it is to dig up ''treasures!"" Malservus exined, her voice filled with pride and ridicule as if she enjoyed showing off in front of Ace.
Nheless, Ace was astounded when he heard the details about the master locks that even the system didn''t tell him. The system had just given him a general description of the master locks but didn''t tell him that a master lock was this terrifying.
Furthermore, now he had the entire concept of the bank security vault system and knew it was way above his league. Even if he had the universal key, he might not have the TP to unlock this grade-9 master lock, and he knew it was just one of the vaults under the prime heavenly bank!N?v(el)B\\jnn
Most importantly, he learned something new about Malservus, and he couldn''t help but say, "My horizons are really broadening today! You are really mighty and the epitome of a true peerless expert! Please ept a bow from your humble student!"
"Fufu... no need, after all, I promise to teach you a thing or two as long as you behave, and with how weak you are, you are of no use to me like this." Malservus causally brushed it off, but Ace could feel that this arrogant woman was extremely pleased.
Ace was waiting for this exact moment as he quickly followed up with a fawning smile, "In that case, can you teach me about the master locks? After all, I can''t start ''treasure digging'' without any prior knowledge, right?"
Now that he knew Malservus knew so much about master locks, he would be a fool not to learn from her, especially since he knew how costly using the universal key could be. Since the master lock was also a branch of rune crafters, he was sure that he could learn quickly.
"Oh? You want to learn about master locks?" Malservus didn''t seem surprised by Ace''s request; if anything, she sounded more content, "I can teach you, but you need to be at least a 5-Star Spirit Rune Crafter first since even the simplest master locks are at least ascension grade-5. From my observation, you seemed to be proficient in the true runes, which are not from this era, so your basics are solid. But your cultivation is stillcking!"
Ace was speechless, but he didn''t have words to retort to this statement since he knew Malservus was telling the truth. He could only grumble and put this matter on hold. Now that Malservus agreed to teach him, he just had to make sure she wouldn''t back down when the time was right.
At this moment, he finally shifted his focus to the security vault. Thinking about it, he took out a few treasures and ced them inside with a hint of cunningness in his eyes. After he made sure nothing happened, Ace was even more pleased.
The next moment, he took out the medallion and imbued his Qi into it, and the next moment, he vanished from the vault.
When Ace regained his sense, he was standing on the teleportation tform, and the Vault Warden stood in its initial ce like a statue with its eyes closed. But when Ace appeared, the Vault Warden opened its eyes and looked at him impassively.
"I hope the vault met with your expectations?" He asked.
"It was even more extraordinary than the rumors make it. Thank you, senior, for your guidance." Ace respectfully replied, "Now, if you''ll excuse me, I''ll take my leave."
The Vault Guardian deeply stared at Ace for a moment before he nodded, "This way, please."
Ace sighed in relief again before he walked towards the exit. A quirky glint shed past his eyes, ''I can really sense the Thief''s Mark, and with it, the vault is as good as exposed!''
Chapter 1247: A Huge Hesit Plan!
Chapter 1247: A Huge Hesit n!
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Once Ace left Prime Heavenly Bank''s branch, he quickly made his way through a remote alleyway. When he came out, he was wearing a new disguise, and his robes were also in, no longer eye-catching.
After making sure no one had noticed him or followed him, he rented a room in one of the many hotels in the Northern Guardian Sect City and started analyzing the treasure blueprint on the fate map that he had made after paying a million TP.
As for the security vaults, Ace decided not to touch them because first, he needed to find their location, which was not close at all as far as he could tell upon sensing the Thief''s Mark''s general location.
The second difficulty was that he would probably need a deep understanding of spacew to pinpoint the secret realm''s location. He knew the bank might not leave those vaults without any protection, especially given the many treasures inside them.
Just the Vault Warden guarding a branch''s teleportation channel was already an Ascension Guardian; he didn''t dare to imagine what kind of existence would be protecting the secret realm.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Lastly, even if Ace could ovee everything, he knew he would have to pay a massive amount of TP to use the universal key, which he didn''t have at that moment.
So, he turned his focus on the bank branch, which could grant him the capital he needed to raid the security vaults. He was sure that once he seeded, the system mission would beplete, and then he could take his sweet time nning the heist.
''Let''s see what we got...''
As Ace opened the treasure blueprint, he saw the entire structure of The Prime Heavenly Bank''s branch; it was an architectural marvel designed to project grandeur and invincibility while maintaining strict security protocols,
It consisted of multiple levels, each with its own unique structure, essibility, and security measures. The treasure blueprint detailed the entireyout as follows:
The first level was the outer area of the bank. It was the level where he registered his membership, and it was open to the public.
It was a majestic open space; the bank''s grand facade was constructed from ascension grade-5 materials, with towering pirs inscribed with hidden protective and spiritual runes of an ascension grade-6 formation!
This outer area made Ace''s expression grave because thisyout didn''t show the bank''s security yet, and he could only see them once he entered the area.
Beyond the grandiose of the outer areay the inner area, the second level, which should be essible only to bank members and higher-ranking personnel.
Ace zoomed in on the pair of massive doors engraved with Ascension grade-6 runes that separated the two areas. The walls were all covered in Ascension grade-6 formation, with no empty spot. Not only that, but more high-level formations and spiritual barriers guarded this area!
''Just how much money and resources did they burn to make this kind of security?! How afraid are they of the Nightfall Ravenhood? Those guys sure make things difficult for me!'' Ace couldn''t help but me the Nightfall Ravenhood for all of this with a gloomy expression.
The next level was the third level, which was essed only through concealed stairways connected to both the outer and inner areas. Ace instantly guessed that this was the area where the teleportation channel to the secret vaults was located, and he must''ve taken the outer area stairway to enter it.
The underground area also seemed to be the heart of the bank''s security infrastructure. It was an expansive hall with heavily inscribed walls with both the Philosopher Runes and Codex Runes. This entire underground area was a big giant treasure box!
This area held the teleportation channels to the bank''s security vaults, so Ace wasn''t surprised.
At this moment, he zoomed in at the center of the underground hall, which was protected by arge formation circle, and when he saw its grade Ace inhale sharply, an ascension Grade-7 Master Lock!
''What is being protected by a master lock?'' Ace was both shocked and curious, and he finally got his answer when he looked below in astonishment.
Deep beneath the underground area was actually another level, and it was also the final level. In the treasure blueprint, this ce was marked by glittering golden words: ''Treasury''! Ace''s heart raced as he instantly made an assumption, "This treasury should be where the bank stored all the spirit coins, treasures, and valuables that cultivators exchanged with them for spirit stones and spirit crystals. After all, the bank won''t trust any member to carry that amount of wealth on a single person.
''Furthermore, the treasury is fortified with spacew formations and encrypted runic sequences, probably the Ascension Grade-7 master lock''s influence. Moreover, the treasury vault is massive!
''It''s not only reinforced byyers of barriers and protective arrays but also hidden traps that could instantly trap or eliminate any intruders. Philosopher Runes and Codex Runes are intricately interwoven into the walls, maintaining the spatial stability and security of the area.
''But the more security in there, the treasures stored here should be worth every spirit coin they spent on building it!''
The more Ace thought about it, the more excited he became. He knew that if this theft were sessful, he''d be as wealthy as multiple second-grade sects!
But he didn''t let the excitement cloud his judgment because the security there made it an imprable fortress, and with one wrong move, he''d be facing the full force of the bank.
''I need to make preparations, and just to be safe, I need to gather more TP. I guess I''ll pay the market of the sect city a ''visit'' and I can also use this chance to draw some attention to this matter!
''But once I make a move, the sect or the Norberg n will surely investigate it, and since ''George'' has already shown the thief symbol, they''ll instantly suspect him. However, since he''s still cultivating seclusion, I can make hundreds of excuses, and they won''t have any proof that George was behind it. ''Moreover, I''ll have to make a move on the bank right after that since once the investigation isunched, I''ll need to be back in the sect since its disguise is not on the same level as me.
''Even if nothing works out, I''ll just escape. I must seed in this bank heist!''
Ace''s eyes shone in determination as he patiently waited for the nightfall before he let his true self, the Sky Stealer, out!
No one in the peaceful Northern Guardian Sect City would''ve imagined that a thief was on the move, which would cause massive ripple through the entire Mortal Ascension Heaven!
Chapter 1248: All-Knowing Parrot Surfaced!
Chapter 1248: All-Knowing Parrot Surfaced!
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In a small shop located at the corner of the Northern Gordian Sect City''s ck market, Freya looked at Aliya, who had disbelief written all over her face.
"Miss, are you s-sure this is safe?" Aliya asked with a hint of apprehension as she looked at her mistress.
Freya knew what Aliya was hinting at and chuckled charmingly, "Don''t worry, everything I''m doing is after the leader''s consent. Did you sessfully deliver the letter?"
Aliya pursed her lips as she nodded aggressively, "I did. As for whether those conceited Sea of Secrets bastards had picked it up or not, I''m not sure. Anyway, I''m not talking about our Leader''s safety. I would rather believe that the sky is falling than consider the Sky Stealer getting caught. I''m talking about your safety! You''re putting yourself in too much danger by exposing yourself.
"Even if this n works, there is no guarantee that the Sea of Secrets will let you join them. In fact, they might even capture you after suspecting you are in cohort with the thief who can steal from the bank, or worse, what if they alert the Bank instead? Aren''t we sitting ducks here?"
Freya''s smile didn''t vanish; in fact, she smiled even more brightly, like a lily blooming in winter, "I know it''s dangerous, but you shouldn''t underestimate me. How long have we been together? You should know better than anyone that I won''t do something unless I haveplete confidence in doing it."
Aliya curled her lips as she retorted, "Didn''t you still fall for his tricks?"
Freya was speechless as she red at Aliya for bringing up the most humiliating incident of her life, yet for some reason, a hint of nostalgia appeared in her eyes, "I guess it was our fortune in the guise of misfortune. Or do you think we had a chance to witness this vast world, not to mention reaching the Mortal Ascension Heaven and bing Law State cultivators in our lives?"
Although Aliya might call her miss and respect her, they were both like sisters and close friends because they had been raised from the bottom of the Mighty Demon Continent and created the Spica Syndicate from nothing.
That''s why Aliya never held back whenever they were together, and she always advised Freya whether she liked it or not. Even now that they are part of the Thief House, they are still as close as ever.
Nheless, Freya knew Aliya didn''t like taking risks that involved putting herself in danger, and she would rather do it herself.
Aliya couldn''t help but sigh, as she couldn''t retort since she knew Freya was telling the truth. Even she was shocked when she found that they had unknowingly crossed an entire freaking heaven, and after she became Freya''s acolyte, the cultivation technique she got was even more startling, and its potential was limitless.
Although Aliya didn''t have good feelings for Ace since he was the reason her mistress suddenly changed and led her astray, she couldn''t deny that he also brought them the biggest opportunity of their lives that they couldn''t even dream of in the past.
Moreover, as someone closest to Freya, Aliya could tell that Freya seemed really happy in the Thief House, especially when she talked about that treacherous leader of hers. Aliya felt a sense of jealousy despite not admitting it.
However, Aliya still didn''t like what they were doing. Freya was taking a huge risk and even resented Ace for agreeing to her reckless request. But it was toote now since the n was already in motion.
"How about you create a Witch Avatar to use as a substitute to confront the Sea of Secrets?" Aliya suggested worryingly.
She knew about Freya''s ability to create a Witch Avatar since she had done so in the past by making Jessie Campbell her Witch Avatar. Still, Freyater discarded her because she couldn''t increase her cultivation by a major realm as long as a Witch avatar existed, and her soul remained split.
Furthermore, once she discards a Witch avatar and merges back her soul, the avatar''s body turns to dust. That is also why she could im the name of the All-Knowing and All-Seeing Evil because she can be in two ces at the same time.
Freya shook her head as she replied, "No yet. With my grade-9 bloodline, I can''t possess and turn aw state cultivation into my witch avatar, and at this point, an elemental state cultivator body is too weak and useless for me. I need to upgrade my bloodline ascension grade and evolve into an Illusionary ck Witch from an Illusionary Witch. Only then can I have aw state avatar, and who knows, I might awaken some new bloodline ability as well?"N?v(el)B\\jnn
Realization dawned on Aliya at this moment, and she looked deeply at Freya, who was still smiling, and hesitantly asked, "Miss, you do not just want to join the Sea of Secrets for our organization, am I right?"
Freya nced at Aliya with a hint of surprise, and a glint of coldness shed past her eyes. She nodded without denying it, "Aliya, you''re still the only one who knows me the best. But don''t worry. I just want to confirm a few things and get the answers to some unanswered questions. Consider it a venture to bury past regrets.
"You don''t need to worry. I know what I''m doing, and I have many trump cards to escape with my life even if things went south!" A hint of undying determination shed past her eyes, "No matter what, I must join the Sea of Secrets or find a way to get my hands on their entire secret records! Don''t forget, the ck market is also our target if things don''t work with the Sea of Secrets!"
Within the Sea of Secrets branch in the Northern Sect Guardian City, a masked figure was holding a letter. After reading its content, a hint of shock surfaced in its eyes.
"How interesting. I don''t know if this ''All-Knowing Parrot'' is trying to mess with us, but if this information really turns out to be true..." After a pause, a faint, amusing chuckle escaped behind the mask. "Since you want to join us, I''ll give you a chance, All-Knowing Parrot!"
The next moment, a talisman appeared in its hand, starting to shimmer as the personmanded, "Keep an eye out for any news on the Prime Heavenly Bank Branch in the Northern Guardian Sect City. I want even the tiniest detail of any strange event revolving around the bank. Also, send someone to keep an eye on a person. I''m giving you an address. Run a deep background check. I want everything on this person in front of me in an hour!"
Chapter 1249: Sky Stealer on Rampage! (1)
Chapter 1249: Sky Stealer on Rampage! (1)
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Under the cloudless night, as tworge half moons hung among the sea of stars, the Northern Guardian Sect City lit brightly as if there was no concept of day and night in this metropolitan
area.
If anything, the city seemed even more alive at night as the markets were still open, and many people were going around buying things, especially those high-end shops under the top first- grade sects.
There were over a hundred first-grade sects in the Spirit Inferno Domain under the authority of the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect. However, not all the first-grade sects were the same because some had more experts and powerful guardians overseeing them.
That''s why there was a ranking of first-grade sects in the Spirit Inferno Domain; in fact, it was the same in any second-grade sect''s territory.
Furthermore, any first-grade second that could enter the top ten rankings wasn''t an upstart first-grade second that couldpare to it. Because in these top-ten sects, there were Ascension Masters, and in the top three, there were even Ascension Grandmasters!
That''s why people called these sects Quasi Second Grade Sects, who were extremely close to bing the Second Grade Sect. But no matter what, they still couldn''tpare to colossal giants like the AIG Sect or YYFG Sect because they were ancient entities withplete inheritance and unshakable foundations.
Unless they offend a third-grade sect, not even ten upstart second-grade sects can shake their foundation. But a second-grade sect would never allow another second-grade sect to emerge in its territory since only a fool would let a tiger grow in its backyard.
Second Grade Sects have hidden spies in top first-grade sects or any existence they felt had a chance to be a second-grade sect, and the moment, an Ascension Guardian emerged in their ranks, those Ascension Guardians will only have two choices, either let their cultivation talent be crippled and decrease their realm by a stage or join the second-grade sect and be their loyal subjects.
As those who were unwilling and wanted to fight to the end, their entire sect would rise to rubble in a single night; there were too many examples of this.
But it was a really rare event since the second-grade sect controlled any inheritance of the sixth realm and snatched it away if someone unrted to their sect acquired it.
That''s why, within thousands of years, a new second-grade sect hadn''t appeared in Spirit Inferno Domain, and no matter how unwilling the first-grade sects were, they could only suppress their ambitions and those who couldn''t have to leave the Spirit Inferno Domain. However, there were also benefits to submitting to a second-grade sect, like protection, the ability to do business in sect-rted cities, and the opportunity to earn wealth.
The Northern Guardian Sect City was the same, as there were many shops of these top first- grade sects, even the quasi-second-grade sects. However, tonight was destined to be a night of chaos and misery for many!
One such shop was the High Pill Shop, which belonged to the High Mountain Grand Sect, which was ranked second among the top first-grade sects in Spirit Inferno Domain-a bona fide quasi-second-grade sect!
The High Pill Shop sold pills and alchemy herbs from Elemental Grade to Lesser Ascension Grade-3 because the High Mountain Grand Sect was blessed with alchemy resources, and they were an alchemy heritage sect.
Even the AIG Sect bought many materials and alchemy pills from them at a discount price and wouldn''t let them sell those materials to anyone else. That''s why they were famous in the Spirit Inferno Domain and had high prestige.
However, at this moment, a young maiden was running frantically with a pale face as if the entire blood in her body was sucked dry and her eyes were bloodshot!
"S...s-s-shop m-Manager! A d-disaster! It''s a disaster!" Her shrill screams rang in the entire luxurious hallway, which was the ce where the Shop Manager lived. Only the most prestigious guests or sect personnel were allowed here.
However, this disciple seemed to have gone mad as she frantically screamed; it was like the world was ending.
"What happened? Why are you making such a racket?" A startled yetzy voice suddenly rang as the door at the end of the hall opened, and a middle-aged man with a slender build and tan skin walked out wearing a loose robe.
Displeasure was clearly written on his face since he was disturbed, but when he saw theplexion on the disciple''s face, he was shocked and frowned.
"Calm down, and tell me what happened. With me here, even if the sky falls, I''ll hold it out of you!" he sternly yet arrogantly dered, his voiceced with powerfulw.
The disciple instantly snapped out of her frantic state, but herplexion didn''t change much. If anything, she started to tremble even more violently now that her mind was somewhat clear.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
She quickly revealed, "Manager, a d-disaster, it''s a disaster, i-it''s gone! All gone!" "What the hell are you talking about!?" The Shop Manager suddenly felt a lousy proposition, and his frown deepened.
The disciple took a deep breath and finally uttered, "O-our entire inventory and treasury is empty! We have been robbed, and the thief even left behind an o-owl mark with its name..."
"...SKY STEALER?!!" A holler filled with misery and incredulity that shook an entire empty metal treasury rang in another spirit treasure shop belonging to another top first-grade sect. An old man trembled with fury as all the hair on his body stood. His beard trembled like he was standing in the middle of the storm. His bloodshot eyes, filled with boundless killing intent and hatred, gawked at the majestic horned owl symbol on the treasury wall. Two characters were on the owl''s majestic wings.
Just a few hours ago, this treasury was filled to the brim with all kinds of rare materials and finished products, yet now it was empty.
"Just!? Wh-wh-wh...baaaa!" The old man couldn''t evenplete his words as he vomited blood before he passed out, and the people behind him were also in the same state as they didn''t even react to this. The old man fell on the floor with a...
''Thud...''
"OH NO! Pavilion Lord had passed out after vomiting blood in anger like the three elders!"
Chaos ensued in another empty treasury as people in dark robes with pale faces were prancing as they looked at the four unconscious old men, who were evidently peak Ascension Warriors. The Pavilion Lord was a 1-Star Grand General, yet they all passed out in anger after vomiting blood, which was really an extremely rare event.
However, tonight, these kinds of scenes became the norm in the entire market as the higher- ups of the entire Northern Guardian Sect City were quickly alert. This news started to spread like wildfire, and everyone quickly made their way to the market.
Everyone has only one name in their minds at this moment, especially those who had any association with the victims: SKY STEALER!
Chapter 1250: Sky Stealer on Rampage! (2)
Chapter 1250: Sky Stealer on Rampage! (2)
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Within an hour, the news of the mass heists spread like wildfire through the Northern Guardian Sect City. The once lively night market turned into a sea of chaos as crowds gathered around the shops and treasuries where the thefts had urred.
People from all walks of life-disciples, shop owners, wandering cultivators, and city guards -flocked to the scenes, eager to witness the aftermath of the most audacious theft in the city''s history.
Outside the High Pill Shop, a crowd had formed, buzzing with shock and disbelief as rumors circted about the theft.
Whispers of the Sky Stealer''s name passed from one person to another, like a ghost story,e to life. The guards of the Norberg n, responsible for the city''s safety, stood at the forefront, their faces pale with anxiety as they surveyed the site.
Yet, to everyone''s shock, except for the opened treasuries, everything was fine. There was no breach in formations, and they were still working fine. Upon closer inspection, they found that even the treasuries seemed to be open with their respective keys.
As for the key bearer, they were even more shocked because they found that the treasury keys were gone from their rings, which made this even moreplicated. They were being detained under the scrutiny of the thief''s helpers and associates, no matter how they resisted.
This event was simply too big, and any suspect was being captured even with the slightest suspicion.
"Did you hear? They took everything from the High Pill Shop! And the Valley Treasure Pavilion, too!"
"Even the High Mountain Grand Sect''s store got hit? How''s that possible?! They''re one of the most powerful sects here!"
"I''ve heard the thief left its unique mark and his name, Sky Stealer! The most shocking thing is how did the Sky Stealer manage to slip past the Norberg n''s defenses so easily?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The city guards, dressed in their blue and silver uniforms, exchanged nervous nces. They were the Norberg n''s eyes and hands in the city, and now, as usations and me mounted, they could feel the weight of their failure pressing down on them.
One of the guards, a young man with sweat dripping down his brow, muttered to his captain, "This is bad... we''re going to be held responsible."
The captain, a stern-looking middle-aged man with a scar running down his cheek, clenched his fists. "Damn it... How could this have happened under our watch? The Norberg n will not be pleased. We need to capture everyone on the scene! This is no small matter anymore. Even those quasi-second-grade sect has to cooperate!"
It wasn''t long before the victims themselves arrived on the scene, their faces twisted in rage. The elders and managers of the sects that had been robbed were fuming, their eyes bloodshot as they barked orders at their disciples and demanded answers from the guards.
One of the victims, the Pavilion Lord of the Valley Treasure Pavilion, also an inner sect elder of the ranked first sect in the first-grade sect ranking of the Spirit Inferno Domain, Myriad Mist Valley Grand Sect, stormed forward, his aura bursting forth as he pointed an usatory finger at the nearest guard.
"Is this how the Norberg n manages the city''s security?! We entrusted our wealth and reputation to this ce, which is the result?" His voice boomed, causing those around him to flinch. "Our entire treasury was emptied, and your guards did nothing!"
Another elder from the High Mountain Grand Sect, a bald man with veins bulging from his forehead, shouted, "You dare call yourselves guardians of the city and demand security fees and taxes? Where were you when our inventory was plundered? This is an outrage!"
As more and more angry mob roared, the crowd''s murmur grew louder, the air thickening with rising anger and hostility.
The victims, furious and seething with resentment, started cursing at the Norberg n''s guards, demandingpensation for their losses. Their eyes burned with hatred, and the sheer intensity of theirbined killing intent surged, turning the atmosphere heavy and suffocating.
"You ipetent fools!" Screamed another elder, his voice hoarse. "We lost wealth that took generations to umte! Are you going topensate us for that? Or will you just hide behind your n''s name?!"
Another voice roared, "I''ll have your heads if this isn''t resolved! We want the Norberg n to take responsibility and pay for what we''ve lost!"
The city guards stood frozen with ugly expressions on their faces, some shaking under the mounting pressure. They were outnumbered, and the killing intent emanating from the powerful elders and sect members was overwhelming. The captain struggled to keep hisposure as he faced the mob. "Please, everyone, calm down! We are investigating-" "Investigating?" scoffed the High Pill Shop''s manager, his eyes zing with fury. "What good is investigating when we''ve already been robbed blind? We demand immediate action!" The crowd surged forward, their tempers boiling over as they demanded justice. The killing intent became so intense that even the bystanders felt its oppressive force.
Some disciples clutched their chests, struggling to breathe, while others backed away, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire.
A member from the Norberg n''s guard force, his face paled, whispered to his fellow guards, "We need reinforcements. This is getting out of control."
The captain gritted his teeth. "Hold your ground! We cannot show weakness now. The high- ups are on their way."
As the angry mob continued to press forward, their voices growing louder and more demanding, the guards knew that if the Norberg n didn''t respond soon, the situation could spiral into a full-blown riot. The victims had lost so much wealth that reason no longer had a ce in their minds-only revenge and retribution mattered.
Tonight, the name of Sky Stealer was on everyone''s lips, and the Northern Guardian Sect City trembled under the weight of its failure to protect its most powerful and prestigious!
While the city market was on the verge of bing a raging battle filed at the location of the Prime Heavenly Bank Branch, the news of the theft had also reached this ce.
The bank branch never closed, and people always used its services. Right now, people were quickly making their way towards the robbery scene, and this ce had be somewhat deserted. Even the bank had sent an employee to observe the situation.
However, no one had expected a silhouette enshrouded in invisible dark mist to sneak into the bank''s empty interior like a ghost. Those bank members who were busy discussing the thefts didn''t notice anything at all as this invisible silhouette quickly made its way toward the
second level!
Chapter 1251: A Thief in the Bank!
Chapter 1251: A Thief in the Bank!
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After Ace robbed more than ten shops belonging to powerful first-grade sects, he finally felt satisfied and moved towards the main target after causing enough distraction.
The thefts in the market go way easier than Ace had thought they would because, with a soul probe, he quickly found the people who held the keys to those treasuries. With his absolute pickpocket, he can directly pickpocket a specific treasure from someone as long as he knows what it looks like and if that person has it.
Once he got those keys, all he needed to do was to use the Dismantle Spirit Qi and stealth to sneak into the treasuries and inventories of those shops. Thebination of Dismantle Spirit Qi and stealth was really terrifying since no formation could detect him as long as he didn''t make a mistake or trigger something because of his own stupidity.
Right now, Ace, enshrouded in an invisible shroud of stealth above theyer of Dismantle Spirit Qi, moved through the Prime Heavenly Bank Branch like a ghost, and no formation were triggered while he was closely monitoring the treasure blueprint map.
"Remember to alert me if you see any unusual movements. I''m relying on you, Moira!" Ace solemnly stated.
"Don''t worry, sir. I seemed to have gained a special ability in this state. Now, I can sense all those fate points emotions and easily detect if they had any ill will towards you!" Moira promised with great resolution.
Ace''s lips curled up slightly as he didn''t think the danger detection would also affect Moira, and he couldn''t be happier. Now, he can focus all his attention on this mission.
Ace was extremely careful, and his every step was silent, his presence undetectable as he navigated the deserted hallways of the bank''s interior, ording to the map.
The chaos outside had greatly thinned the crowd within, leaving only a handful of bank employees, who remained oblivious to his presence. The glow of formations embedded in the walls cast eerie shadows as he slipped deeper into the building.
Ace never thought that his venture to gather TP would give him this kind of advantage. But when he thought about it, this made sense since this kind of event hadn''t happened in the entire Spirit Inferno Domain before, much less in the second grand sect''s main cities. Everyone would be paying attention to this, even the bank!
When he reached the second level carefully yet quickly, Ace paused, allowing his Primordial Law Sense to spread in the surrounding area. The second level of the bank was heavily protected; a densework of surveince formations and defensive arrays guarded it.
Furthermore, now that his heavenlyw sense has evolved into Primordial Law Sense, he can easily pick up on formations created withw runes of ascension grade.
His sense picked up every subtle pulse and fluctuation in these formations. At this moment, Ace, with a calm, practiced hand, released Lawless Darkness Qi, which he called the ''Darkness Veil,'' a self-created technique that temporarily disrupted the perception of those nearby and dampened the sensory feedback of the arrays or any formations, even spells and attacks. After his primew and cultivation entered the Ascension Warrior Realm, he discovered that the effect of the Lawless Darkness could now be used like this as well. This sudden understanding urred after his primew increased, and he created the world seed.
This way, he won''t have to waste his Lawless Darkness limit, and he starts to learn more refined ways of using this overpowered ability.
After all, his Twilight Traverse can''t be used within ascension-grade formations yet since its power is still too weak.
"Good, no one noticed it..." He muttered to himself, weaving through the maze of security like a phantom.
Despite the Darkness Veil, each step was a calcted move. Ace maneuvered between narrow gaps in the arrays using his primordialw sense, sometimes shifting his form to squeeze through tiny spaces, other times waiting for a fluctuation in the formation''s energy flow to slip past undetected without even using the darkness veil.
When he reached the end of the second level, he faced a wall with intricate runic patterns glowing faintly¡ªa secondary barrier that only authorized personnel could pass.
Furthermore, Ace knew that the teleportation room where he met the Vault Warden was not far away, so he was even more careful in this ce.
A smirk yed on his lips, as he could clearly see this wall was a powerful illusion. It was actually a barrier. Without hesitation, he activated thewless darkness at full capacity, which shifted his form into pure darkness.
Ace seized the opportunity without wasting any time, phasing through the barrier with a surge of hiswless darkness and reappearing on the other side.
Quickly stopping thewless darkness, he entered the third level for the first time, and it was even more borate. It was designed not only to prevent entry but also to trap intruders inyers of spatial confinement if they tripped the rms.
Ace crouched low, his eyes scanning the area with the fate map while his Heavenly Thief Sense expanded, revealing theplex patterns of spatial distortions and hidden runic traps. One wrong move here, and he''d find himself sealed in an isted dimension-something even his formidable abilities would struggle to escape.
Ace took a deep breath, focusing his senses. After ncing at the pathway forward, he used the darkness veil again and moved.
With precise movements, he twisted his body, sidestepping the invisible distortions and expertly avoiding the trap triggers since, despite the few seconds of distortion, he still needed to be careful not to trip any rm here recklessly.
Ace''s fluid and graceful movements resembled those of a dancer as he navigated the treacherous path forward. His senses detected a spatial fluctuation¡ªa hidden shift that would have caught anyone unaware.
Smirking, he reacted, andwless darkness activated again as he bent low, rolling forward. The space where he had just stood warped and shimmered.
After several tense minutes of maneuvering, he finally reached a reinforced door adorned with the insignia of the Prime Heavenly Bank. Beyond this door was the hurdle towards the heart of the bank, where the final level''s entry point was and also where the true wealth and treasures were kept.
Furthermore, the master lock was also behind this sealed door. Not only that, but Ace knew that this door was also connected to the master look on the other side!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
At his point, everything was going smoothly, as none of the hidden guards had detected anything, and he was very close to this goal.
"Time for the main event,'' Ace thought, his eyes gleaming sharply!
Chapter 1252: Overcoming Final Hurdle!
Chapter 1252: Oveing Final Hurdle!
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Looking at the final door in front of him, Ace nced at the fate map. After confirming that there was no strange movement from the fate points, he was relieved.
However, his eyes suddenly constricted because he saw a powerful red fate behind a few meters away from this door on the other side.
Ace''s expression warped because if he opened this door, that fate point would instantly notice it. With all the powerful space restrictions in this ce, he couldn''t use any space-rted talisman or treasure since he didn''t have any above the restrictions grade.
Furthermore, Lawless Darkness can only help him move unrestrained under anyws and restrictions; it can''t make him pass through objects like the Twilight Traverse.
Ace''s mind raced as he couldn''t turn around aftering so close to achieving his goal. He red at the fate point behind this door. A few possibilities surfaced in his mind, but all of them were riddled with risks of being found out.
Although Ace can still escape even if this entire ce were to go into lockdown, he needs to seed with the mission objective first, and he doesn''t have much time left since the more he dys, the more danger he''s in.
''Well, I just need to fast!'' Ace instantly made up his mind as he entirely focused on his spirit
sense.
Although the formations in this ce were made to restrain anyw sense, hisw thief sense was different, and unless there was a primordial grade formation here, nothing could restrict
it.
After focusing for a while, Ace finally sensed the lifeform on the other side of the door, and he had to admit that whoever that person was, he was terrifying, probably a peak Ascension Guardian.
However, his spirit sense was invisible, so that person didn''t notice it. If he had used his primordialw sense, he would have been noticed since the power difference was simply too big.
The more he was locked on that person, Ace tried using the ''Thief''s Mark'' on him. Although the thief''s mark was limited to people with weaker souls than his, he was now aw state cultivator, an Ascension Warrior. Even he didn''t know how strong his soul was at this moment.
Nheless, the thief''s mark waspletely harmless, and if it didn''t work, there wouldn''t be any bacsh from both sides. But if it somehow worked, things would be much simpler. But if it didn''t work, he had to take another dangerous route.
The moment he used the thief''s mark, Ace was holding his breath as his primordial Qi stirred, and he felt almost half of it vanish the next instant. But Ace''s eyes shone brightly because the thief''s mark sessfully branded this person!
''Half a Qi to brand an ascension guardian with a thief''s mark? Worth it!'' Ace was delighted, and he didn''t mind this consumption at all since this meant this n would work.
Furthermore, because this target was marked with his thief''s mark, he could sense his presence far more clearly. The next moment, Ace''s sense locked on another thing on the target, and Ace''s hand moved at a terrifying speed, wrapping the space around his hand.
''Absolute Pickpocket!''
The Absolute Pickpocket had yet to fail him, and he didn''t feel any space restriction using this ability. Even the storage rings'' inner space was helpless against this ability of his and now wasn''t any different because a system prompt rang in his head at this moment.
[Absolute Pickpocket (Sleight of Hand) has been sessfully activated!] {Host Steals}
[Reward(s): 154,322,000 Thief Points]
[Thievery Rank(s): High-Level Thievery(s): 15/500]
[High Level Thievery 10,000,000 Thief Points]
[Thief Point(s): 298,010,800]
=====
Ace was shocked when he saw the TP rewarded with just this one absolute pickpocket. They almost matched the TP he got after stealing from 13 top first-grade sect shops, and they were also high-level thieveries!
''Worthy of someone from the Prime Heavenly Bank who is tasked with protecting this ce!'' Ace took a deep breath to calm his ecstasy, as this one theft was enough to give him endless joy.
But now he was even more determined to rob the bank vault. Since only the guardian had this much wealth, he didn''t dare imagine what kind of wealth the vault would have!
"Hmmm?" A bewildered voice suddenly rang in Ace''s ears, and he knew that the other party had sensed something.
Without hesitation, Ace quickly chose the position of the thief symbol and a thief farewell note. This time, he didn''t hold back since he wanted others to know who did this and wanted to milk out every bit of fame he could!
"What!?" That voice rang again, and this time, it had a hint of shock and rage. Smirking mischievously, Ace instantly reacted and activated the next ability, ''Thieving Switch!" Again, a huge amount of Qi vanished from Ace''s inner world. The next moment, Ace found his vision intently wrapped. The next moment, he was standing in the middle of a luxurious hall. He knew he had entered the hall where the entrance to the treasury vault, the fourth level, was located!
But Ace was somewhat pale as his entire Qi reserve was used at that moment, so he quickly spent a million TP without hesitation and bought the Heavenly Spirit Recovery Elixir from then/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
system shop!
Ace''s hand held a translucent vial containing pitch-ck liquid etched with countless tiny white dots, like stars in the night.
Ace was astounded by the appearance of the Heavenly Spirit Recovery Elixir, which can instantly recover his Qi in any realm of thew state. A limited amount was being sold in the
system shop.
Nheless, Ace didn''t have time to study it as he instantly opened the lid and swallowed the starry liquid in a single gulp!
At this moment, a raging voice rang like a thunderp in the entire bank, "WHICH VILE ANIMAL DARE TO MOVE AGAINST MY PRIME HEAVENLY BANK!?!"
Chapter 1253: The Treasury of the Bank!
Chapter 1253: The Treasury of the Bank!
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Ace wasn''t surprised by the furious voice. After all, he had just switched ces with the other part and even taken his storage ring, though he didn''t know if he noticed it or not.
Nheless, Ace decided to do so after careful consideration and calctions. The main reason for his blunt exposure was the Master Lock!
The thing about the master lock was that it could only be opened with the master key. From his observation and assumption, Ace knew this guy guarding this ce clearly had the master key or an alternative key on him, which allowed him to open this sealed door locked with the master lock.N?v(el)B\\jnn
So, Ace took his storage ring and the master key. Now, if someone else doesn''t have the key to open this sealed door, all this person can do is destroy this door locked with a master key, which should be extremely difficult.
This would give Ace ample time to do his thing even if he was exposed, and he really didn''t waste any time as he quickly approached the hidden, sealed door leading to the treasury!
He ced his hand on the hidden door, which was actually hidden below the floor in the center of this hall. Instantly, the system''s voice rang in his mind, and his lips curled up.
=====
[Universal Key has detected Ascension Grade-7 Spiritual Law Master Lock with three terminal locks!]
-Unlocking Cost of a terminal lock (1,2,3): 10,000,000 TP
-Unlocking Cost of the entire Master Lock: 25,000,000 TP
-Continue/Later
=====
Ace was astounded, as this was his first time seeing these kinds of choices. He instantly guessed that these three terminal locks should be divided between the sealed door, this hidden door, and the treasury lock.
"This master lock is reallyplex. So, if I chose to lock the entire master lock, then that sealed door might also be unlocked, right?" Ace asked the system.
"[Yes. The first terminal lock represents that door, and it has its own alternative key.]"
After hearing the system''s affirmation, Ace didn''t question anymore and directly ordered opening the terminal locks no. 2 and 3!
======
[Universal Key has been used on Ascension Grade-7 Spiritual Law Master Lock''s terminal locks no.2 and no.3!]
[Ascension Grade-7 Spiritual Law Master Lock''s terminal locks no.2 and 3 have been unlocking!]
[NOTE: Without opening the entire master lock, the lock will not be reset!]
[Thief Point(s): 278,010,800]
The very next moment, a powerful ng sound rang in the chamber, and the floor suddenly started to shift as multiple cogwheels spun. The lock mechanism whirred and clicked, and under Ace''s shining eyes, a massive section of the floor slid open, revealing an underground stairway!
Ace''s eyes narrowed as he studied theplex mechanism.
''Pity I don''t have enough power to dismantle this master lock, or I can take all the parts used in it and study it...'' Ace felt slightly helpless, but he didn''t waste timementing, as he knew his time was limited. He quickly turned into a streak of dark light and descended to the final level!
The air was colder here, and the pressure was more intense-an indication of the powerful formations protecting the treasures below. Ace continued down the stairs, his eyes gleaming excitedly as he descended into the depths.
The final level was a vast underground vault, illuminated by blue mes suspended in midair, casting an ethereal glow over the stone walls.
When he reached this ce, his heart raced. Rows upon rows of heavily protected safes and treasure chambers lined the vast hall, each marked with intricate runes and formations designed to seal away the bank''s most prized assets. But Ace''s eyes were locked onto the massive circr chamber at the center of the room.
"There it is..." he murmured, feeling the anticipation build.
"The terminal lock of the master lock!'' Ace instantly knew what this was because the heavy metal door waspletely opened!
The circr chamber should''ve been enclosed by thisrge metal door with multiple rotating rings engraved with celestial patterns and an array of gemstone locks, each requiring a unique input to deactivate.
This was the bank''s ultimate defense-the final obstacle protecting their vast reserves of spirit coins and treasures!
However, Ace wasn''t hurried towards the circr chamber and his eyes shifted on the locked safes and treasure chambers and without hesitating, Ace activated hiswless darkness and started to plunder the whole safes and sent them to his thief''s space! Ace decided to open them once he was safe!
As for those treasury chambers, although they were also locked, they weren''t protected with master locks and with his darkness veil, he quickly opened them all and stowed away everything inside.
They were filled with upper grade spirit stones, soul crystals, rare materials, and even high- grade spirit weapons and alchemy treasures!
This kind of wealth could make anyone eyes green with greed and now all of it were being plundered by Ace!
Ace knew he had again underestimated the bank''s wealth-and this was just one of its many branches!
But what Ace didn''t know was that the bank branches turned in all the umted treasures every 10 years to their headquarters when an envoy from the headquarters personally came to
collect them.
This bank branch hasn''t turned in their wealth, and there were still around three years left before the envoy from the bank arrived to take the umted wealth back, or this ce would''ve been empty, and he would only get spirit coins and spirit stones/crystals.
After clearing all the 21 chambers and taking 50 safes, Ace grinned ear to ear as he finally turned to the chamber in the center and approached it!
When he entered this chamber, a dense spirit Qi, washed over his body, and he was astounded because this chamber was 500 cubic meters in size, which was a hundred timesrger than it appeared from the outside!
Furthermore, there seemed to be a unique array here that kept all the spirit Qi inside and prevented it from leaking despite the opened door.
''Is this created with spacew?'' Ace wondered as his eyes instantly locked on the treasures arranged in this vast vault.
There were mountains of spirit coins, spirit stones, and spirit soul crystals, and they weren''t low-grade ones because each of those coins, stones, and crystals was tier-6/grade-6, the highest currency that Ace had ever seen!
Lastly, rows of brocade boxes, chests, and grade-6 weapons were protected by a formation
disy!
''What a haul!'' Ace cheered in excitement. He wasn''t polite at all and started taking them after disrupting the formations!
After a few minutes, Ace''s forehead was beaded with sweat, but looking at the clean treasury, Ace nodded in satisfaction.
Just as he emptied the entire treasure vault, his thief symbol startled to surface, and Ace''s
grin widened.
''Now, what should I write, and how can I ensure the bank won''t hide this from the outside world? Oh,
I got a good
idea!''
Chapter 1254: Seeing Through Rose-colored Glasses!
Chapter 1254: Seeing Through Rose-colored sses!
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"WHICH VILE ANIMAL DARE TO MOVE AGAINST MY PRIME HEAVENLY BANK!?!"
A wizened old man with a bald head hollered like an angry beast as he stared at the locked door with a hint of panic and disbelief. This was the Vault Guard of this branch of Prime Heavenly Bank and also the most powerful expert present here, even more powerful than the Vault Guard.
Furthermore, only this branch''s Vault Warden and Bank Manager knew about his existence and were qualified to meet with him.
Vault Guardians of the bank branches had only one job: protecting the bank treasury, even if it cost them their lives. If the enemy was too strong, they were ordered to use a special formation to send the bank vault into the chaotic space current so the bank could retrieve it by special means. But they absolutely can''t let anyone have their treasury!
But the thing was, Ace had pickpocketed the Vault Guardian''s storage ring, and he just realized it when he tried to open this door with his alternative key, and the ring was missing. The Vault Guardian was so shocked that he even forgot what had just happened. His old face paled with fright because that ring didn''t just contain alternative keys and the particr item to protect the treasury but also his life savings that he had been umting for thousands of years so he could have a chance to break through the seventh realm and join the headquarters while leaving this barren ce!
However, now, not only had his wealth been stolen without him realizing it, but he was also expelled from the treasury vault''s outeryer by a mysterious force that he wasn''t able to resist!N?v(el)B\\jnn
Although he didn''t know which kind of peerless existence had made a move against the branch, he knew for sure that if that person managed to rob the bank treasury, he would be in huge trouble!
When he was in a daze, a powerful sonic boom rang, and a towering figure appeared while the strong winds rose.
"What happened? Why are you here, Senior Vault Guardian?" The Vault Warden was
bewildered when he saw the bald Vault Guard''splexion change from pale to blue, and his eyes were bloodshot.
He was meditating when he heard the Vault Guardian''s roar, and he instantly hurried here since he knew something had incurred the wrath of this old senior who was usually aloof and didn''t give even him any face.
Now that he saw the Vault Guardian personally, a very bad feeling rose in his heart. What shocked him even more was when the Vault Guardian raised his face towards him. His eyes shrunk because an inky tattoo covered the Vault Guardian''s forehead.
It was an owl that seemed to be spreading its wings gloriously and exceptionally vividly. What''s more, on the wings of the inky owl were characters, and when the Vault Warden read them, he was bbergasted.
On the life wing, ''Sky Stealer'' was written, while on the right wing, ''Your treasures are in good hands; thank you for your patronage!''
The Vault Guardian was about to seek the Vault Warden''s help when he instantly noticed the strange way the Warden was looking at his bald head. It was as if something was on it.
But he didn''t have time to investigate it as he quickly shouted, "Someone had used a mysterious spell to expel him from the hall, and that vile animal even stole my ring! That cunning, vile thing should''ve known that I couldn''t open this door without the alternative key! But I can still feel my spiritual mark on the ring so that vile animal hasn''t opened, which means the treasury door is still closed!
"We need to open this door and capture that vile animal quickly, or this entire branch will suffer if something happens to the treasury! We can still salvage this as long as the treasury is safe!"
The Vault Warden finally snapped out of his thoughts, and his eyes widened when he heard the crux of the matter. His reaction wasn''t any different from that of the Vault Guardian! "How could you let that happen!?" The Vault Warden questioned with disbelief and raging fury.
The Vault Guardian''s expression was ugly, as he had expected it; even the Vault Warden was ming him.
"You can me me all you want, but we must take down this door! And where the hell is the bank manager!?" The Vault Guardian grimly questioned as he still didn''t find the Bank Manager despite he had caused such amotion.
After all, even though the Bank Manager was weaker than them, he was still a 1-Star Ascension Guardian, so he should be here like the Vault Warden by now.
Vault Warden''s expression changed as he replied, "Something huge happened in the market tonight, and the Bank Manager went to investigate."
The Vault Guardian''s expression changed as his eyes widened, "Is this a coincidence?" "Whatever it is, let''s attack together! But it''ll be extremely difficult to destroy this door. Not only is it made of quasi-spirit metal, but an ascension grade-7 master lock terminal is also installed in it. Even if an Ascension Lord were to attack it, it''ll take hours before they can break it!" The Vault Warden''s voice was filled with bitterness and panic.
This only made the Vault Guardian even angrier, and they couldn''t help but curse, "This vile animal really does us dirty! But since we can''t break in without the key in a short time, that fellow would be in the same situation, and my spiritual mark wouldn''t be removed so easily. Now we are racing against time, and whoever opens it first will win!"
The Vault Warden grimly nodded before both of them started to send sts of spirit Qi and use all kinds of killing moves on the locked. The sounds of explosion startled everyone, and the entire structure of the bank trembled.
After an hour, the explosive sounds became more violent, as if someone else had joined in. The people of the city were finally attracted, especially those high-ups who were already not far away and still furiously trying to track down the thief who had raided all those shops.
People thought that the bank was under attack, but at the same time, they also found it unbelievable since no one had the guts to attack the bank.
Although it was just a branch, its security could put even a second-grade sect to shame. Everyone knew that the bank greatly emphasized security and the hidden experts protecting it were terrifying.
But no matter what people guessed, the violet tremor and explosions continued until dawn, when people heard the sound of heavy metal sting apart, and the bank''s outer structure was already filled with countless cracks.
However, no one dared enter it because those Qi ripples were extremely deadly, and the city''s top figures were deadly pale because they could tell whoever was attacking was extremely
fearsome.
But just as the silence prevailed in the area, a few minutester, a heart-wrenching, blood- curdling roar filled with disbelief, anger, and terror reverberated throughout half of the city. "WHO THE FUCK IS SKY STEALER!???? I WILL TEAR YOU INTO PIECES!"
Chapter 1255: Evil Mind Games!
Chapter 1255: Evil Mind Games!
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In the ck market of the Northern Guardian Sect City, Sea of Secrets'' branch, Freya wearing a faceless mask and her evil thief''s robes, showcasing her curvaceous figure to perfection, while her head covered under a hood were standing in a luxurious hall.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Four womanly figures were sitting in front of Freya. Their faces were enshrouded in an ethereal haze like a mystery, and they gave one a feeling of the unknown.
But Freya didn''t seem to be bothered by them at all, as her eyes were dismissive and cold. She knew the chance she had been waiting for had arrived. Ace had done his part splendidly, even performing way above her expectations, and now it was her turn.
"Who are you really?" An emotionless voice rang from one of the four figures, and a monstrous spiritual pressure released and locked on Freya.
However, Freya remained unbothered and replied coldly, "How about we stop ying this game, mydies? I know you''ve already investigated my background, and I''m pretty sure you found nothing. Trust me; you won''t find it even if you look all over Mortal Ascension Heaven because I''m nobody worthy of background.
"I''ll cut to the chase; you should already know about the capabilities and connections I''ve made in the ck market in these few months. But truth be told, I''m not interested in ying in the children''s field, so I want to join your esteemed organization. I know I have the
capability to shine here and showcase my true potential.
"The Spirit Inferno Domain is too small for... All-Knowing Parrot!" Freya dered with boundless confidence and conviction, without any fear of the four existences in front of her. Freya had already guessed who they were; they should be the four Controllers of the four branches of the Sea of Secrets in the Spirit Inferno Domain or the Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect''s territory.
With her information-gathering ability, she knew that there were three ranks in the Sea of Secrets branches: the Collectors, who were in charge of collecting secrets in the branch''s territory and wore white masks; the Carrier, who carried the secrets and sold them to the Sea of Secrets ''guests,'' and they wore crimson masks.
Finally, the Controllers were the leaders of the branch and controlled all the secrets of that branch, including high-grade secrets that only they were privy to. They wore blue masks.
Most importantly, the Sea of Secrets seemed to only have women in its ranks, and many people believed the entire organization was made up of women.
However, there was no proof since no one had ever been able to find their headquarters or any core information about them, and those ''guests'' kept their identities a secret since, once exposed, they all mysteriously vanished.
No one knows how to join them, yet Freya still wants to try it because they have the most powerful informationwork and many secrets unknown to many.
Hearing Freya''s arrogant statement, the four figures became silent, but the spiritual pressure on Freya didn''t vanish, in fact it increased as if the owner of this spiritual pressure didn''t like Freya''s tone.
But Freya was still standing without flinching. Although she was weak in front of them, their pressures and imposing manners couldn''tpare to Ace at all.
Even Ace didn''t know that he had this mystical aura, which held a strange awe to the house members. That aura also seemed to make the house members fearless of the others. They remained unhinged unless the other party directly attacked them; their auras or spiritual pressure seemed useless.
"You are courageous..." A charming voice rang at this moment, "But if you think you can muddle your way into the Sea of Secrets, you are terribly wrong. Although we admit your connection to this thief, Sky Stealer,pelled us to gather here and meet you, it is not enough if you want to join us. Not only that, but we know who Sky Stealer is..."
"Hahahaha..." Freya suddenly burst intoughter as if she heard something ridiculous, cutting off that woman in her speech.
"You''re probably talking about George Edward, the Core Disciple and the new personal disciple of the Sect Master of the AIG Sect, right?" Freya''s voice was filled with derision, "How about I revealed another secret to you? Are you interested?"
This time, no one spoke as if they were absorbing Freya''s words; they seemed to be talking with each other through spirit transmission. Although Freya was as weak as an ant in front of them, for some reason, they had this strange feeling that Freya wasn''t as simple as she looked.
She was simply too confident in front of them as if they were no danger to her, which made them all hesitant. Lastly, they were really interested in Sky Stealer, and just as Freya revealed, they were convinced that George was the Sky Stealer since a few months back, he had shown his thievish abilities, and the same owl symbol appeared on his victims'' bodies.
They had all thoroughly investigated this incident and found more such victims. Even the Vault Guardian had be aughingstock because he had received the Sky Stealer symbol. Lastly, what made them doubt George''s identity again was that it was during the theft. George was still in seclusion in the AIG Sect, and he hadn''t left since he joined the sect, which was even confirmed through their collectors.
Most importantly, they were gathered here because they wanted to get in contact with Sky Stealer. This order came directly from the headquarters, which was shocking on its own. That''s why they brought Freya here since she already had information about Sky Stealer''s movements.
They were almost convinced that Freya and Sky Stealer were in a cohort, so they wanted to capture her and set up a meeting with Sky Stealer.
But now, after meeting with Freya, they knew it wasn''t as simple as they thought it was, and they started to hesitate, which is precisely what Freya wanted.
"If you can let us meet the Sky Stealer, we''ll consider letting you join in." Another Controller
finally spoke.
"Tsk, they took the bait...'' Freya''s lips curled up behind her mask, "I think you guys are mistaking something here. I got to know about Sky Stealer''s movements because Sky Stealer let me know about them since Sky Stealer owes me a small favor.
"Tsk, tsk, you guys really knew nothing about Sky Stealer. Whatever you know about the Sky Stealer, it is only because Sky Stealer wants you to know that exact thing. Only Sky Stealer knows who Sky Stealer is, and what Sky Stealer will do next is also known to the Sky Stealer.
"But I have something that should be enough to let you further ruin the Bank''s reputation. It''s a small gift from Sky Stealer, and I''m willing to exchange it as long as you give me a chance to join the Sea of Secrets.
"Who knows, in the future, the Sky Stealer might need my help, and I can swear that I''ll directly bring him in once it happens. If you guys are still not convinced, I''ll be taking my leave and bringing this ''gift'' to the ck market elder. I''m sure he''ll appreciate it very
much!"
Freya''s voice was filled with boundless confidence as she didn''t hide her intention to go to the Sea of Secrets rival, the ck Market. She didn''t seem afraid or agitated about their reactions or if she didn''t fear their retaliation.
Now, the only question remains whether the Sea of Secrets will call Freya''s bluff or not, and it all depends on how much they favor the Sky Stealer!
Chapter 1256: The Thief Among Us! (1)
Chapter 1256: The Thief Among Us! (1)
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The news of the Northern Sect Guardian City''s Prime Heavenly Bank Branch being sessfully robbed by an unknown thief took the entire Spirit Inferno Domain by storm.
Within a few hours, almost every influential person within the Spirit Inferno Domain got this information. Furthermore, it wasn''t the bank that made this news public; in fact, they seemed to be suppressing it.
But how could a paper hold me? The Prime Heavenly Bank was a colossal titan of the Mortal Ascension Heaven, and even though only their measly branch in a second-grade sect''s region was robbed, this was still a huge matter.
However, the information seemed to have been spread by none other than the thief himself! Someone got their hands on a Recorder Bead, which wasmonly used to record any kind of scene in the Mortal Ascension Heaven.
This Recorder Bead was actually the scene of the Prime Heavenly Bank''s empty treasury. On the massive wall of the empty vault was a massive inky owl mural, and within the wings of the owl were words written.
In one wing was the name ''Sky Stealer,'' while in the other wing was written a peculiar message: ''Your treasures were collecting dust here, and I can''t stand this sphemy! So, I''m taking them, and I promise to wash them daily. No need to worry; they are in good hands... Your Honorable Thief: Sky Stealer!''
Once this recorder bead appeared, it instantly became popr. People started copying it into new recorder beads and selling them all over the Spirit Inferno Domain for spirit coins, and people were even buying them!
At the end of this video, the thief, Sky Stealer, appears right in the center of the owl mural. His appearance is mysterious, as he is d in dark robes, and his head is covered in a long hood. No one can see his face, and he says just a single sentence in an ovepping metallic voice. No one can tell if it is a man or a woman, which shocks people''s hearts.
"This is just the start; I''m Coming for your next!"
His words were extremely arrogant and provocative. Although no one knows who he wasing for or who this message was for, probably for the Prime Heavenly Bank or no one in particr, those people in power were furious.
Another piece of news rted to the Sky Stealer surfaced soon after. Before robbing the bank, he had also robbed many top-grade shops not far away from the bank branch because they had the same kind of owl murals in their treasuries.
Within half a day, the Sky Stealer became extremely famous, and people debated his origin and prowess. Some even believed he belonged to the notorious group of thieves equally renowned as him, the Nightfall Ravenhood, because the Sky Stealer''s Dark Owl symbol was very simr to the Nightfall Ravenhood''s White Raven.
Nheless, the name Sky Stealer instantly gained fame equal to the Nightfall Ravenhood, if not more, because the Nightfall Ravenhood hadn''t appeared in five years.
Some people even believed the Sky Stealer was the sessor of the White Raven or the group''s new leader. Many spections and rumors were going around as people were trying to gather any information on the new thief who had single-handedly robbed the Prime Heavenly Bank''s branch!
The Artifact Inferno Guardian Sect was naturally one of the few sects who got the news of the bank branch being robbed almost instantly. After all, the bank branch was right outside their doors and within their territory, so they knew the consequences if the bank decided to me them!
Within a few hours, the sect master called a meeting across the Sect, and no one dared miss it since they all knew what this meeting was about. The me Master, Forger Master, vice hall leaders, elders, and even the family heads of four ns were summoned to the Sect Master Hall.
Soon, the usual barren hall became lively as all the personnel took their respective seats and waited for the arrival of Sect Master Vincent. The mood was absolutely solemn and somewhat gloomy.
Some elders were talking with each other in hush voices, and they were all discussing the news of the bank branch being robbed while they secretly nced in the direction of the Norberg n''s personnel, who had somewhat pale and ugly expressions on their faces.
After all, the Northern Guardian Sect City was under the Norberg n''s rule and was also the most prosperous of the four main cities of the AIG Sect.
But now, not only the shops of the top first-grade sects were robbed, but even the branch of the Prime Heavenly Bank was raided on the same night.N?v(el)B\\jnn
If it was only the first-grade sects, even quasi-second-grade sects, the Norberg n wouldn''t be afraid at all, and they could''ve easilypensated them to keep their mouths shut.
But it was no longer that simple, and those first-grade sects also got the courage to protest against the AIG Sect now. No matter how they looked at it, this would be an absolute disaster for the Norberg n if the bank decided to point its finger at them. The high and mighty Norberg n was now in trouble!
However, for some reason, the head of the Norberg n and the Forger Master seemed deadly calm without any panic or fear, as if they were still in control, which made the other three ns'' higher-ups narrow their eyes ever so slightly.
At this moment, the hush voices suddenly died down as they all looked towards the tform with the high chair. A Qi ripple suddenly appeared around it, and the next moment, Vincent, in his white robes, appeared sitting on the chair, his expression somewhat pale.
But he didn''t say anything and instead waved his sleeve. Two more chairs appeared beside his, but slightly lower than his. The next moment, even more powerful Qi ripples appeared, and two more figures surfaced sitting on those chairs.
Everyone''s expression changed as they instantly guessed the identities of those two people. They were the Grand Elders of the AIG Sect!
At this moment, Bert, the head of the Norberg n, suddenly stood up and cupped his fists towards Vincent and the two Grand Elders, Edwin and Inez, and spoke coldly, "Greetings, Sect Master and Grand Elders! Before we begin, I want to confirm something, and it is of the utmost importance to the survival of our Sect!"
Vincent''s eyes shed coldly. He didn''t know what Bert was trying to do, but his hands were bound at this moment. Even he was shocked when he received this news, and he didn''t have the chance to thoroughly investigate it.
However, from what he heard about the thief Sky Stealer and that symbol of that thief, he almost couldn''t believe it.
But he didn''t have a chance to confirm it before those two grand elders appeared, and he had no choice but to suppress his doubts. But now it seemed he wasn''t the only one who had
thought about ''it''!
Furthermore, this matter was really about the survival of their sect, and it had nothing to do with his own schemes against the four ns, so he couldn''t sabotage anyone.
"Speak your mind, child." Grand Elder Edwin gave his permission with a solemn expression.
Bert''s eyes shed viciously as he instantly took out a recorder cube and activated it without hesitation. Arge projection appeared under everyone''s eyes.
Everyone was confused until they saw the owl symbol, and Vincent was even more rmed before his heart sank!
''Was it really him!? But how?!'' Vincent thought with disbelief and bitterness!
Chapter 1257: The Thief Among Us! (2)
Chapter 1257: The Thief Among Us! (2)
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After looking at the entire recorder bead''s video, the atmosphere in the hall was slightly strange, yet more than that, it was suffocating. Those who recognized that symbol looked at Vincent, who was expressionless.
Everyone knew what was going on except the two grand elders. They never paid much attention to the sect''s matters, and Vincent made sure to keep them in the dark. But as old foxes, they knew something was wrong, and it had to do with Vincent somehow.
Bert didn''t seem to care. He sneered, stowed away the recorder bead, and said coldly, looking at Vincent, "I would like to request to promptly detain the suspect, George! Please give your permission, Grand Elders!"
Vincent''s expression went dark when Bert bluntly undermined his authority and asked the Grand Elders for permission.
Grand Elder Edwin''s eyes narrowed slightly as he asked, "Who is George, and why is he a suspect?"
Although Grand Elder Edwin didn''t like Vincent and wouldn''t miss any chance to suppress him, this matter was simply too huge. If it had anything to do with the sect, they would pay a terrible price.
After all, the sect was their foundation, and offending the prime heavenly bank would be like provoking a wasp nest!
Bert nced at Vincent, who was coldly looking at him. Since two grand elders were here, he knew he wouldn''t have to be afraid, so he quickly said, "So, Sect Master didn''t tell you about his prot¨¦g¨¦? Actually, George Edward is a newly anointed Chief Forger Disciple, a genius who had earned himself a Nominal Legacy Token of the Forger Abyss!"
"Apparently, respected Sect Master took him as his disciple, and everyone here knows that he''s a forger genius who is only slightly inferior to my son, Nathaniel."
Bert seemed to be parsing George, but everyone knew that he was just putting gold around the fish to make it more valuable in others'' eyes before killing it!
Bert''s lips curled up slightly as he could see Grand Elder Edwin and Inez''s astounded expression, and he knew the moment had arrived as he drew the butter knife.
"But there is something unusual about George because he liked to steal from his fellow disciples and didn''t respect his elders! Still, we can take it as a junior ying around with his peers.
"However, there is something simr about this thief, Sky Stealer, and George, and that thing is this owl symbol they leave behind whenever they steal from someone! I''m not making baseless usations here. There are some disciples who have this owl symbol on their hands, and they can''t be removed no matter what, and this Sky Stealer symbol has the same attributes.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"I''ve personally received reports from our branch n in the Northern Guardian Sect City. Not only that, but the elders here had personally seen it themselves, and they can be my witness!
"That''s why I want to detain him and hand him over to the bank before they find out about this, because once they know about George''s simrities with the Sky Stealer, it''ll be a cmity for our sect, and this thief is clearly trying to destroy our set!"
Everyone was silent, and no one refuted Bert''s statement. Even the Forger Masters, who had a good opinion of George, were silent and frowning. Lastly, Vincent was also silent since he knew there was no escaping this at all. He didn''t believe for a second that the bank wouldn''t be able to get this information even if the sect was locked down.
In fact, Vincent knew that the Norberg n had mostly likely already informed the bank, and they wouldn''t miss this chance to get rid of George, who was like a thorn in their way. Moreover, it was also the perfect chance to get rid of Vincent since they could easily tie Sky Stealer and Vincent together.
"Detain him, and bring him here!" Grand Elder Inez coldly ordered. She never expected someone like this in their sect.
Furthermore, it wasn''t just the question about snatching the sect mater''s position from Vincent; it was about the survival of their sect!
Bert was instantly in high spirits, and he was about to rush toward George''s cultivation dwelling to capture him and even cripple him. At the same time, he got the chance when suddenly a suffocating spiritual pressure locked him in his ce, and he became pale.
Grand Elder Edwin and Inez''s eyes widened slightly since they knew who this spiritual pressure belonged to, and even Vincent was startled.
At this moment, an impassive yet imposing voice rang in the hall, "George never left the sect during all this time. He has always been in his cultivation chamber, and he still is! This old spirit can be the witness!
"If you dare to continue to libel George instead of hiding your ipetence and going after the real culprit, this old spirit will have no choice but to punish you by capturing and refining you for a year!"
Everyone was shocked, and Bert''s expression was deadly pale. They knew it was the Guardian Spirit of the AIG Sect, and even the Grand Elders didn''t dare go against it.
Furthermore, when the Guardian Spirit personally vouched for George, there was nothing these people could say after all. They all knew the Guardian Spirit was the core of the AIG Sect''s formations, and it could easily spy on people with a single thought. It would never lie about something this serious, especially when the survival of the sect was on the line. Moreover, they can easily confirm this on their own. If George really hasn''t left the sect all this time, then how in the world did he rob the bank branch?
"And you lot! Have your heads also been hit by a donkey like this mutt-head? George cultivation is only a 1-Star Ascension Soldier! Do you really believe that he can rob a bank under so many Ascension Guardians'' eyes? We all know how much the bank emphasized their security, so open your minds and stop bringing cmity upon yourselves!
"Who would be going to believe your words if you yourself insist they are true? Are you sure you are not trying to sabotage the entire sect for your personal vendetta!?" Guardian Spirit''s voice was icy cold, and it was clearly angry, "Grand Elder Edwin, I put you in charge of investing this personally, and since you all are insisting on ming George, you can start with him. Oh, and the entire Norberg n''s assets and authorities are voided and will be temporarily given to the Sect Master Vincent until they can clear their names of this mess! "The Norberg branch n in the Northern Sect Guardian City will also be held responsible for their ipetence, and the Sect Master Vincent has the right to anoint new authority in the city. Norberg n will no longer have any part in the Northern Sect Guardian City; that''ll take effect immediately!"
Bert''s and the faces of all the Norberg n members in the hall were filled with shock, disbelief, and despair. They never expected that the Guardian Spirit would be so ruthless to
them.
Furthermore, they had bought this upon themselves while trying to outsmart others, and the one who had the biggest hand in this was Bert himself!
Vincent was astounded. He never expected Guardian Spirit to reverse this situation like this, and it even snatched all the authority of the Norberg n just like that. Right now, they can''t do anything to fight back since the odds are against them!
The two Grand Elders looked at each other with shock and couldn''t help but sigh helplessly. They knew the Guardian Spirit was truly infuriated this time, and if they didn''t behave, they might end up on a mission like the other two Grand Elders!
Just thinking about how Chester and Bernard were sent to the boundary to investigate made him shudder.
Grand Elder Edwin looked at Bert with a hint of pity before he coughed lightly, "Since Senior Guardian Spirit has given its words, I''ll be in charge of investigating this incident. Let''s start with the Sect Master''s disciple, George, since we can''t overlook the simrity between his methods and the Sky Stealer. I also want to see what kind of genius he is. What do you think, Sect Master?"
Vincent wanted to sneer with disdain, but he held himself back. His lips rose up slightly as he nodded, "Please don''t mind me, Grand Elder. That brat has been in seclusion all this time. I also wanted to see his progress. You are free to criticize that little troublemaker. Having you personally visit him is his honor!"
Grand Elder Edwinughed dryly before he nodded. Everyone looked at each other, as they were also quite interested in what George was up to and how he had a simr owl symbol as
the Sky Stealer!
Chapter 1258: Increase in Strength!
Chapter 1258: Increase in Strength!
?
While the news of the theft of the Prime Heavenly Bank was spreading far and wide, the thief, Sky Stealer, who was the hottest topic in the entire Spirit Inferno Domain, was very calm and had long since fled the theft site into safety!
The moment Ace was done with the theft and all the preparations, he used the Soul Body Sweep without hesitation and reverse summoned his main body into the inner soul space of his avatar!
After all, once he decided to expose himself, it was impossible to escape under the noses of so many enraged Ascension Guardians, so he used the Soul Body Sweep and directly teleported himself inside the AIG Sect''s Chief Hall Court by paying half of his Qi as a price.
However, Ace didn''t stop there. He summoned Freya using a house meeting inside the thief''s house and handed her the recorder bead just in case the bank tried to suppress the news and boost his fame even more.
This only took Ace around five minutes toplete before he sent Freya away. But Ace wasn''t feeling secure because he knew his escape routes were closed now, with both his avatar and main body present in the same ce.
But he can''t just leave like this, or it''ll be quite suspicious, so he calmed himself down, quickly switched his body with his avatar, and appeared as George. This method was so meticulous that even the Guardian Spirit didn''t notice anything.
Looking at the familiar surroundings, Ace sighed. He felt like it was all but a dream since he was able to pull this off with his cultivation base, and he had to admit, it was rather dangerous.
Nheless, the thrill and excitement of a sessful thievery were the same as when he started on this path.
"System, how''s the result of this thievery? Did Iplete the mission?" Ace asked the system with expectation.
After all, he had taken a huge risk by going after the Prime Heavenly Bank''s branch, and now that he had seeded, he knew there was no way he would fail since the Prime Heavenly Bank''s reputation was simply too high.
"[The evaluation is still underway! The result of the thievery and the TP reward will be announced collectively within twenty-four hours!]"
Ace was astounded when he heard this kind of response from the system, but now that he had considered it, it made sense since this mission was all about fame, not the value of the target or the difficulty.
So, he quickly calmed down and was confident that he''d seed.
''Now that I have to wait. I should have made better preparations for the aftermath. Especially now that George''s identity is under suspicion. Once the bank knows about it, they won''t take it amicably since it doesn''t matter if all the proofs are on my side.
"They''ll do anything to protect their reputation, not to mention those treasuries I got from the treasuries aren''t just limited to materials and coins; there were some extremely valuable techniques and rare treasures among them. I need to sort them out.
''But first, I should work on my exit strategy and make sure that I have an escape route if nothing works out. And now that I have the TP, I should evaluate my strength.
''So, I should first upgrade the avatar since it''s my biggest trump card, and I finally have the TP to upgrade it in the Ascension Warrior realm now!''
Ace''s eyes shone as he quickly opened the B.E.L.L interface.
=====
[Cherry blossom of Divine Twilight (Primal Divine Trait)]
-Divine Trait Description: The might of the Avatar of Holy Twilight will bloom with the cherry blossoms.
-Cultivation Ability: Divine Scripture of Blossoming Twilight
-Description: The Avatar of Holy Twilight can only bloom (cultivate) with Primal Divine Twilight!
-Cost of Cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight to Spirit Soul Integration Realm (Ascension Warrior Peak): 50,000,000 Thief Points
=====
"Cultivate it!" Ace ordered without hesitation!
The moment Ace gave his permission, the Avatar of Holy Twilight released a familiar, terrifying soul pressure in his inner world, which waspletely different from its previous breakthrough.
Although the Avatar of Holy Twilight was the manifestation of the ??? Divine Talent, which was actually called the Primal Divine Talent from B.E.L.L, was revealed after the system upgrade, and this Divine Scripture of Blossoming Twilight could help it cultivate like any other cultivator!
So, now that his avatar was entering the Ascension Warrior Realm, its inner soul space was naturally going to be an inner soul world. The strangest thing was that the avatar didn''t seem to require any Auxiliary Laws, and the moment Ace paid the TP, it instantly started to evolve!
The runic lines on the avatar''s dark golden body became more vibrant and mysterious as a faint mystical glow was released from its body.
But the true change was happening in its soul space. The dark golden sea made with massive Spirit Qi was now transforming into mist, and the space was expanding at a terrifying rate- somewhat different from Ace''s primordial inner world space!
Ace knew why. The biggest change was naturally in the center of his avatar''s inner soul world. An ethereal white treelet with nine branches was growing there, and soul mist seemed to revolve around it.
Its archaic, arcane aura was more profound and carried unknown mysteries, and at this moment, Ace saw dark golden runes slowly metalizing on the treelet.
Once the entire ethereal white tree was filled with dark golden runes, the power surge seemed to have calmed down, but Ace could feel terrifying power from the Avatar of Holy Twilight!
"This tree still doesn''t show any sign of blooming. Just what kind of mysterious this Divine Blossoming of Holy Twilight is hiding?'' Ace wondered before the system''s emotionless voice sounded, and new information surfaced in his mind regarding the avatar.
=====
[Thief Point(s): 227,010,800]n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
-Avatar of Holy Twilight has sessfully achieved Spirit Soul Integration Realm (Peak)
-Soul Ability: Holy Sun Cmity Palm has evolved into a Law Ability!
-Holy Sun Cmity Palm (Law Ability): A Palm containing the destructive power of Three
Twilight Suns!
[NOTE: The Soul Abilities of the Avatar of Holy Twilight can be shared between the main body and the avatar!]
-Cost of Cultivating the Avatar of Holy Twilight to Spirit Soul Formation Realm (Peak): 100,000,000 Thief Points
[NOTE (1): The Avatar of Holy Twilight cannot develop beyond the Cultivation Realm of its
Owner!]
[NOTE: Host doesn''t have the means to create Primal Divine Twilight. The Primal Divine Twilight has been changed with Thief Points1]
Ace sighed bitterly when he saw the cost of the next upgrade. But since it was still quite far away from him, he didn''t take it to heart and closed the panel and started to integrate with the memories of thew ability he just received.
Although he never used the Holy Sun Cmity Palm, he knew its power was extremely terrifying and destructive. Before, it had the power of one soul sun, but now that it had evolved into aw ability, it carries the power of three twilight suns.
Ace even wanted to try it, but using it would use up all of his Holy Twilight Spirit Qi and might
also cause a hugemotion, so he kept it as his trump card.
But Ace was still not done. He opened another interface to further evaluate his prowess and
ordered the system directly!
"System upgrade the Nirvana Thief Bloodline to Ascension Grade-3!"
The system instantly deducted 75 million TP, and the next moment, deep within Ace, something stirred as the entire blood in his body began to surge and boil, and his entire skin turned crimson. It was like he was burning from the inside out, and his blood suddenly turned
into ava
river!
Not only that but as his blood boiled and histent power was further evaluated, his cultivation started to surge as well. Especially after all those high-level thieves he pulled. His cultivation was already at the peak of 1-Star Ascension Warrior!
The next moment, Ace instantly breakthrough to the 2-Star Ascension Warrior, but it wasn''t the end. His Primordial Qi continued to be denser and denser, and his primew seemed to be increasing with his bloodline, which Ace never expected it to!
Within a few minutes, Ace was already a 3-Star Ascension Warrior, and by the time his blood calmed down, Ace was just a step away from a 4-Star Ascension Warrior!
This was an unexpected yet pleasant surprise, and at this moment, he looked at the interface
in front of him.
=====
-Nirvana Thief Bloodline Evolution Chart: Seven Avable
-Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-4
-Evaluation Cost: 100,000,000 Thief Points
-Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-5
-Evaluation Cost: 150,000,000 Thief Points -Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-6
-Evaluation Cost: 250,000,000 Thief Points -Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-7
-Evaluation Cost: 750,000,000 Thief Points -Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-8 -Evaluation Cost: 1,000,000,000 Thief Points -Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-9
-Evaluation Cost: 1,500,000,000 Thief Points
-Nirvana Thief Bloodline: Ascension Grade-10 (Forbidden Grade)
-Evaluation Cost: 2,500,000,000 Thief Points
-Evolve to Transcendent Grade (LOCKED: Required Ascension Grade-10 Forbidden
Bloodline)
[Thief Point(s): 152,010,800]
Chapter 1259: Bow of Vermin!
Chapter 1259: Bow of Vermin!
?
It took Ace a few moments to calm down after his bloodline evaluation. Once he was done, he felt extremelyfortable and could feel the rush of power deep within him. He didn''t expect the bloodline upgrade to bring him so many benefits.
Not only has his cultivation increased, but he can feel that hisprehension of the darkness order has also increased, and his overallprehension ability has also increased a notch.
''I still have over 150 million TP left. Should I buy that?'' Ace mused as if he were making a decision, and he finally decided after some consideration.
"System, open the items shop!"
=====
[System Shop: Items Shop]
-Bow of Vermin (Thievish Soul Cord 2nd Form)
-Cost: 50,000,000 Thief Points
-Thief House Recruitment Tokens: 1
-Cost: 10,000,000 Thief Points
-Heaven Fooling Coin: 3
-Cost: 50,000,000 Thief Points
''Bow of Vermin, the thievish soul cord second from...Although I don''t know what this is all about, it should be pretty interesting. After all, the thievish soul cord is already quite powerful, but its grade has fallen somewhat behind.
''However, I wasn''t expecting it to have another form, and it''ll be the bow of all the things. I haven''t used my archery for a while now, but since the system had given me this bow, it means swords aren''t the only thing the Heaven''s Stealer can use as its weapon...''
Ace''s eyes shone as he ordered, "Purchase the Bow of Vermin!"
The moment Ace given the order the thievish soul cord on his wrist suddenly appeared, and started to shimmer as mystical runes appeared on its ethereal translucent surface.
But after a few moments, it returned to normal, making Ace frown slightly. But he could tell that there was something unusual about the Thievish Soul Cord now-it was like it now possessed its own spirituality!
The next moment, a flood of information suddenly entered Ace''s mind, and he was astounded because it was all about the Thievish Soul Cord''s new form, the Bow of Vermin.
The system voice all rang at this moment.
=====
[Thief Point(s): 102,010,800]
[The Thievish Soul Cord had sessfully entered its second form, the Bow of Vermin, and has been upgraded to Ascension Grade-3!]
[Thievish Soul Cord: Ascensions Grade-3 Spirit Weapon]
-First Form: Spirit Cord
-Ability(s): 9
[1. Flexible & Inflexible, 2. Size Increase & Decrease, 3. Spirit Restrain (Upgraded), 4. Concealment, 5. Spirit World Binding (Upgraded), 6. Spirit Shackle (Upgraded), 7. Spirit Capture (Upgraded), 8. Spirit Killer (Upgraded), Primordial Spirit Recovery (Upgraded)]
-Second Form: Bow of Vermin
Ability(s): 7
-1. Spectral Vermin Arrow
-Description: Conjures arrows made from the essence of captured spirits. Each arrow carries a parasitic vermin spirit that can burrow into the target''s spirit or body, feeding off their Spirit Qi over time. This ability drains power progressively, weakening the target until the vermin spirit is removed or killed.
-NOTE: The power of Spectral Vermin Arrow depends on the captured spirit''s power!
-2. Infestation Spread
-Description: Upon impact, the bow''s arrows fragment into spectral vermin thattch onto nearby enemies. Each vermin drains a small portion of spirit Qi, gradually spreading across targets like an infestation. Perfect for multi-target engagements!
-Limit: Active only if the target''s realm is lower than the user''s.
-3. LOCKED
-4. LOCKED
-5. LOCKED
-6. LOCKED
-7. LOCKED
Ace was shocked when he integrated all the knowledge of the changes in the Thievish Soul Cord. Not only the first form, the Spirit Cord''s abilities have been upgraded to match the ascension grade, but its new form, the Bow of Vermin, was too terrifying!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Although only two of its abilities were unlocked at the moment, both of those abilities were extremely powerful and nefarious. Even if he doesn''t use those abilities, the bow form was enough to use as a standard bow, and it goes without saying that this wasn''t just any normal bow but a heavenly-grade weapon that won''t break under Ace''s overbearing Qi!
But the biggest surprise was that the thievish soul cord was now a spirit treasure with its own spirit. Although it wasn''t on the level of the spirit guardian or Moira yet, it could still follow Ace''s orders and use the thievish soul cord independently as long as Ace provided it with Qi.
Excited, Ace quickly tries to activate the Bow of Vermin. The next moment, the ethereal ck bracelet resting on Ace''s wrist suddenly hums with eerie energy, and thin tendrils of dark smoke unfurl from it, wrapping around his forearm like sentient shadows.
As the transformation unfolds, the tendrils stretch out from his wrist, twisting and shifting like coiling vermin spirits until they solidify into the shape of a bow.
The final form was both majestic and unnerving. It disyed a pitch-ck finish with an iridescent sheen that reflected subtle hints of deep crimson and dark green when light
touched it.
The bow has an organic structure, as though it was grown rather than crafted, with gnarled, spine-like protrusions along its limbs. Each end of the bow features a set of chitinous, w- like tips that resemble the fangs of some ancient creature.
Between these tips, the bowstring appears as an ephemeral, translucent strand of spirit energy, faintly pulsing with the trapped souls it holds. Along the bow''s limbs, engraved symbols glow faintly in a sickly green hue, resembling vermin writhing and biting as if frozen
mid-struggle.
At the heart of Vermin''s Bow lies an embedded emblem of none other than his thief symbol-| an iridescent, neon-ck owl glowing that seems to pulse with darkness.
When fully transformed, the bow radiates an aura of decay, predation, and eerie destion, embodying the spirit of concealed, parasitic power.
Ace''s eyes narrowed as he looked at the Bow of Vermin in his hand. It felt alive, resonating with a hunger for Qi and a yearning to ensnare its prey, adding an intimidating, predatory aspect. Ace pulled the pulsing string and was shocked because his fingertips touched the string. His primordial Qi started to pour in. As he pulled the string, more Qi was used, and the entire bow seemed toe alive when he pulled it in a crescent arc!
''What a powerful bow!'' Ace took a deep breath before he pulled back the string. This ce wasn''t suitable to test its power, and there wasn''t any soul trapped in the thievish soul cord
since Ace never seemed to have any need for them.
But now, he was nning to gather more powerful spirits/souls to utilize the Bow of Vermin''s abilities to their full potential, and he also got the inspiration to continue his
archery path!
At this moment, Ace''s expression suddenly changed as he quickly unsummoned the Bow of Vermin. It returned to its dormant bracelet form before vanishing seamlessly around his
wrist.
"Mischievous disciple,e out! You have guests!" An amiable voice rang and Ace instantly
recognized it, it was Vincent!
Ace''s eyes narrowed, ''They''re finally here!''
Chapter 1260: Investigation & Disruption! (1)
Chapter 1260: Investigation & Disruption! (1)
?
Outside George''s courtyard, Vincent with Grand Elder Edwin and Inez, Forger Masters, the me Masters, and even the Enforcer Hall Vice-Masters were there!
However, despite their high statuses, they didn''t dare bluntly intrude in the courtyard since they all knew George was in seclusion. They mightn''t have been so restrained if they hadn''t seen what happened to Bert.
But now that they have witnessed the Guardian Spirit''s attitude towards George and the overbearing might, they naturally can''t do anything excessive unless they find something against George.
However, they had already checked the formations and found that George''s ce had always been sealed. With the Chief Hall Courtyard monitoring formation, they didn''t find any movement from George''s courtyard. This also means that George had never left his courtyard since he had confronted those chief disciples.
After all, they all knew that if some kind of strange movement had taken ce, the Guardian Spirit would be the first one to alert them. Since everyone knew that the Guardian Spirit could never harm the sect, they naturally took its words seriously.
Vincent sighed with relief when he confirmed that George was still present in the sect; he hadn''tmitted that heist, and, most importantly, he wasn''t the Sky Stealer!
As long as George wasn''t the thief in question, Vincent would support George, especially now that the Norberg n''s authority had been temporarily voided and the Grand Elder on their side wasn''t present.
Although Sky Stealer had put a huge target on the AIG Sect, he also had done Vincent a huge favor by robbing the bank branch in the Norberg n territory, and now they can''t fight back no matter what.
Furthermore, if the bank insisted on ming them, Vincent had already decided what he needed to do. Since they were all ruthless, he couldn''t be lenient with them as well.
"Mischievous disciple,e out! You have guests!" Vincent amiably called, his voice imbued with Qi. He had a faint smirk on his face, as he could clearly sense George''s presence in there.
Furthermore, a hint of surprise shed past his eyes when he noticed a subtle change in George''s presence, and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
Thereupon, the courtyard door opened, and George, in his disciple robes, appeared in front of everyone. He was startled when he saw all those people, which was a natural reaction.
Grand Elder Edwin and Inez were the most curious about this George, who seemed to have earned Guardian Spirit''s favor. In a sense, this wasn''t good news for them at all, but they couldn''t do anything to him without any solid proof.
At this moment, Vincent finally discovers why he feels a change in George''s presence and is shocked.
"This brat is now Ascension Warrior!? How''s that possible? It''s only been a few months since he''s been cultivating here, and he was clearly a 1-star ascension soldier... Furthermore, now that he''s an ascension warrior, why couldn''t I sense that strangew aura on him? Just what kind of primew is heprehending?''
Vincent was extremely curious. Although he had never probed George''s secret, since he looked down on such things after all, everyone''s fortune and misfortune depend on fate, and he disdained those who scheme against others with fortune because of envy and didn''t have the guts to go out there to fight for it.
But still, he could tell George''s fortune was extraordinary. Not only did he have that mysterious human bloodline, but he also had a disguise treasure that even he couldn''t see through. Lastly, he had his thievish ability and the symbol that connected him with the newly rising thief, Sky Stealer.
Before the bank heist, Vincent never paid any attention to George''s thievish abilities, but now, he doesn''t dare look down on a thief, especially one who can rob the bank clean under so many Ascension Guardians'' watch!
At this moment, George finally greeted Vincent, "Greeting, Esteemed Teacher! If you had told me you wanted to see me, I could''vee to you. You don''t need to trouble yourself!"
His tone was respectful and filled with worship like a disciple should have towards his teacher.
Vincent was also pleased with George''s humble attitude, and the title ''teacher'' seemed quite pleasing to his ears. However, at this moment, his expression changed slightly.
With a cold snort, he released his spiritual pressure and shielded George as he looked at everyone and impassively said, "Everyone, please do me a favor and don''t use yourw senses on George. He has just broken into the Ascension Warrior realm and condensed hisw sense, so if you all use yourw senses on him, it might cause him to suffer bacsh and even sustain some hidden injury!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Wait...what?!"
"How did he cross an entire realm in little four months!?"
Everyone who knew about George mored as they looked at George with shock and disbelief. Grand Elder Edwin and Inez finally realized why they were all making such a fuss and became astounded as they looked at George with peculiar nces.
Although they didn''t use theirw sense anymore, they could really feel the Ascension Warrior realm''s presence in George and the surrounding undtions caused by the new
breakthrough.
As for Ace, he wanted to give Vincent a thumbs-up since he was also quite apprehensive about these guys using theirw senses on him, especially these two neers who were giving him dangerous vibes like Vincent.
But he never expected Vincent to cover him with his cultivation base, which Ace actually showed because he wanted to show George''s talent and make him even more important in
Vincent''s eyes.
However, he surely wasn''t expecting these two Ascension Guardians. From their robes, he could tell they weren''t from the bank but from the sect, and it didn''t take Ace long to guess their noble identities.
Vincent also noticed George looking towards the two grand elders and quickly introduced them with a smile, "What aren''t you paying your respects to Grand Elders?"
George''s face changed greatly, and he quickly showed panic before he bowed his head and respectfully said with utmost sincerity, "Forgive my ignorance and disrespect, Esteemed Grand Elders. I''ve been rude. Please punish me as you see fit!"
''What a mischievous boy!'' Vincent snickered secretly as he knew what kind of personality George had.
But Grand Elder Edwin and Inez didn''t, so they were very pleased with George''s manner and nodded in approval.
Grand Elder Edwinughed joyously and said with a friendly smile, "Good, Sect Master indeed, have chosen an extraordinary disciple.
"Youngster George, you don''t need to be so polite. We are not here to disturb you, and since you just broke through, I know you need some time to consolidate your cultivation base. Here, take this Upper Grade-3 Calming Spirit Pill. It''ll greatly help you consolidate your realm in the quickest time. Consider this my meeting gift."
The next moment, a palm-sized brocade box appeared in Grand Elder Edwin''s hand, and he immediately sent it to George.
Ace didn''t seem excited at all. In fact, he held disdain for this so-called gift. After all, this was an ascension guardian, and he knew there was no way he would be so poor. Still, he pretended to be over the moon and quickly thanked Grand Elder Edwin.
The old woman, Grand Elder Inez, couldn''t lose face, so she also took out a jade pendant,
which was very beneficial for the cultivator of Ascension Warrior Realm, and generously gave it to George, which he also received with great enthusiasm, making the old woman pleased
with herself.
The others just silently watched without any word of interference. Now, the other disciples also started to gather around the courtyard once they saw so many people. When they realized the identities of these people, they quickly informed the top disciples.
At this moment, Grand Elder Edwin finally got to the point. He took out the recorder bead and solemnly stated, "Youngster George, I want you to take a look at this and then answer me
truthfully!"
Chapter 1261: Investigation & Disruption! (2)
Chapter 1261: Investigation & Disruption! (2)
?
Ace naturally knew about the recorder beads since he brought them upon hearing about them from Freya. Moreover, he could easily guess what was recorded within this recorder bead since he was the one who instructed Freya to spread the original one!
Still, he silently nodded at Grand Elder Edwin''s instruction and watched while he could sense everyone''s scrutinous gazes on him. However, Ace had reached a terrifying level when it came to controlling his facial expressions, and when he saw shock, astonishment, and disbelief, no one thought he was just pretending.
Furthermore, Ace had already nned this exact scenario. The moment he saw himself in his wizard thief robes, George''s eyes widened as he pointed his trembling finger at ''Sky Stealer'' and eximed, "It''s him!"
Everyone was shocked as they looked at George with questionable res, especially Vincent and two Grand Elders.
Although they weren''t expecting much from George, especially if he had any connection with this thief, he would clearly try to deny it as any sane person would.
After all, everyone knew that whoever was associated with the Sky Stealer would find themselves in a world of trouble. Still, George''s reaction utterly surprised everyone since this clearly meant he knew about whom this was or at least encountered him at some point. Grand Elder Edwin''s expression was stern as he questioned, "Do you know who this is?" "Y-yes... I mean, no...I don''t know how who exactly this person is..." George was shocked.
A hint of reluctance and apprehension appeared on his face as he looked at Vincent and asked, "Does something happen, teacher?"
Vincent''s eyes narrowed slightly. He felt George seemed afraid of talking about it, so he didn''t hide. He revealed what had happened to the bank and emphasized how George was now the prime suspect because of that owl symbol!
George''s expression went ashen, and his eyes were filled with disbelief." I-I haven''t left my cultivation courtyard all this time! This had nothing to do with me!"
Grand Elder Edwin looked at George deeply before he nodded and said, "We know, but it''s very hard to prove it to the others, especially the people of the bank. They won''t care about who you are and how convincing your story is. First, tell us how you know this person, and we might be able to help you!"
Vincent also nodded grimly. He didn''t expect this kind of situation to arise, but he didn''t want George to suffer.
George again showed a hesitant look before his eyes shone with determination. He said, "Can I just reveal this to the grand elders and teacher?"
"Of course. Let''s go inside!" Vincent agreed without hesitation, without giving others any chance to respond. He looked at the Grand Elders meaningfully before he followed George, who seemed to be in a low spirit at this moment.
Grand Elder Edwin sighed before he looked at the others, who seemed dissatisfied. He sternly said, "Alright, everyone. You may go and do your things. Also, keep an eye on any news about the bank! Let us handle this matter!"
When he had finished giving his order, he followed behind Vincent and George, and Inez closely followed suit. The other onlookers had no choice but to obey since Vincent and two grand elders were the most powerful members of the sect, and their authority was absolute!
Once George and the three Ascension Guardians were inside the courtyard, George took a deep breath and revealed, "Please forgive me. I didn''t want to tell anyone about this since this is my secret and very important to me. However, now that thingse to this, and not only my life but even the sect is in trouble, as the core disciple, I can''t harm the sect!"
Vincent was gratified to hear George cared about the sect. ''I indeed didn''t take an ingrate under my wing!''
The Grand Elders also saw George in a new light.
"When I wasing to the AIG Sect, I was chased by assassins." With a grim look, George said, "They were powerful, probably ascension warriors, and I know they were sent after me at my previous sect''s Grand Elder''s behest because I had offended his grandson.
"I had no choice but to flee from those assassins. It was then that I stumbled upon a hidden ce that seemed to be protected by a natural formation. That formation seemed to trap people inside and stop outsiders from detecting whatever was inside.
"Although I sessfully fled from the assassins, but barely. However, I had never expected that I would be trapped in that formation instead. When I pried around to find a way out of that ce, it was then when I saw this person; he was d in the same way he did in that recorder bead, especially that owl symbol on the back of his robe!"
Everyone was shocked as they weren''t expecting this kind of turn of events from George, and Grand Elder Inez asked with narrowed eyes, "Was he also trapped there with you?"
"No, actually, he was there to search for the natural treasure in that formation. When he found me there, he seemed surprised, and he could''ve killed me, but when he saw I was only a newly advanced Ascension Soldier, he didn''t move against me.
"In fact, he gave me an offer: in return for helping him seize that treasure, he''ll let me go because that formation only allowed Ascension Soldiers to get close to that treasure. At least that''s what he told me.
"So, for survival, I had no choice but to help me get that treasure, and once I was done, I was sure that he would get rid of me. But instead, he kept his promise and even taught me a strange technique."
George looked at everyone sheepishly as he revealed, "Sect Master should be aware of this technique already, and it is precisely this technique that now made me a suspect of something I never did!
"This technique is called Pick Pocket, and it allows me to steal people''s belongings. Once I seed, I leave behind an owl symbol. But Sky Stealer taught it to me, and at that time, I had no idea he was going to sabotage me with it.
"If I had known, I would''ve never learned or used it on anyone. But it seemed I was too greedy and trusted the wrong person. Please, Sect Master and respected Grand Elders, I''m innocent!
"Although I was greedy in the past, I have no intention of harming anymore; I was just doing whatever to survive!" George pleaded as tears wiled up in his eyes.
There was apparent fear on his face, as if he was on the verge of a mental breakdown upon realizing a behemoth like a bank would soone looking for him!
This put Vincent and the two Grand Elders in a difficult position since they didn''t feel anything amiss with George''s behavior; in fact, they almost believed him.
If George was telling the truth, then it was clear that Sky Stealer had nned this from the start, that the thief was going to sabotage George whether he joined the sect or not.
It was their bad luck that George entered the AIG Sect and was talented enough to be a chief disciple.
Vincent even assumed that Sky Stealer should''ve known about George''s talent and bloodline, so he taught him that strange technique and might even have wanted to recruit him once he
fell into despair!
However, Vincent was still doubtful because of the disguised treasure on George, and he hesitated to ask about it since the Grand Elders were here. But he needed to clear this beforeN?v(el)B\\jnn
he decided whether to help or abandon George now that his involvement with the Sky Stealer
became clear.
But what George said next shocked him and the grand elders!
"There is another thing I want to confess!" George clenched his fists with unwillingness as he said, "I-I''m not George Edward! It''s a false identity I''ve been using ever since I was in the
Violet Yang Grand Sect!"
Chapter 1262: Investigation & Disruption! (3)
Chapter 1262: Investigation & Disruption! (3)
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Grand Elder Edwin and Grand Elder Inez''s eyes constricted once they heard George''s unexpected confession, while Vincent was calmer as he had already suspected it. Still, Vincent didn''t expect George to reveal this fact in this kind of circumstance.
"Did you know about this Sect Master?" Grand Elder Inez looked at Vincent. She could tell that Vincent didn''t react much, and Edwin sensed the same as he nced at Vincent for an answer. But before Vincent could rify, George spoke first as he bent his knee in front of them and pleaded, "Please don''t me Sect Master. He didn''t know about this, and only I''m to me for this deception! But I have no intention of harming the AIG Sect since the sect has been nothing but kind to me, and I consider it my home!
"But I won''t change the fact that I used deception and even brought trouble to the Sect! I-I don''t want to run from reality anymore, so please give me a chance to atone and hand me over to the bank!"
The three Ascension Guardians were shocked by George''s words. They could tell George wasn''t a fool; in fact, he seemed very meticulous and shrewd, so he should know what would happen to him once the bank got its hands on him.
Even if he can prove his innocence, the bank has suffered a huge humiliation and a blow to its reputation, so they will not stop until they make an example of someone, even if the other party is innocent.
"Are you out of your mind?" Vincent spoke coldly, "You''re overestimating yourself if you think I didn''t know about your little trick. Still, you have already signed in the registry, which means you can''t harm the sect, so it doesn''t matter if you are George or not. You are a chief disciple of my sect and also my disciple!"
Vincent then nced at two Grand Elders who had frowned on their faces, as he stated, "Elders, if we give up our chief disciple who is clearly innocent to appease others, won''t the dignity of our sect be sullied, and we lose all face? Today, it''s Prime Heavenly Bank, then tomorrow, it''ll be some other sect, and even our position as the overlord of the Spirit Inferno Domain will be challenged!"
The two grand elders didn''t have words to refute Vincent''s statement since they knew reputation meant everything to a sect, but this also made the Prime Heavenly Bank even more dangerous.
Seeing the two Grand Elders hesitant, Vincent confidently said, "Although George had erred, it wasn''t his intention, and he had nothing to do with this theft. The Sky Stealer is clearly sabotaging him and might even be our sect as well since he could''ve robbed any branch, but he had chosen the branch in our territory.
"But he underestimated our sect; no one can do anything to AIG Sect, and the bank would be clearer about this fact than anyone else. If they dare to bully us because we are weak, I''ll show them why the AIG Sect has been standing in the Spirit Inferno Domain for almost ten million
years!"
"You aren''t implying...!?" Grand Elder Edwin''s expression changed as he guessed what Vincent was implying, and he looked at Vincent as if he were a madman.
After all, what Vincent was implying was akin to putting the entire sect on the line for George. This was absolutely ridiculous, and they won''t let it happen!
Another person was shocked by Vincent''s cryptic words, and it was none other than Ace.
He didn''t expect this turn of events since he had assumed that they''d agree to hand him over to the bank, and then all he needed to do was follow the next phase of his n. Yet it seemed there was some kind of secret about the AIG sect that was terrifying enough to even deter the Prime Heavenly Bank.
Still, if that could work, Ace couldn''t be happier since he didn''t want to leave the sect until he got the inheritance in the Forger Abyss. More importantly, now that he had so many resources, he needed a ce to refine them and cultivate the universal ck physique!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Ace was confident that, with his n, they had no choice but to leave him here even if they handed him over to the bank.
"Sect Master, we need to discuss this further. For now, let''s calm down and hear George out. There is still the matter about his identity." Grand Elder Edwin quickly said as he nced at George, who was still kneeling, and said, "We really appreciate your honesty. Since you decided to tell us this much, can you tell us who you really are and why you were hiding your identity?"
Ace was waiting for those exact words as his face began to change in front of everyone''s astounding eyes, and just when his real face was revealed, a sudden Qi fluctuation happened. Ace''s aura from 1-Star Ascension Warrior directly imed to 9-Star Ascension Warrior peak! Caught by surprise, even those Ascension Guardians failed to notice something was amiss with the current Ace. They all thought that it was because Ace had stopped using his disguise treasure, but the truth was, in front of them was now Ace''s avatar while his actual body was hidden in his avatar''s inner soul world!
"Fufu~, your avatar is clearly unusual. Care to tell your dear master what kind of technique this is? Or is this another trick of Heaven''s Stealer? I admit, I''m impressed!" Malservus''s amused voice rang at this moment as she clearly couldn''t keep her curiosity in check and remained indifferent. "Of course, it''s part of Heaven''s Stealer inheritance!" Ace bluntly lied since he couldn''t tell her about the ''B.E.L.L'', for even he didn''t know what kind of heaven-defying treasure it was that could make something like the Avatar of Holy Twilight!
"Tsk, as if I believed you after seeing your ''performance''!" Malservus snickered, but she didn''t ask any more questions since watching Ace had proven to be an exciting experience. True to her word, she didn''t interfere with Ace''s actions at all.
Ace also ignored her and looked at the three Ascension Guardians, dazzled by his appearance and sudden surge in his cultivation base.
He quickly exined, "As you all can see, this is my true appearance, and my name is n. I''ve be a peak ascension warrior in this short amount of time because of my unusual talent, which allows me to raise my cultivation base by forging treasures.
"This is also the reason I''ve been hiding my true identity because of this talent. I grew up in the mountains with an old man who called himself my guardian. He was the one who told me to keep my identity hidden and not reveal it to anyone, especially my strange talent, or there''d be some very powerful people looking for me. This disguise method was also given to me by him before he vanished.
"Thereafter, I joined the Violet Yang Grand Sect, but that ce was filled with schemes, and I fell in love only to be betrayed, so I left the sect since I was too weak back then.
"So, I decided to focus on cultivation, and that''s why I chose the AIG Sect. As you all can see, after learning about forging, my cultivation suddenly surged. But I didn''t know something like this would transpire. I just want to live peacefully and cultivate!" Ace pretended to be bitter and frustrated when he told his cooked-up story.
"But I have never thought of harming the AIG Sect, which gives me this opportunity. That''s why, please hand me over to the bank if it means no harm wille to the sect!" His words were filled with resolution and righteousness!
The three Ascension Guardians were lost for words. This entire matter was too strange and truthfully out of their imaginations.
Vincent had a clearer picture of this since he knew about the ''human bloodline'' and instantly thought that Ace''s talent originated from it. It all started to make sense to him.
But this also made this matter moreplex since if the bank hadn''t been involved, they would''ve really nurtured Ace with everything they had, and with this talent, he would''ve brought the AIG Sect to new heights.
At this moment, Grand Elder Edwin took a deep breath and asked Ace, "This talent, can you
prove it if it''s real?"
"Yes, I just..."
Just as Ace was about to agree, Guardian Spirit''s cold voice rang, making everyone''s
expression change.
"The bank is here!"
Chapter 1263: Quasi-Ascension Lord!
Chapter 1263: Quasi-Ascension Lord!
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In the main hall of the AIG Sect, five figures in the masks were standing, releasing overwhelming, frightening spiritual pressure, especially the tall figure in the middle wearing golden white robes and a golden mask with long gray hair draped over his broad shoulders; his pressure was otherworldly as even the surrounding space seemed to tremble!
The hall masters were already scared out of there and didn''t dare approach them. They knew these people were from the bank and were probably here for George.
Even if they had guts, they didn''t dare obstruct their way or have any kind of conversation with them since they all knew that they weren''t qualified. If not for the Guardian Spirit''s presence, those five might''ve already started to rampage. This showed how important and powerful the Guardian Spirit was to the AIG and why it held such deterrence to Grand Elders. Moreover, there was another reason these five were restraining themselves, which not even the hall masters knew about. Only the Sect Master and the Grand Elders were privy to this information.
At this moment, the two Grand Elders and Sect Master Vincent finally arrived at the scene. Their expressions were grave, especially when they felt the ghastly spiritual pressure from that gray-haired figure in the center; their expressions went slightly pale.
"It''s a Quasi-Ascension Lord!" Grand Elder Edwin instantly sent spirit transmissions to Grand Elder Inez and Sect Master Vincent.
It was especially a warning for Vincent because Grand Elder Edwin was afraid Vincent would try to protect George or n since he hadn''t brought them here.
However, that gray-haired figure was almost an Ascension Lord, the seventh realm of the Mortal Ascension Heaven. All he needed to do was cross hisw tribtion, which he could do anytime he wanted, and he was filled with frightening vitality. This was the sign of a Quasi- Lord!
A Quasi-Lord was vastly different from peak Ascension Guardians because they had reached the boundary of the Ascension Lord realm without relying on any external help or treasures. They were filled with potential and talent, unlike the old ascension guardians who had exhausted all their potential or desperately tried to trigger thew tribtion, hoping to pass it by a fluke.
That''s why all the Second Grade Sects feared these Quasi-Lords since almost all of them were part of third-grade sects because the method to breakthrough in the Ascension Lord Realm and also the means to increase their chances of sessfully breakthrough were controlled by the third-grade sects.
The Guardian Spirit of the AIG Sect, which was also the Sect''s legacy spirit treasure, can rival a Quasi-Lord with the help of the sect''s legacy formation. That''s why the AIG Sect was dubbed the overlord of the Spirit Inferno Domain, and its position remained unchallenged for almost ten million years.
It was also for this exact reason that this Quasi-Lord didn''t directly destroy the Sect with a single palm strike!
On the other hand, sending an actual Ascension Lord to a Second Grade Sect was a great taboo initiated by none other than the Third Grade Sects of the Mortal Ascension Heaven.
If an Ascension Lord makes a move on any sect below the third-grade sects, the first-grade sect will face terrible consequences or that Ascension Lord in question, more urately!
If they got caught in the act, and to this day, no Ascension Lord had ever been able to seed. Although the bank had been robbed and suffered humiliation, only a branch was robbed, and there was no clear trace of an Ascension Lord behind it, so the bank had no choice but to deploy a Quasi-Lord Realm Deputy Guardian to investigate this matter and capture that vile thief, Sky Stealer!
Now that the Deputy Guardian and the four bank managers of the four bank branches in the Spirit Inferno Domain were present here, it was quite clear that they had already gotten the wind about George''s traits simr to those of Sky Stealer.
Still, they can''t directly attack a sect like the AIG Sect, not because of just the Guardian Spirit but for another even more important reason.
Nheless, the way the Deputy Guardian was releasing his overwhelming spiritual pressure made it clear that they weren''t here in peace!
Vincent calmed his nerves as he greeted the five envoys from the bank with an impassive attitude, "Gentlemen, wee to my AIG Sect. Sorry for noting and receiving you personally since I wasn''t informed beforehand. I hope you don''t mind ourck of hospitality. I''ve already ordered a grand feast in your wee, so I would ask you all to stay and give us a chance to make amends."
The Deputy Guardian stared at Vincent emotionlessly, not impressed by Vincent''s superficial speech, and finally spoke, his voice cold and harsh, "Forgive myck of manners, but I think Sect Master Vincent should know why we are here.
"So, I won''t waste yours or our time; I''m here to detain George Edward, your chief disciple, on the crime of being the prime suspect of the recent thievery involved not only many first- grade sects but also the bank branch of the Northern Guardian Sect City.
"We don''t want to resort to violence, and as long as the AIG Sect is not involved in this, you will have nothing but our gratitude. But we need George Edward, and there is no leeway there!"
The Grand Elders didn''t seem surprised by the Deputy Guardian''s overbearing attitude. After all, he was a Quasi-Lord; in fact, he was already very polite even to have this dialogue with them.
If the AIG Sect''s position weren''t so particr, they knew the Deputy Guardian might''ve already attacked.
Still, the Deputy Guardian had already hinted that there would be consequences if the AIG Sect were found to be involved.
Vincent''s expression fell as he felt extremely powerless at this moment. He knew the Deputy Guardian was only being overbearing because they were weak. He was an Ascension Lord, so the Deputy Guardian''s tone would bepletely different. But he wasn''t, and he was even weaker than Grand Elders!
However, after thinking about how George had trusted him with his secret and about his ''tragic past,'' he didn''t want to hand him over to the bank.
After all, he was 99% sure that George had been schemed against and framed. If George was handed over to the bank, his end would be tragic, and a peerless talent would fall just like
that.
"I''ll bring him here." Grand Elder Inez decisively replied before Vincent could, and she instantly vanished from her spot with her mastery of spacew!
"YOU...." Vincent''s expression changed, but Grand Elder Edwin instantly stopped him.
Edwin smiled wryly as he said, "Please don''t forget who you are, Sect Master. The Sect is your top priority! Guardian Spirit, I implore you to talk some sense to the Sect Master. He''s too
emotional!"
Vincent instantly fumed as his aura spread. He was clearly not going to listen to them, but at this moment, the Guardian Spirit''s cold voice rang again, "Calm down, don''t make fools of yourselves in front of our guests. Let her bring George here, as long as he''s innocent. I''m confident that an existence like Prime Heavenly Bank won''t be petty enough to falsely punish an innocent child. Right, friends from the bank?"
The Deputy Guardian''s eyes finally shed with a peculiar light before he nodded, "You don''t have to worry. If George Edward is innocent, we won''t let him suffer and evenpensate him. But to do that, we need to bring him to the headquarters and let the Lords interrogate
him personally!"
"Heh, why go through so much trouble and involve those mighty lords? I have a simple solution. I wonder if you''ll listen to this old spirit''s request?"
"If things can be solved so simply, I''ll, of course, consider your request." Deputy Guardian
replied after a moment of pause.
"Then it''s settled. Once George is here, I permit you to use soul search on him!"
Guardian Spirit''s words shocked not only Vincent and Edwin but also the Deputy Guard and the four branch managers, who had been silently listening to all this time!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Chapter 1264: A Fa?ade! (1)
Chapter 1264: A Fa?ade! (1)
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Once the three Ascension Guardians left, Ace was alone in his courtyard. He was deep in thought, and since the Sect Master refused to take him away and order him to stay put, he could do nothing but obey.N?v(el)B\\jnn
But Ace didn''t expect that Sect Master Vincent would decide to protect him despite the imminent danger of the AIG Sect being destroyed by the bank. However, from Vincent''s words, he didn''t know why, but he had this feeling that the AIG Sect wasn''t as simple as it appeared.
Nheless, Ace still wanted to go through with his own n, and since Vincent showed him this kindness, he didn''t want to see the AIG Sect''s destruction. After all, he still needed a ce to lie low for a while until he moved on, and there was still the Forger Abyss.
In any case, Ace will be disadvantaged by the destruction of the AIG Sect. So, he made up his mind and loudly inquired, respectfully, "Umm, the Senior who just spoke? Are you still here? This disciple wanted to have a chat with you, and I think I can easily solve this problem. Please give me a chance and hear me out."
Ace had guessed who this voice belonged to, but he didn''t dare say it out loud since it would be too strange for someone like him to guess the identity of this voice.
Just as Ace thought, the Guardian Spirit was still keeping an eye on him, and the moment he spoke, the Guardian Spirit''s impassive voice rang, "What is it, boy? If you want to sacrifice yourself, don''t bother. Since Vincent trusted you, and I also saw you didn''t leave this ce all this time, you don''t have to worry. My AIG Sect isn''t easy to bully!"
Ace became even more curious about the method the AIG Sect was using to confront the bank but did not change his ns at all.
"Senior, since you were observing all this time, please trust me and let me meet with the people of the bank. There is one thing you should know: because of my strange talent, I have a very strong soul. So, I will let the people of the bank perform a soul search on me, and once they discover that I really wasn''t the one behind that theft, they will have no choice but to leave the AIG Sect alone!" he said with determination.
"Are you mad, boy?" The Guardian Spirit instantly retorted.
Everyone knew that Soul Search was extremely dangerous for their target because it was an infamous ability that would forcibly search through one soul, and almost 99% of the time, the target would end up dead, and the 1% who survived have their soul wounded beyond saving, turning them into vegetables and living corpses.
Even for aw-state cultivator, the result was the same, and it was even more destructive, as aw-state cultivator''s soul search was based on spirit Qi andws!
That''s why Guardian Spirit responded so angrily. It thought that George had gonepletely insane, and no matter what kind of talent he had, surviving a soul search-especially the soul search of a Quasi Ascension Lord without any harm-was nothing but a pipe dream, especially when George himself was only an Ascension Warrior.
This was even more cruel than torturing someone, and even the bank wouldn''t suggest something like this openly since they weren''t those unorthodox factions.
Ace expected this kind of reaction, but he couldn''t just tell them that he had the freaking avatar of Holy Twilight with the ability to create false information. So, he had to convince the Guardian Spirit no matter what.
He pulled a bitter expression as he said, "Senior, I know this may sound like a foolish request. But I can really survive a soul search, and I''ve done it three times already. One time, I even survived a soul search of aw state cultivator while only being an elemental state cultivator."
"What!?" Guardian Spirit was shocked as its angry voice rang, "What are you talking about? Who was so cruel to do such a thing to you? Is this rted to your past? Was it your sect? Tell me the truth: I will have Vincent tten those bunch of vermin!"
Ace was speechless as this wasn''t the main point of this debate, but he still felt somewhat closer to the AIG Sect.
"Senior, my past is not important. Just let me do this for the sect, and all I want is your word that I will be the one who decides what will happen after the bank confirms that I wasn''t the one who robbed them and discovered my secret!"
This time, the Guardian Spirit didn''t instantly reply as if it was still absorbing the astonishing information George had just revealed. Furthermore, this also made the Guardian Spirit feel bad for him since he seemed to have endured too much in the past, and now he even wanted to sacrifice his secrets for the sect. Even a weapon spirit was moved by this.
After a long pause, the Guardian Spirit finally spoke in a solemn tone, "Boy, it''s my sect fortune to have someone like you, and I promise you that even if you decide to confront the bank, I''ll help you with all my might! And once this is all over, you''ll have the same privilege as Vincent, and I''ll make you the Junior Sect Master. No matter who opposed it, I''ll just smash them!"
Ace was startled for a moment when he heard this unexpected promise. He was secretly d that he put on such a show, and now it seemed that his position on the AIG Sect was as stable as a mountain.
Soon after their secret conversation, Grand Elder Inez suddenly appeared. She looked at Ace, who had an otherworldly appearance. She wondered if he hid his face all this because of his appearance since she knew that as a woman, many young women would instantly fall for him, and men would be jealous to no end. Even without doing anything, Ace would make countless enemies!
Still, she didn''t have the heart to think something like this. She was already old, and unlike those talented women who could preserve their appearances, she had discarded her appearance to reach her current cultivation level.
"The Deputy Guardian of the bank would like to see you," She impassively stated. Without waiting for George''s agreement, she directly enveloped him in her Qi, and they both vanished from the courtyard.
The next moment, Ace''s vision was clear. He was already standing in a grand hall, and many pairs of eyes instantly locked him. But he was still calm since that short trip through space didn''t bother him at all. In fact, he seemed to have discovered new properties of spacew! Nheless, Ace had more pressing matters to tend to as he instantly felt a terrifying aura, far more powerful than an Ascension Guardian locked on him!
The Deputy Guardian''s icy cold voice rang with a hint of uncertainty, "You are not George!"
Chapter 1265: A Fa?ade! (2)
Chapter 1265: A Fa?ade! (2)
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"You are not George!"
The Deputy Guardian''s voice was cold as he looked at Ace''s appearance; he had clearly seen George''s portrait from his information source, so he instantly knew it wasn''t George.
In fact, all the people in the hall, whether the hall masters or elders, had the same thought, but they were also bewildered because this was the first time they had seen Ace in the sect. After all, with his otherworldly appearance, they would remember him if he lived in the Chief Hall Court.
Soon, they all spected that the reason the Guardian Spirit told the Deputy Guardian to soul-search George was because it was nning to use a scapegoat.
But it seemed the Deputy Guardian had seen George. Not to mention that once the Deputy Guardian used a soul search on him, even if he hadn''t seen George, he would instantly know that this was an imposter with his memories.
Didn''t the Guardian Spirit look down on the Deputy Guardian too much? Furthermore, it seemed that even the Grand Elder had been fooled, or she was also in this y since she brought this young man here. But looking at Vincent''s dark expression made some of them.
At this moment, the Spirit Guardian''s cold voice rang, "Don''t worry, he''s George. There was a reason he used a disguise tool to hide his actual appearance. You''ll know once you used Soul Search on him.
"But let me warn you: If I sense you''re doing anything but soul-searching or ying tricks, don''t me me for being impolite. Once you confirm that George isn''t the Sky Stealer and is only being framed, I want you all to leave without making any fuss."
Deputy Guardian''s eyes narrowed slightly as he didn''t like this weapon spirit tone, and if it had not been for the special reason of the AIG Sect, he would''ve already attacked.
After all, despite the Guardian Spirit having an advantage in the AIG Sect, the Deputy Guardian has a treasure given to him by an Ascension Lord, just in case the AIG Sect retaliate. This showed how furious and determined the Bank was to capture the Sky Stealer!
But this was thest resort, and since the AIG Sect was cooperative and even allowed him to soul-search while ruining a genius for its survival, the Deputy Guardian retrained himself. On the other hand, Vincent was clenching his fists, his eyes bloodshot, as he saw George moving towards the Deputy Guardian without hesitation. If not for the Guardian Spirit''s promise, he would''ve never allowed this, but this matter was still quite humiliating. ''Power... if only I had power, these bastards wouldn''t dare walk over us like this!'' Vincent''s eyes showed murderous intent. He had already vowed to change himself and the sect once this matter was over, and if George didn''t survive, he''d make sure to repay the bank for this injustice!
The Deputy Guardian didn''t care about Vincent at all since Vincent was too weak, and there was no ce for the weak in this world. He was looking at George in front of him with scrutiny.
With the Bank''s connections and informationwork, they had already gathered all the information about George, and there was nothing strange except when he left his original sect and showed signs of strange behavior. It was also around this time that he used the same symbols and tricks as the Sky Stealer.
Now, since the theft also took ce in the AIG Sect''s territory and George happened to be here, the bank was sure that George was the Sky Stealer, or at least that he had a close connection to him.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
But this young man seemed calm, and there wasn''t any hint of panic in his dark blue eyes; in fact, he seemedpletely impassive.
"If you confess and tell the truth, I can show you some leniency. We only want the Sky Stealer and the things he stole," the Deputy Guardian coldly stated while releasing some of his spiritual pressure on Ace, making Ace appear somewhat pale.
"You won''t trust me even if I tell you the truth. So, go ahead; I don''t want to implicate the AIG Sect or anyone close to me because of my rotten luck. I want to live peacefully and cultivate." Ace pretended to be persistent and righteous, but inwardly, he sneered at this hypocrite.
He had already decided to raid the bank vaults once he had enough power, and then he''d release this information as well. At that time, he wanted to see how the bank would appease those cultivators whose treasures and wealth had gone under the bank''s protection.
Furthermore, by allowing the Deputy Guardian to see his ''memories,'' which Ace can easily manipte using Avatar''s Fiction Knowledge ability, Ace was nning to make things difficult for a certain someone.
After all, the bank was a terrifying existence. Once they found that George was only a victim, and since they had searched his memories, they wouldn''t have any qualms or doubts about him at all.
So, Ace decided to use this chance and divert them towards his natural enemy, who would eventuallye after him. He would use a borrowed knife to make things difficult for ''that'' guy!
In any case, whether the bank loses or that guy wins, Ace will surely profit from their sh! "After this soul search, I don''t think you can achieve that dream. But since you have the determination to stand up for your sect and for the people you care about, as long as you have nothing to do with this, I''ll give you an opportunity if you survive!" The Deputy Guardian impassively said before directly cing his hand on Ace''s head, and his eyes shed with gray lightning, "Soul Search!"
Under everyone''splicated gaze, they saw George''s head covered in gray spirit Qi. The next moment, George''s body began to tremble violently as hisplexion began to change.
However, no one moved as they only watched, but the hearts of the AIG sect members were filled with turmoil and emotions as they watched the young man putting his life on the line for the sect despite only being a disciple for a little over six months.
Some even started to resent the Norberg n, which tried to scheme against George and even showed a murderous re to the bank members. But the bank managers remained indifferent. They didn''t care about a second-grade sect; they were only here to get their things back and salvage their reputation.
But at this moment, someone noticed that the Deputy Guardian''s expression started to change. His initially impassive eyes began to widen in utter befuddlement!
Chapter 1266: Fiction Knowledge!
Chapter 1266: Fiction Knowledge!
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While Ace''s avatar appeared to be in excruciating pain and almost as if its soul was about to shatter, it was all an act, and everything was under Ace''s meticulous control, who was now sitting cross-legged under a young tree in the avatar''s inner soul world and watching and manipting everything with fiction knowledge divine trait.
The Deputy Guardian was only seeing what Ace wanted him to see. At the same time, he masterfully manipted his avatar''s expressions and body, which was a piece of cake for him since the Avatar''s body wasn''t like living things, yet no one could tell the difference.
Nheless, Ace had to admit that the soul-search power emitting from the Deputy Guardian was terrifying. He wasn''t even an actual Ascension Lord yet, so he didn''t dare imagine what kind of power an Ascension Lord would have.
Moreover, Ace was also curious why the bank didn''t send an actual Ascension Lord since he knew it should have many of them avable at its beck and call.
Still, Ace focused on fiction knowledge and weaved a web of scenes that he wanted the Deputy Guardian to witness.
The first scenes showed that ''n'' didn''t have memories of his birth. All his memories began when he was only 15 years old when he found himself on a mountain under the care of a mysterious old man.
To make it even more realistic and the old man even more enigmatic, he blurred the old man''s appearance because he couldn''t seem to remember the old man''s face at all, no matter how he tried.
Afterward, Ace added some memories, like the old man giving him the name n and then n being taught by that old man how to cultivate. He also added some clues about n''s bloodline and talent that the old man warned him about.
Then, one day, n suddenly found himself out of that mysterious mountain range, which was actually inspired by the Sun and Moon Sword Sect''s mortal domain. n had no idea how he appeared here or where that mountain and the old man were; at that time, n was only a Soul River cultivator.
After some twists and turns, n discovered the Violet Yang Grand Sect and then joined it under the identity of George Edward, an orphan.
Then Ace added real George''s memories of the Violet Yang Grand Sect while also altering them slightly to make sure he wouldn''t leave any loophole behind. He made these memories the worst and most tormented memories of n''s life before he escaped the Violet Yang Grand Sect and headed to the AIG Sect.
Afterward, Ace just made the scenes of n encountering assassins, falling into a natural formation, and meeting the Sky Stealer, just as he told Vincent and the others.
But he added a single detail that he didn''t tell anyone about, and he also wanted the Deputy Guardian to see this exact detail and the details.
He added the final scene in which the ''Sky Stealer'', after teaching George its ''Pickpocket'' ability, tells him to ''Find the Heaven''s Advocate in the Beast Cmity Mountain''s Sect Alliance City'' if he makes a name for himself with ''Pickpocket,'' and Heaven''s Advocate will let him join the ''Sky Stealer Society.''
Afterward, the Sky Stealer vanished, leaving dumbfounded n behind. What happens next is the scene of ning into the AIG Sect''s territory and using the Sky Stealer''s ability because he bes greedy after he realizes its prowess.
But Ace also showed that n had no intention of joining Sky Stealer or seeking his ''minion,'' the Heaven''s Advocate. He didn''t want to live the life of a thief and just wanted to find that old man whom he considered his father.
Although this was a lot for Ace, it was just a matter of his imagination, and he had already nned all of this. So, after the Deputy Guardian saw all these ''memories,'' not only did it prove that n wasn''t involved in the theft of the bank, but it also showed n''s talent and why he wanted to let the Deputy Guardian perform a soul search on him- he could handle a soul search with his mysterious bloodline!
Also, n hid his real appearance because the Old man told him so and gave him a disguise method, but since the Deputy Guardian would''ve been able to see through it, he didn''t hide it any longer because it would just make him appear more suspicious.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
With Fiction Knowledge, Ace portrays n as an emphatic young man with a tragic past who wants nothing but to live a peaceful life. His only goal is to find that old man, but he needs high cultivation to search for him, and that''s why he is in the AIG Sect.
Lastly, he didn''t want to join the Sky Stealer because of the old man''s righteous teaching. He might''ve had a fool around with a Pickpocket, but he never harmed anyone and only used it when others provoked him.
At this moment, the Deputy Guardian who had seen everything, his eyes were widened with disbelief as he removed his hand from n''s head.
The look in Deputy Guardian''s eyes became even moreplicated when he confirmed n was still sane. Despite the overbearing and destructive power of the soul search, n''s soul only suffered slight damage and was utterly exhausted.
This type of injury can easily be healed with soul-healing medicine, which shocked the Deputy Guardian even more and made him extremely curious about n''s uncanny bloodline.
After all, the Deputy Guardian was from the bank, and he knew more about human bloodlines than anyone present in this ce. He had never seen and discovered about those inheritors of human bloodlines.
However, none of those bloodlines are simr to or even close to n''s. His bloodline could be said to be the highest grade among any recorded human bloodline, especially with its unusual trait of helping him raise his cultivation by just doing forging or rune crafting! However, the Deputy Guardian wasn''t the only one who witnessed this strange turn of events. Everyone present in the hall was at least an Ascension Grandmaster, so they quickly discovered that George waspletely fine except for his pale and exhaustedplexion. His eyes were still clear and determined.
Even Vincent, who was on the verge of going berserk, was startled. He finally understood why the Guardian Spirit suggested something so cruel and why n was confident in proving his
innocence.
Nheless, this didn''t mean Vincent would forget what happened today. In fact, he had already decided to take that step; whether he lived or died, he would leave it to fate.
At this moment, Vincent vanished from his spot and appeared behind Ace, who seemed to be on the verge of losing consciousness out of exhaustion. He quickly ced his hand on his back and examined his condition, and he was even more shocked.
Still, he quickly took out a glowing pill and fed it to him before he looked at the Deputy Guardian, who seemed to be deep in thought while his eyes were locked on n. He coldly said, "I think Lord Deputy Guardian had already confirmed that neither George nor the AIG sect had anything to do with that theft. But since the theft happened here, you have our full cooperation. But for now, please leave if there''s nothing else."
However, the Deputy Guardian didn''t seem to hear Vincent as he looked at Ace, who seemed to be regaining some of hisplexion after Vincent gave him that pill. His eyes shone brilliantly as he uttered something that shocked everyone, even the managers behind him. "Young friend George, or should I call you n? Do you want to join our King Sect?"
Chapter 1267: Unexpected Outcome!
Chapter 1267: Unexpected Oue!
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"Young friend George, or should I call you n? Do you want to join our King Sect?"
The Deputy Guardian''s words shocked everyone because no one had expected that he would issue such an invitation to George after using a soul search on him. Furthermore, the invitation wasn''t for the ''bank'' but for the ''King Sect'', to whom the bank belonged!
One had to know that despite knowing that the Prime Heavenly Bank was a King Sect- affiliated organization, no one actually knew anything about this King Sect, at least in the domains of Sect Grand Sects like the AIG Sect.
Even if someone is lucky enough to capture a bank member''s eyes, they can only be part of the bank branches, not the actual sect behind them. The only personnel of the king sect in the bank were the Bank Managers, Vault Guards, and Vault Wardens!
The bank staff were made up of cultivators of various domains who were lucky enough to be selected. Even after being selected, they had to go through a very strict process and training before they could start their duties and receive recourses from the bank.
That''s why everyone was shocked when the Deputy Guardian directly invited George into the sect.
But when they looked at George, who had somehow survived the soul search of a Quasi Ascension Lord, and he was still conscious, they all knew there was something special about George.
Especially the AIG Sect''s members, they had also guessed that George was hiding his identity, and for whatever reason, he was doing it; it had something to do with his background and unusual talent.
Now that the Deputy Guardian had used Soul Search on him, he naturally knew his secrets. Although it became apparent that George was not associated with the Sky Stealer or the theft, now that his secret and talent were revealed, the Deputy Guardian won''t miss this chance to poach this terrifying talent with an unknown blood.
After all, if the Deputy Guardian could bring George back to the main sect, he knew that he''d be rewarded for finding such a talent. A King Sect was always like this; they wouldn''t miss any talent, and that was one of the reasons for their unshakeable positions.
"What do you think you''re doing by poaching my sect talent in my presence?" Guardian Spirit''s grim voice rang at this moment, and its words also reflected Vincent''s thoughts.
The Deputy Guard impassively asked, "Do you think you can protect him? Furthermore, you have neither the resources nor the knowledge about how to nurture him. If he stays here, he''ll waste away his talent just like he had been doing while squandering around in a first-grade sect before.
"Only a King Sect can properly raise someone of his caliber. If you really care about him, like he did for you guys, I suggest you let him join us. This is his fortune; don''t restrain him.
"Besides, I''ve already promised him that if he was innocent and survived this, I''llpensate him. So, I''m giving him a chance to join the king sect that no one in millions of miles around this area is qualified to have, yet they''ll do anything to acquire it. I don''t know why you are so against it when you should be happy about and honored about it. Andstly, I think you should let him decide since it''s his choice."
The Deputy Guardian''s words were extremely overbearing and arrogant, but he still struck a chord. There was no falsehood in his words, only painful facts and reality.
Vincent was tongue-tied, his heart filled with indignation yet bitterness. ncing at n, who seemed to be also in shock, he sighed ruefully, "You are free to decide what you want to do. You''ll have my full support. If you want to go, then just go, but remember, the AIG Sect will always be your home, and you cane back any time you want if you feel lonely."
Ace, in the inner world of his avatar, was really astounded when he heard the Deputy Guardian''s invitation. It was apletely unexpected turn of events. He didn''t expect that just showing this mysterious bloodline and talent would grant him a passage to a king sect, and this king sect was proimed to be the wealthiest sect of the Mortal Ascension Heaven.
But Vincent''s words also moved him. He could feel his frustration and helplessness, yet he was quite willing to ept the reality. Besides, he knew Vincent also felt guilty about throwing him to the fire pit despite his inner struggles, and all he did was for the sect.
Still, he can''t be emotional because the AIG Sect was just a stop in his long journey; he didn''t have the luxury to stop because if he did and wavered, he knew only death awaited him.
The presence of Heaven''s Advocate was proof of it, and he knew that guy would soon look for him after he found out about this theft, so he was already nning to move on in due time while causing trouble for him.
Still, it wasn''t time for him to leave the AIG Sect yet, so he thought momentarily before finally deciding on his next course of action.
He controlled his avatar and looked weakly at the Deputy Guardian before he said, "I can agree to join your sect, but I have three conditions, or forgive me for not knowing how to acknowledge your kindness."
"This brat...'' Vincent closed his eyes and sighed again bitterly.
Ace epting this offer was within Vincent''s expectation after the AIG Sect had done nothing for him; instead, they mistreated him, even though he was nning to use him for his own benefit.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Just Aceing forward and putting himself in danger for the AIG Sect was already a huge favor, and he owed nothing to the sect.
A hint of joy shed past Deputy Guardian''s eyes when he heard Ace was willing to ept his offer. Truth be told, he wasn''t optimistic about it since he had just used a soul search on him, and if anything, Ace should hold a deep grudge against him.
But it seemed that this young man could see the bigger picture and didn''t dwell on small things. Besides, now that Deputy Guardian knew about n''s secret, he probably already guessed that the bank might not let him rest in peace, so getting something out of it while he could be the best oue for everyone.
"Speak, as long as it''s not too excessive. I''ll do my best toplete them," The Deputy Guardian said emotionlessly.
Ace''s lips curled up within the inner world before he quickly stated his demands, "Alright. My first condition is very simple: I want to stay in the AIG Sect and continue to learn to forge for five years. After five years, I''ll leave with you. But in the meantime, I don''t want to be disturbed and continue my cultivation in peace.
"My second condition is that I want 10 kg of Soul Gold, 1 Lighting Wyrm Beast Core, and finally, a Time Space Segment.
"Myst condition is that the bank will give my teacher, Sect Master Vincent, full cultivation technique of Ascension Lord Realm!"
Chapter 1268 Preparations for King Sect!
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Chapter 1268 Preparations for King Sect!
Vincent was startled when he heard Ace''s conditions, especially thest one. After all, with the wealth behind the bank, he could''ve asked for anything, and with his talent, Vincent knew the bank probably wouldn''t reject him.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Furthermore, Vincent also knew what Soul Gold was. After all, with the AIG Sect''s inheritance, they had many records of spirit metals, and Soul Gold was also recorded in those records, which was a top-grade spirit metal.
But Vincent didn''t know how he knew about it or why he needed so much of it. Lastly, the Time-Space Segment was something that he didn''t even know about.
Nheless, Vincent didn''t care much since he was moved by Ace''s generously and felt gratified. After all, despite everything, he still used this precious chance to give him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that every Ascension Guardian dreamt of.
Not to mention, he still wanted to stay here and learn to forge from them when the bank clearly didn''tck high-tier forging inheritance.
On the other hand, everyone else was extremely envious of Vincent, the Grand Elders even more so, because if the Deputy Guardian agreed to Ace''s demands, Vincent''s position in the sect would be unshakable.
This is not because of that cultivation technique, since even if Vincent had it, he still needed to rely on himself to cross thew tribtion, and that technique would only increase his chances by 25% to 30%. But what would make them fear Vincent would be Ace if he got epted in a king
sect.
After all, no one in their right mind would dare offend a disciple of a King Sect, and even the status of the AIG Sect would soar. As long as Ace lives, the AIG Sect will have a strong deterrence against many powerful people.
The Deputy Guardian was startled for a moment when he heard Ace''s conditions before he narrowed his eyes and asked, "I can agree to your second and third conditions, but the first one is out of the question. The AIG Sect might have the edge when ites to forging, but they can''tpare to the King Sect''s inheritances.
"The highest level of spirit forger here is only 6-Star, and with your talent, you''ll soon catch up to them. But in our sect, there are 8-Star Spirit Forgers, Spirit Rune Crafters, and Spirit Alchemists, and I''m pretty sure you are a dual-runic talent. So, staying here will not only slow you down and restrict your cultivation but also put your life in danger. So, I can''t agree with your first condition. Change it to something else!"
Ace was startled, not because Deputy Guardian rejected his first condition but because he thought this guy would reject or try to barter with him on the second condition.
After all, he already had some understanding of how rare and precious the Soul Gold and Time Space Segment were, while the beast core of the Lighting Wyrm wasn''t as precious as those materials, especially the Time Space Segment, which was a natural treasure born in the depths of chaotic space current and could be used to forge treasures of time and space elements. But the Deputy Guardian didn''t even think about it and agreed to give him the remaining materials he needed to upgrade the Eternal Thief Fate Compass!
This only proved how rich and unfathomable the bank''s wealth was, and after hearing about all those terrifying existences in the sect, their prowess was even more startling.
Ace was finally tempted since he wanted to stay here to plunder the Forger Abyss and get that inheritance hidden. But now that Deputy Guardian had revealed the resources behind it, the Forger Abyss seemed meaningless.
However, Ace won''t blindly believe the Deputy Guardian''s every word since once he left the AIG Sect, he would bepletely at the bank''s mercy, and the cultivators in the bank weren''t something that Ace could contend against.
Before going there, he needed a foolproof n to ensure his safety, and the easiest way was to send only his Avatar of Holy Twilight, not his main body.
Seeing that Ace didn''t speak and was in deep thought, no one said anything, but they were all looking at him and waiting for his answer since this decision would have a huge impact on everyone present in this ce.
Vincent wanted to say something but held himself back. He sighed again, realizing he was not. qualified to speak since it was Ace''s decision. He already knew that this was an opportunity that could only be found by luck.
After Ace thought things through, he showed hesitation before replying, "Alright, I''ll go with you and keep myst condition for now. But before that, I want to enter the Forger Abyss onest time.''
"Why?" The Deputy Guardian asked again, hinting at frustration. He really didn''t understand what this brat was thinking or why he had so many demands.
"Just something I want to do before I leave. Don''t worry, it won''t take much time. Ace did not intend to exin as he looked at Vincent and weakly asked, "Can you please let me enter the Forger Abyss, teacher?"
Vincent frowned and said uncertainly, "It''s not a big deal, but with your current condition, I don''t think it''s a good idea!"
The Forger Abyss was the foundation of the AIG Sect, and everyone knew about it. Only the sect''s disciples were allowed in, and since Ace had done so much for the sect, Vincent wouldn''t stop him even if he wanted to go there daily. Besides, he was already a legacy token holder, so his request didn''t seem strange since the forger abyss was a perfect ce to sharpen one''s forging skills.
But his request was still unusual, especially now that he had gone through Soul Search and his aura was extremely weak.
"Just take me there; I know what I''m doing" He resolutely replied.
After all, he needed a ce to separate his body from his avatar, and he couldn''t do that while the Deputy Guardian was around.
So, the Forger Abyss was the perfect ce. Once he seeded, all he needed to do was escape the AIG Sect. Since the Forger Abyss was between the outer and inner sect courts, and with Ace''s current cultivation and means, he could escape easily.
He also really wanted to try taking the next trail of the Forger Abyss since his cultivation and forging skills had improved dramatically.
Vincent didn''t say anything and gave Ace a deep nce before he looked at the Deputy Guard, who was clearly against it.
But Vincent didn''t have a good opinion of this guy, so he didn''t bother to ask for his opinion. Instead, he ced his hand on George''s shoulder and vanished.
"Let''s go!" The Deputy Guardian snorted coldly.
He had already locked on Vincent since Vincent was too weak in front of hisw sense. He already knew where they were going but was still unhappy that Vincent didn''t ask for his permission.
Still, since this was a small matter, the Deputy Guardian had no reason to make things difficult for them, and Ace had already agreed to go with him after this small detour.
So, with the bank managers still bewildered by this entire event, the Deputy Guard followed Vincent and Ace.
The other in the hall looked at each other before quickly heading towards the Forger Abyss!
Chapter 1269 Returning to the Forger Abyss!
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Chapter 1269 Returning to the Forger Abyss!
At this moment, Vincent and Ace entered the portal hall of Forger Abyss. It was Ace''s second time entering this ce since joining the AIG Sect, and it hadn''t changed at all. Many disciples stood in front of ten shimmering gateways, the realm portals, as they flickered with spirit Qi.
When Vincent and Ace suddenly appeared, it naturally rmed the overseer of the portal hall, and some disciples also noticed them. However, those outer and inner court disciples had never seen Vincent before, but they still recognized Ace''s chief hall disciple''s robes. Ace''s appearance was extremely eye-catching, and many female disciples were unknowingly staring at him without being able to avert their eyes.
At this moment, an old man in inner me elder robes suddenly appeared in front of Vincent and Ace. There was a hint of shock and uncertainty in his eyes as he quickly greeted, ''Overseer of the Forger Abyss, Zyon Oriente, pays his respects to elder!"
Even an inner court me elder like Zyon had never seen Vincent before despite spending over a thousand years in his current post, but he still put on a respectful front since this person could appear here without any restraint together with a chief forger disciple. Not to mention, despite being a peak Ascension Grand General, Zyon couldn''t even fathom Vincent''s aura at all.
However, before Zyon could further probe Vincent''s identity, he was shocked because more and more unfathomable people wearing elders'' robes began to appear in the hall, and Zyon was horrified when he identified Hall Masters'' robes among them!
Vincent paid no heed to dumbfounded Zyon as he impassively announced, his voice mixed with a faint wisp of his spiritual pressure, making it powerful and entering every single person''s ear who was now watching, "The Forger Abyss will be close for today until further notice. You all may return now; the sect willpensate you for your trouble!
A few weak disciples instantly trembled in fear when they felt Vincent''s spiritual pressure. The next moment, every disciple quickly left the portal hall without daring to nce at Vincent anymore since they could all guess this person was likely to be a super big shot of the chief hall court or Zyon, who usually didn''t bother to show his face, wouldn''t be so respectful.
Some elders in charge of security and reception were also shaken, and they quickly helped the disciples empty the portal hall, afraid that if they were slow, they would anger this person. Vincent clearly didn''t mind those fearful guys. He looked at Ace and said, ''Do what you want, but be careful. Your life is more important."
Ace felt it was good to have this kind of backing since everything became more convenient and easy.
He nodded at Vincent and told Zyon that he had already identified this guy from his voice, "Elder, please open the portal to the second level of the Forger Abyss. Sorry for the trouble!"
Zyon naturally didn''t know that Ace in front of him was none other than George, but even if he knew, he didn''t dare dy under so many big shots'' watchful gazes. He quickly pulled a stiff smile and nodded, "N-no trouble, no trouble at all. It''s just a small matter. Please follow me."
Soon, the second portal leading to the second level of the Forger Abyss became active, and Ace thanked Zyon again before he entered it under everyone''s watchful eyes.
Although they didn''t know why he wanted to enter the Forger Abyss in his current state, no one dared question him any longer since they all knew Ace''s identity had changedpletely the moment he epted the invitation from the bank. It was like amoner turning into a noble overnight.
Ace crossed the portal as a familiar sense of crossing between spaces hit him, and soon, he was in vast open space that waspletely different from the first level.
At this moment, the Secret Realm''s guardian spirit''s cold voice rang, "Show your identification token, or you''ll be sent out if you haven''t passed the first level yet!"
Ace''s avatar suddenly recovered from his exhausted state as if nothing had happened. He shed a smile before he took out the legacy disciple token and greeted, "Long time no see, Senior!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The Guardian Spirit''s startled voice rang at this moment, "It''s you!"
Ace nodded faintly, "I hope I didn''t disturb Senior"
"You''ve changed from thest time I saw you," The Guardian Spirit directly asked, clearly surprised by Ace''s advancement in such a short amount of time.
"I just work hard and cultivate diligently: Ace casually replied.
"Good! It seemed even I''ve underestimated you." The Guardian Spirit''s voice was filled with delight as it said, "Since you''re here, I can assume you''re ready to take the first legacy trial?"
Ace hesitated momentarily before stating, "Before this, I hope that senior can help me with a small matter."
"Oh? What matter? Are you in some trouble? Don''t tell me your identity has been exposed?" The Guardian Spirit asked with uncertainty.
Ace sighed and helplessly said, "Well, it''s something worse. Some people want to take me away despite my unwillingness. Furthermore, they are very powerful, and the AIG Sect can''t protect
me."
"Is that so?" The Guardian Spirit''s voice became cold, "If you''re hoping for me to make a move, I have to disappoint you. I can''t leave this legacy realm, nor will I waste my limited power to help someone who is not the true inheritor of this legacy.
"Although you are the best candidate, and I admit your talent is astonishing, you are still a candidate. Even if you pass the first trial, there are still three more, and with your current cultivation, you won''t be able to pass the second one. So, you''re on your own!
''What a ruthless guy... ''Ace was surprised since he wasn''t expecting this Guardian Spirit''s loyalty to the legacy would be so deep.
Even after knowing that Ace was the best candidate to inherit this legacy, it still refused to help him unless hepleted the trials first.
Still, Ace knew these Guardian Spirits had different personalities, but their reasoning wasn''t any different from that of living beings, especially powerful spirits like the AIG Sect or this Secret Realm''s Guardian Spirit.
Even the AIG Sect''s Guardian Spirit wouldn''t have helped Ace if he hadn''t shown his talent and loyalty to the AIG Sect, and the same goes for this Guardian Spirit as well.
Nheless, Ace didn''t need the Guardian Spirit to attack, and he said, ''Senior, you take this wrongly. I don''t require you to attack anyone. I need you to send my clone out of the Forger Abyss and let me stay here for some time if I pass the first trial.
"This way, those people will only take my clone, and if I stay here, I will be able to focus fully on forging andpleting the Forger Abyss. This should be quite easy for you, right?"
This time, the Guardian Spirit didn''t reply and fell into silence, clearly surprised by this unusual request. Just as Ace said, it wasn''t really a big deal for it to do it at all.
"Are you sure your clone can fool those people?" It finally spoke with apparent disbelief. Ace''s lips curled, and the next moment, his real body suddenly appeared beside his avatar. He spoke, "You can judge by yourself, senior. After all, all this time, you''ve been talking to my clone!"
Chapter 1270 A New Quasi Lord!
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Chapter 1270 A New Quasi Lord!
After a few hours in the portal hall, no one had moved ever since Ace had entered the second portal, as they were all curious about why Ace wanted to enter the Forger Abyss. They all have their own spections, though.
At this moment, the second portal suddenly flickered and churned, drawing everyone''s attention. The next moment, Ace walked out of the portal.
When Vincent saw this, he sighed in relief. His expression changed slightly, and his eyes narrowed because Ace now didn''t look exhausted at all as when he entered the portal. It was as if nothing had happened.
Even someone like Vincent, who knew the ins and outs of the Forger Abyss, didn''t have any idea what was going on or if the Forger Abyss could heal someone so quickly.
But when he thought about it more clearly, a hint of realization shed past his eyes, ''Could it be he exchanged for a powerful soul pill by passing the second trial? After all, since he''s a nominal legacy disciple, he''s qualified to make an exchange with the Guardian Spirit as long as he passes the trial. But why would he waste this chance to heal himself when he can clearly demand it from the bank? Just what is this brat up to?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Despite Ace ''revealing'' everything about himself, Vincent always had this strange feeling that something was not right. From the beginning, Ace never struck him as the type who would sacrifice himself for others or put himself in danger or a disadvantageous position.
It was like everything was under Ace''s control from the start to the beginning.
However, when these thoughts surfaced in his mind, he quickly dismissed them since he had witnessed everything and felt somewhat ashamed for thinking this way.
Even Deputy Guardian was surprised when he saw Ace walking outpletely healed, and he wondered if the information they had on the Forger Abyss was missing something.
That''s right. The Bank knew about the Forger Abyss, and not only that, but they had all the information about the secret realms controlled by any sect. It wasn''t just the bank; all the powerful sects kept this information.
Whenever a secret realm emerged, these top sects naturally investigated it thoroughly because if a powerful secret realm appeared, they would instantly make a move and would not allow some lowly sect to have it.
The Forger Abyss only remained because they all deemed it unworthy of making them move. After all, this secret realm only contained the legacy of an ordinary 7-star spirit forger, and they even had information on this legacy owner.
But they naturally won''t reveal it to the AIG Sect, and now that the Deputy Guardian had personally witnessed how Ace''s ''exhausted soul'' had healedpletely in a matter of hours, which should only be possible with a precious Ascension grade-7 pill, he started to doubt the information they had on Forger Abyss.
Nheless, he can''t show it and only decides to mention it to the headquarters, and they can decide what to do with it. Right now, he wants to take away Ace as soon as possible, im rewards, and, most importantly, get out of this barren domain!
Ace was expecting this kind of reaction, but he wasn''t too worried since this would also exin why he wanted to enter the Forger Abyss, and he didn''t need to exin anything.
He walked towards Vincent and quickly bowed, "Thank you, teacher!"
Vincent unknowingly pulled a gratified smile as he nodded, "You should''ve told me sooner. But no worries, I''m d you can take care of yourself. I''ll be more at ease once you go to the king sect. Just don''t be reckless."
Ace nodded as he nced at Vincent. He had already paid Vincent for giving him that knowledge and protection, and he owed him nothing now.
Furthermore, he knew the Forger Abyss would soon cease to exist since the Spirit Guardian had made a huge mistake by letting him stay inside, causing the AIG Sect to lose its most important. resource-gathering spot. But he didn''t care about the AIG Sect as a whole since this ce was rotten to the core.
Ace then looked at Deputy Guardian and casually said, "I''m ready"
Deputy Guardian deeply nced at Ace, who seemed to be acting as if his soul search had never happened at all. This made him think as if he was looking for something. But just like Vincent, he believed everything he personally saw. After his soul search, he couldn''t find any fault with Ace, so he ignored his natural instinct as a Quasi-Ascension Lord.
But before Deputy Guardian could reply, his eyes suddenly widened, and then he narrowed them dangerously. He instantly twisted his head towards the closed entrance of the portal hall.
"You dare to spy on here?!" He snorted coldly before a terrifying spiritual pressure burst out of his body as he locked on that certain area.
The Deputy Guardian naturally rmed everyone, and their expressions changed when they heard someone dare to spy on them. Even Ace was startled by this unexpected situation and wondered who was bold enough to spy there.
"Hahaha, you''re too serious, Deputy Guardian Norman. This little sister was just curious" A bell-likeughter suddenly rang from the entrance, and the next moment, the space suddenly seemed to have cut open like curtains, and a curvaceous figure of a woman in a veil walked out. But the Deputy Guardian''s expression already changed because this woman knew his name, which meant she was someone of the same standing. Her background wasn''t any worse than his, and her walking under his spiritual pressure was proof of it. This woman was a Quasi-Ascensions Lord! The Grand Elders were dumbfounded. This entire thing was turning into a huge mess, with one strange thing happening after another, and now another powerful figure suddenly appeared. Furthermore, this woman was able toe here whilepletely going undetected by the Guardian Spirit, and with how casually she was talking to the Deputy Guardian, anyone would guess they knew each other, or at least that woman knew him.
But this made the woman even more mysterious, as despite knowing who the Deputy Guard was, she still dared be so carefree.
At this moment, the Deputy Guardian''s eyes shed with a hint of realization. When he saw the woman wearing flowery robes, her long blond hair like strands of gold, and golden eyes, he instantly guessed who she was and her background.
"You are from the Sun n of the Sun and Moon King Valley?" He coldly questioned.
The woman''s eyes curled like a crescent moon. She was defiantly smiling, and she didn''t deny it at all. She nodded, "It''s quite an honor for our Sun and Moon King Valley to be known by the Prime Heavenly Wealth King Sect. I''m Eleanor Sun, an Inner Valley Disciple of the Sun Valley!"
''Sun and Moon King Valley and Prime Heavenly Wealth King Sect... Ace''s eyes widened slightly like everyone else because the title ''King'' could only be used by third-grade sects.
This also made it quite clear that this woman was also from the King Sect!
Chapter 1271 Trouble On Way!
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Chapter 1271 Trouble On Way!
Since Eleanor confirmed her identity, it became clear that she was from the King Sect and a Quasi-Ascension Lord, just like Deputy Guardian Norman. However, her presence here brings another wave ofplexity to this entire situation.
Furthermore, what was shocking was that Eleanor was actually an inner disciple of this Sun and Moon King Valley!
At this moment, Vincent''s shocked yet grave voice suddenly rang in Ace''s head through spirit transmission, "Sun and Moon King Valley is one of the Human Race''s King Sect, and if I''m not wrong, the surname Sun and Moon belonged to the two human bloodline ns of the Valley! Just like the AIG Sect''s four ns, these two ns control the entire valley, but they are powerful beyondparison!"
Ace was startled. He wasn''t expecting to encounter someone from one of the two human king sects, and this woman should also have a human bloodline. Furthermore, the ''Sun and Moon'' title in the Sun and Moon King Valley instantly made Ace think about the Sun and Moon Sword Union/ Sect of the Mortal Sky Heaven.
Although Ace had got everything that Sun and Moon God had left, including the Celestial Titan Bloodline and the mystical item, the Timeless Chaos Tree Seed, while also rendering its schemes of rival useless, Ace knew there should be more branches of the Sun and Moon Sword Sect out there, and he wondered if this king sect of the human race had some connection with them. Norman''s expression was also solemn when he understood just how astounding this woman''s identity was. Unlike him, she was an inner disciple of a King Sect, which means her talent was shockingly high, and she should be one of the Geniuses of the Sun n!
"So, it''s someone from the Sun n. Forgive my manners, but I had to ask: what are you doing here? Are you here to interfere with my sect''s business?" Norman asked coldly.
Although she was a genius of the King Sect, he wasn''t afraid of her background since the Prime Heavenly Wealth King Sect also had people like her. Not to mention, the Prime Heavenly Wealth King Sect wasn''t a racial sect but a radical sect.
They ept geniuses from all races, even the human race. Norman himself was a human, and the King Sect also used this method to create branches in these races'' domains while using members of the same race to ensure no problems urred in their businesses.
Moreover, it was also more convenient to rope in talents by using their own race members, just like what is happening right now.
Furthermore, the bank never acquired the bloodline talent of a human race, making Ace even more important. This also had to do with the sect''s internal power struggle, so Norman had to bring Ace back, which would increase the standing of humans in the king sect!
Eleanor didn''t mind Norman''s tone since she knew her background had little effect on him, but this didn''t mean he could do as wish.
She spoke in a gentle manner, "The Valley heard about the theft of the bank branch, and since the AIG Sect is a human sect in the Valley''s territory, I was sent here to make sure you would catch the culprit. The Spirit Inferno Domain is also quite important, so the AIG Sect can''t be touched without proper proof!
Eleanor then suddenly looked at Ace, and her eyes instantly lit up with shock as she said ambiguously, "But it seemed I waste, and you already caught the thief. Is he the infamous Sky Stealer? Was he a member of the AIG Sect?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Now, the members of the AIG Sect were shocked since even they didn''t know they were part of the King Sect''s territory. Not to mention, if they had known the King Sect would send someone to back them up, they wouldn''t have been so apprehensive at all.
Furthermore, this made them even more curious about what kind of secret the AIG Sect was guarding in the Spirit Inferno Domain. Even Norman didn''t take action voluntarily because of it, and now this woman has also mentioned it.
Nheless, it was great news for them to have the backing of a king sect, but. Vincent didn''t seem to have the same trial of thoughts since this matter involved someone even he didn''t know. But he does know about the secret of the AIG Sect. He had already decided to personally go through all the hidden records again to see if he had missed anything important.
Norman''s eyes narrowed slightly as he nodded, "The Sect knew about this matter, so Miss Eleanor doesn''t have to worry about it. The investigation is still ongoing, and the sect would appreciate your help with this. As for the AIG Sect, they are already cleared of suspicion for now, and I was about to take my leave. So, if there''s nothing else, we must be on our way to report our discoveries.
Norman cupped his fists together before he signaled his men to move. He also ced his hand on Ace''s shoulder and nced at him meaningfully.
Ace understood his meaning and quickly looked at. Vincent. He smiled and said, ''I''ll see you around, teacher!"
Just as his voice trailed off, Norman, the other bank members, and Ace vanished. From start to finish, Norman avoids telling Eleanor about Ace. He didn''t even mention him and quickly left since he had guessed something.
Eleanor didn''t stop Norman, nor could she, even if she wanted to, but her pretty eyes narrowed, and with her shrewd personality, she instantly noticed Ace''s strangeness.
Now that Norman was gone, she also didn''t need to be so polite or restrained anymore as she looked at Vincent and Grand Elders, the people with the highest cultivation here, and asked, "Who was that handsome boy?"
Vincent gave the Grand Elders a meaningful nce before he quickly answered Eleanor in a respectful tone, "That was this Sect. Master''s disciple, who had caught the fancy of the Deputy Guardian, and he took him back to his sect to admit him as a member. It was his fortune, I must
say.
"Anyway, since the matter of Sky Stealer is solved, Miss Eleanor took this trip in vain, but you and the Sun and Moon King Valley still have my sect''s eternal gratitude foring to our aid. If there''s anything else that Miss requires assistance in, we are happy to help!"
Vincent clearly didn''t want to reveal Ace''s bloodline to Eleanor because he knew that once the Sun and Moon King Valley discovered the existence of a new human bloodline, Ace would be in endless trouble.
In fact, Vincent was d that Norman took Ace to the bank. The bank was a radical group of people, and they had nock of bloodline talents.
Although Ace would still face some oppression, it was far better than going to these racial sects who saw their own race and bloodline as divine right and looked down on others and saw them as
their tools.
That''s why he gave those two grand elders a single to keep their mouths shut since they were the only ones other than him and the Guardian Spirit who knew about Ace''s bloodline, and with their intelligence, they would know better than to reveal this.
If they told Eleanor about Ace''s bloodline, it would directly offend Ace and Norman since even Norman kept this fact to himself after discovering it. His early action also hinted that he didn''t. want others, especially Eleanor, to know about Ace''s bloodline.
Just as he thought, the Grand Elders kept their mouth shut and dared not reveal anything.
But with Eleanor''s sharp senses, she had already discovered that something was amiss, and they were hiding something from her. From what she could tell, she knew it had something to do with that boy!
However, she wasn''t in a hurry to get to the bottom of it. She chuckled and replied, "Then please don''t mind me if I hold you up on this offer. This little sister is also a Spirit Forger, and I''ve heard about the Forger Abyss of the AIG Sect for a long time, so I wonder if you can allow me to enter it to take a look. Don''t worry; my age perfectly meets the requirements!"
Chapter 1272 Mission Completion and Rewards!
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Chapter 1272 Mission Completion and Rewards!
At this moment, Ace stood before a forging table and looked at a finished scarlet saber engraved with beautiful white runes on its bloody red sharp de, giving it a faint, fiery, sharp aura.
The Guardian Spirit appeared in its Dwarven form and scrutinized the scarlet saber before speaking. "It took you 7 hours toplete the forging of the Upper Ascension Grade-2 Bloody Saber, a Quasi Spirit Weapon. Your forging skills have indeed improved quite a lot since thest time you were here. It''s quite impressive."
The Guardian Spirit wasn''t stingy with its praise; if anything, its cold voice contained a hint of surprise. After all, after witnessing Ace''s strange ''cloning'' ability that could even fool him, the Guardian Spirit was full of rm, and he finally realized how terrifying Ace was despite only being an Ascension Warrior.
What''s more, the Guardian Spirit still couldn''t tell if the current Ace was real or that ''Clone, which had even higher cultivation than Ace. But s, no matter how curious it was, since Ace was a legacy inheritor and the matter of sending his clone out wasn''t effortful, he agreed to his request. But it also had a condition; Ace needed to pass the first legacy trial, or he wouldn''t let him stay here. Now, it seemed Ace had already done this, so there was nothing to worry about.
Ace wasn''t surprised by Guardian Spirit''s remark since he knew his own skills better than anyone. In fact, he didn''t even use his heavenly Qi or newly developed forging technique, or he would''ve created a true spirit treasure!
Still, Ace didn''t want this since he had already shown one of his abilities, and if he really rmed the Guardian Spirit, it might have the opposite effect. After all, if the Guardian Spirit considers Ace dangerous, he might directly throw him out.
After thoroughly examining the Bloody Saber, the Guardian Spirit nodded at Ace, "Congrattions, you have officially passed the first legacy trial, and you are one step closer to acquiring the inheritor of Grandmaster Smith. You''ll be given the second part of the forging technique, and I also allow you to live in the Forger Abyss''s second-level legacy grounds, which are filled with resources that you can use as long as you can find them.
"I''ll also tell you that in the next trial, you need to forge another Quasi-Spirit treasure, but its grade will be Lower Ascension Grade-5. So, it would be best if you focused on your cultivation now. With your skills, you should be able to do it as long as you reach the Ascension Master Realm. I have high hopes for you, so don''t disappoint me."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ace''s eyes shed with a peculiar glint as he secretly calcted, ''No, I should be able to do it as long as I reach the Grand General Realm if I put everything I had. But I''m done with these games, and now that my avatar is going to the king sect, I realize that this realm has little value to me except its resources. I need to find where the core of this ce is stored!"
"I won''t disappoint you!" Ace quickly promised a resolution.
The Guardian Spirit nodded in satisfaction before it waved its hand, and Ace''s figure vanished from the forge.
Suddenly, the Guardian Spirit showed a hint of slyness as he muttered, "Little guy, you are good, in fact, too good. But that little girl who entered a few hours ago is even more monstrous, and she is about to take the second legacy trial. I guess this legacy has no destiny with you..."
At this moment, Ace appeared on a vast rocky in, and he instantly knew this ce should be where the disciples of the AIG Sect gathered resources. It was also rich with spirit Qi.
However, Ace was no longer interested in those low-grade resources since he had the wealth of a bank branch.
Furthermore, after calcting the time, Ace knew the system evaluation was about to end, so he quickly found a remote ce and remained there.
Ace didn''t have to wait long. At this moment, the mission panel opened, and the system''s voice rang.
[Mission Panel]
[Mission (Basic): Fame of Sky Stealer!]
-Synopsis: As the new ascender of Mortal Ascension Heaven, you are at the very bottom of the food chain! But you are not just any ascender, you are the Heaven''s Stealer!
-Mission Task: Use the Artifact Inferno Sect as the central stage for your thievish debut and spread your thief fame far and wide!
-Evaluation: The host has sessfully reached the minimum target of the mission, ''Domain Wide Fame!"
-Thievery Used: 1/3
-Evaluation Grade: Extraordinary (Rewards will be Multiplied by 3X!)
-3X Reward (s):
-1. Thief Points: 410,000,000 TP from the (Bank) Theft & 75,000,000 TP from Mission
-2. Heavenly Formation Coins Upgrade is now avable, and two new Heavenly Formation Coins have been added to the System Shop!
-3. The Heavenly Rune Crafter Panel has been sessfully upgraded to the Primordial Runic tform Panel!
-4. Mission Instigate Token (Intermediate): 1
-Introduction: By using the Mission Instigate token, Heaven''s Stealer can instantly instigate a system mission on the target site where the Mission Instigate Token has been used!
-5. Item Upgrade Token (Advanced): 1
-Introduction: Upgrade any item or treasure purchased from the system shop by three Ascension-Grades!
-6. Heavenly Runes of Ascension (Intermediate Volume) is avable in the System Shop -7. Heaven Stealer''s Dismantler Principles of Ascension (Intermediate Volume) is avable in System Shop!
-8. Primordial Evolution Item Token: 1
-Introduction: Using the Primordial Evolution Item Token, you can evolve any imperfect treasure or item into a Primordial Grade treasure recognized by the system that will not be destroyed by the Primordial Qi!
-NOTE: The newly evolved treasure''s grade will be readjusted to the Host''s cultivation realm, and an item upgrade token is mandatory to upgrade it!
[Thief Point(s): 587,010,800]
Ace was pleasantly surprised to see he had received an Extraordinary Evaluation Grade. When he looked at the rewards, his eyes shimmered with ecstasy. Just the TP reward from this basic mission was enough to make him smile from ear to ear.
However, when he saw the other rewards, his eyes widened more and more, especially when he read the details of the Primordial Evolution Item Token, and his breath quickened since he wasn''t expecting the system to have a way to turn normal treasures into system grades, primordial/ heavenly treasures!
The moment Aceprehended the value of this Primordial Evolution Item Token, Ace instantly decided what to use without any hesitation!
But first, he needed to see what this newly upgraded Primordial Runic tform Panel was since the system''s reward this time was more focused on runes!
Chapter 1273 The Primordial Arcanist!
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Chapter 1273 The Primordial Arcanist!
With a deep curiosity, Ace opened the Heavenly Rune Crafter Panel, which he hadn''t had for a while now. It had be somewhatcking after he got the Heavenly Formation Coins, which can cast any heavenly array instantly.
Although Ace still hasn''t seen any formation'' of heavenly grade, the heavenly arrays were enough to rival any formations. However, Ace didn''t get any new arrays or talismans after his ascension, only the knowledge of the Heavenly Runes of Ascension.
Nheless, this knowledge gave him a tremendous edge over the others, and he could create any array, formation, or talisman as long as he had the knowledge; he even seeded in forging because of it!
But now the system had suddenly upgraded the Heavenly Rune Crafter Panel into the Primordial Runic tform Panel, so Ace wanted to see what kind of difference it made.
=====
[Primordial Runic tform]
-Primordial Arcanist Rank: Apprentice
-Primordial Arcanist Trademark: Coin
-Primordial Arcanist Colophon: Thief Symbol
-Primordial Arcanist Instrument: Heavenly Formation Coins: 9/11
{Talisman Section}
{Array Section}
(Formation Section} (NEW)
(Unknown Section) (LOCK)
====
Ace was surprised to see that the ''Rune Crafter'' had been reced with the entirely unfamiliar title ''Primordial Arcanist, and the formation section of the panel that was locked before was now unlocked!
He quickly opened all of them one by one to see what had changed.
=====
[Talisman Section]
-Primordial Talisman Rank: Ascension Grade
-Primordial Talisman Avable: 0/999
[Array Section]
-Primordial Array Rank: Ascension Grade
-Primordial Array Avable: 0/99
[Formation Section]
-Primordial Formation Rank: Ascension Grade
-Primordial Formation Avable: 0/10
Ace was baffled when he saw that not only was nothing avable in the three sections, but even the two sections with talismans and arrays were now empty.
"System, what is going on? What are you up to?" He asked with a deep frown.
"[Host, now that you are qualified to be a Primordial Arcanist, who can not only control every rune, including but not limited to forbidden runes, but also create a new school of runes!] "[Now, you already possess the most basic knowledge of primordial runes, which are the origin of all the runes in this world. But it is still not enough to be a true Primordial Arcanist because a Primordial Arcanist can see through any runic knowledge with a nce and make it its own!] "[Host didn''t have any talisman, array, or formation avable in the Primordial Runic tform because they already exist in the Heavenly Runes of Ascension. The host just hasn''t discovered them yet.]
"[So, please work hard and discover all talismans, arrays, and formationsbinations within those primordial runes. Once you discover an actualbination, that talisman, array, or formation will be avable in the Primordial Runic tform!]"
Ace was astounded when he heard this unexpected exnation from the system, and it finally dawned on him. But the next moment, he frowned because he hadn''t discovered anything despite alreadyprehending the basic version of the Heavenly Runes of Ascension.
But he knew the system wasn''t tricking him, so he was probably still missing something or looking in the wrong direction. After all, if this Primordial Arcanist can see through all the runes and make them its own, Ace must adapt to this mindset.
At this moment, Ace couldn''t help but think about how the Heavenly Formation Coins could be used to cast all the Heavenly Arrays with different sequences andbinations, and his eyes brightened the more he thought about it.
"The Heavenly Formation Coins are the key! Furthermore, two new coins are avable for purchase, making them 11 in total. Could it be I need 11 coins for ascension-grade runes and the key to be a Primordial Arcanist?"
Ace quickly opened the system shop without hesitation.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
=====
[System Shop: Techniques/Spells Shop]
-1. Heavenly Runes of Ascension (Intermediate)
-Cost: 50,000,000 Thief Points
-2. Heaven Stealer''s Dismantler Principles of Ascension (Intermediate)
-Cost: 150,000,000 Thief Points
[System Shop: Items Shop]
-1. Thief House Recruitment Tokens: 1
-Cost: 10,000,000 Thief Points
-2. Heaven Fooling Coin: 3
-Cost: 50,000,000 Thief Points
-3. Heavenly Formation Coins: Grade-9 Runic Soul Treasure
-Avable: 2
-Price: 5 Million Thief Points (Per Coin)
-4. Heavenly Formation Coins Upgrade: All Coins
-Cost: 110,000,000 Thief Points
[NOTE: This upgrade can only be bought after you have obtained all the avable Heavenly Formation Coins from the System Shop!]
=====
Ace was speechless when he saw the prices of new items in the shop, especially the cost of upgrading the Heavenly Formation Coins. Not to mention, Ace also needed the intermediate sections of the Heavenly Runes of Ascension and Heaven Stealer''s Dismantler Principals of Ascension!
If he added everything up, this purchase would cost him 320 million TP, and at this moment, the happiness of getting almost 500 million TP was dashed away in an instant.
This system is bing more and more unscrupulous with its prices. Not only that, I always got these things as a reward for free, but now I have to pay to buy them while the system only unlocks them while still demanding hundreds of millions of TP!?'' Ace cursed in his mind, but he was also helpless since he couldn''t do without them, and TP was something he could always get
more.
Ultimately, he clenched his teeth and brought everything, including the two coins and their
upgrade!
The next moment, 320 million TP instantly vanished from his total thief point count, and new knowledge started to be drilled into his head. It only took him a few minutes to refine everything, but his focus was more on the eleven Heavenly Formation Coins.
At this moment, the system''s voice rang.
=====
[Heavenly Formation Coins (11) has been sessfully upgraded to Primordial Arcanist Coins!]
-Primordial Arcanist Coins: 11
-Grade: Ascensions Grade-10 (Forbidden)
=====
''I knew it! These coins are the key to progress in this Primordial Arcanist!'' Ace''s eyes shimmered when he heard this notification.
He instantly flipped his hand, and one after another, pentagon-shaped translucent ck coins started to appear, forming a revolving circle of 11 coins.
Ace could already tell that these coins hadpletely changed and now possess their own spirituality. Furthermore, the runes he engraved on 9 of them in the Mortal Ascension Heaven had now vanished, and they were all reced by none other than thenguage of Ancient God! Ace was shocked when he looked at the symbol engraved on one of their sides, and he instantly read it, this symbol meant, ''Arcanist!'' while on the other side of the coins were his new owl
symbol! Just what is the true background of thisnguage of Ancient Gods? It seemed I needed to pay attention to it more since even those sages were researching it, not to mention that damn prophecy was also in thisnguage. My mother seemed to be some prot¨¦g¨¦ in thenguage of Ancient Gods, and her n is famous for this as well..."
An icy glint shed past Ace''s eyes when he thought about this point, and his mood became somber. He stowed away those coins since he already had a pretty good idea of what he needed to
do now.
After a while, Ace was finally able to put those thoughts back and used the Advanced Grade Item Upgrade Token on the Millennium Change Wizard Mask, making it an Ascension Grade-4 Spirit Treasure. With it, now even an Ascension Lord might not be able to see through his disguise, which was nothing but good news for him!
Once he switched to another disguise using the newly advanced Millennium Change Wizard Mask,
he finally came to the final reward he was looking forward to using the most: the Primordial Evolution Item Token!
At this moment, Ace solemnly whispered in his thief''s space, "Avos, buddy, I hope you''re ready to showcase your true might. You won''t need to be bored anymore!"
Chapter 1274 Snatching Food from Tigers Mouth!
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Chapter 1274 Snatching Food from Tiger''s Mouth!
A week has passed in peace ever since Ace entered the Forger Abyss.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Ace was finally done with his tasks, like taking the inventory of the stolen goods from the bank branch. This actually took him a full day since there were too many items. He needed the system''s help to appraise many of them, and then he separated them ording to their uses and grades.
Afterward, he needed to revise the new knowledge he had brought from the system while he was also paying close attention to his avatar. Although he had a parallel mind, he was still quite excited about going to the King Sect, especially since the King Sect was the wealthiest one in the entire Mortal Ascension Heaven.
Nheless, this didn''t mean that he stopped making progress. In fact, now that the problem of the resources and materials had been solved, Ace was getting ready to start refining the weapons for the Universal ck Ascension Physique again.
After all, forging made his cultivation progress faster, and the Universal ck Ascension Physique was something he was determined to cultivate because of its terrifying power.
Moreover, he was also secretly scanning the Forger Abyss to see if he could find his way into the core of this secret realm and then im everything without going through the trouble of trials. Furthermore, for some reason, Ace hadn''t felt the Guardian Spirit''s presence ever since it sent him here, which was strange for some reason since he guessed that the Guardian Spirit would not leave him alone so easily.
But Ace hadn''t expected that today, just when he was thinking about secretly letting his thief''s house out, he suddenly sensed changes in the secret realm, and a tremor suddenly appeared. Just when Ace was wondering what could''ve caused this kind ofmotion, he suddenly felt something and looked in front of him. He was currently sitting in an underground chamber he had dug himself.
At this moment, the Spirit Guardian appeared, and its stoic face seemed to be filled with emotions and relief. It looked at Ace and suddenly pulled a smile that contained a trace of apology and pity, which made Ace suddenly feel bad.
"I''m here to inform you that the Grandmaster Smith''s legacy has been imed, and now this secret realm has a new master. Since my purpose is served, I''ll vanish soon. Since you were also a legacy inheritor who had passed the first trial, I owe you an exnation, so before I vanished, I came here to inform you!"
Ace was shocked by this abrupt announcement and finally understood why this guy was looking at him with those emotions.
"Wait! Didn''t you tell me there was no other legacy inheritor beside me? Now, you''re telling me a new legacy inheritor had appeared out of nowhere and even imed this legacy and secret realm in a week, no less?" Ace''s voice was cold and contained a hint of anger.
After all, he had already imed this ce as his, but now someone else had swept everything. He suddenly felt like someone had snatched his food, which was a terrible feeling. It was the first time someone had ''robbed'' him of his things, and he had to admit this was a terrible feeling.
Nheless, Ace was also vignt. If this person canplete all the trials in such a short time, then it means this person has a terrifying cultivation base and a profound understanding of spirit. forging.
Or, this Guardian Spirit was scheming against him to get rid of him. There was also a possibility that this inheritor existed for a long time, but this Guardian Spirit hid it from the start to ensure its safety.
After all, Ace had personally witnessed this Guardian Spirit''s devious means when it gave him that fake token to fool others.
The Guardian Spirit didn''t retort since Ace''s anger was justifiable, but from its unchanged expression, it was clear that it didn''t care much.
"Truth be told, even I wasn''t expecting this girl''s talent to be so great, and I didn''t lie to you. She appeared around the same time when you came here a week ago. Furthermore, she isn''t much older than you. So, ording to the rules, shepeted fairly and earned the legacy. There was no folly.
"You need to remember, in the world of cultivation, nothing is set in stone; an opportunity cane anytime, but to im it, you need sufficient strength, or if you dy, it''ll be someone else''s: Guardian Spirit sternly stated, "Still, your talent is not bad, and I know if you had time, this legacy would''ve been yours. So, as a farewell gift and to show my appreciation, I''ll introduce you to the legacy owner. I''ve already told her about your situation, and she agreed to give me some face and take you in.
"I''m sure if you learn from her, you can make tremendous progress, and if you impress her and remain diligent, you''ll achieve more. After all, she seemed to have a terrifying background." Guardian Spirit, kindly advise at this moment.
Ace''s eyes narrowed slightly. Guardian Spirit''s words gave him many clues, and he sensed a hidden scheme behind this.
"This inheritor is clearly a woman, and she also had a terrifying background. Could it be that woman? Furthermore, this Guardian Spirit clearly wanted me to be her lucky since my talent is not bad, and who knows how much he had told that woman about me.''
Ace''s eyes grew colder as he thought about it, but his lips rose slightly behind his mask, ''But it''s not easy to snatch my things. Even if this is that inheritor''s scheme or this Guardian Spirit''s idea, they''ll regret trying to subdue me!"
Ace showed a hint of unwillingness before he sighed ruefully and nodded, "I reacted too excessively just now. Please forgive me. Since this opportunity had no fate with me, I can only me my own ipetence for this. Since Senior is still showing me kindness, I''ll humbly ept your offer."
Guardian Spirit''s eyes instantly brightened as it nodded with satisfaction, "It''s good you know how to be flexible. Let''s go. I''ll let you meet her excellence. She''s waiting for you!"
Ace wanted to scowl, but he held back and nodded with a smile. The next moment, he vanished with the Guardian Spirit.
The next moment, Ace appeared in a spacious white hall made with exquisite marble. Many murals showcased forging images. It was his first time seeing this ce, and Ace knew this might be the exclusive space for the true inheritor.
At this moment, his eyes instantly fell upon the veiled woman with golden hair and a curvaceous figure hovering in a pir of golden light in the center of this hall. What drew Ace''s attention instantly was the golden table above her head, giving off a terrifying yet profound aura.
Not only that, but there were many things above that table: an ancient-looking hammer, a jade scroll, and something that suddenly made something in Ace''s body agitate with greed. It was a translucent sphere, and within this sphere was a scarlet me!
This scarlet me made his Demonic ck Spirit Fire react, and Ace instantly knew that these scarlet mes were another spirit fire. It seemed quite extraordinary since his spirit fire showed great desire to devour it!
It was now quite clear that the pir contained Grandmaster Smith''s legacy and that woman should be the inheritor, as she seemed to be in the process of epting it.
Furthermore, Ace instantly recognized that woman in the light pir, which also made his spection correct because this woman was none other than the Inner Valley Disciple of the Sun Valley of the Sun and Moon King Valley, Eleanor Sun!
Chapter 1275 Eleanor Sun!
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Chapter 1275 Eleanor Sun!
Eleanor, hovering with the light pir like a goddess, suddenly opened her eyes and instantly locked on Ace, who, this time, was disguised as an ordinary-looking man in histe twenties. "My Lady, this is the boy I told you about. He''s very talented in forging but seems to be met with some trouble, so he seeks asylum here. I hope mydy can give him a chance! The Guardian Spirit, who seemed to be growing corporeal by every passing moment, spoke in a respectful tone. Eleanor didn''t even look at the Guardian Spirit, who was nothing but a dead person''s lingering sentience. She only looked at Ace, and at this moment, she seemed to have pulled a faint smile behind her veil: "Alright, little spirit, you can go in peace now. I''ll make sure your legacy will have a ce in a King Sect''s library!
Ace was shocked when he heard this and couldn''t help but nce at the Guardian Spirit. He was astounded to see a huge, proud smile on its face as if it had achieved everything it ever wanted.
Now Ace wondered if this woman really imed this legacy with her own skill or if she pulled some underhanded means.
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Chapter 1276 Im Ace!
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Chapter 1276 I''m Ace!
Ace looked at Eleanor, who was suspicious of him and knew she didn''t believe him. But he wasn''t afraid; after all, if push came to shove, he''d just escape.
"Mydy, why would I dare lie to you? If you are not convinced, you can check my belongings. I have nothing worthy to hide. I''m just trying to live here, nothing more, nothing less." Ace bitterly sighed.
Eleanor looked at Ace deeply before saying, "I''ll give you another chance. If you reveal yourself, I might let you work for me. You should know that I''m from the King Sect, and my position in the sect is pretty influential, so I''m asking you onest time: who are you really?"
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Chapter 1277 Who Trapped Who?
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Chapter 1277 Who Trapped Who?
Eleanor quickly suppressed those strange and unknown feelings in her heart as she said in a grave tone, "How should I believe what you just said is true? After all, you are extremely strange, and I can''t even see through your methods at all."
Ace didn''t seem flustered at all. He knew a woman like Eleanor would be extremely cautious, and he already had a n.
He replied smilingly, "How about mydy and I sign a Law Contract? This way, you won''t have to worry about anything, right? Furthermore, since I''ve already decided to reveal myself, I think we can both benefit from this. I wonder if mydy is interested in working together with me?"
Eleanor suddenly felt joy when she heard Ace wanted to work with her, but her mind went nk, and she was secretly horrified, ''What is happening to me? Is he using some maniption spell on me?! No! It''s impossible. Not only is my cultivation extremely higher than his, but I also have a soul-defensive treasure that even an Ascension Lord can''t bypass.
''So, why does he have this strange effect on me? It''s not like I haven''t seen charming men; even his ''clone'' outside couldn''t affect me... he''s dangerous!
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Chapter 1278 Righteous Path & Evil Path!
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Chapter 1278 Righteous Path & Evil Path!
At night, under the gentle light of two full moons and countless stars, arge ship flew through the air, enveloped in an invisible barrier. Furthermore, the flying ship was branded with the symbol of a coin, precisely the Prime Heavenly Bank emblem.
At this moment, a young man with inky ck hair was sitting in the open, gazing at the starry sky with dark blue eyes in a daze, making him look like a curious philosopher.
At this moment, a handsome middle-aged man with long gray hair suddenly appeared behind the young man like a ghost.
The young man instantly sensed the middle-aged man''s presence, but he didn''t seem to bother. With a faint smile while still gazing at the twinkling stars, he asked, "Lord Deputy Guardian, do you need something from me?"
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Chapter 1279 Balded Mirage Desert!
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Chapter 1279 Balded Mirage Desert!
In a golden desert with an ever-shifting sea of golden dunes, the temperature was terrifyingly high, like a furnace, and there was even a strange sharpness present here that could affect evenw-state cultivators. This was evidence of the
extraordinariness of this ce, yet at the time, it was treacherous.
In this vast desert, a tall figure donned in ck was walking with a shimmering jade scroll in its slender white hand, which seemed to be of a beautiful woman.
"I didn''t think the Sky Sword Jade Scroll would change when I touched the boundary of Sky Sword Crown, and then my Celestial Thief Sense would pick up something from it. Tsk, he''s still helping me in the end..." A melodious voice muttered, filled with tenderness, as two silvery eyes looked at the jade scroll with loving gazes as if they could see the handsome young man''s image.
"Tsk, tsk, what the big deal about it?" An annoyed yet crisp voice rang in Alina''s head at this moment.
"Star, I''m not in the mood to bicker with you, humph! You''re just a jealous ancient sword!" Alina retorted annoyingly.
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Chapter 1280 Forger Abyss Completed!
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Chapter 1280 Forger Abyss Completed!
A monthter, in the portal hall of the Forger Abyss in the AIG Sect, the ten portals suddenly started to tremble and show violent fluctuations, rming the overseer, Inner Court me Elder Zyon.
Other than Zyon, there was no one here because the higher-ups had closed off this area ever since Eleanor had entered the Forger Abyss. All activities were halted just in case someone would be blind enough to offend Eleanor. Another reason to iste her was to keep her identity hidden from other disciples.
However, since there were many things to do, the hall masters, grand elders, and Vincent left the portal hall since Eleanor had note out after a day.
Although everyone knew that Eleanor had her own goal of entering the Forger Abyss, no one could afford to offend her, so everyone had already prepared for the worst.
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Chapter 1281 Generosity or Motive?
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Chapter 1281 Generosity or Motive?
Vincent grimaced and winced his brows when he heard Bernard''s tactless words. Of all the Grand Elders, Vincent was most wary of Bernard because this old man was the youngest among the Grand Elders and the most ambitious.
When the bank fiasco happened, Vincent was d Bernard wasn''t here; otherwise, he wouldn''t have been as cooperative as Edwin and Inez. But now that Bernard is here, and despite knowing that Vincent''s position at this moment in the sect is extremely strong, he still dares to speak up.
Furthermore, Vincent knew that Bernard was the most unwilling one to discuss Ace''s going to the King Sect, and Vincent had already expected Bernard to try making a move with Eleanor.
However, thinking at this point and ncing at Eleanor, who had this strange look in her eyes.
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Chapter 1282 Thiefs Temptation!
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Chapter 1282 Thief''s Temptation!
At dusk, a small blue flying ship took flight from the AIG Sect and quickly vanished in the endless sky, leaving behind a blue streak. Vincent and the Grand Elders were watching this scene.
"She finally left!" Edwin sighed with a hint of relief.
Bernard and others also seemed relieved, as if great pressure had been lifted from their hearts. After all, despite Eleanor''s amiable attitude, her status was simply too high, so they were all on edge in her presence.
At this moment, Bernard nced at Vincent, who hadn''t spoken, and hesitantly asked, "Sect Master, about the three slots..."
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Chapter 1283 Next Target!
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Chapter 1283 Next Target!
Eleanor became silent as she contemted Ace''s n. Although she knew Ace wasn''t simple, she still underestimated his ambition and boldness.
Eleanor was already more than happy to have Ace''s ''double'' in the PHW King Sect, and she was even willing to hide him until he managed to infiltrate deeper.
But now, Ace wanted to head to the Nether Blood Fiend King Cult, which was literally riddled with dangers. She knew those evil path cultivators were extremely sinister, and killing for greed and snatching treasures were the norm there.
Nheless, just as Ace said, if he seeds, Ace might be the first human to join one of the three evils, and she would reap benefits while continuing to be safe in her home. However, she wasn''t just anyone, and Eleanor had her own secrets, so after thinking about it for a while, she looked at Ace, who was sipping on his tea while waiting for her response without any hint of urgency.
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Chapter 1284 Great Crown Domain
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Chapter 1284 Great Crown Domain
The Great Crown Domain is one of the three Great Domains of the Righteous Faction and is also regarded as the heart of life professions in Mortal Ascension Heaven.
Dominated by the Runic King Pce, this domain has the most developed infrastructure and resources for nurturing alchemists, forgers, and rune crafters.
The Runic King Pce stands at the pinnacle of Mortal Ascension Heaven''s power, surpassing even its counterparts, the other Righteous and Three Evils, in its influence over the life professions.
This domain is divided into regions controlled by three legendary cities: Runic Forge City, Runic Alchemy City, and Runic Formation City, forming a triangr boundary around the pce itself. Each city specializes in a vital aspect of life professions:
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Chapter 1285 Runic Forge City
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Chapter 1285 Runic Forge City
Ace and Eleanor teleported directly to the inner region of the Runic Forge City''s teleportation hall and walked out.
Ace was slightly surprised when he saw the scene in front of him. The streets were like abyrinth of workshops, market squares, and towering furnaces, with sparks of mes often illuminating the darkened alleys like fleeting stars.
Furthermore, Ace was instantly attracted to the city''s skyline, which was dominated by a central spire.
Eleanor noticed Ace''s eyes and couldn''t help but smile faintly as she said, "That spire is known as the King''s Anvil. It houses the most powerful forge in the entire city, and only the people of the Runic King Pce can enter it.
"May spirit forger longed to enter there because it is rumored that an ancient Ascension King blessed the King''s Anvil, and some believe it is a fragment of an Ancient Artifact that fell from the heavens during the pce''s founding"
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Chapter 1286 A Mysterious Group!
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Chapter 1286 A Mysterious Group!
The door opened, and a tall, slender man in white robes stood behind it. This man''s skin was pale, and he had a string of runic tattoos on the left side of his face, but the most eye-catching thing about him was that he was wearing a white blindfold.
Nheless, when Ace saw this blindfolded man, his expression was solemn because he could sense a terrifying aura hidden in his seemingly slim body. Ace also sensed a familiar sharpness.
''He also has a sword heart! Ace became even more dignified, curious about whom this man was and why Eleanor had brought him here.
The blindfolded man also seemed to notice Ace, and despite not being able to see, Ace could feel a faint acuity of him.
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Chapter 1287 Ravens in Shadows!
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Chapter 1287 Ravens in Shadows!
Ace''s expression changed when he heard Raven''s spirit transmission. Dazedly, he looked at the closed door. He hadn''t expected the situation to take such a wild turn. Furthermore, he had just experienced the power of an Ascension Lord, which left himpletely helpless; he couldn''t even put up any resistance.
But Ace''s mind was something else, ''He called Eleanor ''Ravenmind,'' right? That blindfolded man is ''Ravenfang,'' while that white hair guy is ''Raven,... so does that mean these names are some kind of codenames... with what he just said to me, I can safely assume that these guys are up to something, and whatever it is they needed the Sky Stealer... Wait, Raven! Why didn''t I think this before...''
Ace''s heart raced when, suddenly, a huge realization struck him. But at the same time, it was so ridiculous that Ace didn''t want to believe it.
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Chapter 1288 Foul Mouth Cat!
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Chapter 1288 Foul Mouth Cat!
Ace saunter in the Runic Forge City. Since Eleanor wasn''t with him, he didn''t need to show much restraint. But what he witnessed in that room was still on his mind.
As Ace observed the cultivators walking around the marbled streets of Runic Forge City''s inner region, he saw many beings of different races, some familiar and somepletely unfamiliar.
But Ace also discovered that there wasn''t any demon or devil among them, making him wonder if they weren''t allowed in the righteous path territories since they were naturally considered evil. Nheless, it matters little to Ace since he wasn''t here for sightseeing.
There were alsorge carriages that were moving on their own, and to Ace''s surprise, hisw thief sense couldn''t see inside those carriages, which means they were made with something that could block the senses of even an Ascension Master!
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Chapter 1289 Lady Boss Zaria!
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Chapter 1289 Lady Boss Zaria!
Zaria''sughter abruptly halted when she noticed an unknown person present in the shop. This was quite unexpected since everyone knew the reputation of the Feline Alchemy Shop in the inner city.
Moreover, even if someone was new to the city, those usually arrogant visitors were extremely powerful. They had high statuses, so they wouldn''t bother toe into the shop because it wasn''t fancy or luxurious.
But what surprised Zaria was that Ace had a strange aura, which made her attracted to Ace. This feeling wasing from her bloodline, which was extremely strange. Ace also turned around and saw the mature woman. His expression was impassive as he looked at her, and from her crass and hooligan-like tone, he didn''t need to guess that this was the ''Big Sister Zaria'' behind Leah''s sharp tongue.
Zaria''s eyes narrowed slightly when she saw Ace, and at this moment, Leah suddenly started waving at her with a cute smile on her face as she greeted her excitedly: "Big Sister Zaria, you''re finally back! How many coins did you bring back? Quickly give them to me so I can count!"
When Leah said coins, her big eyes almost turned into spirit coins; she clearly loved spirit coins more than anything else.
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Chapter 1290 Providence Lucky Cat!
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Chapter 1290 Providence Lucky Cat!
When Leah heard Zaria''s words, her mood instantly lifted, and her eyes lit up. She knew that if her big sister wanted to keep Ace, he had no choice but toply, and Leah had yet to see anyone who could defy her sister. For Leah, Zaria was like a god capable of anything.
But Ace wasn''t as optimistic as the little girl. He had many other things to do and couldn''tply with Zaria''s unreasonable demands. Since he had probably discovered the Nightfall Ravenhood and knew they were scheming something here, he couldn''t miss this chance to investigate them.
The problem was that Zaria was too strong, and if he wanted to escape this situation, there was only one way: to use the Body Sweep. But then he wouldn''t be in Runic Forge City, which would result in the same thing.
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Chapter 1291 Badass Ace!
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Chapter 1291 Badass Ace!
Raven was alone in the room at this moment, and his eyes narrowed coldly. At this moment, he took out a ck Communication Spirit Totem and activated it.
"Raveneye, did you find out what happened to that human boy?" he asked in a cold tone.
Raven''s current mood was caused by his tracking spell being dispelled over an hour ago, which was quite shocking to Raven. After all, Raven knew that entering the Western District of the Runic Forge City wouldn''t be simple for Ace, but this wasn''t. enough to get Ace killed, not to mention that he couldn''t think of someone strong enough to detect his tracking spell on Ace.
After all, even if someone discovered it, that kind of powerful person wouldn''t bother with it; they would simply think that. So unless Ace was killed, Raven couldn''t think of anyone who could dispel his mark on Ace, and Ace wasn''t strong enough to do it.
The only other possibility was that Ace had a mysterious backer that they didn''t know about, and he yed both Eleanor and him. But this also didn''t make any sense since Eleanor had bonded Ace with a Law Contract, so he couldn''t betray them unless he wanted to die.
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Chapter 1292 Fall Guy!
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Chapter 1292 Fall Guy!
Ace finally gave up habilitating both sisters as they were too unreasonable and silently epted his new ''badass'' name.
Afterward, Zaria showed him his new amodation, which he had to admit was quitevish and unexpected. After all, there was an alchemy workshop, forge, and even a rune crafting workshop, and they were all equipped with at least ascension grade-5 equipment.
Although Zaria''s methods of ''recruiting'' him were overbearing and unreasonable, he had to admit that despite her entric personality and foul mouth, she treated her people well, or maybe it was just enticement to keep him here.
Nheless, Ace was also warned about going anywhere else on the second floor without permission, especially the ''herb garden, which was apparently Zaria''s ''crib! As for Leah''s room, Zaria tricked the little girl by saying youngdies can''t bring men in their rooms, or they''ll get pregnant, making Ace speechless and fuming silently. Although this sudden response made the little girl curious to no end since she had no idea what ''pregnant'' meant, Zaria masterfully silenced her, which disappointed Leah and made her pout, but she finally dropped the matter of showing Ace her room. Furthermore, Ace was also met with a subtle death re and a smile from Zaria, which he clearly understood. Although Zaria might''ve made him stay because of Leah, she was clearly not going to let him be too close to her since Ace was simply too strange. After all of this, Ace was finally left alone in this huge room and started to contemte his next course of action.
Ace sat silently on a prying mat, and his eyes shed sharply. This entire ce is covered in a powerful formation, and I''m sure that madwoman would be watching my every action.
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Chapter 1293 Miracle Maker! (1)
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Chapter 1293 Miracle Maker! (1)
Damien''s expression wasical as he was in the middle of processing what he had just heard before a cold sh passed through his eyes. ''Sky Stealer appeared? But how could I have ended up involved with him? Furthermore, does he know who I am? It should be impossible since I have yet to move against him, and showing myself without any preparation will only put me at a disadvantage and alert that guy. But then why?"
No matter how much Damien tried to make sense of this entire scenario, he couldn''t because he had been very careful not to expose himself and kept a low profile until he was powerful enough to hunt his one and only enemy.
After all, Damien knew that as long as Heaven''s Stealer existed, he would not know peace and would never be free to live his own life. Most importantly, he knew what kind of existence was behind him, and his mission was something that he had to fulfill. On the other hand, ripples surfaced in Emmie''s calm eyes when she heard the ''Sky Stealer'' name before a hint of momentary confusion appeared, but it soon vanished as she returned to her emotionless state.
"Your Holiness, what should we do? The Prime Heavenly Bank is an extremely
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Chapter 1294 Miracle Maker! (2)
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Chapter 1294 Miracle Maker! (2)
After Damien admitted his identity, Brittny''s eyes narrowed dangerously, especially when she noticed how calm he seemed, as if he had no fear or worry about the consequences.
However, this also made Brittny suspicious because if Damien was really guilty or had any kind of association with Sky Stealer, he would''ve shown some kind of reaction, and with her entire focus on him, she would''ve instantly captured it.
But she didn''t notice anything, surprising her. Although Damien''s cultivation appeared to be an Ascension Grand General, Brittny felt it wasn''t so simple.
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Chapter 1295 Miracle Maker! (3)
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Chapter 1295 Miracle Maker! (3)
The moment the ethereal voice rang, the phantom above Damien became even more vivid and imposing as an iprehensible authority emerged.
Brittny was thoroughly shaken because she felt deep terror from deep within her bloodline and soul. She felt like an ant standing in front of a colossal tree. Even herw
waspletely suppressed, and she showed no signs of resistance under the
presence of that terrifying yet mystical phantom.
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Chapter 1296 Great Prosperity Domain!
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Chapter 1296 Great Prosperity Domain!
The Great Prosperity Domain, home to the Prime Heavenly Wealth King Sect, was renowned for its abundant natural resources, trade hubs, thriving life professions, and strange phenomena. Due to the unparalleled richness of the Gold Vein of Heaven, this domain was the heart ofmerce and luxury.
Nestled between the Limitless Sky Peaks to the east and the Azure Flow Basin to the west, the domain upies a geographically advantageous position, making it a beacon for merchants, cultivators, and adventurers seeking fortune.
The Great Prosperity Domain''s entrance is marked by a Grand Canyon known as the Wealth Valley, a naturally formed pass with walls glistening as if made with gold and spirit ores.
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Chapter 1297 The Hall of Prosperous Beginnings!
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Chapter 1297 The Hall of Prosperous Beginnings!
When they finally reached the vicinity of the Wealth Mountain, only now did Ace fully understand just how colossal this mountain was; he couldn''t see the end of it up close, and the mysterious aura of property was even denser.
The mountain was surrounded by an invisibleyer of formation barrier which was extremely strong. But Norman''s ship easily passed the protection formation of the Wealth Mountain because of the special identity emblem engraved on it.
But despite that, they were still quite far away from the mountain, and instead, they flew through a region filled with luxurious buildings and powerful cultivators of elemental states.
ording to Norman, this vicinity was the area reserved for Nominal Disciples who were in charge of the minuscule tasks of the sect, and only when they reached thew state and passed the trial by power could they enter the base of the mountain and join the Outer Sect as Outer Sect Disciples.
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Chapter 1298 Strange Turn of Events!
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Chapter 1298 Strange Turn of Events!
Steward Jesper''sw sense onlysted for a moment, but itpletely alerted Ace. Although this body was his avatar, their minds were one and the same. But he quickly calmed down when he thought about how heaven-defying the Avatar of Holy Twilight was, and he had yet to see anyone who could see through this Avatar''s mysteries.
At this moment, a strange light shed in Steward Jesper''s eyes as he looked at Ace profoundly, making Norman''s heart beat with anticipation as he watched silently. "You are quite an unusual one." Steward Jesper ambiguously stated, looking calm as ever, but inwardly, he was filled with confusion and uncertainties.
He then looked at Norman and asked, "Who is sponsoring him?"
Norman knew Steward Jesper was asking about who was opening a backdoor for Ace, and only the Prosperity Elders and people with higher status can sponsor cultivators like Ace, who had no connection with PHW King Sect.
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Chapter 1299 Prosperity Evaluation Chamber!
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Chapter 1299 Prosperity Evaluation Chamber!
Ace followed Steward Jesper through the ornate staircase that spiraled upward. The air grew increasingly dense with Spirit Qi as they ascended, a faint golden shimmer visible on the walls.
Although Ace was curious about where they were going, he suppressed his urge to use hisw sense since Steward Jesper might not appreciate it.
Furthermore, he knew this old man was unfathomable, and doing anything might incur suspicion, but he knew there was something Steward Jesper noticed that made him bright here.
After a few moments, they arrived at a grand chamber radiating an ancient aura. The chamber was circr, its walls adorned with intricate runes and glyphs glowing softly with golden light. At the chamber''s center, three distinct pedestals were arranged in a triangr formation, each holding an artifact that pulsed with unique energy.
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Chapter 1300 Meridian Flow Soul Altar
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Chapter 1300 Meridian Flow Soul Altar
Ace quickly pushed his hand back the moment it was freed, but his expression was grim as he looked at the Martial Resonance Orb, which was now full of cracks and about to burst apart.
''I knew this thing was unreliable. How could it have had seen through my avatar''s origin? And now it''s probably ruined; I hope this old man won''t me me since I was only following his orders... ''Ace thought as he was about to turn around to see Steward Jesper''s reaction when the Martial Resonance Orb finally crumbled into dust. Expression somewhat somber, Steward Jesper looked between the orb, which was now a pile of fine sand dust, and Ace, who had this innocent expression on his face; Jesper didn''t know what to think about this entire situation.
Although the Martial Resonance Orb was precious, it was still something the sect could recreate. After all, the actual core of the Martial Resonance Test was this entire chamber where all the knowledge about the fantastic physiques was stored, and the orb was used to project it.
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Chapter 1301 Evil Slaying Division!
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Chapter 1301 Evil ying Division!
The Talent Ascension Mirror was an imposing, full-length treasure with an obsidian frame etched with golden symbols. The surface appeared as liquid silver, rippling faintly as Ace stepped before it.
''He said this mirror could evaluate my innate potential and thetent abilities tied to my physique, bloodline, or even unique traits. I can only think of one possible thing he''s hinting at...''
Ace''s eyes were sharp as he gazed into the depths of the mirror, but there wasn''t any reflection at all. But the silver surface seemed to continue to ripple rapidly before the reflection suddenly shifted!
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Chapter 1302 Newcomer
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Chapter 1302 Neer
Ace was sitting behind the counter in the Feline Alchemy Shop, apanied by the cute and lively Leah.
At this moment, Ace''s eyes shone with a mysterious light as he muttered, "Evil ying Division, huh?"
Leah, who was telling him about her spirit coin collection, finally looked at him with a pout as she noticed he wasn''t paying attention to her, "What evil, Badass Ace?"
Ace quickly snapped out of his thought process and looked at the little girl before he pulled a charming smile, "Nothing, I was just mumbling to myself. Where''s your sister?"
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Chapter 1303 Grandfather-In-Law!
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Chapter 1303 Grandfather-In-Law!
The tall, burly man wore ck ceremonial robes with a golden runic pattern and had a handsome face, middle-aged with long, inky hair. His amber eyes were sharp and filled with the vicissitude of life, just like an ancient philosopher.
Just with a single look, one could tell this man''s bearing was extraordinary, especially his refined and majestic aura, which, despite not being apparent, couldn''t hide his terrifying, straight demeanor.
However, the moment Leah called ''Stinky Old Pervert, the man''s expression was somber a little as his eye spasmed with a hint of helplessness.
Zaria seemed delighted seeing the man''s forlorn expression, while Ace''s heart raced because his instincts were screaming danger the moment this man appeared, and he couldn''t help but admire Leah''s courage.
''Is he an Ascension Grand Lord?'' Ace thought as he decided to remain silent while trying to hide his presence as much as possible.
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Chapter 1304 Violent when Shy!
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Chapter 1304 Violent when Shy!
The Grandfather looked between his ferocious granddaughter and then Ace, who was hiding behind him, with a pitiful expression on his face. He had never imagined that this trip to persuade his stubborn granddaughter would take such a dramatic turn. Furthermore, he found it quite amusing since it was his first time seeing his as stubborn as a mule of a granddaughter this frustrated, which was normally his role, and he felt great!
So, whether Ace was telling the truth or not, he had an excellent impression of this courageous young man who dared to tease his granddaughter and wasn''t afraid of unleashing hell upon himself.
That''s why the moment Zaria acted to grab Ace, he cleared his throat, and an invisible pressure suddenly enveloped Ace. Zaria''s w-like palm was inches away from Ace in the air before it was stuck.
Ace was sweating when he saw that w and couldn''t help but curse Zaria for being so violent as she directly attacked him. Although she didn''t use any spirit Qi, he could feel the terrifying power behind it.
But seeing it getting blocked, he had a sigh of relief and became even more confident that he had yed it right. Furthermore, he didn''t even see the old man making any move, yet he blocked Zaria''s w without any effort, which means this grandfather''s cultivation realm was unfathomable.
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Chapter 1305 Bigger Fists! (1)
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Chapter 1305 Bigger Fists! (1)
At this moment, Acey on the broken floor; his entire clothes were tattered, his hair disheveled, his body was filled with bruises and bloody scratches, and his face was swallowed like a pig.
Zaria, on the other hand, was now standing behind the counter with her long legs crossed while she inhaled on her tobo pile, and her charming eyes were filled with satisfaction; it was as if nothing had happened.
Leah was sitting beside her as she looked between Ace and then her sister and blinked, "Big sis, I think you broke Badass Ace!"
"Ile deserved it for taking liberties with this greatdy! I Imph!" Zaria scoffed with a hint of anger, "And he''s no longer Badass Ace; from now on, he''s Scoundrel Ace!"
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Chapter 1306 Bigger Fists! (2)
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Chapter 1306 Bigger Fists! (2)
Zaria''s eyes widened slightly when she heard Ace''s words, and she could feel he wasn''t bluffing.
''What is he relying on? But if he had something or someone, he wouldn''t be so timed and restrained before... ''She mused grimly, ''Then why am I feeling threatened? Don''t tell me; is it because of that mysterious power on him? Could he be taking advantage of that power and intimidating me?"
Zaria''s mind races as she starts to believe Ace is bluffing and using his mysterious power to make her back down. Furthermore, she was extremely confident that he didn''t have neither strength nor any trump card that could beat her in strength that she was extremely confident in.
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Chapter 1307 No Escape!
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Chapter 1307 No Escape!
After Ace''s exnation, Zaria didn''t say anything and looked at him coldly to continue. Ace didn''t hesitate and directly cut his figure with his spirit Qi, and a drop of dark blood fell on the token.
But nothing happened as the blood was instantly absorbed while Zaria was thoroughly watching everything, and a hint of astonishment surfaced in her eye when she saw Ace''s blood.
Although she had beaten him bloody, she wasn''t paying attention at that time because of her rage; now that she was calm and because of the strangeness of this token, she finally realized that Ac was full of secrets and he even had a mysterious bloodline.
"So, you''re from the human race''s king sect?" She asked with narrowed eyes.
Ace neither admitted nor denied it and ambiguously replied, "Is there a problem? You can still back down."
A hint of anger shed past her eyes as she retorted, "You''re still not going to get away!"
The next moment, she cut her finger and let her blood drip on the token as well while she secretly prepared to take action if something untoward happened. But the token was still the same, and she felt nothing.
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Chapter 1308 Lucky Thief!
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Chapter 1308 Lucky Thief!
At this moment, the Feline Alchemy Shop''s door opened, revealing Zaria''s disheveled figure. She was as her skin deadly pale and her eyes bloodshot with lingering fear.
The moment she entered, her eyes instantlynded on Ace, who was sitting right where she was a few hours ago, and he was beaming at her. It was like looking at herself in a mirror.
But despite the hatred burning in her heart, she didn''t dare to reveal any killing intent as she instantly remembered the inhuman torment she had been through in past houses.
Although it took her some time to figure it out, she knew the inhuman pain started right after that ck light entered her be despite her effort to get away from it and block it.
But nothing seemed to work no matter what she did, and even her defensive soul treasure failed to stop it. However, her nightmare started right after that ck streak entered her body, and that static voice suddenly rang in her mind, and a corporeal projection appeared in front of her.
First, she thought she had overreacted and hallucinated because of her rage, yet the moment she thought about skinning Ace alive for his folly, that static voice sounded again. This time, it came with that terrifying, torturous pain!
At that moment, she was in utter disbelief because she knew no one could inflict that kind of pain on her, not even a king.
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Chapter 1309 The Dumbass!
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Chapter 1309 The Dumbass!
Zaria was dazzled by her house status, and now that she was paying attention, she finally noticed that this thing had even gotten her name urately, and even Ace called her that.
Zaria had never told anyone about her full name. Not even Leah was aware of it because she hated it. The only person who knew this was Falcon or her dead mother. Yet, this thing in her head could urately deduct not only her name but also her cultivation base and racial bloodline to its urate rank. Even Falcon couldn''t do that because there was no way of measuring someone''s bloodline in the entire Mortal Ascension Heaven.
There were only density grades: Low (Less than 10% Pure), Intermediate (Less than 50% Pure), High (Less than 75% Pure), and Perfect (Less than 95% Pure). If there could be grades, then the Low should be Ascension Grade-1, Intermediate Ascension Grade-3 or 4, the High between Ascension Grade-6 or 7, and the Perfect would be Ascension Grade-8.
Zaria knew her bloodline was perfect, and Leah wasn''t any different. In fact, Leah should be even more talented than her because her bloodline density was even purer than hers, which should be the legendary purity of 99%, which means Ascension Grade-9 and that''s why Falcon was so obsessed with them.
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Chapter 1310 A Thief & A Thug!
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Chapter 1310 A Thief & A Thug!
Ace looked at Zaria, who was now sitting on the right side of the table, and smiled, "So, what do you think? Still, believe that I''m spouting nonsense?"
Zaria absent-mindedly shook her head in response before she finally regained her senses. She looked at Ace with aplicated look, "Just who are you? If you have had all of this, why in hell would you pretend to be pitiful and weak? Moreover, since you have this strange power and treasure, I''m sure you had a way to escape, yet you didn''t?"
Ace gave her a profound look before he asked instead, "Do you know what the Thief House is about and what I do?"
"Pretended to be weak so you can trick innocent girls into joining your little circus?" Zaria replied, ring at him, and cursed, "Perverted scoundrel, would I be asking you this if I had known?! So, stop mystifying things and exin. I''ve already seen this mystic shit enough for today!"
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Chapter 1311 Cooperation Against Ravens!
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Chapter 1311 Cooperation Against Ravens!
Afterward, Ace tells Zaria about the other house members, but he doesn''t reveal anything about their recruitment process and hides essential details about his rtionships.
He only told her general information like their names and thief genres, nothing else, and despite her asking about more, he only told her to ask herself since he wouldn''t disclose their private information without their consent, especially their whereabouts. But the disdainful look in Zaria''s eyes made it pretty apparent that she had already developed a preconception about him being a perverted fiend since all the other members turned out to be women, and he could do nothing but sigh helplessly since he saw thising.
In the end, he had to draw her attention to something else, so he told her to check her house shop to see what was there for her. Thankfully, it worked as she excitedly opened her house shop with anticipation, and he secretly did the same.
[House Shop: Lucky Thief]
-Knowledge Section
-Treasures Section
-Evolution & Pill Section
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Chapter 1312 My Home!
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Chapter 1312 My Home!
Ace and Zaria had a long discussion about Ace''s n regarding the Nightfall Ravenhood. Since Zaria was already a member of Thief House, Ace didn''t bother to hide anything from her.
"You said they wanted you to infiltrate the Trinity Lord Workshop?" Zaria asked for confirmation with a strange look in her eyes.
Ace caught her strange expression and nodded, "Yes. If I''m not wrong, this should be some test and might not even rte to their ns. I also entered your shop to get some information because the Western District is overly guarded."
Zaria snickered, "Of course, the Western District is well guarded because that area is an exclusive ce for the most talented disciples of the Runic King Pce. The Western District serves as a training group for those geniuses to gain worldly experience and practice their crafts.
"But this is also why only a few get entry there: for the safety of those geniuses. You should know that despite their talent in their chosen profession, they have no experience in fighting. That''s the job for Runic Warrior Pce, a division specialized inbat, just like the other king sects.
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Chapter 1313 First Space Upgrade!
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Chapter 1313 First Space Upgrade!
Ace then showed Zaria and Leah the Thief''s House, including Zaria''s cultivation chamber, which showed thetter when she saw the massive space filled with the mystical spirit Qi, which is extremely beneficial for her.
Although Zaria was prepared since Ace had already told her about the thief''s house functions, she still couldn''t hide her show. As for the little girl, her eyes twinkled like stars as she had discovered a huge secret, and she ran around the ce happily.
But when they approached the other house members'' cultivation chamber, Ace didn''t open them because of their privacy, and he told Zaria that if she wanted to see them, she had to ask the owner.
Zaria wasn''t unreasonable, so she didn''t push further since she also wouldn''t want anyone sneaking into her own private space while the little girl was slightly dejected. But won''tst for long when Ace opens the house leader''s chamber, and the sisters are shown when they see the marvelous castle and the breathtaking scenery.
Ace proudly said, "This is my private cultivation chamber!"
"Tsk, now you''re humblebragging!" Zaria sneered with a hint of jealousy, "Why do you get a freaking castle?"
"Because I''m the leader!" Ace stated with a smile.
"Can I via for your position? If I can beat you up, will I be the leader?" Zaria couldn''t help but ask with deep anticipation while she started cracking her knuckles as if she couldn''t wait to start.
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Chapter 1314 Universal Potion Refinement!
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Chapter 1314 Universal Potion Refinement!
After Ace upgrades the thief''s space, everything has been reinforced, and he can start the next phase without any worries.
He adjusts his mental state before removing something from his thief''s space. Before him, in the center of the room, a massive dark steel cauldron, its surface engraved with heavenly runes.
This was a heavenly ascension grade-2 cauldron that he had refined just for the Universal Ascension ck Physique, and he called the Universal Cauldron because it was created with the intent to cultivate the Universal Ascension ck Physique.
After all, since he was using heavenly-grade weapons, he knew the ordinary cauldron wouldn''tst long.
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Chapter 1315 Universal Ascension Black Physique!
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Chapter 1315 Universal Ascension ck Physique!
A low hum filled the cultivation chamber as the runes on the cauldron red to life, bathing the chamber in pulsing ck light, and an archaic aura filled the air.
At this moment, the air trembled as violent Qi waves surged, causing cracks to spread across the chamber!
Ace was now one with the dark liquid, but he could feel everything, and currently, he was feeling pressure threatening to crush his mind. Despite that, his blood seemed to release a strange chill as it resonated with the dark liquid.
But the pain was still unbearable.
It felt as though countless needles were piercing every cell of his body, shredding his flesh and bones before reforging them. The molten darkness sought to devour him, but Ace endured with his willpower as he felt the Universal Ascension ck Physique technique circting faster and faster.
At this moment, a sudden change urred; the molten liquid surged and started topress while taking the shape of a body. It glowed faintly as the liquid darkness. merged into the very foundation. His muscles convulsed, his bones cracked, but his will refused to break.
Suddenly, outside the Evesting Endearment Pce began to tremble violently. A dense, suffocating pressure was released. The sky above turned ominously ck as if night had fallen prematurely.
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Chapter 1316 Cat Fight!
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Chapter 1316 Cat Fight!
It''s been a week since Zaria had joined the Thief House, while three weeks passed in the thief''s house because of the time multiplier.
Zaria was sitting at the shop counter, which was quite an unusual sight, but she seemed to be deep in thought as if she were contemting something while she fiddled with the steaming tobo pipe.
"The Thief''s House is really a treasure capable of time maniption, and it even expands. Although the Perverted Leader hadn''t told me how this expansion worked, the moment the ce expanded, the spirit of Qi seemed to have grown even further. ''But I can''t ask since that shitty bastard has closed himself somewhere, and I can''t even use myw sense to probe any of those private chambers except my own. He even dared to use me as a guard and didn''t even pay his dues... ''Zaria clenched her teeth with indignation as she red towards the wall, which was actually the entrance of the thief''s house.
As a member of Thief''s House, only she can see and feel it, while others have to be looking for it, and only then can they find it.
Then Zaria clicked her tongue as she shook her head, ''Whatever, since now he can guarantee Leah''s safety with this Thief''s House, and I can grow without limit ording to him, it''s a good chance to leave this shitty ce behind. At least I won''t have to see that old pervert''s insufferable face.
''Besides, the little brat seemed to like it very much in there, and she even shifted all her stuff to my cultivation chamber while I haven''t even ced a single thing, and she refused to leave... ''Zaria pursed her lips when she thought about Leah''s amusing behavior but deep down she was relieved and happy for Leah.
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Chapter 1317 Try Again!
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Chapter 1317 Try Again!
"Long time no see, mydy." Ace casually greeted Eleanor as if meeting an old friend while ignoring both women''s dumbfounded expressions.
Zaria was first to recover as she red at him and barked, "What are you doing here?!" Although she wanted to ask how, he snuck up on her without alerting her, sensing she didn''t want to be in front of Eleanor. Nheless, Zaria was extremely curious since Ace had only been gone for a week or three, yet his aura waspletely different. Before, she could still sense him, but now, he appearedpletely invisible without any trace of presence, as if he was one with the surrounding space. Unless someone was looking for him, they wouldn''t be able to notice him, but Ace''s deadly face makes it almost impossible.
Furthermore, Zaria was displeased because, appearing like this, he was not giving her any face in front of Eleanor, and he was too close, and they almost seemed like... friends.
Eleanor finally snapped out of shock as she looked at Ace and couldn''t help but think, ''How did he be even more handsome in a month?"
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Chapter 1318 First House Mission!
Chapter 1318 First House Mission!
Ace sent away Eleanor before his smile vanished as he entered back the shop and saw Zaria ring at him with a cold smile.
Zaria coldly scoffed when she saw Eleanor was gone, "You didn''t tell me she was your girlfriend."
Ace ignored her sarcastic remark and solemnly said, "I still need more time to cultivate my new ability. So, I''m giving you your first mission. Are you ready? It should be pretty easy for you?"
Zaria was surprised before her eyes shimmered with a hint of anticipation, "About damn time! Sure, as long as it''s not something suicidal, I''m down. But you need to keep an eye on Leah for me."
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Chapter 1319 The Ravencrown!
Chapter 1319 The Ravencrown!
The King''s Anvil was in the heart of the Runic Forge City and symbolized the pinnacle of Spirit Forging.
Albeit it was considered a sect city of the Runic King Pce, it was an independent organization of its own, and it was the same for the other two runic cities. These cities were used to select young talent before they were vetted out into the Runic King Pce.
Nheless, bing the disciple of King''s Anvil of Runic Forge City, King''s Cauldron of Runic Alchemy City, and King''s Quill of Runic Formation City was the dream of every life profession practitioner of Mortal Ascension Heaven.
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Chapter 1320 Chance & Threat!
Chapter 1320 Chance & Threat!
Once Ravencrown agreed to listen to her, Eleanor started to divulge everything she knew about Ace except for the fact about his ''clone.'' Although she knew this might put Ace in an even more dangerous situation, she knew he would be in even more danger if she didn''t make it important in Ravencrown''s mind.
Furthermore, since this was also Ace''s n, she wasn''t breaching the Law Contract or undermining Ace''s trust.
Ravencrown didn''t seem interested initially, but the more she heard, the more incredulous she became and attentively listened.
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Chapter 1321 Failed yet Succeed?
Chapter 1321 Failed yet Seed?
Ravencrown appeared outside Eleanor''s workshop and gave the closed door a meaningful re before she started walking towards the tower floor entrance.
When the guards saw Ravencrown, they quickly bowed in respect; they clearly knew her status. Ravencrown didn''t give them a second look and walked past them before she headed toward the upper floor of the tower.
The King''s Anvil has 99 floors, and each floor is filled with different facilities for forgers to hone their craft, except for the 99th floor, which was actually the ce where the tower master, the Count Anvil, lived and oversaw all the tower. He was also the lord of the Runic Forge City while a higher-up of the Runic King Crown Pce!
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Chapter 1322 Notorious Division!
Chapter 1322 Notorious Division!
Zaria took a deep breath as she stood beneath the towering light pole, her cold eyes fixed on the faint, dark, ethereal thread. It pulsed faintly, as if alive, and she could sense some of the transmission pass through it.
But she dared not probe any deeper, fearing she would alert the person behind it and lose her lead.
Her sharp gaze followed the thread as it snaked away into the distance, barely perceptible against the bright glow of the Runic Forge City''s illumination. With a cold smirk, she began to follow it.
As Zaria stealthily moved through the bustling streets in her cat form, her focus on the thread intensified. The closer she got to its source, the more threads appeared, branching out like a macabre spiderweb. They coiled around other poles, slithering along walls and even seeping into the cobblestones beneath her feet.
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Chapter 1323 Initiate Rank Mission!
Chapter 1323 Initiate Rank Mission!
Just as Ace was still thinking about the purpose of Steward Jesper sending him to the Evil ying Division at the far end of the courtyard, a towering man with iron-like skin stepped forward, following ten people with sharp auras.
His presence silenced the murmurs instantly as everyone looked at him with apprehension and fear, as if he was some kind of demon.
The iron-skinned man in front was the Outer Bastion overseer, Division Elder Melvin, but everyone called him ''Commander'' Melvin.
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Chapter 1324 Playing on Two Fronts!
Chapter 1324 ying on Two Fronts!
Melvin returned to his courtyard but suddenly stopped just when he was about to enter and looked behind.
A hint of surprise shed past his eyes when he saw the blue-haired elderly hunter had appeared behind him before he pulled a huge grin and greeted with a hint of respect, "Steward Jesper, it''s quite rare to see you, especially for the second time within two days."
"Brat, you don''t have to be dishonest with me." Steward Jesper smirked and started walking inside Melvin''s luxurious courtyard.
Melvin couldn''t help but smile wryly, "Yeah, help yourself in, old man."
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Chapter 1325 Everything Set!
Chapter 1325 Everything Set!
After bidding Eleanor farewell and promising toplete the task, Ace returned to the house leader''s chamber and directly called Zaria.
After a few seconds, Zaria picked up, and her somewhat astonished voice rang, "Um¡ can you hear me? This is how it is supposed to work, like Spirit Transmission, right?"
"Yeah, I can hear you fine." Ace chuckled, "Where are you? Did you follow Eleanor? She was just here."
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Chapter 1326 20% Completion!
Chapter 1326 20% Completion!
Ace couldn''t help but feel emotional seeing the final three materials to upgrade the Eternal Thief Fate Compass, which he got in the Mighty Demon Continent; over six decades had passed ever since then, and he was now a Law State cultivator.
"Alright, Moira, are you ready to evolve?" Ace asked while grinning.
"Yes, sir! I know I''ve been useless recently to you, but please don''t worry; I''ll try to be more useful after everything you''ve done for me!" Moira''s solemn voice sounded.
"Nonsense!" Ace retorted, "You''ve never been useless and never will. You have saved my life many times and even helped me when no one could, so you are my most cherished treasure, and it''ll never change!"
"T-thank you for your favor¡" Moira replied with a hint of happiness.
Ace nodded in stratification; after all, it wasn''t like Moira had turned useless, but it was just that he was in a ce far above Moira''s current grade, and he didn''t dare to roam in the Mortal Ascension Heaven to seek fortune since he was still too weak.
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Chapter 1327 Fate Path!
Chapter 1327 Fate Path!
Ace was astounded when he read the details of the new upgrade, especially the part about the Astral Stele of Mortal Sky Heaven being fully assimted with Moira.
Although he knew about the Astral Stele, he was under the impression that it waspletely assimted in the temple, and the benefit was Moira being unrestrained in Mortal Sky Heaven and under some special circumstances.
However, he never gets to see that before, but now, the system has revealed that Moira can help guide him between the chaotic space and locate while leading him to the Mortal Sky Ascension Temple.
"What does this mean? Could it be that I can now go back to Mortal Sky Heaven whenever I want to, or is it just the temple?" Ace questioned the system with anticipation.
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